A SERMON Preached before the KING, IN Christ-Church, DUBLIN, On Ash-wednesday 1689.  
By Fr. Edmond Dulany, Franciscan Friar.  
Published by his Majesty's special Command.  
Dublin, Printed for Alderman James Malone Printer to the Kings most Excellent Majesty, and are to be sold at his shop in Skinnerrow, 1689.   

A Sermon Preached before the KING, etc.  Mat. 6. verse 19 
Nolite Thesaurizare vobis thesaures in terra, etc.  
Heap not up to yourselves Treasures on the Earth, where the Rust and Moth do Corrupt, and where Thiefs do dig through and steal; But heap to yourselves Treasures in Heaven.  
LEt Corruption Enter (most Sacred Majesty) to make a prey of this Frail body when I am shut up in the fatal Tomb, and buried in the Bosom of Oblivion, waiting to answer the last call of the Archangel's Trumpet to appear before the Tribunal of the dreadful Judgement; Let creeping Worms, Serpents, and on w●ildy Beasts devour this Flesh, and leave only my bones the residue of their Hunger, to be resolved into Ashes by the Revolutions of time, I will still cry with Diogenes; Quid ferarum mihi nihil femienti oberit Laniatus. Let man be converted into Dust, he shall have no Pain when he is destitute of all sense of Feeling, it is not the Grave document of the Holy Church's Memento marking our Foreheads this morning with Ashes, a symbol of Mortality; And the Primitive ingredient that Constitute the structure of this Tabernacle, and in which a Resolution of the whole shall soon End; it is nothing of these can strike a Terror into my heart, But the Conclusion of the Prophet Joel, who from the mouth of God Chalking out the Way we must Walk to save our Souls, Emphatically Commands us to turn our hearts drunk with the Love of Creatures, to God, and to punish by Abstinence and Fast, the Rebellion of these Members that first mutinyed by consent, and then by overt Acts warred against our Sovereign's Laws, Convertimini ad me in toto corde vestro, in Jejunio: And this is not enough, but we must wash the Impurity of our Thoughts with the salt tears of our Eyes, and wipe them of with the sighs and deep groans of our hearts, in fletu & planctu, and the heart that was the Harbour of our Crimes must be Rend with grief and sorrow, Scindite Corda vestra; he proceeds further to tell us that to accomplish the just measures of true Repentance, we must not only proscribe the use of unlawful, but also temper the use of Lawful things: Egrediatur sponsus de Cubili suo; Let the Bridegroom go forth of his Chamber, and the Bride out of her Bride-Chamber; all this is too Little if the Priests, the Ministers of the Lord between the Porch and the Altar, will not weep and cry parce Domine, parce populo tuo: Spare O Lord, spare thy People, and give not thine Inheritance into reproach, that the Nations have Dominion over them; and when all this is done, after we Chastise our bodies in the severest Exercises of Mortification, after we afflict our Souls with the deepest Resentments of grief for our offences, after we deny ourselves the use of things inoffensive, and have our cause Recommended to Heaven by the Intercession and public Prayers of the Priests and Ministers of God: Let all Sinful Souls with Dread and Fear, Remark what slender assurance we have from this Organ of the Holy Ghost, of the security of our Salvation when he leaves us still in doubt whether the Lord will Convert and forgive us, Quis scit si convertatur et Ignoscat Deus; O terrible words! if they that leave no Corner of their hearts to entertain any other thoughts, than such as unite them to God in Love and Charity, and detest their former faults, can have no assurance of the security of their Salvation, what hopes can those have, that Inclose all their desires within the Circle of Worldly Interest, and fall into a certain blindness and hardness that Render them Insensible to all the Movements of Grace? how sure is Hell for those that put up a three Headed Idol of Honours, Wealth and Pleasures in opposition to the holy Trinity dedicating thereto, all their thoughts and actions (a practice commonly Following men of Quality and Courtiers) if those that abdicate dignities, despise Riches, and lead a life in continual Purgatory of voluntary Chastizments upon their own bodies, do labour under a deadly Fear of looseing Heaven, Finally if the humble penitent, the poor in spirit, and the Righteous man cannot determine whether he lies under the disgrace or favour of God, quia nemo scit an amore vel odio sit dignus, There is no ground for the ambitious Courtier, the sensual Libertine or the Injust Statesman to expect Salvation. Gentlemen this aught to be the Subject of your Frequent Meditations this Holy time of Lent to Reclaim you in your vanities, to work your Salvation in Trembling fear, that may dispose you to true and severe works of Penance and Repentance, and undervalue the deluding and treacherous Honours, Riches and Pleasures of this False world, by which Million of Souls do Eternally perish. It is what the Son of God Commands you to do in the lesson of the Gospel read this morning; Nolite thesaurizare vobis thesauros in ter● and it is what I design to persuade you to; In order to which I will divide this discourse into two parts, The first whereof will Evidence, the vanity of all worldly Treasures, for which men do expose themselves to Perdition, and the Afflictions that attend them, the second will show their Inconstancy, and Conclude by Inference from such premises, that they are not fit objects to adjust the desires of a Rational Soul whose capacity is of so vast an Extent that nothing but the Treasures of Heaven can fill it. This shall be the Subject of your Sacred Majesty's  attention, which I beg, and the discourse I intent to make, after we Implore the Grace and help of the Holy Ghost and salute the ever Blessed Virgin, with the Archangel Hail Marry &c:  
Before I enter upon the proofs of my diusion, I must undeceive any that may mistake my Intention to lessen the Credit of true Honours in this world as Contrary to the Institutions of Divine Laws or inveigh against Riches as of themselves repugnant to Salvation, or against moderate pleasures as inconsistent with the Eternal happiness we aspire to in the other world: Such Propositions were shoots of Heresy, Blasphemy and Cruelty, when the Author of Nature in the first draught of the world out of nothing copied Monarchy (which Implies all Dignities and Honours) in the person of Adam, with an absolute Dominion over all that was Created, and Furnished him with plentiful means to support the Grandeur of so great a Title, in the Vassalage of all the Creatures he Subjected to his Power, without any Restriction in the use of any part thereof to gratify his desires, except the use of the forbidden Tree.  
