in the 31 Psalm I trusted in thee O Lord I said Thou art my God my times are in thy hand He is of the same judgement in the 39 Psalm Behold thou hast assured me my days as an band breadth and in the 68 Psalm Vnto God the Lord belong the issues of Death Moses teacheth us the same Lesson in his Divine Hymn Psal 90. for when he hath represented how that it is God who reduceth Man to Ashes and maketh him return to his first substance he tels us speaking unto God Thou turnest man to destruction and sayst return ye Children of Men. King Hezekiah's comparison is very notable he compares the Life of Man to a Thread that God hath twisted and that he cuts off at his pleasure Isai 38. Mine Age is departed and removed from me as a Shepherds Tent I have cut off like a Weaver my life he will cut me off with pining Sickness from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me Hannah Samuels Mother removes all difficulty and confirms this Truth sufficiently 2 Sam. 2. It is God saith she who killeth and maketh alive he bringeth down to the Grave and bringeth up There is nothing more significant to the same purpose than our Lord and Saviours words I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I am alive for evermore Amen and have the Keys of Hell and of Death Apoc. This great God and Saviour closeth the Gates of the Grave when he pleaseth and 't is not possible to open them against his will In short Whether we live we live to the Lord whether we die we die to the Lord whether therefore we live or die we are the Lords Rom. 14. And our Reason being enlightned with a Divine Revelation teacheth us this good and profitable Lesson for if God hath a hand in our Conception and Birth and if he appoints the time of our entrance into the world wherefore should not he also have an hand in our Death mark out the time of our last departure David speaks thus to God in the 139 Psalm My substance was not bid from thee when I was made in secret and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the Earth Thine eyes did see my substance yet being imperfect and in thy Book all my Members were written which in continuance were fashioned when as yet there is none of them we may therefore for the same reason say to God My substance will not be hid from thee when this miserable Body shall fall to pieces as rotten Wood and as a Moth-eaten Garment thine Eyes shall see me when Death shall cut off the Thred of my Life and separate what thou hast joyned together so wonderfully thy Power and Wisdom shall have an hand in my last hours and nothing shall happen to me but that which thou hast afore ordained in thine unsearchable Decrees If God appoints the time of our Resurrection and if it be certain that without his express Commission the Holy Spirit will not breathe upon our dead bones to cause them to revive is it probable that the breath should depart out of our Nostrils and our Bodies should fall into the Bed of corruption without the Orders of this great and living God Ezek. 37. He hath appointed to the Sun its course and to the Stars that shine in the Heavens their several motions and stations Isai 40 and should not he also appoint to his Children their motions seeing that they are to shine for ever in the Heaven of Heavens where justice dwels as so many immortal Stars He hath measured the Waters in his hand he hath compassed the Heavens with his Span he hath weighed the Mountains in Scales and the Hills with a Ballance he hath fashioned the Earth with a Hive and given bounds to the roaring Sea and is it possible that he hath not not measured the time of our Life and that he hath marked out with his finger the last moment He who hath numbred the Kingdoms of Heathen Princes hath he not also numbred the days in the which he intends to reign in our hearts by his Holy Spirit hath he not appointed the time for us to ascend up into the highest Heavens where we are to reign with him in the Kingdom of his Glory If it be certain that God hath unmbred the Hairs of our Head Matth. 10. it is not to be doubted but that he hath also numbred the days of our Life And if a Sparrow doth not fall to the ground without his order how can it be that a Soul should take its flight up to Heaven without his express Commission He bottles up our Tears he keeps a Record of all our afflictions and takes an account of our Sorrows Psal 50. and can we imagine that he doth not keep an account of the life and death of Men and that he minds not the time that we are to spend in this vally of Tears He takes notice of our uprising and of our down-sitting he compasseth thee round about whither thou dost stop or go Psal 59. and can it be conceiv'd but that he observes thy rising at thy birth the several passages of thy Life and thy going down at thy Death In short if God hath appointed in his eternal Council the continuance of the great World he hath also without doubt limited the Life of Man the little World and the Image and Compendium of the Great As our Lord and Saviour teacheth us Man is not able by his solicitous care to add one Cubit to his stature and our experience sufficiently demonstrates that we cannot add a year a day nor a moment by all our labor and industry to the continuance of our Life If Life and Death were not in Gods hand there would be nothing setled nor constant neither in the Kingdoms of the World nor in the Church of Christ The Prophets would be often found in grievous errors and the eternal Election would be totally abolish'd for the most weighty affairs of a Commonwealth depend upon the Life of Princes The death of one Man is able to turn an Empire upside down and to change the state of a Kingdom If Alexander the Great had been stifled in his Cradle what would become of the Prophesie of Paniâ— who declares the glorious victories that this Prince should obtain against King Darius the Persian Monarch under the Embleme of an Hâ—-Goat that should run at a Ram with all his might that should break his two horns and trample him under his feet And if King Cyrus had died before the obtaining of the Kingdom of 〈◊〉 how should Isaiah's Prophesie be accomplish'd for he paints out this young Conqueror in his most lively Colours and calls him by his name in this expression I have said of Cyrus He is my Shâ—pheard and shall perform all my pleasure even saying to Jerusalem Thou shalt be built and to the Temple Thy Temple shall be laid Isai 44. If the Devil could have taken away St. Pauls Life
you may then conclude that such an one is strengthened by God's Divine Spirit who upholds him and accomplisheth his Heavenly Vertue in his Servants infirmity This is the most wonderful and excellent of all Deliverances I confess some approve this discourse very well and admit these Consolations in their ordinary diseases but assoon as any extraordinary and violent griefs seize upon them they are apt to murmure against God and to complain that their punishment is too grievous Some proceed further to curse as Job the day of their birth and being hurried into despair are ready to cry out with Cain My punishment is greater than I am able to bear Unhappy Man Wilt thou imitate the barbarous Heathens who curse the Sun when it burns them and let fly their Arrows against Heaven when it Thunders wretched Man What will it avail thee to affront thy Creator what advantage wilt thou reap from the Blasphemies which thou dost belch forth against the Son of Righteousness miserable Worm of the Earth less than Dust and nothing wilt thou undertake to contend against God to pluck him from his Throne and to break the invincible Arm of his strength Dost thou imagine to stop the hand of his Vengeance by offending and sinning against him Wilt thou quench the fury of his wrath by spitting in his Face Believest thou that he will stretch forth his hand to deliver thee and to increase thy Blessings whilst thy mouth is open to blaspheme him who is thy Soveraign Lord. Listen well I beseech thee friend to my advice and I will draw thee out of the Abysse where thou art unhappily fallen and with God's help I will cause thee to understand that thou complainest wrongfully against him who doth all things advisedly and with Justice and Reason First run over the whole course of thy life and consider how many wicked deeds thou hast committed some by indiscretion others wilfully how many words have gone out of thy mouth how many thoughts have been entertained in thy mind against the Commands of Almighty God Consider seriously the number and grievousness of thy sins and miscarriages and thou shalt find that God's punishments are far less than thy deservings and that for one sensible word and bitter pain that thou feelest thou hast deserved many thousands so that thou shalt have cause to confess with the Prophet Daniel O Lord Righteousness belongeth unto thee but unto us confusion of Faces Dan. 9. And thou wilt say with David Innumerable evils have compassed me about mine iniquities have taken hold upon me so that I am not able to look up they are more than the hairs of my Head therefore my heart faileth me there is no whole part in my Flesh because of thine indignation nor rest in my bones because of my sin Ps 40. 2. Consider how many there are in the world more righteous than thou who suffer more grievous and longer evils than thou hast hitherto endured and yet have not had so much comfort and assistance If thou comparest thy condition with theirs thou shalt find that God spares and favors thee very much 3. Cast thine Eyes upon the death and passion of our Lord and Saviour who being righteous and innocent hath suffered for us wicked and abominable sinners Thine affliction is painful I confess but that which this merciful Redeemer hath suffered for thee was far more unsufferable Let his Exclamations his Tears and drops of Bloud which came out of his veins be witnesses and that earnest Prayer which he repeated three times upon his bended knees Father if it be possible let this cup pass from me that I may not drink it Let that doleful voice upon the Cross be also witness My God my God why hast thou sorsaken me 4. Weigh in just and equal Scales of the Sanctuary all the sufferings of this life with the torments of Hell which thou hast justly deserved and compare them together thou wilt quickly conclude that all thy pains are nothing if compared with the grievous tortures of that lake of Fire and Brimstone where there are weeping and gnashing of Teeth If thou art so sensible of these vanishing pains consider well how much thou art obliged to the goodness of God who hath freely pardoned all thine offences and redeemed thee from that eternal and unspeakable Misery of the t'other life 5. Thou must imitate those men who having their Sight dimmed with the extraordinary splendor of bright Colours or of a Body of Light turn off their Eies to look upon less offensive objects instead of handling always thy Wounds and Sores instead of thinking of the afflictions that lye heavy upon thee meditate upon the goodness and favors of God vouchsafed to thee since thy Conception until now I give thee leave to put in one side of the Scales all thy crosses losses diseases pains and grief upon condition that in the t'other Balance thou wilt put all the Mercies Favors Blessings and Deliverances which thou hast received from God's liberal Hand It is true thou groanest under thy Misery and complainest of thy condition thou verily believest that there is none so miserable as thou art so that willingly thou wouldest say with the Prophet Jeremiah Doth not this move ye O ye that pass by behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow which is done unto me wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger But when there should be nothing else but this alone that God hath called thee to the knowledge of his Holy Will enriched thee with the Graces of his Divine Spirit and sown in thy Heart the seeds of Eternal Life and the blessed hopes of seeing his Face in Glory thou oughtest to look upon thy self as one of the happiest Creatures under Heaven 6. Finally thou must meditate with a Religious attention upon the joys of Heaven and the Eternal Blessedness of Paradise for I reckon with the Apostle that the sufferings of this present life art not worthy to be eompared with the Glory which shall be revealed in us Lam. 1. When we cast our Eyes upon the Earth alone we judge it to be very spacious and large our sight is lost in the contemplation of so many Provinces Cities and Kingdoms but when we compare it with Heaven we find it to be but a point Likewise when we look upon and reckon up the hours days weeks months and years of our sufferings the time appears very tedious and long but when we compare all these parcels of time with Eternity they seem to us but a moment when we should have been overwhelmed with evils and miseries from the first instant of our entrance into the World until the last of our going out Yet we have reason enough to say with St. Paul Our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory while we look not at the things which are seen but at the things
