THE WORKS

BISHOP COSIN.

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WORKS

RIGHT REVEREND FATHER IN GOD

JOHN C 0 S I N, vv^ .

LOED BISHOP OF DURHAM,

^NOW FIRST COLLECTED.^

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VOLUME THE FIRST. SERMONS. .

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©xfortr anti ILontion:

JAMES PARKER AND CO.

H DCCC LXXIV.

PREFACE.

Bishop Cosin, the faithful and trusted adherent of King Charles the Martyr, the friend of Montague and Laud, the first who was deprived of his dignities in the University of Cambridge, and sequestered from his ecclesiastical benefices by the puritan faction, was no less distinguished by his unrivalled Annotations upon the Book of Common Prayer, than by his general powers as a controversialist. The writings of this eminent and illustrious person will be al- ways, therefore, interesting, both to those who value his piety, judgment, and learning, as well as those who study his life and character. Some surprise has been consequently excited that his works have not been published" in a col- lected form. The present is the first attempt made to supply this deficiency.

The editor, although he has laboured under many difficul- ties \in collecting the scattered works of Bishop Cosin, has still enjoyed many and important advantages. He begs leave in the first place to offer his thanks to the Warden and Senate of the University of Durham for their kindness in permitting him to make use of transcripts of some of the

' In 1692, about twenty years after interrupted the execution of this pro-

the death of Bishop Cosin, Dr. Thomas ject, and it was ultimately abandoned.

Smith, anxious, as he informs us, that The manuscripts collected by Smith

the theological writings of such an emi- for this purpose (which are neither

nent Divine should not be permitted to numerous nor very important), are

remain in obscurity, contemplated the deposited in the Bodleian Library, and

publication of such of them as were have been employed in the formation

then unprinted. Adverse circumstances of the present edition.

VI PREFACE.

unprinted remains of Bishop Cosin, which are to be found in their Library, To the Venerable Charles Thorp, D.D., Archdeacon of Durham, and the Venerable "VV. F. Ray- mond, M.A., Archdeacon of Northumberland, the ofl&cial Trustees of the Library bequeathed by Bishop Cosin to the clergy of the diocese of Durham, he is indebted for the opportunity of examining at his leisure the Bishop's Cor- respondence, his Notes on the Common Prayer, and various other manuscripts. His warmest gratitude is due to the Dean and Chapter of Durham, for their kindness in afford- ing him the privilege of inspecting the Registers and other private documents belonging to that Cathedral Church, with which Cosin was intimately connected, first as Pre- bendary and afterwards as Bishop, for nearly half a century. And by the liberality of the same body, he is now enabled to lay before the public the Sermons ^ which are contained in the present volume.

These Sermons embrace a period of time extending from 1621 to 1659, the first having been preached shortly after his admission into Holy Orders, and the last not long before his return from his seventeen years' exile. Although allusion is made to several others **, these are the only Sermons which are preserved. Having been preached for the most part upon the festivals of the Church, they are intended to illus- trate the events which the services of the day commemorate**. They advocate with much skill and learning, and with no nconsiderable powers of eloquence, the truths of the Gospel as exhibited in the doctrines of the Church of England ; opposing the erroneous extremes of modern Romanism

^ The original Sermons are bound 247 ; and the present volume, p. 131,

up into one small volume and are 24'8.

marked A. iv. 31. It does not appear •* See p. 1, 44, 206, 323, &c. Finita

how they came into the possession of concione, quas partem aliquam vel

Dr. George Smith, Prebendary of Dur- Evangelii vel Epistolte, vel alterius

ham, by whom they were presented to loci S. Scripturas et explicare et appli-

the Library of the Dean and Chapter. care solet ...Cosin. de Eccl. Anglicanae

•= See Evelyn's Memoirs, i. 241, religione &c., cap. xvi.

PREFACE. Vll

on the one hand, and of Dissent on the other. The wide extent of their author's reading^ in almost every depart- ment of literature enabled him to illustrate his subject from a variety of sources j but it is obvious that the exe- getical and dogmatical teaching of the Primitive Church formed his chief study ^ Traces of his acquaintance with the writings of Hooker s, and yet more frequently with those of Andrewes '', are perceptible. It is no less difficult to imagine how the individual by whom they were preached should have been * looked upon as popishly affected/ tiian to reconcile some opinions and practices attributed to him, with the general tendency of their doctrines.

The editor originally intended to have prefixed a Life of Bishop Cosin, but circumstances occurred which induced him to reserve for another part of the work the various notices which he had collected ; and instead of an original memoir, to substitute that which had appeared in the Bio- graphia Britannica>. This narrative, although not without its faults and its omissions, gives a tolerably acccurate ac- count of the events of the Bishop's life. It is compiled'' chiefly from the following sources.

" The dead man's real speech, a funeral sermon preached

* It would appear that the Bishop volume (Pref. p. xxxvi.); but later ex-

fiequently quoted from memory, and amples are probably uncommon,

sometimes fell into errors by so doing. * Seep. 101, 103.

Thus, for example, he cites as from '' Besides the instances pointed out

the Psalms a text wliich is taken from at p. 103, 104, 124, &c., compare p. 60

the Canticles, (p. 327,) and ascribes with Andr. Serm. v. 498; p. 76 with

(p. 145.) to Euripides a passage from Andr. v. 522 ; p. 202 with Andr. iii,

Menander, (Meineke, Fragm. Comic. 64; p. 257 with Andr. iii. 65; p. 117

Graec. iv. 76. ed. Berol. 1841.) with Andr. iii. 130, &c. The connexion

' One peculiarity in their structure between Andrewes and Cosin is men- seems worthy of notice. Tiie preacher tioned in the Life in this volume, p. xiii. commences with some observations for ' Edit. 1750. p. 1474. The edition the purpose of connecting the subject- of the dissenter Kippis should be used matter of the sermon with the peculiar with caution, as he did not scruple, services of the day ; he then introduces when it suited his purpose, to mutilate the Bidding-Prayer, and the text then the text which he professed to reprint, follows. Instances of this arrangement '^ The fragment of Cosin's auto- are to be fonnd in the sermons of biography, which is preserved among Bishop Andrewes (Serm. ii. 39, 101; the Tanner MSS., and printed by iii. 131, 203), and a few other divines Gutch in his Collectanea Curiosa, ii. (Heylyn's Tracts, p. 153), as Basire, in 19, was unknown to the writer of the the Funeral Sermon reprinted in this memoir here reprinted.

b2

vm PREFACE.

on Heb. xi. 4, upon the 29th of April, 1672 ^, together with a brief of the life, dignities, benefactions, principal actions and sufferings, and of the death of the said late Lord Bishop of Durham ; published (upon earnest request) by Isaac Basire, D.D,, chaplain in ordinary to his Majesty, and Arch- deacon of Northumberland.'^ 8vo. Lond. 1673.

Basire had ample opportunities of knowing the truth of what he has here recorded. In 1632 he accompanied Morton, whose chaplain he then was, into the diocese of Durham™; and the intercourse with Cosin which then commenced, was continued from that period almost without interruption. In 1636 he was presented by Morton to the rectory of Egglesclif"; on December 12, 1643, he was collated to the seventh stall in the Cathedral Church of Durham °; and in ]644 he was appointed archdeacon of Northumberland p. In the rebellion which followed, he was driven from his preferments and com- pelled to reside abroad, exposed, like Cosin, to many priva- tions, and, like him, steadfast to the faith of his fathers. When Cosin became bishop of Durham, Basire returned to his arcbdeaconry, in fulfilling the duties of which he was necessarily brought into close and frequent intercourse with his diocesan. These circumstances carrying his recollec- tions back over a space of forty years, stamp much value upon his memoir; but unfortunately, from its discursive style it contains less information than might reasonably have been anticipated.

'Vita reverendissimi et eruditissimi viri Joannis Cosin, episcopi Dunelmensis, scriptore Thoma Smitho, S. Theologiae Doctore et Ecclesise Anglicanse presbytero ; * inserted in Smith's 'Vitse quorumdam eruditissiraorum virorum,' 4to. Lond. 1707.

' See the present volume, p. xxxix, ° Dean Balanquall's Register, i.

" See 'Life and Correspondence of 174, b.

Dr. Basire, by the Rev. Dr. Darnell,' i' Darnell, p. 43; Le Neve's Fasti,

8vo. Lond. 1831, p. 4. p. 355.

■» Darnell, p. 23.

PREFACE. IX

Smith informs usi that although his memoir is founded upon that of Basire, yet he had collected much information from persons'^ who had been acquainted with the Bishop when in Paris, London, and Durham. And as Smith was in communication with his namesake Dr. John Smith and Sir George Wheeler, both prebendaries ® of Durham, from whom he obtained some of the Bishop's manuscripts, it may reasonably be inferred that they would furnish what- ever local information they could collect respecting the object of their correspondent's enquiries. The Life supplies details which are not mentioned by Basire, but it is written in a style which makes it even less inviting than his bio- graphical sketch above mentioned.

"With the exception of the instances pointed out in the note *, the editor is responsible for the marginal references and the annotations which accompany this volume.

1 Praef., p. vi. was appointed prebendary by Cosin ;

' One of these was Evelyn ; see his Hutchinson's Hist, of Durham, ii. 222.

Memoirs, i. 251, &c. ed. 1818, and edit 1823. Smith, p. 5. note. ' P. 87, note.

• Praef., p. vii., viii. Dr. John Smith

THE LIFE

OF

THE EIGHT REVEREND FATHER IN GOD

JOHN COSIN,

ILOKD BISHOP OF DURHAM.

LIFE OF COSIN.

CosTN (John) a learned bishop of Durham in the seven- teenth century, was the eldest son of Giles Cosin, a citizen of Norwich % by Elizabeth his wife, daughter of — Remington, of Remington castle, a good and ancient family''. He was born at Norwich, November 30, 1594, and educated in the [1595.] free school there, till he came to be fourteen years of age. Then he was transplanted into Cains College in Cambridge in 1610, of which he was successively chosen scholar and fellow : and where he regularly took his degrees in arts '^. Having distinguished himself by his learning, diligence, and ingenuity, in the year 1616, when he was about twenty years of age, he had an oflfer, at the same time, both from Dr. Lancelot Andrewes, then bishop of Ely, and from Dr. Overall, bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, of a librarian's place. But by his late tutor's advice, he accepted of the latter^s invitation; who liked him so well, that, on account of his knowledge and fair writing he made him also his secretary '^. At the same time he encouraged him to study divinity, and sent him from time to time to keep his exer- cises in the University*. But, in 1619, he lost his excellent patron, and with him all hopes and prospect of advance- ment ^ However, providence soon raised him a better patron in Dr. Richard Neile, then bishop of Durham, who took him for his domestic chaplain, and in 1624 conferred upon him the tenth prebend in the cathedral church of Durham [A], in which he was installed the 4th of December

• But originally of Foxhearth. He Smitho.' Lend. 1707. 4to. p. 1. was a very rich man, and a person of *■■ Dr. Smith ib., and Dr. Basire, p.

great probity. 36,^43.

*• See ' The dead man's real speech,' •* Smith, p. 1, 2.

a funeral sermon on bishop Cosin, « Basire, ubi supra.

&c., by Isaac Basire, 8vo. Lond. 1673. ' Bishop Overall died May 7, [12,]

p. 38;.. and 'Vita Joannis Cosini epi- 1619, having the year before been trans-

scopi Dunelmensis. Scriptore Thoma lated to Norwich.

XIV LIFE OF COSIN.

that same year s. In September following, he was collated to the archdeaconry of the East Riding in the church of York, vacant by the resignation of Marmaduke Blakeston, whose daughter he had married^. And on the 20th of July 1626, was moreover collated by his patron, Bishop iNeile, to the rich rectory of Branspeth [B], in the diocese of Durham \ The same year, he took the degree of Bachelor in Divinity ^. About that time, having frequent meetings at the bishop of Durham's house in London, with Dr. William Laud, then bishop of Bath and Wells, Dr. Francis White, soon after bishop of Carlisle, Dr. Richard Montague, and other learned men, distinguished by their zeal for the doc- trine and discipline of the Church of England, he began to be obnoxious to the then Puritans, who (so great was their malice or ignorance) looked upon all such divines as popishly affected ^. This imputation of theirs on Mr. Cosin in parti- cular, was sufficiently authorized, as they imagined, by his 'Collection of Private Devotions,' [C] published in 1627, wherein many things were thought too much favourable to popery. But how wrong this imputation was, let his whole conduct testify. In 1628 he was concerned, with other members of the Church of Durham, in a prosecution against Peter Smart, prebendary there, for a seditious sermon preached in that cathedral [D]. About the same time he

[1635.] took his degree of Doctor in Divinity ; and in 1634, Feb- ruary the eighth, was elected Master of Peter -House, in the room of Dr. Matthew Wren, newly made Bishop of Hereford. In that station he strenuously applied himself to promote sound religion and useful learning '". He served the office of Vice-Chancellor for the University of Cambridge

[1639.1 ^^ 1640. And the same year King Charles the First, to

whom he was chaplain, conferred upon him the deanery of

Peterborough, in which he was installed November 7, 1640".

But this dignity he did not long enjoy, or rather he did

not quietly enjoy it at all, since his troubles began three days

K Smith and Basire, ubi supra. See "^ Smith, p. 4.

also Survey of the Cathedrals of York, ' Ibid.

Durham, &c., by Br. Willis, Esq., 4to. " Ibid., p. 8, 9, 10.

Lond. 1727. vol. i. p. 273. " Ibid., p. 9, II, and J. le Neve's

h Willis, ibid., p. 100. Fasti, edit. 1716. p. 24].

' Smith and Basire, as above.

LIFE OF COSIN. XV

after. For on the 10th of November, a petition from Peter Smart, against him, was read in the House of Commons . wherein Smart complained of the Doctor's superstition and innovations in the church of Durham, and of his severe pro- secution in the High-Commission Court". Whereupon, on the 21st of the same month, Dr. Cosin was ordered to be sent for by the serjeant-at-arms, and a committee appointed to prepare a charge against him p. Soon after, he presented a petition to the House, which, on the 28th following, was read, and referred to a committee i. On the 3rd of December, the Serjeant had leave given him by the Commons, to take bail for Dr. Cosin ; which was accordingly done, the 19th of January, 1640-41 ; the Doctor himself being bound in two thousand pounds, and his securities in a thousand pounds apiece, for his appearance upon summons •". Three days after, namely, January the 22nd, he was by a vote of the whole House, sequestered from his ecclesiastical benefices, being the first clergyman that was then used in that manner ^ On the 15th of March ensuing, the Commons sent up one -and -twenty articles of impeachment against him [E] to the House of Lords ' ; to which the Doctor put in his answer upon oath; and so fully vindicated himself* during the five days the affair was depending before the Lords, that most of them acknowledged his innocence ; and Mr. Glover, one of Smart^s own counsel, told him openly at the bar of the House of Lords, * that he was ashamed of him, and could not in conscience plead for him any longer.' Whereupon the Lords dismissed the Doctor, upon his put- ting in bail for his appearance; but they never sent for him again ^.

About the same time, upon a motion being made in the House of Commons, * that he had enticed a young scholar

° Rushworth's Historical Collect, Lond. 1714. P. ii. p. 58.

P. iii. vol. i. edit. 1721. p. 41, 53; ' Rushworth, ubi supra, p. 188;

and Dr. Nalson, &c., edit. 1682. vol. i, and Nalson, vol. i. p. 789, 790.

p. 518. " Both by his own self, and by the

P Nalson, ibid., p. 538. very witness that Smart and his son-

1 Ibid., p. 569. in-law produced against him. Examen

' Ibid., p. 651. Historicum, p.286.

* Attempt towards recovering an " Walker, ubi supra, p. 59 ; and

Account of the numbers and sufferin^rs Smith, p. 10, 11; and Heylyn's Ex-

of the Clergy, &c., by J. Walker, fol. amen Historicum, p. 286,

XVI LIFE OF COSIN.

to popery/ he was committed to the serjeant-at-arms, to attend daily till the House should call him to a hearing. After fifty days' imprisonment, and charges of twenty shil- lings a-day, he came at length to a hearing ; when he made it appear, that being Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge, he had most severely punished that young scholar, (whom, upon examination he had found guilty), by making him recant, and expelling him the University. And to this some of the members bore witness. However, the Doctor had no manner of reparation made him for his great trouble and expenses; which gives but a disadvantageous idea of the justice and honesty of that House''.

In 1642 he was concerned, with others, in sending the plate of Cambridge University to King Charles the First, then at York ; for which a furious storm fell upon several members of that university, and particularly upon Dr. Cosin ; who having some time before ^ been voted unworthy to be a Head or Governor in either of the Universities, or to hold or enjoy any ecclesiastical promotion, was ejected from his Mastership by a warrant from the Earl of Manchester, dated March 13th, 1642-3. So that, as he was the first that was sequestered, so was he also the very first of his University, who was turned out y.

Thus being deprived of all his preferments, and still fear- ing the worst that might follow, he thought fit to leave the kingdom, and to withdraw to Paris, in the year 1643. Being safely arrived to that place, he did, according to King Charles's order and direction, take under his care, and officiate as chaplain to, such of Queen Henrietta Maria's household as were protestants. With them, and other Eng- lish exiles that were daily resorting to Paris, he formed a congregation, that assembled at first in a private house and afterwards in the chapel of Sir Richard Brown, ambassador from the court of England to that of France. Not long after, he had lodgings assigned him in the Louvre, with a small pension, on account of the relation he bore to Queen Henrietta *.

"^ Persecutio undecima, p. 23 ; Nal- above, p. 734. son, as above, p. 568. ^ Walker, ubi supra, p. 152.

* January 22, 1640-41 ; Nalson, as '■ Smith, p. 12, 13, 14.

LIFE OF COSIN. XVll

During his residence in this place, he shewed how false and groundless was the imputation that had been thrown upon him ' of his being popishly affected ;' for notwithstand- ing his great straits, he remained steady and unmoved in the profession of the protestant religion. He kept up the English Church-discipline, and the form of worship appointed by the Common Prayer j he reclaimed some that were quite gone over to popery, and confirmed several more in the protestant profession, who, by their converse with Romanists, were become wavering, and inclinable to entertain favour- able opinions of the popish tenets*. He also had several controversies and disputes with divers Jesuits and Romish priests ; particularly once with the Prior of the English Benedictines at Paris [F], in which he acquitted himself with so much learning and sound reasoning, that he utterly defeated the suspicions of his enemies, and much exceeded the very expectations of his friends ^. There were made him very great offers of preferment [G], if he would have been tempted thereby to alter his religion ; but he stood proof against them all*'. He composed, during his exile, several learned works, chiefly against the Roman Catholics ; of which we shall give an account below.

Though he was extremely zealous for the doctrine and discipline of the Church of England, yet he kept a friendly intercourse and correspondence with the protestant minis- ters at Charenton [II] ; who, on their parts, expressed the utmost regard for him, and permitted him sometimes to officiate in their congregations [I] according to the rites prescribed by the Book of Common Prayer^.

Thus having, during his seventeen years' exile in France, behaved ' discreetly and prudently,' even in the judgment of his enemies ^, he returned to his native country at the Re- storation of King Charles the Second, and took possession again of his preferments and dignities. About the end of July 1660, he came to his deanery at Peterborough, and

* See Examen Historicum, ut supra, «■ See D. Neal's History of the Puri-

p. 293. tans, vol. ii; edit. 1733. p. 388. Mr.

*" Fuller, Ch. Hist., B. xi, p. 173. Neal adds tliat the Doctor was ' soft-

= Walker, ubi supra, p. 60. ened in his principles by age and suf-

^ Smith, ubi supra, p. 19, 20 ; Ex- ferings.' amen Historicum, p. 291, 292.

XVlll LIFE OF C08TN.

was the first that read the Common Prayer, in that cathe- dral, after the late times of confusion f. But here he was not suffered to rest ; for the king designed, a very little while after, to make him dean of Durham, but reflecting on his sufferings and upon his constant attendance and services beyond the seas, he nominated him bishop of that rich see ^. Accordingly, he was consecrated on the 2nd of December, 1660, in Westminster Abbey*'. As soon as he could go down into his diocese, he set about reforming many abuses that had crept in there during the late anarchy ; and by his generous and hospitable temper, accompanied with a kind and courteous deportment, he gained an universal respect and esteem ^ But he chiefly distinguished himself by his very great munificence and charity, and by a public spirit. For, considering himself principally as steward of the large revenues belonging to his see, he laid out a great share of them in repairing or rebuilding the several edifices belong- ing to the bishopric of Durham, which had either been de- molished or neglected during the civil wars. For instance, he repaired the castle at Bishop's Auckland, [K] and that at Durham, which he enlarged with some additional build- ings, and repaired the bishop's house at Darlington, then very ruinous. He also enriched his new chapel at Auck- land, and that in the castle of Durham, with several pieces of gilt plate, books, and other costly ornaments, to remain to his successors in the bishopric for ever ; the charge of all which buildings, repairs, ornaments, &c. amounted to no less than twenty-six thousand pounds'^. He likewise built and endowed two hospitals ; the one at Durham for eight poor people, the other at Auckland for four ; the annual revenue of the first being seventy pounds, and of the other thirty pounds ; and near his hospital at Durham, rebuilt the school- houses, to the charge of three hundred pounds. He also built a library near the castle of Durham, the charge

' See Mr. Sim. Gunton's Hist, of ' Smith, p. 21, 22, 23. In 1661, he

Peterburgh, Supplem., p. 339. was one of the commissioners at the

« Basire, p. 49. Savoy conference, where he yielded to

•■ Register and Chronicle Ecclesias- some moderating concessions. See Life

tical and Civil, &c. by Bishop Kennet, of R. Baxter, fol. 1. i. part ii. p. 305.

edit. 1728. fol. p. 323. Dr. Sancroft '' Dr. Smith says, it was only near

preached the consecration sermon ; vid. sixteen tliousand pounds. Vita, ut

Smith, p. 21. supra, p. 24, 25.

