bear again the Pangs of Death Would you bring her back again into the Vineyard now her Work is done and she is receiving her Wages to endure the burden and heat of the day and all to bear you Company You are groaning under the present burden of Mortality and are sensible of your Pains and Distempers and would you wish her in the like condition She is now safely landed in the Port of Glory and would you have her back again upon the raging Sea tossed up and down with Storms and Tempests among Rocks and Sands among Pirates and Robbers and all this under pretence of Love and Tenderness What worse can you wish to your greatest Enemy She is at her Journey 's end and would you have her tread over those weary steps again along the dirty craggy rocky and thorny way and pass through those Dangers again she hath once escaped She was an Heiress and is come to her Age and hath received her Inheritance and would you have her wave her Inheritance resign up her Crown and Kingdom and again reduce her self to servile Slavery Bondage and Beggery carking Cares and fretting Fears She hath run the Race and won the Prize and would you have her run it again and put it to a second venture She hath fought the good Fight and won the Victory and wears the Crown and would you have her try for it in a second Duel Would you have her renounce her Crown and Diadem divest her self of her rich Robes wherewith her Husband hath arrayed her and re-assume the rags of Sin and the state of Suffering She is now out of the Devil's reach and must she again feel his fiery Darts and be taken â—n his Snares and subject her self to the Allurements of the World where she shall have Snares â—aid for her in every State and Condition every Relation every Calling every Enjoyment every Duty yea every Action Would you have her â—gain hated persecuted and maligned for Righâ—eousness sake and under continual Fears Troubles Anxieties and Afflictions What pleasure think â—ou she can take that hath been enchaunting â—ut Hallelujahs in the Heavenly Quire when she â—omes to hear Swearing Cursing ribald and unâ—avoury Speeches and to see the Laws of God broken as is too frequent in the World to see Holiness made a Scorn and Religion a Laughing-â—tock and those that are Godly made a Prey Now what Arguments would you use to her to â—ain her consent to re-assume her former Estate â—he hath tryed both and knows the difference â—â—tter than we and we usually say Contra gustum non disputandum Experience is the best Master Doubtless all your Arguments will prove vain in this case she better knows now the Vanity of the World than formerly she did and the worth of Coelestial Enjoyments and her love to God is much more enlarged her Understanding being increased for nothing but Ignorance can stave off our Affections from Christ Will you tempt her with Gold Silver Precious Jewels Alas if you should empty the Indies it will noâ— do she must leave better Treasures behind her These will but serve her to look upon but tiâ—â— Death the other are more durable and laâ—â— even to Eternity she treads better Metal iâ— Heaven under her feet Rev. 21.21 The streeâ—â— of the City are of pure Gold Or will brave Apparel costly Ornaments entice her Alas she must leave behind her the rich Robes of Christ'â— Righteousness and those Precious Gemms anâ— Jewels wherewith her Husband hath arrayed her far more precious than the World affords thosâ— Robes of Glory which no Man can describe Or will Honour or Preferment do the work Alas the empty thing called Honour bears no more proportion to Heavenly Glory than painted fire on the Wall to true fire or a King upoâ— a Stage to a King upon his Throne or a liveless Carkass to a living Man And what Preferment can there be greater than to a Crown of Glory and to be the Spouse of the Son oâ— God If you offer her all the Delights of the Sons of Men what are those to the Delights of the Sons of God To those Rivers of pleasâ—â—e which are at God's right hand for evermore These are like Jonah's Gourd soon withered soon ripe and soon rotten Will stately Buildings large Revenues Crowns and Kingdoms prove a Temptation Alas this is too weak a Bait to allure a Heaven-born Soul The New Jerusalem whereof she is a Citizen is not to be parallel'd in the whole World See the description of it or rather the shadow for no words in Humane Language can discover it Rev. 21. where Gold and Precious Stones are the coursest Materials yea too course to describe it in its Glory And for spaciousness the whole Terrestrial Globe doth not so much exceed one square Inch of Earth as the Heavens exceed the whole Globe But it may be her dear Husband may allure her but she must then leave a better Husband even Christ to whom her Soul was espoused before she went But her Father and Mother are here but she hath God for her Father and Jerusalem