shame and at last die in horror and despair Sickness and Death O vain man will shake thy hopes The Sentence of thy Judge and and the Flames of Hell will dash them Hope may accompany thee while thou livest go with thee to the very borders of the Eternal World and then at farthest it will bid farewel to thy amazed and trembling Soul The time will come believe it Sirs the time will come when you shall hope no more no more no more for ever This hope is worse than none for it hinders Mens repentance and all the kindness it does them is first to hood-wink and then damn them How fatal is this hope A wicked man can have no good hope either living or dying and that false hope he maintains and cherishes in health when sickness comes many times takes the wings of the morning and flies away In an hour he must remove out of one World into another but he hath no hope it shall be into a better He bequeaths his body to the dust his Estate and Goods to his surviving friends but he can not Lord what an Agony must the departing Soul be in with confidence commend his Spirit into the hands of Jesus He may hope his Friends will give his body a decent burial but he has no hope alas he has no hope Angels will conduct his Soul to glory Oh Death Death how terrible is it when there is no hope of a better life To awaken such let me add to die without good hope though it be bad is not all For the wicked as it is in the former part of this verse is driven away in his wickedness Sad words miserable ends Prov. 14. 32. Ere long Sinners Death will grasp thee in its cold Arms ere long Pale Death will sit in that face of thine that now is Fair and Ruddy and the seat of a Charming Beauty ere long Death will shackle those feet which brought thee to this assembly shut those eyes which are a window to let in vanity into thy mind stop those ears which have been delighted with filthy and unsavoury discourse ere long Death will drive thee out of the World thou must be confâ—â—ed to a narrow Coffin sleep in a Bed of dust under a coverlet of crawling Worms but this is not all no nor the greatest part of thy misery for thou shalt be driven away in thy wickedness Go out of the World guilty and accompanied with the sins of thy whole Life Death unties the knot and thy Soul is gone gone Whither is it gone Into the invisible World to the illightned Tribunal of a Just Impartial and Inexorable Judge Death sets open the Door and thy immortal Spirit immediately flies away and all thy sins like so many black and frightful Devils hasten and post after Thy Sins O man thy sins mount and ascend as fast as thy Spirit and will be at the Judgment-seat as soon as it Methinks a thought of this should make thine heart ake thy lips quiver rottenness enter into thy bones and force thee to cry out Good God! Whatever becomes of me let me not die in my sins An impenitent sinner goes into Eternity dogg'd by Devils and his own impure Lusts When he dies that hope which with artifice and cunning he maintain'd in his life-time forsakes his wretched and trembling Soul In one instant it is gone and gone for ever follow him from one World to to'ther from his sick-bed to the Bar of God Doleful Hour Infer II. Do and must the righteous die Then how does it concern us to make a good use of them while they live The righteous are the lights of the World like the Sâ—â— in the Firmament profitable and beneficial to all Though hereafter these wise Virgins cannot supply us with Oyl out of their Vessels to recruit our Lamps and maintain the expiring Flame yet at present they may like the Sun communicate of their light and heat to us How much Spiritual good may we receive by them and how careful should all be to make a wise improvement Have you an Holy Father a Godly Mother who pray for weep over and daily instruct you Hearken to their instructions follow their example take their counsel for they must die That Holy Father of thine who with compassion and tenderness begs of thee to remember God and thine own Soul that Godly Mother of thine who brought thee forth with pain and sorrow and is in travel with thee again till Christ be formed in Gal. 4. 19. thee must die And if thou dost not hearken to and improve their serious reproofs godly counsels and wholesome advice what a torment may the thought of it be when they are dead and gone Methinks I hear a negligent and careless Son being lately come from the grave of his holy Father or godly Mother in bitterness crying out God in giving me such holy Parents gave me a great mercy but I Oh wretched man that I am neither valued nor thankfully improved so great a blessing as should and might have done My Father my Mother that is now dead very often and that with tears told me of my sin and danger with abundance of kindness in the Spirit of meekness reproved me for my youthful follies and vanities with much Plainness and Holy Zeal they instructed and counselled informed and directed me they brought me to the Solemn Assembly and taught me at home they wept over me and prayed to God for me and put me upon secret Prayer and reading the Holy Scriptures but all this labour in whole or at least in great part has been lost as to me Might I not have been much better might I not have had more grace and holiness had I improved this blessing I had the same advantage may the wicked and disobedient Son say but I slighted the instructions of my holy Father and contemned the counseâ—â— of my godly Mother and now they are dead and gone how likely am I to die in my sins having not the same helps and advantages as I had when they were with me Such reflections Conscience being awakned by the hand and rod of God may be made when such holy Relations are taken away to prevent which let all especially the Children of Holy Parents improve the lives and company of such The like might be said as to Husbands and Wives Masters and Servants c. Labour to get as much good as you can by holy Relations Christian Friends and Acquaintance for these you shall not have always with you Infer III. How great is the mercy and goodness of God to his People though they are not exempted from Death Death sounds harsh the Grave is very frightful When we think the Friends of God the Members of Christ the Favourites of Heaven and the Followers of the Lamb must die are we not sometime posed and almost at a stand Are we not puzzled to reconcile the Death of such men with the goodness and love of God and those
and that before they can get thither Faith may and very often does give them a refreshing ravishing and transporting prospect of Heaven Oh! How oft after such a view does the Soul flutter in the Christiâ—ans breast clap its wings and would â—in be gone But Death only can wast us over to and give us the possession of it In short Gods Children die that they may go home I might further add there seems some necessity of dying upon the account of the Body What should this terrene dull and heavy Body do in Heaven How unsuitable is it as it is now to that Place and State to that Company and Work and to be the Instrument of a glorified Soul It must undergo a change that it may be capacitated for this We must be Vncloathed of this Earthly that we may 1 Cor. 5. 4. Be cloathed upon with a Spiritual Body And we must die that Mortality may be swallowed up of Life These Old Houses that are ever and anon tottering and shaking must be pulled down by the hands of Death that we may have new and better This Body must be sown in the dust that it may Spring up more Beautiful Fresh and Comely our Bodies like foul Waters by running through the Earth are Purged and Purified God will not put his New Wine into these Old Mat. 9. 17. Bottles And indeed if he should they would quickly burst and therefore he suffers Death to break that he might have an opportunity to new make them It is to no purpose to say that God can make what alteration and change he pleases and is necessary in the very instant of Translation and what need is there the Body should Die lie in the Grave so long Rot and Putrifie in the Dust For though God can do it in this way he willeth to do it in the other and Who art thou O MAN that thou repliest Rom. 9. 20. against God Upon these accounts Death seemeth necessary to Good Men And that we might not live in continual Fear in Slavish Bondage and a perpetual Torment because of this necessity I now proceed Thirdly To consider what and how great the Priviledge of the Righteous is when he comes to the last Scene of his Life and Death is about to turn him off the Stage We have seen the dark side of the Cloud The Righteous die Let us now turn our Eye and view the bright side The Righteous hath hope in his death Sweet words comfortable thought glorious priviledge with this hope Lord how Psa 23. 4. comfortably may they walk thro' the Valley of the shadow of death and fear no evil You have heard heard You have seen seen Oh how often have you seen that the Righteous die as well as the Wicked that Death preys upon and the Grave swallows up one as well as the other Have you not many and many a time visited them when sickness had lodged them in their Chambers and confin'd them to their Beds Have you not heard their last sobs and groans seen their dying pangs and agonies Have you not clos'd their Eyes laid them in their Cossins and often attended their Funeral followed them to their long Home and lest them in dust and darkness Behold the Righteous die but how dieth the Righteous as the Wicked no verily as they do not live so neither do they die as the Wicked A righteous man may have the same disease be exercised with the same pains and feel the same pangs in a dying hour But upon a spiritual account the difference is vastly wide and great he hath hope in his death Before I distinctly consider what is the Object of this Hope to prevent any mistake it is necessary to premise these two things 1. Every righteous person every man that falls within the already-mentioned Character i. e. every sincere and upright Christian hath ground of hope in his death This does not only belong to some special favourites but is common to all who have God for their Father The Promises which are the foundation of a Christian Hope are not made only to Apostles and eminent Saints to men of renown in the Church but they belong to nay are the Birth-right of even those who are but Babes in Christ All that are born again tho' all are not of the same growth stature and strength are Children Rom 8. 