he was perfectly indifferent to Live or Dye v. 19 20. For to me to live is Christ and to dye is gain v. 21. His Life he hop'd might advance the Honour of Christ and his Death would be subservient to the same design By his further service if he live and by his sufferings if he dye by his Ministry supposing his Life and by his Martyrdom in case of his death But if I live in the flesh this saith he is the fruit of my labour v. 22. or it is worth my Labour to glorsie the Redeemer by continuing in this World Yet what I shall choose I wot not For I am in a strait betwixt two having a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better To Depart or be dissolv'd The Original word is used both by Christian and Heathen Writers for a departure from any place to return home Luke 12.36 And when the same Apostle speaks of his approaching death he tells us that the Time of his departure was at hand 2 Tim. 4.6 Having a desire to depart a vehement and earnest desire as the word imports and to be with Christ to be absent from the Body and present with the Lord 2 Cor. 5.8 with that merciful Saviour who had compassion on me when as an ignorant Blasphemer I persecuted his Members who call'd me to be an Apostle and enabled me by his Grace to own his Truth in the face of Dangers and hath hitherto comforted me in all my Tribulation I desire to depart that I may be with him With him not with the blessed Angels or departed Saints though their Society will make a part of the heavenly Joy Not the former they are but ministring Spirits and menial Servants employed under him and though they shine as Stars yet he is the enlivening Sun from whom they derive their Lustre and borrow their glory Not the latter they have no Blessedness but by his Donation and Purchase no Crowns of Life but what He puts on Therefore 't is not to be with them only or chiefly that made them thus groan to be dissolv'd thus earnestly desire to depart but to be with Christ Which is far better simply and in it self more desirable by much more better the Comparative being double in the Greek Text and yet I wot not what to choose for I am in a strait betwixt two On the one hand his Love to the Philippians who needed his presence many false Teachers being at that time crept in among them made him willing to abide in the Flesh and deferr his own Felicity for a time upon their account v. 24. But the Glory of Christ's presence on the otherâ— and his own unspeakale advantage by it made him desirous of a Departure and therefore though he determines for the former and was content to live and 't is probable had some secret intimation from Heaven that all his Work in this World was not yet sinish't yet he grants the latter to be simply more eligible having a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far Better Which words are not more suitable to a Funeral Solemnity than expressive of the dying Thoughts and Temper of our deceased Friend and were chosen by her as the Subject of my present Discourse That I may comprehend the Substance of the Text according to the desire of the Dead for the Benefit and Instruction of the Living let us consider 1. When and how far it is Warrantable for a Christian to desire Death 2. In what respects to depart and to be with Christ is far better than to abide in the Flesh 3. On what Grounds and Principles a Christian may expect a future Blessedness with Christ after his departure so as to encourage and excite his desires after it 4. Whence it comes to pass that even those who acknowledge it far Better to be with Christ than to continue in the Body are yet Vnwilling to depart in order to it and what Remedies are proper to the case of such 5. The Application of the whole particularly with respect to the sad Occasion of our present Meeting 1. When and how far is it Warrantable for a Christian to desire to be dissolv'd This Inquiry may be answered in the following Propositions 1. Our Dissolution and Departure as a natural or penal evil as contrary to Nature or as the Punishment of Sin cannot possibly be the Object of a rational Desire If God hath promised a long Life as the Encouragement and Reward of our Obedience and threatned an hasty death as the punishment of Impiety If it be universally true that the Soul of Man desires Union with the Body and unavoidably dreads a separation from it If torturing pains and loathsome Diseases are the usual Antecedents of dying If the Corruption of the Body and it's Imprisonment in the Grave till the general Resurrection be the certain Consequent of our dissolution We cannot but think of Death as a matural Evil and as such decline and fear it Much less desirable will it appear if considered as the Wages of Sin and the fruit of Gods Displeasure and the Just Sentence of his Vindictive Justice but how far our dissolution in this latter Notion of it is changed by the death of Christ in reference to Believers