of the first Covenant The Lord is righteous in all his ways and holy in all his works Behold thou hast now made my days as it were a span length and mine age is even as nothing in respect of thee and I am altogether vanity The sentence of Death hath passed upon all for that all have sinned And I who have had so great a share in sinning cannot but expect to receive the due Wages of it Death Only I beseech thee blessed God to make me wise now in the time of my Health and Srength to understand this and to consider my latter end Grant O Lord that by departing from every known sin by keeping Innocency and always taking heed to the thing that is right I may be in an habitual preparation for Death and find peace at the last Wean my heart daily more and more from the love of the World and worldly things and place my affections upon their right and more deserving Objects Heaven and Heavenly things that my heart may be where my Treasure is and that whenever I shall be called to part with them I may leave all without any murmuring or reluctancy and be willing and content to die Let every pain and sickness mind me of my last And that Death may not be a surprize unto me furnish my Soul with all those Graces before-hand which I shall have greatest occasions to make use of in my last Conflict Give me Repentance unto life not to be repented of A Stedfast Faith that worketh by Love towards thee my God and Charity to all the World A Firm Hope such as maketh not ashamed but may become an Anchor of my Soul entring even within the Vail True Christian Courage and Patience and a resolvedness of a cheerful submission to thy Fatherly Correction And Grant that in all things I may so put my Soul and House in order that when I come to die I may have nothing else to do but to die Let not my Death be unexpected untimely or violent if it be thy holy will And when it shall please thee to cast me on my last Bed give me Grace to search my Heart to renew my Repentance and Interest in Jesus and to compose my Soul for God Give me the opportunity and refreshment of thy holy Sacrament the Seal of the Divine Love the benefit of Absolution Some irradiations of thy Love and Favour in the assurances of pardon and peace together with a patient and comfortable expectation of the performance of all thy promises Let not the Devil take advantage of my weakness nor any of his Suggestions prevail upon me Let not his Accusations or my Sins distract me in my last hour but do thou interpose thy seasonable Relief O forsake me not when my strength faileth me but in the mid'st of the sorrows and temptations that I have upon my Bed let thy Comforts refresh my Soul O suffer me not for any pains of death to fall from thee And in my last Agonies when my Soul shall quit the ruinous habitation of my Body let thy holy Angels convey it into the Regions of a glorious Eternity where there shall be no more death nor sorrow nor crying nor pain Grant this O merciful Father for the sake of him who by death hath overcome death even Jesus Christ my High Priest and blessed Redeemer Amen A Prayer for Sincerity out of the Whole Duty of Man O Holy Lord who requirest Truth in the inward parts I humbly beseech thee to purge me from all Hypocrisie and unsincerity The heart O Lord is deceitful above all things and my heart I fear is deceitful above all hearts O thou who searchest the Heart and Reins try me and seek the ground of my heart and suffer not any accursed thing to lurk within me but purifie me even with Fire so thou consume my dross O Lord I cannot deceive thee but I may most easily deceive my self I beseech thee let me not rest in any such deceit but bring me to a sight and hatred of my most hidden Corruptions that I may not cherish any darling Lust but make an utter destruction of every Amalekite O suffer me not to speak peace to my self when there is no peace but grant I may judge of my self as thou judgest of me that I may never be at peace with my self till I am at perfect peace with thee and by purity of haert be qualified to see thee in thy Kingdom through Jesus Christ Amen For Contrition out of the same Author O Holy Lord Who art a merciful Embracer of true Penitents but yet a consuming Fire towards obstinate sinners how shall I approach thee who have so many provoking sins to inflame thy Wrath and so little sincere Repentance to incline thy Mercy O be thou pleased to soften and melt this hard obdurate heart of mine that I may heartily bewail the Iniquities of my life Strike this Rock O Lord that the Waters may flow out even Floods of Tears to wash my polluted Conscience my drowzy Soul hath too long slept securely in sin Lord awake it though it be with Thunder and let me rather feel thy Terrors then not feel my sin Thou sentest thy blessed Son to heal the broken hearted but Lord what will that avail me if my heart be whole O break it that it may be capable of his healing Virtue and grant I beseech thee that having once tasted the bitterness of sin I may fly from it as from the Face of a Serpent and bring forth Fruits of Repentance in amendment of Life to the praise and glory of thy Grace in Jesus Christ our blessed Redeemer Amen Those whose Devotions are apt to be assisted by variety or are desirous of Forms for other Graces or more particular occasions may find a plentiful supply in the Books of the aforementioned-Pious Author in Dr. Tailor's holy Living and Dying but more especially in the Book of Devotions composed by the Reverend and Learned Dr. Patrick A Prayer to be used by any Pious Christian in these difficult times O Most just and holy Lord God thou art Righteous in all thy ways and holy in all thy Works I must needs confess that when I seriously consider the multitude and hainousness of my own Sins and those of the whole Nation which cry loudly to Heaven for Vengeance that it is even a miracle of Mercies that we have not long since felt the severities of thy Wrath in some direful Judgments but thou O Lord hast been exceedingly gracious and with much patience and long suffering hast waited for our Repentance and Amendment of Life but yet we have abused this Mercy of thine beyond all the former and have not returned unto thee And now O Lord seeing we would not be allured by thy Mercies thou art pleas'd to threaten us with the approach of thy Judgments which if thou wilt not avert O fit and prepare me for the cheerful Entertainment of whatsoever thy Wisdom shall think fit to
nothing but what comes from the ground of the Heart is accepted by him and that only the Fervent Prayer is effectual and prevails with him how great need you have of those things you ask and that for ought you know this may be the last time you may have an opportunity of putting up any Petition unto him Then draw near unto God in Faith and in Humility in a sense of his great Majesty and thy own Wretchedness and Misery In the entrance to thy Prayer earnestly desire the Assistance of Gods Holy Spirit and have a care to keep out all vain and wandring thoughts In the close of thy Prayer remember to give God thanks for that gracious opportunity vouchsafed thee for that strength of Body and Assistance of his Holy Spirit which he hath been pleased to afford thee in the performance of thy Duty and desire him for the continuation of the same Mercies to pardon the Frailties and Imperfections of thy Holy Duties and to do more abundantly for thee than thou art able to ask or think c. This being done prepare thy self for thy Bed unless thou art Major Domo Master of a Family and then call thy Family together read unto them or cause them to read a Chapter or two and afterwards Pray with them and be not unmindful to adapt thy Prayers as near as thou canst to their as well as thy own particular wants and necessities which by having an eye over them thou mayst without any great difficulty observe and know As thou art putting off thy Cloaths Meditate that it will not be long before thou put off thy Body also Beg of God therefore by Ejaculation that when this Earthly Tabernacle of thy Body shall be dissolv'd thou mayst have a building with God not made with hands but Eternal in the Heavens and that when thy Body shall lie down in its Bed of Darkness thy Soul may pass into the Regions of Light and dwell with God for ever more through Jesus Christ Amen After thou art in Bed use these or the like short Prayers or Ejaculations I will remember thee in my Bed I will think upon thee in the Night Season At Midnight will I give thanks to â—hee because of thy Righteous Judgments O Lord deliver me from the place works and spirits of Darkness O Let â—e not walk in the Night of Sin lest I â—umble and fall In the midst of Darkâ—ess and the shadow of Death O Lord â—e thou my Light Give thy Holy Angels charge over â—e to keep me in all thy ways and be â—hou O blessed Saviour unto me both 〈◊〉 life and death advantage I will lay me down in Peace and â—ake my rest for thou Lord only makest â—e dwell in fafety Consider and bear me O Lord my â—od Lighten mine Eyes that I sleep â—ot in Death Into thy hands I commend my Spirit â—oul and Body for thou hast redeemed â—â—em O Lord thou God of Truth Glory be to the Father and to the â—on and to the Holy Ghost As it was 〈◊〉 the beginning is now and ever sha◠〈◊〉 c. If any time remains before sleep seizeth on thee you cannot do better than to spend it in Meditation of some portion of that Scripture which you before read If you awake in the Night fill up the Chasms and Intervals with short Prayers Ejaculations or Meditations upon the four last things Death Judgment Heaven and Hell So shalt thou sleep and awake with God Prov. 3.24 yea thy sleep shall be sweet and no dangers of the Night or Spirits of Darkness shall terrifie thee So