Hugo is his good pleasure his will is his operation and his will is his permission Sixtly doth not God will contrarie thinges if he doe will those things which he doth in his law forbid Yea saith Perkins if hee should will that the same thing should come to passe and not come to passe in the same respect and manner but God forbiddeth sin as it is an euill and doth will it should come to passe as it hath respect of good Here vpon Thomas Aquinas saith Deum velle mala sieri Deum velle mala non sieri non opponuntur contradictoriè cum vtrumque sit affirmatum this is no contradiction to say that God doth will that euills should bee done that God doth will that euils should not be done seeing both the propositions are affirmatiue Seuenthly doth God make men sinners or doth he onely order them Saint Austen saith God makes men iust and orders them peccatores autem in quantum peccatores non facit sed ordinat tantum but God makes not sinners so farre forth as they be sinners but onely orders and disposes them And againe as God is the best Creatour of good willes it a malarum voluntatum iustissimus ordinator so is he a most righteous orderer of euill willes Eightly is it iniurious to God to say that hee drawes good out of euill and vseth euills as a wise Phisitian doth poison vnto good Clemens Alexandrinus saith it is a point of diuine wisedome vertue and power not onely to doe good things but also to bring the deuises of the wicked to some good and profitable end vtiliter iss quaevidentur mala vtatur and to vse those things profitably which seeme euill Austen saith Deus quasdam voluntates suas vtique bonas implet per malorum hominum voluntates malas God doth accomplish certain good wils of his by the naughty wils of naughty men And Fulgentius saith De malo opere cuinslibet non desinit ipse bonum operari that God ceaseth not of euery mans euill worke to worke that which is good But tell me yet againe though God put no corruption into any mans heart yet doth hee not incline the will to sinne by offering a man obiects and by leauing him to himselfe as a Shepheard stirres vp his sheepe to eate by setting Hay or Grasse before it or as a Huntsman stirres vp his Greyhound to a course by shewing him the Hare and letting the slip goe Manifestum est c. It is manifest saith Saint Austen that God doth worke in the heartes of men Ad Inclinandas corum voluntates to incline their willes whither he pleaseth either to good things for his mercie or to euill things for their deserts sometimes verily with his open iudgement sometimes secret but alwaies iust And Bellarmine saith that by a figure God exciteth men to sinne As an Huntsman setteth the Dogge vpon the Hare by letting goe the Slip that held in the Dogge If these things then which are spoken of sinne in generall be applyed vnto the particular sinne of Murder it will appeare that euery Murderer doth as it is said of the Murtherers of our Sauiour Whatsoeuer the hand and counsell of God had fore-determined to be done and that God doth permit limit and order him as it seemeth best in his holy wisedome Now wee haue seene how God is the Ordainer and Inflicter of Death But further wee must know that death comes by Sinne as the Apostle sheweth and before sinne there was no death at all For death is the wages of sinne Quoniam mors non naturae conditio ised poena peccati sequatur necesse est poena peccatum Because death saith Saint Austen is not the condition of nature but the punishment of sinne it is necessary that the punishment should follow the sinne For it is most certaine that God hath not made death as though be were in loue with death for it self sake neither hath he pleasure in the destruction of the liuing but vnrighteousnesse bringeth to death and man by forsaking God hath procured his owne death And although as saith Siracides Life and Death come of the Lord yet not vpon the same ground For vita is a donante Life is a gift of God that giues it but Mors is a vindicante Death is a punishment inflicted of God auenging as Saint Austen teacheth But let vs heare Saint Paul By one man saith he that is by Adaem sinne entred into the world and death by sinne And that wee may briefely dispatch the causes of Death we must vnderstand that as Death is of God For sinne so it comes by diuers meanes as hath beene toucht afore all which from the greatest to the smallestare determined ordered and directed by the Lord so as that none of them come to passe but according to his most holy prouidence And thus wee leaue the causes of death and come vnto the Subiects thereof Albeit Iesus Christ the Sonne of Mary dyed yet wee must know it was not by his owne desert for hee knew no sinne he was no Sinner but because it was his will to dye that by his death hee might deliuer vs from eternall death and sanctifie our death to be the doore of life vnto vs. And although Adam dyed yet it was not because hee was a man but because he was a Sinner For if Adam had neuer sinned Adam had neuer died because God had granted him this grace Vt posset non mori si eius mandatis obsequeretur as to bee able not to die if he did obey his precepts This then I say All the children of Adam by reason of sinne in which all but Christ are conceiued and borne are all without exception subiect vnto death By one man saith Saint Paul sinne entered into the world and death by sinne and so death went ouer All men The law of sinne saith Austen is that whosoeuer shall sinne must die The Law of death is whereby it is said to Man Thou art earth and vnto earth thou shalt returne Out of it we spring because wee are earth Et in terram ibimus propter meritum peccatiprimi hominis And to earth we shall returne for the first mans sinnes desert But you will say How is it that Infants of a day olde doe dye seeing that they commit no sinne I answere Sinne is either the corruption of nature or any euill which proceedes as the fruites thereof or thus sinne is either originall or actuall the former is in Infants though not the latter For euen Infants are conceiued and borne in sinne being naturally vncleane and guiltie of Adams first transgression The stame of the roote corrupted is so propagated diffused through all the branches which arise thereout that as Saint Austen truely speaketh Nec infans quidem
