THE RIGHTEOVS MANS Euidences for Heauen OR A TREATISE SHEWING how euery one while hee liues heere may certainely know what shall become of him after his departure out of this life The sixt Edition corrected and inlarged By Tymothy Rogers Preacher of Gods word in Essex Psalm 107.43 Who is wise that he may obserue these things for they shall vnderstand the louing kindnesse of the Lord. 2 Pet. 1 10. Giue all diligence to make your calling and election sure for if you doe these things yee shall neuer fall LONDON Printed by I. Beale for Ed. Brewster and are to be sold at the signe of the Star at the VVest end of Pauls 1624. THE AVTHORS Apologie to the Reader FArre was it froÌ„ my meaning at the first ChristiaÌ„ Reader thus to haue exposed my selfe to the common view of men but rather to haue hidden this my weake conception for euer neuer to haue come to the birth but when it would abide no longer to bee imprisoned in the womb but violently brake forth I thought to deale wisely with it though not as the Aegyptians cruelly to murther it yet at least as Moses his parents charitably to hide it for my own priuat vse or at the best to haue put it to Nurse in an obscure Country-village where my selfe am Pastor to see the good vsage of it for which end I be-trusted a friend or two for the printing of some few copies onely for my selfe but through friendship I was deceiued for whereas I expected a small number like the children of Israel that went against Benhadad like two little flocks of Kids My bookes were sent forth in multitudes like the Aramites that fill'd the country 1 King 20.27 Onely this difference they came not forth against the host of Israel the people of God as did the Aramites but rather to serue on their side Thus being driuen to a straight though that which is done can not bee vndone yet I thought it my part to doe what I could namely to mend and inlarge that which is done that seeing it must bee common it may not be altogether vn-vsefull Confessing ingenuously I had rather it should not haue bin common especially considering that there are better bred and nobler borne Treatises of very worthy men concerning this subiect but thus it must bee now if therefore it may but serue as an hand-maid to theirs so thou mayest reape some profit hereby I haue both my desire and full contentment Farewell Thine in the bond of Faith and Loue Timothy Rogers Councell to the READER IN sailing thorow the Seas of this troublesome world toward the heauenly land of Canaan wee are to passe two dangerous rocks the one called Presumption the other Desperation happy is the man that escaping them both shall make a safe arriuall at the promised Land Millions of Christians in profession are cast away against the one or against the other for some though they haue no true grace wrought in them thinke notwithstanding that they are in no danger but shall certainly bee saued which is as great presumption as if a man being stricken thorow the heart should thinke himselfe very well and in no danger of death Others when they come to apprehend the heauy wrath of God and deadly curse of the Law due vnto them by nature for sinne in hellish sorrow vtterly despaire Some sincere Christians also there are against whom the Tempter doth so far preuaile that in beholding their owne vnworthinesse they are ready to faint for feare of hell and condemnation which although they cannot perish or suffer shipwrack against this rock of Desperation yet their poore Barke may bee so battered and beaten against it as that peraduenture they may bee a long while after in rigging and mending of it vp againe with griefe and hart-smart that thou maist escape these dangers vse these short questions and answeres as a Sea-mappe or guide vnto thee to shew thee thy way betweene both that so thou mayest saile to Heauen in more safety confidence and comfort Now to the end that the better vse may bee made heereof consider I beseech thee of these things First what multitudes daily departing this world throng in at the infernall gates of Hell for want of the assurance of their saluation Secondly consider that thou being by nature a condemned man if thy pardon be not sealed to thy conscience and giuen thee before the breath bee once out of thy body afterward though thou wouldest or couldest giue a thousand worlds for it it cannot bee had consider againe of the vncertainty of thy life thou canst not tell whether thou shalt bee aliue to morrow for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth Consider also the certainty of thy death dye thou must nothing surer for who can stand against the power thereof and oh how bitter is the remembrance of death to one that is not assured