Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A13154
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Meditations of man's mortalitie. Or, A way to true blessednesse. Written, by Mrs. Alice Sutcliffe wife of Iohn Sutcliffe Esquire, groome of his Maiesties most honourable privie chamber
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Sutcliffe, Alice.
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1634
(1634)
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STC 23447; ESTC S117939
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40,619
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246
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come forceth from him those teares Can he expect Death Enemie to be Who by his Present hath his force alayd He sent before good workes much Charity Blessings of Orphants which for him have pray'd His sighs and teares appeased hath his King And this supposed Foe glad newes doth bring Death is our guide vnto Eternall blisse Portall of Heaven by which we enter must The Ladder reaching a true happinesse Which bringeth man to live amongst the Iust By him we come Gods glorious face to see From which by life deprin'd we still shall bee Our flesh a prison is vnto our soule Which doth deprive it of that heavenly light With spirituall groanes sighs it doth condole Till it attaine vnto that wished sight Death is the key vnlocks our misery Looseth our bonds and gives vs liberty Death's fangs are par'd his bitter potions sweet His edge abaited all his hurt is done A godly man most kindly he doth meete And of a Foe he is a Friend become His strooke is like the striking of a veine By which small smart sick men theyr health doe gaine Death is the ending of our dayes not life For having clos'd these eyes we wake to live Death having finisht once this mortall strife Our Faith in CHRIST new life to vs doth give Our Night is past our Day star doth appeare Our Cloud is vanish'd and our Morne shines cleare Now ends all sorrowes now all griefes are done Sinne takes his leave and weaknesse hath his end And now behold our Iubilee is come The Haruest of our labors we attend Death's potion onely bitter is in show The taste once past no operation so Mans Glasse once run his flower of Life once dead That vapor vanish'd and that span once grasp'd His breath once failing all his body's Lead In sencelesse coldnesse all his parts are clasp'd He came from earth earth house-roome now him gives His spirit from God with God for ever lives The carnall wicked worldly minded men Who in this life their whole content have plac'd Doth tremble when Death mention'd is to them Because by him all Ioyes from them are chased Their ease and pleasures changed quite will be All mirth is dash'd by present miserie The sight of him vnto their mindes doe bring Remembrance of their sinnes they slightly past The which with woe their soules doe sorely sting For that they see the count call'd on at last Which sure on earth a hell may deemed be When without mercy man his sinnes deth see Those men which onely to delights are given At the approach of death doth feare and quake What earth afforded they accounted heaven And now perforce they must those ioyes forsake Gods blessings they most vildly have abus'd And proffered time of Grace they have refus'd And now those words which ABRAHAM did say To DIVES when for water he did call He findes too true whose smarts without alay His Sorrowes farre more better are then gall His good things onely were upon this Earth But life and them are parted quite by death Terrors and feares must needs their soules affright When guilty Conscience showes Gods angry eye O how they tremble to approach that sight To whom their sinne will out for vengeance cry He who on earth to grieve they did not feare Will give a sentence which their Soules will teare O how mans sinnes that mild aspect doth change He which for man did bleed doth man condemne If by their sinnes from the right path they range Wanting their guide dangers approacheth them The Woolfe once seazing 't is in vaine to flye Theyr Shepheard heares not bootlesse 't is to cry Alas who would this world as ought esteeme If truely he consider every thing Those pleasures which to man most happy seeme Doth soonest fade and gone they leave a sting Man vpon Earth no sure abiding hath Then feare betime before thou feele Gods wrath BELSHAZAR when hee was carrousing set Amongst his Princes in his royall Throne A writing turnes those faire delights to Iet A hand then shew'd makes bone incounter bone He fearefull sits whilst thus it doth indite Thou' rt weigh'd in ballance and art found too light Mans life 's a sceane and tragic ke wo's succeed A Comet alwayes future harmes foretell The happiest life by death is made to bleed If vnprepar'd he dye he goes to hell The gate is shut and they must take their lot For 't will be answered loe I know you not Vnto a thorney field and barren land How fitly may mans life compared be What cares what feares what griefes are still at hand And for one Ioy ten discontents we see We alwayes walke as on a bridge of glasse And oft it crakes as ouer it we passe Still barren is this world of true content Fruitfull enough in procreating wees Thorny afflictions towards vs are bent But certaine Ioyes still backwards from vs goes Who thinkes to catch them doth a shadow chase And like IXION doth a cloud embrace Then why should man thus waste his precious time And triflingly let slip his golden