the Devil and so judge your selves that you be not judged of the Lord. In a word that you may escape all those torments which by reason of sin are incident both to Body and Soul seeing the night is far sâ—…ent and the day is at hand while you have time set you Houses in order for you shall die and not live THE EJACULATION GOod Lord let us be always setting our Houses in order that we may be really willing and truly fit to die when Death shall seize us Let us be always a preparing for our last Change for it is the living only who are in a capacity to praise Thee The Grave into which we are all going is a place of silence where there is no praying to Thee nor praising of Thee neither are any that go-down thither capable of securing their eternal well-fare in the Grave there is no Preaching nor hearing there we shall be altogether insensible of the actings of God and be altogether uncapable of acting any thing for God Oh! that we therefore who are within a few steps of our long and last home might seriously consider what a vain thing it is to dream that we shall ever enjoy our worldly Relatives or that we shall ever possess our worldly accommodations What need have we then to be setting our Houses in order for 't is certain we shall once die and how soon we know not Oh then let your Thoughts Words and Actions be such as may best become dying persons seeing all that would dye comfortable must set their Houses in order beâ—…re they depart Look on every day as your last SERMON IX JAM 4. 14. What is your Life It is even a Vapour that appeareth for a little time and ufterward vanisheth away THere is nothing that doth evidently set before Mens Eyes the Deceits of the World and the vanity of things present as doth the due consideration of the uncertainty shortness and frailty of Man's Life for all humane Pride and the whole glory and pomp of the World having Man's Life for a stay and foundation can certainly no longer endure the same Life abideth so that Riches Dignities Honours and such like howbeit a Man may enjoy them for a small space on Earth yet do they never continue longer with him than unto the Grave The consideration whereof together with this present occasion offered have caused me amongst all other places of Holy Scripture to make choice of these words which I have now read unto you in which as in a most bright shining Glass we may behold both the frail Constitution of Man's Nature as also the short continuance of his Life here on Earth it being but a Vapour and What is your Life This whole Chapter containeth four Dehortations the first is from Lust unto the fifth Verse the second from Pride to the Tenth the third from speaking evil of our Neighbour to the Thirteenth the last from Presumption of words to the end of the Chapter to disswade from which sin he useth two arguments especially the first is drawn Ab incertitudine rerum from the uncertainty of things and that 's contained in the words immediately going before my Text the second is drawn á Vanitate Vitae from the vanity of Man's Life and that 's set down in the words of my Text. Which words contain two general parts a Question and an Answer What is your Life There 's the Question the Answer followeth in the next It is even a Vapour c. First of the Question What is your Life Wherein observe that Life is twofold for there is a Created Life and there is an Increated Life the laâ—…ter is only to be found in God the former is a quality in the Creature whereby it liveth and moveth and acteth it self Now Created Life is twofold Spiritual and Natural Again Spiritual Life is twofold sometimes it is taken for the Life of Grace which God's Children only do enjoy in the Spiritual Kingdom of Christ in this World which by way of excellency is called the Life of God not so much for that it is from God as also all other kinds of Life are as because God liveth in them that are his and approveth this Life in them And it is called for the same respect the Life of Christ because Christ liveth in his through a super-natural Faith and Spirit and they live unto God and conform their Life unto his Will And it is called a new Life a Christian Life and a renewing of the Mind Will and Affections This Life is opposed to Death in Sin and to the old Man Sometimes it is taken for the Life of Glory whereby the Soul being jopned again to her Body shall lead a Life which the Apostle calleth Spiritual not in respect of the Substance but of the qualities 1 Cor. 15. 44. whereby the Faithful shall live for ever and it is laid up in Christ and the end of the World shall be disclosed and which is opposed to the second Death and it is called Eternal Life Thus much of the Spiritual Life Now the Natural Life also is twofold for either it may be taken generally for the Life of all Creatures whereby they live move and have their being or more particularly for the Life of Man which natural Life in Man is the act and vigour of the Soul arising from the conjunction of the Body with the Soul this Life is given by God continued by Meats and Drinks and other necessary helps and ended by Death this is the Life properly meant in this place It is even a Vapour c. A Vapour according to the Philisophers is a thin fume extracted out of the Earth by the Sun in the night time but in the morning or afore it is scattered with the Wind or dispelled with the Sun or else if the Sun do not appear in his Brightness it falleth away of it self to the Earth from whence it came or was drawn by the heat of the Sun Such as is the nature of a Vapour even such is the Life of Man for he is extracted out of the Earth by the Sun of Righteousness and he either perisheth before he seeth the Sun or else in the Morning of his Youth or if he escape the mid and noontide of his growth yet at the last he falleth away by Age to the Earth from whence he was taken The Text thus explained we may observe these Points of Doctrine for our Instruction The first is the Frailty of our Constitution in these words It is even a Vapour Secondly the Shortness of our continuance Which appeareth for a little time Thirdly The vanity or nullity of our Life after Death in these words And afterward vanisheth away First Of the Frailty of our Constitution the Apostle doth not compare the Life of Man to Silver or Gold or Iron or Brass which are durable Substances or some Body that is Corpus perfecte mixtum that is perfectly mixed or compounded of the four Elements but to
Body but if that we stuff our Corps as full as they can hold making our mouths as Tunnels our throats as Wine-pipes and our bellies as barrels we must expect nothing but Lust ever to Tyranize over us Secondly let every one keep his Body in continual Action for Concupiscence is begot of an idle Brain and hatch'd in a lazy Body Quaeritur Aegistus quare sit factus Adulter In promptu Causa est desidiosus erat Egistus complaining why he should be made an Adulterer was quickly answered because he was idle The Crab-fish being more subtle than many other Fishes against the coming of the Flood when that the Oyster never fails to open flings into her a little Stone that she cannot shut her self again and so the Oyster is devoured by the Crab our Adversary the Devil is like unto the Crab and we just like the Oyster if that he find us idle and gaping he takes his opportunity to confound us Idleness is the Devils Pillow saith Origen and therefore like a pestiferous and dangerous Plague is to be shun of all Cupid shoots still in a slug and therefore hits none but such as are sluggish Thirdly Let every Man stir to cool his Body by washing of himself throughly with his Tears as David did who watered his Couch with his Tears and whose Eyes became a Fountain of Tears David and his people lifted up their Voices and wept so long that they could weep no longer Fourthly As the Pot is cooled by taking it altogether from the Fire so indeed may the Lust of the Body by shuning opportunities and occasions of Sin for Liberty makes Thieves Daniel although but a young Man was so indued with the Continency that he did not only all he could to suppress Lust in himself but also reproved the Lascivious Elders Joseph a young Man resisted the Temptations of his own Mistress and likewise St. John the Blessed Evangelist although very young almost a Boy did what as in him lay to bridle his Nature and to keep his House in order Now seeing that filthy Lust doth not only dishonour but also pollutes our Vessels our Clay Bodies let us take Saint Paul's advice which is to abstain from its every kind for although it doth seem a Paradise to the Desire yet it is a Purgatory to the Purse a Plague to the Body and a Hell to the Soul and that which may stir up the Wanton the most a Sin against his own Body Dost thou then love thy Flesh Abstain from Adultery for it is rottenness to thy Bones Dost thou thy Soul Abstain then from it Lord for it is very unhonest Or dost thou love thy Credit Be sure then likewise that thou abstain from it for it is very dishourable This heat is an Infernal Fire whose Fuel is Fulness of Bread and abundance of Idleness Evil