World Now this is a manifest token and proof as may be easily discern'd by the Light of Reason that there is a supreme Judge who hath given a Law that bindeth the Conscience and commandeth as well the inward thoughts as the words and actions of all men and who will call them to a strict account and reckoning Eighthly It appears that there is a God or supreme Being by the Soul of man which is a spiritual immortal substance as shall be evinc'd by Reason in the next Chapter and is endued with power to understand and will But now the Soul and the power thereof is not of and from it self but must proceed from a higher Cause which is Power Wisdom and Understanding it self and this is God In the Understanding of man there are certain principles whereby it discerneth truth and falshood good and evil this gift man hath not of himself nor from himself but it must needs spring from a supreme and most wise Understanding as an effect from its principal Cause which infinitely excels and transcends it Nor is the Mind of man satisfied with the knowledge nor his Will with the possession of all things in this Life but still they seek and earnestly thirst after some higher good And hence it is evident even to an Eye of Reason that there is a sovereign Truth and chief Good which being perfectly known and enjoyed will give full satisfaction to the Soul of man which seeing it is capable of happiness or the chief good this would be altogether in vain if there were not such a chief good to be possessed and enjoyed In our Immortal Souls there are principles of infallible and demonstrative Truth as to honour and obey our Parents to do as we would be done unto to defend our selves to perform our promises c. which Principles hold good in all men more or less unless they be horribly prophane and wicked Amongst which fundamental Principles this is one and the chiefest That there is a God and that this God ought to be Worshipped and though some other of these principles may fail in men yet this never faileth but they will Worship one thing or other as God unless they be downright and desperate Atheists Ninthly By the continual suggestions and assaults of the evil Spirit we conclude that there is a Devil and hence we may as certainly conclude that there is a God Doth not Satan by all means endeavour to extinguish the knowledge of God and the glorious Light of the Gospel and to lead men on in ways of Errour and Prophaneness and turn them out of the path of Truth and Holiness Now why should the Devil thus war against God His Word and Saints Why should he so earnestly seek the dishonour of God and the destruction of Men if there were not a God a Gospel and an Everlasting Life Why should he and his wicked Instruments with all their hellish power malice and policy labour to extirpate and root out all those that faithfully call upon the Name of God and are zealous for His Glory if there were not a God or Supreme Being Tenthly This great Truth is further made evident even to an Eye of Reason by the Lord 's miraculous hiding preserving and defending His Church and People from time to time How wonderfully hath he frustrated the Plots and Devices of the Enemies of His Church How hath His Church increased and flourished by the very same means which they designed and made use of to destroy Her How hath God fought from Heaven against the Persecutors of His Children Such dreadful Judgments did overtake many of them and such Horror fell upon some of them that they were forc'd to forsake their great places and power and betake themselves to a solitary and private life which plainly demonstrates that there is a sovereign God who is higher than the highest and greater than the greatest of them And as for His poor People whom they persecuted the Lord hath armed them with invincible Courage and Fortitude to endure disgrace contempt poverty imprisonment death and the most exquisite Torments that Men and Devils could invent Yea how hath God supported His People under their inward temptations conflicts desertions and troubles of Conscience and wonderfully refreshed them beyond their expectation with sweet Peace and Consolation and by the power strength and comforts of the Holy Ghost hath enabled them to sing and rejoice in Prison and even to exult and triumph in the midst of the flames Now this divine assistance this holy courage strength and consolation is a convincing demonstrative Argument of an Omnipotent Deity especially if we compare the Heavenly courage and comforts of the People of God in their sufferings with that fear faintness amazement unquietness vexation and deadness which seiseth on the wicked when they are under Affliction Well then if we reflect upon what hath been said with reference to Man himself and other Creatures in a way of Reason we may be fully convinced that there is an Eternal God If we look up to the Firmament the Spheres the Planets the Stars their