fhall happen to this imperious Enemy of Mankind, as it happen'd to the Kings of the Amorites mention'd in the Ifraelitifo Hiftory, Job. x. 24. Joshua fuffer'd 'em to live until he was return'd from the Victory; and when he had perfectly overcome all his Enemies, he commanded them to be brought forth, and gave Order to his Captains to tread upon their Necks, and with his own Sword he dispatch'd them, caft them into a Cave, and caufed great Stones to be roll'd at the Entrance of it. Thus fhall our true and celestial Joshua deal with Death; he fuffers it to reign while he is gone to pursue his Enemies; for the laft Enemy that fhall be deftroy'd by him is Death. When he fhall have perfectly fubdu'd all other Enemies, he will crown all his Victories with a glorious End, and accomplish the Church's Triumph, by causing us to trample upon Death, that shall be caft into the bottomless Pit, whereof the Entrance fhall be shut up for ever, Rev. x. Then fhall be accomplish'd this glo tious Prophefie, Death is fwallow'd up in Victory, 1 Cor. xv. For the Spirit of God affures us in exprefs Terms, That Death fhall be no more.

By what we have faid, it may eafily appear, what is become of the Rope thrice twisted by the Devil, with an Intent to ftrangle therewith all Mankind. The Son of God hath cut in Pieces the first of these unhappy Ties, by his Almighty Power. By the Spirit of Sanctification, he loofens the fecond by Degrees & and by the last he draws us to himself, and then he burns and confumes it altogether. Therefore we have no Reafon to fear an eternal Death, nor to tremble when Hell opens its wide Jaws. If we refift the Devil, be flies away from us, Jam. iv. At laft we shall trample him under our Feet, Rom. xvi. 'Tis true, that the fad and doleful Effects of the fpiritual Death commonly draw out of us many a fad Groan and Tear, whilst our Souls remain in this finful Flesh. We are already got out of the Tombs of Corruption and Sin; but yet bear about us, as it were, our Winding-fheet, and

fome

fome odd Reliques of our natural Mifery. But we have this Confideration to comfort our drooping Spirits, That Chrift will fhortly give the fame Order from Heaven for us,as he did for Lazarus, Loofe him,and let him go, Joh. xi. So that instead of the Corruption of our Nature, that is fo incommodious to us, he will inveft us in an Eftate of Glory, Incorruption, Immortality, and perfect Happiness. In relation to the natural Death, we may justly fay, That our Lord and Saviour hath freed us from all the Fears that it might cause in us. So 'that 'tis my Judgment, that we may not only affirm, that we have not the leaft Apprehenfion of it, but we may expect it with Confidence: For if we be truly of the Number of the Faithful, and God's adopted Sons, we hope, defire, and haften Death's Arrival, by our most carneft and paffionate Withes.

What I have already declar'd in this Chapter, might fatisfy any Christian Soul, and furnifh it with fuffici ent Confiderations to ftrengthen it againft all Appre henfions of Death. Now, as one who wants to buy Stuffs in a Shop, when he cheapens fuch as are flight, and of fmall Value, he cafts an Eye only upon a Piece or Pattern, and by that judges of the reft; but when he intends to purchase a rich Tapiftry of great Value, he defires to vifit and confider every Part, one after another, and make an Estimation of the Value and Beauty of every Corner; fo, I judge, that the wife and religious Reader will defire now, that as I have discover'd to him in grofs, the Body of Confo lations against the Fear of Death, I fhould, in the next Place, unfold these hidden Excellencies, produce eve ry part of them by Degrees to his Contemplation, and with my Pen, make him take notice of all the Rarities.

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CH A P. VI.

From whence proceed the Fears of Death.

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S a wife and difcreet Phyfician ufually examines with Care the Caufes of the Difeafe, before he prefcribes a Remedy; and as an experi enc'd Chirurgeon fearcheth the Wound, before he putsa the Plaifter to it; thus, I judge it neceffary, to feek: with Diligence from whence the Fears of Death is proceed, before we shall appoint Remedies to the faithful Souls. For when we fhall perfectly underftand the Nature of the Disease, and its principal. Caufes, we fhall, without Difficulty, be better able to affign a convenient Remedy. When we shall have fearched the Wound, and washed it clean, we will, with God's Affiftance, pour into it the true Balm of Gilead.

