a separation of the holy from the wicked by Judgment which shall assign to either their everlasting habitations either in Heaven or in Hell Of the Four last things S. Bernard saith that First Death is of all thidgs to flesh and blood most formidable Secondly Judgment than the which there is nothing more terrible and dreadful Thirdly Hell the Torments whereof are insupportable Fourthly Heaven the Joys whereof are beyond apprehension most Blissful and Ravishing And these subjects of holy Meditation would prove the most prevalent to turn all persons professing Christianity from all the errors of their ways whether in opinion or conversation would they but seriously consider the punishments that attend the erroneous and sinful and the blessings wherewith all the Orthodox and Holy shall be Crowned everlastingly The wicked shall be turned into hell Ps 9.17 and all the people that forget God But the Souls of the righteous are in the hand of God Wisd 3.1 and there shall no torment touch them They that have done good Ath. cr Mat. 25. ult shall go into everlasting life and they that have done evil into everlasting fire This Faith is professed by many but by few believed with the heart for he that cordially believes these principles of his Religion will stand in awe and sin not he will not dare in defiance of this Faith knowingly and willingly to transgress the Laws of the great Majesty of Heaven and 't is such a Faith attended by Fear and this Fear by Care and Caution that must preserve the Soul from the Torments and entitle the same to the Joyes of the other world O that they were wise Deut. 32.29 that they understood this that they would consider their latter end It is the greatest and most comprehensive of all the parts of true wisdom so to consider as rightly to prepare for our latter end for to end well is the sum of all our hopes and of all the happiness we can hope for MEDITAT I. HAve mercy upon me Ps 9.13 O God and consider the trouble I suffer of them that hate me my spirit is troubled for the daily incursions of my ghostly enemies Thou that liftest me up from the gates of death Such is this frail mortal life all the ways whereof are vanity and iniquity even gates leading to death eternal From the which I humbly beg to be raised up and exalted by thy right hand That I may shew all thy praises within the ports of the daughter of Sion 14. glorifie thee with thy Church Triumphant in Heaven I will rejoyce in thy Salvation to be thus lifted up and sav'd is a joy unspeakable and glorious Remember me Ps 106.4 O Lord according to the favour thou bearest unto thy people and visit me with thy Salvation That I may see the felicity of thy chosen 5. and rejoyce in the gladness of thy people and give thanks with thine inheritance MEDITAT II. Of the Shortness and Frailty of this present Life MAn that is born of a woman is of few days Job 14.1 and full of trouble He cometh forth like a Flower 2. and is cut down he fleeth as a shadow and continueth not In the midst of life we be in death whilst every day we live is one day nearer to the end of life For what is your life Jam. 4.14 't is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away For all flesh is grass 1 Pet. 1.24 and all the glory of man as the flowers of grass the grass withereth and the flower fadeth Not to consider this shortness and frailty of humane life is to make my life yet more short and frail Lord make me to know mine end and the number of my days that I may be certified how long I have to live that the length of my days is of the shortest measure for behold thou hast made my days as a span Verily every man living is altogether vanity The most high and mighty the most honourable and wealthy are not exempt from this character for Honours Riches Friends all the Delights of the Sons of men with all the Pomp and Pleasure and power of the world depending upon the Shortness and frailty of humane life renders every man in all that he is in all that he has and in all that he hopes for in this world a vanity of vanities an universal vanity St. Augustines Meditations on this Subject THe time of my pilgrimage here upon earth is tedious wearisome for this is a miserable life a frail life an uncertain life a bitter life a laborious life a sinful life 't is the mistress of error and sinfulness and the handmaid to death and hell This life is rather to be called death than life as being through the whole course thereof a passing from Life to Death for whilst we pass from Infancy to Childhood from thence to Manhood and so to Old age every such change in Life is but a passage to Death There is no condition in this life certain and setled now we are glad and anon sad now we are well and anonsick now we are at ease and anon in pain now we laugh and anon weep now in hunger and thirst anon in fulness and excess in honour and dishonour in wealth and poverty in heats and colds in evil report and good report in fear and terror and much amazement and all this and much more than can be exprest is too often attended by a sudden unexpected death and which is yet more miserable though there be nothing more certain than