attained either were already perfect but I follow after if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus Brethren I count not my self to have apprehended but this one thing I do forgetting those things that are behind and reaching towards the things that are before I press forward c. And sincere Christians are dayly growing up towards this Perfection as well as aiming at it and aspiring after it Job 17.9 The Righteous also shall hold on his way and he that hath clean Hands shall be stronger and stronger The Path of the just saith Solomon is like the shining Light that shineth more and more unto the perfect Day Prov. 4.18 Thus little Grace is perfect inasmuch as it is continually growing up to Perfection 4. Though the Saints are not perfect here on Earth yet in Heaven they shall be perfect It is indeed the imperfect Man here but it shall be the perfect Man there All our Graces in Heaven shall be filled up elevated and raised to their highest pitch and all our Corruptions throughly purged away In Heaven we shall know even as we are known 1 Cor. 13.12 what an expression is that to hold forth the Perfection of knowledge We shall love God in Heaven to the utmost of what the Creature can come up unto in Love and so in the rest When that which is perfect is come 1 Cor. 13.10 then that which is in part shall be done away To the Spirits of Just Men made perfect Heaven is a State of Perfection Heb. 12.23 and all that are sincere shall at last arrive at that Perfection 5. Uprightness is perfection as God accepts it for Perfection In God's Eye every upright Christian is a perfect Christian Therefore they are often link'd together and the One is exegetical of the Other Mark the perfect Man and behold the Vpright the Upright and the Perfect are all one the perfect Man is the Upright Man and therefore Perfect because Upright It 's said of Noah he was a just Man and perfect in his Generatior Gen. 6.9 and Noah walked with God Was there no sin in him we know the contrary was he perfect in Holiness No but he was perfect in that he walked with God and was Vpright They are again put together in the Character of Job Job 1.1 That Man was Perfect and Vpright Gen. 17.1 I am God Almighty walk before me and be thou Perfect i. e. be thou Upright Phil. 3.15 Let as many therefore as are Perfect be thus minded it cannot be spoken of any Perfection other than what is wrap't up in Sincerity And this is the meaning of the Words here Mark the perfect Man and behold the Vpright It would be a vast Subject particularly to describe and Characterize this Upright Man I must only touch upon it when I come to the Use So much of the Person of whom the Text speaks The perfect Man and the Vpright 2. Secondly The Happiness of the upright Man I come to the Happiness of this Man How does it fare with this Man very well as well as Heart and Soul can desire The End of that Man is * Erit ad Extremum vir pax Hieron 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sym. Quoniam sunt reliquiae homini pacifico Vulg. Peace We 'l consider this End in a threefold Reference according to which there must be also a threefold Explication of the Peace annexed to it It refers 1. To the final Issue of all God's Providential Dispensations towards Vpright Persons 2. To Death the End and Period of their Natural Life 3. To their End State and Condition after Death in the World above In each of these respects the End of the Godly upright Man is Peace 1. As it refers to the final Issue of all God's Providential Dispensations And so the sence of it will come to this Good Men Holy Men their Condition here for a time may be very dark afflictive and troublesome God may see it good in his infinite Wisdom to exercise them with various Afflictions and Trials the chastnings of God may be very severe upon them without and within Well! yet stay but a little till the End come i. e. till God has done his * Is 10.12 whole work upon them till the close of all his Afflictive Providences till the time is come that he hath set for Mercy and Comfort and then all is Peace The End of that Man is Peace with respect to God's Providences as God does End and Wind up all his Providential Workings whatsoever they are towards him in Peace and Comfort It falls in with that Psal 30.5 Weeping may endure for a Night but joy cometh in-the Morning And with that of the Apostle Heb. 12 11 12. No Chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous nevertheless afterwards at the end it yieldeth the peaceable Fruit of Righteousness unto them that are exercised thereby You have an expression Jam. 5.11 Behold we count them happy which endure that One would think was a very strange counting You have heard of the Patience of Job and have seen the end of the Lord