of his saluation Further consider how terrible the Iudgement day will bee to all such as get not the assurance of their saluation in their life time which may will they turne themselues then Oh what will they doe Mountaines and Hills fall vpon vs and crush vs in peeces shall they cry but it shall not bee Then what most dolefull and intollerable torments shall they for euer endure in hell able to breake the hardest heart to thinke on Oh who shall dwell with the deuoring fire who shall dwell with the euerlasting burning Lastly consider of the most inestimable ioyes of Heauen and incomparable delights which all they shall haue who get the assurance of their saluation in this life Such as eye hath not seene eare hath not heard nor the heart of man conceiued of O heauenly ioy O sweet delights O excellent surmounting glory O endlesse superabounding pleasures wherewith their hearts shall bee rauished and for-euer replenished Vpon these considerations I earnestly request thee if thou hast any pittie or commiseration on thy poore soule Make thy calling and election sure euen while it is called to day How shall I doe that thou wilt say This briefe Treatise will shew thee how yea more then that heereby thou mayest bee assured of thy saluation if thou vse it rightly but then thou must goe through it with good aduisement if thou touch the Honie-combe with thy lips thou mayest finde sweetnes but if thou sucke much more so read these things as to learne them so learne as to know thy owne estate thereby so mightest thou sucke out the hole sweetnesse thereof get the true stamp of them in thy heart so thou maiest be sure thou shalt be saued which the Lord of Heauen grant for his mercies sake Amen A Treatise of saluation wherein are signes propounded prouing saluation the mother grace Faith pag. â—â— sister-graces more generall Conuersion p. 29 Iustification p. 36 Adoption p. 41 Sanctification p. 50 Repentance p. 61 more speciall Knowledge p. 77 Hope p. 86 Loue of God p. 95 Loue of the godly p 104 Feare
most high and mighty Monarch of all the world with a Capias corpus first for one and then for another and at last for vs all Now whereas because of this necessitie of death many take care how to doe when death comes I will chiefly take care how to doe before it comes for if I liue well I shall bee sure to die well this shall bee therefore my chiefest care how to liue well Againe I labour to pluck away that grim and gastly vizard of the curse which death hath vpon it and to looke at it through Christ and then behold it hath a louelie countenance and friendly looke ready prepared as the groome of Gods chamber kindly to embrace mee and to bring mee into Gods presence and what is death else to the faithfull but as e Hos 2.15 the valley of Achor the doore of hope to giue entrance to their soules into the paradise of God where are ioyes vnspeakeable rauishing the heart and pleasures at his right hand for euermore and what is the graue but a mould wherein the Lord doth cast our bodies into a new forme making them incorruptible which before were corruptible so m Phil. 3.21 changing our vile bodies that they may bee fashioned like the glorious bodie of his Sonne What is life but a wearisome way and death to the godly a comfortable home should the faint and weary traueller bee loth to draw neere home What is life but a toilsome labour and death to the righteous a sweet rest sleep should rest be vnacceptable or sleepe vnwelcome to a toyled labourer What is that which doth disrobe the faithfull of all the base ragges of sinne and misery and clothes them with the most sumptuous garments of perfect righteousnesse glory and immortality is it not death Who would not be contented to bee stripped naked of beggerly robes that so hee might be apparelled with gorgeous attire Thus then though I see some reasōs why I might desire to liue long yet I see more reasons why I might much better desire to dye soone but none at all why I should bee vnwilling to die n 2 Cor. 5.8.6 To bee present with the Lord for whilst wee are at home in the body wee are absent from him and as it were in prison The body is the prison of the soule and the earth of the body as wee must not breake prison for that is greatly displeasing to the Lord so when the prison doore is set open to vs by authority as when death is sent vnto vs hee comes with authority wee should very gladly and willingly depart yea and go forth singing with old father Simeon a Nunc dimittis o Luk. 2.29 Lord now lettest thou thy seruant depart in peace Vpon these and the like meditations of death I find in my selfe some willingnes to die and that I may be still more willing I labor to haue my thoughts more