vespere examine his heart Quid nocte vel die praecedente hath hee thought hath he said hath he done Et in quo peccati labem inuenerit Let him mend it cum proposito efficaci simili non peccare This if it be done daily I dare boldly say Vix fieri poterit vt quis moriendo peccet aut peccando moriatur Inter these thoughts I had these things in Contemplation 1. First what Death was and the kinds of death 2. Secondly what feares or ioyes death brought 3. Thirdly when death was to be prepared for and how 4. Fourthly death approching what our last thoughts should then be Of these I thus resolued THat Death was a fall What death is which came by a fall Our first framed father Adam falling in him wee all fell Cecidimus omnes saith S. Bernard super acerbum lapidem in luto vnde inquinati vulneratisumus Therefore wee needed water in Baptisme to wash vs Blood in the Eucharist to heale vs. This falling sicknesse infected not only the person but the nature such is the infection of euill alwayes worse thē the Act making man that was immortall subiect to Death as are Birds and Beasts whereas before wee were differenced from them in this condition though made of the same matter Dust. Yet as wee now stand the fault is ours if that fall be not our rise the aduantage wee haue by Christ being more then the damage wee had by Adam ideo qui stat videat ne cadat For relapse may turne vs againe to be as Birds and Beasts that haue no ioy but being no sorrow but dying Consider Death originally or in his owne nature and it is but a departed breath from dead earth inliuened at first by breath cast vpon it Take the dimension of it and it is but a point of Time interiected betweene two extremes A Parenthesis which interposed breakes no sense when the words meete againe When Seneca was asked Quid est Mors he answered Aut finis est aut transitus Rogatus Secundus Philosophus said to the Emperour Adrian Mors est aeternus somnus Diuitum Pauor pauperum desiderium incerta peregrinatio ineuitabilis euentus latro hominis fuga vitae resolutio omnium Plato said it was Lex Naturae Tributum mortalium Scaliger defines it to bee but the cessation of the soules functions All men graunt the cause of Death was iust yet few can tell who was the Author or what 's the name or nature of it Estimemus singula famâ remotâ quaeramus quid sint non quid vocentur In Nature it can be nothing for it hath no cause efficient The nature of Death but deficient Post mortem nihil est ipsaque Mors nihil It hath no Essence though Existence It is no substance but priuation no creature but creaturarum sepultura Therefore curiously to search the efficient of it were to labour the eye to see darknesse God made it not saith the booke of Wisedome nor is it mentioned as any of his workes God that made all things saw that all things which he had made were good Omne ens bonum omne bonum estens Therefore good Saint Augustine said finely Lord thou hast not made Death wherefore I beseech thee suffer not that which thou hast not made to reigne ouer that which thou hast made It is no errour to say that man made death For curiositie the itch of mans Soule affecting to know that which God neuer made which was the euill of death thinking it had been good to know euill by desiring to know it made it He that knew all other things knew not this one thing that hee knew enough So diuine a thing is knowledge that wee see innocencie it selfe was ambitious of it Life did not content that was thought but the act of knowledge knowledge was the life the soule looked at That yet begets a studious scrutinie to discouer things wee can neuer know So we see that although Nature be moderate in her desires yet conceit is vnsatiable But since God hath reuealed more then we can know enough to make vs happy let vs learne sober knowledge and contented ignorance Who then was the Author of Death The Autho◠of Death The booke of Wisedome saith that through enuie of the diuell death came into the world and they that hold on his side finde it But if the Diuell was the father Sinne was the mother For saith Saint Iames sinne being finished trauaileth in child-birth like a mother to bring foorth death Adam falling sin followed him Man being tempted Death attempts him and by sinne death entred Death had no interest in man till sin had dispossessed him of the freehold hee had in God There was no trust in Gods seruants saith Eliphaz but euen Angels were charged with folly And to doe the Diuell right hee did but perswade not compell It was in mans choice to stand or fall Adam acceperat posse quod vellet non velle quod posset nos accepimus posse quod volumus velle quod possumus ille posse non mori nos non posse mori sic Augustinus Power of standing man had from God but possibilitie of falling from himselfe Therefore though wee may thanke our first parents for our birth-sinne Yet wee may thanke our selues for improouing of it wherefore said the old Letanie Ame salaa me Domine All mans natiue vertues were giuen him but in trust and vnder a condition Hee abused the trust and brake the condition so incurred the penaltie For that is mans nature euer subiect to extremities either dull in want or wanton in fruition Ne moriemini was a faire warning but hee cared not for it when Satan tempted hee consented Had the mind gouerned the eye the Apple could not haue beguiled though it was faire to see to The proud aspiring thought was hatched in man The Diuell was but the deuiser sinne was the Author and wee being partners in the sinne shared likewise in the punishment Facinus quos iniquinat aequat Since then Death stole in at the eare by our hearkening to ill counsell let vs now cast it out by the eares through hearkening to Gods Word the word of life the life of Death For the name of Death The name of Death Saint Iohn cals it a sleepe Amicus noster Lazarus dormit Of Saint Steuen it was said and when hee had thus spoken hee slept The Patriarkes and Kings of Iudah slept with their Fathers Transitum ad vitam aliqui appellant mortem saith Saint Bernard Sed ideo Scriptura dormientes appellat vt euigilaturos minimè desperemus Hee is not dead saith Dauid but sleepeth whose flesh doth rest in hope The night sauours of mortalitie and sleepe is but the shadow of death and where the shadow is the body cannot bee farre off But let it be Mors à morsu which our first Parents tasted or Mors à mora which yet tarries for vs all Let her bee
to the earth and his soule to God that gaue it The third at the end of the world when body and soule revnited shal enioy heauen So likewise a wicked man hath three distinct deaths Dead in sinne while he liues dead in soule when hee dyes dead in body and soule when both are adiudged to eternall condemnation Malis fit mors sine morte fin◠fine fine defectus sine defectu Quia mors viuit fints semper incipit desicere defectus nescit To labour not to lye is labour in vaine it is to deferre not to auoid To forget to dye and hope to liue is dangerous securitie This let a wise man doe quod ne cesse est ne timeat quod incertum est semper expectet Seeke not consolation against death but let Death bee thy consolation for there is no comfort against death but in death Supremum necoptes nec metuas diem Mortem optare malum timere peius Now to make Death easie Thinke of the glory that followes it Who will not endure a few pangs for infinite pleasures The bitter pill promising health is swallowed willingly Mors non anfert vitam sed in melius transfert That the aspect of Death may not trouble thee looke not vpon Death in death but looke beyond it Thinke not so much of it as of the happinesse that comes by it Erit somnus dilectis initium refrigerij scala montis haereditas secura Ianua vitae ingressus in tabernaculum Therefore saith Iob From sixe troubles it deliuereth thee in septima that is at point of death non tanget te malum Fit your selfe for it and you will neuer feare it doe by it as you doe in other things when you would goe sleepe you put off your cloathes you draw the curtaines and goe to bed Thus as it were acting sleepe before you goe to sleepe So addresse your selfe to death before hand Bring your selfe acquainted with it that when it comes you may entertaine it non vt hostis sed vt hospes not as a foe but as a friend not as a stranger but as a guest that you had long looked for and bid welcome Death more blessed then thy Birth What a griefe is it to see some great men build stately houses as if they should alwayes liue and yet they to liue as if they had but mortall soules It is good counsell Effice mortem tibi familiarem vt possis cum sors tulerit illi laetus alacriter obuiam exire Those Philosophers were more mortified who had their graues alwayes open before their gates that going out or comming in they might alwayes thinke of Death Good Ioseph of Arimathea built his Sepulchre in the middest of his garden So doe thou amid all thy pleasures and delights thinke of death and that wil coole and temper all thy vaine desires It will so qualifie thee to the world and the world to thee as thou wilt not much care for it In this world wee are all Benonies the sonnes of Sorrow The way to Heauen is by weeping crosse Hi motus animorum atq haec certamina tanta Pulueris exigut tactu cōpressa quiescunt It is obserued that most of other creatures liue long but dying perish all to nothing Man that is short-liu'd he dying liues eternally Thinke but of this and you will thinke as S. Bernard did that life was little better then hell were it not for the hope of Heauen Surely Christ would not haue dyed but that wee might die with safety Hee by death in death did deliuer vs from death And did Christ dye for mee that I might liue with him I will not therefore desire to liue long from him It is a token of little loue to God to be loth to goe to God All men goe willingly to see him whom they loue Our brother Ioseph liueth therefore though with Iacob I cannot say I will goe see him before I dye Yet Lord let mee dye that I may see him whom my soule loueth Liuing I cannot but dying I shall Let no difficulties hinder for since Adams fall none passeth vnto Paradise but by burning Seraphims The way to Canaan is cumbersome but knowing that our iourney leades to the land of promise wee passe it pleasantly Yet before wee come at Hierusalem we take in our way the valley of teares The swift Riuer of Iordan must be crossed before wee come to the sweet Waters of Siloam Let no delights tempt you prosperous fortunes may hinder a cheerefull dying but if pleasures of life allure not feares of death will neuer trouble Neminem aduersa conuincunt nisi quem secunda decipiunt Adam was set vpon in Paradise Iob on the dunghill yet Iob fortior in stercore quam Adam in Paradiso The very place of pleasure is dangerous In Paradise Adam could not be innocent but out of Paradise he was a good man For any thing in life lose not the cause of life nor iudge not of things by the face of things For life and death haue deceiueable vizards vnder the faire face of life lurkes griefe vnder the foule feature of death which is but fancy lies felicity Take off the mask and you shall change your minde loath that you loued and loue that you loathed Vita habitu casto cum non sit casta videtur Mors praeter cultum nil meretricis habet Now for the freedomes that come by Death Freedo by deat First it frees from all worldly iniuries Mors multorum malorum finis nullius boni Heere good men doe but liue and suffer benè agere male pati It is their portion and it is good for mee saith Dauid that I haue beene afflicted Non sentire mala non est hominis sed non ferre non esset viri Sufferings are greater trials then actions Secondly it ends all miseries Man in misery saith Iob longs for death and digs for it more then treasure Mors finis est non poena Nay saith one Nec finis nec paena bonis lex est non paena perire Death ends sinnes not life it reformes but doth not destroy Nature Vitiorum est Sepultura virtutum Resurrectio Thirdly it frees vs from all corporall infirmities Mors omnium dolorum solutio Life it selfe is a disease and we dye by corruption of humours whether they be of body or manners who thinke to heale all infirmities with an easier plaister then Death Delineamenta potius quam remedia podagraesuae ponunt Fourthly it frees vs from all bodily labours So saith the Spirit Blessed are they that die in the Lord they rest from their labours Adeo iuuat occupatum mori Fiftly it eases vs of all troubles Refrigeries est animae Refection to the Soule Were wee but in a throng wee thinke that man at ease who gets out first Noah when hee had beene tossed but a yeere vpon the waters Mount Ararat was to him a gladsome place for there the Arke rested So likewise miscrable man after many wearisome
CONTEMPLATIO MORTIS ET IMMORTALITATIS LONDON Printed by Robert Barker Printer to the Kings most Excellent MAIESTIE and by the Assignes of Iohn Bill Anno Dom. 1631. CONTEMPLATIO MORTIS ET IMMORTALITATIS PHilosophers Statesmen Diuines do all hold that in this world there are but tria genera vitae Vna est actiua Altera Contemplatiua Tertia voluptuaria Which of these is best Quaeritur Actio Contemplationis expers is but vita impolita Contemplation if it take vp all a mans time makes vitam sterilem Voluptuaria vita though it bee not otiosa because it is in actu yet is but desidiosa occupatio Amongst these who so tryes all as I haue done shall finde that Action profits most but Contemplation pleases best specially that which indebts a man to action For man was not made for Contemplation onely It is true retirednesse is is more safe then businesse yet as hee is not happy that is alwayes busie so a publike man should not alwayes bee shut vp in thoughts pleasing his life in the sweetnesse of thinking The sweetnesse of thoughts and vertue of Contemplation lyes in the right choice of the subiect euery knowing man being so inquisitiue by nature and of so busie a fancie as it is happy for him in this way to fall vpon a fit subiect Some ancient Fathers and some late Writers haue fixed vpon the loue of God some vpon the Passion of Christ some vpon the ioyes of Heauen some vpon contempt of the World So seuerall others vpon seuerall other subiects All opining that some one is to bee chosen For who so will viuere sibi must vacare Deo Ego in meo solito recessu in quo à negotijs publicis vacans mihi ipsi vacaueram which was but seldome found it fruitfull vsefull and delightfull cogitare de Nouissimo Quatuor sunt Nouissima say the Fathers Death Iudgement Heauen and Hell subiects large enough But considering I had passed so much imployment so many offices in seuerall professions I was some while musing whether any of these fitted me to contemplate In the reuolution of many things I found that when Meditation had produced Deuotion then it applyed it selfe to Contemplation And that true Contemplation required a settlement vpon some diuine obiect Hereupon I made choice of Death and Immortalitie for the subiect of my Contemplation But first my thoughts did beate to finde a difference betwixt Meditation and Contemplation Meditation or recogitation I saw was but a reiterated thought proper to production either of good or euill Day and night haue I meditated on thy Law saith Dauid in one Psalme in an other Why haue they meditated vaine things But Diuines doe now dedicate Contemplation to diuine mysteries Which affecting our soules and exciting our wils produceth some holy resolution We meditate saith one to know God wee contemplate to loue God Meditation is the mother Contemplation the daughter Yet as Ioseph was the crowne of his father and brought him encrease of honour and contentment the like doth Contemplation to her mother Meditation When God himselfe had seene the things created in seuerall peeces hee said they were good But when hee considered the Vniuerse as it were in Contemplation then hee said Lo they were exceeding good For Meditation considers her obiects peece by peece but Contemplation summes them vp all together and sees as in a grosse all the seuerall beauties of meditations obiects Meditation is with a man as hee that smels the Violet the Rose the Iessamy and the Oringe flowers one after the other distinctly But Contemplation is a sweet water compounded of them all wherein you shall smell all these odours together extracted from the seuerall sents which before you smelt diuidually Which extract is farre more fragrant then were any of the simples though euery one was sweet alone This is more elegantly denoted in the Canticles where the Spouse pleates vp her hayre trussing it vp in one knot to shew that wee should not diffuse our thoughts into varietie of considerations but recollect them by contemplation The end of all is after many changes of meditations and discourses to reduce all cogitations to one conclusion Which is contemplation of things diuine Here with a mans soule being once affected hee shall hardly obtaine leaue of his thoughts to returne againe to imployment Now to returne ad meum Nouissimum What man liueth saith Dauid and shall not see death And if after death Iustus vix salnabitur as the Gospel saith Then wee may well bee fearefull and had neede be carefull that wee be not taken vnprepared When I was a young man saith Seneca my care was to liue well I practised Artem bene viuendi when age came vpon me I studied Artem bene moriendi how to die well It is true Iter vitae occupatis non apparet nisi in fine yet when I was occupatissimus hoc me dulci oblectabam solatio aliquando me victurum mihi And this at last I am come to disponendo non mutando me The couenant of the graue is shewed to no man saith the Wiseman But the watch-word is giuen to all men Sint lumbi praecincti Lucernae ardentes semper vigilantes Lord let me be found in this posture when I shall bee to dye Nunquam ego fortunae credidi etiamsi videretur pacem agere I haue had my portion as another man of the worlds fauours yet did they neuer so delight mee or abuse mee as to make mee neglect or to deferre this worke of preparation I considered this Guttatim per horas dies fluit vita And although the houre bee not past till all the glasse be runne nemo multum ex stillicidio potest perdere yet the glasse then runnes most faintly when it drawes neerest to effluxion Carefull Martha was full busie about many things but was well admonished there was onely vnum necessarium Physicians exclaime Vita breuis Ars longa est But Diuines teach Ars optima est vsuendo discere artem bene moriendi If this Science bee to learne when prae foribus Mors est Thy sin-sicke Soule will say Infelix ego homo quis me liberabit à corpore mortis huius But if thou hast learnt it betime then it will reioyce to say Mihi viuere Christus est mori lucrum Welcome death more blessed then my birth In the whole course of my life I haue alwayes thought the right way to die was to liue well and the way to liue well in the world was to dye betimes to the world Mihi Mundus Crucifixus ego Mundo yet I found it rem difficilem In mundo viuere mundi bona contemnere Therfore for assistants I tooke three coadiutors Faith Hope Charity Charitatemex corde puro spemex conscientia bona fidem non fictam And for my soules health often vsed this preparatiue Examen conscientiae meae Nam quicunque cordihabet salutem suam let him euery day mane