Firft, We have juft Reafon to accufe our felves of too much Unmindfulness of Death. We don't mer ditate fo often as we fhould, upon the Mifery and Frailty of our poor decaying Nature. We acknowledge i it, I confels, with our Tongues, that our Life is but as.! Breath in our Noftrils, a Vapour that foon disappears, an Shadow that quickly vanishes away; but in the mean. time we flatter our felves in our Hearts with more plea fant Thoughts and Defires, as Herod, that Men fhould look upon us as fo many little Gods, Acts xii. We fuffer our felves to be deceiv'd by the flattering Infinuations of our corrupted Flesh, and by the delufive Suggesti-: ons of the old Serpent, that whispers to us, as to our firft Parents, You shall not die, Gen. iii.

2. We commonly affirm, that Death is inexorable nevertheless, for the most part, we live as if we had made an Agreement with Death, and had fecret Intelligence with the Grave, Ifa. xxii. Death approaches with Feet of Wool, without Noife; we imagine there

fore

fore that it will never come near us, as that wicked Servant in the Gofpel, Mat. xxiv. who concluded from his Mafter's Delays of coming, that he would not come at all. We hate and abominate the Sight of all things that reprefent unto us any Appearance of Death, or that call to our Minds its Remembrance. If at any time its Image comes in our way, we turn from it our Eyes, and banish out of our Fanfie, all Imaginations of it, as of a moft odious and deceitful Illufion. Death feizes upon us before we have well thought whether we be mortal or no. Therefore we are furprized and aftonifhed at the Approaches, and we become like the foolish Ifraelites, who trembled and fled before Goliah, becaufe they were not accuftom'd to behold him.

3. We depend too much upon fecond Caufes. We look upon Death as a thing that happens by Chance,, or as an Evil that may be prevented, or at leaft put. away from us for a time: Whereas we should be fully perfuaded, that God hath determin'd and appointed, not only Death it felf, but also all the Caufes and Means by which it commonly happens. Therefore we are often filled with Difpleafure, and reduc'd to murmur and repine against God. We grin and bite the Stone, inftead of adoring, in all Humility, that, wife Hand that caft it. In a Word, whenever Death comes to us, we are ready to fay to it as the Devils to our Saviour, Wherefore art thou come to torment us before the time? Mat. iii,

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4. We are too much tied to this Earth; we are so united to the World, that we would willingly make here our Abode for ever, and cannot abide to hear that Death will remove us. Our Lufts have no Bounds, and we often spend our felves in the Purfuance of thefe miferable Advantages. When we draw neareft to the End of our Life, and of our mortal Race, 'tis then, that many are moft earnest to make large Provifions of worldly Vanities. We build ftately Dwellings, and fumptuous Palaces, at that very Moment when we should think of nothing but of build

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ing

ing our Tomb, and repairing our Winding-Sheet. We have fo violent a Pailion for all the Enjoyments of this Life, that to feparate us from them, is to pluck out our Hearts, and tear in pieces our tender Bowels. When Death comes to our Bed-fide, and offers to pull us out, we are ready to fay as the Sluggard in the Proverbs, A little Sleep, a little Slumber, a little folding of the Hands, Chap. vi. When our divine Bridegroom knocks at our Gates, we are fcarce willing to abandon our Delights, as the Spoufe in the Canticles. What faith the Worldling, Muft I leave my fumptuous Palaces, my pleafant Dwellings, and my delightful Gardens? Muft I relinquish all this rich Tapiltry, thefe precious Moveables, and all these rare and exquifite Ornaments that enrich my Parlours, Chambers, and Closets Muft this unmerciful Death diyeft me fo foon of all Offices and Dignities, and hinder me from a full and peaceable Enjoyment of all thefe Riches and Treafures? Muft it ravifh from me in an Inftant, all my Delights and Satisfactions? Is there no Remedy, but muft I be pluckt from the Embraces of my beloved Wife, from the Sight of my dear Children, and from the fweet Company of all my Friends? Muft I receive no more. the Services of my Domefticks? When we are in this unprepar'd State, 'tis no Wonder if Death is fo terrible to us, and if it caufes us to feel the Sharpness of its Sting. For as of Abfalom, when he was hanged by the Hair of the Head in a Tree of the Foreft, Joab took three Darts, and ftruck him thro' the Heart; thus when our Affections are too much entangled with the World, and with the Expectation of earthly Contentments; 'tis then that they are miferably expos'd to all the Darts and violent Attempts of Death.

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5. Another principal Caufe of the Fear of Death, is a wicked Life. We are plunged in the Vices and Debaucheries of the Age. We fuffer our felves to be corrupted by ill Company, and carried away with the Torrent of vicious Cuftoms. "Tis therefore

no