In the state of corrupt Nature, in which the passions of man kindled to an excess of unruliness, through the loss of Original Justice; Providence ordained the Power of Kings with the Character of Greatness, which imports a right in them to Command, and imposes upon all Subjects an indispensable obligation of Loyalty and Obedience; and in reference to wealth and pleasures, there is no innovation, only a task of labour and pain, added in the acquisition, as punishment for sin, and a regular moderation in the use, Squared by the Rules of God's Commandments, and Precepts of the holy Church, to make it meritorious.  
It is not therefore Honours primarily lodged by Providence & Nature in the person of the King, and flowing from him by a certain Emanation to others gradually qualified by the merit of their Loyalty, and signal services in their many and different stations and degrees, that come in dispute as a subject of reflections from the Gospel of Christ: But the corrupt measures taken by many that aspire to them without any other merit than their ambition, and the perverse use made of that Eminence by others; who ought to recede so far from any vice, as they are exalted to approach in dignity, to the Prince that confers it; in whose Front is stamped the Image of God's Power and Authority, and by consequence an obligation to Virtue's suitable to that Supreme Degree.  
Riches also, which were given by the hand of God for the use of life, and aught to serve us as instruments to acquire Heaven, are no further , than they are converted by us into Engines, to work Iniquity, as holy Gregory saith; and by our folly, or rather madness, are raised to such a height of esteem in our fancies, that basely forgetting God, the only and true Centre of our happiness, we fix our love uponn them, as the ultimate end to accomplish all our de●●●es.  
God has placed man in an earthly Paradise of pleasure, to give him therein a commencing taste of those future full contentments he was to enjoy in the Heavenly Paradise, after his translation from the Pilgrimage; and though for his disobedience, he and his posterity were attainted, and banished from thence, yet in their banishment they were not left so unhappy, but they had in the midst of afflictions, such a measure of contentments and pleasures in the enjoyment of Creatures, as may in the religious use thereof, lead them to conclude the endless pleasures that consist in the fruition of the Creator: But such is the malice and stupidity under which men did in all ages, and do labour, that shutting their eyes to Reason and Religion, without regard to Rewards or Punishments, to Threaten or Promises, to Heaven or Hell, they make Dignities, Wealth and Pleasures, the Butt of all their aims, by open and secret contrivances, to fill the vacuities of the Civil Body, not to strengthen, but to weaken the parts thereof, often receding through Pride, and wanton Ambition, from their Subjection to Authority, even to the contempt of Majesty, in Sedition, and hellish Rebellions, (of which our Times do afford too woeful an experience); and trampling inferiors by violence and extortion, to support their extravagant dissolution in Debauchery and Lust, and to satisfy their insatiable thirst of Covetousness: and thus they sacrifice Loyalty to their Pride and Ambition in Rebellion, Honesty to their Avarice in Injustice, Virtue to brutish Pleasures in Concupiscence, their Honour to disgrace, and their Souls to the Devil.  
To secure you from such dismal ruins, D. C. S. The Saviour of the World gives you a Preservative, in the present Gospel, Nolite thesaurizare vobis thesauros in terra, etc. Heap not up to yourselves Treasures on Earth, where the Rust and Moth do Corrupt, and where Thiefs do Digg through and Steal. Survey all the parts of the treasures of the earth, upon which man throws the affections of his heart excessively to the contempt of God, and loss of his Soul, and you shall find them perpetually waited on by the rust of Vanity, the moth of Afflictions, and the thiefs of Inconstancy, to corrupt their nature, use and permanence. It is the Doctrine of the Holy Ghost denounced by the wisest of Kings, and proved by him in the experience of the greatest treasures the earth could afford; Superinduxi animae mea cogitationem super omnia illa, 
Eccles. Cap. 2. jux l. G.  & inveni in eyes, tria haec vanitatem, afflictionem & consummationem; Let covetous men fill their Coffers with the Gold of the new found world, the Pearls fished in the Seas of Asia, the Jewels brought from the remote Regions of the East, and call it treasure; Let Honour draw out long lists of Ancestors, with exact Records of their Prowess and Feats, to fill parchment with Titles, and call it Nobility of Blood; Let Nations with armed Bands run to the destruction of one another, and the subdued serve for a foundation to erect Monuments of Triumph to prop the Glory of the Conqueror, and call it Victory: Let the self-interested Statesman devise new Maxims of Government to push forward his own ends, under colour of public good, though destructive to many, and injurious to God and his Church, and call it Policy: Let Pride please itself in proportion of Parts, and a supply to the defect borrowed from a Dress, little becoming the Gravity of Christian Religion, or conformable to the Doctrine of St. Paul, or the practice of the holy primitive Christians, and call it Beauty A-la-mode: Let Ambition glory in the dependency and flattery of many underlings, and call it Power, in Authority to Command, and administer Laws to others, and call it Dignity, in the plenty of worldly substance, and call it Riches: Let sensuality find new inventions to gratify the gust of senses, and call it Pleasures: But the Holy Ghost, by the mouth of Solomon, in all these finds nothing but Vanity; in omnibus inveni vanitatem.  
