i>. ' .*;■■■ 
 
 i*: 
 
yT .) 
 

 ■r 
 
WORLD TO COME 
 
 OR, 
 
 DISCOURSES 
 
 ON THE 
 
 JOYS OR SORROWS 
 
 OF 
 
 DEPARTED SOULS AT DEATH, 
 
 AND THE 
 
 GLORY OR TERROR OF THE RESURRECTION. 
 
 TO WHICH IS PRETIXED, 
 
 AN ESSAY TOWARD THE PROOF 
 
 OF A ♦ 
 
 SEPARATE STATE OF SOULS AFTER DEATH. 
 
 WHEREIN, 
 
 After some representations of the happiness of Heaven, and a preparation for il, there fol 
 lows a rational and Scriptural account of the punishments in Hell, and a proof of ihcii" 
 eternal duration. With a plain Answer to all the most plausible Objections 
 
 JB Y ISJJC WATTS, D. D. 
 
 VOL. L 
 
 MILL-HILL, J\'EAR TRE.VTOX 
 PUBLISHED BY DANIEL FENTON. 
 
 JOSEPH RAKESTRAW, ruiNTLR, 
 1811. 
 

THE PREFACE. 
 
 AMONG all the solemn and important things 
 which relate to religion, there is nothing that strikes 
 the soul of man with so much awe and solemnity, as 
 the scenes of death, and the dreadful or delightful 
 consequents which attend it. Who can think of en- 
 tering into that unknown region where spirits dwell, 
 without the strongest impressions upon the mind 
 arising from so strange a manner of existence ? Who 
 can take a survey of the resurrection of the millions 
 of the dead, and of the tribunal of Christ, whence 
 men and angels must receive their doom, without the 
 most painful solicitude, * What will my sentence be ?' 
 Who can meditate on the intense and unmingled 
 pleasure or pain in the world to come, without the 
 most pathetic emotions of soul, since each of us must 
 be determined to one of these states, and they are 
 both of everlasting duration > 
 
 These are the things that touch the springs of every 
 passion in the most sensible manner, and raise our 
 hopes and our fears to their supreme exercise. These 
 are the subjects with which our blessed Saviour and 
 his Apostles frequently entertained their hearers, iu 
 order to persuade them to hearken, and attend to the 
 divine lessons which they published amongst them. 
 
IV THE PREFACE. 
 
 These were some of the sharpest weapons of then 
 holy warfare, which entered into the inmost vitals of 
 mankind, and pierced their consciences with the high- 
 est solicitude. These have been the happy means 
 to awaken thousands of sinners to flee from the wrath 
 to come, and to allure and hasten them to enter into 
 that glorious refuge that is set before them in the 
 gospel. 
 
 It is for the same reason that I have selected a few 
 discourses on these arguments out of my public mi- 
 nistry, to set them before the eyes of the world in a 
 more public manner, that if possible, some thought- 
 less creatures might be rouzed out of their sinful 
 slumbers, and might awake into a spiritual andetet. 
 nal life, through the concurring influences of the 
 blessed Spirit. 
 
 I am not willing to disappoint my readers, and 
 therefore I would let them know before-hand, that 
 they will Rnd very little in this book to gratify their 
 cariosity about the many questions relating to the 
 invisible world,, and the things which God has not 
 plainly revealed : Something of this kind, perhaps, 
 may be found in two discourses di death and heaijcn^ 
 which I published long ago : But in the present dis- 
 couises I have very much neglected such curious 
 enquiries. Nor will the ear that has an itch for con- 
 troversy be much entertained here, for I have avoid- 
 ed matters of doubtful debate. Nor need the most 
 zealous man of orthodoxy, fear to be led astray into 
 new and dangerous sentiments, if he will but take 
 
THE PREFACE. V 
 
 the plainest and most evident dictates of Scripture* 
 for his direction into all truth. 
 
 My only design has been to set the great and most 
 momentous things of a future world in the most con- 
 vincing and affecting light, and to enforce them upon 
 the conscience with all the fervour that such subjects 
 demand and require. And may our blessed Re- 
 deemer, who reigns Lord of the invisible world, pro- 
 nounce these words with a divine power to the heart 
 of every man, who shall either read or hear them. 
 
 The treatise which is set as an introduction to this 
 book, was printed many years ago without the au- 
 thor's name, and there, in a short preface, represent- 
 ed to the reader these few reasons of its writing and 
 publication, viz. 
 
 The principles of atheism and infidelity have pre- 
 vailed so far upon our age, as to break in upon the 
 sacred fences of virtue and piety, and to destroy the 
 noblest and most effectual springs of true and vital 
 religion; I mean those which are contained in the 
 blessed gospel. The doctrine of the resurrection of 
 the body, and the consequent states of heanen and 
 hell^ is a guard and motive of divine force ; but it is 
 renounced by the enemies of our holy Christianity : 
 And should we give up the recompences of separate 
 soulsy while the deist denies the resurrection of the 
 body, I fear between both we should sadly enfeeble 
 and expose the cause of virtue, and leave it too naked 
 and defenceless. The Christian would have but one 
 persuasive of this kind remaining, and the deist 
 would have none at all. 
 
VI THL PR EI' ACE. 
 
 It is necessary therefore to be upon our guard, and 
 to establish every motive that we can derive either 
 from reason or Scripture, to secure religion in the 
 world. The doctrine of the state of separate spirits, 
 and the commencement of rewards and punishments, 
 immediately ufter death, is one of those sacred fences 
 of virtue which we borrow from Scripture, and it is 
 highly favoured by reason, and therefore it may not 
 be unseasonable to publish such arguments as may 
 tend to the support of it. 
 
 In this second edition of this small treatise, I have 
 added several paragraphs and pages to defend the 
 same doctrine, and the last section contains an an- 
 swer to various new objections which I had not met 
 with, when I first began to write on this subject. I 
 hope it is set upon such a firm foundation of many 
 Scriptures, as cannot possibly be overturned, nor do 
 I think it a very easy matter any way to evade the 
 force of them. May the grace of God lead us on 
 further into every truth that tends to maintain and 
 propagate faith and holiness. 
 
 In the first of these discourses, I have endeavour- 
 ed to prove, that * at the departure of the soul from 
 the body by death, the rewards or pMiiishments,' i. e. 
 the joys or sorrows ' of the other woi^ld, are appoint- 
 ed to commence :' And I hope I have given, from 
 the evidence of Scripture, such arguments to support 
 this doctrine, as that the faith of Christians may not 
 be staggered and confounded by different opinions, 
 or made to wait fur these events, through all the ma-. 
 
THE PKEFACE. vi'l 
 
 n}' years that may arise between death and the resur- 
 rection. 
 
 I know nothing besides this, that is made a matter 
 of controversy ; and I hope that the whole of these 
 sermons, by the blessing of God, will be made hap- 
 pily useful to Christians, to awaken and warn them 
 against the danger of being seized by death in a state 
 unprepared for the presence of God, and the happi- 
 ness of heaven, and to raise the comforts and joys of 
 many pious souls in the lively expectation of future 
 blessedness. 
 
 The last discourses of this book, especially the 
 * eternity of the punishments of hell,' have been in 
 latter and former years made a matter of dispute ; 
 and were I to pursue my enquiries into this doctrine, 
 only by the aids of the light of nature and reason, I 
 fear my natural tenderness might warp me aside 
 from the rules and the demands of strict justice, and 
 the wise and holy government of the great God. 
 
 But as I confine myself almost entirely to the reve- 
 lation of Scripture in all my searches into the things 
 of revealed religion and Christianity, I am constrain- 
 ed to forget or to lay aside that softness and tender- 
 ness of animal nature which might lead me astray, 
 and- to follow the unerring dictates of th,e word of 
 God. 
 
 The Scripture frequently, and in the plainest and 
 strongest manner, asserts the everlasting punishment 
 of sinners in hell ; and that by all the methods of ex- 
 pression which are used in Scripture to signify an 
 everlasting continuance. 
 
Vlli THE PKEIACi;. 
 
 God's utter hatred and aversion to sin, in this per- 
 petual punishment of it, are manifested many ways; 
 (1.) By the just and severe threatenings of the wise 
 and righteous Governor of the world, which are scat- 
 tered up and down in his word. (2.) By the vera- 
 city of God in his intimations or narratiies of past 
 events, as Jude v. 7. " Sodom and Gomorrha suffer- 
 ing the vengeance of eternal fire." (3.) By his ex- 
 yircss predictions, Matth. xxv. 46. ** These shall go 
 away into everlasting punishment." 2 Thess. i. 9. 
 *' Who shall be punished with everlasting destruc- 
 tion ;" and I might add, (4.) by the ijeracity and 
 truth of all his holy Prophets and Apostles, and his 
 Son Jesus Christ at the head of them, whom he has 
 sent to acquaint mankind with the rules of their duty, 
 and the certain judgment of God in a holy correspon- 
 dence therewith, and that in such words as seem to 
 admit of no way of escape, or of hope for the con- 
 demned criminals. 
 
 I must confess here, if it were possible for the 
 great and blessed God any other way to vindicate his 
 own eternal and unchangeable hatred of sin, the in- 
 flexible justice of his government, the wisdom of his 
 severe threatenings, and the veracity of his predic- 
 tions, if it were also possible for him, without this 
 terrible execution, to vindicate the veracity, sincerity, 
 and wisdom of the Prophets and Apostles, and Jesus 
 Christ his Son, the greatest and chiefest of his divine 
 messengers; and then, if the blessed God should at 
 any time, in a consistence with his glorious and in- 
 comprehensible perfections, release those wretched 
 
THE PREFACE, iX 
 
 creatures from their acute pains and long imprison- 
 ment in hell, either with a design of the utter de- 
 struction of their beings by annihilation, or to put 
 them into some unknown world, upon a new foot of 
 trial, I think I ought cheerfully and joyfully to accept 
 this appointment of God, for the good of millions of 
 my fellow- creatures, and add my joys and praises to 
 all the songs and triumphs of the heavenly world in 
 the day of such a divine and glorious release of these 
 prisoners. 
 
 But I feel myself under a necessity of confessing, 
 that I am utterly unable to solve these difficulties ac- 
 cording to the discoveries of the New Testament, 
 which must be my constant rule of faith, and 
 hope, and expectation, with regard to myself and 
 others. I have read the strongest and best writers 
 on the other side, yet after all my studies I have not 
 been able to find any way how these difficulties may 
 be removed, and how the divine perfections, and the 
 conduct of God in his word, may be fairly vindicat- 
 ed without the establishment of this doctrine, as aw- 
 ful and formidable as it is. 
 
 'The ways' indeed of the great God and his 
 * thoughts are above our thoughts and oyr ways, as 
 . the heavens are above the earth ;' yet I must rest and 
 acquiesce where our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father's 
 chief Minister, both of his wrath and his love, has 
 left me in the divine revelations of Scripture; and I 
 am constrained therefore to leave these unhappy crea- 
 tures under the chains of everlasting darkness, into 
 which they have cast themselves by their wilful ini- 
 
X. THE PREFACE* 
 
 quities, till the blessed God shall see fit to release 
 them. 
 
 This would be indeed such a new, such an aston- 
 ishing and universal jubilee, both for devils and wick- 
 ed men, as must fill heaven, earth, and hell, with 
 hallelujahs and joy : In the mean time it is my ardent 
 wish, that this awful sense of the terrors of the Al- 
 mighty, and his everlasting anger, which the word 
 of the great God denounces, may awaken some souls 
 timely to bethink themselves of the dreadful danger 
 into which they are running, before these terrors seize 
 ihem at death, and begin to be executed upon them 
 without release and without hope. 
 
 Kote. Where these Discourses shall be used as a religious service in 
 private families on Lord's-day evenings, each of them will aiford a division 
 near Uw middle, lest the service be made too long and tiresome. 
 
CONTENTS OF VOLUME L 
 
 Jn Essay toward the Proof of a Separate State of 
 
 Souls, 
 
 Sect. I. THE introduction or proposal of the ques- 
 tion with the different oppositions which 
 are made to it, and reasons against 
 them - - - . Page 13 
 
 Sect, IL Probable arguments from Scripture for the 
 Separate State - - - 21 
 
 Sect, III, Some firmer and more evident proofs of a 
 Separate State from Scripture r 33 
 
 Sect, IV, Objections against it answered - S^ 
 
 Sect, V, An answer to several new objections 78 
 
 The Discourses on the world to co??ie» 
 
 Discourse I, The end of time - - - 88 
 Discourse II. The watchful Christian dying in 
 peace - - - - 122 
 Discourse III. Surprise in death - - 154 
 
 Discourse IF. Christ admired and glorified in his 
 saints .... 185 
 Discourse V. The wrath of the Lamb. - 221 
 
 Discourse VL The vain refuge of sinners, or a medi- 
 tation on the rocks near Tun- 
 bridgcAVclls. 1729. 239 
 
Xn CONTENTS. 
 
