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
you may do the Devils work as long as you can and that then God should reward you with Salvation no such matter You may more rationally expect that God should for your sake pull the Sun out of the Firmament than that he should remove holiness out of Heaven and bring Hell in its place If wicked Men will please themselves with their own Delusions and look for Glory still they must thank themselves when they see how infinitely they are disappointed but I leave these as despairing to convince them of their folly till Judgment and Flames make them to understand it 2. All that live upon the goodness of God here are not like to be blessed after Death There is a vast difference between common and special mercies many partake richly of God's common bounty that have not the least interesâ— in his love God gives this World often times to his greatest Enemies he gives Glory in an other World to none but his Friends and Children Nay let me speak it freely I am sure I have Christ and Scripture to warrant what I say That they which gain this World with their neglect of Heaven shall at their Death lose both Many receive temporal mercies that shall never enjoy Eternal Job 21.9 Luk. 16.25 O how greatly are they mistaken who think that Earl Lord Knight c. are words of any significancy after Death that hope that their honours here will procure them any real respect hereafter that reckon Gold and Silver will go currant in that Country Many that would be counted Persons of some depth and wisdome make a World of stir about trifles that drive a great Trade for that which is next to nothing and that lay in no better Provisions than Gravel Clay or Dung when they are bound for Eternity and yet how do they bless themselves and say I am rich and increased in Goods and have need of nothing Soul take thine ease eat drink and be merry They think they make a very wise bargain when they sell their Conscience God and Heaven for a little of that which some call Riches not considering that a few Hours experience may make them know though it may be not cure this mistake O that I could but bring my hearers out of this Delusion O that their apprehensions were but rectified and that they might know the real worth of things and Persons O that I could but bring down the price of sublunary things and raise the things of that other World to their true worth Consider that that holiness as meanly as you think of it is the most excellent thing that that is the greatest Riches and Man's highest dignity God knows no difference between a Lord and a Beggar a Prince and a Subject He is no respecter of Persons If there be any difference it lies here that God hath more wrath in store for them that had greater ingagements and better advantages to serve him than other had I pitty the poor Lords of the World and I am confident he that knows the worth of Christ and the nature of his own Soul can't much envy them they swell like Bladders upon Water for a Moment and God blowes and where are they Now indeed they reckon themselves very secure and their houses are free from fear neither is the Rod of God upon them they take the Timbrel and Harp and rejoyce at the sound of the Organ Job 21. They think them Fools that can spare their Riches and want their greatness so they may but have an estate in invisibles and secure an Inheritance that will last for ever These are the Men that hate seriousness and holiness which is the beauty of Earth and Heaven too is undervalued by them And how can they expect sanctity should be delightful to them hereafter when it is abhorred now how can they look for Heaven when they dye when they thought it not worth their minding while they lived No no verily they have their reward they have now their good things and much good may they do them O let me rather gain Christ at Death though I loose all besides than possess Ten Worlds here and after all lose my Soul Could the mighty ones of the World have but one Hours discourse with one of their Brethren in Hell I believe their Judgments would be hugely altered and they would soon tell them that Riches and Honours and whatsoever else most Men do pursue let it be what it will below Christ will yield them but little happiness and comfort in another world Riches profit not in the Day of wrath Do but read Luk. 16.19 25. I am the larger that if possible I might prevent mistakes in matters of Eternal consequence Thirdly There are Thousands that seem to have a far better title to this blessedness that will fall short of it and they are Professors that call themselves by the Name of the Lord. Not all that are called yea and esteemed Christians are like to have any great benefit by Death To be Christned and to be Christians are two things not every one that weareth Christ's Livery shall have his Wages O how many Millions are there that have no better shelter than a meer Name to themselves from the wrath of God! Is it not more than possible to hear read pray and to be esteemed a Saint and yet to miscarry everlastingly How many seeming Saints shall gain nothing at Death but a thorow knowledge of their own folly And if to know what God's anger is be an advantage when there is no escaping of it and if to have their hearts wounded when there is no Cure to be had be any profit and if to be quite freed of Conscience searching Ministers