but such as are Taught of God and have their spiritual sences exercised so as to be acquainted not only with the form of Godliness but also with the Power thereof these men do say that the Character which the others do give of this eminent persons teaching are most true and they do further also say that it is extraordinary Clear and convincing most Evangelical and Scriptural greatly practical and profitable and yet very Sublime and Spiritual Now Reader consider whether many if any such have finally miscarryed whose Natures were gentle and easie to be entreated whose hearts were Soft and Tender who had the Benesits of such Education and such Example who enjoyed such Teaching abroad as well as such Counsel at home and all accompanyed with fervent Prayer unto God for a Blessing which I am sure that she did not want it being reported of her Father that his Custom was with the Psalmist 119.164 Seven times a day to pray unto the Lord and to praise him Moreover I am informed that this deceased Gentlewoman was observed to spend much time in Closet Prayer of late consider then I say whether we may not hope considently that the Grace of God had savingly and effectually wrought upon her who was both visibly in Covenant with God and whose heart also God had disposed and prepared by such special Means of Grace which he had bestowed upon her And this is yet more evident if we reflect upon God's dealing with her in her last Sickness whereby God did seem to seal Instruction deeply upon her Soul Her distemper was one of the worst sort of Small Pox At her first being taken she had strong apprehensions that she should dye she therefore did fall closely upon the work of Examination desiring the assistance of some Ministers therein and she was visited by many she opened her case to us all and God was pleased to make her to suspect and be jealous of the worst and to confess and condemn herself for her Sins both of Omission as well as Commission and humbly to inquire after the only way of Pardon And it pleased God so to bless these last helps as that none of us who visited her do doubt but the same Spirit who convinced her of Sin and of Righteousness did at length seal her up to the day of Redemption The Alpha the first Beginning and Foundation of all practical Religion is that act whereby a Soul doth deliberately resolvedly freely and expressely dedicate and devote it self unto God and his Service Thus the Saints in 2 Cor. 8.5 The Omega the last concluding and consummating work of a devout Soul is to commit and commend its Spirit into the hands of God as to a faithful Creator thus did Stephen Acts 17.59 Yea thus did our Lord Jesus himself Luk. 23.46 Thus also did this blessed Person she did I hope begin well in an early Consecration of her self to God I am sure she did end well and 't is the end that Crowns the work she did reckon that she had not fully Finished her Course nor rightly laid the Top-stone of her spiritual Building so as to cry Grace Grace unto it untill she had most devoutly and humbly offered up her Soul to God in Prayer by the assistance of some Friend and Minister Accordingly although it were midnight and although my Habitation was far from hers yet in the very last Agonies of her Death she did send for me and with the clearest use of her Reason and the most servent desires of her Soul she did entreat me that I would in her Name solemnly and expresly furrender and give up her Soul into the Arms and Bosom of her Saviour in whose precious Blood she did hope that all her sins were now fully washed away I did readily obey the Call and did comply with her desire for I did and do judge that this desire of hers proceeded from some extraordinary Impulse and work of the Holy Ghost And Reader thou walt think as I do if thou shalt read and observe the effect and consequence hereof as it is related to thee in the close of the following discourse Almost such another extraordinary Impress as it may be thought was made upon her Spirit on occasion of this Author 's presenting her with a * Exhortation to Touth to prepare for Judgment 11 Eccl. 9. Funeral Sermon which he had preached but a little kefore she was taken sick which Sermon she having received and read and diligently considered she was heard to say That she did think that her own change would not be far off and that she could wish that the Author might preach her Funeral Sermon also and she then named the Text now insisted upon and said That she hoped that God would make her Funeral Sermon as profitable to other young Ones as the Former Sermon had been to her self Her Prognosticks were too true as to the shortness of the time which she lived after those words were spoken by her God grant that her hopes be not frustrated but that all her dying words may prove truely prophetical and especially those which related to the profitable success of the Sermon here before thee The Author hath done his part like himself as well in this as in the former Discourse Oh that he might find as diligent and as considering Readers as she was many excellent Considerations very subservient and conducing to thy Conviction and Salvation are proposed herein but all will be in vain and to no purpose without thine own Meditation and the Spirits application Concerning the Discourse I must say no more and I can do no less than to allude to the words of the Holy Ghost Eccl. 12.9 And moreover because the Preacher was wise therefore in this Discourse he hath Taught the People Knowledge and hath given good heed and sought and set in order many Arguments for thy preparing for Death and moreover for preferring of Death before Life The Lord convince thee by them and also carry thee comfortably through all Time to Eternity My Paper is short and my Time shorter I must therefore conclude for the Sermon is wholly Printed and stops only untill I have told thee that I am Thy Friend and Souls Servant S. Fairclough THE SAINTS DESIRE TO Be with Christ PHIL. I. 23. For I am in a strait betwixt two having a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better SAint Paul writing from Rome to the Church at Philippi in this Chapter acquaints them with his Bonds and other Discouragements which he tells them by their Prayers and the Assistance of the Spirit of Christ obtained thereby would turn to his Salvation and the furtherance of the Gospel and had already been attended with some considerable success in that kind V. 12 13 14. to fortifie and confirm the Professors of the Christian Faith and to propagate and promote it even in the Court of Caesar and in other places And if Christ might be magnified
Truth Yea to be able to say This was the Person with whom I lived and so journed in yonder World whose sincere Affection I so much valued whose delightful useful Company I so much prized whose Sickness and Removal I so much lamented c. But lest I run too far let me draw to a Close Let us therefore after what hath been said resolve to have Communion with them though they are Departed by Contemplating what they are and where they are and what they do and what they possess and by Rejoycing in their Blessedness more than we would have done for their Temporal Advancement in any kind on Earth Let us desire and endeavour to be as like 'em as we can by imitating their Temper and Work above in the Love of God and the delighful thankful Praises of the Redeemer When we look up to Heaven let us think they are there When we think of Christ in Heaven let us remember they are part of his Family above When we think with hope of entring into Heaven our Selves let us think with Joy of meeting them there Oh welcome welcome happy meeting with Christ and them Never more to Part never more to Mourn never more to Sin O Happy Change O Blessed Society shall we then cry out with whom we shall live for ever to Know and Love Admire and Praise and Serve our Common Lord We formerly Sinn'd together and Suffer'd together But this is not like our old Work or State Our former Darkness Complaints and Sorrows are now vanisht This Body this Soul this Life this Place this Company these Visions these Fruitions these Services and Employments are not like what we had in the former World And yet which is the Quintessence and Spirit of all this Happiness shall last to all Eternity and after Millions of Ages be as far from ending as when at first began Fit us Lord for such a Day and Come Lord Jesus Come quickly Amen THE END Prepare to Follow OR THE SECOND DISCOURSE FROM MATTH XXIV 44. Occasion'd by the DEATH OF M rs Eliz. Gearing Prepare to Follow A Funeral Sermon Occasion'd by the DEATH OF M rs Elizabeth Gearing Late Wife of Mr. Henry Gearing who Departed this Life the second of July 1691. By JOHN SHOWER 2 SAM 12.23 But now he is Dead wherefore should I fast Can I bring him back again I shall go to him but he shall not come to me LONDON Printed for J. Dunton and A. Chandler 1691. Prepare to Follow OR A DISCOURSE FROM MATTH 24.44 Therefore be ye also ready for in such an hour as ye think