THE LIFE AND DEATH OF Monsieur Claude The famous Minister of CHARENTON in FRANCE Done out of French by G. P. Imprimatur Sept. 13th 1687. Guil. Needham LONDON Printed for Thomas Dring at the corner of Chancery-Lane in Fleetstreet 1688. THE PREFACE A DISCOURSE OF DEATH IT is no little advantage we receive from our Religion that it is so mightily effectual to free us from all troublesome and disquieting thoughts and to produce in us a settledness and firmness of mind not apt to be easily shaken or moved nay it inspirits men with courage and an ingenuous confidence raising us above those fears and cares that follow false Opinions and like Ghosts are wont to torment otâ—…serable This is a great kindness that the Faith of Christ doth to those wâ—â—…eâ— live according to it that it puts them into such a state that they need fear nothing but displeasing or offending God especially our Christianity is the most proper remedy against the unreasonable fear of death for that must necessarily distract the mind and interrupt its peace by continual vexation and perplexity in all those who are under the power of it and therefore most fitly call'd by the Apostle here a state of Bondage And deliver them who through fear of death were all their life time subject to Bondage I shall not dispute here whether by death is meant onely that which is temporal or that which is eternal since it is the apprehension or fear of eternal death chiefly that makes the other so tirrible and affrighting It would be an easie thing to conquer the fear of death one might soon be able to think of it with the greatest indifference and unconcernedness if we could but once thoroughly persuade our selves that it would put an utter end to us It is the Judgement to come the never dying worm the everlasting flames and immortality that are to follow that make men so loth to think of dying so unwilling to hear of it so surprised at any sign or symptome of it Were there no other state after this the generality of men would be so far from fearing death that they would fly to it as the onely certain cure for the evils of this life any little disease pain and burthen that they could not easily get rid of they would seek a remedy for in death Were there not I say in all men a natural dread of the ill Consequences of death I cannot but imagine that mens own hands would send more daily to the cold Grave than all the diseases and casualties that our bodies are liable to and it would be so far from an instance of courage and bravery to despise death that the greatest Cowards would most desire it and soonest fly to it But let them doe what they can they cannot wholly free their minds at least from all suspicion of another world and that makes them most commonly so fearfull of dying So that it comes to the same whether by death be meant here of the body onely or a future state for that which makes us fear death is because it leads us into another life Therefore I shall now explain to you I. How men by the fear of death are subjected to Bondage II. Inquire what this fear of Death is that Christ delivers us from III. How Religion doth free us from it I. How men by the fear of death are subjected to Bondage For this is the natural effect of any fear whatsoever that it makes men slaves it cowardizes them and renders them mean and abject particularly the fear of death so enslaves those that are possessed of it that they can neither think freely nor act freely and so consequently can neither be truely good nor really happy in this life This fear doth hinder men from thinking freely And therefore we read of those that have commanded that none should name this word death in their hearing Such persons who are afraid to die dare not give themselves free liberty to exercise their minds and are fain to take all occasions of diverting themselves and find any entertainment rather than be put in mind of their continual danger They use all arts to stifle and smother such thoughts as soon as they rise Their hearts are ready to sink within them when they hear of any dismal calamity that hath happen'd unto a Neighbour or Friend lest the same should betide them and their own turn shortly come And this is generally true that he can neither fully enjoy himself nor take pleasure in himself who hath not mastered this fear of death It hinders men from acting freely He is a slave to every man that hath power enough to doe him a mischief who is afraid of death Whatever Religion or Profession he is now of you may soon threaten or scare him out of it and make him whatever you please Such a one cannot promise to-himself that he shall continue one day longer in that mind that faith that he now holds There is no sin so vile or heinous but what he may be brought to commit Put but his life in danger fright him thoroughly and he will renounce all the Articles of his Creed and break all the Commandments his Religion lays upon him for every one that doth but wear a sword And is not this a truely slavish condition when we can neither command our own thoughts nor be master of our own actions And this is certainly the case of all those that do not love God better than their lives or that fear death more than sin Such a one can neither be good nor happy not good longer than while he finds it safe and free from all danger and how can he be happy who stands in such a continual dread that a thousand accidents may this hour happen to him and that death must certainly befall him and that it is