too great Love of this Life SOME there are who afflict themselves too much at the approach of Death through an over-great fondness of this Life the grief they conceive of parting with it being such that they cannot submit themselves to the Pleasure of God but die much against their Wills Which ill disposition produces in the Heart of a Sick Person these three dismal Effects I. That by how much the greater his reluctance is so much the more he is troubled and confounded with the apprehension of Death according to the Son of Sirach's Saying O Death how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man that liveth at rest in his possessions II. That by this Reluctance of his he not only deprives himself of the Comfort he would receive from his voluntary Resignation to Death but runs a great risque of offending God III. That he does not prepare himself as he ought for Death nor can resolve to think of his Eternal State And the Condition of such a One is so much the more deplorable in regard no body dares speak to him of Dying But on the contrary they are apt to turn their Discourse upon the hopes of his Recovery for the sake of entertaining him in an agreeable idea though in the end most pernicious to him by reason of its diverting him from the thoughts of his Salvation As therefore they tender his Eternal Welfare let both the Minister and his Friends take heed that he be not thus dallied with when his Condition is become dangerous but that he be in a prudent manner apprised of the same to the end he may examine the State of his Soul making him sensible that his Preparation for Death will be no impediment to his Recovery if it pleases God to spare him longer in this Life But if he cannot resolve to die let the Minister endeavour to bring his mind over by Arguments Examples and Words in Form of Ejuculatory Prayers First By Arguments which the Minister is to ground as much as he can on the Holy Scripture to the end they may be not only in themselves the stronger but of more Authority and Force with the Patient For Example he shall with St. Paul tell him That it is appointed for all Men once to die That on this condition it is we are born and wherein no distinction is made between Princes and Subjects That we all die soon or late and flow like the Waters into the Bowels of the Earth yea we are like Water that is spilt on the ground from whence it cannot be gathered up He shall also represent to him that though he should recover his Health he may in a little time relapse again and not have the means he now has for his Preparation That he ought to look upon himself as a Pilgrim travelling through this World as through strange Regions in his Way to Heaven which is his Native Country That he should consider the many Tokens God has given him of his Love and that which he at present gives him in assisting him with his Grace That God now calls him to Himself in order to the making him happy and that a longer Life here might be ruinous to him by the snares and inticements of this Sinful World That Death is not terrible to the Righteous but meerly a Passage to Eternal Glory And better is the day of our Death than that of our Birth forasmuch as we are born to die and do only die to live forever In short That Christ assures us in his Gospel that whosoever believes in him shall have Everlasting Life and that his Death shall be but the beginning of his Eternal Happiness Moreover let the Patient be induced to reflect on the Miseries of this present Life Let him as much as he is able call to mind the whole Course of his Life from his Infancy to this very moment and consider before God whether he has pass'd one day of it without affliction That we are to expect here nothing but Sufferrings God having set us in this World as in a Valley of Tears to live in a constant State of Penitence That therefore we ought not to be grieved when God is pleased to remove us from the Place of our Exile into our own Country and far from wishing our selves Citizens of this World we should with St. Paul remember that here we have no continuing City but are to look for one that is to come which will abide for ever Let him further consider that being now under the Gospel we should be so much the more desirous to die because Jesus Christ has by his Merits open'd Heaven to us That Death is both the End of a false and perishable Life and the Entrance into a Happy and Eternal State That God is not the God of the Dead but of the Living That a Christian ought to raise himself above the things of this World and solely to fix his Thoughts and Hopes upon his Saviour That this Life is a continual Warfare with our Lusts and Passions and Death the welcome End of this War and Beginning of our Rest That the Spirit of God declares those and those only to be happy that die in his Grace because they are going to enjoy an Everlasting Peace In a word let the Minister omit nothing that may conduce to the perswading him to receive his Death with Submission making him sensible that how averse soever he be to it yet die he must and that since neither Life nor Death are within his power or disposal he can never be at rest till he submits himself with all humility and resignation to the Will and Pleasure of Almighty God Secondly The Minister may perswade the Sick Person to a willingness to die by laying before him several Examples of this kind carrying force and authority with them and in the first place that of Christ himself who in the Garden of Olives foreseeing the Torments that were waiting for Him at Jerusalem was seized with fear and pray'd to the Father to deliver Him therefrom but immediately after submitting himself to Him added these Words Not as I will but as Thou wilt That he ought to imitate this Sacred Model of Self-resignation by a free Offering of his Life to God notwithstanding the terror he has of Death and all the reluctances of Nature thereto Let him also be put in mind of David who finding himself over-whelm'd with the Miseries of this present Life us'd frequently to cry out to God in terms like these Wo is me that I am constrained to dwell with Mesech and to have my Habitation among the Tents of Kedar My soul has long dwelt with them that hate peace Many are my Persecutors and mine Enemies Consider my affliction and deliver me I long for thy Salvation O Lord Whereto he may add the words of St. Paul O wretched Man that I am Who shall delive me from this body of Death I ardently desire to be dissolved that I may
