DEATH be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not

so, For, those, whom thou think st, thou dost overthrow, Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me! From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee, Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow, And soonest our best men with thee doe goe, "est of their bones, and soules deliverie! Thou art slave to Fate, #hance, kings, and desperate men, And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell, And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well, And better then thy stroake$ why swell st thou then$ %ne short sleepe past, wee wake eternally, And death shall be no more$ death, thou shalt die!

10

Towards the end of his life Donne wrote works that challenged death, and the fear that it inspired in many men, on the grounds of his belief that those who die are sent to Heaven to live eternally! %ne e&ample of this challenge is his Holy Sonnet X, from which come the famous lines 'Death, be not proud, though some have called thee ( Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so!) Even as he lay dying during Lent in *+,*, he rose from his sickbed and delivered the Death's Duel sermon, which was later described as his own funeral sermon! Death-s Duel portrays life as a steady descent to suffering and death, yet sees hope in salvation and immortality through an embrace of God, Christ and the Resurrection

John Donne: Poem analysis Death be not Proud Commentary on Death be not Proud
Death not the endFirst .uatrain/econd .uatrainThird .uatrain#oncluding couplet Death be not Proud consists of a number of reasons why human beings should not fear death! However, rather than state the reasons as if talking to us, Donne turns to Death itself! He personifies and apostrophises it0 he argues it into submission, till at the end he can state the parado& 1Death, thou shalt die2- triumphantly!

Death not the end

To understand the poem fully, we need to know three things0

Firstly, that Donne genuinely had to wrestle with near fatal illnesses, and seems to have had difficulty in the past with the fear of death, fed by a strong sense of guilt /econdly, in the forms of meditation he and his contemporaries often used, a skull or 1death s head- was fre.uently on display2 This was to focus thoughts on man s mortality and the need to live as free from sin as possible Thirdly, the #hristian teaching on death is that it is not the end of life at all0 that there is a resurrection and a 3udgement, and the life of the #hristian believer will continue

for eternity! Death, therefore, is seen as a rite of passage to something much better! A well4known biblical passage often read at funerals is * #orinthians *50,5456! More on resurrection0 see The Exequy by Henry 7ing The poem is best understood as three .uatrains and a concluding couplet!

irst !uatrain
The first .uatrain states the theme, with its central parado& that those whom death touches do not really die! That is because of the #hristian hope of resurrection and immortality! 8aul writes, using the image of a grain of wheat0 1it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body- * #orinthians *5099!

Second !uatrain
The second .uatrain takes the idea that sleep and death are allied, one being an image of the other :1thy pictures-;! /leep is pleasant, therefore death must be, so why fear it< =n fact, the best people, that is those who are most pure in their lives, die most .uickly, because they know their soul will be 1delivered- into a new life!

"hird !uatrain
The third .uatrain mocks death! Death is not in control of itself, but has to come wherever there is disease or war! /o why is death so proud< Then he argues that opiates mimic death and much more pleasantly!

Concludin# cou$let
This leads on to the triumphant couplet, that we shall wake into eternal life and death will be finished! The triumphant couplet echoes 8aul s triumphant .uestion0 1>here, % death, is your victory< >here, % death, is your sting<- * #orinthians *5055, .uoting Hosea *,0*9 The poem is not an argument as such! "ather, it is a number of points piled up one upon another, not always .uite logically connected, but nevertheless effective in building up to a clima&! %nvesti#atin# Death be not Proud "ead the whole passage from * #orinthians *5 o >hat do you notice about the difference in tone and argument< =n what way is mocking our enemies an effective way of dealing with them<

Death's Duel by John Donne

Or A Consolation to the Soul Against the Dying Life and Living Death of the Body
This sermon was preached not many days before John Donne's death, as if, having done this, there remained nothing for him to do but to die; and the matter is of death--the occasion and subject of all funeral sermons. t has been observed that his faculty in preaching continually increased, and that, as he e!ceeded others at first, so at last he e!ceeded himself. This is his last sermon. " dying man's words, if they concern ourselves, do usually ma#e the deepest impression. t was delivered before the $ing at the beginning of %ent, &'(). Donne, at that time, was Dr. in Divinity, and Dean of *aint +aul's, %ondon. BUILDINGS stand by the benefit of their foundations that sustain and su ort the!" and of their buttresses that #o! rehend and e!bra#e the!" and of their #ontignations that $nit and unite the!% &he foundations suffer the! not to sin$" the buttresses suffer the! not to s'erve" and the #ontignation and $nitting suffers the! not to #leave% &he body of our building is in the for!er art of this verse% It is this( ,e that is our -od is the -od of salvation; ad salutes, of salvations in the lural" so it is in the original) the God that gives us s iritual and te! oral salvation too% But of this building" the foundation" the buttresses" the #ontignations" are in this art of the verse 'hi#h #onstitutes our te*t" and in the three divers a##e tations of the 'ords a!ongst our e* ositors( .nto -od the %ord belong the issues from death, for" first" the foundation of this building +that our God is the God of all salvation, is laid in this" that unto this -od the %ord belong the issues of death; that is" it is in his o'er to give us an issue and deliveran#e" even then 'hen 'e are brought to the -a's and teeth of death" and to the li s of that 'hirl ool" the grave% And so in this a##e tation" this e!itus mortis" this issue of death is liberatio / morte" a deliveran#e fro! death" and this is the !ost obvious and !ost ordinary a##e tation of these 'ords" and that u on 'hi#h our translation lays hold" the issues from death. And then" se#ondly" the buttresses that #o! rehend and settle this building" that he that is our God is the God of all salvation" are thus raised) unto -od the %ord belong the issues of death, that is" the dis osition and !anner of our death) 'hat $ind of issue and trans!igration 'e shall have out of this 'orld" 'hether re ared or sudden" 'hether violent or natural" 'hether in our erfe#t senses or sha$en and disordered by si#$ness" there is no #onde!nation to be argued out of that" no -udg!ent to be !ade u on that" for" ho'soever they die" precious in his sight is the death of his saints, and 'ith hi! are the issues of death) the 'ays of our de arting out of this life are in his hands% And so in this sense of the 'ords" this e!itus mortis" the issues of death" is liberatio in morte" a deliveran#e in death) not that God 'ill deliver us fro! dying" but that he 'ill have a #are of us in the hour of death" of 'hat $ind soever our assage be% And in this sense and a##e tation of the 'ords" the natural fra!e and #onte*ture doth 'ell and regnantly ad!inister unto us% And then" lastly" the #ontignation and $nitting of this building" that he that is our God is the God of all salvations" #onsists in this" .nto this -od the %ord belong the issues of death) that is" that this God the Lord having united and $nit both natures in one" and being God" having also #o!e into this 'orld in our flesh" he #ould have no other !eans to save us" he #ould have no other issue out of this 'orld" nor return to his for!er glory" but by death% And so in this sense" this e!itus mortis, this issue of death" is liberatio per mortem" a deliveran#e by death" by the death of this God" our Lord Christ Jesus% And this is Saint Augustine's a##e tation of the 'ords" and those !any and great ersons that have adhered to hi!% In all these three lines" then" 'e shall loo$ u on these 'ords" first" as the God of o'er" the Al!ighty .ather res#ues his servants fro! the -a's of death) and then as the God of !er#y" the glorious Son res#ued us by ta$ing u on hi!self this issue of death) and

