THE GOSPEL-CALL In METRE Compiled by W. V. Whereunto is added Twenty Five Considerations OF THE PAINS prepared for SIN After this Life WITH A SERMON Preached on Acts VII 60. Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound Psal 89.15 To day if you will â—ear his voice harden not your hearts Ps 95.7 8. Hear and your soul shall live Isa 55.3 Rise he calleth thee Mark 10.49 LONDON Printed for Richard Butler in White-Lion-Court in Barbican 1688. THE PUBLISHER TO THE READER Honest Reader THE sad Degeneracy of the Age we live in makes it appear but too great a Truth That such Books as these were never more necessary or more seasonable And therefore I hope there needs no Apology for publishing this The following Papers came recommended to me from Persons of known Honesty and Integrity Our Author has thought fit in Modesty to conceal his Name and I will not trouble my self or thee with impertinent Guesses Nor will I pretend positively to determine why he has cloath'd part of his Conceptions in a Poetick Dress since Examples are not wanting in all times in this kind The Royal Prophets David and Solomon have excell'd in Divine Poesie And we are not wanting in our own Age of great Men famous in our Generation who have oblig'd the World with their Excellent Labours of this Nature witness the Famous Quarles Inimitable Cowley Facetious Donne and the Divine Herbert to name no more who gives this Excellent Reason A Verse may find him who a Sermon flies And turn Delight into a Sacrifice As for the following Discourse 't is plain and honest fitted to the meanest Capacities which I hope will render it universally acceptable It treats of things of the greatest Moment and highest Consequence no less than the Concerns of Eternity I will no longer detain thee from the Perusal which I wish may redound to thy great benefit I heartily recommend it to thee and thee to the Grace of God. I am Thine R. B To the Author of the Gospel-Call THY Gospel-Call Dear Friend has out-done all Those gaudy florid Strains Which puzzle Vulgar Brains Thy Book has Worth Which needs no setting forth By my weak Pen The Praise is thine For which thy Name shall shine Bright like the Morning-Star Which ushers in the Day from far Until the Restitution of all things agen T. D. To the Author of the Gospel-Call AWake my Muse how can I silent be When I these pious Works of David see They that peruse this little Book may find The wise Suggestions of the Author's Mind How wittily this Worthy does impart His Sentiments with Judgment and with Art In Stile most Elegant in Sence profound In Morals practical and Doctrine sound Who like a Geographer does here display To Heaven the surest and the safest way In Gospel-Colours does delineate The lively Landschape of our future State. Dull Soul chear up here here 's thy chiefest Good 'T is not Terrestrial but Celestial Food A. T. THE GOSPEL-CALL In METRE READER awake awake my Soul and all That is within me hearken to the Call Of God most gracious who calleth thee His Name to hallow and to glorifie And from vile lusts vain glory cheating pelf Invites thee to Communion with himself This is thy chief end thy Felicity Thy greatest good thy highest dignity Here is Light Life Love all that 's meet Needful and useful holy right and sweet And all which truly fills the heart and eyes Elsewhere is nought but emptiness and lies Jehovah calls the Father and the Son The Holy Ghost Blest Three in Essence One. Nothing but God the Father Son and Spirit Can fit and fill thy Soul 's vast appetite The Soul 's a Spirit and while not unite To God who is a Spirit Infinite It wandreth seeking rest but findeth none Nor ought that gives it contentation Immortal Souls in things which fade with time Cannot find rest Come restless soul to him Who in Eternity hath his abode And is from and to everlasting God Who changeth not with whom is no mutation Nor any shadow of an alteration Who is and was and shall be still the same Whose Name alone is I am that I am When thy heart fails thy hearts strength he will be And thy sure Portion to Eternity God Infinite in wisdom only wise Calls Wilt thou fool Wisdom's advice despise It 's God Almighty who doth thee command Wilt thou frail wretch Omnipotence withstand Since the most Holy calleth upon thee To disobey were gross profanity Since the most Just most justly doth thee press To disobey were meer unrighteousness He who thee calls is good and gracious To anger slow in mercy plenteous He 's lovely loving Love who calls on thee Wilt thou from love grace goodness mercy flee He who doth call most faithful is and true Trust Truth it self and thou shalt never rue The Great Creator calls whose Word did call What was not and of nothing formed all Who all thy Members wrought most curiously And form'd thy Spirit in the midst of thee He gave and still he life to thee doth give Thou liv'st in him wilt thou without him live Thou mov'st in him from him move not away From him in whom thou go'st go not astray In him thou dost exist and canst thou be Without him who gives being unto thee Where art thou Adam when the Lord doth cry Where 's God my Maker Man should then reply When he in whom thou liv'st and doth consist Commands how dares thou for thy life resist When he in whom thou mov'st doth thee