free from his master Mors sceptra ligonibus aequat The third thing wherein men are sayd to die is in their sinnes This befalleth all the vnbelievers who die in vnbeliefe according to that saying of our Saviour I sayde therefore vnto yom that yee shall die in your sinnes For if yee belieue not that I am HEE yee shall die in your sinnes Where is not meaned that they shall cease to bee in their sinnes or in the stayne and guiltinesse therof as those who dying in worldlie wealth or povertie cease to bee in them anie more but hee that dieth in his sinnes his bones are full of the sinne of his youth which shall lye downe with him in the dust Now as Salomon sayth if the tree fall toward the south or toward the north in the place where the tree falleth there it shall be That is as Saynct Hierome expounds the place in what estate a man dieth eyther in sinne or in righteousnesse hee shall for ever remayne in that same estate The miserie of such a man is descrybed in the Evangell of Saynct IOHN with the felicitie of those who liue and die in the true fayth of the Sonne of GOD briefelie in these wordes Hee that believeth on the Sonne hath everlasting Lyfe and hee that believeth not the Sonne shall not see Lyfe but the wrath of GOD abydeth on him Therefore this Proposition Blessed are they that die in the LORD is reciprocall They die in the LORD who are blessed meaning of mortall men who die this bodilie death of whom none are blessed but onlie they that die in the LORD Neyther is there salvation in anie other for there is none other name vnder Heaven given amongst men whereby wee must bee saved To die in the LORD signifieth not that the LORD is the cause of our death as Adam to them that die in Adam but it signifieth that happie estate of a dying man that hee is in the LORD and consequentlie of the number of those of whom the Apostle sayeth There is no condemnation to those which are in CHRIST IESVS Neyther doeth dying in the LORD import ceasing from beeing in the LORD as they who die in worldlie wealth or povertie doe cease to bee in that estate anie more but to die in the LORD signifieth to die beeing and remayning in the LORD before death in death and after death The LORD is our lyfe even aeternall Lyfe He then that dieth in the LORD remayneth in Lyfe according to that saying of our Saviour Verilie verilie I say vnto you he that heareth My word and believeth on Him that sent Mee hath everlasting Lyfe and shall not come into condemnation but is passed from death vnto lyfe Death may separate our soule from our bodie but it can not breake that Union which wee haue with IESUS CHRIST whose wee are whether wee liue or die I come nowe to a more particular consideration of this Union which wee haue with CHRIST in lyfe and death and in respect whereof wee are sayde heere to die in the LORD This Union is so strange and wonderfull that it can not bee sufficientlie expressed by anie one kynde of vnion and therefore the Spirit of GOD in the Scripture expresseth it by manie and those most diverse sortes of vnion or conjunction to wit by the vnion of conformitie telling vs that wee are praedestinated to bee conformed to the Image of the Son of God by the vnion of affectiō yea of most entire affection or friendship telling vs that wee are His Friendes Brethren and Spouse by the vnion of influence or reall operation telling vs that Hee is the Vine and wee are the Branches that Hee is the Head and we are His Members vvhereby is signified That as the roote of the Vine by reall influence doeth communicate lyfe nowrishment and growth vnto the branches and as the head by reall influence or operation doeth communicate sense and motion vnto the inferiour members and doeth direct them in their actions So CHRIST by the seret and most powerfull influence of His Spirit doeth communicate Spirituall lyfe sense motion and growth vnto the members of His mysticall bodie as also directeth them in their actions making them to walke circumspectlie and to worke out their salvation with feare and trembling And because thinges are vnited or joyned together two wayes by the vnion of influence to wit eyther so that they concurre together to make vp one totall or composed substance as for example The head and the members make vp one totall substance and so doe the roote and the branches vvhich sort of vnion is called a Formall Substantiall and Physicall vnion or else so that no totall or composed thing is made vp of them so the Load-stone and the yron which it draweth to it selfe are vnited together vvhich sort of vnion is called vnio effectiva an vnion of meere influence or efficiencie Therefore our conjunction with CHRIST is expressed in Scripture sometymes by a Formall and Physicall vnion as when Hee is called the Vine and we the Branches or when Hee is called the Head and wee the members of His bodie and sometymes by the vnion of meere inftuence as when Hee sayeth If I bee lifted vp from the earth I will drawe all men vnto Mee and Loe I am with you alwayes even vnto the ende of the worlde Nowe to apply all this to the present purpose The Godlie haue all these kyndes or sorts of vnion with CHRIST in death as well as in lyfe and therefore they are most justlie sayde to die in the LORD And first as for the Vnion of Conformitie although the Learned speaking of that conformitie vvith CHRIST vnto which wee are praedestinated doe onlie mention our Conformitie with Him in Grace and Glorie yet betwixt these two wee may verie well take in another part or degree of our conformitie with CHRIST to wit our Conformitie with Him in our death vvhich is the passage from Grace to Glorie For as wee resemble Him by an holie lyfe so also by an happie and victorious death This degree of conformitie which the Godlie haue with CHRIST is grounded chiefelie vpon three respectes For first as CHRIST died voluntarilie and by way of obedience to GOD His Fathers Commandement so the Godlie die humblie submitting themselues and all their desires vnto GOD'S will For although when that bitter Cuppe of deadlie sicknesse is presented to a Godlie man he sometymes say with CHRIST Father if it bee possible let this Cup passe from mee yet He ever doeth subjoyne this Neverthelesse not as I will but as Thou wilt Secondliie As CHRIST died to destroy the works of the Devil that is to take away our sinnes so the Godlie desire to die that they may bee fred from their sinnes and not offende GOD anie more saying with SAMPSON Let mee die with these my enemies Thirdlie as CHRIST died to
him converted There Andrew shall present before the Iudge Achaia Iohn Asia Thomas India converted as Gregorie speaketh O that yee may bee with him in lyke manner with joye at the right Hand of the Iudge in that Day The LORD grant it for CHRIST'S sake To whome with the FATHER and Blessed SPIRIT bee all Prayse and Glorie for ever and ever AMEN A CONSOLATORIE SERMON Preached vpon the death of the R. R. Father in GOD PATRICKE FORBES Late BISHOP of ABERDENE By ALEXANDER ROSSE Doctor of DIVINITIE and MINISTER of the EVANGELL in ABERDENE in Saynct NICOLAS Church there Anno 1635. the xv of Aprill DAN xij 2 And manie of them that sleepe in the dust of the earth shall awake some to ever-lasting lyfe and some to shame and ever-lasting contempt IT may perhaps seeme strange that the noyse of my mourning for the death of our late Worthie Prelate was not these dayes by-past with the rest of my Reverend Colleagues heard in publicke This duetie had beene performed ere nowe were not Death fearing that my vnappeased griefe through sense of my great losse should haue made mee to burst out into bitter and Tâ—agicke Invectiues agaynst her and so haue brought you all in hatred with her as with that vvhich the Philosopher saieth is omnium terribilium terribilissimum Of all thinges that are terrible the most terrible did arrest mee by her mightie Herauld Sicknesse to the end that by neare communing with her I might knowe and impart the same vnto you also that shee is not so indeede as her grieslie lookes doe praetende not an enemie to the Godlie as nowe in our mourning shee is holden to be but a friende and herefore in your mourning you should bee comforted For by the death of CHRIST her nature is changed Through death Hee hath destroyed him that had the power of death that is the Devill and delivered them who through the feare of death were all their lyfe tyme subject vnto bondage Hebr. ij 14.15 Death is no more death I am sayeth our Saviour the Resurrection and the Lyfe hee that believeth in Me though hee were dead yee shall hee liue And whosoever liveth and believeth in Mee shall never die IOHN xj 25.26 By her the Godlie are bound in the bundle of Lyfe Shee is but the way that all flesh doeth goe to put an ende to their miseries Shee looseth them out of Prison gathereth them to their Fathers maketh them lay downe their tabernacle and putteth them into a sound sleepe from whence they shall bee awakened to ever-lasting Lyfe But because it were endlesse to showe you all the good we nowe