finally farwel whatever was here dear and valuable And give me leave to add the more have been Mens comforts and those of good Men have been the most and truest the more and greater must be the grief and concernment for that utter removal and dismal separation from them Fourthly The troubles of a dying State must be again very great FROM THE SENCE OF SIN OR GVILT THAT WILL THEN CROWD IN VPON VS However we may forget God and our selves in a time of Health and Prosperity when these decline or for sake us we are usually brought to a sober sence and in such a languishing State and Condition can hardly avoid it Conscience if ever will certainly awake when we come to die and we may have observed the greatest Affliction that Men have then suff er'd under was their not being able to avoid their own thoughts which are now more bitter and terrible than ever and by the way 't is not only justice but withal goodness in God to make it so Now the mind has quick and unbiass'd Reflections on its own Actions and sets forth its Guilt in true and proper Colours and therefore the Apostle may well say The sting of Death is Sin No terror in this State like that which doth redound to us from our guilty Consciences which have now got us under hold and will lash us severely We can't now disguise or dissemble our guilt there is no stifling of it by Riot or Intemperance lewd and loofe Company can divert us no longer all the live-long day our sins will plague and fret us and in the wearisom nights when we count every minute our guilt will rush in upon our thoughts attend us in every turn and motion and render our Souls as restless and uneasie as our Bodies if what the Prophet saith of wicked Men be true at other times 't is much more so at this That they are like the troubled Sea when it cannot rest whose waters cast up mire and dirt There is no peace saith my God to the wicked When we come to die the greatest melancholly that shall then seize our spirits will be from the heavy load and burden of our sins that will be ready to oppress and sink our Souls Then we shall find that threatning verified in us I will reprove thee and set them in order before thine eyes And what grief or anguish can be comparable to that which redounds from this When we are going hence and God gives us Warning to remove must it not concern and afflict us beyond all thought or expression to consider the danger our Sins have now brought us to They hide God's face and mercy from us and in our greatest Distress and highest need of Comfort threaten us with utter Ruin and Destruction and nothing now can be so cutting and intollerable as the thoughts of a displeased and angry God And well may that be so to us which was the greatest of our Saviours troubles for at his dying hour the guilt of our sins that lay on him occasioned the bitterest agony of his Soul and that dismal exclamation My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Most certainly the sence of guilt will be the bitterest Potion and the very dregs of that Cup of trembling Our Hearts will faint and our Souls will sink within us and we shall shake and fear and cry mightily and have on us such passionate concernment as is inexpressible from the dismal apprehension of the Divine Wrath and Indignation which our sins have kindled and provok'd against us So that hereupon it may be said with Cain My punishment is greater than I can bear Fifthly The troubles of a dying state will appear further considerable FROM THE ASSAVLTS OF OVR SPIRITVAL ENEMY WHICH WILL BE THEN MORE AND GREATER THAN EVER For to this we may apply what is said of him Woe to the Inhabitants of the Earth for the Devil is come down unto you having great wrath because he knoweth that he hath but a short time And accordingly we may expect that he will apply his temptations now more closely and vigorously than ever for if he discharges this last part effectually they are utterly lost and gone and he has gain'd them for ever Wherefore he may be suppos'd now to set all his Engines on work and to ply it closely He takes all the advantages that may be of these extream and difficult circumstances herein he tempts us to fretfulness and impatience under God's hand to a destrust or dispair of his goodness Dost thou still retain thy Integrity Curse God and die If this will not do he tempts us with too great presumption on the Divine goodness to a neglect of due Examination and Repentance of our Sins or distracts our thoughts with Secular Affairs One way or other he either keeps us from the duties requisite for that State or endeavours to make us increase our sin in it Most certain it is that the Devil doth now hope and industriously watch for his Prey the last effect of his Malice and Revenge The case here may be somewhat liken'd to that mention'd of him Rev. 12. 