17. and therefore Heirs They have right Col. 1. 12. to and may live and die in hope of the Inheritance of the Saints in light Heaven is sure to them by the Promise of the Father the Purchase of the Son and the In-dwelling of the Holy Spirit who is the Earnest and Pledge of it And the weakest Believer the least of Saints hath ground to hope The Gospel is so ordered the Covenant is so methodiz'd God hath made such ample Provision that every one may have good hope thro' 1 Thes 2. 16 Grace and all that bear this Character are allowed encouraged nay commanded to hope Their hoping is as mighty a pleasure to God as it is a comfort to themselves Hath the blessed Jesus poured out prayers and tears and blood did he groan and die on the Cross that they might have a Mansion above Hath the Holy Spirit in pursuance of the same blessed design been at the pains to renew convert and change them Hath he restor'd them to the image and likeness of God that they might be capable of the enjoyment of him Is he daily forming and attempering their spirits more and more for the heavenly state and employment Hath God the Father in his Eternal Counsels design'd Heaven for them Hath he made them many express and plain Promises of it and can he take it ill they live and die in hope Lord how infinitely unreasonable are we and how do we discourage the Death of the Son the work of the Spirit and the Promises of the Father nay not only naked Promises but Promises repeated over and over seal'd and confirm'd with an Oath by encouraging our doubts and fears all these may and ought to hope May I says many a doubting Christian hope I am but weak in Grace and but a Babe in Christ I have done but little for God and Christ I have but few Talents and them I have not employed and improved as I should and might I was the chiefest of Sinners and now am the least of Saints the very meanest among my spiritual Brethren there are none but love God more and serve him better and bring a greater Revenue of Glory to him than I either do or can or shall while others shine as the Sun in the Firmament of the Church I am but as a poor small and twinkling Star and may I hope to be saved is not Heaven and the happiness thereof too great too glorious a Reward for me Oh! had I the Grace the Faith and Love the Humility and Meekness the Self-denial and Patience the Zeal and Courage c.
THE Righteous Man's HOPE AT DEATH Consider'd and Improv'd for the Comfort of Dying Christians and the Support of Surviving Relations To which is Added Death-bed Reflections c. Proper for a Righteous Man in his Last Sickness By Samuel Doolittle This was the first Sermon the Author Preacht after the Death of his Mother Mrs. Mary Doolittle who deceased Decemb. 16. 1692. and is since enlarged LONDON Printed for Thomas Cockerill at the Three Leggs in the Poultrey over against Stocks-Market 1693. TO His Loving Sisters Mrs Mary Sheafe Mrs Tabitha Hearne Mrs Susanna Pool Mrs Sarah Dawson Mrs Martha Doolittle Dear Sisters THAT Infinitely Wise God who does what he will and gives not account of any of his Matters Job 33. 13. has made a breach upon us That God who gave at first and for many years continued has now removed from us a dear and tender Mother This Arrow that killed one wounded all that Stroke that took away Life from her took away an excellent Wife from our honoured Father and a dear Mother from you and me At once fatal hour she was left a breathless Corps he a solitary Widdower and we Motherless Children What a sad and sudden change is made in Persons and Families when Death knocks at the door and enters in The Root now is dead and dry tho' the many Branches are yet spar'd For many years God continued us an entire Family The Destroying Angel that knockt at many doors visited many houses pass'd by ours When the Ax has been laid at the Root of many Families when many Branches have been lopt off and many Trees hewn and cut down we stood in the Vineyard untoucht But Death will come and a parting time will come Will come alas it is come The sweetness of her Temper the greatness of her Love the tenderness of her Affection the Grace of God in her whatever might endear a Mother rendered her company delightful and her presence a great part of our earthly happiness But God would have her home and would not that the Mansion designed for her should stand any longer empty That Body which had many Infirmities and which a-while-a-go with grief and tears we beheld pined and wasted consum'd and worn with languishing sickness is now at rest And the more noble Soul is now among the Spirits of Just men made perfect Thus hath Heb. 12. 23. her heavenly Father disposed of her and is it not time to think what is our work and duty is it to weep and mourn While she lived she was worthy to be loved and now she is dead she is worthy to be lamented and silent Tears will and may speak what words must not Hath Death remov'd and the Grave buried her out of our sight did she take leave of us with her cold and dying Lips and is she gone and must we see her no more Sad thought may we not weep and mourn we may we ought but yet there is something of greater importance that such Providences call for and should be the employment of surviving Relations The Red has been speaking and yet speaks Lord grant we may hear the Voice and understand the Language know the meaning and obey the Call of it Death hath been speaking the Grave with open mouth hath been speaking her last Sickness Decease and Funeral have been speaking O that I and you may have an Ear to hear what this Providence saith While she was with us she spent that little time and the less breath she had in speaking for God's Glory and the good of others Oh! never forget that Affectionate Exclamation Oh love the Lord all ye my Children And being dead she yet speaketh and with Heb. 11. 4. a louder Voice too She had no greater Joy than to see her Children walking in the Truth No doubt you are Children of many Prayers and Tears she travailed with you again and long'd to see Christ formed in you and I doubt not but it was a comfort to see such probable grounds to hope you were born again That you were not only born of her but born of Water and the Holy Spirit and I will venture to say she loved none so much for bearing John 3. 5. her Likeness as for having the Image of God Her highest ambition was to see you good holy and living in the Fear of God and when you were to change your condition and enter into a Married state her earnest desire was you might Marry in the Lord and be disposed of to such as might further not hinder you in the way 1 Cor. 7. 39. to Heaven it did delight her to my knowledge in her last Sickness that some of you have such Her early Instructions serious Counsels seasonable Reproofs holy Example fervent Prayers and many Tears spoke Love to your precious and Immortal Souls What but this was the Language of all Lord save me and mine too let me go to Heaven and let my dear Children follow after Be thou a God Friend and Father to me and them bind up my 1 Sam. 25. 29. Soul and the Souls of mine in the bundle of Life And now blessed be God all of this kind has not been in vain She lived to see the fruit of her labour and her Prayers in part answered and what is given I hope and I pray God it may be but the first-fruits earnest and pledge of what is yet behind Have you begun well and are you set out in your Journey to Heaven Go on and hold out Has the Spirit enlightened renewed and changed you Have you the Likeness of God and the Image of Christ Have you given up your selves in a serious and solemn manner to the Blessed Trinity Father Son and Holy Spirit Is sin your grief and burden the object of your sorrow and hatred do you oppose resist and fight against it persevere to the end and the Crown is yours Let nothing discourage you if the way be rugged and your Journey tedious if you are threatned with Storms and Tempests if you find it hard to watch and pray to wrestle and conflict to deny your selves live by Faith and perform many duties which are contrary to corrupt Nature don't faint tire and give out Heaven is at the end of your Journey and Heaven oh believe and think oft on it will make amends for all When once you are there with an over-flowing Joy will you think of these Afflictions Crosses and Disappointments for then you shall see know and be fully convinc'd that Infinite Wisdom made them all serviceable to your Eternal Welfare Tho' the flesh is pain'd and smarts yet a time will come when you shall praise your heavenly Father for seasonable Chastisements and the Discipline of his Rod. Tho' the flesh may be uneasie and the burden may pinch you tho' the Rod may make you groan and weep tho' Satan may tempt and your own hearts may be ready to question your Relation to and Covenant-Interest in
