inheritance hereafter Fourthly when death comes near to us we have most need of the best comforts both for soul and body that we may the more strongly encounter with this terrible enemy in the dissolution of our souls from our bodies but Christ at this time had soure vinegar given him which could no way comfort him but rather aggravate his pains and sorrowes when he was every way in great extremity This doth fitly resemble the case of many of Gods dear servants for they are often troubled and perplexed with many fears doubtings temptations and evil sugestions of the devil when they are to enter into a single combate with death it self for then he will lay their sins before them with all the aggravations that may be and he will labour to hide the mercies of God in Christ from them that they might have no hope or comfort to support them in this great conflict which doth put them into trouble of minde grief of heart and anguish of spirit and it is more uncomfortable and unpleasing to their spirituall taste than any vinegar can be to the palate Then is the time when the Divell is most maliciously bent against them then doth he bestirre himself to trouble the Peace of their consciences to disquiet the tranquillity of their mindes and to keep them from the assurance of the love and favour of God to them in Christ that they should not comfortably resign up their souls unto God he will affright them with the fear of death with the greatnesse of their sins with the hypocrisie of their hearts with their infidelity and unbelief he will labour to keep the gracious promises of God from them or else to perswade them that they belong not unto them that so they should have no comfortable assurance of the pardon of their sins Also he will terrifie them with the fear of Gods justice and with the terrour of the dreadfull day of judgement if it were possible to drive them into despair But here is comfort for a poor sinner that it is thus assaulted by the Divel when he is near his departure out of this life or at any other time that Christ hath sanctified all these sorrowes and conflicts to him and he will confirm his faith and stablish his hope upon his true humiliation for his sins and then those fears and doubtings will vanish away for he knoweth that we are not able to resist such temptations and the weaknesse of our spirits and of body is such that we cannot withstand such strong assaults and therefore Christ will give most strength to our inward man when the outward man is most weak and he will most weaken the power of the Divell when his malice is strongest to do us hurt And though we may be dangerously foyled in these spirituall combates yet Christ will uphold our faith he will give us spirituall consolation and will speak peace to our souls and consciences when through weaknesse of body we cannot expresse the joy and comfort of it Fifthly before we can willingly leave this world we must be well perswaded that we shall injoy a better habitation in the world to come which holy perswasion that we may have we must seriously consider how we have done the works which God hath appointed us how we have improved the talent that he hath lent us how we have glorified God in our calling and what good we have done to our neighbour according to the means and ability that God hath given us for we must give an account of all these things before the Tribunall Seat of God and we shall be judged according to our works Wherefore if we can truly say that we have done Gods works to the best of our power with an upright heart and that we have well improved our time and our talent to the glory of God then we may say with Christ It is finished and with Paul t 2 Tim. 7. 8 I have finished my course and have kept the faith henceforth is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousnesse which the Lord the righteous Judge shall give me at that day and not to me onely but unto all them also that love his appearing And though our work hath been very imperfectly done by us yet Christ our Saviour will make it perfect by that which he hath done for us in our nature and God will accept it for his sake then we shall cheerfully resign up our souls to God at the hour of our dissolution Sixthly Christ doth here teach us to commend our souls into the hands of God we received them immediatly from God and therefore we ought to resign them up again unto him he breathed into us the breath of life which is our chiefest and most precious Jewell and therefore we ought to keep it holy and undefiled for him that when he is pleased to call for it we may be sure to deliver it up to himself for the Divell will be ready watching for it as soon as it is separated from the body and none can keep it from him but onely God Wherefore we must keep our souls so pure and clean that God may accept them and take them into his charge for if we present unto him a filthy soul polluted with the guilt of sin we have no ground to believe that God will take care of it and keep it unto the general resurrection Wherefore we should study and labour to keep our souls clean from sin by washing them dayly in the blood of Christ by faith if they be stained with the sins of the day we should thus cleanse them at night before we sleep and if they are defiled with the pollutions of the night â— we must not forget to wash them with the teares sighes and groanes that flow from a sorrowfull and contrite heart in the morning before we set about our necessary occasions in our calling that we may comfortably believe that God will blesse and prosper our handy work If this be our dayly and constant practise the blessing of God will go along with us in all our actions sin cannot then cleave to our souls to make death fearfull to us death cannot then come suddenly upon us neither will the remembrance of it be terrible but we shall cheerfully commend our souls to God because we may confidently believe that he will keep them in his heavenly mansions untill they shall be again united to our bodies with an unseparable union and made glorious bodies fit to live and reign with Christ for ever But naturall men know not the worth of their souls nor the great price wherewith they are redeemed if they belong unto Christ they suppose that the soul cometh from a Principle of nature as the body doth whereas it is an immortall spirit which proceedeth not from any mortall principle but is breathed into us by the holy Ghost as soon as the body is framed in the wombe and made capable to receive this breath of
do we hope for no greater felicity than what we now injoy We hâ—ve no abiding place here but we are subject to changes every moment and upon every small occasion o 1 Chro. 29 15. We are strangers and sojourners here our dayes on earth are as a shadow and there is none abiding our mansion house where we must dwell for ever is in heaven which Christ our Saviour hath prepared for us to draw our mindes from all earthly delights which are fading and transitory and alwayes mixed and imbittered with some sorrowes and vexations that our hearts and affections may be inflamed to injoy that celestial happinesse where we shall be stablished and confirmed in perfect holinesse for ever and where we shall injoy the perfection of all blessedness for evermore Wherefore p Heb. 12. 2. look unto Jesus the Author and finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the crosse despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the Throne of God q 2 Tim. 2. i2 If we suffer with Christ we shall also reign with him if we dye with him we shall also live with him if we are buried with him we shall rise with him and if we partake with him in his humiliation we shall also partake with him in his exaltation for the members must be made conformable to the Head Of the Resurrection of CHRIST VVE come now to the Exaltation of our blessed Redeemer for though he suffered his enemies to tyrannize over him at their pleasure and to put him to a most cruell and shamefull death upon the crosse because it was his heavenly Fathers will it should be so yet he rose again the third day by the Almighty Power of his Deity and cloathed himself with the glorious robes of immortality triumphing over all his enemies both spirituall and temporall The truth of his Resurrection a Luk. 24. did first appear by the testimony of two Angels to the Woman that came the third day to his Sepulchre to imbalm his body b John 20. then he appeard to Mary and to his Disciples at several times also to five hundred brethren at once and he conversed with his Disciples fourty dayes upon earth before he ascended up into heaven Many Saints that slept were raised out of their graves with him who also appeared to many in the holy City and probably ascended up with him into heaven so that we may safely build our faith upon the truth of his Resurrection which is an Article of faith that we must believe for the well grounding of our hope that our bodies shal also rise again from the dead with songs of rejoicing and triumph Here is matter of exceeding great comfort to our souls for our hearts to Meditate upon if we do stedfastly believe that Jesus Christ our blessed Saviour is risen from the dead First we may be truly perswaded hereby that he hath fully satisfied the justice of God for all our sins and that the guilt of sin is taken away from our souls and nailed to his Crosse so that if God looks upon our sins there he will also see the precious blood of his dear Son that was spilt for them Secondly we may firmly believe that Christ by his Resurrection hath gotten the victory and conquest over sin death hell and the Devill c John 10. 