not of the Son of Man cometh UPON a like Exhortation of our Blessed Lord to Watchfulness and Prayer to Faithfulness and Diligence in Expectation of his Coming the Apostle Peter makes bold to ask the Question whether it concern'd only the Apostles or was spoken to all Luke 12.41 The answer whereto doth sufficiently express the Universal Obligation of such a Duty For our Lord replies Blessed is that wise and faithful Servant who when his Lord comes shall be found doing his Masters Work And yet more expresly by another Evangelist where the like Parable is apply'd with this addition What I say unto you I say unto all Watch Mark 13. last which Watching is the general Comprehensive word for being Ready This is the repeated Voice of Christ in his Word where-ever he speaks of his Second Coming This is the distinct and loud call of his Providence unto this Congregation by the Death and Funerals of one of our number you know I mean our Friend Mrs. Gearing which speaks the same language to all of us Be ye also ready And being desired on this Occasion to preach from these words I shall reserve the mention of some things that were Instructive and exemplary in the Deceased for the close of my Discourse and in the mean time consider this seasonable Admonition of our Blessed Lord Therefore be ye also Ready for the Son of Man cometh in such an hour as ye think not of This and the foregoing Verses are part of the Answer which our Saviour made to the Disciples question in the beginning of the Chapter v. 3. Tell us when shall these things be and what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the World According to the common Apprehensions which the Jews had of the alteration of the present state of things among them by the coming of the Messiah and that general destruction of the World and the State of Eternity which would thereupon follow they enquire of both to gether as reckoning his Coming and the End of the World would be at once And throughout this Chapter we find our Lord's Answer to both Questions are intermixed some whereof referr to the destruction of the Jewish State and his coming to execute judgment upon that Nation and others to the end of the World whereof the former was but a figure It is plain that some passages referr to the Jewish State several of the signs of his coming were literally fulfilled a little before their destruction by the Romans as Josephus and Tacitus and others mention particularly the 15. and 16. verses When ye therefore shall see the Abomination of Desolation spoken of by Daniel the Prophet stand in the Holy place whoso readeth let him understand then let them which be in Judea flee into the Mountains And again 34. v. he says This Generation shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled There is yet no reason to confine the whole of this Chapter to the Calamities which befell the Jewish Nation which was but as a Type and Representation of the general Judgment preceding the final Doom of the World for some passages do as plainly referr to the end of the World As when he speaks of â—â—s coming in the Clouds with power and great glory and of the Angels sounding the Trumpet and of two men in the Field and of two Women grinding at the Mill one taken and the other left referring to the great Discrimination of persons that shall be made at the end of the World as when it is said in the 36. verse Of that day and hour no man knoweth no not the Angels of Heaven but my Father only And by another Evangelist the Son himself is excluded from knowing that hour Mark 13.33 But did not Christ know the time of the destruction of the Jews their Temple City and Nation when he himself foretells the time when it should be And therefore those words in the 35. v. Heaven and Earth shall pass away but my words shall not pass away seem to be a transition from answering the first Question concerning the Destruction of the Jews to answer the other question about the End of the World whereupon follows the Exhortation in the 42. v. Watch for you know not what hour your Lord will come But know this or you do know this as the Original word will bear and may better be
to one Husband even Christ 2 Cor. 11.7 And we read of the Marriage of the Lamb and the Readiness of the Wife cloathed in fine Linnen which is the Righteousness of the Saints Rev. 19.8 9. Now if you think you are ready for the Coming of Christ under this Notion ask your selves Hath there been any such Agreement between Christ and your Souls which the Scripture represents by a Marriage-Covenant Have you penitently and thankfully Accepted him for Yours and given up your selves entirely to be his To as many as have thus Accepted and Received him He gives Power and Priviledge to become the Sons of God Do you renounce all other Lovers Do you prefer Him alone abandoning all Competitors and Rivals so as not to be for another but for him Hos 3.3 The like we read Psal 45.10 11. Hearken O Daughter and consider and encline thine ear forget also thine own people and thy Father's house So shall the King greatly desire thy beauty for he is thy Lord and worship thou him Is there a Supream Superlative Correspondent Affection on your part to him who hath said That as a Bridegroom rejoyceth over a Bride so will He rejoyce over Thee Isa 62.5 Is this express'd by an entire Subjection to him as the Head of his Church and the Saviour of his Body Eph. 3.23 And this not for a time only but for ever Hos 2.19 And I will betroth thee unto me for ever yea I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness and in judgment and in lovsng-kindness and in mercies The publick Solemnity of this Marriage will be at the Resurrection of the Dead when he shall come again to conduct his Spouse to his Father's House and more fully to evidence his Love by the Manifestation of his own Glory Our Readiness therefore for the Coming of Christ implies our hearty Choice of him and Consent to be his to Love Serve Honour and Obey him with Faithfulness Diligence and Perseverance to the end Secondly Christ is represented as a Housholder and Lord who is gone into a far Countrey and hath intrusted his Servants with various Talents which they are to employ according to his Order and trade with for his Service expecting to be accountable to him at his Return Luk. 19.23 Though our Lord be gone to Heaven he hath left a Family upon Earth and committed a Trust to every of his Servants Now our Fidelity and Care in the Improvement and Use of our Talents will be our Readiness for the Coming of Christ under these Considerations we are to be Responsible to him for all the Blessings Natural or Spiritual that he hath committed to our Trust and we have no Right in them any other way We are but Stewards He is the Proprietor and Absolute Lord. And according to the number and kind of our Talents he expects proportionable Care and Diligence as good Stewards to manage and improve them For to whom much is given of them much will be required Every one hath some Talents some Trust our Reason and our Health our Time our Parts Reputation Estate Interest Authority Power All the Blessings of any kind that we have are Talents to be used for the Service of our Lord And Blessed is that wise and faithful Servant who at his Lords Coming shall be found to have done so Our Faithfulness and Care herein is our Readiness for his Coming For he may demand an Account of our Stewardship when we expect it not Luk. 16.2 Therefore if we would be Ready we must be Diligent in his Work and not bury our Talents in a Napkin or waste our Lords Goods but be sound faithfully doing his Business in the Places and Relations he hath set us In this consists that Readiness for his Coming that will intitle us to the Blessing Luk. 12.43 But lest it should be said Who can come up to this Who is able to be always thus diligently Employed Who then can be Ready Let us therefore Thirdly Distinguish concerning this Readiness There is an Habitual Readiness and Actual The one of our State and the other of our Frame 1. An Habitual Readiness which concerns our State When our Peace is made with God so that she shall be found with him in peace at the Coming of Christ 2 Pet. 3.14 When we have so put on the Lord Jesus as at the Great Day we shall not be found naked 2 Cor. 5.3 When we are interested in the attoning Sacrifice of Christ so as to be reconciled to God and shall find Mercy of the Lord in the Great Day Rev. 3.17 Persons of this Character will manifest in their Course and Carriage that they expect the Coming of Christ by walking in all holy Conversation and Godliness 2 Pet. 3.10 Denying all Vngodliness and worldly Lusts they will live Soberly Righteously and Godly in this World as those that look for the blessed Hope and glorious Appearance of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ Tit. 2.12 13. But because all that are Ready as to their State and as to their general Course are not so as to their Frame therefore Consider 2. There is an Actual Readiness as