they are of such exceeding importance that if thou art once perswaded to them my work will be half effected and because delayes and laziness are the two great gulphs in which such multitudes of souls are drowned and perish I shall speak the more to them My first request to thee is that thou wouldst presently set about the affairs of thy soul We say of things that must be done De rebus necessariis non est deliberandum there needeth not any deliberation about them Is not this the one thing necessary to prepare for the last hour to make sure of thine everlasting well-fare In re tam justa nulla est consultatio If thou believest the word of God thou wilt not give the flesh so much breath as to debate it muchless wilt thou as Felix did put off the thoughts of righteousness and judgement to come till thou art at better leisure till thou hast a more convenient season What more weighty work hast thou to do then to work out thy own salvation Is the following thy calling hoarding up an heaps of earth feeding cloathing that flesh which shall shortly be food for worms is any of these half so necessary as thy provision for eternity If thou art old its high time to begin to prepare for thy latter end Thou hast the feet of thy body almost already in the earth in the grave and hadst thou not need have the feet of thy soul thy affections in heaven Thou hast but a little time to converse with men doth it not behove thee to be much in communion with God Death often possibly knocketh at thy door by the hand of sickness and warneth thee to look after another habitation for thou art to be turned out of thy house of clay Dost thou take warning what wilt thou do if thou shouldest dye before thou didst ever begin to live If the Sun of thy life should set before the Sun of righteousness hath arisen on thee all the while thou livest thou art dead and thou livest long to add to thy torments as others have died soon to hasten them Thou art but like stubble laid out a drying to burn the better in hell all the while thou continuest a stranger to the new birth Thou hast every day been treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath been gathering as it were more wood to increase those flames in which thou if thou thus diest shalt live for ever Because judgement against an evil work is not speedily executed therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil though a sinner do evil an hundred times and his dayes be prolonged it shall not go well with the wicked Eccles 8 11 12 23. The sinner an hundred years old shall be accursed Isa 65.20 I have read of the Circassians a kind of mungrel Christians that they divide their time betwixt the Devil and God dedicating their youth to robbery and their old age to repentance How much time hast thou spent in the service of sin how little time hast thou left the service of God and thy soul Is it not high time for thee to number thy dayes and to apply thy heart unto wisdom speedily Old sinner dost thou not tremble to think that there is but a step betwixt thee and death nay betwixt thee and hell O the time and talents and opportunities which thou hast to reckon for more then others Happy happy had it been for thee to have been turned out of the wombe into hell rather then to dye an old man and not a babe in Christ If thou hast a sparke of love to thy self mind thine inward change presently least thy change come even death and send thee to unchangeable misery If thou art young Honor adolescentum est timorem Dei habere Ambros de offici mind the gathering the Manna of godliness in the morning of thine age present the first fruits of thy life to that God who desireth the first ripe fruits Exod. 3.19 The firstlings are his darlings Gen. 4.4 and that cloth will keep colour best that is died in the Wool the vessel will sente longest of that liquor with which it is first seasoned let thy soul like Gideons Fleece drink up betimes the dews of grace As young as thou art thy life is every moment at the mercy of the Lord There is a saying that in Golgatha there are skulls of all sizes In the Church-yard thou mayest see graves of all sorts and some of thy very length thou art concerned therefore to remember thy Creator in the dayes of thy youth Aquinas telleth us the young man hath death at his back the old man before his eyes and that is the more dangerous enemy that pursueth thee then that which marcheth up towards thy face This calleth for the greater care and watchfulness In the Isle of Man the maides spin their winding sheets the first thing they spin do thou in youth and health ponder and prepare for thy death lest as young and strong as thou art death trip up thy heels and throw thee and it prove thine everlasting overthrow Besides canst thou imagine that such a sinner deserveth favor who cometh in to serve God at last when he can serve his lust no longer Is it equal be thy own judge to give the flower of thine age the spring of thy life the best of thy time thine health and strength to the devil and thy brutish flesh and to give the dregs the snuffe the bottom of all this to the infinitely glorious God whose creature thou art at whose cost and charge thou livest every day and night and who calleth upon thee for thy service not for the need he hath of thee but because of the need thou standest in of him all whose happiness doth consist in the pleasing and enjoying his Majesty Whoever thou art of what age soever either set speedily about thy soul-work or answer these few questions the Lord shall put to thee or be speechless and without excuse at the day of Christ First Hath not God waited upon thee long enough already wouldst have him whom the heavens and the heaven of heavens cannot contain who hath millions of glorious Angels waiting on his Majesty to wait on thee miserable worme alwayes I tell thee all the while thou art sinning his eyes behold thee his heart is incensed against thee and his hand can reach thee and avenge him on thee every moment How many hath he sent into hell that never tasted of his patience as thou hast done The angels sinned and were not waited upon one hour for their repentance yet how many years hath he endured thee with much long-suffering and still waiteth upon thee that he may be gracious unto thee Isa 30.18 The last oath thou didst swear he could have cursed and rotted thy tongue The last time that thou wentest prayerless to thy rest he could have sent thee to little ease to the place
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 HEAVEN and HELL EPITOMIZED THE TRUE CHRISTIAN Characterized AS ALSO An Exhortation with Motives Means and Directions to be speedy and serious about the work of Conversion By George Swinnocke M. A. sometime fellow of Baliol Colledge in Oxford and now Preacher of the Gospel at Rickmersworth in Hertfordshire I call heaven and earth to record this day against you that I have set before you life and death blessing and cursing therefore choose life that both thou and thy seed may live Deut. 30.19 Accidiosi erubescere possunt qui non tam diligenter laborant ad impetrandum gaudium coeli sicut multi impiorum laborant ad impetrandum poenam inferni Fabritius indestruct Vitior part 5. cap. 2. Crede Stude Vive Pinge Aeternitati Cor. A Lapid London Printed by E. M. for Tho. Parkhurst and are to be sold at the Sign of the three Crowns at the lower end of Cheapside over against the Conduit 1659. TO THE WORSHIPFUL And my esteemed Friend RICHARD BERESFORD Esquire Justice of the Peace for the Liberty of St. Albans in the County of Hertford and Clarke of the Pleas in his Highness Court of Exchequer Worthy Sir THis small Treatise part whereof was lately preached in your eares at the Funeral of your dear Mother presenteth it self to your eyes not for your protection Divine Truths desire none from men and humane errors deserve none from any but for your direction It containeth that in it which is able to make you wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus You have a double right to the dedication of this book partly in regard of the occasion of it partly in regard of the Authors obligation unto you which is great for your liberality but farre greater for your encouraging