the wise man It is better to go to the house of Mourning than to that of Feasting Eccles 7. for that is the end of all Men and the living will lay it to his heart never look upon a diseased Body stretch'd upon a Bed nor upon a dead Corps in a Coffin but remember that this is an universal Law unto which all Mankind must pay obedience and that it is the broad Road of all the Earth and that there thou mayest behold the lively image of thy future Estate I conceive that this may be a good expedient and very successful to entertain in our minds the continual thoughts of Death to make our last Will betimes and frequently to peruse it for as it happens when we meditate upon a farewel that we are to take of our friends we feel in our souls the same affections and motions as are in us at the moment of our separation Thus will it be with us when we seriously meditate upon the last farewel that we are to bid to the World Death appears to us upon our Lips or rather we fancy our selves at that instant already in the sweet embraces of our Divine Jesus our Glorious Redeemer Besides those things that are unusual and extraordinary I find nothing in nor out of us nothing that we feel taste or relish in short nothing that passeth either in our private or publick conversation but is able to renew in our minds the serious consideration of Death The Flesh that thou dost eat the Wooll that cloaths thy nakedness the Silk that adorns thy Body in general all thy Garments and Ornaments are but the sparkles of the Dead Creatures the sight therefore of all these things must call to thy remembrance thy frail and mortal Estate and cause thee to meditate upon the Preachers saying The same accident that happens to the Beast the same happens to Mankind as is the death of the one so is the death of the other They have all the same Breath and Man hath no advantage above a Beast for all is vanity all goes to the same place all proceeds from the Dust and shall return to the Dust again Never pull off thy Cloaths but remember that thou must shortly quit this miserable Body and lay it down in the Grave When thou art entring into thy Bed think upon thy Sepulchre where thou must one day be stretch'd If thou dost awake in the night consider that Death will shortly come and put out the Taper of thy Life let thy Sleep be an image of thy Death and let it call to thy mind how thou must within a few days sleep in a bed of Dust when thou awakest think upon the delightful sound of the Arch-Angel's Trumpet that shall rowse thee out of Deaths long sleep say within thy self when thou arisest It may be that I shall never rise again till the Son of God shall come from Heaven to lift me up out of the Grave with his Almighty hand when we cast our Eyes upon the rising Sun Let us say within our selves it may be I shall never behold any other Sun rise again but the Son of Righteousness that carries healing under his wings Consider when thou dost put on thy Garments that the time is coming when thou must be cloathed with a more Magnificent and Glorious Robe a Robe of Light and Immortality when thou dost sit down to eat think upon the hour that is drawing near in which death will feed upon thy Carkass imagine that it may be that this is the last time that thou shall sit at the Table that next thou mayst sit with Abraham Isaac and Jacob with all the blessed Martyrs who have wash'd and whiten'd their Robes in the Blood of the Lamb and that it may be that thou shalt never taste any more but of the food of Angels and of the fruit of the Tree of Life and that thou shalt never drink but of the new Wine in the Kingdom of Heaven and of the Rivers of Eternal pleasures that run from the Throne of God Every time that thou goest out of thy dwelling or changest thy abode fancy to thy self that in a short time thou must depart out of this Mortal Tabernacle Art thou alone and separated from humane Society remember that within a few days Death will separate and divide thee art thou going to any meeting or entring into any company or marching to the Holy Assemblies discourse with thy self in this manner It may be that I shall never go to any other company until I come to the Church and Congregation of the First-born whose names are written in Heaven Art thou invited to the marriage of a friend Say unto thy Soul It may be I shall never go to any other Feast but to the marriage of the Lamb offered from the foundation of the World Dost thou see a rich and glorious Palace or a pleasant Garden say to thy self It may be I shall never see any other Palace but that where the living God doth dwell and it may be I shall never behold any other place of pleasure but the Celestial Paradise If thou dost cast down thy eyes to look upon the Earth upon which thou dost tread Consider at the same time that this Earth or some like to it shall afford thee a Grave and that thou shalt sleep there the sleep of death Remember what God told Adam Dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return Gen. 3. or say with the Holy man Job Remember I pray thee that thou hast formed me of Clay and that thou shalt reduce me to dust I shall sleep in the dust and if thou seekest for me in the morning I shall be no more Job 20. Job 7. If thou takest a view of the Plants of the Herbs and Flowers don 't forget what the word of God speaks concerning our Life in the 90 Psalm That Man is like the Grass which groweth up in the morning it flourisheth and is green in the evening it is cut down and withereth And in the 103 Psalm As for man his days are as Grass as a Flower of the field so he flourisheth for the wind passeth over it and it is gone and the place thereof shall know it no more And elsewhere All flesh is like Grass and the Glory of Man like the Flower of the field Is 40. 1 Pet. 1. If thou dost behold the Currants of Water the Rivers and the Torrents remember at that time what is said in the 14 Chapter of the second Book of Samuel for we must needs dy and are as water spilt on the ground And in the 90 Psalm Thou carriest them away as with a floud If thou tak'st notice of the shadow of the Needle in a Dyal that follows the swift motion of the Sun or to the shadows which solid bodies cast upon the Earth In the evening they stretch a great way and a little after vanish consider seriously and engrave in thy mind this excellent Sentence Man is
King answered We will then endeavour to conquer the rest of Italy and when we shall have Italy in our possession replyed Cyneas what shall we do afterwards we will go against Sicily saith the King the discreet Cyneas continued to demand and when we have all Sicily what shall we do Pyrrhus answered him we wil pass into Africa and take Carthage and after that we may recover Macedonia and command all Greece without controul But Sir replyed Cyneas when we shall have got all into our possession what shall we do then The King answer'd him with a smiling countenance My friend we will then repose our selves and take our fill of Delights and Pleasures then Cyneas began to tell the King What hinders us now Sir from taking our Rest and Delights for we have all that in our hands that we are going to seek so far with so much Bloodshed and Danger We may apply this to our selves we have most of us intricate and hidden designes which cannot be accomplish'd in the age of one Man We are afraid to dye as if Death had already caught us by the throat and yet we have so many desires to fulfil as if we were all immortal we build and adorn our sumptuous Dwellings as if we were never to leave the World And we are always gathering so much as if we had the charge of providing for a Royal Army Let us therefore in this case imitate this wise Minister of State Let us ask our selves for what purpose are these vast designes what end do we propose to our selves of all our labors and care what do we aim at when we run so many dangers and endure so many inconveniencies our Souls will answer us without doubt that it is with an intention at last to rest our selves in peace to live at ease and enjoy the fruits of our labors Let us enjoy that happiness and that satisfaction at present Let us not stay to rest our selves until the time when Death shall stretch us in our Graves Let us be satisfied with the goods that God hath already bestowed upon us and let us use them with thanksgiving Miserable wretches that we are why do we labor and torment our selves for so many things seeing that there is but one thing necessary and that is Piety the fear of the Lord and the expectation of his eternal Felicities Let us therefore make election of this good part and it shall never be taken from us Luk 20. 24. If we desire to imprint in our minds the contempt of the World and of its Vanities we must often meditate with serious attention upon the excellency of our Nature sanctified by Grace upon the worthiness of our spiritual calling and upon the Riches and Glory of that eternal Happiness which God hath prepared for us in Heaven It is impossible to look upon these things as we ought but we must conclude with the Apostle that the World with all its Pleasures and Treasures is not worthy of us The Woman that appeared to St. John in a vision was cloathed with the Sun having the Moon under her feet and a Crown of twelve Stars upon her Head This is a lively Image of Christs Church in general and of every faithful Soul in particular for when we are cloathed and adorned with Jesus Christ the Son of Righteousness we ought to trample upon all the pomp and magnificence of the World and laugh at the revolutions of the Ages at the Vanities and unconstancy of the Earth we must seek our greatest Glory and our most ravishing Delights in the Doctrine of the twelve Apostles who are as so many Stars shining in the firmament of the Church Let the World alter its face as often as the deceitful Laban we ought to be as the Rayes of the Sun always like our selves for our Glory is not as that of the World and of the Princes of this age that is reduc'd to nothing it is not setled upon a vain and failing foundation but upon the living and true God who is the same yesterday and to day and who shall be the same for all Eternity Heb. 14. Some glory in their Chariots others in their Horses but we will boast in the name of the Lord our God Heb. 13. Psal 29. 25. Consider that God hath lifted up our countenance and turned our face to look up to Heaven that he might thereby teach us to lift up thither also our Hearts and carry thither our Affections and Desires He hath created our Souls and given them a spiritual Being that they may take their flight above all earthly substance He hath adorned them with immortality that they might contemn all things that are not immortal as themselves all decaying and perishing enjoyments In short seeing God hath prepared for us his Heaven his Paradise his Glory his Treasures and the Rivers of Eternal Delights how can we yet stop our desires and be content with this dust of the Earth where Serpents crawl 26. When Alexander was preparing to leave Maceâ—onia and go to the Conquests of the Persian Monarchy he gave away all his Goods to his faithful friends and servants Perdicas one of his Favorites demanded of him what he had reserved for himself The King answered that he had reserved HOPE Thus ought we to fit our selves to depart out of the World by leaving our Parents Friends and Estates that we now enjoy and if our Flesh enquires of us what we kept for our selves let us confidently answer That we have kept our HOPE I may assure you Christian Souls that this your answer shall be more rational and better grounded than that of Alexander to his Favorite for this Prince did leave his Patrimony and Kingdom without any need but whether we will or no we must leave the World Alexander did quit his certain Goods for a doubtful Hope but we abandon perishing enjoyments for an Hope more secure and setled than Heaven and Earth Alexanders expectation was but of a temporal Kingdom and of a short and vanishing Glory but our expectation is of an uncorruptible Crown and eternal Triumphs Death hath seized upon Alexander in the flower of his Age put a period to all his Victories and consum'd all his Trophies but we are in hopes of conquering Death it self and this hope will not deceive us Rom. 5. This therefore being our assurance it is no wonder if St. Paul tels us That Hope is as a sure and unmoveable Anchor of the Soul piercing into the Vail that is into Heaven it self where Jesus Christ is entered as our fore-runner 27. God hath hid in the Earth Gold Silver and Jewels to teach us to trample upon all the Riches and Pomp of the World but he hath rais'd up to the highest Heavens our spiritual Treasure and our immortal Crowns that we might lift up thither our Hearts and our most earnest Affections he desires that we should imitate the Prophet David who did always comfort himself with the expectation of the
