why art thou so disquieted within me still trust in God for I will yet give him thanks who is the light of my countenance and my God Psal 42.6 7. We are the children of his Saints and we do expect that life which God will give to those that keep the faith It is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones should perish Matth. 18.14 So God loved the World that hee gave his onely begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life John 3.16 Now if any man sin wee have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous and hee is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours onely but for the sinnes of the whole world 1 John 2 1. Verily verily I say unto you whosoever heareth my Word and believeth on him that sent mee hath life eternall and shall not come into judgment but shal passe from death to life John 5.24 All that my Father hath given to me shall come unto mee and hee that commeth to me I cast not out of doors Verily verily I say unto you who so believeth in mee hath eternall life John 6 37. 47. I am the resurrection and the life Whosoever believeth in mee yea though he were dead yet shal he live and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall not die eternally John 11.15 26. In my Fathers house are many Mansions John 14 2. If God be for us who can be against us who also spared not his own Sonne but gave him for us how then shall hee not give us all things with him Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods Elect It is God who justifies Who shall condemne It is Iesus Christ which is dead yea rather which is risen again and sitteth at the right hand of his Father making intercession for us Rom 8 31. usque ad 35. None of us live unto our selves nor none die unto our selves whether wee live wee live unto the Lord or whether we die we die unto the Lord whâ—ther therefore wee live or die we are the Lords Rom. 14 7 8. We know that if this earthly house of our dwelling be dissolved wee have a building from God an house not made with hands eternall in the Heavens and for this wee sigh desiring to be put on with our house which is from heaven that if we be clothed we shal not be found naked 2 Co 5.1 2 3 Now shall Christ be magnified in my body whether it be by life or by death for Christ is to me both in life and death advantage But to be with Christ is much better Phil. 1.20 21 23 Our conversation is in heaven from whence we look for a Saviour even our Lord Iesus Christ who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body Phil. 3.20 21. This is a faithfull saying and worthy of all acceptation that Iesus Christ came into the World to save sinners of whom I am chief 1 Tim. 1.15 Whosoever endureth to the end shall be saved Matth 24 13. Be thou faithfull unto death and I will give thee the crowne of life Apoc. 2.10 These are pure and coole streams and fountains to asswage the heat of sin and fear of death Hee swims safely who baths himself in these waters of comfort § 28. Holy Ejaculations and Prayers of a dying man HOly Eligius a little before his death embracing his friends with teares spoke thus unto them Farewell all yee and suffer me from henceforth to rest Earth must return to earth the Spirit will finde the way to God that gave it So holding up his hands and eyes to heaven prayed so a good while and at last burst forth into these words Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word Remember Lord that thou hast made mee as earth Enter not into judgment with thy servant for in thy sight shall no flesh living be justified O remember mee thou Redeemer of the World who onely art without sin and bringing mee from the body of this death place mee in thy Kingdom I know I doe not deserve to see thy face and tast thy favour but thou knowest that all my hopes have bin in thy all-saving mercies and now ô Christ dying in the confession of thy holy Name I doe render my last breath my soule into thy safe keeping Receive me ô Lord according to thy great mercies and let mee not be confounded in my hope open to mee the gate of life and let not the powers of darknes hold me Let thy right hand bring me into thy resting place and let me enjoy one of those Mansions which thou hast prepared for those tha love and feare thee And having thus prayed hee departed Oh could wee follow the example of this holy man let us therefore call upon Christ in these or the like words Enlighten mine eyes ô Iesus that I sleep not in death lest that mine enemy say unto mee I have prevailed against him Psal 13 4. O Lord Jesus Christ the Son of the living God put I pray thee thy Passion Crosse and meritorious death betwixt thy judgment and my poore soule O Remember not Lord our old sins but have mercy upon us and that soon for wee are come to great misery Psal 77.8 Oh m st sweet Jesus Christ our Lord for the honour and vertue of thy most blessed Passion make me to be numbred with thy Saints in glory everlasting Enter not into judgment ô sweet Iesu with thy servant for in thy sighâ— shall no flesh living be justified and then let him utter these words I worship thee ô Lord Iesus Christ and blesse thy name for thou by thy holy Crosse and Passion hast redeemed the World O thou Saviour of the World save mee which by thy bitter Crosse and precious bloud hast redeemed me Draw mee unto thee ô Iesus who didst say When I am lifted up from the earth I shall draw all men unto me O most meâ—cifull Iesus I pray thee by thy precious bloud which thou sheddest for sinners to blot out all my offences O let thy bloud purifie me let thy body ô Christ save mee wash mee in thy bloud and let thy passion confirme my soule ô good Iesu heare me hide me in thy wounds suffer me not to be separated from thee in the houre of death call me bid me to come unto thee that I with all the rest of the glorious Saints may prayse thee O my gracious Redeemer I do wholly give up my self unto thee Cast mee not out from thy presence I come unto thee reject me not Cast me not out of thy sight and take not thy holy Spirit from mee Oh let not my iniquity cast me away whom thy goodnesse did create As death approacheth neerer so let the dying man pray thus O God according to thy will so let thy mercy come unto me bid ô God that my spirit may
