againe into the dungeon and there linger for a long time a dying life yet in common esteeme he is rather reckoned among the dead then the liuing and we are wount to say of him sentence is past he is a dead man In the same manner Adam from the verie day and houre he receiued his sentence of mortalitie gnaphar attah vel gnaphar thashubh earth thou art and into the earth thou shalt returne though after this the line of his life were long extended yet the nature of his life was but a death because he was dead in doome for he that makes himselfe lyable vnto punishment is vnder punishment si non re tamen sententia if not in deed yet in doome And in this respect saieth Saint Ambrose Adam from the verie act of his eating the forbidden fruite may be rightly saied to haue died instantlie because he neuer after liued one day houre or moment wherein he was not obnoxius vnto death we commonlie say of them that haue suckt in some strong and violent poyson actum est he is a dead man because though as yet he breath yet stay a little and loe he is stone dead So may we say of Adam and as of Adam so of euerie sonne of Adam who haue all sinned in the sinne of Adam hic mortuus est he is a dead man because though as yet he liue yet hauing dranke his deadlie bane he must surelie die For euer since the sinne of Adam as soone as man beginnes to liue hee begins a perpetuall iourney vnto death And there is none saieth Saint Austen but is neerer death at the yeeres ende then he was at the beginning to morrow then to day to day then yesterday by and by then iust now and now then a litle before each part of time if time haue partes that we passe cuts of so much from our life and the remainder still decreaseth Austen in Psal 127. veniente pueritia saith Saint Austen moritur infantia veniente adolescencia moritur pueritia veniente iuventute moritur adolescentia veniente senectute moritur iuventus veniente morte moritur omnis aetas when childhood commeth on infancie dieth when adolescencie commeth childhood dieth when youth commeth adolescencie dieth when olde age commeth youth dieth when death commeth all and euery age dieth so that looke how many degrees of ages we desire to liue so manie degrees of death we desire to die aske an olde man where is his infancie where is his childehood where is his adoloscencie where is his youth shal he not say true if he answere alas all these are dead and gone what speake I of ages euerie yeere moneth day houre of our life that we haue liued is dead to vs and we are dead with them what therefore else is our whole life but a long death what is euery day therof but as * Lib. 1. Epist 5. Petrarch saieth a degree vnto death what is euerie moment therof but a motion vnto death whence it is that * In registro Gregorie compares the life of man vnto a Saylour in a shippe for as he that sayleth whether he stand or sit or lie or walke is alwayes wafted onwards by the motion of the shippe so it is with vs whether we wake or whether we sleepe whether we walke or whether we talke whether we sit or whether we lie whether we will or whether we nill by times moments we are caried forewardes vnto our ende and as * Lib. 3. Epist 24. Seneca saieth quo tidie morimur we die euery day for euery day we loose part of our life tunc quoque cum crescimus vita decrescit and our life euen then decreaseth when it increaseth Paralel with that of * Cap. 2. lib. Solil Saint Austen vita mea quātò magis crescit tanto magis decrescit quanto magis procedit tanto magis ad mortē accedit my life the more it increaseth the more it decreaseth the more it is lengthened the more it is shortned and the longer I liue the nearer I approach vnto death For all our life indeede is but a liuing death or to make the best of it it is no better then a continuall passage vnto death wherein one can neither stay nor slake his pace but all runne in one and the same manner with one and the same speede for the short liuer runneth his race no faster then hee that liueth long both runne alike both make speede alike the difference is the first hath not so farre to runne as the later It is one thing to runne further another to runne faster he that liues long runneth further but not a moment faster euerie man hasteneth vnto death alike though one haue a lesser way to goe then the other And hence it is that though all men make equall hast yet all haue not the same arriuall vnto death but some in the morning others in the noontide others in the euening of their age yet all in some one houre or other For howsoeuer there may be some difference of tyme yet there is no vncertaintie of the ende but sooner or later it is certaine all shall come to an end Iob. 30.23 I know assuredly saith holy Iob thou wilt bring me vnto death which is the house appointed for all the liuing as a hauen for all shipping It may be when a ship is come to the mouth of the hauen a blast driueth it backe againe but thither it will arriue at the last so must wee all of vs at the gates of death Omnes saith the Poet vna manet mors calcanda semel via laethi Death is the end of al and once the way of death is to bee troad of all For as all starres moue from the East to the West and all the riuers runne into one Sea so all men trauel vnto one home the house of death which therefore the * 1. King 2 Iosh 23.14 Prophet in a prouerbiall manner calleth the way of all the earth And as all trees haue their death either they fall through the tempests of windes or rend in sunder through the violence of thunder or wither away through the length of time Isa 51.6 so all on earth are mortall All flesh saith the Prophet waxeth old as a garment a garment whether it bee worne or whether it lie folded in a chest perisheth at length if it bee not worne it will soone bee motheaten if worne it will soone into ragges And as the leaues on a thicke tree some fal and some grow so is the generation of flesh and bloud one is borne and another dieth which the Heathen Poet well saw Homer though hee himselfe were blind in that verse of his which Pyrrhus Eleensis aboue all other verses so much commended 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Tale genus est hominum quale est foliorū such is the generation of men as of leafes so one perisheth commeth to his end and another riseth
