for all the doubts or troubles that do now attend us What though we suffer under pains and may be grieved to think that part of us shall be the Prey of Worms and Corruption yet the belief of this truth will soon dispel the sorrows that arise from thence The time is coming and Lord what joy is it in these straights when my Soul now returning to God shall meet this Body again glorious and refin'd never more to be vext with or separated from it This shadow of Death and that sorrowful Night that is now beset with Clouds and horrour will conduct us to the morn of our Resurrection and how can we be sorrowful as Men without hope This our Church looks upon as the most comfortable support for the consideration of our own or others dissolution when in its great Prudence and Piety it appoints that Lesson concerning the great Article of the Resurrection in the Burial Service a Doctrin if rightly fix'd and believ'd that will render us stedfast and unmoveable in the deepest sorrows Thy Brother shall rise again was the comfort our Saviour gave to Mary and is such as will be able to bear up our Spirits even in the heaviest Tryals of a Dying State For how must it support me and others at that time to speak after this or the like manner You behold me Brethren seemingly forsaken and distress'd and indeed My Complaint is bitter for my Soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death and my stroak is heavier than my groanings But yet I would have you believe and think as I do that I am only to withdraw for a small season and as the Prophet speaks to enter into my Chambers and shut my Doors about me and to hide my self as it were for a little moment for thy dead men shall live together with my dead body shall they arise And thereupon observe what followeth Awake and sing ye that dwell in the dust This long and solemn parting may cause grief in our hearts and tears in our eyes but shall we not be comforted considering the time is coming in which All that are in the Graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God and shall come forth Sixthly The Terrours of a dying State are mightily qualified and abated FROM GOD' 's MOST COMFORTABLE PROMISE AND ASSVRANCE OF PARDON AND FORGIVENESS The greatest and the truest sorrow of a dying State is that which is occasion'd from the sence of Sin Guilt Hinc illae Lachrymae This is the cause of our chiefest trouble and uneasiness at that time and very justly too for it is the most dismal fate as ever was threatned Ye shall dye in your sins But when I come with a message of Pardon and Forgiveness and this be rightly receiv'd and well grounded then 't is Son be of good chear thy sins be forgiven thee To be convinc'd that I have made my peace with God and that my Pardon is sealed in Heaven this will strengthen us in the midst of sorrows even to the defiance of all pain and anguish Instead of complaints we may hereupon joyfully say Lord now lettest thou thy Servant depart in peace I do neither care nor value what I suffer so I be reconciled to God and have my sins wash'd away by the Blood of Christ And such may be the State of every one of us for upon a sincere Faith and hearty Repentance God will have mercy upon us and abundantly pardon Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow though they be red like Crimson they shall be as Wool This blessed Promise takes away the sting of Death and puts us beyond the reach of its Terrour and Malignity and therefore our Church may well prescribe it as the great or only Comfort and Security in such a State or Condition Thus saying The Almighty Lord who is a most strong Tower to all them that put their trust in him to whom all things in Heaven in Earth and under the Earth do bow and obey be now and evermore thy Defence and make thee know and feel that there is no other name under Heaven given to Man in whom and through whom thou mayest receive health and salvation but only the name of our Lord Jesus Christ The Seventh and Last Comfortable Consideration that we have against the great sorrows of Death is THE ATTENDANCE OF GODS HOLY ANGELS READY TO RECEIVE OVR SOVLS AND TO CONDVCT THEM INTO THE MANSION OF THE BLESSED For he will give his Angels Charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways certainly then in these the most difficult of any For are they not all Ministring Spirits sent forth to Minister 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for them that shall or are ready to inherit Salvation The Blessed God whose Instruments the Angels are and who is therefore alone to be ador'd for it hath out of wonderful condescension towards us assign'd those glorious happy Beings for our Safety and Protection in our dying Streights and Difficulties For the Holy Scripture tells us They carryed Lazarus his Soul into Abraham's bosom And in our