subtle readie to take all aduantages and because without repentance men may not looke for pardon and because as death doth leaue vs so the latter day shall finde vs therefore least we should be taken vnprepared it is fit and needfull for vs to pray that God would not take vs away vpon the sodaine or if it shall seeme good vnto him to remoue vs sodainly that hee would be pleased not to take vs away vnprepared for him but that whēsoeuer he doth remoue vs he woud pardon accept vs be pleased to smite vs whiles we be either in some holy worke of his seruice as preaching prayer meditation or the like or else in some honest worke of our honest calling or at the least in no euill plot nor about any euill act Now finally of sodaine deathes some are by the distemper of the passions as the death of such as die of feare sorrow or ioy Thus died that good old Poet Phileman who being neere an hundred years old and seeing as he lay an Asse eate figs fell into an extreme laughter and hauing called his seruants he bad them giue the Asse some drinke after his figges and laughing very earnestly so died Plutarch also writeth of one Polycrita who with ioy conceiued for that her life was granted whereof it seemes she was not a little fearefull fell downe sodainly and so died Againe some that die sodainly are taken away by the extraordinarie hand of God as Dathan and Abiram whom the earth opening her mouth by Gods command deuoured thus also two sonnes of Aaron Nadab Abihu sodainly were killed by fire sent out from God Nabal also the Lord sodainly smote and slue not long after his churlishnesse toward Dauid Others haue died by the special permission of God though by the meanes of the diuell himselfe as Iobs children who were sodainly slaine with the fall of the house vpon them which was blowne downe with a sodaine storme raised doubtlesse by the power of the diuell Others haue beene sodainly dispatcht with their owne hands as Lucretius the Poet some haue beene sodainly killed of others as Eglon whom Ehud slue with his dagger or as the Princes and people of the Philistins on whom Sampson with the sorce of his armes pulled downe the house in which they were assembled or also as Sisera whom Iael slue with a naile driuen into his head as he was sleeping in her Tent but all these perished without treason but some others haue been sodainly dispatcht by treason as Senacherib whom his owne sous slue as he was in his Idols temple as Elah whom his seruant Zimri kild as he was in his drunkennesse and thus with inhumane barbarity shold our noble king with many mo haue died in the Parliamēt house by the malice of wicked Iesuits and their bloudie schollers had not God from heauen deliuered them Whose name be praised for euermore Amen And thus from the kinds of death we passe vnto the causes The first and highest Ruling cause of death is Almightie God Dauid saith to the Lord Thou hast made my daies as an hand breadth Hezekiah saith Thou wilt make an end of mee to whom said God I will adde vnto thy daies fifteene yeares By which it appeareth that God is vitae necisque arbiter the Author and Ordainer of life and death Yea the Lord by that commination vnto Adam In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt die doth plainely shew that in his hands is the power of life death Finally he saith I forme the light and create darkenesse the light of prosperitie the darknesse of aduersitie the light of life the darknesse of death I make peace and create euill the euill not of sinne but of sorrow of troubles bloudshed famine pestilence death To all things saith Salomon there is an appointed time a time to be borne a time to die who hath appointed this time but GOD who hath put times and seasons in his owne power as our Sauiour teacheth And surely if God number the verie haires of our head doubtlesse he hath numbred the daies and houres and minutes of our life and hath set downe the periode of our age And if a poore Sparrow cannot light on the ground without his will surely then no man can fall into the ground but by his will Euen the wiser heathen knew this therefore Hector saith in Homer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that God did call him vnto death Tertullian another Doctor saith Deus vniuersa vtique disponendo praescituit praesciendo disposuit that God hath foreknowne and disposed all things if all things then the liues and deathes of men Saint Ierome saith What good things or euill things soeuer be in the world Non absque prouidentia fortuito casu accidit sed Iudicio Dei not one of them comes to passe by chance and without prouidence but by the iudgement of God if nothing then not murthers manslaughters killing Finally Saint Austen saith Voluntas Deiomniū quae sunt ipsaest causa that the will of God is the verie cause of all things that are and to conclude with the Prophets speech Who is he that saith It commeth to passe and the Lord commandeth it not It will be thus perhaps obiected If God be the Author of death then it seemes hee delightes in the destruction of his creature for by death life is put out and the bodies of men are corrupted I answere thus Death is a punishment or at the best and to the best a triall a correction a passage to a better life now God ordaines and appointes death not simply as it is a destruction but eyther as it is a punishment of wicked men or a correction and triall of the godly and as a meanes of deliuerance to his elect from worldly and wicked miseries Euen as a wise potent and iust King appointeth places of execution executioners and the death of grieuous malefactors not as though hee delighted in them but for the maintenance of iustice the punishment of vice and for the good of the Commonwealth Or as a Father who maketh and vseth rods not because he taketh pleasure simply in whipping or in roddes but because hee desires the good of his children and that they might be afraid of euill Or finally as a Landlord that puls downe his Tenants house not because he delightes simply in pulling downe of houses but for that he purposeth to cure it of all rottennesse and ruines and to build it for him new and faire againe It may againe bee thus obiected If God appoint and ordaine euery mans death then if a man murther himselfe or if he be killed by another or be vniustly put to death by a Tyrant God you will say appointed and ordained that mans death which you will say is harsh I answere and let my words be well obserued
