O Heavenly Father not my Will but thy Will be done Pluck this Thorn out of my Flesh or vouchsafe unto me sufficient strength to endure its deadly wounds with patience O good God thou knowest that my Spirit is willing but my Flesh is weak and that my misery is heavier than the Sand of the Sea-shore but thou that quickenest the dead wilt accomplish thy Vertue in mine Infirmities Therefore instead of speaking in Cain's Language My punishment is greater than I can bear I will say with St. Paul I can do all things in Christ that strengthens me O Lord punish me not in thy wrath nor correct me in thy heavy displeasure but chastise me in reason that I may not be reduced to nothing When thou didst wrestle with Jacob thou tookest upon thee an Humane Body and didst strengthen thy Servant by the vertue of thy Divine Spirit O Merciful and Graciouus God let thy punishments be proportionable to my great weaknesses suffer not any temptation to seize upon me but only Humane and give me with the temptation an happy issue that I may support it that neither Death nor Life nor Pain nor Torment may ever separate me from thy Love or pluck me out of thine Hand Good Lord forsake me not that I may never forsake thee but enable me with Strength Patience and Constancy to bear my burden and make me more than Conqueror by Jesus Christ our Lord. Merciful God pity thy servant or rather thine adopted Child Awaken thy jealousie and let thy Bowels that are hardened against me move thee to compassion Strengthen me in this encounter with the assistance of the good Angels that comforted thine only Son in the night of his most bitter affliction cause this black night of my Sorrows to pass speedily away or rather in the midst of these dark shadows cause me to see the ravishing beams of thy Mercy Heal my grievous wounds or else pour into them the refreshing Balm of thy most tender and Divine Consolations my Heart and my Flesh fail and faint away but look upon me with a Gracious Eye and receive me into the embraces of thine Eternal Mercy Declare I beseech thee how sensible thou art of my affliction by a present relief receive my Sweat and Tears and put them into thy Bottles O good God thou seest that I am fainting and that my Soul is weary within me comfort me therefore with thy Cordials and with thy most Divine refreshments Give me to drink of the Wine of thy most effectual Consolations that may restore unto me my spirits apply the right hand of thy Mercy that it may strengthen my Soul and drive from thence all poison and infection Let thine Holy Spirit the Spiritual Dove light upon me to bring joy unto me O living God thou seest that I dye but give me some of that living Water whereof if a man drink he shall live Eternally my Friends are grieved with me and weep for my bitter affliction but can give me no assistance but thine only look would be able to deliver me O my God either pull me out of this Sea of Trouble into which thou hast cast me or cause me to pass through these waves to the Inheritance prepared for me from the foundation of the World Quench these violent Flames that burn and consume me or let them serve as fiery Chariots to carry me in triumph to Heaven O how mad and senseless should I be if I did fear Death seeing that it will put an end to my torments it will break in pieces my grievous Chains it will wipe away all Tears from mine Eyes and banish all grief from my Heart O my God when shall all my Cries my Sighs and Groans be changed into Songs of Praise and Thanksgiving when shall I see my self in the Glorious company of the Blessed who are come out of the great tribulation and who have wash'd and cleansed their Garments in the Bloud of the Lamb. Draw me and I shall run after thee and Glorify thee for ever in thine Heavenly Temple Amen CHAP. 14. The second Consolation against the fears of Death is to look upon God as a merciful Father and to trust upon his infinite Goodness THere is no Child well descended but desires earnestly to see his Fathers Face and especially the Face of a Good and Gracious Father A great Princes Son who hath been brought up in a Forreign Countrey rejoyceth at his own Happiness when his Father sends for him to make him partaker of the Glory and Dignity of his Empire he is not then grieved nor troubled he seeks not to delay his going but rather he embraceth with transports of joy the Messenger of such good news he thinks of nothing but of hasting his departure if he could borrow wings he would fly with an unspeakable swiftness to his Fathers Palace Now we are the Children of the Great God whose Throne is Heaven and whose Footstool is the Earth for our Faith that looks upon Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Redeemer considers God as our God and Father for to them who have received this only Son of the Father hath been granted the priviledge of being the Sons of God to them who believe in his name 1 Job 1. So that we have just cause to be transported in an Holy Excess of Joy with the Apostle St. John Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the Sons of God 1 Joh. 3. We were by nature Children of Wrath as others but God who is rich in Mercy hath predestinated us unto the adoption of Children by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his Will Eph. 2. He gives us the Gracious assurances of this free adoption in this life for as we are Children he hath sent the Spirit of his Son in our Hearts to cry Abba Father Eph. 1. This Holy Spirit bears witness with our Spirits that we are the Children of God If we be Children then Heirs of God and Co-heirs with Christ Gal. 4. Yea if we suffer with him that we may be also Glorified with him Rom. 8. That we might be the Children of God he hath not only adopted us by Jesus Christ but also regenerated us by uncorruptible Seed We are not born of Flesh and of Bloud but we are born of God His infinite Goodness perswaded him first to grant us a Being and his incomprehensible love hath moved him to reform our Beings and reprint his Divine Image in our Hearts John 1. 1 Pet. 1. He hath begotten us by his pure Grace by the word of his Truth that we might be the First Fruits of his Creatures Jam. 1. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which according to his abundant Mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance uncorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in Heaven for us 1 Pet. 1.
and consider what thou art I am astonished and the sight of thy Divine Majesty frights me for I am but Dust and Ashes and my Being is less than nothing but thou art infinite in thy Being and Glory the Heaven is thy Throne and the Earth is thy Footstool I am cloathed with darkness but thou dwellest in a light that no man can approach unto How dare I that am all covered with sin draw near unto thee who art the Holy of Holies and Holiness it self How can I that am but dry Straw and Stubble stand before an everlasting burning O God of Gods if I did see thee sitting upon the Throne of thy Glory as Judge of thousand thousands of immortal Spirits wait upon thee and ten thousand Millions worship thee if I did see thee armed with Thunderbolts encompassed with Flames of Fire like to those of Mount Sinai I should not be only afraid but I should fall into despair Instead of drawing near to thee I should fly from thee as Adam and endeavour to hide my self from thine Eyes that cannot suffer the sight of evil I should cry out as Moses I am afraid and I tremble all over Or as the Prophet Isaiah Woe is me for I am undone because I am a man of unclean Lips and I dwell in the midst of a People of unclean Lips Isai 6. Or it may be I may say with the Holy Apostle Depart from me for I am a sinful Creature But good God I see that thy Throne so full of Glory is encompassed about with a Rainbow of an immortal and a refreshing Colour I see in it the undoubted assurances of my Peace and Eternal Reconciliation with thee therefore I dare go to it with confidence as to the Throne of Grace to obtain Mercy and find Grace to be helped in time of need Although thou art Clothed with Majesty and Crowned with Glory thou dost stretch out unto me the Golden Scepter of thine infinite Mercies I see that thou hast put off the Arms of thy Justice and Vengeance to put on the Bowels of Love and Compassion I hear no more over my Head the dreadful Thunder of thy Curses but I hear the still voice of thy Mercy that comforts my trembling Soul that raiseth up my drooping Spirit and that causeth me to conceive the assured hopes of Happiness and Glory in thine Heavenly Paradise I see no more about thee the grievous flames and burnings to devour sinful Men but I perceive the pleasant and refreshing flames of thy Love that rejoyce and comfort me and that do not destroy me as they did the two Captains and Soldiers of Ahaziah but they carry me up to Heaven as the Prophet Elijah was The spirit which thou hast given me is not the Spirit of Bondage to encline me to fear but the spirit of Adoption whereby I cry Abba Father It is this spirit that witnesseth with my spirit that I am thy Child thy Heir and Co-heir with thy Holy Son Jesus Seeing thou hast reconciled me to thy self by the Bloud of thy Beloved Son when I was a Slave of Satan and thy sworn Enemy now that I am so nearly related to thee wouldest thou refuse me mine Inheritance O my God my Heavenly Father I know that I have grievously offended thee and that if thou didst treat me exactly according to thy Justice of a thousand Articles I could not answer one therefore I should have cause to expect to be cast into the Eternal Fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels but Lord thou dost not desire the death of a sinner but rather that he should turn to thee and live Moreover thou hast confirmed this with an oath and thou wilt never break it I confess that my sins are many and that their hainousness appears unto me day and night but Lord where sin abounds thy Grace or thy Mercy superabounds and when mine iniquities should be as red as Vermilion thou hast promised to render them as white as Snow Thou shalt be moved for me with the same compassion as a Father is moved for his Child and thou wilt put away from thee all mine offences as far as the East is from the West O my Soul why art thou afflicted why dost thou fret within me return to thy Rest my Soul for the Lord hath done thee good he prepares for thee an Eternal Felicity It is not Death's voice that I hear but the Call of mine Heavenly Father who invites and commands me to come away to him Therefore though I am a most miserable sinner I am going to cast my self at thy feet and to say to thee as the prodigal Child Father I have sinned against Heaven and against thee and am no more worthy to be called thy Son O my God and Father thou hast bestowed upon me thy most Divine Favours thy greatest Riches and Blessings nevertheless I have been estranged from thee and have unhappily abused all thy Mercies I have too much given my self over to the debaucheries of the Flesh and of the World evil company hath corrupted my behaviour so that from the sole of the Foot to the crown of the Head there is nothing whole in me In this miserable Estate I fly to thee my Judge for Mercy or rather I implore and intreat with all my Heart thy Fatherly Love to have compassion of me O Divine Flames O Abysse of Charity O God whose tenderness for me is far greater than that of the best Fathers and of the most tender hearted Mothers for their Babes I see thy Bowels move for me thy compassions kindle and thy Arms wide open to receive me thou art not only ready to embrace me but thou meetest me in the way not only as the Father of the prodigal Son thou dost not only receive me but thou hast sought me out in my former abode of corruption and drawn me out of those depths of Misery O unparalell'd Love what may not I expect from thy Fatherly kindness thou shalt embrace me with the Arms of thy Mercy and kiss me with the kisses of thy Love thou shalt confirm my assurance of being admitted into the liberty of thy Children and give unto me a white Stone where thou shalt write the new Name of Elect or Believer that none knows but him that hath it Thou wilt shooe my Feet with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace or rather thou shalt give unto my Soul that peace of God that passeth all understanding Thou shalt put upon me the Robes of fine and white Linnen which are the Righteousness of the Saints and thou shalt cloath me with the Rayes of the Sun of Justice Thou shalt lead me into thy Dwelling I mean thy Glorious Palace where instead of killing the fatted Calfe we shall solemnize the Nuptials of the Lamb offered from the foundation of the World there we shall meet with the Angels the immortal Spirits and all the First-born whose names are written in Heaven who shall not murmure nor
