experience that the freshest and sweetest flower soone fadeth and hath his fall our garments waxe olde be they neuer so gay our buildings become ruinous be they neuer so stately And as our life is vpholden by the death of Gods creatures so death shall be the end aswell of vs as of them But to come neere to my purpose you see the former yeare which was new is both olde and ended the new yeare which is now entered requireth a new gift a debt I may call it which your deserts may challenge for a dutie That which I write I wish God onely must giue it yet through him I offer it God graunt you may well accept it A posey therefore I present most fittest for your state which is both fresh and faire sweete and sauerie which neither the frost of Winter can so bite or the heate of Summer so parche or any storme or weather whatsoeuer so assayle but that it springeth smelleth tasteth and lasteth for euer Memento mori Remember to dye Recordare nouissima Remember your latter end this is your Poesey and you shall neuer doe amisse this is the smell this is the sent of your Nosegay which if you apply dayly to your sences it will perfume your soule and body that all without you and within you shall be as a sweete odour and flagrant incense to the Lorde of Hostes Nowe to make profite of this posey remember I beseech you that sithence we liue mooue and haue our being in God that therefore our liues are not our owne but lent vs for a time Remember that we are borne to dye and dye to liue If this once were beaten into our braines we would not so much deceiue our selues For the forgetfulnesse of death and hope of life makes vs so secure and carelesse as that we desire no other heauen then earth Many make a couenant with Death and clap hands with the graue hoping thereby to escape and so bathe themselues in their fleshly pleasures and wallowe like Swine in their filthinesse following things apparant to the eyes neuer regarding the time to come till death preuent them of a sudden and sommon them to appeare before their Iudge so it comes to passe that as they liued wickedly so they dye most miserablie Their hope is as the winde and their confidence like the Cobweb Death is a terrour and a tormentour both to soule and body and this is the reason they haue not learned to dye Death is strange vnto them he seemes an vglesome monster they dare not once beholde him True it is that Death in it owne nature is most terrible to beholde that the sight thereof amazeth all our sences yet he that is armed with faith is well assured that it is sent for his profit to be his packhorse to carry him from earth to heauen from paine to pleasure from misery vexation griefe and woe to endlesse mirthe melodie and ioyes vnspeakable with God for euer To the ende therefore that the remembrance of Death driue vs not to dispaire but may rather comfort vs in our conflicts it will not be amisse if according to my skill I shew you some Anatomie in which you may see as in a glasse the originall of Death and from whence it came what it is by nature with the power strength and sting thereof and what through Christ to the faithfull Lastly a preseruatiue or at least a preparatiue against the same so that it may rather helpe vs then hurt vs. First touching the originall and beginning of Death it seemeth doubtfull from whence it came what Auctor it had for although the issues thereof be in the hand of God and that it is his handmaide to execute his will as he also fetters the very diuels themselues who can do nothing without him yet all the creatures that God made were very good and as he is the very goodnesse it selfe so can nothing but good proceede from God And therefore since Death and the diuell be enimies to God and goodnesse be destroyers and corrupters of nature which he had made they are none of his creatures he is neither their Auctor nor they of his offpring From whence then came Death it proceeded from the diuell God saieth the wise man created Adam without corruption and made him after his owne Image yet through enuie of the Diuell came Death into the worlde and they that holde of his side prooue it So that the father of Death is the Diuell and as he is ill by nature so is Death in it selfe issuing and proceeding from such a Fountaine The Diuell is the Auctor of sinne and consequently of Death for by Sinne Death entred and Death is the wages thereof He that committeth sinne is of the diuell for the diuel sinneth from the beginning he is a murtherer from the beginning he is both a lyar and the father thereof not by creation but by corruption God made him an Angell he made himselfe a diuell So falling from God he fell from goodnesse and became the father of sinne and wickednesse Non stetit in veritate he stood not in the trueth Now being thus transformed from an Angell to a diuell and that of himselfe not of God who made him good he lost the prerogatiue of his creation and so was altered both in name nature Now