houses of clay whose foundation is the dust * Iob. 4. we know for certaine wee shall leaue them how soone wee know not perhaps to morrow perhaps to day perhaps this very houre we are silly then and vnprouident if wee take no care for prouiding other houses What said * Ser. 2. dedi Eccl. Saint Bernard to his soule Ad huc domum quidem habes O anima sed certa esto quoniam in breui 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 casura est domus tua nisitu prouideris aliam erÃs pluviae vento frigori exponenda O my soule thou hast yet a house to dwell in but be assured thy house will shortly fall and moudre and vnlesse thou prouide thee before hand of some other house caytiue forelorne and naked shalt thou be exposed vnto the winde the raine and the cold alas who can stand in presence of this stormy tempest happy therfore thrice happy shalt thou be my soule if then thy conscience tell thee thou canst say vnto thy selfe in faith and full assurance I know that if my earthly house of this Tabernacle be destroyed I haue a building giuen of God that is an house not made with hands but eternall in the heauens 2. Cor. 5. Againe is it appointed vnto men that they must once die Oh that wee could euery one of vs as we ought seriously consider this and daily and duly ponder with our selues of this theame We must die Doubtlesse this vvould cause vs to feare God vvhile vvee liue that vve might finde fauour at his hands vvhen vvee die For who so feareth the Lord it shall goe well with him at the last and he shall finde fauour at the day of his death * Eccl. 1. 2. It would moue vs to imbrace the good and refuse the euill remembring that as Precious is the death of the Saints in the sight of the Lord so euill is the death of sinners * Psal 34. 3. It would abate in vs the plumes of our pride and humble vs farre below the Niniuites and Ahab considering that Earth we are and into earth we shall returne againe and why art thou proud O earth and ashes * Eccl. 10. 4. It would worke in vs a true remorse and sorrow for our sinnes laying before our eyes the saying of our Sauiour Vnlesse you repent also you shall likewise perish * Luke 13. 5. It would breed in vs a distaste and dislike of earthly things Facile enim contemnit omnia saith Saint Ierome qui se cogitat moriturum as Esau when hee was ready to die for hunger contemned his birthright En morior quid mihi proderunt primogenita * Ge. 25.32 Loe I am almost dead what is then this birth-right to mee whereas contrariwise they that dreame of a long life treasure vp to themselues in earth * Luke 12. 6. It would expell out of our hearts rancor and hatred procure loue and amitie reunite and reconcile vs to our brethren whiles we are in the way * Mat. 5 seeing agreement will be too late when wee are once deliuered to the Iaylor 7. It would make vs watchfull of our wayes and learne vs Dauids praier Lord let me know mine end and measure of my dayes what it is * Psal 39. let me know how long I haue to liue and why would hee know this That hee might apply his heart to wisedome for in the graue there is none O Lord that remembreth thee * Psal 6. 8. Lastly this consideration that we must once die would be a good motiue vnto vs to learne by time how to die for that which at length wee must necessarily doe we will if wee be wise learne by time how to doe among all other works which we are to doe to die though it bee the last is not the least Euripides Seneca Yet miserable say two learned Hethens a thing it is in the houre of death not to know how to die Let vs therefore Christian brethren aboue al things labour for this knowledge whiles we liue let vs learne how to dy that so when death shall spread his pale colour ouer our faces we may intertaine it not in horrour but in honour not as a losse but an aduantage as a doore opening to saluation not a gate leading to destruction Now if you shall aske me but how must we learne to die I will lead you to another of your owne profession to an ancient Hermite for an answere It happened that a Marchant man like your selues trauelling through a Forrest espied neere a little Cell an olde Hermite of whom he was inquisitiue to know what hee made there The Hermite answered My sonne I learne to die Mar. What needes that seeing whether thou wilt or no thou must shortly die Her And this is that troubleth me seeing I must shortly die and yet I know not how to die Mar. But what is it to know how to die Her To know how to die is to eschew euill and doe good according to that of the Psalmist Declina a malo fac bonum Mar. Father what doest thou eate that thou art so long liued Her I eat the best meat Mar. But who prepareth it Her The best Cooke hunger Mer. What are thy meditations and discourses Her I call to minde the time past consider in the bitternes of my soule how I haue spent my former yeeres and where I find that I haue