conformable to the Image of his Son that he might be the first-born amongst many Brethren Now the Soul and the Body of this onely begotten of the Father that were separated by Death have been joyned again in his glorious Resurrection and received into Heaven therefore our Soul that departs out of the World to enter into Paradise must return again to its Body that we may ascend up to Heaven both in Soul and Body All the difference that appears between Christ and us is that the precious Body of our noble Chieftain could not be subject to corruption but was raised again as soon as it fell because of that strict and personal Union between his Humanity and Divinity whereas the most part of all other bodies are corrupt and reduced to Ashes Sixteenth We have the same holy Spirit and Divine vertue dwelling in us which was in our Lord Jesus Christ the efficient cause of his Resurrection although not in the same measure and degree therefore it will produce in us the same effect and raise our bodies also from the dust St. Paul makes use of this Reason in the 8 of the Romans if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwelleth in you he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you Seventeenth The dead body that touched the bones of the Prophet Elisha revived again on a sudden We have more cause to expect the Resurrection of our bodies because our bodies don't onely touch Jesus Christ dead and risen again but we are become one body with him flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone I am said he the Resurrection and the life he that liveth and believeth in me shall never die and he that believeth in me though he were dead yet shall he live Eph. 5. John 11. Eighteenth God hath imprinted upon our bodies his own Signet and the marks of his love he hath given to them visible and palpable assurances of their future blessedness Under the Old Testament believers carried the Seal of the Covenant of God in their flesh for Circumcision was the Seal of the righteousness obtained by Faith and hope of a blessed immortality they did also eat the flesh of the Paschal Lamb which was a type of Jesus Christ the true Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the World Likewise under the New Covenant God consecrates to himself our Bodies by the Waters of Baptisme and by the Bread and Wine of the Lords Supper So by this means he assures them of a Joyfull and glorious Resurrection For if by eating of this Bread and drinking of this Wine we eat and drink spiritually the flesh and the Blood of Jesus Christ it is an infallible assurance that this Divine Saviour will raise us up again at the end of the World as he himself promiseth Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my Blood hath eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day St John 6 54. Nineteenth The body of believers endures many assaults and evils for Christs sake and for his holy profession it is often exposed to the most shamefull and most cruel torments and partakes on the same sufferings as he did on Earth therefore it is just that it should partake in his triumphs glory and eternal happiness It is a faithful saying for if we be dead with him we shall also live with him if we suffer we shall also raign with him We always bear about in our bodies the dying of the Lord Jesus that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh 2 Tim. 2. 2 Cor 4. Twenty There is nothing that God doth in vain he never bestowes upon us useless desires therefore to what purpose hath he kindled in us such an earnest desire to see this wretched Body out of the misery and corruption into which sin hath enthralled it and the fruition of glory and immortality As St. Paul tels us in these words The creature was made subject to vanity not willingly but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope because the creature it self also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the Children of God He adds immediately after For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travelleth in pain together until now and not onely they but our selves also which have the first fruits of the Spirit even we our selves groane within our selves waiting for the Adoption to wit the Redemption of our Body Rom. 8. Finally Seeing that whatsoever God hath appointed in his eternal Councel must be fulfilled in time and that all things in the World attain to those ends for which he made them and seeing that he created our Souls not to be alone but to live in the company and fellowship with the Body therefore this Body which falls down by Death must needs rise again at the Resurrection that the immortal Soul might return to and dwell with it for ever To say that the Resurrection of our bodies is impospossible is the greatest and most abominable Atheism in the World 'T is to deny with impudency the infinite power of God and the sacred History of the Worlds Creation For if things are in their beings as they are in workings and if their operations are correspondent to their natures we must of necessity conclude That if there be a God of an infinite being he must needs have a power answerable to his being And by consequence that this Almighty God may without difficulty raise the dead If thou believest that God calls the things that are not as if they were Wherefore dost thou not also believe that this same God will also call the things that have been already to restore