Life and Death, Sermon 2

Life and Death · Sermon 2

p. 73THE SECOND SERMON.

IOB Chap. 14. Verſ. 14.

All the daies of my appointed time I would waite till my change were come.

THeſe words were ſpoken by Iob, of whoſe patience and prouocations to impatiencie, this whole booke and the teſtimonie of Saint Iames are liuely proofes. Iam. 5.11. In the thirteene verſe of this chapter, Iob hauing (as it ſeemed to him) beheld Gods anger in the chaſtiſements that his ſoule felt, wherein (as hee ſaid) the Lord wrote bitter things p. 74againſt him, deſiring to bee hid in ſome ſecret place of the earth, till the Lords face were changed toward him, and till hee might ſee thoſe frownes to goe out of his countenance, that had caſt ſuch knots vponupon his ſoule. In this verſe, he profeſſeth, that if he could perperſwade himſelfe of any hope yet behinde (God ſhewing himſelfe to be an enemie, and ſetting him vp as a marke for all his arrowes) he would wait for it euen till death. And this I take to bee the occaſion of theſe words of Iob in this Scripture. Where it may be thought a ſtrange thing, that a man commended for ſuch patience, ſhould ſo diſtemperately plead the cauſe of his affliction with God. But no man (meerely man, and clothed with the garment of mortalitie) could euer ſo wait vponupon God, as not to be led aſide from his attendance for a ſeaſon, when he ſaw the Lord to faſten in him his ſharpe arrowes, and to let him vp as a Butt to ſhoote at. p. 75And in this reſpect it is that this glorious patterne of patience could not beare his griefe in a minde ſo battered with ſorrowes. For, the bodie of ſinne (which in our weakeſt times and eſtate, thruſteth into the motions of our minde diuers carnall diſtruſts and fleſhly feares) will neuer ceaſe to moleſt & keep vsus downe, ſo long as we liue here; and, a wounded ſpirit who can beare? Pro. 18.14 Neuertheleſſe, Iob ſtil waited on God for a good end in theſe matters, and loſt not his hope as appeareth by the laſt chapter of this booke, where hee receaueth the crowne of his patience, and is exceedingly bleſſed in his perſon and children. And therefore, though in the ſtorme he ſpake with ſome diſtemper, yet his meaning was that he did, and would wait for Gods help and deliuerance, though it ſhould bee deferred till hee muſt put off this tabernacle, and change mortalitie for immortall. Where let vsus conſider the attendance ſpoken p. 76of, and the terme or continuance. The terme is expreſſed by the midtimes, or extremitie of naturall life. The mid times are called (largely) daies, and with limitation, the appointed daies. The extreame point of this is called a change. The attendance is in reſpect of the ſeaſon, wherein hee attended, or of the attendance it ſelfe.

The attendance was in a time of trouble and much anguiſh which he quietly endured: Doctr. Which doth teach vsus in eueryevery hard eſtate, patiently to beare what commeth, relying on God and waiting for his word. The Prophet was in great miſerie, who, praying to God, ſaid; My ſoule fainteth for thy ſaluation. Pſal. 119.81. His affliction was great, and, through the infirmitie of the fleſh, he fainted: yet he waited on Gods promiſe for deliuerance, and beleeued his word, by which he was deliuered. Dauid opened not his mouth in great troubles to any impatience, becauſe God p. 77had ſent them. Pſ. 39.9. The ſame Prophet, Pſal. 37.5.7. exhorteth others to a like ſilence and yeelding in trouble, becauſe God hath done it, and therefore ſaith; Commit thy way to God and truſt in him: And againe, Wayt patiently on the Lord and hope in him; His meaning is, reaſon not in your affliction with God, but in patience poſſeſſe them vnderunder his mighty hand, ſeeing you hauehave ſinned againſt him: then ſhall you ſee your hope, and God will ſurely bring your ſoule out of aduerſitie. Alſo, the ſpeech of Moſes to the Iſraelites at the red ſea, and when they had the ſea before them, the Egyptians (their enemies) behind them, and ſteepe mountaines and high hils on eueryevery hand & ſide of them, was: Stand ſtill and you ſhall ſee the ſaluation of God. Exod. 14.13. As if he had ſaid; Go not backe by deſpaire, nor forward by preſumption; and though you ſee nothing but death in men, and deſtruction in creatures, you ſhall ſee life in p. 78God, and the ſaluation of God (for life) to eueryevery one of you in your preſent helpe and deliuerance, if you faint not. The reaſons further prouing this doctrine are; firſt, we hauehave deſerued the paines of Hell by our ſinnes, much more the ſharpeſt paine temporall. Now, if God inflict a light chaſtiſement, and we deſerue the chaines of hell, if he puniſh for a ſhort time, & we deſerue for euer to be afflicted; hauehave we cauſe to complaine, though the arrowes of the Almighty ſticke in our fleſh, and his hand lie heauy vponupon vsus? Pſal. 38.1.2. &c. Secondly, it is the Lord, and we muſt patiently attend his worke. He doth not deuiſe, and leaue the execution to another, but whatſoeuer is done, he doth it himſelfe in the point of correction and ſenſe of paine; his head and hand goe together. Act. 4.28.2. Sam. 16.10. Thirdly, we muſt be followers of Chriſt in affection to Gods will. Now Chriſt (ſeeing his father had ſo appointed) deſirouſly entred into p. 79his bath and paſſions for our ſakes, yea, thought the time long, and was greeued till he fell into his laſt agonie and cold ſweat, in the which he was couered (after a ſort) with clodded blood that ran abundantly from his face downe to the ground: Luc. 12.50. & 22.44. and ſhall a little ſo trouble vsus, who (as the theefe ſaid to his fellow) receaue things worthie of that we hauehave done, where Chriſt ſuffered innocently and ſo much for vsus? Luc. 23 41. or, ſhall we ſee the ſonne of God all in goare blood, and all in a ſweat, though no man touched him, though no man came neere him, and in a cold night when he lay out in the open aire, and vponupon the cold earth, to ſweat ſo plentifully; not a thin faint ſweat, but a ſweat of great droppes, and thoſe of blood and water ſo ſtrong and forcible, that they ranne down his cloathes, and ſtreamed to the ground; and yet to ſay, Father, not my wil, but thine be done. And ſhall we liue at eaſe in Zion, and p. 80feed vponupon the mountaines of Samaria; that is, deſire an eaſie and pleaſant life when his was ſo bitter to him, and full of deadly troubles? or thinke it much to feele a little of the ſharpe aire, when the whole ſtorme was vponupon him, a ſtorme ſo fierce and percing that it rent the vaile of his body from the top to the bottom? and be vnquiet in a ſmall ſhoure who are commanded to poſſeſſe our ſoules in the middes of our troubles, when whole floods of his bitter paſſion could not carry him to the leaſt vnquietnes in all his agonies & bloody ſweats? Fourthly, it is the triall of our faith tried, or tried at all; but where is gold better tried then in the furnace? and faith (which is more precious then gold) where is it tried ſo as in aduerſity, or in the furnace of trobles? The corage of a Souldier is more ſeene in warre then in peace, and the skill of a skilfull Pilot better diſcerned in a ſtorm then in a calme: So the courage of a Chriſtian is better knowne in the p. 81warre of the croſſe, and when the calme of the ſoule is turned into a ſtorme of tentations, then when the bodie is in health, and the ſoule in no great aduerſitie, or when all things goe well with a man, and he hath euen what heart can wiſh. And as his courage, ſo his wiſdome may better be perceiued in a rough Sea, then in a calme Riuer, that is, in a troubleſome, then in a quiet eſtate.

A reproofe to thoſe, Vſe 1 who becauſe they purge not themſelues from an euill and faithleſſe feare, doe (in the day of their trouble) forſake their hope, and ſay with the meſſenger who came from the King of Iſrael: Behold this euil commeth of the Lord, wherefore ſhould I attend on the Lord any longer? 2. King. 6.33. as if there were any crown without a conqueſt, or conquering but by that which is the victorie that ouercommeth the world, the grace of patience, and worke of faith in thoſe who ſay with Iob, in another place; though the Lord kill vsus, we will truſt in him: p. 82Iob 13.15. as if they ſhould ſay: whatſoeuer comes, we wil ſtil praiſe him; and howſoeuer he doe, we wil yet wait vponupon him. Pſal. 43.4. If God will hauehave Daniel to bee the ruler vnderunder King Darius, Daniel muſt for a time, be in the Lions den, and the Kings ſeale muſt bee vponupon it. Dan. 6.16. So Gods children ſhall ſee their hope, but firſt they muſt be committed to cloſe priſon, and hauehave the ſeale of ſickneſſe ſet vponupon the doore of their chambers out of which they cannot paſſe: their ſoule ſhall be among Lions: and, the word of the Lord ſhall trie them before they goe out: before Lazarus bee carried by the Angels to Abrahams boſome, bleſſed Lazarus muſt bee laid at the Rich mans gate, full of ſores and diſeaſes. Luk. 16.20.22. So Gods children ſhal be freed from miſerie, in the kingdome where is no ſorrow nor woe, and paſſe from their bodie of death, to the boſome of Abraham: but they muſt firſt taſte of the cup of miſerie at the doore p. 83of death, and bee filled with ſores, and prepared by ſickneſſe before they can put on this change. All teares ſhall bee wiped from their eyes, Apoc. 21.4. but then they muſt ſhed them here. Alſo, except the wheate corne fall into the ground and there die, it bringeth forth no fruit. Ioh. 12.24. So Gods children ſhall flouriſh for euer: the ſeede of their bodies, ſhall grow before the Lord in the garden of his preſence, but both it & they muſt receiue this increaſe and preferment by the help of corruption: It, and they muſt be kept in the coffin of the earth and there putrifie (as doth the ſeede of corne) before there can be any putting on of the greene garment of the reſurrection to eternall life. For, ſince the fall of Adam, no man paſſeth to Paradiſe but by the burning Seraphins, Gen. 3.24. nor to the holy Citie, but by the Riuers of Babel, which muſt enter into his ſoule. And thus God will trie the patience of his children, before hee worke p. 84their full deliuerance. Much (therefore) are they to bee condemned, who if they may not hauehave their heauen preſently and in this life, will rake into a hell of ſinnes, and world of luſts, to hauehave thoſe delights which they louelove better then heauen, the pleaſures of ſinne for a ſeaſon; and ſo forſake God, to inherit deſperation.