onely God's infinite patience that it doth not presently And without any more words I know you will all grant this a miserable state But now I do not say this is the effect of all kind of fear of death I must therefore more particularly shew what kind of fear it is that makes men so unhappy Most men have great reason to be afraid of dying as much as a guilty Prisoner hath to be afraid of coming to his Tryal and brought to his Sentence The more some men fear death the more troublesome thoughts and apprehensions it occasions in them the more capable are they to be wrought upon by it Nay indeed it is impossible for a guilty person not to fear death although perhaps sometimes out of a brave indifferency in the heat of bloud and passion he may despise it valiantly rush into the midst of danger and with a bold and daring spirit voluntarily expose himself to it out of a sense of pretended honour and gallantry yet let him think coolly and soberly of such a thing let him consider of it with himself and the consequences thereof and I am sure
this fear is more or less according to mens tempers Some are much more timorous than others To some the circumstances that attend death are much more terrible than death it self Some fear diseases and pain more than death Some are loth to die for fear of their Posterity Friends Relations to whom they are usefull and for whom they are mightily concerned Some are unwilling to go out of the world because they are in a capacity of doing more good in it which was the case of St. Paul. On the other hand some are willing to die onely through weariness of life out of peevishness discontent and impatience because they are dissatisfied with their present condition or cannot bear those afflictions which God's Providence hath exercised them withall which cannot be reckoned any vertue unless in them who in their sober minds and thoughts can willingly submit to death whenever it pleases God to call them to it And yet such upon a sudden fright or surprise when their lives are unawares brought into danger may not be able to conquer their fear but may shew a great disquiet They may earnestly desire to tarry a little longer that they may be yet fitter for death that they may search and try themselves yet more exactly and curiously that they may be farther satisfied with the sincerity and honesty of their hearts and intentions Many more instances I might give But now that which our Saviour frees us from is a troublesome tormenting fear of death which thing alone disturbs us and fills us with confusion and perplexity of spirit when ever we chance to think of it As when we are unreasonably jealous and suspicious of what Trials God's ordinary Providence may put us upon when we are unmeasurably solicitous about the preserving our health or securing our selves from danger when we are concern'd as if we had no hope and are as unwilling to submit to the stroke of death as a sullen Malefactour is to go to execution Now such a fear of death is worse than death it self I now proceed to shew how Religion does free men from this troublesome and anxious fear of death And the 1. Means our Religion affords us to deliver us from this fear is the consideration of God's wise and gratious Providence over us Not an hair of our heads shall fall to the ground without his leave Our lives are in his hands who hitherto hath taken care of us and whatever he calls us to is with the highest reason and the most excellent ends and can we wish any thing better to our selves than this would be to be under the protection of the Almighty Would we live longer than infinite Wisedom sees fit for us Can we doubt of his care who is goodness it self Would we have the disposal of our own selves Alas how soon should we repent us of our choice and run into all the several casualties and dismal dangers that can fall upon us If we had nothing to depend on or trust unto but our own counsels prudence or carefulness we might then have just reason to distrust every man and to expect death in every place we could not be too scrupulous or solicitous Could I in the least doubt of God's Providence over us then indeed I should neither eat nor sleep safely nor live one day in quiet I should not be able to doe any thing without anxiety and disturbance if I once could persuade my self that all the effects that happen were wholly casual and not governed by an infinite understanding that superintends all affairs and disposes of them as he sees good Nor is there any thing that can well settle mens minds in the midst of so many secret and open dangers as we are every minute liable unto in any tolerable patience rest quiet and assurance but this one consideration that nothing can befall us without the leave and ordering of the best and wisest of Beings Indeed the Turkish opinion of Fate which hath strangely prevail'd among Christians ought in reason to satisfie them against the greatest dangers that the number of the days of every man living is so determin'd by an unalterable decree that it is impossible he should die before or out live the time appointed him by God before all the world This made the Followers of Mahomet who so studiously taught this Doctrine to despise death and danger not to fear it when they were in the extremest hazard of it freely to visit their Neighbours when sick of the Plague which we dare not do to one another in any ordinary disease or to run upon their Enemies swords or Cannons For what can be strange with those