Lord make thee a good and a Pious man that thou mayest fill up the place of thy Father and Grandfather He bess thee abundantly and make thy Studies prosperous unto his Glory which he will do if thou diligently call upon him and if thou Study to be Diligent Sober Modest and humbly Obedient unto God and thy Superiours thy Unkle in particular which will be instead of a Father to thee Give due Obedience and Honour unto thy Mother Love thy Brother and Sister and withdraw thy self from the Company of young Persons who will entice thee unto Vice And unto his Niece he thus spake Farewell my dear Niece the Lord bless thee We have a Kindred in the Heavens which will endure for ever § 17. Now when we thought this night would be his last the principal of his Friends were called to him and amongst them Mr. Hulsius and as they stood about his Bed he attentively beheld them and discoursed of his Departure at hand and his disposition to give up himself to the Will of God with a joyful and free Soul He exhorted each of them according to their respective Condition in regard of Age Sex or Quality and blessed each of them and their Families Then again speaking to his Son he said My Friend Thou losest at the same time both a Master and a Father but if the Fear of God bear rule in thee God will supply the place of both Far be it from me to distrust his Grace for the future I cast all my Cares upon him and give up my self and mine my Life and affairs into his hands Then he uttered in French Metre the words of the Psalmist to this sence Vnto whom shall I go for help O Lord and in whom is my hope truly in thee I am full of dayes I desire to be Dissolved and to be with Christ It is enough O Lord Receive now my Soul I commit this Body to the Earth but I commit my Spirit into the hands of God who gave it And in a Paroxysme of Pain he said My God I know this Tabernacle cannot be dissolved without pain yet my heart is lively and I have still strength to bear my pains O Lord help mine Infirmities depart not far from me in the day of my Sorrow Say unto my Soul I am become thy Salvation This last he rehearsed in the French Metre and then repeated in Hebrew from Psal 16. 5. The Lord is the Portion of my Inheritance § 18. From that Night forward it was observed when any one discoursed to him of Repentance and of the Grace of God in forgiving sins he was wont to answer As to this point I am assured that I am reconciled and cleansed from my sin by the precious blood of my Redeemer God hath spoken and made known to me already that my Sins are blotted out I now taste this blessedness Blessed is the man Psa 32. 1. to whom the Lord imputeth not Sin There is no Condemnation Rom. 8. 1. to them that are in Christ Jesus He is come unto me according to his great Mercies and draweth me and I willingly follow him He lessens my bodily Pains by increasing the joy of my Soul he satisfies my thirst for him with the dew of his Grace Behold I am satiated I am inriched Man lives not by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the Mouth of God The Kingdom of God is not Rom. 14. 17. Meat and Drink but Righteousness and Peace and Joy through the Holy Ghost I am fed by my Saviour whose Flesh is Meat indeed and his Blood is drink indeed and as he is the true quickening Bread which came down from Heaven so he that eateth him shall live by him And therefore I live It is now two dayes since I have lived not an Animal Life but I live that Life which I shall eternally Live in the Heavens That night he made a long and ardent Prayer the greatest part of which is slipt out of our Memory In general he Prayed for all men and bewailed the Corruption of Mankind Alas O Lord said he this is the last time there is scarce any Faith in the Earth Men of Veracity are hardly to be found One speaks to another yea to his Friend fraudulently and with a double heart Alas Wo is me that I dwell in the Tents of Kedar with those that hate Peace Thou hast made Peace in thy high places Thou givest Peace but not such as the World giveth Wherefore my Heart is not afraid The Spirit which thou hast given me is the Spirit of Power of Love and a sedate mind § 19. On the Wednesday Wednesday Jan. 4. morning he found himself much wearied and enfeebled partly by the Pains he had endured and partly by his much and earnest speaking Both we that were about him and himself were all of the mind that his last hour was approaching for which reason he spake as follows Again I bid you Farewell my Friends Observe me and continue to strengthen me with your Prayers and Exhortations when my speech shall fail I will endeavour by signs to let you know my Faith and Perseverance My mind cannot be shaken he that preserves me is in the Heavens When he had again blessed his Family and all that stood by him his Speech wholly failed him for a time so that we expected nothing