our sinnes Math. 6.11 The reward of sinne is death Rom. 6.23 Eternall life which wee lose by our corruption and transgression is restored again vnto vs by Iesus Christ THe gift of God is eternall life by Iesus Christ our Lorde Rom. 6.23 At the same time when we were dead in sinne hee reuiued vs together by Christ by whose grace you are saued Ephe. 2.5 The determination and grace of God is manifested vnto vs by the apparition of our Lord Iesus Christ who hath destroyed death and brought to light life and immortalititie by the Gospel 2. Timot. 1.10 In this the loue of God appeared vnto vs when he sent his onely Sonne into the worlde to the end wee might liue by him 1. Iohn 4.9 And this man is witnesse that God hath giuen vs eternall life and this life is in his Sonne 1. Iohn 5.11 To whom eternall life is giuen GOd so loued the world as he gaue his only begotten Son that no man which beleeueth in him might perish but haue euerlasting life He that beleeueth in the Son hath eternall life but he that beleueth not in the Son shall not see life but the wrath of GOD shal remaine vpon him Iohn 3.15 36. Verely verely I say vnto you whosoeuer heareth my words and beleeueth in him that sent mee he hath eternall life and shall not come into condemnation but passe from death to life This is the will of my Father which sent me That whosoeuer sees the Sonne and beleeues in him he may haue eternall life and I will raise him vp at the last day Verely verely I say vnto you hee that beleeues in mee hath eternall life Iohn 5.24 and 6.40 47. Iesus sayde I am the resurrection and the life hee that beleeueth in me although hee be dead shall liue Iohn 11.25 These things are written that you may beleeue that Iesus Christ is the Sonne of God that in beleeuing you may haue life in his Name Iohn 20.31 God shal giue to euery one according to his workes which is to say to those that with patience in well-doing seeke glory honor and immortalitie eternall life Rom. 2.6 7. Being now deliuered from sinne and made the seruants of God you haue your fruit in sanctification and for your ende eternall life Rom. 6.22 If we be children we are also heires heires I say to God and coheirs with Iesus Christ that is to say if wee suffer with him that with him wee may also bee glorified Rom. 8.17 Seeke peace with all men and holinesse without which none can see the Lord. Hebr. 12.14 The excellencie of eternall life WHen the account is cast I think the sufferances of this present time no wayes equiualent to the glory to come which shall be reuealed in vs. Rom. 8.18 The things which the eye hath not seene the eare heard and that neuer entred into the heart of man are those which God hath prepared for those that loue him 1. Cor. 2.9 This present life is limited THe dayes of a man are short the number of his moneths remaine with thee thou hast set downe limits which hee must not exceede Ioh 14.5 The shortnesse and vanitie of the same WE are strangers and forreiners before thee as our Fathers were our dayes are as the shadow vpon the earth and there is no mention of them 1. Chron. 29.15 Man borne of a woman is but of little continuance and those few dayes are replenished with trouble sorrowe hee cometh out like a flower and is gathered vp hee flies away like a shadow and stayes not Are not his dayes set downe Iob 14.1 2 5. Thou hast assigned my dayes the measure of an hand-breadth and my life time is before thee as nothing in effect there is nothing but vanitie with euery man that liues As soon as thou chastisest a man reprehending him for his iniquity thou consumest all his excellencie like a moth so slight a thing is euery man Psal 39.12 The sonnes of men are nothing they are but the lyers of great Princes so that if they were all put together in a ballance they would bee found lighter than vanitie it selfe Psal 62.10 The dayes of our life are threescore and ten yeeres and of those that liue longest but fourescore and yet the best of them are but affliction miserie they soon passe hence and we our selues flie away swiftly Psal 90.10 The dayes of a man are like the grasse and flourish like the flower of the fielde Psal 103.13 Man is like to nothing his dayes are as the shadowe which vanisheth away Psal 144.4 See thorowout all Salomons Ecclesiastes All flesh is grasse and all the glory thereof is as the flower of the field Isa 40.6 I tell you this my brethren that the time is short 1. Cor. 7.29 What is this your life it is certainely but a vapour which appeareth for a while and then vanisheth away Iames 4.14 The end of mans life WHether you eat or drinke or whatsoeuer you doe do it al to the glory of God 1. Cor. 10.31 The first death which is the separation of the soule from the body and the second which is eternal death proceede from sinne THe day wherein thou eatest of the fruite of the Tree of knowledge of good and euill thou shalt die the death Gen. 2.17 As by one man sinne entred into the worlde and by sinne death so death came vpon all men because al men sinned Rom. 5.12 The first death is common to all IT is ordained that all shall once die and after that comes Iudgement Heb. 9.27 The Children of God ought to feare death FEare not those that can slay the bodie and not kill the soule Math. 10.28 Hee that loueth his life shall lose it and whosoeuer hates this worlde hee shall finde it in eternall life Iohn 12.25 We knowe when our terrestrial lodging is defaced we haue a dwelling place in God an house not made with handes but eternall which is in heauen 2. Corint 5.1 I am inclosed on the one side and the other desiring to be dissolued and to be with Christ the which were much better for me Phil. 1.23 Death destroyed by Iesus Christ IEsus Christ hath destroyed Death and brought to light Life and immortality by the Gospel 2. Tim. 1.10 Death is swallowed vp in victorie 1. Cor. 15.54 Who sits at the right hand of God hauing swallowed vp death that we might be made partakers af eternall life 1. Pet. 3.22 What opinion wee should hold of the dead HAppie are those that die in the Lord yea saith the holy Ghost for they rest from their labours and their works follow them Apo. 14.3 We must not mourne for the dead as profane persons doe ALso my brethren I would not haue you ignorant concerning those which sleep to the end you may not be sorrowfull as others are that haue no hope 1. Thes 4.13 Their soules which die in the Lord are receiued into rest and glory in heauen ANd it happened that