An admonition to ſtore our hearts with faith, Vſe 2 hope, patience, and the promiſes of God in his word: ſo ſhall we be in better caſe, and likelihood to beare what commeth. Alſo to look for trouble, and when it is come to poſſeſſe it in patience, not to breake the Lords bonds, nor to caſt the cords of his chaſtiſements from vsus, by a mutinous and diſtempered ſoule. For the tenure whereby wee hold heauen is the croſſe: and the great Indenture that is made betweene Chriſt and his Father runneth in this forme, and ſtile of words: All that will liue godly in Chriſt Ieſu, muſt p. 85ſuffer perſecution. 2. Tim. 3.12. In the drowning of the old world, as the waters roſe, ſo did the Arke: and in the deluge of this world, the Arke of the faithfull ſoule ſhould bee lift vp to confidence, and ariſe to God, as afflictions lift vp their waues. That is, as ſickneſſes, and troubles, and afflictions, and the whole traine of hell fight againſt vsus: ſo we ſhould fight againſt them by that victorie that ouercommeth the world. 1. Ioh. 5.4. Chriſt vponupon the Croſſe, as a Doctor in his Church, did by his owne example and in his great patience (then) commend his truth vntounto vsus, who relyed vponupon his fathers deliuerance, when the ſnares of death compaſſed him, and the paines of hell caught hold of him, and when hee found trouble and ſorrow. Pſal. 116 3. Luke 23.46. Eſay ſaith, Peace ſhall come. Eſay 57.2. but to whom? to eueryevery one (ſaith he) who walketh before the Lord. That is, it ſhall ſurely goe well with him at the laſt who keepeth his vprightneſſe, and p. 86continueth to doe well, who perſiſteth in his good courſe, meeting the Lord in a readie heart, and prepared ſoule, Pſal. 108.1. and who (when Chriſt ſaith I come quickly) doth reply and make anſwer, with all Saints ſaying; euen ſo come Lord Ieſus, Apoc. 22.20. that is, doe as thou haſt ſaid, whatſoeuer pleaſeth thee, contenteth me. Some tainted with hypocriſie, can abide ſome ſhort and ſmall troubles, but if they continue long, and receiue encreaſe, they forſake their patience and further their paine, by beating the aire and themſelues with their raging and vnquiet ſounds, till they cauſe the Lord to lay heauier penalties vponupon them, and to chaine them faſter with linkes of longer and more perplexed troubles. And ſo, as the Bird that is caught with the Lime-rodde, and the Fiſh that is taken in the Net, the more they ſtriue, the more they entangle themſelues. So the more impatient men are of Gods corrections, the p. 87more ſtripes they purchaſe to themſelues in the ſnare, and vnderunder the net of that their humiliation: the more intolerable alſo they make the tie of their croſſe, and the more improbable their iſſue and going out. Hee that carrieth a weightie burthen, the more he ſtirres and moues it, the more it oppreſſeth him: and ſo the more vnquiet and vnruly we are vnderunder the heauy burthen of the Lords chaſtiſements for ſinne, the more we gall our ſoules and bruſe our fleſh in vaine, where, by our patience, wee may auoide ſuch needeleſſe vexation and tirings out, it being truly ſaid (which is commonly ſpoken) that of ſufferance commeth eaſe. Some hauehave no faith more then ſenſe teacheth them, who beleeue as farre as they can ſee, and further then their ſight leadeth them, they will not ſet one foote downe toward faith. Some know not the word, neither what God hath promiſed in it to thoſe that feare him: and therefore when p. 88they come into trouble, they deſpaire of help themſelues, with ſhifts and fetches of their owne head, not attending the Lords help, becauſe they know not his power by his word, nor what merciemercy hee will ſhew to thoſe who put truſt in his ſaluation as the word doth teach. Iob knew his merciemercy and power, and therefore did not fume againſt the Caldeans, nor murmure againſt the Lord, but bore his loſſe quietly and thankefully, truſting in God. Iob 1.21.22. Dauid meditated much often in the Lawe, and therefore fretted not againſt Shimei, who railed againſt him, but ſearched his conſcience, and went vntounto his ſin, making the Lord his hope. 2. Sam. 16.10.12. And He, who was like a bottle in the ſmoke, forgate not Gods ſtatutes, that is, knew Gods promiſes in his word, and truth in his righteous teſtimonies, and therfore receiued comfort, that is, that word, or rather the truth of God in that word, ſuſtained him in all troubles. p. 89Pſal. 119.147. So much for the ſeaſon of his attendance. The attendance it ſelfe followeth.

I would wait, &c.] The action of Iobs attendance, is deliuered by a word that ſignifieth to wait; or to wait by hope, for a thing, or to tarie and abide the deferring of it till it come; and to looke as ſeruants for their Maſter, when hee will returne in the euening. His meaning (therefore) is, that he will wait and be ready alwaies for his happy death till it come, how long ſoeuer it bee in comming. Doctr. The point here taught is, Chriſtians muſt bee alwaies in a readineſſe to receiue their change: or to ſpeake plainly; Chriſtians muſt euer bee prepared for their death. Something hath been ſpoken of this already in the firſt Sermon and ſecond doctrine: but it is a matter worthy our further ſearch. Our Sauiour Chriſt (therefore) to ſhew that this ſhould be the expectation and mind of Chriſtians, exhorteth them to bee as men that wait for p. 90their Maſter when hee will returne from the wedding: which was in the night, as is euident by their receiuing of him with lights: and by the cuſtome that was obſerued in mariages then, which was, to bring the Bride from her fathers houſe, to the mans houſe in the night: Luke 12.35.36. And ſo, modeſtie was the mufler of the maids of thoſe daies. Now, they that wait for their Maſter, that is, that wait diligently for his comming home in the night; will ſet vp lights in the houſe, & hauehave ſome in their hands. Theſe lights are the Word, which as a light ſhineth in a darke place. This world is a wilderneſſe, and we (naturally) blind, that is without vnderſtanding: and therefore we muſt hauehave the light which is put in the lanthorne of the Law to guide and direct vsus ſtil in the dangerous waies of it, Pſal. 119.105. and this light muſt be burning in vsus, that is, wee muſt adde zeale to our knowledge; for it is of no vſe if it want fire and p. 91burning: And it muſt bee in our hands, our hands muſt handle the word of life, 1. Ioh. 1.1. and we muſt not bee hearers onelyonly, but doers, Iam. 1.22. Secondly, they that wait for their Maſter ſtand at the gate, or before the doore, looking for his returne: So they that wait for the day of their redemption, muſt ſtand with Abraham in their tent doore, and with Eliah in the mouth of the caue, waiting for it: Gen. 18.1. & 1. King. 19.9. that is, they muſt dwell in the world as in tents, and as ſtrangers in theſe caues of the earth, wait for their houſe aboue. Thirdly, they that looke with attendance for their Maſters comming, will hauehave his houſe in a readineſſe againſt his comming to it; and whatſoeuer may offend ſhall be taken out of the way: ſo they, that looke for Chriſt, and wait by hope, for the day of his comming, will purge, by repentance, all the roomes of his ſpirituall houſe, put away ſinne and bring in righteouſneſſe into euerie p. 92power and member of ſoule and bodie. Fourthly, they that wait for their Maſter, with a louing and chearefull deſire of his comming, will take vp the time with talking and thinking of him: ſo they that looke for Chriſt, will reuerently talke of Chriſt and as Chriſtians, thinke thoughts of Chriſt and hauehave Chriſtian muſings; or thinke (much) of death, and (often) that they ſhall die: which muſt needes keepe them in a continuall louelove and expectation of Chriſt and of death. In the booke of Eſay one of the exerciſes of the godly is ſaid to be their waiting for God, or (which may hauehave this meaning) their waiting for his ſaluation, by death, that they may goe to God. Eſa. 25.9. where it is entended that they did not onelyonly reioice in his ſaluation, but ſo liue, that death might bring them, in the Charet of their godly life, to the God of their ſaluation. Thus did Simeon that embraced Chriſt, and thus did Ioſeph that embalmed Chriſt, waite for p. 93the kingdome of God, Luc. 2.25. & 23.51.Luke 2:25Luke 23:51and their ſaluation by death. Luc. 2.25. & 23.51. They liued not contented with their preſent eſtate, but waited for a better; and as Elijah came out of the caue when the Lord came to him, ſo they were ready alwaies to come out of the caue of their bodies to meet the Lord. 1. King. 19.11. And thus they ſtood in their dore, who waited for the appearing of the Lord Ieſus Chriſt. 1. Cor. 1.7. that is, thus they waited, who waited for the day of their death wherein they might goe to the Lord, and for the day of the Lords appearing, wherein he would come to them. Laſtly; this is the propertie of the ſonnes that they waite for the adoption, that is, looke for the fulfilling of it, in death, by their owne full redemption. Rom. 8.23. The reaſons. And that the faithfull ought thus to waite and bee prepared for death at all houres, may further be proued. Firſt, they know not when they ſhall die, and, if they ceaſe from attendance, p. 94the Maſter will come in a day when they thinke not. Math. 24.50. Therefore they ſhould alway looke for that, which whether looked for or vnexpected, will moſt certainly, (though ſtealingly) come. Secondly; Chriſt appeareth vntounto ſaluation onelyonly to thoſe that looke for him. Hebr. 9.28. that is, that ſo liue, as, whether hee come in the ſecond watch, or in the third, he ſhall find them waiting in their doore for Him, by continuance in well doing. But, doe they looke for him, who continually ſerue ſin in their mortall bodies, and continually and ordinarily are holden in thoſe curſed luſts of the world and fleſh, wherein is nothing but death and hell? I ſpeake of fornicators, couetous, drunkards, daily ſwearers, and other monſtrous ſinners, doe they looke for him? or, would they curſe and ſweare, and riot on the Sabbath, and ſteale, and whore as they doe, and drinke ſo many healths till they hauehave left no foundneſſe in p. 95them, if they thought preſenttly to die, and preſently to come to their terrible account, & they may preſently come vntounto it? Thirdly, wee ſerue a prentiſhip of attendance for our worldly freedome, and (to reaſon from the leſſe to the greater) will we not attend ſeuen yeres (perhaps we ſhall not wait ſeuen dayes) to be free for euer? For by the portall of death the godlie paſſe from bondage to libertie, from the land of Aegypt to the land of righteouſneſſe, from the vale of tears to manſions of glorie.

