Perseverantia Sanctorum. A SERMON OF PERSEVERING IN Patience, Repentance, and Humiliation, in time of Afflictions, Preached before the Lords of the Parliament, at the last General Fast, upon Ash-wednesday, the 18. day of February 1628. At the Collegiate Church of S. Peter in Westminster. By the Right Honourable, and Right Reverend Father in God, JOHN, Lord Bishop of Lincoln, Deane of the said Church. And now published, by their Lordship's order, and direction. LONDON, Printed by john Bill, Printer to the Kings most Excellent Majesty. 1628. JOB. 42. 12. The Lord blessed the latter end of Job, more than his beginning. GREGORY observes in his a Lib. 27. cap. 5. Morals, that those virtues which GOD hath taught us, at the last, by an united Example in the New, he had taught us before, by several Examples in the Old Testament. To show unto us, that, as Claudian said of Stilicon, — b Claud. in laudem Stiliconis. lib. 1. sparguntur in omnes, In te mista fluunt. Those veins of Virtues distinguished in the Patriarches, as in several members a Incarnatus enim Dominus in semetipso, omne quod nobis imperavit ostendit; ut quod praecepto diceret, Exemplo suaderet. Greg. Mor. lib. 1. cap. 5. are conjoined in Christ, as the common head, and what Christ teacheth in the New Testament by one whole, & united, the Patriarches preach unto us in the Old, by many broken, and divided examples. Hence we are taught (before the Law written) but one lesson, for the most part, from any one man. As Innocence only from b 1. johan. 3. 12. Abel, Religion from c Genes. 5. 22. Enoch, Hope from d Genes. 7. 5. Noah, Obedience from e Genes. 22. 3. Abraham, Wedlocke-keeping from f Genes. 26. 7. Isaac, doing good for evil from g Gen. 42 24. & 25. Joseph, Meekness from h Num. 12. 3. Moses, Courage from i joshuah. 1. 5. & 6. josuah, and Patience in Calamities from holy job. And this most Christian Virtue of Patience, in great afflictions, though we hear of it, in all this Book, yet do we learn to follow it in this Chapter only. For as this holy Man, Si non flagellaretur, non agnosceretur, (as k Moral. l. 2. c. 2. Aperta namque aliis virtutis exempla non daret, si ipse sine tentatione remaneret, Gregory notes) had never been known, if he had not been afflicted in the body of the Book; so say I, that he had never been taken up for imitation by any man, encompassed with flesh and blood, if he had not been rewarded in the end of the Book. It is not the love of Affliction, (a a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Naz. Epist. 69. Naturale est, mali sui fine gaudere. Senec. most unwelcome guest to this Nature of of ours) but the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, and issue of a godly man's Affliction, to wit, a Blessing upon the latter end, which teacheth us to fast, and pray in time of Affliction. And so (say the Grammarians) that a Reward is called Pretium, quasi Praeitium, it must go before, at least in our b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Naz, Orat. 42. faith, and belief, or else our Patience in Afflictions never comes after. ANd upon this consideration, was this Book first translated by c Interpretata autem sunt (ex Sytorum linguâ) à viro illo magno, Mose, etc. Origen. l. 1. in job; Quâ Idumaea regio utitur, & quam jobus Idumaeus locutus est. Hier. in Prologue. Moses out of Syriac into Hebrew, not to teach the Children of Israel (who were yet in d In Aegypto scil. illum Moses ex ●yro in Hebraeun transtulit. Orig. l. 1. in job. Egypt) to suffer Afflictions, but to teach them e Et ut bonam rem, remunerationem Domini, quam jobo post tolerantiam largitus est, audientes etium ipsi liberationem sperarent, & beneficentìam beatae mercedis laborium suorum spectarent. Orig. ib. comfort, and hope of deliverance from their Afflictions. And afterward, this very self same Book was read to the Christians, in the Primitive Church, not only in this time of a Similiter & in conventu Ecclesiae, in diebus sanctis legitur Passio job, in diebus jejunij, in diebus Abstinentiae etc. in diebus, in quibus in jejunio, & Abstinentiâ sanctam jesu Christi Passionem sectantur, etc. Ibid. job enim interpretatur dolens. Greg. Mor. lib. 1. c. 5. & Mor. 17. c. 1. Lent, and public Sorrow, but withal, upon each several occasion of any sudden mishap, or private sorrow, Pro consolation, & spe liberationis, for their present comfort, and hope of deliverance, as Origen writes. ANd this is the reason, that I have also, according to the Precedents of Antiquity, chosen a piece of the same Book, for my Text, at this time. It is a time of Lent, or public Sorrow, over all, or the greatest part of the b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Ignat. Epist. 5. ad Philippens. Christian World, wherein men do use to humble themselves, by Fasting, Prayer, Repentance, and all manner of Devotion, for their sins against God. ANd surely if we consider (with Saint a jejunia autem, & congregationes inter dies, propter eos, à viris prudentibus constitutos, qui magis saeculo vacant, quam Deo: nec possunt, immo nolunt toto vitae suae tempore, in Ecclesiâ congregari, etc. Hieron. lib. 2. in 4. c. ad Galat. Hierome) the infinite number of those men, of all sorts, and callings, qui saeculo magis vacant, quam Deo, who spend more time in the service of the World, then in the service of their God, and never dream of Fasting, and Prayer, but when this Season of the year doth call upon them, we shall find, that this standing Fast was most profitably instituted by the Church, b Exam: Concil. Trident: part 4. Ordinis, & common factionis gratiâ instituta est Quadragesima. Commonefactionis gratiâ, to call upon the backward, as Chemnitius; c Stata tempora, ut tardos, & cessantes tanquam calcaribus, & stimulis ad abstinentiam excitarent. G. Cassand defence: libelli de officio pij viri. Ad cessatores excitandos, to spur them onward, that lag behind, as Cassander writes. BEing therefore to offer up unto God, in sorrow, and repentance, these 36. days ( d Quadrage sima propriè dicta. Bellarm. l. 2. de bon. oper. c. 16. rat. 6. 36. dies Decimae sunt, & 4. dies additi pro Primitijs. Alardus Gazaeus Annot. in Cassian. the whole time of our clean Lent) either as the Tithe of our days, as S. e De jejunio serm. 3. Bernard, or as the Tithe of the year, as a Dum enim per 360 dies Annus ducitur, nos autem per 36. dies affligimur, qui sunt jejunabiles in 6. Septimanis Quadragesimae, quasi anni nostri Decimas Deo damus. Aquin. 2 a. 2ae. q. 147. Art. 5. ex Gregor. Aquinas, or as the Tithe of our life, as b Gers. Hom. 1. in Quadrages: & Bellarm de bon. oper. l. 2. c. 16. Gerson, or as the Tole, and Tribute of all that we are, as c Fortasse ipsa Decimatio rectè, quasi ab usu telonei, Quadragesimae nomen accepit. Ita enim illa publica vulgò vocabatur Exactio; Ex qua tanta lucri portio Regis commodis deputatur, quantum & à nobis à Rege omnium saeculorum, pro usu vitae nostrae legitimum Quadragesimae vectigal exigitur. Cassian. Collatine. 21. Cassianus thinks; We cannot do it in better tuned meditations, then in these Sorrows, and Comforts of the Book of job. Again, it is a time of our Private, or national Sorrow, wherein this little world of ours, the Church, and State of this Kingdom do cast themselves down before their God, in true Compunction, and contrition of heart, because of their departing from their God, in life, and Conversation, and of Gods departing from them, in his wont Benediction. IT is true indeed, that as the Lent of a Christian man, should take up non 40. tantùm, sed singulos, & univer sos dies hominis, as S. d Serm. 3. de jejunio. Bernard, not 40. only, but all the days, and minutes of a Christian man: So surely this General Fast for the sins of the Nation, instead of taking up this one short day, should not leave one day untaken up, of the whole Lent of an Englishman. But the wisdom of the State, finding the weakness of our flesh, and blood, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 (as a Orat. in sacr. Baptism. Naz. speaks in the like case) hath proportioned our humiliation to our power, and strength to endure the same, making this one solemn day to be non solum partem, sed & sacramentum (to use the words of S. b Serm. 3. de jeiunio. Bernard) not a portion only, but a Symbol, and representation of a whole Lent, and therefore to be solemnised, with no Theme more conveniently, than the Sorrows, and Comforts of this c Meritò etiam nunc in diebus Passionis, in diebus Sanctificationis, in diebus jejunij Beati Iob Passio legitur, meditatur, a●que, scrutatur. Origen. l. 1. in job. Book of Job. NOw all the Comfort of this Book (for upon the Comfort I