to the Soul 's everlasting Comfort and Consolation when Death shall bring it to appear before him Thirdly Would you be prepared for Death get sin pardoned and labour much after the Assurance of it Sin is the cause of death the means by which Death came into the World had there been no sinning there would have been no dying but sin coming into the World death came along with it Rom. 5.12 As by one Man sin entred into the World and death by sin and so death passed upon all Men for that all have sinned By sinning against God Man is come under a necessity of dying The wages of sin says the Apostle is Death nay sin is that which gives Death its sting so we read 1 Cor. 15. and 56. The sting of Death is sin This is it which gives Death its power and makes it so dreadful and because of Guilt lying on the Soul makes it unfit to die But now where the Soul is sprinkled with the Blood of Christ the Guilt of Sin taken away by an Act of Pardon and Forgiveness that Soul is prepared to receive and entertain Death whensoever it comes and though it make not that Death shall not be yet it makes that Death shall not hurt for Sin is pardoned Sin is that which makes the Soul cry out bitterly under the Apprehonsions of Death and of the Wrath of God Oh that I had never committed such and such Sins Why know O pardoned Sinner thou hast thy wish for God when he pardons Sin makes it to be as if it had never been committed Things forgotten are no more to us than as if they had never been Why now says God I will forgive their Iniquities and I will remember their Sins no more And doth God O fearful Soul make thy Sins to be as if they had never been by his pardoning Grace and Mercy and shall not thy former fears of Sin and of Death by Reason of Sin be now as if they had never been Thou need'st not fear O trembling Soul that thou shalt ever be questioned again for those Sins that God hath once forgiven thee God's Acts of Oblivion can never be repealed for the Gifts and Calling of God are without Repentance Guilt binds a Sinner over unto Punishment no wonder then that an unpardoned Sinner who is unfit to die is afraid of Death for whenever Death comes to such a Soul it comes with a deadly incurable Sting Death to an unpardoned Sinner is Death with a witness for it is Death and Hell in to the Bargain But now to a pardoned Sinner let Death come when and how it will he is prepared for it his Condition is safe he cannot be miserable Death may kill him but it cannot hurt him and therefore what need he fear it Now if you would know the Safety and Happiness of your Condition labour for an Assurance that your Sins are pardoned Your future Happiness depends upon the pardon of Sin but your present Comfort depends upon your Assurance that Sin is pardoned He whose Sins are pardoned dies safely but he who knows his Sins are pardoned dies comfortably Pardon of Sin frees from Condemnation but it is Assurance of Pardon that brings Peace and Comfort That Man is not so ready to die nor in such a prepared Frame of Soul for Death as he ought to be in who though his Sins are pardoned and thereby he hath a Right and Title unto Heaven yet walks in the dark and is at Vncertainties whether his Sins are pardoned or not for as our pardon of Sin is necessary to our dying happily so the Assurance of our Pardon is necessary to our dying comfortably Take a Man that is at a loss and under Doubts and Fears that his Sins are not pardoned if Death should come to him while he is under those Doubts and Fears with what difficulty would he make a shift to die How hardly would he be brought to it What Pretences and Excuses would he make Alas says he I know not where I am nor what Death will do with me and though I am so sick that I cannot live yet I am so afraid I dare not die for I know not whither I am going nor where my Dwelling shall be for ever whether in Heaven or in Hell O what shall I do therefore But now he whose Sins are not only pardoned but he walks daily under the comfortable Assurance thereof it being sealed and witnessed to him by the Spirit of God which Spirit as the Apostle saith witnesseth with our Spirits that we are the Children of God If Death comes to him he rejoiceth for saith he I know that if my earthly House of this Tabernacle be dissolved I have a Building of God an House not made with Hands eternal in the Heavens The Sum of all is this Pardon of Sin is very good for it is our Safety for they that are pardoned shall certainly be saved but to have Sin not only pardoned but to have the Assurance that it is pardoned this is much better For God to love us so as to pardon and accept us is the ground of our Hopes for Heaven hereafter But to have God manifest his Love and to assure us that he loves us is our Heaven on this side Heaven And the more we have of this Assurance the more joyfully and comfortably shall we be able to pass through a dying Hour Fourthly Would you be prepared for Death labour for Hearts and Affections crucified to the World and all things here below It is impossible we should ever be willing to leave the World when God calls us hence till we have first learned to use the World as if we used it not 1 Cor. 7. and 31. For if our Affections are set upon worldly Things and our hearts engaged in an eager prosecution of them it will be as Death to us before we die to think of parting with them and much more unwilling shall we be to take our everlasting Farewel of them when Death comes to us in good earnest This is commonly the Temper or rather the Distemper of most Men the Delights and Accommodations that God affords them for their more comfortable passage through this World and to encourage them with greater Chearfulness to serve him have got such an Interest in their Hearts and Affections that they prize and value them above measure The Love of the World and the things of the World is grown so prevalent with many that if they might have their Desires they would not care for nor trouble themselves with any other Heaven but would be content to live here always saying Let us build Tabernacles nay let us have a continuing City here But O Lord forgive them for they know not what they say They never experimentally tasted the Excellency and Sweetness of Heaven and heavenly Things and that is the Reason they are so in love with Earth and earthly Things Now what wonder is it that those who place their Happiness
whether it be good or evil But because Generals do not so much affect us unto our Edification I shall be a little more particular in my Discourse upon this Subject and so I shall speak something concerning Death in a Threefold Sence as the Scripture holds it forth unto us And so there is I. A Death in Sin II. A Death to Sin And III. A Death for Sin First There is a Death in Sin this the Scripture mentions often 5 John 25. The hour is coming and now is when the Dead shall hear the Voice of the Son of God and they that hear shall live So 5 Ephes 14. Awake thou that sleepest and stand up from the dead and Christ shall give thee Light So let the dead bury the dead Mat. 8.22 This Death in Sin consists in the want of a Principle of Spiritual Life being the deprivation of the Life of Grace and Holiness which is the Life of the Soul and without which the Soul is dead And thus all Men naturally are dead because they are without the Spirit of Christ which enlivens and quickens the Soul to all Acts of Grace and Holiness wherein this Spiritual Life doth manifest it self as the Soul enlivens and quickens the Body unto all Acts of Nature wherein the natural Life doth manifest it self That all Men are thus dead in Sin naturally is evident from Scripture 2 Ephes 1 2 3. The Apostle writing to the Ephesians who by the Almighty Power of God were raised from this Spiritual Death as he tells them in the First Verse And you hath he quickned who were dead in trespasses and sins that he might beget in them a grateful Sense of God's Goodness towards them herein He describes to them their former deplorable Condition Wherein says he in times past ye walked according to the Course of the World according to the Prince of the Power of the Air the Spirit that worketh in the Children of Disobedience And in Ver. 3. the Apostle puts himself into the Number Among whom says he we all had our Conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind and were by nature Children of Wrath even as others And then in the fourth Verse he gives them to understand by whom they were raised out of so miserable an Estate But God says he who is rich in Mercy for his great Love wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in sins hath quickned us together with Christ by Grace ye are saved Now this Spiritual Death or this Death in Sin is the fruit and effect of our first Parents Apostacy from God whereby we are not only deprived of the Image of God which is the Beauty yea the Life of the Soul but are also depraved with the Image of the Devil which is not only the Deformity of the Soul but even as Death unto it And because this is a Spiritual Death and reacheth chiefly to the Soul it is therefore the more hurtful and dangerous though the effects of it extends it self to the Body also being that which is the Cause of Natural Death for therefore the Body is a frail dying Body because it is joyned to a sinful Soul but this is not all the Mischief it doth for this Death in Sin unless Grace prevent is that which ends in Eternal Death which consists in an everlasting separation of Soul and Body from the eternal Enjoyment of God in Heaven in whose presence there is fulness of Joy and at whose right hand there are Pleasures for evermore Secondly There is a Death to Sin of this we read Rom. 6.2 How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein So in 1 Pet. 2.24 That we being dead to sin should not live any longer therein This Death to sin consists in the Spirits indwelling in the Soul by its sanctifying Operations enabling the Soul to mortifie sin Hence the Apostle tells us Rom. 8.13 That if through the Spirit we mortifie the deeds of the Body we shall live Such therefore who have felt the Efficacy of an Almighty Power from the Death of Christ by the Operation of the Spirit applying of it to their Souls to break the power and strength of sin so that it doth not reign in them they may be said to be dead to sin because sin is dying in them As those Persons over whom Distempers have prevailed so far that they have lost their bodily strength that it cannot be recovered again are said to be dead even while they live so tho' sin still live in the godly by reason of the Remainders of it yet are they dead to sin because the Power and Strength of it is abated and lessened the Spirit of Sanctification prevailing dayly over sin so that it doth not rule and reign as formerly it did Thus to dye to sin is to be made alive to God and blessed are they that have a part in this Resurrection from the death of sin to the life of Grace for on such the second Death shall have no Power Thirdly There is a Death for Sin or because of sin Now this is Two-fold Temporal and Eternal 1. Temporal Death This is contained in that merciful Threatning God gave unto Adam in Paradice to prevent his Apostacy Gen. 2.16 17. where after God had so largely expressed his bounty and goodness unto man in giving him liberty to eat of every Tree of the Garden restraining him only by a Command from the Tree of Knowledge for the Tryal of his Obedience as Ver. 17. Of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat which he backs with a Threatning in the next Words For in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely dye The Truth of which Threatning the Experience of all Mankind to this day is a standing Confirmation so true is that of the Apostle As by one Man sin enter'd into the World and Death by sin and so Death passed upon all for that all have sinned Rom. 5.12 2. There is an Eternal Death for sin and this follows upon the Death of the Body consisting in the separation of Soul and Body from the Presence and Favour of God for ever in Hell and is in part executed on the Souls of wicked Men at Death and perfectly upon Soul and Body at the Resurrection when the Wicked shall be turned into Hell and punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his Power which in Scripture is called the Second Death Rev. 21.8 Where wicked and unregenerate persons are said to have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone which is the Second Death This is the height and perfection of all Misery This now is the Substance of what is contained in this Word Death so far as Words can explain it which if we consider in all the forementioned Sences it is that which we cannot comprehend all that hath been
imprinted upon Man God's Image being defaced by Sin Mortality took place Man never had an Impossibility not to die but he had a possibility not to die and that was the State of Man's Immortality In his State of Innocency his Life was made as long as his Obedience In God's dealing with our first Parents he back'd his Command with the threatning of Death Gen. 2.17 Of the Tree of knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die Our first Parents disobeyed this most righteous and equitable Command of God and thereby brought Death upon themselves and all their Posterity For though God formed Man as the Holy Story tells us out of the Dust of the Earth yet so long as Man stood he never said to Dust thou shalt return but only put in a supposition or threatning that in case he did fall he should surely die But when by Sin he had fallen from God then he hears what he must be Dust thou art and unto Dust thou shalt return So that the Justice of God stands engaged to inflict Death upon every Transgressour And to this the Apostle ascribes it Rom. 5.12 By Sin Death entered into the World and so Death passed upon all because all have sinned Death therefore seizeth upon us not as we are Men but as we are Sinners To die is a penalty inflicted upon Man for Sin If Man had not sinned he had not been under a necessity of dying but by sinning he became mortal Sin therefore is not only the Sting of Death but the Cause of Death It is that which gives it not only its Terror but it s very Being and therefore it is somewhat remarkable that among all the Creatures in the World Man only is termed mortal It is certain other Creatures decay and perish as well as Man yet among all perishing things Man only hath the wretched Denomination of being mortal and there is good Reason for it since he alone of all perishing things being created immortal voluntarily subjected himself unto Death and by his own default brought upon himself the Name of Mortal as a brand of perpetual Infamy CHAP. II. Thoughts of Death ought to be laid to heart by all It is a Christian 's great Wisdom and ought to be his greatest care to provide for Death The great folly and danger of neglecting or delaying such Preparations upon hopes of long life Sickness a very unfit time for such a work Men very prone to put off thoughts of Death and Preparation for it with the Reasons thereof Time short though long enough for our great work if diligently improved Excellent Essects that the Consideration of our latter end would produce It is a very comfortable thing to have all things set right between God and the Soul before a dying hour Time ought therefore to be valued and our days wisely to be numbered THough the Life of Man be very short frail and uncertain though Death hath nothing of a peradventure in it but is that which will most certainly over-take all Men none being able to withstand it nor any priviledged against it Yet how strangely besotted are the generality of Men in putting far from them this evil day as if because God hath not told them the exact time when they shall die they were not bound to take any notice that they shall die But doubtless this is as great a piece of Folly as most we can be guilty of For why doth God so often visit us with Pains and Distempers upon our Bodies which threaten Death Why are we so frequently called to the house of Mourning to accompany others unto their long home Is it not that hereby we might reflect upon our own Mortality with the most serious thoughts by beholding the Death of others Doubtless much of a Christian's Life should be spent in the thoughts of Death and in a right numbring of his days so as to lay to heart his latter end It is not that which should be forced upon us by some unexpected Providence of God in snatching some away out of the World by some sudden stroke by the hearing whereof we are amazed and by whose Funeral the thoughts of Death force themselves into our Minds but we should make it the Matter of our daily Meditation the thoughts of which we should accustom ourselves unto and that not only when with old Barzillai we have not long to live when by Reason of Age our Strength is departed when Infirmities and Distempers upon us are so many that we can taste no sweetness in any outward Enjoyments but even with Joseph of Arimathea who made his Sepulchre in his Garden a place of Pleasure so should we in the midst of all our Delights and Recreations and when we are best able to relish what sweetness there is in them even then should we check all such Inclinations in us by accustoming our Minds unto the frequent serious awful thoughts of our latter end For this we have the practice of our blessed Lord who when he was transfigured before his Disciples the Glory whereof was so great that St Peter's weak Eyes were not able to behold it yet he then thought no Subject so fit to be discoursed of as that of his Death which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem Luk. 9.31 It is therefore a wicked Proverb that is frequent in the Mouths of many They thought not of such a thing no more than they thought of their dying Day Alas poor foolish Man what not think of thy dying day Dost thou know what thou sayest Is the day of thy Death of no more Concernment to thee than so What not so much as to think of it Dost thou not know Oh vain trifling Man that thy dying day will be to thee the beginning of a state of Happiness that shall never cease or an entrance on a state of Misery that shall never know an end And what is it not worth thy bestowing a thought upon it For Shame O foolish Man for I scarce know how to call thee Christian thy talk is so profane and thy Life so loose that it savours little of Christianity to be sure not of the power of Godliness if thy ways be according to thy Words It is said of the Old World that they eat they drank they married and were given in Marriage until the day that Noah entred into the Ark and they knew it not till the Flood came and swept them away What was the Old World destroyed because they knew not of the coming of the Flood No Noah was a Preacher of Righteousness and doubtless he had told them of it many a time but yet it is said they knew it not till the Flood swept them away that is they knew it not so as to consider and make Provision against the Deluge came so they knew it not So is it now with many in this Case they are not undone eternally by not knowing they
such The Happiness of those that are in Christ lies in the Manifestation of the Divine Love and Favour unto their Souls now this Death cannot hinder them of I know many of God's People have not the Light of his Countenance liftted up upon their Souls in Death but their passage to Heaven is dark and uncomfortable God loves them though they know it not yet by this darkness and uncomfortableness which Death brings upon them by their passage through it Death is but bringing them to the most clear Discoveries of the Love of God to their Souls in Heaven with which they shall then be filled and satisfied to all Eternity Our Comfort in Death lies in the Knowledge of our Interest in Christ but so doth not our Happiness that lies in our Interest in Christ whether we know it or not Our Consolation in a dying hour springs from our Assurance that Christ is ours and we are his but our safely and security in that hour ariseth from the certainty of our Interest in Christ Indeed our Ignorance that we are in Christ when we come to die may prejudice our present Peace and Comfort in Death but it shall not prejudice our future Happiness after Death They that are in Christ are always in a safe Condition they may die uncomfortably indeed but they cannot die miserably they are built upon the Rock of Ages and therefore though they fall by Death into the Grave even as others yet they perish not with others Death may kill them but it cannot hurt them He that hath an Interest in Christ being united to him by Faith need not fear what Death can do unto him True and thorough Conversion from Sin unto God is a sure Foundation for Peace and Safety both in Life and Death He that is interested in Christ is built upon a Rock that is Impregnable the Gates of Death and Hell shall not prevail against him To behold a Man dying that is in Christ this is Comfortable for such a one dies that he may live for ever and changes only a Temporal for an Eternal Life To behold a Christless Person but not in a dying condition this is something tolerable for who can tell but that the next Sabbath or the next Sermon God may make it a time of Love to his Soul even such a day of his Power and Grace towards him as thereby savingly to draw him unto Christ But to behold a dying Man and a Christless Man also this is dreadful yea even intolerable for such a one dies from Earth to be Damned in Hell It was a sad and doleful Complaint and Oh that it might startle and awaken some secure Sinner to look after Christ that was once uttered by one upon a Death-Bed being just a dying Oh I want nothing now but a Christ to Save me O miserable State and Condition indeed for in having him the Soul hath all that can do it good or make it good but in wanting of him the Soul hath nothing that can do it good here or make it happy hereafter Interest in Christ is the only true Preparation for Death This now is the general Direction for our Preparation for Death without which there is no dying happily or comfortably But the more particular Directions are these that follow First Wouldst thou be prepared for Death then die unto Sin by daily and constant endeavours to mortifie and subdue the Power and Strength of it in the Exercise of a Holy Life The Apostle tells us in Rom. 6.23 That the wages of Sin is Death By which he means Temporal and Eternal Death This now is the Fruit of Sin for Lust when it hath conceived bringeth forth Sin and Sin when it is finished bringeth forth Death But is there no way to escape this Death yes from Spiritual and Eternal Death there is a deliverance and therefore the Apostle tells us in Rom. 6.13 That if we through the Spirit do mortifie the deeds of the Body that is the deeds of the Body of Sin then we shall live and not die that is we shall live Spiritually and not die Eternally and as for a Temporal Death though we cannot scape the stroke of it yet we shall be free from the Curse and Sting of it Wouldst thou therefore O Christian be prepared for Death when it comes then take from it now its Power and Strength When the Philistines saw Sampson was too strong for them they labour to know wherein his great Strength lay and when they found it was in the Hair of his Head they would not be quiet till they got his Hair cut off Every Christian hath to deal with a dreadful Enemy unto Nature and that is Death Assault he will all of us at one time or other yea and be too hard for us If now we would overcome him we must find out where his great Strength lies the Spirit of God now tells us that the Power and Sting of Death is Sin so we read in 1 Cor. 15.56 The Sting of Death is Sin And the Power and Sting of every Mans particular Death lies in his own Sins Death cannot hurt any of us but by that Power and Strength that our sins put into its hands Christian the way how thou mayest overcome thine Enemy Death is set open to thee his Strength is discovered to thee that thou mayest have thine Advantage against him to weaken him and to take away his Strength and that is by dying unto Sin this will be the Death of Death Yield not therefore at any time to its Solicitations for this is but to make Death the more strong and Powerful to wound thy Soul and Conscience When therefore thou art tempted unto any Sin though it may seem pleasant and delightful yet before thou yieldst unto the Temptation say to thy self O my Soul how will this relish with me when I come to lie upon a Death-bed and my Soul sits trembling upon my Lips ready to take its Flight unto the Tribunal of God What Peace and Comfort will it procure to my Conscience then Will not the Remembrance of it prove more bitter than Gall and Wormwood and the grating Reflections of Conscience more stinging and tormenting to the Soul than a thousand Deaths could possibly be Wouldst thou not have Death bitter then let not Sin be sweet now Part with Sin betimes get that removed that is the troubler of a Death-Bed and the Sting of Death and that is Sin Make it your daily business to be dying unto Sin Now this dying unto Sin implies our constant endeavours to subdue the Power and Strength of Sin and this is done by daily Mortification It is true in the People of God Sin doth not Reign and that is Comfortable to consider Sin in the Work of Conversion hath received such a Wound as is incurable but yet wherever Sin is in any Soul it doth not use to lie dormant but where it cannot Reign it will molest and struggle yea and it
are there for ever abolished and taken away There are no Deformities upon the Body to render it Contemptible nor no Reproaches upon the Name to make it Scandalous there is no Sickness or Distempers upon the outward Man nor no Desertions or Darkness upon the inward Man there are no Temptations from Satan to vex the Soul nor no Weaknesses and Infirmities to annoy the Body there 's no more Death or dying but Life for evermore Mortality is now swallowed up of Life Corruption hath put on Incorruption and Mortality hath put on Immortality and Death and Hell are cast into the Lake of Fire and which is more than all this there that is in Heaven we shall no more sin nor offend God to all Eternity Earth and Hell are the places both of sin and Suffering but Heaven is a place of perfect Joy and perfect Holiness nothing enters in there that is either Afflictive Polluted or Defiled When Death parts Soul and Body for a time then Sin and the Soul part for ever Here we are continually sinning and offending of God and it is the constant grief of a Godly Man that he doth so here our Righteousnesses are no better than filthy rags and Grace it self hath its defects when we believe most strongly we must cry out Lord help our unbelief but now in Heaven there are none but the Spirits of Just Men made perfect In a word there is nothing there that may in the least be an Allay or Diminution unto the Happiness of that blessed State that is there enjoyed to Eternity But this is not all Death doth not only free Believers from all that is Evil and Afflictive but it brings them to the perfect Enjoyment of whatever is beneficial and good Death being the means and way by which they enter into Heaven where Blessedness and Happiness is to be enjoyed in such fulness of perfection as exceeds not only our Apprebensions but our Imaginations For there it is that the infinitely great and blessed God discovers himself in all his Glory to be enjoyed by the Saints as their Portion to Eternity There it is that they shall behold their once bleeding and dying but now Glorified Redeemer Cloathed in their own Nature who loved them and washed them from their sins in his own blood who was dead but is alive and now lives for ever more and because be lives they shall live also There they shall Enjoy that which was the great desire of the Apostle and theirs also to be with Christ which is best of all and how much blessedness is included in those few words to be with Christ the enjoyment of Heaven only where Christ is can make known to us There it is that Believers fully understand the meaning of that Article of our Christian Faith even the Communion of Saints here it was that they placed their Delight in the Saints the Excellent ones of the Earth and there their Delight shall be in great measure in the Saints some of the Excellent ones of Heaven There shall then be no mixture of sin and Corruption with our Graces which here is an Allay to the Lustre and Brightness of them but they shall Shine forth in their full Glory and Beauty Grace there shall be in its full Perfection nothing shall then be wanting in our Knowledge nor any thing imperfect in our Love our Obedience shall then flow from us with all readiness and chearfulness of Soul and our Joy and Delight in God shall not admit of the least Diminution or Disturbance to Eternity This O Soul is that in general which the Happiness of Heaven is made up of and to the Enjoyment of this Happiness without Interruption or Cessation for ever is that to which Death brings all Believers And surely if ever those words have any Truth in them they are here verified so that a Saint may truly say The lines are now fallen to me in a pleasant place I have a goodly Herit age O Blessed and Glorious State indeed who is there that knows and believes this infinite unconceivable Happiness that would not willingly die to enjoy it Unto which State of Blessedness God of his infinite Mercy bring us all to the Enjoyment of for the alone sake of Jesus Christ our only Saviour and Redeemer Amen FINIS
