him that is able to receive meat Oh Death how acceptable is thy Judgment to the needy and to him whose strength faileth him c. The best and holiest men have dyed for Innocency it self is no Target against it otherwise Christ had not dyed in whose mouth was found no guile The stoutest and strongest cannot resist death Sampson himself must yield him the victory The wisest cannot preserve himself alive Solomon himself that had studied the nature of all Vegetables 1 King 4.33 from the Cedar in Lebanon to the Hyssop that grows upon the wall yet found out none that could cure the dint of Death contra vim mortis non est medicamen in hortis The worst of men also are subjected to his power those that would sell their Souls to save their lives cannot do it there is no power can resist it at one time it prevail'd against almost all the world as in the Flood against populous Cities as Sodom and Gomorrah c. against Potent Princes and great Armies as over Pharaoh and his Host Senacherib's Army where an hundred fourscore and. five thousand were slain in one Night thus good and bad pass through the same Gate but then their way soon turns the Godly to the right and the Wicked to the left hand the one to Heaven and the other to Hell for as death is an outlet to let us out of the World so 't is an inlet to let us in to Eternity to the Godly an inlet to Eternal Bliss and to the wicked into Eternal misery Then will a difference be made between the Good and the Bad as wide as between Heaven and Hell Death is a debt we owe to nature and pay it we must and t is not much matter whether it be sooner or later or whether we dye a natural or violent Death they both signifie the same thing should'st thou turn every stone and use all means direct or indirect thou canst not long preserve thy life possibly if thou deny payment of this debt when God requires it thou maist preserve it a little longer and but a little for God will ere long distrain for the Debt and then cast thee into an Eternal Prison Gods determinate counsel is upon thee and he knows eventually when thy death shall be he hath determined thy bounds that thou canst not pass God commanded Abraham to Sacrifice his Son and it was his Duty so to do and his sin if he refused though God determined eventually it should not be done yet if he had refused it he had miss'd of the Blessing Thy appointed time is with God but unknown to thee 't is his revealed will that is thy duty thou must look after not eventually what shall come to pass secret things belong to God Deu. 29.29 but things revealed unto us if God and his truth his Gospel and his cause call thee to lay down thy life and seal thy doctrine with thy blood thou must carry thy life in thy hand and lay it down at his feet If God command thee to lose thy life 't is thy duty to dye and if by denying Christ life be prolonged 't is a hard bargain and 't is no less thy sin though God eventually determined thy life to be prolonged There are many that hasten their death by their intemperance and sacrifice their lives to Bacchus and Venus to drunkenness and lust and so become a Victim to the Devil himself yet are not Gods decrees altered for though many hasten their death or use unlawful means to preserve their lives and so both the one and the other become Guilty yet Gods decrees are not altered If thou devote thy life to God and fully resolvest to lose it for his sake if he require it though he never call thee forth to suffer thou wilt not lose thy reward and if thou resolvest thou wilt part with Christ and kick up thy profession rather than suffer for him if he never put thee upon the trial God will take the will for the deed whether thou wilt or no dye thou must for death will not be bribed Crowns and Kingdoms will not prolong their owners lives thou maist say of death as Paul of preaching A necessity is laid upon me will I nill I dye I must if willing I have a reward if against my will I cannot help it death will not be corrupted with bribes won with promises nor terrified with threats When the time will be 't is not so much thy concern to know as thy duty to prepare for it thou maist lose thy self but canst not preserve thy life one day beyond the appointed time if thou deny God a temporal life he will deny thee eternal life I have read of one in persecuting times being called to suffer for the truth he had professed cryes out The fire is hot I cannot burn but within a short space he was burnt in his own house and we have cause to fear he finds the fire of Hell incomparably hotter than the flames he was burnt in which yet he could not evade Death triumphs over all ranks and Estates of men from the King upon his Throne to his meanest Subject Mors pauperum tabernas regumque turres aequo pulsat pede Death makes no difference ere long the grizly hand of Death will with a winding sheet cover those naked Breasts and spotted Faces which have been the Looking-glasses of lust And worms will ere long make their nest between those Breasts which are now exposed to sight and sale and eat out those wanton windows of love and messengers of lust death will then cool the courage of the stoutest hot-spur Crowns and Scepters are the spoils taken by this Conqueror as trophies of his victories Job 14.7 man that is born of a woman is of short life and full of trouble Inward corruption disposeth us to Death as well as open violence thy body is an earthen pitcher ready to break at every knock this earthly tabernacle must be repaired with food or Physick or both daily or it will soon fall about thy ears many are the harbingers of death many are the sensible decayes in nature which tell thee thy end is approaching the weakness of thy sight the dulness of thy hearing the rottenness of thy â—eeth the wrinkles in thy face and thy gray hairs mind thee that this crazy Pitcher will not long come home from the water unbroken The contrary Elements whereof thy body is compounded the disagreeing qualities within thee of cold and heat drought and moisture will at length quarrel for the upper hand and work the destruction of the compositum were there no external cause of thy dissolution these will effect what thy greatest enemy can but do though haply not so soon The fruit when 't is once ripe will fall if it be not gathered the Rose will wither if not pluckt the sturdiest Oak or Elm or Cedar will at length yield to time Methusalems glass will run out and these
ready to offer it up when God required it Acts 21.13 and was willing not only to be bound but to dye for Christ at Jerusalem the recompence of reward was in his eye the Crown of glory was in his sight which Christ the righteous Judge should give him at the last day Phil. 1.21 and his desire was that Christ might be magnified by him both by his life and by his death Thou canst contentedly endure pain for health and wilt thou not endure it for Christ and everlasting Happiness Wilt thou not endure some few gripes for glory Thou hadst thy life given thee upon this condition to part with it when God requires it thou art a Tenant at will and so at anothers dispose and if thou wilt surrender God will build thee up a more sumptuous house if thou wilt not he will distrain upon thee pluck down thy house shortly and cast thee into Prison Life it self was given on no other terms but to be at Gods dispose and think not that thou hast wrong Death is the common road wherein all men walk Kings and Emperours leave their Crowns and Scepters at his gate rich and poor great and small bond and free croud in at this door and travail this road if thou willingly resign thou maist make an advantage if not ere long thou wilt be constrained to do it upon harder terms and seeing a death thou must dye what matter is it what Messenger 't is that Death sends to distrain for this Rent whether an ordinary disease or an extraordinary Pursivant whether thou dye in thy bed or go to Heaven in a fiery Chariot and if so the Crown of Martyrdom will be thy Reward Death to the wicked is but an entrance into Hell the beginning of sorrowes yea of eternal death Rev. 20.6 but those that have a part in the first resurrection the second death of them shall have no power Oh my foul why art thou afraid of death seeing the sting is taken out and the nature of it changed let us view it a little better and see what the godly have thought of it and what the Scripture saith of it Isaiah tells thee Isa 57.1 2. The righteous are taken away from the evil to come to enter into peace and to rest in their beds and is Rest so terrible to the weary man Paul calls it a departing Phi. 1.23 and to be with Christ and is this so dangerous to lye in Christs bosom in eternal bliss Job makes no more of it than the cutting down of a flower Job 14.1 2. and is this a matter of such moment Simeon calls it a departing in peace Luk. 2.29 Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace Joshua calls it The way of all the earth Joshua 32.14 Behold saith he I am this day going the way of all the earth and wilt thou be afraid of going in this beaten road In Christs account 't is but a falling asleep Our friend Lazarus sleepeth the like was said of Stephen And when he had said this Act. 7.60 he fell asleep and who is afraid of falling asleep 'T is called also a finishing our course 2 Tim. 4.7 I have fought a good fight saith Paul I have finished my course And who would be afraid of his journeys end 'T is called a going hence O spare me Psal 39.13 saith David that I may recover strength before I go hence and be no more a going home Man goeth to his long home Eccle. 