not hinder thy ascent into Heaven if thou tread them under thy feet For every sin and vanity trodden down subdued and mortified is one step Gen. 28.12 De vitiis nostris senlam facimus dum vitia calcamus Luk. 15.7 Heb. 12.1 2. one Scale or Round of that Celestial Ladder which being set upon the Earth reacheth up unto Heaven which the Angels of Heaven rejoyce to behold And may the right hand of God assist me to lay aside every weight and the sin that doth so easily beset me and to run with patience the race that is set before me Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our Faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross and despised the shame and is set down at the right hand of the Throne of God Blessed Lord who hast made me after thine own Image to attain the perfection and felicity of my Being in the beatifical vision and fruition of thy Majesty in Heaven vouchsafe here to guide me with thy Counsel and after that to receive me with glory through the Merits and Mediation of thy blessed Son and my dearest Saviour Jesus Christ Our Father which art in Heaven c. The XXIV Psalm PARAPHRASED Verse 1. THe Earth is the Lords and all that therein is the compass of the world and they that dwell therein The Heavens are the Lord 's chief Dwelling-place the Earth and all the Nations thereof he hath given to his Son Jesus as he is Redeemer of the World so Psal 2.8 Desire of me and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance and the utmost parts of the Earth for thy possession For he hath founded it upon the seas and prepared it upon the flouds As God hath so wisely ordered the Earth and the Water that the one may refresh not overflow the other so he hath founded his Church upon a Rock above the Flouds of secular Cares and Turmoils and all the rising waves of this World 's vast Sea which is signified by the Situation of his Temple on a Hill And Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord or who shall rise up or stand in his holy place Who is he that shall be qualified to appear and stand in the presence of God and to joyn with his people in that solemn worship which in his holy Temple is exhibited unto him Such a one is also qualified to ascend and raise up his Soul to those mountains of joy in the celestial Sion And such a one is He that hath clean hands The works of whose hands are clean from all injustice and impurity and washed with the tears of true penitence from the filth of all former pollutions And a pure heart to all outward an inward holiness is required which consists in the purity of the heart viz. to be pure from all sordid and vile affections to be sincere and without hypocrisie in all Religious performances that hath not lift up his mind to vanity who follows not those pomps and vanities of this wicked world which he once so solemnly renounced nor sworn to deceive his neighbour that will not say much less swear an untruth nor yet break his word especially when confirmed with an oath Such is the holiness and innocence that entitles a people to the presence of God in his Temple upon Earth and in his House in Heaven 1. the holiness of the heart 2. of the hands 3. of the tongue or Holiness in thought word and deed He shall receive the blessing from the Lord The blessings of the Lord shall descend upon him when he ascends into the hill of the Lord and righteousness or mercy in the pardon of his sins or the reward of righteousness i.e. Salvation not of or from himself or from any but from the God of his Salvation This is the generation of them that seek him these are those holy and happy people who so faithfully seek the Lord that they find him viz. in grace here in glory hereafter which is the double blessing of them that seek thy face O Jacob All that be true Israelites indeed thus make their holy and humble addresses to the God of Jacob for his grace and favour Lift up your heads O ye gates or lift up your gates O ye Heads or Princes of the Heavenly Hierusalem and be ye lift up ye overlasting doors which open the passages to life everlasting and the King of glory shall come in he who hath vanquished and gloriously triumphed over the gates of everlasting death over all the spirits and powers of darkness is ascended to open the gates of the Kingdom of Heaven to all Believers Who is the King of glory in whose glorious conquests we may glory and in whose righteousness we may make our boast it is the Lord strong and mighty who although he submitted himself to be betray'd apprehended arraigned and condemned to death yet is he even the Lord mighty in battle who naked and unarmed hath vanquished by his sufferings and by his death overcome death and him who hath the power of death the Devil for which victory he rides in Triumph upon the clouds of Heaven and therefore Lift up your Heads O ye gates of the celestial Paradise which have been shut against the sons of Men from the fall of the first Adam and be ye lift up ye everlasting doors Raise up your selves ye immortal souls open and be enlarged in your desires and affections unto him who hath opened unto you the everlasting doors of glory and the King of glory shall come in He who is ascended will also descend into you if pure and Heavenly minded and thither enwrap and raise you whither himself is gone before if yet for your further satisfaction you desire to know Who is the King of glory by whose Triumphant ascent into Heaven we believe and hope thither to ascend also It is even the Lord of Hosts he who hath the command of all the powers of Heaven Earth and Hell who hath the command especially of all the powers and operations vertues and graces of the Holy Spirit of God and dispenseth them accordingly unto all that love and fear his name He is the King of glory he is glorious indeed above all and God over all blessed for ever and therefore to him as is most meet be all glory ascribed Glory be to the Father c. As it was in the beginning c. The LXXXIV Psalm PARAPHRASED 1. O How amiable are thy dwellings especially in the high and holy place thou Lord of Hosts even of the numerous troops of Angels and Archangels and of all the powers of Heaven My soul hath a desire which is more than ordinary 't is a longing even to a separation from it self to enter into the Courts of the Lord to view those several Mansions of glory and the blissful condition wherein all the Courtiers of the King of Heaven do praise him for ever my heart and my flesh when subdued
the one and the other but a frail mortal life which taking end the Soul that is enriched with the ornaments of divine Grace is immediately cloathed with the Robes of Glory and therefore both the one and the other is stiled by our Lord Life Eternal John 17.3 This is Life Eternal that we might know thee 3. The happiness of Heaven is the end of all Holiness upon Earth and that must needs be the greatest good which is the end of all that is good for the end is more noble than the means 'T is the last good we hope for and so the most perfect as being the perfection and accomplishment of all the good we can imagine or desire nay 't is a blessedness beyond our frail imaginations to comprehend as it is written eye hath not seen nor Ear heard neither have entred into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him * Quod Deus praeparavit diligentibus se fide non capitur spe non attingitur charitate non comprehenditur desideria vota transgreditur acquiri potest aestimari non potest Aug. in 1 Cor. 2.9 4. Raise up thy affections O my Soul as to be ravish'd with the love of Heaven so to lament with tears of sorrow and shame thy sloth and negligence thy coldness and indevotion thy sinful security and earthly mindedness and what obstructs thy way and slackens thy pace towards this place of joy unspeakable and glorious O how slight and trivial how inconsiderable are all the most strict and rigid labours of Repentance and Mortification of the most profound Piety and ample Charity in respect of those Celestial joys whereunto they lead thee And if it shall once please God through the merits of Christ to receive thee into Heaven thou wilt then think all thy prayers and tears Age quod vgis fideriter labora in vinea tua ego inquit Dominus ero merces iva scribe lege canta geme tace ora sustine viriliter contraria digna est his omnibus vita aeterna majoribus praeliis T.K. sighs and groans fastings and watchings all thy labours of love both to God and Man very well spent that they have wafted thee over the troublesome waves of this worlds vast Sea into the Haven of Eternal peace and felicity Vouchsafe me O Lord a good end of my life a happy passport out of this world and lead me in the streight and even path that leads to thy Kingdom where that I may at last arrive it shall neither be my care nor fear what and how great things I suffer and undergo in my passage thither MEDITAT II. Of the place we call Heaven and first its Greatness THat Empyreal Heaven 2 Cor. 12.2 Deut. 10.14 2 Chr. 6.18 which is the seat of God and of all his holy Angels and Saints for ever is called also the Third Heaven and the Highest Heaven and the Heaven of Heavens and 't is of all the places of the Universe the most spacious large and ample for it contains all the Heavens and the Earth also even the whole Creation within its verge and compass Do but consider the vastness of the Sun and of the Moon with the multitude and magnitude of all the Lights of Heaven most of which are greater and some of them far bigger than the whole body of the Earth Consider also that besides the vast number of Stars there are empty spaces in the firmament for as many nay for many more than as many yet and then admire with astonishment the vast extent and amplitude of the Heaven of Heavens which containeth all these and all that is above and all that is below all these within its circuit and circumference Secondly Its brightness and Beauty The brightness of the Sun the Moon and the Stars do but imperfectly represent the Beauty and Brightness of Heaven as 't is described Rev. 21.23 Rev. 21.23 And the City had no need of the Sun nor of the Moon to shine in it for the glory of God did lighten it and the Lamb is the light thereof which exceeds as much the light of the Sun as the Suns light transcends that of a glimmering Taper The Air of this Country of Heaven is continually pure and clear bright and splendid 't is not capable of any Clouds Mists or Vapours not liable to any Rains Storms and Tempests not hick infectious