an affliction I am unworthy of all thy favors seeing thou dost take from me such a precious jewel which was shewn to me as a Lightning I am afraid to have been wanting in my Duty and that this death that kills me is the effect of my stupidity and blindess Methinks I could have hinder'd this doleful accident for if I had behav'd my self otherwise than I have done my Life and Soul should not be now in its Grave O God of all comfort pardon my excessive grief pacify my sighs stop the currant of my Tears remove all these vain displeasures that consume me deliver my Soul from this unmerciful grief and torment that it suffers and from these troubles that are more than humane Instead of looking to these inferior Causes and to the circumstances of the death of this person that I did love as mine own Soul give me grace to remember that the least things as well as the greatest are govern'd and rul'd by thy wise Providence and that the good and the evil proceed from thy Divine appointment Give me Grace to consider that thou dost hold in thine Almighty hand the Keys of Life and Death and that thou alone dost cast us into the Grave and lift us up from thence again Thou O Soveraign Monarch of the Vniversal World who dost not only let death loose but dost also appoint all the means to talke us out of the World make me truly submissive unto thy Sacred Pleasure and to put the Finger upon my Lips because it is thy doing If I open them let it be to adore thy Justice and sing forth thy Praises the person for whom I lament so much was nearly related to me like another my self but it was also thy Creature thy Child and a Member of our Saviours mystical Body We for our parts believe to have the right of disposing of our Workmanship and of that which we have bought with our Money and hast not thou O God the liberty to dispose of that which thou hast created after thy likeness bought not with corruptible things as with Gold and Silver but by the precious Blood of the Lamb without spot or blemish Thou hadst a Son who is the brightness of thy Glory and the express image of thy person whom thou hast not spared for me and shall I Lord refuse thee my Heart and my Bowels Thy only begotten Son came down upon Earth to suffer the most cruel and ignominious Death of the Cross but thou hast taken up into Heaven the person whom my soul did love to crown it with a glorious and ever happy Immortality Shall his or her Felicity be the cause of my Misery and that his or her Rest occasion my displeasure It is the property of true love to prefer the happiness of the beloved Persons to our own satisfactions Therefore our Saviour told his Apostles If you did love me you would rejoyce because I go to my Father for my Father is greater than I. Between thee O great and living God and us miserable Worms of the Earth there is a vast difference as there is between the innocent and harmless delights of this world and the unspeakale pleasures of thy presence for these are but as drops of Water that are dried up with the least wind whereas the satisfactions of Heaven are like a bottomless Sea of Delights in which we shall swim for ever Do I therefore weep for him or for her whose tears thou hast wip'd away Do I wear a mourning Apparel and a black Scarf for him who is now cover'd with a Glorious Attire of Joy and Gladness and who is adorned with an Habit as white as Snow Do I delight my self in darkness and doth he solace himself at the Fountain of Light and Glory Do I seek a solitary and melancholly Retreat and doth he rejoyce amongst the thousands of Angels and the Glorious company of the immortal Spirits I sigh and groan and he sings a new song the Song of the Blessed which is always in his mouth All my complaints and groanings cannot bring him back upon Earth but when that were possible it is not just to attempt it my kindness would be cruel and my love most inhumane How could I resolve to make him leave the Haven of Eternal Felicity to expose him again to the furious Waves and storms of this troublesom Sea of the World How can I have the heart to pull him down from his Triumphing Chariot and from the magnificent Throne unto which thou hast raised him to engage him in new and fresh encounters and to bind him again with a chain of misery how could I pluck off from him the Habits of Light and Glory to cloath him with darkness and cover him with our infirmities Is it possible that I should be so inhumane to draw him out of Rivers of pleasures to cast him again into a Sea of Gaul and Bitterness to take from him the Bread of thine Heavenly Kingdom and the Fruits of the Tree of Life to give him the Bread of affliction and the Apples of Sorrow and grief Can I be so cruel to pluck him from thy bosom from the Breasts of thy most tender favours and from that fulness of Joy which he hath in the sight of thy Countenance to make him languish in our embraces swallow the poison of this miserable Life and groan under the burden of our mortal afflictions In short can I be so senseless as to remove him out of that Eternal Life to cause him to become again the sport of Death He is pass'd from Death to Life is it my desire that he should return back from Life into the merciless hands of Death we shall go to him but he cannot come to us seeing that this life is so short that it is spent and gone as a thought we shall see one another shortly in the light of the Living O Lord how wonderful art thou in thy Works how Magnificent in the means that thou employest and how various is thy Wisdom in all things I see that what thou hast done is not only for thy Glory and for the advantage of this happy Creature a that thou hast received into thy Rest but it is also for my happiness and the instruction of my neighbors for in taking from me my most dearly Beloved my Joy my Pleasure and my Hopes thou hast put my Obedience and faith to a Tryal As thou didst heretofore try the Father of the faithful in requiring from him his only Son Isaac in whom thou hadst promised to bless all the Nations of the World I confess good Lord to the praise of thy Grace and Goodness that my tryal is loss than his for thou didst command Abraham to sacrifice his Son with his own hands to spill his Blood in thy presence and to reduce his Body into Ashes but thou requirest of me no other Sacrifice but that of my Obedience and of my Submission to thy Holy Will Thou wilt have me say with
death of other men but hath not the deadly and pernicious consequences for it is not only a sign and a testimony of Gods Grace and Favour but the beginning of our deliverance and the cure of all our Diseases As Moses when he had cast wood into the waters of Marah they had the same colour but not the same bitterness and unpleasant taste Thus the death of Gods dearest Children hath the same tincture and appearance as before but Christs Cross hath taken away the danger the trouble and extracted out of it its unsufferable bitterness and changed it into unspeakable sweetness As Pharaoh was drowned with all his Army in the waters of the Red Sea but the Children of Israel found a secure and a pleasant passage into the promised Land When they were arrived upon the other shoar of that dreadful Sea they sung unto God Songs of Triumph and Thanksgiving Thus Death opens its Throat to devour the Reprobates It is an Abysse where they can find no bottom but unto the Children of God it is a favourable passage into an eternal Bliss assoon as they are gone through they are arrived to a place of Assurance Joy and Rest where God furnisheth them with Songs of Triumph and Thansgiving to the Lamb 1 Rev. 15. Moses's Rod was turned into a Serpent but Aaron's being laid up in the Tabernacle began to flourish and bear Almonds Exod. 4. and 7. Thus while we are in the hands of the Law Death is dreadful and terrible but when we draw near to Christ the true Ark of the Covenant it blossoms and brings Fruits forth of Joy and Eternal Comfort Balaam the Prophet was called to curse the People of God but he blessed it contrary to the vain expectation of Balak King of Moab Thus Death hath been brought into the world by the Devil to destroy and utterly abolish the Holy Seed but God by his infinite Goodness and Wisdom hath changed it into Salvation and Blessing Let us not therefore be any longer puzled to find out the meaning of Sampsons Riddle Out of the eater came forth Meat and out of the strong came forth sweetness Judg. 14. For the Church of God unto whom Christ hath discover'd the most excellent Secrets of his Kingdom teacheth us to seek the Hony the sweetest comforts out of the Belly of this old Lion It is not possible to Judge of Musick by a Tone or of an Oration by a Period nor of a Comedy by a Scene So we must not judge of a Battel by the first Assault nor of a wrestling by the first embraces and effects of the wrestlers for some in the beginning of the Battel turn their backs who nevertheless at the last doe sometimes win the day and the victory and some in wrestling are foiled at the beginning who nevertheless at last supplant their Enemy and cast him upon the back Therefore that we may better understand the great and notable advantages that we have over death we must examine it all along until the end of the encounter we must take notice of every Assault that we do give unto this unreconcileable Enemy Assoon as the Taper of our Life begins to burn Satan sends forth his blasts to extinguish it Death labours to undermine ' this poor Dwelling from the first moment that it was built it besieges it on all sides it makes its approaches in time it saps the foundation it batters us with several diseases and unexpected accidents every day it opens a breach and pulls out of this building some stones But if Death labours to demolish on her part we on ours labour to repair And as those who built the Walls of Jerusalem held with one hand