18 for as he had power to lay down his life so he had power to take it up again Christ hath likewise taken away the strength of sin and hath pulled out the sting of death in that he hath fulfilled all righteousnesse and fully satisfied the penalty of the Law d 1 Cor. 15. 56. for the sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the Law Wherefore we may now draw vertue and grace from Christ to overpower all the corruptions of our nature e Eph. 2. 1. and though we are dead in trespasses and sins yet by the power of his Resurrection he will quicken us and raise us up out of the grave of sin and will give us a spirituall life to live the life of grace to him here that we may live the life of glory with him hereafter for ever Why then should we fear death that hath no sting to wound us Why should we not smile upon it seing Christ hath sanctified it to us Why should we fear the Devill with a servile fear seing Christ hath redeemed us out of his bondage His malice may molest and trouble us if we be not well armed with faith but Christ hath weakened his power below our strength When our bodieslye in the dust our souls will be out of the devils reach for Christ will take them up to himself into the Paradise of God where the devil cannot come for he is cast down into utter darknesse he may be permitted to tempt or afflict us while we are in the flesh but Christ whom we serve will not suffer him to prevail against us Thirdly seeing Christ our head is risen from the dead we also that are his members must rise again at the last day for the Head will draw all the members of the body with it Christ hath redeemed our bodies from the grave as well as our souls from death if therefore we be not raised again out of the grave our redemption is not perfectly wrought Also if there shall be no resurrection of our bodies and if death hath power to keep them still in the grave then our union with Christ is not firm and our faith is not able to keep us close unto him and our hope is not stedfast but death hath not this power the graves will open and deliver up their dead and our bodies shall rise again to injoy that unconceivable happinesse with our souls of the beatificall vision of God and to be for ever with Christ our Redeemer because Christ our Head is risen Lastly our chief comfort dependeth upon our resurrection to glory for in this life we finde nothing but labour and travell sorrow and trouble vexation and anguish of spirit our hope of future rest and peace of joy and comfort happinesse and glory doth sweeten all our afflictions here and makes us bear them contentedly and chearfully for as David saith f Psal 58. 11. Verily there is a reward for the righteous and this reward is in heaven Now if there be no resurrection from the dead our hope is vain our comfort will deceive us and our life is most miserable of all men according to this of Paul g 1 Cor. 15. 15. If in this life onely we have hope in Christ we are of all men most miserable for we shall never injoy this reward which God hath promised but our faith is grounded upon the sure promises of God which cannot deceive us concerning the resurrection of our bodies unto glory which will yield us unspeakable consolation when we seriously Meditate upon it Wherefore now raise
up thy spirit thou fainting soul for Christ hath redeemed thy body from the grave and thy soul from death by his Resurrection he hath conquered all the enemies of thy salvation sin hath no condemning power over thee death is advantage to thee hell is lockt up from thee and the Devill himself cannot go beyond his commission for thy hurt Though the world doth frown upon thee h Joh. 16. 33 and thou findest tribulation here yet be of good chear and lift up thy head for Christ hath overcome the world and he will sanctifie all thy tribulations to thee Thou livest here subject to shame and reproach to diseases of body and sorrow of spirit and to all miseries and calamities but death will put an end to all thy labour and travell the grave will refine thy body from all imperfections and diseases and thy resurrection will bring thee to thy reward which is laid up for thee in heaven If the powers of darknesse set themselves in array against thee if the terrours of death assault thee fear not but keep close to the Resurrection of thy Saviour by faith he hath overcome them all and will also subdue them unto thee i Eph â— 30. If thou art a member of his body of his flesh and of his bones thou must be made conformable to him as to thy head as well in his glory as in his shame as well in his resurrection as in his death and buriall If the crosse must try thy strength he will not tire thee with a greater burden than thou art well able to bear If pain or sicknesse brings thee near unto death the faithfull hope of a joyful resurrection will greatly refresh and comfort thy soul for though thy soul must be parted from thy body yet neither thy soul nor thy body shall be parted fuom Christ but thou shalt rise again out of the dust with a spirituall and immortal body to be joyned unto Christ thy head for ever Now think on these things with holy affections and they will minister heavenly comfort to thy soul when thou art in any perplexity of minde or body Consider now to whom Christ appeared after his Resurrection it was first to holy Women who in their pious devotion and love to him came to imbalm his body with spices and sweet odours then he appeared to his Disciples at sundry times and also to many Brethren that they all might be well confirmed in the truth of his Resurrection and of his Deity to comfort them in their sorrowes to uphold them in their sufferings to strenthen their faith against all persecutions and bloody tryals and to be able to strengthen others in the Doctrine of the Resurrection Thus did the holy Apostles testfiie that they had seen the Lord Jesus after he was risen to confirm their Doctrine of his Resurrection But Christ did not appear to any wicked or ungodly men for they could neither believe it nor understand it nor receive any comfort or benefit by it because they have no spirituall eye to discern his glorified body but chiefly because they have no relation to him as their Saviour Christ doth appear to us at this day by his Spirit when he doth manifest to us the truth of his Resurrection by his Word and doth give us grace to apply it to our selves for the confirmation of our faith in the Resurrection of our bodies at the last day But chiefly Christ doth appear to us when by faith we draw vertue and power from his Resurrection to rise from the death of sin to the life of grace when we can raise up the affections of our hearts from earthly and worldly cares to heavenly contemplations and when we can with the wings of faith mount up above the sinfull delights and pleasures of this life and above all the calamities and tribulations that we shall meet with here upon earth to have our conversation in heaven and can draw comfort to our selves in all our sorrowes and miseries from the hope of our resurrection There will also be a day of resurrection to the wicked which will be most sad wofull and miserable to them for they shall not rise with purified and glorified bodies but with filthy ugly and unclean bodies all besmeared with the guilt of sin which will make them odious to look upon and they have no covering to hide their sins but onely the Divels liverey which is a guilty conscience that they may be known to whom they belong For there is no place and no inheritance in heaven for such unclean monsters but they shall be thrust down into the lowest hell to partake with the devil and his angels in their everlasting torments which is the reward of all wicked men for their evill works Of CHRISTS Ascension up into Heaven VVHen Christ had fully instructed his Apostles after his Resurrection in those things which concerned the Kingdom of Heaven and had taught them how to plant his Church here upon earth he was taken up in the sight and view of them all and ascended up into heaven where he sitteth at the right hand of God in fulnesse of Majesty and glory until he shall come again to judge both the quick and the dead whereby Christ is now become our eternall Advocate with the Father to make intercession for us and he is also our eternall high Priest to present our Prayers and oblations to God At his Ascension he carried up our humane nature with him into heaven and hath advanced it above the Angels and above all Principalities and powers also Christ hath taken possession of that heavenly Inheritance which we shall hereafter injoy for he keeps it for us Wherefore now let the thoughts of our hearts be raised up in our holy Meditations to contemplate the transcendent glory of Christ now he is at the right hand of the Father that we may firmly confide in him and have a longing desire to be with him to injoy that place of true blessednesse a John 14. 2 which he hath prepared for us in his Fathers house Also let all our Prayers and sacrifices proceed from an upright and a believing heart that they may be such as Christ will present to his Father for us and then we may confidently believe that God will graciously receive them Here is also great comfort for us that though we sin dayly through humane frailty or through the corruption of our nature b 1 John 2. 1 2. that we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous and he is the propitiation for our sins who will intercede for us and will present the merit of his blood unto him in full satisfaction for all our sins whereof we may have an holy assurance by faith and true repentance If we do faithfully believe that we have such an high Priest and such an Advocate in heaven why do we give our selves liberty in sin to displease him Why do we cherish any darling sin