LIFE OF COSIN. XIX

whereof, and pictures wherewith he adorned it, amounted to eight hundred pounds, and gave books thereto, to the value of two thousand pounds ; as also an annual pension of twenty- marks for ever to a library keeper. The college of dissolved prebends at Auckland, purchased by Sir Arthur Haselrigg, and by him forfeited to the king, which King Charles the Second gave to Bishop Cosin in fee, he gave to his suc- cessors, bishops of Durham, for ever ; the value thereof being three hundred and twenty pounds. He rebuilt the east end of the chapel at Peter-House, in Cambridge, which cost three hundred and twenty pounds ; and gave in books to the library of that college, a thousand pounds. He founded eight scholarships in the same University; namely, five in Peter-House, of ten pounds a-year each ; and three in Gonvill and Caius college, of twenty nobles apiece per annum ; both which, together with a provision of eight pounds yearly to the common chest of these two colleges respectively, amounted to two thousand five hundred pounds. He like- wise made an augmentation of sixteen pounds a-year to the vicarage of St, Andrews, at Auckland ^ The rest of his numerous benefactions we shall give an account of in the note [L], In a word, this generous bishop, during the eleven years he sat in the see of Durham, is said to have spent above two thousand pounds a-year, in pious and cha- ritable uses "".

The two last years of his life he enjoyed but a very in- different state of health, being very much afflicted with the stone. At length the ' roaring pains ' of thg,t distemper, as he used to call them, together with a pectoral dropsy, put an end to his most valuable life", at his house in Pall Mall, Westminster, on the fifteenth of January, 1671-2, when he was seventy-seven years, one month, and sixteen days old ". In his will, dated December the 11th, 1671, he made a large and open declaration of his faith [M].

About the year 1625, he married Frances, daughter of [13 Aug, Marraaduke Blakeston, M.A. p, by whom he had a son,

' Smith, ubi supra, p. 25. p Archdeacon of the East Riding

"* Basire, ubi supra, p. 79, 80. and prebendary of York and Durham,

" Ibid., p. 86, 87. &c. See Willis, ubi supra, p. 100,

" Smith, ubi supra, p. 27, 28. 180, 209; and Basire as above.

XX LIFE OF COSIN.

whom he disinherited on account of his embracing po-

Mary] pery [N] ; and four daughters, one married to Sir Gilbert

bethT Grerard, Bart., another to Sir [Thomas] Burton, Bart., and

the youngest to Dr. Denys Granville, brother to the earl of

Bath, and afterwards dean of Durham^.

As for the Bishop's body, it was for some time deposited in a vault in London; and in April, 1672, conveyed to Bishop's Auckland, in the diocese of Durham ; where, on the twenty-ninth of that month, it was buried in the chapel be- longing to the palace, under a tomb of black marble, with an inscription [O] prepared by the Bishop in his lifetime ^ We shall give an account of his works in the note [P], As to his personal qualifications, the Bishop was tall and erect, and had a grave and comely presence. He had a sound understanding, well improved with all kinds of useful learn- ing. And, as for his hospitality, generosity, and charity, they were so very conspicuous and extensive, that he is justly reckoned to have been one of the most munificent, if not the most munificent, of all the bishops of Durham ^ Among many other services he did to his see, one was the obtaining a release (in compensation of the loss that see suffered by taking away the court of Wards and Liveries) of the annuity or pension of one thousand pounds*, charged upon that bishopric ever since Queen Elizabeth's days".

1 Smith, p. 26, and from private Smith, ibid,

information. « See Basire, p. 37, 103.

•■ Smith, p. 28 ; Willis, ubi supra, ' Or, eight hundred and fourscore

p. 251. pounds. Basire, p. 56.

The burial service was read by " See Willis, ubi supra, p. 228, 811. Guy Carlton, bishop of Bristol and This thousand pounds was for keep- prebendary of Durham ; and Dr. Isaac ing a garrison at Berwick against the Basire preached the funeral sermon. Scots.

APPENDIX.

[A] And in 1624, conferred upon him the tenth prebend in the cathedral church of Durham.'] All the while he enjoyed it, which was about six-and- thirty years, he was very constant in his resi- dences, both ordinary and extraordinary, during which he kept a laudable hospitality, according to the statutes of that Church. So that Dr. Basire testifies ' that upon search of the register of that cathedral, he could not find one dispensation for him in all the time he continued prebendary.

[B] Was moreover collated by his patron. Bishop NeiU, to the rich rectory of Branspeth.'] The parochial church of which he beautified in an extraordinary manner ''.

[C] His Collection of Private Devotions.'] The title of it was, * A Collection of Private Devotions ; or, The Hours of Prayer.' Dr. Smith informs us ' that it was written at the command of King Charles the First, who observing that his queen's protestant at- tendants were frequently reading in ' The Hours of the Virgin Mary,' and other popish books of devotion, that were set, perhaps on purpose, about the royal apartments, lest they should thereby be tainted with superstition and other false principles, he ordered a manual of prayers to be composed for their use, out of the Holy Scriptures, and the ancient liturgies ; which was accordingly done by Mr. Cosin. Others affirm ^, that it was written at the request of the countess of Denbigh, the duke of Buckingham's sister. This lady being then somewhat unsettled in her religion, and warping towards popery, these Devotions were drawn up to recommend the Church of England farther to her esteem, and to preserve her in that communion. This book, although furnished with a great deal of good matter, was not altogether acceptable in the contexture ; although the title-page sets forth that it was formed upon the model of a book of private prayers, authorized by Queen Elizabeth in the year 1560^. To give the reader some part of it; after the Calendar, it begins with the Apostles' Creed in twelve articles, the Lord's Prayer in seven petitions, the Ten Commandments, with

» Ubi supra, p. 44, 45. « Ubi supra, p. 5, 6.

^ See the Hist, of the Cathedral <■ Collier, Eccl. Hist, vol. ii. p. 742.

Church of Durham, by Sir William * Horarium Regia Authoritate Edi-

Dugdale, p. 81, at the end of his Hist. turn, ann. 1560; and reprinted in 1573,

of St. Paul's, second edit. 1716, fol. cum privilegio, by "Will. Seers.

XXll APPENDIX.

the duties enjoined, and the sins forbidden. Then follow the precepts of charity, the seven sacraments, the three theological virtues, the three kinds of good works, the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost, the twelve fruits of the Holy Ghost, the spiritual and corporal works of mercy, the eight beatitudes, the seven deadly sins, their opposite virtues, and the four last things. And, after some explanatory prefaces and introductions, were subjoined the forms of prayer for the first, third, sixth, and ninth hours, and like- wise for the Vespers and Compline, formerly called the Canonical Hours. Next to these was the litany, the seven penitential psalms, prayers preparatory for receiving the Holy Eucharist, prayers to be used in time of sickness, and at the approach of death, &c.

Though this book was approved by George Mountain, Bishop of London, and licensed with his own hand, yet it was somewhat sur- prising at first view, and some moderate persons were shocked with it, as drawing too near the superstitions of the Church of Home ; at least they suspected it as a preparation to further advances. The top of the frontispiece had the name of Jesus, in three capital letters, I. H. S. Upon these was a cross, encircled with the sun, supported by two Angels, with two devout women praying towards it.

This book was severely animadverted upon by Henry Burton, in his ' Examination of Private Devotions : or the Hours of Prayer ^, &c. ;' and by W. Prynne, in his ' Brief Survey and Censure of Mr. Cozen's cozenizing Devotions s.'

[D] In 1628 he was concerned, with other members of the Church of Durham, in a prosecution against Peter Smart, ^c] This Peter Smart, who had been schoolmaster at Durham, was collated Dec. 30, 1609, to the sixth prebend in the church of Durham, and removed July 6, 1614, to the fourth prebend^. He had also other preferments. Being to preach, July 7, 1628i, in the cathedral church of Durham, he took for his text Psalm xxxi. 7, ' I hate them that hold of super- stitious vanities.' From which he took occasion to make a most bitter invective against some of the bishops, charging them with no less than popery and idolatry. Among other virulent expressions he had these — p. 11:' The Whore of Babylon's bastardly brood doting upon their mother's beauty, that painted harlot of the Church of Kome, have laboured to restore her all her robes and jewels again ; especially her looking-glass, the mass, in which she may behold her bravery' — 'The mass coming in, brings with it an inundation of ceremonies, crosses and crucifixes, chalices and

f Lond. 1628, 4to. ' Dr. Nalson says, by mistake, it

s Ibid, 1628. was 1638, p. 518. But he was sus-

^ Willis, as above, p. 266, 268. pended for his sermon in 1631.

APPENDIX. XXUl

images, copes and candlesticks, tapers and basons, and a thousand such trinkets ; which we have seen in 'this Church, since the com- munion-table was turned into an altar,' — p. 26, *I assure you the altar is an idol, a damnable idol as it is used. I say, they are whores and whoremongers, they committed spiritual fornication, who bow their bodies before that idol, the altar — &c.'

Tor this sermon he was questioned, first at Durham, afterwards in the High-Commissioned-Court at London ; whence he was re- moved, at his own desire, to that at York, where refusing, with great scorn, to recant, he was, for his obstinacy, degraded, and by sentence at Common Law, soon after dispossessed of his pre- bend and livings ; whereupon he was supplied with 400/. a year by subscription from the puritan party'', which was more than all his preferments amounted to.

As for Dr. Cosin, he was so far from being Mr. Smart's chief prosecutor, as he avers, that after he was questioned in the High Commission at Durham, he never meddled in the matter, save that once he wrote a letter to the archbishop of York, and the com- missioners, in his favour i.

Mr. Smart's character is not represented to any great advantage. One author indeed ™ calls him a man * of a grave aspect, and re- verend presence.' But another, who knew him better", assures us, ' that he was an old man, of most froward, fierce, and uu- peaceable spirit, &c.' He had not preached in the cathedral church of Durham, though prebendary of it, for seven years, till he preached that seditious sermon for which he was questioned. And whilst he held and enjoyed his preferment,, and his health too, he seldom preached more than once or twice a year.

[E] The Commons sent up one-and-twenty articles of impeachment against him.'^ They were carried up by one Mr. Eouse, who intro- duced them with the following speech. ' My Lords, I am com- manded by the House of Commons, to present yoiir Lordships a declaration and impeachment against Dr. Cosins, and others, upon the complaint of Mr. Peter Smart ; which Mr. Smart was a proto-martyr, or first confessor of note in the late days of per- secution. The whole matter is a tree, whereof the branches and fruit are manifest in the articles of this declaration.' Then follow these articles against Dr. Cosin.

1 . That he was the first man that caused the Communion-table

•i Out of the peculiar contributions Historicum, p. 258, &c. Compare it

at London and elsewliere, gathered up with that in Fuller's Ch. Hist., B. X.

for silenced ministers. p. 173.

' This is Dr. Cosin's own account, "" Fuller, ibid,

as published in Dr. Heylyn's Examen " Dr. Cosin, ubi supra.

c2

XXIV APPENDIX.

in the church of Durham to be removed and set altar-ways, in the erecting and beautifying whereof, he (being then treasurer) expended two hundred pounds °.

2. That he used to officiate at the west side thereof, turning his back to the people,

3. That he used extraordinary bowing to it.

4. That he compelled others to do it, using violence to the per- sons of them that refused so to do ; for instance, once some omitting it, he comes out of his seat, down to the seat where they sat, being gentlewomen, called them whores and jades, and pagans, and the like unseemly words, and rent some of their clothes.

5. That he converted divers prayers in the Book of Common Prayers, into hymns, to be sung in the choir, and played with the organ, contrary to the ancient custom of that Church.

6. That whereas it had been formerly a custom in that Church, at the end of every sermon, to sing a psalm ; this custom, when Dr. Cosin came thither, was abrogated, and instead thereof, they sung an anthem in the choir, there being no psalm sung either at the minister's going up into the pulpit, or at his coming down.

7. That the first Candlemas-day at night, that he had been in that Church, he caused three hundred wax candles to be set up and lighted in the church at once, in honour of Our Lady, and placed threescore of them upon and about the Altar.

8. That in this church there were reliques of divers images, above which were remaining the ruins of two seraphims, with the picture of Christ between them, erected in Queen Mary's time, in the time of popery ; all which, when Queen Elizabeth came to the crown, were demolished by virtue of a commission by her to that intent granted, which so continued demolished from that time, till Dr. Cosin came to that Church, who, being treasurer, caused the same to be repaired, and most gloriously painted.

9. That all the time he was unmarried, he wore a cope of white satin, never officiating in any other, it being reserved solely for him, no man excepting himself making use thereof, which after marriage he cast off, and never after wore.

10. That there was a knife belonging to the church, kept alto- gether in the vestry, being put to none but holy uses, as cutting the bread in the Sacrament and the like ; Dr. Cosin refusing to cut the same with any other but that, thinking all others that were unconsecrated, polluted, but that, which he putting holiness in, never termed but the consecrated knife.

° Mr. Fuller says, that it was a cost 2,000^., with all the appurtenances marble altar with cherubims, which thereof. See Fuller, ubi supra, p. 173.

APPENDIX. XXV

11. That in a sermon preached in that church, he did deliver certain words in disgrace of the reformers of our Church ; for instance, the words were these : * The reformers of this Church, when they abohshed the mass, took away all good order, and, instead of a reformation, made it a deformation p.'

12. That he seldom or never, in any of his sermons, styled the ministers of the Word and Sacraments by any other name than priests, nor the Communion-table by any other name than Altar.

13. That by his appointment there was a cope bought, the seller being a convicted Jesuit, and afterwards employed in that church, having upon it the picture of the invisible and incomprehensible Trinity.

14. That whereas it had been formerly a custom in that Church, at five of the clock to have morning prayers read, winter and summer; this custom, when Dr. Cosin came thither, was aban- doned ; and instead thereof was used singing and playing on the organs, and some few prayers read, and this was called first-ser- vice j which being ended, the people departed out of the church, returning at nine o'clock, and having then morning prayers read unto them, and this was called second - service ; which innova- tion being misliked, and complained of by Mr. Justice Hutton, was reformed.

15. That he framed a superstitious ceremony, in lighting the tapers which were placed on the Altars, which, for instance, was this ; a company of boys that belonged to the church, came in at the choir door with torches in their hands lighted, bowing towards the Altar at their first entrance, bowing thrice before they lighted their tapers ; having done, they withdrew themselves, bowing so oft as before, not once turning their back parts towards the Altar, the organs all the time going.

16. That he counselled some young students of the University to be imitators and practisers of his superstitious ceremonies, who, to ingratiate themselves in his favour, did accordingly ; and being afterwards reproved for the same, by some of their friends, con- fessed that Dr. Cosin first induced them to that practice, and en- couraged them therein.

17. That he used, upon Communion days, to make the sign of the Cross with his finger, both upon the seats whereon they were to sit, and the cushions to kneel upon, using some words when he so did.

P Dr. Nalson informs us that the ' religion.' Which he made out by

Doctor's words were, ' That we must producing his sermon. Nalson, ubi

' not think that when the Bishops took supra, p. 792. • away the mass, they took away

XXVI APPENDIX.

18. That one sabbatb-day there was set up an unnecessary com- pany of tapers and lights in the church, which Dr. Hunt, being then dean, fearing they might give offence, being they were then unnecessary, sent his man to pull them down, who did so ; but Dr. Cosin being thereat aggrieved, came to the fellow, and there miscalled him in a most uncivil manner, and began to beat him in the public view of the congregation, to the great disturbance of the same.

19. That the dean and chapter of that Church, whereof Dr. Cosin was one, with many others, being invited to dinner in the town of Durham, Dr. Cosin then and there spake words derogating from the king's prerogative : the words were these ; ' The king hath no more power over the Church than the boy that rubs my horse heels.'

20. That there being many of the canons of the said Church present at that time, amongst the rest there was one took more notice of his words than the rest, and acquainted one of his fellow- canons with them when he came home. This canon being a friend to Dr. Cosin, told the Doctor that such a man exclaimed of him, and charged him with words that he should speak at such a time ; the Doctor presently sends for him, and when he came into the house, the Doctor desires him to follow him into an inner room, who did so ; but so soon as he came in, the Doctor shuts the door, and sets both his hands upon him, calling him rogue and rascal, and many other names, insomuch that the man fearing he would do him a mischief, cried out ; Mrs. Cosin coming in, endeavoured to appease her husband, and, holding his hands, the other ran away.

21. That the Doctor did seek many unjust ways to ensnare this man, that so he might take a just occasion to put him out of his place ; but none of them taking effect, he put him out by violence, having no other reason why he did so, but because he had no good voice, when he had served the place two years before Dr. Cosin came thither ; for instance of which unjust ways to ensnare this man Dr. Cosin hired a man and woman to pretend a desire of matrimony, and to offer a sum of money to this petty canon to contract matrimony between them in a private chamber, so there- upon to take advantage of his revenge upon him. This plot being confessed by the parties, to be first laid by Dr. Cosin, and that they were his instruments i.

Besides the several particulars mentioned in these articles, Mr. Fuller informs us that Dr. Cosin was accused of having bought

1 Nalson, ubi supra, p. 789, 790; Proceedings of Parliament in 1640> and the Diurnall Occurrences or Daily and 1641, Lond. 1641. 4to. p. 52, &c.

APPKNDIX. XXVll

a cope with the Trinity, and God the Father in the figure of an old man ; another with a crucifix, and the image of Christ, with a red beard and a blue cap. And to have made an anthem to be sung, of the Three Kings of CoUen, by the names of Gasper, Balthazar, and Melchior '.

To these articles Dr. Cosin put in his answer, upon oath, before the House of Lords, as is above related. But seeing afterwards the substance of them published in Mr. Fuller's Ecclesiastical History', he wrote from Paris a letter to Mr. Warren, and Dr. Reves, in his own vindication, dated April 6, 1658, wherein he declares, as he had done before the Lords,

1. That the Communion-table in the church of Durham (which in the bill of complaint and Mr. Fuller's History, is said to be the marble Altar, with cherubims), was not set up by him (Dr. Cosin), but by the dean and chapter, (whereof Mr. Smart himself was one,) many years before Mr. Cosin became prebendary of that church, or ever saw the country.

2. That by the public accounts which are there registered, it did not appear to have cost above the tenth part of what is pretended, appurtenances and all *.

3. That likewise the copes used in that church were brought in thither long before his (Dr. Cosin's) time, and when Mr. Smart, the complainant, was prebendary there, who also allowed his part (as be (Dr. Cosin) was ready to prove by the Act Book) of the money that they cost, for they cost but little.

4. That as he never approved the picture of the Trinity, or the image of God the Father in the figure of an old man, or otherwise, to be made or placed any where at all ; so he was well assured that there was none such (nor to his knowledge or hearsay ever had . been) put upon any cope that was used there. One there was that had the story of the Passion embroidered upon it, but the cope that he used to wear, when at any time he attended the Communion-Service, was of plain white satin only, without any embroidery upon it at all.

5. That what the bill of complaint called the image of Christ, with a blue cap, and a golden beard, (Mr. Fuller's History says it was red, and that it was set upon one of the copes,) was nothing else but the top of Bishop Hatfield's tomb, (set up in the church, under a side-arch there, two hundred years before Dr. Cosin was born,) being a little portraiture, not appearing to be above ten

' Fuller, Cli. Hist., ubi supra. mentioned in the original articles was

» B. XI. p. 173. 2000/., though in the printed ones

' By this it seems, that the sum there is only 200/. See above, note o.

XXVlll APPENDIX.

inches long, and hardly discernible to the eye what figure it is, for it stands thirty foot from the ground.

6. That by the local statutes of that church, (whereunto Mr. Smart was sworn, as well as Dr. Cosin,) the treasurer was to give order, that provision should every year be made of a sufficient number of wax lights for the service of the choir, during all the winter time : which statute he (Dr. Cosin) observed when he was chosen into that office, and had order from the dean and chapter, by capitular act, to do it ; yet upon the Communion-table they that used to light the candles, never set more than two fair candles, with a few small sizes near to them, which they put there of purpose, that the people all about might have the better use of them for singing the psalms, and reading the lessons out of the Bibles ; but two hundred was a greater number than they used all the church over, either upon Candlemas night or any other.

7. That he never forbad (nor any body else that he knew) the singing of the (metre) psalms in the church, which he used to sing daily there himself, with other company, at morning prayer. But upon Sundays and holydays, in the choir, before the sermon, the Creed was sung, (and that plainly for every one to understand,) as it is appointed in the Communion-book ; and after the sermon, was sung a part of a psalm, or some other anthem taken out of the Scrip- ture, and first signified to the people where they might find it.