that are neither concern'd to prolong their lives nor to avoid death But this is no part of the Christian Faith. We are told indeed the days of our years are Threescore years and Ten and if by reason of strength they be Fourscore years yet is their strength labour and sorrow for it is soon cut off and we fly away Behold saith David Thou hast made my days as an hands breadth And Job tells us a man's days are determined the number of his months are with God he hath appointed his bounds that he cannot pass and in another place that all men have their appointed time All which signifies no more than this that God in the general hath set bounds to a man's life beyond which he will not ordinarily extend it he hath set the term of our lives beyond which we shall not ordinarily extend them which is about Threescore and Ten years notwithstanding which some die much sooner and some few live longer But the Scripture no where teacheth us that the length of a man's life is so fixed by God that he shall not die before such a time nor live at all beyond it Nay the contrary is plainly intimated to us In all those places of Scripture where long life is promised for the reward of obedience in any particular duty which must imply if it signifie any thing that we shall live longer than otherwise we should have done Thus Honour thy Father and thy Mother that thy days may be long upon the Land which the Lord thy God giveth thee Now this promise can never reasonably oblige any man to the performance of duty to his Parents if it be absolutely determined how long he shall live Thus in the 23. Exod. And ye shall serve the Lord your God and he shall bless thy bread and thy water and take away sickness from thee the number of thy days will he fulfill Not that he promiseth that if they were obedient to his Laws they should live out the full age of men and that he would preserve them from sickness and distempers No for this were to no purpose and they could expect no otherwise if they harkened not unto or disobeyed God's words So farther in the 4. Deut. God promises not any should live out their days but that they should live longer than otherwise
they should Thou shalt keep therefore his Statutes and his Commandments which I command thee this day that it may go well with thee and with thy Children after thee and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth which the Lord thy God giveth thee for ever To wicked men God often threatens sudden and untimely death that they should die sooner than otherwise they should have done The fear of the Lord prolongeth or as we have it in the Margin addeth days but the years of the wicked shall be shortned That is they shall not live so long as otherwise they might have done Thus many men shall not live out half their days not half the ordinary time of a man's life Most observable is the instance of King Hezekiah in the 38. Isa to whom the Prophet positively declares Thus saith the Lord set thine house in order for thou shalt die and not live and yet upon his humble Prayer Fifteen years more were added unto his days which otherwise he should not have had From which it plainly appears that by sin and disobedience men may shorten their days and cut off from their lives and by Piety and Vertue men may procure to themselves a longer life and encrease of days Now the length or shortness of our lives depends often upon our own voluntary actions upon our pleasing or displeasing God which cannot agree with that Doctrine of Fate I before mentioned Nor do we need any such opinion against the fear of death because we allow that our life depends upon God's good will and pleasure that no instruments of death no ill practices can prevail against us without his appointment And this is a sufficient foundation of assurance and confidence notwithstanding the frailty and uncertainty of our condition here that the Watchman of Israel neither slumbereth nor sleepeth that his eye is always upon us for Good that we shall live as long and as well as is really best for us and then who would not be willing to die But Another means our Religion affords us to free us from the fear of death is a deadness to this present world and all the trifling pleasures of it For it is an over fond love and doating upon the things of this world and sensual enjoyments that makes persons so unwilling to die The more our appetites and desires are mortified and subdued the readier we shall be to bid an eternal farewell to all these things below It is no wonder that those who know no other happiness but what is to be found in these lower Regions are loth to be torn from their dear possessions and to venture into a strange Countrey which they have so little knowledge of But by this contempt of the world which our Religion teaches us we forsake it in the love of it even whilst we are living and so our business is better than half done before hand and we are freed from those worldly cloggs and encumbrances that too often hang on our vertue and most raised affections Farther the Consideration of Christ's conquering death for us gives a mighty encouragement against the inordinate fear of death For our blessed Saviour hath tasted death for every man and hath taken away its sting hath quell'd its force and overcome its power insomuch that he is said to have abolished it He hath made a way through death and the grave to his Father's Glory and shall we be afraid like Saint Peter to profess and fellow him wheresoever he goes Our