that is above is her Mother and Angels and glorified Saints her Brethren and Sisters and constant Companions She was 't is true a loving and dutiful Child and now is a loving and dutiful Wife and she cannot transgress her Maker's Laws not her Husband 's Will. With what scorn would she reject such offers as these if made to perswade her out of Heaven Her love to her Husband would answer all the Objections could be made But how can you be so much against the consummation of the Marriage that were so willing of the Espousals I know you travelled in Birth till Christ was formed in her it was both your desire and design it should be so and your delight when it was done and is his fetching her home so troublesome What greater mischief could you wish to the greatest Enemy you ever had in the World than to wish him out of Heaven And it would be the most signal Revenge if you could procure it And can it be Love thâ—n to your Daughter You know not what Cup may be put into your hand to drink and would you have a glorified Soul to Pledge you Were you in a loathsom Prison would you wish your dearest Friends to be in the like condition Or were you sick must they be sick also Is this an effect of Lâ—ve Paul indeed desired to be dissolved and to be with Christ but he never desiâ—ed any that were with Châ—ist back again he desired Agrippa and those that were with him were such as he was except his bonds He did not desire their Misery but their Happiness The World is but a Pest-House and every one hath some Plague-sore or other running upon him and would you desire any Friend you love to come into such infected Company It is but a little while and you will follow her and it will be said of you as of her
Crosses Pains Sickness c. 5. They shall enjâ—y God Heaven and Happiness for ever Fifth Lesson If all must dye how little Certainty wicked men have of their Happiness 1. At Death they must leâ—ve behiâ—d all their Riches 2. They must bid 〈…〉 to all their Pleasures 3. They must lose all their Pomp Glory and Honour 4. After Death they â—hall lose their God their Soules their Heaven and Happiness 5. They shalâ— be thrown into endless â—aseless Torments Sixth Lesson If all must dye then we should prepare for our own Death 1. Consider seriously we muâ—t die 2 â—e have a great deal of Work to do ere we die 3. Many men as worldly-wise as we do miscarry 4. The dangâ—rous condition we are in while unprepared 5. Preparation for Death and our Evidences for Heaven can do us no harm Directions to Die well 1. Get an Interest in Christ and a title to Glory 2. Be sure to see Sin dead before you or your Souls will die 3. Mortifie and Crucifie the World and subdue it 4. Be sure to live well if you would die well 5. Learn to die daily have death always before your Eyes Seventh Lesson If all must die bring your minds to be willing to die 1. Consider Our Life is not at your own dispose but God's 2. The many miseries Death frees us from 3. 'T is unbeseeming a Christian to be unwilling to die when God calls 4. If we resign our selves to God we shall die to the best Advantage 5. The Joys of Heaven may sweeten Death itself The Conclusion DEATH Improved AND Immoderate Sorrow for Deceased RELATIONS And FRIENDS Reproved In a LETTER Consolatory to the Vertuous and truly Religious Lady Wilbraham of Weston in the County of Stafford at the Death of her Daughter the Lady Middleton of Chirk Castle MADAM LET it not be thought Presumption in me though the meanest of a Thousand if I make bold to give my Advice in the midst of so many much abler Counsellors and to prescribe you Physick when you have so many Learned Physicians at hand for haply I have more experienced that Distemper under which you labour than many of them and can write a Probatum est upon my Receipts Others may speak more of the Disease than I can yet few have felt the working of it in their own Bowels more than I even from my Youth up and I am at present making up a Dose for my self who am in daily expectation of paâ—ting with my Eldest Son as you have done with your Eldest Daughter he being one in whom I took no small content and from whom I expected much Comfort in my Age the Lord grant I may take the same Counsel I give to others When first I heard of your great and as I think unexpected Loss and how soon your Joy that a Man-Child was born into the World was turned into Sorrow that a Woman was taken out of the World I confess I was suddenly surprized with Amazement and cryed out How vain a thing is Man whose breath is in his Nostrils and how vain are all these transitory things we so much dote upon And how little can they do for us when we have most need And how foolish are we to spend our time and money for that which is not bread and our labour for that which satisfieth not When I saw so fair a Flower so lately budded and not