superstitious things among us, which yet the Church has taken such care to preserve, and especially to be preparatives for death. When they had given her physic for her body, it presently put her in mind that there was other physic to be taken for her soul; and so she presently sent unto me, who in my priestly function was ready to attend, to have the blessed Sacrament given her, which she received from me with such gladness of her soul, and with such humility and reverence of her body (though she might hardly endure it by reason of her infirmity) that we might easily understand she knew very well what a great Majesty she was then to adore, and what admirable and mysterious benefits she was to receive. Such was her devotion upon the first falling into her last and fatal sickness. Now the common guise of the world goes another way; as soon as we feel ourselves sick, presently post away all the servants we have, this way and that way for the physicians of our body to come and help us f; but for the physicians of our souls, them we never dream on, as if they would do well enough without any physic at all, which yet (God knows) want it ten times more than our bodies do, and are sicker a great deal than they be. Well, when she was strengthened with this heavenly and spiritual repast, she set herself to combat with death. And whereas others use to be so much afraid to meddle with it, she was not one whit dismayed; but shewing her willingness to be dissolved and to be with Christ, often in mine own hearing desired that death would come to her to bring her out of these miseries to the joys of heaven. Nor was she so disposed as many are, call for death to make us believe that they are willing to die, and then wish it gone again when it comes; like as Laertius tells us the story of Antisthenes, a philosopher, that led his life well, and was loth to part with it, if he knew how to have kept it, though he seemed to Si intemperate cibus sumtus aut immoderate potus acceptus levem corpori febriculam concitarit, dejicimus animum, affligimur, suspiramus; nulla cura tunc est seculi, nulla villarum, nemo de patrimonio cogitat, nemo de foro, omnes calumniæ, omnia lucra in periculis corporis conquiescunt. Curritur ad medicos; et pro remedio promittuntur munera, aurum, argentum. S. Hieron. (?) Epist. 8. p. 42. edit. Ant. 1579. II. SER M. others to be desirous to be rid of it. The man being tied to his bed by a grievous disease, was visited by Diogenes, that knowing the nature of him very well, had taken a sword with him under his gown. As soon as ever he comes in, Antisthenes looks upon him, and cries out for pity, ‘O God,' says he, who will deliver me from hence!' 'Marry, that will I,' says Diogenes presently, and so shews him the sword in his hand, this shall do it.' 'Oh God,' says Antisthenes, no, no, I mean from my pains, and not from my life;' he was loth to part with that, whatsoever he said g. So Esop tells us of an old man that being laden with a great burden and fallen into a ditch and lying there a long time without hope, at last calls aloud for Death. Well, Death comes to him, and bids him go along with him; 'O no,' says he, I call thee to help me up with my burden, that I may return; he was loth to stand to his word too h. But for her, now, her willingness that she had professed at first, she continued to her last day; and when death came, it was welcome to her; she made no reluctation at all. And though she had sore pangs upon her by reason of her long sickness, yet God gave her such patience to endure it as it was almost a marvel to us that saw it. During the time of her sickness, which was a long while together, she offered up with us the continual sacrifice of prayer, to God, both morning and evening and at noon-day, besides her continual ejaculations. "Ob. Jun. She made open profession of her faith, and she died a true 14." MS. member of the Church, and the child of God. She enjoyed her judgment as long as she breathed, and when her tongue could speak no longer, her thoughts offered up her last devotions; and so, while the penitential Psalms were read over heri, she eftsoons went to God: and as one rather fallen asleep than dying, she most happily took her leave of all mortal miseries. Such was the life, and such was the death be a of this our sister; both so full of comfort that it may sufficient lenitive to the grief of any of her friends that have lost her, and if that be not enough, we will have a text fitted for it that shall. 8 Diog. Laert. p. 376. edit. Casaub. 8vo. apud Stephan. 1594. h See the fable Γερων καὶ θανατος, in Æsopi Fab. edit. Hudson, at the end of his edition of Longinus, p. 252, 8vo. Oxon. 1708. i See Cosin's Devotions, 'Prayers at the Hour of Death.' 2 Cor. 5. 1, 2. For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, but eternal in the heavens. For which we sigh and groan. If any man has set his heart here upon these things below, and is afraid to part with his life, as not knowing where to get the like again when this is gone, St. Paul comes to instruct him here, and to inform his knowledge a little better: to tell him that he is afraid (as the Psalmist speaks) where Ps. 53. 