death yet vain foolish man knoweth not considereth not his end So the Preacher Eccl. 9.12 For man also knoweth not his time as the fishes that are taken in an evil not and as the birds that are caught in the snare so are the sons of men snared in an evil time when it falleth suddenly upon them O senseless mortals especially being called Christians and yet to be of so little Faith as to doat upon a life so frail short and uncertain so changeable and calamitous in defiance of what we daily profess to believe Life Everlasting Blessed are they and they are but a few who in hopes and desires to enjoy the unchangeable blessings of the life to come do slight and despise the fallacious flattering enjoyments of this world lest being deceived by the charms and fawnings thereof the Deceiver and the deceived perish together 'T is a general complaint that the world is deceitful and unsatisfying in all her most alluring enjoyments and yet so mightily the flesh prevaileth against the spirit that most men love and I am a great fool among the rest yea dotingly love to be thus deceived too passionately desiring to injoy still this mortal life how frail soever and attended with a numerous train of miseries But forget not O remember and forget not that thou art Immortal O my Soul and that death is but
which through so many perils he acquired have all now left him alone in this ghastly silent Sepulchre accompanied only with Worms Stench and Corruption Such is the end of all flesh 'T is as true of the greatest Prince as of the meanest Peasant When a man is dead Ecclus. 10.11 he shall inherit creeping things beasts and worms All the difference in the grave betwixt the dust of the rich and of the poor of the honourable and the base is this that the dust of the rich through the luxury lasciviousness and intemperance of their life is more corrupt and loathsome after their death than is the dust of the poor whose food and nourishment was more course and sparing Why then my Immortal Soul art thou so fond of thy corruptible companion the Body Remember its beginning is uncleanness and its end rottenness 'T is thy servant for the present but if thou too much cocker and pamper it 't will rebel subdue and lead thee captive to a worse death than that whereunto its self is lyable even the death of the nether Hell Mar. 9.44 where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched 2. Death is the wages of Sin And I have sinned vile wretch that I am I have sinned and what shall I do or what shall I say unto thee O thou preserver of man Job 7.20 All that I can say is the same still I have sinned and as long as I have a day I will say it I will confess my wickedness and be sorry for my sins Mercy 21. good Lord mercy I humbly beg O why dost thou not pardon my transgression and take away mine iniquity Are not my dayes few Job 10.20 cease then and let me alone that I may bewail my sins and take comfort a little in the hopes of the pardon of them through Faith in the blood of my Redeemer before I go from whence I shall not return 21. to the land of darkness and the shadow of death 3. Job 18.14 1 Cor. 15.55 56 57. Heb 2.14 I know that to flesh and blood death is of all terribles the most terrible but my blessed Redeemer by his bitter death hath pulled out the sting and quelled the terrors of death and hath also enchained him who hath the power of death the devil so that now when death approacheth through Faith and a good Conscience I shall have hope with all patience and contentment to drink off that Cup how bitter and painful soever saying with my blessed Lord and Master upon his approaching death Mat. 26.42 Father not my will but thine be done The Prayer ASsist me mercifully O Lord to subject my rebellious flesh to the guidance of the Spirit and my spirit to the laws of my Redeemer that when my body shall be the inheritance of worms and creeping things my Soul-may possess an inheritance uncorruptible and undefiled 1 Pet. 1.4 that fadeth not away reserved in the heavens through Jesus Christ MEDITAT V. Of the uncertainty of Death and preparation for it 1. AS there is nothing more certain than death Ps 89.47 for what man is there that liveth and shall not see death So there is nothing more uncertain than the Time Mat. 24.36 for of that day and hour knoweth no man the uncertainty of Death engageth every wise man to a certainty in his preparation and provision for it Remember that death will not be long in coming Ecclus. 