prey vnto her All is fish that comes vnto her net The Lambes skinne is common in the market as well as the old sheepes Mors fagacem persequitur virum nec paroit imbellis iuuentae poplit ibus timidoque tergo Death followes him that flies him and spateth not young folkes though fearefull of him Serius aut citius sedem properamus ad vnam First or last we must all die Yea but the beautifull peraduenture may finde better fauour No doubtlesse Rebecca Bathsheba Ester Helena Irene were goodly creatures Absalon and Achilles were gallants yet all these with many moe are dead and gone Asahel was as swift as a Roe yet death out-went him won him Goliah was a great fellow but death was the greater Achitophel was verie politicke and subtile Aristotle learned Aesop wittie Mithridates a good linguist but they bee dead all Rich and poore Craessus as well as Codrus wise and foolish high and low young and old bond and free all men must die Omnia peribunt sie ibimus ibitis ibunt All must away I thou and euerie man besides Intrasti vt exires we came all into the world to go out againe Contra vim mortis non est medicamen in hortis No phisicke can preuent death no charme can let it no wile can catch it no bribe can blinde it no griefe can moue it no least can abash it no place no pleasure no man no meanes can stay it All goe to one place and all was of the dust and all shall returne to the dust Shall all men then die haue all men then in former ages died Surely Saint Paul directed by God doth tell the Corinthes that All meaning them that liue at the verie laste gaspe of the world shall not die but all must be changed by which sodaine change they shall be stript of all corruption and mortalitie And againe if euer any man in former daies haue not died or if any man shall be translated without death into heauen as Enok and Elias who are now in their glorified bodies with Christ in heauen it must be confessed that such a translation and assumption is of meere fauour by a singular priuiledge and not common for commonly all men do die and come not into heauen till they haue beene dead In like manner if any man haue beene or shall be smitten into hell aliue in bodie as Romulus who by a diuell was carried away in a mighty tempest of thunder lightning or peraduenture Abiram and Dathan this is to be counted to be by a singular and extraordinarie iudgement for ordinarily all wicked men doe die before they goe into hell Hauing spoken of the Subiects of death we come now to speake of the time and number thereof where we are to note these things First that God in his counsell hath determined the yeare the moneth the weeke the day yea the verie houre minute and moment of euery mans death that dieth He that denies this denies the prouidence of God Secondly this time prefined by God for death cannot be auoided by man or prorogued For the counsell of God shall stand saith Esay and his purpose shall be performed Euen Homer brings in his Iupiter affirming 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that whatsoeuer he doth will shall irreuocably and vndoubtedly be fulfilled Seeing therefore the day of death is defined in the decree of God it is not to be imagined that any man can euer die sooner or tarrie longer then the time by God appointed Certa quidem finis vitae mortalibus adstat Nec deuitari lethum pete quin obeamus A certain terme of life to each there is appointed And die we must death cannot be avoided Lanificas nulli tres exorare puellas Contigit obseruant quem statuere diem The purpose of God doth stand vnalterable His day for our death he keepes vnchangeable For though it be true that the Scripture saith of Hezekiah that God added fifteene yeares vnto his daies yet it is not meant as if God did alter his eternal purpose cōcerning Hezekias his death but gaue strength vnto nature now decayed in him by reason of his grieuous disease so as he should be able by his grace to hold out fifteene yeares longer not longer then God had from eternitie determined but longer then he now had reason to looke for being wasted and worne with sicknesse and sorrow Thirdly the time of deathes comming is not to all alike or the same for one dieth old another in his full strength and from some Prima quae vitam dedit hora carpsit the houre that first gaue them life did also take away their life Fourthly no man can tell certainly how long he shall liue nor certainly foretell the verie time of his death vnlesse God doe teach him or vnlesse death be present and visible in his causes Quis est quamuis sit adolescens cui sit exploratum se ad vesperum esse victurum Who is there saith Tullie though he a youth who is certaine of his life till euening Fiftly death is a dayly attendant Mors quasi saxum Tantalo semper impendet It hangs and houers ouer vs alwaies There is not one moment of life without some motion vnto death We die daily saith Seneca for euerie day we loose some part of our life Et tunc quoque cum crescimus vita decrescit and euen then when we do increase our life doth decrease Hunc ipsum quem agimus diem cum morte diuidimus this verie day which now we liue in we diuide with death And as euerie man doth carrie death about him in his forerunnrs euen so also euery man the longer he carries it the nearer he is to it as a glasse the longer it runnes the sooner its runne out lesse sand remaining in it Sixtly death befalles one man ordinarily but once It is appointed to men that they shall once die saith the Apostle Et calcanda semel via lethi the way of death must once be trodden saith Horace Yet some we doubt not but that they haue died twise as Lazarus and the man that rose from death when the Prophets dead bodie toucht him as hee lay in his graue and some others also but this was extraordinarie Thus much for the time and number of death I will adde heere moreouer two things first that it is an easie thing for a man to be depriued of his life secondly that as death doth leaue vs so the iudgement of God in the latter day shal find vs. Of the easinesse of deaths comming we neede no long discourse experience shewes that men are many waies easily brought to death Our nature is verie fraile of it selfe and besides subiect to many exterior anuoyances Nonne fragiliores sumus quà m si vitrei essemus Are wee not more brittle saith Saint Austen then if we were of glasse Vitrum enim
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.
