t o8 ThegoodMans Epitaph, or, It did not please' od for many generations to reach his Church oy writing. 17rc. Fathers before the flood he did not teach by writing. They lived long : their niémory ferved.them inflead of books : and they had now and then fore D:v:nc revelations. They needed no writing. Ptahgó: ró: But after that the dayes ofman grew (hors, as they did in the time of Mofes the man of God: thedayes of oaryearsare tbreefcareytirseind ten : then (I fay j when the dayes of man came thus to be thortned, it pleafed God to teach his Church b, writing, And although the whole will of God, all things'neceffary tofalvat ionbe Written, yet God did appoint Come fpecial things above aIi_o:hers to be weiteen, tome paf- fages of divine truths. As that fame hif ory Of the foil of Amelek in the wíldernef,, Exod. r7,í4. Scribehoc ad manumentum, faith God to Mofes ; write this for a memorial in a Ifa. S.,. book. So God commandeth Ifaiab, to take to himfelfa great real, and to write ztk.z4 z, in it witha manspen. So to Ezekiel: Son ofman, write thee the name ofthe day, even of thisfame day, the king of Babylon fee himfelf againfl jerufalem this fame day. And Saint John (to go no further) though he was commanded to write this whole Epifile,and all theVifions he faw, yea there is fore fpecial thing, that God in amore fpecial manner would have him towrite. And here is one ; write this fame voyce: thisvoyce that camedown from heaven, write it. Though that writing addech nothing to the Atthority of the Word. For she word c fGod is the fame Word, and is as welt to be obeyed; and as well to be be- lieved, when it is delivered by tradition, as when it is by writing : yet notwid-- (landing we are to biers God that we have it written; How many Divine truths have been turned into lies ? And how many divine Huffer:es have been turned into fables, when things have been delivered by tradition from hand to hand, and from man to man e Tradition was never fo (afe a preferver of Divine truths. Rom. :4.z. We are to thank God (I faÿ)-for-the whole Scripture, forevery past of it : for whatfoever is written,is writtenfor our learning, that we throughpatience, andcom- fort of the Scriptures might have hope. But what comfortable thing is this, that here Saint John is commanded towrite? write, what Bleffed are thedeadthat die in the Lord, fofaith thefpirit, they ref fromtheir labours, and their worksfollow them. In the which you have five things; The diviliion Firll, you have a Proportion. Deadmen are bleffed, Ble7edare the dead. Now, ofdie words. becaufe this is not generally true, therefore Secondly,youhavea Reffrithon : all Deadmen are not Ufa, But who areblef fedchen? they that die in the Lord. There is the Reflriîlion. Tnirdly;you have the Timefrom whence thisblefednefs beginneth. From hence- forth, bleffed are the dead that. die in the Lord, Fourthly, you have the Particularswherein thsoblef'ednefs congls. In is in a Re. Taxation oftheir labours, and a Retribution of their works, they rea from their labours, and their worksfollow them. Lafily, you havea Confirmation ofall this. It is confirmed firf}, by a voycefrom heaven ; A voycefrom beavenfaidwrite, And then it is confirmed by the Spirit of God ; Even fo faith the fpirit, they reffrom their labours. You muff not look thacin this thortnefsofcime,I fhouldgothrough allthefe. And I donor intend it,Ic may be only the firll and fccond.I pray let me take fore timcto (peak of the oecafron ofour meeting. I would do all within the hour. I begin with the fire }. Obfervat, r, Dead men areblefled. Bleffed are the dead. Bleflednefì, is a thing that every man dcfreth. He is no man, but a monllcr,that would live wretchedly. Every man defireth cobebleffed. Sul that thing which we all defire in comntovi when it cometh to be determined, moil menmillake it. Some placebleQ'ednefs in riches. And foreplace it in honours. Some
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