greatness brightness swiftness their order courses motions and forcible effects if we behold the Sea so bounded with the Sand by a perpetual decree that it cannot pass its bounds though the Waves thereof rage yet can they not prevail though they roar never so much yet can they not pass their bounds if we behold the Earth so firm so round so fruitful so great yet hanging like a Ball in the Air and resting on a very small point If Man will behold himself a little World in his Body the several members with the harmony sympathy functions and uses thereof and in his Mind the inbred principles and seminaries of all Arts and Sciences and the difference of good and evil of honesty and dishonesty from which all Laws and Government do spring if we consider the just Punishment which commonly followeth evil doers and the sting of Conscience which tormenteth the greatest Princes that are out of danger in respect of the Laws as Alexander for killing his Friend Clitus and Nero for the murther of his Mother Agrippina If we behold the order progress and end of all Causes the harmony of the whole Universe where there are so many contraries and yet such a harmony amongst them Omnia ab uno omnia ad unum If we consider the Prediction of things future the strange Signs and Wonders that have fallen out with their events do not all these things proclaim aloud unto us That there is a Supreme Power that wisely Governs and Over-rules All Suppose a gallant well furnish'd Ship come safe to her Port through all the waves of the Sea we may well conclude that there was a skilful Pilot or Governour within that guided and directed her to the appointed Haven so we beholding this fair Universe this World wherein we live with all its Furniture and Ornaments and the regular Motions of the several
safe harbour it is to him a sweet sleep a bed of rest after all his toyl and labour in a vain and troublesome world Isai 57.2 1 Thes 4.14 Rev. 14.13 There the wicked cease from troubling and there the weary be at rest and hear not the voice of the Oppressor Job 3.17 18. It is the day of a Christians reward and of receiving wages Then is the servant set free and the Heir at full age then shall the banished and strangers from a far Countrey shall enter into their Fathers house and shall be received into everlasting habitations Heb. 11.13 John 14.2 Luke 16.9 Death is the Birth-day of a Christian the funeral of all his vices and corruptions and the resurrection of his Graces Death was the daughter of Sin and in death shall that be fulfilled The Daughter shall destroy the Mother 'T is the dissolution of the Body but the absolution of the Soul Then is the immortal Soul delivered out of a dark prison and then doth she throw off her old ragged clothes and foul garments that she may be deck'd and adorn'd with the glorious Robes of Salvation Isa 52.1 2 Cor. 5.2 3. Then doth a Christian remove from an old rotten house ready to fall about his ears to a sumptuous Pallace Doth that Landlord think you wrong his Tennant or offer him hard measure that would have him remove out of a base Cottage into his own Mansion-house which he hath freely given him Shall the Believer be unwilling to come to the end of his race and receive the prize even an incorruptible Crown of glory 1 Cor. 9.24 This is the day of his Coronation for though now he be an Heir of the heavenly Kingdom yet he shall not be crowned till death with that Glory which is unutterable 2 Tim. 4.8 Seventhly The good man is taken away by death from much evil to come and hath he any cause to quarrel with such a freedom Truly the consideration hereof should make us love this life the less because the Clouds gather thick about us and we know not what fearful alterations may shortly befal us either in our outward estate or in matters of Religion either by domestick broyls or by forreign invasion Should not a Christian rejoyce exceedingly to be delivered from the continual malicious suggestions and stratagems of the evil Angels and from a vile wicked World that hates and persecutes the Image of Christ where-ever it is A World whose seeming felicities as Honours Riches Pleasures Trade Beauty Friends Children Relations and Acquaintance are but vanities full of labour and toyl accompanied with much vexation and affording no true rest or contentment to that man that enjoyes them neither can they help him in the least when death seizeth upon him All these things will be forgotten and there will be no remembrance of them with those that shall come after Eccles 1.11 What a priviledge is it therefore to be delivered from these vanities Yea which is more from that body of sin and corruption which a Christian groans under as his greatest burthen and is the more grievous and intollerable because it infects and spreads over the whole man soul and body and is an inseparable companion of this life causing a troublesome yea an irreconcilable war in the Soul