36 Veliveran cefrom the DingofFears, . or deftru&ion of it felt, therefore he ftriveth to affc& them with the fear of death , efpeciially and above all other. I fay, this is Sathans malice. SaintPaul when he came to Macedonia, that he might do the work of the Lord , with lefs diligence a Co! 7. a And comfort , faith he , We hadfears on every fide , horrors within , and terrors Ç without r It was Sathans devife, that the Apoftle might do the workof the Lordwith lefs ftrength and comfort, to afflia them with as many fears and horrors as he could. And he bath the fame malice {till, and 1hll getteth much advantage ofmen, making men to go on with lefs comfort in a godly life, adorning their profeffion ofreligion lets, with unchearful walking , becaufe they have been heldunder the fear ofdeath.. ..rr Thefe are the caufesthat are from without. The iswacd Secondly,there are fomeeaufes from within,from the fervantsofGod themfelves. caucesofthe And thefe caufes whence thefear ofdeath arifetb, are either natural or finful. feat of death. Firft, the natural caufes of it are; The apprehenfionofDeath,as a thing contra- s. Natnnh ry to nature: andaccording to the ftrengthofmens apprehenfion, fo is there fear. Now Death in this natural refpeEt, isfearful to every man, whetherwe confider the obje&, or the fubje&, the thing orthe perfon in whom it is,we !hall find a natu- ral cattle of this, even in the fervants ofGod. to relpaft of Firft for the obje&, look upon Death itfelf, it bath all that in it, whichmakes it the objeftu a fit obje& of fear. There be three things which makesa thing the objc hooffear, fdl: death. which makes a thing affe& the heart with fear. Firft, vvhen it is confidered is an ill. 'Secondly vvhen it is confidered as an ill, difficult, and hard to beavoided. . Thirdly, vvhen it is confidered as an ill to come. For Wit be not conceived a thingthat is ill, but good ; it is notfeared, but rather defired. And then again Wit be but a flight 0, Inch as hath but a vvéak ftrength in it, vvhich a man may éafily mafter, it is na fearful, but difdained. And then thirdly, Wit be an ill that hath ftrength in, and can hardly be refilled and overcome, if it be prefent, it is not feared, but grieved for. It muff be evil apprehended as future, apprehended as difficult, andapprehend- ed as ill, if it be a thing that is to be feared. Now all thefe things are indeath, in the apprehenfionofGods fervants while The appce- they live. Firft, I fay, they apprehend it as Ill. Ill is twofold, either that which is contrary to mans will, and fo it is called heofion of death as an tllalum triJitivum; or elfe contrary to mans nature, and fo it is Malum corrup- Ill. tivum. Now Death is contrary to man in both thefe fenfes, both to his nature, and to his will. It is a thing he would not have, becaufe it iscontrary to his nature: and that is contrary tohis nature, that Peeks the deftruelion of nature. Now, whena man apprehendeth Death, as a thing that would deftroy nature, that would over- throw, and diffolve , andbreak in pieces,that goodly Fabrique, (as he concciveth hat it) and make that fomething to become nothing th is thing ng t ha in at ure ,annoy bear, it abhorreth. So the Servants of God, ey have this natural affe&ion to preferve their beeing: and this in it fell is not limply finful, but fo far as itexceedeth the rule. Thereforeyou fee that becaufe menapprehend Death,asanIll contrary to nature, they prefer other things that are ill, in a leffe regard, in a lefle degree before that: A man would rather partwith his weakh,thenpart with his life,as we fee in A man would giveGod aranfom for his foul ifhe could,he would give all his goods to ranfom his life. He had rather be poor then not at all : Nay aman will part with his Bale , with his health , rather thenwithhis life : he will be in pain, rather thenhe will notbe: Skinfor skin, and all that anon bath, mill hegivefor bit life: Eectcf. q, q. Nay , a man will part withhiscredit and eftimation , rather then with his life , he will rather be difgraced, thennot be: A living dog, is better then adead Lyon, this isthe fpeech of a man natural ; he preferreth a dog that hath life in him , before a Lyon that hdead; he would rather bea mean living man, then a deadPriince That
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