the Trowel and with the other a Sword to sight so we defend our selves as well as we are able against the assaults of Death Therefore we do not only endeavour to preserve this earthly Lodge that God hath Lett and Sett to us for a term and to mend up the continual Dilapidations that happen in it but at the very sight of death when it gives us the Assault we do then also advance our Spiritual building and labour to bring it to perfection so that we may say as the Apostle St. Paul If our outward man decays the inward man is renewed day by day 2 Cor. 4. To speak true Death meddles with nothing but with the exterior part of Man for our principal Fort and chief Bulwark doth neither fear to be undermined nor sapt nor to be won by Assault for it is rais'd above the Heavens and built upon the Rock of Eternity it cannot be batter'd for as the Thunderbolts the storms of Hail and ill weather cannot prejudice the Sunbeams because they are of a Spiritual nature so all the Fury of the World all the Powers of Hell and the Rage of Death can never wrong the Soul that is of a Spiritual and Immortal Nature This Castle can never be famished for God furnisheth it with Manna from Heaven and from the Rock upon which it is built there runs a source of living waters that riseth to everlasting life In one word as the Serpents do crawl only upon the Dust Death hath no power but upon the earthly part of Man therefore our Lord Jesus Christ adviseth his Apostles To not fear them that kill the Body but cannot kill the Soul At the very instant of our Souls separation from the Body Death seeâ—s to have a great advantage upon us but when I consider all I find that it hath no cause to glory and that it is without reason that it chalenges the victory When a valiant Captain marches out of a Town almost destroyed to another more secure and better fortified with his weapons in his hand we say that he hath quitted his station and not that he is overcome Thus when this wretched Body decays and that our Souls depart well armed with Faith and Hope to lodge in a more secure place in the highest Heavens no body can say to speak properly that we have been overcome And as it happens with such as sail on the wide Sea when a violent storm threatens them with Shipwrack they think themselves very happy if they can quit then Vessel leave it to the mercy of the Winds and Waves and escape to Land with their Riches and Lives safe Thus it is with us who sail upon this tempestuous Sea of the world for when Death raiseth its most cruel storms we think our selves happy if we can leave this miscrable Body which seems as a ship to our Souls and if we can secure our Spiritual Life and our Heavenly Riches Therefore we may justly say to the faithful Souls that are frighted when they see Death threatening to drown them in its depths as St. Paul to his Ship-company who did tremble for fear at the sight of a roaring and furious Sea Take good courage my brethren for I do assure you in the name of the living God that your lives are
before his journy to Damascus where he was strangly converted by a Miracle how could Gods immutable decree be accomplish'd for he had designed him from his Mothers Womb to be a Noble Vessel of his Grace and Mercy and a faithful Ambassador of his Son Gal. 1. If the good Thief had died before he had seen the Light or if he had been kill'd in one of his Robberies how could he have been converted upon the Cross where he Repented of his Crimes Or how could he have heard from our Saviour these blessed and comfortable words Verily I say unto thee Thou shalt be with me this day in Paradise Luke 31. The Heathens have perceiv'd and understood this Truth but they have darkened and defaced it by their impertinent and ridiculous Fictions for their Poets tell us that there are three Parcae or infernal Goddesses the one holds the Distaff and Spins the other winds up the Thred the third cuts it and puts a period thereby to the Life of Man By this Fable they intend to teach us that God lengthens or shortens at his pleasure Mans Life As it is therefore certain that God hath numbred our days he hath also appointed in his infinite Wisdom the means to convey us out of the world If one dieth in Peace another is kill'd in War If one departs in his Bed another hangs upon a Gibbet If one perisheth by Famine and another is stifled with the Plague If one is struck with the Thunder and the other is torn in pieces by wild Beasts If one is choak'd in the Waters and the other perisheth in the Flames In short if the separation of the Soul from the Body happens in a different manner it is not without the express Leave and Orders of our Heavenly Father Therefore when we see the strangest accidents come to pass and the most unexpected and tragick Deaths before our Eyes We must remember the saying of the Prophet Jeremy when he saw the burning and plunder of Jerusalem Who is he that saith and it cometh to pass when the Lord commandeth it not out of the mouth of the most high proceedeth not evil and good Sam. 3. We must then consider with the Prophet Isaiah That it is God that creates the Light and the Darkness and that sends Prosperity and Adversity Isai 15.45 Or with Amos who enquires whither there be any evil in the City and the Lord hath not done it Amos 3. That is to say that there is no Affliction nor Death that happens but God hath appointed it and fore-ordain'd it by his wise providence If the Devil cannot destroy Job's Flocks of Sheep nor hurry headlong into the Sea the Herds of Swine without his leave who holds him fast in Chains Matt. 8. Let us perswade our selves that all the powers of Hell and the World cannot cause us to dye by a violent Death if God hath not ordain'd it before in the resolutions of his infinite Wisdom so that if at any time a Prince or a Magistrate speaks to us in Pilats language to our Saviour Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee and power to save thee John 19. being strengthened with an Holy Confidence Let us answer him as our Saviour Thou shouldest not have that power over me were it not given to thee from above Without the leave and pleasure of my God thou canst not take from me an Hair of my Head We read in the Book of Judges that when Abimelech assaulted the Tower of Thebez with a resolution to win it upon a suddain a Woman cast from the top a piece of a Milstone that fell upon his Head and broke his Scull Judg. 9. If we look only upon the second Causes this accident may appear to be strange and unexpected but we must lift up our Eyes to the Almighty hand of an al-seeing Power and Wisdom far more dextrous than that of this poor Woman for the same Relation declares That God by this means brought to pass Jotham's Prophecy and rendred the wickedness of Abimelech which he did unto his Father in slaying the seventy Brethren with his merciless hand upon his own guilty head Ahab King of Israel was disguised with a designe to fight with the Syrians 1 Kings 22. An unknown Soldier le ts fly by chance an Arrow out of his Bow which struck him in the weakest part of his Armor wounded him to death and the Dogs lickt the Blood that gushed out of his Wounds At this sight a carnal and an earthly Mind will say That this was but a mischance of War an unfortunate accident But the Spirit of God informs us better that this happen'd to fulfil the Prophecy of Elias and the dreadful threatnings which he had pronounced against this wicked Prince who labor'd by Tyrannical and devilish attempts to invade other mens Possessions Thus saith the Lord in the place where Dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall Dogs lick thy blood even thine 1 Kings 21. When we cast our eyes upon the Tragical death of Josias King of Juda at the first sight it appears but the effect of the boiling fury of Youth which carried him against all reason obstinately to fight with Pharaoh Neco King of Egypt or of the strength and swiftness of his Enemies according to the complaint of Jeremiah the Prophet Our persecutors are swifter than the Eagles of the Heaven they pursued us upon the Mountains they laid wait for us in the Wilderness The breath of our Nostrils the anointed of the Lord was taken in their pits of whom we said under his shadow we will live among the Hâ—â—then Lam. 4. But to understand the Truth we must enter farther into the Sanctuary and adore the wisdom of Gods Decree that had resolved to take away this good and religious Prince into his Eternal Rest and bestow upon him a more noble and a richer Crown before he took in hand the sword of his vengeance to punish the people of Israel for the many Idolatries and horrid Crimes of which they had been guilty By this means God fulfilled the Prophecy of Husda Behold I will gather thee unto thy Fathers and thou shalt be gathered into thy Grave in peace and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place 2 Kings 22. When we look upon the Death and Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ we may imagine at the first view that only the Pharisees envy Judas's Treason the mutiny of the rude Rabble Pilates Injustice Herods Jests and the cruelty of the Roman Soldiery were the causes of his Tragedy but the Holy Apostles Peter and John unto whom our Saviour had discover'd the rarest secrets of his Wisdom consider these outward Agents but as the Instruments to bring Gods great designe Mans redemption to pass Therefore they speak of it in this manner in the fourth of the Acts Against thine Holy Child Jesus whom thou hast anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and the people