principally insist) is put off to this Chapter, and all the Comforts of this Chapter Epitomised in this Verse, and all the quint-essence of this Verse couched in the beginning of the Verse, which I have read unto you. Where, notwithstanding the miseries, which job endured, yet when his Faith was once discerned, his latter end became more blessed; The Lord blessed the latter end of job, more than his beginning. I Have heretofore, some years sithence, dealt with this Verse, as God did with job in this verse, given some blessing upon the latter end thereof, but none as yet on the beginning, which shall be the Subject of this present Discourse. The beginning of this verse I may fitly term the Reward of an afflicted Christian; For that job was aunt Euangelia Euangelicus, as a O virum ante Euangelia Eungelicum, & Apostolorum ante Apostolica praecepta Discipulum. julian. Celan. Ep. l. ad Demetriadem virg. de instit. virg. Salmeron, & others make S. Hierome Author of the Book, but unjustly. julian the Pelagian doth wittily term him, a Christian man long before Christ, is acknowledged by all the b Chrys. tom. 1. Hom. de job, & Abraham. Origen. l. 1. in job. Hieron. in epist. In eo divinitùs provisum, ut alios inter Gentes sciremus Fideles. Aug. de Cin. Dei, l. 18. c. 47. Fathers. And that Christian virtues are really rewarded, ex promisso, though not ex commisso, by way of promise, though not of contract, is truly taught by a Sed, ut mihi videtur, hoc verbum, Debet, verenum habet; Multiplicom enim, & involutam continct intelligentiam, nec Deo propriè competit, qui non est Debitor nobis, nisi fortè ex Promisso, nos verò ei Debitores sumus ex Commisso. Lem. l. 1 dist. 43 Habent praemia spiritualia, & corporalia in hâc vitâ, & post hanc vitam, idque ex gratuitâ Promissione divinâ, etc. lit in hanc sententiam Nostri etiam à vocabulo Meriti non abhorrent. Chemnit. Exam. Conc. Trid. c. de Meritis Operum. Peter Lombard, and the Schoolmen. here then have you the Reward of Christian patience in Adversity, invested with four several Circumstances. FIrst, the Efficient cause, or the Rise of this Reward, which is the Lords Blessing, The Lord Blessed; Secondly, the Material cause, or Subject of this Reward, double in this place; The first points out the person, job; the second reflects upon his disposition, The later end of job; The Lord blessed the later end of job. Fourthly, and lastly, the Portion and quantity of this Reward, which is very ample, more than the greatest man in the East is held to be worth; for so job was in the beginning, Job. 1. 3. verse; But now he is more than in the beginning. The Lord blessed the latter end of job, more than the beginning. So have you the Efficient of this Reward of a Christian man's Patience in time of affliction, the Lords blessing, the Subject, generally, job, particularly, the latter end of job, the Portion, more than his beginning. The Lord blessed, etc. Of these parts by God's assistance, and your Lordship's honourable patience, I shall speak plainly, briefly, and orderly. Begin we therefore with the Efficient cause, and let us take our rise at the Magazine, and Treasury, where Christian Patience, and forbearance is usually rewarded, which is the Lords blessing; The Lord Blessed. Dicere Dei est facere, saith S. a Libr. Expos. Ep. ad Rom. imperfect. Sic Moller. in Ps. 3. 9 quia Dicto absoluit negotium. Ambros. 1. Hexam. Augustine, God's saying is operation, and doing; For Dixit, & factum est, he spoke but the word, and it was done, as it is in the b Ps. 32. 9 Psalm. And as his saying is his doing: so his Benediction, or saying of some good, is his doing of some good; or (to speak properly) his augmenting, & superadding of some good; For as the first blessing, that ever fell from God, was a Crescite, & multiplicamini, a kind of increasing, and multiplying, Gen. 1. 22: So ever since, Cum Dominus nobis Benedicit, nos crescimus, God's Blessing of us, is an increasing of us, saith a Vt abundare ab undis, ita Berecha, i. affluentia à Bereca, fonte, seu piscina. Lorin. in ps. 20. v. s. S. Augustine in his Commentary upon the 66. Psalm. And so the b Apud Chemnit. in Harm. Rabbins define Gods Blessings to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Addition of some good. And Chemnitius notes, that temporal Blessings are ever expressed in the old Testament, by the Verb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies to Add, or as our Saviour translates it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, to add over and above, Mat. 6. 33. And so in this place, over and above the c Divitias Cordis. Aug. in ps. 103. treasures of the spirit, wherewith the mind of this holy man was highly enriched, the Lord heaped upon him, and added unto him, these temporal Blessings; The Lord Blessed. From the nature therefore of the Lords Blessing in this place, I will borrow some five several Observations, which I hope your Lordships shall not hold impertinent to this portion of Scripture. FIrst, if God's blessing be an over-adding, it is neither piety, nor policy (for there is a kind of policy even in Piety) for a In dilunio aquarum multarum ad cum non approximabunt. Ps. 31. 6. i adversitatum. Lorinus in loc. any Nation whatsoever, to forbear her humbling, and bowing of herself before her God, until the last cast, as it were, of her fortunes, That is, until the utmost period of her Calamities be come, until all God's Graces be quite spent out, until that Nation be settled upon the lees, and dregges, as it were, of Desperation. For that blessing, which crownes this humbling, is not always a creating, or restoring, but many times a praeventing, & super-adding of blessing upon blessing, as in this place, The Lord blessed. Be a Nation never so happy in many Circumstances; in a Prince all made of virtues; in a people full of piety, and devotion; in a Religion well established; in a Government politicly founded; in a Land that floweth with milk, and honey; yet hath it not quite drawn dry all the Treasury of God's blessings, He hath still some in store: For, if God go not in, and out with their a Ps. 43. 10. Armies, if Cadmus' teeth be sown in their land, and the Apples of Contention thrown in among them, if b Esay. 9 21. Ephraim be set against Manasses, Manasses against Ephraim, both against juda; if the Prince be jealous of the People, the People suspicious of the Prince, and Achitophel's practising up, and down, and putting ends upon both, then surely there is great cause of humbling, because there is great need of blessing, that is, of increasing, & super-adding new blessings still to those in the beginning, as in this place, The Lord blessed the latter end of Job, more than the beginning. And so much of the first Observation. SEcondly, if God's outward blessings be only an over-adding, though our heavenly Father should (as sometimes he doth) close up his hands, and add none of these outward blessings, yet were our Patience in time of * Istaec interpretatio non insinuat ambiguitatem, vel incertitudinem promissionis, sed quia Deus his modis, & sua bona voluntate, sol●t suos consolari, liberando, initigando, confirmando, salvando. Chemnic. in Harm. Adversity sufficiently rewarded in its own self. So this holy man in my Text, before this outward blessing, Intus dives erat, was rich enough with his inward blessings, as a In Cantic. O divitiae interiores, quò fur non accedit. Aug. in Ps. 55. Saint Bernard writes. And had he received no other wreath at all, yet Patientiae munere coronabatur, He was sufficiently adorned with his Crown of Patience, saith S. b In Moral. Gregory. And yet every Patience will not serve our turn; for to have a careless, and brawny soul, relying wholly upon imaginary suppositions, as that there is no providence at all, as the Epicures in a De natura Deorum, l 3. Ita Plinius. Irridendum verò, agere curam rerum humanarum illud, quicquid est, summum. Anne tam tristi, atque multiplici mysterio non pollui credamus, dubitemusque? Plin. hist. nat. l. 2. c 7. Tully, or if it be, that it fall no lower than the Sphere of the Moon, as Aristotle in b Aduersus haeres. Ita eius Commentator in 12. Metaph. & quidam apud Isid. Pelusiot. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. l. 4. ep. 99 Epiphanius, or if it vouchsafe to descend to the Earth, it relates unto none but two or three Favourites, as some in c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Is. Pelus: l. 4. ep. 99 Non simus tam fatui adulatores Dei, ut dum providentiam eius ad ima detrudimus, in nos ipsos iniuriosi simus, etc. Hier. in Hab. obelisconotatus à Danaeo in 1. Sent. dist. 39 Non tamen numerus vel apum, vel culicum, vel eiusmodi est per se praeordinatus à Deo. Tho. p. 1. q. 7. Isidorus Pelusiota are of opinion, would prove but a raw, and naked blessing: So likewise that Paper-patience of the Philosophers, begotten either by former praemeditations, or by a continual habit of suffering, or some opinion of fatal necessity, or lastly by an abandoning of all natural affections, is but a thin, and bare shelter, for a man to repose himself, in the storms of Adversity. But that patient enduring of the child of God, we now speak of, when the faithful soul stays herself upon God's d Providentia inter Christianos, ut ianua in domo, quam nemo, nisi ebrius ignorat. Lyta, seu Glossat. in Repli. ad Burg. in fine Gloss. Interlin. providence, and upon an assured resolution of an happy issue in his good time, passeth in the mean while, in all security through the sharp pikes of woes, and miseries, is such an admirable endowment, and portion of the spirit, as that it was reward, and blessing enough, though the Lord had no otherwise blessed the end of job. ANd many times, when God hath been bountiful and magnificent in the inward, he spares the a Foris pauper es, sed intus diues. Divitias tecum portas, quas non amitteres, etiamsi de naufragio nudus exires. Aug. in Ps. c. 6. Nostrae enim facultates, & aurum Christus est; Ad hunc accedito, & veris divilijs abundobis. Baron. Lippel. tom. 2. super-addition of these outward Blessings. So as we find whole Kingdoms, & Nations, where the Gospel is planted, and the true Religion generally embraced, not to abound for all that, as plentifully, as the heathen, which know not God, or the people which have not called upon his Name, in these outward, and b Ergo tales, quando humiliantur, nolite putare miseros. Erratis, nescientes, quid intus habeant. Ex vobis conijcitis, qui mundum diligitis, quia vos, cum talia perditis, miseri remanelis, Prorsus nolite hoc putare; Habent intus quo gaude. of't. Aug. in Ps. 30. external blessings. And I would to God, we were to fetch a larger compass to find some instances hereof, and had not so many so near unto us, amongst our distressed Brethren of the Reformed Churches. But passages of this nature God suffereth to come to pass (saith S. a In Ps. 30. Augustine) for two several reasons. First, lest the wicked should think, Ob has colendum Deum, That God is worshipped by people upon this ticket only, for outward blessings only Secondly, lest the Godly should be ever expecting of these blessings, by the mercenary way of compact, and b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Chrys. ad pop. Antioc. Hom. 1. Salary, c Dices, feram mala, & reddet mihi Deus, ut job; jam non est Patientia, sed Auaritia. Aug. ad Catech. l. 1. Quae non Patientia foret, sed Auaritia, which would amount, not to Christian Patience, but to a kind of carnal concupiscence, saith S. Augustine. And this is God's ordinary course with us now adays, that live under the Gospel. For as before the coming of Christ, and the manifestation of his spiritual Kingdom, corporal blessings were for the most part, tendered under the law: So now sithence the incarnation of our Saviour, and the erection of his spiritual Sceptre, a Spiritualia bona ●uimus d●●●rae, sinistrae vero carnalia— Haec vara Philosophia. Haec denique gratia, & misericordia Dei in servos suos, & respectus in Electos, ut in illorum sinistram quidem velut dissimulans dextrae semper studiosus Protector assistat. Bern. serm. 7 in Ps. Qui habitat. spiritual blessings are every where proposed to us in the Gospel; So as God's children, that endure their afflictions, sent by him, as they ought to do, are still one way, or other rewarded; Sometimes spiritually, sometimes corporally, always certainly. And this b Dominus dedit, Dominus abstulit. Vide te foris paupeiem, intus divitem. Aug. in Ps. 30. spiritual reward had here sufficed, though the Lord had no otherwise blessed this Holy man job. And so much of the second Observation. THirdly, when we consider this blessing to be a super-adding, we may observe, that God sometimes, besides these inward c Sit nomen Domini benedictum. Istae gemmae laudis Dei unde sunt? Aug. in Psal. 30. Patrimonium Fidei in cord. Id. in Psal. 123. Jewels of the mind, Faith, Hope, Patience, and the like, which we surveyed but even now, doth heap upon his servants (even in the time of the Gospel) these outward favours, and blessings also, and that for many reasons. First, Ne a Divitiae ne malae putentur, dantur bonis, ne summae, malis, Aug. in Ps. 123. malae putentur, lest Riches otherwise, and the like outward Blessings of God, may be thought to be evil; Evil in themselves, saith S. Augustine in his Commentaries upon the 66. Psalm. Secondly, lest the Godly, compassed with flesh, and blood, should boggle at the Religion, Worship, and Service of God, if these outward blessings were thus monopolised to the wicked only, saith the same b Ne infirmos animos ob dilationem mercedis subeat poenitentia, contempsisse praesentia. Ambros. de Abraham. l. 5. c. 3 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 tales laudant, & admirantur, quibus Deus benedicit. Isidor. Pelus. l. 4. Ep. 161. Father in his 1. B. ad Catechumenos. Thirdly, c Qu. Nam quaero abs te, si tibi persuadeatur aliter cum multis charissimis tuis te in study sapientiae non posse vivere, nisi amplares aliqua familiarìs, necessitates nostras sustinore posset, nun desiderabis divitias, & optabis? Resp. Assentior. Aug. soliloq. lib. 1. because these temporal blessings are expedient, and necessary to set many of the Virtues a going, as Charity, Almes-giving, and the like. In which consideration Aristotle is not so justly taxed by S. d 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. etc. Naz. ep. 64. Gregory Nazianzen, for making riches necessary for some of the Virtues, Because they are out of all quaestion, Bonum unde facias bonum, a Good without which we cannot do good, saith S. Augustine in his 5. Sermon De verbis Domini. Fourthly, God many times adds these temporal, because men are not able to take such exact notice, as they should, of those spiritual blessings, wherewith the Elect are a Quia aliàs videre non poteramus occultam eius coronam. Aug. l. 1. ad Catech. Boni latent, quia bonum ipsorum in occulto est. Et tam merita eorum sunt in abscondito constituta, quam praemia. Aug. Sentent. 201. inwardly adorned; As here, what God did for Job, b Fecit haec Dominus, ut ostenderet hominibus, nam ipse seruo suo maiora in coelo seruavit. Idem ib. fecit ut ostenderet hominibus, he did it only that men might observe it, saith S. Augustine in his 1. B. ad Catechumenos. For these reasons, and the like, Almighty God (besides the riches of the Spirit) rewards many times the long suffering of his Servants, with an Amalthaea's horn, of these outward blessings; especially those, that he knows will c Audiant haec divites, audiant haec pauperes, quem admodum hic beatus vi● in divitijs suis, & foelicitate benignus dispensator extuit divitiarum, & in tentatione pauper●atis patientèr, & fortitèr toleravit. Aug. de Temp. serm. 225. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, etc. Chrys. in Gen. Hom. 66. use them aright. Those, that (with a job. 31. 17. & 31. 20. Job) can never eat their morsels alone, but must have the Fatherless taste thereof. Those, that cannot endure the poor without covering, but warm them continually with the fleece of their sheep. Those, who suffer not the Strangers to lodge in the street, but open their doors to the Travellers, etc. These, beside these spiritual, shall be crowned also with temporal blessings, as the Lord here blessed the end of job. And so much of the third Observation. FOurthly, if these temporal blessings are blessings of the Lord, those Cloister conceits of the Monckes, and Friars, are merely ridiculous, b Sed ait mihi quisque Mendi●us, debilitate fessus, pan●●s obsitus, fa●●e languidus, Mihi debetur regnum Coelorum, Ego enim similis sumilli Lazaro, Nostrum genus est, cui debetur regnum Coelorum, non illi gene●, qui induuntur purpurâ, & bysso. Audi ergo me de hoc, quod proposuisti, Dom●●● Pauper. Noli contemnere divites mis● ric●rdes, divites humiles, & ut citius d●cam, quod paulo ante dixi, divites pauperos noli contemnere O Pauper. Aug. serm. de Temp. 110. that God loves none, but the poor, & needy, & hath praepared the Kingdom of heaven for the beggar only, as some Maison de Dieu, or great Hospital. Solomon tells us another Story, that the rich, and the poor meet together, and the Lord is the maker of them all. Prou. 22. 