the Poet saith Sleepe is the kinsman of death Quid est somnus saith one nisi breuis mors What is sleepe but a short death Et quid est mors nisi longus somnus What is death but a long sleepe By beds the Scripture vnderstandeth the places where the Lord bestoweth the bodies of his seruants after their death whether fire or water or the paunches of wild beasts or the chambers of the earth sea or ayre and these are called beds because they shall rest quietly in them as in their beds till the morning bell or loud trumpet of the last great day warning all flesh to rise shall raise them And therefore it is such an vsuall thing in the Scriptures so soone as men dye to say they fall asleep because therby is meant that they are laid in their beds of peace and they are called beds of rest to put difference betweene these beds of our nights sleepe and those of our sleepe in death for heere be our beds neuer so soft or well made we often take no rest by reason of some distemper in our bodies or fancies in our head but in these sleeping places Psal 4.8 which are called beds of rest wee may lay vs downe saith the Psalmist and sleepe in peace because the Lord our life being our keeper will make vs dwell in safetie Indeed in it owne nature the graue is rather an house of perdition then a bed of rest but being altered to the Iewes in promise to vs in performance by Christs graue who was buried in the earth to change the nature of it it is made to vs a chamber of rest and bed of downe These titles which are thus giuen vnto death is a sweete comfort to the children of God against the terrors of death for the graues of the righteous which by nature are the houses of destruction and chambers of feare are by Christ and the graue of Christ made vnto them chambers of safetie and beds of rest Christ by his buriall hath consecrated and perfumed our graues making them which were prisons to hell gates to heauen At night we take our chambers and lye downe in our beds so when death comes which is the end of life as the night is of the day we goe to the chambers of the earth and there lye downe in our beds till the day of refreshing which is the day of rising come that commeth from the Lord. This is a confutation of that phansie that hath so long deluded the simple world which is that dead bodies walke after their death and appeare vnto men For how can that be when the bodies of Gods children rest in their beds so soone as the breath departeth and the bodies of the wicked are in their prisons till the day of assise Whereof if any make a question let him open their graues and see And seeing the soule returneth not after it hath left the body how can the body walke that wanteth a soule or the soule be seene if it should walke which hath no bodie Phil. 1.23 or if death be a loosing of our soules from our bodies how can there be any death when soule and body are not parted and when the man is not dead but liueth But this phansie came from Pythagoras and is but a Philosophers dreame told by him to the world which was that the soules of men departed did enter into the bodies of other men good soules into good and bad into bad mens bodies The world then beleeued him and since that time Satan who can turne himselfe into all formes did in the dark night of Popery to deceiue that ignorant age change himselfe into the similitude of some person that was lately or had beene long dead and was beleeued by such a transformation to be the partie man or woman that hee resembled So entred the error that spirits did walke and that dead bodies came out of their graues and haunted sundry houses in the night which were not the bodies of the dead but the Diuell in those bodies or shapes as it is to be seene in Samuels counterfeit shape raised by the Witch at Endor 1. Sam. 28.14.15 And this error as it deceiued the blinde world and somewhat troubled the seeing Mat. 14.26 so is it still in the mouth and faith of credulous superstition at this day But God hauing giuen eyes to vs to see his truth Act. 12.15 and the light of iudgement to discerne it let vs not walke in so great darknesse as they that know not the truth nor whither they goe But the especiall drift of the holy Ghost in the holy Scripture by entitling death by the names of bed of peace of rest of sleepe and such like being all names of singuler commoditie and benefit is for the singuler comfort of all Gods children signifying vnto them thereby that they shal feele no bitternesse in death but rather ioy and reioyce in their deliue ance as if they were going to their beds and their liues are not lost but their bodies sleepe as in a bed most sweetely vntill the resurrection How sweete is peace to them which haue bin long troubled with warres and tedious contentions how pleasant is the bed rest and sleepe to them that haue ouerwatched themselues The Laborer is glad when his taske is done the traueller reioyceth when he commeth to the end of his iourney the Mariner is happie when after a dangerous voyage he arriueth in his harbour All men shunne paine and desire ease abhorre danger and loue securitie It were madnesse then for a godly Christian to feare so aduantagious a death and to wish for continuance of such a wretched life Tertullian hath a most excellent and elegant saying That saith he is not to be feared which sets vs free from all that is to be feared and that is death which putteth an end to all feares and miseries But the true Christian hath yet a farre greater benefit by death for it doth not only put an end to euils of paine but also to the euils of faults not onely to the punishment for sinne but to sinne it selfe Now the euils of faults are farre worse then the euils of paine yea the least sinne is more to be hated abhorred and shunned then the greatest punishment for sinne How comfortable then and welcome should death be vnto vs that endeth not only our sorrowes but also our sinnes As long as we liue heere and beare about vs these earthly and sinfull tabernacles we daily multiplie our transgressions and rebellions against our gratious God and sustaine fierie conflicts and continuall combates in our very bosomes O bondage of all bondages to be in bondage vnto sinne The Gentile that apprehended vice only as a morall euil could say that men being in bondage to their lustes were more cruelly handled by them then any slaues were by most cruell tyrants and monsters how much more then should we that feele sinne as a spirituall euill and groane