into the twigs and branches they wither at last and are cast into the fire The rarest Meats and the most delicious Drinks can never make our Bodies become Immortal Death snatcheth away the Brother from the Brother the Father from the Child and the Wife from her Husband The stroke of a Sword can separate a Body from the healthiest and strongest Head nay without any such violence the Head dies as well as the Body and the Spirits that run in our Ve ns are far from hindring the corruption of our Bodies for they corrupt of themselves and vanish away In short the strictest Unions of Nature and Art are dissolved by time so that all things under the Sun are subject to vanity and unconstancy But the Spirit of the Lord Jesus is the principle of an eternal Life and the Seed of an uncorruptible glâ—ry whosoever is united to him by this Spirit nothing can separate him from Christ neither Life nor Death neither Hell nor the World nor things present nor things to come Therefore because our Blessed Saviour could find nothing here upon Earth nor amongst all the Creatures worthy and able to represent this perfect and unseparable Union he seeks an Image of it beyond all natural beings in the holy Trinity in that unchangeable Union which was which is and which shall ever be between him and God the Father As we may see in his excellent Prayer John 17. Father I pray for them all which shall believe on me that they all may be one as thou Father art in me and I in thee that they also may be one in us that they may be one ever as we are one Banish therefore from your Souls all apprehensions and fears O believing Souls for all the Three persons of the most holy most glorious and most wonderful Trinity are engaged for your Salvation and to bring you to your eternal happiness The Father by his infinite wisdom hath found out a means to reconcile us unto himself to satisfie his offended Justice and to declare the riches of his unparalleld Mercies The Son hath purchased for us this great Salvation by suffering the shameful Death of the Cross and by spilling his most precious Blood for the forgiveness of our Sins and the holy Spirit by incorperating us into Jesus Christ makes us partakers of the infinite Merits of his Sufferings Revel 2. That is the true Hysop that sprinkles the Divine Blood of the Lamb without spot or blemish to cleanse our Souls It is he that gives to our Souls the white Stone where the new name of Elect and Believers is written Heb. 12. which none knows but he that hath it He gives us to eat of the hidden Manna and of the food of Angels Iohn 4. which the World knoweth not It is instead of a precious Ring or Jewel by which our spiritual Bridegroom promiseth and confirms unto us his conjugal Faith It is the Seal of the Living God that Seals unto us the Covenant of Grace and the promises of Glory and Happiness made unto us in the Gospel as the Apostle himself tells us Eph. 2. that now having believed the Gospel of our Salvation we have been Sealed by the holy Spirit of promise Therefore he exhorts us Eph. 4. not to grieve the holy Spirit of God by whom we have been Sealed for the day of Redemption Finally this is the Spirit that witnesseth with our Spirits that we are the Children of God If we be children we are Heirs Heirs of God and joynt Heirs with the Lord Iesus Christ Rom. 8. Think not Christian Souls that I labor to perswade you that this holy Spirit of the Lord Jesus shall come and whisper in your ears or cry unto you from within that you are the Children of God as the extravagant Quakers amongst us imagine the Testimony that he gives to our Spirits is a real and an effectual testimony if I may so speak for he regenerates us and makes us become new Creatures he gives us a more certain assurance of our adoption then if he did declare from Heaven Thou art my Child and thy name is written in the Book of Life As the Seal imprints its Image in the wax thus the Spirit of the Lord Jesus imprints in our Souls the Image of Holiness and all Divine Vertues now as the Figure that remains upon the Wax makes us judge without dispute what manner of Seal did print it likewise when you find Gods Image imprinted in your Hearts acknowledge the finger of God and the Vertue of his holy Spirit to have been there for none can have that blessed Image but he must needs be the Child of God The holy Spirit that gives it to our Souls kindles in us the blessed flames of holy Love and produceth in us Tongue of fire he makes us speak to God with boldness as to our Father and lift up our eyes to Heaven with joy and gladness as to the place of our Inheritance All the goods of this present life may be nay will be lost at last Pro. 23. Riches take wings and flie away like an Eagle Honor vanisheth away as a smoak carried away with the wind Earthly Delights and Pleasures hast away as a Torrent or the waters of a River that slide along the Banks and they end at last in a Sea of bitterness and sorrow If by chance these vanities continue with the Worldlings while they remain on Earth Ps 49. they can continue no longer for they cannot carry beyond and the Grave their Riches their Honours are not Buried with them and all their unsetled delights fly away with their Breath but Death hath no power upon this Spirit of Life which is our true Treasure our glory and everlasting delight Moreover the true and living Faith that embraceth Jesus Christ our Saviour shall cease and hope that considers the advantages to come shall one day be abolished Whilst we are in this earthly Pilgrimage we walk by Faith and not by sight and while we are tost up and down upon this dangerous Sea of the World Heb. 6. we have need of the Anchor of our Hope and to expect with patience the fulfilling of that we hope for Rom. 8. but when we shall come to our heavenly Country we shall neither need a staff to walk with nor a shield to defend us and to quench the fiery darts of the Devil when we shall be secure in the Haven of Eternity we shall have no occasion to make use of this Anchor for our hope shall be changed into a perfect Fruition When we shall be in Paradice we shall need no Wings to carry us up to God but only to fly about his Throne as the Seraphims In short we need no looking glass to see the glory of God for we shall behold face to face All that we believe at present without seeing we shall then see and believe no more But the Spirit of the Lord Jesus whom the World knoweth not and cannot receive he
midst of them St. Thomas who was not with the Apostles when Christ first appeared amongst them lost the comfort then of seeing him risen from the dead And if this merciful Redeemer had not had compassion of him he had perish'd in his unbelief for ever If upon the day of Penticost any of the faithful had been found absent from the Holy company of the Faithful in Jerusalem they had not seen the Glorious appearance of the Holy Ghost who knows but in a Sermon that we have neglected we have lost some pious advice some seasonable exhortation by which God might have brought our hearts to repentance Who knows but instead of that Fire that devours us we might have felt the Holy Flames kindled in us like unto those Flames of the burning Bush that would burn in us and not consume us Who knows but at the breaking up of the Assembly we might have said as the two Disciples of Christ going to Emaus Did not our heart burn within us when he spoke to us and opened the Scriptures 68. We must be fervent zealous and persevering in Prayers and other Holy Duties and embrace our Lord and Saviour with the Arms of Faith and Repentance and say unto him as Jacob I shall not leave thee until thou hast blessed me especially we ought to apply our selves to these blessed exercises when we feel the inward and troblesome struglings of the Flesh against the Spirit we must imitate that Holy and vertuous Woman who feeling two Children stirring in her Womb fell to her Prayers and unburdened her sorrows in the bosome of our Heavenly Father And as St. Peter when he began to sink lifted up his Hands in Prayer saying Lord save me Matth. 14. Likewise we who walk upon this dangerous Sea of the World assoon as we feel our selves sinking into the Delights of the World or assoon as the Waves of vicious examples and dangerous customs do hurry us away Let us cry out from the bottom of our Hearts O merciful God stretch out thine hand from above and deliver me from these Waters of Hell that carry me away accomplish thy vertue in mine infirmities and give me Grace in resisting against sin to resist unto Blood Psal 69. Heb. 50. 2 Cor. 22. Let thine Holy Spirit overcome mine let Heaven command the Earth and let Paradise lead Hell in Triumph If we make this Petition with all our Hearts God will grant it from his Holy Sanctuary He will extinguish the Fire that burns us He will shut the Lions mouth that intends to devour us He will appease the Winds and the Storms that the Devils have raised in us and at his first entrance into our Ship tost up and down with fears and apprehensions he will bring Peace and a blessed tranquility and will lead us to the safe Haven of Eternal Happiness as the Prophet Moses when he had been familiar with God came down from the Mountain with a shining countenance and as our Saviour when he was in Prayer upon Mount Tabor was transfigured his Garments were white as the Light and his Face appeared as glorious as the Sun Likewise if we lift up our selves above all these earthly and corruptible things and pray unto God with an Holy Earnestness and Zeal we shall see that our Souls shall be thereby cloathed with Holiness and full of Glory and Light they will be transformed into the blessed Image of the great God whom we adore for as soon as we behold him we become enlightened 69. To the end that we may tame this Body and reduce it to obedience and to overcome all our wicked and dangerous Lusts Psal 69 34. It is necessary that we should joyn Fasting to our Prayers we must not always expect a time appointed by the Rulers of our Church upon solemn accasions but we must order unto our selves a Fast according as we shall see it expedient and useful for if this Flesh is unruly it is rebellious against God and his Holy Commandements if because it is fed in Ease and Plenty it is Lustful Impure and Insolent Let us cut off from it all its dainties and labor to mortify it by Fastings and Abstinence and remember what our Saviour Christ saith in the Gospel That there are some evil spirits that are not to be driven out but by Fasting and Prayer Matth. 27. 70. If God gives us the Grace to overcome Sin and weaken our Lusts by fervent and earnest Prayers and by austere Fasting and hot tears of Repentance and by the assistance of his Divine Spirit that will pour his Blessings upon our Devotions take heed that we become not careless and negligent in good Works deceive not your selves Religious Souls and be not surprized for many times the old Man looks as if he were dead that we might not offer to strike him again to the Heart and give him the last blow that he may recover more strength there is always in the Ashes something of that infernal Fire that is able to do much mischief Lust is not rooted out so perfectly but that there remains some strings in our Hearts that may grow again This source of Iniquity is not so dry but that it may run afresh As it is during the time of Peace Men exercise themselves in feats of Arms and prepare new Armor for the War Likewise during the calm and rest of our Souls we must prepare some Armor for our Spiritual Warfare And as it is not sufficient to win a place by Assault and to have driven out the Enemies Forces but we must also watch day and night and keep a constant and a strong Guard that we may not be surprized and driven out again Thus when we have forced out the Devil and banish'd him out of our Hearts we must be always upon our Guard and stop all the Avenues for fear that this evil Spirit should come upon us accompanied with seven worse Spirits and that our last condition should be worse than the first 71. To these Works of Piety and Devotion in which we cannot be always employed we must remember to add a lawful Calling for Idleness is the Mother of all Vices when we are doing nothing the Devil prompts us to evil this happened to David a man after God's own heart for when he gave himself over contrary to his former practice to an unworthy idleness whilst he was looking into his neighbors House the Devil entred into his Heart and by the assistance of a lustful Object inflamed his Soul with an unlawful desire as the Iron that is not us'd becomes Rusty as the standing Water putrifies and as the Earth that is not manur'd begets insects and venemous Serpentss Likewise a Soul that is not employed is soon cover'd over with the rust of Vice It is easily drag'd along into the corruption of the age and apt to beget and bring forth Monsters therefore the Prophet Ezekiel examines the very beginning and first spring of Solomon's Sin saying That it was
be that they have not enjoyed any unusual Plenty yet this wise Purveyor hath furnished them the things that have been necessary for them so that not only both they and their Children have subsisted in the greatest calamities but they have had the Honor of assisting God's Prophets and as that poor Widow of the Gospel gave Alms out of her poverty such Mites have been more pleasing to God than the Treasuries of the wealthy Morever when the Son of God was in the World he was pleased to express how much care and compassion he had of Widows for when he met at the Gate of the City of Nain a poor Widow weeping bitterly for her only Son that was carried out to be buried he was moved with a tender feeling of her affliction therefore he raised the young man to life again and restored him to his Mother It was also at the solicitation of some devout Widows that St. Peter raifed Dorcas from death to life I must needs take notice here of an admirable story proper to comfort every faithful servant of God The Widow of a deceased Prophet made this bitter complaint unto Elisha Thy Servant my Husband is dead and thou knowest that thy Servant did fear the Lord and the creditor is come to take unto him my two Sons to be bond-men 2 King 4. God who hears the cry of the afflicted had compassion of that poor distressed Widow so that he gave unto her by Elisha's means in a wonderful manner sufficient for the payment of her debts and for to nourish her Family by this glorious example God declares the care that he will have of his Prophets Widows whilst they walk in his fear and continue in his Holy Covenant In short the modern and antient Histories are full of notable examples of wise and vertuous Widows that have discreetly governed their Families and upon whom God's Blessings have visibly appeared Almighty God who is wonderful in all his Works doth sometimes order affairs in such a manner that Fathers don't gather up for their Children but he gives to some such Children in his Mercy that make provision for their Fathers such are an extraordinary Blessing to their Family as Joseph was to Jacob and his Houshold Such wise and vertuous Children who are so necessary to their Parents whom they Love and Honor might out of their violent affection for them speak unto Death in the language of the young man of the Gospel Suffer me to go first and bury my Father Let me alone awhile in the world suffer me to live O death until I have accompanied my Parents to their Grave until I have closed their Eye-lids and performed the last duties that Nature requires But hearken officious Son what the Lord saith to thee Suffer the dead to bury the dead but thou follow me Leave to them that remain after thee the care of Worldly affairs but do thou yield thy self at God's Call Thy Charity for others must not cause thee to be cruel to thy self and disobedient to the Commands of thy God Fear not to leave thy Father and Mother when thou art going to cast thy self into the ravishing embraces of thy Spiritual Bridegroom and of thine Heavenly Father The great God who hath given thee or rather lent thee to them and who caused them to subsist before thou hadst a Being can feed and bless them without thee his Mercy is not tied to thy Person nor confin'd to thine industry When our Lord and Saviour was upon the Cross seeing the Blessed Virgin and the Disciple whom he loved said to his