2. verse. And S. a Serm. 110. de Temp. in Ps. 66. Augustine, together with S. b Ju 16. Luc. l. 1. de Abrah. & alibi. Ambrose, observe, in many passages of their writings, that the Holy Ghost hath placed, of purpose, Lazarus, that was so poor, in the bosom of Abraham, that was so rich, Luc. 16. 22. to teach us, that both rich, and poor, noble, and ignoble, if they be indenizoned by faith in the Kingdom of Grace, have an equal interest in the kingdom of Glory. I will conclude this point with that passage in c In Ps 30. Dives, qui talis est, ut contemnat in se, quicquid illud est, unde instari superbia solet, pauper est Dei. Aug. sent. 149. Da mihi Zachaeum habentem magnas divitias, staturâ brevem, animo breviorem. Aug. serm. 110. de Temp. Si enim diues factus est humilis, quantò magis pauper debet esse humilis? Idem ib. Cassiodorus, Si pauper superbiat, non est Dei pauper, & si locuples humilitatem diligat, non est saeculi diues: voluntates enim talium sunt inspiciendae, non Nomina, If a poor man be sturdy, and stubborn, he is none of God's poor men, and if the rich man, be lowly, and humble, he is no worldly rich man, for in such you must not mark so much their outward styles, and denominations, as their inward habits, and dispositions. And so much for this fourth Observation. FIfthly, and lastly, if these outward blessings come from the Lord; a Sapient. 8. 1. Qui disponit omnia sua viter, who links up all his businesses in a decent, and comely method, it behoves us to observe, by what Pipes, and Conduits they are usually derived from so remote a fountain. This we are taught by this little Particle in the front of my Text, So, So the Lord blessed. So. These blessings are derived from God to men, so, and so; By such means, and conveyances, as are most beseeming the wisdom of God, and most corresponding with the nature of men. Deus enim sic administrat omnia, quae creavit, ut ea proprios quoque motus exercere sinat; It is a saying of Saint b Aug. saepius in libris de Civ. Dei. Augustin, quoted by all the c In 2. sent. dist. 23. Schoolmen, God doth so moderate, and reigle all his creatures, as he followeth the bent, and inclination of his creatures. If a people be to be blessed, God doth it by the goodness, sweetness, and graciousness of the King. If a King be to be blessed, he doth it by the affection, love, zeal, and cheerful supply of the People. And in this last sense, the learned Interpreters expound this place. This greatest man of all the East, not beggared (which a In locum. Pelican fitly terms a beggarly exposition) but as b Apud Mercerum. Add quod Rabbi Selamoh suprà alicubi non ita ad inopiam fuisse redactum, ut vulgò putatur, jobum scribit, ex veterum Hebraeorum sententiâ. Pecora quidem, & bona, quae erant in agris amisisse eum tradit Scriptura, sed nummorum cum, & ●et●rarum facultatum non fecisse alioqui iacturam; Nec id Scriptura memorat. Mercerus. Shelamo Ben jarchi proves out of the Ancient Rabbins, impaired only in his state, and fortunes, comes now to be supplied per modum subventionis, as Aquinas terms it, by c Adhibuerunt subventionis remedium. Aquinas in job. 42. lection. 1. Donaria in eum collata credimus, ut saepe divitibus, & amicis munera donari solent, non tam ad ditandum, quam ad ●●s demerendes. Vti magnus vir & Oriente toto celeberrimus erat. Merc●rus ex Rabbin. Tanquam Xenia. Augustinus Steuchus. Tanquam obsequij Symbola. Franc. junius. way of support, and subsidy. And so, according to the laws, and customs of those ancient times, and Eastern Countries, every man, as it followeth immediately before my Text, gave him a a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A piece of money, or a lamb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Act. 7. 16. but centum agni. Gen. 33. 19 It signifieth both. A piece of money stamped with the image of a Lamb. Pecunia à pecore sive pecude. Plin. hist. nat. lib. 18. c. 3. Varro de l. Latin. l. 4. Gellius de noctib. Att. l. 11. sum of money, and every man an b Vsque hodie inter caetera ornamenta mulierum solent aurei c●●culi in os ex fronte pendere, & imminere naribus. Hier. in Ezech. 16. 12. ear-ring of gold, and so in this very sort, and manner, The Lord blessed his latter end, more than his beginning. And so much of the first part of my Text, the Efficient cause, or fountain of this reward of our Patience in Afflictions, and humiliation under the same, which is the Lords blessing; The Lord blessed. NOw I come to the Second part of my Text, the common, and general subject of this reward, which relates to a person, by name job; The Lord blessed job. Of him I will say, as c De Mithridat. Hist. lib. 1. Velleius Paterculus did of another, Neque nihil, neque omnia dicenda sunt, somewhat I must, and all I may not here speak; For those ordinary Quaestions', concerning job; as whether he was descended from d R. Shelamo Ben jarchi apud Tostatum in Gen. 22. Ph. Presbyter in job. Comest. Hist. scholast. c. 58. in Genes. Cain, e Scripturae quintum ab Abraham facit ipsum. Chrys. Hom. 2. de patientia job. & Orig. l. 1. in job. Abraham, f Hebraei narrant eum de Nachor stirpe generatum. Hieron. ep. 126. Nachor, or g Communis opinio, praecipuè Patrum, & Scriptorum Ecclesiast. Pererius in Genes. 36. Disp. 2. Esau, whether he lived in the time of a Atqualem jacobo probant ex Philone Rupertus in Gen. l. 8. & Tostatus in 1. Pa●al. c. 1. jacob, or of b Synthronon Mosi facit Sul. Senerus Hist. Sacr. l. 1. Hier. in Tradit. Heb. in c. 22. Gen. Moses, or of the c Gregor. in job in principio. judges or of the d Anabaptist. apud Sixt. Senens. & alij Rabbini apud Mercerum Praefat. in job. Babylonian, or the e Adrich. in Chronic. Anno 2235. Genebr. in Chron. An. 2239 Egyptian Captivity; whether this Book was penned by one of his f Quidam ap. Author. Catonae in job. Friends, or one of the g Isidor. 6. Etym. c. 2. Prophets, or some h Rabbini ap. Mercer. Praefat. in job. Naz. Orat. ad julian. & Nicetas in eum loc. Rabbin of Babylon, or by Solomon, or by his i Gregor. in princ. Suidas in verbo job. Sententia verissima. Albert. M. ap. Pinedam. own self, or by k Orig. l. 1. in job. Hoc autem, sicut & caetera de Creatione, Moses à Deo accepit. Moses, or by both, (as l Initio l. 1. in job. Origen thinks) these doubts are no more interessed in this piece of Scripture, then in any other part of the whole Book.; and to pass, in despite of all Logic, the whole history of job through one little Text, like a Camel through the eye of a Needle, were to drive out Myndo's once more, at one of her gates, as Diogenes was wont to say. I will only touch the two ordinary Quaestions' in all Arts, and Sciences, An fuit? Quis fuit? First, whether job was a man, and, if that appear, what kind of man he was, that was so blessed. For the first, as Lucian sayas in Dion Chrysostomus, and our late Chronologers write of the Troyans', that they fought 10. years in defence of a Hecuba aetate aequalem. Lucian. lib. 2. de vera Histor. Raptam ante initium regni Thesei. Scalig. l. 3. Canon Isag. ob longaevitatem, dicta, Immortalem Helenam. Servius in 2. Aeneid. Troiae fuisse fictio Homerica, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Herod. in Enterp. Menelaus vero, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Dion Chrysost. orat. 11. Cuius amplexus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Lycophr. in Cassandra. See History of the World. lib 2. c. 14. par. 3. Helen, when then they had no more but her withered Carcase, or bare picture, herself being in Egypt, or dead long before: So the b R. Moses Ben Maymon. job tantum parabolam esse putat, ad exponendum opiniones hominum de providentia. Mercer. praefat. in job. Rabbins of old, and many c Tragico comaedia Hebraeorum. Anabaptistae apud Sixtum Senens. lib. 8. haeres. 10. Est veluti fabulae argumentum, ad proponendum patientiae Exemplum. Luth. lib. de libris Vet. & Neu. Testam. ut citatur à Bellarm. l. 1. de verbo Dei. c. 5. Liber iste Lutheri supposititius est, Franc. Junius in 1. Tom. Bellarm. writers of latter times, will have here nothing, but the picture of job, A lesson, an Idea, a Pattern, a Representation, and a perfect example of the reward of Patience, and of true magnanimity in great afflictions; But this fantasy, and Chimaera is easily refuted, out of books Canonical, Ecclesiastical, profane, and reason itself. For the first, Ezech. 14. 14. Though Noah, job, and Daniel were in it, etc. Now Noah, and Daniel were no Fantasies, Representations, or imaginations of men, and therefore no more was job. Again, james 5. 10. 