comfort The Scripture tells us Psal. 16. That in God's presence there will be a fullness of joy and by consequence there can be no scantiness of enjoyments but pleasures for evermore yea a River of Pleasures nay a bottomless and boundless Ocean of them the Infinite and Eternal God must himself be exhausted before the delights and pleasures of Heaven can be spent Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard neither hath entred into the heart of man what God in the Mansions above hath prepared and reserved for them that love him There is a feast of Love a Crown of Life and Robes of Glory There is Abraham's Bosom and the joy of their Lord which is too big to enter into them therefore they shall enter into it and be filled encompassed and swallowed up by it as a small Vessel in the Sea When once the gracious Soul hath set foot upon that coelestial Countrey and made its entrance into that stately and magnificent Palace of the great King he shall be not only filled with satisfaction but likewise rapt up into astonishment and highest admiration What am I that God hath brought me hitherto And what were all my services that they should be thus rewarded Oh how light and inconsiderable doth he now think all his former sorrows and sufferings if compared with that far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory What low thoughts will he then have of the Skin-deep beauties and transitory delights here below on which the besotted Children of men do so foolishly dote And with what an holy scorn and indignation will he call to mind that pains men did take for and that eagerness with which they did pursue the trifling vanities of the Earth and how they scrambled for them and quarrel'd about them And oh how doth he wish and long for that blessed day in which the Church militant shall be made triumphant and all his gracious Friends all his Brethren and Sisters in Christ all the chosen and beloved of God shall be taken up to the same place that they may see what he sees and be possest of that which he enjoys That so they may altogether contemplate the glory of God and be satisfied with the fruition of him and endear admire and extol Father Son and Spirit unto all Eternity Lay all these things together and you will easily see that there is great yea abundant reason why those that have seen Gods Salvation should be willing yea desirous to depart in peace and to take their flight into the other world And now I come to shut up this discourse with some application And in the first place this serves to shew us what it is that above all things should engage and draw out the vigour and strength of our desires namely the sight of Gods Salvation My Brethren I beseech you frequently to consider that we must all die there is no shift for it Death will not be bribed and it cannot be avoided It is appointed for all men once to die by a Statute-Law enacted in Heaven which admits of no repeal The aged Father of this Family is now gone and the youngest Child here must follow him sooner or later And is it not good for us to prepare for Death Will it not be our Wisdom Will your Wisdom more eminently discover it self in any thing than in this That so this King of Terrours may not be terrible unto you that you may not fear him but rejoyce in him you will die uncomfortably this is past all dispute you will die unhappily if you die unpreparedly Oh the horrour that will sieze an awakened sinner upon a Death-Bed When he shall think thus my glass is run my time is spent I must die but alas I am not fit to die I must now appear before my Judges but I have not made my peace Now then go on and consider what is to be done by you in order to this preparation A Life of vanity and folly will not fit you the more you sin the more you sharpen the sting of Death An eager minding the World and pursuing the delights of that will not fit you the more you have indulged your self in a course of prophaneness the more afraid you will be to die and the more you have set your hearts upon the Creatures the more loath and unwilling you wil be to die when you come to die the love of the World will make you unwilling to leave it and Conscience of sin and guilt will make you tremble at the thoughts of appearing before God Turn away your Eyes then from beholding vanity and pray that they may be opened to see Gods Salvation Oh study Christ get an intimate acquaintance with him Beg of God to reveal him to you and in you that you may know him whom to know is life eternal and never rest quiet nor contented till you have seen him by an Eye of Faith and laid hold upon him by an hand of Faith as one that loved you and gave himself for you and have a care that there be not a deceptio visus mistake in the case but look to this that your sight be saving and the Faith you pretend to the Faith of Gods Elect that you may upon good grounds such as the Scriptures will warrant appropriate him to your selves as your Lords and Gods and Saviour Rest not in any thing till you find and feel Christ living and commanding in you his Image drawn upon you his Law written in your hearts and his Spirit poured out Take not up with a verbal profession formal duties and unblameable Conversation common convictions and some stirrings and flushes of affection All this may be and all come to nothing Hypocrites may go so far and yet they do not go far enough but after all fall short of Heaven It is not the form of Godliness that will avail you but the power not a name to live but the life it self God is not taken with empty shews and appearances he is for reality and truth in the inward parts You can take but little comfort from Christ dying without you unless you find Christ formed and living in you notwithstanding the Death of Christ you may be for ever lost and damned unless you be made partakers of his Life Remember and consider that expression Col. 1. 