man may dye in a time when God forbids and yet dye when God permits and live out all Gods time who wickedly shortens his own The murmuring Isralites were buried in the wilderness notwithstanding their promise of seeing Canaan their infidelity anticipated their funerals The wages of sin is death and may as justly be payd in the morning as in the evening of our lives Indeed temperance doth not alwayes prove an Antidot against the Pestilence nor Abstinence a preservative against Famin nor innocence a security from the stroke of injustice but they are likely meanes The flagitious impiety of the old world sent a Deluge which possibly might have been prevented had their repentance been as visible as the Ninevites was who were repreived from execution after the sentence of death had passed upon them whereby omnipotence did demonstrate that he hath reserved a power in his own hands to length then or shorten the lives of men as he pleaseth and to make the sands in the glass of time run swift or slow according to his pleasure it is very observable how the Patriarks out-lived all their titles of consanguinity yet none lived to a compleat thousand years some indeed give this reason for it be cause God would make good his threatning to Adam that in the day he eat he should dye the death and so they would compute a day for a thousand years as St. Peter speaks but this is trifling and foolish A more probable reason may be to declare to the world the vanity of life when those who lived longest could not arrive to such a period which in comparison of Gods eternity is but a day CHAP. XXXVII SIn brought death at first and as sin increased death came near er by 500 years presently after the flood man sinned still and built Castles in the air and then it is reduced to 200 years and by Moses time half that remnant is taken away and threescore and ten is the period had God gone on still to shorten our dayes as we increased in sin our life by this time had not been a day long and therefore he no longer destroys the kind but punisheth the individual and sets it down for a rule viz. evil shall slay the wicked So that not one in 500 arrive at that state which they might attain unto by the course of nature but end their dayes in sin and folly and in a period appointed in anger we may easily observe how the blessing of health is contradicted by an impious life for from surfeting proceeds disolution of members relaxation of nervs fractures of bones inflamation of the liver crudities of the stomach which Solomon sums up besides the uncleanly consequences of lust which hunt for the pretious life and like a dart strike through the liver and the casual deaths caused by Jealousies and animosities thus providence intervenes and suffers not nature to take its course by reason of impieties CHAP. XXXVIII IT is observable that not a Son dyed a natural death before the Father for three thousand years untill Terahs time who was the first that taught the people to make Images of clay and corrupted the Worship of God his son Haron was snatched away by death before him The Jewish Rabbins do observe that during the standing of the second Temple there were 300 high priests but in the time of the first but 18 which stood within 10 years as long as the first which may be much attributed to their impieties It is thought by some of the antients that Balaam's wish to dye the death of the righteous was not only that he might be sav'd at last but also seeing what judgments God had purposed to bring upon the Moabites that he might come to his grave in a good old age with his father in peace we live by the word of blessing out of the mouth of God every command if observ'd like food and physick tends to the length of our natural as well as spiritual lives CHAP. XXXIX THe fear of God is the best Antidote against sickness as it is a direct enemy to sin which brought in death If sin destroy soul and body why should not piety preserve both If the sting of conscience torment body as well as soul doubtless peace of conscience releives both Why may not the soul as well conduce to the prolongation of the body as to the immortality of it Why may not the body have the perfection of life viz. health from the soul as life it self CHAP. XL. THe circumstantial actions of piety are influential towards the lengthening the lives of men as the sweet sleeps of temperate persons and their freedome from violent and inraged passions and the admirable contentment that dwells in a holy conscience these must necessarily conduce to a healthfull life Dying to sin is an excellent means to preserve life if men would try the experiment It is observed that the male heir of Ely's family dyed as soon as born for many generations according to a divine threatning until they set themselves unto a serious humiliation and solemn repentance We live not at an adventure but the manner and moments of our death come under a divine appointment the Jews could not prejudice our Saviours life untill his hour was come viz. that hour which by a special providence was appointed to be his last hour although St. Paul was in deaths often yet he dyed not before providence thought meet it is appointed to men once to dye that is it is once appointed to men