IT is appointed (sayeth the Apo­stle) for all men once to die, As our death is, so shall our estate be af­ter it eter­nally. and it [Page 2] is certain, that in what­soeuer estate we die, in it wee shall remaine; for where the tree fal­leth, there it shall lie (said Salomon). He that dies in the Lorde is blessed, Reu. 14.13. Eccles. 11.3 for he rests frō his labours, and shall remaine for euer in A­brahams bosom, which is the Paradice of God: hee that dies in his sins goes downe to the pri­son, out of which is no redemption, and shall neuer get licence to come backe to learn to die ouer againe, August. He­sych. Epist. 80 Qualis in nouissimo vitae [Page 3] die quis que moritur, talis in nouissimo mundi die iudicabitur, such as eue­ry man dies in the last day of his life▪ such shal he be iudged in the last day of the world.

It is therefore a spe­cial point of wisedom, Our life shold make our death good, and our death should make our resurrection happy. so to liue, that by liuing wee may learne to die, that a godly life may prepare the way to an happy death, and hap­py death may make vs sure of a ioyfull resur­rection: these three follow one vpon ano­ther inseparable; if the life be good, the death, [Page 4] whateuer it be, cannot be euill: Nunquam mala mors putanda est, Aug. de ciuit De [...] l. 1. c. 11. quam bona praecessit vita: and if the life be euill to the end, it is certaine the death cannot be good: for euen that Thiefe, If that our life be not first good, our death shall neuer be good, and be the contrary. who was crucified with our Lord, before he got comfort in his death, was first amend­ed in his life, [...]or vpon the Crosse was he con­uerted, & incontinent brought out the sweet fruite of righteousnes, accusing him [...]elfe for his sinnes, Luke 23.40. rebuking the railing of his compani­on, [Page 5] pleading the inno­cency of our Lord, gi­uing to God the glory of iustice, and praying to Christ for mercie, that he would remem­ber him, when he came to his Kingdome.

As it is comfortable in death to think vpon life, How the life and death of the godly each one of them helpe another. looking to Iesus, who for vs died before vs, and hath left this comfort to vs, who through death are to follow him, Ioh 11.25. I am the re­surrection and the life: Ioh 5.2 [...]. And againe, He that be­leeues in mee hath past from death to life: So is [Page 6] it very profitable in our life to thinke vpon death, in our youth to remember the euill dayes and yeares ap­proaching vppon vs; wherein euery worke and secret thing must be brought to iudge­ment. Our Sauiour at the Banquet in Bethania had his conference of his death and burial: and Ioseph of Arima­thea had his Sepulchre in his Garden, both of them teaching vs to season the plea [...]ures of our life with the re­membrance of our [Page 7] death, Gregor. mo­ral. lib. 13. for Meditatio mortis vita est perfecta, quam dum iusti sollicite peragunt, culparum la­queos euadunt: The me­ditation of death is perfite life, which while the godly carefully practise, they eschue the snares of sinne: and for this same cause Ber­nard commends the meditation of death, Bern. Tanquam summam Phi­losophiam, as the most high and profitable Philo [...]ophy that wee can learne in our life. The Apo­stles purpose and manner of proceeding her [...] offers two things.

To this purpose the Apostle in this Trea­tise [Page 8] deliuers to vs a most wholsome pre­seruatiue against the feare of death, 1 Preserua­tiues against the [...]eare of death. set down summarily in the first verse, and then drawes out of it three notable conclusions, which if wee can lay vp in our hearts, 2 Instructions for a godly li [...]e. shall learn vs to order our life well, and so serue as preparatiues to make our harts rea­die and capable of this comfort in death. The preseruatiue giuen vs in the first verse, is the certaine knowledge of a better estate, into the which we shalbe trans­lated [Page 9] by death. In handling of this, he first sets downe the losse wee haue by death: it is no more but a dissolution of our earthly Taber­nacle: and then sub­ioynes the vantage we get by it: to wit, that wee are entred into a better building, giuen of God, not made with handes, but eternall in the heauens, and so lets vs see, that the vantage wee receiue by death, doth farre exceede the losse that we susteine by it.

We know, He first af­firmes [Page 10] it as a thing not doubt­some but certaine, Two waies know we that a better e­state abides vs after death. and well enough knowne, that by death wee are translated into a better estate: the warrants of our knowledg are two; for first wee know it by the reuelation of the worde, [...]oh. 14.2. In my fathers house are many dwelling places, I goe to prepare a place for you. Our so­iourning place is on earth, our Mansion place in heauen: And next we know it by the perswasion of faith, which is proper onely to Gods elect children [Page 11] effectually called.

And of this we learn how the Christiā man onely walketh in light, Onely the Christian walkes in light, the r [...]st of the world are in dark [...] ­nesse. where al the rest of the world are groping in darkenesse, in their life wandring after vanity, and in their death de­parting comfortles or at least doubtsome, and vncertain where-away to goe: Something they knew by experi­ence of the vanity of this life, for the which some of the naturall Philosophers, did think it was Optimum non nasci, and others, as He­raclitus [Page 12] was moued to mourning by euerie thing which hee saw, Naturalists knew some thing of mans misery in the body, but had no certaine knowledge of a better life. but certaine knowledg of a better life to come they haue not, & there­fore in their best estate goe doubting (as I said) & lamenting out of the bodie, as did that Emperor Hadrian, like a wilsome man, not knowing whither to goe, Animula Vagula, blandula, quae nunc abi­bis in loca? And no mar­uell, he being destitute of the light of the word, and taught by his Master Secundus the [Page 13] Philosopher, that death was incerta peregrina­tio, an vncertaine pere­grination.

And truely no bet­ter is the cōfort, The doctrine of the Rom [...]sh Churchleaues her disciples comfortlesse in death. which that Step-mother the Church of Rome gi­ueth to her children, for shee sendes them a­way out of the world without any assurance of saluation, and keeps them in suspence with a vaine hope of helpe to bee sent vnto them, for their deliuerance from the paines of Pur­gatorie, by soule Mas­ses, and such like rotten [Page 14] caddle as must be made for them when they are dead, vppon their owne or their friends expences. And in this all the bastard Religi­ons of the world are a­like, that they render no solide comfort to their professours in death. Neither can it bee otherwise, for see­ing they are not vpon the Foundation Iesus Christ, in whose merits onely wee get life, who are dead in our selues; what maruel if they die oppressed with doubtings and fearefull des­paires.

[Page 15]But as to vs we know whō we hauebeleeued, It is other­wise with the Christian taught by the word os God. & that whē our course is finished & our battel ended, a crown of righ­teousnes shall be giuen vnto vs: we know that the day of our death is but the day of our chāg from the worse to the better. And this should animate vs to cōstancy & perseuerance in god­lines, because wee goe not like vncertain men carried vpō vaine hope to an vnknown end, but before hād we are both forewarned & certified of the'nd wherunto we [Page 16] are called: why then shall wee linger in the way, and suffer our spi­rits to bee discouraged with doubting of the euent.

It is the praise of A­braham the father of the faithfull, Abraham followed God calling to a countrey which h [...] knew not. that albeit hee knew not the land, whereunto God called him, yet he obeyed the calling, and willingly forsooke his natiue countrey and kindred, being assured the word of God could not be­guile him, and that the Lord neuer biddes his children exchange but [Page 17] for the better: And we certainly are vnworthy to bee accounted the children of Abraham, How much more should we, being called to [...] Countrey which we know. if wee refuse ioyfully to follow the heauenly vocation, considering the Lord hath foretold vs, or euer we goe out of the body, of a better building into which we shall bee translated. Let them doubt and feare, who knowe not of a better: let vs giue glory to him that hath called vs, and through the valley of death hee shall lead vs to eternall life.

[Page 18] That if, The Apo­stle speakes not this doubtingly, as if it were vncertaine whe­ther our bodies were to bee dissolued, or not, but by way of concession, hauing in it a stronge af­firmation: as if hee did say, albeit it bee so, that the earthly house of our Taber­nacl [...] must bee dissol­ued, Some godly men be [...]ore vs haue been taken away, and their bodies not dissolued by death after the common manner. yet are wee sure of a better. It is true that in the ages before vs, there hath beene some of Gods Saints, whose bodies [Page 19] were not dissolued by death after the com­mon manner: before the flood HENOCH was taken away, and hee sawe no death: after the flood ELI­IAH was transported into a Chariote of fire: and strange is it that is written of MOSES, Deu. 34.7. that when hee died on the toppe of P [...]sgah, beeing an hundred and twentie yeare olde, his eye was not dimme, nor his naturall force aba­ted.

But we haue not vp­pon [Page 20] these to fansie vn­to our selues a priui­ledge, But w [...]e must not dreame of any such priuiledge to our selues. whereof God hath not assured vs, nei­ther are wee to thinke wee are the lesse belo­ued of God, because af­ter the same singular maner, he takes vs not away out of the world, but we must looke on the other hand to the remanent Patriarches, Prophets and worthie Apostles▪ But must looke to other of the Fa­thers who d [...]ed the common course of death. who finished their daies as Ioshua speakes, after the way of all flesh: so Abr [...]ham the father of the faith­full died, being worne [Page 21] with the infirmities of his age, Gen. 27.1. and Isaac tho­rough weaknes waxed blinde before he died: and Iacob that famous Patriarch, Gen. 49.33. being in his bed, by ordinary death pulled vp his feet vnto him: and we must bee content after the same manner to suffer the dissolution of our bo­dies by diseases, which are the Sergeants and officers of death. The godly al­so aliue at Christs com­ming shal not be dissolued.

It is true also that they who shalbe found aliue at the second comming of Christ shall not be dissolued [Page 22] but suddenly trans­changed: but this pri­uiledg in like maner we are not to looke for, ha­uing no warrant that we shall continue alike vntill that day, for that man of sinne is not yet so weakened by the Gospell as hee must bee: But we haue no war­rant that wee shall be of that number. Neyther are our eldest brethren, the Ie­wes conuerted to the faith of Christ, as in likelihood they wil be, before Christs second appearing: Sixteene hundred yeares were they in the couenant, when we were strangers [Page 23] from it: During that space sundrie of the Gentiles in sun­drie partes of the World became Pro­selytes, as Naaman in Syria, and Ebedmelech in Ethiopia: For before Chri [...]ts com­ming the I [...]wes must be recall [...]d. but that was not the accom­plishment of the pro­mised calling of the Gentiles, till the bodie of IAPHETS house were perswaded to dwell in the Tentes of SEM. And now other sixteene hun­dred yeares haue wee beene within the coue­nant, & they strangers [Page 24] from it: in which space sundry of them also haue embraced the faith of the Gospel, but that (as wee conceiue) is not the performance of the promised recal­ling of the Iewes, but the body of that peo­ple shall be conuerted, that the prophecy may be fulfilled, Rom. 11.24. And there shall be one Shephe­ard, and one Sheepe folde: then shall our Lord appeare the se­cond time for our full redemption. It is out of al doubt, our bodies must be dissolued by death.

So that these words of the Apostle doe not [Page 25] make any peraduen­ture of our death, farre lesse doe they giue vs a­ny exemption from death, but rather as­sures vs that our bodies must be dissolued. Our life on earth is no inhe­ritance, Heb. 13.14 our breath is but a vapour, wee haue heere no continuing Citie: Men may preasse to repine, Al fortifica­tion against death is in vaine. and sit the summonds of death, made by sundrie disea­ses as long as they can, and do all they may to fortifie themselues a­gainst the dart of death, but it shall not bee es­chued. [Page 26] These daintie women which wil not suffer so much as their soles to touch the earth, Deu. 28. must at length lay down not the soles of their feete onely, but the Crowne of their head also to be couered by it. The labour of man in his life is to turne ouer the earth in the sweate of his brow, seeking in her bowels food and fewell, mate­rials for building, and Mineralles of sundrie mettals for his other vses; in all which shee renders to man her ser­uice, [Page 27] receiuing at lēgth for a recompence, man in her bosome, to fil vp her wants, whose finest flesh, is turned by her without difficulty into dust.

