TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFUL MASTER BASIL FELDING', ESQ. THOMAS BECON WISHETH THE FAVOUR OF GOD, CONTINUAL HEALTH, AND PROS PEROUS FELICITY. CHRIST, our Lord and Saviour, considering what and how great carnal security and fleshly quietness reigneth in mortal men of all ages, yea, and that in them that profess godliness, that is to say, Christians, which by their profession are dead unto Col. iii. the world, and have their life hidden with Christ in God; insomuch that they, being occupied about worldly and transitory things, which soon perish and come to nought, do utterly neglect the things that appertain unto the salvation of their souls; in many Matt. xxiv. places of his holy gospel admonisheth us to watch and to make provision for our latter Mark xiii. end, lest we be found unready when we shall be called out of the world. XXV. Luke xvii. Rev. xvi. xxii. In the gospel of blessed Matthew he hath these words: "Watch, for you know Matt. xxiv. zot what hour the Lord will come. Of this be ye sure, that, if the good-man of the house knew what hour the thief would come, he would surely watch, and not suffer his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready. For in such hour as ye think not, will the Son of man come." In St Mark's gospel also he saith: "Watch, Mark xiii. for ye know not when the master of the house will come, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock-crowing, or in the dawning; lest, if he come suddenly, he find you sleeping. And that I say unto you I say unto all, Watch." "Yea, take heed, watch and pray; for ye know not when the time is." Again in the Revelation of blessed John he saith: "Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth Rev. xvi. his garments, that he walk not naked, and men see his filthiness." Item: “Behold, Rev. xxil. I come shortly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his deeds shall be." The holy apostle St Paul likewise exhorteth us that we sleep not as other do, but that we watch and be sober; neither that we fall into fleshly quietness, promising ourselves long life, health, and rest in this world, lest sudden destruction fall upon us. "For the day of the Lord," saith he, "shall come even as a thief 1 Thess. v. in the night." Certes our mortal estate declareth evidently, that we be so bond unto death, that we are not certain of our life one hour. Out of hand may death oppress us, for any certainty that we have of the contrary. "What thing is your life?" saith St James iv. James "it is a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." "My days," saith Job, are more swift than a runner, yea, they are passed away as Job ix. the ships that be good under sail, and as the eagle that flieth unto the prey." Again he saith: "Man that is born of a woman hath but short time to live, and is full Job xiv. of misery. He cometh up and is cut down like a flower. He flieth as it were a shadow, and never continueth in one state." [The family of Felding or Fielding was of noble extraction, being descended from the illustrious house of Hapsburgh. It appears that Geffery, count of Hapsburgh, having been by the oppression of Rodoiph, emperor of Germany, reduced to indigence, one of his sons, Sir Geffery, passed into the service of King Henry III. of England, and, because of his father's pretensions to the sovereignty of Laufenburgh and Rinfilding, assumed the name of Felden, or Filding. In direct lineal descent from Sir Geffery was Sir William Fielding, who in the reign of king Henry VIII. served the office of sheriff of Rutlandshire, and was knighted by that monarch. Sir Willain deceased Sept. 24, 1547, having had by Elizabeth The prophet also saith: "All flesh is Isai. xl. his wife, daughter of Sir Thomas Poultney, two sons Gen. v. Luke xii. grass, and all the glory thereof is as the flower of the field. The grass is withered, the flower falleth away: even so is the people as grass, when the breath of the Lord bloweth' upon them." Thus see we the misery, vanity, and shortness of our mortal time painted out before our eyes; and that these things are true, daily experience proveth. Notwithstanding, such is our blindness, fondness, and madness, that we utterly forget the uncertainty of this our wretched and short life, and promise ourselves the flourishing years of Nestor or the long life of Methuselah. We may right well be likened to that ungodly rich man, of whom we read in the gospel of Luke, which made provision for a great number of years, promising himself long to live upon the face of the earth, and forgetting himself to be mortal and bond unto death. But when he thought least of death, and was most busily occupied in getting and gathering together the goods of the world, God said unto him: "Thou fool, this night will they fetch away thy soul again from thee: then whose shall those things be Psal. xxxix. which thou hast provided?" The psalmograph saith: "He heapeth treasure upon treasure, and yet knoweth he not for whom he gathereth it." After this sort do we behave ourselves at this day. We moil and turmoil ourselves in studying and devising how we may come by the gifts of glassy fortune. We refuse no pains, no labours to become rich and wealthy in worldly goods; yea, so blinded are our hearts that, the nearer we approach unto the end of our life, the more studious, careful, and diligent are we to get the substance of this world. We remember not this saying of the holy apostle: "Godliness is great riches, if a man be content with that he hath. For we brought nothing into the world, neither may we carry any thing out. But when we have food and raiment, let us therewith be content." 