advice and Counsel which the Holiest Men have given to such as were ready to depart this life we shall find them all have recourse to that of David Ps 143.2 Enter not into Judgment with thy Servant O Lord Ps 130.3 for in thy sight shall no Man living be justified If thou Lord shouldest make iniquities O Lord who shall stand The best Men in the World when they have been in the agonies of Death have begg'd earnestly of God for the Remission of their sins nor could they expect or desire Salvation from any but only from our Lord Jesus Christ for there is none other Name under Heaven given among Men whereby we must be saved A Man thus seriously reconciled to God will easily struggle with and overcome all the Temptations which are wont to press in upon dying persons For although the remembrance of all the sins of your past life and those too aggravated by the malice of Satan and with all the rigour of the last judgment and the severity of the Judge should come into your mind yet to these Terrours you may oppose the Mercies of God the Father the Merits of Jesus Christ and the most assured promises of forgiveness of sins which as you ought always and in your greatest health to remember as hath been said before so when Death approaches you ought more especially to have them in a readiness the principal whereof are contained in these following Texts of Scripture Isa 1.18 Though your sins be as Scarlet they shall be as white as Snow Isa 43.25 though they be red like Crimson they shall be as Wool I even I saith the Lord am he that blotteth out thy Transgressions for my own sake and will not remember thy sins Isa 55.7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous Man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly Pardon Zek. 18.32 I have no pleasure in the Death of him that dieth saith the Lord God wherefore turn your selves and live ye As I live saith the Lord God Ezek. 33.11 I have no pleasure in the Death of the Wicked but that the wicked turn from his way and live Thou Lord art a God full of compassion and gracious Psal 86.15 Long suffering and plenteous in Mercy and Truth Psal 147.3.11 The Lord healeth the broken in Heart and bindeth up their Wounds The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him in those that hope in his Mercy 1 Joh. 1.7 Mat. 18.11 The Blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin The Son of Man came to save that which was lost This is a faithful saying 1 Tim. 1.15 and worthy of all acceptation that Jesus Christ came into the World to save Sinners of whom I am chief 1 Joh 2.2 He is the propitiation for our sins and for the sins of the whole World Whosoever liveth and believeth in him John 11.26 shall never die Eternally John 1.29 Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the World Mat. 26.28 He shed his Blood for the Remission of sins Isa 53.5 He was wounded for our Transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities He that believeth on him shall not be Condemned Rom. 8.33 c. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods Elect It is God that justifieth Who is he that Condemneth It is Christ that died yea rather that is risen again who is even at the right Hand of God who also maketh Intercession for us Who shall separate us from the love of Christ Shall Tribulation or Distress c. 2 Pet. 3.9 The Lord is long-suffering to us ward not willing that any should perish but that all should come to Repentance 1 Tim. 2.4 c. He would have all Men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the Truth For there is one God and one Mediatour between God and Men the Man Christ Jesus Who gave himself a Ransom for all You are therefore in no wise to doubt of the Mercies of God and of the forgiveness of your sins for the Mercies of God are infinitely greater than the sins of all Mankind It is an Article of our Christian Faith I believe the forgiveness of sins So that if we confess our sins God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness Our Blessed Saviour invites all sinners unto himself with the kindest expressions saying Matth. 11.28 Joh. 3.16 Come unto me all ye that are heavy laden and I will give you rest For God so loved the World that he gives his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life Joh. 5.24 Verily I say unto you he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation but is passed from death unto life He that believeth in me though he were dead yet shall he live Joh. 6.35 c. I am the bread of life he that cometh to me shall never hunger and he that believeth on me shall never thirst All that the Father giveth me shall come to me and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out And this is the Father's will which hath sent me that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing but should raise it up again at the last day And this is the will of him that sent me that every one which seeth the Son and believeth on him may have everlasting life and I will raise him up at the last day My sheep bear my voice and I know them Joh. 10.27 28. and they follow me And I give unto them elernal life and they shall never perish neither shall any pluck them out of my hand For I am perswadâ—d that neither death nor life nor angels Rom 8. nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor an other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And every one that is grieved for his sin may say to himself as Paul and Silas heretofore said to the Keeper of the Prison at Philippi Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved If it should happen that your mind should be disturb'd with such thoughts as these that though Christ perhaps made satisfaction for some yet sure not for all nor for grievous sins let some of the same consolations be ready at hand As these the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin If any man sin 1 Joh. 1.7 we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous and he is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world 1 Joh. 2.1 2. 1 Tim. 2.6 He gave himself a ransom for all
best done if instead of thinking any more on Death it self he rather transfers his thoughts and fixes them on the most Happy State of the Heavenly life to which he is hastning Apoc. 14.13 For Blessed are the Dead which die in the Lord they rest from their Labours and their Works follow them For although Death be the Wages of Sin yet by the Death of Christ it is changed into a happy passage to a true life by which being set loose from the Prison of this World from the Bondage of Trouble and from the Chains of sin we come unto Christ By the Dissolution of our Corporeal Tabernacle we are Translated from our Earthly Pilgrimage to dwell for ever with the Lord By Death we leave this valley of Tears this Dungeon of Misery and mount up to the Heavenly Jerusalem where there is no crying nor pain nor Death but perpetual Pleasures and rejoycing for evermore Hence the Apostle truly calls Death the gain of the godly for is it not great gain to leave evil things and to possess an infinite good The sick Person may perhaps be sad and melancholly when he thinks that he must now endure a great deal of pain and when he is dead must be left by all his Friends and Travel alone into an unknown Region but to confort him against this let him consider that he enjoys the presence of God and the Divine assistance according to Gods promise that the Blessed Angels will wait on him to Conduct his Soul to the Pallace of the Great King for they are all Ministring Spirits Heb. 1. ult sent forth to Minister unto those who shall be Heirs of Salvation That as no Body is born into the World by chance so doth no body die by chance neither but that Diseases and Death happen to us by Gods appointment And let him Meditate on such Texts of Scripture as these Thus saith the Lord Isa 43.1 â— when thou passest through the Waters I will be with thee and through the Rivers they shall not overflow thee When thou walkest through the fire thou shall not be burnt neither shall the flame kindle upon thee Call upon me in the day of Trouble Ps 50.15 I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorifie me Though I walk through the Valley of the shaddow of Death I will fear no Evil Ps 23.4 for thou art with me Ps 43. ult Why art thou cast down O my Soul and why art thou disquieted within me Hope in God for I shall yet praise him who is the health of my Countenance and my God Ps 73.25 Whom have I in Heaven but thee And there is none upon Earth that I desire besides thee vers 26. My Flesh and my Heart faileth but God is the strength of my Heart and my portion for ever vers 28. It is good for me to draw near to God I have put my Trust in the Lord God Mat. 10.29 vers 30. vers 31. Joh. 8.51 One Sparrow shall not fall to the ground without your Father and the very hairs of your Head are all numbred Fear ye not therefore Verily verily I say unto you if a Man keep my saying he shall never see Death That is not only he shall not see Eternal Death but also shall not feel the bitterness of the Temporal Death Rom. 8.31 2 Chr. 20.21 If God be for us who can be against us O our God we know not what to do but our Eyes are upon thee 2 Pet. 2.9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the Godly out of Temptations Shall we receive good at the hand of God Job 2.10.1.21 Job 13.15 Job 19.25 and shall we not receive evil Blessed be the Name of the Lord. Though he slay me yet will I trust in him I know that my Redeemer liveth and though after my skin worms destroy this Body yet in my flesh shall I see God 1 Cor. 10.13 God is faithful who will not suffer you to be Tempted above that ye are able but will with the Temptation also make away to escape that ye may be able to bear it But suppose you should feel some of the cruel pangs of Death yet consider that they befal you by the Will of God to whom the very Hairs of our Head are known and without whose Pleasure nothing in the World happens That they are Tokens of Gods Favour rather than his Anger Heb. 12.6 for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth However these pains are very short and Momentary and by them we have admission into Eternal life Our Nativity is attended with Sorrow and Crying But the sharper these pangs are the sooner they will be over and then succeeds everlasting Joy and Gladness Rom. 8.18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us 2 Cor. 4.16 For which cause we faint not but though our outward Man perish vers 17. yet the inward Man is renewed day by day For our light affliction which is but for a Moment encreaseth for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory If we die with him we shall also live with him 2 Tim. 2.11 We must through much Tribulation enter into the Kingdom of God and the God of all grace 1. Pet. 5.10 who hath called us unto his Eternal glory by Christ Jesus after that ye have suffered a while will Establish Strengthen and Settle you Chronical Diseases may perhaps be troublesome and painful for some time yet all even the longest are but a moment in respect of Eternity Therefore wait on the Lord Ps 27.14 be of good courage and he shall strengthen thine Heart wait I say on the Lord For though he should seem to hide his face from thee for a Moment Isa 54.8 yet with everlasting kindness will he have Mercy on thee His anger may endure for a Moment Ps 30.5 but in his favour is life weeping may endure for a Night but joy cometh in the Morning If any should be concern'd least in the agony of Death their Ears should be deaf and their Senses fail them and so should be destitute of necessary Consolations let them remember that the Spirit it self will bear witness with our Spirits Rom. 8.16.26 that we are the Children of God Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought but the Spirit it self maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered He is the true and only Comforter who when our Eyes are darkned inlightens our Heart when our Ears are shut will speak Consolation to our Souls Let them also attentively meditate on what our Saviour said a little before his Passion Now is the Prince of this World judged Joh. 16.11 that is he who brought Death into the World is overcome by my Death and condemned and is deprived