and invent one idle thing after another yet our time stayes not Our yeares doe flit fleete and flie apace no man could ever yet give a ransome to enjoy the next day safely In our very sleepe vvee goe on either to the Eternity of joy in Heaven or of paine in Hell Excellent was that saying of Suidas O Mortals of one dayes continuance Verbo Ephemerii botri pa. 358. cunning for the present not looking to the future Consider of Eternity to vvhich you hasten §. 8. That the hopes and wishes for long life are vaine IT vvas the speech of that foolish rich man to his soule What shall I doe for vvhere shall I lay my fruits This will I doe Luk. 12.18 I will pull downe my barnes and build bigger Alas vvretched man twice vvretched vvilt thou enlarge thy barns thou shalt this night have a grave if not a Hell this night shall they require thy soule then vvhose shall those things be vvhich thou hast provided Thy Vertues hadst thou any thy Vices of which thou hadst too many shall goe vvith thee No other traine or attendants shalt thou have vvith thee hence Much like to this rich mans fall vvas that of Senecio reported of in Seneca Senec. epist. 101 â—â—it Who recounting the swiftnesse of our life which is granted to men by moments and minuts said thus Each day houre doth shew that vvee are nothing doth alwaies by some new Argument admonish us that are forgetfull of our frailty and drives us to looke on Eternity through Death This Senecio Cornelius a Roman Knight a frugall man not only carefull of his patrimony but also of his body having sate all day by a friend of his vvho vvas very ill and almost past hope of recovery having supped very merily vvas suddenly taken vvith the Squinancie in his throat so that hee could scarce draw his breath and vvithin a few houres Hee vvhich had gone thorough all offices and charges fit to be executed by an healthy able man He vvhich both by sea and land had gathered vvealth He vvhich had left no wayes untried that seemed gainfull in the highest pitch of good successe and in the middest of his wealth died suddenly So often comes it to passe that in the confluence of our hopefullest actions vve are gone as the vvinde vvhich vvhen at highest soone is calme and therefore doth Iob ask of God and in a sort complaine Iob 10.8 And doest thou so suddenly destroy me And learnedly Tertullian Tertull. lib de anima There is saith he that force and strength in vessels as they saile by the Capharean rocks though they be not assaulted by any great or raging vvindes nor violent vvaves yet vvith a gentle gale a smooth course all thinking themselves safe are vvith deadly privie overthrow suddenly sunk and lost An Emblem of the suddain events and unlooked for shipwracks of mens lives How foolish therefore is it to dispose of our life vvhen vve know not vvhat shall be to morrow Oh vvhat madnesse is it to lay such large hopes upon such brittle uncertaine beginnings I vvill bâ—y build fell get gaines purchase honour and in old age take my ease When beleeve it even to the most happy all things are doubtfull Iam. 3. Our life is but a vapour saith S. Iames. We cannot promise any certainty of future things and what we enjoy for the present may be easily taken from us or we from it Yet in the middest of these hazards vve propound and resolve upon long voyages and large journeyes by sea and land We lay out for warres for pleasures at Court for quietnesse and ease long businesses an orderly succession of labours heaping offices to offices hoping for Nestors years and Metellus good luck vvhen in the meane time Death stands by us and in these thoughts doth suddenly prevent us and suddenly casts us from the molehill of our hopes into the depth of Eternity §. 9. That man is Dust. Gen. 3.19 REmember this ô man that dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou returne This is a mourning verse vvhich God himselfe declared to Adam and doth vvisely admonish us of our Mortality Plin. lib. 10. cap. 4. The Eagle vvhen she intends to set upon and overthrow the Stagg before she begins her fight gathers a great deale of dust into her vvings and sitting betwixt the hornes of the Stagg vvith beating her wings upon his face strikes dust into his eyes and so drives him upon the Rocks So the Church by the vvise use of Humiliation and Mortification stops many a violent and hastie sinner in his furious course to destruction and drives his soule upon the Rock of Salvation IESVS CHRIST so likewise doth the Priest at burialls vvhen the corps is laid in the Grave he utters these vvords vvhen the earth is thrice cast on the dead party Earth to earth Ashes to ashes Dust to dust These words he speaks not to the dead in the grave but to those Coffines vvhich have living souls abiding in them not for those out of which the soule is departed King Philip of Macedon vvas vvise in this point that every morning had this sung to him to make him the more mindfull of Mortality O Philip remember thou art a man The very Cranes will in this point serve to be our Tutors who