fully blown so soon withered and dead and what need we had especially that were much older to stand upon our Guard not knowing the day nor hour wherein our Lord and Master comes When I had spent some time in these Considerations and bewailed the Publick Loss I began to consider your Condition who by reason of your tender and haply too tender Love and Care of your Children especially as I imagined of her who was your First-born and the beginning of your Strength and one who by reason of her Age and Maturity more fit for your more intimate Society I was afraid your Burden would not be easily born for I conceive you are better qualified to bear a heavy Burden of another Nature than this strong Affections many times breed strong Afflictions but God will have us hate Father and Mother Wife and Children and our own Lives for his sake These things considered I could not but sympathize with you in your Suffering and put my Soul as it were in your Soul's stead and so bewailed and condoled your Condition having many times my self felt the weight of your Burden I thought then with Job That to those that are afflicted pity is to be shewn by his friend Job 6.14 But barely to pity and not to endeavour to help is but a poor kind of Charity but it was out of my reach any other way to help than by Counsel and Advice and this I knew you needed not yet not willing to be altogether silent I resolved to communicate to you my own Experience and what it was that hath once and again calmed those tumultuous Thoughts that raged in my Breast But could I but imagine that your Sorrows were over your Griefs supprest your Trouble buried and your Burden eased I should not be so uncharitable as to take them again out of the Ashes or blow the fire that is too apt of it self to kindle but I fear the Flame is too great to be so soon extinguished and your Distemper too deeply rooted to be so easily removed and the Wound too great to be so easily healed Or that I could but imagine your Sorrows were moderate and no more than your Duty I should not put you to the trouble of Reading nor my self of Writing these following lines But I not only fear but also hear that you are a Woman of a sorrowful Spirit drench'd in Sorrow over-power'd with Grief and like Rachel weeping for your Daughter and will not be comforted because she is not And fearing as others of your Friends do what the event will be in parting with this dear Pledge or rather Piece of your self especially when I read Godly Persons have sometimes been strangely transported with Passion upon such Occasions as Jacob at the supposed Death of Joseph Gen. 37.33 when he refused Comfort and resolâ—â—d to go down to the Grave with him but he should have learned to bury his Children and Friends when alive by acting their Death to himself afore-hand He shewed his Fatherly Love to his Son but not his own Obedience to his Father The next that offers himself to our consideration is David a man after God's own heart yet not without his Faults and Failings we find him excessively mourning for the Death of rebellious Absalom that had kill'd his Brother Amnon forc'd his Concubines rebell'd against him and sought his Life yet when he was cut off by a deserved Death partly by the hand of God he mourns and over-mourns till he was soundly chidden and threatned by Joab and wish'd he had dyed for him 2 Sam. 18.33
the ground of your Grief The more Gracious the more Glorious the more Holy the more Happy the better she was the fitter for Heaven There are two things which may trouble us at the death of Relations the one is when we can see no Evidence of Grace the other when we have neglected our Duty to them especially to their Souls in their life-time The reason why David did so wofully bewail the Death of Absalom is imagined to be one or both of these When our Relations are fitted for Glory I think 't is no uncharitable wish to wish them out of a troublesome World in those Coelestial Enjoyments Paul did desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ which was best of all But to wish those out of Glory that are in were both an unprofitable and uncharitable desire and argues more Passion and Self-love than well grounded Charity Now there is no going to Heaven but through the Gaâ—es of Death and 't is through Death's Portal that we must enter She hath paid the Debt we all owe and would you have her endure these Pangs and Pains over again You came not into the World together and it was unlikely that you would go together out and when ever a parting was it was like to be with grief She hath changed her Husband but 't is for the better an Earthly for an Heavenly she had a large Joynture before but 't is much amended 't is now advanc'd to a Crown and Kingdom She hath left her Relations behind but she hath better there Saints and Angels the Souls of Just Men