PRACTICAL DISCOURSES CONCERNING DEATH AND HEAVEN DISCOVERING The great Necessity of a speedy Preparation for Death with the danger of neglecting or delaying such Preparations ALSO The Excellency Glory and Happiness of Heaven opened and explained as the Portion of all true Believers after Death By Nathanael Ranew late of London Bookseller London Printed for N. R. and sold by J. Robinson A. and J. Churchill J. Taylor and J. Wyat. 1694. TO THE READER Christian Reader THE Desire of all Men is to be Happy and the Design of these Discourses is to bring Men to the Enjoyment of the highest Happiness The former Treatise being a Discourse of Death and the Grave which are as a Way through which all must pass to the attaining of this Happiness is that which is not acceptable but grievous unto Flesh and Blood The Dissolution of the Union between Soul and Body a turning to corruption and rottenness in the Grave where Worms shall gnaw and feed upon those Bodies that now are the Beauty and Comeliness of this lower Creation as quickned and animated by Rational and Immortal Souls that inhabit in them this is that which Nature dreads and of all things in the World most abhors and where there are in any no higher Principles to act from than what is founded in Nature to such Death must needs be very terrible because it is that which tends to its ruine and destruction Now it being the State and Condition of all Men by Nature since their Apostacy from God to have a prevailing Principle and Inclination in them unto the Creature and to take up with the Enjoyments of this World for their Happiness when Death comes to break asunder the Bonds of Life such Persons are of all Creatures most miserable and no wonder then if Death be formidable unto them If now upon this or any other account there be any thing in the pale face of Death that makes it have a grim and ghastly Aspect so that the thoughts of it are frightful and amazing to thee and thou startest back as one that is afraid to die yet be not discouraged from studious Meditations of Death for though at the first they may be terrible yet when thou hast accustomed thy self unto such Contemplations thou wilt find them very profitable and such as will by the Blessing of God work thy Heart into such a serious frame and put thee upon those Endeavours and Practices as have a tendency in them to fit thee for the approach of Death which will much abate the fears and dread thereof unto thee And as a farther encouragement unto so beneficial an employment take into thy most serious thoughts the Glory and Happiness of Heaven unto which Death brings all those that are prepared for it which is the subject of the second part of these Discourses and truly this is a State of so great Bliss and Happiness as may well lift up thy Soul above all the discouragements of the pains and torments of Sickness the horrours and fears of Death in the separation of Soul and Body thereby and the loathsomeness and corruption of the Grave and fill thee with vehement longings and desires after the possession and enjoyment of it I need not I hope make any Apology for the publishing of that which may be helpful to prepare Christians for Death and Heaven and such is the design of the following Discourses and that they may be so read them over attentively meditate on them seriously pray over them fervently and practice what is contained in them diligently and constantly and through the Blessing of God they will be effectual to bring thee unto the Happiness of Heaven which is the earnest and hearty Desire and shall be the daily Prayer of the Publisher If thou reapest any benefit hereby give God the Glory for his Assistance herein and let him have thy Prayers who desires nothing so much as the Honour of God and the good of Souls Farewel An Introduction Practical Preparation for Death CHAP. I. Of Death in general Of the sorts and kinds of Death mentioned in Scripture Death befalls all Men there is no withstanding of it nor any priviledged from it The time of Death urknown unto us yet Fixed and Appointed by GOD. Death makes all equal Sin subjects unto Death DEATH is a Subject every Christian should often have in his thoughts because it is that unto which he is lyable every moment of his Life neither the hearing thinking nor speaking of it can therefore be unseasonable at any time And tho' Considerations of Death to living Men are usually most unwelcome yet are they as profitable to promote the Interest of a Christian as any other for no Man can live well till he can dye well and no Man is so prepared for Death as he who frequently imploy's his Thoughts in the Consideration of his own Frailty and Mortality Indeed Custom hath made it become almost an improper thing either for a Minister to Preach of Death without the Representation of a Funeral or for one Christian to speak unto another of their Latter End without it be in the House of Mourning where an Example of their Mortality is before their eyes But if the Mouths of Christians were more frequently filled with Discourses of Death and the Grave to which all are hastening but know not who shall get thither soonest they would find such Benefit and Advantage thereby in the quickning and hastning their Preparations for their dissolution that they might always be in a readiness when Death shall come as would infinitely make amends either for the unaccustomariness of the Work or whatever pains and labour they had taken with their hearts to render them fit for the coming of their Lord. What Death is is as little known unto some as it is consider'd by most many take it to be nothing but a Cessation of Life and all actings in this World and it were well if there were not too many to be found who think this to be all that Death doth and when they are thus dead there is an end of them making themselves no better than the Beast that perisheth Happy were it for all wicked Men if Death were no more than this But though Death be a Cessation of Natural Life and so of all Natural Motion and Action yet is it more properly a Separation between Soul and Body whereby the Body becomes a dead unactive thing because the Soul which is the Principle of Life and Operation hath forsaken it but yet Death as it reacheth not the Soul at all for that lives after its Separation from the Body so it shall not for ever keep Soul and Body asunder but only until God's appointed Time and then shall the Body be raised again out of the Grave by the mighty Power of GOD and united to the Soul to live together in a state of Blessedness or Misery for ever according to what they have both been and done together in this World
said of it is but like the painting of the fire to the eye which expresseth not the pain and anguish that is in it unto the Senses For if we understand by Death a Temporal Spiritual and Eternal Death I may allude to what the Psalmist saith of the Power of God's Anger Who knows the Power of thine Anger So who knows the dreadfulness of the Horror and Pain that is contained in thee O Death according to our Fear of thee So yea and much greater is the Misery which the wrath of God by thee inflicts upon all those that live and dye in their sins But though Death be thus terrible yet is it the more common acceptation of it that chiefly affects the generality of Mankind for as for Spiritual Death or Death in sin because of the present pleasures and Delights which bewitch the Senses this they are insensible of And as for Eternal Death that is looked upon by many as a Dream or Notion as a thing that may never be or if among some it be credited for a Truth yet is it looked upon as that which is a great way off and if the terror of it doth startle the Consciences of some yet are they soon quieted with such thoughts as these Christ dyed for all and God is a merciful God and so they hope all shall be well with them But now for Temporal Death which consists in the separation of the Soul from the Body this is so much Death to them that they think there is no other but that at least they apprehend none so prejudicial to them This is a Truth so evident that which way soever they go or turn objects of Mortality present themselves before their eyes in the Death of Friends Relations and others whereby the reigning Power of Death over all is visible sweeping away all Men before it into the Grave the place of silence and rottenness yea themselves are not without some symtoms of their approaching dissolution diseases and distempers as well as business and employments wasting and consuming their bodies dayly whereby they may be convinced that they also are made of the same Mould and must shortly be crumbled into the same Dust with others Thus Death meeting with them so often and staring them so frequently in their faces gives them to understand that there is no way for them to escape its stroke the thoughts whereof cannot but now and then make them fear and tremble But though nothing be more certain than Death yet nothing is more uncertain than the Time of Death For though all shall dye yet all do not dye at the same time nor after the same manner To some God gives long Warning Nature wasting and consuming in them by lingring Distempers with others God is more quick shooting them with an Arrow as it were and suddenly they are wounded unto Death and Destruction Some their hoary Heads are found in the Way of Righteousness and they come to their Graves in a good old Age others arise early to that height of Impiety that the Earth groans under the burthen of their great Wickedness and God is so provoked thereby that he causeth the Earth to swallow them up quick to some the Promise of Long Life made for an Encouragement to Obedience and Holy Walking is turned into a Performance God satissying them with length of days and then leaves them to depart in peace shewing them his Salvation others God cuts off in the midst of their days and of their sins also and they go down quick into the Grave and into Hell too Though the days of a good Man at the most are but few yet because of some special Goodness they are often prolonged so though the days of a wicked Man at the most are but few yet because of some special Wickedness they are often shortned The Wise Man proves this Assertion Prov. 10.27 The fear of the Lord prolongeth or adds to days but the days of the wicked shall be shortned As every Man because he is a Sinner shall live but few days so some shall not live half their days because they are Notorious Sinners The short of it is this Death doth not always give Warning how many rise in the Morning that make their Beds in the Grave before the Evening How many go well to Bed at Night whose Sleep is their Death and they arise no more until the Morning of the Resurrection How often have we seen many projecting for themselves and theirs great things in the World laying house to house and land to land that with the Fool in the Gospel they might eat drink be merry for many year when on a sudden or in that very Night their souls have been taken from them To presume therefore of Long Life and thereupon to neglect to prepare for Death is the great 〈◊〉 piece of Folly imaginable for scarce is 〈…〉 Week passeth over our heads wherein we may not hear of some or other that are suddenly gone into another World and that which hath been the Case of others may be ours also It is the sad Condition of a wicked Man let him dye how and when he will he dies miserably if Death cut him off suddenly then he goes down quick into Hell that Gulf of all Woe and Misery If Death gives him long Warning by a succession of many years distempers yet all this while he doth but pine away in his Iniquity and encreaseth his Misery when Death shall cut him off and throw him into that place of Torment the pain and anguish whereof is so great that it cannot be sufficiently expressed no not by them that feel it But now it is the happiness of a godly Man let him dye never so suddenly yet he always dyes happily because he is in a state of Peace and Reconciliation with God it is true he may dye without a sence and feeling of that Peace and so his passing thorow the Valley of the Shadow of Death may be terrible to him but still God is with him and though the eye of his Faith be held so that he cannot discern him to be his God though his Rod and his Staff do not comfort him yet they do support and strengthen him and as soon as Death hath opened his eyes he beholds the face of God to his everlasting joy and satisfaction Doth Death then come certainly and sometimes suddenly It is thy Wisdom O Christian always to be prepared for it and then let it come when it will tho' this Night thou maist bid it welcome But as Mans Life is short and frail so is his Death sure and certain for it is the common lot 〈◊〉 Men. Man saith Job that is all Men are good 〈◊〉 dye it is the way of all the Earth it is the end of all Men. Who is he that lives and shall not see Death No Man can redeem his Brothers no nor his own Life from Death that he should still live for ever and not see Corruption
the rich Man in the Gospel else so confidently say to his Soul Thou bast Goods laid up for many years eat drink and be merry But Death would not be put off so for that Night was his Soul taken from him notwithstanding all his great Possessions It is in vain to cry out on a Death Bed with that wretched Cardinal Beauford in Henry the Sixth Time Wherefore should I dye being rich will not Death be bribed Will Money do nothing No truly it cannot for as Riches profit not in the day of Wrath to pacifie the Justice of an angry God so neither will they profit in the day of Death to bribe that King of Terrors Beauty is another outward Excellency that many glory in and indeed it is a great Ornament a Gift of GOD and no small one it is a taking thing We delight in things that are beautiful Beauty to some is a Portion among men to others a favour from God It is a silent Eloquence a tacite Perswasion and works much upon some What is said of the Church Psal 45.11 So shall the King greatly desire thy Beauty I know it is spoken there of Spiritual Beauty the Graces of the Spirit of God which beautifie and adorn the Church in the eyes of Christ for it is said the KING's Daughter is all glorious within But yet it is true also in some me sure of outward Corporeal Beauty it is a desireable thing and may duly be an attractive of Love it is that which draws the Eyes and Hearts of many tho' often it is an incentive to Lust both to great Men and to good Men. Solomon loved strange Women the Scripture saith and they turned away his heart from God and having smarted severely for it as a fruit of the sincerity of his Repentance and to prevent so great wickedness in others he hath left us many Excellent Cautions and Counsels in Sacred Writ against the ensnaring Temptations and powerful Charms of Beauty But though Men are deluded and deceived by beautiful Objects and Persons yet Death is not A beautiful Face is as mortal and as soon yea sooner many times turned into duct and corruption than a face that is deformed Death regards a goodly well favoured Joseph or Absolom no more than a leprous Vzziah or Gebazi nor doth it spare a beautiful Rachel more than a blear ey'd Leah Favour is deceitful and Beauty is vain in this respect for they profit none in a dying hour the beautifulest Person and the most lovely Complexion is quickly turned into Paleness and Corruption when once the time of their dissolution is come Death soon making those that for their Beauty and Comeliness were most admired by others become most loathsome and intolerable and they most desirous with Abraham to bury such dead out of their sight By what hath been said it appears that all Men notwithstanding all their great Attainmen's in Worldly Excellences are not exempted from dying And as no outward so no inward-Excellency and Perfection can priviledge any from Death no not Grace it self Grace is as Salt to the Soul to preserve it from Moral Corruption for ever but it cannot preserve the Body from Natural Corruption in this World In Heaven where there shall be nothing but Grace and Holiness in the Soul in perfection there there shall be no dying but here on Earth where Grace is insperfect being mingled with Sin and Corruption there is a necessity of dying Death is become domestical to us we have the Seed of it within us we carry it daily in our bosoms I mean in the body of Sin as the Apostle calls it that we carry about with us which will never be extirpated and destroyed till the death of the body All our Prayers and Tears cannot prevent Death Prayer can do great things to instance in particulars of its Prevalency would be endless Our Lord himself tells us That whatever we ask the Father in his Name he will give it us John 16.23 That is an Astonishing Scripture Esay 45.11 Thus saith the Lord The Holy One of Israel and his Maker Ask me of things to come concerning my Sons and concerring the Works of my hands command ye me As if saith one God was as ready to do them service as if they had him at their Command There is a kind of Omnipotency in Prayer and therefore it is said of Jacob that as a Prince he had power with God and prevailed Gen. 32.28 And the Apostle tells us The effectual fervent Prayer of a Righteous Man availeth much how much the Apostle could not tell us but leaves it to every one to make Observations from their own Experience But though Prayer can do such great things yet it cannot prevent Death We read indeed that the Prayer of Faith doth save the Sick but though it can even restore from a sick-bed yet it cannot raise from a Death-bed Nay Christ himself hath not so Redeemed us that we should live for ever and not see Corruption he hath Redeemed us that we shall live for ever in Heaven but he hath not Redeemed us that we should live for ever on Earth and not dye no it was the Priviledge of Jesus Christ the Redeemer that he should not see Corruption and therefore of him only it is said Thou wilt not leave my Soul in Hell nor suffer thy Holy One to see Corruption But may some say this necessity of dying seems not to be unalterably imposed upon all Men for some have lived who never dyed and some shall live hereafter that shall not dye I Answer It is true the Scripture makes mention of Two and but Two that lived here oâ— Earth and by special Grace and Favour were exempted from Death ascending up unto God leaping over Death and the Grave as it were in their passage to Heaven and they are Enoch and Elias concerning Enoch it is said That by Faith he waâ— transtated that he should not see Death Heb. 11 5â— He was a Person eminent for Holiness for it is said That he walked with God three hundred years and obtained this Testimony before his Translationâ— that he pleased God Gen. 5.22 And being such an Eminent Proficient in Grace as that there waâ— none that we read of like him at that time he obtained such Grace and Favour from God as none did for it is said He walked with GOD and he was not for GOD lock him O the Excellency of Grace and Holiness how highly doth it ennable and advance a Man Enoch walked with God and God thinks the Earth not good enough for him and therefore he takes him to himself into Beaven nay this is not all so much was God taken with the Holiness of Enoch that he shall not go to Heaven in the ordinary way as other Saints do by Death but he shall be translated from Grace to Glory without so much as looking into the Grave The like we read of Elias another eminent and zealous Servant of God 2 King
presumptuous as if thou hadst the Lease thereof in thine own hands and at thine own dispose Indeed we read of good Hezekiah that upon his recovery from a fit of Sickness God gave him a Lease of his Life for fifteen years but who ever had the like Scripture and Experience speak of nothing more plainly than the Frailty and uncertainty of Man's Life It is therefore compared to the Wind to a Leaf to a Flower to a Shadow to a Vapour by all which the Spirit of God sets forth to us the Frailty Brevity and uncertainty of Man's Life endeavouring hereby to take us off from all foolish conceits and vain hopes of long life for what is our Life but a Vapour that appeareth for a while and then vanisheth away a little breath turned in and out by the Nostrils a narrow passage that is soon stopt and we are gone We have no Assurance of our Life no not for a moment Death lies in Ambush every where for us We have a Proverb that the young Man may die but the old Man must die whereas Observation will inform us that incomparably more die young than old And did we but seriously consider by what small pins this Frame of Man is held together it would appear no less than a Miracle that we live one day or hour to an end so many dangers so many Casualties do we pass through every moment and are the thoughts of Death and thy preparation for Death and that Eternity that follows it to be put off to such uncertainties Are not all thy days on Earth few and thou hast spent some of them already and possibly those few days of thine that are already past and gone are all the days thou hast to pass say not then to God to thy Conscience or to others that put thee upon a present preparation for Death and Eternity I will do it to morrow or hereafter boast not thy self O vain Man of to morrow for thou knowest not even what this day may bring forth to thee possibly this day may bring forth thy death and where then will be thy to morrows preparation for it But suppose Death should not cut us off suddenly but give us warning of its approach by Sickness and Distempers of Body yet how unfit a time is that to prepare for dying for Diseases sometimes come with that Violence that they quickly take away Mens Senses and Vnderstandings and having lost the use of their Reason they are fit for nothing And hast thou O presumptuous sinner that trustest to a Sick-bed preparation for Death and Eternity and Assurance that this shall not be thy State and Condition then nay thou hast just cause to fear that thus it shall be because in the time of thy Health and Strength when God called after thee to look towards himself and to mind thy Everlasting Concernments thou wou'dit not therefore now that thou art come to lie upon a Death bed and thy Conscience is awakened with horrour because of thy former negligence and the prospect of thy future Misery that now the Violence of thy Distempers should be so great as to render thee uncapable of such a Work Or if God should be so merciful to thee which thou hast no reason to expect as to continue to thee the use of thy Reason and Vnderstanding so that being apprehensive of the approach of Death and Conscience also be awakened and terrifying thee with the fears of a strict account that thou art going to give unto the Great God of all that thou hast done in the Body whether it be good or evil dreading also what the Consequences thereof may be by reason of thy negligence and carelessness in the time of thy Health and Strength to make preparation for thy Eternal State It being thus with thee and thine Eyes being opened to see whither thou art going thou art very desirous it may be now to set thy Soul in order because thou fearest thou shalt die and not live Yet thy Sickness may be so sharp and pains may come upon thee with that Extremity that all thou canst do will be little enough to mind thy Body God may visit thee with such strong pains upon thy bed as may make thee cry and roar with such horrours as may make thee a terror to thy self and to all that come near thee so that all thou canst do for thy self or what others can do for thee may not be able to give thee any ease or relief And is this the time thou choosest to prepare thy self for Death and Eternity in What when thou canst hardly tell how to turn thy Body upon thy Bed for a little ease Dost thou think this a fit time to turn thy Soul fron Sin unto God in Suppose thou wert now cast upon a Sick-bed and thy Body full of pains if any one should come and put thee in mind of some Worldly Business wouldst thou not think it a good excuse to say Pray trouble me not now because I am Sick Speak to me of these things when I am Well again And dost thou think it Reasonable to be excused from Worldly Business because thou art Sick and yet dost thou Judge it the best time for thee to be employed about thy Spiritual concerns when thou art sick yea when thou art dying Surely desperate folly and madness is in the hearts of these Men who thus live and thus think to die Alas the time of Sickness is a time of spending not of getting it is not a time to gain Evidences for Heaven but to use them and to take the comfort that flows from them Alas poor Man thou shouldst now be solacing thy Soul in God as thy Father reconciled to thee in Christ and having made it the business of thy life to serve and please him sincerely though not without weaknesses and imperfections thou shouldst now be able to say thou hast through Jesus Christ received the Atonement and art continually rejoycing in hopes of the Glory of God the comfort whereof should be so great as to swallow up all thy Bodily pains and distempers and carry thee chearfully through the Pangs of Death so as that thou shouldst be able to say Blessed be God I am not sick for mine Iniquities are forgiven me This should be thy State and Condition upon a dying bed But if thou hast thy work to do thy Preparations for Heaven and Eternity to make when thou art upon thy Sick yea thy Death-Bed Oh how miserable I had almost said how desperate is thy Case How many Gracious Souls have found it work enough upon a Death-bed to attend the Pains and Distempers of their Bodies and believe it O Sinner who ever thou art thou wilt find it a great truth that to suffer and be sick is work enough for any Man at one time But suppose God should be so Gracious to thee as by some lingering and gentle sickness for many days yea months together give thee warning of thy
