hee liue the arrest of Death shall not alwayes keepe him Well said S. Austine The bodies of Saints shall bee raised tanta falicitate quanta felicitate with as much ease as happinesse Nam mors tantum intermittit vitam non eripit death doth not disanul but discontinue life By our rising wee are remitted to our better right a life which neuer dyes a morning which hath no Eue nor ending Me thinkes I heare death say of life as Iohn the Baptist said of Christ He that commeth after mee is before me Which is life O sweet word Life The best Monasyllable in the world Gods owne Attribute Deus viuit And my soule saith Iob shall liue for my Redeemer liueth And is this life but the child of this word Death then blessed also bee the word Death the mother of life I will no more call thee Marah but Naomi for thou art not bitter but sweet more pleasant though swifter in thy gate then the Row or Hinde The Stoike could say Mors est quae efficit vt nasci non sit supplicium But what saith S. Iohn I heard a voice from heauen saying Write Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord whose workes follow them they die no more death hath no more power ouer them all teares are wiped from their eyes Compare together the benefits of life and death and you shall clearely see how that death which seemes to dispossesse vs of all puts vs in possession of more thē that al. Per varios casus per tot discrimina rerū Tendimus in Latium sedes vbi fata quietas Ostendunt It is but being which wee haue by Nature or by Birth our better being is by Grace but our best being is in glory there wee cannot bee till death haue conueyed vs thither Esse naturae est benè esse gratiae optimum esse gloriae Better therefore is our last being by death then was our first being by birth Dicique beatus ante obitum nemo Birth brought mee into the world but that was misery allowing no vacation to sorrowes Ne natalem quidem excipit For crying was the first note of my being Calamitatis futurae propheta Death carries me from a world of miseries to a world of felicities Dies mortalis est fatalis Natiuitas Heere I dwell in a house of clay whose foundation is dust Death brings to an habitation made without hands euerlasting in the heauens Ad excelsa sublatus inter felices currit animus excipitque illum coetus sacer Birth brought mee to conuerse and haue commerce with men death brings mee to haue communion with Saints and fellowship with Angels yea to enioy visionem illam beatificam The immediate fruition of God and Christ Old father Iacob when he was told of his sonne Iosephs power in Egypt was not satisfied to heare of his honours but enquires of his life intimating that life to come is better then all the honours that are in Egypt or fortunes that are on earth nor yet did Iosephs life content him without being present with him and therefore said I will goe downe and see him counting it better to behold with the eye and yetmost sinnes begin and creepe in at the eyes then to walke in desires Implying that the best things that are pleasure vs not in their being but in our enioying them What then shall bee the ioy The ioy soule dy at the meeting when soule and body separated for a season shall meete againe in ioy and mutually enioy one the other The sense of this delight and contentment did well appeare in that meeting betwixt Iacob and Ioseph whom mutuall losse and separation for a while did more endeare each to other Intermission of comfort hath this aduantage that it sweetens our delight more in the returne then was abated in the forbearance And was Iacob glad to leaue his countrey the land of Promise to see his yonger sonne Ioseph though in Egypt What then shall bee the soules ioy to end a pilgrimage in a strange land and goe to see his elder brother Christ in heauen an inheritance more pleasant then that land of Goshen freed from all the encombrances of this Egypt Therefore said S. Paul I desire to be dissolued that I may bee with Christ For this tedious mortalitie pleasant it how man can will be intollerable if death doe not disburthen it because long liuing so loads vs with sinne as the burthen thereof tyres euery man at last It is such an inmate as will roost in vs as long as life affords it house-roome nor wil it lodge alone but still one sinne will call in another but through death the very body of death and burthen of sinne are both cast out together Sith then the life I now enioy is beset with death tends to death and ends in death I will no longer mistake tearmes calling that death which is life and that life