we may conclude that although in Heaven we shall know one another we shall have nothing of that carnal love which we have at present and which causeth us to put so much difference between one person and another A father may know his Children but his love shall not be grounded upon considerations of flesh and blood he shall love them only because they are amongst the Children of God and the Heirs of his Kingdom and because he shall see them appear in the Image of the Heavenly Father cloathed with his Light and Crowned with his Immortal Glory Finally we shall love no body but in God and for his sake as they shall be in God and God in them In this manner it shall not be possible to love them more or less Charity or Love the Queen of Vertues shall then sit upon its Throne and attain to its highest degree and perfection If you think seriously upon this Christians you shall easily find arguments to answer the vain objections of such as say that if we come to the knowledge of one another in Heaven that shall be able to disturb our satisfaction and rest for as it will be a comfort and joy to meet there with our Parents and Friends in like manner it will be a trouble and dissatisfaction not to find there all such whom we have formerly loved We may retort the same objection in a stronger manner against those that believe that we shall not know one another in Heaven for we may say also that if we know not the persons we shall not know whether our Parents or our Friends are there and that this is as likely to disturbe and trouble the quiet and satisfaction of our minds But to argue in this gross manner is to confound Heaven with the Earth Grief and displeasure can never be admitted in a Paradice of joy and perfect happiness In this glorious condition our knowledge shall be so clear our Charity so pure our Love for God so servent that as we shall love all things which God shall love and where his Image shall appear so it shall not be possible for us to love them whom God shall hate them who shall bear the marks and similitudes of the Devil When David was yet here on Earth he said unto God Lord shall not I hate them that hate thee I hate them with a perfect hatred they have been to me as mine Enemies Ps 39. In the same manner we shall rather speak in Heaven in the estate of perfection when God shall be in us all in all and we shall be all in God Some there are that inquire what kind of language we shall speak in Heaven some reply that we shall speak the Language of Angels grounding their opinion upon what St. Paul speaks to the Corinthians When I should speak with the Tongues of Men and Angels If I have not charity I am become as sounding Brass and a tinkling Simbal But this is a Chimerian opinion for as the Angels are pure Spirits by consequence they can have no Tongue nor proper language I confess in some holy Apparitions Angels have spoken to Men but it was by moving the Tongues of their borrowed Bodies or by employing some other corporal Organ then they did speak in the Language of those unto whom they were sent they had no particular or proper Dialect But if Angels did speak their Language would excell as much that of Men as the Angelical Nature excells the Humane by the Tongues of Angels therefore our Apostle understands an excellent Tongue better then that of Men. Others fancy that in Heaven we shall speak no other Language but the Hebrew because say they that it is the Tongue which God hath Sanctified from the beginning of the World in which he spoke to the Patriarcks and Holy Prophets in which he proclaimed his Law upon Mount Sina in the audience of all the People of Israel and in which he hath Recorded his Sacred Law with his own Finger They say that it is the Language which Adam did speak in the Earthly Paradice in the state of innocency and which all the Inhabitants of the World did speak before God sent amongst them a Division of Tongues Others are yet of opinion that as then we shall attain to all Knowledge and Sciences we shall not be ignorant of all kind of Languages but that we shall speak them all in a most perfect manner and that with them we shall declare the wonderful Works of God as the Apostles did at the day of Pentecost As the holy Scripture is silent upon this matter I shall affirm nothing But in general terms I may say that as God caused a division of Tongues to punish Mans insolency and pride and that as the differing Languages of People is an effect of their Sin it is most certain that this confusion and difference shall be altogether taken away and that nothing shall be said in Heaven but shall be very well understood by all the glorified Saints I may add moreover that in case we should speak so well all manner of Languages which have been in the World it is nevertheless very likely that we shall all speak but one Language that we may all praise God with the same voice but whether this shall be the Holy Language or another more perfect and majestick which God shall sanctifie for this purpose we cannot know until God of his infinite Mercy shall have raised us to this estate of Glory and perfect Happiness From what we have already said Christians you may easily understand that our happiness hath three steps or degrees the first is attainable in this Life the second at the Egress of the Soul out of the Body the third at the great day of our glorious Resurrection for already in this Life God bestows upon us the