not feel the stroaks death daily giveth We must needs die and be as water spilt Upon the ground involv'd in Adams guilt That they shall die the living know full well The Grave 's the house where all ere long must dwell This is the way of all the earth Decreed It is by God the Worms on all shall feed Natural Causes may be given why All bodies perish necessarily The elements striving daily to Supplant Some one in time will be predominant Next the first matter burning with desire Of new forms longs th' old subject may expire And fresh succeed Thirdly the Radicall Moysture consuming still threatens a fall After it s pass'd the height of augmentation And wasted needs must follow dissipation Fourthly the Blood as it grows old grows thick By slow degrees and so corrupteth quick The Spirits also natural in the veins And vital in the Arteries by means Whereof the life 's maintain'd and animall In nerves whereby Sensations made these all By use and labour wast These causes cry All humane bodies must consume and dy 2 Cor. 4.7 Eccl. 9 2. Heb. 13.2 Testaceous Vessels and obnoxious To casualties that are most various Two ranks of men there are some good some bad Deaths Cannon plays against them both 't is sad To think why these must die that they may go To their own place Acts 1.25 to live in endless woe Death is to them an entrance into Hell Not so to those who study to do well Yet they must die that being freed from sin And death by death they may have entrance in To heavenly mansions and be ever there With God and Christ loving without all fear Receiving their reward of Gods free grace With joy beholding his most glorious Face The point is prov'd the reasons rendred why All as well good as bad must doubtless dye The circumstances where and when and how Are onely known to God and we must bow To his good pleasure First for time it is Determined by a Decree of His The criticall and punctual time Before Which none shall part with life on any score Beyond it shall not live a moment Whether The term of life be fixt or altogether Moveable Job hath stated some i th' womb After a short dark life do find a Tomb A thousand Sculls found in one Nunnery Some born alive die in their infancy In Childhood Youth and Man-age very many The rest filled with years Death spares not any The Poem stil'd Mortification Transcrib'd may prove edification How soon doth man decay When Cloaths are taken from a Chest of sweets To swaddle Infants whose young breath Scarce knows the way Those Clouts are little winding sheets Which do consign and send them unto Death When Boys go first to bed They step into their voluntary Graves Sleep holds them fast onely their breath Makes them not dead Successive nights like rolling Waves Convey them quickly who are bound for death When youth is frank and free And calls for Musick while his veins do swell All day exchanging mirth and breath In Company That Musick summons to the Knell Which shall befriend him at the hour of Death When man grows stay'd and Wise Getting a house and home where he may move Within the Circle of his Breath Schooling his Eyes That dumb inclosure maketh love Unto the Coffin that attends his death When age grows low and weak Marking his Grave and thawing every Year Till all do melt and drown his Breath When he would speak A Chair or Litter shews the Bier Which shall convey him to the house of Death Man ere he is aware Hath put together a Solemnity And drest his Herse while he hath breath As yet to spare Yet Lord instruct us so to dy That all these dyings may be life in Death We all are full of holes and take in Water At many breaches made of brittle matter At any time may be depriv'd of breath We know not when God knows our hour of death And as the Time the Place is known alone To God scarce any of us but can own The place where first we took our breath but where We shall breathe last this doth to none appear But him whose breath gave us both life and shape The place assign'd by him none can escape That strives to shun't Th' infants of Bethlehem Crying in Cradles Souldiers murther them Eglon is kill'd in 's Parlour In the field King Saul is slain His temple would not shield Sennach'rib from dying in 't Ishbosheth Upon his bed bereaved is of breath Joab at th' very Altar As the place Uncertain is where we shall end our Race So is the manner how A thousand ways There are whereby men terminate their days By sicknesses most ordinarily Of other ways there is infinity The Children of Jerusalem do dye By famine Sodom's by Saturity Some dye by Bears 2 Kin. 2.23 24. so Children that did jeer The new seen baldness of the Zealous Seer And some by Lions so that Prophet dyed 1 King 13.24 Who did obey not God but him that lyed Herod by worms gave up the Ghost Acts 12.23 Job 1.18 19. Jobs Sons And Daughters had their dissolutions In midst of feasting by the sudden fall Of that House where they fed together all Corah Numb 16.31 32 33. and his Complices Swallowed were By th' earth that opened so they payed dear For their rebellion By a broken Stone Cast from a Tower Judg. 9 53. 