then" bet'een these t'o" as the God of #o!fort" the /oly Ghost res#ues us fro! all dis#o!fort by his blessed i! ressions beforehand" that 'hat !anner of death soever be ordained for us" yet this e!itus mortis shall be introitus in vitam" our issue in death shall be an entran#e into everlasting life% And these three #onsiderations( our deliveran#e 0 morte, in morte, per mortem" fro! death" in death" and by death" 'ill abundantly do all the offi#es of the foundations" of the buttresses" of the #ontignation" of this our building) that he that is our God is the God of all salvation" be#ause unto this -od the %ord belong the issues of death. .irst" then" 'e #onsider this e!itus mortis to be liberatio 0 morte" that 'ith -od the %ord are the issues of death) and therefore in all our death" and deadly #ala!ities of this life" 'e !ay -ustly ho e of a good issue fro! hi!% In all our eriods and transitions in this life" are so !any assages fro! death to death) our very birth and entran#e into this life is e!itus 0 morte" an issue fro! death" for in our !other's 'o!b 'e are dead" so as that 'e do not $no' 'e live" not so !u#h as 'e do in our slee " neither is there any grave so #lose or so utrid a rison" as the 'o!b 'ould be unto us if 'e stayed in it beyond our ti!e" or died there before our ti!e% In the grave the 'or!s do not $ill us) 'e breed" and feed" and then $ill those 'or!s 'hi#h 'e ourselves rodu#ed% In the 'o!b the dead #hild $ills the !other that #on#eived it" and is a !urderer" nay" a arri#ide" even after it is dead% And if 'e be not dead so in the 'o!b" so as that being dead 'e $ill her that gave us our first life" our life of vegetation" yet 'e are dead so as David's idols are dead% In the 'o!b 'e have eyes and see not, ears and hear not.01234 &here in the 'o!b 'e are fitted for 'or$s of dar$ness" all the 'hile de rived of light) and there in the 'o!b 'e are taught #ruelty" by being fed 'ith blood" and !ay be da!ned" though 'e be never born% Of our very !a$ing in the 'o!b" David says" am wonderfully and fearfully made, and such #nowledge is too e!cellent for me,01254 for even that is the %ord's doing, and it is wonderful in our eyes;01264 i se fe#it nos" it is he that made us, and not we ourselves,01784 nor our arents neither% Thy hands have made and fashioned me round about" saith Job" and +as the original 'ord is, thou hast ta#en pains about me, and yet +says he, thou dost destroy me% &hough I be the !aster ie#e of the greatest !aster +!an is so," yet if thou do no !ore for !e" if thou leave !e 'here thou !adest !e" destru#tion 'ill follo'% &he 'o!b" 'hi#h should be the house of life" be#o!es death itself if God leave us there% &hat 'hi#h God threatens so often" the shutting of a 'o!b" is not so heavy nor so dis#o!fortable a #urse in the first as in the latter shutting" nor in the shutting of barrenness as in the shutting of 'ea$ness" when children are come to the birth, and no strength to bring forth. 01794
01254 :sal! 916(;%