First-Fruits of his Glory and the fore-tasts of Heaven The Spirit of God and of his Glory rests at present upon us which fills us full of an unspeakable glorious joy and with the peace of God which surpasseth all understanding When our Souls depart out of this wretched and crasie Body God gathers them up into the bundle of Life he introduceth them into the blessed company of the Angels and Glorified Spirits and admits them to the Contemplation of his Face which is fulness of Joy But in this joyful day when Christ shall come down from Heaven to judge the quick and the dead he will carry us both in Soul and Body to the highest Glory and Happiness whereof we are capable for this reason the Name of Glory is ascribed to this high degree of happiness which is promised to us at the blessed appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ as in the 8 Chap. to the Romans where the Apostle saith That the Creature was made subject to vanity not willingly but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope because the Creature it self shall be delivered from the Bondage of Corruption into
seek amongst the rarest and most precious Treasuries of Wit and Learning belonging to the Heathen Antiquity turn over the Writings of the most Eloquent Orators of the Subtlest Philosophers of the most famous Poets examine the Secrets of the most expert and experienced Physitians consider their Practice and all the Remedies that they prescribe to the Soul and you shall find them too unskilful to perform the least Cure They do but charm and divert the Disease hardens us against the evil they furnish us with a good exterior and teach us to bear a good Meen but they have no real Antidote against the Venome that kills the Principle of Life nor Remedy that reaches to the Heart And as the Torrents that dry up in the hottest seasons such Consolations that flow not from the Fountain of Life vanish away without effect and dry up to nothing when a deep sorrow fear and affliction seize upon a sinful Soul It seems the contrivers of the Heathens Religion were sensible of this Truth for they have dedicated Temples and erected Altars to all manner of gods and goddesses not only to Vertues and Health but also to Vices and Diseases to Fear Cowardise Anger the Feavor the Pestilence and an infinite more but they left Death out of their Devotions This is an open Declaration that they knew not how to strike acquaintance with Death and win its esteem and favor They had no Sacrifices nor Incense that could allay its fury they lookt upon it as their most inhumane and unreconcileable Enemy The very name of Death did terrify them therefore it was one of their most unfortunate Omens Adrian the Emperor is a witness of what I say he was one of the greatest Princes in former Ages he had made most part of the habitable World tremble under his Scepter and put to death an infinite number of Men but at last he trembled and was astonished himself at the approaches of Death he had overcome the most barbarous Nations and tam'd the most savage Beasts but when he came to this last Enemy he had no weapons fit for the Encounter therefore in this occasion he discovers the weakness and unconstancy of his Mind far more disturb'd than his Body was with the Disease Sometimes he did employ the Magick Art to retard Death sometimes he did make use of his Sword and Poison to hasten it at last he kill'd himself by an abstinence from Food necessary to entertain his life He had conquer'd all the World and given Peace and Happiness to his Empire but he could not overcome himself or appease the troubles of his Conscience he was so far from satisfying the troublesome thoughts of his Soul that he suffers himself to be overwhelmed with despair he flatters his Soul in hastening its ruine for when his Disease did suffer him to breath he talkt unto it in this manner My little Soul my dearest Companion Thou art now going to wander in obscure Cold and strange places Thou shalt never jest again according to the wonted custom thou shalt never give me any sport or pleasure any more But some may say that Adrian was a powerful Monarch but no great Philosopher that he knew how to Govern and was well acquainted with the Politicks but that he was ignorant of the Morals and had no skill to dye well To answer this Objection let us give an example of one without exception who will satisfy all Opponents Aristotle is generally esteem'd to have been the Subtlest and the most Learned of the Heathen Antiquity he was the Prince of all the Philosophers the Glory of his Age and the Founder of his Sect when his excellent Soul had viewed all things examined the Heavens searcht among the excellencies of the Earth pryed into all the Wonders of the World and found out the rarest Secrets of Nature He could never find any solid Comforts against the apprehensions of Death Notwithstanding all his admirable Subtleties and his profound Learning the fears of this cruel Death terrifies his Conscience in such a manner that he confessed That of all terrible things Death was the most dreadful CHAP. 3. Of divers sorts of Death with which we must encounter WHen David had a design to fight with Goliah he could not make use of the Armor of King Saul therefore he took a smooth stone out of his Bag cast it with his Sling struck the Philistine in the Forehead and brought down this proud Giant who had defied the Armies of Israel We have