Exod. 15. 2. him an Habitation he is my Father's God and I will exalt him Lord may such an one say thou art my God I have been devoted and dedicated to thee and therefore I will love and fear serve and honour trust in and depend on thee more over thou art my Fathers God and my Mothers God and as this strengthens my obligation to so the remembrance of it shall keep me from departing from thee my own God and my Fathers God I will never forsake Do I should such an one often say live walk and act deport and carry my self as one descended from Godly Parents and becoming my Hereditary Relation to God Do I frame my Life and Conversation as becomes the Child the Son the Daughter of such a Father and such a Mother oh how may such a reflection confound shame and put us to the blush fill us with grief sorrow and repentance for what is past and be in slead of many arguments to persuade to more holy strictness circumspection and accuracy for the time to come Further urge and plead this with God when you come to beg Blessings Spiritual or Temporal I know you are not strangers to secret and closet Prayer you do not dare not cannot live without it when you go take this argument along with you The Argument is strong when I can say My God it is stronger when I can go on and say my Father's God David was mov'd to do kindness for Mephibosheth for his Father Jonathan's sake and can we think the Heart and Hand of God will not be open'd to give Mercy to the Posterity of his old Friends How frequently did the Saints of old put God in mind of their holy Ancestors saying remember Abraham Isaac and Jacob. Jehosaphat goes to Prayer with this Title in his Mouth O God the God of our Fathers David pleads this O Lord 2 Chr. 20. 6. I am thy Servant truly I am thy Servant Psal 116. 16. and the Son of thine handmaid Oh how comfortable argumentative and enforcing is it to mind God who we are when we come to his Door for an Alms to say with humble and holy reverence Lord dost thou ask who I am I am thy Servant and a Child too of a dear friend of thine my Father and Mother were thine antient acquaintance Lord don't deny me don't send me away empty for their sake but shew mercy to me My holy Parents were thine thy domestick servants they were brought up and lived in thy family Lord remember I am the Child of such and give me an alms Oh pity and pardon sanctifie and save me oh let not one descended of holy and believing Parents be a cast-away let not me Lord let not me have my portion with hypocrites when Mat. 24. 51. my Holy Father and Godly Mother shall sit down with Abraham Isaac and Jacob in Mat. 8. 11. the Kingdom of God! I am thine Lord. Save me and to enforce my plea for mercy I humbly remember thee my Father was thine and my Mother was thine Lord let me find the benefit of being the off spring of such III. Earnestly sue for the full answer and return of those Prayers they sent up to God for you 'T is one great and unspeakable advantage the Children of holy Parents have that they often recommend them and their case to God Such Prayers may do them good after their decease and that they may their Children should beg a return This now should be your work and mine Many of these Prayers are filed up in the Court above as appears by that saying of my dear Mother to me Oh pray for me for when my Children were young and could not pray for themselves I pray'd for them Thanks be to God for a praying Mother Now send New Prayers after the Old Yours after Hers Oh! suffer not so many warm and earnest Prayers so many speaking tears and pleading groans to be lost for want of suing to Heaven for a rich and speedy return May not each go to a Throne of Grace and say Lord my holy Mother who is now fallen asleep was given to Prayer she was a Friend of thine and had an interest in thee and improv'd it not only for her self but for me How oft I was in her mind and upon her heart in her secret addresses to thee Lord thou knowest Did she not again and again recommend me to thy mercy through the merit of thy dear Son and her Saviour and I hope mine too the Lord Jesus are these Prayers all answered have I all the Grace and Holiness Joy Peace and Comfort she prayed for are not many of these Prayers yet to be answered Are not many of her requests for me yet with God oh now for a quick speedy and full return tho' she be dead let none of her Prayers for me be lost Lord that I could hear thee saying I remember thy Mother a good friend of mine I remember whose Child thou art and I am resolv'd to be kind to thee lo here is the Grace Pardon Peace and Comfort thy Mother prayed for she wrestled pleaded with me and would not let me alone be it unto thee according to her Faith and Prayers Lord may such an one say my Holy Parents spoke to thee on my behalf before I was able to speak for my self how many Prayers did my Holy Father and Godly Mother make for me in my Infancy Childhood and Youth Lord read over and grant those Petitions which are of an antient Date Tho' Death hath tied their Tongues the Grave stopt their Mouths and they can pray no more yet nay the rather let those Prayers be answered that are upon the File and are committed to the Hands and Care of the Blessed Jesus the great Master of Requests Lord Jesus do thou see that none of these be lost but answered in the best time IV. Exercise a serious solemn and hearty Repentance for all sin When I consider our dear and excellent Mother was not taken away by a sudden and surprizing stroke but a long and pining sickness prepared the way that she was not taken off in the midst of her days but lent to us for a considerable number of years that she lived till she saw many of her Children's Children and did not fall asleep nor go to Bed till towards the Evening I would hope there was no particular sin of ours provoked God to remove her at this time But alas we all have many sins and should not such a Providence awaken our Repentance It should it tends that way and I pray God it may Let us search our ways examine our hearts consider what sin or sins have been too much allowed and winked at Sin is the cause of Death to our selves and to those whom we dearly love these these are the murderers of our friends and relations let us send an hue and cry after them and when we have found them out let us Crucifie them Oh
that no sin tho' never so dear pleasant or secret may survive this funeral our departed Relations have no need of our groans and tears oh let us labour to consecrate our sorrow by turning the flowing streams into the Channel of Repentance that that which was natural may commence Divine How proper is the Death of Relations to excite and quicken Repentance how much may the remembrance of their sick-bed Discourses their dying speeches their farewel counsels and the great change one moment made contribute to soften break and humble our hearts to make us serious and solevin in renewing our Repentance at such a time how easily is the passion of sorrow moved do you weep for her methinks I hear her having no need of pity and tears saying weep not Luk. 23. 28. for me Do you weep for sin pretious tears comfortable sorrow oh weep on and weep more Every Corps Funeral and Grave tells us what an evil sin is and should provoke us to Repent but when Death comes into the very House where we live takes away one of our own number strikes and kills a dear Relation when it is a Father a Mother a Husband a Wife a Child that is carried to the House appointed for all the living Job 30. 23. the call to Repentance is more solemn loud plain and particular and ought to be more awakening After the Death and Funeral of such Repentance is a very seasonable duty Now is the proper time to offer to God the Sacrifice Psa 51. 17. of a broken Heart and contrite Spirit Can I see Death closing the Eyes of such near Relations parting them and me nay one part of themselves from the other Can I behold their pale wan and ghastly Countenances the Soul being gone Can I see them wrapped up in a Shrowd and nailed up in a Cossin Can I attend their Funeral look into the dark and deep Grave where I must leave a to Worms and Rottenness and not think hardly of sin and not resolve by the Grace of God to kill and mortifie it at such a time who does not cry out ah cruel death ah cruel death but hath not every one much more cause to cry out ah cursed sin ah cursed sin the death of this friend of this Relation this Funeral and all others O cursed sin is owing to thee and henceforward I will endeavour thy destruction and ruin V. Be very careful to keep God among you Do what in you lieth that God may be the God of your Posterity after you that they under you may lay claim to the Covenant and the Blessings of it Endeavour that Religion in the Life and Power of it may flourish not only in your own Hearts but in your families Let not FAMILY PRAYER be thrust out nor adjourned to those hours in which you are least of all fit for this awful and important duty May we all strive to keep up the friendship begun between God and our Family Since God hath made all of you except one Mothers reckon it is your duty to bring up your Children for God teach them to know your God and your Fathers God and that God to whom in Baptism you have devoted them that when you shall be dead cold and rotting in the Grave they may be serving and honouring God in your place and stead That Religion and the fear of God may not die out of your Families when you shall 'T is true you cannot give them Grace but you can instruct teach counsel advise exhort and persuade c. you can set a good example you can pray to God for them and plead that Covenant you entered them into almost as soon as God gave them to you and all this you ought and I hope you will be careful to do Tho' the presence awe and fear of living Parents may restrain Children from some sins and vices tho' their examples and counsels may influence them so far as to persuade them to take up a form of Godliness yet oh 2 Tim. 3. 