and more taken vp therewith and at least once a day to looke him in the face that I may be still better acquainted with him for the more acquaintence I haue with death the more friendship shall I finde at his hands when hee comes to apprehend mee and on whom doth hee looke so sowre and grimme as on them that are strangers to him and hee to them and as euery day I hold it a point of wisedome to get some further acquaintance with death so especially vpon the occasion of sicknesse for euery sicknesse is a little death I therefore endeauour so to dye often by making good vse of euery fit of sicknesse that I may once at the last dye well that so when my departing shall come it may bee a sweet and acceptable sacrifice to the Lord whether it bee a burnt offering by the violent death of martyrdome or at least a peace-offering by a naturall death I desire that it may bee a free-will offering not wrung from me perforce but freely surrendred into p 1 Pet. 4.19 the hands of a God a faithfull Creator and if my life be willingly offered which I desire from my heart it may bee and therefore know it shall bee then shall it bee well and fauourably accepted for q Ps 116.15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the Death of his Saints Min. The Lord hath giuen you good wisdome to discouer and put to flight these forces and assaults of Sathan the deadly enemy of all the seede of man but especially of the seede of the woman the Church Reu. 12.17 I see you are endowed with some good skill to dispell the grosse thicke clouds of doubting whereby the Diuell laboureth to ouer-cast your euidences that either you should not see them at all or else very dimly with little comfort thanks therefore bee vnto God for this vnspeakeable gift but what if you could finde none of the signes of saluation in you at all which you haue alledged to mee how then Con. Time was when I had not any one of them and then I was in the estate of damnation though I thought my selfe in as good an estate as the best and the diuell then perswaded mee so too though since hee hath changed his note for hee must needs goe against the truth or else hee is not himselfe yet since I see that if I had died in that estate I had without all faile gone headlong into hell and in the selfe-same case are all they which haue none of those signes in them S. Peter puts a question to them which puts all such to silence and makes them speechlesse now but what will it doe hereafter then r 1 Pet. 4 18. where shall the vngodly and impenitent sinner appeare let the brauest minde the proudest the stoutest stomacke of them all answer it if hee can alas alas poore wretches they can none of them answer it Min. They which haue not one of the signes of saluation in them are in a wo-case indeed but what if a man can finde but one signe in him and not all Con. He that can finde but one of these true signes in him hath cause of comfort for though there bee but one good apple growing vpon a tree it proues both that there is life in that tree and that it is not a choke-peare or crab-stocke but a good tree but in truth where there is one of these signes of saluation in a man there they are all in some poore measure though hee doe not so sensibly and euidently perceiue all alike Min. It reioyceth me not a little to finde you so well prouided for the Lord oh happy estate that you are in for nothing now can come amisse vnto you come life come death you are the Lords Now our Lord Iesus Christ himselfe and God euen our Father which hath loued vs and hath giuen vs euerlasting consolation and good hope through grace comfort your heart and stablish you in euery good word and worke and preserue you to that inheritance which is incorruptible reserued in heauen for vs. Con. Euen so Lord Iesus Amen Amen FINIS PSAL. 32.11 Be glad in the Lord and reioyce yee righteous and shout for ioy all yee that are vpright in heart PSAL. 1.4 5. The vngodly are not so but are like the chaffe which the wind driueth away Therefore the vngodly shall not stand in the iudgement nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous
promised I know thou wilt performe it that thou wilt cure mee that thou wilt saue me being thus perplexed in my soule for my sinnes Min. How else can you proue your selfe to bee such a one as God hath promised to saue Con. Hee hath promised to t Re. 21.6 giue to him that is athirst of the fountaine of the water of life freely that is hee which earnestly desires the fauour of God through Christs righteousnesse to the inheriting of eternall life shall bee assured thereof to the allaying of the scalding heat of his boyling conscience and to the endlesse comfort and saluation of his soule thus I doe thirst I doe no lesse truely then earnestly desire saluation 3 Notes of the true desire of saluation First in the right place preferring it before all things in the world Secondly to the right end that I might bee wholly freed from sinne and perfectly glorifie God in Heauen And thirdly in the right manner as well desiring the meanes that leade therto as the end whereto they leade Heerevpon it is that the more grace I receiue the more I hunger after and that I haue alwayes such a spirituall drought and vnsatiable thirst after Christs most precious bloud and perfect righteousnesse that my sinfull soule may bee clothed with this fine white garment and gorgeous attire and oh how I long after the fauour of God and like as the Disciples said vnto our Sauiour when hee told them of the bread of Heauen u Ioh. 6.34 Lord euermore giue vs this bread so I hauing tasted the sweetnesse of Gods fauour cannot choose but pray Lord giue me euermore to enioy this thy fauour yea Euen as the Hart panteth after the water brookes so panteth my soule after thee O God my soule thirsteth for God for the liuing God like to the thirsty Land Well yet his word is good u Ps 107. hee satisfieth the longing soule and filleth the hungry soule with goodnesse and this is my comfort Min. Whom else hath God promised to saue Con. x Mat. 5.3 1. Blessed saith our Sauiour are the poore in spirit for theirs is the Kingdome of heauen and Blessed are they that mourne for they shall be comforted These poore ones and these mourners are they which are humble lowly in spirit seeing feeling their spirituall wants and pouerty their sinnes and misery being heartily sorry for and bewailing the same and so despairing as touching any goodnesse of their owne betake themselues wholly to the mercy of God in Christ which mercy of God is like the y Act. 3.2 beautifull gate of the temple whereat poore creeples lye yea lazers a multitude of impotent folke blinde halt withered spirituall beggers wofull creatures poore sinners humble crauing an almes at the hand of so pitifull a God And well doth Gods mercy deserue to bee called the beautifull gate of heauen for heereby onely doe penitent sinners enter into the presence of God to behold the beauty of the Lord and to enioy his blessed vision for euer in heauen Thus doe a poore creature lye dayly at Gods beautifull gate knocking crauing crying z Ps 57. 51. 86. Haue mercy vpon me O God haue mercy vpon mee according to the multitude of thy compassions put away my iniquities incline thine eare O Lord heare me for I am poore and needy O bow downe thine eare and heare open thine eyes and see for my heart is smitten and withered like grasse and I am in great misery a Psa 25.16 18. O turne thy face vnto mee and haue mercy vpon mee for I am desolate and afflicted looke vpon my affliction and my paine and forgiue all my sinnes O turne vnto mee and haue mercy vpon mee heale my soule for I haue sinned against thee b Dan. 9.19 O Lord heare O Lord forgiue O Lord hearken and doe deferre not for thine owne sake O my God Thus am I poore in spirit and thus doe I mourne and therefore the promise of blessednesse belongs to mee and I haue as good right vnto it as any poore sinner whatsoeuer for the poorer the sinner is in spirit and the greater begger hee is the better right he hath heereunto so then I am blessed according to Christs owne words because I shall be blessed Min. Whom else hath God said he will saue Con. c Ro. 10.13 Whosoeuer shall call vpon the name of the Lord shall bee saued as witnesseth the Apostle that is whosoeuer not onely in outward miseries but also and that especially in spirituall distresses shall pray vnto the Lord in faith both as concerning his power and will to helpe and and yet more whosoeuer fearing that hee hath not faith nor any sauing grace that he is not in the fauour of God nor his sinnes pardoned and that his soule shall not bee saued if hee can but finde a heart to pray vnto the Lord for these things with an honest vpright minde as sure as the Lord is true he shall bee saued and that by vertue of this promise of God Whosoeuer shall call vpon his name shall be saued for thus he flyeth vnto this strong Tower where hee shall be preserued serued safe a while and after shall be remooued by the guard of good Angels to the Palace of None-such in the Kingdome of Heauen which is a priueleged place where sinne Sathan the flesh and the world haue nothing to doe and therfore he shall not bee there molested by any of them in the least measure Now I am one of them that doe thus call vpon the name of the Lord and that dayly when I feele my selfe oppressed by sinne and Sathan and can finde very small or to my thinking