which is death Hanc esse mortem quam nos vitam putamus Illam vitam quam nos pro morte timemus said Lactantius More diuinely said S. Austine Per vitam ad mortem transitus est per mortem ad vitam reditus est Therefore the Pagans did not ill to celebrate the day of their death with mirth and the day of their birth with mourning For although the soule be then infused when man is made Death the regeneration of the soule yet it is new borne when man dyes His bodie being the wombe and death the midwife which deliuers that to sorrow this to glory The Prophet Ieremie so little ioyed in his birth that he said Let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed Quis pauet quis flet quis eget quis errat Solus heusortes homo sperat optat alget voluit explorat queritur Malorum omnia plena said a diuine Poer But to assure there are ioyes in death What saith the Scripture vnto well dying men Reioyce and lift vp your heads for now your Redemption draweth neere The third generall diuision III. When Death is to be prepared for and how IT was the saying of the diuine Philosopher Plato There is nulla salutar is Philosophia The time when but perpetua mortis meditatio and sine ista meditatione tranquillo esse animo nemo potest Scipio was wont to say Mortis meditatio Is vita sapientis and that it was the most honourable Philosophy to study a mans mortality Politiques say Totâvitâ discendum est viuere But saith Seneca Hoc magis miraberis Totâ vitâ discendum est mori Fooles would faine doe in the end that which wise men doe in the beginning Prepare for their end but carelesse men thinke that the signiory and gouernment of times is at their commands to doe what they list when they list We haue little power ouer the present much lesse ouer the future Therefore King Dauid cryed betimes Lord let me know mine end and the measure of my daies what it is and
to the earth and his soule to God that gaue it The third at the end of the world when body and soule revnited shal enioy heauen So likewise a wicked man hath three distinct deaths Dead in sinne while he liues dead in soule when hee dyes dead in body and soule when both are adiudged to eternall condemnation Malis fit mors sine morte fin◠fine fine defectus sine defectu Quia mors viuit fints semper incipit desicere defectus nescit To labour not to lye is labour in vaine it is to deferre not to auoid To forget to dye and hope to liue is dangerous securitie This let a wise man doe quod ne cesse est ne timeat quod incertum est semper expectet Seeke not consolation against death but let Death bee thy consolation for there is no comfort against death but in death Supremum necoptes nec metuas diem Mortem optare malum timere peius Now to make Death easie Thinke of the glory that followes it Who will not endure a few pangs for infinite pleasures The bitter pill promising health is swallowed willingly Mors non anfert vitam sed in melius transfert That the aspect of Death may not trouble thee looke not vpon Death in death but looke beyond it Thinke not so much of it as of the happinesse that comes by it Erit somnus dilectis initium refrigerij scala montis haereditas secura Ianua vitae ingressus in tabernaculum Therefore saith Iob From sixe troubles it deliuereth thee in septima that is at point of death non tanget te malum Fit your selfe for it and you will neuer feare it doe by it as you doe in other things when you would goe sleepe you put off your cloathes you draw the curtaines and goe to bed Thus as it were acting sleepe before you goe to sleepe So addresse your selfe to death before hand Bring your selfe acquainted with it that when it comes you may entertaine it non vt hostis sed vt hospes not as a foe but as a friend not as a stranger but as a guest that you had long looked for and bid welcome Death more blessed then thy Birth What a griefe is it to see some great men build stately houses as if they should alwayes liue and yet they to liue as if they had but mortall soules It is good counsell Effice mortem tibi familiarem vt possis cum sors tulerit illi laetus alacriter obuiam exire Those Philosophers were more mortified who had their graues alwayes open before their gates that going out or comming in they might alwayes thinke of Death Good Ioseph of Arimathea built his Sepulchre in the middest of his garden So doe thou amid all thy pleasures and delights thinke of death and that wil coole and temper all thy vaine desires It will so qualifie thee to the world and the world to thee as thou wilt not much care for it In this world wee are all