made perfect There she can serve the Lord without distraction and sing Hallelujahs to Eternity without weariness here Corruption attended her best Duties there sin and sorrow shall be no more here she was troubled with Satan's Temptations there he cannot come to throw one Dart or shoot one Arrow at her here she was liable to Pains Aches Griefs and Troubles all these are there removed here she could scarcely open an Eye or an Ear but it let in sin or sorrow there all tears shall be wiped away and a sad or sorrowful thought shall never enter And what cause hath she to complain of wrong And if neither of you be wronged why is this wast Why so many sighs so many sobs so many sorrowful tears which might better run in another Channel Had she liberty â—o speak for her self it might probably be in such words as these which Christ upon the Cross spake â—o the Women that bewailed him Luke 23.28 Weep not for me but weep for your selves and for â—our children c. those that are yet in the Vale of Tears 't is the Church-Militant that deserves â—ity not the Church-Triumphant Lament raâ—her the condition of those that survive for you know not what their Sufferings may be the other are out of harms-way and safely landed in the Port of Heaven Now is there such a wrong done you or her that God takes her to himself before you were willing to part with her though he had a better Interest in her than you could pretend and made her fit for Glory and translated her thither You agree both in the thing but the Quarrel is about the time and the Controversie is whose Will must be obeyed or whose Judgment must be preferred which is the best time Many of the wiser Heathens have submitted with less contradiction Anaxarchus when told of the death of his two Sons answered I knew that they were Mortal Et stultus est qui mortem mortalium deflet Now in the present Controversie may not God say to you as sometimes he did to his People What iniquity have your fathers found in me that they are gone from me What wrong have I done that you thus complain One of us must submit and must it be me Must I alter my Eternal Decrees for your sake or will there be no Peace to be had The Lord may say as Jacob did to Laban when he so fiercely pursued him Gen. 31.36 What is my trespass What is my sin Declare it before the world that they may be our judges Nay hath not God in this very Affliction sugared your Pill which might have been much bittered she might have been taken away in her younger years before you had such hopes of her Integrity or at least denyed you such Evidence of her Conversion then might you have feared she had been lost indeed or instead of one he might have taken all your Children when as yet two survive oâ— by the same stroke he might have taken away your dear Husband better to you than ten Sons as Elkanah said to Hannah 1 Sam. 1.8 Or he might have suffered your Children to be a heart-breaking to you as too many in these days are by their vicious Lives and Conversations who bring their gray hairs with sorrow to the grave which makes them with with Augustiâ—â— that they had never married or had dyed childless These are not such rare Examples in our days but too frequent She dyed a Natural Death many now adays as well as Job Eli Aaron David and others in former times were not so happy as to say so of theirs Neither is there any guilt upon you as upon some that have cause to mourn for neglecting any means for the preservation of her Life when some be wickedly Accessory to their Childrens Death If there were any fault which yet I cannot accuse you of it was in the excess of your Love which I the more fear when I see the excess of your Sorrow and this is a fault which Indulgent Mothers are apt to run into But you 'll say you could more easily have born any other Burden or suffered any other Cross Why then it seems God hath let you Blood in the right Vein as he did the Young Man in the Gospel that was willing to do any thing Christ commanded but part with his Riches but Christ will have a full resignation of our selves and all that is ours or he will not own us No beloved Delilah must be retained the Cross that Christ appoints we must bear and must not pick and choose our own Burden Luke 14.26 If any man come to me and hate not his father and mother wife and children brethren and sisters and his own life also he cannot be my Disciple That is if he prize any of those before him or will rather part with Christ than with any or all of these he deserves not the name of a Christian for all we have in the World is given to us as Love-Tokens from God to signifie his Love to us and to oblige our Love to him and sometimes God calls back some of these Gifts to see whether we love him or his Tokens better God gave you liberty before she dyed to let her and you see the Fruit of her Womb a Son which though he soon called off the Stage yet at the Resurrection be shall stand in his lot But 't is