27. Christ in you the hope of glory When Christ dwells in you by Faith when he is in you by his Spirit and by his Graces then and not till then is there a firm Foundation laid on which you may build the hope of glory For hope so grounded is good hope such as shall never make ashamed Vse 2. The second use will be of Reprehension Those are blame-worthy and deserve reproof whose eyes have seen Gods Salvation Men and Women that do know the Jesus in whom they have believed and are made partakers of sanctifying saving grace and have had the manifestations of God's favour and Covenant love made to them and are verily
procure us heavier blows 3. Doct. We may learn that Death is a departure Lord lettest thou thy Servant depart When a man dies he removes He doth not then go back again into nothing but into another Place and into another State Christ called his Death a going away Joh. 14. 28. Ye have heard how I sayed vnto you I go away So Joh. 16. 7. It is expedient for you that I go away for if I go not away the Comforter will not come unto you Our Death also is a going away Those that make the longest stay here must be gone at last A wicked man when he dies departs out of his warm Climate and pleasant State from his Friends and Riches from his Comforts and Delights into Miseries and Torments which are Intolerable and Eternal And it is no wonder if such a man play loath to depart and Death be unto him a King of Terrors But when an Holy Gracious Person departs he leaves all his sins and enemies all his troubles and sorrows behind him and he goes to a better place and better company and infinitely better delights He enters into peace and into rest and into the joy of his Lord. He gets off from the stormy troublesome Sea of this World where he was so frequently indangered and baths himself in those Rivers of pleasure which are at God's Right-hand for evermore Vse 1. Let the consideration hereof quiet us under those Breaches which Death makes in our Families and Relations Though it be very afflictive to think my dear Husband is gone my tender Father is gone my loving and faithfull Friend is gone Yet this will lighten and sweeten that affliction if we think whether he is gone from Earth to Heaven from Troubles to Joy and Glory from us to God Christ the Spirit Angels and Saints above Oh Blessed and Everlastingly making Exchange Vse 2. Let the consideration hereof quicken us the good Lord grant that we all may frequently and seriously think of this our departure and industriously bestir our selves in order to a full preparation for it Oh let us get our work done before we go Christ did so Joh. 17. 4. I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do and now come I to thee Mind follow finish that for which you came into the World before you are called out of the World Oh! get your evidences full and fair that when Death siezeth upon you you may lay hold upon Eternal Life Make sure of Heaven before you come to leave the Earth How sweet was it for Christ to tell his Disciples I go to my Father and to your Father to my God and to your God Doct. 4. We may from hence learn this Lesson That a departure in peace is exceeding desireable This was the subject matter of Simeon's desire and prayer Lord lettest thou thy Servant depart in Peace He would go out in a calm neither in a stink through sin nor in a storm through fear but in an holy peace This promise was made to Abraham the Father of the Faithfull Thou shalt go to thy Fathers in peace That is with a quiet pacate and comfortable Spirit with joy and satisfaction without any trouble for what he should part with and without fear of any thing he should meet with And you find Psal. 37. 