14.12 and that the covenant of the grave is not shewed unto thee Do good unto thy friend before thou dye 13. put it not off to thy last Will and Testament but according to thy ability stretch out thy hand and give unto the poor That the poor when charitably relieved are our best friends and that thus we are to prepare for death is commanded by our Lord Luk. 16.9 Make to your selves friends of the Mammon of unrighteousness in the pious charitable distribution of your worldly goods Luk. 16.9 that when you fail your bodies corrupt and moulder into dust your Souls may be received into everlasting habitations 2. In this life our condition is changeable from better to worse and from worse to better but in death all hopes of bettering our condition are buried with the liveless corps 2 Cor. 6.2 Now is the acceptable time now is the day of Salvation i. e. the day of this life wherein I am commanded to work out my Salvation with fear and trembling Phil. 2.12 for the night of death cometh wherein no man can work Eccl. 9.10 There is either work nor device nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave where thou goest It follows therefore whatsoever thy hand findeth to do do it with all thy might be active be vigorous be zealous Col. 1.10 be fruitful in every good work 'T is the Soul that is laden with the fruits of well-doing 1 Pet. 4. ult Rev. 14.13 Luk. 16.9 which in deaths approach may chearfully commit her self unto the will of God as to a faithful Creator 'T is these good works that follow the Souls of the righteous to the Tribunal of Heaven to plead for their admission into celestial habitations And these are 1. Devout Prayers Mat. 6.1.5.16 which do indeed and more immediately commend our Souls unto God and render them amiable in his sight especially when accompanied 2. With Religious Fastings often Ro. 12.1 whereby we present our bodies also unto him and withal do 3. Heb. 13.15 16. By charitable Alms-deeds dispense our Goods to our wanting brethren for with such Sacrifices God is well pleased Lord I pray thee that thy Grace may alway prevent and follow me and make me continually to be given unto all good works which are the never failing fruits of a true Christian Faith and by these inseparably conjoyned to make my Calling and Election sure sealed in the blood of my dear Redeemer 3. There are three general messengers of Death 1. Chance 2. Sickness 3. Old age Chance renders the life of man doubtful and uncertain Sickness makes it grievous and troublesome Old age makes life tedious and death inevitable Some persons are stifled in their mothers womb and dye before they see the light of life some dye in their Infancy some in their youth some in their mans estate And some there be but these are of all others the fewest in number that dye in their old age and yet most of men do not only desire but fondly conceit they shall live to be old and yet never think themselves old enough to dye which makes so many millions of men dye unpreparedly and so pass from a Temporal to death Eternal For the prevention of so great and general a mischief and perdition of ungodly men the all-wise and good providence of Heaven hath ordained that in all ages estates and conditions of men this life shall take end that so none how young and lusty
soever with his bone full of marrow might yet dare to live unprepared for death presuming still upon further time and space for Repentance and amendment Lord make me ever mindful of my latter end that I may so live in thy fear as to dye in thy favour and a well grounded hope to live with thee for ever 'T is to little purpose to remember my death except I remember also the sins of my by-past life both the sins of my youth and of my riper age mine ignorances my negligences my manifold omissions of my duty towards God towards my neighbour towards my self and these to bewail with the tears of godly sorrow that my polluted Soul being washed I may through Faith in the blood of my Redeemer chearfully commend the same into his merciful hands and say Into thy hands I commend my Spirit for thou hast redeemed me O Lord thou God of Truth Every change in my frail constitution every little pain and ache in my corruptible flesh all distempers diseases are as so many memorials of my mortality but the older I grow the nearer still is the approach of my dissolution by the hand of death Heb. 8. ult for that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away The Prayers LOok graciously upon me O Lord I beseech thee in the time of my approaching dissolution and the more the outward man decayeth strengthen me so much the more continually by thy Grace and Holy Spirit in the inner man give me unfeigned repentance for all the errors of my life past and a stedfast Faith in thy Son Jesus that my sins may be done away by thy mercy and my pardon sealed in Heaven before I go hence and be no more seen II. IN the midst of life we be in death of whom may we seek for succour but of thee O Lord who for our sins art justy displeased Yet O Lord God most holy O Lord most mighty O holy and most merciful Saviour deliver us not into the bitter pains of eternal death Thou knowest Lord the secrets of our hearts shut not up thy merciful ears to our Prayers but spare us O Lord most holy O God most mighty O holy and most merciful Saviour thou most worthy Judge eternal suffer us not at our last hour for any pains of death to fall from thee III. IN my last hour O Lord I humbly beg thy protection from the busie suggestions and direful insultings of my grand enemies the Devil and his Angels Oh let not then my Faith fail or my Hope wither or my Charity wax cold with the waining flesh But when all my joynts shall tremble by the batteries of death mine eyes be darkned and my tongue falter then O then let my heart be enlarged towards my God waiting