when they set their night Sentinels doe hold a stone in one of their feet that if they should chance to sleepe by the fall and sound of that stone they might be wakened the same Birds vvhen they flie over the sea betwixt Maeotis and Tenedos doe carrie sand in their bills Well let the stone in their foot remember us of our gravestone and the sand in their bill of the earth with which wee shall be covered The Calfe which the Hebrewes worshipped was in deed of gold but it was reduced to dust Nebuchadnezzars Image seemed terrible but it vvas mouldred to dust by the stroke of a stone The Apples of Gomorrah indeed outwardly vvere specious and beautifull but vvithin dust and rottennesse Proud men may shew their glory and riches and these may procure some carnall Israelites to vvorship them but they shall end in dust and corruption so that it is excellent vvhich Iob speakes I will say to the worme thou art my sister and to corruption thou art my mother It is not vvisedome to admire present glory but seriously to consider the end Dust man vvas and dust he shall be and his pomp shall follow him do therefore what is best to be done Eternity is nigh at hand §. 10. That every man is truly miserable WE cannot think enough whether nature hath beene a true loving mother Plin. preoemio in lib. 7. hist nat or rather a cruell stepmother to mankinde For among all other living creatures she cloathes man with the wealth of others Shee hath afforded to the rest divers coverings as shells harks skins prickles haire wooll bristles feathers vvings
they passed single he had set officers to strip off their old garments and shirts and nâ—w ones were put upon them by force and command By this his subtile craft whatsoever any man had brought with him for his journey as the manner in those parts is to sow or bind it up in his shirt or Turbant he got it all in this manner to himselfe Now it is wonderfull to thinke what a masse of money he gain'd out of so many thousanâ—s of people And although all the people had rather have kept their owne habit though it was not so gay and new as the Bashawes were yet there were no complaints to be received but so it was commanded and so it was to be performed Well all the people lamented and grieved and desired their old cloathes againe but hee as a great politician laugh'd at them and commanded all their cloathes presently to be burned in one generall fire And out of the fire was taken such a masse of Treasure and money as sufficed enough and enough to erect that great famous Temple Now observe just so doâ—h Death deale with us hee takes away from us all our rich garments and wraps us all in an empty winding-sheet Now 2 Cor. 5. v. 4. as the blessed Apostle St. Paul saith wee sigh being burthened and are loth to be found naked yet not willing to be stript of our cloathing but we strive in vaine sterne Death as that greedy Bashaw is nothing mov'd with our complaints will we nill we we must lay aside our old cloathing put off and be gone The same condition binds all of us all that have a birth must partake of death there is a little distance but no distinction But now heare how this covetous mans act was revenged The Turkish Seigneur having Intelligence what was done by Assanus the Bashaw hee presently dispatc'd one Imbraim a Bashaw to him with Letters and charg'd him sorthwith upon the receit of his Letters to send his head to him in Constantinople These fatall Leâ—ters the greaâ— Turke useth to write with his owne hand and to seale them himselfe and so to role them up in black-silke The summe alwayes of these Letters is Mitte mihi tuum caput i. e. send to me your Head which was effected speedily Marke now seriously whosoever thou art King or Kaesar when as the Grand Ruler of heaven and earth sends to thee his black letters by Death his messenger thou canst not resist nor plead excuse thou mayest not to entreat will not availe thee fly or escape thou canst not it is determined above Doe thus then and make a vertue of necessitie what thou must doe by force doe willingly send thy head and thy heart too not to a Tyrant but to a Father not to a man but to God Be not thou onely commanded to set thy house in order and dye but willingly surrender thy selfe for why should it not agree with thy will when against thy will it must be it is of necessitie to yeeld it is of vertue and grace to resigne willingly §. 28. That each day is to be regarded and warily observed MVsonius speakes it that wee cannot spend the day as we ought unlesse wee determine to use it as if it were our last It is wholesome counsell which Saint Austine affords us Tom. 10 Lib. 50. Homil. 13 initio Our last day we know not because wee should look well to every day God hath wisely appointed the day of our death to be uncertaine that wee should noâ— be at any time secure and that every one should reckon this present time his last but if you say it is a melancholy thought to be poring and considering upon death and that it is the onely way to bring on death you are mistaken much A wise man will thinke with contentednesse of death no otherwise than an understanding Mariner will thinke of winds and waves as his ship sailes as meanes to bring him into his Harbour and yet the very thought doth not bring him thither This is all our folly and errour wee will be tost amongst waves and floods and yet wee feare to goe whither by nature and reason we are led Nature dictates this to us One steers-man guides us all At our rising or our fall And for Reason who that is endued with it will deny What tossings turmoylings cares distractions miseries dolors of body and mind are not here Behold an end of them why fearest thou behold the haven why entrest thou not in but indeed as men in prison would faine come forth and might but for the Keeper who locks them fast in So mightest thou but for thy saylor the love of this vaine life He is to be dismiss'd and as thou art able so must thou often consider of that which thou must once undergoe And because thy last day is uncertain and unknown suspect every one for it rely upon none securely by this course thy spirit will be more full of courage thy life will bee more conformable and thy departure more comfortable for what can terrifie or disturbe him to whom The Prince of feares With joy appeares A secret sudden wound is most terrible a meditated death layes us downe gently and joyfully §. 