are weary oâ— the World but you will not be here always there is a day cominâ— which will be your last day here and there is not one of you can teâ—â— when that day shall come In the Morning the Sun arose upon Sâ—â—â—dom in all his Beauty and Splendor but before Night the City with all its Inhabitants were made a Sacrifice to revenging-Justice and burnt to Ashes How many Young ones are taken from us on 〈◊〉 sudden in their beauty and strength when their bones are full oâ— Marrow and their breasts of Milk and in that Providence God dotâ— speak to you that survive and gives you fair warning you had need be serious while you are Young for you mâ—â—die while you are Young there is great Reason why yoâ— should betimes be weaned from the world from the sins vanitiâ—â— and follies of it from the comforts and delights of it for it maâ— be you shall leave the World while you are Young Oh that sucâ— thoughts as these may be repeated and frequently return upon oâ— minds and make due impressions since you must be gone from hencâ— set not your hearts upon any of those things which are here thougâ— they seem never so admirable and you have found them never so dâ—â—lightful yet use them and love them as becomes them that are Pâ—â—â—grims and Strangers Often think of leaving all and so sit looâ— from all While you have these things in your hands keep them oâ— of your hearts and provide for your departure He that muâ—t gâ— and that at a minutes notice and cannot tell when that will be anâ— is undone if he be unfit had need lose no time but speed his prâ—â—paration as much as he can It is the great Command and most Grâ—â—cious Council of our dearest Lord Be ye ready Let other thinâ—â— alone take no thought what ye shall Eat and Drink or wherewiâ—â— ye shall be Cloathed bestow your thoughts and care and paiâ— about this that ye may be ready fit to dye and fit to appear bâ—â—fore your Judge For any thing that you or I can tell we may Dâ—â— presently for the number of our Months is with God not with uâ—â— our Breath is in our Nostrils and it may be stopt in a Moment 〈◊〉 every one therefore set their houses in order and let all labour to set their hearts in order as that though we should dye presentâ— yet we may dye preparedly and go to our Grave as a shock of Coâ—â— in its season It is no matter at all how quickly any of us dyes nâ— of what disease nor in what manner so that we be but fit to dyâ— he that is prepared to dye may very well be free to dye Secondly When Gracious and Holy Souls go from hence they go to Christ It was the joy of our Dearest Lord when he had the prospect of his nearly approaching Death that he could say Ioh. 17.11 Holy Father now I am no more in the world but these are in the world and I come unto thee I must leave the World and I must leave these too but I come unto thee So it may well be a matter of joy to a Godly man or woman when the day of their departure is at hand when they must say I shall be no more in the World my dear Relations and Friends I shall be no more with you we have so many years lived comfortably together and in the Fear of God and now we must part yet a little while and ye shall see my face no more and then they can say Now my dearest Iesus I come to thee Alas When Graceless and Wicked Wretches go out of the World they go to a company of ugly Devils and Damned Spirits they had a communion with Devils here and that out of choice and they shall have a communion with them hereafter whether they will or no. But as for you O Saints be glad and rejoyce you at Death shall go to Christ and let the consideration hereof promote your care of doing your present Duty Now labour for as great and intimate acquaintance with him as you can possibly get now let your hearts work and run out to him with the strongest vigour of an intire affection bid him most heartily welcome and use him with utmost kindness whensoever he comes to you when he doth by his Spirit at a Dyty at an Ordinance or any other time give you a Gracious visit be sure to make much of him and rejoyce in him and be his joy and then you may delight your selves in this assurance that when you go to him he will bid you welcome and to all Eternity rejoyce over you as the Bridegroom rejoyceth over his Bride Thirdly A being with Christ in Heaven is the best of beings This is the top of the Saints perferment this the highest round in the Scale of the Creatures happiness there is no imaginable life to be compared to a Life unto Christ in this World and a Life with Christ in the world to come there is no Company like unto his Company no Presence that hath in it such a fulness of Joy and Pleasures for evermore as are to be meth wit in his Presence and his Father's and Spirit 's It is good to be with Saints very good to sit under Ordinances but it is best of all