be a happiness when they are out of the reach of their help or pitty then such may be esteemed blessed but if all this will but make the Flame hotter then I leave any serious Person to judg whether it doth not concern Men and Women to look after better security than this amounts to Did you ever well study Mat. 7.21 I hope you will believe Christ though you will not me read that Scripture and what saith Christ O consider seriously that to be an Heir of Glory is no such light matter as most judge it to be To be born to a Crown and a Kingdome and to have a good title to it is a dignity indeed but a Mad-man in Chains and Rags may say he is a King or a Lord. O please not your selves with fansies Sickness and Death is coming and then you will know better whether I had not some reason to be earnest with you in this matter I am most afraid of the confident Pharisee that trusts in his poor sorry Prayers and his own righteousness O that I could but shake him and his hopes before Death and Judgment doth it O that I could but perswade him to maintain a jealousie over himself and to search and try his Heart and to bring himself to the
full everlasting freedom from evil or any imperfection 2. It consists in a compleat perfect and eternal enjoyment of all the good that our natures are capable of First It consists in a full and everlasting freedom from evil or any imperfection And here I shall insist upon some of those evils and imperfections which a Child of God shall be freed from as soon as ever Death hath let the Soul out of the Body First The Saint is free from all sin The Bolts shall be knockt off the Prison walls broke down and the poor Captive set at liberty O blessed Jubilee How glad would Paul have been if when he cryed out in such an agony O wretched Man who shall deliver me if he had heard a voice from Heaven saying thy groans have pierced the Clouds thy Prayer hath reached the Heavens thy Petitions shall be granted immediately would not this have been grateful news When before a few days be at an end this shall be the condition of every one of God's People Now indeed if you lissen to their Closets you should hear how dolefully they bemoan their condition if you follow them into their Families what is it that they would most desire of God is it not freedom from sin what complaints do they make of themselves that there should be so great an unsutableness in them to God that their hearts are unsensible of the worth of divine things that they should have so little love to the Lord Christ and be so little taken with the kindness of the Redeemer How weak and faint how cold and dull in duty how ready to betray their Lord how cowardly in the cause of God But death will for ever silence these complaints death tares off Joshua's rags and presents him before the Lord without spot or wrinckle or any such thing sin indeed accompanyeth the ungodly into another World he rests from his pleasures and his wicked works follow him but it is far otherwise with the godly sin was his burden and Death shall unload â—im sin shall be confined to Hell Heaven enterâ—ains no such deformity This Tyrant shall no more inslave any of Christ's subjects The house of Saul and the house of David shall no longer â—ontend that bloody conflict between the flesh and spirit shall then be determined by a final Victory then the Soul will say farewell my hard heart farewell unbelief farewell ingratitude then thou shalt never entertain an unkind thought of God more the lame and the blinde and the Jâ—busites shall be smitten when King David comes to make his Palace in Zion thy sins must dye when the Lord cometh to take the full possession of this Fort Royal confession of sin shall shortly be needless no darkness shall cloud the understanding no perversness the will no disorderliness in the affections no treachery in the memory the Eyes shall be better employed than in beholding of vanity the Eares shall not be locked against truth the Hands far from violence the Tongue from deceit and the Feet from walking in ways of wickedness And seems this a light matter to you who have gone bowed all your dayes under the pressure of sin is it nothing to you to have all your iniquities done away as a Cloud and your transgressions as a thick Cloud Thus see what a kindness that formidable enemy doth to all the subjects of Christ's Kingdom what prayers teares and groans did gradually it doth at one blow Thus the oppressed is delivered the mourner made to rejoyce and the great make-bate between God and the Soul for ever discarded and turned out of Doors Eph. 5.27 Es 44.22 2. When a Christian ayâ—th he shall be freed from all the temptations of Sathan Death sets the Soul out of the Devils reach this Angel hath nothing to do in Heaven this Serpent shall not come into the higher Paradise nor Sathan creep into this Eden Now indeed he goes up and down like a roaring Lyon seeking whom he may devour novv he sets his Ginnes every vvhere to catch the unvvary Christian he useth his stratagems to surprize them but then this adversary shall be trod under Foot his Fiery Darts shall be quenched and his designes broken O happy Day vvhen will it come vvhen the Devil shall be as unlikely to tempt as our hearts to close vvhen vve are got once safe to rest the Devil shall as easily shake God's Throne as our happiness Death turns the Key Bolts and Bars this Enemy out