Touchstone and not to be satisfied till he findes that he hath got more than ever any Hypocrite yet had or can have The best of God's Children are most suspicious of themselves and afraid of their own deceitful hearts Do but see how David carrieth it in Psal 139. What is his great request that he must have granted or he can't be satisfied Is it not that God would deliver him from mistakes in matters of everlasting consequence so Psal 119.80 Pardon this tediousness upon these things if most of the Professors of the World did not split upon these Rocks I should pass these things over with silence Fourthly All that dye quietly are not happy after Death It 's no unusual thing for the wicked to carry their false peace with them to the Grave I have heard indeed many poor People boasting of their deceased Friends and pleasing themselves to think how happy they were Because they dyed like Lambs to use their own expression Alas alas how many thousands are there that dye like Lambs that are but Swine and have the Devil 's Brand upon their Foreheads It 's dangerous arguing from peoples carriage upon a Death-bed what their state is in another World such is the hardness of Mens hearts so dreadful the searedness of their Consciences and so great the subtilty of Satan that many are carried very quietly to Hell and fear nothing till they feel and are not brought to their senses till unspeakable horror and anguish doth it And on the other side how many of the precious Sons of Zion have seat in a Cloud how many of the dear Children of God may go out of the World thorow a painful Death are not their intellectuals sometimes impaired their reason Clouded and their Bodyes upon the Rack and yet in a moment they feel themselves swallowed up of that Glory and the doleful antecedents of their happiness did but make their rest more sweet and welcome and put an accent upon their bliss The truth of it is it hath not a little puzled some as well as David to construe God's dispensations to see the wicked dye quietly Psal 73.4 and the godly to have a strange Death but God will shortly resolve this Riddle and I think it were no very difficult thing for a serious understanding Man to give himself considerable satisfaction in this business May not the wicked dye quietly because his Conscience is quite seared and he may perswade himself that he hath made an agreement with Death and Hell may he not hope that there is no such place as Hell or if there is that it is tolerable may he not make himself believe that the Word of God is not true and invisibles are all but fansies or that God is so merciful as that he will not damn him and many such things the Devil helps his Servants with that so his service may not be disparaged and that he may have the better advantage to tempt others There is much also in the nature of the Disease and it may be God may try his own Children with acute pains and let Sathan buffer them to manifest the excellency of his Power and their Grace to try others of his Children whether for all this they will serve him and some Persons of admirable attainments and great experiences while in health may have some considerable Tryals upon a Death-bed that poor Christians which were ready to fear because they had not their enjoyments that therefore they had nothing at all might see that great Saints have their Tryals as well as they but I shall be far briefer in other things I come now to shew you who they are that are blessed at their Death and to give them a brief Description of those which dye in the Lord. First They are such who are made thorowly to understand that they were sometimes quite dead in sins and trespasses that they were Aliens from the Common-wealth of Israel and strangers to the Covenant of Grace Secondly They are Persons which are convinced of that misery of such a state and made to know that if they dye in their sins they must be buried in Flames Thirdly Vpon this they are out of love with their most beloved sins and count that which was their life joy and pleasure to be a very Death misery and Hell whereupon they set themselves in good earnest against sin as the greatest evil in the World they believe now That if they live after the Flesh they shall dye but if through the Spirit they mortifie the deeds of the Flesh they shall live Upon this account they use all the means that they can to get their corruptions weakned an inward principle Divine Life Now he begins to act them which is as contrary to Sin as Heaven to Hell a Spirit of ingenuity restrains them How shall they do this and sin against God They now see sin in its colours as it is contrary to the best good God they can see its killing and damning Nature in the Agonies and Sufferings of Christ and they feel the doleful effects of sin in their Soul and body both and upon this account they can say what have I to do with Vanity any more Shall I still hug this Serpent shall I still Sail with this Jonah in my Vessel and shall I after all this keep this Dalilah in my Bosom No but O that I could hate it Ten Thousand times more than I do There is an enmity raised in the Soul against sin which can't be satisfied till it see the Death of Sin now this is a