37. The Royal Prophet bids you Mark the perfect man and behold the upright for the end of that man is Peace Whatever troubles he is encountered by in his way he hath Peace at his end A wicked man may dye in Stupidity but not in Peace he may then be secure but he is not safe though he then have no trouble yet he hath cause enough of trouble My God saith there is no Peace to the wicked neither in his Life nor at his Death Such an one dies in sin and therefore he cannot dye in Peace But now a Godly man whose heart is sprinkled from an evil Conscience hath Peace in his Death usually he hath Peace with his own Conscience that befriends him witnesseth for him speaks comfortably to him and is an excellent Cordial at a dying hour Always he hath peace with his God they are Friends he is Reconciled to God and God to him Moses dyed at the mouth of the Lord God kist him home Vse Well my Friends I am confident you all desire such a Death you would willingly go out of the VVorld in peace Oh let it not be only the matter of your desire but likewise of your endeavour use means in order thereunto and follow these directions 1. Make your peace now Cease your enmity against God throw down your weapons of Rebellion and return unto your duty How can those persons rationally hope that God should be a Friend to them when they dye who are enemies to God while they live now now seek peace and ensue it 2. Make hast to Christ make sure of Christ get unto him He and he alone is the peace and the Prince of peace there is no peace to be had out of Christ. Let him saith God lay hold upon my strength that is upon Christ that he may make peace with me and he shall make peace with me Have a care that you be not found in your sins nor in your selves nor in your own Righteousness trusting in that No no saith Paul Phil. 3. 8 9. I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them but dung that I may win Christ and be found in him 3. Look after a sanctifying change in your hearts and natures follow Peace and Holiness Holiness both of inward Disposition and of outward Conversation Grace ushers in peace purity and peace go together the work of Righteousness is peace and the effect of Righteousness is quietness and assurance for ever By the study and practice of Holiness you may lose your peace with some men but you will keep up and maintain your peace with God yea and with good men too Prov. 22. 11. He that loveth pureness of heart for the grace of his lips the King shall be his Friend Doct. 5. VVe may from these words gather this instruction That a truly gracious man may very well be willing and free and forward to dye Thus good Simeon was here he prayed for Death Let me depart let me be gone out of this VVorld Do thou Lord send for me that I may come to thee And not only so but he also prayed for a quick dispatch a speedy dismission as one that was in hast to be gone As you may learn from that particle Now now lettest thou thy Servant depart He did full well know that he must dye one day that was certain and unavoidable the Chambers of the grave are prepared for all the living but he would dye presently now O Lord now without more ado now without any longer tarrying A wicked man doth not care how long Death stays he puts that day far from him because he looks upon it as a very evil day
sight will easily see there is enough in it alone to produce such an effect But besides that there are four other sights which will contribute exceedingly towards such a willingness in such a person 1. This man seeth enough in the World to render that bitter to him There is Wormwood enough laid upon the breast of the Creatures and he tasts it Here I shall not take notice of those outward troubles and afflictions in which he finds great exercises for his Faith and Patience though these are the principal and only things about which the carnal unregenerate heart is concerned If there be no cloud upon his Tabernacle no thorn in his side nor gall in his cup he sings a lullaby to his Soul and concludes all well But sin sin is that which sowrs and imbitters all to a Godly man both other mens sins and his own sins without doors and within First Other mens sins that wickedness which the World lyeth in Oh it goeth to his very heart to see the profaneness and abominations of those among whom he is constrained to converse and how that blessed and most holy God whom he so dearly loves is neglected abused dishonoured and affronted by them Upon this account it was that good Jeremiah's Soul wept in secret and Rivers of Tears ran down David's eyes and just Lot was vexed from day to day with the filthy Conversation of the wicked Such men cannot take their rest here because the place is so shamefully polluted and the villanies of others are such a stink in his Nostrils Secondly That which doth yet much more pain him is his own sin a foul World without and a wretched heart within the plague of that which is not perfectly cured the sin that dwelleth in him the pravity and corruption of his nature the old man that he cannot possibly shake off that troublesome old man together with many and great Transgressions of his Life Hence such complaints and grounds as these Oh what a wretch am I should be so unmindfull of God so unthankfull to God so unfruitfull before him That I should walk so unworthy of him that hath laid such Obligations upon me Oh! that I should offend him so much and glorifie him no more and serve him no better Oh! this goeth near indeed this is a sword in his bones a burden to heavy for him to bear this extorted from holy Paul that bitter cry O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of Death This is my plague but whence or by whom cometh my deliverance And when he considers that deliverance is wrought by Christ he blesseth God for him and since a perfect deliverance is to be brought to him by death he thanks God for it and