of and exemplariness in the truth and life of Christianity I did not think my self a little bound to that Providence which gave you Relation to our Parish and I suppose not without cause when the power of godliness hath few such considerable Patrons There is scarce one of a thousand cui praesens faeticitas si arrisit non irrisit Bern. lib. 2. de consolat Men of your rank though sometimes to stop the mouth of conscience or for their credit they take up a form and profession yet do usually neglect if not cursedly deride the strictness and power of Religion They are too often like the Moon farthest from and in most direct opposition unto the Sun of Righteousn sse when they are at the full of outward plenty and receive most light of Divine bounty from him their carnal hearts as the Sea turn the showers of mercies from heaven and fresh streams from the earth into the salt waters of corruption In our natural bodies the more fat there is the lesse blood in the veines and by consequence the fewer spirits Greatnesse and Goodness are beautiful and happy Quies hath no plural number God seldom giveth two Heavens Tamen aliquando Christus voluit Reginam in coelum vebere saith Luther of Elisabeth Queen of Denmark Luth. in Epist ad Jo Agric. but rare conjunctions You know who hath said Not many such are called 1 Cor. 1.26 And experience teacheth us that they are like Stars of the first Magnitude thinly scattered in the Firmament of a Country How much therefore are you engaged to that distinguishing love which enableth you to look after the things of a better life I shall take the liberty which I know you will give to speak a few words to you in your twofold capacity First as you are a Christian and herein my counsel will be that you would more and more ensure your effectual calling We say where men intend to live long they build strong I am confident all that you are worth for your endless condition in the other world dependeth under Christ upon your inward change And if ever any wyers had need to be firm and strong then questionlesse they upon which such heavy weights hang as your eternal unchangeable estate You have a large room in the hearts of many that are holy But alas Sir the best mans confidence of me would prove but a bad evidence for heaven He is not approved whom man commendeth but whom the Lord commendeth The great affection which you bear to the souls of the people amongst whom you were born is worthy of imitation And so is your care and cost in scattering some practical home-treatises in several families whereby souls may be converted and wherein you may have comfort at the day of Christ for soul-charity is the soul of charity but the best charity begins at home though it never ends there your main business lyeth within your own doors to make sure that good work within you which shall be perfected hereafter The ordinary security which most men trust to will not serve when they come in the other life to lay their claims and shew their deeds for the inheritance of the Saints in light Many flaws will then be found in their evidences which now through their wilful blindness they neither see nor fear Paâ—lens aurum melius est quâ—m fulgens aurichalcum Bern. He had need to have armour of proof that would enter the list with his enemy Death and not be foiled The heart not ballasted with renewing grace may hold out in the calm of life and shallows of time but when it meets with the storm of death and launcheth into the Ocean of eternity it suffereth a desperate and everlasting shipwrack The want of this is the leak which sinketh many a precious vessel soul I mean in the gulph of perdition There is as much difference between a nominal and a real Christian as between a liveless picture and a living person True Christianity which consisteth in the souls humble unfained acceptation of and hearty resolved dedication unto Christ as Saviour and Soveraign is a Paradox to most There are many Christians as Salvian complained in his time without Christ Christiani sine Christo Salv. but they which know experimentally what the sanctification of the holy Ghost meaneth are few indeed The Moralist in his best dresse of civility the Formalist in his gaudy attire of ceremonies and the hypocrite in all his royalty is not arrayed like one of these I do not write these things as in the least suspecting your sincerity but to quicken you to a godly jealousie over your own soul If the Apostles and Disciples needed such rousing cautions Take heed least that day come upon you unawares Luke 21.34 Take heed least any man fail of the grace of God Heb. 12.15 then much more you and I who are more drowsie and prone to slumber do require awakening considerations Secondly As you are a Magistrate And that relation calleth upon you to be very exemplary among men and exceeding active for God Man is a creature which is led more by the eye than the ear by patterns than precepts Great men
Turky or India or in Spain and Italy where the tree of knowledge is forbidden fruit where they may not read their fathers mind in their mother tongue but is it possible that in England where the will and word of God is more powerfully preached more practically applied more clearly discovered than in any nation of the world there should be any ignorant persons Alas alas We finde by woful experience that there are many very many Indians and heathen for ignorance in England Men and women that know as little of God and holiness of Christ his natures offices of true faith and repentance as if they had been born and bred up all their time in Turky or India I am ashamed to write what I know of the sottish stupid hellish ignorance of many and some that are aged too that are going to dye and yet never knew what it was to live either to God or their souls The good Lord affect my heart more with the danger and dreadfulnesse of their eternal conditions O how sad is it that so many precious souls should lie lazing on their beds of security and idleness and though the Sun shine brightly in upon them they will not draw their curtains and open their eyes to behold it That in a valley of vision a Goshen a land of light thousands should live and dye in worse then Egyptian darknesse that the Bible should be a sealed book to them and almost every one have the dark side of that glorious pillar towards him Reader To cure this soul-murdering distemper I have endeavored according to the trust committed to me and the grace bestowed on me to discover in this Treatise the life in Christ or true Christianity with the matchless endless felicity that accompanieth it as also the nature and danger of unregeneracy with the means to come out of it by which thou mayst see that many cozen their souls with counterfeit coin false evidences for heaven instead of true which will not abide the touchstone of Scripture and so like Uriah they carry those letters about them though they know it not which will at last cost them their lives and cause their eternal deaths That there is no fool like the sinner who selleth his soul for a song his Saviour his eternal happiness the unspeakable pleasures at Gods right hand for evermore for the perishing empty profits and base brutish pleasures of sin which are but for a season Though sin be delightful in the act to carnal wretches yet it will be bitterness in the end It will be a bitter-sweet to all its lovers when for their momentany pleasure they shall be recompenced with eternity of intolerable unconceivable pain That it is not for nothing that Ministers call so loudly and earnestly to thee to kill those lusts which would kill thee and to follow after holiness without which no man shall ever see the Lord Heb. 12.14 It will teach thee that God and Christ heaven and hell thy soul and eternity death and judgement are not things to be dallied with believe it thou wilt one day find that it is bad jesting with such edged tools Surely the greatest seriousness that is imaginable is too too little for them O hadst thou but the thousandth part of that seriousness about them which they deserve and call for at thy hands surely thou wouldst have other manner of thoughts of them and carriage towards them then now thou hast Well I have four special things at present from the living God to commend to thee and leave with thee in order to thine eternal good I known not how soon I may be taken from thee If thou lovest thy soul practice them faithfully if not answer the contrary when thou and I shall meet in the other world at the great and terrible day of the Lord Jesus First do thou labor for the knowledge of God and his Son thy self and the duty which thou owest to thy Maker and Redeemer hast thou not read the doleful consequence of ignorance and doth it not nearly concern thee to get out of that damnable condition Without this thou canst never be Religious notwithstanding all thy pretences that thou meanest well and hast as good an heart as the best If thou knowest not the God of thy fathers thou canst never serve him with a perfect heart 1 Chron. 