Person that is fit for Death and Death it will as you shall hear afterwards do him a World of kindness in shewing him the Heads of all his Enemies 4. An other quality of this Person which is like to make such a blessed end is this he is one that is dead to the World Faith hath discovered a better Country to him it hath spyed that new Jerusalem and those blessed Regions and now the Soul thinks the World scarce worthy of a serious thought or look he takes himself to be a kind of Prisoner here and the whole World but a Dungeon if compared with that state of liberty and glory he now joyns with David and says Whom have I in Heaven but thee and there is none upon Earth that I can desire beside thee This is the Man that is like to be a gainer by Death he who contemns Earth and makes Heaven his choice shall never finde himself a loser 5. Another property of the Man which shall be blessed at Death is this he is one that takes Christ for life and happiness Time was indeed he was of an other mind sin was his delight and none so despicable in his Eye as Christ but God in free and rich grace hath taken away the Scales from his Eyes and healed him of his miserable blindness and let him see such a loveliness in the Lord Christ as that now he is able to say
none but Christ none but Christ He is altogether lovely He is now quite out of love with himself neither his righteousness nor any thing is lovely now but Christ and will not that Soul be blessed when it comes to have its desires accomplished he that counts nothing worth the having except Christ and for Christ can't be miserable when he is lodged safe in his imbraces 6. He that makes it his business to live to Christ to him to dye shall be gain God is often times better but never worse than his word And hath he not made many promises to them that diligently seek him Hath he not said that their labours shall not be in vain in the Lord The Christian is running and he shall at last obtain the Prize the Crown he fights for he shall have fear not Christian quit thy self bravely win it and wear it what though it be wrapped up in Cypress its beauty shall not be Vailed long What though Death with his cold and dirty hand set it upon thy head it will sit as neat and as fast as an Almighty hand can make it What though the Vessel be tost and broke it shall come safe with its Rich Lading to the desired Haâ—bâ—ur Condemn not O you foolish World these spiritual Merchants till you know what their returns are when their burden is deliver'd but imitate them till you can finde a more glorious Prize than Heaven a better happiness than God can give and a Kingdom that will last longer than Eternity Psal 63.8 Psal 90.14 7. They which are willing if called to it to do or suffer any thing for Christ shall inherit this blessedness He that is willing to dye for Christ shall live as long as Christ lives in happiness and rest 't is not for nothing that Paul makes no great matter of bonds scorns at threatnings and triumpheth in danger the finishing his course with joy makes all go down sweetly Acts 20.24 The Primitive Christians were no Stoicks and yet with what patience gratitude and joy did they suffer what the malice and wit of Men and Devils could inflict and now they enjoy the fruit of their labours the salvation of their Souls and that is not all but they receive their Palms Robes and Crowns ye more peculiar badges of God's Champions Loe thus shall it be done to the Persons whom the Lord delighteth to honour This 't is to be imprisoned banished or dye for Christ Rejoyce O ye suffering Saints and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in Heaven to you it is given not only to believe but also to suffer this Fire is but to purifie and to make you Vessels more fit for your Masters use this dirt cast upon you is but to scower and make you more clean this knocking rubbing and hewing is but to furbish and polish you that you may be more stately Pillars in the Temple of your God Fear not Men nor Devils the greatest hurt that they do you is to fill your Sailes and to bring you more speedily to your Port. 8. They which long for the coming of Christ and their being with him that can say I have waited for thy salvation O God now let thy Servant depart in peace In a word that can bear their absence from Christ only upon those terms that they may bring honour to him in this life and perswade Souls to be in love with him and may be instrumental for the setting up his Kingdom shaking the Kingdom of Sathan and weakning the interest of Hell in the World These O these are your brave Souls that are out of Gun-shot Death can neyer surprize them they stand always with their Loines girt and their Lamps burning And if the Bridegroom should make the Mountains to quake with the ratling of his Charriots and the Hills to tremble at the presence of his Majesty and the Heavens themselves to shrivel into nothing by the glory of his coming yet they O blessed Souls and they only would break forth into a Song of Triumph and Eternal Hallelujâ—hs Who would not be a Saint sure none but a mad-man or a fool Do the World understand what these things mean Do they indeed believe how much the highest of them all are below