Death's Duel by John Donne

age t'o
It is the e*altation of !isery to fall fro! a near ho e of ha iness% And in that vehe!ent i! re#ation" the ro het e* resses the highest of God's anger" -ive them, 1 %ord, what wilt thou give them2 give them a miscarrying womb% &herefore as soon as 'e are !en +that is" inani!ated" <ui#$ened in the 'o!b," though 'e #annot ourselves" our arents have to say in our behalf" 3retched man that he is, who shall deliver him from this body of death2017=4 if there be no deliverer% It !ust be he that said to Jere!iah" 4efore formed thee #new thee, and before thou camest out of the womb sanctified thee % >e are not sure that there 'as no $ind of shi nor boat to fish in" nor to ass by" till God res#ribed Noah that absolute for! of the ar$%01714 &hat 'ord 'hi#h the /oly Ghost" by ?oses" useth for the ar$" is #o!!on to all $ind of boats" thebah) and is the sa!e 'ord that ?oses useth for the boat that he 'as e* osed in" that his !other laid hi! in an ar$ of bulrushes% But 'e are sure that @ve had no !id'ife 'hen she 'as delivered of Cain" therefore she !ight 'ell say" +ossedi virum 0 Domino, have gotten a man from the %ord"01724 'holly" entirely fro! the Lord) it is the Lord that enabled !e to #on#eive" the Lord that infused a <ui#$ening soul into that #on#e tion" the Lord that brought into the 'orld that 'hi#h hi!self had <ui#$ened) 'ithout all this !ight @ve say" !y body had been but the house of death" and Domini Domini sunt e!itus mortis" To -od the %ord belong the issues of death% But then this e!itus 0 morte is but introitus in mortem) this issue" this deliveran#e" fro! that death" the death of the 'o!b" is an entran#e" a delivering over to another death" the !anifold deaths of this 'orld) 'e have a 'indingAsheet in our !other's 'o!b 'hi#h gro's 'ith us fro! our #on#e tion" and 'e #o!e into the 'orld 'ound u in that 'indingAsheet" for 'e #o!e to see$ a grave% And as risoners dis#harged of a#tions !ay lie for fees" so 'hen the 'o!b hath dis#harged us" yet 'e are bound to it by #ords of hestae" by su#h a string as that 'e #annot go then#e" nor stay there) 'e #elebrate our o'n funerals 'ith #ries even at our birth) as though our threes#ore and ten years' life 'ere s ent in our !other's labour" and our #ir#le !ade u in the first oint thereof) 'e beg our ba tis!

'ith another sa#ra!ent" 'ith tears) and 'e #o!e into a 'orld that lasts !any ages" but 'e last not% n domo +atris" says our Saviour" s ea$ing of heaven" multae mansiones" divers and durable) so that if a !an #annot ossess a !artyr's house +he hath shed no blood for Christ," yet he !ay have a #onfessor's" he hath been ready to glorify God in the shedding of his blood% And if a 'o!an #annot ossess a virgin's house +she hath e!bra#ed the holy state of !arriage," yet she !ay have a !atron's house" she hath brought forth and brought u #hildren in the fear of God% n domo +atris, in my 5ather's house" in heaven" there are many mansions)01774 but here" u on earth" the Son of !an hath not 'here to lay his head"017;4 saith he hi!self% 6onne terram dedit filiis hominum2 /o' then hath God given this earth to the sons of !enB /e hath given the! earth for their !aterials to be !ade of earth" and he hath given the! earth for their grave and se ul#hre" to return and resolve to earth" but not for their ossession% ,ere we have no continuing city"01734 nay" no #ottage that #ontinues" nay" no ersons" no bodies" that #ontinue% >hatsoever !oved Saint Jero!e to #all the -ourneys of the Israelites in the 'ilderness"01754 !ansions) the 'ord +the 'ord is nasang, signifies but a -ourney" but a eregrination% @ven the Israel of God hath no !ansions" but -ourneys" ilgri!ages in this life% By 'hat !easure did Ja#ob !easure his life to :haraohB The days of the years of my pilgrimage%01764 And though the a ostle 'ould not say morimur" that 'hilst 'e are in the body 'e are dead" yet he says" perigrinamur" 