approaching Dissolution and thy Conscience also should be awakened to stir up in thee some serious thoughts and endeavours to prepare thy self for thy departure hence yet since thou hast so often turned thy back upon God and refused to hearken unto those many Calls that he hath vouchsafed unto thee in the time of thy life to be Wise for thy self by considering thy latter end but thou wouldst not how justly may he now reject thee at the time of thy death though thou follow'st him with never so many earnest cries yea and Tears also That is a most dreadful place of Scripture Oh that it were Engraven with a Pen of Iron and with the Point of a Diamond upon the heart of every careless negligent sinner Proverbs 1. from 24. to 31. Because I have called and you have refused I have stretched out my hand and no Man regarded But you have set at nought all my Counsel and would none of my reproof What then O dreadful O Soul confounding words I also will laugh at your Calamity and mock when your Fear cometh When your fear cometh as Desolation and your Destruction as a Whirlwind When Distress and Anguish cometh upon you Well but what follows upon this will not God be Entreated cannot Prayers and Cries do any thing with God No for it follows in the next words Then shall they call upon me but I will not Answer they shall seek me early but they shall not find me for they hated Knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord They would none of my Counsel they despised all my Reproof What 's the Conclusion of all this why that we have in the next words therefore shall they eat the Fruit of their own ways and be filled with their own Devices Whoever thou art that Readest these Lines if through thy carelessness this should ever come to be thy Case because thou wilt not take warning I have only this doleful Word to leave with thee for thy serious thoughts and meditations and from my Soul I wish it may do thy Soul good this State that I am speaking of will be a State so full of dismal anguish and perplexing horrours that no words are able to express the misery of it Moreover a sick-bed Repentance and Preparation for thy Eternal State is very questionable How hard a matter wilt thou find it then to satisfie thy own Conscience or to convince others that what thou now dost is done in the uprightness of thy Heart and not in Hypocrisie Alas the present feeling of the wrath of God and the future expectations of fiery indignation in Hell may constrain thee unto all that thou dost It was a very sad Relation and I wish the reading of it may do some Soul good which once I received from the Mouth of an eminent Godly Minister of many years standing in the Ministry I have says he been called to visit abundance of Persons upon their Death-beds who reflecting back upon the wickedness of their lives hav professed a great deal of grief and sorrow and made many Promises what they would do and how they would live if God would restore them to their health again but among them all says he thus dying I could never yet meet with one that could give me good ground to believe the Happiness of their future state and condition in another World O let the consideration hereof cut thee to the Heart O thou slothful and delaying Sinner But if thou shouldst be sincere then in thy turning unto God and thy Preparations for Death and Eternity such as are sound and not hypocritical and feigned and God should be graciously entreated of thee in this last and greatest hour of thy distress yet will it not wound and pierce thy Soul to consider what Peace of Conscience what joy in believing what comfortable testimonies of God's loving kindness to thy Soul thou hast lost the sweetness and delight whereof would have born up thy Soul in a dying hour and have carried thee triumphantly through the gloomy valley of the shadow of Death so that thou shouldst have feared no evil But now instead thereof by reflecting upon the former course of thy life which hath been a continual trade of Sin and Wickedness whereby God hath been dish moured and provoked by thee all thy days he now appears to thee as thy dreadful Enemy visiting thee with nothing but terrible Rebukes of horrour and wrath in thy Conscience And though God may have mercy upon thy Soul eternally and the state of thy future Happiness may be sure and certain in it self yet thy passage to it may be very uncomfortable insomuch that as to thy sense and feeling thou art but leaving Earth to go to Hell God's bringing thee to Heaven being by the Gates thereof But though delays in this case are dangerous and sick-bed preparations for Heaven and Eternity at best but uncomfortable yet how prone are most Men to put off the thoughts of Death and their Preparations for it Solomon tells us Eccles 7. That it is better to go to the House of Mourning than to the House of Feasting for this is the end of all Men and the living will lay it to Heart We ought indeed daily to familiarize Death to our Souls by frequent thoughts and meditations of it but when we go to the House of Mourning to see any laid in the Grave this is a special proper time and season for the living to lay Death to Heart and it is probable if Men will at any time lay Death to Heart surely they will do it at such a time as that is for when will Men think of Death if not when they see it before them It is true some do lay Death to Heart when they are called to such Solemnities O then they have a fit of grief upon them but as soon as they have vented their Passion the fit is over and so is their thoughts of Death with it And though Solomon seems to promise for the living that in the House of Mourning they will lay it to Heart yet there are very many that have been so often there that they are grown familiar with Death but in a bad sence for the frequency of such occasions have worn off all impressions of Mortality from their Hearts so that now they can go to the Grave again and again and not be affected with it they look upon it as a matter of Custom and Formality for Men to die and be buried and when the solemnity of the Funeral is over the thoughts of Death are over with them and as soon as they can get out of the sight of the Grave their Preparations for the Grave are out of their Mind The Holy History tells us in 2 Sam. 10.12 that when Amasa was slain by Joab and lay wallowing in his Blood in the midst of the high way every one that came by stood still being astonished to behold so dismal a Spectacle But afterwards
we read that Amasa was removed out of the High way into the Field and a Cloth cast upon him And what then why the Holy Text tells us All the People went on after Joab So is it with us if we behold a Person lying upon a death-bed gasping and bleeding and with dying groans ready to expire his last breath here we make a stop and pause with some astonishment at so sad a sight but let a Cloth be thrown over the Dead and the Corps drawn aside into the Grave and covered with Earth presently we go to our employments and trading and possibly some to their sinful Practices again as if the last Man that should die were now buried Now the Reasons of this stupidity and carelessness may be such as these First The great Love and Affection Men have to the World and the things thereof These take up all the thoughts and time of some Men so that they have no leasure nor desires to think of Death or to make Preparations for another Life The Pleasures Honours and Profits of the World are fine things in their Eyes they please their Fancies and so possess their Minds with a fond desire of long Life that they may delight their senses in these earthly things and these ardent earnest desires of theirs will let them think of nothing less than many days to satisfie their sensual part in these delightful enjoyments If we should look abroad into the World we may easily perceive which way the Inclinations of most Men carry them How eagerly do some pursue the Pleasures of the World How unweariedly do others follow the Profits of the World And how impatiently do others thirst after the Honours and Preferments of the World as if their Happiness were wrapp'd up in these outward Accommodations Whereas our Lord tells us that a Man's Life consists not in the abundance of the things that he enjoys here in this World And by these things the thoughts of Death are not suffered to come into Men's Minds and if they will crowd in upon them sometimes they are soon cast out again as unwelcome Guests that come to disturb their Peace Secondly Men put off the thoughts of Death and Preparation for it because they generally look upon it as that which is afar off And this is the greatest sottishness in the World If you go to those that are young and tell them that they must die it is true say they and Old Men ought to consider it and prepare themselves for it but surely for us there is no such hast yet Alas they think they must of right and course live till they are Aged If you go to Old Men and tell them that they must die alas their Age tells them so they cannot deny it but though God visit them with weakness and infirmities the Companions of Old Age which impair their Health and waste their strength continually yet they Hope these decays are not so great nor so violent but that they may yet weather out a few years more those that are healthful and strong think they need not prepare for Death till they have warning given them of its approach by Sickness And those that God doth summon to the Grave by Sickness and Diseases they have a secret hope that because they have formerly escaped from other distempers therefore they may do so again Thus now most Men thrust Death from them and put the evil Day afar off And it is a true saying that usually the hopes of a long life is the cause of an evil life for because Men hope they shall live long therefore they are careless how they live at present presuming they may have time enough to repent and amend all hereafter Thirdly Men put off the thoughts of Death because such apprehensions bring a great deal of Fear and Terrour with them Death is that which Nature abhors to think of it cannot endure the thoughts of Separation between those near and dear Companions of Soul and Body Oh to think that this Body that is here pamper'd and made so much of should become vile and loathsome in the Grave laid in a Bed of stench and rotteness covered with Worms mouldring away into the dust of Oblivion This is a sad and melancholy subject for our thoughts to muse upon O this King of Terrours Death How unâ—â— come is he unto the thoughts of most men especially considering him as having his sting in him which is Sin O then it is no wonder that those whâ— are Conscious to themselves of 〈◊〉 â—â—â—â—ing guilâ— dare not think of standing before the dreadful Tribunal of God whither Death God's Serjeant will bring them but cry out with Horrour Who among us can dwell with devouring Fire Who among us can dwell with everlasting Burning 〈◊〉 it is no wonder that such put far from them thâ— thoughts of Death because they know that day whensoever it comes will be to them â—n evil day But if Men would seriously consider how shouâ—â— their time in this World is the hazard and dangerâ— they run by their delays would be prevented Surely they that have a lively sense of the things of Eternity upon their Hearts that know their time herâ— to be but short and believe that upon the improvement of this short time their misery or happiness for Eternity doth depend will not be so foolish as to put off their Preparations for Death and Eternity till hereafter when they have no assurance of their lives no not for a moment This is so weighty a consideration that if it were laid to Heart would prevail with all Men that have the right use of their Reason and Vnderstanding Our time in this World is short and uncertain yet is our work very great We are but of yesterday and possibly before to Morrow we may not be and the Great God hath suspended Eternity upon the improvement of this moment a few days or a few hours nay possibly a few minutes will determine our everlasting State and condition and according as we are in spending of them so shall our Doom be either to Eternal Happiness or to Eternal Misery and why Oh why should our precious and immortal Souls be so vile in our Eyes as to lose them by sloth and carelessness Why should any of us be such Fools and Mad-men to hearken to the sollicitations of the Flesh or to the allurements of a flattering deceitful World so as to put off and neglect our everlasting concerns Should we not rather say to the World or whatever it be that would hinder us in our great work Stand off for we are working for Eternity an Eternity that is but a few days it may be but a few hours hence a boundless a bottomless endless state and condition into which we know not how soon we may be cast and therefore we have no time to dally in or to trifle away But though our Time be short yet is it long enough for our great Work if diligently
improved We have so much time allotted us as will serve to do our real business in and to answer the ends of living A Christian's Work in this World is not to incumber himself with many things or to vex himself about the accomplishing of great designs for the World to get a great Estate to abound with Pleasures to grow great in the esteem of Men these things are as much below a Christian's Work as they are below his Reward And whoever thou art that designest these things for thy self thou maist not have time enough for the attaining of them but yet Heaven may be got in that time that the World cannot thy Salvation may be wrought out God may be made propitious to thee through Christ the one thing needful the better part that shall never be taken away from thee these may be obtained by thee and secured to thee as thy Portion in that time that God hath given thee if thou art diligent in improving of it Do not sigh and mourn therefore that thou canst number no more days do not murmur and complain at the shortness of thy Life What wouldst thou do if thy days were more What use wouldst thou make of thy time if it were longer Is it that thou mightest save thy Soul and make thy Peace with God that thou desirest more time Why thou needest not more time for these purposes than God hath allotted thee already thy Life is long enough if thou didst use it aright It is not a little time that we have but it is a little that we use God hath not given us a little but we throw away much Our Portion is not small for what we are to Trade but our mispence is exceeding great God is not niggardly and sparing in wha◠he hath given us but we are prodigal and profuset foolishly wasting away our hours they that have abundance of time given them through their Imprudence and Mispence are utterly undone and then they whine like Beggars as if they had had no time whereas those that have less time than others that make these Complaints have so improved that little that Thanks be to God they are rich in good Works and say it is enough let God call for them when he pleaseth If now upon the serious Consideration of the shortness of time any shall be stirred up and provoked to a diligent Improvement of it so as to prepare themselves for their latter end they shall find such Benefits as these redounding to their Souls thereby First It will be a great means for the Prevention of much Sin He that shall seriously consider with himself I must shortly die how soon I know not will presently reflect upon himself under a Temptation to Sin and say Why should I commit this or that Evil which if it be not a means to hasten my end yet will certainly make it more uneasie and uncomfortable when I come to lie upon a Death-bed and consider what I have done amiss Possibly I may die to morrow for who knows what a day may bring forth O why then shall I venture to commit that evil to day which will be as Gall and Wormwood and like Bitterness and Vexation to my Soul then Would I do it did I believe that I were to die to morrow Why should I then do it to day that know not whether I shall live till to morrow for it is possible this may prove the last day of my Life Secondly He that shall seriously consider his latter end and shall diligently employ himself and his time accordingly shall find his life most comfortable and contentful and his Death most easie and peaceable As for the Contentment of Life if you look abroad among Men in regard of their outward Estate and Condition you shall find that that Man who by his Industry hath got to be aforehand in the World hath much more Peace and Quietness in his Life than he that is behind-hand or gone back and is continually struggling with Necessities and Wants So is it in Spirituals also he that hath been wise in improving the Opportunities that God hath vouchsafed him for the getting of Grace and making his Peace with God through Christ he that hath done thus a great part yea a chief part of the business of his Life is done he is prepared in some measure for all Conditions the wise Providence of God may dispense to him be it Sickness or Health be it Life or Death for he is aforehand as it were in the business of his everlasting Concerns so that if God lengthen out his Life in this world he carries on his great work and business unto greater degrees of Perfection not only without Trouble and Disturbance but with great Ease and Pleasure Or if God see good to cut short his days and call him to give an Account of his Talents his great business is not now to go about but his Accounts are ready and he in some measure prepared to give them up unto his Lord and Master and O blessed is that Servant whom his Master when he comes shall find so doing But this is not all the frequent considering our latter end brings Ease and Peace in Death it abates if not removes the fears of it Death in Scripture is called the King of Terrors and many times the fear of Death is more terrible than Death it self Now that which makes Death thus terrible to us is the knowledge of our Guilt and the Apprehensions of God's Wrath and Displeasure justly deserved thereby this gives Death its Sting and Terror Now he that makes it his business to live in constant Preparation for Death by Acts of Repentance for former Sins and by frequent Applications of the Blood of Christ to his Soul by Faith he removes both the Sting and the Fear of Death at once For how can he be afraid of Death whose frequent Thoughts and Meditations of it make it familiar to him And as for the Sting of Death that cannot hurt him neither for where Sin is truly repented of it is really pardoned and Sin being pardoned the Power and Sting of it whereby it hurts and wounds others is taken away as to him so that though others are held in Bondage under the fear of Death all their lives and feel the deadly Sting of it when they come to die yet he fears not either the suddenness of its Approach nor the power of its Sting Now dying being a work of great weight and difficulty it is not only of great Concernment but it will be full of Sweetness and Comfort to us when we come to lie upon a 〈◊〉 had to be able to say that all things are set straight and right between God and our Souls Such Persons are no small Proficients in Grace and Holiness but are strong in the 〈…〉 CHAP. III. The State of Man considered under Death What it is to wait for Death with Reasons why we must prepare for it Dying is an important
difficult Work Death continually hastning towards us yet few consider how suddenly themselves or others may Die. Death comes violently to Wicked Men yet no Man dies before his time however in Scripture some are said so to do An Exhortation to prepare for Death with Motives to quicken Christians thereunto and Directions to help them therein HAving spoken something of the Life of Man as it hath Relation unto the Subject I am speaking to which by Reason of Sin is become short frail and uncertain I shall now consider the State of Man under Death which is the end of his Temporal but the beginning and entrance upon his Everlasting State which that Christians may with the more profit and advantage meditate upon I shall reduce all that I have to say of it unto three particulars The State of Man under Death is a State that admits of no returning unto Life a State that admits of no amendments and a State that is fixed and determined First The State of Man under Death is a State that admits of no returning unto Life again When once the Sun of this Life is set it will arise no more upon thee for ever Are not my Days few says Job Cease from me that I may take comfort a little before I go whence I shall not return And Job 10.20 When a few Days are come says he I shall go whence I shall not return Job 16.22 That 's a strange Journey indeed that admits of no return That which pleaseth us while we live is the hopes of returning to our Homes again but when we die we take a Journey whence there is no returning for there is no recovery out of the Grave when once we are Dead Indeed it is a fundamental Article of the Christian Faith to believe the Resurrection of the Dead for the Scripture tells us that all Men shall stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ to receive according to what they have done in the Body Now if there be not a Resurrection of the Dead how can this be therefore our Lord tells us plainly John 5.28 that the hour is coming when all that are in their Graves shall hear his Voice and shall come forth but this time is not yet come and till this time comes the sentence of Death is irreversible upon all And though God hath already stretched sorth his hand to the Grave for the raising of some Persons from the Dead miraculously yet as those few that have escaped Death make no breach upon this general Truth that all must Die so it doth not at all infringe this general Truth that God will not now by the manifestation of the same miraculous Power raise any from the Grave because some have been raised and recovered out of it Secondly The State of Man under Death admits of no amendments or alterations Life is the Time of Working in Death we receive the Reward of our Work Our Lord tells us of himself I must Work the Works of him that sent me while it is Day for the Night comes wherein no Man can Work Joh. 9.4 Death puts an end to all Works whether they be Natural Civil or Religious There is no eating or drinking nor any pleasure to be taken in any outward enjoyments in the State of Death there is no buying or selling or getting gain when we are Dead nay Death puts an end to all Spiritual Works those Duties that upon Earth were the Saints exercise in the Grave there is an end of them there is a dying and perishing for ever in respect of Faith and Repentance in respect of praying and hearing the Word these are Heavenly Works but the Time for the performance of them is while we are here upon Earth None of these Labours are in Heaven or in Hell no nor in the Grave whither we are all going In Heaven there is nothing but rest in Hell though there be no rest yet there is no labour In Hell there is nothing but Wages in Heaven there is nothing but Reward our whole Work lies in the few Days that are on this side both What we do for the obtaining of Heaven or for the avoiding of Hell it must be done now for there is no Work no Device in the Grave whither we are all going Thirdly The State of Man under Death is a State that is fixed and determined He that dies under the Guilt of Sin shall never have it forgiven him The Blood of Christ that was appointed for the Pardon of Sin and for the Justification of a Sinner shall never make God propitious to a Soul that dies under the Guilt of Sin though that Blood now speaks better things than the Blood of Abel and crying aloud to Heaven nay in Heaven for Mercy hath obtained Pardon and forgiveness for thousands of Souls now in Glory yet hath it no virtue in it that shall be applicable to any Sinner for the remission of his Sins when once the Sentence of Death is executed upon him There is a Sacrifice appointed by God to take away Sin in this Life even the Blood of Christ that cleanseth from all Sin and now he intreats and beseecheth Sinners to come unto him that they may have Life by him but those that will not now accept of his Gracious offer but continue in Sin and Disobedience all their days and die under the Guilt thereof there remains no more Sacrifice for them and it is impossible they should ever be Pardoned because the Sufferings of Christ were never Ordained as an Expiatory Sacrifice for their Sins His bleeding and dying upon the Cross will do them no good at all now the Time and Season of Mercy and Grace with them is gone and past for ever Nay let me add a dreadful word unto all such instead of any Benefit and Advantage that will come to them by the Blood of Christ it is that which cries loudly against them for the Wrath and Vengeance of God to fall upon them to Eternity Besides he that dies under the guilt of Sin dies also under the filth and pollution of Sin from whence he shall never be cleansed We read in Scripture of a Refiner's Fire but Hell Fire is not of this Nature it enrageth the Sinner but it doth not Refine him No that Sin or Holiness that accompanies Men out of this World shall abide with them for ever he that dies in a State of Sin his guilt remains upon him for ever there are no Seasons of Grace to be enjoyed in another World nor are there any Operations of the Spirit of God vouchsafed to Renew and Change Men hereafter Whilst we are in this World though the Law Condemns us for our sin and guilt and the Gospel disowns us for our filth and pollution yet even such as we have been Washed have been Justified have been Sanctified and so may we for the Blood of Christ is still a Fountain open to wash in for Sin and for uncleanness and the Infinite though Provoked
Majesty of Heaven condescends so low as to entreat us with more Earnestness and Affection to pity our own Souls and accept of a Pardon then Guilty Condemned Sinners desire to obtain it but when this Life is at an end there shall be no more Offers of Mercy but the Blood of Christ shall then be a Spring shut up and a Fountain Sealed that none can wash in it and be Cleansed Death Seals up the State of a Sinner for ever You know what Abrabam tells the Rich Man in Hell in Luke 16.26 Between us and you says he there is a great Gulf fixed so that they that would pass from hence to you cannot neither can they pass to us that would come from thence The State and Condition that Men enter upon after Death is fixed and unalterable Therefore O Sinner what thou dost for God for Heaven for thy Soul do it quickly for this is the only Time and Season for thee to work in and as thou now Sowest so thou shalt Reap for ever The State of Man under Death being thus it greatly concerns all Men to wait for Death Job tells us it should be his Practice Job 14.14 All the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change comes Now waiting as it relates unto Death may include three things Meditation Expectation and Preparation First Meditation He that waits for the Accomplishment of any Worldly Business especially if it be of Concernment to him how busie will his Mind and Thoughts be in musing upon it He now that is waiting for the coming of Death considering both the certainty of it that it will come and the uncertainty of it when it will come and believes withal that Eternal Happiness or Eternal Misery will be that State to which Death will bring him cannot but have his Thoughts much taken up about it This will make a Soul Truly and Spiritually Wise and therefore the Psalmist Prays Lord teach us to number our Days that we may apply our Hearts unto Wisdom He that is truly Wise will Meditate of Death and he that Meditates of Death will be truly Wise The more we number our Days and think of our Time the fewer Sins we shall have to number for as a Copy is then safest from blotting when dust is thrown upon it so are we from Sinning when we remember we are but Dust Secondly Waiting includes in it Expectation That which we wait for we are in Expectation of and that Man may be said to wait for Death that in every Action of his Life in every Alteration of his State and Condition saith to himself well I must Die when though his Bones are full of Marrow though Riches come in upon him like a Flood yet saith he I must die I have no abiding Place here I am but a Stranger and Sojourner in this World as all my Fathers were I have now Wife and Children Friends and Lands but I cannot enjoy any of these for ever no nor my Life it self for I have but a Lease of it and that but a short one too which will soon expire I expect Death daily even in the midst of all my Enjoyments I am but a Steward of all that I have here and I must shortly be called to an Account such and such are gone before me and I am following after The other day Death snatched away such a dear Relation from me this day it hath seized upon such a Friend and Acquaintance and to morrow the same Messenger may come for me It is that I expect and therefore I wait for it Thirdly Waiting includes in it Preparation He that waits for Death ought to be preparing for it This now is exceeding Requisite because it is above the reach of Words to express how much depends upon this Preparation it is that our whole Life should have respect unto every thing that we do ought to have a tendency in it to make Death Comfortable But of this Preparation for Death I shall speak more hereafter in its proper place This waiting for Death by way of Meditation on it by way of Expectation of it and by way of Preparation for it is very necessary considering what an Important difficult Work the Work of dying is and this will appear if we consider two things First what Death is Secondly what Death doth First what Death is and here are three things considerable Death is a Deprivation Death is a Desolution and Death is a Destruction All which make Death terrible and the Work of dying difficult First Death is a Deprivation It strips us of all those Comforts that in this World did Refresh us Friends Relations Lands Houses these have often delighted us while we live yea it may be too much by setting our Affections inordinately upon them and now what Grief of Soul doth it create to us violently by Death to be torn from them but part we and they must whether we will or no and that for ever Job tells us We came naked into the World and we shall return naked out of it The Apostle indeed seems to intimate as if some Men in our days could scarcely believe it and therefore to beat Men off from such a conceit he tells them 1 Tim. 6.7 We brought nothing with us into this World this is true and all Men will grant it and says the Apostle it is certain we shall carry nothing out of it Death makes all lie equal in the Dust Secondly Death is a Dessolution In Life Soul and Body are united and live lovingly together there is a near union between them a union which because of their long Acquaintance and Co-habitation together is become so dear that no union can be more desirable as to the continuance of it nor no union more dreaded as to the Dissolution of it except it be the Spiritual union between Christ and the Soul There are several kinds of unions and generally Love is the ground of them all There is an union of Friendship between one Friend and another whom Love hath united so strongly that they seem to Act as if one Soul animated them both so Jonathan loved David even as his own Soul This is a strong union There is also a Relative union between Parents and Children so Jacob loved Benjamin so that it is said his Life was bound up in the Life of the Lad This is a stronger union than the former There is also a Marriage union between a Man and his Wife and this is a stronger union than either of the former Man and Wife making but one Flesh as the Scripture speaks But yet there is a union that is stronger and nearer than any of these Vnions and that is the Vnion between Soul and Body for these two make but one Person Now all dis-unions are uncomfortable and some dis-unions are dreadful and as some dis-unions are dreadful so those dis-unions are most dreadful which rend that from us that is nearest and dearest to us