then O then thou shalt see this Pharaoh cast dead on the shore and for ever disabled from making any resistance against thee or in the least disturbing thy peace Rev. 20.10 3. The blessedness of the People of God consisteth in their being freed from the frownes and flatteries of the World In life time thou art fain to fight thy way to peace to dispute every step thou goest and canst never have a quiet Hour vvhile thou hast such ill Neighbours There is an old quarrel between the Seed of the Woman and the Serpent and the enmity is radicated and the â—end can be cooled with nothing but Death Christian expect not as long as any of that Cainisâ— Generation breath that thou shouldest be long â—â—cure In the World you shall have tribulation â—ut be of good cheer Christ hath overcome the World Joh. 16.33 What though they speak â—â—eat words Prison Halters Faggot Thou shalt â—e long ride in state to glory and then let them 〈◊〉 their worst When thou art in Heaven they â—ay curse and increase their own misery but â—â—ey shall not in the least diminish thy tranquillity â—â—d as for their flatteries they shall signifie nothing thing the beauty of this inseriour World will be darkned by the brightness of that Light which Death leads thee into its excellencies will be quite eclipsed its allurements will lose their power Who can choose but contemn the Earth that knows what Heaven meaneth O how low an esteem have the most experienced Men here oâ— the World Honours and riches are accounted very inconsiderable things to them which understand the difference between finite and infinite the disproportion between time and Eternity Death bloweth the dust out of our eyes it pluckâ— off the Vail and shews one quickly the glory oâ— both Worlds and so it is not lest long to determine which is to be preferred dross or silver brass or gold a dunghil or a Palace there wiâ—â— be no thought of returning to Egypt or Gosheâ— either in them which know the fruitfulness of thâ— spiritual Canaan the accommodations of the neâ— Jerusalem the pleasure of the holy Court 4. At Death he shall rest from all his pains there is no fear of sickness sorrowes and achâ—â—â— The Stone Gout and Plague are Distempers thâ—â— none labour with there that Aire is clear anâ— sin which infecteth other places never got footing there they that scarce know what a Dayâ—â— ease now means shall then forget their sorrow their constitutions shall be mended their
defilements and taken out her stains and have decked her with his Jewels and put on her Wedding Garment That Day is coming O my soul when will the shaddows flee away when will Days and Nights be all at an end when will time be spent when shall the Curtain be drawn O that that 's the place thou shalt then love that precious Jesus with a Seraphick and Angel-like love thou wilt then as much delight and rejoyce in him as Abraham David and Paul did Thy drowsie Soul shall be as nimble and active in the service of thy great Maker as Enoch and Elias thou shalt praise him Day and Night and be no more weary than the Angels themselves thou shalt perfectly understand the vvill of God and readily obey it thou shalt be holy as God is holy And what vvould you now give for such a frame hovv glad vvould you be to feel a connaturality to divine imployments hovv happy vvould you think your selves if your heart vvere alvvayes as God vvould have it Is it not for this that you fast and pray Is it not for this that you hear read and meditate Is not this the end of Sacraments Well be of good cheer in Mount Zion there shall be deliverance and holiness Obed. 17. And is all this nothing seemeth it still a small priviledge to be a Child of God and like our Father vvho that understands this vvould not bid Death vvelcome and say novv Grave do thy vvorst Ask Paul and he vvill tell you that upon this account he groans enquire of David and he vvill let you understand that he never expects satisfaction till he avvake vvith God's likeness Psal 17. 3. Another thing vvherein the blessedness of a Christian at Death lyes is this the sight of Christ What can be more desired by a Child of God than to behold and enjoy him by vvhom all the mercies we have and all that we expect slow in to us Eph. 1.11 That good old Saint Luk. 2.30 thought it a Heaven upon Earth to see him though his Majesty was vailed and the brightness of his glory wrapped up and covered by his humanity he doth sing a Requiem to his Soul and say Now let thy Servant depart in peace for mine Eyes have seen thy Salvation How were Peter James and John affected at his transfiguration Mat. 17 2. What an admirable frame doth the Spouse seem to be in when she saw only the shadow and back-parts of this beloved one Cant. 5.16 She can't tell when to have done commending of him But all this is but a small thing compared to the sight which they shall see when their graces shall be compleat and their Soul like him and then shall they behold the King in his beauty no longer the contempt and scorn of the World no longer in poverty and want no longer crucified and rejected but Jesus the express Image of his Father and the brightness of his glory accompanyed with Millions of Angels all at his command and yet for all this casting a gracious Eye upon them then shall the Soul behold him face to face who did and suffered such wonderful things for it 't was he that came out of his Fathers