who honor thee in this world but to resplendent and most excellent verity her self Axi Thy discourse hath made mee change my mind I am now so far from fearing death that contrariwise I ardently desire the same and to expresse my selfe more magnanimiously I am already in a maner out of the world and begin to enter into these diuine and eternall paths so that being wholly eased of my infirmity I am quite become another man than that I was before CICERO in his dialogue of old age towards the end THere remaines a fourth reason which seems to vexe and torment olde age that is to say the approach of Death which at that time can not bee farre off But I think that old man to be very miserable which in the space of so long time before neuer learned that death simplie was not to bee feared but rather to bee cōtemned if it destroy the soule as some thinke but according to my opinion it ought to bee desired seeing it leades man to a place where he shall liue eternally Wee cannot finde any one betwixt these two opinions What should I then feare if I either feele no misery at all or if I shall bee happie after death Besides this is ther any man so foolish how yong a Gul soeuer he be to suppose that he hath a Patent of his life but til the euening He is so farre from that that euen youth it self is subiect to many more kinds of death than old age yong men sooner fall into diseases they are more grieuously sicke and hardlier healed so that it is rare to see men liue to bee olde If this were not wee should liue more wisely and happily for old men are indued with the vnderstanding of counsel and wisedome and without them Cōmon-wealths could not stand on foote But let vs come to this feare of present death and in that olde age is wrongfully charged to be subiect to this apprehension feeing this is a more common accident with youth For my part I felt in the death of my sonne your brothers of whom great hope of good hereafter was cōceiued that death threatens all ages Some body may reply that a yong man hopes to liue long which one aged cannot expect This hope is truely the hope of a yong man that is to say of a light head For is there a greater sottishnes than to make sure and certain of that which is altogether vncertaine and vnsure But an old man hath no reason in the world to cōceiue any such hope and I affirme that his condition herein is far better thā a yong mans in that he hath obtained what the young man doth but hope for and that is long life which the olde man hath passed I pray you what length doe you find in a mans life fet down vnto me the longest of all others Let vs consider the age of the King of the Tartessians for I find in bookes that one Arganthonius reigned fourescore and liued sixescore yeeres but I see that ther is nothing long but tendeth to some period the which being attained vnto all the rest is gone and past ther remaining nothing but what thou hast obtained by Iustice and pietie The howers passe away so doe the moneths that past neuer returnes againe what will come hereafter we knowe not Euery one must be contented with the time allotted him to liue For as hee that playes a Part vpon a stage needes not to repeat the whole Comedie from one end to the other to make him be accompted a good Actor so that in the Part which he properly plaieth he giue contentmēt to the spectatours no more is it requisite that the wise man should liue as long as the oldest man that euer liued in the worlde because a shorte life is long enough for a man to carrie himselfe therein honestly and vertuously And so if our dayes shoot out at length we must be no more weary of them than labourers that after the beautie of the Spring time see Summer ensue and then Autumne For the Spring time resembles youth and makes some demonstration of the fruits which afterward must be reaped Other ages are proper to gather and lay vp the increase of the earth and the fruit of olde age is the remembraunce of those goods which wee haue formerly purchased whatsoeuer is done according to nature we may place in the rank of good things But what is more naturall than to see old men die The same falles out to youth but somewhat against Nature and as it were in despite of her so that when yong men die me thinkes I see as it were a great fire quenched by an huge quantity of water where as contrariwise old men droppe away of thēselues without any violence offered like to a fire that quencheth of it selfe And euen as apples but greene and vnripe fall not from the trees except we violently pluck them off being ripe they fall off without vsing any great force thereto so also young men seeme to die not without some violence offered to their nature old men quite otherwise The which so cheares mee vp that the neerer I approach vnto death the neerer I discerne my selfe to hale in with that harbor and port where I pretend to anchor after so long dangerous a nauigatiō All the ages of our life are limited but only old age wherein wee liue vertuously as long as the means yet remaines to labour in our vocation and otherwise to hold death in contempt the which may bee the reason also that old age is more ardent and couragious than youth This is that which Solon answered to the Tyrant Lisistratus who interrogated him concerning vertue wherewith he so braued him and was alwaies opposite to his designes because sayd Solon I am old but the ende of this life is then most sweet and excellent when the same Nature which built defaceth also her worke whē a man til the last retains his senses vnderstāding entire For euen as the Carpenter or Architect can easily when he lists plucke the ribs and beames of his ship asunder or the other plucke downe that building which he had erected euen so Nature most properly dissolueth a man whom shee before had sodered together of two so different pieces now al kind of Soder and conglutination lately made is hardly dissolued but in that old and long worn it is otherwise and so the remainder of life is not much desired or sighed after by the aged who haue reason rather to be ready to dislodge expecting minutally the great Captains comandement which is God without whose will and pleasure as Pythagoras sayd wee are prohibited to leaue our Guarison Corps du guard wherin we are constituted in this worlde There is a notable saying ascribed to the wise Solon wherin hee would haue his friends to mourne and lament his death which makes me thinke that his meaning onely was herein that they should shewe to
off from them wickednes ill thoughts corrupt counsels couert luxuries and auarice which is alwaies prying into other men Hee guardes them himselfe and keepes them close by him would any body peraduēture require of God to guard their goods and chattels also They discharge God of this labour in making no account of externall things Among others Democritus remooued all his wealth farre off he supposing that it would but bee a burden to a good vnderstanding Imagine therfore that God thus speaketh vnto thee Why complaine yee of mee you that haue delighted in equitie I haue enuironed others with false prosperities occupied their spirits with a long and lying dream I haue outwardly adorned thē with gold siluer Iuory whē as inwardly they are of no value Those which at the first sight seem happy if you but obserue them well not in the place where you meet them but secretly some where else they are sordid base and miserable and are but like their owne walles outwardly painted set forth This is not true and perfect felicitie it is but a rinde or barke and that also but slight and thinne And therefore while they can hold out shew themselues in no place but where they like best they glitter and abuse mens iudgements but if an accident fall out that doth but discouer and display them then we may easily perceiue what deepe villany lies hid vnder adulterate shewes But to you on the contrary I haue giuen certaine goods and those that wil continue The oftner they are turned or beheld on euery side the better and more resplendent they will seeme which is to say lightly to esteem of any thing that is feared and to disdaine that which ordinarily is desired you doe not shine outwardly all your goods stand inward So doth all this world it contemnes external parts being content with the contemplation of it selfe All the wealth