forever live with Christ who is my Life And these of the Wise Son of Sirach Fear not the Sentence of Death Remember them that have been before thee and that come after For this is the Sentence of the Lord over all flesh And why art thou against the pleasure of the most High There is no inquisition in the grave whether thou hast liv'd ten or an hundred or a thousand years Let him represent to him St. Hilarion surpris'd by Thieves who with Sword in Hand are just going to murther him when astonish'd to see him so unconcern'd and asking him why he fear'd not Death 'T is answered he because I have been a long time preparing my self for it He may also observe to him the Words of St. Cyprian who says that such only ought to fear Death as lack Faith and have no Hope of reigning with Christ To all which the Minister may superad divers Examples and Sayings of other Saints and Martyrs who have wish'd and long'd for their Dissolution whereby to pacifie and calm the trouble with which the Sick Person 's mind is disturbed Thirdly The last means we propos'd for removing the Patient's Fear of Death is by Ejaculatory Prayers the Minister teaching and assisting him to say after this manner O my God! I feel the horrors of Death upon me but as much as in me lies I sacrifice them to Thee and am ready to die if it be thy Pleasure I humbly submit my will to Thine O Lord who hast created me preserved me and by a special Grace caused me to be born within thy Church to the end I might be saved What reward shall I give unto Thee for all these Benefits I will receive at Thy Hand this Cup of my Death which Thou presentest to me I take it O my God with all my heart in testimony of my Love and Submission to Thee If Thou O Lord hast so decreed it notwithstanding my natural reluctance thereto I am most ready and willing to die hoping my Death will through thine infinite Goodness be follow'd by Eternal Rest O Father of Mercy and God of all Comfort I thank Thee that I am now come to my last hour which will put an end to all my Sins I thank Thee especially that Thou hast been pleas'd to afford me time to prepare my self for Death O help Thou me in my troubles and anguishes Strengthen my Soul that stands surrounded with the dangers of Hell Support my weakness and be my strong Defence against Satan that so I may die in Thy Favour and Love I know that my Redeemer lives and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the Earth And though after my Skin Worms destroy this Body yet in my flesh will I see God Whom I shall see for my self and mine Eyes shall behold and not another Lord I beseech Thee encrease my Faith and Confidence in Thee and comfort thou me in all my Afflictions Thus may the Minister entertain the Sick Person in devout Meditations and Prayers making use also of such other Words and Sentences as he shall judge proper for the raising his Soul and fixing his Thoughts and Desires upon God CHAP. X. What is to be said to a Sick Person whose unwillingness to die proceeds from an excessive Love for the Things of this World OThers there are who are very loath to think of Death not so much like those mentioned in the preceding Chapter from an over-fondness of Life it self as a difficulty of quitting some particular Things and Circumstances attending it such as Riches and Honours and Pleasures and above all the Persons they most dearly love their Wives and Children c. On which last account the Poor Man's Case claims our greatest pity and attention For whilst his heart is fill'd with grief and anxious thoughts what will become of his distressed Family the Devil ne're fails to lay hold on this Occasion to divert his Mind from the Business of his Salvation If therefore the Minister find this to be the Condition of the Patient having first exhorted those that are present humbly to implore Almighty God to allay his Disquiets and render his Mind free and composed to the end he may think of nothing but Eternity let him make use of the following Means for comforting him And in the First place let him cause all such Persons to withdraw whether Wife or Children or others whose presence may attract the Patient's Affection to this World and keep up those melancholy thoughts he is in taking care to prevent as much as possible his being spoken to about them further than he shall think of absolute necessity with regard to their future Settlement After which he may proceed to inform him that this Disquiet of his is not only useless both to himself and Family but most prejudicial to his Soul in that it obstructs its due Preparation for Death That the Poverty under which he leaves his Family is an Evil that soon or late will have an end but the Torments of the other World have none and that therefore in these last moments of his Life he ought to entertain no other thoughts but how to avoid his own Eternal Misery That his Family is under the Conduct of the Divine Providence that loves them and will watch over them and bestow on them Temporal Goods sufficient perhaps too great a measure thereof so that instead of afflicting himself with the Consideration of the sad Condition he leaves them in he ought on the contrary to rejoyce in God and to lift up his Heart and Mind to Him and to beg his Grace to forget and reject whatever respects not his Everlasting Salvation with full perswasion that God to whom he is to recommend his Wife and Children as Christ when ready to die did his Disciples will be their Protector and Helper and Defender who being also more their Father than he himself is of his own Children and governing all things both in Heaven and on Earth by his Almighty Providence will supply them with whatsoever is necessary as well for their Bodies as their Souls This Trust and Confidence the Minister shall say to him will be more available to the good of your Family then all the disquieting thoughts you can entertain about them For God is Merciful and will grant us every thing we ask according to his Will Moreover remember that he who undertakes a long Journey should not carry ought about him that is combersom You are setting-out upon your Journey to Eternity and may within a little time appear before the Tribunal of God Take upon you therefore no such unnecessary Burden as that of the care of your Wife and Children Peradventure they have been the cause of your committing many Sins in the course of your Life Beware they be not that of your undoing now Disburthen your heart of this heavy Load that so it may be able to raise it self up to God and savour nothing but things Eternal Consider
