A funeral gift: or, a preparation for death With comforts against the fears of approaching death: and consolations against immoderate grief, for the loss of friends. By the author of The devout companion. Seller, Abednego, 1646?-1705. 1690 Approx. 199 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 93 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2012-10 (EEBO-TCP Phase 2). A92883 Wing S2452A ESTC R215121 99895834 99895834 153581

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Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 2, no. A92883) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 153581) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 2371:4) A funeral gift: or, a preparation for death With comforts against the fears of approaching death: and consolations against immoderate grief, for the loss of friends. By the author of The devout companion. Seller, Abednego, 1646?-1705. [8], 167, [5] p. : ill. printed for Henry Rhodes, next Bride Lane in Fleet-street, London : 1690. The dedication signed: E. S., i.e. Abednego Seller. The contents = 5 pages at end. Frontis. = ill. Reproduction of original in the Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C..

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eng Death -- Religious aspects -- Early works to 1800. 2020-09-21 Content of 'availability' element changed when EEBO Phase 2 texts came into the public domain 2011-05 Assigned for keying and markup 2011-05 Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2011-06 Sampled and proofread 2011-06 Text and markup reviewed and edited 2012-05 Batch review (QC) and XML conversion

I S •… tſe. a group of men and women exhuming human bones A FUNERAL GIFT Iob 34 15 All flesh shall periſh together & man ſhall turn again unto dust.

A Funeral Gift: OR, A PREPARATION FOR DEATH.

WITH Comforts againſt the Fears of approaching Death: And Conſolations againſt immoderate Grief, for the loſs of Friends.

By the Author of the Devout Companion.

All the Days of my appointed time will I wait, till my Change come, Job 14.14.

LONDON, Printed for Henry Rhodes next Bride Lane in Fleet-ſtreet, 1690.

Price Bound One Shilling.

TO THE TRULY HONOURED The LADY, J. C. Madam,

YOur vertuous Requeſts, to which your Merits gave the force of a Commandment, oblig'd me to ſend my Devout Companion into the World; and, Madam ſince it hath met with ſo Candid a reception by your Ladyſhip, whoſe early Piety proves ſo exemplary; a Second Obligation preſents it ſelf, wherein I eſteem it a kind of Sacriledge to defraud you of being a Patroneſs to that, which you may ſo juſtly challenge.

Prayer and Meditation are the Golden Rules towards a good Life; and we can never miſcarry in this dark World, if we walk by the Light of a ſincere Conſcience: For with theſe Holy Guides we implore the Almighty, to cleanſe our Hearts from all vain and unlawful Thoughts, our Mouth from all fooliſh and idle Words, and our whole Lives from all wicked and unprofitable Deeds.

That which I offer now, Madam, to your Divine Conſideration, is Mortality; a Theme which ſome never care to hear of, others are negligent in preparing for it, and many uſe their utmoſt endeavours to put it, as an Evil day, far from them; but all their Strategems are in vain, for Death is ſo potent, and bears ſuch ſway that none can reſiſt his invincible Power; none is exempted from the ſilent Grave, nor none knows how ſoon they may be called: Well-complexion'd Nature, indeed, may ſtruggle here for a time, but at laſt muſt yield it ſelf to that pale Meſſenger.

Our chief Buſineſs here, is to trim our Lamps, and be vigilant; to ſow the immortal Seed of Hope, and expect hereafter to reap the increaſe: To deprecate the Almighty, not to cut us off in the midſt of our Folly; nor ſuffer us to expire with our Sins unpardoned: But to make us firſt ready for that Celeſtial Kingdom, and then to receive us into eternal Glory.

This, Madam, is the only intent of this enſuing Treatiſe: and may theſe ſhort, but plain Directions have that influence on thoſe Perſons, which ſtand in need of theſe Divine Truths, is the hearty and earneſt Prayer of,

Madam, Your humble and Faithful Servant, in Chriſt Jeſus, E. S.
A FUNERAL GIFT, OR, A PREPARATION FOR DEATH.
Meditation I. Ʋpon remembring our Creator in the Days of our Youth.

TO remember thy Creator, was one of the choiceſt Expreſſions in the Royal Preacher's Sermon: For who is he that is Young, knows whether he ſhall live to be Old? and yet that voice which ſounds thoſe words ſo loud to the whole Univerſe, is ſcarce audible in the Ears of many.

II.

This is one of the Divine Chanter's moſt harmonious Leſſons; and yet the ſordid World is not pleas'd with the Tune: 'Tis a wonder! that the beſt of School-Maſters, ſhould have ſo few Diſciples, being his Rhetorick is ſo Divine and Excellent: and yet it is a Text, which though they will neither hear nor read, they cannot chuſe but ſee, for the whole World upon it is a Commentary: every Creature we behold Preaches this Doctrine, which we ſupinely ſleep out with our Eyes open.

III.

Nature wears this Memento in her Forehead; the very brute Beaſts in this can reaſon with us; and Man could not ſo ſoon forget his Maker, did he but remember himſelf: But alas, Youth loves not to be put in mind of a Heavenly Being, 'twould clog his Memory and make him think of his Prayers too often.

IV.

Piety will but cool his Blood, Religion makes him look Old; the thoughts of Heaven and the other World, will create in him a greater Gravity than becomes his years: his Sanguine Complexion informs him, he is not in a fit Temper to ſtudy Divine things, he may ſerve God time enough, when he is at leiſure.

V.

Thus theſe temporal Objects of Pleaſure, drive away our thoughts from Celeſtial Dignities, and thoſe purer Joys which attend it. We can ſpend the Beauty of our years in Vice, and think to pleaſe God well enough with the Deformities of old Age: We can revel away our Piety and Time in vain Delights and Pleaſures, and think our ſelves ſtrong enough to force Heaven, and become Religious when we are withered with infirmities, and have nothing left us but Repentance and a Tomb.

VI.

We are ſo well ſatisfied with the ſweetneſs of Senſe, that we are careleſs of any other Felicity; and ſo much delighted with the Happineſs of Sinning freely, that we could willingly be of that Religion, where Vice is moſt tolerated.

VII.

We place our Devotion with the Epicure in Natures riots; Sportful meetings are our Religious Exerciſes, and a Sermon is as tireſome to us as a Funeral: to hear of our end in the midſt of our Jollity, ſounds like the Lecture of Death, and the unwelcome Echo of the Grave. Let the Preacher exhort us never ſo well, to remember our Maker, we had rather follow Satan's Doctrine to enjoy the World as long as we can, and think of Heaven when we have nothing elſe to do.

The Prayer.

O Lord, ſhall the Luſts of the World, be greater in my Soul than the love of thee? Shall the temporary Delights of Sin drown the memory of thy Glory? my Life is but a Span, and yet I beſeech thee, ſhorten that rather than it ſhould be ſpent in a neglect of thee: better this earthly Tabernacle ſhould be diſſolved, than become a Theatre for Sin to revel in.

II.

Let me pay Nature her due Debt, ſooner than perhaps ſhe would call for it, rather than run in Score with thy Juſtice: 'Tis better I ſhould die and be loſt in the Memory of the World, than ever forget thee: thou formedſt me from nothing, not to ſin, but to ſerve thee, and haſt imprinted in me a Ray of thy ſelf, that I might not ſeek my own, but thy Will, nor purſue the World, but Heaven.

III.

Make me therefore to ſee the ſolid and raviſhing Conſolation that is in ſerving thee; and that joy which accompanies thy Grace, that ſo I may no longer follow my Senſe but my Saviour: it is none of the leaſt Sins of our Youth, that we are careleſs and forgetful of thee our Creator: and no wonder we are ſo inſenſible of the joys to come, that live in ſuch a conſtant and continued neglect of Heaven.

IV.

Make me therefore, O my God, to Conſider, that had I the Fruition of all that I can wiſh, or long for here, I ſhould not only be ſatisfied, but in the end find how miſerable he is, that ſetteth his Heart on any thing, but thy ſelf; teach me therefore ſo to enjoy the World, that I loſe not thee, nor the Memory of that bleſſed reward thou haſt promiſed to them that honour, and truly fear thee. Amen.

Meditation II. The remembrance of Death, a powerful Remedy againſt Sin.

THe ſerious remembrance of Death ſhakes off all Senſe of Vanity, and turns Honey into Wormwood, and the Expectation of it, ſaith Chryſoſtom, permits us not to be ſenſible of thoſe Delights and Pleaſures, which we daily enjoy, and indeed what is it not able to perform? When duly conſidered, it not only takes Poſſeſſion of ſome parts, but on the whole Fabrick of Man's Body.

II.

Death ſpares no Age, nor Sex, nor bears any reſpect to degrees of Dignity. The Young die as ſoon as the Old, and the Infant may end its few days in the Cradle; ſome may expire their laſt Breath, by Poyſon or a Fall; others by a ſlow Rheum or a quick deſcent of Humours; ſome may lie oppreſſed with the Waves of Affliction, and others may be Thunder-ſtruck from Heaven.

III.

Among ſo many dubious, various and ſudden Accidents, what Security, or what Appetite can we find to ſin amidſt ſo many incertainties? Therefore ſince we die daily, let us think upon Times Hour-Glaſs, where the Sand empties the upper Glaſs and fills the lower; and conſider it is ſo with Life, every moment ſomething ſlides away, the preſent Life empties and flows into another. Nothing here is certain to us, not the hour of the Day, nor a moment of Time.

IV.

Happy are they who wiſely uſe every day and hour, as their laſt, and employ every moment of time towards the ſecuring their Eternity. They will with readineſs abſtain from their wickedneſſes, who believe every hour and moment decreed to be their laſt Could we beſtow on the improvement of our Souls, the time we ſo vainly trifle away, our day would be ſhort enough, not to ſeem tedious; and long enough to finiſh our appointed Task.

V.

O vain and fruitleſs Hope! how many doſt thou deceive and flatter, with thy deluding Promiſes of old Age, and yet cutteſt them off in the midſt of their years! That may happen to one, which happens to many. How many has Death prevented in the midſt of their Exceſs of wickedneſs, and cut off half the Crime? How many fall with a mind full of revenge, though with an innocent hand? How many have been ſnatch'd away in the Attempt, and have received the due reward of their Impieties? many in the very moment of a wicked Action begun, have been forc'd to leave their evil Deſigns unfiniſh'd.

VI.

Now ſhouldſt thou be in the number of thoſe, what hour? Nay, what moment is more certain to thee, than to another? who can expect a Crime from ſuch a thought? when with that Crime he expects Death, and with Death, juſt Puniſhment? No prudent Man will ſport in the midſt of a Storm, or at the brink of a Precipice contrive miſchief. No man is facetious, being unarmed, in the midſt of his armed Enemies. Then how much more ſupine and careleſs is he, who in the perpetual fear of Death, when every hour is dubious, every moment uncertain, dares preſume on thoſe things which procure an unhappy Death to Eternity?

VII.

O fooliſh and unwiſe! Whither do we run on, in a full Career, and haſten ſo much to be puniſh'd for ever? Why do we not betimes follow that prudent Council of the Son of Syrach, who like a wiſe School-Maſter delivers to us this Epithete: In all thy works, ſaith he, remember thy latter end, and thou ſhalt not ſin.

Prayers againſt ſudden Death.

ALmighty and everlaſting God, who at firſt breatheſt into Man the Breath of Life, whereby he became a living Soul: But when thou takeſt away that Breath he dies, and is turn'd again to his Duſt from whence he was taken. Look upon me I beſeech thee in Mercy, through the Merits of thy alone Son in whom thou art well pleaſed, and not on my Sins who have in a high manner provoked thy Juſtice. By his agony and bloody Sweat, by his bitter Death, the Price of my Redemption, deliver me from ſudden and unprovided Death.

II.

O Bleſſed Jeſu! by all thy Labours and Pains, by thy precious Blood and ſacred Wounds, by thy laſt Exclamations, and bitter Crys upon the Croſs, My God, my God, why haſt thou forſaken me? Father into thy hands I commend my Spirit. Moſt earneſtly I beſeech thee, not to haſten my Departure out of this World in thy heavy Diſpleaſure, but in thy tender Pity and Compaſſion, remember that I am Duſt and Aſhes; thou haſt made me, and formed me throughout, O do not ſuddenly caſt me Headlong from thee, into the Lake that burns with Fire and Brimeſtone, from whence there is no Redemption. But Grant me I beſeech thee, a hearty and ſincere Repentance, a true ſorrow for ſin, a broken and contrite Heart, which thou O God wilt not deſpiſe: That ſo living here in thy fear, I may at the laſt die in thy Favour, and Praiſe and Bleſs thee to all Eternity.

Meditation III. What Life is.

LIfe is as a Flower of the Field, which in the Morning is green, but in the Evening it is dryed up and withered; it is as ſmoke which aſcends up and vaniſheth to nothing; it is a bubble, Duſt, Froth, a drop of Dew; it is Ice, a Rain-bow, a waſted Torch, a Spring-day, a moſt inconſtant April, a Spiders-web, a ſlender Stalk, a ſmall Cloud, a Bladder full of Wind.

II.

Life is like brittle Glaſs, a tender Leaf, a fine Silk Thread, a Golden Apple, fair to the Eyes, but infirm within. Many ſuch things may the Life of Man be compared to, whoſe Body is ſubject to many Diſeaſes and Pains while it lives here, and at laſt to Death it ſelf; and then it is ſo far from being prized and valued, that it is not to be endured above Ground, but laid to rot in the Earth, and become a Feaſt for Worms.

III.

Poor miſerable Mortals! what Riches do we ſeem to heap up, what Honours do we inveſt our ſelves withal, and what Pleaſures do we pretend to enjoy? Yet all theſe are but a Dream, ſhort and vain: They have ſlept out their ſleep, and all the Men whoſe hands were mighty have found nothing, ſays the Pſalmiſt, Pſal. 76.5. O Man, thou dreameſt thou wert Happy and Bleſſed. But of all thoſe things which you enjoy'd, and hoped for, what do you retain? Theſe were the Dreams of thoſe that wak'd, and the meer Toys of Dreamers.

IV.

Life therefore, what is it? Seek but to know, and you ſoon will find, that the time of humane Life is a Point; Nature, Inconſtancy: Senſe, Obſcurity: And the whole Body a Compoſure eaſily corrupted. The mind roving and unſtable; Honours, Smoke; Riches, Thorns and Briars; Pleaſures, Poiſon; and all things appertaining to the Body, are like a River which yields both Salt water and Freſh. Every thing accommodating the mind, is a Dream. Life is indeed a Warfare, as St. James tells us, and the Habitation of a Stranger in a foreign Land: The Store-houſe of innumerable Miſeries, and Fame after Death is buried in Oblivion.

The Prayer.

O Lord, what is our Life? It is but a Vapour which is ſoon vaniſhed and gone: thou haſt given us a ſhort Portion of time on this ſide the Grave; our Condition is vain, unſatisfied and full of diſquiet, and we have no hope but in thee, O Lord: O teach us to number our days, that we may apply our Hearts unto Wiſdom, to remember, and to know our latter end, that ſo we may never Sin againſt thee.

II.

Grant that we may live, as though we were always dying, being of mortified Souls and Bodies, of bridled Tongues and Affections, and that inſtead of heaping up Riches, we may ſtrive for a Treaſure of good Works, laying up in Store for the time to come, that having recovered our Strength, loſt by the Commiſſion of our Sins, when we go hence and are no more ſeen, we may have a reſidence in thoſe heavenly Manſions which are prepared by thee our Lord and Saviour, Amen.

Meditation IV. That we ought continually to watch and pray.

WAtch, ſaid our Bleſſed Lord, Becauſe ye know not at what hour the Son of Man will come. The Romans watch'd in their Arms, yet ſometimes without their Shield, that they might have nothing to reſt upon to attract them to ſleep: it is therefore thy Duty, O drowzy Mortal, to watch with vigour, and well armed. Ardent Prayers to the Almighty, are the true Arms of Chriſtians; and the Shield which encourages ſleep, is the vain hope of a longer Life.

II.

The frequent Cries of the Roman Soldiers, were, Wake, Wake. Thus they encouraged one another to Conſtancy in watching: The Heavens themſelves, the ſeat of God's Glory, waking, and inceſſantly toyling, admoniſh thee to watch. If thou art not grown deaf like the Adder, or fallen aſleep in Carnal ſecurity, hear the Voice of Chriſt, Watch and Pray: and St. Mark in his holy Goſpel tells thee, that Chriſt in the Concluſion of his Sermon, thrice repeats theſe Words: Mark 13. Take ye heed, watch and pray, for you know not when the time is, Verſe 33. Secondly, Watch ye therefore, for ye know not when the Maſter of the houſe cometh, at Even, or at Midnight, or at the Cockcrowing, or in the Morning, leſt Coming ſuddenly he find you ſleeping, Verſe 35, 36. Laſtly, And what I ſay unto you, I ſay unto you all, Watch, Verſe 37.

III.

And with the ſame Admonitions, by the mouth of St. Matthew, he crys to us, Watch ye therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come, Matt. 24.42. and again, Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day, nor the hour, wherein the Son of Man cometh, Matt. 25.13. the ſame he repeats, upon the Mount of Olives, Watch and pray, that ye enter not into Temptation, Matt. 26.41.

IV.

Upon the ſame Text, he Preaches in St. Luke's Goſpel, Watch ye therefore, and pray always, Luke 21.36. the ſame watchfulneſs, how often doth St. Paul reiterate theſe Claps of Thunder upon us, to awaken us from ſleep. We are deaf, yea dead indeed, if theſe loud Exhortations will not rouſe us. Whoever thou art that ſleepeſt in Viciouſneſs, awake: Thou canſt not plead ignorance, in the Egyptians fate, when the deſtroying Angel entred Egypt, and made a vaſt Slaughter, both upon Man and Beaſt, ſo that Pharaoh's heart was hardened to his own Deſtruction.

V.

Remember the Lot of the ten Virgins, when there was at Midnight, a great Cry made, and they that were prepar'd were admitted to the Nuptials; but the drowſie Sleepers were excluded. Doſt thou remember the Folly of the gluttonous Servant, when his Lord came unlook'd for, and at an hour when he leaſt thought of him? Or haſt thou conſider'd the vigilant Maſter of his Family, who wakes at all hours, that the Thief can have no opportunity to break the houſe open. And Laſtly, doſt thou remember thy Saviour was born at Midnight, and peradventure he may come at that hour to judge the Univerſe. Therefore watch, as if every day were thy laſt.

The Prayer.

GRacious God, let thy Grace reform our Lives and Manners, that we may watch diligently, and pray without Ceaſing: keep our mouth from ſlander, guile and deceit: let us never incline to Actions of injuſtice or uncleanneſs, in partaking with Thieves, or Adulterers, either in their Sin or Puniſhment; that when thou who art the righteous God of the World, ſhalt appear in perfect Beauty, with a conſuming Fire before thee, and a Tempeſt round about thee, with Terrours and glorious Majeſty, calling the Heavens and the Earth together, to judge thy People, thou mayſt gather us among thy Saints in Glory.

II.

O let the day-ſpring of thy Favour, viſit us from on high, that we may ſeek thee with an early Devotion, purſue after thee, with a Conſtant and Active Induſtry, and at laſt poſſeſs thee with the firm Comprehenſions of Love and Charity: That in this World we looking for thee in Holineſs of Living, longing and thirſting after thee with fervent Deſires, may for ever hereafter, behold thy Power and Glory. Give us the Mercies and the Portion of thine inheritance, that ſo we may Honour thee, by an eternal Oblation of Praiſe and Thankſgiving in the higheſt Heavens. Amen.

Meditation V. Death often to be thought of.

MAny in this World live, as if they thought they ſhould never die, nor in the leaſt conſider their Latter end. It was a Cuſtome with ſome of old, whenſoever they intended a ſumptuous Feaſt, to put a Deaths-head into a Diſh, and ſerve it up unto the Table.

II.

Which being meant for a ſignificant, though ſilent Orator, to plead for Temperance and Sobriety, by minding Men of their Mortality, and that the end of their eating ſhould be to live, and that the end of their living ſhould be to dye, and the end of their dying to live for ever, (for even the Heathens who denied the Reſurrection of the Body, did yet believe the immortality of the Soul,) was look'd upon by all ſober and conſidering Gueſts, as the wholſomeſt part of their Entertainment.

III.