12.5 saith Solomon and what danger is in going home 't is but a resting from our labour saith the Spirit Rev. 14.13 There the wicked saith Job cease from troubling and the weary are at rest Job 3.17.18.12 there the Prisoners rest together they hear not the voice of the Oppressor the small and the great are there and the Servant is free from his Master And how sweet is rest to a weary man and doubtless death to the godly is the end of all misery and the beginning of Happiness O my God I am fully convinc'd and I see great reason why I should submit to thee and lay down my life at thy feet and I resolve through thine assisting grace so to do and to submit my self to the stroak of death when and how it shall please thee Lord assist me in these resolutions lest my enemy surprize me and my deceitful heart betray me and my frail flesh insnare me and make me dishonour my God deny my Redeemer break my Peace with thee wound my Conscience and lose my soul by any sinâ—â—l complyance or denying my Life when thou cal'st for it MEDITAT II. Death is common to Good and Bad. O My Soul why art thou yet afraid at the apprehension of death why dost thou draw back why dost thou frame excuses is death any strange or unwonted thing that thou hast not seen nor heard of before then there were some cause but is it not as common as 't is for a man to be born is it not the end of all flesh the way of all the world Omnibus una manet nox et calcanda semel via lethi is it not the common road that all men tread when they go out of the world young and old great and small rich and poor good and bad all throng in at this Gate and art thou loath to stoop so low Death sometimes strikes the child in the womb and sometimes the man that stoops for Age and art thou afraid of that which unborn Babes and crooked old age undergo Heb. 9 27. and that which is as sure as the coat upon thy back It is appointed unto all men once to dye and after Death the Judgement All men dye once and most men twice but the second Death is far more formidable Job 14.1 2 5. Man that is born of a woman is of a few dayes and full of trouble He cometh up like a flower and is cut down he fleeth also as a shadow and continueth not His dayes are determined the number of his Months are with God he hath appointed his Bounds that he cannot pass Job 14.14 and 10.9 'T is therefore thy Duty all the dayes of thy appointed time to wait till thy change come for he hath made thee as the Clay and will bring thee to Dust again 1 Tim. 6.7 Wis 7.16 Thou broughtest nothing into the world and 't is certain thou shalt carry nothing out all have one entrance into Life and a like going out Death makes a very great change so that wicked men have cause to fear it the Godly to desire it and all to expect it Life flies away suddenly and cannot be retained Death comes speedily and cannot be resisted O death Ecclus. 41.1.2 how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man that lives at rest in his possessions unto the man that hath nothing to vex him and hath prosperity in all things yea unto
of good Christians have suffered death under this pretence For a good work said the Jewes we stone thee not but for blasphemy This sect is every where spoken against And after the way which men call heresie saith the Apostle so worship I the God of my Fathers There 's none that persecute the Saints as Saints but as Offenders no man will put an innocent man to death under that notion the Devil hath taught them their lesson better than so Job is not punisht as a righteous man but a hypocrite that served God for gain and if God restrained his wages he would curse God to his face Daniel must be cast into the Lions den and the three children into the fiery furnace for breaking the Kings Laws and the Jews put all to death in Hamans time being against the Kings profit He that would kill a dog saith the proverb must say he was mad But these aspersions are not inconsistent with eternal salvation 'T is true thou art a great offender against God and so deservest death but thou art not like to suffer upon this account greater offenders escape safe but thy fault is that thou wilt not betray the Truth thou wilt not worship God according to mens Inventions thou wilt not bow down to their Idols who set up their Dagon by the Ark these things are most like to lay thee open to sufferings rather than Atheism debauchery or open prophaness But if it be thus thou art not the first innocent person that hath been oppressed in judgment neither art thou like to be the last Eccle. 7.15 't is no strange thing to see a righteous man perish in his righteousness but thy innocent blood if shed will like the blood of Abel cry from the earth for revenge and do them more hurâ— thau the stroak of death can do to thee and thy cause will be cal'd over again and tryed at another Barr and if maintaining the Truth and keeping a good conscience and standing close to thâ— cause of Christ be the cause of thâ— sufferings fear not thou shalt hereater be acquitted when thine enemies shall be condemned and Heresie then will be otherwise defined than now they do Oh my God I see death cannot hurt me my enemies cannot hinder my happiness if my own deceitful heart do not deceive me Lord leave me not to my self for then I shall miscarry Lord through thy strength I shall be strong and if thou leave I can do nothing Lord qualifie me fit for suffering and death and then command what thou wilt MEDITAT VIII The Miseries Death frees us from OH my Soul what saist thou yet wilt thou submit to God even to the death and leave it to Gods dispose what death thou shalt dye whether a natural death or a violent thou seest neither can hurt thee if thou be prepared either will undo thee if thou be not and therefore thou needst not to fear it nay it will do thee much good and therefore thou maist desire it with submission to thy Makers will thou maist sing with Paul that Swan-like song Cupio dissolvi I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ which is best of all There are three things especially which make thy life uncomfortable to thee and that is Sin Sorrow and Temptations and from those or either of those thou canst never be freed by any but death sin is the cause of misery and temptations the cause of sin while thou art in the world thou art under the tyranny of sin and while sin lives sorrow never dies for afflictions follow sin as the shadow doth the substance or the effect the cause and while there is a Devil in hell and thou be on earth thou canst never be free from his assaults 'T is true in the Creation the soul was made innocent and the body spotless but by the Devils instigations Man lost his integrity sinned against God and so lost his Image and in the room of Original righteousness stamped upon his soul he hath Original sin so that thy whole man soul and body is polluted and that in all the powers and faculties of the soul and the body is become the instrument to act the sâ—â—s the soul conceives thou broughtest a poysonful Nature with thee into the world which thou canst not be stript of while thou art in the world yea before thou couldst sin thou wast sinful and before thou couldst act reason thou wast guilty of Treason against thy God thou broughtest the spawn of all sin with thee as a Wolf brings his wolvish nature into the world or a Toad or Serpent a noxious quality though when young they cannot reduce it into act Corruption hath naturally a seat in the soul from within come murders adulteries c. It possesseth the noblest powers and faculties of it Now a Swine in the Garden is not seemly much less in the Parlour or the Bed-chamber it takes up its residence in the heart which is the room wherein Christ himself should lodge This original corruption with which thou art tainted is virtually every sin for it is the Spawn of it there is no sin acted but the seed of it lyes here and hence it is thou art so disposed to evil and so averse from good there is no sin so bad but thou hast an inclination to it if this seed be watered with a temptation if the restraining or Sanctifying grace of God prevent not and no duty so good but this sets thy heart against it the very Praising of God that Angelical duty is opposed by this original sin This sin of Nature this original corruption is universal and that makes it much worse universal in respect of Time even from the fall to the end of the world no day free from this sin some sin reigns most in some Ages this in every Age. Also in respect of Persons no meer man was ever free since the fall no son of Adam or daughter of Eve other sins some persons may be and are little infected with but this all stand infected with And in respect of Parts 't is universal also no power of the soul no member of the body free from it and 't is continual and perpetual without any Intermission thou canst not leave it behind in one duty 'T is said that some Serpents when they go to drink lay by their poyson as also when they go to generate This I know not but this I am sure of thou canst not lay aside thy sinful nature yea when thou makest thy Addresses to God himself thou mayst haply lay aside the acting of sin but not being sinful for couldst thou leave thy sin behind thee thou mightest have more sweet communion with thy God in one Duty than now thou canst have in all thy duties for 't is sin that stains all thy duties and makes them signifie little to thee and wert thou not in Christ God would hate them and throw them back into thy face with disdain 't is