them that being which they have formerly enjoyed from his Almighty Hand If thou believest that God hath fashioned Eve out of one of her Husbands ribs that he made Man of the dust and created this dust out of nothing canst thou not also believe that God is able at the day of the Resurrection to make again thy body of that dust into which it is reduced by Death If thou believest that God hath breathed into Adams Nostrils the breath of Life that he hath created thy Soul and infused it into thy Body where it was never before How canst thou question his power of returning one day the same Soul into the same Body where it formerly made its abode In short if thou believest that the holy Ghost by moving upon the Waters hath caused so many beautiful and noble Creatures to appear and that he hath made light to shine out of darkness canst thou not be also perswaded that this same holy Ghost can shew his Power amongst the Graves and fetch thy Body out of the dark shadows of Death to introduce it â—nto the light of the living Thou seest by experience that every day a new House 〈◊〉 built up
God or Set forth the praises of God There is no ingenuous Soul but loves Peace and Rest for this cause the Glory and Happiness of Paradise is represented under this lovely and pleasant Notion as in the 4 Chapter of the Hebrews For we which believed do enter into rest as he said as I have sworn in my wrath if they shall enter into my rest for if Jesus had given them rest then would he not afterward have spoken of another day there remaineth therefore a Rest to the People of God for he that is entred into his Rest he also hath ceased from his own Works as God did from his Let us labour therefore to enter into that Rest This causeth old Simeon to cry out Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace Finally the Holy City is called Jerusalem which signifies a Vision of Peace And God himself makes this promise Behold I will extend Peace to her like a River Is 66. Phil. 4. Wherefore if the Peace which God grants to believing Souls in this life surpasseth all understanding what may we judge shall be the full enjoyment of an Eternal Peace in the Kingdom of Heaven the tongues of Men and Angels is not able to express its Dignity and Excellency Lastly because Men are lovers of Pleasures Delights and Pomp and that the most part seek for nothing but how to drive away their sorrows and to recreate themselves with pastimes Therefore the felicities of Paradise are represented by Rejoycings Pleasures and Eternal Solemnities as in the 36 Psalm Thou shalt cause them to drink of the River of thy pleasureâ— And in the 126 Psalm They that sow in Tears shall reap in Joy And God himself speaking of that most blessed time saith Behold I create new Heavens and a new Earth and the former shall not be remembred nor come into mind but be you glad and rejoyce for ever in that which I create for behold I create Jerusalem a rejoycing and her People a joy Therefore when the Holy Ghost represents the condition of the Glorified Saints he doth only say that God will wipe away all Tears from their Eyes and that there shall be no more sorrow nor crying nor labor nor pain nor grief but he adds over and above that in their mouths there shall be Songs of Praise and upon their Heads an Eternal joy and gladness like to a precious Crown which shall never be taken from them for this cause they call so earnestly upon one another Let us be glad and rejoyce and give glory to the Lord our God Revel 19. All our senses shall partake in these Heavenly and Everlasting Pleasures our Eyes shall behold with transports of joy the sacred countenance of our Redeemer the Riches and wonderful Beauty of his Palace the Glory and Magnificence of his Empire our Ears shall be delighted with the Musick of the blessed Saints and with the Tunes of the Angels and of the Church Triumphant our smelling shall receive the sweet perfumes of our Bridegroom whose Garments are of Myrrh and whose Vine always blossoming gives a good smell our Palat shall taste the Bread of Angels the hidden Manna the Fruits of the Tree of Life the Waters issuing forth to everlasting Life and the new Wine of the Kingdom of Heaven Our Hands shall embrace the Saviour of the World and with our Feet we shall walk about the streets of that golden City the Heavenly Jerusalem and we shall follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth Revel 14. Although I speak to you in this manner I am perswaded Christian Souls that you understand very well that these expressions and such like are not to be understood in a litteral Sence and that they are but dark Shadows and imperfect Images of the advantages of the life to come You have not forgot what St. Paul saith That they are things which Eye hath not seen Ear hath not heard and which never entred into the heart of Man which God hath prepared for them that love him 1 Cor. 2. And that this great God whose Riches are inexhaustible doth in us abundantly above what we are able to ask or think Eph. 3. so that when you see before you all the most Beautiful Amiable Glorious and excellent things of the World you may say in your selves without doubt the Glory and Happiness of Heaven is something more than all this for it is elevated so much above all Earthly enjoyments and surpasseth so much all the thoughts and conceits of Man that it is not possible to describe it in its own Colours nor to fancy it really