that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender Mercy You have seen to what end the Lord brought things with this Job In the beginning of God's dealings with him he did not appear to be so merciful pityful and gracious but when it came to the End when things were brought to the final Issue then he appear'd to be very pitiful and compassionate towards him then it was Peace and Comfort to poor afflicted Job It is said of him the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more then his beginning Job 42.10 Oh the Condition of upright Christians for a time may be very stormy and tempestuous but in the Close all is serene and calm As I said before The Morning may be Dark and Cloudy nay it may be so the whole Day the whole time of Life but yet in the Evening all is Light Affliction may for a long time be their Lot and Portion but all shall end in Peace This Explication I conceive doth best suit with the main Scope of David in this Psalm but because it does not so well suit with the Providence of God before us this day I shall not further enlarge upon it 2 This End here carries a special reference unto Death the end and period of Life Deut. 32.29 Oh that they were wise that they understood this that they would consider their latter end Death is our end it puts an end to Life to the Natural and Temporal Life When a Manis dying he is at his great End his last end Now mark the perfect Man and behold the Vpright the End of that Man is Peace that is in a dying hour upon his Bed of pain and sickness when he is breathing out his last Breath he hath Peace he dies in Peace There is a twofold Peace that belongs to the godlyman at this
As Abner spake to Joab concerning the Sword 2 Sam. 2.26 The Evil of Sin and the Good of Holiness will never be fully understood till we come to lie upon a Death-bed We have strange Notions about These whilst all is well with us judging there 's but little goodness in the one but little Evil in the other Ah but Sickness and Death will undeceive us and alter our apprehensions about them You that take sinful profane Courses now how will your Souls wish then that you had lived otherwise that you had never been so loose so vain so atheistical so debauch and vitious that you had not so prophaned the Sabbath so neglected God lived in such excess of Riot Uncleanness Whoredom and whatever is naught How wilt thou then cry out Oh would to God I had lived a better Life That I had not closed with Sin as I have done that I had not opposed and derided Holiness oh that I had spent my Time better and hearkened to the good Counsel that Ministers gave me and so on But what will this avail or signifie when the Soul shall be in this distress Nothing at all Pray think of this and reform your Course before it be too late This being the great Motive to Sincerity Peace at the End here are Three Questions to be answered 1. Q. Hath the Upright Godly Man no Peace before his End Hath he only Peace at his Death None in Life Is all his Peace and Comfort reserved for a dying Hour Answ Not so He hath peace in Life as well as at Death He liveth with it hath it abiding in him if he doth not lose it by sining against God Great Peace have they that love thy Law Psal 119.165 The work of Righteousness shall be Peace and the effect of Righteousness quietness and assurance for ever Isa 32.17 Thou wilt keep him in perfect Peace Hebr. Peace Peace whose mind is stayed on thee Isa 26.3 The perfect Man has perfect Man Peace I leave with you my Peace I give unto you Joh. 14.27 These things have I spoken that in me ye might have peace Joh. 16.33 2 Cor. 6.10 Yet always rejoycing A good Conscience is a Continual Feast But why then is it said the End of that Man is Peace 1. Because then Especially and Eminently the People of God have this Peace They need it more then than at other times and therefore they have more of it then Oh when they are grappling with the pangs of Death just launching out into boundless Eternity how do they then want this Peace Wherefore then the gracious God vouchsafes it to them in an higher degree than before 2. Because then their Peace is of the greatest use and efficacy to work on Others to draw them in to God and to make them think well of his Ways Therefore it pleases God sometimes to let his People be without this Peace in their Life time because then it would not so much be taken notice of but when they come to die when many Eyes are upon them to observe what comfort they have then then they have it And by this Spectators are brought to judge well both of the Persons and also of the Practices of these that are so full of Comfort in such a time of need 2. Q. Have all Vpright Souls this Peace at their End Is the End of every Godly Man Peace Do all such when they