Hugo is his good pleasure his will is his operation and his will is his permission Sixtly doth not God will contrarie thinges if he doe will those things which he doth in his law forbid Yea saith Perkins if hee should will that the same thing should come to passe and not come to passe in the same respect and manner but God forbiddeth sin as it is an euill and doth will it should come to passe as it hath respect of good Here vpon Thomas Aquinas saith Deum velle mala sieri Deum velle mala non sieri non opponuntur contradictoriè cum vtrumque sit affirmatum this is no contradiction to say that God doth will that euills should bee done that God doth will that euils should not be done seeing both the propositions are affirmatiue Seuenthly doth God make men sinners or doth he onely order them Saint Austen saith God makes men iust and orders them peccatores autem in quantum peccatores non facit sed ordinat tantum but God makes not sinners so farre forth as they be sinners but onely orders and disposes them And againe as God is the best Creatour of good willes it a malarum voluntatum iustissimus ordinator so is he a most righteous orderer of euill willes Eightly is it iniurious to God to say that hee drawes good out of euill and vseth euills as a wise Phisitian doth poison vnto good Clemens Alexandrinus saith it is a point of diuine wisedome vertue and power not onely to doe good things but also to bring the deuises of the wicked to some good and profitable end vtiliter iss quaevidentur mala vtatur and to vse those things profitably which seeme euill Austen saith Deus quasdam voluntates suas vtique bonas implet per malorum hominum voluntates malas God doth accomplish certain good wils of his by the naughty wils of naughty men And Fulgentius saith De malo opere cuinslibet non desinit ipse bonum operari that God ceaseth not of euery mans euill worke to worke that which is good But tell me yet againe though God put no corruption into any mans heart yet doth hee not incline the will to sinne by offering a man obiects and by leauing him to himselfe as a Shepheard stirres vp his sheepe to eate by setting Hay or Grasse before it or as a Huntsman stirres vp his Greyhound to a course by shewing him the Hare and letting the slip goe Manifestum est c. It is manifest saith Saint Austen that God doth worke in the heartes of men Ad Inclinandas corum voluntates to incline their willes whither he pleaseth either to good things for his mercie or to euill things for their deserts sometimes verily with his open iudgement sometimes secret but alwaies iust And Bellarmine saith that by a figure God exciteth men to sinne As an Huntsman setteth the Dogge vpon the Hare by letting goe the Slip that held in the Dogge If these things then which are spoken of sinne in generall be applyed vnto the particular sinne of Murder it will appeare that euery Murderer doth as it is said of the Murtherers of our Sauiour Whatsoeuer the hand and counsell of God had fore-determined to be done and that God doth permit limit and order him as it seemeth best in his holy wisedome Now wee haue seene how God is the Ordainer and Inflicter of Death But further wee must know that death comes by Sinne as the Apostle sheweth and before sinne there was no death at all For death is the wages of sinne Quoniam mors non naturae conditio ised poena peccati sequatur necesse est poena peccatum Because death saith Saint Austen is not the condition of nature but the punishment of sinne it is necessary that the punishment should follow the sinne For it is most certaine that God hath not made death as though be were in loue with death for it self sake neither hath he pleasure in the destruction of the liuing but vnrighteousnesse bringeth to death and man by forsaking God hath procured his owne death And although as saith Siracides Life and Death come of the Lord yet not vpon the same ground For vita is a donante Life is a gift of God that giues it but Mors is a vindicante Death is a punishment inflicted of God auenging as Saint Austen teacheth But let vs heare Saint Paul By one man saith he that is by Adaem sinne entred into the world and death by sinne And that wee may briefely dispatch the causes of Death we must vnderstand that as Death is of God For sinne so it comes by diuers meanes as hath beene toucht afore all which from the greatest to the smallestare determined ordered and directed by the Lord so as that none of them come to passe but according to his most holy prouidence And thus wee leaue the causes of death and come vnto the Subiects thereof Albeit Iesus Christ the Sonne of Mary dyed yet wee must know it was not by his owne desert for hee knew no sinne he was no Sinner but because it was his will to dye that by his death hee might deliuer vs from eternall death and sanctifie our death to be the doore of life vnto vs. And although Adam dyed yet it was not because hee was a man but because he was a Sinner For if Adam had neuer sinned Adam had neuer died because God had granted him this grace Vt posset non mori si eius mandatis obsequeretur as to bee able not to die if he did obey his precepts This then I say All the children of Adam by reason of sinne in which all but Christ are conceiued and borne are all without exception subiect vnto death By one man saith Saint Paul sinne entered into the world and death by sinne and so death went ouer All men The law of sinne saith Austen is that whosoeuer shall sinne must die The Law of death is whereby it is said to Man Thou art earth and vnto earth thou shalt returne Out of it we spring because wee are earth Et in terram ibimus propter meritum peccatiprimi hominis And to earth we shall returne for the first mans sinnes desert But you will say How is it that Infants of a day olde doe dye seeing that they commit no sinne I answere Sinne is either the corruption of nature or any euill which proceedes as the fruites thereof or thus sinne is either originall or actuall the former is in Infants though not the latter For euen Infants are conceiued and borne in sinne being naturally vncleane and guiltie of Adams first transgression The stame of the roote corrupted is so propagated diffused through all the branches which arise thereout that as Saint Austen truely speaketh Nec infans quidem