An inſtruction to keepe alwayes in mind the day of our death, Ʋſe 1 that it preuent vsus not by carnall forgetfulneſſe, or come vponupon vsus vnlooked for, as Iehu furiouſly came vponupon Iehoram, 2. King. 9.23.24. bee made with al ſpeed to his charet, thinking to flie, but the arrow that Iehu ſhot, preuented him: So ſome thinking to flie from the flying arrow of death, by running to their accuſtomed refuges, as it were Charets of vaine p. 96delayes and hopes further to auoide it, hauehave preſently receaued into their bodies the fatall dart of death, and hauehave preſently died. That we may thus remember death, we muſt not be careleſſe to ſpend our ſhort time well, as they are whoſe comfort ſtandeth rather in an vncertain delay of death then in anie certainety of life eternall after death. Our care muſt be to liue well, ſo ſhall we without our care, hauehave good aſſurance to die wel. If we continue and increaſe in goodneſſe, we are well prouided for death, and need not to feare the bitter effects of ſecond death. Bleſſed is that Seruant, whom the Maſter, when hee commeth ſhall find ſo doing. Mat. 24.46. The Apoſtle Paul might well ſay, he was ready to be offered, to wit by that end of all the liuing, death, ſeeing he had fought a good fight in the battell of his life, finiſhed a good courſe in the race of his pilgrimage, and kept faith in a good conſcience. 2. Tim. 4 6. Hee conſidered his life, p. 97as a woman with child reckons her time as neere as ſhee can, becauſe then ſhee hopes for deliuerance, the nerer the day of his laſt Iubilee or laſt breath drew, the more his ioy increaſed, being ſure that (then) he ſhould goe out of priſon. Leuit. 25.41.54. Thus had he ioy in death who had ſo well and long prepared himſelfe to die.

A charge (therefore) vponupon careleſſe perſons who, Vſe 2 as if they ſhould ſay with the euill Seruant, ſpoken of Math. 24.48. My Maſter doth differre his comming, fall into a deep ſleepe of falſe peace without all regard of awaking to righteouſneſſe. 1. Cor. 15.34. till death come to cut them off with ſinners. Chriſt, ſpeaking of the dayes of Noah, doth not ſay that the Men (then) were vnmercifull, extortioners or idolatours, but that they are, they drank, they married till the flood came; that is, were firſt drowned in ſecuritie, and (after) in water Luc. 17.26.27. Further, ſpeaking in like manner p. 98of the daies of Lot, he ſaith of the men of that time, that they ate, they dranke, they bought, they ſould, they planted, they built. verſe 28. but were theſe things vnlawfull? No not in themſelues, but in their manner of vſing them: for, they entended nothing elſe till God rained fire and brimſtone from Heauen vponupon them, and deſtroied them: verſe 29. That is, nothing could warne them till death came that giues no warning. And here our Sauiour ſetteth downe three ſorts of men, the firſt followed their pleaſures, onelyonly they ate, they dranke. The ſecond followed their profit onelyonly, they bought, they ſould. The third (and worſt of all) followed both their pleaſure and profit: for, they builded for their pleaſure, and planted for their profit. And doe not ſome of theſe, or all of theſe luſts of the world hold careleſſe Chriſtians (if we may call ſuch Chriſtians) ſo in the louelove of earthly things at this day, that there is no remembrance p. 99of death in their waies. Doe not worldlings, entring into a dreame of an Heauen vponupon Earth, dote ſo vpō things that periſh with the vſe, that they neuer thinke of things eternall, whether life or death euerlaſting, till they muſt (no remedie) paſſe from this world to another? The fooliſh Virgines thought not of their oile till the Bride-groome came and there was no opening. Mat. 25.8.11.12. And fooliſh ſinners ſo flatter themſelues with a ſlumbering opinion of preparing (time …inough) for death when they goe on their laſt houre, that they will know nothing till the flood come. Mat. 24.39. nor looke toward heauen till they bee in hell. Luc. 16.23. nor hauehave oile in their veſſels and repentance in their hearts, with it to meete the bride-groome, Chriſt, till the gate of merciemercy and of all hope be ſhut. Math. 25.10. Meane while, what doe they but follow the pride, couetouſneſſe, whoredome, drunkenneſſe, p. 100and luſts of their owne heart, not remembring Ioſeph? But pray we (beloued) for a waking conſcience, and let not this keeper of the houſe, in a heart paſt feeling, ſo drowſe and ſleepe in vsus, that our houſe be broken, digged through and rifled before we hauehave time, or will, to ſay Lord hauehave merciemercy on vsus. So much for the attendance ſpoken of, the term or continuance followeth.

Al the daies of mine appointed time, &c.] The time of Iobs attendance or waiting on God for his helpe, is the whole terme or act of his life, which he calleth, not yeeres, but daies. So hee meaſureth his ſhort time by the inch of daies, rather then by the ſpan of moneths, or long ell of yeeres. Doctr. Which is to teach vsus, that the daies of man are few, & his life ſhort vponupon earth. And that it is ſo, experience, and that which we ſee in daily vſe doth ſhew beſides the word, which (for this) ſpeaking of mans ſhort time, vſeth to take p. 101the ſhorteſt diuiſion in nature to expreſſe it by; as that it is the life of yeſterday; Pſ. 90.4. A life which is gone as ſoone as it comes, verſ 9. a life of few houres, as a watch in the night, verſ. 4. the life of a thought, whereof there may bee a thouſand in an houre, verſ. 9. a life of nothing, Pſal. 39.5. that is, of no time, or of vanitie, which is next to nothing. Iacob in his time brought it to a ſhort account, that is, from diuers hundreds to an hundred and thirtie; Gen. 47.9. But Moſes, comming after him, gathereth it into a ſhorter ſumme or account, euen to an account or count or totall of threeſcore and ten, or of foureſcore at the moſt, with labour and ſorrow. Pſal. 90.10. Dauid meaſureth it with his ſhort ſpan: Pſal. 39.5. and this excellent Saint compareth man, borne of a woman, …o a flower that is ſoone cut downe, and to a ſhadow that continueth not. Iob 14.2. Finally, our vncertaine ſhort life is in Scripture compared to a thought that is preſently p. 102gone, Pſal. 90.9. to a dreame in the night that is forgotten in the morning, to a bubble vponupon the water, to a ſhip vnderunder ſaile, and to a weauers ſhuttle. So ſoone paſſeth our life and it is gone. The reaſons. Firſt, Iniquity now aboundeth, and more in theſe latter times, then in forme… ages: Math. 24.22.2. Tim. 3.1.2. which muſt needs prouoke God to cut ſhorter theſe our dayes, then thoſe better daies wherein our fathers liued, who liued more ſimply and in fewer ſinnes then wee their children doe at this day. Secondly, our time is ſhort, that our ſhort time might moue vsus not to deferre to doe good as the manner is, ſeeing euen the Diuel himſelfe is buſie becauſe his time is ſhort. Ap…. 12.12 17. Thirdly, our life is as nothing, that Gods Children might ſooner be deliuered from their burthens, and from thoſe that burthen them in this life, and that the wicked (the children of this world) might hauehave a ſhorter time to keepe in bondage p. 103and vnderunder the whip of malice thoſe poore ones, who deſire to ſacrifice their life to God in a conſcience of his ſeruice, and to walke in faith, before him. For if mans life might now extend to the yeares which were before the floud; when men liued ſix, ſeuen, eight & nine hundred yeares; This cruell age, in which wee liue would too long torment, and too vilely deale with Gods faithfull ones, there being no hooke of ſhort time in the iawes of the wicked to keepe them in feare; as now, when death is ſuch a tyrant, and ſhort life ſuch a curbe vntounto them, that they dare not, or cannot doe as they would. And indeede, how can they doe that in their fortie and vnderunder their foureſcore, which they might doe and would be hold to doe, being men of might, in their hundreds? Alſo, how could the poore Church, hold vp the head and continue in good caſe, that ſhould hauehave ſo ſtrong and long-liued enemies to encounter with?