4 The Dragon stood before the Woman that was ready to be delivered for to devour the Child as soon as it was born But may our Souls escape like that and be caught up unto God and to his Throne Sixthly A dying State or Condition is render'd very dreadful and terrible FROM THE THOVGHTS OR CONVICTION OF AN AFTER-ACCOVNT OR JVDGMENT The Prisoner when going to his Tryal hath all along every step he takes very strange and perplexing thoughts and is beyond expression troubled and uneasie within himself And what must the case be with Men when on the confines of another World to think of that great and impartial Judgment and Tribunal before which they are now summon'd to appear And how must it affect and cut them to consider that they are now hasting to the presence of that Rightoous and Almighty Judge who shall strictly examine every thought and idle word before whom all things are naked and open To consider that after Death comes Judgment is that which makes a dying State the most serious and weighty matter in the whole World What concernment and anxiety must a man truly considerative have at such a time I am dying I am departing that is in other terms I am called to give up my Accompts I am going to be Judged before the great God behold what matter so weighty what concernment comparable to this This single consideration duly weighed renders such circumstances very straight and terrible No other can be the genuine effect of Mens thorough belief and conviction at that time of an approaching Judgment But we have sufficiently represented the black and tragical part it may be high time now to draw the Curtain and set forth a fairer Seene Well then notwithstanding a dying condition is thus severe and terrible yet we have particular extraordinary
Christian Supports UNDER THE TERROURS OF DEATH 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Epict. LICENSED June 11 th 1691. Z. Isham LONDON Printed by B. Griffin for Sam. Keble at the Great Turks Head in Fleet-Street over against Fetter-Lane-end 1691. Christian Supports UNDER THE TERRORS of DEATH PSALM XXIII 4. Yea tho I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death I will fear no evil for thou art with me THat mighty and continual care which the Divine Providence hath over us is very gratefully represented by such soft and tender expressions and characters of God as do bespeak an abundant Affection and regard for us giving us all the assurance and security imaginable of an infinite kindness and compassion constantly ingaged for us So when our Lord doth comfort his Disciples with the Doctrine of Providence he thus expresseth it Your heavenly Father knoweth that you have need of all these Things What can be dearer and and more sollicitous than the Affections and concernment of a Parent Another of the like kind to the same end and purpose is here mention'd and apply'd by David who seems to assure or challenge to himself the extraordinary care and protection of God under all the very worst circumstances from the sutable character of Kindness and Indearment he ascribes to him ver 1. The Lord is my Shepheard and thence makes this natural Inference I will not want He will most certainly take care of me for to continue the Parallel or Similitude here before us ver 2. He maketh me lie down in green Pastures or Pastures of tender Grass he leadeth me beside still Waters or Waters of quietness Which is spoken with allusion to the most grateful things or conditions that God will bestow upon or provide for his People his goodness will take care that they shall have what is most proper and convenient for them And when they are brought to any distress he will deliver them out of it reduce them to a happy condition and set them right and safe in their wayes ver 3. He restoreth my Soul he leadeth me in the Paths of righteousness for his Names sake and which is more when they are under the most unpromising circumstances in that sad and doleful condition which we must all come to and lie under the dismal pressure and stroke of Death even herein the People of God are relieved and supported by this extraordinary Divine care and goodness Yea tho I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death I will fear no evil for thou art with me In which words are two things considerable First The terror or severity of a dying State Yea tho I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death Yet Secondly under such dismal circumstances God doth most abundantly comfort and support us Yea tho I walk through the Valley of the shadow of Death I will fear no evil for thou art with me First 'T is observable that holy David doth here remember us of the terror and severity of a Dying State or Condition Yea tho I walk through the Valley of the shadow of Death which is greatly signified by almost every word in it Yea 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 etiamsi Notwithstanding implying the utmost distress or extremity I walk 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ambulavero I shall walk intimating a leasurely and so a more tormenting passage 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Valle the