Mother Woman behold thy Son and to St. John Son behold thy Mother John 19. and from that hour that Disciple took her unto his own home In the like manner when God cals unto his Eternal Rest him who was the supporter of his Family as Joseph was he provides for them by some other means so that if Elkanah had good cause to say to his Wife when she wept because she had no Child Am not I better to thee then ten Sons 1 Sam. 1. we may say with more reason that God's Grace his Assistance and the Comforts of his Holy Spirit are better worth than Ten thousand Children The strongest Passion and that which I judge to be the most apt to hinder a good Man is that which Fathers and Mothers have for their little ones especially if they be in an age unable to help themselves but that this natural passion may not hurry us beyond the limits prescribed by Reason and Piety consider well the promise that God made to Abraham I am thy God and the God of thy seed after thee Gen. 17. and what St. Peter told the Jews To you and to your Children was the promise made and to all such as are afar off as many as the Lord our God shall call Acts 2. especially meditate well upon and imprint in your minds that which God speaks unto you from Heaven by the Prophet Jeremiah Leave me thy Fatherless Children and I will give them to eat and let thy Widows trust in me Jer. 49. God is the Father of us all but more especially of the Fatherless he hath compassion of them and provides for all their necessities thy Children are more tender to him than to thee for thou hast been but a feeble instrument in his hand to put them into the world but he is the Creator of their Soul the fashioner of their Body and the redeemer of them both He loves them with a stronger and more constant Love than the best Fathers and the most tender-hearted Mothers therefore he assures us by his Holy Prophet that when the Mother should forget the Child unto whom she gives suck and when she should have no pity of the Fruit of her Womb he will never forget us so that all the Children that fear God may say as David When my Father and my Mother should have forsaken me the Lord will receive me Psal 27. Seeing that Job hath had a care of the Orphans Job 31. and Pharaoh's Daughter hath had compassion of the Tears of a little strange Child how much more shall God who is the Father of Mercies and the God of all Comfort have pity of Children that he hath redeemed with the precious Bloud of his only Son Exod. 2. 2 Cor. 1. Seeing that he hears the cries of the young Ravens he will sooner hear the Prayers Sighs and Tears of his Servants Children Psal 147. Matt. 6. he cloaths the Grass of the Fields which to day is and to morrow is cast into the Oven Gen. 21. how much rather will he cloath your Children O ye of little Faith Doth your Heavenly Father nourish the Birds of the Air and will not he rather feed your Children that are better worth than all the Birds together Jon. 4. In short seeing God hath had compassion of little Ishmael and of the Children of Ninivy how much rather will he regard Children that have been sanctified to
not wrath very sore O Lord neither remember iniquity for ever behold see we beseech thee we are all thy People By this gracious and loving Title of Father the prodigal Son is perswaded to be able to oblige his Father to have compassion of him I will rise and go to my Father and will say unto him Father I have sinned against Heaven and against thee and am no more worthy to be called thy Son make me as one of thy hired Servants Thus although we have forsaken our Heavenly Father mispent the Riches of his Grace and lived a filthy and a prophane Life Nevertheless if we can be but moved with a serious and a true repentance and say to him from our hearts Father I have sinned against Heaven and against thee I am no more worthy to be called thy Son He will forget all the miscarriages of our youth and will pass by all the offences that we have committed out of ignorance or mistake nay he will blot out all our wilful and deliberate sins he will not only embrace us when we shall cast our selves at his feet and in the arms of his Mercy but he will meet and receive us as his dearest Children he will kiss us with the blessed kisses of his Fatherly love he will give unto us his Holy Spirit that shall seal us for the day of Redemption and shall assure us that we are admitted to the liberty and all the priviledges of his Children he will shooe our Feet with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace and will give us all the assurances of our entire and perfect reconciliation He will cloath us here upon Earth with the Robes of Righteousness and Holiness and in Heaven he will bestow upon us uncorruptible Robes of immortality and Glory In this life he will give us the foretasts of Eternal Happiness and in the life to come he will lead us by the hand into the Banqueting Chamber and will cause us to sit there at Table with Abraham Isaack and Jacob and with all the First-born whose names are written in Heaven Out of this celestial abode all murmurings and complaints shall be banished but here shall be rejoycing and gladness for the conversion of poor sinners and for their admittance into the Kingdom of Heaven God himself shall invite the Holy Angels and blessed Spirits to share in these publick rejoycings saying to them We must rejoyce for these my Children were dead but now they are alive they were lost but now they are found again Let the miserable slaves of the Devil and of their filthy Lusts tremble at the approaches of death and let them look upon God as a dreadful Judge Rom. 2. For our parts we have not the spirit of Bondage to be again in fear but we have the spirit of Adoption whereby we may cry Abba Father Let the Sons and Daughters of Adam who have no other Being nor Life but that which they have received with their corrupted Nature fly from God's Presence for our parts we that are Regenerated by the Spirit of the second Adam we will draw near to him with boldness We will not say as that wretched Soul disturbed and frighted at the consideration of its crimes I heard thy voice I was afraid and hid myself Gen. 3. But rather having been brought up in the Schools of the Prophets and Apostles and having learn'd that we must prefer our Obedience to God's Will to all other things whatsoever we shall say unto him with Samuel Speak Lord for thy servant heareth 1 Sam. 8. Or rather we will speak unto him in plainer terms O my God and Heavenly Father speak when thou wilt for thy servant is ready and resolved to obey thy Commands we will stay till God shall call the fourth time as that Holy Man Numb 31. Who because of his tender and unexperienced years could not distinguish between God's voice and that of a Man but we will have our Ears always open to his Divine Orders and at the first motion and summons of his Will we shall be ready to follow him as the Children of Israel were in the Wilderness when they raised their Camp and marched according to God's directions Numb 3. And as when the Levites stopt and put down the Ark in its own place 2 Chron. 3. Moses did commonly pray O Lord give rest to the thousands of Israel Likewise you believing Souls whom God hath chosen for his Ark and Temple assoon as you shall perceive that this wise Governor of Mankind intends to put a period to your painful Journey and laborious Race that is to say assoon as you shall perceive the least signe of death speak with an Holy confidence and joy Rejoyce O my Soul the time of thy freedom and of thine Eternal Rest approacheth Here is the Messenger of good news here is Death that will usher me in to the Glorious Palace of my Heavenly Father Father the hour is come Glorify thy Son that thy Son may Glorify thee John 17. When the hour was come that our Lord Jesus Christ was to go out of this World to the Father he said unto his Disciples who were grieved for his going from them If ye loved me ye would rejoyce because I said I go unto the Father for my Father is greater than I John 13. John 14. Christian Souls speak in this manner at the hour of your departing If such as are about you happen to weep and lament if they endeavour to move and stop you by the considerations of Flesh and Bloud tell them why are you grieved at my deliverance and at the end of my misery why would you hinder and retard my Glory and Happiness O how cruel is your Love how blind and unconsiderate is your Affection Certainly if ye did love me as ye ought ye would prefer my satisfaction and the accomplishment of my happiness to the small advantages that ye might gather from my abode with you ye should consider that the least part of the joy that I shall feel in my Heavenly Fathers House is a thousand times more worth than all the Pleasures of the Earth than the Honors of the Age and the Pomp and Glory of the World My friends or rather my enemies let me go for I go to my Father I go to behold his Face which is the most Divine satisfaction I go to take possession of that Inheritance prepared for me from the foundations of the World John 20. Matth. 21. A Prayer and Meditation for a believing Soul that strengthens it self against the fears of Death by an Assurance and Trust upon God's Fatherly Goodness and Infinite Mercy MY God and Creator I perceive that the time of my departure draweth near and that Death presseth sore upon me It summons me to appear before thy dreadful Tribual it frights me when it brings to my remembrance all my former sins and represents unto me the hainousness of my crimes O Great God when I seriously think upon what I am
of God the Father Lord Jesus receive my Spirit Amen CHAP. 19. The Seventh Consolation against the Fears of Death is our strict and unseparable union with Jesus Christ by the means of his holy Spirit and the first Fruits of our Blessed Immortality OUr Lord Jesus Christ doth not onely live and triumph in Heaven but it is from thence our life our glory and our blessed Immortality proceed For as the Father hath life in himself he hath also given to the Son to have Life in himself and as the Father raiseth and quickneth the Dead likewise the Son quickneth whomsoever he will So that we may not only say to him as St. Peter Thou hast the words of eternal life John 6. but we may justly speak to him in Davids Language with thee is the fountain of Life in thy light shall we see light Ps 36. Therefore all those that are united and incorporated into Jesus Christ do participate of the fulness of his holy Spirit and by that means they became Immortal Now by the vertue of Christs Death and Pastion we are not only made partakers of the Fruits of his Sufferings but we are united to and Incorporated in him so that by that means we have obtained not only the grâ—â—t and precious promises of Glory and Immortality which he hath purchased for us by the infinite merits of his Sufferings but we receive the First-Fruits and foretasts of our future blessedness He that is lifted up and dwells on high quickens the Spirits of the humble Is 57. he dwells in our hearts by Faith Eph. 31. he pours into our Souls his holy and quickning Spirit for because we are the Children of God he hath sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts to cry Abba Father Gal. 4. Whosoever hath not this Spirit of the Lord Jesus he is none of his By the means of this Spirit he dwells in us and we in him we become the Members of his Body and we may boast that we are his Flesh and his Bones All things that are most strictly united by Nature or Art are employed to represent this admirable union John 6. which we enjoy with Jesus Christ by the means of his Spirit that quickens us Rom. 13. From hence are derived these expressions of the holy Apostles We have put on the Lord Jesus Christ Gal. 3. And that when we draw near to him who is the living stone rejected of Men but lifted up and of great price with God 1 Pet. 2. we like so many living stones are built up together to make a Spiritual House For the same reason our Saviour informes us John 15. That he is the true Vine and that we are the branches And St. Paul assures us that if we are become one Plant with him by the conformity of his Death we shall also be one by the resemblance of his Resurrection Rom. 6. To shew unto us that this Sacred Union contains many ties of Love our Lord Jesus Christ is represented as our Brother our Father and our Bridegroom therefore the Apostle tells us that he thinks it no Disgrace to own us for his Brethren in saying Heb. 1. I will declare thy name unto my Brethren and also where he informes us Rom. 8. that God had predestinated us to be conformed to the Image of his Son that he might be the first born among many Brethren And after his Resurrection he speaks in this manner to Mary Magdalen John 20. Touch me not for I am not yet ascended to my Father but go to my Brethren and say unto them I ascend unto my Father and your Father and to my God and your God Heb. 2. Therefore this glorious Redeemer shewing himself unto God with all the Elect saith Here I am and the Children which thou hast given me Hosea 2 And by the Mouth of Hosea he speaks to his Church and makes this promise unto her I will betroth thee unto me for ever yea I will betroth thee unto me in Righteousness and in Judgment and in loving kindness and in Mercies From hence it is that this Church is called The Spouse of the Lamb in the Revelations and in the Canticâ—es the Spiritual Union betwixt Christ and his Church is expressed by a continual Allusion to a Marriage between Man and Woman And because our Meat and Drink are turned into our Body and Substance Jesus Christ assures us That his Flesh is truly Meat and his Blood is truly Drink That he is the true Bread come down from Heaven that gives Life to the World and that whosoever shall eat him shall live for ever But amongst all the Similitudes borrowed to represent our Union with Jesus Christ by his holy Spirit there is none employed more frequently in holy Scripture than that of the Humane Body for there is not any more proper for us all the Spirits that give life and motion proceed from the Head and assoon as the Members are separated from it they Dye In the like manner the Spirit that quickens us and makes us become new Creatures proceeds from Jesus Christ so that whosoever is separated from this Head he falls into Death and Eternal Destruction And as there are many Members nevertheless they make up but one Body because they are all animated with the same Spirit and they are kept alive by the same Head l kewise there be many Members belonging to Christs Mystical Body some engaged yet upon Earth and others glorified in Heaven nevertheless they make up but one only Mystical and Spiritual Body for they are all quickned by the same Spirit and receive all the celestial influences from the same Head St. Paul teacheth us this Doctrin in expresse terms 1 Cor 12. For as the Body is one and hath many Members and all the Members of that one Body being many are one Body so also is Christ for by one Spirit are we all Baptised into one Body whether we be Jews or Gentiles whether we be bond or free and have been all made to drink into one Spirit Finally because the same spirit that is in our Lord as in the Head and Fountain and in the Church in general as in the Body which is quickned and moved is also in every particular Member The holy Apostle is not satisfied to call this Spiritual Body of Christ and his Church Christ but he tells us moreover that whosoever is united unto him is made but one Spirit with him These and such like Representations let them be never so lively and noble are but dark shadowes and unperfect Images of our Union with Jesus Christ by his holy Spirit for the richest and most Magnificent Garment can never keep off from the Body Diseases nor hinder the approaches of corruption that creeps upon it There is no foundation never so firm and well setled that can free the house built upon it from the ruines and breach s of time and the weather Although the Sap mounts up from the root of the vine and runs
