Morrow not to be or else to be elsewhere To Sickness Must I then now be sick The time is come for me to try my self The couragious Man does not shew himself either in Battel or at Sea There is a Courage also in the Bed of Sickness Shall I leave a Feaver or that me We cannot always continue together Hitherto I enjoyed Health now my business is with Sickness Sickness I know is the first Messenger of Death I believe St. Gregory for that who truly and piously The Lord knocks saith he when by the anguish of Sickness he declares the approach of Death to whom we presently open if we receive him with Affection The very Fables teach me to receive this first Messenger of Death with a contented Mind They relate how that an old Man lay sick and when Death was ready to snatch him away the sick-man desired that he would defer the fatal blow awhile till he made his Will and prepared such other things as were necessary for so long a Journey To whom Death Fâ—nd Banquet for the Grave said he couldst thou not prepare in so many Years that hast had so many warnings from me already To whom the old Man I take thy Truth to witness I never had any warning from thee To whom Death reply'd Now I find old men will lye A hundred nay a thousand times I have admonished thee when I took away not only thy equal in years but also young Men Children Infants while thou lookst and wepst But I appeal to this Truth forgetful old man did I not forewarn thee when thy Eyes grew dim thy Hair waxed grey thy Ears grew deaf all thy proud Senses defective and thy whole Body wasted These were my Messengers these knockt at thy Doors but thou wouldst not be spoken with thou wert often and daily warn'd I can stay no longer come and go along with me He ill prepares himself for Death who prepares so late To the beginning of a mortal Distemper When I consider my Life the multitude of my Sins the small number of my Deeds good God! I am pinn'd up and in streights on every side But it is better for me to fall into the hands of the Lord for his mercies are manifold than to live and multiply my years and my sins What I should be thou Lord knowest full well Perhaps I should fall from thy Graee should I live longer Death thou art at hand take me away so that I may preserve the Favour of my God or rather so that the Favour of God may preserve me which is the only thing O Christ Jesu which I beg of thee and through thee To Death Why with a slow Consumption cruel Death Dost thou dâ—prive me slowly of my Breath Such preparation needs not for my end Strike quickly then for I will ne're contend Why shouldst thou spend thy Quiver on my head When one poor single blast will blow me dead For what is man A batter'd and leaking Ship that will split with one dash without the force of a Tempest the Body of man consisting of infirm and fluid parts comely in the outward Lineaments not able to endure Cold Heat or Labour that consumes and wastes of it self fearing its own nourishment the plenty or want whereof is frequently the ruine of it to himself only a profitable and vitious nourishment nicely to be looked after and preserved A life enjoyed at pleasure liable to a thousand Diseases and without Diseases devour'd by it self Do we admire at this once dying wherein thou mayst find private and concealed Deaâ—hs His smell his taste his weariness his watching the humours of his Body his meat and drink to man are deadly To Christ I would not die but live he seeks to live That in thy love O Christ to die doth strive I do not stand in fear of those things which thou O God dost appoint for me I follow thee O merciful Father I follow thee And wherefore should I refuse when thou callest me nearer to thee 'T is much better for me to be dissolved and be with Christ This is that which I desire For Christ is life to me and Death is gain Sect. 3. An Antidote against Grief WHerefore art thou troubled wherefore art thou perplexed Thou art in the hand of God and he takes care of thee But thou art afflicted and sick What evil can that be which proceeds from the Fountain of Goodnsss God would have thee to be his own and therefore shuts thee up and retains thee within the Lattices of Sicknesâ— least thou shouldst go astray from Heaven A little Bird weary of the Cage desires liberty but while it is in the Cage is both lov'd and fed by its Master While she is at liberty who can believe her free from the Fowler or from the Snare Thus believe me it is a great thing to be the Captive of the Lord thy God it is to be lookt upon as a great Favour to be bound a little while to be cut and wounded by â—â—m that will spare thee to Eternity Sect. 4. Not always Draughts of Sweetness GOD sometimes O sick Man gives the Cups of bitterness thou drankst the sweet Liquor while thou wert in health VVhy dost thou make Faces why dost thou refuse the Cup Think upon that of Job Shall we receive good at the hand of God and shall we not receive evil Ingrateful Mortals we know not the Benefits we receive but by losing them Thou wilt be a good Valuer of lost Health for the future Thou mayst remember also that when thou wert in health thou didst often recreate thy self beyond the bounds of Sobriety Now therefore let me perswade thee chearfully to take this bitter Cup and bear this punishment imposed upon thee for thy former Ryots Formerly at at the Latin Festivals when the Chariot-Drivers strove for Victory they that overcame drank Wormwood Do thou now drink that thou mayst overcome He undeservedly Metheglin sips That to the bitter will not lay his lips Sect. 5. The contempt of Death is a Christian Generosity NO Man ever govern'd his Life well but he that contemned it VVe are not so silly but that we understand we must one day die yet when Death approaches we hang back we tremble we lament But would not he appear to thee a very Fool that should weep because he had not lived a thousand years before These things are well coupled thou neither wert nor will be thou art ordain'd for that point of time wherein thou liv'st with that thou mayst extend how far wouldst thou prolong Why weepest thou what is it thou wouldst have thou losest thy labour Thou shalt go thither whither all things created go What is there that thou canst call a Novelty Thou wert born under this Law This hapned to thy Father to thy Ancestors to all before thee and will happen to all that come after thee It is established and decreed Death seizes upon all we are born to die Consider in thy
leans towards Death This it desires this it meditates upon covetous of higher Objects And how clear is that of Plato concerning a better Life He saith he that spends his Life in the study of Wisdom seems to be the person who will die with confidence full of good hope that he shall obtain great rewards if he die This the Ancients saw in the dark and thou canst not see it by the light of the Sun What then my sick Friend do the things of the Earth trouble thee Shortly thou shalt inhabit Heaven Thither aspire and whatever miseries thou feelest thou wilt feel them the less Sect. 30. True Hope is a Blessed Life I Do not for this make use of either Poets or Philosophers 'T is a serious thing I will drink to thee out of the Fountain of Divine Eloquence Therefore lay aside thy sadness and with a certain hope say with the Doctor of the World I know whom I have believed and I am perswaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that day Wherefore art thou afraid O Man of short hope hear the Son of Syras Who feareth the Lord standeth in awe of no Man and is not afraid for the Lord is his hope and strength Blessed is the Soul of him that feareth the Lord in whom putteth he his trust and who is his strength The Eyes of the Lord have respect unto them that love him he is their mighty protection and strong ground a defence for the health a refuge for the hot of noon day a succour for stumbling and a help for falling He setteth up the Soul and lightneth the Eyes he giveth health life and blessing The Kingly Prophet how Couragious is he how undaunted having a prospect of his own Funeral I will lay me down in peace and take my rest for it is thou Lord only that makest me dwell in safety What that safety is he expresses in another place For thou hast been my hope and a strong Tower for me against the Enemy I will dwell in thy Tabernacle for ever and my trust shall be under the covering of thy wings But thou wilt say my Impatience makes me hope ill Here I will help thee again Cry with David Thou art my hope even from my youth Frequently this King cry'd out God is my Salvation God is my Hope and also exhorts others to do the same Trust in him O ye people pour out your hearts before him Wherefore dost thou not follow him that goes crying so loudly before thee Say therefore from thy Soul O think upon thy Servant according to thy word wherein thou hast caused me to put my trust The same is my Comfort in my Trouble And with Jeremy the Prophet I nevertheless obediently followed thee as a Shepherd and have not taken this Office upon me uncalled Thou knowest it well Be not thou terrible unto me O Lord. For thou art he in whom I hope when I am in peril Hear him in another place Leave off from weeping and crying with-hold thine Eyes from Tears for thy labour shall be rewarded c. Job is most confident in this Though he slay me I will trust in him The same he utters upon the brink of Death After darkness I hope for light Was there ever saith the Son of Syrach any one confounded that put his trust in the Lord Whoever continued in his fear and was forsaken Or whoever did he despise that called faithfully upon him For God is Gracious and Merciful He forgiveth sins in the time of Trouble and is a defender of all that seek him in the Truth And Hosea Therefore hope still in thy God for whoever put their trust in God are not overcome Besides That the Lord is good unto them that put their trust in him and to the Soul that seeketh after him The good Man with stilness and patience expecteth the health of the Lord. Truly saith Nahum the Lord is Gracious and a strong hold in the day of Tribulation and knoweth them that trust in him And we also know saith St. John that when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is And every Man that has this hope in him purgeth himself even as he is also pure Hope therefore most firmly in the Goodness of God and thou shalt walk before the Lord in the Land of the Living Sect. 31. Tranquility proceeds from true Hope TVrn again O my Soul into thy rest for the Lord hath rewarded thee Art thou wearied with so many sorts of Labour behold the Lord is at hand and he will put an end to all thy Labours The beginning of thy rest is Sickness and Death Cease therefore O my Soul to be willing to be miserable and to consume thy self with so much turmoiling Painful Beginnings thou wilt say 'T is very true But thou knowst that no days are less quiet than those that are next to rest No days less Holidays than those that precede Festivals So it is with thee But thy rest shall be Eternal The preparation tires thee shortly the Paschal without end shall follow Go to then and expend a little Labour and Grief By and by thou shalt behold the Gate not that which leads out of this Life but that which leads to Eternity Then hadst thou but begun to labour it would prove sufficient if he for whom thou labourest think it so Therefore O my Soul dismiss vain things to vain people and turn thee to the Lord who hath rewarded thee His Mercies toward thee hath been innumerable thou maist sooner number the Sand of the Sea than them by which he designs to open thee the way to Heaven Bernardus Clarevallensis recommended this particularly to his Friends to cast the Anchor of their hope in the safe Bay of Divine Mercy Therefore let that Verse of the Psalmist In thee O Lord have I put my trust let me never be put to confusion Sect. 32. Comfort in Pain THen should I have some comfort yea I would desire him in my pain that he would not spare for I will not deny the words of the Holy One. With this Comfort therefore while my pains do burn me I will warm my Zeal and recollect my Courage when the Excess of my Torments shall bring me certain hope of Death For I know that while the pains as it were of Childbirth Crucifie me the Rest and Tranquility of another Life is preparing for me and that the Mercy of God shines over me either inflicting Death or defending my Life Therefore let not God be delayed through any commiseration of me For if I die I shall escape free and secure from my Sins nor shall I ever any more resist the will of God as one that has left this Life and the Inconstancy of Mortals Yet I am very much afraid of my weakness lest I should faint in the right road and in my holy
