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to the flaughter; the rather that Satan, who ufeth all his art to fupport the hopes of the hypocrite, will do his utmost to mar the peace, and increase the fears of the faint. Finally, The bad frame of fpirit, and ill condition, in which death fometimes feizeth a true Chriftian, may caufe this perplexity.. By his being in the ftate of grace, he is indeed always habitually prepared for death, and his dying fufely is infured; but there is more requifite to his actual preparation, and dying comfortably; his fpirit must be in good condition too.

Wherefore, there are three cafes, in which death cannot but be very uncomfortable to a child of God. (1.) If it feize him at a time when the guilt of fomne particular fin unrepented of, is lying on his confcience; and death comes on that very account, to take him out of the land of the living; as was the caufe of many of the Corinthian believers, 1 Cor. xi. 30. For this caufe (namely, of unworthy "communicating) many are weak and fickly among you, and many fleep." If a perfon is furprised with the approach of death, while lying under the guilt of fome unpardoned fin, it cannot but cause a mighty confternation. (2) When death catches him napping. The mighty cry maft be frightful to fleeping virgins. The man who lies in à ruinous house, and awakens not till the timber begins to crack, and the ftones to drop down about his ears, may indeed get out of it fafely, but not without fears of being crufhed by its fall. When a Christian has been going on in a courfe of fecurity and backfliding, and awakens not till death comes to his bed-fide; it is no marvel if he get a fearful awakening. Lastly, When he has loft fight of his faving intereft' in Chrift, and cannot produce evidences of his title to heaven. It is hard to meet death without fome evidence of a tittle to eternal life at hand: hard to go through the dark valley without the candle of the Lord fhining upon the head. It is a terrible adventure to launch out into eternity, when a man can make no better of it, than a leap in the dark, not knowing where he thall light, whether in heaven or hell.

Nevertheless, the ftate of the faints, in their death, is always in itfelf hopeful. The prefumptuous hopes of the ungodly, in their death, cannot make their ftate hopeful; neither can the hopele fnefs of a faint make his ftate hopeless: for God judgeth according to the truth of the thing, not according to men's opinions about it. Howbeit the faints can no more be altogether without hope, than they can be altogether without faith. Their faith may be very weak, but it fails not; and their hope very low, yet they will, and do, hope to the end. Even while the godly feem to be carried away with the ftreams of doubts and fears; there remains ftill as much hope as determines them to lay hold on the tree of life, that grows on the banks of the river: Jonah ii. 4. "Then I faid, I am caft out of thy "fight: yet I will look again towards thy holy temple.”

USE. This fpeaks comfort to the godly againft the fear of death. A godly man may be called a happy man, before his death; because, whatever befal him in life, he fhall certainly be happy at death. You

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who are in Chrift, who are true Chriftians, have hope in your end; and fuch hope as may comfort you against all thofe fears, which arife from the confideration of a dying hour. This I fhall branch out, in anfwering fome cafes briefly.

CASE I. The profpect of death (will fome of the faints fay) is uneafy to me, not knowing what shall become of my family, when I am gone. ANSW. The righteous hath hope in his death, as to his family, as well as to himself. Altho' you have little for the prefent, to live upon; which has been the cafe of many of God's chosen ones, I Cor. iv. 1. We (namely the Apostles, ver. 9) both hunger and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling-place: and tho' you have nothing to leave them, as was the cafe of that fon of the prophet's, who did fear the Lord, and yet died in debt which he was unable to pay; as his poor widow reprefents, 2 Kings iv. 1. yet. you have a good friend to leave them too; a covenanted God, to whom you may confidently commit them, Jer. xlix. 11. "Leave thy fatherleis children, I will preferve them alive, and let thy widows truft in "me." The world can bear witnefs of fignal fettlements made upon the children of providence; fuch as by their pious parents have been caft upon God's providential care. It has been often remarked that they wanted neither provifion nor education. Mofes is an eminent inftance of this. He, albeit he was an outcaft infant, (Exod. ii. 3.) yet was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, Acts vii. 22. and became king in Jeshurum, Deut. xxxiii. 5. O! may we not be afhamed, that we do not fecurely truft him with the concerns of our families, to whom, as our Saviour and Redeemer, we have committed our eternal interefts!