 Discourse VI L No night in heaven - I^cigc 263 
 Discourse VI I L A soul prepared for heaven 287 
 Discourse IX. No pain among the blessed - 329 
 Discourse X, The first fruits of the Spirit, or the fore- 
 taste of heaven - - 382 
 Discourse XL Safety in the grave, and joy at the 
 resurrection «• - - 417 
 A speech over a grave • - - - 451 
 
AN ESSAY 
 
 TOWARD THE PROOF OF 
 
 A SEPARATE STATE OF SOULS 
 
 BETWEEN 
 
 DEATH AND THE RESURRECTION. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 The introduction or proposal of the question^ with a 
 distinction of the persons ijoho oppose it, 
 
 IT is confessed that the doctrine of the resurrec- 
 tion of the dead at the last day, and the everlasting 
 joys, and the eternal sorrows, that shall succeed it, 
 as they are described in the New Testament, are a 
 very awful sanction to the gospel of Christ, and carry 
 in them such principles of hope and terror as should 
 effectually discourage vice and irreligion, and be- 
 come a powerful attractive to the practice of faith 
 and love, and universal holiness. 
 
 But so corrupt and perverse are the inclinations 
 of men in this fallen and degenerate world, and their 
 passions are so much impressed and moved by things 
 that are present or just at hand, that the joys of hea- 
 ven, and the sorrows of hell, when .set far beyond 
 death and the grave at some vast unknown distance 
 of time, would have but too little influence on their 
 
14 JLSSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF OF SECT. I. 
 
 hearts and lives. And though these solemn and im- 
 portant events are never so certain in themselves, 
 yet being looked upon as things a great way off, 
 make too feeble an impression on the conscience, 
 and their distance is much abused to give an indul- 
 gence to present sensualities. For this we have the 
 testimony of our blessed Saviour himself, Matt. xxiv. 
 48. '' The evil servant says, my Lord delays his com- 
 ing; then he begins to smite his fellow servants, and 
 to eat and drink with the drunken:" And Solomon 
 teaches us the same truth, Eccles. viii. 11. *^ Because 
 sentence against an evil work is not executed speed- 
 ily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set 
 in them to do evil." And even the good servants in 
 this imperfect state, the sons of virtue and piety, may 
 be too much allured to indulge sinful negligence, 
 and yield to temptations too easily when the terrors 
 of another world are set so far off, and their hope of 
 happiness is delayed so long. It is granted, indeed, 
 that this sort of reasoning is very unjust; but so 
 foolish are our natures, that we are too ready to take 
 up with it, and to grow more remiss in the cause of 
 religion. 
 
 Whereas, if it can be made to appear from the 
 word of God, that, at the moment of death, the soul 
 enters into an unchangeable state, according to its 
 character and conduct here on earth, and that the 
 recompences of vice and virtue, are, in some mea- 
 sure, to begin immediately upon the end of our state 
 of trial; and if, besides all this, there be a glorious 
 and a dreadful resurrection to be expected, witheter- 
 
SECT. I. A SEPARATE STATE. 15 
 
 nal pain or eternal pleasure both for soul and body, 
 and that in a more intense degree, when the theatre 
 of this world is shut up, and Christ Jesus appears to 
 pronounce his public judgment on the world, then all 
 those little subterfuges are precluded, which mankind 
 w ould form to themselves from the unknown distance 
 of the day of recompence: Virtue will have a nearer 
 and stronger guard placed about it, and piety will be 
 attended with superior motives, if its initial rewards 
 are near at hand, and shall commence as soon as this 
 life expires; and the vicious and profane will be 
 more effectually affrighted, if the hour of death must 
 immediately consign them to a state of perpetual sor- 
 rows and bitter anguish of conscience, without hope, 
 and with a fearful expectation of yet greater sorrows 
 and anguish. 
 
 I know what the opposers of the Separate State 
 reply here, viz. That the whole time from death to 
 the resurrection is but as the sleep of a night, and 
 the dead shall awake out of their graves, utterly ig- 
 norant and insensible of the long distance of time 
 that hath past since their death. One year or one 
 thousand years will be the same thing to them; and 
 therfore, they should be as careful to prepare for the 
 day of judgment, and the rewards that attend it, as 
 they are for their entrance into the Separate State at 
 death, if there were any such state to receive them. 
 
 I grant, men should be so in reason and justice: 
 But such is the weakness and folly of our natures, 
 that men will not be so much influenced nor alarm- 
 ed by distant prospects, nor so solicitous to prepare 
 
16 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF OF SECT. I. 
 
 for an event which they suppose to be so very far 
 off, as they would for the same event, if it commences 
 as soon as ever this mortal life expires. The vici- 
 ous man will indulge his sensualities, and lie down 
 to sleep in deadi with this comfort, * I shall take my 
 rest here for a hundred or a thousand years, and per- 
 haps, in all that space, my offences may be forgotten, 
 or something may happen that I may escape : or, let 
 the worst come that can come, I shall have a long 
 sweet nap before my sorrows begin:' Thus the force 
 of divine terrors are greatly enervated by this delay 
 of punishment, 
 
 I will not undertake to determine, when the soul 
 is dismissed from the body, whether there be any 
 explicit divine sentence passed concerning its eter- 
 nal state of happiness or misery, according to its 
 works in this life; or whether the pain or pleasure 
 that belongs to the Separate State be not chiefly such 
 as arises by natural consequence from a life of sin or 
 a life of holiness, and as being under the power of an 
 approving or a condemning conscience: But, it 
 seems to me more probable, that since *' the spirit re- 
 turns to God that gave it, to God the Judge of all," 
 with whom '' the spirits of the just made perfect" 
 dwell, and, since the spirit of a Christian, when " ab- 
 sent from the body, is present with the Lord," i. e. 
 Christ, I am more inclined to think that there is 
 some sort of judicial determination of this impor- 
 tant point, either by God himself, or by Jesus 
 Christ, into whose hands '' he has com nutted all 
 judgment." Heb. ix. 27. *' It is appointed unto 
 men once to die, but after this the judgment:" 
 
SECT. I. A SEPARATE STATE. 17 
 
 Whether immediate or more distant, is not here ex- 
 pressly declared, though the immediate connection of 
 the words hardly gives room for seventeen hundred 
 years to intervene. But, if the solemn formalities 
 of a judgment be delayed, yet the conscience of a 
 separate spirit, reflecting on a holy or a sinful life, is 
 sufficient to begin a heaven or a hell immediately 
 after death. 
 
 Amongst those who delay the season of recom* 
 pence till the resurrection, there are some who sup- 
 pose the soul to exist still as a distinct being from 
 the body, but to pass the whole interval of time in a 
 state of stupor or sleep, being altogether unconscious 
 and unactive. Others again imagine, that the soul 
 itself has not a sufficient distinction from the body to 
 give it any proper existence when the body dies; 
 but that its existence shall be renewed at the resur- 
 rection of the body, and then be made the subject of 
 joy or pain, according to its behaviour in this mor- 
 tal state. 
 
 I think there might be an effectual argument 
 against each of these opinions raised from the princi- 
 ples of philosophy: I shall just give a hint of them, 
 and then proceed to search what Scripture has re- 
 vealed in this matter, which is of much greater im- 
 portance to us, and will have a more powerful influ- 
 ence on the minds of Christians. 
 
 I. Some imagine the soul of man to be his blood or 
 his breathy or a sort of •vital flame ^ or refined air or 
 vapour^ or the composition and motion of the fluids 
 and solids in the animal body. This they suppose 
 
18 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF OF SECT. I. 
 
 to be the spring or principle df his intellectual life, 
 and of all his thoughts and consciousness, as well as 
 of his animal life. And though this soul of man dies 
 together with the body, and has no manner of sepa- 
 rate existence or consciousness, yet when hi^ body 
 is raised from the grave, they suppose this principle 
 of consciousness is renewed again, and intellectual 
 life is given him at the resurrection as well as a new 
 corporeal life. 
 
 But it should be considered, that this conscious or 
 thinking principle having lost its existence for a sea- 
 son, it will be quite a new thing, or another creature 
 at the resurrection ; and the man will be properly 
 imoiher person, another self, another lor he: and 
 such a new conscious principle or person cannot pro- 
 perly be rewarded or punished for personal virtues 
 or vices of which itself cannot be conscious by any 
 power of memory or reflection, and which were 
 transacted in this mortal state by another distinct 
 principle of consciousness. For if the conscious 
 principle itself, or the thinking being has ceased to 
 exist, it is impossible that it should retain any me- 
 mory of former actions, since itself began to be but in 
 the moment of the resurrection. The doctrine of re- 
 v;arding or punishing the same soul or intelligent 
 nature which did good or evil in this life, necessa- 
 rily requires tlmt the same soul or intelligent nature 
 should have a continued and uninterrupted existence, 
 that so the same conscious being which did good or 
 evil may be rewarded or punished. 
 
SECT. I. A SEPARATE STATE. 19 
 
 II. Those who suppose the soul of man to have a 
 real distinct existence when the body dies, but only 
 to fall into a state of slumber without consciousness 
 or activity, must, I think, suppose this soul to be 
 inaterial^ i.e. an extended and solid substance. 
 
 If they suppose it to be hiextended^ or to have no 
 parts or quantity, I confess I have no manner of idea 
 of the existence or possibility of such an inextended 
 being, without consciousness or active power, nor 
 do they pretend to have any such idea as I ever heard, 
 and therefore they generally grant it to be extended. 
 
 But if they imagine the soul to be extended, it 
 must either have something more of solidity or den- 
 sity than mere empty space, or it must be quite as 
 unsolid and thin as space itself: Let us consider both 
 these. 
 
 If it be as thin and subtle as mere empty space, 
 yet while it is active and conscious, I own it must 
 have a proper existence; but if it once begin to 
 sleep and drop all consciousness and activity, I have 
 no other idea of it, but the same which I have of 
 empty space; and that I conceive to be mere nothing, 
 though it impose upon us with the appearance of 
 some sort of properties. 
 
 If they allow the soul to have any the least degree 
 of density above what belongs to empty space, this 
 is solidity in the philosophic sense of the word, and 
 then it \s solid extension, which I call matter: and a 
 material being may indeed be laid asleep, i. e. it may 
 cease to have any motion in its parts; but motion is 
 not consciousness: and how either solid or unsolicl 
 
20 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF OF -SECT. I. 
 
 extension, either space or matter, can have any con- 
 sciousness or thought belonging to any part of it, or 
 spread through the whole of it, I know not ;' or what 
 any sort of extension can do toward thought or con- 
 sciousness, I confess I understand not; nor can I 
 frame any more an idea of it, than I can of a blue 
 motion or a sweet smelling sound, or of fire or air or 
 water reasoning or rejoicing: and I do not affect to 
 speak of things or words, when I can form no corres- 
 pondent ideas of what is spoken. « 
 
 So fin* as I can judge, the soul of man in its own 
 nature, is nothing else but a conscious and active 
 principle, subsisting by itself, made after the image 
 of God, who is all conscious activity; and it is still 
 the same being, whether it be united to an animal 
 body^ or separated from it. If the body die, the soul 
 still exists an active and conscious power or principle, 
 or being; and if it ceases to be conscious and active, 
 I think it ceases to be; for I have no conception of 
 what remains. 
 
 Now, if the conscious principle continue conscious 
 after death, it will not be in a mere conscious indo- 
 lence: the good man and the wicked will not have 
 the same indolent existence. Virtue or vice, in the 
 very temper of this being when absent from matter 
 or body, will become a pleasure or a pain to the con- 
 science of a separate spirit. 
 
 I am well aware that this is a subject which has 
 employed the thoughts of many philosophers, and I 
 do but just intimate my own sentiments without pre- 
 suming to judge for others. But the defence or re- 
 
SECT. II. A SEPARATE STATE. 21 
 
 futation of arguments on this subject, would draw me 
 into a field of philosophical discourse, which is very- 
 foreign to my present purpose; and whether this 
 reasoning stand or fall, it will have but very little in- 
 fluence on this controversy with the generality of 
 Christians, because it is a thing rather to be deter- 
 mined by the revelation of the word of God. I there- 
 fore drop this argument at once, and apply myself 
 immediately to consider the proofs that may be drawn 
 from Scripture for the soul's existence in a Separate 
 State after death, and before the resurrection. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Probable Arguments for the Separate State. 
 
 THERE are several places of Scripture in the 
 Old Testament, as well as in the New, which may be 
 most naturally and properly construed to signify the 
 existence of the soul in a Separate State after the 
 body is dead ; hut since they do not carry with them 
 such plain evidence, or forcible proof, and may pos- 
 sibly be interpreted to another sense, I shall not long 
 insist upon them: however it may not be amiss just 
 to mention a few of them, and pass away. 
 
 Psah Ixxiii. 24, 26. ^'Thou shalt ffuide me with 
 thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory : my 
 flesh and my heart faileth; but God is the strength 
 of my heart and my portion for ever." In these 
 verses receiving /c7.^§-^/;>' seems immediately to follow 
 
/ 
 
 jj ESSAY TOWARDS THE: PROOF Of SECT. TI. 
 
 i\ guida?icc through, this world; and when the Jiesb 
 and heart of the Psalmist should fail him in death, 
 God continued to be h\^ portion for ever, God would 
 recche him to himself as such sl portion, and thereby 
 he gave strength or courage to his heart even in a dy- 
 ing hour. It would be a very odd and unnatural 
 exposition of this text to interpret it only of the re- 
 surrection^ thus, ** Thou shalt guide me by thy coun- 
 sel through this life, and after the long interval of 
 some thousand years thou wilt receive me to glory." 
 
