as my Husband my Wife my Father my Mother my Brother my Sister my Son my Daughter my Friend c. Whereas the truth is they are not ours but Gods he is the absolute owner of them he made them and hath freely lent them to us without any certain time or date or promise of continuance and what is lent freely we cannot deny but may be call'd for most justly at the pleasure of him that lent it May not God most justly say as the Owner of the Vineyard to the murmuring Labourer Mat. 20.15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own Well then we hold our Friends non jure sed gratis not by a juridical right but upon favour and courtisie and if we enjoyed our Relations some time we should be thankful to God that hath lent them to us so long rather then murmur that he takes them so soon St. Jerome comforting Paula for the death of her Daughter Bresilla said Durum quidem sed tolerabile quia sustulit ille qui dederat It was a heavy loss but to be born patiently because he took that gave at first This comforted Job when amongst other things he had lost his Children Job 1.21 22. The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away blessed be the Name of the Lord. Job considered that God had taken but what he gave at first and so doth thankfully resign up his losses to him Consid 3 Thirdly consider God hath a hand in death of Friends Psal 31.15 My times are in thy hand saith David times of plenty and times of poverty times of health and times of sickness living times and dying times are in the hand i. e. of the disposal of God He measures time of life in what proportion he pleaseth to some he gives a large piece to others a small remnant Job 7.1 Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth Here he puts it by way of question but Job 14.5 There he puts it out of question and takes it for granted That mans dayes are determined the number of his moneths are with thee O Lord thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass So that when a Friend departs that 's the time that God hath appointed So it is said of David Acts 8.36 After he had served his own generation by the will of God fell asleep c. Will of God may be annexed to his falling asleep as well as serving his generation he dyed then by the will of God and was gathered to his Fathers and saw corruption Job saith Job 30.23 I know that thou wilt bring me unto death and to the house appointed for all living Naomi said when she was deprived of her Husband and two Sons in a strange Land The Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me and the Lord hath testifyed against me and the Almighty hath afflicted me Ruth 1.5 20 21. compared So Moses speaking of the frailty and shortness of mans life saith Thou turnest man to destruction and sayest Return ye children of men Psal 90.3 Gods dixit is his fecit as in the first Creation he said Let there be light and there was light Gen. 1.3 So God here saith Return i. e. he makes them to return viz. to their Original The Body to the earth and the Spirit to him that gave it Eccles 12.7 So David tells us God takes away mens breath and then they dye and return to their dust Psal 104.29 God indeed is the orderer and ordainer of all conditions 1 Sam. 2.6 The Lord killeth and maketh alive he brings down to the grave and bringeth up So Isa 45.7 I form the light and create darkness I make peace and create evil I the Lord do all these things Our Saviour tells us not a Sparrow falls to the ground nor a hair from our heads without the overruling providence of God Mat. 10.29 30. Here is Argumentum a minore ad majus If not a Sparrow a bird of small price and account or an Hair which is no essential part but made for convenience and ornament if these fall not to the ground without the will of our heavenly Father surely a Friend cannot dye but God wills it Let us then at loss of Friends patiently submit to Gods will The Heathenish Idolaters were loth to cast Jonah overboard but when they had cast lots and found it to be Gods will it should be so they patiently submitted 1 Jonah 13.14 Let not Heathens outstrip Christians Let us say with Christ John 18.11 The Cup which my Father hath given me shall I not drink it See Jobs carriage Job 1.20 21 22. He fell down and worshipped not murmured he charged not God foolishly by railing as though he dealt unjustly with him but saith The Lord hath given and the Lord hath taken He saw the hand of God in whatever befel him and this was a strong pillar of supportment to his drooping spirit It is no striving against the stream or current of Gods powerful will Job 9.4 Isa 45.9 Let Gods authority over thee prevent impatience in thee God who doth what he will and will do what he pleaseth Psal 115.3 So Psal 135.6 He takes away and none can hinder him who will say unto him What dost thou Job 9.12 Say then when a Friend is dead Truly this is a grief yet I must bear it Jer. 10.19 And as Seneca saith Aequum est ut patientèr feras quicquid corrigere est nefas It is but fit to bear that patiently which we cannot remedy Consid 4 Fourthly consider God intends it for thy good Psal 119.68 Thou art good O Lord and doest good So vers 75. I know O Lord that thy judgments are right and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me So Psal 145.17 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Misericors The Lord is righteous in all his wayes and holy or according to Orig. merciful in all his works Plutarch in his Epistle consolatory to his Wife on the death of a Child amongst others hath this Argument We must always think well of what the Gods do Christians should consider that God in the saddest passages of his providence aims at their good Though indeed his ways be sometimes hidden yet they are alway just When clouds and darkness are round about him then righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his Throne Psal 97.2 Though his Providences sometimes seem to cross his Promises yet in the conclusion you shall see all things work together for good as Physick works for the good of the Patient Rom. 8.28 Every Rod like Jonathans 1 Sam. 14.27 hath Honey at the end of it All things even loss of Friends work together for good to those that love God We read how Sampson fetch'd Honey out of the carcase of the Lyon Judg. 14.8 9. So may we find or fetch good instructions from the Carcase of a deceased Friend God it may be took away such or such a Relation as the Widow of Sarepta said when
19. Herod looked on it so sad to die unlamented that he gave express command that when he died one of every Noble Family in his kingdom should be slain Dr. Abbot 6th Lect. on Jonah p. 124.1 that by that means his death might of necessity be lamented if not for love of him as the Tyrant had no reason to expect yet for the loss of others Joseph Antiquit. The saying of Solon Dr. Willet on Gen. p. 251. Mors mea non careat Lachrymis and let not my death want tears so it be done temperately is to be preferred before that of Ennius Nemo me lachrymis decoret Let no man mourn for me He hath lived Tellius inutile pondus a very unprofitable wretch who being dead is carried forth as servants carry out the sweepings of the House or guts of Birds or entrails of Beasts without any shew of sorrow Tears then at death of Friends are silent expressions of the usefulness of our dead Friend whilest living and of our value and esteem of him And if we seriously consider losses of this nature how can we chuse but weep For a wife to lose her husband the Guide of her Youth Pro. 2.7 who was a shield to defend her or as the Sun to chear her Gen. 37.9 10. must needs be a bitter loss So for a Husband to lose his Wife the Wife of his Youth Prov. 5.18 or the Wife of his Bosom Mic. 7.5 the desire of his eyes Ezek. 24.16 18. must needs be a bitter loss So for Parents to lose Children who have their being from them and from whom they expect comfort in their old age must needs be a bitter loss So how can Children chuse but weep at death of Parents to lose a Father that begot them Prov. 23.22 and took pains to provide for them 1 Tim. 5.8 so to lose a dear Mother that bare them nine months in her belly twelve months in her arms and many years in her mind and care must needs be a bitter loss Yet the Apostle in the catalogue of offenders that should come in the last dayes and surely ours are the last tells us of some that shall be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Tim. 3.3 without natural affection unnatural to Relations whilst living and when dead as if their hearts were hewen out of a Rock they are unmoved they can with dry eyes and cheeks behold the Funeral Solemnities of Parents Children Husband Wife c. without any shew of sorrow Though God strikes them through their Relations yet they have not grieved Jer. 5.3 let such consider that of the Psalmist Psal 28.5 because they regard not the works of the Lord nor the operations of his hands he shall destroy them and not build them up God there threatens such as are affected with sad passages of his providence the chief of which we conclude are loss of Friends and Relations The Poet had observed an unnatural Son that before the time would be enquiring into his Father's age Filius ante diem Patrios