is a pilgrimage vnto death Giue me a possession of buriall with you here is the home of pilgrimes and the house of death Then Sarah died Thence obserue the generall condition of mankinde euen that which the Apostle hath confirmed * Heb. 9. It is appointed vnto men that they shal once die And Abraham came to mourne and weepe for her thence obserue that naturall affection towards the dead is commendable in all Then Abraham said I am a stranger and a forrenner among you Thence obserue that all men are but strangers and pilgrims here on earth Giue me a possession of buriall with you Thence obserue that the dead are to be honoured with buriall and a graue That all men must once die that naturall affection towardes the dead is commendable in all that all are but pilgrims and strangers here on earth that all after death are to be honoured with buriall a graue are the foure sad seuerall subiects of my ensuing sad discourse which whiles I applie to this sad spectacle applie you your hearts to sorrow your eyes to teares if not for her that is dead and gone for she is blest and resteth from her labours yet for your owne sinnes which will cause you will you nill you God knowes how soone looke you how well to follow after her we will by Gods assistance and your much desired patience trauish the same ground we haue began to tread tracing the steppes and following the method in the selfe same order we haue propounded it Then Sarah died Was Sarah the first that died was not mother Eue with her daughters and her daughters daughters dead long before if dead and why not mentioned what was rare and singular in Sarahs death that shee alone aboue all other women aboue Eue her selfe should deserue to haue the first memoriall then Sarah died surelie I know no other reason but this that as Abraham was the father so Sarah was the mother of the faithfull and therefore the holie Ghost vouchsafeth vnto her that which he denied to other women before her an honourable mention both of her age how long she liued and of the tyme of her death when shee died when Sarah was an hundreth twentie and seuen yeeres olde so long liued she then Sarah died Sarah though the mother of the faithfull though a holy and religious matrone though a Saint of God yet then Sarah died Whence we obserue the generall condition of mankinde It is appointed vnto men that they shall once die all must drinke of Sarahs cup the cup is full of one and the same liquour the liquour is drawne from one and the same fountaine the fountaine it selfe is poisned and if the fountaine be vncleane the streames will be troubled too if the root be cankred the branches will wither also if the head be diseased the members will be distempered too Now the head the roote the fountaine as of Sarah so of all mankinde was father Adam as therefore Adam by rushing against the law like a pitcher that dasheth against the wall sinned not onlie in his owne person but in his humane nature not onlie in himselfe but in his descent so he purchased the punishment of sinne which is death not onlie vnto himselfe vnto his owne person but vnto others vnto his humane nature of which we all partake For as by one man saith the Apostle by one Adam and one Eue two in sex but one in nature one in mariage one in sinning the woman seduced by the Serpent the man induced by the woman sinne entered into the world and death by sinne so by the sinne of one man death went ouer all men in whom all men had sinned * Rom. 5.12 But how did sinne enter by one into the world not by propagation of kinde onlie as Socinus the hereticke auerreth but by participation of the fault also and by imputation of the guilt And how did death enter by sinne euen as an effect that followeth yts cause or as a shadowe that accompanieth a bodie in the sunne And how went death ouer all as a plague grassantis in domo depopulating the citie or a house where it entereth or like an enemie pervagantis vastantis sternentis raging ranging destroying all that he meets with or like a hidden poyson that diffuseth it's venome vnto euery member and penetrateth vnto all and euerie part not onlie vnto a few sicke weaklings and poore staruelings but generallie vnto all high and lowe rich and poore bond and free of what age sex condition degree soeuer all men and women young and old great and litle strong and weake are subiect to deaths stroke whence the poet cryeth out Heu mortem invisam quaesola vltricibus armis Elatos fraenas animos communia toti Genti sceptra tenens aeternaque faedera seruans Quae magnos parvosque teris quae fortibus aequas Imbelles populisque duces seniumque iuventae Maphaeus True it is indeed that which Saint Austen taught long agoe God at first created man as a meane betweene Angels and beasts that if he obeyed the Lord his true creatour and kept his hestes he might be transported to the Angels societie but if he became peruerse in will and offended the Lord his God then that he might be cast vnto death like a bruit beast And to this end he placed him in the garden of Eden the paradise of God stored with matchlesse varietie of whatsoeuer delightes heart could desire especiallie garnished begnets hacaim with the tree of life and begnets haddagneth the tree of knowledge which two trees he appointed him for two Sacraments by the tree of life mystically importing that if he continued his obedience he should surely enioy life neuer feele nor feare hunger thirst sickenes age or death by the tree of knowledge that if he transgressed the commandement ipso facto In the very act * Gen. 2. moth tamuth dyinge dye he should most certainlie die or he should die a double death the death of the body the death of the soule which accordingly happened as had beene threatned for in the same houre he began to eate he began to die not onelie a spirituall death which is a seperation of man from God who is the life of man and the length of * Deut. 30. dayes vnto which and vnto which onlie the hereticke Socinus restraineth it conceating the death of the bodie to be a sequele not of sinne but of nature euen of of nature vncorrupted so that the body should haue died though man had neuer sinned but also and not onelie as Ambrose erroneouslie thinketh a corporall death which is the dissolution of nature and the soules last farewell vntill the generall resurrection vnto the bodie which actuall dissolution though instantlie it followed not yet was to be seared euerie moment for as in ciuill iudgements Iuridicall proceedings among men a man condemned to death though after his condemnation he be committed vnto the Iaylour by him cast