a full Dominion over them But in Hell where the Damned are delivered up by God to be Tormented he useth his own Liberty and Authority and exercises such Cruelty on them as the mind of Man is not capable to conceive Think then O Man how great their Misery shall be who must live in the Society and under the Dominion of Devils and undergo their Rage and Malice to Eternal Ages Think O Man what great Misery it would be to be shut up in a close Room for a Month together with Mad folks or such as are possess'd and from thence you may Conjecture how wretched their condition will be who must be forc'd to live with many Myriads of outragious Devils to all Eternity Oh! How will the Devils Tyrannize not only over the meaner and baser rank of Men but also over Emperours Kings and Princes those of the highest Order and Quality How will the Great Ones of this World be greatly tormented and plagued by the Devils and scoffed at with biting Taunts and Jeers After the same manner will they insult over all ranks of Men and will as much as they can increase their punishments by Revilings Reproaches and Mockings they will laugh at and make a jest of the Damned that they should precipitate themselves into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone for trifles for momentary Honours decaying Riches fading Pleasures or vain Joys and that they should sooner believe them who they knew were their sworn Enemies than the great and good God the Maker and Redeemer of Mankind And then lastly there is not only the Society of Devils but also of the Damned which will still farther aggravate their Punishment Nothing will there be seen but the Eternal and Horrid Plagues and Tortures of the Damned Fiends nothing will there be heard but Stripes and Wailings Curses and Accusations of those who by Counsel Admonition or Example were the causes and occasions of their sinning and more remarkable will be the Expostulations of Parents with their Children that for their sakes they were cast into these Torments whilst they endeavoured by all means right or wrong to heap up Riches and Wealth for them and on the other side the Children will accuse their Parents and impute the cause of their Damnation to them that by their Examples or Indulgency they gave them the occasions of Sinning The Prayer OLord Jesus Christ guide and illuminate my mind that I may daily remember and attentively consider what a vast difference there is between the Joys of Eternal Life and the Miseries of Hell And direct me by thy Holy Spirit in the ways of thy Commandments that I may walk in that narrow Path that leadeth unto Life and suffer me not to be seduced by Satan into the broad way of the Wicked which leadeth to Destruction least I fall headlong into that Lake of Fire and Brimstone from which thou hast Redeemed me by thy most precious Blood but by the Efficacy of thy Merits let me live with Thee for ever and ever in Heaven Amen Who amongst us can dwell with the devouring fire Who amongst us can dwell with everlasting burnings CHAP. VII To die well there is great need of a careful Preparation SInce then there is so great a difference between that Blessed Life above and the Miseries of the Damned that death is the passage either to Eternal Blifs or Punishment and that the everlasting Happiness or Misery of all Men depends on one Moment that blessed are the dead that die in the Lord but for ever miserable are they that die the death of the Wicked And that our Eternal Salvation depends upon an happy death It certainly ought to be our chiefest care and concern to learn to die well and to prepare ourselves aright for an happy departure Now he dies well who hath liv'd well and whom Death doth not find unprovided De discipl Eccl. cap. 2. For as St. Augustin saith Non enim potest male mori qui bone vixerit it is not possible for him to die ill who hath liv'd well But great need there is of preparation for any one to die well For if we never undertake any matter of small importance as the going of a Journey or the like without some provision and often thinking on it before-hand it certainly is much more necessary to be very Solicitous and attentively to consider after what manner we are to demean our selves at the hour of Death that so we may obtain the Felicity of Eternal Life and avoid the Pains and Miseries of Hell Now the preparation for Death is Twofold The one General and to be performed every day The other Special and is necessary when Death approaches The Prayer OLord God and most Merciful Father for as much as my Salvation depends upon an happy death do thou vouchsafe so to direct my mind that I may be always very careful how to secure to my self an happy passage out of this World and so to order my self and all that belongs unto me that at what ever hour thou shalt please to call me hence I may be found ready and through the gate of Death I may be Translated into thy Glorious Kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen CHAP. VIII The general and daily Preparation for Death The first Consideration that Death is certain Life is short and the hour of Death is uncertain THE general and daily Preparation for Death we shall treat of in the following Chapters desiring the devout Christian to consider 1st That death is certain life short and the hour of death uncertain 2ly That death is not to be feared And 3ly the Christian Duties that are daily to be performed by him 1st Then it is fitting for a Man that intends to die well often to ponder in his mind the certainty of Death the shortness of Human Life and the uncertainty of the hour of Death For in the first place the continual Meditation of our Mortality may be a very effectual means to prepare us both to live and to die well nothing can better shew us the way of holy living no exhortation to piety and vertue more prevalent than the remembrance of death nothing more powerfully calls us off from our sins and from a fond desire after worldly things than the serious consideration of the frailty instability and approaching dissolution of our bodies for as that last moment of our lives will take off all the salse colours and disguises from earthly things and represent them clearly to our view as they are in themselves vain and despicable so the frequent premeditation of that hour quickens the sight of our minds more plainly to perceive the same Truths for whilst our minds are full of the thoughts of our mortality those things which follow after death will presently insinuate themselves then will sinners see Hell open before them and the unquenchable fire ready to devour them which will so terrifie their consciences that neither honours nor riches nor pleasures
Son of God underwent such Grief and Torments for others Crimes no doubt but such an one will abhor himself and be amazed at the consideration of his own guilt and if he were left to himself to rely upon his own strength and knew no ways of appeasing the wrath of God he must of necessity be driven to despair The Prayer WO is me O Lord who was conceived and born in sin the thoughts of my heart are inclined unto evil from my Youth Wo is me who have sinned against thee my Creatour and bountiful Lord and have done evil in thy sight But I acknowledge mine iniquity and my sins are ever before me Jet 9.1 Oh that my head were waters and mine eyes a fountain of tears that I might weep day and night for my sins whereby I have so often offended thee my Lord and Creatour whether shall I fly who will intercede for me who will deliver me in the day of thy fierce anger that I perish not for ever Alas there is none to save but thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ But forasmuch as faith in him is not our own work but thy gift blessed Lord let thy Holy Spirit excite preserve and daily increase in my heart a true and lively faith Mat. 11.27 O Holy Father since no man knoweth the Son but thou only neither knoweth any man thee save thy Son and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal thee draw me I beseech thee unto him that he may lead me unto thee least I die in my sins Vouchsafe to strengthen my weak Faith and perfect that good Work which thou hast begun in me Establish in me a firm Faith in my Saviour to the last breath of my life that amongst the many various errors and opinions of this World I may not in the least be perverted from the true faith but may always ask and obtain the remission of my sins from thee through the merits and intercession of the same thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ Amen CHAP. XII That we are to fly for refuge to the mercies of God and to believe in Christ BUT the Christian is not to despair altho' he must acknowledge himself to be a sinner John 3.16 but for as much as he knows that God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life he therefore puts his whole trust and confidence in the mercies of God through the merits of Christ For the merciful God hath promised pardon of sins to true Penitents this we find in divers places of Scripture Ezek. 33.12 As for the wickedness of the wicked he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness 2 Pet. 3.9 for God is long-suffering to us ward not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance As I live saith the Lord God Ezek. 33.11 I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turn from his way and live A broken and a contrite heart Psal 51.17 God will not despise Therefore also now saith the Lord turn ye even to me with all your heart and with fasting and with weeping Joel 2.13 and with mourning And rent your heart and not your garments and turn unto the Lord your God for he is gracious and merciful slow to anger and of great kindness and repenteth him of the evil Zechar. 1.3 Turn ye unto me saith the Lord of Hosts and I will turn unto you Ps 69.33 Mat. 12.20 Seek ye after God and your Soul shall live A bruised reed shall he not break and smoaking flax shall he not quench Act. 3.19 Repent ye therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out And therefore the true Penitent may with affiance approach unto God and say Ps 130.3 If thou Lord shouldest mark iniquities O Lord who shall stand Father I have sinned against Heaven Luk. 15.21 and before thee and am no more worthy to be called thy Son Ps 51.1 But have mercy upon me according to thy loving kindness according unto the multitudes of thy tender mercies Lu. 18.13 And God be merciful unto me a sinner Nor let him in the least doubt of the mercy of God whilst he relies on the merits of Christ Mat. 18.11 1 Joh. 1.7 For the Son of Man came to save that which was lost and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin 1 Joh. 2.2 And he is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole World Rom. 8.1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus so that he may rest quiet in the mercies of God and in the merits of Christ as knowing that a full ransom was paid for his sins and that a most absolutely perfect righteousness able to stand before the judgment of God was purchased and obtained for sinners by the most holy Obedience of Christ which he performed to his Father both in his life and death and which the Holy Spirit offers to all the World in the Word and Sacraments desiring them to accept of it And to those who do not resist these means he excites increases and confirms their Faith that they may receive the grace of God purchased by Christ's merits and tender'd unto them in the Divine Word and holy Sacraments so that they may be confident that he who hath begun a good work in them will also perfect it and preserve them in grace unto the end of their lives For saith St. Paul I am perswaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come Nor height Rom. 8. ult nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. The Prayer BEhold O Lord I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my Mother conceive me I know that in my flesh dwelleth no good thing and I see another law in my members waring against the law of my mind from this corruption of nature it proceeds that I am so disobedient to to thy Laws and Commandments even from my infancy until now I have infinite ways transgressed them in thought word and deed the good things which I ought I have not done and the evil things which I ought not I have committed so great is the number of my sins that I can no longer remember them all O Heavenly Father I am not worthy to be called thy Son but I acknowledge my transgression and my sin is ever before me Have mercy upon me therefore O God according to thy great goodness and cleanse me from all even my most secret sins enter not into judgment with thy Servant and remember not the sins of my youth Lord despise not a broken and a contrite