to dye CHAP. XLI A Man may shorten his own dayes but he cannot shorten a Divine determination the date of Hezekia's life was lengthened with respect to himself but not in respect of Divine purpose that is the same be our time long or short CHAP. XLII Object But if Piety doe so prevaile with God to lengthen our lives how comes it to pass that many good and holy men dye whilst in the prime of their years Answer Those that reason thus doe not consider that the righteous may be taken away from the evil to come and by their deaths God may serve other ends of his Providence and yet make his promise good by recompensing Temporal with Eternal life Although God hath promised long life to them that obey yet he never promised that he would not borrow our natural lives as it were and make a glorious exchange CHAP. XLIII DEath may sometimes be a great mercy and life a great misery It is observed that from Adam to to the Flood by the Patriarks were eleven Generations but by Cains line eight they being shorter lived because God intending to bring a flood upon the World rescued the Elect from the fatall Deluge And the same reason is generally given in case Infants dye before the use of reason for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven Although Abijah came to his grave whilst young yet ther was some good thing found in him towards the Lord God of Israel
Many times providence may make use of those distempered humours which the child derived from its Parent to be the instruments of death a holy person may dye in battail and be surpriz'd by every accident all these things falling alike to all Yet these examples doe not contradict a general rule viz. that Piety and Faith in Christ is a good preservative of natural life Enoch and Elias never dyed and became examples that a spotless life might possibly have been immortall CHAP. XLIV SO that the best way to secure our health is to indeavour to procure the providence of God to be our life guard but when he withdraws his protection we are exposed to the aspect of a Star the contingencies of a battel and the accidents of a humor every day and every minute we escape a thousand deaths surrounding us it is as natural for a young person to dye as an old because that is most natural which is most common and hath most natural causes but to dye with age is a very rare thing but the sins of youth are the immediate instruments of death and although a man in a consumption be under the preparations for death yet one in health may be as near it upon more fatall and less discern'd accompts by a sudden Feaver or Apoplexy c. There are some vices that carry a knife in their hand and cut of man before his time every sinfull pleasure tops off a branch from our short life Although we fly from death yet it followeth us and we doe like the poor creatures in Noahs flood when one flour drowned go to the next and so higher and higher and more and more diffracted with the horror of death and when at the uppermost story yet drown'd at last so we run from one disease and another overtakes us and we are pursued untill destroyed at last by the king of Terrors CHAP. XLV DAvid indeavours to use all the means possible to secure his life notwithstanding he had been told by Samuel he should live to wear the Crown so that the Divine determinations concerning our lives should not lessen our care to preserve our lives In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt dye the death was Adams sentence the wicked and blood thirsty man shall not live out half his days as the Patridge sitteth on eggs and hatcheth them not so he that getteth riches and not by right shall leave them in the midst of his dayes The covetous rich man shall have his soul or life taken away and then whose are all his goods Sauls disobedience Ahaziahs evil consultations Jeroboams Idolatry Benhadads curiosity Ahabs cruelty Hananiahs false Prophesie Herods vainglory Saphyras perjury the Samaritan lords infidelity the forty two childrens calumny these impieties had a particular influence upon the contracting of their days as sacred writ demonstrates CHAP. XLVI MOreover the infirmities of virtuous good men may so far provoke the Almighty as to take away their natural lives although he reward them with Eternal life as in the example of Moses and Aaron and the good Israelites that murmured the good Prophet slain by the Lion Ely and Vzziah Somtimes God cuts off children for the sinfull miscarriage of Parents as in the case of Abijah the widows child Davids child Elies children Somtimes Subjects for the Ruâ—ers Impieties as Davids Subâ—ects CHAP. XLVII ANother thing that is necessary towards the procuring the fluence of a Divine blessing with the means is to endeavour to find out the cause of the distemper I mean the supernatural cause and to learn those lessons which providence intends to teach by sickness the Prophet's quaere wherefore doth the living man complain doth plainly intimate that there is a reason there is an Achan oâ— Babylonish garment or something that causeth the thorn in the flesh and this must be removed for the Almighty doth not afflict willingly the rod hath a voice there are many ends thaâ— God aims at in all afflictions Aâ— to correct for sinfull