the stomacke digesteth and the breath comes goes but death depriues a man wholly for a time of all vse of his body Againe a man wakes out of his sleepe and returnes vnto the workes of his calling a fresh but a dead man wakes not to the workes of his former life neither can hee bee awakened out of the sleepe of death but by the power of God of whom alone the day of our resurrection is seene and knowne Thus much for the things where vnto death may be compared There remaine certaine Questions concerning death worthy to bee soiled which I remembred not in time to set in their more proper places neither are they here so methodically digested as plainely resolued First it may bee demanded whether any death may be said to be naturall seeing it destroyes life which is according to nature Quae cupit suum esse which delights still to be I answere a thing is said to be naturall more waies then one Death being simply in it selfe considered is not naturall but forasmuch as that which doth necessarily follow the nature of a thing and hath the beginning or ground of his existence therein to which that which is violent is opposed is called naturall That death therefore which followes the consumption and dissipation of the naturall moysture by the naturall heat seeing it comes of causes which are within the bodie in that respect is called naturall Secondly it may againe be asked what naturall death is properly I answere that properly is called naturall death when naturall heat faileth by reason that the moysture is dried vp by it as a lamp goeth out when the oyle is spent And this death is with much ease and with little or no paine as Aristotle writeth Thirdly it may be asked what violent death is properly I answere that is called violent death when by accident eyther the moysture is drawne out of the bodie or the heat extinguished by some inward or outward violence and oppression Inward violence is by poyson gluttonie drunkennesse or such excesse as when a lampe is drowned in the oyle Outward violence is when a man is strangled with an halter as a fire sodainely choaked with some huge heape of earth or ashes throwne vpon it and many moe oppressions of life there are of this kinde So that taking violent death in this largenesse of sense it will appeare that fewe die a naturall death Fourthly it may be demanded when a man doth die or when the soule doth leaue the bodie I answere then when there is a defect of those instruments of the soule whereby life is prolonged When the bodie is become vnfit for the soule to worke with then doth the soule forsake the bodie which it loues most dearely and not before Death comes not by the impatience fickle-mindednesse of the soule but by reason of the impotencie and vnaptnesse of the bodie as a workeman leaues his toole when it is become altogether vnfit for his vse Fiftly but whence is it that one man dieth sooner then another that nature failes in one sooner then in another I answere the highest reason hereof is Gods decree but the Principall naturall cause of the length of life is first a fit composition of heat and moysture in the sinewes marrow spirits c. And secondly the long and fortunate continuance of this good temper which being interrupted by diseases and other oppressiōs death necessarily follows a mans life is ended as an artificers occupation then endes of necessitie when his tooles are worne and past working with Sixtly whether natural death be by no meanes to be auoided if a man escape violence seeing that the radicall humour as it wasteth may be repaired by nurriture and therewith maintained I answer that the radicall humour may indeed by nourishment be daily renewed yet that restored moysture is not so good as that which was wasted of the beate it is not so pure as that which was of the seed it is not so wel wrought and excocted as the seed neither so exactly mingled and attenuated Seeing therefore that which is restored is not so pure as that that was wasted the heat for want of conuenient matter to feed vpon at length is dissipated and put out Neyther is the quantitie of the humour restored so much to be respected as the qualitie whereupon Auicennus saith that Though there were as much restored as is daily wasted yet must we of necessitie die And besides all this we are all Sinners vnable to keep such a precise and regular diet but that we shall offend herein and old age will steale vpon vs doe what wee can Festinat enins decurrere velox Flosculus augustae miseraeque breuissima vitae Portio dum bibimus dum serta vnguenta puellas Poscimus obrepit non intellecta senectus Sensim sine sensu senescimus Seuenthly what difference is there betwixt the death of a man and of a beast I answere when a beast dies his soule doth vanish and is dissolued but when a man dies his soule still continues For the soule of a beast is mortall but the soule of man is immortall as hath beene shewed God saith Gregory created three liuing spirits one which is not couered with flesh another which is couered with flesh but dies not with the flesh a third which is couered with flesh dies with the flesh Primus Angelorum secundus hominum tertius brutorū animaelū the first is of Angels the second of men the third of brute beasts And albeit the Scriptures sometimes speak of the death of the soules yet eyther the person or the life is to be vnderstood or such a death as is not the extinction and deletion of the soule but her separation from God who is her comfort and