 Eccles. xii. 7. '* Then shall the dust return to the 
 earth as it was, and the spirit to God that gave it.'^ 
 It is confessed the word spirit in the Hebrew is the 
 same with breath, and is represented in some places 
 of Scripture as the spring of animal life to the body: 
 yet it is evident in many other places, the word spirit 
 signifies the conscious principle in man, or the intel- 
 ligent being, which knows and reasons, perceives 
 and acts. The Scripture speaks of being '' grieved 
 in spirit," Isa. liv. 6. Of *' rejoicing in spirit," 
 Luke X. 21. *' The spirit of a man knoweth the 
 things of a man," 1 Cor. ii, 11. '' There is a spirit 
 in man," i. e. a principle of understanding, Job 
 xxxii. 8. And this spirit both of the wicked and 
 the righteous at death '* returns to God," Eccl. xii. 
 7. to God who (as I hinted before) is the Judge of 
 all in the world of spirits, probably to be further de- 
 termined and disposed of, as to its state of reward 
 or punishment. 
 
 Isa. Ivii. 2. *' 7'he righteous is taken away from' 
 the evil to come, he shall enter into peace, they shall 
 
,SECT. II. A S£PARATE STATE. 23 
 
 rest in their beds, each one walking in his upright- 
 ness.'* The soul of every one that walketh upright- 
 ]y shall at death enter into a state o£ peace while 
 their body rests in the bed of dust. 
 
 Luke ix. 30, 31. **. And behold there talked with 
 him, (i. e. with Jesus) two men which were Moses 
 and Elias, who appeared in glory, and spake of his 
 decease \yhich he should accomplish at Jerusalem." 
 I grant it possible that these might be but mere vi- 
 sions which appeared to our blessed Saviour and his 
 apostles: but it is a much more natural and obvious 
 interpretation to suppose that the spirits of these two 
 great men, whereof one was the institutor, and the 
 other the reformer of the Jewish church, did really 
 appear to Christ, who w^as the reformer of the world, 
 and the institutor of the Christian church, and con- 
 verse with him about the important event of his 
 death and his return to heaven. Perhaps the spirit 
 of Elijah had his heavenly body with him there, since 
 he never died, but was carried alive to heaven; but 
 Moses gave up his soul at the call of God when 
 no man was near him, and his body was buried by 
 God himself. See 2 Kings ii. 11. andDeut. xxxiv. 
 i, 5, 6. and his spirit was probably made visible only 
 by an assumed vehicle for that purpose. 
 
 John v. 24. '' Whoso heareth my word and belie v- 
 eth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life ; is 
 passed from death to life," John vi. 47, 50, 51. 
 *'This is the bread which cometh down from hea- 
 ven, that a man may eat thereof and not die. If any 
 man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever." John 
 
24 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF OF SECT. Ilk 
 
 xi. 26. ** Whoso liveth and believeth in me, shall 
 never die," to which may be added the words of 
 Christ to the-woman of Samaria, John iv. 14. " The 
 water that I shall give him shall be in him a well 
 of water, springing up into everlasting life." 1 
 John v. 12. " He that hath the Son hath life," &c. 
 The argument I draw from these Scriptures is this: 
 It is hardly to be supposed that our Saviour in this 
 gospel, and John in his first epistle imitating him, 
 should speak such strong language concerning eter- 
 nal life, actually given to and possessed by the believ- 
 ers of that day, if there must be an interruption of 
 it by total death or sleep both of soul and body for 
 almost two thousand years, i. e. till the resurrection. 
 Acts vii. 59. " And they stoned Stephen calling 
 upon God, and saying. Lord Jesus receive my spir- 
 it." Those who deny a Separate State, suppose that 
 Stephen here commits his spirit, or principle of hu- 
 man life, into the hands or care of Christ (because 
 Xht life of a saint is said to be **hid with Christ in 
 God," Colos. iii. 3, 4.) that he m/ight restore it at 
 the resurrection, and raise him to life again. But I 
 think this is an unnatural force put upon these words, 
 contrary to their most obvious meaning, if we consi- 
 der the context : for Stephen here had a vision of 
 the *' Son of man, (or Christ Jesus) standing on the 
 right hand of God, and the glory of God near him;" 
 see ver. 5S, 56. Whereupon Stephen being con- 
 scious of the existence of Christ in that glorious 
 state, desired that he would receive his spirit, and 
 take it to dwell with him in his Father's house ; not to 
 
SECT. II. A SEPARATE STATE. 25 
 
 lie and sleep in heaven, for *' there Is no night there," 
 but to behold the glory of Christ according to the 
 many promises that Christ had made to his disciples, 
 that he '' would go and prepare a place for them in 
 his Father's house," and that they should be " with 
 him there to behold his glory," John xiv. and xvii. 
 which I shall have occasion to speak of afterward. 
 
 Rom. viii. 10, 11. '* And if Christ be in you, the 
 body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life be- 
 cause of righteousness," i. e. If Christ dwell in you 
 by the sanctifying influences of his Spirit, it is true 
 indeed, your body is mortal and must die, because it 
 is doomed to death from the fall of Adam on the ac- 
 count of sin, and because sinful principles still dwell 
 in this fleshly body; but your soul or spirit is life, or 
 (as some copies read ^« instead of ^««) your spirit lives 
 when the body is dead, and enjoys a life of happiness, 
 because of the righteousness imputed to you, i. e. 
 ** your justification unto life," Rom. v. 17, 18. 21. 
 I know there are several other ways of construing 
 the w^ords of this verse by metaphors ; but the plain 
 and most natural antithesis which appears here be- 
 tween the death of the body of a saint because of sin 
 or guilt, and the continuance of the spirit or soul in 
 a life of peace because of justification or righteous- 
 ness, and that even when the body is dead, gives a 
 pretty clear proof that this is the sense of the apostle. 
 This is also further confirmed by the next verse, 
 which promises the resurrection of the dead body in 
 due time. "If the Spirit of him that raised up 
 Christ from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up 
 
26 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PJIOOF OF SECT. II. 
 
 Christ from the dead," i. e. God the Father, " shall 
 also quicken your mortal bodies by his spirit that 
 dwelleth in you." The spirit or soul of the saint lives 
 withoutdying, because of its pardon of sinand justifi- 
 cation and sanclification, in the 10th verse; and the 
 body (not the spirit or soul) shall be quickened or 
 raised to life again, by the blessed Spirit of God 
 which dwells in the saints, ver. 11. 
 
 2 Cor. V. 1, 2. ** For we know that if our earthly 
 house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a 
 building of God, an house not made with hands eter- 
 5ial in the heavens. For in this we groan earnestly, 
 desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is 
 from heaven." Ver. 4. ** We in this tabernacle 
 groan being burdened, not for that we would be un- 
 clothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be 
 swallovvcd up of life." It is evident that this bouse 
 Jrom beave?!, this building of God, is something which 
 is like the clothing of a soul divested of this earthly 
 tabernacle, ver. 1, 2. or it is the clothing of the 
 whole person, body and soul, which would abrogate 
 the state of mortality, and swallow it up in life, ver. 
 4. For though in ver. 4. the apostle supposes that 
 the soul doth not desire the death of the body, or that 
 itself should be unclothed, and therefore he w^ould ra- 
 ther choose to have this state of blessed immortality 
 superinduced on his body and soul at once without dy- 
 ing, .yet in the first verse he plainly means such a 
 house in or from heaven, or such a clothing which may 
 come upon the soifl immediately as soon as the 
 €arihly house or tabernacle of his body is dissolved. 
 
SECT. II. A SEPARATE STATE, 27 
 
 And how dubious soever this may appear to those 
 who read the chapter only thus far, yet the 8th verse, 
 which supposes good men to be present witb Christ 
 when absent from the body, determines the sense of 
 it as I have explained it; of which hereafter. 
 
 Perhaps it is hard to determine, whether this su- 
 perinduced clothing be like the Shechinah or visible 
 glory in which Christ, Moses, and Elias, appeared at 
 the transfiguration, and which some suppose to have 
 belonged to Adam in innocency ; or whether it sig- 
 nify only a state of happy immortality , superinduced 
 or brought in upon the departing soul at death, or 
 upon the soul and body united as in this life, and 
 with which those saints shall be clothed, who are 
 •' found alive at the coming of Christ," according to 
 1 Cor. XV. 52, 53, 54. v^hich will not kill the body, 
 but swallow up its mortal state in immortal life. 
 
 Let this matter, I say, be determined either way, 
 yet the great point seems to be evident, even beyond 
 probability, that there is a conscious being spoken of, 
 which is very distinct from its tabernacle^ or house^ 
 or clothings and which exists still, whatever its cloth- 
 ing or its dwelling be, or v/hether it be put off or put 
 on ; and that, when the earthly house or vessel is dis- 
 solved or put olT, the heavenly house or clothing isr 
 ready at hand to be put on immediately, to render 
 the soul of the Christian fit to be present iviih the 
 Lord. 
 
 2 Cor. xii. 2, 3. ''I knew a man in Christ above 
 fourteen years ago, whether in* the body or out of the 
 body, I cannot tell, God knov/eth; how that he was 
 
28 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF OF SECT. IT. 
 
 caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable 
 words." I grant this ecstacy of the apostle docs not 
 actually shew the existence of a Separate State after 
 death till the resurrection; yet, it plainly manifests 
 St. Paul's belief, that there might be such a state, 
 and that the soul might be separated from the body, 
 and might exist, and think, and know, and act, in 
 paradise, in a state of separation, and hear, and per- 
 haps converse in the unspeakable language of that 
 world, while it was absent from the body. 
 
 And, as 1 acknowledge I am one of those persons 
 who do not believe that the intellectual spirit or mind 
 of man is the proper principle of animal life to the 
 body, but that it is another distinct conscious being, 
 that generally uses the body as an habitation, engine, 
 or instrument, while its animal life remains; so I am 
 of opinion, it is a possible thing for the intellectual 
 spirit, in a miraculous manner, by the special order 
 of God, to act in a state of separation without the 
 death of the animal body, since the life of the body 
 depends upon breath and air, and the regular temper 
 and motion of the solids and fluids, of which it is com- 
 posed.-^- And St. Paul seems here to be of die same 
 
 * It would be thought, perhaps, a little foreign to my present purpose, 
 if I should stay liere, to prove that it is not the conscious principle in 
 man that gives or maintain *the animal life of his body. It is granted, 
 that, according to the course of nature, and the general appointment of 
 of God therein, this conscious principle or spirit continues its communi- 
 cations with the body, while the body has animal life, or is capable of its 
 natural motions, and able to obey the volitions of the spirit; and, on this 
 account, the ' union of tlie rational spirit to the body,' and ' the animal 
 life of the body,' are often represented as one and the same thing. 
 
SECT. ir. A SEPARATE STATE, 29 
 
 mind, by his doubting whether his spirit was in the 
 body or out of the body, whilst it was wrapt into the third 
 hea'oen and enjoyed this vision, his body being yet 
 alive. 
 
 Phil. i. 21. ** For me to live is Christ, and to die 
 is gain." The apostle, whilst he was here upon 
 earth, spent his life in the service of Christ, and en- 
 joyed many glorious communications from him. 
 ** For him to live was Christ." And, on this account, 
 he was contented to continue here in life longer: Yet 
 he is well satisfied that death would be an advantage or 
 gain to him* Now we can hardly suppose what 
 gain it would be for St. Paul to die, if his soul im- 
 mediately went to sleep, and became unactive and 
 unconscious, while his body lay in the grave, and 
 neither soul nor body could do any service for Christ, 
 or receive any communications from him, till the 
 great rising-day. This text seems to carry the ar- 
 gument above a mere probability. 
 
 But* if we enter into a philosophical consideration of things, we should 
 remember that animals of every kind in earth, air, and sea, and even the 
 minutest insects which swarm in millions, and worlds of them, which are 
 invisible to the naked eye, have all an animal life, but no such conscious 
 or thinking principle as is in man : and why may not the body of man 
 have the same sort of animal life quite distinct from the conscious spirit ? 
 
 Besides, if this conscious principle give life to the body, medicines and 
 physicians, whose power reaches only to rectify the disordered solids 
 or fluids of the body, would not be so necessary to preserve life, as 
 an orator to persuade the spirit to continue in the body and preserve its 
 life. And accordingly, we read of foreign ignorant nations, where the 
 kindred persuade the dying person to live and tarry with them, and not 
 to forsake them ; and, when the person is dead, they mourn and reprove 
 him, • Why were you so unkind to leave and forsake us;' and indeed this 
 conduct of those poor savages is a very natural inference from their suppo- 
 sition of the intelligent spirit giving animal life to the body. 
 
 £ 
 
30 liSSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF OF SECT. II. 
 