obtayn by Death I haue bounded my selfe within the limites of this Text wherin we haue a sweete Cordiall for the reliefe of the heart of Man from two great evils to wit The ignorance of the nature of Death it selfe and the ectate of men after death Feare not to taste therof for it is praescrybed by the Greatest DOCTOR in Heaven or in earth GOD Himselfe the Soveraygne and onlie Physician both of Soule and bodie The Apothecarie by whose hand it was delivered was an Angell who gaue it for a strong Consolation vnto Daniel and hee who hath left it vnto vs for that same vse was this same Daniel Vir desideriorum A man greatlie beloved of GOD A Pen-man of holie Scripture who spake and writ as hee was inspired by the holie Ghost And it is of an immortall and never-fading Vertue flowing from the immortall and all-sufficient Worth and Merit of the death and Resurrection of IESVS CHRIST That Death by the ignorance of the true nature thereof doe not dismay you learne to knowe That it is but a sleepe That the estate after death doe not dishearten you learne that it is but a wakening and such a one as is to Lyfe and such a lyfe as shall haue no death an ever-lasting Lyfe a sweete Cordiall indeede but the comfort contayned in it doeth not indifferentlie concerne all All indeede shall sleepe all shall awake but not all to ever-lasting Lyfe The awakening of some shall bee to shame and contempt for Qualis vita finis ita Lyke lyfe lyke ende lyke awakening Who liveth in the LORD shall die in the LORD rest from their laboures and awake to ever-lasting Lyfe And who liveth in sinne their ende is destruction and their awakening is to shame For this Text hath its own both Extent Restraynt Extent all indeede shall sleepe all shall awake Restraynt Some to ever-lasting Lyfe some to shame and contempt There bee some I knowe doe not allow to it this just Extent in regard it is sayde onlie manie that sleepe in the dust For they thinke that all men shall not suffer death which by sleepe is meant heere Grounding themselues vpon the wordes of the Apostle 1. COR. xv 51 Beholde I showe you a mysterie Wee shall not all sleepe but wee shall all bee changed Hee distinguisheth all men vnto those who shall bee alyue and remayne vnto the comming of the LORD and those that shal be asleepe Which distinction importeth That those who then shall bee alyue shall not die but shall immediatelie or without anie death intenveaning bee caught vp with the rest of the Elect to meete the LORD in the ayre Tyme will not serue mee to speake of this mysterie as Paull calleth it at such length as I would onlie yee shall know that the ancient Fathers of the Church haue bene much divided in their judgemeÌ„ts concerning those whom the LORD at His comming to Iudgement shall finde alyue Chrysostome wryting vpon that place and diverse Greek Fathers following him haue thought that they shall not die but that they shall bee changed from the estate of Mortalitie vnto the estate of Aeternitie Of this opinion also were some of the Latine Fathers in speciall Tertullian and Ierome and diverse moderne Wryters both Papistes as Cajetane and some others led by his authoritie as also Protestantes as Calvine and some others following him But manie haue beene and are yet of another opinion that is they haue believed or at least thought it more probable That even those who shall bee alyue at the LORD His second comming shall truelie and reallie die that they may vndergoe the common punishment of Man-kynde and shall immediatelie thereafter bee raysed vp or quickened that they may compeare with the rest vnto Iudgement Of this opinion were diverse both of the Greeke Fathers as Dydimus one of the Doctors of Alexandria and Acacius Bishop of Caesarea as we may perceaue by Ierome his Epistle to Minerius and Alexander EPIST. 152. vvhere the judgement of them both in this particular is related and Oecumenius in his Commentaries expounding this place and also of the Latine Fathers as the Author of the Commentaries vpon Paul's Epistles attributed to Ambrose in Thes. Cap. 4. Augustine in some places of his workes as Lib. 20. De Civitate DEI Cap. 20. although in other places hee seeme to encline to
vpon these Thrones aboue Then let hope of this allay your cresses heere Lift vp your heades yee drouping Saincts for your releasse drawes neare I know Viators thinke their LORD makes long delay But with the weyght of endlesse blesse Hee 'll recompence His stay V. And art thou gone deare ghost C. Yes I haue stay'd too long For I must goe and beare my part of our triumphing Song Whereof I know one day yee shall sustaine your parts And sing the Praises of the Lambe with jubilating heartes Meane tyme present your selues with heaven erected eyes And recommend your faynting hearts your weakned hands knees To him whom GOD hath made Brabeutes of your host Hee heares your cryes Hee sees your teares not one of them is lost As wee haue joyfull proofe who are triumphers now The lyke estate vndoubtedlie Hee will vouchsafe on you Vnder the hope whereof I bid you all Goodnight Till yee enjoy what ye expect and Faith bee chang'd in sight ARTHURI IONSTONI M. D. MEDICI REGII EPIGRAMMA DE HOC TUMULO Quem Reverendissimo Patri PATRICIO FORBESIO IOANNIS FORBESII Filii pietas marmore aere perenniorem excitavit FORBESIOS hîc cerne duos sine compare patrem Et natum secli sidus utrumque sui Ante dedit vitam nato pater omine laeto Nunc patrem nati vivere cernis ope Plus meruit natus quam cepit clauditur aevo Quam dedit annorum limite vita caret Nobili Clarissimo ac Generoso Domino Domino IOANNI FORBESIO Domino à CORSE Baroni de ONEIL c. Universitatis Abredoniensis Rectori Magnifico S. S. Theologiae Doctori eximio ejusdemque in Academia Regia Professori dignissimo Musarum Abredonensium acerimo vindici ac protectori haec qualiacunque Oratoria Poetica variorum auctorum munuscula serio commendar IO. LVNDINVS in Academia Regia Humaniorâ—m Literarum Professor Facultatis Artium pro tempore Decanus MAgne Heros magni soboles generosa parentis Magna perantiquae spesque decusque domus Cui veterum assurgunt tituli juvenilibus annis A quo semidei nobilitantur avi Accipe quae sacrae mittunt tibi sacra Camaenae Accipe quae sacri praeses Apollo Chori Dona ferunt manibus nam sunt sua dona Poetis Parva licet magnis dona petenda Deis Hic laudes percurre tuas percurre tuorum Picta hic insigni laude trophaea feres Hic sua virtuti sua sunt hic praemia laudi Hic digesta leges fortia facta Patris Ut pia Pierides sic dulcia praelia miscent Arma parat Vates Rhetor arma parat Fervidus hic dubiis medius Mars errat in armis Stringit hic nivea tela Minerva manu Delius hic Clypeum laterique accommodat ensem Totaque Thespiadum saevit in arma Cohors Nulla prius traxit plures in praelia vates Palma triumphalis palma nec vlla trahet Quaeque suos confert pulchra in certamina vires Praestat officium quaeque Camaena suum Magnaque cum faciant se nil fecisse faâ—entur Maxima sunt meritis inferiora tuis Plura etiam nemo est qui se debere negabit Et majora animo vel magis aequa tuo Nostra vel imprimis quae jam sua rura Thalia Possidet auxiliis auspiciisque tuis Per te ruris opes mihi Mantua laeta ministrat Mantua sacrilegis nuper adempta Getis Hinc tibi serta parant sacrantque aeterna Camaenae Frigoribus nunquam depositura comam A SERMON Preached at the Funerall of the R. R. Father in GOD PATRICKE FORBES Late Lord Bishop of Aberdene In the Cathedrall Church of that Dioces the 9 of Aprill 1635 by ROBERT BARON Doctor and Professor of Divinitie and one of the Ministers of GOD'S Word in the Burgh of ABERDENE REVEL CHAP. xiiij VERS 13. Blessed are the dead which die in the LORD THis Sentence may justlie bee called an Heavenly Sentence and that not onlie in these generall respects for the which other passages of Scripture are so called but also for speciall causes or reasons For it was delivered to Saynct Iohn by a voyce from Heaven It telleth vs that perfect happinesse is not to be found in earth but in Heaven that none may exspect or attayne therevnto but these who liue and die in a League with Heaven and as it were in the armes in the bosome of the King of Heaven and that they can not come to it but by death which is to them Ianua Coeli the Gate of Heaven The LORD furnish vs at this tyme with a competent measure of heavenlie Grace and fill our souls with heavenlie thoughts that this our present exercyse may tende to the glorie of Him that dwelleth in the Heavens and to our benefit who exspect one day to see His glorious His beautifull and louelie Countenance there In this Sentence we haue onlie two things to consider to wit the persons of whom the Spirit of God here speaketh and the blessednesse attributed vnto them The persons who are the subject of this proposition are the godlie who haue departed this lyfe Yee haue a description of them in these words The dead who die in the Lord where by the dead wee must not with Ambrose and Alcazar vnderstand these who are spirituallie or misticallie dead to the world and to sinne