in our eye Death looks more lovely If ever therefore you would dye Happily and Comfortably beware of letting out your affections upon the World for you will never be willing to leave what you love nor to pay so dear for Christ and Heaven till you affect them better 3 Direct If you would dye happily then redeeem your Time carefully make preparation for a dying time and take heed of losing time and spending it in vain he that would win the Race will set out with the first and hold on to the last and take all the advantages that are offered in the way he that hath much work to do and that of great concern must not lose the Morning or if he do must ply it hard the rest of the day You will find all your time that is allotted you little enough for the work you have to do and not an hour to spare to spend in idleness for delays and Idleness are the two Gulphs wherein many Souls are drown'd Many when they are young depending upon and trusting to their Youth their health and strength send Repentance thirty years before and 't is odds they never overtake it many young men go to Hell that thought to repent when they were old and many old men that thought they might have lived a little longer Many are resolved to spend their youthful dayes in the Devils service and then stop Gods mouth with the Blind and the Lame but he seldom takes up with a death-bed Repentance from those that purposely put him off to the last he usually reckons with such mispenders of time for the Talents he hath lent them and payes them off not with a Penny but a Prison for he expects what he hath given us to glorifie him should be that way improved upon this little inch of time Eternity doth depend our Everlasting well or ill being and therefore 't is too precious to be spent in vanity and folly and how then dare you spend a day an hour vainly in an Ale-house or other Vanity and not know whether you have another hour or day to live I have read of a Gentlewoman that usually spent her time in Cards and Dice and other unnecessary Recreations and coming from her Sport late in the night found her Maid reading for she was godly and casting her eye upon the Book reproved her thus Thou poor melancholy Soul what alwayes reading and spending thy time thus wilt thou take no comfort in thy life And so passing into her Chamber went to bed but could not sleep but sigh and groan her Maid lying in the room with her demanded the reason of it and whether she was well Fox Time and the End of Time p. 70. She replyed She had read the word Eternity in her Book which had so pierced her heart that she believed she should never sleep more till she had some better assurance of her Eternal condition And if this word Eternity were but well considered it might send our time-wasting Gallants trembling home from their Sports but God hath hid these things from their eyes There are more than those guilty though few more guilty there is many a man that is a good Husband for the World and careless in nothing but in matters relating to his Soul he can observe Times and Seasons for Plowing and Manuring of his ground Seed-time and Harvest shall not be neglected not the meanest Beast but shall be heeded his Garden Orchard c. shall be fenced pruned manured weeded and preserved his House well furnished and Provision prepared and yet his Soul altogether neglected and neither Food nor Raiment prepared for it for this life he is carefull that neither he nor his Posterity shall want and yet hath no care for the Life to come he can go from Fair to Market to prepare for the Body and matters not the Harvest Season or Market-day for the Soul The Mariners that observe the Wind and Tide yet neglect the sweet gales of the Spirit of God when they blow upon the Soul and would waft them Heavenward and help them forward to their Journeys end to the desired Port. The Devil by his diligence condemns us for where his work is Latimer 1 Pet. 5.8 there is he he is no Non-resident but alwayes in his Diocess He goes about like a roaring Lion seeking whom he may devour And shall we not be as vigilant to save our Souls as he to destroy them if he find us idle he will soon imploy us The heart of man is a Mill that will be alwayes grinding if not Gods Wheat then the Devils Tares If the Devil spend all his time to deceive us we should spend all our time to prevent him All the time we have is little enough and there is none to spare and what is past is irrecoverably gone though we could give a world of Treasure for an inch of time Now if you would redeem time beware of those great devourers of Time which usually steal away a great part such as vain and idle Thoughts how much of our time is this way consumed many an hour which might have been better spent viz. in the Contemplation of God of Christ of Heaven of Glory is spent in roving vain imaginations which bring no profit do no good and tend to no benefit Yea worldly thoughts and cares take up also a great part of our time 't is true the World must have some of our thoughts and time but most men make a bad division between God and it they let the World run away with his part as well as their own yea much of that Sacred time set a part for a better use yea many times amidst our Religious duties the heart is stole away by the World Idleness also consumes much many enter not into the Vineyard till the eleventh hour and then mind not their work but their Wages vain and unprofitable Discourse also is a Thief and steals away much of our time and many idle and unnecessary Visits also and when all this is deducted 't is no wonder there is but little left for our grand business to these may be added immoderate lying in Bed vain and time spending Dressings and Attirings the whole Mornings work to our Female Gallants immoderate and unnecessary Recreations which some make all the Calling they follow Drinking Tipling and what not but if these in this their idle expence of time should ask themselves this question Which of the Eternities lye before them and to which of them they are going it might spoil their sport for when Death hath struck his stroak the Soul is in a stated condition which Eternity it self cannot alter and seriously 't is one of the saddest sights in the World to a man apprehensive of the danger to see an unconverted man fetch his last breath and lanching forth into an infinite Ocean of boiling Lead and burning Brimstone for the avoiding of that take time while time serves and lose not that Prodigally
undauntedly this grace will assure a man that life and death will prove advantagious to him and that God and his departing soul are at peace and that the Covenant remains firm even in the Grave it self this makes a man look even beyond death it self and see the Crown of glory the recompence of reward before him and assures him death will do him more good than hurt that it will set an end to his misery and beginning to his happiness and that when death hath struck the stroak the Angels will carry the Soul into Abrahams bosom yea lodge it in the Arms of their dear Redeemer These apprehensions made Paul to desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ and the Martyrs to be so willing to dye and so chearfully to go to the stake Love to God also is another grace which much sweetens the very thoughts of death indeed this sweetens the sharpest passage of Providence when we think this is my Fathers will whom I love and who loves me and knows best what is for my good yea death it self shall be welcome when 't is a Messenger from him I love to fetch me home to his bosom what will not a loving Wife suffer to enjoy her beloved Husband love desires the strictest union and most intimate communion with the party beloved but this the Soul cannot obtain but by Death O saith the Soul now I lye under the hatches troubled with a thousand infirmities I can seldom have a glimpse of Christ here well the time is at hand that I shall see him face to face and enjoy him in glory where I shall serve him without distraction and never be troubled more with vain thoughts or roving imaginations or any of Satans temptations Oh when will this time be The other graces of the Spirit are also necessary to this end to sweeten death such as Knowledge Repentance Obedience Humility Self-denial Patience Hope c. of which I shall not speak particularly Now the Promises are made to these graces not only of this life but of that to come among the rest of the good things promised is Heaven and Happiness but what is a carnal man the better for these promises that is not qualified for them but when by Faith we can see this Crown of glory and see our Names written upon it and get a Pisgah-sight of this heavenly Canaan we shall willingly venture over this Jordan and encounter all the Sons of Anak we meet in our way and not fear what Man what Devils what Death can do unto us get these Graces in exercise and you need not fear Fire and Faggot 10 Direction That you may thus empty the heart of sin and wickedness and replenish it with Grace and godliness that so you may be fit to live and fit to dye and fit to live with Christ-for ever 't is fit and necessary you take Gods way for it cannot be done by your own strength Improve therefore all the means which God hath afforded you for this end for those that refuse the means seldom attain the end Improve his Word and Ordinances these are the appointed means however some scorn at them and some think they are above them but those that go not this way seldom come to Heaven In the Word are given Rules how to live and how to dye and how to behave ourselves in all Conditions here is Oyl to be had and those that neglect will be to seek when the Bridegroom comes Those that now neglect the Wedding-garment will want it when they have occasion to use it and so be thrust