Meditations OF MAN'S MORTALITIE OR A WAY TO TRVE Blessednesse WRITTEN By Mrs ALICE SVTCLIFFE wife of Iohn Sutcliffe Esquire Groome of his Maiesties most Honourable Privie Chamber The Second EDITION enlarged ROM 6. The wages of Sinne is Death but the guift of GOD is Eternall life through IESVS CHRIST our Lord. LONDON Printed by B. A. and T. F. for Henry Seyle at the Tygers head in St. Pauls Church-yard 1634. TO THE MOST ILLVSTRIOVS AND GRACIOVS PRINCESSE KATHERINE DVTCHESSE OF BVCKINGHAM AND THE RIGHT HONOVRABLE AND VERTVOVS LADY SVSANNA COVNTESSE OF DENBEIGH her Sister Gracious Princesse WHen I read how the Gods sooner accepted of a Handfull of Franken-sence offered by pure Devotion then whole Hecatombes of Arabian Spices in Ostentation I am incouraged having duely considered Your unlimited Goodnesse to present this my Mite unto your Grace and your Honourable Sister For as you are Twinnes in Virtues so I have joyned You in my Devotions Where first I most humbly crave of You to passe a favourable Censure of my proceedings it beeing I know not usuall for a Woman to doe such things Yet ELIHA sayth There is a Spirit in Man and the inspiration of the Almightie giveth them Vnderstanding And it is sayd againe Out of the mouthes of Babes and Sucklings thou shalt perfect Praise I am assured I shall meet with mocking Ishmaels that will carpe at Goodnesse wherefore I runne to Your selves for refuge humbly craving to bee assisted by your Graciousnesse which will appeare as the Splendant Sunne to disperse those Mists I have chosen a subiect not altogether Pleasing but my ayme is that it may prove Profitable having observed in this short course of my Pilgrimage how apt Man is not to thinke of his Mortalitie which stealeth upon him as a Thiefe in the night Experience teacheth mee that there is no Action wisely undertaken whereof the End is not fore-casted in the first place howsoever it bee last put in execution I have ever accompted Ingratitude to be like a Beast who having received benefites thinkes not of any acknowledgements Owing therefore a due Debt of Thankefulnesse for Your unexpressable undeserved Favours and being no wayes able to cause the desires of my Heart to appeare worthy-your Acceptances I have made choyse of this as being perswaded thereto by that truely Noble vertuousnes which hath evidently appeared in You to the strengthening of Goodnesse that heere it may find admittance which otherwise might want Entertainement and for that you have beene more then a Mother to mee I having onely from her received life but next under God from your Grace your honorable Sister the being both of mee and mine By which as there is none greater then your Selfe to whom in duty I am bound so there is not any to whom I wish greater Prosperity both for Temporall and Spirituall blessings then to your Grace beseeching God to preserve you and your Honorable Off-spring here upon Earth with my no lesse vertuous Lady your Sister to whom I am tyed by the same bonds of Thankfulnesse that as God hath made your Renownes great upon earth so I beseech him to adde to your Lives length of dayes and after life Eternall happinesse in the Heavens whither CHRIST is gone to prepare a place for You. I alwayes remayning Your Graces and your Honors truely devoted Servant Alice Sutcliffe AN ACCROSTIQVE Vpon the Renowned Name of the most vertuous Princesse KATHERINE Dutchesse of Buckingham KNow you this Princesse BVCKINGHAM'S Chast Dutchesse ASke aged Time with his worm-eaten Crutches TO find amongst the numbers of his Role HEr-Paralell of such a Heavenly moule EXcelling so i' th' beauties of the Soule RIch in all Treasures that to Virtue tend IN Faith Hope Charity the blessed's end NOr is there ought that lives in Woman kinde EXceeding the rare prowesse of her Minde BOrne of High blood from RVTLANDS Family VNited to a Duke of Royall state CVrs'd bee the time more curs'd his cruelty KIll'd him and reav'd this Turtle of her mate IN peerlesse woe we still lament that fate NOr shall his memorie e're out of date GOe on then Gracious Princesse grac't by Fame HOnour shall still attend your noble Name ANd as your Goodnesse hath abounded so MAy Heaven the greatest good on You bestow AN ACCROSTIQVE Vpon the Name of the Right Honourable and truely vertuous Lady SVSANNA Countesse of Denheigh SEe heere a Lady blessed in her birth VNto whose Greatnesse Goodnes ioyn'd is still SVSANNA ne're so famous was on Earth AS is this Lady lead by vertuous will NOthing so sweete to her as heavenly mirth