not fail Wherefore my heart was glad and my glory rejoiced my flesh also shall rest in hope For why thou shalt not leave my Soul in Hell nor suffer thine Holy One to see Corruption Thou shalt shew me the Path of Life in thy presence is fulness of Joy and in thy right hand is pleasure for evermore Psal 16. v. 8. c. To Charity What shall I return to the Lord for all his Benefits I will receive the Cup of Death from the hand of God and call upon the Name of the Lord. I will call upon God with Praises and I shall be safe from my Enemies Into thy Hands O Lord I commend my Spirit Thou hast created me O God thou hast redeemed me thou hast sanctified me thine am I alive and dead I offer my self up entirely to thy will Jesu Son of David have mercy upon me Sect. 36. What is always to be in the thought and Mouth of a sick and dying Christian IN sickness O Christian if thou art asked how thou do'st or how is it with thee Beware of returning any other Answers but these As God will As God pleases As the Lord's pleasure is So let it be done According to the good pleasure of God As it pleases God so let his will be fulfilled in Earth as it is in Heaven Nor will it be amiss to have these threefold Prefaces continually in thy lips and in thy mind as well in thy Sickness as at the hour of thy Death 1. Blessed be God to all Eternity 2. Have mercy on me O Lord according to thy loving Kindness though I am not worthy of the least of thy mercies O God 3. Oh Lord my God I surrender my self wholly up to thy will let thy will be done Sect 37. Certain Precepts to be particularly observed by a dying Person FIrst Not to depend upon the Merits but with all thy Sins and Omissions to cast thy self into the Fathomeless Ocean of Divine Mercy Next To adhere stedfastly and constantly to the belief of the true Holy Church and to receive the Holy Sacrament Thirdly To forsake all the frail and passing Vanities of this Life and to unite thy self to God with all thy Soul and Affection To breath after the Land of Promise where thou may'st be able to offer up a lasting Sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving to God for all his Mercies Fourthly To offer up thy self a Living Sacrifice to the Glory of God for his great good will toward thee and to endure patiently for his sake all the pains and troubles of Sickness and the bitterness of Death Fifthly To set continually before thy Eyes the terrible Death and Passion of thy Lord Christ that so thou mayst unite thy Body and Soul with the wounded Body and afflicted Soul of Christ But the safest way is whatever thou wouldst do in the utmost extremity of thy Sickness to begin to do that in the prime of thy Health Sect. 38. Refreshments for a dying Person COme my People enter thou into thy Chambers and shut thy Doors about thee Hide thy self for a little while till the Indignation be overpast Isa 26. â—0 When I was angry I hid my Face from thee for a little season but through everlasting goodness I have pardoned thee saith the Lord thy Redeemer Isa 54. 8. Why art thou so full of heaviness O my Soul And why art thou so unquieted within me Put thy trust in God for I will yet give him thanks for the help of his Countenance Psalm 42. 6. For we are the Children of the Holy Man and look for the Life which God shall give unto them that never turn their belief from him Tob. 2. 18. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in Heaven that one of these little ones should perish Mat. 13. 14. For God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have Everlasting Life John 3 16. But if any Man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the Righteous And he is the Attonement for our Sins not for our Sins only but for the Sins of all the World 1 John 2. 1. Verily verily I say unto you he that heareth my Word and believeth in him that sent me hath Everlasting Life and shall not come into Damnation but is escaped from Death unto Life John 5. 24. All that the Father giveth me shall come unto me and him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out Joh. 6. 37. I am the Resurrection and the Life he that believeth in me yea though he were dead yet shall he live And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall not dye eternally Joh. 11. 25 26. In my Fathers House are many Mansions 14. 2. If God be on our side who can be against us Who spared not his own Son but gave him for us all how shall he not with him give us all things Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods chosen It is he that justifies who is he that coâ—demnesh It is Christ which dyed yea ratheâ— which is raised again which is also on the Righâ— Hand of God and maketh Intercession for us Roâ— 8. 31 c. For no Man livech to himself and no Man dyâ—th to himself for if we live we live unto the Lord. Whether we live therefore or die we are the Lords For we know that if our Earthly House of this Tabernacle were destroyed we should have a Building of God even a Habitation not made with Hands but Eternal in Heaven For therefore sigh we desiring to be farther cloathed with our House which is from Heaven for if that we be cloathed we shall not be found naked 2 Cor. 1 2 3. Now also Christ shall be magnified in my Body whether it be by Life or by death For Christ is to me Life and Death is to me Advantage Having a desire to depart and be with Christ Philip. 1. 20 21. But our Conversation is in Heaven whence also we look for the Saviour who shall change our vile Body that it may be fashioned like his glorious Body This is a fâ—ithful saying and by all means worthy to be received that Christ Jesus came into the World to save sinners of whom I am chief 1 Tim. 1. 15 But he that shall endure to the end the same shall be saved Mat. 24. 13. Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a Crown of Life Rev. 2. 10. These Fountains refresh and cool the hot Baths of death he shall happily swim therein who plunges himself over Head and Ears in these Rivolets Sect. 39. The Sighs and Prayers to God proper for a Dying Person ENlighten my Eyes O most merciful Jesu that I sleep not in death Lest my Enemies say I have prevailed against him Psal 13. 3 c. Lord Jesu Christ Son of the Living God Lay thy Passion Cross and Death between thy Judgment and my Soul O
Will AS there is nothing more easie for the healthy for the sick or for dying persons to do so there is nothing more profitable than to will what God will This is to be practised Day and Night Morning Noon and Evening perpetually constantly by Sick and Healthy and by all Men. Epictetus was a most wise Doctor in this by the bare instructions of Nature I think that better saith he what God will have done than what I my self I wait upon him as a Servant I desire what he desires I wish for what he wishes Whatever his will is that is mine And that he may shew the manner how in all Humane Affairs the will of God is to be followed adding this Moreover Always faith he I chuse to will that which is done For whatever is done sin excepted is done by the will of God For which reason this most wise Philosopher admonishing every Man never require that those things which are done should be done according to thy Disposal But if thou art wise be content that things are done as they are He that accommodates himself to necessity is wise and is privy to the Humane Mysteries Epictetus discoursing more affirmatively of conforming the will of Man to the Divine Will I should desire saith he to be seized by death employed in no other business than in curing my will that being free from trouble and impediment I might say to Godâ— Have I ever violated thy Precepts Have I misapplied the parts which thou gavest me Have I ever accused thee Have I ever found fault with thy Government I fell sick because it was thy will Others fell sick but I willingly It was thy will I should be poor I was content I never was in command because it was thy Will I never for that reason coveted or sought after Honour Didst thou ever see me the sadder for this Did I ever approach thee with a Countenance chearful Prepared to obey whatever thou commandest Wouldest thou have me abandon the Gaiety of Masks I am gon And I return thee most hearty thanks that thou wiâ—t be pleased to admit me to thy Enterludes to behold thy Works and understand thy manner and order of Government Let such a Death as this seize upon me either Thinking VVriting or Reading O Heavens How like a Christian how like a Wise Man how like a Divine Person What do we do O Christians What shame possesses us if we blush not at these things We are Brute Beasts yea Stones and Rocks if our Sences return not to us upon this bright and resplendent Information of Nature But let the Rebels to Divine Will hearken let them hear and answer to Epictetus requiring from them nothing but what is â—ust Shew me saith he any one who is sick and happy in danger and happy that dies and is blessed Shew me saith he a Mind that is of Gods Mind one that never acouses God nor Men finds fault with nothing that befalls him who is in wrath with no Man who envies no Man then shew me the person who of a Man desires to become a God Certainly it may be done by this Conjunction of wills Therefore let not the sick person refuse to be wise with the same Epictetus And let him say Carry me O God and thy Divine Will whither I am by thee appointed For I will follow cheerfully For if I obstinately and wickedly hang back I shall be compelled to follow Therefore if it be the will of God let it be done Therefore let us in all things in Sickness in Death submit to the Will of God or let us confess our Antipathy and Aversion against all that is good and right He desires to be wicked who for the nonce refused to be good Sect. 28. Despair to be prevented THere is nothing more dangerous than despair nor can the Enemy of Salvation find out any thing worse for Man For all other things are mitigated by their own Cures This is the chiefest and the last of Mischiess so that when it oppresses the Departing Soul there is no room for any remedy Therefore is it always especially in the end more vehemently to be withstood because it then presses on with greater force and there is no delaying such Councils as are fit to be taken for thy Salvation The neglect of the last Hour is altogether irreparable He shall never rise again whose fall is deadly there Therefore at length awake O sick Man 't is better never wake till the Evening What is ill delayed is worse omitted Lift up thy Eyes to Heaven the Breast of thy Crucified Lord is always open his Embraces always expanded his Wounds always prepared to health Neither is there any necessity of long Prayers Repent that thou hast been in an Error and thy desire possibly is granted Say from thy Heart I have sinned Thou maist hope God is propitious to thee Promise amendment and thou maist obtain pardon There is no sin of Man so great but the Mercy of God is above it Hope for this Hope maketh nâ—t ashâ—med The Lord is loving unto every Man and his Mercy is over all his Works Here the Lord himself Is my hand shortened that it might not help or have I not power to deliver But we are for the most part altogether deceived Fervent in sin after sin committed cold We exult in sin despair when we remember our sins Many sin out of hopes of pardon Both bad but this latter far worse Therefore cast away that fatal burthen of sin There is one who being sought to will take it from thy Shoulders who has taken greater burthens from others to whom there is nothing hard or difficult Only do thou make no delay And though there be no excuse for a slothful delay yet a late amendment is not without commendation It is better to repent late than never Therefore take to thy self Courage and Breath a few Tears will extinguish the Flames of Hell An humble and a contrite Heart God will not despise Sect. 29. The hope of better Life mitigates our Miseries VVIth Seneca I demand of thee O my sick Friend why dost thou wonder at thy Miseries Thou art Born therefore that thou shouldst lose that thou shouldst perish that thou shouldst hope that thou shouldst fear that thou shouldst disquiet others and thy self too that thou shouldst fear and wish for death and which is more that thou shouldst never know thy condition nor when thou wert safe Besides that every thing of future is uncertain only that we are certain to decay for the worse the Journey to Heaven is more easie when we have dismissed our Thoughts from worldly Conversation For so they become lighter and freer from Dregs Great Genius's never covet a long stay in the Body they long to be gone they hardly brook these narrow they desire to wander through sublimity and take a prospect from above of things below Therefore it is that Plato cries out The Soul of a wise Man always