29. The Seat Royall of all our pride is our Beere Gen c. 13. toti ABraham that great Patriarch when by Gods command He went travelling up and downe he desired nothing more then to find a place to rest in Heb. 11. and for the purchasing so much ground as would serve him for a place of buriall This hee desired to have his owne that he might possesse it and wholly enjoy it Hence he without any delay paid to the seller all the money which hee asked for it without any deduction of good and currant money nor would it suffice him to have it publickly pass'd over to him but withall he would that all the Inhabitants should be witnesses for his buying it By which matter the pious man showed that a mans grave or Sepulchre is truly his owne which he might rather than any thing else call his properly By the example of Abraham Every good man will chiefly care for to have a Sepulchre at the time of his dissolution other houses and lands and possessions want no chapmen few men purchase after this manner however the grave is a sure and a quiet possession Maximilianus the first Emperour of the Austrian Family three yeares before his death commanded his Coffin to bee made of Oke and to be put into a great Chest which was carried with him in his Marches and travels and provided by his Will that his dead body wrapped in a linnen cloth should bee lay'd therein without any embalming onely his nostrils mouth and eares to be stopped with lime or chalke what meant this great Monarch onely that having such a Monument of Mortality before him hee should say Remember thou must die And that he might daily say Why doest thou oh my
for Chrâ—st is to mee both in life and death advantage § 3. Not always sweet things IN times past as Pliny reports on the Latines solemne dayes when as they strove for victory in their Charâ—ots in the Capitoll Who conquered drunke Wormwood be thou willing to take downe a cup of this bitter drinke that thou maist conquer He scarce deserves to tast the sweet Who with the sowre did never meet § 4. To contemne Death is Christian valour NO man rightly governs his â—ife but he that knows how to leave it Wee cannot be so stupid but thâ—t we must needs know some time or other we must die Yet when Deaâ—h comes wee are frighted tremble grieve But would not hee seeme to be a very Ideot that would weepe because he liv'd not untâ—l a thousand yeers and is not hee his equall who would liâ—e beyond a thousand Thou wast not thou shalt not be Past and future tiâ—e are both at anothers Regimen Wast not thou born to diâ— Diâ— no this happen to thy Father to thy Ancestors to all that were before thee Shall it not be laid upon all that come after thee why should thy shoulders be exempted from the coÌ„mon burthen Thou wouldest not fear to drink to eat to play to sleep with others why then fearest thou to die with others Look but upon the long troop of those before thee of those that follow thee and those that goe along with thee in the same houre with thy self This is a faire prospective View the known and unknown World and it is certain that thousands each moment are born and die and by the same kinde of Death Death perpetually hath bin a safe passage to rest And there is nothing ill in Death but the feare of Death If therefore we would be in quiet hereafter it is best to have our souls ready Shall I feare my end when I know I am not without end But you will say it is an hard thing to bring a mans minde to such an high passe to slight his own soule It is easie to him who knows to live as he sung well A just man's first or last Comes not too slow or fast We deny not but death hath some terrour in it but therefore we are to learne how not to feare it This is an infallible signe of a truly couragious soule not to feare his going out Hee truly knows whither he goes with comfort that knows from whence hee came in teares Theodosius of whom Saint Ambrose makes mention was such an Emperour who used to say I love that man who when he is to die is grieved more for the Churches hazard then for his own dissolution That therefore thou mayst never feare Death always think on it §. 