DAVID HIS OATH OF ALLEGIANCE TO JERUSALEM.  
THE SERMON PREACHED ON ACT SUNDAY LAST IN THE MORNING, IN St. MARY'S IN OXFORD.  
BY DANIEL PRICE Doctor in Divinity.  PSAL. 137.6. Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I prefer not jerusalem above my chief joy. 
AC: OX   printer's device of Joseph Barnes 
AT OXFORD, Printed by Joseph Barnes. 1613.   

TO THE HIGH AND MIGHTY PRINCE, PRINCE CHARLES DUKE OF CORNWALL AND YORK, THE GREAT BLESSING OF GREAT BRITAIN.  
ILlustrious Prince, your Gracious favour and Princely bounty, shining this Act upon two of us, the late Servants of your blessed Brother, hath given life and motion to this which I presume to present unto you. It is a Prince's vow, made to jerusalem, the virgin of the East, and beauty of the earth, it is hearty for the manner, holy for the matter, fit for these times, wherein because in jerusalem, (Church and Court) some do vow to Babylon, Court & Country may observe what our Prophet sitting by the waters of Babylon, did vow to jerusalem, Religion is our jerusalem, be you her Prince, we have sat lately, and lamentably at the waters of Babel, mourning and mourning, and would not be comforted, because HE was not, who was as truly God's servant, as his servants earthly God.  
Your Highness is now the Phoenix, the dawning, the morning, the day star, the sunshine, & light and life of the newly cleared firmament, O then grace her, who will bring you to further glory RELIGION. Be her Patron, that she weep not, be her Champion that she bleed not. Let no Popish Philistin come near the chair, much less, the ear of your greatness, to disgrace truth, or wrong faith, and at all times prefer jerusalem in your song. So shall all eyes, hearts, hopes, be fixed upon you here, and all glory, joy, & happiness be fastened upon you hence. For which purpose ever shall be offered ●p the humble devotions of  
Your highness servant, DANIEL PRICE. Exeter Coll. july 27.   
PSAL. 137.5. If I forget thee O jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. 
THe lamentations of David were as doleful as plentiful for jonathan, and Absalon, for his friend and for his son; yet more for his friend then for his son, because Absalon his son was his foe, but jonathan his foe's son, was his friend. But neither for friend or son, is he so passionate, as for jerusalem: all the floudgates & cataracts of affections empt themselves upon this subject. His passions those internal acts and operations of the soul, linked in that inviolable league of love, with the joy of the earth jerusalem, urged him so far, that foreseeing the storm, though he lived in a sunshine, affection inflamed his heart, and his heart resolved into incessant tears: he smarteth though untouched, 
Lyr. Carth Ahulensi●, almost all the Fathers that interpret the Psalms judge this to be David's.  and being unhurt lamenteth, not his own case, but jerusalem Calamity. And in three Psalms, as Lyra and Carth●sian teach, he deploreth, the threefold sacking & ransacking of jerusalem▪ which was to be performed by those Nymrod's of the earth, that which he foresaw last he lamenteth first: destruction by the Romans, whereupon his 74. Psal. O God why art thou absent from us so long, O think upon thy congregation, think upon the tribe of thine inheritance; deliver not the soul of thy turtle dove to the multitude of the enemies: as also that former desolation by that plague of men & Scourge of heaven Antiochus which occasioned the 79. Psalm, O God the heathen are come into thy possession, thy holy temple have they defiled & made jerusalem a heap of stones: and before either of those the captivity of Babylon by Nabuchadonosor, that thistle which burned up the Cedars of Libanus, which occasioned this sorrowful Psalm, the emblem of their sighs and sum of the sorrow of that desolation. The first miracle done in the old Testament is in the 1. of Genesis the 2. 
Gen. 1.  Spiritus Domini ferebatur super aquas. The first miracle in the new Testament is the same, Spiritus Domini ferebatur super aquas, The spirit of God moved on the waters joh. 2. when our Saviour turned the water into wine: I say not that there is a miracle here, but sure I am, Spiritus Domini ferebatur super aquas, the spirit of God, by the spirit of Prophecy, was with the Prophet when he sat by these waters of Babylon, describing & deploring Edom's cruelty, Israel's misery. Ezechiel received his prophecy by the river of Cobar, Daniel by the river Tigris, john Baptist by the river jordane: but by the waters of Babylon rivers of confusion and desolation our Prophet seateth himself, and these rivers be rather of oil than water, they increase the flame of his affection, & rather nourish then diminish his grief: his eyes are as those in the Canticles like the eyes of Doves on the rivers of waters, his eyes like the eyes of Doves, and his voice like the voice of a Dove, Turtur non canit sed gemit, saith Isidor: the Dove was sent out by Noah & was a messenger of Comfort in returning in those waters, the Dove came down upon our Saviour & was a messenger of joy in descending into those waters, but the waters of Babylon have no Dove near them but David, and my text is the voice of that Turtle heard in that land, If I forget thee O jerusalem, then let my right hand forget her cunning.  
Votum est, saith Calvin, certé votivum quiddam est, 
Calv. in Ps. 13.  saith Carthusian, they be words, or if you will vows, or rather more than words or vows: they receive fire from the altar of his heart, and the fire of his love lives yet in them▪ neither the distance of the place, nor continuance of the time, since they were uttered, can quench them but that their sound is gone out into all nations, the sighs of the Prophet's soul, and the billows of Babylon's water yield no other woeful warbling murmur but the Echo of this Text, If I forget thee O jerusalem, then let my right hand forget her cunning.  
If I forget] Memory is more changeable than the moon, it is a glass placed behind in the head, man's fall broke this glass: since, it is crazed, dashed, dazzled, of all the faculties soonest decayeth: at the best, it is but sorrows store house & sins table book, it recordeth our woes & representeth our wants, it is a room hung with the maps of all themiseries we endured. But our Prophet by a devoted confirmed sanctified memory doth possess himself with the representation of the place of Religion. The motions and resolutions of all the the terrestrial spheres cannot disturb much less destroy his meditations upon jerusalem. This as a swift winged Seraphin, is fled up to heaven, and there recorded, If I forget thee O jerusalem, the joy of the earth, Queen of the nations, City of God, beauty of the whole world, thee O jerusalem, seat or the Temple, Princess of the Provinces, chair of the Monarchy, throne of the kingdom, Golden head of the picture. No, Israel may forget Egypt, Simeon and Levi forget Israel their father, the mother may forget her child, and the child exenterate his own mother, but jerusalem, the apple of God's eye, the signet on his finger, the Virgin of the East, beauty of the earth, his fair one, dear one, little one, only one, shallbe had in everlasting remembrance. If I forget thee O jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. The best exterior member of the body, the hand, the best use of the hand cunning: but let hand and cunning perish, the right & best use of the right hand perish, let neither his tongue stir, nor his hand touch his harp, nay let his eyes fall into the holes of his head, and all his faculties fail, rather than he fail to remember jerusalem.  
Which few words show the much love of the Prophet to the place of God's service: and as Reverend Calvin upon the words noteth, 
Calvin in 137. , Testantur Dei cultores adhibitâ imprecatione memoriam sanctae urbis cordibus suis, semper fore infixam,, neque unquam deletam iri quicquid acciderit: the true worshippers of God do seal with an imprecation the remembrance and reverend regard of Religion, never to be rooted from their souls, to be their song day and night, their morning and evening sacrifice, their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, their meat and drink, the very light of their life, and breath of their nostrils, never to be separated, never to be divorced from them; every man saying, as our Prophet, If I forget thee O jerusalem, then let my right hand forget her cunning.  
