Of PERSEVERANCE. to A Believers Privilege at Death.

Of PERSEVERANCE.

1 Pet. 1.5.

Who are kept by the power of God through Faith unto Salvation.

Use 1. SEE the Excellency of Grace, it perseveres: Other things are but [gap], for a Season; Health and Riches are sweet, but they are but for a Season, but Grace is a Blossom of Eternity. The Seed of God remains, 1 Iohn 3.9. Grace may suffer an Eclipse, not a Dissolution. It is called Substance for its Solidity, Prov. 8.21. and durable Riches for its Permanency, Prov. 8.18. It lasts as long as the Soul, as Heaven lasts. Grace is not like a Lease which soon expires, but it runs parallel with Eternity.

2. See here that which may provoke in the Saints everlasting Love and Gratitude to God. What can make us love God more than the fixedness of his love to us? he is not only the Author of Grace, but finisher; his love is perpetuated and carried on to our Salvation, Iohn 10.27. My Sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal Life. My Sheep, there is Election; hear my voice, there is Vocation; and I know them, there is Justification; and I give unto them eternal Life, there is glorification. How may this make us love God, and set up the Monuments and Trophies of his Praise? How much have we done, to cause God to withdraw his Spirit, and suffer us to fall Finally? yet that he should keep us, let his name be Blessed, and his Memorials eternized, who keepeth the Feet of his Saints, 1 Sam. 3.9.

3. See whence it is that the Saints do persevere in Holiness, it is solely to be ascribed to the power of God; we are kept by his power, [gap], kept as in a Garison: It is a Wonder any Christian perseveres, if you consider, 1. Corruption within. The Tares are mingled with the Wheat; there is more Sin than Grace, yet Grace is habitually predominant. Grace is like a Spark in the Sea, a wonder it is not quenched; a wonder Sin doth not destroy Grace; that it doth not do as sometimes the Nurse to the Infant, overlay it and it dies: so that this Infant of Grace is not smothered by Corruption. 2. Temptations without. Satan envies us Happiness, and he raiseth his Militia, stirs up Persecution; he shoots his fiery Darts of Temptation; they are called Darts for their Swiftness, Fiery for their Terribleness; we are every day beset with Devils: As it was a wonder Daniel was kept alive in the midst of the Roaring Lions, so that there are so many Roaring Devils about us, and yet we are not torn in pieces. Now whence is it we stand against these powerful Temptations? We are kept by power of God. 3. The Worlds Golden Snares, Riches and Pleasure, Luke 18.24. How hardly shall they that have Riches enter into the Kingdom of God. How many have been cast away upon these golden Sands, 2 Tim. 4.10. as Demas? What a wonder any Soul perseveres in Religion, that the Earth doth not choak the Fire of all good Affections? Whence is this but from the power of God? We are kept by his power.

Use 2. Consolation. This Doctrin of Perseverance is as Bezar stone; 'tis a Sovereign Cordial to keep up the Spirits of the Godly from Fainting. There is nothing doth more trouble a Child of God than this, he fears he shall never hold out; these weak Legs of mine will never carry me to Heaven. But Perseverance is an inseparable Fruit of Sanctification, Once in Christ and for ever in Christ. A Believer may fall from some degrees of Grace, but not from the State of Grace. An Israelite could never wholly fell or alienate his Land of Inheritance, Lev. 25.23. A Type of our Heavenly Inheritance which cannot be wholly alienated from us. How despairing is the Arminian Doctrin of falling from Grace? To day a Saint, to morrow a Reprobate; to day a Peter, to morrow a Iudas. This must needs cut the Sinews of a Christians endeavour, and be as the boaring an hole in the Vessel, to make all the Wine of his Joy run out. Were the Arminian Doctrin true, how could the Apostle say, The Seed of God remains in him, 1 Iohn 3.9. and the anointing of God abides, 1 Iohn 2.27. What comfort were it to have ones name written in the Book of Life, if it might be blotted out again? But be assured for your Comfort, Grace, if true, though never so weak, shall persevere: Though a Christian hath but little Grace to Trade with, yet he need not fear breaking, because God doth not only give him a Stock of Grace, but will keep his Stock for him; Gratia concutitur, non excutitur, Aug. Grace may be shaken with Fears and Doubts, but it cannot be pluck'd up by the Roots. Fear not falling away; if any thing should hinder the Saints Perseverance, then it must be either Sin or Temptation; but neither of these: 1. Not the Sins of Believers: That which humbles them shall not Damn them, but their Sins are a means to humble them; they gather Grapes of Thorns; from the Thorn of Sin they gather the Grape of Humility. 2. Not Temptation: The Devil lays the Train of his Temptation to blow up the Fort of a Saints Grace; but this cannot do it. Temptation is a Medicine for Security, the more Satan tempts, the more the Saints Pray. When Paul had the Messenger of Satan to buffet him, 2 Cor. 12.8. For this besought I the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. Thus nothing can break off a Believer from Christ, or hinder his Perseverance; let this Wine be given to such as are of an heavy Heart. This Perseverance is Comfort: 1. In the loss of worldly Comforts. When our Goods may be taken away, our Grace cannot, Luke 10.42. Mary hath chosen the better part, which cannot be taken from her. 2. In the Hour of Death. When all things fail, Friends take their farewel of us, yet still Grace remains. Death may separate all things else from us but Grace. A Christian may say on his Death-bed, as Olevian once, Sight is gone, Speech and Hearing are departing, but the loving kindness of God will never depart.