Benonies the sonnes of Sorrow The way to Heauen is by weeping crosse Hi motus animorum atq haec certamina tanta Pulueris exigut tactu cōpressa quiescunt It is obserued that most of other creatures liue long but dying perish all to nothing Man that is short-liu'd he dying liues eternally Thinke but of this and you will thinke as S. Bernard did that life was little better then hell were it not for the hope of Heauen Surely Christ would not haue dyed but that wee might die with safety Hee by death in death did deliuer vs from death And did Christ dye for mee that I might liue with him I will not therefore desire to liue long from him It is a token of little loue to God to be loth to goe to God All men goe willingly to see him whom they loue Our brother Ioseph liueth therefore though with Iacob I cannot say I will goe see him before I dye Yet Lord let mee dye that I may see him whom my soule loueth Liuing I cannot but dying I shall Let no difficulties hinder for since Adams fall none passeth vnto Paradise but by burning Seraphims The way to Canaan is cumbersome but knowing that our iourney leades to the land of promise wee passe it pleasantly Yet before wee come at Hierusalem we take in our way the valley of teares The swift Riuer of Iordan must be crossed before wee come to the sweet Waters of Siloam Let no delights tempt you prosperous fortunes may hinder a cheerefull dying but if pleasures of life allure not feares of death will neuer trouble Neminem aduersa conuincunt nisi quem secunda decipiunt Adam was set vpon in Paradise Iob on the dunghill yet Iob fortior in stercore quam Adam in Paradiso The very place of pleasure is dangerous In Paradise Adam could not be innocent but out of Paradise he was a good man For any thing in life lose not the cause of life nor iudge not of things by the face of things For life and death haue deceiueable vizards vnder the faire face of life lurkes griefe vnder the foule feature of death which is but fancy lies felicity Take off the mask and you shall change your minde loath that you loued and loue that you loathed Vita habitu casto cum non sit casta videtur Mors praeter cultum nil meretricis habet Now for the freedomes that come by Death Freedo by deat First it frees from all worldly iniuries Mors multorum malorum finis nullius boni Heere good men doe but liue and suffer benè agere male pati It is their portion and it is good for mee saith Dauid that I haue beene afflicted Non sentire mala non est hominis sed non ferre non esset viri Sufferings are greater trials then actions Secondly it ends all miseries Man in misery saith Iob longs for death and digs for it more then treasure Mors finis est non poena Nay saith one Nec finis nec paena bonis lex est non paena perire Death ends sinnes not life it reformes but doth not destroy Nature Vitiorum est Sepultura virtutum Resurrectio Thirdly it frees vs from all corporall infirmities Mors omnium dolorum solutio Life it selfe is a disease and we dye by corruption of humours whether they be of body or manners who thinke to heale all infirmities with an easier plaister then Death Delineamenta potius quam remedia podagraesuae ponunt Fourthly it frees vs from all bodily labours So saith the Spirit Blessed are they that die in the Lord they rest from their labours Adeo iuuat occupatum mori Fiftly it eases vs of all troubles Refrigeries est animae Refection to the Soule Were wee but in a throng wee thinke that man at ease who gets out first Noah when hee had beene tossed but a yeere vpon the waters Mount Ararat was to him a gladsome place for there the Arke rested So likewise miscrable man after many wearisome
right way Herein bee as great a questionist as were those religious Ladies of Rome who neuer let Saint Hierome rest for questions which was the readiest way to heauen If a man would but compare the Forenoone of his age with the Afternoone how long the one is and how short the other is euery man would be dying dayly Palmarios posuisti dies The longest liuer hath but a handfull of dayes Life it selfe is but a circle alwayes beginning where it ends Erat quando non erat sed erit Time was when man was not But how late a beginning soeuer man had yet after death hee shall be sure neuer to see end With the Ancient of dayes there are no dayes And the time shall be when time shall be no more There be two common errours which deceiue most men Two common errors First that a man enters not into eternall life till he dyes when as his calling heere begins his life eternall To Zacheus Christ said This day