And ſince 'tis true, (what is ſaid by Solomon) that Sorrow is better than Laughter, for by the ſadneſs of the Countenance the Heart is made better; Whereupon the Royal Preacher concludes it better of the two, for a Man to go into the Houſe of Mourning. I cannot but reaſon within my ſelf, that when the Heart of Fools is in the Houſe of Mirth, there can be nothing more friendly, or more agreeable to their wants, than to invite ſuch Men to the Houſe of Mourning, and there to treat them with a Character of the moſt troubleſome Life of Man, (which being impartially provided, will ſerve as well as a Death's-head,) during the time of their floating in this Valley of Tears.

IV.

For this is uſeful to all, by way of Inſtruction, not to be amorous of a Life, which is not only ſo ſhort, as that it cannot be kept long; but withal ſo full of trouble, as that 'tis hardly worth keeping. Nor by conſequence to doat on a flattering World, which is ſo little to be enjoyed; and its Enjoyments alſo ſo full of vexatious mixtures.

V.

Again 'tis uſeful to encourage us, not to ſtand in fear of Man, that muſt ſubmit to the King of Terrours, and whilſt he lives can but kill the Body. Nor to ſcruple at the paying that common Debt we owe to Religion, as well as Nature; that God may give us an Acquittance, as well as Mortality: We having received an Enſurance from the infallible undertaker, that the way both to ſave, and prolong a Life, is Religiouſly to loſe it, or lay it down.

VI.

Again it is uſeful to admoniſh us, (after the meaſure that we are negligent,) to Merchandize with the Talent of our time, for the unſpeakable advantages of Life eternal; and to do all the work we can, whilſt it is Day, becauſe the Night cometh, when we ſhall be able to work no more.

VII.

Laſtly, it mindeth us as to be doing, becauſe our Lord cometh, and is at hand: ſo to be vigilant and watchful, becauſe we know not in what hour. In a word; the more tranſitory, and the more troubleſome the Life of Men ſhall appear to be; by ſo much the better will be the Uſes, which we are prompted to make of its Imperfections.

The Prayer.

TEach me O Lord, to number my days, that I may apply my Heart unto true Wiſdom; and be more ready to go to the Houſe of Mourning, which is the Temple of the Wife; than to enter into the Houſe of Mirth, the School of the Scornful: Suffer me not to ſet my Affections on things here below, that flouriſh for a time, and then fade away: but grant that I may place my Affections on Heaven above, where thou fitteſt at the Right hand of the Father, for evermore.

II.

Set Scourges over my Thoughts, and the Diſcipline of Wiſdom over my Heart, leſt my Ignorance increaſe, and my Sins abound to my Deſtruction; let my Repentance be ſpeedy and perfect, bringing forth the Fruits of a holy Converſation. Give unto me a Faith that ſhall never be reproved, a Hope that ſhall never make me aſhamed, a Charity that ſhall never ceaſe, a Confidence in thee that ſhall never be diſcompos'd, a Patience that ſhall never faint, a noble Chriſtian Courage, that ſhall enable me to glorifie thy Name, and rejoyce in thy Mercies in the day of Recompence, at thy glorious Appearance. Amen.

Meditation VI. Of the Shortneſs of Humane Life.

THe days of Man are but few, yet they are as many as Nature deſign'd him; and his Glaſs is run out, without being broken, unleſs it be by the hand of Time. The whole Duration of time it ſelf, is but the Non-age of Eternity; and therefore Moſes, (as the Pſalmiſt) ſpoke very aptly, when he addreſſed his Speech to God; A thouſand years in thy ſight, are but as yeſterday, when it is paſt, Pſal. 90.4. which is infinitely leſs than was yeſterday when it was preſent.

II.

And 'tis the ſame in effect with that Expreſſion of David, the Pſalmiſt Royal; who ſaid his Age was as nothing, in reſpect of him, who is all in all; and that as great as ſome Men do ſeem to be to themſelves and others, Every Man is but Vanity at his beſt Eſtate, Pſal. 39. what he is at his worſt, 'twill be impoſſible to expreſs: unleſs we ſhall ſay with David too, that he is altogether lighter than Vanity it ſelf.

III.

Now if a thouſand years are but as yeſterday, and as yeſterday when it is paſt too, how ſhort a thing is the Life of Man in Compariſon? How ſhort, when compar'd with the long Line of Time? How nothing, when compar'd with the Circle of Eternity? Threeſcore and ten are all the years which are allowed by Moſes to a natural Man's Life; and though ſome are ſo ſtrong as to arrive at Fourſcore, yet that overplus of years is but Labour and Sorrow.

IV.

They do not live, but linger, who paſs that Tropick of their Mortality. From after Threeſcore years and ten, they are but ſurvivers to themſelves; at leaſt they feel themſelves dying; and their Bodies become their Burdens, if not the Charnel-houſes or Sepulchres, wherein their Souls lye buried.

V.

The vulgar Hiſtorians thought fit to call it, Eorum Amplius, which we cannot better expreſs in Engliſh than if we call it, their Surpluſage of Life; When Nature in them is ſo ſtrong, as to ſhoot beyond her own Mark. Her Mark is Threeſcore and ten, if Moſes himſelf hath ſet it right; or place it further at Fourſcore; farther yet, at an Hundred; the Life of Man, we ſee, is ſhort, though it ſhould reach the very utmoſt that Nature aims at.

The Prayer.

WHat didſt thou beſtow our Reaſon on us for, O Lord, but to hearken unto the voice of thy Law, that the Celeſtial Oratory of thy word might at leaſt win us from an ignorant Prophaneneſs? Shall Heathens that had no other end, no other reward for their Piety, than ſome temporary Applauſe, or the inward Triumphs of their Spirits for doing well, out-ſtrip us in the Beauties of a moral Life; and we that have higher and purer Hopes, be ſcarce honeſt for thy ſake?

II.

Shall they that knew thee not, be more paſſionately good than we that have found out Heaven, and expect Eternity to ſucceed? Though it was not in the Power of Man to find thee, till thou didſt reveal thy ſelf in Chriſt; yet now having ſo richly and fully ſhewn us the Treaſures of thy Love, ſhall we not ſtrive to do ſomething for thy Glory?

III.

Make us, we beſeech thee, to conſider the Advantages that are in thy Service, the Happineſs that attends Obedience, and that Crown which is the reward of Faith: that ſo our Affections being mortified unto theſe periſhing Objects here below, may be enlivened only with Deſires after thoſe eternal Excellencies that are in thee. Amen.

Meditation VII. That we ought to ſeek early after God.

SUch Lovers are we of Heaven, that we think it no ſin to ſerve our ſelves firſt, and make our Creator wait the leiſure of our Devotion. Miſerable Creatures, whoſe Religion reaches no higher than their Bodies, for whoſe very Superfluities we ſtudy to provide, whilſt our brighter part lies all naked, and unthought of.

II.

Such Strangers are we even to our own Souls, ſo inſenſible of the Joys to come, that we look no higher than the World, and in ſphearing all our Hopes, within Mortality, as if we had nothing durable beyond our Breath, ſuffer Eternity to be forgotten.

III.

We cannot live without our Maker, and yet how do our Lives neglect him? How eager, how ambitious are we after an Enjoyment here, but carry not the ſmalleſt Paſſion for his Glory? The Jollities of the World ſwallow up all thoughts of Heaven, and in the Pleaſures of Senſe we can drown Immortality.

IV.

Is there any thing dearer than our Lives, and yet even theſe are of no value in reſpect of a better? The very Exigences of Nature are trifles to the Concernments of our Souls; it is better to ſtarve, than die for ever and loſe God; 'tis better to go naked than not to be cloathed with Immortality; 'tis better we ſhould want here, than hereafter that fulneſs which knows none.

V.

And yet how many are there, that had rather loſe Heaven than the World, pawn their Conſciences ſooner than want, and for a Fortune ſell away their Chriſtianity? How many make ſin their Study, and think it a Credit to invent new Methods of impiety; and are ſuch careful Providers for Eternity, that they will be labouriouſly wicked; and for a profitable iniquity, think it no loſs to be privately Damn'd?

VI.

Are there not nobler ways of living than by loſing our Names and Souls at once? is infidelity a preſervative againſt Miſery? And muſt we build our Supports on the Ruins of our Faith? Piety makes no Man poorer, nor does Religion rob us of our Enjoyments, but makes them ſweeter.

VII.

Our Contentments are not leſſened, but enlarged and lengthened by adoring the Giver; nor is the further from, but the nearer to a Bleſſing, that begins with Heaven, and prefers his Saviour before the World. Deſigns thus founded are not ever unfortunate, and he that contrives for his Soul as well as his Body, ſhall learn a Policy will baffle the World, and non-plus its wiſeſt Generation; when after all his Loſſes he ſhall find a reward richer than all the Revenues of the Earth together.

The Prayer.

ANd yet ſo inſenſible are we, O Lord, of thy Glory, and our own Felicity, that we can entertain any thing with more Pleaſure than the thoughts of an Eternity. We can ſpend the allowance of our time in Sin, and ſacrifice even all our years to Vice; but count a Moment too long, too much to be employ'd in thy Service: We can dwell and drown our ſelves in Pleaſures, and think a few ſpare minutes a fair Gift of time for our Devotion.

II.

But as thou haſt made us for thy ſelf, O Lord, enable us to continue ſo, that as we have received all we have from thy Bounty, we may ſacrifice all our Deſires to thy Glory: knowing as nothing in this Life can make us happy without thee; ſo nothing can make him miſerable, that hath thy Kingdom for his Inheritance.

Meditation VIII. That Affliction is neceſſary to all Perſons.

THere is no Perſon on this ſide the Grave, that is exempted from Affliction, and whom God hath not viſited one way or other, and ſent his Rod for an Ambaſſadour to declare his Will, as either by the loſs of an affectionate Husband, a moſt endeared Wife, a darling Child, or elſe by ſome pungent and grievous Sickneſs, or by ſome eminent Miſcarriage in point of Honour and Eſtate; or if by none of all theſe, yet at leaſt he has been threatned, by the woful Examples of other Men.

II.

And it is evident from that difficult, but uſeful Text, Mark 9.49. That we muſt be every one Seaſoned with Salt, or Fire; that our putrid Affections muſt be eaten out here, or elſe our Perſons deſtroyed hereafter; but Bleſſed be he who ſhall preſerve us in Tears of Brine, that he may not conſume us in Fire of Brimſtone; and we ought to ſmile on thoſe Stripes, which are meant to drive us to Immortality.

III.

Let us not think our ſelves too wiſe to be thus inſtructed; or too old, to be thus educated; or too great to be thus corrected. Perhapsthe Rabbins of our Schools, are in the School of Jeſus Chriſt, no more than humble Abcedarians; they that are aged enough by Nature, may have hardly yet attain'd to be Babes of Grace; and they who brandiſh the Sword of Juſtice, are themſelves under God's Laſh.

IV.

And ſince we cannot ever enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, unleſs we receive it as little Children, let us therefore, as little Children, down on our knees before our Father; let us Confeſs that we have ſinned, let us ask him Forgiveneſs, and promiſe never to do the like.

V.

He will not caſt away his Rod, until he ſees that we have kiſs'd it; and that we can ſay with the Prophet David, it is good for us to have been afflicted. For whom his Menaces do not better, they accidentally make worſe; and if we harden our Hearts, we do but weighten his hand.

The Prayer.

SO miſerable, hath Sin made us, O Lord, that we are all become the Sons and Daughters of Afflictions; we have loſt, not only Paradiſe, but Heaven too; forfeited not only the Pleaſures of this Life, but alſo the Joys to come, and with the true Comforts of the World are ſtript of thy Favour too.

II.

He whom thou madeſt the Monarch of the Creatures, groans under the Bondage of Sin; and by the miſery of his Crimes, hath cancell'd almoſt the Glory and Miracles of thy work. And now might we have been extinguiſh'd in our Guilt, had not he, who is the brightneſs of thy Glory dropt a new Life into our eclipſed Natures, by the Power of his Blood and Merits; and by reconcilcing us to thy ſelf, given us an Admiſſion to better and more enduring Pleaſures.

III.

Grant therefore, that having obtained Mercy, we may walk accordingly; that being bought for Heaven, we may no more ſell our ſelves to Sin, nor vainly prefer a few moments of Pleaſure, before an Eternity of Joy; that ſo, when our Souls ſhall expire with our Breath, they may be tranſplanted to thoſe Heavenly Manſions that never fade, and enjoy the Pleaſures of Eternity in the Boſome of thy Glory.

Meditation IX. That Affliction is a Mark of God's favour.

THat God is never ſo much in wrath, as when he will not vouchſafe to ſtrike. I remember Spartianus obſerves of Geta, much what Tacitus did of Tiberius: He made ſo much of thoſe Perſons whom he deſign'd for Slaughter, that his Embraces, and his beſt Looks became more dreadful than all his frowns.

II.

Yet conſidering how rarely it is given to one and the ſame Man, to ſit with Dives at his Table, and to lye with Lazarus in Abraham's Boſome; to have his good things here and hereafter too; I cannot but ſay of many Perſons, whom the World calls Happy, that they who have moſt of God's Bounty, may yet have leaſt of his Love, and Favour.

III.

For ſeeing it is true, what the Scripture ſaith, That whom God loveth he chaſtneth, and ſcourgeth every Son whom he receiveth, Heb. 12.6. we may with good Logick infer that whom he chaſtneth not, he doth not love; nor receive any Son whom he doth not ſcourge.

IV.

It was ſhrewdly ſaid of Solon, (if we believe Herodotus,) that the Minions of the Earth, are but the ſport of Heaven. God often lends them a kind of Happineſs, only to ſhew them he does but lend it; at once does proſper their Branches, and curſe their Root; turns them looſe into Plenty, as fit to be fatted for the Shambles.

V.

And now methinks the difference may be this, betwixt a good Man afflicted, and an ill Man proſperous, that the firſt does ſeem to be clearly under God's curſe, and the ſecond to be beyond it; that indeed a tormented, but this a deſperate Patient.

The Prayer.

DO thou therefore, O Lord, elevate our Souls, and withdraw them from theſe beggerly Elements, to purer and more Celeſtial Addreſſes: Let thy Kingdom be not our refuge only, but our Choice, and the perfect Reſolution of our Souls, to deſpiſe the Flatteries of the World, for that Glory which nothing but our Sins can deprive us of.

II.

And as thou haſt made us for thy ſelf, O Lord, enable us ſo to continue, that as we have received all that we have from thy Bounty, we may ſacrifice all our Deſires to thy Glory: knowing that as nothing in this Life can make us Happy without thee; ſo nothing can make him miſerable that hath thy Kingdom for his Inheritance.

Meditation X. Of Man's Original, being born to die.

IT is demonſtrably prov'd we muſt one day die, becauſe we did one day begin to live. All that is Born of a Woman is both mixt and compounded, after the Image of the Woman of whom it is born; not only mixt of the four Elements, but alſo compounded of Matter and Form: and all things compounded muſt be diſſolved, into the very ſame Principles of which at firſt they were compos'd.

II.

Hence are thoſe pangs and yerning of the Fleſh and the Spirit, of the Appetite and the Will, of the Law in the Members, and the Law in the Mind the one inclining towards Earth, from whence 'twas taken; and the other towards Heaven, from whence 'twas ſent.

III.

The truth of this had been apparent, if it had been only taken out of Ariſtotle's School; but we have it confirmed out of Solomon's Porch too: for in the day when Man goeth to his Long Home, when the Grinders ceaſe, and the Windows be darkned, and all the Daughters of Muſick are brought low, when the Silver Cord is once looſed, and the Golden Bowl broken, ſo as the Mourners are going about the Streets; then the Duſt ſhall return to the Earth as it was, and the Spirit ſhall return to God that gave it, Eccleſ. 12.3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

IV.

When God himſelf was pleaſed to be born of a Woman, he ſubmitted to the Conditions of Mortality, and had but a ſhort time to live; for he expired by Crucifixion before he was full thirty four years of Age.

V.

Man hath a ſhort time indeed, as he is born of a Woman, for he cometh forth as a Flower, and as a Flower he is cut down. He flyeth alſo as a ſhadow, and continueth not. And therefore Epictetus did fitly argue the very great fickleneſs, and frailty of Worldly things: Firſt, becauſe they were made, and therefore had their beginning; next becauſe they are made ours, and therefore muſt have a ſpeedy end.

VI.

For if we will be but ſo juſt, and ſo impartial to our ſelves, as to Arraign our Bodies at the Tribunal of our Reaſon, they will be found, by Compoſition, no more than well complexion'd Duſt. Duſt thou art, ſaid God to Adam, Gen. 3.19. Duſt and Aſhes I am, ſaid Abraham to God, Gen. 18.27. He knoweth ſaith the Pſalmiſt, Whereof we are made, he remembreth we are but Duſt, Pſal. 103.14.

VII.

Were it not that the Spirit of Man goeth upward, whilſt the Spirit of a Beaſt goeth downward to the Earth, there would be no Preheminence of the one over the other; for all go unto one place, (as to the Centre of the Body,) All are of the Duſt, and all turn to Duſt again, Eccleſ. 3.19, 20.

VIII.

Which ſhews the Vanity and Sickneſs of thoſe Mens Souls, who erect ſuch ſtrong and ſtately Sepulchres for their Bodies, for fear the poor Mans Duſt ſhould fully their's; as if they did not remember, that Man is born of a Woman, and that his very Foundation is in the Duſt, Job 4.19. he may have the more Vanity, but not the more Underſtanding for being in Honour, and may the ſooner be compar'd to the Beaſts that periſh, Pſal. 49.12.

IX.

The Protoplaſt was formed of the Duſt of the ground, Gen. 2.27. and however his Poſterity hath been diſtinguiſh'd, by iſſuing out from that Fountain through ſeveral Chanels, yet their Original Extraction muſt needs be vile; (if any thing can be vile which is of God's own making) for all Men deſcended out of the very ſame Eve; and ſo by Her out of the very ſame Adam; and ſo by Him out of the very ſame Earth.

The Prayer.

WE know, O Lord, that thou created'ſt us after thine own Image, and deſigned'ſt us for to die, as ſoon as we were born; but thou haſt ſweetned the Bitterneſs of it to us, by firſt taſting of it thy ſelf; and haſt taken away the Sting of it, that when ever it comes it will prove to us an advantage.

II.

Duſt we are, O Lord, and to Duſt we muſt return, High and Low, Rich and Poor, from the Swayer of the Sceptre, to the Drawer of Water, muſt one day appear before thee: O then! in thy tender Mercy and Compaſſion have Pity upon poor Duſt and Aſhes: Let not thoſe many failings we are guilty of in this World, any ways hinder thy Mercy in ſealing our Pardon, but receive us graciouſly.

III.

Bring down, and ſubdue in us every vain Thought, and every proud Look, that exalts its ſelf againſt thee; mortifie in us all ſenſual Luſts and vile Affections; and bring our Souls and Bodies under the Diſcipline of true Obedience to thee, and thy Holy Will; that having learned to deny all ungodlineſs and worldly Luſts, we may live Soberly, Godly and Righteouſly in this preſent evil World, and at laſt arrive to thine Heavenly Kingdom to live for evermore. Amen.

Meditation XI. Memorials hourly neceſſary, upon the four laſt things: Death, Judgment, Hell and Heaven.

MOſt freely went that Bleſſed Father St. Auguſtine to work, when he expreſſed himſelf in this manner, I inherit ſin from my Father, an excuſe from my Mother, Lying from the Devil, Folly from the World, and Self-conceit from the Pride and arrogant Opinion of my ſelf. Deceitful have been the Imaginations of thy Heart, Crooked have been thy ways: Malicious thy works. And yet haſt thou taken the Judgments of God in thy mouth; deſiring nothing more than to blind the Eye of the World with a counterfeit Zeal.

II.

But all ſuch Hypocrites, God will judge, and will not be mocked. For as the Devil has his Sieve, with which the good eſcape, and the bad remain: So God hath his Fan which ſcatters the wicked, but retains the Godly. And when he ſhall ſeparate the Goats from the Sheep; the Wheat from the Tares; when the Juſt and the Wicked ſhall appear before him: and every Man ſhall be put in the Ballance, I fear, O my Soul, thou wilt then be found many Grains too light.

III.

Thy only Remedy then, is this proper Medicine, to prepare thy ſelf againſt that great and terrible Day; and to furniſh thee with thoſe Directions, that may make thee a true Convert, of an impenitent Sinner. Recal to mind thoſe four laſt Remembrances: Memorials hourly to be thought, and ſo neceſſary to be retained in thy Memory, as the Chriſtian uſe of them may prepare thee before Death ſummon thee; and in this vale of Miſery, fit thee for thy Heavenly Voyage to Eternity.