Air offends the Inhabitants of this happy Land whilst the wretched Miscreants of the nether Hell are involved in blackness of darkness stifled with the suffocating fumes of sulphureous fire without the least hope of any purer Air wherein to breath for ever Thirdly Its Tranquillity All in this City of God is peaceable and quiet tranquil and secure and free even from the fear of the least disturbance Psal 90.10 no evil comes nigh this dwelling 'T is promised by our Lord John 16.22 Your joy no man taketh from you 'T is alone the joy of Heaven which cannot be taken away not by the world which is overcome and trampled under foot not by the flesh for that is so spiritualized and refined as no more to rebel against the dictates of the spirit not by sin for here enters nothing that is unclean not by death for immortality reigneth here not by any pain or sickness for these are but the Messengers and Forerunners of Death not by chance or fortune for Heaven knows no such heathen Deity not by Envy Hatred Malice Strife for all the Inhabitants of Heaven are combined in the sacred Bonds of everlasting Charity And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes and there shall be no more death neither sorrow nor crying neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are passed away Rev. 21.4 What the Lord promiseth to his Church Militant is fulfilled in his Church Triumphant Ps 147.13 The Lord hath made fast the bars of thy gates they are inexpugnable by any by the utmost force and fury of all the Spirits and Powers of Darkness The Lord maketh peace in thy borders Blessed peace dwells here without the least fear or danger of interruption For the grand Enemy of Peace is hence cast down fallen like lightning from Heaven Luk. 10.18 there 's no room here for that Author of all division nor yet for any of his instruments Ps 68.30 The people that delight in war 'T is the inheritance of Peace-makers Mat. 5.9 and of the peaceable minded and of such only as live in Peace upon Earth And O that it might please the God of Peace to allay that rancour to depress that tumour to asswage that itch of contention which now so much disturbs the peace of his Church upon Earth and obstructs the way to this heavenly Hierusalem the City of Peace Heb. 12.14 Follow peace with all men and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. O God the Athour of peace and
lover of concord in knowledge of whom standeth our Eternal life whose service is perfect freedom defend us thy humble servants in all the assaults of our Enemies that would disturb our peace that we surely trusting in thy defence may not fear the power of any adversaries through the might of Jesus Christ MEDITAT III. Of the good things of Heaven 1. HONOUR HOnour in Heaven is not that which swells with vain-glory and is puft up with the infectious breath of Flattery and the praise of men Joh. 5.44 but the honour that cometh from God only Honour is the reward of vertue and he who is the donor of vertue and obedience has promised to honour the obedient and vertuous saying If any man serve me Joh. 12.26 him will my Father honour What and how great this honour is we read Rev. 3.31 Rev. 3.31 To him that overcometh will I give to sit with me in my Throne even as I have overcome and am set down with my Father in his Throne There cannot be surely an higher Honour than this to be exalted by the right hand of the most High and placed in the same Throne with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords O what Hymns of divine Praise what applauses and exultations what shouts of joy shall sound through the whole Court of Heaven when thus it shall be done to the man whom the King delighteth to honour Esth 6.11 2. POWER 2. Honour without Power is but a titular empty airy happiness And the Saints shall have all power of what they will as God hath of what he wills For as God can do what he will by himself so can they do what they will by him For as they will nothing but what the Lord wills so the Lord wills nothing but what they will have 't is not possible but that they have Power to do whatever they will so Aug. Manual c. 35. The Power of the Saints in Heaven is promised by the Lord of all power saying of the faithful and wise servant Matt. 24.45 46. he will make him ruler of all his goods implying a power given to his Saints not only over all that is called good upon earth but also over all the joys of Heaven which are an aggregation of all that is good 'T is promised to him that overcometh that he shall inherit all things for being the Sons of God they are also heirs of God and joynt heirs with Christ partakers of all power with him both in Heaven and Earth Closs ord in loc Rev. 21.7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things wherein are implicitely promised 3. RICHES 3. The Riches of Heaven are not such corruptible things as Silver and Gold gorgeous Attire delicious Fare large Demesnes fair Habitations but without any such frail deceitful pelf there shall be abundance of peace Ps 72.7 2 Cor. 4.17 2 Cor. 15.28 a fulness of perfection and felicity an exceeding and eternal weight of glory and in a word in Heaven God shall be all in all He who is the Fountain and Well-spring of all good gifts and graces upon Earth will be himself the Reward and Crown thereof in Heaven than the which there can be nothing more high and honourable nothing more great and powerful nothing more rich full eminent perfect joyous and all that can be desired conducing to true happiness Happy then and thrice happy are they who now in this life covet chiefly covet only to have the Lord for their portion saying not from the teeth only but from the bottom of their hearts Psal 16.6 The Lord himself is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup thou shalt maintain my lot The lot is fallen to me in a fair ground I have a goodly heritage And surely he must needs be most exorbitantly covetous that will not be content with such a heritage and to possess the Lord himself who possesseth all things is the Riches of Heaven 4. PLEASURE Pleasure consists in the union of the Soul with an object of Delight and in Heaven the Soul shall be united with the most beautiful and blissful object viz. The Lord of glory The light of the World The God of all Consolation We read 1 Cor. 6.17 He that is joyned to the Lord is one spirit which is the height of pleasure and perfection of Delight to be so intimately joyned to the Lord as to become one spirit with him such do deliciously taste and fully see how gracious the Lord is Psal 34.8 There is no earthly pleasure like the taste and sense of the Lord's grace and favour to us 'T is yet a greater pleasure to enjoy the Lord as the only object of Love and Delight 'T is yet more sweet and pleasurable to acquiesce and be fully satisfied in the enjoyment of the divine Majesty But the fulness of joy is not only to enjoy but to know that we shall ever enjoy the beatifical vision and have the fruition of the supream beauty and divine goodness for ever and ever Now then Psal 37.4 O my Soul Delight thou in the Lord and he shall give thee thy hearts desire In the satisfaction and peace of thy desires does thy happiness consist and this is alone in the Lord obtainable Ps 89.16 Blessed are the people O Lord that can rejoyce in thee they shall walk in the light of thy countenance Their delight shall be daily in thy name and in thy righteousness shall they make their boast For thou art the glory of their strength But the soul that will rejoyce in God must be stampt after his Image and be like unto him pure as he is pure holy as he is holy merciful as he is merciful Eph. 5.1 2. Be ye followers of God as dear children and walk in love and so thou may'st hope to enjoy the Lord as the supream object of love and delight in Heaven How infinite is the goodness and how exceeding the bounty of the Lord to his good and faithful servants to admit them into the same joy which himself enjoys for so shall it be said to each of them Well done good and faithful servant enter thou into the joy of thy Lord Matt. 25.25 The joy and felicity of God does consist in the contemplation and fruition of his own perfections and felicities and such is the happiness of the Saints in Heaven to contemplate and enjoy the divine Majesty in the fulness of his joy and pleasure for evermore Beloved now we are the sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be but we know when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is 1 John 3.2 To see God as he is in himself clearly fully and with fulness of satisfaction is the happiness both of God himself and of all his Saints in him O Lord who hast prepared for them that love thee such good things as pass man's understanding Pour into our
more inflamed with the sacred fire of divine charity but doubtless I must have withal a due regard and veneration for his Saints for as God is praised in his Saints so is he dishonoured in their dis-respect He that toucheth them toucheth the apple of his eye Qui derogat alicui sanctorum Who detracts from any of the Saints of God Ps 150.1 Zech. 2.8 detracts from Christ himself who is the Saint of all Saints and detracts also from all the Saints in Heaven for all are united in the sacred bonds of Charity all think the same thing all do will alike and all do love both themselves and all in one T.K. 2 3. c. 58. If the zeal of some persons towards the Saints in Heaven exceed its due bounds and limits I must not therefore throw off that devout respect which is due unto them remembring that 't is the end of my Faith the summ of my Hope to be by holy Charity joyned with them in the same mystical body of Christ our common Lord and Redeemer and with them to love and to praise the Lord yea to praise and love him for ever Ps 84.4 which is the happiness of the Saints in Heaven for blessed are they that dwell in thy house they will always be praising thee And further the greatness of the joys of Heaven may be in some degree esteemed by the greatness of their purchace It is not doubted but the bloud of the Son of God is of so great value that the least drop thereof was of sufficient dignity to redeem ten thousand worlds and yet our blessed Redeemer who only knows how to value all things according to their worth gave every drop of his precious bloud accompanied with unspeakable torments pangs and sufferings to purchase this Celestial inheritance hence all truly Religious have Heaven their desire and