no part in the first Resurrection THIS is the dregs of the fury of the Lord the Cup of his sorest indignation which requireth eternity to drink it to the bottom This is the gnawing worm and unquenchable fire the sense whereof doth cause them on whom it is inflicted to meditate terror for ever THESE are the sparks which the wicked have kindled from the fire of their own lusts and wherein God will cause them to lye down in sorrow THIS is that Devouring fire who among us shall dwell with it Who among us shall dwell with these everlasting burnings Every one shal thus die for sin who is before dead in sin The next Question I am to resolve is Quare sit Wherefore it is which will be answered by inquiring Vnde sit Whence it is And there is a threefold rise of Death 1. Satan 2. Man 3. God The first by Temptation The second by Consent The third by Infliction 1. SATAN is the grand contriver of mans destruction and therefore is the Author of it not by a Physical but moral causality He is the Father of sin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Jam 1.15 Sin the parent of death He who is the Antient of daies tells us the Devil is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A murderer from the beginning And through mans cowardise in consenting to iniquity he who at the first did but usurp hath now 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the power of death and is not to be overcome but by Christ who is stronger then he And blessed be God that the Author of Death is overcome by him who is the Prince of life Heb. 2.14 15. and the Author and finisher of that faith against which the gates of hel shal not prevail But 2. Man consenting This is another cause of death to prove this see that remarkable place Rom. 5.12 Hic enim duo concurrunt tentator et obtemperator Zeged loc◠commu As by one man sin entered into the world Death by sin so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned We were no sooner children of Adam but we were sons of Death Our first Father Adam we in him did eat of that apple the core whereof doth yet stick in our throats and will at length choak us one by one Sin is our own work death is the Wages of sin which brings me to the third cause God inflicting If man by his sin saith he will die God by his decree saith he shall die so that man shal have his will though it end in his woe If Adam will needs entaile an hereditary curse upon his posterity God will so ratifie it by his supreme Act in heaven that it shall never be cut off it shall be inevitable seeing he hath appointed for men once to die And thus we have the resolution of these three Questions I shall only answer an objection and so proceed to use Object But is this true It is appointed to men men indefinitely to all men to die What is the reason we read of some persons who did not of some who shall not taste of Death Answ I. Answer Particular exceptions destroy not the verity of general rules because some go out of the backdoor we doe not therefore cease to say that the gate is the ordinary way out of the house and because some hath not seen death or others shall not we need not cease to affirm It is appointed for men once to die for men are said to die either properly and really or by way of aequivalency when they ungergo a Change equal with death Thus did Enoch when he was translated Elijah when carried to heaven in a fiery Charriot and this shall they undergo who shall be found alive when Christ shal come to judgment The essence of Death or rather its nature not consisting in cinerefaction but as I have before affirmed in a separation of life from its subject which in Gods people is accompanied with a blessed dis-union of sin from their soul They are no longer subjects of sin when once vessels of eternal glory The next thing in order of method will be to make some inference from what hath been said and let me premise this it will be wisdom for us to look this King of Terror in the face and to consider whether we are able to encounter with him or no and what Nero did when he heard he was sentenced by the Senate as an enemy to the Publick Weale to be punished More majorum despairing to live he tried the points of the Ponyards wherewith he had resolved to dye to feel their sharpness before he sheathed them in his bowels So it would be wisdome in us by serious reflection upon our frailty to die daily that so the day of our death may not surprize us unawares Storms are most terrible when they surprize us suddenly and without a shelter Death will then be most unwelcome when it overtakes us unprepared or unresolved to grapple with it I shall now endeavor to apply this Doctrine If this be true That death is inevitable Vse 1 then let us live as such who are to die Because death is an evil to nature let us not hasten it because it is a necessary consequent of our sin Let us endeavour that though it separate our souls from our bodies yet it seize not on us in such an estate which will separate both from God Because by Christ it is overcome and proves a friend to Grace by hasting its consummation in Glory let us not be afraid to encounter with it But alas how few of us make this improvement of the necessity of death How many by intemperance and disorder do dig their graves with their own teeth How many are there whose 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whilest they are Somno vinoque sepulti before their passing-bell hath tolled and even whilest their bones are full of marrow Job 20 11. their souls are replete with the sins of their youth These are such who put far from them the evil day They consider not the daies of darknesse neither think of them any more then as the Prophane proverb is Their dying day Their inward thought is that not only their houses Psalm 49.11 but they shall abide for ever not considering there is a God in whose hands are their life breath and all their waies that their breath is in their nostrils and their life ere long may be as water spilton the ground that it will lay the greatest Prince leveld with the poorest Peasant Pallida mors aequo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas Regumque turres Hor at lib. 1. Od. 4. that Death regards not the scepter of a mortal Prince nor compassionates the sad estate of any nor will be bribed to give a release from natures bonds that the grizly hand of death will cover many a naked brest which formerly hath been the looking-glasse of lust and pride with a