'hilst 'e are in the body 'e are but in a ilgri!age" and 'e are absent from the %ord(01;84 he !ight have said dead" for this 'hole 'orld is but an universal #hur#hyard" but our #o!!on grave" and the life and !otion that the greatest ersons have in it is but as the sha$ing of buried bodies in their grave" by an earth<ua$e% &hat 'hi#h 'e #all life is but hebdomada mortium" a 'ee$ of death" seven days" seven eriods of our life s ent in dying" a dying seven ti!es over) and there is an end% Our birth dies in infan#y" and our infan#y dies in youth" and youth and the rest die in age" and age also dies and deter!ines all% Nor do all these" youth out of infan#y" or age out of youth" arise so" as the hoeni* out of the ashes of another hoeni* for!erly dead" but as a 'as or a ser ent out of a #arrion" or as a sna$e out of dung% Our youth is 'orse than our infan#y" and our age 'orse than our youth% Our youth is hungry and thirsty after those sins 'hi#h our infan#y $ne' not) and our age is sorry and angry" that it #annot ursue those sins 'hi#h our youth did) and besides" all the 'ay" so !any deaths" that is" so !any deadly #ala!ities a##o! any every #ondition and every eriod of this life" as that death itself 'ould be an ease to the! that suffer the!% U on this sense doth Job 'ish that God had not given hi! an issue fro! the first death" fro! the 'o!b" 3herefore thou hast brought me forth out of the womb2 1h that had given up the ghost, and no eye seen me7 should have been as though had not been % 01;94 And not only the i! atient Israelites in their !ur!uring + would to -od we had died by the hand of the %ord in the land of 8gypt,"01;=4 but @li-ah hi!self" 'hen he fled fro! JeCebel" and 'ent for his life" as that te*t says" under the -uni er tree" re<uested that he !ight die" and said" t is enough now, 1 %ord, ta#e away my life%01;14 So Jonah -ustifies his i! atien#e" nay" his anger" to'ards God hi!self( 6ow, 1 %ord, ta#e, beseech thee, my life from me, for it is better to die than to live %01;24 And 'hen God as$ed hi!" Dost thou well to be angry for this2 he re lies" do well to be angry, even unto death% /o' !u#h 'orse a death than death is this life" 'hi#h so good !en 'ould so often #hange for deathD But if !y #ase be as Saint :aul's #ase" 9uotidi: morior" that I die daily" that so!ething heavier than death fall u on !e every day) if !y #ase be David's #ase" tota die mortificamur; all the day long we are #illed " that not only every day" but every hour of the day" so!ething heavier than death fall u on !e) though that be true of !e" ;onceptus in peccatis, was shapen in ini9uity, and in sin did my mother conceive me +there I died one death,) though that be true of !e" 6atus filius irae" I 'as born not only the #hild of sin" but the #hild of 'rath" of the 'rath of God for sin" 'hi#h is a heavier death( yet Domini Domini sunt e!itus mortis" with -od the %ord are the issues of death) and after a Job" and a Jose h" and a Jere!iah" and a Daniel" I #annot doubt of a deliveran#e% And if no other deliveran#e #ondu#e !ore to his glory and !y good" yet he hath the $eys of death"01;74 and he #an let !e out at that door" that is" deliver !e fro! the !anifold deaths of this 'orld" the omni die" and the tota die" the every day's death and every hour's death" by that one death" the final dissolution of body and soul" the end of all% But then is that the end of allB Is that dissolution of body and soul the last death that the body shall suffer +for of s iritual death 'e s ea$ not no',% It is not" though this be e!itus 0 morte( it is introitus in mortem) though it be an issue fro! !anifold deaths of this 'orld" yet it is an entran#e into the death of #orru tion and utrefa#tion" and ver!i#ulation" and in#ineration" and dis ersion in and fro! the grave" in 'hi#h every dead !an dies over again% It 'as a rerogative e#uliar to Christ" not to die this death" not to see #orru tion%