p. 104An admonition to run the way of Gods commandements, Ʋſe 1 while he enlargeth our hearts, and not to put off our conuerſion in ſo ſhort a life. Hee that hath a long iourney to goe in a ſhort time, will make haſt: and he, who remembreth that eueryevery day runneth away with his life, cannot ſit ſtill. But where men promiſe to themſelues long life and much time, there they wax wanton and become ſecure: as Amos 6.3. & 2. Pet. 3.4. Therefore the Lord doth commend our life to vsus in this Scripture, and in other Scriptures, in a ſhort abſtract of daies, and not in a volume of yeares, as in the booke at large. So Chriſt ſaith to Ieruſalem, in this thy day. Luke 19.42. not granting a longer terme then the terme of one poore day vntounto her. Which was to teach her, and vsus in her, to thinke eueryevery day to bee our laſt day. And therefore to doe that this day, as in our time, which wee are not ſure to doe the next day, as in a time that God hath p. 105taken to himſelfe and from vsus, as being more properly his, then our day. A worthy Souldiour warring long vnderunder Adrian the Emperour, after that long time returned to his houſe, and liued Chriſts ſouldiour. Where, and in which manner, after he had liued ſeuen yeeres, he yeelded to death: and beeing readie to die, commanded that it ſhould bee written on his tombe: Here lieth Similis (for, that was his name) a man who was many yeares and liued but ſeuen: counting that hee liued no longer then hee liued a Chriſtian. How many warre after the fleſh vnderunder the Emperor of the aire (not vnderunder Adrian,) who yet (I cannot ſay ſeuen yeeres) I would I could ſay that ſeuen dayes or houres before their death, they did caſt away theſe weapons of ſinne that it might bee engrauen vponupon their graue ſtone for their Epitaph, that ſeuen daies before their laſt day, or ſeuen houres before their dying houre, they not onelyonly had a p. 106being, but a life in the world, and not onelyonly were, but liued? Such deſire, not to remember but to forget their ſhort time: nor to heare of their end, but to ſuppreſſe it, becauſe the remembrance of it will make them ſparingly to offend, and the feare of it alter affections. And from hence it is, that hee who hath peace in his dayes, and is beſotted with the flumber of long life, being loath to leaue his poſſeſſion for an vncertaintie, or to liue & be where hee cannot aſſure himſelfe that hee ſhall or can, either liue or be as here he may, and doth; ſaith to death, as Ahab, to Eliah; Art thou here mine enemie? 1. King. 21.20. When (the preferment of it conſidered in the ſweet peace of the righteous, and happie death of the Saints) hee ſhould rather ſay; Welcome my friend, or the welcom day of death, come neere. Vſe 2

A reproofe (therefore) to thoſe who put off the time of amendment to ſome long time hereafter not remembring p. 107their ſhort time and few dayes here. Though here they be but Tenants at will in their Clayforme, whoſe foundation is in the duſt, whoſe ſtrength is a few bones tyed together with ſinewes, as with ſmall ſtrings, whoſe life is in a little breath quickly ſtopt, and which (howſoeuer we patch and peece it, with helpes of Art, and ſupplies of Nature for a time) will, they know not how ſoone, fall into the place of darkneſſe, when the winde of death hath paſſed ouer it. Yet they thinke not of their enduring houſe, and houſe from heauen, or they ſo much delight in the momentanie gourd of their ſhort life (which yet hath her worme of ſpeedie corruption) that they forget the dayes euerlaſting, and change that is to come. Ion. 4.6. Of ſuch wee reade: Chapter 21. of this booke: Who, becauſe thei… houſes were peaceable to them without feare, their wealth came in vntounto them without faile, and they were great p. 108in their poſteritie: Therefore their hearts were all ſet in pleaſure, and they reioyced in their dayes and ſubſtance that was ſo great, not remembring their time, how ſhort it was, till they ſuddenly went down to the graue. When the Diſciples were in the Ship, and the Ship was in the middes of the Sea, toſſed with windes, and couered with waues; they came to Chriſt & awoke him, ſaying; Maſter, ſaue v…, wee pariſh. Mat. 8.24.25. But they had Chriſt with them in the Ship. But ſome thinke not of Chriſt to awake him to their ſaluation (being ſtrangers to God through the ignorance that is in them) til the ſhip of their body, toſſed with the tempeſts of their laſt ſickneſſe, bee readie to ſinke into death, and by many leakes and wearings, beginne to receiue into their ſoules that dead ſea that muſt needs drown them in perditiō & deſtruction, before the Lord for euer. For, how many (thus) think of him, till they can thinke no longer? how p. 109many begin to liue, that is, truely to liue, till they be readie to die? and how many call to minde that Time of Times, till there be no more time, at leaſt to them, & till that laſt time and houre of the day come vntounto them in the which they muſt come to the barre, to receiue their doome and iudgement? The reaſon of all this backwardneſſe to a new life in the feare of God, is mens ouer-hungrie deſire to follow thoſe pleaſures of ſinne, into which Satan putteth himſelfe as he did into the Serpent, to beguile Heue. The ſubtile enemie knoweth with what bait to take a worldling to all forgetfulnes of God, and of the iudgement to come. And therefore as the hunter minding to take the Tygres young one, is ſaid to ſet vp certaine looking glaſſes in the Tygres way, that is, in the way that ſhe paſſeth to ſeek her ſtraying brood, that finding in ſuch glaſſes a perfect reſemblance of her ſelfe, the ſame may cauſe her to leaue the purſuit, and to looſe her whelpe: So this old huntſman p. 110Satan, obſeruing what care man ought to hauehave (which care but few men hauehave) to ſaue from hell and deſtruction his ſtray ſoule, doth ſet many goodly ſhewes, or falſe glaſſes of pleaſures (which ſeeme, but are not) in the way of his Chriſtian walke, that by holding his ſight in theſe deere-prized delights, he may more willingly leaue the care of that one thing which is neceſſarie, the ſaluation of his ſoule. Therefore, that wee may not bee taken in this Hunters ſnare, our ſhort life ſhould be often thought of: When we goe to bed we ſhould remember our graue, and when wee riſe in the morning, conſider that we ſhall riſe out of the graue of the earth at the laſt day. With this key of meditation we ſhould open the day, and ſhut in the night: And what befalleth others in the duſt of their bodies, we ſhould thinke muſt come to vsus (we cannot tell how ſoone in our owne duſt & mortality. Here (therefore) as the third Captaine ſent from the p. 111King of Iſrael to Eliah, to bring him, and perceiuing that the other two Captains with their fifties were deuoured with fire from heauen, at the requeſt of Eliah, grew wife by their experience, and therefore fell downe and beſought fauour for himſelfe and his fiftie, 2. King. 1.13. So we, ſeeing or hearing of ſo many fifties, young and old, that in theſe late yeares of mortalitie hauehave ended their liues in a fire of peſtilence ſent from the Lord, ſhould make ſupplication day and night, not as that Captaine to the man of God, but as true Chriſtians to the man and God Chriſt Ieſu, that our liues & deathes may be precious in his eyes; and that we may not forget, that what is done to others may come to vsus. And if God hauehave knocked by many infirmities, as by ſo many meſſengers, at the doore of our fraile bodies, wee ſhould not def…re (then chiefly) to open to him by preſent repentance, leſt he breake in by incurable plagues, and make his way p. 112by our certain deſtruction, & death remedileſſe.

An apologie or defence of thoſe good Chriſtians, Vſe 3 who conſidering the vncertaintie and ſhortneſſe of Mans time, redeeme as much as may be of it into the band and to the glorie of Him that made and is owner of all their daies, in a care of his ſeruice. They know that Satan is a great gainer by the waſte of time, and that (contrarily) they ſhall gaine, and Satan be looſer by a wiſe redeeming of their few daies for good duties; and therefore they care not to buie time with any redemption temporall, ſo they may hauehave ſtore of it for the markets of godlineſſe and thefeare of the Lord. This would be well obſerued: for, it ſheweth the reaſon why the godly hauehave ſo great comfort in their ſhort time, and the wicked no true comfort in their few euill daies, and ſo much horror at the end of them, when they goe from their houſe to graue. The godly hauehave much pleaſure p. 113in their ſhort (though troubleſom) life becauſe they hauehave beſtowed it well, and becauſe they are become, by ſuch redemption of time, citizens, in title, of a citie that cannot be ſhaken. And therefore though their time bee ſhort, their ſhort time here is very comfortable vntounto them, ſeeing, as Noahs dou… vponupon the waters, they waite daily till God open the window of his heauenly Arke, to take them to reſt from their labors. The wicked, who hauehave ſpent their ſhort time euil, muſt needs greatly feare at the end of their ſhort time, ſeeing when they ſee death, they may doubt if it be peace, hauing neuer yet loued the God of peace: 2. King. 9.22. The righteous are in the world as the Iſraelites in Babylon, who beeing captiues in this priſon of life, care not how ſoone they bee deliuered, that they may ſing the ſongs of the Lord in their owne Land; Pſal. 137.4. The wicked, like ſpirituall Babylonians, and as men at home in their p. 114owne naturall ſoile, deſire no other life, and know no better, and therefore it exceedingly grieueth them ſo ſoone to depart from this, and ſo much againſt their wils. To the godly, by reaſon of good houres well employed, 1. Cor. 15.1 Cor 15death is the laſt enemie: and to the wicked, by their prophane life, the firſt: Gods Children count nothing their own here, euerie day they gather Manna, and hauehave but from hand to mouth, till the long Sabbath come, when they ſhall eate the fruites of the land of heauen. Therefore their loſſe is nothing when they hauehave loſt all here: onelyonly they looſe miſerie and finde ſaluation, and what loſſe is that? Surely ſuch as they are glad of, and the ſooner they make the change, the better for them. The worlds children are here at home in their Mothers lappe, here they hauehave their pleaſure. Luk. 16.25. and receiue their portion, hauing great things for themſelues, and to leaue to their Babes when they are gone. p. 115Here they waſted time, the faireſt and beſt part of it, vponupon their profits, and luſts, and little of it they beſtowed, if any of it, well: and what maruel then if they cry out to come to their account for time ſo precious, ſo much abuſed? The godly, becauſe their affection is to do good, and God doth ſo mercifully bleſſe them that they conſtantly and heartily doe it: therefore they are, and are reputed ſeruants in Egypt, and ſtrangers in the wilderneſſe, being vnhappy, to wit in the opinion of worldly men, till they come into their happy land, and receiue thoſe manſions which are prepared for them. The wicked, becauſe they ſerue ſinne in their members and ſhort time, are happie till they die, being (for that) Lords in Egypt and Citizens here. Here in pleaſures, after death, in torments. Here Lords of the earth, & hereafter brands of hell. No maruell (then) if ſhort life trouble the wicked, as it comforteth the godly. That which is added p. 116by Iob, to his time of attendance, followeth.

