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<DATE>2012-05-24</DATE>
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<NAME>Jayanthi Reddy</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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*Final validate and check Corrected [ ] illegible groups out of [ ]. Converted [ ] illegible groups to GAP DESC="illegible". DONE</ITEM>
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<STC T="W">S207A</STC>
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<DIV1 TYPE="frontispiece">
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<P><FIGURE>
<HEAD>Chri&s;tian Exortation again&s;t the fearc of Death.</HEAD>
<Q><P>For &s;ince by man came death, by man came al&s;o the re&s;urrection of the dead.</P> <BIBL>Corin: 15 Ch. p: 21.</BIBL></Q>
</FIGURE></P>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="3">
<P>TWO DISCOURSES, The FIRST, A CHRISTIAN'S EXHORTATION, Again&s;t the FEARS OF DEATH: The SECOND, A brief and clear Declaration of the Re&s;urrection of the Dead.</P>
<P>With &s;uitable Meditations and Pray|ers touching LIFE and DEATH.</P>
<P><HI>Recommended as proper to be given at Funerals</HI></P>
<P>By <HI>W. S.</HI></P>
<P><HI>LONDON:</HI> Printed for <HI>Tho. Bever,</HI> at the <HI>Hand</HI> and <HI>Star,</HI> next to the Middle <HI>Temple-Gate,</HI> near <HI>Temple Bar,</HI> 1690. Price Bound 1 Shilling.</P>
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<DIV1 TYPE="discourses">
<DIV2 TYPE="discourse">
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<PB N="5" REF="4">
<HEAD>A DISCOURSE Again&s;t the Fears of DEATH.</HEAD>
<P>PLATO &s;aid, <HI>That the Phi|lo&s;ophy wherein Man (living in this World) &s;hould princi|pally exerci&s;e him&s;elf, is the Meditation of Death.</HI> That is to &s;ay, of his condition in the World, frail, di&s;ea&s;ed, and mortal; of the divers accidents of this humane Life, and of the Hour of Death, &s;o uncertain and unknown; to the end that con|&s;idering
<PB N="6" REF="5">the&s;e things, he might with|draw his affection and tru&s;t from this World, that he might de&s;pi&s;e it, and all temporal things, wherein he &s;ees and di&s;covers &s;o much incon&s;tancy, and &s;uch &s;uddain and frequent mu|tations or changes: and that by &s;uch a de&s;pi&s;ing of uncertain and ca&s;ual things, he &s;hould &s;tir up him&s;elf un|to a contemplation of tho&s;e that are Divine and Heavenly; and for&s;aking that which is here peri&s;hing and tran|&s;itory, he &s;hould choo&s;e his part in Heaven, and &s;hould &s;tay him&s;elf at that which is permanent and eternal. For the like rea&s;on <HI>Philip,</HI> the Fa|ther of <HI>Alexander the Great,</HI> a man of good under&s;tanding, and of very great con&s;ideration, to the end that in the mid&s;t of his great pro&s;perity, he &s;hould not forget him&s;elf in his Duty, gave order that one of his Gentlemen &s;hould every day at his waking, come and &s;peak the&s;e words unto him; <HI>King, have in remem|brance
<PB N="7" REF="5">that thou art a mortal Man.</HI></P>
<P>Je&s;us Chri&s;t al&s;o, our Saviour and Ma&s;ter, intending the &s;ame, doth ex|hort us to Watch, and to lay up Trea|&s;ures in Heaven, and not on Earth, where all things are uncertain and changeable. We &s;ee by this, that during our Life we cannot do bet|ter then to think upon Death, and our Body being upon the Earth, to accu&s;tom our &s;elves to have always our Spirit and Heart in Heaven. Now becau&s;e that the remembrance of Death is a fearful thing to many, I have bethought my &s;elf to pa&s;s a|way my Griefs, and to recreate my &s;elf from my other Studies; and al|&s;o to give you a te&s;timony of the Obligation which I think I have to|wards you, as well for the good which you have done unto me, as for the Friend&s;hip which you bear me, to write unto you, and to pre|&s;ent this &s;mall Treati&s;e, wherein I have briefly touched certain Points,
<PB N="8" REF="6">wherewith the Faithful may Arm them&s;elves again&s;t Death: which he ought to do in time, and prepare him|&s;elf to receive it with a&s;&s;urance, at &s;uch time as it &s;hall plea&s;e God to &s;end it; for that which doth a&s;to|ni&s;h many, is that the coming there|of is &s;uddain unto them, and that they are &s;urprized unlooked for. We &s;ee by experience in a frontier Town, that when it is well Victual|led and provided of all things nece&s;|&s;ary, to with-&s;tand a long Siege, tho&s;e within are a great deal the more a&s;|&s;ured and bold; whereas if it were unprovided, they would &s;tand a|mazed and tremble with fear, if they &s;hould chance to &s;ee the approaching of the Siege. It is ea&s;ie to judge by that, of what importance it is to have prevented a danger, and to be pre|pared for it.</P>
<P>To provide therefore and arm the Faithful Man again&s;t Death, we mu&s;t note that there are two &s;orts of it:
<PB N="9" REF="6">the one is <HI>temporal,</HI> of the <HI>body,</HI> which Chri&s;tians ought to de&s;ire; the o|ther is <HI>eternal,</HI> of <HI>body</HI> and <HI>Soul,</HI> which they ought not to fear, per&s;evering in the Faith of our Lord.</P>
<P>That it is &s;o, all Fear pre-&s;up|po&s;eth evil and danger; we do not fear that which is good, but long af|ter, de&s;ire and pur&s;ue it, and when it offers it &s;elf, we receive it joyfully; but an evil we apprehend and fear, we fly from it, and when it happens unto us, we &s;orrow and do complain. If then it doth appear by good and evident Proofs, that the Faithful Man is not in danger of this &s;econd Death, may we not then conclude, that if we fear it, it is fooli&s;h and without occa&s;ion? And &s;urely if we had judgment, and never &s;o little Faith, it were &s;ufficient pre&s;ently to take away the fear of it from us.</P>
<P>For fir&s;t, the proper nature of <HI>faith</HI> is to animate and quicken our <HI>heart,</HI> &s;o &s;oon as it is received in us. <HI>The
<PB N="10" REF="7">Ju&s;t</HI> (&s;aith the Prophet) <HI>&s;hall live by Faith.</HI> Now even &s;o as the Body, whiles the Soul is in it, liveth, and dieth not, until &s;uch time as it be &s;e|parated from it; no more doth the Faithful Man, per&s;evering in the Faith which hath been in&s;pired and put into his Heart by the Grace of God. Although (&s;aith <HI>David</HI>) <HI>I &s;hould walk in the mid&s;t of the &s;hadow of Death, I will not fear; for Thou art with me O Lord!</HI> What was the cau&s;e of this a&s;&s;urance? was it not Faith? Armed wherewith, we ought no more to fear Death, then we do Sickne&s;s when we are in perfect <HI>health,</HI> well di&s;po&s;ed, and in good liking; or Poverty, when we have plenty and abundance of all good things.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> By Faith we have remi&s;|&s;ion, and an abolition of all the faults which we have done; Why do we then fear <HI>Death?</HI> There is no Death where there is no Sin; <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 span"> Death <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 span"> Paul:</HI>
<PB N="11" REF="7">and el&s;ewhere; <HI>The Reward of Sin is Death:</HI> Sin cau&s;eth God to be an|gry with us, and that in His Anger He condemneth us to Death. Now all Seeds doth bring forth according to their &s;ort and quality: The Wheat bringeth forth Wheat, and the Rye, Rye; and we mu&s;t not hope for a|ny Fruit, if there be not Seed before hand.</P>
<P>This being true, and witne&s;&s;ed in a thov&s;and places of the Scripture, that unto a Chri&s;tian all his Sins and debts are acquitted, by the Grace and Mercy of God, that they are for|gotten, that they are covered, that they are not imputed, and that they are remitted and pardoned, that they are ca&s;t as far from us, as the Ea&s;t from the We&s;t; provided that there be no more Seed thereof, we need not look for any Fruit: That is to &s;ay, if there be no more Sin, there is no more anger of God, nor of death,
<PB N="12" REF="8">and by con&s;equent that al&s;o there ought to be no more fear.</P>
<P>Thirdly, By Faith we have the Word and the Promi&s;es of GOD, whereupon it is grounded: Among others this; <HI>Who&s;o Believeth &s;hall not Die, but is pa&s;&s;ed from Death to Life.</HI> Now this promi&s;e can no more fail, than He that gave it us: It is Eter|nal; and all that God &s;aith, is as &s;ure and permanent as Heaven and Earth: For this cau&s;e when we look into them, we ought in them to con&s;ider the vertue and power of this Word, by the which they were once Created, and ever &s;ince pre|&s;erved and maintained in that e&s;tate wherein, we now &s;ee them; and to infer thereupon, that being of the &s;ame power and efficacy in all other things, nothing is, impo&s;&s;ible nor uncertain of all that which God doth &s;ay and promi&s;e unto us. And there|fore as St. <HI>James</HI> &s;aith, <HI>Receiving His
<PB N="13" REF="8">holy Word by Faith in our Hearts, and the Promi&s;es which He hath made us, to give us Eternal Life, we ought to a&s;&s;ure our &s;elves of it, and take away all fear and apprehen&s;ion of Death.</HI> What was the cau&s;e of the ruin of us and our Fore-fathers? Was it not becau&s;e they did decline from the Word of God, to follow their own Fancies and the Coun&s;el of Satan? If then on the contrary we will cleave to it, without leaning any jot either to the right hand or to the left, we &s;hall live by it, and in it. <HI>Hearken unto Me,</HI> &s;aith GOD (<HI>&s;peak|ing by</HI> I&s;aiah) <HI>and your Soul &s;hall Live.</HI> And <HI>Zachary</HI> in his Song; <HI>He hath given us a knowledge of Salvati|on.</HI> And St. <HI>Peter,</HI> &s;peaking to Je|&s;us Chri&s;t, <HI>Thy Words are Words of Eternal Life.</HI> If GOD, the Pro|phets and Apo&s;tles, do a&s;&s;ure us, that the Word of God received by a true Faith in our Hearts, doth there quicken, keeping and retain|ing
<PB N="14" REF="9">it; What occa&s;ion have we then to fear Death?</P>
<P>Moreover, by Faith we dwell in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and have him dwel|ling in us, who having Life in him|&s;elf as his Father, doth quicken us, and all tho&s;e unto whom he doth communicate him&s;elf: Wherefore then being his Members, Fle&s;h of His Fle&s;h, and Bone of His Bones; in brief, being one with him, &s;hall we fear Death? Hath not He pow|er over it, and not only for Him&s;elf, but al&s;o for us? <HI>He</HI> (&s;aith S. <HI>Cypri|an</HI>) <HI>who hath once overcome Death for us, will always overcome it in us.</HI> Hath not he beat down, di&s;po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed, cha&s;ed and &s;poiled <HI>Satan,</HI> the Prince and Lord of Death? Hath not he accompli&s;hed the Law; and by this perfect Obedience, which he hath born to God his <HI>Father,</HI> appea&s;ed his Anger, &s;atisfied his Will, and aboli&s;hed the malediction of the
<PB N="15" REF="9">Law, which is nothing el&s;e but Death? Did not he die to make it die, when he ro&s;e again? Hath not he broken and di&s;&s;ipated all the Torments, plucked down the Gates of Hell, and triumphed over her and all her Power? Say not henceforth, faith St. <HI>Paul, who &s;hall go up into Heaven, or who &s;hall de&s;cend into the depths, for to bring Life unto us? For Je&s;us Chri&s;t is dead, and ri&s;en again from the dead, for to deliver us from death; and ri&s;en again to re&s;tore us to Life: He is our Pa&s;tor; and for this Rea&s;on we ought not to fear, that any Creature &s;hould &s;natch us by Violence out of his Hands, or can hinder him from giving us Eternal Life. He is our Advocate, we ought not then to fear to be overthrown in Judgment; nor that by Sentence we &s;hould be condem|ned to death; He is our Mediator, we need not to fear the Wrath of God; He is our Light, we not fear Darkne&s;s;
<PB N="16" REF="10">He is our Shadow and our Clouds, we ought not then to fear the heat of the Fire Eternal, no more than did the Children of</HI> I&s;rael <HI>the heat of the Sun in the Wilderne&s;s, being hidden under the Pillar. Let us then for the&s;e Rea&s;ons for&s;ake and ca&s;t behind us all Fear of Death; which having had no Power nor Ad|vantage over the Head, &s;hall have no Power over his Members.</HI></P>
<P>Again, By Faith we have with Je|&s;us Chri&s;t God his Father, and are al|lied and joined together with him, as he &s;aith by his Prophet, I will mar|ry thee if thou wilt promi&s;e me thy Faith: And Je&s;us Chri&s;t in St. <HI>John, He that loveth me will keep my word, and I and my Father will come and dwell in him:</HI> For this Rea&s;on we are al&s;o called his Temples; becau&s;e we are con&s;ecrated and dedicated unto him by his Holy Spirit, that he &s;hould dwell in us. Now, &s;eeing God is with us, we have the Original, the
<PB N="17" REF="10">Fountain, the Cau&s;e, the Beginning, and the Author of Life; we have the great <HI>Jehovah,</HI> of whome all things depend, by whome all things are, and move, in whome the Angels, Arch|angels, Principalities, the Heavens, and all the Elements con&s;i&s;t; we have him, from whome all Creatures, Vi|&s;ible and Invi&s;ible, take their Life, and their Being, by the Participati|ons which they have with him: We have him who is the mo&s;t Perfect, and mo&s;t Soveraign Work-man of all things, who by his breath doth quick|en, and make them to Live, and by his power infinite doth pre&s;erve them: We have, to make &s;hort, Him who only can fatisfie, and by his Pre&s;ence cau&s;e that of Life, and of all other good things we &s;hall have, and think we have enough: Shall we then fear Death in &s;uch company? If as St. <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> &s;aith, God is the Soul of our Soul, we cannot die but by be|ing &s;eparated from him; the which
<PB N="18" REF="11"><HI>David</HI> doth confirm in one of his <HI>P&s;almes,</HI> &s;aying, <HI>Tho&s;e &s;hall peri&s;h O Lord, who do depart and go from thee;</HI> which being con&s;idered, let us &s;trive only to keep him with us by Faith and Obedience; and be&s;ides, let us take away all the fear which we may have of Death.</P>
<P>Again, by Faith we have the Spi|rit of God: <HI>You are not Carnal,</HI> &s;aith St. <HI>Paul,</HI> (writing to the <HI>Romans</HI>) <HI>but are Spiritual, for who hath not the Spirit of God is none of his.</HI> And el&s;e-where &s;peaking to the <HI>Galathians, Have you not the Spirit of God by Faith?</HI> Now this Spirit is the Spirit of Life; if God withdraws it from his Crea|tures they die, they peri&s;h, and come &s;uddenly to nught: On the contrary, when he plea&s;eth to &s;end and pour it upon them, he rai&s;eth and re&s;toreth them in an in&s;tant; e|ven as we &s;ee a Hen brooding of her Eggs, by a &s;ecret vertue doth di&s;clo&s;e and bring them to Life, albeit that
<PB N="19" REF="11">before they were without &s;ence or feeling. Even &s;o doth the Spirit of God, all Creatures by his Divine Power: He giveth te&s;timony, and doth a&s;&s;ure us in our Hearts that we are the Children of God, to the end that from him as from our Father, by a certain and a&s;&s;ured hope we &s;hould wait and look for Life: He is a pledge unto us for fear le&s;t we &s;hould doubt. Having therefore &s;uch ear|ne&s;t of Life, having te&s;timony from him, who being the Spirit of Truth cannot lie nor abu&s;e, having him him&s;elf who is the pre&s;erver of all Creatures, &s;hall we fear Death? It is as much as who &s;hould fear the dark|ne&s;s at noon-day, the Spirit of him who hath rai&s;ed again Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and who hath up-held him becau&s;e he &s;hould not be overcome of Death, being in us will quicken us al&s;o, &s;aith Saint <HI>Paul;</HI> and will pre&s;erve us from it; let us then put away all fear of it.</P>
<PB N="20" REF="12">
<P>Faith al&s;o cau&s;eth that God doth adopt and repute us for his Children: you are all Children of God by faith, &s;aith St. <HI>Paul;</HI> and St. <HI>John,</HI> he hath given power to all tho&s;e that &s;hall receive him, and believe in his Name, to be made the Children of God; then being Children, we are the Heirs and Co-heirs with Je&s;us Chri&s;t; and we are by the means of this adop|tion certain once to come unto Life, unto the re&s;t, and unto the glory wherein we &s;hall Reign Eternally with his Father. Moreover, being Children of God, we are of his Hou&s;hold, and it is not in his Hou&s;e where Death dwelleth, it is in Hell in the Devil's Hou&s;e; in Heaven and the Place where God abides, there is an un&s;peakable Light, &s;o great a Beatitude and Happine&s;s, that in the Contemplation thereof, <HI>David</HI> crying out, &s;aid, <HI>O how they are hap|py that do inhabit and dwell in thy Hou&s;e!</HI> And el&s;ewhere, <HI>In this con|&s;i&s;ts
<PB N="21" REF="12" MS="y">all my good, Lord that I may be near unto thee.</HI></P>
<P>Again, being Children we are at Liberty, free from Sin, free from Death, free from the Condemnation and Rigour of the Law, freed from Service and Force of the Devil: what do we fear being then Children of God, and con&s;equently Brothers of Je&s;us Chri&s;t? Is it po&s;&s;ible that he can ever deny or abandon his Fle&s;h and Blood, or &s;uffer them to die, having Power to &s;ave them? There|fore being the Children of God our Father, he loveth us with a Love un|&s;eigned and Fatherly. And if, as &s;aith St. <HI>Paul,</HI> during the time that we were his Enemies, he had &s;uch a care over us, that not &s;paring his only be|gotten Son, he hath delivered him over to Death to pre&s;erve us from it, and to reconcile us unto him&s;elf, now that we are his Friends and in his Fa|vour, will he not &s;ave us? Who is that Man, who con&s;idering the&s;e
<PB REF="13">Rea&s;ons, will not pre&s;ently a&s;&s;ure him&s;elf, and ca&s;t away all fear which he had of Death? That which al&s;o ought to a&s;&s;ure us again&s;t Death, and take away all fear which we have of it, and of the Horrour and Angui&s;h prepared for the reprobate and dam|ned, is our Calling; that God of his Grace hath vouch&s;afed to withdraw us out of the Darkne&s;s wherein we were, and to illuminate us by his Ho|ly Spirit, teaching us by his Holy Word, wherein we ought to tru&s;t, and wherein lyeth our Salvation; and &s;o what we ought to do to plea&s;e and obey him, to the end that walk|ing in his Law, and &s;erving him in all Ju&s;tice and Holine&s;s, we might after we have a little &s;uffered in this World, be faithfully glorified with him in the end; for that which God beginneth he will accompli&s;h; and when he hath determined to call any one to him and to &s;ave him he never changeth his Coun&s;el, neither doth
<PB REF="13">repent him&s;elf of the good that he will do unto him. He us Unchange|able, and &s;o &s;tedfa&s;t in his Purpo&s;e and Determination, that that which he once Wills and Ordains, he doth execute without being turned from it. If then we feel in our &s;elves that God hath given us the Grace to hear, to believe, and to love his Word, and to fly from and reject all that which is contrary to it, and to have an Affection to ob&s;erve that which he commandeth us, and a di&s;like, if haply by infirmity or otherwi&s;e, we chrnce to commit any thing again&s;t his Law: Let us not doubt but we are regenerate, elected, and prede|&s;tinated to Eternal Life, and con&s;e|quently out of danger of Death. Let us then take away all fear, and let us &s;ay with St. <HI>Paul, What &s;hall &s;e|parate us from the Love and Charity of God? What &s;hall make us to think, that he hath not a will to &s;ave us? It &s;hall not be Pain, Affliction, Hunger,
<PB N="24" REF="14">Per&s;ecution, nor Adver&s;ity, nor Death, nor any Creature what&s;oever &s;hall make us to doubt that he doth not love us, in the favour of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and that having cho&s;en, called and ju&s;tified us in him, but that finally he will al&s;o glorify us by him.</HI></P>
<P><HI>The Sacraments which Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath left us for the Confirmation of our Faith, ought likewi&s;e to a&s;&s;ure and &s;trengthen us again&s;t the Fear of Death.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> Bapti&s;m by the which we are buried and die with Chri&s;t, that we may ri&s;e again with him; in the which we are wa&s;hed from all our &s;ins, and clothed with his Innocency, to the end, that pre&s;enting our &s;elves to the Father, &s;o adorned and cove|red with the Robe of our Elder Bro|ther, we may receive his Holy Ble&s;|&s;ing, and be &s;aved from the Deluge, wherein all the Infidels peri&s;h, as <HI>No|ah</HI> was in his time by the Ark. Ha|ving then the Promi&s;es of God, as we have &s;aid before, and over and
<PB N="25" REF="14">above his Sign and Seal, by the which he has bound him&s;elf, to render that Life to us, which we havelo&s;t by our Sin; wherefore then do we fear Death, doe we think that he will revoke, or that he will deny and di&s;|avow his own Sign and Seal.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> The Lord's Supper, where we take the Bread and the Wine, for to be received into the Commu|nion and Participation of the Body and Blood of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and by Con&s;equent into the Fruits of them; that is, to have part in his Obedience, in his Ju&s;tice, in his Sa|tisfaction and Redemption, in the Te|&s;tament and new Alliance, and gene|rally in all the promi&s;es of God, the which by his Death have been rati|fied, It remaineth now to conclude our purpo&s;e, and to infer upon the precedent things, that if we fear Death, it is for want of con&s;idering them, or if we do con&s;ider them, it is for want of believing them; for
