a sight of his Glory of the Riches and Divine Excellencies of the New Jerusalem but how much greater is thy priviledge for that which this Holy Apostle beheld in a Vision and a Dream God will discover to thee in Truth and Reality Let thine Heart listen and thou shalt hear the voice of thy Saviour calling already to thee feom Heaven as unto his Beloved Disciple Come and see Come my good and faithful Servant come my Son or my Daughter and I will shew thee my Glorious and Magnificent City I will shew thee the Palace of my Glory and all the Splendor and State of my Kingdom Come and I will expose before thine eyes all my Riches Treasuries and my most precious Crowns Come and I will cause the River of Living Water which proceeds from my Throne to run before thee and the Eternal Delights that proceed from my Face I shall shew thee all these Heavenly Treasures and Glory all the Angelical satisfactions not in the visions of the night in an extasy in an Holy ravishment of the Mind or in a Prophetical elevation of the Soul but I will discover them to thee in Reality and Truth by the assistance of a purer and more Glorious Light than that of the Sun I shall not only cause thee to behold this Glory these Treasures and Delight but I will cause thee to be partakar of them for ever for as thou hast pledged me in the Cup of my bitterness and sorrows as thou hast continued with me in my afflictions and hast been faithful unto Death I will give the Kingdom to thee as the Father hath given it to me I will give thee the Crown of Life and will cause thee to swim in the vast Ocean of the Eternal Pleasures Thou shalt not only see all my Treasures all my Pomp and Glory thou shalt not only behold the Rivers and the Seas of my most wonderful Delights and shalt be a partaker of them but thou shalt see me as I am in my Kingdom I will pull off the Vail that covers me and scatter the Clouds and Mists that hide me so that thou shalt look upon me without hindrance and behold me face to face thou shalt be transformed into my Likeness and be satisfied with my Resemblance You see therefore Christians that although Death appears to us grievous and ill-favoured we may apply to it what David said of Ahimaz that it is the Messenger of good news Notwithstanding its hideous Vail and Cloak of Darkness we have just cause to liken it to the Chariot of Fire that carried up the Prophet Elijah into Heaven From what we have said you may easily conclude with the wisest of Kings That the day of our death is better than the day of our birth for our Birth brings us upon a wretched Earth but death carries us into a Paradise of Heavenly Delights Our Birth exposeth us to several Encounters but Death lifts us up upon a Chariot of Triumph Our Birth expresseth from us Crying and Tears but Death makes us sing for joy our Birth brings us into the Light but Death causeth us to shine as the Sun our Birth makes us to live a sensual and animal Life of a short continuance but Death introduceth us into a Spiritual and Angelical Life that shall continue for ever In short our Birth casts us into the Arms of Death but Death leads to the Well-spring of Life Therefore the Apostle St. Paul confesseth that Christ is gain to him both in life and death Phil. 1. And for the same reason the Primitive Christians could not endure to see any person afflicting himself for the decease of Believers because that it was the day of their Deliverance Rest Glory and Happiness they did commonly forbid all manner of Mourning for they judged that it is not proper that we should cloath our selves with black and sadness for their sakes who are clothed in white and shining Garments of Light and Immortality They look'd upon this Life as upon a continual Death and upon Death as upon the beginning of a real Life Therefore they stiled the aniversary day of the Martyrs death The day of their Nativity From hence proceed the usual Songs of Praise which they did commonly sing to perpetuate their Blessed Memories I need not cause you to take notice devout Souls of the notable difference between the death of God's Children and the death of the wicked It is as great as between Heaven and Earth between Paradise and Hell Balaam had good cause to desire the one and fear the consequence of the other we have as much reason to cry out as he did Let me dye the death of the Righteous and let my last end be like his Numb 23. You have heard how an Heathen Prince made this address to his Soul My little Soul my little Darling Hostess and Companion of my Body Adrian thou art going to wander up and down in cold obscure and fearful places thou shalt never delight thy self in jesting as thou hast been wont thou shalt never give me any more pastime but when a Christian Soul goeth out of this mortal Tabernacle he may talk to it in another manner O my Soul pleasant Hostess and Heavenly Companion of this crazy Body thou canst not wander out of thy way for thou hast a faithful and a knowing Guide Thou art already in the blessed company of Angels that shall bear thee upon their wings thou art going to a Noble place enriched with Light and Glory and blessed with the sincerest and most Heavenly Delights Thou shalt meet with no more Sorrows Grief nor Displeasure which so often disturb thy quiet here upon Earth Thou shalt rejoyce for ever with all the Glorified Saints and sing Songs of Praise and Thanksgiving for ever with all the Celestial Spirits O my Soul how great is that Glory and Happiness which thou mayest justly expect from thy God who hath both an infinite Power and an infinite Mercy and Goodness seeing that he hath endeared thee unto himself by giving his own Life to free thee from Death and Eternal Damnation If your friends or rather your enemies in this occasion weep and are grieved at your departure if they labour by their Tears and Sighs to move your Heart and to perswade you to remain yet here below speak to them as St. Paul did to those that wept about his neck What mean ye to weep and to break my heart Acts 21. St. Paul was then in his journey to Jerusalem where he was to be bound and imprisoned and to be carried to the City of Rome where he was to dye upon a Scaffold by the separation of his Head from his Body notwithstanding St. Paul's friends comforted themselves with this expression The VVill of the Lord be done And what mean ye my friends will ye hinder me from going up to an Heavenly Jerusalem at the Gates whereof I must cast off all these Chains and Fetters of Mortality I must leave
this there be any other Sphere whereof the motion is so furious and swift as to carry with it the inferior Globes and to cause them to roul round in the space of four and twenty hours Of this Heaven David speaks in the 19 Psalm The Heavens declare the Glory of God and the Firmament sheweth his handy-work be hath put in them a Tabernacle for the Sun Now above all these Heavenly Spheres mentioned by the Astrologers some reckon up nine or ten and others more There is yet a third Heaven spoken of by St. Paul 2 Cor. 12. I know saith he a man in Christ which was taken up into the third Heaven I know that he was taken up into Paradise and heard words which cannot be spoken which are not possible for Man to utter The Holy Apostle removes in these words all doubts concerning the place intended by this Third Heaven for he calleth it Paradise where he heard unspeakable words which are not possible to be uttered The Celestial Globes rowl about continually but this Third Heaven which for its excellency is stiled Heaven is fixed and without motion in Eternal Rest And as much as these beautiful Orbs have a greater Light and Glory than the Air and the inferior Bodies so much the more doth this Third Heaven excel them It is my judgement that Solomon means this Third Heaven scituate above all the rest which exceeds them so much in Beauty and Glory when he speaks to God of the Heavens and of the Heaven of Heavens 1 Kings 8. That is to say the most Excellent the highest and the most Glorious of all the Heavens are not able to contain thee and God himself saith by his Holy Prophet The Heavens are my Throne and the Earth is my Footstool Isai 66. for in this high Heaven God hath placed his Throne where he discovers his Glory and the brightness of his surprizing Countenance there the Seraphims fly and thousand thousands worship him and ten thousand Millions stand continually before him Isai 6. Dan. 7. Here it was that the Blessed Soul of our Saviour Christ was admitted assoon as it had left the Body according to what he promised to the crucified Thief Verily I say unto thee this day thou shalt be with me in Paradise Luk 23. Hither this Glorious Saviour is ascended both in Soul and Body after his Resurrection and here it was that St. Stephen saw him when he cryed out I see the Heavens open and Jesus Christ fitting at the right hand of God Acts 7. And hither it is that the Souls of all such as dye in his favour are carried up Therefore St. Paul to the Hebrews mentions immediately after the thousands of Angels The Spirits of just Men made perfect and the Church and Congregation of the first-born whose names are written in Heaven In short it is the Glorious Seat where we hope that God will receive us both in Soul and Body at that day when we shall be taken up into the Air above the Clouds of Heaven to be for ever with the Lord Jesus Some inquire then what shall become of this Elemental World whether this Heaven that appears to our Eyes and this Earth which sustains us shall perish or whether they shall remain yet after the great day of Doom Certain prophane Atheists are perswaded that the World shall remain for ever as it doth at present and that there shall be no manner of alteration The Apostle St. Peter hath Prophesied of these Persons and described them in their own Colours There shall come at the last day