vp in his place And as the leafe buddeth springeth florisheth waxeth old and withereth away so man is borne groweth florisheth waxeth old and vanisheth away and as many leafes are nipped in the bud so many men are cut of in their youth tale quidem genus est hominum quale est foliorum So then such as a leafe is such is a man there is no leafe but at length withereth and there is no man but at length dyeth the wind bloweth and the leafe fadeth death with his pestiferous breath approacheth and man dieth Who can stopp the wind that it blowe not who can hinder death that it come not What one writeth wittilie of the Grammarian is true of euerie sonne of Adam that being able to decline all other nounes in euerie case could decline death in no case there was neuer Oratour so eloquent that could perswade death to spare him neuer Gibber so mightie nor monarch so potent that could withstand him Nerus the faire Therscites the foule Selym the cruell Solyman the magnificent Crassus the rich Irus the poore Damaetas the peasant Agamemnon the Prince all fall downe at deaths feet if he command we must away no teares no praiers no threatnings no intreatings will serue the turne so stiffe so dease so inexorable is death There are meanes to tame the most fierce and sauage beasts meanes to breake the hard marble and to mollifie the Adamant but not any one thing to mittigate deaths rage Resistitur saith Saint Austen ignibus vndis ferro resistitur regibus resistitur Imperijs * Aug. Psa 121. venit vna mors quis ei resistit Fire water the sword may bee resisted and Kings and Kingdomes may be resisted but when death commeth who can resist it non miseretur inopum saith * Ber. de conu cler Saint Bernard non reueretur diuitas Death pitieth not the poore regardeth not the rich feareth not the mightie spareth not any It is in mans power indeed to say vnto death Polydor. as sometime King Canutus said vnto the Sea when it beganne to flow Sea I command thee that thou touch not my feet but his command was bootlesse for he had no sooner spake the word but the surging waue dashed him So may man say vnto death when it approcheth Death I command thee not to come neere me but no force death will strike him and no more power hath man to keepe backe death that it strike not then the mightiest King on earth to keepe backe the Sea that it dash not The Sea will haue his fluxe and death will haue his course antiquum obtinent they both keepe their old wont since the first diuision of waters the Sea hath beene accustomed to ebbe and flow who hath euer hindred it and since the first corruption of nature death hath been accustomed to slay and destroy who hath resisted it Other customes haue and may be abolished a King may command and it is done but what Monarch so absolute what Emperour so potent that could abrogate in his dominions this custome of dying It was a custome among the Carthaginians to sacrifice humane flesh but this custome is abolished It was a custome also among the Indians to eat mans flesh but this custome is abolished too many other inhumane and vnnaturall customes in the world haue beene but they are or may be abolished But this custome of dying there was neuer yet any Prince seene read or heard of that could abolish For this condition which the Wise-man saith * Eccl. 14. is the condition of all times remaineth still Thou shalt die the death no man no meanes can abolish it No not length of dayes nor wisedome nor riches nor honour nor beautie nor strength no not that excellent grace and gift of holinesse and pietie The Antient Fathers and Patriarches before the floud liued very long some 700. some 800. some 900. yeeres and more and yet at length of all and euery one the conclusion is he died Salomon was a wise King the wisest that euer was hee knew the nature of all simples from the very Hysope to the Cedar and therefore if any surely hee aboue others could haue preserued himselfe from death and yet of him it is said in the end he died Sampson was indued with extraordinary strength at one time hee slew a thousand with the iaw bone of an Asse and yet hee dyed Dauid was a man after Gods owne heart and yet he died Moses saw God face to face and yet hee died The Prophets were indued with a great measure of sanctification yet the Prophet * Zach. 1.5 Zachary ioines them all together in one state of mortality your Fathers where are they and do the Prophets liue for euer What say I the Prophets Christ Iesus himselfe the Sonne of God the onely sonne the Sonne in whom hee was well pleased more wise then Salomon more mightie then Samson more holy then Dauid and all the Prophets though hee knew no sinne in himselfe yet for taking on him the burthen of our sinnes became subiect to the same condition of mortalitie with vs and hee dyed also And that I goe no further but come home vnto my Text Sara who liued a hundred twenty and seuen yeares and was as the Hebrewes mystically expound the numbers so chast and innocent at twenty yeares old as she was at seuen and so faire at a hundred yeares old as she was at twenty yet neither her wisedome not her beauty nor her chastity could ought auaile her but heere you see the conclusion is Then Sarah died If any shall obiect but Enoch and Elias died not I answere we know not I rather thinke they did and that Elias in his fiery Chariot had his bodie burnt and Enoch who in his yeeres matched the dayes of the sunne 365. was without paine dissolued when God tooke his soule to heauen or if they died not yet as Origen saith the generall is not therefore false because GOD hath dispensed in some particulars though one or two died not yet this is an vniuersall truth of all men to bee receiued and duely pondered It is appointed vnto men that they shall once die And is it indeed * Heb. 9. appointed vnto men that they shall once die Is there but one way for all the earth to goe one doore deaths * 1. Kin. 22 doore for all the liuing to turne into how neerely then doth it concerne vs to bethinke our selues of this way to fit our selues for this iourney and euen in this life to take care for another life a better life eternall life A man that knowes for certaine hee must resigne his dwelling house within a moneth or a weeke or a day is very silly and simple if he take no order for procuring some other habitation * Iob 30.23 that when he is put out of his owne house he may haue another to couer his head in so will it bee with vs who inhabite these