the Earth their patience being of the same mind with S. Paul Cupio dissolvi I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ But I am unworthy too much unworthy sinful dust and ashes to be admitted into the blissful presence of my dear Redeemer But I will not despair since he hath 1. purchased this happiness for me * Heb. 9.12 15 24. since 2. he hath promised to receive me thereinto ‖ Joh. 14.3 and 3. he hath prayed also for my actual possession thereof saying Father I will that they whom thou hast given me Joh. 17.24 may be with me where I am that they may behold the glory which thou hast given me O Sweetest Saviour who to save and redeem man vouchsafedst to be made man and to appear in the likeness of sinful flesh O when when will that happy hour come wherein I shall be admitted to behold thy blessed Face Ps 17.16 which the Angels in Heaven behold with joy and wonder When I shall awake up after thy likeness I shall be satisfied with it Joh. 17.5 satisfied to the greatest height and fulness of content when I shall behold that glory thou hadst with the Father before the world was even so come Lord Jesus come quickly MEDITAT IV. Of the perpetuity of Heavenly Joys THE most full enjoyment of all the good things this world affords is not to be called or accounted Happiness because they are not only vain and empty of true satisfaction but also not permanent and lasting To every purpose under the Sun tending towards satisfaction and happiness Eccl. 8.6 there is a time and Judgment a Time limited for its prosecution and enjoyment and Judgment also shall pass upon the actions relating thereunto it must needs follow therefore the misery of man is great upon him But the good things of Heaven are durable permanent and lasting hereunto shall no Time succeed no Judgment follow 'T is a maxim in Divinity That there is no succession in the joys of Heaven because what is Eternal admits not of what is first and what is last but is both and all in the same moment which renders those joys transcendently full and ravishing since in each moment is enjoyed the joys of perpetuity not increasing by degrees or protracted by delays nor yet augmented by several spaces of Time but wholly and altogether and in the same moment is enjoyed and received the same glory in its height and fulness and this never to be diminished or decayed forfeited or lost Eus The Glory of them that die in Grace is Immortal their Happiness Immutable their Crown immarcescible their Life everlasting and their Reign with God and the Lamb for ever and ever No day does pass with these blessed Souls without its fulness of joy and content This joy shall be ever new and yet ever the same This glory shall never wither or decay but flourish for perpetual eternities And this must needs be so because celestial joy consists as in the blissful vision of God so in an assimilation to him for just men made perfect are immutable in their perfection and felicity by beholding him who is unchangeable so the Apostle We all as in a Glass 2 Cor. 3.18 beholding the Glory of the Lord are changed into the same Image from Glory to Glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord. The Moon and the Stars receive their light from the Sun and become like unto him by being opposite and in a sort beholding the Sun's bright face So the pure Souls in Heaven by seeing God who is the Light of lights are from him enlightened and made like unto him So saith the beloved Apostle Beloved 1 Joh. 3.2 now are we the Sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be but we know when He shall appear we shall be made like him for we shall see him as he is 1 Cor. 13.12 And that is not as now in a glass darkly but face to face i. e. as fully as our measure will contain our proportion bear and our degree in Grace require Gran. medit The joys of Heaven saith Gran. shall continue as many millions of Years as there are Stars in the Firmament and many more They shall last as many hundred millions of years as there have been drops of Rain fallen from Heaven since the beginning of the world and more much more In a word they shall endure as long as there is a God in Heaven and this God the same which was which is and which is to come from everlasting to everlasting Shall not then my heart be fixed where such lasting joys are to be found And thither my heart must first be sent by way of Harbinger before my person can atrive there I must now have my Conversation in Heaven before I can have my Consummation there I must now be Heavenly minded or else never hope to be admitted into the joys of Heaven But O the heavy burden of my sins These do depress and weigh down the mind and make her affections grovel in the dust and yet even these shall
to the spirit rejoyce in the living God there 's no joy like the joy of his presence who giveth life and a heart to pant and breath after the joys of life eternal The sparrow hath found her a house and the swallow a nest where to lay her young even thy Altars And O that my Soul could mount as doth the Sparrow upon her wings with inflamed affections after the pleasures of thy house and that my flesh might be instrumental to my Soul in bringing forth the fruits of the Spirit to be sacrific'd upon the Altar of Praise and Thanksgiving unto thee O Lord of hosts my King and my God whom alone I desire to adore worship and obey Blessed are they here in hope hereafter in fruition who dwell in thy house of Prayer upon Earth of Praise in Heaven in both they will always be praising thee 'T is our principal errand to the house of God upon earth and shall be our only employment in his house of Heaven always to praise the Lord. But we of thy house and family here below like the young birds near thine Altar are unfledged and empent in the nest of this corruptible body which weigheth down the Soul so that amount to Heaven-ward we cannot without the Divine assistance therefore Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee who derives strength of Grace from thee to praise and glorifie thee and this not only with their mouths but in whose heart are thy ways cordially resolving and uprightly walking in the ways of thy service and of their own salvation Who going through the vale of misery in their pilgrimage through the miseries of this sinful life below use it for a Well even the deep fountain of a broken heart from whence the Pools are filled with water the eyes flow with tears of that Godly sorrow which worketh Repentance unto Salvation not to be repented They will go from strength to strength from one degree of grace to another adding to Faith Vertue to Vertue Knowledge to Knowledge Temperance to Temperance Patience to Patience Godliness to Godliness Brotherly-kindness and to Brotherly-kindness Charity 2 Pet. 1.5 unto the God of Gods appeareth every one of them in Sion each person thus qualified shall appear in the presence of the supreme Majesty of Heaven which being the felicity whereunto I am created and earnestly long for I therefore humbly beg O Lord God of hosts hear my prayer thou art the Donor of all those powerfull Graces which mount up our Souls to Heaven and the Lord of all those hosts of Heaven amongst whom my Soul longeth to be enroll'd Hearken O God of Jacob assist me in all my wrestlings with my ghostly enemies that I may prevail and obtain thy blessing which is to be call'd Israel Seeing God the felicity of Heaven Behold O God our Defender against all the crafts and assaults of the Devil the World and the Flesh Look upon the face of thine anointed our blessed Redeemer sitting on thy right hand and interceding for us and may the sacred beams of his celestial light shine in our hearts and appear in the holiness and righteousness of our lives that going from strength to strength we may appear before the Lord in Sion For one day in thy Courts amongst the Quires of Heaven where the day is but one as knowing no morrow day is better than a thousand of the flitting transitory days of this mortal life I had rather be a door-keeper lie at the Threshhold submit to the lowest Condition in the house of my God the place where his Honour dwelleth who is the God of my Worship and Joy than to dwell in the tents of ungodliness be conversant amongst the Ungodly of this World in the most splendid Condition with all the Delights of the Sons of Men for 't is not all the Pomp and Glory all the Pleasures and Treasures of this Life can give any solid Satisfaction to the vast Desires of my immortal Soul For the Lord is a light and defence a light for direction in the way of peace and a defence for protection against all whomsoever or whatsoever might disturb the innocence and peace of my Soul He will give grace and worship Grace to serve him truly here and Worship or Glory to crown our services hereafter and no good thing will he withhold from them that lead a godly life who truly love and fear God and wait for his promises in the obedience of his precepts shall enjoy all that is truly good or conducible to their Eternal happiness in Heaven And therefore O Lord God of Hosts blessed is the man that putteth his trust in thee not roving in his hopes and desires after the exterior empty transitory Consolations of the Creature but among the sundry and manifold Changes of the World hath his heart surely fixed there where true joys are to be found which is alone in the Presence of the God of Heaven where all do rejoyce together and sing for ever Glory be to the Father c. As it was in the beginning c. AS an Earnest of this Everlasting Joy and Felicity Psal 27.4 One thing have I desired of the Lord which I will require even that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the fair beauty of the Lord and to visit his Temple Amen FINIS THE CONTENTS OF the Four last things in general 1 Of the shortness and frailty of this present Life 5 S. Augustine 's Meditation on this subject 6 Of the frequent remembrance of Death 9 Of the Horror of Death 15 Of the uncertainty of Death and preparation for it 19 The 39 Psalm illustrated with notes 29 The 90 Psalm illustrated with notes 33 The II. general Head OF Judgment Of particular Judgment 38 Of the general Judgment 44 The 26 Psalm paraphrased 55 The 43 Psalm paraphrased 58 The III. general Head OF the pains of Hell 61 Of the pain of Loss 62 Of the darkness of Hell 65 Of the fire of Hell 67 Of the extent of Hell-pains 71 Of the bonds and chains of Hell 75 Of the Laments of Hell 78 Of the perpetuity of Hell-torments 80 The 86 Psalm paraphrased 83 The 88 Psalm paraphrased 88 The IV. general Head OF Heaven 93 Of the place call'd Heaven 1. It s greatness 97 2. It s brightness and splendor 98 3. It s tranquility and peace ibid. Of the good things of Heaven 1. Honour 100 2. Power 101 3. Riches 102 4. Pleasure 103 Of the Company of Heaven 1. God's presence there 105 2. 