Balme from Gilead to recouer conscience In a sermon preached at Pauls-Crosse, Octob. 20. 1616. By Samuel Ward, Bach. of Diuinitie, and preacher of Ipswich.
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Title
Balme from Gilead to recouer conscience In a sermon preached at Pauls-Crosse, Octob. 20. 1616. By Samuel Ward, Bach. of Diuinitie, and preacher of Ipswich.
Author
Ward, Samuel, 1577-1640.
Publication
Printed at London :: By T[homas] S[nodham] for Roger Iackson, and William Bladen, and are to be sold neare the Conduit in Fleet-street, and at the signe of the Bible at the great north-doore of Pauls,
1618.
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Subject terms
Sermons, English -- 17th century.
Conscience -- Religious aspects -- Christianity -- Early works to 1800.
Link to this Item
http://name.umdl.umich.edu/A14732.0001.001
Cite this Item
"Balme from Gilead to recouer conscience In a sermon preached at Pauls-Crosse, Octob. 20. 1616. By Samuel Ward, Bach. of Diuinitie, and preacher of Ipswich." In the digital collection Early English Books Online. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A14732.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 14, 2024.
Pages
The third Part.
Looke vpon my Text, and see
how valiantly by the right and in∣terest
of it, Paul first challengeth &
commands prayers, euen at the
hands of the Iewes. Who waters a
dry stake with any heart? what
comfort hath Peter to pray for Si∣mon
Magus in the gall of Bitternes?
but with what hope of audience
might hee pray for Cornelius, and
such as he was? So Iohn for Gaius
and the Elect Lady, walking in the
truth; not so for Diotrephes. Se∣condly,
see how hee begs, not their
good opinion and good words of
him, though hee knew they had
strange surmises and suggestions
descriptionPage 61
of him from the false Apostles; to
be a very Proteus and Polypus, the
graund Cheater of the world, but
in stead of Apologies and Capta∣tion
of good will, hee relies to this
Fort, passeth not for mans day: he
is happy enough without them: he
carryes his comforter in his bo∣some
and breast, and hath a selfe-sufficiency.
A dependant and behol∣ding
happinesse is halfe a misery,
like Mils that cannot grinde with∣out
winde or water, Saul cannot be
merry without a Filder: Ahab with∣out
Naboths vineyard: ••aman with∣out
Mordecayes curtesie. A good
Cons••••••nce without Musicke, or
Money, or Honour, is happy and
merry a••one, and is like the late En∣g••n
of the perpetuall Motion.
As rich men stand vpon tearmes,
I can liue by you, and without
you: so saith a good Conscience to
the world.
It layes clayme not one••y to the
descriptionPage 62
prayers and communion of Saints,
but to the attendance of Angels.
As Luther is said to haue said, they
are Cookes and Butlers to this
continuall feast: they ascend and
descend to them with messages
from Heauen. Christ, as Ahash••e∣rosh
with Hester, delights to suppe
with such. The holy Ghost takes
vp in them his aboade and temple.
See in the Canticles how Christ is in∣amoured
with the beauty and fa∣miliaritie
of his Spouse, and they
often mutually inuite one another
to walkes and feasts.
Thirdly, which is more, in the
faile of all other comforts; yea, in
despight of the greatest discom∣forts
and disgraces that can be, in
the greatest stormes and stresse, in
the foulest weather, this Shippe
raignes and rides at Anchor, as in
a Harbour and Lee, hangs out the
Flag of comfort and defiance. Let
the Iewes thinke and speake what
descriptionPage 63
they will, it stirs not Paul: he soares
like an Eagle, not respecting the
chitting of Sparrowes; is aboue the
scourges and razors of tongues.
I am much taken vp with admi∣ration,
when I reade Acts 27. How
Paul in the angry Adriaticall Sea, at
midnight, when the tempestuous
Euroclydon blew, after fourteene
daies want of meat and light, when
the Marriners despayred, how
couragious he was: but I wonder
as much and more, to see his Con∣science
passe with top-saile & ban∣ners
displayed, through the Sea
and waues of good report and bad
report; to see him singing & pray∣ing
at midnight in the Dungeon,
all manacled & fettred, in a woun∣ded
skinne, but whole and merry
Conscience.
Censures and rumors, the world
is full of: who escapes? Not Paul
himselfe; yet is aboue them, and
giues a secret Item to all such as
descriptionPage 64
censure him, that they wronged
him in iudging a good Conscience.