out of the Bride-chamber This Word of God should be our daily study for here are directions both for life and death and none but those that are bad Husbands for the soul will neglect it here are the precious Promises which are our Fathers Legacy out of which the Soul by Faith sucks sweetness which are special Cordials against fainting fits which bear up the head above water and the heart in all storms and tempests here is direction in Heavens way yea way-marks set up that we should not erre nor wander here you may find what qualifications God requires in his servants and what Evidences for Heaven are good and authentick and what God will own another day and if by the help of the Spirit you can read them in your own hearts as in a counter pane there is no better Evidence for Heaven no greater Cordial in the world to bear up the heart here you may find comforts and consolatious in all your conditions and if you walk in this road you will meet with much help and assistance yea many companions in your Journey here you have the Spirit of God both to direct and comfort you and who can erre that hath such a guide or droop that hath such a comforter here you shall hear a voice behind you saying this is the way walk in it turn not to the right hand or to the left here you have the assistance of Gods Ministers to direct you but take heed of quenching the motions of his Spirit or abusing his Messengers lest his Spirit leave striving with you and God take away his Messengers in his anger here you may find many that have walked the same way met with the same troubles suffered the same afflictions temptations crosses and losses as you do and yet have born it with patience and overcome it with constancy and comfort here you may know the worst that death can do to you is for your advantage if you love God for such death cannot hurt kill you it may hurt you it cannot the worst it can do is but to send you to your Fathers house the sooner Meditate therefore upon this Word of God and also upon the Attributes of God and this must needs support you under sufferings Meditate also upon mans Mortality to quicken you in your pace of the Worlds vanity and emptiness to make you slight it and the fulness of Christ to make you to desire him The Meditation of death will not make you dye sooner but safer and the Promises will yield sweetness even in the pangs of death for death is to the godly but as a Pursivant to fetch them to Heaven and his wisdom power holiness justice goodness and truth are Cordials also and will help to keep the heart from fainting and desponding and will shield the Spirits against all crosses and afflictions they shall meet with and by Meditation in the Word you may learn the happiness of the godly and the miseries of the wicked and what will be the end of both yea you may find there what are the pains of Hell and the Joyes of Heaven and these may be used as motives to a holy life Prayer also is an excellent duty to prepare for death by this God is engaged to help at a time of need Christian Conference also is another help wherein one fire-stick helps to inkindle another till all come into a
flame Now those that are constant and faithful in these and the rest of the Ordinances and means God hath appointed to this end are likelyest to have the qualifications before mentioned and those thus qualified need not fear death those that walk evenly with God in Prosperity are most like to hold out in Adversity Heb. 2.14 and need not fear death nor him that hath the power of death the Devil The more faithful and constant any one is in the Trade of Godliness the more Assurance he may have of a happy death and joyful Resurrection and what hinders then but a chearful resigning our selves to death when God calls a man will not willingly resign up his old Lease till he have assurance of a better but who will not leave a Cottage for a Palace or exchange an old Suit for a new Rags for Robes when assurance of Heaven is got no wonder if earth be contemned for who will not change a Temporal Life for Life Eternal And thus Courteous Reader if thou art prepared I have spoken to thee in the Book if not in the Epistle wherein I have given thee some direction how thou maist be prepared and how thou maist come to be fit to live and fit to dye and fit to lye in the Arms of Christ for ever What effect the Book will have upon the one or the Directions on the other I know not but my desire is and my Prayer shall be that it may be beneficial both to the one and to the other This will be your own advantage but the comfort of him who subscribes himself Yours for your Souls good Edward Bury Eaton Octob. 23. 1680. Books printed for and sold by Thomas Parkhurst at the Bible and Three Crowns at the lower end of Cheap-side near Mercers Chappel SErmons on the whole Epistle of Saint Paul to the Collossians by Mr. J. Daille translated into English by F. S. An Exposition of Christs Temptation on Matth. 4. and Peters Sermons to Cornelius and circumspect walking by Tho. Taylor D. D. A practical Exposition on the third Chapter of the first Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians with the Godly mans choice on Psal 4. vers 6 7. by Anthony Bargess Christianographia or a description of the multitudes and sundry sorts of Christians in the world not subject to the Pope by Eph. Pagit Dr. Donns 40 Sermons being his 3 Volumes Forty six Sermons upon the whole Eighth Chapter of the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Romans by Tho. Horton D. D. late Minister of St. Hellens An Analytical Exposition of Genesis and of 23 Chapters of Exodus by George Hughes D. D. The Door of Salvation opened by the Key of Regeneration by George Swinnock M. A. An Exposition on the five first Chapters of Ezekiel with useful Observations thereupon by William Greenhill Gods holy Mind touching matters Moral which he uttered in ten Commandments Also an Exposition on the Lords Prayer by Edward Eston B. D. The Fiery Jesuit or an Historical Collection of the rise encrease doctrines and deeds of the Jesuits Horologiographia optica Dyaling universal and particular speculative and practical together with a description of the Court of Arts by a new Method by Sylvanus Morgan A seasonable Apology for Religion by Matthew Pool Separation no Schism in Answer to a Sermon preached before the Lord Maior by J. S. An Exercitation on a question in Divinity and Case of Conscience viz. Whether it be lawful for any person to act contrary to the opinion of his own conscience formed from arguments that to him appear very probable though not necessary or demonstrative The Creatures goodness as they came out of Gods hand and the good mans mercy to the bruit-Creatures in two Sermons by Tho. Hodges B. D. Certain considerations tending to promote Peace and Unity amongst Protestants Mediocria or the most plain and natural apprehensions which the Scripture offers concerning the great Doctrines of the Christian Religion of Election Redemption the Covenant the Law and Gospel and Perfection A Soveraign Antidote AGAINST THE FEAR of DEATH OR A Cordial for a Dying Christian being Ten Meditations suited to that End MEDITAT I. What Death is to a Believer and to an Vnbeliever WHY art thou cast down Psal 42.11 O my Soul and why art thou disquieted within me hope thou in God I shall yet praise him who is the health of my countenance and my God What is it that thus amazeth and terrifieth thee Why art thou so distracted in thy duties and so full of anxious fears and doubts is it the apprehension of death that so disquiets thee Why man didst thou never look Death in the face till now didst never behold his grisly looks and grim face yea thou hast many a time and art thou yet afraid is this the fruit of all thy prayers and thy mortifying Meditations hast not thou instructed many Job 13.4 c. and strengthned the weak hands thy words have upholden him that was falling and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees but now it is come upon thee dost thou faint and when it toucheth thee art thou troubled Is a disease now more terrible than formerly Or the apprehensions of death than in times past or is it bad News that terrifies thee and makes thee afraid Some Papist plotting to take away thy life Psal 112.7 among others the Psalmist tells thee he shall not be afraid of evil tidings whose heart is fixed trusting in the Lord. Suppose they seek thy life and thirst after thy blood hast thou no hiding place no City of refuge to fly to till the storm be over Hast thou no interest in God no Friend in the Court to make thy complaint to Prov. 14.32 No comfort in time of need But dye thou must well yet the righteous hath hope in his death and doth thy hope and thy happiness then expire with thy life Come let us reason the case and see if there be so much cause of desponding as thou pretendest Art thou from under the protecting hand of God Ps 59.1 Or is his hand shortned that he cannot save Isa 50. or his ear heavy that he cannot hear Where is the bill of divorce that he hath given thee Or hath the Lord put thy life into thine own hands and dost thou think it will be wrested out by violence Art thou thine own keeper and dost mistrust thy strength Or is thy life put into thy Enemies hand and by whom Or can they take it away without a Commission God usually keeps the Keyes of Life and Death at his own girdle Or if thy Life be gone is thy Happiness at an end if not what need all this consternation this is more than thy Enemies can do without leave and if they could what a great matter is it for a man an Old man to dye but 't is him whom thou callest thy Father Numb 16.22 that can kill and make alive and brings to the
