Comfort in DEATH A Funeral Sermon PREACH'D Upon the DEATH OF Mr. Timothy Cruso LATE PASTOR of a Church in London Who Died Novemb. 26. 1697. By MATTHEW MEAD LONDON Printed by S. Bridge for Tho. Parkhurst at the Bible and Three Crowns in Cheapside And John Lawrence at the Angel in the Poultry 1698. A Funeral Sermon On the Death of Mr. Timothy Cruso ROMANS viii II. If the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you He that ruised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal Bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you IT is the great Privilege and Advantage of all that are United to Christ that however things go with them in this World it shall be sure to go well with them in the next The great Care of God is about their Eternal State that whatever befals them in the Way they may not miss of Happiness in the End and this Happiness is asserted here Negatively in verse the first There is no Condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus NOW this eleventh verse with the former is a Prolepsis or a Pre-occupation of a secret Objection or Doubt arising from the fore-going Assertion The Objection or Doubt is this How can it be said There is no Condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus since Death which is the Fruit of Sin yet seises the Godly as well as others NOW this the Apostle makes Answer to in this and the foregoing Verse both by way of Concession and by way of Correction I. BY way of Concession The body is dead because of sin He doth not say only it is Mortal and subject to Death it shall and must die but in the Present Tense which carries great Emphasis in it the Body is dead and he Expresseth it thus for Three Reasons 1. Because of the Divine Determination It is appointed for all men once to die Heb. 7.29 And therefore the Bodies of Believers are as Mortal and as subject to Death as other Mens 2. It is dead because Death is begun Mortality seises upon us betimes by the many Infirmities that attack us how many Deaths do we die daily by Gout Stone Collicks Asthma's Catarrhs Fevers c. before Death it self comes to relieve and release us 3. Because of the Ground whereupon it proceeds and that is Sin The body is dead because of sin We do not die as the Beasts die Death is not a natural Accident but a Punishment it is an effect of the Justice of God for Sin By one man sin enter'd into the world and death by sin Rom. 5.12 II. HE Answers by way of Correction opposing a double Comfort against this dying of the Body Verse 10. The Spirit is Life because of Righteousness That is one Comfort BY the Spirit here we are to understand the Soul yet not simply and absolutely considered but as renewed by Grace So it doth live for the present and it shall live for ever AND mark the ground of the Benefit Because of Righteousness Because of Imputed Righteousness which gives us tight to this Life or because of Inherent Righteousness which is the beginning of this Life AND then the other Comfort is in the Text and that is If the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus front the dead dwell in you He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal Bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you The Sum of all is this IF you are Believers indeed though your Bodies die yet your Souls shall live and that for ever and your Bodies though they die yet they shall not die out-right they shall not finally perish for they shall be raised again SO that though Sin infers Death yet that Death is neither total nor final 1. NOT total It is but an half Death it seiseth only upon the Flesh The Spirit is Life because of Righteousness 2. NOT final Death is not such a Night as hath no Morning It is for a limited time and then the dead shall return again As the Life of Man is for an appointed time so is his Death too As Life is a Lease which when a Man hath lived out then he dies So Death is a Lease too which when a Man hath died out then he shall Live again JOB calls it a Set Time chap. 14.13 O that thou wouldst hide me in the Grave But how long would he be hid there Not for ever No but for the set time That thou wouldst appoint me a Set Time and remember me and in v. 14. he calls it an appointed time All the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change comes This Change is not meant here of a Change by Death as many interpret it but of a Change by Rising again as appears by the Context It is the great Change when we shall all be changed 1 Cor. 15.51 when Christ will change our vile Body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious Body After this Change we shall hear no more of Changing for when this Mortal shall have put on Immortality then Death shall be swallowed up in Victory 1 Cor. 15.54 But how shall this Change be brought about That is Answered in the Words of the Text If the Spirit of him that Raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you he that raised up christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you In which Words you have Two General Parts I. A happy Resurrection Promised He that raised up Christ from the dead shall quicken your mortal bodies II. The Condition upon which the Promise is made If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you In the Resurrection promised you have Two Things I. The Author of it or the Efficient Cause and that is God the Father Described by this Periphrasis or Eminent Work of Power He that Raised up Jesus from the Dead II. The Way or Manner of bringing it about and that is By his Spirit that Dwelleth in you The Doctrine that I intend to Insist on upon this Occasion is this Doct. That the Bodies of all the Saints shall at the the last day be quickened and Raised by that Spirit which Dwells in them I shall speak to this under Two Heads I. That the Spirit of God Dwells in the Children of God II. He Dwells in them as a Principle of Resurrection Power and is the Ground and Cause of their Happy Resurrection 1. That the Spirit of God Dwells in the Children of God This is plain in the Scripture 1 Cor. 3.16 Know you not that ye are the Temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you 2 Tim. 1.14 That Good Thing which was committed to thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwells in us John 14.17 The Spirit of Truth He Dwelleth with you and shall be in you So in the Verse but one before the Text If so be the Spirit of