2 King 16 18. Abimelech is gone Two Captains and their fifties were by Fire Call'd for and sent from heaven forc'd t' expire Zimri was burnt in his own Palace 1 King 16.18 by A Fire himself did kindle wittingly Some dye by Dogs Euripides did so Some by a Fly a seeming silly foe So did a Pope of Rome A Counseller Of the same City strangled with an Hair Tullus Hostillius was with lightning struck Homer because he at a riddle stuck Propos'd by Fisher-men dyed with grief And Sophocles with joy being judged chief By one voice onely in a prize of learning Wherein he shew'd a judgment best discerning A Raisin stone did stop Anacreons breath Thus numberless have been the ways of death O by how small a thread does our Life hang When such small things can give a deadly pang In what shape death unto him will appear No man can tell these are to none made clear Time place and manner of mens dying known Are unto God and unto him alone These being secrets hid i' th breast of God Let us not search them but while our abode Is here below and while we move within The circle of our breath let us begin To school our eyes and minds at length and try What use to make of deaths necessity SECT III. An Enquiry why men decline fitting themselves for that Death that is thus certain Three Reasons of it assigned directions how to overthrow any force that is in them an Exhortation to dye dayly and the way
That these objections thus remov'd What follow 's next may be improv'd Three things I shall commend for cure Of this unwillingness in Saints to dye First the greatâ—â—â— evils that Are in it nothing that is pure Is to be found but what doth putrifie And much contaminate We do disable Christ his death Heb. 2.14.15 Obscure the evidence of our new birth Trangress against example Of such as wisht to part with breath To be translated from this wretched earth On which they long to trample We shame much our Religion Which doth not fright with purgatory-fire Are worse than Heathens were Who did embrace death coming on With cheerfulness and very great desire Without all shew of fear We do resemble wicked wights Who use to tremble when they hear of dying So Felix did yea worse Than children mad men whom no frights Of death possess nor make them think of flying From it as from a Curse All creatures groan and call for change We are below them all if that we fear it This is a shamefull thing And a disease that us doth range Below the beasts let none be loth to hear The first Peale thus to ring The second sounds the little reason Which godly men can see why they should wish To live one half hour longer And not to think this instant season The best wherein to feed upon deaths dish To make their courage stronger To do this let them ponder well The utter insufficiency of all Things here to contribute To make man unto happy swell To be thus kindly beneficial They move no foot So far I say from comforting In time of need that sore vexations They prove themselves to be The Preacher doth strong reasons bring To work in all mens hearts convictions That this is verity The third means for the cure of this Unwillingness to dye in godly ones Is seriously to muse That very great reason there is Why they should send for death with sighs and groans And not its stroke refuse The miseries of this present life The life of nature and the life of grace And then the happiness They have by death evils are rife That load the life of nature all the space They live here comfortless Reduc'd to sins and punishments Sins are of two sorts one without them roares Adams transgression Justly imputed conscience rents Others inherent like a Piercer boars With sharp compunction These are of two sorts some defile Our nature which are call'd Original Others our actions these Are called actual all the while We live on earth the best into such fall Thereby their God displease These are committed several ways By thoughts and words and deeds of ignorance Errour infirmity Presumption also all our dayes We guilty make our selves by choice by chance In some a long time lye By every one of these we are Subject to debt and danger both divine bound over to Gods ire The punishments which sinners bear Arithmetick's not able to define Lastly Eternal fire The second sort of miseries Molest the life of grace How many wants Gods presence fellowship Of best friends liberty and ease For want of these each Christian-spirit pants Till these rich wines they sip Add to these wants how many evils The danger of offending God is one Dayly corrections Dangers from creatures men and Devils Danger of stumbling at full-many a stone State alterations All these and thousands more death frees Us from great reason therefore there is why we should not long to live Longer one day with cold to freez With scorching fires to burn uncessantly See next what death doth give Admission into happiness Ineffable and unconceivable Angells mens tongues and hearts Cannot conceive much less express Neither are of this matter capable In any of its parts Yet so much of the heavenly glory Into which every Saint doth pass at th' point Of death revealed is Unto them in the sacred story To make them if they will their eyes anoint See death their choicest bliss SECT VII Whether good men may not only be willing but desirous to dye five cases wherein death may be lawfully desired Objection touching the painfullness of Death answered proposals to remove such apprehensions from us A second objection about sudden or violent Death a way of cure for such fears MAy godly men desire As well as willing be to Dye Many we read of did conspire And to the question put did answer Aye Moses Elias and Sampson Paul David Jonah Job Simeon and others who do stand Shining in the Coelestial glorious Globe Some of these pray'd to God To take away their lives but why They would no longer make abode To bear so many a martyring misery This was not a good ground Self love and discontentments swaying To recantation they were bound Such passionate infirmity bewraying But in five cases we May lawfully desire and pray For death If we may glorifie God most thereby Next to be tak'n away From