the meanest and lowest Childe of God Thus I have shown you who are the Subjects of this blessedness I know I forget time but it goes well may you and I get but this blessedness secured and spend a happy Eternity The second thing that I proposed to speak to was to prove that such as these are in spight of Hell shall be blessed and because in the fore going discourse this hath been touched upon I shall but very briefly run over these things First God saith they shall be blessed and therefore they shall when the great Persecutors have been hunting for their prey and hope to roast what they have got and seed themselves with the hopes of the content and pleasure that they shall enjoy nay when they shall beg with tears for the blessing they shall be frustrated denyed cursed and hear that heart-rending reply they have gotten the blessing before you came 't is now too late yea and they shall be blessed Might I not heap up a World of promises the least of which clear a Saints title to this blessed inheritance time would fail me if I should but read one in Forty what is the meaning of that Es 57.2 Phil. 1.21 2 Cor. 5.1 Job 3.17 2. They feel somewhat of this happiness in this World therefore they shall have it compleated in another How oft do the Saints feel their Souls transported with the sense of divine pleasures How many earnests do they receive of the purchased possessions How many warm refreshing Raies of Divine love break in upon their Soul so that they would not exchange one Hours comfort for all the joys that ever the wicked enjoyed could they all be united in one and their duration be Eternal Have I not with much comfort seen some of those triumphing Saints rejoycing when others would have mourned Have I not heard them talk of their sweet experiences the very mention of which is more reviving to a spiritual hearer than the highest pleasures that the sensualist is capable of Sometimes in prayer their souls even get into the bosom of God and the great God and Man have a blessed intercourse the Soul lets out it self to God and God lets out his love to the Soul Sometimes in a meditation the Heart is glowing and the Fire burns and ere it is aware it is lifted above the World yea and above it self too What else is this but the clear demonstration of the reality of invisibles Can meer fancies thus transport Men Must they not believe their own experiences Can that joy which is the result of faith and love and comes in from the promises and that in a way of duty and close walking with God Can that be a delusion Will the spirit of truth
witness to a lye Will goodness it self put a cheat upon poor Creatures and that in a matter of such vast consequence as Eternity Can we conceive that he which commands us not to deceive our Neighbour should deceive us Shall any that calls himself a Christian entertain such blasphemous apprehensions of the blessed Jehovah Well then if it be so that Children of God love solid and unexpressible joys many times even on this side Glory Doth not this then prove that hereatter they shall be happy and that beyond the apprehensions of Men and Tongue of Angels For the Saint in his greatest dimensions fullest enjoyments and tallest stature on this side the Grace is but a Childe a Dwarf a Worm in comparison of what he will be the next moment after his dissolution For the proof of this you may read over these and other Scriptures Psal 16.11 Psal 42.5 Luk. 16.22 2 Cor. 4.7 Revel 13.14 3. May I not bring in the wicked themselves as witnesses of the Saints happiness and their own misery the Saints wisdom and their folly what else is the meaning of Balaam's wish Why should he be so desirous to dye the death of the Saint and to have his latter end like his if he were not thorowly convinced of this that holiness were no madness piety no fancy and religion no delusion What is it that makes those in Mat. 26.8 to cry out so importunately Give us of your Oyl for our Lamps are gone out I am perswaded that all the Reprobates in Hell will one Day justifie the Children of God for their seriousness and wish a thousand times that they had had their scornes losses torments It is no unusual thing for them which have to do with dying Persons to hear them crying out with anguish when their time is spent and their sands are run out O you are happy O that I were but in the condition of the poorest and miserablest Saint upon Earth O that I had but prayed with fervency heard with seriousness and minded my Soul in good earnest Happy are they that have not all their work to do in a dying Hour O happy are they that have some Cordial to comfort them in a time of such distress O a Christ a Christ ten thousand Worlds now for that Christ which I despised These are things we are acquainted with Well then our Enemies themselves being Judges an Israelite indeed is a Person of true worth and without controversie his estate is and shall be comfortable blessed and glorious 4. How great are the absurdities that else would follow Would not the Devil boast that he hath done more for his followers than Christ hath done for his Would it not follow that Saints are the most miserable fools in the World then it would be to no purpose to