Those are most like to neglect their Work that cast it out of sight and out of mind and those are likest to be surprized by an Enemy that neglect their Watch When the evil servant said in his heart my Lord deferreth his coming c. he was soon surprized and paid for his Folly Mat. 24.48 c. In the Psalmist's days there were many of whom he saith God is not in all their thoughts Psal 10.4 And are there not many in our days of whom it may be said Death is not in all their thoughts Do not the shew of their countenance the course of their lives testifie against them and they declare their sin 〈◊〉 Sodom and hide it not The course of their Lives cannot consist with a believing Meditation of God of Heaven and Hell Death and Judgment no no they put far from them the evil day Amos 6.3 This cursed Security is the source of all manner of sin and wickedness for God is neither in their Head nor Heart and therefore they sin boldly I have heard of some foolish Creatures that will thrust their Heads into a Bush and then because they see no body they think no body sees them such apprehension many Men seem to have of Death they think themselves secure because they have got Death out of their minds but misreckoning proves no Payment Many like the Rich Man Luke 12.16 c. promised himself a longer Lease than God had sealed him but Christ calls him Fool for his labour Many mens Glasses are almost run out when they thought they were but new turned but those that reckon without their Host must reckon twice 'T is folly in a Tenant to forget his Rent-day and then imagine his Land-lord forgets it also or for a Malefactor to forget the day of his Execution and think others forget it as well as he This was Jerusalem's fault and it proved her ruine Lam. 1.9 She remembred not her last end therefore she came down wonderfully and this proves many a man's ruine It was not in vain therefore that Moses prays Psal 90.12 So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom We are apt to make some Preparation for the Body what to eat and what to drink and wherewithal we shall be cloathed and neglect not Fairs nor Markets where wanted Necessaries may be had many prepare in the Day for the Night in the Summer for Winter in Health for Sickness in Youth for Age yea and for their Posterity after them And what stupid Madness is it not to provide in time for Eternity and remember not the days of darkness for they are many Eccles 11.8 'T is the greatest folly to mind trifles and neglect the main The thoughts of Death will not hasten it the sooner but it may hasten our Preparation for it it can do us no harm but much good Let no day therefore pass without some serious thoughts and meditation of it this will make it less formidable 'T is fabled of the Fox that when he first saw a Lion he trembled but in process of time he grew bolder Thus by better Acquaintance we should do with Death that is most amazing that comes unexpectedly Let us put the Question to our selves Did I know I should dye the next Week or Month how should I spend this time And let 's live so seeing for ought we know we may not live so long Sure our Time-wasting Gallants would then find something else to do than to divide their Time as many do between Swearing Roaring Drinking and Whoring Death will make a wonderful change both in the good and in the bad In the good 't is an outlet to all their Misery and an inlet to Heaven and Glory In the bad 't is an end of all their Felicity and the date of their Misery and can this on either side be such a contemptible change as not worth thinking of Should a poor Woman upon a fixed day be to be married to some Mighty Prince could she forget the day or neglect to prepare for it Can a Maid forget her ornaments or a Bride her attire c. Or were a Man upon an appointed day to go to Prison to Banishment or to Execution would it signifie nothing to him Were our Houses on fiâ—e over our Heads or were we pursued by a Lion or Bear or other ravenous Beast or some deadly Enemy that sought our Lives should we be so unconcerned And is not the Soul in a thousand times greater danger of Eternal Death than the Body can be of Temporal and yet shall this be slighted Is it not high time for us when the Sergeant waits to Arrest us to take Christ's Counsel and agree with our Adversary before we are cast into Prison Mat. 5.25 And not as ill Husbands do stay till we are arrested and cast into Prison I know there are too many that think God and Devil Heaven and Hell are but Fables these will know to their sorrow they are Realities and deserve our serious thoughts And 't is not enough to think of Death for many do so against their wills but they must prepare for it also let us consider every Evening what we have done in