My God, my God, I do not expostulate with thee, but with them who dare
do that; who dare expostulate with thee, when in the voice of thy church
thou givest allowance to this ceremony of bells at funerals. Is it
enough to refuse it, because it was in use among the Gentiles? so were
funerals too. Is it because some abuses may have crept in amongst
Christians? Is that enough, that their ringing hath been said to drive
away evil spirits? Truly, that is so far true, as that the evil spirit
is vehemently vexed in their ringing, therefore, because that action
brings the congregation together, and unites God and his people, to the
destruction of that kingdom which the evil spirit usurps. In the first
institution of thy church in this world, in the foundation of thy
militant church amongst the Jews, thou didst appoint the calling of the
assembly in to be by trumpet;[238] and when they were in, then thou
gavest them the sound of bells in the garment of thy priest.[239] In the
triumphant church, thou employest both too, but in an inverted order;
we enter into the triumphant church by the sound of bells (for we enter
when we die); and then we receive our further edification, or
consummation, by the sound of trumpets at the resurrection. The sound of
thy trumpets thou didst impart to secular and civil uses too, but the
sound of bells only to sacred. Lord, let not us break the communion of
saints in that which was intended for the advancement of it; let not
that pull us asunder from one another, which was intended for the
assembling of us in the militant, and associating of us to the
triumphant church. But he, for whose funeral these bells ring now, was
at home, at his journey's end yesterday; why ring they now? A man, that
is a world, is all the things in the world; he is an army, and when an
army marches, the van may lodge to-night where the rear comes not till
to-morrow. A man extends to his act and to his example; to that which he
does, and that which he teaches; so do those things that concern him, so
do these bells; that which rung yesterday was to convey him out of the
world in his van, in his soul; that which rung to-day was to bring him
in his rear, in his body, to the church; and this continuing of ringing
after his entering is to bring him to me in the application. Where I lie
I could hear the psalm, and did join with the congregation in it; but I
could not hear the sermon, and these latter bells are a repetition
sermon to me. But, O my God, my God, do I that have this fever need
other remembrances of my mortality? Is not mine own hollow voice, voice
enough to pronounce that to me? Need I look upon a death's head in a
ring, that have one in my face? or go for death to my neighbour's house,
that have him in my bosom? We cannot, we cannot, O my God, take in too
many helps for religious duties; I know I cannot have any better image
of thee than thy Son, nor any better image of him than his Gospel; yet
must not I with thanks confess to thee, that some historical pictures of
his have sometimes put me upon better meditations than otherwise I
should have fallen upon? I know thy church needed not to have taken in,
from Jew, or Gentile, any supplies for the exaltation of thy glory, or
our devotion; of absolute necessity I know she needed not; but yet we
owe thee our thanks, that thou hast given her leave to do so, and that
as, in making us Christians, thou didst not destroy that which we were
before, natural men, so, in the exalting of our religious devotions now
we are Christians, thou hast been pleased to continue to us those
assistances which did work upon the affections of natural men before;
for thou lovest a good man as thou lovest a good Christian; and though
grace be merely from me, yet thou dost not plant grace but in good
natures.