8. That so far was he from making any anthem to be sung of the Three Kings of Colen, as that he made it, when he first saw it, to be torn in pieces, and he himself cut it out of the old song- books belonging to the choristers' school, with a pen-knife that lay by, at his very first coming to that college. But he was sure that no such anthem had been sung in the choir during all his time of attendance there, nor (for aught that any of the eldest persons of the church and town could tell, or ever heard to the contrary), for fifty or threescore years before, or more.

9. That there was indeed an ordinary knife, provided and laid ready among other things belonging to the administration of the Communion, for the cutting of the bread, and divers other uses in the church-vestry. But that it was ever consecrated, or so called, otherwise than as Mr. Smart, and some of his followers had, for their pleasure, put that appellation upon it, he (Dr. Cosin) never heard, nor believed any body else had, that lived at Durham ".

The rest of the articles mentioned above, Mr. Smart could not

" This Letter is printed in Dr. Hey- wards asked Dr. Cosin's pardon for lyn's Examen Historicum, &c. Ap- what he had said as above, relating to pendix, p. 283, &c. Dr. Fuller after- him. See Worthies, in Durham, p. 295.

APPENDIX. XXIX

prove, and Dr. Cosin gave a very satisfactory answer to them, remaining upon the rolls of Parliament. But as Mr. Fuller did not specify them all, the Doctor did not think it necessary to repeat in this letter his answer to each of them.

Upon the whole, therefore, as we cannot, on the one hand, enough wonder at the weakness of Dr. Cosin, for inventing and pressing the observance of such ceremonies and insignificant things, as some of those above mentioned ; so, on the other hand, who can be sufficiently amazed at the confidence of P. Smart, in charging the Doctor with things which he could so easily disprove. And what must be thought or said of that House of Commons which would encourage and receive such kinds of accusations.

[F] Particularhj once with the Prior of the English Benedictines at Paris.'] The Prior's name was — Bobinson. And the controversy between him and Dr. Cosin was managed both by word and writing. The argument was, concerning the validity of the ordination of our priests, &c., in the Church of England. And the Doctor had the better so far, that he could never get from the Prior any reply to his last answer.

This conference was undertaken to fix a person of honour then wavering about that point. The sum of the conference was written by Dr. Cosin to Dr. Morley, afterwards Bishop of Winchester, in two letters, bearing date June 11 and July 11, 1645*.

[G] There were made him very great offers of preferment.'] One author speaks upon this point to the following purpose y : * Dr. Cosin being by the violence of the persecution which was raised against the episcopal party, forced to quit his native country, and seek a retreat amongst the papists in France ; he continued a most un- shaken protestant, and bold propagator of the Reformed religion, even to the hazard of his life ; and when the necessitous condition to which he was reduced, and all the advantageous ofiers imaginable were made him to embrace the Roman communion, yet were not those temptations capable of removing him from his foundation, insomuch, that despairing of ever obliging him to change his reli- gion, the papists were so enraged at him, as I have heard it from his own mouth, frequently to threaten him with assassination, and that he should not escape pistol or poignard: and in revenge, which I have heard him aver was the most sensible affliction that ever befel him in his whole life, they inveigled his only son from him to become a papist ^.'

* Basire, ubi supra, p. 59, 60. ing in a Jesuit's school, as were many y Nalson, as above, p. 519. others of our youths during the civil

* Hewas educated in grammar learn- war, which corrupted him. Smith, p. 13.

XXX APPENDIX.

"We may add this other testimony of Doctor Cosin's attachment to the Reformed religion. * Whilst he remained in Prance, he was the Atlas of the protestant religion, supporting the same with his piety and learning, confirming the wavering therein, yea, daily adding proselytes (not of the meanest rank) thereunto *.'

[H] Se hept a friendly intercourse and correspondence with the protestant ministers at CharentonJ] One author indeed tells US'", ' that after getting over into Trance, he neither joined with the church of French protestants at Charenton, nigh Paris, nor with the papists, — but confined himself to the Church of old English protestants therein.' But Dr. Cosin, in opposition to the former part of that assertion, declared to all the world, that he never refused to join with the protestants there, or any where else, in all things wherein they joined with the Church of England '. And that he was con- stant in the same opinion, appears by a letter of his, dated from Paris, Feb. 7, 1650, to one Mr. Cordel, then at Blois, who seemed shy to communicate with the protestants there, upon the scruple of their inorderly ordination, in which letter he has this pas- sage : — ' To speak my mind freely to you, I would not wish any of ours absolutely to refuse communicating in their church, or de- termine it to be unlawful, for fear of a greater scandal that may thereupon arise, than we can tell how to answer or excuse "*.'

[I] And permitted him sometimes to officiate in their congregations. 1 Where he baptized, married, and had even some persons ordained priests and deacons by English bishops, according to the several forms in the Book of Common Prayer. With their consent like- wise, he did, in the year 1645, ' solemnly, in his priestly habit, with his surplice, and with the office of burial used in the Church of England, inter, at Charenton, the body of Sir William Carnaby, Knt., not without the troublesome contradiction and contention of the Romish curate of that parish ^.'

[K] He repaired the castle of Bishop^ s AucTcland.'] This (the chief country seat of the bishops of Durham), was, upon the seizure of the Bishop's land, bestowed upon Sir Arthur Haselrigg ; who de- signing to make it his principal seat, and not liking the old-fash- ioned building, resolved to erect a new and beautiful fabric, all of one pile, according to the most elegant fashion of those times. To fit himself therefore with materials for this his new house, he pulled down a most magnificent and large chapel, built by Anthony

» Fuller's Worthies, in Durham, ^ See Basire, p. 58, 59. and note

p. 295. [P] No. 2.

•> Fuller, ubi supra. « Basire, p. 58, and Smith, p. 19.

<= In his letter, inserted in Heylyn's See particularly Examen Historicum,

Examen Historicum, p. 283, &c. p. 291, 292.

APPENDIX. XXXI

Bek, bishop of Durham, in the time of King Edward the First; with the stone whereof, and an addition of what was deficient, he erected his new fabric in a large court, on the east side of the castle. But Bishop Cosin, soon after his consecration, taking notice that the greatest part of the materials, used in that build- ing, were taken from the above-mentioned consecrated chapel, he not only refused to make use of it for his habitation, though it was commodiously contrived, and nobly built, but took it wholly down, and with the stone thereof built another beautiful chapel on the north side of that great court ; and, under the middle aisle thereof, caused a convenient vault to be made for his own sepulture '.

[LJ The rest of his numerotis benefactions, ^-c."] They were as follows : — He gave to the cathedral at Durham a fair carved lec- tern, and litany-desk, with a large scolloped silver paten, gilt, for the use of the communicants there, which cost forty-five pounds.

Upon the new building of the Bishop's Court, Exchequer, and Chancery, and towards the erecting of two Sessions-houses at Dur- ham, he gave a thousand pounds.

Moreover, he gave towards the redemption of Christian captives at Algiers, five hundred pounds.

Towards the relief of the distressed loyal party in England, eight hundred pounds.

For repairing the banks in Howdenshire, a hundred marks.

Towards the repair of St. Paul's cathedral, in London, fifty pounds.

By his will he bequeathed to the poor of his hospitals at Durham and Auckland, to be distributed at his funeral, six pounds.

To the poor people of the country, coming to his funeral, twenty pounds.

To poor prisoners detained for debt, in the gaols of Durham, York, Peterborough, Cambridge, and Norwich, fifty pounds.

To the poor people within the precincts of the cathedral at Nor- wich, and within the parish of St. Andrew's there, in which he was born, and educated in his minority, twenty pounds.

To the poor of Durham, Auckland, Darlington, Stockton, Gates- head, and Branspeth, (all in the bishopric of Durham,) thirty pounds.

To the poor in the parishes of Chester-in- the- Street, Hough ton- le-spring, North-Allerton, Creike, and Howden, (all lordships be- longing to the bishops of Durham,) forty pounds.

Towards the re-building of St. Paul's cathedral, in London, when it should be raised five yards from the ground, a hundred pounds.

To the cathedral of Norwich, whereof the one half to be bestowed on a marble tablet, with an inscription, in memory of Dr. John Overall, some-time bishop there, (whose chaplain he had been,)

' Dugdale, ubi supra, p. 82,

XXXll APPENDIX.

the rest for providing some useful ornaments for the Altar, forty pounds.

Towards the re-edifying of the north and south sides of the col" lege chapel at Peterhouse, in Cambridge, suitable to the east and west ends, already by him perfected, two hundred pounds.

Towards the new building of a chapel at Emanuel college, in Cambridge, fifty pounds.

To the children of Mr. John Heyward, late prebendary of Litch- field, as a testimony of his gratitude to their deceased father, who, in his Lordship's younger years, placed him with his uncle, Bishop Overall, twenty pounds apiece.

To the dean and chapter of Peterborough, to be employed for the use of the poor in that town, a hundred pounds.

To the poor of Durham, Branspeth, and Bishop's Auckland, to be distributed as his two daughters (the Lady Gerard, and the Lady Burton) should think best, a hundred pounds.

To some of his domestic servants he gave a hundred marks ; to some fifty pounds ; and to the rest half a year's wages, over and above their last quarter's pay s.

[M] In his will he made a large and open declaration of his faith.'] Wherein, after repeating the substance of the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds, he condemns and rejects whatsoever heresies or schisms, the ancient Catholic and Universal Church of Christ, with an unanimous consent, had rejected and condemned; together with all the modem fautors of the same heresies ; sectaries and fanatics, who, being carried on with an evil spirit, do falsely give out, they are inspired of God. As the Anabaptists, New Independents, and Presbyterians of our country, a kind of men hurried away with the spirit of malice, disobedience, and sedition.

' Moreover, (adds he,) I do profess with holy asseveration, and from my very heart, that I am now, and ever have been from my youth, altogether free and averse from the corruptions and impertinent new- fangled, or papistical, superstitions and doctrines, — long since intro- duced, contrary to the holy Scriptures, and the rules and customs of the ancient Fathers. But in what part of the world soever any Churches are extant, bearing the name of Christ, and professing the true Catholic faith and religion, worshipping and calling upon God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, with one heart and voice, if I be now hindered actually to join with them, either by distance of countries, or variance amongst men, or by any hindrance whatso- ever ; yet always in my mind and afiection I join and unite with them ; which I desire to be chiefly understood of protestants, and the best Reformed Churches, &c.' This part of his will was s Dugdale, ubi supra, p. 83, 84, 85 ; and Snpith, p. 25, 26, 27.

APPENDIX. XXXIU

written in Latin, and the latter part, containing his benefac- tions, in English'^.

[N] He hid a son, whom he disinherited on account of his em- bracing popery.'] See above, note [G] of this article. He was prevailed upon, not only to embrace popery, but also to take religious orders in the Church of Rome ; and although Dr. Cosin used all the ways imaginable, and even the authority of the French king, which, by his interest he had procured, to regain him out of their power, and from their persuasion, yet all proved ineffectual. Whereupon he disinherited him, allowing him only an annuity of one hundred pounds \ He pretended to turn again, but relapsed before the Bishop's decease.

[0] With an inscription.'} Which runs thus : —

IN NON MORITOEAM MEMOEIAM

JOHANNIS COSIN,

EPISCOPI DUNELMENSIS,

ftTTI HOC SACELLUM CONSTEUXIT,

OKNAVIT, ET DEO CONSECEAVIT,

ANN. DOM. M, DC, LXV.

IN PESXO 8. PETEI.

OBirr XV DIE MENSIS JANUAUn

ANNO DOMINI, MDCLXXI.

ET HIC 8EPTTLTUS EST, EXPECTANS

PELICEM CORPOEIS StJI EESUEEECTIONEM,

AC VITAM IN CCELIS ^TEENAM.

EEQTJIESCAT IN PACE.

Round a marble stone on the floor are also these words engraved :

BEATI M0ETX7I

QUI MOEIIJNTUE IN DOMINO,

EEQUIESCI7NT ENIM

A LABOEIBirS STTIS ''.

i. e. To the never-dying memory of John Cosin, bishop of Dur- ham, who built and adorned this chapel, and consecrated it to God in 1665, June 29. He died the 15th day of January, in the year of our Lord 1671, and is buried here, waiting for the happy resurrection of his body, and eternal life in heaven. Let him rest in peace.

Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, for they rest from their labours.

•* See Basire, p. Ill, &c. Smith, '' Smith, ubi supra, p. 28; and

p. 55, &c. J. Le Neve's Monumenta Anglicana,

' Nalson, as above, p. 519; and from 1650 to 1679, p. 171. Smith, p. 13, 26. '

XXXIV APPENDIX.

[P] We shall give an account of his works, SfcJ] Besides his Col- lection of Private Devotions, mentioned above, he published * A Scholastical History of the Canon of the Holy Scripture ; or The Certain and indubitable Books thereof, as they are received in the Church of England.' London, 1657; 4to. reprinted in 1672. This history is deduced from the time of the Jewish Church, to the year 1546, that is, the time when the Council of Trent corrupted, and made unwarrantable additions to, the ancient canon of the Holy Scriptures. Consequently it was directed against the papists, and was written by the author during his exile at Paris. He dedicated it to Dr. M. Wren, bishop of Ely, then a prisoner in the Tower. Dr. P. Gunning had the care of the edition ^

Since the Bishop's decease the following books and tracts of his have been published.

I. 'A Letter to Dr. Collins, concerning the Sabbath,' dated from Peterhouse, Jan. 24, 1635™. In which, speaking first of the mo- rality of the sabbath, he aflBrms that the keeping of that particular day was not moral, neither by nature binding all men, nor by pre- cept binding any other men but the Jews, nor them farther than Christ's time. But then, adds he, whether one day of seven, at least, do not still remain immutably to be kept by us Christians, that have God's will and example before, and by virtue of the rules of reason and religion, is the question. And for this he decides in the affirmative. Then he proves, that the keeping of our Sunday is immutable, as being grounded upon divine institu- tion, and apostolical tradition, which he confirms by several in- stances. Next he shews, that the Schoolmen were the first who began to dispute or deny this day to be of apostolical institution, on purpose to set up the pope's power, to whom, they said, it belongeth, either to change or abrogate the day.

Towards the end, he lays down these three positions against the puritans : 1 . ' The observation of the Sunday in every week is not commanded us by the fourth commandment, as they say it is.' 2. * Nor is our Sunday to be observed according to the rule of the fourth commandment, as they say it is.' 3. ' Nor hath it the qualities and conditions of the sabbath annexed to it, as they say it hath.'

II. There is published, ' A Letter from our author to Mr. Cordel, dated Paris, Feb. 7, 1650.' See above note [H]. It is printed at the end of a pamphlet, entitled, 'The Judgment of the Church of England, in the case of Lay Baptism, and of Dissenters' Baptism '^.'

» Basire, p. 66; and Smith, p. 17. ria,&c. Lond.l723,4to.No.V.p.33,&c. ■" And printed in Bibliotheca Litera- " 2nd edit. Lond. 1712, 8vo.

APPENDIX. XXXV

III. * Regni Anglise religio CathoHca, prisca, casta, defaecata j omnibus Christianis monarchis, principibus, ordinibus, ostensa. Anno MDCLH.' i.e. A short scheme of the ancient and pure doc- trine and discipline of the Church of England °. Written at the request of Sir Edward Hyde, afterwards Earl of Clarendon p.

IV. 'Historia Transubstantiationis Papalis; cui praemittitur, atque opponitur, turn S. Scripturae, turn veterum patrum, et refor- matarum ecclesiarum doctrina Catholica, de sacris symbolis, et prsesentia Christi in Sacramento Eucharistise.' i.e. The History of Popish Transubstantiation, &c., written by the author at Paris, for the use of some of his countrymen, who were frequently at- tacked upon that point by the papists. It was published by Dr. Durell, at London, 1675, 8vo., and translated into English in 1676, by Luke de Beaulieu, 8vo. ^ There is a second part still in manuscript "".

V. ' The differences in the chief points of religion, between the Roman Catholics and us of the Church of England ; together with the agreements which we, for our parts, profess, and are ready to embrace, if they, for theirs, were as ready to accord with us in the same. Written to the Countess of Peterborough •.'

VL 'Notes on the Book of Common-Prayer.' Published by Dr. William Nicholls, at the end of his Comment on the Book of Common-Prayer, Lond. 1710, fol.

VIL ' Account of a Conference in Paris, between Cyril, Arch- bishop of Trapezond, and Dr. John Cosin.' Printed in the same book.

The . following pieces were also written by Bishop Cosin, but never printed.

1 . * An Answer to a popish pamphlet, pretending that St. Cyprian was a papist.'

2. ' An Answer to four queries of a Roman Catholic, about the Protestant religion.'

3. ' An Answer to a paper delivered by a popish Bishop to the Lord Inchiquin.'

4. ' Annales Ecclesiastici,' imperfect.

5. *An Answer to Father Robinson's papers, concerning the validity of the Ordinations of the Church of England.' See above, note [F.]

6. ' Historia Conciliorum,' imperfect.

• Printed at the end of Dr. Smith's ■" Basire, p. 67.

Life of Bishop Cosin. " Printed at the end of the Cor-

P Smith, p. 15. ruptions of the Church of Rome, by

1 Ibid., p. 16, 17. Bishop Bull.

XXXVl APPENDIX.

7. ' Against the forsakers of the Church of England, and their seducers in this time of her trial.'

8. ' Chronologia Sacra,' imperfect.

9. ' A Treatise concerning the abuse of Auricular Confession in the Church of Rome*.'

By all which learned works, as one observes ^, and his abilities, quick apprehension, solid judgment, variety of reading, &c., mani- fested therein, he hath perpetuated his name to posterity, and sufficiently confuted, at the same time, the calumnies industriously spread against him, of his being a papist, or popishly inclined ^ ; which brought on him a severe persecution, followed with the plunder of all his goods, the sequestration of his whole estate, and a seventeen years' exile.

* Basire, p. 67, 68. erubescant jam schisniaticorum filii " Fuller's Worthies, in Durham, de parentum avorumque convitiis,

p. 294. mendaciis, et calumniis, in Cosinum;

* Therefore, as Dr. Smith observes, p. 1 8.

THE DEAD MAN'S REAL SPEECH.

A FUNERAL SERMON,

PEBACHED ON BRB. XI. 4.

UPON THE TWENTY-NINTH DAY OP APRIL, 1672,

AT THK FVMEKAL OF THE RIGHT REVEBEND PATHKR IN GOD

JOHN,

LATE LOED BISHOP AND COUNT PALATINE OF DUEHAM,

BY ISAAC BASIRE, D.D.,

CHAPLAIN IN OBDINABT TO HIS MAJESTY, AND ARCHDEACON OP NORTHUMBERLAND.

THE DEAD MAN'S KEAL SPEECH.

Hebrews xi. 4.

By it, he, being dead, yet speaketh.

' Know you not that a great man is fallen in Israel ?* this 2 Sam. 3. was Dayid's noble epitaph over Abner, though his rebel; and how much more may this be our just preface to this solemn funeral, to be sure, over a better man than was Abner? Therefore in king David^s words I may truly say again, ' Know you not that a great man is now fallen in our Israel?' a great man indeed, as shall appear before we take our final leave of him. We may be sure greater than Abner, not only in his state, but, which is the crown of all true greatness, in his graces and beneficence; in this indeed and in truth, greater than Abner. Yet Abner was a great man, for he was a general in the field; but on the wrong side, the rebels* side. Our great man a general not only in the field ^, but, which is much more, a general in this Church, I mean, his diocese (a great one); and in both these great capacities, constantly loyal, ad exemplum. And yet as high as this great man was so lately, behold how low he is laid down now, who yet must be laid down lower, as you shall see by and by. Such spectacles of mortality ought to be to us survivors tot spe- cula, so many true looking-glasses, wherein whatever our artificial looking - glasses may flatter us, with what our living faces seem to be now, this natural looking-glass tells us plainly to our faces, what all our dead faces shall be, must be, then ; God knows how soon. ' He being dead yet

' The Lord Bishop of Durham is commission cumulativi, and so still

lieutenant-general of this county, as under the king, who is always the

ab antiquo ex officio, so ex abundanti sovereign of all estates in his realms. per mandatum, by the king's gracious

d2

Xl THE DEAD MAn's REAL SPEECH.

speaketh' out mortality to us all ; so many funerals, so many warning-pieces to us all to prepare for our last and

Eccles. 7. greatest issue. This, in the judgment of the Wise Man, is the best use we can make of our access to the house of mourning, such as this house is at present; therefore the living should lay it to his heart; which that we may all do, let us pray with the spirit, and in the words of king

Ps. 90. 12. David, ' O teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom,'

Can, 65. Ye shall further pray for Christ's Holy Catholic

Church, &c,

Hebrews xi. 4.

The scope of this text, which must be the aim of the sermon, is this, to stir up all the faithful living to imi- tate the faithful that are dead ; whereof this chapter is the sacred roll upon the divine records, down from Abel unto the patriarchs, the judges, the kings, the prophets, &c. ; that Heb. 6. 12. is, that we should endeavour to become the followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

The text is short, but the lesson is long ; that is, to live so now, as we may die well at last, and by our good works speak when we are dead.

The parts are two, which do express two states of man.

I. The state of death, ' he being dead,' which is the pri- vation of the life of nature common to all men; on which frail life most men doat so much, because they have no care for, nor hope of a better life.