command To come to him how dares thou lingring stand Lord what is Man that thou so much should'st make Of such a nothing and such knowledge take Of Man who is but dust and fading grass And which is worse a loathsome filthy Mass Of darkness horror lust profanity Unrighteousness of sin and misery Conceiv'd in sin form'd in iniquity A slave to divers lusts lusts of the eye Lusts of the flesh and to the pride of life To anger hatred malice wrath and strife All in him is corrupt and vitiate His heart 's deceitful wicked desperate Estrang'd from God straying as soon as born Inclin'd to lies apostate and forlorn This Man whom thou O Lord didst once create In thine own Image in a happy state Hath quite dis-made himself He who was light Is darkness now he who was made upright Is now perverse ungodly and unjust Conform to Satan to his will and lust Without the Lord under Gods curse and wrath Liable to the first and second death To plagues in this life which were long to tell And to the easeless endless pains of Hell. Lord what but Grace and Mercy could thee move Upon thy hateful Foes to set such love To speak to them who hearken not to thee To follow them who from thy presence flee To shew thy self to them who shut their eyes On thee and turn them unto vanities To stretch thy arms to those which turn their
you may see The laws of God most holy and most high Whose Will 's the rule of all holiness Of love and mercy and of righteousness These pure commands light to the eyes impart They 'r right and good and do rejoice the heart Receive them in thy mind since they are light And since they 'r good make them thy hearts delight Great peace have they O Lord thy law that love Nothing to them a stumbling-block shall prove Would you read Proverbs much sence in few words The Scripture Proverbs plenteously affords In Scripture rare Epistles you will find Where to his Friends Christ writes his heart and mind And as their case requires so he in love Sometimes commends and sometimes doth reprove Would you read news here 's news both great and true Good tidings of great Joy and ever new That God was manifest in humane flesh Will be for ever wondrous news and fresh He is the same to day and yesterday And is the same for ever and for aye His love 's the same it never waxeth old His blood 's still fresh his vertue grows not cold He 's white and ruddy still his beauty rare Doth never fade no age can it impair His locks are black no grey hairs there are seen His Marriage bed continues ever green All earthly things do languish and decay The fashion of the world doth pass away These things are nothing else but shadows fleeing Which seem to be and have no solid being But Christ is truth and new creatures true Old things are past lo all things here are new These things fade not with time they grow not frail They are eternal and shall never fail New creatures wax not old they never die Newness of life lasts to eternity New are their hearts their spirits minds and sense Their acts are acts of new obedience Their way is new as light it shines alway Still more and more unto the perfect day These creatures new have a new secret name And a new City New Jerusalem A new Heav'n and new Earth which far excell This World for there all righteousness doth dwell New various fruits they gather from the tree Of Life and drink new wine perpetually Eternal draughts of Light Love and Joy While God himself they fully do enjoy Ah Fools who seek for needless Novelties To feed fantastick Curiosities Of precious time so prodigally lost Your brave new nothings will not quit the cost Search for the new things that are great and true And of this labour thou shalt never rue These news thy soul to wondering will raise And yield sweet matter of new Songs of praise Art thou dispos'd to sing apply thine ear In scripture thou a joyful sound shalt hear Of Psalms and Hymns and Songs Spiritual Which make a melody celestial No Poet now can such Composures write For the great Maker did these Songs indite They came from Heaven and by a heavenly strain They lift the soul from Earth to Heaven again There are high Songs made touching the great King Who hath pre-eminence in every thing There are most stately Songs of acts divine Sweet Songs of Love which better are than wine Here mournful Songs and Songs of joy and gladness And here are Songs compos'd of mirth and sadness The Psalm begins sometimes with sighs and tears And sad complaints of dangers and of fears But while the Psalmist sings the grief and fray Evanish and are sweetly sung away These fingers travel much aloft to raise Their hearts and tongues to highest Notes of praise They call for help invite the creatures all In Earth Seas Air the Hosts celestial But all the praise that creatures can afford Is far below the praise due to the Lord. This rent will never fully payed be Through all the Ages of Eternity But they who ever praise are ever blest In restless praise there is eternal rest Unto the word the Lord subjoined hath The Sacraments for to confirm our Faith That as we hear so we may clearly see Christ and his Grace presented to our eye In Baptism behold Christ doth apply His Blood and Spirit us to purifie To purge away our guilt and filthiness To give us holiness and righteousness Be pure and