upon thee longing for thee and incessantly praying shew me thy mercy O Lord and grant me thy Salvation The XXXIX Psalm Verses 1. I Said I will take heed to my wayes that I offend not in my tongue The meditation of death makes every wise man careful of all his wayes and more especially to avoid the offences of the tongue 2. I will keep my mouth as 't were with a bridle while the ungodly is in my sight The tongue is an unruly evil and must be tam'd as a wild horse with a bridle when provok'd by captious contentious and quarrelsome persons 3. I held my tongue and spake nothing I kept silence yea even from good words but it was pain and grief unto me Reproaches are best answered with a discreet silence so was our Lord as a Lamb dumb before the Shearers 4. My heart was hot within and while I was thus musing the fire kindled d To abstain from good words is sometimes necessary for the avoiding of an evil construction but such silence is grievous to the pious Soul which burns with the fire of divine love and zeal to God's glory The zeal of thine house bath even eaten me and at the last I spake with my tongue Though it be often inconvenient to speak before wicked men yet 't is alway necessary to speak unto God by Prayer 5. Lord let me know mine end and the number of my daies that I may be certified how long I have to live 'T is a blessing we ought alway to pray for to be feelingly sensible of the shortness of our life 6. Behold thou hast made my dayes as 't were a span long and mine age is nothing in respect of thee and verily every man living is altogether vanity The life of man if compar'd with God's everlasting being is rather to be called a death than a life a vanity not a verity of being 7. For man walketh in a vain shadow he disquieteth himself in vain he heapeth up riches and cannot tell who shall gather them The hearts of men are darkned with the shadows of happiness whilst they vainly care for worldly wealth which is as transitory and uncertain as the life it self 8. And now Lord what is my hope truly my hope is even in thee 'T is not in riches nor in all the world affords but in God alone that all hope of true happiness is attainable 9. Deliver me from all mine offences and make me not a rebuke to the foolish Our sins deprive us of all true weh-grounded hopes in God and make us lyable to the scorn even of foolish men 10. I became dumb and opened not my mouth for it was thy doing We must with a patient silence suffer the reproaches of others because occasioned by our offences and because sent from God for our amendment 11. Take thy plague away from me I am even consumed by the means of thy heavy hand And confess withal that we deserve to be consumed by the just judgments of God 12. When thou with rebukes dost chasten man for sin thou makest his beauty to consume away as 't were a moth fretting a garment every man therefore is but vanity Whose lightest chastisements do easily deface the beauty and decay the strength of this corruptible body 13. Hear my prayer O Lord and with thine ears consider my calling hold not thy peace at my tears Therefore the devout Soul is poured forth in Prayers with tears of godly sorrow for her offences from whence all the miseries of this life do flow 14. For I am a stranger with thee and a sojourner as all my fathers were The earth is a strange land to the Immortal Soul whose native home is heaven where she was framed by the hands of the Almighty after his own Image 15. O spare me a little that I may recover my strength before I go hence and be no more seen Which Image being defaced by her sins she humbly begs with tears time and space by Repentance Faith and new obedience to recover her native strength and beauty before she leave her tabernacle of flesh Glory be to the Father c. As it was in the beginning c. The Prayer SInce my
call upon thee even to all that call upon thee faithfully depending upon thee alone for help and safety verse 6 Give ear Lord to my prayer not slightly hearing the sound of my words but ponder the voice of my humble desires the intense desires of my humbled soul I humbly desire to be considered verse 7 In the time of my trouble and that 's the whole time of my pilgrimage here upon earth I will call upon thee for protection and deliverance whereof I will never despair for thou hearest me if my prayer be pure and humble and therefore will I call upon thee as long as I live verse 8 Among the gods that be either falsly so called or be so called by participation of divine power as the Angels in Heaven and Kings of the earth there is none like unto thee O Lord either for power or wisdom there is none that can do as thou dost thy works do far exceed the power of any created beings to do the like and therefore in fulness of time verse 9 All Nations whom thou hast made shall no longer make gods unto themselves but shall come and worship thee O Lord the maker of all men and of all things and being admitted members of thy holy Catholick Church shall glorifie thy Name both with heart and voice and by the good works of their obedience to the Gospel of Christ verse 10 For thou art great which all thy works