11. we are turned over to the Prophets, and job, to take out lessons, and patterns 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of Patience, and long suffering in those adversities, which it shall please God to send upon us; Now the Prophets were no Ideas, conceptions, or Representations of men, and consequently, no more was job. Secondly, for Ecclesiastical history, we will take the book of Tobias, commended for antiquity by S. a Praef. in job. Jerome, and S. b Dom. 15. post. Trin. serm. 1. Augustine, Where in the second Chapter, and the fifteenth verse in the Latin, though not in any Greek Copy, that ever I saw, or (I believe) is extant, Tobias is compared to holy job; Now Tobias is there set out for a real, and an Individual man, and consequently, so was job. Thirdly, for profane histories, we have Aristaeus a jew, that brings job for a Pattern 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, of long suffering, and patience, as Eusebius cities him in his 〈◊〉 Book de praeparatione Euangelica: And * Citatus ab Augustino S●eucho praefatione in job, & à Pererio in 16. Gen. Auerroes that famous Philosopher, and jobs own Countryman, that points him out, for a Pattern of magnanimity, in his Commentaries upon the fourth Book of Aristotle's Ethiques. Lastly, for Reason, I will go no further than the first words of this a job. 1. 1. Book. Erat vir, saith the Holy Ghost, He was a man, and therefore I cannot believe that he was no man, but a Moral virtue, or a Lecture of the same, which is likewise the Collection of b L. 1. in job. Origen, and c Hom. 1. de Abraham. & job. S. Chrysostome. NOw how great a man he was, I have had occasion heretofore to speak at large in a d Preached at Abthorp before K. james of blessed memory, in the year 1617. whole Sermon, but hold it not so pertinent for this present purpose, unless your Lordships will be pleased to hear him a little e Si privatus esset, cur publicè loqueretur? Tacit. hist. l. 4. de Muciano. speak forth himself in the 29. Chapter of this Book. a Vers. 6. 7. 8. I washed my steps in butter, and the Rocks poured out Rivers of Oil. The young men saw me, and hid themselves, and the aged arose, and stood up. The Princes refrained talking, and laid their hands on their mouth. The Nobles held their peace, and their tongues cleaved to the roof of their mouth. I broke the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoils out of their teeth etc. Surely job, in these passages, and the like, doth Plus quam civilia agitare, as b Plus quam civilia agitare. Annal. 3. Id est maiora, quam Civem decet. L. D'Orleans in 1. Annal. Tacitus would describe it, speak in a higher phrase, than the language of a Subject; I make no quaestion, but he was as great, as the greatest of you all, and yet humbled himself in repentance, and devotion, under the hand of God, and by his c Prius in multis, & districtis percunctationibus humiliari curavit, & sic parare vitam benedictioni. Bern. sup. Cantic. serm. 34. humbling obtained this blessing; For so the Lord blessed the latter end of job. ANd surely the person of a meaner, or of a more a An Rex fuerit, solum invenio Caietanum de re non valdè dubiá dubitantem. Pineda in c. 1. v. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Septuagint. in fine cap. 42. Rex Idumae orum. Isid. l. de vitâ, & morte Sanctorum. Praeerat solus Regioni Vssitarum cum imperio. Caesar, Dial. 3. Rex Arabiae. Gaud. Brixianus praefat. in script. Dux de genere Esau. Prosp. de Promise. p. 1. c. 2●. private man, could never have afforded so remarkable a Pattern, either of such Patience, and Christian magnanimity in the Sufferer, or of such bounty, and unspeakable magnificence, in the rewarder, or blesser in this place; For (as b Moral. 1. Gregory well observes) Ad maiorem dolorem, damna maiora, The losses of Princes, Realms, and States, require the more c Fortitèr colluctatus est Diabolus, sed fortiss. Athletam Dei superare non potuit. Aug. serm. 225. de Temp. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Isid. Pelus l. 4. ep. 114. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Suidas in verbo job. Fortititude (for so indeed it is) and Patience; and their recompensing again, the more magnificence. God was desirous to leave an example to all, that should come after, how that, Pro maioribus plagis, maior Corona, as d Hom. de patient. job. Chrysostome speaks, wheresoever, and whomsoever he visited the more heavily, there, if he found a Diabolus parieiem perfo●a●●tt, sed thesaurum auferre non potuit, thesaurum dico non auri, & argenti, sed Fidem iusti. Aug. serm. 225. de Temp. Faith, Patience, Repentance, Humiliation, and the Concomitant Graces of the same, he would reward again, the more bountifully; Now no fortunes, but the fortunes of a Prince, and a whole Estate; no Patience, and Humiliation, but the patience, and humiliation of a Prince, and a whole Estate, was able to fetch off, either the deep Cup of God's afflictions, or that bottomless Sea of his outward consolations. When God is disposed to hang up a b Pretiosa in conspectu Domini mors sanctorum eius. Psalm. 115. 15. Pretiosa, quòd non p●●mittat illorum vitam, atque salutem inimicis quasi flocci venalem, nisi pro ingenti quodam pretio, & bono sua Ecclesiae: sic sanè neque vult suum iustum affligi, nisi ingens quoddam, & publicum bonum suae Ecclesiae iude eliciat. Illud aut: est patientiae exemplum. Pineda praefat. in job. c. 6. picture in his Church, to be well observed of all, that shall come after, that the People, which shall be borne, may praise the Lord, he doth it not by limming, and painting, but by the Art of Cutting, and embroidering. For the Painter, as your Lordships know, deals but in colours, ordinary colours, which, according to the strength of his imagination, he tempers, and lays out to the view of the Eye; But the Embroiderer deals in more costly matter, takes his cloth of Gold, and Silver, which he mangles into a thousand pieces, bits, and fragments, to frame, and set out his curious ymagerie: So Almighty God, being to adorn his Church, not with blocks, and stones, but with some rare a Hanc tentationem ideo permisu Dominus eu●ni●e ill●, ut posteris daretur Exemplum patientiae eius. Tob. 2. 15. P●etatis exempla sunt v●d●que nobis proposita, & tanta multitudo, ut 〈◊〉 densitate exaequent. Theodor. in Hebr. 12. 1. Super ill. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Imo & Christus passus est, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. 1. Pet. 2. 21. Et Christus factus est homo, ut exhiberetur homini, & qui videretur ab homine, & quem homo sequeretur. Aug. pictures of Christian virtues, works not these in ordinary colours, but in gold, and silver, Princes, Nobles, and great Estates, whom he first mangles, and cuts into bits, and pieces, with Crosses, calamities, and deep temptations, but afterwards, when he finds them suppled, and humbled with sorrow, and Repentance, he makes up again into most heavenly, and Angelical forms, and images, to be b Aduersa latentem virtutem, & fortitudinem ostendunt, ut eam spectatares imitentur. Propter h●c Dominus accendit jobum instar facts, ut luceat omnibus in Othe●errarum. Caesarius dial. 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Suidas in verbo job. looked on by us in the Church Militant, and to look upon him in the Church triumphant. So Abraham a great, rich, noble, and mighty patriarch, was first tempted in his son, and then set up for an example of a Gen. 12. 12. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Or. N: 12. Orat. 19 obedience. Moses another Prince, and Potentate, was first afflicted in Egypt, and then erected in the Church, for an image of b Num. 12. 3. meekness. David a King, first persecuted by Saul, and then accounted a Statue of c Ps. 88 21. uprightness. Lastly, d Neque enim solum peculiare jobi bonum, sed commune suae Ecclesiae solatium, & commodum Deus spectat in affligendo quolibet iusto. Pineda Praefat. in job. c. 6. In hac virtute exemplar opinatissimum. Bern. serm. 2. de Conuers. Pauli. Athletam in certamen impellit erecta victori statue. Armigerum in praelium provocat decreta fortibus gloria. Quis autem tam strenuus, & fortis, ut beatus job? Chrys. serm. in job, & Abraham. this greatest man, in all the East, was first pulled in pieces with a thousand miseries, and in the latter end blessed up, for an eternal president of the reward of Patience, and true courage in Princes, & great ones; For so the Lord blessed his latter end, more than his beginning. And so much of the second part of my Text, the common, and general subject of this reward, in this word job; The Lord blessed job. NOw I come more closely to my Text again, and fall upon the proper, and praecise subject of this reward of Patience, and Christian humiliation, which is (to speak truly, and according to Logic) not all job, but his latter end only; The Lord blessed the latter end of Job. The latter end. It is observed by S. a L. 7. de institut. Virg. Et ideò laudatio eius non in Exordio, sed in Fine est. Ambrose, that when God had created the heaven, the earth, the night, the day, the fowls of the Air, the fish of the Sea, and the beasts of the Land, he gave his approbation, that they were good, and commended them every one in the beginning; But when he came to Man, he pawsed upon the matter, and never graced him with the least Commendations in the beginning; And why think ye? Because, saith b In Christianis non laudantur initia, sed finis. Hier. in Regul. Monarch. cap. de Poenit. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Chrys. in Illud, Saulus adhuc. serm. 47. S. Ambrose, prius probandus, quam laudandus, he was first to be tempted, and then respectively to be commended. And this method we find observed in this holy man job; For although God spoke kindly of him unto others, job 1. 8. and suffered him to taste largely of his common blessings, in the very beginning, yet had he never as much as one a Dignitas est Subiecti, affatus meruisse Dominantis. Cassiod. lib. 8. c. 4. word with job himself, or afforded him any extraordinary Blessing, that the Scripture takes notice of, before his temptations were all past, before his latter end of his Book, and the latter end of his Patience, humiliation, and repentance; The Lord blessed the latter end of job. THe latter end only. For as S. b Bern. libello, qui vocatur 8. puncta. Bernard wittily makes the Allusion, Patientia, & perseverantia, Patience in Affliction, Repentance, and perseverance unto the end, are fellow-partners indeed in the Lord's harvest, and yet though the c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Chrys. in Illud, Saulus adhuc Serm. 47. former endure the burden, the latter only receives the blessing; Because, as S. Augustin observes in his seaventeenth Book De Civitate Dei, and fifth Chapter, Non in quo medio, sed in quibus extremis, every man, and every Society, and state of men, is cursed, or blessed, not as they suffer in the middle, but as they speed in the end; The Lord blessed the end of Job. The Schoolmen make of this Perseverance unto the end (which some late Divines had rather fasten with a rope of sands to the liberty of our will, then with a chain of Adamant to God's steady, & immoveable Grace, and goodness) not any one particular virtue, but a Perseverantia generalis 〈…〉 v●●tutem. Gul. Parisiens'. Sum●â de Virtutibus, parte 3. Tract. de Fortitud. c. 3. Vide Aquin. 1a. 2ae. Qu. 5 ●. Art. 3. conditionem annexam cuilibet virtuti, saith Bonaventure upon the third of the sentences, a condition implied in every virtue, this being Dei Donum, quo caetera seruantur dona, saith S. b De bono Perseverantiae. l. 2. Hanc totius probitatis unicam, fidamque custodem custod●i à vobis firmiter horror. Bern. Ep. 129. Augustine, God's rare, and special gift, which praeserues, and maintains his other gifts; For although (as the Apostle tells us) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the virtues, that adorn a Christian soul, c jam. 1. 17. do every one of them claim kindred of Almighty God, a Metamorph. lib. 12. et Deus est in utroque parent, and descend from him both in the one, and the other line, yet this perseverance unto the latter end, is Vnica filia, saith S. b Perseverantia est summi Regis filia, virtutumque 〈◊〉, & consummati●. Bern. Ep. 129. Bernard, his only daughter, and heir, which carries all away; Cum enim omnes virtutes currant in stadio, sola perseverantia accipit bravium, saith S. c Lib. 2. de bono Persever. Multorum est incipere, paucorum finite; sola tamen Perseverantia coronabitur, sola accipiet bravium: nulla sine labore virtus, & ad magna praemia non pervenitur, nisi per magnos labores. Bern. ●octo puncta. Augustine, when all the virtues, Patience, Repentance, and Humiliation have run the race, none but this Perseverance to the latter end, can get the Cup, I mean the Cup of the Lords blessings; The Lord blessed the latter end of job. Our Saviour promised a table in heaven, not to those, that heard him, or to those, that followed him, saith S. d Hom. 10. ad Pop. Antioch. Chrysost. but to those only, Qui permanserunt, who continued with him. Luc. 22. 28. And he once provided a Table on earth, to those only, Qui perseverarunt, who persevered with him, Mat. 5. 32. to teach us, that both these Tables, that is, the blessings of the Heaven, and the blessings of the Earth, are provided for them, and them only, which continue, and persevere in their Repentance, & Devotions, to the latter end. If a sacrifice be offered unto God, he likes it not, unless it come entire, cum cauda, with his latter end, saith a Caudam Hostiae in Altari offerre praecipimur, ut videl: omne bonum, quod incipimus, perseveranti sine compleamus. Benè igitur c●●pta cunctis diebus agenda sunt, ut ipsa victoria manu Constantiae teneatur. Greg. 1. Mor. c. 40. Gregory. If his Priests be anointed with holy oil, it must be in extremis, in their outmost parts, and latter ends, saith S. Cyrill. If the Son of man appear unto b Apoc. 1. 13. john, he doth it vestitus podêre, in a long garment down to his latter end, as Aquinas observes; And all to teach us, that if we look for a blessing upon any of these Graces, which the holy Ghost hath stirred in us, to wit, Faith, Repentance, sorrow for our sins, and the like, we must cherish, and preserve them to the latter end, for of those the Lord blesseth only the c Tolle perseverantiam, nec Obsequium mercedem habet, nec Beneficium gratiam, nec laudem Fortitudo. Bern. Ep. 129. latter end. Our great Assemblies, of late, have begun very well with the General Devotions of Fasting, and Prayer. Who so profane as to deny it? But out alas, Lachrymâ nihil citiùs arescit, as a Cic. ad Heren. l. 2. the famous Orator was wont to say, Nothing dries up faster than a public tear; It seldom continues moist a whole day. b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉; Liban. Declamat. 2. Vlyssi. Faction, Ambition, and private ends, by separating a Good King from a Good people, a good People from a good King, and so both King, and People (for the time) from the wont benedictions of a good, and gracious God, have hitherto prevented that world of blessings, which is ready to fall upon a devout perseverance to the latter end; For, say what you will, of all our humbling, and Repenting, the Lord blesseth but the c Et nunc quid restat charissimi, nisi ut admon●amini de perseverantia, quae sola meretur viris gloriam, c●ron●●● virtutibus. Bern. Ep. 129. latter end. And because these Blessings ever fall upon the latter end, Satan is ever fight against the latter end; For, as the K. of Syria commanded those 32. Captains to fight against neither small, nor great, save only against the K. of Israel, 1 King. 22. 31: So the Devil commands his leading, and master-Temptations, not to fight against any, small, or great virtue, not to fight against any of God's Graces whatsoever, save only against this perseverance in true Repentance, unto the latter end, quam solam virtutum novit coronari, saith S. a Studete itaque perseverantiae, quae sola virtutum 〈◊〉. Bern. ep 109 S●ens Diabolum soli semper perseverantiae insidiari, quam sola●● virtut●m 〈◊〉 coronari. Bern. ep. 32. 〈…〉 cornua ad d●as coenas simul sonantia, utràque f●●●datur. Prosp. libello. de d●no timoris. Bernard, upon the which virtue only, he knoweth very well, the Crown must fall, the Crown of all Blessings temporal and b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Chrys. ad Pop Antioch. Hom. 1. eternal, as here, The Lord blessed the latter end of job. ANd indeed, if that conceit of the Friars may pass for Gold, and will endure the Touch, no virtue whatsoever can expect those eternal blessings, save only a perseverance in Repentance, and piety unto the latter end; For nothing, but Eternity, can expect to be rewarded with Eternity; And if we look for a a Per hoc nostrum aeternum consequimur Dei aeternum. G●●. 〈◊〉 l. c. blessing eternal, which shall continue, as long as Gods being, we ought to endure (not one days Fast, and sorrow for sin) but a b Cum enim praem●um, quo prae●●abuntur serm Dei, sit aeternum, id est, quamdiu est Deus: labour, quo homo seru●● Deo, correspondens suo praemio debet esse perpetuus, id est, quamdiu erit homo. Destruct. Vitior. parte 5. cap. 15. Nunquam vir iusius arbitratur se comprehendisse; Nunquam dicit satis est, sed semper ●surit, sititque iustitiam; Ita ut si semper viveret, semper, quantum inse est, iustior esse contenderet. Non enim ad annum, vel ad tempus, instar Mercenarij, sed in aeternum divino se mancipat famulatui Bern. epist. 