shalt thou be in a continual epectation of the coming of thy dearest Lord that if he call for thee at Morning or at Evening at Midnight or at Mid-day at the third or fourth Watch thou wilt be found prepared for his coming thou wilt lay thy head down in the dusâ— with joy rest in hope and at length rise to a glorious Immortality which will make an ample Compensation for these thy pains and services Of a Private Fast and Directions for it FAsting in its Definition I take to be nothing else but an abstaining from our lawful Food upon a Religious account which although it be no where in Scripture injoyn'd simply for its own sake yet if we consider the many advantages of it in order to the benefit of our Souls we shall not think the Commands of the Church and the Practice of the Primitive Christians too severe and inimitable The Jews fasted twice every Week sc Tuesdays and Thursdays concerning which is the boast of the Pharisee Luke 18.12 and the Christians have not come behind them and the Sabbath being for good Reasons altered they have observed Wednesdays and Fridays for a Religious Fast which days are taken notice of by Tertullian and called Dies Stationarii But alas we that now live in this profligate and degenerate Age are so far from following the steps of pious Antiquity or the Commands of our Holy Mother the Church that if we set apart a Day for this purpose once in a quarter shall I say before the Sacrament or a year rather we think we have sufficiently deny'd our selves and discharg'd our Duty But certainly did we seriously consider and put a due estimate upon the great Emoluments and Advantages of this Holy exercise we should not be so remiss and negligent in it which I shall in the next place give you a taste of 1. And first of all Fasting is very instrumental to all Acts of Devotion for seeing there is so near an affinity between the Soul and the Body the former using the Organs of the latter for its Operations and for the most part follows the Temperament of it it cannot be when the Body is stuff'd even to Satiety and clog'd with a Load of indigested Humours that the Soul should be so active and vigorous as at other times and mount with those Wings of Devotion with that Zeal and Affection towards Heaven as when it is freed from that Burthen which still presses it down to the Earth And if there were no other reason to be given for it every good Christian's own Experience will sufficiently evince the Truth of the Assertion 2. Fasting is very instrumental in order to our humilation for Sins past and subduing of Lusts for the future Such is the misery of Mankind That whilst we are driven by an indispensable necessity to Eating and Drinking that we may support our frail Beings we also by the same Act cherish and foment our Vices Our Flesh is apt to be too rebellious and we find a Law in our Members constantly warring against the Law of our Minds and leading us Captive at will Now fasting is the Soul's Physick and there is no better way to tame this Monstrous Panther than by substracting that Pabulum which nourishes and feeds it This course Holy David took he wept and chastened himself with Fasting and many of God's Children imitate his Example
us in the face our Consciences accuse us our faces are appaled and our thoughts Distracted to think that if this Sickness should prove our last we must certainly not only be excluded from God's presence for evermore but have our portion with Devils and Reprobates in the Lake that burns with Fire and Brimstone to all eternity 2. In the time of thy greatest health be frequent in the meditation of Sickness and Death Si sapis utaris totis Coline diebus extremumque tibi semper ad esse puta Martial It was the passionate Wish of Moses Deut. 32.29 O that Men were wise that they understood this that they would consider their latter end The consideration of our latter end before-hand is the very 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the highest pitch of wisdom and understanding and on the contrary the putting far from us the evil day is the perfection of folly It is reported of Bilney the Martyr that he used some time before his Martyrdom to acquaint himself with the heat and burning of a Candle that the greater flames might not be novel and strange unto him at the time of his Suffering The Grave would be no surprize to us if we did sometimes in our Health descend there in our thoughts and meditations Praecogitati mali mollis ictus venit Senec. Ep. 76. Thou may'st therefore sometimes when thou art in thy retirement fancy thy self to be then Arrested with thy last Sickness and consider then what thou would'st do and how thou would'st behave thy self in it Imagine thy sickness long and tedious thy pains violent thy nights wearisome and restless think that thou seest thy helpless Friends mourning about thy Bed and thy hands so feeble that thou canst not stretch them forth to take thy last farwell of them and at length findest thy Spirits quite Languishing thy Eye-strings Cracking Cold sweats bedewing thy Face and thy extream parts growing chill and dead and thy Soul just taking it's flight to appear in the presence of God Believe it This is more than Romantick Story or an Imaginary thing and 't is only a fancy with relation to the difference of time otherwise a great reality Thou may'st proceed farther likewise with these Considerations Probably I may die a suddain death and may possibly be snatch'd hence before I have time to make my peace with God if I do it not now in the time of my health and then how shall I be of all men the most miserable It is but the just reward of my demerits for trifling away so much precious time as was allotted me for that purpose I know many have died suddainly a Syncope Imposthume or an Apoplexy a small Obstruction in my Veins or Arteries a Stone falling from the top of a House a fall from my Horse a Thousand casualties and accidents may take me off or if I have the favour of a Death-bed probably my pains may be so sharp a Lethargy or Phrensy may seize my head and dethrone my reason or my thoughts may be so distracted and in confusion that I may be altogether unfit then to perform the great Work of repentance or secure my peace with God therefore take up holy Job's resolutions Job 14.14 All the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change shall come 3. In the time of thy greatest Health lay up in store a stock of proper Graces against the time of Sickness and Death In the time of peace and quietness we discover no want of our Armour but let an Enemy invade us we are sensible of the folly of our neglect because we are now destitute of that which should secure us in our greatest necessity If we provide not before-hand a stock of Faith and Patience and most Christian Fortitude and Resolution Armour to shield and Weapons to repel the Frauds and Encounters of our great Assailant the Devil which will then take all advantages of our weakness we must certainly be foiled in the Combate The Graces then to be exâ—â—cised are chiefly these Faith Hope Râ—pâ—ntance Patience Devotion and Charity of which I shall speak more Particularly when I shew you this manner of exercising them on your Death-bed 4. Set not your Affections too much on the World and the vanities of it but wean your self from them by degrees lest at last your heart come to be so united to them that you cannot think of leaving them without great Reluctancy and you be apt with the Disciple to talk of building Tabernacles here and set your Affections on things on the Earth more than things of Heaven therefore Love not the World nor the things of the World Lay not your Affections that way more than a natural conveniency requires put now your House in order and dispose of your outward concerns prudently piously charitably Insere nunc Maelibaee pyros pone ordine vites that so when you come to die you may have nothing else to do but to die Emori satis est and having nothing else to do it well This alone will exact our greatest care our greatest diligence 5. Lastly In the time of thy health be frequent in prayer unto God that he will fit and prepare thee for that fiery Tryal that so Death find thee not unprovided Pray often for those Graces that thou shalt then have occasion to make use of that so When this Earthly Tabernacle of thy Body shall be dessolved thou may'st have a Building with God not made with hands but Eternal in the Heavens Of the Proximate Preparations for Sickness and Death FIrst Therefore when it shall please God to visit thee with Sickness â—hink thus This Sickness will put a peâ—â—od to my days I shall now go to the â—ates of the Grave whence I shall not â—eturn but before it comes to that I â—ust pass through a tedious Sickness and â—ost acute Pains but however be it â—hat it will I resolve by Gods Assiâ—ance patiently to undergo it and â—eerfully to submit to Gods Will and â—easure in it My Sins have deserved â—uch more Thy will O Lord be done 〈◊〉 Earth as it is in Heaven If thy Distemper will suffer it before â—ou takest thy Bed kneel down and pray to God that he will sanctifie unto thee this his Fatherly Chastisement give thee a cheerful patience under it and convert this thy Sickness into the advantages of Holiness and Religion that he will strengthen thy Faith encourage thy Hope support thy Weakness pity thy Infirmities and that being tried thou may'st come out of thy Affliction as Gold out of the Fire more pure and more refined and more fit for thy Masters use Or if he hath in his Wisdom otherwise disposed that he will be unto thee in death as well as in life advantage That he will not suffer thee to be tempâ—ed above what thou art able but with the Temptation will make a way for the to escape that thou may'st be able 〈◊〉 bear it That he will arm thee againâ—â— all the