sometimes no grace at all in mee yet then can I heartily pray vnto the Lord for his helpe and sauing grace that I may be saued therefore I shall bee saued Min. To whom else hath God promised saluation in his word Con. Christ hath promised that e Reu. 3.21 hee which ouer commeth shall sit with him in his Throne that is hee that holds out to the end continually resisting and fighting against his spirituall enemies the world the flesh and the Diuel shall haue though not equall glory yet fellowship with Christ in glory euerlasting thus do I daily fight that I may ouercome First I account my selfe a spirituall soldier bound sworn to my Captaine the Lord Iesus of whom I haue also taken presse-mony the Sacrament of Baptisme and weare his colours the profession of Christianity and know there is martiall Law eternall death for mee if I should flye from my Captaine Secondly I take notice of the manifold traines and plots of my forreign enemies the world and the Diuell and the treasons and treacheries of my domesticke foes the flesh that Rebell my headstrong passions and vnruly lusts those traytors I see and obserue how they euery where lay snares for mee and spread nettes in my path-way and
shall bee saued by Christ for that perswasion which followes sound humiliation is faith that which goes before is presumption Therefore I may well be out of feare that my beleeuing is presuming nay I can not doe amisse in being perswaded that I shall bee saued I can not bee forward enough herein but this belongs not at all to them that were neuer troubled in minde nor wounded in conscience for the greatnesse of their sinnes the dread of hell and horrible wrath of God due to them for their sinnes for they indeed presume Min. I like and approue well of this that you say but let me heare if there bee any further matter which causeth doubting in you Con. Euill thoughts Doubting because of euill thoughts answered and cogitations are no small dauntment to me for neuer was the land of Aegypt more pestered with noysome vermine than I am with foule filthy impious yea sometimes blasphemous thoughts against the holy maiesty of God they come vpon me thicke and three-fold I can at no time in no place be quiet for them yea when I am in the presence of God speaking vnto him by prayer or he speaking to mee by his word or when I am about any other holy duty euen then they come crowding in vpon me I wonder somtimes with my selfe how or which way they should so creepe in to amaze and astonie me and withall to choke and interrupt the holy businesse I haue in hand the vglinesse of these euill thoughts works horror and quaking in my heart and makes mee thinke my selfe no better than a firebrand of hell and that I might do well O Lord forgiue that horrible and murdering thought to make away my selfe Min. This seemes to bee as strong a Diuell as any that driues you thus neere the gates of death I had almost said of hell how doe you to recouer strength and to get the victory ouer him Con. Strong hee is indeed but o 1 Ioh. 4.4 greater is hee that is in vs than hee that is in the world First therefore I consider that I do not loue like and approue of these euill thoughts wherewith I am so combred nay I abhor them as the Diuell himself by whom they are hatched insomuch as they make mee euen weary of my selfe because of the stinking breath thereof continually steaming forth ready almost to choake my soule and when Sathan by these thoughts doth breake in violently vpon mee I doe not bid him welcome and lay him as it were a cushen to take vp his seat in my minde and heart to haue residence in me by these so vile and horrible motions and cogitations but I deale by him and them as men doe by theeues that breake into their houses at vnawares they giue them no abode but hunt and driue them out againe so soone as euer they come within the threshold with all the speed power that they can and therefore the Lord will not account mee a friend vnto them much lesse the father of them I shall not beare their name much lesse the burden of them he will neuer lay them to my charge to answere for them Secondly I am resolued as long as I liue for so long I shall bee troubled with them to resist them with all my might And like as r Gen. 32.2 6. Iacob ceased not to wrestle though his thigh was bruised till hee had the blessing so neither will I till I haue got the victory Thirdly I know that the Lord will not be angry with mee for these euill thoughts which I consent not to nor take no pleasure in but hate for will a tender mother bee angry with the babe shee beares in her armes because some naughty people fling stones at it hurt it and make it cry nay will not rather her bowels