ourSalvation, shall be deftroyed, in which Satan, his Angels, and wicked Agents andInftruments of his Kingdom fhall be bound in Chains, and caft into the Lake of Fire and Brimftone, from whence they shall never be releafed in which Death shall be no more,all the living shall become immortal,and thy Church be crowned and enter inTriumph into that magnificent City,built with Gold, Pearls,and precious Stones,where thyGlory shall continue for ever to enlighten it,and accomplish our Happiness. Othat I may now expect with Comfort and Joy,that blefled State, where we shall neither hunger nor thirst, but be advanced to the Condition and Perfection of Angels, be cloathed with Light and Glory, and being crowned with an eternalFelicity,rejoyce with the celeftialSocieties of Patriarchs, Prophets, Apoftles, Confeffors, and Martyrs, and with all the Princes and Monarchs,who have lived,and are departed in thy Fear and Favonr,and where we shall be admitted to the Vision of God, and be changed and fatisfied with his divine Likenefs. O Lord! grant that I may always have this glorious and bappy Day in myThoughts,when all thy Promifes fhall be fulfilled all the Works finished, and ourDefires andExpectations fully accomplished. And because thisTime and Day is unknown to us give us, Grace to live always waiting for it, as if we were at the Eve of this eternalSabbath, that our Lamps may be trimm'd,provided,and burn with theoil of Faith Hope, and Charity,and we ready and awake at thy glori ous appearing,cloathed with a Wedding-Garment, fit to enter with thee into eternal Bleffedness. Grant us Grace to defire and look for this promifedRedemption,long to hear the Sound of the last Trumpet, and behold thy coming in the Clouds of Heaven. O divineSaviour! that we may af cend to meet thee and welcome thy glorious Appearance. O Lord, forgive our impatientWishes, and haften that Day for the Elects Sake. Come with thy powerful Angels, and the Minifters of thy heavenly Court,to execute Justice on thine Enemies, and deliver thyServants. Come and put anEnd to this wickedWorld, infected withSin, and fubject to Corruption andVanity, and purge the Heavens and the Earth from all Pollution. Come and take Vengeance for the innocent Blood of thy Martyrs, shed by Antichrift and his cruel Agents; bind the Devils in Chains of darkness, and shut them up with Death for ever in the bottomless Pit. Lord Jefus, have Pity on the Cries andSufferings of thy diftreffed People. Come and deliver them out of this cruelEgypt,out of this abominable Babylon,where they continue in Captivity. O mercifulLord! is it not time that thou fhouldeft bring us to thy celeftial Canaan? Give us to taste of the Milk and Honey of the most refined Joys and Comfort, and introduce us into thine holy Jerufalem, the City of Peace and everlasting Reft: Come therefore and wipe away the Tears, and flop the crying of thine afflicted People. Take them out of this infamous Prifon, open to them the Gates of thy magnificent Palace, cloath them with Light, and perfect thy Salvation and their Happiness. We have been a long while contending with our Spiritual and temporal Enemies, in our tedious and troublesome Journey tho the World, and at a distance from thee; we now long to be nearer to thee, O wonderful Redeemer! who haft accomplished all thy Works and that of our Redeemer by thy Blood andSufferings: perfect also, we beseech thee,that of our Glorification,receive us and thy Church into that compleat Felicity prepared for us from the Beginning of the World,and pure 498 Some Remarkable Paffages An Account of fome remarkable Paffages relating to Mr. Drelincourt, who departed this Life at Paris, the 4th of November 1669; taken out of the French Edition of bis Book of Death. O prevent falfe Reports fpread abroad concerning the Death of our reverend Author, I thought it convenient to publish this brief and exact Narative concering his Perfon, Sickness, and Death: He was of a very ftrong and healthyConftitution, indefatigable in his Miniftry; of fuch a fharp and active Spirit,and fo pious for the Glory of God, that he fpared not himfelf, either by Night or by Day, in difcharging the Duty of his Function, and in the A&ts of Charity, being naturally of a courteous and obliging Temper. He fucceeded Mr. Du Moulin, who was removed to Sedan, and was a long time the third Minifter to ferve that Congregation at Charenton: This continual and reftlefs Imployment in his Miniftry, by degrees mightily impaired his Health, efpecially in the Declension of his Age. In the Year 1668, the 30th of April, tho' indifpofed, he adventured to accompany one of his Grand-Daughters to her Grave,affifted by one of his Sons,but could fcarce return Home, being weary and in