the Character as well as the Practice of a good Man That he delights himself in the Law of the Lord and in that Law he doth meditate Day and Night Psalm 1.2 Meditation is the consequence or effect of delight and what any man loves and delights in he is often thinking and meditating upon and certainly much Reading without Meditation seems to favour more of formality and custom than of any real delight in it Reading is like the Manducation or Chewing of our Food and Meditation as the Concoction of it and if both these go before there is no doubt of a good and salutary Reflection to follow and as one affords wholsome laudible Chyle for the nourishment of the Body so will the other give forth strength and spiritual Refreshment for the Soul But if a Man have the Lientery that his Meat pass from him quickly and unchanged what strength and vigor of Body is he like to receive by it He may indeed eat more than a sounder Man but he will draw thence but a small faint and languishing Nutriment Even so is it with such as have this Spiritual Boulimos who have great Appetites and strong Desires after Reading and Hearing but they never suffer it to digest it suddenly passes through them and the poor Soul is like to starve in the midst of so much plenty Meditatin is stiled by a Learned Author 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a kind of augmentation a beating out of the Gold into Plate and Wire An Enlargement of the Object we look upon which by our continual Survey of the Beauty of it we make it more clear and visible than before Our study and desire of this holy Exercise wants no opportunity of time and place Sed inter medios Rerum actus invenit aliquid vacui In the midst of our Employments and Business finds leisure and makes its Closet in the very Streets I cannot therefore think any person totally excused from this Duty Indeed those whose leisure is greater and opportunities more God will expect more from According to that of the Apostle Luke 12.48 Vnto whomsoever much is given of him shall be much required but if thou hast less time and thy occasions are more pressing yet thou may'st cast in thy Symbole thy Mite too and no doubt but God will accept it Meditation I take to be a serious Cogitation or Consideration of any Divine or Spiritual Subject and a particular Application of it to our selves so as to work upon and raise our Affections It is not a meer Employment of the Brain but an Act of the Heart and engages the Affections and all the Powers of the Soul Of it there are two sorts the one set and deliberate the other occasional or sudden Both these have a large Field to walk in and are as unconfined as the Matter and Subjects of them are but principally the former is taken up in Contemplation of the Love Wisdom Power Justice and other Attributes of God in Consideration of the great and miraculous Love of Jesus Christ in his Incarnation miserable yet senseless Life bitter Death Resurrection Ascension continual Intercession and all the benefits of our Redemption of the Miseries of Life the Certainty of Death and Uncertainty of the Time of it the glory of Gods Saints the dreadfulness of Judgment the Terrors of Hell Or else in Meditating of any part of Gods holy Word c. The latter is only conversant about sudden and occasional things whereby the busie active Soul makes particular Applications and Reflections according as the Subject or Occasion offers it self The benefits of both these are very great Meditatio quasi mentis ditatio Meditation is an inriching of the Soul By this means you have a sufficient Treasury or Stock of Scripture fit for all Occasions and Conditions to strengthen your Faith to encourage your Hope to incite your Love both to be the matter of and also to quicken your Devotions and to comfort you in all your Tryals and Afflictions c. I shall begin with the former of these set or deliberate Meditation and here according to my slender capacity I shall give you some brief Instructions for it and Examples of it This work is of all others the most spiritual and sublime and therefore the person most fit for this Heavenly Employ is the most holy most heavenly Christian He only can extract the Elixir and Quintessence from this precious Mineral As to the time and place for your Meditation it matters not much so you make choice of that time when you may have the greatest vacancy and recess from your worldly Concerns and Business and when the Temper of your Body and Mind is most fit for Contemplation and that place where you may have the most privacy and retirement Nunquam minus solus quam cum solus said Scipio Africanus The time of Isaack's Meditation was in the Evening and the place was the Field Gen. 24.63 David's time was at Midnight and in the Bed Psalm 63.6 Our blessed Saviour we read used both these times Matth. 14.23 Mark 1.35 His place was either in a Mountain Wilderness or solitary Garden insomuch that even Judas when he came to betray him knew where to find him John 18.1 2. And though he took his Disciples there with him yet he separated himself from them for more private Devotions Luk. 22.41 And though his Meditation be not directly named but only his Praying yet it is very clearly implied Matth. 26.38 39. his Soul is first made sorrowful with the bitter Meditations on his Death and Sufferings and then he poureth it out in Prayer Mark 14.34 Our Saviour then had an accustomed place for this accustomed Duty whose holy Example we ought to imitate And if thou be a Man who canst dispose of thy Affairs at thy pleasure it will be convenient at least that thou observe the same time for this holy Exercise A stated time is a hedg to Duty and defends it from many Temptations to Omission The more frequent thou art in it the better because seldom conversing with God will create a strangeness betwixt thy Soul and him and will take off much of that life heat and pleasure which thou formerly hadst in the discharge of this Duty Being then retired at a convenient time to this solitary place which thou choosest for thy Meditation endeavour in the first place to disband all vain and worldly thoughts and to work up thy Soul to a due frame and temper of seriousness to help which thou may'st use this or the like short Prayer LEt the words of my Mouth and the Meditations of my Heart be now and always acceptable in thy sight O Lord my Strength and my Redeemer O Most gracious God without whom I am not able so much as to think a good thought be thou pleased to be present with me at this time by the preventings and assistances of thy holy Spirit that the course of my Meditation may be guided aright and
Irreversible so certainly shall all the Off-spring of Adam High and Low Rich and Poor Learned and Unlearned descend unto the gates of the Grave mingle their dust and pay down their Symbole of Mortality Divesne prisco natus ab Inacho Nil interest infimâ De gente sub dio morieris Victima nil miserantis orci Omnes eoâ—em cogimur c. Horat. Carmin Lib. 2. Ode 3. St. Austin observes three kinds of â—eath The first is when God forsakes â—he Soul so he forsook Saul 1 Sam. 6.14 and so he forsook Pharaoh Exod. â—13 This Death is also mentioned Matt. â— 22 Let the dead bury their dead The second is When the Soul forâ—â—kes the Body which is in the common â—urse and order of Nature So Lazaâ—s died John 11. The last is When both Body and Soul â—ffer eternal Death and this is mentiâ—ned Matt. 25.46 and so also Luke 16. â—2 23. The Rich also Man died and was â—uried and in Hell he lift up his Eyes â—eing in torments c. Now Sin is the parent of all these â—ut great sins and a state of impenitency â—nd hardness of heart are the cause that â—ove God to the first and last First to â—rsake the Soul but not till the Soul â—rsakes him next to consign him over 〈◊〉 that state of Immortal Death The second kind of Death is common â—o the Godly as well as the Wicked to â—im that feareth an Oath as well as â—im that sweareth to the Religious as â—ell as the Profane because Gods Decree 〈◊〉 unchangeable Eccles 7.20 and because â—hat even they also cannot lead a sinless life but have many sins many frailties and imperfections that they cannot totally be freed from while they live Death saith the Apostle passed upon all Men for that all have sinned Rom. 5.12 Death then is certain to all nullum Saevà caput Proserpina fugit and yet nothing more uncertain than the time of it Mors certa est incerta dies One dies in the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and vigor of his Age when his Bones are full of Marrow and his Blood of Spirits Another in his Infancy wen there are great expectations of future comfort and hopeful successes Another is intombed in his Mothers Womb and never sees the Light Another dies in the Flower of his Youth Another in Old Age but all sooner oâ— later come to one Seat the Grave One goes well at Night to his Bed and in the Morning is found dead Lotus nobisum est hilaris coenavit ideâ— Inventus mane est mortuus Andragoras Martial l. 6. Another goes out of his doors anâ— his beloved Consort is with much joâ— and impatience expecting his happy reâ—urn and anon she receives the sorrowâ—â—l news of his Death by a Fall or a â—eavor Of all the uncertain things in â—â—e World I know not a more uncerâ—â—in thing than the times of our Death There are so many thousand Casualâ—es that may intervene to deprive a Man â—f life that it is a greater wonder that â—e is than that he is not A Plague or â—â—me popular Disease or Fevour or Smallâ—ox an Immoderate Grief or profuse â—y an Intemperate Draught or undiâ—ested piece of Meat yea a Hair or a â—rape-stone with Myriads of other acciâ—ents