and swarms of evil thoughts affections desires and actions besides innumerable diseases and distempers which attend the Body And should not death be welcome to us to set us free from all these evils and miseries Thus may a Christian reason and argue against the fear of death upon far higher and more spiritual Grounds and Considerations then a moral Heathen can and therefore he should not be afraid to dye Eighthly and Lastly That we may be the better fortified against the fear of death let us call to mind and improve the living speeches of dying Christians some of which shall be here mentioned The famous sayings of some dying Christians Good old Simeon Lord let thy Servant depart in peace for mine eyes have seen thy salvation Stephen the first Martyr Lord Jesus receive my Spirit and lay not this sin to their charge Polycarpus to the Proconsul urging him to deny Christ I have served him eighty-six years saith he and he hath not once hurt me and shall I now deny him Ignatius I am the Wheat or Grain to be ground with the teeth of Beasts that I may be pure bread for my Masters tooth let Fire Racks Pullies yea and all the torments of Hell come on me so I may win Christ Cyprian God Almighty be blessed for this Gaol-delivery Theodosius I thank God more for that I have been a Member of Christ then an Emperor of the World Hillarion Soul get thee out thou hast served Christ these seventy years and art thou now afraid of death and loth to dye Vincentius Rage and do the worst that the spirit of malignity can set thee on work to do Thou shalt see Gods Spirit strengthen the tormented more then the Devil can do the Tormentor Gorgius to the Tyrant offering him promotion Have you any thing equal saith he or more worthy then the Kingdom of Heaven King Edward the Sixth Lord bring me into thy Kingdom free this Kingdom from Antichrist and keep thine Elect in it Bishop Latimer to Bishop Ridley going before him to the Stake Have after as fast as I can follow we shall light such a Candle by Gods Grace in England this day as I trust shall never be put out again Bishop Hooper to one that prayed him to consider that life is sweet and death is bitter True saith he but the death to come is more bitter and the life to come is more sweet Oh Lord Christ I am Hell but thou art Heaven draw me to thy self with the cords of thy mercy Thomas Bilney I know by Sense and Philosophy that fire is hot and burning painful but by Faith I know it shall only waste the stubble of my Body and purge my Spirit of its corruption Glover to his Friend He is come oh he is come meaning the Comforter Gods Spirit John Bradford to his fellow Martyr Be of good comfort Brother for we shall have a merry Supper with the Lord this night If there be any way to Heaven on Horseback or in fiery Chariots this is it Lawrence Sanders I was in prison till I got into prison and now sayes he kissing the Stake welcome the Cross of Christ welcome everlasting life My Saviour began to me in a bitter Cup and shall I not pledge him John Lambert None but Christ none but Christ Baynam I feel no more pain in the fire then if I were on a Bed of Down it is as sweet to me as a Bed of Roses Priest's Wife to one that offered her money I am now going saith she to a Countrey where money bears no mastery And when the Sentence was read Now have I gotten that which many a day I have sought for Doctor Taylor when he came within two
Time performeth in one of the weaker Sex who is more subject to grief and passion Shall not Wisdom and Reason enable us to do more in this matter then ignorance and folly Perhaps we account our death a great matter as if all things here below did depend upon us and must suffer with us This is but a wild conceit and vain imagination for which there is no reason Thirdly By this cowardly slavish fear of death man shews himself unjust and irrational for if death be a good thing as the best and wisest Men conceive it is why then doth he fear it If it be an evil thing why doth he make it worse by adding one evil to another Fourthly For a man to fear death is to be an enemy to himself and to his own life for he can never live at ease and contentedly that feareth to dye That man only may be said to be a Freeman which feareth not death and truly life would be but a slavery if it were not made free by death for death is the only stay of our liberty and the common and ready receptacle of all evils 'T is then a misery and bondage and miserable are all they that do it to trouble our life with the fear of death and our death with the care of life What murmuring and repining would there be against Nature if death were not at all If we should still have continued here though never so much against our own wills and liking Would not a durable life accompanied with trouble and affliction be much more insupportable and painful then life with a condition to leave it If death were quite removed out of the World we