was exercising his Meditation when he cryed out Who is he that liveth and shall not see death shall he free his soul from the power of the Grave Eccles 12. And to speak in the language of Salomon or ever the Silver Cord be loosed or the Golden Bowl be broken or the Pitcher be broken at the Fountain or the Wheel broken at the Cistern That is to say The Back-bone whereof the Marrow is as white as Silver be unloosed when the Scull which is like a precious vessel of Gold be broken when the Vena Cava receives no more Bloud from the Liver the fountain of Life when the Lights that draw in and push forth the breath move no more or when the Kidneys that extract the humidity from the Veins and cause it to drop down into the Bladder as into a Cistern begin to fail Then shall the Body return to the Earth as it was and the Spirit shall return unto God who gave it To express unto us this inevitable fate Moses reckons up all the antient Fathers that have lived longest in the first world he mentions some who lived 700 others 800 others 900 years and some near a thousand Gen. 5. But when he hath well spoken of their deeds and of the Children which they left in the world he adds in the conclusion of all And then such an one died So that our Creator doth execute upon all men the Sentence once pronounced against Adam the Father of all Mankind Dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return Gen. 3. By this means God declares his Justice and Truth and accomplisheth what was signified by the antient Types Levit. 14. For according to the Laws which God gave to Israel by Moses the house that was infected with the Leper was to be demolished and cast into a noisome place There was a far more important reason for mans body to be destroy'd and laid in the Sepulchre because he was created to be the Palace of the living God the Dwelling of his Glory But Sin that is a kind of infectious Leper hath insinuated it self and disfigured it it hath entred the Skin corrupted the Blood disordered the Spirits it is crept into the Joynts and Marrow and hath speard its venom in such a manner that there is none of our Members but is an instrument of iniquity and unrighteousness Rom. 6. For the same reason we cannot sufficiently admire the difference that God had put between the Vessel that were clean and such as were unclean for he commanded that the earthen Vessel that was infected should be broken to pieces Levit. 11. but that such as were of a more precious substance should be only washt with water and purified with fire Numb 11. The Commands and Laws of the great God are excellent Commentaries upon his actions our Soul is like a Golden Vessel because it is of a Spiritual and Heavenly substance therefore God doth not altogether destroy it although it be infected with sin but causeth it to be washed and cleansed at the fountain of his infinite mercy he purifies it with the blood of his Son and causes it to pass through the fire of his Holy Spirit but for this miserable Body that is but an earthly Vessel and Tabernacle he doth break it to pieces and reduce it to dust and ashes It is my judgement that death is an excellent means to demonstrate the infinite power of our great God and Saviour for the greater the disease is the more admirable is the Cure without doubt the finger of God and his infinite power is far more visible in raising one man from the dead than in preserving many thousands alive As God is wont to draw light out of darkness so he makes use of death to cause his infinite wisdom to shine and appear to all his Creatures Sin hath brought forth death and death on the contrary by a most fortunate paricide kills and destroys its Parent Sin for it is Death that totally roots out of our Souls all corrupt affections Moreover God who is the same yesterday to day and for ever Heb. 13. will have all his Children pass through the same path to take possession of his eternal Inheritance and enter by the same Gate into his Royal Palace All the faithful of the Old Testament are gone already this way through many tribulations Acts 24. they are arrived to the kingdom of God and through death they are come to the abode of life and immortality The Holy Scriptures that are inspired of God tell us That the Reubenites and half of the Tribe of Manasseth Numb 32. Josh 1. left their dwellings which they had beyond Jordan to go over and fight in the Army of Israel and that they did not offer to return until God had given rest to their brethren and put them into a peaceable possession of their inheritances If I may make some stop at such an excellent Allegory I may say that these passages represent unto us a lively image of the faithful that dye before the end of the world for they leave their bodies the abode and dwellings of their souls and they pass through death as through another Jordan into the Celestial Canaan to encounter with God by their Prayers in the society of the first-born whose names are registred in Heaven and they will not return to the bodies that they have quitted until the number of the Saints be compleat until the building of the Church be finished and until our great Joshua hath introduced us into his Eternal Rest and put us in possession of the incorruptible inheritance reserved for us in Heaven Then we shall not need to fight but to enjoy peaceably the fruits of our victories and to rest for ever from all our labours We shall have no cause to offer unto God Prayers and Supplications but our business shall be to sing unto him Praises and eternal Thanksgivings The strongest and the most considerable Reason in my judgement of this our destiny is That God hath predestinated us to be comformable to the image of his Son that he might be the first-born among many brethren he will have us baptized with his Baptisme that we drink in his Cup and that we enter into Bliss by that same Gate through which he hath already past through Shame and Disgrace he is arrived to Glory and through Death he is ascended into life he hath drunk of the bitter waters before that he hath tasted of the Rivers of Celestial Joys and he is gone down into the Grave before he would mount up to the right hand of God Although it is appointed unto all men once to dye Heb. 9. I dare maintain that death hath no cause to boast it self and that it cannot sing Songs of Triumph with any Reason because that it looseth the most glorious and happiest victory for we read in the Book of Esther that King Ahasuerus would not abolish nor recal the Proclamation that he had set forth against the
command was not frighted to behold the Sun go down although he was in the midst of an open field Gen. 28. but he laid himself down in peace and slept sweetly having no other Bed but the Earth no other Pillow but a Stone no other covering than the Heavens nor other Curtains than the dark shadows of the night Likewise a Soul sanctified by the Spirit of God that walks in all the Commands of his Heavenly Father shall never be astonished for wheresoever his Sun goes down wheresoever Death Arrests him he will look upon himself as in another Bethel he will sleep quietly in the Lord Jesus in the most cruel death he will feel unspeakable and glorious joys and a Peace of God which passeth all understanding Acts 23. We may take notice of this blessed disposition in the Apostle St. Paul who had behaved himself with a good conscience towards God and towards Man 1 Cor. 15. He had labor'd more in his Ministry than all the other Apostles therefore he stands in no fear of deaths approaches but rather we may see him full of expectation and desires to pass through Death into Glory and Eternal Felicity This disposition is no less remarkble in Stephen the first Martyr of Christ Acts 6. in the midst of his most grievous torments he had a countenance shining as that of an Angel which was a certain testimony of his inward peace of Conscience and of the extraordinary joy of his Soul for as the Wise man informs us A merry Heart maketh a chearful Countenance Prov. 15. From the same wisdom proceeds this other Oracle that foretels unto every one what shall happen unto him The wicked is driven away in his wickedness but the righteous hath hope in his death Prov. 14. Eccl. 1. Unto this is agreeable the excellent saying of Jesus the Son of Syrach It shall be well at the last with him who fears God he shall sind favor at the day of his death This life is but a moment that flies away apace and yet it determines our Eternal Estate it raiseth us to the highest Glory of Heaven or else it casts us headlong into the deepest Abysse of Eternal Misery for what Man soweth that shall he reap he that soweth in the flesh shall reap of the flesh corruption but he that soweth in the Spirit shall reap of the Spirit Eternal Life If you are afraid of a cruel and unhappy death keep your selves from an evil and a prophane life for commonly as Man's life is so is his death The most part of those who live in foul Lusts and Prophaness dye in hardness of heart or in grievous despair God's patience wearied out changes it self into a just resentment and fury Commonly God leaves at the hour of death such as have left him in the course of their lives he is inexorable to the cryes and sighs of such as have shut their Ears and Hearts to his Holy Word and his Fatherly Instructions he laughs at the horrid fears and most sensible torments of those that trample upon his sacred Commands according to his own words Because I have called and ye refused I have stretched out my hand and no man regarded but ye have set at naught all my counsel and would none of my reproof I also will laugh at your calamity I will mock when your fear cometh King Ahab was desirous to hear a pleasing Prophecy of happy things of the victory over the Syrian Army nevertheless he did continue in his Impieties and Tyranny therefore the Prophet Micah was not afraid of his displeasure but tells him boldly of the approaching Judgments of God which did hang over his guilty Head likewise some sinners desire to be flatter'd and soothed up in their extravagancies they expect notwithstanding their crimes declarations of Joy and Prosperity but we should be false Prophets possessed with a lying Spirit if we did not foretel to such people that a most lamentable and miserable death hastens apace upon them we should have a cruel charity for them if we did not labor to save them by fear as out of a fire if we did not shew them Hell with its jaws open ready to swallow them up and the Eternal Torments wherewith God will punish all impenitent and hardened sinners Knowing what God's vengeance is we must perswade Men to embrace Faith and Righteousness and if we did fail in this our duty their Blood should be required at our hands To what purpose have the Heathen Philosophers discoursed so Learnedly of the shortness of our life To what purpose have many of their Princes entertain'd things on purpose to mind them of their mortal condition Such kind of thoughts did fly in their fancy but they reapt but little benefit from them because they did not oblige them to an Holy and Reformed Life and by consequence they did not prepare them to a blessed Death It was also to no purpose that Balaam desired so passionately to dye the death of the Righteous and that his last end might be like a just man's Numb 23. for because he lived the life of a sinner and continued in his Abominations and Idolatry Numb 31. therefore he died as they and was comprehended in their punishment as he was a partner in their crimes it was but just and reasonable that he should share in their calamities and be a partaker of their torments To abandon Vice and Sin is to take from Death its Venom and all its fiery Darts It is to pluck from this furious Beast its Teeth and Claws it is to break the Cords and Chains by which the Devil drags us into Eternal damnation It is to destroy the Monsters that fright us and stifle the Furies that pursue us In short it tends to change Hell and its grievous Torments into an Heaven and its Glory There was never yet any person that lived an Holy and Religious Life but he died happily in the favour of his God Now that the Lord knocks open unto him the door of your hearts and at the hour of Death he will open unto you the Gates of Heaven present and give unto him whiles you are alive your Bodies and Souls and doubtless he will accept them and confirm the Gift with his own Seal here below he will enrich you with his Graces and crown you at last with his Glory Blessed are they that dye in the Lord but to dye in the Lord we must live to the Lord that we may be able to say with St. Paul Whether we live we live to the Lord whether we dye we dye to the Lord whether we live or dye we are the Lords To perswade us to this Religious Duty we must consider in the first place the Command that he gives us of loving him fearing him of repenting of our sins and of walking in his Holy ways unto this he exhorts us in the Holy Writings of the Old Testament as in the 6 of Deuteronomy Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