5. Examples of Death contemned NInachetus a great Ruler in Malaca in the Indyes being commanded to leave off his office hee took it for so great a disgrace being ignorant of true honour vertue that forthwith he of Aloes and other sweet precious wood builded a great funerall-fire hard by his seat of judgment all covered with rich Arras from whence hee shining in his Robes of gold and decked with Jewels discoursed to the multitude abouâ— him of all the actions and passages of his life and having laid open and declared the benefits which hee had done for and conferâ—'d on the Portugals in their extremitie he complained that without any demeriâ— on his â—art he was deprived of his dignity then detesting the Portugalls plots such Fire-brands doth ambition inject into the souls of men hee as a contemner of their injuries and of his own death cast himselfe into the fire Aelian l. 5. Var. Hist c. 6. Aelianus records another example not unlike to this former saith hee the end of Calanuâ— is not onely strange but to be counted a wonder which was on this manner Calanus an Indian Philosopher who had bidden adieu to Alexander to the Macedonians and to this life built him in the large Suburbs of Babylon a funeraâ—l Pile of costly sweet wood as Cedar Cypresse Myrrhe anâ— Lawrell and having finâ—shed his daily constant exercise went into the Pile and stood there encompassed with the wood and the Sun shining bright upon him Which dâ—ne he intreated the Macedonians to kindlâ— the fire which burning Calanus stood still and fell not untill hee was dead It is reportâ—d that Alexandâ—r should say of him That Calanus had overcome stroâ—ger enemies than himselfe For Alexander had onely wâ—ged warre and conquered Porus Taxita and Darius but Calanus had overcome travell and Death And shall there be such courage in vain men against Death and shall Christians assisted by God droop their sâ—irits Let us but examine the mat er narrowly if we will believe Seneca Death is Natures best devise the sure remedy of all evils And therfore let us make that a vertue that otherwise will be necessity Certainly every wise ChristiaÌ„ wil do nothing unwillingly hee doth avoid all necessities pressures who is willing to doe what he must Let us therfore with a good heart expect our end or rather our beginning Hee is always of an upright heart who knows how to despise Death § 6. A minde ready for Death ZEno the Stoick as Suidas records it dasht his foot and wounded one of his toes as he went out of Schoole but hee supposing that he had beene called by others struck his hand upon the earth with this word I am comming why ô earth doest thou call me and so without any sicknesse at ninety six yeeres of age the old man died Zeno had so accustomed himselfe to hunger that hee would say hee would eat but little that he might â—ie the easier and sooner This did Zeno that his old age might be the freer from diseases and griefs Hee obtain'd both according to his desired wish Wee need not wonder that our lives are so short and our health so uncertain when as wee wast both health and life at feasting and drinking Large Suppers may please the appetite but they make work for the Physician a ful gluttonous belly is the Embleme of a swelling moving grave O fools by that way wee should prolong wee cut off and shorten our days And it proceeds from hence that wee will not be perswaded of the vertue of a Christian abstinence Vid. Leon. Less Hyg But experience pronounceth that saying to be true the lesse thou eatest the lonâ—er is â—hy life but to the purpose this by the way Vrsinus as Saint Gregory relates it being comforted with heavenly Meditations would often in his sicknesse cry out I come ô I come I give thanks to thee ô God and as hee related to those that were about him the joyes of Heaven and the beauty of those Celestiall souls he reiterated the same words Behold I come and so surrendred up his soule and died A mind willing to surrender to Death speaks in the present tense I doe come without any demurring or delays It is too late to
have not lived as I ought to have done as by grace I might have done I am sorry at my heaâ—t and it grieves mee that I cannot grieve more I humbly beseech thee ô Lord that thou wouldst not deale with me after my sins but according to thy great mercies thou ô God which hast laid stripes on the outward man give the inward man indeficient Patience So that thy praise may never depart from my mouth Have mercy upon mee ô Lord have mercy upon me and help mee for thou knowest what is good for my soul and body thou knowest all things thou canst doe all things to thee bee prayse for evermore Amen A Prayer after receiving of the holy communion to Jesus Christ. GLory and prayse be given to thee ô Christ who in thy gracious goodnesse wouldst vouchsafe to visit and cherish up my poore soule Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word Now I hold thee ô sweet Love I will not let thee go I willingly bid Adiew to the whole World and with joy I come to thee ô my God Nothing at all nothing shall separate mee from thee ô good Iesus for I am joyned to thee in thee I will live in thee I will die and in thee if thou wilt I will remayn for ever I live but not I but Christ liveth in me My soule now is weary of my life I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ For hee is to mee in life and death advantage Now though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death yet will I feare none evill because thou art with me ô Lord And as the Hart desires the Fountains of waters even so longeth my soule aftâ—r thee ô God My soule hath thirsted after God the fountaine of living waters When shall I come and appeare before the presence of God Blesse me most loving Iesus and now dismisse me in peace because I am truly thine and I will never for all time part with thee O could this happy union be now made Oh! might I be wholly in thee Oh! that my soul might fâ—r aye rest in thy imbracings and partake always of thy presence What have I any longer to doe or to be pestered with the World ô most loving Iesus Behold whom have I in heaven but thee anâ— whom have I desired on earth in comparison of thee Into thy hands ô LORD doe I commâ—nd my soule receive mee oh sweet Love that I may ever be with thee and that in thee I may lye downe and take my rest for thou onely makest me dwell in safety Amen The conclusion of the