The Last Battle of the Soul, Religious tract 4
A diuine and heauenly discourse fit to be read to these that are conueened in the house of mourning, that thereby the liuing may be remembered of their mortalitie.
DEarlie Beloued, this our godlie Friend one of Gods excellent Ones is now deceased, & that peac… ablie like a Lambe into the armes o… his God, who hath euer lasting lie fast bund his Soule in the bundle of life▪ The death of such is often a fearfull pre…age of much anger and euill to come.
His Soule is now glorious in the Heauens like a Starre new created in the Skie: It is now liuing the life of God aboue, where it is filled with the infusion of that … which wee hauehave heere on earth … by imputation: Hee hath now al… God and all that is in God in … speakable perfection beeing in that place where God is all in all.
At last after sore fighting and bitter bickering, as diuerse godlie persons hauehave seene, through the bent browes of an angrie Iudge hee hath seene the yearning and relenting bowels of a louing Father: Now after his Battell ended, he hath … the Spirit: *NoteClepsydr… … his houre glasse is now runne out, and his Soule is come to its wished home where it is free from the fetters of flesh: Nowe from the …hanging turnes of time, hee is at last come to Eternitie: *NoteThorow many seas of …orrows both bitter and brimie hath he sailed before that hee could ariue at that blessed Port.
Our hearts cannot be but sorrowfull to bee depriued of such comfortable companie as was …is: But here i… our comfort and the matter of our joye, hee is well and shall bee so for euer: *NoteBy the merciemercy of his God hee is now passed ouer th… knoppes of the mountaines of miserie and thorow the muddie myres of sinfull mortalitie, thorow fearefull tryals and troubles, euen from the dyets of grace to the dainties of glorie, from the aCant. 7. 11.Villages of this world vntounto bLuk. 16. 9euerlasting …, farre aboue the rolling wheele of all changeable pleasures and smarting paines.
Poore mans life on earth is like a restlesse whirle-gigge whirled about: The mouing heauens are the place of our rest; and the resting earth is the place of our restlesse motions: *NoteThe way of this life as wee may see is not adorned with Violets and Roses: No not: It is full of rubs and thornes and pricking whinnes of piercing griefe: O with what paines hath his sillie Soule sought vp the sweete streames of Gods merciemercy … to the Fountaine it selfe which is … to the Heauens!
God in great merciemercy hath now … last after manie dolours and bitter bickerings put his Spirit into the ac… tuall and full possession of his … all joyes: Through fyre and water … Psal, 66. 12Lord hath broght him out into a … place: Now he is free from ye bodie of bondage which did hang so fast … His Soule is set out of ye reach of … troubles and sublunary toyes: Now blessed bee our God, hee is no … lyable to our sinfull mortalitie into this earth a gulfe of corruption, God at last hath recompenced his light affliction with an euerlasting weight of glorie: O but he hath had a painefull time in his sicknes! with manie deepe sigh and heauie groane hath hee beene heard in his feares: His face could neuer bee dryed for teares continuallie trickling ouer his cheekes: *NoteHappie is hee now for all the cloudes of his sinnes hauehave bene dissolued by ye raine of mourn… full teares where with all Soules must be baptised before that they can be members of the Church Triumphant: Now blessed bee God, all his teares and his trauels are turned into triumphes: If men shedde not …eares on earth, God cannot wypt them away in heauen: All, as wee, must fight the good fight before …hey can catch the Crowne.
*NoteLet vsus all learne in him, and in …his House of mourning to see and con…der the end of vsus all, that while wee are liuing wee may lay it to our hearts and make it a matter of our nights meditations: *NoteHappie and thrise happie is hee that can practise that saying of Iob, All the dayes Iob. 14. 14of mine appointed time, will I waite, till changing come.
It is good that wee euer bee watchfull vponupon our guarde well prepared for our last departure and finall accounts: *NoteNo man can …ll how soone hee shall bee arraigned in the great Iudge his Consistorie: The day of this life wherein onelie wee can worke, declineth a pace: The fearfull night cloud hath taken post▪ So soone as it shall come, man shall bee discharged to worke any more.
It is good often to consider (le… wee should dote and dreame of Immortalitie heere) that the short threed of this life will bee soone drawne out to an end▪ that by such thoughts we may learne in time not to bee taken vp with abortiue earthlie pleasures which perish in the budde.