Communications are the Sparks Infamy the Smoak Pollution the Ashes and the End Hell wherefore seeing this get your selves throughly cleansed from this Infectious Disease and suffer not Sin to raign in your Mortal Bodies but with all haste set your House in order for you shall die As the Body before it can be set in order must first be purg'd of all Blood-guiltiness and then of all those Distempers occasioned by Adultery so must it likewise be Scoured from top to toe of all Pride and Arrogancy which are the other proper Sins of Satan they that are proud and vain-glorious must of necessity be ever Factious seeing that bravery ever stands upon comparisons and likewise very violent ever to make good their own vaunts they are seldom or never at love with their Neighbours it 's true one Tradesman will love another and one Drunkard according to Horace will take Delight in the Company of another sitting Hour after Hour drinking of Soul-sick Healths but for one proud Man to associate with another and to love him as himself is a thing seldom or never seen just like the Foolish Jea cloath'd with the Peacock's Feathers he ever thinks himself Chief among all though according to Natures Ordination a meer Ignoramus he is ever casting beyond the Moon till that he bring himself to destruction which may well be so according to that of Solomon Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty mind before a fall Prov. 16. 18. The good Prophet Isaiah had such an invettered hatred against the Sin of Pride that he pronounced a woe against Ephrin the very Crown of all Arrogancy saying Woe unto the Crown of Pride Isa. 28. 1. for it shall bring a Man very low when humility shall raise him full high as you may see by the words of the ever blessed Virgin Mary who saith Luke the 1. 52. that the Lord hath put down the Mighty from their Seat and hath exalted the Humble and Meek This Sin corrupts the whole World therefore that you may get your selves free from all its Infections fly it as you would the Plague or Pestilence and with all haste set your House in Order for you shall die and not live 4. The next Malady that you must get your selves Cured of before that your Houses can be set in order is Envy Hatred and Malice a Sin which hath been of too long standing It was very common in Hesiod's time and not only among the Potters and Singers but also among the very Vagrants whereupon he took occasion to say One Potter saith he there envies another one Singer hates another and one Beggar pronounceth a woe against another A Man that hath no Virtue in himself ever is envying Virtue in another and not in those that are far distant but even in those that are full near and dear unto him feriunt summos Fulmina montes as high Hills are most exposed to Thunder and as the fairest Flowers are the soonest nipt by the venemous Cantharides even so the most Eminent Gifts and Graces in Men are the greatest griefs of the Malicious and Envious Misers this Sin is a repining grief for other Mens Happiness it is an evil Eye which wisheth good to no Man but to it self although the Squint-Eye Male content and Envious Wretch doth thus ever Travel with Mischief and bring forth ungodliness still disquiering of himself like the raging Sea and stiring up strife all the day long yet let him remember that this course of Life must be alter'd that he must get his Body throughly drench'd from all Envy Hatred and Malice the greatest Antagonist against Love which ought to be embraced for all and Get his House set in order for he shall die and not live Fifthly The Body must first be purged from the Corruptions of Blood-guiltiness Secondly from the cruel Maladies occasioned by Adultery Thirdly of all putrifactions brought in by Pride and Arrogancy and fourthly the infections procured by Envy Hatred and Malice so likewise it must be ever kept free from all Covetous and greedy desires the root of all ill and the very Metropolis of all Villany Judas was not sooner made
with all alacrity and chearfulness of Heart you may endure all things for Christs sake Fourthly you must get your selves furnished with Humility Virtue which when the Lord of Heaven beholds it in you which caused him to sink into your Hearts Fifthly you must get your selves furnished with Hope of Everlasting Faith and Salvation And then sixthly and lastly with Faith which is an evidence of things not seen thus you must get your selves set in order c. And thus far of the matter of this Admonition and earnest Exhortation Now I should come to the Reason which is twofold affirmative and negative Affirmative thou shalt die and Negative and not live Set thy House in order for thou shalt die and not live Now of these severally and first of the reason affirmative thou shalt die Now there are three kinds of Death First the Death of the Body which is a natural Death Secondly the Death of the Soul which is a Spiritual Death And then thirdly and lastly the Death both of Body and Soul which is Eternal Death But that which good King Hezekiah was warned of was but only the Death of the Body which according to the Statute Law Decreed in that High Court of Parliament of Heaven all Men shall once taste of no Man can escape it for so saith St. Paul it is appointed unto all Men that they shall once die to all once to many twsce for there is a second Death and that is truly a Death because it is Mors Vitae the Death of Life the other rather a Life because it is Mors Mortis the Death of the Death after which there shall be no more Death Now as Job saith Mans time is appointed his Month determined and his day numbered yea and as Christ Jesus the Worlds Saviour saith his very last hour is limited he was made of the Mould of the Earth he shall return again to the Earth And as all have one Entrance into Life the like going out shall they have to Death Nothing we brought in nothing we shall carry out Naked come I out of my Mothers Womb and naked shall I return A Change then shall come which of the wicked is to be feared of the godly to be desired and of all people to be daily and hourly expected Remember them that have been before you and that shall come after you that this is the Judgment of the Lord over all Flesh to taste of Death All Men shall once die for as much as all have sinned and been disobedient unto the Laws of God This Death of the Body is not a dying but a departing a transmigration and Exodus of our Earthly Pilgrimage unto our Heavenly Home yea a passage from the Valley of Death unto the Land of the Living Although our Souls and Bodies are separated for a while yet shall they meet again in the receptacle of Blessed Saints and Angels with much joy and receive an incorruptible Crown The Body is a Prison to the Soul and Death a Goal-delivery that frees the poor harmless Soul of those Grievances which formerly it did endure Length of days is nothing unto us but much grief and Age the duance of long Imprisonment wherefore if that you would but seriously consider this you might find Death to be rather a Friend than an Enemy and by consequence rather to be desited than shun'd as Simeon did as it is evident Luke 2. 29. saying Now Lord lettest thou thy Servant depart in peace according to thy Word which by some is used thus Now Lord I hope that thou wilt suffer me to depart in peace and keep my poor Immortal Soul no longer within the small circumference of this Mortal Body The Thief upon the Cross laid down his Life most joyfully because he saw Christ and did stedfastly believe that he should pass from a place of pain and misery unto a Paradise of Pleasure and so did St. Stephen Acts 7. 56. The Royal Preacher King Solomon lest that his Son should be deprived of such Happiness doth by an Emphatical Irony disswade his Son from those youthful Lusts and sensual Pleasures whereunto he feared that he should naturally be addicted and that by the consideration of that dreadful account he was to give unto God at the great and terrible day of the Lord desiring him most earnestly not to let his House stand out of order but ever to remember his Creator in the days of his youth for old Age will come saith he and then thou shalt not be so fit by reason of much weakness and infirmities Or else Death may seize upon thee For Dust shall return unto the Earth as it was and the Spirit shall return unto God who gave it Eccles. 12. 7. In a moment yea at the twinkling of an Eye when once this Tyrant Death comes it will sweep us all away It is the Custom among us here to let Leases one two or three Lives but God lets none for more than one and this once expired there is no hopes of getting the Lease renewed he suffers Man sometimes to dwell in his Tenement threescore Years and ten Psal. 90. 10. Sometimes to fourscore but secures none far from home and that for several Reasons First to bridle our curiosity left that we should search after things too high for quae supranos nihil ad nos those things that are above us are nothing to us Secondly to try out patience whether that we will put our whole trust and confidence in him although we know not the time of our departure and dissolution and then thirdly to keep us in continual watchfulness for if that we should know when Death would come with a Habeas Corpus to remove us it would make many more careless than they are though indeed the best of us are careless enough Here Men do know the date of their Leases and the expiration of the Years but Man is meerly a Tenant at will is put out of Possession at less than an Hours warning Wherefore now while it is said to day set your Houses in order seeing that you must die and not live It is not sufficient at the last Hour of Death to say Lord have mercy on me or Lord into thy hands I commend my Soul But even in all our life-Life-time yea and especially in our youth we must strive ever to set our Houses in order for we shall die and not live Samson was very strong Solomon very wise and Methusalem lived many years yet at last they with many more were brought to Mother Earth If it seem pleasant unto you at the present to let your rotten and ruinous Houses stand out of order yet with all remember what the Prophet saith The day of Destruction is at hand and the times of perdition make haste to come on Art thou a young Man in the April of thine Age and hast thou thy Breasts full of Milk and doth thy Bones run full of Marrow as Job speaks and thereupon dost
