for all what the Apostle saith He that doth 1 Joh. 3. 7. Righteousness is righteous What can be the meaning what can be the import what sence can with any tolerable shew of reason be assigned but what suiteth with our present notion He that doth Righteousness i. e. He that perfectly obeys fulfils the whole Law is righteous Is this the meaning Then God help and pity us where shall we find a righteous man Is it He that doth righteousness that is he that being in a State of grace lives up to the rules of the Gospel is guilty of nothing but what is consistent with sincerity and is continually labouring after perfection is righteos Is this the import and gennine sense of this phrase Then thanks be to God some such are to be found And thus much for the first General the Character of the person here spoken of Secondly We are to consider what is here supposed and taken for granted with reference to this righteous man and that is he must die It may be you may think such an one as I have described should have a Protection be privileged from that which is the common lot of others be wafted over to Heaven from one World to t'other and not see Death be caught up to Paradise and not be put to the pain of dying But it is supposed and taken for granted in the Text that the righteous man must die 'T is true indeed our Lord Jesus the Captain of our Salvation hath perfum'd the grave conquered death and destroyed him that had the power of it He encountered this enemy conquered and triumphed over it and every righteous man shares in that victory and triumph Christ hath destroyed the power chang'd the nature pluckt out the sting of death and disarm'd it of its terrors and the righteous may boldly challenge it and with an exuberant joy triumph over it in the words of the Apostle O Death where 1 Cor. 15. 55. is thy Sting O Grave where is thy Victory The Sting of Death is Sin and the strength of sin is the Law But thanks be to God v. 57. which giveth us the Victory through our Lord Jesus Christ Thus O happy men may they triumph over death But yet their righteousness cannot shall not deliver them from the stroke of it No no Saints and Sinners Good and Bad the Holy and Prophane the Righteous and the wicked are under the same uncontroulable necessity of dying Though they shall not be damned yet they must die Though they shall not be sent to Hell yet they must go to the Grave Though they shall be saved from that hot fiery furnace yet not from the cold dark and silent Pit Though their Souls shall not become a Prey to Devils yet their Bodies must become a Banquet for Worms Though the Soul shall not be rackt and tortured in the dismal Regions below yet the flesh must see Corruption Though they have Mansions in Heaven yet Sickness will shake shake Alas Death will pull down the Walls and tear up the very Foundations of their Earthly Tabernacle Though they shall go to Heaven yet death will carry them thither in its cold Arms. Because Christ who is their Head and Husband Lives they shall Live also Live Where Joh. 14. 19 shall they live In Yonder glorious Heavens in Yonder blessed abodes in Mansions of light far above Yonder shining Sun there there it is these righteous ones shall live But alas They must die first Death hath been is and will be the passage to eternal Life And the Grave is in our way to Heaven As Death spares none for their tenderness and Beauty honours none for their wealth and grandure fears none for their strength and power reverences none for their Grey Hairs and Hoary Heads reprieves none for their flowing tears and passionate entreaties So neither will it pass by any for their Piety Religion and Righteousness With death there is no respect of Persons all must become a sacrifice to and lye Wounded Bleeding and Slain at the foot of it Holy Job cries I know thou wilt bring me to Death and to Job 30. 23. the House appointed for all the Living And David I go the way of all the Earth This 1 King 2. â— is among the Decretals of Heaven For Heb. 9. 27. it is appointed for men once to die Righteousness is no Armour against the arrows of Death No they will strike through and through and stick in our Hearts What is become of the holy Patriarchs Prophets and Apostles of our Lord Jesus Where are they Where Dead and Gone Where are they Their Souls are praising God in Heaven and their bodies sleeping in the dust of the Earth Your holy ancestors and progenitors that were the friends of God where are they Where Alass They are dead and gone and their Sepulchers are with us to this day Aâ—t 2. 19. they served the Will of God in their Generation and then died and after the experience of many Ages may we not ask and easily answer that Question of the Psalmist What man is he that liveth and Psa 39. 