which saith that the Begger died and was carried by the Angels into Abrahams bosome the Richman also dyed and was tormented after his death in Hell For where should the soules of men be after Death but either in Heauen with Christ or in Hell with the Diuell Non est vllus vlli locus medius vt possit esse nisi cum Diabolo qui non est cum Christo There is not any place for any man to be any where but with the Diuell who is not with Christ saith Saint Austen There are two receptacles for mens soules Heauen and Hell Tertium penitus ignoramus a third place we are vtterly ignorant of saith one The Scripture speaketh of no moe then two Thus wee haue seene what Death is to wit a disiunction of the soule from the bodie and not a dissolution of the Soule with the bodie the soule remaining vncorrupt and In aeternum as Lactantius speaketh Death though for the Nature of it it bee but one and the same to wit a temporarie diuorce or separation of the soule and body which were married or vnited by God himselfe yet in respect of the state into which men are by it admitted it is double and in regard of the meanes or waies whereby it is effected it is manifold for as Seneca truely speaketh Mille ad hanc aditus patent there are a thousand waies to bring a man to Death In respect of the persons dying and of that estate which they are let into by death death is twofold a death of the godly and a death of the wicked a sanctified and comfortable death a miserable and vnhappie death Of the former Balaam speaketh in his wish Let me die the death of the righteous and let my last end be like his and Dauid in the Psalme Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints Of the latter our Sauiour speaketh in the parable when he saith O foole this night will they the diuels he meanes fetch thy soule from thee And againe The rich man also died and was buried and being in hell tormented c. Furthermore death we said was manifold for the waies or meanes thereof For albeit death bee the common way of all flesh Omnibus est eadem lethi via non tamen vnus Est vitae cunctis exitijque modus yet all men goe not the same way vnto death Mille modis lethi miseros mors vna fatigat Death meets with vs a thousand waies As into a great Citie or into the maine Sea so vnto death there are many waies It is as the center wherein all the lines doe meete a towne of Mart wherein many waies from contrarie coasts doe end Hos bella hos aequora poscunt His amor exitio furor his saeua cupido Vt sileam morbos Some are eaten vp of warres some are swallowed vp of the Seas The old world was drowned the Sodomites were burned the disobedient Prophet was killed of a Lion the mocking children were deuoured of two Beares Senacheribs Armie was killed with an Angell Herod Agrippa was eaten of wormes Pherecides of lice a King of Epirus was killed with a tile a King of Israel with an arrow and of France with a dagger some haue beene swallowed vp of the earth some haue beene killed of Serpents some haue beene eaten of Wolues one was killed of rats some by the fall of towers and trees some by one meanes some by another But we will bring them to some heads yet heere we promise no accuratenesse There is therefore an ordinarie way of dying which is vpon ordinarie causes and is common to all the sonnes of Adam since their transgression or there is a death by causes more rare and extraordinarie as by pestilence samine battell opening of the earth wilde beasts and the like Or thus there is first a naturall death which is when nature is spent when her forces are exhaust A light will go out of it selfe when the flame wants oyle waxe or tallow to feed on A mellow apple will fall of it selfe and through-ripe corne will shill without shaking O' this death Eliphaz speaketh Thou shalt goe to thy grane in a full age as a ricks of corne commeth in due season into the barne and such a death Iob and Dauid died of whom it is said they died in a good age and full of daies Secondly there is a ciuill death which is inflicted by the ciuill Magistrate Who is the Minister of God to take vengeance on him that doth euill Such a death died Achan vnder Ioshuah and the two theeues vnder Pilate But it may be asked if the magistrate may lawfully take away the life of an offender seeing no man is absolute Lord of the life of man but only God To the soyling of this doubt if any be wee must know that the Magistrate is Gods Lieutenant or God in office according to the Psalme I haue said yee are Gods and as Iehosophat saith hee executes not the iudgements of men but of the Lord whose creature he is and whose person he represents and who beareth not the sword for nought but for the protection of the good and for the terrour and suppression of the wicked Those therefore that are cut off by the Magistrate as he is a Magistrate or the Minister of God as S. Paul doth stile him they are not cut off by Man but by God in as much as the authoritie is Gods by which they bee cut off And although we be all as one by Christ yet is it in respect of the Communion of the Spirit and not by reason of any politicke or worldly parilitie And albeit Christ hath made vs all Kings yet we may iustly say with Christ Our Kingdome is not of this world though begunne in this world and our regalitie may very well stand without wrong to Caesar or his sword But to returne Ciuill death is double iust or iniust A man dies iustly when he