Virgin My Soul doth magnify the Lord and my Spirit hath rejoyced in God my Saviour Or with the Glorified Spirits of Heaven To him that hath loved us and washed us from our sins in his bloud be Glory and Strength for ever and ever Amen 24. Christian Souls if the vast number of your sins come into your remembrance consider that it is not said that the Bloud of Christ cleanseth us only from a certain number of sins but That if we confess our sins he is Faithful and Just that is True and Merciful to forgive us our sins and that the Bloud of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sins Let them be never so numerous drown them all as so many hellish Monsters in the bloud of thy Saviour take hold of this Divine Jesus with the Arms of Faith and Repentance wrap your selves up in his Winding sheet repose your selves upon his Cross and rest secure in the shadow of his Almighty intercession 25. But if the grievousness of your crimes fright you take hold at the same time of the Horns of this mystical Altar and all the powers of Hell will not be able to pluck you thence Comfort thy self sinful Soul for there cannot be a spot so black nor so deep but the Bloud of Christ is able to wash it clean away There is no crime so grievous and horrid but the Sacrifice of this Lamb without spot that taketh away the fins of the world can make an atonement for it Let thy sins be never so great they have their limits but thy Redeemers Merits are without limits and the efficacy of his sufferings continues for ever To assure thee of this truth and to encourage thee he was pleased upon the Cross to discover the Riches of his Mercy upon a wretched Robber who suffered then the hands of Justice for his crimes assoon as he saw him moved with Repentance he changed his infamous and painful Cross into a Paradise of Glory and Happiness and filled his Soul with the sweetest Comforts of his Holy Spirit This merciful Redeemer is the same yesterday and to day and shall be the same for ever Therefore be never so foul and abominable a sinner if thou dost groan under the burden of thy sins and art moved with contrition Heb. 13. thou oughtest not to cast off thy hopes and to be discouraged draw near with humility to thy Saviours Cross and wash thy self in the Bloud that comes out of his veins All the diseased persons that entred into the pool of Bethesda were healed of all manner of distempers Joh. 5. Likewise all spiritual diseases are cured in this Divine Pool of all their griefs it is not necessary to stay till a good Angel from Heaven come to move the Waters for Christ's Bloud is always fresh living and of the same Vertue and Efficacy we need not fear that others should step down before us or that the throng should hinder us for a thousand worlds may be all healed at the same instant neither do ye pretend that there is no body to cast you into this mystical Pool for our Lord will never refuse to admit you when you shall have been Bedrid eight and thirty years as the poor man that was troubled with the Palsie and when you shall be nailed to a Cross as the good Thief you may nevertheless dip your selves into this Divine Pool and feel its saving and healing Vertue It doth not only wash away the filth and heal all thy diseases but it gives also life to the Dead and renders the living immortal Whosoever thou art that dippest thy self in this precious Bloud thou mayest say with the Apostle St. Paul This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Jesus Christ came into the World to save sinners of whom I am the chief 1 Tim. 1. Howbeit I have obtained Mercy the Lord will deliver me from all wicked work and will preserve me to his Heavenly Kingdom to him be Glory for ever and ever Amen 1 Tim. 7. 26. You understand therefore very well believing Souls that you have no cause to fear Death seeing that all its Darts have been broken to pieces all its Armor hath been torn and that its spoils appear so visibly upon Christs Cross You may see the Claws of this old Lion the paw of this devouring Bear the Teeth and Poison of this infernal Serpent and the Head of this prodigious Dragon you may see death swallowed up into victory and the Prince of Life leading it in triumph follow then the Glorious Chariot of this noble Conqueror singing with the Apostle O death where is thy Victory O Grave where is thy Sting The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the Law but blessed be God who hath given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ 1 Cor. 15. 27. Therefore when God shall draw near to you covered with the vail of Death be not terrified seek not to run from him and to hide your selves from his all-seeing Eyes unto whom darkness is as the noon-day Gen. 3. Although you are by nature poor wretched blind and naked you have more substantial Garments than Fig leaves for you have the leaves of the Tree of Life that are designed for the salvation of the Gentiles Revel 22. The Leaves that shall never fade shall cover all your nakedness and adorn your immortal Souls for it is the Eternal Righteousness the most accomplished Righteousness of our Lord Jesus who hath been made unto us of God Wisdom Righteousness Sanctification and Redemption Dan. 19. It is Jesus Christ himself who is named The Lord our Righteousness It is the precious Garment of Salvation the Glorious Cloak of Righteousness mentioned by the Prophet Is 61. It is the Wedding Garment whitened in the Bloud of the Lamb without spot and the fine and bright Linnen which are the Righteousness of the Saints Ezek. 16. In short it is a Garment which will not only cover and adorn you but it will also heal all your infirmities and make you become immortal Rev. 7. 28. If you come before your Heavenly Father with this perfumed cloathing of your Elder Brother Jesus Christ Gen. 27. or rather if you be cloathed with him as with a Garment Rom. 1. You shall not only obtain the best and most advantageous Blessing but you shall enter into the possession of the uncorruptible Inheritance prepared for you from the beginning of the World For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is Eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ Rom. 6. A Prayer and Meditation for a Christian who strengthens himself against the fears of Death by meditating upon the Death and Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ O Merciful Saviour who hast cloathed thy self with our mortal Flesh that thou mightest offer it up as a Sacriffce to God succor me in my weakness and increase the Faith and Hope which thou hast begun in my Soul I see Death threatening to destroy me
as it is Recorded of St. Stephen that when he had commended his Soul into the hands of the Lord Jesus that he fell asleep Acts 7. Therefore when St. Paul reproves the Coriâ—thians and acquaints them that God had punished them with divers Diseases and Death because they had profaned the Lords Supper he tells them For this cause many are feeble and sick amongst you and many sleep And when he speaks of all those that were dead in the profession of Christs Religion he saith they sleep in Jesus and he names them they that sleep Now we are not better and nobler then the Saints of Paradise to expect that our Bodies should receive a better and more favourable entertainment then they In short there is nothing more able to remove from our fancy that horror of our Graves then the consideration of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who is entred into the Earth as well as other Men and hath laid himself down there He hath Sanctified and perfumed that place with his Divine Presence he hath made it the object of our desires and the cause of our glory for there is no Subject but judgeth it an honour to lodge in his Princes Chamber and to lay down and sleep upon the Bed where he hath taken his rest although he hath remained there but a moment or an hour O glorious Tomb where Death and Life Disgrace and Glory are lodged together and where the Prince of Life the Author of all Honor and Happiness did rest himself Christians who desire to banish from your Souls all fears of Death and apprehensions of your Graves look upon your Sepulchres in the same manner as if you should see there Jesus Christ the King of Glory the Prince of your Salvation yet remaining asleep When old Jacob heard the mistaken news of the Death of his Son Joseph he was overcome with a violent grief so that he cryed out I shall go down with Sorrow to my Son into the Grave But the certain news of the Death and Burial of our true Joseph will fill us full of unspeakable comforts and will cause us to speak in another manner I shall go down to my Father into the Sepulcher with Joy The Prophet Elias raised to Life a Child which laid in his Chamber upon his Bed when he stretched himself upon it the Soul that was departed came again And Elisha raised another in the same manner by applying his Mouth to the Childs his Hands and Eyes to the little Infants But believing Soul God works for thee in this occasion a far more wonderful Miracle for our Resurrection and Life proceed from the Death and Burial of our great Prophet If we go into this holy Tomb if we lay our selves down upon this precious Body if we embrace it with a true and living Faith and a serious Repentance he will quicken us again and cause us to become Immortal for he hath been pleased to enter into the estate of the dead with an intent to procure unto us a blessed and a glorious Immortality A Prayer and Meditation for a Christian who strengthens himself against the horrible aspect of the Grave by looking upon our Lord Jesus Christ stretched out in his Tomb. O Wonderful Mediator between God and Man Thou art God Immortal and yet hast vouchsafed to take upon thee our Mortal Nature and to Dye for me miserable Sinner and to remain for a time in the estate of the Dead that thou mightest procure unto me a blessed Immortality Give me Grace to Meditate as I ought upon thy Sacred Body wrapped up in a winding sheet and laid in the Earth for by this means O sweet Jesus I shall be brought not to abhor the Grave I shall look with a stedfast and setled countenance