Prince and Redeemer hath voluntarily passed through it and shall it grieve us to follow his steps and to come to him through that passage by which he himself entred into his Kingdom Lastly The hope of salvation is another great means that our Christianity administers to us against this base fear of dying I have read it is an ordinary saying among the Turks that if Christians had a right opinion concerning Heaven they could not be so afraid of death which is the onely way to life And it was reasonably asked by the Philosopher of him that promised that all that were of his Sect should be immediately happy as soon as they were dead why then he did not presently die Do we really believe a future Glory and are we afraid to enter into our Master's joy What are we Christians and yet would we live always here Have we already attain'd all the happiness which we aspire after Can we be contented to know no more of God to enjoy no more of his Glory and to love him no more than we can doe in this imperfect State Are we unwilling to receive that reward which we daily pray for Thou knowest not what thou art capable of what perfection what happiness thy soul shall enjoy freed from this troublesome Tabernacle this luggage of flesh and art thou afraid of being translated into the celestial Kingdom One glimpse of that Glory which our Saviour hath promised to us would make as all long to be with Christ No wonder Saint Paul was so ready to die when he had before hand been rapt up into the third Heaven and had seen and heard things not utterable Did we live in the hopes of the future happiness we shall enjoy we should not value any of the pleasures here below nor fear to undergo any thing that stood in his way between us and those blessed Mansions of happy Souls where dwelleth God and perpetual peace and satisfaction free from all care and disturbance from all fear and anxiety from all pain and danger where onely is to be found perfect contentment eternal joy and immortal happiness If Christians perfectly knew the felicity of the other life they would be impatient of the present they would be hardly able to brook or endure living or any thing that detain'd them from such unspeakable enjoyments Wo unto us therefore that yet dwell in Meshech and are forced to abide in the Tents of Kedar Blessed yea thrice blessed are are all those that have passed this miserable world and are received into the heavenly Mansions for one day there is better than a thousand elsewhere One thing have I desired of the Lord and that will I still seek after that I may live for ever with him and behold his Glory When shall we arrive at that eternal and celestial happiness where we shall have no more of these storms and dangers When shall we pass all fears and cares and grief and troublesome passions Even so saith the Church all true Christians and sincere Believers come Lord Jesus come quickly and deliver us from these crazy bodies and put on us that house that is eternal and in the heavens Is it so pleasant to us to wander to and fro in this wilderness and be tossed up and down upon these troublesome waves And can it be grievous to us to think of arriving at our journey's end How soon would all the grief and pain and uneasiness that accompanies sickness and the very
he will be very misgiving and suspicious and struggle mightily with himself at the thoughts of it I speak not to lessen the fears of those who live in any known sin if God be true they have great reason to be afraid Now here it may be asked supposing a man brought into extreme danger of his life for the sake of his Religion in a time of Persecution one that hath long professed the true Religion but hath lived very unanswerably to it and is guilty of many grievous crimes unrepented of which he is accused by his own conscience for of a sudden he is commanded to renounce his Faith which in his mind he is verily persuaded is true and to turn to Idolatry and to deny and blaspheme his Saviour or else immediately to suffer death what must such a one doe now in this cases If he complies with the command he sins grievously against the light of his mind and his own conscience and yet by such a complyance he gains time of repentance to make his peace with God and to beg his pardon for his crime and also for all his other sins which he hath so long lived in If he chuses death it is that which he is wholly unprepar'd for he is utterly unfit to appear before God and he can expect nothing but to suffer God's vengeance for the sins of an ill-spent life Now what is to be done in such sad circumstances as these It is a case that may happen and therefore to resolve the doubt I shall propound briefly these things to you viz. 1. In point of duty what this man is bound to doe This is most certain that no sin ought to be committed upon any consideration whatever Their damnation is just saith the Apostle that doe evil that good may come Rom. 3. 