as it is Think not therefore Christian Souls to meet in Heaven with a Paradise something like to your Gardens nor with Flowers like to such as adorn your pleasant Walks and Fields nor Fruits like to such as hang upon your Trees you may be assured that God will discover things infinitely more pleasant and delightful and more lasting Fancy not such a City built up as ours is where Gold Silver Pealrs and precious Stones are to be seen you may expect something more Noble and Magnificent than all the richest and most stately Cities of the World God will cause you to see not only the beauty of Silver the purity of Gold the whiteness of Pearls and the brightness of precious Stones but you shall discover something more beautiful purer whiter brighter and something more surprizing than any Earthly thing Think not to receive any material Crown or to ascend up upon Thrones like to those of Kings and Princes You may justly fancy something more Glorious and more lasting I am also perswaded Christians that you expect not in Heaven to find Tables covered as those of the rich Worldlings nor to glutt your selves with a Feast like that of the Nuptials of Earthly Princes without doubt your Faith hath an eye to something more Heavenly and Glorious Your Soul hungers for more exquisite Dainties and is athirst for more delicious and sweeter Drinks You are too well instructed to think to live in Heaven an animal and a sensual Life Such a gross conceit becomes only the Impostor Mahomet and his fond Paradise In this life that we lead upon Earth there are two things which chiefly discover our natural Infirmity The first is our eating and drinking absolutely necessary to make up the breaches that labor and the natural heat do make which spend and feed upon the radical Humour which serves to our life as Oil to a Lamp The other is Marriage appointed by God for the continuance and propagation of the humane Race But in Heaven our life shall be altogether Angelical Spiritual and Supernatural our Bodies shall be no more subject to corruption nor to any alteration they shall want no more food than the Stars do at present and the rest of the Celestial Bodies Therefore the Holy Ghost speaks expresly That we shall neither hunger nor thirst that the Sun shall not burn nor any other heat trouble us That is to
Servants Princes and Subjects all of us in general we may with reason say to the Men of this World as Abraham to the Children of Heth I am a stranger and a forreigner in the midst of you Now he that travels in a strange Countrey may gather some Flowers in his passage or take with him a few Ears of Corn but if he be wise he will never tarry to build a Palace If he be well Treated in his Inn he must not cast away the good chear but if his Entertainment be bad he must endure with patience the inconveniencies and contemn all the disorders that happen during his abode if the way be deep full of Mud Bryars and Thorns he must get out of them assoon as he can and if it be good and pleasant he must not stop in it nor busy himself with needless inquiries Every one that is a Traveller dreams of nothing but how to advance in his journey and go forward Likewise we being accustomed to Plenty and Want to Riches and Poverty to Honor and Dishonor we ought to leave the things that are behind and proceed forward to such as are before that we may attain to the end and reward of our Heavenly Calling Phil. 3. 2. Consider not only I beseech you that we are strangers and forrainers in the world but that we are not to inhabit always in this forrain Countrey but that our passage will be but of few days Revel 7. We need but little to nourish and entertain us in this short race at the end of it we shall neither hunger nor thirst and the Sun shall burn us no more As it happen'd with Jacob and his Family when they went into Egypt they had no other Corn nor Food but what was needful and necessary for them in the way because they were certain to meet with plenty of all manner of good things in Joseph's House Likewise we need not make any great provision for our selves in this life because we are marching apace towards our Saviour Christ our elder Brother unto whom God hath given all power in Heaven and in Earth Matt. 28. We are marching into a Countrey that abounds with all manner of true Riches Excellency Glory and Happiness 3. Consider that we are not only strangers but Soldiers to fight under the banners of Christ our Captain who judges and fights justly Revel 19. Job acknowledges That there is a warfare appointed to all Mortals upon Earth Job 7. But I may say that this War is chiefly for such as aim at the glorious immutability For God calls them to endure grievous and violent encounters Therefore St. Paul exhorts his beloved Disciple Timothy to behave himself as a good Soldier in this just War and to fight the good fight of faith 1 Tim. 1. Now he that goes to War must not incumber himself with the affairs and enjoyments of this life 4. Moreover consider that we are like to Soldiers that are engag'd in an Enemies Countrey not with a design to conquer and establish our Selves but only to obtain a free passage having only an intent to pass thorough into our own Native Countrey We don't desire to get into our hands the Inheritances and possessions of the Worldlings nor to rob them of their Crowns and Scepters We have no other request to make to them but that which the Children of Israel made