dayes O! turne to God whilst thou art in thy prime And put not off repentance with delayes For when death comes it then will be too late By teares or vowes for to prorogue thy state Boast not of youth or honours wealth or strength Who trusts to them vpon a reede doth leane The which be sure deceiue thee will at length Then strive from these vaine thy selfe to weane And fill thy Lampe with oyle thoughts whil'st thou hast space Least afterward too late thou call for grace Breake off thy sinnes by true repentant teares And turne to God whilst it is call'd to day And rest assured he their prayers heares That vnto him vncessantly doe pray For to incourage thee he this did say Who comes to me I will not cast away Is not mans life compared vnto a flower And O how soone alas the same doth fade and dye Then let man liue prepar'd each day and houre Least vnawares the force of death he try And beare this saying alwayes in thy minde As death thee leaves so Iudgement will thee find And as the Flower in the chiefest prime Doth fade and dye when Sun his face doth hide For 't is not in the earth 's vast slippery clime An euer fading beeing to prouide No more can strength or skill preuaile at all To lengthen life when God by death doth call And as the spring the water forth doth put And by the earth drunke vp no more is seene So when by death our thrid of life is cut On earth we are as we had neuer beene Then whil'st we liue let 's striue to purchase Grace That after Death in Heaven we may have place Alas how many are the snares and bayts Which Sathan layes our poore soules to betray HIENA like he murthers by deceites Through false delights to cause us misse our way His Mermaides Songs are onely sweet in sound Approach them not lest Death thy life doth wound Therefore the safest way vnto our blisse Is meditation of our certaine Death And though we tread the steps of carefulnesse And all our life in sorrow draw our breath The guerdon of our paines our CHRIST will give In causing vs eternally to live Thus by a godly and an vpright life Man of a deadly foe may make a friend And by a wise provision stint that strife Which Sathan laid to bring vs to our end And though our flesh prove false our God is Iust By death our soule gaines heauen our body dust Be ever vigilant in all thy wayes And alwayes live as in the sight of God Performe good actions and vse no delayes Then feare not Death it brings with it no rod With care attend that sure vncertainety And live as euery howre thou shouldest dye This watchfull care wounds Sathan in the head For hee that thinkes of Death doth shun all Sinne By thought of this man to the world proves dead He counts all drosse and only CHRIST would win No earthly Ioyes can cause him life to love His Soule is fixt and nothing can him move Thus each weake Christian may this tyrant foyle For by CHRIST's Death man armed is with strength Though in this Combate he a while may toyle But Faith in CHRIST gives victory at length And with a courage hold man now may cry Death where 's thy sting Grave where 's thy victory What though we dye as dye we surely must Yet by this death we now are gainers made For when our bodyes are consum'd to dust We shall be rais'd from that Eternall shade Our mortall bodyes shall immortall be And with our Soules inioy Eternitie Our troubles in this life now changed are From tokens of his wrath vnto his love For though a while vpon the Earth me share Of griefes and troubles yet when God above Shall by death call vs from the vaile of sinne Wee shall inioy Eternall blisse with him Where all teares shall be wiped from our eyes All griefes and sorrowes then shall ended be We shall be freed from all clamarous cries No discontents nor troubles shall wee see But Peace and Ioyes and comforts shall be found And alwayes in our eares a heavenly sound Our Sences shall partake all of this Blisse Our Eyes shall evermore behold our King Our Hearing heavenly musicke shall possesse Our Tongues shall evermore his Praises sing Thus Smell and Taste thus hands and eares and sight Shall evermore inioy a full delight Vnto this Happinesse and place of Ioy In thy good time sweet Saviour Christ vs bring Where being freed from Sorrowes and annoy Wee evermore thy blessed Praise may sing Where we shall never cease but Night and Day Sing Praise and Glory vnto Thee alway FINIS
wretched state The more he rues his fact but all too late Whereas he was created King of all The Creatures God on Earth created had His Glory bated is by this his Fall No creature now on Earth remaines so bad The sencelesse Beast the sence of this hath found And having Man possest with death doth wound The Earth disdaines to yeeld to him her strength But pricking Thornes and Brambles forth doth send Till with his sweat and labours she at length Onely for sustenance some food doth lend Thus he that was a heauenly Creature form'd By disobedience to a wretch is turn'd Of all the Trees that in the Garden grew He onely was forbidden that alone His Wife from that obedience soone him drew And taste thereof he did although but one O wretched man what hast thou lost hereby Wicked woman to cause thy husband dye T' is not saying the Serpent thee deceiu'd That can excuse the fault thou didst commit For of all Ioyes thou hast thy selfe bereau'd And by thy Conscience thou dost stand convict Thy husband not alone the fault must rue A punishment for sinne to thee is due For as thou now conceiues thy seed in sinne So in great sorrow thou must