quāprimum is his rather for that ends misery and begins felicitie There is no man so valiant as the beleeuer Therefore he saith vnto his soule Why art thou cast downe O my soule Why art thou so disquieted within me Waite on God Soule and Soule are differenced in dying as well as liuing The difference of soules as well in dying as liuing The Atheist dares not die for feare of non esse The ill liuer dares not die for feare of male esse The doubtfull conscience dares not die nesciendo whether hee shall be not be or be damned Onely the good man dares and desires to die hee is assured of his hope his hope is full of immortalitie I am thy saluation saith his Sauiour to the other theend of these present miserable miseries is the beginning of worse and such as death it selfe cannot terminate for that would be happinesse enough if they had but hope there would bee an end at last the greatest pleasure they would desire is the act of death so that might end their sorrowes but their conscience will not let them lye or flatteringly perswade them Adueniet tandem quae non sperabitur hora. This they know and grieue to thinke that Tophet is prepared for the bad and Paradise for the good As the tree falleth so it lyeth and as death leaueth thee so iudgement shall finde thee hee that liues ill seldome dyes well Liue well and you cannot but die well practise well doing and you shall haue the comfort of well dying Sed quà m amarum erit hoc tempore corporis animae separatio Body and soule parting We see old acquaintance cannot part without teares Quid facient intimè familiares quales sunt corpus anima quae ab ipso vtere ita iucundissimè vixerint If the Oxe loweth when his fellow is taken from him that drew the plough with him qualem mugitum shall wee giue when soule and body part Siccinè separas amara Mors Siccinè separas saith the Booke of Kings The Spirit at this time may be willing but the flesh will be loth Egrè amittitur quod valdè amatur Faith will assure God is thy father but nature will tell thee She is thy mother and thou mayest not yet leaue her In this conflict take heede the mothers side preuaile not Shee will play Naomi's part perswade thee earnestly to stay and enioy the delights of Moab yet a while longer But resolue thou with Ruth to see what entertainment is for thee in Bethleem for there thou shalt finde a Boaz. In ista hora euery man will make Balaams suite for no man would be miserable if it were enough to desire to be happy but such a wish onely will not serue He must piè viuere that will securè mori We all desire to shut vp our last Scene of life with In manus tuas Domine commendo spiritum meum But it is not the last words a man vtters that doe qualifie his Soule Remember how in thy life thou hast entertained Gods Spirit for as wee vsed his in this life so hee will vse ours after death Qualem quisque se fecerit in hac vita talem se inueniet exiens ab hac vita At this houre what would a man giue for the redemption of his soule but poore indigent man neuer was any so rich that could pay the ransome of his own soule A displeased mercy askes greater satisfaction then thou canst giue Laesa patientia fit furor Now thou goest to giue account of thy Stewardship that is temporis amissi mali commissi boni omissi And thy Soule already knowes in conscientia tua whither it goes quando egreditur è corpore tuo And although thou canst carry nothing else with thee yet this thou canst not leaue behinde thee Which is liber conscientiae tuae that will tell thee whither thou goest and what thou shalt looke for Tunc quasi loquentia tua opera dicent Tu nos egisti Tua opera sumus non te deseramus sed tecum semper erimus tecum pergemus ad Iudicium Man is a great flatterer of himselfe but conscience is alwayes iust and will neuer chide thee wrongfully It alwayes takes part with God against a mans selfe It is Magistratus domesticus that will tell what you doe at home and saith the booke of Wisedome wickednesse condemned of her owne witnesse is euer timerous and being pressed with conscience forecasteth grieuous things Nemo seueriorem seipso habet iudicem If a man will take his ayme by the best men that euer dyed That of Dauid Ezechias yea and of Christ himselfe as a man is able to amaze any man When as our Sauiour Christ at the point of death said Father if it be thy will let this Cup passe from me When Dauid said Saue Lord for thy mercy sake for in death there is no remembrance of thee And Ezechias wept sore when hee was bid Put thy house in order for thou must die Si Prophetae si Apostoli si Martyres si Christus ipse was thus troubled at the houre of death wretched man that I am what shall I doe Euen as Christ bids me Bee of good cheere for I haue ouercome death Mors morte redempta est Now there is aduantage in death that death which was the wages of sinne is made the reward of righteousnesse and in these forenamed persons it was not death but the curse of the Law that went with death which Christ in our persons and these other persons in themselues feared When Christ was to leaue the world and his Disciples to the world he left them this word for their learning and their comfort If you loued mee you would reioyce because I said I goe to the Father In my Fathers house are many dwellings I goe to prepare a place for you that where I am you may be also Now that death hath ouercome death and Faith hath secured feare nec me taedeat viuere nec timeo mori What can hee feare in Death whose death is his hope Right precious in the sight of God is the death of his Saints See then what makes men willing or loth to die Obsecro te Lucili said Seneca cur timeat laborem vir mortem homo It is the present condition of men in this world that makes them willing or loth to die Nor life nor death are alike to all men some can as willingly leaue the world nay dye as others can forbeare the Court. And as men differ in their condition so doe they in their acceptation of Death some pleasant their liues as if the world should alwayes laugh vpon them Et post mortem nulla voluptas These would doe any thing rather then die Others liue as if they came into the world but to act a sad mans part and dye these wish a change hoping it will bee a benefit Therefore well said the sonne of Syrach O death how acceptable is thy remembrance vnto him
whose strength faileth that is now in his last age and vexed with all things and to him that despaireth and hath lost patience But contrariwise O death how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man that lyeth at rest in his possessions vnto the man that hath nothing to vexe him and that prospereth in all things yea to him that is yet able to receiue meate Certainly to this man that thus liues at ease in delicacie with affluence of all things for euen to vse happinesse is as difficult as to forbeare it to him it is a sad and bitter meditation to thinke that death must take him from all these ioyes wherein his heart tooke pleasure O quam amara mors mundum amantibus Euery poore contentment glues his affections to that he likes When as the best of this worlds contentments are but contemptible If thy heart bee set on Heauen thy soule will haue no pleasure in these low things looke vpward Os homini sublime dedit coelumque tueri The minde contemplating Heauen walkes beyond eye sight and at so farre a distance discernes God as if hee were at hand there is his true solace to conuerse with God Who euer they bee that dwell in Contemplation of heauenly things goe off rich in thoughts satisfied in their expectation For an antidote against Death hate sinne and the pleasures thereof then will death bee delightfull nor life dolefull nay death it selfe looking thee in the face knowing thy heart will change countenance looke vpon thee facie non horrendâ sed blandâ non terribili sed amabili This very day of death Dies iste quem tanquam extremum aliqui reformidant tibi aterni natalis erit The good mans hope is euen in death the world-louer ends both hope and happinesse when he dyes Plato discoursing vnto one de contemptu mortis and speaking strangely vpon it was answered Fortiùs loqueris quà m viuis At ille dicebat non quemadmodum viueret sed quemadmodum viuendum esset How euer the Contemplation of death pleases yet the sufferance of death pinches A man satisfied that death is nothing but a bridge to passe him ouer to an other shore where life stands and lookes for his landing yet while hee is vpon the Bridge which is but a short step betwixt two liues his vertiginous braine wil grow giddie and hee will before troubled in the passage Did not the word Ibis ad Patres sweeten the contemplation as did that wood cast by Moses into the the waters of Marah turning bitternesse into sweetnesse the thought of death though it be but a gathering to our Fathers would be an vnpleasing contemplation But feares being past which are but shadowes set off ioyes the better Therefore now to see What ioyes death brings OVt of the bitter came sweet The ioyes brought by death said Sampson When wee thinke vpon the separation of bodie and soule then it is a sweet contemplation to consider the coniunction of our bodies and soules with Christ which being once made by the bond of the Spirit in this life shall neuer afterwards be cancelled For let death wilde beasts or birds deuoure and teare the body from the soule yet neither body nor soule are thereby seuered frō Christ Non curo saith Ignatius si ferarum dentes me moluerint modo pura fiam farina Christo. And yet the body thus consumed liues not in the graue or belly of the beast nor yet receiues life or sense from the soule while it is in this