done wel I thanke my God where ill I sorrow and repent Mer. Art thou rich Her I haue more then I would to wit this bodie of mine Mer. What then wouldest thou die Her I would willingly die well that I might obtaine eternall life Mar. Canst thou instruct me how to die well and to liue eternally Her I can vvhat is thy profession Mer. I am a Marchant Her If thou vvilt play the true Marchant and buy the greater for the lesse the better for the vvorse looke vp to heauen behold it is better and greater then the vvhole earth sell all and buy that sell thy sins sell thy pleasures sell thy profits buy this one Iewell and to this end cast thy bread vpon the vvaters make thee friends of the vnrighteous Mammon by doing good now the good vvhich the Lord requireth of thee is as the * Mica 6. Prophet vvitnesseth To doe iudgement to loue mercy and walke with the Lord our God this doe and thou shalt haue eternall life Mer. So may I liue as I follow thy counsell Farewell Her Goe in peace These and the like good fruits good motions good affections the consideration of our end dissolution would ingender in vs and happy yea thrice happy are they that thus consider And to set you forward herein consider I beseech you consider with your selues vvhat you are vvhat your life is What you are the Poet telleth vs 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Man is a shadow a dreame or a dreaming shadow What your life is
in certaine expectation of greater good in the life to come he little reckoned the good of this present life a shame to vs that liue vnder grace if we come short of him that liued before the law You would thinke him an vntoward sonne that being sent by his father into forraigne Countries with this charge to learne the tongues to obserue the manners and to hearken after the state of the Land and be prouided alwaies to returne when hee shall call him backe yet notwithstanding being out of sight playes out of mind and sits downe and euen surfets vpon the diuersitie of pleasures is inamoured with the beauty of Italie delighted with the pride of Spaine Fraunce must fit him with fine stuffes England must fit him with new fashions India must guilt him with gold Arabia perfume him with sweet smels as though the world were made to be his minion but least of any is his Father remembred and worst of all is his charge of obseruancy performed what other then can we thinke of our selues beloued whome God our heauenly father hath set abroad in this world as in a forraigne Countrie to obserue the Heauens which is the Booke and the starres which are so many golden Characters of his glorie to view the earth which is a large table and the ornaments thereof so many footesteps of his power and out of all these to learne vnto our selues that we may be able to declare vnto others the goodnesse of God and in the end to be willing to returne vnto him againe vvhen he calleth Yet for all this vve can no sooner be out of kenning but out of caring too and euen glut our selues vvith vvorldly vanities as if earth not heauen vvere our eternall home This my beloued is a great negligence a madnesse a foolish frenzie I know not vvhat to call it but euen a lulling of our selues asleepe in the cradle of this vvorlds securitie Againe if vvee bee pilgrimes heere on earth vve must learne to doe as pilgrimes doe Quis non saith Saint Cyprian peregrè constitutus properet in patriam regredi What pilgrime doth not make speed to returne home into his owne Countrey vvho hastning to saile homewards doth not wish for a prosperous winde that hee may speedily imbrace his long desired friends and parents and vvhat are vvee but pilgrimes on earth vvhat is our countrey but Paradise vvho are our parents but the Patriarches vvhy make vvee not hast vvhy runne vve not vnto them that wee may see our countrey salute our parents an infinite number of acquaintance expect vs there our parents our brethren and sisters our children our kindred our friends that are alreadie secure of their owne immortalitie but yet sollicitous for our safetie what ioy what comfort will it be to see to imbrace them What celestiall pleasures are there without all feare of dying and with certaine eternitie of liuing there is the glorious quire of the Angels the exultant number of the Prophets the blessed company of the Apostles the crowned troupe of Martyrs the triumphant societie of the Saints who whiles they liued here as out of their own countrey were contemned no men more but are now heires to a crowne and sit vppon a throne blessed for euer Thirdly are wee pilgrimes on earth Let me beseech you then beloued as the * 1. Pet. 2.11 Apostle besought his beloued Dearely beloued I beseech you as strangers and pilgrimes abstaine from fleshly lusts which fight against the soule For a pilgrime will keepe on still the Kings high way and neuer turne to by paths if he