If we were as Adā who neuer saw one die be­fore him by the course of nature (for Abel was takē away by violence) it were somwhat more tollerable then now it is, marg As Adam was the first liuing man, so the first that died by the course of nature. to doubt whether if, or not, wee shall bee dissolued. It was threat­ned against him, that if he brake the comman­demēt, he shold die, yet [Page 28] after the transgression he liued, a bodily life I meane, nine hundred and thirty yeares, euen to the eight generati­on; a father of many children in both the houses of Caine and Seth: as he was the first man that liued in the world, so it seemeth he was the first that died by the ordinary course of nature. But now so many haue gone through death before vs, that it is a shame for vs to scare at it But now death is become Via trita, a paide gate: All generations of men since the beginning of the world haue walked through it, Patriarchs, [Page 29] Prophets, Apostles and all that Congregation of the first borne, who stand as witnesses, that there is no danger in death, and shal we one­ly scare at it, and stand affraid, as though it would deuoure vs: yea euen the very Ethniks esteemed death to bee Non supplicium, Seneca. sed tri­butum viuendi, Not a punishment but a tri­bute which euery man must pay for his life; and therefore said one of them, Quod debeo paratus sum soluere, vbi me faenerator appellat: [Page 30] I am ready to pay my debt, when he who lent mee it shall call vppon me, and require it: And if notwithstanding o [...] al this we liue in securi­tie, as if we were in co­uenant with death, and it would not long come neere vs, in verie truth wee deserue that we should perish in it.

By the earth­ly house our body here is to be vnder­stood. Our earthly house. Som­time both the soule & bodie of man are com­pared to an house, and that is in regard ofGod dwelling in them by his spirit: but heere by [Page 31] th [...] house the bodie a­lone is to bee vnder­stood, in regard of the soule that soiournes in it: and this is cleare in that also he calles it an earthlyhouse. And here wee haue three things to consider: First, that the bodie is called a house: next a house of earth: and thirdly, a Tabernacle, and the reasons why. For two cau­ses is our bo­dy called an house.

Our bodie is called an house for two re­spects: I For the c [...]m­ly and order­ly workman­ship thereof. first in respect of the comely and or­derly work-manshippe thereof: for as Artifi­cers [Page 32] out of an inordi­nate heape of things a­massed together, do rais vp most pleasant buil­dings, by walling out one of them from ano­ther, by preparing thē and placing euery thing in the owne roome, and making them by line, and mea­sure one, of them pro­portionall and answe­rable to ano [...]her: so that now they make vp a comely house, pleasant to looke vnto, wher before they were a dissordered masse. So is it with the body of [Page 33] man, which of a confu­sed lumpe of clay with­out forme, God hath builded vp in this plea­sant forme and comely order, wherein now it stands.

It is true, Other crea­tures were made by the word of God, but to the making of man God put too his hand also. al the works of God are very won­derfull, what euer is done by him, cannot bee but very excellent and good, hee himselfe being most excellent and infinitly good. But a singular wisedome & goodnesse hath God showne in the creation of man, for hee came out in the last roome▪ [Page 34] as the perfection of Gods workes, and last design of the thoughts of God: and therefore was he not created af­ter the common order, which God obserued in the rest: for where other creatures were made by his word one­ly, he puts too his hand to the making of man, Consultation also a­mong the persons of the blessed Trinity go­ing before, And consul­tation among the persons of the blessed Trinity goes before. which was not in the creation of any other creature, whereof thou mayst learne, Basil hexam. h [...]m. 10. O man, Quantitu [Page 35] vnus venias est [...]man­dus, in what great ac­count thou art in re­gard of all the rest of his creatures: all o­ther like▪ seruants were brought out by naked commandement, Tortul. de re­sur. car. homo tanquam eorum dominus ipsa Dei manu est instru­ctus, Man as their Lord is built vp by Gods owne hand.

All this preparation going before, This preparation before shewes that some great th [...]ng was to follow, as it did indeed. was to shew that some great thing was to follow, as indeede it did: for man is so made a worke of God his wisdome, that [Page 36] he is a compend of all Gods creatures, ad­mired by those▪ who had no more but na­tures light, as a little world, but more high­lycommended bythose who had also the light of the word whereby to discerne him▪ Omni miraculo quod fit per ho­minem, Aug. de ciuit. Dei. l. 10. cap. 12. maius miracu­lum est ipse homo: Man himselfe, said Augustine is a greater miracle, then any miracle that euer was done by man. Man an ex­cellent work­manship euen i [...] respect of his bodie.

And this not one­ly in regard of his soule [Page 37] but euen of his bodie also, which here the A­postle calleth a comely house: If there were no more to commend it, yet, as saieth Gregory, this wereenough, Quod a corpore humano in se similitudinem trahat de­us, Gregor. m [...] ­ral. l. 32. Sect▪ 13. That God borrows Similitudes from the body of a man to ex­presse and shaddowe himselfe vnto vs: a scri­bing to himself an eye, a mouth & a hand, and such like, which we are not to thinke with the Anthropomorphites, that hee hath per natu­ram, Bernard. [Page 38] sed per effectum.

A short view of the excellēt workmanship of mans body as it is giuen by Salomon. But beside this▪ if we doe take but a short view of the workman­ship of man his bodie, we shall be compelled euery one for himselfe to say with Dauid, O Lord I am fearefull and wonderfull made. Psal. 139. The entrie to this house is the mouth, which God hath fenced with a fol­ding doore of the lips, opening and closing most commodiously at the will of the In­dweller. Next vnto it are the grinders which God hath set in the [Page 39] entrie to prepare food for the whole man to nourish him: the third roome hee hath assigned to the tongue, which he hath made most artificially, and set in the thorough gate of the hou [...]e▪ as the Trenchman and Messenger of the soule▪ to declare his will vnto all that come neere: And he h [...]t [...] set the head as an emi­nent Towre in the bodie, wherein hee hath placed the seat of foure most excellent senses, euery one o [...] [Page 40] them neere vnto ano­ther, and not one of them impeding the function of another, he hath locked vp the brain within it, as a treasure, and fenced it not onely with a couering of haire, of skinne, and of bone without: but hath also spread ouer it within the Golden Ewer the least rupture whereof importeth death: and because the windowes, Man euen in regard of his body is a world of wonders. and watchmen are also in it, hee hath made it to turne like a Wheele pleasantly and without [Page 41] paine, to preuent all dangers that from any side may come vnto the body: and if wee shall yet goe further in into this house, and consider the daughters of singing, which hee hath made most artifi­cially for modulation of the voice: if wee looke to the siluer cord stretched throughout the length of his body; if we cōsider the Well, how it prepares and furnishes blood to all the members of the bodie: if wee looke to the Pitchers, by which [Page 42] as thorough Conduits it is conueyed through the whole body. If we consider the Cesterne which is the heart, the fountaine of life: if this manner of way, I say, with Salomon, we view the building of mans body, beside other in­numerable thinges which Naturalists and Theologs haue marked concerning it; Eccles. 12. wee shall bee compelled to acknowledge that man euen as concerning his body is a world of wonders.

And this haue I but [Page 43] briefly marked, VVe should not d [...]shonour the bodie which God hath honou­redso highly. that wee might learne to possesse our vesselles in honour, acounting it a great shame vnto vs, to pollute and defile this bodie in a­ny dishonorable man­ner, which GOD hath created so hono­rable, comely and plea­sant.

Secondly, 2 The bodie is called a house in re­spect of the soule dwel­ling in it. The bo­die is called an house in respect of the soule, which dwelles in it: and this also highly commends the excellencie of the workemanshippe of [Page 44] man, marueilous for the substances, wherof it consists, more mar­ueilous for the won­derful vnion and con­iunction of them: in heauen there are vn­derstāding spirits with­out bodies, Man for his two substan­ces whereof he consists, is a compend of all Gods creatures. as Angels: In earth are bodies without vnderstanding spirits, as beastes; in man ye shall find them both; wherefore one affirmed man to be all things, for there is no crea [...]ure which liues, but man partakes of the li [...]e thereof, the plants and trees haue a [Page 45] life vegetiue, by which they grow, the beastes a life sensitiue, by which they heare, see, smell, taste and touch: the Angels a life reasona­ble, by which they vn­derstād: in the first two man cōmunicates with earthly creatures: in the third he transcends them, and is compani­on to Angels. But the con­iunction of these two substances is more mar­ueilous.

But the coniuncti­on of these two sub­stances, and the habitation of the one into the other is yet more marueilous, common­ly the honourable and [Page 46] the ignoble, Bern. in die [...] Natal. dom. er. 2. the foolish and the wise, thestrong & the weake, agree no better then Iron and Clay, Non sic in opere tuo, non sic in commixtio­ne tua, O Domine: Not so in thy worke, O Lord, not so in the mix­ture which thou hast made: for heere the Lord hath ioyned in most maruelous man­ner Spirite with flesh, a heauenly substance with an earthly, Nazian. That fl [...]sh and spirit should agree so well to­gether. so that Communio haec mentis ad corpus in [...]f­fabilis sit, & incompre­hen [...]ibilis intellectu, [Page 47] This communion of the minde and bodie can neyther bee con­ceiued by our vnderstanding, nor vttered by our speech, the soule being so in the bodie, that yet it is not mixed with the bodie, it is within vs, and yet goes tho­rough all things that are without vs, That the soule sh [...]uld be kept in the bodie by blood and breth, yet not liuing by them it is kept in the bodie by blood and breath, and yet liues not by blood and breath, beeing a Spirituall thing, it giues vn­derstanding to anie [Page 48] other Spirite by the earthly Organ of the tongue, and receiues againe intelligence frō another spirite by the earthly Organ of the eare: God hath done it, we feele it, but know not the reason of it: all these and many moe [...]hould moue vs to re­uerence the goodnesse and wonderfull wise­dome of our Maker, [...]hewed in the creation of man.

Carnal men so liue as if they were nothing but fl [...]sh onely.And of this we learn how farre the iudge­ment of Gods spirite, differs from the iudge­ment [Page 49] of man, and that euen as concerning man himselfe: It is thought among car­nall men, that the body is the man, Sic dediti sunt carni ac sanguini, ac si nihil aliud, quam carnem se esse reputa­rent: and therefore are they so giuen to pam­per flesh, as if they were no other thing but flesh: these do not separate the vile from the pretious, Ierem. 15. the Lord from the seruant, the indweller from the lodger, [...]or in the iudgment of Gods spi­rit, [Page 50] the body is no more but the house: VVh [...]reas the body is but the house, the man is he who dwels in the bodie. the man is hee that dwelles in the bodie; and looke what difference there is betweene a house and him that dwelles in it, such are wee to put betweene the soule, and the body: in exte­riall dangers thogh the house bee burnt and blowne downe with windes, if the indweller be safe, we account that the losse is the lesse, and much more if the soule escape when the house of the body is throwne downe by death, are [Page 51] we to esteeme that the losse is but small: It is reasonable indeed, Let vs so care for the house, that much more w [...] [...]re for him who dw [...]ls in it. that the soule should loue the body, but so that it neglect not the owne selfe: let A [...]am loue his Euah, but so that hee hearken not vnto her voice more then to the Lords: if we seeke the welfare of our bodies, with neglect of our soules, we shall lose thē both, but if we subdue the body by discipline, that the soule may be safe, then shall the bo­dy also bee partaker of her glory.

[Page 52] The bodie is called an earthly house. Earthly. The second general obserued here, is, that the Apostle cals our body an house of earth: and this he doth for two causes: first in regard of the matter, for it was made of the earth: next in regard of the means by which our bodies are conti­nued, and vpholden, for they are earthly.

First, because it was made of the earthAs to the first, that man is made of earth, which is manifest out of the second of Genesis, it doeth highly com­mend the great power of the Creator: to doe [Page 53] great thinges by great meanes is no great matter; but when by smallest meanes greatest things are done, it doth argue without all doubt the great excel­lency of the worker, as that God made all things of nothing, and that of the basest mat­ter he had made before man, And herein appeares Gods power and wisdome that of so base a mat­ter hath made so ex­cellent a creature. hee made man a more excellent crea­ture, then any other that hee had brought out before him; hee made him of clay, but in many respects more honourable then that [Page 54] whereof he made him, & in this that he hath giuen to man, Vt sit aliquid sua origine glo­riosius, Tertul. de re­surrect car. Hee hath set out the glorie of his pow­er and wisedome: As likewise in that hee hath placed such a Grace and Maiestie in that same face, which hee framed of Clay, that the feare and terrour of him was vppon all liuing creatures, Gen. 2. which they acknowledged by their first comperance be­fore him at his cal­ling to receiue names [Page 55] from him as it pleased him to improue them, and yet euen after the fall, by the bene­fite of restitution, wee haue in CHRIST, they so reuerence man, that albeit in nature there can bee none stronger then the Elephant, stowter then the Lyon, fier­cer then the Tygre: yet all these dooth seruice to man, Et naturam suam huma­na institutione depo­nunt. Ambros. hexam. l. 6. cap. 6.