8. It is in no case either justifiable or prudent to save our lives by any sin It is every one's duty nay it is best even for the greatest of sinners to loose his life a thousand times rather than to deny God or his Truth And as for gaining time for repentance it is to be considered that when we are in such a strait as that we cannot live any longer without sinning directly and grievously against our consciences it is God's will that we should then die the time of our repentance is now over and God by this Providence doth call us out of the world Now when we will not submit to this call but will not stick to doe the greatest villany how can we expect that God should bestow any farther grace upon us or that his Spirit after such an Apostasie should strive any longer with us Commonly the effect of such things is a judicial hardness to be given up to a perverse mind and a reprobate state After any one hath in so gross a manner violated his Conscience there is very little hope that ever he should be again renewed in the spirit of his mind For persons to have obeyed the truth and yet in time of persecution fall away and for fear of death renounce it the ancient Church that is to say a great part would never again receive them into their Communion till their death and a great division there was among them concerning the restoring those that had once lapsed into Idolatry What then shall we say to those who after a wicked life add to their other sins that of Hypocrisie They may for a while lengthen out their wretched lives but it is to be fear'd that they have shut themselves out from all hopes of the means of Grace It is a very improper and unlikely way in order to attain the pardon of past sins to commit the greatest we can be guilty of to renounce our Saviour 2. In such a case therefore the Sinner is bound to adore the justice of God's Judgment that by his own gross neglect and carelesness he is brought into such misery for that he ought to have been always prepared for such a time Yet however though he hath highly provoked God and displeased him to the utmost yet he will not deny or blaspheme his name he will not renounce his Saviour nor disown his profession he will leave himself to God's infinite mercy and will die rather than offend him and such a resolute resignation of himself such a generous and noble profession of his Faith how far it may be acceptable with God and prevail with him is unknown In such extraordinary instances God may use extraordinary means in reference to us and may dispence even with the Rules he hath laid down in the Scripture Indeed I cannot prove or produce any promise for it but the example of the Thief on the Cross who for an extraordinary instance of Faith and Charity obtain'd more than common grace I think and favour And considering the infinite goodness of God's nature I should have far more hopes of such a person that after a wicked life ends his daies bravely and couragiously rather than against his Judgement and Conscience than of a profane covetous worldly unclean Professor who bewails his sins on a sick-bed while he is wrestling with a wasting disease and hopes by his prayers and good wishes and pious resolutions to obtain his pardon And this was the sense of the Primitive Church that an Heathen being converted to Christianity and suffering for it among other Christians before he could make a publick Profession of it or be baptized into it that he should inherit the reward of Christians this baptism in his own bloud supplying all other defects and expiating all former sins I say it was the common Opinion of the ancient Fathers they thought his death carried with it the remission of all past sins I shall not take upon me to determine this but thus much I think may be said in the case proposed that to die for his Religion is the best means such a person can use to obtain his pardon and does express his repentance to be sure far better than adding the sin of Apostasie to all his others But to make sure the best way is to hasten our repentance and to reform presently before the floods come and the winds blow and the storms rise by a new life to arm our selves against all the powers and rage of men and then though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death yet we need fear no evil This therefore is as I told you a great reason to fear death For death being in truth the greatest of all natural evils that can befall us there is in all men a natural fear of it which cannot be wholly rooted out by Religion nor is it necessary that it should be If death had not been a natural evil it had never been threatned nor inflicted on mankind as a punishment for sin There is in all men a natural dread of it and we hardly count them worthy the name of men that are not affected with a due sense of it And
exercised their Ministery and this little Flock glorying in those two great Names imagin'd that for the keeping up its Fame it could not doe better than to pitch upon Monsieur Claude In Sciences as in War great Men are not accomplish'd in a day herein Art as well as Nature requires Time and Industry Monsieur Claude studies hard at Saint Afrique though his Sermons took him up less time than his other Studies he preaching with great facility he had a Wit that easily conceived things a Judgment that did not fail of disposing each Piece in its due place an Expression so fluent so easie so just and so masculine that People had much adoe to distinguish what he said with meditation from what he had written The Church of Castres famous for the honour it had of possessing in its bosome the Officers of the Chamber of the Edict of Nantes and a vast number of other persons of Quality and Learning intreated Monsieur Claude in his passing that way to give them a Sermon He preach'd there one Sunday and fill'd his whole Auditory with Admiration so far as to give occasion to a very singular Declamation which a very able Man made in favour of him and which the publick will possibly be glad to be informed of since it redounds to his