bring it foorth The gaine which thou by that same fruit didst winne Thou now dost find to bee but little worth Obedience to thy Husband yeeld thou must And both must Dye and turned be to Dust The Truth sometimes is vsed by the Divell When as he sayd Your eyes should opened bee And that you should discerne the good from euill When you the Fruit had tasted of that tree But hee told not your actions should be sinne And Death should be the good which you should winne For now your strength to weakenesse turned is You know the Good but have no powre to chuse't Your eyes is ope to see your owne amisse And to behold the blisse you have refus'd You see your nakednesse made vilde by Sinne And now seekes for a place to hide you in But O alas your deeds discover'd are You naked lye to those all-seeing eyes He viewes your actions and doth see you bare Bare of all Goodnesse vilde deformities And in your selves you have no power to mend For all your strength is sinne Sathan doth lend Now seizes on your sicknesse Griefes and Feares Which night and day with trouble will torment Your sweet Delights are turned all to teares And now what you haue done with woerepent Nothing but Griefes and Feares and sad annoyes You now possesse in stead of endlesse Ioyes You were immortall but are mortall made You were created pure but now are vilde Your splendant Glories turned all to shade Your Innocence the Deuill hath beguilde You were created Children of the Lord But now are loathsome Dung to be abhorr'd Which way can you recouer this your losse What friend have you that will this great debt pay Can you gaine pure gold from filthy drosse Or have you power to call againe that Day No you are in a laborinth of woe And endlesse is the maze in which you goe Yet courage Woman whose weake spirit 's dead GOD in his love a helpe for thee hath found Bee sure thy Seed shall bruise the Serpents head CHRIST by his Death shall Sathan deadly wound This Lyon of Iudea resist who can In him is blest the whole Off-spring of man This Promise in due time fulfill'd hath GOD Vnto the comfort of each mortall weight CHRIST payes our Debt hee 's beaten with that rod That doth belong vnto our Soules of right His Fathers wrath was powred vpon him Which doth belong as due to vs for Sinne. Hee dy'd vpon the Crosse and conquered Death That though wee dye yet live againe wee must He buried was and risen is from Earth And raignes with God in Heaven amongst the Iust With him our Soules and Bodies rais'd hath hee And from deaths thraldome now hath set vs free This causeth Sathan stir himselfe amaine To see if he can winne what he hath lost He strives to make our overthrow his gaine He stormeth now that he by CHRIST is crost And to his ayde he all his forces drawes That he may cause vs to obey his Lawes Whole Armies of his Furies forth he sends In shape transformed to delude our mindes And vnto them his greatest force he lends To seize where fittest for his turne he findes He marks to what men are by nature given And vnto that he turnes his Compasse euen Sathan's deceipts are covered all with smiles That sinne seemes pleasing which our Soules destroyes With quaint allurements hee man still beguiles With sweet delights he breeds Mans sad annoyes He imitates a Poyson rarely framed But once being taken all the life blood 's stained Old and craftie is our Enemy growne He knowes all Fish at one baite will not bite Hee 'l try a thousand wayes to gaine his owne He will not leave till he the marke hits right Some with Drunkennesse Murders Lust beside Others with Idlenesse exessive Pride BACCHVS that drunken God from Hell comes forth And reeling here and there few scapes his knockes Who shunnes his blowes esteem'd are of no worth One Drunkard at anothers weakenesse mockes What ISAIAH saith thereon they never thinke Woe bee to them are strong to pw'r in drinke GOD in his love form'd all things for mans vse That for his Comfort they might daily be But they prove poyson through mans vilde abuse Sinne changeth all into deformity PAVL for mans health to drinke Wine doth advise But through excesse both Soule and Body dyes Man by this Sinne more vile is than a Beast For but sufficient they will never take Mans sences fayles him sinnes are still increast He tracing vices doth all good forsake In Drunkennesse LOT doth to Incest fall NOAN in his Wine his secrets shewes to all Then Lust and Murther hands together take Like full fed Beasts they neigh at neighbours wife Stolne bread is sweet hid water theyr thirsts slake They fall to Murther through discord and strife For when mans reason fayles to guide his will He into mischiefe runneth headlong still Most people takes Idlenesse for no sinne Thus in Simplicitie Sathan deludes That precious time is lost that Grace might winne And want of action many sinnes includes That minde which vnto Idlenesse giues way Doth open lye to bee the Devils prey When DAVID vnto ease himselfe had giuen His eyes extravagantly looke about VRIAH's wife he spyeth in the Even He must and did enioy her without doubt Sathan by this his fall more strength doth gaine For DAVID bids VRIAH should be slaine Thus by one meanes or other Sathan snares Mans soule in Sinne and hudwinck'd tills him on His cup of Gold is filled vp with teares A bitter pittance to theyr sweetes belong Pride in it selfe doth beare a poyson'd breath No Sinne so small but punisht is with Death That sinn's thought least that 's spent in trimming fine That Carkasse vilde on which the Wormes