being falne obserue his fetches being that enuious man he repined at the state of man made like to God He came couertlie to Heuah in the similitude of the Serpent and after long allurements caught her in his snare that she consented So being snared she bends her force to catche her husband also and indeed preuailed Marke the diuels proceedings and see what hookes he had hidden vnder his fine and pleasant baites First he bewitches her sences with a faire shew and goodlie taste of the fruite forbidden Secondly he assaileth them with infidelitie and doubtfulnesse of Gods worde pronounced namely that they should dye the death and puts in peraduentures Thirdly he opposeth himselfe to the vndoubted trueth of God setting downe the contrarie You shall not dye Lastly he pricks them forwarde to pride and selfe loue You shall be as Gods you shall be as cunning as the highest in good and euill So the poore creatures not leaning to God nor asking counsell at his worde but trusting to themselues and beleeuing his vaine and strong delusions they yeelde and came to his lure and in yeelding were seduced and so snared and holden with the cordes of their owne sinne and fetters of their owne finding out Then through this disobedience comes the iustice of God to reuenge it selfe on man and the penaltie which it exacted was death appointed and due by God to their disobedience See therefore nowe the petigree of Death and of what parentage it proceeded Came it from God I say no but was deriued from the diuell by the meanes of sinne which he brought into the worlde whose stipend and wages is death and damnation the
assayling and our owne willingnesse in obeying we may both renounce the Diuell and forsake our selues cleaue onely in this extremitie to the Lord. Out of this original of Death we may fetche the definition wherein let vs consider what it is in nature of it selfe without Christ what sting it hath and of what power and strength it consisteth Death in it selfe is not onely a killing of the body but also a sleying of the soule not onely a separation of soule from body but a diuision and cutting off both of soule body from God Death therefore is two folde to wit corporall and spirituall yet both of them the stipends and rewards of sinne and both of them due to all without exception For all sinned and are destitute of the grace of God This corporall death as I said is a seperation of the soule from the body and is called the first death Spirituall death is a cutting off of the soule from God and excluding and shutting out of the same from the blessed and sweete countenance of God which is life it selfe and this is called the second death common I say to all by reason of sinne yet not preuayling ouer Gods children for whose sinnes Christ hath satisfied Death therefore at a worde is nothing else but a departing from life and the life of the body is the soule therefore the seperation of the soule from the body is death And as the soule is life to the body so the life of the soule is God therfore the going or departing of the soule from God to cleaue to sinne is the death also of the soule Without God there is no lyse therefore Adam and Euah departing from God departed from life and although their soules were not presently seperated from their bodyes yet being gone from God their life they lay as it were buried in their bodies as also their bodies themselues euery moment subiect to corruption So soone as man by sinne turned himselfe from God euen so soone was he destitute of his grace and fauour that he could not so much as once aspire to felicitie so thaâ— presently the souldiers of death besieged his body to wit hunger thirste sicknesse sorrow and all kinde of calamities So soone as euer they had sinned saith Chrysostome euen so soone did the Lorde pronounce sentence oâ— death against them And euen as those that are condempned of the Iudge although for a while perhaps they may be reserued aliue in prison and be repriued yet in effect they are accompted but for dead men Euen so our firsâ— parents though through the exceeding great mercy of God after sentence pronounced they did long enioy their liues yet foorthwith in effect they were as good as dead for no day or houre or moment did after wards ensue that they had assurance of their life Whereby we haue to learne that the life of sinners is no life indeed but a death being estranged from â—he life of God all remaine as dead which lack beliefe in Christ for onely Christ who is eternall life through â—aith dooth quicken his children so â—hat truly to acknowledge Christ and â—hrough faith to possesse him is indeed â—o be freed from Death and to haue â—ternall life Onely in name to professe â—im is the part of dead men for whosoeuer beleeueth not remaineth in â—eath because the wrath of God tariâ—th vpon him He which hath not the â—onne of God hath not life hereof â—aith Iohn to the Angell of the church â—f Sardis Thou hast a name that