dies for some wickednes committed or for some notable villany as high treason intēded and plotted though not performed Thus Ioab was slaine at the commandement of Salomon as also Shimei both of them by Benaiah In like maner Bigtan and Teresh were both hanged for intending seeking to lay violent hands vpon their King Ahashuerosh Thus iustly died those Powder-Papists that most barbarously plotted with one blast to haue blowne vp this whole Church and State vnder the wings whereof it is protected Praise be vnto Christ for euer who hath honoured vs with this saluation and let all good people say Amen Againe a man dies vniustly when he dies vndeseruedly Thus died Naboth vnder Ahab S. Iohn the Baptist vnder Herod the Martyrs of Christ vnder Tyrants and Christ himselfe vnder Pilate For though that Christ his death was most iust in
shunne those things which are painefull Neither doe they indure to dye for honesty sake but that they might escape and auoide some euill or greeuous thing Secondly it may bee asked whether a man may not lawfully hazard his life yea and expose himselfe to certaine death for the Churches sake or for the good of his Countrey Yea no doubt he may and must if necessitie so require Hereby saith Saint Iohn we perceiued loue that Christ laide downe his life for vs therefore wee ought also to lay downe our lines for our Brethren And Saint Paul saith I passe not at all neither is my life deare vnto my selfe so that I may fulfill my course with ioy and the ministration which I haue receiued of the Lord Iesus to testifie the Gospell of the grace of God And when Agabus by the inspiration of the Spirit had told Paul that the Iewes should bind him and deliuer him to the Gentiles wherevpon some that heard it with teares besought him that hee would not goe to Ierusalem Then Paul answered What doe yee weeping and breaking mine heart For I am ready not to be bound onely but also to die at Ierusalem for the Name of the Lord Iesus And vnto the Philipians he profesteth his willingnesse to dye for their confirmation Yea saith he and though I be offered vp vpon the sacrifice and seruice of your Faith I am glad and reioice with you all And this kinde of death is very honourable For sanguis Martyrum est semen Ecclesiae the bloud of the Martyrs is the seede of the Church Persecutiembus creuit Ecclesia Martyriis coronata est The Church saith Saint Ierome increased by persecutions and was crowned by Martyrdomes Tanta est virtus Martyrij vt per illam credere etiam ille cogatur quite doluit occidere So great saith Saint Cyprian is the force of martyrdome that thereby euen he is forced to beleeue with thee that was ready to haue killed thee The Phoenix as Epiphanius others doe report when she is come to her full age gathereth in some high mount a pile of Myrrhe Frankencense and other Spices which being kindled by the heate of the Sunne she suffereth her selfe to be burnt vp and of her ashes there first breedeth a litle worme which at last becomes a Phoenix so the Martyrs of Christ hauing gathered a pile of vertues and good works when they see the glory of God and the good of the Church requires it expose themselues to the scorching heat of persecution and sacrifice themselues by patience in the flames therof that by their death the posteritie of the Church might be preserued another generation of faithful Christians springing as it were out of their ashes Philo saith that the Coriander seed being cut into little peeces euerie parcell thereof bringeth out as much as the whole seede would haue done so it may be said that euery inch of the Martyrs euerie drop of their bloud is exceeding fruitfull Ligabantur saith Saint Austen They were bound beaten butchered burned multiplicabantur and yet they multiplied insomuch as at last Christianitie did preuaile Emperours Kings and Queenes submitting their soules to the Scepter of Christ Iesus and being become noursing-fathers and noursing mothers of the Church which is the Spouse of Christ as Esay prophecied In like manner honourable and honest is their death that die for the safegard of their King and Countrie How readie is the hand to set it selfe before the head caring for no danger that I may so speake so that the head may bee preserued whole The King is the Head of a Kingdome what good Subiect or Seruant will not willingly glue his life to saue the life of his Soueraigne Dulce decorum est pro patriâ mori it is a sweete and honest death saith Horace which a man indures for his country Patria est communis omnium nostrum Parens Our country saith Tully is the common Mother of vs al. Chari sunt liberi c. We loue saith he our children kindred acquaintance but our Countrie alone hath all the loues of all men omnes omnium charitates patria vna complexa est for which what good man would refuse to die to doe it good For the Commonwealth is a name of an vniuersall Citie on which wee ought to bestow our selues wholly and as it were to consecrate our selues A wiseman should refuse no danger for the safetie of his Countrie for thus saith Tullie he reasons with himselfe Non mihi soli sed etiam atque adeò multo potius natus sum patriae I am not borne for my selfe alone but also and much more too for my Countrie Vita quae fato debetur saluti patriae potissimum soluatur Let the life which is due to destinie bee payed especially for the safegard of the Countrie O fortunata mors quae