<PB N="26" REF="15">there is no man &s;o timerous, being firmly per&s;waded of that which is &s;po|ken, but will take away all fear of Death, and will &s;ay with <HI>David, I &s;hall not die but always live, to declare perpetually the Works of the Lord, and prai&s;e him.</HI> And who will not &s;corn at it with St. <HI>Paul,</HI> and in&s;ult upon it, &s;aying, <HI>O Death where is thy Victory? Where is thy Sting? Where is thy Strength? Where is thy Terrour and Fear which Men had of thee?</HI> Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Sa|viour perceiving the time of his Death draw near, &s;aid, <HI>that in &s;hort time he &s;hould pa&s;s from this World to go to his Father,</HI> calling Death a Pa&s;&s;age; which &s;hould greatly comfort us. We have almo&s;t all this opinion rooted in us, and it is that which doth &s;o Di&s;courage us, that it is a dangerous pa&s;&s;age and unea&s;ie. Now for to take it from us, and to &s;tir up our Hearts, he would needs pa&s;s it before us, and as it were &s;ound the depth to the end, that we &s;eeing that he
<PB N="27" REF="15" MS="y">did not &s;tick at it, &s;hould take Cou|rage: As al&s;o we &s;ee before and af|ter him, the Prophets, Apo&s;tles, Mar|tyrs, and other Holy Per&s;ons have done it; who having pa&s;&s;ed it with|out any apprehen&s;ion of Danger, and being e&s;caped &s;afe and well, do now rejoice with God, that they are got|ten to the Land, and to the Port where they did a&s;pire. Shall we then be &s;uch Cowards? &s;hall we be &s;o faint hearted, and of &s;uch tender and ef|feminate Courage, as to fear to go by a place &s;o frequent, and a way &s;o great and beaten, that Men go it, as &s;aid &s;ome of the Ancients, Blindfold? Likewi&s;e we &s;ee that not one alone of tho&s;e that tru&s;ted in God, calling upon his aid, that put them&s;elves to pa&s;s it, did ever mi&s;carry; when the Children of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> did fear at the pa&s;|&s;age of the <HI>Red-Sea, Mo&s;es</HI> did &s;hew unto them, <HI>that if they would tru&s;t in God, they &s;hould &s;ee his Glory and Pow|er;</HI> which they did &s;ee, pa&s;&s;ing &s;afe|ly
<PB N="28" REF="16">through the mid&s;t of the danger, where their Enemies did peri&s;h: So &s;hall all the Faithful through the &s;traights of Death, provided that they commend them&s;elves to God, and do only &s;et their tru&s;t upon him. They being in the De&s;arts, although they were bitten by the Serpents, yet were they pre&s;erved from the danger in looking upon him, that <HI>Mofes</HI> had cau&s;ed to be erected: So al&s;o, al|though the cur&s;ed and envious Ser|pent hath tainted us with his Venom, yet &s;hall we not die, if by faith we look upon Je&s;us Chri&s;t Cruci&s;ied. Let Death come, let it take us, let it bind us, yet &s;hall we break the bonds as ea&s;ily as did <HI>Samp&s;on</HI> tho&s;e of the Phi|li&s;tines his Enemies; let it &s;wallow and devour us as the Whale did <HI>Jo|nas,</HI> yet &s;hall it fain to di&s;gorge and ca&s;t us up again, if in the mid&s;t of the depth we do remember God and call upon him. Let it bury us as it once did Je&s;us Chri&s;t, yet &s;hall we
<PB N="29" REF="16" MS="y">ri&s;e again as he did, and it &s;hall be impo&s;&s;ible for this Tyrant to retain us under his Power. After having &s;hewed how we &s;hould arm our &s;elves again&s;t the apprehen&s;ions of Eternal Death: Let us al&s;o &s;hew that we ought not only not to fear the tem|poral but al&s;o de&s;ire it; and when it plea&s;eth God to &s;end it unto us, to thank him for it, to rejoice at it, to embrace it, and to &s;ing for Joy; whe|ther it be that we behold the Mi&s;ery, the Mi&s;haps and evils of this Life, from which it doth deliver us; or el&s;e the joy and contentment of eternal Life, whereto it doth bring us.</P>
<P>As for the poverties, mi&s;eries, in|certitudes, accidents and mutabili|ties of this Life, not only the Scrip|ture, but al&s;o diver&s;e wi&s;e and great Philo&s;ophers doth &s;hew them unto us: And there is one among&s;t them, who declaring the Original of the Greek Phra&s;e &s;ignifying Life, &s;ayeth <GAP DESC="foreign">, which is, that Life
<PB N="30" REF="17" MS="y">hath been &s;o called of the Greeks, becau&s;e of the violence of the a&s;&s;aults, exce&s;s, pains, and out-rages which therein we &s;uffer, which are innume|rable both in Body and Soul.</P>
<P>Our Bodies are &s;ubject to cold, to heat, to hunger, to thir&s;t, to time, to age, and to &s;o many Di&s;ea&s;es, that there is no part but hath his particu|lar infirmity: The feet are &s;ubject unto the gouts, the belly unto gri|pings, the &s;ides to pleuri&s;ies, the &s;to|mach to rawne&s;s, the lungs to the cough, the head to a thou&s;and Di|&s;ea&s;es; we need but a &s;pider or other little worm to kill us, we need but a hair or a crum to &s;trangle us: in &s;um; the fle&s;h with all its &s;trength, is nothing el&s;e but gra&s;s; Is it to day green and plea&s;ant? let but the Sithe pa&s;s, it will cut down a thou&s;and leaves at once, which in an hour will be drie and withered. The Greeks do call the body of Man in their Lan|guage, <HI>Soma</HI> and <HI>Demas,</HI> whereof the
<PB N="31" REF="17" MS="y">one is taken from a phra&s;e which &s;ig|nifieth to bind, and the other comes near to that which &s;ignifieth Sepul|chre, for to &s;hew unto us in what e&s;tate and di&s;po&s;ition &s;oever he be, he doth repre&s;ent rather Death unto us than Life, and Servitude than Li|berty. As for the Soul, it is fir&s;t &s;ubject to all the evils and di&s;ea&s;es of the body; for it is unpo&s;&s;ible if that be ill, but that for the conjunction and amity which is between them, it mu&s;t endure and feel pain. Moreo|ver, &s;he hath her own di&s;tempers, as ignorance, &s;in, mi&s;tru&s;t, &s;u&s;picion, jealou&s;ie, hatred, envy, love, lu&s;t, ambition and pa&s;&s;ions, the which as tormentors, do hale her the one one way, the other another, as if they would pull it to pieces. I leave a million of importunities which &s;he hath, and which man taketh to at|tain to his purpo&s;es, to live in re&s;t and at ea&s;e, to be in honour, to maintain his alliances and friend&s;hips,
<PB N="32" REF="18">to beware of his Enemies, to encrea&s;e his Hou&s;e, to amintain and keep it in its greatne&s;s, the which do tor|ment us oft-times in &s;uch &s;ort, that we can neither eat or &s;leep at ea&s;e.</P>
<P>And we mu&s;t not think that there is any e&s;tate exempt from this mi&s;ery; begin at the highe&s;t Prince or Empe|rour that ever was in the World, and &s;o di&s;cour&s;ing de&s;cend to the poore&s;t begger that ever the Earth did bear, and you &s;hall not find one content, neither the Artificer nor the Mer|chant, nor the Advocate, nor the Gentleman, nor the Duke, nor the King; enter into their clo&s;ets, there you &s;hall often find them, as &s;aid <HI>Me|nander,</HI> laid upon their Beds with a mournful Voice, and pitiful, crying, <HI>Alas, alas. Valeri</HI> IX. &s;peaketh of a King, unto whom the Scepter and Diadem were offered; before he put it on his head, he took it in his hands, then having looked long upon it, he cryed out; <HI>O Diadem, if one knew the
<PB N="33" REF="18">mi&s;eries and incumbrances which thou doe&s;t bring, there is no man that find|ing thee upon the ground, would once take thee up;</HI> &s;hewing by that excla|mation, that the Life of Kings is le&s;s happy than that of private Per&s;ons. <HI>Tyberius Cae&s;ar,</HI> under whom Chri&s;t was crucified, and who commanded that he &s;hould be wor&s;hipped as a God al&s;o, as <HI>Tertullian</HI> records it, af|ter the Death of <HI>Augu&s;tus</HI> his Prede|ce&s;&s;our, who by will had left him Heir, as well of his Goods as of the Empire; which being offered him by the Senate, according to cu&s;tom, doubted a great while whether he might accept of it, by rea&s;on of the fear that he had of the weight of this charge, and of the pain that he was to &s;uffer in the undergoing of it. <HI>Di|ocle&s;ian</HI> after he had held the Empire &s;ome twenty years, left it of his own accord, and cho&s;e for the re&s;t of his time to live a peaceable and dome&s;ti|cal Life; wherein after the great a|gitations
<PB N="34" REF="19" MS="y">and &s;torms of trouble which he had during the time of his Go|vernment, he found the re&s;t to be &s;o &s;weet and plea&s;ing, and his mind &s;o contented and freed, that many times among&s;t his familiars he did witne&s;s, that the time had never &s;eemed &s;o good to him, nor his Sun-&s;hine days &s;o plea&s;ant; &s;hewing by the&s;e words how he did abhor the Imperial Life, although that few Emperors before or after him had had &s;uch Honours in Victories, and other pro&s;perities as he had.</P>
<P>The&s;e Examples do &s;ufficiently &s;hew, that the Life of Kings is not &s;o happy, as &s;ome men &s;ometimes e&s;teem them, more by errour than by rea&s;on; and they are far from be|ing at quiet and without trouble: For by how much a Tree is planted and &s;eated in a higher place, by &s;o much the more is it &s;ubject to the wind; &s;o al&s;o are the great men more than the commons, to divers fortunes
<PB N="35" REF="19">and accidents; the Thunder-bolts and the Tempe&s;ts fall ordinarily in high places, &s;o do the greate&s;t mis|fortunes upon Men of &s;tate and re|nown.</P>
<P>And if in this World the E&s;tates which we e&s;teem mo&s;t of are &s;ubject to &s;o many mis-haps, what may we think of others, which we our &s;elves by rea&s;on of the di&s;commodities which are joyned unto them, do fly from and e&s;teem unhappy? So we &s;ee that there is not any e&s;tate, that of it &s;elf doth make a body happy or contented; and as in E&s;tates, be|&s;ides the common Mi&s;eries, every one hath his own particular; &s;o al&s;o have all the Ages of Man evils which are proper unto them.</P>
<P>In his Child-hood he is full of In|firmities, without Vertue, without Under&s;tanding, without the u&s;e of Rea&s;on and Speech, and without Wit; and he mu&s;t be fifteen years old before he is capable to know
<PB N="36" REF="20">only what E&s;tate is fitte&s;t for him; wherein often-times he deceives him|&s;elf, chu&s;ing that whereunto he is lea&s;t fit.</P>
<P>Is he come into his Youth? he is ra&s;h, adventurous, fooli&s;h, pa&s;&s;ion|ate, voluptuous, prodigal, a drun|kard, a game&s;ter, quarrel&s;om; where|by it happeneth oft, that in this age he falleth into great inconveniences and dangers, to be Impri&s;oned, to be Hanged, to lo&s;e his Goods, and even to bring his Parents with &s;or|row to the Grave.</P>
<P>When this great heat by little and little begins to cool and dimini&s;h; and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">hat he waxeth a perfect Man; then he mu&s;t labour Night and Day for to entertain his Hou&s;e, nouri&s;h his Children, and provide for them for time to come: he is Be&s;ieged, now with Defire and Covetou&s;ne&s;s, then with Fear, le&s;t his Children &s;hould remain unprovided for, le&s;t they &s;hould behave them&s;elves ill,
<PB N="37" REF="20">and le&s;t they &s;hould do &s;ome dis-ho|nour to their Hou&s;e.</P>
<P>The Age of Vertue and Per|fection declining, behold in our &s;ight old Age comes creeping on, in the which Man is &s;ickly, unweildy, cold and for&s;aken; and as among the Sea&s;ons of the Year, the la&s;t is Winter, and the mo&s;t trouble&s;ome; &s;o among&s;t all the Ages of Man, is the old Age.</P>
<P>That which I have &s;aid, is not the hundredth part of all the Evils whereunto the Sick Man is &s;ubject; and neverthele&s;s that little which we have &s;poken of it, is &s;ufficient to &s;hew that in all E&s;tates and in all Ages, it is mi&s;erable; and as &s;aid <HI>Merander, Life and Mi&s;ery are two Twins; for they are born and grow, they are nou|ri&s;hed and live always together.</HI> Which Nature teacheth us in two things: <HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> in that the little Children <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> into the World, they always <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> pre&s;aging the Evil which
<PB N="38" REF="21">they are to endure if they live long: <HI>Secondly,</HI> in that coming forth of their Mothers Belly, they are all bathed in Blood, and are more like unto a dead Man, who&s;e Throat had been lately out by Murtherers, then to any thing el&s;e. Two ancient Philo&s;ophers con&s;idering the&s;e things &s;aid the one, <HI>That God did love tho&s;e which he takes out of this World in their Child-hood:</HI> The other; <HI>That it were good never to be Born, or el&s;e to die pre&s;ently.</HI> Surely it is a wonder|ful thing, and which &s;heweth well that we have want of Under&s;tand|ing, that although Life were never &s;o ugly and dis-figured, and that in all her parts there were neither Grace nor Beauty that could commend it, we neverthele&s;s &s;hould be &s;o in love with it, that we always de&s;ire to keep it, and never to change. But we are much abu&s;ed, for it is more uncertain then it is mi&s;erable: For to &s;hew us the uncertainty of it, the
<PB N="39" REF="21">Ancients called it <HI>a Shadow, and a Dream;</HI> which are the two things in the World, the mo&s;t vain and lea&s;t fixed. <HI>Pythagoras</HI> being once demanded what humane Life was, &s;pake never a word; for his cu&s;tom was to an&s;wer and in&s;truct more by Signs than by Words; but went into a Chamber, and came forth a|gain pre&s;ently: Signifying, <HI>That the Life of Man is but an entring in, and going out.</HI> And Je&s;us Chri&s;t exhorteth us to Watch, and grounds Him&s;elf upon nothing el&s;e, but up|on the incon&s;tancy and uncertainty of this Life: <HI>Watch,</HI> &s;aith He, <HI>for you know not at what Hour the Lord will come.</HI> And who is that Man, in how good di&s;po&s;ition and happine&s;s &s;oever he be, that can promi&s;e him|&s;elf continue in it but a day? Tho&s;e 18 Men in <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> doubted of no|thing, when in an in&s;tant they were de&s;troyed by the ruins of the Tow|er of <HI>Syloe.</HI> In the time of the Flood,
<PB N="40" REF="22">they did Build, and made Marriages and Banquets; when &s;uddenly, con|trary to the expectation and opinion of all the World, the Rain fell in clear Weather; which Rain did o|verflow the whole Earth. The rich Man, whereof mention is made in the Twelfth of <HI>Luke,</HI> though he was very &s;ecure; who having &s;o much Wealth that he know not where to Whord it, made account to give him&s;elf to Plea&s;ure, and to live af|ter that time at his ea&s;e; when while he was &s;tanding upon the&s;e terms, behold the Serjeant of GOD comes day, to give up an account unto him, of all the precious things and goods which he had left, and which he had gathered with &s;uch great la|bour.</P>
<P>But it is labour lo&s;t to go about to prove a thing &s;o manife&s;t, and which we experiment and &s;ee daily: For in this VVorld there is nothing
<PB N="41" REF="22">more ordinary, nor more frequent, then that which <HI>Ovid</HI> &s;aith, <HI>That the Life of Man, and all humane things are hanged, and do hold but by a little Thred.</HI></P>
<P>Let us behold then, &s;eeing on the one &s;ide the great Evils whereof it is full, and on the other &s;ide the in|con&s;tancy of the good which it hath; if we have great occa&s;ion to de&s;ire God, that he would prolong it un|to us; or to complain or di&s;con|tent our &s;elves at Death, when it taketh it away from us? VVe have under&s;tood the evils from the which Death doth deliver us; let us now come to con&s;ider the good which it bringeth unto us, from thence we &s;hall yet better know, that we ought not only not to fear, &s;hun, and a|void it, but al&s;o de&s;ire it with all af|fection; for one of the Goods only which we enjoy by Deaths means, is greater than all tho&s;e which we
<PB N="42" REF="23">can have in the VVorld, living in it for ever.</P>
<P>By it fir&s;t we re&s;t, as &s;aith St. <HI>John</HI> is his <HI>Apocalyps.</HI> And after that we have endured, and are almo&s;t con|&s;umed with innumerable troubles and labours, Dying, our Spirit go|eth into Heaven, and our Body into the Earth, as into a Bed, there for to re&s;t and refre&s;h it &s;elf. The poor Artificers are &s;o glad when Evening draws near, and that it is almo&s;t Night, that they may be paid for their Labour, and go home to re&s;t them&s;elves; or when after they have laboured the &s;ix Days in the Week, that <HI>Sunday</HI> comes, when they hope to re&s;t and refre&s;h them&s;elves, and recover the force and vigour, as well of their Bodies as of their Minds; we ought not to be le&s;s joy|ful when the time of our Death draweth near, which we ought to wait for, and de&s;ire as a Holy-day; in the which we hope to re&s;t, and by
<PB N="43" REF="23">the plea&s;ure which therein we take, pre&s;ently forget all the &s;orrows and troubles which we have had in this World. The end of all that we do, and of that which we purpo&s;e, Is it not our Re&s;t? Why do we gather Goods with a thou&s;and troubles, and as many dangers? Why do we Stu|dy? Why do we Fight? Why do we Labour? Why do we all other things? Is it not by that means to come to ea&s;e and to a re&s;t, which we pretend and &s;eek as a &s;overaign good? VVhat is the principal re|ward which God doth promi&s;e to his People, and to all tho&s;e that &s;erve him Faithfully; Is it not a per|petual re&s;t, where into he him&s;elf is entred &s;ince the Creation of the VVorld? VVhen we do Pray unto Him that <HI>His Kingdom come;</HI> Is it peace and re&s;t? <HI>Finally,</HI> what we do hope for at his Hands, Is it not that? Then the re&s;t which God hath
<PB N="44" REF="24">promi&s;ed us, which we demand of him, which we wait for, and which we do purpo&s;e as the end and con|clu&s;ion of all that we do and under|take, is given us by no other means, but by Death. Some &s;eek for it in their Goods, which they love, &s;up|po&s;ing there to find it; others in Stu|dy, others in Voluptuou&s;ne&s;s and wordly Plea&s;ures: But all this is but an abu&s;e; for it is found no where but in Death, which we ought more to Love for this rea&s;on, than the Wordling doth his Plea&s;ure, the Covetous Man his Trea&s;ure, the Scholar his Books, or the Ambitious his Humours; by rea&s;on that in one Hour it putteth into our hands, and gives us the enjoying of Goods, which they cannot find by great Labour all their life time, in the afore&s;aid things. Furthermore, Death cau&s;eth that by it we are content, fatisfied, and ve|ry happy. <HI>Happy are tho&s;e which de|part in the Faith of our Lord,</HI> &s;aith
<PB N="45" REF="24">St. <HI>John.</HI> Then is this Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s the &s;overaign good where unto we a&s;pire, and which we cannot find in this World, where we are never con|tent. If we have Goods, we de&s;ire Knowledge; if we have Knowledge, we de&s;ire Honours; if we have Ho|nours, we de&s;ire Health; if we have Health, we de&s;ire to be Young: Briefly, we always want &s;omething which we &s;eek after, and when we cannot get it, that is a cau&s;e of grudging and di&s;contentment: But then &s;hall we be fully &s;atisfied, as &s;aith <HI>David, When by Death we are come to the Kingdom of God, and his Glory hath appeared unto us.</HI></P>
<P>In it are all things; it is the So|veraign good which doth compre|hend all other; therefore when we &s;hall have it, our appetite and de&s;ire &s;hall re&s;t in it; we &s;hall re&s;t there without going any further, without demanding or &s;eeking for any thing el&s;e. Then &s;hall be accompli&s;hed
<PB N="46" REF="25">that which Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath pro|mi&s;ed to all his Faithful, who, be|lieving in him with an entire Faith, and &s;uch a one as God requires in his Word, will rai&s;e up in their Hearts a Spring of Water of Life, &s;pringing to Life Eternal. We &s;hall no more fear any thing, being no more in danger; we &s;hall de&s;ire no|thing, having all in our po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion; we &s;hall hope for nothing, for all Promi&s;es &s;hall be accompli&s;hed; we &s;hall no more ask any thing, for we &s;hall have no more need; God &s;hall be all in all. If we will be rich, we &s;hall then have Him that doth in rich all tho&s;e that call upon His Holy Name; if we will be wi&s;e, we &s;hall have the Heavenly Wi&s;dom; if we will be mighty, we &s;hall have the Almighty; if we de&s;ire to be good, we &s;hall have the only excellent Good; if we will be fair, we &s;hall have the great Architect, and perfect Workman of all things; If we will
<PB N="47" REF="25">be healthful and live long, we &s;hall have the Eternal.</P>
<P>All our Sen&s;es &s;hall be ravi&s;hed with the greatne&s;s of the Plea&s;ures which they &s;hall have and feel. Our Eyes &s;eeing the great, &s;umptuous, and magnificent Pallace of our God, &s;eeing the perfect and &s;overaigne Beauty of His bright &s;hining Face: Seeing the Sun of Ju&s;tice, the Foun|tain of Water of Life, the Tree of Life, the Paradice, that is to &s;ay, the plea&s;ant Garden of our GOD, His fair and noble company of An|gels, of Apo&s;tles, Patriarchs, Mar|tyrs, and of all the ble&s;&s;ed Spirits And if the only &s;ight of Je&s;us Chri&s;t transfigured in the Mountain, was of &s;uch great power, that St. <HI>Peter,</HI> (all other things forgotten) in an in|&s;tant, was thereby tran&s;ported out of him&s;elf, and de&s;ired &s;o to remain perpetually: What may we think of the joy and plea&s;ure that he receives who &s;eeth Je&s;us Chri&s;t glorified, and
<PB N="48" REF="26">with him his Father, his Holy Spirit, and all the afore&s;aid A&s;&s;embly? <HI>Eye hath not &s;een, Ear hath not heard, Heart hath never conceived, the good, the plea&s;ure, the re&s;t, and the content|ment, prepared for tho&s;e which God hath Elected to Salvation.</HI></P>
<P>Our Ears &s;hall likewi&s;e be ravi|&s;hed, hearing the Di&s;cour&s;es and Ser|mons of the incomprehen&s;ible Wi&s;|dom of our God: Again, the good Mu&s;ick, the &s;weet and plea&s;ant ac|cords of the Angels and Saints reign|ing with Him, which Sing without cea&s;ing, <HI>To the Holy, Holy, Holy God of Ho&s;ts, be Honour and Glory, for ever and ever. Selomon</HI> upon the Earth ravi&s;hed the People, and made them a&s;toni&s;hed at the great Wi&s;|dom and Knowledge that was in him. So did Je&s;us Chri&s;t al&s;o when He Preached. What can he then now do in Heaven, where all the great trea&s;ures of his divine Elo|quence are unfolded and laid open?