seate vntill the great Assizes that generall Venite comes But then looke what the condition of Christ was in his death the like shal be of his members The body soule of Christ were seuered as farre as Heauen and the Graue were distant and yet neither of them were seuered from the godhead but both existed in his person so likewise our bodies and soules though rent and pulled in sunder millions of miles distant yet neither of them is seuered or disioyned from Christ our head Qui praedixit reuixit this serues to work it Humane wisedome cannot comprehend this Weake faith lookes for meanes and is put to shifts when shee sees meanes faile But omnipotency workes by improbabilities and tels vs. There is no faith where there is either meanes or hopes Difficulties and improbabilities are the obiects of Faith Through the Spirit saith S. Paul wee waite for the hope of righteousnesse in faith Yet in nature we see that in winter season trees which seeme as dead reuiue againe in the Spring because the body graines armes of the trees are ioined to the root where the sap lyes all the Winter and by meanes of coniunction it conueyes vegitation to all parts of the tree euen so mens bodies haue their winter when they are turned into dust Homo arbor inuersa cuius Radix in caelis rami in terra Their life is hid in Christ with God Yet in the day of resurrection by reason of this mysticall coniunction diuine and quickening vertue shall streame from Christ to his Elect and cause them to resurge from the graue to life eternall For the head wil not be without the members where he is there they shall be also It is noted how in that transfiguration the body of Moses which was hid in the valley of Moab appeared in the hill of Tabor which assures that this body of ours lodge it where you will is not lost but layed vp to bee raised in glory as it was laid downe in corruption The incineration and dissipation of this dust shall haue a recollection in that day of resurrection In the valley of dead bones did not the Spirit say to Ezekiel Prophesie vpon these bones and say O ye dry bones I will cause breathto enter into you I will lay sinewes vpon you and will bring vp flesh and you shall liue If any thinke The difference betwixt the resurrection of the vngodly and the iust this Resurge againe which is so wonderfull is not peculiar but common vnto all both good and bad as good men loue not to bee happy alone its truth yet it is not by the same cause nor to the same end For the wicked rise by the power of Christ to be iudged and condemned But the godly rise by the vertue of Christs resurrection to receiue eternall life Vita mortem assumpsit vt mors vitam assumeret Therefore they collect truely who say that the rotting of our bones is no death but a being asleepe and that sleepe must needs be sweet which hath peace with rest and rests in safety Awake then thou that sleepest arise come and liue hee whom thou louest sleepeth but thou wilt come to awake him till when his couch of ease is his coffin the graue his bed wherein he lyes neuer troubled with dreames or fancies what shall become of his bodie till it rise againe I am the resurrection and the life saith Christ He that beleeueth though hee were dead yet shall
hee liue the arrest of Death shall not alwayes keepe him Well said S. Austine The bodies of Saints shall bee raised tanta falicitate quanta felicitate with as much ease as happinesse Nam mors tantum intermittit vitam non eripit death doth not disanul but discontinue life By our rising wee are remitted to our better right a life which neuer dyes a morning which hath no Eue nor ending Me thinkes I heare death say of life as Iohn the Baptist said of Christ He that commeth after mee is before me Which is life O sweet word Life The best Monasyllable in the world Gods owne Attribute Deus viuit And my soule saith Iob shall liue for my Redeemer liueth And is this life but the child of this word Death then blessed also bee the word Death the mother of life I will no more call thee Marah but Naomi for thou art not bitter but sweet more pleasant though swifter in thy gate then the Row or Hinde The Stoike could say Mors est quae efficit vt nasci non sit supplicium But what saith S. Iohn I heard a voice from heauen saying Write Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord whose workes follow them they die no more death hath no more power ouer them all teares are wiped from their eyes Compare together the benefits of life and death and you shall clearely see how that death which seemes to dispossesse vs of all puts vs in possession of more thē that al. Per varios casus per tot discrimina rerū Tendimus in Latium sedes vbi fata quietas Ostendunt It is but being which wee haue by Nature or by Birth our better being is by Grace but our best being is in glory there wee cannot bee till death haue conueyed vs thither Esse naturae est benè esse gratiae optimum esse gloriae Better therefore is our last being by death then was our first being by birth Dicique beatus ante obitum nemo Birth brought mee into the world but that was misery allowing no vacation to sorrowes Ne natalem quidem excipit For crying was the first note of my being Calamitatis futurae propheta Death carries me from a world of miseries to a world of felicities Dies mortalis est fatalis Natiuitas Heere I dwell in a house of clay whose foundation is dust Death brings to an habitation made without hands euerlasting in the heauens Ad excelsa sublatus inter felices currit animus excipitque illum coetus sacer Birth brought mee to conuerse and haue commerce with men death brings mee to haue communion with Saints and fellowship with Angels yea to enioy visionem illam beatificam The immediate fruition of God and Christ Old father Iacob when he was told of his sonne Iosephs power in Egypt was not satisfied to heare of his honours but enquires of his life intimating that life to come is better then all the honours that are in Egypt or fortunes that are on earth nor yet did Iosephs life content him without being present with him and therefore said I will goe downe and see him counting it better to behold with the eye and yetmost sinnes begin and creepe in at the eyes then to walke in desires Implying that the best things that are pleasure vs not in their being but in our enioying them What then shall bee the ioy The ioy soule dy at the meeting when soule and body separated for a season shall meete againe in ioy and mutually enioy one the other The sense of this delight and contentment did well appeare in that meeting betwixt Iacob and Ioseph whom mutuall losse and separation for a while did more endeare each to other Intermission of comfort hath this aduantage that it sweetens our delight more in the returne then was abated in the forbearance And was Iacob glad to leaue his countrey the land of Promise to see his yonger sonne Ioseph though in Egypt What then shall bee the soules ioy to end a pilgrimage in a strange land and goe to see his elder brother Christ in heauen an inheritance more pleasant then that land of Goshen freed from all the encombrances of this Egypt Therefore said S. Paul I desire to be dissolued that I may bee with Christ For this tedious mortalitie pleasant it how man can will be intollerable if death doe not disburthen it because long liuing so loads vs with sinne as the burthen thereof tyres euery man at last It is such an inmate as will roost in vs as long as life affords it house-roome nor wil it lodge alone but still one sinne will call in another but through death the very body of death and burthen of sinne are both cast out together Sith then the life I now enioy is beset with death tends to death and ends in death I will no longer mistake tearmes calling that death which is life and that life which is death Hanc esse mortem quam nos vitam putamus Illam vitam quam nos pro morte timemus said Lactantius More diuinely said S. Austine Per vitam ad mortem transitus est per mortem ad vitam reditus est Therefore the Pagans did not ill to celebrate the day of their death with mirth and the day of their birth with mourning For although the soule be then infused when man is made Death the regeneration of the soule yet it is new borne when man dyes His bodie being the wombe and death the midwife which deliuers that to sorrow this to glory The Prophet Ieremie so little ioyed in his birth that he said Let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed Quis pauet quis flet quis eget quis errat Solus heusortes homo sperat optat alget voluit explorat queritur Malorum omnia plena said a diuine Poer But to assure there are ioyes in death What saith the Scripture vnto well dying men Reioyce and lift vp your heads for now your Redemption draweth neere The third generall diuision III. When Death is to be prepared for and how IT was the saying of the diuine Philosopher Plato There is nulla salutar is Philosophia The time when but perpetua mortis meditatio and sine ista meditatione tranquillo esse animo nemo potest Scipio was wont to say Mortis meditatio Is vita sapientis and that it was the most honourable Philosophy to study a mans mortality Politiques say Totâvitâ discendum est viuere But saith Seneca Hoc magis miraberis Totâ vitâ discendum est mori Fooles would faine doe in the end that which wise men doe in the beginning Prepare for their end but carelesse men thinke that the signiory and gouernment of times is at their commands to doe what they list when they list We haue little power ouer the present much lesse ouer the future Therefore King Dauid cryed betimes Lord let me know mine end and the measure of my daies what it is and