bosome 't was he that stept out of his Throne and put off his Robes that came leaping over the Mountains and skipping over the Hills running thorow a thousand difficulties that he might pluck thee out of thy misery and deliver thee out of the paw of the Lyon and the Bear that he might redeem thee from the power of Sin Death and Hell How will the Heavens eccho with Songs of joy when the Bride the Lamb's Wife shall come to dwell with her Husband for ever Isay 33.17 Christ is the desire of Nations the joy of Angels the delight of the Father and he in whom he is well pleased What solace then must that Soul be filled with that hath the possession of him to all Eternity Is not his love better than wine and a look of his countenance to be preferred before Corn and Oyl Is not his kindness to be valued above life it self What meanest thou then O my Soul that thou dost so dread his coming Why art thou so loath to be with him Why art thou afraid of the enjoyment of him Will thy Redeemer make thee a slave hath Heaven changed his Nature and made him less desirable Will thy Saviour make thee miserable Awake then O ye Saints and stand a tip-toe wait watch and long till thou see him who alone can fill thy Soul fight strive and run till you enjoy One smile of his one look of his love is worth the pleasures of ten Worlds where is thy heart where are thy desires what 's become of thy love if Christ doth not affect draw and fire thee what will but when thou shalt see Christ indeed his very looks will so warm thy Soul that thou shalt in a moment feel a divine flame which shall never be extinguished as long as Christ the object of thy love shall live the sight of Christ will put new life into thy Soul and make thy love and joy fresh for ever this is he O my Soul that was wounded that thou mightest be healed this is he who was Crowned vvith Thorns that thou mightest be Crovvned vvith Glory this this is he that dyed that thou mightest live Is not all the Glory of Heaven vvrapped up in him Are not the Treasures of divine kindness which vvere sometimes hid in him novv opened Tell me now O my soul is there any in tvvo Worlds comparable to him Was not that he that sheltered thee from the storms of God's vvrath Was not that precious Body the Shield vvhich blunted the Svvord of Justice and kept the Arrovves of the Almighty from doing dreadful execution upon thee an Enemy Traytor and Rebel Was it not he that laid dovvn the price that bought thy pardon that purchased this Inheritance vvas it not he that fed thee vvith his Body that broached his heart blood to quench the thirst of thy Soul the lusts of thy heart and the flames of God's indignation Look upon him is he not made up of love I see now it is not for nothing that the Virgins did love him it was not vvithout good reason that the Spouse vvas sick it vvas not vvithout very good cause that the Saints did so long to be vvith him to be with him did I say vvho that hears of him can choose but vvish to see him vvho that sees him can live without him who that lives vvith him can leave him What mean the World Sure they are dead blind or mad but vvhere am I now This is a subject so svveet that I can't tell hovv to make an end O that I might see knovv and enjoy look dear Jesus upon me and let me go and tell the World thy beauties let me every day have a little sight of thee that I may commend thee a thousand times more feelingly and that I may
wherein God did dwell they are not therefore to be buried in forgetfulness but shall be reserved as Jewels in a Cabinet and at the Resurrection they shall be furbushed and set in Glory the very Dust of the Saints is precious and those very Members that were assistant to the Soul in the Worship of God shall partake of its Glory and upon this account the People of God dye in faith that their Bodies and Souls shall have a blessed Meeting upon this account believers weep not at the Interment of their Christian brethren as those which have no hope but the thoughts of a future meeting swallows up the grief of present parting they understand that it would be a piece of unkindness to be grieved at their happiness and that it speaks too much self-love and too great a disbelief of their unseen glory and too much desire that our wills should be done before God's What a deal of sorrow would the sound belief of the reality of invisibles prevent With what chearfulness might the dear Children of God part when they think how certainly and speedily they shall see one another again never to part more If the Doctrine of the Resurrection were but better understood if the Grave were but looked upon as a Chamber to rest in and if faith could but take Death to be but an undressing to put on better Raiment how contentedly then should we be unclothed that we might be clothed with immortality And why seems it a thing incredible that the Body should rise again Is it a thing incredible that he which made a World out of nothing should raise up our â—â—â—feless Dust and scattered Bones Is any thing too hard for the Almighty Was he put to it when he made Man out of a lump oâ— Clay Is it beyond his power to raise Children to Abraham out of the very Stones Can nothing be acted by an Omnipotent Agent but it must first be forged in our brains Shall God indeed come and bow to us and wisdome ask counsel of folly how he should manage his affairs Doth not God every