deny ones self to fight with Beasts at Ephesus to bear the contradiction of sinners then Christ dyed for nothing or hath done his work by the halves then there is no credit to be given to the Bible God is worse than his word and the Scripture promises are false then Paul's confidence was madness and his boasting made void then all preaching is a cheat and the Ministers of Christ are Impostorâ— and the wicked are in the right then David would have better reason to say he hath cleansed his hands in vain and that his frequent devotions were to no purpose and his Songs at Mid-night but the dotages of an extravagant fansie and hours which were spent in Prayer and Meditation were purely lost What saist thou to this O Christian Would not this be sad news indeed if all thy hope should come to this But be of good cheer this is the doctrine which the Devil and his Ministers do preach as long as God is true you shall not be deceived as long as he is happy you shall not be miserable and till Hell hath got above Heaven you are well enough Go on therefore resolutely and let nothing daunt thee 't is but yet a little while and you shall see all this and more than this a thousand times made good to thee Fear not 't is God who hath spoken it and he commanded his Servant John to write and Jeave it upon Record That they which dye in the Lord are blessed and they shall rest from their labours and their works do follow them 3. The next thing which I promised to speak to was to shew wherein the blessedness of departed Saints doth consist But what work am I now about Who is sufficient for these things What Tongue can utter the least part of that Glory What Heart imagine its transcendent excellency And what Ears can bear it should such a one as Moses Enoch or Elias come sparkling in his Robes in the habit of a glorified Saint and should he but tell you what a sight he hath seen what melody he hears what imployment he is ingaged in what possessions he enjoys where would he endure it I am perswaded if in this mortal state God should let in the Soul the hundreth thousandth part of that Glory which Saints enjoy in Heaven it would in a moment sink a Man and make such Bodies as ours now are wither to dust I have seen a great many fine things in my time I have heard of more but I can easily imagine more than ever all the Princes of the Earth in their greatest splendour enjoyed and yet here I am at a loss and no wonder For it is beyond the reach of Saints and Angels in Heaven fully to conceive what their own happiness is and I believe it is no small part of their joy that they serve a Master who loveth to out-doe not only deserts and expectations but even the imaginations of his Creatures How then can such a poor Worm as I am mannage such a work as this is because I can't say all must I say nothing and pass this over with silence and admiration because this is a great deep which our Plummet can't fathom an Ocean that hath no shoar shall we therefore never sail in it God forbid O may it be my work in time and to Eternity to praise that infinite boundless excellency that is in my God Though these are matters which one would think should command attention and affection both yet if we consult the lives of all yea the highest experiences of the best notwithstanding these things are so frequently inculcated and so passionately recommended to our consideration yet where is the Man or Woman to be found that lies under the lively impressions of these things And therefore I shall think it not impertinent if I dwell upon that an Hour which will be the subject of your Meditation and Foundation of your comfort if ever you understand what Christianity in the life of it means This only by the by a little to quicken your attention I come now to my business to shew you wherein the Saints happiness after death consists 1. It consists in a
command the affections of all that hear of thee that nothing but thy love may serve their turns Pardon me that this admirable one hath dravvn out my thoughts so largely If you can but love after all this and see him when you dye with comfort you will say I were too short in his praises and too superficial in his commendations and that the half was not told you 4. The blessedness of departed Saints lies in this that they shall meet with all the Children of God and have communion with the spirits of the just made perfect Thou shalt then meet thy best friends whose company was so warming whose words were so incouraging whose lives did so much command Religion their Faces did then shine their conversation was in Heaven but O what an alteration is there in them for the better their Souls are now like Christ nothing but grace love and praise no difference in judgment no pride or passion nothing that offends And how vvill they vvelcome you to their Fathers House you that took sweet counsel together that went to the House of God that talk'd of that glory how glad will you be when you meet in it Nay Death will bring you acquainted with all these famous Worthies of whom the World was not worthy the noble Champions of Christ which thought not their lives dear to them so they might but finish their course with joy this Porter