tooke to burne asunder and the thred flaming to the cloth caught such a suddaine hold of the same and Aqua vitae that before any meanes could bee applied the King in this flame vvas burnt to death I speake nothing of others who haue vntimely perished some by one meanes some by another I conclude all with that saying of * Seneca Eripere vitam nemo non homini potest at nemo mortem mille ad hanc aditus patent What shall I say then doe so manie things vvithin vs so many things vvithout vs so manie things about vs threaten a continuall death vnto vs Miser homo cur te ad mortem non componis cum sis pro certo moriturus Then vvretched man thou art that doest not prepare thy selfe for death seeing thou must certainely die But alas the diuell doth so deafe vs the world doth so blind vs and the sensualitie of the flesh maketh vs so extreamely sencelesse that we neither heare nor see nor feele what is euerie minute likely to befall vs. If wee be young wee feare not death at our backes if old wee looke a squint and see not death before our eyes But hearken O young man and learne as the old man can not liue long so the young man may die quickly certaine it is thou shalt die vncertaine when beause thou shouldest alwaies liue readie to die But if it were so that in thy youth thou hadst a lease of thy life till age granted by the Father of heauen ratified by his Sonne and sealed vnto thee by the whole Trinitie then perchance there might be some pretence of thy carelessenesse But now seeing euery houre may be the last vnto thee since euerie moment may dissolue this earthly Tabernacle since a thousand chances may at all times take thee vnawares and bereaue thee of thy soule who but more then mad would not consider of his end and follow the Prophet Esaies counsell to seeke the Lord in time and Salomons precept to learne wisedome in his youth In like manner the olde man hee will not thinke of death vntill the time of his death thinking to become a sudden Saint who hath all his life time liued a wicked worldling But hearken thou old man and learne by the rich man in the Gospell so he had also cast vp his rest hee was setled rich and ioyfull and deferred to bee godly till he saw occasion but what saith the Spirit of God O foole this night shall they take thy soule from thee this night in middest of thy ioylitie in the securitie of thy sleepe suddenly vnwittingly shalt thou die O miserable case saith Saint Austen when suddenly the senses faile the bodie languisheth death readie to burst in sunder the heart strings the conscience heauie with sinne the diuell readie to entertaine thee Who in this plight would not value a minute of repentance to a Monarchy of wealth and yet we banish away daies and moneths and yeeres not regarding the casualtie in the end I vvish therefore that old men as they haue a priuiledge of yeeres so also they had the priuiledge of foresight heerein that as they see their bodies bending towardes the earth so they learne to send their soules towards heauen and if they should not vvish for their dissolution with Paul yet they should wait all the daies of their life for their changing with Iob. Finally all men almost both young and olde rich and poore of all fashions and of all degrees put off this consideraon of death and neuer thinke or prepare to die till they finde and feele they can no longer liue But O let me beseech you all that heere mee this day to exempt your selues from this supine and oxe like securitie You know for certaine you must die you are euerie moment subiect vnto death a thousand thousand chances maie euerie daie bereaue you of your life why then esteeme of euerie present daie as the daie of your death and make such conscience of all your waies words and works as if you were presently to giue an account of your life Qui considerat qualiter erit in morte pauidus prouidus erit in operatione He that thinkes alwaies of dying will bee circumspect in his doing Thinke therefore O thinke and bethinke your selues of this and in the depth of these thoughts prepare your selues for death Set your houses yea set your hearts in order call your soules to account turne your selues as * 2. Kin. 20 Ezechias did to the wall that is from the world to God weepe weepe and bewaile your sinnes past keepe a narrow watch ouer your heart for the time to come * Psa 38. praie with Dauid Lord remember not the sinnes of my youth and with Saint Ambrose Lord forgiue me my faults here where I haue sinned for else where I cannot be relieued except I haue my pardon heere It is in vaine to expect the restfull comfort of forgiuenesse heereafter * 2. cor 6.2 Now is the acceptable time as Saint Paul speaketh now is the daie of saluation This world is for thy repentance the other for thy recompence Hic locus luctae ille coronae hoc cunaeorum tempus est illud coronatorum as Saint Chrysostome speaketh This is the place and time of combating that of crowning this of working that of rewarding this for thy mourning that for thy comforting Now God is helping vnto all men seeke yee therefore the * Isa 55. Lord whiles he is neere and post not off till to morrow for you know not what a daie maie bring forth It is certaine death will come but it commeth for the most part like a theefe stealing and creeping without any warning take heede you bee not taken vnawares You see the stroke thereof is vniuersall for if the reuerence of old age could haue discountenanced it Methushaleth had not died If strength of bodie could haue resisted it Sampson had not died If maiestie could haue terrified it if counsel could haue perswaded it if riches could haue bribed it Nor Solomon nor Achitophel nor Diues had died But Methushaleth is dead and Samson is dead and Salomon and Achitophel and Diues are dead and what is it can free a man from death Nay if youth if beautie if vertue if pietie could worke any relent in death from embracing his cruell hands in mortall bloud see where youth where beautie where vertue where pietie lye enshrined whollie now defaced obscured eclipsed and ouershadowed in death O death how irrelenting is thy heart how bloudy are thy hands how vnpartiall is thy stroake how generall is thy arrest oh that the liuing would consider this And let this suffice to be spoken of the vniuersalitie of deaths stroake Then Sara died And Abraham came to mourne for Sarah and to weepe for her Whether Sara died in absence of Abrahā because Abraham is here said to come to mourn for her as the Iewes affirm she did to this end faine that whē Abraham