gates of death and back again 't is he that is the God of the Spirits of all flesh are not thy Enemies also at his dispose and their lives are they not in his hands Who was it that turned the counsel of Achitophel into foolishness Exod. 14.28 Esth 7.10 and drowned Pharaoh and his Army in the Sea and caused Haman to be hanged upon the Gallows he had made for another and can take his Enemies in their own snares and the crafty in their own devices And is not this God in Heaven yet and doth he not rule among the children of men and dispose the Kingdoms of the world to whom he pleaseth and wilt thou fear man whose breath is in his nostrils and the son of man that is vanity and cannot he deliver thee out of their hands if he see it good and will do if he have more work for thee to do and if not why shouldst thou desire to live longer and if they must be the messengers which thy Father sends to fetch thee home what hurt is in that what wrong is done thee Heb. 9.27 If thy trouble be that thou must dye it may be as well that thou wast made a man for it is appointed unto man once to dye and after death the Judgment And if thou wouldst not have God to have the dispose of thy life why dost thou not speak out and renounce thy Christianity Lu. 14.26 Was it not one of the first Conditions Christ required of thee when he first admitted thee into his service If any man saith he come unto me and hate not his Father and Mother and Wife and Children and Brethren and Sisters Mat. 16.25 yea and his own Life also he cannot be my disciple And doth he not plainly tell thee he that will save his life shall lose it and he that will lose his life for his sake shall find it Is not this the lowest degree of true grace and a necessary qualification without which thou canst not be his Disciple he told thee this at the beginning he doth not impose upon thee and put new Conditions into the Covenant that were not agreed upon Joh. 16.33 Heaven was never offered upon lower tearms he always told thee that through many tribulations thou must enter into it and if the World hate thee and the seed of the Serpent persecute thee 't is no new thing thou knewest it before and if thou tookest up the profession of Religion and not reckon the Charges 't is not Gods fault but thy folly Christ never indented with thee to leave it at thy dispose when and how thou shouldst dye if thou refuse to dye in the Cause of God if he require it the Heathens will condemn thee who would venture their Lives for their Countrys good and many times upon lower accounts as to end their Miseries to prevent a worse death or to get themselves a Name and hast not thou a better call than any of those when Christ and his Cause require it Many of the Gallants of our time that 't is feared are not very well provided for Death yet will venture their Lives in a drunken Fray in a Whores quarrel or to prevent the name of Coward but if they well understood the consequents of their death they would be more timerous and wilt thou shrink back in the cause of Christ when his Truth and thy own Soul ly at the stake when thou canst not deny to dye but thou must deny Christ and his Truth and hazard the Salvation of thy Soul Dye thou must whether thou wilt or no and there is no thanks to thee Heb. 9.27 there is a Decree pass'd in Heaven which cannot be reversed more firm than the Laws of the Medes and Persians and wilt thou lose thy God thy Christ thy Soul thy Heaven and Happiness and all to prolong thy life a little longer which yet thou knowest not whether thou canst do it or not If thou dye for Christ thou puttest off thy life at the greatest advantage imaginable and if thou refuse when he requires it thou runnest thy self upon the most desperate danger conceivable Thou think'st perhaps the condition is hard and so it is if thou only consult Flesh and Blood and the Sensitive faculty but if thou consult with Grace and rectified Reason thou wilt find it much easier than at first it seems There is greater reason God should dispose of thy Life who gave it thee than that thou shouldst dispose of the lives of Bruits that thou didst not canst not give them and yet thou thinkest thou dost them no wrong but God hath a better interest in thee and a clearer title to thy life than thou hast to them Life indeed is a precious Jewel and to be valued above all earthly enjoyments but Christ and the Soul are more precious than Life it self and when Life cannot be had but Christ must be denyed and the Soul lost 't is easie to determine what is to be preferred for he that will preserve his Life at these rates makes a bad bargain 'T is thy duty 't is true to part with any earthly enjoyments for lifes sake Job 2.7 Skin for skin and all that a man hath will he give for his life but Life and all must go to secure the Soul Death 't is true is an enemy to Nature yet in some cases it must be chosen and we must deny our selves Hunger and Thirst are natural to us and the Appetite requires Meat and Drink and yet did we know there was Poyson put into our Cup or Dish reason would restrain the Appetite and rather choose Hunger or Thirst than a worser evil Physick is not pleasing neither to be chosen for its own sake yet for healths sake we take bitter Pills and unsavoury potions Pain is not pleasant to the flesh but an enemy to Sense yet Reason perswades us sometimes to open a Vein to prevent greater pain and to cut off a Joynt a Member a Limb to prevent greater mischief Some discontented persons weary of a miserable life not only wish for death but lay violent hands upon themselves choosing Death as the lesser evil these leap out of the Frying-pan into the fire and consider not what the Event of such a death is these have low ends and drive on a bad bargain and seeking to avoid Scylla they fall into Charybdis Job 3.21 22. these obey not Gods Call but the Devils Whistle There are some that long for death but it cometh not and dig for it more than for hid treasure they rejoyce exceedingly and are glad when they can find the grave This is unnatural joy for as 't is our duty to yield up our breath when he that gave it calls for it so 't is our duty to preserve our Lives and our sin to hasten our death before he requires it We must not leave our station till our Captain commands it we must not leave the Vineyard when
as it did Corah Dathan and Abiram Or whatsoever other judgments have befaln the Enemies of God may be thy portion for Apostacy is a most dangerous sin some creature or other may well distrain of thee in Gods name when thou denyest the debt Hadst thou been the first that ever tasted of death as Abel was thou mightest have been afraid had never any before thee entred into deaths darksome Cell or gone through that dark and narrow entry it were something but when ten thousand times ten thousand have gone before thee what need this fear and seeing will we nill we all of us must dance after deaths pipe why wilt thou not do it willingly God loves a chearful giver he loves a free-will Offering and loves not grumbling Servants millions of the Saints are now in Heaven that have travailed this road yet none of them repent they came there too soon Many of them have been taken out of the world by the hand of violence and now have the crown of Martyrdome upon their heads Rev. 12.11 they loved not their lives to the death and now have received a crown of life and if thou be faithful to the death this will be thy reward when thou comest to thy Juorneys end thou wilt be among the souls of just men made perfect singing Halelujahs to God for ever and for ever then wilt thou bid adieu to a vain miserable cheating and deceitful world But haply thou maist say Here I am acquainted but there I am a stranger and what comfort can I have in the removing Art thou a stranger the more shame for thee other Saints were strangers and pilgrims in this world and made hast home into their own country if thou hadst been well acquainted with the Word thou wouldst have seen the vanity and emptiness of all earthly felicity and that there was nothing in the world worth thy love and hadst thou had thy conversation in Heaven as thou hast pretended thou wouldst not have been such a stranger there as thou seemest to be But stay hast thou not many friends and relations there is not almighty God there whom thou callest Father and art thou a stranger in thy Fathers house hast had no communion no trading with him in his Ordinances what is then become of all thy prayers and other duties are those all lost 't is true thou never fawest his face neither canst see it and live but hast not seen him in his Word in his Ordinances in his promises threatnings providences and Attributes Blessed is he that hath not seen Gal. 4.26 and yet believeth and is not Jerusalem that is above the mother of as all and is not the Lord Jesus Christ him whom thou callest thy Lord and thy God and thy Husband and thy elder Brother yea thy Head and is a loving wife a stranger to her beloved husband and is not the Holy Ghost there from whom thou hast received such sweet consolations in thy sinking fits and are not the holy Angels there beholding thy Fathers face in glory who are now thy guardians that rejoyced at thy conversion and will rejoyce at thy Coronation 'T is true thou seest them not thou knowest them not they are invisible but they see and know thee and then thou wilt be able to see and know them for they shall be thy constant companions and thy fellow brethren And are there not millions of glorified Saints which are thy Spiritual kindred fellow members