II. The state of a life after death ; that is, the life of glory, implied in these words, * he speaketh ;' for speech is the evidence of a living man ; ergo, Abel, though dead in the body, yet is still alive in the spirit.

The first is a corrosive to the state of nature ; but the second comes in as a cordial to all those who are in the state of grace. Ex. 14. 20. This text appears much like the Israelites' guide in the Heb, 12. 1. -wilderness; it was a cloud, and that no ordinary cloud, but such a cloud as was dark on the one side, and light on the other side ; dark towards the Egyptians, but light towards the Israelites. Even so is death dark and sad to the un-

A FUNERAL SERMON. xH

believers and impenitent, but lightsome and welcome to all true penitents and believers.

1. To begin with the first, the state of death, Man in the state of innocency was created capable of three lives ; the life corporal, life spiritual, and life eternal.

The first is the life of nature ; a transitory life.

The second is the life of grace ; a life permanent, but upon condition of perseverance in an uniform obedience to God.

The third is life eternal ; the life of glory ; the life of the Eph. 4. 18. saints triumphant ; of the elect Angels ; yea, the life of God Himself, and therefore a life immutable, interminable.

2. Two of these three lives, the life natural and spiritual, man had then in present possession ; and the third in a sure reversion after the expiration of but one life, and that a short one too, but a span long ; this present life is no more, by

king David's just measure; 'Behold, thou hast made myPs. 39. 5. days as it were a span long,* in comparison of eternity.

3. Man, by his apostasy from God, through the first- ori- ginal sin of wilful incogitancy, and through pride, did soon deprive himself of all these three lives at once ; and so ac- cording to the just sentence of God, pronounced upon man aforehand for a fair warning, morte morieris, ' Thou shalt die Gen. 2. 17. the death,' man was justly precipitated from that high state

of innocence and felicity into the base and damnable state of sin and misery; whereby every man, none excepted, but the God and man, Christ Jesus, is now by original sin become subject to a threefold death ; first corporal, secondly spiritual, and thirdly, without repentance, eternal.

The first is death corporal ; which is a total, but not final, separation of the soul from the body ; the sad real text be- fore our eyes.

The second is death spiritual ; a far worse kind of death, a state of sin, which is a separation of the soul from the Ps. 30. 5. grace and favour of God, which is life itself, without which we are all by nature dead in trespasses and sins, children of Eph. 2.1. wrath ; no better.

The third and worst of all is death eternal ; and therefore called in Holy Scripture the great death, the second death ; Rev. 20. 6. becauge it is a final, total, and eternal separation of both soul and body from the glorious presence, beatifical vision, and

Xlii THE DEAD MAN's REAL SPEECH.

admirable and unspeakable fruition of God Himself; Whom as to serve here on earth is the life of grace, so to enjoy in heaven is the life of glory, which is life everlasting.

4. The first of these three, death temporal, none of us can avoid, die we must, die we shall ; God prepare us all for it ! But as the thing, death, is certain for the matter ; so for the manner, how we shall die, in or out of our wits, as in fren- zies, &c. ; where we shall die, amongst friends or amongst foes; when we shall die, whether in youth or in old age; which way we shall die, whether by a sudden, violent, or painful death, which God in mercy arrest from us all, none of us all knows ; and therefore our best course is, while we may, by a lively faith, timely repentance, and real amend- ment of life, to prepare for death ^ ; and then, come death in what shape it will and welcome, we shall not die unprepared. Yet it concerns us all frequently and seriously to think of these great quatuor novissima ; death, judgment, heaven, and

Dent. 32. hell. It is Moses's passionate wish, ' O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end ;' since it is appointed for all men once to die, and

Heb. 9. 27. after that comes judgment. The vulgar translation renders it statutum est; death is an universal statute -law to all mankind, and so it is both for authority of co-action and certainty of execution ; for it is grounded upon two of the greatest attributes of God, which are.

First, God's infallible truth; for the commination was directed unto man, and that also in mercy, to forewarn him that he might not sin.

Secondly, God's exact justice, which requires the execution of the divine sentence to be done upon the same nature that had sinned. Man did sin, therefore man must suffer, that is, man must die ; and because the first man, Adam, was the original root and general representative of all mankind, Adam's offspring, therefore all men must die, (pray God we all may die well,) or if they live to the end of the world, yet

1 Cor. 15. they must suffer a change at the least, at the last, which change, whatever it be, (for it is a mystery,) will be equivalent

•> S. Aug. de Discipl. cap. 2. [cap. vixerit. Audeo dicere, non potest male xii. 0pp., torn. vi. col. 436, edit. Bene- mori, qui bene vixerit. diet.] Non potest male mori, qui bene

A FUNERAL SERMON. xlui

to a death ; so that there lies an universal necessity to undergo a death, some kind of death.

In the ancient register of the Macrobii, those long-lived patriarchs, Adam lived nine hundred and thirty years, and Gen. 6. 5. he died ; Methuselah, the longest liver of all mankind, lived nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and he died, &c. ; that is the burthen-song of them all ; neither Methuselah the ancientest, nor Sampson the strongest, nor Solomon the wisest of men could exempt themselves from the fatal ne- cessity of death. Seneca'' himself, though but a heathen philosopher, being ignorant of the original cause of death, yet observing the generality of the event of death, drew his topic of consolation to his friend Polybius, sad for the death of his brother, from this necessity of death. But God be thanked, we Christians have better topics of comfort for the death of our Christian friends past, or our own death a-comiug, by opposing, through faith, against the terror of our dissolution by death, the consideration of our admir- able and comfortable conjunction with Christ our head after death. This glorious state is by St. Paul styled 'the mani- Rom. 8. 19. festation of the sons of God,' for which by a natural instinct the whole creation groaneth with an earnest expectation of the accomplishment. The word in the original is very signi- ficant, airoKapaZoKia, which betokens the looking for some [See person or thing with lifting up of the head, or stretching ner.] out their necks with earnest intention and observation to see when the person or thing looked for shall appear ; as a poor prisoner condemned looks out at the grates for a gracious pardon. And if the creatures inanimate, &c., do so earnestly pant for the final redemption of the sons of God, how much more we, being the parties principally concerned? This made St. Paul, as it were with the hoised up sails of hope and desire, the aflFections of his soul, to long to be dissolved Phil. i. 23. and to be with Christ. The original imports to loosen, or ^vaXvaoA. to launch forth, as a ship from a foreign port for a happy schieus- voyage towards her wished-for haven at home. ^®^-J

5. I have so much Christian charity for the surviving

■= [Maximum ergo solatium est, co- L. A. Senecae lib. de consolatione ad gitare id sibi accidisse quod ante se Polybium, inter 0pp., p. 692. edit. Par. passi sunt omnes, omnesque passuri. 1619.]

xliv THE DEAD MAn's REAL SPEECH.

noble relations of the great man deceased, as to believe that if they could with their wishes and tears waft him over back from heaven to labour again on earth, they would not do it, if they loved him indeed, and not rather themselves. It is an excellent observation of Isidore*^ Pelusiota — he lived above twelve hundred years ago — who commenting on these words of our Saviour's compassion for Lazarus expressed by His tears, that it was not at the death of Lazarus, but that it was

Job. 11. 35. at his resurrection that * Jesus wept,' a real demonstration of His humanity, both natural and moral. This Father's note upon that difference is this, that our Saviour Christ's love towards Lazarus was a rational love, yea a divine love, not as ours towards our dead friends too oft, too carnal or natural, or at the best a human love, if not a self-love ; we wish them alive for our own ends. True it is, that it is very lawful, and also very fit, to pay our deceased friends their due tribute of grief, and to let nature have her course, lest

Rom.i. 31. we should seem or appear without natural affection; but

ffropyoi provided always that the current of nature do not overflow

the banks of reason, much more the banks of religion settled

by St. Paul, who would not have Christians to be sorry for

1 Thes. 4. their deceased friends, as others who have no hope ; for

13 • • . .

there is a lively hope of a joyful meeting again in the state of glory, if we in the state of grace do follow the saints deceased. Upon this consideration is worth the observing the different manner of mourning of Joseph for his father Gen. 50. Jacob, his dear and near relation, for Joseph mourned seven

3 10 . .

' ■ days only ; and of the Egyptians mourning seventy days for

the same Jacob, a stranger to them. The feason of the difference is, because the Egyptians were unbelievers ; but Joseph was a believer of the resurrection, and of a glorious meeting once again with his deceased father, from thence- forth never to be separated. This posy of sacred medita- tions I do now present to the noble relations of the de- ceased ; desiring them to accept this offer, and to use it as a spiritual handkerchief to wipe off, if not drain, the spring of tears for this their deceased support.

6. Meanwhile our main care must be not to forfeit that

^ [Isid. Pelus. Ep. Theodosio pres- 6 Kipios. Lib. iii. ep. 173. p. 207. bytero, Sia rl iwl A.a^dpq) iSdKpvaei> edit. fol. Par. 1638.]

A FUNERAL SERMON. xlv

glorious meeting by a course of life contrary to the good example of the saints departed; but instantly to resolve earnestly to study, constantly to endeavour, to live well, that is to say, to make the will of God the rule of our life, and the honour of God the end of our life : this is to live unto Rom. 14.

7 8

the Lord, that is, in subjection unto Him ; and then we may ' be sure to die in the Lord, that is, under His protection, both of body and soul, for evermore.

7. You may be pleased to remember that our text was two-faced, and therefore we compared it to the Israelites' guide through the wilderness, a cloud ; we are now past the dark side of it, death, ' he being dead.' We must now face about and cheerfully behold the bright side of the cloud, wherein the dead speaketh, and here we have

1. The speaker, ' he.'

2. The speech implied, * he speaketh.'

3. The time expressed, * yet ;' that is, after death : * He being dead, yet speaketh.'

8. First, the speaker is Abel, whose name bears mankind's bin universal motto in the holy tongue, that is, vanity ; for vaniWl when all is done, ' vanitv of vanities, all is vanity,' until the S^''}- \\\

' ' ' •" Eccl. 12. 7.

spirit of man * return to God Who gave it ;' till then, what- Pa. 39. 5. ever pride may prompt vain man, verily every man living in his best estate, is altogether vanity. Selah !

Secondly, for his trade, he was a herdsman, for he offered to God the best of his flock, in due homage and as a figure of that Lamb of God Which was to come to ' take away the Job. l. 29. sins of the world.' No doubt he was well instructed by his parents, Adam and Eve, of whose conversion and salvation to doubt, (since the promise of the Blessed Seed preached unto Gen. 3. 15. them by Almighty God Himself after their fall, and which we must in reason suppose was apprehended and applied by them to themselves through faith, lest God's preaching should prove vain : such a suspicion or doubt of their eternal state) were in us, their posterity, an odious want of charity, and against the current of the ancient Fathers ®, who give for it this probable reason, that God did expressly curse the ser- pent and the earth, but God did not at all curse either Adam

* Iren. Epiph. Chrysost. Augustin. &c. [See Perer. in Genes., cap. v. lib. vii. § 112. edit. fol. Colon. 1622.]

xlvi THE DEAD MAn's REAL SPEECH.

or Eve; but contrariwise, God in mercy did bestow upon Adam and Eve the original and fundamental blessing of the Promised Seed, the Messiah, which is Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour, in Whom all Adam and Eve's posterity should be blessed. And therefore they are not to be concluded within the number of the damned crew, upon whom shall be pronounced that dreadful final sentence of Ite maledicti ;

Mat. 25. * Go ye cursed.' As a clear evidence of Adam and Eve's faith, we produce their works, namely the godly education of their children, Cain and Abel, in God's true religion, to offer corporal sacrifices, &c., with a spiritual reference, and therefore with faith in the only expiatory and satisfactory

Gal. 4. 4. sacrifice to be performed in the fulness of time by the person of the Messiah, the second Adam, for the saving of man- kind, as the first Adam was in the damning of mankind ; both the Adams being public representatives of all mankind, as the first in the fall, so the second in the resurrection.

9. This just apology for our first parents, Adam and Eve, I thought it my filial duty to ofi'er unto all mankind, Adam's ofl'spring; once for all to stop the mouths of censorious children unmindful of their original duty, and of the rule

Gen. 9. 22, parentum mores non sunt arguendi. Shem and Japhet were blessed for turning away their faces from their father's * nakedness ; but wicked Cham was for outfacing it cursed with a grievous curse K

10. It is very observable, that God had respect unto Abel first, and then to his sacrifice ; to intimate that God first

ver. 4. accepts the person and then his service ; for Abel ofi'ered by faith, but Cain without faith, for want of which God rejected the person of Cain, (though the elder brother,) and conse- quently his sacrifice.

Hence observe, that two men may come and worship God with the same kind of outward worship, and yet differ much in the inward manner and success of their service to God ;

f This curse sticks to this day (above cap. 1.) A people of all nations most

four thousand years) as a foul brand inconvertible, even to a prophet's pro-

upon Cham in his cursed posterity; verb (Jer. xiii. 23.) ' Can the Ethiopian

for the Egyptians and Ethiopians, or change his skin,' &c. 1 A standing

Blackamoors, are the descendants of dreadful monument, and a thundering

cursed Cham (Lexic. Geographic Fer- warning-piece to all such young Chams

rarii, ad vocem .^thiopiam ; Sam. Bo- as dare to disgrace their parents pri-

chart, Geographia Sacra, parte i. lib. 4. vately, or rebel against them publicly.

'"a funeral sermon. xlvii

witness Cain and Abel in the Old Testament, and the Pub- Lu. 18. lican and the Pharisee in the New. For the true religion is chiefly inward for the substance, and not only outward for the circumstance and ceremony ; the religion of too many, I had almost said of most formal professors now a days ; an artificial religion, as being moved chiefly, if not only, by out- ward respects and objects, without any inward life; the want of which did make a wide difference betwixt Cain, and Abel, the speaker here. From whom to pass unto his speech, we shall interpret it by a threefold exposition.

1. Grammatical.

2. Doctrinal.

3. Moral.

11. As to the grammatical exposition, I am not ignorant that the word XaXehat, in the original, may be verbum medium, and so may be translated either in the passive sense * He is spoken of,' as some few interpreters ^ have rendered it, or in the active sense, to which I am rather carried by the clear and strong current of almost all interpreters, and the harmony of eight translations '', both ancient and modern ; who all render it actively, *he speaketh.' This translation is con- firmed by a clear parallel (Heb. xii. 24), where comparison being made betwixt the precious blood of Jesus Christ and that of Abel, it is expressed in the active sense Xakovvri; not in the passive, that * the blood of sprinkling is better spoken of,' but in the active, that 'it speaketh better things than that of Abel.' Ergo, * Abel being dead, yet speaketh,' quod erat demonstrandum. Enough of the grammatical exposition.

12. We pass now to the doctrinal exposition. The doc- trine is this, that for the godly there is a life after this life ; for ' Abel being dead yet speaketh.' But we know that dead men are speechless, and that speech is both a sign and an action of life. Abel is not absolutely dead ; though dead in part, he still lives. We enlarge the instance from righteous Abel unto all the faithful ; the total sum is this, that though

K [See Lud. de Dieu Animadv. in Clem. Alex. Chrysost. Vatablus, Ze-

Epistolas, p. 321. edit. 1G46.] gerus, Grotius, Tena. [See Estius in

*" Syriac, Vulgar, Ethiopic, Arabic, ■ Epistolas, ad loc. et Calovius, Bibl.

French, English, German, Italian; Illustr. N. T., torn. ii. p. 1352.]

Xlviii THE DEAD MAn's REAL SPEECH.

good men die, yet their good deeds die not ; but they survive, and that in both worlds.

Prov. 31. First, in this world, to their due praise, for 'their own good works praise them in the gates.'

Secondly, they live in the next world by their reward and

Eev. 14. coronation, for their ' works do follow them.^ So many good works, so many living tongues of good men after death;

Lu. 20. 36. who are therefore styled in the Holy Gospel ' the children of the resurrection.' And again, Abel still lives unto men in the memory of all good men, for to such the memory of

Prov. 10. 7. the just shall be blessed, and the memory of their virtues calls for both our commemoration and imitation of them; which leads me to the third point propounded, which was the moral exposition.

13. For I suppose none that hear this are so gross of understanding as to imagine a vocal speech of the dead, which would be a miracle ; but a speech analogical, by such

Ps. 19. 1. a figure as the heavens speak when they declare the glory of God. The parallel of St. Chrysostom upon the speech of Abel, our speaker in the text, the Father after his wonted rhetoric amplifies it thus ; ' If Abel had a thousand voices when he was alive, he hath many more now he is dead,' speaking to our admiration and imitation. But though the dead man's speech be no vocal speech, yet it is and will be a real speech for our conversion or condemnation to the end of the world ; for Abel being dead, yet speaketh.

First, he speaketh by his repentance implied in his sa- crifice, not only for homage due by all rational creatures, whether Angels or men, unto God their creator; but also as a tacit confession of sin to be expiated by the all-sufiicient sacrifice of the promised Blessed Seed, the Messiah to come. And so Abel ' being dead, yet speaketh,' and was by his typical sacrifice the first prophet of the Old Testa- ment. The good examples of holy men are standing real sermons ; for there are two ways of preaching ; by word, or deed. The first is good, the latter is better; but both are best.

Secondly, Abel 'being dead yet speaketh' by his faith expressed here in the text; which faith is a never-dying preacher to all ages of the Church, because it assureth all

A FUNERAL SERMON. xlix

the faithful, such as was Abel, of both God's regard, aud

reward of all His true servants who follow Abel's faith. Heb. li. 6.

Thirdly, Abel 'being dead yet speaketh' by his works of Jas. 2. 18. righteousness, the necessary and best evidences of a lively faith, for which Abel stands canonized by God's own appro- Heb. ii. 4. bation and acceptance. First, of his person, that he was righteous ; and then of his performance, his sacrifice. There- fore Abel is enrolled with Enoch, (verse 5,) for his communion of faith, godliness, and happiness ; by which both Enoch and Abel pleased God. The Jewish Rabbins' and sundry Chris- tian interpreters offer as a tradition this sign of God's acceptance of the sacrifice of Abel, to wit, by sending fire from heaven, (as upon Aaron's, and upon Solomon's, and Lev. 9. 24. upon Elijah's sacrifice,) which kindled the sacrifice of Abel ^ Chron. the younger brother, and not that of Cain who was the elder i Kings brother. Some interpreters'' think that this acceptation of Abel's sacrifice was a designation of Abel, the younger brother, to the priesthood before Cain, the elder brother; and that these were the occasion of Cain's envy, aud his envy the cause of Abel's murder. By the way it is worthy our observation that all that come to worship God are either Abels or Cains ; that is, they come with faith, or without faith, and they speed accordingly.

Fourthly and lastly, Abel 'being dead yet speaketh;' as in his life by his actions, so at his death by his patience and passion; fortis St. Stephen was the proto-martyr of the New Testament, so was Abel the proto-martyr of the Old Testa- ment ; for he died for righteousness' sake. Hence some interpreters derive his name from b^M, which in the holy tongue signifies 'to mourn;' because he was the first man that did taste of death, for which and for whom his (and our first) parents, Adam aud Eve, did begin to mourn.

As it is certain that sin (though but a beast) hath a voice, and (which is more strange in a beast) sin hath an articulate voice, and by a counter-passion, which is lex talionis, sin doth not only indite the sinner, but also indorseth upon the sinner's bill the parallel punishment for time or place, person or action, so that many times the punishment becomes the anagram of the sin. This even natural men do confess,

' Theodot. Theophyl., et alii. ^ Cornel, [k Lapide in loc] Bertram.

1 THE DEAD MAN's REAL SPEECH,

Judg. 1. 7. witness Adonibezeck, 'As I have done, so God hath re- 2 Sam, 12, quited me.' Which was also king David's case, blood for blood ; such was the voice of sin and of their own con- sciences. Sin hath a voice indeed, and that a loud voice, for it reacheth as high as heaven to God's ear, and from thence rebounds with an echo upon a man's own conscience. Gen, 18. We read of the cry of Sodom, and of the cry of the hire- Jas. 5. 4. ling's wages, kept from Him; and here Abel's blood hath a voice that cries aloud for justice in God's ears ; and as it were, prefers a bill of indictment. Upon which God, the just judge, immediately arraigneth Cain, passeth judgment, and doth execution upon Cain the fratricide ; stamping a curse Gen. 4. 10, both upon his person and estate, saying *What hast thou done ? the voice of thy brother's blood cries unto Me from the ground, and now art thou cursed from the earth which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thine hand. When thou tillest the ground it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength. A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.'

Now as sin hath a voice, so grace hath a voice also, calling

upon us, as for our imitation of the virtues of the saints

departed, so calling upon God for a gracious compensation

Kev. 14, of their works which follow them after death, not at all by

^^' way of merit, but of God's free mercy ; for what proportion

betwixt man's works, which are but temporary and therefore

finite, (all our best works are no more, and besides imperfect

Kom.8. 18. all,) and God's high reward, which is infinite both for weight

and for duration to all eternity ?

Some interpreters add a fifth v\ ay, by which Abel ' being dead yet speaketh;' to wit, as a type; by his blood shed by Cain his brother prefiguring the blood of Christ shed by His brethren the Jews.