For Friends to be parted never to see the Faces of one another again this is sad And therefore when St. Paul was taking his leave of the Saints in Macedonia in Acts 20.38 it is said They fell on his Neck and kissed him sorrowing most for the words that he spake that they should see his Face again no more But it is sadder for Parents and Children to be disunited David found it so when he cryed out so Passionately for his Son 2 Sam. 18.33 O Absalom my Son my Son would God I had died for thee O Absalom my Son my Son It is yet more sad to have a dis-union made between a Man and the Wife of his Bosom when God shall take away with a stroke the desire of his Eyes one that hath been a meet and fit Yoke-fellow in the Lord whose Eyes can refrain from weeping or their Hearts from bleeding under such a sad stroke of Providence But yet there is a dis-union that comes nearer than all these and that is a dis-union between the Soul and the Body those two Old Sweet Intimate Companions born together into the World and who have lived in sweet Society together all their Days for Death to come and make a Dissolution between two so near and so dear together by a violent rending and tearing the Soul and Body asunder Oh this is exceeding sad and dreadful indeed and that which must needs make the Work of Dying hard and difficult Thirdly Death is a Destruction So David calls it Psal 90.3 Thou turnest Man to destruction That Excellent Frame of Man's Body which David tells us was fearfully and wonderfully made in secret and curiously wrought in the lower parts of the Earth by God himself and that with Infinite Power and Wisdom Psal 139.14 15. Sickness will not only stain its Glory and make the Beauty of it to consume like a Moth But Death will Demolish and pull it down to the ground turn it into Corruption and Putrefaction yea into Dust it self utterly destroying it so that it shall not be any more until by the Power of God it shall be raised up again at the last day Death now being so destructive a thing unto Man that nothing will content it less than his Annihilation in the Grave dying must needs be a hard and difficult thing unto Flesh and Blood Secondly Dying is an important difficult Work if we consider what Death doth now this I shall explain by opening these two things First Death occasions our Spiritual Enemies to assault us Secondly It awakens Conscience against us First Death occasions our Spiritual Enemies to assault us most fiercely Now these Enemies are two Sin and Satan First Sin When doth the Guilty Prisoners Crimes come into his Mind but when he hath a Summons to appear before his Judge And when doth the Guilt of Sin fly in the Face of a Sinner but when Death hath him under his Arrest to carry him before God the Great Judge of Heaven and Earth Multitudes of Sins that before lay hid and seem'd to be quite forgotten now shew themselves and come fresh into a Sinner's mind as so many Witnesses against him which upon the Review he cannot but Remember though formerly he had forgot them Oh what a number of horrid Wickednesses do now haunt his Thoughts with dismal apprehensions in the dark night of Death walking up and down like so many Frightful Ghosts scaring and terrifying his Soul Well may an Impenitent Sinner say then unto Death hast thou found me O mine Enemy art thou come O Death to call my Sins to Remembrance and to slay my Soul Secondly The Devil will then be very fierce and furious in his Assaults His Time now is but short and therefore his Rage is great This is his hour yea his last hour and therefore the Power of the Prince of Darkness is now most put forth he knows he hath but a few hours more to wait and if he can but keep the Sinner so long he is then his for ever Assure thy self therefore O Sinner he will be diligent in watching thy Sick-bed both by night and by day and if all the Power or Policy of Hell can prevent it neither Cordial shall benefit thy Body nor Counsel and Advice profit thy Soul The Devil is the great Enemy of Souls and because he is miserable himself he therefore labours that all others may be as miserable as he is now the ways by which he expresseth his Enmity against Souls that he may keep them from Eternal Life are these Sometimes by obstructing the Work of Grace in the Souls of Men and thus he works with all his might by all his Wiles and Devices that he can to draw men unto and keep them in a way of Sin that they may not set their Faces towards Heaven much more that they may not with earnest endeavours of Soul seek to obtain it It is true God always hath the Devil in a Chain and can if he pleaseth restrain and hinder him in all his Malicious Attempts against his Children and many times he doth manifest his Power and Grace towards his Servants in a dying hour by curbing in the Malice of that Evil one that he shall not be able to trouble and molest them in their Passage into Heaven But yet sometimes God doth then permit the Devil to shew his Malice against his People and then how fiercely and furiously doth he make his Assaults upon them Then it is they meet with the sorest Trials and because he could not prevail upon them formerly as a Tempter now he turns to be their Accuser charging all their Sins upon their Souls with all the bloody aggravations of them upbraiding them with all their Profession as if they had been but Hypocrites in all that they had done This God sometimes permits him to do that their Grace being exercised the Trial thereof may appear to be more precious than Gold that perisheth being found to the Praise and Glory of God and the Shame and Reproach of their Adversary the Devil in a most Glorious Conquest over all his Temptations for through the Grace and Strength of Christ they overcome him in all his Accusations and notwithstanding all they go not only quietly but sometimes Triumphantly into Heaven and Glory Secondly Death awakens Conscience The Practice of a Sinner is to lull Conscience asleep that he may the more quietly and undisturbedly go on in Sin but when Death comes usually the Conscience of a Sinner is awakened if the Sinner be not past feeling given over to a reprobate sence Conscience hath its Times and Seasons of stirring in the Souls of Men as sometimes under the Preaching of the Word Conscience begins to stir within a Sinner and tells him that those Duties that have been laid before him by the Minister are the Commands of the Great God and therefore ought to oblige him to Obedience Here Conscience is an honest Informer Sometimes when a Sinner is taking the
forced from him whether he will or no. But though a Sinner's Death be violent yet no Man dies before his time though some in Scripture are said so to do Hence we read that Caution of the Wise Man Eccles 7.17 Be not wicked over much why shouldst thou die before thy time And God threatens Psal 55.23 Bloody and deceitful Men shall not live out half their Days And it is a common saying among us that such a one is cut off in the midst of his Days To all which I shall only return this short Answer That simply and in it self considered it is impossible but that the whole tale of Days that God hath appointed to every one must be fulfilled according to the Number of them They are set down by God and no Man can die before God's time It is true a Man may die before his time that is before he is prepared by Grace or before he is ripened in the course of Nature Such expressions as these denote no more than either that God cuts them off in their full strength and in the vigour of their years when yet they might according to humane probability have lived much longer or else comparing the shortness of their lives with the length of others God seems as it were to break it off in the very midst before he hath finished it And is Death the lot of all Men sooner or later Though all die not the same way and after the same manner nor at the same time yet is Death the end of all Men Doth Death pass upon all because all have sinned Why then let every one prepare for Death The Spirit of God tells us that all flesh is grass and the goodliness thereof as the flower of the field which soon withers and dies And is it so with these Bodies of ours that they are frail and dying The Wisdom of a Christian then should manifest it self not in labouring to avoid the stroke of Death for that is impossible nor yet in spending too much time in daubing over a House of Clay or in repairing and propping up of an Earthly Tabernacle which when we have done all will at length crumble into dust but seeing the Body is appointed for and will turn to dust to be sollicitous that when it dies it may die happily and comfortably Christian whoever thou art into whose hands these lines may fall know that I am come to acquaint thee with a message from the True and Faithful God that cannot lye that the Lease of thy Life is almost expired and that the time of thy departure is not far off What habitation hast thou provided for thy precious and immortal Soul that it may not at its departure out of thy Body take up its dwelling with Devils and damned Spirits for ever It may be thou hast provided well for thy Wife and Children heap'd up much Silver and Gold together for them added House to Land that they may dwell upon the Earth it may be thou hast settled thy Estate so as to prevent all disputes and quarrelings when thou art dead I cannot say but thou hast done well and that these things ought to be done I condemn thee not But what hast thou done for thy Soul all this while Hast thou not laid out much more care and pains for thy never dying Soul than thou hast for thy perishing Body If not let me say unto thee O careless Sinner as the Mariners said unto Jonah in the Storm What meanest thou O Sleeper What meanest thou O drowsy stupid Sinner Arise for God's sake and for thy Soul's sake and bestir thy self look about thee Whither art thou going What will become of thee Is not Eternity before thee And must not thy State and Condition be for ever hereafter as thy Preparations are now O that God would open thine Eyes that thou mayest see what will make for thine Eternal Interest before Death open them when it will be too late Now that I may press this Exhortation the more home upon thy Conscience I shall lay down two or three Reasons for thy more thorough Conviction that it will be much for thy Interest and Advantage to be ready and prepared for Death First Consider Conscience will then be very busie and active in reviewing thy Life Now if for the most part thereof thou hast walked uprightly with God Conscience will then give thee some measure of boldness towards God But now if at such a time when Conscience is reflecting back upon thy former Life it cannot but say if it will speak the Truth as usually upon a Death bed it doth I have been considering thy former ways and the Account that I can give of them in general is that they abound with multitudes of Sins and Provocations which no Man can number to particularize them would be endless but if it may tend any way to thy Repentance before it be too late Remember O Sinner for I do how long God hath lengthened out thy Life how many tenders of Christ and Salvation by him he hath made unto thy Soul which thou hast rejected How many years of Sabbaths hast thou enjoyed How often hath the Spirit of God moved upon thy Soul and stirred up holy motions in thy Heart which thou hast resisted and quenched What multitudes of mercies wherewith God would have drawn thee to himself hast thou slighted and abused How many corrections and afflictions hath God laid upon thee wherewith he would have imbittered Sin unto thy Soul that himself might have been more sweet which thou hast despised and grown more hardened in Sin under How hath the Patience of God been even wearied with waiting upon thee whilst thou hast pressed him with thy Sins even as a Cart is pressed with Sheaves and yet thou wouldst not forbear thy wicked ways Doest thou not remember the particular times and days the several seasons and occasions wherein it hath been thus and thus with thee Surely says Conscience thou canst not forget it these things are all down in my Book though thou thoughtest I took no notice of them and I am now a going to open this Book to shew it to thy Judge where I shall justifie them all to thy very face for I do very well remember every one of them O that for thy Soul's sake I could say I do as well remember thy praying thy hearing thy reading thy Meditation of holy and heavenly things with the sincerity yea the fervour and earnestness of thy Soul expressed in all these that I could bear Witness to thy Faith to thy Humility to thy Patience and Self denial to thy Repentance and Godly Sorrow for Sin to the daily longing and breathing of thy Soul after the being rid of a Body of Death that thou mightest never offend God any more but I cannot say these things of thee and I dare not now flatter thee and tell thee that I can when I cannot and if I should it would do thee no good
may be prevail to a Victory sometimes even over those over whom it shall never prevail unto Condemnation This now calls for a constant work of Mortification Every day there are corrupt Inclinations and Propensions to be kept in sinful thoughts to be contended with Evil motions to be supprest and it is not the meer Habis and Principle of Grace received in our first Conversion without the vigorous and constant Exercise of it in a way of Mortification that will overcome all these Though Regeneration hath given Sin its Deaths wound yet Mortification must daily weaken and subdue its Power and Strength and according as the work of Mortification is successful in the Soul so will be our Peace and Purity in Life and our Joy and Comfort in Death Secondly Keep Conscience clear that it may not have the guilt of any known sin to charge you withal Now Conscience may then be said to be clear when it is pure and when it is a Peaceable Conscience that is peaceable must be pure and a pure Conscience usually is a peaceable Conscience When Conscience is free from all known and willful defilements and not justly burthened with the guilt of Sin then is Conscience clear If it be possible do not wound Conscience and if you would not have a care of Sin he that is not watchful to avoid Sin cannot have a clear Conscience It is impossible for us while we are surrounded about with Infirmities and oppressed with a Body of Sin and Death which the Apostle complains of to keep our selves free and unspotted from all Sin for in many things we offend all Those Sins now that are Sins of weakness and Infirmity as they are usually small Sins and so hardly discernable many times by our selves nor others so they do not break our Peace with God nor obscure the clearness of our Consciences but they are known and willful sins that waste and wound the Conscience and they that are not careful to keep themselves from sinning thus can never have a clear Conscience nor be in a prepared State for Death for how can Conscience speak Peace unto the Soul upon a Death-bed with the guilt of any known sin upon it If you wound Conscience by sin now Conscience will wound you for sin hereafter Any known sin committed against Conscience will exceedingly discompose and trouble the Soul in a dying hour Reader doth thy Conscience reprove thee for living in any sinful way or for being careless and remiss in looking after Heaven and Eternity hearken unto Conscience now that Conscience may hearken unto you another day O Sinner when thou shalt come to lie upon a Death-bed and begin to examine thy Conscience how things are with thee and how it is like to go with thee for ever thou wouldest then be glad to have Conscience give thee a comfortable answer and say all is well and all shall be well with thee to Eternity thou hast been Faithful in following my Counsels and Reproofs that from the Great God according to his Word I delivered unto thee and now I will be as Faithful in declaring to thee the Truth of things as to thy future State fear not therefore for it shall certainly go well with thee for ever Wouldst thou now have Conscience speak thus comfortably to thee at Death hearken to what Conscience saith to thee now for if thou dost not hearken unto Conscience in thy life time when it Faithfully Admonisheth and Reproves thee Conscience will not hearken unto thee at thy Death to excuse and acquit thee but will prove thy great Accuser and Condemner Guilt lying upon the Conscience makes the Soul ashamed and afraid to come before God even in this Life much more at Death A Guilty Sinner chooseth rather to run away from God that if it were possible God might not find him Thus we imitate our Grand-Father Adam who as soon as he had sinned endeavours to hide himself from God among the Trees of the Garden And who of us is there but may observe the same by himself what slavish fear what dejection and sinking in our Spirits doth seize upon us when we come before God in the Performance of a Duty after we have provoked him by some known sin with what Doubtings with what Fears and misgiving of heart do we come into his Presence as if we were not willing that God should take any notice that we are before him and if we are not in continual pain while we are performing the Duty yet we would willingly enough that the Duty were done and over And if we cannot tell how to engage in Duty with a guilty Conscience how shall we be able to contend with Death with a guilty Conscience If the Presence of God in Duty be so dreadful and terrible unto the Soul under the Apprehension of some known sin committed by it and not pardoned to it that it makes it quake and tremble to come before him what then will the Presence of God in Death and Judgment when Conscience shall be awakened to make terrible Reflections not upon a particular sin but upon the sins of a whole Life if not Repented of Oh with what horrour and amazement with what Consternation and Confusion must such a Soul be filled withal But now he whose Conscience is clear Oh how doth he Rejoyce to draw nigh to God how glad is he to go up unto the House of the Lord as David speaks with what delight doth his Soul hasten unto God in Duty that it may taste how good the Lord is that it may see the Power and Glory of God so as it hath sometimes done in his Sanctuary O with what Peace and Contentment of Mind shall I say alas these are Expressions of too low and too mean a Signification to represent the workings of such a Soul towards God rather with what Joy and Rejoying with what Triumph and Exultation doth such a Soul make its abode and stay with God in Duty where it enjoys the sweet and refreshing Smiles of his Countenance and sits under the delightful Banner of his Love Thus it is with a Christian in Duty that hath a clear Conscience And if it be thus with him in Duty and Conscience continue to keep its clearness and inoffensiveness in an upright walking with God daily it cannot be bad or ill with such a Soul at Death A Conscience kept clean and pure in Life will be quiet and peaceable in Death nay let me say more he who hath made it his care and business to walk continually with a clear and inoffensive Conscience in his Life shall certainly have much boldness yea and usually a great deal of Joy and Rejoycing in Death and though the Devil may and will labour to disturb such a Soul's Peace and Comfort then yet a Conscience sprinkled with the Blood of Christ shall be too hard for him And what Conscience doth in God's Name on good grounds upon a Death bed God will confirm and enlarge
Heaven walking in the Light of God's Countenance and is able to say I know that my Redeemer lives and that when this Earthly Tabernacle of his Body shall be dissolved into dust that he hath a Building of God an House not made with hands Eternal in the Heavens which death will bring him unto and this is all the hurt death can do him he that hath such an Assurance as this is cannot but welcome death and embrace it not only with Contentment but with Delight and Joy and even then when his Soul is struggling and striving to get loose from his Body with what Holy Longing and vehemency of desire will he cry out and say come Lord Jesus come quickly CHAP. IV. Of willingness and unwillingness to Die Difference between Christians in reference unto Death Whether it be lawful to desire Death In what cases it may and in what not A willingness to Die may be even in Wicked Men and sometimes they may Die peaceably and quietly though Death is never comfortable and happy to them In the Best there may be an unwillingness to Die though a Saint as a Saint is always desirous of Death Reasons that should encourage the People of God always to be willing to Die Believers should not only desire to Die but they should long for Death DEath in it self is not desirable nor can it be Nature not only shuns but abhors it nor is it possible that Nature should be reconciled to that which seeks its Annihilation and Destruction as Death doth And accordingly as these Fears are either strengthened and increased by Sin and Guilt or conquered and overcome by Grace so are we more or less enclined towards or averse from Death To be willing to Die when God calls us to it is a thing greatly to be desired and argues no small attainment in Grace when we do it upon good grounds And yet sometimes to be unwilling to Die is not to be condemned as evil and sinful To be willing to Die that we may be with Christ when God calls us to it is a frame of Soul in which the People of God should always be desirous to be found but yet to be desirous to Live when either the Great Work of a Christian is not finished or when his Life may tend to the Glory of God and the Good of his Church is that which is not sinful or unlawful we may see this Truth both in David and Hezekiah in David in Psal 6.4 5. Deliver my Soul O Lord spare me for thy Mercy-sake for in Death there is no remembrance of thee David at this time being troubled in Mind under the apprehensions of God's Wrath and so wanting the assurance of his Love as you may read in the Psalm prays that he might be spared And so Hezekiah Isai 38.2 prays for a longer time of Life as for other Reasons so for this as one because having begun a Reformation in the Church of God he was desirous to live that he might carry it on farther to the Glory of God and the Good of his Church A Christian ought so to live not only as to be prepared for Death but so as to be willing to die but yet he is a true Christian who though he doth not die so willingly yet dies preparedly he that dies preparedly and willingly dies most comfortably but yet he that dies preparedly dies safely and happily In reference unto Death there is a great difference between Nominal Christians and Real Christians and also between one true Christian and another There is a difference in reference unto Death between those that are called Christians but yet are not truly so Some there are whose Consciences are so awakened upon a Death-bed setting their Sins before their Faces with such horrible bloody Circumstances and withal representing the Wrath of God and the Everlasting Torments of Hell as due unto them for their Sins that they cry out in Horrour and Despair their Sins are greater than can be forgiven and feeling a Hell in their Consciences here they die under Desperation of ever escaping Hell hereafter or of obtaining Mercy and Pardon from God This was the case of Judas who under Horrours of Conscience despairing of Mercy endeavours to ease his Conscience by laying violent hands upon himself and is as the Scripture saith gone to his own place Others there are who though they would be called Christians yet are not so indeed but yet are so bold and confident in Death that Heaven is theirs as if they were in the possession of it already Our Lord tells us of some in Luke 13.25 who had such strong presumptions of Heaven that with a confident boldness they knock at Heaven's Gate crying Lord Lord open unto us as if there were no more to be done but only the opening of the door and letting them into Heaven but you know what Answer our Lord returns them I know you not depart from me ye workers of Iniquity Both these sorts of Persons the despairing Sinner and the presumptuous Sinner are alike miserable in their Death though they differ vastly from true and real Christians for they die neither happily nor comfortably for they die under the guilt of their Sins and so perish for ever which no true Christian doth And as Hypocrites and sincere Christians differ in their Death so also do true and real Christians differ in the manner of their dying some when they come to lie upon their Death-beds God is pleased to withdraw the light of his Countenance and the manifestations of his Love and Favour from them and in their apprehensions God seems to have cast them off and will be favourable to them no more and though their Life draws nigh to the Grave yet their Soul is full of trouble they are so in the dark and can see no light in such a State of desertion that God seems to have forsaken them their Sun is as it were setting in a Cloud and in this State of dismal darkness they die not knowing what shall become of their Souls for ever which yet go safely to Heaven being built upon the Rock of Ages the Lord Jesus Christ against which the Gates of Death and Hell shall never prevail Some again there are who though they are true Christians yet are weak Christians though they have the Grace of God in Truth yet they have it not in that growth and strength that some have their Faith is true but they are not strong in Faith they love the Lord Jesus in sincerity but not with that fervour and ardour that some do they have a good Hope towards God but their Hope is not lively and operative Such Christians as these now though they take Death patiently yet they would willingly live they go indeed when God by Death calls for them but they could wish that it would please God to stay for them a little longer they have some good Hopes of Heaven when they die but they desire a little