is another question and will more properly be considered under the third Inquiry 2. Our dissolution and departure ought not to be desired Only as a freedom from Temporal Evil as preventive of present suffering or delivering us from it The Apostle doth not mention the uneasie Circumstances of a Prison or the continual hardships to which he was exposed from the malice of his Adversaries as the ground of his desire to depart but to be with Christ He knew very well that a Christian may serve the end of Gods glory and be useful to others in a state of suffering and therefore when he saith in another place We that are in this Tabernacle do groan being burden'd he adds the limitation in the following words not to be uncloth'd but cloth'd upon that Mortality may be swallowed up of Life not meerly to avoid the inconveniencies of our abode in so poor a dwelling but to come to the possession of the Building not made with hands eternal in the Heavens 2 Cor. 5.3 4. Not meerly to find relief and deliverance from our present burdens when through melancholly or discontent we are weary of Life Job 7.13 Jon. 4.3 when we have set our Hearts on somewhat we cannot obtain or struggle with some Difficulties we cannot master or are impatient under bodily Pains or quite dispirited by the sad prospect of approaching Calamities in such a case to wish for Death and desire to depart is unbecoming the Character the Encouragement and Hopes of a Souldier of Christ Much Iess will the Gallantry of a Roman or a Philosopher legitimate the desire of Death only to prevent Slavery or avoid Disgrace or miss the sight of an unwelcome object As
by Satan by his Sinful suggestions his subtile devices and snares and his siery darts and by that means our Integrity assaulted our peace of Conscience unsetled and our Perseverance indangered Our Conflict with him is so difficult and the issue of the Battel as to what depends on us so very uncertain that we are often ready to throw down our Arms and give up all as Lost For though he be a conquer'd and baffled Adversary through the Victory which our Captain hath obtain'd against him yet we cannot now Triumph over him as hereafter we shall And is it not far better to abandon this world of which he is the God 1 Cor. 4.4 and get above that Air of which he is the Prince Eph. 2.2 that we may be with Christ Moreover how doth our depraved Nature continually cast forth mire and dirt what remaining Filthiness is there yet to be purg'd what powerful Lusts to be mortified and subdued which indispose us for Spiritual duties and derive a damp and deadness upon all our Religious Exercises which cool our Zeal and abate the servour of our Spirits in the service of our Redeemer which weaken our Considence in Prayer and shame our faces before the Lord in secret And is it not far better to part with the body of Flesh that thereby we may be rid of this body of sin and death Rom. 7.24 and be like our Saviour in perfect purity Do we not complain of our Ignorance of Divine Truths and the blessed Mysteries of the Gospel notwithstanding all our means of knowledge of our earthliness and unbelief of unbecoming Thoughts of God and holy things of proud Imaginations and carnal reasonings against his Works and Word of languishing and imperfect Graces to be recovered and perfected c And is it not better to be with Christ where that which is imperfect shall be done away Is not God dishonour'd and provok't by our frequent Omissions and slight Performances of Duty do we not resist and quench and sadden his Holy Spirit and are we not often griev'd by God's rebukes and frowns by the wounds and smart regrets of our own Conscience so that we remember God and are troubled and cry out in the bitterness of our Souls Hath he forgotten to be gracious and will he be merciful no more Are not our holy Purposes inconstant and our best Resolutions wavering and unstedy and very quickly very easily shatter'd by the breath of a small Temptation Have we not a constant Watch to keep over our Hearts and wayes a perpetual War to manage with the infernal Trinity the World the Flesh and the Devil and do we know his rage and malice and serpentine policy with the Multitude Strength and Power of his Temptations How often we have been foil'd already and how soon we we may be so again and shall we not be desirous of a sinless state in the presence of Christ where no Tempter no Temptation shall ever be admitted Yea had we no corruption or Sin of our own to be delivered from yet our concern at God's dishonour by the sins of others should make us willing to depart as much more desireable than our abode on earth Job 24.9 Which is given into the hands of the wicked and defiled by it's Inhabitants Isa 24.4 Where the very Air is infected with Oaths and Blasphemies prophane discourse and filthy talk Where the very Being of a God is question'd his Providence deny'd and his Authority