5. what Tears are sufficient to bewail this fatal degeneracy what a dead spiritless and lifeless thing is the Religion of many such as soon as their godly Parents are Dead and cold in their Graves how oft doth that ground that was manured and cultivated plow'd and sown ay and watered with many showers of Tears bring forth a sad crop of Briars and Thorns Some Children are a grief and heart breaking to their Parents while they live and many more are a reproach and disgrace to them when dead and gone how many Children of such Parents notwithstanding the benefit of a good education seasonable instructions wise reproofs and timely counsels live at that rate that they are a blot to their family and a disgrace to their name If any such shall chance to read these lines I charge them in the name of God to consider what a sad case they are in and I pray God to convince them of their sin and folly and how near they are to a sudden and final ruin Would to God such would consider how greatly they will be ashamed and how little they will have to say for themselves when the Prayers and Tears of their Living and the Dust of their Dead Parents shall rise up in Judgment against and condemn them But I hope better Heb. 6. 9. things of you and things that accompany Salvation tho' I thus speak Oh let it still be your study and care and let it be more and more so every day to promote piety and holiness in your own Souls and to propagate it to others who are descended from you that so long as any branch of this Family remains the fear of God and a care of Religion might slourish To conclude there is one thing very amiable and which your Relation peculiarly calls for and that is LOVE this I think I should hardly have mentioned because I hope you are taught of God to 1 Thes 4. 9. love one another if I had not received it among the last Commands of a Mother who had so much of this Grace her self to be your Monitor in this particular Now the Lord sit you and me to follow that at the Resurrection of the Just we may meet our Dear Mother who now sleeps in Jesus and our Honoured Father who is yet with us and whom God long preserve for ours and his Churches sake with Joy and Triumph That they may say lo here are we and all the Children thou didst graciously give us Amen Reading Feb. 28. 1692 3. Thus Prays in all sincerity your truly loving and very affectionate Brother Samuel Doo-little THE Righteous Man's Hope AT DEATH Consider'd and Improv'd For the Comfort of Dying Christians and the Support of Surviving Relations Proverbs 14. 32. But the Righteous hath hope in his Death DEath with what a grim countenance and terrible aspect doth it look upon the Children of Men What a sharp and startling word is this what
a doleful sound does it make in the Ears of those who are yet alive Death the more we muse and meditate upon it the more doth it amaze and scare A short glance a fleeting thought makes poor mortals tremble a fixt and solemn a deep and serious meditation fills with shivering horror Death how do the thoughts and prospect of it damp our Joys spoil our Mirth imbitter our Life and infuse Wormwood and Gall into our sweetest Cup How do the near approaches of it cast us into cold clammy sweats and mortal tremblings How doth every day when we give our selves the liberty of thinking partake of the horror of our last Death what a serious useful and awakening Argument is this and yet how seldom do busie mortals entertain themselves with the thoughts of it Every Corps that is carried along the streets every Coffin and Death's-head we behold every Funeral we attend every Grave that is digg'd with open mouth tells us we must die We may read our own fate on every Tomb-stone Oh! how many and what powerful Preachers have the Living and how many Lectures of Mortality are daily read and yet is there not need that almost every Preacher and every Sermon should mind us of what is sure and near at hand a dying hour Death what a mournful word what a melancholy Theme is this Dead unwelcome message sad news heavy tydings to the surviving Relations is he or she dead What! an old Friend a loving Father a tender Mother dead doleful hour dismal spectacle Dead what do you now see their charming Beauty marr'd their Eyes closed their Teeth set their Countenance chang'd and the Man turn'd into a lifeless breathless Corps Anon you see him nailed up in a narrow scanty Coffin and after a few days when we have fed the sorrow of our hearts with the sight of our eyes we lodge them in a cold and deep dark and silent Grave And must we leave the delight of our hearts the desire of our eyes those whom Nature and Grace made dear to us those whom we loved even as our own Souls among an Army of crawling Worms and among the cold Clods of the Valley Must we see their faces enjoy their company and converse with them no more no more sad thought no more killing word O Death Death what a cruel Enemy art thou to Mankind What dark and gloomy what sad and melancholy thoughts are these especially when Death hath set a pattern of Mortality before our eyes and we are but lately come from the HOUSE of MOURNING upon such an occasion David burst out into tears and spoke in all the figures of a sorrowful Rhetorick O my Son Absalom my Son my Son Absalom â— Sam 11. 33 would God I had died for thee O Absalom my Son my Son These Arrows of Death that kill one wound the many that are left behind and the wound is so deep that many times it proves mortal They only live to weep sigh and groan to bury their dead and then they come home and die too and those that lived are content to die together Life how sweet pleasant and delightful is it Life how amiable and desirable is it with what earnestness and passion is it courted by most how willing are poor Mortals to tear out their Bowels with Vomits to punish the flesh with fasting and abstinence and tie themselves up to the tedious and troublesom prescriptions of Physitians how willing are they to take the bitter Potion they loath and how patient under the cutting of the Lance and teeth of the ragged and torturing Saw how willing are they to lose a dear Member that Life might be preserved Men stick at nothing to preserve this dear thing we call LIFE How chearfully do men die daily that they may not die once for good and all Life how excessively fond are most of it Life gives us the opportunity of enjoying those pleasures that are soft and charming but Death renders us uncapable of any and who almost doth not live in bondage thro' fear of it But tho' there are many great and terrible evils in this one frightful thing DEATH yet thanks be to God we Christians are not left without something to mitigate and allay our sorrow for the death of our godly Friends and holy Relations who are gone the way of all the Earth before us and to fortifie and arm us against a tormenting and slavish fear of our own who in a little time must fall asleep too With a design to help my self and others against both these I have chosen these words to insist on But the Righteous hath hope in his death In handling of this Argument which may contribute very much to the support of living and comfort of dying Saints I intend to proceed in this Method I shall First Open and explain the Character of the person here spoken of and who is to be the Subject of our present discourse Secondly Consider what is here supposed and taken for granted with reference to this Righteous man and that is he must die Thirdly Consider and amplifie the priviledge of such an one as having hope in his death Fourthly Make some practical improvement of the whole in applying all to our selves who are yet alive but must certainly and quickly die First I shall consider and explain the character of the Person who is intended in these words and who hath some priviledge beyond the rest of mankind Here is mention made of a very great benefit and that none might think it promiscuously belongs to all the Holy-Ghost gives us the character of the Person concerned in it the Righteous for opening and explaining the character I have not time neither is it necessary to give an account of the several acceptations of the word it is sufficient to take notice that this word Righteousness which peculiarly qualifies and distinguishes the subject of our discourse is frequently used in a twofold sense First In a more limited and restrained sense and so it is no more than a particular Vertue which inclineth and disposeth a man to give to every one his right When a man doth not by any little tricks or cunning artifices which the Wits of our Age call mysteries of Trade go beyond defraud over-reach or wrong another he is Righteous this is a considerable branch of morality a duty belonging to the Law of Nature and hath its proper place among the duties of the second Table Were this Virtue more common we might deal with our fellow Creatures with more openness and freedom with more plainness and less fear we might trust another without surmise suspicion and jealousie This vertue is famous and renowned and that justly too among Heathens and would God there were more of it in the Christian World Were all men just and upright honest sincere and plain hearted in their commerce as unwilling to impose upon and wrong another as they are loth to be deceiv'd and cheated themselves did
