or as others will have it 64. The manner of his Death is uncertain though Dorotheus reports he was Martyr'd at Sebestople near the Temple of the Sun past doubt for reproving their Idolatrous Worship in Adoring the Creature instead of the Creator and was buried there Another account we have that he was seized by the Jews as a Blasphemer and after being stoned was beheaded When as the Greek Offices seconded by several Breviaries relate that he was hanged upon a Cross And farther 't is said that his Body was for a long time kept at Jerusalem and conveyed thence to Rome by Aelen Mother to Constantine the Great where some Bones said to be his are shewed with great Veneration to this day The Death of St. MARK WHilst St. Mark was intent at Divine Worship the barbarous Multitude broke in upon him and fastning Cords about his Feet dragged him through the Streets in a most inhumane manner so that his Flesh was torn off by the Cragginess of the way not being satisfied with this they cast him into a Prison near the Sea where he was comforted in his Agony by a Divine Apparition The next Morning they drew him forth till by the extream effusion of Blood his Spirits failed and he gave up the Ghost after which as Metaprastus adds they kindled a large Fire and burnt his Body the remains of which being preserved by such as he had Converted to the Christian Faith were deposited in the place where he was wont to Preach and such part of him as remained was afterward carried to Venice and there kept in a Church built to the Honour of that Evangelist being one of the stateliest Piles now extant in Europe The Death of St. LUKE SOme there are that say he died a Natural Death but Nasianzen and Polinus Bishop of Nola with some others affirm that he received the Crown of Martyrdom Nicephorus gives us this following account viz That Saint Luke coming into Greece successfully Preached the Gospel Baptizing many Converts into the Christian Faith and working many Miracles till at last a party of Infidels encouraged by their Priests whose Idolatrous Worship the Evangelist sharply reproved fell at unawares upon him and sorcibly dragged him to the place of Execution where not having a Cross in readiness they hanged him upon an Olive-Tree in the 80th Year of his Age. But certain it is that he was put to Death some affirm that his Body was at the Command of Constanâ—ine the Great or his Son Constantius brought to Constantinople and there solemnly Interred in the great Church Founded there to the Honour of the Apostles THE DEATHS OF THE Primitive Fathers The Death of IGNATIUS IGnatius was born Twelve Years before the Crucifixion of our Saviour having with his Eyes beheld him in the Flesh he being as many think one of those little Ones that our Saviour commanded his Disciples to suffer to come unto him Nay some affirm that it was he whom our Blessed Lord set in the midst of his Disciples when they contended about Superiority However he was indued with a more than ordinary Portion of the Divine Spirit and succeeded St. Peter in the Pastorship of the Church of Antioch where he laboured diligently in the Ministry of the Gospel Converting and Confirming many to the Christian Faith being a great opposer of the Heresies or Erroneous Opinions that had sprung up in the Church When the day of his Martyrdom came he chearfully said I am Gods Corn when the wild Beasts have ground me to powder with their Teeth I shall be his white Bread He suffered Martyrdom the 11th year of Trajan being as many of the Ancients affirm Torn to pieces by wild Beasts in the Theatre to make the Tyrant sport And thus ended the Life of this good Man who upon many occasions was wont to say My Love is Crucified meaning either Christ the Object of his Love or that his darling Sins and Affections to the World were Crucified and in another place he declares that he beheld the Lord after his Resurrection before he Ascended He used to say That there is nothing better than the peace of a good Conscience Of Patience Other Graces are but parts of a Christians Armour as the Shield of Faith the Sword of the Spirit c. But Patience is the Panoply or whole Armour of the Man of God The Death of POLYCARP HIS Enemies thirsted after his Blood and there upon desired the Proconsul that he might be thrown to the Beasts but he alledging the time for the Game of Beasts was past they prayed that he might be exposed to the Flames to which last he consented and thereupon the multitude led him away crying This is the Doctor of Asia the Father of the Christians the Overthrower of our Gods who hath taught many that our Gods are not to be Adored Every one of them fetching Wood from their Shops and Houses When the Pile was reared the Holy Man put off his Apparel being assisted therein by the Faithful Christians that came to take their last Farewel of him striving to touch his Body as accounting it no small Honour VVhen he was naked the Infidels offered to nail him to the Stake but he desired them to forbear saying Suffer me even as I am for he that has given me strength to come to this Fire will give me patience likewise to persevere therein without your fastening