A SERMON PREACHED AT CONSTANTINOPLE in the Vines of PERAH at the Funerall of the vertuous and admired Lady ANNE GLOVER sometime Wife to the Honourable Knight Sir THOMAS GLOVER and then Ambassadour ordinary for his Maiesty of GREAT BRITAINE in the Port of the Great Turke By WILLIAM FORDE Bachelour in Diuinitie and lately Preacher to the right Honourable Ambassadour and the rest of the English Nation resident there Of Death Of Teares Of Pilgrimage Of The Graue LONDON Printed by EDVVARD GRIFFIN for Francis Constable and are to be sold at his shop at the white Lyon ouer against the great North doore of Saint Paules Anno Dom. 1616. TO THE MOST HONOVRED ACCOMPLISHT AND VERTVOVS beautified Lady the Lady WENTVVORTH Wife to the most noble and most worthy of all honours and all titles LORD the Lord WENTVVORTH THis Sermon The Turke permitteth Christs Gospel to be preached the Pope condēneth it to the racke and inquisition who is the better man most vertuous and honour Lady conceiued at first in the Vines of Perah adioyning to renowned Constantinople the stamboll or great Citie of the great Turke and there deliuered insteed of a faire Temple in a pleasant Garden vnder a lofty Cypresse * A Tree fit for such assemblies for the Ancients were wont to beare the branches therof in their Funerals tree in a goodly assembly of diuers Nations * There were present of most Nations vnder the Sunne English French Dutch Germain Italian Popish Hungarian Trāsiluanian Molda Wallachian Russes Greekes Armenians Beddowines Turkes Iones c. after long trauaile through many and strange Countries is now at length by the propitious fauour of the Almightie footed in Great Britaine where thinking to haue reposed it's wearied limbs is by gentle intreatie moued and forcible importunitie ouer-ruled to beginne a new trauaile to vndertake a new iourney visite many Cities enter many houses passe through many hands offer it selfe to many quicke-sighted eies submit to many censorious heads As therefore in her first birth she had to shadow her frō the Sunnes scorching beames a beautifull and umbriferous Tree so she needeth some pleasing Canopie some refreshing vmbrello to shadow her stil And vnder whose wings may she better sustaine and maintaine her selfe most vertuous and honour Lady then vnder yours you were the Patronesse of the Lady whom she honoureth whose life she relateth whose death she lamenteth whofe Funerall she celebrateth you together with your honourable and religious * The Lady Croft Mother gaue that Lady her breeding communicated vnto her your vertues aduanced her to her honours so that the best of her life her education her vertues her honours shee deriued next vnder God from you and therfore being dead her wandring obsequies haue recourse vnto you for protection presuming that for loue you bare vnto the liuing Ruth 2.20 you will not cease to doe good vnto the dead the good you shall do her is to daigne that your honourable name as it was a Sanctuarie vnto her selfe while she liued so it may patronage her Funerals being dead It is not I for what am I vnknowne to you or my deseruings but shee or because shee is not I for her or rather her liuing vertues for her dead selfe that imploreth this gratious fauor at your gentle hands Your tender breast wil not deny so humble a suter your olde loue will bid you yeeld to a desire so zealous In full confidence whereof I haue ventured to prefixe your honourable name which if it find as it feruently desireth acceptance fauourable it shal perhaps encourage mee to second it with some more pleasing and delightfull subiect which mine owne experience hath gathered from no lesse painefull then farre forraigne obseruations In the meane season my deuoted heart shall deuoutly pray for length of daies redoubled honours graces happinesse to descend and rest vpon your vertuous head and after this life the eternall crowne of a better life Your Honours in the most humble desire and tender of his seruice and obseruance WILLIAM FORDE EPITAPHIVM VIator siste paululum hic manes te monent vt maneas haec citus lege ac tacitus luge si iussa obibis mea domum demum tui memor abibis In hoc tumulo terrae cumulo omni virtute cumulata tumulata iacet Anna imo potius Agna hoc ei enim nomen vt omen etiam fata dederunt Anna Lamb manna dulcior Agna mitior amicior in Anglico solo concepta nunc in Caelum Angelicum chorum recepta quae illustrissimo Domino Thomae Glouer apud hanc Ottamannorū portam Magnae Britaniae c. Legato regio nupta se tam mitē ei Comitem praebuit vt cum eo tanquam luna solem suum sequens cursum suum varijs terra marique erroribus flatibus fluctibus inuicta non communi sed coelesti ordine persiciens ab occidente in Orientem lata ecclipsim terra hac vt vides interposita passa sit breui lucem suam receptura non perit enim quae meliorem vitam reperit Sed dū Libitinae libet quotquot adsumus absumus Nos humiles imo humus ac fumus coelos nil caelare possumus natura nimis interdum matura quod boni offert cito aufert quamuis aliâs longior etiam mora mori alios non vedat Haec volui a te meme volui in quibus si te recte agnosces mihi certe paucula haec ignosces Vale. Etperge Gen. 23. ver 2.3.4 2. Then Sara died in Kiriatharba the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan And Abraham came to mourne for her and to weepe for her 3. Then Abraham rose vp from the sight of his Corps and talked with the Hittites sayinge 4. I am a stranger and a forrener among you giue me a possession of buriall with you that I may bury my dead out of my sight FOr a sorowfull meeting what more meet then wordes and songs and sobs and sighes of sorrowe speech with matter matter with action action with affection affection with occasion should sympathize together We haue here before our eyes a sad spectacle a hearse couered with Sable weedes a coffin filled with wormes and ashes fitting for which obiect we haue singled out a doleful text which doth intreat of nought but woes and sorrowes of death of teares of pilgrimage of the graue Of death by the power of sinne triumphing ouer life of teares as the fruits of sinne weeping at the power of death of pilgrimage as the lot of life trauelling vnto death of the graue as the home of pilgrimes and the house of death Then Sarah died Here is the power of death triumphing ouer life And Abraham came to mourne for her and to weepe for her here are the fruits of sinne weeping at the power of death Then Abraham rising vp said vnto the Hittites I am a stranger and a forrenner among you here is the lotte of life which