the third shall be in eternall torments within their bodies at the Resurrection which Resurrection shall be of men both iust and vniust but not of beasts Eightly Whether may death be said to be euill Thales said that death was no more euill then a mans natiuitie wherefore being asked by one that heard him say so Cur igitur tu non moreris Why doe not you die then Thales Hee made him this wittie answere Ob hoc ipsum quia nihil refert Potius enim habetur quod accersitur which is as if he should haue said The reason why I die not and forsake my life is because there is no difference betwixt life and death one is not better then another for that is counted the better which is desired If therfore I should hasten mine owne death it might be well supposed that I doe account death better then life whereas I make no difference betweene them But to passe by this conceit of Thales that we may answere rightly to the question we must distinguish Death considered simply by it selfe and as it is an effect of sinne is euill for if life bee good then death must needes be euill and if it bee an euill to bee in Hell tormented then to an euill man death must needes bee euill because by death his soule is brought into affliction in hell and hee altogether depriued of those benefits of life which hee did before enioy But death beeing considered as bereaued of her sting which is sinne and as it is sanctified by the death of Christ to be the dore of life vnto his members it is not in this respect euill but rather good Chrysostome saith well Mors nonest malum sed post mortem poenas dare malum est Death is not euill but to suffer punishmēt after death is euill Death is an euil not in regard of gods iustice for so it is good but it is euill to him that suffers it for it is a punishment and a very curse to the wicked But vnto the godly it is become a benefit the graue is as a bed Death is as a sleepe and the soule is at peace vvith Christ 9. Whether is the day of a mans birth or death the better I answere if a mans birth and death bee simplie considered surely it is better to be borne then to dye Melius est nasci quà m denasci But if wee remember how we are borne in sinne how we sinne as long as we liue and that our life is full of crosses and if withall we doe remember that death if wee die Gods Seruants doth deliuer vs from all worldly euilles both of sinne and sorrow and is the meane whereby our soules are brought vnto the Cape of Hope and Hauen of pleasing rest then surely wee may say with Salomon the day of death is better then the day that one is borne in melius esse denasci quam nasci 10. Whether is better to dye quickely or to liue long I answere it is better for a Reprobate to dye betimes euen in the cradle then to liue till olde age because his sinne increaseth with his yeeres and his punishment shall bee answerable to his sinne But for an Elect and godly man to dye quickly is better then to liue long and not better It is the better in this sense because he is the sooner deliuered from sin and sorrow it is not so good in another regard namely because by his long life hee may doe much good vnto others and hee may come to such grouth of grace to shew forth such abundance of good workes as that his glory in the life to come may be much augmented for as we doe excell in grace in this world so we shall exceede in glorie in the world to come 11. Whether is it lawfull for a man to hasten his death that he might bee the sooner vvith Christ I answere wee may not do euill that good may come of it The end makes not an act good but the good ground of it the good forme and the good end together Thou shalt not kill saith God as not another so not thy selfe Non est nostrum mortem arripere It is not for vs saith Saint Hierome to catch at death but to accept it willingly if others inflict it Vnde in persecutionibus non licet propriâ manu perire Wherefore also when wee are persecuted it is vnlawfull to kill our selues 12. Whether is it lawfull to desire death or no I answer thus To desire death merely for deaths sake and onely or principally to be rid of grieuances is a certaine weakenesse and vnlawfull But to desire death to be deliuered from all sinne and to be with Christ and in the last place to bee rid of crosses and annoyances so long as we referre all to the good pleasure of our God it is vndoubtedly lawfull and according to Paules ensample It was well said by Saint Austen Potest iustus iustè optare mortem in vitâ amarissimâ si non concedat iustum pativitam amarissimam a iust man may iustly wish for death when his life is full of Wormewood but if God grant not this iust it is to suffer this most bitter life 13. Whether may a man pray against death I answere to pray against death as it is the stipend of sin it is allowable againe to pray against death till a man haue learned how to dye is lawfull prouided that he studie and desire to be prepared and instructed to pray against death till a man haue effected some good worke