Saul was a man enuious trayterous perfidious cruell and prophane who being bloudily minded against the Priestes of God and against Dauid Gods owne annointed he made his conscience so fierce and cruell as that it set vpon himselfe and hee became his owne Butcher Whose Armour-bearer verified the Prouerbe Like Master like man As for Achitophel he was a great Statesman but withall a great Traytor he was verie wise in matters pertayning to gouernement but therewithall very wicked he assisted the subiect against the King therein was treason the Sonne against the Father that was vnnaturall a wicked vngodlie proud sonne against a godly father euen holy Dauid therin most impious treason Zimri likewise was a traytor who slew Elah his Lord and Master and inuaded the Kingdome of Israel Such were the men with whom the ancient Murderer preuailed in three and twenty hundred yeares few in number and men of most wicked hearts and liues And shall any imagine or thinke to match himselfe with such forlorne Wretches In vvickednesse so rare will hee bee so forward and with men so vile will hee ioyne For the time after the comming of our Lord Iesus in the flesh we haue record in the scriptures for seuenty years In which time we read of much vvickednesse of the rage of the Iewes in crucifying and killing the Lord Iesus the Lord of life of the persecution of Saul wherein Stephen was stoned the persecution of Herod wherin Saint Iames was slaine vvith the sword of the malice of the Iewes in euery place forbidding the Apostles to preach the Gospell to the Gentiles and of their endlesse malice against Paul being conuerted and become a vvitnesse of Iesus And amongest all the inraged sinners of this time in vvhom the Prince of this world exercised his power most imperiously We read but of one that layde violent hands vpon himselfe euen Iudas the Apostle and hee is marked out by the names of a Traytor a Deuill the Child of Perdition So rare is this iniquitie in comparison of other sins and so notoriously and incurablie euill are those in comparison of other sinnes And shall any one sinner bee so wicked as resolued to increase this number and to match if not exceede these men Let the rarenesse of the sinne wherein the Deuill seemeth to haue some modesty as fearing to allure too many to such extreame wickednesse and madnesse and the extreame incurable iniquity of the men as if the Deuill thought it not fitte to tempt any to so geeat wickednesse but such as had already outrunne all his allurementes by their owne forwardnesse in sinne Let those thinges stay the resolution of any sinner and make him feare to execute this iniustice vpon himselfe Whom loueth he that loueth not himselfe whose friend can hee bee that in this manner and in this mercilesse measure is his owne enemie Goe then and bee more cruell then euer was murdering thiefe oppressing Tyrant bloudy Cain Senacherib vngratious Impes goe and bee more cruell then any cruell beast that though an enemy to other creatures is yet a resolued Defender of his owne life If thou striue for the name and shame of most cruel yea more cruell then man or beast yea then the Diuell himselfe For the Deuils studie not to doe themselues hurt then goe and doe that violence that thou intendest against thy selfe but if thou bee willing to let the cruellest of men the fiercest of beasts yea the Diuels themselues to goe before thee in mercilesse cruelty then preserue thine owne Life Besides consider whose thy life is who quickned thee at the first who preserued thy life hitherto vvho hath numbered thy dayes and appointed thy time to whom the seruice of thy Life doth belong to vse while hee pleaseth to whom the issues of Death doe appertaine and who hath the Keyes of Hell and of Death and in whose hands the rule of all these thinges remayneth so shalt thou discerne whether thou haue any power and authoritie or no to meddle in this businesse Diddest thou appoint the beginning of thy owne Life Diddest thou fashion and quicken the flesh in thy mothers wombe Doth not the Prophet say speaking vnto God Thine hands haue made mee and fashioned me Psal 119.73 Hee confesseth God to be the workemaster and himselfe to be Gods worke wherin he doth no more then the pot which taketh not his owne shape but receyueth it from the Potter Hereof hee speaketh more fully in another place Psal 100.3 Know yee that euen the Lord hee is God hee hath made vs and not wee oar selues And wilt thou pull the building downe that God hath set vp Goe to then and pull downe heauen which God hath spredde roule it vp in a bundell and cast it into the deepe scatter it in the ayre in the vvater of the Sea and fling abroad the droppes of it vntill it be drie pound the earth into dust and raise a mighty wind to scatter it that the place of it may bee found no more If thou haue a purpose to destroy that which God hath made and wouldest oppose thy hand in destroying against the hand of God in building attempt some of these things and trie thy strength that thou mayest suruiue thy fact and liue to reape the glory of it If these things be too great for thee then cease to holde this conceit to attempt the pulling downe of that which God hath built vp oppose not thy selfe against his Workes especially in pulling downe the frame of thine owne Life vvhere thou must needes perish with thy owne Workes and not liue to glory in that thou hast done As God made thee at the first a liuing Wight so it is he that hath preserued thee all thy time in the feeblenesse of thine Infancie in the carelesnesse of thy youth in the rashnesse of thy riper yeares all which seasons of thy life made thee subiect to many decayes through their proper fraileties But God made thy feeble Infancie strong with his strength thy ignorant and carelesse youth aduised and wise by his Wisdome thy rash and bolde manhood safe through his prouidence Hee that keepeth Israel neyther slumbering nor sleeping hee it is that hath kept thee The Prophet speaketh thus to God in one of the Psalmes Thou didst draw mee out of the Wombe thou gauest mee hope euen at my mothers brest Psal 22.9 I was cast vpon thee euen from the wombe thou art my God from my mothers belly By which vvordes hee giueth vs to vnderstand that the same God that gaue vs life in our mothers wombe is hee that keepeth vs from the wombe to the graue hee preuenteth dangers hee giueth food hee healeth our sicknesse and disappointeth our enemies he is our guard to defend vs hee is our shield and buckler to saue vs from hurt Hee hath done this for thee from thy conception to this day and wilt thou in one houre attempte to ouerthrow and destroy that which with so much care God hath
manner God hath made this generaltie of all things and hath set the same before mans mind to be considered and saith Seeke and search out the reasons and causes of all these things if thou canst when as indeed the truth of the thing is more secret and profound then the vnderstanding of man being placed in this prison of the bodie can reach and diue into Neither is the man of meanest capacitie and least vnderstanding free from miseries Wee are all like vnto sicke men which turmoile and tosse from one side of the bed vnto the other Ioh. 7.4 and yet neuer finde rest till we come to our eternall rest of which also the sinfull lusts of the flesh seeme to depriue vs. As touching the wil it is vnable till it be changed by grace to moue it selfe toward God and to will any good thing pleasing vnto him To will euill things is of nature but to will well is of grace or to will being free in respect of sinfull acts but bound in respect of good workes Ioh. 5.36 till it bee set free by Christ If he therefore shall make you free you shall bee free indeed For without me saith our Sauiour Christ Ioh. 15.3 yee can doe nothing As for the memorie Iob 13.12 Your remembrances saith Iob are like vnto ashes memorie enough for euill but not for good Heb. 2.1 to let God slip out of minde his word and benefits whereof followeth disobedience neglect of Gods worship and wicked contempt of God is a fruite and consequently of such forgetfulnesse Iudg. 3.7 Ier. 2.32 And the children of Israel did euill in the sight of the Lord and forgate the Lord their God My people haue forgotten me saith the Lord daies without