Devotions vpon emergent occasions and seuerall steps in my sicknes digested into I. Meditations vpon our humane condition, 2. Expostulations, and debatements with God, 3. Prayers, vpon the seuerall occasions, to Him / by Iohn Donne ...

17. Nunc lento sonitu dicunt, Morieris. Now, this Bell tolling soft∣ly for another, saies to me, Thou must die.

17. MEDITATION.

PErchance hee for whom this Bell tolls, may bee so ill, as that he knowes not it tolls for

him; And perchance I may thinke my selfe so much better than I am, as that they who are a∣bout mee, and see my state, may haue caused it to toll for mee, and I know not that. The Church is Catholike, vni∣uersall, so are all her Acti∣ons, All that she does, belongs to all. When she baptizes a child, that acti∣on concernes mee; for that child is thereby con∣nected to that Head which is my Head too, and engraffe•• into that

body, whereof I am a member. And when she buries a Man, that action concernes me; All man∣kinde is of one Author; and is one volume; when one Man dies, one Chap∣ter is not torne out of the booke, but translated into a better language; and euery Chapter must be so translated; God emploies seuerall translators; some peeces are translated by Age, some by sicknesse, some by warre, some by iustice; but Gods hand is in euery translation; and

his hand shall binde vp all our scattered leaues againe, for that Librarie where euery booke shall lie open to one another: As therefore the Bell that rings to a Sermon, calls not vpon the Preacher onely, but vpon the Con∣gregation to come; so this Bell calls vs all: but how much more mee, who am brought so neere the doore by this sicknesse. There was a contention as farre as a suite, (in which both pietie and dignitie, religi∣on,

and estimation, were mingl••d) which of the religious Orders should ring to praiers first in the Morning; and it was de∣termined, that they should ring first that rose earliest. If we vnderstand aright the dignitie of this Bell, that rolls for our euening prayer, wee would bee glad to make it ours, by rising early, in that appli∣cation, that it might bee ours, as wel as his, whose indeed it is. The Bell doth toll for him that thinkes it doth; and

though it intermit a∣gaine, yet from that mi∣nute, that that occasion wrought vpon him, hee is vnited to God. Who casts not vp his Eie to the Sunne when it rises? but who takes off his Eie from a Com••t, when that breakes out? who bends not his eare to any bell, which vpon any oc∣casion rings? but who can remoue it from that bell, which is passing a peece of himselfe out of this world? No Man is an Iland, intire of it selfe;

euery man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the l••sse, as well as if a Promontorie were, as well as if a Mannor of thy friends, or of thine owne were; Any Mans death diminishes me, be∣cause I am inuolued in Mankinde; And there∣fore neuer send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee. Neither can we call this a begging of Miserie or a borrowing of Miserie, as though we

were not miserable e∣nough of our selues, but must fe••ch in more from the next house, in taking vpon vs the Miserie of our Neighbours. Truly it were an excusable coue∣tousnesse if wee did; for affliction is a treasure, and ••carce any Man hath enough of it. No Man hath affliction enough, that is not matured, and ripened by it, and mad•• ••it for God by that af∣fliction. If a Man carry treasure in bullion, or in a wedge of gold, and haue

none coined into currant Monies, his treasure will not defray him as he tra∣uells. Tribulation is Trea∣sure in the nature of it, but it is not currant mo∣ney in the vse of it, ex∣cept wee get nearer and nearer our home, heauen, by it. Another Man may be sicke too, and sicke to death, and this af••liction may lie in his bowels, as gold in a Mine, and be of no vse to him•• but this bell that tels mee of his af••liction, digs out, and applies that gold to mee••

if by this consideration of anothers danger, I take min•• owne into Contemplation, and so secure my selfe, by ma∣king my recourse to my God, who is our onely securitie.

17. EXPOSTVLATION.

MY God, my God, Is this one of thy waies, of drawing light out of darknesse, To make him for whom this bell tolls, now in this dim∣nesse

of his sight, to be∣come a superintendent, an ouerseer, a Bishop, to as many as heare his voice, in this bell, and to giue vs a confirmation in this acti∣on? Is this one of thy waies to raise strength out of weaknesse, to make him who cannot rise from his bed, nor stirre in his bed, come home to me, and in this sound, giue mee the strength of healthy and vigorous in∣structions? O my God, my God, what Thunder is not a well-tuned Cymball,

what hoarsenesse, what harshnesse is not a cleare Organ, if thou bee plea∣sed to set thy voice to it? and what Organ is not well plaied on, if thy hand bee vpon it? Thy voice, thy hand is in this sound, and in this one sound, I heare this whole Consort. I heare thy Iaacob call vnto his sonnes, and ••ay; Gather your selues together, that I may tell you what shall be∣fall you in the last daies: He saies, That which I am now, you must bee then. I

heare thy Moses telling mee, and all within the compasse of this sound, This is the blessing where∣with I blesse you before my death; This, that before your death, you would consider your owne in mine. I heare thy Pro∣phet saying to Ezechias, Set thy house in order, for thou shalt die, and not liue; Hee makes vs of his fa∣milie, and calls this a set∣ting of his house in or∣der, to compose vs to the meditation of death. I heare thy Apostle say∣ing,