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his Eyes quite sunk into his head and in the two holes thereof two loathsome Toads were feeding Then turning towards his Mother he said What now dear Mother is become of the great Caesar whose pomp and power and policy whose riches honour and dignity whose many victories conquests and triumphs rendred him the most admired Heroe the world afforded Where now is all his glory Where the Conquering Armies he commanded The Cities Nations Countries he subdued The numerous train of Nobility Gentry Souldiery that attended him The vast riches and boundless authority he acquired Whereunto the pious Matron answered O my Son no sooner did his Spirit fail and his breath expire but all his splendid enjoyments all his flattering worldly felicities forsook him His riches his friends his attendants all his conquests and triumphs all the honour which he got through manifold travels pains and perils have all now left him alone in this gastly silent Sepulchre accompanied only with Worms Stench and Corruption Such is the end of all flesh All flesh is grass Isa 40.6 and all the goodliness thereof as a flower of the field The flower is more gay and gawdy than the grass for a little space but when the verdure of both decays they have the same withered complexion they rot and corrupt both alike and commonly the more gawdy flower is more ugly and stinking than the grass 'T is even so with the rich and the poor the honourable and the base in this world they differ only in their outward fashion and appearance but when death doth seize them they are equally obnoxious to the same solitude poverty and nakedness to the same stench corruption and rottenness 'T is as true of the greatest Prince as of the meanest Peasant When a man is dead Eccl. 10.11 he shall inherit creeping things Beasts and Worms All the difference in the Grave betwixt the rich and the poor is this That the dust of the rich through the luxury lasciviousness and intemperance of their life is more corrupt and loathsome after their death than is the dust of the poor whose food and nourishment was more course and sparing Why then my Immortal Soul art thou so fond of thy corruptible companion the Body Remember its beginning is uncleanness and its end rottenness 'T is thy servant for the present but if thou too much cocker and pamper it 't will rebel subdue and lead thee captive to a worse death than that whereunto it self is liable even the death of the nether Hell Mar. 9.44 Where the Worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched 2. Death is the wages of sin And I have sinned vile wretch that I am I have sinned and what shall I do or what shall I say unto thee O thou preserver of man All that I can say is the same still Psal 38.18 I have sinned and as long as I have a day to live I will say it I will confess my wickedness and be sorry for my sins Mercy good Lord mercy I humbly beg Job 7.20 21. O why dost thou not pardon my Transgression and take away mine iniquity Are not my days few cease then and let me alone that I may bewail my sins and take comfort a little in the hopes of the pardon of them through faith in the blood of my dear Redeemer Job 10.20 21. before I go to the place from whence I shall not return to the land of darkness and of the shadow of death 3. I know that to flesh and blood death is of all terribles the most terrible Job 18.14 but my blessed Redeemer hath pulled out the sting and quelled the terrors of death 1 Cor. 15.55 Heb. 2.14 56 57. He hath also destroyed him that had the power of death that is the Devil So that now when death approacheth through Faith and a good Conscience I shall have hope with all patience and contentment to drink off that Cup how bitter and painful soever saying with my blessed Lord and Master upon his approaching death Mat. 26.42 Father not my will but thine be done The Prayer ASsist me mercifully O Lord to subject my rebellious flesh to the guidance of the Spirit and my spirit to the Laws of my Redeemer that when my body shall be the inheritance of Worms and creeping things my Soul may possess an inheritance uncorruptible and undefiled that fadeth not away reserved in the Heavens through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen MEDITAT V. Of Preparation unto Death I. AS there is nothing more certain than death Psal 89.47 For what man is there that liveth and shall not see death So there is nothing more uncertain than the time of death Mat. 24.36 for of that day and hour knoweth noman 'T is therefore unknown Luk. 12.40 that it might be alway suspected and awaited The Son of man cometh in an hour when you think not That his coming may be hourly thought upon Latet dies ultimus Aug. ut observentur omnes dies The day of our death is hidden from us that all our days should be no other but a preparation thereunto the certainty of the one engaging us unto sincerity in the other * Veri hominis Christiani vita nihil aliud quam continua ad mortem praeparatio esse debet Every danger foreseen is best prevented And thus death the greatest of dangers may be rendred the least dangerous by a prudent fear and careful provision for the same Qui pavet cavet qui negligit incidit Bern. Prov. 14.16 which may best be englished in the language of the Holy Ghost The wise man feareth and departeth from evil but the fool rageth and is confident †Timeat semper in vita mortem qui mortis metum evadere velit II. The great end of this mortal life is to prepare for death or rather for a safe passage through death to life Immortal For upon the well or ill spending of the few minutes of this present life depends either a blessed or a miserable Eternity It was the advice of a wise man to his friend to have engraven in capital Letters in some such place of his house as might be most frequent in his view to be often considered Momentum unde pendet Eternitas III. There is no consideration our blessed Lord hath so frequently inculcated by commands counsels exhortations admonitions parables similitudes arguments and reasons as this of the Christian watch i. e. to prepare to provide to be ready to wait for the coming of the Lord or for the approach of Death Luke 12.38 whether he shall come in the first or in the second or in the third watch whether in the time of youth or manhood or old age Mark 13.34 35 36 37. at all times and in all ages he commands all men to be upon their watch This watch implies many particulars which are so many preparatives unto death 1. To watch is to
the beginning c. The Prayer ALmighty God the Fountain of all Wisdom grant me so wisely to number and compare the short and sorrowful days of this mortal Life with that joyful and never ending day of a blessed eternity that despising the vanities of the one I may zealously aspire to the happiness of the other O satisfie the panting desires of my Soul with the sense of thy mercy in the pardon of my sins and let the glory of thy grace appear in prospering me to perform all those good works of Faith and Obedience which conduce to my eternal Salvation through Jesus Christ THE Second general Meditation UPON JUDGMENT And first the Particular Judgment IT is appointed unto man once to die Heb. 9.27 and after that the Judgment No sooner shall this house of flesh wherein the immortal Soul doth now inhabit be shattered in pieces by the hand of death but in the same moment the departing Soul shall be conveyed by the Angels of God before his Judgment-seat and this is call'd The particular Judgment that shall pass upon every person in particular immediately upon his death Eccl. 12.7 when the dust shall return to the earth as it was then shall the Spirit return unto God that gave it To give an account of the works done in the body whether they be good or whether they be evil That grand enemy of man the Devil awaits thy Soul's departure hence to dog thee to the great Tribunal of Heaven Ille enim tunc saeviens capit quos nunc blandiens decipit Greg. In this life he fawns to seduce but in the other he will roar to devour as a Lion over his prey to this end he will vehemently accuse thee aggravating all thy miscarriages through his suggestions committed and claiming thee as one of the subjects of his kingdom of darkness saying to the great Judge of all as several Fathers observe This person thou Judge of the world though he be thine by Creation Euseb Emiss Hom. Aug. orat cont Judaos Pag. yet he is mine by Depravation He is Thine by nature but mine by sin for he has obeyed my suggestions and disobeyed thy Laws and therefore though he belong to thee by right yet he is faln to me by default he is thine in respect of his workmanship but mine by the rebellion of his will and disorder of his affections having yielded himself to follow my temptations and to forsake the paths of thy Commandments But 't is not the Devil alone that shall thus accuse thee when arraigned at the Bar of divine Judgment but as S. Chrysostom saith the Heavens and the Earth and the Sea the Sun and the Moon and the Stars both Nights and Days and all the Creatures thou hast abused shall bear witness against thee but above all Thine own Conscience shall be as a thousand witnesses for being then freed from this clog and damp of the corruptible flesh all thy imaginations and desires all thy words and works spoken and done in the body shall appear to thy Conscience in their native genuine and proper colours without any ignorance or oblivion misperswasion or misprision which now blinds the minds of many thousands to their eternal ruine on that day O who shall then be able to answer thee one of a thousand thou most worthy Judge eternal if thou shouldst be extream to mark what is done amiss Job 9.2 Ps 130.3 and thy great mercy intervene not to mitigate the rigor of thy Justice But in thee have I put my trust Ps 38.15 Thou shalt answer for me O Lord my God I have no other Advocate to plead my cause but my righteous Judge himself from whom in my daily prayers I have required that they even mine enemies should not triumph over me when I stand to be judged before the Tribunal of Heaven Eccl. 23.2 3. Who will set