neyther will we follow the phantasticall conceit of Aureolus who did vnderstand by the dead here spoken of these who by monastical vowes haue sequestrated themselues from the world and the ordinarie conversation of men But wee must here vnderstand these who are naturallie dead or whose souls are separated froÌ„ their bodies Neither must we limitate the subject of this proposition to those who were dead before S. Iohn heard this voyce in Pathmos as if blessednesse were here ascribed to them only others being excluded who were to die thereafter But the words of this propositioÌ„ must be vnderstood cum ampliatione terminorum as the Summulists call it that is they must be ampliated or extended to al differences of tyme. For the meaning of this sentence is not onlie that the dead who haue alreadie died in the Lord are blessed but also that these who hereafter shall die in the Lord shall by death attayne vnto perfect Happinesse and Blessednesse The description of the persons to whom Blessednesse is here attributed consisteth of a generall part coÌ„mon to all and of a particular part limitating this description to the Elect. To die is common to all it is the way of all the earth To die in the Lord is the way not of all but of some few or the last part of that narrow way which few doe finde And to this is another way opposite which is the way of manie even that broadway which leadeth to destruction in the which all doe walke who are not in Christ. So then if wee consider the generall part or the genus of this description together with the
limitation or difference added therevnto and if we compare this differēce with its contrarie for everie difference hath its contrarie wee shall haue these three wayes of men mentioned in Scripture to wit The way of all the way of few and the way of manie As for the generall part of this description set downe in the word dead I can not let it goe without some observation neyther can I obserue anie thing so fitly there-anēt as that same which I haue already touched to wit that it is a generall yea so general that it includes all who haue bene before vs in the world those beeing excepted whom GOD extraordinarilie hath exempted from death and ere it be long shall actuallie include vs all who are now in it as also those who when wee are removed shall come in our rooms No Nation no Province nor Citie yea no ranke nor degree of men hath exemption frō this cōmon mortalitie or necessitie of dying therefore Hormisdas the Persian who fled frō his natiue countrey to Rome in the dayes of Constantius the Emperor and who was in Rome when Constantius after he had overcome Magnentius and his adherents entered the citie in a most magnificke and triumphant manner being asked by the Emperour vvhat hee thought of that glorious citie and the rare monumentes hee had seene therein wittilie replyed checking the Emperour's pryde that nothing which he had observed in Rome pleased him so well as this that the inhabitants thereof were mortall and died as other men This generall and inevitable necessitie of death is knowne to al even to the Ethnicks by an experimentall tradition almost as olde as the worlde But the knowledge which we who are Christians haue of it as it is more excellent being more perfect grounded vpon supernaturall or divine Revelation so it obliedgeth vs to make better vse of the cōsideration of death than others can make How deficient wee are in this the profane lyues of manie amongst vs doe sufficientlie declare Wee die daylie wee are daylie changed sayth Ierome and yet we liue as if we were immortall Xerxes when hee viewed his hudge Armie from an eminent place wept because within an hundreth years none of all that number should be found alyue But O sayth Ierome if we might ascend to such an high mountayne or spy-tower from whence we might see the whole earth vnder our feet then I should let you see the ruines of the whole world the conflicts of nations the great diversitie of the estates or conditions of men and that within a short tyme not onlie such a multitude as Xerxes his armie but all the men who now are vpon this stage shall bee removed from it by death This sight might make anie man weepe if he would seriouslie consider that which my Text insinuateth that the greatest part of these who are now vpon this stage and ere it be long shall be in their graues are to passe from the miseries and troubles of this lyfe to payns endlesse and easelesse in Hell For this Text attributeth Happinesse onlie to those few who die in the Lord and consequentlie declareth that all others after death are eternallie miserable But of this I shall speake heere-after I come now to the particular part of this description set downe in these words Who die in the Lord. Anent the which one thing is of it selfe cleare and manifest to wit that it is proper and peculiar to the Elect and no wayes can bee extended to the wicked who depart this lyfe But two thinges doe heere occur which do need explicatiō One is whether or not this particular part bee so ample as that it comprehendeth all the godlie or elect The other is how and in what sense these whom it comprehendeth are sayd to die in the Lord As for the first some popish wryters because this text if it be extended to all the Sayncts who are departed or shall depart this lyfe is as contrarie to their doctrine of Purgatorie as Blessednesse is to Miserie Rest to Vexation Reward of good works to Punishment of sinnes therfore they craftily labour to restrict the words to the Martyrs affirming that by dying in the Lord here is vnderstood dying for the Lord and consequentlie that blessednesse immediatelie after death is not ascrybed here to all the elect but onelie to those who seale their profession with their blood are crowned with martyrdome This glosse may seeme the more probable because it is followed by some Reformed Divines by Beza in speciall by Piscator in their Notes vpō this place Others of our Adversaries doe extend the particular part of this description somewhat farther and yet not so farre as they should for they thinke that it comprehendeth not onlie Martyrs but also all these Christians whom they call men perfectlie just or men free of all sinnes even veniall and of all guilt of punishment due vnto them for their mortall sinnes Both these sorts of men say they are said to die in the Lord by way of excellencie because they are perfectly vnited with Christ wheras others may be sayde to die partlie in the Lord in respect of true charitie or the loue of God which they carrie with them partlie not in the Lord in respect of their sinnes which also they carrie with them So sayeth Bellarmine in his first booke De Purgatorio and diverse Moderne Iesuits following him These restrictions of the particular part of this description we doe reject and that not without reason as ye shall shortly perceaue and on the contrary that all Gods deare children may haue their due consolation from this Heavenlie Sentence we affirme that the Spirit of God here speaketh of all these who die in the estate of grace and proclaimeth them al to be blessed whatsoever their worldlie estate or condition hath bene in this lyfe whatsoever bee the cause of their death and whatsoever bee their estate condition or carriage in death First I say all they who die in the estate of grace are happie whatsoever their worldlie estate hath bene in this lyfe that the poore ones of this world who are rich in fayth may comfort themselues with these words as well as the great and mightie ones Worldlie happinesse is not granted vnto them and their estate is so miserable in the eys of the world that the rich apprehend a great difference and put a large distance betwixt them and the Poore They wil not suffer them to sit at table with them nay not to walk with them or stand beside them and whereas they should pittie their wants oft tymes they laugh and jest at them according to that of the Poët Nil habet infelix paupertas durius in se Quà m quod ridiculos homines facit But within a short tyme death putteth an end to that difference and equalleth them in glory happinesse with kings Emperors Ye that are rich cōsider this and