to the Inhabitants of Edom when they were going to the promised Land Numb 20. We desire leave to pass peaceably and go along by the Kings high way to take possession of the Inheritance which God hath prepared for us from the beginning of the World We would not so much as taste a bit of Bread without paying for it nor drink a cup of water without leave 5. Consider that this Life is a Race and the World the place to run in now such as are in a Race must take heed that the Thorns do not catch hold of them in their Course nor that their Feet sink into the Mire or the Clay and that they may run swifter they must cast off all burdens and incumbrances If therefore we will run in this Race in such a manner as that we may obtain the Prize we must see that the Thorns and Briars of the World do not take hold of us and that we sink not into the mire of the dirty Pleasures of this life we must cast away all the burdens that overcharge us and especially the burden of sin which is so grievous that Nature it self grâ—ns under it It is the design of St. Paul's exhortation Seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us and let us run with patience the Race that is set before us looking unto Jesus the Author and finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the Cross Rom. 8. Heb. 12. 6. Consider that our life is a continual wrestling for we must wrestle not only against Flesh and Blood but also against Principalities and Powers against the Lords of the World and the Rulers of the darkness of this age against spiritual wickedness in high places Eph. 6. 1 Cor. 10. Now he that intends to wrestle well must diet himself accordingly If therefore for a corruptible Crown Men tame their Bodies render them supple and pliant and abstain from Delights and Pleasures how much more reason have we to do the like for an uncorruptible and a Glorious Crown 7. Consider that God will have us to be conformable to the image of his Son and that we should follow his footsteps Now this good Saviour represents to us his own condition Rom. 8. 1 Pet. 2. The Foxes have holes and the Birds of the air have Nests but the Son of man hath not whereon to lay his head Luke 9. Therefore he made this confession before Pontius Pilate My Kingdom is not of this World John 8. and for that reason he reproves the gross and carnal imaginations of the two Disciples as they were going to Emaus O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the Prophets have spoken Luke 24. ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his Glory according to his blessed example we must have little part and concernment in the World and enter by many afflictions into the kingdom of God Acts 24. 8. I judge that it is also necessary that we should represent at every moment unto our selves that to speak exactly we can have but the 〈◊〉 and not the right enjoyment of Gods Creatures We are intrusted with his favors as the Stewards of his Blessings and Riches At every moment he may call us to an account and require from us a reason of our behaviour and take from us our enjoyments we should therefore look upon our Houses and Possessions as upon things that are let unto us for as we are not displeas'd to restore what we had
because they have committed some grievous crime Rather consider that it may be a means which God hath a design to employ to declare his Power and his Servants Patience Faith Piety and Vertues Therefore our Lord and Saviour tells the Apostles when at the Sight of a Man blind from his Birth they enquired from him whether the Man had sinned or his Father or Mother because he was born blind That neither the Man nor his Father nor Mother had sinned but that the Works of God might be manifested in him John 5. By these words we are not to imagine that these persons were without sin for there is none just no not one but we must understand that they were not guilty of any grievous sin and they had not committed any such crime as had drawn upon them God's vengeance from above It was God's Will that this poor man should come into the World with that natural imperfection that he might make him an instance of his Grace and declare in him his Almighty Power and that our Saviour in giving him his sight might make it appear that he was the true God who fashions the wonderful Eye and that he was the true Light that enlightens every man coming into the World Psalm 94. John 1. Likewise when some came to inform this Great and Wise Saviour what had happened to the Galileans whose Bloud Pilate had mingled with their Sacrifice he replyed in this manner Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans because they suffered such things I tell you nay but except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish Or those eighteen upon whom the Tower in Siloam fell and slew them think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem I tell you nay but except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish Luk 13. God is glorified divers ways by the afflictions and calamities which he sends to his Children for first he justifies them before all the world from the calumnies which are cast upon them and he discovers thereby to all the sincerity of their Love and their unfeigned Obedience Satan accuseth us for serving God for the advantages which we receive in this life Job 1. and because he is pleased to protect and favour us by his over-ruling Providence Therefore God removes