CASE II. "Death will take us away from our dear friends; yea, we fhall not fee the Lord in the land of the living, in the blessed "ordinances." ANSW. It will take you to your best friend, the Lord Chrift. And the friends you leave behind you, if they be indeed perfons of worth, you will meet them again, when they come to heaven: and you will never be feparated any more. If death take you-away from the temple below, it will carry you to the temple above. It will indeed take you from the ftreams, but it will fet you down by the fountain. If it put out your candle, it will carry you where there is no night, where there is an eternal day.

CASE III. "I have fo much ado, in time of health, to fatisfy myfelf, as to my intereft in Chrift, about my being a real Chriftian, "a regenerate man; that I judge, it is almoft impoffible I thould die "comfortably." ANSW. If it is thus with you, then double your diligence, to make your calling and election fure. Endeavour to grow in knowledge, and walk closely with God; be diligent in felf-examination; and pray earnestly for the Holy Spirit, whereby you may know the things freely given you of God. If you are enabled by the power and Spirit of Chrift, thus diligently to profecute your fpiritual concerns; though the tinie of your life be neither day or night, yet at evening

time, it may be light. Many weak Chriftians indulge doubts and fears about their fpiritual ftate, as if they placed, at leaft, fome part of religion in this impudent practice: but towards the period of life, they are forced to think and act in another manner. The traveller, who reckons he has time to fpare, may ftand ftill debating with himself, whether this or the other be the right way; but when the fun begins to fet, he is forced to lay afide his fcruples, and refolutely to go forward on the road he judges to be the right one, left he ly all night in the open fields. Thus fome Chriftians, who perplex themselves much, throughout the course of their lives, with jealous doubts and fears, content themselves, when they come to die, with fuch evidences of the fafety of their ftate, as they could not be fatisfied with before; and, by difputing less against themfelves, and believing more, court the peace they formerly rejected, and gain it too.

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CASE IV. I am under a fad decay, in refpect of my fpiritual "condition." ANSW. Bodily confumptions may make death eafy; but it is not fo in fpiritual decays. I will not fay, that a godly mant cannot be in fuch a cafe, when he dies; but I believe it is rarely fo. Ordinarily (I fuppofe) a cry comes to awaken fleepy virgins before death come. Samfon is fet to grind in the prifon, until his locks again. David and Solomon fell under great fpiritual decays; but, before they died, they recovered their spiritual ftrength and vigour, However, beftir ye yourselves without delay, to strengthen the things that remain: your fright will be the lefs, that ye awake from fpiritual fleep, ere death come to your bed-fide: and your ought to lofe no time, féeing you know not how foon death may feize you.

CASE V." It is terrible to think of the other world, that world "of fpirits which I have fo little acquaintance with." ANSW. Thy belt friend is Lord of that other world. Abraham's bofom is kindly, even to these who never faw his face. After death thy foul becomes capable of converse with the bleffed inhabitants of that other world, The fpirits of juft men made perfect were once fuch as thy fpirit now is. And as for the angels, howfoever they be of a fuperior nature in the rank of beings, yet our nature is dignified above theirs, in the man Chrift: and they are, all of them, thy Lord's fervants, and fo thy fellow-fervants.

CASE VI." The pangs of death are terrible." ANSW. Yet not fo terrible as pangs of confcience, caufed by a piercing fenfe of guilt, and apprehenfions of divine wrath, with which, I fuppofe thee to be not altogether unacquainted. But who would not endure bodily fickness, that the foul may become found, and every whit whole? Each pang of death will fet fin a ftep nearer the door; and with the, laft breath, the body of fin will breath out its laft. The pains of deaths will not last long; and the Lord thy God will not leave, but fupport thee, under them.

CASE VII. "But I am like to be cut off in the midst of my days." Answ. Do not complain, you will be the fooner at home: you have

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thereby the advantage of your fellow-labourers, who were at work before you in the vineyard. God, in the courfe of his providences, hides fome of his faints early in the grave, that they may be taken away from the evil to come. An early removal out of this world prevents much fin and mifery: and they have no ground of complaint, who get the refidue of their years in Immanuel's land. Surely thou fhalt live as long as thou haft work cut out for thee, by the great Mafter, to be done for him in this world; and when that is at an end, it is high time to be gone.

