which through so many perils he acquired have all now left him alone in this ghastly silent Sepulchre accompanied only with Worms Stench and Corruption Such is the end of all flesh 'T is as true of the greatest Prince as of the meanest Peasant When a man is dead Ecclus. 10.11 he shall inherit creeping things beasts and worms All the difference in the grave betwixt the dust of the rich and of the poor of the honourable and the base is this that the dust of the rich through the luxury lasciviousness and intemperance of their life is more corrupt and loathsome after their death than is the dust of the poor whose food and nourishment was more course and sparing Why then my Immortal Soul art thou so fond of thy corruptible companion the Body Remember its beginning is uncleanness and its end rottenness 'T is thy servant for the present but if thou too much cocker and pamper it 't will rebel subdue and lead thee captive to a worse death than that whereunto its self is lyable even the death of the nether Hell Mar. 9.44 where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched 2. Death is the wages of Sin And I have sinned vile wretch that I am I have sinned and what shall I do or what shall I say unto thee O thou preserver of man Job 7.20 All that I can say is the same still I have sinned and as long as I have a day I will say it I will confess my wickedness and be sorry for my sins Mercy 21. good Lord mercy I humbly beg O why dost thou not pardon my transgression and take away mine iniquity Are not my dayes few Job 10.20 cease then and let me alone that I may bewail my sins and take comfort a little in the hopes of the pardon of them through Faith in the blood of my Redeemer before I go from whence I shall not return 21. to the land of darkness and the shadow of death 3. Job 18.14 1 Cor. 15.55 56 57. Heb 2.14 I know that to flesh and blood death is of all terribles the most terrible but my blessed Redeemer by his bitter death hath pulled out the sting and quelled the terrors of death and hath also enchained him who hath the power of death the devil so that now when death approacheth through Faith and a good Conscience I shall have hope with all patience and contentment to drink off that Cup how bitter and painful soever saying with my blessed Lord and Master upon his approaching death Mat. 26.42 Father not my will but thine be done The Prayer ASsist me mercifully O Lord to subject my rebellious flesh to the guidance of the Spirit and my spirit to the laws of my Redeemer that when my body shall be the inheritance of worms and creeping things my Soul-may possess an inheritance uncorruptible and undefiled 1 Pet. 1.4 that fadeth not away reserved in the heavens through Jesus Christ MEDITAT V. Of the uncertainty of Death and preparation for it 1. AS there is nothing more certain than death Ps 89.47 for what man is there that liveth and shall not see death So there is nothing more uncertain than the Time Mat. 24.36 for of that day and hour knoweth no man the uncertainty of Death engageth every wise man to a certainty in his preparation and provision for it Remember that death will not be long in coming Ecclus. 14.12 and that the covenant of the grave is not shewed unto thee Do good unto thy friend before thou dye 13. put it not off to thy last Will and Testament but according to thy ability stretch out thy hand and give unto the poor That the poor when charitably relieved are our best friends and that thus we are to prepare for death is commanded by our Lord Luk. 16.9 Make to your selves friends of the Mammon of unrighteousness in the pious charitable distribution of your worldly goods Luk. 16.9 that when you fail your bodies corrupt and moulder into dust your Souls may be received into everlasting habitations 2. In this life our condition is changeable from better to worse and from worse to better but in death all hopes of bettering our condition are buried with the liveless corps 2 Cor. 6.2 Now is the acceptable time now is the day of Salvation i. e. the day of this life wherein I am commanded to work out my Salvation with fear and trembling Phil. 2.12 for the night of death cometh wherein no man can work Eccl. 9.10 There is either work nor device nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave where thou goest It follows therefore whatsoever thy hand findeth to do do it with all thy might be active be vigorous be zealous Col. 1.10 be fruitful in every good work 'T is the Soul that is laden with the fruits of well-doing 1 Pet. 4. ult Rev. 14.13 Luk. 16.9 which in deaths approach may chearfully commit her self unto the will of God as to a faithful Creator 'T is these good works that follow the Souls of the righteous to the Tribunal of Heaven to plead for their admission into celestial habitations And these are 1. Devout Prayers Mat. 6.1.5.16 which do indeed and more immediately commend our Souls unto God and render them amiable in his sight especially when accompanied 2. With Religious Fastings often Ro. 12.1 whereby we present our bodies also unto him and withal do 3. Heb. 13.15 16. By charitable Alms-deeds dispense our Goods to our wanting brethren for with such Sacrifices God is well pleased Lord I pray thee that thy Grace may alway prevent and follow me and make me continually to be given unto all good works which are the never failing fruits of a true Christian