naturae debita pro patria potissimum est reddita O blessed death saith hee which being due as a debt to nature is payed especially for the Countries good And vndoubtedly they that willingly and deuoutly lay downe their liues for God and their Countrie being called thereunto are of all others most louing and most couragious neither doe they die but liue in happie and eternall memorie with God who no doubt rewardes their momentanie crosse with an immortall crowne of glorie in the heauens Thirdly it may be demanded whether the death of Christ and of the holy Martyrs may be called voluntarie seeing they died at the commaund and by the execution of others I answere their death was voluntarily but not with wicked wilfullnesse sustained of them For Christ could haue saued himselfe then when hee suffered himselfe to be apprehended condemned and executed for hee had power to lay downe his life and take it vp and might to doe what he listed no man could take his life from him against his wil for being verie God he could not be compelled And for the Martyrs of Christ they died in deed by the malice of others and not through the malicious wilfulnesse of their owne spirits yet did they willingly die choosing rather to die then to denie their Lord and to betraie a good cause A man will cast away his wares rather then bee drowned himselfe so the Martyrs would willingly embrace the fire rather then dishonour God by cowardize and loose their soules by Apostacie And that it may fully appeare that their death was with their willes though not simply as if they were in loue with death or were wearie of their liues aske the cause of their profession What made who forced them to embrace the faith No man but they willingly through the worke of Gods Spirit receiued it Againe though they did embrace it yet if they would haue forsaken and for sworne it they might haue saued their liues and perhaps haue come to preserment
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
regard of God to whom he was to make satisfaction for vs whose roome he did willingly stand in yet Pilate had no iust cause to condemne him nor the Iewes to accuse him But suppose the Magistrate will take away a mans life without cause or for maintaining Gods cause may not a man resist take vp armes against him or practise his death No in no case for though he abuse his power yet thou maist not breake thy patience the misapplying of his authoritie must not make thee forget thy loyalty Dauids heart smote him when he did but cut the very coate of his Soueraigne Saul And Saint Peter saith It is acceptable if a man for conscience toward God endure griefe suffering wrongfully For hereunto saith hee that was willingly crucified with his heeles vpward for his masters sake yee are called for Christ also suffered for you leauing you an example that ye should follow his steps who when he was reuiled reuiled not againe when he suffered he threatned not but committed it to him that iudgeth righteously Blessed are yee if yee suffer for righteousnesse And bee readie alwaies to giue an answere to euerie man that asketh a reason of the hope that is in you with meekenesse and reuerence hauing a good cōscience Yea feare not their feare neither be troubled But sanctifie the Lord God in your hearts For what praise is it if when yee bee buffeted for your faults ye take it patiently It is not indeede the praise of Martyrdome for non paena sed oausafacis Martyram the cause makes a Martyr and not the Crosse but if when ye doe well yee suffer wrong and take it patiently this is acceptable to God And thus much of Ciuill death sustained by the authoritie of the Magistrate who ought to be very wary how he smites remembring that it is more Prince-like to saue then to destroy and more difficult to reuiue one dead man then to kill a thousand liuing and that the smallest member is not to bee cutt from the body but for the fafety of the body and finally that the Emperour Theodosius Maluit sibi homines religione quà m timore a stringere thought it better to binde his Subiects to him by Religion then by terror For Multos timere debet quem multi timent he must needs feare many who will needes bee feared of many Quem multi timent pauci amant whom many doe feare few doe loue and quem quisque odit perijsse expedit But a Prince that is slow to punish and readie to reward and which is sory when hee is constrained to be seuere as it was spoken of Augustus Caesar doth most resemble the Prince of Princes and gaineth the loue of his Subiects which is saith Seneca Regi inexpugnabile munimentum an inuincible fortresse for the Kings protection But we haue too much digressed Thirdly there is a voluntary or rather a Wilfull Death when a man doth of purpose kill himselfe Of this death died Achitophel and Iudas who hanged thēselues such as desperately cut their owne throats throw themselues into Welles waters or burn themselues vp as she that seeing her goods and bagges consumed with fire ran in a rage into the fire and there dyed thus also dyed Empedocles a Sicilian Poet of whom Horace thus writeth Deus immortalis haberi Dum cupit Empedocles ardentem frigidus Aetnam Insiluit That is Whiles that Empedocles desired that men should count him an immortall God hee leapt into the flames of Aetna a Hill in Sicily whence ariseth most horrible smoke and flames of fire to the end that disappearing on the sudden from