Quest. 1. What Motives and Incentives are there to make Christians persevere?

Resp. 1. It is the Crown and Glory of a Christian to persevere, In Christianis non initia sed fines laudantur. Prov. 16.31. The hoary head is a Crown of Glory, if found in the way of Righteousness. When gray Hairs shine with golden Virtues, this is a Crown of Glory. The Church of Ihyatira was best at last, Rev. 2.19. I know thy patience and thy works, and the last to be more than the first. The Excellency of a Building is not in having the first stone laid, but when it is finished. The Glory and Excellency of a Christian, is when he hath finished the work of Faith.

2. You are within a few Days march of Heaven. Salvation is near to you; Rom. 13.11. Now is our Salvation nearer than when we believed. Christians, it is but a while and you shall have done Weeping and Praying, and be triumphing. You shall put off your Mourning, and put on white Robes; you shall put off your Armour, and put on a Victorious Crown. You who have made a good Progress in Religion, you are now almost ready to Commence and take your Degree of Glory; now is your Salvation nearer than when you began to believe. When a Man is almost at the end of a Race, will he now tire, or faint away? O labour to persevere, your Salvation is now nearer; you have but a little way to go, and you will set your Foot in Heaven. Though the way be up-Hill and full of Thorns, viz. Sufferings, yet you have gone the greatest part of your way, and shortly you shall rest from your Labours.

3. How sad it is not to persevere in Holiness; you expose your selves to the Reproaches of Men, and the Rebukes of God.

First, To the Reproaches of Men. They will divide both you and your Profession, Luke 14.28. This Man began to Build, and was not able to finish. Such is he who begins in Religion, and doth not persevere. He is the Ludibrium and Derision of all.

Secondly, To the Rebukes of God. God is most severe against such as fall off, because they bring an Evil Report upon Religion. Apostacy breeds a bitter Worm in Conscience. What a Worm did Spira feel! and it brings swift Damnation. It is a drawing back [gap] to Perdition, Heb. 10.38. God will make his Sword drunk with the Blood of Apostates.

4. The Promises of Mercy are annexed only to Perseverance, Rev. 3.5. He that overcometh, shall be cloathed in white Raiment, and I will not blot out his Name out of the Book of Life. Non pugnanti, sed vincenti dabitur corona, Aug. The Promise is not to him that Fights, but that overcomes, Luke 22.28. Ye are they which have continued with me, and I appoint unto you a Kingdom. The Promise of a Kingdom saith Chrysostom, is not made to them that heard Christ, or followed him, but that continued with him. Perseverance carries away the Garland. No Man hath the Crown set upon his Head, but he who holds out to the end of the Race. O therefore by all this, be perswaded to Persevere. God makes no account of such as do not persevere. Who esteems of Corn, that sheds before Harvest, or Fruit that falls from the Tree before it be Ripe?

Quest. 2. What expedients or means may be used for a Christians Perseverance?

Resp. 1. Take heed of those things which will make you desist and fall away.

First, Take heed of Presumption: Do not presume upon your own strength. Exercise an Holy Fear and Jealousie over your own Hearts, Rom. 11.20. Be not high minded but fear, 1 Cor. 10.12. Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed l[gap]st he fall. It was Peter's Sin, he lean'd more upon his Grace than upon Christ, and then he fell. A Christian hath cause to fear lest the Lusts and Deceits of his Heart betray him. Take heed of Presuming: Fear begets Prayer, Prayer begets Strength, and Strength begets Stedfastness.

Secondly, Take heed of Hypocrisie. Iudas was first a Sly Hypocrite, and then a Traitor, Psal. 78.37. Their Heart was not right with God, neither were they stedfast in his Covenant. If there be any Venom or Malignity in the Blood, it will break forth into a Plague-sore. The Venom of Hypocrisie is in danger of breaking forth into the Plague-sore of Scandal.

Thirdly, Beware of a Vile Heart of Unbelief. Heb. 3.12. Take heed lest there be in any of you an evil Heart of Unbelief, departing from the Living God. Whence is Apostacy but from Incredulity? Men do not believe the Truth, and then they fall from the Truth. Unbelieving and Unstable go together, Psal. 78.22. They believed not in God, ver. 41. They turned back.

2. If you would be Pillars in the Temple of God, and persevere in Sanctity,

First, Look that you enter into Religion upon a right ground; be well grounded in the distinct knowledg of God; you must know the Love of the Father, the Merit of the Son, the Efficacy of the Holy Ghost. Such as know not God aright, will by degrees fall off. The Samaritans sometimes sided with the Jews when they were in favour, afterwards disclaimed all Kindred with them, when Antiochus persecuted the Jews: And no wonder the Samaritans were no more fixed in Religion, if you consider what Christ saith of the Samaritans, Iohn 4.22. Ye worship ye know not what: They were ignorant of the True God; let your Knowledge of

God be clear, and serve him purely out of Choice, and then you will persevere. Psal. 119.30. I have chosen the way of Truth, I have stuck unto thy Testimonies.

