Ph. Fear not, brother Epaphroditus, God is your loving Father, and most gentle Saviour. He hath heard your humble requests, and granted your petitions. He hath and will defend you from all evil, even unto the end. He will not suffer you to be devoured of the devil. He hath sent his holy angels hither unto you. They are here present for your great comfort. They have pitched their tents round about you, that they may keep you harmless and safe from the devouring teeth of Satan. They wait upon you diligently for your defence, and will never depart from you till they receive your soul, and carry it up lovingly, a most precious relic, into the kingdom of heaven, and there most joyfully present it unto the glorious throne of God's inajesty. Fix the eyes of your faith on Christ and Christ's merits, on Christ's passion and death, on Christ's blessed body-breaking, and his most precious blood-shedding, on his triumph and victory over Satan and his hellish army; believe Christ to be your only good Saviour, and all his works to be your good works, and so shall you not perish, but have everlasting life.

Ep. Haste thee, O Lord, to deliver me. In thee, O Lord Christ, my most merciful Saviour and only Redeemer, in thee, in thee alone is all my trust, let me never be confounded. O Jesus, mercy, Jesus, mercy; O Christ, mercy; Christ, mercy. O God the Father, O God the Son, O God the Holy Ghost, Most blessed Trinity, three Persons and one God, have mercy on me. Receive my soul into thy hands, place it, for thy mercy's sake, in thy heavenly kingdom, among thy holy angels and blessed saints ; O God, my good God; O Father, O my most merciful Father, mercy, mercy. Ph. God the Father, who made you, bless

you ;

God the Son, who redeemed you, preserve you ; God the Holy Ghost, who sanctifieth you, confirm and strengthen you. The blessing, defence, and saving health of the Almighty God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, preserve you from all evil, and bring you unto everlasting life.

Eu. Methinks he hath given up the ghost.

The. No, he is yet alive, God comfort him. Lord, show him the light of thy countenance.

Ep. When shall I appear before the presence of my God?

Ph. God be thanked, he yet speaketh, yea, he speaketh godly. Brother Epaphroditus, take a good heart with you, shrink not. Fight a good fight. Be not discouraged, neither with the terrors of Satan, nor with the pains of

death. God is on your side, God is your great Captain, you fight under the banner of that most mighty and victorious emperor, Jesus Christ. Only continue as you have begun, and the day is yours. Satan with all his army, like miserable cowards, shall be put to flight and vanquished, you shall have a joyful victory over them. The pain of the battle is short and light; but the glory of your triumph shall abide for ever and ever.

Hear what your great Captain saith, He that continueth unto the end shall be saved. To him that overcometh, I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Be faithful unto the death, and I will give thee a crown of life. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out. Yea, to him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my seat. Only believe, only fix the eyes

of
your

faith on Christ crucified, only engrave in your heart deeply, a sure and undoubted confidence in the merciful promises of God the Father, which he hath made unto you in the precious blood of his dearly-beloved Son and our only Saviour Jesus Christ, and you shall most certainly have the victory, and obtain the reward of joyful immortality. Hear what your great Captain, Christ, saith ; God hath so dearly loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that every one that believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved by him. He that believeth on the Son of God hath everlasting life. My sheep, saith Christ, hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give them everlasting life, neither shall they perish for ever, nor yet shall any man pluck them out of my hand; my Father who gave them to me is greater than all, and no man can pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. Again, I am the resurrection and the life, he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And every one that liveth, and believeth in me, shall never die. I am the way, the truth, and the life. Follow Christ, and you cannot err, nor go out of the way, for he is the way.

Believe Christ, and you cannot be deceived, for he is the truth. Abide and remain in Christ, and you cannot die the death everlasting, for he is the life. Wherefore, O most dear brother, cleave with strong faith to these most sweet and comfortable promises of Christ our Saviour. Believe to obtain whatsoever is promised, so may you be sure to be God's son, and heir of his everlasting kingdom, never to perish, but to have eternal life.

Ep. I believe to have remission of all my sins through faith in Christ's blood. Lord Jesus, take my spirit. O heavenly Father, I commend my spirit into thy hands.

Eu. The life of this our brother draws unto an end.

Ph. Yea, rather he now begins to change a mortal life for an immortal life. The life that is led in this world is rather a shadow of life, than a very life indeed. Now, brother, be strong in the faith of Christ. Remember Christ crucified. Remember Christ to be your only Saviour. Remember God the Father to be your merciful Father. Forget not that all your sins are washed away in Christ's precious blood, and that by the virtue of his death and passion you are made an heir of everlasting salvation. Brother, if you can speak, answer; if you cannot speak, show some outward sign and token, that it may be a testimony unto us of your steadfast faith and godly departure.