the sight of men he might haue beene thought to haue gone into heauen and to haue been a God as he did affirme vnto his fellow Citizens the people of Agrigentum But by the way marke the hap The flame as one saith more iust then hee discouered his imposture for it cast vp one of his pantables or sandals and so it was iusily coniectured that the poore ambitious wretch was there consumed Here sundry Questions are to be resolued First whether vpon any cause it be lawfull for a man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to kill himselfe I answere no except God doe by speciall and extra ordinarie reuelation of his will command The reason is because a man is not created for himselfe but for God and no man is absolute and Soueraigne Lord of his owne life for wee are not our owne we are Christs our bodies and our soules are not ours but Gods as Saint Paul doth teach vs. Our bodies are the Temples of God if any man shall pull downe or destroy his Temple if he haue not expresse warrant for it God will him destroy The sixt Commandement saith Thou shalt not kill now he that killes himselfe kills a man therefore hee violates the lawe and so incurres the curse And whereas true fortitude is occupied about thinges that might ingender feare and because as Aristotle speaketh nothing is more terrible then Death it might seeme therefore that those which kill themselues are very valiant men and therefore to be commended as men indued with the vertue of true fortitude But in truth they are of all other most cowardly which doe kill themselues to auoide discredit shame pouertie torments for because they want discretion and courage to beare the crosse therefore out of passion and through saintnesse of Spirit they make themselues away This is the courage of an Hare which fearing to be rent in pieces of the Hounds runnes vnder the Hunter Which kinde of fatall foole-hardmesse Ouid doth elegantly set forth in these Verses Qui rapitur fatis quid praeter fat a requirit Porrigit ad spinas duraque saxa manus Accipitrem metuens pennis trepidantibus ales Audet in humanos fessa venire sinus Nec se vicino dubitat committere tecto Qua fugit infestos territa cerua canes He that the fates haue met with what doth he seek But things as fatall as the Fates hee met with He graspes the sharpest thornes roughest stones The tired Bird fearing the greedy Hauke Flyes to a man that is as greedy of her and so the Hind dreading the hoūds that chase her Takes vp some neighbour house as Fatall to her What valour was in the Fishes in the Fable which leapt out of the Frying panne into the fire What wisedome is it for a voiding shame to rush into a shamefull death Is this courage to kill thy selfe for feare of being killed by others Fortitude hath his name a Ferondo of bearing And men are called valiant saith Aristotle because they indure those things which are troublesome and bitter But saith he for a man to kill himselfe that hee might auoide pouertie or trouble doth not betoken courage but rather cowardice For it is the point of a feeble and effeminate spirit to
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
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
et si fragile est tamen seruatuÌ„ diu durat for though glasse be brittle yet being kept it lasteth long But though wee keepe our selues neuer so well yet death will steale vpon vs and ouercome vs. For what is your life saith Saint Iames It is euen a vapor which is easily dissolued And for externall meanes how easily can any thing kill if God permit A little fire a little water a little waight a little bullet a bone a flie what not who not Eripere vitam nemo non homini potest at nemo mortem mille ad hanc aditus patent There is none saith Seneca but can take away a mans life but no man can hinder death to it there are a thousand passages There are not more riuers runne into the Sea then waies leading vnto death It is much more easie to destroy then to build to fall then to rise soone is an house burnt downe that hath beene long in setting vp corruption is readier then generation and a tree that hath beene an hundred yeares a growing is blowen downe or cut vp in one day and may easily bee soone consumed to ashes Our life is transitorie For puluis vmbra sumus we are but dust and shadowes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nothing but a breath and a shadow The continuance of our life is verie vncertaine Quis scit an adijciant hodiernae erastina summae tempora Dij superi Who knowes if God will let him liue to morrow And how easily may death arrest vs It is an easie thing to blow out a candle or to put out a little fire so it is an easie thing to cut a-sunder the threed of life easily is the life of man extinguisht a little smoke or vapor such as is the life of man is easily and soone resolued and vanisht out of sight For the second In what estate a mans last day shal find him in this estate saith Austen shall the last day of the world receiue him Quoniam qualis in die isto moritur talis in die illo iudicabitur For as he dies in this day such shall his iudgement be in that day As the tree falleth so it lieth For this life is the onely time allowed vnto man to prouide against damnation Quando hinc excessum est nullus iam poenitentiae locus When we are once gone hence saith Saint Cyprian there is no place for repentance I come now to speake of the commodities that come