of such a Christian had I been as useful in the World and as serviceable in the Church as others then I could hope But poor doubting Christiaâ— why mayst thou not hope for all this Must all the Trees in God's Vineyard be equally fruitful Must all his Children be of the same size Must all that have true Grace have the same measure and degree of it thou canst not think so and why then may not such a one as thou art hope hast thou sincerity and uprightness then thou mayest for the Promise that is the 1 Pet. 1. 3. formal reason of hope is made to Grace as true not as strong All who are born of God are begotten again to a lively hope by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead Tho' I must add 2. As to actual hope all that fall within this Character have it not either living or dying in the same degree The hope of some Christians is so firmly settled so deeply rooted it hath been so oft try'd and prov'd and found of the right stamp that come what will they will hold fast their confidence to the end It is well-grounded and like an house founded on a Rock Mat. 7. 25 it stands fast tho' the Winds blow the Floods come and the Rain descend Satan as cunning and subtil a Sophister as he is cannot argue them out of their hope of Heaven But on the contrary the hope of another Christian is so weak wavering and staggering that the least breath of a Temptation miserably shakes it and a few secret whispers of the malicious one make them call all into question Oh! how soon doth the poisonous breath of this hissing Serpent damp and kill all their hopes Oh! how many sincere Christians have a right to Heaven but do not know it how many are there who cannot get their doubts resolv'd their fears expell'd whose Sun sets in a Cloud and Luk. 10. 20. whose Evening is very dark their names are written in Heaven but they do not cannot rejoyce because they do not know it is so Death lands them safe on the Shore of a Blessed Eternity thro' God's Infinite Mercy they get well into Harbour but poor Souls how do they go off with weeping eyes sad thoughts and great fears of shipwrack and drowning It is not every Christian that in a dying hour can say God is my Father Christ my Saviour Heaven my home and in yonder yonder blessed World there is a Mansion for me How many after a long profession many tears prayers and holy duties both publick and private thro' the weakness of their knowledge unacquaintedness with themselves the temptations of Satan a melancholy temper and an unaccountable timerousness of spirit are not able to read their Evidences Others die with a full assurance of hope go to their Fathers house with joy and triumph and are able to give a reason of that hope that is in them both 1 Pet. 3. 15. to themselves and others How confidently doth the blessed Apostle Paul assert this hope We know if our earthly 2 Cor. 5. 1. house of this Tabernacle were dissolved we have a building of God an house not made with hands eternal in the Heavens How expressive of a strong unshaken and lively hope are those words of the same Apostle even when death was within sight I am now ready to be offered 2 Tim. 4. 6. v. 7. and the time of my departure is at hand I have sought a good fight I have finished my I have kept the Faith henceforth there is 〈…〉 â—ad up for â—â—e a Crown of Righteousness which the Lord the righteous Judge shall give 〈…〉 day What an unshaken confiâ—â—â—ce 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is such an hope peculiar to an Apostle are such expressions only fit for the mouth of a Paul who had the priviledge to be caught up into Paradise No verily others have had the same lively hope Oh what strong assurance what clear evidences what blessed forecasts and what lively hopes is God pleased to give to some in a dying hour when their Souls stand upon the threshold of time and at the door of Eternity insomuch that they have been able to bid farewell to their dearest Relations submit to the stroke and kiss the cold hand of Death with a wonderful and triumphant Joy with a Joy too great for themselves to express and others to behold This hath made many a Christian say My work is done and blessed be God I have hope of the Reward The hour of my departure is at hand Oh my 〈◊〉 I must leave you and go unto my Father Death is welcome indeed it is welcome for I have hope of an Immortal and better 〈◊〉 know 〈◊〉 thanks be to God I can how long Lord how long come Lord Jesus come quickly I have hope of Heaven and Lord I long I long to be there What sweet what reviving Language is this how pleasing is the meditation of it is it not enough almost to put a man upon coursing Death that he might experience what it is to be in such a blessed frame Lord grant when ever I or my Reader come to die it might be thus with us This is my prayer for thee whoever thou art who readest these Lines the like prayer put up for me with a warm heart a fervent Soul and a lively Spirit and God for Jesus sake say Amen to both This caution premised I shall now consider what is the Object of this hope what good men may and do look for and expect at Death This shall be dispatcht in these following particulars First The Righteous at Death hath hope of a full and perfect freedom from all those evils they are liable to and must conflict withal in this present state In this valley of Tears and shadow of Death to how many and what great evils are we expos'd Man Job 14. â— that is born of a Woman is of few days and full of trouble Man is born oh Cap â—â— what a fine World is this to be fond of to trouble as the sparks flies upwards We come into the World with cries and tears we dwell in it in pain and sorrow We go out of it with sighs and groans How many tears do we shed how many groans do we utter how many complaints do we make upon the account of those evils which befall our selves or others for whose welfare we are and can't but be as much concern'd as for our own This World is a place of sorrow and tears and nothing can wipe away all tears from our Eyes till the hand of Death does The evils which befall us are so many and great so painful and afflictive the memory of what is past is so bitter the weight of what is present is so heavy the fear of what is future so vexing that we cannot be at rest till we close our Eyes and die and Death lays us fast asleep in the bosom of our Mother Earth Here
we are encompass'd with evil every one hath his share of the bitter Cup though some drink deeper and larger draughts than others But the righteous man when Death comes hath hope of a perfect freedom from those many evils he himself had been strugling and those who survive his Death and Funeral must conflict with He hopes that Death will be the Funeral of all his sorrows and of those evils which were the cause of them Here I will mention some of these evils First He hopes at Death to be delivered from all bodily afflictions and outward sufferings So long as we are here we shall need the corrections of Heavens and must be under the Discipline of our Father's Rod Our good God sees that some afflictions are necessary for us and in the best and fittest season he sends them And by our own sin and wickedness indiscretion and folly obstinacy and peevishness we create many more to our selves What crosses and disappointments what hatred from Enemies and unkindness from Friends what disdain and contempt from Superiours what slander and reproach from Inferiours do we meet withall in this wretched World To how many weaknesses and lingring sicknesses to what acute diseases and corroding pains are we subject insomuch that Life is often loath'd and Death desired every vein and membrane every nerve and fibre every muscle and artery every part and member may be afflicted with pain and be the instrument of our sorrow Oh! what wearisome hours restless days and sleepless nights have the afflicted Whose heart doth not bleed within him to hear them in the morning crying out Would God it Deut. â—8 67. were evening and in the evening disappointed of the rest they expected would God it were morning What is this World but an Hospital where many are sick weak pain'd and dying What is it but a Golgotha a place of Graves dead mens Skulls and Bones Go to the darken'd and silent Chambers of the sick and you may hear one crying out O my head my head another Oh my bowels my bowels and some Oh that God would take away my life Some you may see shivering with Agues and some shaking with Palsies some benumm'd with Lethargies and others rackt with Gout or tortured with the Stone some scorcht with burning Fevers and others delug'd with the waters of a Dropsie some stopt with Phlegm crying out Oh for air and breath and others pining away with Consumptions and many so weakened and bowed down to the Earth with the manifold infirmities of OLD AGE that the Eye is dim the Ear deaf the Hands shake the Legs the Pillars of this Earthly Tabernacle tremble insomuch that a poor Grashopper is too heavy a burden for them See how they are stopt up with Catarrhs and Coughs and have not strength to get rid of that Phlegm which is ready to strangle them These these are the sights oh what a diseased World what a dying Life is this you may see in the Chambers of the sick But besides these evils that are common to men to how many more and greater are we expos'd as Christians as poverty and want disgrace reproach and shame imprisonment and banishment a violent torturing and lingering death upon the account of which a man feels and undergoes the pains of many deaths in one and only lives to be the laughter of his Enemies the sport of Death and a terrour to his Friends