the beloved of the Father Heb. 5. yet he learned obedience by the things that he suffered God hath predestinated thee to render thee conformable to the image of his Son that he might be the first-born amongst many Brethren God intends to strengthen thee with an Holy constancy and to teach thee to possess thy Soul with patience Luk 21. He causeth thee therefore to learn by experience that all Flesh is as Grass and all the Glory of Man as the flower of Grass He intends to teach thee how to humble thy self under his mighty hand that he may lift thee up in due time 1 Pet. 5. When God purposed to bring the Children of Israel out of Egypt Ex. 21.5 He caused the yoak of their grievous bondage to be more heavy and loded them with more unsufferable burdens For the same reason God sends afflictions and gluts us with bitterness because he would bring us to a loathing of the World and of its Vanities and to think upon Heaven and its Eternal Happiness 1 Cor. 11. He chastiseth thee that thou mayest not perish with the World He punisheth thy Body that thy Soul might be saved As the Gold is tried in the Fire thus the Lord casts us into the flames of affliction that our Faith might be tried and appear more precious than fine Gold 1 Cor. 5. We Glory in God in the midst of Tribulations knowing that Tribulation produceth Patience Patience Experience and Experience Hope 1 Pet. 1. Now Faith doth not make us ashamed because the love of God is spread in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which hath been given to us God will kindle again thy languishing Zeal and enliven thy Prayers that they may be more acceptable to him Tell me not that thy distemper is an heavy burden that hinders thy Soul from lifting it self towards Heaven and that thy grievous Aches dry up the Humidity of thy Tongue and cause thy Lips to stick together for I mean not the Prayers composed by Art but the Holy Affections and earnest Sighs of the Soul sent up to God A groan of an oppressed Soul and a Sigh forced from us by necessity and a Tear dropt from a penitent Heart are far more acceptable to him than Prayers of Forty hours that come forth of an hypocritical Mouth When the Prophet Moses saw himself inclosed between Pharaoh's Army and the Red Sea he was so grievously perplexed that he could not open his mouth but God heard the voice of his Heart and answered to his silent Request King Hezekiah muttered as the Crane or as the Swallow and groaned as the Pidgeon and God had a respect to his groaning and tears and heard him from his Holy Sanctuary The sighs of Jonas in the Whales Belly mounted up through the waves of the Sea and ascended to the sacred Habitation of God's Glory The Cries of Jesus dying upon the Cross have pierced through to the bosom of our Heavenly Father and have moved the Bowels of his Eternal Mercies In short God speaks thus of all his Children Before they cry I will grant them their request and as they shall yet speak I shall have heard them Therefore the Royal Prophet saith not only That God hath heard the Prayers but hath heard the desire of the humble thou wilt prepare their Heart thou wilt cause thine Ear to hear For that reason when the Apostle St. Paul make mention of that Spirit that supports our weaknesses and that teacheth us to pray saith That he crieth in our hearts Abba Father and that he maketh request for us with sighs and groans that cannot be uttered Rom. 8. Take good courage my Brother or my Sister and be not frighted at the sight of Death Thou seest a narrow passage a way all beset with Thorns and Bryars but it is Heavens Gate and the way that leads to thine Heavenly Paradise For we must of necessity march through a Valley of Tears before we can enter into the City of the living God Psal 84. We must pass through many tribulations to come to the Kingdom of Heaven Acts 14. Blessed are they whom God afflicts for they shall be comforted Matth. 5. Blessed is the man that suffereth temptation for when he shall be sufficiently proved he shall receive the Crown of Life which God hath promised to them that love him Jam. 1. The Lord sends thee this affliction and this grievous temptation not only for thine own good and Salvation but also for the benefit of others by his wonderful Wisdom he preserves the communion of Saints and so disposeth of every one that we all contribute to the building of his Tabernacle Upon one he bestows Riches that he should be bountiful in Alms-deeds to another he gives Learning that he might instruct the ignorant and comfort the afflicted he raiseth others to great Honors and Dignities that they might be able to protect the innocent and deliver the oppressed others are afflicted with desperate evils and grievous and long diseases others are deprived of their most needful senses as of their Eye-sight or of their Hearing that they might edify their neighbors by an Holy Constancy and Christian Patience The Ashes of poor Joh have more luster than all the Gold and the precious Stones of the World It is many Ages since he endured greivous and dreadful calamities Nevertheless his patience is yet proposed to us for our example and to the end of the world it will always instruct the Church of God God teacheth thee by the evils which thou endurest to be moved with mercy and compassion towards others in the same condition for as he required that the Children of Israel should be gracious to strangers because they had been strangers in the Land of Egypt Likewise he sends to thee afflictions that thou mightest pity the afflicted and suffer with them as Members of the same Mystical Body This appears in Jesus Christ our Head for although the chief end of his sufferings was to redeem us and reconcile us unto God his Father nevertheless the Holy Ghost informs us That he was like unto us in all things Sin excepted that he might be a merciful High Priest and have compassion of our infirmities Finally the affliction that grieves thee is not only sent to thee for thy Salvation and for the instruction of thy neighbors but also for the Glory of the Great and living God who hath made and formed thee for we may say of every disease that happens to good Men as Christ said of Lazarus's distemper This sickness is not to death but for the Glory of God that the Son of God might be glorified by it Thou mayest be severe to thy self but thou must be charitable to others and judge discreetly of thy Brethren's affliction when thou art in pain or trouble think seriously upon thy miscarriages and turn unto God with all thy heart But when thou seest others cast upon a bed of sickness don't argue from thence as David's Enemies that it is
complain but shall be transported with joy and adore that infinite Goodness which thou hast declared to us poor and miserable sinners who out of thine incomprehensible Love hast made us thy Children and Heirs of thy Kingdom O Goodness worthy of the admiration of Heaven and Earth we were all lost but we shall be all found in God we were dead but by death we shall return to life we were over-whelmed in a grievous misery but by this means we shall attain to the greatest happiness O my God I recommend unto thee my Soul as to a faithful Creator Heavenly Father my Spirit I leave in thy Hands Amen CHAP. 15. The third Consolation against the fears of Death is to represent continually unto our selves the Death and Sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ and to trust upon the merits of his Cross IF we will dye with a peacable and quiet mind we must always represent to our selves the death and sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ and rely upon the merits of his Cross for the death of this Prince of Life should be the Model of ours and the bottomless Fountain of Comforts to a believing Soul 1. By looking upon this perfect example the wonder of Men and Angels we learn to endure with an Holy resolution and patience all the evils and pangs that accompany Death Luk 22. For although our Saviours Torments were most bitter so that his Soul was sorrowful unto death although there issued out of his innocent Body a bloudy Sweat for the violence of his pain nevertheless none ever heard the least murmuring or expression of impatience Isai 53. He was led to the slaughter as a Lamb and as a Sheep before the Shearer is dumb 2 From hence we learn that the last hours of our life must be employed in fervent and continual Prayers unto God seeing that this Beloved of the Father offers unto him at such a time his Prayers and Supplications with great Cries and a floud of Tears as to him who was able to deliver him from Death Heb. 5. In the bosoms of this Heavenly Father he poureth out all his Griefs and three times he presents this request Father if it be possible that this cup should pass away from me except I drink it Matth. 26. 3. We learn to present our selves before God's Divine Majesty with Humility and to resigne our selves wholly to his wonderful Providence seeing that he who thought it no robbery to be equal with God he whom the millions of Angels and Seraphims worship continually thought it no disgrace to himself to fall upon his knees three times to the ground and submit his Will to that of his Heavenly Father for after that he had said Father if it be possible let this cup pass away from me except I drink it He adds these words Nevertheless O Father not as I will but as thou wilt Matth. 26. 4. If at the time of our death an excessive sorrow or a malignant humour seize upon our minds so that in that disposition we are not able to see the Heavens open nor God who stretcheth out his Arm to receive us into his Rest Let us remember that this merciful Lord speaks to us as he did to his three Apostles who fell asleep when he was in his Agony Cannot you watch one hour with me Mat. 29. My dear Children it is no time to fall asleep with the foolish and inconsiderate Virgins trim your Lamps put on the Garments of Light to meet your Celestial Bridegroom and to enter with him into the Marriage Chamber Matth. 25. 5. God requires that we should do as much good at all times to our friends as we are able and to express the sincerity of our affections to those with whom Nature and our Duty have caused us to be related but especially at the hour of death we are more bound to this Religious Duty therefore Jesus Christ hath shewn us an excellent example for when he was nailed to the Cross and ready to breathe forth his Soul into the hands of his Heavenly Father he had an especial care of his Holy and Blessed Mother saying to his beloved Disciple My Son behold thy Mother and to her Woman behold thy Son 6. We must not only do good and shew kindness to our friends but we must forgive our greatest enemies such also as employ their greatest fury against us for by this means we shall follow the Blessed footsteps of our Gracious Saviour for he had compassion upon them that crucified him and mocked him Father said he forgive them for they know not what they do 7. By the Cross of Jesus Christ we learn to put our trust in the goodness of God in our greatest pangs and to embrace him as our most loving Father and Redeemer when he seems to discover to us a severe countenance full of wrath and displeasure for this Eternal Son of God in his most violent tortures when his Heavenly Father did suspend his aid and assistance and withheld the effects of his Grace the expressions of his Love and the comforts of his Divine Spirit nevertheless he looks upon him as his God and reposes himself upon him he prays unto him with an Holy assurance and repeats these passionate words My God my God! 8. If we will dye willingly and leave these crazy Bodies with a joyful mind when the time is come that we must go to the Father of Spirits we must remember with what resolution our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ prepar'd himself for death and how willingly he commended his innocent Soul into the hands of God his Father when he required it No man taketh my life away from me but I lay it down of my self I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again this Commandement have I received of my Father John 10. Heb. 10. This caused him to speak in this manner Here am I O God to do thy will Luk 23. Therefore when he gave up the Ghost he cried with a loud voice to shew that his precious Soul was not taken from him by violence but that he did willingly offer it up as a Sacrifice to God 9. In this rich description of Christ crucified we may further learn what should be our last words and last thoughts for if God vouchsafes to us the use of our Tongues until the last gasp we cannot end our life more comfortably than by such expressions as our Saviour made use of upon the Cross Father into thy hands I commend my Spirit But if we cannot move our Lips and that we cannot pronounce these words we must inwardly meditate upon them in our minds and express them with motions of the Heart 10. When we look more narrowly into the death and passion of our Lord Jesus Christ we may easily find how much we are bound to give up our souls unto God when he is pleased to call for them for this Blessed death is the price and ransom that he hath paid