inquiret in annos He would have his Father wrapt up in his winding-sheet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mixtus fletui risus Sphinx Philos p. 316. that he might rip open his Baggs would have him in his Coffin that he might enter into his Coffers And when the time of his Fathers interment is at hand which to him comes never sooner than expected or desired this unnatural Son it may be goes clothed in black having a light and merry heart under a sad and mournful habit So many Wives that have lived it may be too loosly and wantonly at their husbands death like that woman that Joab sent for 2 Sam. 14.2 feigh themselves to be Mourners and put on monring Apparel Thus Bathsheba's mourning for her husband Uriah 2 Sam. 11.26 is thought by some to be hypocritical for by his death she was freed from her husbands rage from shame and punishment which she justly deserved and withal she had hopes to become a Queen as indeed she did But let such hypocritical Mourners consider without repentance their portion will be with Hypocrites where Mat. 24.51 there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth In Hell there is weeping in good earnest And every tear shed is so far from quenching Hell-fire that like Oyl it will encrease the flame thereof and here I leave such unnatural wretches On the other side some there are that at death of Friends weep immoderately they weep till they can weep no more as the expression is 1 Sam. 30.4 they are so impatient that for ever after they lead disconsolate lives sitting daily inter suspiria lachrymas sighing sobbing and sorrowing they are so discomposed that they cannot as the Apostle commands attend upon the Lord without distraction 1 Cor. 7.35 They cannot pray nor meditate nor give thanks to God with that fixedness and composure as they ought to do Psal 57.7 And it may be they forbear going to Church because they cannot endure the sight of their friends grave Nay further they are not only inwardly pensive but outwardly passionate they fill Heaven and Earth with Exclamations Horrendis gravitèr Coelum pulsâsse querelis And many times passionate unsavory Speeches the scum of a discontented spirit proceed from them as from Jonah when his Gourd withered Jonah 4.8 9. He wish'd himself dead and tells God He did well to be angry even unto death St. Austin speaking of his Mothers Death said Aug. Confess lib 9 cap. 12. Oculi mei resorbebant fontem suum usque ad siccitatem His eyes had drained his very Fountains dry so excessive he was in weeping Indeed this hath been an infirmity in the best of men and women See Jacob at the supposed death of Joseph Gen. 37.33 34 35. He rent his clothes and put sackcloth upon his loins and mourned for his son many dayes and all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him but he refused to be comforted and he said For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning thus his father wept for him His mourning like the swelling of Jordan Jer. 12.5 impetuously passed the banks of Reason So if mischief saith he befal Benjamin by the way in which ye go then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave Gen. 42.38 So David hearing news of the untimely death of Absalom the text tells you ◠Sam. 18.33 The king was much moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and as he went thus he said O my son Absalom my son my son Absalom would God I had died for thee O Absalom my son my son David is too excessive in his grief and speaks things that were not fitting as passionate men use to do Would God I had died for thee Why David what would have become of the Kingdom what miseries would it have been involved in if Absalom had survived The violence of Passion here makes David forget himself Gods
it sleeps by fits and starts either cold starves it or heat overcomes it or hunger pines it or wind pains it sickness sores and teeth-breeding torture it When it begins to go if with Mephibosheth it be not lame on its feet 2 Sam. 9.13 it may meet with many a knock And afterwards it is beset with bryars and thorns of temptations and troubles So that in time if thy Child had lived it might have complained with Job chap. 3.11 Why died I not from the womb why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly for now should I have lyen still and been quiet I should have slept then had I been at rest v. 13. so Job 6.8 9. 10.18 19. he still harps upon the doleful string and continues his pittiful complaint as weary of life Put case thy Child had not been so sorely afflicted yet no mothers Child can escape scot-free for Job 5.7 Man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward Blow the coal and you shall see the sparks fly upward 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Haec enim levium Lex est Duport 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in loc It is the nature of sparks to fly upwards so it is ordinary for man to be in trouble So Job 14.1 That is true of Bóetius In hoc vitae salo circundantibus agitamur procellis Whilst we are in this life we are tost on a sea of troubles Shall we grieve that our Child is come so soon to the shoar and freed from the winds and waves of care and trouble 3. Consider If your Child had lived it would have been matter of pains and care to you What great care do Parents take what great pains are they at to provide for Children Prov. 13.22 2 Cor. 12.14 1 Tim. 5.8 Nulli parentibus magis noxii quam filii nimis amati Salvian ad Eccl. Cathol lib. 3. p. 435. The care of the Mother for the little Child is great she hath troublesome dayes and wakeful nights in the nursing of it How doth the Father cark and care for its Education and future Portion The care of both eats out many times the heart of their Religion St. Jerom reports of Metania who when she saw her Husband dead presently before he was cold had two Children died also whereupon she said Expeditius sum tibi servitura Domine quia tanto me onere liberâsti I will now serve thee more readily being delivered from many encumberances 4. Consider If this Child had lived it had been a great question whether you might have had any comfort of it or not Who knows whether it might have proved a wise-man or a fool Children are certain cares but uncertain comforts Some Children Viper-like seek the death of those that were a means to give them life Dr. Vanes Wisdome Innocence p. 143. Hecuba when with child of Paris dreamed she was brought to bed of a Firebrand and so indeed he proved afterwards Our first Parents had great hopes that their first-born would have been a comfort to them and therefore gave him an honourable name Gen. 4.1 calling him Cain that signifies a Possession They looked upon him as a choice Possession but he proved a very wicked person and to the great grief of his Parents murdered his Brother Abel v. 8. How was Eli crossed in his Hophni and Phineas see 1 Sam. 2.12 1 Sam. 3.13 compared David promised himself some happiness in his son Absalom which name signifies a Father of Peace but the Child proved a Father of War and Misery to him 2 Sam. 16.11 David said to Abishai and to all his Servants Behold my Son which came forth of my bowels seeketh my life So Adonijah whom his Father David had not displeased at any time even this his Darling usurps his Fathers Kingdom as you may see 1 Kin. 1.5 6. Many times aged Parents are forced to complain as the Tree did in the Fable that it was rent and torn and split asunder with the same Wedg that was cut off from its own Body Children many times are living Monuments of Disgrace to their Parents Mic. 7.6 The Son dishonoureth the Father the Daughter riseth up against her Mother So that instead of finding Honey thou mightest have met with a Sting To end this the Wise-man saith Prov. 17.21 He that begets a Fool doth it to his sorrow and the Father of a Fool hath no joy And v. 25. A foolish Son is a grief to his Father and bitterness to her that bear him And who knows but thy Child might have proved such a one 5. Lastly consider It had been better for the greatest part in the world they had died as soon as they were born St. John tells us The whole World i. e. the greatest part of the World lieth in wickedness 1 Joh. 5.19 Few there be that serve God And if we serve him not as Christ said of Judas Mat. 26.24 It had been good for us if we had not been born Or like Aristotle's Ephemeron or Jonah's Gourd we had perished the same day or night that we came into the world For the longer we live the more sin we commit and the greater will be our damnation at last Surely an untimely birth is better than he that comes in with vanity and departs in darkness Eccl. 6.3 4. Surely The day of death is better than the day of ones birth Eccles 7.1 And the Heathen as though he had lighted his Candle at this Torch said right Optimum non nasci proximum quà m citò mori It is best not to be born or being born to die soon for by this means poor mortals are freed from much sin and misery I conclude this with that of Lactantius Lactant. de opificio hominis c. 4. Stultissimi sunt qui de morte immaturâ quaeruntur They are Fools in the Superlative degree that complain because Friends die soon Object But my chid dyed unbaptized Answ Children of believing parents are within the Covenant Act. 2.39 The Promise is to you and to your children c. Rom. 11.16 1 Cor. 7.14 * See Mr. Attersal on Book of Numbers pag. 1081. Unto Infants belongs the promise of Grace the forgiveness of sins the regeneration of the Spirit the Imputation of Christs Righteousness the Kingdom of Heaven Mat. 19.13 14. And therefore they ought by no means to be denyed the outward sign and ceremony which is the least part of the Sacrament if the things signified belong to them who shall dare to debar them of the outward sign It is the duty of Parents to bring their children to Baptism which is the Seal of the Covenant and Sacrament of admission or entrance into the Church Besides who knows not but Circumcision was a type of Baptism Col. 2.11 12. or that Baptism succeeded in the room of it now we know children were circumcised the eighth day Gen. 17.12 so 21.4 before that time the child was too weak to bear the pain