houses of clay whose foundation is the dust * Iob. 4. we know for certaine wee shall leaue them how soone wee know not perhaps to morrow perhaps to day perhaps this very houre we are silly then and vnprouident if wee take no care for prouiding other houses What said * Ser. 2. dedi Eccl. Saint Bernard to his soule Ad huc domum quidem habes O anima sed certa esto quoniam in breui 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 casura est domus tua nisitu prouideris aliam erÃs pluviae vento frigori exponenda O my soule thou hast yet a house to dwell in but be assured thy house will shortly fall and moudre and vnlesse thou prouide thee before hand of some other house caytiue forelorne and naked shalt thou be exposed vnto the winde the raine and the cold alas who can stand in presence of this stormy tempest happy therfore thrice happy shalt thou be my soule if then thy conscience tell thee thou canst say vnto thy selfe in faith and full assurance I know that if my earthly house of this Tabernacle be destroyed I haue a building giuen of God that is an house not made with hands but eternall in the heauens 2. Cor. 5. Againe is it appointed vnto men that they must once die Oh that wee could euery one of vs as we ought seriously consider this and daily and duly ponder with our selues of this theame We must die Doubtlesse this vvould cause vs to feare God vvhile vvee liue that vve might finde fauour at his hands vvhen vvee die For who so feareth the Lord it shall goe well with him at the last and he shall finde fauour at the day of his death * Eccl. 1. 2. It would moue vs to imbrace the good and refuse the euill remembring that as Precious is the death of the Saints in the sight of the Lord so euill is the death of sinners * Psal 34. 3. It would abate in vs the plumes of our pride and humble vs farre below the Niniuites and Ahab considering that Earth we are and into earth we shall returne againe and why art thou proud O earth and ashes * Eccl. 10. 4. It would worke in vs a true remorse and sorrow for our sinnes laying before our eyes the saying of our Sauiour Vnlesse you repent also you shall likewise perish * Luke 13. 5. It would breed in vs a distaste and dislike of earthly things Facile enim contemnit omnia saith Saint Ierome qui se cogitat moriturum as Esau when hee was ready to die for hunger contemned his birthright En morior quid mihi proderunt primogenita * Ge. 25.32 Loe I am almost dead what is then this birth-right to mee whereas contrariwise they that dreame of a long life treasure vp to themselues in earth * Luke 12. 6. It would expell out of our hearts rancor and hatred procure loue and amitie reunite and reconcile vs to our brethren whiles we are in the way * Mat. 5 seeing agreement will be too late when wee are once deliuered to the Iaylor 7. It would make vs watchfull of our wayes and learne vs Dauids praier Lord let me know mine end and measure of my dayes what it is * Psal 39. let me know how long I haue to liue and why would hee know this That hee might apply his heart to wisedome for in the graue there is none O Lord that remembreth thee * Psal 6. 8. Lastly this consideration that we must once die would be a good motiue vnto vs to learne by time how to die for that which at length wee must necessarily doe we will if wee be wise learne by time how to doe among all other works which we are to doe to die though it bee the last is not the least Euripides Seneca Yet miserable say two learned Hethens a thing it is in the houre of death not to know how to die Let vs therefore Christian brethren aboue al things labour for this knowledge whiles we liue let vs learne how to dy that so when death shall spread his pale colour ouer our faces we may intertaine it not in horrour but in honour not as a losse but an aduantage as a doore opening to saluation not a gate leading to destruction Now if you shall aske me but how must we learne to die I will lead you to another of your owne profession to an ancient Hermite for an answere It happened that a Marchant man like your selues trauelling through a Forrest espied neere a little Cell an olde Hermite of whom he was inquisitiue to know what hee made there The Hermite answered My sonne I learne to die Mar. What needes that seeing whether thou wilt or no thou must shortly die Her And this is that troubleth me seeing I must shortly die and yet I know not how to die Mar. But what is it to know how to die Her To know how to die is to eschew euill and doe good according to that of the Psalmist Declina a malo fac bonum Mar. Father what doest thou eate that thou art so long liued Her I eat the best meat Mar. But who prepareth it Her The best Cooke hunger Mer. What are thy meditations and discourses Her I call to minde the time past consider in the bitternes of my soule how I haue spent my former yeeres and where I find that I haue done wel I thanke my God where ill I sorrow and repent Mer. Art thou rich Her I haue more then I would to wit this bodie of mine Mer. What then wouldest thou die Her I would willingly die well that I might obtaine eternall life Mar. Canst thou instruct me how to die well and to liue eternally Her I can vvhat is thy profession Mer. I am a Marchant Her If thou vvilt play the true Marchant and buy the greater for the lesse the better for the vvorse looke vp to heauen behold it is better and greater then the vvhole earth sell all and buy that sell thy sins sell thy pleasures sell thy profits buy this one Iewell and to this end cast thy bread vpon the vvaters make thee friends of the vnrighteous Mammon by doing good now the good vvhich the Lord requireth of thee is as the * Mica 6. Prophet vvitnesseth To doe iudgement to loue mercy and walke with the Lord our God this doe and thou shalt haue eternall life Mer. So may I liue as I follow thy counsell Farewell Her Goe in peace These and the like good fruits good motions good affections the consideration of our end dissolution would ingender in vs and happy yea thrice happy are they that thus consider And to set you forward herein consider I beseech you consider with your selues vvhat you are vvhat your life is What you are the Poet telleth vs 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Man is a shadow a dreame or a dreaming shadow What your life is