I thinke it meet to put ••ou in remembrance, know∣ing that shortly I must goe out of this Tabernacle. This is the publishing of his will, & this bell is our legacie, the applying of his present condition to our vse. I heare that which makes al sounds musique, and all musique perfit; I heare thy Sonne himselfe ••aying, Let not your hearts be troubled•• Only I heare this change, that whereas thy Sonne saies there, I goe to prepare a place for you, this man in thi••

sound saies, I send to pre∣pare you for a place, for a graue. But, O my God, my God, since heauen is glory and ioy, why doe not glorious and ioyfull things leade vs, induce vs to heauen? Thy lega∣cies in thy first will, in thy old Testament were plentie and victorie; Wine and Oile, Milke and Honie, alliances of friends, ruine of enemies, peacefull hearts, & cheerefull coun∣tenances, and by these galleries thou brough∣test them into thy bed-chamber,

by these glories and ioies, to the ioies and glories of heauen. Why hast thou changed thine old way, and carried vs, by the waies of discipline and mortification, by the waies of mourning and lamentation, by the waies of miserable ends, and mi∣serable anticipations of those miseries, in appro∣priating the exemplar miseries of others to our selues, and vsurping vp∣on their miseries, as our owne, to our owne pre∣iudice? Is the glory of

heauen no perfecter in it selfe, but that it needs a foile of depression and in∣gloriousnesse in this world, to set it off? Is the ioy of heauen no perfecter in it selfe, but that it needs the sourenesse of this life to giue it a taste? Is that ioy and that glory but a comparatiue glory and a comparatiue ioy? not such in it selfe, but such in comparison of the ioiles∣nesse and the inglorious∣nesse of this world? I know, my God, it is farre, farre otherwise. As thou

thy selfe, who art all, art made of no substances, so the ioyes & glory which are with thee, are made of none of these circum∣stances; Essentiall ioy, and glory Essentiall. But why then, my God, wilt thou not be∣ginne them here? pardon O God, this vnthankfull rashnesse; I that aske why thou doest not, finde euen now in my selfe, that thou doest; such ioy, such glory, as that I conclude vpon my selfe, vpon all, They that finde not ioy

in their sorrowes, glory in their deiections in this world, are in a fearefull danger of missing both in the next.

17. PRAYER.

O Eternall and most gracious God, who hast beene pleased to speake to vs, not onely in the voice of Nature, who speakes in our hearts, and of thy word, which speakes to our eares, but in the speech

of speechlesse Creatures, in Balaams Asse, in the speech of vnbeleeuing men, in the confession of Pilate, in the speech of the Deuill himselfe, in the recognition and attestati∣on of thy Sonne, I hum∣bly accept thy voice, in the sound of this sad and funerall bell. And first, I blessethy glorious name, that in this sound and voice, I can heare thy instructions, in ano∣ther mans to consider mine owne condition; and to know, that this bell

which tolls for another, before it come to ring out, may take in me too. As death is the wages of sinne, it is due to me••; As death is the end of sick∣nesse, it belongs to mee; And though so disobe∣dient a seruant as I, may be afraid to die, yet to so mercifull a Master as thou, I cannot be afraid to come; And therefore, into thy hands, O my God, I commend my spirit; A surrender, which I know thou wilt accept, whether I liue or die; for

thy seruant Dauid made it, when he put himselfe into thy protection for his life; and thy blessed Sonne made it, when hee deliuered vp his soule at his death; declare thou thy will vpon mee, O Lord, for life or death, in thy time; receiue my surrender of my selfe now, Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spi∣rit. And being thus, O my God, prepared by thy correction, mellow∣ed by thy chastisement, and conformed to thy

will, by thy Spirit, ha∣uing receiued thy pardon for my soule, and asking no reprieue for my body, I am bold, O Lord, to bend my prayers to thee, for his assistance, the voice of whose bell hath called mee to this deuoti∣on. Lay hold vpon his soule, O God, till that soule haue throughly considered his account, and how few minutes soeuer it haue to remaine in that body, let the pow∣er of thy Spirit recom∣pence the shortnesse of

time, and perfect his ac∣count, before he passe a∣way: present his sinnes so to him, as that he may know what thou forgi∣uest, & not doubt of thy forgiuenesse; let him stop vpon the infinitenesse of those sinnes, but dwell vpon the infinitenesse of thy Mercy: let him dis∣cerne his owne demerits, but wrap himselfe vp in the merits of thy Sonne, Christ Iesus: Breath in∣ward comforts to his heart, and affoord him the power of giuing

such outward testimonies thereof, as all that are about him may deriue comforts from thence, and haue this edification, euen in this dissolution, that though the body be going the way o•• all flesh, yet that soule is go∣ing the way of all Saints. When thy Sonne cried out vpon the Crosse, My God, my God, Why hast thou forsaken me? he spake not so much in his owne Person, as in the person of the Church, and of his afflicted members, who

in deep distresses might feare thy forsaking. This patient, O most blessed God, is one of them; In his behalfe, and in his name, heare thy Sonne crying to thee, My God, my God, Why hast thou forsaken me? and forsake him not; but with thy left hand lay his body in the graue, (if that bee ••hy determination vpon him) and with thy right hand receiue his soule in∣to thy Kingdome, and v∣nite him & vs in one Cō∣munion of Saints. Amen.

Notes

• Gen. 49.1.
• Deut. 33 1.
• 2 Reg. 20.1.
• 2 Pet. 2.13.
• Ioh. 14.1.
• Psal. 31.5.