reference to Preparation the day past and whether we are a days Journey nearer Heaven as we are nearer our Graves This course is likely to fit us for Death and Judgment Lesson 7. The Seventh Lesson we may learn from this sad and unexpected Providence is Seeing all are under a necessity of dying to bring our minds to be willing to dye how and when God in his Providence shall think fit It is appointed unto all men once to dye and after death the Judgment Heb. 9.27 Now 't is our Duty to subscribe our consent to this Law He that hateth not his father mother wife and children brethren and sisters and his own life also he cannot be my Disciple Luke 14.26 These are Love-Tokens God hath given us to win our Love and when he requires them again 't is to try whether we love Him or his Gifts better 'T is as I shew'd before our Duty to submit as Aaron patiently to the death of our Relations and sometimes the Lesson proves hard enough but here is a further tryal we shall be put upon to submit to our own Death When Job bore the loss of his Estate and Relations so well the Devil would try him by afflicting him in his Body and Mind Skin for skin and all that a man hath will he give for his life Job 2.4 As if he should say Any thing for his own Life Cattle Servants Children all shall go so he may sleep in a whole Skin I know the Lesson to be willing to dye seems hard to Flesh and Blood but we must have something more or we cannot dye well the same Reason that makes us submit to another's Death is good here I know there are greater Temptations lying at some mens doors than others 't is
is confest what Accusation will you form against this Omnipotent God seeing he hath meddled with nothing but his own Creature the work of his own hands and one that he hath a greater Interest in than ever you had What Arguments will you use to defend your Cause against him Job indeed had a good mind to quarrel him and as good a Cause for ought I know as any Man living for God himself commends him above all the Men upon the Earth for a perfect and an upright man one that feared God and eschewed evil yet holdeth he his integrity saith he to Satan although thou movedst me against him to destroy him without a cause Job 2.3 Oh saith he that God would answer me Job 31.30 But when God accepted the Challenge and posed him with some hard Questions he cries out I am vile what shall I answer I will lay my hand upon my mouth Once hâ—ve I spoken but I will not answer yea twice but I will proceed no further Job 40.4 5. Yea we find him at the loss of his seven Sons and three Daughters the loss of all his Cattel blessing the Lord The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away blessed be the name of the Lord Job 1. â—1 We find him not cursing at the Chaldeans or reviling at the Sabeans as many would have done he knew whoever was the Rod God's Hand held it and whoever was the Instrument God was the Author This Consideration quieted David when that dead Dog Shimei railed upon him and cursed him The Lord saith he hath bid him curse David 2 Sam. 16.7 This quiered good Old Eli when the sad Tidings of the death of his two Sons and the ruine of his Family was fore-told 'T is the Lord saith he let him do what seemeth him good 1 Sam. 3.18 This Consideration also silenced Aaron when his two Sons Nadab and Abihu were both slain with fire from Heaven Levit. 10.3 And Aaron held his peace He bridled his Passion and submitted his Will to God's Will And how then dare we dispute the Point with God that have neither Might nor Right on our side that are but frail yea sinful Dust and Ashes poor Worms that if he tread upon us he leaveth us dead behind him Who are we that we should be discontent with his dealing while we have no wrong done us or think to struggle out of his hand when we have no Power or be sullen under his Rod when 't is for our own good God is not engaged to give us any Account of his doing but sure it may suffice us when he tells us All shall work together for our good if we love him Rom. 8.28 And then why not this Providence We take bitter Pills and unsavoury Potions upon the Word of a Physician when he Sugars them with the hopes of Health And shall we mistrust the great Physician that cannot deceive nor be deceived Yea how unsuitable is it for Christians to repine under such Dispensations of Providence who daily pray Thy will be done in â—arth as it iâ— in heaven chearfully readily and willingly and yet murmure when his Will is done and prefer our own Wills before his Nay further consider if you are not Accessory to this Cross that you now lye under Or have you not a hand in making the Rod wherewith ye are beaten There are two ways we may be Accessory to the Death of our Relations The one is by lodging them too near the Heart even in that Room which Christ hath reserved for himself This makes