winding-sheet That this which is called death 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost Serm. de Fid. Leg Natur. Psal 49.14 shall cool the valour of all the hot-spurs in the world who in their life time could not put up an injury without a challenge That they shall roll in the dust who sometimes did wallow in pleasures like the swine in the mire when like sheep they are laid in the grave and death shall feed upon them And how few of the heirs of life do walk as if they were to pass to an inheritance but after death whilst some do either with persecuted Elijah or peevish Jonah seek after death exceedingly desirous of the penny but yet so delicate that they they are loth to work in the heat of the day Others of them though they have set their faces towards the new Jerusalem and are on their journey thither yet by the way they remember the flesh-pots of Egypt Num. 11.5 and their present enjoyments do make them the lesse active in the expectation of future felicity God is forced to cast wormwood upon the brests of the Creature that he may make them the more earnestly draw water out of the wells of Salvation Others of them conceive God may have honour by their lives and therefore they are loath they should be deprived of such an opportunity by their deaths For this cause possibly the Psalmist might say Psalm 102.24 O my God take me not away in the midst of my dayes And upright Hezekiah might beg for a reprieve after God had said unto him Thou shalt dye and not live All these though their intentions might plead an excuse yet their actions are not commendable Yet we know a found constitution is consistent with some qualmes and we ought to conclude that strength of grace is consistent with some weakness in this particular Gods people cease not to be men by becoming Christians as they are the former they may be afraid as the latter they do dare to dye Aaron upon Mount Hor can be stripped of his clothes Num. 20.18 and without repining go to bed Blessed Simeon wil depart in peace Luke 2.29 30. after his eyes have seen the Lords Salvation Act. 21.13 The holy Apostle is indifferent whether to live or dye but if it be for the name of the Lord Jesus he is ready not to be bound but to dye also Thus we see the Shepherd of Israel hath sheep as well as Lambs in his fold men of riper years as well as babes in Christianity Such as dare encounter the King of terrors as well as such who are afraid at his presence Vide Bullinger in 1 Thess 4.8 Morteâ—n mali vitant sancti in vitant quibus non tam vitae hujus interitus quam aeternae interitus est Heidfel Sphis Theo Phil. c. 38. p. 908. But all believers have this happinesse though few live in the comfort of it that death to them is but a sleep the grave an hiding place both a resting from their labours their passage from this vale of misery is but an entrance into their Masters joy This notwithstanding is not sufficient for a Christian to know that though he die yet his life is hid with Christ in God He must so dye that God may be glorified by his death the which that every one of us may do we must prepare our selves for so great a change The which preparation consists in three things 1. Dying unto sin 2. Living unto righteousness 3. Mortification to the world A word to each of these First Dying unto sin * The sting of death is sin 2 Cor. 15.56 he then that dyeth unto sin destroyeth death And frequent reflections upon death would prove an excellent meanes hereunto But oh how hard is it though we have daily Spectacles of others mortality to live under convictions of our owne we should live more in heaven if we did believe we were to die and so to goe from hence This would season our discourse lives and check the exorbitancy of our rising lusts to consider it is appointed for all men once to die and consequently alleviate the feare of death For that which maketh death terrible to a considerative mind is not so much the pain which is felt in the separation of soul body for I doubt not but men undergo more sharp agonies as to fense in a fit of the stone 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost expos Psal 116. or gout or such acute diseases then at the moment of their dissolution nor is it altogether that natural abhorrency of an annihilation or destruction of being which maketh death formidable but that which represents death sitting upon a pale horse as described Rev. 6.8 is conscience of sin and thereby obligation unto hell following after death but a beleever may use with a holy confidence what sometimes presuming Agag said 1 Sam. 15 32. Surely the bitternesse of death is past and with the blessed Apostle may close his eies in peace with a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Rom. 8.83.39 I am perswaded that neither death nor life nor Angels nor principalities nor powers c. shall be able to separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 2. Living unto righteousnesse Mala more putâ—nda non est quâ—m bona vita praecesserit August de civit Dei lib. 1. cap. 11. A holy life will usher in a happy death This is that which doth also evidence our dying unto sin and will make us die more peaceably in our beds We find that they who lived most up amongst the heathens to the principles of morality were least afraid to die when those who lived the most rudely were most unwilling to leave the world Seneca or Cate when about to die seem exceeding ready when a wicked Nero whose conscience told him what his mouth did utter Sueton in vita Neronis Vivo deformiter ac turpiter doth depart the world with an Vsque adeone mori miserum est and encourageth himself to his own ruine with an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It becometh not It becometh not thee O Nero to be so daunted go to encourage thy selfe Upright Hezekiah had not such cause to weep when the Prophet brought those tydings to him Isai 38.1 2 that he should dye and not live seeing he was so well prepared for death that he could appeal to God that he had walked before him in truth and with a perfect heart and done that which was good in his sigh David his father also a man after Gods own heart did thus prepare for death and after he had served his own generation by the wil of God fell asleep Act. 13 35. Thirdly Mortification to the world this will prepare us for the stroke of death Those things which are glewed together are not without much difficulty dis-united and when our affections are set upon earthly things we shall not willingly