<PB N="49" REF="26">When <HI>Ae&s;chines</HI> had repeated to the <HI>Rhodians</HI> the Oration of <HI>Demo&s;thenes,</HI> for the which he was Bani&s;hed, &s;ee|ing that they marvelled at it, <HI>What would you have done</HI> (&s;aid he) <HI>if you had heard him pronounce it?</HI> We al&s;o that are &s;o ravi&s;hed only with the reading of the <HI>Holy Scriptures,</HI> when we &s;hall hear Je&s;us Chri&s;t pronounce them, and with open Mouth di&s;|cour&s;e continually with us; &s;hall we not &s;tand before him. In the like exta&s;ie as was S. <HI>Paul,</HI> being ravi&s;hed into the third Heavens? Shall we not have our Eyes &s;etled with conti|nual looking upon our Ma&s;ter, and our Ears always attentive to hearken unto him? <HI>Plato</HI> gave God thanks for Three things; for that he was a Man, for that he was a Grecian, for that he had been &s;o happy as to hear <HI>Socrates.</HI> And &s;hall not we give him thanks for that we are Chri&s;tians, for that we are Heavenly, and for that by the means of Death, we hope
<PB N="50" REF="27">Eternally to hear the Wi&s;dom of God?</P>
<P>We have &s;aid, what we &s;hall &s;ee and hear; and now what &s;hall we ta&s;te? We &s;hall be &s;et at the Table of our Lord, where we &s;hall have a|bundance of all good things. It &s;hall be covered with meats that he hath prepared, and re&s;erved a long while &s;ince, for that banquet; we &s;hall there be fed with the bread of Angels; we &s;hall be made to drink in Brooks of Plea&s;ure; we &s;hall be fil|led with all good things; we &s;hall be always at Nuptials, and in an in&s;tant we &s;hall forget all the delights of the Earth, having ta&s;ted tho&s;e of Heaven; as did the Companions of <HI>&V;ly&s;&s;es</HI> all other meats, when they had eaten <HI>Lotos</HI> &s;o celebrated by <HI>Homer.</HI> It is an other manner of <HI>Manna</HI> than that of the Children of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> for they waxed weary of it, and were &s;orry in the de&s;ert, that they had lo&s;t the Quails and Fle&s;h pots of <HI>Egypt.</HI> But
<PB N="51" REF="27">we in Heaven, at the fir&s;t ta&s;te of the meats, which there &s;hall be &s;erved us, &s;hall loo&s;e then all appetite to the Plea&s;ures of this World. We have hear eaten of the fruits of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, a|gain&s;t the Command of the Phy&s;itian. Whereupon followed the Sickne&s;s and Death of all. But in the King|dom of God, and of Paradi&s;e, we &s;hall eat of the Fruit of the Tree of Life, which &s;hall always keep us young and fre&s;h; and which is more, will make us incorruptible and im|mortal. This is that which we &s;hall ta&s;te; what then &s;hall we &s;mell? A Hall of Perfumes, the Garments of the Bride and the Bridegroom, per|fumed with all odoriferous and fra|grant things. It &s;hall be then that he Church &s;hall Triumph, and that the Vine being blo&s;&s;om'd, &s;hall give &s;uch a plea&s;ant odour that the whole Heavens &s;hall be filled with it.</P>
<P>There &s;hall be no &s;tink, for there
<PB N="52" REF="28">&s;hall be no Corruption; we &s;hall there plainly &s;mell the &s;weetne&s;s of the Sacrifice, which Je&s;us Chri&s;t made for us on Earth, &s;o great and plea&s;ant, that the Father for the Plea&s;ure which he took in it, was reconciled with the world, and his anger towards us hath been appea&s;ed. What a plea|&s;ant Sacrifice, and precious Incen&s;e is al&s;o the prai&s;es of the Saints, who with one accord do glorifie God, and &s;anctifie his holy Name? More over what an odour gives that fair flower &s;prung from the root and &s;ap of Je&s;s now that it is in its force and &s;trength To conclude, we cannot mi&s;s then to &s;mell good odours; for our Win|ter &s;hall then be pa&s;t, and we &s;hall be in a perpetual &s;pring time, where in all things &s;hall grow and flouri&s;h for the Delectation and Plea&s;ures <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> the Church. For to &s;atisfie our d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">+&s;ire, and content all our affection we &s;hall touch no more, neither &s;hat we be touched of any thing that m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">
<PB N="53" REF="28">hurt us. We &s;hall be gathered up by Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord and Saviour, who will come at the entrance to re|ceive us, &s;aying, <HI>Come hither faithful Servant, thou ha&s;t &s;erved me faithfully in the World, while thou ha&s;t been in the World; enter now into the Joy and re&s;t of the Lord.</HI> He will ki&s;s and em|brace us, and will keep us near to his Per&s;on, without &s;uffering us to depart or go far from it.</P>
<P>Now if the greate&s;t good, and that unto the which all others are re|ferred, be this felicity, which doth con&s;i&s;t in a po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion and enjoying of all good, to the contentment of our Will, and of all our &s;en&s;es, with what a de&s;ire &s;hould we wait for Death, by the which we attain it?</P>
<P>Moreover, Death doth deliver us out of all dangers: In this World night and day, within and without we are always in fear of peril. Our Life is a cruel and bloody War, we have a great many Enemies that in|vade
<PB N="54" REF="29">us continually, and do a&s;&s;ay by all means to de&s;troy us: The Devils Watch for us, and cea&s;e not compa&s;|&s;ing about like devouring Lyons, and as ravening Wolves, to &s;ee whe|ther they cannot &s;urprize us, and car|ry us away; the World &s;ometimes by enticings, and allurements; &s;ome time by threats and violence, endea|vours to try and turn us out of the right way. Our Fle&s;h on the other &s;ide, doth flatter us, and the better to undermine us, with great cunning doth propound and lay before us, things wherein we have mo&s;t delight, It weepeth al&s;o &s;ometimes, to &s;tir us up to pity it, all to the intent to|win us, and cau&s;e us in all points to yield unto it, and that it may ma&s;ter us.</P>
<P>Now if we con&s;ider our infirmity, our &s;tupidity and negligence, the little wa|rine&s;s and watchfulne&s;s that is in us
<PB N="55" REF="29">we may judge in what danger we live It is impo&s;&s;ible that we &s;hould live in this World among &s;o many that are infected, and that with &s;o great a Contagion, without falling often in|to Sickne&s;s. Is it po&s;&s;ible that we &s;hould &s;o often grapple with &s;uch &s;trong and mighty Enemies, without being &s;ometimes &s;taggered and over-thrown? Is it po&s;&s;ible that we &s;hould go in &s;uch durty and muddy ways, without being defiled? We &s;ee it in good Saints of old time, who could not govern them&s;elves &s;o well, but the &s;erpent who always dogs us at the heels, hath reached them with his venom; but that they have fallen in divers faults, &s;ome in incredulity, others in idolatry, others in adulte|ry, others in exce&s;s and drunkenne&s;s, others in murthers; there is none of them but hath his fall, yea &s;ome|times &s;o great and heavy, that they had been altogether brui&s;ed, if God
<PB N="56" REF="30">had not upheld them with his hand. Ought not we then follow the ex|ample of St. <HI>Paul,</HI> and as he did cry. Who &s;hall deliver us from the&s;e dan|gers wherein wherein we live, while our Soul is in this mi&s;erable and mor|tal body? Let us confe&s;s that it is our gain, and profit for to die, that by death we may be fully delivered from all mortal things.</P>
<P>Again, death put us in full po&s;&s;e&s;|&s;ion of all the promi&s;es of God, and of tho&s;e good things which Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath purcha&s;ed for us, and that we hope for him. He in dying hath freed us, and purcha&s;ed our li|berty, and neverthele&s;s we &s;ee our &s;elves &s;till in great &s;crvitude.</P>
<P>We are Kings, Lords, Judges, hers of God, co-heirs with Je&s;us Chri&s;t the Prince of Heaven and Earth, yet it &s;eems not &s;o, while we live this World; for there we are beaten and u&s;ed like &s;ervants, like children under age, we have as yet
<PB N="57" REF="30">no u&s;e nor managing of our goods. Kings and great Lords tho' we be, we are often in &s;uch nece&s;&s;ity, that we have neither Bread to eat, nor Water to drink, nor Wool to cover us. Moreover Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath pur|cha&s;ed for us the Grace of God, a perfect Ju&s;tice, life Eternal, an im|mortal Incorruption, glory and ver|tue to our Bodies, and to our Souls an a&s;&s;ured peace and quietne&s;s, a joy and a contentment; but this good hath not yet been delivered unto us, for oftentimes we experiment the Wrath and Judgment of God; we &s;eel the concupi&s;cences and vicious de&s;ires of our fle&s;h.</P>
<P>In our bodies their is Corruption, Mortality and Weakne&s;s, and in our &s;pirit, Troubles, Angui&s;h, and as it were a &s;tudious and inte&s;tine war between our good and bad de&s;ires, which fight the one again&s;t the other, and becau&s;e the&s;e evils are more grievous, &s;o are the above&s;aid goods
<PB N="58" REF="31">more great, and more to be de&s;ired. If then, altho' they be already pur|cha&s;ed for us, and that they be ours, we neverthele&s;s cannot come to the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of them but by death, are not we for this rea&s;on much bound unto it? Ought not we to love and de&s;ire it? The children of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> being arrived at the River of <HI>Jordan,</HI> &s;eeing on the other &s;ide thereof the fruitful Land which god had promi&s;ed them, and that being pa&s;&s;ed, they &s;hould begin to enjoy it and to re&s;t, had they not great cau&s;e to rejoyce, and to pa&s;s the River with great alacrity? And why not we, when we &s;hall come neer unto death, that is to &s;ay to the pa&s;&s;age, beyond the which is our Country, our Hou&s;e, our city, our Friends, and Kinsfolks, our Re&s;t, our Joy, and our Plea&s;ure? The Child who during the time of his minority hath alwaies lived in fear and ba&s;e &s;ervitude, doth he not re|joyce when he &s;eeth the day coming
<PB N="59" REF="31">wherein he doth hope to have liber|ty, and quietly to enjoy his goods? So ought every faithful man, &s;eeing the day of his death draw near, in the which he &s;hall be put in po&s;&s;e&s;|&s;ion of all the goods which God hath given him, and the gift wholly re|&s;igned.</P>
<P>When a man that hath undertak|en &s;ome long and tedious Journey, having travelled many daies, and be|ing wearied on the way, &s;eeth the gate of the Town whether he goes, doth he not rejoyce, and as it were leap for joy? Doth he not give God thanks going into the Town, that it hath plea&s;ed him to conduct and bring him &s;afely thither? Now ever &s;ince we were born, we have alwaies been in this world as &s;trangers, we have done nothing el&s;e but travel in this low place, as in a great de&s;ert, we have here wearied our &s;elves; then &s;eeing death neer unto us, that is to &s;ay, the gate whereby we mu&s;t
<PB N="60" REF="32">enter into the Kindom of our God, and the &s;tairs whereby we mu&s;t a&s;|cend unto his Holy Mountain, have we not occa&s;ion to con&s;olate our &s;elves, and to leap for joy, con&s;ider|ing that we are almo&s;t arrived at the place, where we hope to re&s;t perpe|tually: If poor <HI>Adam</HI> being driven out of the earthly Paradi&s;e, after he had ta&s;ted of the mi&s;eries whereinto he precipitates him&s;elf by his &s;in, had been called thither again, and &s;et in his fir&s;t E&s;tate, what occa&s;ion &s;hould he have had to rejoyce? And we al|&s;o, who after &s;o many and divers af|flictions, are called out by God, by the means of death, into no Earthly but Heavenly Paradi&s;e, not <HI>Adams,</HI> but Gods, where there is no Sin, where there is no Serpent, where there is no forbidding, in &s;hort where there is no fear nor &s;hame. When <HI>Noah</HI> after the flood, and falling of the waters which had broken and torn all, began to &s;ee the firm land
<PB N="61" REF="32">he did rejoyce, and for joy &s;acrificed to God for a thank&s;giving; altho' it was accur&s;ed, and brought forth thornes and thi&s;tles as before. What more great occa&s;ion &s;hall we have, when after the great flouds, and de|&s;olations which we have in this world, we &s;hall begin to &s;ee and &s;alute the Land of the living, the ble&s;&s;ed Land, the land that was promi&s;ed to the good, the Land flowing with Milk and Honey, and all &s;weet and &s;avory things? When <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> after he had a long time been pri&s;oner in great ca|lamity, &s;uddenly without thinking thereon, was rai&s;ed to &s;uch dignity, that he was next the King in Egypt, making Laws and Ordinances, for to di&s;po&s;e the State and Kingdom; had not he matter of Con&s;olation?</P>
<P>We have no le&s;s, but much more, when after our Pri&s;ons, Captivities, Servitudes, Bani&s;hments, and &s;o ma|ny other afflictions which we &s;uffer in this World, we by death are in a
<PB N="62" REF="33">moment lifted up from the dunghill into Heaven, there to reign with Je|&s;us Chri&s;t, and to be partakers of his Glory, of his Honour, of his Faith, of his Re&s;t, and of his Table.</P>
<P>Was it not a great joy to the Jews, who had been captives three &s;core years in <HI>Babylon,</HI> among&s;t the Ido|laters in great mi&s;ery, deprived of the u&s;e and benefit of &s;piritual things, &s;uch as to a&s;&s;emble together to prai&s;e God, and to hear his Word, and to do other things appertaining to the office of a Chri&s;tian; weeping &s;ome|times when they were by them&s;elves, and hanging up their Harps and In|&s;truments, through grief that they could not &s;erve God according to their de&s;ires, nor &s;ing his prai&s;es a|mong the &s;trangers; was it not a great joy then in the&s;e circum&s;tances to have the Kings letters to return into their country, build their Tem|ple? and there according to their ancient manner, in all Liberty, &s;erve
<PB N="63" REF="33">prai&s;e and wor&s;hip their God; and is it le&s;s to us, when after a long and tedious captivity that we have en|dured in this world, conver&s;ing with Idolaters, Unbelievers, Bla&s;phemers, de&s;pi&s;ers of God and of his Word; we are delivered and have our pa&s;-port to go into this cele&s;tial <HI>Jeru&s;a|lem,</HI> and into the holy Temple of our God, there for to prai&s;e him perpe|tually, and in beholding his good|ne&s;s, to glorifie and &s;anctifie his holy Name?</P>
<P>Death is al&s;o to be de&s;ired by rea|&s;on that with out &s;orrows in al&s;o ends our mourning; we in this world are alwaies &s;ad, heavy, and melancholy. In it we weep, we &s;igh and alwaies wear the black weed: But when by death we go forth of it, to go into the Hou&s;e of our Bridegroom, we put off and leave the mourning weed for to take our goodly and and &s;ump|tuous a biliments, and everla&s;ting joy &s;hall be powred on tho&s;e which have
<PB N="64" REF="34">been the faithful &s;ervants of God, and then &s;hall be accompli&s;hed that which hath been promi&s;ed them. You that do weep in this world are hap|py, for you &s;hall laugh: there &s;hall be no more grief, nor complaining, nor tears; for God at our coming in|to his Kingdom will wipe them away from our eyes, we &s;hall be comforted, and we &s;hall re&s;t in <HI>Abrahams</HI> bo&s;ome, as did <HI>Lazarus,</HI> there &s;hall be no o|ther que&s;tion but of &s;inging and &s;ay|ing every one to our Souls.</P>
<P><HI>Prai&s;e thou the Lord, O my Soul! and all that is within me prai&s;e his Holy Name.</HI></P>
<P>So to the Harpe and other in&s;tru|ments, Go to, a wake that you may now be &s;et up again in the e&s;tate to &s;erve God, and prai&s;e him for his goodne&s;s, &s;ay to all the Church.</P>
<P><HI>O! give thanks unto the Lord, and call upon his Name, O! let your &s;ongs be of him and prai&s;e him, and let your talking be of all his wondrous works.</HI></P>
<PB N="65" REF="34">
<P>Say to all creatures, ble&s;s the Lord in all his works, prai&s;e and exalt his Name. Ble&s;s God ye Angels of Hea|ven, Sun, Moon, Fire, Aire, Wa|ter, Earth, Trees, and Bea&s;ts. A maid that hath long time been betro|thed, de&s;ires that the day of her Mar|riage were come, and when it is come &s;he rejoyceth, &s;eeing that &s;he &s;hall &s;oon be brought to her Husbands Hou&s;e to dwell perpetually with him; we ought al&s;o to comfort our &s;elves, when the time draws near that our Lord mu&s;t come; and we ought to attend him waking as did the five wi&s;e Virgins, that &s;o &s;oon as he &s;hall be come, we may go in to the wed|ding with him, and that the gate be not &s;hut again&s;t us, as it was again&s;t the five fooli&s;h, becau&s;e they were fallen a&s;leep.</P>
<P>Another rea&s;on why death is to be wi&s;hed for, is that it cau&s;eth us to &s;ee our friend and Saviour Je&s;us Chri&s;t, of whom we have as yet &s;een but the
<PB N="66" REF="35">Picture. The Prophets and Apo&s;tles have de&s;cribed him unto us &s;o fair of &s;uch a comely Stature, &s;o Courte|ous, &s;o Vertuous, &s;o Loyal, &s;o Elo|quent, &s;o Lovely, &s;o Noble, &s;o Rich, &s;o loving of Us, that for our &s;alvati|on he did abandon his own life, which ought more to move us then any o|ther thing. Where is that Per&s;on, who having heard of &s;o many per|fections to be in his friend, would not burn, and be altogether tran&s;|ported with de&s;ire and affection to &s;ee him? If our King, or &s;ome Prince of renown comes into our Country, we de&s;ire to &s;ee him, becau&s;e of the report which we have heard of his Vertue and Valour. If <HI>Hercules, Al|exander</HI> the great, <HI>Cae&s;ar Cato,</HI> of whom we &s;o much commend the an|cient Pictures, were now in this world we would through curio&s;ity go a hundred Miles to &s;ee them; with what an affection then &s;hould we a&s;|pire to that day, in the which we
<PB N="67" REF="35">&s;hall face to face &s;ee and behold that &s;o mighty Prince, who with an in|vincible force hath broken the head of all our Enemies; who like unto a va|liant <HI>Jo&s;ua,</HI> in de&s;pite of them hath brought us through the dangers, and conducted us into the land which God promi&s;ed us? What a plea&s;ure &s;hall it be to us to &s;ee him glorious, and in triumphant array, and round about him the goodly trophees of his great victories &s;et up? It is &s;aid that when <HI>Alexander</HI> had overcome <HI>Darius</HI> King of the Per&s;ians, entring into the place where he made his re|&s;idence. He &s;its down in his Throne, and that pre&s;ently a Greek Grentle|man of his Company began to weep for joy in &s;peaking the&s;e words. O happy day in the which we &s;ee our King victorious again&s;t the Barbari|ans, and their pride trodden under foot! O that all <HI>Greece</HI> had now the &s;ight and the plea&s;ure of this Specta|cle. Think what joy it will be al&s;o
<PB N="68" REF="36">to every faithful Man, to &s;ee Je&s;us Chri&s;t in his Royal Seat, holding un|der his Feet all his Enemies and ours, but e&s;pecially the Serpent who&s;e head is already broken, and now he doth nothing el&s;e but wag his Tail, wait|ing his &s;inal end, which &s;hall be at the day of Judgment. Many Kings and Princes did with great affection de&s;ire to &s;ee him when he was on Earth in the form of a Servant. And <HI>Simeon</HI> becau&s;e he &s;aw him &s;o, did &s;o rejoice, and was &s;o &s;atisfied, that he feared no more to die: Ought hot we more to de&s;ire to &s;ee him in Heaven in a Kingly Robe, with com|pany, greatne&s;s, maje&s;ty and pomp, and in the &s;tate of a Lord? The Queen of <HI>Sheba,</HI> who being induced by the rumour which was &s;pred over all the Earth of the great Court of King <HI>Solomon,</HI> came running thither, from the farthe&s;t part of the South, to &s;ee him, and to hear his wi&s;dom; and after &s;he had diligently con&s;ide|red
<PB N="69" REF="36">his great and marvellous Wi&s;dom; the order, the &s;plendor, and &s;tate of his Hou&s;e, &s;tood all a&s;toni&s;hed, and with great admiration, &s;aid, <HI>O how happy are the Servants of thy Hou&s;e, who may &s;ee thy Face every day, and hear thy Divine Speeches?</HI> Let us &s;ay al&s;o, <HI>O thrice and four times happy are the Faithful, who dying go directly to Hea|ven, to behold the Face of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, who is greater than</HI> Solomon: For the only contemplation of it, makes man content in every point; in taking from us the memory and feeling of all other plea&s;ures, cau&s;eth that we cannot, nor will not turn our eyes and Thoughts from it. Now Death doth not only cau&s;e us to &s;ee Je&s;us Chri&s;t, but maketh us with him to behold the Angels, the Patriarks, the Prophets, the Apo&s;tles, the Martyrs, which have been &s;ingular in graces and vertues. And if any Man that hath a Heart towards God, de&s;ires to &s;ee the Church well ordered in this
<PB N="70" REF="37">World, and preferreth it to all that can be given him; albeit, the order is never &s;o great, yet there will be many things more to be de&s;ired; with what vehemence and heat then &s;hould he wi&s;h to &s;ee it in Heaven, without &s;pot or wrinkle, &s;hining like the Sun, clothed in Robes as white as Snow, &s;et forth in Nuptial Order?</P>
<P>The la&s;t Rea&s;on, for the which we ought to de&s;ire Death, is, that by it our Spirit being parted from the Bo|dy, which doth clog it, is more at liberty, and more capable to look into the My&s;teries of God. We live all in this World with a natural de&s;ire to know; therefore it is that for our contentment, we &s;eek always to hear and &s;ee &s;ome Novelties; now is it not po&s;&s;ible that here beneath we &s;hould come to any great knowledg, chief|ly of the truth, as well becau&s;e that of it &s;elf it is ob&s;cure and hard to know; as al&s;o, for the Cares, Pe|turbations, Afflictions, Pa&s;&s;ions, <HI>&amp;c.</HI>
<PB N="71" REF="37">wherewith our mind is intangled and hindred, whil&s;t it is in our Bodies, which are unto it as du&s;t in a Man's Eye, which doth hinder it from di&s;|cerning any thing under&s;tandingly. This is the Rea&s;on wherefore God &s;aith unto <HI>Mo&s;es, That whil&s;t we live we cannot &s;ee it clearly;</HI> for the which al&s;o S. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith, <HI>That we know but in part;</HI> and S. <HI>John, That we &s;ee the My|&s;teries of our god, but as it were in a Gla&s;s, or through a Window; but when our Soul &s;hall be parted from this Body, and the vail taken away which blindeth her Eyes, then &s;hall it behold and &s;ee God Face to Face, then &s;hall it have the perfect Knowlede of him and of Je|&s;us Chri&s;t his Son, and in it Eternal Life. We &s;hall behold that which now we Wor&s;hip; for we &s;hall enter into the Sanctuary of our Lord, and there &s;hall look on him without cea&s;ing, the Propi|tiation and the Cherubins: Nothing neither of the Law nor the Go&s;pel &s;hall be any more unknown or hid from us. God
<PB N="72" REF="38">will &s;hew unto us.</HI> God will &s;hew un|to us as unto his Friends and Famili|ars, all the Riches of his Hou&s;e; he will talk Friendly with us, and will impart all unto us. An ancient Man turning from Merchandi&s;e, and being entred into the Hall, where <HI>Demetri</HI> IX. and <HI>Phalere</HI> IX. read; when he had heard him a little while, begins to complain, and &s;aid, <HI>O unhappy Man that I am, have the Goods of this World been the Cau&s;e that I have been &s;o long deprived of &s;uch good things at the&s;e?</HI> Let us al&s;o &s;ay, <HI>O Mi&s;erable Life, will thou la&s;t much longer? wilt thou not &s;hortly let us go whither we a&s;pire? which is the School of our god. Mu&s;t we lo&s;e &s;o many days? Happy Death wilt thou not ha&s;ten to bring us thither?</HI> We &s;ee by the&s;e Rea&s;ons what occa&s;ion we have to fear, flie from, and complain of Death, which is a re&s;t and &s;leep mo&s;t delightful above all other; for there is no noi&s;e nor dreams to trou|ble or interupt it: it is a hol&s;om Me|dicine,
<PB N="73" REF="38">which being &s;wallowed, doth heal us of all Di&s;ea&s;es, and taketh all pain from us. Which <HI>Socrates</HI> con|&s;idering, after he had drunk the poy|&s;on by the commandment of the <HI>A|thenians,</HI> who had unju&s;tly condem|ned him to die, when the venom was di&s;per&s;ed in his Members, and his Friend <HI>Crito</HI> a little before he gave up the Gho&s;t, had asked him, if he would command him nothing; <HI>no,</HI> &s;aid he, <HI>but that thou offer Sacrifice to</HI> E&s;culapi IX. <HI>the God of Phy&s;iek, to give him thanks; for I never took a Medicine of &s;uch great force, nor which wrought bet|ter.</HI> It is a great &s;hame that the&s;e <HI>Pagans</HI> in their Ignorance and Infide|lity &s;eem to be better in&s;tructed and more vertuous then we are; for we fear Death, and flie from it, as an evil thing, and they hold and e&s;teem it as an incomperable good. <HI>Epami|nondas</HI> at the hour of his Death per|ceiving his Friends about his Bed weeping, comforted them, &s;aying.