less than to see him draw his last Breath but being recovered out of this sinking fit he began to speak again and when he saw the Chamber full of People he said How am I Tyred out will they allow me no time of repose wherefore is there such a Company about me have not I spoken enough why am I not allowed a little Relaxation and one moment o◠Solitude that I may Converse with my God Therefore every one withdrew according to his desire and we were afraid to com◠near to him lest we should molest him but when we heard his Groans his Niece went in softly to him and said Reverend Sir Would you be without my Company doth it not please you that I should any longer attend upon you Alas said he I desire nothing more do not go from me but be thou a Witness of my last hours continue with me even to the end It is a great comfort to me to enjoy quietness I cannot bear the sight of so great a Company especially of those that come out of meer Curiosity I have omitted nothing of what was incumbent on me to say or do I leave nothing behind me that is matter of regret to me I have Prayed for the Peace of mine after my departure and I believe Peace shall dwell among them and that thou wilt do thy endeavour that it may for I know thou art of a peaceable Spirit I am satisfied and at rest I have no more to do here below I have waited for thy Salvation O Lord. She asked if it would please him to have his Son come to
of God before whose Tribunal he must immediately appear of his integrity and faithfulness in his Trust both as a Pastor and Rector of the University That he had never suffered himself to be byassed by any corrupt or sinister end nor had any burthen upon his Conscience with respect thereto He professed the great care he had alwayes taken of the publick peace but added Yet neither did the love of Peace so bewitch me as that I should not distinguish betwixt genuine and adulterate Peace nor did my Affection towards my Prince seduce me so as that to pleasure him I should bring the least spot upon my Conscience But the Candor of my actions will shine when I am dead He exhorted them to mutual peace and love telling them There was nothing more unseemly than that the Preachers of Peace should be rent with strife and discord amonâ— themselves especially at sucâ— a time when the commoâ— Enemy the Papist lay iâ— wait for their ruine And after Exhortations to render all dutiful respect and Obedience to their Prince he dismist them with this Benediction The God and Father of Jesus Christ enrich you with all blessing and strengthen you with all might unto the vigorous discharge of your Ministry § 5. When the Night came on death seemed to be hastening which he perceiving entred into such discourses of Heavenly things as seemed to the by-standers so much above the rate of humane capacity to conceive and utter that they were all filled with a joyful astonishâ—ent in hearing of them The Physitians came and endeavoured but in vain by proper Medicines to asswage the force of his distemper whereupon turning his speech to God he said Thou O God shalt heal me And then poured out his prayers with a most ardent Zeal for the Remission of his sins through the Merit of the one and only Sacrifice of Christ professing that he esteemed all things though in appearance never so great to be but dung for the excellency of Christ Jesus earnestly calling upon God that he would bring him to an happy and triumphant period of thiâ— Life and grant that being covered with the Wings of Mercy he might sweetly sleep iâ— the bosom of Jesus and enjoy that sight of Gods face which with frequent pantings he thirsted for I have seen thee darkly said he in the glass of thy Word O grant me the long and much desired fruition of thy Countenance He discoursed at that rate concerning the Resurrection and Eternal Life as if he had already forsaken the earth and been translated into Heaven with so great sence and Life of Affection did he speak of these things And then taking each one by the hand that was present with him like the Patriarchs of old he blessed them with words full of Gravity and Holiness closing his Benediction with suitable Exhortations to every one That Night beyond Expectation he got a little rest And the day following the Magistrates of the City with many other persons of quality came to visit him To whom he made a very grave discourse in which he earnestly recommended the University to their favour and care and nominated a fit person to them for his Successor therein And as to his private concerns he affectionately recommended to them also his dear Wife who was then big with Child greatly praising her love and tenderness towards him in all his weakness and Afflictions adding I ingenuously profess to you I have not laid up two Pence out of all my Stipends for thesâ— worldly things were not my care nor did I ever set my