as indeed he is as if Hell and Heaven were Nuga tricaeque the one not worth the avoiding the other not worth the enjoying But the heat of fire was never painted and the Devil is more deformed than represented on the wall there are unexpressible Torments in Hell as well as unspeakable Joyes in Heaven Some who write of Purgatory Bellarm. de Purg. l. 2. c. 14. Bellarm. de Aeter Faeli Sanct. l. 2 c. 11. Bosquier Dom. in festo post pentec tom 2. tell us the pains thereof are more exquisite though of short continuance than the united Torments that the earth can invent though of longer duration If the Popes Kitchin be so warm how hot is the Devils Furnace A Poetical Fiction is but a Meiosis Paena autem vehemens ac multo sevior illis Quas Ceditius gravis invenit aut Radamanthus Nocte diéque suum gestare in pectore testen Juv. Sat. 13. when brought to shew the nature of these real Torments The lashes of Furies are but petty scourgings when compared to the stripes of a wounded Conscience Tytius his Vulture though feeding on his Liver is but a Flea-biting to that Worm which gnaweth their Hearts and dieth not Ixion his Wheel is a place of rest if compared with those Billows of Wrath and that Wheel of Justice which is in Hell brought over the ungodly The task of Danaus his Daughters is but a sport compared to the torture of those whose Souls are filled with bitterness within whom are the Arrows of the Almighty the poison whereof doth drink up their spirit Look as men did drink iniquity like water so God will pour out the vials of his wrath they pressed him under their sins he will load them with his fury and indignation Deut. 32.22 they heaped up their sins as high as Heaven the fire which is kindled in his anger shall burn unto the lowest Hell their sins have been increased his wrath is treasured up the measure whereof appears from the several Names it is intitled with Mat. 13.42 Luk. 16.28 It is called A furnace of fire which speaketh intolerable heat A place of Torment which speaketh a total privation of ease A Prison Mat. 5.25 5.22 which speaketh restraint Gehenna from the Valley of Hinnom where the unnatural Parents did sacrifice the fruit of their bodies for the sin of their Souls to their merciless Idols The which word Gehenne vox Gallica by a Neighbour Nation is retained to signifie a Rack than the Torture of which Rev. 20.10 what more exquisite It is called A Lake of fire and Brimstone than the torment of the former what more acute than the smell of the latter what more noisom There is heat yet no light for it is termed Mat. 25.30 outer darkness In a word he hath made it deep and large 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost Hom. 25. de fut jud tom 6. the pile thereof is fire and much wood the breath of the Lord like a stream of brimstone doth kindle it Isa 30.33 But yet if I have not sufficiently set out the measure thereof if we believe not Moses and the Prophets which are with us let us impannel a Jury from Hell let them from the dead speak and see if their Verdict amount not to this It is an evil and bitter thing to depart from God and that his fear was not in them What saist thou O Cain is the fire of Hell more delightful than the flames of Bretherly Love thou didst abhor to live in whilst in the world Thou also O Achitophel is thy Treason and Conspiracy against the Lords anointed Nihil proderit damnatis quod in hac vitâ in perpetuâ saturitate ebrietate vixerunt quia tunc ne guttu am quidem aquae obtiuere possunt Nihil proderit eis quod vestibus usi fuerint splendidis quia induentur confusione corpora ipsâ—rum vestientur ignoâ—â—â—â—iâ Nihil proderit 〈◊〉 quod in hac vitâ constituti fuerint in honoribus quia in inferno nullus erit honor sed 〈◊〉 inuus gemitus dolor Ger. Med. 49. rewarded with that repute thou didst expect What thinkest thou O Belshazzar is the Cup of the red wine of the fury of the Lord as pleasing to thy taste as thy wine drunk in thy sacrilegious bowls Tell us O Judas will thirty pieces out-value the loss of an immortal Soul or countervail the misery of sixteen hundred and odde years in that place of darkness Or resolve us O Herod whether the breath of the Lord which keepeth alive these eternal Coals doth tickle thy fancy as sometimes vulgar air or popular breath now thou art proved a Man and no God by being brought down to the sides of the Pit The Fore-man speaks in these and the rest of their Names My punishment is greater than I can bear Gen. 4.13 I now proceed to consider it Secundum Durationem In its continuance and we need not go far for the resolution of this for it is called in the Text 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost ad Theod. laps Paraeâ— everlasting punishment the end thereof is not known its duration is undetermin'd Hell is a bottâ—mless pit and therefore shall never be fathomed It is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an unquenchable fire and therefore the smoke of their torments doth ascend for ever and ever Rev 4.12 Hell is a Prison from whence is no freedom because no Ransom to be paid no price will be accepted for one in that estate When we lie under great sorrows sinking troubles yet this strengthens us Dabit Deus his quoque finem God will put an end to all these But this is that which will augment the misery of a damned creature he is sensible his case is sad he is sure God hath decreed it shall be no better the sorrowful reflection upon which shall wound his Soul and in the anguish thereof cause him to utter with his mouth what his heart is astonished at Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings This is the portion of those whose Souls are removed far off from peace and forget prosperity in the bitterness whereof they complain My strength and my hope is perish'd from the Lord. Whilst I have been thus reasoning of Judgement to come possibly some Felix may tremble the thoughts of Hell may have kindled some affection towards heaven and he whom the love of Christ could not constrain yet the terror of the Lord may have almost perswaded to be a Christian 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cyr. Chat. 15. p. 389. being fore-warned he may desire to flee from this wrath to come Such I shall send to John Baptist for direction in this case Mat. 3.8 Bring forth fruits worthy of amendment of life Avoid those sins which do in a principal manner lead to these chambers of death and bring forth the fruits of Holiness the end whereof is Eternal Life