28.9 All thy worship will be but wild and wandering from God all thy services but the sacrifice of a fool The foundation of obedience must be laid in knowledge Mal. 1.8 till then thou offerest up to the Lord the lame and blind which he will not accept God expecteth reasonable services Rom. 12.1 such for which thou canst give a good reason out of his word which must be the warrant of thy worship Be not therefore in shape a man a reasonable creature and as NebuchadneZZar in heart a beast be not as the horse and mule which hath no understanding Psal 32.9 Without knowledge thou canst not be saved If the Gospel be hid it is hid to them that perish 2 Cor. 4.4 Wilful ignorance is a sad sign that thou art in Gods black bill If God will ever have thee to be saved he will bring thee to the knowledge of this truth 1 Tim. 2.4 When Hammans face was covered his execution was near Do not delude and destroy thy soul by presuming that thy ignorance will not damne thee for if thou art without knowledge he that made thee will not save thee and he that formed thee will shew thee no mercy Isa 27.11 Mark Reader but this one place Psal 95.10 11. where the God of truth confirmeth it by an oath that they which do not know his ways shall not enter into his rest One would think that a prisoner should be both earnest and diligent to learn his neck verse who knoweth he must be hanged if he cannot read and dost not thou read in broad Characters in the word of God that thou must be an eternal monument of divine fury in hell if thou dost not learn to know the onely true God and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent doth it not then behove thee to be diligent for knowledge 1. How shouldst thou wait on the word of God which enlightneth the mind and maketh wise the simple Auditus est sensus disciplinae Psal 19.7 8. David had more understanding then the ancients because Gods word was his meditation Psa 119.98 99. Watch at wisdoms gate with an humble hungry soul and God may fill thee with good things God maketh manifest the favour of his knowledge by his Mnisters in every place 2 Cor. 2.14 If thou wouldst see go where the Sunne shineth 2. Ply the throne of grace with uncessant prayers Bene or assc est bene studuisse that God would enlighten thy mind in the knowledge of his will If any man lack wisdom or knowledge let him ask it of God who giveth liberally and upbraideth not Jam. 1.5 Intreat him to open thine
wiser then some I will take this with me however but alas poor fool he could not be so good as his word The Holy Ghost excellently termeth rich men rich in this world because riches will not make men rich in another world 1 Tim. 6.17 Death will seal a Lease of ejectment and turn thee out of all thy possessions and death will give thee a bil of divorce and separate thee from all thy relations The relations of Husband and Wife Parents and children are calculated only for the Meridian of this world and shall not out-live this life Thy dear husband or thy loving wife and thy most dutiful children wil all serve thee as Orpah did Ruth Ruth 1â—4 follow thee while thou art full but forsake thee when thou shalt be empty cleave to thee in thy health and life but leave thee in thy greatest danger at death and thy birth and breeding honour and respect wil serve thee in the like kind they are but a shadow which wil not be seen when the Sun of thy life is set The great distinctions in the other world wil be holy or unholy not noble or ignoble Be not afraid when one is made rich when the glory of his house is encreased for when he dieth he shall carry nothing away Mors sceptra ligonibus aequat his glory shall not descend after him Psa 49.16 17. Death is the great leveller making Princes and Peasants equal All thy sinful pleasures will also be lost the sweet taste thou foundest in thy mouth wil be gone though they wil rise in thy stomach and after in thy belly be more bitter than gall Thy merry meetings jovial companions witty jests sporting recreations pictures for thine eyes musick for thine ears dainties for thy taste thine eating and drinking and all these delights on earth which thou solacest thy sensual soul with desiring no other heaven will all like leaves in the Autumn of thy death fall off from thee though in the short summer of thy life thou art richly laden with them yet in thy long thine everlasting Winter thou shalt be stript naked of them Thou mayest say to all the fore-mentioned delights of riches relations honours and pleasures and what ever it is which thou foolishly rejoycest in as Charles the fifth Emperor of Germany whom the world counted most happy did to his trophies treasures and things of the like nature A bite hinc A bite longe Be gone get you farre out of my sight Be assured that as a false harlot leaves her lovers wheâ— they are arrested for debt and followeth other customers so this painted strumpeâ— this deceitful world that now layeth opeâ— her fair breasts to allure thee to go a whoâ—ring after her and commit spiritual fornication with her when death shall arreâ— thee by a Writ from heaven will whollâ— forsake thee and follow them that survive now what a losse will this be But it may be thou comfortest thy self against this that all even good as well as bad will joyn with thee in this losse Reader dost thou consider that they who enjoy the stars all night and come in the morning instead thereof to enjoy the glorious Sun are no losers the Sun hath all the light of the stars and far far more Neither can the godly be properly called losers of these comforts because they enjoy them all and infinitely more in the blessed God As mony answereth all things Prov. 10.19 Mony is equivalently sheep oxen corn meat drink cloth whatsoever you want for this life is virtually in mony so God to a gracious soul after death will answer all things he will be eminently and virtually Father Mother wife child wealth honour pleasure and all things though he loseth them here he will find them there and much more but when thou O sinner losest them in this world they shall never be made up to thee in another world thou losest not only the streams but the fountain not only the beams but the Sun and therefore thy portion will be scorching drought and dismal darknessâ— Besides these things are not the portion the all of a good man they are not his estate or inheritance they are but an additional over-plus cast in over and above So much the words of Christ imply Matth. 