thou liâ—est but thou art dead Hereof Christ calleth the Pharisees painted sepulchres whose soules were dead in their bodies for want of faith hereof he said to the young man Let the dead burie the dead And Paule to the wanton widowe that being aliue she was but dead Awake thou that sleepest and stand vp from the dead and Christ shall giue thee light you hath he quickened which were dead in your trespasses and sinnes By this that hath bin spoken we may see not one but all are subiect to the spirituall death being full of sinne and disobedience and so remaine those onely excepted which are quickened by Christ and are buryed by Baptisme into his death to die to sinne and liue to righteousnesse to the glory of him that dooth quicken them And as faith in Christ is the lyfe of the soule being dead through sinne so no faith can quicken vs which is not liuely in it selfe namely which apprehendeth not Christ which worketh not by loue which flourisheth not with fruites for faith without good fruits is dead And therfore to the end we may be reuiued being buried in our sinnes we must first beleeue in Christ which is our lyfe If our beliefe be liuely we must shew it forth by our fruits otherwise we may haue a name to liue and yet be dead Nowe to vnderstand this pointe the better learne what it is to be dead in sinne They are sayd to be dead in their sinnes whom Death still holdeth in the fetters and cordes of their sinne who cannot so much as mooue themselues to any goodnesse who haue no sence or feeling either of Gods mercie or their owne miseries Those to whom all goodnesse is vnsauerie whose bodies and soules are holden captiues of the diuell whom they serue as slaues which are like the deafe Adder that stoppeth her eares and will not heare the voyce of the charmer charme he neuer so wisely such as are wedded to their owne wicked willes whom the God of this worlde hath so blinded that they can neither heare nor beleeue the truth whose conuersion is as hard as to raise vp sonnes of stones vnto Abraham Here we ought to learne to lothe sinne which brings vs in such thraldome to Death and diuell which cuts vs off from God shuts vs out of heauen robs vs of saluation brings the wrath of God vpon vs which is vnmeasurable and infinite and neuer able to be fully satisfied but by only Christ who is infinite and of like maiesty with God his father Nowe to the end that the goodnesse of Christ and his grace which hereafter I minde to speake of may more appeare in so miraculouslie deliuering vs from the power of death and the deuils tyrranie it will not be amisse to set out the force strength sting thereof that the power of Christ in vanquishing the same may more be magnified The originall you haue heard already as also the discription who be subiect to it and their state in this their thraldome Now therefore marke that as the diuell and man together brought in death by sinning so it now being entred is become the very kingdome of Satan wherin he exerciseth his tyrranny By this death he sheweth his triumphing ouer man whome he so seduced in holding him so fast fettered in the linkes of his owne sinnes and so hath him as his slaue is counted as his Prince and ruleth ouer him as a head God did renounce vs although
oucrthrowe of mankinde an enemy to nature the breache of Gods lawe the power of the diuell the strength of Gods wrath and most heauie displeasure And albeit that Death as I haue said be deriued from the diuell yet it is also attributed to man himselfe to leaue him inexcusable as it most plainlie appeareth in Paules comparison betweene Christ and Adam As by the offence of one man saith he Death raigned ouer all and sinne came on all to condemnation so by Christ which is one the benefit of grace abounded towards all men to iustificatiō of life and as sinne by Adam reigned vnto Death so grace reigned by righteousnesse vnto eternall life through Christ In which opposition we may likewise see Death attributed vnto all through Adam and not vnworthily so that man and diuell are partners in sinne and so in Death Here two things runne together the tempter and the obeyer Satan tempted and perswaded of enuie intermingling the matter with lying and slandering of the truth to breake Gods commandement yet notwithstanding all this Satan had nothing preuailed had man resisted and not consented therefore we may conclude that in respect of Sathans enuie and roote of his euill temptation and lying tending all to mans vndooing and vtter destruction that so he may be called as he is indeed the Auctor of Death yet in respect of the assent consent of man in transgressing Gods lawe Death may well lye on his neck and he may most boldly be accounted his owne bane though indeede there were no other Autor being created to the likenesse of God himselfe and flourishing with free will which as then he possessed The diuell then is not the absolute and proper cause of sinne and death because the nature of