clean and of a holy frame Since thou wast washed in God's holy Name Unto the holy One the holy Three Thou offer'd wast should'st thou not holy be Think never shame holiness to avow Glory to stand to thy Baptismal Vow Abhor the filthy lusts of Swinish Hogs Disdain to cast what 's holy unto Dogs Watch fight against all worldly lusts and evils Resist unclean lying and murthering Devils Be strong in God and in his power of might The War is holy and the Cause is right Put on Gods armour stand stand do not flee Upon the Captain always fix thine eye He is the Captain of Salvation Cleave unto him and thou shalt surely win For he hath given to all thy Foes the foil Come after him and gather up the spoil He will thee feast in midst of all thy fight Cover thy Table in thine Enemies sight A Banquet in the fight expect thou may Since Christ Love's Banner doth o're thee display O! let it not be ever said of thee That from Christ's Colours thou away did flee Christ and his fulness in the union-feast We may both hear and see smell touch and taste By these same ports were Satan Death and Sin Enter'd Christ Life and Righteousness come in Adam did hear take smell touch taste tâ—â— fruit And was transform'd to a vile mortal Brute He is the Living the Life-giving Bread Here is the meat indeed the drink indeed Under the shadow of this true Apple tree Sit down it 's Fruit to thy taste sweet shall be This tree of life this true and noble Vine Yields Grapes which bleed true life a life divine Christ would be broken that he might be bread And that the dead might live he would be dead He would bleed out his life that we might drink Life in his blood remember him and think Still of his Death and in his Temple still Think of his Love and of his latter Will. Thou who art willing Christ himself to take And all his fulness no more scruples make For as the bread thou eat'st and as the wine Thou drink'st belongs to thee so Christ is thine As food the empty body satiates And life and strength recruits and recreates So Christ to souls doth full contentment give He is their strength and life by which they live If he dwell in thee thou shalt filled be With all Gods fullness most abundantly And thou shalt live not thou but rather he Who is a quickning Spirit shall live in thee Faint not when to great works thou hast a call In Christ who strengthens thee thou maist do all Thou wilt him find life giving strenthening food The living Spring of all that 's truly good Prepare thy self for this great holy Feast The King himself observeth every guest He who
Eternity Perfection infinite but that poor we With mind heart mouth acknowledge and confess His glory as he doeth it express In all his Works and in his holy Word And in the face of Jesus Christ our Lord And that in eating drinking in each thing We do God's Glory we may still design But surely it is wonderfully sweet To see Gods Glory and man's good unite In these same acts by which they glorifie The Lord they do enjoy his company And these same acts which do unite the soul Unto the Lord his Glory do extol By acting Faith and hoping in his Word They praise the Grace Truth Power of the Lord By acting Faith they in their heart receive The Lord to dwell in them great peace they have Whose mind and heart upon the Lord is staid Of evil tidings they are not afraid When they themselves most quietly do hide Under the shade of his wings and abide In the most secret place of the most high What harm of evil can to them come nigh Munition of Rocks doth them secure Their bread and water are to them made sure God with broad Rivers them surrounds that so No Ship nor Galley can against them go Since in them God is Glory and a wall Of sire about them surely they have all Glory within their mind and heart to fill A fire without to guard them from all ill How can they but be safe who have salvation For VValls and Bulwarks for their preservation The more they trust the more they glorifie God and his wondrous loving kindness see Which he to them hath greatly magnified Within a city that is fortified No outward force disturbeth their solace When they thus guarded see and taste his grace Love doth at once the Lord himself embrace And glorifies his goodness love and grace While we above all things the Lord do love We in our heart set him all things above While we desire him and do in him joy We move to him and God himself enjoy Yea every act whereby we glorifie The Lord in it we do the Lord draw nigh And God to us Thus are his servants blest For all their service is their interest Christ from himself servants sent not away His word is come follow me with me stay If any serve me let him follow me And where I am there shall my servant be Since Christ is foremost sure the way is right Since he 's the way the Leader and the Light The way is safe take courage talk no more Of fear and danger since God is before The way is pleasant it 's a sight most sweet To see the steps of Jesus lovely feet And to walk in them in them to walk on Since our fore-runner in these paths hath gone Tho he be gone before yet he is near He 's on the front and also on the rear And still on thy right hand thee to uphold Yea in thy heart to make thee humbly bold As he walks in them this of them is crav'd That they walk in him as they