AN ANTIDOTE AGAINST THE PLAGVE. OR 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: A Salve for all sores: Which applied and practised, will soon awaken the Lords mercy, and suddenly cause the storms of his just judgements to vanish away. Delivered in a Sermon, preached within the Cathedral Church of Saint Paul's, London. jehovae liberatori. LONDON, Printed by M. Flesher. 1625. TO THE Honourable, & right worthy Sir Francis Wortley Knight and Baronet, Grace mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord jesus Christ. Right Noble Sir, IF I may be bold to look so high, I dare look no higher, than yourself in this my Dedication; were I able to bring forth a birth worthy of a higher countenance, to whom should I present it, but unto my gracious Lord of Pembroke, Nostri hujus saeculi miraculum, I am sure, Reipublicae sustentaculum, unto whom in spem veni, for earthly encouragements. But I never yet could so overween my own abilities, as to think their fruits worthy of such a patronage. And I must deal plainly with you, I am altogether timorous, (if not a little presumptuous) to shroud your Honour's name in the forehead of such unliterate lines; yet since that not only your Noble desires for my good, but also your intensive & extensive exhibition of more than common love, do justly challenge some testification of thankfulness (without which I might rightly incur Claudius Caesar's censure upon ingratitude) therefore Ingratos revocavit in servitutem. Sueton. instead of a better acknowledgement, I dedicate this poor widows mite, this formless first borne issue, and in that myself, my best devoted service to your noble protection. I remember what Socrates did reply to Aeschines his scholar, when being poor he took it to heart that he was not able to gratify him in a more ample manner, An non intelligis quam magnum munus mihi dedisti? nisi forte teipsum parvi aestimas; Dost thou not know (saith his Master) how great a gift thou hast given me? belike thou accountest thyself little worth. Implying that he accounted his gift (though poor) more precious than theirs who were rich; because (though his gift was but very small) yet he cast in all that he had; Likewise it is granted that there is no proportion between such a seeming something, such a less than nothing as this, and the great love & observance which you have condignly merited at my hands; Yet seeing the Moralist tells me, that where only the quality of the affection and not the quantity of the present is to be attended: Modicum non differt à magno, it skills not whether the present be great or small, so that your affection may always rest beyond desert, and gracious acceptance, far exceeding expectation, in which hope resting, I crave leave for writing, and take leave of writing: praying God to bless you still in this life, and to crown you with blessedness itself in the life to come. Your Honours in love and duty, Tho: Hastler. Ad Lectorem. Scripta vide; monitusque cave: cupit ipse moneri, Sed non morderi. Neu fallat Nominis umbra: Quaerito non a quo, sed quae sint scripta: faueto. Mente bona studui prodesse, fruare: Ualeto. Aug. ad Licent. Epist. 41. Servus tuus peripsum, & conservus sub ipso, T. H. AN ANTIDOTE against the Plague. Conf●●●… out of Math. 8. ●●rse 25. Then his Disciples came unto him, and awoke him, saying, Lord save us, we perish. CHrist being wonderful in his Nativity, wonderful in his Ascension, and wonderful in his Transfiguration, is here 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, beyond admiration by his miraculous works. In this Chapter are specified 4. several miracles first, the cleansing of a leprous man, 2 the curing of a woman troubled with a fever, 3 the healing of the Centurion's servant, and lastly, the strange appeasing of the wind: & therefore this is rightly called by S. Ambrose, Scriptura miraculosa. the miraculous Scri●●●●●. This miracle is record●● 〈◊〉 such as are either sick, or troubled, or oppressed, or beset with any danger, that whatsoever storm of adversity shall strike our sails, or what calamity soever shall befall us, we may remember, that the blessed Disciples, even the nearest and dearest to our Lord jesus, have tasted of the same whip afore us; therefore in them, as it were in a Crystal Glass, we may view the common state of Christ's Church militant: It is like the Ark that floated upon the waters, like the Lily, that groweth among the thorns, like the bush that burned, and was not consumed, like Christ's ship, in this place, covered over with waves, and yet not sunk, praemuntur justi, ut pressi clament, clamantes exaudiantur, exauditi glorisicent Deum, saith Leo the first, the righteous are therefore pressed with sore afflictions, that they might cry unto the Lord, and crying might be heard, and heard might glorify God, pessima necessitas, optima or andi magistra, saith Bernard, the sharpest Bernard de pug spirit. perplexity is the best Schoolmaster or mistress of Prayer. When the Disciples once perceived, that there was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: a mighty storm, a shaking tempest, which strongly had environed them: when the Lord had sent forth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a vehement whirlwind, or as Lorinus termeth it, plurium conflictum ventorum, a conflict of many winds, which all at once smote the ship on every part, and brought the swelling waves every way upon it, as if in an instant they would have buried both ship and passengers in the surges: when the merciless Ocean under them was thus billowing, the brittle ship about them reeling, the Mariners for fear of shipwreck, lamentably shrieking, and Christ their only hope and help in the stern fast sleeping, when this great jeopardy had even almost seized on them all, Then his Disciples came unto him, and awoke him, saying, Lord save us, we perish. In which words (not tying myself to tread precisely in the exact steps of logical rules) for our better instruction, and further light, we may observe four generals; first, who procured this calm, (his Disciples) secondly, of whom Division, parts 4. Quis, à quo, quid, quomodo. did they procure it, of Christ, (they came to him) thirdly, the effect of their coming, (they awoke