What is this earth but a muddie myre? What is poore mans life on this earth, but a map of miserie? *NoteThe best of it is white and blacke checker work mixed with paines & pleasures, lashes and laughters: Euen in laughter Prou. 14, 13the heart is sorrowfull, and the end of that mirth is heauinesse: This godlie mans death should bee warning for vsus: *NoteDeath knocking at our neighbours doore should remember vsus of our mortalitie: There is no case of humane calamitie, but it is insident to all: In this our old friend wee may see and reade that we hauehave none abiding heere: Hee is nowe gone to his long home by the way ofEccles. 12. 5 all flesh: *NoteAboue the rolling circumference of heauen hee hath found the center of his rest: Natures necessitie subjecteth all flesh to mortalitie: Hee is gone before vsus from the land Isa. 9. 20.of the shadowe of death thorow the valey of the shadow of death vntounto euerlasting felicitie, and we all soone o… since must all treade the same way: Let vsus prouok our watchfulnes with this, that wee shall goe to him, but hee shall no more come to vsus: Let vsus worke while the day lasteth: *NoteBefore wee bee benighted by death, let vsus wot where we shall get a lodging▪ So long as wee hauehave breath and being let vsus like Moses bee instant with God in prayer, that hee would so psal. 90. 12teach vsus to number our few and euill dayes that vvee may apply our heartes to vvisedome and to vvell doing.
Wee hauehave all great neede to goe to this Schoole for the learning of that lesson, because death in this narrow passage of mortalitie stealeth vponupon vsus all with insinsible degrees▪ The course of our dayes is like theGen, 1, 16 course of the Sunne the ruler of the Day, whom our owlish eyes cannot perceiue to moue, though hee rejoyce Psal. 19 5.as a strong man to runne a race: we know him to be more swift than winde, yet while wee behold him in his course, wee cannot perceiue his motion: It is euen so of our life: Our dayes runne fast away, but wee perceiue not how: *NoteIt is not long that wee stand, but when wee beginne to fall, wee are like the Yce which thaweth sooner than it froze: Our life like smoke or chaffe is carried away as with a gale winde, and yet we cannot consider: Oh, that this meditation like the Rowell of a Spurre could pricke vsus forward in our voyage from grace to glorie.
*NoteNature hath taught the …sillie Birdes, the Cranne, Storke, and Swallows Isa. 8. 7.our winter strangers, to know their seasons: As if they had numbered the dayes of their absence, they come precisely at their appointed Spring: The Salmons also in their season returne to the place where they were spawned: They like skilled Airthmeticiens number well the dayes of their absence, and for no rubs in the way will they be moued to cracke their tryst.
All this hauehave they learned in the Schoole of Nature: *Note▪But men who should hauehave grace with Nature, forget to desire to returne to their God who at the first spawned or as ScriptureGen, 2, 7. speaketh breathed within them their liuing Soules: Men are often worse than ye beasts, who wold faine know their duety, but cannot: Many mē can, but will not, lik these whom2 Pet. 3. 5. S. Peter calleth Willinglie ignorant▪
The God of grace giuegive vsus wisedome, that before our day bee spent and our Sunne set, wee may weigh well and consider how wee may so liue to die, that wee may die to liue▪ Ezek. 9. 2.*NoteHappie is the man whom God his white man, hath in this life marked with the mourning marke: The way to Heauen is not so easie as manie dreame: Oh, how many lets bee within vsus and without vsus! *NoteOh howe manie weightes hang …o fast on, whereby the vnstable Soule of man is tossed and swayed hither and thither.
Seeing this holie man of God such a strong Oake hath beene so sore shaken, what may we poore little shrubs expect? O but we hauehave great neede to coffer vp some comfortes against the euill day: All worldlie helpes depart from vsus, when we depart out of this life, but Gods fauour faileth neuer: When all thinges hauehave forsaken vsus, then onelie hee will stand by vsus, and at last will draw vsus out of this myrie lake of miserie.
Happie and thrise happie is the man that is holie heere, whome the Spirite of God may point out with an Ecce, Behold a true Israelite: Ioh. 1. 47.Such a man after death shall obtaine a name, which shall giuegive him after death a second life: O thrise blessed is hee whom God in merciemercy remoueth in time, that his eyes should not see the euill to come.Isa. 57. 1.
The world now is come to its dregs: From little to little our zeale is come to its last gaspe: Now, if euer, the Church is a Lillie among the thornes: Cant. 2. 2,Our sinnes are become like Oakes: but our vertues are pinched smal lik graines of mustard seede: *NoteWee look in drumblie waters, and therefore we cannot see our sinfull blots and blamishes.
Lord, teach vsus to grow better that so long as we sojourne in these mansionsA prayer of dying wightes, wee may striue without guile to glid thorow this world, that at last following this our olde deare friend wee may come to him and to all the Sainctes into to that celestiall Palace, a place ofPsal. 16. 11 plentie, peace and pleasures for euermore.