heart for with thee there is mercy and plenteous redemption To thee then O thou Son of God and my Saviour I fly for succour Thou camest into the World to save sinners thou hast called unto thee all that are weary and heavy laden and hast promised to give them rest and ease Behold I come unto thee bowed together with the weight of my sins O do thou lift me up for thou art the Lamb of God that takest away the sins of the World thou didest that all that believe in thee should not perish but have everlasting life Lord Jesu I believe in thee O pity and help my infirmities Amen CHAP. XIII That we must live Holily BUT it is not enough barely to know that Christ died for sin Since the Devils are not ignorant of this mere knowledge which puffeth up 1 Cor. 8.1 is one thing and a vain boasting of Faith is another and a true lively Faith is another which as by an inward formal Act it receives and apprehends Christ with all his benefits to Justification Gal. 5.6 so also outwardly it worketh by love And therefore Christ having redeemed us from the hands of our Enemies we ought to serve him in Righteousness and Holiness all the days of our life To this purpose St. Paul exhorts us 2 Cor. 5.15 That Christ died for all that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves but unto him which died for them and rose again For the grace of God that bringeth Salvation Tit. 2.11 hath appeared to all Men Teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly Lusts vers 12. we should live Soberly Righteously and Godly in this present World vers 13. Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ Who gave himself for us vers 14. that he might Redeem us from all iniquity and purifie unto himself a peculiar People zealous of good works All they therefore that think to have their sins remitted whilst they go on in their wickedness deceive themselves and make a mock at the Merits of Christ and may so fall away Heb. 6.6 as even to Crucifie unto themselves the Son of God afresh Heb. 10.29 and put him to an open shame And account the blood of the Covenant wherewith they were Sanctified an unholy thing and do despight unto the spirit of grace For since Christ hath redeemed us from the Slavery of Satan and restored us again to our former liberty it is very fitting that we should lead a new life bid farewel to all iniquity and serve God with a pure heart fervently Now this restoring Man to his pristine state in which God at first created him and from whence by sin he fell is in holy Writ called a Renovation Or a new Creature For so says the Apostle Eph. 4.22 23 c. Put off concerning the former Conversation the old Man which is corrupt according to the deceitful Lusts And be renewed in the Spirit of your mind and put on the new Man which after God is Created in Righteousness in true Holiness Wherefore putting away lying speak every Man truth with his Neighbour for we are members one of another Be ye angry and sin not let not the Sun go down upon your wrath Neither give place to the Devil Let him that stole steal no more but rather let him labour working with his hands the thing which is good that he may have to give to him that needeth Let no corrupt Communication proceed out of your mouth but that which is good to the use of edifying that it may minister grace unto the Hearers And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed unto the day of Redemption Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and evil speaking be put away from you with all Malice And be ye kind one to another tender-hearted forgiving one another even as God for Christs sake hath forgiven you And a little after Eph. 5.3 But Fornication and all Vncleanness or Covetousness let it not be once named amongst you Although it plainly appears from this Exhortation of the Apostle what a Regenerate Man whose sins are pardon'd is to do and what he is to avoid yet we may briefly comprize the whole exercise of Godliness under these two Heads viz. the love of God and of our Neighbour This is the Sum of all the Commandments as our Saviour himself teaches us Mat. 22.37 Luke 10.27 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart and with all thy Soul and with all thy Strength and with all thy Mind and thy Neighbour as thy self The Prayer O Merciful Father who in thy Son Jesus Christ hast pardoned all my sins what shall I render unto thee for all the Benefits which thou hast bestowed on me Grant that I may delight my self in thy Commandments that I may not love the World nor the things in it but may Crucifie my flesh with its Affections and Lusts guide me with thy Holy Spirit that I may daily persevere in true Repentance may war a good warfare keep Faith and a good Conscience and increase more and more in Righteousness and Holiness working that which is well pleasing in thy sight And for as much as of my self I am not able to do any good thing do thou O Lord who givest both to will and to do perfect that good work which thou hast begun in me and bring it to an Happy Issue and keep me in all my ways that I depart not from thy Statutes Lead me in the paths of thy Commandments Thy word is a Lanthern unto my Feet and a light unto my paths Order my steps in thy word and let not any iniquity have Dominion over me Ps 119.133 CHAP. XIV That God is to be loved above all things FOR as much as God at first created us Christ by his Death redeemed us from eternal Death and the Holy Spirit sanctifies us and leads us to everlasting life therefore are we to love God above all things whatever Love naturally desires what is good and excellent and what any one loves that he always esteems best most profitable and beautiful now there is nothing can be suppos'd better and more beautiful than God and therefore he is to be loved above all things This is the first Commandment Exod. 20.3 Thou shalt have no other Gods before me Deut. 5.7.6.4 Mar. 12.29 And hear O Israel the Lord our God is one Lord And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine Heart and with all thy Soul and with all thy Might He who loves God above all things hath no other Gods but who ever loves any thing more than God he makes that his God for he prefers it before God and sets it up as an Idol in his Heart Therefore a Christian is to despise all things in respect of God how great and profitable how beautiful and
desirable soever they may appear and whatever he loves he therefore loves them because they are dear and acceptable unto God but whatever God hates that the Christian is to despise Thus our Saviour teacheth us Luk. 14.26 27. If any Man come to me and hate not his Father and Mother and Wise and Children and Brethren and Sisters yea and his own Life also he cannot be my Disciple Joh. 12.25 He that loveth his Life shall lose it and he that hateth his Life in this World shall keep it unto Life Eternal That is to say a Christian ought to despise himself and all that he hath and every thing in the World in respect of God to desire nothing to love nothing that may alienate his affections from God however specious it may seem or how much so ever it may tend to the gratification of his pleasure profit fame or glory So that though he studies the practice of Vertue yet he doth it not to advance his own vain Glory and Honour but because no knoweth 't is acceptable to God and so whatsoever he doth he doth all to the glory of God This is truly to die to the World when we can despise Pleasures Riches Honours and all the World enjoys when God is dearer to us than any thing besides and when we dare not do any evil for the love of any Man or thing in the whole World If this seem hard yet is it very just and reasonable For if we love any thing because we find it profitable to us consider that every thing we possess we have from God if we love any other things because they are good God is the chiefest good yea goodness it self If we love Riches all things are Gods he is Lord of Heaven and Earth he filleth the needy with good things and dispenseth Riches to whom he pleaseth If we love Honour what greater Honour can there be than when the Son of Man shall come in great power and glory that they who have loved him and for his sake have left all things in the World should also sit upon seats and Judge the Tribes of Israel All Worldly things are changeable and Momentary and the various vicissitudes of Humane Affairs occasion nothing but Cares Sorrows and Vexations of Soul But the love of God causeth perpetual Peace and Tranquility of Mind according to that of David Ps 73.36 My Flesh and my Heart faileth But God is the strength of my Heart and my portion for ever If for the sake of God we lose our Worldly goods the great God alone is more worth than all and whoever enjoys him hath all things else For in God are all things that we can wish for or desire as saith our Lord Every one that hath forsaken Houses or Brethren Mat. 19.29 or Sisters or Father or Mother or Wife or Children or Lands for my names sake shall receive an hundred fold and shall inherit everlasting life Joh. 14.23 And again if a Man love me my Father will love him and we will come unto him and make our abode with him This may seem hard to Flesh and Blood but Chrisâ—â—â—nity cannot otherwise subsist The true Christian loves nothing better than God and whoever doth prefers the Creature before the Creator In short the Christian doth all to the glory of God he seeks not his own pleasure or profit or honour in any thing but doth all out of love to God and for Gods honour And he that loves God truly and sincerely loves only those things that are dear and acceptable to God and hates all things that God hates This Holy Men in all Ages studiously perform'd especially the Martyrs the World indeed esteemed them as fools but they were the most prudent Men living For is not he the wisest Man that despiseth vile and trifling things and sets a just value upon things that are best and most useful For as our Saviour says Mat. 16.26 what shall it profit a Man to gain the whole World and lose his own Soul Virtue it self and good works are not pleasing to God if in them a Man seeks his own glory and not the glory of God alone And from hence it appears how vain the thoughts of Men are they spend many Days and Nights in Labour and Study that they may get Learning and appear renowned in the World but to be made partakers of the Divine Nature to acquire a Blessed and Eternal Life they can scarcely spare so much time from their business as to recite one serious Prayer What troubles do Merchants undergo how many dangers do they run in hopes of being rich And of how little value are the things they gain Nay were they as truly great and pretious as they seem to be yet Death would quickly deprive them of all But on the contrary how great are those good things which God will give in the other life to those that love him Of which we have already treated in the fourth Chapter That life will be void of all evil and replenish'd with all the good and happiness that can be desired there we shall openly behold the Glory and Majesty of God and enjoy Communion with him there we shall not only hear the Hymns and Songs that are sung without intermission in praise of the Eternal King by the Angels Archangels and all the Blessed but shall also assist in their Quire and praise God for ever and ever Oh! How Blessed how beautiful is the Heavenly Jerusalem Very glorious things are spoken of thee thou City of God In thee there is no darkness no night no cold nor heat no alteration of Seasons no hunger nor thirst no labour nor weariness no sickness nor death the glory of God shall enlighten thee and the pure immaculate Lamb shall be thy Light Rev. 21.23 There God shall give us meat of which whosoever eateth he shall hunger no more and drink of which whosoever drinketh he shall thirst no more God shall be our strength our health and our life God will there be all in all And now who in his right mind would not despise and loath these vain Worldly things and love God alone above all things else that so after Death when all things here below vanish and disappear he may be made a partaker of this Blessedness wherein God will be all in all The Prayer O Merciful Lord inlighten the Eyes of my mind that I may consider what immense benefits I have received from thee When I was nothing thou didst create me after thine own Image when by my sins I was justly doom'd to the pains of Hell thou didst redeem me there from by the Death of thy Son and hast sanctified me with thy Holy Spirit Lord by how many Bonds am I obliged to love thee my only good How vain and empty are these Transitory things which after this life is ended must all be left behind Grant therefore that I may set my affections on things above