many times from us that which is pleasing and delightful to the Flesh he gives us the Bread of Affliction for our Food and the Waters of Sorrow for our drink He presents us with cups full of bitterness and causeth his Rod to return upon us often By these grievous temptations he stops the mouth of the accuser of our Brethren who accuseth them day and night before God Isai 30. He declares by that means to all the Enemies of our Salvation and of his Glory that we put our full confidence in God alone and in his unchangeable promises and not in the outward tokens of his Mercy and Favor Revel 11. He shews to all the World that the Anchor of our Hope is not fixed here below but that it is cast into Heaven where Christ is entred as our forerunner Heb. 6. As God is glorified in our Afflictions he is also honoured by our deliverance If the Land of Judea had not been peopled with deaf dumb lame blind decrepid and possess'd with Devils Acts 9. If Aeneas had not been sick eight years If a poor Woman had not been grieved with a Bloudy Flux twelve years If another had not been vexed with a disease that had bended his Body If the sick of the Palsie had not been lying in his bed thirty eight years If the Daughter of Jairus had not been dead If the Widows Son of the City of Nain had not been carried to his Grave In short If Lazarus had not been buried four days the Glory and Divine Miracles of our Lord and Saviour had not been admired all over the World Matth. 9. Luk 13. John 5. Matth. 9. Likewise our desperate diseases and our unexpected recoveries when humane skill can do nothing declare to the most stupisied Souls that it is God alone that can give the wound and bind it up and that leads to the Sepulchre and brings back again Luk 7. John 11. Job 5. 1 Sam. 2. God's deliverances of his People from their afflictions are of two sorts for either he takes away the burden from us or else he stretcheth out to us his merciful hand and helps us to bear it either he removes our affliction and pacifies our grief or he strengthens us with Power and Courage and arms us with Patience and a generous resolution needful in such a case This appears in a notable manner in the Apostle St. Paul for fear that he should be lifted up in pride because of the excellency of his Divine Revelations God had given him a Thorn in the Flesh and had sent the Angel of Satan to buffet him and to increase the bitterness and sharpness of his disease This Holy man prayed often to remove it from him but God took not this Thorn away from his Flesh nor did not check that messenger of Satan that afflicted him but he delivered him from the inconveniencies in a more illustrious manner for he strengthened him with his Divine Spirit and enriched him with his Graces he made him feel the Vertue and Power of Christ within him and accomplish'd his Vertue in Pauls infirmity Insomuch that this great Apostle cries out in the deepest of his afflictions with transports of joy I take pleasure in infirmities in reproaches in necessities in persecutions in distresses for Christ's sake for when I am weak then am I strong I can do all things in Christ that strengthens me 2 Cor. 12. This may be also seen in the Martyr St. Stephen for he was condemned to dye by a death the most painful and grievous that we can imagine but God gave him such powerful Comforts and fill'd his mind with such Joys that his face shin'd as that of an Angel You must understand the words of St. Paul in that manner in his Epistle to the Hebrews Acts 6. Heb. 5. Jesus Christ having offered up Prayers and Supplications with strong Crying and Tears unto him that was able to save him from death and was heard in that he feared for he was not altogether freed from the sufferings and torments of the Cross but he underwent it couragiously and was more than Conqueror in all things he drunk up the very dregs of the Cup of God's wrath but by his Divine Power he overcame the strength of the poison His Heavenly Father took him not down from the Cross nor out of the hands of his Murderers but he hath upon this Cross raised up his Glorious Trophies the Cross hath been as his Triumphing Chariot Likewise when you see a Christian bear up in the midst of a grievous affliction and overcome his grief by his constancy and patience who instead of murmuring rejoyceth and comforts himself in his distresses
glorious company of Angels and blessed Spirits take upon thee these beautiful Robes of light with which thine Heavenly Father will cloath thy nakedness and accept this immortal Crown that he offers to thee go and satisfie thy self with the Bread of the Kingdome of Heaven and remove thy thirst with the Christial Waters of that River of pleasure which proceeds from the Throne of God and of the Lamb Go and behold the face of the Father of lights go and be happy with his Divine resemblance and be transformed into his glorious Image O blessed Soul Seest thou not already the Heavens open and Iesus Christ at the right hand of God the Father holding out his hand unto thee offering to receive thee into his glorious rest Seest thou not the Angels of Heaven cloathed in white raiment coming to transport thee out of this miserable estate Seest thou not how thou art already encompassed about with light and Celestial Flames Dost thou not relish the sweetness of Paradise Is not there a Heaven already in thine heart Dost thou not hear the Hymns of the glorified Spirits Hath not