on the Grave digging into which I must enter when thou shalt appoint it for the Servant is not greater then his Master It belongs not to the Creature to lift it self up above the Creator seeing that I expect to share in thy Glory and Exaltation it is but just and reasonable that I take some part in thy Disgraces and Abasement My reason assisted by thine holy Spirit teacheth me that I must be content to be wrapped up in thy Darkness and remain with thee in the valey of the Shadow of Death seeing that I hope to be cloathed one day with Light and Crowned with an eternal Life I must not only look upon the Grave without Fear but I shall consider it with Joy seeing that thou hast honoured it with thine holy presence and perfumed it with thy Divine and celestial perfumes I shall behold it in the same manner as if thou didst yet lye down in it as if I were to keep thee company there my Lord and my God A dead returned to Life again when he did but touch the Bones of thy Prophet but I do not only touch the Prince of Prophets but embrase thee with Faith as thou art dead for my Sins and as resting in thy Grave for my Salvation Thou shalt therefore make me sensible of thy Divine Vertue put in me the Seeds of Immortality and raise my hopes up to Heaven Already my Soul hath a share in the first Resurrection and one day this crazy Body shall return to newness of life If my Resurrection be not so quick and speedy as that of the Dead raised to Life by the Prophet It shall be far more glorious and lasting that I may bless thee with all thy Saints and praise thee for ever with thine Inheritance in Heaven Amen CHAP. 17. The Fifth Consolation against the Fears of Death is to Meditate upon the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ AS there is nothing more grieveous and unsufferable than to behold a proud and insulting Enemy who is alwayes victorious and whom none can overcome in his insolent and braving humor likewise there is nothing more pleasant and comfortable then to see such a pride cast down and to overcome such an Enemy Therefore the Children of Israel who had long groaned under the cruel tyranny of Pharaoh sung with Joy a Song of Triumph and Thanksgiving when God destroyed that wretched Tyrant and Buried him and his Army in the waves of the Red Sea For this cause when the Red Dragon the ancient Serpent called the Devil and Satan Exod. 15. who seduceth whole Nations was overcome and cast down from Heaven to the Earth There were Songs of Joy and Gladness heard in Heaven Revel 12. Now is come Salvation and Strength and the Kingdom of our God and the Power of his Christ for the Accuser of our Brethren is cast down which accused them before our God day and night therefore rejoyce ye Heavens and ye that dwell in them From hence let us conclude Christian Souls as it was a grievous Affliction and a sensible Grief to behold Death tyrannising over all the World and shutting up in its Dungeons Kings and Monarchs Patriarchs Prophets Apostles Martyrs and generally all the
one after another and he also in his time yielded up the Ghost But Jesus Christ who is Risen from the Dead Dyeth no more Death hath no more Dominion over him so that he lives for ever and ever and will cause us all to become Immortal Therefore instead of desiring as Jacob to Live to go down into Egypt to see his Son Joseph we should earnestly desire to Dye that we might ascend up into Heaven there to behold our Lord Jesus Christ our Father and Redeemer When Jacob embraced again his wonderful and beloved Child in the exceeding transport of his Joy and Love he burst forth into this kind of Language Let me now Dye now that I have seen again thy Face and that thou art alive On the contrary when we shall embrace Christ in his Glory when we should behold his Divine Countenance we shall speak in another manner my Lord and my God seeing that I now look upon thee alive and Raigning in Heaven I shall live also and Raign with thee for ever and ever Amen A Prayer and Meditation for a believing Soul who strengthens it self against the Fears of Death by considering the glorious Ascention of Jesus Christ into Heaven and his sitting at the right hand of God O Holy and Divine Saviour I have often looked upon thy generous Behaviour and glorious Victories to strengthen my self against all apprehensions of Death but if thou wilt render my joy most perfect and accomplished give me Grace to Meditate upon thy Divine Triumph As thou hast engaged in many Encounters for my sake and hast vouchsafed unto me a share in thy Victory grant me also a share in thy glorious Ascention and Triumph As thou hast suffered for my Sins and art risen again for my Justification thou art also ascended up into Heaven to prepare a place for me thou art willing that I should be admitted into thy Noble and Divine Palace that I should be where thou art that I may behold thy Glory which thou hast enjoyed with God the Father before the Creation of the World O sweet and Merciful Lord what cause have I to fear to go to Heaven seeing that thou art there seated in the highest Glory and Felicity and that thou stretchest out thy merciful hand to receive and admit me Have not I good reason to expect to be glorified in thy Kingdom seeing that thou thy self dost bestow upon those that serve thee the Immortal Crowns and Scepters O great God and Saviour thy Throne is surrounded with Glory and Splendor nevertheless I will draw near unto it with boldness for it is a Throne of Love and a Throne of Mercy unto which every penitent Sinner may come Round about this glorious Throne I see a Rainbow of an Emerald colour that certifies me that thy Covenant is everlasting When thy Glory and Majesty did increase thy Love for me did not lessen and thy compassion and goodness were always the same Thou art the same yesterday and to day and thou shalt always be the same for ever Thou hast been pleased for my Salvation to lye in a Manger and to be nailed to a Cross Thou hast given thy Soul for my Ransome and hast spilt thy precious Blood to wash and cleanse me from my Sins and to make me a way that I might enter into thine holy Sanctuary In the midst of all that Glory and Light with which thou art now cloathed thou hast not thought it a scorn to acknowledge me for thy Brether and for a Member of thy Mystical Body It is for my sake that thou appearest before thine Heavenly Father it is for me that thou offerest up unto him Prayers and Supplications O wonderful Lord it is in thy power to give unto me the things which thou hast merited by thy Sufferings and which thou desirest for me by thy Prayers and Intercession for all power is given unto thee in Heaven and in Earth O Soveraign Monarch of the whole World hast not thou given unto us this great and gracious promise When I shall be lifted up from the Earth I shall draw all Men after me And is it not for us that thou hast prayed in this excellent manner Father I will that they also whom thou hâ—st given me be with me where I am that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me Seeing therefore that thou hast left this wretched Earth to go and Raign above in Heaven take unto thee my Soul O wonderful Redeemer and deliver it from this valley of Tears and Misery cause it to understand at the time of its departure those words of joy and eternal comfort Verily I say unto thee this day thou shalt be with me in Paradice Lord Jesus draw me with the cords of thy Mercy and Grace and I shad run after thee And seeing that I must of necessity pass through Death to come to thee the Prince of Life and Immortality give me Grace to consider it in the same manner as the Prophet Elias did the Fiery Charriots that carried him up to Heaven or as Jacob did the Waggon that carried him into Egypt to his Son that did Raign there this holy Father in a transport of joy cried out let me see my Son Joseph again and then let me Dye But when I shall be ravished with an unspeakable and glorious joy I shall speak in another manner Let me Dye that I may behold my true Joseph the Soul of my Soul the light of Life the Author of my Glory and Happiness O sweet Jesus I shall freely and willingly leave this wretched and crasie dwelling to enter into thy heavenly Palace to behold thy Glory and Magnificence O King of Kings and Lord of Lords when shall I hear that Divine Wisdom that drops from thy Lips and when shall I see thee sitting upon the Throne of thy Glorious Majesty where a thousand thousands wait upon thee and ten millions Worship thee When shall I enter into the Glorious Company of the Saints and Blessed Spirits that Sing forth thy Praises and cast at thy feet their most precious Crowns O glorious Monarch that art now in thy Kingdome enjoying a perfect happiness forget not thy poor Servant be not unmindful of thy Sâ—n or Daughter who am now overwhelmed with the sorrows of this miserable life and the anguish of Death Let not the Songs of the holy Angels and applauses of all the glorified Spirits hinder thee from listning to my Sighs and Groans O Almighty and merciful Lord look upon me with the eyes of thy Love and reach unto me thine helping hand Send unto me thine Angels of Light to receive my Soul and prâ—tect me from the Angels of Darkness that endeavâ—r to destroy me and to drag me headlong into Hell Let Some of thâ—se glorious Spirits that wait for thine orders and fly at thy command deliver me from Death and carry me upon their wings into thy Bosome I see the Heavens open and Jesus Christ sitting at the right hand