long time Et vita ipsa si scias vti longa est Vir bonus bis viuit saith the Spaniard Amâ—liat at at is spatium sibi vir bonus hoc est viuere bis vita posse priore frui He liues twice that leades his first life well Alexander had a good account of his age reckoning by victories not by dayes So should Christians count their dayes by euery sinne they conquer in that day Numbring of dayes saith Saint Austine is not numerus dierum quis sit but quî sit Tres sunt dies hominis saith Saint Hierom Dies Conditionis dies Conuersionis dies Resurrectionis One day certifieth another saith Dauid Time lent vs flyes away in the time that is lent euery moment comming being the death of that is past But weigh well euery moment for it is of so great moment as that vpon it depends eternity of time to come Vnto dying well there are three things most requisite Three things requisite to dying well First to bee often meditating vpon death Secondly to be dying dayly Thirdly to dye by little and little Often meditation of Death The first step to dying well brings you to die in ease alleuiates paines expels feares eases cares cures sinnes corrects death it selfe Quo modo non morimur cùm viuitur mortuis wee liue with so many deaths about vs that wee cannot but often thinke of dying Euery humour in vs engenders a disease enough to kill vs so that our bodies are but liuing graues and we die not because wee are sicke but because wee liue and when we recouer sicknesse wee escape not death but the disease Doe then as the Preacher counsels what you haue to doe that doe quickely For in the graue whither thou goest there is neither worke nor discourse nor trauaile nor wisedome nor conuersation nor fruition of any thing all is entombed in silence darkenesse ouershadowing it Measure not life spatio sed actu because life is ordained for Action not for fruition If thou hast any good to doe for the Church the Commonwealth or thy Friends doe it quickly Hast thou much goods laid vp in store make thee friends with thy Mammon but sing not a requiem to thy soule say not vainely Viuamus dum viuimus sors fortuna vt volet ordinet vita iam in tuto est Remember Hac nocte know that after the day of vanitie comes the night of Iudgement then both light and delight goe out together Sadly and suddenly shalt thou find all worldly pleasures turned into waking dreames Et quae parasti cuius erunt All the towers in the ayre that thou hast built Vno ictu prosternentur On the other side doest thou eate the bread of carefulnesse and drinke the water of wearisome affliction Heere is Manna bread from heauen and water after which non sities There is no such cordiall to comfort cares or temper sorrows as often and seriously to thinke of death and to be acquainted with it betimes Priuacie with death a souereigne cordiall against death for through acquaintance death will leese his horror like vnto an ill face though it be as formidable as a Monster yet often viewing will make it familiar and free it from distaste It is said that Philostrates liued seuen yeeres in his tombe that hee might be acquainted with it against his bones came to lye in it Some Philosophers haue beene so rapt in this Contemplation of Death and Immortalitie that they discourse so familiarly and pleasingly of it as if a faire death were to bee preferred before a pleasant life This is well for Natures part Where the power of death lyeth and Moralists thinke it enough for their part but Christians must goe further and search deeper They must search where the power of death lies They shall finde that the power of euery particular mans death lyes in his owne sins that death neuer hurts a man but with his owne weapon it alwayes turnes vpon vs some sin it findes in vs. The sting of death is sinne Plucke out the sting death cannot hurt Quid huius viuere est diû mori Dye often and you shall be sure to dye well The second step to dying well The second step is to dye dayly Morior ne moriar I dye dayly saith S. Paul Singulos dies singulas vitas putae qui enim â—mnes dies tanquà m vitam ordinat crastinum nec optat nec timet The old saying is as good Doe that euery day which thou wouldest doe the same day that thou dyest Bonum est consumere vitam ante mortem Make that voluntarie which is necessarie and yeeld that quickly as a gift which you must pay as a debt at last Did men know that death were onely an end of life and no more euery man for his owne ends would bee a disturber of the worlds peace while hee liued and seeke to make his owne but when he dyed Hee that dies daily seldome dies deiectedly so he that will liue when he dies must dye while hee liues The widow that liues in pleasure said Saint Paul is dead while shee liues Liue holily you shal die happily Studeto talem esse in vita qualem velis reperiri in morte A liuing man is subiect to a double death Two sorts of death where to euery man liuing is subiect The one naturall the other spirituall Naturall death doth but separate the bodie from the soule But the spirituall death separates the soule from God Of all other it is the most desperate state of life to liue naturally and to bee dead spiritually Thou hast a name to liue but thou art dead said Saint Iohn but of the Prodigall child returned from his euill wayes it is said This my sonne was dead but is now aliue Wee count it a fearefull thing for a man to bee author of his owne death A sinfull life slayes the soule and so while we liue we kill or lose our better life The commandement that sayes Thou shalt d ee no murder specially forbids the murthering of our owne soules but certainly that which depriues vs of our better life makes of all other the worst death It is therefore a holy wisedome for a man to let his sins go before him Moriantur ante te vitia They to die actually thou heere virtually and so to liue that when thou art to die thou haue nothing to doe but die Atchieuement of riches pleasures honours haue beene painefull yet if these things leaue not vs by accident we leaue them by death and at our death we shall plainely tell them as Iob said Miserable comforters are you all If life delight then vse it yet so as a Traueller doth his Inne for a night and away and in thy iourney follow not the common tracke Nam ad Deum faciens iter per trita si itur longiùs abitur But do as the doubtful passenger aske questions of euery one you meete that can set you in your
Death to doe them the kindnesse to take them soone out of the world counting a short death the happiest houre of a mans life And for this saith Tully a man is most beholding to Nature Quòd vnum introitum ad vitam dedit exitus vero multos Sed non sic itur ad astra Christians know better wayes as how to liue in grace that they may die in peace And to whom this grace is giuen for him glory is reserued saith Saint Paul Many a good man is sore troubled to see men of the best liues to haue distempered and perplexed ends Some rauing some despairing some dying suddenly and seldome haue any so bitter draughts as those whom God loues best It is fit therefore to take notice of the causes that be naturall Despaire in dying may arise as well from weakenes of nature as from trouble of minde but in neither case can this preiudice him that hath liued well Marke the righteous and behold the perfect man for the end of that man is peace Rauings and other strange passions are many times rather the effect of the disease then mouing from the minde For vpon deaths approaches choler fuming to the braine wil cause distempers in the most patient soule In these cases the fairest and truest iudgement that can be made is that sinnes of sicknesse occasioned by violence of the disease in a patient man are but sinnes of infirmitie and not to be taken as ill signes or presages I will not despaire in respect of that mans impatient dying whom the worme of conscience had not troubled or deuoured liuing Dauid in this case the better to make his way prayed and cryed Lord spare mee a little O spare me that I may recouer strength before I goe hence and be no more Indeede to Ezekias some yeeres of dayes were lent but we are not worthy of that fauour wee must time it as we may and bee content to liue and die at vncertainties As a sicke man hearkens to the clocke so let vs watch Death For sudden comming of death finding a weake soule vnprepared makes it desperate leaues it miserable Sudden death of it selfe is not therefore euill What death is to bee counted suddaine because it is sudden but because it may take vs away suddenly our soules vnprepared The good man neuer dyes vnprepared because his perseuerance in goodnesse is a prouidence against sudden death If a man bee alwayes prepared and haue set all euen betwixt heauen and his conscience sudden death is but a quicker passage to heauen and is not to be accounted a sudden death but a sudden departure because it came not vnlookt for Though the righteous be preuented by Death saith the Booke of Wisedome yet shall hee bee at rest because hee hath made his peace beforehand His departure is no miserie for his hope is full of eternitie Ezekiel the Prophet so often stiled Sonne of man to him God sayes I take away from thee the delight of thine eyes which was his wife with a stroke suddenly and yet thou shalt not weepe Let not the present pleasures of this life allure thee nor the cares thereof possesse thee and sudden death cannot surprise thee Improuisa nulls Mors cui prouida Vita But if a man doe not prepare to die he may liue seuen yeeres in a consumption and yet die a sudden death For any time is sudden to him that is vnprepared They take their marke amisse who iudge a man by his outward behauiour