thereof is inward Your felicitie is to haue nothing to doe with worldly happinesse A Sermon of Saint CYPRIANS Bishop of Carthage concerning Mortalitie THE ARGVMENT IN this Sermō made for the consolation of such Christians as then were visited with the plague Saint CYPRIAN exhorteth all those that truely loue the Lord chearefully to leaue this earthly life when God calles them away confirming the same by diuers reasons and shewing afterwards that death is a way which the wicked also must goe and hee teacheth euery one how to obserue the difference betwixt the one and the other that is to say the good are called to happie rest and the wicked to eternall punishment THough many amongst you my deare brethren haue your vnderstādings so settled your faith so firme and your soules so eleuated vp to heauen that they are not so much as shaken by seeing the plague on all sides to sweep away so many but like a rock immoueably planted they withstand without bouging the violent stormes of the world breaking the raging waues of this present life in stead of being battered or broken by them finally are not ouerthrowen but only proued by temptations Yet seeing some amōg the people halfe daunted and discouraged either for want of good resolution by reason of their little faith respect of the loue which they beare to this world or through the tendernesse of their sexe or which is worse for want of good instruction so as wee can not see them employ that celestiall force and vigor wherwith their hearts should be armed I could not contain my selfe according to my weake power from suppressing this effeminate cowardize by a preualent discourse taken out of the holy scripture to the end that those which haue begun to feele that God is their Father and Iesus Christ their Sauiour they may doe nothing vnworthy of a Christian or of the true childe of God For most deare brethren he that fights vnder the ensigne of God which inhabiting in the celestiall pauilions aspireth to none but high matters hee must truely knowe himselfe and wee must not in any wise be deiected or astonisht at the torments or tempests of this worlde seeing God hath aduertised vs that these things must come to passe instructing and teaching vs by the exhortation of his louing carefull voice and preparing and fortifying the people of his Church to beare such things as must happen patiently he hauing declared fore-told that the earth should be afflicted in euery quarter by warre famin plagues earth-quakes As also for feare we should fall into despaire through the strangenesse of so many euils at once oppressing vs hee hath divulged before that the afflictions should be far sharper in the later times Seeing whatsoeuer hee foretold is now accomplished let vs conceiue hereby that all his other promises in like manner shall be fulfilled as hee himselfe hath spoken When you see all these things come to passe know that the kingdom of heauen is at hand My dearest brethren this kingdome hath already begun to come vnto vs for the reward of life the ioy of eternall saluation perpetuall blisse the possession of Paradise which were lost by sinne returne vnto vs so soone as wee leaue the world Now when celestiall things succeed the terrestriall great those but little and eternall those transitory and fraile Is ther then any occasion to be in griefe and anguish of minde and who is that affrighted and daunted man but he that is destitute of Faith hope In effect it only belongs to him to feare death that would not go vnto Christ and he refuseth to goe vnto Christ which beleeueth not that then hee begins to raigne with Christ It is written Abac 2. Rom. 1. The iust man liues by faith If thou beest iust and liuest by faith firmely beleeuing in God why art thou not forward to go to Christ who calles thee Why doest thou not imbrace Gods promises Why reioycest thou not to be deliuered from the power of the wicked Simeon the iust which in true faith yeelded himselfe to Gods obedience knowing by reuelatiō that he should not die before hee had seene Christ and the little Infant called Iesus being come into the Temple with his Mother hee knew then that Christ was born whom hauing seene hee knew that the ende of his life approached wherfore reioycing in his death so neere at hand and being assured that God would presently call him hee tooke the Infant in his armes praising God hee cried out and said Lord thou sufferest now thy seruant to depart in peace according to thy Word for mine eyes haue seen thy saluation By this hee did declare and make euident that Gods seruants are in peace and enioy a free and quiet repose when wee are drawen from the violent waues of this world and that we enter into the Port of eternall securitie and safety when after the defacement of this present life we attaine to most glorious immortality For this is our repose our assured peace our firme and perdurable security and in this
is not his like in the worlde Tobias after so many religious workes and so high commendations of his charitable pitie became blind and yet for all this he feared and blessed God in his afflictiō and he was the more worthy of praise in withstāding his wiues temptation who would haue corrupted him saying Where are thy good deedes Tob. 2. Thou soundly feelest now the euils which thou endurest but hee being settled in the loue of God and armed with the reuerence of his name to support all affliction he yeelded not in furie to such an assault but honoured the Lorde the more by this his second patience so that afterwards this testimoniall was giuen him by Raphael saying It is an excellent thing to vnderstand and magnifie the workes of God for when thou and thy faire daughter Sarra prayed I presented the same before the face of the Lord. And when thou didst bury the dead with out delay rising euē frō the table for this purpose I was sent to proue thee and to heale thee and thy faire daughter Sarra for I am Raphael one of the holy Angels which assisteth and am cōuersant before Gods brightnes The righteous alwaies shewed themselues patient and the Apostles knew well the Lordes meaning herein that his seruaunts should not murmure in aduersitie but couragiously and patiently endure whatsoeuer fell to their share in this world There was no sinne that the Iewish people ran oftener into thā this of murmuring and impatience against God as he himselfe declareth whē he addeth Let them cease from despiting me and they shall not die Dearest brethren wee must not murmure in aduersity but patiently and constantly indure whatsoeuer may happen calling to minde what is writtē that an afflicted spirit is an acceptable sacrifice Psal 51. vnto God and that hee reiects not the humble and contrite hart The holy Ghost also speakes by the mouth of Moyses The Lord thy God shal afflict thee send thee famine to make thee looke into thine owne hart whether thou keepest his commaundements or no. Also Deut. 8.13 the Lord your God tempteth you to knowe whether you loue the Lord your God withall your heart and with all your soule Obserue how Abraham was acceptable vnto God when to obey him he made no account to lead his owne sonne to death and so was ready to be a paricide Thou which canst not loose thy sonne hee being subiect to death as others are what wouldest thou doe if God should sentence thee to put thy selfe to death Faith the feare of God should make thee ready to