God dwell in you there is no Truth more plainly attested in Scripture than the Indwelling of the Spirit in Believers And there are Three Things implyed in the Expression Presence Power and Continuance He is in them He Rules in them and He Remains and Abides in them 1. It implies a Presence There is a Special Presence of the Spirit in every Believer All Men have a share in His General and Essential Presence Whither shall I go from thy Spirit Or Whither shall I flee from thy Presence Psal 139.7 But there is a Special Presence made up of Grace and Favour which none share in but Believers for it is derived to them from Christ as Head of the Body 2. It implies Power and Activity Where the Spirit is he is an Operative Principle Isa 30.21 Psal 32.8 He Teaches us the Way of Duty He quickens and stirs us up to the Doing of it He mortifies Sin in us helps us against Temptations makes the Means of Grace Effectual Works all our Works in us and for us 3. THIS dwelling of the Spirit in us implies Abiding and Continuance He is not in them as an Inmate but as an Inhabitant Not as one that truns aside to tarry for a Night but as one that takes up his constant Rest He dwelleth with you and shall be in you John 14.17 And ver 16. He shall abide with you for ever And there is a double ground for this 1. THE unchangeableness of his Nature where He takes up his Abode it is for ever This is my rest for ever Jam. 1.17 Heb. 13.8 here will I dwell Psal 132.14 There is no shadow of Change in Him He is yesterday and to day and the same for ever 2. THE Infiniteness of his Power which is such as that none are able to dispossess Him He that can dispossess all can be dispossessed by none He is stronger than the strong Man and therefore casts him out but there is none stronger than the Spirit of God and therefore where He once takes up his Abode He will never with-draw more Q. BUT how is the Spirit said to dwell in us that must be a little Inquired into because it is Twice mentioned in the Text. If the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you He shall quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you A. 1. THE Spirit of the Lord dwells in Believers not only by his Gifts and Graces but He dwells in them by his Person He is really in them and united to them I know it is disputed by many whether the Spirit dwells Personally in Believers or whether He dwells in them only by his Gifts and Graces But to me it seems plain for the Indwelling of the Spirit is one of the greatest Promises of the Covenant of Grace Ezek. 36.27 I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my Statutes NOW what is that which is called my Spirit it can't be the work of Grace for that is promised in the former Verse under the Terms of a new Heart and a new Spirit A new heart will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you And then it follows And I will put my spirit within you The new spirit that is the Work of Grace but this my spirit that is the Spirit of Grace that effects the Work 2. THE Spirit of God dwells in Believers considered in a large and general Sense i.e. with respect to their whole Persons For as the whole Man is the Subject of Sanctifying Grace 1 Thess 5.23 so the whole Man is the Habitation of the Spirit of God 3. THE Spirit of God may be said to dwell in Believers in a more restrained Sense with respect to the Soul which is the chief Subject of Grace BUT the dwelling of the Spirit here in the Text refers to the Bodies of Believers distinct from the Soul that is to their Bodies not whilest living and united to the Soul but to their Bodies whilest dead and having their Souls separated from them He that raised up Christ from the dead shall quicken your dead bodies by his spirit which dwells in you that is that dwells in you when dead SO that the Words hold out to us this Truth That the Bodies of the Saints are the dwelling place of the Holy Ghost even while they are dead and lying in the Grave And it must necessarily be so FOR 1. If it were not so then the Relation of God to his People would be either Empty or Changeable but it is neither It is not an empty Relation no God fills up every Relation as becomes a God NOR is it a changeable Relation Death it self hath no Power to break it Therefore it is said when we die we are the Lord's i.e. that part of us that dies is his Portion and Right Rom. 14.8 as well as that which lives the dead Body as well as the living Soul 2. If it were not so then our Relation to the Holy Ghost as his Temples would cease For the Scripture calls our Bodies the Temples of the Holy Ghost 1 Cor. 6.19 Know ye not that your bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost Now either this Relation must cease in the Grave or if not then these Temples must stand empty and forsaken of the Spirit or else He must still dwell in them even in the Dust They are still appropriated to the Spirit and must be possessed by Him 3. The Proportion that is between the Personal Union and the Mystical may make out this For when the Godhead of Christ was once United to the Man-hood Personally they were never separated again When the Body of Christ was dead and in the Grave the Soul was separated from it but the Divine Nature was not So when the Bodies of Believers are lying in the Grave their Souls are separated from them but the Spirit of Christ is not As it dwelt in them when they were living so it maintains its possession and right when the Body lies rotting in the dust 4. If the Spirit of Christ be not in Union with the Flesh of a Believer in the Grave then Death is as really a Curse to the Saint as to the Sinner and as Solomon says in another Sense so it may be said in this As dies the wicked Eccles 2.16 so dies the righteous The wicked dies accursed and so doth the righteous For what is the Curse of Death but to be separated from the Lord And if there be no Union between the Spirit of the Lord and the dead Body of a Saint in the Dust then the Body is under a Curse and if so the Believer would be Blessed and Cursed at the same time the Soul would be blessed being in Union to the Spirit in Heaven and the Body at the same time Cursed being separated from the Spirit in the Grave But how can this be when the Scripture says expresly That the dead