is saluation come vnto thy house Faith preuents time and makes things future present The godly man that hath his present life hid with Christ in God so liues heere as if his conuersation were in heauen carrying himselfe not onely honestly ciuilly and humanely but beyond naturall condition his life seemes super-humane diuine and spirituall The second errour is that howeuer a man liues yet if at last he seeme to die well then all is well and his soule is sure to bee saued this is a bold and a dangerous conceit for though Misery be the obiect of Mercy and Hope the miserable mans god yet humane life hath not a greater friend nor many times a greater foe then Hope Many would dye did not hope sustaine them more haue dyed flattered with vaine hope Whoso hopes too much cozens himselfe at last Be not deceiued God is not mocked not euery one that saith Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdome of Heauen In this mortall life enter into the first degree of life eternall or thou mayest die eternally with Lord haue mercy vpon vs in thy mouth But haue thy part heere in the first Resurrection which is from sinne to Grace and then thou shalt enioy the second Resurrection which is from dust to Glory The third step to well dying To die by little and little the third step is to die by little and little Totâ die mortificamur Naturally wee are euery day dying by degrees The faculties of our mind the strength of our bodies our common senses euery day decaying paulatim He that vseth this course euery day to dye by little and little to him let death come when it will it cannot be either terrible or suddaine If wee keepe a Courser to runne a Race wee leade him euery day ouer the place to acquaint him by degrees with all things by the way that when he comes vpon his speed he doe not start or turne aside for any thing he sees So let vs enure our soules and then wee shall run with boldnesse the race that is set before vs. To die by little and little is first to mortifie our lesser sinnes and not to say with Lot Is it not a little one Wee may not wash our hands from crying and from bloody sinnes and yet hugge in our bosome some beloued and Herodian sinne Certainely great sinnes will neuer be conquered if little sinnes be cherished Saint Cyprian writing consolatory Epistles to the Martyres of his time told them that he that once hath ouercome death in his owne person doth dayly ouercome him in his members if you mortifie the members of your flesh by little and little you will not feare the crueltie of any exquisite death the Tyrant can deuise There be a sort of little deathes as sicknesse of body troubles of minde losse of friends and the like vse these rightly in their kinde and you may make them kindely helpes to dying well The right way to bring any thing to a good end is to proceed by degrees God himselfe made nothing absolute at first This great God loues to haue degrees kept degreeingly to grow to greatnesse is the course of the world so by little and little to goe out of the world per gradus not per saltum is the way to Heauen Let a man goe out of the world as he came into the world which was first by a life of Vegetation then of Sense afterwards of Reason Dauid prescribes vs this order when hee sayes Doce me duce me Domine Hee will not runnetill hee bee taught to goe Teach mee to doe thy will and leade me into the land What land is that There is terra quam terimus land on earth which yeelds vs all pleasures that 's not it There is terra quam gerimus refined earth beautified bodies which we beare about vs nor is this it There is terra quam quaerimus the glorious land of promise that 's the land we seeke Into this land duce me Domine For the manner of dying AMongst men it is a matter of chiefe marke the manner of a mans death All men as men die naturally as Christians they should die religiously The good man equally can die or liue for he knowes if hee liue God will protect him if he dyes God will receiue him The Prophet Dauid in a Contemplation of Death ingeminates the word saying Domine Domine exitus Mortis The issues of Death belong to thee A good man by his good will would die praying and doe as the pilgrim doth goe on his way singing and so addes the paine of singing to that of going Yet by this Surplus of paine vnwearies himselfe of paine But some wretches thinke God rather curious then they faulty if a few sighes with a Lord haue mercy vpon vs be not enough at the last gaspe There is no spectacle in the world so profitable or more terrible then to behold a dying