to the Disposition of the Heart which upon the near Prospect and Approach of any Messenger of Christ to call us out of the World is a Christian Duty This Actual Readiness we should all endeavour after That we may have greater degrees of that Readiness of Mind and Preparedness of Spirit to Obey the Summons and Call of Christ tho' it should be with very little Warning being Prepar'd and Willing to go to him whensoever he shall call I am ready saith the Apostle to be bound at Jerusalem yea to Die there for the Name of Christ Acts 21.13 All holy Persons though Habitually ready do not reach this Some cry out with David Lord remove thy stroke from me spare me a little longer Psal 39. Or as Hezekiah when he received the Message of Death turn'd his face to the wall and wept Isa 38. But if we have Warning of the Approach of Death we ought to stir up our selves actually to Prepare to trim our Lamps and set our Souls in Order reviewing our Lives renewing our Repentance exercising our Graces exciting our Hopes recollecting our past Experiences getting our Evidences ready and the Promises on which we may venture our Souls in a dying Hour that we may say with old Simeon Now let thy Servant depart in peace And with the Apostle Paul I have finish'd my course henceforth a Crown of Righteousness is laid up for me And with our Lord himself Father into thy hands I commend my Spirit Or with Holy Stephen Lord Jesus receive it Christians Are we not too Unready the best of us as to Frame and Actual Preparation Do we sit as loose from this World and all the Personal and Relative Comforts of it that accommodate the bodily Lise as we should Have we conquer'd the Fears of Death and familiarized the Thoughts of the Grave to that
of a greater and better Hope Are they at all considerable and worthy our fear if put in the ballance with the promised Salvation to sollow on our departure Are they comparable in the Nature of Evil to the blessed Life they lead us to in the Nature of Good or comparable to the gripes of Conscience which unpardon'd Sinners meet with in Life and Death yea do we not think them greater and make them worse by our foolish fears than most do find them Is not the Sting of Death remov'd and the Heavenly Mansions prepar'd and promis'd And is it a reasonable Request that God should vary from his settled Course and sixed Law upon our sole Account Will nothing else content and please us but that Heaven must descend to Earth or we be in a moment translated thither to prevent our Pain and supersede the necessity of our Dissolution which we fear will be so attended As a proper Remedy in the present Case let us samiliarize the Thoughts of Death by frequent serious Meditation Let us view it oftner in our way that it may not meet us with so much Terror at our Journeys end Let us admit the Thoughts of a Departure with particular Application to our selves and improve the Funerals of our Friends as a seasonable memento that our own is near Let us lay open the Picture of Death naked to our view and urge it to our Hearts with the infinite Glory that immediately succeeds and take in the Death and Promise of Christ as our assurance of it And this will reconcile us more to a Departure and help to overcome our unreasonable fears of Pain and Sickness antecedent to it 3. The weakness and declension of our Love to Christ is another ground of our Unwillingness to depart and to be with him To a degenerate Soul that is destitute of the Love of Christ an Everlasting Distance would be more desireable than a Local Presence For that could not make him happy he would still be as far remov'd from Bliss by being with the Lord as the Centre of a Milstone in the bottom of the Sea would be from moisture But the Company and Converse of those we Love must needs be Eligible and the more we love them the stronger will still be our desire of being with them and the more impatient shall we be of every delay And is it not the sease and secret language of our Hearts Whom have we in Heaven but Christ And are we not desirous to forsake this Earth to enjoy his Presence Certainly the growth and strength and exercise of Holy Love to Christ would even render our Dissolution grateful in order to it and make our Hearts rejoyce at the approach of Death as it did old Jacob's to see the Waggons that are sent to fetch us to our beloved Jesus who is Lord of that Countrey whither we are going 4. Immoderate Love to this present World and our Temporal Life Were we crucified to fleshly Pleasures and sensual Joys to worldly Honours and earthly Riches we should less regret the Thoughts of Dying and more heartily desire to be with Christ For as the Pangs of Death are not ordinarily so violent and intolerable to one whose strength is wasted by a pining Sickness as to him who is Arrested suddenly in his full strength and vigour so will he more easily leave this World who for some time past hath been dying to it Were we more crucified to the World and the World to us by the Cross of Christ Gal. 6.14 we should not so affectionately hug the Carkass of a dead Enemy whom we our selves have crucified and slain but wait for the Time and long for the happy Hour when we shall leave it and be gone to our Eternal Rest Let us therefore make use of all the Christian methods of Mortification and look on this World as a strange place and our selves as Pilgrims and Strangers here as Exiles from our own Countrey and hastening to it And we cannot but wish our selves at home and desire a departure as necessary thereto and in the interim sigh to think of the vast disproportion and difference between the slender Entertainments of our Inn and the plentiful Provisions of our Father's House 5. Blotted Evidences and the want of Assurance concerning our Title to the Heavenly Glory And this we all pretend as the reason of our Unwillingness to Die A Sadducee is loth to die lest he should not be at all an Vnprepared Sinner for fear of being Miserable and a Doubting Christian because he knows not whether Happiness or Misery shall be his Portion after his Departure For were we well assured we should be with Christ for ever we could not be so backward and unwilling to be dissolv'd Had we any better grounds to hope that Sin was pardon'd and God our Covenant-Father that Heaven would be our Inheritance and we should not come into Condemnation we might rejoyce to think of our departure when and how it shall please God to call us When the Psalmist could say The Lord is my Shepherd he could boldly venture upon Death and walk through the Valley of Darkness without fear of evil Psal 23.4 6. But when Distress had brought his Sin to remembrance and made him doubt of his Condition he cries O spare me a little longer that I may recover strength before I go hence and be no more seen Psal 39.13 Could you say with the Spouse of Christ in the Canticles My Beloved is mine and I am his Cant. 6.3 you might chearfully joyn your Amen when you hear the Spirit and the Bride say in the Revelations Come Lord Jesus come quickly Rev. 20.22 Therefore Try your State and Examine your selves a-fresh and endeavour with your utmost Care and Diligence to obtain a well grounded Assurance founded on the Testimony of a good Conscience by comparing the Promises of Remission and Eternal Life with the requisite Qualifications and Conditions of them For if our hearts condemn us not we shall have considence towards God 1 Joh. 3.21 even in a dying hour To which end let us endeavour by daily Acts of Repentance to obtain a daily Pardon Let us sum up our Accounts at the foot of every Page I mean reflect every Night on the Passages of the preceding Day that we may rest on our Beds with the sense of a daily Pardon and be as sit to die as we are to sleep 6. Our fond Affections to our Friends on Earth may make us loth to die though we hope to be with Christ in Heaven But is not his Bosom more desirable than the Arms and Embraces of our dearest Friends and nearest Relations Must we not abandon and hate them all for his sake Luke 14.26 i. e. use them as contemptible and hated things if they keep us from him Have we not solemnly engag'd to do so by our Covenant with God and shall we not stand to our Agreement Is there no difference between our Friends on Earth