IV.

And yet whilſt I entertain thee with theſe Precepts, I find thy Condition to be dangerous: For if thou ſeriouſly ponder them in thy mind, and lay them home to thy Heart, the very thoughts of them cannot chuſe but ſtartle thee: and if thou neglect them, which are ſo uſeful for thy Salvation, thou wilt ſtand amazed, when they encounter thee.

The Prayer.

O Lord remember me in thy Mercy; and ſo prepare my Memory; that theſe four neceſſary Remembrances, may never depart from me. Let me be prepar'd for Death before it come, that it may never ſurprize me unprovided, whenſoever it ſhall come! Let me think of that dreadful day of Judgment; and judge my ſelf before I am judged, that I may not when I am weighed in the Ballance, be found wanting.

II.

Let not me forget there is a Hell for the damned; and conſider that it is better by timely fearing, to avoid it: than by never dreaming of it, to fall headlong into it. Laſtly, let me think of Heaven, that it is the Habitation of the Bleſſed, and that none but thoſe that are of a clean Heart ſhall dwell in it. O cleanſe thou my Heart, that I may be prepared for it, and with piritual Joy be received into it.

Meditation XII. On Death.

IT is ſtrange that Death ſhould be ſuch a Stranger to thee, when he ſo daily viſits thy Neighbours. Thou haſt been familiarly acquainted with many, whoſe Habitations are not now to be found; which have enjoyed the Pleaſures of Sin freely; others who have inlarged their Barns and Store-houſes carefully; others, who have in a ſplendid manner arrived to Honours higheſt Pinacle, and could deliver their Commands with Grandeur and Magnificence: And now behold! All theſe have endured Death's Arreſt, and were forced to obey his grim Command.

II.

And now conſider, having made their Beds in the dark, They have left their Houſes unto others; they are gone unto their Graves, and muſt not return again! their Subſtance they have left unto others: and Strangers are become their Heirs. They are rooted out from the Face of the Earth, and now they conſider the Vanity of their Deſires: How they, who laid Land to Land while they were here, are now content with a ſmall ſcantling in their return to their laſt home.

III.

Poor Shell of Corruption, what doſt thou think of theſe things? I am certain, that great Revenues, ſwelling Honours, ſmiling Pleaſures are dangerous and pernicious Eye-ſores to a dying Man. He looks back upon his Honours, and enquires of them, if they can relieve him: but like falſe hearted retainers, they fly from him, and preſent their Service to another; ſo quickly have they forgot their dying Maſter.

IV.

He looks back then upon his Revenues, thoſe Goods of Fortune, his incheſted Treaſures, and asks of them, if they cannot Ranſome him? But alas, they have no ſuch Commiſſion: they reſerve themſelves for his Prodigal Succeſſor, or ſucceeding Rioter: for they were ſo poorly uſed and employed by him, that they have quickly forgot their dying Maſter. At laſt he looks back upon his unhappy Pleaſures, which now torment him more, than ever they did delight him; and he would be inform'd of them, if they can allay, or any ways mitigate his Pain? But alas, they ſoon leave him, for they find nothing near him, that can give them Entertainment.

V.

An eaſie farewel then have theſe taken of their dying Maſter. But thou, poor Sinner, haſt no Honours to tranſport thee; no Fortunes to detain thee; no Pleaſures to enſnare thee: For the firſt, the Countenance of Greatneſs never ſhone upon thee; for the ſecond, Worldly Wealth could never yet ſo burden thee: And for the laſt, though thy Youth might affect them, the infirmities of Age have now eſtranged them from thee.

VI.

And yet the voice of Death is more terrible to thee, than the loud Report of a roaring Cannon. No Note more doleful, or Summons more fearful; in this thou art in ſome meaſure excuſable; becauſe Death is fearful to all Fleſh. Plant not thy hopes ſo upon Earth, as if thou intendedſt never to go from Earth, or to return to it from whence thou waſt taken. If thou canſt find nothing on Earth worthy to entertain thee, thou art in the unhappieſt Condition that may befall thee.

VII.

O think then of that time, even now while thou haſt time, when thy poor languiſhing Soul, finding thy Eyes ſhut, thy Mouth cloſed, and all thoſe Senſes of thy Body periſhed, by which ſhe uſed to paſs forth, and be delighted in theſe outward things wherewith ſhe was affected, ſhall return unto her ſelf: and ſeeing her ſelf all alone and naked, as one afflicted and affrighted with exceeding Horror, ſhall through Deſpair fail and fall under her ſelf: O whither wilt thou fly in hope of Succour, to comfort thy poor Soul, in ſuch a time of Danger.

The Prayer.

EVen to thee will I fly, O God of my Salvation, for thou wilt not ſuffer my Soul to deſcend to Corruption, ſuch is thy loving kindneſs, as thou haſt promiſed to make all my Bed in my Sickneſs. And becauſe nothing is more certain than Death; nothing more uncertain than the hour: and that the pale Meſſenger may appear leſs fearful unto me, ſend thy Holy Spirit to Comfort me; that being inwardly armed by thee againſt the Aſſaults of Death, and fury of my Ghoſtly Enemy, I may fight a good Fight, and with Fortitude cry out: O Death! where is thy Sting? O Hell! where is thy Victory?

Meditation XIII. Upon Judgment.

I Tremble to think of that dreadful day, and yet know not how to avoid it! Judged I muſt be, and who will anſwer for me? An infallible Witneſs I have within, to accuſe me: Sins of Omiſſion, and of Commiſſion to impeach me; Sins of Ignorance, Knowledge, and of Malice to convict me: though any one of theſe were ſufficient to condemn me.

II.

But perhaps thou wilt be upon the Enquiry, to know for what thou art to be brought to Account for? And the occaſion of thy appearing before the great Tribunal Seat of Judgment? Solomon will furniſh thee with a ready Anſwer, and informs thee, it is even for all thy Thoughts, Words and Works. For God will bring every Work into Judgment, with every ſecret thing, whether it be Good, or whether it be Evil, Eccleſ. 12.12.

III.

And that it may appear, that thou ſhalt be accountable for all theſe: Firſt, touching thy Thoughts: of theſe thou ſhalt be judged; For froward Thoughts ſeparate from God. Wiſd. 1. and He ſhall judge the ſecrets of Men. Their Conſcience alſo bearing Witneſs, and their Thoughts the mean while accuſing, or excuſing one another, Rom. 2.15.

IV.

Next, thou ſhalt give an Account of all thy Words. Of every idle Word that Men ſhall ſpeak, they ſhall give Account in the Day of Judgment, Mat. 12.36. Thirdly, thou ſhalt be accountable for all thy Works. For we muſt all appear before the Judgment-ſeat of Chriſt, that every one may receive the things done in his Body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad, 2 Cor. 5.10.

V.

Immortal, but afflicted Soul, canſt thou hear all this, and not diſſolve thy ſelf into Tears? When not only in thy Bed of Sickneſs, by a ſecret Divine Power, all thoſe Works which thou haſt done, be they Good or Evil, ſhall be preſented, and appear before thee; but in that great and fearful day of Account, when all Fleſh ſhall come to Judgment: All theſe in Capitals ſhall appear written before thee.

VI.

Not one Boſome Sin, were it never ſo cloſely committed, ſubtilly covered, or cunningly carried, but muſt be there diſcovered. Adam ſhall be brought from his Buſhes, and Sarah from behind the Tent-Door, and miſerable perplexed Man ſhall ſay to his Conſcience, as Ahab ſaid to Elias, Haſt thou found me, O mine Enemy? What innumerable Bills of Inditements then will there be preferred againſt thee? To all which, thou muſt hang down thy Head, and plead Guilty?

VII.

O how art thou fallen into the Gall of Bitterneſs and Miſery! what can the Thoughts and the Imaginations of thine Heart ſay for themſelves, but that they have been evil continually? What can the words of thy Mouth ſpeak for themſelves, but that they have been full of all filthineſs and obſcenity? Laſtly, what can the works of thine hands plead for themſelves, but that they have been loaden with Tranſgreſſions and Iniquities.

VIII.

But perhaps thou haſt ſome fond hopes of a Pardon, and ſo like ſome deluded Offenders, by flattering thy ſelf with a vain hope of Life, alienateſt thy thoughts from thinking of a better Life. But do not ſo deceive thy ſelf; for if it be not by ſaithful Repentance ſought for here, there is no hope for any Pardon there to be procured; nor for any Appeal to be there admitted; not one minutes reprieve granted, nor one moment of Adjournment of Death's heavy Sentence. That ſevere Sentence of eternal Death, Depart from me, ſhall be the Sentence: to loſe whoſe Countenance, and depart from his Preſence, is to bring thy Soul into endleſs Torments.

The Prayer.

O My God, thou who haſt appointed a time for every Man to die, and after that to come to Judgment; make me to remember my End; that fitting my ſelf for it, I may cheerfully encounter it, and ſo prepare my ſelf for that Judgment which ſhall come after it.

II.

O make me walk in thy light, now while I have light to walk in; and to work out my Salvation now while I have time to work in. For time will come, (unleſs we walk here as Children of light) when we ſhall have neither light to walk in, nor time to work in. O inflame my Heart with thy Love: and teach me thy Judgments, and my Soul ſhall live.

Meditation XIV. Upon Hell.

HArk! how the Damned cry out, that while they were here on Earth, they lived better than thou, and yet they undergo the Sentence of Damnation! thus they tax God's Mercy, and indulgence towards thee of Injuſtice and Partiality. Such is thoſe Damned Souls Charity, mean time thou liveſt ſecurely, feedeſt deliciouſly, and putteſt the thought of the evil day from thee, by walking fooliſhly in the ways of Vanity.

II.

Little deſire then mayſt thou have, ſinful Man, to ſee Death; having ſo little hope of Life after it. Had ſome of thoſe damned Objects, who are now loſt for ever, received thoſe many ſweet Viſits, Motions and free Offers of his Grace; thoſe opportunities of doing good, and many means of eſchewing evil; no queſtion but they would have been as ready to entertain them, as thou haſt been to reject them.

III.

Think with thy ſelf, how happy had that Rich Glutton been, if he had rewarded poor Lazarus with ſome few Crumbs from his Table. Had it not been far better for him, to have given to the Poor all that ever he had; To have diſrobed himſelf, and exchang'd his purpled Garments for Rags of Poverty, than to dwell in everlaſting Burnings?

IV.

How happy had that rich Man in the Goſpel been, if inſtead of encreaſing his Barns, he had inlarged his Bowels to the Poor! little dreamt he, how ſoon his Soul ſhould be taken from him; when he addreſſed his Care for ſo needleſs a Proviſion. His thoughts were ſo taken up with Building his Barns wider; that he never conſidered, How Tophet was ordained of old; how it was made deep and large; the Pile thereof Fire and much Wood; and how the Breath of the Lord, like a ſtream of Brimſtone, doth kindle it, Eſay 30.33.

V.

Turn unto thy ſelf, O my Soul, and ſee whom thou canſt find in more Danger of falling into that place of Horror, than thy ſelf? How haſt thou beſtowed thy time? how haſt thou employed thy Talent? haſt thou not laid it up in a Napkin? or haſt not thou worſe improved it, by employing it to ſome ignoble Ends? have not many been damned for leſs than thou haſt committed? and did it grieve thee to repent of what thou hadſt done, that thou might'ſt eſcape that Condemnation?

VI.

Many a wretched Soul lies there tormented for leſs Offences than ever thou tranſacted; and haſt thou yet turned to the Lord, that thou mayſt be pardoned? It is written in what hour ſoever the Righteous committeth iniquity, his Righteouſneſs ſhall not be had in Remembrance, Ezck. 18.24. Now if the Righteouſneſs of him ſhall be forgotten by committing iniquity, who leaveth what he once loved, relinquiſheth what he once profeſſed; what can we think of the Repentance of that Sinner, who returns again to his Sins, like the Dog to the Vomit, or like the Sow to her wadowing in the Mire?

VII.

How many have aſcended even up to Heaven, and amongſt the Stars have built their Neſts: and yet have ſuddenly faln from that Glory, by glorying in their own Strength, and ſo drench'd themſelves into endleſs Miſery? And this was the Reaſon of their loſt Eſtate, becauſe they aſpired unto that Mountain to which the firſt Angel aſcended, and as a Devil deſcended.

VIII.

And canſt thou excuſe thy ſelf of being one of that number? Haſt thou not ſometimes made a fair ſhew to the World of plauſible Arguments of Piety? haſt thou not been ſometimes like the King's Daughter, all glorious without? but how ſoon didſt thou loſe this Glory, and fall from that ſeeming Sanctity or Holy Hypocriſie, into open Prophaneneſs and Impiety?

IX.

And now what will become of me in this extremity! the Wages of ſin, I know, is Death; a Death that never dieth, but liveth eternally: where nothing ſhall be heard but weeping and wailing, groaning and howling, ſorrowing and gnaſhing of Teeth. How grievous then ſhall be my Anguiſh! how endleſs my Sorrow and Sadneſs! when I ſhall be ſet apart from the Society of the Juſt, deprived of the ſight of God; deliver'd up unto the Power of the Devils, and forced along with them into unquenchable Fire, there to remain to all Eternity?

X.

With what dejected Eyes, and a trembling Heart ſhall I poor Sinner ſtand, expecting the ſupream Judge; when I ſhall be baniſhed from that bleſſed Countrey of Paradiſe, to be devoured in the gaping bottomleſs Pit, where I muſt never have the Proſpect of a Glimpſe of light, nor feel the leaſt drop of Refreſhment: but be tormented for Millions of years: and ſo tormented, as never to be from thence deliver'd: where neither the Tormentors become wearied; nor they die who are tormented.

The Prayer.

O My dear Lord, look upon the price of thine own Blood. Thou haſt bought me with a great Price: O deliver thy Darling from the Power of the Dogs: remember me in Mercy, whom thou haſt bought, O let me not go down into the Pit: neither let the Deep ſwallow me up.

II.

For who ſhall Praiſe thy Name in the Deep, or declare thy Power in the Grave of Silence? O thou who art a God of infinite Majeſty, though the Terrors of Death, and Torments of Hell encompaſs me, yet art thou my Saviour, my Succour, and wilt deliver me: and my Soul ſhall live to Praiſe thee evermore.

Meditation XV. Upon Heaven.

O How ſhould I look up to thee, that have ſo provok'd thee? O thou Manſion of the Saints; thou Portion of the Juſt; thou City of the great King; thou Heavenly and moſt happy Kingdom; where thy bleſſed Inhabitants are ever living and never dying; where thy glorious State is ever flouriſhing and never declining.

II.

I muſt Confeſs to my great Grief and Shame, that I have no Intereſt in thee. I have unhappily loſt thee, in loſing my Soul, by ſelling it to Vanity. I ſometimes reſolv'd to Play the part of a wiſe Merchant, and to ſell all I had for the purchace of one Pearl. But I held the Purchace at too dear a Rate, and therefore I have deſervingly loſt the Jewel.

III.

Fooliſh Sinner, couldſt thou find any thing of greater weight to entertain thy beſt thoughts, or beſtow thy Care, than the Salvation of thy Soul. Didſt thou think it ſo eaſie a Task to get Heaven, by an earthly Purchace; yet hadſt thou but taken half ſo much Pains to deſerve Heaven, as thou haſt done to win Hell: Thou mighteſt have challenged more Intereſt to Heaven, than now thou canſt.

IV.

Many Summer Days, and long Winter Nights have thy Follies taken thee up: And theſe ſeem'd ſhort unto thee, becauſe thou tookeſt delight in thoſe ſhort Pleaſures of Vanity: but to beſtow one ſhort hour upon Devotion, how many Diſtractions did that meet withal; and how long and tedious ſeem'd that hour, becauſe the Task was weariſome, and thy wandring mind was not inclin'd to ſo ſerious a work.

V.

And canſt thou now think that ſo Rich a Kingdom would reſerve it ſelf for thee; when thou wouldſt neither knock to be admitted entrance, nor ſeek after ſo great a Happineſs? Health, thou art well inform'd, comes not from the Clouds without ſeeking, nor Wealth from the Ground without digging; and yet Heaven thou thinkeſt is got by ſloth: but great Prizes are not ſo purchaſed.

VI.

For as the Gate of the Bleſſed is ſtrait, and few there be that enter; ſo are our Tribulations many, that we may be of that few which may gain Admittance. But I hear thee now cry out, as one that had ſome Senſe of his Miſery, and of the loſs he has incurred by Sins committed. Thou doſt now bewail thy paſt Follies, and correct thy ſelf for ſo great a neglect; thou knoweſt not how to allay thy Paſſion, till Reaſon inclines thee to this Meditation.

VII.

Miſerable Sinner, I cannot behold this Earth I tread on without bluſhing; nor can I think upon Death without ſorrowing; the Day of Judgment, without trembling; Hell, without ſhaking; nor of the Joys of Heaven without Aſtoniſhment. For Earth, I loved it ſo well, as the remembrance of Death, became ſorrowful. For by it I underſtood I was to be brought to Judgment; and from thence, having no defenſive Anſwer, to be hurried down to the place of torment, and conſequently to forfeit all my Title and intereſt in Heaven.

VIII.

Theſe Meditations ought to make a deep impreſſion upon our Minds; for to acknowledge our Infirmities, may make us the ſpeedier look for a Remedy, and by degrees find a happy Recovery; joyn then all thy Faculties, and offer up thy Prayer to the Throne of Grace, that God in his Mercy would look upon thee.

The Prayer.

GRacious God, though I am altogether unworthy to lift up my Eyes unto Heaven, or to offer up my Prayers unto thee, much leſs to be heard by thee: yet for his Merits and Mercies ſake, who ſitteth at thy right hand, and maketh interceſſion for me, reſerve a place in thy Heavenly Kingdom for me.

II.

Dear Lord, in thy Houſe are many Manſions, O bring me thither, that I may joyn my voice with thoſe voices of the Angels, and ſing Praiſes to thy Holy Name, who ſitteſt in the higheſt Heavens for ever, World without end. Amen.

Meditation XVI. The remembrance of the four laſt things reduced to Practice.

I Find my Soul like a dry ground where no water is! and whereſoever I turn my ſelf, I find Affliction and Miſery on all ſides ſurrounding me. What ſhall I do, or where ſhall I fly? When I repoſe my ſelf from the World in ſome with-drawing Room, intending to forget this lower Orb, and prepare my ſelf for the Joys of a better Life: while I begin to commune with my own thoughts in the ſecret Chamber of my Heart, I become ſo affrighted with the Repreſentment of thoſe four laſt Remembrances, as I wholly forget what I intended to ſpeak.

II.

My Tongue begins to cleave to the Roof of my Mouth, my Moiſture is dryed within me; thoſe Active Faculties of my Soul leave me: And my underſtanding departs from me. O Death! how bitter is the Remembrance of thee? with Terror thou ſummoneſt me; and like a ſurly Gueſt thou ruſheſt upon me, and reſolveſt to lodge with me! then immediately I feel my ſelf wounded; and ſo mortally as not to be cured.

III.

O how my Divine Eye-ſight grows dim, my panting Breaſt beats; my hoarſe Throat ratleth, my Teeth grow black and ruſty, my Countenance grows pale, all my Members ſtiff; every Senſe and Faculty fails; and my waſted Body threatens a ſpeedy Diſſolution! yet deſires my poor Soul to be a Gueſt, though there is cold Comfort to be found in ſuch a forlorn Inn.

IV.

But what are all theſe Terrors of Death to the dreadful Day of Judgment, when at the voice of the Arch-Angel, and ſound of the Trumpet, all the little heaps of Duſt ſhall riſe! where none ſhall be exempted, but all judged. How terrible, in Majeſty, will that great Judge appear to ſuch, as in this Life would neither be allured by his Promiſes, nor awakened by his Judgments?

V.

How doleful will that Echoing voice ſound in their Ear, Depart from me, I know you not! And how ready will that officious Jaylor be, upon the delivery of this heavy Sentence, to caſt them into utter darkneſs; a place of endleſs Torments: where the Curſings and Howlings of Fiends and Furies ſhall entertain their melodious Ear; deformed and hideous ſights ſhall entertain their Laſcivious eye, loathſome Stenches their delicious Smell: Sulphur and Brimſtone their luſcious Taſte; Graſpings and Embracings of Snakes, their amorous Touch; and Anguiſh and Horror every Senſe.