man to stand by and see a man dismanned Curiously diddest thou make man in the lowest part of the earth saith Dauid but to see those elements which compounded made the body to see these diuided and the man to be dissolued is rufull So dependant is the life of man that it cannot want one element Fire and Ayre these fly vpward Water and Earth they sinke downeward So liuing man becomes a dead carkase Seneca thought a man might choose his own death which was some ease to him Quemadmodum nauim elegam nauigaturus domum habitaturus Ita mortem vtique quá sum exiturus è vita But better saith another Stultè haec cogitantur vitam alijs approbare quisquam debet mortem verò sibi But since it is so great a matter to die so necessarie to die well so dangerous to die ill Let your life be an acting of death Certainely Death hath great dependancie on the course of a mans life There bee many that choose rather to die quickely then to liue long sickely Some that will inuite
violently both by destinie all men by Decree Quē dederat cursum natura peregi said the Poet. But the Diuine tels vs though Moses dyed vpon one Hill Aaron vpon another Hill yet both where they might see the land of Promise How familiarly did Moses heare of Death when there was no more betwixt God and him But Moses goe vp and dye With such a sociable compellation are good men inuited to Death as to a Feast Nec mihi Mors grauis est posituro morte labores Mors mihi merces erit The assurance of life after Death ALthough my flesh bee eaten with wormes Assurance of life after death these wormes turned to dust this dust blowne through the earth yet after thou hast turned all to destruction Againe thou sayest Come againe you children of men Redemptor meus is the word of assurance My Father and your Father saith the Gospel Meum and tuum are words of Assurance to mens soules though in mens states they make all Controuersies I know that my Redeemer liueth How doe I know it not by Opinion but by Faith Fides non creditur sed cernitur Things are not so because we are perswaded they are so but because they bee so therefore wee are so perswaded The woman with child knowes shee is with child when shee feeles it stirre liuely So the Spirit of God assures our spirit when wee feele his Spirit in vs. Holy Iob saith Though after the skinne wormes destroy the body yet in my flesh I shall see God for my selfe and mine owne eyes shall behold him and not an others Which numerall Identity giues certaintie that this soule of mine impersonated anew and so inanimating my body againe shall giue a new being and a better being vnto both That soule the lost pearle which to finde a man would haue giuen all that he had shal there be found ingrauen in gold where as heere it was found set but in clay The fourth generall diuision IIII. What our last thoughts should be AS in greatest extremities good Physicians leaue drugges and minister onely Cordials so deale by thy soule when death approaches cast away all worldly cares entertaine onely thoughts that will animate thy weake body and refresh thy thirstie soule as did that dew of Hermon falling vpon the Hill of Sion nor will I feare how this body of mine shall appeare an other day For I am promised by him that will performe it shall not be found naked But this couering of flesh being cast off I shall take this body againe cloathed with glory as with an other garment This doth Saint Paul most elegantly and diuinely expresse saying Wee know that if our earthly house of this Tabernacle bee destroyed wee haue a building giuen of God that is a house not made with hands but eternall in the heaueus For therefore wee sigh and desire to be cloathed with our house which is from heauen Because that if wee be cloathed wee shall not be found naked For indeede we that are in this Tabernacle figh and are burthened because we would not be vncloathed but cloathed vpon that immortalitie might be swallowed vp of life And hee that hath created vs for this thing is God who also hath giuen vs the earnest of his Spirit Therefore we are alwayes bold though we know that whilst we are at home in the bodie wee are absent from the Lord. For wee walke by faith and not by sight Neuerthelesse we are bold and loue rather to remoue out of the body and to dwell with the Lord. 2. Cor. 5. This is so promising and so sweet as it seemes to transport a man aliue from earth to Heauen Hîc in via es sed illic eris in Patria Therefore baite not too long vpon pleasures by the way All the while I liued said a good man I was going on my iourney towards