5. no fear is, and that the loss of this life is no such fearful matter as men take it for, no undoing of him, but an infinite advantage to him, bringing him to a life so full of joy and happiness, that this present life, as St. Paul Rom.8.18. speaks but a little before, is not worth the naming in respect of that. And that this may appear to be true, he has drawn the pictures of them both out here to the life, made us a description of either life, of this which we have now, and of that which we shall have by death, that we might judge ourselves which of the two is most to be desired. But he describes them in such a fashion that men that are not acquainted with his spirit, will wonder what he means. For whereas the world is wont to paint us out the pleasures of this life in such an amiable form, full of bravery and state, and make us pictures of death in such a pitiful shape, with a few naked bones knit together, that it would scare a man to look upon it, ye see he goes quite another way, gives us a picture of this life that has nothing but misery and horror in it, and a description of death that would entice a man's eyes to look upon it, so fair and beautiful it is; the one compared to a poor cottage, which every one passes by without looking on it; and the other to a fair, rich, building, that every body stays to gaze at and admire. So we read of an old philosopher, Egesias, that had such a dexterity this way, as when he painted the portraiture of this life, he did it in such a rueful form as all the people ran away from it when they saw it; and when he The passage here enclosed within brackets has been so marked by Cosin, as if intended to be omitted. II. SERM. made the picture of death, he did it with such a smiling countenance, as every body that came to look on it fell in love with it, and began to be weary of this miserable life, they would needs desire to live no longer.] Such another thing it is that St. Paul would work in us here, a contempt of this life in regard to the life to come, and a willingness to welcome death, (look it as it will,) in regard to the great happiness that it brings with it. Will you look upon the text, and there, as I tell you, ye shall see the description, first, of the poor and miserable estate of man in this world, and then the description of that perfect felicity which he shall enjoy after death in the world to come. And these two, which be the general parts of the text, are opposed in four several antitheses. The first, that this life and this body of ours is earthly, 'our earthly house;' and that, heavenly, 'eternal in the heavens.' The second, that this is a tabernacle,' a slight, flitting house; and that, a building,' a strong lasting house, 'we have a building.' The third, that this is a tabernacle of our own: and that, ' a building of God;' so much the better. And the fourth, that this is a house which will fall, and must be dissolved;' and that, a house which will stand for ever, and is 'eternal in the heavens.' And all this, not out of any opinion, or guessing at it, but upon certain knowledge and assurance; we know' it, saith St. Paul, which produces the effect of all, a longing and a desiring after it, for which we sigh and groan.' And these be the parts of the text. Of these, &c. THE PRAYER. I begin, as the text begins, with the certain knowledge and assurance of all this felicity after death. 'We know.' It is the confidence that we Christians have, and sure we have no small privilege by it above other men: for all the natural discourse of the world will not reach to this 'know,' but it is the Spirit of God that infuses it into us. The philosophers had a guessing at the immortality of the soul, but they knew not well whether they should say so or no; now there is no guessing at the matter, nor no opinion about it, as they had, God knows how many, but a certain, infallible assurance. We 'know' it is so. [Know it? Certainly by the order of nature there must be a little doubting about it. For what, and if the devil should come with his sophistry now to shake this foundation of our faith? and are we so sure of life again after death? or that our body, which lies mouldered in the grave for worms to make their beds in, shall be raised up to glory? 'Who Job 14. 4. 9. is he,' saith Job, 'that can bring a clean thing out of filthiness? there is not one.' It is an easy thing to bring a man to his end, to put him into his grave, but to fetch him out again and make him live, what hope have ye of that? It is true, indeed, there is some hope of a tree, if that be cut Job 14. 7down, yet it will sprout again, and though the root waxes dry and the stock be dead, yet a little water will fetch it again, and make it grow as well as ever it did. But with us that are men, now there is no such matter. 'Did you ever see an old man grow young again, with all the pains that might be taken about him? Why, no more shall ye see a dead man made alive again,' says the devil. And so he would persuade us that there were no life after this; at least, that there were no such knowledge and assurance of it as the Apostle speaks of here, but that it might be called in question, for all we know it so well. Nay, he comes to us like a ghostly father, with a Bible in his hand, and would fain make us believe what we must trust to, for it is written, and it is written in Job (it is a shrewd place, I would wish you to look to it, that you might know how to answer him another time) 14. 12m. For man sleepeth and riseth not, he shall not wake again, nor be raised from his sleep till the heaven be no more.' Marry now, if God would send a fiery chariot for us before we die, as He did for Elias, or carry us from the world Kings 2. upon Angels' wings, as old Enoch was carried, then indeed Gen. 5. 24. there were some hope of living in this same place of glory that we speak on; but to die first, and be thrown into the earth, and there become earth ourselves, and if a man looks The passage in brackets is marked in the original for omission. m See Pineda in Job, p. 406. edit. Paris. 1631. 11. |