VI.

Where thoſe miſerable damned Souls ſhall be tormented, both in their Fleſh and Spirit. In their Fleſh, by Fire ever burning, and never decaying: and in their Spirit by the Worm of Conſcience ever gnawing, and never dying! where there ſhall be Grief intolerable Fear horrible, Filth incomparable; Death both of Soul and Body without hope of Pardon, or Mercy.

VII.

And now to cloſe with the laſt; the loſs whereof exceeds our Sufferings in all the reſt. When we conſider our unhappineſs not only to get Hell, the Lake of Horror and Miſery; but to loſe Heaven, the place of endleſs Joy and Felicity: what Heart can ponder on it, and not reſolve it ſelf into a Sea of Tears, in Contemplation of it?

VIII.

What can the wretched Soul imagine, when ſhe lifteth up the light of her mind, and beholds the Glory of thoſe immortal Riches, and withal conſiders how ſhe has loſt all, for the petty Concerns of this Life; O how can ſhe be leſs than confounded with Anguiſh, and cry out in the affliction of her Spirit, when ſhe ſhall caſt her Eyes upon this worthleſs Earth, and take a full Proſpect of this uneaſie World, and perceive how her ſight was intercepted by a foggy Miſt. Then preſently looking up, admiring the Beauty of that eternal Light, ſhe inſtantly concludes, that it was nothing elſe but Night and Darkneſs ſhe here embraced.

IX.

O how then ſhe faints, falters, and fruitleſly deſires, that ſhe might have ſome ſmall Remnant of time allotted her; what a ſharp Remedy; what a ſevere manner of Converſation would ſhe enter upon? What great Promiſes would ſhe endeavour to perform? and with what ſtrict Bonds of Devotion would ſhe ſeemingly bind her ſelf? but then all will be in vain, for the Decree is gone forth, and as ſhe had her full ſwing of Pleaſures here, ſo ſhe muſt have her juſt meaſure of Torments hereafter.

The Prayer.

MOſt Gracious and dear Lord, out of thy boundleſs Compaſſion, look upon my grievous Affliction. Keep not ſilence at my Tears, for I am a Stranger with thee, and a Sojourner as all my Fathers were. I have none to fly unto, but thee; and ſo highly have I provoked thee, that unleſs thou takeſt Pity, and receiveſt me, for his Blood, which was ſhed for me, I am loſt eternally.

II.

O thou good Shepherd, call me thy loſt ſheep home; for I am loſt unleſs thou calleſt me; Loſt for ever, unleſs thou ſaveſt me.

Meditation XVII. With Comfort Faith applys her ſelf to the ſick Man's Conſcience.

WOunds cannot be cured, before they be opened. Neither do we doubt, but by miniſtring ſome fitting Preſcriptions, our endeavours will bring forth ſuch good Effect, as you ſhall find great eaſe in your Afflictions. You tell me, how the remembrance of your End is very terrible to you: not ſo much in regard of your fear of Death, as of that dreadful Day of Judgment, which attends it.

II.

For you find in your ſelf ſuch an infinite and unſupportable weight of ſins preſſing down your Soul even to the Gates of Hell, as leſs than grieve you cannot; elſe were you inſenſible of the loſs of a Soul. Truſt me, Sinner, ſo far am I from condoling with you, as I rejoyce in your ſorrowing: for this Senſe of your Sins, leads you to a Remedy, which had you not been afflicted, and brought even to the brink of the Pit, you had ſtill lived in ſupine Careleſsneſs.

III.

Now may you ſay with the Royal Pſalmiſt, It is good for me, that I have been afflicted; Elſe you might have gloried in your Sins, and have periſhed for ever. Be then of good Comfort: and ſuffer not Cain's deſperate Concluſion to take poſſeſſion of your Spirits: for I muſt tell you; He ſinned more in ſaying, Greater is my Sin than can be pardoned; than in murdering his Brother: for as in the one, he laid violent hands on the image of God; ſo in the other he detracted from the higheſt and deareſt Prerogative belonging to him.

IV.

For there is no Attribute wherewith he is more delighted, than to be ſtyled a God of Mercy. We may ſafely then conclude, that Deſpair is of a more high and hainous Nature than any ſin. For tell me, has not God himſelf with his own Mouth promiſed, and is he not able, and willing to perform what he hath promiſed? That, at what time ſoever a Sinner doth repent him of his Sin, from the bottom of his Heart, He will put away all his wickedneſs out of his remembrance, Ezek. 18. though late Repentance then be ſeldom true, yet true Repentance never comes too late.

V.

The good Thief on the Croſs, had no ſooner repented him of his Sin, and Confeſſed Chriſt, but he was even at the laſt hour received to Mercy: which Example, as it admits no Liberty to encourage any to preſume, ſo it is a Fortification to others againſt Deſpair.

VI.

Indeed there is nothing that endangers Man's Salvation more, than by giving way to delay: yet when the ſorrowful Soul heartily repents him of what is paſt, and with a conſtant Religious reſolve, intends to redeem the time to come; his pious Tears, devout Prayers, Holy Reſolves will find ready Admittance to the Throne of Grace. For as his Mercy is above all his Works, ſo will he extend it in a large manner, on that Work which ſtands in moſt need of his Mercy.

VII.

This your long Experience has obſerved and plenteouſly taſted, elſe have your Sojourning years been ill beſtowed, that he is Gracious, Merciful, and of Long-ſuffering: and it has been evermore the Property of this good and careful Shepherd to call home thoſe that were wandring, and to embrace thoſe that were returning. It has been ever the Condition of this valiant Joſhua, to exhort you to fight, and then to aſſiſt you in the Conqueſt.

VIII.

Come then tell me, are you weary and ſo heavy laden, that you muſt faint by the way, if you be not refreſhed? Go to him that has invited you, and you will receive Comfort! be not then wavering in your Faith, but take faſt hold of his Promiſes, who will not fail you: and rely on his Mercies, who in your greateſt ſtraits will deliver you.

The Prayer.

BLeſſed Jeſu, how juſtly mighteſt thou have reproved me with, O thou of little Faith! O it is but a little one; the leaſt Seed in the Garden: but, O Lord, I beſeech thee increaſe it; and pray unto thy Father, that my Faith fail not! So ſhall my Heart be purified, I become juſtified, and have acceſs to thee by Faith: and hereafter live with thee and thy faithful ones in the inheritance of the Juſt.

Meditation XVIII. Hopes Addreſs to the Sick Penitent.

A Froward Patient requires a rough hand, and a reſolute Heart. I am not ignorant of your Diſeaſe; and your Malady relies much upon my Cure; therefore be not doubtful of your Recovery, if you do but ingenuouſly diſcover to me your infirmity.

II.

I am not altogether unacquainted with my Siſter Faiths late viſit to you: whoſe ſound Cordial Comforts would have wrought ſuch powerful Effects in you, as you might have had leſs occaſion for any other Receipts, had you diſcreetly applied what was ſo ſeaſonably, and Soveraignly miniſtred.

III.

But before I begin with you; let me ſo far prevail on your Temper, that you would remove from your too much dejected and depreſſed Spirit, all thoſe unbeſeeming Thoughts which perplex your quiet: and be not ſo great an Enemy to your ſelf, as to reject that, which may rectifie your State: and of a Faint-hearted Souldier, become a Couragious Warrior.

IV.

To prepare you the better for this ſpiritual Encounter: my firſt Eſſay muſt be, to remove thoſe ſcales from your Eyes, which by long continuance are grown ſo thick, that they caſt a Miſt before your knowledge. For though I have been long a Stranger to you; yet let us now renew our Acquaintance; the which, you will not repent of: for I never yet lodg'd in that Soul, which eſteem'd me not a welcome Gueſt.

V.

Many before this time had untimely periſhed, had they not by me been ſeaſonably ſupported; by Land and Water, have I offered my ſelf a Friendly Companion: and have firmly ſtuck to them who relyed on me, in time of greateſt danger or oppoſition. And when no Token of Deliverance appear'd: No hope of Liberty approached: I with this Anchor brought them to the Haven ſafely: Planting them ſo ſecurely, as no Peril could interpoſe their Security.

VI.

And now tell me, is my Strength ſo weakened, as I cannot perform what I have formerly ſo happily effected: indeed I muſt inform your flender Judgment, that I am unalterably the ſame, and do find the ſame Spirit in thoſe, to whom I apply my Cure; the Accompliſhment of which is always my principal Care.

VII.

Take then for an Helmet, The Hope of Salvation, 1 Theſ. 5.8. Look for the bleſſed Hope, Tit. 2.13. Let thy Fleſh reſt in Hope, Pſal. 16.9. Be ye of good Courage, all ye that hope, Pſal. 31.24. For I muſt tell you, Hope deferred maketh the Heart ſick: but the righteous hath hope in his Death, Prov. 13.12, 14.

VIII.

For ſo well and ſurely is her Foundation grounded, as Hope maketh not aſhamed, Rom. 5.5. Rejoyce then in Hope: be patient in Tribulation, Rom. 12.12. So ſhall the God of Hope, fill you with all Joy. To whch fulneſs I recommend you; where you may cheerfully ſay with Holy Job, that perfect Pattern of Patience: 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 ſelf, and mine eyes ſhall behold, and not anothers, Job 19.25, 26, 27.

The Prayer.

O My Merciful Lord God, who bindeſt up the Wounds of every Contrite and truly penitent Sinner: Suffering him not to be tempted more than he can bear: but out of the abundance of thy Compaſſion, giveſt him an iſſue out of his Temptation: make me ever with a Religious fear, ſo to put my truſt in thy Mercy, as I may never be ſwallowed up of my Miſery.

II.

And ſeeing we are ſaved by Hope: Give unto me ſuch a ſaving Hope; as neither too much Confidence may make me preſume: nor the too perplexing Conſideration of my many Sins bring me to a Deſpair of Pardon.

III.

Be near me, Dear Lord, in the hour of my Viſitation: let the Enemy have no Power over me: but ſo ſhadow me under the Wings of thy Mercy; that the remembrance of thy Judgments may rouſe me ſleeping; and the Memory of thy Mercies raiſe me waking; to render Praiſe unto thee, as my Hope is in thee, my help from thee, O Lord everlaſting. To whom with thee, and the Holy Ghoſt, three Perſons, and one God, Lives and Reigns together, World without end. Amen.

Meditation XIX. The Exerciſe of Charity.

CHarity is cold, and ſuch Companions are not eaſily entertained: nor ſuch Gueſts kindly received; where the one bids us give that we may receive: the other Commands us to beſtow all that we have: and when all is diſtributed, to expect our reward in Heaven. But this ſowing of Bread upon the Waters, is of too hard a Digeſtion to be reaped by a fooliſh Worldling: and yet it muſt be ſo ſown, or your Harveſt is loſt for ever.

II.

You are here planted in a vale of Miſery, and the true Exerciſe of Charity will cover all your Scarlet ſins with the white Robe of Mercy. And to confer on your peaceful Progreſs the higher Honour; if you will reſolve to leave the World, and receive her, who is deſpiſed of it, ſhe will conduct you ſafely to the Kingdom of Glory.

III.

St. Paul informs you, 1 Cor. 13.13. ſays he, Now abideth Faith, Hope, and Charity, theſe three, but the greateſt of theſe is Charity. Haſt thou an earneſt Deſire to be inſtructed in what moſt concerns you; to be edified in what moſt imports you? It is not knowledge but Charity that muſt work this good effect in you. For Knowledge puffs up, but Charity edifieth, 1 Cor. 8.1.

IV.

Would you be perſwaſive in Oratory; or powerful in Prophecy; or an uſeful Almoner for your Souls ſafety? You muſt neceſſarily be accompanied by Charity; or you are but as ſounding Braſs, or a tinkling Cymbal, 1 Cor. 13.1. your Power to remove Mountains, ſhall not remove in you the leaſt Mole-Hill of your ſin. Your beſtowing all your Goods to feed the Poor, ſhall not make your Soul Rich, if Charity be wanting.

V.

Seeing then the Tongues of Men and Angels are but Tinklings and very Sounds without Charity; Knowledge becomes fruitleſs without the edifying Help of it; Prophecies, be they never ſo Myſterious; Sciences, be they in their own Nature never ſo commodious, are altogether unprofitable without Charity: Let all your things, ſays the Apoſtle, be done with Charity, 1 Cor. 16.14. Follow after Charity, 1 Cor. 14.1. Above all things put on Charity, Col. 3.14. and St. Peter adviſes us, Above all things have fervent Charity: for Charity ſhall cover a multitude of ſins, 1 Pet. 4.8. and again, add to Godlineſs, Brotherly kindneſs; and to Brotherly kindneſs Charity, 2 Pet. 1.7.

VI.

And now, ſeeing I have here given you a full draught of Charity: by a due Examination of your ſelf, you will eaſily find whether ſhe be in your Heart or no: for by theſe Divine Effects you ſhall find her to be yours. For Charity ſuffereth long, and is kind, envies not, vaunteth not it ſelf, is not puffed up, 1 Cor. 13.4. You ſhall likewiſe know, even by your outward Behaviour, whether or no you have received Charity, or given her Harbour: For Charity doth not behave her ſelf unſeemly, ſeeketh not her own, is not eaſily provoked, thinketh no evil, 1 Cor. 13.5.

VII.

You ſhall perceive likewiſe by the very joy of your Heart, whether Charity have taken up there her Reſidence. For ſhe rejoyceth not in iniquity, but rejoyceth in the truth, 1 Cor. 13.6. Laſtly, you ſhall gather by your Conſtancy, whether or no you hold Correſpondency with perfect Charity: for Charity never faileth, 1 Cor. 13.8.

VIII.

Well may I then conclude, with that Glorious light of the Eaſtern Church, St. Auguſtine, whoſe Senſe is, where Charity is abſent, no good thing can be preſent; and where Charity is preſent, no good thing can be abſent. Again, there is not any thing, be it never ſo little, being done in Charity, but is eſteemed for great: and there is nothing, be it never ſo great, but being done without Charity, is accounted little.

IX.

To cloſe then all in one, ſeeing Charity is one in all: we ſee how all Anſwer Amen, all ſing Alleluja, all are baptized, all obey the Commands of their Mother the Church: yet are not the Children of God diſcern'd from thoſe of Satan, but by Charity. If then you deſire to live, learn to love: ſo ſhall you be conducted to that City, where there Reigneth perfect Charity.

The Prayer.

DEar Father, thou who art perfect Charity; purifie my Heart throughout, that I may prepare a Room therein fitting to entertain thee. Though Charity grow Cold in the World, let my Deſires become ſo weaned from this preſent lower Earth, that my Charity may witneſs for me, that I am preparing for thoſe upper Regions of Eternity.

II.

Give me a liberal Heart, that freely Communicating to the neceſſity of thy Saints, and conſtantly relying on thy Promiſes, through a firm Faith and Hope repoſed in thee, I may at laſt come unto thee; and of a poor Sinner become an happy Saint in thy Kingdom; There to ſing Alleluja amongſt thoſe glorious Saints and Angels for ever.

Meditation XX. The Souls flight to Heaven.

SO ineffably ſweet were theſe Comforts which I taſted; and ſo plenteouſly flowing were thoſe Fountains, from whence they were derived; that from thence I gathered, that if there were ſuch Comforts in the days of Mourning, what would there be in the day of Rejoycing? If ſuch ſpiritual Delights preſented themſelves in a Priſon; what incomparable Pleaſures might be expected in a Pallace? if ſuch joys in the days of our Captivity, what may be looked for in that day of Jubilee.

II.

In the Conſideration whereof; never did chaſed Hart long more thirſtily after the Water-Brooks, than my poor wearied Soul did after her Heavenly Betheſda. O how ſhrilly, methought, did the Crys of the Saints under the Altar ſound in my Ear? How long! Lord! how long! ſhall I ſojourn in this Pilgrimage of Cares; this Valley of Tears; and become a Stranger to that inheritance of laſting Joys; the only ſight whereof would make me happy, and from this Wilderneſs of ſin bring me to the Sinah of Glory!

III.

Unhappy Soul, that I have dwelt with the Inhabitants of Kedar, that my Habitation is prolonged! For if Holy David, a Man according to God's own Heart, ſometimes ſaid, how much more may I miſerable one ſay, My Soul hath been too long an Inhabitant? Long, and too long, have I ſung by thoſe waters of Babylon. So that now I will ſay, It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy Statutes, Pſal. 119.71.

IV.

O Lord hadſt thou never afflicted me; I had never ſought to know thee: And now my Soul melteth for heavineſs, Pſal. 119.28. not for that thou haſt afflicted me, but that my Soul has been ſo long divided from thee. I have longed too much after the Onions and Garlick, and Fleſh-pots of Egypt: but now with guſhing Eyes do I return unto thee, and hope in thy good Pleaſure thou wilt receive me.

V.

I have ſolemnly engag'd my ſelf never to take any more delight in worldly Vanities, I have ſuffered too much to be now taken, or delighted with them. And now after my loathing of theſe Puddles of Vanity, I have longed after thoſe ever running Streams of Eternity.

VI.

How hath my Soul thirſted after thee; how greatly hath my Fleſh longed for thee? my Soul hath thirſted after thee, the living Fountain; O when ſhall I come, and appear before thee? When wilt thou come, O my Comforter? and when ſhall I receive thee, who art my Hearts deſire! O then ſhall my Soul be ſatisfied, when thy Glory ſhall appear, after which I have ſo long hungred for.

VII.

Then ſhall I be filled with the fulneſs of thine Houſe, after which I have ſighed! then wilt thou refreſh me with the Brook of thy Pleaſure, after which I have thirſted! in the mean time, let my Tears become my Bread Day and Night, until ſuch time, as my Soul hears thoſe Comfortable words from thee, Son be of good Cheer, I am the God of thy Salvation.

The Prayer.

O Thou great and Heavenly Shepherd, who didſt lay down thy precious Life, for us thy poor Sheep, who were gone aſtray; feed me with my Sighs, refreſh me with my Sorrows! my Redeemer will doubtleſly come, for he is good: Neither will he delay his Coming, For he is Gracious, and his Mercy endureth for ever.

II.

O haſten thy Coming for thine Elects ſake! That at my return to the Land of innocence and Pleaſure, I may eat of the deſired Sacrifice of the Supper of the Lamb, that was ſlain from the beginning, for the Sins of every ſorrowful and returning Sinner. O grant me Sorrow here, and joy hereafter, through Jeſus Chriſt, who is my hope, the Reſurrection of the dead, the Juſtifier of a Sinner, and the Glory of all faithful Souls. Amen.

Meditation XXI. Upon the Miſery of humane Life, and Bleſſedneſs of eternal Life.

I Am a Sojourner and a Stranger here, as all my Fathers were, I am tired with Travel, and long to be at my Journeys end; I am an Inhabitant but with great Expences, and greater Danger, this ſeeming Pleaſure hath produced me much true Sorrow, bitter Sighs, and aking Hearts, uneaſineſs of Body, diſtraction of mind; I have importuned for help in this lower World, but can find none, no Creature on Earth to relieve me, or ſupport me.

II.

I have ſeen Delights to be folly, and Laughter Diſtraction, Men of low Eſtate to be Vanity, and of high degree fallacious; their Underſtanding, their Labours, and help all vain; for who can ranſom the Soul of his Brother, or make an Atonement to God for him? ſure Man muſt let that alone for ever.

III.

My walking Subſtance is a mere ſhadow, and my repoſe unquietneſs; I endeavour for Holineſs, but cannot attain it; I ſeek for Happineſs, but cannot find it; Satan beguiles me of it, the World attracts me from it, and my own Soul ſtands in oppoſition to my Contentment. My Underſtanding defrauds me, my Affections contrive againſt me, and my Memory decline; me; thoſe things which I would do, I cannot perform: and I daily commit thoſe things, which my Conſcience checks me to the contrary. So that all that I am, or can expect to be in this Life is nothing but Vanity, and Vexation of Spirit.

IV.