of all power of hurting Joh. 10.27 28. As also My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me And I give unto them Eternal life and they shall never perish And therefore he may say with David Ps 27.1.3 the Lord is my light and my Salvation whom shall I fear The Lord is the strength of my life of whom shall I be afraid Though an Host should encamp against me my Heart shall not fear Yea Ps 23.4 though I walk through the Valley of the shaddow of Death I will fear no Evil for thou art with me It is often a great trouble to Men when they are dying to think that they must leave their Wife and Children their Brethren and Sisters their Relations and Friends But whereas this care proceeds either first from that natural Sympathy which we bear to those we love or else from a fear that our Wife and Children should suffer damage for want of our Advice and Assistance It is therefore fit in the first place to remember what hath been before spoken of Chap. 14. that we are to love God above all things and not to set our Affections upon any Creature more than God Of this our Saviour Admonishes us Luke 14.26 If any Man come to me and hate not his Father and Mother and Wife and Children and Brethren and Sisters yea and his own life also he cannot be my Disciple Neither are we quite separated from our Friends by Death but we shall be again united to them in the other life and not to them only but we shall also enter into the Society of Angels and Blessed Spirits In the second place it ought to be considered Psa 68.5 that a Father of the Fatherless and a judge of the Widow is God in his Holy Habitation And therefore every one ought to commend their Relations to his Care and Protection God who is your God will be also the God of your Posterity Hear what the Royal Prophet saith Ps 37.25 I have been young and now am old yet have I not seen the Righteous forsaken nor his Seed begging bread Ps 112.2 The generation of the upright shall be Blessed Ps 10.18 Thou wilt judge the Fatherless and the Oppressed Ps 146.9 The Lord preserveth the Strangers he relieveth the Fatherless and Widow To this purpose speaketh Moses Deut. 10.17 18. saying the Lord your God is a God of Gods and Lord of Lords a great God and mighty He doth execute the Judgment of the Fatherless and Widow and loveth the Stranger in giving him Food and Rayment And by the Prophet Jeremiah Jer. 49.11 Thus saith the Lord leave thy Fatherless Children I will preserve them alive and let thy Widows trust in me As to what concerns the Body the sick person ought to take what care he can of his life so long as it lasts For to live or die is not in our own power as saith St. Paul Rom. 14.7 8. None of us liveth to himself and no Man dieth to himself for whether we live we live unto the Lord and whether we die we die unto the Lord whether we live therefore or die we are the Lords So that our life is diligently to be regarded until he that gave it require it of us again and the great Ruler of the World call us hence And therefore those Helps and Provisions which God hath allowed by Physick and Physitians for the preservation of Health are not to be despised Though in the mean time the sick Man ought not to flatter himself with certain hopes of recovering his health nor should his Friends put the thoughts of Death out of his mind and confidently promise him longer life for a Man thus perswaded that his life is not in danger will easily be drawn off from fitting himself for an happy Death and if afterwards it should happen that an unexpected Death should seize on him and notwithstanding his vain hopes and the assurances of his Friends he sees that he must die he would hereby impatiently bear the Hand of God upon him and might run the hazard of his Eternal Welfare It is therefore very requisite for him wholly to commit himself to the Divine Will and Disposal and often revolve in his mind the afore-cited passage of St. Paul Rom. 14.8 Whether we live or whether we die we are the Lords And if his sickness be any thing dubious he ought rather to be solicitous how he may die than how he may recover his health saying with the Apostle This one thing I do forgetting those things which are behind Phil. 3.13 and reaching forth unto those things which are before verse 14. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus We come now to that other Duty which is incumbent on the dying Man and this respects his Neighbour which is twofold the first is that he reconciles himself to all and from his Heart forgives all Injuries and Offences whatsoever that he desires forgiveness from all whom he hath offended and that he doth not so much consider how injuriously he hath been used by this or that Person as how many and grievous things there are which he hath need to beg Pardon at Gods hands for The second is that they who are Magistrates and Governours over others do so dispose their Affairs that the Duties and Offices which God hath committed to them be fully discharged before they die and that they take care as much as in them lies that the peace of the Church be secur'd and that Religion and Justice be preserv'd sound and entire after the Example of Moses Joshua David c. He who is the Master of a Family ought to settle every thing under his Care and think that what Isaiah said to Hezechiah is said also to him Isa 38.1 Set thine House in Order for thou shalt die and not live And therefore let him endeavour what he can to agree things that are to be agreed and to set in order such things as are consus'd But if it should happen that any one should be so involved in a multiplicity of intricate Affairs that he cannot apply his mind to them and take care of his Soul too it will be much better to dispatch his Worldly Business quickly or rather to cast off all care for his Earthly concerns and wholly give up himself to provide for the Eternal good of his Soul According to the advice of our Saviour Seek ye first the Kingdom of God Mat. 6.33 Mat. 8.23 and his Righteousness And. Follow me and let the Dead bury their Dead There will be enough left to order and compose the things of this World but no Man can repair the loss of Eternal Salvation which depends upon a Reconciliation with God But if Worldly Business may be done without any hurt to the Soul in the first place let him dispose of his goods
and if it be needful make his Will which ought to be plain and intelligible comformable to the Law of Nature to the Word of God and to the Laws of the Country wherein he lives that so there may be no occasion given to his Heirs and Executors to have any Litigious Disputes and Law-Suits after his Death and this he ought to do whilst his Mind and Tongue and Hand can perform their Functions and not to defer it till he is not able to make his mind known clearly and distinctly either by word or writing And indeed they do most conveniently and to the purpose who make their Wills whilst they are in perfect health on the contrary they very ill consult their own Affairs who put off the making of their Wills till some dangerous sickness assaults them and then perhaps they are suddenly taken out of the World or the Disease causes a Frenzie and so their minds become utterly indispos'd for the settling of their Worldly concerns If the sick Person remembers that he hath taken any thing away from any Man wrongfully let him restore it again to the right owner or if he be Dead and that cannot well be done let him appoint it to be given to pious uses to the poor of the Church or State For as St. Augustin saith Si res aliena propter quam peccatum est cum reddi possit non redditur non agitur poenitâ—ntia sed fingitur Epist 54. ad Maâ—don A Man is an Hypocrite and not a true Penitent if he doth not restore goods wrongfully taken when it is in his power to do it And let those also who abound in Riches honestly gotten take care that some portion of them be given to good and pious uses and that amongst the rest of their Legacies something be left and assigned to Christ Moreover the sick Person ought to look after such things as concern the Souls of those under his care and to commend unto all his Family that Religion which is contained in the Word of God and diligently to exhort them to a Holy life to the love and service of God Although as it hath been said such things were better to be ordered and provided for when we are well and in good Health because Death takes away many on a sudden and some Diseases are of such a Nature that they presently deprive a Man of the power of thinking on and ordering such things so that it will be most safe and prudent for the sick Person to put off all thoughts of Earthly things and not to distract himself with any cares but to fix his mind wholly upon God and on his happy passage out of this life And now when the sick Man finds his end approaching that the time of his departure is at hand and that he is now to struggle with the pangs of Death laying aside all Worldly cares let him intirely submit himself to Gods Will and in no wise withstand it and say Father thy Will be done whether it be by Life or by Death And then let him endeavour that he may die in the Faith of Christ and rest in the Lord that is let him give himself up wholly to the grace and mercy of God in the Merits of Christ and to the Consolations of the Holy Spirit For since in that last hour this World and all things in it Friends and Relations Riches and Pleasures and whatever else is taking and delightful must be quite abandon'd it is very fitting that his mind should bid farewel to all things here below and by Faith lift up it self to God alone And the Man being thus plac'd as it were out of himself he ought with the most earnest Affections and with the most Ardent Prayers and Fervent Sighs to fly unto the Mercy and Goodness of God and say with David Ps 73.26 My Flesh and my Heart faileth but God is the strength of my Heart and my Portion for ever In thee O Lord do I put my trust Ps 31.1 let me never be put to Confusion deliver me in thy Righteousness And then at last when he is just going out of the World let him commend his Soul unto God as unto a faithful Creatour and most Merciful Saviour and say with Christ Father Luk. 23.46 into thy Hands I commend my Spirit And with St. Act. 7.59 Stephen Lord Jesus receive my Spirit If any of the foregoing Temptations should be suggested by Satan to the sick Person when he lies under the agonies of Death let him not trouble himself to give an answer but commit himself wholly to Christ and depend only upon him and presevere to the last in pious Prayers and Ejaculations As also those that are present with him ought to do especially when they find his senses begin to fail him For the Prayers of the Righteous avail much and our Lord hath promised that where two or three are gathered together in his Name there will he be in the midst of them and that whatsoever we ask of the Father in his Name he will give it us Now where-ever Christs gracious presence is the Devil of necessity must flee before him Neither can the Devil tempt any Man beyond what God permits him And therefore every one ought not to be admitted to the sick Person when he is at the point of Death but only such who are Religious who by Devout Prayers can commend the departing Soul to God but such are not to be suffered to come to him who may in the least excite in him an hatred against any Man or a love towards any Worldly thing Or if they are permitted to come to him care must be taken that they behave themselves so as not to raise in his mind any evil affection which he had before laid aside and forsaken For a Soul that would depart happily out of this life ought to be inflam'd with the love of God alone and not to be mov'd either by the love or hatred of any Creature whatever And more especially let care be taken that the Dying Man may be visited and assisted by some Minister of Gods Word of good Learning and Judgment that he may know how to speak a word in season to the wearied Soul that he may so govern and temper his Discourse as neither to deceive the departing Soul by too much condescention and flattery nor to drive him to despair by an unseasonable sharpness and severity but may be able to instruct and fortifie him against all the Temptations of Satan with Divine Counsels and Consolations The Prayer O Lord God and my most merciful Father who hast now sent unto me the messenger of death and hast chastised me with sickness I confess my self to be a grievous sinner and that I have oftentimes offended thee even from my very infancy and therefore I acknowledge that this punishment is justly inflicted on me and that I desire death it self but I beseech thee of thine infinite mercies blot