48. shall not see death Had we the meekness of Moses the Faith of Abraham the Integrity of Caleb the Patience of Job the Piety of David the Wisdom of Solomon yet we must die for lo these Men of God are gone before us for how many Ages have these righteous ones been sleeping in the bosom of the Earth our first and common Mother When we read in the Sacred History of the Holy Lives eminent Graces of Gods dear Saints how useful and serviceable they were in their time and place where and how long they lived do not we find and then he 〈◊〉 5. â— died concludes the History and makes up the Period Oh! how vast are the Dominions how extensive is the Empire of the King of Terrors In the Sacred Story we read but of two only viz. Enoch and Elias who by an especial grant and priviledge were exempted from this Law of Death they went immediately from Earth to Heaven when all others except those who shall be found alive at the end of the World must take the Grave in their way they were like living plants transplanted to the Heavenly Soil when our Bodies like Corn that is Sown must first rot and dye and then spring up again Death as things now stand is a debt that we all owe to Nature and will not be remitted no not to the Friends of God themselves The Saints are originally out of the same dust they as well as others dwell in Houses of Clay and Earthly Tabernacles and tho' they may be repaired by Food and Physick yet at last they will tumble the Body of a Saint is not made of more lasting Dust and durable Clay than the Body of a Sinner I grant that Sinners may impair their health and weaken nature by gluttony and drunkenness and other acts of intemperance how many
a doleful sound does it make in the Ears of those who are yet alive Death the more we muse and meditate upon it the more doth it amaze and scare A short glance a fleeting thought makes poor mortals tremble a fixt and solemn a deep and serious meditation fills with shivering horror Death how do the thoughts and prospect of it damp our Joys spoil our Mirth imbitter our Life and infuse Wormwood and Gall into our sweetest Cup How do the near approaches of it cast us into cold clammy sweats and mortal tremblings How doth every day when we give our selves the liberty of thinking partake of the horror of our last Death what a serious useful and awakening Argument is this and yet how seldom do busie mortals entertain themselves with the thoughts of it Every Corps that is carried along the streets every Coffin and Death's-head we behold every Funeral we attend every Grave that is digg'd with open mouth tells us we must die We may read our own fate on every Tomb-stone Oh! how many and what powerful Preachers have the Living and how many Lectures of Mortality are daily read and yet is there not need that almost every Preacher and every Sermon should mind us of what is sure and near at hand a dying hour Death what a mournful word what a melancholy Theme is this Dead unwelcome message sad news heavy tydings to the surviving Relations is he or she dead What! an old Friend a loving Father a tender Mother dead doleful hour dismal spectacle Dead what do you now see their charming Beauty marr'd their Eyes closed their Teeth set their Countenance chang'd and the Man turn'd into a lifeless breathless Corps Anon you see him nailed up in a narrow scanty Coffin and after a few days when we have fed the sorrow of our hearts with the sight of our eyes we lodge them in a cold and deep dark and silent Grave And must we leave the delight of our hearts the desire of our eyes those whom Nature and Grace made dear to us those whom we loved even as our own Souls among an Army of crawling Worms and among the cold Clods of the Valley Must we see their faces enjoy their company and converse with them no more no more sad thought no more killing word O Death Death what a cruel Enemy art thou to Mankind What dark and gloomy what sad and melancholy thoughts are these especially when Death hath set a pattern of Mortality before our eyes and we are but lately come from the HOUSE of MOURNING upon such an occasion David burst out into tears and spoke in all the figures of a sorrowful Rhetorick O my Son Absalom my Son my Son Absalom â— Sam 11. 33 would God I had died for thee O Absalom my Son my Son These Arrows of Death that kill one wound the many that are left behind and the wound is so deep that many times it proves mortal They only live to weep sigh and groan to bury their dead and then they come home and die too and those that lived are content to die together Life how sweet pleasant and delightful is it Life how amiable and desirable is it with what earnestness and passion is it courted by most how willing are poor Mortals to tear out their Bowels with Vomits to punish the flesh with fasting and abstinence and tie themselves up to the tedious and troublesom prescriptions of Physitians how willing are they to take the bitter Potion they loath and how patient under the cutting of the Lance and teeth of the ragged and torturing Saw how willing are they to lose a dear Member that Life might be preserved Men stick at nothing to preserve this dear thing we call LIFE How chearfully do men die daily that they may not die once for good and all Life how excessively fond are most of it Life gives us the opportunity of enjoying those pleasures that are soft and charming but Death renders us uncapable of any and who almost doth not live in bondage thro' fear of it But tho' there are many great and terrible evils in this one frightful thing DEATH yet thanks be to God we Christians are not left without something to mitigate and allay our sorrow for the death of our godly Friends and holy Relations who are gone the way of all the Earth before us and to fortifie and arm us against a tormenting and slavish fear of our own who in a little time must fall asleep too With a design to help my self and others against both these I have chosen these words to insist on But the Righteous hath hope in his death In handling of this Argument which may contribute very much to the support