And thus many ways Abel ' being dead yet speaketh ;' and so all good men, though dead, speak by their good works of faith and patience. In which blessed number, this dead man before our eyes was through God's grace listed, and so speaketh by his good deeds to his generation, and seems by his example to preach unto us all St. Paul's apostohcal admo- Gal. 6. 9. nition, not to be weary of well-doing, for in due season we shall reap (a reward) if we faint not : as our Christian hope

A FUNERAL SERMON. U

is, the deceased Prelate findeth it now, to his everlasting comfort.

O how gladly would I make an end here, and so come down ! Sorry I am that I must now pass and descend from the literal text to this our real text lying before us. But it is a rule of Christian practice, that when God hath been pleased to reveal His will by the event, our humble resigna- tion of ourselves and friends and all, with submission of our will to God's will, is our duty, and the best remedy to allay all our sorrows, and to say in the words and with the spirit of holy Job, ' The Lord hath given and the Lord hath taken Job i. 21. away, blessed be the name of the Lord,' which is part of our office for burial. In all this Job sinned not, no more should we if we would be followers of Job's faith and patience ; which God grant us all, through Jesus Christ our Lord ; to Whom, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be ascribed from Angels, from us, and from all men, praise, power, majesty and dominion, now and for ever. Amen.

CONTENTS.

SERMON I.

(Page 1.)

Preached at St. Edward's in Cambridge, January the sixth, A.D. mdcxxi. ; and at Coton, on the Second Sunday after Epiphany.

St. Matthew ii. 1, 2. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem ofJudea, in the days of Herod the king, Behold, there came Wise Men from the East to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is He That is bom King of the Jews ? for we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him.

SERMON II.

(Page 24.) A FUNERAL SERMON. Preached at St. Martin's in the Fields, on the seventeenth of June, A.D. MDCxxiii. at the funeral of Mrs. Dorothy Holmes, sister to the Right Reve- rend Father in God, the Lord Bishop of Durham.

2 Corinthians v. 1, 2.

For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, but eternal in the heavens.

For which we sigh and groan.

SERMON III.

(Page 44.)

Preached at Datchet, near Windsor, on the Second Sunday after Epiphany, A.D. MDCxxiv., at the marriage of Mr. Abraham De Laune, and Mrs. Mary Wheeler.

St. John ii. 1, 2. And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee,

and the Mother of Jesus was there. And Jesus was also called, and His Disciples, unto the marriage,

e

liy CONTENTS.

SERMON IV.

(Page 58.) Preached probably in 1625.

St. Matthew iv. 6. If Thou he the Son of God, cast Thyself down headlong, for it is written, He shall give His Angels charge over Thee, and with their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone.

SERMON V.

(Page 71.) Preached probably in 1625.

St. Matthew iv. 6. For it is written, He shall give His Angels charge over Thee, and with their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone.

SERMON VI.

(Page 85.)

Preached on the First Sunday in Advent, December 3, 1626, at the Consecration

of the Bishop of Carlisle in Durham House Chapel, in London.

St. John xx. 21, 22. Peace be unto you. As My Father sent Me, even so

send I you. And when He had spoken these words. He breathed on them

and said, Receive the Holy Ghost ; Whose sins you do remit they are remitted, S^c.

SERMON VII.

(Page 106.) Preached at Brancepath on the Fifth Sunday after Trinity, June 27, 1630.

Psalm cxxii. 6, 7. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper that love

thee. Peace be within thy walls and plenteousness within thy

palaces.

SERMON VIII.

(Page 115.) Preached at Durham, on the Feast of Pentecost, May 20, 1632.

Romans viii. 14. Quicunque Spiritu Dei aguntur, ii sunt filii Dei.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, those are the sons of God.

CONTENTS. Iv

SERMON IX.

(Page 131.) Preached at Brancepath, July 8, 1632.

Exodus xx. 3. Non habebis deos alienos coram Me.

Thou Shalt have no other gods before My face, or, no other gods but Me.

SERMON X.

(Page 143.) Preached at Brancepath in 1632,

Exodus xx. 3. Kon habebis deos alienos coram Me.

Thou shall have no other gods but Me.

SERMON XI.

(Page 153.) Preached at Brancepath in 1633.

Exodus xx. 8. Memento, ut diem Sabbalhi sanctifices, 8fC.

Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day, six days shall thou labour, 8fc.

SERMON XII.

(Page 166.) Preached at Brancepath in 1633.

Exodus xx. 9, 10. Sex dies operabis et fades omnia opera tua. Septimo autem die Sabbatum Domini Dei tui est ; non fades omne opus in eo.

Six days shall thou labour and do all that thou hast to do. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shall do no manner of work.

Ivi CONTENTS.

SERMON XIII.

(Page 177.) Preached at Brancepath in 1633.

Exodus xx. 10,

But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt do no manner of work, thou and thy son and thy daughter, thy man-servant and thy maid-servant, thy cattle and the stranger that is within thy gates, S^c.

SERMON XIV.

(Page 190.) Preached at Paris, September 11, 1650.

Psalm cxxix. 5. Confundantur omnes qui oderunt Sion.

Let them be confounded, as many as have evil will at Sion. SERMON XV.

(Page 206.) Preached at Paris, on Sexagesima Sunday, Feb. 12, 1651.

Genesis iii. 13.

Et dixit Dominus Deus ad mulierem, 8^c.

And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done ? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, [and I did eat J]

SERMON XVI.

(Page 220.) Preached at Paris, March 5, 1651.

Genesis iii. 13, 14.

And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done ? And the woman said. The serpent beguiled me and I did eat.

And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed, 8fc.

CONTENTS, Ivii

SERMON XVII.

(Page 236.) Preached at Paris, on the Fifth Sunday in Lent, March 26, 1 651.

Genesis iii. 13. And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me.

SERMON XVIII.

(Page 248.)

Preached at Paris, on the Octave of the Festival of the Resarrection,

April 16, 1651.

St. John xx. 9. Nondum enim sciebant Scripturas, 8fc.

For as yet they knew not the Scriptures, that He must rise from the dead.

SERMON XIX.

(Page 263.)

Preached at Paris, on the Sunday after the Festival of the Ascension,

May 21, 1651.

Acts i. 9, 10, 11. Et h(EC locutus, videntibus iisdem, in altum sublatus est, 8fC. Et ecce ! duo viri astiterunt illis in vestibus albis.

And when lie had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up ; and a cloud received Him out of their sight.

And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold two men stood by them in white apparel.

Which also said. Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking up into heaven? This same Jesus, Who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.

SERMON XX.

(Page 276.) Preached at Paris, on the Festival of our Saviour's Nativity, 1651.

St. John i. 9, 10. Erat Hie liuv ilia, et vera ilia lux, ^c.

He was that light, or. That light was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world, and He was in the world.

Iviii CONTENTS.

SERMON XXI.

(Page 291.)

Preached at Paris, on the Second Sunday after the Nativity of our Lord, January 5, 1653.

St. Matthew ii. [1. and] 2.

Venerunt magi .... dicentes, .... Vidimus enim stellam

Ejus in oriente. There came wise men .... and said, .... For we have seen

His star in the east.

SERMON XXII.

(Page 306.) Preached at Paris, on the Festival of the Nativity of Christ, 1665.

1 Timothy iii. 16. Magnum est pietatis mysterium, Deus manifestatus in came.

Great is the mystery of godliness, God manifest in the flesh.

APPENDIX I.

(Page 325.)

Preached at Durham House, on the eve of the Epiphany, Sunday the 5th of January, 1622-[23.]

St. Matthew ii. 1, 2.

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, Behold there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

Saying, Where is He That is born king of the Jews ? for we have seen His star in the east, and are come to wor- ship Him.

CONTENTS. lix

APPENDIX II.

(Page 331.) FRAGMENT OF A FUNERAL SERMON.

APPENDIX III.

(Page 337.) Preached at Brancepath, on the Second Sunday after Trinity.

St. Luke xiv. 16—20.

A certain man made a great supper, and bade many ;

And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were

bidden, Come ; for all things are now ready. But they all at once began to make excuse. The first said,

I have bought a farm, and I must needs go see it ; I pray

thee have me excused. Another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove

them ; I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I can-

not come, &^c.

APPENDIX IV.

(Page 339.)

Psalm cxxii. 6. Rogate pacem ...

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper that love it.

APPENDIX V.

(Page 343.)

St. Matthew xiii. 27, 28.

So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field ? From whence then hath it those tares f

He saith unto them. The envious man hath done this.

Ix

CONTENTS.

APPENDIX VI.

(Page 348.) Preached at Paris, the Gospel for the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany, 1651.

St, Matthew xiii. 24. Simile est regnum coelorum homini seminanti in agro, ^c.

The kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that sowed good

seed in his field : But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among

the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and had brought forth

fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him,

Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence

then hath it tares ? He said unto them, The enemy hath done this. The ser- vants said unto him. Wilt thou then that we go and weed

them up ? But he said. Nay ; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root

up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together till the harvest: and in the time of

harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye first the tares,

and bind them together in bundles to be burnt ; but gather

the wheat into my barn.

APPENDIX VII.

(Page 351.) Preached at Paris, on the First Sunday after Trinity, June 11, 1651.

St. Matthew xiii. 24, 25. Simile est regnum coelorum homini seminanti in agro, ^c.

The kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that sowed good

seed in his field. But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among

the wheat, and went his way.

SERMON 1/

PKEACHED AT ST, EDWAKD's IN CAMBEIDGE, JANXTAKY 6tH, A.D. MDCXXI., AND AT COTON, ON TUE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPUANY.

St. Matthew ii. 1, 2.

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King, Behold, there came Wise Men from the East to Jerusalem,

Saying, Where is He That is born King of the Jews ? for we have seen His star in the East, and are come to wor- ship Him.

I CHOSE my text for the time, the celebration of this day, that we may keep Solomon's rule, verbum diet in die suo ; Prov. 15. and therefore before I come to the text I will say a little of the day, this Epiphany, this manifestation of our Lord and Saviour.

We are still at the feast of Christmas, and this is the last and great day of the feast, as St. John said of- another. Job. 7. 37. A feast of joy it has been all this while, but this day was given us that our joy might be fulP. They were tidings of joy that the Angels brought, a while since, to the shep- herds, Jews, hard at hand ; but when the glad tidings of the Gospel came abroad once to all the people, as this day they came so, then were they no more tidings of ordinary, but of great joy. * Behold, I bring you tidings,' saith the Angel, but not to you alone ; though to you, yet to others as well as you, * which shall be to all people.' Hitherto, then, it Lu. 2. lo. was Evangelizo vobis, vobis Judceis, but to-day it was omni popalo ; that now a Saviour was born unto us all, Which was Christ the Lord. And indeed this is our Christmas-

» See Appendix No. 1. "Of the High and Great Feast of

* See Bishop Overall's Annotations Christ's Epiphany."

3 Various Epiphanies of our Saviour.

SEEM, day, that were Gentiles; for though Christ was born twelve

'- days since in Jury^, yet He came not abroad the world

» until while ^ now, and to us He seemed as yet unborn (being but like a rich treasure in a man's field, at this time not known to be so,) till He was this day manifested unto us in the per- sons of these Wise Men, the first fruits of the Gentiles °.

There were many Epiphanies before this, for it was made manifest many times before. To the Blessed Virgin first, for she knew it nine months before, and then to John Bap- tist, before he was born himself, for he could seem in the Lu. 1. 41. womb to point at Him, when His mother came, Ecce Agnus ° ■ ■ ■ Dei, Qui tollit peccata mundi. And after He was born, the shepherds had tidings of the Lamb of God too. But all these were the Epiphanies of some few persons only, and the new Morning Star was seen but a little way, as far as Ps. 97. 4. Mary's family, or a field hard by, and no further. Now to- Book^ver- day His lightnings gave shine unto the world, and at His sion. Epiphany not a few persons at home, or near at hand, but

the nations abroad, even at the ends of the earth, had news brought them of it from heaven ; and now this day not Jury Ps. 8. 1. only, (that was too straight for Him who must have the hea- then given Him for His inheritance,) but the whole world was the better for Christ's nativity. A true Christmas-day this, and Christmas rejoicing right, when all fare the better for it. Before, the heathen were about the hedges, shut quite out of doors; but to-day the gates were set open for them, as well as for the Jews. Which community was well figured, as the common note is'', in the place that Christ would have His nativity happen in, even in a common inn, where every one might come, the Gentile as welcome as the Jevv ; and because perhaps they would not be together Job. 4. 9. in one chamber, (for we read that the Jews meddle not with the Samaritans, nor keep their company,) therefore Christ would be born in the stable, where there is no distinction made, but all put together in one room. Or if an inn be not large enough, there is another figure will hold all the

* Illi magi, quidnam fuerunt nisi catioiiis gentium rationabili gaudio ce-

primitiae gentium. — S.August. Serm.4. lebremus. — S.Leo, Bibl. Patr. v, ii. 814.

de Epiphan. 0pp. V. 637. His divinae <• See Suarez in 3 part. S. Thomse,

gratise mysteriis eruditi, diem primi- q. xxxv. art. 7 and 8. sec. iii. § ' Se-

tiarum nostrarum et inchoationem vo- cundo dicitur.'

Reasons for rejoicing at this time. 3

world, and that is the time of taxing the whole earth, asLu. 2. i.

St. Luke says, just at this time, wherein Christ would be

born^ to tell us that He came to be the Saviour of the whole

earth. For though it was but in a little town, saith St.

Leo % yet the great world fared the better for His nativity ;

nay, it is but a small thing, saith God Himself, in Isaiah, to

raise the tribes of Jacob, or to restore the decays of Israel,

I will give Thee a light to the Gentiles, and a salvation unto laa. 49. 6.

the end of the world. There He promised it, and this day

He was as good as His word, for now, even this day, our

eyes have seen His salvation, which He hath prepared, not

for Jacob or Israel only, but before the face of all people, and

to be a light to lighten the Gentiles, as well as to be the glory Lu. 2. 30.

of His people Israel. And we have heard with our ears,

O God, and our fathers have told us of old, how Thou hast Ps. 44. i, 2.

not driven out the heathen, as David there speaks, but

planted them in, fetched them home that were gone astray

before, fetch [ed] them to Thy blessed flock, that we might Job. lo. 16.

be all one fold under that great Shepherd, That would give

His life for His flock.

This then is the day which the Lord hath made, made it and made us with it too; indeed he had made us before, but we had marred His workmanship; now to-day we came to be made again, and our second making made us for ever, we were now become His workmanship in Christ Jesus, as Eph. 2. lo. St. Paul calls it. This is the day that the Lord hath made for us, and therefore this should be the day that we should make for Him too; rejoice and be glad in it, as it follows Ps. lis. 24. there in the Psalm, and as it follows here in the Gospel too ; for St. Matthew says, a little after the text, that when they saw the star they rejoiced exceedingly, and so they proved Mat. 2. lo. the Angel's words true, tidings of great joy. And now I Lu. 2. lo. know there is no question but that most of us will rejoice too; nay,, the world shall know that we do not mean to pass this day away without that. But such joy we com- monly use as, God knows, will end with weeping and gnash- ing of teeth : our mouth shall be filled with laughter, if ye will, and we will be hke them that dream, as the Prophet Ps. 126. speaks, but not for the turning of our captivity this day ' '

« S. Leo, Serm. in Nativ. ap. Bibl. Patr. v. ii. 815.

b2

4 Dignity of this festival.

SERM. from bondage, a worse than that in Babylon, from the

^ bondage of sin and hell itself. ' Sing we merrily unto God

Ps. 81. 1. our strength,' saith the Psalm. No, ' Sing merrily,' an ye will, so far we go ; but if we come to ' God our strength,' then our voice is quite gone, we have no skill in such songs, and yet this must be our rejoicing, or else all our Christmas sport is but spoiled. It is true these are all days of joy in- deed, of great joy ; joy as much as ye will, even as they joy

Is. 9. 3. in harvest, saith Isaiah ; but be sure ye take that along to make your joy sweet which the Holy Virgin taught us at the very first news of all, of any Christmas rewards, at the

Lu. 1. 46. Annunciation, "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour."

And this day became God the Saviour of the Gentiles, when we might see the star tell us, as Christ afterward told

Lu. 19. 9. the publican, this day was salvation come unto us ; even this last day of all the solemnity it came, to make it greater than the rest, the greatest of all the twelve, as the Catholic Church hath ever accounted it, the great and proper feast of the Gen- tiles, such as we were before it, and the last day was always

Joh. 7. 37. the greatest day of the feast, as you may see in the Gospel. So I did not amiss to call this day at first, the great and last day of our Christmas solemnity. Last. Fll warrant you every tradesman will tell you (specially if he has got a twang in his head) that all these observations of times are but popish customs, they will not celebrate ye a day longer ; nay, not so long neither, but for the law ; the day of the Gentiles' call- ing, what is that to them ? They have a tribe and a calling by themselves, that was marked out for heaven sure long be- fore either Jews or Gentiles were stirring. And * great' too, for the great and wide world was blessed this day with the

Lu. 1.78; day-star from on high, with the glad tidings of the Gospel, 'the tidings of the great Shepherd and the great King, the great King above all gods. Or because we will be sure to make it a great and high day, higher than the rest ; if this Epiphany alone will not do it, we have two or three more actions, of that dignity that they would make high days of themselves, to add to it; for this day, saith St. Gregory ISTazianzen \ was Christ also baptized in Jordan, and there-

' S. Greg. Nazianz. Orat. xxxix. in sancta lumina, 0pp. 1. 624.

Christ's several Epiphanies. 5

fore he calls his oration, De baptismo Christi — Epiphania Domini^. Before, He was born to us upon this day, and now He is baptized for us upon the same day too. And be- cause it should want no honour, we read that a year after His baptism He wrought His first miracle at a marriage upon this day too, saith Maximus; or, an ye will not believe him, the Second Lesson [appointed by] our own Joh. 2. 1— Church will tell you as much. They are three only things Avhich the Church hath ever observed for to preserve the honour of the day : and if you will have a fourth to make more exceeding this day than any other we read of, this was the day saith Origen, and St. Augustine after him, wherein He fed four thousand in the wilderness with a few loaves and two fishes. Ecce, quam magna et mirabilia fecit. Mat. 14. 17. Behold now, * how many and how wonderful things He hath done for us to-day,' made us, baptized us, married us, fed us, all in this one day. And therefore among the ancients (as St. Hieromc for one in whom I have read it, but Maxi- mus saith he hath seen it in many more) it is not dies Epi- phanice, in the singular number, but Epiphaniarum, a day of many manifestations •*.

And well may it be called thus, a day of many Epiphanies, were it but for the Gentiles' coming only ; for if ever many things were opened at once that were hid before, shadows of things to come, it was surely this day. For though there was no such matter thought on before, yet now it is made manifest what was figured by these same Exploratores, the Josh. 6. 23. spies that went out beforehand to see the Land of Promise. And now ye may perceive plainly what it was that Solomon's 1 Kings 5.

I'ch'. 29. 2.

« See the passages collected by Ca- Tempore, in festo Epiphaniae Domini,

saubon in his ii. Exercit. ad Ann. Card. Serm. 1. Hodie illud festum [^al. sa-

Baron. pp. 168, 169. edit. Genev. 1655. cramentum] colimus, quo se in homine

and by Suicer, in his Thesaur. v. 'Eiri- Deus virtutibusdeclaravit ; pro eo quod

<(>dvfia. in hac die, sive quod in coelo Stella

** Latini scriptores causas hujus so- ortus sui nuntiuni praebuit; sive quod

lemnitatis tres assignarunt, magorum in Cana Galilaeae in convivio nuptiali

adventum, baptisma Christi, et primum aquani in vinum coiivertit ; sive quod

in Cana miraculum ; quae tria miracula in Jordanis undis aquas ad reparatio-

eadem die sed annis diversis putabant nem buinani generis suo baptismo con-

esse facta, ut prolixe explicant Euche- secravit ; sive quod de quinque pani-

rius Lugdunensis, Homilia in Vigilia bus quinque millia hominum satiavit.

