standeth right fixed in my affections to cleave unto thee and I will praise the Lord in the congregations in the assemblies of the Lord's people in the house where his Honour dwelleth and so shall I hope to be hereafter admitted into the blissfull company of Angels and Saints to praise the Lord for ever saying Glory be to the Father c. As it was in the beginning c. The XLIII Psalm PARAPHRASED Verse 1. GIve sentence with me O God when I stand before thee to be judged according to my works done in the body whether good or evil O then defend my cause against the ungodly people Plead for me against all the accusations of men women devils in whose company or by whose temptations I have done any evil O deliver me from the deceitful and wicked man that I be not ranked amongst such upon the left hand of unrighteousness and infelicity For thou art the God of my strength By whom I am enabled to resist all my ghostly enemies why hast thou put me from thee leaving me to mine own weak frail and sinful self And this is the reason why I go so heavily in the ways of thy service and of mine own salvation whilst the enemy oppresseth me being destitute of thy help the grand enemy of God and Man over-powers me with his temptations and assaults But that I may manfully resist and overcome O send out thy light and thy truth the light of thy Grace and the truth of thy righteousness which discerns the cause of the righteous from the ungodly that they may lead me out of all the errours of this sinful life that being separated from the allurements and society of the ungodly they may bring me to thy holy hill where thy Temple is situate and to thy dwelling the place where thine honour dwelleth And that I may go to the Altar of God both Sacramental and Mystical upon the Altar of my heart to offer up my whole self to be a living Sacrifice Holy acceptable unto God even the God of my joy and gladness who makes glad my heart by the consolations of his Holy Spirit when I approach his Altar and upon the Harp which is an instrument of a Triangular figure and represents the heart of man wherewithal I will give thanks unto thee O holy and ever blessed Trinity Father Son and Holy Ghost one God over all blessed for ever and my God even the God of my joy and worship my Glory and my Crown O then Why art thou so heavy O my soul There is no sorrow but for sin because this alone separateth the Soul from the God of all consolation and why art thou so disquieted within me 'T is thy unquiet passions and unruly lusts which disturb thy reason and withdraw thee thus disquieted from a sincere dependance upon thy God but return return unto thy rest O my Soul O put thy trust in God all thy sorrows and distempers are from thy self thy health and joy is from the Lord and for this I will yet give him thanks who is to be praised in both the seasons of sadness and joy for in both He is the help of my countenance the lightsome gladness of my heart and my God both of my Being and Well-being even the God of all that I am and all that I have and all that I hope to be which is to enjoy the beatifical vision of his divine Majesty for ever to sing Glory be to the Father c. As it was in the beginning c. THE Third General Meditation UPON THE PAINS of HELL MAny are the opinions and disputes and too curious also the disquisitions touching the place and nature matter manner and duration of the pains of Hell But it would be more Christian prudence strictly to search and find out those crooked deceitful and polluted paths which lead to that dismal place of torments that we may decline and avoid them 'T is surely better by much not to feel by woful experience the miseries of the damned than exactly to know and accurately to discourse of them And may this be ever my study blessed Lord my continual care and fear and constant endeavour not in the least particular to sin against thee for thy wrath and indignation which resteth upon sinners is a fierce wrath and a terrible 't is not in the power of frail man to sustain the fury of it MEDITAT I. Of the Pain of Loss AS there are two general parts of every sin in this life committed 1. An aversion from the Creator 2. A conversion to the Creature So there are two general kinds of punishment for Sin in the Life to come 1. The Punishment of Loss 2. The Pain of Sense The first and 't is esteemed by many holy Fathers the greatest of Hell-Torments is that which is call'd by Divines The Pain of Loss whereunto the wicked of the world are sentenced in these several expressions Mat. 22.13 25.30.41 Luke 13.27 S. Chrys Hom. 28. Take him away Cast him out I know you not depart from me ye cursed The Pains of Sense in Hell are intolerable saith Chrys yet for a man to suffer a thousand Hells is less irksome than to be banish'd from Heaven to be driven from the