me with Nails He died Anno Christi 170. In the midst of the Fire he said this Prayer O God the Father of thy beloved Son Jesus Christ through whom we have received the Knowledge of thee O God the Creator of all things upon thee I call thee I confess to be the true God Thee I glorifie O Lord receive me and make me a Companion of the Resurrection of thy Saints through the Merits of our great High-Priest thy beloved Son Jesus Christ to whom with the Father and God the Holy Ghost be all Honour and Glory for ever Amen The Death of DIONYSIUS AREOPAGITA HE was Condemned to be Beheaded the which to put him to greater Torment was done with a blunted Sword on the top of the Mount without the City where kneeling he said with an Audible Voice O Lord God almighty thou only begotten Son and Holy Spirit O Sacred Trinity which art without beginning and in whom there is no division receive the Soul of thy Servant in peace who is put to death for thy Cause and Gospel After which he submitted his Head to the stroaks of the Executioner Suffering Anno Christi 96 and of his Age 110. The Death of JUSTIN Martyr AFter his having painfully preached the Gospel in many Countreys he came to Rome where he had many Contests with the Philosophers and Sages and was at last by the procurement of one Crescens Condemned and accordingly Beheaded Anno Christi 139. and as Epipharius has it under the Reign of Adrian some time before he Prognosticated his death So sell this Faithful
may know how long I have to life Psal 39. v. 4 5. Shew some good token upon me for good that they which hate me may see it and be ashamed because thou Lord hast holpen me and comforted me Psal 86. v. 17. Thou hast broken my Bands in sunder I will offer to thee the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving and will call upâ—n the Name of the Lord Psâ—l 116. v. 14 15. I had no place to fly to and no Man car'd for my Soul I cry'd unto thee O Lord and said Thou art my Hope and my Portion in the Land of the Living Psal 142. v. 5 6. Omnipotent Sempiternal God who didst prolong the Life of Hezekiah miserably imploring thee grant me thy unworthy Servant before the day of my Death so much time to live that I may be able to deplore all my Sins and may obtain from thy Compassion Pardon and Favour Omnipotent Gracious and Merciful God I most humbly beseech thee by the Death of thy Son grant me a happy and a blessed Hour when my Soul shall depart out of my Body Lord Jesu Crucified Christ by the Bitterness of the Death which thou didst suffer for me upon the Cross chiefly when thy Soul departed from thy Body have Mercy on my Soul at the last Hour who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost for ever and for ever Amen The Second Prayer For a Happy Departure MOST Merciful Lord Jesu if this be the Condition of a Dying Man if in such Dangers and Extremities my Spirit must depart out of this Life whither shall I fly but unto thee Oh my God Do thou take care of my Soul that it may not perish in that dreadful Hour Grant me I beseech thee according to the multitude of thy Mercies and by that servent Love and Grief wherewith thou who art Life it self didst die for me that I may have the Combat of Corporal Death always before my Eyes and that living I may so do as dying I would desire to have done and that I may expend my time and study in nothing more than that I may Spiritually die to my self and may mortifie all the Passions of my Sences that so after this Life I may live with thee Happy and Blessed to all Eternity The Conclusion of the first Chapter To the Reader DO this meditate upon this O Man and while thou art well learn to be sick learn to die To do both is a rare piece of Art which whether thou knowest or no it is not lawful for thee to try but when thou canst not err without the loss of Eternal Felicity We err but once in dying but that Error is never to be amended to all Eternity Therefore to abide as being still to depart But for the most part abide within thy self and search every cranny of thy Conscience Whatever thou enjoyest look upon it as the Lumber of a place where there is no Habitation Thou art not suffered to carry out any more than thou broughtest in with thee Therefore act and bestir thy self Approve thy self right in the sight of God Thou art to go hence Believe that thou standest always at the Gate of Eternity Eternity is that we must look after Pleasure is short Punishment Eternal The labour is Easie the reward Everlasting Therefore we have given wholesom Instruction we have taught that Death is to be contemn'd but the thoughts of it never to be laid aside Now we will give the same Admonitions to the Sick CHAP. II. The Remembrance of Death is Recommended to the Sick Sect. 1. The Introduction and whether Sickness be an Evil CAnnus is a Town in Caria in a Pestilent Air and unwholesom for the Inhabitant These People when Stratonious the Musician and wiâ—ty Man beheld he recited the Verse in Homer to them Like as the Leaves just so the People are Thereby he taunted their Icterical Yellowish and Wan Complexions But when the Caunians had given him a very rugged Entertainment for defaming