submissive behaviour Job 1.20 21 22. he fell down upon the ground and worshiped and said Naked came I out of my Mothers Womb and naked shall I return thither The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away blessed be the Name of the Lord In all this Job sinned not nor charged God foolishly How even and composed was he amidst the swelling waves yea he was like a Rock Immotus in Undis Ye have heard saith St. James of the Patience of Job We had not heard so much of it had it not been for great tryals which God was pleased to exercise him with 2. Consider This tryal of thine is not a tenth part so great as Abrahams was Compare Gen. 22.2 with Heb. 11.17 18. his trial was cloathed with very sad circumstances God commands him 1 to take his Son not his Sheep or Oxen Friend or Servant but his Son his own flesh and blood 2 his Son Isaac not Ishmael which he had by Hagar his bond servant but Isaac whom he had by his Wife Sarah It was matter of joy to them that they had gotten a Son and therefore call'd him Isaac which signifies laughter Gen. 21.3 6. compared He was the joy of his aged Parents he must take his Son Isaac his laughter joy and delight 3 his begotten Son not an adopted one his own Son not another mans 4 his only begotten Son not one amongst many Sons but his only Son by Sarah the free-woman by whom he had no more 5 a Son whom he loved not one that he hated and no wonder that he loved him dearly who was filius senectutis the Son of his old age Gen. 21.2 5. Thus Jacob loved Joseph and Benjamin because Sons of his old age Gen. 37.3 so Gen. 44.20 more then the rest of his children 6 the Son of promise in whom it was said his seed shall be called and all the Nations of the Earth blessed Gen. 12.3 21.12 Christ the Messiah the desire of all Nations Hag. 2.7 was promised to come of his Line so that if he offered up Isaac the world for ought he could see must want a Messiah He by this blow will kill as many thousands as there are Stars in the Firmament Gen. 15.5 Furthermore 7 It was an Obedient Son not a rebellious Absalom 2 Sam. 16.11 nor a runagate Prodigal Luk. 15. but a Son that served him Mal. 3.17 yet must not be spared 8. It was no Infant but a Son that could prattle to his Father yea and talk wisely too Gen. 22.7 conceived to be about fifteen years of age â—5 9. This Son must be sacrificed as a burnt-offering Jephthah was much troubled when according to his vow he did consecrate his only Daughter for he had no Child besides her Judg. 11.34 unto the Lord. See Dr. Brown's vulg Errors lib. 5. p. 309. c. I suppose he did not sacrifice her but devote her as a Virgin to serve God in a single life Judg. 11.38 39. Yet he was much troubled because utterly hopeless of any posterity v. 35. But Abraham's Son here must be sacrificed his Throat must be cut his Bowels ript up and his Quarters be burnt to ashes on the Altar so it was in burnt-offerings Levit. 1.6 8 9. 10 This must be done in the Land of Moriah old Abraham full of dayes and past travelling must get him to the Land of Moriah 11 All this must be done by a Father It is not enough that he see it done by another but he himself must be the Priest Actor and Executioner his own hand must be upon his own only Child he that was an instrument of giving must be an instrument of taking away life 12 and lastly All this he must do without delay God allows him not a dayes time to confer with any that his poor distracted heart might receive comfort Sarah must not be consulted with Abraham must not take time to do it when he will but he must do it now without dispute or consultation Take him now saith God Isaac and he must no longer sport together Here was a whole cluster of sowr Grapes for Abraham to chew upon what a sad Tryall was here Yet Abraham without delay addresseth himself to the sacrifice of his only Son Thy tryal falls infinitely short of this 3ly Consider Did not God himself part with a Son an only begotten Son the Son of his bosome John 1.18 a beloved Son in whom alone he was well pleased Mat. 3.17 One that was his Isaac his daily delight Pro. 8.30 and indeed Isaac even now named was a type of him Did not God part with this Son for thy sake and dismissing him from a place of happiness sent him into a world of misery see John 3.16 This Son sent was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief Isa 53.3 And wilt not thou be contented to part with thy son when God calls for him and takes him from a world of misery to himself in whose presence is fulness of joy and at whose right-hand there are pleasures for evermore Psal 16.11 Everlasting pleasures without intermission or omission 4. And lastly Tell me if an Earthly King should have sent for thy Child and promised that he should be one of his Favourites would you not willingly have parted with him upon these terms yea though you should never have seen him more and rested contented in as much as your Child should be well provided for I think there are but few amongst us but would willingly yeeld to such a motion How much rather satisfied should we be when the King of Kings the great God of Heaven and Earth who is undoubtedly unchangeable in his affection John 13.1 takes a Child from us unto himself where there shall be pure joy without any dose of grief riches without poverty honour without infamy and this not by fits and starts but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 continually not after some long time to end but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for ever Thou sayest Thou hast no Child to leave thine Estate unto Answer Indeed Abraham once complained upon this very account Gen. 15.2 3. but Consider 1. Thy Child if he died a Child of God hath taken possession of a better inheritance then thine is he is an Inheritor of the Kingdom of Heaven Luke 12.32 A partaker of the inheritance of the Saints in Light Col. 1.12 he is an Heir of God Joynt-heir with Christ Rom. 8.17 This inheritance that thy Child hath taken possession of excells all other inheritances as being incorruptible undefiled and that fades not away 1 Pet. 1.4 Thy Child then hath no need of thy Estate 2. Consider Poor hungry people indigent persons they are thine own flesh so God tells thee Isa 58.7 Yea they are thy Brethren Deut. 15.7 8. so 1 Joh. 3.17 Thou mayest see many that are blind and lame many Lazarus's poor Widows and Fatherless Children poor Ministers that have a great charge of children and small means to maintain them with these are
thine own flesh thy Brethren and Kinsfolk bestow thine estate on these that they may bless thee and pray for thee and let thine own hands in thy life-time be thine Executors or else others may take possession of thine Estate who may be will not thank thee or may prodigally consume it See Eccles 2.18 19. and Eccles 4.8 And Salvian tells thee the naked truth Salvian ad Eccles Cath. l. 3. p. 459. Vides extortas lachrymas simulata suspiria fictam anxietatem non optantem ut convalescas sed expectantem quando moriaris Vide defixos in te et quasi accusantes tui obitus tarditatem omnium vultus O infaelicem te ac miserrimum cujus supremum exitum tantus desiderat ac precatur numerus propinquonū Such may be heirs to thine estate that will feign grief at thy sickness and think it long till thou be dead Salv. ad Eccles Cath. lib. 4. p. 474. Therefore as the same Author saith Cum Christum egere videas cur tu facultates tuas in quibuscunque non indigentibus derelinquis Why do you not relieve Christ in his members who are in real want I end this with that of Solomon Eccles 3.12 Let a man rejoyce and do good in his life For as a worthy Divine saith It is the life of a Gift to be given in the life of the Giver Mr. Fuller in his Hist of Cambr. far better than Funeral Legacies which like Benjamin are born by the loss of a Parent for it is not so kindly Charity for men to give when they can keep no longer Thou sayest Thou hast none to bear thy Name Answ Indeed this the world looks upon as sad Numb 27.3.4 So the Widow of Tekoah in a parable complains they would slay her only son that was left and so not leave to her husband neither name nor remainder upon the earth 2 Sam. 14.6 7. And we find Absalom having no son to continue his memory erected a Pillar in the King's Dale