him,) lastly, the manner how they did awaken him, by prayer: the form which they used being here expressed, Lord save us, we perish. Upon all these I intent to treat somewhat orderly and briefly, according to God's assistance, and the times permittance. To begin with the first: Then his Disciples came to him, (then) that is, when the sea thus raged, the ship thus tossed, the tackle thus shattered, the passengers thus trembled and shaked, then and not afore, the Disciples came to him: first, they would make trial, whether the winds would cease or decrease naturally, and the storms calm of themselves, but when they saw all dangers increased in greater extremity, and more grievous vehemency, when they thought themselves past all hope of recovery, when they despaired of their own safety, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, then, when the last wave was ready to sweep them away, They came unto him, and awoke him, saying, Lord save us, we perish. Discipulorum serotina mora, sit Christianorum maxima cura: 'twas an ancient Father's observation upon this place. 1 Observation. The Disciples most dangerous delay, must minister a great caution to all Christians, willing them to be wary in the timous prevention both of present and future evils. Time me thinks should yield us (in these our contagious and deadly times) a strong persuasion of a timely return unto the right way: we are all out by sin, and therefore we must begin again by repentance, that we may regain our peace with God in time: for when the time is past, periit spes nostra, our hope is gone, now it is time, yea time, the appointed time is come, momenti transitus, anni transitus, aevi transitus, once lost, and ever lost. Will you show mercy to your souls, by repenting your sins? Defer not from day to day, Deterrior posterior dies, saith devout Bernard, delay is dangerous, the longer the worse: say not with thyself, I will amend hereafter, for how knowest thou, whether hereafter thy heart shall be hardened, as was Pharaohs, Exod, 14, 4. or whether the grace of the Holy Ghost shall be taken from thee as it was from Saul. 1 Sam. 16, 14. or whether thou shalt repent, and lament in vain, as did Esau, Heb. 12. 17. or whether thou shalt cry peccavi too late with judas, Math. 27. 4. It is true, beloved, that our sins shall be pardoned whensoever we repent: but we cannot repent, whensoever we will, because repentance is the gift of God, and we have not God at our command, but as Saint Augustine truly saith, Qui dat poenitenti veniam, non semper dat peccanti poenitentiam. God which always pardoneth the repentant sinner, doth not always give repentance unto sinners, but as they neglected him, so he rejecteth them, and suffereth them to heap unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath. Strike therefore whilst the iron is hot, make hay while the Sun shineth, hoist up sails whiles the wind bloweth, time and tide tarry for no man: Behold now the accepted time, behold now the day of salvation, 2 Cor. 6. 2. Now God calleth us per beneficia, per flagella, per praedicatores, by his benefits, by his plagues and punishments, by his Ambassadors, all continually wooing us, to apply that most sovereign medicine of repentance to these bitter wounds, which the sting of sin hath made in our souls. Oh! let us not defer, and put off this necessary cure! One hath said very well: Qui veniam per poenitentiam Diez. loco de poenitentia. repromisit, diem crastinam ad poenitentiam non promisit. He that hath promised to pardon us, if we repent, hath not promised us, that to morrow we shall repent. Wherefore let us lay aside all excuses and delays, lest by little and little we grow key cold in love, & rusty in sin: prolong not an hour, nay, not a moment, for the clouds of God's ance may in an instant overcast thy soul, and in ictu oculi in the twinkling of an eye, the plague tokens of the Lords wrath may take a deadly impression in thy body, and then furor arma ministrat, his fierce anger will quickly afford him weapons, & as Lactantius saith, tarditatem irae, gravitate supplicij compensabit, he will requite the slowness of his wrath with the severity of his vengeance: for quanto diutiùs Deus expectat, tanto graviùs vindicat: Aug. serm. 102 de tempore. how much the longer God expects and waits for our conversion, so much the more grievously will he be avenged upon us, if we repent nor. Serior esse solet vindicta, severior: God useth to come to punish on leaden feet, but he payeth home with iron hands, he will reach them far, and he will smite them full. And therefore to day if you will hear his voice harden not your hearts, defer not till the last gasp, for, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: unseasonable good is not good at all, untimely sacrifice availeth not, prayer, that cometh out of time, is like a mess of meat set upon the grave when the dead is no what the better for it. How might I (beloved) urge unto you in all your weightiest affairs the presentest prensation, and speediest apprehension of the very forelock of Time, but Cintheus aurem vellit, Time calls me to the pursuit of my text. It followeth in these words, (his Disciples) than his Disciples came to him: Disciple, is properly a Latin word, and doth signify in English a Scholar, or learner: from the verb Disco. The original also is of the same 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Disco. expression: so that in a general nification, all that professed the Gospel of Christ, were called his Disciples: but more strictly they only did bear the name of his Disciples, who were learners of his Doctrine, Professors of his life & conversation, & Preachers of both to others: and they were of two sorts; first, and of a lower order, the 70 sent forth two and two before his face, into every city, & place, whither he himself would come to preach the Gospel, and work miracles, as they are specified by the Evangelist, Lu. 10. 1. who these 70 Disciples were though Eusebius, Epiphanius, and others, tell us; yet in the Gospel their names are concealed, and Christ bade them rejoice, that their names were written in Heaven, Luke 10. 20. The other, and higher order, were the twelve Apostles, many times called his Disciples, and made known by their names. Mat. 10. 