Saviour's Dreadful Agonies there appeared an Angel unto him from Heaven strengthening him And if such were able to bring him Relief in his Circumstances they may well do it to ours which at the worst come vastly short of his sorrowful Death and Passion Why now should we be amaz'd and terrified at the thoughts or approach of that most serious and solemn hour Why art thou so heavy O my Soul And why art thou so disquieted within me O put thy trust in God He and his Blessed Angels continually watch over us for good God in the ways we have heard or others as he knows best Will keep thee from the hour of temptation which shall come on all the World God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble Therefore will we not fear though the earth be moved The Lord of Hosts is with us the God of Jacob is our refuge In all time of our Tribulation in the hour of Death and in the Day of Judgment Good Lord deliver us FINIS Matt. 6. 32. Ps◠55. 4 5. Chap. 6. ◠3. 4. Heb. 9. 27. Rev. 21. 4. Zeph. 1. 14 15. Isa 57. 20 21. Gen. 4. 13. Rev. 12. 12. Job 2. 9. Ver. 5. 1 Thes 3. 3. Deut. 33. 27. Psal 41 Dan. 5 26 Ps 73. 23. Rev. 2. 4. 2. Cor. 5. Psa 16. 11. Eccles 12. 1. Cor. 15. 54. Rev. 1. 18. Visitation of the Sick Joh. 11. 23. Isai 26. 20 St. Matth. 5. 28. St. John 8. 24. St. Matth. 9. 2. Isa 55. 7. Isa 1. 18. Visitat of Sick Ps 91. 11. Heb. 1. 14. St. Luke 16. 22. St. Luke 22. 43. Ps 43. 5. 6. Rev. 3. 10. Ps 46. 1.
removal from them with an even and undisturbed Spirit nay so far is it from this that these frequently prove the most pungent Considerations or Reflections in that dismal State Have I saith one laboured all my Life time for nothing but Vanity and Vexation of Spirit for I find it to be so now I am to be removed and to be taken from it For this have I beat my Brains wearied and molested my self for this have I cheated and purloin'd for this have I over-reach'd or supplanted my Brother wrong'd or oppress'd my Neighbour and must I be deprived of all in a moment What sorrow like to my sorrow will the Worldling say And those pleasures that others have too much indulged will but the more perplex their Thoughts when they are thus forced from them nay even the moderate and lawful enjoyment of these things will occasion in us no small trouble and vexation of mind at this final parting with them Tho it behoves us to do it with Christian courrage and Resignation yet we cannot without extream sorrow and concernment say at that time Farewel Wife farewel Children farewel Friends farewel the World finally farewel whatever was here dear and valuable And give me leave to add the more have been Mens comforts and those of good Men have been the most and truest the more and greater must be the grief and concernment for that utter removal and dismal separation from them Fourthly The troubles of a dying State must be again very great FROM THE SENSE OF SIN OR GVILT THAT WILL THEN CROWD IN VPON VS However we may forget God and ourselves in a time of Health and Prosperity when these decline or forsake us we are usually brought to a sober Sense and in such a languishing State and Condition can hardly avoid it Conscience if ever will certainly awake when we come to die and we may have observed the greatest Affliction that Men have then suffer'd under was their not being able to avoid their own thoughts which are now more bitter and terrible than ever and by the way 't is not only Justice but withal Goodness in God to make it so Now the Mind has quick and unbiass'd Reflections on its own Actions and sets forth its Guilt in true and proper Colours and therefore the Apostle may well say The sting of Death is Sin No terror in this State like that which doth redound to us from our guilty Consciences which have now got us under hold and will lash us severely We can't now disguise or dissemble our Guilt there is no stifling of it by Riot or Intemperance lewd and loose Company can divert us no longer all the live-long day our sins will plague and fret us and in the wearisom nights when we count every minute our Guilt will rush in upon our thoughts attend us in every turn and motion and render our Souls as restless and uneasie as our Bodies If what the Prophet saith of wicked Men be true at other times 't is much more so at this That they are like the troubled Sea when it cannot rest whose waters cast up Mire and Dirt. There is no peace saith my God to the wicked When we come to die the greatest melancholy that shall then seize our Spirits will be from the heavy load and burden of our sins that will be ready to oppress and sink our Souls Then we shall find that threatning verified in us I will reprove thee and set them in order before thine Eyes And what grief or anguish can be comparable to that which redounds from this When we are going hence and God gives us warning to remove