out all my transgressions O Lord rebuke me not in thine anger neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure If I consider what I have done what I suffer is not so much what I have committed is grievous what I suffer is but light righteous art thou O Lord and upright are thy judgments O Lord deal not with me after my sins neither reward me after mine iniquities but according to the multitude of thy mercies think thou vpon me O Lord for thy goodness Thou God art my strength and the horn of my Salvation thou makest sore and bindest up thou woundest and thy hand make whole thou killest and makest alive thou bringest down to the Grave and bringest up if therefore thou pleasest to permit my Soul to remain any longer in this Earthly Tabernacle for thy Glory and Service O Lord help thy afflicted Servant and give me patience But if thou seest it fit to take away my Life thy Will be done and let thy Servant depart in peace Protect me against all the temptations and assaults of Satan with the Shield of thy mercy Grant that my faith may not fail me nor my hope be shaken nor the weakness of my Nature be cast down by the terrours of Death but after my Eyes are dim my Tongue faulters and my senses have lost their power and faculties grant that my Mind and Soul may be continually fix'd on thee and by the Assistance of thy Holy Spirit may be firmly united to thee and with my last breath I may commend my Soul into thy hands O Lord who livest and reignest for ever and ever Amen II. Blessed Lord forasmuch as I must bid farewel to this World I commend unto Thee all mine Thou who relievest the Fatherless and the Widow be their Father and Protector It is not for me to intermeddle with what is thy prerogative but give me Grace to use all Diligence to make my own calling and election sure before I go hence and be no more seen All my other care I cast upon Thee Be thou pleas'd to provide for all mine Bless them O Lord and replenish their hearts with a godly fear and love of thy holy Name Give them health of body soundness of mind and all good things which thou seest fit for them Keep from them all such things as may alienate their minds from Thee or any ways hinder them from the profession of a true faith or the practice of a Holy Life III. O Eternal Lord I now see all things in the World leave me but do not thou forsake me O my God In thee is my trust leave not my Soul destitute I flee unto thee for succour Make hast to help me O Lord my Salvation O my God be not far from me in this my last hour I confess indeed I am not worthy to be called thy Son or even the meanest of thy Servants but I cast my self at thy feet and fall down before thy Throne of Grace O deal with me according the multitude of thy mercies and enter not into judgment with thy Servant I do not hide my transgressions from thee but humbly confess them before thy Divine Majesty but according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness sake O Lord look upon my affliction and pain and forgive all my sins for the merits and Death of our Lord Jesus Christ Cast me not away from thy thy presence since thou hast redeemed me with the blood of thy Son O keep my Soul and deliver me let me not be ashamed for I put my trust in thee O dear Jesu thou art my Redeemer and my Saviour thou hast overcome the World Sin and Hell it self that they can do me no harm Lord I come unto thee do not reject me O do not leave me in this my hour of Death Into thy hands I commend my Spirit Lord Jesus receive my Spirit Amen Amen O Man remember Death and Eternity and whilst you live here consider where after Death you are to live for ever and ever FINIS Books Printed for and are to be Sold by Sam. Keble at the Great Turks-head in Fleet street MONASTICON ANGLICANUM Or the History of the Ancient Abbies and other Monasteries Hospitals Cathedral and Collegiate Churches in England and Wales with divers French Irish and Scotch Monasteries formerly relating to England Collected and Published in Latin by Sir William Dugdale Knt. late Gartor King of Arms in Three Volums and now epitomiz'd in English Page by Page price 10 s. The Historical Parts of the Old and New Testament in Verse with One Hundred and Twenty Cuts being the best use of Poetry and Sculpture 12o. price 2 s. EPICTETI Enchiridion Or the most Excellent Morals of Epictetus Made English in a Poetical Paraphrase By Ellis Walker M. A. A Collection of Private Forms of Prayers for Morning Noon and Night and other special Occasions by the Author of the Weeks Preparation to the Sacrament Degrees of Marriage that which is ordered to be had in all Churches
hora c. Every day every hour shews us we are nothing and by some fresh Arguments puts us in mind of the frailty of our Natures which we too easily forget and forceth us to look on death whilst we are thinking of abiding here for ever There is no man can promise himself an immunity from death by any of those things which are wont to distinguish Men from the rest of Mankind Neither Age nor Sex no condition or state of life neither learning nor honours nor riches nor beauty nor pleasure can defend any one from death Young and Old Kings and Beggars the Wise and the Ignorant the Fair and the Deformed must all die Pallida mors aequo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas Hor lib. 1. Od 4. Regumque turres Neque ulla est aut magno aut parvo lethi fuga Pale Death goes into all a like Id. Sat. 6. lib. 2. Serm. as well Towers of Princes as the poorest Cell Nor is there any one can flie from Death Thus as there is no difference observable in the birth of men so neither is there in their death The Prayer LOrd let me know my end and the number of my dayes that I may be certified how long I have to live Behold thou hast made my dayes as it were a span long and my age is even as nothing in respect of Thee Verily every man living is altogether Vanity We come up as a flower and are cut down and never continue in one stay Lord so teach me to number my dayes that I may apply my heart unto wisdom Grant that I may not be one moment forgetful of my mortality and knowing that I must die let me never think of setting up my rest here CHAP. II. The Consideration of those things which happen at Death THe devout Christian ought not only to be perpetually mindful of his own mortality but also seriously to consider what Death is and what usually befalls men when they are dying and when they are dead Imagine therefore before your eyes a man now on the Confines of Death just ready to give up the Ghost fix this object in your mind and every day revolve it in your thoughts See how he lies dying almost without breath His Body loses all its beauty and comeliness and begins to smell of the Earth from whence it was taken and none of its members perform their functions And yet this is that Body which not long since was so sumptuously fed so delicately cloath'd and nurs'd up with so much care and cost Then a man begins to despise his Gold and Silver his Jewels and Apparel his Riotings and Pastimes when he finds no assistance from them either against his Sickness or his Death he sees all his worldly delights are vanished away and others ready to possess his Honours and Riches and an afflicting thought it is to him to consider that for the obtaining these very things he hath undergone so much toil and labour and hath committed so many sins And hence will arise many conflicts of mind many tormenting thoughts and unquiet hours Sometimes the acuteness of his Disease afflicts him sometimes his Conscience wounds him and Satan sets before his eyes the multitude of his Sins which now appear more vile and heinous than ever before he thought them to be Sometimes he is distracted when he remembers how much time he hath prodigally spent in vanity and folly and that now he must give a strict account of all his thoughts words and actions sometimes his Soul is grieved by the temptations of the Devil driving him to despair and shewing him the direful punishments of Hell-fire Thus also when a man begins to think he can live no longer he then considers he must leave his Wise and Children his Kinsfolks and Friends his Riches and Honours and every thing that was dear to him here and this leads him to consider further that in a short time his Soul must be separated from his Body and that he must pass into another state of Life Then if a man hath not duly prepared himself for Death nor reconciled himself to God with what anguish shall his Soul be tormented when he can expect no help from any of those things which he before so much accounted of To live longer is not permitted him and to die is intolerable Then he calls to mind his former sins which he hath committed and sees the time of his examination and of the divine vengeance is at hand If he looks back upon his past life all the dayes he has spent seems but a moment of time If he looks forward on that infinite space of Eternity which is to come he then grieves that he hath preferr'd such vain delights and of such short continuance before an eternal weight of Glory and Happiness And these things do so disquiet him that no room is left for any comfortable thoughts for Death now approaching he will scarcely have either time or strength to think on any thing for his good to what purpose is it to give wholesome advice to administer profitable Counsels to one whose Senses are impair'd by the violence of his Disease and whose mind and understanding are weakned and disturb'd by the Indisposition of his Body For whilst he is considering that he is not prepar'd for Death as he ought and distracts himself with the thoughts of his sad Condition his Eyes begin to grow dim and his Ears deaf his Tongue falters and his Memory and Reason fail him Do those things therefore now whilst thou art in Health and God alloweth thee Time and Strength which thou canst not but think Reasonable should be done at thy last Hour arm thy self betimes against all those Evils and Temptations which commonly befall Men at the time of Death and seeing that neither Riches nor Honours nor Pleasures nor Friends can prolong our Lives for one hour nor free us from those Cares and Anxieties which are wont to disturb Men when they are dying believe it it is desperate madness to undergo so much labour for the sake of them and contrariwise to neglect those things which would help us toward the attainment of Everlasting Happiness And now O Man think what will become of thee after death As soon as thou art dead every one even thy nearest and best Friends thy Wife and Children and Kinsfolk will fly from thy Corps and will not be able to endure the sight of thee before they were pleased with thy Embraces but now thy very presence is Ghastly and Terrible Here then is the bounds of Worldly Love and Friendship It is therefore very unreasonable to place our Confidence in these things but let us rather put our Trust in those which may be useful to us even after we are dead Think how horrid and noisom the stink of thy Carkass would be even to thy nearest Kindred and yet this is that Body for the indulging whereof thou hast so often offended thy God How