Divisio Textus. I have numbered the words, let us go to the sikle of the Sanctuary, and there weigh them. 1. The supposition or exaggeration of his vow: If I forget thee. The second, the place, or subject, or object occasioning his vow: Thee O jerusalem. Thirdly, the obligation, and imprecation, or if you please, his oath of allegiance to jerusalem: then let my right hand forget her cunning. All of them be as the ingredients for the holy incense, sweet smelling savours unto God: the first a fervent and vehement vow, holy for the matter, hearty for the manner. The second the most holy place of the most high, the Parallel of lost Paradise, and figure of the hope for heaven, a resemblance of every faithful man's soul, & the representation of the militant & triumphant Church. The third a powerful and faithful confirmation of the Prophet's profession and pathetical resolution, let my right hand forget her cunning.  
And now Ho: Reverend, all beloved, lend your ears to that subject, to which David the type of Christ, and Christ the son of David lent their tears. Babylon hath friends every where, jerusalem wants Religion, I mean expecteth that you will stand to her, otherwise, ut quid statis hic otiosi, why stand you here idle? but per silentium consensum video, Acuanus spoke in the same kind, 
Acuanus in Psal.  I see your consent by your silence, and hope your faithfulness will never entertain forgetfulness, especially of goodness: which profession, was David's practice and my first part.  
Forgetfulness, 
1. Part. Bon. in Psal. 119.  by the schools is defined to be Memoriae lubricatio, and so Bonaventure speaks on the 119. Psalm, it is a slippery inconstancy of the memory whereby the best part of the mind, the understanding can neither fitly receive, nor faithfully retain those species which are represented to it. It is like to that swift Kishon which swept Sisera's soldiers away, it is a precipitate torrent, the obliterating, and expunging of knowledge, the very index expurgatorius of the understanding, the cloud of the mind, and eclipse of the memory. The fathers distinguish it into two parts: first a useful and laudable: second an hateful and damnable forgetfulness. 
Bernard in Cant.  Bernard observeth that the name Manasses signifieth forgetfulness, and as the tribe of Manasses dwelled part on the one side, part on the other side jordan, nantotus Manasses jordanem non transiit, so there is a forgetfulness which stayeth from passing jordan, & another forgetfulness which leadeth through jordan, to the land of Canaan.  
It is a wonder that Manasses should be the father of a Tribe: an Egyptian bore him, Pharaohs Court was the place of his breeding, neither Nurse nor Mother could give benedictionem patriae: when he came for jacobs' blessing joseph the father led him by the left hand, and jacob the grandfather laid his left hand upon him, neither father, nor grandfather gave him benedictionem dextrae, the blessing of the right hand. When he came to term of inheritance, the tribe was divided, jordan divided them, half on the one side, 
Spedi geneal. ante Biblia.  the other on the other, no tribe so divided as Manasses, neither had benedictionem terrae. Manasses was but nephew to the Tribes, & lost his birthright as Esau did. Gedeon was of this tribe, whose sons were all slain, Zelophehad of this tribe, who had no sons but daughters. Many monuments of orbitancy, of defection, and oblivion in this tribe; and yet many Princes, many Prophets, were of it.  
I follow St Bernard his allusion, that Manasses the eldest son of joseph, should be forgetfulness, 
Bernard.  It is much, joseph was now a Prince in Egypt, who had been a prisoner in Egypt, joseph whose feet they hurt in the stocks, that the iron entered into his soul, joseph from the state of a Prisoner to be a Prince, his first fruit to be forgetfulness, it is very much. Adam's first fruit Cain to be a murderer, jacobs' first fruit Reuben, to be incestuous; Aaron's first fruit Nadab, to be contumacious; david's first fruit Ammon, to be adulterous; salomon's first fruit Rhehoboam, to be Idolatrous; showeth, that these holy men did not offer their firsts fruits, their eldest sons unto God: but joseph almost the jest and youngest of his brethren, saved from the pit, saved from the prison, now a Prince in Egypt, and Manasses, forgetfulness, his first son, enforceth that all that are dignified & magnified, are most ready to forget the state, from whence God hath brought them. They are the sons of joseph, not of jacob; he wan by yielding, and was honoured by his halting, by his humbling saith Chrysostome, the lower he stoups to the earth, the nearer, the better his advantage for this blessing, 
Chrysostom.  felices hi ex tribu Manassis qui humilitatem induunt, authoritatem exuunt, Leo giveth the reason, Humilitas animi sublimitas Christiani, happy is their forgetfulness, the stars of whose firmament, being great, yet seem less than the earth, this fargetfulnesse is virtus honorata, saith Bernard, an humble mind in an honourable place, 
Bernard.  it is a lowly valley sweetly planted, and pleasantly watered, a royal Argosy with a low fail, a holy temple with a low roof. He is a true Israelite, more than a Nathiniel, he is of the band of the Centurion, or rather the Centurion himself, 
jacob. Manasses. David. Esdr. Centurion. Paul. john Bap.  who in the Gospel crieth Domine non sum dignus, which is the voice of 4 in the old Testament, and 3 in the new, happy sons of the tribe of Manasses, blessed practices of forgetfulness.  
In the second legion of Manasses, passing over jordan, I place those, who in a charitable forgetfulness forgive all wrongs done to them It was Peter his question, Mat. 18. How often shall I forgive my brother? How often in a day, as Luke addeth, the answer is 70 times 7. 
jerom.  that is, saith St jerom 490 times, if there may be so many ebbings and flow in the sea of thy passion. St Austin giveth the reason, 
Austin.  why seventy times seven, from Adam to Christ there were seventy generations, and when Christ came, he forgave all the transgressions of mankind diffused into so many generations: so also should a Christian remit as many offences as in the compass of his life can be committed against him. Tully of Caesar, and Ambrose of Theodosius, 
Tully. Amb.  testify that they forgot nothing but injuries. Happy is he that so conquereth himself, as that wrongs cannot conquer him; he is above nature, when he seemeth below himself, for not to resist being urged, is more than Heroical. Theophrastus giveth him this character, he is God's best witness, Nature's best child, 
Theoph.  the surest friend, the latest enemy, the greatest conqueror. So far forgetfulness is useful, and the posterity of Manasses fruitful. But the forgetfulness, against which David with an execration voweth, is a neglect bred by the corruption of nature, nourished by the eclipse of grace, whereby Gods blessings be either not remembered or not regarded. This is the rust of the senses, & Canker of the soul, man's worst inmate, sins greatest associate. Accipiendis est indignus, qui fuerit acceptis ingratus; 
Eern.  man hereby enjoyeth not those he formerly received, not receiveth those which futurely he expecteth: Our Prophet's resolution is otherwise, If I forget.  
In Deum non cadit obliute, saith St Austin, man may forget, but God will not, cannot forget. 
Th' 1.2.  Aquinas putteth it among those actus Deo inconvenientes. Yet as the just be had in his eternal remembrance, so the wicked be forgotten, that is, caused to be forgotten, utterly obliterated from the earth. David and Ahab prove this: 
Bern.  the ovenant made to David is, that for ever there should be a light in Israel. Rhehoboam sinned, 
Rhehoboam. 1 King 11.  to tribes were cut of yet the kingdom shall not utterly be taken way, Erit lux Davidis in Israel, 1. Kings 11.34. Abijam his son, ditionum & vitiorum haeres, as Lyra names him, actuates and augments his father's sins, the axe is laid to the root of the tree, the Sceptre gins to whither, the Lord is ready to destroy him, yet he remembers his Covenant, Erit Lux Davidis in jerusalem 1. King 15.4. 