of living and comfort of dying Saints I intend to proceed in this Method I shall First Open and explain the Character of the person here spoken of and who is to be the Subject of our present discourse Secondly Consider what is here supposed and taken for granted with reference to this Righteous man and that is he must die Thirdly Consider and amplifie the priviledge of such an one as having hope in his death Fourthly Make some practical improvement of the whole in applying all to our selves who are yet alive but must certainly and quickly die First I shall consider and explain the character of the Person who is intended in these words and who hath some priviledge beyond the rest of mankind Here is mention made of a very great benefit and that none might think it promiscuously belongs to all the Holy-Ghost gives us the character of the Person concerned in it the Righteous for opening and explaining the character I have not time neither is it necessary to give an account of the several acceptations of the word it is sufficient to take notice that this word Righteousness which peculiarly qualifies and distinguishes the subject of our discourse is frequently used in a twofold sense First In a more limited and restrained sense and so it is no more than a particular Vertue which inclineth and disposeth a man to give to every one his right When a man doth not by any little tricks or cunning artifices which the Wits of our Age call mysteries of Trade go beyond defraud over-reach or wrong another he is Righteous this is a considerable branch of morality a duty belonging to the Law of Nature and hath its proper place among the duties of the second Table Were this Virtue more common we might deal with our fellow Creatures with more openness and freedom with more plainness and less fear we might trust another without surmise suspicion and jealousie This vertue is famous and renowned and that justly too among Heathens and would God there were more of it in the Christian World Were all men just and upright honest sincere and plain hearted in their commerce as unwilling to impose upon and wrong another as they are loth to be deceiv'd and cheated themselves did
we are encompass'd with evil every one hath his share of the bitter Cup though some drink deeper and larger draughts than others But the righteous man when Death comes hath hope of a perfect freedom from those many evils he himself had been strugling and those who survive his Death and Funeral must conflict with He hopes that Death will be the Funeral of all his sorrows and of those evils which were the cause of them Here I will mention some of these evils First He hopes at Death to be delivered from all bodily afflictions and outward sufferings So long as we are here we shall need the corrections of Heavens and must be under the Discipline of our Father's Rod Our good God sees that some afflictions are necessary for us and in the best and fittest season he sends them And by our own sin and wickedness indiscretion and folly obstinacy and peevishness we create many more to our selves What crosses and disappointments what hatred from Enemies and unkindness from Friends what disdain and contempt from Superiours what slander and reproach from Inferiours do we meet withall in this wretched World To how many weaknesses and lingring sicknesses to what acute diseases and corroding pains are we subject insomuch that Life is often loath'd and Death desired every vein and membrane every nerve and fibre every muscle and artery every part and member may be afflicted with pain and be the instrument of our sorrow Oh! what wearisome hours restless days and sleepless nights have the afflicted Whose heart doth not bleed within him to hear them in the morning crying out Would God it Deut. â—8 67. were evening and in the evening disappointed of the rest they expected would God it were morning What is this World but an Hospital where many are sick weak pain'd and dying What is it but a Golgotha a place of Graves dead mens Skulls and Bones Go to the darken'd and silent Chambers of the sick and you may hear one crying out O my head my head another Oh my bowels my bowels and some Oh that God would take away my life Some you may see shivering with Agues and some shaking with Palsies some benumm'd with Lethargies and others rackt with Gout or tortured with the Stone some scorcht with burning Fevers and others delug'd with the waters of a Dropsie some stopt with Phlegm crying out Oh for air and breath and others pining away with Consumptions and many so weakened and bowed down to the Earth with the manifold infirmities of OLD AGE that the Eye is dim the Ear deaf the Hands shake the Legs the Pillars of this Earthly Tabernacle tremble insomuch that a poor Grashopper is too heavy a burden for them See how they are stopt up with Catarrhs and Coughs and have not strength to get rid of that Phlegm which is ready to strangle them These these are the sights oh what a diseased World what a dying Life is this you may see in the Chambers of the sick But besides these evils that are common to men to how many more and greater are we expos'd as Christians as poverty and want disgrace reproach and shame imprisonment and banishment a violent torturing and lingering death upon the account of which a man feels and undergoes the pains of many deaths in one and only lives to be the laughter of his Enemies the sport