in the Flesh but Quickened by the Spirit 1 Pet. 3.18 Declared to be the Son of God with Power according to the Spirit of Holiness by the Resurrection from the dead Rom. 1.4 And this is the sense of that in 1 Tim. 3.16 Justified in the Spirit How was He Justified in the Spirit Why the Spirit by Raising Him from the Dead did therein declare him acquitted from all the Guilt he was charged with and all the Reproaches he underwent NOW as Christ arose so doth every Believer rise by the same power and that is the Power of the Spirit of God so the Apostle tells you 2 Cor. 4.14 He which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise us up also by Jesus He dwells as a Principle of Resurrection Power in every Believer and holds a Union with the Flesh for that very Purpose that while it is in the Grave He may preserve it and at last raise it again NOW pray mind the Text again If the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the Dead dwell in you He that raised up Christ from the Dead shall also quicken your Mortal Bodies by His Spirit that dwells in you The Dead Body of a Saint is designed for quickening e for a Resurrection to Life And that is not all but it is to be conformed to the likeness of Christs Resurrection in its quickening This the Prophet intimates Isa 26.19 Thy Dead Men shall Live Together with my Dead Body shall they Arise So we Read it but the Hebrew is Nebelathi jekumun cadaver meum resurgent 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thy dead Men shall live They shall arisc my dead Body The Natural body of a Believer belongs to the Mystical Body of Christ and shall arise as a part of his Body and therefore shall arise as his Natural Body did How is that By the Spirit dwelling in him AND the Spirit is said in the Text to dwell in the Dead Body of a Believer for that purpose He shall quicken your Mortal Bodies by His Spirit that dwells in you Your Margent reads it Because of His Spirit that dwells in you And that makes the Thing more plain viz. That the Great Reason why the Spirit dwells in the dead bodies of Believers is to be a Resurrection Principle in them to raise them again to Life This the words speak out plainly He shall quicken you because of His Spirit that dwells in you SO that a Resurrection to Glory is made plainly dependant upon the indwelling of the Spirit in such Bodies as shall be so Raised I don't speak of a Resurrection absolutely and simply but of a Glorious Resurrection For though the Resurrection of the Body considered in the thing it self be a business Absolute and Determined yet the Resurrection to Glory which is the thing intended is Conditional and not vouchsafed to any but upon an antecedent Work of Grace wrought in their hearts whereby they have the Spirit of the Lord dwelling in their persons and hereby he becomes a Resurrection-Principle in the Dust of a Saint to quicken his Dead Body to a Glorious Life Therefore you have a double dwelling of the Spirit mentioned in the Text If the Spirit dwell in you he shall quicken your Mortal Bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you There is a Dwelling in you to sanctifie the Person of the Believer then a dwelling in you to raise the dead body of the Believer So that the Sense of the Text is this If the Spirit of God dwell in you now to Sanctifie your Persons here the same-same-Spirit shall dwell in your Bodies in the Grave to Raise them to Glory hereafter AND so I come to the Application of this Truth IS it so that the Bodies of all the Saints shall at the Last Day be Quickened and Raised again by the Spirit of God which dwells in them THEN the First USE that I would make of it shall be for Caution and that is That you would take heed of slighting this Truth or any other Truth of the Gospel because it may seem New or Strange This was the Spirit of the Learned Men of Athens when Paul Preached up Jesus and the Resurrection What New Doctrine is this say they for thou bringest certain strange things to our Ears Acts 17.19 20. Many are very apt to slight Things though of the Greatest Weight because they do not understand them the Line of their Reason is too short to Fathom them Do you think to Ketch the Sea into your Nut-shell Or to take a full Prospect of the Mysteries of God by the Dim-light of Pur-blind Reason Alas it can never be for these are Things the evidence whereof lies in Revelation and therefore we ought to believe them because God says them and to take comfort in the Truth of them tho we are not able to see the reason of them As we should not undervalue any Truth because it is common so we ought not to disown any Truth because it is to us new but if the Scripture doth confirm it it is our Duty to believe it This is a Truth of great Concern so great that the not believing of it takes away all the comfort of the Grave For what difference is there between the Death of a Saint and a Sinner The one hath no more Priviledge in the Grave than the other but only in this Solomon says The righteous hath hope in his death This is a hope that springs from Christ's hope Pro. 14.22 for he had hope in his Death my flesh shall rest in hope * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Psal 16.9 23.4 shall dwell confidently i.e. confident of its Union confident of its Resurrection This was the confident hope of Christ in his Death and from hence it is that the righteous hath hope in his Death It is the same hope Christ had Now take away this Truth and what hope hath the Righteous in his Death then He hath hope after Death but what hope hath he in Death The Union of the Spirit with the Dust of a Believer gives hope in Death Tho I walk through the Valley of the shadow of Death I will fear no evil for thou art with me Who then would slight so useful and so comfortable a Truth as this is that doth so sweeten Death and make the Grave so easie 2. This Truth shews us the great disterence between the Resurrection of Man and Man of Saint and Sinner tho all shall rise yet they shall not rise alike Some shall have a better Resurrection than others shall there is a Resurrection both of the Just and the Vnjust Acts 24.15 He. 11.35 There is a Resurrection that ends in Misery and a Resurrection that runs into Glory Daniel calls the one an awaking to everlasting life and the other a waking to shame and contempt Dan. 12.2 And Christ calls the one the Resurrection of Life and the other Joh. 5.29 the Resurrection of Damnation Therefore there is a