Secondly, Get a real work of Grace in your Heart, Heb. 13.9. It is a good thing that the Heart he established with Grace. Nothing will hold out but Grace; 'tis only this Anointing abides; Paint will fall off. Get an Heart-changing-work, 1 Cor. 6.11. But ye are Washed, but ye are Sanctified. Be not content with Baptism of Water, without Baptism of the Spirit. The reason Men persevere not in Religion, is for want of a Vital Principle. A Branch must needs wither that hath no root to grow upon.

Thirdly, If you would Persevere, be very Sincere. Perseverance grows only upon the Root of Sincerity, Psal. 25.21. Let Integrity and Uprightness preserve me. The Breast-Plate of Sincerity can never be shot thorough. How many Storms was Iob in? The Devil sets against him, his Wife tempted him to Curse God, his Friends accused him for an Hypocrite; here was enough one would think to have made him desist from Religion: Yet for all this he perseveres. What preserved him? it was his Sincerity, Iob 27.6. My Righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go; my Heart shall not Reproach me so long as I live.

Fourthly, If Persevere, be Humble. St. Chrysostom calls it the Mother of all the Graces. God lets a poor Humble Christian stand, when others of Higher Parts, and who have higher Thoughts of themselves, fall off by Apostacy. They are likest to Persevere, who God will give most Grace to; But he gives Grace to the Humble, 1 Pet. 5.5. They are likest to persevere, who have God dwelling in them; But God dwells in the Humble Soul, Isa. 57.15. Non requiescit Spiritus Sanctus nisi super Humilem, Bern. The lower the Tree roots in the Earth, the firmer it is; the more the Soul is rooted in Humility, the more stablished it is, and in less danger of falling away.

Fifthly, If Persevere, cherish the Grace of Faith. Faith doth stabilire Animum, 2 Cor. 1.24. By Faith ye stand. 1. Faith knits us to Christ, as the Members are knit to the Head by Nerves and Sinews. 2. Faith fills us with Love to God; It works by Love, Gal. 5.6. And he who loves God will rather dye than desert him. The Soldier who loves his General, will die in his Service▪ 3. Faith gives us a Prospect of Heaven, it shews us an invisible Glory, and he who hath Christ in his Heart, and a Crown in his Eye, will not faint away. O cherish Faith; keep your Faith, and your Faith will keep you. While the Pilot keeps his Ship, his Ship keeps him.

Sixthly, If Persevere, let us engage the power of God to help us; we are kept by the power of God. The Child is safest when it is held in the Nurses Arms; so are we when we are held in the Arms of Free-Grace. It is not our holding God, but his holding us preserves us: When a Boat is tied to a Rock it is secure; so when we are fast tied to the Rock of Ages, then we are impregnable. O engage God's power to help us to Persevere; we engage his Power by Prayer. Let us pray to him to keep us, Psal. 17.5. Hold up my goings in thy Paths that my Footsteps slip not. It was a good Prayer of Beza, Domine quod cepisti perfice, ne in portu naufragium accidat. Lord perfect what thou hast begun in me, that I may not suffer. Shipwreck when I am almost at the Haven.

Seventhly, If Persevere, set often before your Eyes the noble Examples of those who have Persevered in Religion; quot Martyres, quot Fideles in Coelis jam Triumphant? What a glorious Army of Saints and Martyrs have gone before us? How constant to the Death was St. Paul, Acts 21.13. How Persevering in the Faith were Ignasius, Policarp, Athanasius? These were Stars in their Orb, Pillars in the Temple of God. Let us look on their Zeal and Courage, and be animated; Heb. 12.1. Seeing we are compassed about with so great a Cloud of Witnesses, let us run with Patience the Race that is set before us. The Crown is set at the end of the Race, if we win the Race, we shall wear the Crown.

A Believers Privilege at Death.

Phil. 1.21.

For to me to Live is Christ, and to Dye is Gain.

SAint Paul was a great Admirer of Christ, he desired to know nothing but Christ and him Crucified, 1 Cor. 2.2. No Julip to the Blood of Christ; and in the Text, To me to live is Christ, and to dye is Gain.

First. To me to live is Christ; [gap]. We must understand Paul of a Spiritual Life. To me to live is Christ, i. e. Christ is my Life; so Greg. Nyssen. Or thus, my Life is made up of Christ. As a Wicked Mans Life is made up of Sin; So Paul's Life was made up of Christ; he was full of Christ. But that I may give you the Sense of the Te[gap] more fully, take it in these Three particulars;

• 1. Christ is the principle of my Life.

• 2. Christ is the end of my Life.

• 3. Christ is the Joy of my Life.

1. To me to live is Christ, i. e. Christ is the Principle of my Life. I fetch my Spiritual Life from Christ, as the Branch fetcheth its Sap from the Root, Gal. 2.20. Christ liveth in me. Jesus Christ is an Head of Influence, he sends forth Life and Spirits into me to quicken me to every Holy Action. Thus, To me to live is Christ. Christ is the principle of my Life, from his Fulness I live, as the Vine-branch lives from the Root.

