Certain prayers and godly meditations very needful for every ChristenCerteine prayers and godly meditacyons very nedefull for euery Christen

The second goodness of death is that it doth not only finish the evils & pains of this life / but also (which is letter) it maketh an end of all vice and sin the which to them that be good faithful maketh death much more to be desired then these present goods whereof we have spoken / for the evils of the soul (which are since) are without comparison worse than the evils of the body. These only sins (if we did savour them) would make death very acceptable and loved unto us / ⟨image 75⟩which thing if they do not / it is a sign that we do not well perceive nor hate the evils of our soul. Therefore sith this life is full of perils / and that sin doth besiege us on every side / and sith we can not live without sin / death is best and most expedient which loseth us from the seperilles / and cutteth sin clean away from us therefore in the praise of a righteous man it is spoken / in the .iiij. of Sapience. He that pleased god is made beloved / & he (living among sinners) is translated & ravished / that malice should not change his understanding / nether that feigning should deceive his soul for the bewitching of trifling doth darken goodness / & the unstableness of concupiscence doth overwhelm the wit with out malice (O how true these words are and daily •ene) it is soon rotted and hard to be destroyed. But his soul pleased god and for that he hasted to bring him out from the midst of iniquity. Even so (thorough the mercy of god) death which was to man the pain of sin made to the christen the end of sin and the beginning of life and righteousness wherefore it is necessary that he which ⟨image 76⟩loveth life and righteousness should not abhor death (which is the minister & gate of them both) but rather to love it / or else he can never come to life & righteousness / and he that can not love it / let him pray god that he may. For therefore are we taught to say / thy will be fulfilled / because we (which fearing death do rather favour & love sin then justice) of our power be not able to fulfil it.

The secunde goodnesse of deth is that it doth not onely fynisshe the euilles & paynes of this life / but also (whyche is letter) it maketh an ende of all vice and synne the whiche to theym that be good faithful maketh deth moche more to be desyred then these present goodes wherof we haue spoken / for the euilles of the soule (whiche are synnes) are without cōparison worse thē the euylles of the body. These onely sinnes (yf we dyd sauoure theyme) wolde make deth verey acceptable and loued vnto vs /