declare and dost wondrous things not to be apprehended but admired and 't is therefore in all the parts of the world confessed that thou art God alone all others being either falsly or feignedly called gods And that I may accordingly worship thee aright verse 11 Teach me thy way O Lord that I neither mistake the right way nor stumble and fall therein but stedfastly and constantly walk in thy truth and this way and this truth is my blessed Redeemer who by his doctrine and example doings and sufferings life and death is the way that leads to life eternal O knit my heart unto thee by the indissoluble bonds of a true Faith firm Hope fervent Charity that I may fear thy name so as that I neither dare to sin against thee nor too much presume upon thy favour and grace verse 12 I will thank thee O Lord my God as from whom both my whole self and all the little good that is mine does proceed with all my heart as being hereunto excited by the fear and love of thy Name and I will praise thy name for evermore And there is very great reason I should do so verse 13 For great is thy mercy toward me not only manifested in all the good things I do enjoy but in my deliverance from manifold evils and especially from the greatest of evils for thou hast delivered my soul from the nethermost hell in the broad way that leads thereunto I have a long time walked and 't is of thy great mercy that I have not long since been hurled headlong to that dismal place of torments And still I have great cause to complain verse 14 O God the proud are risen against me proud Lucifer and his infernal fiends and the congregation of naughty men have sought after my soul the wicked of the world conspire with the Devil and his Angels by their sinful suggestions to subvert the innocence of my soul to have her portion with them in the nethermost hell verse 15 But thou O Lord art full of compassion especially to all them who chuse rather to suffer than to do what is offensive to thy Majesty and mercy in pardoning the offences of the truly penitent long-suffering not willing that any should perish but that all should come to Repentance plenteous in goodness abounding in thy blessings and truth both in performing thy promises of mercy to the penitent and in rendring to every man according to his works verse 16 O turn thee then unto me who by my sins have justly provoked thee to turn away thy face from me and have mercy upon me a miserable sinner and that I may no more offend thee give thy strength unto thy servant even ghostly strength and fortitude manfully to resist the Devil and all his numerous troops of sensual and worldly lusts in all whose assaults vouchsafe to help the son of thine handmaid that I may overcome all their temptations unto evil and carefully keep my vow and promise made when I was first admitted to be a Son of thy handmaid the Church verse 17 Shew some token upon me for good let some sign of thy favour towards me appear that they who hate me my ghostly enemies may see it and be ashamed when they shall behold all their conspiracies and assaults against my soul defeated by the assistance of thy divine grace because thou Lord hast holpen me and comforted me thy help to overcome when I am tempted unto sin is a great comfort to my soul for I have hereupon a good ground of hope that thou wilt deliver my soul from the nethermost hell and that being raised up from the gates of death I may shew all thy praises within the ports of the daughter of Sion saying Glory be to the Father c. As it was in the beginning c. The LXXXVIII Psalm PARAPHRASED verse 1 O Lord God of my salvation my corporal and spiritual temporal and eternal Salvation is from thee and therefore I have cryed day and night at all times and seasons and in all conditions prosperous and adverse before thee as unto whom alone the inmost intimate desires of my soul are naked and open O let my prayer enter into thy presence be received and accepted by thee incline thine ear unto my calling so graciously hear as to grant my humble requests verse 2 My soul is full of trouble which being the consequent of sin is the forerunner of death and my life draweth nigh unto hell which openeth wide her mouth to swallow down such polluted Souls verse 3 I am counted as one of them that go down to the pit lookt upon as a dead man and a cast-away and I have been even as a man that hath no strength which is derived from the Lord of life to escape the snares and terrors of death verse 4 Free among the dead not likely to be freed from my troubles but by death which puts an end to all the miseries of this sinful life like unto them that are wounded by the fiery darts of the devil and lye in the grave of corrupt conversation which leads to the grave of death the wages of sin and whosoever thus lye there are out of remembrance both forgotten by the righteous and also are cut away from thy hand repulst from amongst those blessed sheep which shall be rankt on thy right hand in the day of Judgment verse 5 Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit I confess I have so far incur'd thy wrathful displeasure as to be laid in the nethermost hell