may introduce Death And as Death is certain so is Judgâ—ent too As it is appointed unto Men once to â—e so after this the Judgment As one fixed by an irrevocable unalterable Deâ—ee so is the other too He hath appointed a day in which he â—ill judge the World Acts 17.31 This Judgment will be universal both 〈◊〉 to persons and things God will judge â—e secrets of all hearts by Jesus Christ â—om 2.16 Every Man shall receive the â—â—ings done in his body according to â—â—at he hath done whether it be good or evil 2 Cor. 5.10 and to that end we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ God is said to be the Judge of all Heb. 12.23 which evinces the certainty of a day of Judgment Otherwise to what purpose is there a Judge And shall not the Judge of all the Earth do right Here the good man finds the sharpest Misery and greatest Afflictions the Evil Man the sweetest Felicity and fullest Pleasures Here the Rich mans Table stands pressed with Delicacies and poor Lazarus lacks even Crums to feed him Therefore it would much impeach the Justice and Goodness of God if there were not a time and place to make some retribution to each of these to reward the Righteous and to punish the Wicked Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompence Tribulation to them that trouble you and to you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty Angels 2 Thess 1.6 7. Remember that thou in thy life time receivedst thy good things and likewise Lazarus evil things but now he is comforted and thou art tormented Luke 16.25 So that a Man shall say Verily there is a reward for the Righteous Verily he is a God that judgeth in the Earth Psal 58.11 Otherwise where is our Hope For if in this life only we have hope in Christ we are of all Men most miserable 1 Cor. 15.9 Nothing could buoy up the Spirits of a good Christian amidst all the heavy Pressures and Afflictions of this Life but that he has the Hopes and Assurance that there is an exceeding and eternal Weight of Glory laid up for him in the life to come St. John in his Revelation tells us Chap. 20.12 13. That he saw the Dead small and great stand before God and the Books were opened and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the Books according to their Works And the Sea gave up the Dead which were in it and Death and Hell delivered up the Dead which were in them and they were judged every Man according to their Works From the whole you see there is a certainty nay a necessity of Death and Judgment This then should teach thee O my Soul 1. First to be often meditating of it before it comes Nil sic revocat a peccato quam frequens Mortis et Judicii meditatio This will restrain thee from Sin and make Death and Judgment less terrible when it comes Is there such a day approaching for all the Sons of Men How should we then resolve with David to make a Covenant with our eyes that they behold not vanity that we set a Watch before our Mouths and keep the door of our lips as with a bridle that we offend not with our tongues that we always have clean hands and a pure heart that at length we may dwell in his Tabernacle and rest upon his holy Hill for ever Si sapis utaris totis Colinediebus Extremumque tibi semper adesse puta Martial I know the sting of Death is Sin but thanks be to God who giveth us the Victory through our Lord Jesus Christ 2. Are there
such days approaching and is the time uncertain this then should teach thee O my Soul to be continually preparing for them Upon this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this moment of time depends eternity After a few years perhaps months or days it may be minutes thou shalt be arrested by Death and thence pass to Judgment Are thy Accounts fair Canst thou give them up with joy and not with grief Art thou reconciled to God and hast thou peace with him and thy own Conscience then come blessed day But if not neglect not one day nay one minute more thou knowest not what a day may bring forth How many have thy Eyes seen or thy Ears heard of that have been one day frollicking and taking their fill of pleasure and the next shut up in the prison of the grave whence there is no return to rectify thy former aberrations and where there is no more repentance The Grave is a safe repository and as it receives so it will keep thee to the Judgment of the great Day He that goes thither filthy will be filthy still and he that is unjust will be unjust still He that is righteous will be righteous still and he that is holy will be holy still Revel 22.11 Give me grace Good God all the days of my appointed time to wait until my Change shall come to think every day my last and to prepare Accordingly that so though the time be uncertain I may not be at any time unprovided but when I come to die I may have nothing else to do but to die that my Soul in the Arms of the Holy Jesus may be deposited with safety and joy there to expect the Revelation of his day and then to partake the Glories of his Kingdom 3. Are there such days approaching Then this should strike Horrour and Amazement to all loose and wicked persons The consideration of a Judgment to come made stout Felix tremble The foolish Virgins did bethink them of Oil for their Lamps when they heard the noise of the Bride-groom's Coming and perhaps these when on their Death-beds will then too late think of this Day but 't is not then a few still-born abortive prayers a Lord have mercy upon us or the like will serve their turn The Sinner may frollick it now follow his intemperance and unlawful pleasures and say still these are but tricks of youth or frailties of his Nature but let him remember that for all these things God will bring him into Judgment Eccles 11.9 'T is strange that Sinners should be so stupid and put so far from them the evil Day they think they shall still rejoyce as in their youth and see no evil and so never bethink them of their condition till they find themselves in the confines of Hell Tell them now of preâ—aration for Death they will answer â—ou 't is time enough yet and the fitâ—est season for that is when they are â—perannuated and unfit for any thing â—â—se Their time must now be divided â—etween their lusts and vanities between â—nlawful pleasures and imoderate sleep 〈◊〉 idleness they cannot now find a time â—r Repentance Prayer and attending upâ—n the things of God never considerâ—â—g that they must find a time to die in â—â—d that when Death comes they must â—e at leisure for that All their false pleasures are vanished like a shadow and â—ow nothing remains but the sense of â—uilt and a fearful expectation of Judgment they now perceive the Arrows of â—â—e Almighty stick fast on them and â—â—at there is no profit but extreamless 〈◊〉 those things whereof they are now â—hamed they now feel their Torments â—â—gin and court death to be freed from â—â—e stingings of Conscience but that onâ—â— consigns them over to greater and â—ore impassible miseries who like priâ—ners condemned to die they are â—rought out of prison their Chains â—nock'd off and yet carried to a more â—eadful Execution 4. Are there such Days approaching Then this brings great comfort and satisfaction to the Godly Man he is ready to say with Jonah Chap. 4.3 And now I beseech thee take away my Life for it is better for me to die than to live or with Saint Paul I desire to be dissolved Death I know is but a stepping behind the Dark Curtain and a passage into another Room I set here in this Horizon but I shall presently rise in another 'T is not a Period but a Parenthesis which may be put in or left out To me to die is gain I have had my Portion of evil things in the World my share of miseries and troubles but now I shall be free'd from them all and gain my port which I have so long looked out after And can you blame a Man that is toss'd up and down the turbulent Waves of the Sea to desire a safe Harbour to land in Can you blame the poor Man that labours and toils all the day long in the sweat of hiâ— Brows when his Work is done to desire the night wherein he may take hiâ— ease and sweet repose Neither is the Godly man by Death only free'd froâ— those Calamities and Troubles from with out but from the depraved Corruption of his Nature from Temptations from within and without and from Sin it self the greatest joy to a pious Soul who more rejoyceth that he cannot sin than that he cannot suffer And as the approach of this Day brings great comfort and satisfaction to the Godly upon the score of those Negatives so it is much enhansed upon the consideration of those positive Rewards styled by the Apostle the recompence of Reward promised by Almighty God which they have oftentimes some praelibations or foretastes of This makes them chuse Death rather than Life and to take up St. Austin's Words breaking out in a holy rapture commenting upon Moses's desire of God Exodus 33. That he would shew him his glory and God's answer Thou can'st not see my Face for there is no Man shall see my face and live O let me die that I may behold thy glory Eia Domine moriar ut videam videam hic ut moriar nolo vivere volo mori dissolvi cupio esse cum Christo St. Aug. I know that my Redeemer liveth that where he is there his Servant shall be I shall see him as he is and my eyes shall behold him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 face to face and then Olim haec meminisse juvabit It will be very pleasant to think of those many past troubles and escaped dangers Grant me gracious God so to live that at last I may lay down my Head in the dust with joy rest in hope and at length rise to a blessed and glorious Immortality Amen even Amen Lord Jesus Of Heaven and Hell the Joys of one the Torments of the other JVxta se posita magis elucescunt The darker the Foyl the more radiant doth the Diamond appear The blackness and deformity of the Maid makes the Mistris's Beauty more remarkable