miscarriages our minds have diseases as weâ—… as our bodies the tympany oâ— pride the feaver of passion thâ— dropsie of covetousness anâ— therefore we are fed with thâ— bread of affliction and the water of adversity the plaguâ— of the heart is many times cureâ— with the plague of the body there is a root of bitterness from whence all our troubles spring As there is a vanity lyeth hid in the best worldly good so there is a blessing lyeth hid in the worst worldly evil we should imitate the Bee gather sweet fruit out of bitter flowers CHAP. XLVIII WE should not like Baalam strike the Ass look only upon the second cause of our sickness but behold the Angel that is the immediat instrument We are very prone to attribute too much to second causes but holy Job was of another minde when his children were killed by the fall of a house he saith The Lord took them away Sometimes the Almighty takes away a person by death in mercy to the person as Abijah and Josiah and others Sometimes he removes the child to exercise the parents faith as Jobs children and in the case of Isaac One reason why our distempers are no sooner removed is because the design of it is not answered CHAP. XLIX THere are many happy intentions that Divine providence aymes at in laying sicknesses and diseases upon the bodies of men One end that Divine Goodness aimes at is to demonstrate his own glory in healing and restoring so saith our blessed Lord concerning Lazarus this sickness shall not be unto death but for the glory of God and indeed deliverance from sickness is a singular mercy both to a mans self and others Epaphroditus was sick nye unto death but God had mercy on him and on me also saith holy Paul and therfore we should bless the Lord with our souls and all that is within us should praise his holy name and that upon this account because he healeth all our diseases CHAP. L. THis consideration ellivated the holy soul of Hezekias and transported him into a divine Doxology viz. the living the living they shall praise thee as I doe this day When men are miraculously delivered from death after they have received the sentence thereof in themselves it is given to this end that thanks may be many on their behalf When our souls are delivered from going down to the grave and our eyes are enlightned that we sleep not the sleep of death then â—hould we praise the Lord in the great congregation and our songs should be unto the God of our lives CHAP. LI. ANother design of providence in sickness is to prepare men for greater sufferings it prepares us for death St. Paul whose bodily presence was weak was ready to dye for the name of Christ why should he be afraid of them that kill the body they can do no more then an Ague or a Consumption the sick-bed is the attiring room of the grave in which we should be preparing
our selves for the solemnities of our funerals sicknes it is a gradual puting of this vail of flesh that we may be cloathed upon with our house which is from heaven it is the the harbinger of death that we may say with that holy man when sickness comes death worketh in us death works apace it works away our health it works away our strength it works away our ease and works us into our graves CHAP. LII LOrd make me to know my end was the sickbed prayer of holy David When patient Job was almost suffocated with the violence of his distemper he concludes thus I know thou wilt bring me to death and to the house appointed for all living CHAP. LIII ANother design of God in sickness is to communicate experience of his power and goodness in strengthning and supporting under it Then is his strength made perfect in weakness then hath the pious soul experience of Divine power strengthning him upon his bed of languishing and making all its bed in its sickness when flesh and heart failes then God demonstrates to the soul that he is the strength of its heart and portion for ever Thus sickness is sometimes laid upon us is that we may experience the excellency of divine visits that in the end we may say thy visitation hath preserved my spirit CHAP. LIV. SOmetimes sickness is laid upon us to make us sympathize with others in the same condition David speaking of his very enemies when they were sick sackcloth was his clothing how much more should we sympathize with the members of our spiritual head and be sensible of the afflictions of Joseph CHAP. LV. ANother end of sickness is to teach us to pray when our bodies are the sinks of filthy humors our souls should be vialls of precious Odors Hezekias turned his face to the wall and prayed when his life was like to be cut off with pining sickness when our natural beauty doth consume away like a moth then we begin with an O spare me that I may recover strength before I go hence and be seen no more And we begin to pour out a prayer when heavens chastising hand is upon us CHAP. LVI SIckness is many times sent to try whether we will resign our selves and Relations up by Death as Job did his children and as holy Ely said It is the Lord let him do what seemeth him good Sometimes the knife of sickness is ready to slay an Isaac to try whether we will be willing to sacrifice him to the will of God If he will have our friends to eternity who can give a randsom for them We