mockers walking after their own Lusts saying where is the promise of his coming for since the Fathers are asleep all things continue in the same manner since the beginning of the World I need not trouble my self in a refutation of such impieties I speak to none but to the devout Souls which reverence the Divinity of the Holy Scriptures and are fully perswaded of the Truth of all the Articles of our Creed It oft-times happens when Men oppose a false Doctrine and an erroneous opinion they run from one extremity to another therefore some imagine that the World shall totally perish and that as God hath called the Heavens and Earth and the rest of the Elements out of nothing he will reduce them all again into the same Nothing and that he intends to create others more beautiful more Holy and far more Glorious There are two kinds of expressions that seem to favor this opinion The first which speaks of the Heavens and of the Earth as of perishing and decaying Creatures In this manner David discourseth of them in 102 Psalm and after him the Apostle to the Hebrews Thou Lord hast established the Earth and the Heavens are the Works of thy hands they shall perish but thou shalt endure they shall wax old as doth a Garment and as a Vesture shalt thou fold them up and theyshall be changed And our Saviour tells us in the 24 of St. Matt. The Heavens and the Earth shall pass away but my Words shall not pass away Especially the words of St. Peter in the 2 Epistle and the 3 Chapter are remarkable The Heavens shall pass away with a noise and the Elements shall melt with heat and the Earth with the works that are therein shall be burnt up The other passages mention new Heavens and a new Earth as in the 65 of Isaiah Behold I create new Heavens and a new Earth and the former things shall be remembred no more Likewise in the fore-mentioned Chapter the 3 of the 2 Epistle of St. Peter We look for new Heavens and a new Earth according to his promise wherein dwelleth Righteousness And in the 21 Revel I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth for the first Heaven and the first Earth were passed away and there was no more Sea Moreover St. Paul to the Hebrews speaks of the World to come from hence some conclude that the old World ought to be abolished and that God shall create a new World There is no man that is a Christian can doubt of that wonderful change which shall happen to the world at the last day if he considers the fore-mentioned passage of Holy Scripture especially that of St. Peter The Heavens shall pass away with a noise and the Elements shall melt with heat and the Earth with the Works that are therein So that as the Walls of Jerico fell at the sound of the Priests Trumpets Likewise this great world shall be turned upside down at the blowing of the Arch-Angels Trumpet Our Reason alone being enlightened by Divine Revelation seems to confirm this Truth for seeing that the House infected with a spreading Leprosy was to be demolished how much the rather should the world be destroyed because in it is to be seen apparently the spots and blemishes of sin the Spiritual Leprosy But although this great Fabrick of the World ought to be ruined and turned upside down we do not believe that it shall
their quiet and as St. Paul expresseth himself Through fear of death they are all their life-time subject to bondage Heb. 2. That is They are like so many wretched Slaves that daily tremble under the inhumane power of a merciless Tyrant I am not ignorant that there be some Atheists who talk of Death with contempt and scorn and who make an open profession of braving Death without the least sence of fear nevertheless they feel in their souls some secret Thorns with which death doth often gaul them some fears and apprehensions with which it tortures and disquiets them when they dream least of her It is true they do for the most part boast of not fearing the approaches of Death and laugh at it when they imagine that she is at a distance from them but these are they who are most apt to tremble at the grim countenance of Death and soonest to discover their weakness and despair If there be any that seem to laugh at Death their laughter is only in appearance upon the Lips they are like a Child newly born that seems to laugh when he is inwardly tormented in its Bowels or like those that have eaten of the famous Herb mentioned by the Herbalists that causeth a pleasant laughter to appear upon the Lips of such into whose noble parts it conveys a mortal poison to bring them to an inevitable end There be some I confess then die without expressing any fear or dread of Conscience but these are either bruitish or sensless Persons much like unto a sleeping Drunkard who may be cast down a Tower without any knowledge or foresight of the danger or they be pleasant mockers who are like the foolish Criminals that go merrily to the Gallows or they be such as are full of Rage and Fury whom I may very well compare to an enraged wild Bear that runs himself into the Huntsmans snare such Monsters of Men deserve not to be reckoned amongst rational and understanding Creatures CHAP. 2. That in all the Heathens Philosophy there is no solid or true Comforts against the fears and apprehensions of Death THere be certain Physitians that seem at the first discourse to be very well skill'd in their Art and that talk of the Diseases and their Causes most Learnedly and accutely and nevertheless in their practice they are both unhappy and ignorant their unscasonable Learning doth disturb the Patient 〈◊〉 than their Physick doth ease him they increase 〈◊〉 sufferings of the languishing Body and add affliction to its pangs These kind of Physitians do very well discribe unto us in this particular the properties of the Heathen Philosophers for when they represent the calamities of our humane condition they sharpen their Wits and discover all their Skill and Rhetorick â—â—â—e of them laugh ingeniously at our miseries others do art ficially weep to behold them but in all their Writings and tragick Expressions we cannot find any solid and sincere Comforts to strengthen us against the apprehensions of Death therefore their contemptible and vain fancies oblige us to tell them as Job did to his friends who did disquiet instead of comforting him Your remembrances are like unto ashes your bodies to bodies of Clay Job 13. It is true some of these Learned Philosophers have very well spoken that we begin to dye assoon as we begin to breath and that our Life is like unto a Candle that lives by its approaches unto death whereof the Flame doth devour and consume it for the natural heat that entertains our life doth insensibly undermine it for it is that which spends our radical moisture or humidity that yields the same benefits unto our life as Oyl doth to a Lamp or Wax to a Taper Others have aswel said that our present life is but a swift Race from one Mother to another they meant from the Womb of our Mothers that brought us into the world into the womb and bosom of the Earth that will receive us at last for assoon as we are born we run a swift Race towards our Grave at that instant when we fly from death we do draw insensibly towards it and contrary to any intention we cast our selves into its Bosom and Arms. Some of the same School have compared Man to a bubble upon Water that rises and swells and immediately decreases and breaks others make him like to the waterish bottles of divers colours that Children cause with their breath and destroy with the same In truth all Mans Beauty is but a vain appearance that vanishes away in an instant Isai 40. All flesh is like grass and all the glory of man like the Flowers of the Field 1 Pet. 1. One of these great Philosophers being demanded what the life of man was answered never a word because such a question deserved no answer or rather because he would imitate the custom of his Age of speaking by guess and symbolick representations for that purpose he entred into a Chamber and past out of it again at the same instant This he did to express unto his Disciples that questioned him how that Mans Life is but an entrance in and egress out of the World the one succeeds immediately the other Another of the same Sect walkt in a bravado two or three turns and then shrunk into a Pit to signify That our Life is but a kind of Mascarade a vain appearance that soon vanishes when Men have well admired themselves and their Beauty and when they have drawn the looks and esteem of the World Death snatches them away dashes out all their Beauty and swallows their borrowed Glory in a mournful Grave It is with us as with Actors in a Comedy the one represents a King the other an Emperor the one a Counsellor the other a Minister of State but when the Comedy is ended and the Garments changed you know not which is which we are like Counters upon a Table some signify Unites others Tens others Hundreds and others Thousands and Millions but when they are gathered together and put again into the Purse this vast difference appears no more This is a lively Image of all mankind for in this life some appear upon the Throne others are seated upon a Dunghil some flourish in Golden and Silken attire others are cloathed with nakedness some Command as Princes others submit as Gally-slaves some are fed with exquisite Dainties others must be content with the Bread of affliction but when Death hath cast them all into their Graves together then they appear equal and alike All these witty expressions and others of the like nature are pleasant and true they teach well and flatter the fancy but they afford no real Comforts Therefore to all these Learned Doctors we may say as Job by way of reproach to his friends that did add sorrow to his affliction You are all Physitians of no value How then comfort ye me in vain Job 13.9 and 21.34 When a poor Patient is stretched with the Tortures of an unmerciful Gout or