>hat gave hi! this rivilegeB Not Jose h's great ro ortion of gu!s and s i#es" that !ight have reserved his body fro! #orru tion and in#ineration longer than he needed it" longer than three days" but it 'ould not have done it for ever% >hat reserved hi! thenB Did his e*e! tion and freedo! fro! original sin reserve hi! fro! this #orru tion and in#inerationB It is true that original sin hath indu#ed this #orru tion and in#ineration u on us) if 'e had not sinned in Ada!" mortality had not put on immortality01;;4+as the a ostle s ea$s," nor corruption had not put on incorruption" but 'e had had our trans!igration fro! this to the other 'orld 'ithout any !ortality" any #orru tion at all% But yet sin#e Christ too$ sin u on hi!" so far as !ade hi! !ortal" he had it so far too as !ight have !ade hi! see this #orru tion and in#ineration" though he had no original sin in hi!self) 'hat reserved hi! thenB Did the hy ostati#al union of both natures" God and !an" reserve hi! fro! this #orru tion and in#inerationB It is true that this 'as a !ost o'erful e!bal!ing" to be e!bal!ed 'ith the Divine Nature itself" to be e!bal!ed 'ith eternity" 'as able to reserve hi! fro! #orru tion and in#ineration for ever% And he 'as e!bal!ed so" e!bal!ed 'ith the Divine Nature itself" even in his body as 'ell as in his soul) for the Godhead" the Divine Nature" did not de art" but re!ained still united to his dead body in the grave) but yet for all this o'erful e!bal!ing" his hy ostati#al union of both natures" 'e see Christ did die) and for all his union 'hi#h !ade hi! God and !an" he be#a!e no !an +for the union of the body and soul !a$es the !an" and he 'hose soul and body are se arated by death as long as that state lasts" is ro erly no !an,% And therefore as in hi! the dissolution of body and soul 'as no dissolution of the hy ostati#al union" so there is nothing that #onstrains us to say" that though the flesh of Christ had seen #orru tion and in#ineration in the grave" this had not been any dissolution of the hy ostati#al union" for the Divine nature" the Godhead" !ight have re!ained 'ith all the ele!ents and rin#i les of Christ's body" as 'ell as it did 'ith the t'o #onstitutive arts of his erson" his body and his soul% &his in#orru tion then 'as not in Jose h's gu!s and s i#es" nor 'as it in Christ's inno#en#y" and e*e! tion fro! original sin" nor 'as it +that is" it is not ne#essary to say it 'as, in the hy ostati#al union% But this in#orru tibleness of his flesh is !ost #onveniently la#ed in that) 6on dabis, thou wilt not suffer thy ,oly 1ne to see corruption ) 'e loo$ no further for #auses or reasons in the !ysteries of religion" but to the 'ill and leasure of God) Christ hi!self li!ited his in<uisition in that ita est, even so, 5ather, for so it seemeth good in thy sight % Christ's body did not see #orru tion" therefore" be#ause God had de#reed it should not% &he hu!ble soul +and only the hu!ble soul is the religious soul, rests hi!self u on God's ur oses and the de#rees of God 'hi#h he hath de#lared and !anifested" not su#h as are #on#eived and i!agined in ourselves" though u on so!e robability" so!e verisi!ilitude) so in our resent #ase :eter ro#eeds in his ser!on at Jerusale!" and so :aul in his at Antio#h%01;34 &hey rea#hed Christ to have been risen 'ithout seeing #orru tion" not only be#ause God had de#reed it" but be#ause he had !anifested that de#ree in his ro het" therefore doth Saint :aul #ite by s e#ial nu!ber the se#ond :sal! for that de#ree" and therefore both Saint :eter and Saint :aul #ite for it that la#e in the si*teenth :sal!)01;54 for 'hen God de#lares his de#ree and ur ose in the e* ress 'ords of his ro het" or 'hen he de#lares it in the real e*e#ution of the de#ree" then he !a$es it ours" then he !anifests it to us% And therefore" as the !ysteries of our religion are not the ob-e#ts of our reason" but by faith 'e rest on God's de#ree and ur oseAA+it is so" O God" be#ause it is thy 'ill it should be so,AAso God's de#rees are ever to be #onsidered in the !anifestation thereof% All !anifestation is either in the 'ord of God" or in the e*e#ution of the de#ree) and 'hen these t'o #on#ur and !eet it is the strongest de!onstration that #an be( 'hen therefore I find those !ar$s of ado tion and s iritual filiation 'hi#h are delivered in the 'ord of God to be u on !e) 'hen I find that real e*e#ution of his good ur ose u on !e" as that a#tually I do live under the obedien#e and under the #onditions 'hi#h are eviden#es of ado tion and s iritual filiation) then" so long as I see these !ar$s and live so" I !ay safely #o!fort !yself in a holy #ertitude and a !odest infallibility of !y ado tion% Christ deter!ines hi!self in that" the ur ose of God 'as !anifest to hi!) Saint :eter and Saint :aul deter!ine the!selves in those t'o 'ays of $no'ing the ur ose of God" the 'ord of God before the e*e#ution of the de#ree in the fulness of ti!e% It 'as ro hesied before" said they" and it is erfor!ed no'" Christ is risen 'ithout seeing #orru tion% No'" this 'hi#h is so singularly e#uliar to hi!" that his flesh should not see #orru tion" at his se#ond #o!ing" his #o!ing to -udg!ent" shall e*tend to all that are then alive) their hestae shall not see #orru tion" be#ause" as the a ostle says" and says as a se#ret" as a !ystery" 4ehold shew you a mystery, we shall not all sleep +that is" not #ontinue in the state of the dead in the grave," but we shall all be changed in an instant" 'e shall have a dissolution" and in the sa!e instant a redintegration" a re#o! a#ting of body and soul" and that shall be truly a death and truly a resurre#tion" but no slee ing in #orru tion) but for us that die no' and slee in the state of the dead" 'e !ust all ass this osthu!e death" this death after death" nay" this death after burial" this dissolution after dissolution" this death of #orru tion and utrefa#tion" of ver!i#ulation and in#ineration" of dissolution and dis ersion in and fro! the grave" 'hen these bodies that have been the #hildren of royal arents" and the arents of royal #hildren" !ust say 'ith