will still reign in us though we cannot actually commit sin So likewise if we do spiritually feed upon the body and blood of Christ at the Lords Table we do then seal this Covenant of grace to our souls and we shall finde the comfort of all those promises that are contained in it This spiritual food was the fruit that the Spouse did feed upon h Cant. 2. 3. which was so sweet to her taste and we shall also finde the same sweetnesse in that blessed fruit But if we come to that holy Supper with mindes full of worldly cares or sinfull lusts and with hearts full of hypocrisie and unbelief we do eat and drink damnation to our selves We need not now envy at the prosperity of ungodly men their wealth is their snare to bring them into the paths of perdition their gain is their losse their pleasure will be their pain and their sweetnesse will be bitterness to them in the end so that what gain soever they make of this world if they do not also gain Christ with it they will finde no Advantage nor true comfort by it It is a shame for rich men and a dishonour for such as are in eminent places of authority if they are not truly vertuous and religious This heavenly gain is peculiar onely to the Children of God which they have onely by Christ and they seek it no where but of him Our Advantage and Gain by CHRIST in Death AS Christ is our spirituall gain in this life so he is no lesse our advantage and Gain in our death for he hath so conquered death that it shall neither sting us nor hurt us though we must at Gods appointed time yield and submit unto it Death of it self is a terrible enemy and destructive to our whole nature and it is the greatest part of the curse for the breach of the Law but Christ hath made it our friend and hath taken the curse from it so that if we live an holy and pious life in Christ we shall also dye a comfortable and a Christian death in him a Rom. 5. 12 By the fall of Adam sin entered into the world and death by sin and so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned b Heb. 9. 2â— Therefore it is appointed unto all men once to dye and after this is the judgement Thus saith the Psalmist c Psal 89. 48 What man is be that liveth and shall not see death Shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave Paul saith d 2 Cor. 4. 7 that our bodies are but earthen vessels which are soon broken or e 2 Cor. 5. 1. earthly houses which are soon dissolved The wise man hath no priviledge from death more than the fool one event happeneth to them both f Eccl. 2. 14 16 How dyeth the wise man As the fool saith the Preacher g Eccl. 3. 20 All go unto one place both high and low rich and poor all are of the dust and all turn to dust again For we must be conformed to Christ in his death if we desire to be conformed to him in his resurrection This is the way that every man must go before he can h Rom. 3. 23. come to eternall life for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God i Rom 6. 23 and the wages of sin is death If it be so that none can escape the stroke of death but that it will seize upon all flesh with an unresistible power we ought then to be alwayes well prepared that death may not come suddenly upon us to take us away in our sins before we have made our peace with God by faith in Christ and before we have got a modest and sober assurance of the pardon of our sins by true repentance that we may willingly part with this world and comfortably resign up our souls to God in full hope that we shall injoy a better life hereafters for evermore and this preparation for Death is onely by Christ Consider now that Christ will fit and prepare us for Death and will also fit a Death for us which shall make most for the glory of God and be most advantagious to us and he will so sanctifie it to us that our gain thereby shall be far greater than our loss If we dye in the Lord or for the Lord death may part our souls from our bodies but it cannot part our souls from Christ the soul may be parted for a time from a crazy diseased and corruptible body which is but an earthly Tabernacle but we shall receive the same bodies again in full strength in perfect beauty and incorruptible free from aches or diseases from decay or corruption Death may take our souls out of a world of miseries and calamities of sorrowes troubles and vexations but it will presently convey them into an haven of rest and into an heaven of happinesse where there is no labour nor toil no troubles nor sorrow but perfect peace and fulnesse of joy for ever and our bodies shall be raised up to injoy the same blessednesse with our souls k 2 Cor. 5. 1. Death may dissolve the earthly house of our tabernacle but we have a building of God an house not made with hands eternall in the heavens What if we lose our lands and possessions wherunto we are but tenants at will l â— Pet. 1. 3 4 We have a lively hope by Christ to injoy an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in heaven for us Death may take us from our earthly friends but it will bring us into the society of the glorious Angels and blessed Saints in heaven and to be wedded to Christ our Beloved for ever to whom in this life we are but espoused Consider in the next place for our further comfort that we have this Advantage by Christ above other men when we are to dye m 1 Cor. 15. 55 56. that death hath nothing to hurt us sin hath no power to condemn us and therefore death cannot binde us over unto judgement Thus saith the Lord by his Prophet n Isa 42 â—5 I even I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake and will not remember thy sins How can death then be any way hurtful to us As Christ hath taken away the guilt of our sins so he will also fasten all our good works and pious duties to our souls which will go with us to the grave o Rev. 14. 13 and will follow us to the day of judgement to be had in remembrance then before God This is a blessed Advantage that we have by Christ in death above other men that have no interest in Christ For their evil works cleave so close to their souls that they will follow them unto judgement to increase their torments in their condemnation Thus saith Paul p 1 Tim. 5. 24. Some mens sins are open before hand
them z Psal 68. 5 A father of the fatherlesse and a judge of the widowes is God in his holy habitation Also God will blesse the children if their fathers have lived in the true fear of God and he will provide for them if death takes away their parents and they are left destitute of food and rayment But this may be an advantage even to such children because then they are immediatly commended to the care and providence of God who best knoweth how to make provision for them and he will neither be wanting in the trust that is committed to him neither wil he frustrate the hope of those that rest and depend upon him for succour in time of need Consider in the last place what the Son of Sirach saith a Eccl. 41. 1 2. That as the remembrance of death is bitter to a man that liveth at rest in his possessions unto the man that hath nothing to vex him and that hath prosperity in all things yea unto him that is yet able to receive meat so the sentence of death is acceptable unto the needy and unto him whose strength faileth that is now in the last age and is vexed with all things and to him that despaireth and hath lost patience But none can be truly willing to dye but onely a true Christian that is ingrafted into Christ and hath an holy assurance that he dyeth in the love and favour of God and doth faithfully hope for that Crown of righteousness and that heavenly Inheritance which the righteous Judge hath reserved for him If we have this assurance by our union with Christ and also a stedfast hope of salvation well grounded upon the promises of God we shall not be afraid to look death in the face nor unwilling to resign up our souls unto God before death doth violently or suddenly take them from us For Christ hath taken away the evill that is in death and hath so weakened the power of it that it cannot bereave our souls of that spiritual comfort and gain which we have by him though sometimes we cannot feel it in a sudden or violent death neither can it binde us over unto judgement For nothing can dissolve the union that is between Christ and our souls by faith Though God should take us away when we are young or in our middle age as he did that good King Josiah yet it shall be for our great Advantage that we should not see the evill that is to come and the sooner to injoy our eternall rest and happinesse with Christ Our Advantage and gain by CHRIST after death BUt the chiefest gain that a true Believer hath by Christ is after death for whatsoever he gained by him in life or in death was to fit him for the injoyment of this great gain and to give him some assurance of it and some taste how great and how comfortable it is We have this heavenly advantage by Christ in this life but in hope and we cannot come to the full fruition of it until after death and then we shall find it to be so great that no tongue can expresse it and no heart can conceive it but if we duly consider from what evils and miseries we shall be then freed and what glory and blessedness we shall then injoy we may conceive something of this unspeakable gain First we shall be freed from all the temptations and suggestions of the devil a Rev. 12. 