the first although it be most absurd and so foolish that it must needs proceed from a great ignorance or malice for it is not to be doubted that when any doth aime at one end he designes and supposes by consequence to attain unto it by the ordinary means For example God had appointed in his Eternal Council to preserve Jacob and his Family from that furious Famine that rag'd the space of seven years in order to that end he sends Joseph into Aegypt to gather up Provision the seven years of plenty Isaiah the Prophet had told Hezekiah from God that he should live the space of fifteen years more therefore he Commanded to apply to this Prince's Sores and Boils a lump of dried Figs God had promised to David that he should be King over the House of Israel to confirm this promise he had been anointed with Oil by the Prophet Samuel This promise don't hinder him from seeking the means to preserve himself from a Sauls unjust pursuance And when Nathan tels him that God had decreed to establish his Posterity upon his Throne after him this don't stop his Prayers or cool his Devotion on the contrary it was that which did quicken him the more and enslame his Soul with Love and Thankfulness to God therefore he expresseth himself in this manner O Lord of Hosts God of Israel thou hast revealed to thy Servant saying I will build thee an house therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this Prayer unto thee c. 2 Sam. 7. Our Lord Jesus Christ knew for certain all that should happen to him nevertheless we find him spending the days and the nights in Prayer and when his life was in danger he did not neglect the lawful and harmless means He told his Apostles Are not two Sparrows sold for a farthing and one of them shall not fall to the ground without your Father but the very hairs of your head are all numbred This consideration hinders him not from Commanding them that when they are persecuted in one City they should fly to another God had appointed to save St. Pauls life and of all his company therefore he revealed it to him by an Angel nevertheless when he saw the Mariners 〈…〉 he told the Centurion If these don't stay 〈…〉 you cannot be saved Acts 27. In short the Means and Causes are subordinate to the end in suâ—â—â—â—â—â—nner that it is meer folly and extravagancy to offer to divide them or to suppose them to be contrary It is without reason that some bring the History of King Asa against this undoubted Truth Such affirm that this Prince was reproved for seeking to the Physitians in his sickness These are the words of the Holy Scripture Asa in the thirty ninth year of his Reign was diseased in his feet until his disease was exceeding great yet in his disease he sought not to the Lord but to the Physitians 2 Chron. 1. The Spirit of God doth not blame this Prince because he desired the assistance of Physitians but because he did not seek help from God nor did not implore his aid in the day of his distress He that is sick may as freely take Physick as he that is well may eat and drink I confess we must not altogether repose our confidence and trust upon the Remedies but rather upon God who sends both sickness and health As Man doth not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God so it is not by the Physick alone that a Patient is cured of his distemper but by the Blessing and Power of him who gives the wound and binds it up who strikes and heals when he pleaseth Job 5. Therefore as we ought never to eat nor drink before we pray unto God to vouchsafe his Blessing upon our Meat and Drink that he may grant to them the vertue of recruiting the decayed strength of our Bodies likewise we should never take any Physick without lifting up our hands unto God for a blessing that the Remedy may have the strength to expel our Disease All Gods Creatures are good when they are received with thanksgiving for they are sanctified by the word of God and by Prayer 1 Tim. 4. Take notice here how much such persons are to be blamed who when they lament for the loss of their friends or kindred instead of looking up to Heaven look down upon the Earth and consider nothing but the inferior causes of their displeasure instead of adoring and submitting with all humility to the wise Providence of God that disposeth of all worldly events and appoints the meanest circumstances they fret and murmure they delight to nourish in their minds grief and displeasure that consumes them and break forth into many needless complaints that serve but to open their wounds and to render them more miserable If he had not been in such a place if he had not been engag'd in such a way if such a Physitian had not been call'd or if another had been sent for if this or that had not been done if this Physick had not been administred to him if less or more Blood had been taken from him if he had been suffer'd to eat more meat or if less had been given my Brother or my Sister my Wife my Child or my Husband had been yet alive It may be thou art mistaken Friend the Disease could not be cur'd but by a Miracle but when it should be otherwise we must nevertheless lift up our Eyes to God and acknowledge his finger with all reverence for oft times he blinds the Physitians so that they cannot understand the nature of the Disease and suffers them to apply Remedies contrary to the distemper As God threatens to take away the staff of Bread that is to say the nourishing strength and vertue of the Bread Levit. 26. likewise he takes away his Blessing from the most Soveraign Remedies and renders them altogether useless it is thus with all the other accidents that happen to us and that bring us to our Graves for when it plaseth him to remove any body out of the World he suffers him to shut his eyes to all the light of Reason and Prudence and to cast himself away headlong into the most apparent dangers as when he designed to destroy Absalom and to cut him off he caused him to be led away by evil Council and disappointed the discreet and prudent advice of Achitophel Therefore seeing that God hath appointed or fore-ordain'd before man's Creation the time and manner of his Death at what hour in what place and by what means soever God calls away our friends or strikes at our persons it is always our Duty to possess our Souls with patience and not to suffer the least repining and despairing word to creep out of our mouths If Death suddainly snatcheth away thy dearest Children or thy most intimate friends complain not of its inhumanity Remember that it doth put in execution the decrees
compar'd to the Figtree of the Gospel cursed by our Saviour Christ for it brought forth no fruit for others and it withered for want of nourishment Therefore a pleasant poverty is better worth than riches with discontent Nature is content with a little Piety with less but covetousness hath no measure The Heathens have very well acknowledged that he was the richest who was most content for the more things you desire the more are wanting to you It matters not much if the Cup which is presented to you be of Gold or of Earth so that there be liquor enough to quench your thirst I would rather drink of a little clear stream of Water than out of a great River all muddy and troubled A little quantity of ground is sufficient to nourish a Man in his life but less is necessary to cover him when he is dead A little Money satisfies to subsist honestly in the fear of God but less is required to dye happily in the favour and love of our good Saviour Kings and the greatest Monarchs have but one body to nourish and to cloath as well as the meanest of their Subjects They who enjoy least in the World do use or rather abuse the most of any the things that they possess Instead of envying the Worldlings opulency let us meditate upon St. Paul's excellent saying Having food and raiment let us be therewith content 1 Tim. 6. and let us imprint into our minds that other Sentence Piety with contentment is great gains 1 Tim. 1. 14. Christian Souls cast your eyes upon all the things of the World that are most esteem'd and you shall find that their possession is but uncertain and of a short continuance for Riches have wings to fly to Heaven as an Eagle All Flesh is like Grass and the Glory of Man as the Flower of the Field the World passeth away with all its Lusts Prov. 23. There needs but the pillaging of a Town the breaking of a Merchant or an unsuccessful and contrary suit in Law to render thee poor and bring thee to want A little sparkle of fire is able to reduce all thy Riches into Ashes and to bring thee to extream poverty The least ill look can cover thy face with shame and confusion and cast thee down from the highest humane Glory into the deepest Abysse of Disgrace and Ignominy The wise Man informs us that He who trusts in his Riches shall fall We may say so of such as relye too much upon great mens favor for it is like a broken Reed that pierceth the hands of such as lean upon it There is nothing here below so constant as unconstancy if the Earth did not often change its face and appearance it would not be Earth as it is and if the world were not unconstant it would cease to be World therefore it is no wonder if the Heathens who understood not God's wise Providence that governs the natural Beings and draws Light out of Darkness have represented Fortune blind mounting sometimes on a Wheel and in an instant tumbling down again How many persons do we meet with reduc'd on a suddain to beggery who a little before did flourish in all manner of Plenty How many are cast down into the dust and become the scorn of the World who were once rais'd to the highest Dignities and the greatest Honors How many fall into the contempt and derision of the Vulgar whose praises were once exalted up to Heaven In a word how many do we see before