What is the authors perception and the treatment of death in Everyman?

In Everyman, Death is a messenger
sent by God to hold Everyman to account.  This is not an uncommon portrayal of death
when he is personified in literature.  Death comes to call on Everyman, and--as most of
us would be wont to do--Everyman asks for more time because he is not ready (his account
book is not in order).  In that day, of course, the belief of the Church was that one
must do acts of service as well as pay tithes faithfully to the Church in order to make
it to Heaven.  Death in this story is gracious and allows Everyman a limited time to get
his account book in order and find friends who will make this journey with him.  Death
is a messenger doing his appointed task as determined by God; he is not, as he is
portrayed in other literary works, one who sneaks up on his victims of his own volition
and attempts to play some kind of cosmic "gotcha" game with unsuspecting (and woefully
unprepared) humans.