great difference between the one and the other And it will appear in Four Things I. THE Resurrection of the Believer is Founded in the Covenant of Grace And what is the Tenour of that Covenant It is That God will be our God for ever Now this Covenant is not made with the Soul of a Believer only but with the Person Soul and Body and therefore from this Covenant our Lord proves the Resurrection against those Sadducees Matth. 22.32 I am the God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob God is not the God of the dead but of the living The Argument like a Two-edged Sword cuts both ways it proves the Immortality of the Soul in that God is said to be the God of the living And it proves the Resurrection of the Body in that God is said to be the God of Abraham And therefore not the God of his Soul only but of his Person Soul and Body therefore whole Abraham must live for ever because of the everlasting Covenant of God He is thy God as much when thou art dead in the Grave as when thou art asleep in thy Bed because of the Covenant which cannot be dissolved and if he dies in Covenant he shall rise in Covenant NOW it is not thus with Unbelievers they arise too but not by virtue of any New Covenant Interest They lived out of this Covenant while they lived and died out of this Covenant when they died and they shall rise out of this Covenant when they rise again And that is a sad difference as much as is between Heaven and Hell II. THE Body of the Saints rise by Virtue of their Union to Christ He is the Head and they the Members This Oneness is the great Foundation upon which the Saints Resurrection stands if the Head be risen the Members cannot always lie rotting in the Grave As the Effect is bound up in the Cause so is the Resurrection of the Believer in the Resurrection of Christ Because I live Joh. 14.19 ye shall live also BUT the Wicked don't rise by virtue of Union to Christ and therefore the Life and Power of his Resurrection doth not animate and quicken them No they rise by the Power of Christ as Lord of the Dead but not by virtue of Union to Christ They rise by the Power of Christ as Judge but not by the advantage of his Mediation III. THE Bodys of the Saints arise as a part of the Harvest belonging to Christ as he was a First-Fruits in his Resurrection So he is called 1 Cor. 15.20 Now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that sleep But to whom is Christ a First-Fruits to all No but only to Believers Under the Law the First-Fruits were offer'd to God for the sanctifying and blessing the whole Harvest and as the First-Fruits are so is all the rest if the first-fruits be holy the lump is holy Ro. 11.16 If the First-Fruits be safe not a Shock nor a Sheaf nor an Ear nay not a Grain shall be lost So our Lord Christ testifies This is the Fathers will which hath sent me that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing but should raise it up again at the last day Joh. 6.39 Believers arise then as a part of that Harvest of which Christ is a First-Fruits But Sinners do not arise thus Christ is no First-Fruits to them Tho the First-Fruits bless the Corn yet it don't bless the Tares and Cockle and Weeds that grow among the Corn. You know what their Sentence is Matt. 13.30 Gather together the Tares and bind them in bundles to burn them And this is a sad Difference IV. BELIEVERS arise by a Power within them the Wicked arise by a Power upon them The Spirit of Christ dwells in every Believer as a Principle of Resurrection Power and by virtue of this Power they rise again But the Wicked rise not by virtue of the Spirit of Christ in them but by the Power of Christ upon them as he is the Lord of Death and the Judge of the World O! HOW great is the difference between the Resurrection of Saints and Sinners Believers shall rise perfect from all Sin The Wicked shall rise loaded with all their Sins and Lusts Believers will rise like Pharaoh's Butler to great Exaltation and the Wicked like the Baker to be Sentenced to Execution Believers rise to be gathered as Wheat into the Garner the Wicked as Chaff for the unquenchable Fire 3. Let us labour to make a due Improvement of this Truth especially in Four Things I. Admire the condescending Love of the Spirit of God in this Work for it is truly admirable To take our Bodies for his Temple while they are living to dwell in them and that personally this is great condescention But that he should own them when dead and continue his Union to our Flesh when our own Soul hath forsaken it and abide with it in Dust and Rottenness O What amazing Love is this Don't let us slight this Truth therefore but admire it For it is the greatest condescention of the Spirit that we read of in all the Scriptures O! How much doth it make for the Honour and Dignity of Believers that he whom the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain should vouchsafe to take up his Residence in our flesh Had it been in our Souls only that had been great condescention but not like this for the Soul is of a more excellent Nature than the Flesh But he dwells in our Flesh and not only so long as we live but in Death too and holds his Union with it through the whole course of the Grave from the first Moment of Dissolution to the blessed Day of our Resurrection O what condescention is this II. Improve this Truth by getting an Interest in Jesus Christ Here is a double Motive to inforce it in this and the foregoing Truth The Interest both of Soul and Body is concerned in it Here is a Motive from the Soul it secures the life of that tho the Body dies v. 10. If Christ be in you the body dies because of sin but the Spirit lives because of Righteousness And then here is a Motive from the Body too tho it dies yet it dies in Union to the Spirit who will quicken it again He shall quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you Therefore Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord. III. Improve this Truth with respect to the Spirit of God 1. By begging and praying for the Spirit to dwell in you now as a Principle of Sanctification or else he will neve ' dwell in you as a Principle of the Resurrection If your Bodies be not his Temples now if he doth not dwell in them and purge them from filthiness and prepare them for Glory here he 'll never raise them at the last day and then better never rise again I tell you meerly to Rise from
the Dead is no Priviledge no Judas and Herod and Pilate shall rise again and Cain that slew his Brother and so shall Gardner and bloody Bonner all the Wicked that dyed in their Sins shall rise again but alas it will be a Dreadful Rising Daniel says Dan. 12.2 some shall rise to shame and everlasting Contempt John 5.29 And Christ speaks of a Resurrection to Damnation And were it not better that the body should lye and Rot in the Dust for ever then to rise from the Grave to be thrown into Hell and made Fuel to feed the Fire that never goes out yet this shall be the lot of all the Wicked they rise by the Power of Christ that they may be Damned by the Wrath of Christ I say therefore to Rise again may be no Priviledge but a Judgment and a Curse the Priviledge lies in Rising again by the Spirits power quickening your dead bodies This is a Priviledge indeed for here begins the Glory and Salvation of your bodies therefore it is called a Resurrection to Life Everlasting Dan. 12.2 and hereby your Blessedness comes to be made perfect for though your Souls are Glorified with God at Death yet they are not compleat in Glory till the Resurrection II. CARRY your selves Worthily to the Spirit of God for he dwells in