of Devils in Hell from Paradise to a â—ungeon from Pleasures to Pains from Joy to Torment and that by hellish means damned Spirits into the infernal Lake of bottomless Barathrum where is wo wo wo And where is weeping and wailing and gnashing of Teeth Mat. 25. The wicked shall be turned into Hell and all the people that forget God Psalm 6. Hearken also of a certain poor Beggar clothed in rags with miseries pained pained with griefs grieved with sores sorely tormented unmercifully condemned lying at this Rich Mans Gate desiring to be refreshed but with the Crumbs that fell from the rich Man's table the dogs had more pity than this rich man on this distressed creature for they came to visit him they came to comfort him they came and licked his sores Well his time being also determined he went the way of all flesh and death was the finisher of all his miseries and griefs Vita assumpsit mortem ut mors vitam acciperet He died once to live for ever And what became of his soul it was carried from his body to his Master from a House of Clay to a house not made with hands from a wilderness to a Paradise from an â—arthly prison to a heavenly Palace from the richmans gate â—o the City of the great God from pains to pleasures from â—iseries to joys from Adams corruption to Abrahams â—osom It was carried by Angels into the Quires of Angels to have his being and moving in the very moving Heavens with God himself Where is life food and abundance and glory and Health and peace and eternity and all good things all above all that either can be â—ished or desired And this is the subject that I shall â—â—w speak of And here let it please you to conâ—â—der the argument of this Scripture which is â—wofold First Our Saviour Christ hereby adviseth all â—ch men to be merciful to their poor Brethren in â—is Life lest they find no mercy in the life to â—ome Secondly He doth comfort all poor men that although they are afflicted in this life with great miseries and calamities yet they shall be comforted in the life to come and rest in Abraham's bosom And here observe what one formerly Notes viz. That if Jesus Christ had said only thus much There was a certain Rich man that fared sumptuously daily and a certain Beggar laid at his Gate full of sores The wicked would have straightway inferr'd that the rich man was the happy man for at the first view it seems to be so But take all together and you 'l quickly see that there is no man in a worse condition than this miserable wretch 2. That if a man would judge of persons according to outward appearance he shall very often take his mark amiss Here is a man to outward appearance appears the only blessed man better by half than the Beggar in as much as he is rich the Beggar poor he is well clothed but peradventure the Beggar is naked he hath good food but the Beggar would be glad of Dogs meat and he desired to be fed with the Crumbs of the Rich Man's Table the Rich man fares well every day but the Beggar must be glad of a bit when and where he can get it O! who would not be in the Rich man's state A wealthy man sorts of new Suits dainty Dishes every day enough to make one who minds nothing but his belly and his back and his lusts to say O that I were in that mans condition Oh that I had about me as that man hath then I should live a life indeed then should I have hearts ease good store then should I live pleasantly and might say to my Soul Soul be of good chear eat drink and be merry Luke 12. 19. thou â—ast every thing plenty and art in a most blessed condition But if the whole Parable be well considered you will see Luke 26. 15. that that which is had in high estimation with men is an abomination to God And again John 16. 20 21 22. that condition that is the saddest condition according to outward appearance is oft-times the most excellent for the Beggar had ten thousand times the best of it though to outward appearance his state was the saddest Methinks to see how the tearing Gallants of the World will go strutting up and down the Streets Sometimes it strikes me with amazement surely they look upon themselves to be the only happy men but it is because they judge according to outward appearance they look upon themselves to be the only blessed men when the Lord knows the generality are left out of that blessed condition Not many wise men after the flesh not many mighty not many noble are called 1 Cor. 1. 26. Ah! did they that do now so brag that no body dare scarce look on them but believe this it would make them hang down their heads and cry Oh! give me a Lazarus's portion But I 'll proceed to the division of my Text and in this Scripture observe these following parts formerly taken notice of viz. The parts of the Text are four 1. The life of the rich man in these words There was a certain rich man cloathed in purple and fine linnen and fared sumptuously every day 2. The life of the Beggar in these words Also there was a certain Beggar named Lazarus which was laid at his Gate full of sores c. 3. The death of the Beggar in these words And it was so that the Beggar died and was carried c. 4. The death of the rich man The rich man also died and was buried In the first part I note these three circumstances 1. What this Rich Man was and whether there were any such man or no. 2. What his Apparel was not mean or ordinary but Purple and fine Linnen 3. That his Diet was not base nor homely but delicious and not once nor twice but every day In the Life of the Beggar I find four Circumstances 1. Where he lived in no Palace or House but at the Rich mans Gate 2. How he lived neither in Health nor Wealth but miserable full of Sores 3. That he desired in this life not Lordships or Houses or Land or Gold or Silver but Crumbs to save his Life 4. Who shewed the Beggar kindness in his Life Not the Rich man but the Rich mans Dogs The Dogs came also and licked his Sores In the death of the Beggar I note these three Circumstances 1. What became of his Body being dead No mention hereof is made in Holy Scriptures it may be it was Buried with little or no respect because he was a poor man or else cast into some Ditch by reason of his Sores 2. What became of his Soul It went not out to Purgatory â—or there is no such place but it was carried into Abraham's Bosom 3. By whom By Angels It was carried by Angels into Abraham ' s Bosom In the Death of the Rich man I note these two
by shutting them out of Doors sink or swim what cares the World they are resolved to disown them they will give them no Entertaiment if the lying in the streets will do them any good if hard Usage will do them any good if to be disowned shut out of Doors rejected of the World will do them any good they shall have enough of that but otherwise no Refreshment no Comfort from the World And he was laid at his Gate full of Sores Poor Lazarus What lying at a Gate and full of Sores too Would not this Rich Man afford thee some out-house to lie in to shroud thee from Storms and Tempests no would not his servants pity thee no would not his Children speak for thee no Would not his Wife intreat her Husband for thee no Hadst thou ever done them any wrong no But Lazarus it may be thou art stout and often-times Beggars will be chusers thou perhaps wouldest have some great Alms or Copy-hold some Farm of this Rich Man no Or thou wouldest have some delicate Meat no Many Dishes no Or thou wouldest sit at the Table with his Sons and Servants no no What is it then that thou dost desire Nothing but Crumbs to refresh my Soul nothing but Crumbs to save my Life Nothing but Crumbs Crumbs that fall from the Rich Man's Table I know that he fared Plentifully and that he may well spare them What shall I say of the hardness of this screwing Rich Mans Heart Let me speak for Lazarus unto the Rich Man yet I shall but asiâ—am comere as one well observes get nothing of this hard Fellow I have a Message unto thee O thou Rich Man from the great God of Heaven and he doth desire thee that thou respect the Beggar that lyeth at thy Gate pained with sores pained with grief and even starved through Hunger And I beseech thee in Gods stead that thou have pity on this Beggar as God shall have pity mercy and Compassion on thee and look what thou layest out it shall be paid thee again But he answered I warant you he is some Runnagate Rogue and so long as he can be mantained by such easie means he will never take any other Trade upon him Nay but good Sir let please you only to behold this Poor Creature which suppose it were granted and he coming to the Gate where this wreâ—ched Object lay seeing him bewrayed with sores betattered with Rags and the Dogs licking him stopping his Nose with a squeamish Face and disdainful look began to say unto him I see thou art some lewd Fellow that such Miseries happen unto thee and such Plagues come upon thee it is not for thy goodness or Righteousness that these Afflictions light on thee But he reply'd O good Master some Comfort good Master some Relief good Master some Crumbs to save my Life I shall die else and starve at your Gate good Master I beseech you for Gods sake I beseech you for Christs sake take some Pity some Compassion some Mercy on me But he with an Angry look disdaining Lazarus said Away hence thou Idle Rogue not a penny not a Morsel not a crumb of Bread and so stopping his Nose from the scent and his Ears from the Cry of Lazarus returned unto his stately Palace And this Poor mans Throat being dry with Crying his Heart fainting for want of Comfort his tongue cleaving to the roof of his mouth being worn out with Fastings and miseries starved at the Rich Mans Gate Now must I speak for dead Lazarus against this Rich Man Nam si hi tacuissent nonne lapides clamabunt if I should hold my peace the very stones would cry O thou Rich Miser and more than cruel wretch Lazarus is dead he is dead at thy Gate and his Blood shall be upon thee thou shewedst no Mercy unto him no Mercy shall be shewed to thee thou stoppedst thy Ears unto his cry thou shalt cry and not be heard It is inhumane Wickedness to have no Compassion on distressed Lazarus but most of all to let him starve at thy Gate for want of Food What did be desire of thee but only Crumbs to save his Life Is it not a small thing I pray thee that thou having abundance of Meat shouldst see him starve for Bread That thou flourishing in Purple and Silk would see Lazarus lye in Rags That thou seeing even thy Dogs have pity on him thou wouldst have no pity upon him thy self What Eyes hadst thou that wouldest not see his Sores What Ears hadst thou that wouldest not hear his cry What Hands hadst thou that would not be stretched out to give What Heart hadst thou that would not melt in thy Body What Soul hadst thou that would not pity his silly Soul this wretched Body poor Lazarus If the stones could speak they would cry fie upon thee If thy Dogs could speak they would condemn thee of unmercifulness If dead Lazarus were here his Sores would bleed afresh before thy face and â—ry in thine Ears that thou art guilty guilty of his Blood and that thy sin is more than can be pardoned Why should not I tell thee the Portion that is prepared for thee This shall be thy Portion to drink Let thy days be few and let another take thine Office Let thy Children be Fatherless and thy Wife a Widow Let thy Children be Vagabonds and beg their bread let them seek it also out of desolate places let the Extortioner consume all that thou hast and let the stranger spoil thy Labour Let there be no Man to pity thee nor to have compassion on thy Fatherless Children Let thy Memorial be clean forgotten and in the next Generation let thy Name be clean put out Let him be an accursed Example to all the World Let him be cursed in the City and cursed in the Field let him be cursed when he goeth out and when he cometh in let him be cursed when he lyeth down and when he riseth up Let all Creatures and the Creator himself forsake him Angels reject him Heavens frown at him Earth open thy Mouth Hell receive him Spirits tear him Devils torment him let no mercy be shewed unto him that shewed no mercy Thus shall the miseries of Lazarus be revenged by the just plagues that shall justly fall upon the Rich man's head Secondly In the Life of Lazarus I noted how he lived to wit miserably and full of Sores and yet this rich Man would not pity him Christ could not of his mercy but cure the Leper when he saw him full of Sores and Leprosie and Elisha could not but out of Humanity teach Naaman the Assyrian to wash himself in Jordan that he might be whole but this rich Man would not help the poor Beggar neither by his counsel Purse Table or Crumbs but let him alone to pining Misery at his Gate Here we note in the person of Lazarus the great miseries and Afflictions that the Church of God doth endure in this World Great are
and give them mortal Wounds in his heavy Wrath and cruel Anger cries out most bitterly by way of Exclamation saying O that they were wise then would they understand this and consider their latter end Thus the Father of Spirits and Lives having out of a Chaos or nothing created all and fashioned Man after his own Image seeing his corrupt and base Nature too inclinable unto all sorts of Wickedness by a sudden Metamorphosis transforms him into what he was again just like the Cat in the Fable which when she would not change her manners having all her members made after the form of a Woman according to hearts desire was turned into a Cat again Thus far concerning the first particular Circumstance the Son warning even Almighty God by the mouth of Isaiah the Prophet wheresore now to breviate my Discourse in fewer Words lest that I should be too prolix in the prosecution I shall proceed unto the second thing subservient to this Explication and that is the person warned or here to set his House in Order which was none other but even Hezekiah that good King of Judah who brake down the brazen Serpent 2 Kings 18. 4. Who did receive presents from the King of Babel 2 Kings 20. 12. Who restored all things that his Predecessors had taken out of the Temple and established pure Religion among his People 2. Chron. 29. 2. And lastly who ordained Priests and Levites to serve in the Temple and also who appointed for their maintenance 2 Chron. 31. 