Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A27456
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Historical applications and occasional meditations upon several subjects written by a person of honour.
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Berkeley, George Berkeley, Earl of, 1628-1698.
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1667
(1667)
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Wing B1963; ESTC R8483
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20,594
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142
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HISTORICAL Applications AND OCCASIONAL Meditations UPON Several Subjects Written by A Person of Honour LONDON Printed by J. Flesher for R. Royston Bookseller to His most Sacred MAJESTY 1667. BOld is the man that dares ingage For Piety in such an Age. Who can presume to find a Guard From Scorn when Heaven 's so little spar'd Divines are pardon'd they defend Altars on which their Lives depend But the Prophane impatient are When Nobler Pens make this their care For why should these let in a Beam Of Divine Light to trouble them And call in doubt their pleasing Thought That none believes what we are taught High Birth and Fortune warrant give That such men write what they believe And feeling first what they indite New credit give to Ancient Light Amongst these few our Authour brings His well-known pedegree from Kings This Book the Image of his Mind Will make his Name not hard to find I wish the Throng of Great and Good Made it less eas'ly understood WALLER To the Lady HARMONIA MADAM YOur Ladyship was pleased to incourage me to write Religious Meditations therefore to you I dedicate the First-fruits of my obedience to your Commands in this particular Your Ladyship can experimentally say what high advantages pious Contemplations afford Some of which are a just Divertisement from both worldly and sinful Imployments a great Complacency and Delight in the present Composure besides the satisfaction to our Consciences the Improvement of the Divine Graces in us and a rendring our Souls alwaies in an Harmonious sweet temper in which your Ladyship does so eminently excell being alwaies in a praying capacity having a willingness to resign our Wills to God's in all things whether in Life or Death If this way of applying all our Discourses and Conceptions to a Religious sense were made more generally practical the Power of Godliness as well as the Form would so govern us in all our actions that in this present Age neither the Speculative nor the Practicall Atheists would dare with so much impudence to shew their faces nor maintain their detestable Principles so horridly and dis-ingenuously as now they do the Age would then be reformed and we should be good Company to our selves for when we converse with God we are never less alone then when alone Next to pious Meditations Godly Friends are to be made choice of for our Conversation such as is your Ladyship who without the least suspicion of Flattery I dare affirm it may justly be styled the Beauty of Society and Harmony of Friendship your Civility being so great and Carriage so gaining that you are able to convert a Barbarian into good manners and make a man of a reprobate nature become a good Christian. Your Example I confess is easier to be admired then imitated Your Precepts adequate and proportionable to so great a Pattern and those delivered to your Friends and Servants with such winning mildness and Concern as if it were your duty to be more ingaged for the welfare of our Souls and good Names then we ought to be our selves Madam I need say no more but pray for you that God would multiply upon you who are both Good and Great and upon yours all Temporal and Eternal Blessings increase the number of such Excellent Saints as is your Ladyship Then we should injoy a part of Heaven out of Heaven while we had our beings upon the Earth I had taken the freedome to have named you by a Title you are more known by but that I feared your so nice and scrupulous Modesty would have reprehended me disowning my celebration of this just Character And should I have given an account of my own Name it would not be difficult for very many to conjecture to whom I presumed to make this Address I am Madam Your greatest Honourer and most obedient Servant who as an admirer of your Vertues am ambitious to deserve of your Ladyship the Appellation of CONSTANS A Prayer O Lord God I confesse mine iniquities and my sins are ever before thee secret as well as known sins Create in me a new heart and renew a right spirit within me Cleanse the wicked and damnable thoughts of my heart by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit forgive my wicked thoughts as well as my evil vile words and actions Give me thy Grace that I may not onely leave sin for a time but that I may loath sin that I may look upon Jesus Christ not onely as a Saviour which the very worst of men would be glad to do at their Deaths but as a Sovereign to rule and reign in my heart It may be in vain for me with wicked Balaam to desire to die the death of the righteous if I do not live the life of the righteous While I live in the World let me not be of the World but be pleased to indue me with so great a measure of thy Spirit that I may make it the great pleasure of my life to doe thee service whose service is perfect freedome Make me humble charitable and obedient willing to doe good not onely to my friends but to my very enemies heartily forgiving them as I desire to be forgiven and returning to them good for evil But Lord to my Relations Friends return their kindness double into their own bosomes Take from me good Lord both in my health and sicknesse all that sinfull misbecoming Impatience which so much prevails over me Let not the fear of Death so much terrifie and discompose my spirits but so moderate my Affections that I may willingly and entirely submit to thy Divine will and pleasure whether in Life or Death natural or violent But I most humbly beseech thee Heavenly Father to prepare me for a better World before thou takest me out of this So prepare me O Lord by sealing to me a Pardon for all my sins past and giving me such an assured well-grounded Faith in Christ Jesus and such an application of his imputative Righteousnesse that when I come to die I may have nothing else to doe but to die and to surrender though a sinful yet a penitent Soul into the hands of a gracious Redeemer While I live here give me Grace that I may have dying thoughts that when I come to die I may have living hopes Grant I may live here in thy fear die in thy favour and at the end of my days attain the end of my hopes even the Salvation of my Soul in and through Christ Jesus my blessed Saviour and Redeemer Amen Amen Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost Our Father c. Historical Applications AND Occasional Meditations I. THE Society of Gresham Colledge is composed of very ingenious and eminent Persons whose Conversation is desirable in many respects their endeavours to improve Arts and Sciences Mechanical and Liberal their inquisition into the works of Nature may be both delightfull and profitable to themselves and others If this