But the Righteous man at death hath hope to be delivered from all evil of this kind And his Language on his Death-bed may be to this purpose tho' I was born to trouble and have had my share of it tho' I have long wept sigh'd and groan'd under my own personal afflictions and have been a sorrowful spectator of those calamities which have befaln the publick tho' now I am a sick weak pain'd and languishing man and every part of me is rackt and tortur'd tho' my pulse be weak my breath short my strength wasted and my spirits fail and I am no more able to conflict with my disease it is but dying and I shall be perfectly well Death can and will cure what my Physitian cannot after a few more struglings and mortal pangs all my pains and sorrows will be over after the Agony O my weeping Friends that you will shortly see me in is over I shall feel none of these racking grinding and torturing pains any more for ever Heaven is a healthful place there oh there none are sick or weak but all are perfectly well I cannot be well while I live but when I die I hope I know I shall Lo this is one branch of a Righteous man's hope But have not wicked men this hope too 'T is true they have Death puts an end to the miseries of this Life but Lord what a sorry support is it to go from less to greater from temporal to eternal pains from Friends who are ready to Pity Assist and Comfort to Devils that will Scorn Insult and Triumph over them from a sick and uneasie Bed to a lodging among infernal fiends from the Flames of a Feaver to the more Scorching Burning and Lasting Flames of Hell Good God! What a sad what a wretched Exchange is this 2. He hopes for Deliverance from Sin Good men are already freed from the power and guilt of Sin it hath not Dominion over and it shall not Condemn them But they are not neither can they be freed in this Mortal State from the residence of Sin and remainders of Corruption Sin may be mortified subdued and brought under Glorious conquest but it will not give up the ghost and die till we do tho sin doth not rule and govern the believer as a Lord yet oh how doth it vex torment him as a Tyrant Tho' he hath given the Body of Sin many a Wound and Stab with the Sword of the Eph. 6. 17. Spirit though he hath drag'd it to the Cross of Christ and hath driven nail after nail into it yet he always finds it alive and sometimes very active and strong He finds himself very oft bafled worsted and conquered in some particular conflicts he finds by sad and woful experience that indwelling sin indisposes and unfits him for Spiritual duties damps his Spirit cools his Zeal and abates the fervour of his Soul in the most Heavenly exercises this is a certain truth and what Christian does not find it to be so How oft with tears in his eyes and sorrow in his heart is he forc't to groan forth this sad complaint Wo is me I have a wicked Heart a filthy Nature unruly Thoughts and ungoverned Passions my Flesh is so weak the Spirit so frail Indwelling Corruption so strong and the Snares of the World so many that I often fall I thank God I don't wallow like a Swine in the Mire but I must and do own I too frequently defile my garments I Sin and Repent Repent and Sin there is sin in my Heart and Life Sin in my
sloth and negligence by our omissions of duty or trifling in it by too great a conformity to the World and too easie a compliance with the men fashions and customs of it by listening to Temptations and running upon the occasions of sin by the immoderate use of things lawful or venturing upon what is unlawful really in its self or at least so to us because doubtful how oft by going contrary to the light of our Minds the checks of Conscience the Motions of the Holy Spirit the Directions of the Word and the rebukes of Providence do we even the best of us displease God grieve his Spirit break our peace disquiet our Minds and wound our own Consciences and how soon doth God by frowns and rebukes by withdrawing himself hiding his face denying a sense of his love and suspending in part or in whole the witnessing and comforting presence of his Spirit tell us he is displeas'd and make us sensibly know find and feel he is so are we not hereupon on a sudden left in darkness to be scared with our own melancholy guilty thoughts and the blacker suggestions of Satan the accuser of the Brethren Are we not bowed down greatly and our Souls not only Rev. 12 1â— disquieted but cast down within us Is not the day gloomy the cloud thick the night very dark and does not the poor deserted Soul with warm affection and passionate longing cry out Oh! that I could see him Don't we at such a time mourn and complain and cry out of the sadness of our Case to God and Man Are we not forc't in the bitterness of our Souls and anguish of our Spirits to say Oh! that it were with me as in months past when the Light of Gods Countenance was bright and shining and I convers'd with the Majesty of Heaven as a Man with his friend but it is not wo is me It is not so now oh that it were Lord when shall it be How oft do the Children of Light walk in darkness question their Adoption and Sonship their Covenant-Interest in and Relation unto God! How oft is there a Curtain drawn between Them and Heaven the Face of God Vail'd and the Light of his Countenance Eclips'd How oft does he withdraw and they cannot find wrap himself up in Clouds and Darkness and they cannot see him with what a pained heart grieved Soul with what an accent of sorrow does such an one cry out My God My God 〈◊〉 hast thou forsaken me I was 〈…〉 wonted to have Communion with God in Prayer to see him at a Sacrament I have had that enjoyment of God which 〈◊〉 would not have been without for all the 〈◊〉 Time was the Sabbath was my best day I long'd for the dawning of it and with joy welcom'd the Morning Light 〈◊〉 Ordinances where my delight 〈…〉 has often said how amiable are 〈…〉 〈…〉 O Lord of Hosts My Soul 〈…〉 yea even fainteth for the Courts of 〈…〉 Heart and my Flesh drieth out 〈…〉 God but now O my Soul what a change is this I pray but he giveth 〈…〉 answer I go to his Table with this Wish Let him kiss me with the 〈…〉 kisses of his Mouth but even there month after month I do not see the King's Face if he be my God my Father and Friend why is it thus with me from how many may we hear such bitter complaints as these But the Righteous at Death hath hope of deliverance from these inward spiritual and therefore most afflictive evils and such an â—â—e in the Evening of Life may say after a â—â—â—tle while and I shall no more offend grieve or displease my heavenly Father and he will always look upon me with a smiling Face a favourable Eye and a pleased Countenance I shall noâ— see him as I now do in a Glass 1 Co. 13. 1â— darâ—ly but Face to Face I shall dwell in his Presence stand before his Throne and enjoy his Favour which is better than Life I shall love God and feel that I love him God shall love me and make me know it and tho' I have often questioned both yet then I shall douâ—t of neither I have had many cloudy days disconsolate hours and dark nights many sad thoughts perplexing doubts and tormenting fears as to my spiritual and eternal state O ETERNITY ETERNITY how have the thoughts of it amaz d troubled me and sometimes made me even tremble but in this sickness I am better satisfied than ever now my fears are gone my doubts in great part resolv'd Now Evening is come and it is neither day nor night the light of Gods Countenance â—â—ch 14. 7. shines upon me Bless the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me bless his Psal 103. 1. Holy Name this is but the pledge of those more full and lasting Beams which shall scatter all my Clouds what I now feel is but a little a very little to what I shall Are the shadows of the Evening stretched out upon me Is night coming It is day the light of Gods Countenance makes it day and blessed be God this is but the dawning of that everlasting day which now is near hand and which will perfectly and for ever scatter all my fears Thus the Righteous hath hope in his death of an absolute freedom and final deliverance from these great and almost insuppâ—rtable evils we wretched mortals we who yet dwell in flesh are exposed to he can and he does hope that after a few hours he shall be afflicted pestered with sin buffeted by Satan deserted by God no more for ever tho' he cannot see his Lusts actually giving up the Ghost and dying yet he hopes he and his sins shall dye together tho' Satan may Dog him to the utmost borders of time yet he hopes he shall not follow him into Eternity that tho' some scruples may remain and his afflictions and pains will not be over 'till death hath done its work yet he hopes death will put an end to all Secondly The Righteous hath hope in his Death what hath he then hope of of a Convoy of blessed and holy Angels to secure his passage to the other World Man consists of a Body and Soul when he dies a separation is made the body is left the Soul is gone friends take care of the Body that it may have a decent Burial and truly some respect and honour is due to the Corps to the very dust of them who sleep in Jesus and even after death remain united to him as to this the dying Christian is not much concern'd for he knows his Lord will find it at his coming where-ever it be laid but the Soul being more noble his great care is for that and he hopes Angels will be ready to conduct in to the glorious and eternal Mansions above Holy and confirmed Angels who have as much good nature in them as they have strength and power are very serviceable to us men especially to