I must step back from Solomon to hear what his Father David says, in the 42 Psalms, Ye sons of men, how long are you of heavy heart, why love you vanity, and seek after lying. Quod mendacium quaritis, what lying seek you after, saith holy Austin. In short, Mundum, the World, which is express lying, and open falsehood; this is the reward of all your fatigues. O senseless worldling! this is the Hire of all your Labours, this is the Crown of all your Victories, the Fruit of all your Toils, and the Reward of all your Troubles; Fallit vos quod quaeritis, mendacium est quod quaeritis; You imagine the World a Magazine, able to afford all content to your desires. When the Holy Ghost gives it the Name of an horrible and dreadful Desert, filled with monstrous rnd blood-thirsting wild Beasts: because in it, Passions and Concupiscences do rule, without the curb of any Laws, beset with Thorns and Briars; because in every stop you hit upon some Affliction that grieves; Corrupted with the Infection of Pestilent air, because there are Pernicious Examples of wicked Livers: darkened with Frightful shades, Because it is Governed in Ignorance of Heavenly things: Replenished with Cross and Byways to lead Astray; because it is full of Errors and perverse Institutions: wihtout Restoratives to Refresh our weakness; because it has no true pleasures, to quench the thirst of our desires: sounding with the abominable noise of unlucky Birds, because there is nothing so often heard as Contumelies against Neighbours, and Blasphemies against the great name of God: Remote from any Succour, because the mischances that happen are often incurable: destitute of any true Felicity, because it is the sink of all Evils, Desertum vere et aridum et sterile reputat soeculum omne hoc saith venerable Gilbertus upon those words of the Canticles. 
S●●●● Ca●t. ●.  Quae est ista quae ascendit per desertum, and I must Cry with the same Author, how is it possible that men, Endowed with Reason and Professing the Religion of one true and Eternal God, should be drawn by the scent of a desert so described, to love any thing therein contained to the Contempt of God and his Laws in such a measure, that all Cures daily applied by God's Preaching Ministers either proposeing the joys of Heavenly Glory for a Reward of virtue, or the Imminent danger of Slavery and Misery, which is visible and apparent, as a Temporal Correction to Reclaim our Manners, or Eternal fire as the Everlasting punishment of final perseverance in sin, are so Far from producing in us the designed Effects, that all their Endeavours seem to be Incentives, rather then Lenitives, to the disease of self love, & the love of the world, it is grown so Epidemical in every State and Condition and Sex and Age.  
Heathens were sensible of the vanity of the World's gifts, which Christians by their too much value for them, and their Irreligious desires seem to deny; this made Seneca declare, 
Lib. detray quillitate anim.  that all worldly goods were Intrinsically uniform in vanity, and Extrinsecally different only in Form and Figure: Let us hear your sense of this Figure, great Apostle of the Nations; It passeth away saith he, It flieth, It perisheth, praeterit figura hujus mundi, 
J. Cor. 7.  like a figure drawn in dry dust, which for its levity hath no Consistency and is the mock-stock of winds raised by the least blast, apt to blind the Eyes, 
Cap. 29.  and dirt, whatever it lights upon; with reason than I may speak to the lovers of the world in the words of the Prophet Esay: upon another occasion Expergiscimini, Expergiscimini, Qui habitatis in pulvere, awake awake ye that dwell in the dust, and open your Eyes to consider: that in dust you have laid the Foundation of your might and power, Kings and Monarches; To the dust you commit the Glory of your Titles, Noblemen, upon the dust you Engrave the marks of your Renown, Famous men; in the dust you leave the footsteps of your Erterprises valiant men; It is dust that Composes the substnace of your Treasures, Rich men, by the dust you seek to satisfy the huger of your desires voluptuous men, at the dust you Levelly all the Essays of your projects, Ambitious men; From the dust you borrowed the first material of your being Mor●al men, and into dust shall soon Return those bodies you now Pamper with so much delicacy, sensual men, which is the Advertisement given you by the Holy Church this morning, Pulvis es et in pulverem reverteris  
Did you ever observe A. A. a flock of Innocent Children dallying, in the sand and in serious folly, drawing plat-forms of Cities and Towns, here raising heaps under the Title of strong Castles and Impregnable Forts, there marking long Ridges giving them the name of Trenches and dikes for defence in one place ranging small stones in a Row which they call Casarms to Lodge Soldiers, in another drawing up a certain number to Assail the Fortifications and a thousand other fancies of their Innocent folly, when their Fabric in fine is but Sand, 