which hee desired to see done before his death generally if a mans endes of his deprecation of death be good it is lawfull for him to pray against it Prouided that hee commit all to the will of God resting himselfe therwith content resoluing with Iob that though the Lord doe kill him yet to put his confidence in him and so long as his breath is in him to speake no wickednesse nor to forsake his righteousnesse 14. Whether is death to be feared When thou hast walked much and long saith Seneca thou must returne home It is folly to feare that which thou canst not auoide hee hath not escaped death who hath deferred it Hac conditione intraui vt exirem I came into the world vvith this condition to goe forth againe Therefore for a man to torture himselfe with the feare of Death and as it were to dye for feare least hee should dye is basenesse of Spirit and vnchristian But yet altogether to be without feare of death is not good for death beeing against Nature doubtlesse Nature cannot but something feare it and for a man nothing to feare it is a certaine oppression of Nature Besides the feare of death if moderate and mixed with Faith in the Death of Christ doth further to repentance and
erit He which by repentance purgeth away his sinne shall be partaker and saith Saint Austen of Angelicall happinesse for euer Now a true penitent person must bee thus disposed First hee must plainely and from his heart confesse his sinnes to God Secondly he must earnestly beg pardon of his sinne desiring God for Christ to bee reconciled to him Thirdly hee must resolue fully to leaue his sinues and to practise all holy and honest duties If the wicked will returne from all his sinnes and doe that which is lawfull and right he shall surely liue and shall not dye It is not inough to set himselfe against one fault but against all all all without exception of any For one wing belimed may cause the whole bird to be taken and one discase may bee the death of all the bodie so one vnrepentant of knowne enormitie euen one though there were no more may yea and will bee the ruine of the soule the destruction of the sinner Fourthly where an iniury is done vnto our neighbours there ought wee to seek reconcilement and to giue them satisfaction For hee that hauing offended man seekes not to be reconciled to him doubtles shall neuer truely be at peace with God Briefely hee that would shew himselfe a true penitent must be truly grieued because his repentance is so poore his deuotion so cold and his life so bad Thirdly hee that would dye comfortably in Christ should liue obediently to Christ For hee that obeyeth not the sonne shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him Now he that will proue his obedience vnto Christ the Lord must shew it vnto the Bishops and Ministers of the Church his Seruants speaking vnto them in his Name according to his Lawe Obey them saith the Holy Ghost which haue the ouersight of you and submit your selues Certainely they that dishonour disobey and disdaine them dishonour disobey and disdaine Christ their Maister Fourthly it behooues vs to weine our affections from the world for the pleasures and vanities of the world are very bandes and boltes vnto our soules if wee wed our selues vnto them and they vvill make vs altogether vnwilling to depart Fiftly doe good vnto the poore and afflicted members of Christ Iesus pray for them visite them and aduise them help them feede them cloth them harbour them By mercy and trueth iniquitie shall be forgiuen saith Salomon Charge them that are rich saith Paul that they bee rich in good workes and be ready to distribute and communicate laying vp in store for them a good foundation against the time to come that they may obtaine eternall life That which is giuen to pore christians because they be christians is giuen vnto Christ himselfe who will recompence our temporall gifts with eternal glory Pore christians are as a rich fieldif the rich will sow the seede of their charitable almesdeedes on them they shal by the heauens blessing receiue a plentiful crop of eternall happines On the contrarie he shuts against himselfe the doores of Gods mercy who will shew no mercy to his afflicted brother Sixtly he that would haue comfort in his death ought to liue or at least to die in the loue and reuerent affection to the Church of Christ neither meane I onely the Catholique Church part whereof is triumphing in heauen and a part warring on earth but that true visible Church in which hee is borne and baptised and to the obedience whereof he is most properly called For I doe very much doubt of the saluation of all such as dye vnreconciled to the church out of loue with that church vnto the loue and obedience wherof God doth call them Let our Papists therefore Brownists aud such like spirits take heede vnto themselues how they liue and dye out of loue and loyalty to this church of England whereof they should be louing and obedient members but vnto which indeede they stand ill-affected disobedient and vndutifull They malice her they write and speake against her they speake euill of her and of her chiefest members I meane not to dispute of her lawfulnes and trueth this is all I say if shee be found to be a true Church of Christ as it will appeare one day I doe much feare that these her enemies her slanderers her disobedient and vnruly children will not bee able to stand vnconfounded before her Head Husband Christ Iesus who then will recompence to euery one according to his workes euen euerlasting life to them which through patience in well-doing seeke glorie and honour and immort alitie but vnto them that are