sigh p. 36. Man giveth up the Ghost and where is he p. 44. He 's carried by Angels into Abraham's Bosom p. 49. The Winding-sheet p. 77. Tears for a Dead Husband p. 99. The Dying Knell p. 111. Put on Mourning Apparel p. 117. But now he is dead wherefore should I fast p. 126. Bury my Dead out of my sight p. 146. The Funeral Procession p. 150. The Worms shall feed sweetly on him p. 172. Prepare to follow p. 174. Look upon every day as your last p. 205. The Swan-like Note of a Dying Christian 216. The Eye that hath seen him shall see him no more p. 231. The Good Mans Epitaph p. 235. Hopes of a Joyful Resurrection p. 244. The Yearly Mourner p. 253. Weep not she is not dead but sleepeth p. 255. Good-night p. 262. Death-Bed Thoughts p. 81. The Fatal Moment p. 281. The Treatment of the Dead in order to their Burial p. 284. The Funeral Solemnity p. 291. An Account of the Death and last Sayings of the most Eminent Persons from the Crucifixion of our Blessed Saviour down to this present time To which will be added in the second part of the Mourning-Ring all the Remarkable Deaths omitted in the First Part. THE CONTENTS OF THE Second Part OF THE Mounrnig-Ring Which said Book is now going to the Press to supply what was wanting in the First Part and to compleat this Funeral Gift ADvice to those that are Diseased either in Body or Mind The solemn Wishes of a Person giving up the Ghost The Death watch The Sick-man's Passing-Bell A Conference between the Mourners The History of those that have died suddenly c. Observations on the weekly Bills of Mortaliâ—…y The Author's Tears or Meditations on his own Sickness Death and Funeral The Danger of a Death-bed Repentance A walk among the Tombs or a Discourse of Funeral Monuments of the several Customs of Burials from Adam to this time of Epitaphs and other Funeral Honours The Pilgrim's Guide from his Cradle to his Grave A Discourse of the Four last Things composed chiefly of the Authors own Experiences during his late Illness This Second Part will be Published in a few Weeks ERRATA IN Page 216. Of the House of Weeping for Dying Christian read The Swan-like Note of a Dying Christian. THE Introduction TO THE HOUSE OF Weeping Upon first hearing of the Death of a Neighbour or of a House-weeping for the loss of a Friend think with thy self and say HOW is my Neighbour Dead Then surely the Bell rings out and tells me in him that I am Dead also The Soul of my Neighbour is gone out and as a Man who had a Lease of 1000 years after the expiration of a short one or an Inheritance after the Life of a Man in a Consumption he is now entred into the possession of his better Estate Time was his Race but newly was begun Whose Glass is run He in the troubled Sea was heretofore Though now on Shore And 't is not long before it will be said Of me as 't is of him alas he 's Dead His Soul is gone whither Who saw it come in or who saw it go oâ—…t No body yet every body is sure he had one and hath none If I will ask not a few Men but almost whole Bodies whole Churches What becomes of the Souls of the Righteous at the departing thereof from the Body I shall be told by some That they attend an expiation a purification in a place of torment by some that they attend the fruition of the sight of God in a place of rest but yet but of expectation by some That they pass to an immediate possession of the presence of God Saint Augustine studied the nature of the Soul as much as any thing but the salvation of the Soul and he sent an express Messenger to Saint Hierome to consult of some things concerning the Soul But he satisfies himself with this Let the departure of my Soul to Salvation be evident to my Faith and I care the less how dark the entrance of my Soul into my Body be to my Reason It is the going out more than the coming in that concerns us The Soul of my Neighbour this Bell tells me is gone out Whither Who shall tell me that I know not who it is much less what he was The condition of the Man and the course of his Life which should tell me whither he is gone I know not I was not there in his sickness nor at his death I saw not his way nor his and nor can ask them who did thereby to conclude or argue whither he is gone But yet I have one nearer me than all these mine own Charity I ask that and that tells me he is gone to everlasting rest I owe him a good opinion it is but thankful Charity in me because I received benefit and instruction from him when his Bell tolled But for his Body How poor a wretched thing is that We cannot express it so fast as it grows worse and worse That Body which scarce three minutes since was such a House as that that Soul which made but one step from thence to Heaven was scarce throughly content to leave that for Heaven That Body which had all the parts built up â—…nd knit by a lovely Soul now is but a Statue of Clay and now these Limbs melted off as if that Clay were but Snow and now the whole House is but a handful of Sand so much Dust and but a peck of Rubbidge so much Bone If he who as this Bell tells me is gone now were some Excellent Artificer who comes to him for a Cloak or for a Garment now or for Counsel if he were a Lawyer if a Magistrate for Justice O my God thou dost certainly allow that we should do Offices of Piety to the dead and that we should draw instructions to Piety from the dead Is not this O my God a holy kind of raising up seed to my dead brother If I by the meditation of his death produce a better life in my self It is the blessing upon Reuben Let Reuben live and not dye and let not his men be few Deut. 33. 6. Let him propagate many And it is a malediction That that dyeth let it dye Zechar. 11. 9. Let it do no good in dying for Trees without fruit thou by thy Apostle callest Twice dead Jud. 12. It is a second death if none live the better by me after my death by the manner of my death Therefore may I justly think that thou madest that a way to convey to the Egyptians a fear of thee and a fear of death that there was not a house where there was not one dead Ex. 12. 30. For thereupon the Egyptians said We are all dead men The death of others should catechise us to death Thy Son Christ Jesus is the first-begotten of the dead Apoc. 1. 5. He rises first the eldest Brother and he is my Master in this science of death
is their Life and Trade All as a sleep and like the grass whose beauty soon doth fade verse 6 Which in the Morning shines full bright but fadeth by and by And is cut down ere it be night all withered dead and dry verse 10 Our time is threescore years and ten that we do live on mold If one see fourscore surely then we count him wondrous old verse 11 Yet of this time the strength and chief the which we count upon Is nothing else but painful grief and we as blasts are gone 1 Cor. 15. Ver. 19 20 21 22 26 50 51 52 53 54 55. IF in this life only we have hope in Christ we are of all Men most miserable But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first-fruits of them that slept For since by man came death by man came also the resurrection of the dead For as in Adam all die even so in Christ shall all be made alive The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death Now this I say brethren that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God neither doth corruption inherit incorruption Behold I shew you a mystery We shall not all sleep but we shall all be changed In a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed For this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption and this mortal shall have put on immortality then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written Death is swallowed up in Victory O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy Victory THE HOUSE OF Weeping Sermon I. John 11. 