in his death If you know the goodnesse of a mans life iudge him not by the strangenesse of his death When a man comes to bee iudged his life and not the manner of his death shall giue the euidence with him or against him Many that liue wickedly would seeme to die holily more for feare to be damned then for any loue to goodnesse To these men there is malum triplex quod manet in septima Which is Horrour in exitu Dolor in transitu Pudor in conspectu Dei If my life please God I am sure my death shall please me for hee that liues well is sure to die well but he that liues ill is not sure to dâ—e well Vitae praesentis finem talem esse oportet quale futurae est principium It is a great happinesse to die in ease Quis tam facile quando vult dormit as he that layes downe his life in peace Yet a good man doth not alwayes die in the exercise of his goodnesse But as a wise man when hee sleepes leeses not his knowledge no more doth a good man his graces though he die in distemper For habitudes of goodnesse doe not then leaue him though they cannot then do their office for him But the vulgar opinion if a man die quietly and goe away like a lambe which in Consumptions and dul diseases all men doe then sure hee goes to Heauen But if he die distempered and of franticke behauiour which happens to many through extreame inflammations then sure he goes to hell is a iudgement from nature not of Religion and in this case trust not Natures iudgement for it is arted with subtilties of physicke Serenitie ioy and peace in a dying man is a hopefull behauiour yet wee see the cleere starres that are so delightfull to behold bring forth their Rayes by sparkelings and dartings as though they were deliuered of their light by trauell and hard assayes So good men in their death haue great varietie of accidents many languors many agonies many iterated endeauours trauailing of Death as in a Childbirth But when the passages of the soule lye open to God without opposition of worldly cares then it peaceably makes egresse with a sweetnesse and without disturbance Naturall causes haue their operations but it is the God of nature that commands them It is Gods propertie sometimes to worke supernaturally by nature But trust to this beleeue aright and liue as you beleeue and you shall be sure to die in safety and the way to end life quietly is to render it willingly Let no contentment of the world so fixe you to the world as to make you desire longer life Saepe in hoc esse Bene non diu Shortnesse of life is no vnhappinesse Citiùs mori vel tardiùs adrem non pertinet bene mori aut malè adrem spectat The Booke of Wisedome saith Hee was suddenly taken away least ill should alter his vnderstanding or deceit beguile his soule Had present death beene euill or long life good Cain had beene slaine and Abel had suruiued But Death commonly begins first where God loues best His soule saith the sonne of Sirach pleased God therefore hasted hee to take him away Wee see the best men liue not longest And indeede it were iniurious to wish that goodnesse should hinder any man from happinesse Hee that lends good men to the world owes them a better turne then to let them liue long in the world One man seemes to die casually another
stiled Ladie mistresse of the world that will not bee courted nor yet cast off Yet is she but vox tantum a thing next to nothing Solo timenda sono Better is it called a transfiguration or transmigration from life by death to life againe Exitus non transitus Transitus quem ire non intelleximus transissesentimus The graue is but a withdrawingroome to retyre in for a while a going to bed to take rest sweeter then sleepe And when it is time to rise cum expergiscar then I shall bee satisfied saith the Prophet Dauid In the meane time it is common to all Death common to all Mors etiam saxis nominibusque venit Yet this fauour nature hath done Quod grauissimum fecit fecit commune vt crudelitatem fati consolaretur aqualitas Who liues and shal not see death Quisquis ad vitam nascitur ad mortem destinatur it respects none Equat omnes cinis It is as naturall to die as to be borne Licet impares nascimur pares morimur No sooner borne but hastening to die Orimur morimur We come into the world with a sheete about vs as no sonner borne but going to bee buried For all this man is euen with Death Nunquam enim magnis ingenijs cara in corpore mora est nay the good Soule aegre fert has angustias Therefore what great thing doth death in hastening dayes This shewes infirmitie rather then power Age doth more nil enim non longa demolitur vetustas Death onely shortens time not life for lifes time shortens by lengthening Morimur quòd mortibus viuimus morieris non quia aegrotas sed quia viuis This all men are to know that mortis meritum is peccati debitum Both imposed on man for sinne Sith then Life but a dying death it is a Statute made in heauen omnibus semel mori and that life is so momentanie and death so certaine splendemus licèt Hêu quà m citò frangimur corpora vitrea Since life it selfe is no true liuing but a dying being and such a being as euery day pants for breath which nature fawnes vpon it for a while Mors fugacempersequitur virum And since death is no death but a going vnto heauen and heauens comming vnto vs How can a man but thinke it a well spent life alwayes to be meditating vpon death But saith Zenophon Cur vitam contemnendamputas habes I will not inquire nor require more of death but death Err as enim qui in terrogas Quid sit mors Et propter quod mortempetam Quaeris enim aliquid supra summum But if a man dye shall he liue againe saith Iob. Yes Life after Death saith Saint Paul we that are in this Tabernacle sigh and are burthened because we would not be vnclothed but cloathed vpon that Immortalitie might bee swallowed vp of life Phoenix sponte crematur Vt redeat proprioq solet pubescere letho Ste tu corpus coactum Discere mutatâ melior procede figurâ The bright dayes die into dark nights but rise againe a mornings Though the body sleepe awhile in the dust yet shal it arise after thy likenesse The Soule which departed for a season shall as Saint Paul said of Onesimus come againe and bee receiued for euer That bodie which was sowen a naturall body shall rise a spirituall bodie Sow in teares reape in ioy who so goe forth weeping and carrie precious seede shall returne with ioy and bring their sheaues with them Yet caro ista Pulueries this clod of earth must lye a while in Dust Sed resurget tandem as the Queenes daughter all glorious within For if in this life holinesse maketh the face of a man to shine by an Irradiation from the heart what shall be the beauty of the bodie glorified Surely though it be not deifyed yet shall it be purified perfected and immortalized Our vile bodies shall be changed saith Saint Paul and fashioned like vnto his glorious body Such glory haue all his Saints If the exchange bee such who would not be willing yea glad to die Nilminus est hominis occupati quam viuere Quos autem felicitas grauat exclamant illi Mihi viuere non licet It is a good minde to bee content to dye and willing to liue But to be willing to dye and content to liue is the mind of a strong Christian Diligimus mortem pariter pariterque timemus Ipse metus te noster amat When the Senator Cato was asked a question concerning Death Si Deus inquit ille mihi largiatur vt repuerascam valde recusem Nec tum me vixisse poenitet quia bene vixi nec timeo mori quod ex hospitio non domo discedam Wherefore though death be not to be sought in the errour of youth as the Preacher saith respects it may bee desired Death desireable for three respects Portus est aliquando petendus nunquam recusandus As first that sowe may betimes leaue off to sinne since sin liues in vs and leaues vs not till Death Dixit Socrates Appropinquante morte multò es diuinior Secondly the Soule that soone departs facilius ad superos iter facit quia minùs facis ponderisque traxit In this passage betweene life and death what 's the distance So little as with the Ancients the Embleme of life was oculus apertus Mortis clausus but not extinctus nec plus interesse putauerunt inter mortem vitam quam ictum oculi Man is onely a winke of life his life and death ioyned as neere as ioy and griefe where teares expresse both Thirdly that we might the sooner come to liue indeede Vita aeterna est illa vita vitalis ista est tantùm mortalis For this cause saith Bernard praecipitat quisque vitam suam fuiuri desiderio laborat praesentium taedio Men commonly say There is nullum tempus praeter Nune. But this present is not that which contents the Soule Nimis angustat gaudia qui praesentibus acquiescit They are onely creatures of inferiour nature that are pleased with the present Man is a future creature his soule lookes at what is beyond this life Scrutatur quod vltra mundum futura praeterita illum delectant Haec expectatione illa recordatione It would make a man heauenly proud but to thinke of how Diuine a nature and qualitie his Soule is The Heathens could say it was Diuinae particula Aurae Epicurus makes it a Spirit mixt of fire and ayre Others define it to bee a selfe-mouing number Seneca said Quid aliud est anima quam Deus in corpore humano hospitans Neuer could any giue it such a definition that either an other or himselfe could conceiue it And no wonder that a man cannot conceiue what his Soule is Because it suffered a composure before it selfe was Therefore Admiration rather then Search becomes a man in such a secret Tully said Mihi quidem nunquam persuaderi potuit animos dum in corporibus essent