one may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad so that as every one is found at the hour of death such shall he be judged They shall live happily in the other World that die well they miserably that die ill And thus it is that the hour of death separates the good from the wicked at the greatest distance To the good death is the end and determination of all troubles and the beginning of Eternal Felicity and Blessedness but to the wicked death is the privation of all the delights and pleasures and riches of this life and is the beginning of Eternal Misery and never ending Punishment The Prayer O Merciful Father who didst create me for a far more blessed condition then this miserable life which the brute animals enjoy vouchsafe so to direct me in my passage through this World that I may never set my affections on things below but use them with such indifferency that I may at length attain to the joys and glories of the blessed life above and that knowing I have here no continuing City I may with the greater earnestness seek one to come Heb. 13 14. CHAP. IV. The Consideration of the last Judgement AFter Death comes Judgment Think therefore O Man that immediately after Death thy Soul must appear before God Ecc. 12.7 and that at the last Day it shall be joyned again to thy body and then thou shalt be Judged before Gods Tribunal in the presence of all the Angels and Saints Consider that thou must appear before a Judge whose unerring Wildom thou canst by no means deceive whose power thou canst by no ways avoid whose Justice thou canst by no means corrupt A Judge who will enquire into thy vainest words and thy most trivial thoughts who is now present at and beholds all the words and actions of the whole World Who is there so bold so desperately wicked that dares contumaciously violate the Laws and commit Crimes worthy of Death in the presence of his King And yet more than this dare Men do who spightfully break the Commands of God before his face but this Judge who knows all our actions Eccl. 12.14 Rom. 14.12 shall bring every work into judgement with every secret thing whether it be good or whether it be evil so that every one of us shall give an account of himself to God For he which is Lord over all Wisd 6.7 shall fear no mans person neither shall he stand in awe of any mans greatness for he hath made the small and great and careth for all alike Let therefore your thoughts be always employ'd in meditating on this severe Judgement in which there will be no more place for pardon nothing shall then be granted either by Prayers or Tears but either this merciful Sentence shall pass on the Righteous Matth. 25.23 Well done good and faithful Servant thou hast been faithful over a few things I will make thee ruler over many things enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. Ver. 34. Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the Foundation of the World or on the contrary this terrible Sentence shall be thundred out against the wicked by the most just Judge Ver. 41. Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels What can our minds conceive more sweet and pleasant than to hear God saying to us come ye blessed what more sad and dreadful than depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire In this day of Judgement wealth will not help the rich nor power nor honours the great Ones of this World Knowledge will not absolve the wise nor will force preserve the strong This Judge will not be pleased by flatteries nor brib'd by rewards no Prayers will move him no Tears will appease him Psal 9.8 but he shall judge the World in righteousness and shall minister judgement to the People in uprightness Then as 't is said in Wisdom shall the righteous man stand in great boldness Chap. 5.1 c. before the face of such as have afflicted him and made no account of his labours when they see it they shall be troubled with terrible fear and shall be amazed at the strangeness of his salvation so far beyond all that they looked for And they repenting and groaning for anguish of spirit shall say within themselves This was he whom we had sometimes in derision and a proverb of reproach We fools accounted his life madness and his end to be without honour How is he numbred among the Children of God and his lot is among the Saints Consider farther O man who they are that in this future Judgement shall hear this joyful word come ye blessed and shall be made partakers of eternal Glory and on the contrary who they are on whom this dreadful Sentence shall be pronounced depart from me ye cursed and so shall be cast into Hell fire and then give all diligence that you may be found in the number of the blessed and not amongst the miserable Now who both these are the Holy Scriptures do sufficiently declare Our Saviour himself tells us Mat. 13.41 that the Angels shall gather the wicked together and cast them into a furnace of fire John 3.36 He that believeth not the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him John 3.19 And this is the Condemnation that light is come into the World and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil But the fearful and unbelieving Rez 21.8 and the abominable and murderers and whoremongers and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the Lake which burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death 2 Thes 1.7 8 9. The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty Angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit 1 Cor. 6.9 10. the Kingdom of God be not deceived neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor effeminate nor abusers of themselves with monkind nor thieves nor coveteous nor drunkards nor revilers nor extortioners shall inherit the Kindom of God Now the works of the flesh are manifest which are these Gal. 5.19 20 21. adultery fornication uncleanness lasciviousness idolatry witchcraft hatred variance emulations wrath strife seditions heresies envyings murthers drunkenness revellings and such like of the which I tell you before as I have also told you in time past that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God On the contrary we are told who they are that shall be sav'd Joh. 3.18 Mark 16.16 Rom. 5.1 He that believeth on the Son of God is
not condemned He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved Therefore being justified by Faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ The Prayer LOrd Jesu Christ guide me by thy Holy Spirit that I may walk in thy ways and always have in my mind this sum of the whole Duty of Man Eccl. 12.13 14. fear God and keep his Commandments For God shall bring every work into Judgement with every secret thing whether it be good or whether it be evil O let every moment that voice sound in mine ears arise ye dead and come to judgement And at the last let me hear thy gracious voice saying come thou blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for thee from the beginning of the World I acknowledge indeed and confess that by my sins I have deserved the pains of Hell but thou by thy Passion Death and Resurrection hast redeemed me from them and merited Heaven for me In thee therefore in thy merits and mercies I put my whole trust and confidence and joyfully expect thy glorious coming Amen Come Lord Jesus Amen Rev. XXII 20. CHAP. V. The Joys of the Life eternal ALthough it cannot be imagin'd much less express'd in words what difference there is between the joys of Heaven and the pains and miseries of the damned yet for as much as many live as if it matter'd little or nothing whether after death they were to be admitted into the blessed Life above or to be cast into the bottomless pit it therefore well becomes a Christian daily to consider how vastly the miseries of Hell differ from the glories of Heaven that so he may be convinced how necessary it is earnestly to endeavour to avoid the one and obtain the other For who is there so void of sence that for the hopes of gaining one Farthing would run the hazard of losing an hundred thousand Crowns and yet this they daily do who defile themselves with sin that they may follow after the riches pleasures and honours of this World for all these things and even the whole World could any man gain it to himself are more vile if they be compared to eternal lise which is utterly lost by sin than the smallest mite compar'd to the greatest sum imaginable Or who is there so desperately wicked that would dare to commit crimes worthy of death in the sight of a Gibbet a drawn Sword or a flaming fire and in the presence of a Judge who he knew would immediately condemn him to these torments and yet this they do who well knowing that the pains of Hell are so plainly set before their eyes in the Holy Scriptures do yet daily commit such sins as justly deserve those infernal plagues Now eternal Happiness consists in these two things In the absence of all evil things and in the enjoyment of every thing that is good Rev. 21.4 For God shall wipe away all tears from the eyes of the blessed and there shall be no more death neither sorrow nor crying neither shall there be any more pain And as it is written 1 Cor. 2.9 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 For what greater felicity can there be than to have no calamities to disturb us not to be terrified with the fear of death to behold the face of God to be amongst the Quires of Angels to serve our Creatour with the blessed Spirits and all the Saints and with perpetual Hyms and Praises to magnifie his glorious Name If you value and desire Health there shall be constant soundness and eternal Life If you are delighted with the friendship of good men there you shall have the familiar acquaintance of all the blessed inhabitants above who will all have one Heart and one Soul In short there will be nothing wanting that a man can wish for What saith St. Quid inquit Augustinus hac vita beatius ubi non est paupertatis metus non agritudinis imbectllitas nemo laeditur nemo irascitur nemo invidet cupiditas nulla exardescit nullum cibi desiderium nulla honoris aut potestatis pulsat ambitio nullus Diaboli metus insidia Daemonum nulla terror gehennae pracul mors neque corporis neque animae sed immortalitatis munere jucunda vita Nulla ibi discordia cuncta consona cuncta convenientia Sanctorum omnium una erit concordia Nox ibi nulla nullae tenebrae sed lux summa quoniam Dominus inluminabit civitatem Incerna ejus erit Agnus Sancti fulgebunt sicut stellae sicut splendor firmamenti Dabitur ibi consociare choris Angelorum intueri Patriarchas Prophetas videre Apostolos atque omnes Sanctos Gloriosa sunt hac sed multo glorisius erit D E V M intueri Manual cap. 17. Augustin can be more happy than this life where there is no fear of Poverty nor the weakness of Infirmities no body is hurt no body is angry none envies another no lust inflames them no longing after food no desire of honour and power disquiets them there is no dread of Satan no snares of the Devil no fear of Hell there is neither death of Body or Soul but by the means of immertality a most delightful life there will be no evil no discord but a perfect harmony because there will be a mutual agreement between all the Saints there will be no night nor darkness but the greatest light for the Glory of God will enlighten it Rev. 21.23 and the Lamb will be the light thereof Dan. 12.3 and the Saints shall shine as the Stars and as the brightness of the Firmament there we shall associate with the multitudes of Angels and Archangels and all the Heavenly Powers there we shall behold the Patriarchs and Prophets the Apostles and all the Saints these are glorious things but it will be yet much more glorious to behold GOD himself for the happiness and glory of eternal life doth chiefly consist in the vision and enjoyment of God who will then be all in all But how great this future felicity will be the mind of man is not capable to conceive however we may make some faint conjectures for seeing God is the Creatour and Preserver of all things it must needs be that all the things in the World which to us appear fair and beautiful are in him so much more eminently if therefore the prospect and contemplation of the Creatures be sweet and grateful the Creatour himself must needs be much more ravishing and delightful so that since we shall see God face to face all even the most beautiful things in this World will be surmounted by the transcendent beauty of God He shall be all in all the satisfaction of all desires and the perfect felicity of the Saints Psal 84.4 Blessed are they that dwell in thy House they will always be praising thee Psal 31.19 O