of Death and a terrour to his Friends But the Righteous man at death hath hope to be delivered from all evil of this kind And his Language on his Death-bed may be to this purpose tho' I was born to trouble and have had my share of it tho' I have long wept sigh'd and groan'd under my own personal afflictions and have been a sorrowful spectator of those calamities which have befaln the publick tho' now I am a sick weak pain'd and languishing man and every part of me is rackt and tortur'd tho' my pulse be weak my breath short my strength wasted and my spirits fail and I am no more able to conflict with my disease it is but dying and I shall be perfectly well Death can and will cure what my Physitian cannot after a few more struglings and mortal pangs all my pains and sorrows will be over after the Agony O my weeping Friends that you will shortly see me in is over I shall feel none of these racking grinding and torturing pains any more for ever Heaven is a healthful place there oh there none are sick or weak but all are perfectly well I cannot be well while I live but when I die I hope I know I shall Lo this is one branch of a Righteous man's hope But have not wicked men this hope too 'T is true they have Death puts an end to the miseries of this Life but Lord what a sorry support is it to go from less to greater from temporal to eternal pains from Friends who are ready to Pity Assist and Comfort to Devils that will Scorn Insult and Triumph over them from a sick and uneasie Bed to a lodging among infernal fiends from the Flames of a Feaver to the more Scorching Burning and Lasting Flames of Hell Good God! What a sad what a wretched Exchange is this 2. He hopes for Deliverance from Sin Good men are already freed from the power and guilt of Sin it hath not Dominion over and it shall not Condemn them But they are not neither can they be freed in this Mortal State from the residence of Sin and remainders of Corruption Sin may be mortified subdued and brought under Glorious conquest but it will not give up the ghost and die till we do tho sin doth not rule and govern the believer as a Lord yet oh how doth it vex torment him as a Tyrant Tho' he hath given the Body of Sin many a Wound and Stab with the Sword of the Eph. 6. 17. Spirit though he hath drag'd it to the Cross of Christ and hath driven nail after nail into it yet he always finds it alive and sometimes very active and strong He finds himself very oft bafled worsted and conquered in some particular conflicts he finds by sad and woful experience that indwelling sin indisposes and unfits him for Spiritual duties damps his Spirit cools his Zeal and abates the fervour of his Soul in the most Heavenly exercises this is a certain truth and what Christian does not find it to be so How oft with tears in his eyes and sorrow in his heart is he forc't to groan forth this sad complaint Wo is me I have a wicked Heart a filthy Nature unruly Thoughts and ungoverned Passions my Flesh is so weak the Spirit so frail Indwelling Corruption so strong and the Snares of the World so many that I often fall I thank God I don't wallow like a Swine in the Mire but I must and do own I too frequently defile my garments I Sin and Repent Repent and Sin there is sin in my Heart and Life Sin in my
Duties in my Praying Hearing ay in my Sacramental Communions and Sin is mixt Oh that I had Tears to bewail it with all my graces I do not Love God and Christ so much as I ought and do desire my Faith is weak my Love declined my Zeal abated my Heart cool my Affections chill'd Oh wretched man that I Rom. 7. 24. am Who shall deliver me from the Body of this Death These have been are and will be the complaints of Holy men in this present State But the righteous man hopes the time will come and when sickness hath laid him upon a Death-Bed he knows the time is near at hand when he and sin shall for ever part and in that hour such a one may say now I am dying I am going to a sinless State all my Prayers and Tears Watching and Fasting Wrestling and Striving could not root sin out but Death will now come in to my assistance give me a final and perfect Victory and carry me a conquerour out of the Field When I die this War will end in Victory this conflict in a perfect Conquest None of my sins shall follow me to Heaven I shall not have so much as a wandring dull or cold thought for ever but with Life and Vigour Heat and Rapture a Flaming Zeal and Fiered Affection sing Hallelujah to God and to the Lamb. A good man is so disturbed with the Life of his Lust that were it not for breaking of one commandment that he might be for ever beyond all possibility of breaking any of the rest he would even with his own hands pull down this Earthly House on the Head of these uncircumcised Philistines though he himself be crusht with the fall But he patiently expects the time when God will give Death a commission to do it and this is his hope in his last and sorrowful moments 3. The righteous man at Death hath hope of a full and final deliverance from Satan 2 Cor. 4. 4. and all his temptations The Devil is stiled Eph. 2. 