An exposition with practical observations upon the three first chapters of the book of…

That neither power, nor wisdom, nor riches, are any privilege at all against the stroke of death. Here are Kings, men that have great power; Counsellors, men full of wisdom; Princes that have riches, so much gold that they can stuff their graves with it, yet these cannot defend themselves against death: Death will not obey the authority of Kings, nor doth it fear their frowns; ⟨p. 418⟩the subtlety or policy of Counsellors is not able to defeat it, there is no eloquence, no Rhetoric can persuade death to depart; all the gold and riches in the world cannot bribe death or stay its hand; I (saith Job) should have found Kings and Counsellors, and rich men, even all these in the grave, and we should have rested together. Riches avail not in the day of wrath, (Prov. 11.4.) but righteousness delivereth from death. Righteousness delivereth from death, why, shall not righteous men die? Surely Job might have said, with righteous men, with holy men should I have rested, with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob, these are in the grave, death seized on them as well as other Princes, and Kings and Counsellors; How then doth Solomon say, that righteousness delivereth from death? Death is there either to be understood of some dangerous judgement, for, saith he, riches avail not in a day of wrath; that is, in a day of public calamity, but righteousness delivereth from death; that is, from those troubles and dangers; God hath respect to a righteous person, and hideth him from that death. Or righteousness doth deliver from death, that is, from the evil of death, from the sting of death, from the bitterness of death; the bitterness and evil of death is past to a righteous man. But riches they avail not at all, they cannot at all, as not deliver from death, so not mitigate the pain, or pull out the sting, or sweeten the bitterness of death; yea rather riches increase all these: That is a truth, O death how bitter is thy remembrance to a man that is at ease in his possession. Men may put their riches with them into the grave, but riches cannot keep them a moment out of the grave. This thought, How bitter!

That neither power, nor wisedome, nor riches, are any priviledge at all against the stroake of death. Here are Kings, men that have great power; Counsellours, men full of wisedome; Princes that have riches, so much gold that they can stuffe their graves with it, yet these cannot defend themselves against death: Death will not obey the authority of Kings, nor doth it feare their frownes;