despyse not the Poore when ye look vpon their base and contemptible worldlie estate but rather be readie to helpe them remembering this which the Spirit of God here telleth you That if they die in the Lord they shall one day bee participant of that same Kingdome that same Robe of immortalitie that same Banquet of Angels which yee looke for And therefore holie Augustine checking the disdaynfull and vncharitable carriage of the Rich towardes the Poore wittilie pithilie sayth vnto them Wherfore shall not the Poore eate with thee who shall one day reygne with thee Wherefore wilt thou not giue so much as thy olde Coat to him who shall one day receaue the Robe of immortalitie with thee How is he not worthie of thy Bread who hath obtayned one and the selfe-same Baptisme with thee or of the reliques of thy dishes who is with thee invited to the Banquet of Angels Be not prowde then of your worldlie prerogatiues neyther apprehend such distance or difference betwixt you and the Poore as yee doe The difference which these few worldlie thinges maketh betwixt you and them is but for a short tyme and in things of small moment the matters of greatest consequence God hath made coÌ„mon to rich and poore even the two best thinges that can befall men to wit grace glorie the two worst things to wit sinne and damnation and the two most dangerous things to wit death and judgement The Poore are not excluded from the first two more than the Rich neyther are the Rich exempted from the other two more than the Poore And as for the last two neyther Rich nor Poore can eschew them For it is appoynted vnto men once to die but after this the judgement Such like ye that are poore in this world and rich in faith possesse your soules in patience and bee not grieved because the Rich ye meet vnequall vpon the streets for ye shal meet equall with them aâ— the right Hand of the Iudge Yea if they be not rich towards God and as they are charged 1. TIM 6. rich in good works they shall meet verie vnequall with you in judgement for yee shall haue dominion over them in maâ—utinâ— illo in that morning of Resurrection when by the bright appearance of the Sunne of Righteousnesse these thinges which now are invisible during this night of ignorance shall be brought to light to wit the hid things of darknesse the secret counsels of the heart the mysteries of Gods providence in governing the world and the glorie happinesse and excellencie of the sonnes of God For although we be the sonnes of God yet it doeth not appeare what we shall be that is how happie glorious wee shall bee in the world to come But in that Day it shall appeare to all and the wicked shall see it with vnspeakable grief astonishment shal say of the godlie maÌ„ whom before they despised This was he whom we had sometyms in derision a proverbe of reproach we fools accounted his lyfe madnesse and his ende to be without honour How is he numbred amoÌ„gst the children of God! and his loâ— is amongst the Sayncts Secondlie I say all these who die in the estate of grace are happie whatsoever the cause of their death be that is whether they die as Martyrs for the Lord or as ordinary professors in the Lord. For first as for the matter it selfe although the Martyrs haue an eminent degree of glorie in HeaveÌ„ aboue manie others which the School-men by a barbarous word of their own devysing call aureolam martyrum yet neyther is Blessednesse immediatelie after death appoynted onelie for them even by the confession of our Adversaries nor yet is that wherein the glorie excellencie of martyrdome chiefelie consisteth altogether proper and peculiar to them but in some sort common to other Sayncts The dignitie and excellencie of martyrdom standeth in two things which as Bonaventur sayth doe make vp a compleat martyrdom First in a pious willingnesse or desire to vndergoe whatsoever tribulation yea death it selfe for the testimony of Christ if God should require it Secondlie in the goodnesse of the cause wherfore we suffer For Martyres non facit poena sed causa sayeth holie Augustine it is not the suffering but the cause of suffering which maketh the Martyr Now the cause of suffering is two-fold to wit Causa calamitatis the cause wherfore the calamitie coÌ„meth vpon the Martyr and Causa tolerantiae seu patientiae the cause wherefore he willinglie doeth vndergoe and endure it The dignitie and glorie of Martyrdome dependeth as much from the second as from the first and perhaps more For although a man be persecuted for a good cause that is for professioÌ„ of the trueth yet if the cause or motiue which maketh him to vndergoe persecution be bad perverse as for example If hee suffer onlie or chieflie that he may be praised or admired of men he sheddeth his blood in vayne as Ierome sayth Now to apply all this to the present purpose Manie who doe not actuallie suffer death for the cause of Christ haue in some sort both these two things wherein the glorie dignitie of Martyrdome chieflie consisteth to wit First a pious willingnesse or readinesse to suffer the losse of all things yea of lyfe it selfe for Christ's sake which is a thing so acceptable and gracious in the sight of God that Hee esteemeth this a kynd of dying for His sake And therefore Chrysostome wryting vpon these words ROM 8.36 For thy sake we are killed al the day long we are couÌ„ted as sheep for the slaughter sayeth that although we actually can die but once for the Lord's sake yet God hath granted this to vs that if wee bee readie or willing to die for Him we may by vertue of this our resolution and willingnesse die everie day for Him yea everie day we may die manie tymes for Him and so obtayne not one but manie crowns of Martyrdome herafter Secondlie as for the cause of the ordinarie sufferings of true Christians although in tyme of their troubles or distresses the evill or calamitie doth not always come vpon them for the Lord's sake yet it is for the Lords sake that they patientlie suffer it And wheÌ„ they die although we cannot say that they are put to death for the Lord's cause yet wee may say that they accept of death and suffer willinglie all the pains of it for the Lords cause to wit because it is the Lords will and because they long to bee with Him and consequentlie wee may even say in some sort that they die for the Lord. Hence it is that divers of the Fathers haue exteÌ„ded this glorious title of Martyrdome to those who died not for the cause of Christ as to the blessed Virgine to the penitent Thiefe yea in generall to all Sayncts Next as to the Apostles phrase although the particle
the perfection of vertues and vnto the perfection whereof is necessarilie required a true acknowledgement and a humble confession of its imperfection as saynct Augustine piouslie and judiciouslie sayeth It is an estate of peace but of such peace as is praeserved by mayntayning a continuall and most dangerous warfare agaynst the Devill the world and the flesh It is an estate of joye but of such joye as is not onlie mixed with sorrowe but even grounded vpon their sorrowes and teares For when they get grace to sorrow they haue reason to rejoyce and praise God for it But alace when they looke to the measure of their sorrow they finde a new reason or cause of sorrow because they can not sorrowe so much and so constantlie as they ought In a word then if we shall looke to the manifolde sorrowes feares dangers and sinfull infirmities vnto which the Godlie are subject in this lyfe and on the other part to that plenarie or full deliverance from all these evils which they obtayne by death wee shall finde that wee haue more than reason to say with Solon and in the words of the Poet although not according to their sense dicique beatus Ante obitum nemo supremaque funera debet that is No man can bee called perfectlie happie or fullie blessed so long as hee liveth in this valley of teares Secondlie this doctrine showeth you that the Godlie haue no occasion to feare death but rather ought to desire and wish for it The true Christian may not onelie meet approaching death with cowrage and say O death where is thy sting O Graue where is thy victorie but also with joye and say How beautifull vpon the mountaynes are the feete of him that bringeth good tydinges Thou art come to tell me the best and most joyfull newes that ever I heard For thou art come to tell mee that my warfare is accomplished and that I shall nowe enter into peace that my sorrowfull seed-tyme is ended and that my joyfull harvest is at hand Thou art come to bring mee home to my Father's house to take my crosse from my sholders and to put my Crowne vpon my head If the Godlie haue such reason to welcome death chearfullie when it commeth ought they not to desire and long for it before it come Cyprian Chrysostome and Ambrose doe most excellentlie and eloquentlie vrge this poynct and Paul telleth vs that all the Godlie haue a longing or desire yea a vehement desire of that glorie and happinesse which is begun immediatelie after death and shall bee consummated in the day of the Resurrection Yet all the Godlie haue not this vehement desire in a lyke manner and measure for some of them haue desiderium mortis plenum absolutum a plenarie and absolute desire or a desire not opposed or impeded by anie other desire Such a desire of death I thinke was in olde Simeon when hee had gotten CHRIST in his armes and sayde Nunc dimittis For the onlie thing which detayned him in this lyfe or made him willing to bee detayned in it was the desire hee had to see Christ and therefore having gotten his desire hee was most willing to depart Some agayne of them haue desiderium mortis ligatum impeditum a vehement desire of death but opposed impeded and as it were bound vp by another spirituall desire Such a desire had Paul when hee sayde I am in a strayt betwixt two having a desire to depart and to bee with Christ which is farre