S. Andreae, et Petrus Chrysologus, In quolibet horum salutis nostrse mys-

Serm. 157. . . . Sunt et qui rationem teria continentur et gaudia. — Casaub.

quartam afferant, propter miraculum Exercit. Baron, p. 169. quinque panum. B. Augustinus de

6 Types of the Epiphany .

SEEM. Temple must have the wood from Lebanon amongst the Gen-

'- — tiles, as well as stones at home among the Jews ; and that

1 Kings Hiram king of Tyrus must help to build God's house as well

iKiiigs as himself, king of Jerusalem, and afterwards have twenty

^' "'"■'"• cities given him for the Jews and Gentiles to dwell together

in. And now it is plain what is meant that not Gideon's

Judg. 6. fleece alone, but the whole earth must be spread over with

' ■ the morning dew; and that Moses had married a woman of

Ex. 2. 21. Ethiopia ; and that Samson must leave the daughters of his

Judg. 14. 1. brethren, and first marry an uncircumcised Philistine, and

Judg. 16. 4. then fall in love with the harlot D alii ah : which manifests

likewise what we were, for before this day we went a whoring

after our own inventions. And therefore it was well figured

again in that, that God would have Hosea go and take unto

Hos. 1. 2. him a wife of fornications; and that a woman in captivity

Esth. 2, 18. must be married to Assuerus the king; and that Moses

* ■ the servant of God must be adopted the son of Pharaoh's

Gen. 26. 3. daughter ; and that Isaac must have the inheritance, though

Ismael were the eldest; and Jacob have the birth -right,

Gen.26.33. though Esau were the first-born (which is St, Paul's applica-

Kom.9.13. ^. ° ,, , />,.-, V -, , , r. V •

tion to the very honour or this day); and so that Ephraim must be put at the right hand of Jacob, though Manasses

Gen.48.13. were the elder son, howsoever it displeased Joseph ; and that Joseph himself must be sold for a bond-slave into Egypt, as we were before, and afterwards exalted to the golden chain and

Gen. 37. the best chariot that Pharaoh had, to the height of his king-

42,' 43.' dom, as we are now, for thus were we this day exalted; and lastly, that his father Jacob must have children by Leah that

Gen. 35. was blear-eyed, as well as by Rachel, that was beautiful and fair. I hope by this time, it is clear why this day should be called the Epiphany; there were so many things made known in it, that lay under a cloud before ; for these were all shadows yet. But now when this star arose, it enlightened them all, made them manifest what they all figured, even this day's calling of the Gentiles. Take but any of them ; the blear- eyed Leah will tell us how blind we were before, as blind as men that grope in the dark, in the darkness of ignorance, darkness as black as that of Egypt ; and that therefore this star, this day-spring from on high, did appear to-day to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of

Benefits conferred by it. 7

death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace ; of peace right, for before we were at mighty variance with heaven. Before, we could hear of nothing but, to execute vengeance upon the heathen, and to bind their kings in chains ; but to- Ps. 149. day the heathen are come into God's inheritance, and with- out complaint too ; no more indignation now to be poured upon them, as it follows there in the Psalm, but God now reigneth over the heathen, and the princes of the people are gathered unto the people of the God of Abraham; and though Ps. 47. 8, 9, the Gentiles did rage before, and the kings of the earth did baud themselves against the Lord's Anointed, yet to-day they grew wise and took David's counsel, 'Be wise now therefore, Ps. 2.2,10. O ye kings ;* they came and joined themselves together for a better purpose, to worship the Lord's Anointed, Christ the Lord. Before this time God was known in Jury only, and His name was great in Israel alone, but now there is neither Pa. 76. 1. speech nor language but His voice hath been heard among Pb. 19. 3. them ; and since the heavens have declared His glory, as Ps. 19. 1. this day they did. His sound is gone even unto the ends of Rom. 10. the world, as far as the Magi of the East. Yea, though we were dogs before, and must not have the children's bread given us, as Christ bespake the woman, yet now He hath Mat. 13.26. given us power to be the sons of God, as St. John speaks. Job. 1. 12.

It was David's prayer that God would think upon His Ps. 74. 8. inheritance, and whensoever He thought upon it, to - day we are sure He did, and it was time to think and have mercy upon her, yea O Lord, the time was come, for it Ps. 102. pitied Thee to see us in the dust. And therefore as soon ' as Christ did but ask of Him, as the Psalmist speaks, He Pb. 2. 8. gave Him the heathen for His inheritance, and the utter- most parts of the earth for His possession.

And though we were never so far remote, men of the East and at the ends of the earth, as I tell you, yet God heard our cry to bring us out of bondage, and to turn our captivity like the rivers in the South. A cruel captivity, Ps. 126. 5. as I told you before, worse by far than that in Babylon or the land of Goshen ; yet from this captivity, from this house of bondage, hath God this day delivered us. And now we are at deliverance, will ye mark how like our deliverance to-day was to theirs out of Egypt in every point. When

8 Deliverance from Egypt, a type.

SEEM. Israel came out of Egypt, the sea fled so fast that David

- — was fain to ask what it ailed : and might not we this day

^^ ■ ■ stand wondering, not at the sea, but at that which governs the sea, the heavens and the stars, for going backward? for this star that led these Wise Men went quite cross to all the other. Then as Pharaoh, he and all his host were troubled to hear the news of their delivery, and raged so much that a man might ask them what ailed them too, so Herod here

Mat. 2. 3. (ye may see it in the very next words to my text) he no sooner heard of our news, the news of Gentiles coming to Christ, but presently he and all Jerusalem were troubled at it; and how he raged, the voice of weeping and howl- ing that was heard in Rama, and Rachel that mourned for her children and would not be comforted, or the men of war, that knew what belonged to raging best, shall tell us, who went and slew all the poor young children in Bethlem, where Herod thought to have put out the light that this day gave shine unto the world; but he was de- ceived, it was too high for his reach. And last of all, as

Ex. 14. 27. Pharaoh, for all his raging, was overwhelmed and drowned in the Red Sea, so Herod here, howsoever he lived a while longer, yet he drowned himself, while he lived, in the Red Sea too, even the sea of blood.

So then, for a conclusion, as God hath made this our day's deliverance like theirs, as we see in all points, what have we to do but to make the day, as they made it too, a day of joy and thanksgiving, a day of a solemn and set service. Moses

Ex. 15. 20. with a song and Miriam with a timbrel in her hands that day. Woe to us if we had been still constrained to dwell in

Ps. 120. 5. Mesech, or to have had our habitation among the tents of Kedar ; then we might indeed have sat like unto them that

Ps. 137. 2. mourn and have hanged our harps upon the willows. But since we are brought out of darkness, and now sit no more

Lu. 1. 79. in the shadow of death, but have our feet guided by the light of His star, our hearts made glad with the tidings of the Gospel, now bring hither the tabret and harp, and blow

Ps. 81. 2. up the trumpet of praise, for this is our solemn feast day.

And so I have done with the feast, and from the day I come to opus diei, from the time to the text, though I have not been far from it all this while.

The subject divided. 9

'Now when Jesus was born in Bethlem.' And now when I begin to read my text, methinks it is not opus diei, it doth not agree with the time, for Christ was not born in Bethlera to-day, and indeed unless we go on it will not be verbum in die suo, Solomon's rule. And therefore to make it so, it follows, * Behold Wise Men came from the East to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is lie That is born King of the Jews, for we have seen,* &c.

The text would do well to have no division to-day, because it is a day of union, wherein they that were divided before were made one under Christ : and therefore I might only call it the Epiphany, one general head, and so away. But because we have been long enough about that, and for order's sake too, you may observe these parts.

1. A peregrination, * Behold there came from the East to Jerusalem;' the first point.

2. 'There came' — not poor pilgrims or beggars that had nothing else to do, but — the great ones, the sages of the land, Ecce, Magi venerunt; and that is the second point, the per- sons that came.

3. And they came, not like men that had no comfort or company in their journey, that they knew not ; but a glad- some director they had to go along with them, a star in the firmament; and that is the third.

4. Then for the fourth have you the end of their journey ;

the kings of the East came just as the queen of the South i Kings did, to see the king of the Jews, and therefore they ask, Where is the King of the Jews? Yet here they differed; for she came to hear and see and they came to worship, and we are come to worship Him.

5. And the last point of all is, the present occasion of their coming ; which was Christ's being then newly born at Bethle- hem— 'When Jesus' &c. — And here the kings' coming dif- fered from the queen's again, for she came to see Solomon in his full strength, and these to worship Christ in the be- ginning of His age; she to behold him in all his royalty, in his royal throne, in his kingly city ; these to behold Christ in all His poverty, His robes being but the poor swaddling-clouts that His Mother's mantle could make Him, His attendants not lords of the chamber but beasts of the field, and His

10 Degrees in our Lord's humiliation.

SEEM, throne not of six fair steps, or a great throne of ivory co-

— — ^ — - vered over with gold, but a rude manger covered perhaps

17, 18. with dust, or at the best His Mother's arms. This was the

magnificence that they came to see, and this the King That

they took all this pains to search and come from the East

this day to worship.

1. I will handle the occasion first, because that lays first in the text, and so I will deal with all the rest. When Jesus was (1) born at (2) Bethlem, in the (3) days of (4) Herod the king; that is the occasion; and I will not handle it neither, I will but even touch it and so away ; because, as I said be- fore, it is not proper to the day. But somewhat we will make of it though, and because it stands in our way to the star, we will make a ladder of it, to bring us up thither, and we will go up apace too, for the time is short, and we have much to do when we come there.

There be but four steps in it, and the first step hits right ; for it is fit to be the lowest of all, it is Christ's humility. Cum natus esset Jesus, when He was born, that Jesus Who Mark 1. 1. was the Son of the living God, as St, Mark begins his Gos- Mat. 1. 16. pel, should come to be the Son of Joseph, as St. Matthew begins his; that the immortal God Himself should come to be a mortal man, the Lord of Life come and subject Himself to the state of dying men, — this is beyond all degrees of lowliness. It had been humility enough, sure, had it been only Cum Jesus esset in Bethlem, and natus left out, to have been there at all, for the Son of God to have visited the sons of men in what majesty best befitted Him ; but to be born. Cum natus esset, that was too much for Him, man that is Ps. 103. 15, born of a woman, saith David, is a thing of nought. Nay, factus then had been far less, for so He might have had a perfect body framed Him, and * made,' in the vigour of His age, as Adam was, and so have escaped the diseases of child- hood : but now, not to be ' made,' but to be ' born,' that is to endure many more miseries, misery within the womb and misery without it, the age next the birth is full of them. Yet for all this, Jesus natus est, He did not abhor the Virgin's womb (a thing we may see by that to be abhorred,) but was even content to be * born' for us, as all miserable men are. This is the first step.

Christ, why bom in Bethlehem. 11

2. But the second step is more lowliness yet, it comes a degree higher; a strange virtue this humility hath, that the lower it goes the higher it riseth.

Not * born* only, but ' born in Bethlem;' the place where Jesus was born, in Bethlem. Why, if Jesus, the Son of God, must needs be born, a man would think He would have had ■a place fit for His birth; the glorious heaven would not have been amiss for this purpose, and therefore if Mary had been assumed into it beforehand, as they say she was afterwards '', there to have brought Him forth, it had been somewhat like Himself. Or if not there, because He must have come down upon the earth howsoever, yet the city of the great King, the city of David, would have done well ; for we use to say that the place doth not a little dignify the birth ; and there- fore St. Paul knew how well it would do to say that he was

born at Tarsus, a famous and a noble city in Cilicia. But Acts 21.

. . 39

now m little Bethlem, one of the out and despised cities, was

Christ content to be born in ; and there, not in a palace, or any house of His own, or His Mother's either, but in an inn among the common people. In an inn? No, I was mis- taken, there was no room for Him there, it was in the stable among the common beasts, and no soft couch spread for Him there neither. It was even in a cold hard cratch ^, in a very • a manger corner of the stable too. A man was he ? a very worm, and no man ; the scorn and the outcast of the people. Look ye, Ps. 22. 6. here is a ladder alone. Not in the glorious city of heaven, nor in any glorious city of earth neither, nor in any glorious house of any city ; but in a mean city, and in a mean house too, and not by any right of His own in a mean house, but in a common inn, where every body had to do as well as He ; and not in any chamber there, as the meanest comer would take up, that, but in the stable ; and not in any large or se- questered room neither, but in a corner of the cratch. So far as He could go, no further, nor I neither ; but this was strange ; Him whom the heaven of heavens could not con- tain before, to be thus pent up : this was humility, lowliness to the height.

And now we are come to the top of the ladder. For besides

'' See Suarez in 3 Thomae, torn. ii. p. 198.

12 Christ, why born in the reign of Herod.

SEEM. His immortality and immensity, which ye see these two/ born,' '■ and ' born at Bethlem/ have humbled well enough. He had

other attributes to be brought low too; His eternity first, and then His power.

3. So we make the third step to be ' in the days ;' when Jesus was born at Bethlem in the days. That He That was without beginning or ending. Which made the evening and the morning to be the first day for us, Which was the ancient of days Himself, that He should be born in diebus, ' in the days,' this must needs be one degree more. It was enough, one might suppose, that place must measure Him before, the stable in Bethlem; but to have time measure Him too, to be made a man of thirty-three years of age, that is to be

Ps. 22. 6. more vile yet, as David said. And because we are at the time, we will see what time He was born too ; for though it was in the days of Herod, yet it was in the night time, and in the winter time besides. For the winter, our yearly ob- servation of the feast will tell us it was so ; and for the night,

Lu. 2. 8. St. Luke saith, it was when the shepherds were keeping their flocks by night, as you may read in his Gospel. Now the day time might have afforded some comfort, or the summer time at least might have helped the nakedness of His tender body; but in a cold, winter night to be born, there His charity was hot, that was fervent love indeed.

4. But it is not in diebus only, but in diebus Herodis, in the days of Herod the king, and that is a degree further, the fourth step ; to have His power made subject to a tyrant. He That was the head of all, it was strange to have Him live under any power, or if under any, yet not under a wicked and a cruel tyrant. If He must needs have a king over Him, it would have been good to have had such a one as

Gen. 41. Pharaoh was to Joseph, or Assuerus to Esther, or Darius to Est. 2. 17. Daniel; but to have another Pharaoh arise, that knew Him Exod^i'^8 °°*> ^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^ *° ^^ born, and to have a Herod tha< would make a howling over all Rama but he would kill Him, and then to come, this was more strange than all the rest. And yet, now I think of it, in diebus Herodis was a very fit time for Him, it was time He should come, for the sceptre was gone from Judah and Christ must come to the Jews. As long as it tarried there, God's prophets were enough to be

ChrisVs humiliation our exaltation. 13

sent; but when it came under strangers once, and under Herod, a cruel and wicked king, when the law of God was held in unrighteousness, then it was a just time for the Just One, the Son of God, to come ; none could recover the king- dom but He, and He went a strange way about it ; if He had not told us that His kingdom was not of this world, we might have wondered at it, and so we do still, to go no further than the text ; for who would have been born in Jury at such a time as he must presently run into Egypt before he could go alone. This was to add misery upon misery, one degree upon another, till He came to the highest pitch of humility. Count we ; immortality itself made a mortal man, natus, the first step ; immortality confined within a cratch, natus in Bethlem, the second ; eternity measured by time, in diebus, the third ; power made subject to tyranny, in diebus Herodis regis, the fourth. By this time we are come to the very top of the ladder.

Where we may stand and see, not the Angels descending. Gen. 28. as Jacob did, but the Son of God Himself descending from the bosom of His Father to the womb of His Mother, from heaven to earth, and this was the ladder He made for us to go up to heaven by ; for unless He had come down, we should never have gone up. Whether He came with all His lowli- ness but to lead us up again, and to tell us that here was nothing to be looked for, here below ; for if there had, the Wise Men to-day lost their labour in seeking Him out for a king. And therefore He lifts up their eyes to heaven, to the bright star there ; which, for all His lowliness here, gave them to understand that He had a kingdom in a better world. And thus we see how this ladder hath brought us from earth to heaven. But yet before we meddle with the star, because Ecce 3Iagi stands first in the text, we will come to them first, and that shall be ray order in the rest, how- soever the division went ; and now we are at opus diei, the proper text of the day. I have made a preparation, you see, to it, as St. Mathew did, that we might all account it the more solemn.

And first of all, we cannot but take notice of this same

Ecce, Behold. It is a word set up for the nonce ^ a mark ' for the

occasion

set up in our journey to Jerusalem, and it hath two faces,

14 The time when the Magi came.

SEEM, two uses in the text, one to make us look backwards, and

'■ another to raake us look forwards ; backwards to a word,

if ye mark it, that we have left out all this while, Cum, ' When,' Christ was born ; and forwards to all the rest, ' Be- hold, when He was born there came Wise Men from the East to Jerusalem.' Then, and not before, that is the first ; and again, though not before, yet then, that is the second. So it hath two fingers, we see, to point backwards, first, cum natus, ' when He was born,' * they came,' venerunt, and not before ; for as long as there was nothing to be heard of but wrath and indignation upon the heathen, there was no coming to God, but like children that had heavily offended their father, were naturally fearful to come near so long ; Job. 13. 8. nay, as long as Peter considers himself a sinful man, Christ Gen. 3. 10. must not comc near him neither; and Adam must hide him- self in the bushes. Men with all their sins about them ' until cannot endure to come near God ; and therefore while ^ He sent His Son to be born. That should save men from their sins, there was no encouragement to come. But now, cum natus, once, the second thing, then, Ecce Magi, Behold, the Wise Men came presently. Now, saith your new translation, instantly upon His birth they came, and go we and celebrate the day so. And so the publicans [in the Gospel ; they knew not, poor men, what they should think of themselves as long as the Pharisees were accounted the ipse^ of the age, and Lu. 18. 11. they but iste publicanus and hcec mulier. But when they saw 13. ■ ■ Christ keep company with them, and send into the hedges and contemned places for the halt and the heathen, then Lu. 15. 1. they began to take heart ; then, saith St. Luke, drew near unto Him all the publicans and sinners. So, though we were Ezek. 33. afraid before, yet when we hear God say once, ' As I live, I Lii. 14. 23. will not the death of a sinner, ' and Christ, that there is room yet at supper for them which sat at the land's end in corners and hedges, that breeds some comfort. And so when Ex. 20. 18. God spake to us by the Law, the thunder and lightning was so big as we durst not come near the mountain ; but since in Heb. 1. 2. these last days He hath spoken to us by His Son, since the lightning was turned into a bright star that told us a Saviour was born to-day. Cum natus esset Jesus, then we come from the east, from the world's end to seek Him. And so much

The Magi, their origin. 15

for the first use of this Ecce, which sent us two ways back- wards by the relation it had with the word ' when.'

But the chief use of it is to make us look forwards, for there we have most to behold. * Behold, Wise Men came from the East to Jerusalem'.' Ecce, as if he should tell us that it was no ordinary matter, but a thing well worth our marking, more than we commonly take it for. When he comes to his Ecce once, it is sure a matter of weight, of some great importance. So the Annunciation came with an Ecce, Ecce concipies, and John the Baptist with an Ecce too, Ecce Ln. i.si. Agnus Dei, and the Angel with an Ecce too, Ecce evangelizo Joh. i. 36. vobis ; all matters of much consequence, and therefore sure some great thing it is, and no small matter that St. Matthew is about here to tell us ; Ecce Magi "*. Indeed no small mat- ter, that the Magi of the East, the Gentiles, should come to Christ, and that the star should enlighten them that sit in darkness. For what hath light to do with darkness? saith the Apostle, aut qua participatio est justitia cum iniquitate ? 2 Cor. 6. What, should holy things be cast unto dogs ? or what should soothsayers do amongst the prophets, and profane diviners with the holy divinity of Christ? Sure this is a strange mystery, worth the attending and listening to, worth the going out to see. Ecce Magi, Behold the magicians of the East. It was nothing such a wonder that the Angels came down from heaven to worship Him ; they were always used to it before; and tliough it was a strange thing that the rude, ignorant shepherds should come and acknowledge God come in the flesh, yet much more marvellous was it that such men as these Magi, sacrilegi et malifeci, as St. Austin calls them", and tutored by the devil, as St. Hierome speaks, cultores idolorum et divini nominis hostes, as St. Basil,

' See Melch. Canus, Locc. Theolog. saur. in v. Moyoy ; Maldonat. in Matth.

xi. V. p. 474. edit. 1605. p. 46. edit. Par. 1651; Tiliemont, M^m.

" The opinions of the Fathers re- i. 7. 426 — 431. edit. 1701. Further

specting the origin and rank of the authorities are cited by Wolfius in his

Magi and their journey from the East Curae Philologicae, and Koecher in his

to Jerusalem, have been collected and Analecta.

discussed by Casaubon. Exercit. Ba- " Passages from the writings of SS.

ron. ii. n. 10. p. 159. edit. Genev. 1655 ; Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Haymo,

Walch. Hist. Eccl. N. T. p. 141 ; Ambrose, Justin Martyr, Hilary, and

Hyde, de Relig. Vet. Persarum, cap. others, in wliich this opinion is ex-

31. p. 372 J Barradii Harm. Evang. pressed, are collected by Barradius, i.

lib.ix.cap.8;Calovii,Bibl.Illust.N.T. 445. tom.i. p. 154. edit. 1719; Suicer. The-

16 The Magi, their number.

SEEM. St. Ambrose, and some other of the Fathers make them; '■ for them to come and acknowledsre the Son of God, as

poorly as He lay, this was beyond an ordinary miracle. Or whether these Magi were such kind of men or no, or but only so called for their admirable wisdom and learning, or their account above other people, as the philosophi were among the Grecians, and the sapientes and doctores among the Latins, which is St. Chrysostom's, and Anselm's, and Bede's opinion, besides many other °, both of ancient and modern writers, and which is the fairest sense for us to follow, seeing our own Church hath gone before us in it, and translated it so, "Behold, Wise Men," I say if they were but thus, yet Gentiles they were, remote from God's covenant, even as far as the ends of the earth were from Jerusalem, the east from the west; and therefore St. Matthew might well set an Ecce upon it, and bid us wonder how they should come thither. JEcce venerunt magi.

I will not now trouble myself and you both, as many do, to tell you how many of these Magi there were, three, or more ; or to tell you a tale out of Petrus de Palude how, being kings at first, they left that office for St. Thomas to make them all archbishops in their country, and how after two of them were dead, and laid close together in their graves, they started one from another to make room for the third ; and how Helen, Constantine's mother, begged their bodies, of the patriarch there, and carried them to Constantinople, 1 Milan and from thence how they came to Millaine\ in St. Am- » Cologne brose's days, and then to Colein^ at last, which makes them now to be called the Three Kings of Colein ; and what their names were besides all this. These kind of speculations will do us little stead, which way soever they go. Yet for their numberP as I would not be too curious to search, so I would not be too boisterous to condemn and think every thing popery that we read not in the text. It hath been a very ancient tradition, (Leo hath it in his Sermons,) and perhaps

° Barradius supplies a large collec- Sermonum ad Fratres in Eremo, Serm.

tion of such authorities. 43, Anselmus, Innocentius in Serm. de

P Rogasquotnam fuerintmagi? Re- Epiph., Bernardus in Serm. 6. de vigi-

spondemus fuisse tres ex recepta sen- lia Nativ. pastores tres, tres quoque

tentia. Tres fuisse sentit Divus Leo, magos numerat. — Barrad. Harm. lib. ix.

in Sermonibus de Epiphania, Author cap. 8.

