perstitious things among us, .which yet the Church has ken such care to preserve, and especially to be preparatives r death.

When they had given her physic for her body, it presently at her in mind that there was other physic to be taken for er soul; and so she presently sent unto me, who in my iestly function was ready to attend, to have the blessed crament given her, which she received from me with such adness of her soul, and with such humility and reverence of er body (though she might hardly endure it by reason of r infirmity) that we might easily understand she knew ry well what a great Majesty she was then to adore, and at admirable and mysterious benefits she was to receive. ich was her devotion upon the first falling into her last d fatal sickness.

Now the common guise of the world goes another way; soon as we feel ourselves sick, presently post away all the rvants we have, this way and that way for the physicians our body to come and help us; but for the physicians of r souls, them we never dream on, as if they would do well ough without any physic at all, which yet (God knows) ant it ten times more than our bodies do, and are sicker a eat deal than they be.

Well, when she was strengthened with this heavenly and ritual repast, she set herself to combat with death. And ereas others use to be so much afraid to meddle with it, e was not one whit dismayed; but shewing her willingness be dissolved and to be with Christ, often in mine own aring desired that death would come to her to bring her t of these miseries to the joys of heaven. Nor was she so -posed as many are, call for death to make us believe that ey are willing to die, and then wish it gone again when it mes; like as Laertius tells us the story of Antisthenes, a ilosopher, that led his life well, and was loth to part with if he knew how to have kept it, though he seemed to

Si intemperate cibus sumtus aut oderate potus acceptus levem corfebriculam concitarit, dejicimus

foro, omnes calumniæ, omnia lucra in periculis corporis conquiescunt. Curritur ad medicos; et pro remedio pro

A

II.

his bed by a grievous disease, was visit knowing the nature of him very well, with him under his gown. As soon a Antisthenes looks upon him, and cri God,' says he, 'who will deliver me fro that will I,' says Diogenes presently, an sword in his hand, this shall do it. Antisthenes, 'no, no, I mean from my my life;' he was loth to part with that, w So Esop tells us of an old man that being burden and fallen into a ditch and lying without hope, at last calls aloud for D comes to him, and bids him go along with he, 'I call thee to help me up with my return;' he was loth to stand to his wo her, now, her willingness that she had pro continued to her last day; and when d welcome to her; she made no reluctation a she had sore pangs upon her by reason of yet God gave her such patience to endure a marvel to us that saw it. During the tin which was a long while together, she offere continual sacrifice of prayer, to God, bo evening and at noon-day, besides her conti "Ob. Jun. She made open profession of her faith, and member of the Church, and the child of Go her judgment as long as she breathed, and could speak no longer, her thoughts offered votions; and so, while the penitential Psalm her, she eftsoons went to God: and as or asleep than dying, she most happily took mortal miseries. Such was the life, and suc of this our sister; both so full of comfort th sufficient lenitive to the grief of any of her fi lost her, and if that be not enough, we will ha for it that shall.

14." MS.

2 Cor. 5. 1, 2. For we know that if our earthly house f this tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, but eternal in the

eavens.

For which we sigh and groan.

If any man has set his heart here upon these things below, nd is afraid to part with his life, as not knowing where to et the like again when this is gone, St. Paul comes to intruct him here, and to inform his knowledge a little better: tell him that he is afraid (as the Psalmist speaks) where Ps. 53. 5. o fear is, and that the loss of this life is no such fearful atter as men take it for, no undoing of him, but an finite advantage to him, bringing him to a life so full

f joy and happiness, that this present life, as St. Paul Rom.8.18. peaks but a little before, is not worth the naming in repect of that.

And that this may appear to be true, he has drawn the ctures of them both out here to the life, made us a descripon of either life, of this which we have now, and of that hich we shall have by death, that we might judge ourselves hich of the two is most to be desired. But he describes them such a fashion that men that are not acquainted with his pirit, will wonder what he means. For whereas the world wont to paint us out the pleasures of this life in such an niable form, full of bravery and state, and make us pictures death in such a pitiful shape, with a few naked bones knit gether, that it would scare a man to look upon it, ye see goes quite another way, gives us a picture of this life that as nothing but misery and horror in it, and a description death that would entice a man's eyes to look upon it, so ir and beautiful it is; the one compared to a poor cottage, mich every one passes by without looking on it; and the her to a fair, rich, building, that every body stays to gaze at d admire. [So we read of an old philosopher, Egesias, at had such a dexterity this way, as when he painted the rtraiture of this life, he did it in such a rueful form as all e people ran away from it when they saw it; and when he

Division of the text

SERM. made the picture of death, he did it countenance, as every body that came love with it, and began to be weary o they would needs desire to live no longe

Such another thing it is that St. Pau here, a contempt of this life in regard and a willingness to welcome death, (look gard to the great happiness that it brings look upon the text, and there, as I tell y description, first, of the poor and miser in this world, and then the description of which he shall enjoy after death in the wo these two, which be the general parts of th in four several antitheses.

The first, that this life and this body 'our earthly house;' and that, heavenly heavens.'

The second, that this is a tabernacle, house; and that, a building,' a strong la have a building.'

The third, that this is a tabernacle of our ' a building of God;' so much the better.

And the fourth, that this is a house whi must be dissolved;' and that, a house wh ever, and is 'eternal in the heavens.'

And all this, not out of any opinion, or g upon certain knowledge and assurance; 'w St. Paul, which produces the effect of all, desiring after it, for which we sigh and these be the parts of the text. Of these, &c.

I begin, as the text begins, with the certain assurance of all this felicity after death. is the confidence that we Christians have, and no small privilege by it above other men: for discourse of the world will not reach to this is the Spirit of God that infuses it into us. Th had a guessing at the immortality of the soul,

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.

9.

[Know1 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. 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 De 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 as 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) 4. 12m. For man sleepeth and riseth not, he shall not wake gain, nor be raised from his sleep till the heaven be no more.' Marry now, if God would send a fiery chariot for us before

11.

ve die, as He did for Elias, or carry us from the world 2 Kings 2. apon Angels' wings, as old Enoch was carried, then indeed Gen. 5. 24. here were some hope of living in this same place of glory hat we speak on; but to die first, and be thrown into the

arth and there become earth ourselves and if a man looks