Man shall seriously consider That though he now gives himself the full swing and liberty of his unlawful pleasures and desires and denies himself nothing that his depraved Appetite can crave or suggest unto him yet these are but fleeting and momentany That when a few years are come he shall be taken from them and go the way whence he shall not return this will certainly imbitter his false joys and lay some restraint upon him in the Career of all his Sensual Delights On the other side when a good and holy Man shall consider that although in the ways of Vertue and Holiness he meets with many straits and difficulties he hath many fears and troubles within many trials and temptations without yet these will not continue long when a few years are come he shall be free'd from them all he shall go the way whence he shall not return This certainly will encourage him to persevere and to continue faithful unto Death This was that which afforded holy Job so much comfort in the midst of all his Afflictions He was in a very miserable Condition under the power of Sathan's Malice full of noisome Boils and grievous Pains laughed at and mocked by his cruel Enemies nay reproached and contemned by his nearest Friends as you may see a Catalogue of his Sufferings from verse the ninth to the 17th yet he still maintains his Integrity with the considerations of the shortness of his life and consequently of the duration of his afflictions saying When a few years are come then I shall go the way whence I shall not return from the words we may collect 1. The certainty of Death When a few years are come then I shall go the way c. 2. The uncertainty of the time of it When a few years are come The Prophet leaves it in indefinite he doth not say Such a number of years or in such a year I shall die but when a few years are come c. 3. The brevity of Mans Life Thought he mentions years yet they are but few When a few years c. 1. The certainty of Death St. Paul tells us Heb. 9.27 That it is appointed unto Men once to die and this Royal Decree of Heaven is like that of the Medes and Persians irreversible had Man continued in his primitive Innocence he should not indeed have died but when once Man put off that white Robe he became immediately obnoxious unto Death and God tells him Gen. 3. Dust thou art and to Dust shalt thou return The wages of sin is Death As certainly as we live so certainly shall we die Neither the Majesty of the Prince nor the meanness of the Peasant the Wealth of the rich Man nor the Poverty of the Poor The strength of the Mighty nor the holiness of the Pious can exempt from Death so that I may take up that Interrogation of the Prophet What Man is he that liveth and shall not see Death 2. The uncertainty of the time of it Astrologers by Calculating Nativities have pretended to foretell the Deaths of others as well as themselves but have seldom ever hit right in either and have been miserably deceived Our times are in God's hand This is one of the Arcana Imperis those incommunicative prerogatives God keeps to himself and dare any Mortal be so bold as to pretend to it God hath said that he comes as a thief in the Night and hath bid us Watch That of the hour and the season knoweth no Man and yet shall we say that we have any certainty of his coming Do we not see how many are daily snatch'd away by a sudden and untimely Death And yet shall we boast our selves of too morrow Infancy Childhood Youth Manhood and Ripeness of years can no more plead Exemption from Death than old Age so that you see how uncertain the time of it is 3. The brevity of Mans Life David observed that the days of our Age are Threescore years and ten and at most but fourscore and if we wade through many thousand Accidents and at last arrive to that Age it is still but short with respect to Eternity and we spend our years as a Tale that is told scarcely remembring when or where we began But it is not one of many thousands whose Lamp burn thus long to its lowest Basis but either the Oyl is consumed or a puff of wind hath blown it out long before What is our life saith St. James It is even a vapour that continueth but a little while and then vanisheth away David compares it to sleep which lasteth but for a Night to Grass which in the Morning is green and groweth up but in the Evening is cut down dried up and withered Lucian calls it a Bubble which by the next breath of wind vanisheth into Air. Homer a Leaf which if it be not gathered by the hand or eaten by a Worm or forced by the wind will wither and fall of its own accord at Autumn Pindar the Dream of a shadow what more vain unconstant short liv'd things than these Yet such is the Life of Man Well then might Job say When a few years are come then I shall go the way whence I shall not return From the words we may gather these four Corollaries or Observations 1. From the Example of this holy Man I learn that we ought to think of Death before it comes When a few years are come then I shall go the way c. 2. That we ought not only to think of Death in general but of our own Death in particular I shall go the way whence I shall not return 3. That it is the highest piece of Prudence to prepare for it before it comes because that after Death we shall not be able to return to amend or rectifie the deficiency of our former preparations I shall go the way whence I shall not return 4ly and Lastly That to a pious and innocent Soul the consideration of Death and never returning again to a troublesome and sinful Life is matter of great joy and comfort When a few years are come then I shall go the way whence I shall not return 1. As to the first That we ought from the Example of holy Job to think of Death before it comes There is nothing so much discomposes a Man or unfits him for the due Exercise of his Reason and Prudence in the conduct of any weighty Affair as to be surprized suddenly and without his expectation Even a sudden and profuse joy as well as an immoderate and unlook'd for grief hath cut off the thred of the lives of many What disorder and discomposure then will a sudden Arrest from Death make in the heart of that Man that never as much as thought on or looked for it before hand How will it amaze or distract him And turn all his Senses into Confusion If a Man had only one thing of great moment to do in his whole Life upon the success of which depended
about me a Body of Flesh which is ready to shrink at the approach of any thing grievous do thou O Blessed Jesu pray for me that my Faith fail not that no terrors of Death or Pains may ever shake my constancy or cause me to deny that Lord that suffered such bitter Agonies for me but that I may continue faithful unto Death and so receive a Crown of Life 13. Vpon an Epileptick Person falling into the Fire and being thereby Cured of his Disease THis Person had for a long time laboured of his Epilepsie the accessions of which at length were so frequent and violent that it would often precipitate him to the Ground without as much as giving him any warnings of it's approaches where he would lie as incapable of helping himself as he was insensible of his condition The Patient used to have a Servant attending him to prevent danger but was now by God's providence out of the way In the mean time a fit seizes him he falls into the Fire which being fervent scalded and burned the hinder part of his Head and Neck whereby were produced many Blisters and Ulcers which afterwards unexpectedly by Gods blessing effected a Cure of that obstinate Disease which hitherto had eluded the force of all Medicines Good God! what a Providence is this how wonderful art thou in all thy doings what an allay of Mercy with Judgment is here judgment in Afflicting mercy in Relieving The impotent Man which thirty and eight years had been Diseased lay a long time at the Pool Bethesda but could not be cured till our Saviour came when we are all together unable to help our selves and when all outward means do fail then God comes with his seasonable Relief and to our amazement and admiration perfects that which we could not expect He that once brought light out of darkness can still bring good out of evil nothing shall impede or hinder his Designs but even that which in humane Judgment seems contrary shall prove a salutary Remedy This shall teach me even in the mid'st of the heaviest pressures not to despond but to trust in him who is able by ways tho altogether unknown to me to relieve me in the greatest difficulties Ejaculations for several Occasions For Pardon of Sin HAve mercy upon me O God according to thy loving kindness according to the multitude of thy tender Compassions blot out all my Transgressions Wash me throughly from my Iniquity and cleanse me from my Sin For I acknowledg my Transgressions and my Sins are ever before me O God thou knowest my foolishness and my Sins are not hid from thee Purge me with Hyssop and I shall be clean wash me and I shall be whiter than Snow If thou Lord should'st be extream to mark what is done amiss O Lord who could abide it But there is forgiveness with thee therefore thou may'st be feared Hide thy Face from my Sins O Lord and blot out all mine Offences Be Merciful unto me O Lord heal my Soul for I have sinned against thee Remember O Lord thy tender mercies and loving kindness for they have been ever of old For thy Names sake for thy Mercies sake yea for thy dear Son Jesus Christ his sake pardon all my Iniquities for they have been very great For Grace TEach me to do the thing that pleaseth thee for thou art my God Shew me thy way O Lord and I will walk in thy Truth O knit my