second Book To the Reader WEe have said thus much hitherto to the sound and sick partly to recreate them that they may live to excite them that they may watch to strengthen them to overcome that they might always be ready for Deaths assaults It is better to try any course then to dye ill An ill death is not onely the worst of all errours but it is irrecoverable inexpiable Now we come to dying men and prescribe documents for them not onely that they should read them when they are dying but specially in health to profit them against Death To dying Men. A Death strikes and with his Ax fels burly Okes There 's not a Tree that stands his single strokes B Fly hence Your House begins to crack it falls Get under ground there yee 'll find safer walls C Beast Fish and Fowle wee catch with wiles and snares But Death hurls darts at us and no Man spares D Be not dâ—smay'd though Sculs from Heaven drop From mortall seed springs an immortall crop E As Waters from Aquarius pitcher drill So runs Mans life Lib. a tryes Wel or Ill F The Sun goes down but 't is to bring now day So man doth dye that he may live for ay G The game 's our own The Deer's pent up No way to flie Dogs Huntsmen Darts Nets Toyls all tell him He must die THE Remembrance of DEATH is presented to dying Men. The third Book § 1. The Art of dying compendiously handled NOt to know how to die is the most wretched folly that therefore wee may learne that whiâ—h through all our lives we ought to learn fiue things are specially considerable which may make Death good First a free and undaunted mind this is a thing of great value on which do depend the rest An offering of a free heart will I give thee Ps 54.6 Nothing doth more please God noâ—hing more benefits man then an undaunted willing ready soule and a generous confidence in God Tergiversation and giving back argues a will nothing conformable to Gods Therefore if at some time to be done why not now to get such a prompt mind for death is to love and meditate on seriously the passion of our Lord which every day is to be considered on with Prayers The second a speedy and expedite dispatch and disposing of our debts and goods by will It is an errour not to think of making our wils untill Death be entred over the threshold Discharge thy debts dispose thy goods before Pale grimfac'd death doth come to knock at doore Saint Ambrose hath given us an excellent rule and method for the disposing of our own goods Let there be saith hee sincerity of faith quick sighted providence or let charity be joyned with prudence and prudence linked to charity and let him that giveth an Almes or taketh care that it be given let him doe that God may accept of the gift and the person giving The third is a speciall care of our salvation let that be reckoned of in the first place One thing is necessary Luk. 10.42 Bl ssed Saint Augustine the pattern of well dying men ten days before his Death admitted no Visitants onely at a set houre his Physician and a servant which brought in his dyet and hee himselfe was poured out in prayers teares and sighes hee conversed with GOD concerning his life and lâ—ft admonishments to us in these words Nullus Christianorum c. Let no Christian depart hence untill hee have fully and worthily repented him of his sins The fourth is the receiving of the Communion and to this the sicke party should bee ready and prepared this great werke stould not bee too long put off nor deferr'd till Death have possessed him it is dangerous to neglect this many die ill because they seeme to dâ—sire not to die so soone hee that will earnestly repent him of his sinnes let him do it early and contrition of spirit is excellent to a sicke mans salvation The fifth is a pious and entire oblation of himself to Gods good will Every man pâ—rhaps cannot exhibit a mind undaunted in sicknesse but every man oughâ— to shew a minde conformable to the will of God Let therefore the sick party often in the time of his visitation repeat these words of our Saviour Mat. 11.26 Even so Father because it seemed good
to your house as you commanded me but said the other all my servants and houshold know nâ— s ch matter Come along with mee good man replyed Iacoponus and I will make it appeare to be true before your owne eyes So hee forthwith brought him into the Church and to his owne Sepulchre and having removed a little stone hee said and friend is not this your house so the Citizen was struck with the Action and received his Chickens with this witty admonition Iob spoke most truly I know thou wilt deliver mee to death where every man living finds his house § 9. Nine formes of wils or Testaments PLinius Iunior said true that what was commonly reported for truth was false that every mans will was the looking glasse of his life and manners 1 Ziska a Bohemian Leader a great Souldier and a resoluâ—e Commander by his Will bequeathed his body to Birds or Beasts and hee wish'd his Souldiers to make a Drum head of his skin and wish'd them not to spare the Couents or Monasteries which they did accordingly He died in the yeer 1424. 