All] Iob ſaith that hee would waite all his daies, becauſe he knew not the day nor houre when God would command his apparence by death, and ſend him to his duſt. As if he ſhould hauehave ſaid: Of my departure hence, I know not the day nor houre, or I know not when I ſhall die, 1. Pet. 1.17.1 Pet 1:17and therefore eueryevery day ſhal be as my dying day, and I will liue in continuall expectation of that which will come, I know not how ſoone. Doctr. This is the meaning. And the point taught is: though there bee nothing more certaine then death, yet nothing is more vncertaine to vsus then the houre in which we ſhall die. For this cauſe, the day of the generall, as likewiſe the day of our particular iudgement, in death, is ſaid to come ſuddenly vponupon worldlings, as the ſnare vponupon the bird, which commeth when it is not looked for. Luke 21.35. And Mathew, to ſhew how little wee know the p. 117comming of it till it come, compareth it to a Maſter from home, who returneth to his houſe in a day that the ſeruants looke not for him, and in an houre that they are not ware of: Mat. 24.50. And in the 43. verſe of the ſame Chapter, he compareth it to a thiefe in the night. For, as a thiefe giueth no warning, ſo no more doth ſtealing death. He that keepeth the houſe, knoweth not when the thiefe will come; and hee that looketh for death knoweth not when he ſhall die 1. Theſ. 5.2. The reaſons. If we knew the day of our death, we would put off all till the comming of that day. Secondly, as it is the glorie of a King to know ſome things that no man elſe can know: ſo it is a part of Gods glorie to hide from men and Angels, the particular houres of mans death, and this worlds doome, which hee hath cloſed vp with the ſeale of ſecrecie, and put in his owne power. Now, God will giuegive no part of his glorie to …. Thirdly, if we knew p. 118the houre or certaine time of our death, it would giuegive vsus too great boldneſſe to wallow in ſinne, till that time or houre came. The whoriſh woman, becauſe ſhe knew the ruſt time when her husband would returne, who went into a far countrie, did by ſuch a certaine knowledge of the appointed time of his comming backe, the more liberally poure out her ſoule to vice & wantonneſſe. Prou. 7.20. Therefore it is counſell to vsus, when wee ſhall die, that all the dayes of our appointed time we may wait for this day, and in all our time, looke for this laſt time.

To make good vſe of this point; Vſe we muſt account of eueryevery preſēt day as the day of our death; ſo liue now as if we were now dying, & doe thoſe good duties eueryevery day that wee would bee found doing at our laſt houre of the day. Death doth come ſuddenly to many, ſo it may to vsus; and ſome, who hauehave promiſed to themſelues many yeeres, and p. 119long life, hauehave not had a minute of warning giuen them to cal for merciemercy. The houſes of their bodies were preſently digged thorow, when they iudged their time endleſſe: and when they thought to hauehave runne a long race of ſcores, Iob. 21.23.24.25Job 21:23Job 21:24Job 21:25their graues hauehave met them in their ſetting out, and they hauehave ended their act before they had plaide one full part on their ſtage. The conſideration hereof ſhould make vsus carefull to doe good while we hauehave time, ſeeing we are ſo vnſure of it. Gal. 6.10. The time of making peace with our Aduerſarie is while wee are in the way. Math. 5.25. And becauſe we know not the day, we ſhould watch by doing good, euerie day, ſitting with Abraham in our Tent doore. Gen. 18.1. And watching death, that watcheth vsus. One light before doth more good then many carried after: So one forethought, is better then twentie after wits. Death looketh for vsus euerie where: therfore (as one ſaith) p. 120wee ſhould eueryevery where looke for him: Luke 12.35.36. But further, to incite vsus to this Chriſtian watch, let vsus remember that where the tree falleth there it lieth, in the Eaſt of life, or Weſt of ſecond death, where the Sunne of peace ſetteth vponupon reprobates for euer: Eccleſ. 11.3. As the laſt day of our life leaueth vsus, ſo ſhall that laſt day, the day of Chriſts comming, Auguſt.finde vsus. How good were it (therefore) before we runne into deſperate arrierages, to caſt our billes of account: the rather, becauſe wee ſhall bee warned out of our office we know not how ſoone: Luke 16.2 Some Emperors among the Heathen were woont (as bookes ſay) to bee crowned ouer the ſepulchers and graues of dead men, to teach them by the certaine, but vnknowne end of their ſhort life, to vſe their great roomes, as men that muſt one day be as they then were, whoſe graues they trode vponupon. The old Saints, who liued in a continuall meditation p. 121of their ſhort and vncertaine time, were wont alway (like wiſe Merchants) to thinke of their returne homeward: And therefore tooke vp their treaſure by billes of paiment, not where they were, but where they would bee, and meant to make their long aboad, that is, meant to be for euer. And the Philoſophers (who ſaw not beyond the clouds of humane reaſon) when they perceiued how much men did decline by courſe of yeares and waſtes of time, were woont to ſay: that the life of a wiſe man, was nothing but a continuall meditation of death. And were it no more but that it is enacted as by an euerlaſting Parliament, that all muſt once die: Heb. 9.27. This were inough to caſt a cloud, yea a whol dark sky, ouer the faireſt day we ſee here and paſſe in our faireſt pleaſures. But when we ſhall conſider that after death commeth the iudgement, it muſt needes moue vsus to turne our laughter into mourning, and to p. 122thinke how to liue and die well in ſo ſhort and certaine, but vncertain time of our expectation of ſuch a day, a day of ſuch dread and tertour to careleſſe liuers, a black, hideous, and diſmall day. But careleſſe perſons, like thoſe officers in the Kings houſe who (hauing their allowance of lights) conſume them in wantonneſſe, and goe to bed in the dark, doe conſume on their luſts thoſe good graces (as it were lights, which they hauehave receiued for ſaluation, from the father of lights: Iam. 4.3. which is cauſe, that when their bodies muſt goe to their bed of death, they go to it in vtter darkneſſe, where is weeping and gnaſhing of teeth. So farre for the time which is called (largely) dayes, that which is limitted, called the appointed time, followeth.

Of mine appointed time, &c.] By appointed time, Iob here meaneth, his bounded life, which can no more be extended beyond the appointed time, then the Sea can paſſe p. 123her bounds. Pſ. 104.9. Doctr. From whence this doctrine may be gathered, that we liue by Gods decree, not at our owne pleaſure. So Paul told the men of Athens; for, hauing taxed their ſuperſtition, who wold bound the boundleſſe preſence of God to a temple made with hands, and to Idols the worke of mens hands: he ſhe wecht, hat the Almighty Maker of this Worlds-maſſe, is not to be ſtraitned, who hath ſhut in with the ſtraites of time, fore-ſe… by himſelfe, all men and creatures, hauing aſſigned their times, and the bounds of their habitation. Act. 17.26. And in this Booke of Iob, it is moued by a queſtion, but taken for granted, that there is an appointed time to man vponupon Earth. Iob 7.1. or a ſet time of mans warrefare here: that is, he is a Souldier, and his life militant: but how long and for how ſhort a time, he ſhall be, and continue in this field of his bodie vnderunder corruption, fighting againſt the ſtrangeluſts that are in the world, it is ordered by p. 124him who hath ſummed vp all the number of his daies, and meaſured his ſhort time with a decree or Law which he cannot paſſe: after, it is ſaid that God hath ſet Mans daies, and numbred his moneths, and limited his time: that is, that he hath ſet bounds to all the moments of his life here. Iob 14.5. By which it is plaine that the maker of man hath in his hand the whole number of mans time, ſuch as it hath pleaſed himſelfe to adde to the Moneths and yeeres that he hath giuen him in this vale of miſerie. The reaſons. Firſt, if God had not numbred the daies of man vponupon earth, they who louelove the world would neuer leaue it, nor they who ſuffer in it (without ſpeciall grace) waite till God ſhould worke their deliuerance from it. They who liue in pleaſure would neuer reſolue to die, and they would preſently ſeeke their owne death, and find it who liue in paine. Secondly, as wee are not borne at our owne pleaſure, ſo it is p. 125reaſon we ſhould liue and die at his pleaſure, who hath formed vsus in the wombe. Thirdly, God taketh ſmall matters into his hands to order them: Mat. 29.30. and ſhal we think that he hath not taken to himſelfe the great matter of life and death to diſpoſe of it?

A confutation of thoſe who think that man can either ſhorten his owne life, Ʋſe 1 or draw it beyond the Lords ſcore, to make it longer. Indeed, man may, by offering violence to himſelfe, become an vnnaturall inſtrument of the Lords iuſtice to cut of thoſe daies that God hath finiſhed: but no man can later, or ſooner die then the Lord of death and time hath ſet his end. Queſt. But hath not the Magiſtrate power ouer the life of a Malefactor? and is it not in his hand to giuegive him his life, or to take it from him when his ſinne hath giuen him into the power of the Law and of the Magiſtrate vntounto death? Anſw. In this caſe, the Magiſtrate hath no power, but p. 126what is giuen him: as when either the ſpite of time, or ſinne of Man, ſhall accompliſh what God hath purpoſed. Ioh. 19.11. So Chriſt told Pilate; who becauſe he had the ſoueraignty of iudgement, thought he had (alſo) the ſoueraigntie of life: verſe 10. But he had no power, but what the decree of God and determined moment of mans ſaluation had then giuen vntounto him. If then the Magiſtrate ſaue a man who is iudged to die, it is ſecretly to fulfill Gods time concerning him which is not yet come; or if he cut him of, it is becauſe the time appointed to him by God is firſt come, and he is Gods Miniſter to doe what God hath purpoſed to be done.