35. Jesus Wept WE may learn from the Example of Our blessed Saviour how we are to behave our selves what we are to do in the Sickness and Death of Friends In this World we are all Bennonies the Sons of Sorrow The way to Heaven is by Weeping Cross The Kalender tells us we come not to Ascention Day till the Passion Week be past It is the great work of a Preacher to consider the state of the people to whom he preaches so to prepare his work before hand as that he may hit the mark The Preacher sought out acceptable words now generally those words are most acceptable to and best received by the hearers that are suited to their present condition I considering therefore the secret hand of God upon this Congregation in taking away an eminent Servant of Christ thought it incumbent upon me to speak something at this time that might be suitable to the present dispensation of of God towards you and in meditations this Scripture was cast in Jesus Wept The occasion of this text is known unto you in the beginning of this Chapter you read that Lazarus was sick and the news thereof immediatly sent to Jesus who notwithstanding he dearly loved him yet as the sequel of the story acquaints you he doth not presently go up to Bethany to visit sick Lazarus but maketh a stay for several days the reason wherof is at hand viz. That a sentence of death might pass upon beloved Lazarus and he be laid in the grave and a stone rouled upon him and all this in order to the manifestation of the glory and power of Christ in his resurrection After Lazarus had been in the grave four days Christ he comes up to Bethany and the sisters of Lazarus viz Martha and Mary they come out to meet Jesus first Martha she cometh ver 20. and she saith Lord If thou hadst been here my brother had not died ver 21. After this comes Mary vers 32 and she falls down at Christs feet saying Lord If thou hadst been here my brother had not died When Jesus therefore saw her weeping and the Jews also weeping which came with her he groaned in the Spirit and was troubled and said Where have ye laid him They say unto him Lord come and see Jesus wept There is very much wrapt up in the bowels of this little Text Here we may take notice of the humanity of Christ it appears by Christs weeping that he is perfect man as well as perfect God That Christ wept is to be referred not to his Divinity but to his Humanity and so we shall find that Christ was subject as to this so to all natural infirmities as hunger thirst weariness c. which may comfort the Saints that groan under natural as well as sinful infirmities and that from the reason why Christ was made in all things like unto his brethren namely That he might be a merciful High-priest Hebr. 2. 17 18. And though Christ be now in glory yet he is touched with the feeling of the infirmities of his people here on earth Hebr. 4. 15. so touched as that he cannot but have compassion on them under all their pressures and grievances whatsoever Do'st thou then groan under natural weaknesses and infirmities Go boldly to the Throne of grace and Christ will enable thee to bear up under these weaknesses until mortality shall have put on immortality The Subject Matter of this Chapter is Lazarus redivivus it is a Relation of the miraculous raising up of Lazarus from the Dead From vers 1 3. we may observe thus much that a Believers interest in the distinguishing love of Christ doth not exempt him from outward Troubles or bodily Distempers He whom thou lovest is sick From vers 4. We may observe thus much that the darkest Dispensations of Providence they oftentimes usher in the brightest manifestations of God to the Soul or Gods Glory is most manifested in the Creatures Weakness From Vers. 6. We may take notice it was ever in Christ's intention to manifest his Love and Goodness to Lazarus and yet he comes not near him for the present but rather goes away and leaves him upon his sick Bed and suffers him at last to give up the Ghost From Vers. 14. We may observe that Christ his absence or the suspension of divine Grace and Love they are in infinite Wisdom ordered for the further advancing of Soul Comfort Had not Lazarus been sick had he not been dead and buryed the Wisdom Power and Goodness of Christ had never been so eminently discovered as it was towards him Martha and Mary cry out v. 21 32. Lord if thou hadst been here our Brother had not died It is true Christ might have recovered Lazarus upon his sick-bed but to fetch him out of the Grave after he had lain stinking four days was a higher demonstration of his Love Wisdom and Power There is not the like ground that Christ should shew forth his miraculous Power in raising up our dead Friends from the Grave as was then yet this special and useful conclusion may by way of Analogy be deduced from this instance namely That such Comforts and Mercies as are fetched out of the Grave as
we that now mourn for others know not how soon our Friends may do the same for us and celebrate our Funerals When God took away many others that we knew he might at the same time or before have taken away you or me and why do we survive their Death but that we may set our House in Order The time is coming when Riches and Honour Health and Beauty Credit and Reputation among men will be of no value nor will Gold and Silver the Idols of this be currant in the next World We should not therefore be like those young people that are only serious in the House of Mourning or when they see their Friends carried to the Grave but in the next vain Company suffer the Impressions of their Mortality to wear off again We must be always sober in our Conversation as not knowing when we our selves shall be gone only this we may know that as the Years we have already lived are soon past so will those that are to come with the same swist motion pass away The longest Life here on Earth is but as a moment if compar'd with the future Eternity 'T is as a flash of Lightning to the whole Element of Fire just seen and then vanish'd The Last Sigh MY dearest Children ye whom I love in the tender and yerning Bowels of Affection draw near and attend to the words of your dying Mother who am now sighing out my last breath A weak Woman ye see I am but yet sinful I am which peradventure ye see not O weep not my pretty ones do not pierce and break my troubled heart with your sad laments I must die my little ones and go to a better place whither ye I hope shall one day follow me We came not together into the World nor shall we go together out of it In vain do ye shed those Tears of Sorrow for although Nature teacheth you to bewail my departure yet Grace will teach you to moderate your Mourning My Heart even bleeds to leave you behind me fearing lest ye will forget the Commandments of your God I should be sorry to have just cause to say unto you as Moses did to the Levites yet I will put you in mind of his words Behold said he while I am yet alive with you this day ye have been rebellious against the Lord and how much more after my death Deut. 31. 27. I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt your selves and turn aside from the way which I commanded you and evil will befall you in the latter days because ye will do evil in the sight of the Lord to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands vers 29. But I am persuaded better things of you and things that accompany salvation though I thus speak Heb. 6. 9. O my dear ones hearken unto the words which I shall say They must be my Legacy unto you Hear me with patience and treasure up in your memories the last Speech of your Fainting your dying Mother How dear ye cost me before ye had life and what Pangs and Torments I suffered for you before ye were heard or seen in the World ye cannot imagine nor I express Yet all was forgotten for joy that ye wâ—…re born Joh. 16. 21. and hoping that ye would add unto the Qâ—…ire of Saints To this purpose I have laboured and taken care for the nourishment both of your Souls and Bodies and for your sustentation so much as in me lay from the Breast to this instant O what sad and perplexed thoughts have I had for you in the day times and how many hours have I borrowed from my sleep in the nights to think what would become of you if ye should not be obedient to the Commandments of my God! To the same God they are best known O how often upon my knees have I prayed for your happiness and wept and mourned when ye have done what ye ought not To him is it best known to whom I now am going Sometimes when ye have offended I was enforced to correct you but each stripe which ye received did cut me into the heart In many things ye failed because ye were young and in many things I failed too because I am a weak and a sinful Woman If at any time ye thought that I did not my Duty take heed that hereafter ye remember it not to my dishonour Ponder in your minds that curse which wretched Ham the Father of Canaan received from Noah when he saw his Nakedness and told his Brethren Cursed said Noah be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be to his Brethren Gen. 9. 