Secondly we learne heere GODS Soue­raignty [Page 56] ouer man, The soue­raignty of God ouer man, is more th [...]n that which the Potter hath ouer his clay. he is but a vessell of earth, framed by the hand of God & therfore VVoe must be vnto him, if he striue with his Maker: a vessell of clay is not so easily broken by the Potter, as man is con­founded by his Maker, if once his wrath kin­dle in his breast against him. It were therefore good for man before hee enter into enmitie with God, to bethinke himselfe of an answere to that question of the Apostles, 1. Cor. 10.22 Do ye prouoke God vnto anger, are yee [Page 57] stronger then he? Therefore wo to him who liues in [...]n­mity with God. The Sidonians would not make warre with He­rod, because they were nourished by the kings land; and it might more iustly be a reason to keep vain man from waging battel with the Lord, Act. 12 20. that he holds his life of the Lord, & that if he do but take his breth out of our nostrils wee fal incontinent as dead vnto the ground. Sure­ly of all follies in the world this is the grea­test, for a man to cast himselfe in danger of Gods wrath, which he [Page 58] is neyther able by fly­ing to esch [...]e, nor yet by suffering to endure.

The conside­ration of our originall does le [...]rne vs humility.Thirdly, the conside­ration of our originall learnes vs humility, si [...]ce wee are of the earth, why shal we wax proude, specially for a­ny quality of our body, which was taken from the earth, and must re­turne to earth againe? Therefore God gaue vnto the first man the name of Adam, signify­ing redde earth, that as oft as hee heard his name, he might remē ­ber his originall, and [Page 59] and his posterity also, considering the Rocke frō whence they came, might let fall the comb of their naturall pride.

Which if we cannot learne, They who will not learn it by their o­riginall, [...]et them looke to their end, and they shal see no cause of pride. by looking to our originall, let vs at least remēber our end, & it shall learne vs, that we are but dust: yea much more vile then common dust, for as beautifull Snow, when it is resolued into water whereof it was congea­led, becomes fouler water then any other else, so man being tur­ned again into earth, it [Page 60] becomes viler earth then any other earth whatsoeuer: so that the flesh which in life is most beloued, death causes to be most ab­horred: Gen. 23.4. Abraham lo­ued Sarah well, but frō the time that her soule departed from her bo­die, hee was glad to en­treate the Hittites for a Sepulchre, that hee might burie his dead out of his sight. And truely, Greg. moral. l. 16. sect. 105 if, as Gregory councels vs, Vnusquis (que) hoc quod viuum diligit, quid sit mortuum pensa­ret: euery man would [Page 61] pond [...]r, what that crea­tur is being dead, which so greatly man loueth, while it liueth, it would serue to represse in vs the immoderate desires of our affections.

O man, Neither is there strength nor beauty, nor stature of the body to be delighted in. why wilt thou bee bewitched with that which in the bodie seemes worthy to bee loued? Is it for the strength, or the beautie or stature ther­of, that thou art deligh­ted with it? I pray thee consider what these are: Is not the strength of the body weakenes? Ere it be long the gras­hopper [Page 62] shall be a bur­den to the strongest: And as to beauty, is it not deceitfull? Esa. 40.6. All flesh is grasse, and the glorie thereof as the flowre of the field. The body like a wall of clay. plaste­red ouer and painted with colours. As a wall of clay plastered ouer, and painted: after that a little winde and raine hath beaten vponit, the Lime fals away, and the clay appeareth: so is it with the most pleasant bodie, which now be­ing trimmed with the colours of God seemes very beautifull, but af­ter that the storms and showers of diseases [Page 63] hath beaten vppon it: then shall it appear that which it is, to wit, but Clay indeede; and though for stature thou were like to the sonnes of Anack, yet neither art thou for that the more pretious: for the high­est trees are not most fruitfull, Esa. 14.11.19. the mightie Oakes of Basan beares fruit for Swine, where the little Vine-tree renders comfortable fruite for man, neither can thy height protect thee against death, for euen gold thristy Babel [Page 64] which grewe vp like a great tree, so high that the fowles of heauen made their nests vnder it, was at lēgth broght to the graue like an ab­hominable branch: so shall it bee with the pompe of all flesh, the wormes shall be spread vnder thee, and the Wormes shall couer thee.

Rem [...]m­brance of that which we haue bin, should keepe vs from wax­ing proud for that which we ar [...].Let it therefore bee farre from vs to glorie eyther in the strength or beauty, or stature of our mortall bodies: they are but rotten and ruinous habitations; [Page 65] nothing is there in them to puff vp our pride, if we consider them aright, but much matter to humble vs. It is written of Agatho­cles, who of a Potter was made a King, that he caused to furnish his table with vessels, some of Golde, and some of Loame, that by the one he might be serued as a King, and by the other admonished that hee was once a Potter: and it much more becomes vs, who now are called to the high dignity of the sonnes of God, to [Page 66] remember what wee were before, that so we may bee humbled in our selues, & be thank­full to our God.

Secondly, the bodie is called an earthly hou [...]e, Secondly, the b [...]dy is cal­led an earth­ly house be­cause it is vpho [...]den by earthly meanes. because by earthly meanes it is susteyned and vphol­den, so that the verie food by which we liue dooth warne vs of the fragility of our mortall bodi [...], the fowles of the ayre, and beastes of the earth are slaine to feed vs, they must quit the silly life they haue, be­fore they can bee con­uenient [Page 67] foode for vs: And I pray you, what enduring life can they cause vnto vs, which must die before they can helpe our life: yea within short time, if they bee let alone, they corrupt and putrifie of their owne accord: thus e­uerie creature that feedes vs, testifies to vs in their kinde, that our life is but a silly life, the ende whereof is death and filthy rottennesse.

Of this Tabernacle: the third generall point we [Page 68] marked heere is: Our body is called a Ta­b [...]rnacle, first because we haue here a couering, but not a founda­tion. how our body is called a Tabernacle: And that first for some similitude of the building, a Ta­bernacle being such a soiourning place, as Tectum habeat non fun­damentum, Ber. parui Sermones. hath a co­uering, but not a foun­dation, to warne vs, that how euer in this life w [...]e haue aboue vs the protection of God, Esa. 4.6. as a Couert for the storme and for the raine, yet be­neath there is heere no foundation, whereon we may rest, Heb. 11. and settle our selues: but we are [Page 69] with Abraham, Isaac and Iacob, to looke for that Citie aboue, ha­uing a Foundation: that is, our Temples building, in which without danger, wee may lay vp our trea­sure, hauing both a roofe & a foundation, fundamentum est stabili­tas aeternae beatitudinis, Ibid. tectum consummatio & perfectio ipsius.

Secondly, our bo­dies care called Taber­nacles in regard of the vse of them, S [...]condly, be­cause we should vse it as a Sconse or Tent for the warfare. since our life is a warfare, wee should soiourne in the [Page 70] body, as souldiers in their Sconses & Tents, that out and in them wee may watch for vantage ouer our ene­mies, to annoy them, and defend our selues from them: but it is to bee lamented that our bodies, which should be vsed as Tabernacles for warre, Basil. ser. 10. in Psal. qui habitat. are turned in domicilia turpissimae cap­tiuitatis, in little houses of seruitude & bondage

Thirdly, be­cause it is not fixed in one place, as an house, but is made for transporting.And thirdly, to shew their mortality, they are compared to Taberna­cles, for they are moue­able at the will and ar­bitrement [Page 71] of God, who hath pitched them, we haue here no continu­ing City, but should liue in the body, as rea­dy euery houre to bee transported, for wee know not when it shal please the Lord to pull vp the stakes of our Ta­bernacle, to slake the cordes, and folde vp the couering therof, which shortly must bee done to euery one of vs: but our comfort is, that as the Arke of God, which in the Wilder­nesse dwelt in a moue­able Tabernacle, was [Page 72] afterward placed in a fixed and stablished Temple in Canaan: so our soules shall bee translated from this earthly Tabernacle to haue their dwelling in that Temple of God in heauen Great ioy was in Ierusalem, when Sa­lomon transported the Arke from the Taber­nacle to the Temple, but greater ioy shall be to our soules, when God shall carrie them from this earthly Tent, to that heauenly and e­ternall habitation.

Be dissolued. Heere [Page 73] we see, that in the Chri­stian, death dooth no more, but dissolue his earthly Tabernacle. That death wh [...]rein all deaths con­curre, is the proper pu­n [...]shment of sinne. It is demaunded by Au­gustine, what kinde of death it was, which God denoūced to man in paradise, if he did eat of the forbidden tree, Aug. de ciuit. Dei. l. 13. cap 12. Vtrum corporis, an ani­mae, an totius hominis, an illa quae dicitur secunda: And he aunswers; that into that death, which is the proper punish­ment of sinne, all kinds of death concurres: for as the whole earth cō ­sists, sayes he, of many [Page 74] earths, & the Catholike Church consists of ma­ny particular Chur­ches, so vniuersal death, which is the proper punishmēt of sin consists of all sorts of death.

Now the Scripture makes mention chief­ly of two sorts o [...] death the first and second: Of the two kindes of death menti­oned in holy scripture. the first death hath in it two deaths, the one of the soule, the other of the body: the death of the soule is, when the soule quickening the body, is not quickened of God, Eph 4. but is as the A­postle speakes a strā ­ger [Page 75] frō the life of God, & by this death many are dead, who in regard of their bodies seem to be liuing, Eph. 2. 2. Tim. Reuel 3. as is spokē of the Ephesians before their calling▪ of the wā ­tō widows who liuing are dead, & of the An­gel of Sardis: the death of the body is the sepa­ratiō of the soule from the body. Death of the whole man, what it is. So then the death of the whole mā is, Cum anima sine deo & corpore ad tempus paenas luit ▪ but the se­cond death, which is so called, because by ma­ny deg [...]ees it is greater [Page 76] then the other: and there is not any other behinde it, is, Cum a­nima sine Deo, cum corpore aeternas paenas luit.

Where that we may yet more cleerely di­stinguish the death of a Christian from the death of the wicked, it is to be enquired, It is deman­ded seeing the soule and body of the wicked sh [...]ll be vni [...]ed in the resurre­ct [...]on: how shall they be punished with the second death. see­ing in the resurrection the wicked shall haue their soules and bodies vnited together, how shall they be punished with death? The aun­swer is, that this vnion of their soules and bo­dies [Page 77] shall be with such a fearfull diuision from God, & among them­selues, that they shall rather wish to be extin­guished, and turned in­to nothing, then be v­nited againe, Gregor. mo­ral. l. 15. Sect▪ 55. Ad aug­mentum tormenti, & hic de corporenolens edu­citur impius, & illic in corpore tenetur inuitus. In this life the wicked is taken out of the bo­dy against his will, and in the life to come, hee is kept in the bodie a­gainst his will: and by both of these his tor­ment is encreased: In [Page 78] the first creation God conioyned soule and body; that they might be a mutuall comfort one to other, It is answe­red that this [...]nion of their [...]oule and bo­dy, is for their greater punishment. but in the second death by the cōtrary they are vnited for the mutual punishment one of another: so that the body shall bee for no other ende quickened by the soule but to make it feeling, and sensible of horri­ble paine: for if euen now in this life it bee come vpon man, as a iust punishment of his rebellion against God, that the body is not so [Page 79] seruiceable to the soule as it was in the beginning, Anima quippe quia sup [...]riorem Domi­nū suo arbitrio deseruit, Aug. de. ciuit. dei l. 13. c. 13 inferiorem famulum, sibi subiectū non habet, how much more shall it bee so in the last recōpense that either of themshal become a griefe, and burden to others.

Here is then to bee taken vp that greate difference which is be­tween the death of the Christian and of the worldling, A great dif­ference be­tweene the death of the Christian and the wicked. in the death of the wicked, all sorts of deathes concurres, [Page 80] [...]hereas the Christian suffers but Aliquid mor­tis a peece of death, to wit, the dissolution of his earthly house: the Serpent can doe no more to him, but man­ducare terram eius, fa­sten his teeth vpon his earthly parte, as to the heauenly soule it falles not vnder the danger of death.

So that the vantage is greate, which the Christian hath ouer his enemies, The Christi­an shall ne­uer die that death which is the punish­ment of the wicked. in that the death which the wic­ked shall die, the Chri­stian is exempted from [Page 81] it, but that parte of death which hee shall suffer, and they are a­ble to inflict vpon him, they themselues shall shall not escape it. Ie­zabel may make her vow to haue the head of Elijah: but how lit­tle effect there is in such furie of flesh, is manifest in that same example, And the wic­ked cannot free them­selues of that death, which they inflict on the godly [...] beside that, a worse abides them. for God pre­serued his seruant safe, and her own head was giuen in a prey to the dogges, and they like the Burrios of the Lord deuoured her, leauing nothing but the skull [Page 82] of her head, and palms of her hands: why then shall we bee affraid of them, who are not ex­empted from that doome, which in their greatest anger they giue vpon vs: when it was tolde Anaxagoras the Philosopher, that by his enemies meanes he was condemned to die, he neuer troubled himself for the matter, but made this answere: Iam olim istam sententi­am tulit natura in illos aeque ac in me, that long since nature had giuen out the sentence of [Page 83] death vppon them, as well as vppon him. If such strength was in a­ny Ethnik, what should there bee in any Chri­stian?

