Twenty Reafonsfor denying Life. 199 should be at your own difpofe, or Gods, you should far rather choofe that Godmight difpofe of them then your felves : As it is better for an Infant to be guidedand difpofed of, by the Parents then by it felf. AGoodKing will not kill his own Sub- jedsneedlefly: And a natural Father or Mother will not neecl- idly kill their ownChildren:yea a very brutewill tenderly che- rifh their young : And do you think that God who is infinitely good, will caufelefly or injurioufly take awayyour lives ? or that he doth not mean you good even inyour death ? Objeft. But howcan I think it for mygood to die? andto have my nature diffolved ? Paul diddefire to depart or be dif- folved, and to be with Chrift as beg of all, Phil. 1.2 3 . And did not he know what was for his good as well as you ? He was willing rather to be abfent from the bodyandprefent with the Lord, thenat home in the body And 072fint frem the Lard ; and there- fore groaned earnefily defining to be clothed upon with his house _which is from heaven,ebat mortality might be foullovved up of life, z Cor. 5. 1, 2, 4,6, 8. When the Hen bath fate to hatch her yong ones, they muff leave the (hell as good for nothing,and muff come into a world which they never faw before. And _ what of that ? Should they murmur at the breaking of their former habitation ? or fear the paffage into fo light, fo wide, fo grange a place , in comparifon of that which they were in before ? No more fhouldwe murmur at the breaking of thefe bodies, and calling by the shell of flefh, and palling under the condua of Angels, into theprefence of our ,Lord. God is but hatching here by his fpirit, that hemay bring us out into the light of glory. And fhould wegrudge at this? 7. Andwhat ifGod call you to facrifice your lives to him as he called Abraham to facrifice his Son ?- What if he call you to come tohim by a perfecutors band ? or at leaf} to be willing of your natural death ? He calls yon but to give up a life which you cannot keep ; and to do that willingly, which elfeyou mull do whether you will or not : Willing or unwil- ling, die you Inuit ! How loth foever you are, you are fure to die. You may turnyou every way , and look about you on the right hand and the left,, to all the friends and means in the world, and you will never find a medicine that will here
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