Ch. Lo, he holdeth up his hand. God be thanked.

Ph. He seemeth yet to hear. Persuade yourself, dear brother, that God even now calleth you out of this vale of wretchedness unto the joyful inheritance of his everlasting kingdom, where you shall not miserably live with sinful men, as you have done in this world, but you shall gloriously reign with that most mighty God, and with his holy angels and blessed saints. Now beginneth your joy, your solace, your comfort ; now beginneth your true life which shall be everlasting ; now is the end of all your sorrows come, and now beginneth your unfeigned joy and true felicity. Now shall you see the glorious majesty of God face to face ; now shall you behold and perfectly know all the godly that have been from the beginning of the world, and rejoice with themi ; now shall you see our Saviour and elder brother Christ, as he is; now shall you be clothed with the white garments of immortality ; now shall you have a crown of gold set upon your head; now shall you eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God, and drink of the fountain of living water; now shall you be a pillar in the temple of God, and sit with him on his seat, and these your joys shall be everlasting, and never have end. Unto these joys shall you straightway go, and for evermore enjoy them.

Th. Our brother is departed from this world unto the Lord our God. As you spake the words, “Unto these joys shall you straightway go, and for evermore enjoy thérn, he gave up the ghost, and now resteth in the Lord.

Ph. The Lord our God be praised, our brother hath made a godly end. He hath given up a good spirit into the hands of the living God. He is, I doubt not, of the number of them, of whose death it is written, Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. Blessed are they that die in the Lord. He lived justly and uprightly with his neighbours. He was friendly to all godly men, and enemy to no man. He was both a sincere favourer and a diligent follower of God's most holy word. He abhorred all errors ; notwithstanding, always praying for their amendment who were in error, that they, acknowledging their errors, might with us confess one God, and one truth in the unity of the spirit. He was a dear friend 'to such as were studious of good letters, to widows, to the fatherless children, to poor young maid's marriages, to young men that had not wherewith to set up'their occupations, to the prisoners, to such poor people as were not able to get their own livings, to poor householders, to the repairing of highways, and such like ; his end also ye know.

Ch. A christian and godly end made he; God give us all grace to make the like.

Ph. Of a good life cometh a good death; if the departure of the godly may be called a death, and not rather a passage unto a better life. Well, his body now sleepeth in the Lord, and his soul reigneth in glory with God.

Eu. God grant him and us all a joyful resurrection.

Ph. Neighbours, before we depart, let us all kneel down, and give God the Father thanks for the godly departure of this our christian brother.

Give THE GLORY TO GOD ALONE.

A NEW CATECHISM, Set forth as a dialogue, in familiar talk between a father

and his son. Or this catechism, or general statement of christian doctrine, which extends to more than seven hundred and fifty folio pages, Becon thus speaks :-"I have written a new catechism, both long and large, wherein I have comprehended the sum of the holy scripture; so that in the one book the christian reader shall easily find whatsoever is necessary to be known, whether doctrine or manners be considered.”

The work is divided into six parts: 1. Of Repentance ; 2. Of Faith ; 3. Of the Law; 4. Of Prayer ; 5. Of the Sacraments; 6. Of the Offices (or duties) of all degrees. It is in fact a library of christian divinity.

The word catechism Becon explains to signify, “ a doctrine taught of the wise and learned, to the younglings of Christ's religion, in which, after a brief goodly order, is comprehended whatsoever is necessarily required unto the right institution of a christian man, so that whosoever hath and understandeth this doctrine, hath and understacd. eth the whole sum of all things necessary unto salvation, contained in the old or new testament."

The first part, Of Repentance, is briefly but fully explained from scripture. The second, Of Faith, embraces a full exposition of the Creed. The third, Of the Law, explains the ten commandments. The fourth, Of Prayer, shews what is true prayer, and its efficacy; here Becon treats of the Lord's Prayer, largely illustrating the doctrines of gospel truth. In the fifth part, he treats of the Sacraments, Baptism and the Lord's Supper, exposing the errors of popery at considerable length. In the sixth part, Becon treats of the Office and duty of the temporal magistrate-of the ministers of God's word-of deaconsof subjects—of parishioners towards their pastors of husbands and wives—of parents and children—of masters and servants-of widows-of unmarried women-of aged men and women-of schoolmasters—of scholars of rich men-of poor men—and lastly, of all degrees and estates generally

Upon each of these subjects Becon enlarges with much earnestness and close application of the scriptures.