And what can my Thoughts raiſe from this? Or where ſhall I be comforted? it is thy Mercy, O Lord, is the only expedient, that can relieve me: thou, O Bleſſed Jeſus, art unto me Life eternal, and by thy Sufferings, Death is to me an advantage; while my Body ſleeps, it ſhall reſt ſecure, and that Reſt ſhall be perfectly Bleſſed; I ſhall reſt from Labour, Sorrow and Sin; my ſleep ſhall be ſafe, and my beatifical Viſion happy; while my Body ſleeps in the Duſt, my Soul ſhall awake to Righteouſneſs; when my Soul is diſmantled of Fleſh, and Fleſh of fading Beauty, my Spirit ſhall be adorned with the Robes of thy Glory.

V.

While my Duſt is driven with the wind upon the Surface of the Earth, my Spirit ſhall fly to the higheſt Heavens; then ſhall my Eyes be opened, to behold my Soul with Purity and Perfection; no dark Veil of Nature ſhall obſcure me, defect of Senſes hinder me, or foggy Clouds of ſin hover over me; my Underſtanding ſhall be tranſparent, my Affections pure, and my Memory perfect. I ſhall there be fully ſatisfied in beholding the Spirits of juſt Men made perfect, raviſhed in enjoying the Preſence of Angels, and Bleſſed in retaining the Divine Goodneſs.

VI.

There can be nothing wanting, where there is ſuch Perfection; where humane Happineſs is eternally united to the Bleſſed Trinity, where I am Chriſt's, and Chriſt is God's, and the Holy Comforter abides with us for ever. O moſt ſplendid Condition of my ſinful Body, and bleſſed Change of my immortal Soul, the one is ſown in Corruption, that it may riſe immortal; the other layeth down Corruption, to inherit Glory.

VII.

But wretched Sinner, even in this Happineſs I am ſtill miſerable, I found out my quiet, but neglect to enjoy it; Death reaches to me a Crown, but I refuſe to accept it; I am ſo prone to affect my own unhappineſs, to delight in Labour, and complain of Reſt; why do I dwell among theſe Objects of Vanity? the World loves me not, nor I it: and why do I thus doat upon my Enemy? with its frowns, it afflicts me, with its Smiles, it betrays me; and there is nothing in it but Vanity and Miſery.

VIII.

Go then out cheerfully, O my Soul, from this dark Priſon of thy Body, to that bright Celeſtial Palace; there God is thy Father, and Heaven thy Country; thou art here Forlorn, Poor, Wretched and Naked, diſpoſſeſſed of Graces, and robbed of Goodneſs, thou haſt there large Treaſure, and of great Price, a Heavenly Manſion, and a goodly Heritage; Chriſt hath long ago purchaſed it, and is now gone before to prepare it.

IX.

Here in this Life, thou longeſt much to behold what thou never ſaweſt; but in the other, are great and glorious things prepared for thee, ſuch as no mortal Eye hath ſeen, Ear heard, neither can it enter into the Heart of Man to conceive; how earneſtly then ſhouldſt thou long to behold them? and much more earneſtly to enjoy them? how willingly ſhould this make thee ſay with Holy David, My Soul is a thirſt for God, yea, even for the living God, when ſhall I come and appear before the Preſence of God?

X.

Alas, Thou art here my Soul, but groping in the dark, daily committing Errours and Miſtakes, every minute ſtumbling and falling into Sin, Shame and Sorrow; in great Dangers of the Miſeries of humane Life, but in greater Danger of eternal Torments.

XI.

All that thou canſt pretend to know here, is to Confeſs thy ſelf ignorant: Thou only knoweſt things here by their Events, but there thou ſhalt know them, in their primitive Cauſes; thou art here tired out in gaining this imperfect, feeble, and empty Knowledge, there thou ſhalt be delighted in knowing all that is deſirable, by knowing him, in whom are laid up all the Treaſures of Wiſdom and Knowledge; theſe tranſitory drops of Joys are full of Bitterneſs; but thoſe Rivers of eternal Pleaſures, flow from the Fountain of eternal Sweetneſs. Thou haſt here the Pomps and Vanities of the wicked World to delight thee; but thou haſt there a far greater, and more exceeding weight of Glory to ſurround thee: thou art here incloſed by the Miſery of Life; but thou art there enlarged, by the Bleſſedneſs of Death.

XII.

Bleſſed Lord, all this by Grace I know and ſtedfaſtly believe, and yet carnally I am ſtill blind and ignorant, unable to diſcuſs, and unwilling to deſire thoſe things which belong unto my Peace: but when thou with thy precious Eye-Salve, ſhalt once anoint my Eyes, and open them, to behold the Beauty of thy Heavenly Temple, I ſhall then ardently affect it, and unfeignedly long for it; I ſhall then moſt readily forſake theſe brittle Walls of frail Mortality, to dwell with thee in perfect Holineſs and endleſs Happineſs, that Frailty may be ſwallowed up by Immortality, and Immortality rewarded by Eternity.

The Prayer.

ALmighty God, which wert, and art to come, who haſt ſweetned, and taken away the Sting of Death, by thy perfect obedience; and haſt perfumed the Grave, by the Fragrancy of thy bleſſed Sufferings, ſuffer me not in my laſt hour, for any Pains of Death, or Terrours of Hell, to fall from thee: let me ſeriouſly conſider, that this Life is miſerable, and that a happy Death, is truly Bleſſed; acquaint me every day with the remembrance of it, and bleſs me every hour, with an earneſt Deſire to it; that I may with willingneſs caſt off all Sin and Miſery, and joyfully put on the Robe of Immortality.

II.

Prepare me, O Lord, for that Bleſſed hour, and in my greateſt Agonies and Extremities, when all the Comforts of this mortal Life ſhall fail, then Lord Jeſus forſake me not, neither be thou far from me. Moreover, give me then that inward Joy, and bleſſed Comfort of thy Holy Spirit, that may uphold and comfort me in all the Terrours and Amazements of this dark and obſcure Paſſage, in all the dreadful Temptations of the Devil, and my own accuſing Conſcience. Let thy Spirit witneſs to my Soul, that I am thy Choſen; purifie me, and take away my Droſs, powerfully Protect me by thy ſaving Grace, ſo ſhall I aſſuredly be made a Partaker of thy Heavenly Kingdom.

Meditation XXII. In time of Sickneſs.

HEar my Prayer O Lord, which I make unto thee, upon my Bed of Sickneſs: incline thine Ears unto me; in this time of my trouble, O hear me, and that right ſoon.

Behold thou haſt made my days as it were a Span long, and my Age though it be great in reſpect of others, yet it is nothing in reſpect of thee: for verily every Man living is altogether Vanity.

II.

My days are conſumed away like Smoke, and my Bones are burnt up, as it were a Fire-brand.

There is no Health in my Fleſh becauſe of thy diſpleaſure, neither is there any Reſt in my Bones, by reaſon of my Sin.

My wickedneſſes are gone over my Head, and are a ſore burden too heavy for me to bear.

But I will confeſs my wickedneſs, and be ſorry for my Sin.

III.

O Lord be merciful unto me, heal my Soul for I have ſinned againſt thee.

Call to remembrance, O Lord, thy tender mercy, and thy loving kindneſs which hath been ever of Old.

O remember not the Sins of my Youth, nor the Offences of riper years, but according to thy mercy think thou upon me.

IV.

Caſt me not away in the time of Age, forſake me not now that my ſtrength faileth me.

Go not far from me, O God, my God haſte thee to help me.

Thou O God haſt taught me from my youth up until now: Forſake me not therefore in my old Age, when I am Gray-headed.

V.

The days of our Age are Threeſcore years and ten; and though ſome be ſo ſtrong that they come to Fourſcore (which is a mercy wherewith thou haſt Crowned me thy unworthy Servant) yet is their ſtrength then but Labour and Sorrow, ſo ſoon paſſeth it away and we are gone.

But, Lord, ſuffer me not to go hence in thy Diſpleaſure; O ſuffer not my Sun to go down in thy wrath, nor my days to be ſhut up in the darkneſs of thine Anger.

VI.

But as thou art pleaſed to bring me to my Grave in a full Age, like as a ſhock of Corn cometh in his Seaſon; ſo let me be gathered at laſt like Wheat into thy Heavenly Granary.

And let mine Age be renewed as the Eagles in thy Kingdom of Glory.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghoſt.

As it was in the beginning, is now and ever ſhall be, World without end. Amen.

VII.

Thou in whoſe hands are the Keys of the Grave, and the iſſues of Life and Death.

Thou in whoſe Power alone it is to kill, and to make alive, and to bring down to the Grave, and to raiſe up again.

Thou who hadſt Compaſſion upon Peter's Wives Mother, by recovering her out of a Fever.

Lord if thou wilt, thou canſt make me whole.

VIII.

Thou who didſt ſhew thy mercy to thoſe Daughters of Abraham, the Woman that for twelve years together was diſeaſed with an Iſſue of Blood, and another, who by the ſpace of eighteen years was ſo bowed together, that ſhe could in no wiſe lift up her ſelf, thou didſt looſe both theſe, and many more from their long infirmities.

Lord if thou wilt, thou canſt make me whole.

IX.

Thou who didſt reſtore to Life the young Maiden that was dead, Lord if thou wilt, thou canſt reſtore me to my Health, who am an aged Sinner, and a ſick feeble Creature.

Thou canſt mitigate my Pains, and renew my Strength, and lengthen my days.

For thou makeſt our Beds in our Sickneſs, and art the Lord of Life and Health, and Strength; even thou art the Almighty God and the Horn of my Salvation, O thou ancient of days.

X.

But, Lord, as for theſe outward Bleſſings, I wholly ſubmit my ſelf and them unto thy good Pleaſure.

If it be thy Bleſſed Will to have the days of my Pilgrimage prolonged upon Earth, make me to live always to thy Glory, and to my own Souls Comfort: as thou doſt add days to my years, ſo do thou likewiſe add Repentance to my days.

XI.

But if thou thinkeſt it more expedient for me, that I ſhould die than live, then welcome my Death and Diſſolution, without which, there is no entring into Life eternal, nor hopes of being with Chriſt: Welcome Jeſus, who by thy Death haſt taken away the Sting of Death: Welcome that Cup, whereof thou my dear Saviour haſt drank before me, and which, even to the very Dregs, thou haſt drank off for me.

XII.

And therefore I will readily take this Cup of Death, which thou haſt begun unto me, and Praiſe the Name of the Lord. I will Praiſe thy Name O ſweet Saviour, who giveſt me this Cup of Death, the Cup of Salvation.

I will Praiſe thy Name, who haſt born all our Sickneſſes, for us and all our infirmities.

XIII.

I will Praiſe thy Name, who art the Phyſician of Souls, and calleſt all ſuch unto thee, as are weary and heavy Laden, that thou mayſt refreſh them.

Amongſt which great number, behold me, O Lord, thy poor and aged, thy weak and ſick Servant; weary in my Bones, and laden with my Sins.

But, Lord, I come unto thee, in obedience to thy Call; and of thoſe that come near unto thee, thou caſteſt none out. Lord, I come unto thee, for eaſe and refreſhment.

XIV.

O my beloved Saviour Jeſus, in the midſt of the wearineſs of my Body, in the midſt of the load and burthen of my Sins, in the midſt of the Sorrows which are in my Heart, O let thy Comforts and Conſolations refreſh my Soul.

XV.

And when the ſnares of Death compaſs me round about, let not the Pains of Hell take hold upon me. But by all the Merits of thy Nativity, Death, Reſurrection and Aſcenſion, I beſeech thee to ſeal unto me, in thine own precious Blood, and by thy moſt Holy Spirit, the full-Pardon of all my Sins, and to admit me, who am thy own Purchace, to a Participation of thy Glory.

A Prayer for a Happy End in time of Sickneſs.

O Moſt glorious Jeſus, Lamb of God, Fountain of eternal mercy, Life of the Soul, and Conqueror over Sin and Death, I humbly beſeech thee, of thy Goodneſs and Compaſſion, to give me Grace ſo to employ this tranſitory Life, in vertuous and pious Exerciſes, that when the Day of my Death ſhall come, in the midſt of all my Pains of Body, I may feel the ſweet refreſhings of thy Holy Spirit, Comforting my Soul, and relieving all my ſpiritual neceſſities.

II.

Lay no more upon me, than thou ſhalt enable me to bear, and let thy gentle Correction in this Life, prevent the inſupportable Stripes in the World to come: give me Patience and Humility, and the Grace of Repentance, and an abſolute renouncing of my ſelf, and a Reſignation to thy Pleaſure and Providence, with a Power to perform thy Will in all things, and then do what thou pleaſeſt to me; only in Health or Sickneſs, in Life or Death, let me feel thy Comforts refreſhing my Soul, and let thy Grace pardon all my Sins. Amen.

Meditation XXIII. Thanksgiving for Eaſe in Sickneſs, or Recovery out of it.

BLeſſed by thy Name, O Lord, for bleſſing the means which are applyed unto me.

It is thy hand, and the help of thy mercy, that thou haſt relieved me.

The Waters of affliction had long ſince drowned me, and the Stream of Death had gone over my Soul, if the Spirit of the Lord had not moved upon theſe Waters, and led me forth beſides the waters of Comfort.

II.

O ſpread, moſt gracious God, according to thy mercy, thy hand upon me for a Covering; and alſo enlarge my Heart with Thankſgivings, and fill my Mouth with thy Praiſe.

Praiſe the Lord, O my Soul, and all that is within me Praiſe his Holy Name, who hath ſaved thy Life from Deſtruction, and Crowned thee with mercy and loving kindneſs.

III.

Grant Lord, that what thou haſt ſown in Mercy, may ſpring up in Duty.

Let my Duty and Returns to thee be ſo great, as my neceſſities of thy Mercies are.

O Let thy Grace ſo ſtrengthen my purpoſes of amendment, that I may ſin no more, leſt thy threatning return upon me in Anger, and thy ſore Diſpleaſure break me in pieces.

IV.

What am I, O Lord? what is the Life, and what are the Capacities of thy Servant, that thou ſhouldſt do thus unto me?

Praiſed be the Lord daily, even the Lord that helpeth us, and poureth his Benefits upon us.

He is our God, even the God from whom cometh Salvation; God is the Lord by whom we eſcape Death.

V.

In the midſt of the Sorrows which were in my Heart, thy Comforts O Lord, have refreſhed my Soul.

It is thou, O Lord, who haſt made my Fleſh and my Bones to rejoyce.

Behold, happy is the Man whom God Correcteth; therefore deſpiſe not the chaſtiſing of the Almighty.

VI.

For he maketh ſore and bindeth up; he woundeth, and his hands make whole.

In the midſt of Judgment, he remembreth Mercy.

Lord thou haſt lifted up the light of thy Countenance upon me.

Yea, Lord, thou haſt put gladneſs into my Heart; O be thou pleaſed graciouſly to add Thankfulneſs to it.

VII.

I will lay me down in Peace, and take my Reſt, for it is thou Lord only which makeſt me dwell in ſafety.

O Lord, I give thee humble and hearty thanks, for thy great and almoſt miraculous bringing me back from the bottom of my Grave; what thou haſt further for me to do or ſuffer, thou alone knoweſt.

VIII.

Lord give me Patience and Courage, and all Chriſtian reſolution to do thee Service; repleniſh me evermore with thy Grace, to ſubmit to thy Holy Will; and let me not live longer than to Honour thee, through Jeſus Chriſt.

Lord I have been ſick and feeble, and thou haſt recovered my ſtrength; I am very aged and greatly ſtricken in years, yet thou art ſtill pleaſed to add unto my days; ſanctifie therefore, good Lord, the remainder of my Life, and ſweeten unto me the approaches of my Death.

A Prayer of Thankſgiving.

MOſt Gracious God, whoſe mercy is as high as the Heavens, and whoſe truth reaches unto the Clouds; thy Mercies are as great and many as the moments of Eternity; thou haſt opened wide thy hand of Providence to fill me with Bleſſings, and the ſweet Effects of thy loving kindneſs; fill my Soul with great apprehenſions, and impreſſes of thy unſpeakable Mercies; that my Thankfulneſs may be as great, as my neceſſity of Mercies are.

II.

O Lord, thou haſt heard my Prayers, and haſt broken in ſunder the Bonds of Sickneſs, and haſt delivered my Soul from trouble and heavineſs; thou haſt ſnatched me from the ſnares of Death, and ſaved me from the Pains of Hell. O let my Soul reſt in thee, and be ſatisfied in the Pleaſures of thy mercy, that when thou ſhalt call all the whole Univerſe to judgment, from the riſing of the Sun to the going down thereof, I may in thy Heavenly Kingdom ſing Praiſes to thee, for evermore, Amen.

Meditation XXIV. Comfortable refreſhments at the hour of Death, to be uſed by thoſe who are preſent.

GOd ſo loved the World, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoſoever believeth in him, ſhould not periſh, but have everlaſting Life, John 3.16.

If any Man ſin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jeſus Chriſt the righteous, and he is the Propitiation for our Sins, and not for ours only, but for the Sins of the whole World, 1 John 2.1, 2.

II.

Verily, verily I ſay unto you, he that heareth my Word, and believeth in him that ſent me, hath everlaſting Life, and ſhall not come into Condemnation: but is paſſed from Death unto Life, John 5.24.

All that the Father giveth me ſhall come unto me, and him that cometh to me, I will in no wiſe caſt out, John 6.37.

III.

Why art thou ſo full of heavineſs, O my Soul, and why art thou ſo diſquieted within me, put thy truſt in God, for I will yet give him thanks for the help of his Countenance, Pſal. 42.6.

In my Fathers Houſe are many Manſions, John 14.2.

What things were Gain to me, thoſe I counted loſs for Chriſt, Phil. 3.7.

IV.

For our Converſation is in Heaven, from whence alſo we look 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 working whereby he is able even to ſubdue all things unto himſelf, Phil. 3.20, 21.

I preſs towards the Mark for the price of the high calling of God in Chriſt Jeſus, Phil. 3.14.

V.

Set your Affections on things above, not on things of the Earth.

For ye are dead, and your Life is hid with Chriſt.

When Chriſt, who is our Life ſhall appear, then ſhall ye alſo appear with him in Glory, Coloſ. 3.2.3.

In whom we have Redemption through his Blood, even the forgiveneſs of our Sins, Col. 1.14.

VI.

If in this Life only we have hope in Chriſt, we are of all Men moſt miſerable, 1 Cor. 15.19.

For we know, that if our earthly Houſe of this Tabernacle were diſſolved, we have a building of God, an Houſe not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens.

For in this we groan earneſtly, deſiring to be cloathed upon with our Houſe, which is from Heaven, 2 Cor. 5.1, 2.

For our light Affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding eternal weight of Glory.

The things which are ſeen, are temporal; but the things which are not ſeen are eternal, 1 Cor. 4.17, 18.

VII.

I am in a great Strait betwixt two, having a deſire to depart, and to be with Chriſt, which is far better.

For to me to live is Chriſt, and to die is Gain, Phil. 1.21.

Let this mind be in you, which was alſo in Chriſt Jeſus, Phil. 2.5.

None of us liveth to himſelf, and no Man dieth to himſelf.

For whether we live, we live unto the Lord: and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: Whether we live therefore or die, we are the Lord's, Rom. 14.7, 8.

VIII.

I heard a voice from Heaven, ſaying unto me, write; from henceforth Bleſſed are the dead, which die in the Lord; even ſo ſaith the Spirit, for they reſt from their Labours, Rev. 14.13.

I am the Reſurrection and the Life, ſaith the Lord: He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet ſhall he live, and whoſoever liveth, and believeth in me ſhall never die, John 11.

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 ſelf, and my Eyes ſhall behold, and not another, Job 19.25, 26, 27.

IX.

We brought nothing into this World and it is certain, we can carry nothing out. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; Bleſſed be the Name of the Lord, 1 Tim. 6.7. Job 1.21.

O Death, where is thy Sting? O Grave, where is thy Victory?

The Sting of Death is Sin, and the Strength of Sin is the Law.

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the Victory, through our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, 1 Cor. 15.55, 56, 57.

Lord, now let thy Servant depart in Peace according to thy word, and, receive his Soul into thy Fatherly Protection. Amen.

A Prayer for a ſick Perſon, when there appear ſmall hopes of Recovery.

O Father of Mercies, and God of all Comfort, our only help in time of need; we fly unto thee for Succour in behalf of this thy Servant, here lying under thy hand, in great weakneſs of Body. Look graciouſly upon him, O Lord; and the more the outward Man decayeth, ſtrengthen him, we beſeech thee, ſo much the more continually with thy Grace and Holy Spirit in the inner Man.

II.