Faith and by these inseparably conjoyned to make my Calling and Election sure sealed in the blood of my dear Redeemer 3. There are three general messengers of Death 1. Chance 2. Sickness 3. Old age Chance renders the life of man doubtful and uncertain Sickness makes it grievous and troublesome Old age makes life tedious and death inevitable Some persons are stifled in their mothers womb and dye before they see the light of life some dye in their Infancy some in their youth some in their mans estate And some there be but these are of all others the fewest in number that dye in their old age and yet most of men do not only desire but fondly conceit they shall live to be old and yet never think themselves old enough to dye which makes so many millions of men dye unpreparedly and so pass from a Temporal to death Eternal For the prevention of so great and general a mischief and perdition of ungodly men the all-wise and good providence of Heaven hath ordained that in all ages estates and conditions of men this life shall take end that so none how young and lusty
soever with his bone full of marrow might yet dare to live unprepared for death presuming still upon further time and space for Repentance and amendment Lord make me ever mindful of my latter end that I may so live in thy fear as to dye in thy favour and a well grounded hope to live with thee for ever 'T is to little purpose to remember my death except I remember also the sins of my by-past life both the sins of my youth and of my riper age mine ignorances my negligences my manifold omissions of my duty towards God towards my neighbour towards my self and these to bewail with the tears of godly sorrow that my polluted Soul being washed I may through Faith in the blood of my Redeemer chearfully commend the same into his merciful hands and say Into thy hands I commend my Spirit for thou hast redeemed me O Lord thou God of Truth Every change in my frail constitution every little pain and ache in my corruptible flesh all distempers diseases are as so many memorials of my mortality but the older I grow the nearer still is the approach of my dissolution by the hand of death Heb. 8. ult for that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away The Prayers LOok graciously upon me O Lord I beseech thee in the time of my approaching dissolution and the more the outward man decayeth strengthen me so much the more continually by thy Grace and Holy Spirit in the inner man give me unfeigned repentance for all the errors of my life past and a stedfast Faith in thy Son Jesus that my sins may be done away by thy mercy and my pardon sealed in Heaven before I go hence and be no more seen II. IN the midst of life we be in death of whom may we seek for succour but of thee O Lord who for our sins art justy displeased Yet O Lord God most holy O Lord most mighty O holy and most merciful Saviour deliver us not into the bitter pains of eternal death Thou knowest Lord the secrets of our hearts shut not up thy merciful ears to our Prayers but spare us O Lord most holy O God most mighty O holy and most merciful Saviour thou most worthy Judge eternal suffer us not at our last hour for any pains of death to fall from thee III. IN my last hour O Lord I humbly beg thy protection from the busie suggestions and direful insultings of my grand enemies the Devil and his Angels Oh let not then my Faith fail or my Hope wither or my Charity wax cold with the waining flesh But when all my joynts shall tremble by the batteries of death mine eyes be darkned and my tongue falter then O then let my heart be enlarged towards my God waiting upon thee longing for thee and incessantly praying shew me thy mercy O Lord and grant me thy Salvation The XXXIX Psalm Verses 1. I Said I will take heed to my wayes that I offend not in my tongue The meditation of death makes every wise man careful of all his wayes and more especially to avoid the offences of the tongue 2. I will keep my mouth as 't were with a bridle while the ungodly is in my sight The tongue is an unruly evil and must be tam'd as a wild horse with a bridle when provok'd by captious contentious and quarrelsome persons 3. I held my tongue and spake nothing I kept silence yea even from good words but it was pain and grief unto me Reproaches are best answered with a discreet silence so was our Lord as a Lamb dumb before the Shearers 4. My heart was hot within and while I was thus musing the fire kindled d To abstain from good words is sometimes necessary for the avoiding of an evil construction but such silence is grievous to the pious Soul which burns with the fire of divine love and zeal to God's glory The zeal of thine house bath even eaten me and at the last I spake with my tongue Though it be often inconvenient to speak before wicked men yet 't is alway necessary to speak unto God by Prayer 5. Lord let me know mine end and the number of my daies that I may be certified how long I have to live 'T is a blessing we ought alway to pray for to be feelingly sensible of the shortness of our life 6. Behold thou hast made my dayes as 't were a span long and mine age is nothing in respect of thee and verily every man living is altogether vanity The life of man if compar'd with God's everlasting being is rather to be called a death than a life a vanity not a verity of being 7. For man walketh in a vain