presence of God to be exil'd out of the Regions of Light and Joy to be rejected of the Lord and to hear from him I know you not Depart from me The Loss of Heaven must needs be the greatest of Evils because 't is the Loss of the greatest and most perfect good and of all that is truly good To lose the good things we do now enjoy in the world may be recompenced with advantage by the gain of Heaven but to lose Heaven it self to forfeit the right and title we once had happily obtained to be inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven is a Loss irreparable Id. Serm. Aug. Enchir ad Laurent c. 112. Nothing can compensate nothing can equal nothing to be compared to this Loss 't is Hell enough it self if there were no other In this life the most wise and holy understand not throughly the fulness of Heavenly joys and so cannot be sensible of the Torment of their Loss but in the next life our eyes shall be opened and the veil upon our hearts removed and then shall the ungodly see to their unspeakable grief and anguish of spirit the vast difference betwixt the never fading pleasures of the right hand of God and the empty transitory pleasures of sin betwixt that fulness of joy in the presence of God and the deplorable sorrow of its loss and absence It is very probable that this Torment of Hell is meant by the Worm that dieth not For nothing can more corrode and eat so deeply even into the inmost recesses of damned Souls as to see and consider for what poor beggarly trifling things of the Earth here below they have lost those blissful Joys and ravishing Felicities of Heaven above when they shall
his Eyes quite sunk into his head and in the two holes thereof two loathsome Toads were feeding Then turning towards his Mother he said What now dear Mother is become of the great Caesar whose pomp and power and policy whose riches honour and dignity whose many victories conquests and triumphs rendred him the most admired Heroe the world afforded Where now is all his glory Where the Conquering Armies he commanded The Cities Nations Countries he subdued The numerous train of Nobility Gentry Souldiery that attended him The vast riches and boundless authority he acquired Whereunto the pious Matron answered O my Son no sooner did his Spirit fail and his breath expire but all his splendid enjoyments all his flattering worldly felicities forsook him His riches his friends his attendants all his conquests and triumphs all the honour which he got through manifold travels pains and perils have all now left him alone in this gastly silent Sepulchre accompanied only with Worms Stench and Corruption Such is the end of all flesh All flesh is grass Isa 40.6 and all the goodliness thereof as a flower of the field The flower is more gay and gawdy than the grass for a little space but when the verdure of both decays they have the same withered complexion they rot and corrupt both alike and commonly the more gawdy flower is more ugly and stinking than the grass 'T is even so with the rich and the poor the honourable and the base in this world they differ only in their outward fashion and appearance but when death doth seize them they are equally obnoxious to the same solitude poverty and nakedness to the same stench corruption and rottenness 'T is as true of the greatest Prince as of the meanest Peasant When a man is dead Eccl. 10.11 he shall inherit creeping things Beasts and Worms All the difference in the Grave betwixt the rich and the poor is this That the dust of the rich through the luxury lasciviousness and intemperance of their life is more corrupt and loathsome after their death than is the dust of the poor whose food and nourishment was more course and sparing Why then my Immortal Soul art thou so fond of thy corruptible companion the Body Remember its beginning is uncleanness and its end rottenness 'T is thy servant for the present but if thou too much cocker and pamper it 't will rebel subdue and lead thee captive to a worse death than that whereunto it self is liable even the death of the nether Hell Mar. 9.44 Where the Worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched 2. Death is the wages of sin And I have sinned vile wretch that I am I have sinned and what shall I do or what shall I say unto thee O thou preserver of man All that I can say is the same still Psal 38.18 I have sinned and as long as I have a day to live I will say it I will confess my wickedness and be sorry for my sins Mercy good Lord mercy I humbly beg Job 7.20 21. O why dost thou not pardon my Transgression and take away mine iniquity Are not my days few cease then and let me alone that I may bewail my sins and take comfort a little in the hopes of the pardon of them through faith in the blood of my dear Redeemer Job 10.20 21. before I go to the place from