you he dwells in the soul he dwells in the body and he dwells in both for ever Therefore carry it becomingly to him 1. BY following his Leadings living and walking in the Spirit If we believe in the Spirit let us walk in the Spirit Gal. 6.25 2. BY fetching our Comforts from the upper Springs we are too sensual in our Respects and Aims we consult the animal Life more than is meet while we fetch our Refreshment and Satisfaction from any of these Nether Springs Are not Spiritual Pleasures more Noble and Sweet than Bodily Sure they are or else we must say that Sensual Men have more Pleasure and Joy in their Life then God hath in his 3. BY Avoiding every Thing that may Grieve the Spirit WHEN you neglect Duty you Grieve the Spirit WHEN you don't keep your Gifts and Graces in Continual Exercise you Grieve the Spirit WHEN you suffer Spiritual Slumber to seize upon you you Grieve the Spirit WHEN you Indulge Fleshly Lusts and yield your Members to be Instruments of Sin you Grieve the Spirit for you defile the Temple which the Holy Ghost hath taken up to dwell in and will hold in a Union to himself when it lies in Dust and Rottenness and will raise it to Glory at the last IV. LET us improve this Truth for Comfort it hath in it that which is matter of Great Comfort 1. AGAINST all present Sufferings Afflictions What can Sweeten the Bitterness of any Cup and lighten heavy Burthens and make present Distresses easie and support in all Calamities like Faith in a Resurrection There is a Resurrection State will Free us from All 2 Cor. 4.17 and in the mean time Our light Afflictions which are but for a moment work for us a far more Exceeding and Eternal Weight of Glory 2. IT is a great Comfort under the loss of the Faithful Ministers of Christ of Godly Relations Friends for they are not lost for ever the Spirit of God hath the care of them and he 'll quicken them again and therefore we may say with Martha when her Brother was dead Matt. 11.14 I know that he shall Rise again at the Resurrection You shall see them again and know them again and enjoy them again and that in a better manner than ever And is not this Comfort 3. IT is a great Comfort against our own Dissolution the thing which Nature so much abhors the Horrour of a Grave is very Affrighting and Dreadful to many That this Flesh of mine this tender Flesh this delicate Flesh that now the Wind must scarce blow on that I spend so much precious time to feed and pamper and dress and adorn that this very Flesh must be turned to Stench and Corruption and become loathsome to my Dearests Friends and be Prostituted to Worms and Rottenness this makes the very thoughts of Death a Disease NOW how would the Belief of this Truth relieve Comfort against such Thoughts as these Revel 14.13 1 Thes 4.14 If I Dye I Dye in the Lord Death is but a Sleep and I Sleep in Jesus too when my my Body is laid in the Grave it is laid into the arms of the Spirit if it doth rot in the Dust its Union to the Spirit can't rot And therefore farewel my Flesh While I go into the immediate blessful Presence of God go thou to Bed in the Dust I commit thee into the Arms of the Spirit and do willingly leave thee in that Union till he sees good to raise thee and bring us together again For this he will do in the Last Day And therefore Go my Flesh and rest and hope Joh. 6 4â— and wait the appointed time till thy change comes for then this corruptible shall put on incorruption and this mortal shall put on immortality 1 Cor. 1 53. and Death shall be swallowed up of Life IN this Faith you may triumph over the Grave you may resign your Bodies to the Earth chearfully and to the Guardianship of the Spirit of God there for he who hath it in an indissoluble Union will preserve it to a glorious Resurrection as he did the dead Body of Christ Psal 1 10.11 for he did not leave it in the Grave but shewed it the path of life HOW willing to die should this make every Believer and to say with the Apostle I desire to be dissolved And yet Alas Philip. 23. what Cowards are we How fearful are we of dying You may as well be afraid of going to Bed Let them be afraid to die that never knew how to live that are dead whilst they live and that have no hope after this life He that hears of the Glory of a Resurrection-State and yet is afraid to die either he hath but a little Faith or he hath an ill Conscience WHAT was it that revived and supported Job's Spirit amidst all his Griefs but this very thing I know that my Redeemer lives and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the Earth and tho after my Skin Worms destroy this body Job 19.2 26 27. yet in my flesh shall I see God whom I shall see for my self This was such a reviving to his Soul that you never find him in his impatient despairing Fits after it Pool Loc. I beg of God therefore that when-ever I die I may die in this Faith That my Soul shall immediately enter into the full fruition of God And That my Body shall lie down in the Dust in an everlasting Vnion to the Sprit of God who will at last quicken-it because he dwells in it For if the Spirit of him that raised Jesus
from the dead dwell in us he that raised up Christ from the dead â— Thes 4.18 shall also quicken our mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in us Wherefore comfort ye one another with these words I KNOW you expect that I should say something of the Person Deceased and not pass him by in silence But I acknowledge my self to be very unfit for this Province it being a Work I rarely engage in as having no Authority to take the Commission out of the hand of his own Works Grov 31. â—lt They are to praise him in the Gates and not I. And yet it is not fit When every mean Virtue in others hath its Funeral Trumpet that so much Excelling Worth as was in him should be forgotten and the Memory of it buried with him Should I speak of his Carriage and Behaviour in the various Relations he stood in As a Son to his surviving Mother As a Husband to his Wife As a Father while he had Children As a Master to Servants As a Friend to his Friend I might herein propound him as a Pattern to many for he excelled most And that is a Good Man indeed who is good in all Relations BUT his Great and Chief Care was to fill up his Relation to God in Christ and that not only as a Christian and a Believer but as a Minister of Christ and a Pastor to that Flock which the Holy Ghost had committed to his Charge I must say God had fitted him for this Work Service above many of his Brethren in betrusting him with such Gifts and Talents as but very few have received AND how Diligent and Faithful was he in laying them out and so improving them in his Master's Service How Zealous was he for