6.33 And all other things shall be added to you As when a father giveth his son a thousand pounds worth of ware he casteth in paper and packthread or one thousand yards of cloth he doth not stand upon the bredth of the thumb which is to be allowed in measurng so God having given himself and his Son to his Saints out of his vast bounty casteth in the creatures as an over-plus they are not their estate or portion or all no when a godly man at the great and terrible day of the Lord Jesus shall see his house and land and outward good things in that common flame which shall burn up the earth he may then behold it with comfort Omnia mea n eoum portâ— â—ias and say with the Philosopher I have my all still But sinner thy losse of them will be a losse indeed for these things are thy all they are all thy God and all thy Christ and all thy happinesse and all thy heaven they are all the fulnesse of joy and all the rivers of pleasures and all the weight of glory which thou shalt enjoy They are all thy riches all thine inheritance all thy consolation all thy reward all thy portion and all thou shalt be worth for ever look Luk. 16.24 They have received their consolation cold comfort indeed ye have your reward * Mat. 6.2 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they receive it as their full pay whence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an acquittance It is one of the saddest speeches in the Book of God whose portion is in this life Psal 17.14 ah poor portion Thou hast no other Paradise but thy garden no other mansion but thy beautiful building no other inheritance but thy Land no other kindred but thy wife and children no other honour but the stinking breath of thy flattering neighbours no other God but thy gold no other heaven but the earth all thy estate is in dust rubbish and lumber surely then it will be a losse with a witnesse to lose all that in a moment and that for ever wherein all thy happinesse consisteth Will it not be a sad sight for thee to stand as it were upon the shoare and to see the vessel in which is imbarqu'd all thy treasures all thy near and dear relations all thy respect and esteem all thy joy and delights sinking before thine eyes and lost for ever or to see that house in which is thy Plate and Jewels thy wife and children and all that ever thou art to be worth in a flame and nothing possible to be recovered would not thine eyes affect thine heart with unspeakable horrour Now this O Reader will be thy case if thou art unsanctified at
God offereth thee heaven thou choosest earth and notwithstanding he assureth thee that now is the only acceptable time now is the only day of salvation yet thou wilt not hear when he calleth I tel thee the day is near when thou wouldst but God wil not when thou shalt call but he wil not hear and then thou shalt find no place for repentance though Esau like thou seek it carefully with tears When once thy particular judgement is pass'd 't wil be in vain to beg a Psalm of mercy 3. Thou shalt at death lose the society of all the godly even of those excellent ones in whom is the delight of Christ Prov. 8.31 and all the delight of Christians Psa 16.3 It is a blessing to thee upon earth did the Lord but sanctifie it to thee that thy lot is cast in a Land in a Parish in a family where those holy ones are that thou mayst hear their gracious prayers see their pious patterns and enjoy their precious precepts Homo boni pedis A Saint is as the Proverb is in Africa A man whose coming is prosperous this churlish Laban could confesse Gen. 30.27 and the Heathenish Egyptian found by experience Gen. 39.2 All the Countrey fareth the better for a good and rich Christian he eateth not his morsels alone but keepeth open house for all comers He both desireth and endeavoureth that others might be not almost but altogether as he is None are more spiritually covetous to make Proselites then the true Israelites As the wall which receiveth heat from the Sun reflecteth it on the passengers so he wisheth so wel to the worst that they were partakers of the same grace that they may have fellowship with the Father and Jesus Christ his Sonne John 1.1 Like the Bee he goeth to this and that flower to this and that Ordinance and sucketh some sweetness some spiritual good and carrieth all home to his house to his hive As sin is diffusive a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump 1 Cor. 5. 6. Some say they that have the plague are very desirous to infect others so is grace like oil spreading the gracious desire to go to an innumerable company of Angels with a numerous company of Saints Their examples are amiable and sometimes instrumental for the conversion of others 1 Pet. 3.1 1 Cor. 7.16 Justin Martyr confesseth of himself that beholding the Saints piety in life and patience at death he gathered their doctrine to be the truth and was converted their prayers are desirable and that in the esteem of prophane and ungodly men Exod. 8.28 Exod. 9.28 Acts 8.24 In a word The Saints are clouds which water the earth Heb. 12. the salt which keepeth the world from putrefaction Mat. 6. That place Prov. 10.25 But the righteous is an everlasting foundation The Hebrews expound the righteous are the foundation of the world which but for their sakes would soon shatter and fall to ruine Sanctum semen statumen terae Isa 6.13 Absque stationibus non staret â—undus I beare up the pillars thereof saith David Psalm 75.9 It is for the sake of the good that the bad are spared Acts 27.24 All that sailed with Paul were saved for his sake How many a time have they stood in the gap and diverted a flood of wrath from breaking in Psal 106.30 Numb 14.20 How many a mercy hath come flying to the world upon the wings of their prayers But O sinners herein wil be a part of thy misery that thou shalt for ever be banish't their company now possibly thou thinkest the Parish the worse for such strict inhabitants thy dwelling the worse for such precise Neighbours thy family the worse for such an humble zealous child or servant now thou do'st not know what thou gainest when thou hast their society but thou shalt know what thou losest when thou hast lost them to eternity If Cicero did so bewail his banishment from the Romane Moralists that though the Countries through which he travelled did him much honour yet he would often look towards Italy with sighs and tears and if the Disciples wept so much for the losse of Paul they fell about his neck and kissed him and wept sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake that they should see his face no more in this world Acts 20.37 38. how wilt thou sigh and sob weep and wail when thou shalt be parted from them in the other world Did the devout men make suck great lamentation for the losse of one good man for a little time Act. 8.2 what lamentation shalt thou make for the losse of all good men to eternity Surely as in Ramah there wil be a voice heard lamentation weeping and mourning for the losse of these children of God 4. When thou diest thou shalt lose all thy hope or presumption rather Thy dead hope for Saints only have a lively hope 1 Pet. 1.3 wil fail thee at death As thou hast no true holiness so thou canst have no true hope but something 't is likely thou hast upon which thou reliest as to thy future estate It may be thou hast the good things of this life and thence concludest thy right to a better life as if because the great House-keeper of the world throweth some bones to the dogs therefore he must love them with a paternal love thou do'st not consider their houses may be full of gold whose hearts are empty of grace and whose souls shall assuredly come short of glory Job 22.17 18. Psal 17.13 14. It may be it is thy profession of Religion that holds thee up by the chin and keepeth from sinking as if because a stage-player is drest in the Robes and for a quarter of an houre acteth the part of a King he must therefore have a real right to the Dignity Dominions and Revenues of the Regal Office not believing that those colours of the form which are not laid in oyl in the power of godlinesse wil be wash't off at death Matth. 25.8 Or it is likely thou enjoyest the priviledges of the Gospel Sabbaths Sacraments and the seasons of grace are the bladders with the help of which without an inward change thou thinkest to swim to heaven do'st thou not know that many go to hel fire with Font-water on their faces and from the table to the tormentour Matth. 22.13 that Esau a cast-away and Ishmael an out-cast had both Abram to their father and so had they whom truth it self assureth that they were of their father the divel John 8.44 Circumcision availeth nothing nor uncircumcision but a new creature Gal. 6.15 All such things are but lying words where an internal work of grace is wanting Jer. 7.4 5 6. Or possibly thou art a man of many performances thou mindest secret family relation-duties which too too many neglect praying reading hearing Christian communion like the spider thou weavest a curious web out of thine own bowels and therewith makest thee a house in which thou