by death Death vnto the Râ—probate and vngodly doth bring no good but depriues them of all earthly benefits and though it rid them of many crosses which they did perhaps endure whiles they liued yet it makes them no true gainers but sets them in further miserie for measure greater and for continuance longer For the wicked are in bitter and inextricable torments so soone as death hath preyed vpon them The true commodities then of death belong truely to the Elect and Godly whose death is sanctified by the death of Christ who by his death hath beene the death of sinne which is the cause of death and by fulfilling the Lawe for vs hath made an entrance for vs into heauen First of all by death the Children of God are deliuered from all worldly troubles and vexations Mors est malorum remedium portus humanis tempestatibus Death is the remedy of all earthly euilles and brings vs out of all stormes and tempests Secondly by Death the godly are deliuered wholly from sinne after death they sinne not at all but in their soules and after the Resurrection in their soules and bodies they doe serue God purely God in his prouidence ordaining that the Daughter should eate vp the Mother that sinne the mother of death should be deuoured by death Thirdly by death the soules of the Faithfull are brought into Abrahams bosome and inioy the fellowship of those onely who are iust and holy and doe liue in all peace and quietnesse in a Paradise of euerlasting pleasures where the King is Veritie the Lawe Charitie the peace Felicitie and the Life Eternitie Precious is the death of the Saints saith Bernard precious without doubt as the end of labors as the consummation of a victorie tanquam vitae ianua perfectae securitatis ingressus as the doore of life and the entrance to perfect securitie And the onely discommoditie that death doth bring vnto the godly is that it depriues the soule of the body for a time which discommoditie is not voide of many commodities which doe make amends For by this departure of the Soule a man is taken from the sight and sense of many sinnes and sorrowes many crosses and calamities he looseth earth and gaineth heauen hee forsaketh men but findeth Angels and holy Spirits hee looseth the company of his friends on earth but inioyes the face and fellowship of God of Christ in heauen and though he leaues his body which he loues most dearely yet hee shall not be depriued of it alwaies hee goes but as it were out of a smokie and sluttish house waiting a time yet with vnspeakeable ioy al the while with pleasing companions there where is good being till it be renewed and made cleane Wherevpon Saint Austen saith Qui cupit dissolui esse cum Christo non patienter moritur sed patienter viuit delectabiliter moritur He which desireth to be dissolued and to be with Christ doth not dye as a Patient but liues as a Patient and dies with delight Indeede Death to the wicked is full of discomforts For it depriues them of their worldly promotions profits and pleasures it robs them of their Friends and Familiars it depriues them of their bodies it abridges them of the light of the sunne the societie of the liuing and the comfort of the creatures and finally it closeth them vp in Hell vvith Diuels and Reprobates there to bee tormented in endlesse easelesse and remedilesse tortures Vbi mors optabitur non dabitur where death shall be desired but not granted to them Hauing thus farre discoursed of bodily death we will now see whereto it is compared and then answere a few questions and so come to apply the former doctrines to our edification and this with as much breuitie and perspicuitie as we may conueniently Death is compared to a Physitian because it cures men of all earthly miseries as the Physitians cure men of their maladies But herein it ouergoes all Physitians for whereas it killes them all they are not all able to kill it It is also likened to an Hauen For as an Hauen affoordeth quietnesse and comfort to those that haue beene tossed with windes and waues vpon the Seas so death vnto the Godly is a quiet and safe harbour freeing them from all that hard weather and tedious trauels which they did indure in the world which as a Sea is full of changes crosse-windes tempestes
erit He which by repentance purgeth away his sinne shall be partaker and saith Saint Austen of Angelicall happinesse for euer Now a true penitent person must bee thus disposed First hee must plainely and from his heart confesse his sinnes to God Secondly he must earnestly beg pardon of his sinne desiring God for Christ to bee reconciled to him Thirdly hee must resolue fully to leaue his sinues and to practise all holy and honest duties If the wicked will returne from all his sinnes and doe that which is lawfull and right he shall surely liue and shall not dye It is not inough to set himselfe against one fault but against all all all without exception of any For one wing belimed may cause the whole bird to be taken and one discase may bee the death of all the bodie so one vnrepentant of knowne enormitie euen one though there were no more may yea and will bee the ruine of the soule the destruction of the sinner Fourthly where an iniury is done vnto our neighbours there ought wee to seek reconcilement and to giue them satisfaction For hee that hauing offended man seekes not to be reconciled to him doubtles shall neuer truely be at peace with God Briefely hee