scourges over my thoughts and the discipline of wisdom over my heart that they spare me not for mine ignorances and pass not by my sins Lest mine ignorances increase and my sins abound to my destruction And I fall before mine adversaries in the day of my trial and mine enemies the spirits and powers of darkness rejoyce over me whose hope is far from thy mercy Meditat. II. My flesh trembleth for fear of thee Psal 119.120 and I am afraid of thy Judgments when I consider the severity of many of thy temporal judgments which are now intended to drive sinners to Repentance that thou mightest spare them hereafter I cannot but foresee the unconceivable rigour of thy eternal judgments which intend punishment only without any thought of future mercy to spare and to forgive as in this life And I vile sinner have great cause to fear as a strict examination which all must undergo so severe a sentence to pass upon me having not so conscienciously as I ought obeyed the sacred dictates of the saving grace of God teaching us Tit. 2 11 12 13. that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present world With what face then shall I look for the blessed hope or hope for blessedness upon the appearance of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ I have a greater cause to fear than to hope to wave than to await his coming But how shall I avoid or whither shall I flee from the face of my Judge whither but from an offended God to a merciful Redeemer from the Throne of thy Justice to thy Mercy-seat To meet thee now with Repentance in my heart and the fruits thereof brought forth in the actions of my life and with such spiritual wings cemented with the bloud of my Redeemer I may hope to flee from the wrath to come O God who art justly displeased for our sins Mat. 3.7 8. and pacified by our true and sincere Repentance spare O spare all those who confess their sins unto thee that they whose consciences by sin are accused by thy merciful pardon may be absolved through Christ our Lord. Meditat. III. Before Judgment examine thy self Eccl. 18.20 and in the day of visitation thou shalt find mercy And I upon the examination of my self do find my heart foul and polluted and my life stain'd with manifold offences but that I may escape the judgment of God I judge my self to be a miserable sinner I judge my self to have incurr'd the Lord's just indignation to have deserved the dismal sentence of condemnation to pass upon me For I have sinned and I have done wickedly and I have committed iniquity and have rebelled against the Lord by departing from his most holy Laws and Judgments Many will be my accusers when I come to my great Trial upon life or death eternal and many and great accusations have they to lay against me the Devil and his Angels whose suggestions unto evil I have too often followed many men and many women too who have been conscious
of my sins and of whose sins I have been many ways guilty All the good Creatures of God I have abused and his mercies in them all those evil deeds I have committed and the many good offices I have wittingly omitted all which stand upon record in the Lord 's black book of remembrance and mine own Conscience shall bear witness to all these undeniable Evidences These are the Books that shall be opened against me and I have not what to answer for my self Psal 26.1 But my trust is in the tender mercies of the Lord therefore I shall not fall and be cast in my trial Holy Jesus who wast condemned being innocent acquit me though greatly nocent through Faith in thy Bloud Judge me O Lord Ps 35.24 according to thy righteousness not after mine for 't is little and good for little but 't is thy righteousness Holy Jesus both active and passive I must plead for my acquittance when judged by thee then O then let not mine enemies triumph over me Let them not say in their hearts there there so would we have it neither let them say we have devoured him But in the hour of death and in the day of Judgment Good Lord deliver me MEDITATIONS UPON THE General Judgment WHen the Son of man shall come in his Glory Mat. 25.31 and all his holy Angels with him then shall he sit upon the Throne of his Glory And before him all nations shall be gathered This is called The day of the Lord 1 Thes 5.2 by way of Eminence as being of all days the greatest I. And that first in respect of the great appearance which shall be upon this day both of the Judge and the persons to be judged 1. Great and glorious terrible and amazing shall be the appearance of the Judge himself with all his numerous attendants His personal appearance shall be in Majesty and great glory not in respect of his Divine nature for that appears not to the eyes of flesh but in respect of his Humane nature assumed That nature which appear'd here upon earth poor mean contemptible wherein he was despised and scorned whipt and scourged beaten and buffetted bespattered with ignominious spittings and vile reproaches rack'd disjoynted distorted deformed nailed and pierced crucified and died shall upon this day appear cloathed with Majesty and crowned with glory Every eye shall see him even they also who pierced him and the marks in his nailed hands in his nailed feet and in his gored side shall appear as so many shining Stars for their glittering splendor 2. A great day in respect of the numerous attendants upon this great Judge of whom Dan. 7.9 when the ancient of days did sit thousand thousands ministred unto him and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him the judgment was set and the books were opened When this day of the Lord cometh the Sun shall be turned into darkness and the Moon into bloud and all the glittering Stars shall fall from their Orbs but then the Sun of righteousness shall shine attended by all the triumphing Saints and Angels of Heaven who shall appear as so many Stars in the Firmament above dazling the eyes and astonishing the hearts of all persons to be judged and this renders 3. This day a great day in respect of the appearance that shall then be even of all the Men that ever lived or shall live upon the face of the earth and of all the Angels also who are more numerous than men in the judgment of the Schoolman who saith T. Aq. p. 1. q. 50. Art 3. that there be as many if not more of spiritual than of corporal Beings 4. A great day in respect of the multitudinous Trials even of all the works that ever have been done from the Creation to the dissolution of all things under the Sun And not our works only but 5. Of all our words even of every idle word an account must be given By thy words thou shalt be justified Mat. 12.36 37. and by thy words thou shalt be condemned 6. Not our words and works only but even the inward thoughts intentions and desires of our hearts shall be expos'd to open view and censure the Lord will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of all hearts 1 Cor. 4.5 The most seared Conscience of the wicked and the most subtle secret Conscience of the Hypocrite shall by the all-piercing light of the divine Majesty be displayed and appear as manifest and open as if all the counsels thereof had been written with a beam of the Sun Ps 90.8 For thou O Lord hast set our misdeeds before thee and our secret sins in the light of thy countenance 'T is recorded of Agathon a person famous amongst the Aegyptian Fathers for strictness and holiness of life that he was notwithstanding exceedingly afraid upon his approaching death And being demanded the reason of his fear by such as knew the innocence of his life He answered That the judgments of God do vastly differ from the judgments of Men Every way of man is right in his own eyes but the Lord weigheth the spirits Prov. 16.2 Woe woe to the most holy and innocent life amongst Men if the mercy of God do not interpose in the day of Judgment For alas who is so holy who so pure and innocent as to stand with any confidence in that all-discerning light of the Sun of Righteousness Eccl. 23.19 Whose eyes are a thousand times brighter than the Sun beholding all the ways of men and considering their most secret parts I have been guilty most merciful Father I have been guilty of manifold miscarriages which I have now forgotten nor can I through the strictest examination of my self recal to my memory many of mine offences Job 14.16 17. But although I cannot yet thou numbrest my steps dost thou not watch over my sin my transgression is sealed up in a bag and thou sowest up mine iniquities So surely are all my transgressions kept in store against the day of my Trial whilst I sensual and secure think all is well enough with me and that my sins are forgotten Ps 19.12 O cleanse thou me from all my secret faults and as they are hid from my memory Ps 51.9 so hide thou thy face from them blot them out of thy Book of remembrance that they appear not to my confusion on that great and last day II. 1. The Lord hath made all things for himself yea even the wicked for the day of evil Prov. 16.4 The great day of Judgment is call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the day of evil As for which day the Lord hath reserved the full execution of his severe justice upon all the evils of the world In the Creation of all things the power of God was most especially manifested in the government of the world doth his wisdom most appear In the Redemption of mankind his
