Disciples who had indignation at the Act and therefore said To what purpose is this waste Yea he reproved them and said unto them Why trouble ye the Woman For she hath wrought a good work upon me For in that she hath poured this Ointment on my Body she did it for my Burial Mat. 26. 8 10 12. She hath done what she could she is come aforehand to anoint my Body to the burying Mar. 14. 8. Here I find was Ointment to embalm him and here were also Tears at his Funeral And yet so far was Christ from blaming her for her Tears that he not only decreed the publishing of this Act through the World where the Gospel should be preached and that for a Memorial of her Mat. 26. 13. but he likewise upbraided Simon with the tears of the sinner and said unto him I entred into thine house and thou gavest me no water for my feet but she hath washed my feet with Tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head c. Wherefore her sins which are many are forgiven for she loved much Luke 7. 44 47. Weep then I may upon this sad occasion yea and weep may my Friends too Tears are as proper at a Funeral as Smiles at a Wedding We have two Marriages the first whereof is to living Dust the last to the cold and silent Earth At the former we rejoyce for it was an institution of God before Man had sinned Gen. 2. 24. At the latter we weep for it is the effect of sin We cloath our selves in delightful Colours when we celebrate the former But our Blacks at the latter are our Wedding Garments The Rosemary is served about at each The Gloves and the Favours attend at each The Wine and the other accustomed Entertainments are given at each We go to the Church for the consummation of each Only here is the difference that at the one we rejoice but at the other we mourn Every Guest that is willing to comply with the present occasion must as well be sad at this as be merry at the other Weep we may and weep we must especially my self who have lost my self But yet let me take heed that I offend not in my Tears lest that which is my Duty be turned into a Crime I must especially take heed that I err not in the cause of these Laments for if I grieve at the happiness of him that is departed I discover an Envy rather than Affection If I grieve for the loss which my self sustaineth I must take heed that I wrong not my confidence in God I may not offend in the number of my Tears for if I weep too much I may forfeit my hope or at least I may occasion those that behold me to think that I doubt of the salvation of the Dead Weep I may and weep I must but for fear lest I offend in these my Tears in my earnest Prayers I will beg that they may be sanctified To my God will I go for his Direction and Assistance And in this storm of my Tears I will shelter my self under his Protection The Dying Knell Or Tears for the Death of a beloved Brother and may likewise serve at the Decease of any other faithful Friend A Friend saith King Solomon loveth at all times and a Brother is born for adversity Prov. 17. 17. Friendship which is begotten by the outward form or any other sinister and by-respect liveth no longer than that ground of affection but nature is stronger than our election can be and Religion obligeth far more than both O how great then is my loss of my dearest Brother in whom both excellency of Feature nearness of blood and a gracious conversation conspired together to render him matchless To me he was a Friend but now to the Grave and what loss can be greater than the loss of a Friend To me he was a Brother but now to the Worms And what loss can be more deplorable than the loss of a Brother But to me he was yet more he was a Friend in his Love and courtesies a Brother by his blood yea and an instructer a teacher of Religion and goodness And yet nor love nor blood nor Religion could preserve him mine O what Sorrows do accompany all things transitory His love could not die but his body could And so I am deprived of the Society of my Brother because my Brother was subject to Corruption But is this the adversity for which he was born according to King Solomon Did the Wise Man intend that a Brother is born to bring Adversity Or rather to comfort us in the time of Adversity Had he been a cause of my least disturbance while he was living he would have eased my grief by grieving himself He would have comforted me in the time of trouble had he lived to see my grievous mourning But now alas I am left to lament alone and so much the more for the want of his comfort I now must grieve for him who was my joy and my laments and my griefs increase the higher because for his sake they arise who cannot allay them Had we lived in hatred his death peradventure might have been my Comfort Had we loved but slightly a tear or two I might have thought enough to pay at his Funeral But our Love was firm it was strong yea strong as death and who then can blame me if my sorrows in some measure keep pace with my love O what tie can be so great as that of affection What love so great as of a Brother and Sister And yet so vain is Man so frail are Mortals that either our affection or our persons must have a divorce Had my deceased Brother forgotten the tie and bond of nature and in his life had he turned his love into hatred yet his fault ought not to have lessened my Love to which both Nature and Religion did strongly oblige me Had he loved me but coldly and faintly as divers do yet I ought to have warmed his affection with the fervency of mine But oh he dearly loved he cordially affected me and yet his love and his affection could not prolong his life Had my Brother and I been Idolaters together I might have believed that that sin had slain my Brother But as our Love was constant so our Religion was undefiled yea the strength of our Love was founded on the purity of our Religion and yet he hath payed his debt to Nature The Lord did threaten to set the Egyptians against the Egyptians and that they should fight every one against his Brother Is. 19. 2. Those Egyptians were heathens and Enemies to the Church but my Brother and I were united both in the Profession and the Love of Christianity and yet through our sins I fear that even we destroy each other My sins are partly punished in his death and his death hath given me so deep a wound that peradventure I shall not long survive him Our love was so
A Mourning-Ring In Memory of your Departed Friend Containing The House of Weeping The Sick Man's Passing-Bell Death-Bed-Thoughts The Fatal Moment The Treatment of the Dead in order to their Burial The Funeral Solemnity A Conference between the Mourners The History of those that have died suddainly c. Observations on the Bills of Mortality A walk among the Tombs The Pilgrim's Guide from his Cradle to his Grave The Author's Tears or Meditations on his own Sickness Death and Funeral c. The Second Edition Recommended as proper to be given at Funerals London Printed for Iohn Dunton at the Raven in the Poultrey 1692. TO THE READER Courteous Reader I Remember a while ago there was a Question proposed to the Athenian Society Whether Books are not more proper to be given at Funerals than Bisquets Gloves Rings c. The Answer they returned was That undoubtedly a Book would be a far more convenient more durable and more valuable a Present than what are generally given as much exceeding them as the Soul does the Body and besides will much better and more profitably preserve the Memory of a Deceased Friend if good teaching him how to follow him if bad to avoid his Example that they may escape his End and the Truths contained therein we should think would make a more lasting Impression even than a Sermon it self much more than a Dull Deaths-head for having always before our Eyes the Idea of those for whom 't was given they 'll still as it were Preach from the Dead unto us Thus far you have the Opinion of the Athenian Society in this Matter And certainly nothing can more conduce to our eternal Well-fare and to put us in mind of Mortality than Books of this kind and to the end they may be more Profitable and Useful to Christians it were to be wished that this Mourning-Ring which is so Entituled that it might be given at Funerals instead of Gloves Bisquets Wine And those that think it proper may Print in a Sheet of Paper the most Material Passages in the Life of their Dead Friend and bind it up with those Mourning-Ring they give away at his Funeral and for the more effectually perpetuating the Memory of the Party Deceased There is room left in the Title of this Book for inserting his Name and Place of Burial And indeed all serious practical Books are proper for this Design and if Bound in Black with a Cypher of Mortality as this Mourning-Ring should be when given at Funerals will be very decent and proper for such a Solemn Occasion to make the serious Impressions of our Frailty more strong was I suppose the first Original of Funeral Sermons and for this purpose they are still Printed that the consideration of the Dead may further the Holyness and Salvation of the Living And doubtless Reading and Meditation would be much more decent at such Solemnities than Eating and Drinking and putting on Gay Attire Books of this Subject would make the People mind the present instance of Mortality and affect them with devout Meditations thereon How sad is it to consider the unsuitable Carriage of a great many Persons at Funerals those opportunities are usually spent in idle Chat in Eating and Drinking and that sometimes to Excess so that the House of Weeping is turned into a House of Mirth and Feasting Many have put in Practice this useful Design of giving Books at the Interment of Friends which if it were more general the good Effect thereof would be soon discerned in the Lives of Christians for it may be fitly be said of a Book given at Funerals as Divine Herbert says of a Verse viz. A Book may find him who a Sermon flies And turn a Gift into a Sacrifice When Christians attend at Funerals and sit over Graves and are amused with the doleful Passing-Bell and look upon Skulls and dead Bones and Ghastly Spectacles upen the dropping Eyes and despondent Looks of Mourners they have if ever some suitable self-humbling Apprehensions of their own Mortality which wou'd abide with 'em by a frequent perusal of such a Treatise as this which puts them in mind of their departed Friends and serves as King Philip's Boy who saluted him every Morning with a Remember Sir you are a Man There are no Ingredients in the Shop of Nature that are a sufficient Cordial to fortifie the Heart against this King of Terrors or his Harbingers The Velvet slipper cannot fence the Foot from the Gout nor the Gold Ring the Finger from a Fellon the richest Diadem cannot quit the Head-ach nor the purple Robe prevent a Fever Beauty Strength Riches Honour Friends nor any nor all can repeal that sentence Dust thou art and to Dust thou shalt return Every Fit of an Ague and every Distemper of this frail Constitution being as a light Skirmish before the main Battle of Death wherein weak Man being vanquished is led Captive to his long home And when once the Lines of Mortality are drawn upon the Face of the fairest Mortal he becomes a ghastly Spectacle how lovely soever before and the conclusion is Bury my Dead out of my sight This inevitable necessity however it be confesled and acknowledged of all yet lamentable experience teacheth that in the Christian World most Men so live as though they should never die Now That we may be fitted to encounter with this last Enemy besides the manifold helps which God hath reached to us in his Word in the Passages of his Providence in the frequent Examples of Mortality before us continually and in our own sensible Approaches to the Gates of Death I say besides these and infinite more this Mourning-Ring by Gods blessing and our endeavours may prove no small furtherance in our Pilgrimage The whole Work being the most Comprehensive history of Death and Funeral Monuments yet extant each Sermon and Meditation therein is as a several Legacy bequeathed by those upon the Occasion of whose Deaths they were written as by so many Testators who themselves have made a real Experiment of Mortality and left these for our Instruction that survive ve them It is true the dayly Examples of Mortality are so many real Lectures that by a kind of Dumb Oratory perswade us to expect our End but as they are Transcient so our Thoughts of them Vanish Therefore it can be no small Advantage to have always before us this Mourning Ring which will abundantly furnish us with Meditations in this kind and be still constantly putting of us in Mind of our Departed Friend It was a Custom in former times for Great Men to make them Sepulchres in their Gardens to mind them of Death in the midst of the Pleasures of this Life This present Work may not unfitly be termed a Garden wherein whosoever takes a dayly walk will find that Titles of Honour are written in Dust and that Princes and Great Men must Die that their very Monuments are Mortal and will in time be found as Archemedes his Tomb