performe whatsoeuer his pleasure is Though thou losest thy goods though diseases vexe and torment thee on all sides though thy wife thy children thy friends be haled frō thee by death all this should not make thee to shrink although such blowes bee very heauie such trials ought not to quaile and daunt the faith of a Christian but rather stirre vp his force and courage to fight considering that the assurance of a future good should make vs contemne the annoyaunce of all present euils There can bee no Victorie before the battel fought if after the comming to hand-blowes the fielde bee left by either side then the victor obtains a glorious crowne A good Pilot is discouered in the storm and a good souldier in the conflict It is but ridiculous to braue and brag when blowes are far off to set vp the bristles against aduersitie is a certaine brand and marke of vertue The tree deep rooted in the earth is not shakē with the blustring of windes the ship that is well keeled and strongly ribbed may well bee tossed but neuer pearced by the waues when wee winnowe the corne in the open ayre the sounde graine feares not the winde which quickly blowes away the straws and chaffe Euen so the Apostle S. Paul after his shipwracks whippings long and durable afflictiōs of body protested that such trials hurt him not at all but rather did stand him in great stead so that in the full course of all these calamities hee profited the more in good An angel of Sathan 2. Cor. 12. said he the sting of my flesh was sent to buffer mee for feare that I might bee puffed vp for the which I thrice prayed vnto the Lord that it might bee remooued from mee and hee sayd Let my grace suffice thee for my vertue is perfected in infirmitie When as therefore some infirmitie weaknesse or other aduersity doth rage then our vertue is made more perfect If proued faith perseuer at last it is crowned according to that which is sayd that the furnace tries the potters vessels and temptatiōs righteous men For the rest they which knowe not God differ from vs in this point that they murmure and complaine in aduersity and contrariwise afflictions are so farre from distracting vs from pietie and Iustice that wee are rather fortified by them amidst griefes and sorrow it selfe If the bloody fluxe did weaken vs if heate make the infirmities of our mouthes more grieuous if our stomacke be sore with continuall vomiting if our eyes looke red like blood if any one lose his feete or other members when hee is constrained to cut them off because they are ready to fal away in pieces if by diuers lāguors maladies happening to the body the strength of the legs come to diminish the hearing be deafened or the sight dulled all this learnes vs to profit more and more in the grace of God What notable valour is this to enter couragiously into the field against so many plagues and euils Can any man obscure his excellencie that stands firme amidst so sundry resolutions without declining or falling to them that put not their trust in God Hee must vnfainedly reioyce and thinke the time well employed when in making trial of his faith and trauailing couragiously we march vnto heauē by the strait gate to receiue from Christ our Iudge the reward of our faith and of eternall life Let him feare death who hauing neuer beene regenerate with water and the spirit is ordained to hell fire He that hath no part in the crosse and death of Christ hee that enters by the first into the second death he that when he leaues this present life is tormented with perpetuall flames hee that onely stands through Gods patience whose sorrow and griefe is only differred and not forgotten Let such an one I say feare death Many of our brothers are dead of this plague which is to say many of them are deliuered out of the worlde As such a mortalitie is a plague to the Iewes Painimes who are Christs enemies so is it a comfortable departure to the seruants of God Though the iust die aswell as the vniust yet think not that good men die the like death as the wicked The children of God are taken into a place of ease repose but the reprobate are drawen to the punishment of eternal fire the beleeuers are presently taken
oftē hath the Lord vouchsafed to teach vs How often hath he cōmaunded mee to protest and preach incessantly before you al that you should not lament for your brethren whē it pleaseth God to call and to deliuer them out of this worlde seeing I knowe that they do not perish but precede and go before those that remaine behind and that we may be grieued or a little touched for them as for friendes that remooue to some other place or that embarke themselues to arriue in a good Port But wee must not lament nor weare mourning weeds for them here belowe on earth seeing they haue now put on white roabes in heauen We must not giue the Painims iust occasiō to tax reprehend vs when they shal see that throgh immoderate loue wee seem to iudge those perished forgottē whō otherwise we affirme to be liuing with GOD whē they perceiue that by euident testimoniall of our thoughts we cōdemne the faith wherof we make profession by mouth In this wise we should ouerthrowe our hope and beleefe that which we say would but proceed frō hypocrisie It is nothing to appeare couragious in wordes if we subuert the trueth by effects The Apostle S. 1. Thes 4. Paul condemnes sharply reprehends those that are too sorrowfull for the death of their kinsmen and friends Brethren said hee I would not that you should bee ignoraunt concerning those that sleep to the end you may not lamēt like those that haue no hope For if we beleeue that Iesus Christ died and was raised again in like manner they that sleepe in Iesus God will bring thē vnto him He sayes that they which are void of hope sorrow for the death of their friends But we that liue by hope which beleeue in God which are assured that Christ died and rose again for vs remaining in Christ rising againe in and by him why should we refuse to goe out of this worlde why do we mourn and lament for our friends which GOD takes to himselfe as if they perished Why giue we not eare to our Lorde and God Iesus Christ admonishing vs and saying Ioh. 11. I am the resurrectiō he that beleeues in me though he be dead shall liue and whosoeuer liues and beleeues in me shall neuer die If wee beleeue in Iesus Christ let vs giue eare vnto his sayings promises that in stead of dying eternally we may vndoubtedly and ioyfully come vnto our Sauiour with whom we shal liue and reigne for euer For this our temporall death it is but a passage vnto immortality and we cannot attaine to euerlasting life before we dislodge and remoue out of this world Death is not a going foorth but a passage and transportation out of the way of this life to eternall rest Who is he that doth not merrily go forward when there is any possibility of his honor profit Who refuseth to be trāsformed chāged into the image of Christ and quickly to come to the graces of God Our conuersation Phil 3. saith S. Paul is in heauen frō whence we look for the Lord Iesus Christ who shal chāge our vile bodies to the end they may be conformable to his glorious body Our Lord Iesus Christ promiseth that we shall be such when he intreated his father for vs that we might bee with him that wee might liue in his eternal mansion and that wee might reioice in his heauenly kingdome Father said he I desire that those whom thou hast giuen me may be where I must be and that they may see the glory which thou gauest mee before the world euer was He that is to go to the Court of Iesus Christ into the light of the kingdom of heauē should not weep and lament but rather according to the promise of the Lord and the certaintie of his word he should reioice at his departure and transportation To this end we read that Enoch was trāslated it so pleasing God and the holy Scripture affirming in Genesis Gen. 5. Enoch walked according to God and was no more seene for God tooke him vp See what it is to please God for it is to be taken frō the corruptions contagions of this world The holy Ghost also teacheth vs by the mouth of the wise man Eccle. 