compleatly miserable but the everlasting duration of them and lo here it is the positive part of thy punishment will be permanent there the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched Mark 9.44 and the privative part also shall be perpetual thou shalt suffer everlasting perdition from the presence of the Lord 2 Thes 1.9 Thou sinnest in thy eternity and God will make thee suffer in his eternity Thou sinnest against an infinite God and therefore thy punishment must be infinite which because it cannot be in regard of intention thy back is not strong enough to bear an infinite stroak therefore it must be in duration Infinite power cannot inflict greater or longer paines than infinite Justice doth call for The debt thou owest to the righteousness of God will be ever paying and never paid and therefore thou shalt not escape out of that prison till thou hast paid the uttermost far thing Matth. 5.23 Ita feri ut se mori sentiat Suer The command of Caius Caligula to the Executioner after he had condemned a malefactor was so to strike that they might feel themselves dying and indure the pains of an enduring death Such will be the everlasting death of the damned they will be ever ever dying and never dead they shall seek death but not find it follow after it but it will free from them Rev. 9.6 The same Author reporteth of one that requested of Tiberius Caesar death rather than long imprisonment Nondum tecum redii in gratiam how he was answered by the Emperour You and I are not yet friends The truth is the punishment there must needs be long yea eternal because God and the sinner shall never be friends In this life God treateth with the soul by his Ambassadours upon terms of peace nay he beseecheth the sinner to be reconciled 2 Cor. 5.21 the carnal man still continueth in his enmity against God walking contrary to him and fighting against him God continueth many a day to some many a year offering peace desiring there may be a league made onely it must be offensive and defensive it must be an holy peace and league against the Devil the world and the flesh upon this the sinner breaks off he will not be an enemy to his old cursed friends now at death this Treaty dieth and the breach then continuing it is irreconcileable for ever Then the King of Kings causeth his terrours to set themselves in array against the sinner and proclaimeth open and eternal war Reader for thy souls sake let me beseech thee to ponder this but one half quarter of an hour every morning that the pain which sin bringeth will be eternal O how may it take off the edge of thy love to thy most pleasing lusts Endlesse misery must needs be easelesse no condition so intolerable as a miserable condition that is unalterable It s a comfort to a woman in travel in the midst of her sharp throws and bitter pangs to think these will have an end the hope of that doth much help her to hold out but wo and alas they whose end is damnation shall have damnation which hath no end It doth much support the Saints under the anger of God that though it be sharp it will be but short his anger endureth but for a moment Psal 30.5 but then will not the heart of the sinner be rent in pieces with rage and despair to know that the wrath of God must abide on him John 3. ult The Egyptians three dayes darknesse was esteemed a sore plague but what will thy punishment O sinner be when thou shalt suffer utter darknesse blacknesse of darknesse for ever Jude v. 12. Ah wounding word ever ever the most cutting word in comparison of it is healing the bitterest word in respect of this is sweet Despair will be the cutting off of all hope and to have hope the anchor of the soul cut off will be the deepest cut in the world then the vessel of the soul will be liable to all storms and tempests imaginable Suppose that one of thy hands were to continue burning in one of our fires as many millions of years as there have been minutes since the Creation couldst thou undergo it with any patience what thinkest thou of it Alas this were a mercy a heaven to the misery of men in hell what wilt thou do when thy whole man shall suffer the vengeance of eternal fire Jude 7. Who can dwell with the devouring fire who can dwell with everlasting burnings Isa 33.14 It is storied of one Roger Bishop of Salisbury that being in prison extreamly tortured live he would not and die he could not truly such will the case be of rebellious ones they shall long for death but it will not come and dig for it more than for hid treasures O how would they rejoyce and be glad if they could finde a grave but a being must be given to them that are in misery and life to the bitter in soul It is called death indeed because 〈◊〉 is neither desired there nor can it properly be said to be enjoyed it is a living death or a dying life such a death as shall never taste of life and such a life as shall never taste of death After the murderer of his soul hath continued in that lake of fire as many thousand years as there are fish in the mighty Ocean and as there are creatures great and small upon the whole earth and as there are stars in the heavens and after this as many millions of ages as there are hours in all the fore-mentioned time yet after all this his torment will not be one moment neerer to an end O eternity eternity eternity what art thou to what shall I liken thee or with what comparison shall I compare thee Thou art like a vast Ocean which hath no banks like an outragious fire which knoweth no bounds like the grave that is never satisfied like the barren womb that never saith It is enough in respect of God thou art like Melchisedec without father without mother having neither beginning of dayes nor end of life In respect of the good like a day which had a morning but shall never have an evening in respect of the bad like a night which had an evening but shall never have a morning In thee it is that the justice and severity of God the sinfulnesse and malignity of sin the deceitfulnesse and vanity of the world the madnesse and desperate folly of sinners will sufficiently be demonstrated In time men are whipped but in thee it is that they are executed In thee it is that men must suffer long for all their abuse of the long-suffering of God In thee it is that the swearer shall have enough of wounds and oaths and blasphemies when he shall have Devils wounding his soul with their fiery darts and when he shall blaspheme the Name of God through extremity of torments In thee it is that the Adulterer will have
and ten thousand times more Besides for what reason dost thou suppose God to have given thee these things Surely thou canst not be so brutish as to think that the great God made thee and serveth thee in daily with such variety of mercies health strength food raiment influences of heaven and fruits of the earth onely or chiefly that thou should eat and drink and follow thy calling and provide for thy family were such low ends the ground of his kindness or is it not that thou mightest ravish that pure and virgin inheritance by an holy and heavenly violence that thou mightest imploy them and improve them to the utmost about his service and thy own salvation Reader I must desire thee to consider and grant me these two or three suppositions in prosecution of this my second request to thee 1. Suppose thou hadst seen the Son of man who now sitteth at his Fathers right hand rising from his place and attended with the thousand thousands that are before him and with the ten thousand times ten thousand that minister to him coming and sparkling so gloriously through the firmament that he dazaleth the very eyes of the Sun and makes him to hide his head for shame and sitting down in the cloudes with the glory of his Father a fire devouring before him and behind him a flame burning Conceive now with me that thou hearest him call to the Archangel Sound the last Trump that the dead may arise and come to judgement Harke to the sound of the Trump how it rendeth rocks melteth mountains breaks in pieces the bands of death and bursts asunder the gates of hell how it pierceth the ocean and fetcheth from the bottom of the sea the dust of Adams seed how it descendeth into the belly of the earth