shalt be pleased to command that Breath again out of Mans Body then will he presently become a dead Carkass and so short is the Life of Man that many times he doth but cry and Die yea sometimes his Mothers Womb doth prove his Tomb so that he doth not once cry to tell the World that he did once Live Neither is the Thread of Mans Life at any time spun so strong but at one word of thy Mouth it is soon snapt in two Seeing therefore we do but Live to Die we beseech thee Oh blessed God let us Die to Live let us live well that so we may die well let Death never surprize us unlooked for or unprepared nor let it ever seize upon us in an unconverted unregenerate State Good Lord let us not so live as to be ashamed to live any longer or to be afraid to look grim Death in the Face when it comes to separate our Souls from our Bodies and to summon them to make their appearance before the great Judge of the Quick and Dead Let us with thy Servant Job Wait all our appointed time untill our Change doth come Seeing it will be our greatest Wisdom to wait for Death which always waits for us and to expect that at all times which will come at some time and may come at any time Let us Pray and Preach and Hear and so spend our time as those who know and consider that all they do they do it for Eterninity and we shall never have but one Cast for Eternity Heaven and Glory is here to be won or lost for ever Blessed God thou hast taught us in thy Word that it is better to go to the House of Weeping than to the House of Feasting for that is the end of all men and thou hast said That the Living will lay it to heart Oh Lord we are this day come to the House of Mourning and Weeping and we have seen the end of one yea of many of our Friends and Acquaintance within a short space of time and in the Death of our Friends we may read our own Death and yet shall not we who are leâ—…t behind them in the Land of the Living lay these awakening instances of Mortality to heart shall we hear and see daily our nearest and dearest Relations giving up the Ghost and departing out of this into another World and yet shall we once think that we shall ever live to enjoy the Pleasures of this present evil World But seeing Lord this World is a dying World and all its glory is a dying Glory let our Minds and Hearts therefore be set upon the Glory of Heaven which is a never fading Glory Oh! did we believe and consider how much better a Believers future Estate will be than his present State is then should we think that Time is too long before we do and that Eternity will be too short when we shall enjoy our gracious Redeemer upon his Throne of Glory Let us ever live as those that have one Foot in the Grave already Thousands and Millions yea innumerable Millions of Thousands are gone to their Graves before us and do we think that we that are but enlivened Dust animated Shadows dying Lumps of Clay can keep our Bodies from being a Feast for Worms or our Souls from seeking new Lodgings in another World Oh! let us therefore every day be looking into our Graves and familiarize Death unto our Thoughts before it comes let us consider how many signal Admonitions thou dost daily give us of our approaching end Is not every Distemper and Sickness of Body as it were a little Death and a fair Warning to put us in mind of our last Change The Grey Hairs which are here and there upon our Heads the deep wrinkles which are engraven upon our Foreheads the loss of Teeth the Dimness of Sight our Deafness in Hearing our Palsie-hands our feeble trembling Limbs and the frequent Sight of seeing Friends laid out in their Winding Sheets for Dead and carried to their Houses of Clay the silent Grave are Circumstances and Symptoms serving to remind us that the time draws near wherein we must die and that our departure is at hand Let us therefore live as dying Men and let us die as Living Christians let us set our House and our Heart in order remembring the Text It is appointed for all Men once to Die but after this the Judgment The Mourners being all come first sing the following Psalms and after that Read part of 1 Cor. Chap. 15. to bring your minds into a serious frame Psalm 39. I Said I will look to my ways for fear I should go wrong I will take heed all times that I offend not with my Tongue verse 2 As with a bit I will keep fast my mouth with force and might Not once to whisper all the while the wicked are in sight verse 3 I held my Tongue and spake no word but kept me close and still Yea from good talk I did refrain but sore against my will verse 4 My Heart waxt hot within my breast with musing thought and doubt Which did increase and stir the fire at last these Words burst out verse 5 Lord number out my Life and days which yet I have not past So that I may be certify'd how long my Life shall last verse 6 Lord thou hast pointed out my Life in length much like a Span Mine age is nothing unto thee so vain is every Man verse 7 Man walketh like a shade and doth in vain himself annoy In getting goods and cannot tell who shall the same enjoy verse 8 Now Lord sith things this wise do frame what help do I desire Of truth my help doth hang on thee I nothing else require The Second Part. verse 9 From all the sins that I have done Lord quit me out of hand And make me not a scorn to Fools that nothing understand verse 10 I was as dumb and to complain no trouble might me move Because I knew it was thy work my patience for to prove verse 11 Lord take from me thy scourge and plague I can them not withstand I faint and pine away for fear of thy most heavy hand verse 12 When thou for sin dost Man Rebuke he waxeth wo and wan As doth a Cloth that Moths have fret so vain a thing is Man verse 13 Lord hear my suit and give good heed regard my Tears that fall I sojourn like a stranger here as did my Fathers all verse 14 O spare a little give me space my strength for to restore Before I go away from hence and shall be seen no more Psalm 90. Ver. 3 4 5 6 10 11. THou grindest Man through grief and Pain to dust or clay and then And then thou say'st again Return again ye sons of Men. verse 4 The lasting of a thousand years what is it in thy sight As yesterday it doth appear or as a watch by night verse 5 So soon as thou dost scatter them then
have had a sentence of Death pass'd upon them they are ever sweetest and tend most to Gods Glory Isaac had never been so precious to his Father Abraham had he not been so miraculously restored from dying as he was once But we shall hasten to see what is the cause of Christ his weeping and what the cause was you may see ver 32 33 34 35 36. when Christ saw Mary come weeping towards him having her heart running over with Grief for the departure of her Brother Christ groaned in Spirit and was troubled when they told him where dead Lazarus lay he wept as my Text expresseth Jesus Wept Oh Men and Angels stand and wonder to all Eternity When you read these two words Jesus wept What doth Mary's weeping set Jesus Christ a weeping Doth Mary and Martha shed Tears for the Death of Lazarus and doth Christ his Heart even bleed within him to see them troubled and mourning upon the same account so the word in the Greek seems to import 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he troubled himself his own heart stirred up his Affections to be troubled Doth Christ weep upon the consideration of Lazarus Death Then hence we may learn that a moderate sorrowing for Friends departed is lawful tho excessive Sorrow is very unsuitable to a Gospel Frame of Spirit Solomon tells us There is a time for Weeping and Paul tells us We should weep as though we wept not But to come to the thing I chiefly intend and that is the occasion of Christs weeping which was the death of Lazarus a good man whence I shall observe and prosecute this Doctrine That it is a Christ-like temper of mind to be deeply affected with and to weep over the death of such as are truly pious Here 's Lazarus a good man in his grave and Christ he weeps over him you have a weeping Christ over a dead Lazarus When old Jacob an eminent person was buried it 's said Gen. 50. 10. That they mourned with a great and sore lamentation and that for 7 days together And so when Moses died and was buried by a secret hand it 's said the Children of Israel mourned for him 30 days Deut. 34. 8. My dearly beloved you have lost a Moses one that was valiant for God in former times when the people of God in England were coming out of Egypt and he hath been an eminent leader to the saints in their wilderness state and God did often take him to the top of Pisgah and gave him there glorious visions and that not onely of heavenly Canaan but also of that glorious land of rest and righteousness that the Saints shall injoy in this world Now that such a Moses should be taken off in the Wilderness while the people of God are yet short of this good Land is matter of great humiliation Likewise you find the same spirit in those Christians Acts 20. that Paul the great Apostle of the Gentiles did there take his farewel of saying ver 25. And now behold I know that ye all among whom I have gone preaching the Kingdom of God shall see my face no more It 's said 37 38 verses And they all wept sore and fell on Pauls neck and kissed him Sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake that they should see his face no more Now by all this it appears that it is both the duty and property of a Christian such an one as hath been baptized into the spirit of Jesus to be deeply affected with and weep over the death of such as are truly pious especially when they are eminent for use and service to Christ and his people We shall now give you the reasons why it is so and cannot be otherwise but that gracious persons must needs weep over the death of good men First Because every stroke in this kind puts a serious heart in mind of its own mortality tells us that we are dying creatures and that 's a very serious consideration to every awakened soul. The living the living will lay it to heart saith Solomon Eccl. 7. 2. Alas my Brethren 't is a serious thing to dye And the stroke of death upon others tells us that die we must and how soon we know not This Evening sun may see us dead it went out Early this morning to score us out this lodging of a Tomb. And oh happy thrice happy is that person that can die well Now such strokes as these put a serious soul in mind of dying There 's none present knows who may go to the grave next That 's the First but then 2. It Springs from that Sympathy that is both in nature and grace first in nature when God takes away a husband a Father a Child c. this cuts deep and affects much Abraham he mourns over beloved Sarah David over Absolon though a rebellious son To be stupid and not to mind the hand of God when he smites our near and dear relations doth declare that we do not onely want grace but natural affection And then in Grace there is also a great sympathy if God smites one member of the Church the rest are affected with it If a Paul a Minister of Christ a pastor a spiritual Father comes to take his farewell of his people and tell them that they shall never see his face more Oh what weeping and mourning and lamenting is there at his departure 3. The perishing of good men is a just cause of weeping and that because they are a great blessing to the nations cities families c. where they are cast It fares either the better or the worse with such places for their sake When God destroyed the old world the family of Noah was saved for Noahs sake Gen. 7. Profane wretches are ready to wish the people of God all out of the world but alas what would then these wretches do they are beholding to the saints for their very beings and for the continuance of all their mercies When God hath but once gathered in his elect and done his work in Zion he will soon pull the world about these mens ears If the righteous be taken away he is taken away from the evill to come Isa 57. 1. Wo to Sodom if Lot depart and so I may say Wo to England if the righteous should be taken away Wo to Graffham whenever thou ceasest to be a refuge to the saints whenever thy gates shall be shut against the ministers and people of the Lord Jesus The Children of Israel though they slighted and despised the Prophets would in time of distress come to them for Prayer 1 Sam. 7. 8 9. and 12 19. Yea Pharaoh as proud and as high as he was yet when the Plague was upon him Moses he must be sent for and be entreated to pray for him and his people And thus much for the Reasons of the Doctrine shewing why the People of God must needs be affected with and Weep over the Death of Religious Persons We shall
we that now mourn for others know not how soon our Friends may do the same for us and celebrate our Funerals When God took away many others that we knew he might at the same time or before have taken away you or me and why do we survive their Death but that we may set our House in Order The time is coming when Riches and Honour Health and Beauty Credit and Reputation among men will be of no value nor will Gold and Silver the Idols of this be currant in the next World We should not therefore be like those young people that are only serious in the House of Mourning or when they see their Friends carried to the Grave but in the next vain Company suffer the Impressions of their Mortality to wear off again We must be always sober in our Conversation as not knowing when we our selves shall be gone only this we may know that as the Years we have already lived are soon past so will those that are to come with the same swist motion pass away The longest Life here on Earth is but as a moment if compar'd with the future Eternity 'T is as a flash of Lightning to the whole Element of Fire just seen and then vanish'd The Last Sigh MY dearest Children ye whom I love in the tender and yerning Bowels of Affection draw near and attend to the words of your dying Mother who am now sighing out my last breath A weak Woman ye see I am but yet sinful I am which peradventure ye see not O weep not my pretty ones do not pierce and break my troubled heart with your sad laments I must die my little ones and go to a better place whither ye I hope shall one day follow me We came not together into the World nor shall we go together out of it In vain do ye shed those Tears of Sorrow for although Nature teacheth you to bewail my departure yet Grace will teach you to moderate your Mourning My Heart even bleeds to leave you behind me fearing lest ye will forget the Commandments of your God I should be sorry to have just cause to say unto you as Moses did to the Levites yet I will put you in mind of his words Behold said he while I am yet alive with you this day ye have been rebellious against the Lord and how much more after my death Deut. 31. 27. I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt your selves and turn aside from the way which I commanded you and evil will befall you in the latter days because ye will do evil in the sight of the Lord to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands vers 29. But I am persuaded better things of you and things that accompany salvation though I thus speak Heb. 6. 9. O my dear ones hearken unto the words which I shall say They must be my Legacy unto you Hear me with patience and treasure up in your memories the last Speech of your Fainting your dying Mother How dear ye cost me before ye had life and what Pangs and Torments I suffered for you before ye were heard or seen in the World ye cannot imagine nor I express Yet all was forgotten for joy that ye wâ—…re born Joh. 16. 