heart upon them Those present solemnly promised to answer his desire iâ— all that he had mentioned tâ— them whereupon he exhorteâ— the Professors of Philosophy tâ— persevere in their work anâ— yield due obedience to his Successor And then he said â— thank my God that my memory sight hearing and thâ— rest of my senses are as strong and lively as ever But mâ— heart is estranged from thiâ— world and why O Lord Jesuâ— shouldst not thou enjoy mâ— Heart who only hast a righâ— thereto This hath been my endeavour all my Life long to dedicate and consecrate my heart to thee take it to thâ— self I beseech thee that iâ— may remain with thee § 6. After he had spoken â—hese things a gentle sleep came upon him out of which when he awaked he exprest a most ardent breathing to be dissolved and to be with Christ Come Lord Jesus said he break off the thred of this miserable Life Make hast O Lord Tarry not Jesus hath Redeemed me that he might grant to me not this frail but eternal Life Come Jesus Grant me that life for which thou hast redeemed me And when those that stood about him lamented the great loss they should have of him he said I have pass'd through all the Steps of this life and am now come to the last why should I go back again By the aid of thy presence O Lord Jesus I shall happily measure this Step also Lead thou me into that Glory which I have only seen through a Glass O that I were conversant with thee Upon occasion of some one signifying to him that the next day was the Sabbath day he thus exprest himself Let thy Sabbath O Lord begin mine eternal Sabbath Let my Eternal Sabbath receive the pledge of an happy beginning from thy Sabbath Towards the middle of the Night he got a little rest which the strength of his disease soon interrupted and he supposing his last hour to draw near sent for Mr. Walter Balcanquel unto whom when he was come in he thus addressed himself Forasmuch as you have for a long time had a Pastoral charge at Edinburgh and our friendship is of no late date I took care to have you sent for that I might make manifest unto all the Reverence which from my Cradle I have had for the Ministry of Christ I have indeed according to the measure of my gift already poured out my Prayers into the bosom of God and now I intreat you to pray for me I will joyn with my Heart and Affection only desire not the protracting of this Life Whereupon all that were present falling on their Knees Mr. Balcanquel prayed but among other things he earnestly desired that it might please God to spare so worthy a man with them for some longer time seeing both the Church and Common-wealth had so great need of his service whereupon Mr. Rollock interrupted him saying I have enough of this Life the only thing I desire is that heavenly Life which is hid with God in Christ When prayer was ended he brake forth into an earnest commendation of the Efficacy of the Word Preached The Word said he is both Life and Death nor can any 2 Cor. 2. 16. be saved without the Word Believe me 'T is no trifling matter to preach the Word It is not like the interpreting a Text of Plato or Aristotle or the making an Oration embellished with
Heresie and committed to Prison near this prison Wesenbeck with his fellow Students were wont to recreate themselves with the Ball on which occasion they often heard this blind man with a clear voice singing the Psalms of David according to Luthers Metaphrase and this Holy exercise the good man performed with so much Devotion and Affection as wrought in them a more than ordinary attention to him although it was not without some danger to themselves And it pleased God so to work upon Wesenbeck by this example of Christian constancy and Zeal together with the matter which he heard that thenceforward he began diligently to search the Scriptures and also to read the Writings of those of the Reformed Religion by which means he became not only fully convinced of the Truth but also received it in the Love thereof and abode most constant in the Faith and Practice of it to his dying day being an eminent example of Zeal and strict Piety in his whole life He had an extraordinary Affection to the Holy Scriptures but especially the book of Psalms and the New Testament were most dear and delightful to him And notwithstanding the necessary course of his Studyes and for some time also great Practice in the Law he usually spent at fit seasons no less than five hours in a day in Prayers and retired communion with God He was not like many that can â—â—d no leisure for Religion â—hat is cannot attend to work â—ut their own Salvation but made Conscience to steer his whole course as a man resolâ—ed for Heaven And his Righâ—eousness and Charity towards men was not inferior to his Piety towards God He ever â—bhorr'd those Artifices which â—re too common with practitioners in the Law his Candor