and forceth it to vomit up all the bodies which it had ever taken down how it openeth the marble tombs of Princes and Potentates and makes their Highness and Majesty stoop as low as the meanest to the King of glory Dost thou not see the bodies of the Saints look how they flie upon the wings of the wind to their souls and both to the bosom of their beloved Saviour See how the spirits of unregenerate ones leave for a little while the dark vault of hell and enter though most unwillingly into the stinking carrion of their bodies and both haled by angels to the judgement seat of Christ When the Court is thus set conceive the Commission read wherein Jesus Christ is authorized in his humane nature by his Divine Power to be Judge of the quick and dead the law is produced both of nature and Scripture the books are opened hoth of Gods omniscience and mans conscience by which all men are to be tryed for their everlasting lives and deaths The holy ones are now called their persons through the righteousness of Christ acquitted by publike proclamation before God Angels and men their performances duties graces services sufferings punctually related to their glory and infinitely rewarded in their perfect freedom from all evil and eternal fruition of the chiefest good Behold how the unholy are with violence draged to the bar examined strictly by the covenant of works have all their sins secret open personal relative of nature and practice in thoughts words and deeds revealed publikely and aggravated fully with all their crimson crying bloody circumstances heark how pitifully they plead what poor evidences they had for salvation what sorry excuses for their Atheisme and abominations their conscience instead of a thousand witnesses accuseth them the law casteth them the Judge pronounceth against them a most severe sentence of condemnation the devils feise on them for its speedy execution Now what confusion and shame of face what lamentation and forrow of heart possesseth them what doleful screechings what bitter yellowâ—ngs are heard among them Here is body cursing the soul for being so ungodly a guide and soul cursing the body for being so unready an instrument and both cursing the time that ever they met together and wishing though in vain that they might for ever be parted asunder Now the worldling curseth his flocks and his Farm his gold and his silver that had more of his heart and of his care and time then his precious soul Now the lazy Christian curseth his madness and folly that he should think a little formal preparation were sufficient for such a strict examination A bloody husband hast thou been to me saith the wife thou mindedst provision for me for a little time and never regardedst my instruction about the things of eternity A cruel father hast thou been to me saith the child for generating me a child of wrath an heir of hell and never endeavoring my regeneration whereby I might have been a child of God and an heir of heaven and thus cursing crying roaring raging they are sent to the place where is mourning without mirth sorrow without solace darkness without light death without life pure wrath without mixture perfect pain without measure nothing but weeping and wailing sighing sobbing and gnashing of teeth for ever ever ever Suppose I say that thou hadst heard and seen all this and God should after it try thee in this world fourty years wouldst thou not night and day be strugling and striving with God by prayer watching over thy own heart waiting upon thy Saviour With what earnestness wouldst thou pray with what seriousness wouldst thou read and hear with what exactness and exemplariness wouldst thou live how diligent and laborious wouldst thou be in a faithful improvement of all thy time talents and opportunities that thou mightest find mercy at such a day even the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life Wouldst thou after such a sight think any time too much or any pains too great for thy eternal good Couldst thou give the world and the flesh the choicest place in thy heart and the chiefest part of thy life as now thou dost shouldst thou dare to be nibbling again at the devils baits or to be playing with the eternal fire or to put off God with a few cold formal prayers and that by fits in stead of hearty fiery continual supplication or to put off Jesus Christ with a complement that thou wearest his livery and professest thy self a Christian in stead of a sincere resolved dedication of heart and life to his word and law What saist thou man And why wilt thou not be as diligent and as holy now thou maist in the glass of Scripture see all that I have spoken for the substance of it at least if thou hast but an eye of faith and without question the sight of faith is as sure and true as a sight of sense what reason canst thou have why thou shouldst not work as industriously to escape hell and obtain heaven as if thou hadst known these things experimentally when the word of the living and true God speaketh it so expresly look 2 Cor. 5. 10. Acts
an unhumbled sinner is a man conceitedly whole seeing no need of and therefore setting little price upon the Physician of souls Till men see that they are cast by the Law of God and condemn'd men they will never heartily desire and value a psalm of mercy According to a mans sense of misery such is his estimation of mercy When Paul saw himself the chiefest of sinners then that saying That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners was worthy of all acceptation This sharp sawce of repentance doth commend Christ exceedingly unto the spiritual palat The more bitter and irksome sin is the more sweet and welcome Jesus Christ will be to the soul When the sinner seeth that he is lost in himself then and not till then will he truly request to be found in Christ the prodigal did not prize the bread in his fathers house till he was ready to perish for hunger Ministers preach much of the infinite excellencies that are in Christ of the unspeakable misery of sinners without Christ of the absolute necessity that men and women stand in of Christ and yet preach to little purpose most prize their shops and their lands their relations yea and their sensual lusts above the Lord Jesus notwithstanding all their pretences to the contrary they see no such need of him nor such worth in him as the Preachers and Scriptures speak of What 's the reason of it truly this They were never sensible of the stings of the fiery serpents if they had they would look up to the brazen serpent with an eye of greater respect They were never pricked to the heart and therefore cry not out Men and brethren what shall we do to be saved But when God discovereth his wrath to the soul and shutteth the soul up under it when he commandeth conscience in his Name to arrest the soul for all its debts which it oweth to divine justice and when in pursuance thereof conscience doth in the name of the dreadful God charge on the sinner the guilt of all his sins and hales him to the Judgment-seat of God where he seeth nothing but frowns and fury fire and brimstone and feeleth nothing but tribulation and anguish indignation and wrath now the sinner cryeth out in bitternesse of spirit O wretched miserable man alas alas I am undone What desperate madnesse possessed my soul thus to provoke the Almighty God by my sins Into what a sea of misery have I brought my self by mine iniquities The God whom I see is angry the wrath which I feel is heavy the torments which I fear are infinite The Law which sheweth no mercy is violated the God who will have full satisfaction for the breach of his law is incensed conscience which is his Jailour is commissionated to wound and terrifie me And whether shall I go wrath above me wrath below me wrath without me wrath within me A world mark now for a surety to discharge me of these debts a thousand worlds for that balm which can heal this wounded conscience Ten thousand thousand worlds for a Jesus that can deliver from the wrath to come When sin comes to be sin indeed then and not till then a Saviour will be a Saviour indeed Secondly humiliation is necessary in order to the souls hearty resignation of it self to every Law and Command of Christ According to a mans humiliation such will his subjection to Christ be Humilation is in some sense the foundation of a Christians obedience and the strength of the building dependeth upon the strength of the foundation The reason why the Religious buildings of hundreds of Professors in our dayes though they have been very fair and beautiful to the eye have miscarried is this the want of this foundation their hearts were never throughly humbled The reason why the stony ground did not bring forth good fruit was this the plough had not gon deep enough it did not take deep root Matth. 