Quest What are those sins which God hath affixed his condemnatory Sentence to the Commission of Ans I answer indefinitely in the language of the Apostle The wages of sin that is to say Rom. 6 23. of every sin is death but more particularly God hath revealed his wrath from heaven against those sins which he doth usually reserve to punish in Hell First Vnbelief This is that sin which first made the breach between God and Man and hath ever since continued the fewd This was that which laid the foundation of Hell that digged that Pit of Perdition This is that which vilifieth God it maketh him a liar 1 Joh. 5.10 it eclipseth the Sun of Righteousness no wonder then if God will punish it in Everlasting darkness yea 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chry. hom 25. de fut jud tom 6. not believing of Hell doth make more broad the way which leadeth to destruction Vnbelief in the heart is always accompanied with ignorance in the head and against both Gods vengeance is directed 2 Thess 1.8 Secondly Detraction Whisperers and Back-biters are joyned in the Catalogue with haters of God who are worthy of death Rom. 1.31 The Detractor 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Tim. 3.11 is a Devil above ground his tongue is already set on fire from Hell which doth sadly presage what will be the portion of the Soul and Body for ever unless Repentance quench those flames He who hath here swords in his lips Psa 59.11 may expect hereafter his iniquity should be upon his bones He that smiteth others with his tongue may expect the Arrows of Gods Quiver to enter into his reins In a word he in whose mouth is a rod of pride may fear to be broke in pieces as a potters vessel by the staff of Gods indignation Thirdly Hypocrisie God will make a right path for his Justice towards those who turn aside from him by their crooked wayes The Holy Tongue admits not of the Neuter Gender nor will the God of Holiness allow neutrality in any person for The hypocrite in heart heapeth up wrath Job 36.13 and we finde Hypocrites and Vnbelievers meet together in that place of misery and their Griefs made the Standards of others sufferings Mat. 24.51 Luk 12.41 Fourthly Vncleanness This shall abide the trial of these I say not cleansing flames They who have burned in the fire of lust must not think much to be scorched in the flames of Hell Pro. 7.12 He who went after that Harlot as Solomon describes him as an Ox goeth to the slaughter shall finde in this place what follows He shall go as a fool to the correction of the stocks She to whom stoln waters were sweet and bread eaten in secret was pleasant shall vomit up those sweet morsels and her mouth shall be filled with gravel She who perfumed her bed with Myrrhe Aloes and Cinnamon Pro. 7.17 18. shall finde the end thereof as bitter as wormwood as sharp as a two-edged sword whilst they who go astray in her paths shall finde that her house is the way to Hell Prov. 7.27 Fifthly SENSVALITY A loving of pleasures more than loving of God The Harp and the Viol Is 5.12 14 the Tabret and the Pipe and wine are in their feasts but they regard not the work of the Lord neither consider the operation of his hands therefore Hell hath inlarged it self and opened her mouth without measure that they who did thus spend their dayes in mirth may in a moment descend thereinto Destruction is to none so sudden as to the sensual person Dan. 5.5 Whilst Belshazzar is tasting his wine in the same hour come forth the fingers of a mans hands and write his doom When the rich man cries Lu. 12.20 Soul take thine ease God breaks his sleep with that terrible voice Thou fool this night shall they require thy Soul Thus have I spoken to this estate or place of Hell I should next discourse of Heaven and there Sense will be the best Orator He alone can describe it who liveth in the fruition thereof But yet the People of God are not left in the dark concerning the nature of this Inheritance of the Saints in light They behold through a Glass yet darkly that which ere long they shall see face to face Even in this Wilderness of the world they have a Pisgah-sight of the Heavenly Canaan the description whereof followeth in the next Discourse MAT. 25.46 But the Righteous into Life Eternal IV. Of HEAVEN IN the former part of this Verse you had the black side of the Cloud here you have the bright part thereof you saw the mouth of the Bottomless Pit opened behold here the Heavens opened and the righteous ascending thereinto I have spoken of Hell let me now endevour to shew you the estate of the Saints in Heaven But how shall we sing the Lords song in a strange land Ps 137.4 was sometimes the sorrowful quaere of the Jews So I say Quis audet de his rebus positus in hac mortali carne quae aggravat animam aliquid dicere cum Paulus Apostolus hoc non valuit explicare qui in isto positus corpore usque in tertium caelum gratiâ operante valuit ascendere August de Sym. ad Cat. lib. 2. cap. 12. Think not that I can describe these Mansions of Glory who am imprisoned in a house of Clay the which whilst I do behold my eyes are dazled my hand doth waver whilst I undertake to describe them and I can but lisp forth my halfconceptions of the feliciry of that state Non possum dicere quia nec videre possum tamen aliquid non impudenter dico qui ex Scaipturis dico Aug. Ser. 10 de Resur mort yet so far as Scripture will give leave I shall endevour the prosecution of this subject for it must be an Angel from heaven or some blessed Saint who with that holy Apostle hath been eaught up into the third Heaven who can conceive these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which concern that estate Notwithstanding which I shall express my thoughts of it by prosecuting this Doctrine Doct. That the reward of the Righteous is Eternal Life In speaking to which I shall consider this Recompence of Reward this gift of God Eternal Life much after my method used in speaking to the wages of sin Hell or Death and so we may view it Rom. 6.23 1 Quoad Subjectum According to the Subject 2 Quoad Modum The Manner 3 Quoad Mensuram The Measure 4 Quoad Durationem The Duration thereof For the first I mean the Subjectum in quo The Subject in which this Glory shall be revealed this Eternal Life shall reside and what God will conjoyn in this estate of Bliss let not me separate The Subject then of this Happiness is the Body and Soul re-united The Body as well as the Soul was an instrument of grace here it shall be a vessel