2. To me to live is Christ, i. e. Christ is the end of my Life; I live not to my self, but to Christ. So Grotius and Causabon, Christo Servio, To me to live is Christ; all my Living is is to do Service to Christ, Rom. 14.8. Whether we live we live unto the Lord. When we lay out our selves wholly for Christ; as the Factor trades for the Merchant, so we Trade for Christs Interest, we propagate his Gospel; the design of our Life is to exalt Christ, and make the Crown upon his Head to flourish. Now it may be said, to us to live is Christ, our whole Life is a Living to Christ.

3. To me to live is Christ, i. e. Christ is the Joy of my Life, Psal. 42.4. God my exceeding Ioy, or the Cream of my Joy. A Christian rejoyceth in Christs Righteousness; he can rejoyce in Christ when Worldly Joys are gone. When the Tulip in a Garden withers, a Man rejoyceth in his Jewels. When Relations Dye, a Saint can rejoyce in Christ the Pearl of Price; in this Sense to me to live is Christ, he is the Joy of my Life. If Christ were gone, my Life would be a Death to me.

Use. It should exhort us all to labour to say as the Apostle, to me to live is Christ. Christ is the Principle of my Life, the End of my Life, the Joy of my Life, to me to live is Christ; and then we may comfortably conclude, that to Dye, shall be Gain.

Secondly. And that brings me to the Second part of the Text, [gap], and to Dye is Gain.

Doct. To a Believer Death is great Gain. A Saint can tell what his Losses for Christ are, but he cannot tell how great his Gains are at Death: To me to dye is Gain. Death to a Believer is Crepusculum gloriae, the Day-break of Eternal Brightness. To shew fully what a Believers Gains are at Death, were a task too great for an Angel; all Hyperboles fall short; the Reward of Glory exceeds our very Faith. Only let me give you the [gap] some dark views and imperfect Lineaments of that infinite Glory the Saints shall gain at the Hour of Death: To me to Dye is Gain.

1. Believers at Death shall gain a Writ of Ease from all Sins and Troubles; they shall be in a state of Impeccability: Sin expires with their Life. I think sometimes what an happy state that will be, never to have a sinful Thought more. And they shall have a quietus est from their Troubles. Here David cried out, My Life is spent with Griefs and my Years with Sighing, Psal. 31.10. Quid est diu vivere nisi diu torqueri, Aug. Life begins with a Cry, and ends with a Groan; but at Death all Troubles Dye.

2. Believers at Death shall gain the glorious Sight of God. They shall see him First, Intellectually with the Eyes of their Mind, which Divines call the Beatifical Vision: If there were not such an Intellectual sight of God, how do the Spirits of Iust Men made Perfect see him? Secondly, They shall behold the Glorified Body of Jesus Christ; and if it be pleasant to behold the Sun, then how blessed a sight will it be to see Christ the Son of Righteousness cloathed with our Human Nature shining in Glory above the Angels? Through Christ's Flesh as through a Transparent Glass, some bright Rays and Beams of the God head shall display themselves to glorified Eyes: The sight of God through Christ will be very complacential and delightful: The terrour of God's Essence will be taken away: Gods Majesty will be mixed with Beauty, and sweetned with Clemency; it will be infinitely delightful to the Saints to see the amiable aspects and smiles of Gods Face: Which brings me to the third thing.

3. The Saints at Death shall not only have a Sight of God, but shall enjoy the Love of God; there shall be no more Veil on Gods Face, nor his Smiles checker'd with Frowns, but Gods love shall discover it self in all its Orient Beauty and fragrant Sweetness. Here the Saints pray for Gods Love, and they have a few drops, but there they shall have as much as their Vessel can receive. To know this love passeth Knowledge: This will cause a Jubilation of Spirits, and create such Holy Raptures of Joy in the Saints as are Superlative, and would soon overwhelm them if God did not make them able to bear.

4. Believers at Death shall gain a Celestial Palace, an House not made with Hands, 2 Cor. 5.1. Here the Saints are straitned for Room, they have but mean Cottages to live in, but they shall have a Royal Palace to live in: Here is but their Sojourning House, there in Heaven is their Mansion-house: An House built high above all the Visible Orbs, an House bespangled with Light, Col. 1.12. Enriched with Pearls and Precious Stones, Rev. 21.19. And this is not their Landlord's House, but their Father's House, Iohn 14.2. And this House stands all upon Consecrated Ground; it is set out by Transparent Glass, to shew the Holiness of it, Rev. 21.27.