Souls who have consecrated your selves willingly unto God and to his Service and Worship cast away these vain and base actions and all these dead works leave them to such as are dead in their trespasses and sins but for you behave your selves according to your Celestial Calling and apply your selves to Righteousness and Holiness and to the practice of all other Vertues as such who were dead but now are made alive 45. We must continually meditate upon the Holiness and Purity of our future abode in Heaven and the expectation that we have there Rom. 6 For as Jesus Christ is gone to prepare a place for us in the House of his Heavenly Father John 14. It is but just and reasonable that we should fit and prepare our Souls for such Holy and Glorious Mansions Revel 21. It is not possible to go to Heaven by treading the paths of Hell Nothing impure nor filthy shall enter into the Holy City which is the new Jerusalem As in Solomon's Temple there was no way to the Holy of Holies but through the Sanctuary thus if we will one day enter into the Heavenly Sanctuary where Christ dwells the true Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy seat Eph. 2. It is absolutely necessary that we should tread in the paths of good Works which God hath prepared that we should walk in them Tit. 2. It is upon this consideration that St. Paul grounds this exhortation to Piety and Christian Vertues The Grace of God that bringeth Salvation hath appeared to all Men teaching us that denying ungodlines and worldly lusts we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present world looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and Saviour Jesus Christ who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good Works seeing that we have such promises let us cleanse our selves from all filth of the Body and of the Spirit finishing our Sanctification in the fear of God 1 Cor. 7. St. John makes use of the same reason to perswade us to Holiness Beloved we are now the Children of God but what we shall be doth not yet appear now we know that when he shall appear we shall be madè like unto him for we shall see him as he is and whosoever hath this hope in him let him purify himself as he is pure 1 Joh. 2. The Apostle St. Peter employs the same consideration to kindle in our hearts this pure and celestial fire We according to his promise look for new Heavens and new Earth wherein dwelleth Righteousness wherefore beloved seeing that ye look for such things be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace without spot and blameless 2 Pet. 3. 46. You know Christians that God created our first Parents in his own Image and Likeness before that he brought them into his own terrestial Paradise there is a greater reason that this Divine Image should be imprinted in our Souls before we enter into the Celestial Paradise unto this the Apostle hath a regard when he tells the Ephesians be ye renewed in the Spirit of your mind and put on the new Man created according to God in Righteousness and true Holiness Chap. 4. 47. If the place of our future Abode unto which we are designed doth require from us Sanctification the quality of the persons with whom we shall spend an Eternity doth no less oblige us to the same behaviour for they shall be Angels of Light and the Blessed Saints who have wash'd and whitened their Robes in the Bloud of the Lamb Revel 5. It is a glorious Church that hath neither spot nor wrinkle nor any such thing Eph. 5. It is the Spouse of the Son of God cloathed in fine Linnen clean and white which are the Righteousness of the Saints Revel 19. St. Paul had this same consideration when he saith That we are fellow Citizens with the Saints and of the Houshold of God and That our conversation ought to be as becometh Citizens of Heaven To wean us from the filthy Deeds of the Flesh and from the prophane disposition of Esau he employs the same reason to perswade us in the 12 of the Heb. You are come saith he to the Mount Sion to the City of the living God to the Celestial Jerusalem to the thousands of Angels and to the Assembly and Church of the first-born who are written in Heaven and to the Spirits of the Just sanctified 48. As it is with a Child in his Mothers womb he begins to live there the same life that he leads when he is come into the World likewise the Christian ought to begin to live in the same manner upon earth as he hopes to live for ever in Heaven if we will live and Reign with Christ above in his Kingdom we must at present have him Live and Reign in our Hearts here below by faith 49. The chief happiness of Man consists not only in the true knowldge of God and of him whom he hath sent to save us nor in the Spiritual Peace nor Celestial Transports of the Holy Spirit but it consists in Holiness without which none shall see God John 17. Rom. 5. Therefore the Apostle inquires from the Romans of his time What fruit had you in those things whereof ye are now ashamed but now being free from sin and become servants of God ye have your Fruit unto Holiness and the end everlasting life Heb. 12. Rom. 6. 50. I find also that this is a very good remedy to keep our selves free from the Debaucheries and Corruptions of the Age to abstain from the company and acquaintance of vicious persons for as he who did touch things unclean did become thereby unclean and as such as haunt amongst the sick of the Plague are infected with their Disease Likewise it is the property of evil company to corrupt the best manners 2 Cor. 15. 51. Whereas we should accustom our selves to the company and acquaintance of good Men and Delight in the society of such who like the Seraphims excite and enflame one another to glorify God and sing forth his praises we must frequent such unto whom we desire to be like for as Jacob's Sheep Ewned Lambs spotted and marked as the Rods upon which they did cast their eyes Thus if we have our joyes fixed upon the Holy examples of Piety and Vertue we shall see our selves insensibly transformed into their Image and Resemblance we must delight our selves in the company of them with whom we hope to live for ever in the highest Heavens 52. The most powerful and the most effectual means to oblige us to the practice of Piety and of Holiness and purity of Life it is to look with the eyes of faith upon him who is invisible and to represent unto our selves the great world as a large Temple where he dwels Let the voice that came unto Moses out of the burning Bush sound continually in
contentments of the Soul Let the nearer approach of my death make me to draw nearer to thee in love and obedience Give me power to overcome all carnal temptations O that the excellency of my Place and Dignity the precious Bloud of my Saviour with which thou hast washed my Soul and that immortal Bliss prepared for me might fill me with an hearty loathing and contempt of the vain and unprofitable Delights of the World that my Soul may not be fettered and enslaved to these filthy vanities so far below the excellency of its Being O Gracious God! with my Person I leave to thee the disposition of my Scepter and Kingdoms thou art able to give to my successor the same Piety Zeal and Love for thy Truth that I have always expressed I leave to thee the care and preservation of that Religion which thy powerful hand hath planted amongst us thou art able to cause it to flourish in the midst of so many envious attempts of adversaries Let me not therefore distrust thy good providence but grant to the person that thou hast appointed to succeed me a Love and Fear of thy Holy Name enrich his Soul with all Divine Graces and Royal Vertues My God and my King thou gavest me an earnest desire of building thee a Temple as to David a Man after thine own heart I have labour'd to recruit in my days the sensless divisions of my people but seeing that it is not thy pleasure that I should accomplish such a glorious Work Give to my Successor the Grace and Wisdom as to Solomon that he may perfect the pious designes that I have begun Establish his Throne with true Religion and sincere Reformation Let Justice and Peace flourish in his Reign Let Truth prosper Charity and Love enflame the Hearts of thy People Let all his neighbors bless him Let him have as many Guards as Subjects and as many Fortresses as Hearts in his Dominions But especially good God give him grace to build thee a setled House in these Nations and to raise it up to the highest pitch of Glory and Happiness that is possible on Earth In the mean while I shall depart out of this life and go to Glorify thee in the magnificent Palace of immortality where I shall cast down my Crown at the feet of the Lamb and adore him who liveth for ever and ever Amen A Prayer and Meditation for a Vice-Roy or a Governor O Almighty Governor of this great World seeing that thou hast granted to me the honor of representing the Person of my Prince thy living Image it is but just that I should return unto thee my unfeigned thanks for such a special Favor for I should not have this Power if it were not given to me from above and if thou who art the King of Kings and holdest in thine Almighty hand the Hearts of Princes hadst not caused the superior Powers to favor my Person Give me Grace never to forget that the Persons that I am to Govern are not my Slaves but the Subjects of my Prince moreover they are thy Creatures and Children it belongs not to me to dispose of them at my pleasure according to my passions but to observe the Orders that have been given me and to obey thy Divine Commandments Let me behave my self as if my Prince were always and every where at my elbows to be a witness of all my actions But especially let me remember that I am always before thine holy Eyes that behold my Heart and read my most secret thoughts Let me consider night and day that I must give an account to my Great Master of the Stewardship intrusted in my hands and that I must one day appear before thy dreadful Tribunal where disguising and lying will never take place If whilst I am diligently employed in the Duties of mine Office and managing my business with all the care and faithfulness that I am able Death comes to call me away out of the World give me such a courage that I may not be afraid but that I may quit my Dignities without repining for the Honor of Governing a Kingdom or a Monarchy or of Commanding many Worlds is nothing in comparison of the Glory and Happiness prepared for me in Heaven Let not the care of the time to come trouble the quiet of my Soul thou canst raise up other Governors unto whom thou canst grant a Spirit of Wisdom and Discretion with an happy and glorious Governance whilst I shall rest for