whence I shall not return to the land of darkness and of the shadow of death 3. I know that to flesh and blood death is of all terribles the most terrible Job 18.14 but my blessed Redeemer hath pulled out the sting and quelled the terrors of death 1 Cor. 15.55 Heb. 2.14 56 57. He hath also destroyed him that had the power of death that is the Devil So that now when death approacheth through Faith and a good Conscience I shall have hope with all patience and contentment to drink off that Cup how bitter and painful soever saying with my blessed Lord and Master upon his approaching death Mat. 26.42 Father not my will but thine be done The Prayer ASsist me mercifully O Lord to subject my rebellious flesh to the guidance of the Spirit and my spirit to the Laws of my Redeemer that when my body shall be the inheritance of Worms and creeping things my Soul may possess an inheritance uncorruptible and undefiled that fadeth not away reserved in the Heavens through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen MEDITAT V. Of Preparation unto Death I. AS there is nothing more certain than death Psal 89.47 For what man is there that liveth and shall not see death So there is nothing more uncertain than the time of death Mat. 24.36 for of that day and hour knoweth noman 'T is therefore unknown Luk. 12.40 that it might be alway suspected and awaited The Son of man cometh in an hour when you think not That his coming may be hourly thought upon Latet dies ultimus Aug. ut observentur omnes dies The day of our death is hidden from us that all our days should be no other but a preparation thereunto the certainty of the one engaging us unto sincerity in the other * Veri hominis Christiani vita nihil aliud quam continua ad mortem praeparatio esse debet Every danger foreseen is best prevented And thus death the greatest of dangers may be rendred the least dangerous by a prudent fear and careful provision for the same Qui pavet cavet qui negligit incidit Bern. Prov. 14.16 which may best be englished in the language of the Holy Ghost The wise man feareth and departeth from evil but the fool rageth and is confident †Timeat semper in vita mortem qui mortis metum evadere velit II. The great end of this mortal life is to prepare for death or rather for a safe passage through death to life Immortal For upon the well or ill spending of the few minutes of this present life depends either a blessed or a miserable Eternity It was the advice of a wise man to his friend to have engraven in capital Letters in some such place of his house as might be most frequent in his view to be often considered Momentum unde pendet Eternitas III. There is no consideration our blessed Lord hath so frequently inculcated by commands counsels exhortations admonitions parables similitudes arguments and reasons as this of the Christian watch i. e. to prepare to provide to be ready to wait for the coming of the Lord or for the approach of Death Luke 12.38 whether he shall come in the first or in the second or in the third watch whether in the time of youth or manhood or old age Mark 13.34 35 36 37. at all times and in all ages he commands all men to be upon their watch This watch implies many particulars which are so many preparatives unto death 1. To watch is to
makes so many millions of persons die unpreparedly And so pass from a temporal to death eternal For death is then most generally the nearest when 't is conceited to be furthest off Bern. Mors enim propior esse solet cum longius abesse putetur 2. 'T is the thought of a longer and still of a longer life that is the great impediment of Repentance and amendment of life whereby the Devil hurries men by throngs to be his woful companions in his Region of blackness of darkness for ever And the great Reason is because Repentance delayed till Sickness or Old Age come is not only uncertain and unsafe but very seldom or never truly and sincerely performed 'T is a dreadful saying of S. Hierome That scarce one of ten thousand who have continued in any sinful course of life without the conscientious practice of a true and timely Repentance do ever so perfectly repent as to obtain the remission of their sins in the hour of death For the prevention of so great and general a mischief and perdition of ungodly men the All-wise and good Providence of Heaven hath ordained that in all ages and conditions of men this life shall take end that so none how young and lusty soever with his bones full of marrow should yet dare to live unprepared for death presuming still upon further time for Repentance and Amendment of life Tu in senectutem sana defers consilia inde vitam vis inchoare quo pauci perduxerunt stultitia magna est tunc vivere incipere cum desinendum est Blessed Lord suffer me not thus to deceive my self through the sly