already examined and tried all the Armor of humane Wisdom and Learning laid up in the Storehouses of the greatest wits of former Ages and we have found that they are not able to yield us any benefit when we shall encounter with Death Let us therefore now see whither we may overcome this Proud Enemy with the Sling of our mystical David with the weapons of our Divine Shepheard but before we begin the Encounter let us look and behold it in the face The enemy that I intend that you should overcome is a Monster with three Heads for there are three sorts of death the Corporal the Spiritual and the Eternal The Corporal Death is a separation of the Soul from the Body although our Body hath been fashioned with the Finger of God it is but a weak and frail Vessel made with the slime of the Earth but our Soul is of an Heavenly Spiritual and Immortal Substance it is a Sparkle and a Raie of the Godhead and the lively Image of our great Creator for when God had made our first Parent He breathed into his Nostrils the breath of Life Gen. 2.7 that we might thereby understand that our Souls do proceed from his immediate hand therefore he is named the Father of spirits Heb. 12. and The faithful Creator of Souls 1 Pet. 4. This Soul doth raise us a degree above all the Animals and above the Celestial Bodies and renders us like to the Angels of Heaven It is the Light that enlightens us the Salt that preserves us from Corruption In one word by this Soul we live enjoy our Sences move and understand as soon as this Angelical Guest leaves its Lodging and Earthly abode it looseth all Beauty and falls of it self into an inevitable ruine For this Flesh that we entertain with care and pamper with all manner of Dainties doth then corrupt and rot after that it hath been stretcht awhile upon Beds of Gold and richly attired in Purple and Scarlet it is cast upon a Bed of Worms and covered with the vilest insects of the Earth notwithstanding all its former perfumes it yields then a most horrid stink before it did ravish the eyes of the Beholders with its admirable Beauty but now it becomes so odious and horrible that the living care not to see it at last it is reduc'd to ashes according to the Sentence that was pronounc'd in the Earthly Paradise Dust thou art and to Dust thou shalt return The Spiritual Death is the separation
persons that they had never been born therefore they shall seek death and shall not find it Mat. 26. They shall desire to dye that is to be reduc'd to nothing Revel 9. but this death shall fly from them who of you can dwell in everlasting burning Is 33. who of us can dwell in Eternal Flames Revel 6. If the viols and little cups full of Gods wrath do force the wicked to cry out how much more shall the Rivers and the Ocean of Gods vengeance force from them O mountains fall upon us O rocks cover us and hide us from the face of him that sits upon the Throne and from the wrath of the Lamb for the day of his anger is come and who may abide it Prov. 1. But as they have stopt their ears to Gods gracious calls and hardned their hearts to his invitations to repentance then God shall also stop his ears to their outcries and his eyes to their horrid sufferings and when they shall be overwhelmed with fear and despair God will scorn and mock at their insufferable misery CHAP. 4. That Jesus Christ our Lord hath redeemed us from Eternal Death and by degrees doth deliver us from a spiritual Death WE read in the fifth Chapter of the Revelation of S. John That this beloved Disciple wept bitterly because no being in Heaven and Earth nor under the Earth was able to open the Book sealed with seven Seals that was in Gods right hand at that instant one of the 24 Elders spake to him Weep not behold the Lion of the Tribe of Juda hath overcome to open the Book and to loose the seven Seals Thus we have until now wept bitterly because we could find no body in the Armies of Israel to encounter with that horrid Monster Death But let us also wipe our Tears and take good courage my beloved for this same Lion of the Tribe of Juda hath order to fight with this dreadful Enemy our victorious and triumphing David who hath torn in pieces the infernal Lion bruised the antient Serpents Head and spoiled Principalities and powers triumphing of them in his Cross Col. 2.15 It is he that hath undertaken this glorious combat It was for that purpose that he left for a while the Throne of God the Father and the company of his Holy Angels 1 Sam. 17. It was for that intent that he came into the Camp and confusion of Israel contemning the shame and reproaches of his brethren He hath not borrowed the weapons and assistance of the world Heb. 2. all that he hath taken from us is our frail nature But he hath armed himself with righteousness as with a breast-plate and hath put on the Helmet of salvation He hath cloathed himself with vengeance as with a garment and hath covered himself with Jealousie as with a cloak he hath alone troden the Wine-press and no body hath assisted him Isa 59. Isa 63. but his arme hath saved him and his hand hath upheld him As David cut off Goliahs Head with his own sword Jesus Christ hath overcome Death by Death like unto the powerful Sampson he hath destroyed all the Enemies of his Glory by his Death 1 Sam. 17. He hath overcome in dying him who had the Empire of Death that is the Devil Heb. 2. and hath delivered them who through fear of death were all their life time subject to bondage then was fulfilled this proof out of Hosea O death I will be thy plague O grave I will be thy destruction Hos 13. and that of Isaiah He will swallow up death in victory and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces and the rebuke of his people shall be taken away from off all the Earth Isai 25. 