and call'd it after his own name 2 Sam. 18.18 but it was Columna calumniae a Pillar of disgrace to mind the world there was once such a wicked man as Absalom was as Lot's wife's Pillar of Salt was a Monument of her shame But to answer the Plea 1. Consider To live in our Children is but a poor kind of survival for they may soon die and our memorial be buried in their graves But if they live long and be deboist they are monuments of shame to Parents The best way for men to immortalize their names and consecrate their memories to posterity is to erect a Pillar of virtuous deeds for Psal 112.6 The righteous shall he had in everlasting remembrance and v. 9. he hath dispersed he hath given to the poor his righteousness endureth for ever and then it follows his horn shall be exalted with honour So Isa 58.10 If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul then shall thy light rise in obscurity and thy darkness be as the noon-day Oh then if thy estate be great Exegi monumentum aere pereunius Hor. build an Hospital or repair Gods material Temple or relieve the living Temples of the holy Ghost by this means thou shalt get a good name and be remembred in future ages Thy worth shall be engraven in lasting characters 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Eurip. not to be razed out by the hand of time Good men will commend thee whilst living and when dead a good report like a sweet perfume Eccles 7.1 will accompany thee to the grave so that thou shalt be buried in the odour of a good name How will people be talking of thy good works as the Widows shewed Peter the Coats and Garments which Dorcas made whilst she was with them Act. 9.39 They 'l say such a man was a good Landlord a good housekeeper a very charitable person c. As Cornelius had a good report among all the nation of the Jews for he was a devout man and one that feared God and gave much alms to the people Act. 10.2 22. compared And as man so God himself will remember such as Cornelius his prayers and alms are said to come up for a memorial before God Act. 10.4 With such sacrifices God is well pleased Heb. 13.18 see Mat. 25.34 35 c. Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world for I was an hungred and ye gave me meat c. Thus you see virtuous men are embalmed with Renown they need not Children to eternize them nor need they any Monument and Epitaph to enoble them who live in the remembrance both of God and man 2 Consider If you belong to God your names are written in the Book of Life you are registred by God and matriculated in Heaven Phil. 4.3 Rev. 3.5 There is often mention made of such a book And it is * Mr. Attersal on Num. 1.5 p. 20. a borrowed speech from such records as are kept in a City wherein the names of Freemen are written Now it is exceeding matter of joy to have our names written there Luk. 10.20 Rejoyce because your names are written in Heaven This new name in the Book of Life is a name better then of Sons and Daughters an everlasting Name that shall not be cut off as you may see Isa 56.5 6th Apology answered Another cryes out I have had several Children but lost them all I have not one left to comfort me Answ 1. Consider Thy case is not singular thy betters by far have been in as bad a condition or worse Naomi was left of her Husband and two Sons in a strange land Ruth 1.5 Job who counted it no small part of his outward happiness to have his Children round about him Job 29.5 was sore troubled at the news of their sudden death Job 1.18 19 20. yet he did not repine and murmur v. 21 22. his Wife was left indeed but to be a cross to him the Divel made use of this rib as a Bow to shoot the Arrows of temptation at Jobs heart Job 2.9 10. But it is otherwise with thee under loss of Children thou hast possibly a good Husband or a good Wife or some other good Friend at hand who may say to thee as Elkanah to Hannah 1 Sam. 1.8 Am not I better to thee then ten Sons 2 Consider Children are no special evidences of Gods distinguishing love and favour Remember me O Lord saith David Psal 106.4 with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people God hath special favours for his peculiar people Now if Children were distinguishing evidences of his signal favour thou hast great cause to be troubled at the loss of them but indeed they are not as you may see Eccles 9.1 2. Nay wicked men oft have them in abundance Haman that boasted of the multitude of his Children Esth 5.11 had ten Sons hanged up together Est 9.13 so
may read Heb. 11. that Chapter is a little Martyrology ver 35 36 37. how some were tortured scourged stoned sawn asunder slain with the sword c. Mr. Fox or Mr. Clark in his Martyrology will tell you that many Martyrs had their skins pulled off joynts racked bodies torn in pieces c. willing to endure for Christ's sake what the wit of man could invent or cruelty impose Now God might have called thy Friend to such a death which would have been far more sad cruel and painful as to outward appearance Well then consider God might have delivered thy Friend into the hands of cruel man which would have been very sad as appears by David's speech 2 Sam. 24.14 but God cast him on a soft Bed amongst Friends who did carefully attend him and minister unto him 3. Consid The greater thy Friends pain was the more fervent prayers were put up for him You find David in Psal 38. lying under God's afflicting hand what servent ejaculations he sent up towards the Throne of Grace So Asaph Ps 77.2 In the day of his trouble sought the Lord. So Jesus Christ in his Agony prayed more earnestly Luke 22.44 Great Miseries make the loudest Eccho's in the ears of Mercy And as the afflicted party himself so all that saw him or heard of his misery would be ready to pity and pray for him Methinks the sad groans of a dying Friend are sufficient to dissolve an heart of stone into prayers and tears especially godly Friends would pray fervently for him And these are most likely to prevail for Jam. 5.16 The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much That Ship saileth the surest to the haven of Heaven which is driven with the breath of godly mens prayers 4. Consid The greater the pain was the shorter was the continuance of it Dolor si gravis brevis si longus levis We reade how Aeneas kept his bed eight years and was sick of the Palsie Act. 9.33 We read of one that had an issue of blood twelve years Mat. 9.20 and had suffered many things of many Physicians and had spent all that she had and was nothing bettered but rather grew worse Mark 5.26 So John 5.5 there we read of one that had an infirmity thirty eight years Now if thy Friend's pain had not been so great he might have continued still a burden to thee and to himself but the greatness of his pain hastened death which put an end to all trouble and grief his great pangs and struglings as throes of a travelling woman made way for deliverance And therefore 5. And lastly Consider Thy Friend is now at rest Rev. 14.13 Let them die of never so cruel a death if they die in the favour of God they are blessed for they rest from their labours It may be thou grievedst but little whilest thy Friend laboured for rest and wilt thou grieve much when he rests from his labours Whilst thy Friend was ground with the Stone or burnt up with a Feaver and rouled upon his bed without sleep thou hadst cause to weep and it was thy duty to sympathize with him Rom. 12.15 but being dead he is at rest Isa 57.2 for death to a Child of God is but a sleep Joh. 11.11 12 13. so Act. 7.60 and being buried he hath laid his head upon the lap of his mother for so the Earth is called Job 1.21 to be awakened again at the last Trump to the everlasting comfort both of soul and body And shall we now weep Surely this sorrow is unseasonable We prayed or else we were to blame whilst our Friend was in pain that God would deliver him and therefore when God by death hath put an end to all his pain we should give thanks to God and rejoyce rather than weep The Church our careful Mother hath taught us as much in the Funerals of the Dead We give thee hearty thanks for that it hath pleased thee to deliver this our Brother or Sister out of the miseries of this sinful world Another cryes out 10th Apology answerd This Eriend of mine dyed of a sad mischance he fell into the Fire or Water or was kill'd of Lightning fell off a Horse or Cart or was shot in War or otherwise or he was kill'd by Thieves or wicked men c. or he fell suddenly sick groan'd sigh'd dyed And this troubles me that he dyed such a sudden violent and untimely death Answ From sudden death i. e. from death not thought-of and so not provided-for good Lord deliver us not only for our own sakes but for our Friends sakes too they 'l take it the less sudden it is the more patiently See how sadly Jacob takes the supposed death of his son Joseph upon the sight of his bloudy coat he too rashly concluded his son was dead that he was devoured by some cruel beast Significans inâ—ternum animi dilacerationem seu moestitiaeÌ„ And the Text tells you Gen. 37.33 34. He rent his cloaths in token as Pareus saith upon the place that his heart was rent through with sorrow and he put on sackcloth a coarse and sorry stuff which was