1 Tim. vi. Psal. xxxix. 1 Pet. ii. Heb. xiii. Jer. viii. Isai. Ivi. The holy scripture calleth us "strangers and pilgrims" in this world, and declareth that "we have here no continuing city, but we seek one to come." Notwithstanding, as though there were none other life after this, or else as though we should for ever here remain and never depart, we travail about the getting of worldly substance. "All," as the prophet saith, “ even from the lowest unto the highest, set their minds on filthy lucre." "They are shameless dogs, that be never satisfied." Hereto agreeth the saying of the apostle: "All seek their own avantage, and not that which should set forth the glory of Jesus Christ." And as in covetousness, so likewise in all other abominable sins do we most wickedly walk. And all these things come to pass, because we remember not the shortness of this life, and forget our latter end. This considered the wise man right well, when he saith: "Whatsoever thou takest in hand, remember Deut. xxxii. thy end, and thou shalt never do amiss." Moses also saith: "O that men would once be wise and understand, and make provision for their latter end!" Phil. ii. Ecclus. vii. There is not a stronger bit to bridle our carnal affects, nor a better school-master to keep us in an order, than the remembrance of our latter end, than to remember that we shall not alway here remain, that we are but strangers and pilgrims in this world, that we shall leave behind us whatsoever worldly substance we have here either painRom. ii. xiv. fully gotten or carefully kept, that we shall die the death, that we shall appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, and receive according to the works which we have done in this life, either everlasting glory or perpetual pain. Gal. vi. But these things seek we not to remember, but rather to forget, and therefore fall we into all kind of ungodliness and dissolution of life. And when the time cometh that God visiteth us with sickness, or otherwise plagueth us for our evil behaviour, then do we not prepare ourselves unto the cross, as we ought, submitting ourselves to the good pleasure of God, and being contented patiently and thankfully to receive whatsoever is laid upon us at the appointment of God; but we rather murmur and grudge against God, and with unwilling hearts suffer that loving visitation of God, almost wishing that there were no God to plague and punish us, but that we might here live continually, and go forth to sin freely and without punishment. And when death approacheth, and no remedy can be found against the violence thereof, then do the ungodly and wicked livers, beholding the miserable face of their conscience, which presenteth unto them nothing but sin, the wrath of God, hell-fire, and everlasting damnation, [ So ed. 1561. Folio, followeth.] begin to despair and straight yield themselves to the pleasure of Satan, to be for ever and ever tormented in that "lake that burneth with fire and brimstone," themselves, their Rev. xxi. souls, and consciences consenting and assenting thereunto. For what other end can be looked for of a wicked and ungodly life? Is it to be thought that he, which through sin hath served the devil all the time of his life, can at his latter end look for the inheritance of everlasting glory, wherewith God rewardeth them that painfully labour to serve him in holiness and righteousness all the days of Luke i. their life? St Paul saith: "So run, that ye may obtain;" that is to say, so train your 1 Cor. ix. life in all godliness and virtue to the uttermost of your power while ye live in this world, that, after ye have finished your course here, ye may enjoy the glorious reward of eternal life. A corruptible crown is not obtained without great pains-taking; and shall we look for an everlasting crown by leading an ungodly and wanton life? No 2 Tim. ii. man is crowned," saith the apostle, "except he fighteth lawfully." 