 1 Thess. iv. 14. *' For if we believe that Jesus died, 
 and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Je- 
 sus will God bring with him." The most natural 
 and evident sense of these words is this, that when 
 the man Jesus Christ (in whom dwells the fullness of 
 the Godhead) shall descend from heaven, in order to 
 raise the dead bodies of those that died or went to 
 sleep in the faith of Christ, God dwelling in him, 
 will bring with him the souls of his saints who were 
 in paradise, down to earth to be reunited to their bo- 
 dies when Jesus raises them from the dead, of which 
 the apostle speaks in the 6th verse : This, I say, is 
 the most natural and obvious sense ; other para- 
 phrases of the words seem strained and unnatural. 
 
 1 Thess. V. 10. " Jesus Christ, who died for us, 
 that whether we wake or sleep, wx should live toge- 
 ther with him." Sleep is the death of good men, in 
 the language of the apostle, in chap. iv. 13, 14, 15. 
 and sleep in this verse, can neither signify natural 
 sleep, as ver. 7. nor spiritual slotb^ as ver. 6. there- 
 fore it must signify death here. Now, they who sleep 
 in Christ, in this sense, do still Ihe together ivith him 
 in their souls, and shall live with him in their bodies 
 also, when raised from the dead. This exposition 
 arises near to a certainty of evidence. 
 
 1 Pet. iii. 18, 19, 20. ** Christ was put to death 
 in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit ; by which 
 
 also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison, 
 which sometime were disobedient, when once the 
 long-sufFeriiie: of God waited in the days of Noah." 
 I confess this is a text th:it has much puzzled inter- 
 
SECT. IT. A SKPARATE STATE. 31 
 
 preters, in what sense Christ may be said '' to go and 
 preach" to those ancient rebels who were destroyed 
 by the flood: whether lie did it by his spirit working 
 in Noah the '' preacher of righteousness" in those 
 days; or whether, in the three days in which the 
 body of Christ lay dead, his soul visited the spirits 
 of those rebels in their separate state of imprison- 
 ment, on which some ground the notion of his de- 
 scent into hell: Bat, let this be determined as it will, 
 the most clear and easy sense of the apostle, when 
 he speaks of the '' spirits in prison," is, that the 
 souls of those rebels, after their bodies were destroy- 
 ed by the flood, were reserved in prison for some 
 special and future design: And this is very parallel 
 to the present circumstances of fallen angels in Jude 
 ver. 6. '* The angels that kept not their first estate, 
 he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness, 
 unto the judgment of the great day :" And why may 
 not the spirits of men be a swell kept in such a prison 
 as angelic spirits? 
 
 Jude ver. 7. * Sodom and Gomorrha are set forth 
 for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal 
 fne.' It is evident that the material lire which de- 
 stroyed Sodom and Gomorrha was not eternal, for a 
 great lake of water quickly overflowed, and now cov- 
 ers all that plain where the fire was kindled, which 
 burnt down tliose cities. It is manifest also, that, 
 the day of resurrection and future punishment being 
 not yet come, they do not, at this time, suffer the 
 vengeance of eternal fire in their bodies: Nor can 
 this verse, I think, be well explained to make Sodom 
 
32 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF OF SECT. II. 
 
 and Gomorrha an example to deter present sinners 
 from uncleanness, but by allowing that the spirits of 
 those lewd persons are now suffering a degree oi ven- 
 geance or punishment from the justice of God, which 
 is compared to that j^r^ whereby their cities and their 
 bodies were burnt; and which vengeance, at the last 
 great day, shall continue their punishment, and pro- 
 nounce it eternal, or kindle material fire which shall 
 never be quenched. 
 
 The last text I shall mention, is Rev. vi. 9. ** I 
 saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain 
 for the word of God, and for the testimony which 
 they held." I confess this is a book of visions, and 
 this place, amongst others, might be explained as a 
 mere vision of the apostle, if there were no other 
 text which confirmed the doctrine of a Separate 
 State: But, since I think there are some solid proofs 
 of it in other parts of the New Testament, I know 
 not why this may not be explained, at least something 
 nearer to the literal sense of it than those will allow, 
 who suppose the soul to sleep from death to the re- 
 surrection. Why may not the spirits of the martyrs, 
 which are now with God, pray him to hasten the, 
 accomplishment of his promises made to his church, 
 and the day of vengeance upon his irreconcileable 
 enemies. 
 
SECT. III. A SEPARATE STATE. 33 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 Some firmer or more evident proofs of a Separate State. 
 
 I COME now to consider those texts which do 
 more expressly and certainly discover the Separate 
 State, and which, I think, cannot, with any tolerable 
 appearance of reason, be turned aside from their plain 
 and obvious intention, to reveal and declare that 
 there is a Separate State of souls. And such, in my 
 opinion, are these thet follow. 
 
 I. Text, Matth. x. 28. *' Fear not them which kill 
 the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather 
 fear him who is able to destroy both body and soul 
 in hell." Every common reader, as well as every 
 man of learning, who reads this text with a sincere 
 mind and without prejudice, I think, will acknow- 
 ledge at least, that the most obvious and easy sense 
 of the words, implies, that there is a soul in man 
 which men cannot kill, even though they kill the 
 body. 
 
 It is to very little purpose for writers to say, that 
 the Greek word 4^^;^" which we translate soul here, 
 doth in other places of Scripture, and even in the 
 39th verse of this very chapter, signify lifey and con- 
 sequently here it may also signify the animal life or 
 person of the man ; for it is manifest, that in this 
 place it must signify some immortal principle in 
 man that cannot die; whereas when the body is 
 killed, the animal life dies too, and does not exist till 
 the body is raised again: but the soul is a principle 
 
34 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF OF SECT. III. 
 
 in this place which men cannot kill even though they 
 destroy the life of the body : and whatsoever other 
 senses the word ■^^x*' niay obtain in other texts, that 
 cannot preclude such a sense of it in this text, as is 
 most usual in itself, and which the context makes ne- 
 cessary in this place. 
 
 Nor will it avail the supporters of the mortality of 
 the soul to say that this Scripture means only that 
 7nen cannot kill the soul for ruer, so that it shall for 
 ever perish and have no future life hereafter by a re- 
 surrection : for in this sense men cannot kill the hody^ 
 so that it shall never revive or rise again: but here 
 is a plain distinction in the text, that the body may- 
 be killed, but the soul cannot. 
 
 And I think this Scripture proves also, that though 
 the body may be laid to sleep in the grave, yet the 
 soul cannot be laid to sleep; for the substance of the 
 body still exists, and is not utterly destroyed by kill- 
 ing it, but only laid to sleep for a time, as the Scrip- 
 ture often describes death: but the soul cannot be thus 
 laid to sleep for a time, with its substance still exist- 
 ing, for that would be to have no pre-eminence 
 above the body, which is contrary to this assertion 
 of our Saviour. 
 
 II. Luke xvi. 22, &c. *' The beggar died and was 
 carried by angels into Abraham's bosom : The rich 
 man also died and was buried, and in hell he lifted 
 up his eyes, being in torments, and said, Father 
 Abraham, have mercy on me, &c. and send Lazarus, 
 ver. 27. to my father's house that he may testify to 
 my brethren, lest they come also into this place of 
 
SlilCT. III. A SEPARATE STATE. 56 
 
 torment." I grant that this account of the rich man 
 and the beggar is but a parable, and yet it may prove 
 the existence of the rich man's soul in a place of tor- 
 ment before the resurrection of the body; 1. Because 
 the existence of souls in a Separate State, whilst 
 other men dwell here on earth, is the very foimcla- 
 iion of the whole parable, and runs through the whole 
 of it. The poor man died and his soul was in para- 
 dise. The rich man's dead body was buried and 
 his soul was in hell, while his five brethren were here 
 on earth in a state of probation, and would not 
 hearken to Moses and the prophets. 
 
 2. Because the very design of the parable is to 
 shew, that a ghost sent from the other world, whe- 
 ther heaven or hell, to wicked men who are here in 
 a state of trial, will not be sufficient to convert them 
 to holiness, if they reject the means of grace and the 
 ministers of the word. The very design of our Sa- 
 viour seems to be lost, if there be no souls existing 
 in a Separate State. A ghost sent from the other 
 v^'orld could never be supposed to have any influence 
 to convert sinners in this world, even in a parable, if 
 there w^ere no such things as ghosts there. The rich 
 man's five brethren could have no motive to hearken 
 to a ghost pretending to come from heaven or hell, 
 if there were no such thing as ghosts or separate souls 
 either happy or miserable. Now surely, if parables 
 can prove any thing at all, they must prove those 
 propositions which are both the foundation and the 
 design of the whole parable. 
 
36 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF OP SECT. III. 
 
 3. I might add yet further, that it is very strange 
 that our Saviour should so particularly speak of an- 
 gels carrying the soul of a man, whose body was just 
 <lead, into heaven or paradise, which he calls Abra- 
 barn's bosom; if there were no such state or place as 
 a heaven for separate souls; if Abraham's soul had 
 had no residence there, no existence in that state; 
 if angels had never any thing to do in such an office. 
 What would the Jews have said or thought of a pro- 
 phet come from God, who had taught his doctrines 
 to the people in such parables as had scarce any sort 
 of foundation in the reality or nature of things. 
 
 But you will say the Jews had such an opinion 
 current among them, though it was a very false one, 
 and that this was enough to support a parable : I an- 
 swer, w^hat could Christ (who is truth itself) have 
 said more or plainer to confirm the Jews in this gross 
 error of a Separate State of souls, than to form a pa- 
 rable which supposes this doctrine in the very design 
 and moral of it, as well as in the foundation and mat- 
 ter of it. 
 
 III. Luke XX. 37, ^^. '' Now that the dead are 
 raised even Moses shewed at the bush, when he call- 
 eth the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, 
 and the God of Jacob; for he is not a God of the 
 dead but of the living; for all live unto him.'' Some 
 learned men suppose that the controversy between 
 Christ and the Sadducees in this place was about the 
 anastasisy which implies the whole state of existence 
 after death, including both the Separate State and 
 the resurrection, because the Sadducees denied both 
 these at once, and believed that deadi finished the 
 
SECT. III. A SEPARATE STATE. 37 
 
 whole existence of the man. ^' They denied angels 
 and spirits," Acts xxiii. 8. i. e. separate souls of 
 men, and thought the rewards and punishments men- 
 tioned in Scripture related only to this life. Upon 
 this account they suppose our Saviour's design is 
 to prove the existence of persons or spirits in the 
 Separate State as much as the resurrection of the 
 body. 
 
 And when he says, that the Lord or Jehovah is de- 
 scribed as the God of Abraham^ &c. it supposes Abra- 
 ham at the same time to have actually some Ufe and 
 existence in some state or other, for " God is iiot a 
 God of the dead but of the living, "y^^r all that are dead 
 and gone out of this v/orld still live unto God, i. e. 
 they have a present life in the invisible world of spi- 
 rits as God is an invisible Spirit, as well as they ex- 
 pect a resurrection of their body in due time. 
 
 How could God in the days of Moses be called ac- 
 tually *< the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob," who 
 were long since dead, if there was no sense in which 
 they were now alive to God, since our Saviour de- 
 clares God is properly " the God only of the living, 
 and not of the dead ?" This part of the argument holds 
 good in whatsoever sense you construe the whole 
 debate, and by whatsoever Wd'^/z/;?2 or connection you 
 prove the doctrine of the resurrection of the body; 
 and this is obvious to the honest and unlearned rea- 
 der, as well as to the men of learning. 
 
 IV. Luke xxiii. 42, 43. "■ And he (that is, the 
 penitent thief upon the cross) said unto Jesus, Lord, 
 remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom: 
 
 F 
 
38 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF OF SECT. III. 
 
 and Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, to- 
 day shah thou be with me in paradise." The thief 
 upon the cross beheved that Christ would enter into 
 paradise which he supposed to be Christ's kingdom, 
 when he departed from this %vorId which was not his 
 Vingdom ; and this he believed partly according to the 
 common sentiment of the Jews concerning good men 
 at their death, as well as it is agreeable to our Savi- 
 our's own expressions to God, John xvii. 11. " Ho- 
 ly Father, I am no more in the world and I am come 
 unto thee:" or as he had said to his disciples, John 
 xvi. 28. '* I leave the world and go to the Father." 
 And according to these expressions, Luke xxiii. 
 46. Christ dies with these words on his lips, '* Fa- 
 ther into thy hands I commend my spirit." Our 
 Saviour taking notice of the repentance of the thief, 
 acknowledging his own guilt, thus, " we are justly 
 under this condemnation and receive the due reward 
 of our deeds;" and taking notice also of his faith in 
 the Messiah, as a king whose " kingdom was not of 
 this world," when he prayed, <'Lord, remember me 
 when thou comest into thy kingdom:" Christ, I say, 
 taking notice of both these, answers him with a pro- 
 mise of much grace, *' Verily, I say unto thee, to- 
 day shalt thou be with me in paradise." 
 
