There be three degrees of glory in all. Let him glory under hope of glory, glory in afflictions, and glory in God ; that is, we glory in God to be our God. That in the sharing and dividing of all things God hath given himself to us ; and what an offer is this, that when God divideth this world to the children of men, you shall have this and that, but you shall not have me. But to his children he hath given himself, and he hath nothing better to give, and indeed there is nothing else needs. For there is more in it than we can speak. But that when God divideth all things he should give such a share as himself, is not this a glory, that a poor creature should have God to be his, and all he hath to be his, to make use of it in life and in death ? It is worth all the world ; it is worth our endeavours ' to make our calling and election sure,' when we may have this comfort from it, 2 Peter i. 10.
* That is, ' wonder.' — G.
NOTES.
(a) P. 416. — ' Scevihim est in cadavera, scevitum est in ossa, sceviium est in cineres (Cyprian) — of the Roman emperors' cruelty, to remove a dead body.' This Father has many eloquent passages on the reverence due to the ' body ' of the believer, as formerly a ' temple ' of the Holy Ghost ; and the present is a reminiscence of one of them.
(b) P. 416. — ' She turned herself back. The same phrase the Septuagint use of Lot's wife looking back.' Genesis xix. 26 in the LXX. is as follows : — Kal stts^Xb-^iv f] yuvr) avTov iig to, otiSoj.
(c) P. 417. — ' Tolle meum, et tolle Deum, as he said.' Qu. Bernard?
{d) P. 422. — ' Eabboni. ... It is a Syraic word.' See Robinson under Pa/3/3/ and Gesenius under ^"^ and 1^"! By Syriac, Sibbes means Hebrew, a common use
of the term by him and his contemporaries.
(e) P. 423. — ' As Austin saith, Non fi-ustra dicit anima, Deus salus tua.' Cf. Augustine, De Arlitrio, and in loc.
{/) P. 429. — 'For the word "touch," in the original, doth not signify merely,' &c. The verb is a-itroi, on which see Robinson, suh voce ; and on the passage, for excellent remarks, consult Webster and Wilkinson.
486 A HEAVENLY CONFERENCE.
(<7) P. 480. — ' As Augustine saitli well, Mille fidcm in coclum clteHgisti. As he said in tlic sacrament, Quid paras dentem et ventrem ? Crede el mandvcasli.^ For tlie first part of this reference see Com. or Horn, on Mat. ix. 21 ; for the latter, of. Tract 26 in Joan; e. g., 'Credere in Christum hoc est manducare vivum ; ' also in Joh. Evang. c. vi.
{h) P, 457. — 'It is an eternal relation, Dum percutis, pater es, dum castigas, pater es, saith Austin.' One of the often-recurriug apophthegms of the ' Confessions ' and Theology of this Father.
(i) P. 463. — ' " There is a world taken out of the world," as Austin saith.' Cf. remark under note /i. It is the ground of his entire doctrine of Predestination.
(j) P. 471. — ' As the Grecian calleth him ; they bo for all turns,' &c. See note eeee, Vol. 111. p. 636. G.
Kim DAVID'S EPITAPH.
KING DAVID'S EPITAPH.
NOTE.
'King David's Epitaph' appeared originally in 'The Beams of Divine Light' (4tu, 1639). The separate title-page is given below.* For general title-page, pee Vol. V. page 220. G-
*KIN G DAVID'S EPITAPH :
OR,
An Epitome of the life and death of King David.
In three Sermons.
By The late learned, and reverend Divine, Richard Sirs. Docto^ in Diviuitie, Master of Katherine-Hall in Cambridge ; and sometimes Prea- cher at Grayes-Inne.
Luke I. 74, 75. That we being delivered Jrom our enemies, might serve him in holinesse and righteousnesse before him, all the dayes of our lives.
2 Sam. 14. 14. For we must needs die, and are as water spilt upon the ground.
London,
Printed by E. P. for Nicholas Bourne
and Rapha Ilarford.
KING DAVID'S EPITAPH.
For David, after in his own generation he had served the counsel for will) of God, he fell asleep, and was laid to his fathers, and saw corruption. — Acts XIII. 36.
The words are part of a sermon of blessed St Paul, wherein he proves out of the Old Testament, Ps. xvi. 10, that David prophesied of Christ, and not of himself. David saw corruption, but he of whom David spake * saw no corruption,' therefore David was not the Messias. He. shews that the things there spoken do no way agree to David, but to the Messias, who saw no corruption. * For David, after he had served in his own genera- tion, fell asleep, and saw corruption.' In general, observe this :
One of the best ways to understand the Scriptures is to compare the Old Testament and the New together.
1. That which ivas spoken and foretold of Christ in the Old Testament, and fdfilled in the New, that must needs he true. Christ is the true Messias. Why ? It was foretold so of him in the Old Testament, and accomplished in the New. Therefore Christ is the true Messias, comparing the pro- phecy and the event together. For the Old and New Testament make up but this syllogism : he that should be so and so, as was prophesied, bom of a virgin, that should come at such a time, in the latter end of Daniel's weeks, &c., he is the true Messias. But Christ was such a one ; he was born of a virgin, came at such a time, he saw no corruption, for he rose the third day. Therefore Christ is the true Messias.