21. and hoping that ye would add unto the Qâ—…ire of Saints To this purpose I have laboured and taken care for the nourishment both of your Souls and Bodies and for your sustentation so much as in me lay from the Breast to this instant O what sad and perplexed thoughts have I had for you in the day times and how many hours have I borrowed from my sleep in the nights to think what would become of you if ye should not be obedient to the Commandments of my God! To the same God they are best known O how often upon my knees have I prayed for your happiness and wept and mourned when ye have done what ye ought not To him is it best known to whom I now am going Sometimes when ye have offended I was enforced to correct you but each stripe which ye received did cut me into the heart In many things ye failed because ye were young and in many things I failed too because I am a weak and a sinful Woman If at any time ye thought that I did not my Duty take heed that hereafter ye remember it not to my dishonour Ponder in your minds that curse which wretched Ham the Father of Canaan received from Noah when he saw his Nakedness and told his Brethren Cursed said Noah be Canaan a servant of servants shall he be to his Brethren Gen. 9. 25. But because Shem and Japhet took a Garment and laid it upon their Shoulders and went backward and covered the nakedness of their Father and their faces were backward and they saw not their Fathers nakedness vers 23. Therefore he said Blessed be the Lord God of Shem and Canaan shall be his servant vers 26. God shall enlarge Japhet and he shall dwell in the Tents of Shem and Canaan shall be his Servant v. 27. Consider with your selves that I am your mother Whatsoever imperfections ye have discovered in me do in some kind reflect even upon your selves for as your Bodies were mine so my Credit and good Name you must account to be yours But I cannot think that ye will need more Advice for this which even Nature it self should teach you to practise My time is but short my Speech beginneth to fail me I will not trouble you with much although something more I must say unto you which I hope ye will remember when I shall sleep in the Dust. Your first and chiefest Duty must always be for the service of your God If ye will daily observe the benefits which he sendeth you ye cannot chuse but thank him daily for his Blessings Let it be your care to ground your actions upon his written Law Undertake nothing which is not warranted by his Word and go forward in nothing by unlawful means or to a bad intent Begin all in him and continue in him and end in him and he himself will be your Reward If ye always preserve Religion in your hearts ye will always have quietness and content in your minds First make him your God and then distrust not his Providence no nor his love and compassion while ye remain his Children In whatsoever vocations ye shall lead your lives be sure that ye be conscionably industrious and laborious in them and then leave the event and the blessing to his good pleasure I would fain have you be his Children much more than ye are mine for ye have nothing from me but your sin and corruption but from him you must expect both grace and glory If therefore ye strive to bless and magnifie your God ye may be sure that your God will both bless and glorifie you his Children Remember that the blessing of the Lord maketh rich and he addeth no Sorrow with
yea they are ready waiting on the Soul to conduct it safely into Abraham's Bosom I do not say but the Devils oft-times are very busâ—…e doubtless and attending the Saints in their Sickness yes and no question but they would willingly deprive the soul of Glory But here is the comfort as the Devils come from Hell to devour the soul if it be possible at it's departure so the Angels of the Lord come from Heaven to watch over and conduct the soul in spight of the Devil safe into Abraham's bosom David had the comfort of this and speaks it forth for the comfort of his Brethren Psal. 34. 7. saying The Angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him and delivereth them Mark the Angel of the Lord encampeth round about his Children to deliver them From what From their Enemies of which the Devil is not the least This is an excellent comfort at any time to have the holy Angels of God to attend a Poor Man or Woman but especially it is comfortable in the time of distress at the time of Death when the Devils beset the Soul with all the Power that Hell can afford them but now it may be that the glorious Angels of God do not appear at the first to the view of the Soul nay rather Hell stands before it and the Devils ready as if they would carry it thither but this is the comfort the Angels do always appear at the last and will not fail the soul but will carry it safe into Abraham's bosom Ah! Friends consider here is an ungodly man upon his Death-bed and he hath none to speak for him none to speak comfort unto him but it is not so with the Children of God for they have the spirit to comfort them Here is the ungodly and they have no Christ to pray for their safe Conduct to Glory but the Saints have an Intercessor John 17. 9. Here is the World when they die they have none of the Angels of God to attend upon them but the Saints have their Company In a word the unconverted person when he dieth he sinks into the bettomless Pit but the Saints when they die do ascend with and by the Angels into Abraham's Bosom or into unspeakable Glory Luke 23. 34. And so let us consider the fourth and last part which is the Death of the Rich Man The Rich Man died also c. Here we may again see that Death is the way of all flesh Death shaketh Cedar and Shrub Death calleth away the Rich man from his pleasure and Lazarus from his Pain and all must obey when Death calleth It is not the Majesty of a Prince nor Holiness of a Priest strength of Body feature of Face Wisdom Beauty Riches Honour nor any such secular regard can plead against Death or priviledge a man from the Grave Statutum est omnibus semel mori The Decree is out all must die once all must taste of this distasteful cup of death Let us know then that the Pale Horse and he that sitteth thereon whose name is Death comes running on towards us fall that is within us and without us are Remembrancers of Death The Sun rising in the East and setting in the West sheweth our rising and alling our coming in and going out of this World All cry unto us we must away we must away we must hence as Christ said My Kingdom is not of this World Death is a separation of the Soul from the Body the Husband separated from the Wife of his youth the Father separated from his Children whom he dearly loved the Children from their Parents the Master from his Servant and the Servant from his Master thus Parents and Friends ' and all must part The first circumstance of the Rich man is to know what became of his Body It was honourably buried But here we see that honourable Burial doth not profit the damned soul. Tares are sown as well as Wheat in all times if the one grow up for the fire the other for the barn Gather the Tares in bundles and burn them but gather the Wheat into my barn Matth. 1. 30. But let us lastly consider what became of his Soul And being in Hell Torments c. But because none can so well relate miseries and none can describe the torments of Hell so well as he that hath felt the same let the Rich man himself speak and let us hear him what he saith he being in Hell torments he thus beginneth O wretch that I am why did I suffer Lazarus to starve at my Gate for which I am shut in the Gates of Hell Why did I not give Lazarus a â—…rumb of Bread for which I cannot have here now one drop of Water to cool my tongue Why did I shew Lazarus no mercy on Earth for which no mercy is shewed to me in Hell What shall I do for I aâ—… tormented in this flame I will cry unto Abraham Abraham have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water to cool my tongue I am tormented here Abraham I am torn in pieces here Abraham I am plagued and continually pained here Abraham here my purple Rayment is flames of fire my light is darkness my day night my companions are Devils O how they hale me O how they pull me O how they vex and torment me Here my feet are scorched my hands are seared my heart is wounded my eyes are blinded my ears are dulled my senses confâ—…unded my tongue is hot it is very hot send Lazarus thereâ—…ore Abraham with a drop of Water to comfort me one drop good Abraham one drop of Water But Abraham answered him Thou damned wretch once thou didst disdain Lazarus once thou didst reâ—…se Lazarus once thou didst scorn Lazarus now Lazarus shall disdain refuse and scorn thee once thou stoppedst thine ears from the cry of Lazarus now he stops his ears from thy cry once thou turnedst away thy face from Lazarus now he turneth away his face from thee once thou deniedst crumbs to Lazarus now he denieth water to thee not a spoonful not a drop of water Oh Abraham but now if I had my goods I would give Lazarus all for a drop of Water Now if I had a million of Gold I would give it all for a drop of water now if I had a world of wealth I would give it all to Lazarus therefore good Abraham one drop But he answered No not a drop Not a drop Then cursed be the day wherein I was born and cursed be the night wherein I was coâ—…ceived cursed be my Father that begot me and cursed be my Mother that bare me cursed be the place that kept me cursed be the delicate Robes that cloathed mâ—… cursed be the delicate Meat that fed me let me be most accâ—…rsed of all creatures both in Heaven and Earth And so leave we him cursing who indeed was most accursed and learn that the souls of the damned being separated
rest it grieved them that they should see him no more how would it have grieved them think you if they had always hardned themselves against his ministry before Think with your selves seriously here is such a Minister such a Christian friend that husband and wife that parent and child a time of parting will come let us make it easie now by making good use of one another while we live that when friends are took away we may have cause to thank God that we have had communion and comfort of their fellowship and society the benefit of their graces the fruit of their lives and not sorrow for the want of them by death Death separates a Man from his Friends For alas Death doth not only part a mans body and soul a mans self and his wealth but it parteth a man from his friends from all his worldly acquaintance from all those that he took delight in upon earth Death makes a separation between husband and wife see it in Abraham and Sarah though Abraham loved Sarah dearly yet Death parted them Let me have a place to bury my Dead out of my sight Gen. 23. It parteth Father and Child how unwilling soever they be see it in David and Absolom Oh Absolom my son would God I had died for thee and Rachel mourned for her Children and would not be comforted because they were not It parteth the Minister and the people see it in the case of the people of Israels lamenting the death of Samuel in the case of the Ephesians at the parting of S. Paul sorrowing especially when they heard they should see his face no more It parteth those friends who were so united together in love as if they had but one soul in two bodies see it in the separation that was made by death between David and Jonathan that were so knit together in their love that he bewaileth him Woe is me for my brother Jonathan 2 Sam. 1. 9. This is necessary consideration for us that live that we may learn to know how to carry our selves towards our worldly friends and how to moderate our selves in our enjoyment of these worldly comforts Look upon every worldly thing as a mortal as a dying comsort Look upon Children and friends as dying comforts Look upon your estates as that that hath wings and will be gone Look upon your bodies that now you make so much of as a thing that must be parted from the soul by death and that ere long See what advice the Apostle giveth 1 Cor. 7. 19. the time is short saith he therefore let those that marry be as if they married not and they that rejoyce as though they rejoyced not and they that buy as though they possessed not and they that use this world as not abusing it for the fashion of this world passeth away When thou accompaniest another to the grave dost thou conclude thus with thy self the very next time that any death is spoken of it may be mine or as Saint Peter speaks to Saphira after the death of Ananias The feet of those that have buried thy husband are at the door and shall carry thee out also Again this Doctrine serves to reprove that sinful laying to heart of the death of others that is too frequent and common in the world That is first when men with too much fondness and with too great excess and distemper of affection look upon their dead friends as if God could never repair the loss nor make amends for that he hath done in taking of them away Rachel mourneth and will not be comforted David mourneth and will scarce be comforted Oh Absolom my son my son would God I had died for thee What is all this but to look on friends rather as Gods than men as if all sufficiency were included in them only Men look on their friends as Micah did upon his Idol when they had bereaved him of it they took away all his comfort and quiet You have taken away my Gods saith he and what have I more Judg. 8. 24. This now is an ill taking to heart the death of friends to mourn as men without lâ—…pe Secondly there is taking to heart and considering of the death of men but it is an unrighteous considering and unrighteous judging of the death of others If men see one die it may be a violent death then they conclude certainly there is some appearent token of Gods judgment on such a one If they see another die with some extremity of torment and vehement pains certainly there is some apparent evidence of Gods wrath upon this man If they see another in some great and violent tentation strugling against many tentations they conclude presently certainly such are in a worser case than others I may say to all these as Christ said once to those that told him of the eighteen men upon whom the Tower in Siloe fell think you that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Hierusalem Luke 13. 4. Or rather as Solomon saith All things come alike unto all there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked Eccles. 9. 2. Learn to judge righteous judgment to judge wisely of the death of others take heed of condemning the generation of the just But rather in the last place Make this use of the death of every one Doth such a man die by an ordinary sickness having his understanding and memory continued to the end Doth such a man die in inward peace and comfort with clear and evident apprehensions of Gods love so that he can with Simeon say Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace Luke 2. 29. What use shouldest thou that livest make of this now Certainly let the sweetness of their death make thee in love with the goodness of their lives That is the only way to a happy death to a comfortable end indeed the leading of a fruitful and profitable life The main business that a man hath to do is to make sure of himself in this life It was the question that Saint Austin made to those that told him of a violent death that seized upon one But how did he live saith he He made no matter how he went out but how he carried himself in the world And truly this is the great Question that every man should put to his soul. I must out of the world how have I lived when I was in the world had GOD any glory by me had men any good by me have I furthered my account against the day reckoning that I may give it up with joy But now he is Dead wherefore should I Fast Sermon IV. 2 SAM xii 23. But now he is dead wherefore should I fast can I bring him back again I shall go to him but he shall not return to me HEre you have a large Description of that incomparable Love which our princely Prophet David that good King of Israel did bear towards his Son who was no sooner visited with