number Thus men forget God the wicked wholly the godly in part Touching the earth which is the mother of vs all how many doth shee swallow vp with her downefa ls gulfes and graues Pro. 13.15.16 There are three things saith the Wiseman that are neuer satisfied yea foure say it is not enough The graue and the barren wombe the earth that is not filled with water and the fire that saith it is not enough And what doe the Seas How many doe they deuour Exod. 14.23 Act. 27.9.10 2 Cor. 11.25.26 they haue so many Rockes so many Flats and Sands so many Caribdes so many Reaches and perillous places that it is a most hard thing of all other to escape the danger of Shiprack Thrice saith the Apostle I suffered shipwracke a night and a day I haue beene in the depth in perils of waters in perils in the sea And they which are most safe in the shâ—p haue but the thicknesse of a plancke betweene them and death Anacharsis the Scithian speaking of those that sailed by sea and hearing that a shippe was but foure fingers thicke Then are there saith hee but foure fingers betweene them and death And at another time he being demanded who were more in number the liuing or the dead tell me first quoth hee among whether of them you reckon them that trauell by sea His meaning was that howsoeuer they seeme to liue to moue and to haue a being yet they might with good congruitie be accounted euen for dead For nothing is so full of casualties as the sea and that in the turning of a hand They saith the Psalmist that goe downe to the sea in ships Psal 107.23.24.25.26.27 that doe businesse in great waters These see the workes of the Lord and his wonders in the deepe For hee commandeth and raiseth the stormie windes which lift vp the waues therof They mount vp to the heauen they go down again to the depths their soule is melted because of trouble They reele to and fro and stagger like a drunken man and are at their wits end So as euery one of these that passeth to the sea may say as Dauid said to Ionathan concerning Saul 1. Sam. 20.3 There is but a steppe betweene me and death That same cleere brightnesse which we call the Sun which is a Captaine generall father to all liuing things Psal 19.5.6 which is as a Bridegrome comming out of his chamber and reioyceth as a strong man to runne a race His going forth is from the end of the heauen and his circuit vnto the ends of it and there is nothing hid from the heate thereof doth sometime so scorch with his beames that all things are parched and burnt vp with the heat thereof and at another time he taketh his course so farre from vs that all things die with cold And what shall wee say of the ayre Is it not many times corrupted and doth it not ingendâ—r and gather clouds thicke mists pestilent sicknesses and diseases the forerunners or rather the instruments of death As for bruite beasts they yeeld no reuerence to man their Prince And not onely the Lions Beares Tygers Dragons and other great wilde beasts but the very Flyes also Gnats Snakes Adders and others of the smallest sort of liuing creatures doe wonderfully vexe disquiet and annoy man euen to death as appeareth by the ten plagues of Egypt And what meaneth so much armour as Pikes Bores Bills Swords and Gunnes with diuers other instruments of mans malice Doe not these destroy and consume many times in as great measure as doe sicknesses and diseases Histories report that by Iulius Caesar who is said to haue beene a most curteous and gentle Emperour there were slaine in seuerall battels eleuen hundred thousand men And if a man of milde and meeke spirit did this what shall we expect at the hands of most cruell men Whose mercies saith the Wiseman Prou. 10.12 are cruell Neither lands nor seas nor desert places nor the woods for in that battaile in the wood of Ephraim where Absolon was slain it is said 2. Sam. 18.8 That the wood deuoured more people that day then the sword nor priuate houses nor open streets are safe from Ambushments conspiracies theeues pyrates and slaughterers Are there not vexations innumerable persecutions infinite spoyling of fields sacking of Townes preying on menâ— goods firing of houses imprisonments captiuities gally-slaueries many and infinite torments inforced besides death it selfe which men doe daily suffer at the hands of cruell men And this is that ciuill and sociable creature which is called humane which is borne without clawes or hornes in token of peace and loue which he ought to embrace Also friends and maintainers of peace and Iustice are necessary instruments of the death of man O man the very store-house of calamities and yet thou canst not be humble to think on these things Neither haue we only those foresaid corporall enemies which we may see and shun if we cannot make our part good enough with them but which is more perillous we haue also ghostly enemies which see vs and wee see not them For the Diuels which are most craftie most cruell mightie and innumerable practise nothing
will haue his course they both keepe their old wont Since the first diuision of waters the Sea hath beene accustomed to ebbe and flow who hath euer hindered it And since the first corruption of Nature Death hath beene accustomed to slay and destroy who hath resisted it Other customes haue and may be abolished a King may command and it is done but what Monarch so absolute what Emperour so potent that can abrogate within his Dominions this custome of dying Nay there is no priuiledge no not spirituall neither can that grace and excellent gift of holinesse and pietie preserue a man from a naturall death viz. the first death out of no Court or Church can a man fetch a writ of protection against this Sergeant no place will preserue no person can bee priuiledged from it Esay 57.1 For heere the holy and good man the righteous and religious man is taken from the earth and dieth Iames 1.18 For if any should be spared he that is begotten againe of Gods owne will by the word of truth he that is borne againe of water and of the Spirit Iohn 3.5 and so borne not of bloud nor of the will of the flesh Ioh. 1.13 nor of the will of man but of God He that is borne a new not of mortall seed but of immortall by the word of God 1. Pet. 1.23 which liueth and endureth for euer A man I say would thinke that such if any should not die and yet behold the whole generation of Gods children they all die in their appointed time and vndergoe death not as a punishment but as a tribute as Seneca the Heathen man speakes which euery man must pay for his life The foole dies the wise-man the subiect the Soueraigne I haue said saith the Psalmist yee are gods Psal 49.10 Psal 82.6.7 and yee all are children of the most high but yee shall die as a man and yee Princes shall fall like others and so also the Prophets and holy men of God Dauid was a man after Gods owne heart and yet he died Moses saw God face to face and yet he died Zach. 1.5 The Prophets were indued with a great measure of sanctification yet the Prophet Zachary ioynes them all together in one state of mortalitie Your Fathers where are they And doe the Prophets liue for euer What say I the Prophets Nay Christ Iesus himselfe the Sonne of God the onely Sonne the Sonne in whom he was well pleased more faithfull then Abraham more righteous then Iob more wise then Salomon more mightie then Samson more holy then Dauid and all the Prophets though hee knew no