Septuagint 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the middle the depth or extreamity of the shadow of death 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Valle umbrae lethalis in the thickest of the deadly shade i. e. in ipsissimà profundissimâ mortis umbrd in the deepest and utmost shade or sorrow of death The Word here saith one Notat horribilem quandam mortis speciem figuram qualis morientium oculis observatur tristiâ—â—imanâ— It denotes a very horrid appearance of death and that most dismal apprehension of it which Men usually have when they come to die every way beset with horror and distraction in a word a terrible and approaching destruction qui â—nim ad umbram accedit non longe a corpore abest He that is in the shadow is not far from the substance or thing it self Thus the Psalmist represents a dying State as most severe and terrible agreeable to what he tells us of it from his own experience My heart is sore pained within me and the pains of death are fallen upon me fearfulness and trembling are come upon me and horror or as it is in the other Translation an horrible dread hath overwhelmed me Death or rather the preliminary passage to it and the way into the other World is attended with great horror and affliction and is beyond expression harsh and terrible to which Job may have some reference when he faith O that my grief were thoroughly weighed and my calamity laid in the ballances together for now it would be heavier than the sand of the Sea therefore my words are swallowed up that is I want words to express my grief for the arrows of the Almighty are within me the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit the terrours of God do set themselves in array against me And that this was the utmost extremity of distress or afflictoin he could think of appears from that Standard of Sorrow which he makes it Chap. 24. 17 If one know them they are in the terrours of the shadow of death which he therefore calls The King of terrours The greatest of all humane Evils or Miseries And now that great terrour and severity which doth accompany a dying State or Condition may be occasioned First From the pains or agonies of it Secondly Mens misgiving thoughts of their future State Thirdly Their foregoing all the Pleasures and Enjoyments of this World Fourthly The sence of Guilt or Sin that will then crowd in upon us Fifthly The more and greater Assaults of our Spiritual Adversary Sixthly The thoughts and conviction of an ensuing Judgment Upon all which accounts our dying Circumstances will appear sufficiently dreadful and terrible The first great terror of Death doth arise FROM THE PAINS OR AGONIES THAT VSVALLY ATTEND IT For however it is to appearance there may be it s very likely even in the smoothest passage from this to the other World some rugged and uneven paths which can be perceived by none but those that tread them certain it is that in the general there is a great deal of hardship and difficulty at such a time and in such Circumstances as these from those pains and sorrows which do naturally attend that condition for in loosing that knot in dissolving the close Conjunction of Soul and Body there must be and we have reason to say there is a great deal of unconceivable Anguish and Affliction 't is an extream violence to Nature and the utmost contradiction to it And therefore must mightily fret and molest us for whence but from the most horrid pain and uneasiness can proceed
supports and comforts under it Yea though I walk through the Valley of the shadow of Death I WILL FEAR NO EVIL FOR THOV ART WITH ME to assist me in these straits and necessities and to afford suitable helps and advantages under them And now those great supports which God doth give us in these most difficult circumstances may be consider'd under these following particulars First The thoughts of this State as the appointment of God Secondly That God is therein peculiarly present with us and gives us extraordinary helps and assistances of his Divine care and goodness Thirdly The near approach to Heaven and Happiness Fourthly The consideration of Christs Death and Sufferings Fifthly The belief and expectation of a future Resurrection Sixthly The promise and assurance of pardon and forgiveness Seventhly The attendance of God's Holy Angels that are ready to receive our Souls Which duly and seriously consider'd will abundantly qualifie and remove all the terrours and difficulties of a dying State First It is a very great support at that time to consider That the STATE WE ARE NOW BROVGHT TO IS ACCORDING TO THE DETERMINATE ORDER AND ALLOTMENT OF GOD in whom we live and move and have our being He is the breath of our Nostrils he put our Souls into these Tabernacles and we are here only Tenants at Will liable to be dispossest at Pleasure And when we consider that 't is appointed for all men once to die and that it is an irrevocable decree of Heaven that we MVST all walk through the Valley of the shadow