2 The God of this World The Prince of the Powers of the Air which words imply he hath no power in the Blissful Regions beyond Is not this World the Devils Circuit and does not this Roaring Lion walk up and down seeking whom he may devour 1 Pet. 5 8. Are not the best buffeted and sollicited to sin tempted molested and disquieted by him Oh how oft does he shake us in his Teeth though a good God and a merciful Jesus will not suffer him to rend and tear us in pieces tho' Satan hath been bafled and conquered by the Captain of our Salvation yet does he not ever and anon enter the List and give a Challenge to the Followers of the Lamb Have we not a War to manage with these insernal Spirits and powers of darkness and must we not always stand upon our Guard maintain our Spiritual Watch keep on our Armour have our Weapons always in readiness that if we get the better to day we may be prepared for a fresh and more violent assault to morrow Does not Satan one while transform himself into an Angel of Light that he might deceive At another time appear in his onw proper hue as Black as Hell I mean in some horrid and blasphemous suggestions that he might affright and scare us Has he not 2 Cor. 2. 11. his cunning Artifices and suttle Methods to beguile and his Fiery Darts and Eph. 6. 16. Flaming Arrows to Wound and in whatsoever shape he appears whatsoever course he takes is he not a very troublesome and dangerous enemy This is our condition at present and Oh how uneasie and tedious is it to a Child of God to be assaulted with Legions of sins within and an whole Army of Devils without If the temptation doth not prevail it is a torment to be tempted and there cannot but be some fear lest it should In what Agony does the Christian cry Oh what if this temptation should prevail or if I have Grace to resist and overcome this what if the next Temptation should be more fierce the second assault more violent what if at last I should yield constant and be overcome How do such Storms drive them to their Knees and make them with earnestness and affection pray Lord lead us not into Temptation Mâ—â— 6. 13 This World in which we live is haunted with these unclean and ugly Spirits and don 't the best of us at one time or other find it so But the dying Believer hopes for Deliverance if we can keep our integrity maintain our Post stand our Ground defend our selves while we Live we shall be Conquerors take heart Christians we shall be more than Conquerors when we dye 'T is true the assaults of Satan may be most violent in a Dying hour The last Onset most furious and the concluding Battel most bloody but Death will decide the controversie end the Combat and give us the Victory Methinks I hear the dying Christian thus encouraging himself ever since the strong man hath been turned out by the Holy Spirit and Victorious Grace of my Redeemer I have 〈◊〉 little or no peace this Enemy this adversary of my God my Redeemer and my Soul has been ever and anon beating up my quarters many and many a time in the name and strength of the Living God under the conduct of my blessed and victorious Jesus have I accepted the challenge and given battel to these Legions of Darkness and tho' I have been foil'd blessed be God I am not conquer'd tho' I have received some wounds thanks be to God none of them are Mortal I yet live or rather Christ liveth in me and now methinks Gâ—â— 2. 2â— I have and oh how delightful is it the prospect of a final and entire victory Satan hath now almost done his worst he may rage because now his time is short and he knows it to be so but hold out O my Soul stand thy ground resist a little longer play the man act thy part well in this last Combat and the God of Roâ— 10. 2â— Peace shall tread Satan under thy Feet shortly In Heaven and oh how near am I to that blessed place there is no Tempter no Temptation no no when I am lodg'd in Abraham's Bosom or rather in the Arms of my blessed Jesus I am out of Satan's reach for ever when I shall be Dead the Devils Game will be over this Evil One has followed me from my Closet to the Church from my Table to my Bed he has ever stood at my Right Hand to resist me but he shall not dogg my Soul to Heaven no no the purity and holiness of that place cannot admit the Presence of any of these impure filthy and unclean Spirits 4. Dying Christians hope to be delivered from all Spiritual desertions and those doubts and fears which are consequent thereupon How oft by too too wilful falls and sins by allowing our selves in
softned and broken you must renounce the Infernal Trinity the World the Flesh and the Devil your old Hearts and Natures must be changed love to God must be your governing principle the characters of the H. Gospel must be imprest upon your Hearts and there must be a sincere constant and universal obedience to all its commands in your lives you must have Faith in the Heart which works by Love and there must Gal. 5. 