doth not our Saviour say plainly in St. John's gospel, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, John 5. [24.] and believeth on him" that sent me, hath everlasting life, and cometh not into judgment, but shall pass from death to life? Shall we not then think that death to be precious, by the which we pass unto life? Therefore it is a true saying of the prophet, The death Ps. 116. [15.] of the holy and righteous men is precious in the Lord's sight. Holy Simeon, after that he had his heart's desire in seeing our Saviour, that he ever longed for in his lifeo, he embraced, and took him in his arms, and said, Now, Lord, Luke 2. [29, let me depart in peace, for mine eyes have beholden that 31.] Saviour which thou hast prepared for all nations. It is truth therefore, that the death of the righteous is called peace, and the benefit of the Lord, as the church saith, in the name of the righteous departed out of this world, My soul, turn thee to thy rest, for the Lord hath Ps. 116. [7.] been good to thee, and rewarded thee. And we see by holy scripture, and other ancient histories of martyrs, that the holy, faithful, and righteous, ever since Christ's ascension, or going up, in their death did not doubt, but that they went to Christ in spirit, which is our life, health, wealth, and salvation. John in his holy Revelation saw an hundred forty and four thousand virgins and innocents, of whom he said, These follow the lamb Jesu Christ where- Rev. 14. [4.] soever he goeth. And shortly after in the same place he saith, I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, Write, [Rev. 14. 13.] Happy and blessed are the dead which die in the Lord: from henceforth (surely saith the Spirit) they shall rest from their pains and labours, for their works do follow them: so that then they shall reap with joy and comfort, that which they sowed with labours and pains. They that sow in the Spirit, of the Spirit shall reap ever- [Gal. 6. 8, 9.] lasting life: let us therefore never be weary of well-doing; for when the time of reaping or reward cometh, we shall reap without any weariness everlasting joy. Therefore while we have time (as St. Paul exhorteth us) let us do Gal. 6. [10.] good to all men, and not lay up our treasures in earth, Matt. 6. [19.] where rust and moths corrupt it, which rust (as St. James James 5. [3.] saith) shall bear witness against us at the great day, condemn us, and shall (like most burning fire) torment our James 5. [1. flesh. Let us beware therefore (as we tender our own wealth) that we be not in the number of those miserable, covetous, and wretched" men, which St. James biddeth mourn and lament for their greedy gathering and ungodly keeping of goods. Let us be wise in time, and learn to follow the wise example of the wicked steward. Let us so wisely order our goods and possessions, committed unto us here by God for a season, that we may truly hear and obey Luke 16. [9.] this commandment of our saviour Christy: I say unto you, (saith he,) Make you friends of the wicked mammon, that they may receive you into everlasting tabernacles or dwellings". Riches be calleda wicked, because the world abuseth them unto all wickedness, which are otherwise the good gifts of God, and the instruments, whereby God's servants do truly serve him in using of the same. He commanded them not to make them rich friends, to get high dignities and worldly promotions", to give great gifts to rich men that have no need thereof; but to make them friends of poor and miserable men, unto whom whatsoever they give, Christ takethe it as given to himself. And to these friends Christ in the gospel giveth so great honour and pre-eminence, that he saith, they shall receive them that do good unto them into everlasting houses: not that men shall be our rewarders for our well-doing, but that Christ will reward us, and take it to be done unto himself, whatsoever is done to such friends. Thus making poor wretches our friends, we make our saviour Christ our friend, whose members they are: whose misery as he taketh for his own misery, so their relief, succour, and help, he taketh for his succour, relief, and help; and will as much thank us and reward us for our goodness shewed to them, as if he himself had received like benefit at our hands, as he witnesseth in the Gospel, saying, Matt. 25. [40.] Whatsoever ye have done to any of these simple persons, which do believe in me, that have ye done to myself. Therefore let us diligently foresee, that our faith aud hope, which we have conceived in Almighty God, and in our saviour Christ, wax not faint, nor that the love, which we bear in hande to bear to him, wax not cold: but let us study daily and diligently to shew ourselves to be the true honourers and lovers of God, by keeping of his commandments, by doing of good deeds unto our needy neighbours, relieving, by all means that we can, their poverty with our abundance and plenty, their ignorance