Christ How Laborious in his Work how sound in the Faith How great in Prayer How apt to Teach And how All was Crowned with Success is Evident in the many Comfortable Seals which God gave to his Ministry among you AND tho' his Natural Parts were great and made much greater by the Blessing of God upon his Unwearied Industry yet that he neither Leaned upon them nor Trusted to them appeared by his constant Labour and Study for every Sermon THEY that were Discerning Christians and did Wisely Observe the suitable Matter he prepared the exact Method in which it was ordered the taking Dress with which it was clothed the Charming Manner in which it was uttered could not but say That he did not offer to God that which cost him nothing His great Delight was in his Work for he knew how well it becomes a Disciple to be as his Lord whose Delight was to do the Will of God And therefore he was fervent in Spirit serving the Lord. And this made him willing to spend Rom. 12 11. and to be spent till by degrees he wasted and consumed himself I would have said no more of him were it not to Obviate some False and Malicious Whispers as if he Dyed in great Darkness and under much Trouble of Conscience I was with him the day before he Dyed and among other things I asked him How it was with him concerning his Spiritual State He told me That he had a Firm Confidence of Hope in the Infinite Righteousness of Jesus Christ I then asked him and desired that he would be as Plain with me as I desired to be Faithful to him If there was any particular Thing that lay as a burden upon his Conscience HE replied No he blessed God there was not But that which Troubled him in general was That in the Course of his Ministry he had not Honoured God as he ought to have done nor had he been so Faithful to the Souls of Men as he should have been But yet in this he could appeal to God that whatever By-Ends might come in and mingle themselves which he Renounced yet the Glory of God in the Conversion and Salvation of Souls was the great End he Aimed at in the whole Course of his Ministry And Blessed is that Servant whom his Lord when he comes shall find so doing What I have else to say is to you that were his Flock over which the Holy Ghost made him Overseer but are now as Sheep without a Shepherd 1. Labour to be Truly Sensible of your LOSS and let it be deeply laid to heart for it is a Great a very Great Loss it is so to the whole Church of God but it is so more particularly to you especially if the Circumstances of it be considered for the Lord hath taken him from you in the midst of his Days and in the Prime of his Ministry And God hath not done this without a Cause and therefore you should every one reflect upon himself What have I done Wherein have I offended God Have not my Sins my Barrenness my Vnprofitableness under his Ministry provoked God to take him away as that good Woman said when she heard that the Minister of the Place had broke his Leg Oh! said she My Sins have broken my Ministers Leg. 2. Remember and keep in mind the Seasonable Counsel he gave you not only from the Pulpit but from the Press too by which though he it Dead he yet Speaketh Lay them up in your hearts and Practice them in your Lives Let me tell you that God expects much Fruit from you after such a Sower and such a Seeds-time as you have had Tho' you shall never hear him Preach more yet what he hath Preached you shall hear of again Not one Sermon that ever he delivered from this Pulpit but you must Account for it in the Day of Judgment and it will be a Dreadful Account now that The Bellows are burnt and the Lead is consumed of the Fire if the Founder hath Melted in vain â—er 6.29 AND therefore 3. IMPROVE this Providence this Sad and Severe Providence If you have hitherto turned a Deaf-Ear to the Word of God yet now Hear the Rod of God what that speaks for it speaks aloud When so many Faithful Ministers Eminent Servants of Christ are taken away in a few Months * Dr. Annesly Mr. Oldfield Mr. Vincent Mr. Mather Mr. Cole and now your Pastour and since him Mr. Day This is a Crying Voice it crys to this City it crys to this Place And what doth it say IT says That the Prophets don't Live for ever That they have their Heavenly Treasure but in Earthen Vessels That the Lamps are within the Pitchers and when the Pitchers break the Lamps go out and therefore Walk while ye have the Light lest Darkness come upon you IT says that When the Means of Grace are Undervalued WHEN the Loud Calls of God are Slighted WHEN the Great Truths of the Gospel are Corruped WHEN Deism in Contempt of the Son of God is Countenanced WHEN all Revealed Religion is Disowned and thereby the Gospel of Christ and the Ordinances of Christ and the Ministry of Christ rendered Vain and Useless Then God will soon Remove them This is what the Rod says NAY It says That unless we are Awakened and Reformed by these Judgments God will yet bring greater If there be not a speedy Repentance and Returning to God from all these Abominations he who hath put out so many of our Lights will put out all and and not only put out the Lights but remove the Candlesticks nay Hof 1.9 Write a Lo-ammi against us and say Ye are not my People and will not be your God THE Lord Teach us therefore now His Voice crys so loud to the City to Hear the Rod and who hath appointed it 4. BE Earnest in Prayer to God to make up to you this Great LOSS for He only can do it Eph. 9.11 Faithful Pastours are a peculiar Gift of the Lord Christ and they are a Gift that comes under a Promise Jer. 3 1â— I will give you Pastours according to mine own heart which shall feed you with Knowledge and Vnderstanding Go away and plead this Promise with God Pray in Secret in Private in Publick let each one make it his Duty let the whole Church make it their Duty Set some time a-part to meet together and Pray that he that hath in Judgment made this Breach would in Mercy make it up That He who hath took away Elijah to Heaven would send an Elisha to succed him This is the Mercy and Blessing which you now Want and none can Supply this Want but that God who hath the Residue of the Spirit Therefore cry to Him in the Words of Dying Moses Numb 27.16 17. Let the Lord the God of the Spirits of all Flesh set a Man over the Congregation which may go out before them and which may go in before them and which may lead them out and bring them in that the Congregation of the Lord be not as Sheep which have no Shepherd Amen FINIS BOOKS Written by the Reverend Mr. Mead Sold by Thomas Parkhurst at the Bible and Three Crowns in Cheap-side THE Almost Christian Discovered Or The False Professor Try'd and Cast Spiritual Wisdom Improved against Temptation The Good of Early Obedience Or The Advantage of bearing the Yoke of Christ betimes Excellency of Unity A Sermon Preached before the Ministers of the Congregational and Presbyterian Perswasion There is newly Re-printed Two scarce Books one A Discourse of the Fountain of Life the other A Treatise of the Soul of Man both by the Reverend Mr John Flavel BOOKS Printed for and Sold by John Lawrence at the Angel in the Poultry MR. Buxter's Life published by Mr. Silvester Folio Mr. Showers Sermon Preached to the Societies for Reformation of Manners Nov. 15th 1697. Octavo Mr. Woodhouses Sermon to the same Societies Octavo Mr. Addys Stenographia Or The Art of Short-Writing compleated in a far more Compendious Way than any yet extant c. In which Character is also Printed the whole Bible by Mr. Addy Cambridge Concordance in Folio