was on mount Moriah to sacrifice his sonne Isaac the diuell to make it a reall tragedie represented the manner of Isaacs offering vp vnto Sarah wherevpon say they shee tooke a conceit and died and so Abraham returning from the mount and finding his vvife dead is said to come to mourne and to weepe for her But Iosephus hath sufficiently refuted this fancie For if Isaac were 25. yeeres old at the time he should haue beene sacrificed and Sarah after that liued 12. yeeres how then died Sarah presentlie when she heard from the diuel her sonne was sacrificed Or whether hee came from burying his father Therah as some thinke whom the Iesuite Pererius would haue to die but two yeeres before but the truth is that hee was dead 62. yeeres before for Abraham was now 137. yeeres olde who vvas borne in the 70. yeere of Therahs age who liued 205. yeeres in all so Abraham was 75. yeeres old when his father died to that adde 62. so shall wee haue Abrahams age of 137. * Gen. 12.5 Or whether he be said to come because he went out of his tent and entred into Sarahs tent which is most probable for though they soiourned together yet their tents were asunder as appeareth out of the last verse of the 24. Chapter as the manner of those Countries was the men to haue their tents by themselues apart and the women their tents apart as heere among whom we soiourne vve see at this daie the Turkes haue their houses and their roomes apart halfe for themselues and the other halfe for their wiues and women slaues or howsoeuer it was wee will not so much inquire from whence he came as the end of his comming which was to mourne and weep for Sara whence we obserue That naturall affection is commendable in all In Abraham therefore in others and that not euerie light touch of affection but a mourning and weeping an inward affection and an outward action sorrow within and sadnesse without the hearts griefe and the eie teares must goe together For weeping and teares without are tokens of loue within As the Iewes gather from the teares of Christ which he shedde for the death of Lazarus * Iohn 11. Behold how he loued him how appeares that euen from this And Iesus wept for then said the Iewes vvhen they saw him vveepe Behold how he loued him Where loue is teares are if extremity of griefe suppress not the passiō of loue And therefore God hath made men as liuing so louing creatures to the end that they should not be as stockes and stones 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 senselesse and void of affection but that liuing and louing together the loue of the one should not end vvith the life of the other but in token that he loued while hee liued the suruiuer should accompanie the dead to the graue vvith his teares and weepe that they two can no longer liue and loue together Therefore the custome of some nations to vveepe at their childrens birth and to laugh at their death I hold vnnaturall for verie nature it selfe as also Euripides a meere naturalist could tell vs seemeth to haue ingraffed inacted this desire into euery one yea though he dye for some foule offence a shamefull death to haue yet his kinred his frends to celebrate his funerall with their teares and lamentations and the saying of Solon vvas more naturall and humane Mors mea ne careat lachrymis linquamus amicis Maerorem vt celebrent funera cum gemitu Then that proud and ambitious vaunt of Ennius which yet Tully much commendeth Nemo me lachrymis decoret nec funera fletu Faxit cur volito viua per ora virûm It is all one as if he had said Let no man loue me for where loue is griefe will surely be if the thing beloued be taken away And therfore Abraham wept for Sara here and Ioseph and his brethren wept for their father Iacob and Iosephs brethren wept for Ioseph Thus the Israelites wept for Aaron Moses for Samuel thus all Iuda and Ierusalem mourned and made sorrowfull songs and lamentations for Iosiah and Ieremiah the Prophet himselfe lamented Iosiah and all singing men and women mourned for Iosiah and behold this is written in the lamentations Thus the Disciples wept for Stephen thus Marie and Martha wept for Lazarus thus others though neuer so godly neuer so learned neuer so wise haue wept neither could they forbeare nempe homines for they are men and to weepe is humane M. Antonius the Emperour wee finde vvas a wise man his surname was Philosophus the Philosopher and yet hee could not refraine to lament and weepe bitterly at the death of his Tutor which when some reprehended in him as vnbeseeming both the maiestie of an Emperor and grauitie of a Philosopher Antonius Pius excusing him said vnto them Sinite vt homo sit neque enim imperium aut Philosophia hominem ex homine tollit neque humanis sensibus affectibus hominem exuit Let him alone hee doth but his owne for neither Soueraignetie nor Philosophie can take from him the nature of a man nor exempt him from humane passions and affections In likewise * 26. Serm. in Cant. Saint Bernard we all know was a holy and deuout man yet hee could not but weepe for his brother Gerardus and yeelds the reason For if one Oxe saith he finding another Oxe dead low and roare for it and in his kinde celebrate a funerall for the dead what should man doe for man whom reason teacheth and affection draweth Saint Ambrose also was a graue godly man and yet he weeps for his dead brother and why not saith he bos bouem requirit doth one Oxe low for another if hee want his mate with whom he was wont to be coupled Et ego te frater non requiram and shall not I desire thee againe my brother shall not I weep for thee shall I euer forget thee with whom I haue liued so long No no my brother I will remember thee I will shed teares for thee and let no man condemne me for if we shed some few teares which runne softly like the waters of Siloh no force Erunt non doloris ilices sed indices amoris they will not bewray in vs any want of faith but onely testifie an aboundance of loue Therefore the Wise-man exhorteth vs saying My sonne powre forth teares ouer the dead and begin to mourne as if thou hadst suffered great harme thy selfe and then couer his bodie according to his appointment and neglect not his buriall make a grieuous lamentation * Ecc. 28.16 and bee earnest in mourning and vse lamentation as hee is worthy and that a day or two least thou be euill spoken of But here by the way let vs obserue and learne that if we may not bee senselesse as Stoicks but ought to mourne and weepe for those that die a corporall death what are we to doe how are we