believe a future final and general judgment but I hope may the departing Saint say things will go very well with me in that day I have often pray'd God grant that I may find mercy of the Lord 2 Tim. 1. 18. in that Day and I hope I shall I hope that mercy and not rigorous justice will pronounce my sentence that I shall find a friend in Court that the judge himself will be so that blessed Jesus who is nay Advocate and elder Brother who died for me and washt me in his Blood who Sanctified me by his Spirit and reconciled me to God is to be my Judge and therefore I hope when I am judged I shall not be condemn'd The sentence of absolution stands upon record Mat. 25. 34. Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you before the Foundation of the World This this Oh! this is the blessed sentence that belongs to me I have read it again and again I have meditated upon it till I have been ravished and transported with joy What sweet what reviving words are these how worthy is each of them of a particular remark Come glorious invitation Ye blessed of my Father endearing title Inherit the Kingdom No less still more joy Prepared for you for me Lord for Worms for Men for Sinners Soveraign Grace Before the Foundation of the World what so long ago so early designed was my name written upon a Mansion above long before any of my members were written in thy Book Grace Grace Lord I admire and adore that love that free and generous and early love of thine I cannot comprehend if the reading and meditating upon these words be so delightful what will it be to hear them spoken and spoken to ME I hope now I am a dying man I hope to hear this Sentence from the Mouth of my Saviour and when these words of Life and Joy shall drop from those sweet and blessed Lips Lord what Joy shall I feel a joy which now I can neither comprehend nor bear Is this the Sentence I expect to hear O my weeping friends stop your flowing tears silence your groans hush those sobs and sighs and let us sing Psalms of praise to God oh begin and help me to praise him and with my latest breath I will say Amen Hallelujah Eighthly The Righteous hath hope in his Death what hath he hope of what of the full entire and eternal happiness of the whole man when the final judgment is past and over Sentence being past judgment being over and the Court broken up all pass to their Eternal abodes some ay and the greatest part too of that vast assembly to the Regions of horrour and darkness beneath others viz. the Righteous to the Mansions of Bliss and Light above Now oh joyful day Christ and all his friends immediately march in triumph to Heaven those everlasting Gates are open'd they all enter into those peaceable quiet and undisturbed Regions and so shall they be for ever with the Lord. 1 Thes 4. 17 Before one part was praising God in Heaven and the other silent in the Grave the Soul was the Companion of Angels the Body the Food of Worms the one as distant from the other as yonder Heaven is from the Bowels of this Earth but after the great and solemn transactions of that day the WHOLE MAN the WHOLE CHRISTIAN shall be admitted into the Heavenly State Christ their head and husband shall bring them to Heaven with a lo O my Father here are the Men thou gavest unto me here are the Men for whom I suffered and died while they were in the World I kept them and have now ransom'd them from the Power of Death and the Grave I have brought them safe to glory I present them to thee without spot or wrinkle and Father I will they be where I am that they may behold and partake of my Glory Joh. 17. 24. This perfect happiness of the whole man the Righteous hath hope of he looks beyond Death to the Resurrection beyond that to judgment and beyond judgment to Heaven and Heaven is the summ of his desires Heaven it is the center of all his hopes and wishes and such an one in his last hours may say methinks I foresee the time when my Lord and the judge of all will come methinks I hear the Trumpet sound and see the dead raised from my death-bed I have a prospect of the transacâ—ious of the last day I see by faith I see what shall then be done to the men whom the King of Heaven delights to honour methinks I see the redeemed and ransom'd of the Lord marching in triumph to the City above and the glorious blessed Jesus leading the way I shall not be left asleep or stay behind but accompany them to the everlasting Kingdom and this Flesh of mine which now must see corruption this body of mine that now must rot in darkness shall then be united to my Soul and not only my Soul but my Body shall have the happiness it is capable of This is my Faith and this is my Hope Come Lord Rev. 22. 20. Jesus come quickly and accomplish what thou hast promised and I and all thy Followers live and die in the hope of Thus we have finished the Doctrinal part and now proceed Fourthly and Lastly To make application of what hath been said upon this argument to our selves The most serious and weighty the most plain and searching the most important and awakening truths have little or no influence upon our hearts and lives for want of a close warm home and particular application Shall I apply what hath been said Would to God I might come to the quick reach the heart alarm the Conscience of every one that shall read these lines where shall I sharpen my Arrows that they may pierce and wound what words shall I use that drowsie sinners may be startled Lord help me Lord help the reader Lord help us both and that I might not lose my Labour and you your Souls I solemnly charge and in the name of the Eternal God I Sub-poena thee O CONSCIENCE closely and impartially to apply to the Heart what the man shall read with his Eye Conscience Now 's thy time to speak hereafter it may be too late for ever when once the man is dead and damn'd thou may'st torture and torment him but it will be impossible to fright him into Repentance Is the man drowsie O Conscience Conscience thunder in his Ears is he asleep jog and awake him is he unconcern'd as to any preparation for death judgment and an Eternal world tell him of this misery forewarn him of his danger call cry in his Ears till he is startled what shall be said in general do thou according to thine office as thou wilt answer the neglect of it to God thy Judge hereafter apply in particular if any thing be said suitable to the case of the man whose Conscience thou art be
not meal-mouth'd don't mince the matter but plainly and roundly say THOU ART THE MAN rebuke reprove exhort persuade comfort chear as the state of the Man requires O Conscience Conscience I call upon thee again to give them warning from God be serious particular and impartial lest they die in their sins and the blood of their Souls Ezek 3 18. be required at thine hands as the man turns over these pages read thou over those records thou hast in thine own keeping and witness for or against chide or smile accuse or condemn as thou seest occasion if he be a wicked man be thou a Boanerges a son of Thunder if he be a righteous Person be thou a Barnabas a son of consolation Could I but awaken Conscience I should hope these plain lines would be read with some success Lord jog Conscience that Conscience may jog the Man that this word of thine may be thy Power unto Salvation In hope Rom. 1. 16. that Conscience will assist and second me and the great God will help both I shall attempt the application of what has been said in these following Inferences Inference 1. How terrible must Death be to the wicked who have no ground to hope for any of these great blessed and glorious things However sports and pastimes Carnal mirth and worldly Business charming pleasures and frothy company may keep out and banish the thoughts of their departure yet when the fatal hour is coming when grim Death is mounted on its Pale Horse and is posting toward them how suddenly are they struck with horrour how concern'd at the heavy tidings that they must dye After many pleasant years behold the man is seizeâ— by some mortal sickness his decayinâ— strength and languishing Spirits his wear Pulse and short Breath his cold anâ— faint sweats tell him death is coming anâ— his end is near his Physitians after many troublesome prescriptions and vain attempts leave him his mourning anâ— weeping friends are expecting when â—â— will send forth his last breath are waitinâ— to close his dying Eyes and yet miserable man he has no hope Hath hâ— no hope and yet must he die dolesâ— consideration Hope of Heaven is very common as the Drunkard and Swearer the most Rebellious and Stubborn Perverse and Obstinate sinner what he thinks will become of him after Death and he will either by a scornful silence shew his disdain or readily answer he hopes to be saved How fashionable is this form of speech as I hope to be sav'd but alas most of that hope which is the World 's is vain and groundless false and spurious begotten by a flattering Heart and subtile Devil it is like common Metal without the Royal Stamp which none will take for Currant Coin and how oft Does it appear so when Death and the Grave Judgment and Eternity come in view you have hope but in the name of God Man tell me what kind of hope is it Is it accompany'd with any sweet pleasant and delightful thoughts with any hearty groans earnest longings passionate desires after possession Does it withdraw your Hearts and affections from Earth to Heaven and render you patient under all the sufferings and afflictions of this present state In a word does it put you on to get more purity and holiness A genuine hope will as appears by the Apostles words he that hath this hope in him 1 John 3. 