1. Mar. 315. Luk. 9 1, 5. Tertullian, jerom, and other learned Divines, say; herein the truth answered ancient types, Tertul. cont. Marci. l. 4. cap. 24. both of the twelve patriarchs, and seventy Elders, called their Sanedrim, as some, the 70 souls that came with jacob into Egypt: jerom, Epist ad Fabi olam Mansio. 6. others, the twelve fountains of Water, and seventy palm-trees in Elim. Who those Disciples were that came to Christ by Prayer in this extremity of peril, is a question, because the text doth not clear it: but out of all doubt they were Disciples, not one, or two, but (as far as may be gathered) even all the Apostles; and great reason, for as the penitent thief said to his fellow, they were all in the same condemnation: if the Luk 23. 40 ship had sunk into the waves they had all perished, Lord, save us, we perish. And therefore not only Peter, james and john, though counted Pillars, and in Gal. 2. 9 Mat. 17. 1. Mar. 5. 37. many things preferred before the rest, but all, go to Christ to further the common good, and to help by their prayers to procure the common salvation. Yet take notice by the way, that as all the Disciples came, so none but Disciples came, and their coming was not tam passibus corporis, quam fide cordis, saith venerable Beda: not so much with the feet of their bodies, as by the faith of their hearts: hereby giving us to understand 2 Observation. whose prayers are so powerful with God to remove both a public and private calamity, either from themselves or others: not the prayers of enemies to God, and alienates from the house of Israel, but of faithful friends, favourites and constant followers of our blessed Saviour The Lord heareth the prayers of the righteous, and his ears are open to their cries, he will fulfil the desires of such as fear him, he is nigh to such as call on him in faith, Psal. 145, 18. quia juxta mensuram fidei, erit mensura impetrandi, saith Ambrose, because the more faith we have, the more grace we shall receive: therefore Christ teacheth us to say Our Father, to make us confident of obtaining, and concludeth with Amen, significare indubitanter à Domino conferri, quod fide petitur, to signify, that we shall undoubtedly receive whatsoever we faithfully desire, saith Saint Augustine. It was Abraham the friend of jam 2. 23. Gen. 18. Penult. Heb. 3. 6: Exo. 32. 10. God that prevailed so much w his prayer for the Sodomites. It was his faithful servant Moses, would not let him alone, but stood up in the breach, & turned away God's anger, that he could not destroy the people, as he said Psal: 106. 23. It was religious josuah, that by his prayer commanded the Sun and Moon to stand in the firmament Josh. 10. 12. It was fervent Elijah whose tongue was Froenum coeli saith Austin, the bridle of heaven; opening, and shutting it by jam 5. 17. Numb. 25. 13. Psal. 106. 30. his prayer. It was zealous Phineas, that prayed and so the plague ceased. And the Apostle concludeth in general, it is the prayer of the righteous man that so much availeth, jam. 5. 16. Tuncor nostrum fiduciam in oratione accepit, cum sibi vitae pravitas nulla contradicit, therefore the godly have confidence that God will be answerable to their requests, because they are correspondent to his will, and then do they steadfastly rely upon the grant of their Petitions, when there is no pravity of life, nor any wickedness of conversation to contradict their profession saith Gregory in his Morals: and therefore St. Basil saith, that a prayer should be filled up, non tam syllabis, quam operibus, not so much with words, as with works; because God heareth not sinners Acts 12. 7. but their best prayers (as the Prophet speaketh) are Psal. 109, 6 turned into sin, and when they send them up to the Almighty for Oratio de carne pudica, de anima innocenti, de spiritu sancto offerenda. Tertul. Apolog. cap, 30. a bliss, they double but a curse, for using his sacred name in their mouths, and hating to be reform: no matter therefore whether the wicked prey or no? yea all their fasting, praying, and crying, not worth a straw, but oh ye meek, ye true Disciples, ye that have your hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and bodies washed with pure water; ye Heb. 10. 11. that have clean hands & a pure Psal. 24. 4. heart, ye are Gods favourites, pray for a calm; ye are the Chariots 2 king 2. 12. and horsemen of Israel, stand in the gap day and night, keep not silence, and give the Lord no rest, till he have mercy on Esay 62. 6. Zion, and hath taken his sore plague from jerusalem: So much for the first part, viz, the persons procuring this calm (his Disciples.) Now secondly, to whom go they? where do they seek it? (to him,) that is, to Christ, their Lord and Master. The Heathenish jonah 1. 5. Mariners in jonahs' storm did cry every man to his God. In nothing were the Gentiles more sottish then in this, ascribing particular tutelar gods, to particular places: Babylon had Belus; Egypt, Isis; Athens had Minerva; and Ephesus, Diana: The Chaldeans had Baal; Sidonians Ashteroth; Ammonites Moloch or Milcom; Moabites, Chamos; Syrians, Rimmon; and Philistims, Dagon: Yea, the Elements had Other Countries had other gods, the Relics whereof are recorded by Tertullian in Apol. c. 23. Angelici quia in Angelorum cultum inclinati. Ang. de bar. c. 39 Angelici vocati, quia angeles colunt. Isidor. Origen. l. ●. c. s. their several gods, to rule over them: as the Heaven had jupiter, the Air juno, the Sea Neptune, & Hell Pluto: yea, for every purpose & occasion, for every time & season, they had one god or other to call upon. And do not the Antichristian Angelites, or Angeliques rather (for so doth Saint Augustine, and Isidore name those heretics, that either did adore, or were inclined to the worship of Angels) parallel the Ethnics in every respect? nay, do they not transcend them in folly, as much as their Hyperdulia to the Virgin Mary, doth their Dulia to common Saints? Surely many learned Authors will make them confess no less: for what Arithmetician is so perfect in the calculations of the Algebra, that I ooke Francis de Croy. G. ARTH. in his three Conformities. cap 4, 5. he can number the infiniteness of divers Patrons, Advocates, and tutelar