the Waves of the Sea always in danger of sinking if thou didst not still the Winds and Command the roaring Storms it is in the World as it were in a flanting Furnace ready to be consumed if thou didst not withdraw from thence the furious heat Or in the midst of Lions that would soon devour it if thou didst not close their jaws O my God when wilt thou shut mine Eyes that I may not see so many Tragical appearances When wilt thou stretch out unto me from above thine Hand to draw me out of this Abysse of Wickedness When wilt thou send down unto me thine Holy Angels to carry me out of this grievous burning When is it that I shall see no more the Nations drunk with the Wine of thy Fury and thy Holy Church stooping under the heavy weight of its Cross When shall I hear no more the bitter complaints of thy Spouse the lamentations of thy Children the groans of thy Servants the sighs of the Prisoners and the mournings of thine Inheritance O Heavenly Father my only Hope and my All When wilt thou loose me from this Chain of Misery When wilt thou carry me above the reach of the Storms and Tempests of this troublesom Sea When shall the cares and griefs cease to devour my Soul and when shall my Body no more be subject to Sickness and Pain and Torments O Lord thou knownst all things thou seest that I am in the World as in a Prison and that my Soul is in this wretched Body as in a woful Dungeon Cause therefore thine Heavenly Light to shine upon me thy Servant strike me with thy merciful Hand and awake me out of my dumpish and sottish Humour cause all my Chains to fall off and open unto me the Gates of this black Prison that I may go out and follow willingly the steps of that good Angel that intends to take me out of this miserable Captivity and secure me for ever from the malicious designes of Satan and the World that endeavour to destroy me and triumph over my Misery When I shall be in the streets of thine Heavenly Jerusalem I shall then know for certain that thou hast delivered me I shall then praise thy wonderful Works in the Company and Church of the First-born that rejoyce in Heaven where the former miseries shall no more be remembred where there shall be neither Crying nor Pain where we shall not be tormented with Hunger and Thirst and where no Affliction shall disturb us for the Lamb that is in the midst of the Throne shall feed and lead us to the Fountains of living Water where be shall wipe away all Tears from our Eyes Amen CHAP. 21. The ninth Consolation Death shall deliver us from Sin which we may see Reigning in the World and from the Reliques of our Corruption WHen God sent Angels from Heaven to lead Lot out of Sodom and to draw him out of the Flames with which he intended to destroy that abominable City this good Man's Wife could not but look back but she was in that very moment sufficiently punished for she was turned into a Pillar of Salt The Emblem of that Holy Prudence that this example recommends to posterity The cause of this unhappy Womans breaking the Angels express Command was her consideration of the Riches Plenty and Pleasures of that Countrey which she had left not thinking upon the baseness filth and abominable Vices that brought God's Wrath and Vengeance upon the unworthy Inhabitants Likewise when God intends to take us out of the World and to secure us from the sence of his dreadful judgements that which causeth us to look back and hinders us from following the Angels that God sends unto us to lead us up to the Mountain of our Salvation are our thoughts and affections for the Riches Honors and Pleasures of this wretched World whereas we should then fix our minds upon the sins that govern here below wherewith we are defiled whilst we remain in this corrupted Flesh Christian Souls will you prepare your selves to go to God and do you wish that Death would comfort and rejoyce your Hearts instead of afflicting them Cast your Eyes upon those dreadful Vices that are so usual under which the whole Creation groans as under an heavy burden O good God in what age are we born an age like that of Noah for all the Earth hath corrupted its ways Gen. 6. nothing but a deluge of Fire is able to purge it There was never more Injustice more Perfidiousness Treachery Debauchery Insolency and Envy never more Vanity Luxury Pride Cruelty Blasphemies Impiety and Atheism we may justly apply to our days that which the Prophet Hosea said of the corruption of his time There is no Truth no Mercy nor Knowledge of God in the Land there is nothing but Swearing Lying Killing Stealing and committing Adultery they break out and bloud toucheth bloud Hos 4. Therefore we have good cause to make David's Prayer Help Lord for the Godly man ceaseth for the faithful fail from among the Children of Men. They speak vanity every one with his neighbor with flattering Lips and with a double Heart do they speak Psal 12. O wicked World a World overflowing with Iniquity a sink of Impurity a burning Furnace heated with the impure flames of the bottomless Pit and choakt with the smoak of Hell But sin reigns not only in this wretched World but it defaces also the Church of God and causeth most fearful disorders amongst those that bear the Glorious name of Christians they were antiently to be discerned from the rest of the World by their Speech Conversation and Behaviour but the Devil hath wonderfully debauched them he hath blotted out God's Image in their Souls he hath taken from them that noble distinction and removed far away all difference between them and the World we cannot with justice say to most Christians of our age as was said to the Apostle St. Peter Thy speech bewrayeth thee Nor to appropriate to them what Isaac said of one of his Sons Thy voice is the voice of Jacob but thou hast the hands of Esau for they have both the Voice and Hands of prophane Esau they speak and live as he did they publish their crimes with a brazen face and endeavour to glory in their shame the Air is infected with their prophane and dirty Language with their impudent Lying with their fearful Oaths and grievous Blasphemies and the Earth is defiled with their horrid Sins and abominable Crimes Covetousness Ambition Lust and all manner of Vices have mounted upon the Throne they Act and Command in a furious manner in every place They that have in their mouths the Holy Name of the Lord Jesus and that make profession of following his Sacred Footsteps give us good cause to take up again St. Paul's lamentation and complaint Many walk of whom I have told you often and now tell you even weeping that they are the enemies of the Cross of Christ whose
my Soul is athirst for God my flesh and mine heart leap for joy for the strong and living God O Lord when shall I go up to the Heavenly Jerusalem when shalt thou open for me the Gutes of righteousness When shall I go into the holy Sanctuary When shall I be in the blessed company of the glorified Saints who have Palmes in their hands Crowns upon their heads and Praises in their mouths When shall I be with the thousands of Angels that are cloathed with light and glory and with burning Seraphims that surround thy Heavenly Throne O my God and Father When wilt thou remove and take away this covering from mine eyes that I may behold thy beautiful and glorious Face When shall I see my self transformed into thy Divine Image and sanctified with thy likeness O Lord thy grace hath brought me to a most happy estate Who could express the joy and satisfaction of my heart with the eyes of faith I see the Angels descending from Heaven to encompass me about I see them ready to take me into their armes and to transport me into thy glorious Rest O my God! I have nothing to stop me in this World I shut mine eyes to all things under the Sun all my thoughts are employed about the glory of Heaven and the pleasures of Paradice Merciful Father glorify thy Child that thy Child may glorify thee let me enter into the magnificent Palace of immortality let me see my God face to face let me embrace my Saviour and onely Redeemer let me receive from his hand the incorruptible Crown let me drink out of the Rivers of of his pleasures and let me swim in the Sea of his Heavenly delights O God whose goodness is unspeakable speak to me in a Language suitable to those heavenly desires which thou hast kindled in my Soul O that I may soon hear these sweet expressions Verily I say unto thee this day thou shalt be with me in Paradise come believing Soul enter into the Joy of thy Lord And before that I shall go into thy Heavenly joy cause this joy to come into my Soul before thou receivest me into Paradise cause a Paradise to be in me O my God I feel an unspeakable and surprising gladness in me I enjoy a peace which passeth all understanding I see my self already surrounded with light and Glory If therefore my expectation be so happy and pleasant what shall be the fruition If the first-fruits are so ravishing what shall we say of the harvest I see the Heavens open and Jesus Christ stretching out his armes unto me and opening his bosome to receive me my Lord and my God my Saviour and my All I commend my Spirit into thy hands for thou hast Redeemed it thou who art the Almighty and true God Lord Jesus receive my Spirit Amen CHAP. 23. The eleventh Consolation The glorious Resurrection of our bodies WHen God Created Angels he gave them a Spiritual nature that had little or no relation with the Elements I confess that some of these Heavenly Spirits have often appeared in humane bodies to the ancient Patriarchs but those bodies were extraordinary and subitaneous formed by Almighty Gods Power for such occasions besides those holy Spirits were not in those bodies as the Soul is in ours quickning and animating them in the same manner but onely as the Pilot is in the Ship that he governs therefore as soon as they had fulfilled the work about which they were employed by God they left those bodies without prejudice to their beings as the Pilot leaves and goes out of the Ship when he hath brought it to the desired Haven All the happiness of these glorified Spirits consists in this that God hath confirmed them in his grace and love and admitted them for ever to a continual contemplation of