3. will purifie himself even as he is pure He that hopes to see the infinitely Holy God won't stain his Garments and defile his Soul by wallowing in filth and mire he that hopes to be like God in Glory will endeavour to be like him in purity he that hopes to resemble the best of Beings God won't make himself like the worst of Creatures the Devil by open and known wilful and presumptuous violations of the Divine Laws This hope will put him upon endeavouring after a purity like that of God in Nature and Kind tho' it cannot be so in Degree and Measure Do you hope for Heaven and doaâ— upon Earth hug your Riches and make the World your God Do you look for a Kingdom and Crown Immortality and Life for an happiness beyond all youâ— thoughts and bigger than your hopes and do you do nothing or next to nothing to obtain it Do you hope for a Mansion in yonder Heaven at the end of your Journey and walk in the broad Road that leads to Hell Do you hopâ— to be like blessed and Holy Angels and do you now sometimes play the Beast and sometimes act the Devil Do yoâ— hope for the reward and do none of thaâ— work God hath appointed or do it in a lazy slothful and careless manner Do you hope to hear Well done good and faithful Servant and wrap up your Talents in a Napkin or bury them in the Earth Do you hope to be happy and take no care to be holy Do you hope Christ will save you and do you make nothing of running over the tears wounds and blood of the blessed Jesus to get at the forbidden Fruit Do you hope to sit down with Abraham Isaac and Jacob with the Patriarchs Prophets and Apostles in the Kingdom of Heaven and do you now sit with Publicans and Sinners Is this your hope poor men what kind of hope is it and what little service will it do you This hope is slight and superficial it is the fruit of ignorance and want of consideration perhaps an awakening Sermon of Death and Judgment Hell and God's Eternal wrath some cross Providence and smart affliction may miserably shake it While the Sun shines and the day of Prosperity lasts thy hope may seem fresh and flourishing but when the Night of Affliction comes thou mayest be wrapped up in Clouds and Darkness and thy hope will languish wither and die Dreadful thought This hope is vain and groundless God's Promise is the only Ground and solid Foundation to build our hope upon to hope for what God hath never promised or upon other terms and conditions that are annext to the promise is ignorant and blind and bold and daring presumption This hope is wicked and foolish It is wicked is it not a dis-believiâ—â— Gods peremptory threatning an affronting Divine truth and imputing falshooâ— to his comminations Hath the Just True Holy and Eternal God said thoâ— shalt not be saved and dost thou secretlâ— say I hope I shall what is this but aâ— the same time to hope God will be a liâ—â— It is also foolish is it not folly to hope against Reason Scripture and all Goâ— has said Is it not folly to think a pooâ— Worm can snatch Salvation out of the hands of mercy when God is resolveâ— he shall never have it To think a sinfuâ— wretch can force his way through a thousand threatnings and the peremptory Sentence of the Law to the Blissful Regions above This hope what shall I say of it is perishing it will end in confusion disappointment and
all their sins set in order before them Are they filled with horror and anguish Is some of the everlasting fire flasht in their Faces Does the Devil begin to torment them before the time Is God a terror to Mat. 8. 29. them and they a terror to themselves Are they weary of Life and yet afraid of Death Are they rackt and tortured and do they speak nothing but the language of Hell before they come there Are they cast at the Bar of Conscience before they are condemned at the Tribunal of their Supreme Judge Do they sensibly feel what horror attends the final doom Depart from me ye cursed Mat 25 41. Do they cry out and tremble as if they now heard it pronounced by their eternal Judge Does a righteous God commission Conscience to witness against Judge and Condemn them to sting and lash them in their last hours for the sins of their past Life And ought we not to take notice of and improve all this May not such a sight the remembrance of what we saw and heard in that hour awaken our Consciences startle our Spirits affect and warm our hearts May it not tend â—â—â—hew us the Justice of God the evil of 〈◊〉 and the infinite danger of neglectinâ— to hearken to the voice of God while it is câ—â—led to day May it not excite our diligence quicken our repentance and assist our preparations for Death and judgment May it not Arm us against the World the Flesh and the Devil and make us more resolved to hearken to the voice of the Spirit the checks of our own Conscience and the compassionate calls of mercy Would it not make us know the worth of time and put us upon husbanding redeeming and improving it to the best ends the Glory of God and Salvation of our Souls Would it not make us love Christ prize his sacrifice and value his blood more Would it not put us upon reviewing our lives searching our hearts and examining our state and amending what has been amiss Oh how much good may we get by the death of poor awakned sinners and how great is our folly and sin in case we don 't And can it be unprofitable and useless to mark observe and remember the more happy and comfortable end of the Righteous Shall we take no notice what is the end issue and conclusion of an Holy Life We should remember how they lived and how they died Did God in their sickness furnish them with patience and calmness submission and resignation to his Holy Will Were their Thoughts compos'd Minds setled Spirits calm their peace undisturb'd their Joy great and their Hope lively Was there a willingness to die and a desire to depart that they might be with Christ did God resolve their Doubts scatter the Clouds and help them to overcome their fears Has such an one been enabled to say Lord I am thine I lye at thy Foot here I am do to me dispose of me remove or continue my pains as thou wilt let me be well or sick live or die be recover'd or remov'd as thou pleasest Lord if thou hast any more Work for me to do I am willing to live and content my happiness should yet be deferr'd and I 'll acknowledg thy Grace if thou wilt yet use me and make me an Instrument of thy Glory but if my work be done and the number of my years be accomplisht I am willing Lord I am willing now to die if it be thy pleasure now to remove me if this sickness must be my last and end in death if to die now be really best for me and most for thy glory I will not draw back I am ready at thy call command and pleasure to lay down this Body and thanks be to God I can heartily say the Will of the Lord be done Have any of your Christian Friends or Holy Relations died thus Heavenly frame Blessed end Glorious triumph over Death and the Grave Ought we not and may it not be infinitely useful to mark and remember this How much may it contribute to maintain the Life of Religion and the Power of Godliness in us may not the memory of what we observ'd and saw at such a time confirm us in our holy Choice strengthen our Faith and throughly convince us Religion is not a vain thing Will it not recommend the Holy Ways of God set off Religion and make all holy exercises more sweet and pleasant to us but in particular may not an observing how they died afford matter of encouragement and support to us when we have sad and melancholy Thoughts as to our own departure how oft does many a poor sincere Christian in bitterness cry out How shall I with a Christian Patience an humble submission and an entire resignation bear long painful and tedious sickness how shall I be able to conquer the fear and submit to the stroke of Death How shall I be able to grapple with that Enemy and encounter the King of Terrors How shall I be able with joy and chearfulness without murmuring and repining to obey my Summons to Death and Judgment When I do but suppose my self sick weak and full of pain when I seriously think of my Coffin and Grave I tremble but Lord what shall I do when it comes to the trial thus it is with many and has it not been so with you at one time or other and may it not be so again and if it should how may the memory of the happy end of holy friends and relations administer to your support when thou hast the Death of such an one fresh in thy thoughts thou mayst say why art thou cast down O my â—sal 42. 5. Soul and why art thou thus disquieted within me Is it because this body must die How many holy ones are dead before me They were weak frail and imperfect as I am but God furnished them with patience courage and strength quieted their Mind calm'd their Spirits and husht their ruffling passions and when my hour comes I hope God will help me to die too Have not I the same God to depend upon the same promises to encourage me the same Jesus to stand by me and the same Holy Spirit to assist me I remember my holy Father died with comfort my holy Mother made an happy and peaceable End and why may not I Death is conquered it is conquer'd And the fear of it may be overcome I have seen it may and why should the fear of it keep me in a perpetual bondage How serviceable may it be to remember how other holy Men and Women have died before us Secondly Another duty with reference to those who died in hope is to give thanks to God for those assistances and that Grace which was vouchsafed to them â—â— a dying hour Surviving Relations who were Eye-witnesses of God's goodness to them who are departed should own acknowledge and praise God for it when they are dead and gone The dead cannot