But beside this, By death we get deliue­rance from our present euils. the excellent benefits wee receiue by death should confirme vs against all the terrors and paines thereof; for first it relieues vs of much euill: for by it our dayes of sinne are fi­nished, and wee are deliuered from the miseries of this life. If wee had beene immortall in this [Page 84] this miserable mortali­ty, our estate had been most lamentable: euen the Ethniks by the light of [...]ature vnderstood, that it was a great benefite that the bodie was but Mortale vinculū animae, Aug. de. ciuit. Dei. l. 9. cap. 10. a temporal or mor­tall band of the soule; and they gaue the rea­son, VVhat a great benefit it is, that our bodies are mortall. Ne semper huius vitae miserijs anima te­ner etur, least the soule should be for euer de­teyned vnder the mise­ries of this wretched life: but praised bee God, this comfort is made sure to vs by a [Page 85] clearer light, that our soules shall not for e­uer be deteyned in the bodie, as in a house of bondage, but that shortly they shall bee deliuered, and that in so wonderfull a man­ner, that death which is the daughter of sinne shall become the de­stroyer of her owne mother: for vnto the Christian, death is a perfite mortification of all his earthly mem­bers.

Neither are we by it onely deliuered from euill, By death we are set at li­bertie to en­ioy our grea­test good. but also entred to [Page 86] the fruition of our greatest good: for as a cloud dissolued giues vs cleare sight of the Sun, which before was ob­scured frō vs, or as the doors of the prison be­ing opened by the An­gel, made a faire way to Peter to come out and enter into Ierusalē, so is it, Aug. de. ciuit. dei. l. 9. c. 20., dissolutio corporis, ab­solutio est animae, the dis­solution of the body is the absolution of the soule: as the snare being broken, the bird esca­peth, so the body being dissolued, Athanas in q [...]estionibus quaest. 18. Euadit reclu­sa intus columba hoc est a­nima, [Page 87] the soule hath a readie way to the face of God.

There is wrought by death, Many lookes to the dissolu­tion, but not to the con­iuction made by death, and therefore are affraid at it. as saith the Apo­stle, both a dissoluti­on and a coniunction. The cause why death seemes terrible to ma­ny, is, for that they look to the dissolution, and not to the cōiunction, the dissolution is of the soule frō the body, the coniunction is of the soule with Christ: if thē we be affraid, when wee looke to the disso­lution, let vs also looke to the coniunction, [Page 88] and be comforted, I de­sire to bee dissolued, there the dissolution: and to be with Christ, there the coniunction. VVe vse commonly to call death a departure, and so it is a departure from them who are deere vnto vs, but to them who are more deere: and therefore should we not so much be grieued at our de­parture from that com­pany we leaue behinde vs, as reioyced by thin­king of that blessed fel­lowship, which is be­fore vs, for we returne [Page 89] to our father, from whom we came, to our eldest brother, whom we haue not yet seene, but long to see him, because we loue him, to the company of in­numerable Angels, to the Congregation of the first borne, and to the Spirits of iust and perfite men.

But here two things must bee remooued, Two things remoued which make death feare­full. which impaire this comfort, and makes death seeme much more terrible, 1 The feare of punishment after death then it is indeede. The first is the fear of punishment [Page 90] after death, but in ve­rie deede, quid hoc ad mortem, quod post mor­tem est? Ambr. de bo­no mortis. c. 8 Why shall death bee blamed for that which falles out after death, Acerbitas non mortis est, sed culpae, the bitternesse is not in death, But indeede death is not to be blamed for thatwhich comes after it but in sinne: let a man therefore purge his conscience, and death shall neither bee fearefull, nor bitter vn­to him: As a Serpent wanting the sting, may be put in our bo­som without perrill, so if sinne, which is the sting of death be taken [Page 91] away, wee may bold­ly welcome death, yea embrace it with­out feare: it cannot hurt vs.

The other cause is, that men apprehend death, 2 An appre­hension that death de­stroyes man. to be the destru­ction of man, but in ve­ry truth it is not so, but rather as I said, the ab­solution of man, it is neyther totall, for it onely dissolues the bo­die, nor yet perpetuall. Some Ethnikes falsly called it, Aeternus Som­nus, it is a sleepe in­deed, but not eternall, for in the resurrection [Page 92] the body shall bee wa­kened and raised vp a­gaine, so then Non mors ipsa, Ambros. ibid. Death it self is not terrible but the opini­on of death. sed opinio de morte est terribilis, it is not death it selfe, but an o­pinion of death which is terrible, for since it translates vs from this present euill world vn­to euerlasting life: I know not said Nazian­zen, how it can be cal­led death, it being No­mine magis, quā re sor­midabilis, fearefull in name, Nazian. orat. de funere patris. rather then in deede. The separati­on of the soule from God, that is death: the [Page 93] separation of the soule from the body, Greg. moral. l. 4. sect. 47. Vmbra tantummodo est mortis, is onely the shaddow of death, and therefore such as are dead, not in [...]he soule, but in the flesh, non vera morte, sed vmbra tantum mortis o­ [...]eriri dicuntur, are not said to be truely dead, but only couered with the shaddow of death.

VVe are not then to looke vpon death in the glasse of the lawe, Death should not be looked vpon in the glasse of the law, but in the mirrour of the Gos­pell. but in the mirrour of the Gospel: life looked vpon with the eyes of nature, seemes a better [Page 94] thing then it is, coue­red as it were with a white vaile, though in deede it bee very blacke: for if the plea­sures thereof be com­pared with the paines, it will bee found that the paines exceede the pleasures, both for their number, greatnesse and conti­nuance, it being most certaine, that no plea­sure in the earth hath beene found to endure so long, as the paines of a feuer, whereas on the other hand, if death bee looked vpon with [Page 95] the eyes of nature, it seemes to be very terri­ble, & as it were coue­red with a blacke vaile, but is white indeed, be­ing to the godly but a finishing of our mise­ries, & entrance to our endlesse glorie.

And this shall be e­uident if we mark these phrases by which the spirit of God describes death to vs in holy scripture: Comforta­ble phrases, by which death is de­scribed by the spirit of God. the death of Abraham Gen. 25.8. is called a gathering of him to his fathers: Deu▪ 31.16. the death of Moses a sleeping with his fathers, Psal. 16.9. Dauid [Page 96] calles the death o [...] his bodie a resting of his flesh in hope: Luke. S. Luke calles the death of our Lord the time of his as­sumption: 2. Pet. 1.14. S. Peter cals it the deposition of an earthly Tabernacle: Now I pray you, what here is terrible, vn­lesse to be gathered to our fathers, to let our bodies sleepe for a time, and rest in hope, that our soules may be assumed vp into hea­uen be terrible to vs. S. Paul ex­presses the nature of our death by thr [...]e simili­tudes.

But most cleerly doth S. Paul by three proper similitudes, expressethe [Page 97] nature of death vnto vs; for first he compares it to the laying aside of an old rotten garment, in stead whereof, wee put on a better, teach­ing vs thereby, that as no poore man will grudge to lay aside his contemptible garment when a better is offe­red vnto him, 1. He compares it to the changing of a garment. far lesse shold a Christian mur­mure, when God vn­cloths him of his cor­ruptible bodie, since he doth it, that hee may cloth him with a more excellent garment of glorie, and [...]mmortali­tie. [Page 98] Secondly, he com­pares the laying of our bodies in the graue to the sowing of seede in the earth, To the sowing of seed in the earth, tha [...] it may grow a­gaine. 1. Cor. 15. teaching vs thereby, that suppose our bodies being couered with moulds rot & putrifie vnder the earth yet they shall spring vp again, and the [...]fore we shold willingly render our bodies to the Lord that great husbandmā, to be dimpled like pic­kles of liuely seede by his owne hand, in any parte of the earth hee pleases, yea if it were in the bottome of the sea, [Page 99] seeing the whole world is the Lords husban­dry, which he can cause to bring out fruite to him at his pleasure: At his word both the earth and water brought out to him liuing creatures which neuer had been: and shal we not thinke that at his word they wil render to him these creatures, 3 To a flitting from one house to an­other. which haue bin before? And third­ly he cals it here a flit­ting from one house to another, a remoouing from our cot house on earth, to a Palace of glorie in heauen.

[Page 100] Albeit death be certaine, yet the time, place, and kinde thereo [...] is vncertaineNow this being spo­ken vpon the worde Dissolued for our com­fort in death, somthing further must we marke out of it, for our prepa­ration to death: Howeuer death be most cer­taine, yet the Apostle speaks indefinitly of it, both in regard of the time, the place, and the kinde of death: it is out of al doubt, our bodies must bee dissolued, but wee know not when, nor where, nor how: in these three respects death is vncertaine.

As to the time of [Page 101] our death, Many dreame of more daies thē they haue & are far deceiued at the length. Aug. God hath hidden it from our eies, Nihil certius morte, ni­hil incertius hora mor­tis. Many goe out of the body, being disa­pointed as concerning the time, lipning and looking in their owne thought for a longer time, then they find or­deined for them. In this folly by nature wee are all followers of that rich man, who drea­med to himselfe that he had many daies to the fore, when in very deed hee had not one: for that same night his [Page 102] soule was taken from him, Ber. de falla­tia vitae prae­sentis. Vita haec multiplici­ter illudit hominibus, longam se simulat, vt fallat.

Time of our death left vncertaine to make vs the more vigilantAlway the vncertain­ty of death in regard of time, God hath done it in wisedome, to make vs the more carefull: Ignoratur vnus dies, vt obseruentur multi: Hee hath made one day vn­knowne, that many daies may be obserued▪ If the good man of the house had known what houre the thiefe would come, hee would haue watched, & not suffred [Page 103] his house to be digged through. Be ye therfore prepared: the house is the body, the theef that breakes it is death, the treasure thou keepst in it, is thy soule, therfore watch & pray: the con­clusion of the Parable telles vs, that God hath hid the houre of death from vs, not to snare vs but to stirre vs to vigi­lance, Ideo voluit horam mortis incertam esse, Gregor. vt semper sit nobis suspecta, God hath made the houre of death vncer­taine, because hee will haue it alway suspe­cted.

[Page 104] The life of man is but a life that turnes vpon seuen daies, and in one of them man must die.The life of man on earth, is but a life of sea­uen daies, how manie yeares soeuer he liue, yet hath hee but these same dayes multiplied vnto him: As he ther­fore, who hauing seuen seruants to serue him, if he be aduertised that one of the seauen will slay him; takes seruice from them, with the narrower obser [...]ation of euerie one of them, when they come by course to serue him: so man, Therefore sh [...]ld he take heed to them all. whose life runnes vpon seauen dayes in the weeke, which toge­ther [Page 105] with their shad­dowes serue him by course, since he is tolde that in one of them hee must die, and he knows not which it is, he shold the more carefully ob­serue them all, to liue holily, and godly in them: let all of them be passed ouer in feare: let none of them want their owne exercises of godlinesse, so shall we die peaceably, and with comfort in any of thē, wherein it shall please God to call vpon vs.

Secondly, The place of death vncer­taine. in regard of the place death is al­so [Page 106] so vncertain, somehaue died in the wombe wherein they tooke life, some in the Cradle▪ as the infants of Bethlem, some in the bedde, as Ishboseth, some in the Parlour, as Eglon, some on the stoole, as Ar­rius, some at the table, as Ammon, some in the Chappell as Sennache­rib, some in the Tem­ple, VVe can come to no place in the which some haue not died before vs. as Ioab: In a word, what place is there wherin we can come, in the which, or the like of it, some men haue not died before vs: and this to warne [Page 107] vs, how in euery place we shold be prepared, Vbique te expectatmors, Bernard. & tu, si sapiens fueris, vbique cam expecta­bis.

Thirdly, the kinde of our death is also left vncertaine vnto vs, The kinde of death is also vncertaine, that for all deaths we might be prepared. that against all kinds of death wee may be prepared; there is one way by which we all come into the worlde, but many wayes by which wee goe out of it, for some die in the water, as Pharao, some in the fire as the King of Edom, [Page 108] some by Lions as the disobedient Prophet, some by Beares as the railing children, VVe come all into the world by one way, but we go out of it by many. some by dogges, as cruell Ie­zabel, some by vermine as proude Herod, some by the sword, as swift Azahel, some smothe­red in the house as the children of Iob, some by the fall of a wall, as those eighteene men, slaine by Siloam To­wer, some by the cast of a stone as Abimelech, some of a paine in their head as the Shunamits sonne, some of a paine in their belly, as Antioc­ [...]hus, [Page 109] some of a Gowte [...]n their feete as Asa, [...]ome by the priuate corruption of their owne distemperate hu­mors, some by distem­perature of publicke humours, which are corrupt lawes.