to grieue what teares should wee powre forth for those that die a spirituall death so * Luke 15. as did the prodigall sonne so as did many of the Corinthians whom * 2. Cor. 12 21. Paul bewailed so as did those pleasure-mungers who though they liued yet as the * Tim. 5.6 Apostle saith were dead So as do too many among vs who neither regard the word of God which is the life of our soules nor our own soules vvhich are the life of our selues Oh that my head vvere full of water and mine eies a fountaine of teares that I might weepe day and night for this supine foolish and retchlesse securitie * Ecc. 22.12 Seuen dayes saith the Wise-man doe men mourne for him that is dead but the lamentation for the foole and the vngodly should indure all the dayes of their life and why for the dead he is at rest but the life of the foole and the vngodly is vvorse then death Let vs therefore doe that saith Saint Chrysostome for our soules which wee doe for mens bodies let vs bewaile the losse of our saluation and let vs lament the death of our soules for greater is the losse saith Saint Austen of one soule then of a thousand bodies In so much that the vvhole world saith Saint Bernard is not of value enough for the price of one soule But who is more dead saith he then him that carrieth fire in his bosome sin in his soule and neither feeles it nor feares it nor flies from it And such is euery vngodly man for him therefore whether it bee our selues or others vvee are specially to mourne and vveepe And yet in both these there is a golden meane vvhich vvee must warily obserue and keepe to vvit a meane in vveeping for our sinnes and a meane in vveeping for our friends in weeping for our sinnes that wee weepe in faith and not despaire in vveeping for our frends that vvee vveepe in loue and not as without hope Elegant to which purpose are those verses of his vvhosoeuer vvere the author Deflendi sunt mortui sed temperant ius Nam mortui non sunt eandem sed viam Quam cogit omnes ingredi necessitas Praemuniere nobis nos in posterum Idem sequemur ipsos in confortium Communis vita fruemur patriae Which will vs to weepe for the dead but yet to obserue a measure in weeping because dead they are not whom wee call dead but onely gone before vs the way vnto eternall life which wee must follow after The Prophet Abraham kept this measure in weeping for Sarah here for when he had wept and mourned for her i. when hee thought he had wept enough then he arose from the sight of his corps i. hee left weeping for her bodie and tooke care for her buriall hee was not senselesse at her death for hee did that for her which he did not when he was to sacrifice his owne and onely sonne Isaac he wept for her he vvept not for him but he kept a meane in his weeping and therefore he rose vp and vvent away from her wherein hee shewed himselfe not void of affection but obseruant of a moderation and this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is it which the Lord commendeth and it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which the Apostle condemneth * 1. Thes 4. I would not brethren saith he haue you ignorant concerning them which are asleepe that yee sorrow not euen as other which haue no hope How did other sorrow euen excessiuely vnmeasurably immoderately without meane measure or moderation Some cutting and slashing their faces some renting and tearing their lockes their beards their haire their attire some shauing their heads in token of sorrow so did the * Alex. ab Alex. lib. 3. cap. 7. Egyptians Amorites Milesians and Persians and do not our owne eies witnes the same in the Greekes at euerie solemne funerall how do the silly women dishiuer their golden traces how doe they disfigure their amiable faces vvhat buffets do they giue their gentle breasts what pitifull shriekings what hideous howlings what heart bleeding sobs vvhat bloud-drawing sighs doe they vtter and all for outward manifestation of their inward contristation and this excessiue vnmeafurable immoderate lamentation the Apostle condemneth and good reasons there are why wee should not sorrow beyond a measure whereof the first may bee First Diuina voluntas the diuine vvill vnto vvhich humane vvill must submit and conforme it selfe Now nothing is done vvithout the diuine vvill vvithout it a * Mat. 10. Sparrow falleth not to the ground much lesse a man vvhy then O base man doest thou striue against the pleasure of the most high God * Eccl. 41. vvhy rather saiest thou not vvith Christ Not as I vvill but as thou vvilt my Father Hath a master power of his seruant saith Saint * De fide resur Ambrose to lead him vvhether hee vvill and hath not God ouer man Placeat ergo homini saith the Heathen * In Epist ad Lucullū Seneca quicquid Deo placet therefore let man be pleased with the diuine wil and pleasure and thus resolue vvith himselfe that God alwaies calleth him out of this life when he is at his best if he be good that he turne not euill if euill that he wax not worse Secondly Diuina aequitas diuine right and equity it is reason and equity that what is receiued vpon bare lending should be restored at demanding * Iob. 1. as the holy man Iob confessed It is lawfull for euery one to require his owne now all that we haue our very life and being is not our owne * Psal 100 but Gods he made vs and not we our selues hee may with good equity recall vs when hee pleaseth Wee see how patiently the greatest Basha either in Port or abroad yeeldeth his necke to the Bow-string at the hatmaum and command of his King whether it be right or wrong for why sayth he I am his slaue my life was long agoe at his dispose it is through his clemencie that I liued vntill now And shall wee be lesse obedient vnto our good God whose slaues we are whose call is euer iust Nay rather let vs be thankefull vnto him that he hath lent vs our life so long So was Saint Bernard who after his mourning for his brother Satirus comforts himselfe and breaketh forth into this acknowledgement Ingratus diuinitati esse non possum I may not be vnthankefull to the diuine Maiesty I am rather to reioyce that I had such a brother then to sorrow that I lost him for that was but a gift this was a debt Thirdly Fraterna vtilitas the benefit of the departed for from how many euils is he freed that dyeth in the * Rom. 7. Phil. 1. Apoc. 14. Lord How great the benefit is Christ sheweth where he saith if you * Iohn 14 loued me you would reioyce because I