the absolute and proper cause is such that it going before the effect cannot choose but follow but it falleth not out so in man prouoked of the deuill who although he continually assaile and most vehemently assault Gods children to sinne yet sinne doth not alwayes follow his assaults His worke is not effectuall for many of Gods saints and seruants very mightily resist him being armed with faith which weapon he flyeth Againe let vs imagine saith a godly father the diuell himself neuer to haue falne from God and man as yet to haue stoode in his creation yet man by nature might haue declined and should haue had indeed the cause of sinne in himselfe the reason is this God gaue him free will and so left him to himself free it could not be but that he had full choise of good and euill yet not so vnarmed and naked was he left but that God gaue him power and strength sufficient to continue in his vpright state albeit he leaning too much one waye and sliding from Gods lawe and not vsing but rather abusing the meanes that God had giuen him he fell of himselfe from his creation and so was intangled in the snare of the diuell death and euerlasting condempnation so that in this supposition the suggestion of the diuell is not simplie the cause of sinne and death the diuell as yet not degenerating from God Neither also hath the diuell power of mans will to bowe it as he listeth to his purpose Furthermore we must not thinke that God is to be blamed for not shutting all gates and stopping all gaps tending to sinne for that as I sayd before he gaue to man armour sufficient to defend himselfe and to keep him from falling Neither yet was it vnagreeable to Gods iustice to make a distinction betweene himselfe and his creature for that he himselfe is only good without change or alteration all his creatures good yet subiect to change yea in the very Angels of heauen themselues in respect of God there is found imperfection the Cherubins hide their faces with their wings for the brightnesse of his glory Thus doth God humble all his creatures to exalte himselfe to teach them this not to go from him of whom they had and haue their goodnesse nor to leane onely to themselues though by creation good yet subiect to corruption Though mans nature saith Augustine was vpright and sound and nothing sinfull yet it was capable of sinne apte to receiue corruption Though man in his nature were immortall standing in his state yet was he inclinable to mortalitie As for example we see our flesh apte to receiue a wound yet euery one is not wounded The body of man is subiect to sieknesse yet many often dye not subiect to sicknesse so the state of Adams body was such that although he might haue dyed yet except sinne had come betweene he might and should haue beene preserued of God from death Euen as the hose and shooes of the Hebrewes in the desert by Gods mightie power neuer waxed olde by wearing or consumption Therefore to hedge vp this gap man was subiect to death by nature yet not necessarily as though he sawe no way to shunne it for now I go no further then mans knowledge setting Gods election and secret working aside for he had sufficient force giuen him of God in his creation to auoide it Gods lawe was written in his heart agreeable to his nature he thought it no yoake or slauerie to obserue it his shoulders and other parts being strong enough to susteine it Sinne therefore we may see hath diminished our strength and altered our nature that now we are slaues to those who before were our subiects Gods law now written is the same that before were ingrauen in nature yet now it is a huge weight and heauie yoake which neither we nor our fathers were able to beare except we be first new borne in by the holy Ghost giuen vs of God through Christ So that to conclude this point not only the diuell but euen we our selues are the cause and auctor of sinne and so of Death Although indeed as Augustine alledgeth An ill thing hath no cause efficient but rather deficient And if any man sayth he wyll goe about ouer curiouslie to searche out the efficient cause of Death it is all one as if a man should labour with his eyes to see darkenesse or to bend the sence of his eares to heare silencc which since they bee of themselues meere depriuations haue no essence in nature though existent in some subiect and knowne vnto vs. The sight seeth nothing but bright things and the eare heareth nothing but a noyse of loude things these thinges are knowne to our sences not by vse but by depriuation onely The deficient cause and Autour therefore of sinne and Death is Diuell and Man the diuell by suggesting the other by obeying both their actions not vrged of God but voluntarily of themselues Learne therefore this by the way whosoeuer committeth sinne is of the diuell whosoeuer sinneth is the seruant of Death Neither let vs so rage against the Deuill as that we altogether exempte our selues from gilte but rather knowing the readinesse of the diuell in