NO Musike sounds like Haleluia still A Happy Soule which those delights doth fill DAigne then to view these lines where truely I EXpresse but truth not vsing Flattery NO Fallaces within my mouth once lurkes BVt hates all those that use dissembling workes EVen as your Goodnesse merits so speake I I Am your Servant bound untill I dye GIve leave then gracious Lady for I finde HEaven hath indu'd you with a vertuous minde AN ACCROSTIQVE Vpon the name and Titles of the Right honourable and my ever honored Lord PHILIP Earle of Pembrooke and Montgomery Lord Chamberlaine of his Majesties Houshold c. PEMBROOKE's great Peere your Princely favour I HEere humbly crave to guerdon my weake pen IF this doth show my imbecilitie LIke a good Patron shroud it from bad men I By your favours mov'd doe this present PRay then my Lord accept my good intent POore are my weake endeavours yet if you ENcourage my Minervaes infant Muse MY cherisht thoughts by that may frame anew BOoke of true thanks unto your Lordships use RIght Noble then view but the vertuous tract OF this small Volume and if you shall finde OVght good expressed by our Sexes act KNow honor'd Lord my starres are very kinde MOVNTGOMERY my Caelique Muse doth mount ON Cherubs wing from this low Orbe to heaven VErtue is here exprest vices account NOr is' t a Tale or Fable that is given TRuth never is asham'd to shew it's face GReat man and good but alwayes loves the light OMay it then find an accepted Grace MOre cause a woman did the same indite EVen then as DERORAH's sweet tuned song Run RVng out her sacred Peale in holy Writ OSo I pray my heart my pen my tongue YEa all my faculties may follow it Your Lordships Devoted Servant Alice Sutcliffe TO Mrs. Alice Sutcliffe on her divine Meditations WHen I had read your holy Meditatiōs And in them view'd th' uncertainty of Life The motives and true Spurres to all good Nations The Peace of Conscience and the Godly's strife The Danger of delaying to Repent And the deceipt of pleasures by Consent The cōfort of weake Christiās with their warning From fearefull back-slides And the debt we ' are in To follow Goodnesse by our owne discerning Our great reward th' aeternall Crown to win I sayd who ' had supp'd so deepe of this sweet Chalice Must CELIA bee the Anagram of
come forceth from him those teares Can he expect Death Enemie to be Who by his Present hath his force alayd He sent before good workes much Charity Blessings of Orphants which for him have pray'd His sighs and teares appeased hath his King And this supposed Foe glad newes doth bring Death is our guide vnto Eternall blisse Portall of Heaven by which we enter must The Ladder reaching a true happinesse Which bringeth man to live amongst the Iust By him we come Gods glorious face to see From which by life deprin'd we still shall bee Our flesh a prison is vnto our soule Which doth deprive it of that heavenly light With spirituall groanes sighs it doth condole Till it attaine vnto that wished sight Death is the key vnlocks our misery Looseth our bonds and gives vs liberty Death's fangs are par'd his bitter potions sweet His edge abaited all his hurt is done A godly man most kindly he doth meete And of a Foe he is a Friend become His strooke is like the striking of a veine By which small smart sick men theyr health doe gaine Death is the ending of our dayes not life For having clos'd these eyes we wake to live Death having finisht once this mortall strife Our Faith in CHRIST new life to vs doth give Our Night is past our Day star doth appeare Our Cloud is vanish'd and our Morne shines cleare Now ends all sorrowes now all griefes are done Sinne takes his leave and weaknesse hath his end And now behold our Iubilee is come The Haruest of our labors we attend Death's potion onely bitter is in show The taste once past no operation so Mans Glasse once run his flower of Life once dead That vapor vanish'd and that span once grasp'd His breath once failing all his body's Lead In sencelesse coldnesse all his parts are clasp'd He came from earth earth house-roome now him gives His spirit from God with God for ever lives The carnall wicked worldly minded men Who in this life their whole content have plac'd Doth tremble when Death mention'd is to them Because by him all Ioyes from them are chased Their ease and pleasures changed quite will be All mirth is dash'd by present miserie The sight of him vnto their mindes doe bring Remembrance of their sinnes they slightly past The which with woe their soules doe sorely sting