and in it self Death is the separation of life from its subject Death is not only a cessation from action but a negation of existence for the soul may in a swooning fit cease to operate not to animate There may be a suspension of action where there is not a privation of its principle but death separateth the soul the fountaine of vital action from the body the subject thereof Secondly We will view death in what it is Accidentaliter ad aliud Accidentally and in reference to somthing without it self And that to 1 The Godly 2 The Wicked First To the Godly And so it is a rest from their labours 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost Hom. 51. de Sanct. Mar. Boren Proâ—â—â—c Blessed are they that die in the Lord from henceforth yea saith the Spirit that they may rest from their labours and their works follow them Rev. 14.13 They rest from 1 Sin 2 Sorrows Both which the holiest of men are exercised with and subject to whilst they live in the world they labour under the former in the latter whilst in this dying life But when they dye that which doth separate them from their bodies doth unite them closer unto God Their death is the Funeral of their sins the resurrection of their Graces that which doth unpinion them of mortality doth also translate them into the glorious liberty of the Sons of God So that Death is but a change to a holy Job Job 14.14 Act. 7.60 2 Cor. 5.10 a sleep to a blessed Steven a dissolution of the earthly house to a holy Paul whilst by it he accounteth not to be found naked but to be cloathed upon with his house which is from heaven to have mortality swallowed up of life and by the death of his body Rom. 7.24 to enjoy his wisht for deliverance from the body of death And this for the first Death to the godly is a rest from their sins 2. It is a rest from their sorrowes Josephs feet shal no longer be detained in the stocks neither shal he complain of the iron which entred into his soulâ— Nor any of the Saints and holy Martyrs shall at all complain of the incessant malice of their enemies Death shal give them a resting-place for in the grave the weary shall be at rest There the prisoners rest together they hear not the voice of the oppressor Job 3.17 18 And all this shall not be the effect of a Stoical apathy or stupefactive cessation from sense and motion But by an introduction into real joy That soul which was before glewed unto the body shal therefore be dissolved that it may be with Christ and that which whilst it was in the world was but at best a prisoner of hope shall then be set at libertie and have eternity wherein to expatiate in the enjoyment of those mansions of glory which God hath provided for such whom he shall account worthy to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vâ—ri Septu The righteous also are taken away from the evil to come Isai 57.1 and their graves are but beds wherein they rest in the evening of their dayes And thus you see that as to live is Christ so to die is gain to believers whilst by it they rest from sin and sorrow Our next work is to consider death in its reference to the Wicked And to them it is the beginning of evil the entry of their woe They are the men who have hope only in this life and therefore are of all men the most miserable That death which in its intention is to put out the candle of a good mans life doth but snuff it and make it burne the brighter whilst their life of grace is consummate by being swallowed up in a never-ending life of Glory This shall cause the candle of the wicked to go out in a stench their Sun to set in a cloud their flattering day of prosperity to end in a dismal night of black eternal horror whilst by it they shall at once be separated from their bodies and from the presence of God in whose favour is life and from his right hand where are pleasures for evermore And thus I have answered this Question Quid sit What death is Secondly Quotuplex sit Of how many sorts it is And Death in its complexe notion represents it self under a threefold respect 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost Serm. 56. 1 Corporal 2 Spiritual 3 Eternal These three unnatural branches spring from one root to wit Sin The First is by sin The Second in sin The Third for sin The First is competent to both the Godly the wicked and hath been spoken to already Let us consider a little the second Spiritual Death and this also hatha double consideration 1. A Death in sin 2. A Death to sin The Apostle speaks of the former to the believing Colossians Col. 3.13 where he tells them that they being dead in sins and trespasses God hath quickned them together with Christ And thus the wicked are said to be dead whilst they live there being a separation between God the Author of Spiritual life and their souls the due subjects thereof by reason of their sins Psal 59.2 And this is the estate of every one of us until God saith unto us Live A Death to sin Secundum Spiritum â— mors est non credere vina quae câ—edebâ—t non jacere vana quae faciebat August Serm. 121. de Resurrect more And this is the estate of a lively Christian of one who is passed from death to life This is to be dead with Christ and is a testimony to him in whom it is that he shall live with him Rom. 6.8 This is not as the former the result of sin but the gift of God and of this death there is a twofold testimony First A death to the Law That is to say when we are brought by the threatnings in the Law to know that there is no salvation or life to be found by the Law but in Christ and this I doubt not to assert for the meaning of S. Paul Gal. 2.19 For I through the Law am dead to the Law that I might live unto God Secondly A dying to the World A deâ—pising all things therein or whatsoever it counteth admirable for the excellencie of the knowledg of Christ And thus to do is to be made conformable to the death of Christ Phil. 3.8 9 10. But I haste to passe over these which though fair fruit yet never grew on this tree profitable Doctrine but not arising from the present Text spoken to by transition rather then regular deduction from the subject I am upon I proceed to consider death in its third acception Eternal Death This is the in-let of Hell the sum of misery the second death which I suppose is not excluded yet not primarily intended in the words and hath power over none but such as have had