better Neverthelesse to abyde in the flesh is more needfull for you So also manie of God's deare Servantes although they haue withdrawne their heartes from the worlde and long to bee with CHRIST yet in respect they haue not as yet attayned to such assurance of remission of their sinnes as they would therefore they wish with David that GOD would spare them to the effect they may recover strength before they goe hence and bee no more or as Iob sayeth that they may take comfort a little before they goe whence they shall not returne Last of all there are some of the Godlie who although they labour earnestlie to get their affection on thinges aboue yet they finde to their exceeding great griefe that they are still so affected with the loue of this lyfe and the thinges which they enjoye heere that they can not attayne to that vehement longing for a better lyfe that cowragious and Heroicke desire of death which other Godlie men and women haue Neverthelesse seeing Paul generallie affirmeth that all they who haue receaved the first fruites of the Spirit groane within themselues wayting for the accomplishment of their adoption and willing to be absent from the bodie that they may bee present with the LORD wee may verie well say that even they haue vehemens desiderium mortis coelestis beatitudinis For although they haue it not actuallie yet they haue it in voto conatu by way of earnest desire and carefull stryving to attayne to it Thirdly seeing these only are blessed after death who die in the Lord it followeth manifestlie that wofull miserable and lamentable is the estate of the greatest part of the worlde after death I meane of the wicked who liue not in the Lord and consequentlie can not die in the Lord. Death which is to all a change and to the Godlie a blessed change shall bee to them a dolefull vnhappie change For the terminus ad quem of their change or the estate vnto which they shall bee changed is an estate of remedilesse miserie easelesse paine endlesse death This their case may justlie seeme the more miserable if wee shall consider also the the terminus à quo of their change that is if wee shall looke to the temporall or worldlie estate and condition from which they shall bee changed For some of them are acting a Tragoedie vpon the Stage of this worlde that is they spende all their dayes in povertie dishonour and manie other miseries To these death is a change from the miseries of this worlde to miseries incomparablie greater in another worlde and therefore their estate and condition in this lyfe is called by BERNARD via aerumnosa ad mortem a miserable and sorrowfull way vnto aeternall death Others of them are acting a Comedie vpon the same stage but such a Comedie as shall ende in a wofull Tragedie that is they liue in wealth honour and aboundance of worldly delights To them death is a change from the momentanie pleasures of this worlde to everlasting torments and sorrowes in the world to come And their estate or condition in this lyfe is called by BERNARD via deliciosa ad mortē a delightsome way vnto death To these two estates of wicked men in this lyfe BERNARD addeth a third to wit the estate or condition of these who haue aboundance of worldlie thinges and yet not beeing contented therewith
doe continuallie vexe themselues with anxious care and paynfull labour in acquiring more wealth so that these riches which they haue perish by evill travell and all their dayes they eat in darknesse that is with much sorrow and wrath This estate or condition of wicked men in this lyfe is called by SALOMON a sore evill and by BERNARD via laboriosa ad mortem a paynfull and wretched way vnto death In a word thē whatsoever be the temporal estate of wicked men in this lyfe death is to them an vnhappie change even in respect of the terminus à quo of their change For to some of them it is both a change and an ende of their joyes to others it is a change but not an ende of their sorrowes and a meane whereby they are infinitelie multiplyed and increased Last of all yee see here how wyse a choyse they make who with MOSES choose rather to suffer affliction with the Children of GOD having respect vnto the recompence of rewarde than to enjoye the pleasures of sinne which last but for a season and therefore are called by Bernard momētaneae dulcedines horariae suavitates that is such delights such sweetnes of earthly objects as last but for an houre yea but for a moment The estate of the Godlie in this lyfe seemeth to our corrupt reason a troublesome and melancholious estate For whē they enter into this estate they must put on the mourning weede of repentance and never put it off while they liue they must put on the whole Armour of GOD and never put it off vntill their Wynding-sheet be put vpon them They must perhaps put on Lazarus his ragges and never put them off vntill they die vpon a Dung-hill or by a dyke syde Neverthelesse our estate is an estate of joye vnspeakable and full of glorie And although it were not yet the joye which is set before vs might make vs yea should make vs gladlie to vndergoe it and all the vexations troubles and griefes which accompanie the same All these who haue gone before vs to Heaven haue entered into that Kingdome through much tribulatione yea it behoved Christ Iesus himselfe first to suffer and then to enter into his Glorie And therefore if anie of you be vnwilling to take vp his crosse in hope of this glorie I will say to him as IEROME sayde to HELIODORUS Delicatus es frater si hìc vis gaudere cum mundo postea regnare cum Christ◠Thou art too delicate my brother if thou wouldest both rejoyce here with the world also reygne hereafter with Christ. And as hee sayeth in the words following so say I to everie one of you That day shall come in the which this corrubtible and mortall shall put on incorruption and immortalitie Blessed shall the servant be whom his Lord shall then finde watching If he finde thee so the earth with the people which are in it shall shake and tremble at the voyce of the Trumpet but thou shalt rejoyce When the Lord shall come to Iudgement the worlde shall sadlie roare and groane foolish Plato with his schollers shall then be arraygned Aristotle his argumentes that day shall avayle him nothing Then thou although thou be a poore clowne shalt rejoyce and laugh and say Beholde my God who was crucified beholde the Iudge of the worlde who one day cryed as a new-borne Chylde being wrapped in swedling clowts and layde in a manger This is Hee who was the son of a Crafts-man and of a work-woman This is Hee who being God fled from the face of man into Aegypt carried vpon his mothers breast This is Hee whom the souldiours by way of derision cloathed with Purple and crowned with Thornes c. Having gone through my Text I now apply my selfe and my Text both to this present Text which lyeth before vs I meane the dead halfe of our late most worthie and Reverend and now most blessed Praelate whom death hath not destroyed but divided into two halfs or parts his one halfe his living and better halfe is now in suo elemento in its owne element in terra viventium in the land of the living that is in that land where death hath no place His other halfe is as yee see seazed vpon by death But I may justlie say to death which hath seazed vpon it as Bernard said in a Funeral Sermon vpon Humbert the devote Monke O death thou cruel beast thou most bitter bitternesse the stinch and horrour of the sonnes of Adam what hast thou done thou hast killed thou hast possessed But what truelie nothing but his flesh or his bodie And this was dead before it was dead for Paul sayeth the bodie is dead because of sinne to wit through infirmities sicknesse and troubles and in respect it is by a judiciall sentence nigh 6000 yeares since condemned to die The most then O death which thou hast done is this thou hast put a dead bodie out of payne a bodie condemned to die out of feare of death and this is a vantage for the feare of death is worse than death Morsque minus poenae quam mora mortis habet Well then thou hast gotten little thou hast little and therefore as Christ sayeth that from him who hath little even that which hee hath shall bee taken So say I to thee and Bernard in that same place sayde it before mee even that same bodie which thou seemest to haue shall bee taken from thee This bodie was the receptacle ingentis generosi animi of a great and generous mynde It was hospitium the lodging house of a mightie and most actiue spirit But what a lodging house It was ever hospitiū exile a slender lodging house but within these few years it was also incōmodum ruinosum hospitium an incommodious and ruinous lodging to vse Plautus his phrase it was hospitium calamitatis for manie bodilie infirmities and diseases lodged in it And now at last it is to vs documētum mortalitatis a document of our common mortalitie or to vse your owne ordinarie phrase it is to vs a memento mori yea a memento mori in Domino a memento not onlie of dying but also of dying as he died that is in the Lord. This can not bee so well declared vnto you as by showing you that hee lived in the Lord and that hee lived so I can not demonstrate but I must fall out into his justlie deserved prayses or rather into the prayses of Gods bountie and liberalitie towards him For as Gregorie Nazianzen reasoned concerning Athanasius his prayses to prayse him it is to prayse vertue and to prayse vertue it is to prayse God who is the author and giver of it I say that to prayse him is to prayse vertue because as Nazianzen there sayeth of Athanasius manie rare vertues both morall and spirituall were collected and vnited together
