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A19123
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Of death a true description and against it a good preparation: together with a sweet consolation, for the suruiung mourners. By Iames Cole merchant.
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Cole, James.; Hoste, Dierick.
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1629
(1629)
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STC 5533; ESTC S105012
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59,139
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225
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Which liuing soule keepes by force as it were these elements together But when the same by mâ—anes of the departure of the soule haue reobteined their former freedome then our body returnes to dust whence it was taken Gen. 3.19 according to Gods word and ordinance So that whatsoeuer in our composition we likewise had borrowed from the water ayre and fire returnes each to his owne element where it is well at rest and at home The Resurrection of the body But at the last day shall God cause the elements to surrender again the maâ—ter of our bodies and then as many as lye in the earth and sleepe Dan. 12.6 shall awake saith the Prophet not onely those that bâ—o predestinated to eternall life but euen those also which are ordained to eternall shame And although wee cannot comprehend how God shall finde distinguish and reforme our bodies yet neede wee not to doubt of his word Wee see dayly before our eyes many things come to passe incredible before they are expounded vnto vs. Would it not seeme vnpossible to any of vs to finde a man in a wood or way where no body euer had seene him walking Yet put but on a Beagle or Blood-hound and he by the sent onely will follow and finde his Master Againe shew the Copies of a hundred schoole boyes vnto al the wisest Philosophers in the world it will bee vnpossible for them to distinguish them Shewe them but vnto their Schoole-Master hee at the first sight will know euery ones proper hand In like manner let a golden bowle be cast amongst a hundred pound of melting brasse and as it will be equally disperced and mingled with the same will it not seeme vn o vs that haue no insight in that Art vnpossible to recouer the Cup againe out of the whole masse Giue it but an Alchymist he will soone extract your gold giue that then to the Goldsmith and you shall haue your Cup new cast as it was before If so be then that a skilfull man yea a beast can bring things o passe in this world which seeme vnpossible to the greater and wiser sort of men yea if wee our selues can transforme the dust of the earth sand and ashes into a goodly transparent glassie body Wee must needes expect more from God with whom all things are possible Math. 19.26 Hee that hath created the earth of nothing and vs of the earth who meeteth out heauen as Esay speaketh with his spanne Esay 40.12 within which our bodies remaine whether they be in the earth in the water or in the entrayles of beasts will easily finde know and re-establish all that which he once made and yet containes in the palme of his hand Let vs then freely be confident that the houre shall come Iob 5.29 in the which all that are in the graues shall come forth vnto the resurrection And as death is termed a sleepe so is the resurrection by the forenamed Prophet Dan. 12.2 fitly called an awaking Yet this resurrection will farre surpasse our dayly awaking out of sleepe for now we awake with a body that falls a sleepe againe but hereafter we shall rise with a body that neuer can dye any more for then sayes St. Paul the dead shall bee raised incorruptible 1 Cor. 15.51 So that wee may obserue that our bodies doe profit by death For first wee obtaine a long lasting ease and secondly an euerlasting life Whence it followeth that in regard of our bodies wee haue no cause at all to shunne death 2. Obseruation concerning the soule Secondly some feare that some damage may befall their soule by death which is altogether against reason The soule is not composed of such matter that is subiect vnto the power of death She is as a liuing spirit by God breathed into vs. And as the breaâ—h which men blowe out though it be no essentiall part of their lungs or members yet notwithstanding it retaineth a sauour of that breast that it came fâ—om Euen so doth our soule retaine that from the image of him who infused it in the body that it is thereby become an immortall spirit For of the immortality of it neuer was there doubt made by any liuing vnlesse by fooles By them sayes the booke of Wisedome the soules seeme to dye Wisd 3 2 4. and their departure is taken for miserie but their hope it full of immoâ—tality Yea the very soules of the vn beleeuers are not subiect to mortality as is manifested vnto vs by the soule of the rich man in the Gospell Luke 16.23 Eccl 12.7 This body sayes Salomon shall returne to the earth as it was and the spirit shall returne to God who gaue it to receiue his sentence either of reward or of punishment For otherwise if the reasonable soule perished with the body then should the most godly men who commonly must refraine the pleasures of this world and suffer for Gods cause contempt at the hand of Reprobates of all men become the most miserable 1 Cor. 15.19 Which could neither agree with Gods Mercy toward the good nor with his Iustice to the bad The soule therefore is to expect hereafter a day of account wherin oppressors shal be recoÌ„penced with tribulation 2 Thes 1.6 and to them that are troubled shall be a refreshing and rest For indeede the soule is the principall part of man Deut. 10.12 and therefore as well by Moses in the old Testament 1 Pet. 3.20 as by Peter in the new it is taken for the whole man But being seperated from this body will it be able to doe any thing This wee may in some sort conceiue in this life The soules selfe-consisting For when a mans spirit is busâ—ed in its owne worke that is in some kinde of meditation wee may presently perceiue that the lesse the bodily members yea his fiue senses are occupied the more earnester hee withdrawes himselfe to his cogitations Yea oft he will shut his very eyes that the receiuing of their obiects may not disturbe him We read that Archimedes his minde was so busied about humane Art Val. Max. 8.7 that the very Citie of Siraciâ—sa where he then abode was taken and he himselfe by the Enemie surprised before hee perceiued the least rumour thereof And St. Paul when the heauenly visions were reuealed vnto him hee was so farre from needing his bodily members thereunto 2 Cor 12.2 that he himselfe knew not whether he was in the body or out of the body And long time before this when God would teach Iacob Gen. 18.10 Abimelech Salomon Gen. 20.2 Ioseph and others 1 Reg 3.5 some matters of great moment Math. 2.13 did he not first let their bodies fall a sleepe Hee knew well enough that thine best helpe would but haue beene a hinderance to spirituall matters Doth not this shew vnto vs that the body is but to the soule as a clogge