any time we begin to sink and that our Soul is frighted this almighty Lord who hath not only delivered himself but is the Saviour and Deliverer of his Church will speak unto us as to his Apostle O Man of little Faith why didst thou doubt knowest thou not that I command the Winds that I can still the Waves and drive from thee the Tempest knowst thou not that I have in my hands the Keys of Hell and of Death When a person is to go to a place of rest and happiness and that he cannot pass to it but through a painful and thorny passage he marcheth with resolution and courage when a friend of his is gone before and stretcheth out unto him his hand to help him Now it is not possible to attain to the glories of Heaven and the joys of Paradise but through the passage of Death a passage very uneasie and grievous to our present seeming But Jesus Christ who loves us with an eternal Love hath gone through this passage before us he is past from this World to the Father he is gone to his God and to our God And that we might go to him he hath sent the Light of his holy Word to direct us John 2. he vouchsafes unto us his Staff and his Rod to comfort us Ps 23. and stretcheth out the right hand of his Almighty power to cause us to pass from Death to Life where I am saith he there shall also my Servant be Joh. 12. When the Apostles went up to Jerusalem and Jesus went before them Mark 9. they were terrified and frighted but we that go up to the Heavenly Jerusalem and tred upon the footsteps of this mighty Saviour ought to be full of boldness and Christian confidence This great God and Saviour Reigns in Heaven he Commands in the Earth the Sea and the Deep therefore we may Dye without Fear and with an holy Joy For who would not rejoyce to enter into the Glorious Palace of Immortality where we should see not only the Patriarchs Prophets Apostles Martyrs the holy and blessed Virgin with all the Saints of Paradice but we shall see face to face our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ whom so many Kings and Prophets have desired to see and hear While we remain in these Bodies we are absent from the Lord therefore we rather desire to be absent from the Body and to be with Christ this Consideration causeth the holy Apostle to confess That his desire was to depart and to be with Christ which was far better for him Phil. 11. The Queen of Sheba left her Kingdom and came from a corner of the Earth to see King Solomon who was but a Type of Christ and who had but a little of his wisdom and glory and is there any Treasure on Earth any Honour in this Age or pleasure in this Life that might hinder us from going to see our Saviour Jesus Christ When he was in his Infancy the Shepherds left their Flocks and made hast towards Bethlehem to look upon him the wise Men came from the East to adore him and if he were yet on Earth we should undertake a tedious Pilgrimage to the ends of the World and part with our dearest enjoyments to see him But the little Village of Bethlehem is nothing in comparison of the celestial Jerusalem and what is the sight of the Lord Jesus in swadling Cloathes lying in a Manger and in the Arms of his Blessed Mother in comparison of the sight of a Christ cloathed with Light Crowned with Glory and sitting at the right hand of God the Father upon a Magnificent Throne Worshiped by all the Angels and the glorified Spirits The Father of the Faithful was transported with Joy when he saw in Spirit the day of the Lord and the Spouse in the Canticles was exceeding glad when she heard him knocking at her door and old Simon was ravished above measure when he held Christ in his Arms how much more shall we be transported and ravished into admiration and Joy when we shall look upon him as he is now in the highest Glory and raised to the most magificent Estate when we shall enjoy him never to leave him again When St. Stephen beheld the Heavens open and Jesus Christ sitting at the right hand of God the Father his face became radiant as that of an Angel Therefore how luminous and shining shall our Countenances be when we shall be entered into these places of Light and when we shall behold with open face this â—iessed Redeemer for ever When old Jacob heard that Joseph was alive and Reigning 〈◊〉 Egypt whom he had so tenderly loved and for whom he had shed so many tears he was most passionately â—esirous to see again this dear Son and to behold his glorâ— It is enough saith he Joseph is yet alive I will go and see him before I dye Gen. 45. And what think you believing Souls when you understand that your true Josâ—ph whom you heartily love Lives and Raigns above in â—â—eâ—ven and that he is there Worshipped by all the glorified Spirits do not you earnestly desire to see his Face and â—o behold his Divin Glory and Happiness This old Father was weak and feeble through Age and oppressed with Grief but his Spirit did revive when he saw the Wagons that Joseph hâ—d sent to fetch him and you my Christian Brethren when old Age and Sickness have weakened your bodies and grief and displeasure have undermined your Hearts do not you feel your selves revive when Death draws near and you perceive with the eye of Faith the Horses and Charriots which Christ hath sent ot carry you away to the Paradice of his Glory Seeing that Joseph received his Father and Brethren with Tears of Joy and all the House of Pharoah rung with outward expressions of gladness with what Joy with what kindness and love will Christ embrace us and what Joy will there be in Heaven at our arrival it is not to be expressed but with the Tongues of Angels Joseph fed his Father and his Brethren but he never yielded up unto them any part of his Glory Whereas our Lord Jesus Christ who excells Joseph as much in Power and Glory as in Love and Mercy shall not only feed us with the Bread of his Kingdome and give us to Drink of the Rivers of his Pleasures but he will also impart unto us some of his Glory and Magnificence as he promised to his Apostles I appoint unto you a Kingdom as my Father hath appointed unto me Luke 22. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my Throne even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in his Throne be thou faithfull untill Death and I will give thee a Crown of Life Rev. 3. Josephs Brethren notwithstanding his Glory and Power became afterward Slaves but Jesus Christ will place upon our Head a Crown of pure Gold Joseph could never defend his Brethren from Death they all Died
is not given us for a time but to dwell in us for ever As that Flesh which our Lord took from us was never cast off nor never shall Thus the Spirit which he given us shall never be taken from us The flesh which our Saviour united in the same person with the Divine word hath been glorified by this eternal Union but the Spirit which he hath united to our Spirits by this gracious Union is the foundation of Glory and of our eternal happiness This Spirit of Life is not only the Seal of the promises of God but also the earnest of our uncorruptible inheritance reserved for us in Heaven This is St. Pauls Doctrine Ephes 1. for when he had said you have been Sealed by the holy Spirit of promise he adds which is the earnest of our inheritance untill the Redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of his â—glory Because this Divine Spirit is the Seal of the living God he is the earnest of his Inheritance for this heavenly Image that it imprints in our Souls shall be part of that glory with which he will Crown us in his holy Paradice Therefore the Wisdom that is various in every manner doth not call this Spirit a Gage but an earnest for although both be given as a confirmation of promises and an assurance of their accomplishment there is this difference that Men commonly take back again the thing engaged when that which is promised is done but the earnest remains always and is part of the summe to be paid As therefore the earnest which is given is never taken away but Men commonly add to it the remaining summe promised likewise our Saviour never takes away from his Elect the Spirit of Adoption which hath been once bestowed upon them but he increaseth its Graces and Advantages until he hath raised them to the highest glory and most Divine happiness which he hath promised It is in this occasion as with the Sun which as soon as it appears upon our Horizon increaseth the Light more and more untill he is mounted up to our Meridian or as the Rivolets and Rivers which the farther they run the more they increase untill they discharge into the Sea Therefore when our Lord and Saviour speaks of this Spirit of Grace which such as believe in him receive he tells the Jews John 8. He that believeth in me Rivers of living Water shall flow from his Belly John 4. and to the Samaritan Woman he speak in this Language He that shall Drink of the Water that I shall give him shall never thirst but the Water that I shall give him shall become in him a fountain of water springing to eternal life This was sometimes shewn in a Vision to the Prophet Ezekiel Ezek. 47. by the waters that ran down from the Sanctuary for at the first they did reach no higher then the Prophets Ankle bone afterwards they rise up to his knee and then to his middle at last they increased in such a manner that they became a great Torrent and a deep River which was not to be forded over and which discharged it self into the Sea As David in the beginning of his Raign commanded but one Tribe but afterwards he enlarged the limits of his Kingdom over all the Tribes of Israel that small portion of the Kingdom was not then taken from him but only increased and became greater thus it is with us during this Life we have small part of the Kingdom of Heaven intrusted in our hands or if I may so say we have now some Jewels of the uncorruptible Crown which is promised hereafter This part shall not be taken from us this bright beam of our future glory shall never be put out but in the Life to come we shall possess as much of this Kingdom as we are able and shall be cloathed with all that light and splendor of the Heavenly Glory But as there is no comparison never so just but is faulty in some respects there is no small difference in this for the Tribe of Juda was the noblest and the richest part of the Kingdom of Israel but that part which our Souls enjoy at present of the happiness and glory of the Kingdom of Heaven is but as a drop of Water in comparison of the Ocean or as a weak raye of light in comparison of the Sun 2 Cor. 12. Therefore the Apostle St. Paul who had been ravished into the Third Heaven and who knew better than any Man in the World what were the Joys and glories of Heaven when he mentions this Spirit of Adoption that God sends into our hearts he calls it Rom. 8. The First Fruits of the Spirit To teach us that there is as vast a difference between the measure of the gifts and graces which we receive here below and the overflowing abundance which we shall enjoy in Heaven as between some few ears of Corn and the whole Harvest of a Field It is like the small quantity of Fruits which were broughâ— to the Children of Israel in the Wilderness compared to the great abundance of all the Land of Canaan It is like some small crums of the Heavenly Bread of which we shall have our fill in the Kingdom of God as some small drops of that New Wine which we shall drink for ever in the heavenly Jerusalem Therefore believing Souls you may from hence conclude that the approaches of Death ought not to scare or fright you because that you have within you the principles of a life everlasting and the seeds of a glorious Immortality which cannot be taken from you Jesus Christ doth not only wait for you and stretch out unto you his Arms to receive you into his Rest but he himself is also with you and will render the passage easie and pleasant to this new World where Justice and Righteousness dwell Iohn 11. He will make Miracles for your sake and if you believe you shall see the glory of God Ioshua 3. We do not only follow the footsteps of this Divine and real Ioshua but we pass with him and he passeth with us Exod. 19. We are not like the Children of Israel that went through the River of Iordan whilst the Priests held the Ark in the middle of the River but we may be compared to the Priests themselves 1 Pet. 2. that did bear the Ark of the Covenant and caused the Waters to return up to their Fountain again for we are a Generation of Priests and we bear in our Souls the Lord Jesus in whom the fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily and in whom are hid all the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge In short our Souls return to God the Fountain from whence they came Let therefore that heavenly voice which was heard in the holy Land sound in our ears Is 43. Fear not for I have redeemed thee I have called thee by thy Name thou art mine 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 shalt not be burnt neither shall the Flame kindle upon thee and say with David When I should walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil for thou art with me thy Staff and thy Rod shall comfort me Psal 23. It seems the Primitive Christians had adesigne to shew us this Truth by the Picture of a Giant-like man wading through the Sea with a Staff in his hand and a Child upon his Shoulder for this Giant is the Emblem of a Christian who lifts up his mind as high as Heaven The Sea signifies the dangers of this World and the fears of Death The Staff represents Faith that keeps us up in our passage through Life and Death upon which when we lean we worship the living God of Heaven and Earth and the Child is an Image of Christ therefore he that bears him is called Christophorus that is He that bears Christ Cesar could not endure to see his Pilot tremble in a furious Storm at Sea because he was in his Boat we have far less reason to be afraid seeing that we carry in our Hearts the great Emperor and Monarch of the World the Hope and Comfort of Israel Cesar was as much in danger as his Pilot to make Shipwrack but our Lord Jesus Christ hath all the Winds at his Command He can still the most disturbed Sea and through the most grievous death he can cause us to pass and arrive to the safe Haven of an Eternal Rest and of a most happy and glorious life When David shewed himself with a purpose to fight with Goliah he spoke to this prodigious Philistines in this manner I come unto thee in the name of the Lord of Hosts the God of the Armies of Israel But you Christian Souls when you are to encounter with Death you may say to it not only I come to thee in the name of him who Commands legions of Angels and all the Armies of immortal Spirits but I come to thee cloathed with his Armor strengthened by his Holy Spirit and assisted by him in person for Jesus Christ who hath overcome death for us intends to overcome it by us We are the living Stones which he hath chosen of his disinteressed Mercy to bring down that proud insulting Enemy that causeth all Worldlings to tremble and cover their faces with Shame and Confusion Judg. 6. We have already seen a Sampson breaking in pieces with a wonderful strength the Cords with which he had been bound by the Philistians and tearing also the Body of a young Lion in which he found some few days after Honey most pleasant to his taste It will be much easier for us when we shall be strengthened with the Divine Vertue of the Lord Jesus of whom Sampson was but a Type to tear in pieces all the Cords and Chains of Death We shall rent in pieces the Body of this old Lion and when we shall search into his Bowels with a serious and repeated meditation we shall find the sweetest and most ravishing Comforts As when the Prophet Elias was carried up to Heaven in a fiery Chariot he let fall his Cloak with which Elisha separated the Waters of Jordan so that he passed through the River on foot Likewise our Saviour Jesus Christ being ascended up above the Clouds to the Throne of his Glory he hath left us the precious Cloak of his Righteousness he hath granted us his Holy Spirit that we might pass through the turbulent Waves of this tempestuous Sea of the World by its Divine