our Eyes dragg'd along the streets shut up in close prisons brought upon the Scaffolds and Gallows who were once the Glory of the World admired of all men and the scourge of honest Men When we run over and consider the strange unexpected and suddain changes that we have seen in our days they seem to us as Dreams St. Paul represents this great unconstancy of the World to take off our Hearts and Affections from it The time saith be is short it remaineth that both they that have Wives be as though they had none and they that weep as though they wept not and they that rejoyce as though they rejoyced not and they that buy as though they possessed not and they that use this world as not abusing it for the fashion of this world passeth away 1 Cor. 7. Because of this great unconstancy of all Worldly advantages St. Paul invites us to think upon the immortal Riches Charge saith he them that are rich that they put not their trust in uncertain Riches but in the living God laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come that they may lay hold on eternal life 1 Tim. 6. For the same reason the Son of God adviseth us Not to lay up for our selves Treasures upon Earth where the Moth and Rust do corrupt but lay up for your selves Treasures in Heaven where the moth and rust don't corrupt and where Thieves don't break through and steal Matt. 6. A wise Persian was well acquainted with this truth therefore he hath left this Lesson for posterity The world is constant to no man my Brother apply thy self and thy heart to the great Creator of the world and that shall suffice thee 15. Consider that if the Riches and Honors do not leave us in our life time or in case none takes them away from us by violence it is most certain that death will deprive us of all and will separate them from us for ever Psal 49. For when Man dies he carries nothing with him his Glory accompanies him not into his Grave 1 Tim. 6. We brought nothing into this world and it is certain that we can carry nothing out Job 1. The King and the greatest Princes may speak in this language as well as the meanest Soldiers of fortune Naked I came from my Mothers womb and naked I shall return All the Treasures Riches Scepters and Crowns shall never advantage us after our decease What was Nebuchadnezzar the better for having had so great a number of People within his Dominions they could not hinder him from lying down upon a Couch of Worms nor preserve him from being eaten with Vermin Isaiab 14. To what purpose did the rich glutton swim in a Sea of all manner of Riches in his life time after his decease he could not obtain a drop of cold water to asswage his violent thirst Luk 16. The Author of the Book of Wisdom was entered into this Meditation when he represents the Worldlings spending themselves in lamentations for their former follies and voluntary blindness What hath pride profited us say they or what benefit hath Riches brought us all these things are passed away as a shadow as a Post that runs swiftly or as a Ship that slides through the troubled Waves Wisd 16. Our Heirs give us nothing of all our substance but a Winding sheet a few Boards or it may be some pounds of Lead all consumes with us and rots in our Graves
more That if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth there remains no more sacrifice for sin but a terrible expectation of judgement and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries for our God is a consuming fire Chap. 10. And in the Revelations it is not only said that in the Holy Jerusalem there shall no unclean thing enter or that committeth Abomination or a Lye and that God will shut out the Dogs the Witches the Fornicators the Murderers the Idolaters and whosoever doth love or do a lye Chap. 2.22 But the Spirit of God assures that the timerous that is such as are more afraid of Man than of God the Unbelieving the Execrable and Murderers the Fornicators and Witches the Idolaters and Lyers shall have their portion in the Lake that burnes with Fire and Brimstone which is the second death Chap. 13. 6. When we should speak the language of Angels when we should give all our Goods to nourish the Poor and when we should give our Body to be burn'd if we have not charity we are but like the sounding Brass and like the thinkling Cymbal When we should be able to perform Signes and Wonders if we be not cloathed with Innocency and Holiness if we be not adorned with Meekness and Love Christ will at last treat us as the foolish Virgins with a Depart from me I know you not When we should be able to cast the Devil out of other Men it will avail us nothing unless we can cast him out also of our own hearts with all the wicked Lusts that he nourisheth there To what purpose shall such cry out at the great day Lord Lord have not we prophesied in thy name have not we cast out Devils in thy name have not we done many miracles in thy name Jesus will return them this sad answer Depart from me ye workers of iniquity 7. Consider that whatsoever be your share of the advantages of this life when you shall come to dye you shall not carry away with you your Riches your Honors nor your Pleasures but if you be rich in Faith and good Works if you be cloathed with Holiness and crowned with Righteousness If Piety and the service of God be your delight you shall carry away out of the World this Spiritual Treasure this Celestial Glory and this Angelical Satisfaction It is what the Holy Spirit teacheth when it tells us Blessed are the dead that dye in the Lord for they rest from their Labours and their Works follow them 8. Let us always have before our eyes the blessed examples of so many Saints who have traced us the way to Heaven by their Piety and good Works they are enter'd into the Paradise of God and the Glory of his Kingdom It is reported of a Painter that when he had a designe to represent an accomplished Beauty he borrowed from divers Objects the Excellencies and Perfections with which he was to adorn his Picture from the Lillies he took their whiteness from the Roses their red tincture from another Object the wonder of the Eye from another the coral of the Lips and so of the other parts Likewise to restore in our Souls the Image of God defaced by sin we must borrow the Vertues and Excellencies of former Men for example Represent always to your selves Abel's Innocency Henoch's Holy life Noah's Justice Abraham's Faith Lot's Hospitality Isaack's Obedience the Faithfulness of Jacob the Chastity of Joseph the Patience of Job the Meckness of Moses the Zeal of Phineas the Constancy of David the Wisdom of Solomon the Piety of Josias the Prayers of Daniel the Tears of Jeremiah the Fastings of Hester the Holy Earnestness of the Woman of Canaan the Devotion of Cornelius the Charity of the Samaritan the Alms of Dorcas and of the poor Widow the Publicans Humility the good Thiefs Repentance the Tears of Mary Magdalen the Weepings of Peter the undaunted Courage of St. Paul and his indefatigable disposition and the glorious Martyrdom of St Stephen and of so many noble Souls of all Ages and Sexes who have gone to the torments with as much joy as to Feasts and to Triumphs and who have sealed with their Blood the truth of the Gospel with an undaunted resolution Seeing therefore that we are encompassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses let us pursue with constancy the Race that is set before us 9. Chiefly Let us look to Jesus the Author and finisher of our Faith for he hath left us an example that we might follow his footsteps All the Vertues that we admire in these faithful Souls are but like so many little beams of the Sun of Righteousness and a weak Image of his Glory There is no Fire so perfect but it sends up a Smoak nor Righteousness so accomplish'd but hath its Imperfections whiles we are cloathed with this weak flesh The behaviour of the most Holy and Perfect is defiled by many infirmities but our Lord and Saviour is the Lamb without spot or blemish in whose Mouth there is no guile for it was necessary that we should have such an High Priest who is Holy Blameless separated from Sinners The perfect image of all Vertues was never found in any mortal Man on Earth but Jesus Christ is the fairest amongst the Sons of Men his Lips are full of Grace in him alone we have a perfect model of all Vertues and of all Perfections that we can imagine Therefore when the Apostle had perswaded the Romans to renounce the Lusts of the Flesh Drunkenness Anger Envy and such like sins instead of making an enumeratiun of the Vertues opposite to these Vices he thinks it sufficient to propose Christ's Holy example Put on the Lord Jesus Christ saith he to teach us that all the Vertues and Graces do enter and meet in the Sacred Person of our Saviour Jesus Christ in the highest degree of perfection 10. We are so much the more obliged to imitate Jesus Christ and to imprint in our hearts his Holy Image because that he is not only our Father our Lord and our King but he is also the blessed Head of that Body whereof we are Members It is not just to unite defiled and profane Members to an Head so Glorious and so Holy Whosoever gives himself over to his Lust and Delights in the corruption of sin maimes as much in him lies the Sacred Body of the Son of God This consideration drew from St. Paul this expression Shall I take the Members of Christ for to make them the Members of an whore 11. The Divine Spirits dwelling in our Hearts is a great obligation to Holiness of life know you not that you are the Temple of God and the Holy Ghost dwelleth in you Ezek. 8. Shall we be so base as to uncover our filthy and dirty thoughts before so Holy and Divine a Guest Shall we be so bold as to erect upon his Altar Idols that may provoke him to jealousie His eyes are so