their City as sickly and unwholesom Stratonicus return'd upon them again Must I not dare said he to call that a sickly place where the dead walk More wittily and more smartly than before But why do we deny and lift up our Noses We are most like to Leaves Very plainly Job Wilt thou break a Leaf saith he driven to and fro As if he had said When I am but a Leaf liable to all the Inconveniences of Life afraid of every Gust wilt thou hasten me with the wind of thy indignation I shall fall of my self without any constraint of thine Are not Men Leaves whom Sickness like dry Leaves and juiceless Flowers tosles to and fro and variously sports with Clement of Alexandria being of the same Opinion Go to said he Men of an obscure Life like the Generation of Leaves infirm Creatures Images of Waâ— things like shadows frail unfledg'd living but the Life of one day Certainly we are Leaves shaken by every puff of wind Sometimes a little Fever what do I say Nay a little Cough a little drop falling upon the little wicket of the Throat mortifies this Leaf and throws it into the Grave But whether or no is Sickness a Benefit and Death an Evil No Mortal no it is not saith Epictetus Health well us'd is a good thing ill us'd a mischief And therefore we may reap Benefit by Sickness What dost thou say of Sickness I wil shew thee its Nature then I shall be quiet I shall think my self well dealt with I shall not flatter the Physician I shall not wish for Death What wouldst thou more Whatever thou shalt give me that will I make happy prosperous honourable to be desir'd But there are some that deny this and say Take heed of being sick 't is an ill thing To them Epictetus again That is as much as to say saith he Take heed that thou dost not feign three to be four 't is an ill thing How evil If we so think of it as we ought What harm will it do me Rather will it not do me good If therefore I so think of Poverty Sick or Troubles of Church or State as I ought is not that enough to me will it not be profitable Truth Love thee O Epictetus How agreeable are all these things to Christian Doctrine This Foundation being laid we shall here teâ—ch ye to be mindful of Death in Sickness and not to be afraid of his coming Sect. 2. The sick Person to his Friends To Sickness To the beginning of a Mortal Disease To Death To Christ our Lord. To his Friends Hence with your unseasonable mourning This is not a place for Wailing but for Prayer But I depart early from you Early take heed ye mistake not I was ripe for death as soon as I was born yea before I was born What I was when born I know a weak frail body liable to all Reproach the Food of Sickness the Victim of Death Behold who e're thou art take Hope or Substance to
the next Hour be a Banquet for the Worm to feed upon Prepare to follow SERMON VIII ISAIAH 8. 38. Set thy House in order for thou shalt dye and not live Dearly Beloved I Am now about to speak of that which will shortly render me unable to speak and you are now about to hear of that which will also shortly make you uncapable of hearing any more and that is Death It will be but a little while before Death will cause both the Speaker to be Dumb and the Hearer to be Deaf Oh that I might therefore this day speak with that seriousness unto you as considering the time draws on apace when I shall be Silenced by Death and never more have an opportunity to speak one word unto you And Oh! that you might Hear this day with that diligence and reverence as considering that after you are once Nailed down in your Coffins and Covered with the Dust you will never hear one Sermon more or one Exhortation or one word more till you hear these words pronounced by the great Judge of the Quick and Dead Surgiâ—â— Mortui venite ad Judicium Arise ye Dead and come ye unto Judgment What is said in my Text as it is likely you have often heard it with your Ears so now you may ice it accomplished It is appointed unto all Men once to die Death hath long since come into our Nation and hath summoned many to make their appearance in another World yea you know that Death hath already entred into our Streets and hath not been afraid to step over our Threshold and to seize upon those that have been standing round about us yea it hath come into our very Bed-chambers and hath suddenly snatched away those that have been lying in our very Bosoms So that we have had warning enough of the near approaches of Death unto our selves and without doubt some of us have had the Sentence of Death within our selves as the Apostle speaketh and therefore it is high time for you and I seriously to consider what is said in my Text Set thy House in order c. Something we shall briefly speak now in order to the explanation of the words that so you may once more hear before you feel the meaning of them It is appointed or enacted by the Court of Heaven Statutum est it is a Statute or Law more firm and certain than the Laws of the Medes and Persians which is never to be repealed or abrogated We are not therefore telling you what may but of what must inevitably come to pass It is appointed unto Men that is as much as to say unto all Men once to die It is an