66 In this world therefore, wherein our life is nothing but a knighthood or warfare, Job vii. must we lawfully, valiantly, and mightily fight and strive against our enemies, the devil, the world, and the flesh, and by fervent and diligent prayer unto God so triumph over them through the help of our grand captain Christ, that we may have a glorious spoil of our enemies, and garnish ourselves with all kind of victorious and royal robes, I mean, all good works and godly virtues. Where such a life is led, there must a good end be, and everlasting life may with a free conscience and assured hope be looked for. And to bring this to pass, who laboureth not to the uttermost of his power, namely if he be of God, and looketh for a better and more blessed life after this? Psal. cxvi. How we should fight against our adversaries, and lead a good life in this world, I have declared abundantly heretofore in many of my books. In this treatise, which I have now in hand, entitled "The Sick Man's Salve," my mind is to shew unto the faithful Christians, how they ought to make provision for their latter end, that they may depart in the faith of Christ, and be of the number of those of whom it is written: "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord." Again: "Precious in the sight of the Rev. xiv. Lord is the death of his saints." For "what should it profit a man to win all the Matt. xvi. world, if at the last he loseth his soul?" Therefore in this my work I have declared, The contents first of all, how the faithful Christians ought to behave themselves patiently and thankfully in the time of sickness: secondly, how they should virtuously dispose their temporal goods: thirdly, after what manner they ought to prepare themselves gladly and godly to die. Finally, I have interlaced many comfortable exhortations unto the sick, and divers godly and necessary prayers, some to be said of them that are sick, and some of other for such as are diseased. This treatise, after that I had finished it, calling to remembrance how greatly I to send unto you as a testimony of my good-will and thankful feigned friendship divers ways heretofore your godly children in continual health and prosperous of this book. Job xiv. James iv. Luke xii. Mark xiii. PHILEMON, EUSEBIUS, THEOPHILE, CHRISTOPHER, AND EPA- Phil. O FULL truly is it said of the holy man Job, that noble mirror of perfect patience: "Man that is born of a woman hath but a short time to live, and yet in the time that he liveth he is replenished with many miseries. He cometh up and withereth away again like a flower. He flieth as it were a shadow, and never continueth in one state." It is not yet two days since I saw my neighbour Epaphroditus, as methought, well and lusty, yea, and in perfect health; and behold, he sent unto me even now his servant Onesimus, that I should come unto him with all expedition, all other businesses set apart, if I ever intend to see him alive. O good God, what a world is this! Ah, most loving Christ, what a sudden change is this! Our life is not without a cause compared of the holy apostle St James to "a vapour, which appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." Who will trust a life so frail, so transitory, so bond unto mortality? Who can justly persuade himself to live many years in this world, seeing that in it so suddenly health is turned into sickness, valiance into imbecility, strength into weakness, joy into sadness, comfort into desperation, life into death? The rich man persuaded himself that he should live long in this world, as blessed Luke declareth in his holy gospel, when he said, considering the great abundance of his revenues that came yearly in: "What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? This will I do: I will destroy my barns, and build greater; and therein will I gather all my goods that are grown unto me; and I will say unto my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up in store for many years: take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night will they fetch away thy soul again from thee. Then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?" The continuance of our life is not certain so much as one hour, neither is any man able to say, I shall live till to-morrow. For albeit nothing is more certain than death, yet is nothing more uncertain than the hour of death. It shall therefore become all christian men, that tender their own health, diligently to mark and continually to remember this friendly admonition and loving watchword of our Lord and Matt. xxiv. Saviour Christ Jesu: "Watch," saith he; "for you know not what hour your Lord will come. Of this be ye sure, that, if the good-man of the house knew what hour the thief would come, he would surely watch, and not suffer his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not will the Son of man come. Again he saith: "Watch; for ye know not when the master of the house will come, whether at even, or at midnight, whether at the cock-crowing, or in the dawning: lest, if he come suddenly, he find you sleeping. And that I say unto you I say unto all, Watch." Also in another place he saith: "Behold, I come as a thief. Happy is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and men see his filthiness." Ah Lord God, not yet two days past whole and strong, and now sick and weak! O the unstedfastness of man's life! Whom would not this provoke to watch and to consider his latter end? as the godly man Moses admonDeut. xxxii isheth, saying: "Ah, would God men would be wise and understand, and make provision for their latter end!" So should neither sickness nor death be sudden unto them; so should all dissolution of life be rejected, and godliness of conversation embraced, it was composed.] Rev. xvi. [This treatise was so popular, that repeated editions of it were printed within the first century after [ So edition of 1561; folio, that.] |