For that they see the count call'd on at last Which sure on earth a hell may deemed be When without mercy man his sinnes deth see Those men which onely to delights are given At the approach of death doth feare and quake What earth afforded they accounted heaven And now perforce they must those ioyes forsake Gods blessings they most vildly have abus'd And proffered time of Grace they have refus'd And now those words which ABRAHAM did say To DIVES when for water he did call He findes too true whose smarts without alay His Sorrowes farre more better are then gall His good things onely were upon this Earth But life and them are parted quite by death Terrors and feares must needs their soules affright When guilty Conscience showes Gods angry eye O how they tremble to approach that sight To whom their sinne will out for vengeance cry He who on earth to grieve they did not feare Will give a sentence which their Soules will teare O how mans sinnes that mild aspect doth change He which for man did bleed doth man condemne If by their sinnes from the right path they range Wanting their guide dangers approacheth them The Woolfe once seazing 't is in vaine to flye Theyr Shepheard heares not bootlesse 't is to cry Alas who would this world as ought esteeme If truely he consider every thing Those pleasures which to man most happy seeme Doth soonest fade and gone they leave a sting Man vpon Earth no sure abiding hath Then feare betime before thou feele Gods wrath BELSHAZAR when hee was carrousing set Amongst his Princes in his royall Throne A writing turnes those faire delights to Iet A hand then shew'd makes bone incounter bone He fearefull sits whilst thus it doth indite Thou' rt weigh'd in ballance and art found too light Mans life 's a sceane and tragic ke wo's succeed A Comet alwayes future harmes foretell The happiest life by death is made to bleed If vnprepar'd he dye he goes to hell The gate is shut and they must take their lot For 't will be answered loe I know you not Vnto a thorney field and barren land How fitly may mans life compared be What cares what feares what griefes are still at hand And for one Ioy ten discontents we see We alwayes walke as on a bridge of glasse And oft it crakes as ouer it we passe Still barren is this world of true content Fruitfull enough in procreating wees Thorny afflictions towards vs are bent But certaine Ioyes still backwards from vs goes Who thinkes to catch them doth a shadow chase And like IXION doth a cloud embrace Then why should man thus waste his precious time And triflingly let slip his golden dayes O! turne to God whilst thou art in thy prime And put not off repentance with delayes For when death comes it then will be too late By teares or vowes for to prorogue thy state Boast not of youth or honours wealth or strength Who trusts to them vpon a reede doth leane The which be sure deceiue thee will at length Then strive from these vaine thy selfe to weane And fill thy Lampe with oyle thoughts whil'st thou hast space Least afterward too late thou call for grace Breake off thy sinnes by true repentant teares And turne to God whilst it is call'd to day And rest assured he their prayers heares That vnto him vncessantly doe pray For to incourage thee he this did say Who comes to me I will not cast away Is not mans life compared vnto a flower And O how soone alas the same doth fade and dye Then let man liue prepar'd each day and houre Least vnawares the force of death he try And beare this saying alwayes in thy minde As death thee leaves so Iudgement will thee find And as the Flower in the chiefest prime Doth fade and dye when Sun his face doth hide For 't is not in the earth 's vast slippery clime An euer fading beeing to prouide No more can strength or skill preuaile at all To lengthen life when God by death doth call And as the spring the water forth doth put And by the earth drunke vp no more is seene So when by death our thrid of life is cut On earth we are as we had neuer beene Then whil'st we liue let 's striue to purchase Grace That after Death in Heaven we may have place Alas how many are the snares and bayts Which Sathan layes our poore soules to betray HIENA like he murthers by deceites Through false delights to cause us misse our way His Mermaides Songs are onely sweet in sound Approach them not lest Death thy life doth wound Therefore the safest way vnto our blisse Is meditation of our certaine Death And though we tread the steps of carefulnesse And all our life in sorrow draw our breath