Abiiam. 1. King. 15.4.  jehoram joineth with Ahab, whose posterity woe and vengeance was to undermine; all jehorams' children are slain, now the light of Israel was to be extinguished, but the Lord remembreth his covenant to David, though all the seed royal of judah was thought to be destroyed, yet joash is saved, preserved from the horrid massacre, hid in the bed chamber, the Covenant continueth, Erit Lux Davidis in jerusalem 2. Chron. 21. It is a speech usual in the Kings and Chronicles, 
jehoram. 2. Chr. 21.  Erit lux Davidis in jerusalem, the Lord would continue a light in Israel, so did the Lord until he came, who was the light of the Gentiles, and the glory of his people Israel, a continuance, a succession, an emanation of the root of jesse. David's seed shall remain among the posterities, impij autem non sic, it is not so with Ahab, he & his shall be forgotten, God hath forgotten him, he turneth his face from him, and there is none to help him: a little vineyard rooteth, eateth, obliterateth him, and all his. They were all like those that perished at Endor, and became the dung of the earth, 
Psal. 2. King 21.17.  Ahab is accursed by Eliah, his wife, and children cursed, vengeance dogs him to his end, Ahab is slain in battle, dogs lick his blood, jehoram his son wounded in battle, after slain by jehu, 
2. King. 22.  dogs licked his blood, jezebel his wife cast down from the window is slain, Ahaziah her son fell from the window, 
2. King. 22.  is slain. Dogs licked but the blood of Ahab, but they eat the body of jezebel: 
2. King. 1.  his two sons both Kings, cast out as filthy carcases, and yet the Tragedy not ended, vengeance hath another scene, seventy of his sons were slain. Athaliah sought to destroy all the blood royal, 
2. Chr. 22.  and feminine cruelty exceedeth masculine, saith the Historian, 
Lamprid.  but Athaliah could not destroy joas, one remains. jehu slew two and forty of Ahaziahs' brethren, and none remained, but this number is almost doubled, 
2. King. 10.  seventy sons all of their blood royal derived from vena basilica of Ahab all slain, yet not an end, for an Epilogue, as if destruction were come to a perpetual end, and the memorial of them perished with them, 
Psal.  jehu slew all his great men, all his Captains, all his kinsfolk, all his Priests, all his servants, till he left him not one remaining, 2. Kings 10.11. These might say, 
2. King. 10.11. Psal. 10.11.  as those in the Psalm Ps. 10.11. God hath forgotten them, he turneth his face from them, and there is none to deliver them. But this forgetting is effectus irae, not defectus memoriae, in God it is a note of his punishing, not of his not remembering, it is the effect of his wrath, not a defect of his power. He seethe all, knoweth all, remembreth all, only God may truly say, I will not forget.  
Moses' led the Israelites many days journey out of the way in their passage to Canaan, 
Philo.  my journey is to jerusalem; Pardon this last necessary outroad. I come nearer to our Prophet's meaning and remembering: whose hearty resolution leads us to this holy position. 
1. Doctrine.  It is the duty of a true Christian always to remember, never to forget the blessings, that his God hath bestowed upon him.  
Nature's impotency by sins obliquity hath shipwrakt all the faculties of the soul, the understanding is blind, the will mad, the mind lame, the memory, as the man between jerusalem & jericho, sore wounded. Grace as the good Samaritan cureth and recovereth these. 
Seneca.  Nihil facilius putrescit quàm amor, saith Seneca, nothing decayeth sooner than love, Putrescit, senescit beneficium, a benefit soon antiquateth and putrefieth. Of all the powers of the soul delicata, tenera, maximè fragilis memoria, in quam primum senectus incurrit: white hairs be not more present harbingers of old age then the tender, delicate, brittle memory, which soon waxeth old: no faculty sooner than memory, no apprehension of memory, sooner waxeth old then a benefit. Men forget those favours, the authors whereof be their daily objects, how easy then to forget God they see not! When all the world sitteth as at the pool of Bethesda, Grace as the Angel descendeth and healeth the many proclivities to forgetfulness of those that be Gods children. 
Tully.  Tully compares Lucullus and Hortensius together, both of wonderful memories, but preferreth Lucullus before Hortensius, because he remembered matters, the other but words. But the excellentest obtect of all others, either for the memory to account, or for any part of the soul to conceive, is the meditations of the Lords blessings. Happy is he that maketh a custom house in his soul in this kind, that setteth down all the blessings of God that came into his haven, that remembreth the Lord, as he hath remembered him, that nameth them over often, & as God reckoneth the stars and calleth them all by their names: and though he can not in that number and order, that God hath bestowed them on him, because they be more than the hairs of his head, yet with David sums then up, Quidretri buam, 
Psal.  what shall I give to the Lord for all the benefits he hath done unto me? 
Bern. ep.  Renumeratio haec Remuneratio quaedam, this is continual incense of the soul, gratiarum ascensus, gratiae descensus, saith Bernard. It was jonas individuus comes, 
jon. 2.  when my soul fainted I remembered the Lord: when his soul was not only distempered, but almost overwhelmed, he crieth out, I remembered the Lord. The Disciples only on the sea in the boat, even with salvation itself, cry out, Master we perish, the mast of their faith was shaken, the anchor of their hope almost broken, Master we perish! But jonas not in a boat on but in the sea, in the womb of a Whale, in the bottom & belly of the sea, I remembered the Lord, saith he. David may forget his own people and father's house, forget the wife of his bosom, and the fruit of his loins, yea forget to eat his own bread, yet his memory never faileth him in this service, to reach to the true object, the faithful continual meditations of God's mercies, the ingeminated ejaculations of remembering & thanks giving. God hath been bountiful in mercies, David will be plentiful in these holy meditations.  
Use. The use of which Doctrine is to incite & encourage us to be exercised in the continual meditations of God's continued mercies. It is the faithfullest conjunction of the soul with God, coelestis est mercatura, saith Acuanus, 
Acuanus in Ps.  it is a celestial trade, between God and man, when man becometh remembrancer to God his great benefactor. O then, blessed brethren, practice David's holy, and daily exercise herein! Look upon the kingly Prophet, upon the bended knees of his soul, lifting up eyes, hands, 
Ps. 22.  heart to heaven in 22. Psalm, Thou O Lord art he that took me out of my mother's womb, thou wast my hope when I hanged on my mother's breasts, thou art my God from my mother's womb. In this great & honourable assembly now we are all met, for cause of rejoicing and comfort we are hereby remembered, what God hath done for us since the time he made us, that he hath created us out of the slime of the ground & put living & reasonable souls into us. It is jobs question, Why died I not in the womb, why gave I not up the ghost, when I came from the belly, why did not the knees prevent me, 
job. 3.  or the breasts that I might not suck? we may ask in a thankful awful fear, as he asked in a wilful woeful fury. The Lord hath nursed us up in a civil and well manerd country, hath redeemed us with the blood of his Son, visited us with the light of his gospel, justified us with the power of his grace, & filled our garners with store, & our baskets with increase, and hath raised up many of us, when we were lowly in our own eyes, and hath prevented us with the blessing of good things. Who so is wise will ponder these things, and never forget the loving kindness of the Lord.  
But alas! we are not more unable, to help ourselves than unapt to acknowledge the help of God. Some Critical Sceptic may tell me, this is too popular too vulgar an argument for this Comitial assembly. But let him look into David's practice; I will praise thy name in the great congregation. The temple was called the house of thanksgiving, the daily sacrifice was the oblation of thanksgiving; once a year there was a solemn general feast of thanksgiving, and now the great Sacrament of the lords Supper is Eucharistia the sacrament of thanksgiving. 