9. for he is cast out into the earth and all his wicked Angels are cast out with him They never had any place in heaven since their fall though they flie in the air or mount up to the first or second region of heaven yet they cannot come into the heaven of happinesse where the Saints and Angels of God have their habitation for heaven is not a place for such unclean spirits Also in heaven we shall be freed from all worldly temptations from all carnal delights and earthly vanities that may intice us to sin b Rev. 21. 27 For there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth nor whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie for as the place is most pure so they that come there must be pure and holy Secondly in heaven we shall be freed from the issues of temptation and that is sin for thus saith the Prophet c Jer. 3. 17. When the Nations shall be gathered unto the Throne of the Lord they shall walk no more after the imaginations of their evill heart In this life the soul is purged and purified from the guilt of sin by the bloud of Christ and all the spots and staines of sin are taken away by the laver of regeneration the body also is purified and refined in the grave by the vertue of Christs death and burial and therefore d 1 Cor. 15. 41. though it be sown in corruption in dishonour and in weaknesse yet it is raised in incorruption in glory and in power it is sowen a naturall body but it is raised a spirituall body which is subject to no sin corruption or infirmity which are the fruits of sin and it is endowed with perfect abilities to glorifie God together with the Saints and Angels in heaven So long as we live in the flesh we cannot but sin against God but when this mortal shall put on immortality there will be then no more place for sin but our whole nature shall be made spiritural and heavenly This consideration should make us desire with Paul e Phil. 1. 23. To be dissolved and to be with Christ that we might no more sin against our God nor offend him with our pollutions but alwayes to sing praises and Hallelujahs unto him as the Saints and Angels do in heaven Thirdly we shall then be freed from all troubles and sorrowes from all pain and diseases of body from all anguish of spirit and grief of hears f Rev. 25. 4. For God will wipe away all tears from our eyes and there shall be no more death neither sorrow nor crying neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are passed away Thus are the servants of God freed from all temptations unto sin from all sin and from all misery and sorrow after death by the merit of Christs death and passion but carnal and unregenerate men carry their sins with them to the grave and death opens the gate to their eternal torments in hell for it bindeth them over to the great and terrible day of judgement when the fiercenesse of Gods wrath shall be poured out upon them to their utter confusion We come now to consider what great honour and what joy and comfort the servants of God shall have by Christ after death for though their life here be full of sorrowes yet after death they shall be freed from them all and they shall also have the fulnesse of all true comfort and consolation First we shall injoy God himself g 2
Prophet b Isa 59. 2. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God and your sins have made him hide his face from you that he will not hear For God will not regard us untill the pardon of our sins be sealed to us by faith in the bloud of Christ and we can have no comfort in God nor hope of his grace and favour untill we have some assurance of the remission of our sins by true repentance and turning unto God For thus saith the Prophet c Isa 56. 3 4 5 7 Thâ—ugh we have been strangers to the people of God and as fruitlesse as a dry tree yet if we now kâ—â—p his Sabbaths and choose the things that please him and take hold of his Covenant he will give us a place in his house and an everlasting name that shall not be cut off he will bring us to his holy mountain and make us joyfull in his house of Prayer and all our offerings shall be accepted Though Christ by his death and resurrection hath perfectly wrought our redemption from all our spirituall enemies yet we have not the full vertue and power of it in this life for we are often foiled with the temptations and suggestions of the devill our sins do prevail against us our sinfull lusts and unruly passions do often over-power us d Rom. 7. 19 20 23. and the corruptions of our unregenerate part do war against the Law of our minde and bringeth us captive to the Law of sin so that the good which we would we do not but the evill which we would not that we do it is then no more we that do it but sin that dwelleth in us Wherefore we can feel the power of our redemption but in part so long as we live in the flesh but it will be fully perfected when our corruptible shall put on incorruption and our mortall shall put on immortality and that cannot be untill the generall resurrection at the last day when all the enemies of our salvation shall be subdued For death will seize upon our bodies and will keep them in the prison of the grave untill Christ shall come with power and break open the prison doores by the power of his resurrection and raise them up to immortality and to eternall glory and then our Redemption will be made perfect to us and this e John 6. 54 Christ hath promised and he doth plainly manifest it to us for when he had shewed his disciples some signes and tokens of his second comming which were forerunners of the generall resurrection he said f Luke 21 â— 28. That when they see those things begin to come to passe then they should look up and lift up their heads for their Redemption draweth nigh whereof we are as fully perswaded by faith in this life as if we did already injoy it Wherefore let nothing weaken our faith in our Redemption for we may confidently rest upon it though we have it but in part in this life for Christ will perfect it to us at the last day when he will raise up our bodies out of the dust by his Almighty Power which is the last part of our Redemption Here is matter of great comfort if our hearts do piously ruminate upon the transcendent love of God to us in our Redemption g John 3. 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his onely begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life Redemption is freely offered to all yet none can have the assurance of it but such as believe in Christ and belong unto him through the election of Grace these and none but these shall have the benefit of it for they are within the New Covenant h Heb. 9. 15 which Christ hath procured for them by his death these onely shall receive the promise of an eternall inheritance and shall be advanced to an higher degree of felicity and blessednesse than they had in Adam before his fall Adam had but a dimme light of his Redemption yet it was sufficient to ground his faith upon it and the promise of grace was very mystically delivered to him but the Patriarks and Prophets had a clearer evidence of it God hath given us a full demonstration of our Redemption because Christ is come in the flesh and hath finished the whole work of our Salvation by treading down all principalities and powers under his feet and by subduing to us all the enemies of our salvation and because death is our last enemy which will undoubtedly seize upon our bodies we do assuredly believe that by the power of Christs Resurrection who is our head our bodies shall be raised up out of the dust at the last day for Christ hath redeemed our bodies from death as well as our souls from the devill that both in soul and in body we may live and reign with Christ for evermore Wherefore if God hath been so rich in goodnesse to us and if his grace and love hath been so free as to redeem our souls from hell and our bodies from the grave even when we were his enemies and when he saw nothing in us but misery then let us with the Prophet David say thus with our selves i Psal 116 12 13 14 What shall we râ—nder unto the Lord for all his benefits towards us how shal we pay our vowes which we have made to him in our Baptism or at any other time we will take the cup of salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord we will be his servants and will offer to him the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving Thus let our thoughts and the Meditations of our hearts be alwayes upon the love of God to us and not upon the vanities of this world let them be set upon the joyes and happinesse of heaven and not upon earthly transitory pleasures and delights let us study how to live a sanctified life unto God and a blamelesse life to our neighbours and not how to fulfill our own sinfull desires and the evill concupiscence of our flesh otherwise we have received the grace of God in vain and we can have no good assurance of our Redemption by Christ for God bestoweth his grace upon us and hath given us the light of his Spirit that we should walk as in the light and not in darknesse that our conversation should be holy and pure and not corrupted and defiled with uncleannesse but that we should perform holy obedience unto God and serve him with pure affections Now let our hearts and souls devoutly Meditate upon the great Work of our Redemption for it was far greater than the Creation of the whole world God did but say the Word let such a thing be made and it was made he did not disrobe himself of any part of his glory in the creation of any creature but rather his glory wisdom and power was magnified in the making of the least of them