Job" ;orruption, thou art my father, and to the worm, Thou art my mother and my sister % ?iserable riddle" 'hen the sa!e 'or! !ust be !y !other" and !y sister and !yselfD ?iserable in#est" 'hen I !ust be !arried to !y !other and !y sister" and be both father and !other to !y o'n !other and sister" beget and bear that 'or! 'hi#h is all that !iserable enury) 'hen !y !outh shall be filled 'ith dust" and the worm shall feed, and feed sweetly01;64 u on !e) 'hen the a!bitious !an shall have no satisfa#tion" if the oorest alive tread u on hi!" nor the oorest re#eive any #ontent!ent in being !ade e<ual to rin#es" for they shall be e<ual but in dust% 1ne dieth at his full strength, being wholly at ease and in 9uiet; and another dies in the bitterness of his soul, and never eats with pleasure; but they lie down ali#e in the dust, and the worm covers them%01384 In Job and in Isaiah"01394 it #overs the! and is s read under the!" the worm is spread under thee, and the worm covers thee% &here are the !ats and the #ar ets that lie under" and there are the state and the #ano y that hang over the greatest of the sons of !en% @ven those bodies that 'ere the temples of the ,oly -host #o!e to this dila idation" to ruin" to rubbish" to dust) even the Israel of the Lord" and Ja#ob hi!self" hath no other s e#ifi#ation" no other deno!ination" but that vermis Jacob" thou 'or! of Ja#ob% &ruly the #onsideration of this osthu!e death" this death after burial" that after God +'ith 'ho! are the issues of death, hath delivered !e fro! the death of the 'o!b" by bringing !e into the 'orld" and fro! the !anifold deaths of the 'orld" by laying !e in the grave" I !ust die again in an in#ineration of this flesh" and in a dis ersion of that dust% &hat that !onar#h" 'ho s read over !any nations alive" !ust in his dust lie in a #orner of that sheet of lead" and there but so long as that lead 'ill last) and that rivate and retired !an" that thought hi!self his o'n for ever" and never #a!e forth" !ust in his dust of the grave be ublished" and +su#h are the revolutions of the grave, be !ingled 'ith the dust of every high'ay and of every dunghill" and s'allo'ed in every uddle and ond% &his is the !ost inglorious and #onte! tible vilifi#ation" the !ost deadly and ere! tory nullifi#ation of !an" that 'e #an #onsider% God see!s to have #arried the de#laration of his o'er to a great height" 'hen he sets the ro het @Ce$iel in the valley of dry bones" and says" *on of man, can these bones live2 as though it had been i! ossible" and yet they did) the Lord laid sinews upon them, and flesh, and breathed into them, and they did live % But in that #ase there 'ere bones to be seen" so!ething visible" of 'hi#h it !ight be said" Can this thing liveB But in this death of in#ineration and dis ersion of dust" 'e see nothing that 'e #all that !an's% If 'e say" Can this dust liveB :er#han#e it #annot) it !ay be the !ere dust of the earth" 'hi#h never did live" never shall% It !ay be the dust of that !an's 'or!" 'hi#h did live" but shall no !ore% It !ay be the dust of another !an" that #on#erns not hi! of 'ho! it 'as as$ed% &his death of in#ineration and dis ersion is" to natural reason" the !ost irre#overable death of all) and yet Domini Domini sunt e!itus mortis, unto -od the %ord belong the issues of death) and by re#o! a#ting this dust into the sa!e body" and re!aining the sa!e body 'ith the sa!e soul" he shall in a blessed and glorious resurre#tion give !e su#h an issue fro! this death as shall never ass into any other death" but establish !e into a life that shall last as long as the Lord of Life hi!self% And so have you that that belongs to the first a##e tation of these 'ords + unto -od the %ord belong the issues of death,) &hat though fro! the 'o!b to the grave" and in the grave itself" 'e ass fro! death to death" yet" as Daniel s ea$s" the %ord our -od is able to deliver us, and he will deliver us % And so 'e ass unto our se#ond a##o!!odation of these 'ords +unto -od the %ord belong the issues of death,) that it belongs to God" and not to !an" to ass a -udg!ent u on us at our death" or to #on#lude a dereli#tion on God's art u on the !anner thereof% &hose indi#ations 'hi#h the hysi#ians re#eive" and those resagitions 'hi#h they give for death or re#overy in the atient" they re#eive and they give out of the grounds and the rules of their art" but 'e have no su#h rule or art to give a resagition of s iritual death and da!nation u on any su#h indi#ation as 'e see in any dying !an) 'e see often enough to be sorry" but not to des air) 'e !ay be de#eived both 'ays( 'e use to #o!fort ourself in the death of a friend" if it be testified that he 'ent a'ay li$e a la!b" that is" 'ithout any relu#tation) but God $no's that !ay be a##o! anied 'ith a dangerous da! and stu efa#tion" and insensibility of his resent state% Our blessed Saviour suffered #ollu#tations 'ith death" and a sadness even in his soul to death" and an agony even to a bloody s'eat in his body" and e* ostulations 'ith God" and e*#la!ations u on the #ross% /e 'as a devout !an 'ho said u on his deathAbed" or deathAturf +for he 'as a her!it," *eptuaginta annos Domino servivisti, et mori timesB /ast thou served a good !aster threes#ore and ten years" and no' art thou loth to go into his resen#eB Eet /ilarion 'as loth% Barlaa! 'as a devout !an +a her!it too, that said that day he died" ;ogita te hodie caepisse servire Domino, et hodie finiturum" Consider this to be the first day's servi#e that ever thou didst thy ?aster" to glorify hi! in a Christianly and a #onstant death"