contentment Secondly the death of a man is wont to be with much comfort or else horror of hell it selfe our conscience telling vs of another state after death but beasts because they haue no conscience no hope of heauen nor feare of hell are not therefore subiect to such passions eyther of ioy or sorrow Thirdly when beasts die they die for euer but though death deuoure vs as the Whale did Ionas and binde vs as the Philistins did Sampson yet we shall come forth againe the bands and snares of death shall be broken and we shall be deliuered For it is most true which Saint Bernard saith There is a threefold state of holy soules the first in the corruptible bodie and that is in this life the second out of the bodie and this is after death the third in the bodie glorifyed and that shal be at the Resurrection And so there is a threefold condition of wicked soules the first is in their bodies of sinne the second is in misery out of their bodies by death dissolued
know that God both is and that he is iust and therefore hee will punish wicked sinners and by that meane declare his iust iudgement against vicious wretches The deseruing cause of death of sinne as ignorance of God disobedience of the truth especially of the Gospell of Christ Iesus and obedience of vnrighteousnesse as the Apostle sheweth as also want of charitie and charitable behauiour towardes the poore and needie members of Christ Iesus as hee himselfe doth teach vs. Neyther are these sins only meritorious of death but euen euery sinne though the smallest want of that which the law requireth is in it selfe odious and deadly For the wages of euery sinne is death The persons subiect to this death are all the Sons of Adam is as much as all are Sinners yet all of them shall not die this death namely they that are redeemed by the bloud of Christ who by his death hath deliuered them from this death by them through sinne deserued Those then shall die this death that were reprobated of God and who by their wickednesse and hardnesse of heart which could not repent haue treasured vp vnto themselues wrath against the day of wrath Depart from me ye cursed saith Christ into euerlasting fire The cursed then are they that must die this accursed death I neuer knew you saith Christ Depart from me ye workers of iniquitie They that shal die this death are such as Christ knew not owned not neuer acknowledged for his and such as whiles they liued were very hypocrites nourishing some sinne or other in their bosomes though they did many glorious and good works as preach baptise eiect diuels cure diseases and were perhaps of great account with men The Apostle saith that the Lord Iesus will render vengeance at his appearing vnto them that know not God and obey not the Gospell So that all which are ignorant of God and which disobey the Gospell of his Sonne shall die this death This then I say All impenitent sinners shall be damned all that beleeue not in Iesus Christ as Mahometaus incredulous Iewes and all other Infidels and all that professe Christ in name but denie him in example All these liuing and dying without sound repentance shall die this death And I proue it thus Except ye beleeue saith Christ that I am he you shall die in your sinnes but the Iewes beleeue not that Iesus the sonne of Mary was the Messias foretold therefore they shall die in their sinnes Hee that obeyes not the Sonne shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him but neyther Iewes nor Mahometans obey Christ Iesus Therefore neyther of them shall liue but die Peter being full of the holy Ghost said that Christ is the Stone euen the fundamentall stone of mans saluation Neyther is there quoth he saluation in any other for among men there is giuen none other Name vnder heauen whereby we must be saued All therefore that either denie him or beleeue not in him and do not know him whether Iew Turke Persian Moore Indian American or who else soeuer all such shall bee damned cannot bee saued For by his knowledge shall my righteous seruant Christ Iesus Instifie many And we which are Iews by nature and not sinners of the Gentiles know that a man is not iustified by the works of the law but by the faith of Iesus Christ God saith Saint Iohn hath giuen vnto vs eternall life and this life is in that his Sonne Hee that hath that Sonne hath that life and hee that hath not that Sonne of God hath not that life But Mahometans Iewes and Infidels haue not that Son therefore they haue not eternall life in spe and shall not haue it In Re but so continuing shall vndoubtedly die the damned death of the wicked for ought that man can tell I say further that those which professe Christ in word and in shew but denie him by their deeds addicting themselues to wicked lusts as whoredome pride drunkennesse auarice idlenesse epicurisme those I say shall vndoubtedly perish without mature and true repentance Know ye not saith Saint Paul that the vnrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdome of God Be not deceiued neither fornicators nor Idolaters nor adulterers nor wantons nor buggerers nor theiues nor couetous nor drunkards nor raylers nor extortioners shall inherite the kingdome of God But among Christians there are offenders in all kinds of the sinnes aforesaid therefore if they shall die in them they cannot possibly scape damnation Our Lord saith that The fearefull and vnbeleening the abhominable and murtherers whoremongers sorcerers idolaters and all lyars wherewith the Christian world aboundeth shall haue their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death And finally S. Iude speaking of sundrie wicked Epicures cept into the Church saith that for them is reserued the blacknesse of darknesse for euer Thirdly I say that all they which professing Christ doe notwithstanding adde vnto the faith of Christ and coyne articles which they doe propose as necessarily to be