 The use of the w^ord paradise in Scripture, and 
 amongst ancient writers Jewish and Christian, is to 
 signify the ' happiness of holy souls in a separate 
 State;' and our Saviour entering into that state at 
 his death declared to the ^"^iw^ penitent, that he 
 should be with him there irnmediately. It is certain 
 
SECT. III. A SEPARATE STATE. 39 
 
 that by the word paradise St, Paul means the place 
 of happy spirits, into which he was transported, 2 
 Cor. xii. 4. And this sense is very accommodate 
 and proper to this expression of our Saviour and to 
 the prayer of the penitent thief, and it is as suitable 
 to the design of Christ in his epistle to the church of 
 Ephesus, Rev. ii. 7. *' the. tree of life in the midst 
 of the paradise of God," which are the only three 
 places where the New Testament uses this word. 
 
 I know there have been great pains taken to shew 
 that the stops should be altered, and the comma 
 should be placed after the word to-day^ thus, ' I say 
 unto thee to-day, thou shalt be with me in paradise,' 
 i. e. some time or other hereafter. As though Christ 
 meant no more than this, viz. * Thou askest me to 
 remember thee when I come into my kingdom: and 
 I declare unto thee truly this very day, that some long 
 time hereafter thou shalt be with me in happiness at 
 thy resurrection, when 7ny kingdom shall be just at 
 an end and I shall gii^e it all up to the Father ^^ as in 
 1 Cor. XV. 24. Can any one imagine this to be the 
 meaning of our blessed Saviour in answer to this 
 prayer of the dying penitent ? \ know also there are 
 other laborious criticisms to represent these words 
 (to-day J in other places of Scripture as referring to 
 some distant time, and not to mean that very day of 
 twenty-four hours: but rather than enter into a long 
 and critical debate upon all these texts, I will venture 
 to trust the sense of it in this place with any sincere 
 and unlearned reader. 
 
40 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF OF SECT. III. 
 
 But if we consult the learned Dr. Whitby, he will 
 tell us, that it was a familiar phrase of the Jews to 
 say, on a just man's dyinc^, * to day shall he sit in the 
 bosom of Abraham:' And it was their opinion, that 
 the * souls of the righteous, who were very eminent 
 in piety, were carried immediately into paradise.' 
 The Chaldee paraphrase on Solomon's Song, iv. 12. 
 takes some notice of the ' souls of the just, who are 
 carried into paradise by the hands of angels.' Gro- 
 tius, in his notes on Luke xxiii. 43. mentions the 
 heartv and serious'wish of the Jews concerninsr their 
 friends who are dead, in the language of the Tal- 
 mudical writers, ' let his soul be gathered to the gar- 
 den of Eden:' And, in their solemn prayers when 
 one dies, ' let him have his portion in paradise, and 
 also in the world to come,' by which they mean the 
 state of the resurrection, and plainly distinguish it 
 from this immediate entrance into Eden or paradise 
 at the hour of death. The Jews suppose Enoch to 
 be carried to paradise even in his body ; and that the 
 souls of good men have no interruption of life, but 
 that there was a * reward for blameless souls,' as the 
 book of Wisdom speaks, chap. ii. 22. *' For God cre- 
 ated man to be immortal, and to be an image of his 
 own eternity," which seems to suppose bla??7cless souls 
 entering into this reward without interruption of their 
 life. And, if this be the meaning o^ paradise among 
 the Jews, doubdess our Saviour spake the words in 
 such a kno^^ nand common sense, in which the peni- 
 tei)t thief wouk! eafrily and presently understand him, 
 it being a promise of grace in his dying hour, where- 
 
SECT. 111. A SEPARATE STATE. 41 
 
 in he had no long time to study hard for the sense of 
 it, or consult the critics in order to find the meaninj^. 
 
 We come now to consider the writings of St. 
 Paul: And it is certain, that the most natural and 
 obvious sense of his words, in many places of his 
 epistles, refer to a Separate State of the souls after 
 death: For, as he was a Pharisee in his sentiments 
 of religion, so he seems to be something of a Platon- 
 ist in philosophy, so far as Christianity admitted the 
 same principles. Why then should it not be reason- 
 ably supposed, wheresoever he speaks of this subject, 
 and speaks in their language too, that lie means the 
 same thing which the Pharisees and Platonists believ- 
 ed, that is, the immortality and life of the soul in 
 a Separate State. But I proceed to the particular 
 texts. 
 
 V. 2 Cor. V. 6, 8. *' Therefore we are always con- 
 fident, (or of good courage,) knowing, that whilst we 
 are at home in the body we are absent from the 
 Lord : We are confident, I say, and willing rather to 
 be absent from the body, and to be present with the 
 Lord." The apostle ver. 4. seems to wish that he 
 might be clothed upon at once with immortality in 
 soul and body, without dying or being unclothed : 
 But since things are otherwise determined, then, in 
 the next place, he would rather choose * absence 
 from the body,' that he might be * present with the 
 Lord.' These words seem to be so plain, so express, 
 and so unanswerable a proof of the spirits of good 
 men existing in a Separate State, and being * present 
 with the Lord' when they are * absent from the 
 
42 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF OF SECT. III. 
 
 body' at death, that I could never meet but with 
 two ways of evading it. 
 
 The first is what a gentleman many years ago, 
 who professed Christianity, acknowledged to me, viz. 
 that he believed St. Paul did mean, in this place, the 
 same sense in which I have explained him; but he 
 thought St. Paul might be mistaken in his opinion, 
 for he was not of the apostle's mind in this point. 
 I think I need not tarry to refute this answer : But 
 I may make this remark upon it, viz. that the sense 
 of St. Paul concerning the Separate State was so evi- 
 dent, in this place, that this man had rather differ 
 from the apostle than deny this to be his meaning. 
 All his prejudices against this doctrine could not 
 hinder him fcpm acknowledging that the apostle be- 
 lieved and taught it. 
 
 The second way of evading it is, that this text, 
 with one or two others of like kind, do indeed speak 
 of the happiness of souls in a Separate State, but it 
 doth refer only to the apostles themselves, who had 
 this peculiar favour and privilege granted them by 
 Christ, to follow him to paradise and enjoy his pre- 
 sence there, while the souls of other Christians were 
 asleep, unconscious and unactive till the resurrec- 
 tion. 
 
 Jnsvoer 1. It is granted indeed, that several verses 
 of this chapter, as well as in the former, have a pecu- 
 liar reference to the ministers of Christ, and perhaps 
 to the apostles who were his ambassadors ; but there 
 are many things in 'both these chapters that are per- 
 fectly applicable to every Christian, and the verses 
 
5ECT. ril. A SEPARATE STATE. 43 
 
 just before and just after this eighth verse, may be- 
 long to all good men as well as to the apostles or 
 ministers. ** He that hath wrought us for the self-same 
 thing," i. e. for the happiness of the future state, " is 
 God, who hath also given unto us the earnest of the 
 Spirit," at least as an enlightener and sanctifier, if 
 not as the author of special gifts, for Rom. viii. 9. 
 " If any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none 
 of his." And ver. 6. *' therefore we are always con- 
 fident," or of good courage, '* knowing that whilst 
 we are at home in the body we are absent from the 
 Lord, for we walk by fl\ith not by sight." This is 
 or should be the character of every Christian, And 
 the 9th verse that follows it belongs to all the saints: 
 *' Wherefore we labour that whether present or ab- 
 sent we may be accepted of him ; for we must all 
 appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, that every 
 one may receive the things done in his body accord- 
 ing to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." 
 Now why should we suppose that St. Paul excludes 
 all other Christians besides himself and his brethren 
 the apostles from the blessing of the 8th verse, viz. 
 that when they are ** absent from the body they 
 shall be present with the Lord," since the verses all 
 round it are applicable to all Christians? 
 
 Answer 2. These chapters were written with a de- 
 sign not only to vindicate and encourage the nposde 
 himself under the sufferings and reproaches wl"ch he 
 met with, but doubtless to give encouragement lo thi. 
 Corinthians, and all Christians under any sufferings 
 or reproaches they might meet with in the world; 
 
44 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF OF SECT. Til. 
 
 that (as he expresses it a little before) they might 
 learn '' to walk by faith and to look at the things 
 which are unseen, which are eternal." And indeed 
 if this peculiar blessing of the happiness of a Sepa- 
 rate State belongs only to the apostles, how much 
 are the comforts of the New Testament narrowed 
 and diminished, and the faith and hope of common 
 Christians discouraged and enervated, and their mo- 
 tives to holiness weakened, when they are told, that 
 they have nothing to do to lay hold upon such promi- 
 sed favours, such revelations of grace, because they 
 belong only to the apostles and not to them. 
 
 And indeed how shall common Christians ever 
 know what part of the epistles they may apply to 
 themselves for their direction and consolation, if they 
 may not hope in such words of grace, where the holy 
 writers use the word %ve, and do not plainly intimate 
 that they belong to preachers or apostles only ? 
 
 A?iswer 3. When our Saviour prays for himself 
 and bis apostles in the beginning of tjie xviith of St. 
 John, he comes in the 20rh verse to extend the bless- 
 ings he had prayed for to all believers. Ver. 20. 
 "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also 
 which shall believe on me through their word; that 
 they all may be one, as thou. Father, art in me, and 
 1 in thee, that they may be one in us; that the world 
 may believe that thou hast sent me." Ver. 24. '' Fa- 
 ther, I will that they also whom thou hast given me 
 may be with me where I am, that they may behold 
 my glory which thou hast given me." Here it is 
 evident that our Saviour prays that those that shall 
 
SECT. III. A SEPARATE STATE. 45 
 
 believe on him through the word of the Apostles may- 
 be present with him in his kingdom to behold his 
 glory; and is not that a very considerable j)art of his 
 glory, which the Father hath conferred upon him to 
 be Lord and King and head of his church? but this 
 peculiar glory reaches no further than the resurrec- 
 tion and judgment, and cannot be seen afterwards; 
 for in 1 Cor. xv. '24, '' then cometh the end, and 
 Christ shall deliver up the kingdom to God the Fa- 
 ther ; the Son himself also shall be subject unto the 
 Father, that God may be all in all," ver. 28. 
 
 As for that final blaze of supreme glory wherein 
 Christ shall appear at the day of judgment just be- 
 fore he resigns up his kingdom, and which perhaps 
 is once called bis kingdom, 2 Tim. iv. 1. When 
 *' he shall come in the glory of his Father and of his 
 holy angels as u'cll as his own," Mark viii. 3S. The 
 sight of it shall be public and common to all the 
 world, and not any peculiar favour to the saints. 
 
 It seems therefore most probable that it is only or 
 chiefly in the Separate State of souls departed, that 
 the saints have a special promise of beholding this 
 mediatorial glory of Christ in his kingdom; and this 
 favour our Saviour entreats of his Father for others 
 that shall believe on him, as well as for his Apostles. 
 
 I might here take occasion to enquire whether eve- 
 ry text which promises to other Christians as well as 
 to the Apostles, a dwelling with Christ ' in his king- 
 dom,' must not have a more special reference to the 
 glory of the Separate State ; upon this very account, 
 because this kingdom of Christ ceases at the resur- 
 
46 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF 01' SECT. III. 
 
 rection and judgment; and particularly that text in 
 2 Pet. i. 11. ** boan entrance shall be ministered un- 
 to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of 
 our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ :" which is often 
 in Scripture called eijerlasting because it continues 
 to the end of the world; and the ' abundant entrance 
 into it' very naturally refers to our departure from 
 this life. 
 
 Answer 4. I cannot find any text of Scripture 
 where this blessing of being * present with the Lord' 
 after death in the Separate State is limited only to the 
 Apostles : I read not one v\ord of such a peculiar fa- 
 vour promised them by Christ; and therefore accord- 
 ing to the current coui se of several other places of 
 Scripture which have been here produced, 1 am per- 
 suaded it belongs to all true Christians, unless the 
 Apostle in some plainer manner had limited it tO|him- 
 self and his twelve brethren, and secluded or forbid 
 our hopes of it. 
 
 After all, if it be allowed that the Apostles may en- 
 joy the blessedness of a Separate State before the re- 
 surrection, then there is such a thing as a ' Separate 
 State of hap.piness for souls:' This precludes at once 
 all the arguments against it that arise from the na- 
 ture of things, and from any supposed impropriety in 
 such a divine constitution; And since it is granted 
 that there are millions of angels and several human 
 spirits in this unbodied state, enjoying happiness, I 
 see no reason why the rest of the unbodied spirits of 
 saints departed should not be received to their soci- 
 
SECT. III. A SEPARATE STATE. 47 
 
 ety after death, unless there were some particular 
 Scriptures that excluded them from it. 
 
 VI. Phil. i. 23, 24. ** For I am in a strait betwixt 
 two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; 
 which is far better: nevertheless, to abide in the 
 flesh is more needful for you." When the apostle 
 speaks here of his **abidin,e^ in the flesh," and his 
 '* departing from the flesh," he declares the^r^^ was 
 the more needful for the Philippians, to promote re- 
 ligion in their hearts and lives; but the second would 
 be better for himself, for he should be with Christ, 
 when he was departed from the flesh. 
 