Day do as great wonders as this and hath not he given our â—aith very considerable helps in this matter Doth not his Yearly providences preach the truth of this Doctrine What Farmer thinks his Seed lost when it 's buried under the Clods when the Winter hath disrobed the Medowes and covered them with a white Mantle will you therefore conclude they shall never be dressed again with their Greens and decked with their Flowers but it all this signify nothing what do you think of what God hath done already was Lazarus his Resurrection a cheat and were the Evangelists mistaken which tell us of the rising of many of the Saints and that they went into the holy City Is Christ still in the Grave and if these things be otherwise why should not that which hath been be again What hath God let power than he bad Is his Arm weaker than it was Is the Grave too strong for him And are the Doors of it so fast locked that his Key can't open them Did Christ promise more than he could make good when he said I will raise them up at the last Day O unbelief how dost thou spoyl my comforts and daunt my courage truth can't lye the Almighty can't be weak God is still like himself And if the case be so what a good condition is the dead Saint in his life is â—nd with Christ and when Christ who is his life shall appear he also shall appear with him in Glory And what kind of Body will this be when it shall be lâ—kâ— the glorious Body of Christ perfect active unmortal Look up to the Sky do you see how bright that Body is which lighten the whole World how hastily that Champion runs to finish his appointed course vvhy that cold and dead Body shall ere long be as glorious as the Sun in its strength and as lively in its motions How castly will it mount into the Aire to meet the Lord in the Clouds how actively will it pass from one side of the Heavens to another with as much expedition as it shall desire how readily will it run at the command of its great Master and keep pace with those winged Messengers the Angels they shall be no longer such heavy dull pieces of Clay and bundles of Diseases but when they are called out of their Bed they shall be refreshed abundantly and with joy meet their Souls and be acted by them O methinks what kind of greeting will these two old Companions have when they see one another in an other World what strange salutations will they give each other Will not the Soul say â—o the Body where hadst thou O my friend â—hat glorious splendor who clothed thee in so â—ovely a dress how camest thou by that Majesty â—nd beauty Art thou that Body which wert â—â—ont to bear me company to the House of God â—re those the Eyes that wept so oft Are those the Feet which travelled so many miles to hear the World O excellent alteration well now you see that your pains was not altogether lost and as for me I have beheld the glory of our royal Bridegroom I have viewed his Chambers and have lodged in his bosom ever since you and I parted and I have found that he hath made good all his promises to a tittle I had no sooner parted from thee but he sent his Angels for me and they brought me with joy into his Pavilian and there did I see him composed with millions of such Courtiers and all our old friends I saw there and O such joy happiness and pleasure is unspeakable but what sound is that which I hear Is it not the Voice of the Arch Angel we are commanded away Who is that do you think that rides in such state with so great a Train after him who sits upon that Throne hark hark he calls you make haste make haste away Come you blessed of my Father enter now into your Masters joy Dwell in the Mansions that I have prepared possess thâ— Inheritance that I have given you You arâ— mine and I am yours I have betrothed you to my self long since and now the marriagâ— Day is come and I take you to be my Spouâ—â— for ever Before my Father and these mâ— Servants I take you to be my wedded Wifâ— for ever and I do now for ever acquit you from all offences they shall never be remembred any more I invest you with the samâ— glory that I possess I indow you with all thâ— Riches of my Kingdome I will remove whatsoever may offend you look how your Enemies tremble I have already vindicated you from all those false imputations which their malice did cast upon you I have silenced your accusers and for ever stopped the Mouths of their great adversaries and they shall immediately be removed out of their sight and pay dearly for all their abuses Justice call those Prisoners
this Congregation what a ghastly sight would it be should God strike all them dead which lye in their sins and know not Christ it is to be feared that the Assembly would be far thinner than it is should the Graves open and the Souls and Bones say to us make hast make hast up get your Souls dressed for within three Days you must lye in this black and cold Chamber with us How would this make most of our Faces to gather paleness and our joynts ready to knock one against another but what if another Voice should second it and one should come roaring out of Hell wrapped about with Flames and should say it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God they that dye in sin must be buried in Hell and if this very moment you do not turn you must take a place with us in those torments from which there is no redemption Would this move you why sirs is there not as much reason