him receiv'd It is his promise to be with them still That they be still with him is his good will. Thus all the service he to them commends To Glory Union and Communion tends Their Master's Service is their interest In glorifying God they 're truly blest This is thy chief end God to glorifie And to enjoy him to eternity Come to the Mediator Jesus Christ In him alone the Lord with man's well-pleas'd Come unto God by him though thou be'st lost He will thee save unto the uttermost Come take himself and take his fulness all Deny thy self follow upon his call Follow him fully follow him with delight His yoke is easie and his burden light His holy Ordinances are most sweet His Rod is needful and his Cross is meet All service he requires is reasonable All Rods and Crosses needful seasonaable It 's only for a time if need there be That trials come in great variety And though they sadning be yet they are blest And tend to Holiness Praise Glory Rest Come come thy service all all thy distress Is for God's Glory and thy Happiness Now since by God the Father and the Spirit Thou art from sin and torments infinite Called to come through Christ the living way To Fellowship with God which lasts for aye Behold by whom from what through whom to whom Thou called art all calls on thee to come The Spirit and the Bride say Come let all who hear Say Come and let them come who thirsty are Here is Life's Fountain whosoever will Of living water freely take thy fill That all who hear may come Lord draw that we May come and run and follow after thee Come with thy Grace and Glory speedily Lord Jesus come Amen So let it be FINIS Twenty Five CONSIDERATIONS OF THE PAINS prepar'd for SIN After this Life WITH A SERMON Preached on Acts VII 60. I heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me Write From henceforth Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord even so saith the Spirit for they rest from their labours and their works follow them Rev. 14.13 LONDON Printed for Richard Butler in White-Lion-Court in Barbican 1688. Twenty Five CONSIDERATIONS OF THE PAINS prepared for SIN After this Life I. AMongst all the means which God useth towards the Children of Men to move them to this Resolution whereof I treat the strongest and most forcible to the common sort of men is the consideration of Punishments prepared by him for rebellious sinners and transgressors of his Commandments Wherefore he useth this Consideration often as may appear by all the Prophets who do nothing else almost but threaten plagues and destruction to Offenders And this means hath often times prevailed more than any others that could be used by reason of the Natural Love which we bear towards our selves and consequently the Natural Fears we have of our own danger So we read that nothing could move the Ninevites so much as the foretelling them of their imminent destruction And St. John the Baptist John the 5th Matth. the 3d. altho he came in a simple and contemptible way yet preaching unto the people the terror of Vengeance to come and that the Axe was now put to the Trees to cut for the fire all those which repented not he moved the very Publicans and Soldiers to fear which otherwise are people of very hard metal who came unto him upon his terrible Embassage and asked what they should do to avoid these punishments II. After then that we have considered of Death and of God's severe Judgment which ensueth after Death and wherein every man hath to receive according to his works in this life as the Scripture saith it followeth that we consider also of the punishments which are appointed for them that shall be found faulty in that account Hereby at leastwise no other consideration will serve to induce Christians to this Resolution of serving God For as I have noted before If
every man have naturally a Love of himself and desire to conserve his own ease then should he also have fear of peril whereby he is to fall into extream calamity This St. Bernard expresseth excellently according to his custom O man saith he if thou hast left all shame which appertaineth to so noble a creature as thou art if thou feelest no sorrow as carnal men do not yet lose not fear also which is found in very beasts We use to load an Ass and weary him out with Labour and he careth not because he is an Ass But if thou wouldest thrust him into fire or fling him into the ditch he would avoid it as much as he could for that he loveth life and feareth death Fear thou then and be not more insensible than a beast Fear Death fear Judgment fear Hell. This Fear is called the beginning of Wisdom and not shame and sorrow for that the Spirit of fear is more mighty to resist sin than the Spirit of shame or sorrow Wherefore it is said Remember the end and thou shalt never sin That is Remember the final punishments appointed for sin after this life III. First therefore to speak in General of the punishments reserved for the Life to come If the Scriptures did not declare in particular their greatness unto us That they are most severe dolorous and intolerable For first as God is a God in all his Works That is to say great wonderful and terrible so especially he sheweth the same in his punishments being called for that cause in Scripture a God of Justice as also a God of Revenge