shadow he disquieteth himself in vain he heapeth up riches and cannot tell who shall gather them The hearts of men are darkned with the shadows of happiness whilst they vainly care for worldly wealth which is as transitory and uncertain as the life it self 8. And now Lord what is my hope truly my hope is even in thee 'T is not in riches nor in all the world affords but in God alone that all hope of true happiness is attainable 9. Deliver me from all mine offences and make me not a rebuke to the foolish Our sins deprive us of all true weh-grounded hopes in God and make us lyable to the scorn even of foolish men 10. I became dumb and opened not my mouth for it was thy doing We must with a patient silence suffer the reproaches of others because occasioned by our offences and because sent from God for our amendment 11. Take thy plague away from me I am even consumed by the means of thy heavy hand And confess withal that we deserve to be consumed by the just judgments of God 12. When thou with rebukes dost chasten man for sin thou makest his beauty to consume away as 't were a moth fretting a garment every man therefore is but vanity Whose lightest chastisements do easily deface the beauty and decay the strength of this corruptible body 13. Hear my prayer O Lord and with thine ears consider my calling hold not thy peace at my tears Therefore the devout Soul is poured forth in Prayers with tears of godly sorrow for her offences from whence all the miseries of this life do flow 14. For I am a stranger with thee and a sojourner as all my fathers were The earth is a strange land to the Immortal Soul whose native home is heaven where she was framed by the hands of the Almighty after his own Image 15. O spare me a little that I may recover my strength before I go hence and be no more seen Which Image being defaced by her sins she humbly begs with tears time and space by Repentance Faith and new obedience to recover her native strength and beauty before she leave her tabernacle of flesh Glory be to the Father c. As it was in the beginning c. The Prayer SInce my
ruine delight the righteous not for the destruction of their persons but for the justice of God thereby testified 8. My flesh trembleth for fear of Thee and I am afraid of thy judgments The best of men do most fear the judgments of God as being most sensible of their sins Glory be to the Father c. As it was in the beginning c. The Prayer GIve me a heart O Lord I beseech Thee detesting all sinfulness and error and inflamed with the love of holiness and truth to trust in thy mercies and stand in fear of thy judgments incline my will and affections to live the life of obedience to thy Word that I may not be disappointed of my hopes to live with thee for ever through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen The Sixteenth Part. Verses 1. I deal with the thing that is lawful and right O give me not over to mine oppressors He must deal righteously with all men who desires not to be oppressed by any 2. Make thou thy servant to delight in that which is good that the proud do me no wrong To delight in what is good is a sure preservative against all the assaults of the spirits of pride and wickedness 3. Mine eyes are wasted away with looking for thy health and for the word of thy righteousness We must wait diligently upon all the blessed means of that grace and Salvation God hath promised in his word how troublesome soever this may be to the flesh 4. O deal with thy servant according to thy loving mercy and teach me thy Statutes 'T will be sad if God deal not with the best of us after his loving mercies and not after our deserts 5. I am thy servant O grant me understanding that I may know thy Testimonies 'T is impossible to be the true servant of God without understanding aright the service he requires 6. It is time for Thee to lay to thine hand for they have destroyed thy law When he Laws of God are trampled under foot he will not long forbear his punishing judgments 7. For I love thy Commandments above gold and precious stone When wickedness most abounds the righteous do most value the Laws of God even above all earthly treasures 8. Therefore hold I straight all thy Commandments and all false ways I utterly abhor They that are most sincere in the service of God do most abhor what is false and contrary thereunto Glory be to the Father c. As it was in the beginning c. The Prayer I Am thy devoted servant O Lord and that I may serve thee acceptably give me a right understanding of all the ways and parts of thy service and an upright heart in performing the same abhorring all falsehood both in opinion and conversation O deal not with me after my sins neither reward me after mine iniquities but according to thy loving mercy in Jesus Christ our Lord to whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be all honour glory c. Our Father which art in c. CHAP. IV. Of Meditations for the Ninth Hour of Prayer or Three a Clock IT is very seasonable at this Hour to pay thy Devotions to thy blessed Redeemer as the necessary effects of true Faith and Repentance since I. 