lewd mens company Who dayly grossely break Gods Laws From sinfullness especially That we no more make in our conscience flaws Grieving the holy Spirit And that we may be rid of grief And crosses which our Sins do merit Yet with submission to our Soveraign-chief Finally for the full Accomplishment of Union With Christ from whom sin would us pull By death we gain perfect communion Nor to be rid of Sin And be with Christ may we desire To dye unless we compass in Gods will who doth on pain of death require Us in our Station Like Souldiers obedient To tarry till dismission Be giv'n to march from this low regiment Unto the higher but yet It is a grace we should strive for As for departure to be fit So to be willing ever more and more To quit our Station here And to rejoyce at warning given By sickness that our end is near Death being the porch through which we pass to heaven The chiefest reason why With full cry of affection we Should gallop after Death thereby We are from sinning any more made free While this life lasts we never Give over sinning no man knows Whether he shall one hour persever In doing well a spight the devil owes Us and the greatest spight He can us do is to allure Good to omit Sin to commit That we shall not be foyl'd we are not sure Having in us a Source Sending streams forth continually Setting us running in a Course Of all impiety inquity A root of bitter gall And wormwood never stockt up wholly Ready at every pin to fall And to be more and more each hour unholy Never cur'd perfectly Of our disease Hereditary That loathsom cursed leprosie Which whil'st we live on earth will with us tarry And little do we know How far we may fall ere we dye It 's therefore best for us to go Thither where there 's no possibility Of sinning falling more And willingness to dye is one Effectual means to wound and gore And kill original corruption But some may yet object
Object 1 The painfullness of death this terrifies To cure this fear Answ 1 let them reflect Upon worse pains which do from life arise From day to day nor is there pain in death But life gives pain at parting with its breath No sting in death being found It cannot hurt at all though it may pain There 's pain in curing of a wound The Marriner e're he the Haven gain Takes no small pains and thinks it well bestow'd Though it was painfull all the time he row'd All wounds by death are cur'd Who would not bear a little for so great A happiness a Haven being procur'd Thereby an everlasting resting seat But yet there is another senceless thing Which doth to some Saints sence of terrour bring Namely some kind of dying Object 2 Sudden and violent death they cannot look On with a smile nor without crying Nor can they bring their hearts these deaths to brook Sith we must dye Answ it matters not what kind Of death we dye this should not move our mind Matter we should not how We go from hence so much as whither we Shall goe remember Christ did bow His head and dy'd a cursed death to free Each kind of death from being a curse to his That every kind of death should be their bliss SECT VIII Reasons why some good men in prospect of death have petitioned for a Reprieve Practical directions to make us both willing and fit to dye Self-murder shewed unlawfull and probably damnable WHat may the reason be May some demand that sundry precious Saints Quest Beg'd living light longer to see When they saw death at hand made sad complaints Their love of life proceeded from the love Answ Of honouring God below not yet above From lawfull self-love too Having not yet attain'd assurance full They prayed for a previous view Of th' heavenly Canaan before the Pull Of soul from flesh desir'd some short abode More quietly to render up to God Their spirits with submission To his good pleasure another reason may Be rendred why they fear'd dismission Because the old man still in part bore sway Best but in part are sanctified but Before their end their fears are all out shut Considerations working willingness In Christians all to dye premised thus Pass we to things in Practice nothing less Effectual to work this will in us Provided we be righteous First we must cleanse our hearts from carnall love Of earthly things the worldlings Trinity Must be renounced we must get above The Moon Rev. 12. wealth pleasures honours tye The soul to them too stedfastly It cannot with good will be loos'd from them The means to cut this Gordian knot must be Carefully learn'd by all of Abrahams stem First leave they must evil Society And sort with godly company Next needless cares and business restrain Then strive with God by prayer and believe That he will give what they would compass fain And every day they must not fail to grieve For Sin and regularly live Our sins must dye before us else we are Sure to dye damned who can willing be To dye in such estate but if we care To rid our hearts of damn'd hypocrisy We shall depart then cheerfully These are the motives and the means to get This grace if still we find a reluctation And that we are loth to depart as yet Let 's not despond but live in expectation Our end shall be endless compleat salvation That we should alwayes willing be to dye Hath been so prov'd that none can it deny To be a duty and a priviledge Promis'd to Saints of which nought shall abridge Them but whether it 's lawfull to desire Death is a doubt to which we have giv'n fire Determined th' affirmative in case Gods name thereby more glory may embrace Than by our life See in the Margin places Judg. 16.29.30 Evincing this one of the lawfull cases Exod. 32. Rom. 9. Psal 120.6 7. 