5. Believers at Death shall gain the sweet Society of glorified Saints and Angels. This will add something to the felicity of Heaven, as every Star adds some lustre to the Firmament. First, The Society of the glorified Saints; we shall see them in their Souls as well as in their Bodies. Their Bodies will be so clear and bright, that we shall see their Souls shining through their Bodies, as the Wine through the Glass; and Believers at Death shall have Converse with the Saints glorified. And how delightful will that be, when they shall be freed from all their Sinful Corruptions, Pride, Envy, Passion, Censoriousness, which are Scars upon them here to disfigure them. In Heaven there shall be perfect Love among the Saints; they shall as the Olive and Myrtle sweetly embrace each other. The Saints shall know one another, (as Luther speaks,) If in the Transfiguration Peter knew Moses and Elias, which he never saw before, Mat. 17.3. then much more in the glorified State, the Saints shall perfectly know one another, though they never saw them before. Secondly The Saints at Death shall behold the Angels with the glorified Eye of their Understanding. The Wings of the Cherubins (representing the Angels,) were made of Fine Gold, to denote both their Sanctity and Splendor. The Angels are compared to Lightning, Mat. 28.3. because of those Sparkling Beams of Majesty which as Lightning shoot from them. And when Saints and Angels shall meet and sing together in Consort in the Heavenly Quire, what Divine Harmony, what Joyful Triumphs will it Create!

6. Believers at Death shall gain Perfection of Holiness. Here Grace was but in Cunabulis, in its Cradle, very Imperfect; we cannot write a Copy of Holiness without Blotting: Believers are said to receive but Primitias Spiritus, the first Fruits of the Spirit, Rom. 8.23. But at Death the Saints shall arrive at Perfection, their Knowledge clear, their Sanctity perfect; their Sun shall be in its full Meridian Splendour. They need not then pray for Encrease of Grace; they shall Love God as much as they would Love him, and as much as he desires to have them Love him; they shall be then in respect of Holiness [gap] as the Angels of God.

7. At Death the Saints shall gain a Royal Magnificent Feast. I told you before what a glorious Palace they shall have; but a Man may starve in a House if there be no Chear. The Saints at Death shall have a Royal Banquet, shadowed out in Scripture by a Marriage Supper, Rev. 19.9. Bullinger and Gregory the Great, understand by that Marriage-Supper of the Lamb, the stately Magnificent Festival

the Saints shall have in Heaven; they shall feed on the Tree of Life, Rev. 22. They shall have the Heavenly Nectar and Ambrosia, the Spiced Wine, and Iuice of the Pomegranate, Cant. 8.2. This Royal Supper of the Lamb will not only satisfie Hunger, but prevent it, Rev. 7 16. They shall hunger no more. Nor can there be any Surfeit at this Feast, because a fresh Course will be continually served in: New and fresh Delights will spring from God; therefore the Tree of Life in Paradise is said to bear Twelve sorts of Fruit, Rev. 22.2.

8. Believers at Death shall gain Honour and Dignity, they shall reign as Kings; therefore we read of the Ensigns of their Royalty, their White Robes, and Crowns Caelestial, 2 Tim. 4.7. We read that the Doors of the Holy of Holies were made of Palm-Trees and open Flowers covered with Gold, 1 Kings 6.35. An Emblem of that Victory and Triumph, and that Golden Garland of Honour wherewith God hath invested the Saints glorified. When all Worldly Honour shall lye in the Dust, the Mace, the Star, the Robe of Ermin, the Imperial Diadem, then shall the Saints Honour remain; not one Jewel shall be pluck'd out of their Crown; they shall gain at Death a Blessed Eternity. If the Saints could have but the least Suspicion or Fear of losing their Glory, it would much cool and imbitter their Joy; but their Crown fades not away, 1 Pet. 5.4. As the Wicked have a Worm that never dies, so the Elect have a Crown that never fades. Ever is a short Word, but hath no ending; in fine erit gaudium sine fine, Bern. 2 Cor. 4.18. The things which are not seen are Eternal. Psal. 16.11. At thy right Hand are Pleasures for everm[gap]re. Who can span Eternity? Millions of Ages stand but for Ciphers in Eternity. This is the Elah, or highest strain of the Saints Glory; ever in Christ's Bosom.

Quest. How come the Saints to have all this Gain?

Resp. Believers have a right to all this Gain at Death, upon a diverse account: By vertue of the Fathers Donation, the Sons Purchase, the Holy Ghosts Earnest, and Faiths acceptance. Therefore the state of future glory is called the Saints proper inheritance, Col. 1.12. They are Heirs of God, and have a right to inherit.

Use 1. See the great difference between the Death of the Godly and the Wicked, the Godly are great gainers at Death, the Wicked are great Losers at Death. They loose Four things,

1. They lose the World, and that is a great loss to the Wicked; they laid up their Treasure upon Earth; and to be turned out of all at once is a great loss.

2. They lose their Souls, Mat. 16.26. The Soul was at first a noble piece of Coin, which God stamped his own Image upon; this Caelestial spark is more precious than the whole Globe of the World: But the Sinners Soul is lost; not that the Souls of the Wicked are annihilated at Death, but damnified.

3. They lose Heaven. Heaven is Sedes beatorum, the Royal Seat of the Blessed; it is the region of Happiness, the Map of Perfection. There is that Manna which is Angels Food; there is the Garden of Spices, the Bed of Perfumes, the Rivers of Pleasure. Sinners at Death lose all this.

4. They lose their Hopes. For though they lived wickedly, yet they hoped God was Merciful, and they hoped they should go to Heaven. Their Hope was not an Anchor, but a Spiders Web. Now at Death they lose their Hopes, they see they did but flatter themselves into Hell, Iob. 8.14. Whose Hope shall be cut off. That is sad to have a Mans Life and his Hope cut off together.