14. that those whom God loues he quickly deliuers out of this world for feare lest soiourning there too long they might be infected with the ordures thereof Wisd 4. The iust man saith he was takē away to the end that malice might not depraue his vnderstanding for his soule pleased God and therefore made haste to be remooued from out the midst of iniquity In the self same maner the faithfull deuout soule runs a great spirituall pase towards her God saying Psa 84. O God of armies my soule sighes makes haste towards Gods Courts For the rest it belongs to him that takes all his pleasure in the worlde that suffers himselfe to be caught with the bait of earthly delights and the flatteries of the flesh such an one I say it concernes to desire to tarrie long in the world But seeing the world hates the childrē of God why louest thou thine enemie why folowest thou not rather Iesus Christ thy Redeemer who so ardently loues thee Saint Iohn admonisheth vs very earnestly in his first Epistle saying Loue not the worlde 1. Ioh. 2. nor the things that are in the world If any man loue the worlde the loue of the Father is not in him For all that is in the world that is to say the concupiscence of the flesh the desire of the eyes the pride of life are not of the Father but of the world The world and the desires thereof passe away but hee that performes the will of God liues for euer euen as God himselfe is eternall Let vs therefore deare brethren attend patiently whatsoeuer God sends with a pure vnderstanding an assured faith and a constant resolution Let vs driue away far from vs the apprehension of death and bee mindfull of the immortality which is to succeed Shew we our selues such as our profession imports not to lament the death of our friēds but our hour being come let vs merrily and chearfully goe to the Lord when hee calles For seeing Gods seruants should bee alwayes prepared to this point they ought most of all to be so now considering how the world declines it being assieged with infinite euils that ouerwhelm it We haue seene and passed many dangers these are but slight euils in respect of those that are to come we may therfore thinke our gaine great in going out of the same so quickly If the wals of thine house shake with age if thy roofe totter if thy hole edifice not being able any longer to stand presage a neer fall and ruine wouldest thou not make more thā ordinary haste to bee gone If thou wert sayling in the main sea and that a furious storme swelling the waues
vs conclude that death in it self is not an euill thing for there is no death either for those in this world or those out of it For the liuing it is nothing to them because they liue and for the dead they are out of his clouches And so it is no euill or discommoditie to the liuing who haue nothing to do therwith nor to those which in respect of the bodie are insensible and in their soules freely deliuered from the same CAAP. 8. That it is not Death it selfe of which men are afraid the opinion and apprehensiō therof only terrifies IF death be redoubted of the liuing I say it is not death it selfe but the apprehension thereof as euery one applies the same to his owne affections or in respect of his conscience as it is touched therwith whose wounds we may well accuse and not the sharpnes of death For the rest death is the gate of repose to the righteous as on the contrary it is the shipwracke and ruine of the wicked Out of question it is not the passage of death that offendeth them that feare to die but it is the apprehension and horrible conceit of this passage that thus tormenteth them In briefe as I saide before death greeues vs not but the apprehension thereof Now this terrible apprehension is grounded vpon a precedent opinion of our infirmitie and contrarie to trueth for veritie encourageth opinion daunteth vs. I will further auerre opinion it selfe hath a reference to life and not to death and we shal find that it is life it self which we iudge grieuous wher upon it appeares that the apprehensiō which we haue of death must not be referred to death it selfe but to life for if we haue done nothing in our liues whereof to be afeard wee haue no iust cause to feare death for punishment deserued by reason of offences committed feareth those of true iudgemēt and to commit sinne is an action of the liuing and not of the dead Life therefore hath relation to vs and the vigor and propagatiō of the same is supposed to be in our power but death which is the separation of the soule frō the body doth preiudice vs nothing at all The soule is deliuered and the bodie returnes vnto dust from whence it came The deliuered part reioiceth the body which goes to the earth feeles nothing and consequently hath no apprehension therof But if death bee an euill thing how comes it to passe that young men feare not to growe old and flie not the neighbour age vnto death From whence proceeds it that one which foresees his owne death dieth more willingly than another whom death surpriseth of a sudden So that I suppose they are very well satisfied which tooke death to be an euill thing and it were but for this onely reason amongst many others that by life we passe to death and by death we return to life for none can rise again except he first die It is true that fooles feare death as the worst thing that can befall them but the wise desire it because it is the ease of their labours and the end of their trauels For that which otherwise may bee said there are two reasons why fooles feare death one is that they call it death annihilation which in deed cānot be cōsidering that the soule liues when the body is reduced to ashes besides the bodie it selfe also must rise againe Another is because they fear the torments punishments wherof Poeticall books make often mention that is to say the barkings of Cerberus the terrible profunditie of the riuer Cocytus the Ferri-man Caron the troups of Furies the Infernall depths wherein the monster Hydra remaines that deuoures all where wee may see Titius whose intrailes renew growe again after they haue been eaten by a great huge Vulture which neuer ceases to torment him In like manner Ixion who rowles incessantly the great stone with the huge rock hanging iust ouer their heads that make good cheare beeing ready to fall vpon them These be the Poets fables But so that wee must not denie but there is punishment after death And if wee referre that to death which happens after it let vs also referre vnto life that which fals out after life Punishment therefore must haue no relation vnto death the which as before was deliuered is but a separation of the soule from the bodie And this separation is not euill seeing that to be dissolued Phil. 1. and liue with Iesus Christ is the best thing of all others saith the Apostle It followeth then that death of it selfe is not euill True it is that the death of sinners is euill From whence I collect that therefore all death in generall is not bad but that only of sinners in particular for Psal 14. 