25. But because Shem and Japhet took a Garment and laid it upon their Shoulders and went backward and covered the nakedness of their Father and their faces were backward and they saw not their Fathers nakedness vers 23. Therefore he said Blessed be the Lord God of Shem and Canaan shall be his servant vers 26. God shall enlarge Japhet and he shall dwell in the Tents of Shem and Canaan shall be his Servant v. 27. Consider with your selves that I am your mother Whatsoever imperfections ye have discovered in me do in some kind reflect even upon your selves for as your Bodies were mine so my Credit and good Name you must account to be yours But I cannot think that ye will need more Advice for this which even Nature it self should teach you to practise My time is but short my Speech beginneth to fail me I will not trouble you with much although something more I must say unto you which I hope ye will remember when I shall sleep in the Dust. Your first and chiefest Duty must always be for the service of your God If ye will daily observe the benefits which he sendeth you ye cannot chuse but thank him daily for his Blessings Let it be your care to ground your actions upon his written Law Undertake nothing which is not warranted by his Word and go forward in nothing by unlawful means or to a bad intent Begin all in him and continue in him and end in him and he himself will be your Reward If ye always preserve Religion in your hearts ye will always have quietness and content in your minds First make him your God and then distrust not his Providence no nor his love and compassion while ye remain his Children In whatsoever vocations ye shall lead your lives be sure that ye be conscionably industrious and laborious in them and then leave the event and the blessing to his good pleasure I would fain have you be his Children much more than ye are mine for ye have nothing from me but your sin and corruption but from him you must expect both grace and glory If therefore ye strive to bless and magnifie your God ye may be sure that your God will both bless and glorifie you his Children Remember that the blessing of the Lord maketh rich and he addeth no Sorrow with
the Judgment-Seat of Christ that every one may receive the things done in the Body according to that he hath doae whether it be good or bad ISAIAH xxxviii Set thy House in Order for thou shalt Die and not Live MANS Body before that dismal Conquest we all deplore as well as the Poor Soul was conditionally Immortal and so to this very day had ever continued if it had not been for the damnable Sin of Disobedience committed by Adam and Eve our First Parents But this was no sooner Gained than Lost and the time of Mans Life ever since hath been as a Point the Substance of it ever flowing the Sense obscure and the Whole Composition of the Body tending to Corruption If that you should live three hundred years or as many thousand of years yet with all remember this that at the last you shall be compelled by Death Gods all-resting Bailiff to lay down these rotten ruinous and clay-decaying Tabernacles of yours for Dust you are and unto Dust you shall return and peradventure you shall not have a good warning before hand as the good King Hezekiah had here but be thrust out of House and Harbour in less than an hours warning For Death which will put a period to every Mans days 2 Tim. 4. 7. is like a Sergeant sent from above upon Action of Debt at the Suit of Nature mounted upon his Pale Horse will come on unawares rap at your Doors Alight Arrest you all and carry you bound Hand and Foot into a Land as dark as Darkness it self from whence you shall be summoned at the last dreadful Audit to the Bar of Justice in the high Court of Heaven when your Bill shall be brought in how that you have ever Rebelled and most notoriously transgressed against the Lord of Hosts both in Thought Word and Deed and have ever spun away our time as tho' that Death which is the end of all flesh would never follow wherefore to the intent that Hezekiah that good King might be made more certain of his fatal Destiny occasioned by our first Parents and have the less account to make at the great and terrible day of Doom when Christ Jesus the Worlds Saviour shall descend from Heaven which is the center of all good wishes with his Heavenly Host of blessed Angels riding in Pomp and great Majesty upon the Wings of the Wind with the loud sounding Trumpet of God and the all tearing Voice of the Arch-Angel to judge both the quick and Dead God sent unto him the good Prophet Isaiah to incounter with him and to put him in mind of his mortal Song The whole verse runs thus In those days was King Hezekiah sick unto Death and Isaiah the Prophet the Son of Amoz came unto him and said unto him thus saith the Lord. Set thy House in order for thou shalt die and not live These words as they distribute themselves do consist of 〈◊〉 Principal and Essential Parts First of an Admonition or earnest Exhortation Set thy House in Order And then secondly of a sound and undeniable Reason which is threefold Affirmative and Negative First Affirmative for thou shalt Die and the Negative and not Live Set thy House c. Now of these in their due order severally and first of the Admonition or earnest Exhortation Set thy House in Order in which you have these three things regardable First the Reason warning which was Almighty â—…od by the mouth of the Prophet Isaiah as is made manifest in express termes in the former part of the Verse And Isaiah the Prophet the Son of Amoz came unto him and said unto him thus saith the Lord. Secondly the Person warned or exhorted which was none other but even good King Hezekiah and by him all other And then thirdly and lastly the matter of the Exhortation and that was to Set thy House in Order Now of these which shall have the first place in my Discourse shall be of the Person exhorting and that was God Adam who had attained unto the state of Perfection in his Life and Conversation relying wholly upon Natures first intentions never so much as once dream'd of Death which is a Separation of Soul and Body or any Alteration until Almighty God unto whom all hearts are open no secrets hid seeing his corrupt and base nature came unto him and told him plainly and roundly to his face how that he was but Dust and Ashes and thither should return again Gen. 3. 19. Thus Almighty God by the mouth of Moses the Faithful was ever warning the Israelites being ever a most stiff-necked and rebellious Generation of their Mortality Deut. 32. 21. saving They have moved me to Jealousie with that which is not God they have provoked me to Anger with their Vanities And I will move them to Jealousie with those which are not a People I will provoke them to Anger with a foolish Nation for a fire is kindled in my anger and shall burn unto the lowest Hell and shall consume the Earth with her encrease and set on fire the Foundation of the Mountains I will heap mischief upon them I will spend my Arrows upon them they shall be burnt with hunger and devour'd with burning heat and with bitter Destruction I will also send the Teeth of Beasts upon them with the poyson of Serpents of the Dust and to raise this Blister the higher the Sword without and Terrour within shall destroy both the Young Man and the Virgin the suckling also with the Mâ—…n of Gray Hairs vers 25. Thus Almighty God did threaten them if that they would not set their House in Order and repent that he would bring them to the Dust again wherefore Moses being a true Mirror of pity out of his most tender Love and boundless Affection towards them all in general lest that Almighty God should send forth his sharp piercing Arrows 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 fâ—… concerning the first particular Circumstance the Son warning even Almighty God by the mouth of Isaiah the Prophet wherefore 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 aâ—…t 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 yet 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-guiltiress 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 fâ—…rth 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 stâ—…iveth with the Water the Water fighteth with the Fire the most filly 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 consumes away by an incurable Consumption Secondly it brings the Body into a Dropsie which by no skilful Physitian with all his cunning Medicines and drawing Issues can be once cured till that Tyrant and all-devouring Death come with its sharp stinging Arrows and execute its office Concupiscence is like a fire and our Bodies unto seething pots which cannot be cooled but either by taking away the fuel by keeping it in continual motion by casting in of cold water or lastly by taking it altogether from the fire Therefore let every man in the fear of God use these means prescribed for the cooling of intemperate Lust boiling in his flesh First I say let him take away the fuel let him refrain himself from eating and drinking too much lest at last Lust command like a Tyrant for saturity is the father of wantonness and uncleanness the Daughter of surfeiting sine Cerere Libero friget Venus without Nectar and Ambrosia Concupiscence cannot long continue for Lady Venus dwells still at the sign of the Ivy-bush where there is cleanness of Teeth usually there is no filthiness of