good thing for to will is present with me but how to perform that which is good I find not For the good that I would I do not but the evil which I would not v. 24. that I do c. O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death None can be wholly freed from this corruption of the flesh in this life but after death we shall be altogether deliver'd from it and they who shall be thought worthy to enter into the blessed life above shall sin no more And farther a great trouble and misery it is to pious Men that they are forc'd to live and sojourn amongst so many wicked Persons Psal 120.5 like Sheep amongst Wolves this made David cry out Wo is me that I am constrained to dwell with Mesech and to have my Habitation among the Tents of Kedar Besides our Salvation is exposed to the greatest dangers the Devil as a Roaring Lyon 1 Pet. 5.8 walketh about seeking whom he may devour The World is daily exciting us to Sin by evil Examples and fair Promises the Snares wherewith Satan and the World endeavours to intrap us are every where laid for us in Riches in Meat and Drink in our Eyes and in our Ears in our Words and in our Actions now Death wholly frees us from the Temptations of the World the Flesh and the Devil And not only from these but also from all the Calamities and Misfortues which so usually happen to Mankind in this Mortal Life That this Life is full of troubles there needs not many words to prove since both Sacred and Prophane Authors complain of the Miseries of Humane Life Job 14.1 whilst they teach that Man that is born of a Woman is of few days and full of Trouble And that the very name of Man imports all miseries This truth we all daily experience For how lamentable is our Nativity To how many evils is our Infancy exposed Our youth to how many injuries and dangers is it obnoxious With how many cares is our Manhood distracted And how is our old Age Surrounded with Calamities What reason then we have to fear death which at once frees us from all these miseries which is the only safe Haven to us who sail on this Stormy and Tempestuous Sea Nor doth death only deliver us from Sin and all the Troubles of this World but is also the gate through which we are to pass into Eternal Life wherein the just shall enjoy the most delightful Society of God the Father of Christ our Saviour of the Holy Ghost the Comforter and of all the Angels and Blessed Spirits How great this future Happiness and Beatitude is the mind of Man cannot conceive nor words express And although our Bodies shall rot in the grave or be other ways dissolved yet is there no danger that we shall be separated from Christ to whom we are joyned by the Bond of the Spirit but the dead shall remain united to Christ both in their Bodies and in their Souls and in the last Judgment their Souls and Bodies being made one shall arise together to Eternal Glory Hence in Holy Writ Death is called a Sleep and the Grave a Bed or Dormitory For all these reasons the True Christian is so provided that not only death but sudden death also doth not affright him men indeed do usually not without cause dread sudden death but if we duly consider it a wicked life spent without Repentance is much more to be fear'd than a sudden death nor is a sudden death bad because it is sudden but because for the most part it overtakes Men unprepar'd and impenitent and so casts them headlong into Destruction whereas if it finds us ready a sudden death is not evil but rather a more speedy passage from this to an Happy and Eternal Life The Prayer MOst Merciful Father open and enlighten the Eyes of my Mind to see and rightly consider the Misery and Vanity of this present life that I may not set my affections on the World nor the things in it but may with my whole Heart long after the Joys of Heaven O Lord excite in me an ardent Desire after the Celestial Life and vouchsafe me some fore taste of it by the sweetness whereof the bitterness of death may be so allay'd that I may be daily ready to leave this World and desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ our Lord Amen CHAP. X. The Duty of a Christian THE third Head of the Preparation for a Blessed Death Non potest malè mori qui bene vixerit de discipline christiana cap. 12. was to live holily and to enter into such a course of life as becomes a Christian for as St. Augustin says No Body can die ill that hath liv'd well Now he lives well that performs the Duties of a Christian He therefore who is mindful of his Eternal Salvation must diligently consider what the Duty of a Christian is or what way of living may best conduce towards the attaintment of everlasting life after this For he who would die like a Christian must live as a Christian But he who lives wickedly shall die wickedly and shall arise and be condemned with the Wicked Now although there be many Duties which belong to Christians in common with other Men yet are they not peculiar to a Christian but are ordained for the preservation of Humane Society and honest Behaviour in the World One kind of Duty there is which properly belongs to a Christian which only is needful and which whoever performs it will be well with him hereafter for evermore And what that duty is the very name of a Christian doth sufficiently intimate For whereas the Sects of all Philosophers and Religions have received their Names from their Author and Master whose Precepts Ordinances and Institutions they follow in like manner Christians are so called because they only imitate Christ and as much as in them lies tread in his steps and obey his command and moreover what cannot be said of any other Religion a Christian is one who doth not live himself but Christ liveth in him by Faith Gal. 2.20 so that Christ is the life of Christians who thenceforth manifests himself in all their actions It is then chiefly requisite a Christian should know who Christ is whose Name he bears and to whom he gave up himself in the Sacrament of Baptism what he hath done for our Salvation and what he requires of us to do To this end first we are to remember that Man was Created by God after his own Image Gen. 1. that is as the Apostle explains it Gal. 4.24 in true Holiness and Righteousness so that his understanding was comformable to God and gave to him alone all Honour and Glory Him alone he lov'd reverenced and worshipped and with Him hereafter he should have enjoy'd an immortal eternal and most blessed life Secondly 'T is to be remark'd
that our first Parents fell from that primitive Holiness and Righteousness and so lost the Image of God for after that by the perswasion of the Devil they had entertained a love of themselves contrary to God and to the love of their Creator preferring their own Glory and Delectation before the love and glory of God and desiring to be equal with God himself their understandings were presently overspread with ignorance and blindness instead of Wisdom Their Wills grew Refractory and Disobedient to God and all their affections were perverse irregular and out of order so that now the thoughts of man from his infancy are evil and thus man not only fell from that eternal life for which he was Created but also became obnoxious to eternal Damnation Thirdly 'T is firmly to be believ'd that God took pitty on fallen Mankind and sent his Son to take upon him Humane Flesh and being made Man did by suffering and dying satisfie for us and deliver us from eternal death And did by his Merits relied on by a true Faith again make us Heirs of that blessed life which by our sins we lost and restored in us the decayed image of God and made us his and Sanctified us by his Holy Spirit that we might serve him in Righteousness and Holiness all the days of our life From whence it plainly appears who Christ is and what is the duty of a Christian viz. Christ is our Redeemer who reconciled us unto his Father and by his Merits made us his Brethren and Coheirs of his Kingdom when we were enemies to God defiled with sin and deserved to be punished with eternal death And a Christian who derives his name from Christ is one who acknowledges that he was indeed created by God in Righteousness and Holiness but by the Wiles of Satan fell from and rebelled against God and so being polluted by the stains of Original Sin and contaminated with many actual Transgressions he became liable to the wrath of God and everlasting punishment from which he is freed and redeemed by the alone Merits and Righteousness of Christ which by Faith is imputed unto him so that now he is to undertake such a way of living as may be well pleasing not to the Devil but unto God and therefore he is to avoid all sins from which he is redeemed by the pretious Merits of Christ and to serve God alone in an holy and religious life And from hence arises a threefold duty of a Christian The first is to acknowledge himself a sinner and to bewail his sins Secondly To believe Christ to be his Redeemer and to trust only in his Merits Thirdly To obey his Laws to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit not to relapse into sins from which by the death of Christ he is redeemed but to love God above all things and his Neighbour as himself Or to comprize all in a word the life of a Christian is a continual Repentance For since he is defiled with Original Sin and even the Just Man falls seven times Prov. 24.16 He will therefore be always sorrowful for his sins and sly to the Merits of Christ and serve God in true Righteousness and Holiness In sum 't is the Duty of a Christian to believe in Christ and to live holily which if he doth for Christs sake he will be acceptable unto God and shall in the end inherit eternal life But if he shall be deprived of this happiness if he is not in favour with God although he should possess the Riches of the whole World although he were Monarch over all the Earth although he were wiser than the best Philosophers yet would all be in vain and to no purpose Vanity of Vanities Eccles 1. all is Vanity except to serve God and to please him There are indeed many things to be done which are allowed of God but there is one thing necessary None shall be Condemned in the last Day that they were not rich that they were not in high places that they did not enjoy great honours that they were ignorant of many nice Subtilties of Nature But they alone shall be Condemned who do not believe in Christ and who are not the Children of God The Prayer GRant O Lord Jesus Christ that I may never forget those Vows wherewith I have obliged my self unto thee in the Holy Sacrament of Baptism but that renouncing the Devil and all his Works I may obey thy Commandments with my whole Heart and confessing my self to be a Miserable Sinner I may confide in thy Merits and serve Thee in Holiness and Righteousness all the days of my life Amen CHAP. XI That we must repent And first of sorrowing for our sins FOR as much as the Christian knows that he is conceiv'd and born in sins and that in this corruption of Humane Nature no body can sufficiently resist the Temptations of the World the Flesh and the Devil that there is no Man which sinneth not 2 Chr. 6.36 Prov. 20.9 for who can say I have made my Heart clean I am pure from my sin and that even the Just man falleth seven times Prov. 24.16 therefore he hates and bewails his sins and confesseth that by them he hath provoked Gods anger against him so that he justly deserveth the eternal pains of Hell But the Christian must bewail his sins seriously and from his heart 2 Cor. 7.10 For that is godly sorrow which worketh Repentance unto Salvation not to be repented of that is a true sorrow for sins joyn'd with faith Now this grief and sadness the Holy Ghost excites in us as also doth the Consideration and Meditation of Christs Passion As if a Man considers who he is whom he hath offended who it is that is angry with him and that his sins were the cause of his Saviours Passion For Man from himself is nothing but he is Gods Creature and whatever any one hath he hath it from God But God is the Creator of all things the King of Kings and Lord of Lords Omnipotent Immense most Wise most Good and most Great insomuch that between Man and God there is no proportion And yet Man by his sins rebell'd against God and deliver'd himself up into the Bondage of Satan and so provoked the infinite anger of his God against him Now the Passion of Christ is the Mirrior of the Divine anger And whoever considers with himself the reasons that mov'd the Son of God to become Man to suffer and to die and confesseth that it was the sins of the World which could no other ways be atton'd for than by the Death and Passion of the Son of God himself he who shall consider that Man who is Dust and Ashes fell away from his Creator the great and good God and listed himself under the Devils Banner and so by his sins provoked Gods anger enough to have thrown him headlong into Hell and withal shall confess it to be in part his own fault that the