and if thy first day be thy last day too" ho' soon dost thou #o!e to re#eive thy 'agesD Eet Barlaa! #ould have been #ontent to have stayed longer forth% ?a$e no ill #on#lusions u on any !an's lothness to die" for the !er#ies of God 'or$ !o!entarily in !inutes" and !any ti!es insensibly to bystanders" or any other than the arty de arting% And then u on violent deaths infli#ted as u on !alefa#tors" Christ hi!self hath forbidden us by his o'n death to !a$e any ill #on#lusion) for his o'n death had those i! ressions in it) he 'as re uted" he 'as e*e#uted as a !alefa#tor" and no doubt !any of the! 'ho #on#urred to his death did believe hi! to be so% Of sudden death there are s#ar#e e*a! les be found in the S#ri tures u on good !en" for death in battle #annot be #alled sudden death) but God governs not by e*a! les but by rules" and therefore !a$e no ill #on#lusion u on sudden death nor u on diste! ers neither" though er#han#e a##o! anied 'ith so!e 'ords of diffiden#e and distrust in the !er#ies of God% &he tree lies as it falls" it is true" but it is not the last stro$e that fells the tree" nor the last 'ord nor gas that <ualifies the soul% Still ray 'e for a ea#eable life against violent death" and for ti!e of re entan#e against sudden death" and for sober and !odest assuran#e against diste! ered and diffident death" but never !a$e ill #on#lusions u on ersons overta$en 'ith su#h deaths) Domini Domini sunt e!itus mortis, to -od the %ord belong the issues of death % And he re#eived Sa!son" 'ho 'ent out of this 'orld in su#h a !anner +#onsider it a#tively" #onsider it assively in his o'n death" and in those 'ho! he sle' 'ith hi!self, as 'as sub-e#t to inter retation hard enough% Eet the /oly Ghost hath !oved Saint :aul to #elebrate Sa!son in his great #atalogue"013=4 and so doth all the #hur#h% Our #riti#al day is not the very day of our death" but the 'hole #ourse of our life% I than$ hi! that rays for !e 'hen the bell tolls" but I than$ hi! !u#h !ore that #ate#hises !e" or rea#hes to !e" or instru#ts !e ho' to live% 5ac hoc et vive" there is !y se#urity" the !outh of the Lord hath said it" do this and thou shalt live% But though I do it" yet I shall die too" die a bodily" a natural death% But God never !entions" never see!s to #onsider that death" the bodily" the natural death% God doth not say" Live 'ell" and thou shalt die 'ell" that is" an easy" a <uiet death) but" Live 'ell here" and thou shalt live 'ell for ever% As the first art of a senten#e ie#es 'ell 'ith the last" and never res e#ts" never hear$ens after the arenthesis that #o!es bet'een" so doth a good life here flo' into an eternal life" 'ithout any #onsideration 'hat so !anner of death 'e die% But 'hether the gate of !y rison be o ened 'ith an oiled $ey +by a gentle and re aring si#$ness," or the gate be he'n do'n by a violent death" or the gate be burnt do'n by a raging and franti# fever" a gate into heaven I shall have" for fro! the Lord is the #ause of !y life" and with -od the %ord are the issues of death% And further 'e #arry not this se#ond a##e tation of the 'ords" as this issue of death is liberatio in morte" God's #are that the soul be safe" 'hat agonies soever the body suffers in the hour of death% +;an ye drin# of my cup,01594" he s ea$s not odiously" not 'ith detestation of it% Indeed it 'as a #u " salus mundo" a health to all the 'orld% And 9uid retribuam" says David" 3hat shall render to the %ord2 015=4Ans'er you 'ith David" "ccipiam calicem, will ta#e the cup of salvation ) ta$e it" that #u is salvation" his assion" if not into your resent i!itation" yet into your resent #onte! lation% And behold ho' that Lord that 'as God" yet #ould die" 'ould die" !ust die for our salvation% &hat ?oses and @lias tal$ed 'ith Christ in the transfiguration" both Saint ?atthe' and Saint ?ar$01514 tells us" but 'hat they tal$ed of" only Saint Lu$e) Dicebant e!cessum ejus" says he" They tal#ed of his disease, of his death, which was to be accomplished at Jerusalem%01524 &he 'ord is of his e!odus" the very 'ord of our te*t" e!itus" his issue by death% ?oses" 'ho in his e*odus had refigured this issue of our Lord" and in assing Israel out of @gy t through the Fed Sea" had foretold in that a#tual ro he#y" Christ assing of !an$ind through the sea of his blood) and @lias" 'hose e*odus and issue of this 'orld 'as a figure of Christ's as#ension) had no doubt a great satisfa#tion in tal$ing 'ith our blessed Lord" de e!cessu ejus" of the full #onsu!!ation of all this in his death" 'hi#h 'as to be a##o! lished at Jerusale!% Our !editation of his death should be !ore vis#eral" and affe#t us !ore" be#ause it is of a thing already done% &he an#ient Fo!ans had a #ertain tenderness and detestation of the na!e of death) they #ould not na!e death" no" not in their 'ills) there they #ould not say" *i mori contigerit" but si 9uid humanitas contingat" not if or 'hen I die" but 'hen the #ourse of nature is a##o! lished u on !e% &o us that s ea$ daily of the death of Christ +he 'as #ru#ified" dead" and buried," #an the !e!ory or the !ention of our o'n death be ir$so!e or bitterB &here are in these latter ti!es a!ongst us that na!e death freely enough" and the death of God" but in blas he!ous oaths and e*e#rations% ?iserable !en" 'ho shall therefore be said never to have na!ed Jesus" be#ause they have na!ed hi! too often) and therefore hear Jesus say" 6escivi vos, never #new you" be#ause they !ade the!selves too fa!iliar 'ith hi!% ?oses and @lias tal$ed 'ith Christ of his death only in a holy and -oyful sense" of the benefit 'hi#h they and all the 'orld 'ere to re#eive by that% Dis#ourses of religion should not be out of #uriosity" but to edifi#ation% And then they tal$ed 'ith Christ of his death at that ti!e 'hen he 'as in the greatest height of glory" that ever he ad!itted in this 'orld" that is" his transfiguration% And 'e are afraid to s ea$ to the great !en of this 'orld of their death" but nourish in