Contentious and disobey the trueth indignation and wrath It behooues vs therefore for our better assurance of comfort and saluation to know the true Church and to cleaue vnto it beeing knowne Seuenthly let a man set his house in order and dispose of his estate It was the last wise work which Achitophel performed And finally when death seemeth to approch if it giue him any warning as vsually it doth let him commend his soule with Steuen into the hands of Christ Lord Iesus receiue my Spirit crauing for mercie and not forgetting that the ioyes of Heauen after which he gaspeth are farre more compleat and are able to giue a thousand times more true contentment to the soule of man then all the transitorie pleasures profits and preferments of this world can doe He that is thus composed for death shall not dye but liue for euer his death shall bee as a pleasant sleepe his graue as a bed and his soule shall rest in peace with Christ till the time appointed for the Resurrection of our bodies bee fulfilled Oh that men would thinke of these things practise these things Wouldst thou haue comfort in thy death then seeke and sue for comfort in thy life Wouldst thou bee armed against the feare of death then dye betimes to sinne Death is a Serpent her sting is Sinne pull out the sting by true repentance and thou needst not feare the Serpent Death can not hurt thee if thou hurt not thy selfe by Sinne. Death is not Interitus Death to the penitent Introitus but an entrance into heauen and the way is made and the doore is opened by true repentance and by Faith in Christ who is the Sunne of our glorie and the Saluation of our soule by whose death letum delethum mortua mors est death is defaced and dead it selfe But wouldst thou giue hope of the truth of thy turning then turne whilest thou maist runne on repent when thou mightest yet sinne deferre not thy turning till thy death least it be thought that the world doth forsake thee and not thou the world and that sinne rather leaues thee then thou dost leaue sinne and that the cause of this turning is not the loue of GOD and godlinesse but the feare of death and the apprehension of
know that God both is and that he is iust and therefore hee will punish wicked sinners and by that meane declare his iust iudgement against vicious wretches The deseruing cause of death of sinne as ignorance of God disobedience of the truth especially of the Gospell of Christ Iesus and obedience of vnrighteousnesse as the Apostle sheweth as also want of charitie and charitable behauiour towardes the poore and needie members of Christ Iesus as hee himselfe doth teach vs. Neyther are these sins only meritorious of death but euen euery sinne though the smallest want of that which the law requireth is in it selfe odious and deadly For the wages of euery sinne is death The persons subiect to this death are all the Sons of Adam is as much as all are Sinners yet all of them shall not die this death namely they that are redeemed by the bloud of Christ who by his death hath deliuered them from this death by them through sinne deserued Those then shall die this death that were reprobated of God and who by their wickednesse and hardnesse of heart which could not repent haue treasured vp vnto themselues wrath against the day of wrath Depart from me ye cursed saith Christ into euerlasting fire The cursed then are they that must die this accursed death I neuer knew you saith Christ Depart from me ye workers of iniquitie They that shal die this death are such as Christ knew not owned not neuer acknowledged for his and such as whiles they liued were very hypocrites nourishing some sinne or other in their bosomes though they did many glorious and good works as preach baptise eiect diuels cure diseases and were perhaps of great account with men The Apostle saith that the Lord Iesus will render vengeance at his appearing vnto them that know not God and obey not the Gospell So that all which are ignorant of God and which disobey the Gospell of his Sonne shall die this death This then I say All impenitent sinners shall be damned all that beleeue not in Iesus Christ as Mahometaus incredulous Iewes and all other Infidels and all that professe Christ in name but denie him in example All these liuing and dying without sound repentance shall die this death And I proue it thus Except ye beleeue saith Christ that I am he you shall die in your sinnes but the Iewes beleeue not that Iesus the sonne of Mary was the Messias foretold therefore they shall die in their sinnes Hee that obeyes not the Sonne shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him but neyther Iewes nor Mahometans obey Christ Iesus Therefore neyther of them shall liue but die Peter being full of the holy Ghost said that Christ is the Stone euen the fundamentall stone of mans saluation Neyther is there quoth he saluation in any other for among men there is giuen none other Name vnder heauen whereby we must be saued All therefore that either denie him or beleeue not in him and do not know him whether Iew Turke Persian Moore Indian American or who else soeuer all such shall bee damned cannot bee saued For by his knowledge shall my righteous seruant Christ Iesus Instifie many And we which are Iews by nature and not sinners of the Gentiles know that a man is not iustified by the works of the law but by the faith of Iesus Christ God saith Saint Iohn hath giuen vnto vs eternall life and this life is in that his Sonne Hee that hath that Sonne hath that life and hee that hath not that Sonne of God hath not that life But Mahometans Iewes and Infidels haue not that Son therefore they haue not