a faintingSweat, and his Countenance changed, which alarmed his Family; but by fome prefentRemedy,he then recovered.This Accident hindered him not from preaching the next Day atCharenton in his turn,nor from his daily Of fices, wifhing often he might die with his Pen in his Hand. When his Family entreated him to fpare himself in his old Age, in visiting the Sick and the Poor, unto whom he was very acceptable byReafon of his excellent Talents in praying,and understanding how to comfort the difeafed: He told them,that he had once that Refolution, but theImportunities of his Pea pla ple, and the Defire he had to be ferviceable to them, would not fuffer him to omit doing it. In a ftormy Seafon, at nine of the Clock at Night, he adventured to vifit a departing Soul, and return'd not till after Midnight, and feemed very glad to be able to perform it; but thefe continual Fatigues made him pafs this Judgment upon himself, that he could not long continue, and there fore was in a conftant Preparation for his Change. This made him frequently to perufe hisBook of Confolations against Death, praifing God, who aflifted him in publishing fuch an ufeful Work: He was then writing feveral other Excellent Treatifes, which he earnestly defired to finish, with Submiffion to the great Wisdom of God, as he expreffeth himfelf in a Prayer at the end of his Book call'd Charitable Vifits. Lord (faith he) I have lived and preached a longTime: I wait for thy Salvation and Deliverance; I am not weary to serve so good a Master, and fo bountiful a Lord; but oh, my God! when it shall please thee to put an end to my Labours, I shall depart to a fulness of Joy into thy glorious Reft. This he writ the Year before his Death; the next Year he had fome Intervals of perfect Health, but they were followed by two dangerous Relapfes: The firft was in April; Yet tho' indifpofed, he forc'd himfelf to preach at Charenton, against the Advice of his Phyficians, and he continued in the Exercife of his Function. On the eth of May he opened the Synod of Charanton, and at the Conclufion of his Speech, he received the Ap plaufes of his Brethren there affembled, for which he gaveGod Thanks for having enabled him with fo much Strength; and on the 12th of Sept. 1669, being a Faft-day,he preached again twice in the Court of the Temple with much Freedom and Vigour. This Interval of Health continued till the 27th of Octo ber following, when in his turn he preached at Charenton, and his Auditors found that he fpoke with much Freedom, and powerfully. 'Tis remarkable that he left theEpiftle of St.Peter that he was expounding before, and chofe for a Text, Pfalm li. 7th and 8th Verfes, Purge me with Hyffop, and I shall be clean, wafo me, and I fall le whither than Snow. This laft Sermon was looked upon afterwards as a Prefage he had of his Death, and a Preparation for it, by defiring the Pardon of his Sins, and a cleanfing from all the Pollutions of his Flesh and Spirit, thro' the infinite Mercy of God, and of the Blood of his Saviour: The whole Audience were very well fatisfied with his laft Performance, which they judg'd to be excellent and worthy to crown all his former religious Exercises, At his return to the City he spent the rest of the Sabbath in the Acts of Piety and Charity; and at his returnHome, being defirous to enjoy the Company of all his Family,then at Paris,he fupped with them, and feemed very pleasant in Difcourfe; he con tinued well on Monday, and the next Day till the 29th of Septem ber ber, the fatal Day in which his mortal Diftemper began to attack him; from that Morning he felt an Indifpofition,and had no Appetite at Dinner, yet could not forbear visiting fick Perfons in his Diftri&t. This good Man came home very feeble, and out of Order, with a Fever upon him: Some Time after his Speech failed him; and when Mr.Malnoe (Advocate in Parliament,his Son-in-Law) was come to visit him, he was scarce able to fpeak; he was perfuaded to take his Reft, and fuddenly fell upon his Knees, and made fuch an excellent Prayer,that his Family never heard from him one more fervent: he difcourfed of the Frailty of human Life,of the Condition he was in, of the Church of God and infifted earnestly upon her deliverance; he prayed for all the Members of his Family, and in this laft religiousExercise performed among his Domesticks, he omitted nothing material, prayed with Zeal and Vigour, with a clear Voice and without Hefitation, to their Comfort, and his ownSatisfaction,being then only a little feverish. In this hopeful Condition he went to Bed; but about Midnight he relapfed again into the former Difficul ty of Speech: theFever increafing upon him by degrees,a Phyfician by his Prefcriptions gave himRelief; and