that it may be, that this is the last time that thou shalt fitat the Table, that next thou may'st fit with Abrabamy: Ifaas, and Jacob, with all the blessed Martyrs, who have wash'd and whiten'd their Robes in the Blood of the Lamb; and that it may be that thou shalt never tafte any more but of the Food of Angels, and of the Fruit of the Tree of Life, and that thou shalt never drink but of the new Wine in the Kingdom of Heaven, and of the Rivers of eternal Pleasures, that run from the Throne of God.. Every Night that thou goeft out of thy Dwelling, or changest thy Abode, fanfie to thy felf that in a little Time thou must depart out of this mortal Tabernacle. Art thou alone, and separated from human Society? Remember that within a few Days Death will feparate and divide thee. Art thou going to any Meeting, or entring into any Company, or marching to the holy... Affemblies, discourse with thy felf in this Manner: It may be that I shall never go into any other Compas ny, until I come to the Church and Congregation of the First-born, whose Names are written in Heaven. Art thou invited to the Marriage of a Friend? Say unto thy Soul, It may be I shall never go to any other Feaft, but to the Marriage of the Lamb, offered from the Foundation of the World. Doft thou see a rich and glorious Palace, or a pleasant Garden? Say to thy felf, It may be I shall never fee any other Palace, but that where the living God dwells; and it may be I shall, never behold any other Place of Pleafure, but the celefti al Paradife.. If thou castest down thine Eyes to look upon the Earth, upon which thou treadeft, consider at the fame time, that this Earth, or fome like to it, shall afford thee a Grave, and that thou shalt fleep there the Sleep of Death. Remember what God told Adam, Duft thou art, and to Dust thou shalt return, Gen. iii. Or fay with the holy Man Job, Remember, I pray thee, that thou hast formed me f Clay, and that thou shalt reduce me to Dust. I shall jeep in the Dust, and if thou seekest for me in the Morning, Shall be no more, Job xx. Job. vii. * If If thou takest a View of the Plants, of the Herbs and Flowers, don't forget what the Word of God speaks concerning our Life, in the xcth Pfalm, That Man is like the Grafs which groweth up; in the Morning it flourisheth and is green, in the Evening, 'tis cut down and withered. And in the cxxxth Psalm, As for Many bis Days are as Grafs; as the Flowers of the Field, So he flourisheth: for the Wind passeth over it, and 'tis ... gone, and the Place thereof shall know it no more. And elsewhere, All Flesh is like Grass, and the Glory of Man like the Flower of the Field, Ifa. xl. 1 Pet. i. If thou takest notice of the Shadow of the Needle in a Dial, that follows the swift Motion of the Sun, or of the Shadows which solid Bodies caft upon the Earth; in the Evening they stretch a great way, and a little after vanish: Confider seriously, and engrave in thy Mind this excellent Sentence, Man is like Vanity, his Days are as a Shadow that passeth away, Pfal. cxliv. and say as David, I am gone as the Shadow when it declineth, Pfal. cix.. If thou hearest the Whistling of the Winds, which God taketh out of his Store-Houses, lift up thy Soul unto God thy Creator, and say with Job, Chap. vii. Remember that my Life is but a Wind, mine Eye shall fee no more good, that is, the imaginary Good of this miferable World. And elsewhere, Thou lifteft me up to the Wind, thou causeft me to ride upon it, and diffolvest my Substance, Chap. xxx. If thou lookest up to the Glory and Beauty of the Heavens, and beholdest the ravishing Sight of the Stars; consider that thy gracious God hath formed thee after his Image; not to continue always among this flimy and miferable Earth; but to dwell with him for ever in the Heavens; and that at the end of the Race he will raise and carry thee into the Palace of his Glory, where thou shalt shine as the Sun in its greatest Splendor. If thou doft meditate upon the Changeableness of the Seasons, remember that the Spring of thy Infancy, the the hot Summer of thy Youth, the Autumn of thy Maturity, and sad countenanced Winter of thy cold and decrepit Age, shall succeed one another in the fame Order. Let him who travels by Land, think upon Job's Complaint, My Days have been swifter than a Post, they flee away, they fee no Good, Job ix. Let him call to mind the Apostle's excellent Saying, This one thing 1 do, forgetting those things which are behind, andreaching forth unto those things which are before; I press forwards towards the Mark, for the Prize of the high Calling of God in Christ Jesus, Phil. Let him who falls upon the Sea, fansie the whole World as a great Sea, swelling with Waves, our Life as a dangerous Voyage, and our Days as Ships that pass away in a Moment; and let him