The Saints Privilege, Dedication 2
To my Worthy and much Honoured Friends. Captain John Bradman, and Mrs. Sarah Bradman his Wife. Friends & Relations to
Captain Richard Haddock
Mr. Iſaack Heath.
Mr. Richard Fiſher
Brothers in Law to Mrs. Elizabeth Fiſher. Daughter in Law to Mrs. Marjory Fiſher, late VVife to Captain Robert Fiſher, together with the reſt of her Pious Relations and Friends, whether to Me Known or Unknown.
My Chriſtian and Worthy Friends,
UNderſtanding it was the great deſire of your dear Kinſwoman and my loving friend Mrs. Fiſher, that (if it might have been) I ſhould have preached Her Funerall Sermon; and hearing by ſome after your comming down, that your deſign was, that rather then her deſire ſhould not be anſwered, to have had it done in private, Though for my own part, I thought it not convenient by reaſon of the multitude of people, which could not have received benefit, and the offence that might have been taken; yet had it not been otherwiſe reſolved, but her requeſt had been inſiſted upon, I muſt have ſubmitted to any inconveniencies, rather then not have anſwered her and your deſires. In order to which, after I heard of it, I applyed my ſelf that little time I had to the work: but very glad that it was at laſt performed by another in publick, where no offence could be given, or danger incurred.
And now becauſe I could not ſerve her and your deſires in that laſt office, yet in the Teſtification of my great reſpects I owe to her memory and your ſelves her dear relations; I have thought good to copy out my then prepared Meditations; and in theſe few ſheets of Paper to preſent you with them, as to ſerve, for an acknowledgement of my thankfulneſs to you all, for your reſpects ſhewed to me, a Stranger to you, and undeſerving from you, ſo to teſtify my great eſteem of that precious Saint of Chriſt, and to let all that ſhall read them ſee, that ſuch loſſes are deeply to be lamented. I cannot ſay they are word for word the ſame, but as near as poſſible the ſame, they ſhould have been if I had then preached them, perhaps although not for any worth in them, yet for her reſpect, whoſe death hath occaſioned them, you may at ſome ſpare hours, caſt an eye upon them, and if they may be matter of advantage to your ſelves, or any other, I ſhould be glad, being joyfull I might ſerve or do good to any that belonged to her, though unknown to me. I believe you all affectionately loved her and delighted in her, truly the beſt and now the only way left to teſtify your reſpect of her, is to ſet before your eyes, and keep in your memoryes the Pious example of her holy life, and to be followers of her ſo far as ſhe was of Chriſt Jeſus, a Copy with fewer blots, a rule leſs crooked, I know not where you will find on this ſide heaven.
The work that ſhe hath done, I know you expect to do, leave her, and prepare for your own; that when Chriſt comes he may find you no worſe prepared, then I hope he found her; to this end let matters of ſoul-concernment, which are the only buſineſs of life, have more, and matters of the world have leſs of your hours then ever they have had. Its ſtrange to ſee how this vain world, where we can be but a very little time at longeſt, ſhould ſo eat up our Affections, Thoughts, Deſires, Dayes, and Years; that for the one thing needfull, we can find no leiſure, as if our God, our Chriſt, our Souls, our Heaven, were nothing worth.
It was an excellent speech of Charles the fifth to the Duke of Venice, who when he had ſhewed him the glory of his Princely Palace, and earthly Paradiſe, inſtead of admiring it, or him for it, he only returned him this grave and ſerious Anſwer haec ſunt quae faciunt invitos mori; theſe are the things that make us unwilling to Dye; ſo truly this is the great cauſe, why Chriſtians play loath to depart, when their times come, and make death ſuch a Bug-bare, they have been, with Martha, combred with much ſerving, alwayes ſo buſied about laying up Treaſures that they muſt now leave behind them; that they are unprovided of that which ſhould ſerve them for their great Journey; Oh my friends when you are Bees for Earth, but Drones for Heaven, what low thoughts have you of it?
Methinks is an Incongruous ſight, if we could ſee in…o it, that a man who is animal brevis aevi, ſhould be infinitae Sol icitudinis, a creature but of a dayes continuance in the world, yet of infinite cares about the world; and what is this world we purſue? as one ſayes,(a)Vita quid eſt hominum? vaſti quid gloria mundi? Dulla eſt & ſomnus fumus & umbra fugax. what is this life? what is the glory of this vaſt world? a Bubble, a Dream, a little Smoake, a flying Shadow.
And yet what Folly and Madneſs poſſeſſeth the hearts of men, Eccleſ. 9.3. to do…e on this windy Bubble, to pleaſe themſelves with this fooliſh Dream, to embrace this blacking Smoake, and ever to bee catching at this flying Shadow, till with Eſops Dog the ſubſtance be loſt and paſt recovery.
But I hope better things of you whom I write, you are not to Learn in point of knowledge, how to diſtinguiſh of things that differ; and I hope it need not be preſſed in point of practiſe, to looke not at things ſeen but at things not ſeen; All I ſhall ſay to you, ſhall be but this, as you would not have your Sun ſet in a Cloud, I mean Dye uncheerfully, for your ſelves; as you would not ſadden the hearts of your ſurviving Godly friends; as you would not bring up an evil report upon the Proteſtant Faith, which you profeſs, which teacheth Chriſtians that aſſurance of Salvation may be had; as you would not open the mouths of the wicked to caſt dirt upon holyneſs, when they ſee the profeſſours of it go to death with Reluctancies; as you would prevent all this, make Religion your great buſineſs, that ſo when your dying hours come, your Souls may be full of ſweet peace and comfort; live as ſtrangers in this world, and perſons belonging to another, that you may be willing and ready to remove and go home, when God ſhall ſend for you, which that you may be, ſhall be the earneſt Deſire and Prayer of him who is,
Your Soul Friend and Servant in CHRIST, Chr. Scott. From My Study in Milton Hamlet, this 3d January, 1672.