Hearts and Affections of all such as behold thy Perfect and Divine Beauty 27. On the contrary there is nothing so ugly and ill-favour'd as sin it is a woful Monster of Hell and a frightful Image of Satan It is true that it disguises it self and takes a beautiful appearance but if you lift up this borrowed Mask you shall perceive the Devils fearful looks and the depths of Hell 28. Faithful Souls weigh in the ballance of the Sanctuary the fearful evils that sin hath brought into the World it hath blotted out God's Image and defaced the Beauty of the Creation it hath put a division between Heaven and Earth and kindled a grievous War between God and Man it is an heavy burden under which Nature it self groans for because of sin all Creatures sigh and are in labor until now 29. It continues yet its woful Effects for it is Sin that grieves the Holy Spirit that afflicts the Angels that offends the Weak that hardens the Ignorant and that gives an occasion to the enemies of God to blaspheme his Holy Name and to curse his Gospel Rom. 8. It is Sin that pleaseth the Devil that rejoyceth Hell that upholds the tottering walls of Babylon that strengthens the Kingdom of the Prince of Darkness and that causeth him to work with efficacy in the Hearts of the Children of Rebellion Eph. 2. 30. Lift up your Eyes to the Cross of Jesus Christ and you shall perceive how abominable sin is for neither in Heaven nor on Earth there could not be found an offering able to make expiation for it God hath chosen rather to punish it in the person of his only begotten Son than to leave it unpunished O that the stain of sin is grievous and deep seeing that nothing but the Bloud of a God can wash and cleanse it 31. When you meditate upon our Lords Death and Passion make it not your business to cry out against Judas's Treason the Pharisees envy the Peoples mutiny don't lay the blame upon the Impiety of Caiphas the unjustice of Pilate or Herods Scoffs and Jests nor upon the cruelty of the Roman Soldiers but be angry against your own Sins and let an Holy Displeasure rise in you against your iniquities and crimes Say to your selves our sins our sins alone have betrayed Christs innocent Body bound and fastened the Lord of Glory to this ignominious Cross and deliver'd him into the Executioners hands our sins have crown'd him with Thorns nailed him to the Wood deliver'd to him Gaul and Vinegar to drink In short our sins have pierced his Hands and Feet and open'd his Side You would abhor the sight and acquaintance of the Hangman that should have fastened your Father to the Gallows and you would scorn to kiss his bloody hands how much more abominable shall we be to God and his Holy Angels if we do cherish and delight to entertain Sin whereas we should be stirred up against it with an Holy Zeal and an earnest desire of Revenge Instead of nailing to the Cross this unmerciful Parricide and crushing to pieces this hellish Monster if we feed and nourish it in our bowels we shall then be guilty of crucifying afresh the Son of God and of putting him to an open shame guilty of treading him under feet and of esteeming the Blood of the Covenant wherewith we were sanctified an unholy thing 32. Consider seriously the fearful effects that Sin produces in you have you never been sensible of the horrid and cruel torments of a poor Soul disturb'd with the sight of its crimes How sharp and piercing are the remorses of a Conscience awaken'd from a prophane sleep It is a pain and an anguish that cannot be expressed it causeth our head to dissolve into water our eyes to become a Fountain of Tears it causeth our Blood to be congeal'd our Skin to become black our Bones to be crack'd and broken It is a common saying that the punishment follows the sin close at the heels but imagine that it keeps always its company and that it is a Rack and Torture that never leaves the guilty for there is no peace for the wicked saith my God Isai 48. 33. Whereas there is no satisfaction like unto that of a good Christian who loves his God sincerely and worships him in Spirit and in Truth There is no kind of delight to be compar'd to that of a regenerate Soul that applies himself without hypocrisie to the works of Piety and Holiness John 4. for the quiet of the Soul and the peace of Conscience are more worthy than great Treasures than Scepters and Crowns therefore the wise Solomon tels us That the Righteous mans Heart is a continual Feast Prov. 15. To perswade us that there is nothing like to this hidden Manna to this spiritual Food that the world knows not and to these Angelical and Divine Pleasures the Holy Apostles inform us that it is an unspeakable and glorious Joy and a peace of God that passeth all understanding Phil. 4. 34. If any Delight or Pleasure accompanies Vice it is but in appearance superficial as a dream it vanisheth away for the Triumph of the wicked is of a short continuance and the Joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment There is always some Thorn some Grief hidden and secret in their laughter their Heart is afflicted and their Joy is cut off by Sorrow Prov. 14. 35. But the Holy Joys and Celestial Delights of one that fears God and that worships him in purity and innocency of life are solid and lasting they cast a deep Root into the very bottom of our hearts and enter into the Joynts and Marrow and disperse themselves all over the inward parts The Gibbets the Wheels It is the French custome to break notable offenders upon a Cart-wheel and the most grievous torments of this life cannot pluck these joys from us but they comfort the soul in the midst of the greatest distresses and heal up the broken bones 36. The Worldlings become weary tired with the accomplishment of their Lusts and are afflicted at their greatest success they loath at last all their carnal sports and their greatest sweetness turns into bitterness we grow out of taste with the pleasures of sin so that we begin to loath and abhorr them It is what Zophar intends to shew us when speaking of the wicked he saith His meat in his Bowels is turned it is the gall of Aspes within him he hath swallowed down Riches and he shall vomit them up again God shall cast them out of his belly Job 20. 37. It is otherwise with them who apply their hearts to the fear and service of God and that find his Yoak easy and his burden Light Matth. 11. They take great satisfaction in the ways of Righteousness they run with an holy freedom to their happy end and to the price of their spiritual Calling the more they drink of the Waters of Siloah the more they thirst their Zeal is like an
thee and bring all thoughts to thine obedience Let the World be confounded in all its purposes and let it never have the power to scare me by its threatenings or to corrupt me by its fair promises Let Satan once more fall from Heaven as a Lightning and let him be for ever shut up in the bottomless pit Shut up the mouths of all false Prophets and let thy Truth be victorious over Error that we may see the Congregations of thy true Catholick Church increase in number of persons that may worship thee with more Affection and Zeal or rather increase in them thy Grace and Heavenly Blessings O let me always consider that the Sheep that I am to feed belong not to me nor to any mortal Man but to thee Lord Jesus who hast created them by thine infinite power and redeemed them by thy wonderful Goodness Thou hast willingly offered thy self to the sufferings of a painful death that thou mightest deliver them from the Wolfs Paw and Claws of the infernal Lion Let me remember that I am shortly to appear before thy Glorious presence and to give thee an account of my Stewardship O Lord who knowest all things unto whom nothing is hid thou seest the very bottom of my Heart and spiest my most secret thoughts Thou knowest how faithfully and affectionately I have been employed in thy service I have led thy Sheep to the wholsome feeding of thy Heavenly Pastures I have led them to the Waters that burst forth unto Eternal Life my Conscience bears me witness before thee and thy Holy Angels that I have declared nothing neither by Word nor Writing but that which I firmly believe to be agreeable to the Oracles of the Prophets Apostles and Evangelists I have drawn out of the Sacred Treasuries of thy word things new and old for the beautifying of thy House and for the instruction of such as dwell there I have labour'd day and night in the hings that thou hast put into my heart for thy Glory for the advance of thy Kingdom and the comfort of thy Children In the important passages of my life I have not taken counsel from Flesh and Bloud but I have preferred the Honour of thy great Name and the Glory of thy Divine Truth to all Earthly advantages and to my particular interest I have despised all the Riches of this World and the Honors of the Age for the sake of the spiritual Treasuries and of that Heavenly Light which thou hast put into me as into an Earthly Vessel that all Glory may be ascribed to thee who art the Author of all good and of all perfect Gifts My most delicious Meat and my most pleasant Drink was to do thy Holy Will and to perfect thy Work I have taken a singular delight in declaring the wonderful Councils of thy Wisdom and discovering the Mysteries of thy Kingdom I have shared in the evils and sufferings of thy Members I have not been sparing of the comforts which thou hast furnished me in all my afflictions and temptations Thy Holy Law is in my Heart and thy Gospel is there engraven with the finger of thy Blessed Spirit Thou hast kindled in me an earnest desire of saving Souls and bringing them to Righteousness O Lord who searchest into the bottom of the most secret Hearts Thou knowest that I may say with the Holy Prophet The zeal of thine House hath caten me up Or with the Apostle The care of thy Church cometh upon me daily But for all this I pretend not to be justified in thy