253. sorrow, and a suffering eternal, which is to continue, as long as our being; I mean our worldly, and mortal being. So that no virtue can lay claim to this Eternity of God, but Perseverance unto the End, which is the Eternity of man, As the Lord here blessed the latter end of job. You therefore that would climb up to blessings, by jacob's Ladder, & beginning at the foot thereof, the blessings here on earth, get up to the top, the blessings in heaven, remember what you saw upon that ladder, There were Angels descending, and Angels ascending, but not any sitting, or c Videt enim scalam jacob, & in illam Angelos, ubi nullus residens, nullusue subsistens apparuit, sed vel ascendere, vel descendere videbantur: quo palam daretur intelligi inter profectum, & defectum in hoc statu mortalis vitae nihil medium inveniri, sed ut ipsum corpus nostrum continuè crescere constat, aut decrescere; sic necesse sit & spiritum aut proficere semper, aut deficere. D. Bern. epist. 253. standing still; And therefore, if you look to have your Fasting, your praying, your sorrow for sin, and your other virtues rewarded by God, you must never rest then, but breathe them in continual motion, until the time of their Blessing come, which is only the latter end, as here; The Lord blessed the latter end of job. And so much of the third part of my Text, the proper subject of this reward of Christian Patience, Repentance, and Sorrow for sin, which is the latter end thereof; The Lord blessed the latter end of job. I Hasten now to the last part of my Text, which is the Quantity of this Reward, and is drawn from a Comparison with those blessings, which this great man had in common with other Princes of the East, before his Affliction, and from the beginning; and these blessings of his latter end, being duly weighed, bear down the scales, & prove more than those of his beginning; The Lord blessed the latter end of job, more than his beginning. And this in many respects, which to avoid taediousnesse in this honourable Assembly, I will run over very briefly. First, all the Blessings in the beginning made job but unum ex multis, one of God's Children at large, amongst whom the evil, and unjust are also reckoned, Mat. 5 45. But this Chastisement, and correction toward the latter end made him Gods special a Quantum v●sus superior est auditu, tanto di●●ert ab eo quod prius extitit & hoc quod post modum per flagella prosecit. Greg. Mor. lib. 35. c. 4. Apertè quantum de verbere ●r●uerit indicatur. Ibid. cap. 6 Minion, and darling, as it were, for he chastiseth every son, whom he receiveth, Heb. 12. 6. whom he receiveth, that is, Quem approbat, whom he makes his white Boy, as Theophylact interprets that place; For indeed the word, Prou. 3. 11. from whence the Apostle takes it, is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quem unicè diligit, whom he cockers above the rest of his Children, and may be interpreted 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, that Son, in whom he is well pleased, as Mercerus, that great Linguist, makes the Observation. You see then what height of favour, and privacy Job by this Correction, and due humiliation under the same, is got unto, and all this since his beginning, and therefore, The Lord blessed the latter end of job, more than his beginning. SEcondly, in the beginning, I do believe he was a great man, but I do not read he was a a Vo●atur Mil●s Dei, à Gregor. Hom. 19 in Ezech. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉▪ Chrys ad pop. Antioch. Hom. 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Chrys. ad pop. Antioch. Hom. ●. b●ob. 19 25▪ 26 Knight, your Lordships will pardon the lightness of the Notion, which I chose of purpose, that the Thing may be the better remembered▪ But in the latter end he had this honour added to be made a Knight, a Knight of the Order, I mean, Christ's own Order, a Knight of the Cross, that when he should rise again out of the Earth in the last day, and be covered with his skin, and see God in his flesh, he might accompany his Redeemer unto judgement in a fitting equipage, adorned with his Passions, like a Collar of Pearl, and covered with his Afflictions, the Robes of the Martyrs. Now to this Addition of Honour he was advanced in his latter end, and not in his beginning, and therefore, The Lord blessed the latter end of job, more than his beginning. THirdly, a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Isidor. Pelus. lib. 3. ep. 11. Nisi enim passus fuisset, fortasse veluti virtutus non landaretur. Chrysost. hom. 4. de patientia job. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Id. ad Pop. Ant. hom. 1 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 etc. Chrys. ●b. In Iconib. His Fame, and Renown, which in honourable Persons, no man, without impudence, can deny for one of God's blessings, is now much enlarged in his latter end; For, as Philostratus saith very well, that one jupiter, set o●t by Homer the Poet, was worth ten jupiters' set out by Phidias the Carver, because the former flew abroad through all the world, whereas the latter never budged from his pedestal at Athens: So the Fame of job in his latter end, which is cum sole, & luna, as he speaks, as far spread, as the beams of the Sun, and the influence of the Moon, extinguisheth the Fame of his beginning, confined to hus, and a little corner of Arabia. The Devil in the beginning was fain perambulare, job 1. 7. to compass the world, before he could find him, but ever sithence, he cannot tempt the least of God's children, but instantly he hears of him, saith Saint a Serm. 3. de patientia job. Chrysostome. I confess he was from the beginning notus Deo, known unto God, but now he is become notus nobis, known also unto us, and a president for all men that expect deliverance from great afflictions, saith S. b Vir ille sanctus in prosperis interrogatur adversis, ut qui notus erat omnipotenti Domino, notus per flagella fieret & nobis. Greg. in Ezech. lib. 2. Hom. 20. Gregory. In the beginning the Holy Ghost could say no more, but Erat vir, there was such a man; In the latter end he might have said, Erat * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Chrys. ad pop. Antioch. Ho● Orig. lib. 1. in job. Philosophus, there was such a Philosopher, and notable Christian, saith Origen. So that the Lord blessed the latter end of job, more than his beginning. LAstly, his learning, and knowledge in the way of Godliness, was nothing so pregnant in his beginning, as in his latter end. Doctrina viri per patientiam noscitur, Pro: 19 11. Patience is the best teacher of true Intelligence. The Schoolmen, a Hales. part. 3. q 62. m. 1. & 3 Aquin. 2 a. ●●. q. 69. art. 3. ad ●. 2 a. 2. ●. q 9 art 4. in Matt. 5 Biel in 3. s●nt. d, 34. Hales, Aquinas, Biel, and others, when they suit the Beatitudes (The Gospel appointed for this solemn Fast) to the fruits (as they call them) of the holy Ghost, do join that of Sorrow, and weeping for sin, to Science, and knowledge, Because (say they) this Sorrow for sin can issue from no other Fountain, than the true faith, & knowledge of God, nor is it ever found in any man, sundered, or divided from the same. Qui addit scientiam, addit dolorem, He that increaseth his knowledge of the faith of Christ, shall ever increase the sorrow for his sin, as b In Ps. 34. O lach●ma humilis, Tu● est potentia, tuum regnum.— aperis coe●um, sug●● Diabolum. justinian in ligno vitae. cap. 9 Da mihi gratiam lach●●marum, etc. Aug. lib. Med. c. 36. Flere debes, sed recordando Zion. August. in ps. 136 S. Augustine applies that of Ecclesiastes, the 1. and the 18. verse, and so say I, è converso, He that increaseth his sorrow for sin, shall prove a great Clerk in the School of Christ. It was the Gall of the Fish, that restored Tobias to his seeing, Tob. 11. 14. verse, and it is only the Gall, and bitterness of the Cross, which restores a Christian to his perfect understanding, Vbi multum Crucis, multum lucis, as a Apud Gerard. in l. c. Luther was wont to say, A Christian Soul is best instructed, when it is most scourged, and b Non poenas damus, sed ●rudimur. Chrys. Hom. 28. in 1. Cor. Saepe Dei fit providentia, ut qui non cognoverunt Deum in prosperis, cognoscant in adversis, & qui divitijs male sint abusi, ad virtutes penuria corrigantur. Hieron. in▪ 1. Io. 1. afflicted. For as joseph entertained his Brethren roughly, before he was pleased to be discovered by them, Gen. 45. 