Use 2. If the Saints gain such glorious things at Death, then how may they desire Death? Doth not every one desire Preferment? nemo ante funera Foelix—Faith gives a Title to Heaven, Death a Possession. Though we should be desirous of doing Service here, yet we should be ambitious to be with Christ, Phil. 1.23. We should be content to live, but willing to Dye. Is it not a blessed thing to be freed from Sin, and to lie for ever in the Bosom of Divine Love? Is it not a blessed thing to meet our Godly Relations in Heaven, and to be singing Divine Anthems of Praise among the Angels? Doth not the Bride desire the Marriage Day, especially if she were to be matched unto the Crown? What is the Place we now live in, but a Place of Banishment from God? We are in a Wilderness, while the Angels live at Court. Here we are combating with Satan, and should not we desire to be out of the Bloody Field where the Bullets of Tentation fly so fast, and to receive a Victorious Crown? Think what it will be to have always a smiling Aspect from Christs Face; to be brought into the Banqueting House, and have the Banner of his Love displayed over you. O ye Saints desire Death, it is your Ascension-day to Heaven. Egredere anima, egredere, said Hilarion on his Death-bed,

Go forth my Soul, what fearest thou? Another Holy Man said, Lord lead me to that Glory which I have seen as through a Glass; Hast Lord and do not tarry. Some Plants thrive best when they are transplanted: Believers when they are by Death transplanted, cannot choose but thrive, because they have Christ's sweet Sun-beams shine upon them: And what though the Passage through the Valley of the shadow of Death be troublesome. Who would not be willing to pass a tempestuous Sea, if he were sure to be crown'd as soon as he came at shore?

Use 3. Comfort in the loss of our dear and pious Relations. They, when they dye, are not only taken away from the Evil to come, but they are great gainers by Death: They leave a Wilderness and go to Paradise: They change their Complaints into Thanksgivings: They leave their Sorrows behind, and enter into the Joy of their Lord: Why should we weep for their Preferment? Believers have not their Portion paid till the day of their Death: Gods Promise is his Bond to make over Heaven in Reversion to them: But though they have his Bond, they do not receive their Portion till the day of Death. Oh! Rejoyce to think of their Happiness who dye in the Lord; to them to dye is gain: They are as Rich as Heaven can make them.

A Believers Privilege at Death.

Phil. 1.21.

For to me to live is Christ, and to dye is gain.

HOPE is a Christan's Anchor, which he casts within the vail, Rom. 12.12. Rejoycing in Hope. A Christians Hope is not in this Life, but he hath Hope in his Death, Prov. 14.32. The best of a Saints Comfort begins when his Life ends. The Wicked have all their Heaven here, Luke 6.28. Woe unto you Rich, you have received your Consolation. You may make your Acquittance and write, Received in full Payment. Luke 16.25. Son, remember that thou in thy life-time receivedst thy good things. But a Saints Happiness is in Reversion; The righteous hath Hope in his death. God keeps the best Wine till last. If Cato the Heathen said, To me to dye is gain; He saw Mortality to be a Mercy: Then what may a Believer say, Eccles. 7.1. The day of Death is better than the day of ones Birth. Nemo ante Funera Felix, Solon. A Queen of this Land said she prefer'd her Coffin before her Cradle.

Quest. 1. What Benefits do Believers receive at Death?

Resp. 1. They have great Immunities. 2. They pass immediately into a State of Glory. 3. Their Bodies are united to Christ in the Grave till the Resurrection.

1. The Saints at Death have great Immunities and Freedoms: A Prentice when out of his time is made Free: When the Saints are out of their time of living, then they are made Free; not made Free till Death. 1. At Death they are freed from a Body of Sin. There are in the best reliquiae peccati, some Remainders and Reliques of Corruption, Rom. 7.24. O wretched Man that I am, who shall deliver me from this Body of Death! By the Body of Death is meant the Congeries, the Mass and lump of Sin. It may well be called a Body for its weightiness, and a Body of Death for its noisomness. (1.) It weighs us down; sin hinders us from doing good. A Christian is like a Bird that would be flying up, but hath a string tyed to its Legs to hinder it; so he would be flying up to Heaven with the Wings of desire, but sin hinders him, Rom. 7.15. The good that I would, I do not. A Christian is like a Ship that is under Sail and at Anchor. Grace would sail forward, but Sin is the Anchor that holds it back. (2.) Sin is oft more active in its Sphere than Grace. How stirring was Lust in David, when his Grace lay dormant? (3.) Sin sometimes gets the Mastery, and leads a Saint Captive, Rom. 7.19. The evil I would not, that do I. Paul was like a Man carried down the stream, and could not bear up against it. How oft is a Child of God over-power'd with Pride and Passion? Therefore Paul calls sin, [gap], a Law in his Members, Rom. 7.24. it binds as a Law, it hath a kind of Jurisdiction over the Soul, as Cesar had over the Senate. (4.) Sin defiles the Soul, it is like a stain to Beauty, it turns the Souls Azure Brightness into Sables. (5.) Sin debilitates us, it disarms us of our strength, 2 Sam. 3.39. I am this day weak though anointed King. So though a Saint is