my countrey but now that I am dying I finde my selfe neere home I am now come to Mount Sion the Citie of the liuing God the heauenly Hierusalem I will not therefore sit downe on this side Iordane but hasten to the Citie whither when I come I shall there see my God face to face Heare my Sauiour say Euge bone serue It is my Fathers will to giue thee a kingdome Is it not enough that my God is gone vp to prepare a place for me but will hee giue mee a kingdome also And shall not I bee glad when God shall come and fetch mee to inthrone mee in this kingdome Absit Now mee thinkes I heare my soule say Cur non accedis Domine Quid moraris I haue too long dwelt in this sepulchre of earth And woe is me that I still remaine in Mesech and dwell in these tents of Kedar It is enough Lord as Elias said in the wildernesse Take now away my life for I am no better then my Fathers were Nay my soule is now growne so high minded that shee saith Maior sum ad maiora genitus quà m vt mancipium sim huius corporis Thus rich in thoughts and great in expectation doth diuine Contemplation make vs. God hath not giuen a soule to any creature else but Man Therefore it is but duety in Man to know the dignitie of his Soule which is so heauenly ambitious as it will not let heauen alone till it may see as it is seene Grauata est anima mea my bodie is a burthen to my soule It hath had honour enough to haue beene so long companion with my Soule wherefore now as Saint Hierome said Egredere anima egredere The Hermite sitting on his turft said to his soule Sexaginta annos seruiuisti Deo nunc mori times Goe out of this Arke of flesh O my soule for I smell the sauour of rest Celeritas nunc in desiderio mora est Though my soule as a bird for necessitie sake hath been faine to stay awhile heere vpon earth yet willingly would she be soring in the skies But I finde that ista vita est mihi impedimento ad id propter quod viuitur Specially when I heare my Sauiour say Father I will that those whom thou hast giuen mee be with mee also where I am That they may behold my glory To him that is faithfull vntill death I will giue a Crowne of life Therefore desiderio desideraui ergastuli huius egressum that I may see facie ad faciem him whom my soule loueth and to bee Lord where thou enioyest thy selfe and glorified spirits enioy thee Entertaine thy last houres with such like thoughts Et hatibi dabunt ad aeternitatem Iter in itinere subleuabunt They will Angelize thy body and imparadise thy soule before thou commest into Heauen yeeld a sweetnesse farre beyond the bitternesse of Death Certainely a good soule thus imploying it selfe in ista hora will not leaue the felicitie it shall haue in such a transmigration from death to life for all the ioyes that life past did euer render her Good Saint Austine
quāprimum is his rather for that ends misery and begins felicitie There is no man so valiant as the beleeuer Therefore he saith vnto his soule Why art thou cast downe O my soule Why art thou so disquieted within me Waite on God Soule and Soule are differenced in dying as well as liuing The difference of soules as well in dying as liuing The Atheist dares not die for feare of non esse The ill liuer dares not die for feare of male esse The doubtfull conscience dares not die nesciendo whether hee shall be not be or be damned Onely the good man dares and desires to die hee is assured of his hope his hope is full of immortalitie I am thy saluation saith his Sauiour to the other theend of these present miserable miseries is the beginning of worse and such as death it selfe cannot terminate for that would be happinesse enough if they had but hope there would bee an end at last the greatest pleasure they would desire is the act of death so that might end their sorrowes but their conscience will not let them lye or flatteringly perswade them Adueniet tandem quae non sperabitur hora. This they know and grieue to thinke that Tophet is prepared for the bad and Paradise for the good As the tree falleth so it lyeth and as death leaueth thee so iudgement shall finde thee hee that liues ill seldome dyes well Liue well and you cannot but die well practise well doing and you shall haue the comfort of well dying Sed quà m amarum erit hoc tempore corporis animae separatio Body and soule parting We see old acquaintance cannot part without teares Quid facient intimè familiares quales sunt corpus anima quae ab ipso vtere ita iucundissimè vixerint If the Oxe loweth when his fellow is taken from him that drew the plough with him qualem mugitum shall