But tho he would not heal and recover sick Lazarus he sends a most excellent Remedy unto his Sisters to cure their mistakes to ease and heal their minds which was the intention of this Reply unto their Importunate Message This sickness is not unto Death but for the Glory of God c. In which we are called to consider 1. The Manner 2. The Design 3. The Import of this Answer I would make a few Reflections upon the two former and then shall insist upon the last as most suitable to our present Affair I. As to the Manner of this Answer 'T is easie to perceive the obscurity and dubiousness of the former part This Sickness is not unto Death For the Event did at least seem to contradict the literal meaning of this Declaration which expresly denies that the sickness of Lazarus was unto Death and yet Laxarus dyeth This seeming contradiction must render this part of the Answer dubious and dark unto those to whom it was sent Indeed notwithstanding this obscurity there was a most certain Truth in this part of the Answer which speaks of such a Death as truly answers that Character viz. Such a Privation of Life as puts a final Period unto it on which account it can truly be said of the Dead That their places know 'em no more and that they go the way whence they shall not return Job 8.10 c. 16.22 As also That they see corruption Acts 13.36 The Body quite losing that Organization that makes it a fit Habitation for a humane Soul This is the primary and proper notion of Death and under which the Spirit of God speaks of it See Rom. 5.12 14. 1 Cor. 15.21 26 54 56. Not to mention several other places Unto such a Death the sickness of Lazarus was not his Death was not a final Period but only a short interruption or cessation of Life which like some Rivers which run under ground for a space only for a while disappear'd and then was again brought to light This being granted we cannot deny that there is some darkness in the manner of expression Had it so pleased the Redeemer he could have spoken in a much plainer Language he could have said Tho this sickness shall deprive Lazarus of his Life yet it shall soon be restored to him again tho' he shall truly die yet he shall not long remain under the power of Death for I design to work a Miracle to raise him from the dead Thus could the Redeemer have expressed himself had it so pleased him but he chooseth to speak obscurely not only to these Sisters but afterward to his Apostles when he said Our friend Lazarus sleepeth v. 11. Which Metaphorical and dark way of speaking led them into a mistake as we read v. 13. Many other instances of this kind might be produc'd as that which this Evangelist relateth Ch. 16.16 17 18. And as the Language so the Carriage of Christ hath obscurity in it his ways are unsearchable and his footsteps are not known both with respect unto visible Providences and invisible dealings with the Soul Many there are whom Christ really loveth who walk in darkness are brought into a kind of a Labyrinth where they are strangely perplext and are tempted to conclude that their Lord hath quite forsaken and cast 'em off when he retains the kindest and most gracious purposes toward ' em As God did toward Abraham when he commanded him to go out of his Countrey and yet did not acquaint him with the Place which was design'd to be his Inheritance Heb. 11.8 Thus was Abraham try'd and so are the Children of Abraham as indeed this conduct of God is admirably suited unto the state of Probation in which we now are All that darkness and perplexity which at any time we are brought into are design'd by God to try and discover the sincerity and constancy of our obedience And 't is our grand concern to stand out this Tryal to undergo this Probation aright and then whatever darkness there is now in the dealings of Christ he will after a while scatter every Cloud and will be an everlasting Light unto us 'T were easie to make large Reflections upon this Subject but your own Meditation can supply this defect Nor may I dwell long upon the II. Observable in the Text The Design of this Answer made by Christ which was to afford present Support unto the dejected Sisters of Lazarus He whose Eye discerns the most hidden and distant Objects knows how their tender Hearts were disquieted and that such a Spectacle as a deceased dying Brother must wound and afflict their Souls and the more when their Expectations were disappointed as to the speedy visit of Christ What! might they be apt to argue not make so charitable so seasonable a Visit to one whom he loveth to one who needs his help and must perish without it Is this Kindness to neglect a distressed Friend till Life and all be gone Such disquieting Thoughts would begin to rush into and disorder their Minds Now 't was to still this Tempest that the Redeemer sends this Reply to ' em This Sickness is not unto Death but for the Glory of God c. q. d. Though the Danger and Progress of this Sickness joyn'd with my seeming Neglect of their Brother will be an Occasion of Trouble unto them Sorrow and Fear will take hold of their Spirits yet let not their Hearts be troubled there is no just ground of disquieting Fear notwithstanding the dismal Appearances this Matter will have a happy and honourable Issue When our Lord Jesus doth not grant the expected Relief yet he always provides Support and Consolation for his faithful Followers When He determin'd to send away the Multitudes who had followed him into the Wilderness he resolves that he will not send 'em away fasting lest they should faint by the way Mat. 16.32 Though they must for a time be deprived of his Presence yet he takes care that they might not faint and perish This was his Carriage toward his Apostles in general and more particularly toward the Apostle Paul who when he besought the Lord thrice that the Messenger of Satan might depart from him tho' this Request was not granted tho' the Thorn in the Flesh was not removed yet this most supporting Answer was given to him My grace is sufficient for thee 2 Cor. 12.9 Sometimes the Carriage of Christ bears an Aspect of Unkindness and Neglect but even at such a time his Heart is fill'd with Love and his Hand is employ'd to Support 'T is worthy our notice what care the Spirit of God hath taken to remove the Suspition of Unkindness in the Redeemer toward his Friend Lazarus whom he refus'd to Visit and Recover as his Sisters requested and expected for in the Verse which immediately follows this Answer of Christ the Evangelist adds this cautioning Remark Now Jesus loved Martha and her Sister and Lazarus His not complying with their intimated Desire of
Followers shall one day be with him to behold his Glory Let this then be remembred as the matter of our Christian Hope that we may not mourn * See Cyprian de Mortalitate ad sinem Greg. Narianz Orat. deca in laudem Caesarii Fratris Fun. as strangers to the Gospel for such as dye in the Lord. We sind the Egyptians mourned longer for Jacob than Joseph did even threescore and ten days They that have little Knowledge and Expectation concerning another Life and the Resurrection of the Dead may more excusably extend their Funeral Sorrows and grieve for the loss of this and equal the Days of their Mourning to the number of the years of the Life of Man but so tedious a Funeral Solemnity would have been unsuitable to Josephs Faith Had he shown himself more a Son by such a Testimony of his Natural Affection in Mourning longer he had shown himself less a Patriarch When God restored to Job after his long Tryals double for all his Cattel and Goods which he had lost as Fourteen thousand Sheep for Seven thousand c. he gave him but the same number of Children again for they were not really lost though Death remov'd 'em they were Alive in another State And if they were Holy Persons he had the like number in Heaven as God gave him on Earth It 's a great Relief to a Christian Mourner to consider that his Deceased Friends are not Lost but Live I know very well that the Holy Will of God must take place of mine I know that I ought to love God and Christ above all and absolutely resign my self and All that 's mine or cannot hope to see his Face I know that I shall shortly follow the Desire of mine Eyes I hope I shall be silent and adore and not charge God foolishly But methinks I know with sensible supporting Insluence from such a Thought that She is not Dead but Sleepeth She is not Lost but Lives And if I get to Heaven shall meet her there in the presence of the Lord our Redeemer And then the Company of our Holy Relatives will be more Sweet than ever it was on Earth For though the Blessed Vision of God be our Chiefest Hope and Joy yet the Presence of all the Blessed Spirits will make a Real though Subordinate part of our Happiness and Delight I am so far from doubting whether we shall Know and Love one another in the Heavenly State that the Belief and Expectation of it is or should be one great Motive why we love 'em so well now If we thought we should not Know and Love them after Death we ought to Love 'em but as Earthly Transitory things and not as Heirs of Heaven with such a Love as shall be perfected and last for ever Neither can it well be imagin'd how the Process and Proceedings of the Judgment-Day according to the Scripture Account of it can be manag'd by the Man Christ Jesus or the Lord Redeemer cloath'd with Humane Nature without our Knowledge of One Another in the other World who were acquainted and convers'd together in this 'T is true the present Relations by Marriages and Blood will then cease but there is no reason to think that the Remembrance of those Relations must also cease Yea their Knowledge and Remembrance of us and their Affection to us whom we knew and lov'd in the Lord is not like