'T was at this hour the Thief upon the Cross believing and repenting received the joyful promise from the mouth of the Lord Luk. 23.43 This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise And my life I confess has been no better than the life of this Thief even my whole life has been a trade of robbery robbing God of his honour and of that obedience which I owe to his holy Laws and robbing my self also of peace of Conscience here and of the hopes of Heaven hereafter Blessed Jesu who hadst mercy on the Thief even in the very hour of his death repenting have mercy upon me even upon me also who now though too too late repent me of my manifold misdoings Shut not up the gates of Paradise against me when I shall depart hence since having overcome the sharpness of death thou hast opened the kingdom of Heaven to all Believers II. 'T was at this hour the Son of God made man commended his spirit of man into the hands of God the Father Luk. 23.46 And into thy hands O Lord do I now commend my spirit my soul my body my all for thou hast redeemed me O Lord thou God of Truth And the very God of peace vouchsafe to sanctifie me wholly 1 Thess 5.23 And I pray God that my whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ Amen III. 'T was at this hour wherein my blessed Redeemer Mat. 27.46 50. after he had cryed with a loud voice gave up the Ghost and dyed for us miserable sinners 'T was for me and my sins my dearest Saviour both suffered and dyed he having no sins of his own to suffer or dy for but He was wounded for my transgressions Is 53.5 He was bruised for mine iniquities And now then remember holy Jesus in great mercy remember that hour wherein with a torn body and broken heart Thou didst shew forth the bowels of thy mercy in dying to deliver me both from spiritual and eternal death Pardon good Lord pardon all my sins the cause of all thy painful sufferings and grant that both I and all who love thy Cross and Passion in a devout thankful remembrance may by the vertue and power thereof crucifie the old man and utterly abolish the whole body of sin that being dead unto sin 1 Pet. 2.24 we may live unto righteousness and by thy stripes be healed IV. Upon the death of my Saviour S. Mat. 27.51 the Earth quaked the Rocks clave asunder the veil of the Temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom And yet upon the meditation hereof my heart is not broken within me 't is harder than the stones of that Temple which was a figure of it harder than those Rocks that rent upon the expiration of my Lord more insensible and stupid than the Earth that quaked at the death of her Maker O Blessed Jesus let thy precious blood shed for me soften my stony heart into tears of Compassion to bewail thy Passion into tears of Compunction for my sins the cause of thy Sufferings and wholly melt my Soul into a throughout Devotion to the love and service of thy Sacred Majesty who hast so infinitely loved me as to dy for me V. At this hour the side of our Lord was pierced whence issued the two Sacraments of his Church the Water of Baptism and the Blood of the Eucharist And O that that precious blood and water which is the price of my Redemption may be the meritorious cause of my sanctification in this life and eternal Salvation in the life to come Amen PSALMS For the Ninth Hour Psal CXIX Part 17. Verses 1. THy Testimonies O Lord
the change of a troublesome for a quiet life of a frail for a fixed and permanent being of an uncertain for a certain abode and of a temporary for life everlasting 'T is but the falling in pieces of an earthly Tabernacle and when it is dissolved 2 Cor. 5.1 thou hast a building of God a house not made with hands eternal in the Heavens The Prayer O Almighty God who alone canst order the unruly wills and affections of sinful men grant unto thy people and to me with them to love the thing which thou commandest and desire that which thou dost promise that so among the sundry and manifold changes of the world our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found through Jesus Christ MEDITAT III. Of the frequent Remembrance of Death 1. CLimacus records a story of a Brother that had lived negligently for many years Clim scal grad 6. and was at last surprized with such a desperate disease that he continued for a long space of time deprived of his senses and supposed to be dead but recovering again he immediately secluded himself from all society and continued for twelve years together which was the remainder of his life lamenting the sins and negligences of his by-past life and seriously pondering the sad condition of all such persons as dye in their sins unrepented And when the time of his death indeed approached many of his fraternity flockt to him desiring to hear some more than ordinary instructions and directions from him for the good of their Souls but all that he would say unto them was this as the sum of Christian wisdom If you desire so to live that ye may dye happily then meditate continually upon death for 't is scarce possible for that man to sin who with due regard remembers Death the wages of sin This is also the advice of the wise Syracides Remember thy end Ecclus. 