think of being covered up in dust A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush and men are not easily perswaded to part with present delights for an expectation of future happinesse The man who fareth deliciously every day will not willingly hear of being meat for worms He who is gorgeously arrayed as the rich man in the Gospel will not easily strip himself to a winding-sheet or they that stretch themselves upon their couches will be willing to be laid in the grave Charies the Fifth Haec sunt que faciunt invitos mori These are the things which make us unwilling to die was a sober answer of that prudent Emperor to a magnificent Duke of Venice in the like case But now a child of God whose Treasure is in Heaven desireth to be there himself also leaving the world 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Apostle his phrase is Phil. 1.23 having a desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ who by his death doth enable his to die to earthly things that their heart may soar a ofâ— and aspire to that place where he their treasure is where their souls being sequestred from earthly comforts they drink no longer at the broken cisterns of the Creature but derive all their happinesse from him with whom their springs are found Thus those precious Jewels their immortal souls shall there shine in their native lustre where not trampled upon by filthy sense they approach to God and are made more like to him from whom their essence was received And thus much shall serve for the first use Is Death inevitable Vse 2 then let this be a cordial to cheer us up under to strengthen us against the losse of friends we usually say patience perforce is small hearts ease but yet we may make a virtue 〈◊〉 this necessity of mortality imposed upon us to help our patience in this particular The wise heathen could comfort himself under the losse of his sons with this expression Scio me mortales genuisse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Laert. Diog vita Anaxag I know I have begot such who are mortal But a holy Christian who knoweth that God hath appointed and not fate imposed a necessity of Death to all may with greater comfort support himself with a Scio Deum hoc decrevisse I know God hath appointed it and with the Psalmist hold his peace seeing the Lord hath done it David hath learned this lesson exceeding well and we see him take it out to the amazement of his Servants 2 Sam. 12.21 22 23. even to their saying with admiration What thing is this that thou hast done Much more may we comfort our selves if we know they did die in the Lord The doubt of which possibly might be one reason of the impatience and immoderate grief of the aforesaid holy man for the death of Absalon Were our relations holy in their lives they are happy after death They have left us we have not lost them but shall receive them or rather be received to them at the last day when death shall be swallowed up into victory 'T is the Apostle his comparison That which thou sowest is not quickned except it die neither is the body raised in glory except sown in dishonour 1 Cor. 15.36 43. This is rather envy than piety to bewail the death of such Charron of Wisdom lib. 3. c. 27. seeing their absence from us speaks their presence with their and our chiefest good Their death is but a departure to a better life Hence St. Paul when he speaketh of his death for the cause of his blessed Saviour 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Châ—ysost in Phil. 2.12 and the service of the Church Phil. 2.12 doth not call for their tears but rejoying The serious belief of a Resurrection and this life which is to come would be then a great support under our loss of friends for the present 1 Thess 4.14 or else the Apostle shewed himself no good Rhetorician when he maketh use of such an Argument to perswade believers from sorrowing as others which have no such hope But whilst I speak for this Humanitatis vero officia misericordiae opera quod alibi monuimus per hoc non damnantur c. Bulling in 1 Thess 4.13 14. I would not seem the least to countenance or insinuate the other extreme I mean that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is more common in the world Many men who would not be counted 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 men without hope yet are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without natural affection who never think they shall live till their relations die and follow them with less sorrow to their graves then they return with laughter to their Chests The which though they labour to conceal yet their neglect of Funeral Rites to their deceased friends doth give others occasion to suspect it If you ask them a reason of this omission their answer is at hand and because you shall know they speak not without the book you shall have the sense if not the words of the Father O mnis ista curatio funeris August de Civit. Dei lib. 2. c. 12. conditio sepulturae pompa exequiarum magis sunt vivorum solatia quam subsidia mortuorum Funeral soâ—â—mnities are rather for the comfort of the living than the advantage of the dead and therefore are with less trouble omitted than cost performed But I could wish such to look a little further and they shall soon perceive what ill use they make of that Doctrine Nec ideo tamen contemnenda August de Civit. Dei lib. 1. c. 13. abjicienda sunt corpora defunctorum c. We must not therefore cast those away from whom God hath withdrawn his breath especially those bodies which have been the organs of the Holy Spirit to every good work God will not be well pleased that men should respect those bodies that were the Temples of the Holy Spirit no more than dung which is cast forth into the open Air That the Stones of the Sanctuary should be poured forth in the top of every street that the precious Sons of Zion comparable to fine gold should be esteemed as earthen pitchers nor that the Body of a man should be buried as the Carcase of a dog The same God who hath commanded us not to sorrow as men without hope doth yet allow we should mourn as those in whose hearts resideth love That we weep Vid. Bullin optimè de hac re disserentem Dec. 3. Ser. 10. de Inst Eccles Mat. 23.27 29. will speak us men that in this case we grieve with moderation will shew us Christians Indeed our Saviour seems to chide such who did build the Tombs of the Prophets and garnish the Sepulchers of the righteous but take notice they were such who themselves were as graves that did not appear and like unto whited Sepulchers Luk. 11.44 47. seeing it was not affection to the persons of the
