of immortality. And having been a little chaftifed, they fhall be greatly rewarded: for God proved them, and found them worthy for himself. As gold in the furnace bath be tried them, and received them as a burnt-offering. And again, (b) The righteous live for evermore, their reward alfo is with the Lord, and the care of them is with the Moft High. Therefore fhall they receive a glorious kingdom, and a beautiful crown, from the Lord's band; for with his rightband shall be cover them, and with his arm shall be protect them. Theoph. Death is a dark paffage, but which brings to the land of light and glory; a night that ends in eternal day; a deliverance from all evil, and the only entrance into everlasting happiness. I truft it will be fo to good Anchithanes; and I befeech Almighty God it may; and to all of us, when our time fhall come. Eufeb. God grant it to him, and all of us. Timoth. Amen, Amen. Theoph. Let us therefore prepare ourfelves for it, being stedfaft and unmoveable; always abounding in the work of the Lord; forafmuch as we know, that our labour fhall not be in vain in the Lord. Philog. This it highly concerns us all to be; and I hope we shall none of us neglect it, fince we know of what dreadful confequence fuch neglect will certainly prove. Timoth. He begins to ftir: see if he be not awake. Theoph. How do you find yourself now, Anchitbanes? He makes no answer; and, by his looks, I queftion whether he will ever awake more in this world. For he seems to me to be in the agony of death, Pray, Philogeiton, will you be fo kind as to step for Theodorus, and beg of him to come, with all the speed he can, to finish his kind offices for this good man, by praying for him now at his departure? Philog. I go, Sir; and will make all the hafte I can. Timoth. Hold, neighbour; you need not give yourfelf the trouble; for Theodorus is coming up the stairs. (b) Wild. v. 15, 16. Theod, LE Theod. Pray how does Anchithanes? I fuppofe drawing to his latter end. Eufeb. He is fo very near it, that we were just sending to intreat your affistance, that you would please to pray for him once more. And it is the last trouble he is like to give you, till you come to place him in his long home. Theod. If you please then, we will begin. Theoph. He feems to be juft at the point of death; fo that you will hardly have time for more than the recommendatory collect. Theod. If you think fo, I will ufe that. The Recommendatory Collect. Almighty God, with whom do live the fpirits of just men made perfect, after they are delivered from their earthly prifons; we bumbly commend the foul of this thy fervant, our dear brother, into tky bands, as into the bands of a faithful Creator, and most merciful Saviour; moft humbly befeeching thee, that it may be precious in thy fight: Wafh it, we pray thee, in the blood of that immaculate Lamb, that was flain to take away the fins of the world; that whatsoever defilements it may have contracted in the midst of this miferable and naughty world, thro' the lufts of the flesh, or the wiles of Satan, being purged and done away, it may be prefented pure, and without spot, before thee. And teach us, who furvive, in this, and other like daily spectacles of mortality, to fee how frail and uncertain our own condition is; and fo to number our days, that we may ferioufly apply our hearts to that holy and heavenly wisdom, whilft we live here, which may in the end bring us to lif everlasting, through the merits of Jefus Chrift thine only Son our Lord. Amen. Eufeb. Almighty God feems to have heard our pray ers, and taken him to himself. Theod. Is he quite dead? Timoth. Yes, Sir, he is. A a 4 Theod. Theod. He is delivered out of a miserable, troublefome world; and, I doubt not, is in happiness. And 1 pray God prepare us all to follow him, that when our time fhall come, we may die as quietly and christianly as he has done, and be for ever happy, as I trust he is. Theoph, May we lay this inftance of our mortality to heart, and study to make a good improvement of it. Eufeb. That fo we may die the death of the righteous, and our laft end may be like bis. Theod. I will follow the poor afflicted gentlewoman, and try to comfort her under this her fad lofs; which I fear lies heavy upon her, confidering how loving and tender a husband she has parted with. Theoph. Be pleafed to affure her, we are all partakers in her affliction; and do befeech Almighty God to fupport her under it, and to fanctify it to her. Eufeb. We can do no fervice, I believe, by staying. Timoth. And I fhall be wanted at home. Theoph. Therefore we had beft be going, Theoph. Who would have thought but three weeks fince, that our good friend fhould have been taken from us by this time? But fo it has pleafed God, who does nothing