to be abolish'd but perfected by Dying Doubtless the Angels who rejoyce at the Conversion of a Particular Sinner and the Departed Saints too do know more even of the State of this World than we do who are * Mr. Baxter Of the Knowledge of God part 3. p. 331. acquainted with so very little a part and spot of it Which by the way should check anâ— inordinate fond Desire of living to see Glorious Times on Earth For if we get to Heaven we are like to know much more of those Happy Times than if we remain'd alive in a Corner of the Isles of the Gentiles But as to our Mutual Knowledge in the Heavenly state Shall those whom we Reliev'd on Earth Welcome us to Heaven And are therefore said to receive us into Everlasting Habitations Luk. 16. And shall not the departed Saints know one another in Glory Shall we then know as we are known And shall the Thessalontans be the Joy and Crown and Glory and Rejoycing of the Apostle Paul in the Day of Christ And shall he not know them or they him who prosited by his Ministry Did the Rich Man in Hell know Abraham afar off in Heaven and can we think a blessed Lazarus shall not For though that be a Parable there is some Truth as the Foundation of it Shall it aggravate the Misery of lost Souls to meet their wicked Companions in the place of Torment as few deny or doubt And shall it not Rejoyce the Blessed to meet their Holy Friends whom they knew in this World Did Peter James and John know Moses and Elias in the Transsignration whom they never saw before and we read not that Christ told em ' who they were And shall those who were acquainted upon Earth and helpt one another to Heaven utterly forget and lose the remembrance of any such thing It is a pleasant Thought and proper to support under the Death of those we have honoured and loved and profited by on Earth to think that hereafter we shall meet and know several Ministers of Christ whose Preaching and Converse and Writings have been useful to us That we shall then meet and know several of our Holy Relations and Acquaintance with whom we were wont to walk together to the House of God and meet often at the Table of the Lord with whom we conferr'd about the Misteries and and Promises of the Gospel and many a time discours'd together of the Heavenly Inheritance believingly to foresee and consider that though they are gone before we shall meet 'em again at the last great Supper of the Lamb in the Celestial Kingdom And why may not I suppose such a distinct and personal Knowledge and Remembrance of one another as to be able to say This was the Person whom God employed to bring me into the World and educate me in his Fear who instructed my tender Years and taught me early to Know the Lord. Or This was the Person who was at so much pains to convince me of my Sin and reclaim me from the Errour of my Ways This was He or She who tendred my Salvation as their own who watch'd over me and pray'd for me and with me and often told me of the Evil of Sin of the Excellency and Pleasantness of Wisdom's Ways of the Freeness of the Love and Grace of Christ and his Willingness to receive Returning Penitents at first and even Backsliders afterwards This was the Person who was assisted by God to encourage strengthen revive and comfort my desponding my doubting my unbelieving Heart and establish me in the way of
assist them hereafter as now otherwise it is as uncertain whether you shall Repent hereafter if you live as whether you shall live to that hereafter wherein you say you intend to Repent 6. Consider How great and Important a thing it is to Dye and to meet the Lord our Judge It is so even for good men that are habitually Ready after such a life of sense and the deep Impressions we are under by sensible Objects after our many Backslidings and actual Sins to look into the House of darkness and think of lodging there to lay down these Bodies to corrupt and Putrifie there to bid adien to all our Relations and take a solemn leave of all our Friends to think of passing thro' this dark Entry through which as we go right or wrong we are made or undone for ever to think of the Majesty and Holiness of God his Truth and Justico to consider the strictness and Spirituality of his Holy Law and the awful Solemnity of the Tryal and Judgment that all Mankind must come under These and such things consider'd which are obvious to any considering man make it no easie matter to dye even for the best But for an unprepared Soul that is Unready as to his State who hath done little or nothing ever in his whole Life of such Work no Expressions can describe the Terrors of that mans case especially for careless carnal Professors that attend the preaching of the Word and are deceived by the Devil to think they are in the way to Heaven while yet they live in secret Sin and are Enemies to God what killing disappointment will they meet with one moment after Death when they expect with the foolish Virgins to enter Heaven and find the door to be shut Sirs believe and tremble If you are not ready for the Coming of Christ you are ready for his condemning Sentence and ripe for Ruine If you are not ready as Vessels of Mercy prepar'd for Glory you are ready as Vessels of Wrath fitted for Destruction That Place and Portion which you are fit for you shall have at Death If you are not fit to be with Christ if you are not made meet for the Inheritance of the Saints in Life if you are not formed and wrought by the Spirit of Christ for this self-same thing you shall have another Place and Company and Portion with the Devil and his Angels in unquenchable Fire where is weeping and wailing and gnashing of Teeth for ever 7. You need not fear that you shall hasten your Death by Thinking of it and being Ready Christs Summons will not be hastened tho' thy Preparation be The stroke of Death will not be sooner but the easier and make Life and Death it self sweeter by now endeavouring to be Ready You will not then be afraid of every Sickness and threatning Danger that brings you to the borders of the Grave They were the foolish Virgins who were affrighted at the Midnight cry The Bridegroom cometh because their Lamps were out and they had no Oyl they were struck to the Heart their Hope 's dyed and they presently sunk into Despair But of such as are Ready we find them speak of Dying as of an easie sleep I must put off this Earthly Tabernacle shortly saith one Apostle The time of my Departure is at hand and I am ready to be offer'd up saith another 2 Pet. 1.14 2 Tim. 4.6 But as Christ will not delay his Coming tho thou be unprepared so neither is thy Readiness for Death a likely means to shorten thy Life 8. Consider It is for this end that our Lives are continued and all the mercies of our Lives that we may be ready What have you Life given you for why were not you cut off many years ago but that you might have Time and space to Repent and Prepare for the Coming of Christ How many years have some of you been spared It may be twenty thirty forty fifty years and yet after all you are not ready What have you been busie about all this while How have you employed your Time What is the end of God do you think in all the merciful helps He concinues you Such as Ministers and Books Ordinances and Providences your own Sickness and others Funerals You lose the benefit and use of all your Mercies of Life Health and Time and some of you of Wealth and Honour c. of all the Sermons you have heard of all the Providential warnings of God to Awaken you you have lost them all if they have not furthered your Readiness for the Coming of Christ And if you shall live many years to come you must say it was all lost Time and wish you had never had an hour of it while this preparation for Death and Judgment is neglected 9. Consider the unspeakable Difference between a prepared and unprepared Soul in a dying Hour The one is going to see the things he hath Believed and possess that which he hoped for and hath the promise of God that he shall enjoy The other is going to feel what he would not in time believe to endure the threatned Wrath he would not Fear so as to escape The one is come to the end of all his Prayers and Patience Labours and Sufferings The other to the end of all his Ease and Pleasure Mirth and Joy The one hath the promised Felicity with God and Christ and all the blessed Spirits above in view before him the other hath Death and Hell the Judgment of Christ and an Eternity of Misery before him ready to overwhelm his Soul The one can look back with Comfort and reflect upon his upright Holy persevering Obedience mixt with Repentance for many Sins and Failings and yet can hope in God for his acceptance thro Christ the other must review his Heart and Life with horror and regret and read over the black Items of his careless Impenitent Course with Bitterness and Torment and the fears of greater The one is leaving this World where he spent his days in preparing for Eternity thô he heartily laments that he began no sooner and minded it no more the other is passing into the invisible Eternal World for which he hath made no provision The one by Death shall be translated to a blessed State of Holinefs Love and Peace in the everlasting joyful Praises of God his Maker Redeemer and Sanctifier the other sort are passing into the Regions of Darkness and Despair among Devils and unholy miserable Souls with whom they must dwell under the Hatred and Curse of God and the unspeakable Terrors of his Wrath for ever O the difference between one that is ready and one that is unready when the Summons from Christ shall come to call them both away Consider this endeavour to be Ready for the difference between one mans Death and anothers depends on the difference between Heart and Heart Life and Life Preparation and Unpreparedness 10. Consider that all the Readiness you now can get