sinne in himselfe yet for taking on him the burthen of our sinnes became subiect to the same condition of mortalitie with vs and he died also Examples of other times experience of our owne teach vs that all of all sorts die and are gathered to their fathers yea the dumbe and dead bodies cry this aloud vnto vs. As Basil of Seleucia saith of Noah he preached without words of Preaching for euery stroake vpon the Arke was a reall Sermon of repentance so euery corpse that wee follow and accompany to the graue preacheth really this truth vnto vs. All the worthiest of the first times and whomsoeuer else the word of God hath well reported of where are they Are they not all dead Doe they not all see corruption our Sauiour Christ excepted Are they not all gone downe into the slimie valley Haue they not long since made their bed in the darke None of them all our Sauiour Christ excepted was able to deliuer his life from the power of the graue Art thou better then Dauid and wiser then Salomon Nay art thou greater then our Father Abraham who is dead and the Prophets which are dead Whom makest thou thy selfe If thou thinkest thou shouldest not die Then surely if the holiest begotten and borne of man doe die then all must die And if holinesse must yeeld then prophanenesse cannot stand out And therfore whether holy or prophane Iew or Greeke bond or free male or female all must die If the tender harted woman that wept for Christ then the stony hearted men that scoffed at Christ If those that imbalmed him then those that buffeted him If shee that powred oyntment on his head then he that spat in his face If Iohn his beloued Apostle then Iudas that betrayed him Man is a little world the world a great man if the great man must die how shall the little one escape We must not thinke much to vndergoe that which all are enioyned vnto necessarily Equalitie is the chiefe ground-worke of equitie and who can complaine to be comprehended where all are contained For there is not a sonne of man in the cluster of mankinde but Eodem modo nodo vinctus victus is liable to that common and equal law of Death And although they die not one death for time and manner yet for the matter and end one death is infallible to all the sonnes of men Lift vp your eyes to the heauens saith the Lord and looke vpon the earth beneath Esay 51.6 for the heauens shal vanish away like smoake and the earth shall waxe old like a garment and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner But if any shall obiect that Enoch and Elias died not Gen. 23.24 Hebr. 11.6 2. King 2.11 I answere We know not I rather thinke they did and that Elias in his fiery Chariot had his body burnt and Enoch who in his yeares matched the dayes of the Sunne 365. was without paine dissolued when God tooke his soule to heauen or if they died not yet as Origen saith the generall is not therefore false because God hath dispenced in some particulers though one or two died not yet this is an vniuersall truth of all men to be receiued and duely pondered Heb. 9.21 It is appointed vnto all men that they shall once die from which there is no auoidance For the Lord of life and death hath so decreed it the decree was made in the beginning Gen. 3.19 For dust thou art and to dust thou shalt returne If it be his decree it must needs haue a certaine effect The decree is certaine the euent is ineuitable Our God saith the Psalmist Psal 115.3 is in heauen and hee doth whatsoeuer hee will Gods will is the deede as saith Saint Cyprian if he hath once willed it it is as good as wrought If he haue decreed it it is as certaine as if it were done It is heauens decree and it cannot be reuoked Dan. 6.1 I haue beene somewhat too tedious in this first Diuision which is somwhat contrarie to the common prouerbe that he should not be tedious that reades a Lecture of mortality but because this is on the one side a matter worthy to be obserued and on the otherside a matter too too much neglected I haue beene somewhat the bolder to
both man and tree fall into the bottom of that deepe pit This hungry Vnicorne is swift death the poore traueller that flyeth is euery sonne of Adam the pit ouer which he hangeth is hell the arme of the tree and slender twigge is his fraile and short life those two wormes are the wormes of conscience which day and night without intermission consume the same the hiue of hony is the pleasures of this world to which while men wholly deuote themselues not remembring their last end the roote of the tree that is the temporall life is spent and they fall without redemption into the pit and gulfe of hell If thou thus seriously ponder this thy vnstable estate I suppose thou wilt take little pleasure in ryot and dissolute liuing Giue those that are condemned to dy Nectar giue them Ambrosia giue them Manna the bread of Angells and will they tast it No they can neither eat drinke laugh or sleepe and wilt thou that art already condemned and guiltie of death perchance this very moment to be inflicted vpon thee securely addict thy selfe to drunkennesse gluttonie excesse and to al manner of riotous and intemperate liuing Remember rather the rich glutton in the Gospell Luke 16.23 who after he had pampered his body all the dayes of his life in the end Death made him a fat dish for the wormes his flesh and bones were consumed into dust but which was most terrible his soule was cast into hell the burning lake of brimstone and at this time calleth for one drop of cold water to coole his tongue which yet is denied him What adamantine and flinty heart can thinke vpon this without relenting I speake not here of the harmes and hurts that intemperance in meates and drinkes bringeth to the body for meate should be vsed as oyle put into a lampe to keepe it burning not to quench it And Galen the Prince of Physitians saith that abstinence is the whole summe or abridgement of Physicke How then can they liue long that liue by so many deaths whose bellies are sepulchers of lusts and very gulfes and sinckes of the shambles to their owne destruction For as he that allowes lesse to his body then he owes to his body kils his friend so hee that giues more to his body then he owes to his body nourisheth his enemie If the glutton did remember that God is able to come against him yea at the very disburdening of nature he would not make his kitchin his Church gurmandizing his Chamberlaine his Table his Alter his Cooke his Preacher the odours of his meate his sacrifice swearing his prayer quaffing his repentance and his whole life wanton fare Did the Drunkard but remember this that God is ready to come quickly against him yea euen in his drunkennesse he would not rise early to follow strong drink Esa 5.11 which doth trouble the head ouerthrow the sences cause the feete to reele the tongue to stammer the eyes to roule and the whole fabrick of his little world to be possest with this voluntarie madnes losse of many friends credit and time It would make too great a volume to insist vpon all other sinnes for the subduing wherof the meditation on Death is a most soueraigne remedy Are we strangers vpon earth and is our countrey in heauen and must we all dye Yea verily this necessitie thē should inforce vs to aspire to our heauenly countrey and let vs rather meete Death in our meditation thē carelesly attend it lest we be surprized by it at vnawares Before thy miserable