An inſtruction, Vſe teaching vsus patience and contentment when any of our friends ſhall be taken from vsus: for, God hath taken them from vsus, their time was come, which, as we cannot preuent, ſo we may not enuie: 2. Sam. 12.20.21. &c. So for our own death, we muſt willingly beare p. 127it, ſeeing that God hath appointed that we ſhall once die, and that once muſt once come. Hebr. 9.27. It is (I confeſſe) naturall to all to be loth to lay downe this tabernacle: but our obedience to the will of God muſt correct nature in ſo direct an oppoſition to his decree that hath made vsus we muſt call to our remembrance, not what we could wiſh, but God hath purpoſed, reaſoning, euerie man apart, and priuately in his heart thus: I muſt needes die becauſe it is Gods ordinance, and I will willingly die that I may ſhew my obedience to his will. I muſt needes die to put of corruption, and I will willingly die that I may ſee God. Or, I muſt needs die, Looke Deerings 11. Lecture on the Epiſtle to the Hebrues.that ſinne may hauehave his pay (the wages of ſinne is death. Rom. 6.23.) and I will willingly die that ſinne may be no longer, and death may looſe his ſting and power. So much for the mid-times of that naturall life in which Iob became attendant, and did waite for a better life, the period p. 128of time which he expected, followeth.

Till my change were come.] Here Iob ſheweth how long hee would waite, by hope, in his afflicted eſtate… euen till that period of time ſhould come (which he calleth the time of change) when hee ſhould finiſh the daies of his warre-fare on Earth, and receaue the Crowne of his ſufferings in glorie. And here, by the day of change, he meaneth the day of death, which is (therefore) called a change: becauſe it is the remoue of the faithfull from labour to reſt in their bodies, and from an Earthly to an Heauenly life in their ſoules, which are taken vp to God. Somewhere it is called the loſing (as of a Priſoner) from the Priſon and fetters of the fleſh, that hee may be with Chriſt: Philip. 1.23. Alſo, the godly in their bleſſed death are (for this) ſaid to be taken away. Eſa. 57.1. In their bodies from their houſe to graue, from feare to ſecurity, from ſenſe of paine to eaſe, and from their p. 129bodies of labour to their beds of reſt: in their ſoules, from an houſe of clay to an houſe not made with hands, from Men to Angels, from Earth to Heauen, from priſon to libertie, from mortalitie to immortall, and from death to liue. And we reade of the gathering of the righteous (as of things ſcattered and ſtraying from home) to their people & fathers. Gen. 25 8. Iudg. 2.10. Thus we hauehave heard why Iob and other ſcriptures call the death of the godly a change.

From whence the doctrine is, Doctr. That there is nothing in the good mans death, but what is profitable and excellent. In the third to the Philippians, verſ. 21. the Apoſtle calleth this alteration by death, not the loſſe of our body, but the change of our vile body, that it may bee facioned like to the glorious body of Chriſt. And is there any thing in this but what is excellent, and worthy (if any thing be worthy) our trauell & beſt paines here? Iohn, ſpeaking of the p. 130Saints glorified, ſaith; All teares ſhall be wiped from their eyes: Apoc. 21.4. His meaning is, that as ſoone as death ſhall let them out of the world, they ſhall hauehave no more ſorrow: that is, ſorrow that cauſeth teares. And the ſame Iohn ſaith: Bleſſed are the dead that die in the Lord: Apo. 14.13. that is, they who hauing liued righteouſly, die wel in him, are in the hand, & by the helpe of death, leade preſently to bleſſedneſſe. The Saints militant, did alwaies with the eyes of faith, in the Goſpell, behold this great honour and preferment by death, in the happy ends of the righteous, and therefore ſighed, deſiring their houſe from Heauen. 2. Cor. 5.2. for, they knew, that, if it were an honour to be remoued from a baſe cote to a Princes court; it could not but be a double, that is, ſingular honour to bee tranſlated from the Cotes of the Earth to the Court of Heauen. Therefore they ſighed, that is, could not be merrie, till that change ſhould come. Paul ſaith p. 131that to be loſed, to wit, from the bonds of his corruptible bodie, was beſt of all. Philip. 1, 23. which hee would not hauehave ſaid, if any preferment had beene better then that by death, which is from baſenes into the glorious libertie of the ſonnes of God The reaſons. And (further) that there is ſo much good in the godlie mans death (which is his change) may be and is euident. Firſt by the things to which that their happie and bleſſed change by death is compared, as, to a hauen that (after they hauehave paſſed the troubleſome waues of the ſea of this world) carrieth them to their owne key or backe in the which they ride ſafely to their iourneys end, after which they come home to their owne houſe, being ſtrangers here. 1. Pet. 2.11. to the medicine that cureth moſt perfectly the ſickneſſe of life, to the meſſenger that biddeth them to the marriage dinner of their great King. Mat. 22.2.3. to their returne from baniſhment, into their owne countrey p. 132and naturall land; to their deliuerance from the gaole of ſorrow, where, they are taken (with Ioſeph) out of priſon to be ſet with Princes, to the laying downe of their tabernacle, and to the putting on of their houſe from Heauen; to a deliuerance, like that out of Egypt, from the bondage of corruption to the libertie of ſaints; from a land of darkneſſe to a land where the ſunne neuer goeth downe: and from a land of deſtruction to the land of the liuing. Now, what is there in all theſe, that is not perfitly good and deſirable? Secondly, death aboliſheth in the faithfull departed, all power of ſinning and ſting of ſinne. Thirdly, the bodie feeleth no more paine, nor ſhal euer againe be ſenſible, but of that which is excellently good: deſireable, and comfortable: and for the ſoule, it ſhall preſently be glorified. Luc. 16.22. Fourthly, death is but the dore of the ſoule out of an earthly dungeon (ſuch as the bodie is, that muſt be deſtroied before the wormes) into p. 133an heauenly kingdome, or paſſage from death to life, from a ſhort death to a long life. Laſtly, God executeth his iudgements vponupon the damned, and purgeth his Church by death.

An inſtruction to correct all vnreaſonable and faithleſſe weeping for our godly friends and brethren departed in the faith of Chriſt. Ʋſe 1 The Apoſtle to the Theſſalonians exhorteth Chriſtians, if they ſorrow for ſuch, not to ſorrow for them as men that hauehave no hope. 1. Theſ. 4.13. When Heſter was taken from Mardochay (who had brought her vp as his owne daughter) to be married to King Aſſuerus, and to receaue the crowne of Queene in the kingdome, did he either bewaile or enuie that her great preferment? the faithfull are taken from ſorrowfullmen to be eſpouſed to Chriſt, and to receaue the crowne of glorie: and ſhall they, that liue, by ſuch vnmeaſurable ſorrow and taking on, as is too commonly vſed at the p. 134graues of their friends, vnwiſh to them, in a ſort ſo great happineſſe? Will a father be ſorrie or can he without imputation of enuie repine, that his ſonne or daughter is (with Ioſeph) taken out of priſon to be ſet with Princes? when thou giueſt forth thy child to nurſe, and ſhee hath kept it long inough; ſhould ſhee, becauſe thou takeſt it home againe; complaine? thou wilt ſay, ſhe hath no reaſon for it; Then what reaſon hath any father to murmure againſt the owner of the child hee taketh, for taking of his owne? Parents that ſo loſe their children (if they may be called loſt that are ſo found) are but nurſes to them, in their abſence from their owne fathers houſe, to nurſe them with the milke of the Goſpel, and religiouſly to nurture them for the Lord, who by death ſends for them home to himſelfe, when he ſeeth time: and when he ſo doth, hauehave they cauſe to complaine of wrong? father, mother, ſonne, wife, husband, brother, p. 135are but lent goods, which we muſt reſtore when the creditor, and hee that owneth them, calleth for them. And ſhall we count our ſelues ſpoiled or vndone, becauſe they are required? If one ſhould lend vsus a thing of price or thing that is coſtly, would wee (for a recompence of the vſe of it) vpbraid the owner becauſe he ſendeth for it? or, if we ſhould, might not he, who was the lender, iuſtly ſay: is this my thanks? and ſhall I be recompenced with ſo great impatiencie for my ſo great good will? So if God ſhould lend vsus tenne deare children, as he did to Iob, and we ſhould be made to part with them all in one day, would it become vsus with rough words to receaue that ſuppoſed loſſe? or would we complaine of wrong, where none is offered? and where our good is ſought and our childrens gaine, be vnthankfull? if we ſhould, may not the Lord of them and of vsus, iuſtly taxe our vnthankfulneſſe and complaine of wrong? May he p. 136not ſay: did Iob, my ſeruant ſo, from whom I tooke ten children in one day, and, in a few daies, all the honour and ſubſtance that he had? did he not rather confeſſe my vnqueſtionable right in ſuch moueables, and ſay; the Lord giueth, the Lord taketh away, bleſſed be the name of the Lord. Iob 1.21. If a great Lord ſhould call vsus and our child, promiſing to both much honour and great wealth, would we weepe and take on, becauſe our child is gone before, and we, our ſelues, muſt ſhortly follow after? would we not rather, with much ioy, ſo order our iourney and affaires, that we (alſo) might (with as great diſpatch as might be) receaue ſuch preferment as (wee know) our child hath entred on alreadie? And why are we vnquiet, ſeeing the Lord of Heauen and earth hath called our child from a baſe condition to nobleneſſe, to beſtow honours vponupon him and ritches that ſhall not faile, promiſing the like to vsus by the way of death? ſhould we p. 137not rather ſo diſpoſe our occaſions and life, that we may ioifully follow him whom wee hauehave not loſt but ſent before? But you will ſay, my child was young and died in his flowers? well, be it ſo, yet they who die young, ſo they die well, are old inough to goe to God: beſides, did not Ieroboams childe in whom were found good things, die young. 1. King. 14.13. And did not Ioſiah die old, whom the Lord, in a battle at Megiddo, tooke from the filthy will of Iudah to plant him, before himſelfe in the garden of his owne preſence, in glorie. 2. King. 24.29. Neither can they be ſaid to die yong, whoſe perfection is growne to a bleſſed ripeneſſe before the Lord. But young, or old, if you hauehave reioiced in your child, as in the Lords intereſt, you will not think it much, and why ſhould you, that the Lord ſhould hauehave his owne? or, will you (with Phurao) offer to hold in the priſon of life (as in Egypt) any ſeruant of his, whom hee ſhall ſend for by p. 138death, his laſt meſſenger, and that a… ſupper time when all things are ready? Luc. 14.17. While he liued, God gane him to you, as a pledge of his fauor; now that he is taken away, you muſt freely reſigne him as a pledge of your obedience. But you wil ſay, He was my onelyonly child. Indeed the death of an onelyonly childe is very greeuous to the Parents. Zechar. 12.10. Am. 8.10. yet Abraham was readie to hauehave ſacrificed his onelyonly ſonne Iſaac at Gods commandement: Gen. 22.3.10. and God gaue his onelyonly ſonne (Chriſt) to death for our ſal…ation. Ioh. 3.16. wherefore, as Elkanah ſaid to Annah, ſo, and much more may the Lord ſay to vsus: am not I better to you then ten ſonnes? 1. Sam. 1.8. or, are not our ten ſonnes, and all the children of the wombe, his gift? Pſ. 127.3. Then, though he be your onelyonly child and all you hauehave, whom God thus, by death, taketh from you, there is no cauſe of griefe or of complaint, ſeeing the Lord hath but his owne when he hath taken p. 139him, and ſeeing (alſo) that he taketh him, and you giuegive him, but as your pledge and earneſt to binde vntounto you the right of that inheritance that you looke for; or as your Feof-fee of truſt, gone before, to take the poſſeſſion for you.