2 A certaine foolish woman gaue by Will to her Cat five hundred Crowns that her Cat might have means to feed upon Oh the madnesse oh the folly of divers folks It was Caesar Augustus that said of Herod It was better to be Herod Hog then his Son and who may not as well say of this foolish woman It is better to be her Cat then her Servant 3 A great Usurer being about to die having cald the Scrivener and witnesses was desirous to make his last Will which hee did in form following Let my â—oâ—y be laid into the earth from wheÌ„ce it was taken and let my soule be given to the Devils at the hearing of which words his friends and all that were about him bebegan to wonder and began to admonish and to chide him but he repeated iâ— againe and againe Let my soule said he be given to Devils because I have gotten my Goods by unjust means as by oppression extortion and the like and let the Devils likewise take the souls of my wife and children because they forc'd me to take so much usury to maintain their pride and clothing and banketting and luxury and he said it and dyed ô wretched man thou madest these thy heires fearfull to thinke of thy estate 4 Saint Hierome doth stop the greedy covetousnesse of heires with this Apologie A little Hog seem'd to grunt and repine at his Sires death but when hee had heard the Will read and perceived that hee had a great heape of Acorns and certaine measures of Corn bequeath'd to him hee was still being asked why hee did so suddenly refraine his teares and griefe Answered the Acorns and the Corne had stopt his Cry Truly here is the Weeping of many Heires even to this day but when they heare what portions what houshold stuffe what moneys and other legacies are bequeath'd to them they are presently glad and care not much for the life of the Testator 5 Hieron a Martyr the fourth day before hee was brought out to suffer bequeath'd all his goods to his mother and sister and his hand which was to be cut off to Rusticius of Ancyra 6 Hilarion at the age of 80 yeers appointed by Will to be his Heire Hesychius who was absent in this manner following All my wealth to wiâ— my Bible my Coat and my Hood I bequeath to my loving friend Hesychius this was the catalogue of all his houshold-stuffe 7 Anthony the Great made his will in this manner No man knows the place of my Tombe but your hearty love but for my vestments let them be thus divided my Hood and my worn Coat I giue to Athanasius which he gave to mee new S. Athan. in vit Aâ—â— â— 58 let Serapion have my other Hood and you my Goats haire garment and so farewell ô yee my bowels for Anthony is going from hence Hee had scarce ended these words and his Schollers embraced him stretching out his feet a little he imbraced death with a cheerfull countenance 8 Iohn Patriarch of Alexandria called the Elemosynary writ his last Will in Tables in these words I thank thee ô my God that thou wouldst not let mee have of all my treasure but onely one piece left when I was named Patriarch of Alexandria I found 80 hundred of Gold and to them my friends added almost an innumerable sum of mony which all because they were Gods I did give them to God for I bestowed them on the poore and so shall even that one piece that 's left be likewise given to them Here that is most true That the most expedite and quickest way to make a Will is to give all the rest to the poore 9 Here shall bee added the forme of a Wil for any Christian onely let the name year and day be only altered all things else will suit and fit to all sorts of men I Achatius Victor do make speâ—d to Eternity from the yeer 1581 from the 15 day of the moneth of August I have had my mind fixâ—d on Eternity Now I commend my spirit to God and because I cannot but commit my substance to the World I doe commit my body to worms and corruption of all worldly goods none are mine onely â—y good will which I carry with me to the Tribunal of Goâ— my other things I thus dispose 1 I forgive all mine Enemies with all my heart 2 I am heartily sorry for all my sins and offences 3 I believe in Jesus Christ my most loving Redeemer and I desire to die in the faith of hâ—s Church 4 I doe hope to have eveâ—lasting life by the infinite goodnesse of God 5 I doe love God with all my heart and above all things and I do wholly resigne my self into the most holy will of God 6 I am fully prepared to be well or sick to live or die whensoever it shall seem good to God Let Gods will be done Unlesse every Christian doe so dispose of his life and death hee may be censured to die worse then he ha h lived The last houre perfects and consummates but it makes not death § 10. Nine Epitaphs AVlus Gellius propounds to be read the proud Epitaph of Naevius the most vaine one of Plautus A. Gellius l. 1. c. 24. the modest one of Pacuvius but we passe to others 1 In one of the prime Cities of Germany there are two Tombs neer to one another one of an old man another of a young man many would think at the first reading their Epitaphs to be the same The old mans Tombe bears this Inscription Et mortuus est i.e. And hee is dead which is the Epitaph of Adam and divers others and the same words are upon the Tombe of the young man Et mortuus est And is he dead Now the Reader in the Latine must obserue that the old mans is with a period but the young mans with an Interrogation So that
thus there described and after all these things he fell downe on his bed and knew that hee should die Oh what force and energie is there in the words post haec After all these things and in this decidt he fell specially in those morreâ—tur that he should die Alexander had in hopes conquered a World already nay worlds He thought he had done things worthy of everlasting Annals and yet after all these so many so great Trophies hee fell downe not onely into his bed but to his grave he must be content with a small Coffin Petius Alphonsus relates iâ— that Alexander being dead Many Philosophers met to speake some thing to be engraven on his Monument One hee utterd this En modo quatuor ulnarum spacium ei satis est cui spatiosissimus terrarum orbis non suffecerat i.e. behold now foure cubits is room enough for h m whoâ— while ere the whole World would not suffice ano her