indefinite Expression and so is to be understood of all the same kind without some special exception from this general Rule And indeed such an exception there is to be found in the Scripture for saith the Apostle We shall not all Die but some shall be Changed in a Moment in the twinkling of an Eye there shall be some at the end of the World who shall not pass under Death but yet they must pass under a Change which is thought will be equivalent unto Death But for the present time and according to the common Method and Course of Providence no Man or Woman hath any ground to expect that they shall escape the stroke of Death for it is appointed unto Men that is unto all Men once to Die Death will no more spare him that wears a Crown upon his Head than him that carries a Spade in his Hand as the Poet Elegantly expresses it Pallida Mors aequo pulsat pede Pauperum tabernas Regumque Turres c. And the Scripture speaking of Kings useth this Expression I have said ye are Gods but ye shall die like Men. But what is the meaning of the Phrase to Die I can assure you if you know not yet it will not be long e're you will know the meaning of it The Philosopher describes Death thus Est privatio Vitae â—â— Anime separationem a Corpore As Spiritual Death is the Separation of God from the Soul so Temporal Death is the Separation of the Soul from the Body When those two the Soul and Body which have like Twins dwelt lovingly together under the same Roof must be parted asunder and enjoy no more sweet and intimate Communion one with another till the time of re-unition at the General Resurrection This is that which must once be done every one must here take their turn And though this happeneth to some at one time and to others at another time yet first or last it will happen to all The Greek word Thanatos which signifies Death is taken from a word which signifies extendere and indeed Death stretcheth out it self so far that no Man can live out of the reach of it As surely as thou wast once Born so surely shalt thou once Die Let me but ask you this one plain Question and your own Conscience shall be the Judge in the Case Couldest thou still remain a Drunkard or a Swearer if thou didst but once seriously consider that thou must once Die Or couldst thou so eagerly set thy Heart upon the empty lying and dying Vanities of this World didst thou but once seriously consider that thou must once and it may be before to Morrow be taken out of this World Or couldst thou neglect the means of Grace or Delight in Prophaneness didst thou but seriously consider that thou must once die and it may be before ever thou enjoyest another Praying or Preaching opportunity To die is much and as this must be once done so there is more to be done than this for after this cometh Judgment Whether the particular or general Day of Judgment is here to be understood needs no debate seeing both will certainly follow after Death As for the certainty of Death you need not look into your Bibles for a proof of that I shall only desire you to open your Weeping Eyes and let them but a little while be fastened upon the Dead Corps that now is before you and if afterwards you can question this Truth I shall say no more to you at present but that it will not be long e're others may say of thee as the Apostle Peter did to Saphira Acts 5. verse 5 6 7 compared with the 9 and 10. Verses And Ananias fell down and gave up the Ghost and the young Men arose wound him up and carried him out and buried him And his Wife not knowing what was done came in and Peter said unto her How is it that ye have agreed to tempt the Spirit of the Lord Behold the Feet of them which have buried thy Husband are at the door and shall carry thee out Then fell she down straightway and yielded up the Ghost and the young Men came in and found her dead and carrying her forth buried her by her Husband The same Bier and it may be the same Persons which have carried
hath no Interest in Jesus Christ who hath not him to be his Advocate who shall then be his Judge And this you will certainly find and feel to be true whether you fear it or not for God hath appointed it and if none can disappoint him then all must first dye and after that be judged c. And thus having Explain'd the Words of my Text I shall next shew you what Observation or Doctrine may be drawn from them and it is this Doct. That it is past all dispute that all Men must pass through Death and Judgment As for the certainty of Death you need not look into your Bibles for a Proof of that I shall only desire you to open your Weeping Eyes and let them but a little while be fastened upon the Dead Corps that now is before you and if afterwards you can Question this Truth I shall say no more to you at present but that it will not be long e're others may say of thee as the Apostle Peter did to Saphira Acts 5. vers 5 6 7. compared with the 9. 