Faithful to have God to be his Friend and to be called the Friend of God I pray God we may have the like felicity that following Abraham's example we may rest in his bosome which God of his infinite mercy grant for Christ Jesus his sake Amen VIII THere was a great contest between Apelles a famous Painter and another which should appear the better Artist and as a trial of skill Apelles drew Grapes which were so naturally done that the Birds pecked at them supposing them to be real Grapes The other drew onely the lively picture of a Curtain and bringing it to Apelles for his approbation he was desired to draw away the Curtain that his Picture might be judged of He then concluded himself the better-Artist For says he Apelles deceived the Birds but I deceived Apelles Thus with Art and cunning we may deceive birds beasts and men nay our selves but we cannot deceive God Let us therefore so behave our selves in our words gestures thoughts actions as considering we are alwaies in God's presence to whom we must be accountable at our Death and at the day of Judgment and therefore let us not dare to commit sin unlesse we can conceal our actions from his all-seeing Eye IX I Have heard of a Jury of twelve men who being asked by the Judg whether the Prisoner at the Barre were Guilty or Not guilty before the Fore-man could conveniently make answer another person who stood by said Not guilty to whom the Fore-man looking with indignation repeated his words Not guilty adding I say my Lord he is Guilty but before he expressed the latter his two first words were recorded according to Law and by this mistake the Offender escaped But at the day of Judgment the Guilty have no advantage by any possibility of a mistake or accident for the Judge is infallible and righteous and the Conscience which is both Jury and Witnesse Conscientia mille Testes will certainly deliver true evidence not being deceived in the least tittle At this Barre voluble Oratorie prevails not neither can subtile Law-distinctions any waies avail but Judgment shall be given to every one in Righteousnesse and in Truth by him who is Truth it self and cannot lie whose mercy we had need implore in our lives and at our Deaths that he may not be severe to mark what is done amisse but forgive and pardon us for Christ his sake X. THe Dog in the Fable having meat in his mouth by the water side and perceiving the shadow of it reflect which he erroneously mistook for real flesh opened his mouth greedily in hopes to get it and by this means lost the true substance Thus it fares with many worldly men to whom God hath given meat in their Mouths his blessings in a liberal proportion Eccles. 6. 2. Riches wealth and honour so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof but they not satisfied therewith seek to increase their wealth per fas nefas ravenously coveting the shadow which is vexation and vanity and neglecting to improve their Talents to God's glory and their own good and by this means lose the true substance their hopes of eternal welfare XI A Scholar of Socrates observing that many of his fellow-Pupills had presented their Master with great and rich presents which he was uncapable of doing by reason of his poverty came to Socrates and told him he freely gave him what was in his power Himself devoted to his service The most acceptable Gift to the God of Heaven is our selves our hearts and affections My son give me thy heart says Solomon Without this Present all others are vain Oblations Sacrifices which are an abomination to the Lord He will despise us and our Offerings if they are not tendred with an intire humble dutiful and obedient heart which I beseech God to give us that we may retribute the same to him again Amen XII A Story is told of the same Socrates that one day being in his School a Physiognomist came to visit him and taking great remark of his face plainly averred that Socrates was guilty of such and such notorious Vices which Accusation his Disciples heard with much impatience and could hardly forbear striking him declaring that he was a silly fellow and that he had done their Master injurie for what he had said was very false upon their knowledge Socrates interposes and assures them that what this Artist had delivered concerning him was well grounded and therefore they had no such reason to blame him for says he I have a great natural propensity and inclination to those Crimes which certainly would have had a great predominancy over me had not my Reason and my Philosophie prevailed over them which was no small difficulty Thanks be given to Almighty God for his restraining Grace that we have not been actually guilty of those sins to which our particular natures do so much incline us that every single offence hath not been the unhappy parent of many more and this is wholly to be imputed to God's goodnesse to us for our resolutions may fail us of doing good and avoiding evil our Reason may be blinded and deceived Philosophie both as to the Theorie and as to the Practick part may be vain and unprofitable but if we are indued with God's Grace this cannot fail us He giveth us to will and to doe of his good pleasure but the more we rely upon him and pray for his blessed assistance the surer we are to find the happy influence and benefit of his good Spirit which will teach us to walk holily penitently soberly not as fools but as wise redeeming the time because the daies are evill XIII IT was said of a good man that he should confesse he had been undone unlesse he had been undone meaning that if God had not awakened his Conscience with temporal losses and afflictions and caused him to look into himself Prosperity and inconsideration had swallowed him up God many times grants our requests in denying of them when to his Majestie these appear inconsistent with his Glory and our Good for he onely knows what is best for us In a prosperous condition we seldome take up the complaint of that good Heathen who sadly said O Amici diem perdidi O my friends I have lost a day because he could not call to mind any good he had done that day but lose day after day for many years together untill at last we have not a day left to repent in though many a misspent day to repent of and then we must know though true Repentance is never too late yet late Repentance is seldome true XIV ALL Societies and Compaines of men as well Merchants as others who are sober industirous wise and well-governed conduce much to the advantage and benefit of that Kingdome or Common-wealth in which they live Rich Merchants make a Rich Kingdome But let the great Traders have a