2. This yea even then was he unto whom Almighty God who hath no delight in the Death of a Sinner but rather that he may turn from his Wickedness and Live sent the good Prophet Isaiah saying set thy House in Order for thou shalt die and not live Hereupon I might insist longer but that I shall demonstrate unto you as occasion is offered and now proceed unto the third particular Circumstance regardable in my Text the matter of this Exhortation and that was to set his House in order which is the scope of my Sermon and the main thing Set thy c. Now by this word House you may understand even every Humane Body which although at its first Creation was a most solid sound and incorruptible Substance yet by the entrance in of sin became capable of all sorts of Maladies 't is true before that we knew what a damnable thing sin was we had strong Houses but ever since God Almighty lets us dwell in Paper thatched Cottages and clay Walls every Disease like a tempestuous storm totters us and is ever and anon ready to overwhelm us Now this ruinous House and all decaying Tabernacle which by the corruption of sin is become as a Pest-house fetide filthy and unclean before it can be set in order must be swept clean and throughly rinced of all sins infective dregs First it must be throughly purged from the guilt of blood which leaves such a stain behind it that the whole Land could not be cleansed but by the blood of the shedder for even so did holy David who although he was a renowned and glorious King and holy Prophet of God a Man justified even of his Enemies thou art more Righteous than I esteemed of his Subjects thou art worthy of ten thousand of us a Man more learned than his Teachers Yea a Man even after Gods own Heart yea no way respecting the name or applause of Men but is content to shame himself for evermore to record his Sins to his own shame so that he may procure Gods Glory and the good of his Church set thy House in order and not shroud in his head nor run into a Bush as Adam did but writing his fault even in his Brow and pointing at it even with his finger casteth his Crown down at the Lambs feet with the 24 Elders with the poor Publican falls groveling to the Earth thumps his breast strikes upon his thigh wrings his hands and ever pours out his poor soul before the Lord of Hosts and thus humbling himself unto the Dust of Death at length from the bottom of his heart with grief shame and fear cries out most bitterly and betakes himself unto a Psalm of mercy saying Deliver me from blood-guiltiness O God thou art the God of my health and my tongue shall sing of thy Righteousness make my House clean by cleansing me from the guilt of blood and then shall I set forth thy praise Ever get your Houses throughly purged from that Sin which is an high offence against Almighty God who hath given it in command saying Thou shalt not kill and if not another much less thy self for thou must love thy Neighbour as thy self first thy self and then thy Neighbour as thy self the nearer the dearer I kill and give life again saith the Lord of Hosts we are not masters of our own lives but only stewards and therefore may not spend them or end them when and how we please but even as God Almighty who bestowed them lest that we come and defile our Bodies which ought ever to be kept clean and set in order As murderers are enemies against God whose image they deface against their Neighbours who are all members with them of one Common weal and politick Body so are the most cruel Enemies against themselves because by natural instinct every Creature labours to preserve it self the Fire â—â—â—yeth with the Water the Water fighteth with the Fire the most silly Worm doth contend with the most strong Man to preserve it self and therefore we are not to butcher our Neighbours or our selves but to expect Gods pleasure and leisure to let us depart in peace seeing that we must all die and not live That bloody Tyrant Nero had his hands so stained with the guilt of innocent blood that when God saw that he would not repent and set his House in order caused him to die both a sudden and a shameful Death and thus God dealt with many more whom I shall leave to your consideration wherefore that you may not taste of the same sauce while it is said to day set your House in order get them throughly cleansed from all guilt and especially from the guilt of Blood and then when you die you shall receive incorruptible Crowns you shall be like Kings and Princes all Co-heirs in the Kingdom of Heaven which for excellency is far beyond thought and glorious beyond report Secondly As the Body before it can be set in Order must be throughly cleansed from the guilt of blood so must it likewise be purged throughout and scoured well of all the Pollutions and Corruptive Dregs which Adultery leaves behind it they are not a few it is a Quotidian Fever to the Corps a Canker to the Mind a Corrosive to the Conscience and a mortal Bone to all the Body It is an efficient cause of more cruel Maladies in the Body than any thing beside First it sets the Body on fire which ever after
Body and the Arms of the Tree they are joyned to the Root where the Sap lies all the Winter and by means of this conjunction the Root it conveys life unto all the parts of the Tree And the Bodies of Believers they have the Winter to when as they are turned into the Dust but their Life it is hid with Christ at last they are revived and raised up into Glory Now here you may observe the great difference of Tempters according to the various Complexions of Mens Spirits the Atheist he dares not die for fear of being put out of his being and the prosane Person he dares not die for fear of exchanging his present bad being for a worse â—ut the Believer he earnestly desires to die that besides this present temporal being he might enjoy a future eternal well-being Indeed to a wicked Man the best had been not â—o have been and this next best were to live long â— was ill with him that ever he was born and worse A Carnal Mans continual cry is this Dum Spiro Spero I love to live for my present hope is my only help for indeed such an one hath only help in this Life but a Christians common Expression is this Dum Exspiro Spero Expiration is my Expectation for such an one hath hope in the Life to come when a wicked Man dies he thinks he shall live worse but a Christian when he dies he knows he shall live better he cries with the holy Apostle for one to live is Christ and to die is gain Job 19. 25. I know that my Redeemer liveth and he shall stand at the latter day upon the Earth and though after my Skin Worms destroy this Body yet in my flesh shall I see God Thirdly Death was never intended to be as a privation of good but as a priviledge for good to the Believer and it is attended with these several Priviledges First Corporal and Temporal Death it serves to set out the Beauty and Excellency of eternal Life It is Gods usual method to set out one contrary by another Contraria juxta se posita magis elucescurt In War God commends Peace to us In Adversity Prosperity in Sickness Health and in Death he commends eternal Life to us As the Limner lays the Foundation of a curioâ— Picture in a Dark Ground-work so God doth ofte times lay the foundation of our sweetest Mercies iâ— the greatest miseries and this he doth that â—â— Mercies may appear more lovely in our eyes aâ— thus he sets off the joys of Heaven by the troublâ— we meet with on the Earth It is said of Zeno thâ— he was wont to eat bitter things that he might tâ—â— better taste sweet and he would say sweet thinâ— were nothing worth if they were not so commenâ—ed to us And so bitter Death it is but an Eâ—gine devised by infinite Wisdom and for â—â— set out the Unspeakable sweetness of Everlasting Joys God could as easily have received all his redeemed ones into the immediate imbraces of Divine Love and Glory without letting them know what it was to be tempted to be afflicted or to die but only for the better sweetning and endearing fulness of Glory to them Secondly Deaths mortal Wound it is but preparatory to an immortal weight of Glory Death it is the midnight of all troubles and sorrows which is in Travel with a morning of everlasting Joy and Comfort Death it is the Saturday or last day of our Weekly labours which ushers in a Sabbath of eternal rest Rev. 14. 13. And I heard a Voice from Heaven saying unto me Write Blessed are the Dead which die in the Lord for they rest from their Labours and their VVorks follow after them Here the Believer hath labour without rest but in Heaven he shall have rest without Labour Death tends indeed to a Believers perfect everlasting reign and rest The Believer Afflictions upon Earth they are fore-runners of Deliverances they are as throws to the Birth of future Comforts The Whale which swallowed up Jonah God appointed as the means of bringing himself to the Shore And so the trouble which we often times think may swallow us up it brings us to our harbour Death it lands us safely upon Glory One excellency sets out the state of a dying Christian in these Words Per Augusta ad Augusta per Spinas ad rosas per Procellas ad Portum per Mortem ad Vitam migramus Lastly Death it is as a Bridge that all Saints must walk over to the everlasting Hill of endless Peace to the perfection of Grace to the participation oâ— Glory to the full possession of Christ 1. Death it leads us to the perfection of Grace the believer would live that he might be more perfect but when he dies he is perfect indeed a dying life that is a dying to sin it frees us from a living Death well doing fits us for dying Holiness frames us for Happiness 2. Death it leads us to a participation of Glory the consummation of Grace is the incoation of Glory Grace that puts the Soul into a capacity of enjoying glimps of God as in a Glass darkly but glory brings the Soul ad visionem beaâ—ificam into an immediate converse with God face to face 1 Cor. 13. 12. For now we see through a Glass darkly but then face to face now I know in part but then I shall know even as I am known 3. Death it leads us into a full possession of Christ Luke 23 43 This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise so saith Paul Then shall we be ever with the Lord comfort comfort ye one another with these words to be always with Christ will be very comfortable indeed Death that deprives us of commerce with men yet it delivers us up into an immediate communion with God and Christ and the blessed Angels Saints in Heaven shall be as the Angels nay saith John now are we the Soâ—s of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be we know that when he shall appear we shall â—e like him for we shall see him as he is Death speaks the sad disjunction of the Soul from the Body and the sure and sweet Conjunction of the Soul with Christ and therefore saith Paul and every Christian when he is in a right temper I have a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is best of all And thus I have endeavoured to lay open before you those Soul supporting and Soul encouraging Arguments the consideration of which makes the believing Soul so willingly and so boldly to look Death in the Face to invade Death in its own Quarters which is indeed but as a Passage or Bridg whereby the Soul is carried over unto the Mountains of Mirrh and unto the Hill of Frankincense where it shall lie down with Christ on his Green Bed of Love which is perfumed all over with the fulness of increated Glory And thus having shewed you many Arguments the Consideration of
hath no Interest in Jesus Christ who hath not him to be his Advocate who shall then be his Judge And this you will certainly find and feel to be true whether you fear it or not for God hath appointed it and if none can disappoint him then all must first dye and after that be judged c. And thus having Explain'd the Words of my Text I shall next shew you what Observation or Doctrine may be drawn from them and it is this Doct. That it is past all dispute that all Men must pass through Death and Judgment As for the certainty of Death you need not look into your Bibles for a Proof of that I shall only desire you to open your Weeping Eyes and let them but a little while be fastened upon the Dead Corps that now is before you and if afterwards you can Question this Truth I shall say no more to you at present but that it will not be long e're others may say of thee as the Apostle Peter did to Saphira Acts 5. vers 5 6 7. compared with the 9. 10. Verses And Ananias fell down and gave up the Ghost and the young Men arose wound him up and carried him out and Buried him And his Wife not knowing what was done came in and Peter said unto her How is it that ye have agreed to tempt the Spirit of the Lord Behold the Feet of them which have buried thy Husband are at the door and shall carry thee out Then fell she down straightway and yielded up the Ghost and the young Men came in and found her dead and carrying her forth buried her by her Husband The same Bier and it may be the same Persons which have carried thy Neighbour thy Husband thy Wife thy Brother or Sister already to the Grave behold they stand ready to do so much for thee and let every one consider with himself that he may be the very next in the Town or Family for whom the Bier may be fetched to carry him unto his long home And then as for the certainty of Judgment though every one hath a sufficient Proof in his own Conscience of the truth of this yet for as much as some have â—eared Consciences and therefore would put off the evil Day and say with those 2 Pet. 3. 3 4. And there will come in the last dayes Scoffers walking after their own lusts saying Where is the Promise of his coming since all things continue as they were from the beginning c. You may therefore Consult these plain Scripture Proofs Eccl. 11. 9. compared with Rom. 14. 11 12. For we shall all stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ yet that is not all but as it followeth So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God 2 Cor. 5. 10. For we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ that every one may receive the things done in the body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad Now when you are about any badness and doing any evil I dare say you never think of this suddain and strict account that you are to give to God of all your Thoughts Words and Deeds But howsoever we shall next shew you the reasons and grounds why it will and must be thus that all must dye and that all must come to Judgment The reasons of the Doctrine then are First We have Gods Ipse Dixit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for it God hath said it shall be so and if his words be true who is Truth it self and if he can make good the words which have once passed out of his Mouth who is Almighty you must all Dye and after that come to Judgment and tell me when God hath once said it that it shall be so who can say it shall not be so and make good his words when he hath done Secondly All have â—inned and therefore all must Dye and be Judged Rom. 5. 