But in the Redemption of man Christ Jesus the second Person in the sacred Trinity laid aside all his celestiall and heavenly glory which was his due from his first incarnation and from eternity and came down from his Throne of Majesty in heaven and humbled himself to the meanest condition of life here on earth and to the basest and most accursed death even to the death of the crosse that he might Redeâ—m us from the lowest degree of misery and advance us to the highest degree of happinesse even above the blessed Angels in heaven This will be exceeding great joy and comfort to us if we have an holy perswasion of our Redemption by faith in Christ for hereby we have a near relation unto God being made his sons by adoption in Christ and then our souls will so delight in him that nothing will will be hard to us that we shall suffer for his sake and nothing will be too dear for him that he shall require and it will be the desire of our hearts to do his will and the joy of our souls to be joyned nearer and closer unto him also we shall willingly part with our dearest sins rather than our sins shall part us from our God This holy perswasion if it be well grounded will make us fear no adversary power and our spirituall enemies shall not daunt us for we will flee unto Christ as our best refuge in all our troubles and sorrowes we will crave his protection in all our perills and dangers for he is our Redeemer and our Saviour he is the Rock of our salvation in whom we must trust he will give us strength of grace to endure our tryalls to fight his battels and to stand for the truth against all opposition We may safely rest upon Christ and put our confidence in him for comfort and succour when any calamity doth oppresse us for help and deliverance when any spirituall enemy doth assault us for he will be our hiding place in times of danger and our comfort in all our sorrowes and afflictions k Eph. 1. 20 21 22. For God hath set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places farre above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named noâ— onely in this world but also in that which is to come and hath put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the Church Wherefore let the consideration of all these benefits which we have by our Redemption stir us up with all care and diligence to perform that duty and obedience which we owe unto Christ and to expresse all filiall fear and reverence all love praise and thankfulnesse to him for our Redemption which Work neither God nor man could effect for us but onely Christ who was both God and Man The time of grace GOd is the sole Disposer of Time and he keeps that precious Jewell in his own Cabinet to give to the sons of men what time he pleaseth and he appointeth every one to improve their time for the gaining of the grace and favour of God and of those things that do conduce to the kingdom of heaven and not to spend it vainly sinfully and licenciously To some he giveth more time and to some lesse and all must imploy it to the glory of God and to the good of his neighbour God doth measure out our life by time and some have a longer measure than others and this measure is dispensed to us by moments for we cannot recall the time that is past and we do not injoy the time that is to come so that we have onely the time that is now present which is but a moment and when one moment of time is gone God doth give us another until the measure of time that God hath allotted us be fulfilled If we look upon an hour-glasse we shall see how swiftly one grain of sand runneth after another and so continueth untill all be run out Thus it is with the moments of our life one moment followeth swiftly after another which God would have us duly to consider that we may not waste our time in vain things but imploy it to that end for which God gave it and that is to the working out of our own salvation that God may be honoured and glorified thereby and therefore about whatsoever we spend our time if it doth not conduce to that end it is but lost and vainly spent God hath given us a time for all our necessary occasions here upon earth that all things may be done in their season For as the Preacher saith To every thing there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven â— Eccles 3. 1 2. A time to be born and a time to dye a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted and we do observe the times and seasons of the year when to till the ground and when to sow our seed when to reap our harvest and when to gather in the fruits of the earth The Coelestiall Bodies know their times as the Psalmâ—st saitâ— b Psal 164 19. He appointeth the Moon for seasons the Sun knoweth his going down Also the fowles of heaven and the birds in the air have their times appointed for thus God upbraideth his own people by his Prophet c Jer. 8. 7. The Stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times and the Turtle and the Crane and the Swallow observe the times of their coming but my people knoweth not the judgement of the Lord. We are wise enough to know our times for earthly things but we have no care to observe the times of grace how and when we may gain the grace and favour of God that he may accept of our persons and of our holy oblations that we offer unto him and also when we may obtain from him the saving and sanctifying graces of his most blessed Spirit The time of our life is the generall and longest time of grace that God hath given us wherein we should seek his gracious acceptance of us in Christ and wherein he doth work grace in the hearts of all his Elect by his Spirit Now if we measure this time of grace by the length of our dayes accoâ—ding to the course of nature or according to the health and strength of our bodies or by our own foolish fancy that measure is very uncertain for who knoweth whether his dayes shall be many or few Are we not dayly subject to casualities and to sudden death if we be strong and have our health to day we may be weak and sick to morrow though we dream of long life yet it is but a dream for we have no assurance of it If we thus measure the time of grace we shall put it off with delayes untill God doth suddenly bereave us of all time But we must measure out our dayes by the Rule of Gods Word and then we
pain or trouble But wilt thou give so much way to thy passions as to dishonour God thereby is thy minde so much set upon vain pleasures as if no sorrow could come upon thee Did Christ bear his crosse and dost thou think to go free Dost thou not know O fainting soul how to measure thy strength â—f thou dost measure it by the common measure of mature thou wilt find it too weak to bear thee up against those crosses afflictions or temptations which thou shalt meet with in this life but if thou dost measure it by the measure of the sanctuary and by the grace of Christ that is in thee thou wilt then perceive what strength thou hast to bear the crosse for thy strength lyeth not in the wealth or in the arm of flesh but in thy faith in Christ and in the graces of his Spirit If thou hast but a little faith and a small measure of grace thou hast then but little strength and courage to encounter with the assaults of the devill with the troubles and vexations of this world and with the discomforts of sicknesse but art easily surprised with every temptation and sinfull lust and as easily overwhelmed when the waves ef affliction come upon thee Wherefore when thou art upon thy bed of sicknesse or in any distresse and misery complain not of thy strength of body if that be weak and faileth but look to the strength of grace that is in thee o 2 Pet. 3. 18. for grace may grow and increase though the strength of thy body doth decay or is spent and grace will uphold thee from sinking even in the bitter pangs of death and it will make thee to hold on constant to the end in all thy sufferings Consider in the next place that Christ hath appointed his crosse to be the badge of every true Christian which he must wear for the honour of his Lord and Master Thus saith Christ p Mat. 16 24. If any man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his crosse and follow me Also Paul saith q Acts 14. 22. That through much tribulation we must enter into the Kingdom of God Christ giveth this badge to some for the tryal and the manifestation of his graces in them that he may be glorified thereby to others for their humiliation and to bring them to repentance for their sinnes he doth exercise others under the crosse to conform them unto himself in his sufferings and to make them bear it contentedly Also he gives this badge to some to keep them from security and to prevent their backslidings from God for by these tryals and afflictions he doth alwayes intend the good of his servants and not their hurt Where this mark is truly imprinted there will grace appear and the fruits of it will break forth in their conformity to the will of God in their faith and patience under afflictions and in their rejoycing in the crosse of Christ This was the Apostles joy r Acts 5. 41 that they were counted worthy to suffer shame and rebuke for the Name of Christ And this was Pauls glory Å¿ Gal. 6. 