mockt Where the Gospel of Christ is disparag'd and despised his Laws contradicted his Worship polluted his Institutions subverted and his holy Name made a cloak for Licentiousness and his faithful Servants trampl'd on by the soot of Pride and scorned by men at ease and forc't to own his Truth with the peril of their Lives And can we say It is good to be here or is it not not far better to forsake such a Place and Company that we may be with Christ 3. Let us consider what are the grounds and Principles by which a Christian is assured of this Blessedness in the presence of Christ after his dissolution This Inquiry is necessary because the discourse of our future bliss with Christ cannot be supposed to have any effect or influence upon us to make us desire our departure while we disbelieve or make a doubt of the matter I hope it were needless to prove the Possibility of the Souls existence in a state of separation from the Body Whether in the Body or out of the Body 2 Cor. 12.2 would not have been a doubt to this great Apostle if he could not possibly have liv'd but in it neither could he desire to depart that he might be with Christ if after his departure he should not be at all And supposing the existence of the Soul notwithstanding the dissolution of the Body we have as full an assurance as the nature of the thing is capable of that holy Souls shall be present with the Lord in glory when absent from the body 1 Thes 4.17 Joh. 17.24 Mat. 24.25 Rev. 3.22 c. But because the Text hath a special relation to Christ and to be with him is that Blessedness on the account whereof 't is desireable to depart I shall only mention his Death and Resurrection as a sufficient ground to confirm our Faith in the certainty of being with him and to excite our Desires of a departure in order to it 1. The Death of Christ He hath cancell'd the Hand-writing against us and put away Sin which is the sting of Death by the Death of the Cross Eph. 1.7 A way is now open for us into the holy of holies by his blood Heb. 10.19 not for our Prayers only but our Persons He hath wounded the Head of the old Serpent even by permitting him to bruise his Heel by crucifying his humane Nature which was only Vestigium Deitatis As Benaiah slew the Egyptian with his own Spear 2 Sam. 23.21 Having destroyed death and him that had the power of it and delivered those who were all their Life-time subject to bondage through the fear of death Heb. 2.15 He hath set his foot on the neck of this Adversary disarm'd it of it's weapon and rob'd it of it's sting and abolish't the ugliness and poyson of it He hath dismounted Hell and Damnation from behind him that sat on the Pale-horse Rev. 6.8 Whether the first Adam were buryed in Calvary where the second was crucified as some affirm I need not enquire we know that his Death was our Victory and his Cross may be our Triumph since the Devil is conquered and death Sanctified and the Grave perfum'd by his burial so that we need not be afraid to lodge in a Sepulchre where our Lord himself hath slept Yea since the effusion of his Blood there is an amiable ruddiness in the Face of Death for that which was the Instrument of Justice is now the messenger of Peace and Joy that which was the gate of Hell is the way
much otherwise it was with them not long ago And can we wish them back again while we sigh and weep and mourn we know all Tears are wiped away from their Eyes and they are singing the Song of the Lamb. They are now seeding on the pleasant Fruits of Paradise and would we have them back again to eat the Bread of Affliction and drink the Waters of Affliction Would we they should return from the state of Triumph after Victory to engage again in new Combats From the Port and Haven of Eternal Rest to be tost again upon a Tempeltuous Sea And this because they were 〈◊〉 Kindred and our Relations for you do not mourn that the Prophets and Apostles 〈◊〉 all the Faithful mentioned in Holy Scripture or since in former Ages that they are gone to Heâ—â—â—n The ancient Christians kept Days of Thanksgiving for the safe Departure of such But how dear soever they were to us we shall go to them they shall not come to us We are very unkind if we desire they should have Tarryed longer when God hath made them ready they are gone to better Friends than those they have lest behind And if you Loved me said Christ you would rejoyce that It said I go to my Father and your Father to my God and your God The Friends they have left are imperfect Sinning Sorrowing troublesome and unsuitable compared with those they meet above And there only our Friendship and Affections to one another will be without any mixture of Grief or Sin without any Infirmity Suspicion Discontent or other allay by their Weaknesses Sins or Sufferings There shall we have all our Wishes and Desires for our Friends as well as for our Selves and converse continually together without being