with our wisdom and learning, and comfort their weakness with our strength and authority, calling all men back from evil doing by godly counsel and good example, persevering still in well-doing, so long as we live: so shall we not need to fear death for any of those three causes aforementioned, nor yet for any other cause that can be imagined: but contrarily, considering the manifold sicknesses, troubles, and sorrows of this present life, the dangers of this perilous pilgrimage, and the great encumbrance which our spirit hath by this sinful flesh and frail body, subject to death: considering also the manifold sorrows and dangerous deceits of this world on every side, the intolerable pride, covetousness, and lechery, in time of prosperity; the impatient murmuring of them that be worldly, in time of adversity, which cease not to withdraw and pluck us from God our saviour Christ, from our life, wealth, or everlastingh joy and salvation: considering also the innumerable assaults of our ghostly enemy the devil, with all his fiery darts of ambition, pride, lechery, vainglory, envy, malice, detraction, or backbitingi, with other hist innumerable deceits, engines, and, snares, whereby he goeth 1 Pet. 5. [8.] busily about to catch all men under his dominion, everk like a roaring lion, by all means searching whom he may devour. The faithful Christian man which considereth all these miseries, perils, and incommodities, (whereunto he is subject. so long as he here liveth upon earth,) and on the other part considereth that blessed and comfortable state of the heavenly life to come, and the sweet condition of them that depart in the Lord; how they are delivered from the continual encumbrances of their mortal and sinful body, from all the malice, crafts, and deceits of this world, from all the assaults of their ghostly enemy the devil, to live in peace, rest, and endless' quietness, to live in the fellowship of innumerable angels, and with the congregation of perfect just men, as patriarchs, prophets, martyrs, and confessors, and finally unto the presence of Almighty God, and our saviour Jesus Christ:-he that doth consider all these things, and believeth them assuredly, as they are to be believed, even from the bottom of his heart, being establishedm in God in f and plenty] omitted A.B. g contrarily] contrary A.B.C. h everlasting] eternal A.B. i or backbiting] omitted A.B. 1 k ever] even B. endless] perpetual A.B. 94 Third Part of the Sermon against the Fear of Death. this true faith, having a quiet conscience in Christ, a firm hope and assured trust in God's mercy, through the merits of Jesu Christ to obtain this quietness, rest, and everlasting" joy, shall not only be without fear of bodily death, when it cometh, but certainly, as St. Paul did, so shall he gladly (according to God's will, and when it pleaseth God to call Phil. 1. [23.] him out of this life) greatly desirer in his heart, that he may be rid from all these occasions of evil, and live ever to God's pleasure, in perfect obedience of his will, with our saviour Jesus Christ; to whose gracious presence the Lord of his infinite mercy and grace bring us, to reign with him in life everlasting: to whom, with our heavenly Father, and the Holy Ghost, be glory in worlds without end. Amen. " everlasting] eternal A.B. pleaseth] please A. P desire] desire it A. AN EXHORTATIONa CONCERNING Good Order and Obedience to Rulers and Magistrates. ALMIGHTY God hath created and appointed all things in heaven, earth, and waters, in a most excellent and perfect order. In heaven he hath appointed distinct and several orders and states of archangels and angels. In earth he hath assigned and appointed kings, princes, with other governors under them, in all goodd and necessary order. The water above is kept, and raineth down in due time and season. The sun, moon, stars, rainbow, thunder, lightning, clouds, and all birds of the air, do keep their order. The earth, trees, seeds, plants, herbs, corn, grass, and all manner of beasts, keep themselves in ordere: all the parts of the whole year, as winter, summer, months, nights, and days, continue in their order: all kinds of fishes in the sea, rivers, and waters, with all fountains, springs, yea, the seas themselves, keep their comely course and order: and man himself also hath all his parts both within and without, as soul, heart, mind, memory, understanding, reason, speech, with all and singular corporal members of his body, in a profitable, necessary, and pleasant order: every degree of people in their vocation, calling, and office, hath appointed to them their duty and order: some are in high degree, some in low, some kings and princes, some inferiors and subjects, priests and laymen, masters and servants, fathers and children, husbands and wives, rich and poor; and every one have need of other; so that in all things is to be lauded and praised the goodly order of God, without the |