Kingly dignity of the Magi. 17

at the first they had better reason for it than we know of now. And for their dignity, whether they were kings or no, I cannot tell ; yet Tertulliani says (and TuUy "^ likewise before him) they would have no other kings there but Magi, such as these were ; and it hath been an old custom of the Church (howsoever our new masters deride it) to apply that saying in the Psalms, * The kings of Tharsis and of the isles shall Ps. 72. 10. bring gifts,' and that in Isaiah, * The Gentiles shall walk in is. 60. 3. Thy light, and kings at the brightness of Thy rising* up,' — to these Wise Men. Kings ! why doth not St. Matthew call them so then? There may be reason for that. It more concerns us and God too, to have Christ acknowledged by the wise, than by any king whatsoever; and perhaps he would teach us by it that the greatest honour we can have is to be wise men (it is a good use for us to make of it, at least) :

Regem non faciunt opes ; • • • • • Rex est qui posuit raetus £t diri mala pectoris '.

Herod indeed, he might afford him the name of a king well enough, it was the only thing he had to stand upon : but for them that had wisdom to commend them, and came to worship Him that had no kingdom of this world, it was no great matter to tell of their kingdoms. Herod, we know, made so much of his crown that rather than it should off he would murder all the coasts about him ; whereas they contemned theirs so much (if they had any) that they took them off themselves and threw them at Christ's feet. So that they might be kings, for all St. Matthew calls them not so; or if not kings, as the tradition and some authority goes, yet all stories will make them the nobles and great ones of their country, men of no small account, as likely to be kings, such as they had in these parts, as any else.

And here now we may set up the Ecce again. Ecce Magi. Not men of mean condition, the outcasts of the people, or

1 Nam et magos reges fere habuit ' Tertullian, in the passage just

oriens. — TertuU. adv. Judxos, cap. ix. quoted, makes a similar application of

p. 192. edit. 1664. Ps.72. 15. See Lorini Comment, in

' Non potest quisquam rex esse Per- Ps. 71. 11. p. 335. edit. 1619.

sarum, qui non ante magorum disci- * L. A. SenecjE Thyestes, Ciiorus in

plinam perceperit. Cic. deDivin. lib.l. Act ii. p. 484. edit. Lugd. Bat. 1651.

COCIN. C

18 Why their coming was delayed.

SEEM, poor pilgrims that had little else to do, but men of authority

'■ and rule where they were, men famous besides for their

knowledge, whose books to look on were as large as the heavens. Reguli at least, if not reges, came from the East to Jerusalem, great men, the unlikeliest of any to take so much pains for devotion; more ready, a man would think, as these times go, to take their pleasure at home than to go upon pilgrimage abroad ; to attend the world than to go and worship Him that had nothing of it. And yet, great ones as they were, they came for all that, to tell us, first, who should come after, how the only way to be great is to be little, lowly before God the only way to be accounted kings, to be servants, to come and worship God ; which we acknowledge every day in our Church service, Cui servire regnare est, as the old collect" goes, 'Whose service is perfect freedom,' that is a kingdom right. And then to watch besides, that godliness and greatness would do well together, the king's house and God's house joined close to one another, for the more honour of both. The great ones of our age take journeys too, but it is for another purpose, not for religion's sake. Yes, saith Eev. 6. 8. St. John, I saw him riding upon a brave horse, but Death and Hell were his companions. Be we then what we will be, rich, or wise, or great, we had need take care where we go, for fear of such companions by the way. The best way will be to follow those Magi, even in their way to Christ ; and then we shall not have darkness and death, but God's Spirit and a star in heaven go along with us.

But before we can go any further in the pilgrimage, there is a stop by the way, and that is one that asks us why these Gentiles come so late ? Why not they, learned and quick men, as soon as the ignorant and dull shepherds ? We might say that the East was further off a great deal than the next field; but howsoever, sure I am that the Jews were nearer to God than the Gentiles, we were all strangers to the cove_ nant ; et ergo (says one) qui remotiores erant a foedere tardius Acts 13. accesserunt, and the Gospel ought first to come to you, saith ^^- St. Paul to the Jews. Therefore came the Magi last. And

" Deus, auctor pacis et afinator, tua fidemus, nuUius hostilitatis arma

quern nosse vivere, cui servire regnare timeamus; per Jesum Christum, Domi-

est; protege ab omnibus impugnationi- num nostrum. Amen. — S. Greg. Lib.

bus supplices tuos, ut qui in defensione Sacr. Missa pro pace.

Their journey from afar country. 19

then (because there are more questions) Christ was not ma- nifested to the learned, but the ignorant Jews; nor to the religious and just men of the time, but to the sinful Gentiles; nee doctis, nee justis (saith St. Austin,) quippe Qui venerat stulta eligere ut confunderet sapientes, and not to call the Mat. 9. 13. righteous but sinners to repentance. Therefore came the Magi, sinful men. And lastly : He was made known to the Jews in the persons of shepherds, and to the Gentiles in the persons of great men, that we might know how the chief pastors and ministers of Christ's Church should come from the Jews, as St. Peter and the rest of the Apostles ; but the chief defenders of it, kings and princes, they should come out of the Gentiles, as indeed they did. Therefore came the Magi, great men.

And now the way is clear, I go on. Eece Magi venerunt. * Came.' So the persons we have done with all, and now we are at their full pilgrimage. *Came from the East.* And here we will go apace, for we have a great way yet to Christ, the end of their journey and of my text. I am afraid it will grow late before I shall get half way.

And first therefore, it will not be best to trouble you with knowing what country they came from^, whether from Persia, as St.Chrysostora and St. Basil; or Arabia, as Justin Martyr and Cyprian; or from Chaldea, as Maximus and Chrysologus; or from the furthest part of Ethiopia, as Hilarius Arelatensis thinks ; or with counting how much time they spent in com- ing so far ; — this would stay us too long on our way ; and therefore we will haste on without enquiring after them.

* From the East.' Not from the next door, or a town hard by, but a longe, even from far, even as the Ethiopian in the Acts (whom some think they sent afterwards) came from the Acts 8. 27. ends of the earth to worship at Jerusalem. A hard journey sure they had, saith St.Chrysostom, for besides the long way Opp. vii. there were huge mountains and horrid deserts, great floods and rivers to pass, wild beasts and (what is more) beastly and wild men to pass by. And yet by all these difficulties they came, even from the East to Jerusalem.

» S. Chrysos. i. 498, 499 ; vii. 86, Taur. ap. Bibl. Pat. v. i. 28 : S. Chry- &c. : S.Basil, ii. 600: S. Just. Mart, solog. id. v. ii.774, 775: S. Hilar. 210. 174,175: S. Cypr. Ixxxix. : S.Maxim. edit. Benedict.

c2

20 Modern supineness censured.

SEEM. Now what a shame was it for the Jews which were round ^ about Him, that the Gentiles from the East should come to

seek Christ and they sit secure and idle at home, never en- quiring after Him. Or rather what a far worse shame is it for us, which be Christians now, when the heathen that dwelt at the world's end, and had so hard a journey, would come to serve and worship Christ ; and we, that dwell even at the next door, will scarce take the pains to do it, nay if

1 Kings 6. our chambers look into God's house, as we read the king's entry was turned into the temple, yet we stir but at our leisure; the least business, if it be but a little more desire of sleep, will hinder us ; and if we be seated but a little way off

1 Kings once, why then Jeroboam's counsel is very good, it is too much to go up to Jerusalem. These Wise Men here shall not have our company by the mountains and deserts, we are more tenderly brought up ; by them ? no ! not through a shower of rain (nay if it rains we will not go to church ;) our ordi- nary sleep, or the beams of the sun will keep some of us in, so dainty we are that we cannot endure it truly ; and if no body else will go, Christ may comfort Himself with His Mother's arms, for we have neither worship, nor gold, nor frankincense, nothing for Him. A greater offence, sure then,

Mat. 12. vve use to make of it. These men of the East shall rise up in 42. . ^

Mat. 8. 11. judgment, nay many more shall come from the East, and

from the West, and sit with Christ one day, to tell us

as much.

But as we go along, there is another yet that meets us, to

ask, why from the East? there were Gentiles in the north

and south too, why not from them as well, but from the East

alone ? Marry best of all from hence, it suits well to make

Gen. 3. 24. even with Eve in Paradise, that as from the East came the first news of sin, so from thence should come the first news of saving us from sin ; and to make even with Balaam too.

Num. 23. that as he came a montibus Orientis, to curse God's people, so these Magi (that some say^ were his scholars far removed)

* Alii vero dicunt illos fuisse ne- vam, intellexerunt regem natum, et

potes Balaam, quod magis est creden- venerunt. — Remig. in Th, Aquin. Aur.

duni ; Balaam euim inter csetera quae Cat. Et sic hanc stellam futuram

prophetavit, dixit, Orietur Stella ex vaticinio Balaam noverant, cujus erant

Jacob. lUi vero habentes lianc pro- successores. — Hieron. ibid. phetiam, mox ut viderunt stellam no-

Why the Magi came 'from the East.' 21 ,

should come ah Oriente too, to bless all the generations of the Gentiles after them. And indeed, from whence should they come but from the East? Oinnes qui veniunt ad Christum, saith Remigius, must come ab Ipso^' from Him first; now He is the true day-spring, — Oriens nomen Ejus &c. — as Zecharias speaks. Zech.6.l2.

Then this was the beginning of our bliss, the very morning of our happiness; and therefore, as the morning and day begin, so began that, ab Oriente, from the East both ; and then because the sun follows the day in the East too, it was most fit that such as brought us news of the Sun of Righte- ousness, the light that lightens every man which cometh into Job. i. 9. the world, should come from thence too'^. And if ye mark it, it was the most glorious Sun that arose here of the two ; — the sun in the firmament being but a created body, this, He that made that so, that to lighten the body, and this to illuminate the mind. And now since we have begun to com- pare Him with the sun, we will make it good every way; for as He rose here in the East among the Gentiles, so He set in the West among the Jews. [And Jerusalem may well be called occidens, (says one %) the Sun of Righteousness went down there ; or occidens either, an ye will, for besides that, it killed the Prophets, and stoned them that were. sent unto Mat. 23.

37

her: at last it killed the great Prophet — even the Son of God Himself*.] And by this time we are come to Jerusalem.

* Behold there came Wise Men from the East to Jerusa- lem;' so their coming was like the sun's too, from east to west, and west was Jerusalem right, for it was full of dark- ness, they had almost lost their light, it was even a-going out, and ergo time for a Sun to rise out of the East, which might give light to them that were sitting in the dark west, the shadow of death.

But to let pass the allegory, (which indeed should never be

y Sed tunc quaerendum est quare ' Merito ab oriente venerunt qui

Evangelista dicat eos ab oriente ve- Solem Justitiae novum nobis ortum

nisse? Quod ideo est, quia ab ilia re- annunciant, laetisque rumoribus totum

gione venerunt quae in orientali parte mundum illuininant. — Ludolph. de

Judaeis posita est. Pulclire autem ipsi Saxonia, in Vita Cbristi, cap. xi.

ab oriente venisse dicuntur; quia om- • See Barradii Harm. lib. x. cap. xii.

nes qui ad Dominum veniunt, ab Ipso ** Tbe passage here enclosed within

et per Ipsum veniunt. Ipse enim est brackets is marked in the original as

oriens, secundum illud, Ecce vir, if for omission. Oriens nomen ejus. — Remig. ibid.

22 Why the Magi came to Jerusalem.

SEEM, strained too far,) they came to Jerusalem; but why thither? ■"■■ Christ was at Bethlehem. Oh, but this was the great city,

Ps. 48. 2. ' the city of the great King,' and most like they should find the King they sought for there. Yet there He was not, and I told you the reason before ; then why came they ? Marry, for many reasons; there was first the Law and the Prophets, and God will have them looked in, even in the very search of His Son; — to let us know the true way to Him, and to Job. 6. 39. eternal life, (as Christ Himself speaks,) was by the Scriptures. Then there was the chief seat of the laud, whither God would have the news of the Messias brought, rather than to any other place, that from thence all the regions round about might take notice of it ; for if they had come to Joppa or Jericho only, there might have been some excuses made, that we on this side Jordan had not heard of Him, but from Jeru- salem every body must needs take knowledge of it. And then again here were the Ipses of the time, the Scribes and Pharisees, and masters of the Law, that would have scorned to have been told of their] new-born King by a company of silly shepherds, or to have searched the Prophets for them. And therefore it was fit the princes and great men of the East, since they were now a-coming, should go by the way to Jerusalem to bring these master-Jews the news of their King ; for how contemptible soever the shepherds' relation would have been, yet when such men came as the world admired for their wisdom and greatness, and came from far too, from the East, not likely to come in vain, it was like they would receive their testimony. But whatsoever a man would think, yet we see that they believed nothing, not one of them would go to Bethlehem to worship with the Magi ; that their coming now to Jerusalem was to condemn and shame the Jews, even the best of them, when these should take such pains, come from the ends of the earth to the King of the Jews, and the Jews themselves take no heed of Him, when these heathen men should, with the light of one star see Christ was come in the flesh, and they, who had a continual light among them, the Law and the Prophets, should be so blind as not to see Him ; nay, and when they did see Him there and shewed Him to these men, as we see a httle after my text, yet could not go along with them to

Why the Magi came to Jerusalem. 23

acknowledge Him. But yet, as ill as they were, God would have the Magi to come that way, for to teach us one lesson more, and that is that, omnia non manifestantur omnibus, and therefore they must come this way to ask what they knew not, where Christ was born. In the search of holy things we stand in need of great help, and since we cannot know all of ourselves, we must learn one of another, the Jews of the Magi, that there was a King born, and they of the Jews where He should be born. And last of all, to shew that this was the time when the Jew and Gentile should come to- gether, and be no longer parted; but since the King of Peace was come, that they should enter into peace too, teach one another the way to Christ. And therefore this was the right way they took, the way of peace, the way that Christ would have them. Who is The Way Himself; so they came Job. 14. 6. from the East to Jerusalem, the ' city of peace' too, and this was right to guide their feet in the way of peace.

And now we have followed them thus far, and are come along with them to Jerusalem, fain would we see what they do there, and so go along with them to Bethlehem too. But it is even fallen out as I told you I feared before, it is grown late before we can go any further, and therefore best staying here, for if we should go on, there be so many steps to be taken in the way, that the night would overtake us ere we should get to the text's end. But all the day must not be spent in preaching ; and therefore since we are at Jerusalem, the city of peace, crying * Glory be to God on high, and peace on earth,* let us take the peace of God along with us and so depart for this time.

Now the peace of God which passeth all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, That was this day made known unto us, and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be among us, and remain with us always. Amen.

SERMON 11.

A FUNERAL SERMON ^

AT ST. martin's IN THE FIELDS, ON THE SEVENTEENTH OP JUNE, A.D. MDCXXIII. AT THE FUNERAL OF MRS. DOKOTHY HOLMES ^ SISTER TO THE BIGHT BEVEREND FATHER IN GOD, THE LORD BISHOP OF DURHAM.

SEEM. We are come hither to perform a double duty to this our

'■ — sister deceased, to commit her body to the ground, the first,

and to commend her good name and memory to the world, the second. While she was alive, she had her soul, her body, and her good name ; but as for her soul, God has taken it to Himself, but these two He has left behind with us to preserve and lay up for Him while •= His own coming at the last day. I will speak somewhat of both.

And though her body be now to us as all other dead bodies are, brought hither by us to be decently interred in the earth ; yet — because the reason of the Churches' ceremony, as we too well know, perhaps, being made but a matter of course and common custom only — we will tell you now once for all why we do it, not only to her, but to all other that depart, as she hath done, in the faith of Christ.

The Church then would have us consider, that as Grod hath taught us to put a difference between the soul of a beast and the spirit of a man, (for the soul of a beast goes downward to the earth from whence it came, but the spirit of a man returns

' This Sermon, after being consider- 1837 to the British Museum by John

ably altered and abridged, was subse- Holmes, Esq., F.S.A., one of the as-

quently used upon an occasion nearly sistant Librarians of that institution,

similar. See Appendix, No. 2. The Dedication however makes no

*> It is probable that the Dorothy mention of relationship, although it

Holmes here mentioned was sister to recites the many favours which had

Bishop Neile, and that she was the wife been conferred upon the writer by the

of William Holmes mentioned in his Bishop.

will as his brother. A Walter Holmes "= While, i.e. until, as in Macbetli iii.l.

wrote a ' Septimana Epigrammatum,' We will keep ourself

dedicated to the Bishop, of which the While supper-time alone ; while

unpublished MS. was presented in then, God bless you.

Death, a sleep to the Christian. 25

to God That gave it, as the Wise Man speaks,) so likewise Eccl. 3. 21. He hath taught us to put a diflference between their bodies too. The bodies of other creatures consume away and perish, and shall never be heard on again, after they are once dead. But our bodies are not so, for though the soul be now gone from it, yet one day it shall return to it and make it stand up from the grave. When we sleep you see we rise again, and this death of the body is but a little longer sleep than ordinary, which is the reason that we read so often in Scrip- ture how the kings of Israel slept with their fathers. Nay, See 2 Sam. it is but a rest, saith David, a rest from the troubles and i Kings cares of this world, and not a bare rest, and no more, but j^ 26. 20. a rest in hope : * ray flesh shall rest in hope,' saith the Pro- Jg^^®^" ^" phet, in hope of being raised up again at the last day, to Ps.ie.Q.cf. a far better state than ever it was in in this world ; which '^ * " hope other creatures liave not.

The diflference then being so great, since it is not God's pleasure that our bodies should be neglected and cast away, as the bodies of otlier dead creatures are '^, to become dung for the earth, and to have our bones lay scattered abroad to the sight of the sun : it was the Prophet's complaint, that Ps. 79. 2. they gave the dead bodies of Ilis servants to be meat unto the fowls of the air, and the flesh of Ilis saints. unto the beasts of the land •=, that their blood ran about like water, and that there was none to bury them. And that being such a kind of barbarous inhumanity, God and the Church have taken order for it, that when His servants are gathered to their fathers, their souls gone up to heaven, there should be care taken to have their bodies laid up with honour, seemly,

and decently, in the bed of the earth, while • it shall please' 'until,' aa ^ J , 1 • • before.

Ijod to awaken it again.

In the earth? nay, that is not enough; for then what

need we to make all this solemn procession to the church ;

we have earth enough every where about our houses, and we

^ Orig. contra Celsum, lib. viii. edit Zre ol tV Tifi^v tov <rd>ixaTo$, tvda. \o-

0pp. de la Rue, torn. i. p. 764. y^vx'^" 7'"^ ^^xh ifixritTf, irfincTTevKaai, Kal

\oyiK^v Tifiav fidfT]!/ fiij,(7i tafxev, Kal to. in' avroy <pa(Tt Sf^dfx.evoi' KaAut; dyovt-

ravTTis opyava fiera Tiftrjs irapaSiSofai ffafifVTjf Sta toiovtov ovpavuv i^nx^*'.

Kara ra pfvofiia-fifya ra<pTJ' &^iov yap ' Noii patieinur figuram et tiginen-

rh TTJs \oyiKrjs ifi/x^s olKijTTjpiov fiij turn Dei feris ac volucribus in praedam

Trapa^piiTTflv arifius, Kal iis trvx^", jacere, sed reddamus id terrae, unde

ofi-oius r<f Twv d\6yfuv koX /loAtffTo, ortura est. — Lactatit. Instit. vi. 12.

26 Commendation of the deceased.

SEEM, might lay our dead bodies there. But it is not God's will that our bodies should be buried as an ass is buried, in the

Jer. 22. 19.

common fields; but here is a place chosen out and dedicated

to that purpose ; and therefore Abraham would not bury his

dead in the corn fields, nor among the Hethites, but we see

Gen. 25. he purchased the plain of Mamre to lay the bodies of God's

31 '32, servants up in peace together. And so after his example

has the Church ordered amongst us, that are of the seed of

SeeBingh. Abraham, and accordingly are we met together to commit

Beqq. the dead body of this His servant, our sister departed, to

her hallowed grave in peace, and in hope of the glorious

resurrection hereafter. That, for the first duty to her.

Now as there is a difference betwixt men and other crea- tures, for their bodies, so there is a difference betwixt men themselves too, for preserving their good name; which is our second duty to be performed towards her.

There are indeed those that die and perish, and have nothing worth the remembering left behind them, people that are clean forgotten and out of mind as soon as they are gone, as though they never were. But yet there are others Eccius. which are honourable in their generations, as Ecclesiasticus ■ ■ speaks, and well reported of in their times, which have left

a name behind them, that when they are gone their praise may still be spoken of and their names be had in continual remembrance. Among which company we esteem this our sister deceased.