Buyer but that he shut himself into his Purse and became a Slave to a few pieces of Silver his own Prisoners so that indeed at last it was more easie for a Camel to enter into the Eye of a Needle than for him being conjured into the Circle of his Purse to get out again This Sin is so sweet that it leadeth almost all Men unto Destruction whom it once possesseth What was it but only Covetousness that brought Dives to the Pit of Hell where being ever tormented with its Scorching Flames is still dying yet never dead always crying out O Immortal Death O deadly Life what shall I term thee for if that thou be Life wherefore dost thou kill and if Death how dost thou still endure for in Life there is some ease and comfort and in Death an end but in thee there is neither ease nor end O my dear and well beloved Friends consider this and get your selves Cured of this Malady which of it self is able to bring a Man unto the Pit of Hell fly it as a secret Enemy in your â—…own Bos myea and both in Body and Mind to As our outward form so much more our inward form should make us loath and detest this abominable Sin of Covetousness which turns topsy turvy all Humane Society and sets more at odds than naked truth brings to Unity Peace and Concord Pronaque cum spectant animalia â—…caetera terram Os homini sublime dedit caelumque tueri Jussit erectos ad Sydera tollere vultus In the first Creation of things when God made all Creatures Irrational looking down to the Ground then made he Man a Rational Creature after his own Likeness with a Countenance tending to Heaven and all to put him in mind although he was made de terra ex terra of the Earth and out of the Earth never like the Worldling to mind the things of the Earth but to keep his Body still clean swept not suffering the least Dust or filthy Rust to be in his Mortal Corps But further as the Body must be made clean and purged of all those stinking Dregs which those forementioned crying Sins have left in it even so it must be ever kept clean from those Distempers which Drunkenness and Gluttony procure This most beastly Sin of Drunkenness began presently after the Flood and hath almost drowned the whole World with another Deluge The Tuscans were so much addicted to this that they were never well but in drinking and quaffing of Soul-sick healths and so were the people of Germany whereupon was said Germani possunt cunctos tolerare labores O utinam possunt tam bene ferre sitim O I wish saith the Poet seeing that the People of Germany can endure any thing that they could but refrain themselves from Drinking too much Likewise it was said of one Borosus that he was Born bibere non vivere to guzzle their time away and not live and thus it may be said by too many now-a-days who unless instead of it apply their Hearts and Minds to Sobriety and Temperance shall not only procure to themselves loss of Estate sickness of Body but also to the poor harmless Soul Everlasting woe and misery O consider this you that rise early in the Morning and continue till Night in drinking of strong Healths yea you that cannot afford your self natural Rest but like the Hog betake your self to any sad Lodging for a while and so return to your drunken trade again still drinking other Mens Healths till that you drink your own away never calling to Mind Una Salus sanis nullam potare Salutem Non est in poto vera Salute Salus That the Health of the sound is to drink no Health but to his own He that is a common Drunkard can but of necessity break all the Commandments of God For first instead of giving that honour due unto Almighty God his Creator he makes a God of the Creatures loving it with all his Heart and Mind ever having more Gods than one Secondly he is ever ready to Blaspheme and to back all his words with execrable Oaths Thirdly he is ever ready to commit Murder as Alexander the Greatest did who when he was Drunk slew his Friend Clitus Fourthly the Drunkard is ever ready to break the Seventh Commandment by reason of his large Commons and lewd Companions Fifthly the Drunkard breaketh the Eighth Commandment as well as the rest for although like a cunning Fox he may refrain to take up at home yet if it be to be had abroad he is sure to have it but indeed that which is the worst of all is that he robs God of his due which is of his poor Soul which he hath purchased with his most precious Blood and so brings both his Body and Soul to utter ruin and destruction O thou that spins away thy time like a Swine in drinking and eating ever have this in remembrance and set thy House in order for thou shalt die and not live There are many more rusty and filthy dregs of Sin which as well as those must be scoured out of the Body before that it can be set in order as of Lying Swearing Cursing and such like but those I shall leave to your consideration hoping that you will not suffer the least of them to have any place in your Mortal Bodies And so proceed a little further concerning the very matter of our discourse the thing that we are all warned unto which is to set our Houses in order for we must die and not live Set thy House c. As it is the Custom among the Nobles and Peers of this Realm when that they know of the Kings coming to give them a visit to have all about them in order and decency so indeed ought every one of us to set our Houses in order to keep our Bodies which are the Temples of the Holy Ghost ever clean and decent and still furnished with all sorts of Heavenly Graces to entertain such a Glorious Prince who hath writ on his Thigh King of Kings and Lord of Lords It will not be long ere he come for St. James said In his time behold the Judge standeth before the door and likewise it was St. John's the Baptist Text saying Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand he may come to day or he may come to morrow therefore make your selves ever ready and set your House in order for you shall die and not live First you must furnish your selves with love which is the complement of the Law and an earnest desire of interchangeable affection between Christ and the Soul Secondly you must furnish your selves with Charity which of all Virtues is still Chief for St. Paul the Bishop of the Gentiles comparing it with Faith and Hope tells you that it is the Chief for it ever Edifieth still suffereth never envieth yea and still continueth 1 Cor. 13. 8. Thirdly you must get your selves furnished with patience that
promise to thy self length of days yet thou must know also that a man even at the highest pitch of health when he hath that same Fencer-like kind of strength is nearest danger in the Judgment of the best Physicians remember with all that observation of Seneca Young Men saith he have Death behind them Old Men have Death before them and all men have Death not far from them we may in a manner complain already that the great God of Battle threatens an utter ruin to all the World the Earth hath trembled the Lights of Heaven have been often darkned Rebellions have been raised Treasons have not long since been practised Plagues of late have been dispersed Winds have blustered Waters have raged and what wants there now but those two Arrows of God even Sword and Fire from Heaven for us to be consumed Is it now think you a time to buy to sell to eat to drink and to live securely in sin as they did in the days of Noah and think of nothing else is it now a time to say unto Almighty God as the Nigard doth unto his Neighbour come again to me to morrow as that drousie Sluggard doth Prov. 6. 10. Yet a little sleep a little slumber a little foulding of the hands to sleep The foolish Virgins supposed that the Bridegroom would not have come like an Owl or a Batt in the night there is time enough said they what needs all this haste but poor Fools they were excluded Oh! I cannot forbear my very Heart even bleeds within me to think of it yea all the faculties of my Soul and Body are strucken with horrour and amazement while I declare unto you how that many Thousands now are doubtless in Hell who purposed in time to have set their Houses in order but being prevented by Death are for ever condemned O here I could heartily wish with Jeremy that I had in the Wilderness a Cottage Yea I could wish with Job that I were a Brother to the Dragons and a Companion to the Ostriches whilst I think of that wish I am now uttering nay I could willingly desire with the Princely Prophet David that my Heart were full of Water and that mine Eyes were a Fountain of tears that I might weep Day and Night for the too too common Sins of this our Age in every kind Now you are in your preparations for Eternity and therefore had need to be very watchful over your selves to see that you set your Houses in order for you shall die and not live And this brings me now unto the very last thing observable in my Text and that is of the reason Negative and shalt not live set thy House c Chrysostom prying into the base Nature of Man and finding him ever out of order teacheth him a seven-fold consideration of himself First What he is by nature what he is in himself Dust and Ashes Gen. 18. 