miserable undoing for ever Now then cast up thy accounts carefully examine try and judge thy self confess thy manifold amisses Humble thy self greatly under the mighty hand of God Appease the wrath of the great Judge of the world by Prayers and Tears Eccl. 7.17 and all the sacred offices and acts of true Repentance by Alms and Offerings and Fastings often and in a word 1 Pet. 2.5 by all the kinds of those spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable unto God through Jesus Christ Stir up we beseech thee O Lord the wills of thy fatithful people quicken our dead and cold Faith with the sacred fire of holy Charity the very bond of perfection and all vertue that we plenteously bringing forth the fruits of good works may of thee be plenteously rewarded at the last day through Jesus V. And there was a cry at midnight Mat. 25.6 Behold the bridegroom cometh Woe unto me then saith a devout Father if I be found sleeping in my bed at midnight Ambr. in Luc. when the great Judge of all the world shall appear it concerns me much rather to resolve with holy David Psal 119.62 at midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous Indgments Happy are those servants whom the Lord when he cometh shall find upon their watch Mar. 13.33 34. awaiting his coming with their loins girt their lusts restrained and their Lamps burning The light of the holy and true Faith flaming by divine Love and shining through all the actions of their life Mat. 5.26 that others seeing their good works may glorifie God the Father of Heaven I will stand upon my watch to guard the innocency of my Soul Mat. 26.41 I will watch and also pray that I fall not into the snare of the Devil when tempted by him and that day come upon me unawares There be two sorts of sins especially against which my blessed Redeemer hath commanded me to watch that the day of the Lord surprize me not First Surfeiting and Drunkenness Luke 21.34 or the pleasures of the flesh Secondly The cares of the world or Ambition and Covetousness against these grand enemies which continually war against my Soul it concerns me continually also to watch and pray Blessed Lord let not I humbly beseech thee any importunate cravings of this corruptible flesh seduce me nor the flattering false felicities of worldly wealth and dignity deceive me but grant that I being free from all pollutions both from the one and the other may await thy coming in all holy but humble confidence to be ranked not amongst the cursed goats on thy left hand but amongst thy blessed Sheep on the right hand and hear that joyful sentence saying Come ye blessed of my Father receive the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world Grant this O heavenly Father Our Father which art in Heaven c. The XXVI PSALM PARAPHRASED BE thou my judge O Lord Verse 1 not to condemn me for my sins but to accept of my services though imperfect and weak for I have walked innocently not according to the Innocency of thy Saints in Heaven but according to that of frail Man upon Earth Neither do I herein presume to justifie my self but my trust hath been also in the Lord 't is not my innocency but the Lord's mercy I rely upon and therefore shall I not fall in the day of Judgment Examine me O Lord and prove me now is the time assisted by thy all-piercing Spirit to examine my self in order to my grand examination in that day Try out my reins and my heart as the silver is tried when the dross is purged out and this even in the furnace of affliction if it so seemeth good unto thee that my reins and my heart may be cleansed from all filthiness both of flesh and spirit and yet even so I dare not undergo thy strict and severe examination of me but with reflections upon thine immense Goodness For thy loving kindness is ever before mine eyes 'T is my constant meditation my hope and my refuge and I will walk in thy truth inwardly delighting and outwardly performing the commands thereof and that I may do this I have not dwelt with vain persons made my abode with such as follow the pomps and vanities of this wicked world neither will I have fellowship with the deceitful I have not so delighted in the society as to be tainted by the evil examples of such as through their deceivable lusts keep not the Covenant they have made with their God nor is it enough to avoid the society but I have hated the congregation of the wicked not their persons but their wickedness and all their consultations to do evil and will not sit among the ungodly so as to continue and be delighted with the errors of their ways I will wash my hands in innocency O Lord with the tears of true Repentance I will wash the sinful works of my hands and keep them clean and innocent for the future and so not in my sins unrepented will I go to thine Altar to offer up Vows and Prayers with the precious body and bloud of my Saviour That I may shew the voice of thanksgiving publickly declare the great Thanks and Praise which is due to thy divine Majesty and tell of all thy wondrous works joyning with the Ministers of thy Temple in Psalms and Hymns and spiritual songs wherein thy great works both of Mercy and Judgment are celebrated To this end Lord I have loved the habitation of thy house the place where thou inhabitest more especially than any other houses and 't is my delight to come to this house because 't is the place where thine honour dwelleth where the honour of thy Name is continually celebrated for in his Temple doth every man speak of his Honour And since 't is the joy of my heart to joyn with thy people in the praise of thy Name O shut not up my soul with the sinners though in this world I cannot altogether escape their temptation and trouble yet rank me not amongst them in the world to come nor my life with the bloud-thirsty let me not perish with the cruel uncharitable and covetous of the world In whose hands is wickedness the works of whose hands are unjust and destructive and their right hand is full of gifts even their righteous actions are for bribes and sinister ends transacted and such are all they who make a gain of godliness But as for me though others pursue their worldly interest through injustice and bribery yet I will walk innocently that 's the desire and resolution of my Soul O deliver me through the precious bloud of my Redeemer which was shed for my deliverance defend me from all my ghostly enemies that would destroy mine innocence and be merciful unto me let thy mercy both pardon my by-past transgressions and support me through all the perils of this mortal life My foot
standeth right fixed in my affections to cleave unto thee and I will praise the Lord in the congregations in the assemblies of the Lord's people in the house where his Honour dwelleth and so shall I hope to be hereafter admitted into the blissfull company of Angels and Saints to praise the Lord for ever saying Glory be to the Father c. As it was in the beginning c. The XLIII Psalm PARAPHRASED Verse 1. GIve sentence with me O God when I stand before thee to be judged according to my works done in the body whether good or evil O then defend my cause against the ungodly people Plead for me against all the accusations of men women devils in whose company or by whose temptations I have done any evil O deliver me from the deceitful and wicked man that I be not ranked amongst such upon the left hand of unrighteousness and infelicity For thou art the God of my strength By whom I am enabled to resist all my ghostly enemies why hast thou put me from thee leaving me to mine own weak frail and sinful self And this is the reason why I go so heavily in the ways of thy service and of mine own salvation whilst the enemy oppresseth me being destitute of thy help the grand enemy of God and Man over-powers me with his temptations and assaults But that I may manfully resist and overcome O send out thy light and thy truth the light of thy Grace and the truth of thy righteousness which discerns the cause of the righteous from the ungodly that they may lead me out of all the errours of this sinful life that being separated from the allurements and society of the ungodly they may bring me to thy holy hill where thy Temple is situate and to thy dwelling the place where thine honour dwelleth And that I may go to the Altar of God both Sacramental and Mystical upon the Altar of my heart to offer up my whole self to be a living Sacrifice Holy acceptable unto God even the God of my joy and gladness who makes glad my heart by the consolations of his Holy Spirit when I approach his Altar and upon the Harp which is an instrument of a Triangular figure and represents the heart of man wherewithal I will give thanks unto thee O holy and ever blessed Trinity Father Son and Holy Ghost one God over all blessed for ever and my God even the God of my joy and worship my Glory and my Crown O then Why art thou so heavy O my soul There is no sorrow but for sin because this alone separateth the Soul from the God of all consolation and why art thou so disquieted within me 'T is thy unquiet passions and unruly lusts which disturb thy reason and withdraw thee thus disquieted from a sincere dependance upon thy God but return return unto thy rest O my Soul O put thy trust in God all thy sorrows and distempers are from thy self thy health and joy is from the Lord and for this I will yet give him thanks who is to be praised in both the seasons of sadness and joy for in both He is the help of my countenance the lightsome gladness of my heart and my God both of my Being and Well-being even the God of all that I am and all that I have and all that I hope to be which is to enjoy the beatifical vision of his divine Majesty for ever to sing Glory be to the Father c. As it was in the beginning c. THE Third General Meditation UPON THE PAINS of HELL MAny are the opinions and disputes and too curious also the disquisitions touching the place and nature matter manner and duration of the pains of Hell But it would be more Christian prudence strictly to search and find out those crooked deceitful and polluted paths which lead to that dismal place of torments that we may decline and avoid them 'T is surely better by much not to feel by woful experience the miseries of the damned than exactly to know and accurately to discourse of them And may this be ever my study blessed Lord my continual care and fear and constant endeavour not in the least particular to sin against thee for thy wrath and indignation which resteth upon sinners is a fierce wrath and a terrible 't is not in the power of frail man to sustain the fury of it MEDITAT I. Of the Pain of Loss AS there are two general parts of every sin in this life committed 1. An aversion from the Creator 2. A conversion to the Creature So there are two general kinds of punishment for Sin in the Life to come 1. The Punishment of Loss 2. The Pain of Sense The first and 't is esteemed by many holy Fathers the greatest of Hell-Torments is that which is call'd by Divines The Pain of Loss whereunto the wicked of the world are sentenced in these several expressions Mat. 22.13 25.30.41 Luke 13.27 S. Chrys Hom. 28. Take him away Cast him out I know you not depart from me ye cursed The Pains of Sense in Hell are intolerable saith Chrys yet for a man to suffer a thousand Hells is less irksome than to be banish'd from Heaven to be driven from the presence of God to be exil'd out of the Regions of Light and Joy to be rejected of the Lord and to hear from him I know you not Depart from me The Loss of Heaven must needs be the greatest of Evils because 't is the Loss of the greatest and most perfect good and of all that is truly good To lose the good things we do now enjoy in the world may be recompenced with advantage by the gain of Heaven but to lose Heaven it self to forfeit the right and title we once had happily obtained to be inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven is a Loss irreparable Id. Serm. Aug. Enchir ad Laurent c. 112. Nothing can compensate nothing can equal nothing to be compared to this Loss 't is Hell enough it self if there were no other In this life the most wise and holy understand not throughly the fulness of Heavenly joys and so cannot be sensible of the Torment of their Loss but in the next life our eyes shall be opened and the veil upon our hearts removed and then shall the ungodly see to their unspeakable grief and anguish of spirit the vast difference betwixt the never fading pleasures of the right hand of God and the empty transitory pleasures of sin betwixt that fulness of joy in the presence of God and the deplorable sorrow of its loss and absence It is very probable that this Torment of Hell is meant by the Worm that dieth not For nothing can more corrode and eat so deeply even into the inmost recesses of damned Souls as to see and consider for what poor beggarly trifling things of the Earth here below they have lost those blissful Joys and ravishing Felicities of Heaven above when they shall