●n Cant●c●  This is properly the life of Worldly men says Greg. Niss: hoc est humana vita puerorum ludus in arena etc. Their Honour is but Sand, their power is but Sand, their wealth is but Sand, and all what the World can give is but Sand, Dust and Vanity; In omnibus inveni vanitatem; what is more vain than a dream, and yet all the Power and Riches and Pleasures of the Earth are no other thing if you believe the Spirit of God speaking in the mouth of holy David, Dormierunt somnum suum et nihil in venerunt omnes viri divitiarum in manibus suis you dream to have found a Treasure, 
Psal. 75.  you are Rich but in a dream only, when you awake instead of real Riches, you find yourself Loaden with real Poverty, so it is saith Holy Austin the Lovers of this world are Lulled a sleep by its Charms, that they think not of Eternity, and fancy themselves happy and Rich, 
Ang in Psal. 75. amaverunt prasentia et dormierunt in pisis, prasentibus et illis facta sunt ipsa praesentia deliciosa quomodo qui videt persomnium inveni●se se Thesauro● tam●i●● d●v●● 〈◊〉 d●● 〈…〉  but when their Eyes are opened by the Watch of Death, true misery will Correct the Illusion of a dreaming Fancy, and perpetual Poverty, will Curse the mistake of vain Imagination, Somnium illum divitem fecit, Evigilatio Pauperem fecit.  
Are not the Ambitious then, and the Covetous, and the Voluptuous of this Age infatuated and damnably Mad if they believe, the Imortallity of the Soul, or a Heaven, or a God to venture their Salvation for the purchase of things that ha●e no real Substance but apparent, That are in Effect, but Falsho d and Lying, that are the fruit of this world a Hideous and Horrible desert, that are but Dust and Sand, and consist only in an Ex ernal Figure, that Perisheth and passeth away: Or in the Illusion of a Fantastic dream, and that are finally declared by Heaven to be nothing but vanity, in omnibus in veni vanitatem. Are not these A: A: so many Reasons that Convince us we ought not to six our hearts upon them, nor seek after any Treasures upon Earth in Obedience to the Doctrine of the Saviour of the world in the Text, Nolite Thesaurizare vobis thesauros in terra: But their vanity might be dispensed with, if the Afflictions and Inconstancy that follow the Treasures of the world were not overruling arguments of the Folly and Madness of those, that Employ their Labours, their Sweat, their Blood, all their desires, their Thoughts, their Industry, their Bodies & Souls in a pursuit to purchase them. They are not only Fallacious and Feigned, but also Dolorous & Afflicting, they deceive by their vanity, and torment with their misery. The Rose is the symbol of pleasures, whence the Carnal Infidels belching their Blasphemous thoughts against the Immortality of Souls, said Sap. 2: Let us Crown ourselves with Roses before they whither; In Paradise, saith great Basilius the Rose was without Thorns to show that contentments there were to have no mixture of Afflictions or Grief; 
hom: 〈◊〉 parad:  But since Sin obliged the Earth to bring forth Brambles and Thistles, it is Sorrounded with a guard of Thorns, to Symbolise that Afflicting mischances, are Inseparable attendants of Human prosperity, without Exemption, in any Degree, Dignity State or Condition, It is Holy Ambrose his application, Spina septit gratiam floris tanquam humana speculum preferens vitae, quae vanitatemperfunctionis suae finitimis curarum spinis saepe Compungat. Though you should shine O Man with the splendour of Honours or sit upon the Throne of Power, 
Lib: 3. hexam Cap. 17.  or Command the wealth of Croesus; Spina semper proxima est; The throne is still near you, look over all those things in which men place their happiness in this world, and you shall find that no one thing is free from a peculiar Melancholy occasion of Evil that follows it, Honours are perpetually waited on by Envy which often Contrives their disgrace; Riches by Fears, and Anxieties, Reputation is obnoxious to the venom of detraction, Pleasures do breed distempers; Friendship is often made use of to work Treachery, in Marriages there Reign Jealousies, and Children to their Parents do prove ungratfull Meca'nas in Feathers, felt the same grief that Tormented Regulus upon a Gibbet saith Seneca, to hinder his repose, Tam vigilat in pluma, quam Regulus in Cruse. And Dionysius his Dishes proved unsavoury to his Guests, for the Sword that hung over their Heads, so unlimited are the Miseries attending the Pleasures of the world, that even in the Throne they cannot be divorced: and Seleveus Taught by the Experience, declared that whoever knew the weight of the Sceptre though of Gold, would not honour it to lift it from the Dunghill, and if Kings and Princes in the midst of their Might and Power sunk under the Crosses and anguishs they endured to such a descent of disrespectful Expressions of the Sceptre and Crown, who can Expect to find in this world, any true and accomplished Felicity, or any solid Comfort or Joy? I will not Instance the particular Circumstances of every man's Troubles in the pursuit of that part of the world's vanity he Aims at, I will only say the acquisition thereof costs him greater pains, than the enjoyment gives Content; what labours do not the Covetous undergo for their Riches, The sensual Epicures for their Pleasures, the vain to support their Pride, and the Ambitious to Attain to Dignities?  