to be with Christ in Glory When our Lord Iesus was transfigured upon Mount Tabor and had there with him Moses and Elias with three of his Disciples Peter in a Transport cryed ouâ— It is good Lord to be here But how good soever it was to be there it is unspeakably better to be with Christ now that he is gloâ—rified and in Heaven where he hath with him and innumerable comâ—pany of Angels the general Assembly and Church of the First-born As I said before so I say again Call to mind all the Comforts thaâ— this world is capable of affording you and let there be the fulleâ—â— confluence of them suppose that every step you take should be upoâ— Roses and every meal you sit at should be a Splendid Royal Feast made up of the Choicest Dainties a Composition of Delights Supâ—pose all the days you live should be Halcyon and every night you sleep should be sweet to you and each morning as soon as you awakâ— you should be entertained with glad tidings of great joy yet aâ— these things put together would not make up a life by the thousandth part so sweet as is a life with Christ. The Sun-shine of the Creature is nothing to the Shadow of a Saviour What then are hiâ— Beams What his Glory Paul tells you It is far better And upon this iâ— follows That Fourthly Death is desirable not indeed for its self because it is the fruit of Sin and a part of the Curse but upon the account of 〈◊〉 Consequences As Physick is not at all desirable for its self being bitter and unpleasant yet it is desirable for the sake of that Health and
all their Beauty comparable to God and Christ. Secondly It is better to be with Christ in Heaven than in anâ— State to be enjoyed here though it be as good as Spiritual and Gospâ—â— Enjoyments can make it and if any thing doth make it good indeed if any thing do render it grateful and delicious to an Holy Soul iâ— is these things these are the best and sweetest of all his Enjoyments these the Cream the Flower and Quintescence were it not foâ— something of these Earth would be an Hell to him yea and sâ— would Heaven be too Psalm 73.25 Whom have I in Heaven but theâ— and there is none upon Earth that I desire beside thee Let the Ark which was the Symbol of God's presence and the place before which Israeâ— was to Worship be taken by the Philistines and the good Wife oâ— Phinehas thought it was not worth her while to out-live so great loss but being told that a man-child was born unto her she calleâ— it Ichabod and said the Glory is departed from Israel for the Ark oâ— God is taken and died presently It is the Gospel and Communioâ— with God in the ways of the Gospel that an Heaven-born Soâ—â— doth value a Nation by and it self by these are the things in whicâ— he placeth his chief Joy and from which he fetcheth his strongeâ—â— and most sovereign Cordials The good man tells us Psalm 84 1â—â— That He had rather be a door-keeper or as the Margin hath it chuâ—â— rather to sit at the threshold in the house of his God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness he had rather chuse to pick up the Crumbs under Christ's Table than to sit at the upper end of the Creatures Board when it is furnished with the choicest Dainties Where is the experienced Christian that doth not find himself at a loss for a word when he undertakes to tell others what God hath done for his Soul Who can express with how much ravishing delight he sits under the shadow of Christ at an Ordinance and how sweet his Food is to his Taste How he enjoys himself when he is led into the Banquetting-House and there hath he the Banner of his Saviour's love spread over him How greatly is he ravished when there is Peace spoken to him â—n a Sermon that passeth not only all expression but likewise all understanding How is he rais'd up to the highest Admirings and praises when Divine Love is shed abroad in his Heart by the Holy Ghost and an interest in Christ and the Covenant is Sealed to him â—t a Sacrament or when he finds his Sails after he had lain for a â—ime Becalm'd or Wind-bound filled with a fair or fresh Gale from â—he Spirit or his Soul inlarged in Duty so as to run the way of the Commandments and in its Holy motions made like unto the Chariâ—ts of Amminadib When the Spirit of God darts into him Beams â—f light and by them so irridiates his Graces that he can see them â—o be what indeed they are and bears such a plain and full Testimoâ—y to his filial Relation to God as he thereby is imboldened to go to â—he Throne of Grace and Cry Abba Father Then indeed is his â—oul satisfied as with marrow and fatness and then he doth with Triumphs sing The lines are fallen to me in pleasant places and I â—ave a Goodly heritage Yet to be with Christ is far better than all â—his and that upon a Threefold account viz. Upon account of 1. The Purity of that State 2. The