A10945:1884
Seven treatises containing such direction as is gathered out of the Holy Scriptures, leading…Seuen treatises containing such direction as is gathered out of the Holie Scriptures, leading…
Seven treatises containing such direction as is gathered out of the Holy Scriptures, leading and guiding to true happiness, both in this life, and in the life to come: and may be called the practise of Christianity. Profitable for all such as heartily desire the same: in the which, more particularly true Christians may learn how to lead a godly and comfortable life every day. Penned by Richard Rogers, preacher of the word of God at Wethersfield in Essex.Seuen treatises containing such direction as is gathered out of the Holie Scriptures, leading and guiding to true happines, both in this life, and in the life to come: and may be called the practise of Christianitie. Profitable for all such as heartily desire the same: in the which, more particularly true Christians may learne how to leade a godly and comfortable life euery day. Penned by Richard Rogers, preacher of the word of God at Wethersfield in Essex.
London: printed by Felix Kyngston for Thomas Man, 1603
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
It must needs the less appear (I grant) how glorious the death of many good Christians is,1 because they do not live under the ordinary preaching of the Gospel; who, except God do work in them the more extraordinarily, must needs die with less signification of faith, patience and comfort: neither doth he grant to all a like ending of their days, nor to show the like tokens of an happy departure; neither ought we to judge of men thereby. But this is more certain and sufficient to uphold us; that of a good life cometh a good §Edeath, according to the saying of the Psalmist: Mark the end of the righteous, 2and ye shall see that the end of them is peace. And so it shall go well with the people of God, howsoever any of them may as a fatherly correction, and for the example of others, receive such a manner of death, as might breed question and doubt of the favour of God and of an happy end: as the Prophet of God which came from Judah to Bethel to rebuke the idolatry of king Jeroboam, for that he was not obedient to the commandment of the Lord, but did eat bread ⟨p. 552⟩in that place which was forbidden him; and therefore was slain by a Lion in §Fthe way.3 And Josia the good king of Judah, who for his rash going out to fight with Pharaoh Nechoh king of Egypt, 4was slain of him. So it may please God for causes best known to him (but yet always just and most certainly for his own glory) to take away some of his good servants suddenly: and to visit some other of them with loss of their inward senses, understanding, of the use of reason, memory, &c. for such effects some kind of diseases doth work; so that, in that estate they shall speak they wot not what. In the which condition it may be,5 that satan may (even as he doth in the time of sleep occupy their brain, and delude them sometime with fearful dreams, sometime