should be loth to decide what Infinite Wisdome hath left in doubt neither do I profess my self to understand what the Angels of heaven nor any man doth know but the Father onely Mat. 24.36 Proud desire of knowledge may do hurt where humble ignorance of what God is pleased to conceal doth not suppose a fault Let me leave this therefore irresolved as the former and apply what hath been already said It may inform us in the words of the Apostle Vse 1 Rom. 14.12 So then every one of us shall give an account of himself to God for therefore is this Judgement appointed that God may exercise Distributive Justice in the World by rewarding the righteous punishing the wicked absolving the one condemning the other which actions suppose a scrutiny in mens lives And although God who knoweth all things might without further witness pass to give Sentence yet he will give the sinner leave to plead his own Cause and then out of his own mouth will condemn him or else so clear shall be the testimony of his own Conscience that it shall leave him speechless without excuse And thus the sinner shall justifi God when he speaketh and shall clear him when he judgeth Thus they who would not confess their sin here to give glory to God shall will they nill they then confess it to take shame unto themselves Neither is this account less strict than sure there are no shifts to avoid it we cannot blinde the eyes of this Judge with gifts nor scare him with our frowns nor appeal from his Tribunal to a higher Bench nor hide our selves from his Omniscience or fly any where from his Presence His Serjeant Conscience will Arrest the proudest Prince and bring him before the King of kings where devested of his Royal Pomp he shall equally stand to receive his Doom with the meanest Peasant and shall there exchange his Scepter for a Crown of Glory his Royal Ornaments for the White Robes of the Saints or else be environed with greater shame Each creature will own the Summons at that day which the last Trump shall proclaim The Earth shall give up its dead the Sea likewise it s that so each person contained in them may give an account of himself to God Secondly If God hath appointed a Day wherein to Judge the World Then learn that 1 Cor. 4.5 Therefore judge nothing before the time untill the Lord come who will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of the heart Let no man anticipate God or take his Office out of his hand by judging his brethren Exact knowledge is requisite in a Judge Si judicas cognosce Sen. Med. but the eyes of man are too dim to judge of the actions of others because they cannot see them in the heart their Root and Fountain for God alone searcheth hearts Hence it is that holy men in this life are oft judged as hypocrites when as on the contrary the glistring gloworm of Morality in this dark night of the world goeth under the notion of Holiness and Integrity Thus the righteous are condemned and the wicked are justified by those who judge after the sight of their eyes according to appearance and not righteous judgement To those God doth speak Who art thou that judgest another Iam. 4.12 And also Gods people say as to Moses was once retorted by the Israelite Who made thee a Prince Exo. 2.14 and a Judge over us Produce thy Commission thou that art so forward in censuring or condemning the rest of thy brethren If thou hast none what is thy plea for this inordinate practice Is it that in the Psalmist Psa 12.4 Our lips are our own who is Lord over us And therefore thy tongue walketh through the streets Hast thou not read that God is ready to judge both the quick and the dead to acquit whom thou condemnest to condemn whom thou approvest Or readest thou not that of the Apostle Jam. 5.9 Behold the Judge standeth before the door execute not then thy malice till God hath delivered his Sentence It is not hatred of sin but desire of revenge which doth inflame mens tongues with a love to blame and condemn not amend and correct the faults of others or rather as S. Austin doth notably observe De Serm. Dom. in Mont. lib. 2. cap. 18. in Mat. 7.1 Such do labour with Pride or Envy which cause their hearts to swell against the persons and names of their brethren Whilst I thus inveigh against judging another I do not say but we may say A sin is a sin Gal. 5.19 for the works of the flesh are manifest and therefore fall under our censure But in judging we must avoid these three things First We must not we may not judge our brethren about the use or abstinence from those things which in their own nature are indifferent In this case the Apostle puts the question Sunt quaeiam facta media quae ignoramus quo an mo siam qaia bono malo siâ—r possunt de quibu temerarium est judicare maxime ut condemnemus Aug. de Serm Dom. in Mont. l. 2. c. 18. Rom. 14.4 Who art thou that judgest another mans servant to his own Master he standeth or falleth And for the abstinence from such things the same Apostle saith Let no man judge you Calvin in loc and that is as one explains it make guilty of Judgement or Condemnation to wit for the omission of such Ceremonies as were abolished by Christ his death Secondly Our Suspicions must not serve us to condemn our brethren for those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 those secret things of the heart it is Gods work to bring them to light 1 Cor. 4 3. Suspicions are no Proof and therefore not a sufficient foundation of a Legal Sentence No nor every Report is sufficient to raise a mist whereby to darken the reputation of our brethren for we know SI SATIS FVERIT ACCVSASSE NEMO ERIT INNOCENS If it were sufficient to accuse none should be innocent We must therefore in this case take Gods counsel and imitate his practice First We must take his counsel Deut. 13.14 They were not upon a bare report to destroy them who said Let us go and serve other gods But minde thou shalt inquire make search and ask diligently and behold if it be truth and the thing certain then do thus and thus Again see Gods Practice Gen. 18.21 There God who is Omniscient saw their sin the cry thereof came unto heaven yet speaking to our capacity and suggesting our duty I will go down now saith he and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it which is come unto me and if not I will know This is the second thing we must avoid then in judging we must not condemn our brother for what we suppose or suspect before sound search after and clear knowledge of the fact Thirdly and