eternall life in spe and shall not haue it In Re but so continuing shall vndoubtedly die the damned death of the wicked for ought that man can tell I say further that those which professe Christ in word and in shew but denie him by their deeds addicting themselues to wicked lusts as whoredome pride drunkennesse auarice idlenesse epicurisme those I say shall vndoubtedly perish without mature and true repentance Know ye not saith Saint Paul that the vnrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdome of God Be not deceiued neither fornicators nor Idolaters nor adulterers nor wantons nor buggerers nor theiues nor couetous nor drunkards nor raylers nor extortioners shall inherite the kingdome of God But among Christians there are offenders in all kinds of the sinnes aforesaid therefore if they shall die in them they cannot possibly scape damnation Our Lord saith that The fearefull and vnbeleening the abhominable and murtherers whoremongers sorcerers idolaters and all lyars wherewith the Christian world aboundeth shall haue their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death And finally S. Iude speaking of sundrie wicked Epicures cept into the Church saith that for them is reserued the blacknesse of darknesse for euer Thirdly I say that all they which professing Christ doe notwithstanding adde vnto the faith of Christ and coyne articles which they doe propose as necessarily to be beleeued to saluation all such I say by this their presumption do cut themselus off from Christ and shall vndoubtedly perish except they shall repent In like manner they that doe take from the faith any essentiall point and needfull absolutely to saluation they also are subiect to damnation which without repentance they cannot scape Ye shall put nothing vnto the word which I command you neither shall ye take ought therefrom It was twise at least giuen in charge by Moses When Moses was now dead and the gouernment cast vpon Ioshuah God gaue him the same lesson in effect Thou shalt not turne away from it to the right hand nor to the left In like manner Agur saith Put nothing vnto his words least he reproue thee and thou be found a lyar I protest saith Christ to euery man that heareth the words of the prophecie of this booke If any man how precise how pure how holy how austere how sanctified soeuer he seeme or how learned soeuer he be and wit tie in the iudgement of men shall adde vnto these things God shall adde vnto him the plagues that are written in this booke and if any man shall diminish of the words of the booke he meaneth the true sense and substance of the words of this prophecie God shall take away his part out of the booke of life and out of the holy Citie and from those things which are written in this booke If any subiect or subiects shall presume to repeale the lawes of the kingdome or to make new lawes and to vrge men to receiue and obey them the king in the mean time vnacquainted with their proceeding or disliking it they shew themselues busie bodies rebellious turblent and taking vpon them as kings they incurre the displeasure of
not shall be worse beaten then he that knowes ir not and doth it not Christ tells the Scribes and Pharisees that because vnder the cloke of Religion they preyed on Widdowes therefore they should Receiue the Greater damnation and sayes that they make their seduced proselytes Two fold more the children of Hell then themselues And speaking of them that contemne the Gospell offered them he saith It shall bee easier for them of the land of Sodome and Gomorrha in the day of iudgement then for that Citie As for the situation of Hell to say precisely where hell is it is not easie below it 's doubtlesse as may appeare by sundry places of the Scripture and farre from heauen but that there is an Hell to wit a place appointed for the tormenting of wicked Angels and vngodly men it is cleere ynough our chiefest care should bee so to demeane our selues that we may neuer come there And assuredly whosoeuer is in the state of grace shall neuer come into that horrid place prepared onely for gracelesse and wicked people He is in the state of grace which depends wholly on the grace of God which turnes not his grace into wantonnes which delights not in vngracious wretches which maketh much of those meanes of grace which God hath in his Church and finally who out of a gratefull spirit doth bestow himselfe his soule seruice vpon God labouring tooth and nayle with might and maine for the aduancement of his honour and the welfare of his house which is the Church being sorie at the heart that his seruice is so simple his weakenesses so many and his obedience so vnperfect as it is Certainely this man shall not dye but liue eternally not hell but heauen shall bee his habitation God doth honour him with his grace in this world and will crowne him with eternall glory in the world to come Trin-Vni Deo Gloria Because these few pages left vntouched should not bee lost I haue set downe some Positions which are not disagreeing from the matter handled The first Position Death is not the End of man if wee speake properly THE end is that properly to which a thing is ordained or for which it is But when God mad a man death was not the end he shot at dissolution is not the scope of Gods creation nor of Parents generation Againe the End by it selfe and of it owne natnre is only good but death of it selfe and in it owne nature is not good but the priuation of life which is a certaine good death came in by sinne is the fruit of sinne and is as the Apostle sheweth an Enemie which shall bee destroyed as an enemie and therefore death properly