And to make good what we say, we will a little view her life and death ; by both which men are sufificiently tried what they are.

She was born of an honest and religious parentage, which, as it was not obscure then, so it has been since, by the worth of them which were nearest allied unto her, made honourable to the world. But howsoever that had gone, being good, she was great enough, virtue being the best thing to measure greatness by, when all is done.

Her education was suitable to her birth, such as befitted her in all honesty and piety; and though there be many alive that can bear witness to it, yet the best and surest testimony of that are the fruits that she shewed of it in the ensuing course of her time afterwards.

The education of herself and her children. 27

Her discretion and understanding grew as fast as her age ; and in her discourse, her apprehensions of any thing pro- pounded, and her answers to it, were many times noted to be more than ordinary ; of such a strong and vigorous spirit she was.

Of the innocency of her life, they of her continual acquaint- ance and [who] knew her behaviour can generally affirm that as she was commendable for many good things, so she was careful to keep herself from all blemish of vice, and used the best means she could to keep always an uudefiled conscience.

And as of herself, so she was sedulous and very affec- tionate in the education of her children, that they might serve God and the commonwealth, some in one course of life, and some in another ; and one of them to her great comfort and content she lived to see pass two degrees of schools in the University, howsoever it pleased God to take him away sooner than she expected. There are now, that neither of themselves, nor of their oflFspring neither, have any regard at all, but let them run riot, they care not which way, and if they will prove good, so it is, let nature work, and so let grace work too, an it will, they will not force them to it, nor it shall not grieve them much whether they do or no. She was of another mind, so careful to have them do well, that it grieved her when she heard of any other did ill.

She had not much, and yet she was so well esteemed as she wanted not, but always laid in that sort as befitted her best; and yet though her stock was not great, nevertheless out of her little which she had, she would not let them want her bounty that had less than she, being noted to be so charitable, as that the sight of any poor creature would make her stand still to give her alms; and besides what love she shewed to many others at home in that kind, those that lived with her, and knew what her actions were, can give an ample testimony.

Her attire was sober and decent, and she took no great care to make much of that body which she knew she must one day part withal, to the grave. Marry, now, for her soul, as we all should be, that she was a little more careful on. I will tell you how : myself can witness that her devotions she daily observed, and when sickness did not hinder her.

28 Ser afflictions through life.

SEEM, offered up her Morning and her Evening Sacrifice accord-

'■ ing to the order of our Church in the pubHc place of God's

service, in His hallowed temple, the most kindly place for that purpose that can be; and when she could not come forth by reason of her infirmities, what her private devo- tions were, you may guess by that.

Indeed it pleased God to visit her with many crosses and infirmities of this life, but they came not to her soul, they did but touch her body. And no strange thing neither, it is God's wont to do so to them that are dearest to Him ; He will not suffer them that are His to feed like flesh-worms upon the pleasures of this life, but keeps them to hard measure here that they may have their fill hereafter. It is St. Gregory's observation, those oxen that are designed to the slaughter-house are suffered to run and range at their will in the pleasant pastures, and are put to no labour at all ; but those that are appointed to live, are put into the plough and to the yoke, and are beaten and whipped every day. So the less crosses and infirmities upon us, marry, the worse sign ; when we have wealth, and riches, and the world at will, it is a danger but we shall run headlong to perdition, and fat ourselves up for the slaughter only. But when God holds His scourge of tribulation over us, and whips our bodies, it will make us look to our souls the better; we shall still be kept in, and be the more careful of, His service.

But for all these troubles, she was content to bear wliat God laid upon her, even to her death. And when her infir- mity grew so strong upon her as she betook herself to her chamber and her bed, that afterwards she breathed her last in, her conclusion was not different from her premises, nor her death from her life.

Being warned of ber danger she shewed no dismay, as carrying in her conscience the safe-conduct of innocency ; and being not in love with her own desires, she committed herself to the good-will and pleasure of God. Her prepara- tion to her end was by humble contrition, and hearty Con- fession of her sins ; which when she had done, she received the benefit of Absolution, according to God's ordinance and the religious institution of our Church; a thing that the world looks not after now, as if Confession and Absolution

Her last sickness. 29

were some strange superstitious things among us, which yet the Church has taken such care to preserve, and especially to be preparatives for death.

When they had given her physic for her body, it presently put her in mind that there was other physic to be taken for her soul ; and so she presently sent unto me, who in my priestly function was ready to attend, to have the blessed Sacrament given her, which she received from me with such gladness of her soul, and with such humility and reverence of her body (though she might hardly endure it by reason of her infirmity) that we might easily understand she knew very well what a great Majesty she was then to adore, and what admirable and mysterious benefits she was to receive. Such was her devotion upon the first falling into her last and fatal sickness.

Now the common guise of the world goes another way ; as soon as we feel ourselves sick, presently post away all the servants we have, this way and that way for the physicians of our body to come and help us'; but for the physicians of our souls, them we never dream on, as if they would do well enough without any physic at all, which yet (God knows) want it ten times more than our bodies do, and are sicker a great deal than they be.

Well, when she was strengthened with this heavenly and spiritual repast, she set herself to combat with death. And whereas others use to be so much afraid to meddle with it, she was not one whit dismayed; but shewing her willingness to be dissolved and to be with Christ, often in mine own hearing desired that death would come to her to bring her out of these miseries to the joys of heaven. Nor was she so disposed as many are, call for death to make us believe that they are willing to die, and then wish it gone again when it comes; like as Laertius tells us the story of Antisthenes, a philosopher, that led his life well, and was loth to part with it, if he knew how to have kept it, though he seemed to

' Si intemperate cibus sumtus aut foro, omnes calumniae, omnia lucra in

immoderate potus acceptus levem cor- periculis corporis conquiescunt. Cur-

pori febriculam concitarit, dejicimus ritur ad medicos ; et pro remedio pro-

animum, affligimur, suspirannis; nulla mittuntur munera, aurum, argentum.

cura tunc est seculi, nulla villarum, — S. Hieron. (?) Epist. 8. p. 42. edit,

nemo de patrimonio cogitat, nemo de Ant 1579.

30 Her preparation for death.

SERM, others to be desirous to be rid of it. The man being tied to

II.

his bed by a grievous disease, was visited by Diogenes, that knowing the nature of him very well, had taken a sword with him under his gown. As soon as ever he comes in, Antisthenes looks upon him, and cries out for pity, *0 God,' says he, ' who will deliver me from hence ! * ' Marry, that will I,' says Diogenes presently, and so shews him the sword in his hand, * this shall do it.' ' Oh God,' says Antisthenes, 'no, no, I mean from my pains, and not from my life;' he was loth to part with that, whatsoever he said 8. So Esop tells us of an old man that being laden with a great burden and fallen into a ditch and lying there a long time without hope, at last calls aloud for Death. Well, Death comes to him, and bids him go along with him ; ' O no,' says he, * I call thee to help me up with my burden, that I may return ;' he was loth to stand to his word too ^\ But for her, now, her willingness that she had professed at first, she continued to her last day; and when death came, it was welcome to her; she made no reluctation at all. And though she had sore pangs upon her by reason of her long sickness, yet God gave her such patience to endure it as it was almost a marvel to us that saw it. During the time of her sickness, which was a long while together, she offered up with us the continual sacrifice of prayer, to God, both morning and evening and at noon-day, besides her continual ejaculations. "Ob. Jun. She made open profession of her faith, and she died a true

14 " MS

member of the Church, and the child of God. She enjoyed her judgment as long as she breathed, and when her tongue could speak no longer, her thoughts offered up her last de- votions ; and so, while the penitential Psalms were read over her^, she eftsoons went to God : and as one rather fallen asleep than dying, she most happily took her leave of all mortal miseries. Such was the life, and such was the death of this our sister ; both so full of comfort that it may be a sufiicient lenitive to the grief of any of her friends that have lost her, and if that be not enough, we will have a text fitted for it that shall.

K Diog, Laert. p. 376. edit. Casaub. of his edition of Longinus, p. 252, 8vo.

8vo. apud Stepban. 1594. Oxen. 1708.

'' See the fable Ttpwv Ka\ Oavaros, ' See Cosin's Devotions, ' Prayers

in i^sopi Fab. edit. Hudson, at the end at the Hour of Death.'

The subject introduced. 31

2 Cor. 5. 1, 2. For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, but eternal in the heavens.

For which we sigh and groan.

If any man has set his heart here upon these things below, and is afraid to part with his life, as not knowing where to get the like again when this is gone, St. Paul comes to in- struct him here, and to inform his knowledge a little better : to tell him that he is afraid (as the Psalmist speaks) where Pa. 53. 6. no fear is, and that the loss of this life is no such fearful matter as men take it for, no undoing of him, but an infinite advantage to him, bringing him to a life so full of joy and happiness, that this present life, as St Paul Rom. 8. 18. speaks but a little before, is not worth the naming in re- spect of that.

And that this may appear to be true, he has drawn the pictures of them both out here to the life, made us a descrip- tion of either life, of this which we have now, and of that which we shall have by death, that we might judge ourselves which of the two is most to be desired. But he describes them in such a fashion that men that are not acquainted with his spirit, will wonder what he means. For whereas the world is wont to paint us out the pleasures of this life in such an amiable form, full of bravery and state, and make us pictures of death in such a pitiful shape, with a few naked bones knit together, that it would scare a man to look upon it, ye see he goes quite another way, gives us a picture of this life that has nothing but misery and horror in it, and a description of death that would entice a man's eyes to look upon it, so fair and beautiful it is ; the one compared to a poor cottage, which every one passes by without looking on it ; and the other fo a fair, rich, building, that everybody stays to gaze at aud admire. [JSo we read of an old philosopher, Egesias^, that had such a dexterity this way, as when he painted the portraiture of this life, he did it in such a rueful form as all the people ran away from it when they saw it j and when he

^ The passage here enclosed within as if intended to be omitted, brackets has been so marked by Cosin, '' See Cicer. Qusest. Tusc. 1. 34.

32 Division of the text.

SEEM, made the picture of death, he did it with such a smiling

' countenance, as every body that came to look on it fell in

love with it, and began to be weary of this miserable life, they would needs desire to live no longer.]

Such another thing it is that St. Paul would work in us here, a contempt of this life in regard to the life to come, and a willingness to welcome death, (look it as it will,) in regard to the great happiness that it brings with it. Will you look upon the text, and there, as I tell you, ye shall see the description, first, of the poor and miserable estate of man in this world, and then the description of that per- fect felicity which he shall enjoy after death in the world to come. And these two, which be the general parts of the text, are opposed in four several antitheses.

The first, that this life and this body of ours is earthly, * our earthly house ; ' and that, heavenly, ' eternal in the heavens,'

The second, that this is 'a tabernacle,' a slight, flitting house; and that, 'a building,' a strong lasting house, *we have a building.'

The third, that this is a tabernacle of our own : and that, ' a building of God ; ' so much the better.

And the fourth, that this is a house which will fall, and must be ' dissolved ; ' and that, a house which will stand for ever, and is 'eternal in the heavens,'

And all this, not out of any opinion, or guessing at it, but upon certain knowledge and assurance; 'we know' it, saith St. Paul, which produces the effect of all, a longing and a desiring after it, 'for which we sigh and groan.' And these be the parts of the text. Of these, &c.

THE PRAYER.

I begin, as the text begins, with the certain knowledge and assurance of all this felicity after death. 'We know,' It is the confidence that we Christians have, and sure we have no small privilege by it above other men : for all the natural discourse of the world will not reach to this 'know,' but it is the Spirit of God that infuses it into us. The philosophers had a guessing at the immortality of the soul, but they knew

Passage in Job discussed. 33

not well whether they should say so or no ; now there is no guessing at the matter, nor no opinion about it, as they had, God knows how many, but a certain, infallible assurance. We * know ' it is so.

[Know • it ? Certainly by the order of nature there must be a little doubting about it. For what, and if the devil should come with his sophistry now to shake this foundation of our faith? and are we so sure of life again after death? or that our body, which lies mouldered in the grave for worms to make their beds in, shall be raised up to glory? 'Who Job 14. 4. is he,' saitli Job, * that can bring a clean thing out of filthi- ness? there is not one/ It is an easy thing to bring a man to his end, to put him into his grave, but to fetch him out again and make him live, what hope have ye of that ? It is true, indeed, there is some hope of a tree, if that be cut Job 14. 7- down, yet it will sprout again, and though the root waxes dry and the stock be dead, yet a little water will fetch it again, and make it grow as well as ever it did. But with us that are men, now there is no such matter. * Did you ever see an old man grow young again, with all the pains that might be taken about him ? Why, no more shall ye see a dead man made alive again,' says the devil. And so he would persuade us that there were no life after this? at least, that there were no such knowledge and assurance of it as the Apostle speaks of here, but that it might be called in ques- tion, for all we know it so well. Nay, he comes to us like a ghostly father, with a Bible in his hand, and would fain make us believe what we must trust to, for it is written, and it is written in Job (it is a shrewd place, I would wish you to look to it, that you might know how to answer him another time) 14. 12 "*. ' For man sleepeth and riseth not, he shall not wake again, nor be raised from his sleep till the heaven be no more.' Marry now, if God would send a fiery chariot for us before we die, as He did for Elias, or carry us from the world 2 Kings 2. upon Angels' wings, as old Enoch was carried, then indeed ^^^ - ^ there were some hope of living in this same place of glory that we speak on ; but to die first, and be thrown into the earth, and there become earth ourselves, and if a man looks

' The passage in brackets is marked " See Pineda in Job, p. 406. edit,

in the original for onnission. Paris. 1631,

34 Confidence in the resurrection.

SEEM, after twenty years not to know what is become of us, tliere is no likelihood of it this way, we perish and die, and where

are we ? says Job. Look ye what ways the devil has to take this same assurance and knowledge of our happiness after death from us, to make us stagger at it and doubt, that so we might look the less after it. We might answer hira now, as Christ did, with another place of Scripture, and tell him it is written otherwise in twenty places. But we say that Job spake as a natural man there that was overgone with sorrow"; and therefore he might have leave to express him- self with a little passion more than ordinary. But do you

Job 19. 25, know what he said afterwards? 'I know,' says he, 'that my Redeemer liveth ;' there he was of another mind, he knew it just as St, Paul says here.]

We * know ' it, indeed our reason can hardly otherwise judge of a man, but that he is utterly undone when he dies, and cannot see how it is possible for a dead man to rise

Job. 3. 4. again, no more than Nicodemus could, how a live man should be born again. And therefore when St. Paul came among the philosophers at Athens, and talked to them of the resur-

Acts 17. rection, and of the life to come, they held him for a mad-

18 32 . . . .

' ' man ; all their learning was against it, and they could by no means perceive how it should be. But we, which have

Col. 2. 8. learned Christ, must not be deceived through vain philo- sophy ; for we have a most undoubted assurance of it from the Spirit of God. Christ can tell Nicodemus how a man shall be born again ; and St. Paul can tell us here how, after death, we shall be sure to live again eternally in the heavens.

This then, before we can go any further, must be the first thing, for us to be assured that there is glory for us after death ; for if we have not this assurance and knowledge first, it will be vain to go on and talk of any thing else. Nay, if we be ignorant of this, it will go hard with us, whensoever our turn shall come; for death will come upon us like a

Heb.6. 19. mighty storm at sea, and if we want the anchor of hope, this knowledge here, to hold us fast, then woe worth our case ! we shall be tossed, we know not whither, so that when we are gone and put in our graves, they may write upon us as

" Loquitur Job juxta naturam. Re- Dei opus per Christum. — PoliSynop, in surrectio autem non est naturas, sed locum.

The body in the soul's piHson-house. 36

that perplexed knight of Arragon appointed to be written upon his tomb, in great letters, * I die, ' says he, ' against my will, and I know not whither I go;' or, as Titus" the Emperor, 'Alas,' said he, *I must die, and I know not why.* We shall be a hundred ways perplexed, and if we know not this, we shall not know what to do with ourselves for very distraction. But now if we can get this full assurance, that St. Paul here had, and come to know beforehand what ad- vantage death is to us, we shall be so far from being afraid of it, or perplexed when it comes, that we shall throw our- selves into the arms of it, and, like the tired labourer, be glad when we can come out of the field and repose our- selves in the bed of rest.

(1.) Now I come to the two descriptions. The first is of our bodies as they are here : the next is of them as they are hereafter. Ye shall see what poor things they are here, and M'hat glorious bodies they shall be there, and all in very few words, for I will not,! cannot, stand to enlarge much upon either.

'If our earthly house.' A house, first, where we have somewhat to set up withal yet, indeed our body is the house of the soul P, where it lodges. But if you look what ill entertainment it has in it, you will say it has but an ill lodging of it. For as long as our souls are there, they are lodged with a witness, lodged no better than as pri- soners are lodged, shut and pent up so that they cannot have their own liberty. Ye see it defiles the soul as soon as ever it gets into it, corrupts and almost kills it, as soon as ever it is sent to harbour there, with original sin : and then when it is washed and all made clean again by baptism, yet ere long the house gets soiled and infects the soul, as long as ever it dwells there. And therefore the ancients were wont to call it the grave, and the sepulchre, and the prison- house of the soul, the house of bondage i. This is the house that St. Paul speaks on here. An ill beginning, you see.

° The editor has been unable to Suicer, Thesaur, ii. 1210. trace the incident here mentioned to ^ Passages in which the body is

any authority. styled the grave, and the prison-house

>' 2a)jLia oiKia t/zux^Sj Chrysost. Horn, of the soul, are collected by Suicer,

69. in S. Mattb. Euseb. Praep. Evang. Thes. ii. 1212. 1. vii. p. 186. fol. Par. 1544, cited by

d2

36 The body an ' earthly ' house.

SEEM. (2.) Yet were it some goodly house, some stately, com-

'■ — pacted building, that were reared up with costly stones about

it, it might somewhat help the matter ; but this house is built up of nothing but earth and mud, the most base materials that go to any building. Our 'earthly' house. That is the second point in the text. And if it be no better, it is a goodly thing, sure, that we should make so much of it as we do, whereby it seems we would fain seem to the world to be of a little better mould than God made us on; but when we have done what we can with all the bravery and cost that we can bestow upon ourselves, yet earth we are, and earth we must be again, whether we will or no. We set a fair outside on it, saith St. Bernard'^, but if we look to see what is within us, we shall find that we are but so many sacks of excrements, fit meat for the worms of the earth to diet on ; like as Clemens Alexandrinus^ tells us of the Egyptian temples, fair and sumptuous without, and set forth with all kind of majesty and curious ornaments, but within nothing but some ugly serpents, cats, and crocodiles, to behold. And so pull but this same skin off here, that makes us look so fair to the eye, and for the rest, the best of us are nothing else but a lump of clay, somewhat handsomely framed and prettily set together, and that is all. We make much ado with ourselves, as if we were some delicate creatures ; and this earth that we carry about with us must be gilded over, as if there were no such matter. But when all is done, we shall find St. Paul's words here true, that earth and mud we are ; and bring us the most comely feature you can find among a million, it is but a house of clay, and such like matter, make the best of it. [Which that young German' understood very well, that would never suffer his

' Nihil aliud est homo quam sperma foetidum, saccus stercorum, cibus vermium. Post hominem vermis, post vermem foetor et horror; Sic in non hominem vertitur omnis homo.

S. Bernardi Meditationes, cap. 3. edit. Colon. 1637. ' See Paedagog. 1. iii. c. ii. edit. lethalem incidisset, a propinquis suis Potter, i. 252. fol. Oxon. 1715. exorari non potuit ut suam effigiem vel

, ' Miserae in Templo Afrano monu- pictam vel sculptam posteritati relin-

mentum cujusdam nobilis adolescentis queret; tantum hoc precibus illorum ex Schleiniziorum familia (nisi fallor) concessit, ut postquam terrse mandatus oriundi etiamnum hodie videre licet. esset, paucos post dies sepulchrum Perhibebatur adolescens ille omnium aperirent, et qua forma cadaver suum suae setatis fuisse pulcherrimus, sed invenirent, eadem depingi curarent. cum in ipso setatis fiore in morbum Hoc cum esset factum, invenerunt fa-

The body a transitory house. 37

picture to be drawn in his life-time, but bade his friends, that were so importunate to have it, take him out of his grave when he was dead, and then draw him as they found him; which some, for the love they bare him, would needs do too. But they found him in such a case as they had no heart to take his picture then, but laid him down again, as fast as they could, and found it true which Ecclesiasticus saith, That when man dieth he beco'mes a corrupted earth, and the inheritance of serpents. So you see there is no great pleasure to be taken in these houses of clay; they are but poor mean things, God wot ! that the world should so trim them up, and set up their rest on them, as they do"]. And this is the second step to our preferment here; ye see we are fairly holpen up with it ; our bodies are but earthly houses.

(3.) Now an earthly house would do somewhat yet, and we might perhaps make a shift withal, if it were well and strongly built, if it were a steady house, though it had not - so much beauty in it, yet we would go near to make it serve the turn. But this is a house that has no firmness, no foundation, nor no stability in it at all ; it is but ' a taber- nacle,' saith the text, * our earthly house of this tabernacle;* that is the third thing. Now we are worse than we were before, for there was some hope in an earthly house, that it might have stood still, and remained a sufficient time for us in one place. But a tabernacle is a flitting thing, set up in an hour to-day, and taken down again in less time