A reproofe to thoſe, Vſe 2 who can ſee nothing in the death of their friends or in their owne deathes, but what is dreadfull beyond meaſure, and (ſimply) the end of man. Such conceiue death, not as he is to the righteous, and as Chriſt hath made him to bee by his glorious death, but as fooles iudge of him, who behold him, through falſe ſpectacles, as he is in his owne vncorrected nature, conſidered out of Chriſt, that is, vgly, terrible, and hideous. So did they behold him in Amos, who put the euill day of his comming (that which they iudged to bee euill, and the godly iudge to bee happie, no day happier) as far from them, as they could by carnall delicacie p. 140and wantonneſſe. Amos 6.3. So did Belſhazzar looke vponupon him, whoſe heart would not ſerue him to reade the hand-writing of his owne end ſo neare. Dan. 5.5.6.30. And Nabal had no heart to die: who, when he muſt needes die, died as a ſtone: that is, died blockiſhly, and ſo faintly, that he was as good as ſlaine, before death ſlew him. 1. Sam. 25.37.38. He had no comfort in death, which hee could not ſee one that was as righteous, but as churliſh and prophane. And no maruell: for, this Aduerſarie, death armed as Goliah, and vaunting as that proud Gyant of Gath, commeth ſtalking toward ſuch in fearefull manner, infulting ouer weake duſt, and daring the world to giuegive him a man to fight with. Therefore, at the ſight of him, the whole hoaſt of worldlings bewray great feare, turning their backes, and going backward as men readie to ſinke into the earth, with abated courages and lookes caſt downe, ſtained p. 141with the colours of feare & death, trembling like leaues in a ſtorme, and ſtriken with the palſie of a ſudden and violent ſhaking through all the bodie. 1, Sam. 17.10.11. But the true Chriſtian armed (as Dauid) with truſt in God, and expectation of victory by the death of Chriſt, who by death, ouercame death, as Dauid cut off the head of Goliah, with his owne ſword: dares and doth boldly encounter with this huge Philiſtian, death (ſuppoſed inuincible and ſeeming great) but neither with ſword nor ſpeare, but in the name of the God of the hoaſt of Iſrael, by whoſe might onelyonly hee woundeth, and ſtriketh him to the earth, trampling vponupon him in the returne of his ſoule to the place out of which it firſt came, and ſinging ouer him this ioiful and triumphant ſong of victorie: O death, where is thy ſting? 1. Cor. 15.55. Hee hath Steuens eyes to looke into heauen: and therefore cannot but hauehave the tongue of the Saints who ſay: Come p. 142Lord Ieſu, come quickly. Apo… 22.2… For the ioy that is ſet before him, he (with his good Sauiour,) endureth the croſſe of death, and deſpiſeth the ſhame of corruption, to which the duſt of his bodie muſt bee turned. Heb. 12.2.

Ob. Queſt. But you will ſay, Is not death to be feared, that worketh ſo fearefully, beeing (alſo) enemie to nature, and the wages of ſinne? Rom. 6.23.

Anſ. Anſw. Indeede, death is dreadfull out of Chriſt, and in it ſelfe; and wee hauehave reaſon to feare it, as it is an effect of ſinne: for ſo, God ſetteth his angrie countenance in it, and ſo, Ariſtotle.it is ſimply fearefull and euill. Which made an heathen man to ſay, that of all terrible things, death was moſt terrible. Hee ſaw in the darke, that death had much euill in it, and that it was properly euill, and but accidentally good; but he could not ſee through the dark cloud that which made it ſo euill. Therefore euill it is (I confeſſe) and fearefull. p. 143And to this we hauehave a greater witneſſe then the witneſſe of man. For, the Apoſtle ſaith, the ſting of death is ſinne. 1. Cor. 15.56. Now, ſo farre as it hath a ſting, and is in it ſtrength, it is to be feared. The reaſon is: ſo it is properly death, and death in kinde: But we ſpeake not of death, conſidered out of Chriſt, or conſidered in it ſelfe, but of death altered by the death of Chriſt, and which by ſuch a change, is made our paſſage from death to life; for ſo, it is no dreadful thing, but a thing deſireable: and ſo the ſting is taken from it, which is of force, and carieth an edge of ſecond death againſt all the workers of iniquitie, who dying out of Chriſt, die miſerably, helliſhly, and with horrible feare. By Chriſt the doore, death is made a doore out of ſpirituall death into ſpirituall life, out of vnhappineſſe and paines mortall, into all happineſſe, and ioyes eternall. Further, they who are ſet in Chriſt (in whom they liue, to whoſe glorie, they deſire p. 144to liue and die) ſeeing they behold death, not with carnall eyes, but with the eyes of faith in the Goſpell, doe (as hath beene ſaid) get heart and reioyce againſt death, in their good conſciences, and all the terrour of it: and ſo to them it is a diſarmed enemie, or enemie of no power and hurt. For how can that Scorpion hurt, that hath no ſting? Or why ſhould that enemie be feared, that hath neither hand to ſtrike, nor weapon to kill? Such a Scorpion is death, when we take ſinne from it: and death is ſuch an enemie, when once wee hauehave ſet it downe by reformation of life. Contrarily, naturall men feare death exceedingly, death that bringeth ſo much good to the righteous, and taketh ſo much euil from the Saints, becauſe death in them, is not ioined with a godly and well reformed life. They hauehave not done the good for which they came into the world: and therefore they feare to di…. They apprehend death as a p. 145ſtrong enemy, finding in it (through their continuall wickedneſſe) no likelihood of ſaluation, nor ſigne of peace, and therefore deſire not to be diſſolued, but feare to bee diſſolued, nor thinke death to bee a change, but a plague. Or, they hauehave all their pleaſure and peace in their dayes here, nor caring for the dayes of heauen, nor fearing the long night of hell. Here, they are well, and they know not where is better. Therefore, not hoping for a better life, no maruell if they leaue this againſt their will. Death to ſuch is the beginning of eternall death, and no port-way to Chriſt, but a portall-doore to deſtruction. Let vsus therfore ſo liue, that we may not feare death, and ſo learne to die, that wee may liue euer, not with Diuels in torments, but with God in his kingdome. That wee may ſo doe: wee muſt remember how it was ſaid, that death (as it is an effect of the fall) hath a ſting, which ſting of death is ſinne. This p. 146ſting we muſt pull from it, by taking ſinne from it in our daily repentance, and daily turning to God by newneſſe of life. Hee that hath an enemie will doe what he can to weaken him, and if he be fearefull, becauſe he is well armed, hee will doe what lieth in him, to diſarme him, that he may not feare him. This enemie is death, the laſt that ſhall be deſtroyed. Let vsus therefore doe all we can, by putting off ſinne, and putting on righteouſneſſe, to bring downe his ſtrength; and by taking away from our hearts, and the conuerſation of our liues, the ſinne and ſting of drunkenneſſe, whoredome, blaſphemie, pride, lying, and other abominable luſtes; let vsus put no weapon of malice or edge into deaths hands to feare vsus with, when wee ſhould leaue this world with comfort, and goe to God in peace. So ſhall we neither feare death, nor feele the gripes of ſecond death.

Obiect. But the godly hauehave feared death: elſe, why did Eliah flye p. 147from it in the perſecution of Iezabel? 1. Kin. 19.3. and Chriſt teach his, to decline it in the perſecutions of men? Math. 10.23. and Chriſt himſelfe pray againſt the bitter cup of it in in his agonie, and before his apprehenſion? Mat. 26.39.