13.20 21. Men would never dally with God as they do or halt as the Israelites between two opinions be sometimes for God and sometimes for the world holy by fits and girts if they had ever felt the weight of sin Christ when he cometh into the soul as a Saviour will come also as a Soveraign to command and govern the whole man He is the true Sun and he will have the whole heaven the whole heart to himself he will allow no writ of partition his Law forbiddeth inmates as well as mans Now against this Probably therefore fleshly lusts may be called earthly members Col. 3. not only because they flow from the body of death but also because they are as dear to men as their bodily members the natural carnal man riseth and rebelleth exceedingly He hath ever at this time some lust or other which he valueth as his * limbs some right hand that he desireth may not be cut off some right eye which he would not have pluckt out some Herodias that must not be medled with some Absolom that the sinner intreateth Christ to spare and deal gently with for his sake Therefore before the Lord of hosts can make an absolute conquest before he can perswade the besieged soul to surrender it self wholly and altogether to his government he is forc'd by the Granadoes and thundring Cannons of the Laws curse and Gods wrath to fire and fright it out of all its sinful holds Then it will come up to those excellent terms of the Lord which are most honourable for the Saviour and most profitable for the soul Now he seeth most certainly such a sting in sins tail that he dares plead no longer for the beauty of its face Now he feeleth it as a dart in his liver as an arrow sticking in his heart as a coal of fire in his hand he is heartily willing yea thinks himself much beholden to that Redeemer that will pluck out this dart this arrow O how readily doth he throw away this coal of fire fearing to be burnt by it any more We have two famous instances of this in Scripture The one is in Paul Acts 9.6 When Paul that was posting in the road to hell comes to be knockt down and to feel those tremblings and terrors in his spirit he crieth out Lord what wilt thou have me to do He had probably heard much before of God but he regarded it not till now he receiveth a word and a blow a word from without and a wound within to set it home now it is Lord what wilt thou have me to do before it was What will the high Priest the Scribes and Pharisees have me to do and what will the vain imaginations and high thoughts which exalted themselves against God and Christ have me to do but now it is Lord what wilt thou have me to do Before his heart was like hard wax it would take no impression from God but now it is softned by this fire of inward humiliation it is ready for any stamp
yet he doth not see the wealth the infinite riches that lye buried in them So wicked men see the waters the afflictions the conflicts but not the wealth the comforts the inward joy of the children of God Thirdly as this spiritual life is the most honorable and comfortable so it is the most profitable life no calling bringeth in such advantage as Christianity godliness is profitable unto all things 1 Tim. 4.8 There is an universal gainfulness in real godliness Plutarch telleth us that the Babylonians make above three hundred several commodities of the Palme-tree but there are many thousand benefits which godliness bringeth no Merchant ever had his vessels returned so richly laden as he that tradeth heaven-ward Observe Reader after the Apostles affirmation his full confirmation of it Godliness saith he is profitable unto all things It hath the promise of this life and that to come i. e. It hath heaven and earth entailed on it and therefore it must needs be profitable It giveth the Christian much in possession the promise of this life but infinitely more in reversion the life that is to come The promises of God are exceeding great for their quantity and precious for their quality promises and they all belong to a godly man he is called an heir of the promises Heb. 6.17 Whensoever the tree of the Scripture is shaken whatsoever fruit of those precious promises falleth down it falleth into the lap of a godly man If at any time that box of costly ointment be broken and sendeth forth its fragrant sent and vertue it is to the refreshment only of the Saints Godliness is profitable to thy self If thou art wise thou art wise for thy self and if a scorner thou alone shalt bear it Prov. 9.12 The sinner is no bodies foe so much as his own the murdering peices of sin which he dischargeth against God miss their mark but do constantly recoyle and wound himself The Saint is no bodies friend so much as his own others fare the better for his great stock of grace but the propriety in all the comfort of all and the profit by all is his own It enables him to give away the more at his door but how rich a table doth he thereby keep for himself Godliness is profitable for thy children the just man walketh in his integrity and his children are blessed after him Prov. 20.7 personal piety is profitable to posterity yet not of merit but mercy Though grace come not by generation but donation and though God hath mercy on whom he will yet the seed of the Saints are visibly nearer the quickning influences of the spirit then the children of others When God saith he will be a â—od to the godly man and his children I believe he intendeth more in that promise for the comfort of godly parents then most of them think of Acts 2.36 Gen. 17.7 The children of believers are heirs apparent to the covenant of grace in their parents right Godliness is profitable in prosperity it giveth a spiritual right to temporal good things a gracious man holdeth his mercies in capite in Christ that is his tenure as Christ is a co-heir of all things he being married to him by this spiritual life is a co-heir with him he enjoyeth earthly things by an heavenly title and one peny enjoyed by special promise is far more worth than millions which ungodly men enjoy by a general providence as the beasts of the field do their provender It is godliness that causeth a sanctified improvement of mercies Grace alone like Christ turneth water into wine corporal mercies into spiritual advantages The more God oiles the wheels the more chearfully and swiftly he moveth in the way to heaven the more showers of heaven fall down upon him the more fruitful and abundant he is in the work of the Lord as we see in that gracious King Iehosophat 2 Chron. 