Vertue and that through death we might enter into immortal Life And as the death of our Lord Jesus Christ separated his Soul from his Body although both his innocent Soul and Holy Body remained always united personally to his Divinity In the same manner the Believers death disunites for a time his Soul from his Body but it can never separate it from the Spirit of the Lord Jesus that is the Soul of our Souls and such an Holy Flame that it can never be extinguished When the High Priest of the Jews put off his Priestly Garments he cast off at the same time his Breast-plate where the names of the twelve Tribes were engraven Exod. 20. Not only our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life not only our Pictures are printed upon the Palms of his hands with the Bloud of the Covenant but we be as a Signet upon his Heart Cant. 8. so that we cannot be separated from him no more than his heart can be taken from him his Love is stronger than Death and his embraces are embraces of Love Ruth promised to Naomi that Death alone should be able to separate them Ruth 1. But on the contrary we may tell our Lord and Saviour who is as our Father Brother and Husband not only death shall never be able to separate us but it shall rather bring us nearer unto thee and cause us to rest in thy bosome where we shall be for ever satisfied with thine Heavenly delights Christians you need not fear Death for you are not to be wounded by all its Darts for you have been dipt in the River that springs to Eternal Life The Spirit of the Lord Jesus that is in you is the Spirit of Life the beginning of immortality and the only Spring of Eternal Glory and Happiness Seeing that the breath of the Prophet Elias raised a dead Body to life the Spirit and the Breath of the Father and of the Son will be able to keep your Spiritual life from decaying unless it be in Death's power to stop the breath of the Almighty unless it be able to limit the beams of Light and Glory that came from his Divine countenance unless it can cause the Rivers of living Water that spring out of his Throne to cease and dry up It is not possible that it should cause us to perish and render us miserable Therefore you are certain of your Eternal Happiness while Jesus Christ shall be the Author and Well-Spring of Light Life Glory and Immortality and that his Holy Spirit shall be victorious over Death and Hell and you may sing with David I shall not dy but live and declare the Works of the Lord Ps 118. You be not only sure of this Glory and Eternal Happiness and you be not only enter'd into possession of it by your Faith and Hope but you begin already to enjoy it and its First-Fruits for he that believes in Jesus Christ is past from Death to Life and whosoever hath the Son of God hath Eternal Life As the Prophet Moses when he was in the Wilderness did not only see afar off the Land of Promise but he tasted of its delicious Fruits Thus we don 't only behold afar off with the Eye of Faith our Celestial Inheritance but we taste at present and relish some of its blessed Delights And as the Fruits brought by the Spies were the same
glorious company of Angels and blessed Spirits take upon thee these beautiful Robes of light with which thine Heavenly Father will cloath thy nakedness and accept this immortal Crown that he offers to thee go and satisfie thy self with the Bread of the Kingdome of Heaven and remove thy thirst with the Christial Waters of that River of pleasure which proceeds from the Throne of God and of the Lamb Go and behold the face of the Father of lights go and be happy with his Divine resemblance and be transformed into his glorious Image O blessed Soul Seest thou not already the Heavens open and Iesus Christ at the right hand of God the Father holding out his hand unto thee offering to receive thee into his glorious rest Seest thou not the Angels of Heaven cloathed in white raiment coming to transport thee out of this miserable estate Seest thou not how thou art already encompassed about with light and Celestial Flames Dost thou not relish the sweetness of Paradise Is not there a Heaven already in thine heart Dost thou not hear the Hymns of the glorified Spirits Hath not the Lord caused thee to hear that sweet and comfortable voice sound in thine ear Verily I say unto thee thou shall be this day with me in Paradise Come good and faithfull Servant enter into the Ioy of thy Lord seeiest thou not thy self lifted up above all earthly and perishing things Dost thou not fly upon the wings of faith and repentance to the Throne of Gods glory Dost thou not cast thy self into Paradise into the Arms of Almighty God into the bosome of the Lord Iesus to rest there for ever and to be Satisfied with the good things which eye hath not seen ear hath not heard and which are not entered into the heart of Man but which God hath prepared for them that love him A Prayer and Meditation of a Christian Soul that prepares to go out of its Body and comforts its self in the Contemplation of the glory and happiness of Paradice O God! the Author of my being and the Soveraign Lord of my life thou seest all the motions and dispositions of my Soul thou knowest that I have wholly resigned my self into thy hands and desire nothing else but to depend upon thy good pleasure speak Lord for thy Servant heareth here I am to do thy Will O God Thy People Israel removed their Camp at thy Command in the same manner I am ready to remove out of this Earthly Tabernacle at the first motion of thy Will The Golden Cherubims were alwayes upon their feet with their wings stretched out and their faces towards the Mercy Seat O that I likewise might look up to him who hath purchased for me the eternal Mercies of God him who is the Propitiation for my Sins that I may be always ready to fly up to him Lord Jesus seeing thou callest me to thy self stretch out thy hand unto me from above and draw me out of this tempestuous Sea When a poor blind man understood that thou calledst him to restore his sight he left his Garment for haste and ran to thee with joy and shall not I quit this wretched body to go to thee my Lord and my God seeing thou callest me out of the mid-night of this World to thy marvelous and glorious light seeing that thou hast a design not onely to discover to me this surprising and refreshing light that shines in Heaven but thou wilt cause me to shine in thy Kingdom as the Stars and as the Sun When the Prophet Elias let fall his Mantle he was immediately received into a Chariot of Fire and carried up into Heaven also I hope in thy tender love and favor that as soon as my Soul shall forsake this wretched Body it shall be likewise received into a Celestial Charriot of Fire that will carry it up to Heaven thou wilt deal as gratiously with my Soul as with thine High-Priest Joshua thou wilt take away its Garments shattered and broken by sickness and distempers bespotted and bedaubed with sin to adorn it with Robes of fine and bright linnen and Crown it with glory Therefore I am so far from being afflicted to see the earthly house of this Tabernacle demolished that I rejoyce in a certain assurance that I shall be admitted to my eternal Tabernacle of Heaven O good God! thou seest upon me a contemptible body of dust that desires nothing more then to return to dust again but this Heavenly and immortal Soul of mine that is come from above that is thy breath and a beam of thy glory this Soul I say will return up to its source and origin It sighs for thee O God! and desires nothing but eternal happiness Is it possible that I can be happy too soon and too speedily admitted to the Contemplation of thy glorious face Lord I should be worse then an Infidel if I did doubt of my Salvation if I were not assured to partake of thy glory for thou hast promised to save all such as persevere to the end and to give the Crown of life to all those that are faithfull unto Death Seeing therefore that by the assistance of thine holy Spirit thou hast enabled me to continue in thine holy and Divine Covenant to fight the good fight to finish my course and to keep the faith thou wilt not refuse me this great Salvation this precious Crown O merciful and bountiful Lord thou hast promised all such as overcome to cause them to sit upon thy Throne now by thy special grace and wonderfull power that appears and is fulfilled in mine infirmities I have overcome the World sin the Devil and Hell at present I beseech thee give me a new supply of strength to overcome Death also that I may have no more Enemies to counter with but that I may mount upon the magnificent Throne designed for me let this Death be a passage that may bring me to life immortality eternal glory and to the happiness of thy Kingdom Thou art my God and Father that lovest me with an unchangeable affection reach thy hand to me thy childe for I long for thee and open for me the bowels of thy most wonderfull mercies O good Lord receive me into thy bosome and satisfie me with the most effectual Consolations of thy goodness thou art my Spiritual Bridegroom draw me and I shall run or rather I shall fly after thee to magnify thy tender compassions and to be filled with thine heavenly delights Thou art the chief Shepheard of my Soul help me therefore in this vale of the shadow of Death let thy Staff and thy Rod assist and comfort me send me thy light and thy truth that they may lead and conduct me up to thy holy Mountain and to thine eternal dwelling Send thy good Angels that they may carry me up upon their Wings I expect O Lord thy Salvation I do not onely expect and hope for it but I desire and wish for it with all mine heart
greatest dainties Some answer to this That such kind of inhumanities are not ordinary and that such wretched Indians never practice such hainous things but in urgent necessity or when they purpose to revenge themselves upon their Enemies But such as have given an account of the New found America relate That in some Provinces there have been such cruel and inhumane Savages as not only to devour the flesh of their Enemies whom they sacrificed to their Idols but also of their dearest Friends whom they do cut in pieces in their Shambles These same Historians tell us That some of the barbarous people are so impiously mistaken as to reckon it an act of piety and duty to their Parents and Friends to give them a Sepulchre in their own stomachs Moreover they say That yet there are some who like so many mad Dogs feed upon Infants and hunt after Men as we do after wild Beasts of the Field In case all these relations should be true I must desire my Reader to take notice that are two kinds of parts that compose the humane body the one solid as the Bones and Nerves and so essential to it that without them it would cease from being any longer an humane body the other parts are adventitious accidental and changeable they serve to maintain it almost as the food and nourishment Now this I affirm as an undoubted Truth that when it happens that Men feed upon their own Kind God takes care by his wonderful Providence that the essential and solid parts of the Man devoured never enter into the substance or composition or the solid parts of the devourer At the great day of the Resurrection the bodies will reassume all their essential and solid parts without which they cannot be true bodies but they shall not need the accidental and fluid parts as are the humors and the Blood for then they shall have no more inward heat to consume them no more hunger and thirst Therefore they shall never have any need of meat or of drink or of any other thing whatsoever to serve them instead of Nourishment Let the mettals be never so much mingled the Goldsmith separates them with ease Thus let our humane Bodies be never so much altered and mingled God will be able enough to separate and distinguish them from one another Shen the Goldsmith will separate the mettals he casts them into the melting-pot and causeth them to pass through the Fire but God who can do all things without means hath no need of the Fire or of the melting-pot for by his word at the twingling of an eye he can cause this separation to be made and render unto every Body that which necessarily belongs to its composition In a word when the difficulty should be far greater than it is and when the resolution of this objection were not so easie to be made as it is it should not weaken our Faith or cause us to doubt of the Resurrection of our Bodies When it concerns things that the holy Scripture doth not expresly declare and decide or that cannot be drawn from it by a necessary consequence it is lawful to dispute either for or against such things but if it concerns such as this sacred Writ inspired of God plainly sets forth our Faith must learn her Duty to submit to Almighty God and believe that there is nothing impossible with him Now this Doctrine of the Resurrection of the dead is so expressy and plainly found in this Holy Scripture that it seems as visible as the beams of the Noon-Sun Many questions are made upon this subject some are of that importance that a reply will give most satisfaction upon this excellent subject first they inquire by whom and by whose Power shall the Resurrection be effected The Scripture gives an occasion to make this inquiry for it ascribes it sometimes to the Father as in the 5 of St. John The Father raises the dead and quickens them sometimes to the Son as in the 3 of the Phil. Jesus Christ shall change our vile Bodies according to his mighty working whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself And sometimes to the Holy Ghost as in 8 Rom. If the Spirit of him who hath raised Jesus from the dead dwelleth in you he that hath raised up Jesus from the dead shall quicken your mortal Bodies by his Holy Spirit that dwelleth in you This difficulty may thus be resolved All the outward works of God that concern the Creatures are common to the three Persons of the most Holy most Glorious and most Wonderful Trinity So that we shall rise again by the the infinite Power of the Father of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Nevertheless the Resurrection is especialy ascribed to the Son as he is Judge of the quick and of the dead In order to the discharge of that glorious employment all Power hath been committed to him in Heaven and in Earth and in the Seas 2. Some inquire further When shall this Resurrection be I answer that it shall be in the day which God hath appointed to Judge all the World by the Man whom he hath ordained Acts 17. You are not to expect from me Christians that I should point out unto you precisely the day when this shall come to pass for it belongs not to us to know the times and the Seasons which God hath reserved to himself It is true we may see that most part of the Prophecies are already fulfilled so that we may say in general terms The Lord is at hand and our Salvation is nearer to us then when we began to believe Phil. 4 Rom. 13. Nevertheless I cannot undertake to make out unto you this Glorious Day nor to tell you the year nor age when this shall be There is no Man upon Earth nor Angel in Heaven that is able to speak of it with certainty therefore Jesus Christ himself informs us But of that Day and Hour knoweth no Man no not the Angels of Heaven but my Father onely Mat. 24. If our Saviour saith more that the Son himself knoweth not the Day Mark 13. We must understand this as he is a Man and during his abode in the World for as he is God he knoweth all things from all Eternity and now that he is glorified as he is Man he understands all things But he hath hid from Men the time of his coming that we might expect him at every moment as he tells the Holy Apostles Watch therefore for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come but know this that if the good man of the House had known in what Watch the thief would come he would have watched and would not have suffered his House to be broken up Mat. 24. He writes in the same Language to the Angel of the Church of Sardis Remember how thou hast received and heard and hold fast and repent if therefore thou shalt not watch I will come on thee as the thief and thou shalt