engraven in it HOLINESSE TO THE LORD This is the chiefe and the lyfe of all the rest and this in him was not wanting yea so distinctly engraven that thou mightest runne and reade All these Perfections hee made to serue both publicklie and privatelie to the glorie of GOD who gaue them Though it would haue seemed that he would haue passed his lyfe as a Lay-man yet GOD had sanctified him for Himselfe His WORD and SPIRIT within him was a FYRE which would needes burst out Therefore called to the holie Ministerie hee obeyed and followed and did holilie acquyte himselfe therein Beeing yet higher advanced to a more sublime Charge all his endevour was to halowe the Holie and Reverende NAME of GOD. So he did by his holie and devout Preaching whyle health served so did hee by his holie care of the estate of this CHVRCH for which both for the present tyme and for the tyme to come hee excellentlie provyded No sooner had hee vnder-taken this Charge but hee began with the Seminaries of Learning from which the weale of the CHVRCH in all ages moste dependeth This hee did seriouslie remembering it was layde vpon him particularlie As hee would answere to GOD in the GREAT DAY And so happie was his care in this that what hee found lateritia and almost ruinated hee left marmorea repared in the Aedifices restored in the Bibliotheke revived in the Professions of DIVINITIE PHYSICK CANON LAW wherevnto hee procured the adding of another Profession of DIVINITIE to the great benefit of the CHVRCH in all following tymes restoring also the decayed Honoures due to Learning To what purpose had the Worthie and Heroicke Founders of that UNIVERSITIE left it if it had fallen And fallen appearantlie it should haue if by him not vnder-propped This duelie considered that UNIVERSITIE may bee justlie called ANASTASIA as was that Temple of Nazianzen in Constantinople for hee hath raysed vp in it good Letters almost fallen to the ground Was not this HOLINESSE The lyke care had hee to plant good and worthie Pastors for the present tyme and such was the successe of his care that never anie of the Worthie Prelates that went before him had such a Learned Clergie Yea whyle this Diocesse enjoyed him and that other Worthie Prelate of blessed memorie for singular Pietie and excellent Learning Incomparable I meane the late Bishop of Edinburgh not long since your Worthie Pastor it needed not to haue envyed anie parte of this KINGDOME None had more sagacitie to discerne good spirites or care to promoue them They might haue sayde whyle hee lived with the Poet of him Sub teste benigno Vivitur egregios invitant praemia mores Hinc priscae redeunt artes felicibus inde Ingeniis aperitur iter despectaque Musae Colla levant In all this publicke Administration such was his integritie that to him belonged that as Plinie calleth it Nobilis suspiratio Ciceronis of Cato O te felicem à quo nemo rem improbam petere audet None durst attempt to corrupt him All which beeing duelie weyghed I am not afrayde to say Hee might haue beene a States-man in the best State of EVROPE and a Prelate in the best tymes of the CHVRCH That which Plinie saieth of Cato That hee was thought to haue conjoyned in himselfe the three greatest thinges Optimus Orator Optimus Senator Optimus Imperator might bee not vnfitlie applyed vnto him if yee will put a Prelate for a Commander In his private lyfe and conversation hee was Holie none more familiar with GOD. The sweete Fruites whereof as he felt al his lyfe in manie sharpe Conflictes and Crosses which hee encountered with so especiallie before his death For GOD continued with him contrarie to the nature of his disease his Iudgement and Prudence which was the Crowne of his Gray Hayres and his Tongue which was his Glorie and which was most of all his Holinesse So that his Disease though heavie was but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the proofe of his Vertue hee beeing more blessed in this than others were in health It abated nothing of his care of the Glorie of GOD and well-fare of His CHVRCH hee traveled no lesse paynfullie nowe than before by his Prayers sound Advyce frequent wyse and powerfull Letters Amongst others yee had a singular proofe of his Religious Care a little before his death when your sute was to haue for your Pastor his Worthie Devout and Learned Sonne ye knowe howe willinglie hee condescended to his Transplantation notwithstanding hee was the Manager of his estate at that tyme and vnder GOD the Stay of his olde age and the Solace of his solitarinesse and sicknesse vvhence he professed that for his stay hee would haue tripled what was to bee obtayned by his remouall if it had beene lawfull to looke in that matter to wordlie respectes A great argument this was that hee disesteemed both Estate Health and private Contentment in respect of GODS GLORIE your Weale vvhich knowing himselfe readie now to departe hee thought hee could no better promoue than by leaving you in stead of himselfe the best Expression hee had of himselfe that yee beholding his Vertues in him as in a cleare and bright glasse might in effect haue him even after his departure as Nazianzen speaketh of Nyssen in reference to his brother S. Basil-God also gaue him as an earnest desire to bee dissolved so an vndaunted cowrage agaynst the feare of Death Some few dayes before his departure having most devoutlie taken the holie SACRAMENT vvith vs his Presbyters and having most affectioÌ„atelie blessed vs he said most devoutly teares bursting out for joy with SIMEON LORD now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace c. And setling himselfe in his former calmnesse tranquillitie did expect joyfullie his LORD teaching men â—ow to die as he had taught them how to liue dying as one of the Patriarches as Moses Iosua or David in a good age having the Crowne of Gray Hayrs in the way of righteousnesse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Nazianzen sayeth of Athanasius Orat. 23. Therefore I make no doubt but that gracious GOD who gaue him the Crowne of so manie excellent Graces and the Crowne of Priesthood wherin His owne finger did engraue Holinesse hath nowe given him the Crowne of Glorie Let therefore his memorie bee blessed vpon earth as his Soule is blessed in Heaven and yee who were his people and whose Pastor hee was remember to followe him as hee did CHRIST This was and is his most earnest desire So shall yee your selues bee crowned with him and shall bee his Crowne in that Great Day 1. Thess. ij 19 For what is our hope or joye or crowne of rejoycing Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord IESVS CHRIST at His comming There shall Pastors and people meet there saynct Peter shall appeare and at his backe Iudea converted by him and saynct Paul leading almost the whole worlde by
the former opinion as Quaest. 3. ad Dulcetium For he was ever doubtfull of this matter even when he writ his worke of Retractions Lib. 2. Retract Cap. 33. I could also for this opinion cite diverse of the Ancientes who will haue the wordes read Wee shall all sleepe but wee shall not all bee changed But besides these two readinges of this place which both were to bee found in the Greeke Editions of that age as Ierome witnesseth in the ende of that Epistle before cited hee lykewyse telleth vs that there was a third most frequent in the Latine Editions but not at all to bee found in the Greeke Copies to wit Wee shall all ryse but wee shall not all bee changed Which reading occurreth frequentlie in Augustine's workes and Ruffinus before him followed it in the exposition of the Creede expounding the article of the Resurrection I will not take vpon mee to define or determine peremptorilie this question For I thinke with Lombardus Lib. 4. Sent. Dist. 43. that horum quid verius sit non est humani judicii definire vvhich of these are most agreeable to the trueth it is not for humane wit to determine Nor yet will I take holde of that other reading of the Apostle's speach Wee shall all sleepe but wee shall not all bee changed although Acacius affirme That it was in plurimis Graecorum codicibus to bee found in manie Greeke Copies as Ierome relateth of him I will only declare two thinges vnto you concerning the Extent of my Text or the vniversalitie of Death and Resurrection The first is That from this speach of the Apostle even taking it according to the ordinarie reading of it as it is now in the Greeke