our soule all our mynde all our might all our strength all our force in this his seruice All our members both head handes and heart yea all partes that we possesse are tyde to his obedience The least sinne could not shadowe it selfe but it shewed it in vs not condempning only our outward actes but geuing sentence against our wicked thoughtes yea all our idle motions without consent And therefore since all flesh created of God is corrupted so that the verie imaginations of mans hart are onely euill continually since that by the Law it is coâ—â—inced that there is none that doth good no not one but all are concluded vnder sinne and subiect to the same guilt of damnation Since by the Law commeth the knowledge of sinne and that it stoppes euery mans mouth and makes all the worlde subiect to Gods iudgementes and summons them to appeare before his seate since it was added because of transgressions that our sinnes might more appeare and abound therefore it is called to the vnregenerat man an importable yoke the occasion of sinne hence it is called the law of sinne and of wrath the administration of condempnation the oldnes of the letter which can not giue life but pronounceth all our workes accursed And here beholde the strength and sting of death How did death enter By sinne How did sinne appeare and what is the strength of the same The Law of God which giueth sentence of condempnation agaynst all flesh and leaueth not one iustified in his sight And yet notwithstanding all this the Law of God is holy iust and good opening his very will setting a blessing before our eyes as well as a cursse It was not contrary to our nature before it was corrupted but agreeable for the Image of man in which he was first created It teacheth the very patterne of true obedience what is agreeable to God and his nature how much he hateth sinne and delighteth in goodnes It offereth both lyfe and death lyfe to the obeyers death to the breakers Therefore let vs all glorifie God let euery mans mouth be stopped from accusing him or his Law Let vs confesse against our selues our sinnes and say vnto him Shame and confusion belonges vnto vs Death and dampnation is our due the heauie anger wrath and hell are our desartes And thou O blessed God art iust righteous good and gratious in all thy doinges for euer Let vs thus I say giue sentence against our selues that God may be founde cleare euen to the most wickedst men when he is iudged Well then let vs beare in minde that God is not too rigorous in punishing vs with eternall death by reason of our sinnes so conuinced by his lawe and that Gods infinite iustice thus broken disobeyed coulde not otherwyse be answered of man but by infinite susteyning of eternall death Marke therefore I pray you the whole kingdome of the Deuil He first fighteth and warreth with temptations which are as dartes to wounde our soules to death which if we resist not being so tempted but yeelde to sinne then comes the Law against vs with his force and by vertue of the Law death entreth and triumpheth For the sting of death is sinne and the strength of sinne is the Law for it sheweth vs Hel which is the pallace of Death leaues vs in perdition So that you see according to my promise what Death is it selfe what Prince it hath and what strong Souldiers it hath to keepe his kingdome to wit the Deuill him selfe sinne lawe wrath of God and all to vpholde it Wherefore it is no maruel yf the remembraunce of death be bitter to many and that they abhor and hate it I say it is no wonder if all their ioyntes do tremble and shake a sunder for the horror thereof made the Sonne of God oft to pray against it to sweate droppes of bood for the agonie of it and to cry out to his Father as a man forelorne Why hast thou forsaken mee Neither yet was this so strange a miracle to see the Sonne of God so amazed at death for it set both Deuill Lawe Sinne Hell Graue and wrath of God against him all these were armed to ouerthrow him all these were Death his Souldiers and appoynted captaynes to conquer Christ And any or the least of these without him will quite destroy vs. But now to your comfortes that beleeue let vs see who got the victorie whether Christ or Death or which of them was spoyled that so we may learne to confirme our fayth in the middest of our conflictes You haue heard already what death is in it owne nature now heare what it is through Christ Our estate without him we know we are euen holden in the shadow of death being fettered in our finnes The weight of our finnes is the Law of God layde vpon vs. Hel is our prison death is our Iaylor to hold vs. See how we are locked from God yet most iustly as I noted In this distresse and deepe dungion Iesus Christ came to visite vs euen God and Man a right redeemer for vs he takes our cause vppon him and he reasons and wrastles with the Deuill that helde vs captiues This mightie Sauiour tooke flesh and blood to take our part that