One would wonder what Apprehensions and Thoughts of these things such careless Christians have who durst not say they disbelieve or deny the Scripture Revelation and yet feel no correspondent Impressions answerable to the Nature Weight and Tendency of such things Let me ask thee O man that hast neglected hitherto to make Ready Dost thou think that Christ will receive thy departing Soul at Death or no Will he acquit and own thee in the Judgment or no What say'st thou hast thou enquired and examined and made it thy business to know this and to make sure of it How is it that thy Mind is fill'd with other Thoughts thy mouth with other Talk and thy Time employed about other things when thou art so near to the final Judgment of Christ and seest so many Souls daily passing into another World and yet wilt not consider what shall become of them and of thy self but wilt continue to pursue some transitory Pleasure or Profit while God and Heaven are neglected and Christ despised his Favour lost and thy own Soul lost or in the extreamest danger of being so because thou art not Ready Canst thou think that Christ will then accept thee if thou now neglect him Canst thou hope that he will prove himself a Lyar by owning such as he hath often declared he never will O pity your selves in Time that you may not be denyed his pity at last The door of Grace is yet open but how soon how speedily may it be shut if now you will not enter O what an unspeakable Mercy is the offer from God that yet you may enter what would departed Souls that dyed Unready give for such a Call of God Hold a little Tremble and Believe and delay no longer For Direction in the general Since the Bridegreom will come and it may be in an hour when you do not look for him see that you have Oyl in your Vessels and Lamps as those that wait for the Coming of their Lord. If thou hast no Oyl buy it if thou hast burn it if thou hast no Wedding Garment get one if thou hast put it on if thou hast no true Love to God never leave till the Holy Flame be kindled if thou hast any in truth exercise and use it as one that expects the Coming of Christ More particularly 1. Seek Reconciliation to God by a Covenant Dedication of your selves to God in Christ accepting him as offer'd in the Gospel and resigning and yielding your selves unfeignedly and without reserve to be his 2. Let the Work of Mortification both as to Sin and the World be progressive and constantly carried on that you may be found of him in Peace as to your State and without Spot as to your Frame as well as blameless as to your Conversation 2 Pet. 3.14 Sit loose in your Affections from Earthly things that Death may not rend and tear you from that which hath the chiefest possession of your Hearts for then you cannot meet the Summons of Death but with an excessive Sorrow 3. Be much in Self-Examination that you may get over your Doubts and fears concerning your Adoption and attain to a more well-grounded Hope and Assurance of the special Love of Christ What will it avail us to think we are Pardoned and shall be saved and e're long to find our selves mistaken when there can be no Remedy You must now understand your danger if ever you will be saved from it And we have the same Rule and Law given to judge our selves by that God will judge us by at last Therefore retire and examine your selves whether you can observe the Seal and Earnest of the Spirit of Grace upon your Hearts whether you can review your Conversation and Course as transacted in simplicity and godly Sincerity as in the sight of God under the conduct of the same Spirit whether this sanctifying Spirit hath drawn out your Desires after Holiness and your Love to God his Word his Worship and his Servants so as to wean you from the World and make you place your Hopes and Happiness above choosing God for your only Portion and Christ for your Teacher Saviour and Lord enabling you to live with sincere Desires and Endeavours to please and honour him in the believing expectation of what he hath purchas'd and promised preferring the Hopes of it before all the Pleasures and Advantages of Sin and the present Life And if upon serious search your Hearts condemn you not you may have confidence towards God But how can you know these things without Examining and how can you have this confidence without such a Knowledge and how can you think of the Second Coming of Christ with comfort without some such good Hopes thrô Grace 4. You should likewise Endeavour to carry it in every Relation and Condition as expecting to be called to an Account when your Lord shall come Do nothing now but you would be willing to hear of then nothing that you would be ashamed or afraid to have ript up opened and discovered in that Day Think with your selves often Is this that I am now doing the Life which I now lead the Designs that I now pursue such as will be sweet or bitter to be remembred when Christ shall come will it be to my Shame or Honour to my Joy or my Confusion in the Day of Reckoning when I must stand before my Judge How many Temptations to sin might this repell How many necessary Duties might this awaken us to perform especially toward Relations It may now be a terrible thought to some of us to consider and foresee that those of our Relations whom we most tenderly Love are like to fall under the condemning Sentence of Christ and perish Eternally You can hardly bear up now under the weight of such a thought will you not then awake to Counsel Warn Reprove Exhort Admonish and Intreat them and do all you can to prevent it But if they will not hearken your Faithfulness shall be your Comfort and their Condemnation shall not diminish your Happiness tho' it will aggravate their Doom if you have done your Duty I will instance in one Relation Suppose a Wicked Child to behold his Parents on the Right Hand of the Judge one or both of them owned by Christ rejoycing in his Love and taking part with him so as to be pleased with the Execution of his Righteous Sentence without any such Bowels of Pity toward them as now they feel And if we could imagine them to discourse together how might Holy Parents mind them of the various Methods they used to prevent their Ruine and of all the Counsels Reproofs and Prayers with which they follow'd them from year to year I begot thee or brought thee forth I laid thee in my Bosom I carried thee in my Arms I took care of thee in Infancy I instructed thee in Childhood I look'd after thy Education I brought thee to the publick Assemblies I put thee upon Secret Prayer I warn'd
he was perfectly indifferent to Live or Dye v. 19 20. For to me to live is Christ and to dye is gain v. 21. His Life he hop'd might advance the Honour of Christ and his Death would be subservient to the same design By his further service if he live and by his sufferings if he dye by his Ministry supposing his Life and by his Martyrdom in case of his death But if I live in the flesh this saith he is the fruit of my labour v. 22. or it is worth my Labour to glorsie the Redeemer by continuing in this World Yet what I shall choose I wot not For I am in a strait betwixt two having a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better To Depart or be dissolv'd The Original word is used both by Christian and Heathen Writers for a departure from any place to return home Luke 12.36 And when the same Apostle speaks of his approaching death he tells us that the Time of his departure was at hand 2 Tim. 4.6 Having a desire to depart a vehement and earnest desire as the word imports and to be with Christ to be absent from the Body and present with the Lord 2 Cor. 5.8 with that merciful Saviour who had compassion on me when as an ignorant Blasphemer I persecuted his Members who call'd me to be an Apostle and enabled me by his Grace to own his Truth in the face of Dangers and hath hitherto comforted me in all my Tribulation I desire to depart that I may be with him With him not with the blessed Angels or departed Saints though their Society will make a part of the heavenly Joy Not the former they are but ministring Spirits and menial Servants employed under him and though they shine as Stars yet he is the enlivening Sun from