shall be Forgiven The Apostle St. Paul reckons these amongst the works of the Flesh Gal. 5.20 21. Hatred Variance Emulations Wrath Strife Seditions Envyings and such like and pronounceth that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God And St. John saith 1 Joh. 3.14 15. He that loveth not his Brother abideth in Death Whosoever hateth his Brother is a Murderer We have good reason to bear with the infirmities of others because there are many things which others must bear with in us For no one is perfect You see plainly that you are not able to bring your self to live according to those Rules which you could wish and why then should you be angry with others if they do not live just as you would have them Mat. 7.5 first cast out the Beam out of thine own Eye and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the Mote out of thy Brothers Eye let us therefore bear one anothers Burthens Gal. 6.2 for there is no body without fault And then farther let us endeavour to keep our selves from Slandering and Calumniating of others by not being too curious in enquiring into the Words and Actions and Lives of our Neighbours for what O Man is it to thee what another says or does Rom. 14.4 Who art thou that judgest another Mans Servant To his own Master he standeth or falleth Do thy best to give a good account of thine own Words and Actions to God and he also is obliged to render an account of his to the same God to whom all things are naked and open he sees all things under the Sun and knows what every one thinks and desires and to what end they direct their Actions therefore commit all to him rest contented and do not disquiet thy self with others cares The Prayer O Lord our most Merciful Father who in thy Son Jesus Christ hath called me to Eternal Life and forgiven me all my sins let thy Holy Spirit also direct and rule my heart that I may daily persevere in a true Repentance continually strive against my sins and increase more and more in all vertuous and godly living And for as much as my own strength is not sufficient to contend against so many Enemies and to bring my good purposes to effect do thou O Lord stretch forth thy Right Hand to assist me least I saint in the Warfare and Satan get the Dominion over me Thou O Lord resistest the Proud but givest grace to the Humble The proud in heart is an Abomination to thee vouchsafe me therefore O Lord an humble Spirit devoid of all High-mindedness according to the example of our Blessed Lord who being in the form of God humbled himself even to the Death of the Cross that he might exalt us unto everlasting life Make me to consider that I am but Dust and Ashes and have no reason to lift up my self let me not be proud of those gifts which thou hast bestowed on me and scornfully despise others but confess that what ever good is in me I have received it all from thee O Lord naked came I out of my Mothers Womb but thou hast bountifully given me Meat and Drink Cloathing and Habitation and all things necessary for the preservation of my life Make me to be contented with my Daily Bread that my mind may never be possess'd with Covetousness But may remember that I must go out of this World naked as I came and therefore may lay up my Treasure in Heaven which I may enjoy to all Eternity And because I know that in me dwelleth no good thing and the Flesh always Lusteth against the Spirit and is daily enticing me to the pleasures of this World grant O Lord that by the assistance of thy Holy Spirit I may crucifie and mortifie the Flesh with its affections and Lusts and may live soberly righteonsly and godly in this present World and serve thee in pureness of Spirit all the days of my life Grant also that according to thy command and example we may love one another Root out of our Hearts all bitterness and malice that the Sun may never go down upon our Wrath but that we may do good to those that hate us and forgive all that have offended us Lord I beseech thee take from me Pride and give me the Spirit of Humility Extinguish in me the desires of the Flesh and inflame my Heart with the love of thee Cast out of my mind the fury of anger and implant therein the gift of Patience Remove from me the love of Vain-glory the bitterness of Envy and bestow on me the sweetness of Charity and Humility the gift of a meek and quiet Spirit which is in thy sight of great price CHAP. XVII A Diary of the practice of Piety BUT for as much as the Exercises of Piety ought to be every day performed because no body can be certain which shall be that last day when he shall depart out of this life and every day for ought we know may be our last It will therefore be very useful to have both in our view and memory the course of one day regularly dispos'd according to the pattern whereof we may lead our lives that so every day we may be prepared for an happy Death First then O Man when you awake out of sleep in the Morning let your earliest Meditations be on God nor ever let any thing but the thoughts of God first enter into your mind For serious Contemplations of God being once admitted into our minds will keep out all evil Devices think then first that God will easily hereafter raise you from the dead as now you are awaken'd from your sleep Afterwards when with open'd eyes you behold the light of the Sun think with your self how great the Glory and Majesty of the last day will be when so many hundred thousand glorious Bodies shining like the Sun and Stars shall go with Christ their Judge like so many Suns into eternal life and therefore use all diligence that you may appear one of that blessed number Afterwards revolve in your mind that the Devil like a Roaring Lion 1 Pet. 5.8 walketh about seeking whom he may devour That he was not far from you the night past and had a desire to hurt you and could have done it unless God had defended you by the Ministry of his Holy Angels And withal think that the Holy Angels were encamped all night round about you that now you are rising from your Bed they stand by you and therefore take care to behave your self Circumspectly as being placed in the presence of God and the blessed Angels When you put on your Cloaths think that they are the Tokens of guilt with which we cover our shame and nakedness and therefore you have no cause to be proud of them and whilst you cover your Body let not your Soul be naked but put on the wedding Garment even the Righteousness of Christ and think
your Conscience to Judgment to set in order the miscarriages of the day past to see what things you have omitted that you ought to have done what you are to do the day following and what you are to beware of Nor is this a business of small importance For although our sleep may be quiet and pleasing without it yet it can never be safe He only rests securely that is reconciled unto his God and hath adjusted his accounts with him so that whether he dies in the Night or awakens in the Morning he is sure to have God propitious to him But it is most impudent rashness most pernicious presumption to indulge your self in sleep whilst your Soul is defiled with guilt your Conscience wounded in the day by sin And not made sound again by Repentance For should death seize on you in your sleep before you are restor'd to Gods favour by Repentance whether will your Soul go they therefore very foolishly consult their own Welfare who spend the Evening in Drunkenness and Jollity and when they are satiated with Wine and Mirth and rest invites them they go the next way to their beds and are soon quite overcome with sleep Such precipitancy as this is most desperate madness If therefore you would have your sleep quiet and without fear first examine your own Conscience bring to your remembrance the Divine Favours if you have done any good that day rejoyce and give God the glory but if any evil bewail it beg Gods Pardon for your sins and firmly resolve to live better for the future But if you do not not daily follow this course and that not negligently but with care and diligence the same sins after divers months and years are past will still live and thrive in you Whereas on the contrary such an examination of the Conscience is a powerful incitement to vertue he who daily examins himself neither desires others praises nor stands in need of their Admonitions or Reprehensions He doth not seek aster the praise of Men but he hath the applauses of his own Conscience for saith the Apostle Our Rejoycing is this 2 Cor. 1.12 the Testimony of our Conscience And those Reprooâ—â— which he doth not hear from others he hath within from himself There is no one so cautions who doth not daily sometimes forget himself allowing himself too much liberty or falling into the snares of Passion Idleness or some other Vice Now in the Evening it is in his own power to recover his steps and again set himself free from the cruel Bondage of sin And thus every day reproving and correcting himself for his Errours he will at length utterly extirpate the whole Body of sin in him When ever you find your self to have transgressed for there is no Man that sinneth not if you have not time for more yet devoutly and from you heart say Lord be merciful to me a sinner Have mercy upon me O God after thy great goodness according to the multitude of thy mercies do away mine offences But if you neglect this Examination and hush your Conscience to sleep whilst it is grieved and guilty of sin and out of favour with God you are ruin'd and for ever undone if this night should be your last and what security have you for your life one night longer Now he frees himself from these dangers who searches diligently into his own Soul before he betakes himself to rest endeavours to appease his offended God by a lively Faith and sincere Repentance through the Merits of our Saviour for should his Soul even that night be taken away from him yet would he die well and happily And more especially if by any Temptation you should be drawn aside to strife and contentions with your Neighbour do not suffer the Sun to go down upon your Wrath but be reconciled unto him and forgive him even as God for Christs sake hath forgiven you Furthermore it is necessary before you go to sleep that you read some portion of the Holy Scriptures and then humbly return thanks to God for all the Mercies and Benefits of the day past and pray unto him that he would mercifully forgive you all your sins by which you have so grievously offended him that he would please to preserve you the following night from the power and wiles of Satan and from all perils and dangers of Soul and Body and with your self commend all yours and all faithful Christians to the protection of God When you put off your Cloaths bethink your self that the time will surely come and that for ought you know very speedily when you must for ever leave all things in this World Lastly When you lay you down in your bed let it put you in mind of your Grave in which your body is to sleep till the day of Judgment let your bed mind you of the Earth that is to cover you your Cloaths your Winding Sheet in which when dead you are to be wrapt and let your approaching sleep mind you of Death it self And as you desire to awake safe and in good health in the Morning so desire of God that you may joyfully arise our of your Grave at the last day and may with good assurance stand before the Throne of Christ our Judge and at last when you are going to sleep say I will lay me down in peace Ps 4. ult and take my rest for it is thou Lord only that makest me dwell in safety The Prayer O Eternal and most gracious God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hast been pleased mercifully to preserve me in safety to this present day and hast defended me from the violence of Satan let thy Holy Spirit direct and rule me in all my ways that I may know how frail I am how few and evil the days of the years of my life are that so I may apply my heart unto Wisdom Forgive me I beseech thee all the sins which from my Child-hood until now I have committed against thee by Thought Word and Deed and by omitting to do those good things which thou hast commanded me to perform Have mercy upon me O God according to thy loving kindness according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my Transgressions And enter not into Judgment with thy Servant O Lord for in thy sight shall no Man living be justified And grant O Lord that I may spend the remaining part of my time in working out my own Salvation with fear and trembling doing always such things as are well pleasing in thy sight O let the thoughts of death be continually in my mind O let the apprehensions of that strict account which I must make before thee at the last day deter me from Transgressing thy Laws that I may so spend every day and hour of my life as if they were the last I had to live Establish in me a full purpose of mind to direct all my Thoughts Words and Actions to the glory of thy