Wherefore seeing all his other Works are full of Majesty and exceeding our capacities we may likewise gather that his hand in punishment must be wonderful Also God himself teacheth us to reason in this manner when he saith And will ye not then fear me and tremble before my face which have put the sand as a stop unto the sea and have given the water a commandment never to pass no not when it is most troubled and the floods most outragious As if he should say If I am wonderful and do pass your imaginations in these works of the Sea and others which you see daily you have cause to fear me considering that my punishments are like to be correspondent to the same IV. Another conjecture of the great and severe Justice of God may be the consideration of his infinite and unspeakable Mercy the which as it is the very Nature of God and without end or measure as his Godhead is so is also his Justice and these two are the two arms as it were of God embracing and kissing the one the other as the Scripture saith Therefore as in a man of this world if we had the measure of one arm we might easily conjecture of the other so seeing the wonderful examples daily of God's infinite mercy towards them that repent we may imagine by the same his severe justice towards them whom he reserveth to punishment in the next life and whom for that cause he calleth in the Scriptures Vessels of his Fury or Vessels to shew his Fury upon V. A Third Reason to perswade us of the greatness of these punishments may be the marvellous patience and long-sufferings of God in this life As for example in that he suffereth divers men from one sin to another from one day to another from one year to another from one age to another to spend all I say in dishonour and despite of his Majesty adding offence to offence and refusing all perswasions allurements good inspirations or other means of friendship that his mercy can devise to offer for their amendment And what man in the world could suffer this Or what mortal heart can shew such patience But now if all this should not be requited with severity of punishment in the world to come upon the obstinate it might seem against the Law of Justice and Equity and one arm of God might seem longer than the other Saint Paul teacheth this Reason in his Epistle to the Romans Rom. 2. where he saith Dost thou not know that the benignity of God is used to bring to repentance And thou by thy hard and impenitent heart dost hoard up vengeance unto thy self in the day of wrath and appearance of God's just judgment which shall restore to every man according to his works He useth here the words of hoarding up of vengeance to signifie as a covetous man doth hoard up money to money daily to make his heap great so the unrepentant finner doth hoard up fin to fin and God on the contrary side hoardeth up vengeance to vengeance until his measure be full to restore in the measure against measure as the Prophet saith and to pay us home according to the multitude of our abominations This God meant when he said to Abraham that the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full up Also in the Revelation unto St. John the Evangelist when he useth this conclusion of that book He that doth evil let him do more evil and he that liveth in filth let him yet become more filthy For behold I come quickly and my reward is with me to render to every one according to his deeds By which words God signifieth that his bearing and tolerating with sinners in this life is an Argument of his greater severity in the life to come which the Prophet David also declareth when talking of a careless sinner he saith The Lord shall scoff at him foreseeing that his day shall come This day no doubt is to be understood the day of account and punishment after this life For so doth God more at large declare himself in these words Ezek. 7th And thou Son of man this saith thy Lord God The end is come now I say the end is come upon thee And I will shew in thee my fury and will judge thee according to thy ways I will lay against thee all thine abominations and mine eye shall not spare thee neither will I take any mercy upon thee but I will put thy own ways upon thee and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. Behold afflictions cometh on the end is come the end I say is come it hath watched against thee and behold it is come the day of slaughter is at hand crushing is now come upon thee Shortly will I pour out my wrath upon thee and I will fill my fury in thee and I will judge thee according to thy ways and I will lay all thy wickedness upon thee mine eye shall not pity thee but I will lay thy way upon thee and thine abominations in the midst of thee and thou shalt know that I am the Lord that striketh Hitherto is the speech of God himself VI. Seeing then now we understand in general that the punishments of God in the Life to come are most certain to be great and severe to all such as fall into them for which cause the Apostle
