The Sacred Diary, Section 39 – Section 40
SECT. XXXIX. A Meditation in putting off our Clothes to go to Bed.
1. HEre conſider, that Clothes do not make nor mar a Man: The Body ceaſeth not to be a Body when the Clothes are put off, that the Body may take its reſt in a warm Bed. So it is not the Body that makes a Man, Animus cujuſque quiſque, it is the Mind, or Soul of Man that is the Man. When the Body is laid aſide in the Grave, a Man doth not then ceaſe to be; but his Soul is then taking its reſt in Heaven, or tormented in Hell. Death is not an Annihilation of a Man, but only a Diſſolution.
2. Conſider, That as a Man unclothes himſelf before he goes to take his reſt in his Bed; ſo Death to a Godly Man, is but an unclothing of him for Sleep and Reſt: And here meditate on the reſemblances between Death and the unclothing of our ſelves for Sleep and Reſt.
1. Before a Man lays off his Clothes, he doth ungirt himſelf, he unbuttons and untieth his Garments, that he may put them off. Thus ordinarily before the Soul is unclothed of the Body, God ſendeth Sickneſs, one Diſeaſe or other to ungirt and let looſe the Body, ſo nearly united to the Soul of Man. Therefore St. Paul calls it a Diſſolution. I deſire (ſaith he) to be diſſolved: Niſi ſe vinctum putaverat, non optaverat diſſolvi. If he had not thought his Soul bound and girt to his Body, he would not have deſired to been diſſolved. Every Ach, Pain, and Sickneſs that God lays upon the Body, is, and ought to be a forewarning to thee, that it is almoſt Bed-time: It is death's Harbinger, and God's Servant, ſent it may be to fetch and carry thee to thy Bed, to thy place of Reſt.
2. A Man cannot take ſuch ſweet refreſhment in his Clothes, as when he is Unclothed. So a Godly Man can never reſt from his Labours whilſt he is in the Body; but he will be always burdened, wearied, and groaning in this Earthly Tabernacle; he is born to Labour, as the Sparks flie upward: There is no hope of reſting from Sin, from Temptation, from Trouble, from Labours without, and from Fears within, till a Chriſtian lays aſide his Body, the Garment of the Soul; Death makes him to reſt from all his Labours. While the Soul is in the Body, it is abſent from the Lord, the proper Reſt of the Soul, the Saints everlaſting Habitation: But Death carries Lazarus into Abraham's Boſom.
3. When a Man puts off all his Clothes to go to his Bed, he lies not down naked and uncovered, but takes a Covering upon him. Thus when the Soul leaves the Body, it lays aſide his Clothes, yet lies not he without a Covering: Man's Bed is his Grave, and the Earth is his Covering. A Pious Man may think upon his Burial in a Grave, as a Cheſt or Coffer, wherein his Body (the Apparel of his Soul) is laid up till the Morning of the Reſurrection: But a Wicked Man may think on it as a dark Priſon, reſerving his Body (as his Soul is reſerved in Hell in chains of darkneſs) until the Judgment of the great Day.
4. When a Man puts off his Clothes, he lays aſide all his rich Ornaments with them. Thus when the Soul lays aſide the Body, it lays aſide alſo all a Man's Honours, Preferments, Riches, Pleaſures, and whatſoever the vain Heart of Man prides himſelf in. We came forth naked into the World, and naked we ſhall return out of the World. We came forth Naked, which ſheweth Men were not born to great Matters; and Naked we ſhall return, to ſhew the vanity of Men in looking after great Matters; for when the Rich and the Honourable Man die, they ſhall carry nothing away with them, and their Glory ſhall not deſcend after them, Pſal. 49.17. Oh conſider, what a lamentable thing it is for Men to lay aſide theſe things at Death, and to have no Ornament but the uglineſs of Sin to appear before God in!
5. Men put off their Clothes in hope after they have refreſhed themſelves with Sleep, to put them on again. So when the Soul lays aſide her Body, it is in hope of riſing again, of a Reunion of the Soul with the ſame Body which a Man did lay aſide; ſo to put off the Body, as one that ſhall put it on again in a more glorious manner, and never lay it aſide more.
SECT. XL. When you lie down in your Beds at Night.
HAving recounted the Mercies of the Day, think on the dangers of the Night. It is ſaid of Thieves and Robbers, that in the dark they dig through Houſes, which they have marked for themſelves in the Day-time, Job 24.16. The Word in the Original, ſignifies to mark with a Seal, as if they did put their Seal upon other Mens Houſes for their own uſe. Thieves ſet their Mark upon ſuch Houſes in the Day-time, which they intend to Rob at Night. Or (as ſome expound it) they obſerve the ſtrength of the Houſe, the ways to it, what Company is in the Houſe, and where they may with moſt facility and advantage break into it. Houſes are marked out in the Day, and broken open in the Night; many Houſes alſo are fired in the Night, and how duplicate page duplicate page helpleſs is Man amidſt theſe Caſualties and Dangers? If he be aſleep, the Thief finds him bound to his hand; and if Fire take his Chamber, how ready is the Fire to conſume him in his Bed? At midnight the Lord ſmote all the Firſt-born in the Land of Egypt, from the Firſt-born of Pharaoh, &c. unto the Firſt-born of the Captive that was in the Dungeon, and all the Firſt-born of Cattel, Exod. 12.29. It was in the Night that the Angel of the Lord went out, and ſmote in the Camp of the Aſſyrians an hundred fourſcore and five thouſand, 2 Kings 19.35. Iſhboſheth was ſlain at Noon upon his Bed: but the Night hath been fatal unto many.
Acknowledg it a mercy, that God affordeth you reſt after Labour. Man goeth forth unto his Work, and to his Labour until the Evening, Pſal. 104.23. for ſo (or rightly) he giveth his Beloved ſleep. Life and Strength would fail for want of Reſt, as for want of Food. A good Chriſtian may go to Bed without fear. You ſhall find many Promiſes in Scripture, about this Bleſſing. Prov. 3.24. When thou lieſt down thou ſhalt not be afraid, yea, thou ſhalt lie down, and thy ſleep ſhall be ſweet, Job. 11.18. Thou ſhalt take thy reſt in ſafety, thou ſhalt lie down, and none ſhall make thee afraid. David ſaith, Pſal. 3.5. I laid me down, and ſlept, I awaked, for the Lord ſuſtained me. Pſal. 4.8. I will both lay me down in peace, and ſleep, for thou, Lord, makeſt me dwell in ſafety. Every Member of Jeſus Chriſt is ſecure through Faith in him. The Shepherd wakes when others are aſleep, to keep his Sheep from the Wolf. God is the Keeper of his Flock, he is always vigilant to defend them. Behold, He that is the Keeper of Iſrael, ſhall never ſlumber nor ſleep: the Lord is thy Keeper, Pſal. 121.4, 5. St. Peter feared not to ſleep in Priſon, Acts 12.6. Mr. Rogers, our Proto-Martyr in Queen Maries dayes, could ſcarce be waked, when the Keeper came to warn him to prepare for the Fire, having been condemned to be Burnt alive. When the Lord undertakes our Protection, we may ſleep as our Saviour did, in the midſt of a Storm and Tempeſt. As a good Nights reſt is the Gift of God, ſo it deſerves daily acknowledgments by us.