heart to thee that I may love and fear thy holy Name Lead me in thy Truth and teach me for thou art the God of my Salvation on thee do I wait all the day With my whole heart have I sought thee O let me not wander from thy Commandments Incline my heart unto thy Testimonies and not to Covetousness Make me a clean heart O God and renew a right Spirit within me Search me O God and know my heart try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way Everlasting Set a Watch O Lord before my Mouth and keep the door of my Lips Blessed art thou O Lord teach me thy Statutes So teach me O Lord to number my days that I may apply my heart unto Wisdom Lord make me to know mine end and the measure of my days what it is that I may know how frail I am For the Light of Gods Countenance O Lord hide not thy Face far from me put not thy Servant away in anger thou hast been my help leave me not neither forsake me O God of my Salvation O Lord whatever thou art pleas'd to deny me yet lift up the Light of thy Countenance upon me Thy loving kindness is better than life My Lips shall praise thee Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy holy Spirit from me Give me the comfort of thy help again and stablish me with thy free Spirit Withhold not thy tender Mercies from me O Lord let thy loving kindness and truth continually preserve me Turn me again O God of Hosts and cause thy Face to shine upon me and so shall I be saved Make me to hear of joy and gladness that the Bones which thou hast broken may rejoyce Speak peace unto my Soul and Conscience and say unto my Soul Thou art my Salvation Thanksgiving I Will praise the Lord according to his Righteousness I will sing praise to the Name of the Lord most high I will praise thee O Lord with my whole heart I will shew forth all thy marvellous Works I will freely sacrifice unto thee I will praise thy Name O Lord for it is good Blessed be the Lord God of Israel which only doth wondrous things Morning and Evening and at Noon will I praise thee Seven times a day will I praise thee because of thy Righteous Judgments While I live I will praise the Lord I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being Praise the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me praise his holy Name Praise the Lord O my Soul and forget not all his benefits Blessed be the Lord God which daily loadeth us with his benefits who is the God of our Salvation and blessed be the Name of his Majesty from everlasting and to everlasting Amen Amen In the time of outward or inward Trouble O Lord rebuke me not in thine Anger neither chasten me in thy heavy displeasure Look upon my Adversity and Misery and forgive me all my sin Be merciful unto me O Lord for my Soul trusteth in thee and under the shadow of thy Wings shall be my refuge until these Calamities be overpast Have Mercy upon me O Lord for I am weak O Lord heal me for my Bones are vexed My Soul also is sore vexed but thou O Lord how long Be not far from me for trouble is near at hand and there is none to help Give me help for I am in trouble and vain is the help of Man Keep me as the
my Heart unto Wisdom when I awake up I am ever with thee Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the ginning is now c. Then have an especial care that no vain filthy or impure thoughts have any entertainment within thy Breast but if any such endeavour to crowd themselves in presently discard them with detestation and abhorrency emembring that the First Fruits belong to God and he ought to have the râ—ime of all thy Thoughts then cast thy self out of Bed and whiles thou art dressing thy self desire God to cloath thee with the Righteousness of his Son Christ Jesus and use the following Ejaculations O Lord grant that I may put on the whole Armour of God that I may be able to stand against all the Fiery Darts of the Devil Above all things O Lord give me the Shield of Faith the Breast-plate of Righteousness the Sword of the Spirit the Girdle of Verity the Helmet of Salvation and let my Feet be shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace O grant that I may put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no Provision for the Flesh to fulfil it in the Lusts thereof Before thou art throughly dressed kneel down by the Bed-side and say In the Name of the Father and of the the Son and of the Holy Ghost prevent me O Lord in all my doings with thy most gracious Favour and further me with thy continual Help that in all my works begun continued and ended in thee I may glorifie thy holy Name and finally by thy Mercy obtain everlasting Life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Our Father which art in Heaven c. On Combing your Head or Plaiting the Hair you may use such Ejaculaions as these Grant O Lord my Ornament may not be that of the Hair but that of a lowly meek quiet and humble Spirit Let it not be that of the outer but of the inner and hidden Man of the Heart Make me a clean Heart O God and renew a right Spirit within me While you are Washing you may Ejaculate thus O Lord wash me throughly from mine Iniquities and cleanse me from my Sin O cleanse me from all Filthiness both of Flesh and Spirit Not only my Hands and my Face O Lord but my Heart also Purge me with Hysop and so shall I be clean O Lord wash me and I shall be whiter than Snow I am unclean I am unclean but O Lord if thou wilt thou canst make me clean O touch me and say I will be thou clean Being now compleatly dress'd withdraw to thy Closet or place of Retirement and there lift up thy Soul to God in this or the like manner O Lord I beseech thee let thy holy Spirit direct me how I may spend this day most of all to thy Glory and my own and others benefit And then ponder a while on the business of the day and consider what sins either thy natural Temper Business or Company may most subject thee to to what dangers thou art most liable and what opportunities thou art like to have either of doing God Service or thy Neighbour good Against the former implore Gods Aid and Assistance in a particular Petition which you may find a convenient place to insert in your Morning Devotions and also Arm your self before-hand with Resolutions and the best Means you can to prevent them that so you may avoid the occasions of Sin And for the latter resolve to embrace all opportunities for the discharge of your Duty and then use this Ejaculation Thus thus O Lord I purpose by thy Grace to spend this day O be thou pleased to be present with me by the preventings and assistings of thy Grace and Holy Spirit that so I may perform what I intend to the Glory of thy Name the discharge of my Duty the benefit of others the comfort of my own Soul here and everlasting happiness hereafter in and through Jesus Christ Let thy Grace be sufficient for me Consider also seriously what Sins have passed from thee since thy Evening Devotions Being thus prepared take Gods Holy Book into thy hands yet not without Reverence and to put a distinction between this and other Books it will be commendable if thou uncover thy head in the reading of it or stand up even the Hearhens pay it Reverence the Jews hear the Law with Adoration and the Turks kiss the Alcoran thou maist also use one of these or the like Ejaculation or the Collect of the second Sunday in Advent Assist me I pray thee O Lord with thy Holy Spirit in the reabing of thy holy Word enlighten the Eyes of my Vnderstanding that I may understand the same give me a retentive Memory and Grace to reduce the same into Practice in my Life and Conversation through Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour Amen Open thou mine Eyes O Lord that I may see the wondrous things of thy Law Blessed art thou O Lord O teach me thy Statutes O Lord sanctifie unto me my present Reading and Meditations for Jesus Christ his sake Then read that portion of Scripture that is either accommodated to the day or most fitted for your own condition and that with much seriousness attention and particular application of it to your self When you have ended use the common Doxology of Glory be to thee O Lord. Then re-collect what things observable you have met with in your reading and spend some time in Meditation of them and consider what use you may afterwards make of them either to encourage to Vertue or deter from Vice without this Post Meditation you will reap no more benefit by this â—alutary Word than a Body by the reception of the most nutritious Aliment which is not well digested in the Stomach Nay as this will be apt to turn into Crudities and Diseases to the Body so will the other prove fatal to the Soul and that which should have been the savour of Life unto Life will be nothing else than the savour of Death unto Death Meditation being ended betake your self decently and reverently to your knees and with great fervency offer up your Morning Devotions unoâ— the Throne of Grace which being done follow your lawful Studies or Employments still having an awful sense of Gods Omnipresence But if you be a Master of a Family then call your Family together and let they as well as you serve the Lord. Read a Chapter unto them and Pray again with them before you dismiss them to their business And if you live in a place where Publick Prayers are Celebrated and your manner of Life be such that you can without considerable inconveniences dispense with it think your self not excused from the Prayers of the Church in the Congregation At Noon when you see the Table spread you may meditate concerning Gods Mercy and Bounty towards thee and all mankind and use those or the like Ejaculations hereafter prescribed for that purpose and then receive