come to die die with this Comfort Answ I dare not say so I have reason to believe that many live without this Peace and die too without this Peace who yet are truly Gracious Some want it in Life but then possibly they have it at Death As the Martyr Now he is come he is come Some have it in Life but then want it when they come to die God at the last withdrawing their Peace and causing their Sun to set in a dark Cloud thus it sometimes fares with some whose Grace here and Salvation hereafter I dare not question Others go without it in the sensible part of it both in life and in Death that 's fad indeed True Grace is in their Hearts but yet this Peace from God is not in their Hearts It pleases God very much to shew his Soveraignty in his various dealings with his People as to sensible Comfort But then this we may say as to every Sincere and Upright Christian 1. Ordinarily and commonly he has this Peace at his End 't is but now and then that God varies his Method in this 2. The root of this Peace is in him although he may not-have the Blossoms of it Light is sown for the Righteous and gladness for the Vpright in heart Psal 97.11 3. He hath Faith to rely upon Christ in a dying hour though he may not have the Peace and comfortable effects of Faith then Oh though he is much in the dark yet he cleaves to Christ holds fast upon Christ and goes out of the World with this If I perish here I will perish Oh says he I have little Peace Light and Comfort but I dye resting upon Christ let God do with me what he pleases 4. Whenever God denies this Peace to dying Upright Persons it is for some special Reasons he designs some other way to glorifie himself And if he will glorifie himself any way though that Way may be painful to us we must submit to it 5. If it be not Peace in Death it shall certainly be Peace just after Death It may be Trouble in a dying hour even to the Godly but as soon as ever Death has done it's Work I am sure then they have Peace Thou mayst die without it but in Heaven thou shalt certainly have it As soon as ever the Soul is out of the Body it is fill'd with Peace 3. Q. Is this the End of that Man only Is Peace limited and peculiar to that Man Do not we daily see many Sinners and wicked Persons die in Peace They go out of the World like Lambs as we commonly express it have no troubles no commotions no disturbance at all upon their Spirits all is quiet Wherefore then is it made such a special and peculiar Priviledge in the Text to the Upright Answ I deny what is alledg'd The Persons spoken of may have a seeming an imaginary Peace but assuredly they have no real and true Peace There 's a vast difference between the real Peace of a godly Man and the Counterfeit Peace of Sinners in a dying hour The Peace of the One is but stupidity insensibleness security and presumption but the Peace of the Other is a well-grounded Peace Peace rightly bottom'd upon the due application of Gods Mercy in Christ and upon the faithful Testimony of an enlighten'd Conscience It is quite otherwise in the Peace of the presumptuous Sinner that dies quietly though he hath lived wickedly We see many a Man is fast asleep in his Bed unconcern'd undisturb'd even when his House is on Fire and he is just ready
End 1. Peace with God the highest most blessed and most glorious Peace Being justified by Faith we have peace with God Rom. 5.1 The holy Soul lives in this peace with God and dies in this Peace with God too The Wicked live and die in a State of enmity with God all along they are Enemies to God and God an Enemy to them there 's is no Peace no reconciliation betwixt God and them But sincere Christians both living and dying have peace with God they have in Life a God reconciled to them through Christ and at Death they go to a reconciled God and Father not to an angry an hating an hostile God but to a pacified and loving God to a God that is their Friend Oh this is the great Happiness of God's People the End of such is this Peace 2. Their end is peace as to Peace from God Peace in themselves and with themselves the Peace of Conscience Gaudium in fine sed Gaudium sine fine Bern that Peace which is called the Peace of God which passeth all understanding Phil. 4.7 Oh when Death comes to lay his Arrest his cold hands upon an upright Christian when he is going the way of all Flesh when the Grave is opened and ready to receive him when he is just dropping into the House of rottenness even then through the Grace of God he has inward Peace Serenity and Comfort The * Plato in Phel p. 84. Swan sings and dies dies singing the godly Man dies rejoycing Sampson found Hony in the Lyon so 't is here Prov. 14.32 But the Righteous hath hope in his Death that Hope that riseth up to Peace The Wicked is driven away in his