he might destroy through death him that had power of death that is to say the Deuil and that he myght delyuer all them which for feare of death were all their lyfe time subiect to bondage He suffered for our sinnes the Iust for the vniust that he might bring vs to God and was put to death concerning the flesh but quiâ—kened in the spirite that he might be our ransome Marke therefore diligently I beseech you this his combat and conflict For he had to deale with the Deuill who helde vs captiues The Deuill for his defence had the Law euen the righteous law of God which man had transgressed and therefore now worthely subiect to his power The obiections therefore that he made against man to Christ are these Whosoeuer breaketh the Law of God shall die the death but man hath broken the Law of God therefore he shall die the death and by the vertue of the Law sayth the Deuill I will holde him in death Againe the Law of God is according to his nature good holy and righteous And therfore the death of man pronounced by the Lawe is iust and his damnation righteous God the Law giuer is infinite and eternall therefore his death must be endles and euerlasting God is iust and can not denie himselfe He sayd that man yf he should breake his lawe should die the death and therefore death shal hold him God is perfect pure and therefore the satisfaction must be according to his nature His law bindes both soule and body euen thought worde and deede and therefore let man performe this and he shall liue These and many more are the dartes of the Deuil which he throweth agaynst our foules to wound
a building giuen me of God a house not made with handes but eternall with God in heauen Marke our bodyes be earthly houses Dust thou art and into dust thou shalt returne againe They are as Innes wherein wee soiourne for a season they are as tabernacles set vp for a time and quicklye to be remooued being without foundation our bodies are like an olde ruinous cottage still in danger to fall Dauid counted himselfe a stranger vpon the earth and a soiournour as all his fathers were Hereof Abraham obeyed God to go whither hee would hee abode in the lande of Promise as in a strange countric as one that dwelte in Tents For hee looked for a cittie hauing a foundation whose builder and maker is God Iob called this our body a house of claye therefore the godly grone in this tabernacle being loded with corruption that this mortalitie may bee swallowed vp of lyfe flesh and bloud cannot enter into the kingdome of heauen Gods children therefore are greeued not because they beare about their bodies for it is a greefe to them to lay them downe no they sigh for this to be clensed from their sinnes Wretched man that I am saith Paul who shall deliuer me from this bodye of sinne And therefore we ought not to long for this present lyfe which indeed is but an Image of Death but rather loathe it that wee may bee vnloden of our sinnes This preparation to dye perteyneth vnto all for neither riche nor poore olde nor yonge Prince nor people Death lets escape It respecteth no person no sexe no age no condition no estate whatsoeuer no power no riches no learning no pollicie can resist it There is no remedie for this sicknesse no phisicke to be found against it It is the way of all the worlde it is an Axe that heweth downe not onely the low shrubs and Osiers but also the great Elmes and Okes yea all the high and tall trees of Lebanon The dayes of man are but as Grasse and as a flower of the fielde in the morning it is greene and flourisheth but in the euening it is cut downe dryed vp and withered Wee bring our yeares to an end as a tale that is tolde Our life is like a stage on which men play theyr partes and passe away Man is like a thing of naught his dayes are lyke a shadowe God biddeth Esay to crye that all flesh is grasse and all the grace and goodlinesse thereof is but as a flower of the field O that the Lorde would open the eyes of all to see themselues in this bright Glasse What are we all but grasse and shall we wither as Haye alas wee cannot so perswade our selues for if we could it would plucke downe our pride and set our loftie lookes aside It woulde then shorten soone our ruffes so long and make our monstrous attire more modest It would mittigate our madnesse and make vs humble mynded we would then throwe downe our selues with Abraham and say to God We are but dust and ashes this is a common case that all flesh is dust Now for auoyding extreame sorrowe vvhich at the houre of death will mightily assayle vs Let vs against that time bee euen with the vvorlde at agreement with our brethren especially with our owne conscience which then most straightly will accuse vs. The consience is lyke a Chrystall Glasse wherein if vve vvill vvee may lyuely viewe our selues It vvill shewe euery thing that is amisse in soule and body Let vs therefore take our spundg in hand to clense our spots to wit true faith in Christ and good