1 for saith he God forbid that I should glory save in the crosse of our Lord Jesus Christ by whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world For such is the tender and indulgent care of Christ toward those that wear his livery that though they are put into the fining pot of affliction there to have their drosse and corruptions purged and refined yet he will not suffer them to receive any detriment thereby but he will bring them forth purer gold than they were before Wherefore learn to carry the crosse of Christ in thy heart expect it daily and resolve to bear it willingly when God shall be pleased to lay it upon thee and then thou wilt not feel it so heavie as it is in its own nature also imprint the remembrance of his passion in thy minde thereby to mortifie all thy worldly lusts and sinfull desires This cognizance will tell thee what inheritance thou hast in Christ if thou dost duly examine thy heart when thou art under the crosse how thou hast glorified God by thy faith and patience how much thou art refined from thy corruptions how much nearer thou art brought unto Christ in thine affections to love him to confide in him to delight in the sweet fruition of him and to meditate on his goodnesse and love to thee If thou canst finde such fruits of thy crosse and that in the midst of thy sorrowes thou canst say with holy Job t Job 13. 1â— Though he slay me yet will I trust in him then be confident that Christ hath set his own stamp upon thy heart he will know thee for his own he will hide thee under the shadow of his wings he will provide for thee in all thy necessities and upon all occasions and all the powers of darknesse shall not be able to raise his stamp or the impression of it out of thy heart or to separate thee from Christ Mark further and consider it well that there were some that followed Christ all that dolorous way to Mount Calvary who could not refrain from teares and u Luk. 23. 27 28. sorrowfull sobs but bewailed him and lamented when they saw his dolefull and sad condition and they were chiefly women to whom Jesus turning said Daughters of Jerusalem weep not for me but weep for your selves and for your children Whereby he did graciously instruct them how to fix their mourning upon the right object that their teares may proceed from a principle of grace not to mourn for him because he did suffer no more than what was appointed by his heavenly Father and he did bear it in obedience to his will also he did undertake no more than he was well able to undergoe and no more could be laid upon him than was decreed in his Fathers counsell for the redemption of man But Christ would have them weep and mourn for their sins which brought the wrath of God upon themselves and upon their children for there were grievous judgements which would shortly come upon them Also Christ did intimate to them that their sins and the sins of their children were a great part of the cause why he suffered such contumelies and so much cruelty both by the Jews and by the Gentiles that they might be freed from the guilt and from the punishment of them Consider now that Christ doth give them two speciall reasons why they should weep and mourn for themselves and for their children First because of the great desolation and finall destruction that was shortly after to come upon that famous and renowned City and upon the whole nation of the Jews wherein they and their children should suffer very great calamities therefore Christ did tell them u Lu. 23. 29 That the dayes were coming in which they should say blessed are the barren
resurrection whereof the earthly Paradise was but a shadow i Psal 16. 1. 1. This blessed place is in the presence of God where we shall have fullnesse of joy and it is at Gods right hand where there are pleasures for evermore k Exod. 34. 6. Thus is Christ abundant in goodnesse and in truth if we have but little comfort in this short time of our life yet when we come to the end of our dayes we shall have fulnesse of joy in the Paradise of God together with Christ our Saviour for evermore Wherefore though this life be full of vexations and troubles the meditation and hope of heavenly happinesse which we shall hereafter injoy to all eternity will sweeten the bitternesse of all our momentany afflictions and tribulations Now comfort thy self O penitent sinner if thou art so cast down in the apprehension of thy sins that thou darest not come into the presence of God in regard of Divine justice l Luk. 18. 13. or lift up thine eyes unto heaven with the poor Publicane to crave what thou wantest or desirest because thou hast justly incurred his high displeasure by thy manifold transgressions yet be not disheartned faint not but come cheerfully to Christ with true faith and firm confidence to be received for he will open a Fountain to thee from whence all Divine mercy floweth and thou wilt find him alwayes ready and willing to accept of thee make thy condition therefore truly known unto him put up thy prayers and supplications to him and though thou desirest but a drop of comfort yet he will give thee abundant consolation in what thou sufferest and much more than thou desirest By the example of this Malefactor we may draw holy Meditations upon the Divine Nature of true faith for our instruction and comfort for it looketh beyond the eye of reason and above the reach of nature it maketh us evidently to apprehend that which our reason or naturall capacity cannot shew us and it will make us believe in hope even against hope that which is impossible to nature and incredible to humane reason This miserable sinner had no reason to believe in Christ and to confide in him for his salvation for we do not read that ever he heard his preaching or saw any of his miracles but he saw him now ready to dye an ignominious and cursed death upon the crosse and he heard him thus reviled m Mat. 27. 39. If thou be the Son of God come down from the crosse Also he heard him mocked in this manner by the chief Priests and Elders He saved others himself he cannot save if he be the King of Israel let him come down from the crosse and we will believe in him He trusted in God let him deliver him now if he will have him for he said I am the Son of God Though these and the like blasphemous words were spoken in derision against him which were sufficient in all reason to keep back this Malefactor from trusting in him yet the holy Ghost did so work upon his heart that he did faithfully believe that Christ was the Son of God that he was the King of Israel that he had saved others and therefore he could save him also which made him to apply himself to Christ for comfort and for his salvation and in his addresses to him he came with all modesty and humble submission he gave him all due honour and reverence as much as he was then able to expresse and then he made this humble suite and supplication to him and no sooner was his request made but it was granted because Christ did see truth and sincerity in his heart and integriry in his expressions We may observe from hence for our instruction and consolation that the holy Ghost can work the conversion of a sinner either without meanes or by contrary meanes he doth sometimes work very strangely upon the will and upon the affections of the heart for Christ was now preached by his deadly foes out of scorn and mockery n Phil. 1 15 as there were some in Pauls time that did preach Christ even of envy and strife others of love and good will yet the Spirit of God did so enlighten the understanding of this sinfull man and did so work upon his will and so seasoned his heart with saving grace that he received holy instruction thereby and what the enemies of Christ did speak in his disgrace he did apply it to himself to confirm him in the truth of his Divinity which made him stick close to him by faith when he was in the lowest degree of his humiliation his faith made him rest upon Christ and upon his promise above the strength of nature and contrary to all humane reason If he had seen the glory of Christ in his transfiguration upon Mount Tabor and if he had seen some of his great miracles or had heard his Divine Doctrine and powerful Preaching his faith had not seemed so great but now he did see him onely upon Mount Calvary nailed to his crosse as the worst of Malefactors are and rejected of his own nation so that to the outward eye he appeared nothing else but a pitiful spectacle of woful misery and yet this penitent sinner did expresse an admirable faith in the pangs of a cruell and violent death though his faults had been intolerable in his dissolute life for nothing but faith could move him to honour and reverence Christ now he was in this sad condition and to sue unto him to be remembred in his Kingdome By the eye of his faith he did see in Christ more than humane meeknesse and patience in his sufferings undaunted courage above the strength of nature to go thorough with all constancy those torturings and torments which with all cruelty and malice were inflicted upon him and he did see some glympse of Divine mercy in him when he heard him pray so graciously for his persecutors and tormentors and for those that put him to death In the last place ponder well in thy heart upon the mercifull answer of Christ to this penitent Malefactor Verily I say unto thee To day thou shalt be with me in Paradise whereby he did shew his power to forgive sins upon earth Thus he said to the sick of the palsie o Mar. 2. 5â— 10. Son thy sins are forgiven thee and hereby also he did shew that he had power to dispose of heaven at his own pleasure p Mat. 28. 18. for all power was given to him both in heaven and in earth therefore he did assure this Petitioner that though his body did now suffer the torments of a cruell death yet his soul should live and presently injoy a most happy and blessed condition in the Paradise of God and in the mansions of heaven to all eternity which place q John 14. 2. Christ hath prepared for his servants We shall meet with labour and toil troubles and crosses in this