In a word, VVe should not much care for the kind of death but for the way we goe after death. so fraile a vessell is man, that easi­ly by innumerable wayes hee is broken: and all these haue we seene before vs, that for a [...]l them wee might be prepared, making rea­die our selues to die, & referring the kinde of our death to the good [Page 110] pleasure of God, Aug. de ciuit. dei. l. 1. c. 11. Non est multum curandum, necessariò morituro, qua morte moriatur, sed quò post mortem ire Com­pellatur, since of neces­sity wee must die, let vs not care much for the kinde of death, but rather of the way which after death wee are to goe: And for this cause, did our blessed Sauiour vnder­goe a cursed death, that euery death might bee made blessed to them who die in the faith of the Lord.

[Page 111] Be dissolued. Men should not be violēt actors of their owne death, but patient suf­ferers. Last of all wee obserue here that the word which the Apostle vses, be­ing passiue, wee are taught, that men shold not bee violent Ac­tors of their owne death, but patient sufferers at the good pleasure of God: In all the Booke of God there is not asillable al­lowing selfe-murther: The law which forbids to kill, dooth first of all forbidde to kill thy selfe: I wil require (saith the Lorde) your bloode at the handes of Beastes, [Page 112] at the handes of a man himselfe, Gen. 9. at the hands of euery brother will I re­quire it: And heereby that storie of the Mac­cab [...]es, 2. Mac 14. commending RAZIS, A selfe mur­therer neuer allowed, but condemned in holy scrip [...]re for selfe mur­ther may bee knowne to bee but a bastard breath, being so discor­dant f [...]om the rest of Scripture, breathed by diuine inspiration of the holy Ghost. Eth­nikes counted it mag­nanimity in desperate troubles to dispatch themselues, but indeed it is pusillanimity; that is a great mind, which [Page 113] can endure trouble with patience: and it is but a feeble spirit, which being impati­ent of trouble, seekes by selfe-murther to eschue it. Properly did Ierome call such Mar­tyres slultae philosphiae. As to Samsons fact it was singular, no more to bee followed, then Abraham his offring of his sonne, or Israels po­licie in spoyling the E­gyptians, which had their owne warrants, but cannot warrant vs to transgresse the knowne and common [Page 114] commaundements of God.

The second par [...] o [...] [...]he verse con­teynes the vantage we [...]aue by death. Wee haue a building. Now followes the se­cond part of the verse, conteyning the van­tage we get by that ex­change wee make in death, to wit, that by it wee are translated into a better building: where before we enter into the wordes, if it bee demaunded, what then? Is there no more to bee done to the bodie? When it is dissolued, must it lie still in Dust and Ashes? And haue wee no fur­ther [Page 115] comfort concer­ning it? The comfort giuen here a­gainst death concernes the soule onely. The aunswere is, that the comfort which here is giuē doth only concern the soule but if we wil conioyne with this, other places of Scripture, wee shall finde full and perfite comfort, both for bo­dy and soule.

For not only know wee that our bodies shall bee raised vp a­gaine in the last day, Comfort con­cerning the losse of our bodies by death is to be sought [...]n other places of Scripture. but that when they shall sleepe in the graue, the holy Ghost who now dwelles in them shall watch ouer [Page 116] them, to preserue them to immortality, from the time wee be dead, our bodies are negle­cted and forsaken of these, who loued vs most deerly in our life, after that they haue laid vs in the graue they returne to eate and drinke, and in their wonted manner to re­fresh themselues, and within short time they quit all remembrance of vs; The Lord will no [...] for­sake that bo­dy, whi [...]h was the Temple of h [...] spirit, [...]ut will ke [...]pe the d [...]st thereof. But as to the Lord our God, he will neuer n [...]glect, nor for­sake, nor forget that body which he hono­red [Page 117] to bee his owne Temple, dwelling in it by his holy spirite, but wil keepe the very dust thereof, till he restore it againe to life. An ex­ample whereof wee haue in the fauourable dealing of God with Iacob, who dyed in E­gypt, and was conuey­ed to Canaan by Ioseph and Pharaoh his Cha­riots, I [...]cobs dead body honou­rably buried by God. yet vnto none of them wil God giue the praise of the buriall of Iacobs corps, hee is not ashamed to take to himselfe, according to the promise hee made [Page 118] vnto his seruant, that he would not onely go with him downe to E­gypt, but also would bring him vp againe to Canaan, therby decla­ring how pretious in his sight the death of his Saints is, and how honorable he esteemes these bodies, which haue bin the Temples of his holy spirit.

Three things to be conside­red here.Now in these words wee haue three things to be considered: first, what is meant by this building: secōdly, how saies the Apostle, that we haue it: Thirdly, [Page 119] what are the proper­ties, by which it is de­scribed.

By this building some vnderstands that im­mortall and glorified body, The fi [...]st thing to be considered here, is, what is meant by this buil­ding. which shal be gi­uen vs in heauen: the same body in substance which now wee haue, but transformed, and made like vnto Christs glorious bodie, and indeede vnto it a­grees this description; for that body is of God not made with handes, not preserued by the helpe of secondarie meanes, as is this [Page 120] body which was be­gotten by our father, conceiued by our mo­ther, By this buil­ding is not to be vnderstood our glorisied bodies, for those we get not till the resurrection. nourished and brought vp to the state wherein now it is, by the helpe of hands: and again, where this mor­tall body is a temporal Tabernacle, the im­mortall shall bee an e­ternall habitation. All these are true: but be­cause our soules shall not dwell in these bo­dies till the resurrecti­on, they cannot bee meant here by this building to the which wee are transported incon­tinent [Page 121] after death.

By this building then wee are to vnderstand that place of glory, But that place of glory into which we are trans­ated aft [...]r death. which in the third hea­uens God hath prepa­red for his children, cal­led in the Gospell the euerlasting habitations, Luke. and by our Sauiour his Fathers house, Ioh. wherin are many Mansions: Hebr. called by Saint Paul a Citie, hauing a founda­tion, whose builder and maker is God, Reuel. and by Saint Iohn called the New Ierusalem; a City hauing the glorie of God in it, a Citie [Page 122] foure squared, in lēgth, breadth and height e­quall; a Citie wherein al the Citizens sees the face of God, through the streets wherof runs the water of life, and in euery side thereof the tree of life: this is the glorious building, into the which our soules are carried by Angels, so soone as they depart out of the body.

The second thing to be considered here, is, how saies the A­postle we haue this building.The second thing we proposed here to speak of, was, how is it, that the Apostle saies, We haue this building, hee saies not we shal get it, [Page 123] but that presently wee haue it: The reason is, because presently wee haue the rights and se­curities: If worldlings account thēselues sure enough of earthly inheritances, whēthey haue the charter, The reason is, because presently we have the rights and [...]ecurities of it, which are, Charter, Con­firmation, Seazing and Possession. seazing, cō ­firmation, and possessi­on of them, how much more arewesure of that heauēly building, who haue already receiued all these rights and se­curities thereof from the Lord our God.

The Charter Of the Char­ters of our heauenly building. of our heauenly inheritance is the good worde of [Page 124] God, wherein the Lord of his speciall grace, & fauour hath disponed it vnto vs, Luke 12.32. Feare not lit­tle flocke, it is the fathers will to giue you the king­dome: besides that, the same is left to vs in legacie by our elder bro­ther Iesus Christ, who before that hee offered himselfe in a Sacrifice for our sinns vpon the Crosse, Most comfor­table Medi­tations. did first com­mend vs to his father by an euerlasting pray­er: Father, I will, that these whom thou hast giuen me, bee where I am, that they may see [Page 125] the glory I had with thee from the begin­ning. Ioh. O most sweete, O most sure word: What sweeter word can there be th [...]n this▪ that the Sonne in his latter Will, will haue vs to bee with him: what surer word? It is spoken by him, in whom the Father pro­claimes himselfe to be well pleased, and who then will reuoke or an­null it? Surely most comfortable is it, that we haue not onely the Father bidding the son aske what he will, Psal. 2. and [Page 126] promising to giue it: but wee haue also the Sonne asking, and in his asking crauing no other thing, but that we may be with him: Is not then our heauenly Inheritance sure en­ough vnto vs?

Of the con­firmation we haue recei­ued vpon our Charter.But we haue yet more beside this disposition made vs of God, strong Confirmations thereof, for the father hath cōfirmed the dis­position, made by him with an oath, Heb. 6.17. & that as the Apostle saies, to shew to the heyres of promise, the stability of his Coun­sell. [Page 127] Again, the Legacy made by the sonne, hee hath ratified by his owne bloode, and the death of the Testator interuening, hath made the Testamēt vnchang­able, and both of them are sealed in our hearts by the holy Spirite of promise, whom God hath giuen vs, as his witnes, his earnest, and his seale to assure vs of that which hee hath promised.

And thirdly, Of our sea­zing and in­uestment in our heauenly building. the Lord our God by his Ste­wards & seruants, whō hee hath ordeyned to [Page 128] gouerne his house, de­liuering to vs in the Sa­crament the Symbols of t [...]e body and blood of Christ Iesus hath thereby seazed vs, and giuen vs inuestment of our heauenly King­dome.

Of our pre­sent possession we haue of that buildingLast of all, hee hath put vs in present pos­session thereof, by deli­uering vnto vs the keys of the Kingdom, which are Faith and prayer, by which euery Christian enters in at the doore of that building, and gets familiar accesse to the Throne of Grace: [Page 129] [...]uppose he be on earth, he hath his conuersati­on in heauen, talkes fa­miliarly with God his father, and viewes, to the great delight of his soule, that glorious in­heritance, into the which after death hee knowes hee shall fully be perfited. In all these respects it is, that the Apostle here sayes, not only we shal haue, but wee haue (alreadie) a building in heauen. The 3 thing to be considered here is the description of the building wherein are foure things.

The Third thing to be considered heere, is the description of this building, wherein first [Page 130] we see how the buil­der and maker thereof is said to bee God: Se­condly the maner ther­of, it is not made with hands: Thirdly, the en­durance thereof, it is e­ternal: and fourthly, the place thereof, it is in heauen.

First then that God is called the Author & maker of this building, Fi [...]st God is called the Authour and maker of this building, and the [...]efore it must be a glorious house it leades vs to forethink with our selues, what a glorious and excellent building it must be. A­mong men theirworks are according to their power and greatnesse: [Page 131] [...]f Kings goe to build, they build Palaces, if they prepare banquets they make them royal, esteeming it no ho­nourable thing for them to do that which without difficultie may bee performed by the common sort of people.

When King Ahasue­rus made a banquet to shewe the riches and glory of his Kingdom, Ahasuerus made a royal banquet, in a very pleasant place, to shew his glorie. Esth. 1. and honour of his Ma­iestie, hee prepared it in a very pleasant place: the Court of the Garden of the Kings [Page 132] Palace was decked with Tapestrie of white, greene and blew clo­thes, fastned with cords of fine linnen and pur­ple in siluer ringes, and pillars of M [...]rble, the beddes were of golde and siluer, vpon a paue­ment of Porphyrie, and Marble, and Alablaster in blew color, the ban­quet was made to his Princes of an hundred and twenty Prouinces, VVhat shall we then thinke of that building and banquet God hath prepared for declaration of his glory. and it lasted one hun­dred and foure score daies. Now if such pro­uision was made by a mortall man, to shew [Page 133] his glory, what shal we thinke of that prepara­tion which the eternall God hath made for de­claration of his glorie; not into the vtter Court of his Palace, which is this visible world, but in the inner Court thereof, the hea­uen of heauens; not in a banquet to last for an hundred and foure score daies, but for euer and euer. The glorie of Sa'omons Temple may lead vs to consider of the glorie of our heauenly building.

Salomon built a Tem­ple, which was iustly counted the glory of the world: but God furnished vnto him [Page 134] both the matter, for in his dayes he made gold as rife as stones, as also the engine, for hee gaue vnto Hiram and other Artificers to worke all manner cu­rious worke in Golde, 1. K. 7.14. Siluer, Brasse: what e­uer was excellent in that building, was done by the wisedome of God in the Artificer, which is but a small sparkle of that infinite knowledge and wise­dome which is in God himselfe: yet seeing of these earthly materials with the small sparkles [Page 135] of his owne light, such excellent workes haue beene done by men, as drawes others in admiration of them: may wee not thinke, that it is a worke farre surpassing in glorie, and aboue the reach of all our vnderstan­ding, which hee him­selfe without helpe of handes hath built in heauen▪ for the com­fort of his children, and declaration of the honour of his Ma­iestie.