must it not concern and afflict us beyond all thought or expression to consider the danger our Sins have now brought us to They hide God's Face and Mercy from us and in our greatest Distress and highest need of Comfort threaten us with utter Ruin and Destruction and nothing now can be so cutting and intollerable as the thoughts of a displeased and angry God And well may that be so to us which was the greatest of our Saviours troubles for at his dying hour the guilt of our sins that lay on him occasioned the bitterest Agony of his Soul and that dismal exclamation My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Most certainly the sense of guilt will be the bitterest Portion and the very dregs of that Cup of trembling our Hearts will faint and our Souls will sink within us and we shall shake and fear and cry mightly and have on us such passionate concernment as is inexpressible from the dismal apprehension of the Divine Wrath and Indignation which our sins have kindled and provoked against us So that hereupon it may be said with Cain My punishment is greater than I can bear Fifthly The troubles of a dying state will appear further considerable FROM THE ASSAVLTS OF OVR SPIRITVAL ENEMY WHICH WILL BE THEN MORE AND GREATER THAN EVER For to this we may apply what is said of him Woe to the Inhabitants of the Earth for the Devil is come down unto you having great Wrath because he knoweth that he hath but a short time And accordingly we may expect that he will apply his temptations now more vigorously than ever for if he discharges this last part effectually they are utterly lost and gone and he has gain'd them for ever Wherefore he may be supposed now to set all his Engines on work and to ply it closely He takes all the advantages that may be of these extream and difficult circumstances herein he tempts us to fretfulness and impatience under God's hand to a distrust or despair of his Goodness Dost thou still retain they Integrity Curse God and die If this wil not do he tempts us with too great presumption on the Divine Goodness to a neglect of due Examination and Repentance of our Sins or distracts our thoughts with Secular Affairs One way or other he either keeps us from the Duties requisite for that State or endeavours to make us increase our Sin in it Most certain it is that the Devil doth now hope and Industriously watch for his Prey the last effect of his Malice and Revenge The case here may be somewhat likened to that mentioned of him Rev. 12. 4. The Dragon stood before the Woman that was ready to be Delivered for to devour the Child as soon as it was born But may our Souls escape like that and be caught up unto God and to his Throne Sixthly A dying State or Condition is rendered very dreadful and terrible FROM THE THOVGHTS OR CONVICTION OF AN AFTER ACCOVNT OR JVDGMENT The Prisoner when going to his Trial hath all along every step he takes very strange and perplexing thoughts and is beyond expression troubled and uneasie within himself And what must the case be with Men when on the confines of another World to think of that great and impartial Judgment and Tribunal before which they are now
care and regard for us in this most straight and difficult condition To sum up this Head as nothing is surer than the day of Death and our Departure out of this Earthly Body which very likely may be attended with blackness and terror with dreadful Pains and Agonies too great to be exprest yet I may comfortably say that herein the Lord is my helper yea though I walk thro' this Valley of the shadow of Death I will fear no evil for thou art with me Tho' the Arrows of the Almighty 〈…〉 in me and his Hand presseth me sore though my condition be painful and tormenting and I be stretch'd upon my Bed with Grief and Anguish and my Friends about me lament to think that the place which now seeth me shall see me no more notwithstanding the Decree is past That God hath number'd my Life and finished it and I am now beset with gloominess and darkness mine Eye-balls rowl and my Soul is just on the wing ready to take its flight into the unknown Regions of the other World Nevertheess I am continually with thee thou hast holden me by my right hand thou shalt guide me with thy Council and afterwards receive me to glory Whom have I in Heaven but thee and there is none upon Earth that I desire besides thee My Flesh and my Heart faileth but God is the strength of my Heart and my Portion for ever Which brings us to another thing that will relieve and comfort us in a dying State and Condition And that is Thirdly THE THOVGHTS OR CONSIDERATION OF OVR NEAR APPROACH TO HAPPINESS AND GLORY Having hitherto run the race that is set before us We may expect greater sweats and troubles and to be more tired the nearer we come to the end of it But this is the last Stage if we can