spirit resigne ouer his borrowed mansion bethinke with thy selfe what thou art and whether thou goest the remembrance whereof will breede in thy heart sorrow sorrow remorse remorse repentance repentance humilty humility godly affection and loue to God-ward And here assure thy selfe that nothing in all the world can inforce a man sooner to liue soberly righteously and godly in this present euill life then the due consideration of his owne infirmities the certaine knowledge of his mortality and the often and continuall meditation and remembrance of his last gaspe death and dissolution when as a man then becommeth no man For when once he beginneth to wax sicke and still by sicknes groweth more sickly then doth a wretched man despaire of life hauing onely his paine griefe in remembrance His heart doth quake his minde is amazed with feare his sences vanish quite away his strength decayes his carefull brest doth pant his countenance is pale neither willing nor able to call for mercy his fauor out of fauor his eares deafe his nose loathsomely foule and sharp his tongue furred with phlegme and choller quite flattereth and faileth his mouth vnseemely froathing and foming his body dyeth and rots at length his flesh consumes his shape his beautie his delicacy leaue him and he returnes to ashes and in stead and place of these succeede filthy wormes as one sayth elegantly Next after man doe wormes succede then stincke in his degree So euery man to no man must returne by Gods decree Behold here a spectacle both strange and dreadfull and assure thy selfe that there is neither skill nor meanes of art nor any kinde of learning that can be more auaileable to quaile the pride of man conuince his malice confound his lusts and abate his worldly pompe and vaine-glorious vanity then the often remembring of these things For in all the world there is nothing so irksome nothing so loathsome and vile as the carcasse of a dead man whose sent is so tedious and infectious that it may not lodge and continue in a house fower dayes but must needs be cast out of doores as dung and deepely buried in the mould Ioh. 11.39 for feare of corrupting the ayre Then blush for shame thou proud peacocke who in death art so vile and wormes meat and shortly shall become most loathsome carrion Thinke therefore vpon these things and thou shalt receiue great profit thereby When the Peacocke doth behold that comely fanne and circle of the beautifull feathers of his taile hee jetteth vp and downe in pride beholding euery part thereof but when he looketh downe seeth his black feete with great misliking he vaileth his top-gallant and seemeth to sorrow Euen so many know by experience that when they see themselues to abound in wealth and honor they glory much are highly conceited of themselues they draw plots and appoynt much for themselues to performe for many yeares to come This yeare say they we will beare this office and the next yeare that afterward we shall haue the rule of such a prouince then wee will build a pallace in such a Citty whereunto wee will adioyne such gardens of pleasure and such vineyards and the like And thus they make a very large reckoning before hand with the rich man in the Gospell Who if they did but once behold their feete that is if they did but see how fast they stoope toward death Luk. 12.16
were reprobate or saued Of which matter saith he it is not for me to determine Our Iudge is his Iudge who will lay all thinges open when the time commeth This in the meane time is certaine that the deede of the man ought in no wise to bee allowed If wittingly I discommend his reason if in a phrenzie as one out of his wit then doe I greatly lament and pitty his case Yet notwithstanding seeing Gods iudgements be secret and wee be likewise in doubt vpon what intent he did thus punish himselfe nor any man can be certaine whether he repented or not before the last breath I think their opinion herein is more indifferent who doe rather disallow the example of the dead then despayre any way of his saluation Otherwise if we will adiudge all these to hell that haue departed the World after this sort how many examples haue we in the first persecutions of the Church of those men and women who being registred in the Works of worthy Writers haue notwithstanding their prayse and commendation For what shall wee thinke of those young men who being sought for to doe sacrifice to heathen Idols did cast down themselues headlong and brake their neckes to auoyde such horrible pollution of themselues What shall I say of those Virgins of Antioch who to the end they might not defile themselues with vncleannesse and with Idolatrie through the perswasion of their mother casting themselues headlong into a riuer together with their mother did for doe themselues though not in the same water yet after the same manner of drowning as this M. Hales did What shall I say of other two sisters which for the selfe same quarrell did violently throw themselues headlong into the Sea as Eusebius doth recorde In whom though perchance there was lesse confidence to beare out the paines that should be ministred of the wicked vnto them yet that their good desire to keepe their faith and religion vnspotted was commended and praysed Another like example of death is mentioned by Nicephorus in another Virgin likewise whose name is expressed in Ierome to bee Braessila Diraehima who to keepe her Virginity fayned her selfe to be a Witch and so conuenting with the yong man which went about to deflowre her pretended that shee would giue him an hearbe which should preserue him from all kind of weapons and so to proue it in her selfe layde the hearbe vpon her owne throat bidding him smite wherby shee was slain so by the losse of her life saued her Virginity Hereunto may bee ioyned the like death of Sophronia a Matron of Rome who when shee was required of Maxentius the Tyrant to be defiled and saw her husband more slacke then he ought to haue been in sauing her honesty bidding them that were sent for her to tarry a while till she made her ready went into her Chamber and with a weapon thrust her selfe through the breast and so dyed Likewise Achetes biting off his owne tongue did spit it in the face of the harlot Which examples sayth M. Fox I doe not here alledge as going about to excuse or mainetaine the hainous fact of M. Hales which I would wish rather by silence might bee drowned in obliuion But yet notwithstaÌ„ding as touching the person of the man what soeuer his fact was because we are not sure whether hee at the last breath repented againe for that wee doe not know nor are able to comprehend the bottomles depth of the graces and mercyes of God which are in Christ Iesus our Sauiour Wee will therefore leaue the finall iudgement of him to the determination of him who is appointed the onely Iudge of the quicke and dead And thus far M. Fox Touching the Cases wherein it is lawfull to desire death they may bee reduced principally into fiue The first is that if God can bee more honoured and glorified by our death then by our life then in such a case it is lawfull to desire death Iudg. 16.28.29.30 In which case Sampson desired death knowing wel therby that he should slay more of the vncircumcised Philistines the enemies of God at his death then he slue in his life In this case Moses the seruant of God desired to dye yea he went further