116. the death of the righteous is precious the which once more declares that the euil lies not indeath but in sinne The Grecians expressed death by a word which imported to haue end because it is the end of this earthly life The Scripture also calleth death a sleep witnesse hereof that which IESVS CHRIST sayde Iohn 10. Our friende Lazarus sleepeth but I will goe and wake him Sleepe is a good thing for then wee take repose according vnto that which was written Psal 3. I slept tooke my rest awaked againe because the Lord receiued mee into his protection The sleep of death therfore is a sweete repose Furthermore the Lord awakes and raiseth vp them that sleepe for he is the resurrection Ther is also a notable sentēce in the Scripture which sayth Eccle. 2. Praise no man before his death for euery one is knowen at the end of his life and he is iudged in his children if he haue taught and instructed them in his owne knowledge for the childrens misgouernment is euer ascribed to the fathers negligence And because euery liuing man is subiect to offend old age it selfe not being exempted here-from we read that Abraham died in a good old age because hee continued still constant in the good affection which he had to serue God Death therfore serues for a restimonie to a precedent life For if the Pilot be not worthy of his commendation before he hath brought his ship secure into the Porte what reputation can we holde a man in before the houre of his death Hee is his owne Pilot amongst the stormes and waues of this life as long as here hee soiournes he is in danger to perish The Captaine receiueth not his triumphaunt Crowne before the victorie be wonne the Souldier layeth not aside his Armes nor hath his due recompense before the ouerthrowe of the enemie The conclusion is that death is the full and entire payment of the faithfull mans wages it is the summe of his rewarde and his finall Quietus est Let vs also consider what Iob sayth Iob 29. That the blessing of the dead came vpon him for though ISAAC blessed his children dying and
Did hee then prepare many habitations onely for eleuen persons Mat. 8. Why sayd he in another place that ther should come out of all quarters of the world those that should sit in the kingdome of God Do we doubt of the performance of his diuine will The will and deede of our Sauiour are all one Besides hee points out the way and deciphers the place saying You perceiue whither I go knowe the way The place is in heauen with the Father Christ is the way as he himselfe sayth I am the Way the Trueth and the Life Iohn 14. none can come to the Father but by mee Let vs therefore enter into this Way imbrace this Trueth follow this Life This is the Way which guides vs the Truth that confirmes vs and the Life is giuen vs. And to the end we might be resolued of his bountious and franke will he afterwards addeth Father my desire is that those whom thou hast giuen me may be there where I am with mee Iohn 17. to the ende they may see my glory O Lord IESVS we follow thee but call thou vs that wee may march the more chearfully for no man can aduance forward without thee thou being the Way the Trueth the Life the Possibilitie the Faith the Rewarde Receiue vs seeing thou art the Way confirme quicken vs seeing thou art the Trueth and the Life Manifest vnto vs that happinesse which Dauid desired to see whē hee should dwell in the house of the Lord. There is also treasure without sinne where eternal life is He saith in another place Psal 27. We shal be replenished with the riches of thy house Discouer therefore vnto vs O Lord Psal 63. this true happines which imparts vnto vs true life true being and sanctified motion We haue motion in the way and being in eternall life Cause vs to see that felicitie which is alwayes like to himselfe indissoluble immutable in whom wee are eternall in whome we knowe all good in whome there is entire and perfect rest immortall life perpetuall grace holy inheritance for the soule and a secure tranquillitie not beeing subiect vnto death but absolued and freed from the same without tears or lamentations For wherefore should any one there lament seeing no body there offendeth either God his neighbour or himselfe Briefly it is in this land of the liuing where the Saints are deliuered from all errour from care from ignorance from follie from pride from feares from perturbations couetous desires passions and lastly from all other cōtamination Seeing the land of the liuing is in heauē we must account this world the Region of the dead the which is most true seeing there are the shadow the body the gates of death Notwithstanding if the righteous man gouerne himselfe according to the will of God to doe the same he shall liue then come to the Region of the liuing where life is not confined but free where in stead of shadowe ther is glory S. Paul being in this worlde was not yet in glory hee mourned in this body of death and sayd that our life was layed vp with Christ in God Rom. 1. but when Christ our life should appeare we should also appeare with him in glory Let vs therefore chearefully aduance forwarde towardes the way Hee that enters into the true way Coloss 3. shall liue Wee haue testimony thereof Luk. 1. in the woman which touched but the hem of Christ his garment and she was deliuered from death as hee sayd vnto her Thy faith hath saued thee goe away in peace For if hee that touched a dead man was defiled he that toucheth the liuing shall certainely bee quickened Let vs therefore seeke after the Lord of life But so we must be carefull not to search after him amongst the dead lest it be said vnto vs as it was vnto the women Why seeke you him liuing amongst the dead hee is not here but risen vp The Lorde himselfe sheweth where it is that hee woulde haue vs seeke for him saying Go vnto my brethren and tell them I ascend vp to my Father and your Father to my God and your God Iohn 20. Let vs inquire for him where Iohn his disciple enquired for him and founde him out that is to say liuing with his Father from the beginning and being his eternall Sonne Wee must seeke him out in these last times imbracing his feete and worsnipping him that so he may vouchsafe to say vnto vs Fear not which importes thus much Feare not the sinnes of this age nor the worlds iniquities or the furious waues of carnall passions for I am the remission of sinnes feare not darknes I am the Light feare not death I am the Life Whosoeuer commeth to mee shal neuer see death As the plenitude and fulnesse of all Deitie is in him so to him be ascribed all honour glory and immortality for euer and euer Amen Certain places and sentences of the holy Scriptures concerning Life and Death The rule scope of our life SEek first the kingdome of God and the righteousnes therof then all things shall be administred vnto you Mat. 6.33 Al things which you would men should doe vnto you do vnto them againe for this is the Law and the Prophets Mat. 7.12 Luk. 6.37 Eternall life promised to those that obserue the commaundements of God OBserue my lawes and iudgements the which if a man keep he shall liue by them saith the Lorde Leuit. 