sees some quarrelling hee staies not to hearken to them if he meet a wedding hee turnes not to accompany them but keepes on his way still because he is a pilgrime Ad patriam suspirat ad patriā tendit he sigheth after his owne countrey and hasteneth vnto his owne home hee carrieth nothing but his food and his apparell he will not trouble himselfe with any other burthen Retinet quod alimentum reijcit quod impedimentum hee vouchsafeth onely saith Plurarch to carrie his food but casteth off al other things as hindrāces Let the voluptuous man who turneth aside out of the way vnto dalliance let the couetous man who hath euer a great sacke at his backe remember this Lastly if wee bee pilgrimes heere on earth we haue but few friends and many foes let vs be then carefull to procure God to be our friend so assure we our selues our enemies though they hate vs shall neuer haue the power to hurt vs our God whom we serue will protect vs. And now from this subiect of pilgrimage let me lead you to the home of pilgrimes and the house of death this is the graue which as it is the end of all our pilgrimage so shall it be the period and end of my discourse And Abraham said giue me a possession of buriall with you that I may bury my dead out of my sight Whence obserue That the bodies of the dead are to be solemnly buried and honored with a graue The iniunction hereof by God himselfe was as ancient within a little as Adam for euen in Paradise presently vpon the fall the Lord said vnto him From earth wert thou taken and into earth shalt thou returne againe And the God of nature seemeth to haue impressed this sence in all the liuing for buriall of the dead thereby testifying their hope of the future resurrection and life For the burying of bodies is like the sowing of seed which men commit to the earth but with certaine hope that after it is once corrupted it will rise againe And therefore buriall among most men I speake not of Canibals nor Antropophagi vvho are rather beasts then men for their guts are their graue hath euer beene solemnly and religiously practised True it is if we looke into the volumes of old heathenish Philosophers and read songs of Poets wee shall finde that they generally contemned the respect of buriall Among Philosophers looke vpon Diogenes the Cynicke that bad his dead body should be cast to the dogs fowles of the aire and being answered by his friends that so it should be rent and torne hee in scoffe why then set a staffe by mee and I will beat them away with it tush say they you your selfe shall bee senselesse why then quoth hee vvhat need I feare tearing of his humour was Memppus and most of the Cynicks Tullie in his questions Tusculane recordeth this answere of Theodorus of Cyrene vnto Lysimachus that threatned him the crosse Let thy Courtiers feare that said he but as for me I care not whether I rot in the ayre or in the earth so also said Socrates in Platoes Dialogue called Phaedo And as for Poets Lucan in his seuenth Booke of the Pharsalian warre speaking of the dead that Caesar forbad should be buried or burned after hee had deliuered as his custome is many worthy and graue sentences concerning this matter at length hee speaketh vnto
go to my Father and if we loue our friend indeed vve vvould rather reioyce then too much grieue at his death for hee is departed from vs he is gone out of the vvorld hee hath left the earth but hee is gone vnto Christ he is entred the Citie of God the celestiall Ierusalem Non ergo amissi sed praemissi saith Fulgentius therefore the godly deceased are not lost foreuer but left for a time not gone away finally from vs but onely gone to God before vs. Fourthly Fletus inutilitas the vnprofitablenes of excessiue weeping for as a moth the garment a worme the wood so too much sorrow hurteth the heart * Pro. 25. therefore the wise man as hee exhorteth to weepe for the dead so he counselleth to comfort our selues againe for our heauinesse for of heauinesse commeth death and the heanesse of the heart breaketh the strength * Eccl. 18.19 The last is Resurrectio generalis the generall Resurection we put not off our apparall saith Lud. Viues vnwillingly because we thinke to put them on againe so neither let vs be vnwilling to lay aside our bodie which after a while we shall resume againe And as we greiue not at the setting of the Sunne because we know it will rise againe So let vs not sorrow at the departure of a soule which vvee knovv vvill returne againe For vvhy saith * Tertul in lib. de pati Tertullian shouldest thou too impatiently greiue at the departure of him vvith-vvhome thou beleeuest shortly to meete againe Hee is not to bee lamented vvho is gone before hee is onely vvanted for a time and his want is vvith patience to bee borne Cur enim immoderatè feras abijsse quem mox subsequeris For why shouldest thou immoderately lament his absence