Saints, whom they have canonised, for the use of every Country, place, creature, and disease. Our Disciples are better taught (Popery was not then hatched, nor this point of invocation known in the Church, for the space of 360 years together after the birth of our Saviour) they do not in this dangerous storm and tempest, invocate Saint Grache, St. Barbara, Saint Alivirgo, Saint Andoche, or Saint Nicholas: no nor Noah, Moses, or jonah, who had been endangered by Seas, and waters before, but they come to Christ the true and only Lord of Sea, and Land, and all: whose Precedent must be our imitation, whose pattern 3 Observation. must be our direction, guiding us to call on God only in our days of trouble, that he may hear us, and we may praise his most glorious name. Rome would make us believe, that during the time of Pestilence we must pray unto none but Saint Sebastian, and his successor Saint The latter pestilent God is worshipped in Venice. Roche, Saints invented to intercede against such a deadly disease: wilfully and directly opposing & contradicting the command and counsel of the Lord of Hosts, Psal. 50. 15. Call on me in the day of thy trouble, & I will deliver thee: Athanasius hath observed that David, Athan. ●rat. 4. cont. Arian pag. 260 though oftentimes plunged into many perplexities, and beset with those prim weapons of the Lords wrath, the sword, famine and pestilence, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉: yet he never prayed unto any other, but God himself for his deliverance. Could Isis or any other God or goddess have freed Pharaohs land from those ten plagues, sent upon them for open rebellion? surely than the Magicians might have prevailed: but that jehovah who was the Egyptians only punisher, was the Israelites only deliverer: and the same Lord, whose justice was the revenger of our sins by this mortal disease; his all-sufficient mercy can only succour, aid and deliver us. And therefore let us all with weeping, fasting and praying, return unto God, and say with Saint Augustine, Cui alteri praeter Aug. Confess. lib. 1. cap. 5. te clamabimus; To whom else should we cry in our sore afflictions besides thee: and with Chrysostome, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉; Chrysost. in 1 Cor. Hom. 1. Let us not mediate this Saint, or that Saint, this Angel, or that Angel, but only the name of the Lord jesus. There are three unanswerable Reasons 3. reasons why we should only pray to God; first, because he 1. Because he is only omniscient only is omniscient, that is, such a one, as knoweth all things: he that heareth our prayers must be able to search the secrets of our hearts, and discern the inward disposition of our souls, for the pouring out of good words, & the offering up of external sighs and tears, are but the carcase only of a true prayer; the life there of consisteth in the pouring out of the very soul it Psal. 62. 8. 1 Sam. 1. 13, 15. Rom. 8. 26. Rome 8. 27. self, and the sending up of those secret groant of the spirit which cannot be uttered. But the Godhead only searcheth the hearts, and only he knoweth what is mind of the spirit: he heareth in Heaven his dwelling place, and giveth to every man according to his ways, for he, even he only knoweth the hearts of all the children of men, as Solamon teacheth us in the prayer, 2 Chron. 6. 30. which he made at the Dedication of the Temple. May not therefore Romish Doctors worthily be taxed, from whom mental prayers are presented to the Saints as well as vocal: and with whom they are believed to receive both the one and the other. Me thinks Anselmus Laudunensis in his interlineall Gloss upon that Text, Abraham is Augustinus dicit, quia mortut nesciunt, eti am sancti, quid agant vivi, etiam eorum sil●● Gloss. interlineal. in Esai. 63. ignorant of us, and Israel knoweth us not, (Esa. 63. 16.) should make them blush for shame, where he noteth, that Augustine saith, that the dead, even the Saints, do not know what the living do, no not their own sons: with whom concordeth Hugo de Sancto Victore, in his book de spiritu & anima, Aug de cura pro mortuis cap. 13. cap. 29. Ibi sunt spiritus defunctorum, ubi non vident quaecunque aguntur, aut eveniunt in ista vita hominibus. The spirits of the dead be there, where they do neither see, nor hear the things that are done or fall out unto men in this life. And if they are ignorant of outward acts and gestures, then much more of inward requests and motions: therefore seeing, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, God alone searcheth the reins, and beholdeth the hidden things, as Athanasius speaketh; Let us conclude this reason with that golden sentence of David, O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee Psal 65. 2. shall all flesh come. Secondly, we must call only upon God, because he only is omnipotent, which can only help us. None but the Almighty could have delivered Israel out of Egypt, that house of bondage and furnace of affliction: Exod. 13. 3 Daniel out of the Lion's Dan. 6. 5, 13, 22, 28. Zach. 3. 2, ●d 5. den: jehoshua out of that long Captivity of the jews: joseph out of the pit, slavery, and false slanders: Moses, jeremy, Paul and Peter out of their variety of persecutions and troubles: And therefore those Prophets, Apostles, and holy men of God did cry unto God only, to save and deliver them. A third reason as pregnant and forcible as the two former, is observed by Saint Augustine, Quoniam creaturae exhiberemus Aug lib. 1. ●ont. Max. came servitutem, quae uni tantum debetur Deo: because in so doing we should wrong ourselves in giving that to creatures, weh is due only to the Creator: but why should I allege any mortal men, when as all Christians have been taught from God himself, that no part of his worship is to be communicated unto any creature: For it is written, Math. 4. 10. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. But prayer is such a principal part of this service, that it is usually put for the whole, or at least, as Lactantius doth most truly say, Summus colendi Lactant. de vero cultu. l 6. c. 25. f. 399. Dei ritus est, exore justi hominis ad Deum directa laudatio: the chiefest part of God's worship is an humble faithful prayer and praises out of the mouth of a righteous man: and therefore Saint Paul setting down the whole armour of a Christian, putteth prayer as the chiefest part of all: and so Zanchius saith Zanch. in c. 6. ad Eph. that this is Optimum genus, ideoque ultimo ab Apostolo armaturae explicatum; the best part of all our Christian weapons, and therefore last expressed by the Apostle, because that unless Gods help be craved by prayer, reliqua arma parum prosunt, all the other armour will avail us nothing: and therefore Clemens Alexandrinus might very well conclude, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉; Clem. Alex. lib. 7. stromat. We do not without cause honour God by prayer, and with righteousness send up this best and holiest sacrifice. Whereunto learned Ignatius hath added a monon in his sixth Epistle to Philadelphia, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉; have God alone before your eyes in your prayers: and great reason, for to be prayed unto, is so proper unto a Deity, that to give it to any creature is truly judged sacrilegious impiety, which robs God of his glory, Christ of his office, & the agent himself of salvation: and God himself, to signify no less to the whole generation of Adam, hath given the public place of his worship the denomination Esay. 56. 7. For denominatio fit à principaliore causa. of the House of Prayer. And therefore concerning the blessed Virgin, we honour her name, we reverence her memorial, and with all generations we call her blessed: but to pray unto her we may boldly say with Saint Bernard, libenter certe gloriosa Uirgo tali honore carebit, The glorious Virgin is willingly content to want such honour. Likewise of the blessed Angels and Saints, we gladly confess, that their commemoration, is like the composition of the perfume, that is made by the Art of the Apothecary; it is as sweet as honey in all our mouths, and more delightful than Music at a banquet of Wine: and as for the triumphant Saints, whilst that they were concumbitants in the Church militant, we willingly did enjoy them as our fellow-soldiers, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 striving Ro. 15. 30. together with us, and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, helping together with their 2 Cor. 1. 11. prayers to God for us, yea, and being received up unto glory, Honorandi sunt propter imitationem, non adorandi propter religionem; they are to be honoured for imitation, not to be adored Vide Aug. lib. de quantitale anima & de moribus Eccles. Catholica, et Manieh lib. 1. cap. 30. for religion, saith Saint Augustine: to invocate any of them we have neither precept from God, nor practice in the ancient Church, nor promise in God's word, to be heard, and they themselves cannot possibly deserve it, neither do they in the least manner desire it. But if it were possible for them to hear such unlawful prayers of men, they would with both hands (as we say) put them from them, and labour to purge themselves from such flat Idolatry, with their song of obedience, Not unto us Lord, not unto us, Psal. 115. 1. but to thy name be such honour ascribed. But our Romish Doctors, to maintain their invocations of celestial Spirits, do cozen simple people now a days, (as their predecessors did the Christians in the Apostles times) under the Col. 2. 18. pretence of humility, saying, Uide Theod. ibid., that the God of all things was invisible & inaccessible, & incomprehensible: and therefore (as Theodoret testifieth) they counseled their followers to procure God's favour by the means of Angels: like as the heathen Idolaters, to cover the shame of their neglecting of God, were wont, miser a uti excusatione, dicentes, Ambr. in Rom. cap. 1. Per istos posse ire ad Deum, sicut per Comites pervenitur ad Regem, saith Ambrose, to use this miserable excuse, that by these they might go to God, as by Officers we go to the King. The very self same rag our Romanists have borrowed from them to cover their superstition with, that the wickedness thereof might not appear. But Saint Ambrose hath met well with them, and sufficiently discovered the vanity of such a gross and carnal imagination: Men (saith he) go to Kings by Courtiers, quia homo utique est Rex, because the King is but a man; ad Deum autem quem nihil latet promerendum Copiosiùs legas apud Ambr. in Rom. cap. 1. suffragatore non opus est, sed mente devota; but as for the Lord, from whom nothing is hid, we need no spokes man to make him favourable unto us, only there is required a devout mind. But above all others, S. Chrysostome may suffice an indifferent Reader, dashing all such replies with this full answer, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Chrysost. in dismission. Chananaea. Tom. 5. edit. Savig. pag. 195. Vide cund. Serm. 7. the penitent. Tom. 6. edit. Savil. pag. 802. & in Psal. 4: etc. God is always near (saith he.) If thou wilt entreat man, thou askest what he is doing, and he is asleep, he is not at leisure, or the servant giveth thee no answer: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, but with God there is none of these things. Whithersoever thou goest and callest, he heareth: there is no want of leisure, nor a mediator, nor a servant that keepeth thee off: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉; say, Have mercy upon me, and presently God is with thee. For while thou art aspeaking, saith he, I will say, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Behold here I am (Esay 58. 9) but I have been over-tedious in the satisfaction of this point. I will conclude, and reduce all to that one question of S. Paul, Rom. 10. 14. How shall they call upon him in whom they have not believed? Where it is manifest, that none must be invocated, but such as must be believed in: but none must be believed in but God alone: for, Credimus Paulo, sed non credimus in Paulum: credimus Aug. tract. 