18.5 Keepe my commandements and my lawe as the apple of thine eie and thou shalt liue Prou. 7.3 I haue giuen them my commaundements and shewed them my iudgements the which if a man performe he shall liue by them Ezech. 20.11 If thou wouldest enter into life keepe my commandements Mat. 19. Good Master what might I doe to obtaine eternall life Iesus aunswered thou knowest the commaundements doe that and thou shalt liue Mark 10.17 Luke 10.28 18.18 The Lawe is not of faith but the man that doth these things shall liue by the same Galat. 3.12 That we cannot fulfill the commaundements of God and consequently not obtaine eternall life by the Lawe but contrariwise we lose life by transgressing the Lawe WE knowing that a mā is not iustified by the works of the Lawe but by faith in Iesus Christ wee also beleeued in Iesus Christ to the ende that wee might be iustified by faith in Christ and not by the workes of the Lawe because no flesh shall be iustified by the workes of the Law Galat 2.16 All those that depend on the workes of the Lawe are vnder the curse for it is writtten Accursed bee hee that continues not in all those things which are written in the booke of the Lawe to performe them Galat. 3.10 Enter not into iudgement with thy seruant for no liuing man shall bee iustified in thy presence Psal 143. There is no man but hee sinneth 1. King 46. The children of God saye alwayes Forgiue vs
Lazarus died and was borne by the Angels into Abrahams bosome Iob 16.22 Verely verely I say vnto thee thou shalt be this day with mee in Paradise Lue. 23.43 They stoned Steuen who cryed out and sayd Lord Iesus receiue my spirit Acts. 7.59 Wee know whē the earthly habitation of this our body is destroyed wee haue a building in God which is to say an eternall māsion in heauen which is not made with handes 2. Cor. 5.1 I am enclosed on all sides my soule longing to remoue and be with Christ which would be farre better for mee Philip. 1.23 The Soule of man is immortall LEt dust returne to the earth frō whēce it was taken and let the soule mount vp vnto God who gaue it Eccles 12.7 Feare not those that kill the bodie and cannot kill the soule but feare him that can send both bodie and soule into hell fire Math. 10.28 I am the God of Abraham Isaac and Iacob God is not the God of the dead but of the liuing Math. 22.32 He that beleeueth in me though hee were dead yet shall hee liue Iohn 11.25 Testimonies of the Resurrection of the body I Knowe my Redemer liueth and that in the last day he will take me out of the earth and I shall bee clad againe with my skin and thou my flesh shalt see God Iob 19.25 26. Many of those that sleepe in the dust of the earth shall awake some to eternall life others to perpetual shame Daniel 12.2 As concerning the resurrection of the dead haue you not read what God said vnto you I am the God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Iacob He is not the God of the dead but of the liuing Matth. 23.31 32. The day commeth wherin all those that are in the graues shal heare the voice of the Sonne of God Iohn 5.28 Martha said vnto him I know that he shall rise again in the last day Ioh. 11.24 If we preach that Christ is raised from the dead how doe some amongst you say that there is no resurrectiō of the dead 1. Cor. 15.12 Looke ouer all that Chapter What shall come to passe after the resurrection of the body in the last day WHē this corruptible shall haue put on incorruption this mortall immortality then shal those words which are written bee fulfilled Death is swallowed vp in victorie 1. Cor. 15.54 They which are dead in Christ shall first rise and afterwardes those that liue and remaine shall bee taken vp together with them into the clowds before the Lord in the ayre so wee shall be alwayes with the Lord. 1. Thes 4.16 17. When the Sonne of man shall come in glory and all the holy Angels with him then shal he sit vpon his throne of glory And all the nations shall be assembled before him and he shall separate the one from the other as the sheepherd doeth distinguish the sheepe from the goates and hee will set the sheepe on his right hand and the goates on the left Then shall the heauenly king say vnto those on his right hand Come you blessed of my Father inherite that kingdome which was prepared for you before the beginning of the world To them then on the left hand hee will say Goe you accursed depart frō me into euerlasting fire which is prepared for the diuell and his angels And so they shall goe into eternall torments but the Iust shall be taken into eternall life Matth. 23.31 c. Prayers and Meditations concerning Life and Death Meditation 1. THE life of a Christian man should bee imployed in the consideration of those things which here-vnder ensue to put them in practise that is to say oftentimes to remember the benefits he hath receiued frō GOD to thanke him with his hart mouth incessantly for the same to loue him who is boūtie and goodnes it selfe to feare and worship him seeing he is almightie and wise and so by the loue which they beare vnto God to be also excited to the loue of their neighbors The loue of God withdraweth vs from the loue of corruptible things raiseth vs vp to heauen and enflames our hearts with holinesse of life The loue of our neighbour holds vs backe from all preiudice either in will or deede and excites vs to integritie and benificence Another LEt vs often think on that which we are The soule is our principall part which is endowed with vnderstanding reason and iudgement to knowe the chiefe good which is in God to loue adhere and be vnited vnto him to be partakers of his immortallitie and happinesse But wee contemne this Soueraigne good to grouell on the earth and to slampe into the ditch of carnall desires applying the vigor and force of our vnderstanding and iudgements to things which are not worthy of the paines wee take about them Wee burie our selues aliue if wee may so say of celestiall we become terrestriall and of men created for eternall life wee endeuour as much as in vs lieth to bee like to the brute beastes themselues And yet our most merciful and good God forsaketh vs not for all this notwithstāding that our ingratitude deserue as much but by his word in the meane while he graciously calleth vs and presenteth vs with infinite testimonies of his louing fauour dayly he continueth the fame hee supporteth vs hee exhorteth he counselleth aduiseth and fatherly chastiseth vs and yet for all this wee remaine blinde deafe and stupide contemning these graces either in not vsing them as we should or else in abusing of them And which is worse wee loue vaine and transitorie thinges better and are too intentiue and perseuerant in the same God reacheth forth his hand to conduct vs but we draw backe our owne and flie away when he calleth vs. If he bring vs into the way of saluation we mourne for the world wee looke behinde vs we deferre and procrastinate our desire of well doing We must therefore rouse vp our selues not remain still in the myre we must be fortified in his vertue and power who supports cōforts vs let vs a little attempt to despise corruptible things and to desire those truly good and eternall when God calleth vs we must hearken to him if hee bee our guide wee must followe him for to arriue in his house Let vs receiue his benefites and himselfe too for hee giues himselfe vnto vs in the person of his Son hee causeth vs to see the meanes how to come into heauen wee must therfore require of him that hee will vouchsafe to bestowe vpon vs wil and desire to come thither by faith repentance hope and charirie and to maintaine his gifts and graces in vs to the end that we may mourne in this mortall life attend in the assurance of his mercie for the ende of this world and our last day which shall bee the beginning of our true life A Meditation and a Prayer HOw great are the delusions and impostures of the enemie of