 I would only ask any reasonable man to determine 
 whether, when St. Paul sjjeaks of his ** being with 
 Christ" after his departure from the ficbh, he can 
 su|)pose that the Apostle did not expect to see Christ 
 till the resurrection, which he knew would be a con- 
 siderable distance of time, though perhaps it has 
 proved many hundred years longer than the Apostle 
 himself expected it ? No ; it is evident he hoped to 
 * be present with the Lord' immediately as soon as 
 he was * absent from the body ;' otherwise, as I have 
 hinted before, death to him would have been but of 
 \ht\e ^^ain if he must have lain sleeping till the dead 
 shall rise, and have been cut off" from his delightful 
 service for Christ in the gospel and all the blessed 
 communications of his grace. The objection which 
 may arise here also from supposing this to be a pecu- 
 liar favour granted to the Apostles is answered just 
 before. 
 
48 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF OF SECT. HI. 
 
 VII. Hcb. xii. 23. *' Ye are come to the heavenly 
 Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of ane;els, to 
 the general assembly and church of the first born 
 uhich are written for registered) in heaven, to God 
 the j'.Klge of all, 5ind to the spirits pf just men made 
 perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the New cove- 
 nant," i. e. The gospel or the Christian state brings 
 e:ood men into a nearer union and communion with 
 the heavenly world, and the inhabitants thereof, than 
 the Jewish state could do : now the inhabitants of this 
 upper world, this heavenly Jerusalem, are here rec- 
 koned up, God as the prime Lord or Head; Jesus 
 the mediator as the King of his church ; * the innu- 
 merable company of angels' as ministers of his king- 
 dom ; ' the general assembly' of God's favourites or 
 children \Yho are called the first-born ; perhaps this 
 may refer in general to all the saints of all ages past 
 and to come whose names are written in the book of 
 life in heaven; and particularly to the * separate spi- 
 rits of just men' who are departed from this w^orld, 
 and are made perfect in the heavenly state. The 
 criticisms that are used to put other senses upon 
 these words seem to carry them away so far from their 
 more plain and obvious meaning, that I can hardly 
 think they are the meaning of the Apostle ; for it 
 would be of very little use for a common Christian 
 to read these verses of divine consolation and grace, 
 ifjie could Tcike no comfort from them until he had 
 learnt those critical and distant expositions of such 
 plain language. 
 
SECT. III. 
 
 A SEPARATE STATE. 49 
 
 It has been indeed objected a^^ainst the plain sense 
 of this text, that the spirits of the just or good men 
 are not yet made perfect in heaven, because the same 
 Apostle, Heb. xi. 39, 40. says, '' These all, (i. e. the 
 saints of the Old Testament,) having obtained a 
 good report throuii;h faith, received not the promises, 
 God having provided some better thing for us, that 
 they without us should not be made perfect :'' Now 
 these had been dead for many generations, yet they 
 received not the promises nor were made perfect. 
 Thus saith the objection. 
 
 But the evident meaning of this text is, that they 
 lived and died in the faith of many promises, some 
 of which were to be fulfilled after their days here on 
 earth, but were not fulfilled in their life- time : they 
 did not enjoy the privileges and the blessings of the 
 gospel of the Messiah in that perfect manner in which 
 we do since the Messiah is actually come and has 
 fulfilled these promises, and by his death, ' or ofler- 
 ing himself,' as the same apostle expresses it, ''for 
 ever perfected them that are sanctified," Heb. x. 14. 
 But all this does by no means preclude their exist- 
 ence and happiness in a Separate State as ' spirits 
 made perfect,' i. e. in a perfect freedom from all sin 
 and sorrow; though it is probable this very state of 
 comparative perfection might have several degrees of 
 joy added to it at the ascension of Christ, and will 
 have many more at the resurrection from the dead. 
 
 VIII. 2 Pet. i. 13. "• I think it meet, as long as I 
 am in this tabernacle, to stir you u]), by putting you 
 in remembrance; knowing that shortly I must put 
 
50 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF OF SECT. III. 
 
 oft' this my tabernacle." Here it is evident that the 
 person who * thinks it meet to stir up' Christians to 
 their duty, has a tabernacle belonging to him, and 
 which he must shortly put off. The soul or thinking 
 principle of the Apostle Peter, which is here supj)os- 
 ed to be himself^ is so plainly distinguished from the 
 tabernacle of the body in which he dwelt for a sea- 
 son, and which hf.- must put off shortly , that it most evi- 
 dently implies an existence of this thinking soul ve- 
 ry distinct from the body, and which will exist when 
 the body is laid aside. Surely the conscious being 
 and its tabernacle or dwelling place are two very dis- 
 tinct things, and the conscious being exists when he 
 puts off" his present dwelling. 
 
 After all these arjj^uments from Scripture, may I 
 be permitted to mention one which is derived partly 
 from reason and partly from the sacred records, 
 which seems to carry some weight with it. 
 
 The doctrine of rewards and punishments in a Se- 
 parate State of souls hath been one of the very chief 
 prniciples or motives whereby virtue and religion 
 have been maintained in this sinful world throughout 
 all former ages and nations, and under the several 
 dispensations of God among men, until the resur- 
 rection of the body was fully revealed: Now, it is 
 scarce to be supposed that such a doctrine, which 
 God, in the course of his providence, hath made use 
 of as a chief principle and motive of religion an4 vir- 
 tue, through all the world which had any true virtue, 
 and in all asres before Christianitv, should be a false 
 doctrine. Let us prove the first proposition by a 
 
SECT. III. A SEPARATE STATE. 51 
 
 view of the several ages of mankind and dispensa- 
 tions of religion. 
 
 The Heathens, who have had nothing else but the 
 light of nature to guide them, could have no notion 
 at all of the resurrection of the body ; and therefore, 
 not only the wisest and best of them, but perhaps the 
 bulk of mankind among the Gentiles, at least in Eu- 
 rope and Asia, if not in Africa and America also, 
 who have been taught by priests, and poets, and the 
 public opinions of their nation, and traditions of their 
 ancestors, have generally supposed such a Separate 
 State after this life, wherein their souls should be re- 
 warded or punished, except where the fancy of trans- 
 migration prevailed; and even these very transmi- 
 grations into other bodies, viz. of dogs, or horses, or 
 men, were assigned as speedy rewards or punish- 
 ments of their behaviour in this life. 
 
 Now, though this doctrine of immediate recom- 
 pences could not be proved by them with certainty 
 and clearness, and had many follies mingled with it, 
 yet the probable expectation of it, so far as it halh 
 obtained among men, hath had a good degree of in- 
 fluence through the conduct of common providence, 
 to keep the world in some tolerable order, and pre- 
 vent universal irregularities and excesses of the high- 
 est degree; it hath had some force on the conscience 
 to restrain the enormous wickedness of men. 
 
 The patriarchs of the first ages, whose history is 
 related in Scripture, had no notion of the resurrec- 
 tion of the body expressly revealed to them that we 
 can find; and it must be the hope of such a state ex 
 
j2 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF OF SECT. III. 
 
 recompence of their souls after death, that influenced 
 their practice of piety, if they were not informed that 
 their bodies should rise again. 
 
 Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, had no plain and distinct 
 promise of the resurrection of the body; yet it is 
 said, Heb. xi. 14. *'-They received the promises," 
 that is, of some future happiness, '' and embraced 
 them, and confessed they were strangers and pilgrims 
 on earth, whereby they plainly declared, that they 
 sought some other country, i. e. an heavenly, and 
 God hath prepared a city .for them." What city, 
 what beaiienly country can this be, which they them- 
 selves sought after, but the city or country of Sepa- 
 rate Souls or paradise, where good men are reward- 
 ed, and God is their God, if they had no plain pro- 
 mises or views of a resurrection of the body? And 
 indeed they had need of a very plain and express pro- 
 mise of such a resurrection, to encourage their faith 
 and obedience, if they had no notion or belief of a 
 Separate State, or a heavenly country^ whither their 
 souls should go at their death. 
 
 Job seems to have some bright glimpses of resur- 
 rection in chap, xixth, but this was far above the 
 level of the dispensation wherein he lived, and a pe- 
 culiar and distinguishing favour granted to him un- 
 der his uncommon and peculiar sufferings. 
 
 In the institution of the Jewish religion by Moses, 
 there is no express mention of a resurrection, and we 
 m.ust suppose their hope of a future state was chiefly 
 such as they could gain from the light of nature, and 
 learn by traditions from their fiUhers, or from un- 
 
SECT. III. A SEPARATE STATE. 5S 
 
 written instructions. For, though our Saviour im- 
 proves the words of God to Moses in the bubh, '' I 
 am the God of Abraham," &c. so far as to prove a 
 resurrection from them, yet we can hardly suppose 
 the Israelites could carry it any further, than merely 
 to the happiness of Abraham's soul, &c. in some Se- 
 parate State; and thence came the notion of depart- 
 ed souls of good men '* going to the bosom of Abra- 
 ham." 
 
 I grant that David in his Psalms, Isaiah and Daniel 
 in their prophecies, have some hints of the resurrec- 
 tion of the body; but this doth not seem to have 
 been the common principle or support of virtue and 
 goodness, or a general article of belief among the 
 Jews in the early ages. 
 
 In the days of the later prophets, and after their 
 return from Babylon, I confess the Jews had some 
 notions of a resurrection; but they also retained 
 their opinion of the *' righteous souls being at rest 
 with God" in a Separate State before the resurrec- 
 tion. See the book of Wisdom, chap. iii. 1, 2, 3, 
 4. " The souls of the righteous are in the hand of 
 God, and there shall no torment touch them. In 
 the sight of the unwise they seemed to die, and their 
 departure is taken for misery, and their going from 
 us to be utter destruction; but they are in peace; 
 for, though they be perished in the sight of men, yet 
 is their hope full of immortality, and iv. 7. Though 
 the righteous be prevented with death, yet they shall 
 be in rest." 
 
 H 
 
S4f ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOT or SECT. III. 
 
 That this was the most common doctrine of the 
 Jews, except the Sadducees and their followers, in 
 our Saviour's time, and that it was the doctrine of 
 the primitive Christians also, need not be proved 
 here ; though they also had the expectation of the 
 resurrection of the body. 
 
 Now,^ if this be the chief or only doctrine which 
 men could attain to under the dispensation of natural 
 reason, as the most powerful motive to virtue and 
 piety, if this be the chiefest doctrine of that kind that 
 we know of, which the patriarchs and primitive Jews 
 enjoyed, if this also be a constant doctrine of later 
 Jews, i. e. the wisest and best of them, and also of 
 the primitive Christians^ which had so much influence 
 on the good behaviour of all of them toward God and 
 men, and by which God carried on his work of piety 
 in their hearts and lives, and by which also he im- 
 prest the consciences of evil men, in some measure, 
 and restrained them from their utmost excesses of 
 vice and wickedness, is it not hard to be supposed 
 that this doctrine is all mere fancy and delusion, and 
 hath nothing of truth in it? And indeed, if this doc- 
 trine had been taken away, the Heathens would be 
 left without any possible true notion of a future state 
 of recompence, and the Patriarchs seem to have had 
 no sufficient principle or motive to virtue and piety 
 left them, and the principles and motives of goodness 
 in the following ages among Jeijos and Christians, 
 had been greatly diminished and enfeebled. 
 
 At the conclusion of this chapter, I cannot help 
 taking notice, (though I shall but just mention it,) 
 
SECT. lir. A SEPARATE STATE. 55 
 
 that the multitude of narratives which we have heard 
 of in all ages of the ' apparition of the spirits or 
 ghosts' of persons departed from this hfe, can hardly 
 be all delusion and falsehood . Some of them have 
 been affirmed to appear upon such great and impor- 
 tant occasions, as may be equal to such an unusual 
 event: And several of these accounts have been at- 
 tested by such witnesses of wisdom, and prudence, 
 and sagacity, under no distempers of imagination, 
 that they may justly demand a belief; and the effects 
 of these apparitions in the discovery of murthers and 
 things unknown, have been so considerable and use- 
 ful, that a fair disputant should hardly venture to run 
 directly counter to such a cloud of witnesses, without 
 some good assurance on the contrary side. He must 
 be a shrewd philosopher indeed, who, upon any other 
 hypothesis^ can give a tolerable account of all the nar- 
 ratives in GlanmWs Sadducismus Triumphattis, or 
 Baxter^ s World of spirits and apparitions, ^c. 
 Though I will grant some of these stories have but 
 insufficient proof, yet, if there be but one real appari- 
 tion of a departed spirit, then the point is gained, 
 that there is a Separate State. 
 
 And indeed, the Scripture itself seems to mention 
 such sort of ghosts or appearances of souls departed, 
 Matth. xiv. 26. When the disciples saw Jesus walk- 
 ing on the water, they *' thought it had been a spi- 
 rit:" And, Luke xxiv. 36. After his resurrection 
 they saw him at once appearing in the midst of them, 
 "and they supposed they had seen a spirit;" and 
 cur Saviour doth not contradict their notion, but 
 
56 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF OF S£CT. III. 
 
 argues with them upon the supposition of the truth 
 of it, *' A spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see 
 ine to ha!ve." And Acts xxiii. 8, 9. The word 
 spirit seems to signify the ' apparition of a departed 
 soul,' uhere it is said '* the Sadducees say, There is 
 no resurrection, neither angel nor'spirii," and ver, 
 9. '' If a spirit or an angel hath spoken to this man," 
 &c. A spirit here is plainly distinct from an angel, 
 and what can it mean but ^n apparition of a human 
 soul which has left the body ? 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 Objections ansiverecL 
 
 HAVING pointed out so many springs of argu- 
 ment to support this doctrine, from the word of God 
 as well as from reason and tradition, I proceed r.ow 
 to answer some particular objections which are raised 
 against it. 
 
