therefore Christ interprets well that profuse, and prodigal piety of the woman that poured out the ointment upon him, That she did it to bury him"; and so shall Joseph of Arimathea be ever celebrated, for his care in celebrating Christ's funerals. If we were to send a son or a friend to take possession of any place in court, or foreign parts, we would send him out in the best equipage: let us not grudge to set down our friends, in the antechamber of heaven, the grave, in as good manner, as without vain-gloriousness, and wastefulness we may; and, in inclining them, to whom that care belongs, to express that care as they do this day, The Lord is with him, even in this funeral; and because The Lord is here, our brother is not dead; not dead in the memories and estimation of men.

And lastly, that we may have God present in all his manifestations, He that was, and is, and is to come, was with him, in his life and death, and is with him in this holy solemnity, and shall be with him again in the resurrection. God says to Jacob", I will go down with thee into Egypt, and I will also surely bring thee up again. God goes down with a good man into the grave, and will surely bring him up again. When? The angel promised to return to Abraham and Sarah, for the assurance of the birth of Isaac, according to the time of life; that is, in such time, as by nature a woman may have a child. God will return to us in the grave, according to the time of life; that is, in such time, as he, by his gracious decree, hath fixed for the resurrection. And in the mean time, no more than the Godhead departed from the dead body of our Saviour, in the grave, doth his power, and his presence depart from our dead bodies in that darkness; but that which Moses said to the whole congregation, I say to you all, both to you that hear me, and to him that does not, All ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God, are alive, every one of you this day"; even he, whom we call dead, is alive this day. In the presence of God, we lay him down; in the power of God he shall rise; in the person of Christ, he is risen already. And so into the same hands that have received his soul, we commend

46 Matt. xxvi. 12.

48 Gen. xviii, 10.

47 Gen. xLvi. 4.

49 Deut. iv. 4.

his body; beseeching his blessed Spirit, that as our charity inclines us to hope confidently of his good estate, our faith may assure us of the same happiness, in our own behalf; and that for all our sakes, but especially for his own glory, he will be pleased to hasten the consummation of all, in that kingdom which that Son of God hath purchased for us, with the inestimable price of his incorruptible blood. Amen.

DEVOTIONS UPON EMERGENT OCCASIONS,

AND

SEVERAL STEPS IN MY SICKNESS.

DIGESTED INTO

I. MEDITATIONS, UPON OUR HUMAN CONDITION.

II. EXPOSTULATIONS, AND DEBATEMENTS WITH GOD. III. PRAYERS, UPON THE SEVERAL OCCASIONS, TO HIM.

ΤΟ

THE MOST EXCELLENT PRINCE, PRINCE CHARLES.

MOST EXCELLENT PRINCE,

I HAVE had three births; one, natural, when I came into the world; one, supernatural, when I entered into the ministry; and now, a preternatural birth, in returning to life, from this sickness. In my second birth, your Highness' royal father vouchsafed me his hand, not only to sustain me in it, but to lead me to it. In this last birth, I myself am born a father: this child of mine, this book, comes into the world, from me, and with me. And therefore, I presume (as I did the father, to the Father) to present the son to the Son; this image of my humiliation, to the lively image of his Majesty, your Highness. It might be enough, that God hath seen my devotions: but examples of good kings are commandments; and Hezekiah writ the meditations of his sickness, after his sickness. Besides, as I have lived to see, (not as a witness only, but as a partaker) the happiness of a part of your royal father's time, so shall I live (in my way) to see the happinesses of the times of your Highness too, if this child of mine, inanimated by your gracious acceptation, may so long preserve alive the memory of

Your Highness humblest and devotedest,

JOHN DONNE.