Wickedness in the former Branch of the Verse God deals with him in a terrible manner drives his Soul out of his Body whether he will or no ay but 't is not so with the godly the Righteous hath hope in his Death There is hope in thine End Jer. 31.17 I do but allude to this Text for the End in it is not that which I am at present speaking of Good old Simeon he died with this Peace Lord now lettest thou thy Servant depart in Peace there might be something special and peculiar in his case Luke 2.29 but as to the substance so it reaches to all Gods People It is said of Moses Deut. 34.5 He died according to the Word of the Lord the Jewish Interpreters carry it he died at the Mouth of the Lord and they say that when he came to die God kissed out his Soul See Bishop Hall 1 V. 959.960 he gave in such manifestations of his Love and Mercy to him as that he even kist his Soul out of his Body and surely here was Peace at the End So it was with Hezekiah 2 Kings 20.3 with holy Paul I am ready to be offered and the time of my departure is at hand now see his peace I have fought the good Fight c. Henceforth is laid up for me a Crown c. 2 Tim. 4.7.8 So with various Martyrs as might be shewn in several Instances Here three Questions should be resolved 1. Q. Hath the Upright Man Peace only at his End The End of that Man is Peace Hath he no Peace while he lives but only when he comes to die 2. Hath every Vpright Man this Peace 3. Is it only the Vpright that have this peace Do we not see many die with a great deal of Peace who yet are far from being in the Number of these Upright and perfect Ones But I will rather reserve the Answering of these Questions to the Application when I shall have first finish'd the Doctrinal part 3. Lastly Take this End here for the blessed State and Condition that follows after Death in the World above And certainly here 's Peace in the highest Notion of it The End of the Perfect Man is this Peace Gracious Persons such who have feared God and lived a Holy life they die leave this World enter upon an everlasting State What a kind of State is that Oh it is a State of Peace He shall enter into Peace Isa 57.2 It is not only he shall go out or die in Peace that follows in the next Branch They shall rest in their Beds each one walking in his Vprightness but he shall enter into Peace into a State of Peace Heaven is such a State 't is a place of Peace and much of the Happiness of Heaven lies in the Peace that is there enjoy'd In the glorified Condition there is nothing but Peace there all is Peace Therefore Peace is often brought in as one great Ingredient into and Part of the Heavenly Felicity 2 Rom. 9.10 Tribulation and Anguish upon every Soul that doth evil of the Jew first and also of the Gentile but Glory Honour and Peace to every Man that worketh good Rom. 8.6 To be carnally-minded is Death but to be spiritually-minded is Life and Peace it is Peace at present and it ends in Peace in Heavenly Peace hereafter Gal. 6.16 As many as walk according to this Rule Mercy and Peace be upon them and upon the Israel of God Peace in the large acceptation of it takes in all Good whatever It is the abridgment of all Good the Sum and Center of all Felicity So the Jews us'd it in their Common Salutations Peace be unto you that is all Good all Mercy Thus Heaven is a State of Peace there being in Heaven the concurrence and possession of all good There 's nothing that the Soul of Man in its utmost cravings can desire but it shall have it in Heaven There 's not the presence of the least Evil nor the absence of the least Good Then take this Peace in the stricter Acceptation of it so the glorified Condition is a Condition of Peace There is Peace with God Peace with Men and Peace with a Man 's own self Peace with God Oh there are no breaches with God in Heaven we have too much of These here but above there 's nothing of them All is Amity and Peace with God there Peace with Men how are all the Saints united and agreed there there 's no discord or contention nothing but Oneness Harmony and Love There Luther and Calvin the greatest Dissenters are fully reconciled The World is in flames here but there all these shall be fully quenched We that cannot agree now while upon Earth shall perfectly agree in Heaven whatever our Differences may be in this lower Region they shall all vanish in Heaven there we all shall be of one mind And 't is no small part of the happiness of the godly to be taken into this Peace Further the Saints there have peace in and with themselves All those Passions and perturbations of mind that here pursue and vex them shall all there cease there 's no inward Commotions or Storms all is sedate and calm within in the Thoughts and in the Conscience Storms are only in the lower Region