of others who have been guilty of any of these or of any other sinful pollutions and have not wept and bewailed the same with the tears of Repentance Wo unto you that laugh now in your sinful pleasures Luk. 6.25 for ye shall mourn and weep either here or hereafter And 't is sad and sottish to put off this necessity of weeping to the other world where the Tears of sorrow and sad Repentance shall avail nothing And this is all the water that Hell affords Luk. 16.24 not a drop to cool the tongue tormented in those scorching Flames only those driesly Tears which the violence of her Torments do extort which being salt and brinish and spent in vain shall the more encrease the bitterness and augment the miseries of the condemned sinner Weeping in this life as 't is a sign so 't is some ease to the inward sorrow of the Soul which outwardly evaporates it self by Tears But 't is not thus with the weepings in Hell there no Tears no Sighs not the saddest Lamentations can mitigate in the least the sorrows of the Soul because there is nothing but what doth torment without any intermixture of ease or allay which is manifest from the conjunction of weeping and gnashing of Teeth to intimate there is not such a Lamentation as gives ease to the Soul but rather embitters the same even to rage and madness and dire execrations of it self and of all its instruments and companions in her sins accompanied with blasphemous revilings of the justice of God O that now my head were waters Jer. 9.1 and mine eyes a fountain of tears by weeping here to prevent the weeping in Hell hereafter now to bewail my sins that I sorrow not when 't is too late where weeping and wailing shall not asswage but augment my sorrows Lament O sinner and gnash thy teeth through a holy indignation to be so foolish and mad as for a little sinful pleasure or dirty delight to run the hazard of being obnoxious to never-ending pains and sorrows Blessed are they that mourn Mat. 5.4 both for their own sins and for the sins of others through the fear of Hell and desire of Heaven for they shall be comforted their scars prevented their desires obtained A broken and a contrite heart Ps 51.17 O God thou wilt not despise A heart broken with godly sorrow for sin and venting it self in Tears with Prayers Humiliations and Confessions mixt with Faith in the Bloud of my dear Redeemer Thus Lord thus I humbly beg to be delivered from thy wrath and from the deplorable wailings of a sad eternity Amen MEDITAT VII Of the Perpetuity of Hell-Torments THE Perpetuity of Hell-Torments is in the thought thereof a Torment unspeakable for in every instant of the Sufferings of the Damned they suffer all the Torments of those infinite thousands of years to come the continuance whereof is not measured by Time but by the bottomless Abyss of Eternity and the immutability of Divine Justice and what is time to eternity Behold as a drop of water is to the sea Eccl. 18.10 and a gravel-stone in comparison of the sand so are a thousand years to the days of eternity In this life fear hath torment but torment hath no fear but hope rather of release and delivery but in Hell the Damned both fear what they suffer and also suffer what they fear even the everlasting duration of their sufferings Rev. 20.10 They that are cast into the Lake of fire and brimstone shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever The Damned in Hell saith holy Bernard shall die unto life and yet shall for ever live unto death For therefore shall they live for ever that they may be the food of death eternal Are not they then without understanding that work wickedness Psal 14.4 who being endued with Reason and capable of Counsel who knowing the shortness of this life and the uncertainty of the same and withal believing the everlasting duration of the life to come do nevertheless bend all their thoughts and endeavours upon what concerns this present temporary Being even to the great hazard of being obnoxious to the Pains and Torments of a sad Eternity such madness in the hearts of men can never be throughly bewail'd even with Tears of Bloud Wo to them who now do laugh at what shall be hereafter most sadly bewailed and wo to them who shall feel by sad experience what they now either believe not or but slightly regard it Who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come Matt. 3.7 That there is a wrath to come every Christian believes and 't is a fierce wrath and a terrible Rom. 2.8 9. even indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doth evil and hath not repented him of the evil and of the iniquity he hath done Of the coming of this wrath also frequent warning is given both by the works and by the word of God and by the Ministers of his Church but who takes warning given who regards the power of this wrath very few regard it though the less it be regarded the more fierce it will be for even thereafter as a man feareth Ps 90.11 so is thy displeasure Fear thou the Lord Prov. 3.7 O my Soul fear the Lord and depart from evil Thou Psal 76.7 O Lord thou alone art to be feared and who may stand in thy sight when thou art angry The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life Pro. 14.27 to depart from the gates of death Fear not them that can kill the body Mat. 10.28 but are not able to kill the soul but fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell Let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear Heb. 12.28 For our God is a consuming fire The LXXXVI Psalm PARAPHRASED Verse 1. BOw down thine ear to him who now bows down his heart and hear me O Lord confessing for I am poor extremely wanting of the graces of thy Spirit which should make me rich towards God I have little or no treasures laid up in Heaven and therefore I am in misery liable to the eternal miseries of Hell But Preserve thou my soul from that dismal place of Torments for I am holy separate and devoted to thy Service though a poor unprofitable servant and upon this account I make bold to call thee my God whom I worship and serve and humbly beseech thee to save thy servant who putteth his trust in thee for the riches of grace and salvation wherein Be merciful unto me O Lord who art rich in mercy for I will call daily upon thee that it may please thee in great mercy to deliver me from that misery whereunto my poorness in grace but abounding sins make me obnoxious Comfort the soul of thy servant that the sorrows of death overwhelm me not For
me in the lowest Pit I confess I have so far incurr'd thy wrathful displeasure as to be laid in the nethermost Hell which is a place of darkness even blackness of darkness for ever and in the deep Abyss of inextricable Torments Thine indignation lieth hard upon me whereto I have provoked thee by manifold offences and thou hast vexed me with all thy storms those tempests of affliction and trouble which disturb my peace are sent from thee to scowre the rust of corruption off my Soul Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me and made me to be abhorred of them The invisible society of holy Angels with the prayers and good wishes of holy men I enjoyed whilst I was innocent and heavenly-minded but now being polluted they are estranged from me and abhor me in my sins I am so fast in prison that I cannot get forth I am so enfetter'd in the bonds and chains of my sins that without the help of a divine hand I cannot be loosed from them My sight faileth for very trouble the bright eye of my mind is dimm'd and darkned through the pressures of my spirit and in this sad condition Lord I have called upon thee as being my only refuge in danger support in trouble and succour in all distress I have stretched forth my hands unto thee by my practice according to my prayer Dost thou shew wonders among the dead or shall the dead declare thy works of wonder or shall the dead rise up and praise thee They must have part in the first Resurrection which is from the corruption of sin who worthily shew forth thy praise Shall thy loving kindness be shewed in the grave or thy faithfulness in destruction both in the state of the first and of the second Death there is a deep silence of thy Goodness and of thy Truth Shall thy wondrous works be known in the dark and thy righteousness in the land where all things are forgotten Thy righteous and admired deeds are not once mentioned either in the grave of Death or in the Pit of Hell in both estates there is an utter forgetfulness of all thy Goodness and Truth But that I may be delivered from such a sad condition Vnto thee have I cried O Lord and early shall my prayer come before thee Before I be surprised by Death let my prayer for thy prevented and assisting Grace be not rejected Lord why abhorrest thou my soul I am unclean I confess and 't is but just I should be abhorred and forsaken but being withal penitent and humbled why hidest thou thy face from me as being still displeased with me and deaf to my petitions I am in misery and like unto him that is at the point to die Death as the wages of sin dogs me at the heels even from my youth up thy terrors have I