2 Pet. 2.7 8. Another is that we may be set free From wicked mens vexing Society A third that we may make an end of sinning A fourth prevention of more crosses winning Gen. 27 46. 1 King 19.3 4. Rom. 7.23 24. Psal 38.3 41 Phil. 1.21 to 24. Psal 73.25 Quest With this proviso not immoderately Desiring ease but most submissively Lastly to be with Christ and to enjoy Intire communion without mixt alloy May one in any case may some demand His own life take away with his own hand I answer roundly in no case we may Answ By poyson halter knife or other way To Make our selves away attempt we must Cast the world out of us this is most just But not our selves out of the world its base To run away like cowards our short race We ought to run staying till God doth call Us hence and then most gladly farewell all Till then abide the battle we are bound None but most wicked are in Scripture found Who kill'd themselves Achitophel did so And Saul and Judas as for Sampson though He pull'd the house upon him this was done In zeal for God by inspiration It 's damnable to leave our work before God bid us leave it upon any score Who is himself and breaks the jayl must dye For such a breach and that eternally Yet pass not sentence upon such a soul It may repent in parting sans controll The act is haynous hideous killeth both Body and Soul unless repentance doth Suddenly interpose it self and grace Step in a moment into justice place Neither of which will probably be given This sin beyond all others forfeits heaven A sin most Criminous and borders most Near to the sin against the Holy Ghost FINIS Postscript I finisht have The first part of this quickning Text Presenting to all good men death and grave Passing desirable the next Part I must crave Leave to delay The presentation of it till More strength of spirit body gain I may Which when God granteth then I will make an Essay The illustration Of what 's there promis'd to unfold Humbly commend it to your meditation And for a closure shall make bold some Consolation To annex by Mentioning a doctrine which Hath in it truth in probability Containing treasure very rich Pray lend the eye Gives hope to all Who vertuous pious patient are That they in the first resurrection shall Have part with blessedness most rare Holy withall Transcendently Their souls and bodies both shall be These raised from the dead primarily Those to them reunited by Omnipotency And live in bliss A thousand years during which space They shall bless Christ their head with Emphasis For merit mercy and free grace vouchsaf'd them this Work of thanksgiving Will be the onely or the chief Employment of the raised Saints who living Shall all those years find fresh relief together striving Who shall outstrip Another in this glorious work Of praising Jesus with one joyful lip For treading down the Pope and Turk Smiting thigh hip They all shall joyn In singing Hallelujahs to their King From whom none shall dominion purloin Nor from his Saints whom he shall bring With him conjoyn Co-heirs in face Of all the World who shall behold Each of them Kings over the total mass Subdu'd unto them uncontrol'd And in th' end as Commissioners Of Oyer and of Terminer With him Apostles Gospel-Ministers Shall highest sit much statelier Each one appears Than Earthly Lords Next these to pious private men A power of Judging also Christ affords ill spirits their carnall off-spring when Of death the cords Are loosed which detain'd in grave till the last day Of generall judgement poor and rich Who wicked were all cast away into the ditch And Lake of fire Burning with Brimstone sentenc'd hither By them whom then the whole world shall admire Assessors with their King together Here counted mire O then rejoyce At thoughts of reigning upon Earth A thousand years which ended with great noise Yea who have had a second birth While here a choice Tranquillity More Millions of years thâ—â—sands On shores of Seas even to Eternity You shall enjoy safe in his hands Who did both dye And rise again Ascended sits and reigns above Hath purchas'd for them freedom from all pain Embraceth you with arms of Love By him you 'l gain A Kingdom that Is apthartal amiantal Amarantall beyond the reach and hate Of persecuting enemies all Who at no rate Without within Shall neves vex them more mutations There shall be none in heav'n nor unto sin any the least temptations as first have been Shall er'e be there But fellowship with God and Christ Uninterrupted not the smallest fear of ever having loos'd the twist Of grace made here This doctrine of The raised reigning Saints of God A thousand years hath proof enough In holy writ and their abode By Earthly stuff Inheritance Of the whole earth is frequently Promis'd unto them and as now all France is Englands Kings titularly who seem to dance After't alone Possessing not a foot of ground Of that fair Realm but as they shall anon Possessors of it all be found really own That wholly as They have done do these kingdoms three Thus it in time shall probably come to pass Though haply our eyes shall not see save in a glass This wish'd event Right so though Saints at present have Little or nought besides bare aliment And rayment both too far from brave yet well content They ere 't be long As Abraham Isaac Jacob shall Inherit actually as by faith strong Those did while living Canaan all which did belong To them and theirs By Gods donation so with them We being as they were of this world heirs which plain appears Shall really Possess a thousand years together This Earthly Globe with each commodity It doth produce and serene weather Le ts then leap for joy FINIS