<PB N="74" REF="39"><HI>Rejoice O my Friends, for your Friend</HI> Epaminondas <HI>is going to begin to Live.</HI> Is Death then an Evil, which hath nothing el&s;e of that which we e&s;teem Death, but the Name and Reputati|on, for indeed it is a Life? Al&s;o is this life a good, which hath but the Name of it, for in effect it is a very Death? Both the one and the other, as &s;aith Saint <HI>John Chry&s;o&s;tom,</HI> is mas|ked and have both fal&s;e Faces. Life which is &s;o evil favoured hath the fair, which maketh it to be feared and hated. When it pre&s;ents it &s;elf unto us &s;o mask'd, at the fir&s;t it &s;eems fearful; but if we put up the mask we &s;hall find it underneath &s;o fair and Beautiful, that pre&s;ently we &s;hall be inflamed with the Love of it. Let us then take away this vain fear of Death; let us believe that which is true, that it is the greate&s;t good that can happen unto us. That which anciently <HI>Apollo</HI> an&s;wered to <HI>Pindar,</HI> being que&s;tioned what thing he did
<PB N="75" REF="39">e&s;teem the mo&s;t healthful and profita|ble to Man. To die, an&s;wered he. It is &s;aid of <HI>Cleobis</HI> and <HI>Biton,</HI> that God would recompence them for their pi|ety, and obedience, and re&s;pect which they had born towards their Mother. Now having given them leave to de|mand what they would, they refer|red them&s;elves to his Judgment, as knowing be&s;t what is mo&s;t profitable and nece&s;&s;ary for us then our &s;elves: What came of it? The &s;ame day they died. Whereby did appear that there is nothing more profitable unto man, than Death, by the which we are led into a place of plea&s;ure, where we begin to live. In the Old Time the Sepulchres were built in Gardens, which was done not only for to bring into our minds our end, in taking off our Plea&s;ures and Delights, and by that means to moderate them, but al&s;o for to in&s;truct us, that Death is a Guide to Plea&s;ure and Paradi&s;e, and is as a pa&s;&s;age for to enter into a plea|&s;ant
<PB N="76" REF="40">Orchard; it is the rea&s;on for the which at <HI>Athens,</HI> when they buried the dead Bodies, they turned their Faces towards the Ea&s;t, and not to|wards the We&s;t, to &s;hew that in death our Life and Light begins: Why do we put our Bodies in Sepulchres as in Che&s;ts, if it be not to &s;hew that they are not lo&s;t, but layed up as pre|cious Ve&s;&s;els of the Holy Gho&s;t, and that in time they &s;hall be taken forth, and &s;hall be put into Light, for the Decoration of the Hou&s;e of their Lord. The&s;e things con&s;idered, let us take away all fear and apprehen|&s;ion of Death, let us rejoice and &s;ing as do the Swans when they are near their Death: Let us &s;ay with <HI>David, Lord I have been glad when it hath been &s;aid unto me, Go to, let us go into the Hou&s;e of our Lord.</HI></P>
<P>It remains now, before we end this pre&s;ent Treati&s;e, to &s;hew how we &s;hould behave our &s;elves at the death of our Friends, and how to
<PB N="77" REF="40">mittigate the Sorrows, which we conceive for them, which to do we mu&s;t con&s;ider that which followeth.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, the unavoidable nece&s;&s;ity of all Men, the which cannot be re|medied neither by Coun&s;el nor any other means, <HI>David</HI> having a regard thereunto, did comfort him&s;elf after the death of his little Child, for whom he had we pt and prayed &s;o much during his Sickne&s;s, when there was yet &s;ome hope to impetrate of God, by humble Prayers, that he would re&s;tore him to Health: but when he &s;aw that it was too late, that all Tears were now vain and unpro|fitable, he left his Mourning and be|gan to rejoice. Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;aith, that every day hath Afflictions enough o it &s;elf to trouble us, without heap|ing on tho&s;e of others, either of tho&s;e that are gone, renuing it by the re|membrance of them; or of tho&s;e which are to come, anticipating by Fear and Cunjecture. This is an In|&s;truction
<PB N="78" REF="41">mo&s;t nece&s;&s;ary, and which we ought all to take, for the re&s;t and tranquility of our Minds.</P>
<P>Secondly, we mu&s;t con&s;ider when our Friends die, that it is the Will of God which doth, nor ordaineth no|thing but for the good of his Chil|dren, as &s;aith St. <HI>Paul,</HI> to tho&s;e that are loved of God, all things &s;ucceed and turn to their Profit: If we do not believe that, we are Unbelievers: if we believe it, we ought not to grieve for any thing that befals us; for all is profitable to us. Now there is no great rea&s;on that we &s;hould hide us from our Profit. The Soveraign Wi&s;dom of God is the Cau&s;e that there is nothing better done than that which he doth; and his Good|ne&s;s that there is nothing better: If there be nothing better, nor better done than that which he ordaineth and di&s;po&s;eth; and he di&s;po&s;eth of us and of our Affairs, and generally of all that which happeneth unto us,
<PB N="79" REF="41">why do we &s;orrow, why do we de|&s;ire any thing el&s;e? For we cannot have any thing that is better; why do we complain? For all is well and can|not be better done.</P>
<P>We mu&s;t thirdly think, that to dye is a thing general and common to all: We pa&s;s and fly away as doth the wa|ter of a Brook; and it is an act and &s;tature of our God, that we mu&s;t dye all: if then that happen unto us which is common to all, is it not a great Folly and Pride in us, to de&s;ire to be exempt from the common condition, and to wi&s;h for a Particular? What are we the vvor&s;e that our Friends are Dead? &s;o do tho&s;e of our Neigh|bours die. <HI>Menander</HI> Writing to a Friend of his to comfort him, alleadg|ed this rea&s;on unto him: <HI>Thou &s;hould&s;t have,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>ju&s;t occa&s;ion to grieve if thy fortune and de&s;tiny were wor&s;e than other Mens, but if it be alike, why do&s;t thou complain?</HI> There are more that if we would diligently con&s;ider
<PB N="80" REF="42">and make an entire compari&s;on be|tween us and others, we &s;hould find there are an iufinite many wor&s;e for|tuned than we are. And that is true which <HI>Anaxagoras</HI> &s;aid, as reporteth <HI>Valerius, That if it were po&s;&s;ible to a&s;&s;em|ble all the Mi&s;eries of the World on a heap, and afterwards to part them by equal Portions, there is not he but would rather chu&s;e his own, than his part of the whole Heap.</HI> Seeing that we are not a|lone lo&s;ing our Friends, and that if we will look into it, we &s;hall find that there are enough more ill at Ea&s;e than we: Let us content our &s;elves, that &s;o it plea&s;eth God, and let us not de|&s;ire Immortal Friends, where we &s;ee tho&s;e of others to be but Mortal.</P>
<P>Again, let us think that it is a na|tural thing to die, as it is for win|ter to be cold, and &s;ummer hot. Our bodies (&s;aith St. <HI>Paul</HI>) are mor|tal; then let us not marvel if in win|ter there be rain, fro&s;t and &s;now, for the &s;ea&s;on brings it. Let us not mar|vel
<PB N="81" REF="42">that the night follows the day and that man at night after his la|bour goeth to &s;leep, for all that is natural. Al&s;o ought not we for the the &s;ame rea&s;on to be a&s;toni&s;h'd when a man dyety; no more &s;aith St. <HI>Ba&s;il,</HI> then when he is born and commeth into the world, for the one and the other is Ordinary: And want of con|&s;idering it, is cau&s;e oftentimes that at the death of our Friend we are &s;o a|mazed, as if it were a thing prodi|gious and not accu&s;tomed. When news was brought to <HI>Anaxagoras,</HI> that his &s;on was dead, it moved him not at all, only he &s;aid that it was not a new and unu&s;ual thing that a mortal man &s;hould die, and that when he begot him, he did not beget him immortal. What made him &s;o con|&s;tant, but that before hand he had fore&s;een and often con&s;idered that it ought &s;o to come to pa&s;s, being a natural thing?</P>
<P>Moreover, we mu&s;t con&s;ider, than
<PB N="82" REF="43">death is a tribute which we owe and are bound to pay unto nature. Thou art du&s;t and earth, and to earth thou &s;halt return, &s;aith God, &s;peaking to man after he had &s;inned: Then, when one of our Friends dieth, why are we di&s;contented? Becau&s;e he hath quitted him&s;elf and payed what he ought? If he had payed his King the tribute and ordinary Tax, we would approve of that as mo&s;t right, and an obedience and duty towards his Prince; and if he hath done as much to nature, what rea&s;on is there to grieve at it?</P>
<P>Again, that in it God heareth us, for we ask of God that his Kingdom come, and that his will be done; what do we je&s;t with God, asking him that which we would not have, and fear to obtain? and do vex our &s;elves, and murmur, in&s;tead of giv|ing him thanks when he hath granted our reque&s;ts? We &s;hew well that we think little on the prayers which we
<PB N="83" REF="43">make: for if we thought upon them, either we would not pray &s;o, or el&s;e in praying, &s;o if God grant our re|que&s;t, we would not be &s;ory for it.</P>
<P>Again, that when our Friends die we lo&s;e them not; for our Lord who&s;e they are both before and after death, is not the God of the dead but of the living. <HI>Cirus</HI> &s;peaking to his friends before his death, to comfort them &s;aid; Do not think when I &s;hall be dead that I am lo&s;t, or &s;hall come to nothing. When we &s;ow a land, the grains of corn are not lo&s;t, they rot therein, but it is the better to fructifie; &s;o are our bodies in the earth, for to revive one day, and to ri&s;e again in incorruption, immorta|lity, and vertue. When al&s;o a man goeth along and tedious journey, do we think him lo&s;t? When any one of our friends is at the Court with his Prince, who will not &s;uffer him to depart out of his Company, rai&s;ed to honour, and provided of great of|fices,
<PB N="84" REF="44">are we &s;orry for it? Why then are we &s;orry for a Friend, whom we know a&s;&s;uredly to be in the Hou&s;e of God, in honour and credit, and &s;o well at ea&s;e, that he would not change for all the felicity of this world? Again, that it is a very un|hone&s;t and un&s;eemly thing in a faith|ful man to grieve &s;o immoderately and as if he were de&s;perate. A Chri&s;tian ought to have a &s;trength and courage, which &s;hould be invin|cible again&s;t all adver&s;ities, and even again&s;t the gates of Hell: He &s;hould be like a building grounded upon a firm Rock, that may hold firm a|gain&s;t all the &s;tormes, waves and winds, and all the inconveniences wherewith he may be a&s;&s;ayled; he mu&s;t not be &s;oft, and yield pre&s;ently to Adver&s;ity, melting in Tears, and therein drowning (as <HI>David</HI> &s;aid) his Bed. The <HI>Lucians</HI> in time pa&s;t had a Law, by the which it was ordained that who&s;oever would weep for the
<PB N="85" REF="44">Death of his Friend, &s;hould put on Womens Cloaths, to &s;hew that it is more an&s;wering to a cowardly and e&s;&s;eminate Heat, than to manly Cou|rage. And as it happens in Mens Bo|dies, that when they are tender and delicate, they cannot endure the cold in Winter, nor yet the heat in Summer; &s;o may we judge of &s;uch Courages, that if they cannot bear Adver&s;ity without Impatience, no more can they pro&s;perity without In|&s;olency.</P>
<P>We mu&s;t finally con&s;ider, that by the Tears and Complaints which we u&s;e at death of our Friends, we do not remedy our &s;elves, no more than doth the &s;ick Man his Di&s;ea&s;e by his Sighs, but rather doth encrea&s;e his Mi&s;ery. And we may &s;ay that even as by common Experience, and the re|ports of Phy&s;icians, we &s;ee in Cho|lerick Folks, that the more they an|ger them&s;elves their Rage and Cho|ler doth augment: al&s;o in the mourn|ful
<PB N="86" REF="45">and heavy People, that continu|ing in their Tears and Lamentations, their Sorrow doth grow and &s;treng|then. So &s;aid an ancient Philo&s;o|pher to <HI>Arcinoe,</HI> to comfort her; If &s;aid he, thou love&s;t Tears, they will love thee reciprocally, and as Friends will always frequent and accompany thee: What then doth this great Mourning profit us, if not to make us more mi&s;erable? I, but will &s;ome &s;ay, in excu&s;ing them&s;elves, it is a na|tural thing to weep at &s;uch an acci|dent: I agree to it, neither will I condemn a moderate Sorrow. As I certain Man &s;aw an ancient Philo&s;o|pher weeping for the Death of his Son, and did reprove his incon|&s;taney: he an&s;wered him very well, &s;aying, <HI>Good Friend, &s;uffer me to be a Man.</HI> We mu&s;t not be like Barba|rians or &s;avage Bea&s;ts, without Hu|manity, without Affection, without Pity nor Feeling. <HI>I wi&s;h</HI> &s;aith <HI>Pinder, not to be Sick, but if I am, I would
<PB N="87" REF="45">not be without feeling; for it is an e|vil &s;ign, when in our Sickne&s;s we are dull and feel nothing.</HI> Then when in our Mourning we &s;hall keep the mean, and &s;hall avoid the two Extreams, which St. <HI>Ba&s;il</HI> doth condemn as vi|tious, which is, that we be not <HI>Stoiks,</HI> that is to &s;ay, without affection, nor &s;oft on the other &s;ide, to &s;uffer our &s;elves to be won and overcome with &s;orrow; I do approve that if we &s;hew our &s;elves Men in Weeping, let us al&s;o &s;hew that we are Chri&s;tians furni&s;hed with Hope in correcting and moderating our Sorrows. Others &s;ay, I loved them &s;o dearly. If thou loved&s;t him &s;o dearly as thou &s;aye&s;t, &s;hew it and rejoice at his happine&s;s and re&s;t: I rather believe that which cau&s;eth in us this great Mourning, is the love which we have of our &s;elves, which is the cau&s;e that we grieve at the lo&s;s of our Friends, not for the re&s;pect which we have to them, but to our &s;elves, being di&s;|contens
<PB N="88" REF="46">to be deprived of the Plea|&s;ure and Con&s;olations which they gave us. Which Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;aid un|to his Di&s;ciples, <HI>Seeing that they grieved that he had told them, that in &s;hort time he &s;hould be put to Death:</HI> It is not for love of me that you are &s;o heavy; for if you loved me you would be glad, for as much as it is my good or happine&s;s to die. Others &s;ay, he was &s;o hone&s;t a Man, there|fore is it that God took him, as he did <HI>Enock,</HI> for fear le&s;t by the Malice and Corruption of this Age, he &s;hould change. When the Fruit is ripe mu&s;t it not be gathered, for fear le&s;t it &s;hould rot on the Tree?</P>
<P>Others &s;ay be died in the prime of his Age; by &s;o much the happier is he: for, as &s;aid <HI>Anachar&s;is, That Ship is happie&s;t which arriveth fir&s;t at the Port.</HI> Moreover, there is no certain time determined for all Men to die: But as we &s;ee in Fruit time, &s;ome are gathered &s;ooner than the others; &s;o
<PB N="89" REF="46">is it among&s;t Men. There are &s;ome al&s;o that &s;ay, we mu&s;t honour the Dead, by mourning for them, falling into the &s;uper&s;tition of the <HI>Jews,</HI> who holding his opinion, did hire certain Singers and Mu&s;itians, to &s;ing pitiful and funeral Songs for the Death of their Friends; which Je&s;us Chri&s;t did reprove in the Hou&s;e of the Prince of the Synagogue: and not without cau&s;e, for it is not good in prai&s;e o a Body to mourn for it: Complaints and Tears are rather &s;igns of Mi&s;ery than any thing el&s;e. We do not now weep for the holy Martyrs, which yet we &s;hould do, if in Tears there did con&s;i&s;t any Honour; but we ho|nour them by a remembrance of them, with ble&s;&s;ing and thank&s;giving, and by Pain and Study we endeavour to follow them. If likewi&s;e we have a Friend whom we will honour after his Death, it mu&s;t not be with Tears and Lamentations, but rather by an honourable man&s;ion which we are
<PB N="90" REF="47">to make of him and of his Vertues, and by a de&s;ire which we have to imitate and follow his good and lau|dable cour&s;e of Life.</P>
<P>It is time to conclude this pre&s;ent Treati&s;e, and to re&s;olve on the pre|cedent Rea&s;ons; that we mu&s;t nei|ther fear nor fly Death, but rather love and de&s;ire it more than Life, and prefer the day of our Death be|fore the day of our Birth: for by our Birth we come to Pain and Affli|ction, and dying, we go to God, and to perpetual re&s;t. Let us then &s;trict|ly examine them, and judge of them, that we may take away the fear of the one, and the exce&s;&s;ive love of the other. God through his holy Spirit give us the Grace to do it. So be it.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="discourse">
<PB REF="47">
<HEAD>A Clear Declaration Of the RESURRECTION Of the DEAD.</HEAD>
<P>FOra&s;much as in all times there have been &s;ome who have mocked at the Re&s;urrection, and have utterly denied it: <HI>Mat.</HI> 12. <HI>Acts</HI> 17. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15. It is not without good Cau&s;e that the Apo|&s;tle St. <HI>Paul</HI> doth &s;o carefully teach
<PB N="92" REF="48">us, that the Dead &s;hall ri&s;e again: for even as the Knowledge doth bring unto us a Soveraign Joy and Con&s;o|lation, and doth give us a Will and Affection to follow unto the end JESUS CHRIST our Head and Spou&s;e, to be Crowned with him, with that Eternal Beatitude which God hath prepared for his Children. <HI>Mat.</HI> 25. So al&s;o tho&s;e that are not a&s;&s;ured of the Re&s;urrection which is the Foundation of our Re|ligion, are le&s;s affectionate to follow the Lord, and to give them&s;elves to Piety and Ju&s;tice. And we mu&s;t not doubt but the wicked, who abandon them&s;elves to all impiety again&s;t God and who without remor&s;e of Con|&s;cience do exerci&s;e all &s;orts of Wic|kedne&s;s again&s;t their Neighbours, they do it &s;o much the more freely, as to per&s;wade them&s;elves that if they e&s;cape the Judgment and Puni&s;hment of Men, they &s;hall hear nothing of it after this Life. For &s;eeing that to
<PB N="93" REF="48">avoid only the vengeance of the Magi&s;trate in this World, they hide as much as they can their iniquities, and give &s;uch good Colours to their mi&s;-deeds as po&s;&s;ibly they can, that they may not be convicted Wicked; how much more do you think they would be bridled from doing Evil, if they were per&s;waded that although their Bodies die, yet their Souls &s;hall remain Immortal, and &s;hall endure the Judgment of God which it hath de&s;erved; and that one day their Bodies &s;hall ri&s;e again, that both Bo|dy and Soul may be Eternally tor|mented in Hell, <HI>Heb.</HI> 10. by the Judgement of God &s;o horrible and fearful; <HI>Heb.</HI> 10. whereupon we may &s;ee how nece&s;&s;ary it is to know that the Dead &s;hall ri&s;e again, this Doctrine being the principal upholder of Chri&s;tian Religion; of which if a Man be not altogether per&s;waded all is nothing. And it is impo&s;&s;ible to per&s;evere among&s;t &s;o many Difficul|ties
<PB N="94" REF="49">and Afflictions which are dai|ly pre&s;ent at the &s;erving of the Lord: For if the hope of the Re|&s;urrection were not, we &s;hould be the mo&s;t mi&s;erable of the Earth, <HI>Cor.</HI> 15. &s;eeing that in this World the Faithful are ordinarily more afflicted than the Infidels; but our Con&s;ola|tion is the Promi&s;e of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that although the World &s;hall rejoice for a time, and that we &s;hall weep, <HI>Joh.</HI> 16. <HI>Rom.</HI> 8. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 37. and 73. the time will come that our Head will vi&s;it us, and rejoice our Hearts with a Joy that &s;hall never be taken from us.</P>