is not good but euill therefore properly death is not the end of man Furthermore Finis est quod maximè volumus that is the end which we doe chiefly desire but neither God nor man doth chiefly desire death A good Christian desires death not for it selfe but to bee with Christ to be unburdened of his concupiscence Many men out of distemper of minde and an ill-informed will doe couet death and kill themselues but yet it is not for death it selfe but for some respect besides as Cato Vticensis killed himselfe with his owne sword because he would not fall into the handes of Iulius Caesar Sophronia to keepe her chastitie from the lust of Decius the Emperour who daily assaulted it by her husbands consent slew her selfe Portia the wife of Brutus vnable to beare the newes of her husbands death killed her selfe with eating burning coales Labienus hearing his bookes were condemned to the fire killed himselfe because they should not die before him Siluius Italieus murdered himselfe to rid himselfe of the torments of his greuous and incurable disease Pontius Pilate being banished to Vienna and feeling the gripes of an accusing conscience and fearing punishment for his misdeeds to preuent all killed himselfe These and such like are the ends of Selfe-slayers and not death it selfe And albeit God doe appoint men to die yet it is not death hee aimes at but the manifestation of his iustice in punishing sinne of his power in raysing men dead to life and for such ends as are best knowne vnto himselfe To conclude then Death is not properly a mans end non 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not the highest scope of Gods creation nor a mans perfection or be atitude which is the full and finall fruition of Almightie God but it is a certaine Extreme or the end of priuation which end is the corruption and the dissolution of a thing The second Position It is iust with God to smite Sinners with death euen in the very act of their wickednesse and with that wherein they doe offend COrnelius Gallus and Quintus Elorius two Roman Knights died as Plinie lib. 7. recordeth in the very action of filthinesse Arichbertus eldest sonne to Lotharius King of France died as hee was embracing his whores Anacreon the Poet a notable Drunkard was choked with the huske of a grape A certaine African caled Donitius eate so much at a Supper that he died there with Philostrates being in the Bathes at Sinressa deuoured so much wine that hee fell downe the staires and almost broke his necke with the fall Alexander the sonne of Basilius and Brother of Leo the Emperour being a very belly-god one day hauing crammed himselfe too full as hee got vp his horse he burst a veine whereat flowed such store of bloud that hee died These and many more such are the iudgements of GOD vpon Sinners and are in him most iust For first his will is the rule of iustice but these punishments hee doth will and ordaine for there is no euill in the Citie no punishment which hee sendeth not therefore these must needes bee iust Secondly they are deserued for the wages of sinne is death and in that God doth not strike euerie Sinner alike the reason is because hee is tied to no Law but is a Law vnto himselfe and may doe what he will But sometimes he is pleased to smite suddenly to terrifie the wicked and to keepe his owne in obedience and to let all men know that there is a God that iudgeth the world and hateth wickednesse and wicked men The third Position A wicked man though wickedly and cruelly murthered is not not therefore discharged of his wickednesse vnrepented of and saued SEnacherib was murthered of his sonnes yet for that his owne Idolatry other sinnes were not forgiuen For men are not saued for any good thing either done by thē or for any euil sustained of them The Easterne Emperour Zeno was such a loathsome Belly-god that his wife Ariadne fell to loath bim and on a day as he lay senselesse as his manner was through gurmandizing she got him into a tombe and throwing a great stone vpon it pined him to
A DISCOVRSE OF DEATH BODILY GHOSTLY AND ETERNALL NOR VNFIT FOR SOVLDIERS Warring Seamen sayling Strangers trauelling Women bearing nor any other liuing that thinkes of DYING BY THOMAS TVKE PSAL. 89. 48. What man liueth and shall not see death shall he deliuer his soule from the hand of the Graue ECCL 14. 17. All flesh waxeth old as a garment and this is the condition of all times Thou shale die the death IOB 17. 13. The graue shall be my house and I shall make my bed in the darke LONDON Printed by William Stansbie for George Norton 1613. TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFVLL SIR IOHN LEVENTHORPE Knight and to the right-vertuous Ladie the Ladie IOANE LEVENTHORPE his louing Wife ⸪ RIGHT WORSHIPFVLL many write and many more doe speake of Death and it were not much if as many wrote thereof as could write at all For it is the Way that all must walke in and although to all it be either very fortunate or very fatall yet of the most it is forgotten till it seeme to seize vpon them yea euen we that speake and write about it are sometimes too vnmindful of it perhaps then also when we speake and write vpon it But howsoeuer wee doe forget it it will bee sure to remember vs. It hath been wisely said that to speake and thinke often and seriously of hell is a good meane to saue the soule from hell so I suppose that a sad and sober thinking and remembring of bodily death will bee a blessed helpe to keepe the soule and bodie from eternall death It is strange to see the feares of many yet euen the fearefull sometimes shew small feare of death except then when it is to bee embraced