12. Wherefore as by one Man sin entred into the World and Death by sin and so Death passed upon all Men for that or in whom as it is in the Original all have Sinned in whom c. Treason stains the Blood the first Man Adam having sinned and all that were in him as we all were deriving Guilt from him so we must all come under the same Penalty of Death which he by sinning made himself and his Posterity obnoxious unto Thirdly The Justice and Mercy of God requires it should be so for as God will openly manifest his Justice by the Punishing of unbelieving Sinners who in this Life have escaped Punishment by the hands of Divine Justice so he will openly manifest his Mercy in the Pardoning and Saving of all Believers who have seemed in this Life to serve God without Reward You may read to this purpose at your leisure 2 Thess 1. 7 8 9 10. compared with Matth. 25. 31 33 34 41. Though now there seemeth to be little difference between the Godly and the Ungodly between the Righteous and the unrighteous between those that serve the Lord and them that serve him not yet then it will be a plain Case that it was better to be a poor Believer than a rich Unbeliever then it will be put out of all doubt who was the wisest and who shall be the happiest Man whether he that preferred Christ before the Creature or he that valued the Creature more than Christ yea then will appear a great difference between the Sanctified and the Glorified though the Sanctified were happy in enjoying of God on Earth in having Communion with him in Duties and Ordinances yet will the Glorified be more yea most happy when they shall fully and perfectly enjoy immediate Communion with God without the use of all means according to the Philosophical Maxim Finis nobilior est mediis The principal ultimate End is more excellent in it self and more desirable and valuable than the Means conducing unto the End But this you that have feared loved obeyed and served the Lord in this World will most understand in the World to come We shall next come to make some brief USE of the Doctrine and the USE is Fourfold 1. Of Information 2. Of Reprehension 3. Of Consolation 4. Of Exhortation 1. VSE of Information And we may hence be Informed that if it be certain both in Scripture and by common experience that all must dye and after that be Judged then it argues gross Ignorance for any one to think that it is possible for him to make such a Covenant or agreement with Death and Judgment that they shall not come near him Indeed such Atheists and Fools there have been as the Scripture speaks and it is likely some such there may be amongst us But hath God appointed that thou must once dye and afterwards come to Judgment Then what art thou Oh poor Worm that thou shouldest once Dream that thou canst null or make void this Ordinance and Decree of Heaven
it to be something shall we think that he cannot raise up again that which now is after that it hath fallen Far be it from us Beloved to think so but rather let us stedfastly believe that he that made us of nothing is as able to restore us from nothing For what though this may seem strange unto us as indeed it is a matter very wonderfull the Budding of Arons Rod Numb 17. 8. was very admirable but the raising of our Bodies is more wonderfull yet let us remember that it is God that doth this Consider the Author saith Augustine and take away the doubt Fifthly the Justice of God requireth that it should be so For it is a special part of Gods glory to shew forth his mercy on the godly and his Justice upon â—he wicked in rewarding them according to their works as the Apostle saith God will reward every man according to his works to them that by continuance in welldoing seek glory and honour and immortality Life eternal but unto them that disobey the truth that be contentiouss and obey unrighteousness shall be indignation and wrath Rom. 2. 6. But in this Life God rewardeth not men according to their doings and therefore Solomon speaking of the estate of all men in this world â—aith All things come alike unto all and here is the same condition to the Just and Unjust c Ecclesiast 9. 2. Nay which is more here the Wicked flourish and the Godly are afflicted The Ungodly have hearts ease and all things at will whereas the Godly are oppressed with all kind of miseries and are as sheep appointed for the slaughter It remaineth therefore that here must needs be a Resurrection after this Life that the righteous man obtain a reward of Gods free mercy and the wicked Man be justly condemned â—â— everlasting pain and misery Lastly it is apparent from the Resurrection of Christ For he arose not fâ— himself as a private man but in our rooâ— and steed and for us and if he the heaâ— be risen then the members also muâ—â— needs rise again For we are united kint unto him by the bond of his spirit and his Resurrectioâ— is a sure pledg of our Resurrection â— being risen as the first fruits of them thâ— sleep see 1 Cor. 15. 20. â—o come then â—â— some use and application The first Use of Confutation This may serve in the first place â—â— confute the Adversary and gainsayer â— this Truth and Doctrine The Atheist scoff at the Resurrectioâ— to come esteeming death to be the lâ—â— end of all things The Philosophers couâ—â—ed it a strange thing and hard to â—â— believed Let Paul preach of the Resuâ—rection to come and he shall be countâ—â— but a babler for his pains see Acts. 1â— 18. he shall be esteemed and reputed â—â— Festus no better than a madman see Acâ— 26. 24. The Saduses they denyed the Râ—surrection to come Hymenaeus and â—hilaetus not discerning the spiritual Reâ—â—rrection from the body said The Resurâ—ection was past already see 2 Tim. 2. 18. The Thiliasts abusing that place Rev. â—0 5. Dream of a Resurrection but for a â—â—ousand years During which time they â—magin that Christ shall raign with the â—aints here on earth in great pleasure and â—elights All which are justly confuted â—â—om this very place The second Use of Instruction Secondly this should teach us not to â—ourn immoderately for the dead as men â—ithout hope since when Christ comes again â—e will bring them with him see 1 Thess 4. â—4 This should teach us also to strengthen â—ur faith in this Article of Christianity â—ere being nothing that seems more imâ—robable to the eye of humane reason â—en that the body should be raised again â— life after it hath lain along time rotten â—nd putrified in the grave 3. And that we may be fully assured â—ereof we must do three things 1st We â—ust pray to God for his spirit as the pledg â—it 2dly We must labour for a true and lively faith in Christ who is the Resurrection and the Life and in whom whosoever believeth he shall not dye John 11 26. 3dly We must be sure of the firsâ— Resurrection that the Body be dead iâ— respect of sin and the Soul be raised up tâ— a lively care of newness of life Shall we believe that they will raise our bodies anâ— shall we doubt whether he will give us fooâ— and rayment and bring us out of danger and distresses far be it from us Buâ— rather let us believe his promiss though there be never so greâ—t unlikelyhood oâ— the accomplishment in respect of outward means and apearance Thus diâ— Abraham the Father of the faithful Rom 4. 18. and so must we also if we would bâ— reputed the true children of Abraham The third Use of Consolation Thirdly this may serve to comfort uâ— against the natural fear of Death for â—â— there be a Resurrection of our bodies aâ—ter this life then Death is but a passage or middle way from this life to eternaâ— life If a begger should be commanded tâ— put off his old rags that he might be cloathed with rich and costly garments would â—e be sorry because he should stand naked â— while till he were wholy to be stript â—f his rags No suerly Well thus doth â—od when he calls a man to death he â—ds him put his old rags off him and â—orruption and be cloathed with the rich â—obe of Christs righteousness and imâ—ortal glory 2. Cor. 5. 1. Your mortal Bodies Doct. 2. In that the Apostle sayth â—at the Lord shall quicken our morâ—al bodies that is the same that now â—â—e mortal by reason of sin I note in the â—ext place to our comfort That the same â—odies that now we carry about with us shall â—â— raised up and none other for them the â—â—me I say in substance and the same in â—umber Sim. For as the wheels of a Clock being â—ken in sunder and the joynts thereof â—ade clean when it is joyned and set â—ogether again is the same in number so â—â—all the Essence and substance of mans â—ody be all one which though disolved â—â—all again be joyned together of God â—nd shall rise again the infermities thereof â—eing done away The Lord keepeth all the bones of the Saint saith David there shall not one of them bâ— broken Psal 34. 20. And the holy man Job is bold to say my self shall see him and mine eyes shaâ— behold him aud none other for me Job 1â— 27. see also concerning this Matter iâ— 1 Cor. 15. 25. Reas 1. Because God hath consecrateâ— bodies of the faithful to be temples untâ— himself 1 Cor. 3. 17. 2 Because Christ whose members wâ— are and to whose body our bodies shalâ— be conformed recieved again that body which he carried about with him Johâ— 2. 19. 3 Because every one shall bear in hiâ— body that which he hath done be it gooâ— or evil 2 Cor. 5. 10. 4 The justice of God requireth it shoulâ— be
do we think of Years and Ages frequently no longer had then Flowers or the shadows of Flowers or then any thing if any thing can be more short and fading than those Flowers It is a wonder greatly to be admir'd that this swift Brevity of Life should be divulg'd by all the Prophets be confirm'd by the Writers of all Ages and yet that miserable Men should be deaf to all their Exclamations Ezechias cries out by Isaiah the Prophet From the Morning till the Evening thou shalt conclude my days The Royal Psalmist cries out My days have past away like a shadow Josiah the King cries out Man springs up like a Flower and is trod down and vanishes like a shadow Behold Man is like a Bubble all thy Life is the flight of a shadow Canst thou then dream of any Mansion or Abiding place here Wherefore dost thou covetously scrape together wherefore dost thou scrape and rake as if to live the Age of Nestor Death is at thy Back Thou shalt go hence before thou fear'st thy departure unless thou art afraid betimes Make haste Eternity is at hand Sect. 6. The same is deliver'd with greater Confirmations THE Life of no Man is otherwise than short but the shortest of all is their Life who forget what is past neglect the present and are in no fear of the future Most excellent is the saying of Job they that saw him shall say where is he Like a fleeting Dream he shall not be found yet Dreams are vain and nothing swifter than flight he shall pass away like a Nocturnal Vision My days saith he were swifter than the Racer they fled away and saw no good this said the most Wealthy of Men. They took their flight like Birds carrying Apples like an Eagle flying to his prey Because we are of yesterday and understand nothing because our days are like a shadow upon the Earth Truly our days are but a shadow upon the Earth and there is no delay We Banquet and Revel and there is no delay We indulge to sleep and snore till Noonday and there is no delay Prodigal of our time we go to Plays and invent voluptuous ways of Idleness and yet there is no delay Our years pass glide and fly away No Man has so much the favour of Heaven as to promise himself to Morrow Thus while we dream we pass to Eternity either the Celestial or the Infernal It was an excellent saying of Suidas Oh Mortal but of one little day that only know the present not foreseeing future things consider that Eternity to which ye are going Sect. 7. The Hope of Long Life and VVishes are vain WHat shall I do said the Rich Man in his Heart because I have not room for the Fruits of my Land I will do this I will pull down my Barns and Build bigger Miserable Soul alas Thrice miserable Wilt thou inlarge thy Barn To Morrow the Grave shall be thy Habitation Oh that it prove not Hell This Night thy Soul shall be taken from thee and who shall inherit what thou hast scrap'd together Thy Vertue if thou hadst any thy Vices shall go with thee Neither shalt thou take with thee any other Companions hence Most like the Fate of this Rich Man was that of Senecio in Seneca who considering this fleeting Life of ours which we enjoy at Mercy Every day saith he every hour shews us what nothings we are and by some new Argument still admonishes us of our frailty while they compel us covetous of Eternity to look after death Senecio Cornelius a Roman Knight a Man of extream sragality no less careful of his Patrimony than of his Body when he had sate all day till night by his friend sick a Bed beyond all hopes of recovery when he had Supp'di well and cheary was taken with a violent Distemper the Quinsey scarcely retained his Breath within his contracted Jaws till Morning so that he deceas'd within a few hours after he had performed all the Duties of a sound and healthy Man He that turn'd and wound his Money both by Sea and Land He that left no sort of Gain unâ—ry'd in the very Flood of his Prosperity in the very Torrent of his overâ—lowing heaps expir'd Thus it happens that when men most spend their time in toyl they spend their last Breath Like the Winds that when they blow most vehemently loose their force most quickly then allay'd when they have rag'd most furiously The most admirable Job almost by way of complaint interrogates the Diety And dost thou so soon cast me down Learnedly Tertullian and truly thus saith he The Sailing Ships free from the Capherean Rocks not