behind us our Servants on our right hand our Wives and Children on our left hand our Friends and in the midst our selves so that as St. Paul says Heb. 9. 27. No one can escape him So that you may see as Job saith man's time is appointed his months determined and his days which are but few upon Earth numbered yea and as our Saviour Christ says his very last hour is limited He was made of the mould of the Earth and therefore thither shall he return and as all have one entrance into Life the like going out shall they have to death Naked came we into this most miserable World and naked shall we return again If Adam had not eaten of the forbidden Fruit we had never known what Sin had been and so by consequence Death which is a thing that now cannot by any means be avoided before that we knew what sin was we had strong Houses But ever since God let 's us dwell in thatch'd Cottages and clay Walls every Disease like a storm is ready to totter us down In old time men us'd to live long but now many are thrust out of house and harbour at less than an hours warning yea and even in their infancy at their first coming into the world as this poor innocent Child was and not only for their own faults for their own transgressions but for their Parents In the Third of Gen. you may find mans Exodus and that is thou shalt die Ever since Old Adam our great great great Grandfather neglected his Duty towards God Death the lodge of all mens lives comes with insensible degrees upon the sons of men it 's impartial hand is always destroying no Wisdom can appease no Policy can prevent nor any earthly Riches redeem us from the Grave semel aut bis morimur omnes some once some twice we must all die we have an old Statute for it that this earthly Tabernacle must suffer corruption and therefore the Poet sings sweetly Post hominem vermis post vermen foetor horror Sic in non hominem vertitur omnis homo As man came from the Earth so thither shall he return and become a habitation and food for Worms If any had been exempted from the fatal and general sentence of Death then without all question our most blessed Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christ had been who for our Sins and for our insufferable Iniquities suffer'd the sharpest death imaginable even to die upon the Cross who was equal to the Father touching his God-head Now seeing that this ever blessed Virgins Son Lion of the Tribe of Judah and harmless Lamb of God did suffer an ignominious Death to redeem us from Eternal Death let not us be unwilling for our own good to lay down our lives and to part without sorrow and grief with our dearest Friend or Relation but rather let us take up a full resolution when any of our Friends although never so near and dear unto us be departed and say with David now he is dead now he ceaseth to breath and now he hath taken a farewell of the Elements wherefore should I fast Can I bring him back again Good Christians can with patience embrace this Life yet in their best meditations they do commonly wish for Death they honour all that contemns it but cannot endure or heartily love any that is afraid of it this makes many naturally love a Souldier and honour those tattered and contemptible Regiments that will die at the command of a Sergeant For a Pagan there may be some motives to be in love with Life for a Christian to be amazed at Death I see not how he can escape this dilemma that is too sensible of this Life or careless of the Life to come If a Wife put forth her Child to Nurse and the Nurse having kept it long enough she taketh it home again can the Nurse or any other have any cause to complain so the cause stands between God and our Souls If God having inspired into these mortal Bodies of ours that which is immortal come and take it to himself lest it should come to harm can any one have any reason to Complain As seed unless sown in the Ground cannot bring forth so we until that Death come and we be laid in the Ground cannot expect our consummation and bliss with Gods Saints in his Kingdom of Glory Death freeth the godly from the Tyranny of Satan from Sin from the World from the Flesh and from eternal Damnation placing them with Christ for evermore in Heaven the Center of all good wishes where instead of Earthly Bodies they shall be cloathed with unspeakable Glory and all this holy David was not Ignorant of which made him as soon as his dearly beloved Son had taken his Farewell of this inferior Orb say Wherefore should I fast seeing my Child yea my precious Jewel has changed his Life out of a miserable world into a Kingdom where pleasures ineffable are to be had for evermore but now c. And this brings me now unto the Third thing considered in my Text which is the manner of his mourning and that was how he spun away his time in weeping fasting and praying for his dear child so long as he was alive he did not as Priamus did for his Son Hector Fast Weep and Pray after his Death or as many do now adays only in outward shew altering their Garments No his was far otherwise it was real true and hearty sorrow not countenanced in the least with a heavy look or with a solemn sigh blown from deceitful lungs No his was a Weeping Watching Mourning and Fasting Grief he was sequestered from all Worldly contentment imprisoning his Body from all the pleasures of this mortal Life ever making his bed to swim and watering his couch with tears He mourned as one for his only Son eating ashes like Bread and mingling his Drink with weeping still weeping wailing and crying as one that had parted with his dear Mother Psalm 35. 14. or as a virgin girded with sack-cloath for the husband of her youth Joel 11. 8. Nature being we are Members of one Body thinking the mishap of other men to be our own through the mutual compassion of Christ's Body makes us desirous to live together so long as is possible therefore was it possible for David to refrain from tears when he took his farewel of one Child part of his own Body No he could not forbear crying until he began to consider with himself that he was dead and that the Death of the Saints is precious in the sight of the Lord and the day thereof better to them than the day of their birth being then and not before as Saint John Says Revel 14. 13. they rest from their labour then yea then and not before he could rise change his cloaths wash his hands and break his fast Now such I say if they will mourn ought to be your manner that is so long as your friends
the Table seest before thee many and sundry sorts of Meats a Friend of thine secretly admonisheth thee that among so many dainty Dishes there is one Poysoned what in this Case wouldst thou do which of them darest thou touch or taste of wouldst thou not suspect them all I think though thou wert extremely hungry thou wouldst refrain from all for fear of that one where the Poyson is It is made manifest unto thee already that in one of thy seventy Years thy Death lieth hidden from thee and thou art utterly Ignorant which year that shall be how then can it be but that thou must suspect them all and fear them all O that we understood the shortness of our Life how great Profit and Commodity should we then receive by the Meditation thereof Thirdly and lastly the vanity and nullity of our Life after Death intimated in these words And afterward vanisheth away The whole Course of Mans Life is but a flying Shadow a little spot of time between two Eternities which will quickly disappear the same Earth which we now so negligently tread upon may suddainly receive us into her cold Imbraces Well may Life then be said to be vanishing away Though now we are in perfect Health yet before to morrow some dear Friend or other may passionately follow our Hearse to the Grave Our time past is like a Bird fled from the Hand of the owner out of sight and our present time is vanishing away and on Earth we have no abiding But here consider if Life be so vanishing and uncertain a thing then 1. This reproveth those that Squander away their precious time as if their abode on Earth would be too long to prepare for Eternity if they did not mispend it half but it is time for us to cry out The time past is more than enough to have wrought the Will of the Flesh 1. Pet. 4. 3. or as it is Rom. 13 14. 'T is high time to awake out of Sleep 2. If Life be thus vanishing then be not over solicitous as to future Events but willingly submit to a Divine Providence be not so much concerned for to Morrow do not cumber your selves with too much Provision for a short Voyage 3. If Life be thus short and vanishing then do much work in a little time shall we loose any of that time which is so fleeting and so uncertain And thus I have briefly shown you the frailty of the Life of Man and the profitable use we might make of this Consideration That our Life is but a Vapour which appeareth for a little time and afterward Vanisheth away 4. If Life be so short and uncertain then look upon every day as your last so did the Apostle Paul who said I die daily as there is nothing more certain than Death so there is nothing more uncertain than the time of Death We are all Tenants at Will and therefore the great Landlord of Heaven and Earth may turn us out of our Clay Houses when he pleaseth It was a worthy Custom of a Roman Emperor that would have his Man come every morning to his Bed-side and pronounce these Words Remember thou art a dying Man certainly such are justly to be reproved who look upon Death as at a great distance from them It is a common saying of some that they thought no more of such a thing than of their dying day surely it argues a very wicked frame of Heart to be so forgetful of Death when 't is that we are to expect every minute and know not but each day that comes may be our last THE EJACULATION GOOD Lord what is the Life of Man is it not like unto a Vapour which appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away Is it not like unto a Bubble which quickly swelleth to a considerable bigness and as quickly sinketh again Is it not like unto the Grass which groweth up and flourisheth in the Morning but is cut down before the Evening come Oh Lord though Life be sweet yet common experience shews that it is short and as our Life is shoâ—…t in it self though we should live to the very outside of the strength of Naeture so will it seem much shorter if it be compared with Eternity it self And yet as short and as uncertain as our Life is we have a long work to dispatch before we go away from hence and be seen no more we have a great way to go by a setting Sun a great Race to run by a short Breath and if Life be but as a Vapour how little reason have we then to squander away precious time Yea how great reason have we to redeem the time that is past and to improve every â—…nch of the present time Let us remember that we have no continuing City here and therefore it will be necessary for us to seek one that is to come Good Lord therefore do thou make us to know our end and the measure of our days what it is that so we may be throughly convinced how frail we are Dying Christian. SERMON X. Being the last Sermon this Author Preacht at Grafham in Huntingdonshire Beloved Brethren THE Lord hath set it home upon my Heart ever since I came amongst you earnestly to desire and to pray for the Salvation of your Souls it hath been no small Encouragement to me to lay forth my weak endeavours in the Ministry when I consider that he which converteth a Sinner from the Errour of his way shall save a Soul from Death and hide a multitude of Sin James 5. 20. To save a Soul from Death is so glorious an Imployment that herein I cannot chuse but rejoice with the Apostle when I see the word of the Kingdom working effectually in any Soul I bless God every day without ceasing that he hath given me a full proof of my Ministry in the Hearts and Consciences of some even in this place since I came among you so that I may say with Paul 1 Cor. 9. 2. and they indeed are and shall be unto me and I unto them a Crown of rejoicing at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and on their behalf I pray that their Faith may grow exceedingly and that their Love unto Jesus Christ and unto all Saints may every day more and more abound and I commend them unto God who is able to keep them from falling and to present them faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding Joy As for others I am jealous over them with a Godly Jealousie as the Apostle speaketh continually praying that they may not be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ but that they may hold fast the mystery of Faith in a pure Conscience Some indeed there are that cause me secretly to groan in my Spirit and my Heart I even bleed over them and I do pity them in the Bowels of Jesus Christ fearing least they should like the five foolish Virgins fall asleep and hereafter endeavour to enter into