his glorious face It is not so with our Souls for although they be also spiritual and of an Heavenly substance God hath not created them to be alone and to subsist at a distance from all matter but to live in the pleasant company of those Elementâ—l bocies which he hath fashioned in a most Artifiâ—ial manner When he creates an humane Soul and pours it into an organized body it is not that it should be there as water in a Vessel or as a King in his Palace it lives not thereas an assisting form or as an outward cause of the Bodies operations but it is united to it by a very strict union and serves as an essential form It is the Principle of our life the internal cause of motion of Sense and of understanding So that if we will speak properly Man cannot be said to be altogether of a Spiritual nature as the holy Angels nor a single body as the Sun and the Stars but he is made up of both Therefore if our Souls wish to depart out of this Earthly Tabernacle it is not out of any displeasure against it as it is in it self for none did ever hate his own body every one seeks to nourish and cherish it But by accident because of the vanity and corruption unto which sin hath enthralled it we desire earnestly to depart out of it to a place where righteousness and true holiness raign that we might be with the Lord Jesus to behold him nearer It is therefore an undoubted truth That unless the body partakes of the same happiness and glory of the Soul Man cannot be said to be perfectly and entirely happy I confess it is no light occasion of joy to us to know that when our Soul casts off this earthly body it enters into the eternal Dwellings of Heaven whether it goes to behold the face of the Father of lights But this holy Joy is disturbed with sad reflections and this Heavenly sweetness is strangely altered with the bitter considerations of this poor body cast into the earth and left to the mercy of the crawling Worms for it is a most hatefull thing to behold our body rotting and turning to ashes that body that was our pavillion our Palace nay more then so that was a half part of our selves Therefore if we will render our Joy accomplished and apply an effectual comfort to our Souls we must nourish and entertain this pleasant assurance That the ruine of our bodies which causeth us to lament so much shall not be eternal but as our bodies fall down by Death they shall rise again one day at the general Resurrection This is one of the noblest and most excellent Mysteries of our Christian Religion and one of its most glorious advantages The Wisdom of the World with all its reasonings and the heathenish Philosophy with its rarest subtleties could never attain to this wholesome and comfortable Doctrine Therefore when St. Paul Preached to the Council of Athens he was heard with admiration until he had spoken to them of the Resurrection as soon as he began to mention that they laughed at him Therefore while Humane Reason remains in its darkness and
conformable to the Image of his Son that he might be the first-born amongst many Brethren Now the Soul and the Body of this onely begotten of the Father that were separated by Death have been joyned again in his glorious Resurrection and received into Heaven therefore our Soul that departs out of the World to enter into Paradise must return again to its Body that we may ascend up to Heaven both in Soul and Body All the difference that appears between Christ and us is that the precious Body of our noble Chieftain could not be subject to corruption but was raised again as soon as it fell because of that strict and personal Union between his Humanity and Divinity whereas the most part of all other bodies are corrupt and reduced to Ashes Sixteenth We have the same holy Spirit and Divine vertue dwelling in us which was in our Lord Jesus Christ the efficient cause of his Resurrection although not in the same measure and degree therefore it will produce in us the same effect and raise our bodies also from the dust St. Paul makes use of this Reason in the 8 of the Romans if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwelleth in you he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you Seventeenth The dead body that touched the bones of the Prophet Elisha revived again on a sudden We have more cause to expect the Resurrection of our bodies because our bodies don't onely touch Jesus Christ dead and risen again but we are become one body with him flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone I am said he the Resurrection and the life he that liveth and believeth in me shall never die and he that believeth in me though he were dead yet shall he live Eph. 5. John 11. Eighteenth God hath imprinted upon our bodies his own Signet and the marks of his love he hath given to them visible and palpable assurances of their future blessedness Under the Old Testament believers carried the Seal of the Covenant of God in their flesh for Circumcision was the Seal of the righteousness obtained by Faith and hope of a blessed immortality they did also eat the flesh of the Paschal Lamb which was a type of Jesus Christ the true Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the World Likewise under the New Covenant God consecrates to himself our Bodies by the Waters of Baptisme and by the Bread and Wine of the Lords Supper So by this means he assures them of a Joyfull and glorious Resurrection For if by eating of this Bread and drinking of this Wine we eat and drink spiritually the flesh and the Blood of Jesus Christ it is an infallible assurance that this Divine Saviour will raise us up again at the end of the World as he himself promiseth Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my Blood hath eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day St John 6 54. Nineteenth The body of believers endures many assaults and evils for Christs sake and for his holy profession it is often exposed to the most shamefull and most cruel torments and partakes on the same sufferings as he did on Earth therefore it is just that it should partake in his triumphs glory and eternal happiness It is a faithful saying for if we be dead with him we shall also live with him if we suffer we shall also raign with him We always bear about in our bodies the dying of the Lord Jesus that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh 2 Tim. 2. 2 Cor 4. Twenty There is nothing that God doth in vain he never bestowes upon us useless desires therefore to what purpose hath he kindled in us such an earnest desire to see this wretched Body out of the misery and corruption into which sin hath enthralled it and the fruition of glory and immortality As St. Paul tels us in these words The creature was made subject to vanity not willingly but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope because the creature it self also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the Children of God He adds immediately after For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travelleth in pain together until now and not onely they but our selves also which have the first fruits of the Spirit even we our selves groane within our selves waiting for the Adoption to wit the Redemption of our Body Rom. 8. Finally Seeing that whatsoever God hath appointed in his eternal Councel must be fulfilled in time and that all things in the World attain to those ends for which he made them and seeing that he created our Souls not to be alone but to live in the company and fellowship with the Body therefore this Body which falls down by Death must needs rise again at the Resurrection that the immortal Soul might return to and dwell with it for ever To say that the Resurrection of our bodies is impospossible is the greatest and most abominable Atheism in the World 'T is to deny with impudency the infinite power of God and the sacred History of the Worlds Creation For if things are in their beings as they are in workings and if their operations are correspondent to their natures we must of necessity conclude That if there be a God of an infinite being he must needs have a power answerable to his being And by consequence that this Almighty God may without difficulty raise the dead If thou believest that God calls the things that are not as if they were Wherefore dost thou not also believe that this same God will also call the things that have been already to restore them that being which they have formerly enjoyed from his Almighty Hand If thou believest that God hath fashioned Eve out of one of her Husbands ribs that he made Man of the dust and created this dust out of nothing canst thou not also believe that God is able at the day of the Resurrection to make again thy body of that dust into which it is reduced by Death If thou believest that God hath breathed into Adams Nostrils the breath of Life that he hath created thy Soul and infused it into thy Body where it was never before How canst thou question his power of returning one day the same Soul into the same Body where it formerly made its abode In short if thou believest that the holy Ghost by moving upon the Waters hath caused so many beautiful and noble Creatures to appear and that he hath made light to shine out of darkness canst thou not be also perswaded that this same holy Ghost can shew his Power amongst the Graves and fetch thy Body out of the dark shadows of Death to introduce it â—nto the light of the living Thou seest by experience that every day a new House 〈◊〉 built up