<P>Now for to under&s;tand this Arti|cle of Faith, we mu&s;t well con&s;ider the&s;e three Points.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, we mu&s;t know whether the Soul now dieth with the Body or no.</P>
<PB N="95" REF="49">
<P>Secondly, Whether the Body re|turns &s;o to the Earth, that it cannot <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">i&s;e again.</P>
<P>Thirdly, If it doth ri&s;e, who is <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">t doth rai&s;e it, and in what e&s;tate it &s;hall be when ri&s;en.</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="point">
<HEAD>The fir&s;t Point.</HEAD>
<P>AS for the fir&s;t Part. The Lord for to declare unto us the Im|mortality of Souls, compares Death <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">o the Sleep of Man, and &s;aith that tho&s;e that are dead, &s;leep: a&s;&s;uring us, that even &s;o as when the Body doth &s;leep, the Soul doth not &s;leep, as appears by &s;o many Dreams which Men have, that al&s;o, although the Body &s;hall be put into the Sepulcher, as in a place of Sleep: neverthele&s;s the Immortal Soul &s;hall be gathered
<PB N="96" REF="50">and a&s;&s;embled in its place; from whence it &s;hall come again at the day of Judgment to put on her Body that therein &s;he may enjoy the hap|py Life, or &s;uffer Eternal Puni&s;hment <HI>Rom.</HI> 2. <HI>Mat.</HI> 25. <HI>Luk.</HI> 8. The A|po&s;tle &s;peaking of the Daughter of <HI>Icairus,</HI> whom the Lord did rai&s;e a|gain, &s;aith, <HI>That the Spirit did return into her;</HI> &s;hewing that it was not dead like the Body, but only that &s;he was gone to the Place, from the which by the Commandment of Je|&s;us Chri&s;t &s;he came again to re-enter into her Body: as al&s;o that of <HI>La|zarus</HI> of <HI>Bethleem, Joh.</HI> 11. For ever &s;o as the Body doth return to the Earth, from whence it was taken; &s;o the Spirit doth return to God, who gave it. The &s;ame Evangeli&s;t de|clares, that the Soul of <HI>Lazarus</HI> lives in Heaven, and that of the evil Rich Man in Hell. <HI>Luc.</HI> 16. And the Lord dying, to &s;hew that the Soul was not &s;ubject to Death as the Body, did
<PB N="97" REF="50">recommend his Soul to his Father. <HI>Luk.</HI> 22. <HI>Act.</HI> 7. Saint <HI>Steven</HI> the fir&s;t Martyr, recommended his to Chri&s;t. Saint <HI>Paul</HI> de&s;ired to be di&s;|&s;olved, and to be with Je&s;us; <HI>Phil.</HI> 1. knowing that after his Soul &s;hould be delivered out of the Pri&s;on of his Bo|dy, it &s;hould go to the Joy of the Children of god. Unto the Thief it was &s;aid, <HI>This Day thou &s;halt be with me in Paradi&s;e; Luk.</HI> 23. <HI>Joh.</HI> 5.6. which cannot be under&s;tood of the Body, but &s;hews that the faith|ful Dying, makes the pa&s;&s;age from Death to Life.</P>
<P>The which ought only to be un|der&s;tood of the Soul, &s;eeing that the Body mu&s;t fir&s;t be brought to Earth, and that it mu&s;t put off all Corrup|tion, for to ri&s;e at the la&s;t Day In|corruptible and in Glory. <HI>Mat.</HI> 22. Thus Je&s;us Chri&s;t again&s;t the Saduces, who denied the Immortality of Souls, &s;hews, that fora&s;much as God calls him&s;elf the God of <HI>Abraham,</HI> of
<PB N="98" REF="51"><HI>I&s;aac</HI> and of <HI>Jacob,</HI> Exod. 3. infallibly the Souls departed do live; for he is not the God of tho&s;e that are dead in &s;uch &s;ort, that they are no more; but he is the God of tho&s;e that are, and that live; and doth good to the Po&s;terity of tho&s;e that are, and not of tho&s;e that are not; which cannot be under&s;tood but of their Souls, &s;eeing their Bodies were returned to the Earth. Whereby we &s;ee that they deceive them&s;elves greatly, that &s;ay that their Souls die and vani&s;h with the Body where they Sleep; al&s;o tho&s;e likewi&s;e who think that they enter into other Bodies <HI>Mak</HI> 6. <HI>Luk.</HI> 9. Even the <HI>Pagans</HI> by natural Apprehen&s;ions, have believe that the Souls were Immortal; a we &s;ee that <HI>Euripides</HI> in the Tragedy which he intituled <HI>Hecuba,</HI> doth de|clare it, when he brings in <HI>Polixen</HI> &s;peaking to <HI>Hecuba,</HI> and dying, &s;ay|ing to her, <HI>What &s;hall I &s;ay to</HI> Hect<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>thy Husband, who was dead,</HI> &s;he a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">
<PB N="99" REF="51">&s;wered her, tell him that I am the mo&s;t wretched in the World: And in that which he entituled, The Supplicant, he &s;ays, The Spirit &s;hall return to Heaven. Likewi&s;e, <HI>Pho|licides</HI> &s;ays, That the Soul is im|mortal, and living always, wax|eth not old: <HI>Pythagoras</HI> in his Golden Ver&s;es, &s;aid, If when thou ha&s;t left the Body thou come&s;t in|to Heaven, thou &s;halt be as God, living always, and being no more Mortal: <HI>Cicero</HI> likewi&s;e Writes of it in his Book of Friend&s;hip, and in that which he writ of Age, in &s;ome &s;ort comforting him&s;elf in the hope which he had of the immor|tality of his Soul. We &s;ee then that it is a thing mo&s;t a&s;&s;ured, that the Soul is immortal, as the Lord by his Word, which is the Infallible Truth of Heaven, doth &s;hew it us: And likewi&s;e, the Pa|gans, how Ignorant &s;oever they were of the true Religion, have
<PB N="100" REF="52">well under&s;tood it. Wherefore tho&s;e that deny the Immortality of Souls, accu&s;e God of lying, and make them|&s;elves in wor&s;e e&s;tate than the Pagans.</P>
<P>This Knowledge is a great Con&s;o|lation to the Faithful in all their Af|flictions, and doth take from them the fears of Death, knowing that their Souls being &s;eparated from their Bo|dies live in Heaven, 1 <HI>John</HI> 2 in which they are admoni&s;hed, not to &s;ettle them&s;elves upon the tran&s;itory things of this Life; and not to load their Souls with the burthen of Sin, to the end that dying they may be rai&s;ed up towards God our Father, and Je|&s;us Chri&s;t our Saviour, unto whom we ought with a &s;tedfa&s;t faith to re|commend them. Now even as the faithful do rejoice at it, the unfaith|ful on the other &s;ide, knowing the Souls to be immortal, are &s;o much the more fearful of Death; &s;eeing the eternal pains, and torments to be pre|pared
<PB N="101" REF="52">for them at their going forth of this World. <HI>James</HI> 1. 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1.4. So that which &s;erveth to the Elect for Joy and In&s;truction, is unto the wicked nothing but Sorrow, and oc|ca&s;ion of De&s;pair.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="point">
<PB N="102" REF="53">
<HEAD>The Second Point.</HEAD>
<P>TOuching the Body, it is all ap|parant that it is &s;ubject to die, as well becau&s;e that we know that tho&s;e that were in times pa&s;t are dead, and that we &s;ee that tho&s;e of our time die one after another; as prin|cipally becau&s;e that the Lord declares to <HI>Adam,</HI> that by rea&s;on of his Sin, he with his po&s;terity &s;hall be &s;ubject to return into the Earth, from whence he was taken. <HI>Gen.</HI> 3. The Apo&s;tle &s;ays, <HI>Rom.</HI> 5.8.6. That by Man Sin
<PB N="103" REF="53">came into the World, and by Sin Death, and &s;o Death came unto all Men, by rea&s;on that all have &s;inned, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">nd the reward of Sin is Death, whereof the hour is uncertain unto us. <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">uke</HI> 12. Although we are certain <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">hat it is the Journey that every man mu&s;t go, by rea&s;on that unto them <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ll it is ordained to die once. <HI>Jo&s;.</HI> 12. 1 <HI>Kings</HI> 2: The Scripture is full of Te&s;timonies upon this matter, al|though it be well enough known of all by every days Experience. <HI>Heb.</HI> 9. <HI>Job</HI> 14. The <HI>Pagans</HI> them&s;elves with|out In&s;truction of the Word of God, have well under&s;tood that unto Man it is a thing that cannot be avoided; as <HI>Euripedes</HI> &s;hews it in the Tragedie of the Supplicants, &s;aying, <HI>That eve|ry part of Man mu&s;t return from whence it came; the Spirit into Heaven, the Body into the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="3 letters">ih, which is the Mother and Nur&s;e thereof. Wherefore it is a thing known to all, that we mu&s;t
<PB N="104" REF="54">die;</HI> but now by how much it is ea|&s;ie to believe, that nece&s;&s;ity to die is impo&s;ed upon us, by &s;o much is i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> more difficult to believe that our bo|dies being returned to du&s;t, &s;hall ri&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> again: And indeed the &s;en&s;ual Ma<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters"> cannot comprehend any thing there in, neither hath any thought of it; as we &s;ee that the <HI>Pagans</HI> never thought of it, although that they have di&s;puted of the immortality o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> Souls. But the Man that is regene|rate by the Spirit of God, doubt not but that the Lord can rai&s;e the dead, &s;eeing he will have it &s;o, and that nothing can hinder his Will <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 115. For as, &s;ayth the Prophet he doth what he will. <HI>Apoc.</HI> 4. We mu&s;t then fee how the Scripture dot<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> a&s;&s;ure us, that the Bodies as well o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> the good as of the wicked, &s;hall ri&s;e again, the fir&s;t <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">o be crowned with Glory, the other with perpetual In|famy. <HI>Dan.</HI> 12. For to teach us th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">
<PB N="105" REF="54">Re&s;urrection, it compares Death to a <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">leep, as hath been already &s;aid, to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">he end we may be certain that as the bodies, after they have laboured &s;hall re&s;t by Sleep, that they being awa|ked may with &s;o much more alacrity return to work; &s;o when we &s;hall have made an end of this pre&s;ent Life, our Bodies &s;hall be brought to the Tomb, as in a Bed of re&s;t, for to ri&s;e again from thence at the latter day, and be put into their place. <HI>Job.</HI> pro|phecying of the Re&s;urrection, the which he did firmly believe, &s;ays, <HI>I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he will &s;tand up at the latter day upon the Earth, and although after my Skin, this Body &s;hall be devoured by Worms, yet with my Fle&s;h &s;hall I &s;ee God, I &s;hall behold him, and my Eyes &s;hall look upon him, and none other for me, although my Reins are con&s;umed within me.</HI> Job. 14. &amp; 19. <HI>David</HI> foretels the Re&s;urrection of Chri&s;t, by whom we &s;hall ri&s;e again; the
<PB N="106" REF="55">which was figured by this, that <HI>Jonas</HI> was three days and three nights in the Whales Belly, as Je&s;us Chri&s;t him|&s;elf declares it. <HI>Johu</HI> 2. <HI>Mat.</HI> 12. The Prophet <HI>I&s;ay</HI> in the 26. <HI>Chap.</HI> &s;peaking of the Elect, &s;aith unto the Lord with Faith, Thy dead &s;hall live and ri&s;e again with my Body. Awake and rejoice ye Inhabitants of the du&s;t, for thy dew is as the dew of the Fields, and the Earth &s;hall ca&s;t forth the dead. The Lord willing to a&s;|&s;ure his People <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> that delivering them from the Captivity of <HI>Babylon,</HI> he would bring them back into the Land which he had given them, he &s;aid unto them in a Vi&s;ion, by the Prophet, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 37. that as certain as the dead &s;hall ri&s;e, &s;o certainly will he deliver them from the Captivity of the <HI>Babylonians,</HI> for to &s;et them in Peace in their own Land. <HI>Danie</HI> &s;aith, that tho&s;e that &s;leep in the du&s;t &s;hall wake, &s;ome to Eternal Life, and others to perpetual &s;hame
<PB N="107" REF="55">and Infamy, and tho&s;e which have been wi&s;e, &s;hall &s;hine as the Bright|ne&s;s of the Firmament, and tho&s;e which do per&s;wade Man to Righte|ou&s;ne&s;s, &s;hall be as Stars for ever and ever. <HI>Dan.</HI> 12. Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;hews the <HI>Saduces,</HI> that the dead &s;hall ri&s;e again, becau&s;e that God is their God, <HI>Mat.</HI> 28. In St. <HI>John, Chap.</HI> 6. he &s;aith, that the will of his Father who &s;ent him, is, that he &s;hall lo&s;e nothing of all that he hath given him; but that he &s;hall rai&s;e it up at the larter day. The Apo&s;tle declares that Chri&s;t is ri&s;en again for our Ju&s;tification. Then he &s;aith that even as we die in <HI>Adam,</HI> &s;o we &s;hall ri&s;e again, and &s;hall be quickened in Chri&s;t. <HI>Rom.</HI> 4.5.6. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15. For &s;eeing that he who is the Life, when he was put into the Tomb, thereby made many to ri&s;e again, by much more rea&s;on now, being ri&s;en again and glorified, will he rai&s;e us again. <HI>John</HI> 19. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 36. <HI>Mat.</HI> 27. In like manner he declares,
<PB N="108" REF="56">That he that believes Je&s;us is dead, and ri&s;en again (of which we have the &s;ure&s;t Te&s;timonies) ought by the &s;ame parity of Rea&s;on to believe, that God will bring from the Grave tho&s;e that &s;leep in Je&s;us, who &s;hall from thence forth ever live with the Lord, wherefore, &s;ays St. <HI>Paul,</HI> comfort one another with the&s;e Words, that is, let this be your Con&s;olation in the mid&s;t of all your Trials, Afflictions, and Troubles up|on Earth, that they cannor la&s;t long, but mu&s;t end with your Life; when you &s;hall de&s;cend into the Grave, where you &s;hall not long remain, but the &s;ame Power that rai&s;ed your Ble&s;&s;ed Redeemer from thence, &s;hall have the &s;ame effect on you, and likewi&s;e rai&s;e you from the Dead, and you &s;hall be joined with Chri&s;t your Head, and live with him in everla&s;ting Glory; this is the very &s;um of our Chri&s;tian Profe&s;&s;ion, and the highe&s;t point of our Faith.</P>
<PB N="109" REF="56">
<P>All humane wi&s;dom, which is fol|ly before God, <HI>Mat.</HI> 24.25. cannot per&s;wade them&s;elves, that the bodies which are returned into du&s;t can ri&s;e again, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15. <HI>Phil.</HI> 7. nor tho&s;e which have been burned, whereof the a&s;hes have been di&s;per&s;ed with the winds, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5. <HI>Acts</HI> 2.4. nor tho&s;e which have been devoured by birds and by bea&s;ts, and dige|&s;ted, and reduced to dung, 1 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 1. nor tho&s;e which have peri&s;hed in the waters, which have been food for fi&s;hes, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1. But the Lord by that which he had done before, plain|ly &s;heweth, that hereafter it &s;hall be very ea&s;ie for him to do what he will with our bodies; for &s;ee|ing he hath made all things of no|thing, can he not make that to re|turn to life, which hath already been? <HI>Gen.</HI> 1. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 33. <HI>Gen.</HI> 1. And as he made man fir&s;t of the Earth, can he not as well make
<PB N="110" REF="57">him to ri&s;e again from it? <HI>Gen.</HI> 1. in the beginning the Earth was &s;o obedient unto him, that when he commanded it to bring forth the bud of the herbs that beareth &s;eed, and the fructifying tree, and the living creature, bea&s;ts, worms, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> It of it &s;elf, immediately brings forth that which before had ne|ver been; how much more ea&s;ily by the commandment of God, may it re&s;tore many which have alrea|dy been, and &s;hall be returned in|to it? <HI>John</HI> 11. We &s;ee that al|though that <HI>Lazarus</HI> of <HI>Bethania,</HI> had already been three days in the Earth, and neverthele&s;s when the Lord commanded him to come out of the Earth, pre&s;ently it was done; He him&s;elf al&s;o ro&s;e again from the Earth the third day, for to a&s;&s;ure us that he will rai&s;e us again, <HI>Mat.</HI> 28. <HI>Apoc.</HI> 1. for as death could not overcome Je&s;us Chri&s;t, but that he is ri&s;en, &s;o &s;hall it not be
<PB N="111" REF="57" MS="y">able to hinder his members from ri&s;ing again, becau&s;e that he hath as much power over the dead, as over the living; <HI>Rom.</HI> 14. <HI>Gal.</HI> 1. 1 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 1.4. If God hath rai&s;ed the head, it followeth, that he will al&s;o rai&s;e the body, which we are if we believe, When we con&s;ider that he did hinder the &s;o hot bur|ning furnace from doing any hurt to <HI>Sidrake, Mi&s;ake,</HI> and <HI>Abednego, Eph.</HI> 4. <HI>Dan.</HI> 3. we &s;hall not find it an impo&s;&s;ible thing to God, to make them ri&s;e again which have been buried, that they may be re|united unto their Souls. And he that &s;hut the Lyons Jaws, becau&s;e they &s;hould do no harm to <HI>Dani|el, Dan.</HI> 6. &s;hall be able to rai&s;e tho&s;e again which have been de|voured, And he commanded the fi&s;h to ca&s;t up <HI>Jonas, Jon.</HI> 2. al&s;o can be ea&s;ily cau&s;e that the Sea &s;hall obey him, when he &s;hall com|mand
<PB N="112" REF="58">it to ca&s;t up his dead. In brief, the faithful cannot doubt of his Re&s;urrection, knowing that nei|ther Death, nor Life, nor Angels, nor Principalities, nor powers, nor things pre&s;ent, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8. nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, can &s;epa|rate him from the love which God beareth in him, in Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord, <HI>Revel.</HI> 20. For al&s;o the Sea mu&s;t ca&s;t up tho&s;e dead bodies which are in it, and death and the Grave, tho&s;e which are in them; for as much as the Lord hath the keys of the Grave and of death, having power over them.</P>
<P><HI>Rev.</HI> 1. Moreover God cannot be true, nor truly wi&s;e, nor Almighty, nor Ju&s;t, if he doth not rai&s;e the dead, and by con&s;equence cannot be God. And &s;o who denyeth the Re&s;urrecti|on, denyeth al&s;o that there is a God: for &s;eeing by his Word he promi&s;eth to rai&s;e up the dead, if he do it not,
<PB N="113" REF="58" MS="y">he is not true. And &s;eeing that he declares that he will have it, if he doth it not, it follows, that it is for want of knowledge, and of power, and &s;o &s;hall neither be truly wi&s;e nor Almighty. Al&s;o he &s;hall not be ju&s;t if he doth not render to every one that which he promi&s;eth him; for the Author to the <HI>Hebrews</HI> &s;aying that God is, &s;aith al&s;o that he is a rewar|der of tho&s;e that &s;eek him. <HI>Heb.</HI> 11. <HI>Mat.</HI> 10. <HI>Marc.</HI> 8. <HI>Luc.</HI> 9, Now in this world, the children of God have no|thing but afflictions every day, being &s;et out for a &s;hew, as men condemn|ed to death, and being made a &s;pecta|cle to the world, to the Angels and to men. <HI>Cor.</HI> 4. <HI>John</HI> 16. As our Sa|viour al&s;o &s;aith to his di&s;ciples, You &s;hall weep and lament, and the world &s;hall rejoyce, 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3. And the Apo|&s;tle declares, that who&s;oever will live holy in Chri&s;t, he &s;hall endure affliction. <HI>Act.</HI> 5.20. 21. We &s;ee that the Apo&s;tles and tho&s;e which received