of Christs body yea brethren in Christ yea are there not some that thou knewest in the dayes of their flesh whose company thou so much desiredst and whose death thou so much lamentedst nay are there not some that were related to thee in the flesh gone before thee of whom thou hast comfortable hopes that they are with the Lord and will not their company be now as comfortable as it was on earth yea thou wilt know more there than ever thou didst here for I question not but the Saints shall know each other for shall we sit with Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven and not know them All the Patriarchs the Prophets the Apostles Martyrs and glorified Saints are here and is not thine Inheritance thy Crown thy Mansion-house here and art thou yet a stranger is not this thy countrey which thou pretendest to be seeking and all this while art thou a stranger to it yea dost not live upon heavenly allowance and hast thy meat and thy drink and thy cloathes for thy soul from hence Or is it death that thou art a stranger to why didst thou not know that thou wast mortal why then didst not acquaint thy self with death thou knewest all must dye why didst not consider of it and among the rest of thy own death didst not believe God when he said Dust thou art and unto dust thou shalt return Heb. 9.27 or when he saith 'T is appointed unto all men once to dye and after death the judgment and when he told thee that all flesh is grass and the flower thereof as the flower of the field But if thou hadst not believed God couldst not believe thy own eyes and ears dost not dayly see younger and stronger than thee go before thee dost not hear of many round about thee strucken by death many suddenly many by a violent death and many by diseases Dost not remember a hundred thousand slain in London in one year two or three hundred thousand in Ireland in a few weeks bloodily Massacred hast thou not many Lectures of mortality read to thee many Monitors of mortality within thee doth not the dimness of thy eyes mind thee the very Spectacles thou lookest through tell thee of the decayes in Nature and canst expect greater warning or hast any more considerable work to do than to provide for death and is death yet a stranger hast thou not visited many a sick bed and been with many a departing soul and received their last breath into thy bosom and yet hast not sufficient warning God never ingaged to give thee so much thou art his listed souldier and hast taken press-money and thou art ingaged to be in a continual readiness yet God hath given thee many a particular warning to prepare for death thou hast many a time look't death in the face and God hath often pluckt thee by the shoulders and shewed thee grim death before thee and thou hast several times received the sentence of death within thee and God hath in effect said to thee Set thy house in order for thou must dye nay not only so but God hath imployed thee to warn others yet he hath forborn thee above sixty years and every year given thee many warnings and what wouldst thou have more and yet art unacquainted with thy main work What if he had taken thee hence thirty or forty years ago as he did many that were companions with thee in vanity what had been thy condition that yet pretendest thou art not
hast as much Grace as thou desirest why then dost pray for an increase and usest means to strengthen it Why Death will bring thee to perfection canst thou content thy self with a low frame of Spirit and a small measure of Grace why dost thou theâ— complain that thou canst not serve God with greater freedom and that thy duties are performed so deadly dully and drowsily and with so much distraction and yet art content with them as they are and longest not for the time when thou shalt serve him without distraction and never have wandring thought more thou complainest that thou feedest upon the husks of duty and findest not God in the duty and yet art willing to rest in this condition and longest not for the time when thou shalt solace thy self in his love serve him according to his will and enjoy him for ever dost thou do God as good service as thou desirest and doth he reward thee here according to thy content art thou fully satisfied and dost expect no more at his hands art thou satisfied for all thy duties losses crosses and afflictions if so why hast thou put up so many vain petitions wherein thou beggedst for greater matters nay what matter had it been if thou hadst never put up any petition for such a portion is given to those that never care to Pray Hear Read or do any Religious Duty but if thou expect a better reward why then art thou afraid of death which puts thee into the possession of it Why art thou afraid of having thy prayers answered and thy requests granted and a reward given thee an hundred fold if thou pressest after perfection why art thou afraid of it when it cannot be obtained on this side Death wouldst not have thy prayers granted death will conduct thee where it shall be done but it is in vain to expect it on this side Heaven art thou afraid of being called out of the Vineyard to receive thy wages and wilt rather lose thy labour than go home for thy pay hast so eagerly pursued after happiness and when thou comest within sight of it doth thy heart fall thee or wouldst thou find happiness where no man ever did or dost expect it to be sown in the furrows of thy field art thou searching for Honey in a Wasps nest None of these things can be had in this world they are reserved for Heaven sin will not dye till thou dyest nor leave thee till body and Soul are separated serve God thou canst not till thou come to Heaven without distraction thy graces will be imperfect thy knowledge weak thy love cold thy obedience imperfect and all thy Graces maimed and thy corruptions will be strong 1 Cor. 15.54 Lev. 14.44 till this corruptible hath put on incorruption and thi mortal hath put on immortality and these natural bodies become spiritual and then deathshall be swallowed up of Victory Sin in thee here is like a Leprosie in the House it will not be cleansed till the house be pull'd down it is in thy very nature and sticks as close as the skin to thy flesh yea as the flesh to thy bones and more close these may be separated but so cannot sin while we live till Death make the division this polluteth the heart which is the fountain and hence the streams are filthy for like corruption it lyes within and will break out in some botch or other the very heart and conscience the affections actions life and conversation are polluted so that thou maist say with the Leapers Vnclean Vnclean and thus it will be while thou art in the world and there is no other way to cleanse thee or make thee whole but passing under the stroak of Death this lances the Ulcer and heals the Sore and while sin goes before misery follows for this follows sin as the Shadow the Substance or the effect the cause and the same hand that cures the one heals the other also for in Heaven sin and sorrow shall be no more yea sorrow and sighing shall flee way and there shall be no more pain abut till we are rid of sin we shall never be rid of sorrow the natural effect of it Nil valet medicamentum dum ferrum in vulnere thou maist as well expect fire without heat or water without moisture or a stone without weight as sin without sorrow here thou maist expect to lie under an afflicted condition while thou livest and the holier thou art the worse entertainment thou art like to meet with in the world it will love her own but hate the godly as it hated Christ 't is a Step-mother to them but an own mother to the wicked these she nourishes but would starve the other if the their Father did not look to them It is by reason of sin that our lives are so bitter and we live inter suspiria lachrymas between sighs and groans here thou livest alwaies under the hatches 2 Cor. 12.7 and alwaies hast some thorn in the flesh some messenger of Satan sent to buffet thee and being amidst these storms and tempests driven from side to side and alwaies in danger canst thou fear a safe harbour when thou art weary canst thou be afraid of rest or being hungry or thirsty art afraid of meat and drink all manner of miseries attend us here in this vale of tears and whatsoever outward misery a wicked man suffers a child of God may suffer the like Eccle. 9.2 all things fall alike to all as to the good so to the bad and is not that Physician welcome that will free us from all these we pay our Physician if he heals us of one distemper our Surgeon if he cure one wound but death deserves more that cures us of all that is called evil here thou livest in the midst of thy enemies they are both within and without some seek thy estate others thy good name some thy liberty and some thy life and others thy soul and these lay snares accordingly to take their prey and dost thou choose to live in such a Neighbourhood thy very sences are the floodgates to let in sin thou canst scarcely open thy eyes or ears or any other sence but some bewitching object or other presents it self and the Devil baits his hooks with it to Angle for thy soul one vanity or other comes in at these windows either to provoke pride or covetousness or passion or luxury or some vice or other that lodges in the heart these are the five Cinque-Ports and here the Devil many times sails in with the Tide Jer. 17.9 And thy heart is deceitful also and desperately wicked and ready to betray thee into thine enemies hands thy very Relations many times prove a snare and either draw away thy affections inordinately to them or incline thee more to accept of life upon unlawful terms This was Spira's ruine thy Children and Servants many times prove thy trouble either beholding them under Sufferings or fearing