the usual Mourning-Weed in those times And he refused to be comforted Thus his father wept for him for Joseph who dyed as he thought a sudden death David himself proclaimed a solemn and publick Funeral-Mourning for the death of Abner who was cowardly and suddenly slain when he did least suspect it by one that pretended peace and friendship And David himself laid aside his Royal Dignity and attended the Corps joyning with the People in that sad Consort as you may reade 2 Sam. 3. towards the latter end of the chapter So David weeps excessively for the space of three whole years because his son Amnon dyed so unnaturally untimely unexpectedly being kill'd by Absalom 2 Sam. 13.28 c. And we reade how the true Mother of the living Child had rather her Adversary should have the comfort of her Child than that it should dye a violent and untimely death 1 King 3.26 And in that appeared both the truth of her affection towards it and that she was the true Mother of it v. 27. Job hearing the heavy tydings of the sudden death of his Children could no longer contain but vents his grief in words being more affected with the sudden loss of his Children than all the rest of his Goods Job 1.18 19 20. But for your comfort 1. Consid It hath been the lot of some of Gods dear Servants to dye so Thus righteous Abel was suddenly butchered by his brother Cain Gen. 4.8 So old Eli though indeed he had his failings in not correcting and severely punishing his wicked Sons 1 Sam. 2.23 c. and 1 Sam. 3.13 as he should have done being chief-Magistrate as well as Parent yet questionless was a good man as may be gathered from sacred Story and the manner of his death was sudden he fell off from his seat backward and
for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel that is power and providence determined before to be done Wicked men that kill our friends they are God's Sword or his Hand God works by them Psal 17.13 14. Old Eli saw Gods hand in the violent and untimely death of his two sons Hophni and Phineas and he took it patiently 1 Sam. 3.18 It is the Lord let him do what seems him good Say then with Job whose Children were violently cut off Job 1.21 The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away Septuag inserts 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as it pleaseth the Lord so come things to pass blessed be the Name of the Lord. Another cries out 11. Apologie answered My Friend died of the Plague that loathsom disease and there was no funeral solemnity but he was carried forth like some sorry carrion and buried I know not where may be in some sorry pit and this troubles me Answ God lately in our dayes Anno Domini 1665. sent a fearfull Plague amongst us There dyed at London as appeared by the weekly Bill above eight thousand some weeks The Metropolis of this Nation hath been as it were plowed up and sown thick with dead Corpses Great pits were digged where the dead lay together as Sampson said of the slaughtered Philistines by heaps upon heaps Judg. 15.16 A sad time God knows they had Bells sadly toling People sadly sighing crying dying I believe many to this very day have sad thoughts of heart for the loss of dear friends and think they were not buried like Christians because there were no Funeral solemnities I shall therefore to chear up such answer the particulars Did your Friend dye of the noysom Pestilence for so it is called Psal 91.3 1. Consid Gods dear servants have lain under such distempers Hezekiah was sick unto death 2 Kings 20.1 Some think he had the Plague vers 7. there is mention made of his Boyl which some conceive did arise from the Plague Job laboured under a Plague sore Job 2.7 He was smitten 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with an angry burning Boyl insomuch that his skin was broken and became loathsom Job 7.5 So David cryes out Ps 39.10 Remove thy stroak away from me some render Plagam tuam thy Plague which is a fearful stroak from God Indeed God promiseth Psal 91.3 c. To deliver his people from the noysome Pestilence But this as other promises of outward blessings is a conditional promise God will deliver his People if he sees it makes most for his glory and his Peoples good But God sees it good for them to dye of the Plague which though a sad affliction in it self is a means to hasten their glory God sent a fearful sickness amongst the Corinthians some think it might be the Plague because they did not receive the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper with due preparation 1 Cor. 11.30 and yet they were chastened of the Lord saith the Apostle that they should not be condemned with the World v. 32. Godly Junius and his Wife died of the Plague as some report The Plague that hot burning distemper if God send it to his Children so that they dye of it like Elijah's fiery Chariot is a means to convey them more speedily to Heaven 2. Consid The Plague as all other sickness cometh by Divine Appointment See Exod. 15.26 Numb 14.12 16.46 Deut. 28.21 2 Sam. 24.14 15. Ps 39.10 The Plague is an Arrow of God's shooting a Messenger of God's sending And as the Centurion in the Gospel said to his under-Souldiers Go and he goeth Come and he cometh Do this and he doth it Mat 8.9 so God gives this Messenger charge whither it shall go how far it shall advance what execution it shall do and it faithfully obeys him Therefore say with David Ps 39.9 I was dumb and opened not my mouth he means murmuringly impatiently c. because O Lord thou didst it 3. Consid God prizeth his People let them die of what distemper soever Psal 116.15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints He likes them not the worse for dying of the Plague 4. Lastly Consider They are happy let them dye of what distemper soever if they dye in God's favour Rev. 14.13 Their souls for the present are happy and at Christ's second coming their bodies shall be glorious 1 Cor. 15.43 The body though sown in dishonour is raised in glory Bodies spotted through sickness shall then be made beautiful bodies and all their deformities be done away Then shall the Righteous shine forth as the Sun in the Kingdom of their Father Mat. 13.43 For Col. 3.4 When Christ who is our life shall appear then shall these also appear with him in glory Was there no Funeral Solemnity Answ It hath been an ancient custom to attend at the Funeral of Friends De Civit. Dei lib. 11. c. 13. St. Austin saith Non contemnenda sunt abjicienda Corpora Defunctorum Bodies of deceased Friends are not slightly and contemptibly to be cast away And again he saith Antiquorum Justorum Funera curata sunt De Cura pro Mortuis Exequiae celebratae Sepultura provisa The Funerals of good men were formerly celebrated with great solemnity Abraham takes care for the Funeral of his Wife Sarah Gen. 23.3 4. And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the Cave of Machpelah where his Wife lay Gen. 25.9 10. Jacob made Joseph swear to perform his Funeral Rites Gen. 47 29 30 31. and accordingly it was done with great solemnity Gen. 50 7 8 c. So all Israel lamented Samuel and buried him 1 Sam. 25.1 And David spake it to the commendation of the men of Jabesh-Gilead those loyal and grateful Subjects that they shewed kindness to their Lord Saul and buried him honourably 2 Sam. 2.4 5 6. so Jehoida was buried honourably 2 Chron. 24.15 16. so much people accompanied the Widows son of Naim to his Burial Luke 7.12 And devout men carried Stephen to his Burial and made great Lamentation over him Act. 8.2 Our Saviour Christ who was alwayes moderate in his expences and would have the fragments gathered up that nothing might be lost John 6.12 yet admitted Mary's costly Oyntment because against his Burial Mat. 26.7 c. Indeed it is promised as a mercy to have decent Burial Job 5.26 Thus God promised Abraham that he should be buried in peace and in a good old age Gen. 15.15 And it was promised Abijah 1 King 14.12 13. that all Israel should mourn for him and bury him for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the Grave because in him there was found some good thing c. and it was accordingly performed ver 18. so the like was promised to Josiah 2 King 22.20 and he was peaceably buried though kill'd in War 2 King 23.29 30. It is a part of humane misery to be without decent Burial and it is threatned as a judgment on the Wicked