The Servants of God in their severest Acts of Penance, for the Conquest of the Kingdom of Heaven, never Exercised greater Mortifications, than the Lovers of the world submit themselves to for to attain to their Ends, if they do fast to Mortify the flesh, The Covetous do fast live Close and Uncharitable, to fatten their Purses; if they go in Pilgrimage for the love of Virtue, what Pilgrimage by Sea and Land, do not these undertake for the love of Gold; if the Servants of God do, watch in Prayer, the dissolute and Intemperate do watch in Debauchery, 
Sap. 5.  They humble themselves to all men for Christ, and how many do the Ambitious Debase themselves to, Those do lie under the Inclemency of the weather and these do Expose themselves, to a Thousand Storms, Fatigues and Troubles that truth Forces this Confession out of their Mouths lassati, sumus in via Iniquitatis; we are wearied in the way of Iniquity, Their Sufferings are equal to the Tortures of Martyrs, saith holy Austin; but their merits, are different, and their ends are disform, Similes penae sed discreta Causa.  
The world is a Palace like that in which Job's Children Feasted which within the space of one hover, saith holy Chrysostom, 
Hom: s. in Job.  was a dwelling place of the living, and a grave of the Dead, a Banqueting house of Friends, and a Burying place of the defunct, a Choir of Music, and the Stage of a most woeful Tragedy: una eademquae hora Domus et Sepulchrum, convivium et Tumulus, festum et fletus, facia est; Even so saith holy Ambrose, the world invites its Lovers to feast in the plenty of its pleasures; but Treacherously oppresses them with unexpected Ruin it invites them to Dine and drags them to die, it promises meat, and Furnishes Afflictions, pretends to give wine, and fills the Cup with poison. Rogas ad Convivium, Cogis ad mortem; It affords Treasures that can never be Enjoyed, but in a flood of real evils, 
Invitas ad prandium efferre ujs ad sepulchrum; cibos promittis et tormenta irrogas; vina praetendis, et venena suffundis. Lib. de Elia et jej●  it offers fruit that cannot be gathered without a Crop of Infinite Troubles, it promises happiness, and at the same time ushers in miseries, it flatters by its Smiling and Murders by its Cresses. Cum oblectant, sa'viunt, Cum blandiuntur occidunt. I will Conclude this first part by the words of holy Chrysostom, what can be more unhappy than that man created for Glory shall Enslave his heart in the disordered desire of Terrene things, and throwing away the Badges of his Liberty, and Nobility, shall fall from Celestial things to think or speak of nothing, but of Dignities subject to the Rust of Vanitys, or Riches, that still carry in them the Moth of Gnawing Afflictions, 
val. hom. 6.  or of Pleasures that fix a sting in the Soul, when they Power Honey in the Mouth.  
What Villainy is it for love of these to Trample the poor, to oppress the Innocent, to Enjure the Widow to strip the Orphan, to suck the Blood of the Weaker, To Rob the Church of her Rights, To confound Order To forget God, To Transgress his Commandments, To Renounce his Glory, To Contemn his promises to despise his Menaces, to offend his love, to Exasperate his Justice, to provoke his Anger, and to draw his Malediction. Christian Souls, if the Vanity and Afflictions inseparable from the Treasurs of the world, which are pursued with so much vehemence and disorder, cannot work upon other men's hearts to divert them, at least let Prudence direct you, not to affect Immoderately or unlawfully desire those things which you are not sure to retain when you have them, It is Virtuous and Meritorious to draw, your affections, from them before you are Compelled by a certain sure necessity to quit them with grief and Confusion, for they are Unstable, and Inconstant, which is the matter of my  

Second Part.  
Saint Austin in his 29th Sermon de v●rbis domini puts this question to all those that Throw their Affections upon the World to the Contempt of God's Laws, and without Regard to the Salvation of their Souls Cur ponimus Cor in terra, Cum videamus quia evertitur Terra; why do we abandon our hearts to the Irregular desires and Concupiscence of Terrene Treasurs which we know are Instable and Transitory? why do we pretend to rest ourselves upon that which we see is in continual Turbulent Motion towards its own destruction, and the Ruin of those that Rely upon it, or why do men Confide in, or Trust to that which they find by daily Experience to deceive and betray?  