beleeued to saluation all such I say by this their presumption do cut themselus off from Christ and shall vndoubtedly perish except they shall repent In like manner they that doe take from the faith any essentiall point and needfull absolutely to saluation they also are subiect to damnation which without repentance they cannot scape Ye shall put nothing vnto the word which I command you neither shall ye take ought therefrom It was twise at least giuen in charge by Moses When Moses was now dead and the gouernment cast vpon Ioshuah God gaue him the same lesson in effect Thou shalt not turne away from it to the right hand nor to the left In like manner Agur saith Put nothing vnto his words least he reproue thee and thou be found a lyar I protest saith Christ to euery man that heareth the words of the prophecie of this booke If any man how precise how pure how holy how austere how sanctified soeuer he seeme or how learned soeuer he be and wit tie in the iudgement of men shall adde vnto these things God shall adde vnto him the plagues that are written in this booke and if any man shall diminish of the words of the booke he meaneth the true sense and substance of the words of this prophecie God shall take away his part out of the booke of life and out of the holy Citie and from those things which are written in this booke If any subiect or subiects shall presume to repeale the lawes of the kingdome or to make new lawes and to vrge men to receiue and obey them the king in the mean time vnacquainted with their proceeding or disliking it they shew themselues busie bodies rebellious turblent and taking vpon them as kings they incurre the displeasure of
mans life were his owne and not Gods he might doe with it what he would Commonly a man makes himselfe away for one of these causes either because hee counts his sinnes vnpardonable and that with God there is no mercy for him and this made Iudas hang himselfe who notwithstanding his vile treason and abhominable couetousnes which brought him to it might haue found mercy if he had had the grace by Faith to haue come to Christ and with true repentance to haue returned but to all his other sinnes adding these of finall desperation and wilfull murder hee did wilfully depriue himselfe of mercy Iudam traditorem non tà m scelus quod commisit quà m indulgentiae desperatio fecit penitus interire The villany saith Saint Augustine that the Traitor Iudas committed was not the cause of his vtter destruction so much as his despaire of pardon Sceleratior omnibus O Iuda saith Leo infaelicior extitisti quem non paenitentia duxit ad Dominum sed desperatio traxit ad laqueum Thou wast O Iudas more wicked and more wretched then all men for that Repentance led thee not to the Lord but Desperation drew thee to the halter Yea but a despairing man will say I haue beene a most grieuous sinner all my life long how should I looke that God should forgiue mee let no man distrust saith Saint Austen let no man guiltie to himselfe of his old offences despaire Nouit Dominus mutare sententiam si tu nouerâ—s emendare delictum mend thou thy faults and God will vouchsafe thee fauour Let thy end be good as the Theeues was and Christ will receiue thee into his kingdom Let no man despaire of pardon saith Isidore though he repent about the end of his life for God doth iudge euery one as his end is and not as his life was And suppose that God will not forgiue thee wilt thou therefore by killing thy selfe make thy sinne the greater and send thy soule the sooner into Hell this is very madnesse and extremitie of folly But why shouldest thou despaire Desperatio certa mors est desperation is certaine death faith Ambrose Aeternae ciuit atis ianuas nobis desperatio claudit Desperation doth shut the gates of heauen against vs Desperare est in infernum descendere to despaire is to descend into Hell saith Isidore On the contrarie Prima salus est declinare culpam secundae non desperare veniam to auoide the fault is the first step to saluation and the second is not to despaire of pardon Doest thou despaire of mercie as thinking that God cannot helpe and pardon thee Hee can doe all things with him nothing is impossible neither can the fountaine of his mercy be drayned dry My sinnes said Cam are greater then can bee forgiuen Mentiris Cain maior est Dei miserieordia quà m omnium peccatorum miseria thou lyest Cain saith Saint Austen Gods mercie is greater then the misery of all sinnes Or doest thou despayre because thou thinkest God will not forgiue thee Tell me O vaine man hath God made thee of his counsell how canst thou thus thinke with reason Why doest thou imagine that God hath no mercie for thee Is it because thou art a greeuous sinner Who is not so Is it because thou art not worthy of mercy who is worthy Mans worthinesse is vnworthinesse and his merits demerites if mercy succuored not misery would swallow al men But why will not hee haue mercy on thee Is not God mercifull and tender-hearted Be mercifull to thy selfe by repentance and true hope and doubt lesse God will be mercifull to thee by pardoning thee Doest thou thinke that he will not heare thee if thou callest Be not iniurious to thy selfe The Lord is neare vnto all that call vpon him in trueth Come vnto mee all yee that are heauy laden saith Christ and I will refresh you Iustly doth he lack that may haue for asking Thinkest thou that God delights in thy death Be not iniurious to God As I liue saith the Lord I desire not the death of the wicked but that the wicked turne from his way and liue Turne thee turne thee and despaire not and thou shalt liue Tertullian here exclaimeth Iurat Deus Viuo dicens cupit sibi credi God sweareth saying As I liue Hee desires that men would beleeue him O beatos quorum causa iurat Deus O miserrimos si nec iuranti Domino credimus O blessed men for whose sake God doth sweare but O most miserable