6. be obedience in the life the fruit evidence and proof of that Faith and what argument and motive can be more cogent to persuade you to endeavour after this compleat righteousness than this in the text Sirs when you are sick and ready to die you send for us and then you cry out for comfort oh Sir saith many an one on his Death-bed have you no comfort for a dying man Can you give me no hope it will be well with me after Death Oh that I had some hope of Heaven you that know to whom Heaven belongs tell me oh tell me if there be any ground for me to hope it will be mine and will you not labour after that righteousness without which all your hope is vain and will end in eternal desperation Shall the profits of the World or the pleasures of sin keep you from being Religious indeed infinite folly Were I now upon my Death-bed panting for Breath strugling for life beyond the hope and possibility of recovery were I now expecting which hour and moment which pulse and breath would be my last oh what would hope of a blessed Immortality be worth hope of Heaven would stand me in more stead than the riches of ten thousand Worlds Lord quicken my resolutions and endeavours awaken my drowsie Soul inspire my dead and slothful Heart with light and life with warmth and zeal let me trifle and dally no longer but mind and mind it as the main business of my life to get that righteousness which may add spirit and life to my hopes in a dying hour I resolve and purpose to do so Lord maintain and strengthen these holy purposes and grant me this hope at my death Infer VI. How unaccountable and blame-worthy is fear of death especially that which is tormenting and slavish in those who are truly righteous 'T is true in Death upon the slightest view we may behold something â—elancholy and startling frightful and gloomy something that puts Nature into a fright and makes it recoil and start back at the thoughts of it but if we consider it more distinctly in its antecedents languishing sicknesses acute pains and terrible pangs in its consequent what becomes of the young strong and honourable when death hath turn'd the man into a pale wan and ghastly corps it appears more formidable but if we farther consider it as the effect of our primitive Apostacy and the fruit of the Divine Curse as it transmits the Soul to a righteous and impartial Tribunal and as it is attended with Hell it may justly whenever we think of it surprise us with horrour But how unreasonable is it for good men who have such great and glorious hopes to be kept in Bondage all their life-long thro' fears of Death and yet how Heb. 2. 15. loth are the best of us to admit the thought of dying how loth to suppose that the next year week or day we may be laid in the Grave when sickness shakes how loth are we death should pull down this Earthly Tabernacle But how greatly are we to be blamed for this when God has provided such an antidote as hope of Heaven What is it we are afraid of What is it makes us start and draw back when Death is marching towards us and we hear the sound of its feet at our chamber doors do we fear the pains and pangs which usually usher in the King of Terrors Cannot God make our passage speedy and easie and have we not hope that when these pains are over we shall feel no more Are we loth to die because we must leave our Relations and Friends and have we not hope of going to better Are we afraid to die because after Death our separated and naked Souls must pass thro' the Devils Dominions and Territories And have we not hope of a Convoy of mighty and powerful Angels who dare fight those unclean Spirits in their own Quarters to conduct them safe to the blessed abodes above Are we afraid to die because after Death comes Judgment And have we not hope the Judge is our friend and that our trial will have a good and happy Issue Finally are we loth to die because these Bodies and this Flesh of ours must rot in dust and darkness and our eyes must no more behold this sweet and pleasant light and have we not hope towake and rise after a quiet and undisturbed sleep Oh how abundantly hath our good God provided for our comfortable passage to Eternity Let as many then as have this hope banish these unreasonable and slavish fears which are a pleasure to Satan a dishonour to God a reproach to our profession a disgrace to our hopes and a torment to our selves Infer VII Hence we see the reason of the willing and chearful joyful and triumphant departure of some believers at the hour of Death The Souls of some men are violently rent and torn from them fain would they live longer but must not some die with a quiet and silent submission and some die with abundance of joy and triumph As old Jacob's heart was revived and cheared when he saw the Waggons which were sent to fetch him to his beloved Joseph so the hearts of some Christians have even leapt for joy when they have seen Death coming to carry them to their beloved Jesus Death drest up in the most terrible shape has not been able to fright them With what courage and resolution boldness and magnanimity composedness and chearfulness with what joy and triumph did the Martyrs of old suffer and die The angry frowns the sour looks the threatning words of their enemies have not daunted them the passing sentence of Death upon them and appointing the time for their execution has neither startled nor troubled them No no they have rejoyced in their Dungeons and gone to the Flames with Psalms of Praise in their mouths With what an unshaken mind transport and joy have they passed from their Prisons to a Stake not in the least concerned at the sight of the executioner the instruments of Death and all the bloody Pomp that was carried before them How have these noble confessors endured the torture of the Rack the burning of the Flames not only with patience and submission but with thankfulness and access of joy and exultancy of Spirit though I confess there was somewhat peculiar in this case yet was not all this owing to the liveliness of their hope and strength of their assurance Faith made them Martyrs and Hope made them Triumphant How many other