Velut nubes pertransiit salus mea, saith holy job, The true pattern of patiented Princes describing his own misfortune and sudden Fall from the Glory of the Throne to the misery of the dunghill, 
Job. Cap. 30 v. 15.  my prosperity, my Riches, and all my glory hath passed away like a cloud, The comparlson and Simile, cannot be more proper, having for an Author the holy Ghost, which moved the Organs of this great Saint to Express it, a Cloud then in its Effects and Nature is the Right Symbol of Human prosperity, and the perfect emblem of the Great Men of the Earth: For as the clouds mitigate the rays of the scorching Sun, and refreshes sublunary things, apt to suffer by the overmuch heat of that Planet; so Powerful Men are the defence of those that are under their protection, from the heat of injury and oppression; a fertile cloud showering, recreates the barren and dry ground, and revives decaying flowers and fruits: A Prince by the influence of his Favours gives vigour to, and revives his Subjects, drooping under the yoke of adversities: A cloud kindled, often darts in the air, terrible torches, and wild flames. This represents an angry Potentate of the Earth, when he terrifies with a fire cast from his eyes, and with lightnings from his Countenance. A cloud armed with unusual hail, storms, tramples, oppresses innocent trees, vines, plants; and is not this the figure of an Usurping Tyrant, threatening without reserve, desolation, slaughter, and slavery; and when a Cloud roars in Thunder, and discharges dreadful flashes of Lightnings, against which humane providence can make no defence; shall not we say, This resembles the wild resolutions of such a Monster in his decrees against Loyal Subjects, for adhering to God's Anointed, their lawful and natural Prince: But what is the nature and substance of this Cloud, that works such prodigious effects? A little vapour raised from the low region of the earth, 
Low Countries.  and originally extracted from the tribe of Pools and Sinks, elevated chief by its own levity, to the second region of the Air; 
By Revolution and Rebellion.  and what prop sustains it there? nothing but a Pillar of slender Air, which is no solid Prop; and how long can it last, or pretend to subsist? no longer than it is calm weather about it; the first blast of a contrary wind that blows towards it, will drive, dissipate, and destroy it. This is the true figure of the Power and Greatness of the Ambitious of the Earth; saith holy Gregory, a Cloud that vanishes of a sudden, and hath not a monent of assured permanence; they are high and sublime, raised above others, to the second region of the air: but the foundation that supports them, is weak and unstable; one blast of popular commotion, or misfortune, breaks them; one fit of distemper levels them to the ground, and brings all their Greatness to their primitive dust in the grave; Salus ergo ut nubes transiit quia peccatorum gloria quae alta est, 
Lib. 20. M●r.  fixa non est.  

Ab exemplo.  List your eyes, D. C. to view that ever cursed, impious and unnatural Absolom, famous in infamy, swelled with hellish pride, and with sacrilegious arms, embarking himself in the ocean of boundless Ambition, to Usurp his Father's Throne, ready to Imbrue his inhuman hands in the Blood of the best of Kings, and eviscerate the kindest of Fathers. Observe a thrice perjured people seduced by a Nobility drunk with the love of dissolution and riot, and poisoned with the venom of Disloyalty and Rebellion, sucked from the corrupt principles of a restless Religion, setting him up a Mimic King, under the Royal Canopy, to receive homage from Vassals, tribute from Subjects, and Embassies from foreign Princes: He models Governments, promulges Laws, establishes pragmatics, punishes, rewards, exalts, deposes, impoverishes, enriches, condemns, pardons. Unfortunate man, what do you do? how far will your Ambition drag you? against a King that derives his Power from Heaven, and not from Men, you turn your sacrilegious arms? against a Father, you devise your stratagems? & to attain to his Crown, you arrived to the height of iniquity, treading under foot the Laws of God, and Man, and Nature; you are unfortunate, whether you win or lose; if you prevail, you are impious; if you miss, you are infamous; if you overcome, you shall ever be accursed, to have gained a Victory more dishonourable and inglorious than the loss can be; if you lose, you shall ever lie under the confusion just judgement will bring upon you for entering into so unjust and unnatural a War; if you vanquish, you forfeit the best Jewel Nature could set in your breast, which is the gratitude you ought a good Father; if you be subdued, your loss will not be only of life, (that is too small a satisfaction for your guilt;) nor of your credit or reputation, (for we see how little you value it) but of your Soul, and eternal Salvation, to expiate in everlasting flames, the enormity of your execrable Ambition. Behold, Christians, O just Judgement of the Almighty! This Parricide, unnatural Miscreant, in the midst of his vast and ill-grounded hopes, carried on more by the violence of his wicked designs, than the force of the Beast he rid on, was lest hanging upon a Tree, by the hair of his head, and pierced through the heart with three Javelins, and covered with wounds over all his Body, he fell to end the infamy of his actions in the catastrophe of a deserved dismal death. Imprecations are not justifiable in a Pulpit, yet it were but Justice, O Heavens, 
Let the Enemies of my Lord the King become as the Child (Absalon) and all that rise against him unto evil, 2 Reg. 18.  that Equals in Impiety should be soon equalled in punishments; that a re-accession to his Throne may be facilitated to the Just and Godly David. But this with submission to thy holy will, be said, O Lord! whose hidden decrees permitting Impiety to rule, we are to receive, and accept of without repining, in perfect resignation; knowing that what thou ordainest, is most available to us, and that thou art merciful and good, to make us happy even by our adversities, which thou canst turn to our advantage, when we truly submit ourselves in conformity to thy Divine pleasure. Now what we are to gather from the fatal course of Impious Absalon to our purpose, is the impiety of irregular Ambition, 