Englished by W. A. Doctor in Physick and Fellow of the Royal Society in octavo price bound 3 s. 10. Medicina instaurata or a brief Account of the true Grounds and Principles of the Art of Physick with the insufficiency of the vulgar way of preparing Medicines and the Excellency of such as are made by Chymical Operation By Edward Bolnest Med. Lond. in octavo price bound 1 s. 11. Aurora Chymica or a rational way of preparing Animals Vegetables and Minerals for a Physical Vse by which preparations they are made most efficacious safe and pleasant Medicines for the preservation of the life of Man By Edward Bolnest Med. Reg. Ord. in octavo price bound 1 s. 6 d. 12. The Chirurgeons Store-house furnished with forty three Tables cut in Brass in which are all sorts of Instruments both Ancient and Modern useful to the performance of all Manual Operations with an exact description of every Instrument together with one hundred choice Observations of famous Cures performed with three Indexes 1. Of the Instruments 2. Of Cures performed 3. Of things remarkable Written in Latin by Johannes Scultetus a famous Physitian and Chirurgeon of Vlme in Suevia and faithfully Englished by E. B. Dr. of Physick in octavo price bound 8 s. LAW 13. An Abridgment of divers Cases and Resolutions of the Common Law alphabettically digested under several Titles By Henry Rolls Serjeant at Law published by the Lord Chief Justice Hales and approved by all the Judges in folio price bound 40 s. 14. The Reports of that famous Lawyer Henry Rolle Sergeant at Law sometime Chief Justice of the Kings Bench of divers Cases in the Law adjudged in the time of King James approved by all the Judges in folio price bound 16 s. 15. The Reports of Sir George Crook Knight in three Volumes in English allowed of by all the Judges The second Edition carefully Corrected by the Original in folio price bound 45 s. 16. The first part of the Institutes of the Laws of England or a Commentary upon Littleton Written by the Lord Chief Justice Coke the eighth Edition in folio price bound 18 s. 17. The second part of the Institutes of the Laws of England containing the exposition of Magna Charta and many ancient and other Statues Written by the Lord Chief Justice Coke Third Edition with an Alphabetical Table added in folio price bound 14 s. 18. The third part of the Institutes of the Laws of England concerning High Treason and other Pleas of the Crown and Criminal Causes The fourth Edition Written by the Lord Chief Justice Coke in folio price bound 6 s. 19. The fourth part of the Institutes of the Laws of England concerning the Jurisdiction of Courts Written by the Lord Chief Justice Coke The fourth Edition with an Alphabetical Table not heretofore printed in folio price bound 9 s. 20. Brief Animadversions on Amendments of and Additional Explanatory Records to the fourth part of the Institutes of the Laws of England concerning the Jurisdictions of Courts by Will. Prynne Esq in folio price bound 12 s. 21. Thesaurus Brevium or a Collection of approved Forms of all sorts of Original and Judicial Writs in the Kings Bench with their special directions by J. C. in folio price bound 6 s. 22. Brevia Judicialia or an exact Collection of approved Forms of all sorts of Judicial Writs in the Common-Bench together with their Returns by Rich. Brownlow in folio price bound 12 s. 23. The History of Gavel-kind with the Etymology thereof containing a Vindication of the Laws of England together with a short History of William the Conqueror By Silas Taylor in quarto price bound 3 s. 24. The Compleat Sollicitor performing his Duty and teaching his Client to run through and manage his own business as well in His Majesties Superior Courts at Westminster as in the Mayors Court Court of Hustings and other Inferior Courts in the City of London and elsewhere The fourth Edition in octavo price bound 3 s. 6 d. 25. Action upon the Case for Slander or a Methodical Collection of thousands of Cases in the Law of what words are Actionable and what not By William Shepheard Esq in octavo price bound 2 s. 6 d. 26. An exact Abridgement in English of the Cases reported by Sir Francis Moor Knight with the Resolution of the Points of the Law therein by the Judges By W. Hughes in octavo price bound 2 s. 6 d. 27. An exact Abridgement of all the Statutes in Force and Use made in the 16 17 and 18 of King Charles the First and the 12 13 14 15 and 16 of King Charles the Second By William Hughes Esq in octavo price bound 2 s. 6 d. 28. The Touchstone of Wills Testaments and Administrations being a Compendium of Cases and Resolutions touching the same carefully Collected out of the Ecclesiastical Civil and Canon Laws as also out of the Customs Common Laws and Statutes of this Kingdom By G. Meriton in twelves price bound 1 s. 6 d. 29. A Guide for Constables Church-wardens Overseers of the Poor Surveyors of High-ways Treasurers of the County Stock Masters of the House of Correction Baylifs of Mannors Toll-takers in Fairs c. shewing the extent and power of the several Offices the third Edition enlarged Collected by George Meriton in twelves price bound 1 s. 6 d. HISTORY 30. The Voyages and Travels of the Duke of Holstein's Ambassador into Moscovy Tartary and Persia began in the year 1633. and finished in 1639. containing a compleat History of those Countries whereunto are added the Travels of Mandelslo from Persia into the East-Indies began in 1638. and finished in 1640. The whole Illustrated with divers accurate Maps and Figures Written originally by Adam Olearius Secretary to the Embassie Englished by J. Davis the second Edition in folio price bound 20 s. 31. The Works of the Famous Nicholas Machiavil Citizen and Secretary of Florence containing the History of Florence the Prince the Original of the Guelf and Ghibilin the Life of Castruccio Castracani the Murther of Vitelli c. by Duke Valentino the State of France the State of Germany the Discourses on Titus Livius the Art of War the Marriage of Belphegor Nicholas Machiavels Letter in vindication of himself and his Writings all from the true Original newly and faithfully translated into English in folio price bound 18 s. 32. I Ragguagli di Parnasso or Advertisements from Parnassus in two Centuries with the Politick Touchstone Written Originally in Italian by that famous Roman Trajano Bocalini Englished by the Earl of Monmouth in folio price bound 8 s. 33. The present State of the Ottoman Empire in three Books containing the Maxims of the Turkish Politie their Religion and Military Discipline illustrated with divers Figures Written by Paul Ricaut Esq late Secretary to the English Ambassador there now Conful of Smyrna The Fourth Edition in octavo price bound 6 s. 34. The History of Barbadoes St. Christophers Mevis St. Vincents Antego Martinico Monserrat
Souls and Bodies when thou shalt come down from Heaven with Flames of Fire to revenge thy self of such as know thee not and will not obey thy Holy Gospel and to be glorified in thy Saints and become wonderful in all Believers Let me sometime consider that glorious Throne where thou shalt sit to judge the quick and the dead before which the greatest Princes Kings and Monarchs as well as the vilest Servants Subjects and Slaves and generally all the Men of the World shall appear to receive in their Bodies according as they have done whether it be good or evil O that I might rejoyce in an expectation of seeing the total and intire destruction of all the Enemies of thy Glory and of our Salvation That I might look upon Satan his wicked Angels his Agents and the instruments of his Kingdome at if they were already bound up in everlasting Chains cast into the Lake of fire and brimstone and shut up in that bottomless pit from whence they shall never be released That I might think upon that Blessed time when Death shall be no more when all the living shall be Immortal but chiefly give me Grace to behold with the eye of that precious Faith which thou hast formed in my Soul the joy and Coronation of thy Church to consider that Divine dwelling where the stately and most magnificent City is built with pure Gold Pearles and Precious Stones where thou thy self art the Light and the Sun where the uncorruptible inheritance is which cannot be defiled and cannot fade away where the River of living water runs which is as bright as Chrystal where the Tree of Life is which yields fruit every Month of the year whereof the Leaves are for healing of the Gentiles Give me Grace to comfort my self in the expectation of that blessed estate where we shall neither hunger nor thirst where there shall be neither giving nor taking in Marriage but where we shall be as the Angels of God where thou shalt cloath us with Light and incompass us about with the beams of thy Glory where thou shalt put into our hands Palmes of Victory Crowns upon our Heads and in our mouths the Songs of the blessed and of all the Holy Angels where we shall sit with the Patriarcks Prophets Apostles Confessors and Martyrs and with all the Princes Kings and Monarchs that have lived in thy fear and that are dead in thy favor Where we shall for ever solemnise the Divine Nuptials of the Lamb and shall be inflamed with his love where we shall behold God face to face and shall be changed into his glorious Image and satisfied with his Divine likeness O Lord give us Grace to think continually upon his glorious and joyful day which shall put a period to the current of time which is the accomplishment of all the Prophecies and Promises the body and reallity of all types and figures the Crowning of all our Works the fulfilling of all our desires the highest of all our hopes and the perfection of all the designs intended by God the Father from all Eternity And seeing that we know not when this beautiful day shall break forth which shall never end give us Grace to expect it at every moment and behave our selves in such a manner as if we were already at the Eve of this everlasting Sabbath and of this glorious Rest That we may provide holy oyl in our Lamps faith hope and charity in our hearts that these Lamps may be ready and always burning that our Souls may be cloathed with the Wedding Garment with Righteousness