for hee desired not a temporall but an eternall death for the glory of God in the saluation of his people For when Moses perceyued that the Lord was greatly offended with the people for making and worshipping the golden Calfe and that the Lords wrath waxed hote against them and that hee meant to consume them for the same Exod 32.31.32.33 It is sayd that Moses returned to the Lord and sayde Oh this people haue sinned a great sin and haue made them Gods of gold yet now if thou wilt forgiue their sinne and if not blot mee I pray thee out of the booke which thou hast written Also in this case the Apostle Saint Paul went as farre as Moses in desiring the same death for the like cause as Moses did which was for the glory of God in the saluation of his people Who being exceeding much sorrowfull for the Lords reiecting and casting off the Iewes sayth Rom. 9.1.2.3.4 I say the truth I â—…e not my Conscience also bearing mee witnesse in the holy Ghost that I haue great heauinesse and continâ—al sorrow in my heart for I could wish that my selfe were accursed or separated from Christ for my Brethren my Kinsemen according to the flesh who are Israelites to whom pertayneth the adoption and the glory and the couenants and the giuing of the Law and the seruice of God and the promises whose are the Fathers and of whom as concerning the Flesh Christ came Who is ouer all God blessed for euer Amne In this case also the holy Martyres greatly longed after and desired death and ranne most ioyfully and gladly vnto it Well knowing with Sampson that they should slay more at their death then they slue in their Life as first that they should slay their last enemie by death which is not slaine but by dying And secondly that by dying they should kill the spawne of all enmitie sinne that causeth death and thirdly they knew that God should be more glorified and honoured by their death then hee could be by their life in that it would thereby bee an occasion of daunting his enemies and of the increasing and flourishing of his Church and Children For the death of the Martyrs was the seed of Gods Church Acts and Monuments 113. In which respect M. Foxe in his Acts and Monuments sayth that in old time Martyrdome was more desired then Bishoprickes be now Secondly it is lawfull to desire death in respect of the wicked through zeale to Gods glory to the end that wee may bee freede from their society whereby wee might not bee eye-witnesses nor eare-witnesses of theyr dayly blaspheming and dishonouring of God In which case Rebecka desired death Gen. 26.34.35 for when Esau had taken
the world vnited together if it were possible into one and that which the Apostle calleth the glory which shall bee shewed hereafter Better it is with a kinde of silent astonishment to admire it then to take on vs eyther to discribe it or to comprehend it in particular Yet giue me leaue to set before you for the furtherance of your priuate meditations a little shadow or glympse thereof euen as it were but the backe-parts thereof which Moses was permitted to see betwixt which and it notwithstanding there is as much difference Exod. 33.23 as betweene one droppe of water and the maine Ocean sea A word fitly spoken sayth the Wiseman is like apples of gold and pictures of siluer Prou. 25.11 Wee reade in the booke of Deutronomy that when Moses went vp from the playnes of Moab vnto the mountaine of Nebo Deut. 34.1.2.3.4 to the toppe of Pisgah that is ouer against Iericho that there the Lord shewed him all the land of Gilead vnto Dan and all Nepthacy and all the land of Ephraim and Manasses and all the land of Iudah vnto the vtmost sea and the South and the playne of the land of Iericho the Citie of Palme trees vnto Zoar. And this is the land which I sware sayth the Lord vnto Abraham and vnto Isaacke and vnto Iacob saying I will giue vnto thy seed and I haue caused thee to see it with thine eyes And this was that earthly Canaan euen that promised land which is so much commended in the holy Scriptures Euen so if we will take a little paines to goe vp to the mountaine of the Lorde which the Prophet Esay speaketh of Esa 2.2 then there in in some small measure may we take a sight and view not of the glory of the earthly Canaan but of the glory of the heauenly Canaan and where the Deuill as it is sayd in the Gospell tooke Iesus vp into an exceeding high mountaine Mat. 4.8 and shewed him all the Kingdomes of the world and the glory of them Here vpon this mountaine of the Lord there is shewed vnto vs the Kingdome of God and the glory of the same All which the Lord will giue vs being the right owner thereof if we feare serue and worship him and wee neede not with Moses to clime vp to any earthly mountaine to see and behold the Kingdom of God and the glory therof Deut. 30.12.13.14 It is not in heauen sayth Moses in another case that thou shouldest say Who shall goe vp to heauen for vs and bring it vnto vs that wee may heare it and doe it neyther is it beyond the sea that thou shouldest say Who shall goe ouer the Sea for vs and bring it vnto vs that we may heare it and doe it But the word is verie nigh vnto thee in thy mouth and in thine heart and there we may behold this glory Search the Scriptures sayth our Sauiour Christ in the Gospell of Saint Iohn for in them yee thinke to haue eternall life and they are they which testifie of mee Iohn 5.39 And we may adde further also that they are they which testifie of this glorious estate of the children of God after death Ioseph gaue his brethren prouision for the way but the full sackes were kept in store vntill they came to their Fathers house God giues vs here a taste and assay of his goodnesse but the maine sea of his bounty and store is hoorded vp in the kingdom of heauen It is an vsuall thing in the Scripture to represent spirituall and heauenly things by bodily and earthly things that therein as in glasses we may behold heauenly thinges although obscurely which notwithstanding we cannot otherwise perceiue and see immediatly being too glorious and vehement obiects for our eyes Therefore as we can not behold the light of the Sunne in the Sunne but by reflection thereof in the Moone in the Starres in the water or other bright body or else by refraction thereof in the mistie ayre so the soule while it is in the body heareth seeth vnderstandeth imagineth with the body and in a bodily manner and therefore is not capable of such hearing seeing vnderstanding imagining as it shall bee when it is separate from the body hence it is that the Apostle sayth 1. Cor. 13.12 Wee now see through a glasse darkely Wee conceyue of heauen by a Citty whose walles pauements and mansions are of gold pearle Christall Emeralds as it is described in the booke of the Reuelation Reuel 21.10 which wee shall afterwards heare more at large And to beginne first of all with the comfortes and benefites of this life euen they although miserable doe argue that a far better estate is reserued for vs in heauen We see that God euen here vpon earth notwithstanding our manifold sinnes wherby we dayly offend him and which may iustly cause him as the Prophet speaketh Ier. 5.25 to withhold good things from vs yet he in great mercy vouchsafeth vs many pleasures and furnisheth vs not onely with matters of necessity who dayly sayeth the Psalmist Psal 68.19 loadeth vs with benefites but also of delights There is a whole