Lib. 2. Reg. cap: 18. Drogo.  and the inconstancy of the Greatness promised by this false world; Illo suspenso inter Coelum & Terram, mulus cui insederat pertransit, saith the sacred Text; (Absalon) hanging between Heaven and Earth: The mule that he rid upon passed through, pertransit, saith an Excellent Author, because the world passeth away with its concupiscence in great speed: which inconstancy prompted the Eloquence of Rome to break out in Exclamations worthy to be printed in the hearts of true Believers: O fallacem hominum spem, fragilemque fortunam, & inanes nostras contentiones quae in medio spatio saepe franguntur, & corruunt, 
L●●. ●. de O●●●  & ante in ipso cursu ●bruuntur quam portum conspicere potuerunt; O vain hopes of mortal men, that seek with so much heat and strife to establish your happiness upon the beguiling false goods of the earth, which are most apt to forsake and desert you when you seem to be most sure of them. Those Honours and Treasures that puff you up with Pride, saith Seneca, Nescis ubi te reli●tura sint, 
Lib 3. 〈…〉 qu●s●  you know not where and in what miserable condition they may soon leave you, and that Fortune which you with so much injustice and oppression strive to settle upon posterity, will be easier purchased than preserved, saith Tacitus, 
Anna●  Such is the volubility and uncertainty of sublunary things. If we had time to reflect upon the practice of Heathen Philosophers, in reference to the world, following only the dictates of reason, without hopes of future felicity, we should find their moral virtues, and contempt of the world to fix an everlasting ignominy upon the Christian of our Age, who by their too much love of Honour, Wealth and Pleasures, and are 〈◊〉 scandal to Christ, and an infamy to Religion: our Profession obliges us to Humility, Justice, and Temperance, and in a word, to a conformity in our lives and conversation to Christ; and this conformity is so absolutely necessary, that it is the notion and character of a predestinate soul, according to the rule given by St. Paul in the 8th to the Romans, Quos praescivit & praedestinavit conformes fieri imaginis filii sui, whom he hath foreknown, he hath also predestinated to be made conformable to the Image of his Son.  
An intrusion by Ambition into public Offices either Civil or Ecclesiastical, solicited by sinister and unlawful means, and the Pride that makes men once qualified in those stations inaccessible and morose to inferiors, which they look upon with scorn, (believe me,) carries but little marks of Christian Humility, or conformity to the pattern Christians are obliged to copy in their lives.  
Contentions and Divisions frequently fomented by Envy and Emulation among men, not of the inferior rank, but of the best quality, relishes more of Satan's confused Empire, than the Kingdom of Christ, which cannot consist but of members united in Peace and Charity, nor can we expect a Blessing from Heaven, if Dissensions and Animosities, National and Provincial distinctions break the ties of Charity, which by Divine Institutions is established in the essential life of Christian Perfection:  
The dissolution and liberty of some of this Age that wallow in the abominatlon of Lust and Sensuality, is grown to such a pitch of Iniquity, that to have committed enormous Crimes, seems too small a satisfaction to their brutish Voluptuousness, if they do not blaze their infamous actions, glorying in them, to instill the poison of corruption into the hearts of others, and to encourage them by their perverse Examples, to become Impious.  
What is the Concussion of Magistrates, the prevarication of Advocates, the frauds of Merchants, the exactions of Usurers, the cheats of Tradesmen, the extortion of Soldiers, and the oppression of the Poor b● the Powerful and Rich; but a general defection from, and a deformity to the Law and Examples of Christ, and a combination with the Devil, the World, and the Flesh, to receive at their hands what Almighty God by his heavenly Commandments forbids us to usurp.  
D. C. I will only offer you two short considerations upon the whole matter, and then conclude. The first is, that all the Treasures of the world are vain, afflicting, and inconstant in this life, as I have showed; they are but a vapour that vanish's in a moment, that precludes the passage to eternal felicity, that hides from us the incomprehensible splendour of perpetual light, that robs men of the true knowledge of Celestial Bliss, that finally deprives us of the Honour of everlasting Glory, and are followed in the other World by immortal disgrace, endless misery, 
Bern. Epist. 103.  and infinite torments; Vapour est ad modicum parens quod aeternae faelicitatis adytum intercludit, quod perennis luminis in circumscriptam claritatem abstondit, quod universitatis scientia fraudat, quod summae privat dignitatis honore.  
The Second is that the Soul of Man is of so vast a Capacity in the Extent of its desires, that it cannot be adjusted or filled by any thing the world can afford; which every Man may find to be true by his proper experience of an Inclination that Aims at some further Contentment, which he still wants in whatever Degree or Condition he can be in, whereby it is manifest, that the accomplishment of his happiness Consists in something above Nature, and this is determined by Faith and Religion, to be the Vision and Fruition of God, from these two Considerations, This Inference Rationally follows; Therefore Men ought not to seek their happiness in Natural things, or fix upon them an affection Incompatible, with the duty they own the Acquisition of that Supreme and Supernatural Felicity, which only ought to be the mark of our Aim in all our Actions, and these are the two documents, that fill up the Two parts of my Text; Nol●te ctc. He●p not up to yourselves Treasurs on Earth, where the Rast and Moth do Corrupt, and the Thiefs dig through and steal; But heap to yourselves treasurs in Heaven where your Riches will be secured, where fraud cannot Circumvent you, nor Chance betray you, nor vicissitude overthrow the Establishment of your happiness, nor time make a change in the Blessed state of your affairs nor none other of the Domestic Enemies of the Earth, disturb the Possession of your full content and joy.  
