ters he sent to them, and mahy heartv prayers to heaven for Iheili. But about a fortnight before they were infected, he fell about break of day into this dream, That he was in a great inn which was full of company, and being very desirous to find a private room, where he might seek God for his parents life, he went from room to room, but found company in them all ; at last, casting his eye into a little chamber which was empty, he went into it, locked the door, kneeled down by the out-side of the bed, fixing his eyes upon the plastered wall, within side the bed : and \\ hilst he was vehemently begging of God the life of his friends, there appeared upon the plaster of the wall before him, th^ sun and moon s'hining in their full strength. The sight at first amazed and discomposed him so' far, that he could not continue his prayer, but kept his eye fixed' upon the body of the sun ; at last a small line or ring of black, no bigger than that of a text pen, circled the sun, which increasing sensibly, eclipsed in a little time the whole body of it, and turned it into a blackish colour; which done, the figure of the sun ^Vas immediately changed into a perfect death's head, and after a little •while vanished quite away. The moon still continued shining as before ; but while he intently beheld it, it also darkened in like manner, and turned also into another death's head, and vanished. This made so great an impression upon the beholder's mind, that he immediately awaked in confusion and perplexity of thoughts about his dream ; and awaking his wife, related the particulars to her with much emotion and concernment ; but how to apply it, he could not presently tell, only he was satisfied that the dream was of an extraordinary nature : at last Joseph's dream came to his thoughts with the like emblems, and their interpretation ; which fully satis- fied him that God had warned and prepared him thereby for a sud- den parting with his dear relations ; Avhicli answerably fell out in the same order, his father dying tliat day fortnight following, and his mother just a month afterwards.
I know there is much vanity in dream.s ; and yet I am fully sa- tisned, some a!re wejglity, sigaiilicant and deciaTative of the purposes of God.
(3.) Lastly, An Unusual aind extraordinary elevation of the soul to God, and enlargement in communion with him,- hath been a signifying forerunner of the deritlf of some good men ;■ for as the body hath its levamett anterferale^ lightning before death, and more vcgete and brisk a little before its dissolution, so it is sometimes with the soul also. I have known some persons to ar^ rive on a sudden to such heights of love to God, and Vehement longings to be dissolved^ that they might be with Christ, that I could not but look upon it, as Christ did upon the box of ointment, a»
A TUEATISi: 01' l-mZ SOUL OF MAX. 71
clone against their death : iind so indeed it hath proved in the -event.
Thus it was with tliat renowned saint, Mr. Brcwen of Stapleford ; as he excelled others in the holiness of his life, so much he excelled .himself towards his death, his motions towards heaven being then .most vigorous and quick. The day before his last sicknL-ss, he had such extraordinary enlargements of heart in his closet-duty, that he seemed to forget all the concernments of his body, and this lower world ; and when his wife told him, Sir, I fear you ha^'e done yourself hurt with rising so early; he answered, " If you had seen " such glorious things as I saw this morning in private prayer with " God, you would not have said so.; f()r they were so wonderful " and unspeakable, that whether I was in the body, or out of the •" body, with Paul, I cannot tell."
And so it was with the learned and holy Mr. Rivet, who seemed as a man in heaven, just before he went thither; and so it hfith been with thousands besides these. I confess it is not the Ipt of every gracious soul (as was shewed you in the last question) nor doth it make any difference as to the safety of the soul, whatever it makes as to comfort. Let all therefore labour to make sure their union with Christ, and live in the daily exercises of grace, in the duties of religion : and then, though God should give them no such .extraordinary warning one way or other, they shall never be sur- prised by death to their loss, let it come never so unexpectedly upon ithem.
Quest. Jt may be also queried, whether Satan, by his instru- ments, may not foretel the death of some men ? How else did the witch of Endor foretel the death of Saul ? and the soothsayers the death of Caesar u}X)n the Ides, i. e. the fifteenth day of March, which was the fatal day to him .'^
Sol. Foreknowledge of things to come, which appear not in their next causes, is certainly the I^ord's prerogative, Isa. xli. 23. What- ever, therefore, Satan doth in this matter, must be done either by conjecture or commission. As to the case of Saul, it is not to be questioned but that he, knowing the kingdom was made to David by promise, and that the Lord was departed from Saul, and seeing how near the armies were to a battle, might strongly conjectvtre and conclude, and accordingly tell him, '* To-morrow thoii shalt be " with me," 1 Sam. xxviii. 19.
And so for the death of Csesar, the devil knew the Gonspiraey was strong against him, and the plot laid for that day ; and so it was both easy for him to reveal it to the soothsayers, and his interest to do it, thereby to bring that cursed art into reputation.
As for other signs and fovewarnings of death, by the unusual resort of doleful creatui-c;, as 07cls and lavens, vulgai'ly accounted
7^ A TREATISE OF THE SOUL OF MAX.
ominous ; Wall-zaatche,<i, upon this account called death-watches ; and the eating of wearing apparel by rats ; I look upon them ge- nerally as superstitious fancies, not worthy to be regarded among Christians. God may, but I know not what ground we have to believe, that he doth commission such creatures to bring us the message of death from him. To conclude, therefore.
Let no man expect or depend upon such extraordinary premo- nitions and warnings of his change, and neglect his daily work and duty of preparation for it. We have warnings in the word, in the examples of mortality frequently before us, in all the diseases and decays we often feel in our own bodies ; and by the signs of the times, which threatens death and desolation. Be ye therefore al- ways ready, for ye know not in what watch of the night your Lord Cometh.
Query 4. Whether separated souls have any Jcnozvledge of, or commerce or intercourse zvith men in this life ; and if not, what is to be thought of the apparitions of the dead 9
1. By separated souls, understand the departed souls, both of godly and ungodly, indifferently and not as it is restrained to one sort only in the text ; for of both it is pretended there are frequent apparitions after death.