Erasm.  Sluggishness was endorsed upon the doors of the Sybarites, forgetfulness is fastened upon ours, it sticketh to us, as the leprosy of Gehezei. O that every one would put his hand into his bosom, to see how leprous he is! 
Psal.  this Epidemical Contagion is as water in our bowels and like oil in our bones. There was a time, that I may speak as Hierome did, Deborah sedebat sub Palma, 
Hier.  the Paragon of mortal Princes, Deborah the woman after Gods own heart, the virgin Queen of the earth, the glory of the Christian, & envy of the infidel world, like unto whom we never had king or Queen before her; ELIZABETH lived, & like a gracious mother daily blessed us: most of us were borne in her golden days, all of us blessed by Peace within her walls, and plenteousness, within her Palaces, by that noble Progress of Religion, within all her kingdom, all her time. But we forgot this, and therefore when Nature had given her fullness of days, virtue fullness of grace, providence fullness of riches, estimation fullness of honour, Deborah deceased, and how soon was she forgotten! she was gathered to her fathers, and as happy in her life, so holy in her death, she went to rest with the greatest token of divine favour, maugre that horrid fury of Parsons, the curse of his name, and plague of his nation, who in his last gaps, as if he had learned jobes' wives counsel, to blaspheme God and die, broke the impostume of his then poisoned, cankered, now (I fear) damned soul, & left that infection in papers behind him to engaster the name and memory of that blessed Queen, in life more than Saint, and now equal with Angels. How soon was she forgot! After her decease the darkest dawning of a day, that ever our Country saw, all eyes streaming with tears, all hearts breaking with sighs, our firmament full of clouds, the sun rose in the North, as gl rious as ever before, in the East, the entrance of our day star was, roseo cunsole, Infinite blessings of union & Religion, by our Sovereign, Infinite deliverances of David and his seed, the foundation of posterity and prosperity laid, all clouds removed. Solomon the Prince renowned through the Christian world, all beams of expectation reflexed upon him, the lines of the whole circumference met in Prince HENRY as in the Centre, the eyes that saw him blessed him, the ears that heard him gave witness to him, all acclamations sound this, blessed the womb that bore thee, and the paps that gave thee suck. But we forgot this, we all admired his person, his deportment, his wisdom, his grace with God & men, but we forgot to be thankful to God, that had given such a Prince to men: our unthankfulness slew h●m, that renowned plant, as the first flower of the fig tree, in the prime & blooming of his age, was translated to heaven. Religion wept, virtue bled at his death & the Christian world was ready to expire, yet gracious Prince HENRY is forgot, the Jewel of Nature model of grace, religions Champion, humani generis deliciae, the light and life of mankind is already forgot: so senseless and stupid and horrid is our unthankfulness. If we had no other sins but forgetfulness, and no other forgetsulnesse then of renowned Q. Elizabeth, and blessed P. Henry, this were enough to shake, nay to sink us: it is not a worm or moth upon us, but a viper hanging on our hand, an emblem of our destruction. Wherefore to land this point, Ho: Reverend, and blessed Christians, set up pillars of remembrance in the faculty of your memory, for all the blessings God hath showed to you. Be meditating of the Lords mercies from day to day, let body and soul be free from the plagues, that fall upon both, by neglect of remembering the blessings to both. But I leave this, lest I forget my second part jerusalem; and If I forget thee O jerusalem, then let my right hand forget her cunning.  
Part. 2 Many glorious things are spoken of thee thou city of God, saith the Psalmist. jerusalem was the Elect city of God, 
Psal.  holy and most glorious, 
Villalpand. in Ezekiel.  built upon the holy mountains, this exceeding all other cities, as their Temple all other buildings. It was situated in the midst of the world, and by rude and polite, divine and profane authors styled the centre of the earth, and the midst of all nations. Strabo thinks that Moses built it, but that Scripture contradictes: but Scripture is plain that jacob dwelled there, Gen. 33.18. It was built, 
Gen. 33.18.  as josephus recordeth two thousand twenty & three years after the creation. Melchesedech was the first founder and king of it 50 years, & called it Salem, which as some think, is that which is by Homer called Solyma. 
Let, in Psal.  The jebusites, Canaanites possessed it eight hundred twenty four years, than David rooted them out, and the city continued in perfect beauty, as josephus accounteth, four hundred seventy and seven years, in compass, saith Strabo, six miles, 2 hundred and fifty paces. In the old Testament it was seven times besieged by Shishak K. of Egypt, 
1. King. 14. 2. King. 4. 2. King. 18. 2. King. 19 2 Chr. 33.11. 2. King. 24.  1. King. 14. by joas king of Israel, 2. King. 4. by Reshim king of Aram, 2. King. 18. by Senacherib king of Ashur, 2. King. 19 by the Assyrians in the time of Manasses, 2. Chro. 33.11. by Pharaoh Necho in the time of jehoiakim, 2. Kin. 24. Lastly in the time of Zedekiah, by Nabuchadonosor that scourge of heaven, which fatal, though not final, desolation was foreseen in this Psal. The original is jeruschalaijm in the dual number, for there were two cities, Salem and Zion, both sisters, judah dwelled in the one the great and kingly tribe, Benjamin in the other, the least and youngest tribe. It was never perfect till Solomon's time, for Melchisedech was their King, but wanted succession; then the jebusits invaded, and possessed it, joshuah sets against the jebusites, kills their king, but obtains not the castle, the fort of Zion; David conquereth them, and obtaineth the Castle. Yet there was no Temple all this time. A praefiguration of the Temple there was long before. Abraham in the 2 thousand and twenty year of the world built an altar here, on the mount Moriah, but sacrificed not Isaac, for which he built the altar. David about the two thousand eight hundred year of the world built an altar, and sacrificed on the same mount, but the altar had no Temple. After this Solomon built the Temple, and the altars in the Temple, and offered 20 thousand Oxen, and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. Yet the Temple was not perfect, there lacketh the Priest. The Priest himself was crucified, the sacrificer sacrificed: & where Adam was buried, as Epiphanius testifieth, 
Epiphanius apud Kemnitium de Traditio.  there was Christ on the edge of Moriah on Calvary crucified. Now the city is perfitted and consummated, but here consummatio consumptio est. jerusalem in her infancy was in a kind of innocency, Et si non Innocentia à peccatis tamen innocentia à scandalis, et si non libera à peccati macula, tamen à peccandi malitia. She was a choice chaste virgin, Gods own daughter, nay his darling, as the apple of his eye dear unto him. All his messages were then endorsed, Tell the daughter of Zion, all his Prophets come as Amos to Hesekiah, the virgin, the daughter of Zion, the daughter of jerusalem: Grace was nurse to this virgin in the time of the law, the dew of Hermon was her milk, Melchisedech, a King and Priest was her father, David a King and Prophet was her foster father in her infancy jerusalem was the King's daughter, all glorious within, her clothing was of wrought gold, the daughter of tire was there with a gift, kings daughters were among her honourable women, all her garments smelled of Myrrh, Aloes, & Cassia, the King had pleasure in her beauty, she was brought to the King in raiment of needle work, the virgins, that were her fellows did bear her company. jericho a City of Palm trees, Tyrus rich in purple, Samaria the throne of Israel, Egypt the womb of Nilus & all other Tributary, subsidiary daughters to jerusalem, she was great among the Nations and princess of the provinces. 