whom thou thy selfe must soone follow after and all of vs shall surely meet againe at the generall resurrection We may indeed saith S. Ierome wish for them because we want them but wee must not weepe out of measure for them because they are with God Loue I grant compells vs to weepe but faith forbids vs to weepe immoderately and therfore Paulinus saith that we may notwithstanding our faith performe to the dead the duties of loue yet we must first notwithstanding the duties of loue afford to our selues the comforts of faith And thus Abraham wept for Sarah here loue inforced him to weepe but faith restrained him from exceeding the bounds of moderate lamentation You see then that wee are to weepe for the death of our godly friends departed but withall you see how sparinge wee ought to bee in weepinge considering our good hope that are aliue and their good hap that are dead And this that dead bodie or rather that Cadauer that Caro data vermibus for her flesh and bones by this time are turned into dust and ashes which is the present spectacle obiect of our eyes which some of you perhaps euen at this instant so seriously think of others so much lament for If it I say should receiue againe her soule vntie her winding knots breake through her Coffin stand vp before you she would preach say the same vnto you weepe if you please for my departure for this shall be a token of your affection but weepe not too immoderately for this will argue your indiscretion for know that though I be departed yet I am not perished but am rather perfected I am now in the state of perfection where I feele no infirmitie where I am not tempted vnto sinne but sing a continuall Halleluiah to the Lord. I am now where I behold the glorious Maiestie of the Trinity where I looke on the amiable countenāce of my Sauiour where I enioy the sweet society of Saints and Angels where I haue saciety without loathsomnesse loue without hatred peace without discord ioy without sorrow eternall blisse without ende or intermission and therefore spare teares for mee weepe not too much for the more you weepe the more you disquiet and disturbe me This would the soule of this dead body say if it should returne againe but she is past speaking and her soule returning vntill the generall returne of all Wee will therefore leaue her to her happinesse and passe to the third subiect of our sad discourse which is the Lot of humane Life and that is a pilgrimage on earth The life of man is a pilgrimage on earth Now Man may be said to be a stranger and a pilgrime on earth either in respect of his soule which is not of the earth but by diuine infusion or in respect of the whole man which was sometime the Citizen of Paradise but now a vvanderer vpon the face of the vvhole earth or most properly in respect of the heauenly Hierusalem from vvhence as also from the Lord the faithfull here on earth vvhose conuersation is in * Phil. 3. Heauen are strangers as long as they are in the * 2. Cor. 5. body Whence Saint Augustine inferreth Omnis homo est aduena nascendo incola viuendo quia compellitur migrare moriendo Euery man is a forreiner by birth and a stranger by life because he is compelled to depart hence by death Therefore said Abraham vnto the Hittites I am a stranger and a forreiner among you among them yea on the vvhole earth for his vvhole life was a pilgrimage on earth as his grādchild Iacob calleth both it and his ovvne The vvhole course of my pilgrimage sayth hee vnto Pharaoh is an hundred and thirtie yeares few and euill haue the daies of my life beene and I haue not attained vnto the yeares of the life of my fathers in the daies of their pilgrimage Gen. 47. Heb. 11. vers 13. And Paul bringing in a whole Catalogue of pilgrimes in the eleauenth to the Hebrewes Abel Enoch Noah Abraham and the rest at length concludeth of all All these died in faith and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrimes on the earth vpon which Saint Augustine inserreth Ipse est Christianus he alone is a Christian that in his owne house and in his owne Countrie acknowledgeth himselfe to be a pilgrime Our Countrie is aboue there we shall be no strangers but here euerie man is a stranger euen in his owne house Let no man deceiue himselfe he is a stranger Velit nolit hospes est whether hee will or no he is a stranger Now if this were the lot of Gods dearest children in olde time we may not looke for a permanent Citie here We see then where we must make the beginning of all godlinesse euen in denying this world and acknowledging our selues to bee but pilgrimes in the same Consider saith the Prophet Isay Isai 51.2 Abraham your father and Sarah that bare you consider that Abraham was a stranger and a pilgrim on earth he had not so much land where he liued as might suffice for the buriall of his dead for in hope of future things he despised the present and