weary of one anothers Company they had once such a vile Body as we have and such disorderly Passions such Errors and Mistakes and Actual Sins as we are guilty of they were troubled with such Temptations Doubts and Descrtions as we complain of but their probationarry State is now over their Warfare is accomplish'd their Work done their Race ended their Course finish'd and they are enter'd into the Joy of the Lord Oh let us remember that they are so while we Weep and Mourn partly for their Departure and more it should be for our unfitness as yet to be with them But we have the same God and Saviour the same Way and Rule the same blessed Recompence of Reward propos'd and promis'd and prepar'd the same Grace and Assistance offered to enable us to Persevere and Overcome It is but a little while since they had as malicious Enemies to oppose and conquer and as difficult a work to mind as we and were as unlikely to hold out as some of us their inward and outward Troubles were like to ours their bodily Weaknesses and Spiritual Distresses like to ours but they have overcome them yet a little while and we hope we may do so too And it is but a little while let us not then grieve immoderately being our selves to follow so soon after to partake we hope in that Blessedness with them for ever which we have often joyned together in Prayer to ask of God for them and for our selves And this we need not question if we choose the same Felicity * Mr. Baxters Life of Faith ch 26. as our End and Christ as the Captain of our Salvation to direct and lead us in the way thither if we build on the same Word of Promise and follow the Conduct of the same Spirit of Holiness if we live in the exercise of the like Grace and are conform'd to Christ our Head in Spirit Purpose and Behaviour and hold on in doing and suffering his Will with constancy to the Death If we do thus we shall shortly be with them and because we were wont to mourn with them when they mourned and to take part in their Afflictions let us do so in their Joys also Thanking God for their Deliverance and Rejoycing in their Felicity Fourthly The last Argument for our Support is the Belief and Hope of the Resurrection of the Dead when we shall meet them and all the Children of the Kingdom in the presence of the Lord. We know that those who sleep in Jesus he will bring with him and openly absolve and own them before all the World and give them the full possession of the promised Inheritance We are bid to Comfort our selves and one another with such joyful words 'T is Comfort that there is a Redeemer and that he is their Redeemer as well as ours that he Lives and will come again and that we know this on certain and infallible grounds and that when he shall appear we shall be like him by seeing him as he is It is Comfort that even these Bodies that must be buried out of sight and putrifie in a silent Grave shall be raised and enlivened and made like the glorious Body of our Redeemer Thô Death devour their Beauty and the Grave hold them Prisoners for some thousands of years tho they should be burnt to Ashes or devour'd by Worms Beasts or Fishes however crumbled and divided into little parts and these scatter'd and dispers'd into a thousand distant places yet he will raise and re-unite and restore them fresh and spritely beautiful and glorious That Power which at first did form and fashion them in the Womb hath engaged to do it This Corruptible shall put on Incorruption and this Mortal put on Immortality and Death be swallowed up in Victory What was sown in Weakness shall then be raised in Power our Bodies shall then be Active and Nimble quick and free easily passing in a little space to a great distance and readily obeying the Motions of our Glorified Spirits What was sown a Natural Earthly Body shall be raised Spiritual suited to the spiritual State and Life and work of Heaven not needing the supplies of Food or Physick or any of those things which now employ so much of our Time and Care in reference to the Body In a word they shall be raised in Glory however vile they now are as the Bodies of our Humiliation And shall shine brighter than the Sun in it's Meridian Splendor with a Glory suitable to the Excellency of that Power exerted in their Resurrection suitable to the Dignity of our Glorified Souls suitable to the Glory of that Place where they are to inhabit and of the Noble Services wherein they are to be employed and especially suitable to their Excellent Exemplar the Glorious Body of Christ whose Resurrection and Exaltation is the Cause Pattern and Pledge of ours And this we may depend upon for our Lord hath not only left us the Earnest of his Spirit to assure us of the Resurrection that our Mortal Bodies shall be quicken'd by the same Spirit that raised him from the Dead but he hath carried the Earnest of our Flesh into Heaven with him to assure us that all his Friends Favourites and