1: So God will have his Children exercised with roughness, before he will be perfectly known unto them. job (it seems) was no young man in the beginning, but sure he was a young Scholar, and never put to his Christ's Cross (the real Alphabet of true Christianity, which we spell out by suffering, not by reading) until his latter end; And so the Lord blessed the latter end of job, more than his beginning. And so much of my Text. For the use thus in a word, both for the General, and the particular Application. GENERALLY. FIrst, if a Christian man lie under any temporal losses, of Health, Wealth, Wife, or Child, let him remember they were the blessings of the Lord, and if he hath lost these blessings, unless by impatience he a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Chrys. ad pop. Antioch. hom. 4. lose the Lord too, the Lord knoweth how to bless him again, as here, The Lord blessed. SEcondly, what wicked Cain said of his sins, that they were greater than could be forgiven, no Child of God must think of those losses, that they are greater than can be given; For be he the greatest man in all the Country, as job was in all the East, a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Chrys. hom. 1. ad pop. Antioch. yet if he humble his soul with Prayer, and Repentance, the Lord can bless him above all his losses, as here, The Lord blessed job. THirdly, if a Christian man hath expected some time to have his Patience, and Repentance rewarded, and thinks it now long, ere this blessing fall, let him suspect he is yet in b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Chrys. ad pop. Antioch. hom. 4. his nonage, and uncapable of the same; He must therefore prolong his patience, and eke out his repentance, and await the Lords goodness, until the latter end, and then, without all doubt, the Lord will bless him, as here, The Lord blessed the latter end of job. LAstly, if the reward of his Repentance seem to be already received, and the outward blessings (for all that) appear no more, nor (peradventure) so much as in the beginning: yet let the Child of God take along with him the observation of S. a In Psalm. 66. Augustine, Quamuis ar●a exinanita sit auro, Cor tamen plenum est fide, though he hath the less in his chest, he hath the more in his heart, He hath it in the one, or the other Alloye; If not in the riches of the flesh, yet surely in the riches of the spirit, in Faith, Hope, Patience, and Perseverance, which make him more blessed in his latter end, than it was possible he should be in his beginning, as here, The Lord blessed the latter end of job, more than his beginning. And so much by way of use, Generally. PARTICULARLY. I Would to God my Text were impertinent to my purpose, and that I could make no application at all of the Gall, and wormwood, that preceded the same. I would the State were nothing near that estate, that job is made to be in the beginning of this Book, & I little doubt a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Chrys. ad pop. ●nt. hom. 4. if our Humiliation be cordial, true, and sincere, but it will be (in a short time) in as good an estate, as he is made to be in the end of the Book. I would to God, that no b Diabolus dum subita ad nos perturbatione tentationis irruit, circumspectiones cordis inopinate praeveniens, quasi ipsos custodes pu●ros gladio occidit. Greg. Mor. l. 2. c. 24. Sabaeans had slain our Servants with the edge of the sword, as we read, job 1. 15. I would to God we could call to remembrance no bands of c Chaldaei interpretantur captivantes. Gregor. in Ezech. hom. 2. Chaldaeans, that had carried away any thing, that was ours, as we read, Job 1. 17. I would to God that no wind from the wilderness had blown down our houses, d 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, etc. Plutarch. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. those timber houses, that float on our Seas, and makes us as safe in his Island, as men use to be in Houses, as we read was done, job 1. 19 I would we heard of no mishaps of our a Euersa igitur domo mortuntur si●●: quia ●urbata in centatione con●cientià ad utilitatem propriae cognitionis, raptim, & in momento temporis obruuntur genitae in cord virtutes. Greg Mor. l. 2. c. 26. Children, the sacred branches of that Royal Stem, that might any way relate to that, which we hear of, job 1. 18. To say little by way of discourse of the principal object of our humiliation at this time, the most deplorable case of our distressed Brethren in the Palatinate, and other places, where, in regard of any free profession of the true Religion, the fire of God seems to have fallen from heaven, and to have b Ignis Dei dicitur, quia etsi non faciente Deo, tamen patiente dicitur. Greg. Alor. l. 2 c. 24. consumed all, as it doth, job 1. 16. Lastly, to say nothing, how, in these last Parliaments, that should have yielded her some comfort, this State of ours, by the jealousy, and distraction of her best Friends, had but too much cause to cry out c Quamuis boni studij, & rectae fuerint intentionis, tamen haec ipsa illorum intentio, eye ad verba prorumpentibus, ante districti judicis oculos suborta indiscretione fuscatur. Greg. Mor. l. 3. c. 9 Et bona quidem intentione ad consolandum venerunt, sed hoc quod ●ia mens Deo mundum praetulit, locutio praecipitata vitiavit. Id. Mor. l. 3. c. 10 miserrimi Consolatores, miserable Comforters are ye all; as it is job 16. 2. These are bitter things indeed, and sore corrosives, I confess, to the hearts of true Englishmen; And yet for all this (God's name be praised for it) Nondum ad sterquilinium redacti sumus, Our State is not yet brought unto the dunghill; Nondum versa est in cineres Troja; Although we in our particulars do this day, by the custom of the Church, which calls it our Ash-wednesday, yet the State in general (God's name be glorified therefore) doth not lie in Dust, and Ashes; All her Noble parts are strong, and entire; We have a King, who is (as a Histor. l. 2. Velleius said of Cato) Virtuti simillimus, as like Virtue itself, as can be parterned in flesh, and blood; We have a wise, religious, and valiant Nobility; We have (what ever desperate, and obnoxious persons may whisper to the contrary) a dutiful, zealous, and (as I hope they will ever show themselves) a respectful Commonalty; We have a knowing, learned, and (the busy meddling of some few, in some matters of no substance, excepted) a right venerable Clergy; And therefore let no man laugh at a Psal. 68 1●. David's sackcloth, or mistake our humiliation; The exercise of this day doth not call upon the State to despair, but only to repent; Mutatus mutatum inveniet, as S. b Of his own Nephew. Mutatus mutatum invenies: Si agnoscis, ignosco. Fugisti saevum, revertere ad mansuetum. Epist. prima ad Robertum Nepotem. Bernard speaks, let it change itself, and God will be praesently changed. There is nothing but our sinning, that keeps off the Blessing, and there is nothing but a c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Chrysost. ad popul. Antioch. Hom. 4. serious, and continued repentance, that can break off our s●●ning; A Repentance of some length, that will not fall short, but reach out, as far as God's blessing, which falls not upon the beginning of any spiritual Grace, or Virtue, but still upon the latter end, as here, The Lord blessed the latter end of job, more than his beginning. TO conclude all in a word, This Assembly began, as this Book began, with Sorrowing, Fasting, and Prayer, as I touched before; But this Fasting, Prayer Repentance, and Humiliation lasted not long enough, it reach't not to the End; Foras S. a Serm. 1. de Pentecost. Bernard speaks of Lent, Vita Quadragesima, that all our life, by right, should be a Lent: so say I of this Fast, for the sins of this Nation, that all our life should be nothing else, but magnum, & generale ieiunium à vitijs, a great, solemn, and continued Fast from sin, and enormities, as b Alicubi. Sic Bern. I●i●●a●dum longè amplius à vitijs, quam à cibis. serm. 3. in Quadrag. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Chrys. ad pop Antioch. Hom. 16. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Clem. Alex. Strom. 16. S. Augustine speaks; A Fast that hath not only a Beginning, as all Fasts have, but withal an Ending, which we must not fix upon this day, or the next day, or any day at all, c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Chrys. ad pop. Antioch. Hom. 4. until the day of Blessing shine upon us, which will be at the latter end of our Repenting, when we shall find, to our unspeakable comfort, that God will surely bless the latter end of our Fast, more than the Beginning. Which God of his infinite mercy grant, etc. LONDON, Printed by JOHN BILL, Printer to the Kings most Excellent Majesty, 1628.