wretches that we are if we will not credit him though hee doe sweare But thou hast liued long without repentance thou hast long abused his lenitie and hast setled on thy lees it is now iust that God should set the feete of his Iustice on thee and tread vpon thee like vnsauorie salt it is too late to repent repentance is hid from his eyes It is true that God may iustly deny thee mercy now seeing thou hast neglected thy good mispent thy time abused his gentlenes But God neither doth alwaies neither hereafter will be euer doe all which he may may iustly doe but hee sometimes shewes mercie when men are most miserable and haue very long abused his patience towards them Hee vouchsafed mercy to the Thiefe vpon the Crosse that no man by reason of long or grieuous wickednesse should despaire of mercy Despaire not then O Man but hope in God he can forgiue thee if he will he hath not told thee that he will not he will forgiue thee if thou wilt repent repent then and repent of these desperate imaginations and he will remit thee Cry out and say O Lord helpe O Lord forgiue Turne me O Lord vnto thee and I shall be turned Draw me and I will runne â—fter thee Hide thy face from my sins put away all my misdeeds Create in me a cleane heart and cast mee not away from thy presence And this is one common cause to wit the despaire of pardon which makesmen make themselues away Another is very vanity of minde and to auoide reproch insamy beggery contempt and the despight of the enemy Thus Saul commanded his Armour-bearer to thrust him through with his sword least the Philistims should kill and mocke him and because his Armour-bearer would not therefore he killed himselfe And his Armour-bearer seeing him dead fell likewise vpon his sword and dyed with him In like manner Achitophel seeing his counsel was not followed and no doubt fearing the wrath of his Soueraigne which he had by his treacherie deserued went home and hanged himselfe Lucretia stab'd her selfe to renowne her chastitie Cleopatra applyed venemous Serpents to her body because shee would not bee carried as a Captiue in triumph Others wee haue heard haue hanged themselues because the price of corne hath fallen against their couetous desire and expectation Oh what horrible iniury is here offered
vnto God! Such surely either thinke God is not or that his eye mindes them not or else they presume vppon his mercie or distrust his prouidence but how euer it be it is sure there wants true wisedome and fortitude of spirit they forget to humble themselues vnder the mighty hand of God and are not contented with his corrections and finally take vpon them as if they were the Lords of their owne liues and forget to winde their care vpon his prouidence Now seeing these are causes of such selfe-murdering courses wee must needes account such selfe-slayers guilty of greeuous sinne whereby they are very iniurious to Almightie God the Lord and authour of their liues Secondly hee that murthers himselfe is iniurious to the Church of God For whereas he should obey the doctrine taught him which she commends vnto him from Christ her Husband hee flatly shewes himselfe disloyall vnthankefull and vnruly and is by this his wilfull murder a griefe vnto her scandalous by his leud ensample And whereas his life should vpon necessitie haue beene giuen away in her service and for her securitie it cannot now bee neither can he performe such seruice for her as hee ought and might haue done if this murderous spirit had not possest and spoiled him Thirdly he that murders himselfe offers wrong vnto his Country For as he was borne in her so he was born for her His life which he owed to death should if neede had beene haue beene offered vp in her seruice but by this vnnaturall murder of himselfe he depriues her of all helpe and honour which otherwise shee might haue enioyed of him if true valour faith and wisedome had possest him Fourthly he offers wrong vnto his Parents which vnder God were the causes of his life And is this all the thankes the comfort and credit hee does them for their generation and education care and cost to make himselfe away to bee his owne hangman or executioner Such a Sonne is a Shame to his Father and an Heauinesse vnto his Mother and by his wickednesse depriues them of that helpe and comfort which God and Nature claimed at his hands Finally he is iniurious vnto himselfe first to his soule making himselfe guilty of murder and so of death Secondly to his body which with his owne hands hee doth destroy and deliuer to corruption beeing neuer able to repaire it by himselfe againe and depriues it of that honest and comely buriall which otherwise it might haue had with the bodies of the Saints Thirdly he marres his credit making himselfe famous by an infamous death and giues iust occasion to men greatly to suspect his saluation Wee are now come to the second part of the Question Whether may this Selfe-murder be forgiuen Vndoubtedly it may if God will for Gods mercy is greater then the mischiefe and malice of any sinne or sinner and the death of Christ is of merit sufficient to wash away the foulest wickednes that can be committed This therefore I say a man that killes himselfe if hee doe repent of his murder before he be dead he may and shall be forgiuen Gods mercy may be bestowed Inter pontem fontem betweene the bridge and the water betweene the stabbe and death The sinne against the Holy Ghost might be forgiuen if the sinner could repent but because hee cannot repent by reason of the hardnes of the heart which shall not be remoued to death therefore he cannot be forgiuen But Selfe-murderers are not alwaies as those sinners punished with finall hardnes and impenitencie and therefore they may be forgiuen and no doubt are sometimes then when God doth giue them grace to repent and grone vnto him for his mercy But let no man presuming vpon Gods mercy dare