vern to ward it will shee not rather hugge it closer to her stroake it kisse it and bemoane it but her anger is toward them that fling stones at it whereby they bruised and battered the face of it she could finde in her heart to flie in their face and to scratch out their eyes that did her childe that harme surely then the Lord will not bee offended with mee because my enemies Sathan and the flesh cast fiery darts at mee thereby wound mee for I cannot helpe it but his fierce indignation is against them for that they doe so molest me and he doth and will both pitie and helpe mee so much the more for q Psal 103 13. as a father pittieth his children so the Lord pittieth them that feare him and his affection toward his children is infinitely farre surpassing the affection of the tender heartedst mother in the world toward her dearest babe for though a mother could forget the childe of her wombe yet would not I forget you saith the Lord. Min. Yet a litle more I pray you let vs heare of Sathans deepe subtletie and hellish policie in labouring to defeat you of all true comfort here and of heauen it selfe heereafter Con. Doubting because of afflictions answered Sometimes hee would needs perswade mee and my owne heart withall is ouer-greedy I confesse to catch vp and swallow such poysoned morsels that I am none of Gods children and that the Lord doth not loue mee because I am kept so neere and bare and am so followed continually with afflictions I am hardly free at any time from one or other they are like Iobs messengers while one is speaking to me before he hath done his message fully there comes in another sicknes paines aches losses of friends goods good name outward crosses and calamities innumerable beside the inward affliction of the minde oh That the greatest of all for a wounded spirit who can beare a rare thing it is not to see mee vnder some one or other of these to keepe me downe whereas I see the wicked wallow in their wealth as they doe in their wickednesse and Esaus portion is r Gen. 27.39 the fatnesse of the earth they swim vp to the chin in riuers of oyle and wash their paths with butter Å¿ Iob. 21.24 15.27 their breasts are full of milke and their bones run full of marrow their faces are couered with fatnesse and they haue collops in their flanke yea t Ps 73.7 their eyes stand out for fatnesse and they haue more than heart can wish yea u Ps 119.70 their very heart is fat as grease they are so fat so lusty and strong that they kicke vp their heeles against their keeper and will not know their daily benefactor but contemne their master * Iob. 21.14 They say to God depart from vs for wee desire not the knowledge of thy wayes Beholde these are the vngodly who prosper in the world they increase in riches but as for mee poore wretch x Psal 73 14.12 all the day long haue I beene punished and chastened euery morning heereupon my feet were almost gone my steps had
gaines and pleasures hee fetcheth vs in againe then hee begins to hamper and shackle vs with sundry crosses to keepe vs better within compas to make vs minde home better and to make vs better husbands for our soules that so wee may thinke of him in time of aduersity who had almost forgotten him in time of prosperity sometimes hee sees that wee trust to the arme of flesh and leane too much to some outward meanes then by a crosse he takes it away that so wee might wholly and onely relie on him Manifold corruptions and much filth of sinne doe wee gather by walking in this dirty world the Lord doth vse the waters of affliction as a bath to cleanse purge vs from those corruptions in bringing vs thereby to a sight thereof and humiliation for the same in these the like respects well may affliction bee tearmed Gods purging physicke Sometimes he also vseth it for strengthning physick when as he doth afflict his seruants for their triall for the strengthning of their faith patience loue zeale holy desires c. for these and the like graces the more they are exercised the more they are confimed and the stronger they grow and euen inward afflictions of the minde serue greatly to these good ends O blessed rod of God that dost so much good Did I thinke the Lord loued mee not because his rod lay on mee oh how could I bee without it Surely it is as needfull for mee as my meat and drinke and much more needfull too * Hic vre his seca vt in aeternum pareas domine Aug. O scourge mee and launce me here O Lord that thou maiest spare mee for euermore hereafter Sixtly as touching outward calamities I haue learned at length a little wisedome by Gods word for the right demeaning of my selfe therein not to looke downeward on the rushing and roaring streames of miseries and troubles