10. Verses And Ananias fell down and gave up the Ghost and the young Men arose wound him up and carried him out and Buried him And his Wife not knowing what was done came in and Peter said unto her How is it that ye have agreed to tempt the Spirit of the Lord Behold the Feet of them which have buried thy Husband are at the door and shall carry thee out Then fell she down straightway and yielded up the Ghost and the young Men came in and found her dead and carrying her forth buried her by her Husband The same Bier and it may be the same Persons which have carried thy Neighbour thy Husband thy Wife thy Brother or Sister already to the Grave behold they stand ready to do so much for thee and let every one consider with himself that he may be the very next in the Town or Family for whom the Bier may be fetched to carry him unto his long home And then as for the certainty of Judgment though every one hath a sufficient Proof in his own Conscience of the truth of this yet for as much as some have â—eared Consciences and therefore would put off the evil Day and say with those 2 Pet. 3. 3 4. And there will come in the last dayes Scoffers walking after their own lusts saying Where is the Promise of his coming since all things continue as they were from the beginning c. You may therefore Consult these plain Scripture Proofs Eccl. 11. 9. compared with Rom. 14. 11 12. For we shall all stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ yet that is not all but as it followeth So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God 2 Cor. 5. 10. For we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ that every one may receive the things done in the body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad Now when you are about any badness and doing any evil I dare say you never think of this suddain and strict account that you are to give to God of all your Thoughts Words and Deeds But howsoever we shall next shew you the reasons and grounds why it will and must be thus that all must dye and that all must come to Judgment The reasons of the Doctrine then are First We have Gods Ipse Dixit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for it God hath said it shall be so and if his words be true who is Truth it self and if he can make good the words which have once passed out of his Mouth who is Almighty you must all Dye and after that come to Judgment and tell me when God hath once said it that it shall be so who can say it shall not be so and make good his words when he hath done Secondly All have â—inned and therefore all must Dye and be Judged Rom. 5. 12. Wherefore as by one Man sin entred into the World and Death by sin and so Death passed upon all Men for that or in whom as it is in the Original all have Sinned in whom c. Treason stains the Blood the first Man Adam having sinned and all that were in him as we all were deriving Guilt from him so we must all come under the same Penalty of Death which he by sinning made himself and his Posterity obnoxious unto Thirdly The Justice and Mercy of God requires it should be so for as God will openly manifest his Justice by the Punishing of unbelieving Sinners who in this Life have escaped Punishment by the hands of Divine Justice so he will openly manifest his Mercy in the Pardoning and Saving of all Believers who have seemed in this Life to serve God without Reward You may read to this purpose at your leisure 2 Thess 1. 7 8 9 10. compared with Matth. 25. 31 33 34 41. Though now there seemeth to be little difference between the Godly and the Ungodly between the Righteous and the unrighteous between those that serve the Lord and them that serve him not yet then it will be a plain Case that it was better to be a poor Believer than a rich Unbeliever then it will be put out of all doubt who was the wisest and who shall be the happiest Man whether he that preferred Christ before the Creature or he that valued the Creature more than Christ yea then will appear a great difference between the Sanctified and the Glorified though the Sanctified were happy in enjoying of God on Earth in having Communion with him in Duties and Ordinances yet will the Glorified be more yea most happy when they shall fully and perfectly enjoy immediate Communion with God without the use of all means according to the Philosophical Maxim Finis nobilior est mediis The principal ultimate End is more excellent in it self and more desirable and valuable than the Means conducing unto the End But this you that have feared loved obeyed and served the Lord in this World will most understand in the World to come We shall next come to make some brief USE of the Doctrine and the USE is Fourfold 1. Of Information 2. Of Reprehension 3. Of Consolation 4. Of Exhortation 1. VSE of Information And we may hence be Informed that if it be certain both in Scripture and by common experience that all must dye and after that be Judged then it argues gross Ignorance for any one to think that it is possible for him to make such a Covenant or agreement with Death and Judgment that they shall not come near him Indeed such Atheists and Fools there have been as the Scripture speaks and it is likely some such there may be amongst us But hath God appointed that thou must once dye and afterwards come to Judgment Then what art thou Oh poor Worm that thou shouldest once Dream that thou canst null or make void this Ordinance and Decree of Heaven