tost by Tempests nor tumbl'd by the vast Waves but steering with a flattering gale making swift way on a sudden with one shâ—g loose all their hopes of safety No other are the Shipwracks of Life and the Calm Events of Death How stupid a thing then is to dispose of Age We are not then Lords of to Morrow How great is the madness of those that commence long hopes I will buy I will build I will sell I will appoint I will bear honours and then I will repose my old Age in seisure But all things believe me are uncertain to the Fortunate No Man can promise himself any thing of what is to come What we enjoy sâ—â—ps through our hands that very Hour a chance may happen and disappoint all We propose to our selves long Voyages and tedious stays eâ—re we return to our Countrey Affairs of War and Council slow Actions prolix Business a long Sâ—riâ—s of Toyl Labour and Employment We begin Suites hoping the long Life of Nestor and the Fortune of Metellus When in the mean time Death is at our Elbow and from the Precipice of Life throws us headlong into the Sea of Eternity Sect. 8. Man is Dust REmember Man that thou art Dust and to Dust shalt return This sad Verse our Mother the Church repeats when she covers the Heads of her Children with Dirt and admonishes â—s of our Mortality at the same time when we least think of it Herein the Church imitates the Eagle Who when she would encounter the Hart shakes the dust which she has gather'd upon her Wings into the Hart's Eyes and fixing her Taloâ—s between his Horns she claps his Head with her Wings till he fall headlong from some Precipice Thus the Church surprizes Man running into forbidden Impiety as it were in the mid way and strews his Head with this Funeral Powder The same thing says the Priest at the Interment of the Body Remember saith he O Man that thou art but Dust and to Dust thou shalt return This he speaks not to the Dead Corps but opportunely and in its place to those that stand about the Grave Philip of Macedon was wise in this who daily admonish'd by that Verse Philip thou art but Man carry'd himself more moderately But the Cranes teach us these things They when they keep their watch in the
there fell Where while the Boy his cruel Fate bemoan`d The tender point straight melted in the wound Would Chance have us adore her lawless will Or tell where Death is not if drops can kill Thus has Death infinite Accesses then nearest when it is least thought of Sect. 20. An Antidote against sudden Death HEre Reader though out of order I will give thee three Prayers as Examples made against sudden Death It is at thy choice every day to make use of one or all cordially and sincerely They are designed so many it being but reason that we should fall three times at the Feet of Christ when we beg so great a Boon For this we must know that in this respect there can be no Man too cautious or too provident The first Prayer MOst Merciful Lord Jesu by thy Tears by thy Agony and Bloody Sweat by thy Death I beseech thee deliver me from sudden and from unexpected Death The second Prayer O Most Gracious Lord Jesu by thy most sharp and ignominious Stripes and Coronation by thy most hitter Cross and Passion by all thy Tender Goodness most humbly I beseech thee that thou wouldst be pleased not to permit me to depart out of this Life by a sudden death without receiving my viaticum for Heaven The third Prayer O My most Loving Jesu O my Lord and God by all thy Labours and thy Pains by thy precious Blood by those Sacred Wounds of thine by those thy last Exclamation upon the Cross O my sweetest Jesu my God my God why hast thou forsaken me by that loud cry of thine Father into thy hands I recommend my Spirit most earnestly I beseech thee that thou wilt not take me hence in haste Thy Hands O my Redeemer made me and formed me throughout O do not suddenly cast me headlong Grant me I beseech thee time of Repentance grant me an Exit happy and in thy favour that I may love thee with my whole Mind that I may praise and bless thee to all Eternity Nevertheless O merciful Jesu all things are in thy power nor is there any one who can resist thy will My Life depends upon thy nod that must end when it is thy pleasure Neither do I desire my most gracious God but that my will should be conformable to thine In whatever place at whatever time by whatever Disease thou art pleased to call me home thy will be done All these things I commit to thy Goodness and to thy Divine Providence I except no place or time no sort of Death though never so ignominious This only one thing I beg of thee O Christ my God that I may not die an unexpected and sudden Death Nevertheless not mine but thy will be done If it so pleases thee that I must die a sudden Death I do not repine Let thy will be done in all things O God For I hope and trust through thy great Mercy for the sake of which I make this only Prayer that I shall die in thy favour and grace wherein if I depart not sudden death can separate me from thee For the Just Man though prevented by Death shall be happy There is no Death can be unexpected to him whose Life has been always provident Wherefore if I have not space and time which is only known to thee O God wherein to commend my self to thee behold I do that now and as submissively and as ardently as I am able I send up my Prayer to Heaven to thee Have mercy on me O God according to thy tender loving kindness thy will be done O Lord in Heaven and in Earth into thy hands I commend my Spirit Thou hast redeemed me O Lord God of Truth Let all Created Beings bless and praise thee O God In thee O Lord have I put my trust let me not be confounded for ever Sect. 21. The Days of Mans Life are few and evil HOW old art thou Threescore And how many art thou Seventy And how many art thou Fourscore Ah! my good friends where are your years Where are thy Sixty Where hast thou left thy Seventy Where wilt thou find thy Fourscore Wherefore dost thou number thy lost years Elegantly answered Laelius that Wise Man to a certain person saying I am Sixty years of Age. Thou callest these Sixty answered he which thou hast not Neither what is past nor what is to come is thine We depend upon a point of flying Time and it is the part of a great Man to have been moderate The Egyptian Pharaoh asking the Patriarch Jacob how many are the years of thy Age the old man answered The days of the years of my Pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years few and evil Hear ye O Tantalus`s that thirst after extent of fading Life and know that ye are but Pilgrims not Inhabitants nor are ye Pilgrims for a long Journey neither Your Life is both short and evil Short because perhaps to be ended before this very Hour that we divide with Death No man but must know it to be evil that enjoys it It affords us Brambles sooner than Roses to be trod upon And yet still will ye loyter and delay in these Bushy and Thorny places So forgetful of your Countrey Famous is the Sentence of St. Gregory This Life is the way to Heaven But most of the Travellers are so taken with the pleasantness of the way that they had rather walk slowly than come quick to their Journeys end Oh most miserable Franticks We are taken with Flowers and pick up little glittering Stones but neglect immense and unbounded Treasures We scrape together the filth of the Earth and the froth of Caverns forgettful what great and real Treasures we lose while we labour after such as are false Miserable and vain Creatures What has a Pilgrim to do with Flowers and Pibbles if he return not to his Countrey What matter is it if he leave those behind if he come to his Countrey To labour in this way to be wearied to sweat to endure all inconveniences is to be looked upon as the chiefest point of Gain For thy Countrey will please thee so much the more by how much the more ungrateful thy Exile was Sect. 22. How a Young Man may Die an Old Man AS we may meet with old Men not old Men but Children so we may meet with young Men not young Men but stricken in years Barlaam the Hermit an old Man of Seventy years when Jehosaphat the King asked him how old he was answered Forty five at which when the King admired he reply'd that he had been absent from his Studies Twenty five years as if those years which he had spent upon the Vanity of the World had been quite lost So Similius being Buried in the Cares of the Court and living rather for his Emperors sake than for his own caused this Inscription to be put upon his Tomb. Here lyes Similius an old Man of Seven years of Age. The Book of Samuel relates of Saul that
may know how long I have to life Psal 39. v. 4 5. Shew some good token upon me for good that they which hate me may see it and be ashamed because thou Lord hast holpen me and comforted me Psal 86. v. 17. Thou hast broken my Bands in sunder I will offer to thee the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving and will call upâ—n the Name of the Lord Psâ—l 116. v. 14 15. I had no place to fly to and no Man car'd for my Soul I cry'd unto thee O Lord and said Thou art my Hope and my Portion in the Land of the Living Psal 142. v. 5 6. Omnipotent Sempiternal God who didst prolong the Life of Hezekiah miserably imploring thee grant me thy unworthy Servant before the day of my Death so much time to live that I may be able to deplore all my Sins and may obtain from thy Compassion Pardon and Favour Omnipotent Gracious and Merciful God I most humbly beseech thee by the Death of thy Son grant me a happy and a blessed Hour when my Soul shall depart out of my Body Lord Jesu Crucified Christ by the Bitterness of the Death which thou didst suffer for me upon the Cross chiefly when thy Soul departed from thy Body have Mercy on my Soul at the last Hour who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost for ever and for ever Amen The Second Prayer For a Happy Departure MOST Merciful Lord Jesu if this be the Condition of a Dying Man if in such Dangers and Extremities my Spirit must depart out of this Life whither shall I fly but unto thee Oh my God Do thou take care of my Soul that it may not perish in that dreadful Hour Grant me I beseech thee according to the multitude of thy Mercies and by that servent Love and Grief wherewith thou who art Life it self didst die for me that I may have the Combat of Corporal Death always before my Eyes and that living I may so do as dying I would desire to have done and that I may expend my time and study in nothing more than that I may Spiritually die to my self and may mortifie all the Passions of my Sences that so after this Life I may live with thee Happy and Blessed to all Eternity The Conclusion of the first Chapter To the Reader DO this meditate upon this O Man and while thou art well learn to be sick learn to die To do both is a rare piece of Art which whether thou knowest or no it is not lawful for thee to try but when thou canst not err without the loss of Eternal Felicity We err but once in dying but that Error is never to be amended to all Eternity Therefore to abide as being still to depart But for the most part abide within thy self and search every cranny of thy Conscience Whatever thou enjoyest look upon it as the Lumber of a place where there is no Habitation Thou art not suffered to carry out any more than thou broughtest in with thee Therefore act and bestir thy self Approve thy self right in the sight of God Thou art to go hence Believe that thou standest always at the Gate of Eternity Eternity is that we must look after Pleasure is short Punishment Eternal The labour is Easie the reward Everlasting Therefore we have given wholesom Instruction we have taught that Death is to be contemn'd but the thoughts of it never to be laid aside Now we will give the same Admonitions to the Sick CHAP. II. The Remembrance of Death is Recommended to the Sick Sect. 1. The Introduction and whether Sickness be an Evil CAnnus is a Town in Caria in a Pestilent Air and unwholesom for the Inhabitant These People when Stratonious the Musician and wiâ—ty Man beheld he recited the Verse in Homer to them Like as the Leaves just so the People are Thereby he taunted their Icterical Yellowish and Wan Complexions But when the Caunians had given him a very rugged Entertainment for defaming their City as sickly and unwholesom Stratonicus return'd upon them again Must I not dare said he to call that a sickly place where the dead walk More wittily and more smartly than before But why do we deny and lift up our Noses We are most like to Leaves Very plainly Job Wilt thou break a Leaf saith he driven to and fro As if he had said When I am but a Leaf liable to all the Inconveniences of Life afraid of every Gust wilt thou hasten me with the wind of thy indignation I shall fall of my self without any constraint of thine Are not Men Leaves whom Sickness like dry Leaves and juiceless Flowers tosles to and fro and variously sports with Clement of Alexandria being of the same Opinion Go to said he Men of an obscure Life like the Generation of Leaves infirm Creatures Images of Waâ— things like shadows frail unfledg'd living but the Life of one day Certainly we are Leaves shaken by every puff of wind Sometimes a little Fever what do I say Nay a little Cough a little drop falling upon the little wicket of the Throat mortifies this Leaf and throws it into the Grave But whether or no is Sickness a Benefit and Death an Evil No Mortal no it is not saith Epictetus Health well us'd is a good thing ill us'd a mischief And therefore we may reap Benefit by Sickness What dost thou say of Sickness I wil shew thee its Nature then I shall be quiet I shall think my self well dealt with I shall not flatter the Physician I shall not wish for Death What wouldst thou more Whatever thou shalt give me that will I make happy prosperous honourable to be desir'd But there are some that deny this and say Take heed of being sick 't is an ill thing To them Epictetus again That is as much as to say saith he Take heed that thou dost not feign three to be four 't is an ill thing How evil If we so think of it as we ought What harm will it do me Rather will it not do me good If therefore I so think of Poverty Sick or Troubles of Church or State as I ought is not that enough to me will it not be profitable Truth Love thee O Epictetus How agreeable are all these things to Christian Doctrine This Foundation being laid we shall here teâ—ch ye to be mindful of Death in Sickness and not to be afraid of his coming Sect. 2. The sick Person to his Friends To Sickness To the beginning of a Mortal Disease To Death To Christ our Lord. To his Friends Hence with your unseasonable mourning This is not a place for Wailing but for Prayer But I depart early from you Early take heed ye mistake not I was ripe for death as soon as I was born yea before I was born What I was when born I know a weak frail body liable to all Reproach the Food of Sickness the Victim of Death Behold who e're thou art take Hope or Substance to