crown'd with Grace, yet he is weak, though anointed a Spiritual King. (6.) Sin is ever Restless, Gal. 5.17. The flesh lusts against the Spirit. It is an Inmate that is always quarrelling: Like Marcellus that Roman Captain, of whom Hannibal said, Whether he did beat or was beaten, he would never be quiet. (7.) Sin adheres to us, we cannot get rid of it. It may be compar'd to a wild Fig-tree growing on a Wall; though the Roots are pull'd up, yet there are some Fibers, some stings of it in the joynts of the stone-work which cannot be gotten out. (8.) Sin mingles with our Duties and Graces; we cannot write a Copy of Holiness without blotting. This makes a Child of God weary of his Life, and makes him water his Couch with his Tears, to think sin so strong a Party, and he should offend that God whom he loves. This made Paul cry out, Miser ego Homo, O wretched Man that I am! Hence Paul did not cry out of his Affliction, of his Prison-chain, but of the body of sin. Now a Believer at Death shall be freed from sin; he is not taken away in but from his sins; he shall never have a vain proud thought more; he shall never grieve the Spirit of God any more. Sin brought Death into the World, and Death shall carry sin out of the World. The Persians had a certain day in the Year, in which they kill'd all Serpents and venomous Creatures: Such a day will the day of Death be to a Believer; it will destroy all his sins, which like so many Serpents have stung him. Death smites a Believer, as the Angel did Peter, it made his Chains fall off. So Death makes all the Chains of Sin fall off, Acts 12.7. Believers at Death are made perfect in Holiness, Heb. 12.23. The Spirits of just Men made perfect. At Death the Souls of Believers recover their Virgin-purity. O what a Blessed Privilege is this, to be sine macula & ruga, without spot and wrinckle, Eph. 5.27. to be purer than the Sun-beams, to be as free from sin as the Angels. This makes a Believer so desirous to have his Pass to be gone: He would fain live in that pure Air, where no black Vapors of sin arise.

2. At Death the Saints shall be freed from all the Troubles and Incumbrances to which this Life is subject. Sin is the Seed sown, and Trouble is the Harvest reaped: [gap], Eurip. Life and Trouble are married together: There is more in Life to wean us than to tempt us. Parents divide a Portion of Sorrow to their Children, and yet they leave enough for themselves, Iob 5.7. Man is born to trouble. He is Heir to it; it is his Birth-right. You may as well separate weight from Lead, as Trouble from the Life of Man: Quid est diu vivere nisi diu Torqueri? Aug. King Henry's Emblem, a Crown hung in a Bush of Thorns. There is a far greater Proportion of Bitterness than Pleasure in this Life, Prov. 7.17. I have perfumed my Bed with Myrrhe, Aloes and Cynamon. For one sweet Ingredient there were two bitter; for the Cynamon there was Myrrhe and Aloes. A Mans Grace will not exempt him from Troubles, Gen. 47.9. Few and evil have the days of the years of my Life been. Though he was a Godly Patriarch, though he had met with God, Gen. 32.30. He named the name of the place Peniel: For I have seen God face to face: Yet he had his Troubles few and evil, &c. There are many things to imbitter Life and cause trouble, and Death frees us from all. 1. Care: The Mind is full of perplexed thoughts, how to bring about such a Design; how to prevent such an Evil. The word for Care, [gap], comes from a Primitive in the Greek, that signifies To cut the Heart in pieces. Care doth discruciate the Mind, wast the Spirits: No such bitter Bread as the Bread of Carefulness, Ezek. 12.19. Care is a Spiritual Canker which eats out the Comfort of Life. Death is the Cure of Care. 2. Fear: Fear is the Ague of the Soul, which sets it a shaking, 1 Iohn 4.14. There is Torment in Fear: Fear is like Prometheus his Vulture, it gnaws upon the Heart. There is a distrustful Fear, a Fear of Want; and a distracting Fear, Fear of Danger; and a discouraging Fear, a Fear God doth not love us. These Fears leave sad Impressions upon the Mind: Now at Death a Believer is freed from these torturing Fears: He now knows he is passed from Death to Life: He is as far from Fear, as the Damned are from Hope: The Grave buries a Christians Fears. 3. Labour. Eccles. 1.8. All things are full of labour. Some labour in the Mine, others among the Muses: God hath made a Law▪ In the sweat of thy Brows thou shalt eat Bread: But Death gives a Believer a Quietus est; it takes him off from his Day-labour, Rev. 14.13. Blessed are the dead that dye in the Lord, they rest from their labours. What needs working when they have their Reward? What needs fighting, when the Crown is set on their Head? they rest from their Labours. 4. Suffering: Believers are as a Lilly among Thorns; as the Dove among the Birds of Prey. The Wicked have an Antipathy against the Righteous, and secret Hatred will break forth into open Violence, Gal. 4.29. He that was born after the Flesh, persecuted him that was born