this is one thing that makes this grim Messenger so lovely and acceptable to him because he knows by that all the shackles of corruption shall be knocked off and he shall be troubled with sin no more When he shall once lay down the body of flesh he shall also lay down the body of sin and death 2. The Godly man sees enough to render all the comforts of this present life cheap to him So that he doth not love them too much nor value them at too high a rate They are not so cheap as that he doth slight and despise them or is not thankfull to God for them He admires the goodness of God in all his mercies even the very least the coursest garments he wears and the brownest bread he eats and the meanest lodging the hardest bed he hath I am less said good Jacob then the least of all thy mercies But they are so cheap as that he is not unwilling to part with them or to go from them Whensoever God pleaseth he can part with them The primitive Christians took joyfully the spoiling of their goods and he can go from them Paul desired to be dissolved and to be with Christ he could without any regret or reluctancy leave the World behind him so long as he did see his God and Saviour before him Those comforts which God is pleased to afford unto his people while they are here are of two kinds Spiritual and Temporal 1. God is pleased to afford unto his People outward Themporal comsorts These he hath in the creature from the hand of common providence which feeds and cloaths him and provides for him and sometimes wrings out to him waters of a full cup But be his portion here never so fat his outward enjoyments never so large yet they are but low enjoyments they are but for a vile body we do consume and wast and will shortly moulder away and crumble into dust Be they never so delicious and pleasant yet still they are perishing bread it perisheth in the using And besides there is a snare in these things so that we must use them with caution and fear there is a snare in Relations and in possessions a snare in Riches and Pleasures a snare in Worldly Honours and Dignities Oh how often do these things divert the mind from God and distract the thoughts and deaden the heart and embase the affections and clog the heels and hinder holy motions these are weights that press down so that the Christian moves Heavily in the way of God and cannot do those things that the would nor any thing as he would and it doth speak a great deal of wisdom and calls for no less care so to enjoy the world and take the comfort of it as to avoid the snare in it and to keep our selves unspotted by it Secondly God is pleased to give unto his people here inward and spiritual comforts from the hand of his Spirit in the way of the Gospel and Gospel-Ordinances and Duties He gives them some clusters from Canaan some Pisgah-sights of the Land of promise some praelibamens and foretasts of those Pleasures which are at his right hand for evermore there are the kisses of his Lips the manifestations of his Love the witnessings of his Spirit the unspeakable joys of Faith and these are sweet indeed and inestimably precious to the gracious Soul One day in thy Courts said David are better than a Thousand elsewhere What a day of gladness doth a smile of God make and what melody is there in the sofest whisper of Divine Love No such day in the week as that of a Sabbath and no such meeting in the World as that with God at an Ordnance it affords sweetness beyond expression But alas Here is something to allay that sweetness the good man doth too too often find himself unfitted for these things his Soul is out of tune he cannot hear nor can he pray nor meditate as he would nor keep up so warm and intimate a communion with God as he would Wandering and dulness and deadness do adhere to his duties and he blushes and mourns to see and consider the iniquities of his holy things And then again he doth too frequently miss of that
good and comfort which he expects and waits for he goeth out full of hopes and returns home blank He looks for much but gets little he cannot see his Fathers face that is covered with a Cloud nor can he hear his Saviours voice for he hath withdrawn himself and is gone he cannot find those kindly meltings and warmings and quickenings and enlargings that he desires but he goeth with a pittifully cold hard straitned dead heart so that he begins to question Gods Love and his own Faith If he doth at any time meet with his gracious God and is sensible of his doing so If he can say God was with me of a truth I have this day sate under the shadow of my dearest Saviour with great delight and his Fruit hath been sweet to my taste Alas it is but short Rara hora brevis mora it comes but seldom and it lasts not long It is but a little visit and no sooner it may be hath the gracious Soul done blessing himself in his enjoyments but he sees cause to bemoan himself for his loss But however it be with some particular Saints upon whom the Sun of Righteousness stands and shines with constant beams yet this is most certain as to all the Saints that the most sweet and full enjoyment which they have of God while they are here the most