whom they derive their Lustre and borrow their glory Not the latter they have no Blessedness but by his Donation and Purchase no Crowns of Life but what He puts on Therefore 't is not to be with them only or chiefly that made them thus groan to be dissolv'd thus earnestly desire to depart but to be with Christ Which is far better simply and in it self more desirable by much more better the Comparative being double in the Greek Text and yet I wot not what to choose for I am in a strait betwixt two On the one hand his Love to the Philippians who needed his presence many false Teachers being at that time crept in among them made him willing to abide in the Flesh and deferr his own Felicity for a time upon their account v. 24. But the Glory of Christ's presence on the otherâ— and his own unspeakale advantage by it made him desirous of a Departure and therefore though he determines for the former and was content to live and 't is probable had some secret intimation from Heaven that all his Work in this World was not yet sinish't yet he grants the latter to be simply more eligible having a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far Better Which words are not more suitable to a Funeral Solemnity than expressive of the dying Thoughts and Temper of our deceased Friend and were chosen by her as the Subject of my present Discourse That I may comprehend the Substance of the Text according to the desire of the Dead for the Benefit and Instruction of the Living let us consider 1. When and how far it is Warrantable for a Christian to desire Death 2. In what respects to depart and to be with Christ is far better than to abide in the Flesh 3. On what Grounds and Principles a Christian may expect a future Blessedness with Christ after his departure so as to encourage and excite his desires after it 4. Whence it comes to pass that even those who acknowledge it far Better to be with Christ than to continue in the Body are yet Vnwilling to depart in order to it and what Remedies are proper to the case of such 5. The Application of the whole particularly with respect to the sad Occasion of our present Meeting 1. When and how far is it Warrantable for a Christian to desire to be dissolv'd This Inquiry may be answered in the following Propositions 1. Our Dissolution and Departure as a natural or penal evil as contrary to Nature or as the Punishment of Sin cannot possibly be the Object of a rational Desire If God hath promised a long Life as the Encouragement and Reward of our Obedience and threatned an hasty death as the punishment of Impiety If it be universally true that the Soul of Man desires Union with the Body and unavoidably dreads a separation from it If torturing pains and loathsome Diseases are the usual Antecedents of dying If the Corruption of the Body and it's Imprisonment in the Grave till the general Resurrection be the certain Consequent of our dissolution We cannot but think of Death as a matural Evil and as such decline and fear it Much less desirable will it appear if considered as the Wages of Sin and the fruit of Gods Displeasure and the Just Sentence of his Vindictive Justice but how far our dissolution in this latter Notion of it is changed by the death of Christ in reference to Believers is another question and will more properly be considered under the third Inquiry 2. Our dissolution and departure ought not to be desired Only as a freedom from Temporal Evil as preventive of present suffering or delivering us from it The Apostle doth not mention the uneasie Circumstances of a Prison or the continual hardships to which he was exposed from the malice of his Adversaries as the ground of his desire to depart but to be with Christ He knew very well that a Christian may serve the end of Gods glory and be useful to others in a state of suffering and therefore when he saith in another place We that are in this Tabernacle do groan being burden'd he adds the limitation in the following words not to be uncloth'd but cloth'd upon that Mortality may be swallowed up of Life not meerly to avoid the inconveniencies of our abode in so poor a dwelling but to come to the possession of the Building not made with hands eternal in the Heavens 2 Cor. 5.3 4. Not meerly to find relief and deliverance from our present burdens when through melancholly or discontent we are weary of Life Job 7.13 Jon. 4.3 when we have set our Hearts on somewhat we cannot obtain or struggle with some Difficulties we cannot master or are impatient under bodily Pains or quite dispirited by the sad prospect of approaching Calamities in such a case to wish for Death and desire to depart is unbecoming the Character the Encouragement and Hopes of a Souldier of Christ Much Iess will the Gallantry of a Roman or a Philosopher legitimate the desire of Death only to prevent Slavery or avoid Disgrace or miss the sight of an unwelcome object As
than to abide in the flesh what is the difference between What we are and What we shall be that the expectation of the Latter should even make Death and dissolution desireable in order to it And here it will be necessary to consider 1. The Expression of our Felicity after death here used by the Apostle Being with Christ 2. In what respects 't is far better to Depart and be absent from the Body that we may be present with him 1. The Expression of our future blessedness by being with Christ Till we are present with the Lord and see him face to face and know as we are known we must content our selves with such Representations of it as God is pleas'd to reveal in his Word Such as our ignorant earthly minds can bear and may be most affected with But when once the vail of darkness is remov'd by death we shall see him as he is and all our Faculties be purified and inlarg'd and suited to the blessed company and work above We shall see him whom our Souls love and reap a Happiness by doing so bigger than our present Hopes and far above our highest thoughts about it For in his presence is fulness of Joy and at his right hand are Everlasting pleasures And can we imagine that a Blessedness purchas'd by infinite Merit contriv'd by infinite Wisdom and prepared by infinite Power and bestow'd at length through infinite Grace will in any thing be defective Doth not our Apostle describe it best by assuring us it cannot be describ'd that 't is greater than we ever saw beyond what we ever heard and far above what we can ever think Doth not the very hopes of seeing him revive our drooping hearts Oh what will be the Glory of that blessed sight is not the pledge and Assurance of it by the Harbinger of his holy Spirit exceeding comfortable Oh what transcendent Satisfaction will his presence give us We now comfort our selves with the Contemplation and one another with the Discourse of it and if our dark Faith and our faint Hopes can give us such a Joyful prospect of what shall be consequent to our dissolution into what ravishing Joy shall we enter by the open Vision and full enjoyment Is the encouragement and support of a Christian now from his presence with us here and will it not be far better to to be present with him above to be for ever with the Lord When we shall never question his Love to us or doubt of ours to him but have a full assurance of the one and a glorious exercise of the other And because our knowledge will be still encreasing our flames of Love shall still rise higher But what additional bliss the Soul shall have by the Resurrection of the body and the great Transactions of the Judgment Day we know but in part Blessed be God we know so much in this imperfect state enough to excite our desires and quicken our preparations and encourage our Perseverance And let 's bless him more that he hath prepared such a glory for us in the presence of the Redeemer as we cannot fully understand till death convey us to him But to be with Christ is not only eligible in it self as expressive of our future Glory but much rather to be desired if considered comparatively Therefore 2. In what respects is it preferrable to an abode in the flesh so as to make us rather choose to depart that we may be with him than continue in the Body and be absent from the Lord 1. Is not a state of Rest and Joy much more desireable than to be continually harrass'd with Trouble and Sorrow We ordinarily begin this World in Tears and solemnize our own Nativity as we do the Funerals of our dearest Friends as if we were then sensible of that universal Curse which hath afflicted Mankind since the first Transgression and had a clear prospect of the miseries we are born to and must afterward suffer And in all the Portions of our little time what and how many do we every where encounter How many things are there which we find are wanting both as to our Accomplishments and Enjoyments and how much are we disappointed if we look for satisfaction from the lusts of the flesh the lusts of the eyes and the pride of life which saith the Apostle is all that is in the world 1 Joh. 2.16 Earthly Pleasures