to commit this barbarous villany least by presuming on mercy he meet with iudgement which is the ordinarie portion of presumptuous offenders but rather let him pray and say with Dauid Keepe thy Seruant from presumptuous sinnes and let the meditation of mine heart be acceptable in thy sight for indeede the meditation and intention of murder is too too vvicked and abominable To conclude it may be demanded whether a man be guilty of his owne death if he shall be kild when out of a priuate humour and desire of reuenge hee doth either make or take a challenge Yes no doubt for though hee did not simply will but rather nill his owne death yet because he left his calling and did willingly agree and condescend vnto the meanes of his death which is fighting hee becomes thereby guilty of his death And it is not inough to say that hee did not intend to worke his death but rather to saue his credit and honour by offering or accepting the challenge and by sighting For neither God nor the positiue lawes of our kingdome doe allot and allow those meanes of sauing mens reputations and of righting themselues by them but vtterly condemne them and punish the vsurpers of them besides whatsoeuer he ment to effect by those irregular courses yet the euent shewes when he is slaine by them that they were the meanes of his slaughter to which he gaue consent without constraint Yea I adde further that whosoeuer holds this paradox which is so commonly receiued in the world That the giuing of the lye or of foule-mouthed language must necessarily for the saueguard of honour bee reuenged vvith a Stabbe a Stroke or a Challenge of a combat He is an embracer of a murderers doctrine and by holding it makes himselfe a very Murderer in the iudgement of GOD who condemnes all murdering positions intentions desires as well as the acts of murder And thus much concerning voluntarie Death Violent death is when by force a man doth die Such a death did Absalon die when as full against his will he hanged in the Oake where he was slaine hanging by Ioab and his tenne seruants The like death died Daniels accusers who being cast among the Lions were crushed and killed of them In like manner also this kinde of death those eighteene died vpon whom the Tower in Siloam falling slew and of this death Horace saith he had almost perished by a tree that fell vpon him And that we may briefly conclude our discourse of the kinds and waies of dying one man dies more easily another with more difficultie and greater paines One dieth in his full strength being in all ease and prosperitie his breasts are full of milke and his bones runne full of marrow and another dieth in the bitternesse of his soule and neuer eateth with pleasure One dieth being wasted with long sicknes and lingring diseases another dieth sodainly without warning and beyond his expectation Now it may be by the way demanded Whether it bee lawfull to pray against sodaine death I answere thus because our corruption is great our sins are daily our aduersarieslie and
Our Sauiour Iesus Christ wee all know was most wickedly put to death by the Iudges iniust sentence at the malitious pursuite of the Iewes now Saint Peter saith expresly that he was deliuered by the determinate councell of God and that his enemies were gathered together against him and what to doe To doe saith Peter What soeuer thine hand and thy councell had determined before to be done Thus therefore I say if any man kill himselfe or bee killed by others no more is done then was of old determined by the hand and counsell of Almightie God Thou wilt then replie if a murtherer do but what God willed and determined to be done then he is to be excused as one that fulfils the will of God Not so and the reason is because though he did that act which God would and determined in his secret and eternall councell to be done yet he did it not vpon those grounds for those ends which God did propose vnto himselfe For all the workes of God are done in wisedome and iustice but the murtherer is set a worke by the diuell and his owne inward corruption When the Father deliuered his sonne saith Saint Augustine and Christ his bodie and Iudas his master wherfore is God in this deliuery iust and man guiltie but that because in one thing which they did the cause is not one for which they did it Againe though a murtherer doe what the hand and counsell of God hath determined to bee done yet that is no warrant for his murther because hee sinnes against the reuealed will of God the which is to be obeyed of euery man vnto death now Gods reuealed will is that we should not murther It will be said then that the reuealed will of God which forbids murther is contrario to his secret will by which hee doth determine and appoint it I answere the reuealed will is not contrarie to his secret will for the reuealed will forbids murther simply as it is murther but the secret decrees and willes it not as or because is is murther sed propter coniunctum bonum but for some good conioined with it For it is not possible that God who is the fountaine of good things yea and goodnesse it selfe should will any euill for it selfe But that no man be mistaken that readeth these things I will heere briefely shew mine opinion in this point of murther First I say God is not the Author of murther as it is murther but doth detest and condemne it and puts no not the least malice into any mans heart which stirres him or moues him vnto murther Secondly I say that which God doth about murther is comprehended in these actions First as the vniuersall cause of all things hee sustaineth man and all his actions so that no man could either be or act any thing but that God doth sustaine him For by God we are we liue and moue All a mans actions therefore as they are actions and euery man as he is a man is the worke of God and therefore also good The action then which is the