The guerdon of our paines our CHRIST will give In causing vs eternally to live Thus by a godly and an vpright life Man of a deadly foe may make a friend And by a wise provision stint that strife Which Sathan laid to bring vs to our end And though our flesh prove false our God is Iust By death our soule gaines heauen our body dust Be ever vigilant in all thy wayes And alwayes live as in the sight of God Performe good actions and vse no delayes Then feare not Death it brings with it no rod With care attend that sure vncertainety And live as euery howre thou shouldest dye This watchfull care wounds Sathan in the head For hee that thinkes of Death doth shun all Sinne By thought of this man to the world proves dead He counts all drosse and only CHRIST would win No earthly Ioyes can cause him life to love His Soule is fixt and nothing can him move Thus each weake Christian may this tyrant foyle For by CHRIST's Death man armed is with strength Though in this Combate he a while may toyle But Faith in CHRIST gives victory at length And with a courage hold man now may cry Death where 's thy sting Grave where 's thy victory What though we dye as dye we surely must Yet by this death we now are gainers made For when our bodyes are consum'd to dust We shall be rais'd from that Eternall shade Our mortall bodyes shall immortall be And with our Soules inioy Eternitie Our troubles in this life now changed are From tokens of his wrath vnto his love For though a while vpon the Earth me share Of griefes and troubles yet when God above Shall by death call vs from the vaile of sinne Wee shall inioy Eternall blisse with him Where all teares shall be wiped from our eyes All griefes and sorrowes then shall ended be We shall be freed from all clamarous cries No discontents nor troubles shall wee see But Peace and Ioyes and comforts shall be found And alwayes in our eares a heavenly sound Our Sences shall partake all of this Blisse Our Eyes shall evermore behold our King Our Hearing heavenly musicke shall possesse Our Tongues shall evermore his Praises sing Thus Smell and Taste thus hands and eares and sight Shall evermore inioy a full delight Vnto this Happinesse and place of Ioy In thy good time sweet Saviour Christ vs bring Where being freed from Sorrowes and annoy Wee evermore thy blessed Praise may sing Where we shall never cease but Night and Day Sing Praise and Glory vnto Thee alway FINIS
Angels and Martyrs with the foure and twenty Elders that offer up golden Vials full of odours which are the Prayers of Saints but which is chiefe of all delights there will be GOD himselfe who will bee a Looking-Glasse to the eyes of his Elect Musicke to theyr eares Nectar and Ambrosia to their Palates odoriferous Balsamum to theyr Smelling There thou shalt see the variety and beauty of the seasons the pleasantnesse of the Spring the brightnesse of Summer the fruitfulnesse of Autumne and the quiet of Winter and there shall bee whatsoever may delight thy sences and every faculty of thy Soule there will be the fulnesse of light to thy understanding the aboundance of Peace to thy will and the contitinuance of Eternity to thy memory there the Wisedome of SALOMON shall seeme ignorance there the beauty of ABSASOM shall seeme deformity there the strength of SAMPSOM shall seeme weakenesse there the long life of METHVSALEM shall seeme a span there the Riches of CRoeSVS shall seeme drosse for there thou mayst worthily call the treasures of all Emperors and Kings starke poverty and beggery These things beeing thus Why shouldest thou O man delight to begge and live of Almes when thou shalt finde such aboundance in Heaven looke upon thy selfe and consider how the Lord hath bestowed upon thee a countenance of Majesty with thy face erected towards Heaven and thy eye-lids to move upwards thereby to teach thee that thou wert not formed to spend thy dayes in the moiling cares of this troublesome world but to aspire to that true Happines that maketh all the other Misery Marke the Sea-mans Needle whose nature of that Iron is that in what part it hath touched the Loadstone that part alwayes looketh towards the North and remaineth unsetled till it hath found the Pole even so hath God created Man and hath infused into him a naturall inclination and readinesse that hee should alwayes looke to his Maker as to the Pole and onely true happines When the Children of Jsrael in the Wildernesse were stung by fiery Serpents none could live but those that looked up to that brazen Serpent which MOSES erected