fruites that followe it that so being at one vvith the vvorlde in charitie with our brethren and cleane in our conscience through Christ vve may be ready to goe the waye of all the vvorlde And that this our iourney may bee more easie and this rough waye as it seemeth to the flesh more plaine let vs arme our selues with these contemplations vvhich shall followe let vs saye vnto our soule Why art thou so sad and why art thou so disquieted within mee Put thy trust in God which is the helpe of my countenance and my God Why should a Christian man so feare the force of Death whose sting is quite destroyed Can Death depriue him of Christe which is all his comforte ioye and lyfe No but Death shall delyuer him from this mortall bodye full of sinne and wickednesse which beateth downe the spirite Faine would this fleshe make strange of that which the spirite doth imbrace O saith a godly martyr how lothe is this loytering sluggard to passe forth and goe forwarde in Gods pathe to heauen So that were it not through the force of faith plucking it forward and the bridle of Gods most sweete promises and of hope pricking on behinde great aduenture there were of fainting by the way Who would bee sorry to forsake this lyfe which cannot but bee most certaine of eternall lyse Who loueth the shadowe better then the body Who can loue this lyfe but they that regarde not the life to come Who can desire the drosse of this worlde but such as be ignorant of the treasures of euerlasting ioy in heauen I meane who is afraide to die but such as hope not to liue eternally A greater token next faith in Christ there is not of our election then not to stand in feare of Death which lyke a Tayler putteth off our ragges and arayeth vs with the royall robes of immortallitie incorruption and glorye Shall the brute beastes and sencelesse creatures being subiect to vanitie grone in their kinde for the redemption of the sonnes of God at what time they shall be freed from their slauerie and shall wee which are indued with reason yea and aboue reason inlightened with Gods holy spirite especially when it standeth vpon a ioyfull being and euerlasting dwelling with God in heauen shall wee not I say lift vp our mindes beyond this rottennesse of earth And therefore that these thinges may pearce the deeper let vs brieflye consider for a conclusion of all what this lyfe is that we so loue what death is that we so feare and vvhat is prepared for vs after death vvhich vvee so little regarde Which three considerations for the most part I haue rather partly collected out of others then added of mine owne for that they are so ready at hand and fit for my purpose yea and so exquisite in themselues as that my paines should be but superfluous to trouble my selfe with studying any further for this conclusion First therefore concerning this life you know it is full of misery vanitie vexation and vvoe It is a plaine exile from God for if heauen be our countrie vvhat is this earth but a place of banishment If the departing out of this vvorld bee an entring into lyfe vvhat is this worlde but a graue wherein wee are buried vvhat is it else but to bee drowned in Death If to bee deliuered out of this body is to be
he created vs and cast vs of whom he had made euen to the forme of his Image And as through sinne he gaue vs ouer to the deuill so he iustly appointed the meanes to hamper vs neither was this his doing contrarie to his iustice nay rather if he had not so done he should haue seemed to deny himselfe and to be repugnant to his worde pronounced In the beginning he created man in righteousnesse and holinesse according to his owne shape and likenesse So long as he kept this forme he enioyed his blessed presence his protection and prouidence ruled ouer him He wanted nothing that was necessary for him all creatures were his seruants they came at his call bowed at his beck euen the beasts of the fielde the fowles of the ayre and the fishes of the sea he put all things in subiection vnder his feete so that it forceth the Prophet to cry out and with a lowde voyce to exclaime O Lord how excellent is thy name in all the worlde what is man that thou art so mindefull of him or the sonne of man that thou so regardest him thou madest him lower then the Angels to crowne him with glorie and great worship he wanted nothing that harte could wishe he was placed in Paradise amongst all passing pleasures The ground of it selfe yeelded foorth her increase without toyle or trauell He was made Subiect to no creature but was Lord of all him onely excepted who had so preferred him This God and this Lorde for all these his graces and blessings vnspeakable required no great homage or seruice at his hand he exacted no high rente he did not ouer charge him But only this to shewe his soueraigne authoritie ouer him he gaue him a commaundement no weightie thing to be obserued but a matter easily to be performed to wit that he hauing aboundance of al things