be requisite to render us perfectly happy for as when our Eye beholds the Noon-Sun it cannot stedfastly look upon it nor receive all its beams but it partakes of as much as is necessary to enlighten it and when there should be a thousand Suns our Eyes would never make use of more Light then they do at present Likewise in beholding the Father of Lights this beautiful Sun of our Souls it is altogether impossible to receive the immensity of its Beams but we shall partake of as much as shall be necessary to drive away all our darkness and to fill us full of a perfect Light to make us become Light in the Lord and to cause us to shine for ever as so many Stars and little Suns As an empty Vessel when it is cast into the Sea comprehends not all its Waters but receives only enough to fill it up so that there is no part empty Likewise when we shall be cast into the Ocean of the Godhead we shall not be able to comprehend and receive God's infinite Glory and Happiness but we shall receive and comprehend as much as shall content all our desires and satisfy all our craving Appetites so that there shall be nothing at all wanting in us which might be expected in the highest felicity of an humane Creature I do not say in the highest Felicity absolutely without limitation for there are two kinds of Felicities the one absolutely perfect beyond which there can be nothing expected This Felicity or Happiness is only to be found in God the other is perfect in a certain degree As the perfect happiness of the Angels 〈◊〉 to attain to that degree of Glory of which the Angelical Nature is capable Likewise the perfect happiness of Man is to enjoy all that Blessedness whereof the Humane Nature alone and single is able to enjoy I must say the single Nature of Man to distinguish it from that which is united to the Person of the Eternal Son of God for by this means this hath attained to an uncommunicable Glory of which other Creatures cannot partake in the same perfection it hath attained to an happiness far above the Glory of all the Children of God and of all the Holy Angels of Heaven far above what they can or may expect Moreover I may say that there is a supreme and perfect Happiness independant which subsists of its self without any forreign assistance this kind of happiness is only to be found in God For as he is of himself an infinite Being which borrows nothing from others Likewise of himself he is absolutely and perfectly happy The other happiness is that which proceeds not of our selves but is derived to us from another such is the Glory and Happiness of the Angels This Lesson the Holy Ghost teacheth us in these words God puts Light into his Angels that is to say that these Holy Spirits have nothing of Light or Glory but it is derived to them from the Father of Lights and his gracious Aspect such also is the Glory of our Lord Jesus Christ as Mediator therefore he speaks thus to God his Father Glorify thy Son that thy Son may Glorify thee John 17. In a word such shall be our Glory and Happiness for as we have our Being from God it is from him that we derive our Well-being also and it is from him that we expect all our Glory and Bliss From hence you may easily conclude that God is the only object and the only source of our Eternal Gloâ—â— and future Happiness If you enquire from me what shall be the Essential form I answer that it shall be our Likeness and Resemblance with God which shall be as perfect as an Humane Creature is capable of Now this Resemblance and Similitude shall consist in three things in a pure and bright Light which shall not be mixed with the least Darkness in a perfect and a compleat Holiness where there shall not be the least blemish and in an infinite and unalterable joy and content where there shall never be the least cloud of Grief but of this we have sufficiently Treated already Some there are that inquire whether in Paradise there shall be an equality or an inequality of Glories and Happinesses to say the truth this question is more curious than necessary for we need not inquire whether there shall be any more or less happy than our selves It should suffice us for our comfort to know that if we be true Believers and truly penitent if we fear God as we ought to do if we serve him with a Religious mind until the last gasp that in such a case we shall attain to the Glory of the Children of God and possess with them a perfect and Eternal Happiness Nevertheless that we may seem to omit nothing which might give satisfaction to every believing Soul I shall examine this particular but it shall be without advancing any new thing which I have not seen in the Holy Gospel nor learn'd from the true Doctor of our Souls I shall declare the opinion of the most Learned upon this rich and excellent subject afterwards I shall add mine own which I shall submit as the rest of this Treatise to the judgement of the Wiser and more Learned Persons who are better acquainted than I am with the Spiritual and Heavenly Enjoyments Some believe that in Paradise there shall be every where the same Glory and Happiness equal and uniform in every individual Person This opinion they back with these reasons First that we shall have no Glory nor Happiness but that which hath been purchased for us by the Death and Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ and that as this Glorious Saviour hath purchased this Glory and Happiness for all the Elect equally they shall all enjoy it in the highest degree and perfection Secondly that the Holiness of all the Blessed shall be perfect therefore as they shall be all perfectly Holy they shall be all likewise perfectly happy in the same degree Thirdly that our Saviour saith expresly without any exception That the Saints shall shine as the Sun in the Kingdom of their Father Matth. 23. Now the Sun is the King of the Stars and the brightest of all the Heavenly Bodies Fourthly That the Elect are represented in Heaven as so many Kings having upon their Heads Crowns of Gold Revel 1.4 5. Now there is no inequality between Kings for each of them is in possession of Soveraignty and an independant and Supream Authority Fifthly That Jesus Christ represents to us the last transactions and passages of the World by the parable of a Father of a Family who at the end of the day bestows the same Salary upon every one that hath laboured in his Vineyard Matth. 20. Sixthly That it is said in general terms That we shall see God face to face and that we shall see him as he is 1 Cor 13. 1 John 3. and that in this blessed Vision shall consist the chief Happiness of
one after another and he also in his time yielded up the Ghost But Jesus Christ who is Risen from the Dead Dyeth no more Death hath no more Dominion over him so that he lives for ever and ever and will cause us all to become Immortal Therefore instead of desiring as Jacob to Live to go down into Egypt to see his Son Joseph we should earnestly desire to Dye that we might ascend up into Heaven there to behold our Lord Jesus Christ our Father and Redeemer When Jacob embraced again his wonderful and beloved Child in the exceeding transport of his Joy and Love he burst forth into this kind of Language Let me now Dye now that I have seen again thy Face and that thou art alive On the contrary when we shall embrace Christ in his Glory when we should behold his Divine Countenance we shall speak in another manner my Lord and my God seeing that I now look upon thee alive and Raigning in Heaven I shall live also and Raign with thee for ever and ever Amen A Prayer and Meditation for a believing Soul who strengthens it self against the Fears of Death by considering the glorious Ascention of Jesus Christ into Heaven and his sitting at the right hand of God O Holy and Divine Saviour I have often looked upon thy generous Behaviour and glorious Victories to strengthen my self against all apprehensions of Death but if thou wilt render my joy most perfect and accomplished give me Grace to Meditate upon thy Divine Triumph As thou hast engaged in many Encounters for my sake and hast vouchsafed unto me a share in thy Victory grant me also a share in thy glorious Ascention and Triumph As thou hast suffered for my Sins and art risen again for my Justification thou art also ascended up into Heaven to prepare a place for me thou art willing that I should be admitted into thy Noble and Divine Palace that I should be where thou art that I may behold thy Glory which thou hast enjoyed with God the Father before the Creation of the World O sweet and Merciful Lord what cause have I to fear to go to Heaven seeing that thou art there seated in the highest Glory and Felicity and that thou stretchest out thy merciful hand to receive and admit me Have not I good reason to expect to be glorified in thy Kingdom seeing that thou thy self dost bestow upon those that serve thee the Immortal Crowns and Scepters O great God and Saviour thy Throne is surrounded with Glory and Splendor nevertheless I will draw near unto it with boldness for it is a Throne of Love and a Throne of Mercy unto which every penitent Sinner may come Round about this glorious Throne I see a Rainbow of an Emerald colour that certifies me that thy Covenant is everlasting When thy Glory and Majesty did increase thy Love for me did not lessen and thy compassion and goodness were always the same Thou art the same yesterday and to day and thou shalt always be the same for ever Thou hast been pleased for my Salvation to lye in a Manger and to be nailed to a Cross Thou hast given thy Soul for my Ransome and hast spilt thy precious Blood to wash and cleanse me from my Sins and to make me a way that I might enter into thine holy Sanctuary In the midst of all that Glory and Light with which thou art now cloathed thou hast not thought it a scorn to acknowledge me for thy Brether and for a Member of thy Mystical Body It is for my sake that thou appearest before thine Heavenly Father it is for me that thou offerest up unto him Prayers and Supplications O wonderful Lord it is in thy power to give unto me the things which thou hast merited by thy Sufferings and which thou desirest for me by thy Prayers and Intercession for all power is given unto thee in Heaven and in Earth O Soveraign Monarch of the whole World hast not thou given unto us this great and gracious promise When I shall be lifted up from the Earth I shall draw all Men after me And is it not for us that thou hast prayed in this excellent manner Father I will that they also whom thou hâ—st given me be with me where I am that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me Seeing therefore that thou hast left this wretched Earth to go and Raign above in Heaven take unto thee my Soul O wonderful Redeemer and deliver it from this valley of Tears and Misery cause it to understand at the time of its departure those words of joy and eternal comfort Verily I say unto thee this day thou shalt be with me in Paradice Lord Jesus draw me with the cords of thy Mercy and Grace and I shad run after thee And seeing that I must of necessity pass through Death to come to thee the Prince of Life and Immortality give me Grace to consider it in the same manner as the Prophet Elias did the Fiery Charriots that carried him up to Heaven or as Jacob did the Waggon that carried him into Egypt to his Son that did Raign there this holy Father in a transport of joy cried out let me see my Son Joseph again and then let me Dye But when I shall be ravished with an unspeakable and glorious joy I shall speak in another manner Let me Dye that I may behold my true Joseph the Soul of my Soul the light of Life the Author of my Glory and Happiness O sweet Jesus I shall freely and willingly leave this wretched and crasie dwelling to enter into thy heavenly Palace to behold thy Glory and Magnificence O King of Kings and Lord of Lords when shall I hear that Divine Wisdom that drops from thy Lips and when shall I see thee sitting upon the Throne of thy Glorious Majesty where a thousand thousands wait upon thee and ten millions Worship thee When shall I enter into the Glorious Company of the Saints and Blessed Spirits that Sing forth thy Praises and cast at thy feet their most precious Crowns O glorious Monarch that art now in thy Kingdome enjoying a perfect happiness forget not thy poor Servant be not unmindful of thy Sâ—n or Daughter who am now overwhelmed with the sorrows of this miserable life and the anguish of Death Let not the Songs of the holy Angels and applauses of all the glorified Spirits hinder thee from listning to my Sighs and Groans O Almighty and merciful Lord look upon me with the eyes of thy Love and reach unto me thine helping hand Send unto me thine Angels of Light to receive my Soul and prâ—tect me from the Angels of Darkness that endeavâ—r to destroy me and to drag me headlong into Hell Let Some of thâ—se glorious Spirits that wait for thine orders and fly at thy command deliver me from Death and carry me upon their wings into thy Bosome I see the Heavens open and Jesus Christ sitting at the right hand