28.6 and let enmity cease Remember corruption and death and abide in the Commandments 1 Cor. 15.31 And 't was surely thus S. Paul dyed daily 2. To dye the death of the righteous is the desire even of the wicked but his last end shall be very unlike the others for he that will dye the death must live the life of the righteous The only way to dye well Numb 23.10 is to live well and he that will live well must live by dying principles saying with holy David Psal 119.109 My Soul is continually in my hand and for ought I know it may expire at my next breathing since many thousands in this very moment do breath their last And 't is only this moment I can call mine what is past cannot return to be again enjoyed and what 's to come is not in mine but in the Lord's hand Ps 31.17 Act. 17.28 My Time is in thy hand In him we live and move and have our Being Ask thy self then in every thing thou dost Would I now do this were I ready to dye 'T is the Wise mans advice Ecclus. 7. ult Whatsoever thou takest in hand Remember the end and thou shalt never do amiss From the forgetfulness of my end and of the uncertainty of my Life from every evil work and from a sudden and an unprovided death good Lord deliver me 3. The Lord clothed our First Parents with the skins of beasts to put them in mind of that mortality and corruption of the flesh they had contracted by their disobedience to his Commandments The which as we their sinful off-spring do dayly bear about us so ought we also to have the same in a continual remembrance for the keeping under the unruly lusts of the flesh that we pass not from a spiritual to death eternal And thus O that I may thus daily remember the imminent the unavoidable death of my corruptible body so as to keep my Soul unspotted of the world and alive from the death of sin continually mortifying all my evil and corrupt affections and daily proceeding in all vertue and godliness of living 4. With the holy Apostle of our Lord to dye daily is not only daily to remember death but also so to dye unto sin and live unto righteousness as thereby to live up to the hopes of eternal life and happiness slighting all the false and flattering felicities of this fawning world as being not only empty and unsatisfying but also mortal and dying A holy confidence to dye well De imit Christi lib. 1. ca. 23. and in hopes to enjoy eternal life after death is begotten in the heart saith the spiritual Akempis 1. By a perfect contempt of the world 2. By a through self-denyal 3. By a fervent desire and endeavour of proficiency in Grace 4. By the love of Discipline or strict corporal austerities 5. By the unwearied labour of true Repentance 6. By a willing and ready obedience to all Gods Commands 7. By suffering contentedly and joyfully all adversities for the love of Christ And thus prepare for thy Change to come looking not as becomes an Immortal Soul at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen for the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal The Prayer O God the Protector of all that trust in thee without whom nothing is strong nothing is holy Increase and multiply upon us thy mercy that thou being our Ruler and Guide we may so pass through things temporal that we finally lose not the things eternal Grant this O heavenly Father for thy Son Jesus Christ MEDITAT IV. Of the Horror of Death 1. SAint Augustine being with his Mother Monica invited to Rome by Pontianus the Prefect to view the stately Edifices and ancient Monuments of that eminent City amongst other rarities he saw the great Caesars Sepulchre and therein his Carcase of a livid ghastly colour his Face faln away to such a meagre leanness as scarce of skin and bone consisting his Lips being rotted his Teeth were seen black and corrupted his Nose so consumed that only the wide hollows of his nostrils appeared his Belly burst and swarming with Worms and Serpents his Eyes sunk into his head and in the two holes thereof two loathsome Toads were feeding Then turning towards his Mother he said What now dear Mother is become of the great Caesar whose Pomp Power and Policy whose Riches Honour and Dignity whose many Victories Conquests and Triumphs rendred him the most admired Heroe the world afforded Where now is all his glory where the conquering Armies he commanded The Nations Countries Cities he subdued The numerous train of Nobility Gentry Souldiery that attended him The vast Riches and boundless Authority he acquired Whereunto the pious Matron answered O my Son no sooner did his spirit fail and his breath expire but all his splendid enjoyments all his flattering worldly felicities forsook him his Riches his Friends his Attendants all his Conquests and Triumphs all the Honour
which is a place of darkness even blackness of darkness for ever and in the deep abyss of inextricable torments verse 6 Thine indignation lyeth hard upon me whereto I have provoked thee by manifold offences and thou hast vexed me with all thy storms those tempests of affliction and trouble which disturb my peace are sent from thee to scowr the rust of corruption off my Soul verse 7 Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me and made me to be abhorred of them The invisible society of holy Angels with the prayers and good wishes of holy men I enjoyed whilst I was innocent and heavenly minded but now being polluted they are estranged from me and abhor me in my sins verse 8 I am so fast in prison that I cannot get forth I am so enfetter'd in the bonds and chains of my sins that without the help of a divine hand I cannot be loosed from them verse 9 My sight faileth for very trouble the bright eye of my mind is dimm'd and darkned through the pressures of my spirit and in this sad condition Lord I have called upon thee as being my only refuge in danger support in