â—aithfulness and Justice in his practice made his Name precious to all that knew him And as it pleased God to bless him with a plentiful Supply of the good things of this world so Religion taught him not to â—rust in uncertain Riches but â—o be rich in good works His way was to give a charge â—o all his Servants that they should never turn away the Poor from his door without relief And when they haâ— not presently regarded the poor nor listened so soon as they ought to their cry himself would open his Window and throw down Money to them Thus did this good man spend his Life and his Substance in the Fear of God and working Righteousness and accordingly his latter end was Peace for when he lay upon his death Bed he was filled with the Consolations of God He woulâ— often repeat that of the Apostle Paul Rom. 7. O wretcheâ— man that I am who shall deliver me from the Body of this death I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. And that 2 Cor. 1. He hath sealed us and given the earnest of his Spirit in our Hearts by which we cry Abba Father Another time with great reâ—oycing he told those that were with him That now God had shewn to him a place of Eternal Joy unto which he should immediately come and the only thing he desired was that his coming thither might be hastened He would often rehearse divers passages out of the Psalms as The Lord is nigh to all that call upon him in Truth He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him he will hear their prayer and save them And immediately before he gave up the Ghost he professed That he was in Covenant with the Lord Jesus Christ which words were his last § 16. In these experiences we see that they which believe in Christ never dye i. e. thâ—â— never feel the Sâ—ng of death nor fall under its power but are enabled by the Faith of the Son of God perfectly to vanquish 〈◊〉 King of Terrors yea though death assail them in his most affrighting shape yet is he not able to remove them from their stedfastness or to abate their Joyes we have innumerable proofs of this in the End of those Holy Martyrs who though they have been called to seal their Witness for God by violent yea by most cruel kinds of death have notwithstanding finished their course with a most Glorious Peace and rejoycing in the hope of their calling Howbeit I shall not here insist on any of those instances But to let you see that death in it's darkest dress is welcome to a man assured of his Interest in Christ and Peace with God take the story of one Sebaldus Munster a Civilian that flourished about the year 1540. Whom it pleased the Lord to visit with the Plague of which he dyed at Wittenberg in a time when a general sickness raged there This person when some of his Friends came to visit and Comfort him a few hours before his death he shewed to them the Swellings and pestiferous Ulcers which were broken out in his Hand and Arm saying And how do these Bracelets and precious Gemms wherewith my Christ hath adorned me please you At which words when they brake forth into Tears he farther said Let not these by any means seem loathsome unto you for with this Wedding-apparel am I going to enjoy that Heavenly Feast which I shall have with my Christ for ever Thus shall I pass to that everlasting Council of most Excellent and holy Souls and thus shall I be acceptable to God my Redeemer Thus triumphing and full of Joy did he leave the World having got a clear sight of a better that is an Heavenly Countrey And though to dye of the Plague may seem to Sence very dismal yet as Austin hath well observed lib. 1. de Civitate Dei cap. 11. Mala mors putanda non est quam bona vita praecesserit c i. e. No kind of Death is to be esteemed evil which hath been preceded by a good Life for nothing makes Death evil but that which follows Death Therefore they that of necessity must dye once need not be Thoughtful by what accident they may come to dye but rather whither they must go when they dye 'T is an excellent saying of the Author of the Book of Wisdom chap. 4. 7. The Righteous man though prevented by Death shall be in rest The most terrible or suddain stroke can make no breach upon his happiness to whom to live is Christ and to dye is gain They are alwaies safe that have made their Calling and Election sure and on the contrary such are alwayes in danger that live without God in the World I Remember upon occasion of that passage before cited from the Book of Wisdom Mr. Forbs in his Instr Histor Theolog. makes mention of a very memorable Story of a pious and learned man that dyed suddainly in his Study and when some were scandalized at it rashly interpreting this Providence as a Testimony of Gods displeasure against him it so fell out by the wise and Gracious ordering of God for their Conviction and a testimony to his servant that he was found sitting with a Book open before him