but with the greatest wisdom and equity, and whofe Will therefore is always beft. Philog. This fhews how little dependence there is upon this life, even when in our perfecteft health and greatest ftrength. Timoth. We fee, by this inftance, how eafily the most (i) athletic conftitution is overcome by sickness; and that, were we not liable to multitudes of outward unfore feen accidents, befides many inward latent diftempers, each of which may eafily dispatch us, were we not liable to these quicker means of fending us out of the world, yet could we have no fecurity of our lives, when we fee one ready to be laid in the earth, who, not many days fince, was, to all appearance, as ftrong and healthy, (i) Quis eft tam ftultus (quamvis fit adolefcens) cui fit explora tum, fe ad vefperam efie victurum? Cic. de Senect. and མས་ and as like to live to a good old age, as any one of us. God grant we may all make a good use of it. But my way lies here. Philog. And mine too. So that we must both beg your excufe, that we do not wait upon you farther. Theoph. I heartily with you a good night, neighbours; and thank you for your good company hither. Eufeb. A good night to you both, after this mournful providence. God fend us a happy meeting, where death fhall be no more. Theoph. Death indeed were a very melancholick scene, did it put an end to our being, But it is the great benefit of Chriftianity, and the good man finds it a fingular defence against the fear of death, that (k) life and immortality is brought to light by the Gofpel. Eufeb. It is now more evident and indifputable than it was before. But the world had a notion of it before; the Jews were taught it, and the Gentiles had an expectation of a future ftate. Theoph. The Jews, it is true, were taught to expect another life after this; as it is plain from the laft words of Ecclefiaftes: (1) Let us bear the conclufion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole of man, or every man; or, as the Chaldee paraphraft renders it, This ought to be every man's way; to the fame purpose with our English translation, This is the whole duty of man. For God fhall bring every work to judgment, with every fecret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. As likewife from feveral paffages in the book of (m) Wifdom, and (n) the fon of Sirach, and from the relation of the mother and her feven children, in the ftory of the (0) Maccabees, who were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain the better refurrection. And the Gentiles too had fome notions of another life, and of its rewards and punishments; as appears, (k) 2 Tim. i. 10. (1) Ecclef. xii. 13, 14. (m) Wisd. iii. 1, &c. and v. 15, 16. (n) Ecclus xviii. 10. and xxi. 2. 10. and xli. 10. (0) 2 Macc. vii. 1-36, not not only from the fictions of the poets, accommodated to the more usual opinion in this refpect; but from divers fayings of their graver and more ferious philofophers, (P) Socrates, (q) Cato, (r) Tully, (s) and others. Yet all the intimation, not only these, but the Jews alfo, had of a future ftate, were obfcure and unfatisfactory, in comparison of the far clearer revelations of the Gospel in this refpect. So that, however any, before our Saviour's incarnation, might be tempted to fufpect, left their fouls fhould live no longer, when once the body is dead; thofe Chriftians must be wilfully blind, that shall suffer themselves now in the leaft to doubt of it. Eufeb. This is undeniably manifeft, from our Saviour's life, and fufferings, and death; which had all been useless, and to no purpose, if there were to be no other life after this. : Theoph. True. He came to redeem us from eternal torments, and to purchase for us eternal life. And therefore, fays St. John, (t) This is the record, that he hath given to us eternal life; and this life is in bis Son. He that bath the Son, bath life; and be that hath not the Son of God, bath not life. . Eufeb. This is moreover indisputably evident from thofe words of our Saviour, which are the conclufion of the account he gives us of the last judgment; (u) Thefe fhall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal. Eufeb. There are alfo divers other most express declarations to this purpofe in the New Teftament. Theoph. Yes, a great many. Our bleffed Saviour promises, that they (x) who have forsaken houses, or brethren, or fifters, or father, or mother, or wife, or (p) Plat. Socrat. Apol. c. 21, 22. & Phæd. c. 7. & 14, &c. Cic. de Amicita. (9) Cic. de Senect. (r) Ibid. (s) Diog, Laert. in Vit. Thaletis. Cic. de Amic. Clem. Alex. Strom. 1. 1. p. 303. & 1. 5. p. 548. Lactant. Inftit. 1. 7. c. 7. Macrob. Somn. Scip. 1. 2. c. 13. Porphyrii Sentent. (1) 1 John v. 11, 12. () Matth. xxv, 46. (x) Matth. xix. 29. children |