1How unmeet, how shameful, how odious a thing is it that dead men should be here on the face of the earth, which is the land of the living? That there are such, is too true. lShe that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth. mSardis had a name that she lived, but was dead. nThe dead bury their dead. oAll natural men are dead in sins. Much more they that unto their natural corruption add profaneness, uncleanness, all manner of riotousness. These are as dead and putrefied carrions that infect the air round about them. To prevent noisome savours which might arise from dead corps, we use to bury them under the ground. Though Sarah was a dear wife to Abraham, yet when she was dead, he ptook order to bury her corps o•• of his sight. qNote the care that was taken to bury Gog with his multitude, because the stinking savour was so great, as it caused them that passed by to stop their noses. Assuredly, if the spiritual sense of our ⟨p. 125⟩souls were as quick in spiritual matters, as the senses of our body are in earthly things, we should feel a more noisome and loathsome savour to arise from such as in relation to spiritual life, are dead, then from such as are dead in relation to natural life. God, that is most sensible of this spiritual stanch, is oft moved to sweep the land of the living with the broom of his judgements, and to remove noisome dead persons, especially when by their multitude they •ause the stanch to be too too intolerable. rI will sweep Babel with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts. Thus the Lord swept away the stinking carrions of sthe old world, and of *Sodom and Gomorrah, the rebellious tcarcasses of the Israelites in the wilderness: uthe foul corps of the nations: yea and the unsavoury bodies of all xIsrael and yJudah. Of Jerusalem in another metaphor thus saith the Lord, *I will wipe it as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it up▪side down. There is just cause to fear that the stanch of the sins of this City, and other places in this Land was so rank in the nostrils of the Almighty, as thereby he was provoked to sweep away so many as he did with the broom of the pestilence. If it be said, that many righteous ones were swept away, who have presented even their bodies as well as their souls, a sacrifice living, holy, acceptable, and of a sweet smelling savour unto God: and many wicked ones left;
1How unmeet, how shamefull, how odious a thing is it that dead men should be here on the face of the earth, which is the land of the living? That there are such, is too true. lShe that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth. mSardis had a name that she lived, but was dead. nThe dead bury their dead. oAll naturall men are dead in sinnes. Much more they that unto their naturall corruption adde prophanenesse, uncleannesse, all manner of riotousnesse. These are as dead and putrified carions that infect the aire round about them. To prevent noysome savours which might arise from dead corps, we use to bury them under the ground. Though Sarah was a deare wife to Abraham, yet when she was dead, he ptook order to bury her corps o•• of his sight. qNote the care that was taken to bury Gog with his multitude, because the stinking savour was so great, as it caused them that passed by to stop their noses. Assuredly, if the spirituall sense of our ⟨p. 125⟩soules were as quicke in spirituall matters, as the senses of our body are in earthly things, we should feele a more noisome and loathsome savour to arise from such as in relation to spirituall life, are dead, then from such as are dead in relation to naturall life. God, that is most sensible of this spirituall stanche, is oft moved to sweep the land of the living with the broome of his judgements, and to remove noysome dead persons, especially when by their multitude they •ause the stanche to be too too intolerable. rI will sweepe Babel with the besome of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts. Thus the Lord swept away the stinking carions of sthe old world, and of *
- 1Reprehension of such as living are dead.
- l1 Tim. 5. 6.
- mRev. 3. 1.
- nMat. 8. 22.
- oEph 2. 1. 2 Cor. 5. 14.
- pGen. 23 4.
- qEzek. 39. 11, &c.
- rIsa. 14. 23.
- sGen. 6. 7.
- *—19. 25.
- tHebr 3. 17.
- uLev. 18. 28.
- x2 King. 17. 6.
- y2 Chro. 36. 16
- *2 King. 21. 13