presence I am so far from resting upon mine own Righteousness and of being puft up with the opinion of my deservings that I confess my self a poor and a miserable sinner therefore with my whole Heart I desire the forgiveness of my great imperfections and miscarriages which I have been guilty of in thy service I have not been enflam'd with a Charity pure enough nor with a disinteressed Zeal I have been sometimes too indulgent and sometimes too severe in the reprehension of Vice and I have not been as I ought the Director of my Floâ—k in all manner of good Works the love of my self hath crept in with that affection that I owe to thee alone and I have have not served thee only for thy sake and for thy Divine perfections but also for the expectation of the Rewards which thou hast promised to thy faithful Servants when thou shalt render unto every one according to his Works I have been too sensible of the wrongs done to mine own Person and especially when I have seen my best deeds misinterpreted and my most charitable cares requited with ingratitude I have not always possâ—ssed my Soul with patience and I have not had that Meekness Love and Humility which thou Divine Jesus hast recommended to me by thine example on Earth O Lord if thou should est treat me according to the exacâ—ness of thy justice and require at my hands the Souls that are perished by my negligence or evil example I should be cover'd with shame and confusion and I should soon be cast with the unprofitable Servant into the Eternal Torments of Hell where are weeping and gnashing of Teeth But O Merciful Lord thou art goodness it self Love and the very being of Charity Thou acceptest the Will for the Deed and the Vndertaking for the Performance and thou hast thy Arms always wide open to receive thy poor Servants that weep for their mistakes and that humbly prostrate themselves before thee to implore thy Mercy and Forgiveness O Divine Saviour Thou art rich in Goodness and ready to cause thy Glorious Countenance to shine upon such as call upon thee to their unspeakable joy and comfort and upon such as draw near to thee by a true and serious Repentance Therefore I pour forth my Soul before thee and acknowledge that thou hast heard me and accepted the contrition of my heart and heard the voice of my Tears Thou strengthenest my Faith raisest my Hopes and fillest my Soul with refreshing and excellent considerations of thy Love Thou causest me to tast the Salvation which thou often preachest to others I feel thy Gracious Hand drawing me to thyself I see that thou openest to me the Gate of Paradise unto which I have had so many good and Holy Souls that rest now in the enjoyment of thy Glory Thou causest me to have the confidence of saying with the Holy Apostle I know that God will show Mercy unto me and receive me into his Heavenly Kingdom O Good and Merciful Lord I feel my Body consuming away and my strength decaying but thou art the Rock of my Heart and my portion for ever I see death coming apace to me but instead of afflicting and frighting me it comforts and rejoyceth my Heart for it comes to put an end to this miserable life that is no better than a languishing kind of death it comes to take me from my continued labors and loose me from my greivous and
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.
for them now if there be any reason to render unto every one that which hath been dearly bought and purchased with a great price and seeing that it would be a great sin to refuse unto any man that which he hath paid for with the Bloud of his only and beloved Son how can we refuse our Souls unto God seeing that they belong to him because he hath not only created them and stamped in them his Image but he hath also purchased them with the Bloud of his only Son in whom from all Eternity he is well pleased We must not therefore imitate the example of naughty paymasters or unjust possessors of other Men's Goods we must not expect until our Souls be plucked from us by violence but rather like the good and righteous Debtors we must return them willingly and yield them up into his hands who hath paid for them an infinite and an unvaluable Ransome David was of this mind when he said Into thine hand I commit my spirit thou hast redeemed me O Lord God of Truth Psal 31. 11. In this Death and Passion of our Glorious Redeemer we learn not only our Duty but also sufficient grounds of comfort and hope and if I may so say it is in the Bowels of this dead Lion that we find the sweetest and most ravishing Consolations this Chief Priest that bears us upon his Breast in his Heavenly Sanctuary or rather upon his Heart will not forsake us in the day of our distress and will not give us over to the fears and pangs of death for seeing that he hath encountred with this cruel Death seeing that it hath felt its sting its shiverings and pains and that he hath bin tempted as we have bin in all things except in sin he is merciful and faithful to have compassion of our infirmities he is no less able to assist us in our temptations and to make us in all things more than Conquerors 12. Believing Souls consider with me the noble expressions of St. Paul Blessed be God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of Mercies and the God of all comfort who comforteth us in all our tribulation that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we our selves are comforted of God 2 Cor. 1. These excellent Truths may be very well applied to our Lord Jesus Christ whom the Holy Ghost names The Apostle and High Priest of our Profession Heb. 3. For the comfortable assistances which he hath received from God in the time of his greatest anguish are precious tokens and infallibie assurances of God's future help in our need for as when he was in his bitter Agony when his Soul was cast down with deadly sorrow an Angel from Heaven comes to comfort him Likewise when we shall be engaged in an encounter with death when it shall endeavour to fill our Souls with sadness and apprehensions he will doubtless send unto us some of his good Angels that be at his right hand I mean the faithful Teachers of his Holy Word or else he will send from Heaven some of his blessed Spirits that stand about his Throne and that are commonly employed in the preservation of the Godly The Holy Ghost himself the Comforter of afflicted Souls and the true Oil of Gladness will then drive from our hearts all grief and refresh us with his Heavenly Comforts He will not forsake us until he hath brought us to the Head Spring of Eternal Joy and Comfort 13. Our Lord and Saviours deliverance from death is an Image and an assurance of our future deliverance which we are to expect from God's Mercy and Almighty Power for as when St. Paul saith that this High Priest in the days of his Flesh offered up Prayers and Supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from Death And was heard in that he feard We are not to understand that he was freed altogether from death but rather that he had the favour granted to him of swallowing Death up into Victory and of triumphing over the Powers of Hell and that through the shame and bitterness of death he is gone into his Glory and into the Joys of his Heavenly Paradise Likewise when we pray unto God in our greatest distresses and deepest sorrows when we pour into his bosom the Tears of a sincere Repentance he hears us from his Sanctuary and delivers us from Death not by hindring us from dying but by raising our Souls to pass through Death into an immortal Life from this valley of Tears into Happiness and endless Bliss 14. If we will be sully perswaded that God will not with-hold from us the Joys and Comforts of his Holy Spirit and that he will make us more than Conquerors of death by admitting us into an Eternal Felicity we need but cast our eyes upon our Lord Jesus Christ for as he who bestows much will not refuse a little so God who hath not spared his only Son but hath delivered him for us all to an ignominious and cruel Death how shall not he with him freely give us all things St. Paul hath taught to argue in this manner and to gather this consequence necessary from God's proceedings Rom. 8. 15. When Christ our Lord gave up the Ghost upon the Cross the vail of the Temple was rent from the top to the bottom Heaven was opened and a repenting Thief was admitted All this happened to teach us that we may enter into the Holy of Holies by the Bloud of Jesus by the new and living way which he hath consecrated by the Vail which is by his Flesh and that this merciful Lord hath always his Arms wide open to receive us and that he will never refuse the Glory of Heaven and the delights of his Paradise to the greatest sinners that repent and that seek to his Eternal Mercy by his infinite Merits 16. The Death of this great God and Saviour is the payment of all our debts and the expiation of all our crimes it is the healing of all our diseases the freedom from all our miseries for it hath overcome Satan and the powers of Hell It is the death of an Eternal Death it is this meritorious death that hath purchased for us Heaven and all its Excellencies and procured to us a Right to God's Paradise and to its Delights and Pleasures In short it is this Death that conveys Pardise into our Souls before we enter into Paradise and fills our minds with an Heavenly and Divine Peace and an unspeakable and glorious Joy 17. This Cross of our Saviour may be compared to the Wood which Moses cast into the Waters of Marah for it takes away from the natural Death of God's Children whatsoever is incommodious and bitter and causeth us to relish Sweetness and Comforts that cannot be express'd It is like the Salt which the Prophet Elisha cast into the Waters of Jerico to make them wholsom and fruitful for
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