he remembered the Pfalms which he was wont to repeat, namely, xxxi, xxxii, xxxiv, xli, li, lxiii, cxvi. and cxxx. He had always a great Veneration for the Book of Pfalms, which made him like the reading of John de Lere; who writes,how fome Savages of Brafil were wonderfully affected and ravished at the hearing of one of thofe divine Hymns fung. A certain Perfon that came to visit him, prayed that God would change his Bed of Sickness to a Bed of Health: He answered,my Bed of Health and Rest will be in Paradife. A noble Lady, then a clofe Prifoner, for whom the fick Perfon had a high Efteem, having fent to enquire of his Health, he told the Meffenger he was very forry for her Confinement, ordered him to prefent his Service to the good Lady,and to tell her that he should see her no more but in Heaven. During this fhort Interval,his Mind was free to discourse about his domeftick Affairs; but in a little Time after his Cough and lever encreafing violently upon him,his Physician watched with him tillMorning. Our Patient perceiving his dangerous Condition, fpake in this Manner to him; Sir, tho' all good Chriftians ought continually to be prepared to die,and tho God hath granted me theGrace to be ready when he shall pleafe to call me, yet ifyou find I am drawing to myEnd,pray give me Notice of it, for I am willing to put my Affairs inOrder. About two or threeHours after, the Phy fician finding he could not live much longer,'twas judg'd convenient by hisSon-in-law to acquaint him with it; to whom he fpake to this Purpose. I find theTime of my Deliverance is drawing near,and that God will take me to his Reft.I shall be glad to difcourfe with you privately;I have not only looked upon you as my Son-in-Law, but as my Child, whom I have loved and tenderly love; I recommend my Family to your Care, and defire you all to live in perfectUnion. And having given his Bleffing to all his Children, as well abfent as prefent,he order'd the private Affairs of his Family, and the Rewards to be given to thofe that had been ferviceable to him in hisSicknefs, and order'd his Son-in-Law to intreat Mr.Girard, the Elder of his Church, to carry this Meffage to the Confiftory of Charenton, that he died their faithful Servant, and pray'dGod with all his Hearts to preserve the Church. After this he spent most part of his Time inPrayer to God, repeating feveral Texts of Scripture, but with fuch a weak Voice, they could only guefs by fome Syllables what he said. He was often heard to repeat the Words of Job, I know that my Redeemer liveth; and thofe of thePfalms, I have put my Truft in thee, &c. I recommend my Soul into thy Hands. Thus he continu'd in his piousMeditations. Then his Son-in-Law offer'd to read to him out of his Book of Confolations against the Fears of Death, which he attended to,and feemed to be well pleafed with the Confolation for a dying Minifter, and with the Prayer appointed for fuch a one who faced Death with a holy Joy. That is (faid he) very good I don't speak it because it came from me: God be praifed,that he enabled me to publish thisBook to comfort others and myself. The next Morning the ift of November, when Mr. Girard came to vifit him, he repeated to him the fame Words that he had given to hisSon-in-Law in charge to tell him, and he deliver'd to him a Bill to be pray'd for publickly in the Congregation. At that time Mr. Daille, Mr. Morus, and Mr. Claude, came to fee him,expreffing their tender Affection and Concernment for him; at which he feem'd to be moved. Mr. Daille made a pathetick Exhortation, which the Patient kindly accepted, and fpeaking of the lofs the Church fhould sustain by his Death, Mr.Drelincourt anfwered, Sir, you are far more ufeful to her than I can be; my Defire is to depart and to be with Chrift, which is far better for me: At which Words Mr.Daille askt him, Don't you add with the Apostle, that it is more neceffary for the Church,that you fhould continue in the Flesh? He reply'd God will raifeMinifters who shall difcharge their Duty better than I can. When Mr.Daille asked him, whether his Hope was not in the Mercy of God? He answered him in divers Texts of Scripture, fuch as these, I know in whom I have believed; I have fought the good Fight, I have finished my Course, I have kept the Faith, &c. I draw towards the Mark of the Prize of the High Calling, &c. Mr.Daille perceiving how painful hisSpeech was to him,advifed him to speak to himself, to hinder the Increase of his Diftemper; but he anfwered,how willing he was to glorify God to the laflGafp and edify by his Speech, such as were there prefent: then having embraced cach other at their Parting, Mr.Daille told him, he did not altogether defpair of hisRecovery, and that he hoped God |