blessed and glorious Redeemer where there will be no more sinning nor sighing nor more weeping for dead and dying Friends Let us long long to be there where time will be no more but all will be swallowed up in an endless Eternity of joy and delight Lord let us often ponder upon the blessed state above for certainly one deep and serious consideration of the never fading Glory of the other world is enough to wing our hearts with earnest desires as we have heard it did thy Holy Saints and Martyrs to depart and leave this vain world to be with Christ. And good Lord let us when we leave a weeping House and the many instances of our dearest Friends going so often to the Grave before us shew that we must quickly follow be received into that Celestial Mantion above which will prove an eternal House of Joy The Eye that hath seen him shall see him no more SERMON XI Upon ACTS 20. 38. Sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake That they should see his Face no more IN the latter part of this Chapter you have the Declaration of two things First You have declared the Carriage of the Apostle Paul that was he Preach'd while he was at the Church of Ephesus Secondly You have declared the Character of the Church of Ephesus when they were parting with this Blessed Preacher in the words that I have read and the verse before or the two last verses and it was full of Love and manifested in three things 1. They fell upon his Neck and kissed him that 's the close of the 37. verse 2. They accompanied him unto the Ship when he was to launch into the Ocean They went with him as far as they could as some of them it may be will to the very edge of Eternity 3. They shew'd to him their Love by their â—…ping and Sorrowing at parting They cannot part with dry Eyes They sorrowed most of all especially for this that they should see his Face no more It was not so much that Paul was to go from them but that they should see his Face no more From this practice of this Church I would lay down this Doctrine That it is the property and practice of the Saints and People of God to be sorrowful and affected at the final parting with their Pastors and Teachers This was that that most of all cut their Hearts That they should see his Face no more That Patriarch Jacob that wrestled and prevailed when he came to die as you read in Gen 49. and the last verse That he pull'd up his Feet into the Bed and he 's goone Now see what a Mourning there was for him in Gen. 50. 1. Joseph fell upon his Fathers Face and kissed him and verse 3. And the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days here was a mourning for Jacob and verse 10. They came to the Threshing floor of Atad which is beyond Jordan and there they Mourned with a great and very sore Lamentation And made a Mourning for his Father seven daies The young Prophet in the 1 Kings 13. who without doubt in the main was Faithful to God though seduced out of his way and out of his Life by an old Prophet whereby a Lion was appointed by God to destroy him but see now how the old Prophet was affected with it as soon as he hears it causeth the Ass to be Sadled and goes and brings the Carcase home to the City to Mourn and to Bury him and laid him in his own Grave in the 30. versâ—… and brings all to Mourn over him and charges his Sons that when he was dead that they Bury him in the same Sepulchre where the Man of God was and lay his Bones besides his Bones I shall now instance in the New Testament it was so with them of Ephesus when they parted with Paul They should see his Face no more He had been such a Preacher that they could not part with him without Tears or with dry Eyes Devout Men also carried Stephen to his Burial and made great Lamentation over him When Christ was carrying to be put to Death there followed him a great multitude of People and Women which also bewailed and lamented him There was great lamentation Oh they could not part with Jesus Christ without lamenting That they should see his Face no more But it will be here obiected in the next verse that Jesus Christ in Luke 23. 28. turn'd to those Women that wailed and wept and said Daughters of Jerusalem weep not for me but for your selves That therefore there ought not to be weeping or lamenting for the departure of any Eminent Saint seeing he forbids it for himself it argues indeed we should not weep for them but for the want of them which is ours Why should those that are Hearers be deeply affected at the final departure of Holy Ministers I answer This arises from the love that is between them There is a mutual Love between a Faithful Preacher and a Sincere Hearer Where there is Love there is Mourning in the absence of it It 's said that Israel loved Joseph more than all his Children and therefore when News came to Jacob that Joseph was not Oh! saith Jacob ver 35. I will go down into the Grave unto my Son mourning So David lamented for Absolon Ob Absolon my Son my Son Absolon and David lamented exceedingly for Jonathan in that 1 Kings I am distressed for thee my Brother Jonathan if you love your Preachers so as it s said of them that could pull out their Eyes for them while living you will even weep out your Eyes for them now dead I could tell you of a thing that I have lookt upon as a Piece of Prophesie it was Printed and Writ Ten Years before the Fire of London and it was this London look to it what Heaven 's a doing Thy Flames are coming when thy Lots are going When I consider who is gone and who are going I dread What became of Prague when Jerom was dead What became of Germany when Luther was dead And what will become of England when such as these are dead Let me call upon this Congregation this Evening that we would be in the Ephesians Practice they Mourned when Paul was going and they should see his Face no more Your Preacher is gone And you shall see his Face no more I would I could raise you to their height of Mourning He begat you in Christ Jesus though none of his own but Christs and you may get one to succeed him but not to exceed him but I desire that Man to tell me where The Good Mans Epitaph SERMON XII REV. 14. 13. And I heard a Voice from Heaven saying unto me Write Blessed are the Dead which die in the Lord from henceforth so saith the Spirit that they may rest from their Labours and their Works do follow them THE Scripture will afford us many Texts for Funerals Methinks there is none
City so to gain Reputation from Man but she persevered in the constant substantials of Religion so to gain Grace and Favour from God To whom with the Father and Holy Ghost be Glory and Honour now and for ever Good Night NOW art thou drawing near thy home Heaven is within sight and its Melody almost within hearing thy Lord hath the Curtain in his hand ready to draw it to shew thee all that glory that hitherto he hath been but telling thee of and give thee a Possession of all that which hitherto thou hast enjoyed only in Hopes and Title What dost thou fear and shrug and tremble at Oh my Soul thou peevish froward Creature Shall his Angels stand waiting to convey thy departed Soul home with Songs of Triumph And shall nothing of all this abate thy Fears silence thy Complaints and bring thee to a Chearful Submission Fear not then my Soul but boldly throw thy self into his Arms who will certainly keep that safe which thou committest to him But what if I was willing to bid adieu to my Fathers House and leave this World and all its Enjoyments behind me as being sufficiently tired with the Frustrations of a pursued Happiness therein Yet methinks the change I shall pass at Death will be so very great and amazing I fear I shall not bear it To go hence from them I know to a Place and Company I never knew or saw in all my Life to leave my Friends Relations Neighbours with whom I have a long time lived and with whom I have familiarly conversed to go into a Country where I may not meet with one face I know how strangely shall we look on one another What little content do I take in any company on Earth where I meet with shiness Will it not be so in Heaven Answ. Art thou truly Godly said the pious Wadsworth in his Answer to the Fear of Death and dost thou say thou knowest none in Heaven that is strange Who is he whom you call Father every time you pray what are you born of God united to God by faith and love and hold communion with him and yet not know him Well sayst thou but if I know him it is but very little I never saw him in all my Life And what if thou hast not seen him with thy bodily eyes yet hast thou not believed in him whom thou hast not seen and rejoiced with joy unspeakable and full of glory Though thou hast not known him after the Flesh yet thou hast after the Spirit But comfort thy self though thou hast known him but little and that through a vail darkly yet he knoweth thee most perfectly He knows thee by name and separated thee to himself from the Womb and effectually called and justified thee he knows thee by thy name and knows thy dwelling and visiteth thee every morning and is with thee living and will not leave thee dying and when he hath taken thee to himself in the Heavens thou shalt know him as he knows thee that is intimately perfectly But sayst thou if I know in some measure God and his Son the Lord of that City I know no more There are ten thousands of Angels there and I know not one of them and as many Spirits of just men some little acquaintance I had with some of the latter on earth but since arrived thither they are so transfigured so wonderfully changed I shall not know one of them when I see them What if thou knowest not one Angel in all the Heavens is it not enough that many of them may know thee But how do I know that How thou hast been their special Charge ever since thou wast born to Jesus Christ. Are they not all ministring Spirits to them that are Heirs of Glory How kindly did an Angel comfort Mary Magdalene and the other Mary when they early came to visit the holy Sepulchre of our Lord How well did he know their Persons and their Business when he said Mat. 28. 5. Fear not I know that ye seek Jesus which was crucified he is not here for he is risen as he said Come see the place where the Lord lay and go quickly and tell his Disciples that he is risen from the Dead and behold he goeth before you into Galilee there shall ye see him so as I have told you What Discourse could be more kind friendly and familiar than this But that thou shouldst think thy self an utter stranger to all the Spirits of the Just is more strange when there may be some of thy near Relations there and many of those that thou hast had for many years such sweet Eellowship in the Ordinances of the Gospel If I shall sit down with Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom surely I shall know them to be such Besides their Natures in Heaven are all perfectly gracious and holy and I shall be like them and we shall all know each other to be so and what shiness can there possible be among such who are satisfied in each others sincere love and affection Thou mayst be acquainted with a thousand Saints an Angels in an hours time as if thou hadst known them a thousand years And if this be so be not poor Soul amazed at this great change of Company at Death For it is but as dying Doctor Preston said I shall change my Place but not my Company Return therefore to thy Rest Oh my Soul for God will assuredly deal bountifully with thee So that Death will bring a Good-Night to thee here and a good Morrow hereafter The End of The House of Weeping Death-Bed THOUGHTS The PROEMIUM BUT Oh my Soul What ails thee to be thus suddenly backward and fearful no Friend hath more freely discours'd of Death in speculation no Tongue hath more extolled it in absence And now that it is come to thy Bed-side and hath drawn thy Curtains and takes thee by the hand and offers thee service thou shrinkest inward and by the paleness of thy Face and wildness of thine Eye bewrayest an amazement at the presence of such a Guest That Face which was so familiar to thy Thoughts is now unwelcome to thine Eye I am ashamed of this weak irresolution Whitherto have tended all thy serious Meditations What hath Christianity done to thee if thy fears be still Heathenish Is this thy Imitation of so many worthy Saints of God whom thou hast seen entertain the violentest Death with Smiles and Songs Is this the fruit of thy long and frequent Instruction Didâ—… thou think Death would have been content with words Didst thou hope it would suffer thee to talk while all others suffer Where is thy Fath Shall Hereticks and Pagans give Death a better welcome than thee Hath God with this Serjeant of his sent his Angels to fetch thee and art thou loath to go Rouse up thy self for shame O my Soul and if ever thou hast truly believed shake off this Unchristian diffidence and address thy self joyfully for thy