life he altereth his course of dealing he turneth over the leaf and changeth his stile of a Lamb he becometh a Lion to the wicked and of a Saviour a just and severe punisher What can be said or done more to move us that is forewarned and seeth his own danger before his face and yet is not stirred and made more wary or fearful thereby but notwithstanding will come or slide into the same may well be pitied but surely by no means can be helped making himself incapable of remedies that may be used FINIS A SERMON Acts VII 60. And when he had said this he fell asleep THese words contain in them the happy closure and upshot of Stephen's life wherein we have Three Particulars First The Person that fell asleep Secondly The Speech he made when he fell asleep Thirdly What he did when he had finished his Speech First We have the Person that fell asleep and that was Stephen He was a man full of Faith and full of the Holy Ghost as you may see Acts 6.5 He was the first Martyr that ever suffered for the Cause of Christ Hence I might gather this Doctrine viz. That the best of men are subject to sudden and violent Deaths Stephen that was full of the Holy Ghost was stoned to death and John the Baptist that was full of the Holy Ghost from the very Womb was beheaded Peter was crucified and so was Andrew Isaiah was sawed asunder Jeremiah was stoned and Zacharias was slain between the Temple and the Altar But I shall pass this The Second part of the Text is the Speech that Stephen made when he fell asleep Hcc dicte obdormivit That is when he had finished his Prayer he fell asleep Hence observe this That it is an excellent way to close up our Life with prayer To die praying is a most Christian way of dying the stoned Stephen calling upon God. After this manner Christ died he prayed Father into thy hands I commend my Spirit and having thus said he gave up the Ghost This he did that it might be a pattern to all Christians Prayer is a necessary duty at all times but especially when we are a dying And that for these Reasons First Because when we are to die we have most need of God's help for then the Devil is most busie and we most weak Secondly Because when we are to die we are to beg the greatest boon of God that is That he would receive us into his Heavenly Kingdom Now Prayer is the chief means to obtain this mercy for it is Porta Caeli Clavis Paradici the Gate of Heaven a Key to let us into Paradice Therefore we have great reason to die praying Thirdly Because when a Saint of God is dying he is then to take his last farewel of Prayer In Heaven there is no praying but all thanksgiving There is no need in Heaven therefore no praying in Heaven now a Saint of God being to take his leave of prayer when he is to die therefore it is fit to die praying I beseech you remember this pattern in the Text St. Stephen died calling upon God. Let us die praying as that Emperor said Oportes Imperatorem stantem mori So may I say Oportet Christianum mori precantem It behoves a Christian to die praying Quest But what was the Substance of Stephen's prayer Ans He prayed for himself Lord Jesus receive my Spirit ver 59. Secondly He prayed for his persecutors Lord lay not this sin to their charge ver 60. I will not enter upon this part of the Text for it would swallow up all my time Therefore I shall wave it and come to the Third part which is that that by God's assistance I purpose to speak unto to wit what Stephen did when he had finished his Prayer When he had said this he fell asleep that is he died Behold here the Magnanimity the Piety and the Christian Courage of Stephen The people were stoning of him and gnashing their Teeth upon him and the good man dies with as much quietness of mind as if he had died on his bed He fell asleep while they were stoning him while he died he prayed and while he prayed he died But what made Stephen die thus quietly Read the 55th Verse and you shall see the Reason of it Being full of the Holy Ghost he looked up stedfastly into Heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. This made him die with such a sweet quiet and calm Temper he saw Jesus Christ standing at the Right Hand of God ready to receive his Soul and that made him to die with such an extraordinary quietness of mind Death in Scripture especially the death of God's Children is often compared to a sleep It is said of David 1 Kings 2.10 that he slept with his Fathers And it is said 1 Thes 4.3 I would not have you ignorant concerning them that are asleep that is concerning them that are dead And 1 Cor 11.50 For this cause many are weakly and sick among you and many sleep that is many die This Expression is a Metaphorical Expression and will afford us many rare and pretious Instructions And therefore the Grace of God assisting me I desire to spend the rest of the time in opening this Metaphor The Doctrine is this viz. That when a child of God dies though his death be never so unnatural and violent yet it is nothing but a falling asleep Or A Child of God though stoned to death though burnt to ashes though it be never so violent or unnatural is nothing but a falling asleep When he had said this he fell asleep Somnus est mortis Imago Sleep is the Image of Death There are many notable resemblances betwixt sleep and death some of which I shall speak of at this time First Sleep is common to all men no man can live without sleep A man may live long without meat but no man can live long without sleep So it is true with death Death is common too It is appointed for all men once to dis and therefore David saith he was to go the way of all flesh Statutum est omnibus semel mori omnibus est calcanda semel Lethivia All men must sleep the sleep of Death or else be changed which is a metaphorical death Secondly As sleep ariseth from the Vapours that ascend from the Stomach to the Head and tie the Senses and hinder their Operations so Death came into the World by Adam's eating the Forbidden Fruit and by the poysonful Vapour of sin that brought death upon him and all his Posterity By one man sin entred into the world and death by sin and so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned Rom. 5.12 Had Adam never sinned Adam should never have died But in illo die said God But in that day thou eatest the forbidden fruit thou shalt die the death Sin brings omni modam mortem all kinds of death