more time to live here upon Earth they love God more than all Things and Persons whatsoever but yet their affections are not so fully taken off from the World nor from their Friends and Relations as they should be they are not wrack'd and tormented with perplexing fears of Wrath and Hell but yet they are not ravish'd with the Joys of Heaven Concerning the Death of such as these we must say Blessed are they that thus die in the Lord for though they have not that assurance that some have and so die not so comfortably as to sense and feeling as they do yet have they that Faith and Affiance in the Lord Jesus Christ whereby they die happily But then there are others that are strong Christians grown Men in Christ who have attained unto such a full assurance of Faith that they are not only willing to die but are desirous of Death being perswaded that neither Death nor Life nor Angels nor Principalities nor Powers nor things present nor things to come nor heighth nor length nor depth nor any Creature shall ever be able to separate them from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus for they know in whom they have believed and with whom they have intrusted the everlasting Concernments of their Immortal Souls and that he is able and faithful yea and will also keep that good thing that they have committed unto him unto that day And therefore they can with a Holy Triumph through Christ say O Death where is thy sting O Grave where is thy Victory thanks be to God who hath given us the Victory through our Lord Jesus Christ Wherefore they can with chearfulness commit one half of themselves that is their Bodies unto the Grave where though they know it shall turn to Corruption and Rottenness yet that troubles them not because they know also that by the Power of God it shall be raised up a most Glorious Body at the last Day for they are assured that their Redeemer lives and they believe that he shall stand at the last day upon the Earth and not only so but because he lives they believe that they shall live also And though for the present Worms destroy their Bodies yet in their Flesh they shall see God whom they shall see for themselves and their Eyes shall behold him and not anothers and that to their everlasting Joy and Comfort Now to such as these Death is both happy and comfortable also and therefore they are desirous to be dissolved and to be with Christ which is best of all But now a Question may arise here Is it not Lawful to desire or wish for Death To this I Answer negatively and positively in some cases it is unlawful and sinful and in some cases it may be lawful and commendable First negatively wherein it is sinful and unlawful And so for any to wish for or to desire Death through impatience or discontent in any condition because they cannot have their own Wills but are crost in their desires this is sinful This was the Sin of Jonah who because God had smitten the Gourd from which he received some refreshment presently he falls into a Passion and in a discontented fit he concludes the matter that it was better for him to die than to live Jonah 4.8 but God knew it was better for him to live than to die and therefore in his pity he spares him that he might repent of his Sin This was the Infirmity of Elijah which the Apostle seems to take notice of when he tells us He was a Man of like Infirmities with us Jam. 5.17 for as to any other Infirmities of that Holy Man the Scripture is silent but it takes notice of this that when he was persecuted by Jezabel's Cruelties and fled for his Life under fear and infidelity in 1 Kings 19. and 24. he cry'd out It is enough O Lord now take away my Life for I am no better than my Fathers These fits of passion and discontent are sinful and not to be justified and yet how frequent is it for Men thus to vent their discontents when any trouble befalls them that crosseth their Wills presently nothing will serve their turns but Death O that they were Dead I will not say what once I heard spoken to be always true in this case that such Persons by wishing for Death wish for Hell and Damnation with it I dare not say so least I should offend against the Generation of the Righteous But this I will say that there are many wicked prophane wretches who when something doth cross and vex them instantly cry out Oh that they were dead to whom if God should not be more merciful to their Souls than they themselves are to their Bodies but take them at their word and presently strike them dead it may be feared he must also by striking their Bodies into the Grave smite their Souls into Hell they allowing themselves no space and time for their Repentance O that such Persons would seriously consider what they do when they wish such an End may befall them Again to wish for Death absolutely is sinful though we are under pains that are more painful than Death it self Nature puts us upon desiring to live and Grace should put us upon desiring to live because God wills it though we be under sore afflictions for as it is our Holiness to do the will of God while we live so it is our Holiness to be content to live while we suffer according to his will To desire Death because our lives are full of troubles is a sinful wish or desire for God may and often hath as much use of our lives when we are in an afflicted condition as when we are in a prosperous condition a sickly Body yea a sick Bed may bring as much Glory to God as a healthful Constitution and we may do as much service when we are bound in Chains and in a Prison as when we enjoy the greatest Freedom and Liberty Passive Obedience brings as much Honour to God as Active doth When you lie under any troubles therefore wish not for Death beg of God rather that he would remove those Evils from you than remove you from those Evils God hath a thousand ways to let us out of trouble though he doth not open the door of the Grave to let us in thither Pray that your Afflictions may be sanctified and that your Spirits may be raised up above your troubles while you live and seek not nor desire freedom from them by Death For a Christian to bear a burden well is more desireable than to be delivered from it especially if while we are suffering our selves we are doing good unto others A Christian should be contented yea he should rejoice in suffering Evils that lie upon when he doth good thereby unto others He that is of a gracious publick Spirit will triumph over Personal Troubles and Afflictions so long as he sees God making use of him as
a help or blessing to the publick And though he longs to die for himself knowing it will be much to his Advantage because when he departs hence he shall be with Christ which is far better yet he should be unwilling to die so long as he can say with St. Paul that for him to abide in the Flesh is and will be more needful for others To be willing to deferr our Glory and Happiness for a time that God may be glorified and others benefited by us here is an excellent frame of Spirit in any Christian Secondly positively it is lawful in some cases to desire Death And thus none but a true Christian can truly desire to die Now there are three cases in which it may be lawful for a Christian to desire Death First When God brings a Christian into such a condition as that he may bring God more Honour and Glory by his Death than by his Life In such a case it is lawful to desire Death and this was the case of Sampson who was a Type of Christ The Philistines having brought him into a low and suffering condition though partly through his own Sin yet being animated by the Spirit of God and knowing that by his Death he should destroy many of the Enemies of God he begs strength from him thereunto which God in an extraordinary manner granted him for he took hold of the Pillars of the House and so pulled down the House upon himself and upon the Philistines slaying thereby more at his Death than he did in all his Life This was the case of many of the Martyrs who being called to suffer for the Truth were very desirous to die knowing that their Death would tend more to the Glory of God than their Life and therefore they willingly and chearfully sealed to the Truth of God with their Blood Secondly It is lawful to wish for Death that we may be free from offending of God Sin is a miserable Thraldom and Bondage unto a Child of God to have a Nature within him that is continually inclining him unto and putting him upon that which is sinful and provoking unto God is that which a Holy Soul cannot tell how to bear Oh to find a Law in his Members always warring against the Law of his Mind and leading him Captive to the Law of Sin and Death It is that which makes his Life burthensome to him This I know works little upon wicked Men for when they are acting of Sin they are in their Element but to a Gracious Soul unto whom the loving kindness of God as David speaks is better than Life to such a one a sinful impure Nature whereby he offends and displeaseth God is more bitter than Death and therefore he is continually making out after that State wherein he shall be without Sin while he is here he knows he cannot be free from all Sin but yet he follows after it if he may apprehend that for which he is apprehended of Christ Jesus and therefore forgetting the things that are behind he reacheth forth unto those things that are before pressing forward towards the mark for the price of the High Calling of God in Christ Jesus if by any means he may attain to the Resurrection of the Dead that is to that State of perfect Holiness and freedom from Sin which he shall arrive to at the Resurrection of the Dead And because he sees he cannot but Sin whilst he is here and that dying only will be the end of Sinning therefore he longs for Death that he may come to an end of Sinning Thirdly It is lawful to wish for Death that we may come to the full and perfect enjoyment of God and Christ in Glory In this frame of Spirit we find the Apostle when he crys out in that Holy Agony I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ The Scripture it self makes it the Character of a true Christian that he is one that loves the appearing of Christ and this is that which cannot be enjoyed without Death now that which we love we wish the enjoyment of and consequently we desire to use those means that tend thereunto Our Lord himself in Joh. 17. prays for all Believers that they might be where he is that they might behold and enjoy his Glory and hath taught us to pray that the Kingdom of God might come by which is meant not only the Kingdom of Grace but the Kingdom of Glory also And indeed true love unto Christ will put us upon desiring to be with him for that is the property of true love always to manifest an ardent and strong desire after the enjoyment of its beloved Object If now a Christian who hath enjoyed Communion with God in his Ordinances desires the sincere milk of the Word that he may grow thereby And if that Soul that hath tasted how Good and Gracious the Lord is in any Duty is ready to cry out with David in the 42 Psalm As the Heart panteth after the Water Brooks so panteth my Soul after thee O God my Soul is athirst for God for the living God when shall I come and appear before God that he may see his Power and his Glory so as he hath seen him in the Sanctuary If a Christian now so much desires the enjoyment of God in his Ordinances wherein there is always a mixture of Sin and Pollution going along with them should he not doth he not much more then desire the enjoyment of God in Heaven where there shall be a a perfect freedom from all Sin and all sinful mixtures that here are a continual grief to a Gracious Soul and a just provocation to a Holy God where he shall be for ever with the Lord beholding the beauty of his Face and being fully satisfied and delighted with the enjoyment of his presence in whose presence there is fulness of joy and at whose Right Hand there are Pleasures for evermore But though it may be lawful to wish for or to desire Death when we may thereby bring Glory to God when we may thereby be free from Sin and come to the perfect enjoyment of God and Christ in Glory yet in all these cases we must take in these Cautions that for the time of our Death we must still refer our selves to the good will and pleasure of God For though it may be lawful to wish for Death when we may thereby glorifie God yet we must not absolutely wish for Death so because our Hearts are very treacherous and may easily impose upon us and deceive us herein And though to wish for Death that we may be freed from Sin is a holy wish yet we must not wish that absolutely neither but must herein refer our selves to the pleasure of God how long he will have us to conflict with our Lusts and Corruptions bearing about with us a Body of Sin and Death And though it be a holy wish to desire to die that we may enjoy God and Christ in
Glory yet must we not wish for that absolutely for though the Holy Apostle desired to be dissolved and to be with Christ yet was he in a strait and what to choose he tells us he wist not and we know how he qualifies and debates the business and what the issue came to you may read in 1 Phil. 21.22 23. Still therefore in all our desires after Death in general yet as to the particular time when we must always say Not our Wills but thy Will O Lord be done This holy desire of Death now is that which can only be found in the Godly for they only can desire Death upon good grounds but yet there may be a a willingness to die even in Wicked Men and sometimes they may die peaceably and quietly though Death is never comfortable and happy to them That they may sometimes die willingly and peaceably is often seen they may have no bands in their Death as others have as the Psalmist speaks but their strength is firm they are not under troubles and disquietments because of their Sins and the Wrath of God Conscience doth not fly in their Faces by terrible reflections upon their former wicked Lives God doth not make them possess their Sins in the bitterness of their Souls and as for the Devil he will not vex and trouble them that is not for his Advantage for he knows while they are under a spirit of security and senselessness he hath them fast enough and therefore he will not Torment them before their time lest they should get out of his Clutches But all is very quiet and peaceable as to outward appearance and they die as it is commonly expressed by ignorant Persons as quiet as a Lamb This may be the State and Condition of a Wicked Man upon a Death-Bed he may die quietly without any doubting upon his Spirit as to his Eternal State as if all were well and should be well with him for ever not that his Sins are pardoned and God reconciled nor that his Conscience hath not wherewith to trouble him because it is silent no the Worm of Conscience is Hungry and hath matter enough to Torment him in Hell to Eternity but it is not permitted to prey and feed upon the Sinner as yet This peace and Juietness that he now enjoys is not from any knowledge of his good Estate but from his Ignorance how bad his State is he sees not the Wrath of God hanging over his Head nor the Justice of God set in opposition against him and therefore he goes on quietly to his Grave As all the trouble and disquietness of a Godly Man in Death is because he is ignorant of the goodness of his State and Condition so the quietness and peace of a Wicked Man in Death is because he is ignorant of the badness of his State and Condition If a Godly Man dies under fears and troubles it is not because his State is not good but because he knows not that his State is good And if a wicked Man dies in peace it is not because his State is not bad but because he knows not that his State is bad Did a Godly Man know the goodness of his State and Condition his troubles and fears would soon be turned into joy and rejoicings And did a Wicked Man know the badness of his State and Condition his peace and quietness would soon be turned into mourning and lamentation and though now Friends and Acquaintance yea his own Heart and Satan also may flatter him yet Death will open his Eyes and undeceive him and then he shall know for ever by sad experience the Truth of that Scripture in the 57 of Esay last verse There is no Peace saith the Lord unto the Wicked Now as a wicked Man may die willingly yea peaceably so in a Godly Man there may be sometimes an unwillingness to die though a Godly Man acting as a Godly Man ought he is always desirous of Death That there may be in the best of God's Children an unwillingness to die the Scripture is clear Thus was it with the Prophet Jer. 37.20 Now I pray thee O my Lord the King let my supplication be accepted before thee that thou cause me not to return to the House of Jonathan the Scribe least I die there And our Lord forewarning Peter of the manner of his Death tells him that he should be carried whither he would not John 21.18 It is with many of the People of God as it was with Lot who though his Righteous Soul was vexed day by day by beholding the unclean conversation of the Sodomites 2 Pet. 2.18 Yet O how he lingred when God would have taken him from thence as you may see Gen. 19.16 So is it with many of the Saints of God who while they live in this World are always vexed not only with the corruptions of their own Hearts but also with the wickedness of the times yet are they if not unwilling yet not so willing to leave the World as they should be but this unwillingness of theirs proceeds not from the want of Grace but from the weakness of their Grace In the best of God's Children there is Flesh as well as Spirit Sin and Corruption as well as Grace and if at any time Sin and Corruption prevail over Grace as sometimes they do no won-wonder if they be unwilling to die Those of the People of God that do believe do yet believe but in part and though the Spirit be ready in them yet the Flesh is weak But though there be some unwillingness in the best to die yet they know and are sensible that it is their Sin and fault they know they ought to be willing to die and even in this their Spirits in them strive against this weakness of the Flesh and in the end they conquer their fears and overcome their backwardness and unwillingness to die according to that Gracious Promise in Psal 29.11 the Lord will give strength unto his People the Lord will bless his People with Peace The Nature of Grace is such that it will work it self through all fears and doubts both as to Sin and Death And when once the Eye of a Christian's Faith is opened to look within the vail and to discover something of the Glory and Happiness of Heaven and of the Soul's interest therein nothing then satisfies such a Soul but to be absent from the Body and to be present with the Lord. A Godly Man acting as a Godly Man is one that is always desirous of Death because he knows the day of his Death will not only be better to him than the day of his Birth but better also than any day of his Life Now that the People of God may always be willing to die there are several Arguments that should encourage them unto it and I shall but name a few in general First the Afflictions and Distresses that the People of God are Subject to in this World and that
above others may be one Reason to encline them to a willingness to die not out of a discontented mind because they are weary of or impatient under their sufferings This was the Sin of Moses Numb 11.15 when he prayed unto God if thou deal thus with me I pray thee kill me out of hand if I have found favour in thy sight and let me not see my wretchedness This is a great Sin in the Wicked and sometimes an Infirmity that the Godly fall into but the Scripture allows it not in any Faith and Patience under the afflicting hand of God is very becoming a Christian but Impatience and Discontent is to be abominated Though a Christian knows that it is better for him to die than to live yet out of a Fit of Impatience and Discontent because of Affliction we ought not presently to wish for Death St. Paul knew it was far better for him to die than to live He tells us so Phil. 1.21 yet durst not he desire it absolutely though a Man subject to many and great Afflictions but was in a strait what to do as himself saith and therefore submits himself to the Will of God Yet is it not utterly unlawful for a Christian to desire Death that he may be free from the Miseries of this Life because these Things occasion the drawing forth of Sin and Corruption whereby God is dishonoured his Spirit discomposed that he cannot serve God with that Freedom and Chearfulness of Soul as he might and as he desires Every day a Christian must look for Crosses and Afflictions and sufficient to every day are the Evils thereof Luke 9.23 And therefore a Christian may upon good grounds desire to be loosed from those Miseries and Afflictions if it be the will of God But in the mean time till he can have his desires in this Case let him in patience possess his Soul Secondly Another Reason that may make the People of God willing to die may be in respect of the wicked that they may not be always Spectators of those abominable Wickednesses whereby God is daily dishonoured his Name blasphemed This made Rebekah desirous of Death for when Esau had taken ungodly Wives it is said they were a grief of Mind to Isaac and Rebekah because they knew that God was greatly dishonoured thereby therefore says Rebekah unto Isaac I am weary of my life because of the Daughters of Heth and if Jacob take a Wife among them such as those that are of the Daughters of the Land what good will my life do me Gen. 27.46 O who can express what grief it is to those that fear God to live in the midst of a wicked and ungodly Generation that are continually provoking God by their wicked lives What godly Man's heart can but bleed to hear the Name of God rent and torn by cursed Oaths and Hellish Blasphemies to behold the Vncleanness the Drunkenness the Lying the scoffing at Godliness the corrupt filthy scurrilous idle Talking that overflows in all Places so that those that fear God had better be any where almost than in the Company of most Men This was a grief and vexation to the Soul of righteous Lot for in seeing and hearing the filthy Conversation of those wicked Sodomites they vexed his righteous Soul from day to day by their unlawful Deeds This made the Prophet David cry out in Psalm 120.5 9. Woe is me that I sojourn in Mesech and dwell in the Tents of Kedar No wonder therefore that those whose Souls are affected with the dishonour of God are desirous to depart out of this World and cry out Oh that they had the wings of a Dove for then would they flee away and be at rest Thirdly Another thing that may make the People of God willing to die is freedom from the Temptations of Satan The Devil is the great Enemy of Mankind miserable he is himself and envies that any should be otherwise than himself is and therefore he makes use of all his Craft and Subtilties against Man And herein Christians are much endangered and hereby he frequently manageth his Temptations with Success for many are his Wiles and Devices that he makes use of to draw the People of God into Sin What unwearied Assaults from Satan do many Christians labour under not only for Days and Weeks but for Months and Years whereby he allures and enticeth them with restless Importunities to the Commission of some Sin or other which they are no more able to fly from than they are to out-run themselves Now to any that have tasted the Sweetness of Holiness what can be more hateful than daily Instigations to Sin And to such who understand the Blessedness of Communion with God what can be more bitter than to find themselves chain'd as it were to a Devil who makes such Applications of vile Objects to their Fancies continually that they cannot in the least turn themselves from Oh how irksome must it needs be to a gracious Heart to be always haunted with the Spectacle and Image of some Sin even as black as Hell Now this being the Case of the People of God to be uncessantly followed with the Temptations of Satan how willing should they be to die because never till then shall they be out of the reach of his fiery Darts For as it is in Heaven only that there is no Sin so it is in Heaven only that there shall be no Temptations unto Sin Fourthly Another thing that may make the People of God always willing to die is a perfect freedom from all Sin While they are here they sin and are in continual danger of falling from God and no Man can tell how far any of them may fall for though it be admitted that they cannot fall totally and finally yet they may fall dreadfully and fearfully as we read of some in Scripture who have lain long sighing and groaning under broken Bones and wounded Consciences Our Natures are so polluted with the Leprosie of Sin that we shall never be perfectly cured of it while we are in this World Under the Law we read that when any earthen Vessels were defiled they could not be sufficiently purged till they were broken in pieces Lev. 11.33 The spiritual Improvement whereof is to teach us that we can never be perfectly cleansed from the pollution of our Natures till we are broken in pieces by Death The best Man's Sanctification is not perfect here the holiest Man is not thoroughly cleansed while he lives but hath much of Filthiness remaining in him The wise Man in Prov. 20.9 silences all Men with this Question Who can say I have made my heart clean I am pure from my Sin Who can say so Why none can We may do much in the work of Mortification in the use of Means as the Spirit of God directs us in the Word we may by the strength of the Spirit keep Sin from reigning in our mortal Bodies Rom. 6.10 But though it Reign not as a King
the Body in the Grave it were then a tolerable evil but when we shall consider death as a punishment for sin as that which puts us into an unchangeable Estate this is that which makes it dreadful and terrible indeed While we are in this World which is the time of our preparation for an Eternal State of Strangers yea of Enemies we may become Friends but when death hath once seized upon us it is impossible our State should then be changed We cannot now say of the vilest Sinner in the World that there is no hope of him we must not write desperation upon the fore-head of the wickedst Man on Earth but if he dies in that State then he is lost and undone for ever for as the Tree falls so it lies as death leaves Men so Judgment will find them And this Judgment is such as is conclusive and never to be Repealed Hence it is therefore that take the most hardned Sinner one whom Custom in sinning hath made past feeling yet when he comes to die if Conscience be but awakened it is impossible for him to look death in the Face without great fears and horrours Nay it is a sight so amazing and confounding that were it not for the Righteousness of Christ and that Satisfaction he hath made unto the Justice of God by his death it were utterly impossible that any Believer should bear up under it but Blessed be God the Blood of Christ then speaks Peace and so Believers are not only supported but carried comfortably unto Heaven through the gloomy Valley of the Shadow of death Death being thus terrible now it must needs be looked upon as a dreadful Enemy unto Man An Enemy now is one that when he comes against us always comes Armed to do us a mischief such an Enemy now is death for ever since the Fall of Man death hath been Armed with a deadly Sting now this Sting of death whereby it becomes hurtful unto Man is sin so saith the Apostle The sting of death is sin Now this Sting reacheth not only to the Body but to the Soul also as to the Body it takes away all those Contentments and Comforts wherewith it was here Refreshed and Delighted Death rends the Husband from the Wife and the Wife from the Husband it divides Children from their Parents and Parents from their Children death spoils us of whatsoever is desirable in this life strips a Man of all and turns him naked out of the World But this is not all death not only bereaves us of all that is good here but it brings many Evils along with it Sickness pains on the Body Grief and Anguish upon the Mind and Spirit It is a terrible Enemy to wrastle and contend withal it will make a Man sweat and bleed no Man can Encounter with death but he shall feel great Anxiety and Vexation both of Body and Mind unless he have strength from above to enable him to go through the Contest Death in its own Nature is so furious an Enemy unto Sinners that it will not cease till it hath pulled the Body down into the Grave and dragg'd the Soul into the Presence of God and from his Tribunal into the Torments of Eternal Fire where the first death terminates in the second death and the Torments exceed not only all our Expressions but all our Apprehensions also where death that is now such a dreadful Enemy would there be counted an unspeakable Mercy for there they shall seek death but shall not be able to find it But more particularly the Enmity of death appears in these particulars First The Fears of death do much abate our desires after the Enjoyment of God in Heaven It is true every Believer is one that loves God above all and looks upon Heaven as that which shall be his dwelling place for ever and accordingly sincerely desires and longs after it and in his daily Conversation walks with his Face thitherwards but when he sees death stands in the way between him and Heaven and that there is no coming for him to that place of Bliss but he must pass through that dark Valley this puts him to a stand and makes his desires weak and low The best Christians I believe have sometimes felt such workings as these within their Souls for tho' the Regenerate part discovering it self in the work of Sanctified Affections would be soaring upwards towards God and Heaven in whose presence the Soul would fain be but seeing death standing in its way how are the desires of such a Holy Soul kept down by the fears of it and he turned back as one that was afraid to come into his Father's presence Where is the Christian the Eye of whose Faith is so steadily fixed upon Christ in Heaven whose Soul is sometimes ready to cry out I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ which is far better yet withal when he sees the rude hand of death stretched out to undress him and that there is no coming unto Jesus Christ for him but by first suffering a Dissolution and laying down of his Earthly Tabernacle in the Grave though he would fain be with Christ that he might enjoy him whom his Soul loveth yet seeing this dismal Enemy death in the way doth not shrink back and cry out O I dare not venture O what a dreadful Enemy is this and what dreadful Enmity doth it put forth in the obstructing our desires though after God and Heaven causing us to run from God as it were at that time when we truly and dearly love him Happy Souls are they in whom Faith and Love work so powerfully as to conquer and overcome these fears Secondly If death as an enemy prevails so as to abate our desires after the Enjoyment of God in Heaven it will be apt to endanger our falling in love with this present World and so make us miserable by causing us to take up with the men of this World who have their Portion in this Life Take a Christian whose desires after Heaven are weak though true because blunted by the apprehensions of some frightful difficulties that must be gone through for the attaining of it how apt is such a one to be tempted to think that it is best for him to take up with those delightful pleasures that may be had here without such dangerous adventures but now if that which darkens the Blessed Vision of Heaven and our unspeakable Happiness in the fruition of God there and which also deadens our desires after this blessedness be once removed which usually is the dreadful apprehensions of death with what ease can such a Soul with a Holy Scorn and Contempt despise all the trifling Vanities of this World as things not worthy to be regarded Thirdly The Enmity of Death manifests it self in obstructing a Christians endeavours towards Heaven A discouraged disconsolate Soul moves but slowly be it towards Earth or Heaven Difficulties that should stir up greater diligence usually are great