and innocency that we may not stumber in the vain Delights of the World in the pleasures of the flesh but that we may spend the days and the nights in watching and Prayers Give us Grace to lift up our heads looking for our Redemption as if we did already bear the sound of the last Trumpet as if we did see already the Lord Jesus coming in the Clouds of Heaven O that we might not only expect him but go to meet him and hasten his coming by our continual Prayers and earnest desires O most powerful and merciful Lord forgive our impatient wishes and hasten that day for the elects sake Lord Jesus come with the Angels of thy power and the thousands of Saints and cause thy glory to appear and thine eternal Happiness Come with the Weapons of thy just resentment to require Justice and to destroy all the ungodly for there is no Faith amongst Men nor charity All flesh is become corrupt Come and destroy this World which is as an House infected with a spreading Leprosie but rather come to free it from corruption and vanity unto which our Sins have made it subject Come and purifie with an universal fire this wretched Earth which was cursed for our Crimes Come Almighty Lord come and trample upon the pride of the World and of all the Enemies of thy Sacred Truth Come and execute judgement upon her that is drunk with the Blood of thy holy Martyrs Come and bind the roaring Lyon in Chains and shut him for ever in the bottomless pit Come and put to Death the Murderer of thy Brethren and Members and totally abolish it Lord Jesus hearken to the crying of thy people and to the groans of thine inheritance Come and take thy Church out of this cruel Egypt where our Sins have inthralled it deliver it out of this Babylon where it hath been kept so long in Bondage O merciful Lord it is high time that thou shouldst introduce it into thy Celestial Canaan where the Milk and Hony of the most refined joyes and divine comforts flow continually That thou shouldst bring it into the holy Jerusalem the City of Peace and of everlasting Rest Come therefore to wipe away the Tears and stop the crying of thy afflicted Children Come and take them out of this cruel and infamous Prison open to them the Gates of thy glorious Palace Come and cloath them with thy Light cause them to drink of the Rivers of thy pleasures and Crown them with thine Immortal Glory Lord Jesus hasten this day of this Divine Coronation and magnificent Rejoycing We have been fighting and travelling upon this Earth long enough separated from thee our Souls long for thee they can no longer live without thee O wonderful Lord whose Works are so great that they are past finding out and whose Wonders are so many that they are not to be numbred thou hast with the Father perfected the Creation of the World thou hast performed all the Works of our Blessed Redemption perfect also the Works of the future Glorification of thy Church Take us up to that highest Glory and Happiness which hath beex prepared for us from the beginning of the World and which is the price of thy Blood and the fruits of thy Death O bountiful and glorious Lord put us in a condition that we may have nothing to dread nor nothing to desire nor nothing to pray or
wish for but that we may only have cause to return to thee Thanksgiving and to celebrate thy Divine praises That in this glorious and everlasting day we may sing continually with the Seraphims that flie about thy Throne holy holy holy is the Lord God of Hosts all that is in the Earth is his Glory and with the Blessed Saints now is come to pass Salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ for Death is swallowed up into Victory the accuser of our Brethren is shut up in the bottomless pit he that accused them day and night before God They have overcome him by the Blood of the Lamb. They have not loved their own Lives unto Death Vnto him who hath loved us and washed us from all our Sins in his Blood and hath made us Kings and Priests unto God his Father to him I say as to the Father and the Holy Ghost be Glory power and Dominion 〈◊〉 ever Amen FINIS A TABLE OF THE CHAPTERS In this BOOK CHap. 1. That there is nothing more dreadful than Death to such as have no hope in God Page 1. Chap. 2. That in all the Heathens Philosophy there is no solid or true comforts against the fears and apprehensions of Death p. 8. Chap. 3. Of divers sorts of Death with which we must incounter p. 16. Chap. 4. That Jesus Christ our Lord hath redeemed us from Eternal Death and by Degrees doth deliver us from a Spiritual Death p. 22. Chap. 5. Why we are subject to the Corporal or Natural Death and what advantages we do thereby receive in Jesus Christ p. 28. Chap. 6. From whence proceed the Fears of Death p. 44. Chap. 7. The first Remedy against the Fears of Death is to Meditate often upon it p. 52. Chap. 8. The Second Remedy against the Fears of Death is to expect it at every hour p. 65. Chap. 9. The Third Remedy against the Fears of Death is to consider that God hath appointed the time and the manner of our Death p. 77. Chap. 10. The fourth Remedy against the Fears of Death is to separate our Hearts from the World p. 109. Chap. 11. The fifth Remedy against the Fears of Death is to renounce Vice and to apply our selves to the practice of Piety and Sanctification Page 147. Chap. 12. The sixth Remedy against the Fears of Death is to repose our selves upon Gods good Providence p 206. Chap. 13. The first Consolation against the Fears of Death God will not forsake us in our most grievous pangs p. 267. Chap. 14 The second Consolation against the Fears of Death is to look upon God as a Merciful Father and to trust upon his infinite goodness p. 296. Chap. 15. The third Consolation against the Fears of Death is to represent continually unto our selves the Death and Sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ and to trust upon the Merits of his Cross p. 315. Chap. 16. The fourth Consolation against the Fears of Death is to Meditate often upon our Lord Jesus Christ as he did lie in his Tomb p. 335. Chap. 17. The fifth Consolation against the Fears of Death is to Meditate upon the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ p. 342. Chap. 18. The sixth Consolation against the Fears of Death is the Ascention of Jesus Christ into Heaven and his sitting at the right hand of God p. 346. Chap. 19. The seventh Consolation against the Fears of Death is our strict and unseparable union with Jesus Christ by the means of his Holy Spirit and the First Fruits of our Blessed Immortality p. 357. Chap. 20. The eighth Consolation is to consider that Death frees and delivers us from all the Evils that are in the World and what we daily suffer p. 375. Chap. 21. The ninth Consolation Death shall deliver us from Sin which we may see Reigning in the World and from the Reliques of our Corruption p. 391. Chap. 22. The tenth Consolation is the Glory and Happiness of our Souls at their egress out of the Body p. 412. Chap. 23. The eleventh Consolation is the glorious Resurrection of our Bodies p. 443. Chap. 24. The twelfth Consolation is the Destruction of Death and the Eternal and most Blessed Life which we shall injoy both in Soul and Body after our Resurrection Page 486. The Several Prayers and Meditations proper for every condition the devout Reader shall find at the end of those Chapters unto which the Prayers are sutable A CATALOGUE OF BOOKS Printed for John Starkey Bookseller at the Miter in Fleetstreet near Temple-Bar DIVINITY 1. A Discourse of the Freedom of the Will by Peter Sterry sometime Fellow of Emanuel Colledge in Cambridge in folio price bound 10 s. 2. The Jesuits Morals Collected by a Doctor of the Colledge of Sorbon in Paris who hath faithfully extracted them out of the Jesuits own Books which are Printed by the permission and approbation of the Superiours of their Society Written in French and exactly Translated into English in folio price bound 10 s. 3. A Practical and Polemical Commentary or Exposition upon the third and fourth Chapters of the latter Epistle of St. Paul to Timothy By Thomas Hall B. D. in folio price bound 10 s. 4. Tetrachordon Expositions upon the four chief places in Scripture which treat of Marriage or nullities in Marriage Wherein the Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce is confirmed by explanation of Scripture by testimony of Ancient Fathers of Civil Laws in the Primitive Church of famousest Reformed Divines And lastly by an intended Act of the Parliament and Church of England in the last year of Edward the Sixth The Author J. Milton in quarto price 1 s. 6 d. 5. The Christians Defence against the Fears of Death with seasonable Directions how to prepare our selves to Dye well Written Originally in French by the Reverend Divine of the Protestant Church at Paris Char. Drelincourt and Translated into English by Marius d'Assigny in octavo price bound 6 s. 6. The Living Temple or the Notion improved that A good Man is the Temple of God By John Howe M. A. sometime Fellow of Magdalen Colledge Oxon in octavo price bound 3 s. 7. A Confutation of the Millenarian Opinion plainly demonstrating that Christ will not reign visibly and personally upon Earth with the Saints for 1000 years either before the day of Judgement in the day of Judgment or after it By Tho. Hall B. D. price bound 1 s. PHYSICK 8. Basilica Chymica Praxis Chimiatricae or Royal and Practical Chymistry augmented and enlarged by John Hartman To which is added his Treatise of Signatures of internal things or a true and lively Anatomy of the greater and lesser World As also the Practice of Chymistry of John Hartman M. D. Augmented and inlarged by his Son with considerable Additions all faithfully Englished by a Lover of Chymistry price bound 10 s. 9. The Art of Chymistry as it is now practised Written in French by P. Thybault Chymist to the French King and