the! a vain i!agination of i!!ortality and i!!utability% But bonum est nobis esse hic +as Saint :eter said there," t is good to dwell here" in this #onsideration of his death" and therefore transfer 'e our taberna#le +our devotions, through so!e of those ste s 'hi#h God the Lord !ade to his issue of death that day% &a$e in the 'hole day fro! the hour that Christ re#eived the assover u on &hursday unto the hour in 'hi#h he died the ne*t day% ?a$e this resent day that day in thy devotion" and #onsider 'hat he did" and re!e!ber 'hat you have done% Before he instituted and #elebrated the sa#ra!ent +'hi#h 'as after the eating of the assover," he ro#eeded to that a#t of hu!ility" to 'ash his dis#i les' feet" even :eter's" 'ho for a 'hile resisted hi!% In thy re aration to the holy and blessed sa#ra!ent" hast thou 'ith a sin#ere hu!ility sought a re#on#iliation 'ith all the 'orld" even 'ith those that have been averse fro! it" and refused that re#on#iliation fro! theeB If so" and not else" thou hast s ent that first art of his last day in a #onfor!ity 'ith hi!% After the sa#ra!ent he s ent the ti!e till night in rayer" in rea#hing" in sal!s( hast thou #onsidered that a 'orthy re#eiving of the sa#ra!ent #onsists in a #ontinuation of holiness after" as 'ell as in a re aration beforeB If so" thou hast therein also #onfor!ed thyself to hi!) so Christ s ent his ti!e till night% At night he 'ent into the garden to ray" and he rayed roli*ious" he s ent !u#h ti!e in rayer" ho' !u#hB Be#ause it is literally e* ressed" that he rayed there three several ti!es"01574 and that returning to his dis#i les after his first rayer" and finding the! aslee " said" ;ould ye not watch with me one hour"015;4 it is #olle#ted that he s ent three hours in rayer% I dare s#ar#e as$ thee 'hither thou 'entest" or ho' thou dis osedst of thyself" 'hen it gre' dar$ and after last night% If that ti!e 'ere s ent in a holy re#o!!endation of thyself to God" and a sub!ission of thy 'ill to his" it 'as s ent in a #onfor!ity to hi!% In that ti!e" and in those rayers" 'as his agony and bloody s'eat% I 'ill ho e that thou didst ray) but not every ordinary and #usto!ary rayer" but rayer a#tually a##o! anied 'ith shedding of tears and dis ositively in a readiness to shed blood for his glory in ne#essary #ases" uts thee into a #onfor!ity 'ith hi!% About !idnight he 'as ta$en and bound 'ith a $iss" art thou not too #onfor!able to hi! in thatB Is not that too literally" too e*a#tly thy #ase" at !idnight to have been ta$en and bound 'ith a $issB .ro! then#e he 'as #arried ba#$ to Jerusale!" first to Annas" then to Caia has" and +as late as it 'as, then he 'as e*a!ined and buffered" and delivered over to the #ustody of those offi#ers fro! 'ho! he re#eived all those irrisions" and violen#es" the #overing of his fa#e" the s itting u on his fa#e" the blas he!ies of 'ords" and the s!artness of blo's" 'hi#h that gos el !entions( in 'hi#h #o! ass fell that galli#iniu!" that #ro'ing of the #o#$ 'hi#h #alled u :eter to his re entan#e% /o' thou assedst all that ti!e thou $no'est% If thou didst any thing that needest :eter's tears" and hast not shed the!" let !e be thy #o#$" do it no'% No'" thy ?aster +in the un'orthiest of his servants, loo$s ba#$ u on thee" do it no'% Beti!es" in the !orning" so soon as it 'as day" the Je's held a #oun#il in the high riest's hall" and agreed u on their eviden#e against hi!" and then #arried hi! to :ilate" 'ho 'as to be his -udge) didst thou a##use thyself 'hen thou 'a$edst this !orning" and 'ast thou #ontent even 'ith false a##usations" that is" rather to sus e#t a#tions to have been sin" 'hi#h 'ere not" than to s!other and -ustify su#h as 'ere truly sinsB &hen thou s entest that hour in #onfor!ity to hi!) :ilate found no eviden#e against hi!" and therefore to ease hi!self" and to ass a #o! li!ent u on /erod" tetrar#h of Galilee" 'ho 'as at that ti!e at Jerusale! +be#ause Christ" being a Galilean" 'as of /erod's -urisdi#tion," :ilate sent hi! to /erod" and rather as a !ad!an than a !alefa#tor) /erod re!anded hi! +'ith s#orn, to :ilate" to ro#eed against hi!) and this 'as about eight of the #lo#$% /ast thou been #ontent to #o!e to this in<uisition" this e*a!ination" this agitation" this #ribration" this ursuit of thy #ons#ien#e) to sift it" to follo' it fro! the sins of thy youth to thy resent sins" fro! the sins of thy bed to the sins of thy board" and fro! the substan#e to the #ir#u!stan#e of thy sinsB &hat is ti!e s ent li$e thy Saviour's% :ilate 'ould have saved Christ" by using the rivilege of the day in his behalf" be#ause that day one risoner 'as to be delivered" but they #hoose Barabbas) he 'ould have saved hi! fro! death" by satisfying their fury 'ith infli#ting other tor!ents u on hi!" s#ourging and #ro'ning 'ith thorns" and loading hi! 'ith !any s#ornful and igno!inious #ontu!elies" but they regarded hi! not" they ressed a #ru#ifying% /ast thou gone about to redee! thy sin" by fasting" by al!s" by dis#i lines and !ortifi#ations" in 'ay of satisfa#tion to the -usti#e of GodB &hat 'ill not serve that is not the right 'ay) 'e ress an utter #ru#ifying of that sin that governs thee( and that #onfor!s thee to Christ% &o'ards noon :ilate gave -udg!ent" and they !ade su#h haste to e*e#ution as that by noon he 'as u on the #ross% &here no' hangs that sa#red body u on the #ross" reba tiCed in his o'n tears" and s'eat" and e!bal!ed in his o'n blood alive% &here are those bo'els of #o! assion 'hi#h are so #ons i#uous" so !anifested" as that you !ay see the! through his 'ounds% &here those glorious eyes gre' faint in their sight" so as the sun" asha!ed to survive the!" de arted 'ith his light too% And then that Son of God" 'ho 'as never fro! us" and yet had no' #o!e a ne' 'ay unto us in assu!ing our nature" delivers that soul +'hi#h 'as never out of his .ather's hands, by a ne' 'ay" a voluntary e!ission of it into his .ather's hands) for though to this -od our %ord belonged these issues of death" so that #onsidered in his o'n #ontra#t" he !ust

ne#essarily die" yet at no brea#h or battery 'hi#h they had !ade u on his sa#red body issued his soul) but emisit" he gave u the ghost) and as God breathed a soul into the first Ada!" so this se#ond Ada! breathed his soul into God" into the hands of God% &here 'e leave you in that blessed de enden#y" to hang u on hi! that hangs u on the #ross" there bathe in his tears" there su#$ at his 'ounds" and lie do'n in ea#e in his grave" till he vou#hsafe you a resurre#tion" and an as#ension into that $ingdo! 'hi#h /e hath re ared for you 'ith the inesti!able ri#e of his in#orru tible blood%