pleasant and comfortable communion they have with him is but mediate Christ looks upon him through the Lattice and they see him but as in a glass darkly All their refreshings are conveyed by Pipes they do not lie at the Fountain-head When they are most present with the Lord they are even then absent from the Lord and upon this account it is no matter of wonder to see or hear that they are willing to exchange a dark vision for a clear one seeing in a glass for a seeing face to face to exchange interrupt pleasures for permanent and abiding ones and mediate fellowship for that which is immediate Love is an uniting affection and is set for the strictest and closest embraces of it's indeared object And so a Soul that truly loves God cannot but desire to be as near to him as it can be and ready to exchange the comforts of the way for the joys and pleasures of the Countrey 3. He that hath seen God's Salvation hath seen enough to deliver him from the dread and terrour of Death for this is evident and obvious that if Christ be any mans Salvation it is utterly impossible that Death should be his destruction A man that is in Christ is not out of the reach of Death but he is secured from the hurt of Death Take an unregenerate man one that is a stranger unto Christ and he cannot see any thing in Death that should commend it to him It hath a dreadful aspect and a worse issue he hath cause to fear both Death and its Followers He is stript at Death and lasht in Hell Death to him is a dark passage to outer and endless darkness But now as grim as Death looks a Believer can easily discover a great deal that will make it lovely even Death it self hath its beauty as thus It is a conquered Enemy Christ went into the Grave it 's strongest hold and there he baffled it broke its Chains and carried away its Gates he disarmed and unstung it so that Holy Paul did and every true Believer may play with it and triumph over it 1 Cor. 15. O Death where 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 who hath given us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord. Though Death kill the Believer yet it doth not dammage him and though it separate between his Soul and Body yet not between him and God who shall separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord Shall Death saith Paul no saith he in that as well as in other things we are more than Conquerors through him that loved us Nay through Christ death is not only conquered but also reconciled to all the Saints it is now become your Friend and Servant and doth you a real kindness So that as Solomon tells us The day of your Death is better than the day of your Birth You came into the World crying but you may go out of it Triumphing and with the voice of melodie The Primitive Christians did not array themselves in Sables at the Funerals of their Friends but in White looking upon their Dying Day as the Day of their Nuptials It was most terrible to Nature to be torn in pieces by Wild Beasts to die at a Stake to breathe their last in Flames yet in such a Death did they glory counting Martyrdom their Crown What though Death carry you from all your present comforts it doth at the same time set you out of the reach of all troubles and as it carries you from comforts so it carries you to comforts yea to such comforts as are far better than those you part with It pulls down this decaying and tottering Tabernacle that a more beautiful and stately Fabrick may be erected It takes you out of your sorry Cottages and carries you to those Blissful Mansions which are in your Fathers House The Grave it self though it be darksome and lonely yet it is a good resting place ever since our Lord lay there He hath perfum'd it and made it both soft and safe That Bed of Dust is now better than a Bed of Down or Roses It is true in the Grave though Christ's Body did not yet ours must see Corruption they must putrifie and at last be Converted into Dust but that Dust is more precious than Gold Oar and shall accordingly be most curiously preserved not an Atome of it shall be lost And that Body which is sown in weakness shall be raised in power and cloathed with immortality and made like unto Christ's own most glorious Body 4. And Lastly That man who hath seen Gods Salvation hath also seen all things amiable and desireable in the other World whither Death will carry him He hath looked within the Vail and had a prospect of that better Countrey There hath he by the Eye of Faith seen incomparable beauties to enamour him an excellent Glory to adorn him unspeakable comforts to delight him the best of Friends to invite him and an innumerable Company of Angels and Saints to bid him welcome There shall be nothing at all that may offend nothing in him to offend God nothing without to offend him nothing of sin and nothing of sorrow no temptation no affliction no danger no loss no frown no fear no sickness no pain no want no angry withdrawings not one pricking Briar nor one vexing Thorn But there shall be all things that you can desire and are suitable to that glorious State unto which you shall be advanced all things that will contribute to your happiness and