Give him unfeigned Repentance for all the Errours of his Life paſt, and ſtedfaſt Faith in thy Son Jeſus, that his Sins may be done away by thy mercy, and his Pardon ſealed in Heaven, before he go hence, and be no more ſeen. We know, O Lord, that there is no word impoſſible with thee; and that if thou wilt, thou canſt even yet raiſe him up, and grant him a longer continuance amongſt us.

III.

Yet, foraſmuch, as in all appearance the time of his Diſſolution draweth near, ſo fit and prepare him, we beſeech thee, againſt the hour of Death, that after his Departure hence in Peace, and in thy Favour, his Soul may be received, into thine everlaſting Kingdom through the Merits and Mediation of Jeſus Chriſt, thine only Son, our Lord and Saviour. Amen.

A Commendatery Prayer for a ſick Perſon, at the Point of Departure.

O Almighty God, with whom do live the Spirits of juſt Men made perfect, after they are delivered from their earthly Priſons; we humbly commend the Soul of this thy Servant, our dear Brother, into thy hands, as into the hands of a faithful Creator, and moſt merciful Saviour; moſt humbly beſeeching thee, that it may be precious in thy ſight.

II.

Waſh it, we pray thee, in the Blood of that immaculate Lamb that was ſlain, to take away the Sins of the World; that whatſoever Defilements it may have contracted in the midſt of this miſerable and naughty World, through the Luſts of the Fleſh, or the Wiles of Satan, being purged and done away, it may be preſented pure, and without ſpot before thee.

III.

And teach us, who ſurvive, in this and other like daily Spactacles of Mortality, to ſee how frail, and uncertain our own Condition is, and ſo to number our days, that we may ſeriouſly apply our Hearts to that Holy and Heavenly Wiſdom whilſt we live here, which may in the end bring us to Life everlaſting, through the Merits of Jeſus Chriſt thine only Son our Lord and Saviour. Amen.

Meditation XXV. Of the uncertainties of our Lives, and that we ought always to be prepared for Death.

HOw many ways are there, whereby to fruſtrate the intents and ends of Nature? How many are there buried before their Birth? how many Mens Cradles become their Graves? how many riſing Suns are ſet, almoſt as ſoon as they are riſen? and overtaken in darkneſs in the very dawning of their days? how many are there, like good King Joſias, like righteous Abel, and Enoch, who are taken away ſpeedily from amongſt the wicked, as it were in the Zenith or Vertical Point of their Strength and Luſtre?

II.

It is in every Man's Power to be Maſter of our Lives, who is but able to deſpiſe his own; nay, 'tis in every ones Power who can but wink, to turn our Beauty into darkneſs; and in times of Peſtilence, how many are there can look as dead, by an Arrow ſhot out of the Eye into the Heart? For one ſingle way of coming into the World, how many are there to go out of it before our time? (I mean before Nature is waſted within us.) Many are ſent out of the World, by the Difficulties and Hardſhips of coming in.

III.

We are eaſily cut off, by eating and drinking, the very Inſtruments and Means of Life. Not to ſpeak of thoſe greater Slaughters, which are commonly committed by Sword and Famine, (which yet muſt both give place to ſurfeit,) Death may poſſibly fly to us, as once to Aeſchylus, in an Eagles Wing, or we may eaſily ſwallow Death, as Anacreon did in a Grape.

IV.

We may be murder'd, like Homer, with a fit of Grief: or fall, like Pindarus, by our Repoſe: we may become a Sacrifice, as Philemon of old, to a little Jeſt. Or elſe as Sophecles, to a witty Sentence. We may be eaten up of Worms, like mighty Herod, or prove a Feaſt for the Rats, like him of Mentz.

V.

A Man may vomit out his Soul, as Sulla did in a fit of Rage; or elſe like Coma, may force it backwards. He may periſh by his Strength, as did Polydamas and Milo. Or he may die, like Thalna, by the very exceſs of his Injoyment. He may be Provender for his Horſes, like Diomedes: or Proviſion for his Hounds, like Actaeon and Lucian. Or elſe like Tullus Hoſtillius, he may be burnt up quick with a flaſh of Lightning.

VI.

Or if there were nothing from without, which could violently break off our thread of Life, (and which being a ſlender thread is very eaſily cut aſunder) we have a thouſand inteſtine Enenemies to diſpatch us ſpeedily from within, there is hardly any thing in the Body, but furniſheth matter for a Diſeaſe.

VII.

There is not an Artery or Vein, but is a Room in Natures Work-houſe, wherein our Humours as ſo many Cyclops's are forging thoſe Inſtruments of Mortality, which every moment of our Lives are able to ſweep us into our Graves: an ordinary Apoplexie, or a little Impoſtune in the Brain, or a ſudden Riſing of the Lights, is enough to make a Man Die in Health; and may Lodge him in Heaven or Hell, before he hath the Leiſure to cry for Mercy.

The Prayer.

THou didſt make us for thy ſelf, O Lord, and when we by our Sins and Follies had for ever loſt thee, thou didſt reſtore us to thy ſelf again, that we might not be eternally deprived of thee our only good: O fill us with perpetual Meditations of thy Love: Let thoſe Joys which are ſo much above our thoughts be ever in them; let our inability to comprehend the Happineſs of thy Kingdom, heighten the Piety of our Ambition after it more, that we may walk in ſome meaſure worthy of ſo Divine a Purchace.

II.

Prepare us with all thoſe Heavenly Graces that may entitle us to it, and with all thoſe ſpiritual Deſires that may make us breath and long after it; that ſo our Hearts being there before, we our ſelves may come after, and being tranſported in our Deſires, may be alſo in our Perſons, to everlaſting Enjoyments; and as our Lives are uncertain in this World, grant that we may be ready prepared, that Death comes not upon us unawares. Amen.

Meditation XXVI. On the Frailties of our Lives.

OUr Houſes of Clay, as Eliphaz the Temanite, fitly calls them, Job 4.19. ſeem as falſe and frail, as the Apples of Sodom; which being ſpecious to the Eye, did fall to Crumbles by every Touch. The Frame of our Building is not only ſo frail, but (as ſome have thought.) ſo ridiculous, that if we Contemplate the Body of Man in his Condition of Mortality, and by reflecting upon the Soul, do thereby prove it to be Immortal, we ſhall be tempted to ſtand amazed at the inequality of the Match: but to wonder at our Frailty, were but to wonder that we are Men.

II.

Yet ſure if We, that is our Souls, (for our Bodies are ſo far from being Us, that we can hardly call them Ours,) are not capable of Corruption, our Bodies were not intended for our Husbands, but for our Houſes, whoſe Doors will either be open, that we may go forth, or whoſe building will be Ruinous, that needs we muſt; we cannot, by any means poſſible, make it the place; for though our Bodies, as ſaith our Saviour, are not ſo Glorious as the Lilies, yet, ſaith Job, they are as frail.

III.

And by that time, with David, they wax old as doth a Garment, how earneſtly, with St. Paul, ſhall we groan to be cloathed upon! 2 Cor. 5.2. to be cloath'd with New Apparel, whilſt the Old is as 'twere turning? For when Chriſt ſhall come in the Clouds with his Holy Angels, at once to reſtore, and reform our Nature, He ſhall change our vile Bodies, that they may be changed like unto his Glorious Body.

IV.

But here I ſpeak of what it is, not what it ſhall be; though it ſhall be Glorious, yet now it is Vile; though it ſhall be Immortal, yet now 'tis fading; though it ſhall be a long Life, 'tis now a ſhort one; it is indeed ſo ſhort, and withal ſo uncertain, that we bring our years to an end, like a Tale that is told, Pſal. 90.9.

V.

Death comes ſo haſtily upon us, that we never can ſee it, till we are Blind. We cannot but know, that it is ſhort, for we fade away ſuddenly like the Graſs; and yet we know not how ſhort it is, for we pray that God will teach us to number our days, Pſal. 90.12.

VI.

This we know without teaching; that even then when we were born, we began to draw towards our end, Wiſ. 5.13. whether ſleeping, or waking, we are always flying upon the Wings of Time; even this very moment, doth ſet us well on towards our Journeys end; whether we are Worldly, and therefore ſtudy to keep Life; or Male-contents, and therefore weary of its Poſſeſſion; the King of Terrours, will not fail, either to meet, or overtake us.

VII.

And whilſt we are Travelling to the very ſame Countrey, (I mean the Land of Forgetfulneſs, without conſidering it, as an Anti-Chamber to Heaven or Hell,) although we walk thither in ſeveral Roads; 'tis plain that he who lives longeſt, goes but the fartheſt way about, and that he who dies ſooneſt, goes the neareſt way home.

VIII.

I remember it was a Humour, I know not whether of a Cruel, or Capricious Emperour, to put a Tax upon Child-births; to make it a thing exciſeable, for a Man to be born of a Woman. As if he had farm'd God's Cuſtom-houſe, he made every Man Fine, for being a Man; a great inſtance of his Cruelty, and as good an Emblem of our Frailty; our State of Pilgrimage upon Earth.

IX.

For we arrive at this World, as at a Foreign and ſtrange Countrey; where I am ſure it is Proper, although not Juſt, that we pay Toll for our very Landing, and then being Landed, we are ſuch tranſitory Inhabitants, that we do not ſo properly dwell here as ſojourn.

X.

All the Meat we take in is at God's Ordinary; and even the Breath which we drink, is not ours, but his, (which when he taketh away, we die, and are turn'd again into our Duſt.) inſomuch that to expire, is no more in Effect, then to be honeſt: to pay back a Life, which we did but borrow.

The Prayer.

THou haſt brought us from nothing, O Lord, that we might ſee thy Salvation; that we who might have been for ever without thee, might through the knowledge of thy ſelf be made Partakers of thy Glory.

II.

O enliven us, that we may give up our ſelves wholly to thy Service, and perpetually ſtudy to do ſomething to the Honour of thy Name, that we may not throw away thoſe Souls on the Vanities of the World, which thou haſt given us for thy ſelf, and to be employed in thy Service: But that, ſacrificing our Wills to thine, and our Lives to a perfect Love of thee, we may find that joy which accompanies thy Grace here, and that Glory which knows no end or change hereafter in thy Preſence for evermore. Amen.

Meditation XXVII. That Death frees us from the Vexations, Troubles and Cares of this mortal Life.

A Short Life and a Merry, is that which many Men applaud, but as the Son of a Woman, hath but a few days to live, ſo even thoſe few days are full of trouble. And indeed ſo they are, in whatſoever Condition a Man is plac'd: for if he is Poor, he hath the trouble of Pains, to get the Goods of this World.

II.

If he is Rich, he hath the trouble of Care, to keep his Riches; the trouble of Avarice, to encreaſe them; the trouble of Fear to loſe them; the trouble of Sorrow when they are loſt. And ſo his Riches can only make him the more illuſtriouſly Happy.

III.

If he lives as he ought, he hath the trouble of Self-denials; the trouble of mortifying the Fleſh, with the Affections and Luſts, Col. 3.5. the trouble of being in Deaths often, 2 Cor. 11.23. the trouble of Crucifying himſelf, Rom. 6.6. and of dying daily, 1 Cor. 15.31.

IV.

If to avoid thoſe Troubles, he lives in Pleaſure, as he ought not, he hath the trouble of being told, that he is Dead whilſt he lives, 1 Tim. 5.6. the trouble to think that he muſt die; Eccleſ. 41.1. the trouble to Fear, (whilſt he is dying) that he muſt Live when he is Dead, that he may die eternally.

V.

Not to ſpeak of thoſe Troubles which a Man ſuffers in his Non-age, by being weaned from the Breaſt, and by breeding Teeth; in his Boy-age and Youth, by the bearing the yoke of Subjection, and the rigid Diſcipline of the Rod; in his Manhood and riper years, by making Proviſion for all his Family, as Servant General to the whole.

VI.

Not to ſpeak of thoſe Troubles, which flow in upon him from every quarter, whether by Loſſes, or Affronts, Contempts or Envying, by the Anguiſh of ſome Maladies, and by the Loathſomeneſs of others; rather than want matter of trouble, he will be moſt of all troubled, that he hath nothing to vex him.

VII.

In his ſober Intervals and Fits, when he conſiders that he muſt die, and begins to caſt up the Account of his Sins, it will be ſome trouble to him, that he is without Chaſtiſement, whereby he knows he is a Baſtard and not a Son, Heb. 12.8.

VIII.

It will diſquiet him not a little, that he lives at reſt in his Poſſeſſions; and become his great Croſs, that he hath Proſperity in all things. Not only the Sting and the Stroak, but the very remembrance of Death will be bitter to him; So ſaith Jeſus the Son of Sirach, Wiſd. 4.1. Verſe 1.

The Prayer.

ANd yet how hardly can we endure even the ſmalleſt trouble for thy ſake, O Lord? So inſenſible are we of thy Goodneſs, ſo forgetful of thy Power, that we do not only in our wants condemn and accuſe thy Providence, but are ready even to turn Infidels in our misfortunes.

II.

Make us therefore O Lord, to ſee the Vanity both of the World and our own Hearts, the Pleaſures of it may neither drown, nor the Croſſes of it deject our Hope or diſcourage our obedience. Let that Glory which thou haſt promiſed to thoſe that conquer the World for thy ſake, be ever in our Eye; that ſo, in what Condition ſoever we are in, we may ſtill be found Crown'd and Triumphing in Faith; above all the Troubles and Vexations of this World.

Meditation XXVIII. That many have deſired Death, rather than Life.

MAn that is born of a Woman, is ſo full of trouble to the Brim, that many times it overflows him. On one ſide or other, we all are troubled, but ſome are troubled on every ſide, 2 Cor. 4.8. inſomuch that they themſelves, are the greateſt trouble unto themſelves; and 'tis a kind of Death to them, they cannot die.

II.

We find King David ſo Sick of Life, as to fall into a wiſhing for the Wings of a Dove, that ſo his Soul, might fly away from the great impediments of his Body. He Confeſſed, that his days were at the longeſt but a Span, Pſal. 39.5. and yet complained they were no ſhorter.

III.

It ſeems that Span was as the Span of a withered hand; which the farther he ſtretched out, the more it grieved him. He was weary of his groaning, Pſal. 6.6. his Soul did pant after Heaven, Pſal. 42.1. and even thirſted after God, Verſe 2. and he might once more have cryed (tho' in another Senſe) Wo is me, that I am conſtrain'd to dwell with Meſech, and to have my Habitation among the Tents of Kedar!

IV.

I Remember that Charedemus compar'd Man's Life to a Feaſt, or Banquet. And I the rather took notice of it, becauſe the Prophet Elijah did ſeem (in ſome Senſe) to have made it good. Who after a firſt or ſecond Courſe (as I may ſay) of living, as if he had ſurfeited of Life, Cryed out in haſte, it is enough; and with the very ſame breath, deſired God to take away; for ſo ſaith the Scripture, 1 King. 19.14.

V.

He went into the Wilderneſs (a ſolitary place, and there he ſate under a Juniper Tree, (in a Melancholly poſture) and requeſted of God, that he might die (in a very diſconſolate and doleful manner) even pouring forth his Soul in theſe melting Accents, It is enough now, O Lord, take away my Life, for I am no better than my Fathers.

VI.

And if Elijah's days were full of Trouble, how were Job's overwhelm'd, and running over with his Calamities? when the Terrours of God did ſet themſelves in array againſt him, Job 6.4. how did he long for Deſtruction; Verſe 8, 9. O (ſaith he) that I might have my requeſt, that God would grant me the thing that I long for! Even that it would pleaſe him to deſtroy me, that he would let looſe his hand, and cut me off.

VII.

How did he Curſe the day, the day of his Birth, and the Night wherein he was Conceiv'd? Job 3.1, 3, 4, 5. &c. Let that Day be darkneſs, let the ſhadow of Death ſtain it, let a Cloud dwell upon it, let Blackneſs terrifie it. And for the Night let it not be joyned to the days of the year. Let the Stars of the Twilight thereof be darkned; neither let it ſee the dawning of the Day.

VIII.

And what was his reaſon for this unkindneſs to that particular Day and Night, ſave that they brought upon him the Trouble of being a Man born of a Woman: For we find him complaining a little after, Why died I not from the Womb! why did I not give up the Ghoſt, when I came out of the Belly? Job 3.11, 12.

IX.

And then for the Life of our Bleſſed Saviour, who is called by way of Eminence, the Son of Man; and as his Life was ſhort, ſo it was full of Trouble. He was called, vir Dolorum, a Man of Sorrows, and was acquainted with grief, Iſa. 53.3. for the whole Tenour of his Life was a Continuation of his Calamities.

The Prayer.

O Lord, though perhaps I am not ſo bad as ſome; yet I am ſo bad in my ſelf, that the Leper in the Goſpel is a Beauty to my Soul, Lazarus's Corps a Comelineſs to my Sores; yet were I more impotent than the Cripple of Betheſda, more Leprous than the nine, whoſe Ingratitude was more loathſome than their Diſeaſe; were thoſe Legions, ejected by thy word, received in me, were I as bad as Satan could wiſh to make me: yet I know thy Goodneſs, and I do not doubt thy Power, but thou canſt cleanſe me and eaſe me of all my Troubles, Vexations and Infirmities; and bring me at laſt to thy Heavenly Kingdom. Amen.

Meditation XXIX. Of improving our Time.

IF Man's time be but ſhort, it concerns us to take up the Prayer of David, Pſal. 39.4. that God would Teach us to know our End, and the number of our days, that we, like Hezekiah, 2 Kings 20.6. may be fully certified how ſhort our time is. It concerns us to take up the Reſolution of Job, 14.2. all the days of our appointed time, inceſſantly to wait till our Change cometh.

II.

It concerns us, not to ſay with the rich Man in the Parable, Luke 12.18. We will pull down our Barns and build greater, and there we will beſtow all our Fruits and our Goods. Much leſs may we ſay with that other Worlding, Verſe 19. Souls take your eaſe, eat, drink and be merry, for ye have much Goods laid up for many years: For alas! how can we know, ſilly Creatures as we are, but that this very Night, yea this very minute, either they may be taken from us, or we from them? there is ſuch a Fadingneſs on their Parts, and ſuch a Fickleneſs on ours.

III.

But rather it concerns us to ſay with Job, Chap. 1.21. Naked came we into the World, and naked ſhall we go out of it. Or rather yet, it concerns us to ſay with David, Pſal. 39.12. That we are Strangers upon Earth, and but ſo many Sojourners, as all our Fathers were; for whilſt we conſider we are but Strangers, we ſhall, as Strangers and Pilgrims, abſtain from fleſhly Luſts, which war againſt the Soul, 1 Pet. 2.12. Heb. 11.13.

IV.

And ſo long as we remember we are but Sojourners upon Earth, we ſhall paſs the time of our Sojourning here in fear. And behaving our ſelves, among the Gentiles as a choſen Generation, a Royal Prieſthood, an Holy Nation, a peculiar People, we ſhall ſhew forth his Praiſe, who hath called us out of Darkneſs into his marvellous light, 1 Pet. 2.9.12.

V.

Next let us conſider, that ſince our Life is uncertain, as well as ſhort, it concerns us immediately, to Labour hard in the improvement of this our Span into Eternity; to employ our very ſhort and uncertain time, in making a ſeaſonable Proviſion againſt them both; I mean its ſhortneſs, and its uncertainty.

VI.

For ſhall we be laviſh even of that, which is ſo eaſily Loſt, and of which we have ſo very little, and every minute of which little, does carry ſuch a weight with it, as will be either a kind of Pulley to help to raiſe us up to Heaven, or elſe a Clogg to pull us down to the loweſt Hell? of whatſoever we may be waſteful, we ought to be Chary of our time, which doth incontinently periſh, and will eternally be reckoned on our Account.

VII.

Now the way to provide againſt the ſhortneſs of our Life, is ſo to live as to die, to the greateſt advantage to be imagin'd; ſo to die, as to live for ever. What Tobit ſaid to Tobias, Tob. 4.21. in reſpect of wealth, [Fear not my Son, that we are made poor, for thou haſt much wealth, if thou fear God, and depart from all ſin, and do that which is pleaſing in his ſight.] He might have ſaid as well in reſpect of Wiſdom, and by Conſequence as well in reſpect of long Life. For as the Fear of the Lord is ſolid Wiſdom, and to depart from evil is underſtanding, Job 28.28. So honourable Age is; not that which ſtandeth in the length, nor that is meaſured by number of years, but Wiſdom is the Grayhair unto Men, and an unſpotted Life is old Age, Wiſd. 4.8, 9.