it brings death temporal death spiritual and death eternal Now because all men are poisoned with the poison of sin therefore all men must sleep of the sleep of death It is sin that hath poisoned all mankind Thirdly As a man when he goeth to sleep puts off his Cloaths and goeth naked into bed so it is with us when we come to die We came naked into the World and naked we must return As we brought nothing with us into the World so we must carry nothing with us out of the World And therefore Death in Scripture is called nothing else but an uncloathing of our selves as 2 Cor. 5.4 Death to a Child of God is nothing but the putting off of his Cloaths The Body of man is Animae vestimentum it is the Soul's cloathing and Death is nothing else but the uncloathing of the Soul It is just like a man going to bed and putting of his cloaths St. Peter calls it the putting off of our earthly Tabernacle 2 Peter 1.14 Our Bodies are the Souls Tabernacles and death is the putting off of this Tabernacle Beloved when we come to die we shall be stript naked of Three things First We shall be stript naked of all our Worldly Honour Riches and Greatness Secondly We shall be stript naked of our Bodies And Thirdly Which is above all we shall be stript naked of our sins and that is the happiness of a child of God he shall put off not only his mortal body but the body of sin Fourthly In the Fourth place observe As no man knoweth the time when he falls asleep a man falls asleep before he is aware so no man can tell the certain time when he must die There is nothing so certain as that we must die nothing so uncertain as the time when we shall die Death comes suddenly even as sleep comes on a man before he is aware Fifthly Observe as Children and Infants because they do not know the benefit of sleep are very loth to go to bed yea many times the Mother is fain to whip the Child to bed even so it is with most of God's People because they do not study the benefit of death That death puts an end to all our miseries and sins and opens a door to let us into everlasting happiness and that we shall never see God or Christ until we die I say because God's People do not study the benefit of death therefore they are like to little children loth to die Job 18.14 loth to go to bed and therefore Death is called the King of Terrors Death is terrible to many of God's Children because they are but Infants in Grace and because they do not know the benefits of death Sixthly Observe as when a man is fast asleep he is free from cares and troubles Let it thunder as it thundered not long since as you know yet a man that is fast asleep he hears it not Let the House be on fire while the man is asleep he sees it not neither is he troubled at it So it is with the death of God's Children When God's Children sleep the sleep of death they are free from the thunders of this World and from all cares and troubles they go to their Graves as to their Beds and rest in quietness and are not sensible of any troubles that are in this World for Abraham knows us not Isa 63.16 so 2 Kings 22.20 Thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace and thy eyes shall not see all the evil that I will bring upon this place When a Child of God sleeps the sleep of death he doth not feel nor is he sensible of any of the calamities or sad providences of God upon the Earth Seventhly When a man goeth to sleep he goeth to sleep but for a certain time in the morning he awakes out of his sleep So it is with the sleep of death and therefore death is called a sleep because we must all awake in the morning of Resurrection We are in the Grave as in our Beds and when the Trumpet of God and the voice of the Arch-Angel shall sound we shall all arise out of our Graves as out of our Beds Death is but a sleep for a certain time Eighthly Sleep is a great refreshing to those that are weary and sick and when the sick man awakes he is more lively and chearful than he was before he fell asleep and therefore sleep is called Medicus laborum redintegratio virium recreator corporum the great Physician of the sick Body the renewing of man's Spirits the reviver of the weary Body And so it is with death When God's People awake out of the sleep of death they shall be more active for God than ever they were before When you lie down in the Grave you shall lie down with mortal Bodies as 1 Cor. 15.42 43. It is sown a mortal body but it shall rise up an immortal body it is sown in dishonour but it shall rise up in honour it is sown a natural