Perfection of that State 3. The Immutability of that State First The Future State when the Saints shall be with Christ in â—eaven will be a Pure State In this life when things are at the best â—here is a mixture there is no Saint that hath so bright a Day as â—hat there is not in it something of a Cloud He that is washed in â—he fountain opened for Sin and for Uncleanness and hath made it â—he great part of his business to cleanse himself from all filthiness â—oth of Flesh and Spirit will upon a review find there is still need of washing his Feet He is indeed made light in the Lord and bâ— shines before men yet when his Candle burns most bright it stand in need of snuffing Suppose him to be truly Gracious yea eminently so there have been upon him plentiful effusions of the Spirit and out of the fulness of Christ he hath received Grace yea Gracâ— for Grace yet after all this there is in him Corruption as well aâ— Grace Dross as well as Gold and Flesh as well as Spirit Thâ— Apostle Paul as far advanced as he was toward Heaven and Glorâ— could not for his heart suppress his Complaints and Groans buâ— must give himself a little ease by uttering them and telling God anâ— Man what to his pain and sorrow he felt within viz. A Law iâ— his Members warring against the Law in his Mind which was 〈◊〉 powerful as to be often prevalent and bring him into Captivity 〈◊〉 the Law of Sin and Death which was in his Members and he coulâ— not chuse but in a pang of desire call and cry out for deliverance 〈◊〉 a poor Gally-Slave would from his Chain and Oar Romans 7. 〈◊〉 O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of thâ— death They that have the Comeliness of Christ put upon them anâ— not without something of their own Deformities and may in thâ— case say as the Spouse did in another I am comely and black toâ— comely as the Curtains of Solomon yet black as the Tents of Kedâ—â— And Oh! How do the thoughts and consideration hereof maâ—â— them ashamed and blush to lift up their faces towards God But 〈◊〉 the Future State they will be clean every whit and without Spot 〈◊〉 Blemish or Wrinkle or any such thing Then there will be in theâ— nothing to offend God nothing to offend themselves nothing thâ— shall be a cause of displeasure to God or of grief to them nothinâ— that shall fully their beauty or eclipse their light nothing that shaâ—â— disturb their pleasant rest or retard their Holy motions The Inhâ—â—bitant shall not say I am Sick nor shall he say I am sinful He shaâ—â— neither be Sick of Love as the enamoured Spouse was nor Sick of Siâ— as the humble and broken-hearted Penitent is It is in that Statâ— in which the Church and her Children shall be Clear and Glorious 〈◊〉 the Sun here they are and while here they will be but as thâ— Moon with their Spots which yet they are not as some proud oâ— Secondly That Future State in which the Saints shall be witâ— Christ is a Perfect State Whatever some deluded Souls have anâ— do fancy to themselves in this World there is no such thing as peâ—â—fection to be attained to here tho that be not above the desire anâ— hope of the Babes in Christ the meanest and weakest Saints yet iâ— is out of the
that shall be alive when the Lord shall descend frâ—â— Heaven with a shout with the voice of an Archangel and with the truâ—â— of God shall not sleep but be changed and caught up into the cloudâ— meet the Lord in the air and so they shall ever be with the Lord. 1 〈◊〉 4.16 17. Otherwise it is appointed for all once to die This is 〈◊〉 Divine appointment the standing and unrepealable Law of Hâ—â—â—ven that all those who inhabit these houses of clay must go out them and put off these Tabernacles and we must submit we ouâ—â—â— to do it the will of God who is the supreme Governour and Leâ—â—â—slator is to be the commanding and ruling Law and therefore thâ—â— must be no quarrel nor disputes but yielding when death knockâ— our doors and summons us Whatsoever agonies and struglingâ— in nature at the time of dissolution there must be no rebellion 〈◊〉 our wills And such ought to be the frame and temper of our Soâ—â— when it is the good pleasure of God to make breaches in our Faâ—â—â—lies and to take away from us our dearest and most desirable Râ—â—â—tions a Child out of the arms of its Mother an affectionate 〈◊〉 out of the bosom of her Husband Though you greatly delighteâ— their company and would have been very thankful if the threaâ— their lives had been spun to a greater length yet when the wiâ—◠〈◊〉 God is made known and their time is come you ought to stoopâ— God While the Child was sick David besought God fasted 〈◊〉 lay all night upon the Earth neither would he eat bread but wâ—â—â— he heard it was dead he rose from the earth washed and anoinâ— himself and changed his apparel went into the house of God 〈◊〉 worshipped then