thou hast magnified thy mercy which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life Oh then let death of others put thee upon blessing and praising God for sparing thee and not only praise him with thy Lips but with thy Life too Love him obey him cleave to him for he is thy Life and the length of thy dayes Deut. 30.20 Use 6 6. Let death of Friends teach you not to trust in the arm of flesh God would not have us by any means to put our trust in man as these places shew Isa 2.22 Isa 30.23 Isa 36.6 Jer. 17.5 7. So Psal 118.8 9. Luther on that place It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man c. calls it Artem artium mirificam sacrificium omnium gratissimum suavissimum cultum omnium pulcherrimum To trust in God and not in man is the Art of Arts the wonderful and great Art a most excellent Sacrifice and commendable piece of Religion He that builds his hopes on so weak a foundation as the life of Man he is like that foolish Man in the Gospel that built his House on the Sand Mat. 7.26 Or like a foolish Merchant that ventures all his substance in a crazy Vessel The Psalmist tells you Men of low degree are a vanity and men of high degree are a lie he gives great ones the lie Psal 62.9 He means all Friends both of high and low degree are lying vanities and perform not what they seem to promise so that whoever trust in any Friends as it is said in another case Isa 28.15 They have made lies their refuge and under falshood they have hid themselves And these Friends that they trust in like Absaloms Mule 2 Sam. 18.9 many times give them the slip when they have most need of their support and assistance for if they fail them not through willful treachery as many times they do Psal 55.12 Mic. 7.5 6. Luke 21.16 yet they may through unavoidable mortality as Jonathan failed and disappointed David of whom he saith I am distressed for thee my Brother Jonathan 2 Sam. 1.26 27. Mr. Duguard's Sermon on Psal 89.48 p. 17 18. Caesar Borgia that wicked Son of a more wicked Father Pope Alexander the sixth grounded many designs on his relation to the Pope but the Pope suddenly dies and dashes all And Borgia when he heard of his death cryed out I never dreamed of such an accident now all my purposes and projects are stifled and come to nothing He that knows man well enough knows him better then to trust in him Wherefore as it is Psal 146.3 4. Put not your trust in Princes nor in the Son of man in whom there is no help his breath goeth forth he returneth to his earth in that very day his thoughts perish His thoughts and designs of doing thee good if he had any die with him and thine hopes and expections are buried in his Grave therefore as it follows vers 5. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help whose hope is in the Lord his God He casts Anchor amiss that casts it any where else save on the Rock of Ages Use 7 7. Let death of Friends teach you not to set your affections too much upon any Relation We see Friends stay but a short time with us who would be too fond of them We may love and rejoyce one in another Husband in Wife Wife in Husband Parents in Children Children in Parents c. But it must be moderately as though we rejoyced not seeing the time of enjoying is short and will quickly be expired 1 Cor. 7.29 30 31. The rivolet of our affections may run to other things but the full stream must run towards God Luke 14.26 If any man come to me saith Christ and hate not that is loveth not less then me Mat. 10.37 Father and Mother Wife and Children Brethren and Sisters yea and his own life also he cannot be my Disciple Say then with the Psalmist Psal 73.25 Whom have I in Heaven but thee And there is none upon Earth that I desire besides thee God is called the Living God Psal 42.2 Let therefore the life and vigour of your affections as love joy delight c. be for ever set upon him and not upon mortal Friends which like Noah's Dove however they bring an Olive Branch promising peace and comfort yet they are upon the Wing and presently fly from us Or like Thorns under a Pot though they give a little blaze shining and comfort for a while yet they presently drop into ashes When you too fondly set your affections on them and think to hold them fast they give you the slip as Juno did Ixion or as Joseph did his Mistress when she laid hold on his Coat Gen. 39.12 13. Let therefore these perishing comforts have perishing affections Use 8 8. Let death of Friends put a stop to covetousness and immoderate desires after the riches of this World The wise man saith Prov. 23.4 Labour not to be rich And the Prophet Jeremiah saith to Baruch Jer. 45.5 Seekest thou great things for thy self Seek them not And David saith Psal 62.10 If riches increase set not your heart upon them Riches indeed are a very uncertain tenure 1 Tim. 6.17 Orig. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Silver and Gold those refined parts of the Earth are but corruptible things 1 Pet. 1.18 Worldly possessions are nothing certain Prov. 23.5 If they leave not us which they may do for they are subject to many casualties Fire may burn them Thieves steal them c. yet we must ere long leave them Death gives a Bill of Ejectment It divorceth from Gold and Silver Houses and Lands c. It squeezeth those Spunges that have suckt themselves full and leaves them as dry and empty as they were at first Job 1.21 Eccles 5.15 16. Psal 49.10 17. comp Luke 12.20 1 Tim. 6.7 8. Death that surly Serjeant as you see daily will not be bribed to put off his Arrest In a word you may be sick and die and be turned to dust yea and be damned too for any thing your riches can help you Prov. 11.4 And therefore project not for time to come as if this life would never be done Use 9 9. Let death of Friends be a curbing-bit to restrain intemperance in eating and drinking and an eager prosecution of sinful pleasures Many in the last dayes of this Worlds continuance Jehu-like drive on furiously in sinful pleasures They are lovers of pleasures more then lovers of God 2 Tim. 3.4 but God would not have us to indulge our selves in rioting and drunkenness in chambering and wantonness he would not have us to make provision for the flesh to fulfil the lust thereof Rom. 13.13 14. And methinks the meditation of death of Friends should be a means to prevent intemperance As I have read of one who had continually amidst the multitude of his dainties a Deaths Head served up in a Charger to
therefore actions issuing thence cannot be perfect and consequently not meritorious Yet a true iustifying Faith is ever accompanied with purity and charity Acts 15.9 Tit. 3.8 Jam. 2.14 c. Jude 20. * Maccovius's Distinct cap. 13. de Justif Fides sola justificat non solitaria Faith alone doth justifie yet that Faith which justifies is not alone as the Eye alone seeth in the body yet the Eye which seeth is not alone in the body without the other senses Good Works are the Pulse and Breath of a lively Faith Mr. Abraham Wright's Serm. on Luk. 16.9 It is as impious to deny the necessity as to maintain the merits of good Works God hath joyned good Works and Salvation together in his Word and what God hath joyned together let no man put asunder But when we have done all we can do let us confess our unprofitableness and cast our selves upon Gods Love and Favour as the surest hold Let us build our hopes of happiness upon Christ's satisfaction only for indeed there is no other way then by this Ark to escape drowning The Church is described Cant. 8.5 leaning on her Beloved which as it betokens infinite familiarity within so likewise faithful dependance upon him Well then as Joseph said to his Brethren Ye shall not see my face he means with safety and favour except your Brother Benjamen be with you Gen. 43.5 So neither shall we comfortably see God's Face hereafter except we bring the Lord Jesus that Benjamin the Son of his right Hand Col. 3.1 Rom. 8.34 with us in the Arms of Faith Let us then act Faith upon the Lord Jesus who alone delivereth us from wrath to come 1 Thes 1.10 Thus much for the matter wherein preparation for Death consists I shall now shew you how you ought to put these Directions into practice CHAP. III. Shewing how we ought to put the forementioned Directions into practice OUR Saviour saith Luke 13.24 Many will seek to enter in at the strait Gate and shall not be able Stella on Luk. 13.24 And Stella gives this reason Quia tardè insufficientèr quaerunt because they seek not after a right manner Right means are to be used after a right manner Put then the forementioned Directions into Practice First Early Secondly Earnestly Thirdly and lastly Constantly 1. Festinanter First Early or speedily whilst young healthful and strong This God calls for Eccles 12.1 Remember now thy Creator in the dayes of thy youth God's Adverb is manè betimes or early the Devil's Verb is mane tarry till afterwards Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto the Devil more than unto God judge ye Acts 4.19 O do not put off preparation for Death till sickness Thou mayest perhaps die suddenly An Imposthume Squinancy Apolexy or some such Distemper may suddenly dispatch thee in so much that thou shalt not have time to call upon God for mercy Some that have gone to bed in good health as they thought have been found dead the next morning dead they were before they could tell what ailed them But in case God exercise thee with sickness thou wilt be very unfit to go about this great Work thy thoughts will be upon thy pain and they enquieries will be after a Remedy proper for the removing the Malady Friends about thee without any ground for it will be ready to tell thee what thou art glad to hear and willing to believe that there is great hopes of thy recovery These flatterers are miserable comforters for in case thou growest deadly sick as thou may'st do of a sudden then it is ten to one thy Will is to make Worldly things are to be disposed of for men generally are too too blame herein putting this off to extream sickness and this making thy Will takes up a considerable part of that little time allotted thee Upon this follow