that would shew himselfe a true penitent must be truly grieued because his repentance is so poore his deuotion so cold and his life so bad Thirdly hee that would dye comfortably in Christ should liue obediently to Christ For hee that obeyeth not the sonne shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him Now he that will proue his obedience vnto Christ the Lord must shew it vnto the Bishops and Ministers of the Church his Seruants speaking vnto them in his Name according to his Lawe Obey them saith the Holy Ghost which haue the ouersight of you and submit your selues Certainely they that dishonour disobey and disdaine them dishonour disobey and disdaine Christ their Maister Fourthly it behooues vs to weine our affections from the world for the pleasures and vanities of the world are very bandes and boltes vnto our soules if wee wed our selues vnto them and they vvill make vs altogether vnwilling to depart Fiftly doe good vnto the poore and afflicted members of Christ Iesus pray for them visite them and aduise them help them feede them cloth them harbour them By mercy and trueth iniquitie shall be forgiuen saith Salomon Charge them that are rich saith Paul that they bee rich in good workes and be ready to distribute and communicate laying vp in store for them a good foundation against the time to come that they may obtaine eternall life That which is giuen to pore christians because they be christians is giuen vnto Christ himselfe who will recompence our temporall gifts with eternal glory Pore christians are as a rich fieldif the rich will sow the seede of their charitable almesdeedes on them they shal by the heauens blessing receiue a plentiful crop of eternall happines On the contrarie he shuts against himselfe the doores of Gods mercy who will shew no mercy to his afflicted brother Sixtly he that would haue comfort in his death ought to liue or at least to die in the loue and reuerent affection to the Church of Christ neither meane I onely the Catholique Church part whereof is triumphing in heauen and a part warring on earth but that true visible Church in which hee is borne and baptised and to the obedience whereof he is most properly called For I doe very much doubt of the saluation of all such as dye vnreconciled to the church out of loue with that church vnto the loue and obedience wherof God doth call them Let our Papists therefore Brownists aud such like spirits take heede vnto themselues how they liue and dye out of loue and loyalty to this church of England whereof they should be louing and obedient members but vnto which indeede they stand ill-affected disobedient and vndutifull They malice her they write and speake against her they speake euill of her and of her chiefest members I meane not to dispute of her lawfulnes and trueth this is all I say if shee be found to be a true Church of Christ as it will appeare one day I doe much feare that these her enemies her slanderers her disobedient and vnruly children will not bee able to stand vnconfounded before her Head Husband Christ Iesus who then will recompence to euery one according to his workes euen euerlasting life to them which through patience in well-doing seeke glorie and honour and immort alitie but vnto them that are Contentious and disobey the trueth indignation and wrath It behooues vs therefore for our better assurance of comfort and saluation to know the true Church and to cleaue vnto it beeing knowne Seuenthly let a man set his house in order and dispose of his estate It was the last wise work which Achitophel performed And finally when death seemeth to approch if it giue him any warning as vsually it doth let him commend his soule with Steuen into the hands of Christ Lord Iesus receiue my Spirit crauing for mercie and not forgetting that the ioyes of Heauen after which he gaspeth are farre more compleat and are able to giue a thousand times more true contentment to the soule of man then all the transitorie pleasures profits and preferments of this world can doe He that is thus composed for death shall not dye but liue for euer his death shall bee as a pleasant sleepe his graue as a bed and his soule shall rest in peace with Christ till the time appointed for the Resurrection of our bodies bee fulfilled Oh that men would thinke of these things practise these things Wouldst thou haue comfort in thy death then seeke and sue for comfort in thy life Wouldst thou bee armed against the feare of death then dye betimes to sinne Death is a Serpent her sting is Sinne pull out the sting by true repentance and thou needst not feare the Serpent Death can not hurt thee if thou hurt not thy selfe by Sinne. Death is not Interitus Death to the penitent Introitus but an entrance into heauen and the way is made and the doore is opened by true repentance and by Faith in Christ who is the Sunne of our glorie and the Saluation of our soule by whose death letum delethum mortua mors est death is defaced and dead it selfe But wouldst thou giue hope of the truth of thy turning then turne whilest thou maist runne on repent when thou mightest yet sinne deferre not thy turning till thy death least it be thought that the world doth forsake thee and not thou the world and that sinne rather leaues thee then thou dost leaue sinne and that the cause of this turning is not the loue of GOD and godlinesse but the feare of death and the apprehension of