discouragements unto our endeavours and we are apt to cry out with Solomon's Sluggard There is a Lion in the way and therefore it is that the hands of the Sloathful refuse to labour And so it is with us in Spirituals difficulties soon discourage and hinder our endeavours whereas they should be a whet to Industry The Kingdom of Heaven says our Lord suffers violence and the violent take it by force But alas in many Christians the fears of death are so strong that they keep them in Bondage all their Days But now were Death removed out of our way could Christians be cloathed upon with their House which is from Heaven without laying down the earthly Tabernacles of their Bodies in the Grave were there no such thing as dying to make way for our Entrance into Heaven how delightful would the Thoughts of Heaven be to us we should not then run with Patience but with Chearfulness the Race that is set before us we should no longer need Motives to quicken us in our way to Heaven but so earnest and vehement would our desires and longings be after it that nothing could stop the eager pursuits of our Souls for the obtaining of it How delightfully should we pray Lord let thy Kingdom of Glory come Our Meditations thereof would so draw forth our Affections and ravish our Souls in the delightful fore-thoughts of it that we should think nothing hard to part with for the attaining of it But that now which abates our Desires after Heaven must needs hinder our diligent Endeavours in the use of Means for the obtaining of it Now as Death is an Enemy so it is the last Enemy but yet withal it is an Enemy that shall be destroyed so the Apostle tells us 1 Cor. 15. and 16. Now the last Enemy that shall be destroyed is Death But how or by whom is this last Enemy Death destroyed and overcome I answer Not by our selves for Death seems rather to have destroyed us than we it when it brings the Body down into the Grave and turns it into Corruption and Rottenness But this last Enemy is destroyed by our victorious Redeemer the Lord Jesus Christ the Captain of our Salvation he it is who by the Merit of his Death hath overcome Death and of a deadly Enemy hath made it become a most comfortable Friend to all that believe in him Now for this we must know Christ hath not delivered us from our Obligation unto Death for since the Fall of Man Death is become necessary for a Christian being the only way appointed by God for our Entrance into Heaven and therefore we see that Believers die as well as Vnbelievers Neither hath Christ delivered us from Sickness and Distempers the usual Fore-runners of Death David complains Psal 38. My Loins are filled with a loathsome Disease there is no soundness in me because of thine Anger neither is there any rest in my Bones because of my Sin But now in these Respects Christ hath overcome Death for Believers First He hath taken away the Sting of Death This Captain of our Salvation upon the Cross as in an open Field and pitch'd Battel did spoil Principalities and Powers Col. 2.15 Now one of these Powers armed against us was Death and the Weapo◠with which Death fights against us is Sin Our 〈◊〉 Jesus Christ now took away our Sins upon the Cross and so spoil'd Death of his Power For having spoiled Principalities and Powers he made a shew of them openly triumphing over them on his Cross Death once struck the Lord of Life and Glory with its Sting and by striking him lost its Sting in his blessed Side so that ever since all that are in Christ do or may insult over Death as being conquer'd and overcome for them so speaks the Apostle 1 Cor. 15. and 55 57. O Death where is thy Sting O Grave where is thy Victory The Sting of Death is Sin says he and the Strength of Sin is the Law But thanks be to God who hath given us the Victory through our Lord Jesus Christ Secondly Christ delivers Believers from the fears of Death Heb. 2.14 15. Forasmuch then as the Children were Partakers of Flesh and Blood he also himself likewise took part of the same that through Death he might destroy him that had the power of Death that is the Devil But is this all No the Apostle adds another end and that is that he might deliver them who through fear of Death were all their life-time subject unto Bondage Now that which makes an Enemy to be feared is his Strength his deadly Weapons Christ now by dying on the Cross took away the Weapons of Death its Sting whereby it hath Power to hurt and that is Sin Now Death being disarmed Christians are free'd from the Fears of it It is true Men may sometimes fear a naked Enemy but there is no real Cause for it seeing he cannot hurt them And so the People of God sometimes may exceed in their Fears of Death but they have no just Cause neither would they be so afraid of Death if they were strong in the Faith of Jesus Christ who hath disarmed Death for them Thirdly Christ delivers his People from the Curse of Death In it self Death is a Curse the Punishment of Man's Sin the Expression of God's Wrath the Execution of the Law and the dreadful Sentence pronounced against Man upon his Apostacy from God In the day thou eatest thereof says God thou shalt die the Death But all that die under the stroke of Death do not die under the Curse of it all deserve it indeed but to some the Nature of it is changed thorough him who is the Resurrection and the Life they that believe shall never die A Voice from Heaven hath pronounced them blessed that die in the Lord Rev. 14.13 The Nature of Death is changed to them that are in Christ such do but sleep To die to a Saint is no more than to undress and go to Bed Let what will become of Dives our Friend Lazarus sleepeth John 11.12 The Just by Death enter into Peace they rest in their Beds and are taken from the Evil to come Death to the wicked is like a Malefactor's putting off his Cloths that he may be scourged according to Law So Death uncloathes the wicked that by the Wrath of God they may be tormented for ever But now to the godly Man Death is but like a Child's putting off an Old Garment that he may put on a new one So Death uncloathes the Godly of the Rags of their Mortality that they may be cloathed with an incorruptible Garment that shall never fade or change but keep its beautiful Lustre and Glory for ever Fourthly Christ delivers his People from the Dominion of Death It is true when Death hath laid their Bodies down in the Grave in seems to have Dominion over them but it is but for a while for our Lord Jesus hath taken away this seeming Dominion of
Death by the Merit of his own Death and hath declared his Victory over it and our deliverance from it by raising up his own Body from the Grave Christ by his Death did meritoriously conquer Death for Believers but he did not actually conquer it till his Resurrection but then he did the Day of his Resurrection was the Day wherein Grace did triumph thorough Christ towards believing Souls for on that Day Christ did openly shew to Heaven to Hell to Earth that Death was not only conquerable by Believers but that it was actually conquered for them thorough him Blessed Souls in Heaven believe it to their everlasting Consolation and are thereby fully confirmed in the Resurrection of their own Bodies because their Head is already risen for them The damned in Hell have the Knowledge of it to their greater Torment because they now know their sinful Bodies shall be raised to suffer for ever with their Souls in that Place of Torment and therefore they believe and tremble The Saints on Earth also know it and therefore they rejoice in the believing Expectations of it being assured that as the Bonds of Death were loosed by which Christ was held in the Grave for the space of Three Days but could not possibly be held by them any longer so neither shall it be possible for Believers always to be held under them But there is a time coming when all that are in their Graves shall hear the Voice of the Son of God and shall come forth Joh. 5.28 And if we believe says the Apostle that Jesus died and rose again even so them also that sleep in Jesus will God bring with him in 1 Thes 4. and 14. for says the same Apostle Christ is risen and become the first Fruits of them that sleep in 1 Cor. 15.20 And as Christ being raised from the Dead dieth no more Death hath no more Dominion over him So the time will not be long before Believers shall also be raised from the Dead and shall die no more for there shall then be no more Death nor Sorrow nor Crying nor Pain no more Diseases or Fears of Death or the Grave for behold all former things are passed away and all things are become new Rev. 21.45 But though Christ hath overcome Death yet is there still a Fear of it in most And indeed Death is an Object of Fear neither is all Fear of Death to be condemned as sinful Now for the better understanding of this that Death is an Object of Fear and when it may be lawful to fear Death and when the Fear of it is sinful I shall consider Man in a threefold Respect As he is a meer Man as he is a sinful Man and as he is a true Believer First I shall consider Man as he is a meer Man compounded of Soul and Body and so the Nature of Man abhors Death and if it were possible as it is not to find out a Man in the World that were free from all manner of Sin yet would he fear Death were he liable to it because it is that which tends to his Dissolution and Destruction Thus our Lord Jesus Christ himself though he was perfectly holy and free from all Sin yet in this sense he feared Death and therefore he prays Father if it be possible let this Cup pass from me Thus now to fear Death as it is evil and destructive unto Nature is not sinful or unlawful Secondly Consider Man as he is sinful and unregenerate and so Death is an Object of Fear and full of Horror For to all such Death comes armed with Power not only to make a Separation between Soul and Body for so Death rules over all but it comes to kill and to destroy Soul and Body for ever for to such it is not Death alone as it is to the Godly but it is Death and Hell together Rev. 6.8 And I looked and behold a pale Horse and his Name that sat on him was Death and Hell followed with him It is no wonder if Death be dreadful and terrible unto such but it is rather a wonder that such can take any rest in the night or enjoy any quietness in the day that under the Fears of Death they are not distracted But here is the Misery of such they are so afraid of Death that they will not let the Thoughts of it come into their Minds but do what they can to banish the Thoughts of that evil day far from them But know O foolish Sinner though thou sleepest and art secure in Sin yet thy Death and thy Damnation slumbers not for Death and Hell are riding on Horse-back making haste towards thee and will soon overtake thee to thy eternal Ruine and Destruction and then thou shalt know by sad Experience that the Fears of the first Death which now thou labourest to stifle yea to drive away from thy Thoughts were not so full of dread and horror as the feeling of the Second Death will be for ever Death therefore unto wicked Men is an Object to be feared and the fear of Death in them is not only lawful but commendable and that upon which their Thoughts should much dwell because it is that which will prevent much Sin in them while they live and may possibly render Death more comfortable to them when they come to die Thirdly Consider Man as regenerate and become a true Believer yet so he may and often doth fear death For let a Man be never so much a Saint yet he will be still a Man and therefore as death will be death so nature will still be nature and therefore death as death will be abhorred Neither is there any necessity that the fear of death should be wholly conquered and subdued in the Godly so as that if should not be because it may and often doth turn to their Benefit and Advantage for hereby they are made to walk more humbly with God and more watchfully over themselves for while they consider that they are poor frail dying Creatures subject unto death continually and that they must pass from thence unto Judgment to give an Account of what they have done in the Body by this means they are kept from falling into many Sins that now would wound their Consciences and break their peace and hereafter make their death more dark and uncomfortable By this fear of death also the Godly are quickened in their preparations for Heaven and Eternity for because death is so certain that it will come and withal so uncertain when it will come the Godly are hereby stirred up unto a speedy and diligent preparation for it that so they may be ready for their departure whensoever God by death shall call them hence And death now is an Object of Fear in general so are there Reasons why Christians fear death in particular as First Some are afraid of death because of the extremity of those pains which they must undergo when they are dying and because of the
Corruption and rottenness which their Bodies must turn to when they are dead But admit what thou sayest O Christian should be true that thy pains in dying should be great yet hast thou not sinned and thereby deserved that what thou fearest thou mayest feel let me tell thee There is not the most Righteous man on Earth but hath sinned and the least sin merits more pains than any man in the first death ever yet endured If therefore thy pains in dying should be great it is just with God what thou sufferest and it is of his mercy that thou sufferest no more for there is no comparison between thy pains and thy sins between what thou mayest suffer and what thou deservest to suffer let thy sickness be what it will and thy pains as great as well thou canst imagine they are no more nay they are not so much as thou hast deserved If God should deal with thee according to the demerit of thy sins it is not the most smart and severest pains of a Temporal death that are ended by dying but easeless and endless Torments in Hell to all Eternity that would be thy Portion Fear not therefore O living Christian complain not O dying Christian though thy pains in death should be great for it is but the punishment of thy sins nay let me say to thee O Christian be thankful and rejoyce for it is the last punishment thou shalt ever endure for thy sins either here or hereafter But further Is it the corruption and rottenness that thy body must be subject to in the Grave that terrifies and afrights thee Let me say this unto thee It is no very great matter what becomes of thy Body when it is once dead though it were burnt to Ashes at a Stake tho' it rot in the Fields as Dung upon the Ground tho' in the Bowels of the Earth it become a Feast for Worms and turn to corruption and rottenness this will then be of no more concern to thee than if it had with the greatest Cost and Charge been Embalmed and Buried by thy dearest Friends The State of death knows nor feels no difference between the one and the other And what if thy Body lies in the Grave for a while it will not there be miserable for it feels no pain but rests quietly in its Bed sweetly sleeping away time until the Morning of the Resurrection when thou shalt awake out of the Dust again and shalt die no more And in the mean time thy Soul if thou art a true Believer for unto such only there is Peace and Comfort in death upon its departure out of the Body is advanced unto unspeakable Happiness in Heaven among the Spirits of Just Men made perfect in the Eternal Enjoyment of the infinitely blessed God the Fountain of Light and Life where thou shalt have as much Delight and Satisfaction as thou canst possibly contain and more than now thou canst conceive And why then art thou so afrighted with the fears of Death when this is all the hurt it can do thee O but Death is that which will take me from all my Friends and Relations and deprive me of all that Comfort and Delight that here I enjoy in their sweet Society To this I Answer Suppose it be so that by Death thou art taken from a dear Yoke-fellow that is now the Delight of thine Eyes suppose thou losest all thy Friends and Kindred in the Flesh whom thou lovest even as thy own Soul not knowing certainly whether ever thou shalt see them or at least so as to know them any more again for ever If this be all thy trouble how easily can God make it up unto thee Alas when Death hath once opened thine Eyes and let thee see what blessed Society thou shalt enjoy in Heaven thou wilt not thou canst not be troubled for what thou hast left behind thee here when thou art come to the Heavenly Jerusalem the City of the Living God to an innumerable company of Angels to the General Assembly of the first born to God the Judge of all to the Spirits of Just men made perfect to Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant and where the blood of Sprinkling speaks better things than the blood of Abel will it then grieve thee that thou hast left thy Friends and Relations on Earth Why this is the State thou expectest this is the Company thou hopest to enjoy hereafter why then let the believing joyful expectations of this Association bear up thy Soul under thy Fears by Death of losing thy Friends and Relations here But thou mayest say possibly they may want me when I am dead and gone though I want not them whilst I am with them I see their â—ants and take care to suppy them and when they are going into any evil or sinful way I Councel them I Reprove them and I pray for them and endeavour to instruct them in the fear of the Lord. But when I am gone I know not who will do any of these things for them and what then will become of them To this I Answer canst thou say in good earnest that this is thy strait that therefore thou desirest to live that thou mayest be a means if God saw it good to further and promote their Souls Happiness why then let me say this to thee is it not a time of health with thee now doth God lend thee the sweetness of such Relations and Friends shew that thou lovest them indeed by taking hold of the present opportunities thou now hast to Admonish to Reprove and to Correct so far as it is thy place Oh double and treble thy diligence in all Respects wherein thou mayest be advantageous to their Souls multiply thy Prayers and Tears thy Sighs and Groans unto God follow him Night and Day and give him no rest until thou hast some good ground to hope that God is not only thy God but the God of thy Friends and Relations also and when thou hast done thy utmost and God by Death calls thee away hence so that thou canst do no more quietly resign up thy Soul into his hands and commit them to the care and kindness of thy God who is the Great and Vniversal Father that takes care of all his Creatures but is by special Relation a Father to them that fear and serve him But may some poor Soul say when I come to die the change that I must pass through by death is so strange and so amazing that I know not how I shall be able to bear it death will both change my place and company here I converse with Friends and Relations and Acquaintance whom I well know because I have lived so long among them but when I go hence O what a strange place and company shall I then see such as I never saw in all my life full of dazling and astionishing Brightness and Glory the thoughts whereof may justly fill my Soul with fear and amazement To this I
Answer art thou a Christian indeed and dost thou talk after this manner as if thou wert a Stranger to God to Christ to Heaven and the Happiness of Glorified Saints there whom is it thou callest Father every time thou Prayest is it not the God of Heaven What dost thou make of Jesus Christ thy Professed Lord and Saviour whose love to thee was so great that he would manifest it in no other way than that by which he might most endear himself unto thee and most strongly engage thy Love and Affections unto him and that was by laying down his Life and shedding of his Blood a a Ransom for thy Soul and a propitiation for thy Sins whom thou professest also to believe that he is Aseended up into Heaven and sits at the right hand of God presenting his Blood and Sufferings before the Throne of the Majesty on high that both thy self and thy Services that are Impure and Imperfect in themselves may yet be accepted through him Is it not through his Righteousness alone that thou hopest for Justification unto Life and Happiness and through his Strength that thou art enabled to perform all thy Duties and yet dost thou not know him what a strange thing is this But alas sayest thou it is very little that I know of him never did I see him in all my days But what if thou hast not beheld him with thy Bodily Eyes yet canst thou not say with the Apostle whom having not seen yet thou hast and dost believe in him and sometimes it may be so as to rejoyce with that Joy that is unspeakable and full of Glory and tho' thou hast not known him after the Flesh yet thou hast known him after the Spirit though thou hast known him but a little and what thou dost see and know of him Spiritually is but through a Glass darkly yet be not dejected fear not for he knows thee perfectly and hath separated thee and set thee apart for himself from Eternity and hath effectually called thee in time Justified thee by his Grace yea he knows thee by Name and now in the approach of Death he is coming to take thee to himself where thou shalt see him as he is and know him as thou art known of him And as for those Glorious Creatures the Angels and Saints in Heaven methinks it should even Ravish thee to think how those Noble and Excellent Creatures will flock about thee and bid thee welcome into Heaven as one greatly beloved of the Lord saying unto thee not as the Angel once said unto the two Mary's Mat. 28. come see the place where the Lord lay but come see the Throne where thy Lord sits in all his Majesty and Glory But may some say I may well be afraid to die because it is that which puts an end to my life and being here and who can without fear look upon himself and see his Body withering and decaying and not be troubled at it is not Death the great Dread and Terror of the World Job therefore calls it The King of Terrors O how doth the Expectations of Death appale the Faces weaken the Hands shake the Hearts imbitter the Pleasures and damp and cool the Spirits even of the Mighty ones of the Earth Should God say unto many that they should set their Houses in Order for they shall die and not live should they see a Tekel written upon their Walls their days are finished this night shall their Souls be taken from them what sad Lamentations would most Men make Life O how sweet is it to them all that they have would they give for their Lives doth not Nature it self teach us to seek the Preservation of our Beings and abhors whatever tends to its Dissolution as death doth To this I Answer because of this abhorrency of Death which is implanted in the Nature of all Men living there may be even in the best of God's People a fear of Death and an unwillingness to die Our Lord himself who was without Sin discovers something of this who though to shew his great willingness and readiness to die for Sinners said I have a Baptism to be Baptized withal which was the Baptism of his Blood and how am I straitned till it be accomplished thinking long for the coming of the day of his Death whereby the work of our Redemption was in a great measure to be accomplished yet when Death came to him see how his pure and innocent Nature was put to it when he cry'd out Father if it be possible let this cup pass from me It is true in his Case there was more than Death in it there was wrath there was a curse there was all the Sins of the World wrung into that Cup to mingle him a bitter draught but this was also something of it for there was Death in the Cup. It will therefore be the Wisdom of Christians to whatever measure of confidence and assurance they may have attained so as upon good grounds to have overcome the fears of Death and to look upon their dying day as the most joyful day in their lives yea though in this confidence their Hearts may sometimes pant after the coming of that day and they ready to cry out make haste my beloved come Lord Jesus come quickly yet will it be your wisdom to buckle on all your Armour to get all your Evidences and Experiences ready for the conflict of that day and hour may be such as that you may stand in need of your utmost Preparations for you know not how the Flesh may shrink in the day of Trial. But if it should be so yet be not discouraged O Christian for possibly this very instance of our Lord may be left upon Record for this very end to comfort his People when they shall be overtaken with the same fears and troubles And as for the sweetness of this present Life the losing whereof makes thee to fear Death let me ask thee this Question Who art thou that art so fond of this present Life Art thou a Christian indeed and in truth or dost thou only make a profession of Religion without the life and power of Godliness If thou art only an outward professor I wonder not that thou shouldst set so high a price and value upon life and art so unwilling to part with it because all thy happiness is terminated in things that are enjoyed on this side Death and the Grave for as for those great and glorious things that Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard nor can possibly enter into the Heart of Man to conceive that God hath prepared for them that love him and which are to be enjoyed beyond time in Eternity thou hast no lot or portion in those matters What wonder therefore if thou mourn and sigh even to the breaking of thy Loyns when Death comes to put an end to thy Life for then it separates between thee and thy happiness for ever But if thou art one that truly