29. in johan Petro, sed non credimus in Petrum, We believe (saith S. Austin) Paul, but we believe not in S. Paul: we believe Peter, but we believe not in S. Peter. And therefore let us all conclude with Origen, Soli Domino Deo; Let our prayers be offered only to the Lord our God, who doth at all times hear us, and will undoubtedly deliver us from this deadly Pestilence, if we pray powerfully with a sincere faith and pure conscience. And thus I have unveiled the party to whom the Disciples came for assistance in this their dangerous case. I am in the next place to discover the effect of their coming: the Text telleth us, They awoke him. Fearful death, of all miseries the last, and the most terrible: against which an holy Father hath made this exclamation; Apud Lud. Granatens. Exercit. de Orat. & Medit. O Death, how bitter is the remembrance of thee? how quickly and suddenly stealest thou upon us? how secret are thy paths and ways? how universal is thy signiory and dominion? The mighty cannot escape thee, the strong lose their strength before thee, the rich with their money shall not corrupt thee. Thou art the hammer that always striketh: thou art the sword that never blunteth: thou art the snare wherein all must be taken: thou art the prison wherein all must lie: thou art the sea wherein all must perish: thou art the pain, that all must suffer: thou art the tribute that all must pay. If thou comest but in thy natural course, thou causest those two amorous twins, soul & body to tremble and quake & at their forced separation, to sweat even drops of anguish: & if thou only seemest to offer thy unresistible atachement to any accidentally, and in a violent manner, oh thou art dreadful beyond comparison. This more than exceeding terror unawares looking the Disciples in the face, and being in all readiness to seize on them, caused them suddenly to send forth a pitiful outcry to their Lord and Master, with such clamours and vociferations, even as if they had been at their wit's end: so that dispensing with all ceremonies and compliments, they jogged him, saith Alphonsus Salmeron, so long till they awakened him: and surely the original importeth no less, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, suscitaverunt, they raised him up: the same word is used in many places of Scripture, where mention is made of the resurrection, as, Destroy this temple and joh. 2. 19 in three days I will raise it up: and Many bodies of Saints which Mat. 27. 52 slept arose: and, If Christ be risen from the dead, how say some among 1 Cor. 15. 12. you there is no resurrection of the dead? In which and many other Texts, and specially in that Chapter to the Corinthians the word of my Text is used, and not improperly: for what Stulte quid est somnus gelidus nisi mortis imago? ovid. is deep, fast, and sound sleep, but mortis imago, and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the very image and brother of death, as the Heathen could say, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Homer. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, saith Menander, Sleep is nothing else but a short kind of death. Now Christ was in a fast and dead sleep, for so much the word (which is here and in S. Mark used) signifieth: his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ligo, vere soperatus, aut demersus somno profundo senses were well & fast bound, as if he had no operation of life; and therefore the Disciples are said to raise him, as it were from the dead. Behold here in the Disciples, importunity! and in our Saviour, opportunity! they awaken him suddenly; he awaketh seasonably: they awaken him violently by reason of their fearfulness; he awakeneth voluntarily, to give them a speedy deliverance. And are not we plunged into greater extremities, and more grievous calamities then ever the Disciples were? Yes surely, for our sins have provoked Bellatorem fortem, the mighty warrior, the Icr. 20. 11. Lord of Hosts, the righteous judge, to whet his sword and Psal. 2. 12, 13. bend his bow, and make them ready, to prepare the instruments of death, and arrows to destroy us: our eustomary sins have forced out the Lords decree, and have brought forth three deadly weapons; his Ferrum. Fames. Morbus. Sword, and Famine hover over us, being ready to light upon us, and we are already beset plurium conflectu febrium, with a conflict of many diseases; the Angel is a darting the right-ayming arrows of the Lords wrath at every man's door: Gods deadly tokens, the only marks of his displeasure, and our disobedience, are sent forth promiscuously to all sinners, especially to wilful and obstinate transgressors, and though thousands fall on the one side, and ten thousands on the other, and they never touch thee, yet sin will bring them home to thy heart at last. For, like as one that shooteth at a mark, sometimes is gone, and sometimes is short, sometimes lighteth on the right hand, sometimes on the left; at length hitteth the mark: so the Lord of Hosts being incensed with the general wickedness of this City, shoots at great men beyond us, at mean men short of us, at our friends on the right hand, at our enemies on the left; at length hitteth ourselves. The longer his hand is in practice, the more certainly he striketh. What, were the Disciples in the jaws of such perils? were they thus beset with the Lords vengeance? out of all doubt they were not, and yet they being conscious, that their sins were the cause of this raging tempest, they speed by fervent prayers to awaken their merciful Saviour: Faciamus nos similiter: Beloved, let us do the like. Culpae comes, iustissimè poena semper est, The companions Lips de Constantia. lib. 2. cap. 16 of our sins, are many plagues, which continually attend us, like so many hunger-starved Lions, ever gaping to devour us. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, and our God is fallen into a deep sleep. So burdensome, so grievous, so wearisome have our sins been unto the Lord, that they have awakened his slow anger, his righteous justice, and lulled his long patience, his forbearing mercy fast asleep. We now find that verified which S. Austin long ago foretold: Tunc in te dormit Christus, Aug. in Psal. 56. cum oblitus fueris passionis Christi, when thou forgettest the passion of Christ, than Christ sleepeth in thee: and then (saith he) navis tuaturbatur, thy ship is troubled, thy heart is worthily troubled, because excidit tibi in quem credidideris, thou forgettest him, on whom thou shouldst believe: thy passions are great, when thou art unmindful of Christ's passion: and then art thou unsensible of his passion, when by sin thou dost pierce thine own soul, and crucify thy Saviour afresh; qui ex proprio & pretioso sanguine, who of his own precious blood made a plaster to cure thy festered wounds. Et hinc illae lachrymae, hence our sorrows and griefs, hence our plagues and punishments. And dearly beloved what shall we do? The best advice I can give, is that which Christ giveth his Spouse in the Canticles, Chap. 6. 