should desire it more then now we fear it yea perhaps thirst after it more then life it self as being a remedy against many evils and a means to obtain much good and were not some bitterness mingled with death men would run unto it with exceeding great desire and indiscretion To keep therefore a moderation so that men may neither love life too much nor fly from it that they may neither fear death nor run after it both sweetness and bitterness are therein tempered together Fifthly The light of Reason will tell a man that death is a thing natural a part of the order of the whole Universe and very profitable for the succession and continuance of the works of Nature and wouldst thou have the order of Nature changed yea ruinated for thee Nay death is part of thy essence it being no less essential to thee to dye then to be born and to live in flying death thou flyest from thy self thy essence is equally parted into these two life and death this is the condition of thy creation this is the frame and constitution of thy nature if it grieve thee to dye why wast thou born Men come not into the world upon any other design but to go forth again after they have acted their part upon this Stage To be unwilling to dye is against nature 't is as if thou wert unwilling to be a man for all men are mortal and therefore a wise Heathen when news was brought him of the death of his Son said without passion I knew I begot a mortal man Children and Beasts fear not death yea many times they suffer it chearfully It is not then the light of Nature and Reason that teacheth us to fear death but rather to attend and receive it as being serviceable to Nature Sixthly Death is certain and inevitable and therefore a rational discreet man will not torment himself with the fear of it That which cannot be avoided should be endured with patience and magnanimity What is there more inevitable more inexorable then death And to what purpose should we importune or parley with him that will not be intreated In things uncertain we may fear and in things that are not past remedy we may do our endeavour to help and restore them but for that which is certain and inevitable as death is we must resolve couragiously to attend and endure it Here we should make of necessity a vertue and welcome and receive this Guest kindly for it is much better for us to go to death willingly and freely then that death should come to us and surprize us suddenly and unawares Seventhly To dye is a thing but reasonable and just for why shouldst not thou give place to others as others have given place to thee Why should not they as well succeed thee in this life as thou didst succeed others that went before thee If thou hast made thy advantage of this life 't is but reason that thou shouldst be satisfied with thy lot and be willing to go hence that others may come in thy stead and take thy place Death is a debt that must be paid whensoever it is demanded and it is against reason that thou shouldst refuse to dye and so to discharge that debt which lyes upon thee 'T is a thing general and common to all to dye and wilt thou stand alone by thy self and expect a priviledge and exemption which is granted to no other man in the World Wilt thou be shut out from the common lot of mankind which all others partake of Millions of men are already gone before us and millions of men will follow us when we are gone one generation passeth away and another generation cometh and as great a noise as we make in the World amongst our Neighbours there will be little notice taken of us when we are removed out of this life And why should we make so great account of our selves when others take so little notice of us Why should we think that the whole World is concern'd in us when so few that live near us do not at all remember us or speak a word of us Eighthly Such men as are led by Judgment and Reason should be so far from this slavish fear and pusilanimity that they should put on a generous undaunted Resolution to dye and even contemn death especially being required to dye in a good Cause for Truth and Righteousness and for the good and benefit of their Country which should be dearer to them then a thousand lives He that knows not how to contemn death shall never be able to perform any worthy Acts for God and his Country for whilst he goes about in a base cowardly manner to secure his life he exposeth himself to many dangers and hazardeth his Conscience Honour Vertue and Honesty The contempt of death is that which produceth the most valiant Acts and the most honourable Exploits He that fears not to dye needs not fear the face of any man be he never so great and potent in this World Elvidias Priscus a noble Roman being commanded by the Emperor not to come to the Senate or if he came then to speak as the Prince would have him and no otherwise made this gallant and noble Answer That as he was a Senator so it was fit he should come