are apt to cry after them as Elisha did when Elijah was taken to heaven My Father my Father but he stopt not to answer him O Absolom my Son my Son cryeth the affectionat parent would God I had dyed for thee Why should we mourn and weep for our dying Relations when all tears are wiped from their eyes and they are singing Hallelujahs with harps in their hands to him that sits upon the throne and to the Lamb for ever and ever The more lovely and excellent the friend was we parted with the more admirable was our obedience CHAP. LVII SIckness sometime coms to try whether we are willing to leave this world and to come to glory We should live so as to be ready at an hours-warning to leave all and to go to eternity Thou shal call me out of this life and I will answer thee said the holy man Sometimes a Feaver or a consumption stands at the bed-side and cries Husband come away from thy wife Parent come away from thy child now how ready should we be to be offered and how willing that the time of our departure be at hand that upon the least intimation we may readily go up to mount Nebo and dye CHAP. LVIII MAny times divine providence bids us go into a distemper and dye and go into a sick bed and dye and certainly did we but with an eye of faith see whether our diseases would carry us it would be a thousand times harder duty to be content to live then to be willing to dye if sincere Christians CHAP. LIX ANother arrant that sickness comes upon it is to try whether we will hold fast our integrity when the hand of Heaven toucheth our bone and our flesh he that can trust God although he kill him the trial of that mans faith is more pretious then Gold and will conduce to his praise honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ CHAP. LX. ANother end it is to conform us more more to the divine Image one great part of sick bed chastisements is to make us partakers of Gods holines although the outward man decay the inward man is thereby renewed day by day after the image of him that created it outward pains often procure inward peace The loadstone of mercy draws us not so nearly unto the likeness of God as the cords of affliction CHAP. LXI ANother arrant sickness comes upon it is to turn men from the ways of sin and iniquity unto virtue and obedience hence God complains of the Jews I have sent amongst you the pestilence yet have you not returned many times a fit of sickness it doth more good than an hundred Sermons Sickness it comes to convince of sin which is the meritorious cause of all diseases When our own wickedness doth correct us we should then know and see that it is an evil thing and a bitter to forsake the Lord in all our weaknesses God looks upon us to see if any say I have sinned and it profiteth me not This was the effect of holy David's sickness for he cryeth out There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin CHAP. LXII IF we did but behold the plagues the Consumptions the inflamations and the extreame burnings that attends as pageâ— upon our pride wantoness carnallity and intemperance we should stand in awe and sin not but commune with our own hearts upon our sick beds and our spirits would make a more dilligent search into the causes of our distempers CHAP. LXIII ANother errant of sickness is to convince us of the vanity of the creature what a vain treasure is that which a lump of phlegme may take from us a dead corps is a poor thing it must return naked as it came into the world If we could but view our selves as we lye in our Graves and Coffins what a poor thing would the World be in our eyes When a man looks upon his stately buildings and sees the sweet situation the wholesome aire the convenient rooms oh what golden dreams a man is involved in but did we see Death coming up into our windows what pleasure then hath a man in his house after him when the number of his moneths are cut of in the midst How vain are Noble Pedigrees and generous extractions and ancient Families when we must
say to corruption thou art my father and to the worm thou art my mother and sister CHAP. LIV. ONe end of sickness it is to hide pride from man what a vain thing is humane power it will not avail in the day of sickness and death if God doe not withdraw his anger the proud helpers stoop under him men of high dègree are vanity although a man flourish like a green bay tree yet he shall soon be cut down like the grass and wither like the green herb Sickness teacheth us the vanity of strength though a mans bones be full of marrow yet when sickness coms his strength shall be dryed up like a potsherd How can our hands be strong in the day that God contends with us by sickness although a bow of steel hath been broken by our armes yet when sickness comes we are powred out like water and all our bones are out of joynt then the keepers of the house the arms will tremble and the strong men the limbs will bow themselves and we shall have reason to say verily every men at his best estate is all together vanity It may convince us of the vanity of children they are indeed mercies in themselves O that I were as in months past saith Job when my children were about me though the fare be but course yet it is the more pleasant to have these plants about the table but