materiall part or subiect of murther the naked action I say is of God not the murther which is the formall part indeed the deformitie of that action Secondly God with-holdeth his grace from the murtherer and leaues him to himselfe being tied to no man further or longer then he list Now as Hugo de Sancto Victore saith Peccatū necessarie sequitur ex gratiae subtractione Sinne necessarily followes vpon the with-holding of grace but how not as the effect followes the efficient for God doth not put any murtherous thought or intention into their hearts but he doth onely denie them his grace which should make them tender hearted louing he giues Satan leaue to egge them on and offers them sundrie obiects by themselues good which they turne into occasions of euill hauing neyther will nor power to stay themselues And God may thus deale because he is bound to no man Thirdly God ordereth and disposeth the murther and that is thus hee directes it so as that it proceeds no further nor no otherwise then hee pleaseth sometimes hee turnes it to another end then the murtherer thought of sometimes hee makes a way by it to punish some other sinne and sometimes he turnes it to the good of them that are murthered But I will set downe some sentences of the learned of whom I haue light my candle which I will propound as Answeres to these ensuing Questions First is there any thing whether good or euill which is not by the will of God Non fit aliquid nisi omnipotens fieri velit vel sinendo vt fiat velipse faciendo there is nothing done saith Saint Austen but that which the Almightie will haue done Either by permitting it to be done or by doing it himselfe Secondly may not a man will that with an vniust will which God doth with an holy Fieri potest vt hoc velit homo voluntate malâ quod deus vult bonâ It may fall out saith Saint Augustine that a man may will that with a will that is euill which God doth will with a good Thirdly Is it good that there should bee euill Quamuis ergo quaemala sunt in quantum mala sunt non sunt bona tamen vt non solum bona sed etiam sint mala bonum est Nam nisi esset hoc bonum vt essent mala nullo modo sinerentur ab omnipotente bono Although saith Saint Augustine those things that are euill as they are euill are not good Yet it is good that there should bee not good things onely but euills also for except it were good that euilles be they would by no meanes bee permitted of that Good that can doe all things Fourthly is that which is against the word at any time done with the will of God Intelligendum est omnia vel adiunante domino perfici vel deserente permitti vt intelligas tamen nolente Deo nihil prorsus admitti Vnderstand saith Saint Augustine that all things are either done by Gods helpe or suffered to be done by his forsaking that thou maist know that there is nothing at all committed if God nill it Propterea namque magna opera Domini exquisita in omnes voluntates eius vt miro ineffabili modo non fiat praeter eius voluntatem quod etiam contra eius fit voluntatem for therefore saith he the great workes of the Lord are exquisit according to all his willes that after a maruellous and vnspeakeable manner that is not done besides his will which is also done against his will Fiftly doth God will no more then his will is to worke himselfe Est Dei voluntas beneplacitum eius voluntas eius operatio eius voluntas Permissio Eius the will of God saith
5. Isa 38. 12. Gen. 2. 17. Isa 45. 7. Ec. 3. 1. 2. Act. 1. 7. Math. 10. 29. 30 Iliad 22. Contra Marcel In lerem c. 12. De gen cont Manich. l. 1. c. 2 Lam. 3. 37. Ob. 1. Sol. In what sense God may be said to ordaine and cause death A Simile Ob. 2. Sol. Act. 2. 23. Act. 4. 28. Ob. 3. Sol. No murtherer is excused by Gods decree Epist ad Vinc. 38. Note Ex. 20. 13. Ob. 4. Sol. Note Three actions of God about murther 1. Act. 17. 28. Note Act. 2. Note Act. 3. Quaest 1. Sol. Enchir. c. 95. Quest 2. Sol. Enchir. c. 101. Quest 3. Sol. Enchir. c. 98. Quest 4. Sol. De Praed Grat. c. 15. August Enchir. c. 101. Quest 5. Sol. Lib. 1 de Sacr. c. 7. part 4. Quest 6. Sol. Depraedestin grat p. 48. Sum. 9. 19. art 9. Quest 7. Sol. De Gen. ad lit imperf cap. 5. De ciuit Dei l. 11. c. 17 Quest 8. Sol. Strom. l. 1. Euchir ad Laur. c. 101. Quest 9. Sol. De grat lib. arbit cap. 21. De amiss grat l. 2. c. 13. Acts 4. 28. Sinne the mother of Death Rom. 5. 12. Rom. 6. 23. Depraed grat c. 11. Wisd 1. 13. 15. Eccles 11. 14. Aug. retract l. 1. c. 21. Rom. 5. 12. Note Who are Subiect to Death 2. Cor. 5. 21. Ioh. 10. 15. 18. Rom. 3. 25. Bucan loc 11. q. 13. 1. Cor. 15. 22. Rom. 5. 12. Lib. contra Fortunat disput 2. Gen. 3. 19. Quest Ans Why Infants dye Psal 51. 5. Aug. de praedest grat cap. 2. Quest Ans Why Infants are guiltie of Sinne. Lib. 16. de excell Mariae c. 10. Quest Reu. 1. 5. Ans In cap. 6. ad Rom. Note Note Psal 116. 15. All men must dye Heb. 9. 27. 2. King 2. 2. Tuscul 1. Ouid. ad Liuiam Hor. Car. l. 2. od 28. l. 2. ode 3. Iliad l. 6. Hor. carm lib. 2. od 14. Homer ll 18. Hor. carm l. 2. od 16. Psal 49. 10. Hor. l. 1. Carm. od 4. Psal 82. 6. Hor. carm lib. 1. od 28. Hor. carm l. 3. od 11. Ouid. 2. Sam. 2. 18. Eccl. 3. 20. Quest. Sol. 1. Cor. 15. 5. Of the time of Death Isa 46. 10. 11. Iliad 1. Lucret. Martial Isa 38. 5. Note Seneca Herc. fur Deaths houre is vnknowne Tul. 1. de finib Epist 23. Note A Simile Death is but once Heb. 9. 27. Carm. l. 1. od 18 2. King 13. 22. Death takes possession easily Iam. 4. 14. Hor. car l. 4. od 7 Eurip. Hor. 16. A Simile As death leaues so the Iudge findes men Ad Dâ—oscor Eccl. 11. 3 Cyp. Tract ad Demetrian Of the coÌ„modities of death To whom death is â—ndeed a benefit Commod 1. Vid. Plutarch de consolat ad Apol. Commod 2. Commod 3. Note A simile In Ioh. Death is discommodious to the wicked 1. 2 3 4 5. Aug. ad Julian ep 211. What to death may be compared Simile 1. Death is a Physitian Adissimile Death is an Hauen * Isay 57. 