of France in Hungary Germany Savoy Piedmont England Scotland and especially of Ireland where two or three hundred thousand have perished in a sew weeks for since the fiery Jesuits became an Order having their Name rather from Judas than Jefus the Christian world hath been in a flame yea the poor Indians have tasted of their cruelty wherever they set their foot like Saul they make havock of the Church and many hundred thousands have been cut off by their bloody hands and all along thou maist trace the Church in blood and tears and dost thou think much to be one of those that shall cry Rev. 6.19 How long Lord holy and true before thou avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial 1 Pet. 4.12 as if some strange thing happened to thee for this is no temptation but what is common to man When such great Commanders and old Souldiers lead thee the way thou needest not be ashamed or afraid to follow them dost think to escape drowning in a common deluge The Apostle was sure of nothing but of bonds and imprisonment and was ready not only to be bound but to dye for Christ If thou go to suffering thou treadest not in an untrodden path for the Captain of thy salvation was made perfect by suffering A few daies and thou wilt be even with the greatest Kings and Emperours Job 21.23 For death is a perfect Leveller and if dye thou must as well as others dispute not the case with God what death it must be or who is fittest to determine it In one of these late years death slew an hundred thousand in our chief City and two or some say three hundred thousand more by the hand of cruelty in one Kingdom in Ireland and sometimes many thousands in one battel A death thou owest and a death thou must pay and whether in thy Bed or on a Tree or at the Stake if thy cause be good 't is not much matter whether thy life be ended by the course of nature or by violent hands whether thy lamp be burnt out or put out whether the Rose be gathered or withered if the latter even so Father for so it seemed good to thee Death is an enemy that cannot be resisted the only way to conquer it is to fall under it so Christ our chief Captain did we shall never conquer till we be overcome and never be victors till we are conquered and then both death and the fear of death and and he that hath the power of death the Devil shall be subdued for when he hath separated the soul from the body he hath done his worst and spit his venom and like a Ree that hath lost his sting can do no more mischief and then thy Conquest is fully obtained and the last enemy is subdued for then death and bell shall be cast into the lake of fiâ—e yea there shall be no more death thou shalt then be for ever freed from the dread and danger of it death pricks that ulcer that would never be cured while thou livest when Corn is ripe and cut 't is fit for use the conquest of death is made easie by the death of Christ that now Believers may triumphantly sing O death where is thy sting 1 Cor. 15.55 56. O grave where is thy victory the sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the Law but thanks be to God who hath given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ It cannot now sting thee but strike thee and the very wound it gives is the way to heal thee it seals up thy salvation to thee and makes it sure out of a possibility to lose it seals up wicked mens damnation and puts them into an irrecoverable condition Christ which was made a Curse for us hath taken away the curse of death and by hanging on a tree which was threatned as a curse Gal. 3.13 he hath sanctified that death also to Believers who suffer for him and for the testimony of a good conscience and their condition is also happy for they rest from their labours and their works follow them All Saints dye but all are not Martyrs all have crowns but not all the crown of Martyrdom but only those that love not their lives to the death all shall have white robes Rev. 7.11 c. but these shall have long white robes and palms in their hands and shall follow the Lamb whithersoever he goes If thou canst get the qualifications fit for a dying man thou needest not fear death nor the manner of it to such deaths black Vizor is taken off and there are few wrinkles seen in his forehead thy death is decreed and the manner of it and though thou knowest not what eventually will happen yet observe what is Gods will of command and so thou wilt know what is thy duty secret things belong to God but things revealed to us thou hast no promise to be freed from the Prison the Stake the Sword or the Halter and promise not thy self greater freedom than God hath promised he hath promised indeed all shall work together for thy good and this promise is sufficient for why shouldest thou desire freedom if it be not good for thee he hath promised that if thou art faithful to the death Rev. 2.10 thou shalt have a Crown of life that he will never leave thee nor forsake thee and that the Gates of Hell shall never prevail against thee And these promises he will assuredly keep if thou break not with him There is no death which a malefactor may dye but it may be a Believers lot and then why not thine God hath accounted thee worthy to preach the Gospel and to dispense the Mystery thereof and if he account thee worthy also to suffer for him and to seal thy doctrine with thy blood it is a double honour yea such as the Apostles gloried in for to dye for the Truth if cal'd to it is both a Duty and a Dignity if thou suffer with him you will be glorified together Pass on therefore out of this Egypt out of this house of bondage couragiously though through the red Sea yea a sea of blood to this heavenly Canaan yea though thy way lye through a wilderness of troubles for thine Inheritance will make thee amends murmur not for thou shalt have no cause to repent there is enough in God to give thee content and to pay thee for thy pains if thou think there is not stir not a step further if there be never faint in the way never leave Heavens road for a piece of foul way or for the Cross that lyes in it go on towards Heaven yea though thy way lye by the gates of Hell nay thorow the very flames of it much more though it lye thorow the pangs of death haply thou maist be burnt for an Heretick this is no new thing hundreds of thousands
thy sin that makes thee take so much pains in duty to keep thy heart to God this hides his face from thee that thou canst scarce have a glimpse of him in an Ordinance this is the Root upon which all other sins grow the Spring that feeds all the streams of vice and hence they issue and this is it upon which the Devil fastens all his temptations the want of this made the Devil successeless in his tempting of Christ his fire fell upon wet Tinder and this is the misery of it this sin never dyes for age but the longer we live the stronger it grows some sins are in a decaying condition as to the Act when age disables an Adulterer and some others but this decayes not yea and we propagate it also to our Posterity our children receive it from us and so it will be propagated from one generation to another to the worlds end Oh the horrid nature of this sin 't is the Image of Satan which he stampt upon us when the image of God was lost and this cannot be rased out but by death here thou art troubled with a hard heart a stubborn will disordered affections unruly passions vain thoughts idle imaginations which thou canst not shake off more than thy very Nature this makes thee so unlike to God so like to Satan whose Image thou bearest and whose work thou doest this makes thy duties stink in the nostrils of God and thy whole man Soul and Body out of order this hinders thy communion with thy God and makes him a stranger to thee it makes thee act as an enemy to him and him to thee and thy iniquity hides his face from thee These are the Anakims that terrifie thee these are the sons of Zerviah that are too hard for thee these are the Caananites which are thorns in thine eyes and pricks in thy sides these sins of thine are the cause of all thy trouble thou hadst never had aking head or aking heart or loss or cross or any thing to trouble thee had it not been for sin but from these thou canst not be freed one moment no Prayer no Duty no Action but savours of them this thou art sensible of this burden thou groanest under and lookst upon sin as thy greatest enemy and well thou maist for nothing could hurt thee but for this this it is that makes the soul vulnerable which otherwise man nor Devil could not hurt this thou hast preached against spoke against prayed against thou hast railed upon it and called it all that naught is well now let us see whether thou wast in Earnest or in Jest whether all this was in sincerity or hypocrisie death comes now to free thee from this bondage ease thee of this burden and brings a potion to cure thee when all other Doctors have left thee and can do no good he will bring thee where sin and sorrow shall be no more for into heaven they shall never enter art thou willing of the seperation to give sin a bill of divorce and put it away wilt thou shake hands with it and bid it adieu for ever this potion will purge the soul from all the reliques of this distemper and cleanse the heart which is the fountain of all thy actions and make all the streams thence proceeding run clear and fetch away all those gross humours of sin that filthy lump that lyes upon thy heart and presseth it down and lyes as a clog upon it it will