Anſ. I anſwere briefely. Theſe Saints did not, nor were to fly from death, as it is the end of life, and bleſſed end of a good life, but vſed the meants of flight (onelyonly) to preuent violent and haſtie death, till the houre appointed ſhould come that they were to giuegive their ſpirit in peace, into the hands of him that made it. And becauſe ſuch vntimely death was enemie to the good they had to doe, and courſe they were to finiſh; therefore they went aſide by flying, for ſome time, and till the time of their departure came, that they might do the good, to which they were appointed, and finiſh the courſe for which they were ſent. But where it is alledged that Chriſt himſelfe prayed againſt p. 148the cup of death. I anſwere, two waies. And firſt that hee prayed, without ſinne, and without hauing ſinne, againſt it: ſeeing that in that his ſupplication of teares, and much feare, he ſubmitted alway to his fathers will: and ſeeing alſo death was not to him, as it is to vsus. For, to vsus the ſting of it is conquered, and the force broken; but to him it was in full power: He felt the ſting of it, and wraſtled with the force of it in ſoule and bodie. Secondly, I ſay that it was not meerely a bodily death (though vnſubdued, ſaue where himſelfe ſubdued it) that he trembled at, but by the burden of our ſinnes, which hee was to vndergoe, in which he beheld the whole. There hee ſaw his fathers countenance turned againſt him, and there knew that he muſt beare his wrath, becauſe hee bore our ſinnes. Beſides, Chriſt feared death, beeing clothed with our fleſh, to ſhew that hee tooke our infirmities, and bore our ſorrowes, and p. 149was perfect man. And ſo death in ſome caſe may bee feared, and at ſome time prayed againſt, but euer vnderunder the correction of Gods will. Eſay 38.2.3. For the rodde of death turned into a Serpent, made Moſes to feare, Exo. 4.3. and the beſt hauehave moderately declined, and ſhrunke at the ſtroke of death when it came in ſome tempeſt. And who doth not dread all Gods terrours, wherof death is one? And feare that which is the puniſhment of ſin and curſe of ſinners? And decline that which is the deſtruction of humane Nature? and ſhrinke at that which hath made the ſtrongeſt, the wiſeſt, the richeſt, the greateſt to fall downe flatte before it? Therefore the feare of death, thus reproued, is not the naturall feare of it, which is in all, but the ſeruile feare of it, proper to euill doers, and common to thoſe who can hauehave no hope in death, becauſe they neuer cared to liue, till they were compelled to die. And now that wee hauehave heard p. 150what feare of death it is, that Gods children muſt not bee ſtained with; as namely, that which is ſeruile and cowardly, wee will ſhew (and that briefely) why ſuch feare of death ſhould fall vponupon none of Gods ſeruants, who in ſo great peace, leaue this world, and for ſo precious a crowne of glorie. For, if wee hauehave no better reſemblance of death, then when we ſleepe, nor better reſt, then at that time: why ſhould it be counted ſo hydeous a thing, when the bodie is toiled and much ſpent with labour, to ſend it to the ſweet and deepe ſleepe of death, or to lay it in the quiet bed of the earth, where no ſounds or feare can diſeaſe it? And if to Gods Children, death bee not onelyonly a departing from paine and euril, but an acceſſe to all good, nor the end of life, but the end of death, and beginning of life eternall: can Gods children thinke it any diſaduantage to exchange the ſenſe of paine, for the fruition of that which is perfectly p. 151pleaſing and good? Or, to change death for life? Or, to paſſe from a wearie pilgrimage to their deſired homes, where they ſhall not onelyonly neuer feele miſerie, but bee euer happie and bleſſed, with the full ſight of that, the glimpſe wherof ſhining vponupon the face of our Sauiour, in his transfiguration, made Peter to ſay: Maſter, it is good to be here? Math. 17.4. Salomon ſaith: Better is the day of death, then the day in which wee were borne. Eccleſ. 7.3. And why better? except becauſe when we are borne, we come into miſery, & when we die, we goe out, our death, beeing changed by the death of Chriſt, and made vntounto vsus, not a death as the Law maketh it, but our path and mid-way betweene this life and the other which is eternall; or our doore and little wicket out of this world into that world and kingdome, which is prepared for the Saints, inhabited of the Angels, and receiueth honour from God, who is the light p. 152and temple of that Cirie? Laſtly, death hath loſt his ſting, his hell, his victorie (I ſpeake in regard of the righteous) that which remaineth (if wee liue in the ſpirit, and die in the Lord) is profitable for vsus. For, it ſhall bring an end of all our labours, and giuegive vsus vp into the hands of Ieſus Chriſt. Now what feare is in all this? Let them feare (therefore) who hauehave (giuen vntounto them) a ſpirit of bondage and of feare, in which they tremble at their owne eſtate, and which maketh them to carrie in their breaſt tormenting furies that hold them day and night, in the feare of endleſſe death: Let them feare who reſt in ſinne, liue in errour and ignorance, follow the luſtes of the world, and walke in all the waies of death; but let not them feare, who are at a couenant with themſelues, to hauehave no pleaſure in ſuch fond courſes, and direct waies of death, but to hauehave their pleaſure, (onelyonly) in the word of God, to vnderſtand it, and in the p. 153myſterie of Chriſt to bee lightened with it; who hate ſinne, that they may hauehave hope, and walke in righteouſneſſe, that they may walke with Chriſt. Let not ſuch feare: for the power of death & Satan is broken before ſuch, and ſuch may hauehave boldneſſe, when they goe out of the world, that they ſhall goe to God.

A comfort (therefore) to the faithfull, Vſe 3 who hauehave born the brunt of life: for ſuch may be comforted in death, as a Souldiour, who hath endured the skirmiſhes and ſcarres of warre, is glad and may hauehave ioy, that the enemie is ſpent, and the warre ended; where others, becauſe they hauehave ſpent no time, or ſo little in the Lords ſeruice, and giuen ſo few ſtrokes (if any) in the cauſe of his truth and glorie, may feare at the approach of death, and iuſtly complaine of that day, as of a day of death indeede, and that eternall. In the eleuenth Chapter to the Hebrewes, the Apoſtle ſheweth what great troubles the ſeruants of p. 154God endured, and how ioyfull they were, as at a royall feaſt, in all thoſe troubles and ſufferings for Chriſt, that they might enter vponupon the comfortable death of the righteous. They were ſo farre from fearing death, as worldlings feare it, that they ranne gladly to it, in their hope of the reſurrection, and reioiced in the welcome day of death, as in a day of the greateſt good that could befall them. The reaſons were; they knew with Sampſon, that they ſhould ſlay moe at their death, then they ſlew in their life: Iudg. 16.30. As firſt, that they ſhould ſlay their laſt enemie by death, which is not ſlain but by dying. And ſecondly, that they ſhould kill the ſpawne of all enmitie, ſinne's ſinne, which bred death, … 4.7.and the miſeries of eternall death. Which death in the Saints, bred by ſinne, as the worme in the flower, killeth the corrupt flower that bred it, that is, that ſinne that cauſed death. And this made ccI doubt not but the Prophet here ſinned by impatiencie: but his hope was in death.Eliah to deſire death, p. 155not life, and rather to die, then to liue, ſaying; It is enough: 1. King. 19.4 It made Dauid to lay vp his fleſh in hope: Pſal. 16.9. It made Paul to ſay, I am readie not to bee bound onelyonly, but to die at Ieruſalem for the name of the Lord Ieſus: Act. 21.13. And as Simeon ſaid, Lord, now letteſt thou thy ſeruant depart in peace: Luke 2.29. So the godly hauehave ſuch comfort in death, that they ſay with old Simeon, and all Saintes: Come, Lord Ieſu, come quickly: Apo. 22.20. apprehending death, as their onelyonly way to Chriſt, and guide to happineſſe, and applauding death as Iacob applauded the Chariots that Ioſeph his ſonne ſent for the bringing of him out of a land of miſerie, into a land of plentie and fulneſſe, where hee ſhould hauehave foode inough, the beſt in the land: Gen. 45.27.48. The hope of Iob, and expectation of the Saints is, that they ſhall ſee God, and come to Chriſt by death preſently in their ſoules, and in their bodies at the laſt day, p. 156when all the bones in Golgotha ſhall riſe at that voice that ſhall ſay, returne yee ſonnes of Adam. Pſal. 90.3. For though death ſhall ſwallow them vp, as the Whale did Ionah, and ſhall binde them as the Philiſtims did Sampſon, and the ſhroude did Lazarus, hand and foote; Ioh. 11.44. yet the Whale of the earth ſhall not hold them, nor the ſnares of death and ſhroude of darkneſſe preuaile againſt them, when God ſhall ſpeake, by his laſt trumpet, to the graues of the earth, and they ſhall caſt out all the Lords Ionahs. Ion. 2.10. The bands of death ſhall fall aſunder, as corruption and rottenneſſe in that day, in which Chriſt ſhall command the holds of darkeneſſe to deliuer his Saints, ſaying, looſe them and let them goe. Ioh. 11.44. This (then) beeing all that the righteous ſhall looſe by their gainfull death: For they ſhall looſe a ſhort miſerable life, and receiue a long euer bleſſed life in glorie; what loſſe can there be in death, p. 157and what greater aduantage then by dying? This the godly know, and therefore reioyce in death, as they that finde great ſpoiles. They finde that their bodie, ſuch as it is now in the eſtate of corruption, is an image of golde, which is disfigured, that it can be brought to no ſhape, till the owner melt and refound it to a new ſimilitude: Euen ſo, the bodie that at firſt, was beautifull, hauing ſuch a grace and maieſtie ſet in the face of it, that (after a ſort and outwardly) it reſembled the Creators image, fairer then any of Gold, they finde ſo to bee troden in the mire, and ſo miſhapen by ſinne, that it can neuer receiue the beautie and condition of the firſt worke, till it bee diſſolued and new-moulded, by the hand of GOD at the reſurrection of all bodies: and therefore they deſire death, as the firſt neceſſary and bleſſed workhouſe of this their repaire from p. 158deformitie to faſhion, and from corruptible to eternall. So death was Saint Pauls aduantage: and how can it bee our loſſe, if wee make Saint Pauls end? If we had no hope after death, wee might feare indeed. But GOD hauing made their firſt Adam a liuing ſoule, not a dying ſoule, and all the ſonnes of the ſecond, glorious ſoules, not reprobate ſpirits: Why ſhould wee dread or feare to receiue our crown and glorie? Or, why ſhould we be vnwilling, with a ioyfull ſhout, to ſalute our port and hauen, after ſo many tiring ſtormes as wee hauehave endured vponupon the raging ſea of this world? And why be ſorie that we are going to our houſe of peace, and home of long life, which is at the right hand of God, where is fulneſſe of ioy, and pleaſures for euermore? Pſal. 16.11. Doth any man feare to fall a ſleepe at night, that hath laboured hard all day? What is the death of the faithfull, but their p. 159ſleepe of refreſhing after the toiles of their life, when the night is come in which no man can worke? Ioh. 9.4 To this bleſſed ſleepe of peace, the Lord for his mercies ſake, lay euerie one of vsus, whom hee hath purpoſed to take to reſt from labour, in his time appointed.

Amen.

The end of the ſecond Sermon.