right way Herein bee as great a questionist as were those religious Ladies of Rome who neuer let Saint Hierome rest for questions which was the readiest way to heauen If a man would but compare the Forenoone of his age with the Afternoone how long the one is and how short the other is euery man would be dying dayly Palmarios posuisti dies The longest liuer hath but a handfull of dayes Life it selfe is but a circle alwayes beginning where it ends Erat quando non erat sed erit Time was when man was not But how late a beginning soeuer man had yet after death hee shall be sure neuer to see end With the Ancient of dayes there are no dayes And the time shall be when time shall be no more There be two common errours which deceiue most men Two common errors First that a man enters not into eternall life till he dyes when as his calling heere begins his life eternall To Zacheus Christ said This day is saluation come vnto thy house Faith preuents time and makes things future present The godly man that hath his present life hid with Christ in God so liues heere as if his conuersation were in heauen carrying himselfe not onely honestly ciuilly and humanely but beyond naturall condition his life seemes super-humane diuine and spirituall The second errour is that howeuer a man liues yet if at last he seeme to die well then all is well and his soule is sure to bee saued this is a bold and a dangerous conceit for though Misery be the obiect of Mercy and Hope the miserable mans god yet humane life hath not a greater friend nor many times a greater foe then Hope Many would dye did not hope sustaine them more haue dyed flattered with vaine hope Whoso hopes too much cozens himselfe at last Be not deceiued God is not mocked not euery one that saith Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdome of Heauen In this mortall life enter into the first degree of life eternall or thou mayest die eternally with Lord haue mercy vpon vs in thy mouth But haue thy part heere in the first Resurrection which is from sinne to Grace and then thou shalt enioy the second Resurrection which is from dust to Glory The third step to well dying To die by little and little the third step is to die by little and little Totâ die mortificamur Naturally wee are euery day dying by degrees The faculties of our mind the strength of our bodies our common senses euery day decaying paulatim He that vseth this course euery day to dye by little and little to him let death come when it will it cannot be either terrible or suddaine If wee keepe a Courser to runne a Race wee leade him euery day ouer the place to acquaint him by degrees with all things by the way that when he comes vpon his speed he doe not start or turne aside for any thing he sees So let vs enure our soules and then wee shall run with boldnesse the race that is set before vs. To die by little and little is first to mortifie our lesser sinnes and not to say with Lot Is it not a little one Wee may not wash our hands from crying and from bloody sinnes and yet hugge in our bosome some beloued and Herodian sinne Certainely great sinnes will neuer be conquered if little sinnes be cherished Saint Cyprian writing consolatory Epistles to the Martyres of his time told them that he that once hath ouercome death in his owne person doth dayly ouercome him in his members if you mortifie the members of your flesh by little and little you will not feare the crueltie of any exquisite death the Tyrant can deuise There be a sort of little deathes as sicknesse of body troubles of minde losse of friends and the like vse these rightly in their kinde and you may make them kindely helpes to dying well The right way to bring any thing to a good end is to proceed by degrees God himselfe made nothing absolute at first This great God loues to haue degrees kept degreeingly to grow to greatnesse is the course of the world so by little and little to goe out of the world per gradus not per saltum is the way to Heauen Let a man goe out of the world as he came into the world which was first by a life of Vegetation then of Sense afterwards of Reason Dauid prescribes vs this order when hee sayes Doce me duce me Domine Hee will not runnetill hee bee taught to goe Teach mee to doe thy will and leade me into the land What land is that There is terra quam terimus land on earth which yeelds vs all pleasures that 's not it There is terra quam gerimus refined earth beautified bodies which we beare about vs nor is this it There is terra quam quaerimus the glorious land of promise that 's the land we seeke Into this land duce me Domine For the manner of dying AMongst men it is a matter of chiefe marke the manner of a mans death All men as men die naturally as Christians they should die religiously The good man equally can die or liue for he knowes if hee liue God will protect him if he dyes God will receiue him The Prophet Dauid in a Contemplation of Death ingeminates the word saying Domine Domine exitus Mortis The issues of Death belong to thee A good man by his good will would die praying and doe as the pilgrim doth goe on his way singing and so addes the paine of singing to that of going Yet by this Surplus of paine vnwearies himselfe of paine But some wretches thinke God rather curious then they faulty if a few sighes with a Lord haue mercy vpon vs be not enough at the last gaspe There is no spectacle in the world so profitable or more terrible then to behold a dying man to stand by and see a man dismanned Curiously diddest thou make man in the lowest part of the earth saith Dauid but to see those elements which compounded made the body to see these diuided and the man to be dissolued is rufull So dependant is the life of man that it cannot want one element Fire and Ayre these fly vpward Water and Earth they sinke downeward So liuing man becomes a dead carkase Seneca thought a man might choose his own death which was some ease to him Quemadmodum nauim elegam nauigaturus domum habitaturus Ita mortem vtique quá sum exiturus è vita But better saith another Stultè haec cogitantur vitam alijs approbare quisquam debet mortem verò sibi But since it is so great a matter to die so necessarie to die well so dangerous to die ill Let your life be an acting of death Certainely Death hath great dependancie on the course of a mans life There bee many that choose rather to die quickely then to liue long sickely Some that will inuite
violently both by destinie all men by Decree Quē dederat cursum natura peregi said the Poet. But the Diuine tels vs though Moses dyed vpon one Hill Aaron vpon another Hill yet both where they might see the land of Promise How familiarly did Moses heare of Death when there was no more betwixt God and him But Moses goe vp and dye With such a sociable compellation are good men inuited to Death as to a Feast Nec mihi Mors grauis est posituro morte labores Mors mihi merces erit The assurance of life after Death ALthough my flesh bee eaten with wormes Assurance of life after death these wormes turned to dust this dust blowne through the earth yet after thou hast turned all to destruction Againe thou sayest Come againe you children of men Redemptor meus is the word of assurance My Father and your Father saith the Gospel Meum and tuum are words of Assurance to mens soules though in mens states they make all Controuersies I know that my Redeemer liueth How doe I know it not by Opinion but by Faith Fides non creditur sed cernitur Things are not so because we are perswaded they are so but because they bee so therefore wee are so perswaded The woman with child knowes shee is with child when shee feeles it stirre liuely So the Spirit of God assures our spirit when wee feele his Spirit in vs. Holy Iob saith Though after the skinne wormes destroy the body yet in my flesh I shall see God for my selfe and mine owne eyes shall behold him and not an others Which numerall Identity giues certaintie that this soule of mine impersonated anew and so inanimating my body againe shall giue a new being and a better being vnto both That soule the lost pearle which to finde a man would haue giuen all that he had shal there be found ingrauen in gold where as heere it was found set but in clay The fourth generall diuision IIII. What our last thoughts should be AS in greatest extremities good Physicians leaue drugges and minister onely Cordials so deale by thy soule when death approaches cast away all worldly cares entertaine onely thoughts that will animate thy weake body and refresh thy thirstie soule as did that dew of Hermon falling vpon the Hill of Sion nor will I feare how this body of mine shall appeare an other day For I am promised by him that will performe it shall not be found naked But this couering of flesh being cast off I shall take this body againe cloathed with glory as with an other garment This doth Saint Paul most elegantly and diuinely expresse saying Wee know that if our earthly house of this Tabernacle bee destroyed wee haue a building giuen of God that is a house not made with hands but eternall in the heaueus For therefore wee sigh and desire to be cloathed with our house which is from heauen Because that if wee be cloathed wee shall not be found naked For indeede we that are in this Tabernacle figh and are burthened because we would not be vncloathed but cloathed vpon that immortalitie might be swallowed vp of life And hee that hath created vs for this thing is God who also hath giuen vs the earnest of his Spirit Therefore we are alwayes bold though we know that whilst we are at home in the bodie wee are absent from the Lord. For wee walke by faith and not by sight Neuerthelesse we are bold and loue rather to remoue out of the body and to dwell with the