The fashion is, to iudge and c••n∣sure
all courses wee reach not, or
sauour not; and so we smite many
a good Conscience. In this respect
what neede haue wee all of good
Consciences, seeing tongues spare
none••
There be three dayes especially,
the day of Sicknesse, of Death, of
Iudgement; in which Comfort is
worth a world, and then all world∣ly
comforts and comforters, like
run-away Seruants and drunken
Seruing-men, are to seeke when
one hath most vse and neede of
them, as Iob complaineth of the
Brooks of Teman in the drought of
Summer: which makes the tri∣umph
of the wicked (Iob 20.) mo∣mentany,
and as a ••••ght Vision,
when as the Prophet said, One
dreames of bread, and wakes hun∣gry.
In these times you shall see the
descriptionPage 65
merry and iolly worldling hang
the head like a Bul-rush, and the
Ruffians brags lagge like a starcht
Ruffe in a storme. How doe such
droope, euen in old age, and say, the
dayes are come, wherein there is
no pleasure? The storme comes
after the raine, that which is worst,
an ill Conscience like a Blood-hound
hunts dry-foot, and brings
the scent of sins of his youth; wher∣as
the Conscience of a well-passed
life is the staffe of age, Pabulum se∣nile,
better then all the Sacke and
Sugars, and such pittifull comfor∣ters.
When the stomacke failes, and
the grinders waxe few, and appe∣tite
ceaseth, this is a continuall
feast. In the decay of sleepe, this is a
Downe-pillow. In all our tribula∣tion,
this Simon helps vs to beare
our crosses. In all our euill daies, it's
at hand. It sustaines the infirmities
of the body. When Princes sat in
counsell against Dauid, this was his
descriptionPage 66
Ionathan to solace him. When the
Lyon roares, the righteous is bold
as the Lyon, and feares not what
man can doe vnto him.
But if once Death begin to looke
vs in the face, how doth Naball
dye like a stone? How doe Achi∣tophel
and Iudas dye the death of
cowardly Harts and Hares, pursu∣ed
with the full cry of their sinnes,
which makes them dead in the ne••
before they dye: then a kingdome
for a good Conscience. Then send
(as in the Sweating sicknesse and
the Plague) for Mr Minister, but
alas he is come, hee can but speake
to the eare, and all in vaine, vnlesse
God open the Conscience to heare
and be quiet, to heare and imbrace
comfort. But when speech failes, &
all thy Senses shut vp their doores
and windowes, then who or what
can auaile but a good Conscience?
When thy Wife & thy friends doe
augment thy griefe with parting
descriptionPage 67
and loath to depart, as Pauls friends
broke his heart with weeping; then
this onely and alone dies, or rather
liues with thee, and seeing Land
approaching, bids thee be of good
comfort. More cheerefully haue I
seene it make some dye, then other
wed.
All the Martyrs from Stephen the
Proto martyr, down to the last that
suffered, are clouds of witnesses: it
hath inabled them to imbrace their
stakes, clap their hands, leape, as
Doctor Taylor did, within two stiles
of the stake, or (as hee said) of his
home and Fathers house.
Lastly, at the Last day, and after
the last day, when all these sha∣dowes
shall flye away, this sub∣stance
shall abide. A good Wife is
a good thing, but Sarah must part
with Abraham; and these relations
shall cease in Heauen, but a good
Conscience, attended with good
workes, shall follow: and the better
descriptionPage 68
it hath beene here, the better in de∣gree
it shall be there, the wider en∣trance
and entertainment it shall
finde there. When all Bookes shall
perish, and Heauen melt like a
Parchment scrole, this Booke shall
be of vse; when all Diuels and dam∣ned
shall tremble, and wish the hils
to couer them, this shall lift vp thy
head, for thy redemption approch∣eth:
when neither friends, nor a full
purse shall pleade, nor the wicked
stand vpright in iudgement, then,
then, well-fare a good Conscience;
then shal conscience haue it mouth
opened, tongue vntied, & God will
bid it speake. Happy hee then that
hath an excusing one, miserable he
that hath it an accusing aduersary.
Yet still further: Faith and Hope
are excellent things here in this
valley; these shall cease, but Con∣science
abides. A good one was a
petty heauen vpon earth, a mount
Tabor, a glimpse of glory here: a bad
descriptionPage 69
one was a Hell, a Purgatory, or
Limbo, at the least, tasting of the
flashes and smoak of hel: but here∣after
how intollerable shall be the
horror of the one, and how incon∣cei••eable
the ioyes of the other.
Without this worm that dies not,
hell should not be hel; without this
continual Feast, heauen should not
be heauen. Next the happy vision
of God shall be the company of a
good Conscience, and next to that
••he Societie of Saints and Angels.
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