13. Return, return O Shalamite; Return, return that we may behold thee. I thus paraphrase it; Return O my Spouse, Daughter of jerusalem return, return to me, return to thyself, return to thy former feeling of my grace, return, that both myself, and all the Company of Angels, may see thee, and rejoice in thee. This Spouse of Christ is the mother of us all, the holy Catholic Church, in whose bosom we are nourished: Take we then the advice given unto her, for an advice unto ourselves. Return we from our evil ways, return we from our all sins, return we unto the Lord our God, that both he and all the company of Angels may see us, and rejoice in us. Life is sweet unto us, mutet Aug. serm. 1. de tempore. vitam, qui vult accipere vitam, saith S. Augustine, If we are desirous to retain this life, and enjoy the blessed life of heaven, we must change our wicked life on earth. Mortificemus peccata, Christum excitemus, & fidem recolamus: Aug. let us mortify our sins by unfeigned Repentance, rouse up Christ by a fervent and lively prayer, and revive God's worship in a more sincere, diligent, devout, and constant manner, and all the storms of our sore afflictions shall soon vanish away. So I proceed to the last part in the procuring of this calm, viz. their prayers in these words expressed; Lord save us: we perish. The three Evangelists who do record this story, use three several titles attributed unto our blessed Saviour in this compendious form of prayer: all which (though the Latin and our English express not) are significant and emphatical in their original propieties. S. Marks title is, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Master, carest thou not that we perish? The Greek word there specified signifieth a Teacher of letters, manners, or any art: in relation whereunto they were called Disciples, Scholars, or Loarners. Saint Luke's title is, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Englished a Defender, a present Helper; such as in times of war are sworn brethren, to live and die together, Commiles succenturiatus: and in times of peace, Guardians of Infants. shepherds have the same title, who are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Defenders of their flocks. The title in the text is, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which importeth power, or might, answerable to that glorious Tetragrammaton, jehovah, which the Septuagints constantly translate throughout the old Testament in this sacred word, an essential name never given to any but only the true God. The titles well weighed afford good use of Instruction, and much matter of Consolation. In that they call him Lord, we are encouraged to pray with confidence, because he is jehovah, all-sufficient to deliver us: and in that they call him Teacher and Defender, we are certified of the Lords willingness to hear us, and forward readiness to help and succour us: in that he is their Master, they pray in love; in that he is their Lord, they pray in fear: he being their Master and Defender, they are not timidi, over-fearefull; he being their Lord and jehovah, they are not tumidi, overbold. The same Lord and Master is our jehovah, and ready helper, and therefore we likewise must pray (in this time of deadly pestilence) first confidently, not despairing: quia irrisio Dei est, si quid illum oars, Pellie. in Mat. quod exor aturum te non certe confidas; because it is a mocking of God, saith Pelican, to pray unto him, and to doubt that we shall not have our requests: for this cause Christ tells us, Mark 11. 14. that whatsoever we desire when we pray, believe that we shall have it, and it shall be done unto us, especially if it be petitio decentium, saith Damascen, james 1. 6. a request of such things as are fit for God to give, and us to have. For these S. james bids us Ask in faith, and waver not, and we shall receive our desires. Secondly, because their Lord is our jehovah, therefore we likewise must pray reverently, not presuming. The very consideration of God's greatness should move us to supplicate with all humility. Uarus Germinus was wont to say to Caesar, Qui apud te, O Caesar audent dicere, magnitudinem tuam ignor ant: qui non audent, humanitatem tuam nesciunt: They that dare speak to thee, do not know thy greatness, they that dare not, are ignorant of thy humanity and meekness: I may say far better, Our God is meek and lowly in heart, that we may speak unto him; but he is so great in Majesty and power, that one ought to speak in all humility: and that not with the Gentiles, whose Heathenish fashion was adorare sigillaria suaresidendo, to worship God as they sat; but meekly kneeling upon our knees, that we may show both inward and outward humility. For this was the practice not only of great sinners, but of the holiest Saints, thousands of Angels do cover their faces, and Christ himself, the Son of God did often use to fall down, to kneel, and prostrate himself upon the ground, when he prayed unto his Father: Et prostratus in terra orat Medicus, & non inclinatur Cypr. 2. ad Don. agrotus: And shall this heavenly Physician kneel, and we think much to stoop? Consider with thyself saith Saint Bernard, quanta cum humilitate debet rana paupercula adorare eum: With what great humility ought we poor worms of the earth to adore him? And therefore as Eusebius reporteth of that most Christian Constantine, that it was his usual custom, every day to shut up himself close into some secret place of his palace, and there upon his bended knees, and with a most submiss humble voice to make his devout prayers and Soliloquies unto Almighty God. Thus confidently, and thus reverently let us all draw near unto our Lord and Saviour, and then our gracious Defender, our powerful jehovah will speedily take from us this our great jeopardy. Before I conclude, it is not amiss to give you notice, that Saint Luke, to express the Disciples zealous devotion, ingeminateth the title given to Christ in this short form of prayer, with a double appellation, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Master, Master, we perish, O gracious defender, O powerful jehovah, we are ready to be cast away and buried in the waves: hereby giving us to understand, that brevis oratio, sifortis, penetrate calum, 4 Observation. a short prayer, (though but in 3 words, as was the Disciples) so it be fervent is most powerful, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Domine salva nos, Lord save us. pierceth the skies, and is accepted of the Almighty Lord. The prayer of the blind men was short, O Lord, Son of David, have mercy upon us, and yet prevailed, Math. 20. 