to his own house and did eat bread 2 Sam. â— In dispensations of this kind there must be no discontent no riâ—â—â—â— and Swellings of heart no tearing your selves in your anger no â—â—â—ing the reins upon your passions no extravagant expressions no â—â—â—cessive sorrows for even in that there is a spice of rebellion and such a time God in a special manner hath his eye upon you and 〈◊〉 very curiously observe you throughout not only your outward â—â—â—â—portment words and gestures but also the inward frame of 〈◊〉 hearts what order is there and whether your Souls keep sileâ—â—â— before him And if you will be unruly as Bullocks unaccustomed the yoke sinning in your sorrow and kicking at the hand 〈◊〉 smites and wounds you you may hear of it afterward and feeâ— to your cost for God doth know how to repeat his blows and â—ultiply your wounds and make deeper ones than he hath yet done â—herefore it is your wisdom to submit to God and hold your peace â— Aaron did when God destroyed his two Sons with a most tremenâ—ous stroke in the very act of their sin This then is your duty wisâ—om and interest an humble yielding to God doth nearly concern â—â—d highly become you But holy Paul did not stop here It is not a â—â—re submission that he speaks of without all peradventure he was â—â—me up to this but then he went beyond it Nay more Secondly Paul doth not say say here I am contented to depart It 〈◊〉 true he tells us in this very Epistle Phil. 4.11 That he had â—â—arned in whatsoever state he was therewith to be content and it must 〈◊〉 granted that is a great and excellent Lesson and we should all of 〈◊〉 beg of God that he would teach it us and be our selves studying â—â—d conning of it And they are all very happy Men and Women â—ho have taken it out as Paul hath done for therein they have â—â—cured themselves from those inward Gripes and Convulsions with â—hich others are tortur'd and have admirably provided for a comâ—â—rtable Enjoyment of themselves whatever Changes and Afflictions â—â—ey may meet with in their passage through the World We should 〈◊〉 pray and labour that we may be brought to such a pass as to 〈◊〉 able to say Here I am let the Lord do to me and with me what â—â—meth good in his sight If he doth not see fit to bring my Condition 〈◊〉 to my Spirit I will make it my endeavour to bring my Spirit own to my Condition I could indeed be glad to have a larger â—are in the comforts of the Creatures that so I might be the more â—ee from those solicitous Thoughts and carking Cares that now 〈◊〉 much oppress me I could be glad to enjoy a greater fulness and 〈◊〉 be placed in an higher Orb and Sphere of Activity that thereby I â—â—ight be put into a better capacity of being useful and serviceable in â—y Generation but if my God will have me mean and low and â—oor I am content to be so for he best understands my Temper â—â—d my Distempers what will be my Advantage and what my â—rejudice what Sail I can best bear and what Condition I can best â—anage therefore he shall chuse for me I could be glad to live yet â—â—nger in the World and so see the good of his chosen and the â—eace of Ierusalem and my Family comfortably provided for and â—y Children all brought home to God disposed of in the World â—nd happily setled but if God will shorten my days and cut asunâ—er the Thread of my Life before these things be effected if God will have me to dye shortly and so break off the purposes of my heart I am content I will live at his ordering and I will dye tâ— at his ordering He knoweth what is best and therefore what 〈◊〉 doth I will count so whatsoever pleaseth him shall please me 〈◊〉 for no other reason yet for this Because it pleaseth him But thâ— great Man Paul did not take up here neither For Thirdly He saith He had a desire to depart or to be dissolve What others do fly from his Soul did work out to as a desirable Oâ—â—ject What! barely to submit to a departure meerly to be conteâ—â—ed with it is too low and too little It would be a dishonour 〈◊〉 God if there were that and no more it would be a disparagemâ— to Heaven and a base unworthy casting of Dirt and Reproach 〈◊〉 the Face of that Glory which is above it would give People caâ—â— to think the state of Saints in Heaven is no better than their 〈◊〉 here nay that it is not altogether so good and of this our Aposâ—â—â— would by no means be guilty Content to depart yes that I am and abundantly satisfied about it that I do desire it I long to have 〈◊〉 Summons Oh! when will that day come that will close mine Eâ—â— and on which Angels will come to carry my aspiring Soul into 〈◊〉 bosome of Abraham I was once in Paradise in the third Heaven 〈◊〉 what I saw did so delight me that I long to be there again to 〈◊〉 fixed there and there to take up my eternal abode when 〈◊〉 when will it be that my Father will