perpetual which though it be not here to be found yet is here to be sought But I die sayst thou when I intended to do good There are some that are always intending to do good but can never find the way to begin Thou I believe art one of those But if thou once beginst to do well never doubt though thou dost not compleat thy Work but that the insailible valuer of all things will deduct nothing from thee the reward shall be entire not only of thy Deeds but Intentions He of good Courage the direct and short way to reward is to die Sect. 45. Against other Complaints of the Sick THE Complaints of the Sick are almost innumerable they can hardly speak without murmuring How often do we hear them cry out Oh miserable me Oh afflicted me Oh who so overwhelm'd in Pain as I am But they that more narrowly examine the business will change their Notes and cry 'T is well 't is very well 't is Gods pleasure O happy O blessed me corrected not by a Tyrant but by a Father God be praised Glory be to God Heaven reward all my Benefactors This is that my sick Friend that becomes thee and behoves thee Seneca admonishing the same thing Do not saith he make thy miseries more grievous to thy self than they are Complaints of past Griefs are idle and these common Sayings Never had any man such a time on 't What Torments what Miseries did I feel No body thought I would ever have recovered and the like They may be true but they are past what signifies it to remember past Troubles and to be miserable because thou wert so Therefore lay aside two things the Fear of what is to come and the Remembrance of past Sorrows Wherefore then dost thou complain in vain and fester thy Wounds with the Nails of Impatience I am miserable thou sayst Rather blessed Humanity is in a good Condition in regard no man is miserable but through his own fault Blessed is the Man whom God chasteneth for whom he loves he chastiseth He maketh a Wound and he healeth he wounds and his hand maketh whole again Knowest thou not that the Wound which the Chirurgeon makes is the beginning of the Cure Do thou therefore nor mind the Wound but the hand of him that wounds and thou wilt confess thy self to be much more in health than when thou wert at the best But sayst thou I feel a most vehement pain No question if thou endurest it effeminately But as the Enemy makes the greatest slaughter upon them that flie so is all pain more heavy to him that succombs under it But the Torture is intolerable It is not for the stout to endure slight Pains Think upon so many hundreds of Couragious Martyrs Seneca relates That there was a certain person who while the Veins of his Legs were cutting read in a Book all the while But sayst thou My Disease will let me do nothing How nothing Alas it is thy Body that is only infirm and sick not thy Mind Therefore if thou beest a Racer thy Feet are only bound if a Smith or other Handicrafts-man thy hands are not at liberty But if thy Mind fail thee not thou mayst hear thou mayst learn thou mayst remember though sick What more dost thou believe thou dost nothing if thou art temperate in sickness If thou shewest that thy Disease may be overcome at least endur'd There is room for Courage in the Bed of Sickness Thou hast business enough strive with thy Disease and thou hast done enough Sect. 46. The Sick-man to himself against himself WHat do I do Must I thus die before I am gray We are all in this Errour that we think none fit for Death but the Aged when Infancy and Youth also go An immaculate Life is an old Age and the most lovely Age of all is an honest Life It is better that the Intellectuals of Men than their Heads should be gray He is wealthy in the endowments of old Age who worships God leadsa prudent life and lives well It is more noble to be aged in Vertue than by the gift of Time But there is that coverousness of Life that when we come to die though never so decrepid we think our selves all to be young men But why dost thou number thy few days God hath wrote down thy time of living in the Tables of his Providence In the other World there are not that accuse God because he did not spare them a longer Life but because he lived no better Therefore do thou mind that and remember Eternity It is no loss to lose a point of Time and gain Immortality Most generously said the Macedonian King I measure my self said he not by the Span of my Life but by the Scene of Perpituity Do thou measure thy self so not by the end of thy Years but by Eternity that has no end Sect. 47. The Patient Man to God MY God the desire of my Heart 〈◊〉 I a most miserable Creature a most vile Worm lie here ty'd to my Bed without the use of Hands or Feet an idle sloathful benumb'd unprofitabe Servant a burden to the Earth enduring nothing for thy sake Yet I desire O God I desire to labour for thy sake to suffer Heat Cold Weariness Affliction Anguish nay Torments for thy sake This the blessed Dominie taught me who being oppressed with violent Pains and advised by his Friend to desire of God to deal more mildly with him made this answer If I did not believe thee to speak out of Ignorance I would not endure thy sight And then throwing himself upon the bare Ground I give thee thanks said he my most kind Lord for these Miseries which thou hast sent me to endure Encrease my Pains multiply my Torments send me a hundred Infirmities for I know thou wilt send me Patience with all Can I say more than this It is too little that I suffer O God add still more and more to my Pains I have deserved more severe Chastisement than thou inflictest upon me O my most merciful God Spare me not Lord burn cut and tear my Flesh so thou grant me Eternity Had I a hundred Bodies I would endure a hundred Crucifyings so I might please thee and be reckon'd in the number of thine O most merciful Father Thy will bedone Lord with me for I know how easie it is to serve thee who equally rewardest both the Deed and the reallity of Intention I am by thee composed to rest O King of Goodness but the Night is coming werein I can work no longer Yet though my Sickness has taken from me the pain of working it has not taken from me the Will nor the Desire I am willing Lord I am willing and while any Breath remains in me I am prepared to suffer what thousands of thy Servants at this time suffer for love of thee I am willing to suffer Contempt Reproaches and false Accusations for thee Stripes and Scourges for thy sake and to
die a thousand Deaths for thee If my strength fail whither I cannot creep with my Hands and Feet thi her my Desires shall flie and convince thee of the readiness of my Will and Affection But will these eager Desires open the Gate of Heaven to me Should I actually perform all these good Intentions and suffer what the most devout of men have suffered for thy sake shall I be worthy of the sight of God I know for all this I am unworthy How then shall I make my way to Heaven O Infinite Goodness if thou hast not Compassion upon me I am forlorn There is but one Sanctuary one Refuge from this just Indignation Thy Mercy Lord that is a vast and immense Ocean Into this Ocean into this Gulph I throw my self headlong out of a certain hope that in those Waters I shall be safe from the Flames of Hell I cry out therefore with David Have mercy on me O God according to thy mercy According to the multitude of thy mercies blot out my iniquity But in the utmost of my Extremities in the last hour of my Life when my Soul is departing out of this Tabernacle let all my Sighs and Gaspings repeat this wholesom Prayer Have mercy on me O God according to thy Infinite mercy Sect. 48. The sick Patient Covenants with God THat great and almost the last Ornament of the African Church Fulgentius conspicuous for his Learning and Sanctimony seventy days before his Death continually cried out Lord give me first Patience then Pardon This the holy man used as a Buckler against the violence of his Sickness Yea the more vehemently his Grief assail'd him the more vehemently he cried out Patience Lord patience Aâ—…e that Pardon This is a most sweet way of Covenanting with God neither to desire Wages before Labour nor Triumph before Victory nor to shake off the Yoak of Death without Pain Thus as Death is a Punishment to the Wicked so to the Righteous it is a Bridge and entry that leads to Eternity So true it is that Death commands the unwilling but serves and obeys the Willing Sect. 49. Thanks be to God should be the continual Song of the sick Patient SAint Cyprian when he heard Galerias the Proconsuls Sentence read to him It is our pleasure that Thuscius Cyprianus die by the Sword gave no other Answer but Thanks be to God Saint Laurence Roasted upon a Gridiron cried out Thanks be to God Euplius the Martyr who was Beheaded with the Gospel hanging about his Neck often repeated these words God be thanked Truly said Saint Augustin What better thing can we bear in our Minds or utter with our Lips or express with our Pens than Thanks be to God! Nothing can be more quickly said more gladly heard nor more acceptably understood than Thanks be to God who has endued thee with so much Faith In Adversity saith Saint Chrysostom the Wicked curse the Christians give thanks When we please God we shame the Devil For at the same time thou givest Thanks God eases thy Pain and the Devil departs There is nothing more holy than the Tongue which in Adversity Gives God â—…hanks Tertullian commending Job That good man said he upon the recâ—…it of all his bad â—…idings still used no other expression but Thanks be to God John Avila the most skilful Teacher of the Inward man was wont to say That in Calamities and Afflictions one Thanks be to God was worth more than six thousand in prosperity and health For in Prosperity to give Thanks is common to all men but in Adversity particular to the Righteous Therefore O my sick Friend so frame thy Mind and Tongue that the worse it is with thee the more readily thou mayst say Thanks be to God Then shalt thou be said to imitate thy Crucified Lord when thou shalt have the Courage in the midst of thy Sorrows to say Let Troubles vex me Grief torment me Want Oppress me Thanks be to God Let my Pains rage my Torments multiply Thanks be to God These Ejaculations penetrate Heaven This is Musick most pleasing to God To this St. Paul exhorts us In all things give thanks in Sickness in Health in Want in Plenty in Adversity in Prosperity In all things give thanks For many times Sickness Want a comfortless Condition loss of Dignities are a greater benefit of God then of all things flowing according to thy wish In no pains at no time let the Sick-person think it a burthen for the Sick-person to cry Thanks be to God So much the more noble is thy Patience so much more graceful thy Giving of thanks by how the more vehement thy Disease and Pains are Sect. 50. The true Confidence of a Sick-man in God TO Die is a serious business And we may well demand of the Patient Wilt thou commit thy self to the Cast of Eternity Thou art going a long aâ—…d unknown Journey and whither wouldst thou To this the sick Patient does best to answer that does not murmur I am grived I am compelled But rather replies with a chearful Mind willingly freely I resign my Spirit to God Thus I commit my sef to Eternity Thus glady to God Let the Healthy be of this mind of the number of which rightly said one I have already begun to die now I die I waste and am consumed now I travel to Eternity And because the Mercy of God knows no end therefore I travel undauntedly In the O Lord I have put my trust Let me never be put to confusion And though the Sacred Scriptures afford me a thousand Instances I will not despise the Light of Reason which enlightned the wise Roman For what the ancient Heathen thought of Death and our passage from Death into Eternity he thus teaches us When that Day shall come which shall seperate this mixture of Divine and Humane I will leave this Body where I found it and return my self to God Nor am I now without him though detained by this Ponderosity of Earth These delays of Mortal Age are but a Prelude to a better and a longer Life As we are Nine Months in the Mothers Womb before we are sent forth into this Place so by that space of time between our Infancy and old Age we are prepared for another Birth of Nature Another Original attends us another Condition of Life That Interval fits us to brook the Brightness of Heaven therefore let us undauntedly expect that pâ—…remptory Hour not the last to the Soul but to the Body That Day which thou art afraid of as thy last is the Birth-day of thy Etrnity These Thoughts will suâ—…er nothing abject nothing sordid to reside in thy Mind These Thoughts command us to approve our selves to God to prepare our selves to God to propose Eternity to our selves of which he that has a true Hope and Confidence shall not fear those numerous Hosts when awakened by the trembling Sound of the last Trumpet Sect. 51. Constantly COnstantly I beseech thee Constantly
my self I justly now dye I receive according to my Deeds but my God and my Lord did nothing that he should dye and dye in so much Torment And therefore may I truely use this Prayer Lord remember me because thou art come into thy Kingdom And because thou art now in thy Kingdom look upon me weeping in this Exile and admit me going hence into thy Kingdom This I beg of thee for the sake of thy Scourgings thy Thorns thy Cross and through thy Torments and thy Death Therefore what remains but for me to throw my Soul into his Bosom who alone considers its Pains and Sufferings He knows what conduces to the Salvation of Souls I wait for thy Salvation O Lord. Sect. 47. A Heliotropian Receit against all Sickness and Death THE Heliotrope is a Flower which as we find by daily Experience turns it self with the Sun from East to West and doing the same even in cloudy VVeather and in the Night for want of the Sun contracts and shuts up the Beauty of its Colours Let the will of Man always wait upon Divine Pleasure continually turning and winding it self to the beck of Sacred Power though the VVeather be cloudy Nor can any day in all the life of Man be more cloudy than the day of our death Then let the dying Person with fix'd and stedfast Eyes like the Heliotrope turn himself to his only Sun This let our Saviours words teach us Even so O Father for so was it thy good pleasure After this manner my dear dying Friend speak altogether In all things to be done to be avoided to be endured and born according to thy Lords Example always say Even so O Father even so always submitting thine to the most holy VVill. Even so O Father even so both now and for evermore Philip the second King of Spain groaning under the pains of a desperate Disease was wont continually to repeat these words of our Saviour Father not mine but thy will be done And one time among the rest as the Passion of Christ was read to him while the Chirurgeons were Lanching open an Aposthume he caused the Reader to stop at these words So highly did that great King value this Heliotropian Receit as well in Health as in Sickness This Heliotrope cures Sickness Death and all sorts of Diseases He is far from Destruction who in his will is so near to God THE Fatal Moment VVHen we dye our Everlasting state is to be determin'd After Death the Judgment The moment of our departure hence will pass us over to the Righteous Tribunal of God It will make us either to shine with the Angels above or to set with the Devils It will either fix us in a joyful Paradise or in an intolerable state of Woe So that we may say with Nieremberg How many things are to pass in that Moment In the same is our Life to finish our Works to be examined and we are then to know how it will go with us for ever and ever In that Moment I shall cease to Live in that Moment I shall behold my Judge in that moment I must answer for all my publick and my secret Actions for all that I have ever thought or spoke or done for all the Talents the Time the Mercies the Health the Strength the Opportunities and the Seasons and Days of Grace that I have ever had for all the Evil that I might have avoided for all the good I might have done and did not and all this before that Judge who has beheld my ways from my Birth to the Grave before that Judge who cannot be deceiv'd and who will not be impos'd upon Little can he that has not been brought near to Death and Judgment know what Thoughts the Diseased have when they are so Little very little does a Soul in Flesh know what it is to appear before the Great God This is so great