thereof and not leave it to be done by his Heirs or Executors who perhaps will forget it as soon as he is dead What we have here said of Restitution is to be understood of things that are undoubtedly another Man's or Debts that he has legally contracted and admit of no dispute But if it be a doubtful Debt and the Sick Person be able to give a clear account of it he must by all means be advis'd to do it in order to the restoring what is not his own Or if he cannot presently clear the Matter as may happen in the Case of a Guardian to a Minor or a Steward or Agent to One of a great Estate or Dealings he must be told that he ought by a special Clause in his Last Will and Testament to oblige his Heirs Executors or Administrators under a certain penalty to prepare immediately after his Death the Accounts he should have given-in himself had he lived and what shall be found to be remaining due to pay without delay And if he ow'd a clear Sum which he was not then in a condition to pay he ought likewise to oblige his said Administrators to discharge it as soon as may be But if it were at all possible 't would be much better and safer for him to make all those Restitutions himself before his Death than to charge them that come after him therewith Again if the Sick Person be publickly known to have been at Enmity with any one he ought not only to be now in Charity with him but if possible see him and as his Hatred has made a noise in the World so it would not be amiss that his Reconciliation were made before Witnesses to remove the Scandal occasioned thereby And if it was he that gave the first offence to his Neighbour he ought to send to him to beg his Pardon for his misbehaviour and make him satisfaction for the Wrong he may have done him This is meant of publick Injuries But if it be a private Grudge or Spleen Prudence requires That Satisfaction should be made in private and only with the Persons concern'd therein And if he is under an Obligation of repairing the Honour and Reputation which by Slander he may have taken away from his Neighbour let him do it in the best manner he can either by himself or another by word of Mouth or in Writing And Lastly If he has had the misfortune to incur the Publick Censure of the Church he should be exhorted to an humble submission and acknowledgment of his Crime This being over the Minister shall more particularly dispose him to receive the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper preparing him thereto by Acts of Faith Hope and Charity and above all a profound Humility before God who has said by his Prophet That he dwelleth with him that is of a contrite and humble Spirit CHAP. III. Advice to be given to a Sick Person concerning his Relations his Body and his Estate THE Minister having done with the Patient in whatever he thought necessary for the good of his Soul he must now proceed to the advising him to think of his Relations to declare where he will be Buried and to dispose of his Worldly Goods Of which he might have put him in mind before he administred the Holy Sacrament to him But if he omitted it then he ought now to do it and first of all to offer to him the consideration of his Wise and Children especially if the latter be under Age that he may appoint an honest and careful Person for their Guardian whom he can trust with their Education and Estate And in case he has any Daughters not yet dispos'd of that he may leave them according to his Ability wherewith to live either a Single or Married Life as it shall please God to order it And if he has Nephews or other Relations under his Care or Servants he owes any Wages to or is in conscience oblig'd to provide for that he be not remiss in his Justice and Charity to every of them In like manner if the Sick Person has had the Management and Administration of any one's Estate or Affairs or has been in any Publick Employment or concerned in any part of the King's Service let the Minister exhort him strictly to examine his Conduct and Behaviour with relation thereto that if he finds any thing respecting the discharge of such his Duty or Trust that troubles his Conscience he may tell it him or cause it to be told by some body else to the Parties concerned He should be ask'd also what Place he desires to be Buried in in case he has not yet declared it But above all should be desired to prohibit any superfluous Pomp at his Funeral which does not in the least contribute to the Salvation of the Soul but is commonly done by the Friends and Relations out of Pride and Vain-glory Shewing him that a good Christian ought to direct and enjoyn that his Burial be made in an humble and modest and decent manner and at most but suitable to his Quality and Condition In the making his Will and disposing of his Estate let the Minister exhorâ— him carefully to avoid all unjust Partialities which are often-times very ill grounded Or if he has made his Will already 't is fit he be ask'd whether he has any thing to add to take from or alter in it which may be done by a Codiciâ— annext putting him in mind to order therein the payment of his Domesticks Wages and what other Debts he owes If his Estate be so considerable as to admit of Pious Legacies the Minister may shew him the Order he ought to observe herein And much better and safer it would be for him to see the Distribution of his own Charities before he dies than to charge his Heirs or Administrators with them it too often falling out that they prove very hard and backward in the acquitting themselves therein Whereas if he saw the same done in his Life-time the Poor would reap the greater benefit and himself the more satisfaction from it and he might say with St. Lawrence The hands of the Needy have carried up my Alms to Heaven And if among his pious Legacies he designs to found an Hospital or Almshouse or ought of this kind that may remain a Monument to Posterity let him take great care that he does it not more out of Pride and a Vain-glorious Expectation of being celebrated for his Munificence than through a sincere Love to God making him sensible that those Foundations that are laid purely for Charity-sake and the Service of God and true Religion are infinitely more pleasing and acceptable to Him than the bestowing of a Man's whole Estate upon the Poor with any other prospect or intention Upon which the Minister shall advise him to make a serious reflection and to take notice also that though the Foundation of Hospitals and other Places of Charity be a very commendable Work yet the