VIII.

To be devoted like Anna, to the Houſe of God, ſo as to ſerve him Night and Day with Faſting and Prayer, Luke 2.37. and not to Content our ſelves with that which is meerly lawful, or barely enough to ſerve turn, but to ſtudy the things that are more excellent, to ſtrain hard towards Perfection, to forget thoſe things that are behind, and to reach forth unto thoſe things that are before, preſſing on towards the Mark, for the price of the high calling of God in Chriſt Jeſus, Phil. 3.13, 14.

IX.

This is to amplifie our lives, and to fruſtrate the Malice of our Mortality; and as the want of Stature, many times is ſupply'd in thickneſs; ſo this is to live a great deal in the little time of our Duration.

The Prayer.

STrengthen us therefore, O Lord, againſt the Vanities of the World, and raiſe up our Thoughts to the Contemplation of thy Glory, level in us every proud Thought that dares exalt it ſelf againſt the Power and Purity of thy Law; and ſanctifie us for thy ſelf and thy Service more, that the Practice of a Holy Life may be, as it ought, our chiefeſt Employment, that ſo when we depart hence, we may be received to thee, and being ſeen no more here, we may behold thee in thy Heavenly Kingdom. Amen.

Meditation XXX. Motives not to defer our Repentance, to a future time.

TO provide againſt the uncertainty of our time, the way to do that, is to diſtruſt the future, and to lay hold upon the preſent; ſo to live every hour, as if we were not to live the next. Having a ſhort time to live, our time to repent cannot be long. And not aſſured of the morrow, 'tis madneſs not to repent to day: when we ſee many Perſons of the moſt promiſing Countenances, and the moſt proſperous Conſtitutions, not only ſnatched away by an early, but ſudden Death, Why ſhould we not ſeriouſly conſider, that we may be of their number, having no Promiſe to the contrary, either within or without us?

II.

What happens to any Man, may happen to every Man; every Man being ſurrounded with the ſame meaſures of Montality. 'Tis true indeed, that we may live till we are Old; but 'tis as true, that we may die whilſt we are Young; and therefore the latter Poſſibility ſhould as well prevail with us for a diſpatch of our Repentance, as the former too too often prevails upon us for a delay.

III.

Nay if we procraſtinate our Repentance, in hope of living till we are Old. How much rather ſhould we precipitate it, for fear of dying whilſt we are Young? (if yet it were poſſible, to precipitate ſo good and neceſſary a work, as a ſolid, impartial, ſincere Repentance.)

IV.

For as to repent whilſt we are Young, can never do us the leaſt prejudice; ſo it may probably do us the greateſt harm, to poſt it off till we are Old: Nay, it may coſt us the loſs of Heaven, and a ſad Eternity in Hell, if we defer our Repentance (I do not ſay till we are Old, but if we defer it) being Young, till one day older than now we are.

V.

And ſhall we defer it beyond to day, becauſe we may do it as well to morrow? This is madneſs unexpreſſible. For as 'tis true, that we may, ſo 'tis as true, that we may not. Our knowledge of the one, is juſt as little as of the other. (Or rather our ignorance is juſt as much) and ſhall we dare to tempt God, by preſuming upon that which we do not know?

VI.

Are Heaven and Hell ſuch trivial things, as to be put to a bare adventure? Shall we play for Salvation, as 'twere by fillipping Croſs or Pile? implicitly ſaying within our ſelves, If we live till the morrow, we will repent and be ſaved; but if we die before Night, we will die in our Sins, and be damn'd for ever.

VII.

Shall we reaſon within our ſelves, that though we know our own Death, may be as ſudden as other Mens, yet we will put it to the venture, and make no doubt but to fare, as well as hitherto we have done? What is this, but to dally with the Day of Judgment, or to bewray our diſ-belief, that there is any ſuch thing? its true, we may live until the morrow, and ſo on the morrow we may repent.

VIII.

But what is this to the purpoſe, that 'tis certain enough we may, whilſt it is as doubtful, whether we ſhall? is it not good to make ſure of Happineſs, by repenting ſeriouſly at preſent, rather than let it lye doubtful, by not repenting until anon? Methinks we ſhould eaſily be perſwaded to eſpouſe that Courſe, which we are throughly convinc'd does tend the moſt to our advantage.

IX.

When the rich Worldling in the Parable, Luke 12.22. was ſpeaking Placentia to his Soul, Soul take thine eaſe, alledging no other Reaſon, than his having much Goods for many years; nothing is fitter to be obſerv'd, than our Saviour's words upon that occaſion, Stulte, thou Fool, this Night ſhall thy Soul be required of thee; then whoſe ſhall thoſe things be, which thou haſt provided?

X.

However the Men of this World, have quite another meaſure of Wit, and do eſteem it the greateſt prudence to take their Pleaſure whilſt they are Young, reſerving the work of Mortification for times of Sickneſs, and old Age, when 'twill be eaſie to leave their Pleaſures, becauſe their Pleaſures will leave them: yet in the Judgment of God the Son, the Word and Wiſdom of the Father, 'Tis the part of a Block-head, and a Fool, to make Account of more years, than he is ſure of days or hours.

XI.

He is a Sot, as well as a Sinner, who does adjourn and ſhift off the Amendment of his Life, perhaps till twenty or thirty, or forty years after his Death. 'Tis true indeed, that Hezekiah, whilſt he was yet in the Confines and Skirts of Death, had a Leaſe of Life granted no leſs than fifteen years long; but he deferr'd not his Repentance one day the longer, 2 Kings 20.6.

XII.

And ſhall we adventure to live an hour in an impenitent Eſtate, who have not a Leaſe of Life promiſed, no not ſo much as an hour? ſhall we dare enter into our Beds, and ſleep ſecurely any one Night, not thinking how we may awake, whether in Heaven or in Hell? we know 'tis timely Repentance, which muſt ſecure us of the one, and 'tis final impenitence which gives us aſſurance of the other.

XIII.

What the Apoſtle of the Gentiles hath ſaid of wrath, may be as uſefully ſpoken of every other provoking Sin, Epheſ. 4.6. Let not the Sun go down upon it. Let us not live in any Sin until the Sun is gone down, becauſe we are far from being ſure we ſhall live till Sunriſing.

XIV.

How many Profeſſors go to ſleep, (when the Sun is gone down, and the Curtains of the Night are drawn about them,) in a State of Drunkenneſs or Adultery, in a State of Avarice or Malice, in a State of Sacriledge or Rebellion, in a State of Deceitfulneſs and Hypocriſie, without the leaſt Conſideration, how ſhort a time they have to live, and how very much ſhorter than they imagine?

XV.

Yet unleſs they believe the y can Dream devoutly, and truly repent when they are ſleeping, they cannot but know they are damn'd for ever, if the Day of the Lord ſhall come upon them as a Thief in the Night, and catch them napping in their impieties, 1 Theſ. 5.2.4. 2 Pet. 3.10.

XVI.

Conſider this all ye that forget God, leſt he pluck you away, and there be none to deliver you, Pſal. 50.22. Conſider it all ye that forget your ſelves, that forget how few your days are, and how full of Miſery. Conſider your Bodies from whence they came; and conſider your Souls, whither they are going. Conſider your Life is in your Breath, and your Breath is in your Noſtrils; and that in the management of a moment, (for the better, or for the worſe) there dependeth either a joyful, or a ſad Eternity.

XVII.

If our time indeed were certain as well as ſhort (or rather if we were certain, how ſhort it is,) there might be ſome Colour, or Pretence, for the putting off of our Reformation. But ſince we know not at what hour our Lord will come, Matth. 24.42, 43, 44. this ſhould mightily engage us, to be hourly ſtanding upon our watch, Hab. 2.1.

XVIII.

Next let us conſider, that if our days, which are few, are as full of trouble; it ſhould ſerve to make us leſs fond of Living, and leſs devoted to Selfpreſervation, and leſs afraid of the Croſs of Chriſt, when our Faith ſhall be called to the ſevereſt Tryals.

XIX.

O Death, (ſaith the Son of Sirach, Eccleſ. 41.2.) acceptable is thy Sentence to the Needy, and to him that is vexed with all things. The troubles incident to Life, have made the bitter in Soul to long for Death, and to rejoyce exceedingly when they have found the Grave, Job 3.20, 21, 22.

XX.

If the Empreſs Barbara had been Orthodox, in believing Mens Souls to be juſt as mortal as their Bodies, Death at leaſt would be capable of this Applauſe and Commendation, that it puts a Concluſion to all our Troubles.

XXI.

If we did not fear him, Who can caſt both Body and Soul into Hell, Matth. 10.27, 28. We ſhould not need to fear them, Who can deſtroy the Body only; becauſe there is no Inquiſition in the Grave, Eccleſ. 41.4. There the wicked ceaſe from troubling: And there the weary are at reſt. There the Priſoners lye down with Kings and Councellors of the Earth. The Servant there is free from his Maſter. There is ſleep and ſtill ſilence, nor can they hear the voice of the Oppreſſour, Job 3.14, 17, 18, 19.

The Prayer.

O Lord God of my Salvation, thou haſt delivered me from the Captivity and Bondage of Sin and Miſery, fill my Heart with holy Sorrow and Compunction whenever I treſpaſs againſt thee; and teach me ſo to deny my ſelf, to mortifie my Affections, to crucifie my Luſts and all the Temptations of the Fleſh, that I going on my way Mourning and Weeping, deſpiſing the Pleaſures of this Life, may (when thy great Harveſt ſhall come, and thy Reapers the Angels ſhall ſeparate the Wheat from the Tares) come before thee with Joy, and eſcape everlaſting Burnings, through the Mercies of Jeſus Chriſt. Amen.

Meditation XXXI. The Sick Man's laſt Will and Teſtament.

IN the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghoſt, I a poor Sinner, of ſound and perfect Memory: being daily read in the Lecture of Man's Mortality, how all Fleſh is Graſs, and the Beauty thereof as the Flower of the Field; which this day flouriſheth, to morrow withereth: and that it is every Chriftian's Duty to Prepare himſelf before Death come, leſt it find him unprovided at ſuch time as it ſhall approach.

II.

Moved I ſay, with theſe Conſiderations, I have here made this my laſt Will and Teſtament as followeth. Firſt, I bequeath my Soul into the hands of my gracious Redeemer, by whoſe moſt precious Blood I was Ranſomed: and by whoſe Merits and Mercies I hope to be Glorified.

III.

And foraſmuch as there was no ſafety out of the Ark; nor no Salvation now without the pale of the Church, figured by the Ark: and that the Tares from the Wheat muſt be ſevered: And the Sheep and the Goats muſt not into one Fold be gathered.

IV.

Here in the Preſence of God, and his Holy Angels; for the diſcharge of my own Conſcience, and the Satisfaction of others, who, perchance, have in their Opinions been divided, doubting much how I in Points of Religion ſtood affected; do I make a free and publick Confeſſion of my Faith: Being that Cement by which we are knit unto her, and made Members of her.

V.

I believe the Holy Catholick Church, to be the Communion of the Faithful, whereof I deſire to live and die a Member: to ſuffer for which I ſhould account it an Honour: holding this ever for a Principle; that none can have God for his Father, that will not take this Holy Spouſe, the Church, for his Mother.

VI.

There is no Article in the Apoſtles Creed, which I do not believe for Catholick and Orthodoxal, with the Expoſition thereof, and every Clauſe or Particle thereof in ſuch manner, as it hath been univerſally received by the Holy Catholick Church, and holds in Conſent or Harmony with the Holy Scripture, the Chriſtians Armour; by which, and the conſtant Practice of Piety, every faithful Soldier of Chriſt may be enabled to pull down thoſe ſtrong Holds of his ſpiritual Enemy: and by Poſſeſſing his Soul in Patience, obtain a glorious Victory.

VII.

With all due Reverence I eſteem of thoſe two Sacraments; Baptiſm, and the Lord's Supper, the one to cleanſe and purifie us at our entring: the other to ſtrengthen and ſanctifie us Living: and to glorifie our Souls at their departing. As with my Heart, I believe unto Righteouſneſs, ſo with my Mouth, do I confeſs unto Salvation.

VIII.

Neither do I profeſs my ſelf ſuch a Solifidian, asto hold Faith ſufficient to Salvation without Works: Neither ſuch a Champion for good Works, as to hold Works effectual without Faith. As Faith is the Root, ſo are Works the Fruit. Theſe are ever to go hand in hand together: otherwiſe that fearful Curſe which our bleſſed Saviour ſometimes pronounced upon the barren Fig-tree, muſt be their Cenſure.

IX.

And now in this day of my Change, as in this Confidence I have ever liv'd; ſo my Truſt is that in the ſame I ſhall dye: that in the Reſurrection of my Saviour Chriſt Jeſus is my Hope: And in his Aſcenſion is my Glory. For, I believe that my Redeemer liveth, and that with theſe Eyes I ſhall ſee him.

X.

And having thus returned a due Account of my belief; my next thing is, to remember that Meſſage returned by Iſaiah the Son of Amos to Hezekiah: ſet thine Houſe in Order, for thou ſhalt die, 2 Kings 20.1. for it is a Maxim, when the outward part is orderly diſpoſed, the inward cannot chuſe but be better prepared.

XI.

To remove then from me, the Cares of this preſent Life, that I may take a more willing adieu of the World before I leave it, weaning my deſires from it, by addreſſing my ſelf to a better: for live he cannot in the Land of the living, who prepares not himſelf for it before his arriving.

XII.

And now my Worldly Cares are drawn near unto their Period. Seeing then I am ſailing towards my Harbour; let me ſtrike Anchor: that taking the Wings of the Morning, I may fly to the Boſome of my dear Redeemer: go forth then my Soul, what feareſt thou? Go forth, why trembleſt thou? thou haſt had enough of theſe Worldly Pleaſures; for what foundſt thou there but Anguiſh? turn then thy Face to the Wall, and think of the I and of Promiſe.

XIII.

Thou haſt now but a little time left thee: the remainder whereof is juſtly exacted by him that made thee. Sighs, Sobs, Prayers and Tears, are all the Treaſures that are left thee: and precious Treaſures ſhall theſe be to thee, if preſented by Faith to the Throne of mercy; for the Enemy can never prevail, where Chriſtian Fear, and conſtant hope poſſeſſeth the Soul.

XIV.

Let thy deſire then be planted, where thy Treaſure is placed; and as one raviſhed with a ſpiritual Fervour, cry out and ſpare not, with that devour Father St. Hierom, Saying, Should my Mother tear her Hair, rent her Cloaths, lay forth thoſe Breaſts which nurſed me, and hang about me; ſhould my Father lye in the way to ſtop me, my Wife and Children weep about me; I would throw off my Mother, neglect my Father, contemn the Lamentation of my Wife and Children, to meet my Saviour.

XV.

And leſs than this, O my Soul, thou canſt not do; if thou calleſt to mind what thou leaveſt; to whom thou goeſt; and what thou haſt in Exchange for that thou loſeſt. For what doſt thou leave here, but a World of Miſery? to whom goeſt thou, but to a God of Mercy? and what haft thou in Exchange, for a vile, frail and corruptible Body, but immortal Glory? Whatſoever thou hadſt here, was got with Pain, kept with Fear, and loſt with Grief: whereas now thou art to poſſeſs eternal Riches without Labouring; and to enjoy them without fear of loſing.

The Prayer.

O God, my Heart then is ready, my Heart is ready; too long have I ſojourned here, and made my ſelf a Stranger to my Heavenly Countrey. It is high time for me then to diſcamp and to leave theſe Tents of Kedar: that I may reſt without Labouring; rejoyce without ſorrowing; and live without dying in the Celeſtial Tabor; ſaying with that Veſſel of Election, I deſire to be diſſolved, and to be with Chriſt, even ſo Lord Jeſus, come quickly.

A Prayer, when we hear a Bell ring for a Perſon at the Point of Death.

OEternal God, I humbly thank thee, for ſpeaking in this voice to my Soul, and I humbly beſeech thee alſo, to accept my Prayers in his behalf, by whoſe occaſion this voice, this ſound is come to me. For though he, and all of us, have highly offended thee, yet do thou in mercy receive us, and grant, that now his Soul being ready to depart from hence, to thy Kingdom, it may quickly return to a joyful re-union to that Body which it hath left, and that we with it, may ſoon enjoy the full Conſummation of all, in Body and Soul.

II.

I humbly beg at thy hand, O merciful God, for thy Son Chriſt Jeſus ſake, That thy Bleſſed Son may have the Conſummation of his Dignity, by entring into his laſt Office, the Office of a Judge, and may have Society of humane Bodies in Heaven, as well, as he hath had ever of Souls; and that as thou hateſt Sin it ſelf, thy hate to ſin may be expreſt in the aboliſhing of all Inſtruments of Sin, the Allurements of this World, and the World it ſelf; and all the temporary Revenges of Sin, the Stings of Sickneſs and of Death; and all the Caſtles and Priſons, and Monuments of Sin in the Grave.

III.

Let time be ſwallowed up in Eternity, and hope ſwallowed in Poſſeſſion, and ends ſwallowed in infiniteneſs, and all Men ordained to Salvation, in Body and Soul, be one intire and everlaſting Sacrifice to thee, where thou mayſt receive Delight from them, and they Glory from thee, for evermore. Amen.

Meditation XXXII. Of this Life compared with Eternity.

FOraſmuch, as Man who is born of a Woman, hath but a ſhort time to live, and is full of Trouble: ſo Man, as regenerate and born of God, hath a long time to live, and is full of Bliſs. A Life ſo long that it runs parallel with Eternity; and therefore (without an abuſe) we cannot uſe ſuch an Expreſſion as length of time.

II.

It is not a long, but an endleſs Life; it is not Time, but Eternity, which now I ſpeak of. Nor is it a wretched Eternity, of which a Man may have the Priviledge, as he is born of a Woman; but an Eternity of Bliſs, which is competent to him only as born of God.

III.

And of this Bliſs, there is ſuch a fulneſs, that our Heads are too thick to underſtand it. Or if we were able to underſtand it, yet our Hearts are too narrow to give it Entrance. Or if our Hearts could hold it, yet our Tongues are too ſtammering to expreſs and utter it. Or if we were able to do that, yet our Lives are too ſhort to Communicate and reveal it to other Creatures. In a word, it is ſuch, as not only Eye hath not ſeen, nor Ear heard, but it never hath entred into the Heart of Man to conceive. Incomprehenſible as it is, 'tis ſuch as God hath prepared for them that love him, 1 Cor. 2.9.

IV.

If we compare this Life, with that of Job's which is full of Trouble, it will ſeveral ways be uſeful to us; for it will moderate our Joys, whilſt we poſſeſs our dear Friends; and it will mitigate our Sorrows, when we have loſt them; for it will mind us, that they are freed from a Life of Miſery, and that they are happily tranſlated to one of Bliſs. Nay if we are true Lovers indeed, and look not only at our own Intereſt, but at the Intereſt of the parties to whom we vow affection, we even loſe them to our advantage, becauſe to theirs.

V.

Laſtly, it ſweetens the ſolemn Farewel, which our immortal Souls muſt take of our mortal Bodies; we ſhall deſire to be diſſolved, when we can groundedly hope we ſhall be with Chriſt; we ſhall groan, and groan earneſtly to be uncloathed of our Bodies, with which we are burden'd; if we live by this Faith, that we ſhall ſhortly be cloath'd upon with our Houſe from Heaven, 2 Cor. 5.7, 23, 24. We ſhall cheerfully lay down our Bodies in the Duſt, when 'tis to reſt in Peace: who will certainly raiſe us by his Power, that we may reſt and Reign with him in Glory. Amen.

The Prayer.

HOw hardly can we be perſwaded, O Lord, to forſake the vaniſhing Pleaſures of this Life, for thy Glory and our own Happineſs? How unwillingly ſhould we lay down our Lives for thy ſake or the Goſpels, that can ſo hardly part with one Sin in obedience to thy Law?

II.

Thy Yoke is eaſie, and thy Service a perfect Freedom; and yet we count thy Sanctuary a Priſon, thy Law a trouble, and can ſcarce Sacrifice ſo much time to our Devotions, as to pay unto thee the Honour due unto thy Name.

III.

