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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A31451	The certainty of salvation to them who dye in the Lord a sermon preached at the funeral of the Right Honourable, George Lord Delamer, at Boden, in the county-palatine of Chester, September the 9th, 1684 / by Zachary Cawdrey ...	Cawdrey, Zachary, 1616-1684.	1684 (1684)	Wing C1645; ESTC R36290	20,346	38

with true Faith in both the Litigants were highly angry with one another upon Earth they will each rejoyce in the Salvation of the other and each love other as himself and will bless God that he was to each of them a more just and merciful Judge than they were to one another upon Earth Next No fear can enter there where God's Truth Power Wisdom and Goodness are all engaged for the Security of our being eternally blessed It is no less impossible that Envy should follow a Saint to Heaven to torture him there who was in a great measure a stranger to it here seeing even here God is the Portion of Believers and they who have God for their Inheritance find no reason to envy the Lot of others being assured their own is the best Portion But besides consider that every one of the Saints in Heaven hath the full Inheritance the Church there is a Church of the First-born of God Every one is an Heir to the whole Kingdom and filled with all the Fulness of God Ephes 3.19 according to the Capacity of every one For such is the nature of the Enjoyments of spiritual Objects that every Man may have all So that one Saint's knowing and loving God perfectly hinders not but that another yea ten thousand times ten thousand may know and love him perfectly without any Defalcation from the Portion of one another And further consider that all the Saints having entirely resigned their Wills to the Will of God and being perfectly well pleased with all his Appointments and Assignments and withal loving other Saints even as themselves it is impossible that Envy should enter amongst them for the only Roots on which Envy can grow are a quarrelling with the Will of God and not loving our Neighbour Lastly No sorrow either for themselves or others can disturb the Inhabitants of the Jerusalem which is above For How can they sorrow who have all they can desire and delight eternally in the state they do enjoy Nor can the Saints grieve on the account of others seeing all pleaseth them which it pleaseth God to order for his own Glory So that for what the state of their Friends on Earth is they are not sollicitous knowing that that infinite Wisdom and Goodness which it is their delight to contemplate above ruleth all things both in Heaven and Earth Nay the very Reprobation of wicked Friends and Relations will not affect the Saints who do delight that God's Justice and Holiness are glorified as well as his Mercy And withall the Love of God so entirely possesses the Saints that it extinguisheth the Love of wicked Friends as the powerful shining of the Sun puts out a Lamp or Candle Hence then it appears they must needs be blessed who dye in the Lord seeing they rest from all their Labours both from outward Sufferings and inward Temptations and from all tormenting Passions and Compassions There remaineth therefore a Rest for the People of God But there is another Argument also in the Text to prove the blessed state of departed Saints Their works do follow them But that the Argument may shew its force we must enquire what sort of Works do follow them I answer First Their sinful Works do not follow them who dye in the Lord they being absolved from the Guilt of them by the Propitiation of the death of our Saviour Christ So that there is no Condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus Rom. 8.1 How far the remembrance of our own sins and sinfulness may abide with us in Heaven I cannot say only I do confidently believe that no more of that Remembrance shall remain with us there than shall cause us to admire and adore the infinite Patience and Long-suffering of God to us on Earth and to delight our selves in that sweet reflection upon the Divine Goodness The Works therefore of the Saints that follow them are their good Deeds done according to God's Law as the Rule and by his Grace as the Power and in Obedience and Love to him as the Motive and for his Glory as the End And of this sort are all Acts of Piety Faith Repentance Mortification Loyalty Charity Justice Temperance and other Christian Graces These follow the Christians to be judged and rewarded But by what Law are they to be judged Not by the Law of Works given at our Creation not according to the Estimate which God's Rectoral Justice passeth of the Actions of Men and Angels as he is the Maker and Ruler of them for the best Works of the best Men being thus judged would be reprobated and condemned The Works therefore of the Saints follow them to be judged by the Law of Faith by the New Covenant by the Book of Life mentioned Rev. 20.12 Out of which together with the Books of their Consciences the Dead are judged according to their Works that is according as their Consciences do bear Testimony of their Evangelical Obedience or of their Neglect of it they stand or fall at the Bar of Divine Justice The Law of which Book of Life is this That if the heart be sincere as to the aim and end with a single eye designing God's Service and Glory in our Undertaking and if the matter of the Act be according to God's Command then though there be a failure in that full intenseness of the Affections that should have accompanied the work or in the exactness and regularity of some circumstances of it which failure is caused through an unaffected or unallowed inconsiderateness or through some other weakness yet being done I say with a sincere heart it is being weighed in the Ballance of the Gospel a good work it is accepted by God in Christ Jesus and accounted to the Saints for Righteousness and shall be rewarded This is plainly proved from that Promise Mat. 10.42 He that gives a cup of cold water to a disciple in the name of a disciple shall not lose his reward shall have a disciple's reward And so Matth. 25.21 The Servant that was faithful in the use of his Talents was called to enter into the Joy of his Lord. And so again Mat. 25.41 Those who cloathed fed and visited Christ in his poor Members are by Christ invited as the Blessed of his Father as those approved by his Father to inherit the Kingdom prepared for them from the beginning of the World We may observe the different manner of dating the setting out the Reward of the Righteous and the Reward of of the Wicked The Wicked those on the left hand are bid Go ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels into the Hell which was appointed by God immediately upon the sin of the Angels which was committed before the sin of Man probably before Man's Creation or the Creation of any part of the visible World But the Saints those on the right hand are called to enter into the Kingdom prepared for them from the beginning of the World that is