those which saile by sea were to be esteemed amongst those neither liuing nor dead For man being created to liue vpon the earth hee launches out into the waters minding at one instant to participate of two contrary elements and casts himself desperatly into the armes of Fortune Thou wilt peraduenture say that the labour and tillage of the earth is a pleasant thing I agree thereunto but with how many miseries is this contentment accompanied Doth it not bring foorth euery day some occasion of griefe and sorrow now rain by and by drought to day burning heat to morrow nipping frost and thus by times either vnseasonable scorchings or immoderate cold But not to insist vpon many other vocacations of life to how many perils is the gouernment of States subiect whereof many doe so highly esteeme The ioy and pleasure therein comprehended resembleth fitly an vlcer or violent beating of the pulse the being put beside the saddle in such offices makes the ambitious cold at heart procures them more discontentment than if they were to suffer a thousand deaths Can a man be happie while he liues at the discretion of the vulgar what reputation otherwise soeuer he be in or though euerie one reuerence him neuer so much seeing he is but the peoples puppit who may disgrade him hisse at him condemne him to penalty bring him to miserie and somtimes also puts him to death I demand of thee Axiocus because thou hast swayed this Scepter of Magistracie where died Miltiades Themistocles Ephialtes with other Princes and great Captaines which preceded them For my part I would neuer accept of their suffrages supposing it a thing very vnproper for mee to be an associate or head of so dangerous a beast as the common people but Theramines and Callixines together with their guarde sending Iudges the day after cōstituted vpon purpose condemned to death all those that any waies were their opposites without permitting thē any hearing As for thee Axiocus thou with Triptolemus vpheldest equitie although in the assembly there were thirty thousand of a cōtrary opinion which gaue negatiue voyces Axi You say but truth Socrates and since that time I haue had enough of such conuentions nothing seems vnto me more harsh and vnfauorie than the management of publike affairs They that euer had to do therein can wel auerre so much as for your selfe you speake but afarre off and as one iudging by the blowes which haue light vpon others But wee that haue played our part therein may speake by better proofes In very trueth my friend Socrates the people are verie ingrate cumbersome cruell enuious euill taught compounded of the very dregs of men and of those that are insolent and great mockers I iudge him to be most miserable that wil bee too familiar with such a beast Soc. Why then Axiocus seeing you detest the fairest imployment of all others what may we say of the rest must wee not shun them But for the remainder I haue heard this Prodicus adding to the other discourses this also ensuing that death concerned not either the liuing or the dead Axio What 's this you affirme Socrates Socr. Why because Death is no wayes hurtfull to those that are liuing and for the dead they are out of his iurisdiction And therfore now it does not endammage you because yet you liue and when you shal not be aliue he can haue no power ouer you because then you are past his stroake any more It is therefore but a vaine sorrowe for Axiocus to lament that which neither doth nor shal hereafter concerne him no otherwise than as it would be a notable folly to be afeard of monsters which thou seest not which presently haue no existence and that after thy death haue no beeing That which is redoubtfull therein is hideous onely to those that forge feares to thēselues For is there any thing that can bring terror to the dead Axioc You haue stollen these wise perswasions from the Orators that at this day beare all the sway for they are the men that make these pleasant relations to sooth and humor yong men but I for my part am exceeding loth to leaue these worldly goods whatsoeuer you are able to alleage vnto me in your conference of pleasing apparance my mind findes no perfect contentmēt in this smooth course of words which doe but a little delight and tickle in their vtterance They beare a good shew with them but they are too remote from truth and our cogitations are not fedde with fantasies but with things firme and solide that are able inwardly to pearce settle themselues Soc. But Axiocus you inconsideratlie couple together those things which should not be cōioined in making vs beleeue that to feele euill and be depriued of good are the selfe same things for the suffering of euill brings griefe vnto him that loseth a good Now you forget that being dead you are no more and he that is not cannot perceiue this priuation how can he therefore be greeued at a thing whereof hee shall haue no apprehension If at the first you had resolued with mee that in death our bodies are depriued of sense you would neuer haue been so fond as to feare death Now you contradict your selfe in fearing to bee depriued of your soule ioyning this soule to your imagined losse For in fearing to lose your sense you suppose by the same sense to comprehend an euill which you build vnto your self in the aire and that you are afraid to feele Besides this aboue alleaged there are many excellent arguments to prooue the immortalitie of the soule For a mortall nature would neuer haue vndertaken such great matters as to contemne the violence of cruell beasts to crosse the Seas to build cities to establish publike gouernments to contemplate the heauens to obserue the course of the starres of the Sunne and of the Moone their Eclipses and sudden restitutions the rising and falling of the Pleiades the Equinoctials the Solstice of Winter and Summer the windes violent raines with flashings lightnings and thunder She would not haue comprehended in writing nor consecrated to eternity those things that fal out in the world were she not accompanied with some diuine Spirit to haue the intelligence and knowledge of such high and mysticall matters And therefore Axiocus thou must passe vnto an immortall life and not to death thou shalt not be stripped of all but enioy true goods thou shalt haue pleasures no waie intermingled with this mortall body but absolutely pure and indefectiue and such as most truely deserue to be called pleasures For thou being loosed out of this prison and become truely free thou shalt goe vnto a place where there is no trauel nor lamentation from whence sorrow and old age are banished thy life shall bee exempted from all euill replenished with secure repose and eternal ioyes Thou shalt there behold the nature of al things conferring no more thy mindes trauell to their affections