Wealth and Honour Do we not find that what doth rejoyce and please us one day appears with another Face when we view it next or if we think it would please us still 't is gone e're we are aware and with all our skill and power we cannot protract it's duration Do not evil accidents overtake us on a sudden and our most probable designs miscarry in the birth as if all things were governed by Chance and there were no Intelligent Director to oversee and regulate the Affairs of the World and the Actions and Conditions of men Insomuch that the Race is not to the swift nor the Battle to the strong nor Bread to the wise nor Riches to men of understanding nor Favour to men of skill but time and chance happens to them all Eccl. 11.9 Our Pleasures flatter and deceive us and our Afflictions trouble and disquiet us We are imposed upon by our Senses and misguided by our Passions cross'd in our Desires and frustrated in our Hopes griev'd by present evils or perplext with the sears of future and our Spirits for the most part discompos'd either by personal or relative Calamities Some rueful Spectacle is ever now and then presented before our Eyes some evil tidings or unpleasant sound doth grate our Ears We bewail the wants of the poor which we cannot supply or envy the prosperity of the Wicked which we cannot hinder or grieve at the Afflictions of the Righteous which we cannot remedy We have some suffering Friend with whom to sympathize some distressed or deceased Relation to lament some unhappiness of our own or of those we love to be concerned for Besides the Treachery and unfaithfulness of our seeming Friends the Hatred and Malice of our open Enemies the scandalous Actions of professing Christians their Divisions and Animosities among themselves and their despiteful usage and entertainment from the World the Complaints of the miserable the Groans of the Sick the Cries of the Oppressed and our own bodily infirmities weaknesses and pains c. enough one would think to make us desire to depart and render us extreamly willing to lay down and dye if God think sit that we may be at rest especially having the expectation of being for ever with the Lord. For otherwise even * M. Anton. lib. Arr. Epict. lib. 4. c. 10. Boâ—th Consol Philosâ—â— Heathens have spoken excellently of the Advantages of Death as the period of our present Sorrows 2. Is not a state of Holiness and Perfect purity far better than a Life of Temptation Corruption and Sin How are we now buffeted
by Satan by his Sinful suggestions his subtile devices and snares and his siery darts and by that means our Integrity assaulted our peace of Conscience unsetled and our Perseverance indangered Our Conflict with him is so difficult and the issue of the Battel as to what depends on us so very uncertain that we are often ready to throw down our Arms and give up all as Lost For though he be a conquer'd and baffled Adversary through the Victory which our Captain hath obtain'd against him yet we cannot now Triumph over him as hereafter we shall And is it not far better to abandon this world of which he is the God 1 Cor. 4.4 and get above that Air of which he is the Prince Eph. 2.2 that we may be with Christ Moreover how doth our depraved Nature continually cast forth mire and dirt what remaining Filthiness is there yet to be purg'd what powerful Lusts to be mortified and subdued which indispose us for Spiritual duties and derive a damp and deadness upon all our Religious Exercises which cool our Zeal and abate the servour of our Spirits in the service of our Redeemer which weaken our Considence in Prayer and shame our faces before the Lord in secret And is it not far better to part with the body of Flesh that thereby we may be rid of this body of sin and death Rom. 7.24 and be like our Saviour in perfect purity Do we not complain of our Ignorance of Divine Truths and the blessed Mysteries of the Gospel notwithstanding all our means of knowledge of our earthliness and unbelief of unbecoming Thoughts of God and holy things of proud Imaginations and carnal reasonings against his Works and Word of languishing and imperfect Graces to be recovered and perfected c And is it not better to be with Christ where that which is imperfect shall be done away Is not God dishonour'd and provok't by our frequent Omissions and slight Performances of Duty do we not resist and quench and sadden his Holy Spirit and are we not often griev'd by God's rebukes and frowns by the wounds and smart regrets of our own Conscience so that we remember God and are troubled and cry out in the bitterness of our Souls Hath he forgotten to be gracious and will he be merciful no more Are not our holy Purposes inconstant and our best Resolutions wavering and unstedy and very quickly very easily shatter'd by the breath of a small Temptation Have we not a constant Watch to keep over our Hearts and wayes a perpetual War to manage with the infernal Trinity the World the Flesh and the Devil and do we know his rage and malice and serpentine policy with the Multitude Strength and Power of his Temptations How often we have been foil'd already and how soon we we may be so again and shall we not be desirous of a sinless state in the presence of Christ where no Tempter no Temptation shall ever be admitted Yea had we no corruption or Sin of our own to be delivered from yet our concern at God's dishonour by the sins of others should make us willing to depart as much more desireable than our abode on earth Job 24.9 Which is given into the hands of the wicked and defiled by it's Inhabitants Isa 24.4 Where the very Air is infected with Oaths and Blasphemies prophane discourse and filthy talk Where the very Being of a God is question'd his Providence deny'd and his Authority mockt Where the Gospel of Christ is disparag'd and despised his Laws contradicted his Worship polluted his Institutions subverted and his holy Name made a cloak for Licentiousness and his faithful Servants trampl'd on by the soot of Pride and scorned by men at ease and forc't to own his Truth with the peril of their Lives And can we say It is good to be here or is it not not far better to forsake such a Place and Company that we may be with Christ 3. Let us consider what are the grounds and Principles by which a Christian is assured of this Blessedness in the presence of Christ after his dissolution This Inquiry is necessary because the discourse of our future bliss with Christ cannot be supposed to have any effect or influence upon us to make us desire our departure while we disbelieve or make a doubt of the matter I hope it were needless to prove the Possibility of the Souls existence in a state of separation from the Body Whether in the Body or out of the Body 2 Cor. 12.2 would not have been a doubt to this great Apostle if he could not possibly have liv'd but in it neither could he desire to depart that he might be with Christ if after his departure he should not be at all And supposing the existence of the Soul notwithstanding the dissolution of the Body we have as full an assurance as the nature of the thing is capable of that holy Souls shall be present with the Lord in glory when absent from the body 1 Thes 4.17 Joh. 17.24 Mat. 24.25 Rev. 3.22 c. But because the Text hath a special relation to Christ and to be with him is that Blessedness on the account whereof 't is desireable to depart I shall only mention his Death and Resurrection as a sufficient ground to confirm our Faith in the certainty of being with him and to excite our Desires of a departure in order to it 1. The Death of Christ He hath cancell'd the Hand-writing against us and put away Sin which is the sting of Death by the Death of the Cross Eph. 1.7 A way is now open for us into the holy of holies by his blood Heb. 10.19 not for our Prayers only but our Persons He hath wounded the Head of the old Serpent even by permitting him to bruise his Heel by crucifying his humane Nature which was only Vestigium Deitatis As Benaiah slew the Egyptian with his own Spear 2 Sam. 23.21 Having destroyed death and him that had the power of it and delivered those who were all their Life-time subject to bondage through the fear of death Heb. 2.15 He hath set his foot on the neck of this Adversary disarm'd it of it's weapon and rob'd it of it's sting and abolish't the ugliness and poyson of it He hath dismounted Hell and Damnation from behind him that sat on the Pale-horse Rev. 6.8 Whether the first Adam were buryed in Calvary where the second was crucified as some affirm I need not enquire we know that his Death was our Victory and his Cross may be our Triumph since the Devil is conquered and death Sanctified and the Grave perfum'd by his burial so that we need not be afraid to lodge in a Sepulchre where our Lord himself hath slept Yea since the effusion of his Blood there is an amiable ruddiness in the Face of Death for that which was the Instrument of Justice is now the messenger of Peace and Joy that which was the gate of Hell is the way