<PB N="114" REF="59">their doctrine, have almo&s;t always been in continual afflictions. <HI>Col.</HI> 1. <HI>Heb.</HI> 10.11. In our time the afflicti|ons of the faithful have been notori|ous, that there is none &s;o &s;imple but may &s;ee them. <HI>Mat.</HI> 6. <HI>Marc.</HI> 14. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 10, 11. 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 1.3. On the contra|ry part the wicked in&s;tead of recei|ving puni&s;hment in this world, are ordinarily better at their ea&s;e than the faithful, and do flouri&s;h like the bay Tree, as &s;aith the Prophet, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 37. Wherefore there mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be another place where the good &s;hall be recompenced with joy, and the wicked with &s;orrow, otherwi&s;e God &s;hould not be ju&s;t, and Chri&s;t &s;hould have dyed in vain. But &s;ome one will &s;ay, God doth accompli&s;h his promi|&s;es upon the &s;ouls of the ju&s;t, and his threatnings upon tho&s;e of the unju&s;t, and by that means God &s;hall not cea&s;e to be ju&s;t, although he &s;hould not rai&s;e again the bodies of men. With this we mu&s;t con&s;ider, that if it be &s;o,
<PB N="115" REF="59">that a free retribution is done to the &s;oul, as (according to the promi&s;e of God) it ought to be done to the ju&s;t, and puni&s;hment is ju&s;tly inflicted up|on the &s;oul of the reprobate, to the end that the ju&s;tice of God may be &s;afe; &s;o mu&s;t it al&s;o of nece&s;&s;ity be, that the bodies be recompenced, &s;ome with honour, others with di&s;dain, to the end that God may remain ju&s;t for ever. For even as the Soul of man re|nued by the holy Gho&s;t, giveth it &s;elf to &s;erve God, &s;o doth the body, when it cea&s;eth from evil doing, and being even ready to be martyr'd for profe&s;&s;ing the Lord, &s;erving to Ju&s;tice and Holine&s;s. <HI>Rev.</HI> 12. For Example we have the Prophets, <HI>Rom.</HI> 6. <HI>Act.</HI> 7. St, <HI>Stephen,</HI> the Apo&s;tles, and &s;o many Martyrs, and true Servants of God, who&s;e bodies have greatly given them|&s;elves to &s;erve God; <HI>Rev.</HI> 6.8. Al&s;o in like manner as the &s;pirit of the wicked doth imploy it &s;elf but only to offend God, likewi&s;e they employ
<PB N="116" REF="60">their bodies to &s;erve to filthine&s;s and iniquity, and to do all evil; <HI>Rom.</HI> 6.7. therefore ju&s;t it is that the bodies of the Saints which &s;erved God, and of the wicked which di&s;obeyed God, &s;hould both be rai&s;ed by him to re|ceive according to what they have done for or again&s;t him. Furthermore they who deny the Re&s;urrection of the body, do likewi&s;e make the in|carnation and bodily pa&s;&s;ion of Je&s;us Chri&s;t unprofitable. For if the body do not ri&s;e again, what needed he to take humane nature upon him, and to &s;uffer in it, to deliver our bodies from the everla&s;ting cur&s;e? Seeing that if it were &s;o, that the bodies being dead, &s;hould &s;o return to the Earth, that they &s;hould have no more being, and &s;o could neither enjoy happine&s;s, nor &s;uffer pains and &s;orrows; had it not been enough that he had only &s;uffered his &s;oul, being heavy to death, for to deliver the Souls from Hell? <HI>Marc.</HI> 14. Who&s;oever then denies
<PB N="117" REF="60">the re-e&s;tabli&s;hment of bodies, thro' ignorance makes the humanity of Chri&s;t unprofitable, and accu&s;eth God the Father of cruelty, as if he had taken plea&s;ure to &s;ee his well beloved Son &s;o cruelly entreated, without having (for his part) de&s;erved it, and without that it &s;hould &s;erve to the Elect; he maketh him al&s;o (for his part) in bla&s;pheming, a Lyer with his Father, becau&s;e he &s;ays, that he will rai&s;e his at the la&s;t day. In like manner doth he accu&s;e the holy Gho&s;t of vanity, which by the mouth of the Prophets hath prophe&s;ied and fore|told the Re&s;urrection of the Dead. Al&s;o he di&s;anulleth Chri&s;tian Religi|on; for if the dead do not ri&s;e again, Chri&s;t al&s;o is not ri&s;en, and &s;o the preaching of the Apo&s;tles &s;hould be fal&s;e, and we &s;hould be abu&s;ed to be|lieve their doctrine, and tho&s;e which are dead in Chri&s;t &s;hould be ca&s;t a|way. <HI>Cor.</HI> 15. The Lord fitting him|&s;elf to our capacity, as the mother to
<PB N="118" REF="61">the child, teacheth us the Coele&s;tial things by the compari&s;on of the things Terre&s;trial, to the end we comprehend that which otherwi&s;e is incomprehen&s;ible unto us. And touching the matter which we have now in hand, the Prophet <HI>E&s;ay</HI> de|clares unto us, <HI>E&s;ai.</HI> 19. that even as in Winter the gra&s;s of the field &s;eems to be dead, and in the &s;pring after it hath felt the dew it &s;prings and waxeth green again, &s;o like|wi&s;e our bodies being dead &s;hall ri&s;e again, when at the latter day they &s;hall feel the dew of the grace of God, hearing the voice of the Son of man. The Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>Mat.</HI> 24. that as the &s;eed mu&s;t die before it be quickned, 1 <HI>The&s;&s;. John</HI> 5. and then it ri&s;eth by vertue of the &s;ap which it hath had in the Earth, in great|er glory then it was &s;own; 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15. &s;o likewi&s;e all men mu&s;t die, that they may ri&s;e again, the elect in greater glory then they were
<PB N="119" REF="61">&s;et upon the Earth, by the vertue of the eternal Spirit of Je&s;us, in whom they died; <HI>Rom.</HI> 1. <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 4. the probate in greater di&s;honour then they were before, by the ver|tue of the immortal &s;pirit of Satan, in whom they are departed. For &s;eeing the Lord doth excellently unfold his power towards the in|&s;en&s;ible creatures, we ought not to doubt, but he hath at the lea&s;t as much will to &s;hew his power in making them to ri&s;e again for whom he died, to the end to crown them with glory; and his enemies to be charged with &s;hame and infamy, &s;eeing they have &s;o much di&s;ho|noured him. When a nut, or the kernel of a Pear or Apple is rotted in the ground, God cau&s;eth it to ri&s;e again to a great tree, for to bear much more fruit, being ri&s;en again, then it did before; and a grane of Wheat, being put into the ground, and dying, brings forth
<PB N="120" REF="62">much fruit; <HI>John</HI> 12. do we think that the Lord hath not as great power to rai&s;e up men, as he hath to rai&s;e the&s;e things, &s;o &s;mall; and as it were of no value? Shall it not be ea&s;ie for him to rai&s;e us again, as it hath been ea&s;ie to him to draw us forth of the matrix of the mother alive, where before we were born, we were as it were in a Sepulchre? If the Prophets and A|po&s;tles in the name of God have rai&s;ed up the dead, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 18, &s;hall it be impo&s;&s;ible to the Lord by his power to rai&s;e them? 2 <HI>King</HI> 4. <HI>Acts</HI> 9. Let us a&s;&s;ure our &s;elves, that nothing can &s;eparate the body and &s;oul of the faithful from the love which God beareth them, neither hinder, but that he &s;hall make the wicked both in body and &s;oul to be his foot-&s;tool.</P>
<P>Now by rea&s;on that the Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>John</HI> 6. that the body which
<PB N="121" REF="62">is &s;own is not that which ri&s;eth again; <HI>Heb.</HI> 10. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15. there are &s;ome that will infer thereupon, that at the Re&s;urrection our &s;ouls &s;hall not return into tho&s;e bodies which now we have, but into other bo|dies which the Lord &s;hall give us. He him&s;elf in that place &s;heweth us, that he &s;peaks not that, but on|ly to &s;hew us, that although our bodies &s;hall ri&s;e in the &s;ame &s;ub&s;tance which now they have, they &s;hall notwith&s;tanding be changed in qua|lity and glory; &s;eeing that this cor|ruption mo&s;t put on incorruption, and that this mortality &s;hall be &s;wal|lowed up of life, and put on im|mortality; 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15. declaring that they &s;hall be the&s;e &s;elf &s;ame bodies in &s;ub&s;tance, but divers in qualities. St. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith, <HI>Phil.</HI> 3. Chri&s;t will transform this vile body, that it may be made like unto his glorious bo|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">y, according to the power by which he is able to make all things
<PB N="122" REF="63">&s;ubject unto him&s;elf. <HI>Mat.</HI> 27. Whereon followeth, that as Je&s;us Chri&s;t ro&s;e again in the &s;ame body, which was crucified for us, being clean&s;ed and di&s;charged of all in|firmity; <HI>Luke</HI> 24. <HI>John</HI> 20. al&s;o we &s;hall ri&s;e again in the &s;ame bodies which now we have in this world, having in them, cold, heat, hunger and thri&s;t, poverty, &s;ickne&s;s, bani&s;h|ment, impri&s;onment, and &s;uch like adver&s;ities: <HI>Heb.</HI> 10. 11. being clean&s;ed and di&s;robed of all that which by &s;in did cau&s;e us any grief; for Ju&s;tice of God cannot con&s;i&s;t without remunerating the bodies of tho&s;e that have &s;ought for his glory, in crowning his gra|ces in them, and puni&s;hing tho&s;e which have laboured to offend him. Moreover we &s;ee that tho&s;e which the Prophets and Apo&s;tles, and Je&s;us Chri&s;t him&s;elf have rai&s;ed a|gain, <HI>Mat.</HI> 27. it hath been in the &s;elf &s;ame bodies in the which the
<PB N="123" REF="63">had lived before. Who doubts but tho&s;e that ro&s;e again at the death of our Lord, did ri&s;e in the &s;elf &s;ame hodies which they had before; for otherwi&s;e how &s;hould they have been known by tho&s;e to whom they did appear? The Apo&s;tles puts us out of doubt of it, &s;aying, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15. That if the Spirit of him who rai&s;ed Je&s;us from the dead, doth dwell in us, he that hath rai&s;ed up Chri&s;t from the dead, will al&s;o quick|en our mortal bodies, becau&s;e his &s;pirit dwelleth in us; he &s;aith more over, that the body which is &s;own in corruption, &s;hall ri&s;e again in incorruption. It is &s;own in di&s;ho|nour, it &s;hall ri&s;e again in glory; it is &s;own in weakne&s;s, it &s;hall ri&s;e again in power: it is &s;own a &s;en&s;u|al body, it &s;hall ri&s;e a &s;piritual bo|dy. Wherefore we ought to believe that the bodies which now we have, &s;hall be the &s;elf &s;ame which &s;hall ri&s;e again in the &s;ame &s;ub&s;tance, but
<PB N="124" REF="64">the earthly qualities &s;hall be changed into heavenly; which is no &s;mall con&s;olation, &s;eeing that we love our bodies &s;o much, although that in this world they be laden with &s;o many mi&s;eries.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="point">
<HEAD>The Third point.</HEAD>
<P>AS concerning the Authour of the Re&s;urrection, the Scripture doth declare unto us, that God the Father in the beginning made man by his word. <HI>Gen.</HI> 1. 2. which is his &s;on, <HI>John</HI> 1. and having made his body, breathed into him a li|ving &s;oul, by his &s;pirit; <HI>Gen.</HI> 2. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 33. &s;o in the Re&s;urrection of the dead, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 4. he &s;hall rai&s;e us again by his Son in a quickning &s;pirit.</P>
<P>And when the Son of ju&s;tice &s;hall come in judgment for to judge the quick and the dead, <HI>Mal.</HI> 4. the Sun &s;hall wax dark, <HI>Revel.</HI> 1. and
<PB N="125" REF="64">the Moon &s;hall not yield her light, 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 4. and the brightne&s;s of the Stars &s;hall be &s;een no more then if they were fallen from Heaven, and the vertues which are in the Hea|vens, as the Stars, <HI>Mat.</HI> 24. the Pla|nets, and other coele&s;tial creatures, with Heaven and Earth &s;hall be &s;haken; <HI>Luke</HI> 21. <HI>Revel.</HI> 6. then the Sea and her waves &s;hall roar after an unaccu&s;tomed manner; 2 <HI>Pet.</HI> 3. and when the order of nature &s;hall be changed, tho&s;e &s;hall be &s;igns of the coming of the Son of man. <HI>Mat.</HI> 16. And when that Je|&s;us Chri&s;t, the Son of God &s;hall come, who took humane nature up|on him in the Virgins womb, <HI>Luke</HI> 1. <HI>Acts</HI> 1. he &s;hall come in the &s;ame body, wherewith he did conver&s;e here below upon the Earth, be|fore and after his death, as he him|&s;elf declares, calling him&s;elf the Son of man, &s;ent of God his Father, <HI>Mat.</HI> 24. <HI>Mark</HI> 13. (who gave him
<PB N="126" REF="65">power to do judgment, in &s;o much as he is the Son of man) <HI>Luke</HI> 24. <HI>John</HI> 5. &s;et above the clouds, at the right hand of the power of God, <HI>Mark</HI> 16.24. 1 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 4. ac|companied with the voices of Arch|angels, and of Angels with Gods Trum|pets, <HI>Rev.</HI> 1. and all eyes &s;hall behold him; <HI>Mat.</HI> 24. for he will cau&s;e his &s;ign to appear in Heaven, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15. and his voice to be heard, the which at the la&s;t trump &s;hall be heard of tho&s;e that have been put into the Sepul|chres, to the end that fir&s;t they may ri&s;e again: 1 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 4. and tho&s;e which &s;hall be found living &s;hall hear it al&s;o, to the end they may be tran|&s;lated, which unto them &s;hall be a kind of death, being changed from mortal and corruptible, to immor|tall and incorruptible bodies, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 35. and &s;hall ri&s;e again, and &s;hall be changed in a moment and twinck|ling of an eye.</P>
<PB N="127" REF="65">
<P>This day &s;hall not &s;urpri&s;e the elect that are in the light, becau&s;e it &s;hall be the day which they have &s;o long waited for, and wi&s;hed, with the other creatures, 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 5. 1 <HI>John</HI> 1, for to tho&s;e who have overcome Sa|tan by the blood of the Lamb, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1. and by the word of their te&s;timony, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8. and have not loved their lives to death, 1 <HI>John</HI> 2.4.8.5. it &s;hall bring unto them an un&s;peakable joy, <HI>Rev.</HI> 12.21. making them lift up their heads aloft, &s;eeing their perfect delive|rance come. For their Saviour &s;hall &s;end his Angels with great &s;ound of Trumpets, to gather them together, <HI>E&s;ay.</HI> 35. how far in &s;under &s;oever they be from the four winds, <HI>Zach.</HI> 9. from the end of the earth to the end of heaven, <HI>Luc.</HI> 22. <HI>Rom.</HI> 8. and then they &s;hall be altogether caught with|in the clouds to meet the Lord in the Air, 2 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 4. for to be joyned with their head, as members of his body, and &s;hall be always with him who
<PB N="128" REF="66">will &s;eparate them from the repro|bates, as the Shepheard doth the Sheep from the Goates, <HI>Mat.</HI> 25. to put them both in body and &s;oul in full po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the everla&s;ting heritage and hap|pine&s;s by them &s;o long hoped for.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>The E&s;tate of the Elect that are Ri&s;en again.</HEAD>
<P>THen their bodies which &s;hall be ri&s;en again in triumph &s;hall be changed, not in &s;ub&s;tance but in qua|lity, being di&s;charged of the earthly heavine&s;s, for to be made &s;piritual bo|dies, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15. to the end to be fit for the heavenly habitation; where they have no need of meats which do corrupt, <HI>Rev.</HI> 7. for they &s;hall be no more hungry, nor thir&s;ty, and they &s;hall dye no more, but &s;hall u&s;e the heavenly food, which is the word of God, <HI>Luc.</HI> 20. they &s;hall al&s;o be deli|vered from the bondage of &s;in, for to &s;erve evermore to Ju&s;tice. For the&s;e
<PB N="129" REF="66">are the two principal things which hinder man from beholding the face of God, this heavy earthly body, and infectious &s;in. And for the fir&s;t, we &s;ee that the Lord &s;aid to <HI>Mo&s;es, Exod.</HI> 33. who was de&s;irous to &s;ee him; Man &s;hall not &s;ee me upon the Earth and live. As for the other, it was cau&s;e that the wicked Angels were ca&s;t down from Heaven, and man out of Paradice, <HI>Gen.</HI> 3. for there is no|thing common between God and a &s;inful man. Wherefore the faithful &s;hall have a &s;piritual body, di&s;charged and purified from all &s;in. There &s;hall al&s;o be no defect in their bodies, nor imperfection, and all deformity and vice, which cometh of &s;in, &s;hall be done away; for the Lord will tran&s;|form their vile and contemptible bo|dies, and make them conformable and like unto his glorious body. <HI>Phil.</HI> 3. 1 <HI>John</HI> 3. Moreover, they &s;hall no more &s;uffer any torments, pains, &s;ick|ne&s;s, nor any other adver&s;e thing, be|cau&s;e
<PB N="130" REF="67">there &s;hall <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 span">rn|ing, nor weeping nor <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="4 letters">uring; for the Lord will wipe away all tears from their Eyes. And there &s;hall happen no more corruption to them by death, <HI>Rev.</HI> 25. whereof there &s;hall be no more remembrance, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 25. but being made immortal, they &s;hall be made incorruptible, <HI>Rev.</HI> 7.21. and delivered from all &s;uffering, for to be in a happy &s;tate for ever.</P>
<P>Their Soul, which before was a li|ving Soul, <HI>Gen.</HI> 2. &s;hall be changed into a quickning &s;pirit, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15. then it &s;hall be delivered from all &s;orrows, griefs, annoy, perturbations and fear, which came thro' &s;in, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 61. and &s;hall be &s;et in re&s;t, joy, con&s;ola|tion, happine&s;s, and perpetual a&s;&s;u|rance, without being any more per|plexed nor defiled with trouble&s;om affections.</P>
<P>Then being put in &s;o excellent e&s;tate, both of Body and Soul, the Image of God &s;hall truly &s;hine upon
<PB N="131" REF="67">them, having this power to &s;erve God, being perfectly wi&s;e, holy, pure, ir|reprehen&s;ible, innocent, without &s;pot, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1. good, ju&s;t, true, immortal and incorruptible, being re&s;plendant in glory and honour, before the Throne of God <HI>Col.</HI> 1.</P>
<P>The which &s;hall be the white ve&s;ture, wherewith St. <HI>John</HI> &s;aith, <HI>Rev.</HI> 14.21. They &s;hall be cloathed, which is the pure and &s;hining Ve&s;t|ments, <HI>Rev.</HI> 3.4.6.7. which are the ju&s;tifications of the Saints that &s;hall hold the Palms in their hands in &s;ign of Victory, <HI>Rev.</HI> 19. after that the books being opened, they &s;hall hear the Voice full of meekne&s;s, <HI>Rev.</HI> 7. grace and mercy, receiving in the pre&s;ence of the wicked, who judged them the out-ca&s;ts of the Earth, <HI>Rev.</HI> 10. the &s;entence of eternal ble&s;&s;ing, be|ing found written in the book of life, which is the book of the Lamb, <HI>Sap.</HI> 4.5. being clothed with the innocency of Je&s;us Chri&s;t: 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 4.