exclamations and outcries of near Relations together with the clamour of thy sins if Conscience be awakened enough to distract thee Impertinent visits of Friends which come only with an How do you I am sorry to see you in this condition c. do rather hinder than further Devotion And perhaps by this time through want of sleep and extremity of pain thou wilt be light-headed unfit to listen to any good counsel if given to thee as the Israelites who hearkned not to Moses for anguish of Spirit Exod. 6.9 Do not then put off this great Work till sickness no nor till old Age neither for Life is uncertain as I have shewed We know not how soon our Pulse may leave beating We can call no time ours but the present 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This day is mine and thine whose to morrow may be we know not To day then cannot be too soon to set upon this Work because to morrow may be too late I have read of Archias the Lacedemonian that whilst he was in the midst of carnal Jollity quaffing with his Companions one presented to him a Letter wherein was signified that some did lie in wait to take away his life and desired him to peruse it presently for it was a Letter of serious concernment but he carelesly replyed Seria cras let serious things alone till to morrow and that very night he was slain Oh! then reckon not of many years seeing thou art not Lord of to morrow Prov. 27.1 But if God should grant thee longer space to repent in yet he may deny thee the means of Grace or he may deny his Grace to make a good improvement of the means See what is said of Jezebel I gave her space to repent of her Fornication but she repented not Rev. 2.21 Repentance is not in our own power to be performed at pleasure it is God's-Gift Jer. 10.23 Acts 11.28 2 Tim. 2.25 And if we slight God calling upon us now who in the seasons of Grace is willing to be found of us 2 Cor. 6.2 Isa 66.5 Prov. 8.17 he may justly slight us in sickness and old age when his judgements break forth upon us We may then seek early and that early be too late to find him Prov. 1.24 c. As Jeptha said to the Elders of Gilead Judg. 11.7 Did not ye hate me and expel me out of my Fathers House And why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress So may God justly say to such as defer preparation for Death till sickness or old Age Did not ye hate me in your youthful time whilst healthful and strong and say unto me Depart from us we desire not the knowledge of thy wayes Job 21.14 Why do you now forced through fear or pain come to me in your distress Do we think God will be pleased with the Devils leavings What King will receive a cripled Rebel that hath spent the best of his strength and time under his Enemies Colours Cum nemine obtrudi potest itur ad me Ter. What Husband will receive his Wife that hath
and tost upon the Waves of a troublesome World Is not this World like a round Ball stuck full of Pins so that upon what part soever the Godly are cast they meet with trouble and misery According to that of our Saviour John 16.33 In the World ye shall have tribulation So that to have his life prolonged what was it but a prolongation of his misery and an adjournment of his happiness Tiberius Caesar said to one that requested death rather than long imprisonment Sueton. Nondum tecum redii in gratiam he told him He had not such a favour for him The like favour God here denies for the present to Epaphroditus and can this be truly call'd a Mercy Answ It cannot be denied but death is better than life to the Godly and rather to be chosen for it frees from sin sickness Satans temptations c. Yea it brings them to the happy vision and fruition of God to the society of blessed Saints and Angels and puts them into possession of everlasting happiness Calvin in Phil. 2.27 Longum esset enumerare omnia quae faciunt ut mors fidelibus potior sit vitâ optabilior Yet for all this as that learned Author saith Vita per se aestimata est praeclarum Dei beneficium praesertum qui Christo vivunt iis vitam lucro esse dicimus Life considered in it self is a choice mercy of God and advantagious to the Godly And to glorifie God in this bodily life is Non parva dignatio no little savour which God vouchsafeth to us so Calvin And Musculus Muscul in Phil. 2.27 saith Mors ipsa quatenus est peccati stipendium horribilis naturae in seipsâ considerata capax est misericordiae tà m corà m Deo quà m corà m hominibus Death as it is the wages of sin and terrible to nature is capable of mercy both before God and Man Besides as the same Author observes there were several circumstances which would have rendered his death in a sort miserable and no doubt did then trouble his mind Desolatio videlicet perturbatio Ecclesiae as the too much dejection of his people at the sad news of his death and the desolation that might follow upon it and withal the consideration that he could be no longer serviceable to them and to the Apostle in his bonds which he much desired Besides we may farther add that the continuance of a good mans life is a great blessing in this respect that the longer he lives the more good he doth and so his reward will be the greater 2 Cor. 9.6 He that soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully There are degrees of glory as may be gathered from 1 Cor. 15.41 42. 1 Cor. 3.8 Secundum non propter opera The most gracious here shall be most glorious hereafter Those that do most for God here shall receive most from God hereafter So that had Epaphroditus died he had had his reward the sooner but living he makes it the greater For those of the longest standing and greatest proficiency in the School of Grace here shall take the greatest degrees of Glory hereafter I end this with the words of that truly pious and learned * Doctor Hammond in Phil. 1.22 Divine Life in it self and for the advantages of serving God and encreasing our Crown is a desirable thing Use and Application Vse 1 1. This may serve to confute or reprove the Manichees or any others that hold this present life in it self is evil Heming in Phil. 1.17 Manichei hanc praesentem vitam ut malum per se damnarunt Heming Surely God would never have made prolongation of life a motive to obedience as you find Deut. 6.2 30.16 c. so Prov. 3.16 4.10 22. 9.10 11. and elsewhere nor would the Apostle here have reckoned Epaphroditus's recovery amongst the mercies of God if this present life had been evil This is such a mercy we ought to bless God for Psal 66.8 9. O bless our God ye people and make the voice of his praise to be heard who holdeth our soul in life Muscul in Psal 103.3 4. Nè umbrâ quidem corporis nedum vivo ac sano corpore dignus est c. He is not worthy of the shadow and shape of a body much less of a living and healthful body that doth not look upon life and health as mercies Vse 2 2. This consideration should make us patient under afflictions that befal us So long as we have life and health we have no cause to complain as though God dealt hardly with us We read Gen. 19. that Lot had most of his Goods which he had not time to remove and his Sons in Law consumed in a fearful fire from Heaven and his Wife turned into a Pillar of Salt before his eyes a sad spectacle yet he counted it a mercy amidst manifold miseries that God had spared his life Vers 19. Behold now thy Servant hath found grace in thy sight and thou hast magnified thy mercy which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life It is a mercy thou hast thy health but if this be gone after loss of Goods and Children as in Job's case yet it is a mercy thy life is spared that thou art on this side the Grave and a sad eternity Lam. 3.22 23. It is of the Lords mercies that we are not consumed because his compassions fail not they are new every morning great is thy faithfulness Therefore as he adds vers 39. Wherefore doth a living man complain A living man hath cause to be thankful but none to murmur life and health being the choicest of outward mercies 3. and last Vse 3. And lastly Let us not if life and health be such choice mercies provoke God to deprive us of them Sin as I told you before is the procuring cause of sickness yea and of death too Rom. 5.12 so Rom. 6.23 Death both Temporal and Eternal is as due to sin as wages to him that earns them Temporal Death 't is true sooner or later will seize on us all yet many by sinning impair their health and shorten their dayes as these places shew Job 15.32 Psal 94.23 Prov. 10.27 Eccles 7.17 But more particularly I shall name several sins some of which in their own nature tend to impairing of health and shortening a mans dayes and others of them God hath threatned with destruction I pray you observe them and learn to avoid them as you love prolongation of health and life 1. Disobedience to Superiours See Exod. 20.12 This fiffh Commandement of honouring thy Father and Mother is said to be the first Commandement with promise Ephes 6.2 It is the first Commandement that hath this special promise annexed to it viz. Prolongation of dayes By Father and Mother we understand Political Ecclesiastical and Natural Parents Take heed then of an irreverent and disobedient carriage towards the King and those that are in authority under him You read Numb 16.