Lam. 1.  The sun did once shine upon all the rest of the world, yet Egypt, only Egypt was dark; but now all the rest of the world was darkness, and the sun only shined upon jerusalem, There was no beauty to the beauty of the daughter of Zion, the Lord kept her as a match for his own ●o●●e, sent many messengers to her, to win, to woo he●, but she was turned harlot and entertained lust, last preferred murder to the service of jerusalem, murder slew all the messengers that came: yet God, as desiring the match, forbore yet to be angry and his prophets lamented her: you may hear jeremy in his own words, 
jer. 14.17.  Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease, for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a grievous blow. And Amos among others, as commiseratly, Hear the lamentation, O house of Israel! 
Amos. 5.2.  O the daughter of Israel is fallen! And the lamentations are so full of condolements for jerusalem, that her gates sunk, her bars broken, the stones of her sanctuary scattered in every corner in the street, her mountains desolate, houses fired, temple destroyed, Virgin violated, and all turned to ruin & double. Such are those lamentations, that if their Echo can pass by the ears of any man, and leave not lamentation and passion behind him, I say his heart is a strong castle for the devil, it is harder, than the neither millstone. Well, jerusalem is deflowered and disfigured, Civitas sancta est meretrix, facta est adultera, the virgin is turned whore, civitas sanctitatis is become Civitas sanguinis, saith Acuanus, The city of peace is become the city of blood, 
Acuanus.  the joy of the earth become the shame and shambles of the earth, the Academy of the prophets become the Aceldama of the Prophets; jerusalem a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, a den of thieves, a cage of unclean birds, the cave of unclean beasts, habitation where Zym, Limb, the ostrich, the schritchowle, the Satire do inhabit: yet God continueth his love, and sends his son to this f nfull City, and when HE came, sure he loved her dearly, for he wept for her bitterly: 
Mat. 23.  but she like a deceitful harlot first dissembleth, & then betrayeth him, one day kneeleth before him, the next accuseth him before Pilate, one day comes to attend him with Palms another day gathers to apprehend him with staves, one day worships him, another day crucifies him. He that came to preserve her, she goeth about to destroy him, & preferring him, that slew the living, before him that raised the dead, they crucified the Lord of life, Supplicium quo nullum maius! opprobrium quo nullum vilius! 
Ratisbonens. de Pass. Dom.  jerusalem crucified her Saviour jesus: yet the Lord forbeareth jerusalem, & yet thou remainest holy, O thou worship of Israel. When he had been crucified and risen again, and they denied his resurrection, and he ascendeth to heaven, and they regard not his ascension; He, in his last words that ever on earth he spoke to his disciples commandeth them, 
Act. 1.4.  not to departed from jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the father, the coming of the spirit among them in jerusalem. I find some of the ancients amazed at this love of the Lord of life. 
Oecum. Theod. in Act Apost.  Poor disciples, children of the bride chamber, their eyes streaming with tears & hearts breaking with sighs, must they yet continue in jerusalem? With that sinful nation, that people laden with iniquity, 
Esay. 1.  seed of the wicked corrupt children, with them that had so provoked the holy one of Israel to anger: why not in Ephrata? where the Lord was born, why not in Galily? whence they were chosen. Of all places, why in jerusalem? the most odious of all places, in murderous, adulterous jerusalem stained with blood, & for ever branded with the blemish of treason against her Lord: why in jerusalem? against which all the Prophets, had shot of volleys of woe, and heaven sent down thunderbolts of vengeance: why in jerusalem? where they were as odious, as obvious to Herod's Court, Pilat's pleading place, to Pharisees, soldiers, to all, that were famous for infamy. The Prophets had been slain, john Faptist murdered, and the Saviour crucified in jerusalem: what less, could they here expect? the disciple is not above his Master, it had been hateful, and how could it be less than hateful, to them, to be in jerusalem? I omit many reasons; most of the Greek fathers differing herein, 
Chrys. in Act. 1.  noluit Christus equos suos absque auriga prodire, Oecumenius giving another reason: ne si citò digressi essent resurrectionis Christi veritas esset suspecta, 
Oecumen. in Act 1.  saith Oecumenius. Isaiah and Micah give a better reason, 
Es. 2 3.  de Zion exibit lex & verbum Domini de jerusalem, it was not the city, or seat, or sight of jerusalem, though the loftiness of the situation, temperature, and moderation of the heaven, fruitfulness of the soil, all be honoured & so mentioned by josephus, Strabo, Pliny, Tacitus, though it was totius terrae umbilicus, the centre and very vertical point of the whole earth, in quam Natura omnes vires essudisset, 
Livy.  as Hormisda spoke of Rome. Yet all this is not the cause of their slay, or of the scriptures honouring, of jerusalem, but because, it was the place, to which the covenant, was made, that hence the word of the Lord, should pass into all lands, it was the type, & representation of the elect Church of Christ; It was the place of God's service, the temple of sacrifice the house of prayer, the consecrated holy place of the most high. And therefore the Parallel of the Church, & jerusalem being measured with Ezechiels' line, we shall find, that as Jerusalem was built on a rock, so the Church upon Christ the rock: as jerusalem was surrounded with hills, 
Comp jerusal. cum Ecclesia ex quam plurimis Rabbinis.  so the Church compassed with God's protection: jerusalem could not be conquered from the Jebusites, but by David, nor the church redeemed from Satan and sin but by Christ: judah the seed of blear eyed Leah, inhabiting of the one side, signifi's the church of the Gentiles, Benjamin the fruit of fair Rahel, on the other side the hill Moriah figureth the church of the jews: both had a part in jerusalem, both belong to heaven: jerusalem built on the South, had the sun most orient shining therein, the church hath the son of righteousness, most gloriously illuminating it: jerusalem, the vision of peace, the Church the family of peace: All the Tribes came to jerusalem, all nations come unto the Church: in jerusalem was the continual worship of God, in the Church the continued service of God: here he was more particularly, not only per essentiam, as he is in all creatures, or per potentiam, as he is even in hell, sed per residentian, saith Altensteg; 
Alt ensteg. diction.  & this caused the Prophet so much to recall, and record, the remembrance of jerusalem. Which leadeth to this position, 
2. Doct,  that Religion only is that, which addeth grace and honour to place a person.  
Religion, as the heathen confesseth, is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, it is not only the band betwixt man and man, 
Plutarch.  the knot of all communion, and consociation, but is the sweet ointment, and holy ornament of the place, where it is. Shiloa, is honoured for the pool of Shiloa, but more for that the Tabernacle stood in Shiloa. Bethel is honoured for the Well of which David desired the water, but much more for that Christ the son of David, was borne there. jerusalem honoured for her Temple, but much more for the worship of God, in the Temple. For the Eunuch in the Acts, as S. Chrysostome observeth, came not to see the Temple but to perform worship in jerulalem. And while this worship continued, God called jerusalem, 
Chrys. in. Act.  Domus mea, but when this fire was gone out, Domus vestra. Zion is my hill, saith the Lord, jerusalem my city, the Temple Domus mea: but when they forsook him, he forsook them, when their Religion expired, he then departed, they change the property, he forsook the patronage: it was Domus mea, now Domus vestra, once Domus mea, per amoris antiquitatem, now Domus vestra, per peccati iniquitatem, as a Gloss noteth now when the life of their lives, and blood of their souls, Religion ceased, it is become Loruhamah, Loamint, Domus vestra, a den of thieves. Fearful is that place of the Apostle, 
Heb. 10.38.  if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.  