and so strange a thing that they only know it who have receiv'd their final Sentence but they are not suffer'd to return to tell us how it is or what passes then and God sees it fit it should be concealed from us who are yet on this side the Grave But who does not tremble to think of this mighty Change and of this Moment that is the last of Time and the beginning of Eternity that includes Heaven and Hell and all the Effects of the Mercy and Justice of God Who does not tremble when he considers that Infinite and Holy Majesty before whom the Angels cover their Faces that considers his Omniscience and his Greatness and the mighty Consequences of that Sentence how sudden it is and how irresistible and that it is an irrevocable Decree and by a Word of this mighty Judge we live or dye for ever It is no wonder if the thoughts of it make us shrink and quiver It is a greater wonder that when some or other whom we know are almost every week going to such a place and state as this we who are not yet Cited to the Bar are no more concerned and use no more endeavours to be ready for it Oh my Friends when you come to the Borders of the Grave when you are within an Hour or two's distance from your Final Judgment and your unalterable state what a mighty Change will it cause in your thoughts and your apprehensions You will then know and feel it Then when the Perspective is turn'd and the other World begins to appear very great and this very little This that I have represented to you is a part of that which we call dying It is a great Mercy and greatly to be acknowledg'd that God allows us so much Time wherein to prepare our selves for this final and irrevocable Doom It is an instance of his Patience that is truly Divine that notwithstanding our many repeated Sins he has not cut us off It is his great Mercy that gives us leave to appear in his Courts before we appear at his Tribunal and that he affords us such large notice and warning that so we may be ready for our Last Tryal whereon so very much depends THE TREATMENT OF OUR Departed Friends AFTER THEIR DEATH In Order to Their Burial WHen we have received the last Breath of our Friend and closed his Eyes and composed his Body for the Grave then solemn and appointed Mournings are good Expressions of our dearness to the departed Soul and of his worth and our value of him The Church in her Funerals of the dead used to sing Psalms and to give thanks for the Redemption and Delivery of the Soul from the evils and dangers of Mortality But it is good that the Body be kept veiled and secret and not exposed to curious Eyes neither should the dishonours wrought upon the Face by the changes of death be stared upon by impertinent persons When Cyrus was dying he called his Sons and Friends to take their leave of him to touch his Hand to see him the last time and gave
in charge that when he had put his Vail over his Face no Man should uncover it And Epiphanius his Body was rescued from inquisitive Eyes by a miracle Let it be interr'd after the manner of the Countrey and Laws of the Place and the Dignity of the Person for so Jacob was Buried with great Solemnity and Joseph's Bones were carried into Canaan after they had been embalmed and kept 400 years and devout men carried St. Stephen to his Burial making great lamentation over him And Aelian tells us that those who were the most excellent persons were buried in publick and men of ordinary Courage and Fortune had their Graves only â—…rim'd with Branches of green Olives and mourning Flowers together with a few sprigs of Rosemary and Bays But nothing of this concerns the dead in real and effective purposes nor is it with care to be provided for by themselves but it is the duty of the living for to them it is all one whether they be carried forth in a Chariot or a wooden Bier whether they rot in the Air or in the Earth whether they be devoured by Fishes or by Worms by Birds or by Sepulchral Dogs by Water or by Fire or by delay Concerning doing honour to the dead the consideration is not long anciently the Friends of the dead used to make their Funeral Orations and the Custom descended and in the Channel of time it mingled it self in the Veins of the Earth through which it passed And now a days Men that dye are commended at a price and the measure of their Legacy is the degree of their Vertue But these things ought not so to be the reward of the greatest Vertue ought not to be prostitute to the doles of common Persons but preserved like flourishing Laurels and Coronets to remark and encourage the noblest things But that which is most considerable is that we perform the will of the dead the Laws oblige us and will see to it but did they not certainly it is the noblest thing in the World to do an act of kindness to him whom we shall never see again but yet hath deserved it of us and to whom we would do it if he were present And unless we do so our Charity is Mercenary and our Friendships are direct Merchandize and our Gifts are Brokage but what we do to the dead or to the living for their sakes is Gratitude and Vertue for Vertues sake and the noblest portion of Humanity Kindness and Love The Reasons why we shut the Eyes and Mouth of the Dead IN the first place when our dear Friends and Relations are dead we close their Eyes and Mouth which a Learned Author says is a Custom that was used by the Primitive Christians to represent that the death of the Faithful is according to the Oracles of Scripture nothing else but a Repose since after having been asleep for a while they shall be awaked to Eternity Moreover by shutting their Eyes and Mouth we do intimate that the dead are no more to take delight in the Objects of this visible World their Employment now being stedfastly to behold all the Ravishing Beauties of the other World and continually to praise God who is the Glorious and Bountiful Dispenser of them The Reasons why Dead Bodies are often Kissed Washed Perfumed and Cloathed Together with the Customs of several Nations in the Burial of their Dead MAny Persons 1. Kiss and kindly Salute their dead Friends and Relations to shew the natural tenderness and love they had for the deceased but this Custom is now quite abolished with us in many places though this practice ought not to be altogether discommended 2. As for the usage that is in some Countreys of washing the dead St. Chrysostom tells us that it was derived at first from the Person of our Lord and Saviour whose precious Body was washed as soon as they took it down from the Cross. And we read in the ninth Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles that a Woman of Joppa called Tabitha whom St. Peter restored to Life had been wash'd before she was laid out for the Grave The Indians burn their dead 3. The Custom of Perfuming and Embalming the Corps hath in our days been especially in England much observed And indeed the very reason why the Primitive Christians were so careful to perfume the dead was because they regarded them as so many Members of the Mystical Body of the Redeemer of the World Tertullian in his Apology upbraiding the Heathens with the vast expences of sweet Scents and Perfumes consumed in the Temples tells them that those Odours would be better employed in perfuming and embalming the Bodies of Christians and their dear Friends departed At the Canary Islands they bury their Dead with a Bottle of Wine standing by them 4. As concerning the manner of Apparelling the Dead all Christians use not the same practice for some do only cover them with a large Winding-sheet as they do in France And others dress them in the very same Cloaths they were wont to wear as in Italy and several other places And others dress them and lay them in their Coffin in a white Shirt a clean Cap with their Toes tyed with a black Ribband and sometimes as a late Act of Parliament enjoyns in Flannel this is the Custom in England And likewise here it is the Custom to set the Body when drest in order to the Grave either in the Entry or the principal and most publick Room of the House and that for this reason and that by this sight those that pass by it at the Funeral may be taken off from Terrestrial things and fix their thoughts on those that are Heavenly by being thereby put in mind of their latter end and that it will not be long before they must lye in the like posture too in order to be carried on their Friends Shoulders to their Graves as this their Friend or Relation is now to be carried The Chineses always before they Bury their Dead if he was a Married Man bring him to his Wife that so she might first kiss him and biâ—… him farewel The manner of Burying the Dead in England with the Reasons of the Pomp and Ceremony wherewith the English carry their Dead to the Grave NOW having thus for taken care of the dead Body the next thing is to consider the reasons and manner of the Pomp and Ceremony wherewith the English carry their dead to the Grave the manner is thus The whole Company of Invited Guests being the Relations Mourners for and Friends of the deceased march in a sorrowful Procession first to the Church and then to the Grave attended with more or less Pomp and Ceremony according to the Quality of the Party deceased At the Head of this solemn attendance the Minister that is to bury the Corps walketh before the Corps and if the party deceased was a Person of Quality or Fashion then goes a vast number of young Blew-Coats Boys
insomuch that notwithâ—…nding the many Rich Presents he received at the â—…nds of the Emperor he died very Poor He used to say of Piety That Godliness always enriches the Possessor The Death of ATHANASIUS AFter all the Storms that were raised up against him he died in peace at Alexandria Anno â—…risti 375 having been Bishop of that See 46 â—…ars during which time he had been in many â—…at Perils and Hazards of his Life for not only â—…shops but Emperors and Nations sought his Deâ—…ustion But God delivered him oat of their â—…nds to the Glory of his Name for his only trust â—…s in God alone which caused him often to say â—…ough Armies should Encamp about me yet I would 〈◊〉 fear The Death of HILARIUS HE Travelled to Italy and France instructing the Bishops in those parts in the Catholick â—…ith He was very Eloquent and wrote many â—…reatises in Latin also Twelve Books of the Triniâ—… Expounding the Canon containing the Clause 〈◊〉 One Substance being of sufficient proof against the Arrians He died under Valentinian and Valence Anno 355. The Death of CYRILLUS IN the midst of all his Afflictions he kept his resolution to die in the Faith He used to say concerning the benefit of Hearing Some come to Church to see Fashions others to meet their Friends yet it 's better to come so than not at all In the mean time the Net is cast out and they which intended nothing less are drawn into Christ who catches them not to destroy them but that being dead he may bring them to Life Eternal He died Anno 365. The Death of EPHREM SYRUS HE died Anno 404. He used to say concerning Perseverance The resolute Traveller knows that his Journey is long and the way dirty yet goes on in hopes to come to his House So let a Christian though the way to Heaven be narrow though it be set with Troubles and Persecutions yet let him go on till he has finished his Course with Joy for Heaven is his Home Concerning the Soul he used to say He that feasts his Body and starves his Soul is like him that feasts his Slave and starves his Wife He died Anno 404. The Death of BASIL BAsil died at Caesarea when he had sat Bishop there eight years departing this Life Anno Christi 370. At his departure he uttered these words Into thy hands O Lord I commend my Spirit He used to say of Self-knowledge To know thy Self is very difficult For as the Eye can see all things but it self so some can discern all faults but their own Of Love Divine Love is a never-failing Treasure he that hath it is Rich and he that wanteth it is Poor Of the Scriptures It 's a Physicians Shop of Preservatives against Poysonous Heresies A pattern of profitable Laws against Rebellious Spirits A Treasury of most costly Jewels against Beggarly Elements And a Fountain of most pure Water springing up to Eternal Life The Last Sayings of GREGORY NAZIENZEN IN his Minority he joined Studies with Basil and accompanied him to Arhens and Antioch where he became an Excellent Orator There is so much Perfection in all his Writings and such a peculiar Grace that he never tires his Reader but he always dismisseth him with a thirst after more Concerning Preaching he used to say That in a great multitude of people of several Ages and Conditions who are like a Harp with many Strings it is hard to give every one such a touch in Preaching as may please all and offend none He lived under Theodosius Anno 370. The Death of EPIPHANIUS VVHen he found himself Sick he said to his Friends God bless you my Children for I shall see you no more in this Life He died Aged 115. He used to say this was his Antidote against Hatred That he never let his Adversary sleep not that he disturbed him in his sleep but because he agreed with him presently and would not let the Sun go down upon his Wrath. The Death of AMBROSE AFter Ambrose had sate Bishop about Sixteen years Death summoned him to lay down this troublesom Life for a Life more lasting Before his Death he resolved to provide a Shepherd for his Flock and for that purpose sent for one Simplicianus and ordained him Bishop in his stead after having given many Godly Exhortations to such as were about him he gave up the Ghost dying in the third Year of Theodorus Anno Christi 397. He used to say of Repentance When Gold is offered to thee thou usest not to say I will come again to morrow and take it but art glad of present possession But Salvation being proffered to our Souls few Men haste to embrace it He used to say of true Charity It is not so much to be enquired how much thou givest as with what Heart It 's not Liberality when thou takest by Oppression from one and givest it to another Of Conscience A clear Conscience should not regard slanderous Speeches nor think that they have more power to Condemn him than his own Conscience hath to clear him The Death of GREGORY NISSEN HE lived under Constantins Julian Jovian Valentinian Valence Gratian and Theodosius the Great He was President in the Council of Constantinople against the Macedonian Hereticks 492. Amongst his Similitudes he compared the Userer to a Man giving Water to one in a Burning Fever which proves prejudicial So the Userer though he seems for the present to relieve his Brother yet afterwards he torments him This Character he also gave the Userer He loves no Labour but a Sedentary Life A Pen is his Plough Parchment his Field Ink his Seed Time is the Rain to Ripen his greedy desires his Sickle is calling in his Forfeitures his Horse the Barn where he Winnows his Clients he follows his Debtors as Eagles and Vultures do Armies to prey upon dead Corps Again Men come to Userers as Birds to a heap of Corn they covet the Corn but are caâ—…cht in the Nets He died under Valentine and Valence The Death of THEODORET HE died in the Reign of Theodosius Junior not with Age but hard Studies He used to say That the Delights of the Soul are to know her Maker to consider his Works and to know her own Estate The Death of HIEROM HE died Anno Christi 422 and of his Age 91. He wrote many large Volumes being a Man of singular Chastity of great Wit slow to Anger and in Learning exceeding most of his Time His usual Prayer was Lord let me know my self that I may the better know thee the Saviour of the World An Excellent Saying he had of Christian Fortitude If my Father was weeping on his Knees before me my Mother leaning on my Neck behind my Brethren Sisters Children and Kinsfolks howling on every side to retain me in a single Life I would fling my Mother to the ground run over my Father despise all my Kindred and tread them under my Feet that I might run to Christ. Of