ever from all my labors and cares and when I shall have overcome Satan the World Sin and Death and kept thy Works until the end thou wilt give me into my hands a never-fading Palm thou wilt put upon my Head a Glorious Crown and into my mouth the Songs of the Blessed in whose company I shall sing Praises and Tranksgivings unto thee for ever and ever Amen A Prayer and Meditation for a General of an Army and for a Captain O God of Hosts I have been perswaded that this employment in which I have engaged my self for the service of my King and Countrey would not be displeasing to thy Divine Majesty seeing that thou hast appointed Military Laws unto thy People and hast been so Gracious to them as to govern their Armies march out before them and Command in Chief when they have encountered with their Enemies Although thy Son is the Prince of Peace his first Minister and Fore-runner did not forbid the use of Weapons to the Soldiers that resorted to him but only to be content with their wages and to do violence to no man besides the Holy Apostles teach us that it is not in vain that thou hast put the Sword into the hands of Soveraign Princes and Kings who are the Images of thine Almighty power and of thy uncontroulable Justice Let me never appear at the head of an Army or of a Company but let me imagine my Prince to be there present as if I were to sight before his eyes but let me chiefly remember that I am in the sight of thy Holy Angels and of thee who art the King of Kings of all the Nations of the World and of their Armies Let not the power which thou hast given me over others cause me to neglect the obedience that I owe unto thee my great God and Creator Let not the honor of being a Captain make me forget that I am a Soldier of Jesus Christ who Judges and Wars according to right Let not the Sword that I carry at my side hinder me from receiving into my Heart the Sword of the Spirit which is the word of God that is sharper than a two-edged sword that searcheth to the division of the Soul and Spirit Joynts and Marrow Give me with this Heavenly Sword the Breast-plate of Righteousness and the Helmet of Salvation and especially give me the Buckler of Faith that I may be able to quench all the fiery Darts of the Devil O my God! cloath me with the
as it is Recorded of St. Stephen that when he had commended his Soul into the hands of the Lord Jesus that he fell asleep Acts 7. Therefore when St. Paul reproves the Coriâ—thians and acquaints them that God had punished them with divers Diseases and Death because they had profaned the Lords Supper he tells them For this cause many are feeble and sick amongst you and many sleep And when he speaks of all those that were dead in the profession of Christs Religion he saith they sleep in Jesus and he names them they that sleep Now we are not better and nobler then the Saints of Paradise to expect that our Bodies should receive a better and more favourable entertainment then they In short there is nothing more able to remove from our fancy that horror of our Graves then the consideration of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who is entred into the Earth as well as other Men and hath laid himself down there He hath Sanctified and perfumed that place with his Divine Presence he hath made it the object of our desires and the cause of our glory for there is no Subject but judgeth it an honour to lodge in his Princes Chamber and to lay down and sleep upon the Bed where he hath taken his rest although he hath remained there but a moment or an hour O glorious Tomb where Death and Life Disgrace and Glory are lodged together and where the Prince of Life the Author of all Honor and Happiness did rest himself Christians who desire to banish from your Souls all fears of Death and apprehensions of your Graves look upon your Sepulchres in the same manner as if you should see there Jesus Christ the King of Glory the Prince of your Salvation yet remaining asleep When old Jacob heard the mistaken news of the Death of his Son Joseph he was overcome with a violent grief so that he cryed out I shall go down with Sorrow to my Son into the Grave But the certain news of the Death and Burial of our true Joseph will fill us full of unspeakable comforts and will cause us to speak in another manner I shall go down to my Father into the Sepulcher with Joy The Prophet Elias raised to Life a Child which laid in his Chamber upon his Bed when he stretched himself upon it the Soul that was departed came again And Elisha raised another in the same manner by applying his Mouth to the Childs his Hands and Eyes to the little Infants But believing Soul God works for thee in this occasion a far more wonderful Miracle for our Resurrection and Life proceed from the Death and Burial of our great Prophet If we go into this holy Tomb if we lay our selves down upon this precious Body if we embrace it with a true and living Faith and a serious Repentance he will quicken us again and cause us to become Immortal for he hath been pleased to enter into the estate of the dead with an intent to procure unto us a blessed and a glorious Immortality A Prayer and Meditation for a Christian who strengthens himself against the horrible aspect of the Grave by looking upon our Lord Jesus Christ stretched out in his Tomb. O Wonderful Mediator between God and Man Thou art God Immortal and yet hast vouchsafed to take upon thee our Mortal Nature and to Dye for me miserable Sinner and to remain for a time in the estate of the Dead that thou mightest procure unto me a blessed Immortality Give me Grace to Meditate as I ought upon thy Sacred Body wrapped up in a winding sheet and laid in the Earth for by this means O sweet Jesus I shall be brought not to abhor the Grave I shall look with a stedfast and setled countenance on the Grave digging into which I must enter when thou shalt appoint it for the Servant is not greater then his Master It belongs not to the Creature to lift it self up above the Creator seeing that I expect to share in thy Glory and Exaltation it is but just and reasonable that I take some part in thy Disgraces and Abasement My reason assisted by thine holy Spirit teacheth me that I must be content to be wrapped up in thy Darkness and remain with thee in the valey of the Shadow of Death seeing that I hope to be cloathed one day with Light and Crowned with an eternal Life I must not only look upon the Grave without Fear but I shall consider it with Joy seeing that thou hast honoured it with thine holy presence and perfumed it with thy Divine and celestial perfumes I shall behold it in the same manner as if thou didst yet lye down in it as if I were to keep thee company there my Lord and my God A dead returned to Life again when he did but touch the Bones of thy Prophet but I do not only touch the Prince of Prophets but embrase thee with Faith as thou art dead for my Sins and as resting in thy Grave for my Salvation Thou shalt therefore make me sensible of thy Divine Vertue put in me the Seeds of Immortality and raise my hopes up to Heaven Already my Soul hath a share in the first Resurrection and one day this crazy Body shall return to newness of life If my Resurrection be not so quick and speedy as that of the Dead raised to Life by the Prophet It shall be far more glorious and lasting that I may bless thee with all thy Saints and praise thee for ever with thine Inheritance in Heaven Amen CHAP. 17. The Fifth Consolation against the Fears of Death is to Meditate upon the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ AS there is nothing more grieveous and unsufferable than to behold a proud and insulting Enemy who is alwayes victorious and whom none can overcome in his insolent and braving humor likewise there is nothing more pleasant and comfortable then to see such a pride cast down and to overcome such an Enemy Therefore the Children of Israel who had long groaned under the cruel tyranny of Pharaoh sung with Joy a Song of Triumph and Thanksgiving when God destroyed that wretched Tyrant and Buried him and his Army in the waves of the Red Sea For this cause when the Red Dragon the ancient Serpent called the Devil and Satan Exod. 15. who seduceth whole Nations was overcome and cast down from Heaven to the Earth There were Songs of Joy and Gladness heard in Heaven Revel 12. Now is come Salvation and Strength and the Kingdom of our God and the Power of his Christ for the Accuser of our Brethren is cast down which accused them before our God day and night therefore rejoyce ye Heavens and ye that dwell in them From hence let us conclude Christian Souls as it was a grievous Affliction and a sensible Grief to behold Death tyrannising over all the World and shutting up in its Dungeons Kings and Monarchs Patriarchs Prophets Apostles Martyrs and generally all the
appointed unto me Luk 22. In another place he speaks to all his Church in general Fear not little flock for it is your Fathers pleasure to give you the Kingdom Luk 20. And at the last day he will say Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the World Matth. 25. And to the Angel of his Church in Smyrns and to all faithful Souls this Divine Saviour makes this promise Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a Crown of Life Revel 2. And to the Angel of the Church of Laodicea To him that over cometh will I grant to sit with me in my Throne even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in his Throne Revel 3. And St. Paul tels us That we run to obtain an uncorruptible Crown 1 Cor. 6. And when he saw himself at the end of his Race he cries out I have fought the good fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness which the Lord the righteous Judge shall give me at that day and not to me only but unto all them also that love his appearing 2 Tim. 4. And St. James speaks in the same Language Blessed is the man that endureth temptation for when he is tried he shall receive the Crown of Life which the Lord hath promised to them that love him Jam. 1. Finally we read that the glorified Saints have Palms in their Hands and Crowns of Gold upon their Heads and in their Songs of Praise they speak thus to our Saviour Thou hast redeemed us to God by thy bloud out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation and hast made us to our God Kings and Priests and we shall reign on the Earth Revel 4.4 The great Men of the World delight in gorgeous Apparel some in perfum'd Garments therefore the Holy Ghost condescends to this weakness of Man and promiseth in Heaven Robes more flagrant than the perfumes of Arabia he promiseth a Garment whiter than Snow and brighter than the Light it self And Solomon when he considers his Spouse as the Type of the Church he saith The Kings daughter is full of glory within her clothing is of wrought Gold she shall be brought unto the King in raiment of needle work And when God himself speaks of the glory of his Church which he begins now and will consummate hereafter he saith that he adorned her with Gold Silver and precious Stones that he hath clothed her with fine Linnen with Silk and Needle-work therefore the Church speaks in this manner I will greatly rejoyce in the Lord my Soul shall be joyful in my God for he hath clothed me with the Garments of Salvation he hath covered me with the Robes of Righteousness as a Bridegroom decketh himself with Ornaments and as a Bride adorneth her self with her Jewels And if you take notice of such as stand before the Throne of God and in the presence of the Lamb that worship him day and night in his Temple you shall find them clothed with long Robes whitened in the Bloud of the Lamb. Look also upon that Glorious Woman of the Revelations the true Type and representation of the Church and you shall see her clothed with the Sun and a Crown of twelve Stars upon her Head In a word hearken to the Song of the glorified Saints and you shall hear them speaking to one another Let us be glad and rejoyce and give honor to God for the Marriage of the Lamb is come and his Wife hath made her self ready and to her was granted that she should be arayed in fine Linnen clean and white for the fine Linnen is the righteousness of Saints Men commonly love good cheer