Lord. 2. Cor. 5. This is so promising and so sweet as it seemes to transport a man aliue from earth to Heauen Hîc in via es sed illic eris in Patria Therefore baite not too long vpon pleasures by the way All the while I liued said a good man I was going on my iourney towards my countrey but now that I am dying I finde my selfe neere home I am now come to Mount Sion the Citie of the liuing God the heauenly Hierusalem I will not therefore sit downe on this side Iordane but hasten to the Citie whither when I come I shall there see my God face to face Heare my Sauiour say Euge bone serue It is my Fathers will to giue thee a kingdome Is it not enough that my God is gone vp to prepare a place for me but will hee giue mee a kingdome also And shall not I bee glad when God shall come and fetch mee to inthrone mee in this kingdome Absit Now mee thinkes I heare my soule say Cur non accedis Domine Quid moraris I haue too long dwelt in this sepulchre of earth And woe is me that I still remaine in Mesech and dwell in these tents of Kedar It is enough Lord as Elias said in the wildernesse Take now away my life for I am no better then my Fathers were Nay my soule is now growne so high minded that shee saith Maior sum ad maiora genitus quà m vt mancipium sim huius corporis Thus rich in thoughts and great in expectation doth diuine Contemplation make vs. God hath not giuen a soule to any creature else but Man Therefore it is but duety in Man to know the dignitie of his Soule which is so heauenly ambitious as it will not let heauen alone till it may see as it is seene Grauata est anima mea my bodie is a burthen to my soule It hath had honour enough to haue beene so long companion with my Soule wherefore now as Saint Hierome said Egredere anima egredere The Hermite sitting on his turft said to his soule Sexaginta annos seruiuisti Deo nunc mori times Goe out of this Arke of flesh O my soule for I smell the sauour of rest Celeritas nunc in desiderio mora est Though my soule as a bird for necessitie sake hath been faine to stay awhile heere vpon earth yet willingly would she be soring in the skies But I finde that ista vita est mihi impedimento ad id propter quod viuitur Specially when I heare my Sauiour say Father I will that those whom thou hast giuen mee be with mee also where I am That they may behold my glory To him that is faithfull vntill death I will giue a Crowne of life Therefore desiderio desideraui ergastuli huius egressum that I may see facie ad faciem him whom my soule loueth and to bee Lord where thou enioyest thy selfe and glorified spirits enioy thee Entertaine thy last houres with such like thoughts Et hatibi dabunt ad aeternitatem Iter in itinere subleuabunt They will Angelize thy body and imparadise thy soule before thou commest into Heauen yeeld a sweetnesse farre beyond the bitternesse of Death Certainely a good soule thus imploying it selfe in ista hora will not leaue the felicitie it shall haue in such a transmigration from death to life for all the ioyes that life past did euer render her Good Saint Austine
in a high speculation endeuouring to expresse this heauenly ioy was asked by a graue old man Father Austine quid agis A man may as well draw in all the ayre in the world with one breath as expresse to the life that which thou art now about Though this ineffable ioy cannot bee expressed yet it is res generosa conari alta mente maiora concipere quà m quae effici possunt Therefore this wee may doe some way sample that which wee can no way expresse Looke as a Bird that hath been long encaged then chants it most merrily when she gets loose into the open ayre Nititur in syluas quaque rediresuas Or as a sicke man that hath wearily tossed and turned himselfe in his bed all night is them comforted when hee sees the day breake and the sunne beames guild the morning Or as a prisoner that feeles his chaines heauy vpon him longs for releasement Liberaque â ferris crura futura velit So it will bee with thy Soule when thou shalt heare thy Sauiour say I am thy saluation Come vnto mee thou that art weary and heauy laden and I will refresh thee Poenitentibus petentibus pertinet Regnum Coelorum To them that are weary of this durance and sue for deliuerance belongeth the kingdome of heauen Wherefore as a wearied traueller that hath passed a long iourney though perhaps met with some delights by the way is then gladdest when hee comes within kenning of his countrey Natale solum dulcedine cunctos ducit Euen so thy soule after many yeeres pilgrimage in the wildernesse of the world being come with Moses to Mount Nebo and beholding the pleasant land of Canaan from the top of Pisgah will then laugh for ioy as doth the Horizon to see the Sunne comming as a Bridegroome out of his chamber Dilectus meus descendit ad hortum suum ad areolam aromatum Of this ioy thy dazled eyes might haue some glimpses when thou wast in health but then it was as the blind mans visiō in the Gospel to whose first sight men seemed to walke like trees But in this thy new state thou shalt see clearely men and Angels stand before the Lambes Throne and heare thy selfe inuited to the Lambes Supper where thou shalt be brought into the wine seller and loue will be the banner ouer thee Come then O Shunammite stay me with flagons and comfort me with Apples for I am sicke of loue Kisse me with the kisses of thy mouth for thy loue is better then wine Shew mee O thou whom my soule loueth where thou feedest where thou lyest at noone Thus with Solomon in a Canticle and with Dauid in a Psalme let be the Raptures of thy Soule which as in trance shall bee caught vp to Heauen as was Philip by the Spirit or Abdias by the Angel And with an Heroicall alacritie tempered with a gracious humilitie giue vp thy soule to God and bid farewell to the world It was S. Bernards I shall neuer truely ioy till I heare this word Come you blessed Nor cease to sorrow till this be past Goe ye cursed Dying Saint Stephen before his eyes were closed had a faciall fight of his Sauiour looked stedfastly into heauen and saw the glory of God and Iesus standing at the right hand of God And old Simeon after hee had seene his Sauiour then reioyced to say Lord now lettest thou thy seruant depart in peace for mine eyes haue seene thy Saluation Hoc videā moriar Morior vt videam THE RAPTVRE OF THE SOVLE RApitur anima cùm coelestia Contemplatur contemplando iucundatur And because sight increases delight Therefore Rapture would faine ascend to vision But that 's a priuiledge for Saint Paul It so diuinely rauishes as it raises in man towring thoughts irradiates his soule with high apprehensions yea so it eleuates mans soule to God as it takes him out of himselfe to liue aboue himselfe The Soule being thus powerfully attracted by the faire inducements of so diuine delight She on her party corresponds and with a willing assent glides after these attracts And as a vapour exhaled by the Sun shee goes out of her selfe would willingly draw the body with her but that substance is too sad wherefore shee quitts it as not agil and spritefull enough to soare so high It is an admirable thing to consider that the eye of a man so weake a creature should looke vp euery day to heauen so wonderfull in height and yet neuer bee tyred by the way But by this I see that heauenly Contemplation if it be strong enough and not ouer-clogged with earthy thoughts is able to carry vs with case to heauenly extasie but then there must be application of the will and vnderstanding from things sublunarie to things heauenly For the will takes pleasure to perceiue the vnderstanding taken into Rapture and when as the faculties both of will and vnderstanding doe intercommunicate their rauishments then are we sweetly brought into diuine extasie Of this sacred extasie the Seraphical Diuines make diuerssorts One of Vnderstanding a second of Affection a third of Action Action is well added for a man is not to bee aboue himselfe in Contemplation and vnder himselfe in Conuersation The first of the three is in Splendore The second in Feruore The third in Labore The one caused by Admiration the other by Deuotion the last by Operation In these Raptures the Fathers who were stiled Saints had such a complacency as they stroue to act this as the way of a new life sometime before their Death insomuch as the Votaries would say Neuer was Saint but had Extasie and rauishment of life before his death They laboured by a liquefaction of their soules into God to Insoule themselues in God to put their foules out of the naturall comportment of the body and so to liue in diuine extasie without liuing in the body Some so liued as it was doubted whether they were liuing-men dead or dead-men liuing nay some with feruency of spirit were transported into such Extasie that their soules being wholly conuersant in diuine Contemplation they cared not to afford common assistance to Nature and so haue dyed through exinanition and want of strength Thus did loue performe the office of Death Loue is as strong as Death saith Solomon nay with them it wrought more then death could doe For death onely performeth by effect that which loue operated by affection Death did but separate their bodies from their soules But loue separated their soules from their bodies In such a trance they report Saint Austine to say O God thou onely art all mine when shall I bee wholly thine S. Bernard to say What is there in heauen or what desire I on earth but thee O Lord Thou art the God of my heart and my eternall portion my Soule is satisfied with nothing but to be with thee S. Ambrose to say The soule of Ionathan was knit to Dauid but my soule is glued vnto