against another and sometimes we make an absolute Shipwrack but are always in fear Neither is there any Port but that of Death to them that sail in this stormy and tempestuous Ocean But every Mans Credulity deceives him and a willing forgetfulness of Death for the sake of those things which he loves Daily we behold the Funerals of persons known and unknown yet we mind other business and account that unexpected which was foretold us all our life-time before 'T is not the injustice of Nature but the depravedness of humane Reason that takes it ill to forsake that place to which it was admitted but of Courtesie He is unjust who will not leave the disposal of the Gift to him that gave it And an extream piece of Covetousness it is not to look upon what a man has received as gain but what he restores as a loss Ingrateful is he that calls the end of Pleasure an Injury A Fool who thinks there is no good but what is present immediately all pleasure leaves us and is snatcht away almost before it comes Over-narrow and circumscrib'd are his Joys who thinks he possesses only what he has and sees Therefore let us rejoyce for what is given and restore it when 't is requir'd Death seises upon one at one time he will pass by none Therefore let the Soul lie upon the watch and never be asraid of that which will necessarily happen which is uncertain and always to be expected I know not whether it be a greater piece of Folly to be ignorant of that Law of Morality or more impudent to deny it All Men all Creatures look toward their latter end who ever is born is destin'd to die and prepared for an Eternity Sect. 21. Certain Theses which the Sick are to contend against with all their might The first Concerning God T Is an Impiety against God the chief Parent of the World to complain in the least as if he should send a Sickness either too troublesome or too unseasonable Rather let us say with Job As the Lord pleases let it be done the Name of the Lord be praised And with the blessed Quire let us sing He hath justly done all things For whether God wound or heal he shews the Care and Affection of a most compassionate Father towards us The second Concerning the sick Party himself A more violent Disease requires not longer or more constant Prayers but a longer and more constant Patience by which whatever is accounted difficult is more easily performed The seasonings that make Sickness pleasant are frequent Groans to Heaven the remembrance of Afflictions suffered by all the Saints Repeated Ejaculations sometimes to the Holy Trinity sometimes to Christ for constant Patience and a happy passage out of this Life The Third Concerning other Men. We are to submit as well to the Physicians of the Body as the Soul To those that come to visit us in Sickness we are to shew a good Example of Patience and a composed Mind And though the Disease be grievous though many things afflict us though some things displease us other things are not done to our minds never to fret and murmur All our Troubles are to be season'd with the hope of Reward Our Deeds and Sayings to be rendred commendable by Submission and Patience Sect. 22. The Thirst of a Sick-man how to be cur'd MOst sick People are afflicted with Thirst especially they that are in Feavers We will shew them Fountains whence they may take their fill A Thief notorious for the murther of several was taken in the lower Austria and fastned to the Wheel where his Thighs were first broken to prolong the Torment of an extraordinary Criminal for a terrour to others But this Malefactor shew'd himself a man and began to be a most Religious Christian in the midst of his Torments for at every word he breath'd out nothing but Patience and Repentance He called upon God continually implor'd Pardon for his Crimes and like a Pretcher began to dehort the Standers by from wicked Courses such as he had taken By this it grew towards Evening when the Multitude flockâ— some as Comforters of so great a Sufferer though indeed only as Spectators of a generous Patience For he prostrate to his Punishment that he might find a better Life asswag'd his present Pain with the Hope of future Happiness and gave God thanks who in his Wrath had remembered Mercy and had chastiz'd him to spare him But in that slow Torment which it was thought would have lasted three days he only pray'd a quick Death to end the Fury of his Pains or the opportunity of a Shower to asswage his burning Heat and Drought It was observ'd that he had the Assistance of both for towards Sun-set there fell a plentiful Shower and in short while after his Torments and his Life ended both together Behold O Christian thou hast also thy Wheel though a more gentle one thou art ty'd to thy Bed as to that Wheel And perhaps not only Pain but Drought may afflict thee Therefore that a seasonable Shower may fall upon thee cause thy Bed to be made in Golgotha at the foot of that Cross to which the Saviour of the World was nail'd from whose Body fell Showers of Blood There drink there refresh thy self there satisfie thy self being wellâ—ssured that thou shalt be the more perfectly cured the more largely thou drinkest Sect. 23. The Sick-man's Handkerchief CRosildis the Queen of the Franks as Gregory Turonicus reports being cruelly used by Amalanâ— her Husband sent a white linnen Cloth dipt in her Blood to her Brother Childebert as much as if she should have wrote to her Brother and have sayd Seest thou these Marks Childebert and canst thou brook them Canst thou behold the Sufferings of a Sister and wink at them Wilt thou not revenge and deserd mâ— Behold O Sick-man Christ sends thee a Handkerchief nay two the one from Mount Olivet liliberally dyed in his Blood in the other thou seest his Face besmear'd with Sweat Spittle Blood and Tears while he dragg'd his own Cross to Golgotha These linnen Cloaths Christ sends to thee be-purll'd with his Blood wherein he has wrote these words This Sweat O mortals your Sins forced from me Can you see these and not abandon your former wicked life Certainly no person moâ—e truly bewails suffering Christ than he who begins to hate those things for which Christ suffered Sect. 24. The Sick man's Bed THE Sick-mans Bed burns though upon Sardâ—nâ—paâ—â—s's Down â—r the Roses of Smyrdâ—â—ides is may be soft Smâ—ndiâ—â—des a young man samous for his Effeminacy finding that the tender Feathers hurt his Skin would needs try whether he could lie any softer upon a Bed of Roses and yet that fragrant and soft Lodging was too hard for his delicate and tender Sides because the Feathers had wheal'd his Skin the Night before A Sick-man though he lay upon Hare's-wool or Partridge Feathers would think he lay hard But he is
just Indignation Thy Mercy Lord that is a vast and immense Ocean Into this Ocean into this Gulph I throw my self headlong out of a certain hope that in those Waters I shall be safe from the Flames of Hell I cry out therefore with David Have mercy on me O God according to thy mercy According to the multitude of thy mercies blot out my iniquity But in the utmost of my Extremities in the last hour of my Life when my Soul is departing out of this Tabernacle let all my Sighs and Gaspings repeat this wholesom Prayer Have mercy on me O God according to thy Infinite mercy Sect. 48. The sick Patient Covenants with God THat great and almost the last Ornament of the African Church Fulgentius conspicuous for his Learning and Sanctimony seventy days before his Death continually cried out Lord give me first Patience then Pardon This the holy man used as a Buckler against the violence of his Sickness Yea the more vehemently his Grief assail'd him the more vehemently he cried out Patience Lord patience After that Pardon This is a most sweet way of Covenanting with God neither to desire Wages before Labour nor Triumph before Victory nor to shake off the Yoak of Death without Pain Thus as Death is a Punishment to the Wicked so to the Righteous it is a Bridge and entry that leads to Eternity So true it is that Death commands the unwilling but serves and obeys the Willing Sect. 49. Thanks be to God should be the continual Song of the sick Patient SAint Cyprian when he heard Galerias the Proconsuls Sentence read to him It is our pleasure that Thuscius Cyprianus die by the Sword gave no other Answer but Thanks be to God Saint Laurence Roasted upon a Gridiron cried out Thanks be to God Euplius the Martyr who was Beheaded with the Gospel hanging about his Neck often repeated these words God be thanked Truly said Saint Augustin What better thing can we bear in our Minds or utter with our Lips or express with our Pens than Thanks be to God! Nothing can be more quickly said more gladly heard nor more acceptably understood than Thanks be to God who has endued thee with so much Faith In Adversity saith Saint Chrysostom the Wicked curse the Christians give thanks When we please God we shame the Devil For at the same time thou givest Thanks God eases thy Pain and the Devil departs There is nothing more holy than the Tongue which in Adversity Gives God thanks Tertullian commending Job That good man said he upon the receit of all his had tidings still used no other expression but Thanks be to God John Avila the most skilful Teacher of the Inward man was wont to say That in Calamities and Afflictions one Thanks be to God was worth more than six thousand in prosperity and health For in Prosperity to give Thanks is common to all men but in Adversity particular to the Righteous Therefore O my sick Friend so frame thy Mind and Tongue that the worse it is with thee the more readily thou mayst say Thanks be to God Then shalt thou be said to imitate thy Crucified Lord when thou shalt have the Courage in the midst of thy Sorrows to say Let Troubles vex me Grief torment me Want Oppress me Thanks be to God Let my Pains rage my Torments multiply Thanks be to God These Ejaculations penetrate Heaven This is Musick most pleasing to God To this St. Paul exhorts us In all things give thanks in Sickness in Health in Want in Plenty in Adversity in Prosperity In all things give thanks For many times Sickness Want a comfortless Condition loss of Dignities are a greater benefit of God than of all things flowing according to thy wish In no pains at no time let the Sick-person think it a burthen for the Sick-person to cry Thanks be to God So much the more noble is thy Patience so much more graceful thy Giving of thanks by how the more vehement thy Disease and Pains are Sect. 50. The true Confidence of a Sick-man in God TO Die is a serious business And we may well demand of the Patient Wilt thou commit thy self to the Cast of Eternity Thou art going a long and unknown Journey and whither wouldst thou To this the sick Patient does best to answer that does not murmur I am grived I am compelled But rather replies with a chearful Mind willingly freely I resign my Spirit to God Thus I commit my sef to Eternity Thus glady to God Leâ— the Healthy be of this mind of the number of which rightly said one I have already begun to die now I die I waste and am consumed now I travel to Eternity And because the Mercy of God knows no end therefore I travel undauntedly In the O Lord I have put my trust Let me never be put to confusion And though the Sacred Scriptures afford me a thousand Instances I will not despise the Light of Reason which enlightneâ— the wise Roman For what the ancient Heathen thought of Death and our passage from Death into Eternity he thus teaches us When that Day shall come which shall seperate this mixture of Divine and Humane I will leave this Body where I sound it and return my self to God Nor am I now without him though detained by this Ponderosity of Earth These delays of Mortal Age are but a Prelude to a better and a longer Life As we are Nine Months in the Mothers Womb before we are sent forth into this Place so by that space of time between our Infancy and old Age we are prepared for another Birth of Nature Another Original attends us another Condition of Life That Interval fits us to brook the Brightness of Heaven therefore let us undauntedly expect that peremptory Hour noâ— the last to the Soul but to the Body That Day which thou art afraid of as thy last is the Birth-day of thy Eternity These Thoughts will suffer nothing abject nothing sordid to reside in thy Mind These Thoughts command us to approve our selves to God to prepare our selves to God to propose Eternity to our selves of which he that has a true Hope and Confidence shall not fear those numerous Hosts when awakened by the trembling Sound of the last Trumpet Sect. 51. Constantly COnstantly I beseech thee Constantly there is no Patience if Constancy be wanting But one will say it is not two three four or five Weeks that I have layn thus Another will say this is the sixth the tenth the sixteenth Month that I have layn in this miserable Condition Others will cry they have been visited ten thirteen or more Years Persevere I beseech ye persevere and reserve your selves for a Celestial amendment The patient Man continues though he has been afflicted for many more years It is but a point of time saith he that this Sickness has held me when I consider Eternity Happy was that Servant who has the Great Gregory for his Applauder who