<PB N="132" REF="68">and having the name of their Fa|ther written in their forehead, <HI>Rev.</HI> 13.21. they &s;hall be with Chri&s;t the Spou&s;e, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5. crowned with the incorruptible crown of life, <HI>Gal.</HI> 3. and eternal glory, <HI>Apoc.</HI> 14. be|ing pronounced the &s;ons and heirs of God, and co-heirs with Je&s;us Chri&s;t, <HI>Rev.</HI> 2. and Judges with him of the Apo&s;tate Angels, 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 4. and of the reprobate, 1. <HI>Pet.</HI> 5. for all power and judgment is &s;o given to the Son. <HI>Rom.</HI> 8. <HI>Gal.</HI> 4. that he will participate in this ho|nour as his a&s;&s;i&s;tants, <HI>Wi&s;d.</HI> 3. they &s;hall be put in po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the King|dom of Heaven, <HI>Mat.</HI> 19. having prai&s;e of God, <HI>Luc.</HI> 22. which is the incor|ruptible heritage, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6. which cannot contaminate, nor wither, and which is pre&s;erved in Heaven for them, <HI>John</HI> 5. they &s;hall &s;hine therein as the Firmament, <HI>Rev.</HI> 2. and as the Sun, <HI>Mat.</HI> 25. and as the Stars for ever. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 4. Then they &s;hall have
<PB N="133" REF="68">their right in the Tree of Life, <HI>Pet.</HI> 1. and &s;hall enter into the new Coele&s;ti|al <HI>Jeru&s;alem, Dan.</HI> 12. in the which there &s;hall be no Temple, <HI>Mat.</HI> 13. for the Lord Almighty is the Temple thereof, and the Lamb, <HI>Wi&s;d.</HI> 3. They &s;hall be in it everla&s;ting Kings and High Prie&s;ts, <HI>Rev.</HI> 2.21, 22. offering &s;acrifices of Prai&s;e and Thank&s;giving unto the Lord. Then being in the Hou&s;e of God, <HI>Rev.</HI> 15.7. which is the ble&s;&s;ed hou&s;e which the faithful have in Heaven, which is not made with hands, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 5. they &s;hall be filled with the magnificence of the Lord, and &s;hall bud like the Olive branch, and blo&s;&s;om like the Palm, and like the Cedar which is in <HI>Leba|nus, P&s;al.</HI> 16.17.52. &amp; 92. being immortal and incorruptible, and &s;hall not be importuned by Satan, to &s;in and offend God. The face of God which is the Fountain of Light, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 13. the River of Plea&s;ure, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 16. and Ocean of Goodne&s;s, <HI>Rev.</HI> 22. they
<PB N="134" REF="69">&s;hall &s;ee, which &s;hall give them &s;uch a great and perfect Joy, that all the Joys which may be compared to that, are but as a &s;parkle compared to a great Fire, <HI>Marc.</HI> 9. It will make them forget all Terre&s;trial, <HI>Heb.</HI> 11.12. what plea&s;ure &s;oever they could take in them in the world, and they &s;hall not remember any thing that may bring them &s;orrow or grief. They &s;hall be led to the Mountain of <HI>Sion,</HI> and to the City of the living God, (which hath no need of the Sun nor Moon to &s;hine in it, <HI>Rev.</HI> 21.22. for the light of God hath lightned it, and the Lamb is the Candle thereof) and of thou&s;ands of Angels, and of the a&s;|&s;embly of the fir&s;t born, which are written in Heaven, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11. and to God which is the Judge of all, <HI>Col.</HI> 1. and to the &s;anctified Souls of the Ju&s;t, <HI>Eph.</HI> 1. and to Je&s;us Chri&s;t their Head and their Spou&s;e, Mediator of the new Covenant, <HI>Rev.</HI> 19. and of the blood &s;hed, &s;peaking better things
<PB N="135" REF="69">then that of <HI>Abel:</HI> then with all his company, and the other Saints, with whom they &s;hall be fellow Citizens, being dome&s;ticks of God; they &s;hall be called to the nuptial banquet of the Lamb, and &s;hall enjoy the King|dom of God their Father, <HI>Rev.</HI> 19. the felicity which Je&s;us Chri&s;t by his death hath conquered for them, <HI>Heb.</HI> 2.5.9.10. in whom they have put their whole tru&s;t, <HI>Gal.</HI> 3.4. as he him&s;elf promi&s;eth, &s;aying, <HI>Rom.</HI> 4.5. Father, I will that tho&s;e which thou ha&s;t given me be with me, <HI>Eph.</HI> 1.5. and &s;ee my glory which thou ha&s;t gi|ven me, <HI>Rom.</HI> 5.9.10. and then I di&s;po&s;e the Kingdom unto you, as the Father hath di&s;po&s;ed it unto me <HI>John</HI> 12.14.17. to the end that you may eat upon my Table in my Kingdom. The Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>Luc.</HI> 22. If we dye with him we &s;hall live with him; and if we &s;uffer with him we &s;hall reign with him, 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 2. and &s;hall be glorified with him, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8. Of
<PB N="136" REF="70">the&s;e promi&s;es the Children of God need not doubt; for &s;eeing that the Lord when he died, gave Paradi&s;e to the Thief, can be not more ea&s;ily give it to tho&s;e to whom he hath promi&s;|ed it, <HI>Luc.</HI> 23. when he &s;hall come into &s;uch great Glory and Maje&s;ty? And now being with him, and &s;eeing him as he is, they &s;hall have a much greater Joy then had the Di&s;ciples, &s;eeing him transfigured; that &s;hall be &s;o under&s;tanding, <HI>Mat.</HI> 17. that they &s;hall know all the Saints that ever have been, <HI>Marc.</HI> 9. <HI>Luc.</HI> 9. and even tho&s;e with whom they have conver&s;|ed in this world joyfully, and ac|cording to God. For if it be &s;o that in the transfiguration of our Lord, which was but a little demon&s;tration, as well of the Glory of the Body of Je&s;us, as of the e&s;tate and condition in the which the Children of God &s;hall be in Heaven, (for their mean|ne&s;s and infirmity could not have been able to &s;ee the incomprehen&s;ible Ma|je&s;ty
<PB N="137" REF="70">of the Lord, without being de|&s;troyed) The Apo&s;tles, although they had never &s;een the body of <HI>Elias</HI> and of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> neverthele&s;s they knew them. How much &s;ooner &s;hall the Elect know one another, when they &s;hall be endued with this perfect knowledge and intelligence of the Image of God, which &s;hall be in them? And if <HI>Adam</HI> in his fir&s;t e&s;tate, which was a great deal le&s;s glorious then that of the &s;anctified by Chri&s;t, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 13. did know the bea&s;ts which God brought before him, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1. and did properly impo&s;e a Name to each one: and even knewn <HI>Eve</HI> to be bone of his bones, and fle&s;h of his Fle&s;h; although that the Lord took the rib from him without his feeling it; &s;hall not we in this admirable glory have more wi&s;dom to know each other? <HI>Luc.</HI> 16. Now this knowledge &s;hall be di&s;robed of all carnal and corrupt affection; for the Elect &s;hall not be known for loving
<PB N="138" REF="71">the one more then the other, or ha|ting one reprobate more then ano|ther, or in calling to mind the inju|ries and di&s;plea&s;ures which they may have received in this world.</P>
<P>But they &s;hall love directly with|out re&s;pect of per&s;ons, tho&s;e which God loveth, and &s;hall hold in abo|mination tho&s;e which God &s;hall de|te&s;t; For then all Paternity, brother|hood, and Mariage &s;hall be aboli&s;h|ed, and there &s;hall be but God alone Father of all, who&s;e Children we &s;hall be, and Brothers and Si&s;ters one to another: the Children of God &s;hall be made Partakers of the divine Nature, <HI>Marc.</HI> 12. for God &s;hall be glorified in his Saints, <HI>Eph.</HI> 4. and &s;hall be made admirable to tho&s;e that have believed. 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 6. 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 1. Wherefore &s;eeing God will commu|nicate his Glory, Vertue and Ju&s;tice to his Elect, imparting him&s;elf unto them; let us know, that this benefit contains the &s;overaign good of man,
<PB N="139" REF="71">which all de&s;ire, and which the wi&s;dom of man could never com|prehend. And indeed when by all the &s;imilitudes which the Scripture doth teach us, we &s;hall have &s;aid and learned much of the excellen|cy of the children of God, it is al|mo&s;t nothing in compari&s;on of that which &s;hall then appear; &s;urely then the Apo&s;tle with the Prophet hath good rea&s;on, 1 <HI>John</HI> 3. having ta&s;t|ed in &s;pirit the ine&s;timable glory of the Elect in the heavenly life, to &s;ay, the things which Eye hath not &s;een, nor Ear heard, and which is not come into the heart of man, are tho&s;e which God hath prepared for them which loveth him, which are un&s;peakable: and it is not im|po&s;&s;ible for man to tell them. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 2. For although <HI>Adam</HI> was crea|ted in a very noble e&s;tate, <HI>I&s;ai.</HI> 64. yet &s;o it is, that if the Elect were to re-a&s;&s;ume that e&s;tate, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12. they &s;hould be mi&s;erable in regard
<PB N="140" REF="72">of the &s;overaign excellency, in the which they &s;hall be &s;et.</P>
<P>For, Fir&s;t, he had an earthly and &s;en|&s;ual body, <HI>Gen.</HI> 2. the Elect &s;hall have Spiritual and Coele&s;tial bodies, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 14.</P>
<P N="2">2. He had a living &s;oul, they &s;hall have a quickning &s;pirit.</P>
<P N="3">3. He could fail and render him|&s;elf &s;ubject to death, they &s;hall not be able to fail, nor fall in danger of death; 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15. the which then &s;hall be aboli&s;hed.</P>
<P N="4">4. <HI>Satan</HI> had power both to tempt him, and to make him to fall; but he &s;hall not have power of either to them.</P>
<P N="5">5. He was hu&s;banding in an earth|ly Paradi&s;e, they &s;hall be in re&s;t and enjoy the Heavenly Paradi&s;e.</P>
<P N="6">6. He had command over the birds of the Air, the fi&s;hes of the Sea, the bea&s;ts of the Earth; <HI>Gen.</HI> 2. they being in greater power &s;hall con|demn <HI>Satan</HI> and all the wicked:
<PB N="141" REF="72">and the holy Angels &s;hall be their companions, <HI>Mat.</HI> 22. and &s;hall have power in the Kingdom of their Fa|ther.</P>
<P N="7">7. <HI>Adam</HI> had &s;uch great wi&s;dom, that he named every bea&s;t accord|ing to their property; 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 9. they &s;hall be endued with &s;uch wi&s;dom, all filled with &s;uch a perfect know|ledge, <HI>Rom.</HI> 2.3.5. that they &s;hall be ignorant of nothing. 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 3, Surely then we ought to be much moved and &s;tirred up to wor&s;hip and &s;erve God; 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 1. who, with|out any de&s;ert of ours, <HI>Rom.</HI> 15. <HI>Rom.</HI> 3.4. will for the love of his well-beloved Son &s;o admirably un|fold his incomprehen&s;ible goodne&s;s unto us, <HI>Mat.</HI> 3.17.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>The E&s;tate of the reprobate.</HEAD>
<P>NOW this day &s;hall &s;urprize the wicked and reprobates which are in darkne&s;s, <HI>Rom.</HI> 2.2.
<PB N="142" REF="73">(whom the Lord hath borne and &s;uffered with great patience, to the end to bring them to repentance) as the Thief by night &s;tealeth upon the Ma&s;ter of the family while he &s;leepeth: and they &s;hall be found without cloaths, and &s;hall walk na|ked, <HI>Rev.</HI> 3. and their &s;hame &s;hall be &s;een: <HI>Rev.</HI> 16. for when they &s;hall &s;ay peace and &s;ecurity, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 4. then &s;hall &s;udden de&s;truction come upon them, like to a woman in tra|vel, 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 5. and they &s;hall not e&s;cape, but &s;hall be marvelou&s;ly af|fraid, by rea&s;on that it &s;hall be a day of darkne&s;s unto them, <HI>Amos</HI> 5. and not of light, an ob&s;cure and not a clear day, and then they &s;hall be condemned by their own con&s;cien|ces, like unto <HI>Cain,</HI> giving prai&s;e to God, &s;eeing the Lord with his Saints come, which are by millions, for to give judgment again&s;t tho&s;e that have not had the fear of God be|fore their eyes: and to the end to
<PB N="143" REF="73">convince all the wicked of all the evil works which they have wick|edly done, <HI>Sap.</HI> 4.5. and of the rude &s;peeches which the wicked have preferred again&s;t him: <HI>Gen.</HI> 4. then for to weigh down the Wine|pre&s;s of the anger and wrath of Almighty God, <HI>Rom.</HI> 14. becau&s;e they have per&s;ecuted Je&s;us Chri&s;t in his members, <HI>Jude. Rom.</HI> 3. which are bones of his bones, and fle&s;h of his fle&s;h; <HI>Rev.</HI> 19. <HI>Eph.</HI> 5. &s;o that they &s;hall be in &s;uch great Agonies and Afflictions, feeling the terrible judgment of God to come upon them, <HI>Heb.</HI> 10. that they &s;hall hide them&s;elves in holes and between the &s;tones of the Mountains, <HI>Rom.</HI> 2. and &s;hall &s;ay to the Mountains and &s;tones, fall upon us, and hide us from the Face of him who is &s;et upon the throne, <HI>Rev.</HI> 6. and from the wrath of the Lamb; <HI>Rev.</HI> 9. for the great day of his wrath is come, and who is it &s;hall be able
<PB N="144" REF="74">to &s;ub&s;i&s;t; They &s;hall &s;eek for Death and not find it, and &s;hall de&s;ire to die, but Death &s;hall fly from them; they &s;hall &s;trike them&s;elves with de|&s;pair, and &s;hall be as dead for fear, by rea&s;on of the expectation which they have of tho&s;e things which &s;hall &s;uddenly come upon them: <HI>Luk.</HI> 21. they &s;hall lament before the Lord, who &s;hall have a flame of fire to do Vengeance and Judgment, ac|cording to Truth and Ju&s;tice, up|on tho&s;e which have not acknow|ledged God, and who have not obey|ed the Go&s;pel of the Lord, <HI>Mat.</HI> 24. <HI>Rev.</HI> 1. and &s;hall puni&s;h them in Bo|dy and Soul with eternal perdition in the Face of the Lord, 2 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 1. and in the Glory of his &s;trength. <HI>Rom.</HI> 2.2.</P>
<P>The bodies of tho&s;e which are dead before, &s;hall come out of the Earth: <HI>Job</HI> 5. 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 4. and of tho&s;e which &s;hall be found living &s;hall be changed, and put on immorta|lity,
<PB N="145" REF="74">and &s;hall be charged with oppro|brious infamy before God and his Saints: for he &s;hall make clear the things that are hid, and &s;hall ma|nife&s;t the coun&s;els of hearts.</P>
<P>And then their immortal Soul &s;hall be loaden with fear, with &s;orrow, with terrors, with grief, with de&s;o|lation, and with &s;uch de&s;pair, <HI>Mat.</HI> 24. <HI>Luke</HI> 21. that it is impo&s;&s;ible for us to comprehend it. <HI>Mar</HI> 13. <HI>Rev.</HI> 1.</P>
<P>Then being in &s;uch confu&s;ion of Body and Soul, the image of <HI>Satan</HI> their heard &s;hall appear upon them: that is to &s;ay, infidelity, iniquity, wickedne&s;s, abomination, filthine&s;s, hatred, cruelty, tyranny, perjury, lying, envy, and all that is of im|piety and unju&s;tice, which is the black Roab of the reprobate: and even &s;o as the Elect have Chri&s;t for their head, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11.12. of whom they are the body, unto whom they &s;hall be made alike; <HI>Eph.</HI> 1.5. &s;o
<PB N="146" REF="75">likewi&s;e the reprobates have <HI>Belzebub</HI> for theirs, <HI>Mat.</HI> 25. unto whom they &s;hall be made conformable.</P>
<P>For although that all the Devils are all Apo&s;tate Angels, neverthele&s;s the Scripture in &s;undry places at|tributes the principality to one alone, to the end to gather all the wicked unto him, as members in one Body, for to be put to perpe|tual ruin.</P>
<P>Then the wrath and indignation of God &s;hall &s;hew it &s;elf clearly upon all the infidelity and unju|&s;tice of the unbelievers, and exe|crable, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 4. <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 2. which &s;hall not be found written in the book of Life; <HI>Mat.</HI> 9.10.12.25. for which they &s;hall receive &s;en|tence of Condemnation, <HI>Mark</HI> 3. and being &s;eparated from Chri&s;t, <HI>Luk.</HI> 11.21. &s;hall be driven from before the pre&s;ence of the Lord, as the du&s;t before the wind, <HI>Rom.</HI> 1.2. <HI>Rom.</HI> 2. and ca&s;t like dogs forth
<PB N="147" REF="75">of the City of the Children of God, <HI>Rev.</HI> 21. <HI>&amp;</HI> 17. <HI>Rom.</HI> 9. and &s;ent with their Captain Satan and his Angles, who did accu&s;e the elect before God night and day, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 1. <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 17. <HI>Rev.</HI> 21. <HI>&amp;</HI> 22. in perpetual malediction, for to drink of the wine of the wrath of God, <HI>Rev.</HI> 12. <HI>Mat.</HI> 25. filled in|to the cup of his wrath, and &s;hall be tormented with fire and brim|&s;tone before the holy Angels, and before the Lamb, and the &s;moke of their torments &s;hall mount for ever, <HI>Rev.</HI> 14. 15. <HI>&amp;</HI> 16. and they &s;hall have no re&s;t neither day nor night.</P>
<P>Now this place of torment for the wicked is &s;o horrible, 2 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 1. that it is incomprehen&s;ible unto us; and even as God is eternal, al&s;o this ruin &s;hall be eternal. The Scrip|ture for to declare it unto us, u&s;eth many compari&s;ons. <HI>David</HI> &s;aith, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 55. That the wicked &s;hall be ca&s;t into the Pit of ruin, and of the
<PB N="148" REF="76">bottomle&s;s Pit. <HI>Rev.</HI> 9. <HI>I&s;a.</HI> &s;aith, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 30. That the torture is already prepared for the wicked, which God hath made deep and large; the Building of it is fire and much wood, and the breath of the Lord like unto a &s;tream of Brim&s;tone doth kindle it; <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 66. then he &s;aith that the worm of the wicked &s;hall not die, and therefore &s;hall not be quenched, and they &s;hall be hateful to all fle&s;h. <HI>Daniel</HI> &s;ayeth al&s;o, <HI>Dan.</HI> 12. That they &s;hall be in perpetual &s;hame and contempt, <HI>Malachy</HI> declares, <HI>Mal.</HI> 4. That the day of the Lord &s;hall come burning like an Oven, and all the proud and tho&s;e that do wickedly &s;hall be like &s;tubble, and the day of the Lord &s;hall burn them, and &s;hall leave them neither root nor branch. St. <HI>John Bapi&s;t</HI> &s;aith, <HI>Mat.</HI> 3. that the chaff &s;hall be put into the fire, which &s;hall never be quenched, <HI>Mat.</HI> 3. The Lord &s;aith, that they &s;hall be ca&s;t
<PB N="149" REF="76">into the Furnance of Fire, <HI>Mat.</HI> 25. which is the everla&s;ting Fire. Saint <HI>Luke</HI> &s;heweth, <HI>Luc.</HI> 16. that the evil rich man who&s;e Soul is in Hell, is in &s;uch great heat, that he great|ly de&s;ires to have a drop of Water, which he &s;hall never be able to get; how much more &s;hall he be tormen|ted when he hath put on his body? The Apo&s;tle &s;aith, <HI>Heb.</HI> s10. that they &s;hall feel a ferventne&s;s of fire, which &s;hall devour them. St. <HI>John</HI> declareth, <HI>Rev.</HI> 19, 20, 21. That they &s;hall be ca&s;t into the lake of fire and brim&s;tone, which is the &s;e|cond death. For although they &s;hall live, yet by rea&s;on of the&s;e incredible torments, they ought ra|ther to be called dead then alive: Now although that by all the&s;e &s;imi|litudes it is demon&s;trated unto us, that the damned &s;hall be grievou&s;ly and everla&s;tingly tormented; yet ne|verthele&s;s, man cannot think nor comprehend how great the everla&s;t|ing
<PB N="150" REF="77">&s;ufferings &s;hall be, no more then he can comprehend the joy of the Children of God, <HI>Mat.</HI> 9. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 2. Wherefore with good cau&s;e the Author to the Hebrews &s;aith, <HI>Heb.</HI> 10. that it is a terrible and fearful thing to fall into the bands of the living God. For although that we &s;hould &s;ee one continually knawed with worms, and burnt with fire, that torment &s;hould notwith&s;tand|ing be as nothing in regard of that which is prepared for the wicked. For be&s;ides that their bodies &s;hall be horribly afflicted, their &s;ouls &s;hall be in incredible di&s;tre&s;&s;es and &s;or|rows. This ought well to &s;tur us up to watch and pray, and to re|frain from doing evil, and to move us to &s;erve God, <HI>Rev.</HI> 3. <HI>Mat.</HI> 24. 1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 1. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 25. <HI>&amp;</HI> 51. and to de&s;ire him with the Prophets and Apo&s;tles, <HI>Jer.</HI> 31. to change, review and increa&s;e our faith, that &s;o be|ing made new creatures, we may
<PB N="151" REF="77">e&s;cape this place of torment, and be numbred among&s;t the Sons of God. <HI>Lamen,</HI> 5. <HI>Cant,</HI> 1. <HI>Luc.</HI> 17. <HI>Joh.</HI> 3. <HI>Wi&s;.</HI> 4. <HI>&amp;</HI> 5. Which the Lord grant for the love of his well be|loved Son our Saviour, to whom be all honor and glory for ever and ever, <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="prayers and meditations">
<HEAD>Prayers and Meditations touching Life and Death.</HEAD>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>Meditation the Fir&s;t.</HEAD>
<P>THe life of Chri&s;tians ought to be occupied in con&s;idering the things that follow, and to put them in practi&s;e; to wit, to have always in remembrance the benefits which they have received at the hands of God; to give him thanks for them without cea&s;ing, both with heart and mouth; to love him, who is goodne&s;s it &s;elf, to fear and wor|&s;hip him, &s;eeing he is the Almighty,
<PB N="152" REF="78">and only Wi&s;e; to be &s;tirred up by the love which they bear to God, al&s;o to love their Neighbours. The love of God draws us from the love of corruptible things, lifts us up to Heaven, and inflames our hearts to a holine&s;s of life. The love of our Neighbour turns us from all trou|ble&s;omne&s;s in will or in deed, and doth &s;tir us up to integrity, and well doing.</P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>Another.</HEAD>
<P>LEt us often think what we are: The principal part of us is the Soul, the which is endued with un|der&s;tanding, with rea&s;on, and with judgment, to know the &s;overaign good, which is God, to love him, to adhere and unite our &s;elves unto him, that we may have part of his immortality and happine&s;s. Now we for&s;ake and contemn this great good, for to grovel upon the earth,