2. Secondly What is within him much sin Thirdly What is before him a burning Lake which is spoken of Isai. 30. 33. Fourthly What is above him an offended Justice Deut. 32. 16. Fifthly What is against him Satan and Sin two notorious and deadly Enemies Sixthly What is before him transitory trifle and worldly vanities And then seventhly and lastly He desires man seriously to consider what is behind him infallible Death for semel aut bis morimur omnes Some once some twice we must all die and not live You cannot like Enoch Heb. 11. 5. be translated but must suffer Death as well as other Men being common to all Whatsoever thou dost affect whatsoever thou dost project so do and so project all at once who for any thing thou knowest may at this very present depart out of this Life Hypocrates although he could not cure till Death came upon him Heraclitus who writ many natural Tracts concerning the last and general consolation of the World could not find out a Remedy or a Medicine for his Distemper but died out of hand Thus you may see how that God spares none but sends one thing or other to bring us to our long home And thus far concerning the Death of the Body shall suffice which was the Death good King Hezekiah was forewarned of Wherefore now I shall but only speak a word or two of the Soul and likewise of the Death of the Soul and Body and so conclude First as there is a Natural Death viz. the Death of the Body so likewise there is a Spiritual Death viz. of the Soul when it is deprived of those Graces which formerly God did bestow upon it for as the Soul is the light and life of the Body even so Almighty God is the light and life of the Soul When he takes his holy Spirit from us then we walk in the shadow of Death this Death is an ill Fruit of Sin therefore let us set our Houses in order But secondly As there is a natural Death and a spiritual Death so likewise there is an eternal Death called in the Ornament of Grace the second Death This Death as well as the Death of the poor Soul is lamented by God Esay 59. 2. As I live saith the Lord I desire not the Death of a Sinner but rather that he may turn from his Wickedness and live I might now likewise add a fourth Death and that is a civil Death an undoing of our Credit and honest Reputation which many Men die but this I shall leave to your consideration and so conclude O my dearly beloved Friends consider what you are all by nature What is within you What is above you What is below you What is against you What is before you What is behind you and that is infallible Death For here is not one here amongst you be he never so strong never so healthly but that within the Revolution of a few years shall be brought in spight of his teeth unto the Grave Wherefore let your Houses be dâ—…ly perfumed by a Morning and Evening Sacrifice of Prayer Praise unto Almighty God both which were appointed under the Law Exod. 29. 38. 39. And this shadowed what was to be performed under the Gospel God renews his Mercies to you every Morning and protects you from manifold dangers every Night whereunto you are subject and you be so ungrateful as to banish all his benefits out of your Memories who is every Moment so mindful of you As therefore beloved you tender the Salvation of your poor Souls look home and mourn for your Original sin steep your Eyes in Tears write Letters of â—…scomfort upon the Ground as you go let the streams of your fighs and the sweet Incense of your Prayers rise up like Mountains before the Lord of Hosts and bedewing your Cheeks with tears make your humble Confession unto God Almighty not of sin alone but of all your sins of what nature degree or height soever they be and by your unfeigned Confession so accuse your selves that you may not hereafter be accused of
sooner felt his hand but he put forth his sting and stung the young Man to Death Are Stones thus endued with anger Where then is not Death if Lions of Stone can kill In the same manner died the young Hylas who was kill'd by a Viper that lay hid in the Mouth of a Bears resemblance in Stone What shall I mention the Child kill'd by an Isicle dropping upon his Head from the Penthouse Of whom Martial laments in the following Verses Where next the Vipsan Pillars stands the Gate From whence the falling Rain wets Cloak and Hat A Child was passing by when strange to tell Upon his Throat a frozen drop 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 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 swear 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
Book of his Illiads of which this is the Argument Achilles orders justs of Obsequies For his Patroclus and doth Sacrifice Twelve Trojan Princes most lov'd Hounds Horse And other Offering to the honoured corse He institutes besides a Funeral Game Where Diomed for Horse-race wins the same For Foot Ulysses other otherwise Strive and obtain and end the Exequies They used to quench these Funeral Fires with red Wine and gathering the Bones together to include them in Urns which they placed in or upon some sumptuous rich Monument erected for that purpose Many more Ceremonies were observed in the magnificent ordering of both kinds of Funerals as well of such as were Buried in the Earth as of these Burned in these costly Piles of VVood. The Custom of burning the dead Bodies continued among the Romans but unil the time of the Antoâ—…ine Emperors An. Dom. 200. or thereabouts then they began to Bury again in the Earth Maâ—…ius de leg Rom Fol. 125 126. They had at these Burials suborned counterfeit hired Mourners which were VVomen of the loudest Voices who betimes in the Morning did meet at appointed places and then cried out mainly beating of their Breasts tearing their Hair their Faces and Garments joining therewith the Prayers of the defunct from the Hour of his Nativity unto the Hour of his Dissolution still keeping time with the Melancholick Musick This is a Custom observed at this day in some parts of Ireland but above all Nations the Jews are best skilled in these Lamentations being Fruitful in Tears Tears that still ready stand To sally forth and but expect command Amongst these VVomen there was ever an old aged Beldam called Praefica superintendent above all the rest of the Mourners who with a loud Voice did pronounce these words Ire licet as much to say He must needs depart and when the dead Corps were laid in the Grave and all Ceremonies finished she deliver'd the last Adieu in this manner Adieu Adieu Adieu we must follow thee according 〈◊〉 the course of Nature shall permit us The manner of these lamentings saith George Sanâ—…s in his Journal may of old appear by this Ironical personating of a Father following the Exequies of his Son introducted by Lucian in these words O my sweet Son thou art lost thou art dead Dead before â—…hy day and hast left me behind of Men the most miserable To Mourn after the Interment of our Friends is a Manifest Token of true Love by it we express that Natural Affection we had to the departed with a Christian-like Moderation of our Grief whereby our Faith to God-ward is demonstrated For as God has made us living so hath he made us loving Creatures to the end we should not be as Stocks and Stones void of all kind and natural Affection but that living and loving together the love of the one should not end with the life of the other Our all Perfect and Almighty Saviour Christ Jesus wept over the Grave of dead Lazarus whom he revived whereupon the standers by said among themselves Behold how he loved him The Ancient Romans before they were Christians mourned nine Months but being Christians they used mourning a whole year clothed in black for the most part for Women were clothed partly in white and partly in black according to the diversity of Nations These Examples considered I observe that we in these days do not weep and mourn at the departure of the dead so much nor so long as in Christian duty we ought For Husbands can buâ—…y their Wives and Wives their Husbands with a few counterfeit Tears and a soure Visage masked and painted over with dissimulation contracting second Marriages before they have worn out their Mourning Garments and sometimes before their Copemates be cold in their Graves AN ACCOUNT Of the Death and last Sayings Of the most Eminent Persons from the Crucifixion of our Blessed Saviour down to this present time FUneral Orations have been anciently used both within and without the Church without among the Heathens within among both Jews and Christians David 2 Sam. 1. 