O Lord. Sect. 47 A Heliotropian Receit against all Sickness and Death THE Heliotrope is a Flower which as we find by daily Experience turns it self with the Sun from East to West and doing the same even in cloudy VVeather and in the Night for want of the Sun contracts and shuts up the Beauty of its Colours Let the will of Man always wait upon Divine Pleasure continually turning and winding it self to the beck of Sacred Power though the VVeather be cloudy Nor can any day in all the life of Man be more cloudy than the day of our death Then let the dying Person with fix'd and stedfast Eyes like the Heliotrope â—urn himself to his only Sun This let our Saviours words teach us Even so O Father for so was it thy good pleasure After this manner my dear dying â—riend speak altogether In all things to be done to be avoided to be endured and born according to thy Lords Example always say Even so O Father even so always submitting thine to the most holy VVill. Even so O Father even so both now and for evermore Philip the second King of Spain groaning under the pains of a desperate Disease was wont continually to repeat these words of our Saviour Father not mine but thy will be done And one time among the rest as the Passion of Christ was read to him while the Chirurgeons were Lanching open an Aposthume he caused the Reader to stop at these words So highly did that great King value this Heliotropian Recâ—it as well in Health as in Sickness This Heliotrope cures Sickness Death and all sorts of Diseases He is far from Destruction who in his will is so near to God THE Fatal Moment VVHen we dye our Everlasting state is to be determin'd After Death the Judgment The moment of our departure hence will pass us over to the Righteous Trâ—bunal of God It will make us either to shine with the Angels above or to set with the Devils It will either fix us in a joyful Paradise or in an intolerable state of Woe So that we may say with Nieremberg How many things are to pass in that Moment In the same is our Life to finish our Works to be examined and we are then to know how it will go with us for ever and ever In that Moment I shall cease to Live in that Moment I shall behold my Judge in that moment I must answer for all my publick and my secret Actions for all that I have ever thought or spoke or done for all the Talents the Time the Mercies the Health the Strength the Opportunities and the Seasons and Days of Grace that I have ever had for all the Evil that I might have avoided for all the good I might have done and did not and all this before that Judge who has beheld my ways from my Birth to the Grave before that Judge who cannot be deceiv'd and who will not be impos'd upon Little can he that has not been brought near to Death and Judgment know what Thoughts the Diseased have when they are so Little very little does a Soul in Flesh know what it is to appear before the Great God This is so great and so strange a thing that they only know it who have receiv'd their final Sentence but they are not suffer'd to return to tell us how it is or what passes then and God sees it fit it should be concealed from us who are yet on this side the Grave But who does not tremble to think of this mighty Change and of this Moment that is the last of Time and the beginning of Eternity that includes Heaven and Hell and all the Effects of the Mercy and Justice of God Who does not tremble when he considers that Infinite and Holy Majesty before whom the Angels cover their Faces that considers him Omniscience and his Greatness and the mighty Consequences of that Sentence how sudden it is and how irresistible and that it is an irrevocable Decree and by a Word of this mighty Judge we live or dye for ever It is no wonder if the thoughts of it make us shrink and quiver It is a greater wonder that when some or other whom we know are almost every week going to such a place and state as this we who are not yet Cited to the Bar are no more concerned and use no more endeavours to be ready for it Oh my Friends when you come to the Borders of the Grave when you are within an Hour or two's distance from your Final Judgment and your unalterable state what a mighty Change will it cause in your thoughts and your apprehensions You will then know and feel it Then when the Perspective is turn'd and the other World begins to appear very great and this very little This that I have represented to you is a part of that which we call dying It is a great Mercy and greatly to be acknowledg'd that God allows us so much Time wherein to prepare our selves for this final and irrevocable Doom It is an instance of his Patience that is truly Divine that notwithstanding our many repeated Sins he has not cut us off It is his great Meâ—cy that gives us leave to appear in his Courts before we appear at his Tribunal and that he affords us such large notice and warning that so we may be ready for our Last Tryal whereon so very much depends THE TREATMENT OF OUR Departed Friends AFTER THEIR DEATH In Order to Their Burial WHen we have received the last Breath of our Friend and closed his Eyes and composed his Body for the Grave then solemn and appointed Mournings are good Expressions of our dearness to the departed Soul and of his worth and our value of him The Church in her Funerals of the dead used to sing Psalms and to give thanks for the Redemption and Delivery of the Soul from the evils and dangers of Mortality But it is good that the Body be kept veiled and secret and not exposed to curious Eyes neither should the dishonours wrought upon the Face by the changes of death be stared upon by impertinent persons When Cyrus was dying he called his Sons and Friends to take their leave of him to touch his Hand to see him the last time and gave in charge that when he had put his Vail over his Face no Man should uncover it And Epiphanius his Body was rescued from inquisitive Eyes by a miracle Let it be interr'd after the manner of the Countrey and Laws of the Place and the Dignity of the Person for so Jacob was Buried with great Solemnity and Joseph's Bones were carried into Canaan after they had been embalmed and kept 400 years and devout men carried St. Stephen to his Burial making great lamentation over him And Aelian tells us that those who were the most excellent persons were buried in publick and men of ordinary Courage and Fortune had their Graves only trim'd with Branches of green Olives and
purpose Seeing then that hitherto through the Mercy and Grace of God I have remained stedfast in the truth I would not depart from the Innocency of my Life though I have a firm hope that it will never be that I shall contradict the will of God but rather that I may be always able to attend and wait upon it Which when God shall be pleased to fulfil in me I am so far from praying against it that I shall rather esteem it as a great favour For when I ought to endeavour to be holâ— there is nothing which I can receive at the hands of the most holy and pure of Spirits God that can be harmful if not rather profitable for me Come then pains and exercise my patience as God has given ye leave To begin to die and not to be in pain scarce happens to any Man Through pains we pass to Death That is the high road A little while we must be in pain that we may not be in pain to Eternity Sect. 33. Patience mitigates all pains PAin is a sharp cruel horrid sad bitter thing contrary to Nature hateful to the Sences yet which by the assistance of our Age may be mitigated or else little or nothing felt He that in this Combat unwillingly turns his Back but makes a resistance cordially and with all his might is always Superior always gets the Victory Why O Clay dost thou murmur against the Potter He designed from Eternity one Vessel for Honour another for Dishonour another for another use yet all Brittle and Mortal Wherefore then dost thou repine Complaints and Repinings are but an addition and increase of the Distemper For nothing so much exasperates the heat of a Wound as the impatience of enduring the pain All repining turns to its own Torment Thus while the wild Beast moves the snare he is taken Thus while the affrighted Birds disorder the Lime-twig they hang by the Feathers There is no Yoke so strait that does not less hurt him that bears it willingly than him that resists There is but one mitigation of terrible pains which is to suffer and submit to necessity Wherefore then dost thou add a Disease of mind to sickness of Body Making thy self more miserable by murmuring and provoking him the more thereby who beholds the Sufferings of Men from above and considers their Patience with a design to reward it But the sick Man objects thou canst not make me not to feel what I feel My tender sick Friend if no where else at least suffer patience to inhabit in thy Ears I do not deny pain to be pain but I say it may be lessened by patience Which if it take not away all sence of pain yet it gives thee the Victory over pain while thou hast strength to endure it manfully Therefore the Mind is to be roused up to be armed and embattelled against its Enemies An unprepared and impatient mind is dejected at the least Misfortunes like a Coward that upon the sight of the Enemy throws away his Arms and flies thus the thought of pain Exanimates a sluggish mind which had it held but out the Buckler of Patience had proved a Victor over pain Patience not only augments the Courage of the Mind but mitigates the sharpness of the pain So that if it be never so violent however begin then to hope Excess of pain promises an end For extremity of Grief is the beginning of Joy This is the â—aw of Contraries the one arises from the conclusion of the other But are we not ashamed that so many Christian Boys and Girls have joyfully endured what we Men could not bear without weeping and complaints Why tremblest thou Resume thy Courage hope in God the end is at hand The pains are terrible but short And it is a Noble thing for a true Christian neither to give way to pleasure nor to pain Sect. 34. An Example of Patience in a Beggar BEhold I beseech thee lying at the Pool of Bethesda a Beggar a Beggar do I say Yea a diseased Beggar Alas Poverty it self is a disease long and redious enough If pain of the Body attend it the evil is redoubled which cannot be endured but by a double portion of patience as in this Paralytic He was so indigent that no body would help him into the troubled Waters No body would so much as compassionate his Poverty All What a hard case it is to be at the same time both poor and sick This Mans Disease was not of a Months or a Years standing He had lost the use of his Limbs Thirty and Eight years a breathing Carkass a Funeral before Death and buried while he yet lived Sick people think a Day a Month a Month a Year a Year an Age How many Ages could this Man but think so many Years Yet behold his patience he lost not his meekness of Mind Neither in this desperate Sickness had he wasted all his hope and patience He envied no body he repined at no body he reproaches no body He accuses no Man condemns no Man wishes no Man his ill Fate Neither does Curse himself nor the day of his Birth nor blame Fortune nor his Parents much less does he murmur against God complain of Heavens Cruelty or stand upon his own Innocency nor does he chide the slowness of Death Nor does he prepare to make himself away but patiently expects help and still hopes nor is he importunate with Christ contentedly satisfied that he had only not concealed his Miseries from his Saviour Thou who are sick canst thou imitate this poor Man Certainly thou oughtest or else thou canst not hope for Heaven Sect. 35. A Type of Patience in a Great Prince THou maist complain that either still Saints or vulgar and mean people are propounded as Examples of patience Why then O Man canst thou not imitate Christ upon the Cross St. Lawrence upon the Gridiron Imitate Lazarus waiting for the scraps Imitate Alexius in the narrow Dungeon and there ending his Life But there are State Examples Certainly there are not wanting Examples for thee to follow Behold great Princes who but few years ago so took care of their Bodies as not to neglect the health of their Souls Bishop Daniel when complaints were brought him that the wild Beasts spoiled the Corn. 'T is well said he I will soon remedy this Disease I had rather want all sorts of Venison than that my Subjects should be endamaged thereby Where are now those complaining sick people so indulgent to themselves who when every thing falls not out according to their desire fret and fume like Madmen Let us imitate the Purple if we refuse to imitate the Beggars Raggs Let us imitate Princes and Captains upon the Bed of sickness 'T is the sign of a sluggish Souldier when neither the Example of his Comrade nor his Captain will move him Sect. 36. An Example of Patience in a most Potent King NO good Man ought to be afraid of the Torments of the Body