which run so swiftly vnder mee for then I should bee taken with a giddinesse in the head which would make mee thinke and speake an aduisedly of Gods dealing and my owne estate and so I should bee in hazard of being drowned and ouerwhelmed therein but this I doe I fasten my eies vpon the sure stay by which I am vpheld that is God all-sufficient and stedfastly behold his promise in the middest of all miseries thus I praise God I passe ouer many a dangerous deep h Ps 42.6 when one deepe calleth another or the noise of the water-spouts when one trouble comes on the necke of another I passe ouer or wade through safe sound Seuenthlie as I desire to prepare for affliction before it commeth so do I resolue in like manner aforehand to hold fast my assurance of the loue of God and so to beare it as comfortably as may bee when it shall come obseruing that it is the work of Sathan to make mee vtterly discomfortable in tribulation that heauen our country and holinesse the way thereto might both be brought out of credit by my meanes that others beholding my vncomfortablenes might bee discouraged from entring or proceeding in the happy way to life By the grace of God Sathan shall not make mee his scar-crow in the way to heauen to keep others out nay rather by my sweet and lightsome deportment of my selfe therein I will allure others what I may rather to choose the way of the crosse the way to the kingdome than for fear of the crosse to lose and forgoe the kingdome Min. It is a good resolution and surelie it is not for any ill-will that the Lord corrects his children whether with inward afflictions of minde or outward of bodie friends children goods good name or howsoeuer else his loue is neuer the lesse vnto them and he is neuer the further from them and though they greatly feare sometimes yet they haue no more cause to feare than the Disciples had when Christ came walking to them vpon the sea thinking that they had seen a spirit to whom our Sauiour answered i Math. 14 26.27 Bee of good cheere it is I bee not affraid euen so when the raging windes and blustering stormes of afflictions doe cause an earthquake in our hearts the Lord sends forth a calme quiet voyce to the comfort of his children It is I bee not affraid which all they may easilie heare that will but lay their eare to the word of God and listen thereunto for so hee speakes vnto them therein Now if there be any other matter that troubles your minde alledge it if you will for conclusion of all lest I bee also one of them that trouble you Con. Doubting proceeding from feare of death answered Why then if you thinke good wee will end with that that shall end our liues namely death I greatly feare sometimes that I am not as I should bee because I finde in my selfe such strugling w i th the thoghts of death and that I am so affraid yea and vnwilling to die Min. How do you to repell and ouercome this assault Con. First I consider that they which are truly in Christ by faith and liuing members of him may haue and haue all of them some feare of death for all that though it can do them no harm like as man that seeth the sting of a serpent plucked out before his eyes therefore knowes it can not hurt him yet hath some fearefulnesse in him to handle it and put it into his bosome because of that naturall enmitie and antipathie that is between him and it the sting of death is sinne which Christ hath pluckt out in being made sinne for vs and satisfying fully for it so that well may we say O death where is thy sting and yet we are affraid of the very lookes of death but more affraid to come nigh it because wee naturally hate death this therefore is no good reason to make mee thinke my selfe none of Christs because I haue some feare of death no more than it is to proue a man no man or reasonable creature because hee is loth to put a snake in his bosome when the sting is pluckt out Secondlie I take vp such meditations as may make mee better and more familliarly acquainted with death and may make mee better conceited of it and to take better liking to it as first that it is the common lot of k Heb. 9.27 all the sonnes of Adam none exempted no not the Worthies of the world and holie Patriarcks and should I then desire to bee exempted Death hath his warrant to take hold of euery sinner therefore none can bee spared for all haue sinned but before hee comes himselfe hee sends forth many summons to warne men to appeare at Court before God euery ache paine sicknes faintnesse wearinesse yea euery wrinkle or gray haire or dead coarse is deaths summons to warne vs appearance but because we are too regardlesse make too light hereof at length hee comes personally with a special Writ from the