wee giue when soule and body part Siccinè separas amara Mors Siccinè separas saith the Booke of Kings The Spirit at this time may be willing but the flesh will be loth Egrè amittitur quod valdè amatur Faith will assure God is thy father but nature will tell thee She is thy mother and thou mayest not yet leaue her In this conflict take heede the mothers side preuaile not Shee will play Naomi's part perswade thee earnestly to stay and enioy the delights of Moab yet a while longer But resolue thou with Ruth to see what entertainment is for thee in Bethleem for there thou shalt finde a Boaz. In ista hora euery man will make Balaams suite for no man would be miserable if it were enough to desire to be happy but such a wish onely will not serue He must piè viuere that will securè mori We all desire to shut vp our last Scene of life with In manus tuas Domine commendo spiritum meum But it is not the last words a man vtters that doe qualifie his Soule Remember how in thy life thou hast entertained Gods Spirit for as wee vsed his in this life so hee will vse ours after death Qualem quisque se fecerit in hac vita talem se inueniet exiens ab hac vita At this houre what would a man giue for the redemption of his soule but poore indigent man neuer was any so rich that could pay the ransome of his own soule A displeased mercy askes greater satisfaction then thou canst giue Laesa patientia fit furor Now thou goest to giue account of thy Stewardship that is temporis amissi mali commissi boni omissi And thy Soule already knowes in conscientia tua whither it goes quando egreditur è corpore tuo And although thou canst carry nothing else with thee yet this thou canst not leaue behinde thee Which is liber conscientiae tuae that will tell thee whither thou goest and what thou shalt looke for Tunc quasi loquentia tua opera dicent Tu nos egisti Tua opera sumus non te deseramus sed tecum semper erimus tecum pergemus ad Iudicium Man is a great flatterer of himselfe but conscience is alwayes iust and will neuer chide thee wrongfully It alwayes takes part with God against a mans selfe It is Magistratus domesticus that will tell what you doe at home and saith the booke of Wisedome wickednesse condemned of her owne witnesse is euer timerous and being pressed with conscience forecasteth grieuous things Nemo seueriorem seipso habet iudicem If a man will take his ayme by the best men that euer dyed That of Dauid Ezechias yea and of Christ himselfe as a man is able to amaze any man When as our Sauiour Christ at the point of death said Father if it be thy will let this Cup passe from me When Dauid said Saue Lord for thy mercy sake for in death there is no remembrance of thee And Ezechias wept sore when hee was bid Put thy house in order for thou must die Si Prophetae si Apostoli si Martyres si Christus ipse was thus troubled at the houre of death wretched man that I am what shall I doe Euen as Christ bids me Bee of good cheere for I haue ouercome death Mors morte redempta est Now there is aduantage in death that death which was the wages of sinne is made the reward of righteousnesse and in these forenamed persons it was not death but the curse of the Law that went with death which Christ in our persons and these other persons in themselues feared When Christ was to leaue the world and his Disciples to the world he left them this word for their learning and their comfort If you loued mee you would reioyce because I said I goe to the Father In my Fathers house are many dwellings I goe to prepare a place for you that where I am you may be also Now that death hath ouercome death and Faith hath secured feare nec me taedeat viuere nec timeo mori What can hee feare in Death whose death is his hope Right precious in the sight of God is the death of his Saints See then what makes men willing or loth to die Obsecro te Lucili said Seneca cur timeat laborem vir mortem homo It is the present condition of men in this world that makes them willing or loth to die Nor life nor death are alike to all men some can as willingly leaue the world nay dye as others can forbeare the Court. And as men differ in their condition so doe they in their acceptation of Death some pleasant their liues as if the world should alwayes laugh vpon them Et post mortem nulla voluptas These would doe any thing rather then die Others liue as if they came into the world but to act a sad mans part and dye these wish a change hoping it will bee a benefit Therefore well said the sonne of Syrach O death how acceptable is thy remembrance vnto him