to partake of sumptuous Feasts therefore the Heavenly Delights are represented to us under the notion of rare Meats and exquisite Drinks of Noble Feasts and Magnificent Banquets In this manner the Royal Prophet speaks of them in the 36 Psalm How excellent is thy loving kindness O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings they shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy House and thou shalt make them drink of the River of thy pleasures And in the 65 Psalm Blessed is the man whom thou choosest and causest to approach unto thee that he may dwell in thy Courts he shall be satisffed with the goodness of thy house even of thy holy Temple And the Prophet Isaiah speaks in the same language In this Mountain shall the Lord of Hosts make unto all people a Feast of fat things a Feast of Wine on the Lees of fat things full of Marrow of Wines on the Lees well refined This consideration causeth a Doctor in the Gospel to say Blessed is he that shall eat Bread in the Kingdom of Heaven And our Saviour himself saith that many shall come from the East and from the West and shall sit at Table in the Kingdom of Heaven with Abraham Isaac and Jacob. Ahasuerus's Feast continued 180 days but the Feast of which we shall be partakers in Heaven and which hath been preparing from the foundation of the World shall continue for all Eternity Of all Feasts such as are prepared for Nuptial Solemnities are most esteem'd when they are for Kings and Princes of the Earth for in such occasions there are the greatest and the most extraordinary rejoycings therefore the happiness of Heaven is expressed by a Marriage our Saviour himself makes use of this comparison in the 22 Chapter of St. Matthew The Kingdom of God saith he is like unto a King which made a Marriage for his Son This caused the glorified Church to speak in this manner Let us rejoyce and be glad and give glory to the Lord our God for the Marriage of the Lamb is come Finally The Holy Ghost hath Commanded to Write and Record these words for ever Blessed are those that are called to the Marriage-Feast of the Lamb. Some persons are very much delighted with the sweet and pleasant Consorts of Musick Therefore the Holy Ghost to signify unto us That in Heaven there shall be all manner of pleasures and nothing wanting tells us that about God's Throne millions of Angels and glorified Saints shall sing forth the Divine Praise Besides it acquaints us with the substance of their Heavenly Songs when Isaiah mentions these wonderful Seraphims that fly round about God's Glorious Throne he saith That they cry one to another Holy Holy Holy Lord God of Hosts the whole Earth is full of thy glory And when St. John speaks of those glorified Saints he saith that they stand before this magnificent Throne playing with their Harps and singing a new Song that is to say a most rare and excellent Song and that they have always in their mouths the song of Moses and of the Lamb and that Heaven it self resounds with their Sacred Halelujah's which signifies Praise
the glorious liberty of the Children of God And in the 3. Chap. to the Colos he saith you are Dead and your Life is hid with Christ in God when Christ who is your Life shall appear you shall appear also with him in Glory Therefore this glorious appearing is stiled a blessed Hope that is to say the fulfilling and accomplishment of all that we expect or hope for as in the 2 Chap. to Titus St. Paul saith We expect the Blessed Hope the appearing of the Glory of our great God who is the Saviour Jesus Christ Then shall be the consummation of the Glory and of the head and of the Members for then the Son of God shall cause the Damned to feel that Power which he possesseth in Heaven and in Earth and in the Depths he shall discover himself to the faithful in his greatest Glory and most Divine Splendor Therefore this glorious Day of his descent from Heaven with the Angels of his power is mentioned as the first day of his manifestation of his appearing and of his Kingdom for this cause when the Holy Ghost speaks of this day it stiles it The day of the Lord Jesus Christ or the day of the Lord Jesus as also the Day of the Lord and the day of God As it shall be the Day of the Lord Jesus it shall also be our Day therefore St. Paul calls it The day of our Redemption because that in this day our Lord shall redeem our Bodies out of their Graves and shall bestow upon both our Souls and Bodies Eph. 4. all the Fruits of that Redemption which he hath purchased for us with his Blood Rom. 8. and shall raise us up to the highest Glory and most perfect happiness Heb. 9 It is the happy Day of the Consummation of our Marriage with this Divine Lamb. It is the day of our Joy and Triumph with the glorified Men and Angels It is the day of our Coronation and of our entrance into our Kingdom when the King of Kings the Lord of Lords shall Crown us with his own hand and put us in possession of an Empire prepared for us from the beginning of the World In a word it is the day when we shall come to the Lord Jesus and be with him as he is with the Father that we may be all in one Because of the glorious and wonderful things which shall come to pass on this day it is named The great Day St. Jude calls it thus when he speaks of the Revolted Angels he saith That God hath reserved them in everlasting Chains under darkness unto the Judgment of the Great Day In this manner many understand the words of St. John when he describes the Foul Spirits and likens them to Frogs which he saw coming out of the Dragons Mouth and of the Beast and out of the Mouth of the False Prophet and saith They are the Spirits of Devils working Miracles which God sent forth unto the Kings of the Earth and of the whole World to gather them to the Battle of that great Day of God Almighty Revel 16. Lastly this glorious Day is not only called The day of Judgement the Day of the Lord the Day of our Redemption and the Great day but oftimes without any addition it is stiled the Day and that Day as in the 10. Chap. to the Hebrews Let us consider one another to provoke unto Love and good Works not forsaking the assembling our selves together as the manner of some is but exhorting one another and so much the more as ye see the day approaching In the first Epist to the Thessal You are not in Darkness that that Day should surprise you Thus in 2 Epist to Timothy and first Chap. St. Paul saith I know whom I have believed and I am perswaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that Day And when he remembers the good and charitable Deeds of Mesiphorus he prays for him in this manner The Lord grant unto him that he may find Mercy of the Lord in that day And in the 4 Chap. speaking of himself he saith I have fought the good fight I have finished my course I have kept the Faith henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness which the Lord the righteous Judge shall give at that Day It is so stiled because of its excellency it is the Day of Dayes the end of all the Seasons the Consummation of all Ages and Times after this there shall be no more alteration of Days Months and Years Therefore an Angel is represented in the Revel lifting up his hand to Heaven swearing by the living God who hath Created Heaven and all things therein the Earth and all things in it and the Sea and the things that are there That there shall be no more Time for instead of this unconstant time which flies away without leaving any sign of its being an everlasting Eternity shall succeed an Eternity always the same always Blessed with Happiness alwayes glorious and joyful This Divine and Magnificent Day shall begin at the end of all other Days but shall never draw to an end Therefore St. Peter in these words calls it an Eternal day or Eternity 2 Pet. 3. Glory be to the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ both now and for ever Amen And in expectation of this Day of Days all Creatures are groaning and travailling in pain until now but especially Believers who have the First Fruits of the Spirit groan in themselves desiring with an earnest and holy desire to see the breaking of this great and glorious Day It is the end of all the Prophecies and the accomplishment of all Gods gracious promises to his People in all the Ages of the World It is the end and price of our Spiritual Calling the fulfilling of all our desires and expectations the Crowning of all our Labors and the highest step of that glory and happiness unto which we pretend You Devout Souls that delight in the contemplation of Celestial things I pray consider with me the accomplishment and the perfection of three kinds of works which have been succeeded by their several Rests The first was that of the Creation of the World for in six days God Created the Heaven and the Earth and all things in them and when he had finished his Works and found that they were good and perfect he rested the seventh day Gen. 1. 2. Therefore he Blessed and Sanctified it The second great work was that of Redemption for when our Saviour had fulfilled all the Prophesies which meâ—tioned him when he had caused the meaning of all the ancient Types and Figures to appear in his person and in his sufferings when he had fully satisfied the justice of God and purchased for us with his Blood an Eternal Redemption he cried out all is finished John 19. and he bowed his Head and gave up the Ghost After this Christ had nothing more to do nor to suffer but he
good a Prince could not be repaired but God caused Solomon to sit upon his Fathers Throne and made him the wisest and the most happy Monarch of the World David did but remove God's Ark but Solomon built for him a stately and magnificent Temple David was a Type of the Encounters and Victories of the Son of God but Solomon represented his Glorious Triumphs and that Eternal Peace with which he shall bless his Chosen in the Kingdom of Heaven What if you leave your Children under age be not discouraged for God will preserve them as the Signet upon his Right Hand or as the Apple of his Eye Think upon Josias who was but eight years old when he succeeded in the Kingdom of Judea nevertheless there was never a Prince more Holy and more Religious none ever did more good to the Church of God and that you may be able to strengthen your Faith and confirm your glorious expectations meditate upon the Life of Joas who was but a year old when his Father was killed and an infernal fury sought to destroy him but in the middle of so many Tragedies God preserved him alive by a Miracle and placed him in a Glorious manner upon the Throne of his Fathers Seeing therefore that it is the pleasure of him who gives and takes away the earthly Crowns leave cheerfully this corruptible one to receive another that is immortal and uncorruptible You also noble Governors of Countreys and Castles that represent the Persons of your Kings and Princes remember that this Dignity comes not only from the appointment of your Masters but from God himself who holds in his hands the Hearts of all the Kings and Princes of the world Remember what our Saviour told the Governor of Judea Thou shouldest have no power upon me if it were not given to thee from above John 19. Let all the world see by you that there is nothing more consonant and to your suitable than Piety towards God with faithfulness Prince Take heed that you abuse not your Power and Authority in satisfying your passions and pleasing your covetousnes or vanity Protect not the guilty and oppress not the innocent Seeing that you are appointed to punish evil doers and to encourage such as do well behave your selves as if ye were always in the sight of your Prince or rather behave your selves as in the presence and in the sight of God before whom all things are naked and open as if you were to give up unto him an account of your Stewardship Whilst you are happily employed in the service of your Prince and of your Countrey if Death comes to interrupt your prosperity yield your selves without resistance to the wise Governance and Orders of him who is both your Soveraign Lord and unto whom you must be subject on Earth Trouble not your selves with the thoughts of the things that shall happen after your death and think not but that there are yet some worthy and able to succeed you in your employments When God is pleas'd to be favourable to Kings and to cause their Seats to flourish he raiseth up faithful Ministers and wise Governors as when he gave to Pharaoh a Joseph to Hezekiah an Eliakim to Nebuchadnezzar a Daniel When he pleaseth to search into his unfathomed Treasuries he can quickly provide Men after his own Heart adorned with all the abilities required for a worthy discharge of a glorious employment In the mean while if thou hast overcome Satan Sin the World and Death thou shalt go and take possession of a greater and more lasting Glory He that bears upon his Garments and Thighs this Inscription The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords hath given out this unchangeable promise he that shall overcome and hath kept my Works until the end I will give unto him power over the Nations and he shall govern them with a Rod of Iron Right Honourable Counsellors that assist your Prince with your wise Counsels and you inferior Magistrates and Judges never forget what Jehosaphat said to the Judges of his Kingdom 2 Chron. 