of glory hereafter both of them had their fruit unto holiness and the end of both shall be Eternal Life The Body without the Soul is incapable of the Soul without the Body is incomplete in this Eternal Happiness They were Commilitones in pugna they shall be Consortes in praemio It is styled Rom. 8.18 Putas qualis tunc erit splendor animarum quando solis claritatem habebit lux corporum Aug. Ser. 12. in verb. Apost 2 Cor. 5.10 1 Cor. 15. Glory revealed in us Not to speak then of the Soul which is the proximate Subject thereof and therefore shall excel that of the body Let us a little see what Scripture speaks concerning that whereof the Body shall be a partaker The Apostle describing to us the estate of the Body in the Resurrection thereof doth in some measure represent to us the estâ—te it shall for ever continue in The Body of a man considered in this present condition it is in is of little worth had it nota reference to an Eternity which is future It is corruptible dishonourable infirm natural but when it is raised again this corruptible doth put on incorruption that which was sown in dishonour is raised in glory that which was sown in weakness is raisedin power In a word that which was sown 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a natural body shall be raised 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a spiritual body So far then as these opposites excel each the other so far shall the estate of the Body which is future excel that which is at present But the same Apostle doth yet more lively delineate the future glory of the body So great shall the change thereof be Phil. 3.21 that it shall be fashioned like unto the glorious body of the Lord Jesus Christ It is here 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a vile body or which is worse a body of vileness Ante ortum sperma faetidum Gerhar Med. 34. in vita saccus stercorum post mortem cibus vermium This is the condition of all But Gods people are exceeding vile in the eyes of others and are yet more vile in their own eyes Oh but in that day when God doth make up his jewels he will remember them when he will cast aside many a glittering stone He will be glorified in them who were despised because of him he will despise those in whose account he was not precious the latter shall awake to shame and everlasting contempt but the former shall shine as the brightness of the firmament Dan. 12.2 3. as the stars for ever and ever And this for the first Secondly Let us consider it QVOAD MODVM according to the Manner of this Eternal Estate And so we shall finde it consists 1 In Remotione Malorum 2 In Exhibitone Bonorum In Removing what speaketh Misery in Conferring whatsoever is called Good I begin with the former because it is ever supposed at least effected by the latter First then the Removal of Misery doth ever accompany this estate of Happiness Now there are three great Miseries under which holy men groan in this life which they shall then be freed from 1 Sin 2 Temptations 3 Sorrow From all these the Saints shall then be released I will speak somewhat to them in their order First Sin This is the source of all our misery and when we are freed from it we shall be completely happy This is that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sin that dwelleth in us Rom. 7.17 as the Apostle calls it And therefore before we lay down this tabernable of our body Quia peccavit ista natura quum peccare potuit largâ—ore gratia liberatur ut ad cam perducatur libertatem in qua peccare non possit sic enim erit inamissibilis voluntas pietatis aequitatis quomodo est faelicitatis August de Civ Dci l. 21. c. 30. it will not change its dwelling An imperious Tenant which will turn the Land-lord out of doors But this is our comfort it is a Tenant at will I mean at Gods will who by our death shall destroy it This because the nearest is therefore the greatest grief to a godly heart The sin of others also is matter of trouble to a pious Soul But in this estate of life righteous Lot shall no more be vexed in his Soul 1 Pet. 2.7 8. with the the ungodly deeds of the unclean Sodomites Ps 110.5 Holy David shall not sojourn in Meshech nor dwell in the tents of Kedar Or Jeremiah wish for a lodging-place of wayfaring-men in the wilderness that he might leave his people and go from them The choicest earthly contents are but a shadow or as a dream of the night to those heavenly delights where each faculty of the Soul shall be setled in its primitive perfection and each member of the Body become subservient to the end of its Creation The Glory of God and the Comfort of the whole The Law of the Members shall be extinguisht by the victorious strength of the law of the Spirit of Life which is in Christ Jesus Those civil commotions in the minde of man shall cease and the blessed conquerors shal bear their Palms in their hands and cast their Crowns at the feet of him Rom. 11.15 with whom they shall also reign Secondly Temptations These are part of the misery of a holy man Nemo seeurus esse debet in hac vita quae totae tentatio nominatur Aug. Confes lib. 10. cap. 32. Whilst we are in this probation-state we cannot but be under a necessity of meeting with trials whilst on this side heaven we are in danger of falling by them Vide Aug. de civ Dci l. 19. c. 27. Strait is the gate which leadeth unto heaven and great yea many are the stumbling-blocks to hinder our entrance Narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and many are the snares which are laid to hinder our progress thither We open not our eyes but we are ready to behold vanity we hear not but the Devil is ready by corrupt communication to corrupt our manners we taste not but our wine is a mocker and our bread deceitful The Devil hath bribed our senses and they are become purveyors of the flesh Even where we think our selves most safe the Devil doth oft take us napping even in our harmless Recreations Latet anguis in herba Ipsum mundum per omnes hor as tentationibus plenum August de civ Dei l. 1. c. 27. and we are stung ere we are aware So that how true is that In many things we offend all Jam. 3.2 * Adde to all Temptations from the World such whom the Psalmist calls his †Vid. by th Prax. in Psal 5.9 Observers such who watch for their haltings and say as those of Jeremiah 20 10. Peradventure he will be enticed and we shall prevail against him and we shall take revenge on him And if such a mans foot slip they magnifie themselves against