added yesterday Alexander could have freed any from death now noâ— himself One beholding his golden Châ—st spoke thus Yesterday saiâ— he Alexander of Gold made treasure now change turns and gold makes treasure of Alexander Seâ— the wise men exprest themselves but they all concluded with that of the Machabees Afterward he fell down into his bed and dyed Juvenal sings thus of him Vnus pellaeo Iuveni non sufficit orbis ... i.e. The whole World though 't be was Will not content Philips great son But marke the largnesse of our thoughts while wee prove forgetfull of our own condition oh did we meditate on heavenly immortall things while wee vainly dispose these transitory ones to our Nephews and Kinred Alas all this this while we are extending our thoughts death oppresseth us and this thing which is called old age is but a short circuit of a few yâ—ers Why should wee therefore trust death Consider but for what small matters wee lose our lives It is not our meat nor drink nor watching nor sleep used intemperately but prove deadly our foot hurt a little the griefe of the eares a rotten tooth meat offending the stomach a drop of an ill Humour any of these may open the gate to death Is it a matter of any great consequence or profit whither we live or die Ill sents savours tastings wearinesse nay nourishment it selfe without which we cannot live may bring in and usher in death The body of man is weak fluid rotten diseased wheresoever it moves it is conscious of it's own infirmity It endures not every Climate the Sea alters it the change of ayre infects it the least cause hurts it Let us believe him therefore who said Therefore ô men death is better then a bitter life and eternall rest then continued travell Therefore I say It is better to dwell in heaven then to travell on earth § 22. Death's Blessednesse WRite Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord even so saith the Spirit that they rest from their labours and their works follow them to die in the Lord is to die the servant of the Lord as the holy Scriptures speake of Moses Moses my servant is dead as if the Lord should say although hee sinned sometime and by sin made himself not my servant yet hee died my servant He died in my service Whatsoever hee was whatsoever he did it was mine for all the servants work is the Lords and such a joyfull Verse in that Song waâ— that of old Symeon Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy Word In peace altogether at whose entrance all the wars of the righteous men are ended never for all eternity to be begun again Such servants of God do all die in the Lord which dying do as it were rest in his bosome and so resting sweetly are said to sleep in death So blessed Stephen in the midst of that storm and showre of stones in such a great tumult and fury of those that stoned him slept in the Lord. Acts 7.60 Ioh 11.11 So our Lord spoke of Lazarus that h e did but sleep So Moses the servant of the Lord died when God bade him or as some expound it at the Lords speech as if the Lord had kissed him in this sence as a Mother takes her Infant in her Arms and kisseth him being a sleep and so lays him into bed smilingly no otherwise did God with Moses but by sweet embraces and smiles did lay him being falne asleepe into Abrahams bosome Where hâ—e shall give his children peace saith the Psalmist Blessed yea for ever blessed are all they that so die because they shall never be miserable as Saint Bernard saith The death of the righteous is good for the rest Secondly for the newnesse of it Thirdly for the security of it Blessed yea thrice blessed are all such for their works follow them they shal follow them as servants their Lord as sonnes their father as Schollers their Master as Souldiers their Generall as Nobles do their Sovereigne They shall follow us to Gods Tribunall They shall be brought into the highest Courts of the Great King and there shall be admitted for noble Courtiers And as every one which is able for wealth and Nobility is known by the number and adornment of his followers so who desires to appeare before the King of Glory let him be wel and richly furnished with such servants And let him set them before him and look that they be many and richly apparelled and though our good works go before us in some kinde yet they follow us in reward The labour which we spend on them and in them goes before The reward which we have from them follows He never can want comfort that is well stored with such followers § 23. A Dying mans farewell to the living who must follow him the same way MAny are the things for which I am sorry Especially the neglect of grace and the time that I have ill spent Oh how should I how ought I to have beene more patient more submisse more mindfull of my death ô how few and small sparkles of divine love have had irradiations in my soul Have mercy upon me ô God have mercy upon me according to the multitude of thy great mercies ô infinite goodnesse by the precious bloud of thy deare Son be mercifull to mee a sinner and ô you whomsoever I have offended in words or deeds Forgive and pardon mee You have mee now heartily confessing my selfe guilty and sorrowfull and deny not to mee before I goe hence this viaticum even the free forgivenesse of all my offences towards you Doe not I pray you let your courage fall in the time of sicknesse by my example because I am weak Set your eyes upon the actions of holier men and conform your selves to them Emulate with ardency their patience humility obedience And I cannot but give you hearty thanks for all the good offices you have performed towards â—ee either by your hand and work care