all their sins set in order before them Are they filled with horror and anguish Is some of the everlasting fire flasht in their Faces Does the Devil begin to torment them before the time Is God a terror to Mat. 8. 29. them and they a terror to themselves Are they weary of Life and yet afraid of Death Are they rackt and tortured and do they speak nothing but the language of Hell before they come there Are they cast at the Bar of Conscience before they are condemned at the Tribunal of their Supreme Judge Do they sensibly feel what horror attends the final doom Depart from me ye cursed Mat 25 41. Do they cry out and tremble as if they now heard it pronounced by their eternal Judge Does a righteous God commission Conscience to witness against Judge and Condemn them to sting and lash them in their last hours for the sins of their past Life And ought we not to take notice of and improve all this May not such a sight the remembrance of what we saw and heard in that hour awaken our Consciences startle our Spirits affect and warm our hearts May it not tend â—â—â—hew us the Justice of God the evil of 〈◊〉 and the infinite danger of neglectinâ— to hearken to the voice of God while it is câ—â—led to day May it not excite our diligence quicken our repentance and assist our preparations for Death and judgment May it not Arm us against the World the Flesh and the Devil and make us more resolved to hearken to the voice of the Spirit the checks of our own Conscience and the compassionate calls of mercy Would it not make us know the worth of time and put us upon husbanding redeeming and improving it to the best ends the Glory of God and Salvation of our Souls Would it not make us love Christ prize his sacrifice and value his blood more Would it not put us upon reviewing our lives searching our hearts and examining our state and amending what has been amiss Oh how much good may we get by the death of poor awakned sinners and how great is our folly and sin in case we don 't And can it be unprofitable and useless to mark observe and remember the more happy and comfortable end of the Righteous Shall we take no notice what is the end issue and conclusion of an Holy Life We should remember how they lived and how they died Did God in their sickness furnish them with patience and calmness submission and resignation to his Holy Will Were their Thoughts compos'd Minds setled Spirits calm their peace undisturb'd their Joy great and their Hope lively Was there a willingness to die and a desire to depart that they might be with Christ did God resolve their Doubts scatter the Clouds and help them to overcome their fears Has such an one been enabled to say Lord I am thine I lye at thy Foot here I am do to me dispose of me remove or continue my pains as thou wilt let me be well or sick live or die be recover'd or remov'd as thou pleasest Lord if thou hast any more Work for me to do I am willing to live and content my happiness should yet be deferr'd and I 'll acknowledg thy Grace if thou wilt yet use me and make me an Instrument of thy Glory but if my work be done and the number of my years be accomplisht I am willing Lord I am willing now to die if it be thy pleasure now to remove me if this sickness must be my last and end in death if to die now be really best for me and most for thy glory I will not draw back I am ready at thy call command and pleasure to lay down this Body and thanks be to God I can heartily say the Will of the Lord be done Have any of your Christian Friends or Holy Relations died thus Heavenly frame Blessed end Glorious triumph over Death and the Grave Ought we not and may it not be infinitely useful to mark and remember this How much may it contribute to maintain the Life of Religion and the Power of Godliness in us may not the memory of what we observ'd and saw at such a time confirm us in our holy Choice strengthen our Faith and throughly convince us Religion is not a vain thing Will it not recommend the Holy Ways of God set off Religion and make all holy exercises more sweet and pleasant to us but in particular may not an observing how they died afford matter of encouragement and support to us when we have sad and melancholy Thoughts as to our own departure how oft does many a poor sincere Christian in bitterness cry out How shall I with a Christian Patience an humble submission and an entire resignation bear long painful and tedious sickness how shall I be able to conquer the fear and submit to the stroke of Death How shall I be able to grapple with that Enemy and encounter the King of Terrors How shall I be able with joy and chearfulness without murmuring and repining to obey my Summons to Death and Judgment When I do but suppose my self sick weak and full of pain when I seriously think of my Coffin and Grave I tremble but Lord what shall I do when it comes to the trial thus it is with many and has it not been so with you at one time or other and may it not be so again and if it should how may the memory of the happy end of holy friends and relations administer to your support when thou hast the Death of such an one fresh in thy thoughts thou mayst say why art thou cast down O my â—sal 42. 