Beside this in iudging of the workes of God, [Page 136] we must lay this for a sure ground that the inuisible works of God are alway most excel­lent. In man there is a soule and body, It is taken for a sure [...]ule, that the inuisible works of God are most ex­cellent. both of them very beautifull workemanshippes, but that the invisible soule is a far more excellent workemanshippe then the visible body, ap­pears in this, that what­soeuer beauty, sense, a­gilitie, or any other worthy commendati­on the body hath, it hath it from the quick­ning vertue of the soule, This we may see in the workeman­ship of man. without which, [Page 137] the most beautifull bo­die is, but for matter a lumpe of clay, for forme like an Idoll, ha­uing eyes, but see not, eares and hear not, feet and walke not.

And so is it in all the rest of Gods workes, The same is to be vnder­stood in the Fabric of this world, which is very plea­sant, and yet but a figure in respect of that which is aboue. the inuisible being e­uer more excellēt then the visible: this Vni­uerse with the plenish­ing and furniture ther­of is indeede a comely workemanshippe: the Grecians called it [...] for the ornaments thereof: the Latines called it Mundus for [Page 138] the cleanenesse, and tightnesse thereof, but the Apostle compa­ring it with that buil­ding which is aboue, calles it [...], because it is but a figure of a better, and more enduring substance, which is not seene.

The most pleasāt part of this lodging, How farre this visible world is in­feriour to that invisible building. is the sylering thereof, the firmament: which God hath garnished with the Sun, Moone and Stars as it were with shining pearles, to giue light by course to all that dwell in it: yet is it no more [Page 139] but the nethermost part of the Pauement of our heauenly Pa­lace: yea the Sunne, which now is the most pleasant and profita­ble creature that serues man in this present world, shall not haue that honour as to shine in that heauenly building: there shall bee no neede of Sunne nor Moone, there the glory of God shall be the light of that City: as lesser lights are obscu­red at the presence of greater, so shal all these created cōforts subiect [Page 140] to sense, euanish, when God shall receiue vs in his euerlasting habita­tions, and he himselfe shall become al things in all vnto vs.

The 2. thing in this de­scription is the manner of the buil­ding. Not made with hands. The second part of this description points out the manner of the buil­ding, the house is built by God in such sorte, that no hand of man, nor any other creature did helpe him in it. It is the Lords praise, that he made and prepared that dwelling place for vs, before he made our selues: yea as our Sa­uiour [Page 141] witnesses before the foundations of the world were laid; Mat. 25.34. The Lord hath prepa­red that house for vs, and also pre­pares vs for it and it is also his praise, that he makes and prepares vs for it, which two are very comfortably con­ioyned by the Apo­stle Saint Peter, that God reserues that in­heritance for vs in hea­uen, and keepes vs also by his power on earth vnto it: so that al hands are here excluded from the praise, eyther of the building, or yet of the obteyning of it by any thing that man can do, that the praise alonely [Page 142] may bee reserued to God, who is both the builder & giuer of this house, to the children of his good will in Christ.

The glory of both the cre­ations belong to God only.The worke of the first creation God re­ioyces in it, & wil haue the glory thereof only giuen to himselfe: hee spake it to his seruant Iob to humble him: Where wast thou, Iob. 38.4. when I laide the foundations of the earth? declare if thou hast vnderstanding, who hath laide the m [...]asures thereof, if thou know? or who hath stretched the [Page 143] line ouer it, &c.? And much more are wee to thinke that the glory of the second creation, he will haue ascr [...]bed to himselfe.

Of all his workes he craues no more but the glorie, Of all Gods workes he cra [...]es no more but the praise, & giues vs the profite. and is content that the fruit and bene­fite of them be ours: let vs giue vnto him that which he will not giue to any other, namly his glory, & cōtent vs with that which willingly he giues vs, he would not suffer Israel tothink or say that fortheir righ­teousnes, they were en­tred [Page 144] in earthly Canaan, far lesse will he be content that our entrance to heauēly Canaan shold be ascribed to the righ­teousnesse of man, or that man should say, My right hand hath done it: Psal. 116. Not vnto vs O Lord, not vnto vs, but to thy name be the praise, thy hande hath made that building, & thine hande must also bring vs vnto it.

The third thing in the description of this building, is the eternity thereof. Eternall. It is thirdly described from the en­durance thereof, which is vnto all eternitie: Here we soiourne in a [Page 145] Tabernacle, there wee shall dwell in a Mansi­on house: here there is a definite time of daies moneths and years as­signed to vs, our life on earth is but momenta­nean, wherein if wee speake as the trueth is, Our present life is but for a moment. we liue no more, but a moment at once, for the begunne time is past vnto vs, and wee are dead vnto it: the time to come is vncer­tain, and we cannot be said to liue vnto it; it is onely the present mo­ment, wherein we liue, which shortly is done, [Page 146] and must giue place to an other, that so by moments, one of them succeeding to another, our silly life may bee prorogate heere vpon earth.

And to the same pur­pose belongs that me­ditatiō of Basil, Basil. in Psal. 143. that our life on earth is finished by many deathes, for if we shall diuide our life into these four ages, Our life is fi­nished by many deaths. in­fancy, youth, manhood and olde age: Our in­fancy is dead and gone already▪ wee may say with the Apostle, when I was a child I [...]pake as [Page 147] a childe, but to that e­state of childhood shall we neuer return again.

Our youth in like manner is past, This is made clea [...]e by par­ting our life into [...]oure ages, euery one whereof doth die be­fore we enter to another. and of it we may say with Da­uid, I haue beene young and now am olde, but what wee were shall we neuer be againe. Our manly age in like manner in most part of vs is finish­ed, or at least wearing away, & there remains no more in them, who are falsly named to be of longest life amōg vs, but theiroldage, which shortly also by death [Page 148] shall be abolished, the most parte of vs haue passed through three deaths alreadie, & haue no more but the last and weakest time of our life to soiourne vp­pon earth, but in hea­uen our life shall not be measured by daies, moneths nor yeares: our house there is eternal, our estate in glorie vnchangeable.

Since by na­ture wee loue a long life, and care for it, why wil we not loue an e­ternall life.And this should warn vs with all godly care to make sure to our selues the rights of that heauenly building, wherof I haue spoken: [Page 149] If we once misse it, we shall neuer recouer it: and if once we get en­trance into it, we shall neuer any more re­mooue out of it: It is a shame that we should take so much pains for a long life on earth, & so lit [...]le for an eternall life in heauen; to pro­long our life on earth, what is it we leaue vn­done, that may helpe it? For this cause wee care for garments, wee prouide for nourishing meates, wee purge the body by medicines, but since nature hath lear­ned [Page 150] vs to doe so much for a long life, what a folly is it that wee should remain so care­lesse as wee are of eter­nall life, notwithstan­ding that by the light of the Gospell we are taught, how by god­ly care wee might ob­taine it.

In Heauen. The last thing in the description of this building, is the situa [...]ion thereof. In the last roome that building is described from the place whereunto it stands. Among men, buildings commonly are commended from their situation: and the Apostle to extoll [Page 151] ours aboue all that are on earth, telles vs, that it is situate in hea­uen. The Lord hath not giuen vs with E­sau, the fatnesse of the earth to bee our por­tion, neyther hath hee set our Habitation a­mong Dragons: hee hath lifted vs vp into the place of Angels, from whence they fell by their pryde, euen there hath the humble suffring and obedience of our blessed Sauiour exalted vs, and set vs, as sayes the Apostle, in the heauenly places: [Page 152] so that we may reioyce with Dauid. The lines are falne to me in plea­sant places, Psal. 16 and I haue a very faire He [...]itage.

Dwelling places assigned to men according to the dispositi­on of their persons.I find in holy Scrip­ture, that God hath as­signed habitations to men, according to their estate, changing places to them according to the change of their manners. Man in inno­cence had his dwelling in pleasant Paradise: Man after his Aposta­sie was cast out to la­bor the cursed earth whichbears thorns and thistles: Man continu­ing [Page 153] in Apostasie shall bee sent downe to the place of vtter darkenes, and man receiued a­gaine to mercie, is re­stored to a Paradice, as much more pleasant then that of Adams, as the second Adam is more excellent then the first.

In heauen are none but Elects, If such com­forts be on earth, what may we looke for in heauen. in hell none but abiects: in earth there is a mixture of chaffe andcorne, wheat and popple. Goates and Sheepe, alway if such comforts be heere where good and euill [Page 154] are together, what deli­cates are there, where there is none but good and if the pasturage heere bee so pleasant, where Goats & Sheep feede together: what pleasures are there where the Sheepe are gathered together by themselues, Cant. and their Pastor lies with them, and rests, feeding them without feare in the noone tyde of the day.

The place of our dwelling admonishes vs that we should be ho­ly and hea­uenly.And as the conside­ration of the place ren­ders vs comfort, so doth it also giue vs this in­struction, that we must [Page 155] be holy if we desire to dwell there, for no vn­cleane thing can enter into heauenly Ierusalē: we see that in the frame of this world thingsare placed according to their excellency: the earth, as grossest, is set into the lowest roome, [...]boue the earth is the water, as being purer then the earth, aboue the water is the ayre, which is purer then the water, aboue the ayre is the fire, & aboue the fire is the Firmament with the celestiall spheres, which ar purer [Page 156] then any of them: and aboue them all is the third heauen, wherein our building is situate, excelling in purity all these things which are seene, whereunto wee are admonished, that we who by nature are not onely of the earth, but are also earthly minded, must be trans­changed by grace, and endued with a heauen­ly disposition, before we can be admitted to these new heauens, wherein, 2. Pet. as saies Saint Peter, dwels righteous­nesse, and none but [Page 157] righteous, and renued men can inherit them.

Ver. 2. Therefore we sigh, desiring, The Apostle now comes to shew a three­fold fruit of godlines, which the knowledge of the glory to come workes in the chil­dren of God. &c. The Apostle hauing laid downe that solide ground of comfort, which stands to all Christians as a strong preseruatiueagainst the feare of death, comes now to build vpon it, and drawes out of it a three-fold fruit of god­linesse, which hee pro­tests the certain know­ledge of the glory to come, wrought in his heart, and which if wee also can feele wrought [Page 158] in our owne hearts by the spirit of God, shall serue vnto vs, as wholsom preparatiues to prepare vs in our life, The first is [...]n earnest desire of that glory to come. and makes vs capa­ble of that comfort of all Christians in our death: the first fruite is an earnest desire of that glorie to come: the second, a contentment, with boldnesse to remooue out of the bodie: the third a continuall care, both in life and death to please the Lord.

Heere first wee per­ceiue [Page 159] the nature of that true and liuely know­ledge, The nature of the liuely knowledge, wrought in vs by the Gospell. which by the Gospell is wrought in the minds of men, not onely doth it let vs see high and excellent things, but also carries our hearts & affections after them: for the Gos­pell is not onely a mir­rour, wherein wee be­hold the glorie of God with open face, It is not only a mirrour whereby we see God, but it is his po­wer, whereby we are carri­ed after him. but also the power of God vnto saluation, by which we are transfor­med into the selfe same Image & similitude: & therefore the Apostle [Page 160] denies that they haue learned Iesus Christ, who haue not learned to cast off the old man, which is corrupted tho­rough deceiueablelusts and to put on the new, which after God is cre­ated in righteousnesse, and true holinesse▪ And if by this rule the mē of this generation be try­ed, many shal be found ignorant of Christ, who seeme vnto them­selues to haue learned him well enough. How the two lights of hea­uen shadow two sorts of knowledge in the minde of man.

In the heauens are two lights, wherof the one, to wit, the Moone [Page 161] hath light without heat or chaunging vertue: the other, to wit the Sunne, doth not onely shine, but sends out such heate and vertue, that by it, things hard are mollified, dead creatures are reuiued, and fading hearbs and trees are made to flou­rish: so is there in the minde of man two sorts of knowledge, the one lets him see the good way, and allures his heart to follow it, the other giues him light, whereby he may discerne things, but al­lures [Page 162] allures him not to fo­llow the best, it encrea­ses light in the minde, but works not holines in the heart, it doth not conuert, but convince them; The know­l [...]ge of ma­ny wo [...]kes nothing but their con­uiction. so is it with ma­ny in this age, whose knowledge is better then their conscience, of whom wee may say with the Apostle, it had bin better for them not to haue knowne the way of righteousnesse, nor after that they haue knowne it to turne from the holy commandement giuen vnto them. 2 Pet. 2.21.