Change Yea saith he many a Day have I sought it with Tears not out of Impatience Distrust or Perturbation but because I am weary of Sin and fearful to fall into it In his Sickness he used these private Meditations Now my Soul be glad for at all Parts of this Prison the Lord hath set to his Pioneers to loose the Head Feet Milt and Liver are failing yea the middle strength of the whole Body the Stomach is weakned long ago Arise make ready shake off thy Fetters mount up from the Body and go thy way I saw not my Children when they were in the Woâ—…b yet there the Lord fed them without my knowledge I shall not see them when I go out of the Body yet shall they not want a Father Death is somewhat Driery and the Streams of that Jordan between us and our Canaan run furiously but they stand still when the Ark comes Let your Anchor be cast within the Veil and fastned on the Rock Jesus let the End of the Threefold Cord be backled to the Heart so shall you go through He died Anno 1619. The Death of Andrew Willet GOing from London his Horse threw him and by the Fall broke his Leg which was presently set by a Bone-setter and being confined to his Bed he would meditate upon Hezekiah's Sickness and Recovery Isaiah 38. especially on the 9 10 13 and 15 Verses Hearing a Bell Toll he peradventure had apprehensions of Death which occasioned him to discourse with his Wise concerning Death and our blessed Hopes after Death and the mutual Knowledge the Saints have of one another in Glory Then he repeated the first Verse of the 146 Psalm and said it was a most sweet Psalm but stirring to ease himself he fell into a Trance his Wife crying out he looked up and used these last words Let me alone I shall do well Lord Jesus and so departed Anno 162â—… Aged 59. The Death of David Pareus AT Anvilla he wrote his Body of Divinity which having Finished he said Lord now let thy Servant depart in peace because he hath Finished that which he desired He earnestly besought God that he might lay his Bones at Heidleberg which not long after he returned thither safely where he was received with much joy but his former Disease of a Catarrh returning upon him being sensible of approaching Death he frequently opened his Mind to Henâ—…y Alting and others and so quietly departed Anno 1622. Aged 73. His Works are in 3 Volumes The Death of Robert Bolton MR. Bolton falling sick of a Quartane Ague and finding himself weaker and weaker he Contemplated upon the four last things Death Judgment Heaven and Hell and being asked if he could be content to live if God would permit him He said I grant that Life is a great Blessing of God neither will I neglect any means that may preserve it and do heartily desire to submit to God's Will but of the two I infinitely more desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ. When the Pangs of Death were upon him he breathed out I am now drawing on apace to my dissolution hold out Faith and Patience your Work wiâ—… quickly be at an end He died Anno 1631. Aged Threescore The Death of William Whately IN his Sickness he comforted himself with that Promise Psalm 41. 1 2. Blessed is he that considereth the poor the Lord will deliver him in the tâ—… of trouble the Lord will strengthen him upon the Bod of languishing c. A little before his death a Friend praying with him That God wold be pleased if his Time were not expired either to restore him or put an end to his Pains He lifting up his Eyes towards Heaven one of his Hands in the close of that Prayer gave up the ghost shutting his Eyes as if he was fallen into a soft-Slumbeâ—… Anno 1639. Aged 56. The Death of Anthony Wallaeus HE was much troubled with the Stone in the Kidneys and Hypocondraical Wind which still encreasing upon him he called his Family and exhorted them to fear God then taking his leave of them he fell asleep out of which he never awaked only strived a little when his Pains came upon him so on the Sabbath-day at a Eleven of the Clock he resigned up his Spirit to his Maker Anno 1639. Aged 66. The Death of Henry Alting HE sell sick at Groning of a Catarth and Feaver accompanied with great Pains in his Back and Loins which caused often Paintings The day before his death he sang the 130th Psalm with great Fervency In the Evening he blessed his Children and exhorted them to fear God and to persevere in the Truth of the Gospel Being sensible of the time of his Departure by his Prophetick Spirit he accordingly died about Three of the Clock August 25. Anno 1644. Aged 57. The Death of Frederick Spanhemius HIS last Sermon he preached at Easter upon Phil. 3. 24. Who shall change our vile Body that it may be like his glorious Body c. He prayed earnestly to God to continue his Blessings to his Family and never suffer them to be seduced to Popery he prayed likewise that in the Pains of Death he might with all his Soul breath after God and migh before-hand have some taste of the Glory of Hea ven Having ended his Prayers his Voice and Strength failed him and so about Sun-setting he quietly departed and slept in the Lord 1649. Aged 49. The Death of Sir John Oldcastle HE was sent for before the Council when the Bishop proffered to absolve him he replied He had never trespassed against him and therefore had no need of his Absolution When they told him unless he would recant they would condemn him as a Heretick He bid them do as they thought best for said he I am at a Point that which I have written I will stand to it to the death Then kneeling down he lifted up his Hands towards Heaven and said I shrive me here unto thee O Eternal and Ever-living God in my frail Youth I offended thee O Lord by Pride Coverousness Wrath Uncleanness and many Men have I hurt in my 〈◊〉 and committed many other horrible Sins for which good Lord I ask thee forgiveness And so with Tears in his Eyes he stood up and turning to the People he said Lo good People for breaking God's Laws and his holy Commandments they never yet accused me but for their own Laws and Traditions they handle me most cruelly and therefore they and their Laws by God's promise should be utterly destroyed Then they proceeded farther to examine him but he returned such Answers to their Questions as made many wonder at his Wisdom yet they proceeded to read the Bill of Condemnation against him as a Heretick After which he lifting up his Eyes towards Heaven said Lord God Eternal I beseech thee of thy Infinite Mercy to forgive my Persecutors After that he was sent to the Tower The Sentence against him was That like a Traytor
are visited with Sickness they ought to sympathize condole and have a fellow-feeling of their Maladies ever providing to your power all good means for their Health and Recovery and for good looking to them in the time of their weakness yea you must pray for them and use all lawful and good means possible for their ease and succour so long as it shall please God to continue them with you in that sorrowful condition but then as soon as it shall please Almighty God to call any of your Relations from you although never so near and dear unto you yea although he be the staff of your Life and your only Joy and Comfort you ought to refrain from teaâ—…s and immoderate mourning cheering up your selves and resolving fully in your mind as holy David did here lest that you displease the Creator and Preserver both of our Souls and Bodies saying Now he is dead c. for there is a time to Mourn and a time to Rejoice I took on saith he most sadly in the former verse so long as he was alive because I thought still that God would restore him to his Health again and grant him a longer time to stay with me his loving Father but now seeing that it cannot be obtained I 'll 〈◊〉 my self no more for now he is dead dead dead now he is dead and gone now he is past calling back again wherefore or to what end should I fast can I bring him back again And thus much concerning the manner of David's Mourning for his Son wherefore that which shall have the next place in my discourse is concerning the reason this Princely Prophet and good King gave why he would not continue any longer in his sorrowful condition and that is Can I bring him back again can I revive him can I put life into him No it is beyond my Skill to add one Moment to any mans life I can neither call him back nor go to him my self now he is dead and gone all the world cannot save him alive I must follow him but he shall not return to me Here you may see an acknowledgment of his own imbecillity weakness in recovering his dead Child can I bring him back again It hath been experienced and found possible for a man from the ashes of a Plant to revive the Plant and from its cinder to recall it to its stalk and leaves again but to call those that are ascended up to Heaven or descended into the world of Damned Souls is far beyond the power of Man Abraham being full of faith as it is Evident Heb. 11. 19. having commanded that his son Isaac should be offered thought that God would raise him up again from the dead therefore why did not David hope the same the reason as Peter observes upon this place in my Text is diverse Abraham had the promise concerning his Son Isaac he knew that God would do whatsoever he desired rather than his promise should not be fulfilled therefore he came with a willing mind unto that offering but David had not such promises concerning this his dearly beloved Son but rather a threatning seeing he was ready to die or just newly dead wherefore being not encouraged in the least his own Conscience telling him how it was Impossible unless God the efficient cause of our Life by whom we live move and have our being would restore him to Life again fully â—…esolved with himself to leave off sorrowing and to prepare himself to go to him seeing he was not to return But now c. and this brings me unto the last thing considered and that was his confidence how he should follow c. Here you may see how that David did not doubt in the least but that his sweet Babe was ascended up to Heaven which is far beyond thought and glorious beyond report and that he himself should follow quickly after some are of opinion and will not stick to maintain their damnable doctrine with devilish Arguments that Infants dying unbaptiz'd are not capable of salvation which is as false as God is true else what became of those Children of Bethlehem and in the coasts thereof from two years old and under among whom questionless some were uncircumsized or not baptized when Murthered by bloody Herod who would not suffer the King of Heaven and Earth and the whole World to Reign in Jury certainly their condition is very good for although he had power to hurt their innocent Bodies yet he had not power to hurt their poor harmless Souls being hid with Christ Jesus that sinless Babe in God Our Saviour seems to have a special love for Children above all other which made him say in his holy Gospel suffer the little Children to come unto me and forbid them not for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven Matth. 10. 14. Now David knowing no less might well believe that his Child was received into Heaven O blessed Babe which came to the wished Haven without any Tempest enjoying the comforts of another Life before thou knew the cruel miseries of this Life having thy head crowned with happiness before thou wert covered with hair thy dear Father although a King could never have pleasur'd thee in this vail of misery as thou art now in the Kingdom of Heaven where Likewise now the Father is But now he is dead so that you may see David's shall go came at last to is gone The life and spirit of all our actions is the Resurrection and stable apprehension that our ashes shall enjoy the fruit of our pious Endeavours without this all Religion is a fallacy how shall the dead arise is no question of a true Christians Faith Job was ever confident that our estranged and divided Ashes should unite again that our separated dust after so many pilgrimages and transformations into the parts of Minerals Plants Animals Elements should at the voice of God return into their Primitive shapes and joyn again to make up their primary and predestinate forms as it is evident by his own words for saith he I know that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth and thoâ—…gh after my skin worms destroy this Body yet in my flesh shall I see God whom I shall see for my self and mine eyes shall behold and not another Job 19 25 26 27. â—…hat is made to be Immortal nature cannot nor will the voice of God â—…stroy As at the Creation of the World all that distinct species that we behold lay involved in one Mass till the fruitful voice of God separated this united multitude into its several species so at the last day when those corrupted relicks shall be scattered in the wilderness of forms and seem to have forgot their proper habits God by a powerful voice shall command them back into their proper shapes and call them out by their single and individuals then shall appear the fertility of Adam and the Magick of that sperm that hath