Member I know not how this can be answered but by saying either That the Dead Body of a Saint is not in Membership with Christ or by saying That though it be in Membership yet it is not in Union to the Spirit Now as to the First if the Dead Body of a Believer be not in Membership with Christ then the Death of every Believer Maims Christ's Mystical Body he sustains a Loss as well as we And he hath said Nothing shall be Lost AND as to the Second if it be said The Body of a Saint may be in Membership to Christ and yet not in Union to the Spirit that is Absurd and Impossible for we are no longer Christ's than as the Spirit of Christ Dwells in us It is the Spirit that Unites Christ and the Saint together and he it is that maintains the Union it holds no longer between Christ and the Believer than the Spirit dwells in Him If any have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his Therefore either the Spirit must maintain a Union to the Dead Body of a Saint or else it cannot be in Union to Christ it is none of his for it is destitute of the Spirit 2. The Believer is as really in Covenant with God as Christ was his Soul as really as the Soul of Christ and his Flesh as really as the Flesh of Christ both are in Covenant and by this Covenant the Union between the Spirit of God the Flesh of Christ remained firm inviolable and is there not the same reason why it should remain so between the Spirit of God and the Flesh of the Believer The Spirit would not leave Christ when in the Grave no not for a Moment and will it leave the Believer when laid there Where then is his Covenant Faithfulness who hath said I will never never never leave thee nor never forsake thee Heb. 13.5 The Promise is Extensive to every part and every state of the Believer Never here never hereafter never in life never in death never in thy Soul never in thy Dust So that Death can't touch the Union that is between the Spirit and the Saint neither as to Flesh nor Soul Indeed when Death comes and pulls down this earthly Tabernacle it forces the Soul out of Doors and it quits it But doth it force out the Spirit of God too Is it stronger than He The Scripture says That Death shall not be able to separate us from the Love of God which is in Christ Rom. 8.38 39. But if the indwelling of the Spirit be lost while the Body lies in the Grave then Death can separate us from the Love of God in great part that is as to the Body so long as it lies in the Grave For the Love of God can no way be enjoyed but through Union to the Spirit and this is the only thing wherein the dead Body of a Believer can be any way capable of receiving Love from God the preserving it in the Union of the Spirit to a glorious Resurrection State Most evident therefore to me it is that the Union between the Spirit of Christ and a Saint cannot be broken in any part of it neither as to Soul nor Body no not by dying for if the Spirit of God should be separated from the Body in Death what a dreadful thing would Death be to a Believer As to his Flesh it would be no better than a falling from Grace and what a sad Contradiction would that be that the Soul in death should be receiv'd to Glory and the Body in the mean time fall from Grace and this by an Act of God for Death is God's Act While the Believer lives the Spirit of God dwells in Soul and Body both now if at Death he utterly separates from the Body then it is fallen from Grace and that by God's Act only What a sad Consequence is this I say therefore that the Union between the Spirit of Christ and the Body of a Saint is never broken no not in Death For why more in Death than in Sleep The Spirit of God dwells in the Body of a Believer when it sleeps and yet then it is uncapable of any Act of Communion with Him uncapable of Service and Obedience Whatever the Soul in that case may do yet the Senses are locked up and the Body as to any Duty is but as a dead thing And yet the Body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost when it is asleep as really as when awake and so it is when dead as well as when living And it must be so if you consider but the nature of the Union that is between the Spirit of God and the Believer in those two Essential Properties of it viz. total and indissoluble 1. It is total and of the whole Person the Covenant is made with the whole Person and so is the Union that comes by it with Body and Soul God owns the Body as really as the Soul He loves the Body as really as the Soul He Sanctifies the Body as really as the Soul He Redeems the Body and will glorifie the Body as really as the Soul for the Union is a total Union 2. It is indissoluble and can no way be broken off as it takes in Body and Soul both to make it total so it takes them in for ever to make it indissoluble The Body is for ever in Union to the Spirit as well as the Soul and as really in the Grave as in Grace or Glory I pray what else is the meaning of Sleeping in Jesus 1 Thes 4.14 Them that sleep in Jesus will God bring with him Why are the dead Bodies of Believers called the dead in Christ ver 16. The dead in Christ shall rise first The Body tho' dead yet it is said to be still in Christ because of the indwelling of the Spirit in it AND so much for the first thing That the Spirit of God dwells in Believers And how He dwells in them not only in the Soul but in the body and not only in Grace but in the Grave 2. HE dwells in them as a Principle of Resurrection Power and this is one great end of the Union he maintains with the Dust of a Saint while in the Grave that He may raise it to Glory at last For as the Resurrection of every Believer is secured by the Resurrection of Christ Because I live ye shall live also So the Spiritual Union is the great Foundation upon which it stands John 19.19 It is one of the great Works of the Spirit of God to Raise the Bodies of the Saints at last and He hath given the highest Evidence of it in His Raising Christ for this was His peculiar Work THO' the Resurrection of Christ is ascribed to each Person in the Trinity To the Father Gal. 1.1 To the Son John 2.19 21. Acts 2.32 John 10.17 18. Yet the peculiar Efficiency in Raising Christ was from the Spirit He was put to Death