Others well neare with the feare of death are brought to death Some will not beginne to liue till they feele themselues beginne to die And how many are there that are a-fraid of death and yet dare play with the sting of death It were no great matter to handle a Snake when her poysoning tooth is pulled out but to flie a Snake and in the meane time not to feare that which makes her venome were I wot not well whether more base or foolish I know not why death should not be counted terrible whiles her venomous and killing tooth is in her head but that being once pulled out why shee should affright a man I see no reason For why should he feare death whom death doth helpe not hurt and ease rather then end Hee that dies whiles he liues liues whiles he is dead yea and that death at last shall meet with death it selfe Certainly death cannot be ill to him that liues well neither is that worthie the name of death which is made the doore of life Yet I finde the vertuous sometimes appalled with her grisly lookes They are loth to part that haue liued long together and a man can scarce without some reluctation forsake the house wherein he was bred and hath euer liued since he liued to dwell in another though a better Countrie But me thinks the delicacie of the place the affluence of all good things there amongst these the fellowship of the Saints the presence of that louing and beloued Sauiour the fruition of the All-sufficient God together with a certaine expectation of a ioyfull returne at last should satisfie the departing Soule and settle her vnruly passions As for you Right Worshipfull I doubt not but that God to whom you striue to liue hath taught you both ere now to die I write not these things therefore as intending to instruct you but rather to shew that the memorie of your loue doth liue within me and as one desirous by putting you in minde of those things which ye know alreadie that whiles you liue the remembrance of them might not die Read them at your leysure and enioy them And that God vnder whom they were begunne and ended giue a blessing to them vnto whose sauing grace I do commend you both beseeching him in Christ Iesus to vouchsafe you his loue while ye liue on earth and to crowne you after death with eternall life in heauen London St. Clem. Ann. 1612. Nouember 5. A day neuer to bee forgotten of true English hearts Your Worships to be commanded in the Lord Thomas Tuke To the Reader I Suppose there is not one thing more common and lesse thought of then death All men must die yet most men liue as if they thought they should neuer die Wherein men are very iniurious to them selues the sad and setled remembrance of death being a notable furtherance of Repentance and a profitable meane to keepe vs from eternall death For I pray you why should man lift vp himselfe against his Maker who ere long must fall into the earth Why should we be proud and insolent who are but dust Why should we insult ouer any man because wee surpasse him in wit wealth strength honor beautie Are we not all food for the Wormes Will not death knocke all our bones together Is not our life a breath a bubble Why should a man pinne his heart to the earth and set his loue on the World Shall not the earth deuoure him Will not the world forsake him Shee is certaine in nothing but in vncertainetie vncertaine in nothing but in her certainetie If she doe not him yet of necessitie Hee must forsake her We are here but Pilgrims and Forrainers Mors manet omnes and we know not how soone our Pilgrimage will end neither can we carrie the world away with vs. We come naked and we go naked Why then should we wed our soules to the World Riches pleasures wife children friends honors and all the things that the world can afford are all mutable momentanie mortall but mans soule is immortall wherefore then should it be set vpon these things Why not vpon God who is an immortall and immutable Good only indeede able to giue true and full contentment to the soule And finally why should men wallow in their sinnes and deuote themselues vnto their lusts Shall we not all die And as the tree falleth so shall it lie In what estate we die in that we shall be iudged Oh that we would therefore remember our latter end Oh that wee would number our dayes and thinke of our death that we might apply our hearts vnto wisdome Lie is vncertaine Death is most certaine if men could duly meditate of this that is most certaine they could not abuse and mispend that so much which is precious but most vncertaine But besides that all men must once die euen by the course of nature death being by sinne bred in the bone and will neuer out of the flesh God who hath the keyes of life and death in his hand doth by many meanes bring men vnto their ends and sometimes he doth punish vngodly wretches by vntimely and vnexpected death shewing his anger by the manner and occasion of his punishing Famous were the Iudgements of