bear up under this only remaining difficulty the day and the prize is ours we may go on with Patience Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our Faith How must it incourage our endeavours and support our Spirits under the sorest pressure of Death it self to behold with an Eye of faith the Glory ready to be revealed and to see our Lord with open arms ready to receive us Come bear up under this and as it is your worst it is your very last trial There are blessed Mansions prepared for you where there shall be no more Death neither sorrow nor crying neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are passed away Tho it may not seem consistent with what I have already deliver'd to lessen the sad and sorrowful circumstances of our dying hours yet I may say that if our Souls be duly fixed on Heaven and Eternity it must in a great measure abate and will I 'm sure outweigh the worst that can be said or conceived of that State This is able to out-ballance the utmost Tyranny of Pains and Agonies and to dispel all Clouds and Melancholy from our minds The Night is come but it brings us to the dawn of Eternity and that shadow of Death is the confine of the days of Heaven Yet a little while and we are gone into YONDER World and must it not be a mighty satisfaction to us now to say with the Apostle We know that if our earthly House of this Tabernacle were dissolved we have a building of God an House not made with hands Eternal in the Heavens To think that the pain will be over in a short time is some ease to my mind in the greatest Affliction but to add and consider withal that it will be presently succeeded with Joy unspeakable and full of glory must administer to our Souls the highest consolation I will fear no evil for thou art with me to say farther and I shall be with thee be transferred to that blisful State to the presence of God where there is fullness of joys and pleasures for ever is my most unspeakable support and the very height of comfort and satisfaction The Years draw nigh in which thou shalt say I have no pleasure in them while the Sun or the Light or the Moon or the Stars are darkened In the day when the Keepers of the house shall tremble Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high and fears shall be in the way The Silver Cord is loosed Observe upon that melancholy and tho' Elegant description of our dying condition Soloman subjoyns us a comfort against the dismal thoughts of those sad circumstances and against Death it self the consideration of our acceptance with God in the Immortal State Then shall the dust return to the Earth as it was and the Spirit shall return to God who gave it In a word this single consideration that we shall ever be with the Lord duly weighed and rely'd on will abundantly relieve and support us against all the Powers of Death in its most horrid and ghastly apperances and sufficiently subdue the great difficulties of the dying State Fourthly This is again render'd further easie and supportable FROM THE CONSIDERATION OF CHRIST'S DEATH AND SVFFERINGS not only as they do expiate our Sins and so bring comfort to our Souls as we may have occasion to shew presently but withal upon the account of his great and glorious conquest over Death and the Grave which he vanquished and subdu'd in the very worst and most horrid circumstances that they might have less power and exercise less Tyranny over us Whereupon the Apostle triumphantly speaks Death is swallowed up in Victory O Death where is they sting O Grave where is thy victory Thanks be to God which giveth us the Victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. To consider that Christ our Lord underwent the same before us and in a more dismal manner than we are able to bear or imagine is some mitigation in this most sorrowful condition considering withal that in doing so he hath made the way more smooth and passable for us Death spent his most fiery Darts on him and he hath so subdu'd his greatest strength and utmost power that he either cannot or dare not be over severe and rigorous with us at least he can go no further than he will permit him I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I am alive for evermore Amen And have the Keys of Hell and of Death Death is now purely under Christs command and can do nothing but by leave from him and therefore we may justly hope that our gracious Lord will not suffer him to exert his utmost fury upon us How suitable then is that pious Prayer of our Church at this season O Saviour of the World who by thy Cross and precious Blood hast redeemed us save us and help us we humbly beseech thee O Lord. Fifthly the troubles and Sorrows of a dying State are again very much abated and subdu'd FROM THE THOVGHTS OF A FVTVRE RESVRRECTION which will satisfie our Minds and make abundant amends