insinuations of Satan and my own sensual inclinations and desires but make me so mindful of my end that I may pass the remainder of my days in the constant practice of Repentance and Godly fear that living in thy fear I may die in thy favour and in a well grounded hope to live with thee for ever Amen VI. 1. Every change in my frail constitution every little pain and ache in my corruptible flesh all distempers and diseases are as so many memorials of my mortality but the older I grow Heb. 8. ult the nearer still is the approach of my dissolution by the hand of death for that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away 2. Happy is the man who on his bed of death can say with the Apostle 2 Tim. 4.7 I have fought a good sight against all the assaults of the Devil the World and the Flesh which war against the Soul I have finished my course as the course of my life so the course of godliness in all its respective duties enjoyn'd me I have kept the Faith untainted by any Atheistical imaginations heretical opinions or sinful practices and I have been faithful in the discharge of those offices and relations wherein my great Lord and Master hath entrusted and enstated me If my heart condemn me not in any of these respects I may thence conclude with joy and exultation from henceforth there is laid up a Crown of righteousness which the righteous Judge shall give me at that day and not to me only but to all them also that love his appearance The Prayer LOok graciously upon me O Lord I beseech thee in the time of my approaching dissolution and the more the outward man decayeth strengthen me so much the more continually by thy Grace and Holy Spirit in the inner man give me unfeigned repentance for all the errors of my life past and a stedfast Faith in thy Son Jesus that my sins may be done away by thy mercy and my pardon sealed in Heaven before I go hence and be no more seen II. IN the midst of life we be in death of whom may we seek for succour but of thee O Lord who for our sins art justly displeased Yet O Lord God most holy O Lord most mighty O holy and most merciful Saviour deliver us not into the bitter pains of eternal Death Thou knowest Lord the secrets of our hearts shut not up thy merciful ears to our Prayers but spare us O Lord most holy O God most mighty O holy and most merciful Saviour thou most worthy Judge eternal suffer us not at our last hour for any pains of Death to fall from thee III. IN my last hour O Lord I humbly beg thy protection from the busie suggestions and direful insultings of my grand enemies the Devil and his Angels Oh let not then my Faith fail or my Hope wither or my Charity wax cold with the waining flesh but when all my joynts shall tremble by the batteries of death mine eyes be darkned and my tongue falter then O then let my heart be enlarged towards my God waiting upon thee longing for thee and incessantly praying shew me thy mercy O Lord and grant me thy Salvation The XXXIX Psalm Verses 1. I Said I will take heed to my ways that I offend not in my tongue * The meditation of death makes every wise man careful of all his ways and more especially to avoid the offences of the tongue 2. I will keep my mouth as 't were with a bridle while the ungodly is in my sight * The tongue is an unruly evil and must be tam'd as a wild horse with a bridle especially when provok'd by captious contentious and quarrelsome persons 3. I held my tongue and spake nothing I kept silence yea even from good words but it was pain and grief unto me * Reproaches are for the most part best answered with a discreet silence so was our Lord as a Lamb dumb before the Shearers 4. My heart was hot within and while I was thus musing the fire kindled * To abstain from good words is sometimes necessary for the avoiding of an evil construction but such silence is grievous to the pious Soul which burns with the fire of divine love and zeal to God's glory The zeal of thine house hath even eaten me up and at the last I spake with my tongue ‖ Though it be often inconvenient to speak before wicked Men yet it is alway necessary to speak unto God by Prayer 5. Lord let me know mine end and the number of my days that I may be certified how long I have to live * 'T is a blessing we ought alway to pray for to be feelingly sensible of the shortness of our life 6. Behold thou hast made my days as 't were a span long and mine age is nothing in respect of thee and verily every man living is altogether vanity * The life of man if compar'd with God's everlasting Being is rather to be called a death than a life a vanity not a verity of being 7. For man walketh in a vain shadow he disquieteth himself in vain he heapeth up riches and cannot tell who shall gather them * The hearts of men are darkned with the shadows of happiness whilst they vainly care