prey vnto her All is fish that comes vnto her net The Lambes skinne is common in the market as well as the old sheepes Mors fagacem persequitur virum nec paroit imbellis iuuentae poplit ibus timidoque tergo Death followes him that flies him and spateth not young folkes though fearefull of him Serius aut citius sedem properamus ad vnam First or last we must all die Yea but the beautifull peraduenture may finde better fauour No doubtlesse Rebecca Bathsheba Ester Helena Irene were goodly creatures Absalon and Achilles were gallants yet all these with many moe are dead and gone Asahel was as swift as a Roe yet death out-went him won him Goliah was a great fellow but death was the greater Achitophel was verie politicke and subtile Aristotle learned Aesop wittie Mithridates a good linguist but they bee dead all Rich and poore Craessus as well as Codrus wise and foolish high and low young and old bond and free all men must die Omnia peribunt sie ibimus ibitis ibunt All must away I thou and euerie man besides Intrasti vt exires we came all into the world to go out againe Contra vim mortis non est medicamen in hortis No phisicke can preuent death no charme can let it no wile can catch it no bribe can blinde it no griefe can moue it no least can abash it no place no pleasure no man no meanes can stay it All goe to one place and all was of the dust and all shall returne to the dust Shall all men then die haue all men then in former ages died Surely Saint Paul directed by God doth tell the Corinthes that All meaning them that liue at the verie laste gaspe of the world shall not die but all must be changed by which sodaine change they shall be stript of all corruption and mortalitie And againe if euer any man in former daies haue not died or if any man shall be translated without death into heauen as Enok and Elias who are now in their glorified bodies with Christ in heauen it must be confessed that such a translation and assumption is of meere fauour by a singular priuiledge and not common for commonly all men do die and come not into heauen till they haue beene dead In like manner if any man haue beene or shall be smitten into hell aliue in bodie as Romulus who by a diuell was carried away in a mighty tempest of thunder lightning or peraduenture Abiram and Dathan this is to be counted to be by a singular and extraordinarie iudgement for ordinarily all wicked men doe die before they goe into hell Hauing spoken of the Subiects of death we come now to speake of the time and number thereof where we are to note these things First that God in his counsell hath determined the yeare the moneth the weeke the day yea the verie houre minute and moment of euery mans death that dieth He that denies this denies the prouidence of God Secondly this time prefined by God for death cannot be auoided by man or prorogued For the counsell of God shall stand saith Esay and his purpose shall be performed Euen Homer brings in his Iupiter affirming 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that whatsoeuer he doth will shall irreuocably and vndoubtedly be fulfilled Seeing therefore the day of death is defined in the decree of God it is not to be imagined that any man can euer die sooner or tarrie longer then the time by God appointed Certa quidem finis vitae mortalibus adstat Nec deuitari lethum pete quin obeamus A certain terme of life to each there is appointed And die we must death cannot be avoided Lanificas nulli tres exorare puellas Contigit obseruant quem statuere diem The purpose of God doth stand vnalterable His day for our death he keepes vnchangeable For though it be true that the Scripture saith of Hezekiah that God added fifteene yeares vnto his daies yet it is not meant as if God did alter his eternal purpose cōcerning Hezekias his death but gaue strength vnto nature now decayed in him by reason of his grieuous disease so as he should be able by his grace to hold out fifteene yeares longer not longer then God had from eternitie determined but longer then he now had reason to looke for being wasted and worne with sicknesse and sorrow Thirdly the time of deathes comming is not to all alike or the same for one dieth old another in his full strength and from some Prima quae vitam dedit hora carpsit the houre that first gaue them life did also take away their life Fourthly no man can tell certainly how long he shall liue nor certainly foretell the verie time of his death vnlesse God doe teach him or vnlesse death be present and visible in his causes Quis est quamuis sit adolescens cui sit exploratum se ad vesperum esse victurum Who is there saith Tullie though he a youth who is certaine of his life till euening Fiftly death is a dayly attendant Mors quasi saxum Tantalo semper impendet It hangs and houers ouer vs alwaies There is not one moment of life without some motion vnto death We die daily saith Seneca for euerie day we loose some part of our life Et tunc quoque cum crescimus vita decrescit and euen then when we do increase our life doth decrease Hunc ipsum quem agimus diem cum morte diuidimus this verie day which now we liue in we diuide with death And as euerie man doth carrie death about him in his forerunnrs euen so also euery man the longer he carries it the nearer he is to it as a glasse the longer it runnes the sooner its runne out lesse sand remaining in it Sixtly death befalles one man ordinarily but once It is appointed to men that they shall once die saith the Apostle Et calcanda semel via lethi the way of death must once be trodden saith Horace Yet some we doubt not but that they haue died twise as Lazarus and the man that rose from death when the Prophets dead bodie toucht him as hee lay in his graue and some others also but this was extraordinarie Thus much for the time and number of death I will adde heere moreouer two things first that it is an easie thing for a man to be depriued of his life secondly that as death doth leaue vs so the iudgement of God in the latter day shal find vs. Of the easinesse of deaths comming we neede no long discourse experience shewes that men are many waies easily brought to death Our nature is verie fraile of it selfe and besides subiect to many exterior anuoyances Nonne fragiliores sumus quà m si vitrei essemus Are wee not more brittle saith Saint Austen then if we were of glasse Vitrum enim