That he would bless his Minister that hath this day blessed you that he would pour down a double portion of his Spirit into his heart and make him an eminent Instrument for his glory and finally may so live and so preach that he may both save himself and them that hear him Pray also that he would continue such his spiritual Mercies towards you and make you to grow in knowledg and to be more fruitful under all the means of Grace that so his Word may be unto you the savour of Life unto Life and not to any Soul of you the savour of death unto death c. Thus shalt thou sanctifie this day unto the Lord and the Lord will sanctifie thee unto himself He will give thee of the blessings of this Life and that which is to come Remember the words of the Prophet Isaiah ch 58.13 14. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath from doing thy pleasure on my Holy day and call the Sabbath a Delight the holy of the Lord honourable and shalt honour him not doing thy own ways nor finding thine own pleasure nor speaking thine own words Then shalt thou delight thy self in the Lord and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the Earth and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy Father for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it Of the holy Sacrament SHould I here go about to enumerate the many great benefits of this holy Mystery I might in the next page also reckon up all the benefits of Physick Meat and Drink for what there are to the Body the other is to the Soul Meat and Drink are the Supporters of our Beings strengthen the Powers and Abilities of the Body preserve its natural heat and vigor and repair its decays and our Saviour saith of this Holy Sacrament my Flesh is Meat indeed and my Blood is Drink indeed such as will not only like Meat strengthen and nourish but like Drink or Wine comfort encourage and revive even drooping dying Souls It came down from Heaven and it is of Efficacy sufficient to translate us thither and as the Body being but a little deprived of Food languishes and at last expires even so is it with the Soul being deprived of this spiritual Sustenance which is said to nourish the Soul unto Life everlasting it immediately grows sick and at length dead unto all good Works And then as the Body by too great plenty of feeding at last contracts Corruption and Diseases and hath need of some Physick to cleanse and purifie it and to preserve the Blood from dangerous putrefactions even so is it with the Soul which by conversing with the pleasures and delights of the World is apt to contract some stain and foulness which may here in this sacred Fountain be washed away and cleansed and the Soul by this Antidote preserved from future Corruptions It is not my design here to acquaint you with the nature use and end of this Sublime Mystery or with the manner of worthy receiving it this being a Province above my low Sphere or Capacity and already so exactly done by the Learned and Pious Authors of the Christian Sacrifice Whole Duty of Man Method of Private Devotions c. to which I refer you All that I shall say in it is to endeavour to press you to the frequency of communicating which if we consider the Will and Command of Christ Luke 22.19 our continual wants and necessities and the great and inestimable benefits we reap by it we should not think our selves excused from any opportunity that offers it self but rather court every one and if it be in our power make it rather than want it for certainly if thou be a good Christian thou wilt think every return too slow and confess with David That as the Hart panteth after the Rivers of Waters so panteth thy Soul after God That thy Soul is athirst for God even for the living God when shalt thou come and appear before him And if thou not knowing it before-hand come into a Congregation where the Table is spread or art sodainly invited to communicate with a sick or dying person I cannot see how thou canst turn thy Back upon that sacred Ordinance although thy preparations are not according to the Sanctuary or so strict as they ought to have been hadst thou had timely notice thereof Supposing thee therefore to be one who lives in an habitual preparation that is in a daily Examination of thy Conscience and calling thy self to an account of thy Sins and in a constant performance of Religious duties and even now lamenting that thou hast not more time to prepare thy self so that what is wanting in Act is made up in Desire thou may'st undoubtedly draw near with comfort and receive as worthily though not perhaps so much to thy own satisfaction as if thou hadst made a greater and more solemn preparation and I must tell thee who ever thou art that unless thou art thus always ready to receive thou art in no wise prepared to die which that thou maist be I shall in the next Section set down some short Rules and Directions which may help thee towards it Remote Preparations for Death THere is nothing so much sharpens the sting of Death and adds greater malignity and venom to it than the want of due Consideration of it before-hand and Preparation for it Inexpertata plus aggravant novitasadjicit calamitatibus pondus Senec. Epist 91. The suddenness and surprize of an evil adds to the weight and smart of it Death we are told is an enemy 1 Corinth 15.26 and you know to be surprized by an Enemy puts all into tumult and confusion and permits not the free use of that reason and conduct that we should otherwise have had upon a timely monition and preparation Nay we are told that it is the last enemy and being to fight but this one battle it will be the greatest imprudence in the World not to muster up all our forces not to make all the provision we can before-hand that we be not worsted in this last Conflict Non licet in bello his peccare To fail once here is to fail for ever And we shall never have any opportunity more to rectify a former fault And therefore that you may not miscarry in so momentous a concern take and follow these brief Directions First in the time of your greatest health carry your self with the greatest innocency watchfulness and circumspection Endeavour to keep your Soul in an habitual frame and temper of piety continually abstain from the commission of any known Sin and do not that at any time which if God should then call for thee for no Man hath any assurance that he shall not die suddainly thou wouldst not be ashamed to be found doing If a sharp Sickness seizes our Bodies whilst we have a load of guilt upon our Souls what consternation and terrour does it strike unto us Our Sins stare
either his happiness or misery we should count him certainly the most stupid and careless Fool that should not as much as think and consider of it and contrive all ways possible before hand how he might succeed in it You have seen already that Death is certain and upon our dying depends our Eternal Salvation or Eternal Damnation how insensible must we then be if we are not often in the time of our life and health taken up with some serious thoughts and contemplations of it 2. That we ought not only to think of Death in general but of our own death in particular I shall go the way whence I shall not return Death is a general term and if it touch not us or our Family our Friends or Relations we are as unconcern'd as to hear of a Sickness or Mortality beyond the Seas in which we are like to be no fellow sufferers or sharers We can read every Week the Bills of Mortality and hear of this and the other great Person dead nay we can take many turns in the Church and Yard and walk over the Graves of our deceased Friends and yet be as unmoved and unsensible of our own change as the Stones we walk upon But Alass Do we think that our selves alone are Immortal That we only shall have an Exemption from Death Shall not the Passing Bell at length Toll for us and shall it not at length be said in the Streets That such a one is dead Yes certainly when a few years perhaps weeks or days are come then thou in particular shalt go the way whence thou shalt not return O then think of Death before it comes and of thy own death in particular say thus within thy self I am now in a state of health and strength I have now time and opportunity for Repentance my Lamp is yet burning I am invited to the Marriage of the Bride and the Door is yet open now my Tears will be accepted now my Prayers will be heard now is the acceptable tme now is the day of Salvation Now or never must I prepare for Eternity now or never must I make my peace with God What madness what folly will it be in me to hazzard my Eternal Salvation upon the hopes of a long life Or upon the possibility of having time to repent on my Death-bed Our time you see is uncertain and many there are who are taken away by a sudden death even in the midst of their sins Why may not I be one of those Many that thought as little of it as I do and had as good Resolutions as I have have yet perished to all Eternity Others there have been who though they have had timely Warnings of their Death by a lingring and tedious Disease yet either their pains and uneasiness have discomposed them for Repentance and fitting themselves for their change or else God hath then in Justice denied them the grace of Repentance who have been so long time neglective of it Repentance is the gift of God and he that hath promised pardon to the Penitent whensoever he repents hath not always promised to give the Sinner Repentance And if God should thus deal with me as he may justly do even then deny me Repentance without which I cannot be saved when I call upon him for it Qui promisit paenitenti veniam non promisitpeccanti paenitentiam because I refuse to do it now when he calls upon me how miserable and deplorable will my condition be Can I endure the Wrath of a Sin-revenging God Can I dwell with