of Death why should we fear any evil be dismay'd or terrified at that which is the will and pleasure of the Almighty as if some strange and unexpected accident did befall us For may we not hereupon say with the Apostle That no man should be moved with these afflictions for your selves know that we are appointed thereunto Is not Gods hand in my suffering Is it not in my death 'T is an undoubted mitigation even of this sorrow and affliction to consider that God hath appointed it as the unavoidable Lot and Portion of all men living so that on this account we may say I will fear no evil for thou art with me Secondly In our dying State or circumstances GOD IS PECVLIARLY PRESENT WITH VS AND GIVES VS EXTRAORDINARY HELPS AND ASSISTANCES OF HIS CARE AND GOODNESS Thou art with me That Providence which is always vigilant over us hath then a more deep and special regard and concern for us Are the very hairs of our head all number'd And doth his care extend so far as that one of these shall not fall to the ground but by the permission of our Heavenly Father May we not hence justly conclude that he is peculiarly careful of us in such danger and extremity as this Thou art with me it is render'd Penes me in loquo quo sto Thou art near at hand in the very place where I am not as an indifferent unconcern'd Spectator but to be a very present help in trouble Then this our good God is with us to comfort our Souls to support our Spirits to ease our Pain and give us patience under it to soften our cares to mitigate the pangs and terrours of Death then the Eternal God is thy refuge and underneath are the everlasting Arms. Such a mighty care of God over us holy David was abundantly sensible of and doth express very passionately Thou art about my path and about my bed The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble Thou wilt not deliver him into the will of his enemies The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness The Hebrew word signifies turn Thou wilt turn all his bed in his sickness as it were to make him lie more soft and easie And he seems to have an undoubted reference hereunto by what presently follows in this verse Thou art with me thy rod and thy staff comfort me At quid adserunt solatis virga baculus adferunt quidem plurimum saith Erasmus ingeniously upon it What comfort doth the rod and staff here import A great deal adversus latrocinia daemonum hoc Molientium They are those Instruments whereby this great Shepherd doth defend his Flock from the rage and malice of the Devils that wait to devour us I am not ignorant saith he that some of the Ancients by the rod here understand some light affliction wherewith God doth Chastize by the staff some more severe and heavy Judgment whereby he doth punish his people An opinion though very pious yet not so proper for this place for observe saith he the Psalmist doth not say My rod and my staff but thy rod and thy staff and therein speaks more agreeably to the Metaphor here of Gods being a Pastor and so we may take the rod and the staff here according to what is usual in Scripture the rod may be his assisting Grace the staff our Defence against our ravenous enemy Haec virga pastoris Jesu hic beculus solatio sunt gregi imbecilli adversus terrores omnium malorum This rod this staff of the shepherd of our souls Christ Jesus will be our protection and security against all kind of evil St. Paul saith he mentions the fiery Darts of the Devil these Christ keeps from us with his staff here mentioned Hoc an non magnum interim militaris itineris solatium And is not this by the way a great incouragement of our Warlike State How dearly doth our Lord Jesus love us who as you see will neglect nothing that may any wise conduce to our protection our refreshment and our comfort Thus far he which I have the longer insisted on because it is such a genuine though unusual Interpretation and a seasonable representation of Gods so great and peculiar care and regard for us in this most straight and difficult condition To sum up this Head as nothing is surer than the day of Death and our departure out of this earthly Body which very likely may be attended with blackness and terrour with dreadful pains and Agonies too great to be exprest yet I may comfortably say that herein the Lord is my helper yea though I walk through this Valley of the shadow of Death I will fear no evil for thou art with me Tho the Arrows of the Almighty stick fast in me and his hand presseth me sore tho my condition be painful and tormenting and I be stretcht upon my Bed with grief and anguish and my friends about me lament to think that the place which now seeth me shall see me no more notwithstanding the decree is past That God hath numberd my Life and finish'd it and I am now befet with gloominess and darkness mine eye bals rowl and my Soul is just on the wing ready to take its flight into the unknown Regions of the other World Nevertheless I am continually with thee thou hast holden me