Pardon and Pity this Corruption of our Frames; and teach us whether we live or die, to delight in that for which thou madeſt us; even to glorifie thee: That ſo whenſoever this earthly Tabernacle ſhall be diſſolved, we may receive our Change with Joy, and be carried by Angels to an everlaſting Inheritance, there to remain to all Eternity. Amen.

Meditation XXXIII. COMFORTS againſt the Fears of DEATH, and Conſolations againſt immoderate Grief for the loſs of Friends.

IF it be a Bleſſing of the vertuous to Mourn, the reward which attends it, is to be Comforted; and he that pronounc'd the one, promis'd the other. I doubt not, but that Spirit, whoſe Nature is Love, and whoſe Name Comforter, as he knows the occaſion of our Grief, ſo hath he ſalved and ſeaſon'd it, with ſupplies of Grace, pouring into our Wounds no leſs Oyl of mercy than wine of Juſtice.

II.

Yet ſince affection oweth Compaſſion as a Duty to the afflicted, and Nature hath ingrafted a deſire to find it; that which dieth to our Love, is always alive to our Sorrow, and we might have been kind to a leſs loving Friend; but finding in him, ſo many worths to be loved, our Love wrought more earneſtly upon ſo ſweet a Subject, which now being deprived of, our Grief to our Love is not inferiour, the one being ever the Balance of the other.

III.

The Scripture moveth us to ſhed Tears for the dead, a thing not offending Grace, and a right to reaſon. For to be without remorſe, at the Death of Friends, is neither incident nor convenient to the Nature of Man, having too much Affinity to a ſavage Temper, and overthrowing the ground of all Piety, which is mutual Sympathy in each others Miſeries. But as not to feel Sorrow in ſorrowful Chances, is to want Senſe; ſo not to bear it with Moderation, is to want underſtanding: The one brutiſh, the other effeminate: and he hath caſt his Account beſt, that hath brought his Sum to a proper Medium.

IV.

It is no leſs Criminal to exceed in Sorrow, than to paſs the limits of Competent Mirth: for exceſs in either, is a diſorder in Paſſion, though that ſorrow of Friendſhip be leſs blamed of Men, becauſe if it be a Crime, it is alſo a Puniſhment, at once cauſing and creating Torments. It is no good Sign in the Sick to be Senſeleſs in his Pains; and as bad it is to be unuſually ſenſitive, being both either Harbingers, or Attendants of Death.

V.

Let our condoling, ſince it is due to the Dead, teſtifie a feelingof Pity, not any pang of Paſſion, and bewray rather a tender than a dejected mind; Mourn, ſo as your Friends may find you a living Example, all Men, a diſcreet Mourner, making Sorrow a Signal, not a Superior to Reaſon.

VI.

Some are ſo obſtinate in their own Will, that even time, the natural Remedy of the moſt violent Agonies, cannot by any delays aſſwage their Grief: they entertain their Sorrow with ſolitary Muſes, and feed their Sighs and Tears with doleful Accents: they Pine their Bodies, and draw all penſive Conſideration to their minds, nurſing their Heavineſs with a Melancholy humour, as though they had dedicated themſelves to ſadneſs, unwilling it ſhould end, till it had ended them: wherein their Folly ſometimes findeth a ready effect; that being true, which Solomon obſerved, that as a Moth the Garment, and a Worm the Wood, ſo doth ſadneſs perſwade the Heart.

VII.

But this impotent ſoftneſs fitteth not ſober minds, we muſt not make a Lives profeſſion of a ſeven Nights Duty; nor under Colour of kindneſs to others, be unnatural to our ſelves: if ſome in their Paſſions drive their Thoughts into ſuch Labyrinths, that neither Wit knoweth, nor Will careth how long, or how far they wander in them, it diſcovereth their weakneſs, but deſerveth our Meditation.

VIII.

The Scripture warneth us, not to give our Hearts up to heavineſs, yea rather to reject it as a thing not beneficial to the Dead, but prejudicial to our ſelves: Eccleſ. 38. alloweth but ſeven days of Mourning, judging Moderation in Grief, to be a ſufficient Teſtimony in Good-will, and a neceſſary rule of Wiſdom.

IX.

Much lamenting for the Dead, is either the Child of Self-love, or of raſh Judgment, if we ſhould ſhed our Tears for the Death of others, as a Mediocrity to our Contentment; we expoſe but our own Wound, even perfect Lovers of our ſelves. If we lament their deceaſe, as their hard Determination, we Tax them of ill deſerving, with too peremptory a Cenſure, as though their Life had been an ariſe, and their Death a leap into final Perdition; for otherwiſe a good departure craveth ſmall condoling, being but a Harbour from Storms, an entrance unto Felicity.

X.

Our Life is a due Debt to a more certain Owner than our ſelves, and therefore ſo long as we have it, we receive a benefit; when we are deprived of it, we have no wrong: We are Tenants at Will, of this Clay-farm, not for term of years; when we are warned out, we muſt be ready to remove, having no other Title but the owners Pleaſure: it is but an Inn, not an Home: we came to bait, not to dwell, and the Condition of our entrance was, in ſhort, to depart. If this Departure be grievous, it is alſo common, this to day to me, to morrow to thee; and the Caſe equally afflicting all, leaves none any cauſe to complain of injurious uſage.

XI.

Natures Debt is ſooner exacted of ſome than of others; yet there is no fault in the Creditor, who exacteth but his own, but in the Greedineſs of our eager hopes, either repining that their Wiſhes fail, or willingly forgetting their Mortality, whom they are unwilling by experience to ſee Mortal: yet the general Tide wafteth all Paſſengers to the ſame Shore, ſome ſooner, ſome later, but all at the laſt: and we muſt fix our minds upon our time when it is come, never fearing a thing ſo neceſſary, yet ever expecting a thing ſo uncertain.

XII.

God hath conceal'd from us, the time of our Death, leaving us reſolv'd between fear and hope of longer continuance. He cuts off unripe Cares, leſt with the notice and Penſiveneſs of our Divorce from the World, we ſhould loſe the Comforts of neceſſary Contentments, and before our dying day, languiſh away with expectation of Death.

XIII.

Some are taken in their firſt ſtep into this Life, receiving at once, their Welcome and Farewel, as though they had been born, only to be buried, and to take their Paſport, in this hourly middle of their Courſe; the good to prevent Change; the bad to ſhorten their impiety.

XIV.

Who is there that hath any Vertue eternized, or deſerts commended to Poſterity, that hath not mourned in Life, and been bewailed after Death, no aſſurance of joy being ſealed without ſome Tears? Even the Bleſſed Virgin the Mother of God, was thrown down as deep in temporal Miſeries, as ſhe was advanc'd high in ſpiritual Honours; none amongſt all mortal Creatures, finding in Life more Proof than ſhe of her Mortality.

XV.

For having the nobleſt Son, that ever Woman was Mother of, not only above the Condition of Men, but above the Glory of Angels, being her Son only without temporal Father, and thereby the Love of both Parents doubled in her Breaſt, being her only Son without other iſſue, and ſo her Love of all Children expired in him: as he was God, and ſhe the neareſt Creature to God's perfections, yet no Prerogative exempted her from Mourning, or him from dying: and though they ſurmounted the higheſt Angels in all other Preheminences; yet were they equal with the meaneſt Men in the Sentence of Death.

XVI.

And however the Bleſſed Virgin, being the Pattern of Chriſtian Mourners, ſo tempered her anguiſh, that there was neither any thing undone that might be exacted of a Mother, nor any thing done that might be miſ-liked in ſo perfect a Matron; yet by this we may gueſs with what kindneſſes Death is like to befriend us, that durſt cauſe ſo Bloody Funerals in ſo Heavenly a Progeny, not exempting him from the Laws of dying, that was the Author of Life, and ſoon after to honour his Triumphs, with a glorious Reſurrection.

XVII.

Seeing therefore, that Death ſpareth none, let us ſpare our Tears for better uſes, being but an Idol-Sacrifice to this deaf and implacable Executioner. And for this, not long to be continued, where they can never profit, Nature did promiſe us a weeping Life, exacting Tears for Cuſtom, at our firſt entrance, and to furniſh our whole Courſe in this doleful beginning; therefore they muſt be uſed with Diſcretion, that muſt be uſed ſo often; and where ſo many Debts lie yet unpaid, which muſt be ſatisfied by Tears of Repentance.

XVIII.

Since we cannot put a Period to our Tears, let us at leaſt reſerve them: If Sorrow cannot be ſhun'd, let it be taken in time of need, ſince otherwiſe being both troubleſome and fruitleſs, it is a double Miſery, or an open Folly. We moiſten not the ground with precious Waters, they were diſtill'd to nobler ends, either by their Vertues to delight our Senſes, or by their Operations to preſerve our Healths.

XIX.

Our Tears are water of too high a Price, to be prodigally poured in the Duſt of any Graves. If they be Tears of Love, they perfume our Prayers, making them Odour of ſweetneſs, fit to be offered on the Altar of the Throne of God: if Tears of Contrition, they are water of Life to the dying Souls, they may purchaſe Favour, and repeal the Sentence, till it be executed, as the Example of Ezechias doth teſtifie: but when the Puniſhment is paſt, and Verdict perform'd in effect, their pleading is in vain, as David taught us when his Child was dead, 2 Kings 11. ſaying that he was likelier to go to it, than it, by his weeping, to return to him.

XX.

Learn therefore to give Sorrow no long Dominion over you, wherefore the Wiſe ſhould rather mark than expect an end; meet it not when it cometh, do not invite it when 'tis abſent: When you feel it, do not force it, for the brute Creatures have but a ſhort, though vehement Senſe of their Loſſes. You ſhould bury the ſharpneſs of your Grief in the Grave, and reſt contented, with a kind, yet mild Compaſſion, neither leſs decent for you, nor more than agreeable to your Nature and Judgment.

XXI.

Your much Heavineſs would renew a multitude of Griefs, and your Eyes would be Springs to many Streams, adding to the Memory of the dead, a new occaſion of Complaint to your own diſcomfort; the Motion of your Heart meaſureth the beating of many Pulſes, which in any Diſtemper of your quiet with the like ſtroke will ſoon bewray themſelves ſick of your Diſeaſe.

XXII.

The terms of our Life, are like the Seaſons of the year; ſome for Sowing, ſome for Growing, ſome for Reaping; in this only different, that as the Heavens keep their preſcribed Periods, ſo the Succeſſion of time have their appointed Changes. But in the Seaſons of our Life, which are not the Law of neceſſary Cauſes, ſome are reaped in the Seed, ſome in the Blade, ſome in the unripe Ears, all in the end; this Harveſt depending upon the Reapers Will.

XXIII.

Death is too ordinary a thing to ſeem any Novelty, being a familiar Gueſt in every Houſe; and ſince his coming is expected, and his Errand known, neither his Preſence ſhould be feared, nor his Effects lamented; what wonder is it to ſee fuel burned, Spice bruiſed, or Snow melted? and as little fearful it is to ſee thoſe dead, that were born upon Condition once to die.

XXIV.

Night and Sleep, are perpetual Mirrours, figuring in their darkneſs, ſilence, ſhutting up of Senſes, the final end of our mortal Bodies: and for this ſome have entitled Sleep the eldeſt Brother of Death: but with no leſs Convenience it might be called one of Death's Tenants, near unto him in Affinity of Condition; yet far inferiour in right, being but Tenant for a time, of that Death, which is the Inheritance: for by Vertue of the Conveyance made to him in Paradiſe, that Duſt we were, and to Duſt we muſt return; he hath hitherto ſhewed his Seigniority over all, exacting of us not only the yearly, but hourly Revenue of time, which ever by minutes we defray unto him.

XXV.

So that our very Life, is not only a Memory, but a part of our Death, and the longer we have lived, the leſs time we have to come, what is the daily leſſening of our Life, but a continual dying? and therefore none is more grieved with the running out of the laſt Sand in an Hour-Glaſs, than with all the reſt; ſo ſhould not the end of the laſt hour trouble us any more, than of ſo many that went before, ſince that did but finiſh the Courſe, that all the reſt were ſtill ending: not the quantity, but the quality commendeth our Life; the ordinary Gain of long Livers, being only a great burthen of Sin.

XXVI.

Let your mind therefore Conſent to that which your Tongue daily craveth, that God's will may be done, as well here upon Earth, as it is done in Heaven, ſince his Will, is the beſt meaſure of all Events; there is in this World continual enterchange of pleaſing and greeting Accidents, ſtill keeping their Succeſſion of times, and overtaking each other in their ſeveral Courſes.

XXVII.

No Picture can be all drawn of the brighteſt Colours, nor an Harmony conſorted only of Trebles: ſhadows are uſeful in expreſſing of Proportions, and the baſe is a principal part in perfect Muſick: the Condition of our Exile here alloweth no unmingled Joy, our whole Life is temperate between ſweet and ſowre, and we muſt all look for a mixture of both.

XXVIII.

The Wiſe ſo wiſh: Better, that they ſtill think of worſe, accepting the one, if it come with liking, and bearing the other without impatience, being ſo much Maſters of each others Fortunes, that neither ſhall work them to exceſs; the Dwarf groweth not up to the higheſt Hill, nor the Talleſt loſeth not his height in the loweſt Valley; and as a baſe ſordid mind, though moſt at eaſe, will be dejected: ſo a reſolute Vertue in the deepeſt diſtreſs is moſt impregnable.

XXIX.

They evermore moſt perfectly enjoy their Comforts, that leaſt fear their afflictions; for a deſire to enjoy carrieth with it a fear to loſe: and both Deſire and Fear are Enemies to quiet Poſſeſſion, making Men rather Owners of God's Benefits, than Tenants at his Will. The cauſe of our Troubles are, that our misfortunes happen either to unwitting or unwilling minds; foreſight preventeth the one, neceſſity the other: and he taketh away the ſmart of preſent Evils that attendeth their coming, and is not frighted at any Croſs, but is armed againſt all.

XXX.

Where neceſſity worketh without our Conſent, the Effects ſhould never greatly afflict us, Grief being inſignificant where it cannot help, needleſs where there was no fault committed; if Men ſhould lay all their Evils together, to be afterwards by equal Portions divided among them, moſt Men would rather take that they brought, than ſtand to the Diviſion.

XXXI.

Yet ſuch is the partial Judgment of Self-love, that every Man judgeth his own Miſery too great, fearing if he can find ſome Circumſtances to increaſe it, and making it tolerable, by thought to induce it; when Moſes threw his Rod from him, it became a Serpent ready to ſting him, and affrighted him, inſomuch as it made him fly; but being quietly taken up, it was a Rod again, ſerviceable for his uſe, and no way hurtful.

XXXII.

The Croſs of Chriſt, and Rod of every Tribulation, ſeeming to threaten Stinging and Terrour to thoſe that ſhun it: but they that mildly take it up, and embrace it with Patience, may ſay with David, thy Rod and thy Staff have been my Comfort. Affliction much reſembleth the Crocodile; fly, it purſueth and frighteth; followed, it flyeth and feareth; a ſhame to the Conſtant, and a Tyrant to the Timorous.

XXXIII.

Soft minds, that think only upon Delights, admit no other Conſideration, but in flattering Objects, become ſo effeminate, as that they are apt to bleed with every ſharp impreſſion; but he that uſeth his Thoughts with Expectation of Troubles, making their Travel through all hazards, and oppoſing his Reſolution againſt the ſharpeſt Encounters, findeth in the Product facility of Patience, and eaſeth the Load of moſt heavy Troubles.

XXXIV.

We muſt have temporal things in uſe, but eternal in Wiſh, that in the one neither Delight exceed (in that we have no Deſire, in that we want) and in the other our moſt delight is here in deſire, and our whole Deſire, is hereafter to enjoy; they ſtraiten too much their Joys, that draw them into the reach and compaſs of their Senſes, as if it were no Facility, where no Senſe is Witneſs: whereas if we exclude our paſſed and future Contentments, Pleaſures have ſo fickle an aſſurance, that either as foreſtalled before their Arrival, or interrupted before their end, or ended before they are well begun.

XXXV.

The Repetition of former Comforts, and the Expectation of after Hopes, is ever a relief unto a vertuous mind: whereas others not ſuffering their Lives to continue in the Conveniences of that which was, and ſhall be divided, this day from yeſterday and to morrow, and by forgetting all, and forecaſting nothing, abridge their whole Life, into the moment of preſent Eternity.

XXXVI.

How ought we then to ſubmit our ſelves to God's Will; let him ſtrip you to the Skin, nay to the Soul, ſo he ſtay with you himſelf; let his Reproach be your Honour, his Poverty your Riches, and he in lieu of all other Friends: think him enough for this World, that muſt be all your Poſſeſſion for a whole Eternity; and in all your Croſſes and Afflictions in this Life, humbly ſay with Holy Job, The Lord gave, and the Lord taketh away, bleſſed be the Name of the Lord. Te Deum Laudamus.

FINIS.
THE CONTENTS. Meditation I. UPon remembring our Creatour in the days of our Youth, Pag. 1 The Prayer, p. 4. Meditation II. The remembrance of Death, a powerful Remedy againſt Sin, p. 6. Prayers againſt ſudden Death, p. 9. Meditation III. What Life is, p. 11. The Prayer, p. 13. Meditation IV. That we ought continually to watch and pray, p. 14. The Prayer, p. 17. Meditation V. Death often to be thought of, p. 18. The Prayer, p. 21. Meditation VI. Of the ſhortneſs of humane Life, p. 22. The Prayer, p. 24. Meditation VII. That we ought early to ſeek after God, p. 26. The Prayer, p. 28. Meditation VIII. That Affliction is neceſſary to all Perſons, p. 29. The Prayer, p. 31. Meditation IX. That Affliction is a Mark of God's Favour, p. 33. The Prayer, p. 34. Meditation X. Of Man's Original, being born to die, p. 35. The Prayer, p. 39. Meditation XI. Memorials hourly neceſſary, upon the four laſt things, Death, Judgment, Hell, and Heaven, p. 40. The Prayer, p. 42. Meditation XII. On Death, p. 43. The Prayer, p. 47. Meditation XIII. Upon Judgment, p. 47. The Prayer, p. 51. Meditation XIV. Upon Hell, p. 52. The Prayer, p. 56. Meditation XV. Upon Heaven, p. 57. The Prayer, p. 60. Meditation XVI. The remembrance of the four laſt things, reduced to Practice, p. 61. The Prayer, p. 65. Meditation XVII. With Comfort, Faith applies her ſelf to the ſick Man's Conſcience, p. 66. The Prayer, p. 70. Meditation XVIII. Hopes Addreſs to the ſick Penitent, Ibid. The Prayer, p. 73. Meditation XIX. The Exerciſe of Charity, p. 75. The Prayer, p. 79. Meditation XX. The Souls flight to Heaven, p. 80. The Prayer, p. 83. Meditation XXI. Upon the Miſery of humane Life, and the Bleſſedneſs of eternal Life, p. 84. The Prayer, p. 90. Meditation XXII. In time of Sickneſs, p. 91. A Prayer for a happy end, in time of Sickneſs, p. 97. Meditation XXIII. Of Thanksgiving for Eaſe in Sickneſs, or Recovery out of it, p. 98. A Prayer of Thanksgiving, p. 102. Meditation XXIV. Comfortable Refreſhments, at the hour of Death, to be uſed by thoſe who are preſent, p. 103. A Prayer for a ſick Perſon, when there appear ſmall hopes of Recovery, p. 107. A Commendatory Prayer for a ſick Perſon at the Point of Departure. p. 108. Meditation XXV. Of the uncertainty of our Lives, p. 110. The Prayer, p. 113. Meditation XXVI. On the Frailty of our Lives, p. 114. The Prayer, p. 118. Meditation XXVII. That Death frees us from the Vexations, Troubles, and Cares of this mortal Life, p. 119. The Prayer, p. 121. Meditation XXVIII. That many have deſired Death, rather than Life, p. 122. The Prayer, p. 125. Meditation XXIX. Of improving our time, p. 126. The Prayer, p. 130. Meditation XXX. Motives not to defer our Repentance to a future Time. p. 131. The Prayer, p. 139. Meditation XXXI. The ſick Man's laſt Will and Teſtament, 139. The Prayer, p. 145. A Prayer when we hear a Bell ring for a Perſon at the Point of Death, p. 146. Meditation XXXII. Of this Life compar'd with Eternity, p. 147. The Prayer, p. 150. Meditation XXXIII. Comforts againſt the Fears of Death, and Conſolations againſt immoderate Grief, for the Loſs of Friends, p. 151. The End of the Contents.