sickness eomes and then these sweet flowers like a posey wither that we must conclude childhood and youth are vanity An aking tooth will damp all the pleasures of the world CHAP. LXV HOw vain must the World be whose comforts are not valuable then whiles we have them not What will all the glittering nothings of the world be worth when God shall let fall great drops of burning wrath upon that part of our souls which is most tender when he shall with a heavy hand chafe our consciences with fire and brimstone when the worldling that wallows in thick clay shall behold that judge which Gold and Silver cannot bribe when the voluptuous will relish little pleasure in carnal delights God writing bitter things against him what a vain thing will musick be to him that hears nothing but the screeches of his own conscience what will cups avail him that must drink only a cup of Fury what are titles of honour to a man whose conscience calls him Reprobate CHAP. LXVI SUppose our tongues faultering our eye-strings broken our limbs trembling for fear of an arrest by this grim sergeant death mingle the best ingredients the world can afford it cannot make a cheering Cordial Honour is but a blast of Popular breath and like an eccho vanisheth into silence The misers Angils are all winged and fly away as an Eagle towards heaven Doth any man lye the safer because his bed posts are gilt doth our meal relish the better because served up in gold are our clothes more fit because more fashionable what is gold and silver but diversified earth and shining clay the entrails of the earth the place of its birth upbraid us for accounting them so precious the best perfumes are but the sweet of trees or the mucous excrement of a beast the softest silks are but the workings of a vile worm the most generous wines but puddle water straind through a vine and our choisest dellicacies are but dirt Cook'd up in various forms Why should we lay the foundation of our happiness upon such phantacies But sickness comes and gives us right notions of these things and it teacheth us the right conduct of our Passions to love these things as if we loved them not it is like wormwood to wean us from the breasts of the creature The most considerable design of sickness is to prepare us for Death and Judgement to make us listen to the strikings of the clock of time with the more attention to bring us to a more familiar acquaintance with that stinglesse Serpent and makes us apprehensive of our pilgrime state there is nothing in death to make it dreadfull to a good Christian many times our bitter cups are but as mornings draughts to eternity by sickness we knock at the gates of the grave every little accident stops our breath the roughness of a grape stone the reflections of a Sun beam the dust of a wheele the aspect of a star introduce death let us therefore with Joseph take a turn or two in our garden and visit our Sepulchre Old age is but a young death and a man may read the sentence of death in some mens foreheads written in the lines of a lingring disease CHAP. LXVIII ALthough we came into the world but one way we may go out a thousand Thus we see sickness hath many ends when it comes and unless these be answered we cannot expect its removal It is like a faithfull messenger it will not go without its message CHAP. LXIX ANother means to procure the influence of a Divine blessing is by imploring a Heavenly benediction by fixing our eyes upon Him who laid the sickness upon us We should look to the hills from whence cometh our help for our help cometh from the Lord that made heaven and earth it is he that wounds that must heal it is his hand that must make whole Hence David calleth the Pestilence a falling into the hands of God and when diseased he cryeth out Thy hand presseth me sore and I am consumed by the blow of thy heavy hand Diseases are called Gods arrows he shoots the arrow of a Consumption into the lungs of a man the arrow of a Fever into the heart of a man or the arrow of the Gout into the limbs of a man like a shot dear he walks and eats and sleeps yet the arrow sticks friends pull and Physitians pull but he may say Thy arrows stick fast in me If he give a commission to the small-Pox or any other disease then the wounds stink and are corrupt and the body is filled with a loathsome disease and there is burnings in stead of beauty Our times are in Gods hands he appoints the frequent returns of our distempers At the noise of his water spouts his waves and his billows pass over us He appoints how long the distemper shall last many continue in a languishing condition some years so that their lives hang in doubt as Moses expresseth it or as Heman saith of himself I am afflicted and ready to dye from my youth up and so Job complains I am made to possesse monthes of vanity and wearisom nights are appointed to me CHAP. LXXI SO may we observe men spitting their lives away notwithstanding their friends provide good dyet the Physitians prescribes good remedies the Minister puts up fervent prayers yet as Job speaks God is of one mind and who can turn him to restore health But when he speaks the word the man is healed I am the Lord that healeth thee is the name he gives himself and this is acknowledged by the