nion.

hope and defence of Thine elect, vouchsafest of Thine infinite goodness to be, as Thou deignest to be called, the meat and provision by the Application way to me a traveller, Thou Who art Thyself the Way, and the to CommuBread that sustaineth, and the Life. Thou art food to me, although by Thine own children Thou art full often thrown away to the dogs. But do I from my heart and inmost soul ever desire to receive Thee, that when my strength faileth, Thou my Hope, my true and only Hope, mayst not forsake me, but mayst receive me into everlasting habitations, even into Thine arms, that when death shall be present to me, Thou my Life mayst meet me :— that when friends fly from me, I may find Thee, my Friend, my Solace, my Refuge, in that hour? O if indeed I felt these things, my God, never would I neglect virtue; nor should vices, that have been once by Thy mercy cut down, again spring up in my soul. Josias, beloved of Thee, brake in pieces the images, cut down the groves, nor would he suffer them again to be raised up, but filled the places with dead men's bones; and assuredly never again should I raise up in the temple of my heart those idols,—which I worship so often as I turn from virtue,-if in that heart there ever kept watch an unfailing remembrance of my death. For, as thy servant Bernard used to say, horror at our departure, pain in passing from the world, shame at the sight of the glory of the great God, these all are warnings to us. Whence, then, saith he, is this dissimulation and hiding of our sins in us, whence this so hurtful lukewarmness, whence this accursed fearlessness? Why do we, wretched beings, beguile ourselves? Perhaps we are made rich, perhaps we are as kings; do not then these horrible spirits besiege our doors? do not these ghastly forms wait on our going out? But if we truly have cherished virtue, as then we shall wish to have done, we shall by Thy grace be secure, Thy right hand shall visit us :—the most sweet presence of Thine Angels shall refresh us, when deserted of all things below;—and Thy presence, O good Jesus, as I trust, shall save us: Thou shalt shew the light of Thy countenance, and we shall be whole. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from Thy love. Yea, what I shall then wish to have done, I will now do: and through Thy grace, that common error and madness shall not beguile me, that I should choose those things which then I shall be sorry that I have chosen,—and that for ever. And since it is appointed unto all men once to die, I will begin now to die to myself, that so may live to Thee, O my Life, O my Light! O Thou Light that never goest down, when wilt Thou arise? when shall these shadows flee away? Truly our days are very short, and the number of our months is with Theee :

I

e Job xiv. 5.

yet are they long to him who desires and sighs for Thee. When wilt thou come, O death, which shall restore me to Life? Thou wilt come, O Jesus, I know, like a thief in the night; come, Oh come; but to him who fears Thee, Lord, and loves Thee, grant some sign of Thy coming, that I may watch for Thee, whether it be in the first, or the second, or the third watch Thou comest. Help me, while it is light, while space yet remaineth for repentance, while there is time to obtain glory; help me to honour Thee for ever, and to find favour in Thy sight. Thou art my witness that I seek this only. Therefore will I use the talents and the opportunities which Thy goodness gives me, lest, like the wicked servant, I should be condemned to be cast into outer darkness, when, alas, after the long delays of life, I hoped with the good and faithful servant to enter into the home and joy of my Lord! O when shall this be? when shall I come to appear before the presence of God? When wilt Thou come and deliver me from the body of this death? so that living, yea truly living, I may give thanks unto Thee, and praise Thee, and exalt Thee for ever and ever. Amen.

In church

RULES FOR THE REMEMBRANCE OF DEATH.

FIRST of all, daily whilst thou art in the church, consider that thou art placed as it were in the midst of the dead, for all parts of a the memory church abound with tombs; bear in mind that thou too must die in a brief space; and examine well whether thou art prepared for

of death.

Use to be

death. Secondly, It is better, saith the Wise man, to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: therefore if thou art mourning made of the loss of any friend, compose thyself to the thoughts of death: or mourning. if thou meetest one in the apparel of mourning, deem it not a mere accident, but regard him as a messenger of warning sent to thyself. So Damascenus relates of a certain pious king, who in that mind used to receive and entertain sacred persons.

The memory

In the third place, St. John Eleemosynarius (or the Almoner) by a sort of divine prudence, would have his servant daily to remind him of his of deathdaily tomb: namely, to tell him that it was being prepared, and by deto be excited. grees, that it was completed and ready: the object of this most holy man was, that by these means, he might have his desires after a better life sharpened by the remembrance of death. Yea of Philip king of Macedon it is related, that in the height of his prosperity he placed a monitor by him daily, to tell him each morning he was man: that so he might repress his more proud thoughts, and daily perceive the inconstancy of fortune and all the other miseries of man's life, and so might prepare himself for them. O how will this cause the Christian to blush in the Judgment-day! Thou canst imitate the

holy John and this king, if each day, before thou liest down, thou wouldst write some thought on death, or the vanity of the world, and so fasten it to thy bed, that it would meet thine eyes on thy first waking in the morning, and strike thy mind. Or if on a tablet thou wert to inscribe the months and years of thy life, beginning from thy natal day, and then the duties of each day, and how it should be passed, and between these write, "Death."

Note how thou liest down

to

Fourthly, every evening when thou liest down, ask thyself if thou art prepared to die for bed doth well remind us of the tomb, just as sleep is said to be the image of death,—and so lie down, as though this night thou wert to be hurried off to judgment; and at least excite contrition for thy sin, and accompany it by some act of faith, and hope, and charity, and thanksgiving. At the same time renew all thy vows of a holier life, and so in peace thou mayst lay thee down to sleep and take thy

rest.

sleep.

Ejaculations.

"If we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him." Rom. vi. 8.

"Man that is born of a woman is of few days—the number of his months are with Thee. Thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass." Job xiv. 1, 5.

“O death, how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man that liveth at rest in his possessions." Ecclus. xli. 1.

"We must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground; which cannot be gathered up again." 2 Sam. xiv. 14.

"What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death; and shall he deliver his soul from the hand of hell?" Psalm lxxxix. 47.

66 Be ye therefore ready also for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not." Luke xii. 40.

"The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them." Wisdom iii. 1.

“For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens." 2 Cor. v. 1.

IMAGE THE TWENTIETH.

WHICH WILT THOU WISH TO HAVE CHOSEN ON THE DAY OF JUDGMENT, VIRTUE OR VICE?

O the terrible sight of Judgment! Behold, O man, and consider what then thou wilt wish to have done: do that now, and love Virtue (A), which will then alone be thine advocate, when God will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of thy heart (B). The good things thou hast done thy good Angel shall then recount (C), but the devil also before God and the whole world shall accuse thee of thy sins (D). Oh, how will the wicked man then wish to be united with the good (E). O the sad separation (F)! O the mournful spectacle! Here the world, which mortals make so much account of, is burned up (G). There kings and princes are trembling (H). Here will be past the irrevocable sentence either of eternal punishment (I) or of eternal glory (K). If thou wilt ever keep in mind these the last things, surely thou wilt never willingly be guilty of any sin.