[Page 163] We sigh. T. [...]godly while they sigh for things that are to come do thereby declare, that they finde no contentment in these which are present. The first ef­fect which the certaine knowledg of the glory to come, wroght in the Apostle, is, as we heard a feruent desire therof, which caused him to breake forth in sighing for it, for the man, who knowes better things, which are to come can not be cōtent with the best of these, which are presēt, but doth in such sort vse thē, that he de­clares he longs for bet­ter, by sighing and la­mēting for the long delay thereof: as Iob pro­tests, that his sighing [Page 164] came before his meat, and Dauid mingled his cuppe with teares, so al the godly, who know a better, thinke long till they enioy it, Non satis futura gaudia nosti, nisi re [...]uat consolari anima tua donec veniant: Thou knowes not rightly the ioyes to come, vnlesse thy soule refuse all o­ther comforts, till thou obtaine them.

Desires in the godly goe besore satis­faction.In the children of God, desire goes be­fore satisfaction, but it is certaine what they desire according to Gods word, they shall [Page 165] obtaine it. It is the fa­culty of them who are in heauen, that they are satisfied with the ful­nesse of ioy, which is in Gods face: it is the feli­city of them, who are militant on earth, to hunger and thirst for righteousnes, with the which they shall be sa­tisfied: they haue ob­teyned in a great part, that which they desi­red; we ar made sure by Gods word to obtaine that which now we de­sire through his grace: for his promise is, Psal. 145.19 The Lorde will fulfill the de­sires [Page 166] of them who feare him, whether it be righ­teousnes here, or glory hereafter.

Our perfecti­on vpon [...] earth consists rather in de­siring to doe as we should, then in doing it.If then we cannot do as we shold, at least let vs desire to doe so, tota vita boni Christiani Sanctum desiderium est, the whole life of a good Christian is a ho­ly desire, Aug. in Ioan. tract. 4. Rom. 7. yea, the A­postle is not ashamed to protest of him­selfe, that his desires were better then his deede, God accepts our desires for deeds. for hee desired to doe the good wher­unto hee could not at­tain: & such is the fauor [Page 167] and indulgence of our God toward vs, that our desires hee accepts them for deeds, & ther­fore should wee bee comforted against the conscience of our wāts & insufficiency, by the vnfeined desires of bet­ter, which through his grace are in vs: for true desire of grace and glorie is, an vndoubted argument of grace re­ceiued, [...]ut this is to [...]e vnderstood of true desires, which a [...]e discer­ned from v [...]ine desires two waies. and glory to be receiued.

But this as I haue said, is to bee vnderstood of true, not of vain desires such as was the desire of [Page 168] Balaam, who desired that he might die the death of the righteous. Two wayes may the one be discerned from the other: 1 True desires are ay the longer, the greater. first these de­sires which are wroght in the soule by the ho­ly spirite, are ay the longer, the more fer­uent, wheras the other is but a false concepti­on, which incontinent dies and euanishes a­way: Secondly, true desire of the glorie to come, 2 True desire uses all meanes law­full to bring vs to the thing desired. vses carefully all those meanes, which may bring vs vnto it, such as are the exerci­ses [Page 169] of the Worde and Prayer, the forsaking of our sinnes, which haue diuided vs from God: for who can think with any reason, that he tru­ly desires to be with the Lord, who neyther de­lights to hear the Lord in his word, nor to speake to the Lord by prayer? and is not carefull to remooue these impediments, which may stay his peace and reconciliation with God.

An example of true desire we haue in Za­cheus, An example thereof in Zacheus. Luk. 19.2 who being desi­rous [Page 170] to see CHRIST, and finding himselfe impeded by the mul­titude, ranne before, and climed vp vppon a tree, to supply the wants of his lowe sta­ture: and when hee was called vpon by IESVS, hee obeyed the calling, resoluing to parte from his euill gotten goods, that hee might keepe still the Lorde Iesus. So is it with e [...]eri [...] soule which earnestly longs to enioy the Lorde, it runneth by all impedi­ments, vseth all lawfull [Page 171] meanes, and refuses no required condition; so that they are euen con­tent to denie them­selues, take vp his crosse and follow him.

Wheras the men of this world, The desire which world­lings haue of Christ, is de­scribed. if they haue any desire of Iesus Christ, it is like vnto that which Merchants haue, who hauing tasted wines, like them very well, but refuse to buy them for the greatnesse of the price, so they, hauing tasted of the powers of the life to come▪ haue a de­sire to bee partakers [Page 172] of them, but when they heare it, cannot be, but vpon this condition, that they denie them­selues & mortifie their earthly lustes, they re­fuse with that young man, who being called by Christ to forsake all & follow him, did first craue license to goe and kisse his father: thus are they deceiued with a vain hope, that a man may ouertake both, that is, embrace the pe­rishing pleasures of sin in this life, and after be partakers of the endu­ring pleasures of the life to come.

[Page 173] Clothed with our house. The [...] of glory [...]o come is sh [...]dowed to vs by sund [...]y simili­tudes. That state of glorie, which before he com­pared to an house, hee now compares to a garment: for it is a cu­stomable thing to Gods spirit, to shadow that glory to come, vn­der sundry similitudes. The Apostle saies it is a glory to be reuealed: Now it is shaddowed, but now it is not re [...]ea­led: Whatsoeuer is spoken of it, is as much lesse then it selfe, Rom. 8. as a shadowe is lesse then the body: wee see the shadows by which it is [Page 174] figured, and heare of them, but the glorie it selfe is such, as the eye hath not seene, and the eare hath not heard, No glorious thing, but glory it selfe is promised vnto vs. Be [...]de fall ac p [...]sen vitae. it is pondus aeterū gloriae, an eternall weight of glory, saith the Apostle Non enim gloriosa vestis aut gloriosa domus, sed gloriaipsa promittitur, siquid vero illorū aut simi­liū aliquando dicitur, fi­gura est, it is neither a glorious garment, nor a glorious house [...]hat God promises to vs, but glorie it selfe: and if at any time menti­on bee made of any [Page 175] such thing as house or garment, it is a figure.

And yet for our information the spirit of God is forced to vse such figures, The spirit of God vses ma­ny similitudes to declare that no simi­litude can expresse that glory. as are bor­row [...]d from most dele­ctable things, and best knowne vnto vs, some way to mak vs cōceiue that which fully wee cannot vnderstād, som­time calling it a build­ding, somtime a house, somtime a City, some­time a garmēt, & som­time an inheritance: it is ay one thing which is promised, but many maner of waies exprest [Page 176] To the Church of Ephesus is promised the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God: to the Church of Smyrna is promised immunity from the se­cond death: to the Church of Pergamus is promised hidden Manna, a white stone and a new name, which no man knows, but he who receiues it: to the Church of Thyatira is promised the ruling Scepter and the mor­ning Starre: to the Church of Sardis is promised the writing [Page 177] of their name in the booke of life: to the Church of Philadel­phia is promised the honor of a Pillar in the Temple of God, and to the Church of Laodi­cea is promised a place with Christ on his Throne. That the spi­rite of God speakes of one thing vnder so ma­ny similitudes, is, to de­clare that the glory of that Kingdome, and ri­ches of that Inheri­tance is greater then that any similitude is able to expresse it.

And hitherto tends [Page 178] the manner of speech vsed here by the Apo­stle, The godly speake o [...] [...]e glory to come like men transported. it is strang [...]to heare that a man should bee clothed with an house, seeing in common speech men are said to bee clothed with gar­ments, and not with houses, but wee must consider, that no order of wordes can be kept in speaking of that, which passes vnder­standing.

It is said of those three disciples, who saw the glory of Christ on mount Tabor, that being rauished there [Page 179] with they spake, and knewe not what they said: For no order of words can be kept in speaking of that which passes vnder­standing. Psal. 36.8. so doth the con­templation of the glo­rie to come, transport Gods children, that they beecome, as the Psalmist sayes, In [...]bria­ti ab vbertate domus dei, so drunken with the pleasures of Gods house, that they forget where they are, they speake not, looke not, doe not after the cu­s [...]me of nature, so long as their mindes are carried after hea­uenly things: and these small beginnings may [Page 180] witnes vnto vs the ex­cellency of that life, which at length shall change vs wonderfully from that which now we are.

Ver. 3. If so be, wee shall be found clothed, The Apostle expones what he meant by wi­shing to be clothed vpon and not naked. Because in the former verse the Apostle had said, he de­sired to be clothed vp­pon with his house, which is from heauen: that is, hee desired not to lay aside his bodie, but keeping it still, hee wished to be clothed a­boue it with immorta­litie and glory, he sub­ioynes [Page 181] now a certaine correction of it, I de­sire it, saies he, if so it may stand with the Lords dispensation, that when I shall be re­ceiued into that glory I be [found Clothed] to wit, with my body: which way Henoch and Elijah entred into glo­ry, and all the faithfull, w [...]o shall bee found a hue at Christs second comming, shal also the same way enter into glory: for they shal not lay aside their bodies, but keeping them still as garments and coue­rings [Page 182] to their soule, shal vpon them be clothed with the garment of immortality and glory, if this way saies the A­postle, I bee found clo­thed and not Naked, that is, if I bee found without a body, which way Adam, Abraham, and the rest of the Fa­thers, Patriarchs, Pro­phets, and Apostles, entred into glory, they were indeede clothed with their house from Heauen, but were not superuested or clothed vpon, which here the Apostle protests he de­sired, [Page 183] if it might stand with the Lords dispen­sation.

And of this conditi­on which here the A­postle subioynes for correction of his for­mer speach, The Godly in desiring things not ab­solutely pro­mised, sub­mit their will to Gods will. wee may learne how the godly in desiring of thinges not absolutly promised to all Gods children, al­beit giuen to some of them do so temper and moderate their desires, that they submit their will to Gods most ho­ly will: whereor we are admonish'd how much more we ought to mortifie [Page 184] in our selues the vnlawfull desires of things absolutly prohi­bit as being against the will of God. Since the Apostle will not seeke that which God hath granted to [...]ome, Vnlawfull desire of things simply aga [...]n [...]t Gods will, sh [...]uld be s [...]r srom vs. but conditionally, that it may stand with the wil of God▪ may not wee bee ashamed, to seeke that which he hath de­nied and forbidden vn­to al? Oh that we could remember this, as of [...] as our corrupt nature provokes vs to desire those things which God hath forbidden: O man why [Page 185] wilt thou follow a will contrary to God his most holy wil, or what good can that doe vn­to thee, which thou knowest thou canst not inioy with the fauour of thy God.

Againe wee see that albeit there be one end of all the children of God, All Gods children shall come to one end, suppose not in one maner. for at length they sh [...]ll all bee gathered from vnder the foure corners of heauen, and [...]et downe with Abra­ham, Isaac, and Iacob, in the kingdome of God, yet doe they not all come to it after one [Page 186] manner, for some of them as wee haue spo­ken, shall not lay aside their bodies, but kee­ping them still shall be transchanged in a moment, others againe must leaue their bodies behind them till the re­surrection: And this last, suppose our nature abhorre it, wee must learn to be cōtent with it euen to bee broken with the dolors of death, as other Godly m [...]n: yea and our bles­sed Sauiour hath beene before vs, esteeming it comfort sufficient for [Page 187] vs, Reuel. 14.13 that wee dye in the Lord, and so are sure to rest from our labours, But of this wee haue spoken before.

Ver. 4. For wee that are in this Tabernacle, The Apostle d [...]sires not [...]to want the bo­dy, if it might stand with the Lords disp [...]nsation, s [...]gh and are burdened, be­cause, &c. The Apostle here insists in his for­mer purpose, explay­ning more clearely, what it is that hee desi­red: he protests hee li­ued in this body as a malecontent, who knowing a better, and sighing for a better, e­steemed it a burthen to him to be holden backe [Page 188] from it: And yet least it shold seeme, he were offended at the body, he declares againe that he desired not to sun­der with the body, i [...] it might please the Lord, that keeping still the body, he might bee su­peruested, or clothed vpon with his other most excellent ho [...]se, which is from heauen.

Heere first it comes to be enquired, How this pl [...]ce agrees with Philip. [...] where hee d [...]sires to bee d [...]ssolued and loosed from the body. seeing the Apostle, Phil. 1. affirmes that hee desi­red to be dissolued, and to bee with Christ, and againe cryed out, Rom. [Page 189] 7.6. Miserable man that I a [...], who will deliuer me [...]rom this body of dea [...]h: how is it, that heere he saies he had no will to be vnclothed of the body? The answere is, that these are not contrary, for in the one when he desired to bee loosed from the body, it was not for any ha­tred of the body, but for the loue of Christ, and hatred of sin, wher­of hee knew hee could not be quitt so long as he dwelt in the body: And now when hee protests that he desired [Page 190] not to want the body, it is not for loue of sin in the body, nor [...]or a­ [...]y contentmenth had to be absent frō C [...]ist, for afterward conside­ring he could not both abyde in the body, and dwell with the Lord too, hee resolues wil­lingly to remooue out of the body, that hee might dwell with the Lord: So then the de­ire he hath to keepe stil the body is vpon a two folde condition. First that sinne and morta­lity weare not in it, but vtterly swallowed [Page 191] vp of that life, and next that in the body hee were transported to a­byde and dwell with Iesus Christ.