 Object. I. The Scripture is so far from supposing 
 that the soul of man is immortal, or that there is any 
 such thing as the life of the soul continuing after the 
 death of the body, that it often speaks of the '' death 
 of the soul," if tfie words were translated exactly ac- 
 cordin.^- to the original. Numb. xxxi. 19. " Whoso- 
 ever hath killed any person," Hcbr. any soul. 1 Sam. 
 xxii. 22. '*I have occasioned the death of every 
 soul of thy father's house." Judges xvi. 30. '* And 
 Sampson said, Let my soul die vvith the Philistines." 
 
SECT. IV. A SEPARATE STATE. 57 
 
 Ezek. xviii. 20. '' The soul that sinneth it shall die." 
 Psal. Ixxxix. 48. " What man is he that liveth and 
 shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul ^vom the 
 hand of the ^rave?" 1 Kings xix. 4. ** Elijah re- 
 quested for himself that he might die," Hebr. that 
 his sou) might die. 
 
 Answ. The word soulm English, Nephesh in He- 
 brew, Psyche in Greek, and Anima in Latin, &c. 
 signifies not only the conscious and active principle 
 in man, which thinks and reasons, loves and hates, 
 hopes and fears, and which is the proper aireiu in vir- 
 tue or vice, but it is used also to signify the principle 
 of animal life and motion in a living creature. And, 
 thouiih these two in themselves are very distinct 
 things, yet, upon this account, the word ^<3;// is attri- 
 buted to brutes as well as to men : For the Jews as well 
 as some Heathens, in their mistaken philosophy, sup- 
 posed the same soul of man, which gives natural life 
 to the body, to be also that very intellectual principle, 
 whi:h thinks and reasons, fears and loves; and, upon 
 this account, they gave both the^e principles, how 
 distinct soever in themselves, one common name, 
 and called them the souL 
 
 Now, the soul, or the principle of animal life and 
 motion, being the chief or most valuable thing in an 
 animal, it came to pass that the whole animal was 
 called a soul: therefore, even birds and fishes arc 
 called " living souls," Gen. i. 20. and any animals 
 whatsoever in Scripture are called souls or living souls. 
 And then, for the same reason, i. e. because the soul 
 of man is his chief part, the whole person of man is 
 called his soul, Gen. ii. 7. '' Man became a living 
 
58 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF OT SECT. IV. 
 
 soul," i, e. a living person. So Exod. i. 5. ** All 
 the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were 
 seventy souls," i. e. all the persons were seventy. 
 
 And this is not only the language of the Jews, but 
 even of other nations. In our country we use the 
 word souls to signify persons: So we say 'a poor 
 soul,' when we see a person in misery; we use the 
 word * a meagre soul,' for a thin man; we say, * there 
 were twenty souls lost in the ship,' i. e. twenty per- 
 sons,' &c. 
 
 Now, the word sotd among the Jews being so uni- 
 versally used to signify the person of man, they used 
 the same word to signify tbe person when he was 
 dead as well as when he was alive. Numb. vi. 6. 
 '^ He shall come at no dead body," in the Hebr. no 
 dead soul, i. e. no dead man or woman, or perhaps 
 no dead animal. 
 
 Since the w^ord soul is taken so often and so com- 
 monly to signify the person of a man or woman, no 
 wonder that there is so frequent mention of souls dy- 
 ing in the Scripture, when human persons die. 
 
 And, if the soul signify a man or woman when 
 they are dead as well as when living, here is a fair ac- 
 count why the Scriptures may speak of the *' souls 
 going down to the grave," or being '* delivered from 
 the grave," he. Psal. Ixxxix. 48. '' Shall he deliver 
 his soul from the hand of the grave?" This may 
 either denote his principle of animal life, or his per- 
 son, i. e. himself. 
 
 Now this account of things is very consistent with 
 the scriptural doctrine of the distinction of the intel- 
 ligent soul of man from his body, and the intelligent 
 
SECT. IV. A SEPARATE STATE. 59 
 
 soid^s survival of the body, nor do any of these scrip- 
 tural expressions concerning the ^o/// forbid this sup- 
 position : For, though in some places, the word soul 
 signifies the person of the man or his body, or that 
 animal principle which may die, yet in other places it 
 signifies that intelligent or thinking principle which 
 cannot die, as we have before proved where our Savi- 
 our tells us, *^ we should not fear them that kill the 
 body, but cannot kill the soul." Wheresoever the 
 Scripture speaks of a *' soul's being killed," it 
 only means tliat the * person who was mortal is 
 slain,' i. e. the life of the body is destroyed, and ihe 
 man considered as a compound being made up of soul 
 and body is in some sense dissolved when one part 
 of the composition dies. But where the so'ul signi- 
 fies the intellectual principle in man, it is never said 
 to die^ unless when the w^ord death means a loss of 
 happiness, or living in misery; but this implies na- 
 tural life still, for this soul cannot naturally be de- 
 stroyed by any pow^er but that which made it. 
 
 If any person object that the apostle in Acts ii. 31. 
 says, *' the soul of Christ was not left in hell, or the 
 grave;" for so the word in the Hebrew may signify, 
 Psal. xvi. 10. whence this is cited ; there is a suffici- 
 ent answer to-be given to this two or three ways. It 
 may be construed, that the principle of the animal 
 life of Christ was not left to continue in death ; or 
 that the person of the man Jesus was not left in death 
 or the grave, the body bein.12: sometimes put for the. 
 person; or it may be as well construed, that the spi- 
 rit of Christ or his intellectual soul was not left in 
 
60 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF OF SECT. IV. 
 
 the state of the dead, or of separation from the body, 
 which the word sheol in the Hebrew, and «<^»c in 
 Greek, signif}^ 
 
 Here it may be observed also, that the word which 
 signifies spirit, ruach^ pneiima^ spiritus^ in Hebrew, 
 Greek and Latin, and other languages, is used some- 
 times for air or breathy which is supposed to be the 
 principle of life to the animal body; and sometimes 
 it signifies the intellectual souly die conscious and ac- 
 tive principle in man; and therefore whatsoever may 
 be said of the spirit'' s dyingy or being lost^ is no proof 
 that the conscious principle in man dies, which is a 
 very different thing from breath or air. 
 
 Perhaps it will be said here, does not Moses sup- 
 pose breath to be the soul or spirit in man, when he 
 says, Gen. ii. 7. *' God breathed into his nostrils 
 the breath of life, and man became a living soul." 
 
 I answer, it is evident that Moses makes a plain 
 difference between God's formation of man and brutes, 
 for he makes no distinction between their soul and 
 body in their creation; but he distinguishes the soul 
 from the body of man, in his creation, speaking ac- 
 cording to the common language and philosophy of 
 that age as though the soul were in the breath'. Nor 
 was jt proper to speak in strict philosophical language 
 to those ignorant people; nor were the modes of ex- 
 pression in the Bible so peculiarly formed to teach 
 us philosophy as religion. 
 
 But of this distinction between the * soul of a brute,' 
 and the ' soul of a man,' there seems to be a plain 
 intimation given by Solomon in the book of Ecclesi- 
 
BECT. IV, A SEPARATE STATE. 61 
 
 astes, chap. Hi. 21. "Who knovveth the spirit of 
 man that goeth upward, and the spirit of a beast that 
 goeth downward to the earth?" that the < spirit of 
 man,' i. e. his conscious and intellectual principle 
 * goeth upward,' or survives at the death of the body, 
 but ' the spirit of the beast,' i. e. the spring of its ani- 
 mal life, 'goeth down to the earth,' is mingled with 
 the common elements of this material world and en- 
 tirely lost. 
 
 But the wise man in this place perhaps expresses 
 some of his former atheistical doubts, saying, * who 
 knows' whether there is any difference between them? 
 yet it intimates thus much, that men who pretended 
 to wisdom in that age, supposed such a difference 
 between the spirit of man and the spirit of a brute. 
 
 Object, 11. Is taken from Psal. vi. 5. *' In death 
 there is no remembrance of thee; in the grave who 
 shall give thee thanks?" and Psal. cxlvi. 4. *' His 
 breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that 
 very day his thoughts perish." And Eccles. ix. 5. 
 *' The living know that they shall die, but the dead 
 know not any thing." From all which words some 
 would infer there is no such thing as a Separate State 
 ©f souls. 
 
 Answ, Both David and his son Solomon exclude all 
 such sort of thoughts and actions, both religious and 
 civil, from the state of death as are practised in this 
 life, all the pursuits of their present purposes, their 
 present way and manner of divine worship, and their 
 management or consciousness of human affairs : But 
 they do not exclude all manner of consciousness, 
 
 I 
 
62 ESSAV towards the PROOr OF SECT. sv. 
 
 knowledge, thought or action, such as may be suited 
 ta the invisible state of spirits. The design of the 
 writers in those places of Scripture requires no more 
 than this, and therefore the words cannot be constru- 
 ed to any farther sense, or to exclude the conscious 
 and active powers of a separate spirit from their pro- 
 per exercise in that invisible world, though they have 
 done with all their actions in the present visible 
 state. 
 
 Object, III. Is taken from John xiv. 3. ''If I go 
 and prepare a place for you, I will come again and re- 
 ceive you to myself, that where I am there ye may 
 be also;" which seems to determine the point, that 
 the followers of Christ were not to be present with 
 him until he came again to this world to raise the 
 dead, and to take his disciples to dwell with him. 
 
 Ansijj, 1. It hath been already granted by some 
 persons who doubt of the Separate State of all souls, 
 that the Apostles had this special favour allowed them 
 to be received into the presence of Christ when they 
 departed from this body: Now these words were 
 spoken to the Apostles, and therefore they cannot 
 preclude this privilege which they expected, viz. 
 that when they were * absent from the body' they 
 should be « present with the Lord,' 2 Cor. v. 8. 
 
 Ansiv, 2. ' Christ came again' to his disciples at 
 his own resurrection from the dead, and taught them 
 the things of the other world, and better prepared 
 them for the happiness of heaven and his own pre- 
 sence: He came again also by the destruction of the 
 Jewish state, and called his own people thence before- 
 
SECT. IV. A SEPARATE STATE. 63 
 
 hand, as an emblem of their salvation when the world 
 should be destroyed. He also came again at their 
 death; when he * that hath the keys of death and the 
 invisible world' let them out of the prison of the bo- 
 dy into the Separate State, that they might dwell with 
 him: The * coming of Christ' has many and various 
 senses in the New Testament, and need not be rc^- 
 ferred only to his * coming at the day of judgment.' 
 
 Ansiv, 3. But suppose in this place the words of 
 Christ be construed concerning his ' great and public 
 coming' to raise the dead and judge the world ; it is 
 certain that in that day the disciples shall be receiv- 
 ed to 'dwell with him' in a much more complete and 
 glorious manner, when both soul and body shall be 
 made the inhabitants of heaven : But this does not 
 preclude or forbid that the separate souls of his fol- 
 lowers should be favoured with his presence in para- 
 dise before his public coming to judge the world. 
 Though the last and greatest blessing be only men- 
 tioned here, it docs not exclude the former. 
 
 Object. IV. St. Paul in Phil. iii. 10, 11. says, that 
 he desired '* to know Christ and the power of his re- 
 surrection, (&c.) if by any means he might attain to 
 the resurrection of the dead;" Now what need had 
 the Apostle to be so solicitous about the resurrection 
 if he expected to be with Christ immediately upon 
 his death, since being with Christ is the state of ulti- 
 mate happiness? 
 
 Answ. 1. Some learned men suppose that the Apos- 
 tle here presses after some peculiar exaltations of 
 piety in thi* world, and after an interest in somcjirst 
 
64 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF OF SECT. IV. 
 
 resurrection, or resurrection of the martyrs and most 
 eminent saints, which would be long before the gene- 
 ral resurrection of all the dead, according to the visi- 
 ons of St. John, Rev. xx. 4 — 7. But as I am not 
 sufficiently acquainted with the sense of that prophecy 
 to determine my opinion on this side, I proceed to 
 other answers. 
 
 Afisnv. 2, What if the words of St. Paul in this 
 place to the Philipians, should mean no more than 
 this, a^ ver. 13. 14, ** I forgot the things that are be- 
 hind," as though I had gained so little already as not 
 to be worth my notice ; '' and I reach forth unto those 
 things which are before," i. e. further degress of ho- 
 liness to be obtained, ' pressing towards the mark' of 
 perfection, ' if by any means I might be made so con- 
 formable to the death Christ,' as to be entirely dead 
 to sin, and * if by any means I might attain to the re- 
 surrection of the dead,' i. e. to such a perfection of 
 holiness as is represented by the resurrection of 
 Christ, Rom. vi. or as that in which tKe * dead saints 
 shall be raised;' for I know * I have not already at- 
 tained it, nor am already perfect.' 
 