9. Take heed what ye do for ye judge not for Man but for the Lord who is with you in the judgement Wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you take heed and do it for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God nor respect of persons nor taking of Gifts Psal 85. Whensoever you go to take your place amongst the Judges of the Kingdom remember that God sits there upon his Throne and every time that you give a Charge or pronounce a Sentence consider that you are to follow God's directions and that this Great Creator takes notice of your Actions Words and of the motions of your Heart and that he understands your most secret thoughts Judge with the same equity and justice with which you desire to be judged If you be tempted to do Wrong to conceal the Truth or to commit an injustice either by a base compliance or by an expectation of Worldly advantage or for filthy Lucre remember that it is the Devil that tempts you pray therefore to God to deliver you from his power and that you may be better able to command your selves with an Holy dread think upon death that warns you in person nay drags you to appear before the Universal Judge of Mankind to give up an account of all your Actions and of the Sentences that you have given but if Death surprizeth you when you are discharging your Offices with all the diligence and integrity imaginable stay not till it forces you but cast off willingly the Robes of Judicature to take the Habit of a Supplicant and pray to God that he may not enter into judgement with you because no living creature shall be justified in his presence Psal 13. Let not the consideration of the passages that shall happen after your decease obstruct your Christian resolution There are men enough in the World of a sufficient ability to supply your places And God is able to raise up some that we dream not of as when he created in one day threescore and ten Judges in Israel whom he endowed with sufficient abilities and with the graces of his Holy Spirit He may produce some that will be as Righteous and Just as your selves and it may be more enlightened with discretion and prudence than you Come off therefore willingly from these seats of Judicature so beset with Thorns upon which you should never rest without horror and dread if you sincerely fear God and go with confidence to the Throne of Grace that you may obtain Mercy and find Grace to help in time of need Heb. 4. And as true Piety is assoon to be found in the Tents of David as in the Temple of Solomon as the Sword of Gideon agrees well with that of the God of Hosts I may make my addresses to you worthy Generals brave Captains and generous Nobility unto whom Kings Princes and Commonwealths commit the leading of their
up to the Throne of his Glory but according to his promise he hath not left us destitute but hath sent us the Comsorter to dwell with us for ever namely the Spirit of Truth whom the world seeth not nor cannot know John 14. Christs Corporal presence was enjoyed but by a small number of People but this Divine Spirit is like a large River that swells and runs over every where John 7. This Holy Spirit is not only with us but also within us He is poured out into our Hearts He Seals us for the day of Redemption He is the earnest of our Inheritance until the full consummation of the Glory reserved for us in Heaven Therefore when this merciful Saviour saw his Apostles afflicted in an extraordinary manner for his Leaving of the World he speaks to them in this Language Because I have said these things unto you Sorrow hath filled your Hearts Nevertheless I tell you the truth it is expedient for you that I go away for if I go not away the Comforter will not come unto you But if I depart I will send him unto you John 16. When St. Paul took his last farewel of the Elders and People of the Church of Ephesus they wept bitterly being grieved to the Heart because he had said That none of them should see his face any more But to comfort them he assures them that in Heaven they had a Father and a Protector and such a Shepherd as would never forsake them I commend you said he To God and to the word of his Grace which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified Act. 20. Remember therefore O Man of God seriously to consider all these things If the Lord who hath called thee to the Sacred Function of the Ministry continues thee in the world labor with courage and diligence in thine Holy employment Be not tired in the service of this good Master and merciful Saviour fight the good fight of the Faith endure patiently all manner of Labors as a good Soldier of Jesus Christ be as earnest and as careful for the Lord's Sheep as Jacob was for those of Laban Here what he professed of himself In the day the drought consumed me and the frost by night and my sleep departed from mine eyes Gen. 20. Jacob endured patiently these grievous pains and labor and the time of his service seem'd to him to be but of a few days because of the love that he did bear unto Rachel Likewise thou wilt joyfully endure the troubles of thine Office digest with patience all the inconveniencies if thou dost sincerely love the Lord Jesus and his Heavenly Spouse If thou dost esteem the salvation of Souls for whom Jesus Christ hath suffered death if thou hast well understood the Excellency of thine Heavenly Reward and the Glory prepared for thee when thou shalt have finished the time of thy painful and difficult service and of thy mortal Race for they who bring many to Righteousness shall shine as the Stars for ever and ever Dan. 12. Jacob had to do with a deceitful and unfaithful man But God is not as Man that he should Lye or as the Son of Man that he should Repent Gen. 23. Be thou faithful until Death and he will give thee the Crown of Life Revel 2. If it is the Lord's pleasure to lessen thy task so that instead of employing thee in his Vineyard he intends to take thee up into his Kingdom to drink there of his new Wine if at the time that thou thinkest of sowing with Tears thou art transported to the place where thou mayest reap with Songs of Triumph If in lieu of the opposition which thou must suffer from sinners God will grant to thee his Eternal Consolations and receive thee into the harmonious Societies of the Church Triumphant adore his Goodness and his infinite Mercy cast thy self into his hands and resolve chearfully to will what is pleasing to him if during thine abode in this Valley of Tears God hath given thee a livelyhood and if thou hast found in him thy joy thy satisfaction and thy greatest comfort Death will be thy greatest advantage thou shalt find in thy Saviour thy Rest thy Glory and Eternal Delights Phil. 1. Meditate often upon the words of the Holy Apostle St. Peter The Elders which are among you I exhort who am also an Elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ and also a partaker of the Glory that shall be revealed feed the Flock of God which is among you taking the oversight thereof not by constraint but willingly not for filthy Lucre but of a ready mind neither as being Lords over God's Heritage but being ensamples to the Flock and when the chief Shepheard shall appear ye shall receive a Crown of Glory that fadeth not away 1 Pet. 5. You also who are afraid to leave behind you a desolate afflicted and comfortless Widow Come and learn this Lesson to relye upon the goodness and tender compassions of the Father of Mercies who never fails to comfort the forlorne in all their afflictions and who is always near to them that call upon him in their distresses 2 Cor. 1. Psal 145. He bears so much favor to the Widows that he calls himself The Judge of the Widows Psal 68. that is the Protector of their integrity and right and severe revenger of the wrongs that they suffer Therefore God tells us in express words That he maintains the Widow and establisheth her Borders Prov. 15. Seeing Job was so merciful as to cause the Widows Heart to sing Job 28. How much more may we expect from God's goodness he will doubtless fill her with his Heavenly joys and the ravishing comforts of his Holy Spirit I mean not the foolish Widows that seek for nothing but pleasure worldly diversion and carnal pastimes who live in the delights of the Age and who are dead whilst they live But I mean the wise Widows who being left alone by their Husbands death have their confidence and trust in God continuing in Prayer day and night Our great God and merciful Lord hath not only said in general that he is the Judge the Protector and Comforter of the Widow But he hath vouchsafed unto some his most signal Favors and extraordinary Blessings In the Reign of Abab while a cruel Famine overspread the Land God sent the Prophet Elijah to a poor Widow of Sarephtah who was preparing her self and her Son to dye as soon as they had eaten a little remnant of Meal and Oil that was left but the Holy Prophet comforted her in this manner Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel the barrel of Meal shall not waste neither shall the cruse of Oil fail until the day that the Lord sendeth Rain upon the Earth 1 King 5. Many Widows have been comforted in such a miraculous manner for God hath so ordered it that their provisions have not failed although it may