17.5 6. The Lord established the Kingdom in his hand and all Iudah brought presents unto him and he had riches and honor in abundance and his heart was lift up in the wayes of God Mark the more Gods hand was enlarged in bounty the more his heart was enlarged in duty The more highly God thinks of David the more lowly he thought of himself 2 Sam. 7.18 Outward mercies to a believer are a ladder by which he mounteth up nearer to heaven Thus godliness like the Philosophers stone turneth iron and every thing into gold but the want of this spiritual life causeth a cursed hellish use of mercies ungodly men like the spider suck poison out of those flowers out of which the Bees the Saints suck honey Their mercies are like cordials to a foul stomach which do but increase the peccant humor He feedeth on such plenty that he surfeits himself because of their abundance Job 21.7 8 9 to 14. Therefore they say unto the Almighty Depart from us for we desire not the knowledge of thy wayes like the Israelites they make of the jewels which God giveth a golden Calf and worship that in stead of God Godliness is profitable in adversity it maketh a Christian like a Rabbit to thrive the better in frosty weather The child of God learneth the better for the rod Before he was afflicted he went astray but now he keepeth Gods word Psal 119.67 Well may grace be called the divine nature for it can bring not onely light out of light spiritual comfort and good out of outward good things but also light out of darkness good out of evil gain out of losses life out of death It will like Sampson fetch meat out of the eater like the Ostrich digest stones like Mithridates fetch nourishment out of poison When wicked men like Ahaz in their distress sin more against the Lord as fire the more it is kept in in an Oven the more it rageth so doth corruption but godly men far otherwise are by the fire of affliction the more refined and purified for their masters use Godliness is profitable to thee while thou livest In doubts it will direct thee as a light to thy feet and a lanthorn to thy paths In dangers it will protect thee by setting thee on high and giving thee for a place of defence the munition of rocks in wants it will supply thee by affording thee bread in the word when thou hast none on the boord and money in the promise 1 Tim. 4.8 which is by thousands the better when thou hast none in thy purse in thy pain it will ease thee in disgrace It will honor thee in sorrows it will comfort thee in sickness it will strengthen by causing thee to count the crosses of this life as nothing and unworthy to be compared to the pleasures and glory which shall revealed in all distresses it will support thee and make thee more then a conqueror over all through him that loveth us Rom. 8.37 Lastly godliness will be profitable to thee when thou diest death which is the terrible of terribles to
of Jesus Christ at death will quite dry up that issue of corruption Death will give thee a Writ of ease from all those weights and sins which do so easily beset thee Thou shalt be without fault before the Throne of God Rev. 14.5 Will it not indeed be a brave world with thee in the other world when thou shalt have as much holiness as thy heart can wish or hold If God should grant thee such a request upon earth that thou shouldst have as much of his Image and of his Spirit as thou couldst desire wouldst thou not think thy self the happiest man alive I am confident thou wouldst and also that nothing lesse than perfect purity would be thy prayer Well death will help thee to this When I awake I shall be satisfied with thy likenesse Psal 17. ult Now thou hast enough to stay thy stomack but then thou shalt have a full meal When the Israelites went out of Egypt towards Canaan there was not one feeble person among them When the Christian entereth into the true Canaan he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David nay as the Angel of the Lord before him When thy frame of nature shall be ruined thy frame of grace shall be perfected and raised to the height of glory 4. It is comfortable against thy dissolution To thee to die is gain death will be thy passage into eternal life Thou needst not fear death as a foe it will be one of thy best friends How did this hope of happinesse at death hold up the Martyrs heads above water and carry them through those boistrous waves of violent and cruel deaths with the greatest serenity and alacrity of spirit Xenophon Agesilaus King of Sparta used to say that they which live vertuously are not yet blessed persons but they had attained true felicity who died vertuously What is there in death that thou art so afraid of it Wilt thou fear a Bee without a sting Dost thou not know it had but one sting for Christ and Christians and that was left in Christ the head whereby now though it may buz and make a noise about their ears yet it can never sting or hurt the members The waters of Jordan though tempestuous before yet were calm and stood still when the Ark was to passe over If thou hadst been banished many years from thy dear Relations whom thou lovedst as thy own soul and from thy rich possessions and comforts which might have made thy life pleasant and delightful into a place of bondage a valley of tears a prison where thy feet were fettered with irons and thy face furrowed with weeping Mors non vitamrapit sed reformat Prudentius wouldst thou be afraid of a messenger that came to knock off thy shackles and fetch thee out of prison and carry thee to those friends and comforts And why art thou afraid of death which cometh to free thee from thy bondage to Satan sin and sorrow and to give thee present possession of the glorious liberty of the sons of God Art thou afraid to be rid of thy corruptions of Satans temptations of the worlds persecutions Art thou afraid to go to â—aints where are no sinners to Christ without his cross to the full immediate eternal fruition of the blessed God then why art thou afraid to dye and dost not rather desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ knowing that while thou art present in the body thou art absent from the Lord 2 Cor. 5.6 Calvin in loc Jâ—el was offended at one that in h s sickness prayed for his life Well the best of it is thou art more afraid then hurt It is well observed by a judicious expositor that the Periphrasis of death mentioned John 13.1 where it is called a departing out of the world and a going to the father doth belong to all the children of God it is to them but a going out of the world to their dear and loving father And questionless this was that which made the Saints so desirous of death Basil when the Emperors Lieutenant threatned to kill him said I would he would for then he would quickly send me to my father to whom I now live and to whom I desire to hasten Calvin in his painful sickness was never heard to complain but often lifting up his eyes to heaven to cry out How long Lord How long Lord Plutarch in vit It is reported of an heathen Epaminondas that when he was wounded with a dart at Mantinea in a battel against the Lacedaemonians and told by the Chirurgions that when the dart was drawn out of his body Dicique beatus Ante obitum nemo c. he must needs dye he called for his Squire and asked him Whether he had not lost his shield Non est timendum quod nos liberat ab omni timendo Tertull. he told him no whereupon he bade them pull out the dart and so died Surely Christian thou hast more cause to dye with courage when thou hast not lost thy God nor thy soul nor any thing that was worth the keeping 5. It is comfortable against the death of thy friends and relations which dye in the Lord. To dye is gain if it be their gain why should it be thy grief nature will teach thee to mourn but grace must moderate that mourning We may water our plants but must not drown them We may sorrow but not as they which have no hope least we sin When Anaxagoras was told that both his sons were dead he boldly answered the messenger I knew that I begat mortal creatures The people were enraged and perplexed at the death of Romulus but were afterwards quieted and comforted with the news which Proculus brought That he saw him in glory riding up to heaven So when thou art sorrowing for the death of thy child or husband or father or mother or brother or sister that sleep in Jesus thou shouldst hearken to the news which faith brings that it saw them filled with joy mounting up to heaven and there enjoying rivers of pleasures and a weight of glory and surely if after such news thou shouldst continue weeping it should be for joy Friend this text containeth choice sweet meats for thee to feed on at the funeral of thy dearest godly friend Lugeatur mortuus sed ille quem gehenna suscipit quem Tartarus devorat Hier. I suppose if thy relation died out of Christ thou hast not a little cause of sorrow and probably that was the sharp edge of the sword which wounded the soul of David for the death of Absolom that he died in his sins his fear was that his son died not only in rebellion against the father of his flesh but also against the father of spirits But when thy relation dyeth in the Lord thou hast surely more cause to rejoyce that thou ever hadst such a friend or relation who shall to eternity be employed in the chearful