consider that the last Wind of Death will drive us into the Haven of eternal Felicity, to the Enjoyments of immortal Glory, Job ix. Doth God bless us with Children? Let us understand that we are minded by them of our Mortality, for they come to take our Room, and to fucceed in our Estate: Doth God take them away to his Reft, and of whom we are most fond? Let this advertise us, That God intends thereby to cut off all the lower Roots that tie us to this Earth, to unloose our Hearts and Affections, that we may offer them up to him alone, instead of spending our Lives in Tears, and indulging our foolish Humours in needless Displeafures; Let us comfort our felves with this Confideration, That by this means a part of our selves is enter'd into Heaven, and that t'other part will follow apace. Let us say with David, We shall go to them, but they shall not return to us. Let the Magiftrate, whenever he delivers his Vote, or pronounces a Sentence, be provided with this Confideration; That he who fits in the Judgment-Seat here below, shall stand at the Bar, and be judged himself above: That one Day he shall appear as a poor Prifoner F C 1. foner at the Tribunal of his great God. That the Books will be opened, and that the universal Judge of the World will pursue every particular of his Accufation: That he must render an Account not only of his Words and Actions, but also of his most secret Thoughts, and that without Examination at the Rack, God will discover the very Secrets of his Heart. Let the Gentleman whenever he receives his Rents and his Revenues, call to mind the Tribute that he muft needs pay to Death. Let the Prince and the Lord, when he handles his Royal Patents, and his ancient Charters, or when he examines the Homage and Duties to be paid to his House and Families, take notice that he must go in Person to Heaven's Gates, and pay his Homage to the Divinity. Let the King, who fits in his Seat of Justice, or Chair of State, think upon the Throne of the King of Kings, before which he must appear, as well as the most wretched Slave, and the meanest of his Subjects; and that he must be accountable to a just God, who is no Respecter of Persons. Let the Minifter be never employ'd about the Duties of his Function, but let him long and wish for that happy Day, in the which the Lamb shall instruct and feed him in Person, and lead him to the Fountains of liying Water. Let the Christian Soldier engrave upon his Sword this Sentence of Job, Is there not, as it were, a Warfare appointed for all Mortals upon Earth? Jobvii. And inftead of thirsting after human Blood, let him prepare to encounter Death it self. Let the Hufbandman, whenever he fows his Seed, or when he reaps the Corn of his Fields, be mindful of the Season that comes on apace, in which his Body must rot in the Earth, that it might grow up to Eternity. Let him meditate upon what St. Paul faith, O Fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die, I Cor. xv. And let him meditate upon David's comfortable Perfuafion, They who sow in Tears, Shallreap with Songs of Triumph, Pfal. Let any Handy-crafts-man that works in his Shop, imprint in his Mind this excellent Sentence, Our Days are like the Days of an Hireling; and when he hath ended his Task, and is departing to his Rest, let him comfort himself with this Assurance, That as foon as he shall have ended that Work that God hath given him to do, he shall rest from all his Labours, Job vii. Whenever the Physician visits the Patient, or when the Chirurgeon dresses the Wounds, let them confider that they have no Secret or Art able to protect them from Death, or to cure the Breaches that it makes in our corruptible Nature. Let the most cunning Lawyers, the most advised Counsellors, and the most eloquent Orators, remember that all the Rhetorick and Subtilty will never obtain for them their Suit against Death, nor procure a Moment of Respite or Delay. And let the most learned Philosophers learn, That the foundest Philosophy is the Meditation of Death. In short, whatever be our Employment, Condition, or Age, let us lift up our Minds and Hands unto God to speak to him in the Language of the Prophet David; Lord, let me know my End, and the Number of my Days, that I may know how long I am to live. Or of Mofes, So teach us to number our Days, that we may apply our Heartsunto Wisdom. : A Prayer and Meditation on our Mortality. Ο Sure My God and heavenly Father, since'tis thy Plea that I should be mortal, and that my Body should return to the Dust; Grant me Grace to be always mindful of my frail Condition, and feriously to reflect upon the several Changes of Times, the Variety of Seasons, the Unconstancy of the World, and Alterations I meet with, as Memento's of my last Change and Departure. Let my Infirmities, and F2 frequent |