In holy Scripture wee finde that there thinges hath mooued Gods children to wish a delay of death: Delay of of death is som time de­sir [...]d of the Godly for three respects The first is want of prepara­tion in themselues, for the Godly are nor al­way in that estate of life, 1. That th [...]y may b [...] b [...]tter prepa [...]ed to [...]. wherein they dare be bold to dy, and then they desire a proroga­tion of their life, Psal. 39.13. as D [...] ­uid did, Stay a little, that I may recover my strēgth [Page 192] before I goe hence, and be not. It is a comfortable meditation, which Na­ziansen hath concerning this: Nazian▪ od suum Ani­mum. It is hard (saith he) for me to de­termine, whether I shal desire life or death: on euery hand are extremi­ties. As to life, Nazian­z [...]ns doubt whether he should desire life or death. my sins haue already made it bitter, & heauie to me, and as to death, alas if once it come, there is no me­dicine after it, left vnto me, by which I may cure my sinnes: wherof it is euident that the de­sire, which this holy man had to liue in the [Page 193] body, was that hee might mourne for his sinnes, which hee had done in the body, ad­monishing vs by hs ex­ample, that as long as God spares vs, wee shold vs [...] our time we [...]l, not to multiply more offences, which may b [...]eed vs terrour in the houre of death, but carefull to purge our consciences of the [...]e, which wee haue con­tracted already.

When Dauid came vpon Saule in his camp and found him slee­ping, A meditati­on how as Daui [...] spared Saul sle [...]ping in the campe. he would neither [Page 194] slay him himself, nor su­ff [...]r Abner to slay him, only he tooke away his speare, So God ma [...]y [...] time hath found vs slee­p [...]ng in our sins and hath not s [...]ine vs [...]ut wakn [...]d vs. and his water­pot, and these also after that he had wakened him, hee did againe re­store vnto hi [...], decla­ring thereby that he no manner of way intend­ed his distruction. B [...]t this is no way compa­rable to these mani [...]old prooffes which God hath giuen vs of his lo­uing kindnesse, for ma­ny a time hath he visi­ted vs in this campe of our warfare, and alas hath found vs sleeping, [Page 195] when wee should haue been waking, and hath not taken vs away in our sinnes to slay vs▪ but onely hath taken from vs those thinges, wherein we placed ou [...] strength, and mainte­nance of our life, yet so that he hath graciously restored them vnto vs. But alas how many is th [...]re among vs, But our wa­k [...]ng hath beene no b [...]t­ter nor S [...]ls, working in v [...] a t [...]mpo­ [...]all r [...]p [...]n­ [...]ance. who are no other way wak­ned with all this wor­king of God, then Saul was with the working of Dauid, for it wroght in him a temporall re­pentance, and no more: [Page 196] incontinent hee retur­ned to his old sinnes, & no better is it with ma­ny of vs, [...]or a while af­ter our recouery from sicknes, or deliuerance out of othe [...] troubles▪ we are somewhat reli­gious, but shortly after our repentance vani­shes, like the morning dewe, and wee returne againe to our old man­ners, 2 Pet. 2.22 How we should vse the time of life, granted vs on e [...]rth is sh [...]w [...]d by t [...]e example of Dauid [...] am­ba [...]sadors. as the Sow to the puddle, and the Dogge to his vomit, this is but to abuse the time of Gods patience.

Where it were bet­ter for vs to doe, as did [Page 197] the Ambassadours of Dauid, who being abu­ed by the King of Am­mon, who cutted their garments to their hips & shaued their beards; at the counsell of Da­uid their King, tarried still in Iericho, the bor­der of their land, till their beards were grown again, and their garments were prepa­red for them: so wee if we follow the counsel [...] of our King and Lord Iesus Christ, should tar­ry heere vppon earth, which to the Godly is the border of heauenly [Page 198] Canaan▪ for no other end but that the shame which Satan hathdone vs, by deforming our face, in spoiling vs of the image of God, may be taken from vs, and therefore it [...]hould [...]ee farre from vs. to make o [...]r shame any more by new sinnes, but ra­ther by grouth in god­lines, to recouer againe our former Image, o­therway if we still abuse the patience of God, we iustly deserue, that tribulation, & anguish of spir [...]t, feareful shame and confusion should [Page 199] be vpon vs, and if wee preuent it not, we may certainly looke for it, Quo enim diutius expe­ctat Deus, Aug. eo districtius ind [...]cabit.

The second reason that hath mooued the godly, 2. They desire delay of death, that they may doe the greater good in the body. sometime to de­sire a prolongation of their daies, is, that they might doe the greater good in the body, and therefore Dauid consi­dering, that they who are gone to the graue, cannot praise God, Psal. 6. to wit [...]punc; as we doe, who are clad with our bodies on earth, [...]e praies God [Page 200] to relee [...]e him of the heauie sicknesse vnde [...] which he lay. And this same also made the holy Apostle to doubt what he should chuse, Phil. 1. whether to liue in th [...] flesh, or to bee loosed from the body, th [...] one beeing best fo [...] himselfe, the oth [...]r bet­ter for the Church o [...] God: And herein als [...] we are admonished to embrace the Apostle [...], counsell, while ye haue time, be doing good to all men, Gala. 6.10. e [...]pecially to them who are of the family of faith, and our [Page 201] Sauiours warning, Iohn 11.19. that wee should worke so long as the twelue ho­wers of the day laste. But this conuinces th [...] blockish stupiditie of many, whom God hath suffred to liue, but they do no more praise him, nor if they were dead, and buried.

And the thi [...]d mo­tiue, 3. Th [...]y desire delay of death for the [...]oue they ha [...]e to the body, w [...]ich they desire not to want is the loue of the body, Ineffahilis enim est animi ad corpus affe­ctus. And no maruell is it, that the soul be loath to sunder from the owne body, cons [...]de­ring that the body was [Page 202] created in the greate wisedome, and good­nesse of God, to bee a companion to the soul and this reason the A­postle touches heere in the subsequent words, while he saith, because wee would not bee vnclo­thed, for heerein hee de­clares that the cause, why with sighing hee desired to bee clothed with his ho [...]se, which is from heauen, was not any misl [...]king hee had of the body, for hee protests now, if it might please the Lord he desired not to want it.

[Page 203]And this desire in it selfe is not euill, This loue of [...]e body is not euill in it selfe. other­way it could not bee in those soules which are glorified in heauen, for euen they long for their bodies, as beeing imperfect without them, for by the first creation [...]s I said, they were made companions, and there­fore the one of them without the other, can­not rest in contentment, the body without the soule, it is as we see, but a dead stocke, or carrion of flesh, whatsoeuer thing is pleasant in the body, be it quicknesse of [Page 204] sense, agilitie, colour, or beauty, it hath it all of the presence of the soul in it, the soule againe sup­pose glorified in heauen yet rests not in full con­tentment till it bee re­vnit [...]d againe with the body, For [...]uen the glorifi­ed soule rests not in ful content­ment, so long as it wāts the bod Ber▪ tract. de diligendo deum. declaring therby, that without it, it can­not be perfited. Consor­tium enim carnis spiri­tus non requireret, si abs­que illa consummaretur, The soule would not desire the fellowship of flesh, if without it, it could be perfited, but God hath so prouided [Page 205] that souls without their bodies, Ibid. nec velint, nec valeant consummari, nei­ther will nor can be con­summat: And therefore is it that the souls, while they haue their bodies desire not to want them, and while they want them, are not con­tent, till againe they re­ceaue them.

And of al this we are warned, Vhat great need there is to prepare our selues to die with willingnesse what great neede wee haue to pre­pare our selues in time, with willingnesse to re­moue out of the body: for since the Apostle protests, that it was gre­uous [Page 206] to him to suffer the want of his body, wee may easily thinke, that in regarde of our greater infirmities, it wil be much more greeuous vnto vs, and therefore are wee to endeuour by grace to make our selues willing to die, since by nature we are so vnwil­ling to it: And to this end let vs reuerence the working of our God, For this cause God seasons to his children the pl [...]asurs of their life with bitter paines. who seasons the plea­sures of our life with many paines, and giues vs much bitternesse, as Nahomi spake of herselfe to abate the comfort of [Page 207] our beauty, while as by heauy troubles & cros­ses, hee makes our life vnpleasant, and our bo­dies a burden to our selues. This the Lord doth for no other ende, but that wee may bee made cōtent willingly to quit our bodies for a time, whereas other way, if they continued in their vigour, and health, we wold be loath to want them.

That mortality might be swallowed vp. Yet the A­postle wishes not to k [...]epe the body with the sin and mortality of the body. The A­postle makes cleare in these words, that which he hath spoken before [Page 208] obscurely, hee wishes so to enter into life, if it might please the Lord, that he went not to it by the way of mortality, but so that mortality might be swallowed vp of that life: hee desires not then, to keepe still the body, and sinne and death in the body, this were to put on a gar­ment of immortality, vpon the rotten ragges of mortall flesh, this were to desire to be glo­rious without, while in the meane time filthy rottennesse, and corrup­tion is within, the Apo­stle [Page 209] craues no such thing neither indeede can any such thing be, but his de­sire is so to haue his bo­dy preserued, and trans­lated into that life, that sinne in the body, But so that sin and mortality might be swallowed vp in the body by that life, as at length it shall be. and mortality flowing from sinne were swallowed vp, in such sort that no footestep neither of the one, nor of the other were [...]emaining in the body. And this desire also at the length wil be performed in all the children of God, when [...]his triumphant song shall bee put in their mouthes, O Death where [Page 210] is thy Sting, 1 Cor. 15.55. O' Graue where is thy victory, The Sting of Death is Sinne, the strength of Sinne is the Law: But thankes bee to God who hath giuen vs victory through our Lord Iesus.

The excel­le [...]sy of the life to come, it shall not leau [...] any remanent of sinne or death in the body.Againe wee are to marke here the excellen­cie of that life, whereun­to wee are begotten a­gaine, that it is such a life as shall swallow vp all mortality, and not suffer so much as any antece­dent, or consequent of death to remaine in vs: The Apostle saieth that death hath raigned from [Page 211] the dayes of Adam, like a tyrant, swallowing vp in the wide mouth & gulfe of mortalitie, al genera­tions, that haue beene sensyne, like the great depth of the Ocean, sup­ping vp in her bosome, Death like a tyrant hath deuou­red al since Adam, but shall be de­uoured by that life. al the riuers of the earth: but there wil be a chāge for that life, for which we hope, shal at length swallow vp Mortality, & death in her bosome, all the paines and dolors that goes before it, all the rottennesse and cor­ruption that followes after it: Reuel 21.4 yea not so much as a teare shall be left in [Page 212] the face of Gods chil­dren, far les shall any re­manents of that poyson wherewith Satan infe­cted our nature bee left in it, the Lord shall so illuminate vs with his light, that no darkenesse shall be left in vs, he shal so reuiue, and quicken vs with his life, that death shall vtterly bee abo­lished, and he shall so re­fresh vs with the ioy of his countenance, that all sorrow shall flye away, This is ex­pressed by the simili­tude of a little water turned in to wine. yea so wonderfull shall the change be, that as a drop of water powred into a great quantity of [Page 213] Wine, doth lose the v [...] ­ry nature of it, [...]r. ser. de diligendo Deo. dum & saporem vini inauit & colorem, and takes on it both the tast and colour of the Wine: so shall all humane cogitation, and affection, cease from that which now it is, the Lord shall so replenish vs, that he shall become all in all vnto vs, he shall make vs pertakers of the diuine nature, and trans­change vs into the simi­litude of his owne I­mage.

And this also should vpholde vs against our naturall feare of death: Comfort a­gainst the feare of death. [Page 214] Now we goe to life, but through death, and wee leaue behinde vs for a time, a deere pledge in the power of death; for death like vnto a cruell monster [...] bytes from vs in the by-passing, the halfe of vs, to wit, the bodie, wherefore Mors a mor su nomen accepit, [...]aid Augustine, because one part it bytes away, and another it leaues behind it, but at length, when the day of our full victo­ry shall come, and the course of the battell changed, not a part of death onely shall be de­uoured, [Page 216] but altogether it shall be swallowed vp in victory.