God like a Jealous Husband remove that Servant out of the Family which he sees his Wife dotes upon as a Father takes away the Knife for fear of Danger or the Meat for fear of a Surfeit for many times we grasp those Thorns so hard till they prick us to the heart and then like Children we cry when we have hurt our selves Some on the other side through Carelesness or Covetousness neglect the necessary means of preserving or restoring the Health of their Relations But if you can clear your self of the former I think all that know you will clear you of the latter for the hand of God was so evidently seen in this Visitation that no Providence no Câ—â—â— no Cost nor Pains could prevent or remove it God denying a Blessing to all the means that were used and did immediately dispute his own Right and claim his own Interest and silence all Gain-sayers Oh how good is it for us to hang loose to all Creature-Comforts and not set up any Idols in our Hearts but leave all our Relations to be at God's dispose for many times we our selves weave the Spider's Web out of our own Bowels with which we are intangled and twist the Snare with our own fingers wherein we are held Let us therefore in the first place consider who 't is that hath done this supposed Injury and the serious Consideration of it will do much to allay the Storms of our Passion and quell and suppress those tumultuous Thoughts that rage in our Breast and do much towards the calming of our Spirits 2. And as we have considered who 't is we contend with even the Mighty God of Heaven and Earth in the next place 't is not amiss to consider who we are that thus quarrel him even Dust and Ashes Worms-meat poor frail indigent Creatures we are that thus oppose the Will of this great God and find fault with his Government of the World What King saith our Saviour Christ going out to make war against mother King sitteth not down first and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand Or else while the other is yet a great way off he sendeth an ambassage and desireth conditions of peace Luke 14.31 32. And this is our Wisdom to do when we see we cannot grapple with him to lay down our Arms and submit and sue for Peace before the Contention grow too high for doubtless we may easily see we are not a meet Match for him our Original is but from the Earth The Lord formed man out of the dust of the earth and breathed into him the breath of life and man became a living soul Gen. 2.7 and ere long we must be resolved into Earth Dust thou art and unto dust thou shall return Gen. 3.19 And is such a despicable Worm able to contend with the Almighty Yea all of us high and low rich and poor noble and base were bewen out of the same rock and digged out of the same hole of the pit Isa 51.1 And all had the same Original and are poor frail contemptible Nothings Is my strength saith Job the strength of stones or are my sinews of brass Job 6.12 And what if it were Were our Flesh of Brass and our Sinews of Iron could we then grapple with the Almighty Was ever any that hardened himself against God and prospered Dust we are by Creation sinful
got out It crept into Heaven among the Angels for some conceive they affected the Deity It crept into Paradice and made our first Parents desire to know as God The Babel-Builders they would fain dwell as God and Antichrist sets himself above all that is called God or is worshipped Every proud man is tainted with this Lunacy and are discontent with the Station in which God hath placed them Many have a great Shadow that have little Substance the worser the Wiâ—â— the fairer the Bush the empty Vessel makes the greatest sound and the shallow Waters the greatest noise and worthless men make the greatest brags Babel had high towring Thoughts she must needs be like God himself Isa 14.12 but God brought her down Ambitious men are like unto the Ivy though it have a contemptible Root and cannot rise without the assistance of the Oak or Elm yet it never rests till it overtop them When Zeuxes had finished his Picture of Atalanta he wrote under it Painters may rather envy this than imitate it Demosthenes loves to hear as he pass'd along the Street that pleasing word This is that Demosthenes Hoc ego primus vidi saith another So fond are men of their own Brats they are like Peacocks proud of their own Feathers when they forget their black Feet When Dionysius commanded Zeuxes to draw the Picture of Envy he brought him a Looking-glass and bid him behold his own Face in it And may we not as easily draw the Picture of Ambition as much to the life in many mens Faces Alexander when he was offered Darius's Daughter and a great part of his Dominions with her answered As the Heavens could not contain two Sons no more could the Earth two Alexanders See the large extent of an ambitious Mind But whatever the World saith