Souls and Bodies when thou shalt come down from Heaven with Flames of Fire to revenge thy self of such as know thee not and will not obey thy Holy Gospel and to be glorified in thy Saints and become wonderful in all Believers Let me sometime consider that glorious Throne where thou shalt sit to judge the quick and the dead before which the greatest Princes Kings and Monarchs as well as the vilest Servants Subjects and Slaves and generally all the Men of the World shall appear to receive in their Bodies according as they have done whether it be good or evil O that I might rejoyce in an expectation of seeing the total and intire destruction of all the Enemies of thy Glory and of our Salvation That I might look upon Satan his wicked Angels his Agents and the instruments of his Kingdome at if they were already bound up in everlasting Chains cast into the Lake of fire and brimstone and shut up in that bottomless pit from whence they shall never be released That I might think upon that Blessed time when Death shall be no more when all the living shall be Immortal but chiefly give me Grace to behold with the eye of that precious Faith which thou hast formed in my Soul the joy and Coronation of thy Church to consider that Divine dwelling where the stately and most magnificent City is built with pure Gold Pearles and Precious Stones where thou thy self art the Light and the Sun where the uncorruptible inheritance is which cannot be defiled and cannot fade away where the River of living water runs which is as bright as Chrystal where the Tree of Life is which yields fruit every Month of the year whereof the Leaves are for healing of the Gentiles Give me Grace to comfort my self in the expectation of that blessed estate where we shall neither hunger nor thirst where there shall be neither giving nor taking in Marriage but where we shall be as the Angels of God where thou shalt cloath us with Light and incompass us about with the beams of thy Glory where thou shalt put into our hands Palmes of Victory Crowns upon our Heads and in our mouths the Songs of the blessed and of all the Holy Angels where we shall sit with the Patriarcks Prophets Apostles Confessors and Martyrs and with all the Princes Kings and Monarchs that have lived in thy fear and that are dead in thy favor Where we shall for ever solemnise the Divine Nuptials of the Lamb and shall be inflamed with his love where we shall behold God face to face and shall be changed into his glorious Image and satisfied with his Divine likeness O Lord give us Grace to think continually upon his glorious and joyful day which shall put a period to the current of time which is the accomplishment of all the Prophecies and Promises the body and reallity of all types and figures the Crowning of all our Works the fulfilling of all our desires the highest of all our hopes and the perfection of all the designs intended by God the Father from all Eternity And seeing that we know not when this beautiful day shall break forth which shall never end give us Grace to expect it at every moment and behave our selves in such a manner as if we were already at the Eve of this everlasting Sabbath and of this glorious Rest That we may provide holy oyl in our Lamps faith hope and charity in our hearts that these Lamps may be ready and always burning that our Souls may be cloathed with the Wedding Garment with Righteousness and innocency that we may not stumber in the vain Delights of the World in the pleasures of the flesh but that we may spend the days and the nights in watching and Prayers Give us Grace to lift up our heads looking for our Redemption as if we did already bear the sound of the last Trumpet as if we did see already the Lord Jesus coming in the Clouds of Heaven O that we might not only expect him but go to meet him and hasten his coming by our continual Prayers and earnest desires O most powerful and merciful Lord forgive our impatient wishes and hasten that day for the elects sake Lord Jesus come with the Angels of thy power and the thousands of Saints and cause thy glory to appear and thine eternal Happiness Come with the Weapons of thy just resentment to require Justice and to destroy all the ungodly for there is no Faith amongst Men nor charity All flesh is become corrupt Come and destroy this World which is as an House infected with a spreading Leprosie but rather come to free it from corruption and vanity unto which our Sins have made it subject Come and purifie with an universal fire this wretched Earth which was cursed for our Crimes Come Almighty Lord come and trample upon the pride of the World and of all the Enemies of thy Sacred Truth Come and execute judgement upon her that is drunk with the Blood of thy holy Martyrs Come and bind the roaring Lyon in Chains and shut him for ever in the bottomless pit Come and put to Death the Murderer of thy Brethren and Members and totally abolish it Lord Jesus hearken to the crying of thy people and to the groans of thine inheritance Come and take thy Church out of this cruel Egypt where our Sins have inthralled it deliver it out of this Babylon where it hath been kept so long in Bondage O merciful Lord it is high time that thou shouldst introduce it into thy Celestial Canaan where the Milk and Hony of the most refined joyes and divine comforts flow continually That thou shouldst bring it into the holy Jerusalem the City of Peace and of everlasting Rest Come therefore to wipe away the Tears and stop the crying of thy afflicted Children Come and take them out of this cruel and infamous Prison open to them the Gates of thy glorious Palace Come and cloath them with thy Light cause them to drink of the Rivers of thy pleasures and Crown them with thine Immortal Glory Lord Jesus hasten this day of this Divine Coronation and magnificent Rejoycing We have been fighting and travelling upon this Earth long enough separated from thee our Souls long for thee they can no longer live without thee O wonderful Lord whose Works are so great that they are past finding out and whose Wonders are so many that they are not to be numbred thou hast with the Father perfected the Creation of the World thou hast performed all the Works of our Blessed Redemption perfect also the Works of the future Glorification of thy Church Take us up to that highest Glory and Happiness which hath beex prepared for us from the beginning of the World and which is the price of thy Blood and the fruits of thy Death O bountiful and glorious Lord put us in a condition that we may have nothing to dread nor nothing to desire nor nothing to pray or
wish for but that we may only have cause to return to thee Thanksgiving and to celebrate thy Divine praises That in this glorious and everlasting day we may sing continually with the Seraphims that flie about thy Throne holy holy holy is the Lord God of Hosts all that is in the Earth is his Glory and with the Blessed Saints now is come to pass Salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ for Death is swallowed up into Victory the accuser of our Brethren is shut up in the bottomless pit he that accused them day and night before God They have overcome him by the Blood of the Lamb. They have not loved their own Lives unto Death Vnto him who hath loved us and washed us from all our Sins in his Blood and hath made us Kings and Priests unto God his Father to him I say as to the Father and the Holy Ghost be Glory power and Dominion 〈◊〉 ever Amen FINIS A TABLE OF THE CHAPTERS In this BOOK CHap. 1. That there is nothing more dreadful than Death to such as have no hope in God Page 1. Chap. 2. That in all the Heathens Philosophy there is no solid or true comforts against the fears and apprehensions of Death p. 8. Chap. 3. Of divers sorts of Death with which we must incounter p. 16. Chap. 4. That Jesus Christ our Lord hath redeemed us from Eternal Death and by Degrees doth deliver us from a Spiritual Death p. 22. Chap. 5. Why we are subject to the Corporal or Natural Death and what advantages we do thereby receive in Jesus Christ p. 28. Chap. 6. From whence proceed the Fears of Death p. 44. Chap. 7. The first Remedy against the Fears of Death is to Meditate often upon it p. 52. Chap. 8. The Second Remedy against the Fears of Death is to expect it at every hour p. 65. Chap. 9. The Third Remedy against the Fears of Death is to consider that God hath appointed the time and the manner of our Death p. 77. Chap. 10. The fourth Remedy against the Fears of Death is to separate our Hearts from the World p. 109. Chap. 11. The fifth Remedy against the Fears of Death is to renounce Vice and to apply our selves to the practice of Piety and Sanctification Page 147. Chap. 12. The sixth Remedy against the Fears of Death is to repose our selves upon Gods good Providence p 206. Chap. 13. The first Consolation against the Fears of Death God will not forsake us in our most grievous pangs p. 267. Chap. 14 The second Consolation against the Fears of Death is to look upon God as a Merciful Father and to trust upon his infinite goodness p. 296. Chap. 15. The third Consolation against the Fears of Death is to represent continually unto our selves the Death and Sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ and to trust upon the Merits of his Cross p. 315. Chap. 16. The fourth Consolation against the Fears of Death is to Meditate often upon our Lord Jesus Christ as he did lie in his Tomb p. 335. Chap. 17. The fifth Consolation against the Fears of Death is to Meditate upon the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ p. 342. Chap. 18. The sixth Consolation against the Fears of Death is the Ascention of Jesus Christ into Heaven and his sitting at the right hand of God p. 346. Chap. 19. The seventh Consolation against the Fears of Death is our strict and unseparable union with Jesus Christ by the means of his Holy Spirit and the First Fruits of our Blessed Immortality p. 357. Chap. 20. The eighth Consolation is to consider that Death frees and delivers us from all the Evils that are in the World and what we daily suffer p. 375. Chap. 21. The ninth Consolation Death shall deliver us from Sin which we may see Reigning in the World and from the Reliques of our Corruption p. 391. Chap. 22. The tenth Consolation is the Glory and Happiness of our Souls at their egress out of the Body p. 412. Chap. 23. The eleventh Consolation is the glorious Resurrection of our Bodies p. 443. Chap. 24. The twelfth Consolation is the Destruction of Death and the Eternal and most Blessed Life which we shall injoy both in Soul and Body after our Resurrection Page 486. The Several Prayers and Meditations proper for every condition the devout Reader shall find at the end of those Chapters unto which the Prayers are sutable A CATALOGUE OF BOOKS Printed for John Starkey Bookseller at the Miter in Fleetstreet near Temple-Bar DIVINITY 1. A Discourse of the Freedom of the Will by Peter Sterry sometime Fellow of Emanuel Colledge in Cambridge in folio price bound 10 s. 2. The Jesuits Morals Collected by a Doctor of the Colledge of Sorbon in Paris who hath faithfully extracted them out of the Jesuits own Books which are Printed by the permission and approbation of the Superiours of their Society Written in French and exactly Translated into English in folio price bound 10 s. 3. A Practical and Polemical Commentary or Exposition upon the third and fourth Chapters of the latter Epistle of St. Paul to Timothy By Thomas Hall B. D. in folio price bound 10 s. 4. Tetrachordon Expositions upon the four chief places in Scripture which treat of Marriage or nullities in Marriage Wherein the Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce is confirmed by explanation of Scripture by testimony of Ancient Fathers of Civil Laws in the Primitive Church of famousest Reformed Divines And lastly by an intended Act of the Parliament and Church of England in the last year of Edward the Sixth The Author J. Milton in quarto price 1 s. 6 d. 5. The Christians Defence against the Fears of Death with seasonable Directions how to prepare our selves to Dye well Written Originally in French by the Reverend Divine of the Protestant Church at Paris Char. Drelincourt and Translated into English by Marius d'Assigny in octavo price bound 6 s. 6. The Living Temple or the Notion improved that A good Man is the Temple of God By John Howe M. A. sometime Fellow of Magdalen Colledge Oxon in octavo price bound 3 s. 7. A Confutation of the Millenarian Opinion plainly demonstrating that Christ will not reign visibly and personally upon Earth with the Saints for 1000 years either before the day of Judgement in the day of Judgment or after it By Tho. Hall B. D. price bound 1 s. PHYSICK 8. Basilica Chymica Praxis Chimiatricae or Royal and Practical Chymistry augmented and enlarged by John Hartman To which is added his Treatise of Signatures of internal things or a true and lively Anatomy of the greater and lesser World As also the Practice of Chymistry of John Hartman M. D. Augmented and inlarged by his Son with considerable Additions all faithfully Englished by a Lover of Chymistry price bound 10 s. 9. The Art of Chymistry as it is now practised Written in French by P. Thybault Chymist to the French King and