everlasting Burnings Can any thing screen me from those direful Torments prepared for the Devil and his Angels but now I to have my share in them O remember what God says Because I have called and ye refused I have stretched out minn hand and no Man regarded but ye have set at nought my counsels and would none of my reproof I also will laugh at your calamity and mock when your fear comâ—th 3. That it is the highest pice of Prudence to prepare for Death before it comes because that after Death we shall not be able to return to amend or rectifie the deficiency of our former preparations I shall go the way whence I shall not return Vestigia nulla retrorsum The grave receives all that come into it but will never suffer any to return thence before it hears the Voice of him that hath the Keys of it saying Arise ye dead and come to Judgment As the Tree falls so it lies there is no Repentance in the Grave whither we all go As Death leaves us so the Resurrection will find us If we died Sinners no Purgatory can make us to rise Saints He that was filthy at his Death will be found to be filthy still and he that was unjust then will be unjust still and he that was righteous will be righteous still and he that was holy will be holy still Rev. 22.11 O then let it be now thy care as it is thy prudence and interest so to prepare in life that thou may'st receive comfort in death that thy accounts may be fair no error or deficicncy in them and thou may'st be able to give them up with joy and not with grief and receive that blessed Character and Reward of Well done thou good and faithful Servant enter thou into thy Masters joy 4. That to a pious and innocent Soul the consideration of Death and never returning again to a troublesome and sinful life is matter of great joy and comfort VVhen a few years are come then I shall go the way whence I shall not return This life is a life of trouble we no sooner enter into it but we commence miserable the best part of it is Checkered with Sorrows and when we leave it it is not without pains and groans So that the whole Series of it from the Cradle to the Grave is nothing else but one Chain and Link of Misery This lot happens both to the good and to the bad to the just and to the unjust and the latter as well as the former might seem to solace himself with the consideration of the brevity of the duration but yet the righteous and holy Man as his troubles are far greater having the addition of grief for his own and others Sins the fears of Relapses into them the difficulty of conquering Temptations and being faithful unto death This enhanses his sorrow and multiplies his troubles and so consequently the consideration of his approaching Death and never returning more to so troublesome and sinful State of Life must needs revive his Spirits and magnifie his joy Methinks I hear him expostulating with himself in such language as this Ah Wretched Man that I am I came into the World with pains and tears my Infancy was spent in sleep and ignorance but yet not without its allay of sickness and inquietude My riper years have been wholly taken up with Folly and Vanity dishonoured with the
multiplicity of Lusts and Sins insnared with passions amazed with fears divided between cares and impertinencies wearied with labours loaden with diseases afflicted with want evil spoken of with and without a cause I have had many disappointments and losses been unfortunate in my Friends and Relatives and which is worst of all I have been daily harrassed with many impetuous Lusts and Temptations My sins have prevailed against me I have displeased my God and wounded my own Conscience interrupted my hopes of Heaven and am continually tormented with evil and wicked inclinations I find still a Law in my Members warring against the Law of my Mind and bringing me into Captivity to the Lavv of Sin and Death Those things vvhich I vvould do I cannot do but those things that I would not do those I do O Wretched Man that I am Who shall deliver me from this Body of Sin and Death that I carry about me I am afraid lest my Faith should fail lest having received the Grace of God and tasted of the heavenly Powers I should again be entangled by the Snares of my old beloved Lusts and so forfeit all my right to Heaven lose the Reward of all my strict and circumspect Walking and not continue faithful unto Death But O my Soul there is something the remembrance of which alleviates my grief and sweetens this bitter Cup These my sorrows will not last long a few years are the most and they will suddenly come and then I shall go the way whence I shall not return I shall then cease to grieve any more cease to sorrow cease to fear and cease to sin any more for ever All tears shall then be wiped away from mine Eyes and there shall be no more Sickness nor Sorrow nor Death nor Crying nor Pain I shall then have perfect rest and joy peace and quietness without any interruption for in his presence is fulness of joy and at his right hand are pleasures for evermore Though the way be foul and troublesome yet the Journey is but short and the end will be pleasant and peaceable and this consideration shall make me go cheerfully away with my present burthen for when a few years are come then I shall go the way whence I shall not return Meditations before or at Dinner or Supper 1. VVHen you see the Table spread Meditate on Gods Fatherly goodness and providence towards all his Creatures what vast infinite numbers there are and yet he carefully as a loving Father for his Children provides for them all their Meat in due season 2. Meditate how much more gracicious God is to thee who hath richly furnished thy Table and prepared these his good Creatures for thee without any great care or trouble of thine whereas there are many thousands in the World far better than thy self who are sentenced to a necessitous Condition and are enforced daily to tug at the Oar to delve in the Dirt to wash their Faces and bathe their Bodies in their own Sweat and yet for all this must be content at last with course Fare and hungry Stomachs 3. Meditate that every Creature of God is good if it be received with Thanksgiving and that it is sanctified by the Word of God and by Prayer and therefore resolve always to implore his blessing on the same in the first place 4. Meditate that several of Gods Creatures lose their lives to preserve thine whose Nature have as great a repugnancy to Annihilation as thy own and as thou now feedest on them so the Worms shall shortly feed on thee and let this excite thee to be temperate in the use of them and so to eat and drink as may the better dispose thee for any service of God thy Neighbour or thy self Let not the daintiness of the Cheer tempt thee to Luxury remembring that it is the greater Vertue to abstain when there is the greater Temptation 5. Lastly Meditate that God who filleth things living with his goodness expects no other return but praise and thanksgiving therefore when thou hast eaten and art full have a care that thou forget not to pay him that so easie Tribute Occasional Meditations Vpon the sight of a Dying Friend IT was not many days since that we had sweet Commerce together and our Conversation was dear to each other we frollick'd it till the Night parted us and then our separation was as the shadow of Death We thought the Nights tedious and the Days long till we should be again happy in each others Embraces but â—o how soon the Scene is altered my Friend is arrested by a fatal Disease and is just expiring his last Breath I came to comfort him and to receive Comfort and Satisfaction from him but alass all that is left me to do now is to be only a witness of his dying groans to close his Eyes and to receive his departing Breath Those Arms that used to hug and imbrace me at our first Meetings are now become so weak and languid that he cannot shake hands at parting nor lift them up unto his Maker That Tongue that was formerly the Conduit of Eloquence and Charm'd all that heard him by its sweet and mellifluous Expressions into a sensible but silent admiration is now become mute and speechless that he cannot as much as take his Vltimum Vale or bid me farewell at parting Those Ears that were heretofore delighted with pleasant Discourse and melodious Sonnets are now become thick of hearing and cannot distinguish between the soft murmurs of some and the louder cries of other his mournful Friends nor can admit of the least comfortable Advice in this his greatest extremity His Eyes sometimes so sparkling and sprightly that they would not suffer the most minute Object to pass their Advertency are now become so dull and heavy that they can scarce peep out of their Casements to behold the most glorious Object nay not so much as to salute that Heaven which he is just going to be the possessor of That countenance which a few days since was so amiable and pleasant as to attract the Eyes as well as raise the Envy of all beholders is now so pallid and ghastly and his Cheeks so bedewed with Cold Sweats that his dearest Friends and Relations draw the Curtains about him that they may not contemplate his grim Visage In a word his brother Body the Receptacle of his Divine Soul and partner with her in all her Actions which till now kept an indissoluble Relation with it is turning into Dust and says to the Grave Thou art my Father and to the Worms my Mother and my Sister Job 17.13 Good God how great a change is this in so short a span of time This shall teach me to put a very slight estimate on all the imperfect Perfections of this World and to seek after those things which alone are truly valuable This shall teach me also to think often of my latter end and all the days of my appointed time to wait until