Honour A numerous Company were discoursing of Monsieur Claude's Sermon Ladies there were that spake their opinions those of the best sense were extremely well satisfied with it others of the order of those that a little too much mind the Preacher's voice face and actions durst not so openly pass their Verdicts and staid first to know a worthy person's Judgment then present I am persuaded they did not expect so smart an answer when they heard him say that he could wish with all his heart he had but one Eye like that Minister provided he was capable of preaching as well as he There needed no more to persuade them that he had preached very well since this Gentleman who was a person extremely handsome valued that Sermon at so high a rate This Sermon made a strong impression upon Peoples minds so far that the Officers of the Chamber of the Edict wanting a Minister several of them cast their Eyes upon Monsieur Claude but there were motives also that brought another into the election the Lot was cast upon these two Pastours and Providence that had destin'd Monsieur Claude for something greater depriv'd the Church of Castres of the Comfort it would have received from his Ministery But if the Church of Castres had not the honour of having Monsieur Claude for its Minister it had the pleasure of seeing that he came to chuse a Wife in its bosom and that it thereby acquired a kind of right over this great man. He there married Mademoiselle Elizabeth de Malecare on the eighth of November 1648. the bare choice of a man of that merit speaks in favour of her that was to be his Wife she came of a very good Family her Father was Advocate in Parliament she made good her Birth and the Declaration which Monsieur Claude made in her behalf which will be seen in this History justifies the esteem and affection he had for her till death Monsieur Claude serv'd the Church of Saint Afrique for the space of eight years being belov'd by his Flock known and desir'd by several Churches esteem'd and honour'd in the Synod of upper Languedoc whereat he was annually present but amidst all these Blessings he consider'd as the most pretious the Birth of a Son which God gave him according to his Heart on Wednesday the fifth of March 1653. and who was nam'd Isaac Claude it so fell out at this time that the Church of Nismes which was one of the best Churches in France sought within and without the Provinces for a man that could bear the weight of that burthen a Minister in short that was proper for Preaching for Disputation and the Conduct of a great Flock Monsieur Claude's reputation being spread far and near made them quickly determine upon the choice they were to make they sent as Deputies to him Gentlemen of the greatest Eminence that they might not miss their aim these Gentlemen discourst him made him most obliging Offers and accomplish'd their Design for he was appointed Minister for their Church by the Synod of upper Languedoc The Service of this Church was very painfull the Preaching there every day the Sick taking up a great deal of the Minister's time Ecclesiastical matters requiring no less application Monsieur Claude was not startled at this new task he found time sufficient to accomplish all his duties the beauty of his Genius and his Industry provided for all the occasions of his Flock How much soever busied in the common Functions of his Office he found leisure to begin a Work which he would have finish'd but for a Disappointment that broke his measures He was refuting the method of Cardinal de Richelieu when he heard that the Synod of lower Guienne had given that emploiment to Monsieur Martel Professour of Divinity he would not stand Candidate with his Brother in the Gospel and the deference he had for the Company whence he held his Commission caused him to lay his Pen aside As Monsieur Claude was born for a Chair of Divinity and that his Wit naturally turn'd that way there was always in Nismes a considerable number of Students in Divinity so far advanced as to be admitted to make Probationary Sermons to whom he read Lectures of Divinity his way of Teaching was so neat the matters he explain'd seem'd so well meditated and so happily fitted to the use of the Pulpit and to the understanding of Holy Writ insomuch that he caused them to make no less progress in the knowleged of Divinity than in the best Academies hence came that great concourse of Divinity Students nay and there has been seen to come from this kind of Private School Disciples of merit that made good the Pains of the Master that instructed them Monsieur Claude's Ministery did too much fructifie in Nismes in the opinions of the Roman Catholicks the rumour of his Reputation daily augmenting was an importunate sound that wounded their ears a certain presage that he would not be long at quiet And indeed he was snatch'd from that Church by one of those extraordinary ways which People of his Character and singular worth do daily experience his knowledge his steadiness his zeal created a jealousie in a man whose sentiments were not so upright as his Monsieur Claude knew that he espous'd the project of our ruine under the specious veil of an accommodation of Religion he openly opposed this design he was the Moderatour of a Synod of lower Languedoc there did he break his measures and in that Province dismounted the machine of re-union which the Court has abandon'd in these latter days as being of too slow a movement and that it can more easily effect those ends by