so no man beeing stung by those fiery Serpents of sin can live but those that by the eye of Faith looke up to CHRIST IESVS beholding him dying upon the Crosse and applying his death and merits to their otherwise deadly-wounded Soule whereby that Vlcer is cured and they assured of life After ADAM had sinned in eating the forbidden fruit Gen. 3. GOD sent him to Till the Earth out of which he was taken but the soule of man was infused into him by the breath of God Gen. 2. let therefore the cogitations of thy heart and Soule bee turned towards him from whence it had the beeing seeing as sayth Saint AVGVSTINE There is nothing more blessed than this life where there is no feare of Poverty no infirmity of Sicknesse no deceipts of the Divell neyther Death of body or Soule but a pleasant life through the guift of Immortality then there shall be no mischiefes no discords but all agreement because there shall be one concord of all the Saints peace and joy imbrace all things What is it that thou canst desire heere upon Earth that thou shalt not there freely possesse If thou defirest pleasures lift up thy heart and see how delightfull that Good is that contayneth in it the delight and pleasure of all good things If this life created doth please thee how much more shall that life please thee which hath created all things If health given make thee merry how much more shall he make thee merry that giveth all health If the knowledge of the Creatures bee sweet how much more sweeter shall the Creator himselfe be if beauty bee acceptable unto thee it is he at whose beauty the Sunne and Moone admire the glory of which was so great that when MOSES went up to the Mount though he saw but the hinder part thereof his Face became so bright and shining that the Israelites could not behold him what should I stand longer to set forth the beauty of that which if I had the tongue of Men and Angels I could not doe for as the Apostle fayth 1. Cor. 2. Eye hath not seene Eare hath not heard neyther hath it entred into the heart of Man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him Wilt thou then choose with the Prodigall Sonne to eate Huskes with the Swine rather than to returne home to thy Heavenly Father will not all these delights move thee nor cause thee to desire it it may bee thou art timerous knowing thy owne unworthinesse but bee incouraged by the words of thy Saviour who seeing thy faint heartednesse sayth Feare not little flocke Luke 15. for it is your fathers pleasure to give you a Kingdome Thou art one of the flocke and this Kingdome is prepared for thee why dost thou not long to take possession of thy owne pu chased for thee by CHRIST who though hee be thy Elder brother yet thou shalt bee co-heyre with him whose love thou mayst see expressed by his infinite care for in his Prayer to his Father for his Disciples he remembred thee when he sayd I pray not for these alone Iohn 117. but for those that shall beleeve on me that they may all be one as thou Father art in me and I in thee and the glory which thou hast given mee I have given them that they may bee one even as wee are one I will also that those thou hast given mee bee with me Canst thou now have any doubts or waverings in thy Mind Repayre unto him and in true humility of Soule confesse thy selfe unto him and say Father I have sinned against Heaven and against thee and I am no more worthy to bee called thy Sonne This done doubt not but hee will imbrace thee in the Armes of his Mercy the Ring and Robe shall be brought and the fatted Calfe shall be kild for there is more joy in Heaven over one sinner that repenteth than of ninety and nine just persons It is a place prepared for thee before the Foundations of the World were layd O happy Soule that art made possessor of this blessednesse How art thou able to behold any thing in this life with true contentment having seriously beheld this though thou didst dayly suffer torments if for a long time thou didst indure Hell it selfe so that at the length thou mightest see CHRIST in his glory and injoy this blessednesse and haue society with the Saints were it not worthy all Sufferings All Bitternes and all Crosses that thou mightest be partaker of all this good At last what though the world account not of thee but deride thee for thy vertuous living Remember ELIZEVS the Prophet of the Lord who was mocked and called Bald-head in contempt Resolve with thy selfe no sooner to enter into the path of Godlinesse but such is the malitiousnesse of thy Mortall