that you should believe God as the domned O what wonders are stupid sinners how unconcerned do they go up and down as if it were a very easy thing to prepare for Death and a needless thing to think of Eternity O you that know a little what the life and death of a Soul is come help us to mourn over our dead Doth not the very Aire smell of the dead Are not their numbers scarce to be computed who le Families Towns Cities and scarce one living Soul amongst them O where where is our pity how can we bear to see so many millions go to the Pit and not bestow one tear upon them what 's the matter O my Soul that thou art no more compassionate would Hester Jeremiah Paul nay would the King and Princes of Niniveh have been no more troubled if Souls had been in the same danger in their Days as they are in ours But that I may a little move my self and others let me commune a little with you you are yet in your senses and have the use of your understandings and are not brutes nor stones shall I have leave to reason the case a little with you do you never use your reason have you not a principle of self-preservation do you never consider whither you are going while you make hast to Hell Do you never think of Heaven and is it so frightful a place that you should be afraid of it will it undo you to be saved and is that blessedness which I have set before you so contemptible a thing that you will not so much as give the thoughts of it one Hours entertainment in your Soul Can you be contented without it and prefer your short lived pleasures before it if the case be so thank your selves if you have your choice blame not God if he deny you that which you thought not worth the accepting As for us Ministers we call God Angels and Men to witness that we have told you of your danger and if you will not take warning who can help it if we knew what in the World to do to prevent your ruine God forbid but that we should readily do it but if after all your threatnings perswasions and intreaties you will go on still why your blood be upon your own Souls but though I speak thus I hope better things of many here present and things that do accompany salvation I shall speak for your incouragement in the next Use USE IV Is it so that they are blessed that dye in the Lord why then should the believer be so much afraid of Death What though it be the King of terrors is it so to all Have not some handled this Serpent without any fear What have I been proving all this while Is there not one word of sense in all that hath been spoken get but this secured that you are a Child of God make but the King you friend and then neither his Serjeant nor his Porter will do you any hurt except to arrest your enemies and to open the Gates of his Palace to you and to admit you into his presence be counted an injury who would be afraid of everlasting rest why should any one be so loth to have his diseases healed why should we be so unwilling to receive that which we seem with much earnestness to ask Will the Prisoner choose always to live confined will he fall in love with his Chains or be angry with him that comes to knock off his shackles Is the miserable Captive afraid of his liberty why do you hear pray and read to what purpose do you strive watch and hope Is it all for that which you tremble to have what report doth faith bring of an other World Doth it tell you that it is a Land of Darkness and sorrow or that it is a place of joy pleasure and happiness and what still loth to depart is this World the more desirable of the two and are thy sins and carnal Companions more lovely than Christ If the case be so then why dost thou talk of believing Is this your faith the truth of it is if this be thy case thou hast no great reason to be over desirous of leaving this World for I perceive thou hast built thy House here and dost not take Heaven for thy Rest but in case of absolute necessity thou thinkest it a more tolerable place than Hell and Torments But thou art not the Person that I have now to do with I shall speak a word or two to such by and by my errant it is to thee O praying and believing Saint I would fain hearten thee up a little that thou may'st shew the World that Heaven is not so sorry a preferment as that one should hardly be perswaded to accept of it but that it is indeed what the Scriptures Ministers and the Children of God say it is O contradict not your profession and let the wicked see that you have got something in an other World and that your happiness begins there where theirs ends You work hard and will you be afraid when Night comes to receive your wages I hope you will not say that the Lord is a hard Master and that his wages are not worth the receiving Let the wicked trouble and the enemies of God fear and let the workers of iniquity be afraid of their appearance before their Judge But let not the faithful subject dread his King the Wife her Husband nor the Child his Father I would sain argue my self and others out of those slavish fears Consider sâ—rs that now death hath lost its sting and the Grave its bitterness and a Saint if he will but be as careful in keeping his watch as he ought may be able to speak the same Language as Paul did O Death where is thy Sting O Grave where is thy Victory 1 Cor. 15 55. And to me to live is Christ and to dye is gain I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ If Death