cast out all those unclean Spirits and cleanse those Augean Stables from all pollution this is the only Physitian in the world that can do it and God the great Physician of Souls hath approved of his Recipts and sent him to thee upon this errant to heal thee of the wounds of sin and to restore thee to thy primitive purity wherein thou wast created what saist thou wil't give him entertainment or no The Devil and the damned would take a potion a thousand times bitterer upon the like condition help thou canst not have till thou art purged nor to Heaven thou canst not go for no unclean thing shall ever enter there purged thou canst not be without death for then Christ will wash thee clean with his own blood and sprinkle thee with clean water and present thee to his Father without spot or wrinkle or any such defiling or deforming thing and cure thee of all thy soul distempers and bodily infirmities which shall never more seize upon thee he will say to sin and sorrow as unto the unclean spirit Go out of him Mar. 9.25 and enter no more into him These sins be they that keep thee under the hatches that thou canst not serve God without distractions but death will unpinion thy wings and let thy soul at liberty and then thou shalt never be troubled with vain thoughts or imaginations more thou shalt never speak vain word more or do any sinful action more what wouldst thou give for thy freedom from sin for one month or one year and what now wilt thou give for a perpetual freedom what dost thou yet hang back and art not willing to suffer one hours pain for it is this thy Love to God which thou hast professed that when thou art put to thy choice thou choosest sin before him is this thy hatred of sin that now thou art loth to leave it when it comes to the trial is this the fruits of thy prayer preaching and profession Art thou now at a stand whether to deny thy God or thy Sin and art inclined to choose sin rather than God and hadst rather be present with sin and absent from God and hadst rather live in the suburbs of Hell than dye and come to Heaven and hadst rather enjoy sin for ever than God for ever for till death hath passed over thee thou canst not be free from sin neither canst thou enjoy Happiness for Sin was born with thee and will dye with thee it hath an indwelling in the soul Psal 51.5 thou wast shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin 'T is as natural to thee as to live 't is thy very nature 't is thy very self thou maist as well shake off Nature yea shake off self as shake off sin it sticks closer than the skin to thy back or the flesh to thy bones these may be separated but sin cannot till the great separation between the body and soul and then the same stroak that lets out thy life will let out thy sin and all thy misery which is the consequents of sin this hath caused thee many a sigh and sob and sorrowful hour and many a prayer many an affliction and many a lash of his rod and hindred thee many an hours Communion with thy God it hath spoiled thee many a duty and made thy life a very burthen it hath broke thy peace many a time with God and wounded thy conscience and made God hide his face from thee and many a time he hath whipt
here is no such thing Ridley and Hooper here accord Luther and Calvin are made Friends those Rivers of pleasure at Gods right hand quench all the sparks of contention pride and ignorance hath kindled among the godly and there is no bone of contention thrown among them there is nothing but sweet peace and concord and what was weak is there made strong and as no contention so no sorrow upon that account Every son of the first Adam came into the world crying and every son of the second Adam while he is in the world hath cause to cry God had one Son without sin but none without sorrow Christ himself was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief God chasteneth every son he receiveth and scourgeth those he loveth Heb. 12.8 If we be not chastized we are bastards and not sons But at death thy sorrow shall cease and thy joyes commence there shall be no more pain no more death for sorrow and sighing shall fly away But as thou shalt have an everlasting freedom from all hellish flames which is the portion of the wicked and their cup put into their hands by God so shalt thou have everlasting freedom from all temporal sorrow which is the godly mans cup and lot while they are here put into their hands by their loving Father here thou shalt be freed from sin the world and the Devil thy mortal thy sworn enemies thou shalt never more have a pale face a languishing body trembling joynts a dim sight or any infirmity or deformity there shall be none that stoop for age or any immature youth but all perfect men and women in the prime of their age as 't is conceived about the age and stature of Christ as Divines think the Apostle alludeth to that when he saith Eph. 4.13 Till we come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ Unto such a stature that we should have been at had there been no infirmity or defirmity had hindred here we shall have no peccant humour no languishing disease no carking care no griping grief no fretting fear no consuming evil nay nothing that bears the name of evil the Wormwood and the Gall shall there cease for ever and sickness and diseases shall be no more no predominancy of humours no hurtful quality shall accompany our bodies when they are glorified Exod. 14.13 When this corruption shall put on incorruption and this mortal shall put on immortality then may we say of sin and sorrow as Moses of the Egyptians These your enemies which you see to day ye shall see them no more for ever For as no unclean thing shall ever enter Heaven nor shall any thing that bespeaks sorrow or suffering we shall deal by these when we ascend into Heaven as Abraham did by his Servants when he went to offer his Son Isaac in Sacrifice leave them at the foot of the hill for if sin enter not there is no place for sorrow but unspeakable glory transcendent Joyes pleasure for evermore and though the glory there be inconceivable yet the faculties of the Soul shall be enlarged to receive it without offence now we cannot behold the Sun in its lustre but 't is an offence to the eye but then thou shalt be capacitated to behold a glory ten thousand times greater than the Sun with delight and shall not this death which ends all our sorrows and miseries and ushers us into this glory be welcome to us Nay but this is not all thou hast not only a crazy tottering ruinous house to live in but thou livest among bad Neighbours also and there is little comfort in a bad Neighbour-hood the house where thou dwellest is haunted with evil Spirits and thou canst have no freedom day nor night these continually trouble thee day and night and infest thee even in thy holy duties while sin that is the Devils daughter and his darling lives there her Father will not be absent and his presence is uncomfortable to a godly man he is thy sworn enemy and thou canst not be rid of him though thou givest him never so many foils he will not desist neither canst thou make any peace with him but upon harder terms than the men of Jabesh Gilead were offered by Nahash the Ammonite to put out their right eyes but nothing but the everlasting damnation of body and soul will serve him many a blasphemous temptation and many a poysoned arrow he darts into the Soul many a foul suggestion and fain would he make a rape of her he frequently storms the chief Fort Oh the hourly danger that thou art in by reason of his temptations and thine own corruptions for this is as Tinder to the fire ready to catch upon all occasions and many a time he enters the breach and if he were not beat back again would destroy the Fort of the soul many a snare and gin he layes for thee and baits his hooks according to thy inclination sometimes with one Bait sometimes with another like as a cunning Angler doth for Fish or the Fowler for Birds and what he finds most taking that he useth most sometimes he moves thee to presume if that prevail not to despair sometimes to neglect Duties if that serve not to trust in them or be proud of them sometimes to be proud of thy Enjoyments at another time to despond or murmur at thy wants or disappointments sometimes he baits his hooks with thy Relations and either perswades thee to Idolize them or moves them as he did Peter to tempt Christ Master save thy self and this proved Spira's ruine and I doubt not hath ruined many in this age He doth what he can to fly-blow all thy Duties and render them odious to God and takes advantage by every action thou dost making thee to neglect it or he foists in some by or base ends of his own into it or makes thee pride in it if things succeed to thy mind he puffs thee up with pride if thou meet with disappointments he makes thee repine and makes thee believe the world is a bad pay-master yea God himself a hard Master and that thou deservest better at his hand and as to thy calling sometimes he perswades thee that thou takest a great deal of pains for little or no profit and hast no competent reward for thy labour and therefore 't is better give it over and live at ease sometimes he perswades thee thy calling is honourable and would lift thee up above thy brethren a thousand are the shares which he layes in thy way to entrap thee and although thou shouldest repell them yet 't is a great trouble to be thus continually haunted by them as it is for a Chaste woman to be alway troubled with the unclean motions of a filthy Adulterer and as the Devil so the world layes traps for thee sometimes in pleasures sometimes