should he have learned by his own experience what we suffer when we are under the crosse that he might pity us This may teach us to bear patiently whatsoever God doth lay upon us though the instruments that he useth be our deadly foes because it is his will and pleasure to have it so b 2 Sam. 16. 1â— Thus did David meekly bear the cursing of Shimâ—i and would not suffer Abishai to kill him because it was the Lords will it should be so This Meditation will greatly comfort our fainting spirits when we are under any strong temptation or worldly misery that no enemy be he never so powerfull or his heart never so malicious can imagine more against us in his wicked thoughts or act more with his cruell hands than Divine Providence hath appointed Also no calamity pain or sicknesse can afflict us without his will no perill or danger can come near us without his permission and we shall suffer no more under any crosse than God in his wisdom knoweth to to be profitable for us If we are thus perswaded it will greatly comfort us in all our sufferings and keep us from murmuring and repining when GODS visitation is upon us Wherefore let no fear of danger cast down our hope let no storme of persecution shake the foundation of our faith and let no waves of affliction quench the flame of our love or abate the zeal of our affections to our dear Saviour who spared not his own life for us but poured out his very heart bloud for our justification and salvation If the strength of grace that is in us be not answerable to what we suffer or to the power of our corruptions Christ will either take off some part of our burden or give us more strength to bear it and he will also make us able by degrees to overcome our corruptions that we may live a sanctified life to the Lord and then let death come how or when it will we shall dye in the Lord which will be great gain and advantage to us Now let the Meditations of thy heart be fixed upon the death of thy precious Saviour that from thence thou maist draw vertue and power by faith to mortifie and kill the body of sin that by nature is in thee also to have a firm assurance that he hath reconciled thee to God by the merit of his blood Why then dost thou cherish any sin to crucifie thy Redeemer afresh What is this that thou doest when thou delightest in swearing in uncleannesse in drunkennesse and the like Why dost thou delay thy turning unto God Why dost thou thus indanger the salvation of thy soul Oh think upon the iniquity of thy sin with hatred and detestation which hath put to death thy gracious Redeemer think upon thy sin with godly sorrow and true compunction of heart which did so separate thee from thy God that nothing could restore thee into his grace and favour but the death of his eternall Son Wherefore seek earnestly by faithfull Prayer to thy sweet Saviour that thou mayest finde the vertue and power of his death in the crucifying of all the severall members of this body of sin that by nature is inherent in thee that so thy corruptions may be weakened and thou mayest be dayly renewed by the strength of that sanctifying grace which the Holy Ghost hath wrought in thee Consider now in the last place how rigorously God did deal with his onely Son throughout his whole passion he gave him no intermission in his suffering but as soon as one sorrow was past another presently came in the place when one pain was over a greater was ready to supply the room c Psal 102. 4. his heart was smitten and withered like grasse so that he forgat to eat his bread his torturings came so fast upon him that he had no time to refresh himself with bread or water but above all Gods fury was upon him in all his sufferings which made his passion beyond the strength of nature God never dealt thus with any of his servants but still they had some intermission in their afflictions some comfort in their sorrowes and some heavenly consolation to uphold their spirits or else a joyfull deliverance out of them Joseph had his afflictions and yet at length God advanced him to great honour Jobs afflictions came upon him as fast as one messenger could follow another at last misery seized upon his own body but in the end God gave him double as much as he took from him So likewise David and many more have suffered very great afflictions and torments but none like unto Christ whose passion continued to his heath d 2 Cor. 11. Paul was above measure afflicted persecuted and tormented for the Name of Christ and at last he dyed by the sword but all this while he had Christ to support him with many spiritual consolations Wherefore howsoever God is pleased to deal with us in this life it will be in mercy and in judgement for our good and not in fury or in the rigour of his justice for our confusion and he will bountifully reward us in the life to come if we hold out constant to the end What happened at CHRISTS Death VVHen the soul of our blessed Redeemer was dissolved and separated from his breathlesse body a Mat. 27. 51. The vail of the Temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottome the earth did quake the rocks rent the graves were opened and many bodies of the Saints which slept arose and came out of their graves after his resurrection God did shew these strange signs and wonders at the death of his Son as fore-runners of the fearfull judgements that soon after should come upon that renowned City and upon the whole nation of the Jews and so strike terrour into their hearts for their odious and detestable sin in crucifying the Lord of glory if by any means they could be made sensible of their sins that they might repent and turn to the Lord that so God might turn away his judgements and have mercy on them This hath been Gods usuall course to give warning before he strikes to threaten before the judgement comes and nothing but repentance can stay Gods hand b 1 Kin. 21. 29. Ahabs outward form of humiliation kept off the judgement from himself that God hath denounced against his house by his Prophet The Ninivites repenâ—ed at the Preaching of Jouah and therefore God brought not the evill upon them which he threatned against that great City But the house of Juda would not repent though God sent his Prophets to them early and late and therefore they were carried away captives into Babylon Thus doth God in great mercy give warning before he doth visite a nation or a people in his wrath that they should prevent the judgement by their repentance First God did shew by the renting of the vail of the Temple that the partition wall was
Christ shall be received up to eternall glory The Saints that then arose out of their graves were forerunners of this generall resurrection This was a dreadfull sign to the cruell Jews who had imbrewed their hands in the blood of Christ for the same Jesus whom they crucified shall be the Supream Judge at that day before whom they must appear to answer for this their bloody fact It may also be a terrible warning to all wicked men that are defiled with innocent blood and that live in profanenesse and sensuality fulfilling their sinfull lusts without any remorse of conscience or holy desire to be reclaimed from their wicked wayes and without any care to make their peace with God by faith in Christ and by true repentance for a time will come when they must answer the rigour of Gods justice for all their crying sins and hainous abominations Wherefore enter into a serious consideration with thy self how thou art prepared and fitted for thy grave If thou hast lived to the world to the flesh to the devill or to thy self thou art in a sad and lamentable condition for the grave cannot keep thee from judgement but must open her mouth h Jona 2 10 like Jonahs Whale at the sound of the last Trumpet and it will deliver thee up even as it sound thee If thy grave receive thee an hypocrite a blasphemer a swearer an unclean person or the like it will deliver thee up to judgement all polluted with the guilt and filth of the same sins i Job 20. 11 If thy bones are full of the sins of thy youth they will lye down with thee in the dust and they will cleave fast to thee when thou shalt rise again How canst thou then stand before the Tribunall seat of God and before all his glorious Angels and blessed Saints if thou art in this sinfull condition And how canst thou endure the rigour of his justice and the severity of his judgement If this consideration were well imprinted in thy heart it would make thee afraid to go on in a way of sin without repentance But such as have lived to the Lord shall dye in the Lord and shall sleep quietly in their graves as in their beds k Mal. 3. 17. for they are the Lords Jewels and he keeps them in these cabinets untill the day that he shall make up his Jewels Wherefore if we have any interest in Christ by faith his blood will cleanse us from all our sins his righteousnesse will make us accepted in the sight of God and he will account us as his jewels and then Christ will sanctifie the grave to us l Isa 57. â— We shall enter into Peace we shall rest in our beds walking in his righteousness Thus comfortably shall we enter into the grave if we have an holy assurance by the witnesse of his Spirit to our spirits that we dye in the Lord and then our resurrection will be with unspeakable joy and comfort to us Of the Buriall of Christ THough Christ dyed a most shamefull and ignominious death yet he had honourable buriall according to the manner of the Jews a John 19. 