thy beautiful Face and as a beam of thy Glory as the rich Jewel which the Devil had taken from us as the highest perfection represented by thy Son Jesus Christ and as the chief part of that felicity unto which we pretend and into which thou wilt bring us in thine heavenly Paradise O God of my Salvation how bitter are the fruits of sin thou seest my displeasure for having yielded so long to that loathsome Tyrant and assisted my carnal Lusts that war against the Soul Thou seest the inward grief of my mind for having neglected to employ that life which I have received from thy Mercy and Goodness that I might live to fear serve and obey thy Sacred and Divine Commands What shall I say O Soveraign Lord of the World I have sinned against thee against thee have I sinned and done that which is abominable in thy sight but I repent in Dust and Ashes my sins appear before me day and night I consider them with horror Alas O Lord before whom all things are naked and open thou knowest that my greatest grief proceeds from my not grieving enough and that my most sensible affliction is of not being afflicted sufficiently because I cannot feel a Repentance answerable to the greatness and number of mine offences O God that searcheth the Heart and knowest all things thou understandest the greatness of my crimes and what should be my sorrow for their Commission thou desirest not the death of a sinner but rather that he should turn and live Turn me O Lord and then I shall be turned Almighty God who fetchest Water out of the hardest Rocks draw out of my stony Heart the tears of sincere Repentance which might he acceptable unto thee Break and mollify this hard heart that it may receive the Waters of Eternal life but rather pluck out this wicked heart and give me a new heart fashioned with thine own hands an heart where thy Glorious Image with all its most beautiful features may appear with the most sacred beams that proceed from thy Divine Face an heart that may be enflam'd with an Holy Zeal for thy Glory and burn with a love for thee O God of all goodness who hast not spared the bloud of thine only Son to blot out the sentence of my doom grant me thine Holy Spirit that may sanctify me and make me a new creature that I may bear the marks and the Livery of thy chosen and that I may shine in the World as a Lamp that burns with an Heavenly Fire Crucify this miserable flesh with all its Lusts that I may live not I but that Christ may live in me that from henceforth I may live in the faith of the Son of God who hath loved me and given himself for me that he might redeem and cleanse me from all iniquity Animate my Soul enlighten mine understanding direct and govern the actions of my life take possession of me and rule me in such a manner that all mine affections words and thoughts may be sanctified by thy Grace and tend to the promotion of thy Glory That I may not only abhor all such things as are displeasing to thee but that I may also shun those which I know not whether they will be acceptable to thee that I may not only abominate the filthy vices but also hate the Garments infected with sin and that I may abstain from all appearance of evil If the Devil the World and mine own flesh tempt and stir me up to any sin let the dread of thy Divine Majesty seize upon my Soul let Death enter into my mind and fill me with such an holy fear as may stop and hinder me Give me grace to consider that I should be the most miserable of all Creatures if I did dye in offending and sinning against thee if I were buried with my crimes Let me always think upon St. John 's saying Blessed and Holy is he who hath part in the first Resurrection the second death shall have no dominion over him Seeing that thy saving grace unto all men hath appeared so openly unto me Grant that renouncing all impiety and worldly Lusts I may live soberly justly and religiously in this present life that I may apply my thoughts to all those things that are True Honourable Just Pure Lovely of good Renown and generally to all things that are vertuous and worthy of praise More especially grant O good God that I may be possessed with a violent Charity which may carry me to actions of Love and Mercy for thou delightest in such Sacrifices Charity covers a multitude of sins O merciful Lord the task which thou hast given me is long and tedious my life is but short and I know not how soon thou wilt come to knock at the door of mine house O God whose Mercies are for ever performe in me that which thou dost command and then command what thou wilt produce in me with power both the Will and the Deed according to thy good pleasure Give me grace to employ myself in thy work with Diligence Faithfulness and Zeal that I may not be troubled at thy Glorious coming Give me the Lamp of thy Sanctuary lighted at the beams of the Sun of Righteousness Fill my Soul with the precious and Divine Oil that runs from thy Spirit and cloath me with the Robes of Holiness and Light that I may be ready to follow the Bridegroom into the Banqueting Chamber and sit at thy Table with the holy Patriarchs Prophets Apostles Martyrs and the Holy Virgin and with all those who have wash'd and whitened their Robes in the Bloud of the Lamb. Let me live the life of the Saints that I may dye the death of the Righteous that I may be admitted into thy Glorious Rest with thy Chosen and that when I am breathing forth thy last gasp thy Son Jesus Christ may call to me from Heaven Come good and faithful Servant enter into the joy of thy Lord Amen CHAP. 12. The sixth Remedy against the fears of Death is to repose our selves upon God's good Providence SOme persons there are so brutish and stupified that they never think upon the great end and designe of their Creation they are not able to give a just account wherefore God hath put them into the World they are Carnal and Earthly minds who imagine that they were created for themselves as brute Beasts onely to eat and drink Such are of the number of those that are mentioned by St. Paul their God is their Belly and their end is Eternal Misery But there are also some wise and vertuous minds that are continually meditating upon the favors that they received from Heaven which they employ to their right and proper end Such Celestial understandings being enlightned from above consider very well that they are not born for themselves but for their Countrey for their Parents for their Friends and chiefly for to serve God and his Church on Earth therefore they desire to live only to
glorify their Creator and advance his Kingdom When this good desire is well governed it is as acceptable to God as a sweet smelling Sacrifice This was David's earnest desire in the 119 Psalm Let my Soul live that it may praise thee This Holy Zeal forced so many bitter Tears from King Hezekiah in his sickness and caused him to intreat most earnestly to live yet longer in the World This Wise and Religious Prince did well foresee the fearful Evils the grievous Confusion and the abominable Idolatry that was likely to succeed after his Death in the Kingdom of Judea He was therefore very desirous to glorify God on Earth and to accomplish the Reformation which he had begun He desired to have Children whom he might teach to fear God with all their heart and to serve him according to his Holy and Divine Will that he might cause Piety to continue in his House and Royal Family he discovers this Holy desire in his Divine Hymn which he sung unto God after his miraculous recovery Behold for Peace I had great bitterness but thou hast in love to my Soul delivered it from the pit of corruption for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back for the Grave cannot praise thee Is 38. Death cannot celebrate thee they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy Truth the living he shall praise thee as I do this day the Father to the Children shall make known thy Truth The Lord was ready to save me therefore we will sing my Songs to the stringed Instruments all the days of our life in the house of the Lord. We find the same earnest desire in St. Paul for when he looks upon himself and upon the miseries that attend upon him on Earth and lifts up his Eyes to see the Heavenly Bliss that waits for him above he desires to depart out of this earthly Tabernacle and to be with Christ and acknowledgeth that it would be his great advantage but when he looks upon the Church of Christ his desire of the Salvation and instruction of his Brethren causeth him to prefer their Comfort to his own Happiness and Joy It is saith he more expedient for you that I remain in the Flesh and I know for certain that I shall abide and remain with you for your advantage and the joy of your faith This desire of Life with an intent of Glorifying God is Good and Holy but it is no easy task to keep it within its just and lawful bounds for very often it becomes vicious when it is stirr'd up by a fond love of our own persons which makes us so loth to dye For example when a great Prince animated with an Heroical Vertue is engaged in a War for the preservation of his Subjects and for the delivery of many afflicted People from oppression and Tyranny if God blesseth his Armies and causeth his Glorious designes to succeed he will not be well pleased if Death at that instant offers to cross him to break in pieces his victorious Arm to put an end to his Conquests and to cast his Crown to the ground he may justly complain in this manner Must I now leave off such a noble and a brave Designe must I here stop in the midst of such a glorious Race and must Death bury with my Body the expectations of so many good Men I am afraid that all my labors will vanish away with my breath I have just cause to fear that my fall will draw after me the destruction of many poor People that depend upon me I fear that oppression and Tyranny will resume fresh Spirits and a greater Boldness and prove for the future more grievous and unfufferable O cruel and inhumane Death by taking away my Life thou bringest my Friends to Execution and the Arrows that thou stickest in my Heart do pierce the Souls of many innocent People Likewise he that is promoted to be the King's Vicegerent in a Province or to be a Governor of a rich Countrey and an important Place may be grieved because Death snatcheth him away in the middle of all his business especially if it be in troublesome times and if he sees none of a sufficient ability to succeed him Must I will such an one say Must I quit so soon this Glorious employment Must I so quickly leave my Prince's service and forsake so many poor People as a Flock without a Shepheard Death how hateful and odious art thou Thou delightest to bring all things into confusion and trouble Thus a brave General of a victorious Army who being full of Courage manageth a successful War for the Honor of his Prince and the advantage of his Countrey cannot but complain against Death when it comes to subdue him before he hath totally subdued and overcome his Enemies especially if the times be so unhappy that none is able to undertake that employment after him he will be ready to break forth into complaints Must I leave off so many Glorious designs Must I forsake my most faithful Soldiers and abandon them to the mercy of their Enemies or to the capricious humour of an unexperienced Successor O Death full of envy wilt thou pluck out of my hands so soon this conquering Sword and cut off with one blow of thy Sithe so many great expectations In the same manner he that sits in the most Honourable seats of Judicature as a Judge a President or a Counsellor or any other chief Magistrate will doubtless mourn if Death seizeth upon him in the flower of his age especially if he fears that after him corrupt Men will succeed who may be likened to whitened Walls Must I will he say leave so soon this noble Office in which I took so much delight O inconsiderate Death why dost thou not suffer me to wear my Purple until such time as I shall be weary to bear it Why dost thou not permit me to sit here upon this magnificent Seat until I tumble off with old Age Likewise a faithful Minister of the Gospel when he perceives the work of the Lord to prosper in his hands Satan falls from Heaven by his means as a Lightning and Dagon to be brought upon his Face to the ground may justly wonder at Death's approaches and speak in this manner Must I so soon quit the duties of this Holy Function in which I took my greatest delight Must I break off from this Sacred Work by which I did advance so happily the Glory of God I am afraid that when I am gone ravening Wolves will enter into the Lord's Flock and a terrible night of ignorance will involve our posterity Thus a Father of a Family who passionately loves his Wife and Children shall never see death but shall feel all his Bowels move and his Heart tormented with grief he will sigh out such expressions as these Must I forsake a poor forlorn Wife swimming in Tears Must I leave my tender-hearted Parents who found my life a comfort and will find my