fearest God thou needst not be so foolishly fond of this Life for what is there in it that should make thee coat upon it Is it not a Life full of cares and troubles Have not thy Sins made it so The Wise Man tells us that all that is in this Life that can be outwardly enjoyed is nothing but Vanity and vexation of Spirit Hast thou not by experience found it so Thou shouldst therefore with Holy Job bless God not only for giving of Life but for taking of it away also God gave it thee for a time and but for a short time too and if thou wert so wise as thou shouldst be thou oughtest to count it thy felicity that it is so short for it is a Life of sorrow and who will complain because his sorrows are so short It may be thou hast met with some pleasures here that gratifie thy sense but are they comparable to what thy Soul hath tasted in the enjoyment of God unto which God by Death is calling thee to the enjoyment of with himself in Heaven to all Eternity Darest thou say that Earth is like Heaven Is Christ in those dark and dim discoveries he makes of himself in the Gospel like to Christ in the full and open manifestations of himself in all his Glory in Heaven Canst thou say thy Soul is so like him in Wisdom Holiness Joy and Peace here as it will be above when it comes to be enrolled among the Spirits of just Men made perfect If thou wilt be in love with Life be in love with Eternal Life and henceforth fear not to die at God's call for the obedience that thou owest unto God binds thee and the gain that Death will bring should both invite and encourage thee Though Death ends this Life it begins another and though thou may'st rot under ground in one part of thee yet it is in thy vilest part thy Body and even that will spring up and flourish again shortly And in the mean time thy Soul thy better part shall live a more noble and excellent life Think well therefore of Death for as it ends thy Life so it ends thy Sin and thy sufferings also In these particular Instances O Christian thou feest how little cause there is for thee to be afraid of Death I shall now in the next place endeavour to discover how unfit and uncomely a thing it is for Christians to fear Death and for this consider First A Christians fearing of Death brings a reproach upon Religion as if there were not that in Christianity that could lift up a Soul above the fears of Death For a Papist that professeth no Man can in an ordinary way be assured that he shall go to Heaven when he dies to tremble at the thoughts of Death this is no great matter it is but to act according to what his Religion teacheth him but for one that professeth the knowledge and assurance of Salvation and a future happy State to stand amazed at death the way and passage through which God hath appointed we must enter into Heaven where this happiness is to be enjoyed shews if not a want of Faith yet at least a great weakness of Faith and gives occasion to those that speak evil of the good ways of God to reflect disgracefully upon Religion Secondly To live in fear of Death is that State of Bondage and Slavery which wicked Men are under and from which Jesus Christ came to deliver his People And therefore for a Believer to live dejectedly under the fears of Death is a very uncomely thing Indeed the fears of wicked Men are so great that they cannot think of Death without horrour and when they come to die they are compelled to it for of all things in the World they dread Death most and could they but be assured that they shall live here always they would desire no other Heaven Fearfulness and amazedness under the apprehensions of Death is the proper State of wicked Men that Slavery and Bondage unto which they are always subject for upon good grounds they can have no hopes in Death but are full of fearful expectations of Wrath and fiery Indignation that shall Torment them for ever But now for true Believers God hath made your state and condition very unlike unto theirs as to the issues of Death because you have good hopes of Eternal Life even in Death so says the Wise Man Prov. 14.32 The Righteous hath hope in his Death Now since there is so great an unlikeness between you and them both in Death and after Death let there not be a likeness between you and them as to your fears of Death let a Faelix tremble at the hearing of Death and Judgment but let not the Godly hang down their Heads but lift them up with joy and rejoicing because the day of their Redemption draweth nigh Thirdly Consider this to be afraid of Death is to fear that which is but the Shadow and semblance of Death For to speak strictly a state of Sin and separation of the Soul from God for Sin this is Death properly but the separation of the Soul from the Body only is but the Shadow of Death But O how seldom is it to see Men trembling because of a spiritual Death because they are dead in trespasses and sins though this be infinitely more dreadful than any temporal Death can be And therefore to shew how full of Woe and Misery this Death is it is called Damnation which is the extremity of all Misery This is that now to which this spiritual Death tends and in which it will terminate Hence therefore Wicked Men are said to be condemned already and the wrath of God abides upon them and that they shall have their Portion in that Lake which burns with Fire and Brimstone which is the second Death This shall as certainly be their Portion as if they were there already Therefore O Christian if thou wilt fear Death fear not that which is the shadow and the appearance of it but fear that which is Death indeed fear Sin that is the cause both of the first and of the second Death also for if thou art spiritually alive and raised from the Death of Sin as all true Believers are how uncomely a thing is it for thee to fear the Shadow the appearance of an evil which cannot hurt thee when thou art delivered from the evil it self Fourthly Consider for a Christian to fear that which is both common and certain is an uncomely and unsuitable thing Afflictions in general are the common lot of all God's People in this World but Death is that which is more common because it is that which befals all both good and bad from other outward Afflictions there is a possibility that some may be free or if they befal them they may be delivered from under them again but no Man can escape Death What Man is he that liveth saith the Psalmist and shall not see Death shall he
deliver his Soul from the hand of the Grave No he cannot Now God hath in Mercy made that to be most common which is most grievous and afflictive that he might thereby abate the terrour of it to us and for any one to strive against that which no Man can avoid or shun argues that Man to be guilty of great folly It is therefore very unbecoming thee O Christian to fear Death which is the common way of all Flesh yea the way by which all the People of God enter into Heaven and Happiness But to proceed a little farther in this subject I shall in the next place endeavour to discover that the fears of Death may not only be overcome for a time but that it is possible for a Christian to live without them or above them which though it be a high attainment yet is it that to which Grace may reach and that which many of the People of God do daily experience the comfort of Now by a Christians living without the fear of Death I mean a holy quiet ation and satisfaction of Soul as to his future State of Happiness founded upon the knowledge of his Interest in Christ who hath overcome Death for all Believers whereby the thoughts of it approach doth neither distract nor disquiet his Mind so as to bereave him of that Peace and Tranquility of Soul that he enjoys is his Hopes and Expectations of Heaven and Glory but that he can with a holy Contentation and Satisfaction resign up his Soul unto God whensoever he calls for it Now that such a State as this is attainable I need say no more than that this was one of the ends for which Christ died that by Death he might destroy him that had the power of Death that is the Devil and deliver them who by reason of the fear of Death were all their life-times subject unto Bondage So that we being delivered out of the hands of all our spiritual Enemies whereof Death is one we might serve him without fear in Holiness and Righteousness all the days of our lives In this Heavenly frame was Holy David when he said though he walked through the Valley of the Shadow of Death he would fear no evil And so was St. Paul when he tells us he was perswaded that neither Death nor Life nor Angels nor Principalities nor Powers nor things present nor things to come should be able to separate him from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. No wonder therefore that he could say I desire to be dissolved though it was by Death that he might be with Christ Thus to live above the fears of Death will cost much pains with our own Hearts great diligence and circumspection over our selves in all our thoughts words and ways much watchfulness against all Sin and Temptations for if we be remiss and through carelessness much more through presumption we fall into Sin or neglect Duty we shall soon be brought into Bondage and Slavery by the fears of Death If therefore O Christian thou art one who hast overcome the fears of Death and canst live above them thou may'st then die with courage and leave this World though Death carry thee out of it with joy and rejoicing And that thou may'st be able to do so let me briefly lay down two or three Directions First Have a great care of blorting thy Evidences for Heaven Darkness is an uncomfortable thing And when Christians have been tampering with the works of Darkness I mean some known Sins blotting their Evidences which should discover their Title to Heaven so that they cannot read them what wonder is it while they are thus in the dark that they are afraid to leave Earth though it be to go to Heaven because they know it not for which they may thank themselves God would not only have his People go to Heaven certainly but joyfully and therefore he hath made ample provisions for their Peace and comfort both in Life and Death so that they may not only have good hope but strong consolation through Grace yea may with a holy exultation of Soul cry out Thanks be to God who always causeth us to Triumph in Christ But now if when God hath spoken Peace they will turn again unto folly by venturing upon Sin they hereby create their own sorrows Fear and Consternation of Soul under the apprehensions of Death come from themselves they are their own Tormenters and the hinderers and disturbers of their own Peace and Joy And now if instead of being able to read their Evidences for Heaven which should comfort them they can only make wounding reflections upon their Sins that have blotted those Evidences so that they walk in darkness and the fears of Death continually afflict their Souls they must thank themselves for where there is the apprehensions of guilt lying upon any Soul unpardoned there the thoughts of death will be terrible This made David when in his own apprehensions he was drawing nigh to the Grave beg so importunately of God that he would spare him a little longer that he might recover his strength before he should go away from hence and be seen no more If therefore when you come to die you would leave this World cheerfully you must live in the World conscienciously Exercise your selves in all things to keep Consciences void of offence towards God and towards all Men. Take heed of those black Fiends thy Sins which will fright thy Soul in the dark night of death If thy Conscience be kept clean thy Evidences for Heaven will be clear and the thoughts of death comfortable Many be venturing upon Sin wound their Souls and when death approaches O then they start back and sain would they be spared a little longer If Conscience be raw with the guilt of any one Sin a very light affliction much more death will make a Man kick and fling and very unwilling to bear it but where the Spirit is sound and the guilt of Sin taken off from the Conscience by the love of Christ death it self will be embraced with courage and joy Secondly Deaden your Hearts and Affections to the World and all the comforts thereof The inordinate love of worldly enjoyments and the imperfect love of God makes Men afraid to die He whose Heart and Affections sit loose to the World a small matter will make him willing to leave it but where the Heart is fastned to it in love and affection there will be no parting from it without much reluctancy He that hath laid up his Heart in Heaven can comfortably think of laying down his Body in the Grave Prize therefore Heavenly things above Earthly Place your Happiness in spiritual things count them not only your Food but your Feast yea make them your recreation Were Heaven and Heavenly things the continual solace and delight of our Souls with what joy and rejoicing should we leave Earth to go to Heaven Thirdly Familiarize the Thoughts of Death
we may come to the full Enjoyment of our longed for Happiness Hath God cast thee O Christian upon a Bed of Pain and Sorrow and is it likely to prove thy Death-bed Are there such Symptoms of thy departure that God seems to tell thee plainly thou shalt die and not live O do not reply and say It is too soon yet thou art too young to die and go to Heaven What though God call thee to Glory and Blessedness sooner than thou expectest yet shame not thy self grieve not others that behold thee much more disparage not the Happiness of Heaven nor of that God who is to be eternally enjoyed there by thy unwillingness to go thither Secondly May some say we shall have so many Evils to encounter with that will create us so much fear and trouble and withal so many Pains will befall us in a dying hour that we cannot tell how to think of Death we are so affrighted at it To this I answer It is true a Christian cannot expect to die without Assaults of Enemies nor without the Pains of Death but yet a Christian need not fear nor be unwilling to die for all this First One Discouragement may be the Apprehension of the guilt of Sin which they then fear will stare their Consciences in the Face and how to bear up under it they know not But know O Christian if Sin hath lost its Throne in thy Soul if it hath no Interest in thy Affections so that it is not embraced with any Love or Delight it shall never ruine or condemn thee For it is a certain Truth where Sin doth not rule there Sin shall never damn He that by the Grace and Spirit of Christ is enabled to mortifie his Sins and all sinful Affections and Inclinations thereunto and by a penitential Conversion of Soul from Sin unto God hath forsaken his sinful ways all his former Provocations though never so great lose their damning Power For where Sin is once in the Exercise or godly Sorrow confessed unto God it is by him graciously pardoned Nay the Apostle tells us in 1 John 1.9 If we confess our Sins God is not only merciful and gracious but he will be just and righteous to forgive us our Sins and to cleanse us from all Vnrighteousness And what greater security can a Christian desire for his support than the Truth and Faithfulness of that God who is Truth it self and cannot lie Secondly There is another thing that may startle a Christian's Confidence and make him unwilling to die and that is the fears of the Assaults of Satan who will do what he can not only to hinder our future Happiness but to interrupt our comfortable passage through Death It is true the Devil will be very active in a dying hour But be not discouraged give not place to his Temptations For where Sin is pardoned as it is to all Believers What hath the Devil wherewith to shake a Christian's Confidence or to undermine his Hopes and Expectance but what is built upon Lies and Falshood If therefore you will give Credit unto this Father of Lies when he endeavours to weaken those certain Assurances the great God hath given you of his resolved Designs to save such as you are and so come to be disturbed and confounded in your Thoughts about your present and future State you must blame your selves Till therefore it can be proved that Sin may be repented of and not pardoned that Sin may be pardoned and yet the Soul perish and undone till God or Christ prove either forgetful unable or false be not dejected It is the great Comfort of a Christian that the Devil hath no other Arguments to disquiet a Believer with in a dying hour but what are bottom'd on these gross Absurdities And though Satan may be furious in his last Assaults yet O Christian remember when thou art walking through the Valley of the shadow of death thou walkest not alone In that dark and gloomy Valley God hath his Rod and his Staff in readiness for thy Assistance and Encouragement and know further O believing Soul that Christ our compassionate High Priest knows what it is to die and hath been acquainted with the Subtilties and Fury of the Tempter by smart Experience and his sympathy hath taught him pity and because he is our Head he will not forget his Members under their afflicting Temptations in that hour For though he be in Heaven he retains the same Bowels and Affections now in his glorified State which he had here upon Earth and doth continually improve his Intercession in Heaven for the benefit security and relief of his afflicted People in their greatest dangers and Extremities If any poor Believers shall here object the pains of Death as being so great and to their apprehensions insupportable and therefore they are unwilling to die Let them consider that they are but short and suddain and though they are made by God our necessary passage into Glory yet they shall soon be over and forgot when the Soul by death is set free from the Body and takes its flight into the Presence of God in Heaven And alas what are the dying pains and groaning gasps of departing Saints compared to the Gripes and Stingings of an awakned Conscience for sin and the horrid fears of the Wrath and Vengeance of God which though they are not seen by others because inward yet are they the frequent and daily Tormenting Exercises of sinners both in Life and Death And though the pains of the Godly in a dying hour may sometimes be afflictive unto Sense yet it often happens through the Goodness and Mercy of God to them that their Fears in Life exceed their Pains in Death and this King of Terrors doth not gripe so hard nor stab so painfully as we are apt to think and if he doth God many times comes in with such strong Consolations upon departing Souls in the Manifestations of his Love to and Presence with them as turns their Fears and Sorrows into Joy and Rejoycing But if God should not manifest himself thus Comfortably unto some for their Support but leave them to the feeling of their Fears by undergoing great pains in Death yet as soon as the stroke is given the pains are gone and their fears are over How quickly do the first openings of that Eternal Morning swallow up all the Remembrances of our dying sorrows O when the Joys and Visions of our God invade and Exercise our departed Souls then comes the great and welcome Pledge of our Eternal Conquest of this last Enemy and after a short sleep of Bodies in the Dust whilst Souls return to God the Trump will sound the Lord will come the World shall perish or be refin'd by Flames and the Dead shall rise and die no more and then as the Apostle speaks shall we be ever with the Lord. But some may say we could willingly die but that we know not what will become of us hereafter we cannot tell
what our future State will be and therefore we are afraid of Death The desires we have of our Eternal Happiness puts us upon hoping the best but our doubts and fears are so many we cannot but tremble to think of our departure because we are under such uncertainties whither we shall go when Death takes us hence To this I Answer who art thou that makest these Objections Either thou art a wicked Man or one that truly fearest God If thou art a Wicked Man under the guilt of thy Sins and in an unpardoned State I cannot wonder that thou art afraid of Death nor can I blame thee that thou art unwilling to die Thou hast cause enough to make thee fear and tremble For there is nothing in Death or what is to come after it if thou understandest thy danger aright but what might fill thee with the greatest Terror and Consternation imaginable Whatever thou fearest is to come and may come quickly for ought thou knowest is infinitely far greater and worse than what thou canst now imagine what thou feelest or fearest are but the beginning of thy Sorrows nay all the Miseries thou canst meet with in Life and all the pains that thou canst suppose to be in Death fall infinitely short of those unconceivable Horrours and Miseries that are the Portion of Sinners in the next Life And for any Comfort or Relief against Death whilst thou art in thy Sinful State there is nor can be none Thy work therefore must be speedily to get into Christ labour to have thy Sins Pardoned Follow God with earnest Cries Tears and Importunities of Soul that thy sinful Nature may be changed and Sanctified and then let Death come when it will though thou die under never such fears and uncertainties as to thy future State yet Eternal Happiness attends thee and when Death hath once closed the Eyes of thy Body the Eye of thy Soul will quickly be opened to thy everlasting Joy and Consolation If thou art one that truly fearest God but yet art unwilling to die because thou art uncertain how it may go with thee as to thy Eternal State Why then examine thine own heart whether these fears do not proceed from thine own carelessness God hath vouchsafed to thee many means and opportunities for the encreasing thy Knowledge for the strengthening thy Faith for the enlarging thy Love for the confirming thy Hope for the establishing thy Soul in the ways of God and to provoke and stir thee up unto the continual Exercise of Grace that hereby thou mightest grow up into some Knowledge and Assurance of his Love towards thee through Christ and so mayest groundedly conclude the certainty of thy future Happiness But thou hast been sloathful not putting forth thy self with all diligence in the improving the Helps and Advantages God hath put into thy hands and therefore thou art so in the Dark and under fears how it may go with thy Soul for ever if this be thy case go humble thy Soul before God lie low in his presence beg earnestly the manifestations of his Love and Favour towards thee And for time to come put forth the endeavours of thy Soul unto the utmost in the use of all the means God vouchsafes unto thee for the removing thy Fears satisfying thy Doubts encreasing thy Knowledge confirming thy Faith and Hope in a future State of Happiness provided for thee and how soon God may come in whilst thou art thus humbling thy self before him and manifest his loving kindness unto thy Support and Comfort thou knowest not But however if he should for some Reasons thou canst not at present apprehend leave thee to walk under thy Doubts and Fears still yet if thou art sincere one that hath the Grace of God in Truth in thy Soul I would say thus much that these Fears and Jealousies about the attainment of the Happiness of Heaven if it be a Distemper as it is become so natural to us all that it is with much difficulty cured in this present State but yet it may be with great diligence and industry of Soul But for thy Comfort O doubting Believer know though these Doubts and Fears are sinful and thou dost thereby provoke God yet they shall not prejudice thy future Happiness though they may and do often hinder thy present Peace and Comfort For certainly God will never Damn a Believing Soul let such a one think what he will of himself For though thou art not assured that thou art his yet God knows all those that are his and not one of them shall Eternally perish Suppose therefore that thou shouldst die under Doubts and Jealousies and thy Soul should go out of this World sitting in a Cloud of Tears this hinders not but it may arise in a fair morning of Glory Heaven only is a place privileged from Tears and Fears But may some Soul say I am not willing to die because I fear I have no Grace or at least it is but little that I have for when I compare my self with others the most I can say of my self is this that all my Grace and Holiness lies in a Love to Grace and in a desire after Holiness I hope through Grace I can say that there is nothing in all the World if I might have my choice that I desire more than to be like my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ But O how short do I fall both of my Rule and of my Desires my walkings in the ways of God are very uneven and unconstant the corruptions of my heart are so great and so frequently breaking forth by Fleshly Affections and Worldly Desires that if there be any Grace within me it is very hard to diseern it by reason of the sin that doth accompany and go along with it and how then should such a one as I dare to think of dying Were Grace strong and vigorous could I sensibly find the strength encrease and growth of it in a tendency towards perfection I could then think of dying with some courage But the weakness and imperfection of Grace much discourageth me that I cannot with any willingness and chearfulness entertain the thoughts of it in my Soul To this I Answer let not the thoughts of Death discourage thee O weak Christian for Death can no more shall no more hinder the Happiness of a weak Believer than of a strong Believer It is true a strong Faith may carry thee more comfortably to Heaven but a weak Faith will carry thee as truly to Heaven For Faith saves not as it is strong or weak but as it is true and a weak Faith is true Faith as well as a strong Faith Grace and Holiness is of Absolute necessity for every Christian for without them it is impossible to please God or to enjoy him For as the Apostle saith Without Holiness no man shall ever see the Lord. But yet all Christians are not equally Holy there is a measure or stature to which all Christians are
Therefore says God when thou passest through the Waters I will be with thee they shall not overflow thee and when thou walkest thorough the Fire thou shalt not be burnt Esai 43.2 Take Courage therefore O Christian be not afraid of any Affliction be not afrighted no not at the sight of death it self though thou see'st it is a narrow passage a way beset with Briars and Thorns though it be a strait Gate for Flesh and Blood to pass through yet fear not for it is the Gate of Heaven the way that leads unto Glory Be not afraid therefore to walk in the valley of the shadow of death though love of Friends and strength of Body fail thee yet fear not for God will be with thee his Rod and his Staff will support and comfort thee he will be your God and your Guide not only unto death but for ever and ever for he will never never never leave his People nor forsake them till he hath brought them to the eternal enjoyment of himself in Glory Secondly Wouldst thou O Christian be comforted and supported against death then much and often meditate upon the Lord Jesus Christ Now though every thing in Christ and every thing done by Christ be exceeding sweet and precious for unto them that believe he is precious Christ and whole Christ is precious for there is nothing in him or done by him that we can tell how to want But yet I shall instance in some few things more particularly which may be of great Use unto a Christian to meditate upon for his support against the hour of Death As First Meditate often upon the Death and Sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ Now though in general these were so great that they exceed all our Expressions and Apprehensions yet how willingly and patiently did he undergo them all both from God and Man in his Body and in his Soul His Body was racked and tortured in all the parts of it but especially in those parts wherein the sense is most quick and therefore his Pain and Anguish was most afflicting They digged or pierced my hands and my feet saith the Psalmist of him Psal 22.16 He suffered in his Soul also for he conflicted with the wrath of an angry God which was impress'd upon him in such a dreadful manner that had he not had the strength of the Deity to support him it had certainly overwhelm'd him and ground him to Powder For it was pure Wrath without the least mixture of sparing Mercy the great God bated him nothing That 's a sweet Scripture Rom. 8.32 God spared not his own Son And it was well for us that he did not for had he spared him he had not spared us His Death was not common and ordinary but a Death by Crucifixion he humbled himself and became obedient unto Death even the death of the Cross which was a violent death considered in it self and therefore he is said to be cut off out of the Land of the Living though in respect of himself it was voluntary and therefore he tells us I lay down my Life of my self John 10.18 And indeed Christ must either die a voluntary Death or none at all partly because there was no Sin in him to deserve Death and partly because otherwise his death had not been a Sacrifice acceptable and satisfactory unto God for us for that which died of it self was never offered in Sacrifice but that which was slain in its full force and strength This death of Christ was also full of exquisite Pain and Torture and therefore when he was going to encounter with it he screws up his Request to his Father to the highest pitch Matth 26.39 Father if it be possible let this Cup pass from me It was also a death full of shame than which nothing is more cutting to an ingenious noble Spirit And truly in this respect the Thieves that suffered with him fared better than he for they had no Taunts Reproaches and Sarcasms cast upon them they only encountered with Pain But Christ had Pain and Shame also for the Souldiers the Jews the Thieves all scoffed and flouted at him And therefore says the Apostle he not only endured the Cross but he despised the shame Heb. 12.2 But this is not all for the death of Christ was a cursed death Pain was bad and Shame was worse but the Curse is worst of all for he that is hanged on a Tree is accursed of God and therefore Christ that he might shew the greatness of his Love to his People redeemed them from the Curse of the Law being made a Curse for them Gal. 3.13 Now though Christ knew that all these Sufferings and this death should befal him yet so great was his Love to Believers that he underwent all willingly and patiently What godly Man on Earth what Saint or Angel in Heaven can read or hear those Words of his in Luke 12.50 without Astonishment where speaking of his death and sufferings he saith he had a Baptism to be baptized withal which was a Baptism of Blood And how am I straitned till it be accomplished Indeed it is said when the time of his sufferings drew near that he began to be sorrowful that he was sore amazed and very heavy My Soul says he is exceeding sorrowful even unto death Not that Christ repented of his Undertaking when he was to suffer no for when the time of his suffering was come the Holy History tells us he not only went to a place that Judas who betrayed him knew of that so he might be the more readily taken but when his Enemies came thither to apprehend him he went forth to meet them and asked them Whom seek ye And when they told him Jesus of Nazareth he tells them I am he upon which they fell to the ground and as if they were more afraid to apprehend and bring him to his sufferings than he was to suffer he speaks to them again and by his Words Oh how willingly blessed Jesus didst thou go to suffer he doth as it were strengthen and encourage them to go on in their work of laying hold of him he said therefore unto them a second time Whom seek ye They said Jesus of Nazareth Jesus answered them I have told you that I am he if therefore you seek me behold here I am He was a Volunteer in his dying and offering up of himself His death was a Free-will Offering and this made him to become a Sacrifice Psal 40.7 8. Then said I loe I come In the Volume of thy Book it is written of me I delight to do thy Will O God yea thy Law is within my heart As if he had said my very heart is ready for the shedding of my heart-blood Therefore says he I lay down my life no man taketh it from me but I lay it down of my self I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it up John 10.17 18. As if he had said if