CASE VIII. "I am afraid of fudden death." ANSW. Thou may indeed die fo. Good Eli died fuddenly, 1 Sam. iv. 18. Yet death found him watching, ver. 12. "Watch therefore, for ye know "not what hour the Lord doth come," Matth. xxiv. 42. But be not afraid, it is an unexpreffible comfort, that death, come when it will, can never catch thee out of Chrift; and therefore can never feize thee, as a jailor, to hurry thee into the prifon of hell. Sudden death may haften and facilitate thy paffage to heaven, but can do thee no prejudice.

CASE IX. "I am afraid it may be my lot to die wanting the "exercife of reafon." ANSW. I make no question but a child of God, a true Chriftian, may die in this cafe. But what harm? There is no hazard in it, as to his eternal ftate: a difeafe, at death, may divest him of his reason, but not of his religion. When a man going a long voyage, has put his affairs in order, and put all his goods aboard; he himself may be carried aboard the ship fleeping: all is fafe with him, although he knows not where he is, till he awaken in the fhip. Even fo the godly man, who dies in this cafe, may die uncomfortably, but not anfafely.

CASE laft. "I am naturally timorous, and the very thoughts of "death are terrible to me." ANSW. The lefs you think on death, the thoughts of it will be the more frightful: but make it familiar to you by frequent meditations upon it, and you may thereby allay your fears. Look at the white and bright fide of the cloud: take faith's view of the city that hath foundations: fo fhall you fee hope in your death. Be duly affected with the body of fin and death, and frequent interruptions of your communion with God, and with the glory which dwells on the other fide death: this will contribute much to remove flavish fear.

It is pity faints fhould be fo fond of life as they often are they ought always to be in good terms with death. When matters are duly confidered, it might well be expected every child of God, every regenerate man, fhould generously profefs concerning this life, what Job did, chap. vii. 16. I lothe it, I would not live always. In order to gain their hearts to this defirable temper, I offer the following additional confiderations.

Firft, Confider the finfulness that attends life in this world. While ye live here, ye fin, and fee others finning. Ye breathe

infectious air. Ye live in a peft houfe. Is it at all firange to lothe fuch a life? (1.) Your own pilgrim's fores are running on you. Doth not the fin of your nature make you groan daily? Are you not fenfible, that though the cure be begun, it is yet far from being perfected? Has not the leprofy got into the walls of the house, which cannot be removed without pulling it down? Is not your nature so vitiate, that no less than the feparation of the foul from the body can root out the disease? Have you not your fores with qut, as well as your sickness within? Do ye not leave marks of your pollution, on whatfoever, paffes through your hands? Are not all your actions tainted and blemished with defects and imperfections? Who elfe then fhould be much in love with life, but fuch whose fickness is their health, and who glory in their fhame? (2.) The loathfome fores of others are always before your eyes, go where you will. The follies and wickednefs of men are every where confpicuous, and make but an unpleasant scene. The finful world is but an unfightly company, a disagreeable croud, in which the most loathfome are the most numerous. (3) Are not your own fores ofttimes breaking out again, after healing? Frequent relapfes may well caufe us remit of our fondness for this life. To be ever struggling, and anon falling into the mire again, makes weary work. Do ye never wih for cold death, thereby effectually to cool the heat of thefe lufts, which so often take fire again; even after a Aood of godly forrow has gone over them? (4.) Do not ye fometimes infect others, and others infect you? There is no fociety in the world, in which every member of it doth not fometimes lay a ftumblingblock before the reft. The best carry about with them the finder of a corrupt nature, which they cannot be rid of while they live, and which is liable to be kindled at all times, and in all places; yea, they are apt to inflame others, and become the occafions of finning. Certainly these things are apt to imbitter this life to the faints.

Secondly, Confider the mifery and trouble that attend it. Reft is defirable, but it is not to be found on this fide of the grave. Worldly troubles attend all men in this life. This world is a fea of trouble, where one wave rolls upon another. They, who fancy themfelves beyond the reach of trouble, are mistaken: no ftate, no ftage of life, is exempted from it. The crowned head is furrounded with thorny cares. Honour many times paves the way to deep difgrace: riches, for the most part, are kept to the hurt of the owners. The faireft rofe wants not prickles; and the heaviest crofs is fometimes found wrapt up in the greatest earthly comfort. Spiritual troubles attend the faints in this life. They are like travellers in a cloudy night, in which the moon sometimes breaks out from under one cloud, but quickly hides her head again under another: no wonder they long to be at their journey's end. The fudden alterations the beft frame of spirit is liable to, the perplexing doubts, confounding fears, fhort-liv'd joys, and long-running forrows, which have

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