voice the praises of Almighty God in the glorious company of the Church triumphant with these unsteddy hands that can scarce hold any thing thou shalt one day receive Immortal Palmes and Golden Viols which thou shalt never quit with these feet that are dying and that can scarce hold thee up thou shalt follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth and thou shalt walk about the Streets of the heavenly Jerusalem and this same body that is going to rot and to be turned to dust shall one day shine as the Firmament and as the Sun in its greatest splendor What desirest thou more Christian Soul for thy comfort what addition can there be made to thine happiness for thou art going to the fruition of eternal Joyes and of endless pleasures in Heaven In the mean while thy Body shall endure no pain nor grief and God will shortly raise it up again from this deep sleep that begins to dull thy senses and close thine eye lids Shortly God will publish the year of the great Jubile all the Prisons of Death shall be then opened and the Prisoners shall be set at liberty Thou shalt shortly hear the found of the last Trump that shall rouse thee out of the dust and cause thee to appear in the presence of thy great Redeemer Thou leavest a wretched Body full of darkness and corruption assaulted by Death on all sides but it shall shortly be made uncorruptible immortal and adorned with Light and Glory Let therefore thy Heart rejoyce thy Tongue be glad and thy flesh rest in hope for the Lord will not leave thee always in the Grave he will not suffer thee to continue for ever in dust and corruption he will not only discover to thee the ways of life but he will shortly come down himself from Heaven for to lead thee thither When Death should be already upon thy lips when she should be ready to lay thee in thy Grave let not this disturb the quiet of thy Soul nor the peace of thy Conscience let it not shake thy precious Faith that keeps thee up nor drive thee from the Author of thy Blessed hope fixed in Heaven where Jesus Christ is entered as thy forerunner in short when thy Body should be all covered with sores and boiles as that of Job Job 19 when it should all fall to pieces before thine eyes let nothing hinder thee from crying out with this patient Man I know that my redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the Earth and though after my skin worms destroy this Body yet in my flesh shall I see God whom I shall see for my se f and mine Eyes shall behold and not another And with St. Paul Phil. 3. We look from Heaven for the Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious Body according to the mighty working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself A Prayer and Meditation of a Christian who being ready to depart out of the World comforts himself with an assurance and expectation of the glorious Resurrection of his Body from the Dust O Eternal and Divine Word by whom all things were Created and without whom was not any thing made that was made Thou hast not only created our Souls and fashioned our Bodies with thy skilful hands but when they were miserably lost and corrupted with Sin thou hast been pleased to redeem both our Souls and Bodies with thy most precious Blood and to restore thy glorious Image in us This wretched Body is but an Earthen Vessel yet thou hast inclosed in it the richest Treasuries of Life and Light Thou hast appointed it to be the Temple of the Holy Ghost and a noble Pavillion of the Godhead to participate with the Soul in the eternal happiness of thy Kingdom I feel my strength failing me and this Earthly Tabernacle decaying every day and every hour so that I am certain that it shall shortly fall to dust But Lord I am sufficiently comforted with the knowledge that if the outward Man decays the inward is renewed day by day If this wretched Body falls down by Death thou shalt raise it up again at the general Resurrection My Lord and my God thou art sufficiently able for all power is given to thee in Heaven and in Earth and in the depths of the Sea As the Father raiseth and quickneth the Dead thou dost also quicken them whom thou hast chosen Thou hast fashioned my Body of Dust and created this Dust of nothing and shalt not thou be able of the same dust into which this my Body shall be turned by Death to make and fashion it again Thou hast by thine Almighty power created my Soul and infused it into this Body and canst thou not return it again when it shall please thee to live for ever in a more blessed society than ever it hath been before O Prince of Life Death hath sufficiently felt thy great and overflowing power It intended to swallow thee up but thou hast swallowed it up in a glorious manner into Victory Thou hast been dead but thou art returned to life and thou livest for ever and ever And now thou holdest in thy hands the Keys of Death Thou openest and shutest up thy black Dungeon at thy pleasure Thou killest and makest alive thou castest into the Grave and fetchest up again Lord Jesus who art the Resurrection and the Life as thou hast an ability to cause my Body to come out of the Dust thou art willing and resolved to take it out again for thou hast promised to awake with the sound of the Archangels Trump and to lead away with thee all them that sleep in thee and repose themselves upon thee when thou shalt come from Heaven with thy powerful Angels at the great day of thy Triumph and at the Crowning of thy Spouse all the Prisons of Death shall be opened and the prisoners set at liberty It shall not be long O Lord before thou wilt cause the last Trumpet to sound to publish and proclaime the great Day of Rest and Joy Thou shalt then put us in possession of all the advantages which we have lost Thou shalt command the Sea the Earth and the Grave to restore all the Bodies which they have swallowed up and they shall readily obey thee Thy mighty word that Created the World and sustains it shall be heard in our very Graves and at that instant we shall go out to appear before thy dreadful Tribunal We shall not go out in the same manner as Lazarus with our winding sheets about us we shall leave in the Grave all tokens of our former infirmities Thou shalt not only draw our Bodies out of their Tombs but thou shalt make them more beautiful more perfect and glorious than ever they were before so that we are able to say for a truth I hat the glory of this second House shall be greater than the glory
Argument taken out of the Parable of the Father of the Family who at the evening of the day rewarded equally all his Laborers that had been employed in his Vineyard giving to every one of them a penny that Parables are as Pictures in which besides the thing intended to be drawn there are many particulars which serve but as flourishes to adorn the piece If we should consider every passage of this Parable we might gather from hence that amongst such as shall be saved there shall be there some murmuring against God who shall envy their companions which is a gross absurdity to conceive the designe of our Saviour is not to speak of the equality of the glorified Saints but his intent is to shew that those whom God calls first should not despise the others because God who doth with his own what he pleaseth is able to make them equal and to bestow upon them the same advantages Lastly as every one whom the good man of the House sent into his Vineyard at several times of the day received for their Salary a penny in the same manner whomsoever God calls into his Church effectually at any time nay at the hour of death they shall receive from his infinite Bounty eternal Life but from hence we cannot conclude any thing contrary to this Truth that in Heaven there shall be divers degrees of Glory The greatest difficulty in my judgement is in this Allegation That we shall see God face to face and that he will be all in all 1 Cor. 13. 1 Cor. 15. Nevertheless we may say that as all the damned in Hell shall loose all sight of God yet that cannot hinder the divers degrees of Pain and Torment Likewise all the glorified in Heaven shall see God but this sight which all shall enjoy cannot remove the inequality of their Glory and Happiness As when all men look upon the same Sun but several receive the benefit of its beams in a differing manner thus we shall all behold the same God but the Gracious Aspect of his Countenance shall be cast upon us variously and produce in us divers and various effects We may also make use of another comparison As when we cast many empty Vessels into the same Sea they are all filled up so that it may be said of them that the Sea is in them all some nevertheless may be more capacious and receive more Water than others Likewise all the Saints shall enter into the same wonderful Ocean of the Godhead they shall be all filled up to the brim with his Glorious presence so that God shall be all in all Nevertheless they shall receive differing measures of these Waters issuing forth to Eternal life In a word as God shall cast headlong all the Reprobates into the same Lake of Fire and Brimstone and yet there shall be divers degrees amongst them of punishments so God shall cause all the Elect to drink out of the same River of Pleasure but there shall be a difference amongst their degrees of Glory Moreover this passage may be thus understood God shall be all in all that is to say he shall be to us all Riches Glory Light Meat Drink Pleasures c. In my judgement we cannot conclude from hence that he is to make all equal If any have other thoughts or is of another judgement I shall not offer to condemn him nor to undertake to refute him for I conceive that seeing Almighty God hath hid the Glories and Happiness of Heaven and covered them over with a thick Cloud on purpose to limit our too curious inquiry we cannot mention them with too much modesty and respect only I must