5. Soul and why art thou thus disquieted within me Is it because this body must die How many holy ones are dead before me They were weak frail and imperfect as I am but God furnished them with patience courage and strength quieted their Mind calm'd their Spirits and husht their ruffling passions and when my hour comes I hope God will help me to die too Have not I the same God to depend upon the same promises to encourage me the same Jesus to stand by me and the same Holy Spirit to assist me I remember my holy Father died with comfort my holy Mother made an happy and peaceable End and why may not I Death is conquered it is conquer'd And the fear of it may be overcome I have seen it may and why should the fear of it keep me in a perpetual bondage How serviceable may it be to remember how other holy Men and Women have died before us Secondly Another duty with reference to those who died in hope is to give thanks to God for those assistances and that Grace which was vouchsafed to them â—â— a dying hour Surviving Relations who were Eye-witnesses of God's goodness to them who are departed should own acknowledge and praise God for it when they are dead and gone The dead cannot
must not now pass from me I may imitate my dear Saviour in the like circumstances chearfully saying Father not my will but thine be done The arguments I have â—uk 22. 42. used are weighty and serious sufficient to convince my judgment stop my mouth and make me silent but after all O pity pardon and help me I find I am backward and loth to die now Lord make me content content that 's too little make me desirous to die and to die now God forbid that after all my Soul should be violently rent and torn from me Lord Let me have such a firm belief of a future happiness such lively hopes and clear evidences of my right and title to it such a burning and flaming love to thee my God to thee my Saviour such pleasing foretasts of Heavenly joys such a reviving prospect of that glorious future state that I might overcome the fears of Death the terrors of the Grave and Triumph over both That I may long and pant desire groan and wish to be with Christ which I must and do acknowledge to be far better Lord inspire my departing Soul with that Faith Hope and Love that I may now glorifie Thee credit Religion and commend thy holy Ways that I may strengthen the weak and encourage the fearful by a chearful and willing comfortable and triumphant departure Sanctifie these afflictions and pains and this present sickness to me and let them put me upon longing after Heaven where are none answer my doubts expel my fears arm and fortifie comfort and encourage my weak drooping and trembling Soul and the nearer I draw to my end the more warm and earnest let my desires be Oh for thy holy Spirit to excite those Heavenly and Spiritual desires in me which I cannot raise in my self O thou almighty and victorious Jesus who hast conquer'd Death and the Grave enable me in these my last moments to triumph over them saying O DEATH where is thy Sting O GRAVE where is 1 Cor. 15. 55. thy victory Many experiences have I had of thy Grace and Mercy love and kindness O my Saviour forsake me not now in this my last extremity O Blessed Jesu who hast been my support and help in Life be my Strength my Comfort and my Joy at Death While in this my last sickness I have been speaking sometimes to my self and sometimes unto God I have obtain'd the Mercy I wanted and laboured after a willingness to die now my doubts are answered my fears remov'd my sins are pardoned God is reconciled my Conscience pacified my hopes are lively my evidences clear my assurance strong and my joy full and now thanks be to God how do I long to dye shall I be afraid of Death What! of a baffled vanquisht and conquer'd Enemy I am not I was but now blessed be God I am not Am I a Member of Christ a Son of God an Heir of Heaven and shall I be afraid of thee O Death through Grace O mine Enemy I am not Methinks I am already in the Suburbs of Heaven and I long to enter into that holy City I have a prospect of yonder blessed World and this prospect is so ravishing and transporting that I wish for a present possession No Heir ever longed more for his Inheritance no Captive ever longed more for Liberty no sick and pained man ever longed more for ease than I now do for Heaven When I am there what charming musick shall I hear what glorious sights shall I behold what blessed and delightful company shall I have what joy will enter into possess and fill this Soul of mine what a Mansion of Light and Glory shall I enter into when I have put off this earthly Tabernacle how does a thought of this make my fettered and yet imprisoned Soul cry out How long Lord how long farewel vain World farewel not Earth but Heaven is my home and I long groan and wish to be there Is the time of my departure at hand Is the time come that I must die Lord I do submit thy holy will be done My Body I chearfully bequeath unto the dust O faithful grave keep what I commit unto thee this Body till my Lord shall come and then deliver it up In the dust shall this flesh of mine sleep and rest in hope My Soul my pretious and immortal Soul O my God I resign to thee into thine hand I commit my Spirit Thou Psal 31. 5. hast redeemed me O Lord God of truth Father into 〈◊〉 â—ands I commit my Spirit Lord Luk. 23. 46. Acts 7. 59. Jesus 〈…〉 Must I die now Lord 〈◊〉 in thy will believing thy promise trusting in thy mercy thro' the ALL-SUFFICIENT MERITS of thy Son and my Saviour I wait wait Lord I long for the happy moment And my last Petition and dying prayer shall be Come Lord Jesus come qickly Rev. 22. 20. 1 Thes 4. 17. that I might be for ever with the Lord come Lord Jesus come quickly Amen Amen FINIS