trouble and succour in all distress I have stretched forth my hands unto thee by my practice according to my prayer verse 10 Dost thou shew wonders among the dead or shall the dead declare thy works of wonder or shall the dead rise up and praise thee They must have part in the first Resurrection which is from the corruption of sin who worthily shew forth thy praise verse 11 Shall thy loving kindness be shewed in the grave or thy faithfulness in destruction both in the state of the first and of the second death there is a deep silence of thy goodness and of thy truth verse 12 Shall thy wondrous works be known in the dark and thy righteousness in the land where all things are forgotten Thy righteous and admired deeds are not once mentioned either in the grave of death or in the pit of hell in both estates there is an utter forgetfulness of all thy goodness and truth But that I may be delivered from such a sad condition verse 13 Vnto thee have I cryed O Lord and early shall my prayer come before thee Before I have made my peace with thee my God or be surprized by death let my prayer for thy preventing and assisting grace be not rejected verse 14 Lord why abhorrest thou my soul I am unclean I confess and 't is but just I should be abhorred and forsaken but being withal penitent and humbled why hidest thou thy face from me as being still displeased with me and deaf to my petitions verse 15 I am in misery and like unto him that is at the point to dye Death as the wages of sin dogs me at the heels even from my youth up thy terrors have I suffered with a troubled mind The terrors of my Conscience for sin have been alway accompanied with a troubled and contrite spirit which thou hast promised not to despise verse 16 Thy wrathful displeasure goeth over me The apprehension of thy wrath and displeasure invades and overflows my soul and the fear of thee hath undone me the fear of thy wrath in the day of judgment and of the never dying torments of hell the effects thereof hath ruin'd all my worldly consolations verse 17 They come round about me dayly like water overflowing all the powers and passions of my Soul and compassed me together on every side leaving no visible means of evasion and peace verse 18 My lovers and my friends who professed themselves to be such in my worldly prosperity and amidst my carnal delights hast thou put away from me they are alienated and estranged in time of my trouble and hid mine acquaintance out of my sight they will not now see me who formerly frequented my company And therefore being thus desolate and deeply endangered unto thee as my only hope and refuge O Lord God of my Salvation I have cryed day and night continually for deliverance and Salvation that my soul may continually bless thee and say Glory be to the Father c. As it was in the beginning c. THE Fourth general Meditation OF HEAVEN 1. THe land of Canaan was promised to Abraham the Father of the faithful in these words of command Gen. 13.14 Lift up now thine eyes and look from the place where thou art Northward and Southward Eastward and Westward For all the land which thou seest to thee will I give it and to thy seed for ever The celestial Canaan is herein promised unto thee if a true son of the faithful Abraham Lift up then thine eyes O my Soul and contemplate the ravishing Felicities of this Land of promise This is thy native countrey where thou wast at first framed by the hands of the Almighty after his own Image Why then dost thou not pant and breath and sigh and long to be at home Why art thou so well pleased with a strange land and delightest rather to be a Pilgrim in the valley of Tears than a free Denizon in the land of Peace a Foreigner in the city of Babylon than a Citizen in the heavenly Jerusalem Away away from Lebanon O my Soul thy beloved calleth thee away from the dens of Lyons Can. 4.8 and the mountains of the Leopards Ps 55.6 O that I had wings like a Dove for then would I flee away and be at rest 2. We read that the Lord brought Moyses to the top of mount Pisgah and shewed him the promised land where having the wilderness behind him and the happiest of all lands before him he represents the devout and heavenly minded Soul who considering the manifold troubles in the wilderness of this world and the joys and felicities of the world to come is highly ravished in the contemplation and desire of the one to the extream contempt of the other 3. The happiness of Heaven is the end of all Holiness upon Earth and that must needs be the greatest good which is the end of all that is good for the end is more noble than the means 'T is the last good we hope for and so the most perfect as being the perfection and accomplishment of all the good we can imagine or desire nay 't is a blessedness beyond our frail imaginations to comprehend as it is written eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither have entred into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him a Quod Deus praeparavit diligentibus se fide non capitur spe non attingitur charitate non comprehenditur desideria vota transgreditur acquiri potest aestimari non potest Aug. 1 Cor. 2.9 4. Raise up thy affections O my Soul as to be ravisht with the love of Heaven so to lament with tears of sorrow and shame thy sloth and negligence thy coldness and indevotion thy sinful security and earthly mindedness and what