19. sets forth the Praise of Saul and Jonathan his Son The Beauty of Israel is slain upon his high â—…laces And memorable is that Funeral Oration of Saint Jerom for his Paula and her Daughter Eustoâ—…ium And good reason since not only Life but â—…he Death of Saints is precious in God's sight let â—…t be so in ours if both the one and the other be â—…poken of we ought not nor can without Injury to â—…he Pious Souls deceased bury in silence those Verâ—…es and Graces of God which were Eminently visible in their last Exit not only for God's Glory â—…ho was Author but also for Example and Comfort of the Survivers And how can we doubt that the Sound of the Praises of the Godly will â—…ause the most Dissolute one time or another to â—…ish Oh that I might die the death of the righteous and that my latter end may be like his For these holy Purposes I design here to give you an account of the Death and last Sayings of the most Eminent Persons from the Crucifixion of our Blessed Saviour down to this present time It was a Custom in the Primitive Times to Transmit to Posterity what would be most Remarkabe and Exemplary to present as well as to future Ages And I hope such Precedents will not appear unnecessary since Divine Authority informs our weak Judgment that St. Luke made one Treatise of all that Jesus began to do and to teach Acts 1. 1. Which blessed Pattern was fully delineated by that holy Apostle for our Imitation and whose Holy Example we must endeavour to follow if we expect to be his Disciples It was the Wish and earnest Desire even of Dives when in Flames That Abraham would send Lazarus to his Brethren to warn them of coming to that dismal place of Torment as we find it Luke 16. for he conceived a Message from the Dead would operate more powerfully than the Arguments or Perswasions of the Living And in this following Account we may be said to allow you that which was denied to this Man while we Treat you with a seasonable Banquet Served up by Repentance through the Grace and Mercy of God even upon the Brink of the Grave THE Death of Christ and his Apostles c. The Death of our Lord and Saviour JESUS CHRIST NO sooner had our First Parents by eating the Forbidden Fruit forfeited their State of Happiness but the All-wise Creator out of the Abundance of his Mercy and Goodness found a â—…eans to rescue them and their Posterity from the â—…ower and Malice of Satan and gave them a Proâ—…ise That the Seed of the Woman should break the â—…erpent's head Gen. 3. 15 All which was fulfilled â—…y our blessed Lord and Saviour The Son of God and Second Person in the Triâ—…ity was born of the Virgin Mary and made Man â—…hose Birth and Glorious Triumph over Death â—…he Grave and Hell the
Patriarchs and Prophets â—…ll along had foreseen After our Blessed Saviour that Glorious Son of Righteousness had run his Course he undertook 〈◊〉 satisfie his Father's Justice by making a Proâ—…tiatory Sacrifice for the Sins of lost and undone Man and suffered himself to be Tempted Beâ—…ayed Scourged Spit upon Reviled Crowned â—…ith Thorns and lastly submitting even unto the Death of the Cross all which had been exactly foretold by the Prophets Though it happened not after the common manner but was attended with such dismal Darkness and terrible Earthquakes Insomuch that a Heathen Philosopher at that Instant declared That either the God of Nature suffered or the World was at an end But he could not long rest under the power of the Grave but as a Victorious Captain breaking the Bonds of Death he led Captivity Captive in spite of the Malice of his Enemies who set a Guard upon him for as we have it Matth. 28. 1 2 3 4 5 6. In the end of the Sabbath as it began to dawn towards the first day of the week came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the Sepulchre and behold there was a great Earthquake for the Angel of the Lord descended from Heaven and came and rolled away the Stone from the door and sat upon it his Countenance was like Lightning and his Raiment white as Snow and for fear of him the Keepers did tremble and became as dead men and the Angel answered and said unto the women fear ye not for I know that ye seek Jesus that was crucified he is not here but is risen as he said come see the place where the Lord lay The Death of St. PETER WHen he was at Rome he Prophesied the Destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish Nation by Vespasian But about that time the Persecution growing hot against the Christians especially upon Nero's return from Achaia in great Pomp he at that time resolving to glut himself with Innocent Blood caused several thousands of the Christians to bâ—… 〈◊〉 up in Prisons and amongst the â—…est St. Peter 〈◊〉 whose Preservation the Prayers of the Chrisâ—… were still put up to Heaven many of the 〈◊〉 of them who could gain Access perswading him earnestly to make his escape alledging that the preservation of his Life would be very useful to the Church The which after many denials he attempted by getting over the Wall which being effected and coming to the City Gate is there said to meet our Lord who was entring the City when knowing him he asked him Lord whither art thou going from whom he received this Answer I am come to Rome to be Crucified a second time By which Answer St. Peter apprehending himself to be reproved for endeavouring to fly that Death which was allotted him and that our Saviour meant he was to be Crucified in his Servant he returned again to Prison and delivered himself to the Keekper and so cotinued till the Day of his Execution with great chearfulness Having Saluted his Brethren and especially St. Paul who was at that time his Fellow-Prisoner he was led to the top of the Vatican Mountain near the River Tiber about three Furlongs without the City and there Crucified with his Head downwards it being his own desire so to die alledging that he was unworthy to suffer after the same manner that his Lord and Master had suffered and so having run the race that was set before him he undoubtedly obtained the reward laied up for him in the Highest Heavens The Death of St. PAUL HOW long St. Paul continued in Prison after he had received Sentence to die is uncertain but the Day of his Execution soon came but what his preparatory Treatment was whether he was Scourged as Malefactors were wont in order to their Death is not known As a Roman Citizen by the Valerian and Porcian Law he was exempted from any such Ignominious and Infamous Punishment though by the Law of the Twelve Tables Notorious Malefactors Condemned by the Centuriate Assemblies were first to be Scourged and then put to Death And as Baronius informs us That in the Church of St. Mary beyond the Bridge in Rome two Pillars are yet to be seen to which St. Peter and St. Paul were Bound and Scourged before their Executions As our Apostle was led to Execution he is said to have Converted three of the Souldiers who Guarded him which the Emperour hearing commanded that they should be put to death St. Paul being come to the place appointed for his Execution which was near the Aquae Salviae three Miles from Rome after he had exhorted such as came to see his Tragedy to Repentance and recommended his Spirit into the hands of his blessed Lord and Master he kneeling down had his Head stricken off with a Sword St. Chrysostom declares That his chearful submitting to Death and his constant Courage till the last was a means not only to Convert his Executioner but several others who afterwards suffered Marryrdom for the Faith of Christ. He was Executed as far as can be gathered in the Sixty eighth Year of his Age. And thus the great Apostle after he had Preached the Gospel to the Gentiles and either in Person or by his Epistles visited most of the known World and as Theodoret tells us in the Isles of the Sea whereby he undoubtedly means Britain he received first the Crown of Martyrdom He was Buried in via Ostiensis about two Miles from Rome Over whose Grave about 318 Years after Constantine the Great at the request of Pope Sylvester built a stately Church and endowed it with many rich Gifts and Priviledges The Death of St. ANDREW VVHen he was Condemned the Pro-Consul ordered him to be Scourged and as he was going to be Crucified the People cried out He was a just and good man yet he was fastned upon the Cross with Ropes that he might be the longer dying the Cross being two Beams set in the fashion of the Letter X. From this Cross after he was fastned to it he Preached to the People for the space of two Days and by his admirable Patience Courage and Perseverance Converted many to the Faith During his hanging there great sute was made to the Pro-Consul for his Life but our Apostle desired them not to Intercede for him For that he was greatly desirous to be dissolved and to be with Christ. Praying earnestly to Heaven that he might at that time finish his Race and be crowned with Martyrdom And so it happened for he there gave up the Ghost After which his Body being taken down was Embalmed at the Command of Maximilia whom he had Converted and afterwards laied in a stately Tomb prepared for that purpose where it continued till the time of Constantine the Great and was at his command brought to Constantinople and buried there in the great Church which he had founded to the Honour of the Apostles The Scots for many Ages past have had such Veneration for him that they Stiled him the