after the Spirit. The Dragon is described with seven Heads and ten Horns, Rev. 12.3. he plotteth with the one, and pusheth with the other. But at Death the Godly shall be freed from the Molestations of the Wicked; they shall never be pestered with these Vermin more, Iob 3.17. There (viz. in the Grave) the wicked cease from troubling. Death doth to a Believer, as Ioseph of Arimathea did to Christ; it takes him down from the Cross, and gives him a Writ of Ease: The Eagle that flies high cannot be stung with the Serpent: Death gives the Soul the Wing of the Eagle, that it flies above all these venomous Serpents here below. 5. Temptation: Though Satan be a conquered Enemy▪ yet he is a restless Enemy, 1 Pet. 5.8. He walketh about; the Devil is always going his Diocess: He hath his Snares and his Darts: One he tempts with Riches, another with Beauty; it is no small trouble to be continually followed with Temptation: As for a Virgin to have her Chastity daily assaulted: But Death will free a Child of God from Temptation; he shall never be vexed more with the old Serpent. After Death hath shot its Dart at us, the Devil shall have done shooting his: Though Grace puts a Believer out of the Devils Possession, only Death frees him from the Devils Temptation. 6. Sorrow: A Cloud of Sorrow gathers in the Heart, and drops into Tears, Psal. 31.10. My life is spent with Grief, and my years with sighing. It was a Curse, Gen. 3.16. In sorrow thou shalt bring forth. Many things occasion Sorrow; Sickness, Law-suits, Treachery of Friends, disappointment of Hopes, loss of Estate. Ruth 1.20. Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty. Sorrow is the evil Spirit that haunts us; the World is a Bochim: Rachel wept for her Children; some grieve that they have no Children, and others grieve that their Children are undutiful. Thus we spend our years with sighing; 'tis a Valley of Tears: But Death is the Funeral of all our Sorrows, Rev. 7.17. And God shall wipe away all Tears. Then Christs Spouse puts off her Mourning. How can the Children of the Bride Chamber Mourn, when the Bride-Groom shall be with them? Matt. 9.15. Thus Death gives a Believer his Quietus est; it frees him from Sin and Trouble. Though the Apostle calls Death the last Enemy, 1 Cor. 15. yet it is the best Friend: To me to dye is gain.

Use 1. See here that which may make a true Saint willing to die: Death will set him out of Gun-shot; free him from Sin and Trouble. There is no cause of weeping, to leave a Valley of Tears. The World is the Stage on which Sin and Misery are Acted. Believers are here in a strange Country, why then should they not be willing to go out of it? Death beats off their Fetters of Sin, and sets them free who go weeping out of a Goal: Besides our own Sins the Sins of others. The World is a place where Satan's Seat is; a place where we see God daily dishonoured. Lot (who was a bright Star in a dark Night) his righteous Soul was vexed with the unclean Conversation of the Wicked, 2 Pet. 3.8. To see Gods Sabbaths broken, his Truths adulterated, his Glory eclipsed, is that which wounds a Godly Heart. This made David cry out, Psal. 120.5. Woe is me that I dwell in Mesech, that I sojourn in the Tents of Kedar. Kedar was Arabia, where were Ishmaels Posterity. This was a cut to David's Heart to dwell there. O then be willing to depart out of the Tents of Kedar.

2. The Bodies of Believers are united to Christ in the Grave, and shall rest there till the Resurrection. They are said to sleep in Jesus, 1 Thess. 4.14. The dust of Believers is part of Christs Body Mystical. The Grave is a Dormitory or place of rest to the Saints, where their Bodies quietly sleep in Christ, till they are awakened out of their sleep by the Trumpet of the Arch-angel.

Quest. 2. But how shall we know that we shall gain all this at Death, to be freed from Sin and Trouble, and to have our Bodies united to Christ in the Grave?

Resp. If we are Believers, then we gain all this at Death. To me (saith Paul) to dye is gain. To me, quatenus, a Believer. Are we such? Have we this blessed Faith? Faith, where-ever it is, is Operative. Lapidaries say, there is no precious Stone but hath Virtutem insitam, some hidden Virtue in it: So I may say of Faith: It hath some secret Virtue in it: It Anchors the Soul on Christ: It hath both a justifying and sanctifying Virtue in it: It fetcheth Blood out of Christs sides to Pardon, and Water out of his sides to Purge: It works by love: It constrains to Duty: It makes the Head study for Christ, the Tongue confess him, the Hands work for him. I have read of a Father who had three Sons, and being to dye, left in his Will all his Estate to that Son who could find his Ring with the Jewel which had an healing Vertue. The Case was brought before the Judges, the two elder Sons counterfeited a Ring, but the younger Son brought the

true Ring; which was proved by the Vertue of it; whereupon his Fathers Estate went to him. To this Ring I may compare Faith; there is a counterfeit Faith in the World; but if we can find this Ring of Faith which hath the Healing Vertue in it, to purifie the Heart, this is the true Faith, which gives us an Interest in Christ, and entitles us to all these Privileges at Death, to be freed from Sin and Sorrow, and to have our Bodies united to Christ, while they are in the Grave.

3. I should now come to the third Privilege at Death, the Souls of Believers pass immediately into Glory. Where I shall lead you to the top of Mount Pisgah, and give you a short view of the Glory of Heaven.