David was borne in Bethlehem, anointed in Bethlehem, yet he preferreth jerusalem in his song: it did rejoice him, when they went to jerusalem, that his feet might stand in thy gates O jerusalem. O pray for the peace of jerusalem, let them prosper, that love thee, Peace be within thy walls, plenteousness within thy palaces. The honour of Bethlehem in Micah is much, thou Bethlehem Ephrata, though thou be little among the thousands of judah, yet out of thee he shall come forth unto me, that is to be ruler in Israel. Observe the continuance, and perpetuity of honour, done to little Bethel: 
Mic. 5.25.  The 1 covenant made by God to Abraham, 
Gen. 12.8.  & the first altar made by Abraham to God was in Bethel. near the same place Isaac his son built his first altar, and the Lord first appeared here to Isaac. In the same Bethel, 
Gen. 26.24.  jacob his son receiveth his vision, God maketh his covenant with him. In the same Bethel, 
Gen. 28.20.  God commands jacob to build him an altar, & here jacob giveth it that name the house of God. In the same Bethel, David of the line of jacob was borne, & anointed, and in the same Bethel, 
Gen 35.15. 1. Sam. 16.  now the city of David, was Christ, of the seed of David, borne. Lo, thus shall be done to the place, that the Lord doth honour, thus shall be done to the place where God his name is called upon. It is not the loftiness of the building, the aspiring of the towers, the multiplicity of their turrets, the seats of judgement, houses of the High Priests, schools of the Prophets, thickness of their sensed vault round about the city, in which were one hundred and fifty thousand men, which Strabo maketh to be two hundred, & fifty paces, nor those 400 catechizing houses, which the Ribbons mention in the city, nor the Palaces of the Princes, nor the sepulchre of their kings, nor the 11 orders of the city, or the 9 fountains, or 12 gates, or ninety turrets, which Villalpand describeth, 
Villal. in Ezek.  or the mountains above it, or valleys about jerusalem, no not the Temple itself, that was 7 years building by the daily labour of a hundred fifty three thousand men: but it was the worship of God, Religion that gave the grace & countenance, 
josephus.  that made it the golden head of the picture; Lady of the world, seat of the Monarchy, Virgin of the East, joy of the earth, so dear to our Prophet, as that he crieth out, If I forget thee O jerusalem, then let my hand forget her cunning.  
Use. A Doctrine, that should be as fearful for terrifying, as powerful for instructing, all those places, & persons, that the Lord hath blessed, by placing his name, & word among them. Tyrus Purple, or Iericho's Palms, or Samariahs' kings, or Ninivehs' buildings, continue not; Canker and Corruption hath utterly consumed them, not a stone remaining on a stone, they are forsaken, because by them Religion is forsaken. Quinzay in the east, Mexico in the west, Milan as it is, Antwerp as it was, Paris in her late glory, Venice in her now beauty, cannot continue, because Religion continueth not. The prime city of this land, the heart of the kingdom, and chamber of the king, hath been often swept, her foundation hath been shaken, the multitude of her offences, hath consumed multitudes of her inhabitants, and that Nabuchadonosor, the plague hath kept visitation in her, 
Senec. Trag.  juvenesque senibus coniungens, & gnatis patres funesta pestis, and why have these eclipses often hindered the sunshine of her Citizens, but for their neglect of Religion. Wherefore my beloved, seeing that religion, this day maketh a proclamation unto you, as wisdom in the Proverbs, entertain her, let her be the bracelet, tablet, frontlet, of each Christian: when the names of the great ones shall rot, their bodies rot on the earth, 
Pro. 1.  and their souls rot in Sheol, and their memories rot among the posterities, thy name to thy posterity, if thou be religious, shall be a happy patrimony. David is more honoured in Scripture for being a Prophet then a King, Solomon more regarded for being a preacher then a Prince, Job not honoured for his Camels, his sheep, 
job 1.  his oxen, his riches, but because he was a righteous man. Abraham's religion and obedience, got him the title of father of the faithful: military men may remember the faith & religion of the Centurion, honoured not for his band or command, that he had power to bid one come and he came, another go, & he went, but for his word, non sum dignus. Citizens and Townsmen may be remembered by Simon the Tanner, Courtiers by the Eunuch, women by Lydia, young men by Titus, servants by Onesimus, who ever thou art, thou art not left unexcusable, o man, examples, precepts, blessings for the practice, curses for the neglect of religion, are offered daily to thy meditation. The praises of Religion should not only incite, but astonish thee, Kings her nursing fathers, Queens her nursing mothers; for loveliness she is a Roe, for fruitfulness a vine, for holiness a priesthood, for brightness the morning, for safety mount Zion, for Royalty a Queen, for beauty the Sun, for privileges, the godly and religious in themselves, they be blessed in the city, blessed in the field, blessed in the fruit of the body, 
Deut. 28.  blessed in the fruit of the ground, in the fruit of the cattle, in the increase of the kine, & in the flocks of sheep, blessed in the basket, and the store, blessed, when thy go in, and when they go out, and blessed in every thing they shall put to their hand. For their Family, and the preservation thereof, thousands shall fall before him, ten thousands at his right hand, it shall not come nigh him, no evil shall come near his dwelling. For his children, the seed of the righteous is blessed, I have been young, saith David, and now am old, 
Ps. 37.  yet I never saw the righteous forsaken or his seed begging their bread. Mark this ye Parents, ye, to whom, your children, be as dear as your lives, ye whose whole life is only for the continuance of your posterity, ye, whose long travels, troubled meals, short sleeps, great cares, nay great sins be only to maintain your name and family, let Religion be the foundation, godliness the gain, sanctity the legacy you bequeath to your children, no moth shall corrupt it, no thief shall steal it, no Pyonerlike advocate shall undermine it, your generation shall remain among the posterity. Let Religion, be the season of their childhood, the guardian of their youth, and then it will be the guide of their age, the garland of their life, and their good Angel to glory.  
At alia est religio judaeorum, alia Samaritanorum, alia Gentium, 
Chrysost.  saith Chrysostome, jerusalem had a temple, but Samaria a grove, Bethel an Idol, how is the true religion to be known, men cry here is Christ, there is Christ. I answer first with jeremy 6.16. stand upon the ways, be hold and ask for the old way, that is the good way, 
jerem. 6.16.  walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. Per Scripturam etenim Deus loquitur omnia quae vult, 
Greg.  saith Gregory: secondly avoid that way, which deviseth to keep thee in ignorance, that is a godless religion, devout impiety; buy the truth, and sell it not, let only that, which scripture teacheth, evince thy conscience, convince thy understanding. 
Aug. count Dona  It was holy Augustine's position, audi non quid Donatus, aut Vincentius, aut Rogatus, aut Hilarius, sed quid dicit Dominus, be desirous to hear, careful to prove, faithful to retain, that is truth: so thou shalt be blessed, if thou be thus, the religious man, that feareth the Lord.  