Church and People So Naomi Ruth 1.3 5. had lost her Husband and two Sons and vers 19 20. because God had dealt thus bitterly with her she refuseth her Name will be called Marah that signifies bitterness and not Naomi that signifies pleasant she refuseth this Name being so unsutable to her condition So the women of Bethlehem at the untimely death of their Infants Mat. 2.16 18 mourn will not be comforted And indeed the female kind naturally is more disposed to tenderness than the male Isa 49.15 and so more apt to weep immoderately and as one saith of the two the more to be pittied and the more capable of excuse and pardon But yet immoderate Sorrow in none is to be allowed As we approve not then of a Stoical Apathy for the best of Gods Servants have passions in them See Dr. Renolds on the Passions Acts 14.15 James 5.17 and passions are the feet of the soul placed in the sensitive appetite by the finger of God and Nature so neither do we approve of passions when irregular for then they are diseases of the mind depravers of reason disturbers of the understanding and cause the wisest men to speak and act not like themselves We find our Saviour Luke 7.12 13. saying to the Widow who wept for her only son Weep not he doth not there forbid natural affection but inordinate passion not tears simply but their excess not tears of sympathy and parental tenderness but despairing repining tears To shut up this See Dr. VValkers Sermon on that Text. the Apostle would have us to mortify inordinate affection Col. 3.4 that of sorrow as well as that of anger c. now it is inordinate when set on wrong objects or when it is in extreams either defective or excessive This corruption or disorder in our affections must be purged out Now I shall lay down several Arguments to prevent inordinate mourning at death of Friends Take ten which are as so many Corks to the Net to keep the soul under such losses from sinking too deep in sorrow CHAP. II. Ten Considerations to prevent immoderate Mourning at the Death of Friends IN the first place Consider the Necessity of Dying For We must needs dye 2 Sam. 14.14 So Eccles 12.5 Man goeth to his long home Man indefinitely i. e. every man high and low rich and poor beautiful and deformed male and female young and old good and bad all go to their long home the Grave So Ps 89.48 What man is he that liveth and shall not see Death See Mr. Dugards Sermon on that Text. Shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the Grave Selah No though he now liveth yet he shall not alway live but sooner or later shall see Death Joshua and David call Death The Way of all the Earth Josh 23.14 1 King 2.2 This way all Creatures of the Earth walk and therefore Job calls the Grave The House appointed for all Living Job 30.23 No man hath power over the Spirit to retain the Spirit Eccles 8.8 But when his time is come The Spirit shall return to God who gave it Eccles 12.7 Death that black Prince or King of Terrors So called Job 18.14 is an invincible Champion who riding on his pale Horse for above these five thousand years hath with an impartial stroke layd all flat before him The long-liv'd Patriarchs Adam Seth Enoch c. like stout Oaks held out long but were forced at last to submit to Death's fatal stroak as you my read Gen. Chap. 5. Statutum est omnibus semel mori Heb. 9.27 It is appointed for all men once to dye It is Statute Law enacted in the Court of Heaven the decree is establisted the writing signed and like the Laws of the Medes and Persians Dan. chap. 6. vers 8. never to be reversed whilest this world lasteth we onely read of two exempted since the Creation of the World Enoch and Elijah who though they dyed not yet underwent a change and the like is not now to be expected So then that all must dye is an universal rule admitting of no exception And how soon all we may be brought in as Examples to this general Rule we know not Even Kings on Earth are but Earthen Kings and like Nebuchadnezzars Image Dan. 2. stand on feet of clay and moulder away as well as others Aequo pede pulsat pauperum tabernas regumque turres Hor. I have said ye are gods but ye shall dye like men Psal 82.6 7. Augustus mortuus est Nay Christ himself dyed the Lord of Life is put to Death though he did not sin actually yet because he had our sins by imputation Isa 53.6 1 Pet. 2.24 He stood guilty of our sins for he became our Surety and therefore underwent a dissolution though indeed he saw no corruption Acts 2.27 so Acts 13.37 Now as Phocion said to one that was condemned to the same death with him Art thou not glad to fare as Phocion doth So shall we be too much cast down at death of our Friends seeing the Patriarchs Prophets Apostles nay Christ himself hath tasted death's bitter Cup. Well then at death of your Friend consider that Job 21.33 Every man shall draw after him as there are innumerable before him Me-thinks this should somewhat alleviate our sorrow Seneca de consol ad Polib .24 Quis tam superbae impotentisque arrogantiae est ut in hâc naturae necessitate omnia in eundem finem revocantis se unum ac suos seponi velit An Heathen looked upon it as a great piece of weakness and pride for any man to expect that either he or any of his should be exempted from the general rule of mortality Consid 2 Secondly consider The friends you lose are not so much yours as God's 1 Chron. 29.14 All things come of thee saith David And St. James saith Jam. 1.17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of Lights c. Children among other things are the gift of God This Lesson our great Grandmother Eve taught us calling her first-born Cain saying I have gotten a man from the Lord Gen. 4.1 Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Septuag 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is as much as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Musculus in locum By the favour help and blessing of God as his gift So saith Jacob Gen. 33.5 These are the Children which God hath graciously given me And God tells us he gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau Josh 24.4 Psal 127.3 Lo Children are an heritage of the Lord and the fruit of the womb is his reward Clavis coeli sepulchri cordis matricis in manu Dei It is God that opens and shuts the Womb at his pleasure See Gen. 30.2 22. God may say truly what Benhadad said falsly 1 King 20.3 Thy silver and thy gold is mine thy wives also and thy children even the goodliest are mine We use to bestow upon relations a term of propriety