Psalme spent onely in this matter which is the 104. Psalme Psal 104. a Psalme worthy to bee written in letters of gold and as Moses speaketh in Deuteronomy Deut. 11.20 vpon the dore postes of thine house and vpon the gates yea vpon the Table of thine heart as the Wise-man speaketh Pro. 7.3 for the admirable excellency thereof God causeth sayth Saint Ciprian the Sunne to rise and set in order the seasons to obey vs the elements to serue vs the windes to blow the spring to flow the corn to grow Ps 147.18 the fruites to shew the gardens and orchardes to fructifie the woods to rastle with leaues the meadowes to shine with varietie of grasse and flowers And Chrysostowe very excellently handling the same point with Cyprian further shewes that God hath in a sorte made the night more beautifull then the day by infinite varietie of bright and glittering starres and that hee hath beene more mindfull and mercifull then man would haue bin of himselfe who through the greedinesse of the World would haue ouertoyled himselfe but that God made the night of purpose for his repose and rest In a word hee sayes and that truly euen of these earthly benefites and commodities that although we were neuer so vertuous nay if wee should dye a thousand deathes wee should not be worthie of them And the very heathen Poet considering this could not choose but breake out into an admiration saying O how many things hath God created for mans delight heaped ioyes vpon him with a bountifull hand Nay the Prophet Dauid considering this could not chuse but breake out into this wonderful admiration Psal 144.3 Lord what is man that thou takest knowledge of him or the son of man that thou makest accoūt of him And al this hath
freed from iniquity necessity calamitie and mortality enioying secure quietnesse quiet ioyfulnesse ioyfull blessednesse blessed euerlastingnesse and euerlasting happinesse Where is also certaine assurance perfect deliuerance assured eternity eternall quietnesse quiet happinesse happy pleasure and pleasurable ioy and glorie the happy Trinity and Vnity of Trinitie and Deity of Vnity and blessed sight of Deity this is the Masters ioy oh ioy aboue all ioy besides which there is no ioy And what can we imagine that may delight vs Mat. 13.43 that we shall not haue there in infinite fulnesse Wouldest thou haue sweet musicke there shalt thou enioy the harmonious melody of the heauenly Saints and Angels which sing day and night before the throne Wouldst thou haue beauty and excellencie of body there thou shalt be like to the Angels and shalt shine as the Sunne in the kingdome of thy Father Wouldst thou haue pleasure and delight there thou shalt be abundantly satisfied saith the Psalmist Psal 36.8 with the fatnesse of Gods house and he shall make thee drinke of the riuers of his pleasures Wouldst thou haue wisedome there thou shal enioy the full view and sight of Wisedome it selfe Wouldst thou desire concord vnity and friendship there thou shalt loue God aboue thy selfe and God shal loue thee better then thou canst loue thy selfe and there all the Angels and Saints shall haue but one wil and one mind and shal be of one accord and that shall bee agreeing with Gods will Wouldst thou haue power Luke 19.17 there thou that hast beene here faithful of a litle shalt be made ruler ouer much Wouldest thou haue honour there thou shalt come to honor by inheriting of a kingdome and in this kingdome the Lorâ— will honour thee with his owne attendance Wouldst thou haue blessed company there shalt thou enioy the blessed societie and company of his Saints and Angels and the presence of Christ Psal 17.15 and of God and shalt as the Psalmist saith behold the face of God in righteousnesse and shall bee satisfied with his Image and likenesse Againe euer splendent shall the habitation of Gods Saints be it shal not need Sun for the Lambe is the light of it the Saints that are saued shal walke in the light of it and the Kings of the earth shâ—ll bring their honor and glory vnto it the gates of it shal not be shut by day for there shall be no night there and the glory both of the Iew and Gentile shall be brought vnto it What should I say more as I coulâ— so haue I told let the heart conceiue the rest yet so as a most pleasant place and most ioyfull presence a most happie estate of blessednes shall be your portion in an endlesse glory I cannot speake as I would and yet my heart is full breake it wil if I may not vent it pardon me therefore a while to beate backe these fearefull passions of your mortalitie with further impression of your eternitie and consider then how great and glorious this change and alteration will be There shall be tranquillitie without storme libertie with out restraint ioy without interruption eternity without cessation yee shall haue eyes without teares hearts without sorrow soules without sinne Your knowledge shall bee without doubting or discourse for yee shall see God and all goodnesse all at once your loue shall leuell at the highest nor shall it faile to fall vpon the lowest of his Saints yee shall haue what you can desire and yee shall desire nothing but what is good for as one hath truely said he is not blessed who inioyeth not all hee will and yet willeth nothing but what is good yee shall heare melodious songs euen the songs of Sion Reuel 5.13.14 Psalmes Hymnes and Prayses more sweete then the harmonie of the heauens when all that celestiall hoast shall fill that holy vault with an Halleluiah to the Almightie Reuel 19.1 and say Honor Glory Maiestie Power Dominion and Might be ascribed to him that sitteth vpon the Throne both now and for euer And heere as the blessed Apostle saith God shall be all in all vnto vs meate to our taste 1. Cor. 15.28 bewtie to our eyes perfumes to our smell musicke to our eares What shall I say more but as the Psalmist saith Psal 87.3 Glorious things are spoken of thee O Citie of God Selah Againe all this and all the former ioyes shall bee for euer and without interruption and of this kingdome saith the Euangelist Luke Luke 1.33 there shall be no end The King hereof is Christ â—he Law is loue the subiects are the Saints Reu. 10.6 and the bounds of this Empire are endlesse tyed to no returne either of terme or time for time shall bee no more Diuines are wont to shadow out Eternitie by the similitude of a little bird drinking vp a drop of water ouâ— of the sea if euery thousand thousand yeares the bird should come and drinke vp but one drop yet the sea might be drie at length But yet this lasting of the sea is nothing in comparison to the lasting of the glory of heauen And for your speedie passage out of this world into that endlesse glorie yee shall goe nay yee shall flye as Saint Augustine saith with as great haste as happinesse Luke 23.47 2. Iohn 2.18 1. Cor. 15.52 This day saith our Sauiour Christ euen now saith Saint Iohn In the twinckling of an eye saith the blessed Apostle Saint Paul all shall be changed at the day of Doome and why not at the day of Death For if the bodie shal be where the minde wil when it is glorified why shall not the soule bee where and when God will when it is deliuered I say Rom. 8.21 deliuered out of the bondage of corruption wherein it is into the glorious libertie of the sonnes of God where it should be The silly eye of flesh and bloud may happily demurre vpon the distance and thinke how it can bee possible that the soule should passe with such speed from this earthly house of clay to that high glorious and heauenly habitation dwelling the eight Sphere as some write being distant from the earth euery where twentie thousand Semidiameters which calculated aright and numbred with our miles maketh a million of Germane miles which is one thousand thousand Surely I dare determine of no particuler but say in generall as Balaam did of Israel in the booke of Numbers where he saith Numb 23.10 Who can count the dust of Iacob and the number of the fourth part of Israel So who can tell the distance of the heauens Prou. 25.3 The heauen for height saith the Wise-man and the earth for depth and the hearts of Kings are vnsearchable Howbeit be the distance neuer so great and the roome neuer so close where the partie dieth yet speedie may be the soules passage to this glory when it is done by the power of God Marke 10.27