Copies nothing can bee infalliblie concluded to proue that those whom the LORD shall find vpon the earth at His second comming shall not taste of Death properlie and truelie so called For whereas the Apostle sayeth Wee shall all sleepe it may bee verie probablie alleadged That by sleeping hee vnderstandeth not Death it selfe but the continuance of Death or to vse Oecumen his phrase that the Apostle is speaking 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of a long death or of a death continued for so long tyme that the dead bodies may bee altered and dissolved into dust This may out of all question bee That they who then shall bee living shall not sleepe for although they die yet their death shall not bee as a sleepe but rather a sudden slumber a winke or nod of one that would sleepe Never-the-lesse seeing manie Interpreters both ancient and moderne doe expound that speach of Saynct Paull otherwayes thinking that hee is there speaking of Death it selfe and consequentlie that his speach importeth That some men and in speciall those who shall bee living at the day of Iudgement shall not vnder-goe or suffer Death Therefore my second Assertion is That the vniversalitie of Death Resurrection is to bee vnderstoode with an exemption of those whom GOD Himselfe for some speciall or extraordinarie causes or respectes hath exeemed from them This Peter Martyr observeth speaking of Henoch and Elias who for extraordinarie respectes were exeemed by GOD from Death And such sayeth hee will bee the condition of those whom GOD shall find alyue when Hee commeth to judgement Yet albeit of this extraordinarie exemption it is the ordinarie course of all Man-kynde to die according to that of HEBR. ix 27 It is appoynted for men once to die The Iewes although they allow this just Extent of this Text in this That all shall die yet they denye that all shall awake grounding themselues on the wordes PSAL. j. 5 Therefore the vngodlie shall not ryse in Iudgement But for answere to them first The reading of this place is wrong for the wordes are to bee read thus The vngodlie shall not stand in Iudgement Secondlie the Text it selfe here refuteth them for it sayeth That some meaning the wicked shall awake to shame and contempt And our Saviour IOHN v. 28.29 The houre is comming when all that are in the graues shall heare his voyce and shall come foorth they that haue done good vnto the Resurrection of Lyfe and they that haue done evill vnto the resurrection of damnation That the Extent then may bee full the word manie must bee eyther taken distributiuelie referring it to both members Manie shall awake to lyfe and many to shame so that multi is as much as multitudines duae one companie to Lyfe another to shame or the word is to bee taken collectiuelie not exclusiuelie but extensiuelie and vniversallie as ROM v. 18 By the offence of one man the fault came vpon all vnto condemnation And in the next verse following Manie were made sinners Whereby it is evident that manie is taken for all The Restraynt is That some onlie shall awake to everlasting Lyfe and some to shame and contempt Of this last part I will speake nothing at this tyme but as Daniel sayde in his exposition of Nebuchadnezar's dreame let it bee to them who by finall impenitencie hate the LORD and the interpretation onelie to his enemies Wee haue onlie here to speake of this Text so farre as it concerneth the Godlie Their death is called a sleepe and their estate after death awakening to ever-lasting lyfe Death in Scripture vsuallie is so tearmed Deuter. xxxj 16 the LORD speaking to Moses of his death sayeth Beholde thou shalt sleepe with thy fathers And our Saviour Matth. ix 24 The mayd is not dead but sleepeth And Iohn xj 11 Our friend Lazarus sleepeth but I goe that I may awake him out of sleepe And the Apostle 1. Thess. iv 13.14 I would not haue you ignorant brethren concerning them that are asleepe that you sorrow not even as others which haue no hope For if wee belieue that IESVS died and rose agayne so them also which sleepe in IESVS will GOD bring with Him This sleepe doe not thinke that it is of the soule as some fondlie dreamed that the soules seperated from the bodies were casten into a dead sleepe and remaine without all action vntill the generall Resurrection or that that they doe rest a space in the dust with the bodies Alace these men are truelie injurious to the soules of the Godlie departed that would eyther denye them all fruition of GOD or all action whyle they are seperated from the bodie I affirme not that their happinesse is such or at such an hight as it shall bee when the tyme commeth of which Peter speaketh 1. PET. v. 4 that is When the chiefe Shepheard shall appeare and they shall receaue a Crowne of Glorie that fadeth not away But that they enjoye GOD and even separated from the bodies they laude and prayse Him is evident in that vision Rev. v. 11.12 where Iohn sayeth hee behelde and heard the voyce of manie Angels round about the Throne and the Beasts and the Elders and the number of them was ten thousand tyms ten thousand and thousandes of
hac ergo die eripiam eum nempè justum inquit quando nihil jam vltra vel quod corpori vel quod animae faciat mundus habebit Ber◠Serm. 16. in Psal. xc A full and a perfect freedome before the day of our buriall there can not bee for there is a heavie yoake layde vpon the sonnes of Adam even from the tyme they come out of their mothers womb vntill the day of their buriall when they are receaved into the bowels of their common mother Then sayeth the LORD in that day I will deliver the just man when the world hath nothing more to doe eyther with his bodie or with his soule Wherevnto consonant are the wordes of Isidorus cited by Bernard O mors quam dulcis es miseris quam suavis es amarè viventibus quam jucunda es tristibus atque lugentibus O Death how sweet art thou to them that are in miserie how pleasant to those who liue in bitternesse how delectable to the sad and mournfull For truelie of Death wee may say Pon it finem omnibus malis in hac vita dat terminum malis in hoc saeculo adimit omnem calamitatem Mors prebet terminum hominibus in tribulationibus in hoc mundo It putteth sayeth hee an ende to all evils in this lyfe a period to all miseries that fall out in this tyme it taketh away all calamitie and maketh an ende to all troubles which befall men in this lyfe Hee doeth therefore heerevpon conclude Sed heu exspectata mors tardè venit But alace sayeth hee long looked for and much desired Death commeth slowlie No marvell a Christian sayde so since Cicero an Ethnicke Lib. 1. Tusc. quaest could say Pro dii immortales quam illud verè jucundum hominibus esse debet quo confecto nulla reliqua cura nulla solicitudo futura sit That is O you immortall gods how sweet and pleasant should that bee to men which once being brought to passe there shall bee no more care nor anxietie The next Happinesse included in this that it is called a sleepe is That heereby wee are fitted and prepared for heavenlie Happinesse By Death there is a preparation made for our change to the enjoying of aeternall Felicitie whence it is called by BERNARD Ianua vitae initium refrigerii sancti montis scala ingressus in locum tabernaculi admirabilis quod fixit Dominus non homo Bern. Serm. on the 19 verse of the 5 chapter of IOB The doore of lyfe the beginning of our refreshing the ladder whereby wee goe vp to the holie mountayne an entrie vnto the place of that admirable Tabernacle which the LORD Himselfe made and not man What sleepe then is lyke to this Sleepe and what Sleepe more to bee desired than IT were not the Bed wherein IT is enjoyed seemeth to lessen all the former happinesse For it is sayde by the Angell They sleepe in the dust of the earth The rememberance indeede of this Bed wherein man must take his last sleepe deoth teach man Humilitie and Sobrietie since as he was made of the dust to dust he must returne againe The Graue must be his House he must make his bed in darknesse Hee must say to corruption Thou art my father to the worme Thou art my mother and my sister IOB xvij 13.14 Yet it doeth nothing derogate from the happinesse of Death For first albeit it seeme base to lye in the dust of the earth yet it is the common onlie recept appoynted by GOD to receaue our bodies in our passage to Heaven Neyther is there anie other place for our bodilie rest alotted vntill our finall awakening Dust sayeth the LORD thou art and to dust thou shalt returne GEN. iij. 19 And therefore Quis quaeri potest se in ea conditione esse in qua nemo non est SEN. Epist. 