At in jerusalem Christus ipse à proditore proditus, 
Bosq. de Tempt  why but there is no such privilege to place, to time, to person, but there may be an eclipse, and even the best sighted understanding, may fail to find by outward reason, the inward power of religion, for person the most sacred, the world's Saviour was tempted, for place not only in the desert, but on the pinnacle of the Temple, for time not only when he fasted, but after the greatest feast, that ever he kept, for he was betrayed at the . I deny not Beloved, but when that the children of God, came to present themselves, before the Lord, Satan also came to present himself; when the whole world, had but so many persons as it hath parts, but 4. there was a Cain, when there were, after the flood but 8. there was a Cham, Lucifer among Angels, judas among Apostles, Nicolas among Deacons: I know that in Paradise a snake may lurk, and in Samaria, when the Church was established, Simon Magus appeareth, even in all ages, there wanted not a Demas, a Diotrephes, some agent for the Devil, to betray religion, some that sow with mingled seed, plough with an ox and ass, wear garments of diverse stuffs, worship at Salem, and yet sacrifice at Shechen, who with blended, doubled, poisoned hearts, do in these or the like holy places come with old scraps, as the Gibeo nites deceived with oldshooes, who being ungrounded in their first elements of learning, prove unsound in Philosophy, and rotten in Divinity, be ever learning, & never come to the knowledge of the truth. If ever there were any such moats or moths about the Candle of this place, I wish them to consider the fearful story of those two false Prophets in the time of jeremiah. Hananiah and Shemaiah did both Prophecy to the people, neither of them were taken for Baal's prophets, yet both, saith the holy Ghost, did propehcy lies, the judgement upon Hananiah is jer. 28.16. Thus saith the Lord, I will cast thee of, from the face of the earth, this year thou shalt die, because thou hast lied against the Lord. Against Shemaiah the judgement is pronounced, jer. 29.32. Thus saith the Lord, because Shemaiah hath prophesied, and I sent him not, and he caused them to trust in a lie, I will punish Shemaiah and his seed, he shall not have a man to dwell among this people for ever. Blessed be the Lord! that so hearty & holy is the jealousy of us for Religion, that now we may say inverting Gregory's words, Tinea sonitum fecit damnum non fecit, though the moth made some sound, yet it left no soil, and is now silenced; we may say as Augustine discoursing upon him, who in the time of Christ's betraying fled naked, and left his linen garment behind him, certè hic non discipulus, 
Diog. Laert. in vit. Biantis.  sure this man was none of the disciples, or as S. john spoke such were (as Bias spoke of sailors, neque inter vivos nec mortuos) with us but not of us, and such bastard Eagles dare not endure the sunshine of scripture, no marvel then, quia, saith Bernard, qui in vita perfidi, 
Bernard.  in doctrina infidi: false Israelites speaking Ashdod and hebrew, false Balamites that curse & bless, false Ephramites baked on one side, dough on the other, false Grecians neither faith full to Achilles' nor Hector, false Laodiceans neither hot nor cold. And again; Blessed be the name of our God, that as that honourable mother, and fruitful twin our sister Cambridge, may rejoice in the happy fruit of her womb; so we in those many in all ages since Popery first engastered religion, who nobly have resisted it, & have nobly run all the suns course, with more light than the sun, as Grosthead, Wickliff, Bradwarden, Burley, Scotus, Occam, jewel, Humfreys, Rainolds, Hooker, Holland, our many worthies now among us, & the sun & moon of our present church government those peerless unparallelled Bishops. And the religion that this our jerusalem, hath ever maintained, is that Religion, which not only Sleidan calleth Protestant, 
Sleid. Com. Augad Bon. come. ep. 50.  but even that religion, which S. Austin calleth Protestant religion; his words be plain, ad Bonifacium Comitem, de coercendis haereticis, where he calleth the religion of his time by the name of ours, protestationem Catholicorum, the protestant religion of the Catholics, which ought to be as dear to us, as ever jerusalem, was to David. But, I have kept you too long in jerusalem, yet I was to follow the command, of the Prophet, walk about Zion, go round about her, tell the Towers thereof mark well her bulwarks, consider her palaces, and tell it to them, that come after. I will now lead you out of Jerusalem, as the Angel did Ezechiel, and I will quickly measure out the rest that remaineth; else let my right hand forget her cunning.  
part. 3 I must not lead you through a library of interpretations, whether Dextra be Christ, as Lyranus, or vita aeterna, 
Lyra, Carth. Moler. in Psal.  as Carthusian, or opera virtutis as the gloss, or divinum auxilium as Mollerus, the sum of all is, the sense of all, all one, he wisheth knowledge and mercy to forsake him, if he forget Jerusalem. It was not a word blown from his lips & lungs, but his bowels did yearn, and his very inwards did yield, his soul sent out, with extraordinary vehemency, this holy and hearty imprecation. Innocentius, 
Lor. in Ps.  bringeth 7. notions of the interpretation of the hand, pro filio dei, potentia, gratia, auxilio, protectione, operatione, vindicta: The Optics honour the eye, the Romans' the hand; it is the whole body's agent, it is the sensorium of the touch only, but the emblem and resemblance of five several senses and their faculties. Obliviscatur aextra; doth he wish himself to lose his right hand? vehementer certè se constringit, atrociter se obligavit, saith Austin on this Psal. The loss of the right use of the right hand, 
Aust. in Ps. 117.  whether ye take it for the loss of mercy as Acuanus, or the loss of protection, as Albinus, or the loss of cunning, or skill, or knowledge, as Mollerus on this Psalm. Surely the loss of the right hand in a spiritual sense is a curse: the greatest curse, that David could wish his enemy is, that Satan might stand at his right hand Psal. 109.6. And the greatest imprecation against himself is, 
Ps. 109.  that his right hand may forget her cunning. The diverse gifts, that God hath bestowed upon the sons of men, enabling them in knowledge to excel, be to be esteemed, their author to be acknowledged, their excellence to be admired, and their end to be employed to the glory of the giver, otherwise men have the right hand, and not the use of the right hand. He that abuseth his knowledge, his right hand, like the hand of jeroboam will whither, knowledge then flourisheth, when diligence planteth it, and grace watereth it, than God giveth the increase. Of all the trees in Paradise, the most principal was the tree of knowledge, knowledge is the fiery pillar to lead us through the wilderness of our wills, it is the Manna of the world's desert, the beacon in danger, the Lamp in darkness. Cyprian complaineth ad Demetrium, Indies deficit in agris agricola, etc. 
Cyp. ad Demet.  There is a daily defection of all knowledge, in the husbandman in the field, the mariner at the sea, innocency in the Court, justice in judgement, workmanship in trades, discipline in schools. All these fail, and will vanish like smoke, & whither like the grass, until they be directed to their true end & scope, the service of God, which maketh plain this position, That, Doct. 3 that knowledge, which is not employed to God's glory, is liable to a curse, and shall perish. There is a worm under that Palm, a north-wind shall blast it, it is like the spider's nest in job; it is a Meteor, a Cloud, an Ignis fatuus, a Cymbalum tinniens, 
job. 9 1. Cor. 15.  a well without water, a curse, not a blessing to the possessions thereof, and shall consume away as a moth fretting a garment, as the untimely fruit of a woman, it shall never see the sun. jerusalem and Israel found this true, 
1. King. 10.  that angelical and blessed harmony of music, consecrated by David, established by Solomon, continued till the deportation into Babylon, was lost in Babylon, never returned again they hanged up their harps, but never took them down, this imprecation fell upon them, verè sic contigit, saith St Austin on this Psalm, 
Aug. in Ps. 137.  quod optavit, praenunciavit, their right hand forgot her cunning, their haps and Pipes, Lutes, Trumpets, Cymbals, their well tuned, loud sounding Cymbal, never returned again, the voice of musical rejoicing was never heard again in their congregations, & sie peribit omnis scientia quae cum à Deo procedit, 
Ambros. Ep.  ad Deum non recedit, saith Ambrose.  