1 Tim. 6. This blessed Prince King of Kings and Lord of Lords who only hath immortality and dwelleth in an inaccessible light hath destroyed death and brought to light life and immortality by the Gospel 1 Tim. 1. O death where is thy victory O grave where is thy sting The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the Law but blessed be God who hath given us the victory by our Lord Jesus Christ 1 Cor. 15. This great God and Saviour hath perfectly redeemed us from Eternal death as he himself doth teach us in the Gospel of St. John He that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation but is passed from death unto life chap. 5.25 I am the living bread which came down from Heaven if any man eat of this bread he shall live for ever Chap. 6.51 v. 40. Your fathers did eat Manna in the wilderness and are dead This is the bread which cometh down from Heaven that a man may eat thereof and not dye Chap. 8. Verily verily I say unto you If any man keep my word he shall never taste of death I am the resurrection and the life he that lives and believeth in me shall never dye and he that believeth in me although he were dead yet shall he live Chap. 11. The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life by our Lord Jesus Christ Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection Revel 20. the second death shall never have any power upon him In one word the Gates of Hell that is to say Death can do no prejudice to them that are built upon Jesus Christ the rock of Eternity This merciful Saviour hath also delivered us from the spiritual death Eph. 2. For we being dead in our trespasses and sins he hath quickened us and raised us up together unto newness of life Colos 2. He hath carried our sins in his body upon the Cross that he dying unto sin we might live unto righteousness We are buried with him in his death by Baptisme that as Jesus Christ is raised from the dead by the Glory of God the father we also likewise should walk in newness of life 1 Pet. 2. Awake thou that sleepest and rise from the dead and Jesus Christ shall enlighten thee Rom. 6. For by his death he hath not only reconciled us to God the Father Eph. 5. Colos 11. but he hath also procured unto us the Holy Spirit that creates in us a new heart and imprints the image of his Holiness Ezek. 36. 2 Cor. 5. He makes us become new creatures and regenerates us by the uncorrptible seed 1 Pet. 1. This is that which the Scripture names the first resurrection Revel 20. St. Peter was ravisht in admiration at this great and wonderful benefit and therefore he acknowledgeth it Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead 1 Pet. 1. God discover'd to the Prophet Ezekiel a field cover'd with dry bones and commanded him to prophecy upon those bones Ezek. 37. At the Prophets Command
the beloved of the Father Heb. 5. yet he learned obedience by the things that he suffered God hath predestinated thee to render thee conformable to the image of his Son that he might be the first-born amongst many Brethren God intends to strengthen thee with an Holy constancy and to teach thee to possess thy Soul with patience Luk 21. He causeth thee therefore to learn by experience that all Flesh is as Grass and all the Glory of Man as the flower of Grass He intends to teach thee how to humble thy self under his mighty hand that he may lift thee up in due time 1 Pet. 5. When God purposed to bring the Children of Israel out of Egypt Ex. 21.5 He caused the yoak of their grievous bondage to be more heavy and loded them with more unsufferable burdens For the same reason God sends afflictions and gluts us with bitterness because he would bring us to a loathing of the World and of its Vanities and to think upon Heaven and its Eternal Happiness 1 Cor. 11. He chastiseth thee that thou mayest not perish with the World He punisheth thy Body that thy Soul might be saved As the Gold is tried in the Fire thus the Lord casts us into the flames of affliction that our Faith might be tried and appear more precious than fine Gold 1 Cor. 5. We Glory in God in the midst of Tribulations knowing that Tribulation produceth Patience Patience Experience and Experience Hope 1 Pet. 1. Now Faith doth not make us ashamed because the love of God is spread in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which hath been given to us God will kindle again thy languishing Zeal and enliven thy Prayers that they may be more acceptable to him Tell me not that thy distemper is an heavy burden that hinders thy Soul from lifting it self towards Heaven and that thy grievous Aches dry up the Humidity of thy Tongue and cause thy Lips to stick together for I mean not the Prayers composed by Art but the Holy Affections and earnest Sighs of the Soul sent up to God A groan of an oppressed Soul and a Sigh forced from us by necessity and a Tear dropt from a penitent Heart are far more acceptable to him than Prayers of Forty hours that come forth of an hypocritical Mouth When the Prophet Moses saw himself inclosed between Pharaoh's Army and the Red Sea he was so grievously perplexed that