The Circumstance of time, a●d the present state of Affairs are two grand reinforcements upon the obligation we have not to defer our obedience to this Sacred Command. The Church Proposes our Saviour Fasting and Praying forty days, which no Necessity could oblige him to, having no Sins to Expiate, but to leave us an Example to follow in the Austerities of a Mortified life, to make Satisfaction for the Crimes We Committed by Excess.  
The State is Threatened with no less than a Totall Ruin, and an absolute overthrow, which never happened to any Kingdom but for unpunished Sins; it is therefore the Interest of our Souls and Bodies to Reform our manners, and to Conform ourselves to the life of our Saviour in this holy time, in Fast and Prayer; To make our public and private Continual humble Addresses to Heaven for the preservation of his most S: M: and the Prosperity of his Affairs, to avert from him and us the Fatal blow; Threatened by a proud Usurping Enemy, whom we need not fear, if we pacify the wrath of God by true Penance and Repentance, and an amendment of our lives, it is the best Preparation we can make to have good Success in War: Let every man therefore begin the Lent from his peace made with God in the holy Sacrament of Penance, Let us Resolve to obey those that are in Power over us, to undergo hardship and labours, and when occasion offers to overcome or die. It was the Maxim of wise Heathens to preserve Kingdoms and Cities, Parere magistratibus patientem esse laborum, et in praelio vincere aut mori, as Plutarch tells us of the Lacon●ans, how much more ought it to be the Rule of Christians, who are in Conscience obliged to obey their King, and defend his Crown and Dignity to the last drop of their Blood, and to the loss of their Lives and Fortunes.  
It were to be whished that such as are Members of our Army had as strong a Sense of Honour and Conscience to discharge their duty with Courage, Care, Vigilancy and Circumspection, as they have itch of promotion; which sort of Ambition as it is Commendable in a Soldier that Strives by his Actions to make himself worthy of preferment, so in those that Act Sluggishly like Mechanic mercenaries, it is no less infamous than Damnable, whereas faults Committed in that duty, do tend to dishonour God, to Dethrone the King, to Expose him to the Fury of his Blood-thirsting Enemies, to betray the Country, and to banish Religion, I wish all Officers did first Conceive a horror against any thing that may bring them under such black Hellish Characters, and then make the Impression upon those that are under their Command, to prevent losses that may not be retrieved, and Lessen the occasions, of so frequent Sessions of Courts Martial as we see, whose punitive sentence perpetually brands the accused with an infamy if not Really deserved, at least Commonly believed and Suspected.  
And to accomplish all things that may Earn a Blessing to our Cause: S: M. let Ambition, Partiality and double deal by your Commands, be Banished from the Court: Let not the Mighty men of your State make your Laws a Spiders Webb to Catch and Devour the small Flies, and let the Big ones pass untouched, Lest the Cry of Orphans, the groans of Widows, and the Blood of the Injured poor; should call for Vengeance to Heaven and Obtain it. Let not Lent be Converted to a Carnaval in the Houses of great Men, nor the Tables be Loaden with Superfluous Dishes, to feed Lackeys and Footboys even to Gluttony, and the Poor of Christ Languishing in the Street starving for Want of Bread, Let not the Taverns be Crowded from Morning to Night, and the Churches and Chapels of God left waste, let Equity and Justice govern the Bench without Partiality or Respect of Persons, Let Conscience overule the Covetousness of Exacting dealers; Let modesty in Apparel, spare something to cover Christ naked in the persons of the poor, Let Blasphemous Tongues learn from just Chastisements to bear Respect to the holy name of God. Let public punishments suppress the Infection of public scandals, let Christian Discipline put an End to Antichristian dissolution which Ranged these many years among us, and Finally let the love of Heaven proscribe and banish from our Hearts the disordered love of Creatures, of vain Dignities, Afflicting Riches, and Inconstant pleasures, that Piety Ruling our Actions here in Grace may lead us to Triumph in Everlasting Glory. which I wish your S. M. etc. and all your Faithful Subjects.   
FINIS.   

ERRATA.  
Page three line 1. read Thesauros. ibid. l. 11. r wild beasts, pag. 4. l. 32 instead of then, r. but. pag. 7. l. 11 r. and still do labour pag. 8 l. 27 r. 4th psalm. pag. 10 l. 11 r. substance. ibid. l. 12 r. hunger. ibid. l. 23 after defence, put a point. pag. 11 r. in the margin praesentia et dormierunt in ipsis preasentibus. ibid. l. 16 A. A. signifies Christian Auditors. pag. 12 l. 4 r. thorn. pag. 13 l. 19 after Ruin, put a period. ibid. l. 26 r. Caresses. ibid. l 34 r. pour.