it were not my pleasure to part with it all that Men or Devils could do they were not able to wrest it out of my hands Now though Christ by his death and sufferings accomplished several ends as the satisfaction of the Justice of God the procuring Pardon and Remission of Sin and the obtaining Heaven yet this also was one end of his death and a very comfortable one too and that is the overcoming of death for Believers Christ Jesus the Lord of Life and Glory hath by his death spoiled Principalities and Powers and made a shew of them openly triumphing over them in his Cross By his death he hath not only destroyed death but him also that had the power of death that is the Devil and delivered them who through fear of death were all their lives-time subject unto that bondage The Blood of Jesus Christ hath slain death's Enmity not that death is so destroyed that Believers shall not die but it is unstung It still wears its Dart by which it strikes all Men but it hath lost its sting by which it hurts Is death therefore riding upon its pale Horse and making haste towards thee O Believer fear it not be not dismayed at it though there may be much of pain in it yet there is nothing of the Curse in it it is as a Serpent without a sting thou mayest take it into thy hand yea into thy bosom without danger Death poured out all its Poison upon Christ when he was made a Curse it fastned yea it lost its sting in his blessed Side And who would fear an Enemy that is conquered Death to a Believer is not only an innocent harmless thing but it is one of his best Friends death is yours says the Apostle speaking to Believers It is theirs as a special Privilege When Christ was upon the Cross there was a Contention between him and death and as it was prophesied of him he was then the plague of death and the destruction of the Grave for he swallowed them up in Victory So that now death drives but a poor Trade among Believers all that it can do is but to destroy the Body and to afright some that are weak in the Faith but it cannot hurt them Victory over death is as sure to them as if they had already overcome and therefore says the Apostle speaking of Death and the Grave Thanks be to God who hath given us the Victory through our Lord Jesus Christ Secondly Meditate upon the Resurrection of Christ This is a great Fundamental Article of the Christian Religion that upon which the Faith the Hope and Happiness of a Christian for Eternity is built for as Christ died for our Sins so he arose again for our Justification And if Christ had not risen the Faith and Hope of a Christian is but vain If Christ be not risen a Christian shall not rise and if there be no Resurrection there is no Life everlasting If Christians have hope only in this Life they are of all Men most miserable But blessed be God Christ is risen and therefore the Faith and Hope of a Christian stands firm for it is built upon the Rock of Ages against which as the Gates of Death did not so the Gates of Hell shall not prevail That Christ is risen the Scripture is clear an Angel declares it Matth. 28.6 He is not here he is risen as he said Come see the place where the Lord lay Holy Men who were Eye-witnesses hereof give their Testimony to this Truth when our Lord shewed himself alive to them by the space of Forty Days in nine several Apparitions and once was he seen of five hundred Brethren together 1 Cor. 15.6 And says the Apostle Acts 2.24 He was raised from the dead the pains or bands of death being loosed because it was not possible he should be holden of them It was possible Death should seize upon him and so it did he willingly yielding himself up unto it because as our Surety he owed a death by way of satisfaction to the Justice of God for our sins which he had taken upon him and accordingly he paid it otherwise Death could not have taken hold of him But though death did take hold of him yet could it not keep it though it had possession of him in the Grave yet it could not keep him there no that was impossible partly because he is life essentially life so himself tells us I am the Resurrection and the Life Now it is not possible for death to hold life it self longer under its power than he who is life it self pleaseth And then partly it was not possible Christ should be held under the power of death in â—espect of us for having undertaken the great work of restoring us unto life if his life had been subdued by death if he had been held down a Prisoner under the power of death and the grave we had been lost and undone for ever for as the Apostle argues if Christ be not risen then our Faith is vain we are yet in our sins But Christ being to carry on the work of our Redemption to perfection though he submitted himself to die yet was it impossible Death should have Dominion over him for ever Christ therefore is risen and he is risen as a publick Person in the behalf of all Believers who are therefore called the Children of the Resurrection and said to be risen with him Eph. 2.6 Christ's Resurrection is not only the Cause of a Believer's Resurrection but the security of his happy Resurrection therefore he is said to be the first fruits of them that sleep Now as the first fruits did both assure and sanctifie the whole Harvest so doth Christ do for Believers by his Resurrection he assures them of their Resurrection and sanctifies it also that it shall be a blessed Resurrection even unto an Eternity of Happiness And therefore it is with respect to Believers that Christ is called the First-born or the first begotten from the dead who are in their time and order to be born from the dead the Resurrection giving New Birth or Being unto those bodies which while they were in the Grave seemed to have none For as certainly as the whole Harvest follows the first Fruits so doth the general Resurrection of Believers at the last day follow the Resurrection of Christ For as the Apostle saith 1 Cor. 15. and 12. If Christ be risen from the dead how can it be but that there must be a Resurrection from the dead If we acknowledge the Body of Christ is risen we cannot rationally deny the Resurrection of our own bodies because Christ's Resurrection is not only the Exemplar of our Resurrection but the Cause of it for because Christ and Believers are but one Mystical Body he the Head they the Members and the Head being risen the Members shall not always lie rotting in the Grave but shall in due time arise also For the Spirit of Life that is in Christ
of his Son much more being reconciled shall we be saved by his Life For certainly he is able to save unto the utmost all that come unto God by him seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them Christ hath not lost his Love and Affection to his People by his Advancement Harbour not therefore O Believing Soul any suspicious thoughts in thy Heart concerning him as if by his Exaltation into Heaven he were now become forgetful of any of his Members here below groaning under Sin or Misery for though the days of his Passion are ended yet so are not the days of his Compassion He retains the same Temper and Disposition of Soul now he is in Glory his Heart is not changed though his Condition be but he still bears the same Respect to his People now that he did when he was on Earth for indeed he there Lives and Acts upon the account of Believers so says the Apostle He appears in the presence of God for us Heb. 9.24 Doth God O Believing Soul by Diseases and Distempers upon thy outward Man cause thy Beauty and Comeliness to consume and wither hath long and tedious Sicknesses almost wasted and destroyed thy Body and by all art thou brought so low that thou despairest of Life Doth Death seem to be written upon all thy helps to Life And do all the means that are used for thy Recovery seem rather to further thy Dissolution than any way to hinder it Why yet fear not Death but Remember as God hath Glorified and highly Exalted Jesus Christ whose Form and Visage as the Prophet speaks was marr'd more than any Mans so he will Exalt thee also not to an Equality of Glory with Christ for in Heaven he shall be the Light and the Glory of it but yet there shall be some likeness and Conformity in all the Members of Christ unto him who is their Head Fear not therefore O Christian the worst that Death or the Grave can do unto thee for assure thy self as because he lives Believers shall live also so where he lives there Believers shall live also Thirdly Another Consideration for the removal of the fear of Death is frequent Meditation of the Happiness of the Soul in Death and of the Resurrection of the Body after Death As for the Happiness of the Souls of Believers in death it is exceeding great the Body at present suffers loss for though once it was an excellent Fabrick the Workmanship of God's hands yet being forsaken by the Soul it is become loathsome and turns to Corruption and rottenness so says the Wise Man The Body returns to the dust from whence it was taken there to consume and moulder away this is the State of Man's Body in Death procured by Sin and inflicted by God But now for the Soul that returns to God that gave it either to partake of Eternal Blessedness or to receive Eternal Punishments Now that the Happiness of Believers in their Souls is great at Death will appear if we consider either the Evils they are freed from or the Blessedness they attain unto as for the Evils that accompany our present State in this Life Death frees Believers from them all at once during this Mortal Life indeed Sufferings are annexed to the State of a Christian as a necessary Appendix to his very Being for such is our condition while we are here that Afflictions are almost become as needful for the Soul as Food and Raiment is for the Body therefore saith the Apostle if need be you are in heaviness through manifold Tribulations 1 Pet. 1.6 God sees it needful that Afflictions should be and in his Wisdom and Mercy he proportions the Afflictions of his People to their necessities This Life is a Life of Suffering unto the People of God it is their appointed Path and Way through which they must walk to Heaven therefore says the Apostle We must through many Tribulations enter into the Kingdom of God It is appointed for us so to do And indeed as Job speaks Man is born to trouble as the sparks flyupward he comes into the World crying and all the rest of his time between the Cradle and the Grave he is not much Happier for his Life is made up of Sin and Suffering the Evil of Sin and the Evil of Suffering there is a kind of a continual Chaining or Linking together of one Misery or Affliction to another a mixture of Pain and Sorrow or Succession of Evils and Troubles that runs through all his days as one Wave falls upon the neck of another so one Evil is no sooner gone but another comes in its room One depth as the Psalmist speaks calls upon another Floods and Storms of Miseries and Afflictions daily pass over our heads And if Troubles and Afflictions come not of themselves nor are caused by others we can Mint and Coin them our selves by our Sins Our Lord tells us That sufficient to the day that is to every day are the Evils and Troubles thereof but as if they were not enough we can create Troubles to our selves before hand and Anticipate in our Fancies and Apprehensions for our greater Vexation and Trouble Evils that are to come though we know not whether we our selves shall live till they come And herein we are more cruel to our selves than the Devil is to himself for that Evil Spirit cares not to be Tormented before his time whereas we antidate and bring Evils that are at a distance from us nearer to us by unquiet Apprehensions and sinful distracting Vexations entertained in our minds and so the fears of Miseries to come make us far more miserable than when those miseries are come upon us and by the Apprehension of an imaginary Evil we make it become a real Affliction and an unfeigned Torment to us in our resentment of it Thus Sin and Sorrow Afflictions and Temptations divide our days and time while we are here until Death comes for a Believers relief and then there shall be an end put to all his Sorrows and Sufferings because there shall be an end of Sinning After Death there shall be no Cries nor Tears under any Miseries or Afflictions no fears of future Evils nor no grief for past sins the causes of them no Poverty or Distress shall come near that Holy place the Habitation of Holy Souls all the Inhabitants there are become Kings possessed of Riches and Glory without value Fear not therefore O dying Believer whose Soul by Death is getting free from thy Body for thou art but removing from Earth to Heaven where thou shalt instantly be with thy dear Lord and Saviour thou art but going to thy God and Father and the Father of Spirits to visit those Mansions of Glory that are there prepared for thee Chearfully therefore take thy leave of thy Body and let it know that thou art taking thy flight to Heaven during the time that it shall sleep in the dust of the Grave until the morning of the
speaks of Death as that which he was daily familiar with being in Deaths often frequently thinking thereof for said he I die daily Thoughts of Death was that which he accustomed himself unto and that was one Cause why he was so willing to embrace it And thus it should be with all of us were our hearts rightly affected and we so familiarly acquainted with death as we ought Those of us who have the most lively Faith would not only not be afraid of death but we should even court it as that which is better than life But I would not here discourage any weak Believer for I dare not say that they are no true Believers who are not come up to this frame of Soul Though it is true Grace is the same in all Believers one Believer hath the same that another Believer hath yet all that are Believers do not attain to the same degrees of Grace There are some and it is their sin and ought to be their Humiliation that Death and they are little acquainted they seldom descend into the Grave by frequent Meditations of their Mortality they look not into the Pit out of which at first they were taken and into which they are shortly to return now their comfort in the thoughts of death is little if any at all because death and they are such Strangers to one another These may be true Believers but they are weak and faulty But now others there are who are so advanced in Grace above their Brethren that by a constant Familiarity with death are so composed in their Spirits that they fear it not nay they rejoice in the thoughts of it not because they think they shall not taste of death for they know that death will overtake them as well as others they are sensible that the time of their departure draws nearer and nearer daily These things they believe but they do not afflict themselves therewith so well are they acquainted with death both in the Nature and in the Effects of it And were they to die presently this would not much trouble them for they know the bitterness of death is past though death it self be not the Gall and the Wormwood is taken out Christ hath been there before them and therefore the sting of death which is sin is gone the dangers yea and the difficulties also in dying are removed out of the way This they believe and therefore they are not afraid though by death they descend through the Grave into Heaven for their Jesus their Saviour is there and they know that till they die where he is they cannot be wherefore they say though we die nay therefore will we die that we may see him Wouldst thou therefore O weak Believer attain unto this sweet frame of Spirit accustom thy self then to a holy familiarity with death conceive of it under the fairest and easiest Notions this is that the Spirit of God in Scripture delights in when it speaks of death with respect to the People of God it always makes use of the most comfortable Expressions to represent it to them by So sweetly is death enamell'd and so richly is it cloathed in the holy Language that it seems to have a kind of Lustre and Beauty upon it to draw the Hearts and Affections of Believers to be desirous of it Look a little therefore O Believer into the Sacred Oracles and see how the Spirit of God teacheth us to cloath Death with delightful Expressions sometimes it is called an undressing or uncloathing And what Man that hath worn a Suit of Cloaths till it is become filthy and nasty would not be glad to put off his old filthy Garments that he might put on Change of Raiment And why should not a Christian be willing to lay down the Earthly House of his Tabernacle though it be in the Dust of the Grave that he may be cloathed upon with his House which is from Heaven Sometimes Death is compared to Rest they shall rest in their Beds says the Prophet and Job speaking of the state of Man in death tells us there the weary are at rest Now when a Man hath wrought hard and taken great pains and labour all the Day how desirous is he to go to Bed and take his Rest And is not Death the same to thee O Christian Doth not the Spirit of God call it so Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord for they rest from their labours And surely there is no rest like to that rest that a Christian obtains after his spiritual labours and conflicts with Sin Satan the World and his own evil Heart when the Soul is set free from the Body and takes its flight at once from all these into the Bosom of God that place of Rest and Happiness which remains for the People of God As there is no Yoke like unto the Yoke of Christ when a Christian suffers for him for it is a Yoke lined with Love My Yoke says he is easie and my Burthen is light So there is no Rest and Happiness like that which is with Christ for the same Happiness that he enjoys his Children and Servants enjoy also Sometimes death is called a Sleep so says our Lord our Friend Lazarus sleepeth it is spoken of his death now who of us when the day is spent and the night hath overtaken us is afraid to go to bed and sleep And why then should a Christian when his Days are finished and the Night of Sickness is come upon him be afraid to fall asleep though he sleep the sleep of Death By such Considerations as these and the like that the Scripture holds forth to us Christians should endeavour to allay the bitterness beautifie the deformity blunt the edge and take out the sting of death that all hard thoughts of it might be buried and instead thereof there might grow up a sweet Familiarity and Acquaintance between them and death Oh how would this facilitate the work of dying and cause holy Souls to exult with joy and rejoicing when death is approaching towards them And here I cannot but make a little Digression to reason the Case with some weak Believers whose unwillingness to die is very great because their fears of death are so many But why should the fears of Death so amaze and terrifie thee O weak Believer Hast thou not the same Grace in thee with others Hast thou not the same Faith the same Hope the same Love acting and working in thee Dost thou not serve the same Lord Hast thou not the same God for thy Father the same Jesus for thy Saviour the same Spirit of Consolation for thy Comforter Art thou not going to the same Heaven nay art thou not going to the same Heaven in the same way that all the Patriarchs Prophets Apostles and Saints of God in all Ages have gone before thee Death was the Gate through which they all entred into Heaven and why then shouldst thou be so unwilling to go to Heaven
Souls after the enjoyment of God and Christ both Martyrs and others O cryeth one the Love of Christ in my Heart casteth a mighty heat he knoweth that the desire I have to be with him paineth me I have sick Nights and frequent fits of Love Fevers for my well-beloved Nothing is so painful to me as the want of his presence but it is a sweet pain O that he would cool my Love-Fever for him with real enjoyment of him O Great King says one why standest thou aloof off why remainest thou among the Mountains O well-beloved why dost thou pain a poor Soul with delays A long time out of thy Glorious Presence is as two Deaths and as two Hells to me we must meet I must see him hungring and thirsting for Christ hath brought on me such a necessity of enjoying him that cost what it will I cannot but assure Christ to my Soul one smile of his Face to me is a Kingdom a sight of him is worth a World of Worlds Sweet Jesus crys one out wilt thou let me see Heaven to break my Heart and never give me leave to enjoy it O fairest where dwellest thou O never enough admired and adored Godhead how can Creatures of yesterday be able to enjoy thee O what pain crys one is it that Time and Sin should be as so many thousand Miles between a loved longed for Lord and a pining Love-sick Soul Hell and as I now think all the pains of it laid on me could not put me off from loving of him I would refuse says one no condition not Hell excepted reserving always God's hatred to buy the possession and enjoyment of Jesus Oh closed Doors and Vails Curtains and thick Clouds crys one that hold me in pain while I find the sweet burnings of his Love within me which many waters cannot quench O Death do thy utmost against us O Torments O Malice of Men and Devils bring Hell to help you in Tormenting the Followers of the Lamb we will defie you to make us too soon happy and to waft us too soon over the water to that Land where that Plant the Plant of Renown grows O cruel time that Torments us and suspends our dearest enjoyments that we wait for when we shall be bathed and steeped Soul and Body in the depth of this Love of Loves I half call says one his absence cruel and that Mask and Vail upon his Face a cruel covering that hideth such a fair fair Face from a sick Soul I dare not challenge himself but his absence is a Mountain of Iron upon my heavy Heart Oh when shall we meet What do we here but sin and suffer Oh when shall the Night be gone and the Shadows fly away and the morning of that long long Day without Cloud or Night dawn The Spirit and the Bride say come Oh when shall the Lamb's Wife be ready and the Bridegroom say I come also O Time be not so slow but run yea fly away swiftly O Sun move speedily and hasten our Banquet O Heavens cleave asunder that the bright Face and Head may set it self through the Clouds O that the Corn were ripe and this World prepared for his hook How long is it to the dawning of the Marriage day O sweet Lord Jesus take wide steps O my Lord come over the Mountains at one stride cut short Years and Months and Hours shovel time and days out of the way post post haste our desired hungred longed for Meeting love is sick to hear of till too Morrow fly O my beloved like a Roe or a young Heart upon the Mountains of Separation O that thou wouldst remove says one the covering and draw aside the Curtain of Time that thou wouldst rent the Heavens and come down O that the Shadows and Nights were gone that the Day would break and be that feedeth among the Lilies would cry and call to his Heavenly Trumpeters make ready and let us go down and fold together the four corners of the World and Marry the Bride the Lamb's Wife since he hath looked upon me my Heart is not my own But I shall not proceed farther herein though the Subject be exceeding delightful but notwithstanding what hath been said herein I am far from thinking that these holy pantings and longings of Soul are to be found in every Godly Man or that none are truly Godly but those that find and feel in themselves these pantings and longings of Soul after the enjoyment of God in this vehement and ardent manner no I dare not say so for I believe multitudes yea the generality of Believers through sloathfulness never attain to this high pitch of Grace and Assurance of the Divine Love and Favour who yet go to Heaven very safely but where there are any that do attain unto this plerophory or full assurance such Souls live as it were on the very Suburbs of Heaven it self And by this we may see what is the Duty of a Christian to labour after and what sweet peace joy and delight we all lose who do not come up to this frame and temper of Soul even such as passeth our understandings to conceive or our expressions to make known which made a Godly Man once cry out in a holy pang of love unto Jesus Christ If I can get no more O let me be pained to all Eternity with longing for him the joy of hungring for Christ should be my Heaven for evermore CHAP. V. Death terrible in its self It is a dreadful Enemy Wherein its Enmity doth consist This Enemy shall be destroyed though it be the last Enemy that shall be destroyed Christ by his Death hath overcome Death for Believers and how far he hath done it Of the fear of Death and the Causes thereof How the fears of Death may be Conquered and overcome It is very uncomely for Christians to be afraid of Death It is possible for Christians to live without the fear of Death How Christians may die with Courage and Joy THo' death as it brings Holy Souls to the Eternal Fruition of God is desirable yet considered in its self it is dreadful being accompanied with Diseases and Distempers the fore-runners of a Dissolution and Separation between Soul and Body causing all the Actions and Operations of Life to cease in which State the Body quickly turns to Corruption and Putrefaction and in time to common Earth Now though this be dreadful unto Nature yet is there more of Terror in death unto Impenitent sinners because to them it is not only a Gate to let them into the Grave but a Gate to let them into Hell the first death transmitting them unto the second death And yet how great is the folly of Men that they fear death for that which is least formidable in it but do not fear it for that which renders it justly terrible Could death do no more to us than what reacheth to pains and distempers on the outward Man and the dissolution and destruction of