he could not open his mouth but God heard the voice of his Heart and answered to his silent Request King Hezekiah muttered as the Crane or as the Swallow and groaned as the Pidgeon and God had a respect to his groaning and tears and heard him from his Holy Sanctuary The sighs of Jonas in the Whales Belly mounted up through the waves of the Sea and ascended to the sacred Habitation of God's Glory The Cries of Jesus dying upon the Cross have pierced through to the bosom of our Heavenly Father and have moved the Bowels of his Eternal Mercies In short God speaks thus of all his Children Before they cry I will grant them their request and as they shall yet speak I shall have heard them Therefore the Royal Prophet saith not only That God hath heard the Prayers but hath heard the desire of the humble thou wilt prepare their Heart thou wilt cause thine Ear to hear For that reason when the Apostle St. Paul make mention of that Spirit that supports our weaknesses and that teacheth us to pray saith That he crieth in our hearts Abba Father and that he maketh request for us with sighs and groans that cannot be uttered Rom. 8. Take good courage my Brother or my Sister and be not frighted at the sight of Death Thou seest a narrow passage a way all beset with Thorns and Bryars but it is Heavens Gate and the way that leads to thine Heavenly Paradise For we must of necessity march through a Valley of Tears before we can enter into the City of the living God Psal 84. We must pass through many tribulations to come to the Kingdom of Heaven Acts 14. Blessed are they whom God afflicts for they shall be comforted Matth. 5. Blessed is the man that suffereth temptation for when he shall be sufficiently proved he shall receive the Crown of Life which God hath promised to them that love him Jam. 1. The Lord sends thee this affliction and this grievous temptation not only for thine own good and Salvation but also for the benefit of others by his wonderful Wisdom he preserves the communion of Saints and so disposeth of every one that we all contribute to the building of his Tabernacle Upon one he bestows Riches that he should be bountiful in Alms-deeds to another he gives Learning that he might instruct the ignorant and comfort the afflicted he raiseth others to great Honors and Dignities that they might be able to protect the innocent and deliver the oppressed others are afflicted with desperate evils and grievous and long diseases others are deprived of their most needful senses as of their Eye-sight or of their Hearing that they might edify their neighbors by an Holy Constancy and Christian Patience The Ashes of poor Joh have more luster than all the Gold and the precious Stones of the World It is many Ages since he endured greivous and dreadful calamities Nevertheless his patience is yet proposed to us for our example and to the end of the world it will always instruct the Church of God God teacheth thee by the evils which thou endurest to be moved with mercy and compassion towards others in the same condition for as he required that the Children of Israel should be gracious to strangers because they had been strangers in the Land of Egypt Likewise he sends to thee afflictions that thou mightest pity the afflicted and suffer with them as Members of the same Mystical Body This appears in Jesus Christ our Head for although the chief end of his sufferings was to redeem us and reconcile us unto God his Father nevertheless the Holy Ghost informs us That he was like unto us in all things Sin excepted that he might be a merciful High Priest and have compassion of our infirmities Finally the affliction that grieves thee is not only sent to thee for thy Salvation and for the instruction of thy neighbors but also for the Glory of the Great and living God who hath made and formed thee for we may say of every disease that happens to good Men as Christ said of Lazarus's distemper This sickness is not to death but for the Glory of God that the Son of God might be glorified by it Thou mayest be severe to thy self but thou must be charitable to others and judge discreetly of thy Brethren's affliction when thou art in pain or trouble think seriously upon thy miscarriages and turn unto God with all thy heart But when thou seest others cast upon a bed of sickness don't argue from thence as David's Enemies that it is
and ready with its jaws open to devour me But Lord I come to cast my self before thy Blessed Cross I take hold of the Horns of this Altar I dip my self in thy Bloud I put on the Robes of thy Righteousness and wrap my self up in thy Death O Holy Redeemer I know that thou hast been distressed and grievously perplexed at the approaches of Death and that thine Agony hath been so bitter that thou hast sweated drops of Bloud and the Holy Angels have come down to comfort thee whereas thy Servants the Martyrs have gone to death and their sufferings with expressions of Joy as to a most splendid Banquet or to a Triumph Thou hast prayed with strong Crying and Tears to be delivered from death and that this Cup might pass away so that thou mightest never tast of its bitterness But Lord thy death was not as mine and as that of thy blessed Martyrs Thy death was an atonement for the sins of the whole World whereas our death is not intended as a satisfaction to God's justice but rather to render us capable of receiving the blessed Fruits of his Eternal Compassions Thou