40 41. For Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus two honourable men among the Jews begged leave of Pilate and took down his body from the Crosse and wrapped it in linnen cloathes with spices and laid it in a new sepulchre which was hewen out in a rock wherein was never man yet laid and they rolled a great stone to the doore of the sepulchre But the chief Priests and Pharisees thought him not safe enough and therefore to prevent his resurrection as they thought b Mat. 27. 64 65. they got leave of Pilate to make the Sepulchre sure Then they sealed the stone and set a watch about the Sepulchre yet notwithstanding at Gods appointed time he did rise again from the dead by the power of his Deity which was not separated from his humane nature though he were now dead c Psal 16. 10. for God would not suffer his holy One to see corruption d 1 Cor. 15. 44. and his naturall body was raised up a spirituall and glorified body But what comfort can we draw from Christ now he is dead Can we have any benefit by him as he is now buried It is true which Christ said e John 6. 63 It is the Spirit that quickneth the flesh profiteth nothing Though we can draw no comfort from the body of Christ as it is now in the grave yet by his eternall Spirit which ever liveth we may receive great benefit and much spiritual consolation by the death burial of our Saviour Christ For by faith we may draw vertue and power from thence to kill that body of sin which by nature is in us and to bury it with Christ that the new man of holinesse and righteousnesse may be quickned and raised up in us for it is not enough to mortâ—fie and kill this body of sin but we must also bury it and every member of it with Christ that no sin though it be never so profitable or pleasing to our nature may gather strength to over-power us or to bring us again into subjection that â—very base lust should reign over us to make us slaves unto sin It is true that sin will still dwell in us but the Spirit of Christ will make us able by the vertue of his death so to kill the power of it that it shall not have dominion over us Grace worketh our sanctification by degrees and we cannot expect perfection of holinesse untill we come into the Kingdome of Heaven Now if we will bury our sins in the Sepulchre of our blessed Saviour we must not onely forbear the actuall committing of sin but we must quite loose the delightful remembrance of it for if we do still retain with approbation a sinfull remembrance of our former sins we do then keep them above ground and unburied and they will be odious in the sight of God though the act of sin be mortified in us f Rom. 6. 3 4 5. If we are baptized into Jesus Christ we are baptized into his death and therefore we are buried with him by Baptisme into death that the body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sin but should walk in newnesse of life If we be thus buried with Christ then the sweet perfume and precious odours of his merits will take away the stench and noisomnesse of our sins from the Lord our God Wherefore by faith we shall draw a new principle of grace from Christ to be crucified with him to live and dye in him to be buried with him both in the act and in the delight of sin g Col. 3. 1. and to rise again with him in an holy and sanctified life and we shall be continually with him to have our communion and fellowship with him for every member of his mysticall body will be where he is in
the sanctifying graces of his holy Spirit may season our hearts and affections to walk before him in holinesse and purenesse of living all our dayes Wherefore now our afflictions and troubles which are part of this curse are sanctified to us and made salubrious and wholesome for our good and the evill of punishment which we suffer is taken away by the merit of his sufferings and the nature of them is changed into fatherly chastisements to correct us for our sins that we may walk more obediently before God or else they are to try the truth of our graces for the honour of God that gave them Fourthly this is another great Advantage and Gain that we have by Christ which unregenerate men cannot finde that he hath also freed us from the dominion of sin for though sin will dwell with us so long as we live in the flesh yet the strength and power of sin is weakened and killed by the vertue and power of that grace which Christ hath given us by his death The best of Gods servants do often complain how the unregenerate part in them doth sometimes prevail against the Spirit which makes them groan under the burden of their corruptions as holy David and others have done Paul also found this to be true for thus he saith e Rom. 7. 18 19. I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing for to will is present with me but how to perform that which is good I finde not for the good that I would I do not but the evill which I would not that I do And he had no power but onely from Christ to be freed from this dominion of sin and therefore he cryeth out saying f Rom 7. 24 25. O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord for he found this Benefit and Gain by Christ for saith he g Phil. 1. 21. To me to live is Christ and to dye is gain or else we may read it thus For Christ is to me both in life and in death advantage This is not the gain which natural men look for they seek after the gain of riches the gain of honours and the gain of worldly preferments they look not after spiritual gain they do not esteem of vertue and godliness piety towards God is out of request with them though it be the true gain and most to be desired Fifthly that we may get this spirituall gain of Godlinesse which is the advantage onely of a true Believer Christ doth wash us in the Laver of his righteousnesse and therefore he bestowes all sanctifying and saving graces upon us to purifie us from the silth and pollutions of our sins For Christ doth unite us unto himself by Faith whereby we are cloathed with his righteousnesse and have all the benefits that come by the merite of his blood then faith drawes in with it all other sanctifying graces to make us compleat and perfect in Christ to beautifie and adorn our souls that we may lead a vertuous and pious life in the right way of true holiness h 1 Pet. 2. 2 Christ doth also give us an holy desire to the sincere milk of the word that thereby we may grow in i 2 Pet. 3. 18. grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ by whom we are brought into the favour of God k Rom. 3. 24 by whose grace love we are freely justified through the Redemption that is in Jesus Christ l Eph. 2. 8. by whose free grace also we are saved through faith in Christ Saving grace was one of the special gifts that Christ gave after his Ascension according to this of Paul m Eph. 4. 7. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ n Heb. 13 9. Wherefore if our hearts are stablished w th grace we shal not be carried about with diverse and strange doctrines but we shall stand firm in the Faith and in the truth of our Profession and our hearts will be purged from dead works Sixthly we have this great Advantage by Christ above all other men o Gal. 4. 5 6 7. that by him we receive the adoption of sons and thereby we injoy all the Priviledges that belong to sons for God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts crying Abba Father and we are made heirs of God through Christ Wherefore p Heb. 4. 16. in him we may come boldly unto the throne of grace by Prayer that we may obtain mercy and finde grace to help in time of need For God will have a fatherly care of us to protect us in all dangers to provide whatsoever is good for us and to comfort us in all our sorrowes and distresses q Psal 9. 9. Isa 25. 4. Thus was God a refuge and a shield of defence to David and to other holy men in their troubles and afflictions If his rod of correction be upon us it will be in love r Heb. 12. 6. as a father chasteneth his son that he may receive us as his sons and though we feel his visitation sharp Å¿ Lam. 3. 31 yet he will not cast us off for ever for t Eph. 4 30. we are sealed unto the day of Redemption u Heb. 6. 12. that we may through faith and patience inherit the promises u 1 Pet. 1 4. as heirs to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in heaven for us Lastly Christ hath sealed the Covenant of grace to us with his own blood whereby we are freed from the strict keeping of the legal Covenant of Works and Christ will perfect with his own righteousnesse whatsoever is wanting in us to the fulfilling of the Law if we endeavour the best we can with an upright heart to do the will of God and then God in mercy will accept of our imperfect obedience for his sake This new Covenant which Christ hath procured for us will admit of the obedience of Christ for us and also of our true repentance for our sins which the legal Covenant would not because it required perfect and personal obedience to every tittle of the Law both in thought in word and in deed By vertue of this new Covenant x Jer. 31. 33 34. God is our God and he will forgive all our iniquities and will remember our sins no more upon condition that we believe in Christ y Heb. 12. 24. who is the Mediator of this Covenant and that with our faith we joyn piety and new obedience Christ hath also given us his Sacraments whereby this Covenant is sealed to us if we do worthily partake of them but of this Covenant and also of the Sacraments I have written more fully in another Treatise Now Meditate with an holy devotion upon all these Advantages which every