take notice of something more for the comfort of the good and devout Souls whose thoughts and mind are in Heaven That when we affirm that there shall be differing degrees of Glory in Paradise we must not conceive that this shall bring any diminution to the perfect Happiness of the Glorified for if I may once again make use of the comparison of the Sun-beams and of the Waters of the Sea I cannot find any more proper for this purpose As all Eyes that look upon the clear Sun without Cloud or Mist receive its Rayes in a differing manner yet they have all enough to see to guide themselves and to rejoyce in this beautiful Light that enlightens them if some receive a greater measure of that Light this hinders not the rest from enjoying also a sufficiency so shall it be with all the glorified Souls when they shall behold God the Father of Lights the true Sun that shall shine for ever and ever If any of them shall have more or less of his Light that shall in no wise impede the perfection of anothers Happiness for every one of them shall enjoy as much as they shall be able to receive or shall be necessary to compleat their Joy and perfect their Happiness And as when we cast into the Sea many empty Vessels some greater some less the greater contains more Water and the lesser not so much yet they do all receive enough to be filled up to the brim if the least of these Vessels had the knowledge to speak they would not complain of the greater for containing more then they because they have all as much as they can either desire or expect Likewise when the Saints shall be cast into that bottomless Sea of Glory and Happiness they shall be filled all up to the brim so that they shall not be able to desire any more they shall be all according to their differing capacities perfectly and entirely happy Consider therefore Christian Soul that if thou enjoyest so much satisfaction and delight as thou art capable of although others may have something more thou art no less happy for their overplus there is none but God alone that according to the infiniteness of his Being possesseth an unmeasurable and infinite Glory and Happiness This bottomless source of Glory and Bliss shall for ever and ever run over all the glorified in Heaven and satisfy their Souls with unspeakable Delights You may ask Christians in what part of the great World shall God cause us to enjoy so many rare pleasures and Heavenly contentments Where shall he produce so many Treasures and Riches Where will he discover so much Glory and Splendor In what part doth he intend to shew so many Divine marks of his Gracious Presence I answer that this place is above the Elemental World above all the Heavens that appear before our Eyes and that roul about us If we will understand this we must remember that the Holy Scripture makes mention of three Heavens The first is the large extent of the Air distinguished by the Learned into three Regions In this sence it is to be taken when it speaks of the Birds of the Air. The second Heaven comprehends the Heavenly Spheres the Globes that are between the Moon and the Firmament where are all the fixed Stars and if beyond
of that uncorruptible Inheritance which God keeps for thee in Heaven and hath prepared since the Creation of the World Hast thou a pleasant Garden or a rich Field But what are all the Gardens of the World in respect of the Heavenly Paradise where the Tree of Life grows that brings forth its Fruits every moneth of the year and where the River of living Water as transparent as Chrystal runs continually What reason hast thou Christian Soul to grieve when thou forsakest the pleasures of the World that thou enjoyest with the Children of the Earth or the Delights of the Body which are common to thee with the bruit Beasts Seeing that God will satisfy thee with his most precious Delights for in the blessed Vision of his Face thou shalt meet with fulness of joy Hast thou any friends on Earth Let it not trouble thee to leave them for instead of one friend here below whom thou fanciest to be real and sincere thou hast thousands in Heaven who will receive thee into the Eternal Mansions and embrace thee as their companion and the partaker of the same Glory and Happiness Hast thou any Parents or Relations I suppose that they are not burdensome to thee and that thou receivest much more Pleasure and Assistance from them than Grief and Ingratitude yet thou hast a spiritual Parentage in Heaven and Eternal Relations Thou hast in the Mansion-House of thy Heavenly Father a great number of Brothers and Sisters with whom thou shalt live in a blessed Unity as Members of one Body governed by the same Spirit and enflamed with the same Zeal Thou Husband whom Death snatcheth away from thy beloved Wife seriously consider that God will unite thee to himself by an unscparable Union and that he purposeth to take up to him some part of thy self that thy expectations thy hopes and affections might be now in Heaven And thou also O Woman whom Death plucks out of the embraces of thy dear and loving Husband remember that thou hast a Husband also in Heaven who hath espoused thee to himself for ever in Righteousness in Mercy and Compassion a Husband always Living and Glorious a Husband who loves thee with an Eternal Love that is stronger than Death whose affections are enflamed for thee in such a manner that the Water of all the Seas and Rivers are not able to extinguish a Husband who bears with all thine infirmities and hath redeemed thee from all thy sins a Husband who hath not spared for thee his precious Bloud that he might procure for thee the Glory and Happiness of his Kingdom who invites thee to his Heavenly Nuptials having prepared and appointed for thee a Room in the Banqueting-Chamber where thousands of glorified Saints shall sit and where the meledious Tunes of Angels shall be heard a Husband who calls to thee reacheth out unto thee his Hand and opens his Bosom to receive thee If thou hast found any satisfaction and pleasure in the company of that Person whom God had given thee for an Assistant and Mate judge from thence what Angelical Delights thou shalt meet with in the ravishing embraces of thy Heavenly Spouse The most pleasant Marriage days are gone as a shadow but the day which shall bring thee to thy Celestial Bridegroom shall never depart nor darken so that the Heavenly Contentments shall abide and continue with thee for ever without the least distaste You beloved and loving Children who are yet in the bosom of a good Father or of a tender-hearted Mother suffer Death patiently to remove you far from them and depart with joy to that good God that will receive you as his Children satisfy your Souls with the Milk of his most Blessed Consolations and will make you his Heirs and Co-Heirs with his Son Jesus Christ Say to him as the Holy Prophet When my Father and my Mother should forsake me yet the Lord will receive me Isai 66. Rom. 8. Psal 27. And you Fathers and Mothers that have a tender affection for your Children if Death takes them out of your sight and deprives you of the comfort of their company grieve not as those who have no hope for when they should be never so accomplish'd when they should have never given you but pleasure and divertisement What are all these pitiful Delights that pass away in a moment and that change oft-times into bitterness and sorrow if compared with the Eternal Pleasures which we shall enjoy in the contemplation of God's Glorious Face and in a familiar acquaintance with his Divine Wisdom You shall not return to them but they shall in their time go to you so that you shall shortly see one another in the Dwelling of the Father of Spirits Matth. 27. Death separates you for a while but the Author of your Life will bring you together for ever Finally of what age and condition soever you be if you perceive the breath of your Life to stop never grieve nor murmure at it for if Death separates you from your Selves it brings you nearer to God your chief Good and instead of a wretched and perishing life it will promote you to the fruition of an Eternal and ever happy one If we had lived in the days when our Saviour was on Earth there is none of us but would have looked upon it as a singular Happiness and Honor to have been admitted with Peter James and John when they went up to Mount Tabor to be Eye-witnesses of our Saviour's transfiguration A far greater Honor and Happiness Death is endeavouring to procure you it will usher you up to Mount Sion it will transport you above all the Heavens where you shall behold more excellent wonders than ever the Apostles beheld upon Mount Tabor for you shall not only see this Glorious Saviour whiter than the Snow and brighter than the Sun but you your selves shall be transfigured with him and cloathed with an exceeding great Glory The Holy Apostles saw but two Prophets but you shall see all the Prophets all the Patriarchs Apostles Confessors Martyrs the Holy and Blessed Virgin and generally all the Saints that Reign and Triumph in Heaven The Apostles had a sight of this Glory of our Saviour as of a flash of Lightning it continued with them but for a moment for soon after they came down from the Holy Mountain and were again in danger of the same temptations as before and besieged by the same Calamities It will be otherwise with thee O Christian Soul thou art flying up to Heaven from whence thou shalt never descend till the great day of the Glorious Resurrection of our Bodies Thou shalt not be assaulted any more by any temptationâ— thou shalt have no more Enemies to overcome nor Bitterness to digest Thou art going to reap and enjoy the Blessed Fruits of thy Saviours Victories and to be Eternally satisfied with the Celestial Pleasures that are at the right hand of the God of Mercies We esteem St. John highly priviledged because the Lord gave him