31. The prayer of the Publican shorter, God be merciful to me a sinner; and yet as available, Luke 18. 13. The prayer of the penitent Thief very compendious, Lord remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom, and yet most forcible, Luke 23. 42. The prayer of the father of the sick child most brief Lord help mine unbelief, and yet very effectual: Mark 9 24. Yea, many times we find that an earnest seeking with the heart, hath prevailed without any words uttered by the tongue, as Moses when he cried to God with his heart, and yet opened not his mouth; For that is most true which Saint Gregory saith, Tanto minus quis clamat, quanto minus desiderat, & tanto fortius coelos penetrate, quanto fortius desiderat, the more earnestly we desire any thing, the more loudly we do cry unto God, and the colder is our desire, the slower is our calling on him, and the harder to obtain it of him. Luther to this purpose calleth prayers and supplications, bombardas Christianorum; the Christians Canons: and surely being well charged with faith and repentance, and fired with zeal and fervency of spirit, they shoot far, and pierce deep. Here therefore we may be informed, what is the very bane and pests of our prayers, and what is the only cause they are no more available to remove this mortal sickness: surely, because faintness, coldness, and boldness do so much frequent our prayers. There is first, a faint, a fearful, and distrustful praying amongst us; there is secondly, a cold, a formal and superficial praying with us; and there is thirdly, a bold, a proud, and presumptuous praying unto dreadful jehovah, and this last is the worst: trepida nec procedit quidem nedum ascendit; the faint and fearful prayer, cannot get out, much less get up: it sticketh so fast between the teeth, or in the throat rather: tepida procedit, sed in asconsu languescit & defecit, the cold and formal prayer cometh forth fast enough, but it cannot get up it freezeth (for want of spirit and fervour) by the way, ere it come to appear in God's presence: temeraria ascendit, sedresilit; the cold and presumptuous prayer flieth up apace, but it is as fast beaten back again, for presenting itself overboldly, and saucily in God's sight: Nec tantum non obtinet gratiam, sed meretur offensam, and in stead of a blessing, it bringeth a curse with it: thus far devout Bernard. I have read of two ladders by which men climb to heaven; servant prayers, and crying sins, the godly by the one, and the wicked by the other. By the sinful Ladder did Sodom and Ninive climb. Oh let not our sins be such climbers! rather than they should press into the Presence Chamber of Heaven, and grow acquainted with God, let us keep them down, and here punish them: for Hoc nobis Deus insevit. God hath planted this principle in every man's heart, that sin must be punished: must it! by whom? Saint Austin tells you, aut ab ipso homine Aug Enarrat. in Psal. 58. poenitente, aut à Deo vindicante, either by man repenting, or by God revenging. Now if any notwithstanding he remaineth impenitent, nevertheless shall hope for mercy, let him hear what Chrysostome saith, Quomodo Chrysost. in 1 Cor. hom. 23. Deum rogas, ut tibi parcat, cum tu tibi minime parcas? How canst thou desire God to have compassion upon thee; when thou hast no compassion upon thyself? Aulus Gellius writes, that the Romans sent the Carthaginians, Hastam & caduceum, Aul. Gel. l. 10. c. 27. a spear and a white wand, the Ensigns of war and peace, and offered them their choice: So deals the Lord with us, upon our repentance; he offers us conditions of peace, and protesteth to repent himself of the evil intended, and to remove far from us his judgements already inflicted. Ergofratres puniamus peccata nostra: therefore brethren let us be our own purishers: punish we ourselves, our sins, that God may have mercy on us: and turn this heavy plague from us: he cannot show mercy upon workers of iniquity, Quasi blandiens peccatis, aut non erudicens peccata, as if he flattered men in their sins, or had no purpose to root out sin. Prorsus aut punis, aut punit, Believe H●…c Augustinus in loco prius citato. it either thou must punish thyself for thy sins, or God will punish thee: vis non puniat punitu. Wilt thou that God should not punish thee, then punish thou thyself: and wash away thy sins with the bitter & brinish tears of unfeigned repentance, through a lively faith in the blood of our Lord and Saviour jesus Christ: that forsaking the Ladder of our crying sins we may climb up to heaven with the ladder of our fervent prayers: and having all brought ourselves into the same danger of mortality; Let us all with one accord, sigh forth uncessantly, the Disciples powerful and importunate request; Lord, saveus: we perish. O Lord our God the give of all graces, the forginer of all our sins, and the present helper and ready defender of them, that fly to thee for succour: grant unto us we humbly beseech thee an unfeigned remorse for all our misdeeds; that our hearty ropentance, may awaken thy mercy, and cause thy justice to fall into a deep sleep: So than we shall with all Saints for evermore sing Helleluja. Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power unto the Lord our God for evermore. Amen. FINIS Ad Lectorem. GRammata si desint, si syllaba forte redundet, Si praecedenti menda sit vllà libro: Ignoscas Lector; quid enim labecula laedit? Et navos penna corrige quaeso tua. Tibi in Christo addictissimus, A. L.