establish that New Covenant and the gracious Promises of it in and through his Blood Which Covenant was indeed as to the Acceptance of God's infinite Mercy established from the first moment that the Promise was made to Adam And so Christ was a Lamb slain from the beginning of the World not only in the Type of Sacrifices but in Divine Acceptance and in the acting of Faith by the Saints of all Ages But this primary intention of Sacrifices as representing the Atonement to be made by the promised Seed and the Acceptance of our Services through his Intercession was soon lost and the Tradition about their Significancy was soon corrupted and they became universally abused to Superstitious and Idolatrous Services Yet still God in his infinite Mercy to Men and for their encouragement in Vertue and Piety secured that part of the Tradition uncorrupt That to them who by patient continuance in well doing sought for Glory and Honour and Immortality God would give Eternal Life Rom. 2.7 But because Vertue was always envied and many times persecuted and especially it was so after that Religion came again to be exercised upon the Genuine Patriarchal Principles revived in the Evangelical Doctrine God for our encouragement was pleased to confirm that Article of our Faith about the happiness of holy Men after death by several Revelations from Heaven which were after recorded in the Writings of the holy Prophets and Apostles And of that sort is the Theme assigned me for my present Discourse I heard a Voice c. For this Text was therefore commended to my Meditation because it was the last Scripture which this Noble Berean this learned and pious Lord had set down under that Head The Certainty of Salvation It being his pious custom not only daily to search the Scriptures and meditate on them but also to refer the Scriptures to their proper Subjects that they might be of ready use to him on all Occurrences The Position or Doctrine of this Text is the more to be observed I have seen three Books in Quarto writ by his Lordships own hand wherein the Scriptures are thus disposed methodically under their proper Heads very judiciously being especially Collections of such as tended to the confirming of his Judgment in the Doctrine of the Gospel or encouragement of his heart in the practice of Repentance Faith Charity Heavenly-mindedness c. And some also as they did occur for to justifie the Vsages of the Church of England against both Popish and Phanatical Criminations First because it is the foundation of all Religious Actings and Sufferings for every one that cometh to God or is a Proselyte to his holy Fear and Love must believe that he is and is a Rewarder of those that diligently seek him Heb. 11.6 And Secondly Because it is not only the Dictate of the Holy Ghost to the inspired Pen-man but commanded by a Voice from Heaven to be recorded An Angel speaking articulately in and with a Clap of Thunder to St. John to write it Instances of the like Voice we have in several places of Scripture particularly Mat. 3. at our Saviour's Baptism and Act. 9. at St. Paul's miraculous Conversion The Doctrine it self to be recorded is not barely propounded but confirmed by all the Methods that Reason or Discourse doth admit namely by Testimony Thus saith the Spirit and by Arguments artificial drawn from the most clear to pick that of the Causes They may or do rest from their Labours and their Works follow them to be rewarded a tranquillity or undisturbedness of state and an enioyment both of reflex and direct pleasure being necessary to make up compleat Blessedness Position So now then our Theme or Position to be discoursed on is this That it is evident both from the Testimony of the Spirit and the most cogent Reasons that they who dye in the Lord are from thenceforth blessed But before I pursue the Proof of it from the Arguments in the Text I must explain the meaning of the Terms denominating the Subject of all the three Propositions in the Text namely They that dye in the Lord for in every one of the Propositions that is the Subject They who dye in the Lord are blessed They who dye in the Lord rest from their Labours and They who dye in the Lord have their Works to follow them Qu. What is it therefore to dye in the Lord Answ He dyes in the Lord who at the time of his death is found under that temper of Spirit and the exercise of those Graces which do evidence his Implanting into Christ by Grace and his Acceptance with God in Christ through his Mercy in the New Covenant But to make this more clear we must explain who it is that lives in the Lord and that I may do so I must set down what Respects and Relations Christ stands in towards us according to God's Appointment in the New Covenant 1. Christ therefore is appointed by God in the New Covenant to be a Propitiation and Atonement for Sin through his Blood and Meritorious Sufferings that on the account of them God might pardon the returning Penitent without any dishonour to his Soveraign Government of Men and Angels 2. He was appointed also to be the Mediator of a New Covenant in whose hand all the Promises thereof are established All the Promises of Pardon Peace Grace and Glory are Yea and Amen in him or through his Blood or Death confirming that New Testament or Covenant 3. Christ is also appointed by God to be the Head and Fountain of new spiritual Life and Power to Mankind who by the Fall of Adam had lost all power to do good and promote their own Happiness as well as the Devils and damned Spirits had lost the same but It pleased the Father that in Christ should all fulness of spiritual power dwell Col. 1.19 And He is that true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the World Joh. 1.9 And Of his Fulness we are to receive Grace and Grace for Grace Joh. 1.16 4. Christ is appointed also to be the High Priest in and through whose Intercession our sincere though imperfect Services are accepted 5. And he is appointed also to be the First born among many Brethren in and through whose Purchase and Title we are to be adopted to the Inheritance of Eternal Glory 6. Christ is also appointed to be the First Fruits of them that sleep to consecrate our Bodies to a Resurrection by his rising again Thus is Christ to us a Propitiation a Mediator an Intercessor an Head and Root both of Grace and Adoption of Bodies and Souls to Glory But to whom is he effectually all this The Gospel tells us he is so to them who exercise Repentance towards God and Faith towards him our Lord Jesus Christ Act. 20.21 Who are constant in mortifying of their Lusts Rom. 8.13 Who have devoted themselves sincerely to God's Glory 2 Cor. 5.15 that is who have resolved to do or