didst bear the strokes of God's Justice and endure the fierceness of his wrath enflamed against the sins which thou hast loaded on thy self But we instead of this consuming Fire which thou hast quenched with thy precious Bloud we perceive the flames of Love instead of the Hand of thy justice we see thy Arms wide open to receive us into Eternal Happiness Death good Lord was armed with our sins and iniquities and with all that is dreadful in Hell but I see that all the Armor of Death are hung upon thy Cross they are the Trophies and everlasting marks of thy Glorious Victory Thou hast felt not only the most sensible Darts of Death but also the most terrible Thunderbolts and fearful Curses of the Law Thou hast secured us from all that violence thou hast redeemed us from the dreadful Curses When thou wast made a Curse for us thou hadst not only to encounter with death but also to destroy him who had the Empire of Death and to break in pieces the Gates of Hell Thou didst spoil Principalities and Powers shewing them openly and triumphing of them in thy Cross O wonderful Saviour How marvellous are thy Works and worthy of the continual admiration of Men and Angels Thou hast drunk up the very dregs of the Cup of God's fury that we might never taste of it and thou hast taken upon thee all the punishment that our sins and offences had deserved that we might never feel them Thy grievous pangs alleviate my torments thy bruises and wounds are my health and cure thy fears do comfort and settle my mind and thy distressed Soul doth fill mine full of joy and comfort thy crying doth appease the troubles of my Conscience and thy drops of Bloud do wash down my Tears thine affliction comforts me thy sorrow is my joy and thy bitterness is my sweetness thy death is my victory and thy Cross is my Triumph I shall no longer apprehend to dye seeing thou didst procure unto me Life and Immortality O Glorious and Merciful Lord the Kingdom of Heaven belongs unto thee by a twofold Right it belongs to thee because thou art the only Son of God and the Heir of all things it belongs to thee also because thou hast purchased it with the infinite Merits of thy Sufferings the first is sufficient for thee the second thou hast resigned unto me that I might one day enjoy this Heavenly Kingdom as the fruits of thy Death and the price of thy Bloud I have hoped in thee Lord I shall never be confounded I know that nothing impure or defiled shall enter into thine Holy Jerusalem but thy Bloud shall wash me from all my sins and make me as white as Snow O Glorious Lord O thou that art wonderful how precious is thy death unto me It is the payment of all my debts the atonement of all my crimes and the ransom of the whole World It is our peace with God our re-union with Heaven and our reconciliation with the Blessed Angels of Light It is the death of Death it self and the ruine of Hell In short it hath not only drawn me out of an Abysse of Misery freed me from Eternal Damnation and the infinite torments of the bottomless Pit but it hath purchased for me Heaven with all its Glory and Paradise with its unspeakable Delights David was much admired for making use of Goliah 's Sword to cut off his Head but who will admire and wonder at thee O victorious Son of David seeing thou hast swallowed up Death into Victory by thine own death Sampson was wondered at because he killed a few Enemies by his death but who will not wonder at thee O Son of Righteousness who by thy death hast destroyed all the enemies of our Salvation and given to death itself its death's wound Jacob slept peaceably at the bottom of the mysterious Ladder which reacht from the Earth up to Heaven But O my Lord God I shall lay my self down and find more peace and quiet at the bottom of thy blessed Cross seeing that by its means I have access to the Father unto whom thou hast reconciled me seeing that I may with boldness go to the Throne of Grace to obtain Mercy and Help in time of need Lord Jesus I discover in thy Cross not only the source of my sweetest Comforts of my greatest Joys and of my noblest expectations but I learn also there how to dye well and I perceive all the Vertues in their greatest perfection that should accompany my Soul at its Egress out of this Body O Lord Who art Perfection it self and who hast left me such a notable Example that I might imitate it give me Grace to express to all my Relations that cordial and holy affection and that tenderness which I see in thee give me Grace to forgive with all mine Heart mine Enemies that I may pray God for them who have persecuted me with fury Give me Grace in my greatest pains to follow the example of thy sweet Nature of thy Goodness of thy Patience and noble Resolution Inflame my Soul with an earnest Zeal for thy Glory and with such a love as caused thee to offer thy self up in Sacrifice to God Here I am O God ready to perform thy Will my Soul is none of mine but thine who art its faithful Creator and its merciful Saviour Seeing that thou hast paid its Ransom that thou hast washed and cleansed it in thy Blood cloathed it with thy Righteousness and put it in a capacity of entring into thine Heavenly Sanctuary and of appearing before the Father of Lights do with it as it shall seem good unto thee O sweet Jesus who hast been pleased to Dye and be Crucified for me wretched Sinner give me that Grace that I may for ever live and raign with thee and that I may at every