Saints are blessed Revel 14.13 Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord You 'll say they are blessed because their Souls are gone to Heaven and enjoy God I but that is not all for then it would rather have been said Blessed are the Souls of them that die in the Lord. But pray mind it is that which dies that hath the Blessing affixed to it Blessed are the dead Now the Soul is not dead that lives and who knows not that the Soul that lives in Heaven is blessed But the design of the Holy Ghost here is to Comfort Believers concerning their bodies when in the Dust Doth the Body die why yet it partakes of a blessing in Death Blessed are the dead Nothing of a Saint dies but his Body why then Blessed are the dead And mark how his Right to the Blessing accrues He dies in the Lord i. e. in Union to the Lord Death makes no separation And if so then as what Union there was between the Spirit of Christ and the Soul of a Saint remains still so what Union there was between the Body of a Saint and the Spirit of Christ remains still He dies in the Lord. 5. IT must be so if we do but duly consider the Subject of Sanctification and what is that Not the Soul only but the whole Person that is Body and Soul it is not any one part only that is Stamped with the Image of God but the Intire Nature of every Believing Person the whole Soul and the whole Body For Sanctification is a Repair of the Decay of the Vpright State of our Creation Now in the First Creation our whole Nature was stampt with God's Image not only the Soul but the Body too was Interested in the Image of God by a Participation of Original Righteousness AND when Man Sinned the Image of God so far as it was our Righteousness and Holiness was utterly Defaced and Lost it departed from our whole Nature Body and Soul and hence the whole Person is said to be Polluted and Defiled by Sin not only all the Powers of the Soul but all the Members of the Body As you may see Rom. 3.13 14 15. Rom. 6.19 NOW this being the Case of all Men therefore our Sanctification which is the Reparation of God's Image must Respect the whole Man equally and the Image of God must be stamped upon the Body as well as the Soul and so it is wherever Sanctification is wrought This is Evident from the Apostle's Prayer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Thessal 5.23 The God of Peace Sanctifie you throughout i. e. in your whole Man for so he Explains it in the next words in body and soul and spirit It is not a Sanctification thoughout if the Body be not made Holy as well as Soul and Spirit NOW do but see how Christ Argues about his Lying in the Grave from the Holiness of his Body Psal 16.9 10. My Flesh shall rest in Hope for thou wilt not leave my Soul in Hell that is my Body in the Grave nor suffer thine Holy One to see Corruption What is meant here by thy Holy One it is meant only of the Body of Christ for his Soul was in Heaven nor was that capable of seeing Corruption NOW God would not Suffer the Dead Body of Christ to see Corruption and why Because it was Originally and Perfectly Holy never Tainted with the least Sin and therefore saw not the least Corruption in the Grave which else it would have done and which the Bodies of the Saints do BUT that other Argument of Christ is common to all Believers with him My Flesh shall Rest in Hope for thou wilt not leave my body in the Grave And this Not leaving the Body in the Grave speaks Two Things I. The Abiding Vnion of the Eternal Spirit with the Body II. THE Future Resurrection of the Body by the Spirit from the Grave and why Because the Body is God's Holy One. NOW I would Querie Whether was the Spirit of God separated from the Dead Body of Christ or no That his own Soul was separated from his Body that is certain for that he recommends to his Father Luke 23.46 Father into thy hands I commend my Spirit Therefore it is evident his Soul was separated from his Body but yet the Spirit of God was not and the Reason was because in that Covenant that passed between the Father and the Son the Father engaged to take Care of him in Death and to Raise him again to Life And for this Cause though his Soul was Separated yet the Spirit of God was not his Holy Body continued in Union to and under the Special Care of the Spirit of God every moment it lay in the Grave and in the Faith and Comfort of This Christ died so he tells you Therefore my heart is glad my glory rejoyceth myflesh also shall rest in hope Now mark the Reasons he gives they are Two-fold ONE is from His State in Death THE other is from his Certain Restauration to Life I. FROM His State in Death which is a State of Union to the Eternal Spirit Thou wilt not leave my body 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lisheol in the Grave It is not only meant of his Remaining there but of his being left of the Spirit while he was there Tho' my Body lye in the Grave thou wilt not leave me when I am in that state II. THE other is from his Certain Resurrection to Life v. 11. Thou wilt shew me the Path of Life Herein he points to the Covenant between Father and Son wherein God promises that He shall prolong his Days Now therefore Isa 53.10 says Christ in the highest Considence and Assurance Thou wilt not leave my Body in the Grave There is the Union asserted Thou wilt shew me the Path of Life There is the Resurrection secured NOW then I assume the Querie again Was the Spirit of God separated from the Body of Christ when Dead in the Grave or not If it be said that it was then it will undeniably follow That there was a part of Christ's Sufferings that was not Meritorious yea the greatest Part for his Death was the Chief Part of his Sufferings the Compleating Act and there could be no Merit in Christ's Death if his Body was not in Union to the Spirit of God for what should give the Value and Virtue to his Death That which gave Value and Virtue to his Death was the Eternal Spirit AND if the Dead Body of Christ was in Union to the Spirit when in the Grave then so must the dead body of every Believer be also and that upon a Two-fold Account 1. Because every Believer is a Member of Christ Body and Soul are in Membership and therefore if the Spirit was in Union to Christ as Head so it must be to the Members also for we have the Spirit from Christ it is in us derivatively from him as he is the Head of Influence to every