suffered with a troubled mind The terrors of my Conscience for sin have been alway accompanied with a troubled and contrite spirit which thou hast promised not to despise Thy wrathful displeasure goeth over me The apprehension of thy wrath and displeasure invades and overflows my soul and the fear of thee hath undone me the fear of thy wrath in the day of Judgment and of the never-dying Torments of Hell hath ruin'd all my worldly consolations They came round about me daily like water overflowing all the powers and passions of my Soul and compassed me together on every side leaving no visible means of evasion and peace My lovers and my friends who professed themselves to be such in my worldly prosperity and amidst my carnal delights hast thou put away from me they are alienated and estranged in time of my trouble and hid mine acquaintance out of my sight they will not now see me who formerly frequented my company And therefore being thus desolate and deeply endeangered unto thee as my only hope and refuge O Lord God of my Salvation I have cried day and night continually for Deliverance and Salvation that my soul may continually bless thee and say Glory be to the Father c. As it was in the beginning c. THE Fourth general Meditation OF HEAVEN 1. THE Land of Canaan was promised to Abraham the Father of the Faithful in these words of command Gen. 13.14 Lift up now thine eyes and look from the place where thou art Northward and Southward Eastward and Westward For all the Land which thou seest to thee will I give it and to thy seed for ever The Celestial Canaan is herein promised unto thee if a true Son of the Faithful Abraham Lift up then thine eyes O my Soul and Contemplate the ravishing Felicities of this Land of Promise This is thy Native Country where thou wast at first Framed by the hands of the Almighty after His own Image Why then dost thou not pant and breath and sigh and long to be at Home Why art thou so well pleased with a strange Land and delightest rather to be a Pilgrim in the Valley of Tears than a Free Denizon in the Land of Peace a Foreigner in the city of Babylon than a Citizen in the heavenly Jerusalem Away away from Lebanon O my Soul thy beloved calleth thee away from the Dens of Lions Can. 4.8 Psal 55.6 and the mountains of the Leopards O that I had wings like a Dove for then would I flee away and be at rest 3. We read that the Lord brought Moses to the top of mount Pisgah and shewed him the promised land where having the wilderness behind him and the happiest of all lands before him he represents the devout and heavenly minded Soul who considering the manifold troubles in the wilderness of this world and the joys and felicities of the world to come is highly ravished in the contemplation and desire of the one to the extream contempt of the other Did I but seriously consider the ways of my present peace and contentment I could not but observe that the Commandments of God have so much intrinsick sweetness and felicity in them as to excite the most simple and stubborn Soul to obey them and yet so excessive are the ardors of divine Goodness and Love as to engage our obedience by the promises of Celestial Joys Unto this immarcescible Crown of Glory we are Created by God the Father Redeemed by God the Son and Sanctified by God the Holy Ghost in the sacred Waters of Baptism wherein we are adopted not only sons but heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven What blindness then doth so much possess the minds of the greatest part of the sons of men that all their desires and endeavours should be so wholly taken up with the vain frail empty and dying things of the Earth to the slight and neglect of those never fading joys of Heaven The first and largest step we take towards Heaven is from the state of Sin into the state of Grace the other viz. from Grace to Glory is a more easie and ready passage there being nothing betwixt
hearts such love towards thee that we loving thee in and above all things may obtain thy promises which exceed all that we can desire through Jesus Christ MEDITAT III. Of the Company of Heaven 1. Of God's presence there 1. GOD who is Father Son and Holy Ghost is the chief and principal Inhabitant of the Heaven of Heavens God indeed is every where in respect of his Essence Presence Power but in Heaven in respect of his Glory and the supereminent brightness of his Majesty which is in Heaven most conspicuous full and ravishing nor could Heaven be called so it were not Heaven if not enlightned and enhappied by God's superlative presence there Tho. a Kemp. And where ever O Lord thou art present either in grace or glory there is Heaven and Death and Hell is every where where thou art absent 2. But what doth it avail the company of Heaven that God is there especially present since God dwelleth with the light which no man can approach unto 1 Tim. 6.17 whom no man hath seen or can see The very Angels of Heaven cover their faces with their wings in the presence of God that the excessive brightness of his Majesty and great Glory overwhelm them not Isa 6.2 'T is true but however so much of this eminent glory shall appear and so fully the splendid Rays thereof be display'd in Heaven as shall ravish all the blessed beholders thereof with a joy unspeakable and glorious They shall be satisfied with the plenteousness of thy house 1 Pet. 1.7 Ps 36.8 viz. of Celestial glory and thou shalt give them drink of thy pleasures as out of a river so full and overflowing shall be their satisfaction and contentment For with thee is the Well of Life and of all the joys and consolations of Life and in thy light shall we see light even the ravishing Light of Glory in the Light of God's countenance in whose presence is fulness of joy 2. The Angels of Heaven Next to the blissful presence of God the society in Heaven is Angels and Archangels Cherubims and Seraphims Thrones and Dominions Principalities and Powers and all the several Orders of celestial Spirits Col. 1.16 The very sight of one blessed Angel upon Earth would be more joyous and ravishing than to behold the greatest beauty and most splendid excellency that is liable to the eyes of flesh yea all the pomp and glory of the World is not comparable to such a sight how much more joyful and glorious will it be not only to behold but to enjoy the society of those innumerable ministring spirits of whom we read Dan. 7.10 Thousand thousands ministred unto him and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him Isa 6.3 c. Rev. 21.10 These rest not day and night crying Holy holy holy Lord God of Sabbath Heaven and Earth are full of the Majesty of thy glory To make one in this Hymnidical Quire and to be received into one of these Mansions of Glory from whence the Apostate Angels fell is such an astonishing joy as cannot by the tongue of men and Angels be expressed 3. The Saints in Heaven To these Angelical spirits are joyned in society as Members of the same Church Triumphant in Heaven The glorious company of the Apostles the goodly fellowship of the Prophets the noble army of Martyrs the innumerable train of holy Confessors Priests and people of each Sex and of every condition of whose numberless number we read Rev. 7.9 Rev. 7.9 10. And I beheld and lo a great multitude which no man can number of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues stood before the Throne and before the Lamb cloathed with white robes and palms in their hands and cryed with a loud voice Salvation to our God These are they which come out of great tribulation and have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the Throne of God and serve him day and night in his Temple and he that sitteth upon the Throne shall dwell amongst them They shall hunger no more nor thirst any more The Lamb in the midst of the Throne shall feed them and lead them to the living fountains of water And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes Blessed Souls in whom the King of Glory placeth his Throne and reigneth in them for ever Blessed are those mouths which shall taste and be satisfied with the Waters of life everlasting and blessed are those tears which shall be wiped away with the right hand of God himself and everlasting joy succeed in the stead thereof Into this glorious Communion of Saints in Heaven there daily are and daily shall be for ever received all such true servants of God and stout Soldiers of Jesus Christ who under his banner have overcome the Devil and all his works the pomps and vanities of this wicked world all the sinful lusts of the flesh who have warred a good warfare over these their ghostly enemies and kept the Faith whereinto they were baptized without any tincture of Heresie or Schism observing God's holy Will and Commandments and walked in the same all the days of their life All of these returning from their wearisome Pilgrimage through the wilderness of this world to their native home of Heaven shall be received into and rejoyce in their proper and peculiar mansions of peace each differing indeed in the degrees of glory according to their difference in the degrees of grace but all shall enjoy their full proportion of happiness and with common joy shall sing together perpetual Hallelujahs to him that sitteth upon the Throne Rev. 5.13 and to the Lamb for ever And 't is wonderful amongst the joys of Heaven and adds exceedingly to the greatness thereof That as the number of Saints is great and their joys many so are the joys of each particular Saint even as many and blissful as the joys of all And this because each one shall rejoyce as much in the felicity of others as if 't were his own peculiar happiness Happy and for ever happy were I if with a floud of Tears and incessant Prayers if with the devour surrender of all that I am and all that I have to the love and service of God I might be admitted into this celestial Society To come unto Sion Heb. 12.22 23 24. and unto the City of the living God the Heavenly Hierusalem and to an innumerable company of Angels To the general assembly and Church of the first-born which are written in Heaven and to God the Judge of all and to the Spirits of just men made perfect and to Jesus the Mediator of the new Covenant All this I believe as a Christian but my Hope to be admitted into this blessed Society is too weakly grounded whilst my Charity both towards God and his Saints is too cold and benumb'd I do profess to love God and do desire that my heart may be every day more and