opens the Door and lets the Saints Soul into that Palace where all the Favourites of that great Prince reside and thou shalt stand also with them upon Mount Zion in the presence of that Mighty King and shalt behold and live in his glory for ever And is all this inconsiderable What would I give to see Enoch that walked with God How glad should I be to be acquainted with Elias how joyful if I might have some discourse with Paul Would it not make one couragious in the cause of God if one could hear Daniel or the Three Children tell the story of their deliverance How should one be pleased to have it from the Mouth of Moses Joshuah and Caleb what God did for Israel in the Fields of Ham the Red-Sea and the Wilderness and how he brought them into the Land of Canaan hovv do you think you should be affected at such things as these vvhy as formidable as Death looks it 's he that brings us to the speech of all these How loath are we novv to part when a knot of us have got together to talk about the things of another World are not the Saints the excellent ones in whom is our delight is not the empty discourse of the unexperienced World tedious and their Company a burden Why Heaven hath in it none but Saints and Angels and the blessed God Is not that Company indeed and all their work will be to admire praise and love God and to take infinite delight and complacency in him to all Eternity O what acclamations of joy vvill there be vvhen all the Children of God shall meet together vvithout fear of being disturbed by the Antichristian and Cainish brood when they meet and never part but joyn in Hallelujahs for ever That that 's the melody vvhen a Quire of ten thousand times ten thousand of Angels shall sing an Eternal Song and the hundred and forty and four thousand and that innumerable Company out of all Nations Tongues and Kindreds shall ansvver saying Blessing honour glory and power be unto Him that sits upon the Throne and unto the Lamb for ever and ever Rev. 5.13 Luk. 13.28 29. Heb. 11.22 Eph. 2.19 5. An other thing wherein the blessedness of the Saints departed consists is that then all their Prayers shall be sully answered their desires satisfied and hopes enjoyed They now oft with sorrow hear the reproaches of the wicked who are ready to ask them vvhere is their God vvhat is become of their sasts tears and groans to vvhat purpose do they afflict themselves what profit is it for them to call upon God what benefit is there in serving the Almighty The wicked boast of their hearts desire and are ready to sleight Religion as a useless and contemptible thing But is there not a time a coming vvhen the godly may ask them vvhat profit they have novv in their pleasures vvhat comfort in their greatness what fruit of all their labours and with unspeakable satisfaction produce their Crown and say This this was the prize that we contended for this was the reward that vve had in our Eye this was the glory and honour which we so highly valued This is our God in whom we have trusted Es 25.9 The Saints shall then see that it was not in vain to seek knock and wait then they shall understand that nothing was lost which was spent for their Souls and Heaven they shall shortly know that the poorest hearty groan was heard the quickest ejaculations were not unobserved and that the vveakest sincere Prayers were able to pierce the Heavens O who would not serve such a Master who can't forget any of his nay the Lord will infinitely out-do their requests and give them more than their Tongue could ask and mindes conceive This is the portion of them that seek thee that seek thy face O Jacob. 6. At Death the Believer shall be possessed of God and know what the beatifical Vision means and if you would be better satisfied what this is my request is that you would live holily and go and see And if after a sight and sense of this incomprehensible glory you finde that I have deceived you by making you to over-value it I am contented to bear the blame of an Impostor I am here but brief because I must confess my Meditations are now at a loss and silence and astonishment must speak the rest 7. That which is no small addition to a Saints happiness is this that there is no fear of losing of it his Enemies can't rob him for they are all safe enough and his Treasure is locked up there where neither Moth nor Rust can corrupt nor Thieves break thorow and steal the Christian may then rejoyce over his Enemy and say vvho shall separate me from the love of God they that are safe in Heaven need not to entertain any fears of losing their Inheritance If God that made Heaven and brought them to it can secure them if Christ that bought it for them can make good his purchase if all challenges are laid aside they are vvell enough thy house shall not be shaken thy comforts are durable and the lease of thy Inheritance runs parallel with the life of God and must not expire till Eternity be spent Rom. 8.33 Heb. 13.5 If. 54 10. Is 35. last 8. The last thing that I shall mention wherein the happiness of the Dead that dye in the Lord consists is in the full and joyful assurance of a glorious Resurrection and acquaittance at the day of Judgment Their Bodies are the sacred Temples