30. Who can complayne of that estate wherein all men are alyke with him Next Of all Beds a man can lye downe into it is the most kyndlie Bed For the earth is mater omnium nostrum And when wee are layde downe in IT wee are but in the bosome of our common mother who will bring vs foorth agayne into another vvorlde in regarde whereof the Resurrection is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Regeneration MATTH xix 28 Thirdlie IT is of all Beds the onlie Bed of Rest wherein man most securelie sleepeth Of all other Beds everie man in some sort may complayne with IOS When I say My bed shall comfort mee my couch shall ease my complaynt then Thou scarrest mee with dreames and terrifiest mee through visions IOB vij 13.14 For great travell is created for everie man and an heavie yoake is vpon the sonnes of Adam from the day that they goe out of their mothers wombe till the day that they returne to the mother of all thinges ECCL xl 1 No quyet anie where in the interveaning tyme but then they shall enter into their peace they shall rest in their Beds ISAI lvij 2 Fourthlie IT is a Bed perfumed with the most costlie Perfume in the worlde Wee reade PROV vij 17 that the harlot had perfumed her bed with myrrhe aloës and cynamom but it was a bed of whoredome and wickednesse This Bed is a Bed of Holinesse sanctified by the buriall of CHRIST IESVS For as Hee died on the Crosse for vs so lykewyse Hee would bee buried that by the touch of his most holie Flesh our buriall might bee sanctified Fiftlie IT is of all sortes of Beds most honourable herefore it is written of Cyrus in Zenophon that hee sayd to his sonnes When I am dead lay not my bodie in golde nor silver or anie thing else but with all haste lay it down in the earth For what is more blessed than to bee mixt there-with which not onlie breedeth all good and pleasant thinges but also nowrisheth and cherisheth the same And lastlie The second Comfort in this Text suddenlie ensuing taketh away all matter of disheartening For they shall not lye in the dust for ever For as one sayeth well Est somnus quidem diuturnior solito non diutius tamen quam ad CHRISTI novissimum adventum duraturus that is It is a sleepe longer than other ordinarie sleepes yet not to last longer than the second comming of CHRIST IESVS For they shall bee awakened to enjoye an happie estate even Ever-lasting Lyfe The knowledge of this estate after death and long sleepe wherein the bodies doe lye it bringeth without all mixture of sorrow vnexpressable comfort First that man shall be awakened out of this long sleepe heere is a singular comfort but to bee awakened to everlasting lyfe it is the hight of all Comfortes Shall awake to everlasting lyfe this is all one with this their bodies shall be raysed againe out of their graues and after they are vnited with their soules shall obtayne everlasting Lyfe This doctrine of the resurrectione of bodies is onlie revealed in the word of GOD. It is to all
those who haue not learned it herefra as it was to the Athenians Mockerie Act. 17.32 And yet it is the onlie ground of our comfort For if in this lyfe onlie wee had hope in CHRIST wee were of all men most miserable 1. COR. 15.19 It is that which giveth vs confidence and hope For Resurrectio mortuorum est fiducia christianorum sayeth carnis· It is an speciall article of our Fayth which wee must holde vndenyable against all such wicked Hereticks who would denye the same wickedlie thinking that the bodies being resolved into their first principles shall lye without hope of restoreing to lyfe Or if there bee any bodies at all glorified they shal not be the same which were layde in the graue but some other made of the ayre or such lyke thing An impious Heresie most manifestlie against infinite testimonies of Scripture whereof this is one most evident Wherefore Augustine Lib. 20. de Civit. Dei cap. 23. showeth it to bee the same with that of our Saviour Iohn 5.28.29 For those whom the Angell sayeth that they sleepe in the dust are sayd by our Saviour to bee in the graues And what is to the Angell They shal awake It is to Christ They shal heare the voyce of the Sonne of man and come foorth The Angel sayeth Some to everlasting lyfe some to shame and eontempt Our Saviour sayeth Who haue done good vnto the resurrection of lyfe and who haue done evill vnto the resurrection of damnation So clearlie consonant that our Saviours wordes are a plaine exposition of the Angels Tertullian most learnedlie in his booke De resurrectione carnis refuteth this Heresie and the learned after him haue done it most fullie As for that they object That the bodie being a base vyle contemptible and corrupted thing how can it bee awakened to glorie they should haue considered That albeit in matter it be base yet it is made wonderfullie honourable By GOD Himselfe was man created to bee immortall and Hee made him an Image of His owne aeternitie And CHRIST IESUS now incarnate hath honored vs with this That wee are members of His bodie of His flesh and of His bones Ephes. 5.30 And by the glorification of His bodie our bodies His members are alreadie begun to be glorified And that Hee might present vs vnto Himselfe glorious hath cleansed our bodies by the washing of regeneration and made them temples of the holie Ghost and wee are fed by the bodie and blood of IESUS CHRIST to the certayne hope of this Resurrection according as our Saviour sayeth Iohn 6.54 Who so eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternall lyfe and I will rayse him vp at the last day And as that father well marketh Non possunt separari in mercede quos opera conjungit For who worketh together in justice should bee rewarded together In this poynt I marvell much how they dare derogate from the power of GOD for Hee who made man first of nothing what can hinder Him againe now to make him vp of some thing For Hee that calleth things which are not as though they were ROM 4.17 how easilie may Hee call backe those thinges that were and quicken the dead For what although the bodies bee burnt in ashes bee devoured of beasts eaten of fowles or fishes For Tertullian answering to this sayeth Habet et carâ— suos sinus interim in aquis in ignibus in alitibê° et bestiis The flesh also hath her own receptacles in the meane tyme in the waters in the fyre in the fowles and beasts Cum in haec dissolvi videtur velut in vasa diffunditur And when in these it is dissolved it is powred in as it were in vessels Si etiam ipsa vasa defecerint cum de illis quoque defluxerit in suam matricem terram quasi per ambages resorbetur vt rursus ex illa repraesentetur And if sayeth hee these vessels fayle and it flowe out thereof by turning againe it is drunken in into the earth and out of it it may bee refounded againe according to that which is wrytten Revel 20.13 And the sea gaue vp the dead which were in it and death and the graue delyvered vp the dead that were in them and they were judged everie man according to his workes Showing whatsoever kynde of death they died they must all aryse and giue presence at judgement Knoweth not the LORD by His infinite wisdome where the smallest part of the dust wherein their bodies are dissolved lyeth and by His infinite power is Hee not able to collect them altogether Shall wee denye Him that skill a master of familie hath in his owne house or a gold-smith in his shop who can readilie bring everie thing out of its owne place and as they ought in a perfect manner put them together This power of GOD is evidentlie witnessed in the Phoenix who albeit burnt in ashes returneth to lyfe in the Flees and Wormes dead in Winter reviving againe in Summer in the day buried in the night the nixt day returning And to affirme that those bodies which shall bee glorified with the soule shall not bee the same bodies which were layde asleepe it is to deny the Resurrection For who can call that a Resurrection that is a raysing vp of that bodie which was fallen a wakening of that which was asleepe It were meerlie ridiculous as the strength of the former argumentes evidentlie evinceth Wherefore we must vndoubtedly holde with Tertullian that Resurget caro quidem omnis quidem ipsa quidem integra In deposito est ubicunque apud DEVM per fidelissimum sequestrem DEI hominum IESVM CHRISTVM qui homini DEVM hominem DEO reddet carni spiritum spiritui carnem that is The flesh shall aryse and all flesh that selfe-same flesh whole and in its integritie For where ever it be it is in sure keeping with GOD through that faythfull Mediator betwixt GOD and Man CHRIST IESVS who will restore GOD to Man and Man to GOD the spirit to the flesh and the flesh to the spirit The same bodies then which were layde asleepe in the graue shall bee awakened and that by the ministerie indeede of the holy Angels who are ministring spirits for the good of the Elect but efficiently it shal bee by the voyce of IESVS CHRIST as Hee testifieth of Himselfe Verilie verilie I say vnto you The houre is comming and now is when the dead shall heare the voyce of the Sonne of GOD and they that heare it shall liue IOHN v. 25 Hee is their Head and therefore will awake His owne members to the participation of His owne Glorie Hee is their King and will therefore call on them to share of the Happinesse of His Kingdome and to giue them a full and finall Evidence That Death is swallowed vp into victorie Hee will declare by His voyce what vertue is in Him to quicken them will possesse them with that which is the ende of