1. Reu. 14. 13. Adissimilitude In two cases Death is vnlike an Hauen Luke 16. A second dissimilitude Job 7. 10. Vid. Nat. 〈◊〉 Myth l. 3. c. 13. Acts 20. 9. 10. Death is a Night A dissimile Agath in Nat. Com. vbi supra A dissimile Pro. 30 16. Death a fire A dissimile Death is a Reaper A Dissimilitude Death is a Tyrant A Dissimili Satyra 10. Iudg. 15. 15. Horat. Carm. l. 3. Od. 4. Death is a flying woman Death is a Sea Death a Lion Death a Sleep Laert. lib. 6. Plutarc Consol ad Apoll. A Dissimilitude 28 questions about Death Quest 1. Sol. How death may be said to be naturall Note Quest. 2. Sol. Naturall death described Quest 3. Sol. What violent death is A Simile A Simile Quest 4. Sol. Note A Simile Quaest 5. Sol. The causes of long life A Simile Quest 6. Sol. This answere belongs to the state of mans fall by sinne Note Note Juuenal Satyr 80. Quest 7. Sol. Three liuing spirits created How mans soule is said to die 2. Difference 3. Difference In Cant. ser 107 Iohn 5. Act. 24. 15. Quest 8. Sol. Laert. lib. 1. c. 1. Ans How death is an euill and how not Note 1. Cor. 15. Quest 9. Sol. Psal 51. 5. Note Ec. 7. 3. Quest 10. Sol. Note Quest 11. Sol. Rom. 3. 8. We must not die till God call vs. Quest 12. Sol. Phil. 1. 23. Quest 13. Sol. lu what sense a man may pray against death Note Iob. 13. 15. Iob 17. 3. 4. 6. Quest 14. Sol Epist 88. Note How death may be feared Aug. l. 2. de doct Christ Greg. Quaest 15. Sol. When sudden is euill Quest 16. Sol. How we may lament the death of our friends De verb. Ap. ser 3 2. In Cant. ser 29. 1. Thes 4. 13. 14. Note Phil. 2. 27. Note Whiles I was a writing these things it pleased God to take from me mine onely sonne before he was a fortnight old Quest 17. Epist 30. Sol. Quaest 18. Sol. In admonit 6. Quaest 19. Sol. In paradox Quaest 20. Sols Quaest 21. Sol. Death both certaine and vncertaine Quaest 22. Sol. A Simile Quaest 23. Sol Whose death is best Whose death is counted worst The iuster the Law the worser the death Quest 24. Sol. Why God keepes from men the time of their deaths De consolat ad Apoll. Quest 25. Sol. Epist 22. Note Note Note Quest 26. Sol. What is the best death without reference to sinne or vertue A Simile Quaest 27. Sol. Why it is vnlawfull to pray to know the time of our deathes Tu ne quaesieris scire nesas quem mihi quem tibi finem Dij dederint Seu plures hyemes seu tribuit Iupiter vltimakm Hor. car l. 1. od 11. Rom. 14. 23. Psal 39. 5. Note Spacio breui spem lougant reseces Dum loquimur sugerit inuida aelas Hor. car li. 1. od 11. Act. 1. 7. Quest 28. Sol. The honors performed to the dead Leuit. 19. 14. Vses of the former discourse â— The bodic is baser then the soule A Simile Note Why should a man haue an euil soule that would haue a good bodie A comfort against the feare of death Vse 2. Why death is to be borne with patience A comfort to a good man dying Dan. 3. 6. Vse 3. A reason to hate sinne Sinne a very Crab-tree Pro. 14. 9. 10 23. Vse 4. Inordinate feare of death to be supprest Senec. 78. epist Epist 24. Epist 78. Vse 5. Rules of preparation against Death 1. John 5. 24. Iohn 11. 25. 26. Note Who is a right beleeuer and who fantasticall Rule 2. Ezek. 18. 30. 31. Fiue duties of a true penitent Ezek. 18. 22. Note A Simile Rule 3. Iobn 3. 16. Heb. 13. 17. Rule 4. Rule 5. Pro. 16. 6. 1. Tim. 17. 18. 19 Note Mat. 25. A Simile Iam. 2. 13. Rule 6. English Papists Brownists are liable to damnation for their obstinate Schisme Note Reu. 22. 12. Rom. 2. 7. 8. Rule 7. Isay 38. 1. 2. Sam. 17. 23. Acts 7. 59. The death of the godly commended 1. Cor. 15. 56. Note Note A false imagination of sundrie persons Ex. 20. 8. 10. Rom. 6. 16. 1. Joh. 3. 8. 9. Ezek. 18. 21. Is 1. 16. 17. Of spirituall death Eph. 2. 1. Col. 2. 13. The spirituall death of the Godly is threefold What death to sinne is The preeminence of a Saint Ex. 19. 12. Zak. 2. 8. Rom. 7. 4. Gal. 2. 16. 19. Note Gal. 6. 14. When the World is dead to a man How a man is said to be dead to the World Iob. 15. 19. 16. 3. 1. Pet. 2. 11. Reu. 22. 8 What eternall death is 2. Thes 1. 9. God the inflicter of eternall death Psal 11. 5. Is 30. 33. Note Rom. 2. 5. 8. Death the fruit of sinne Rom. 6. 23. 2. Thes 1. 8. Rom. 2. 8. Matth. 25. 41. 42. Who are subiect to eternall death Who shall die this death Math. 25. 41. Math. 7. 23. 2. Thes 1. 8. Ioh. 8. 24. Note Ioh. 3. 36. Act. 4. 8. 11. 1 Pet. 2. 4. 6 Act. 4. 12 Isa 53. 11 Gal. 2. 15. 16 2. Ioh. 5. 11. 12 In hope In actuall possession Note 1. Cor. 6. 9. 10. Reu. 21. 8. Iude. 4. 13. Note Deut. 4. 2. 12. 32 Iosh 1. 7. Pro 30. 6. Reu. 22. 18. 19. How dangegerous it is to tract or adde vnto the word of Christ A Similitude Note As Anti-trinitarians Arians As Papists No saluation for sinners during their impenitencie Isay 30. 33. Iude 15. Reu. 22. 12. Rom. 2. 6. Eternall cannot be fully described Three things about this death to be noted 1. Paena damni Paena Sensus Aeternitas Paenae 2. Thes 1. 9. Math. 25. 46. Esay 66. 24. In fire two things Note Hell-fire is not like our fires Lib. 4. de ortho c. 28. Lib. de cogn verae vitae c. 40. Luke 16. Note Math. 25. 41. In 20. cap. Iob. Note Why the death of the damned is for euer The companions of the damned The Place Difference of torments Lib. 4. contr Donat c. 19. de Bap. Luke 12. 47. Math. 23. 14. 15 Math. 10. 15. Where Hell is Isay 30. 33. Luke 16. 26. Reu. 9. 11. 20. 3. 17. 8. Num. 16. 30. 33 Iude 6. 2. Pet 2. 4. Note Whom Hell shall not receiue Who is in the state of grace 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Aristot 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Cor. 15. 26. Aristot lib. 1. de Anima Rom. 6. 23. Note 2. King 19. 37. Why God punisheth a murther which he doth permit Math. 20. 16. Ioh. 3. 18. Heb. 5. 9. Ioh. 27. 9. Math. 7. 13. 14. Note Note Ezek. 18. 21. Ioh. 3. 16. Note Note Isay 59. Note Note 1. Ioh. 4. 10. 19. Note Note Mat. 11. 28. Mat. 12. 20.