beside he should absteyne for his pleasure from tasting of the tree of good and euill and all this he did to trye his obedience Marke now on the other side this vnkinde creature this vngratefull wretch and wicked man forgetting God and what he had done for him casting all aside behinde his backe most traiterouslye villanously and most lyke a monster rebels against his Lord contemneth his Creator and sets his God at naught so listens to the deuill beleeue his lyes following lyke a beast his sensuall appetite and euen in that one thing forbidden spighteth his God regardeth not his worde feareth not Death that was threatned but eateth of the forbidden tree maugre the beard of God and his iudgements See therefore the greatnesse of his sinne and the due deserts of this euerlasting death which I spake of could any punishment bee great enough or any bitter plague bad enough for such a haynous fact that whereas God had giuen him such libertie and freedome of all things he would not so much as obey him in one Againe God did not onely binde him to obey him but threatned his disobedience If thou eate thereof thou shalt dye the death Notwithstanding both Gods commaunding and his threatning he is most carelesse and swiftly runnes headlong to sinne and wickednesse and so entred into such a masse of miseries whence neither he himselfe or his posteritie could euer vnwinde themselues For so abusing his owne freewill he lost it and was made a slaue vnto himselfe defacing Gods image he became like vnto the diuell and contemning life he found out death euen death erernall This was the wages of his sinne this was the hyer of his labour this great profit reaped he for his paines Marke nowe the fruite of his disobedience God thrust him out of Paradise and being extruded kept him out by Cherubins so he sawe his owne shame and could not couer his wickednesse his Figge leaues would not serue his turne but God accursed him and his seede he plagued the earth with barrennesse made all creatures feele the smart of this fall and as he disobeyed God so caused he disobedience in the creatures towardes him Hereof comes thefearcenesse of Lions Beares Tygers Wolues and all wilde beasts hereof arised all rebellions and warre disorder scarcitie dearth hunger cold nakednesse plagues murther and all kinde of miseries that are in the world all which are fore-runners of this eternall death and ringleaders to damnation And to conuince vs of this our accursed state the better God renewed his law first written as I said in nature but blotted out by our fall euen in tables of stone to shew vs the hardnesse of our hearts that so as in a glasse we might see our owne condemnation For amidst the heapes of other sinne pride so possessed our hearts that although we were nothing but sinne yet we thought our selues cleane holy and righteous We were so blinded that we knew not sinne vntill the law layd it open shewed vs our nakednes Without the law saith Paul we had not knowen sinne I knew not saith he sinne but by the law for I had not knowen lust except the law had sayd Thou shalt not lust But sinne tooke an occasiō by the cōmandement wrought in me al maner of concupisence for without the law sin is dead Not as though there were no sinne in the world before the publishing of the law for euen the Gentiles them selues which had not the law written shewed the effect of the law in their harts their conscience also bearing witnesse and their thoughts accusing one another or excusing and therfore being conuinced of sin in their soules without the lawe written are a lawe vnto themselues and sinning without the lawe shall perish without the law written by the lawe of nature ingrafted in their hearts This is prooued by many morrall vertues that they naturally followed and by many vices which they naturally hated This knowledge of the lawe of nature though vnperfect yet sufficient to confound them Albeit sinne indeed was then hidden in respect and their best knowledge of the lawe so ouershadowed and well nigh blotted that sinne could not appeare in his nature But when the lawe was renued sinne that seemed to be dead reuiued and shewed it selfe all our spots did then appeare which before were darkened by ignorance of Gods lawe which we gained by our fall The lawe then conuinced vs of sinne reuealed our nakednesse which our Fig leaues had hidden it opened the inward man with all his concupiscence it shewed vs our shame and confusion our vgelsome shape most monstrous to behold how wee were transformed from the Image of God to the similitude of the diuell it put vs in remembrance of our deuine nature which wee had lost it shewed vs hell and the wrath of God Nothing but condemnation appeared by it it let vs vnderstand how farre we were falne from God how all things both within vs and without vs were corrupted it painted out God in his nature according to his most pure holinesse and iustice how he requireth all our heart all