some growe so is the generation of flesh and blood One commeth to an end and another is borne Euery worke rotteth and consumeth away Yea to what end doth the corne spring vp into eares but to bee reaped And doth not euery lowe ebbe make way to a new flood Doth not euery day by declining giue time vnto the approaching night The same course of enterchange is likewise among men the precedent giues place vnto the future The Elements and all things composed of them are subiect vnto mutation yea the heauens themselues shall be dissolued and renewed 2 Pet 3.12 How then can a mortall body for euer remaine Being but a house of clay that is soone broke downe It comes vp like a flower and is soone cut downe Iob 14.2 Yea what is the life of this body 1 Chron 29.15 A shadow a winde Iob 7 7. a vapour that appeareth for a little Ioh. 4.14 and then vanisheth away saith holy writ As an arrowe once being shot continually flyeâ—h to the place where it must be fixed So man once being borne passeth without intermission vnto that end where hee must rest Yea we our selues if we obserue it are continually dying from the first day of our birth Our childhood dyed in vs when we became youthes Our youthfull age when wee grew to bee men The day present destroyeth the day past and euery present houre yea moment slayes that that is newly past yet doth not the absence of the time past hurt vs nor doe we bewaile it though euen now we want time Much lesse then if death at this instant should hurry vs away Should the want of the present time then procure any losse to vs when as the time of this world in no wise further can auaile vs. So that there is not any naturall reason why death should affright vs. No reason I say which is hence also apparent in that the antienter sort doe oftentimes more abhorre death then the younger where as reason rather requireth the contrary This desire therefore of delay in olde men springs onely out of an habituated loâ—e of these two friends soule and body the coniunction of the which the longer it lasteth the closer is their amity knit together to wit so long till they be sufficiently enformed that their separation can be no losse vnto them and no longer Yea nature it selfe directs all things to their end The fairest blosomes shee causeth freely to shed their pleasant leaues that the following cods may finde place These doth she also cause to shrinke together and split that the seede may fall out of them into the lap of the earth where it ought to be Wee our selues also haue a continuall naturall longing towards our end and wish though wee doe not obserue it that our dayes might hasten their course What is it else when as children long to be great those of middle growth to be married the married to see their children come to age yet is it certaine that how much the more we obtaine of thâ—se our wishes we approach the neerer to our end and yet we wish for it Yea farther who knowes not that fire at the last shall bring this world to an end yet is it so farre from terrifying vs that in signe of publique and generall ioy we are accustomed to kindle extraordinary great bonfires We haue also farre more desire to see mens decease then their birth No body râ—nnes forth for pleasure to see a woman in labour you will say the reason is because there is nothing therein but calamity and paine And what is there else where two fighting hurt one the other and yet who desires not to be a spectator Or if any by the Magistrates command must suffer a painefull deaâ—h what running is there to see it And who among vs would not take great delight if he could but securely behold it out of a windowe to see some-where a battell fought in the field The Romane Emperors who in foretimes knew well enough how to entice the people and to get their fauour did on feastiuall dayes present them with certaine hundred paires of Fencers which freely sported till that commonly one of each couple couered his standing with his dead body And on this sport for so they called it did the people sit gazing whole dayes without showe of wearinesse Yea it seemes that the same was first brought in by the Israelites when Abner and Ioah caused their Souldiers to sport together on this wisâ— 2 Sam. 2.14 Behold then how farre man euen beyond all decencie taketh pleasure in seeing the death of others when hee suffereth himselfe to be led by his naturall inclination So that to dye is not onely naturall but it seemes there is also a secret desire to behold the Tragedy of it Thirdly 3 Reason Death vniuersaâ—l to whom can any thing seeme terrible that presents it selfe dayly before his eyes What is more common among vs then Christnings and Burialls Haue euer any beene knowne of all that haue beene borne not to haue dyed Old young rich poore honest dishonest all â—read that path Gen. 4.8 Abel it may bee was slaine in his youth Gen. â— 27 and Methusalah liued welnigh a thousand yeares yet hee died also Exod. 14.8 The impious Egyptians were drowned in the red sea Gods people perished in the wildernes Poore Lazarus died Luk. 16.22 the rich man died also saith St. Luke Yea that mighty Ahasueros Est 1.1 who raigned ouer a hundred and seauen and twenty Prouinces that great Alexander the valiant Iulius Caesar who conquered the whole world haue all bin conquered by this death All things that are created as fire ayre water earth and all things compounded and ingendred of them are able to inflict death on vs. Anacreon the Poet was choaked with a grape kernell Pope Adrian the fourth with a flye Yea in our selues doth not the least disturbance of our blood oft end our liues Anger heat colde a fright doe the same I spare to speake of a plague which in the space of seauen or eight moneths hath deuoured in one Citie of London eight and thirty thousand Or a siedge which without and within the Towne of O oslend hath swept away more then a hundred thousand men in lesse then three yeares This we see and this we heare dayly and such like accidents fill the greater part of leaues in all manner of Chronicles and this will bee common as long as men shall inhabit the world Haue we not theÌ„ great reason so to accustome our selues to these common chances that we may not be affrighted by them But what doe I number men we see whole Cities destroyed That mighty Citie of Troy now giueth the Plow-man leaue to fâ—rrowe her Holy Ierusalem can hardly shew one stone on the other The Maiestie of Rome must now be guessed out of her Ruines Gen. 19.23 Yea a fire kindled in Canaan and burnt foure Cities together