body but it shall rise up a spiritual body Nithly As in the morning when we rise out of our Beds we then put on our cloaths so in the morning of the glorious Resurrection we shall put on a glorious Body like to the glorious Body of Jesus Christ We shall put on Stolam Immortalitatis the Garment of Immortality Tenthly As no man when he lieth down to sleep knoweth the direct time when he shall awake so no man can tell when the Resurrection shall be They do but cozen you who say That the general Resurrection shall be such or such a year For as no man can know the minute when he shall awake out of his natural sleep no more can any man know when we shall arife from the sleep of death Eleventhly As it is a very easie thing to awake a man out of sleep it is but stirring of him and you will awake him quickly so it is with the sleep of death It is as easie for Jesus Christ to awake us out of the sleep of death as it is for you or me to awake a man out of his sleep in Bed Nemo nostrum tam facile excitat dormientem de lecto quam Christus jacentem in Sepulchro Twelfthly As when a man riseth in the morning tho he hath slept many hours nay suppose he could sleep twenty years together yet notwithstanding when he awakes these twenty years will seem to be but as one hour unto him So it will be in the day of Judgment all those that are in their Graves when they awake it will be tanquam somnus unius horae as the sleep of one hour unto them Lastly And most especially as sleep seizeth only upon the Body and the outward Senses but doth not seize upon the Soul. The Soul of man is oftentimes most busie when the man is asleep And God hath heretofore revealed most glorious things to his children in dreams when they have been asleep God
and election sure The more you labour for Heaven the better the sweeter will your sleep be when you come to die And remember this as much sleeping in the day-time will hinder a man's Sleep at night so you that idle away way the time of your providing for Heaven in this your day you that sleep away the minute on which Eternity doth depend O! you will have a sad Sleep when death seizeth upon you Take heed therefore of sleeping whilst you live that so your sleep in the night of death may be comfortable unto you 5. And lastly If ever you would sleep an happy sleep when you die then take heed of the sleep of sin Sin in the Scripture is compared to a sleep Awake thou that sleepest that is thou that sinnest Sin is such a sleep as brings the sleep of death Sin brings the first death and sin brings the second death All miseries whatsoever are the daughters of sin If you would sleep an happy sleep and have an happy awakening at the Resurrection then take heed of the sleep of sin Awake thou that sleepest arise from the dead and Jesus Christ will give thee life Eph. 5.14 so Rom. 13.11 12 13. with which I will conclude and I pray you mark it well for it was a Text that converted St. Augustine Knowing the time beloved that it is now high time to awake out of sleep for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed The night is far spent the day is at hand Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armour of light let us walk honestly as in the day not in rioting and drunkenness not in chambering and wantonness not in strife and envying but put on the Lord Jesus Christ FINIS Books Printed for Richard Butler in White-Lyon-Court in Barbican A Practical and short Exposition of the Catechism of the Church of England by way of Question and Answer Wherein the Divine Authority and Reasonableness of every Question and Answer every Doctrine and Practice in it recommended are Evidenced and Improved against most Contemners of it and Dissenters from it with that Moderation and Plainness that it may engage all to adhere to and especially may instruct Children in the true Protestant Religion of the Church of England Humbly offered for the good of Schools and Youth By Nathanael Taylor M. A. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Or the Baptism of Infants Vindicated by Scriptures and Reasons Humbly offered in Order to a Composure of Differences at this Juncture of Time. By Nath. Taylor M. A. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Or an Alphebetical Martyrology containing the Trials and Dying Expressions of many Martyrs of Note since Christ Extracted out of Foxe's Acts and Monuments numents of the Church With an Alphabetical List of God's Judgments remarkably shown on many Noted and Cruel Persecutors Together with an Appendix of things pertinent to the understanding this Martyrology By N. T. M. A. T. C. C. Two Sermons of Hypocrisie and the vain hope of self-deceiving sinners Together with an Inspection into the Manners and Conversation of the People called Quakers whose fruits betel them to be Men of a Worldly Spirit hating true holiness and strangers to the simplicity that is in Christ All which is shewed in the following Treatise composed and published for the common good the startling and awakening of all Worldly and Opinionative Hypocrites of what Name or Sect soever and particularly the Quakers and the establishment and consolation of the upright and sound in heart in perilous and shaking times and intended for a further confutation of Quakerism By John Cheyney