the Lord caused thee to hear that sweet and comfortable voice sound in thine ear Verily I say unto thee thou shall be this day with me in Paradise Come good and faithfull Servant enter into the Ioy of thy Lord seeiest thou not thy self lifted up above all earthly and perishing things Dost thou not fly upon the wings of faith and repentance to the Throne of Gods glory Dost thou not cast thy self into Paradise into the Arms of Almighty God into the bosome of the Lord Iesus to rest there for ever and to be Satisfied with the good things which eye hath not seen ear hath not heard and which are not entered into the heart of Man but which God hath prepared for them that love him A Prayer and Meditation of a Christian Soul that prepares to go out of its Body and comforts its self in the Contemplation of the glory and happiness of Paradice O God! the Author of my being and the Soveraign Lord of my life thou seest all the motions and dispositions of my Soul thou knowest that I have wholly resigned my self into thy hands and desire nothing else but to depend upon thy good pleasure speak Lord for thy Servant heareth here I am to do thy Will O God Thy People Israel removed their Camp at thy Command in the same manner I am ready to remove out of this Earthly Tabernacle at the first motion of thy Will The Golden Cherubims were alwayes upon their feet with their wings stretched out and their faces towards the Mercy Seat O that I likewise might look up to him who hath purchased for me the eternal Mercies of God him who is the Propitiation for my Sins that I may be always ready to fly up to him Lord Jesus seeing thou callest me to thy self stretch out thy hand unto me from above and draw me out of this tempestuous Sea When a poor blind man understood that thou calledst him to restore his sight he left his Garment for haste and ran to thee with joy and shall not I quit this wretched body to go to thee my Lord and my God seeing thou callest me out of the mid-night of this World to thy marvelous and glorious light seeing that thou hast a design not onely to discover to me this surprising and refreshing light that shines in Heaven but thou wilt cause me to shine in thy Kingdom as the Stars and as the Sun When the Prophet Elias let fall his Mantle he was immediately received into a Chariot of Fire and carried up into Heaven also I hope in thy tender love and favor that as soon as my Soul shall forsake this wretched Body it shall be likewise received into a Celestial Charriot of Fire that will carry it up to Heaven thou wilt deal as gratiously with my Soul as with thine High-Priest Joshua thou wilt take away its Garments shattered and broken by sickness and distempers bespotted and bedaubed with sin to adorn it with Robes of fine and bright linnen and Crown it with glory Therefore I am so far from being afflicted to see the earthly house of this Tabernacle demolished that I rejoyce in a certain assurance that I shall be admitted to my eternal Tabernacle of Heaven O good God! thou seest upon me a contemptible body of dust that desires nothing more then to return to dust again but this Heavenly and immortal Soul of mine that is come from above that is thy breath and a beam of thy glory this Soul I say will return up to its source and origin It sighs for thee O God! and desires nothing but eternal happiness Is it possible that I can be happy too soon and too speedily admitted to the Contemplation of thy glorious face Lord I should be worse then an Infidel if I did doubt of my Salvation if I were not assured to partake of thy glory for thou hast promised to save all such as persevere to the end and to give the Crown of life to all those that are faithfull unto Death Seeing therefore that by the assistance of thine holy Spirit thou hast enabled me to continue in thine holy and Divine Covenant to fight the good fight to finish my course and to keep the faith thou wilt not refuse me this great Salvation this precious Crown O merciful and bountiful Lord thou hast promised all such as overcome to cause them to sit upon thy Throne now by thy special grace and wonderfull power that appears and is fulfilled in mine infirmities I have overcome the World sin the Devil and Hell at present I beseech thee give me a new supply of strength to overcome Death also that I may have no more Enemies to counter with but that I may mount upon the magnificent Throne designed for me let this Death be a passage that may bring me to life immortality eternal glory and to the happiness of thy Kingdom Thou art my God and Father that lovest me with an unchangeable affection reach thy hand to me thy childe for I long for thee and open for me the bowels of thy most wonderfull mercies O good Lord receive me into thy bosome and satisfie me with the most effectual Consolations of thy goodness thou art my Spiritual Bridegroom draw me and I shall run or rather I shall fly after thee to magnify thy tender compassions and to be filled with thine heavenly delights Thou art the chief Shepheard of my Soul help me therefore in this vale of the shadow of Death let thy Staff and thy Rod assist and comfort me send me thy light and thy truth that they may lead and conduct me up to thy holy Mountain and to thine eternal dwelling Send thy good Angels that they may carry me up upon their Wings I expect O Lord thy Salvation I do not onely expect and hope for it but I desire and wish for it with all mine heart