Use. A Doctrine most fit for this place and time, & nearly concerneth us all, who by the mercy of God, and the blessing of our honourable mother the University, at this time, how unworthily our souls best know have received encouragement, for our proceeding in knowledge, virtue, and godliness of living, how many or how few soever our talents be, that we make the best of them for the good of the Church, and the glory of our God. It is ever observed, that the children of darkness, are wiser in their generation, them the children of light, I mean the jesuits, who as if by some monopoly or impropriation they had challenged, all learning and knowledge to themselves, are so earnest & forward in their studies, that they blind & besot the world with an estimation of them, as if the tree of knowledge grew only in their gardens: whereas the glean of Ephraim are far better than the vintage of Abiezer, & the jesuits themselves, are but the Collectors for the poor, and as if they made no conscience of that commandment, thou shalt not steal, they cunningly have purloined whatsoever is good in them, out of our men. It is an ancient complaint that they had their Hebrew from Reuclin, Greek from Budaeus, Latin from Erasmus, & that 
* As hath been proved by blessed D. Rainolds, Keckerman, and others.  Villavincentius hath stolen a whole Tract from Hyperius, and printed it in his own name. What is there, in the whole Bulk of voluminous Bellarmine, but that which he hath heaped up out of Kemnitius, Calvin, jewel? what hath Lorinus in his large, rather painful, then faithful, Commentaries, but what our hives & helps for interpretation have afforded him? What hath Clavius in his Mathematics, but that which Melancthou, or most of them, for their method but what Ramus hath delivered them? To use Bonaventure his words in the preface Lombard to, Compilatores sunt non authores: yet this I say their industry must edge ours, if, they do the Devil and the Pope such diligent service, how diligent should we be, to please our God. An illiterate opinion, there is in some, not only to neglect, but condemn the use of arts and sciences, I am sure our Prophet did it not, nor his son, who was so skilful though a preacher, that he wrote of all creatures, from the Cedar to the Hissope on the walls. Worthy was that saying of Mirandula, si turpe sit bonas litter as colere, mallem agnoscere quàm deprecari culpam, If it be an opprobrious thing, to embrace good letters, I had rather acknowledge my fault, then ask pardon, for it. It is worthily observed by one of the glorious lights of our Church, that Moses was learned in the wisdom of Egypt, Daniel skilful in the knowledge of Chaldea, job not unexpert in Astronomy, jeremy skilful in the common laws of his time, David in music, Paul in Poetry, and in all the knowledge both of jews and Gentiles, & those holy Martyrs, & fathers, the great lights of the firmament, Cyprian, Austin, Hierome, and the rest, have come laden out of Egypt with the treasures, and spoils of the Egyptians instructed for the better service of God with help of sciences and profane learning: and therefore they are to be pitied rather then envied, qui suae patrocinantur ignorantiae, faith Erasmus, 
Erasm. scholia in jer. ad Pam. Bucer. Aemil. Prob. loc. 151. Pomer. in 1. ad Cor. 2. Cal in 1. Cor. 15  plus inscitiâ suâ fidunt & superbiunt quàm alij eruditione suâ, saith Bucer, rudes et degeneres sunt, saith Pomeranus, nay Mr Calvine is so absolute for this, as that his words upon the 15. of the 1. Cor. are, Colligimus hos esse superstitiosos.  
Wherefore beloved, all you of the younger sort, that are to be flourishing plants, in particular societies, or are to be transplanted from this Eden of God, and to pass into the functions and Sanctions either of Church or Common weal; first stay at jerusalem, till the spirit be sent you. The gift of tongues, was only given at jerusalem: it is morbus comitialis, that at our proceed after the first or second degree some most rude, think themselves most ripe, and forsake the University never to return again. I say again, so long as God, & friends & any means may be had, stay at jerusalem till the spirit be sent you. When you go hence, take knowledge with you, exercise your talon, to the honour of your Master, that the retribution may be, good & faithful servant, thou haste been faithful in a little, I will make thee ruler over much. Otherwise, your right hand shall forget her cunning.  
Honourable Lawyers, I give you but that title, that your own glorious Emperor gave you, how ever, the fat kine have eaten up the lean, and the law hath almost devoured your law: yet in your knowledge, which is more honoured in all parts of the Christian world, then is our own land, let it be seen, that your knowledge and practice turn to the good, not the disgrace of the Church. Church & Churchmen, have enemies more than friends. If a poor Prophet or Levite came before the Doctors of the law, among the Pharisees, the word was, Go in peace: If ever you come to place of authority, and a poor Minister come before you, let him have countenance, far be it, that your learned laws should be snares to good minds, or quirks for mercenary wits: lex et prophetae, your Law and Prophets are ever joined in Scripture, divide not, divorce them not, lest your right hand forget her cunning.  
Learned, and Honourable Physicians, I give you that title, that the son of Sirach giveth, it is but Apocrhyphas; direct your knowledge, the right hand of your knowledge, to the right use; let prayer go before, Religion be an ingredient in all your practice, let it not be observed as Innocentius once said, and yet in some places, though not here, yet in the great city of this land is frequently & lamentably to be found that dum corpus medici reficiunt aegrotorum animas inficiunt, that while irreligious, ephraimitical, Hypocritical, popish Physicians cure the body, by some Idolatrous dram, they infect the souls of their unhappy rather them unhealthy patients. Remember donum sanationis was given only to the Apostles practise with care, with knowledge, with conscience, lest your right hand forget her cunning.  
My dear, and Reverend brethren in Divinity, you know what your Saviour said, be ye not called Doctors for there is but one Doctor which is Christ, that is, Calvin and junius giving allowance to this interpretation, be not Pharisaical Doctors, neither idle, nor idol Doctors, not factious, not ambitious, for otherwise, posuit Christus alios Doctores, alios pastors, alios Prophets in Ecclesia, though the painted Pharisees of this age envy you this honourable degree. The contempt we are liable unto is much, even by those whose fathers, saith job, I would not place with the dogs of the heard; Divinity hath long been kept on foot, cogitur ire pede, yet blessed be our God, since the first hour of reformation unto this time, 
Above 40 sons of anciently descended knights students in divinity, & most of them already ministers now in Oxford.  never were so many & so worthy sons of the Prophets many worthily, some honourably among us descended and consecrated hereunto. Archippus look to thy charge, watch, stand fast in the faith, pray, exhort, rebuke, with all power, with all authority. Preach in season and out of season, let no man despise ye. Cave nedum vita tua mala non sit per nequitiam, 
Austin.  videarur mala per negligentiam, Sit vestra cura non nummorum sed animarum, saith Bern. seek not so much the church goods as the churches good, lest your right hand forget her cunning.  
All of you, Ho. River. blessed, & beloved brethren, all of you that are come hither, to this great Comitial assembly, that are come to this jerusalem, as joseph and Mary to find jesus in the midst of the Doctors, remember jerusalem, Religion and knowledge, the mother and the daughter, nobile par, the Naomi and the Ruth, the blessed pair of Cherubins over the Mercy seat, let them both have your best wishes, and partake of your best works, in that ye do any thing to these, ye do it to Christ. All posterities, shall bless the name of those, our worthy present founders, whose works be aspiring, & quorum iam maenia surgunt. The blessing of juda, the blessing of Levi, the blessing of both testaments, of both lives, shall be upon them and their posterity forever. Their names shall be honoured, their examples imitated, and their works shall praise them in the gates, and their right hand shall never forget her cunning. When we shall all meet in the higher jerusalem, in that great assembly of all Saints, we shall see these rewarded, with Palms in their hands, and Crowns on their heads, let us therefore, my beloved, covet these spiritual things, let us do some service to Religion and truth here, that mercy and glory may crown us hence. Which that we may obtain, the Lord grant us, all such measure of his spirit of his grace, that abounding here in faith and good works, we may receive the reward promised, Come ye blessed of my father, receive the kingdom provided from the beginning of the world.  
To God the Father, God the Son, God the holy Spirit, be all praise, all Power, all honour, this day, and all the days of our life in this place and all Congregations of his Saints for evermore. Amen.  
FINIS.