to the contrary Virtue will prove the fairest Escutcheon and that is the best Honour where God is the top of the Kin and Holiness lies at the bottom 'T is storied of Julia the Daughter of Augustus Thaâ— being reproved for her Prodigality and caution'd of her Father's Frugality answered If her Father forgat that he was Caesar she would not forget that she was Caesar's Daughter 'T is hard for a Maid to forget her Ornaments or a Bride her Attire 't is a great deal easier to forget the Soul Most live above their Estate few under it Some say Pride and the Gout are alike that is both incurable Ambition and desire of Rule makes many Subjects murther their Prince many Children their Parents and many Wives their Husbands and one Brother to kill another Absolom to rebel against his Father yea it makes Princes tyrannize over their Subjects and Landlords over their Tenants the Rich to oppress the Poor and the Stronger to wrong the Weaker and make Men-like the Fishes in the Sea where the great ones devour the lesser But when Pride rides in the Saddle Shame sits upon the Crupper Pride goes before Destruction and a haughty Spirit before a Fall The more Gold Pride eateth the more Blood it sucketh The higher and faster a man climbs the more danger of breaking his Neck for God resisteth the Proud but gives Grace to the Humble 1 Pet. 5.5 King Philip glorying after his Victory Archimedes perswaded him to measure his Shadow to see how much bigger it was grown by the Conquest If Promotion should make men bigger yet it makes few men better Of all the Roman Emperors only Vespasion is said to be better by his advancement But did men well consider that all their Ancestors Glory lies in the Dust and very shortly theirs must do so likewise it might make them veil their Peacock's Plumes 'T is a Sin and Shame for an Angel to be proud much more for a Muck-heâ—p Sack of Dust an Earth-worm that hath no Breath to breathe but what God puts into him Yet many there are that think God loves them best because he gives them most then Pharaoh Sennacherib Jeroboam Herod the Great Turk and such-like are much in favour But here is a Mistake in the Reckoning God made Nebuchadnezzar to know and acknowledge That the Most High ruleth in the Kingdoms of Men and giveth them to whomsoever he will and setteth up over them the basest of men Dan. 4.17 Pharaoh was advanced on high for his greater Fall For this cause saith God I have raised thee up c. And no doubt Haman's Promotion was upon the same account Riches and Honours many times prove Blocks in Heavens way not in themselves but by their abuse they are like the fine Feathers of the Ostrich fine to gaze on but of little use to help them to mount aloft when the Lark or Swallow are swift of Wing and mount easily 'T is hard for a Rich man to mount upward or to enter in at the streight Gate yea as hard as for a Camel to go through the Eye of a Needle the reason is they have such a Burthen upon their Backs and they have such a Loadstone here on Earth which they love and trust to which draws their Affection from Heaven to Earth this hinders their flight as 't is Fabled the Golden Apples did Atalantas Race Those that stand upon the top of Pinacles are in Danger and had need look to their footing Those that attract Guilt in attaining Promotion are in the greatest danger when 't is gotten for at utmost Death will beâ—â—ave them of it 'T is a sad Fall from the highest Pinacle to the Depth of Hell their Glory then will not follow them their Pomp will take its leave O what a sad day will this be when all these things wherein they gloried will be gone and when Riches Honour and Pleasures as to them shall be no more which as Micah said of his Ephod and Teraphim These are gone and what have I more Judg. 18.23 Now when these their Gods are gone what have they more And these they have not long to enjoy and this will be a further aggravation of wicked mens Misery at Death 4. That wicked men at Death lose all their Worldly Felicity such as Riches Honours and Pleasures I have already shewed you yet these are not all the Losses they shall then sustain the worst are behind though haply at present not so much regarded for then they shall lose their God which will prove the greatest Loss by far The Torments of Hell are either privative or positive Pain of Loss or Pain of Sence the former is judg'd by Divines to be the greatest and most grievous for God being our chiefest Happiness to lose him will be our chiefest Misery In his presence is fulness of Joy and at his right hand Pleasures for evermore But at Death there will be an eternal separation from him which Loss will more affect the Soul when the Understanding Conscience and other Faculties shall be enlarged a Thousand thousand rentings of the Soul from the Body will not be so much as One renting of the Soul from God