heard in mine owne land of thine acts and of thy wisedome how bee it I beleeued not the words vntill I came and mine eyes had seene and behold the one halfe was not told mee thy wisedome and prosperitie exceedeth the fame which I haue heard Happy are thy men happy are these thy seruants which stand continually before thee and heare thy wisedome Now if the queene of Sheba could say so much that the one halfe was not told her and that his wisedome and prosperity exceeded the fame which shee before had heard of him then much more may the child of God truly say when he commeth in his owne person to behold a farre greater then Salomon nay Mat. 12.42 not so much as one quarter of the glory and ioyes of heauen was told him and that the glory and ioyes thereof farre exceed the report fame and description which he hath heard For all the ioyes which we haue heard or can heare of when they are put all together they are all but as one poore drop of water to the maine Ocean sea in comparison of the ioyes which the Saints of God shall behold and enioy in their owne persons in the kingdome of glorie For no man knoweth them but such as enioy them according to that which is said in the booke of the Reuelation To him that ouercommeth Reu. 2.17 I will giue to eate of the hidden Manna and will giue him a white stone and in the stone a new name written which no man knoweth sauing bee that receiueth it Let me but shew you now what S. Augustine speaketh of the ioyes of heauen Wee may sooner tell you saith hee what they are not then what they are And hence it is that the euangelical Prophet Esay saith Isay 64.6 That since the beginning of the world men haue not heard nor perceiued by the eare neither hath the eye seene O God besides thee what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him For there we shall see light that passeth all lights which no eye hath seene there wee shall heare a glorious sound or harmonie which passeth all harmonies which no eare hath heard there wee shall smell a most sweet sent and sauour that passeth all sweet sents and sauours which no sense hath smelt there wee shall taste a most pleasant and delightfull taste that passeth all pleasant tastes which no tongue hath tasted and there we shall finde such pleasure and contentment as passeth all contentments and pleasures which no body euer had Nay I can not hold my heart for my ioy yea I cannot hold in my ioy for my heart to thinke vpon this ioy and glorie and to think that I that am now a silly poore worme vpon earth shall hereafter be a glorious Saint in the kingdome of glorie where is not onely true happinesse but perfection of happinesse not sound ioy onely but fulnesse of ioy which are so absolute and strange that neither eye hath seene to wit eye mortall nor eare hath heard 1. Cor. 2.9 that is eare of man hath not heard the like neither can they enter into our heart though all our hearts were as large euery one 1. King 4.29 as the heart of Salomon which God gaue vnto him euen as large as the sand that is on the sea-shore to conceiue and vnderstand them if they were told vs which are reuealed by the spirit and but lisped out by S. Iohn in those earthly similitudes of gates of pearles of walles of iasper Reu 21.18.19.21,22 and of a street whose pauement is gold as we heard before Dan 12.3 But it may be here obiected But in heauen saith the Prophet Daniel they that be wise shall shine as the brightnesse of the firmament and they that turne many vnto righteousnesse shall be as the starres for euer and euer Now the firmament hath not so much light as the starres which lighten it and the starres haue lesse light then the Sun that lightneth them from whence therefore it seemeth that in heauen also there should rather be some want then such fulnesse of heauenly ioyes and glorie I answer though in this condition of our heauenly life there may be degrees of glory In my fathers house saith our Sauiour Christ Iohn 14.2 are many mansions yet there shall be no want of glory some may be like the skie some the starres of the skie yet all shall shine some vessels may hold more some lesse and yet all bee full so one may haue more ioy then another there are sundry measures of more or lesse glory in heauen There is one glory of the Sunne saith the Apostle 1. Cor. 15 41 another of the Moone and another glory of the starres for one starre differeth from another in glory but no measure shal lacke his fulnesse of life and glory there where shall be a measure of ioy heaped vp shaken together pressed downe and running ouer And as Bernard very excellently speaketh Luke 6.38 a measure without measure where we shall be filled with ioy yet being filled wee shall still desire lest our fulnesse procure a loathing and in desiring we shall alwaies be filled lest our desire beget a grieuing neither can God giue more nor man receiue more then we shall there enioy for there we shall be replenished and satisfied with such a fulnesse of life glory and happinesse so as wee shall not bee able to desire or to haue any more euen as vessels cast into the water being so filled with water that they can desire or hold no more and he that hath least shall haue enough The reasons hereof are these Hell is contrarie to heauen In hell there is a fulnesse of torment in heauen therefore there must be a fulnesse and perfection of glory and happinesse Secondly earthly kingdomes and the kings therof haue as great an absolutenesse as earth can affoord and giue them and shal we thinke that heauen which can giue an entire wil giue an impefect crowne of righteousnesse and glorie Wil the kings of the earth dwel in base cottages and not in royal Courts and Pallaces and shall these kings of a far better kingdome want ioy and glorie wheras mortall kings haue so great glorie and power Princes on the earth dwell in royall palaces sometimes of Cedar and Iuorie but they whom the Sonne of God hath made kings and priests vnto God his Father Reu. 1.6 as it is in the booke of the Reuelation shall raigne in a glorious citie and pallace whose twelue gates are twelue pearles Reu. 21.18 whose wall is of Iasper and building of gold and whose streetes shine as cleare glasse So said he that saw all this glorie but darkely or as Moyses saw the land of Canaan in a very short mappe or card afarre off as it doth appeare in the booke of Deuteronomie Deut. 34.1,2.3.4 We see but the outward wall of this heauenly Court and City and yet how glorious is it and