<PB N="153" REF="78">and to go down into the pit of car|nal de&s;ires, applying the vigour of our under&s;tanding and judgment, to things that are not worth the pains that we employ in them. We bury our &s;elves quick, of hea|venly we become earthly, and of men created for eternal life, we en|deavour as much as in us lieth, to &s;et our &s;elves in the rank of brute Bea&s;ts. God doth not for&s;ake us neverthele&s;s, although that our in|gratitude hath well de&s;erved it, but calls us unto him by his word, pre|&s;ents unto us infinite te&s;timonies of his grace, continues it daily, he &s;up|ports, exhorts, coun&s;els, chides and fatherly cha&s;ti&s;eth us; Neverthele&s;s we continue blind, deaf, and neg|ligent, de&s;pi&s;ing his goodne&s;s, or u&s;e it not as we &s;hould, or indeed abu&s;ing it; nay, which is wor&s;e, we love vain and tran&s;itory things bet|ter, and have our minds too much fixed and &s;etled upon them. God
<PB N="154" REF="79">&s;tretcheth forth his hand to con|duct us, we draw back ours, and fly when he calleth us. If he put us into the way of &s;alvation, we grudge and repine for the world, we look behind us, deferring and remitting our amendment till to morrow. Let us awake then, let us not always &s;tick in the mire, let us &s;trengthen our &s;elves in the ver|tue of him that &s;upports and &s;uc|cours us, let us a little undertake to de&s;pi&s;e corruptible things, and to de&s;ire tho&s;e that are truly good and everla&s;ting. When God calleth us, let us hearken, if he guids us, let us follow him, that we may come to his hou&s;e: let us receive his good things, and him&s;elf too; for he gives him&s;elf unto us in the per&s;on of his Son. He &s;hews us the means to get to Heaven, let us then de&s;ire of him to give us the will and cou|rage by faith, repentance, charity and hope to aim thither, and that
<PB N="155" REF="79">he would maintain his grace in us until the end, to &s;igh in this mor|tal life, and to wait (through the a&s;&s;urance of his mercy) for our depar|ture out of this world, and our la&s;t day, which &s;hall be the beginning of our true life.</P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>Prayers and Meditations.</HEAD>
<P>HOW great are the illu&s;ions and impo&s;tures of the enemy of our &s;alvation? He &s;heweth us afar off things that are ridiculous and vain, and per&s;wades us that it is all good and happine&s;s; he &s;cares us with things that we ought not to fear; and makes us to fly from tho&s;e things which we ought to im|brace. He calleth, inticeth and flat|tereth us, by the means of our de|&s;ires; if that will not &s;erve, he roars and &s;torms, and endeavours to a&s;to|ni&s;h us within and without. O eternal Light and Verity, O Lord
<PB N="156" REF="80">and merciful Father, di&s;per&s;e tho&s;e clouds of ignoranee and error, illuminate our under&s;tanding, and do not &s;uffer us to come near to that, which thou ha&s;t commanded us to flie from, and which is hurt|ful and pernicious unto us; let us not de&s;ire, but what is truly to be de&s;ired, to wit, thy &s;elf, who art the &s;pring-head of all goodne&s;s of our life, and of eternal happine&s;s. All fle&s;h is gra&s;s, and the glory of the man is like the flower of the field: cau&s;e then that we may &s;eek for our firmne&s;s and contentment in the grace which thy Son hath brought us: let our life lye hid in him, &s;o that at the day of the &s;epa|ration of our &s;ouls from our bodies, we may find it holy in Heaven, waiting with a&s;&s;ured re&s;t and joy, the happy Re&s;urrection of this fle&s;h; in which all corruption, infirmity and ignominy being aboli&s;hed, and death being &s;wallowed up of victory,
<PB N="157" REF="80">we &s;hall live eternally with thee, in an incomprehen&s;ible happine&s;s in thee, by the which thou &s;hall be glorified. Maintain then thy Chil|dren, O Lord, in this faith and hope, fini&s;hing thy work in us, until they be altogether with thee, for to en|joy the inheritance, and the glory which thine only Son hath by his Merit purcha&s;ed for them, <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>Prayer.</HEAD>
<P>OLord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, Creator and Redeemer of Mankind, who ha&s;t &s;aid, I am the way, the Truth, and the Life, I do be&s;&s;ech thee by this un&s;peakable Charity which thou ha&s;t &s;hewed, in yielding thy &s;elf to Death for us, that I may never &s;tray any jot from the, who art the way; nor that I doubt of thy Promi&s;es, &s;eeing thou art the Truth, and do&s;t
<PB N="158" REF="81">accompli&s;h that which thou promi&s;|e&s;t. Cau&s;e that I may only take plea&s;ure in thee, who art the Eter|nal Life, beyond the which there is nothing to be de&s;ired, neither in Heaven nor Earth. Thou ha&s;t taught us the true and only way to Salvati|on, becau&s;e we &s;hould not abide er|ring like &s;tray'd Sheep in the lo&s;t ways of this World; &s;hewing us clearly that which we ought to believe, to do, to hope, and wherein we ought to yield and &s;ettle our &s;elves. It is thou that ha&s;t given us to under|&s;tand, how cur&s;ed we are in <HI>Adam;</HI> and that there is no way to e&s;cape from this Perdition in the which we are plunged, but by Faith in thee. Thou art that true Light which do&s;t appear to tho&s;e that walk in the de&s;ert of this Life, and who having drawn us out of the darkne&s;s of the &s;piritual <HI>Egypt,</HI> ha&s;t driven away the darkne&s;s of our Under&s;tanding, and do&s;t enlighten us, to the end
<PB N="159" REF="81">we may tend towards the promi&s;ed Inheritance, which is the Life Ever|la&s;ting; into the which the Unbe|lievers does not enter, but tho&s;e that have a&s;&s;uredly relied upon thy holy Promi&s;es. O what a Goodne&s;s is it that thou ha&s;t vouch&s;afed to de|&s;cend from thy Fathers-Bo&s;om, and from the Everla&s;ting Throne to the Earth, to put on our poor Nature; of Ma&s;ter to become Servant, to the end that by thy Doctrine thou mighte&s;t do away the darkne&s;s of our Ignorance, to guide our feet in|to the way of Peace, and to make plain the way of Salvation unto us; which if we follow, we cannot &s;tray nor wax weary, &s;eeing that thy Grace and Power do accompany us therein all the days of our Life.</P>
<P>Moreover, by thy Spirit thou do&s;t &s;trengthen us in it, and double our Courage. Thy word is Bread, which nouri&s;heth us therein; thy promi&s;e is the &s;taff which upholds
<PB N="160" REF="82">us. Thou thy &s;elf by thy &s;ecret and incomprehen&s;ible vertue do&s;t bear and maintain us in it, in an admirable manner; to the end, that both in fair and foul weather, we may walk with all Alacrity unto thee. And as in pre&s;erving us, thou hindere&s;t that we do not fall into the &s;nares of Satan and the World; al&s;o &s;eeing thou art the Truth, thou take&s;t away all doubts, &s;cruples, and mi&s;tru&s;ts, which may trouble and let us, or turn us during our cour&s;e; thou cau&s;e&s;t us to behold the &s;uper|nal Vocation, the mi&s;ery and va|nity of the World, the frailty of this pre&s;ent Life, the Gate of Death, and the mo&s;t happy Life which is beyond that. And as thou art this true Life, even in this World thou do&s;t quicken by thy Truth, us that are poor, wretched, and dead in Sin; thou do&s;t augment that life by the Mini&s;try and Efficacy of thy holy Go&s;pel, and do&s;t confirm it
<PB N="161" REF="82">by the u&s;e of the Sacraments which thou ha&s;t e&s;tabli&s;hed to confirm the Faith of tho&s;e that are thine, until that our Corruption, and what we have in mortality in us, being abo|li&s;hed by the Re&s;urrection, we &s;hall be, and live everla&s;tingly with thee, both in Body and Soul, when thou &s;halt be all in all. Life Everla&s;ting is to know the true God, and thee his Son, which wert &s;ent unto us. Now we &s;ee thee by Faith in a Gla&s;s, and in Ob&s;curity; but one day we &s;hall behold thee face to face, and &s;hall be transformed into thy Glory, nd wholly reformed unto thy Image. I do be&s;eech thee, merci|ful Saviour, to increa&s;e my Faith, that I may be &s;o well grounded in the Doctrine of my Salvation, that nothing may turn me from it. In|crea&s;e in my Heart the Reverence which I owe thee, that I may never turn from thy Obedience; Strength|en me in &s;uch &s;ort, that the allure|ments
<PB N="162" REF="83">nor threatnings do neither intrap nor a&s;toni&s;h me, but that con&s;tantly I may cleave unto thee (who art my Life) till Death. Cau&s;e that in vertue of thy holy Promi&s;es, and of thy Spirit, I may increa&s;e more and more in thy Love; and leaving behind me the things of this World, I may tend to that which is firm and perfect. Increa&s;e thy Grace in me, that every day I may dye in my &s;elf, for to be quickned and guided by thy Favour, fearing no other but thou God Almighty, loving nothing but thee, as there is nothing but thee to be beloved; boa&s;ting my &s;elf in nothing but in thy only Grace and Mercy, which is the Glory of all thy Servants; &s;eek|ing no other good but thee, nor de&s;iring any thing but thee, who art the full and entire felicity of all the Faithful, <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="163" REF="83">
<HEAD>Another.</HEAD>
<P>LOrd Je&s;us, who art always merciful, who do&s;t not &s;tick to be my Saviour, as well in Ad|ver&s;ity as in Pro&s;perity. Give me the Grace in all humble obedience to yield unto thy will, when it &s;hall plea&s;e thee to mingle bitterne&s;s among&s;t &s;o many &s;weet things which thou cau&s;e&s;t me to ta&s;te in living under thy Protection. Thou art admirable and mo&s;t good in the time of Afflictions: In that by &s;uch means thou do&s;t heal &s;piritual Di&s;ea&s;es, and in vi&s;iting of us in this World, thou di&s;po&s;e&s;t us to meditate of a better Life, having thy &s;elf &s;hewed us the Example thereof. True it is, that I find it very hard to dige&s;t, but thou ha&s;t been brought to a more &s;trange condition, when for to draw me
<PB N="164" REF="84">out of Hell, thou wente&s;t down in|to it thy &s;elf, and for to reconcile me to thy heavenly Father thou ha&s;t undergone his Cur&s;e, by rea|&s;on of my Sins. I have &s;o often de&s;erved Hell and the fiery Tor|ment, and thou delivered&s;t me, a&s;|&s;uring me that I have part in the merits of thy Death, and thy Obe|dience, and that I am one of thy Co-heirs, for to reign one day with thee in thy Kingdom; and at this pre&s;ent in the mid&s;t of &s;o many Af|flictions, to be neverthele&s;s &s;et in the heavenly Places. Having part in &s;o many good things, why &s;hall I vex my &s;elf for a little endurance, by the means whereof thou wilt awaken me, and make me better, and draw me &s;o much the more to thee? But &s;eeing thou knowe&s;t me better then I know my &s;elf, if it be thy plea&s;ure to put me to any tryal, give me nece&s;&s;ary force and patience to glorifie thee, con|verting
<PB N="165" REF="84">all the evil that may hap|pen unto me, to good and Salvati|on. And if in &s;upporting my weakne&s;s, thy goodne&s;s is plea&s;ed to adverti&s;e me by &s;ome light affli|ction, cau&s;e that this thy well-wil|ling may draw me more and more to love and honour thee, to give thee thanks for the care which thou ha&s;t of thy poor Servant, and by that means to di&s;po&s;e me to weight for thee at my Death, that after it I may find the Life which thou ha&s;t purcha&s;ed for me by thy Death, and therein with thee to have part in Joy and Re&s;t for Ever, <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="166" REF="85">
<HEAD>Another.</HEAD>
<P>Lord God Heavenly Father, when I con&s;ider in how many &s;orts I have &s;inned before thy Face, and again&s;t thy high Maje&s;ty, I have horrour in my &s;elf, in thinking that I have &s;o often turned from thee. Propitious and favourable Father, I dete&s;t my ingratitude; &s;eeing in what &s;ervitude of &s;in, I have been too often precipitate, &s;elling as much as in my lay of the precious Liberty which thy Son had purcha&s;ed for me. I condemn my folly, I alto|gether di&s;like of my &s;elf, I &s;ee no|thing but Death and mi&s;hap hang|ing over my head, and my Con|&s;cience ri&s;ing for a Judge and Wit|ne&s;s of my Iniquities. But when on the other &s;ide I enter into a Contemplation of thy infinite mercy
<PB N="167" REF="85">the which &s;urmounteth all thy works, and in the which, if &s;o I dare to &s;peak, thou &s;urmounte&s;t thy &s;elf, my &s;oul is comforted. And indeed, why &s;hould I make my &s;elf believe that I cannot find grace before him that &s;ummons and &s;o often and gently calls the &s;inner to repentance, pro|te&s;ting expre&s;ly that he de&s;ires not the death of a &s;inner, but rather that he turn from his wickedne&s;s and live.</P>
<P>Moreover thy only Son hath &s;o well a&s;&s;ured us, that we &s;hall find favour in thy &s;ight, by the &s;weet words which him&s;elf had uttered, as that of the lo&s;t &s;heep, and of the prodigal Son, the image of whom I acknowledg'd my &s;elf to be; that I &s;hould be mo&s;t unthankful, incre|dulous and wicked, to go back and to be a&s;hamed of thy pre&s;ence, al|though I am wretched; &s;eeing thou do&s;t &s;o &s;tretch forth thy hand unto me, and draw me to thee with &s;uch
<PB N="168" REF="86">wonderful affection. I have very vildly for&s;aken thee; O merciful Father, I have unhappily let &s;lip thy Graces; and adhering to de&s;ires of my fle&s;h, and &s;traying from thy Obedience, I have wrapped my &s;elf in the ba&s;e &s;ervitude of &s;in; I am fallen into extream mi&s;ery, I know not whether to retire, unle&s;s it be towards thee whom I have aban|doned. Let thy mercy receive this poor &s;upplication whom thou ha&s;t &s;upported during his errors. I am unworthy to lift up mine Eyes un|to thee, or to call thee Father; But I pray thee bow down thine Eyes to me, &s;eeing thou wilt have it &s;o, being without that, in the power of thine Enemies. The &s;ight of thy Face will revive me, and bring me again to thee. Seeing I have &s;ome di&s;plea&s;ure in my &s;elf, I know thou looke&s;t upon me, that thou ha&s;t given me Eyes to &s;ee the danger wherein I was: thou ha&s;t
<PB N="169" REF="86">&s;ought and found me in death, and in the world, and ha&s;t through thy mercy given me a de&s;ire to enter into thy hou&s;e. I dare not de&s;ire that thou &s;hould&s;t ki&s;s and embrace me, nor that hou &s;hould&s;t weep for joy that thou ha&s;t found thy poor Servant and Slave: I do not demand the precious Ornaments wherewith thou doe&s;t honour thy great servants and mo&s;t affection|ate Children. It is enough for me to be among of the lea&s;t of thy Hou&s;e, amid&s;t the greate&s;t &s;inners, that have obtained pardon of thee, and that have &s;ome &s;helter in thy Palace, where there are &s;o many Dwellings: That even in thy Hou&s;e I may be as little as thou &s;halt plea&s;e, provided that thou wilt pre|&s;erve me thine for ever.</P>
<P>O Merciful Father, I be&s;eech thee that for the love of thy well be|loved Son my only Saviour, thou would&s;t give me thy holy Spirit,
<PB N="170" REF="87">which may puri<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">e my heart, and &s;trengthen me in &s;uch &s;ort, that I may always dwell in thy Hou&s;e, there to &s;erve thee in Holine&s;s and Ju&s;tice all the days of my Life. <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>Prayers.</HEAD>
<P>WHat do we in this world but heap &s;ins upon &s;ins? So that the morrow is always wor&s;e then the day before, and we do not cea&s;e, drawing thy indignation up|on us; But being out of this world in thy heritage, we &s;hall be alto|gether a&s;&s;ured of our perfect and eternal felicity, the mi&s;eries of the bodies &s;hall be aboli&s;hed, the vices and filthine&s;s of the Soul &s;hall be done away. O Heavenly Father, increa&s;e our Faith in us, for fear
<PB N="171" REF="87">le&s;t we &s;hould doubt of things &s;o certain; Imprint thy Grace and thy Love in our Hearts, which may lift us up to thee, and &s;trengthen us in thy fear. And becau&s;e thou ha&s;t lodged us in this World, there for to remain as long as it &s;hall plea&s;e thee, without declaring unto us the day of our departure, the which thou alone knowe&s;t. I do be&s;eech thee to take me out of it when thou in thy mercy plea&s;e&s;t; and then to do me that good that I may acknowledge the &s;ame, that in the mean while I may fit my &s;elf thereuuto, as thou ha&s;t appointed by thy holy Name, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our ble&s;&s;ed Sa|viour and Redeemer. <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="172" REF="88">
<HEAD>Another.</HEAD>
<P>THis body is the Pri&s;on of the Soul, yea, a dark Pri&s;on, nar|row and fearful; we are as it were bani&s;hed men in this world, our life is but woe and mi&s;ery: on the con|trary, Lord, it is in thy heavenly Kingdom, that we find our Liberty, our Country, and our perfect Con|tentment. A wake our Sould by thy word, to the remembrance and ap|prehen&s;ion of &s;uch a good; imprint in our Hearts the love and the de|&s;ire of the Everla&s;ting good things, and only to be wi&s;hed for; give un|to our Con&s;ciences &s;ome ta&s;te of that joy wherewith the happy Souls which are in Heaven are filled, that I may hold as dung and filth all that which the Worldlings find &s;o fair, and co|vet &s;o much, which &s;o ob&s;tinately they retain, and do adore with &s;uch
<PB N="173" REF="88">fervency. Cau&s;e that finding ta&s;te but in thy verity and grace, I may wait for (calling upon thee) the day of my perfect deliverance, thro' Je&s;us Chri&s;t thy Son, to whom with thee and the holy Spirit be glory Everla&s;ting. <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>Another.</HEAD>
<P>O Lord Je&s;us, the only Salvation of the Living, Life everla&s;ting of the dead, I &s;ubmit my &s;elf to thy holy Will, whether it be thy plea|&s;ure yet to &s;uffer my Soul to be &s;ome &s;pace within this body, for to &s;erve thee, or that it plea&s;e thee to take it out of pri&s;on, being a&s;&s;ured that what thou keepe&s;t cannot peri&s;h. I am content with all my heart, that my Body return into the Earth, from whence it was taken, believing the
<PB N="174" REF="89">la&s;t Re&s;urrection, which &s;hall make it immortal, incorruptible, and full of Glory. I do be&s;eech thee to for|tifie my Sould again&s;t all temptation, environ me with the buckler of thy Mercy, to beat back the darts of Satan. As for me, I am weakne&s;s it &s;elf, but I rely upon thy &s;trength and goodne&s;s. I cannot alledge any good thing before thee whereof to boa&s;t; on the contrary, alas, my &s;ins, infinite in number, accu&s;e and torment me, but thy merit a&s;&s;ures me that I &s;hall be &s;aved; for I hold for certain, that thou wert born for me, that thou wert tempted, that thou ha&s;t obeyed to God thy Fa|ther, that thou ha&s;t taught and brought Life Everla&s;ting for me; &s;eeing thou ha&s;t given thy &s;elf to me with all the&s;e good things, let not &s;uch a gift be unprofitable; let thy blood wipe out the filth of my faults, thy Ju&s;tice cover my Iniquities, thy Merits make me to find Grace before
<PB N="175" REF="89">the heavenly Throne. If my Evils do increa&s;e, augment thy Grace in me; &s;o that Faith, Hope, and Cha|rity may not dye, but rather wax &s;trong in me: that the apprehen&s;ion of Death do not daunt me, but that even after this body &s;hall be as it were dead, cau&s;e that the Eyes of my Soul may lift them&s;elves up to Heaven, that the Heart may then cry fervently unto thee, Lord I com|mend my Soul into thy Hands, ful|fil thy work, for thou ha&s;t bought me, I am thine by the Gift of thy Father, to whom with thee and the Holy Gho&s;t be Everla&s;ting Glory, <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="176" REF="90">
<HEAD>The Humble Suit of a Sinner for the Pardon of his Sins.</HEAD>
<P>O Mo&s;t ju&s;t and dreadful God, equitable in all thy Judgments, who &s;uffere&s;t no Sin to pa&s;s unpuni|&s;hed either in this Life, or in the Life to come. Let me have with <HI>Job</HI> this Con&s;olation, That afflicting me, thou would&s;t not &s;pare me here, to puni&s;h me hereafter. Here rather burn, here cut, that hereafter thou maye&s;t &s;pare me. That Union, O God, which thou did&s;t put at my Creation be|twixt my Soul and my Body, I have not employed for to &s;erve thee, therefore I will that henceforth it be di&s;&s;olved. For too great affection I had to Riches, and for my ill em|ploying of them, I will deny my &s;elf of all things under the Sun, and will have no more but a Sheet, Coffin, and an hole to lye in, and wait for thy Coming. For the too great love
<PB N="177" REF="90">I carried to my Husband, Wife, Chil|dren, Parents, Friends, Companions, Conver&s;ation and Company, I will now willingly abandon them all, and their Embracements and kindly U&s;age. I will al&s;o have an end put to all my Sen&s;es, that henceforth I neither See, Hear, Touch, Ta&s;te nor Smell any thing, for not having ruled them, nor &s;hut them up by mortification when the Devil was &s;eeking entry into my Soul. From henceforth, Lord, I will put &s;ilence to this wicked Tongue of mine, which hath been &s;o great an In&s;trument of Impiety, &s;wear|ing, lying, cur&s;ing, defaming, back|biting, detracting, and breaking forth &s;o often in impure, di&s;hone&s;t and in|jurious Speeches, again&s;t thee and my Neighbour.</P>
<P>For the too great mind I had to run, go, and walk in the ways of the wicked; For the too frequent, impure po&s;tures, ge&s;tures, and motions of my Body, I will lye dead in the Grave,
<PB N="178" REF="91">and de&s;ire that henceforth none do &s;o much as name me, or &s;peak a word of me, by rea&s;on I was too de&s;irous to be in every ones mouth, and to be prai&s;ed and con&s;erved in their Me|mories; and becau&s;e I did &s;o much affect Honour, Dignity, and the things of the Earth, and did &s;o much &s;earch after delicate fare, &s;oft bedding, and good cloathing, and did nouri&s;h and pamper this fle&s;h of mine with too great care; for honour, I will lye in abjection; and for that I a&s;pired to have others bowing their heads to me, and to be lifted above them, I will have them to trample over me. For my love to the Earth, I will re|turn to it; for my Food, I will have the Worms to crawl in and out at my Mouth; for my Bed, I will have a Grave, for my Garments, a Sheet; and for thy dainty u&s;age of my Body, I will henceforth turn all my Beauty into Corruption. Receive then O ju&s;t God, all the&s;e things in Puni&s;hment
<PB N="179" REF="91">of my many Offences, for &s;o this being thy ju&s;t Will, it is al&s;o mine. Only, O god of Ju&s;tice, let my Pu|ni&s;hment be here in this Life, that I may find thee to be a God of Mercy in the Life to come: (for thou ha&s;t declared by thy Servant <HI>David,</HI> that thy Mercies are above all thy Works.) Grant this O Lord, for the Merits of thy only Son, my Saviour, Je&s;us Chri&s;t. <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
<PB REF="92" MS="y">
<PB REF="92">
<PB REF="93" MS="y">
<PB REF="93" MS="y">
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