 Answ, 3. Suppose the soul of St. Paul to be pre- 
 sent with Christ after death in heaven in the Separate 
 State, yet this is not the ultimate or highest ' happiness 
 of the saints,' and therefore he aimed at something 
 higher and further, namely, the more complete happi- 
 ness which he should enjoy at the resurrection of the 
 dead. 
 
 Object, V. Is borrowed from several verses of 1 
 Cor. XV. where the Apostle is imagined to argue 
 
SECT. IV. A SEPARATE STATE.. 65 
 
 thus, *' If there be no resurrection of the dead," ver. 
 18. *' Then they which are flUlen asleep in Christ 
 are perished," ver. 19. *' Then we have hope only 
 in this life," and nothing else to support us. Then 
 ver. 32. ** What advantage" do I get by all my suffer- 
 ings for Christ, if the dead rise not ? We had better 
 comply with the appetites of the flesh and enjoy a 
 merry life here, ** Let us cat and drink for to-morrow 
 we die;" whereby it is evident that the Apostle 
 places the blessed expectation * of those that are fallen 
 asleep in Christ' only and entirely upon their being 
 * raised from the deed,' which he would not have 
 done if there had been such a Separate State: he ex- 
 tends * our hope in Christ' beyond this life, and 
 raises his own expectation oi achantage or reward for 
 his sufferings on the account of the gospel entirely 
 and only upon the * resurrection of the dead,' having 
 no notion of any happiness in a Separate State- of 
 souls: for if he had any such opinion or hope, this 
 expectation of the happiness of the soul in a Separate 
 State might have been a sufficient proof that those 
 who died or slept in the faith of Christ, are ' not per- 
 ished,' and he had abundant reward for his sufferings 
 in that world oS. separate souls without the resurrec- 
 tion of the body. 
 
 Jinsvj, 1. It must be granted that the Scripture, in 
 order to support Christians under present trials, 
 chiefly refers them to the day of the resurrection and 
 final judgment, as the great and chief season of re- 
 tribution: the reason of this will appear under my 
 answer to a follow ing objection: Now the Apostle 
 may be supposed to argue here only on this foot, ne- 
 
66 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOT OF SECT. IT. 
 
 glecting or overlooking the Separate State, as though 
 this final retribution at and after the resurrection of 
 the body were comparatively the whole, because it is 
 far the chief and most considerable part, being much 
 the most sensible, and conspicuous, and of the long- 
 est duration. The chief part of any thing is often 
 taken for the whole ; and if there were no resurrec- 
 tion of the dead, i. e. if there were no state of retri- 
 bution at all, then the Epicurean reasoning would 
 be good, ' Let us eat and drink for to-morrow vvc 
 die.' 
 
 And, to confirm this exposition, we may take no- 
 tice, that in other places of Scripture, where the ' re- 
 surrection of the dead' is mentioned, this anastasis 
 includes the whole state of existence after death, both 
 the Separate and the resurrection State: This seems 
 to be the sense of it in that famous place, Luke xx, 
 S5. Where Christ argues with the Sadducees, who 
 denied the Separate State as well as the resurrection 
 of the body : Now if you take away this anastasis, 
 this whole state of existcrxe and retribution, then 
 ihey that suffer for Christ have no advantage or re- 
 compence, and the Epicurean doctrine is plainly pre- 
 ferable, at least in the common sense and reasoning 
 of men, and in such seasons of trial and persecution. 
 
 Nor is it unreasonable to suppose that there might 
 be some of these principles of Sadducism begun to 
 be instilled into some of the Corinthians, viz. that 
 there were jio rewards and punishments at all in any 
 future state; for he tells them, ver. 54. that some of 
 them * had not the knowledge of God,' i. e. as a right- 
 eous rewarder of them that diligently seek him, *' I 
 
^ SECT. IV. A SEPARATE STATE. f,7 
 
 speak this," says he, <*to your shame." And vcr. 
 5, 8. he encourages them to be *' stedfast and unmov- 
 able, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for 
 as much as ye know that your labour is not in vain 
 in the Lord;" i. e. there is certainly a future state 
 of recompence for piety, and the discovery of it at 
 the resurrection of the dead is the most public and 
 glorious part of it, and therefore he insists upon this 
 alone. 
 
 A?isiv, 2. But we may give yet a more particular 
 answer to this objection: for if we take in the whole 
 scheme of the Apostle's argument in this chapter, we 
 shall find there is no sufficient ground for this objec- 
 tion against a Separate State. He begins, ver. 12, 
 13, &c. and argues thus, "If there be no resurrec- 
 tion of the dead, then Christ is not risen," for he rose 
 as the Jirst fruits, and his followers shall be the har- 
 vest, ver. 23. but if there be no harvest there were 
 no first-fruits : and *^ if Christ be not risen, then our 
 preaching is vain, and your faith is vain;" ver. 14. 
 *'Then we are found false witnesses in matters that 
 relate to God," ver. 15. mere impostors, who preach 
 a wicked falsehood, and lead you to hope for a hap- 
 piness which ye shall never obtain: for *' if Christ, 
 who died for our sins," ver. 3. '* be not raised for 
 our justification," as in Rom. iv. ult. "then are ye 
 yet in your sins," ye lie yet under the guilt of sin ; 
 and if so, " then also they which have fallen asleep in 
 Christ," or have died in the faith of Christ, vlvg perish- 
 ed, ver. 18. they must either be condemned, or be 
 utterly lost both soul and body, having no ground for 
 
68 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF OF SECT. IV. 
 
 hope of eternal life, or any life or happiness at all 
 hereafter. Then ' the hope of Christians would be 
 in this life only,' and we are ' miserable creatures' 
 who suffer so much for Christ's sake, ver. 19. It 
 would be better for us who have senses and appe- 
 tites as well as other men, to indulge these senses 
 and appetites, and 'eat and drink for to-morrow we 
 die,' and there is an end of us : There can be no fu- 
 ture state of happiness of any kind for us to expect, 
 either in soul or body, if we have deceived you in the 
 doctrine of the resurrection of Christ, and all our 
 gospel be false : We are then such sort of impostors 
 and wicked cheats as can have no belief of a future 
 state of rewards or punishments, and we had better 
 act like ourselves, and like mere Epicureans, give 
 ourselves up to all present pleasures than expose our- 
 selves to perpetual sufferings for the sake of a man, 
 who (if there be no resurrection) died and never rose 
 again, and therefore cannot make us any recompence. 
 Now this sort of arguing does not at all preclude the 
 Separate State of happiness, but rather establish it. 
 I might add here a further answer to this objectiofi^ 
 viz. the Apostle is representing the * sufferings of the 
 body' for Christ's sake, ver. 30, 31, 32. and there- 
 fore he thinks it proper to encourage Christians with 
 the recompence of the * resurrection of the body,' 
 without taking any particular notice of the happiness 
 of the Separate Scate of the soul: and in this view of 
 things his argua^.ent stands good. If there be no re- 
 surrection of the body, there is no recompence for 
 sufferings ia the body; let us then give the body its 
 
SECT. IV. A SEPARATE STATE. 59 
 
 pleasures of sense; * Let us eat and drink' while we 
 live, for there is an utter end of us in death. But (^aith 
 he, ver. 33,) such ' evil traditions corrupt all good 
 manners,' and therefore they are not, the}' canncjt be 
 true : There must be a resurrection of the body to 
 encourage sufferings in the body for the sake of vir- 
 tue and religion.* 
 
 Object. VI. Doth not the New Testament con- 
 stantly refer the rewards and punishments of good 
 and bad men to the time of the resurrection of the 
 dead, or the second coming of Christ? Is it not with 
 this prospect it terrifies the sinner? Is it not with 
 this it Comforts the good man, and supports him un- 
 der his present sufferings? It would be endless to cite 
 all the particular texts on this occasion. That one 
 text 1 Thess. iv. 14. speaks the sense of many 
 others, and is sufficient to be cited here. The Apos- 
 tle persuades Christians not to *' mourn for the dead 
 
 ♦ There are several pages of just and pertinent answers to this objec- 
 tion by my learned and ingenious friend Mr. Henry Grove, in his 
 
 * Thoughts concerning the Proof of a Future State from Reason,' which 
 confirm the replies I have here made, ' Then they,' saith he, ' who 
 are fallen asleep in Christ (by whom the martyrs seem to be more especi- 
 ally intended) are perished, for any thing that Christ can do for them, 
 who will never reward them for their sufferings, never restore that life 
 which they lost for his sake.' And particularly his exposition on those 
 words, ' we are most miserable of all men,' is very agreeable to the- place. 
 
 * The Greek iymyonfot i^ignifies that we are ' more to be pitied' than 
 any men, as wanting the common understanding of men to suffer death 
 for Christ's sake, who would never be able to recompence us for it, if he 
 be not risen from the dead. And it is (saith he a little afterward) for 
 want of observing the intermediate links of the Aposrle's argument 
 (which he there represents), that some have been at a loss for his mean- 
 ing, while others have quite mistaken it.' See p. 124, &.c. 
 
 K 
 
;0 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF OF SECT. IV» 
 
 as those that sorrow without hope," and gives this 
 reason, " for those who sleep in Jesus, God will bring 
 with him," when he comes to raise the dead, and 
 then * they shall be for ever with the Lord ;' and he 
 bids them * comfort one another with these words:* 
 Whereas their comforts had been much nearer at 
 hand if he could have told them of the Separate State 
 of happiness which the departed souls of their friends 
 at present enjoyed ; and if there had been any such 
 state he had the fairest opportunity here to introduce 
 it. 
 
 Answ. This very text I have mentioned before as a 
 proof of the Separate State, and it is plain the Apos- 
 tle seems to hint it, though he doth not insist upori 
 it, when he supposes the soul of the deceased to be 
 with Christ already; for he saith, " God will brings 
 them with him," i. e. from heaven when he comes 
 to raise their bodies. 
 
 But to give a more general answer to the objection, 
 as drawn from the silence of Scripture,'' in many- 
 places, about this doctrine of the Separate State. 
 
 There are good reasons why the New Testament 
 more sparingly mentions the Separate State of souls, 
 and doth most frequently (but not constantly) refer 
 both rewards and punishments to the resurrection. 
 
 (1.) Because the Heathens themselves (at least the 
 wisest and best of them) did believe some sort of fu» 
 ture state of happiness or misery, into which the souls 
 of men should be disposed when they departed from 
 these bodies, according to the vices or virtues they 
 had practised in this life ; and they derived this dec- 
 
SECT. IV. A SEPARATE STATE. 71 
 
 trine from their reasonings upon the foot of the light 
 of nature. The writings of Plato and his followers, 
 and the sentiments of Socrates conveyed to us in 
 Plato^s writings, are full of this opinion, viz. of the 
 existence of the souls of good men in a happy state, 
 when they depart from the body. Cicero sometimesi 
 speaks of it as his opinion, his desire and his hope, 
 nor were other heathen writers ignorant of this doc- 
 trine ; but the New Testament speaks less of this 
 point, because it is the evident design of Christ and 
 his Apostles to lead their disciples to the more * pecu- 
 liar doctrines of revelation,^ rather than to treat them 
 with sentiments derived from the light of nature ; 
 And this doctrine of the resurrection from the dead, 
 and the eternal rewards and eternal punishments that 
 attend it, are more abundantly mentioned in the New 
 Testament, because they stand so much more con- 
 nected with the gospel of Christ, and with his own 
 resurrection from the dead, which is the chief evi- 
 dence of its divine authority. It is Christ who rose 
 from the dead, who is appointed to raise and to judge 
 all mankind ; and therefore it is natural for the Apos- 
 tles in their writings, who desire to keep the death 
 and resurrection of Christ always in tlie view of their 
 convertaif to point to the awful events of that day, 
 when their Saviour, risen from the dead, shall appear 
 in the execution of his glorious ct^mmission and 
 judge the world. Thus St. Paul preaches to the 
 Athenians, Acts xvii. 30. ''God now commands all 
 men every where to repent, because he hath apjH)int- 
 ed a day in which he will judge the woild in righte- 
 
72 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF OF SECT. IV. 
 
 ousness, by that man whom he hath ordained; where- 
 of he hath given assurance to all men, in that he hath 
 raised him from the dead." And in many other 
 places he connects our resurrection and future re- 
 compences with the resurrection of Christ. 
 
 And in this respect, as well as in some others, the 
 doctrine of rewards and punishments after the resur- 
 rection, seems to carry such superior force in it, 
 especially upon those who believe the gospel, that it 
 is no wonder the New Testament more frequently 
 refers to this great day of resurrection, and the Apos- 
 tle derives the chief part of his consolations or ter- 
 rors from it. 
 
 (2.) Then will be the * public and universal re- 
 tributions' of vice and virtue in a more solemn man- 
 ner exhibited before all the world, whereas the en- 
 trance of mankind into the recompences of the Sepa- 
 rate State is more private and personal. 
 
 (3.) Then wdll be the day of ' complete rewards and 
 punishments' of man in both parts of his nature, soul 
 and body : All the Separate State belongs only to 
 the soul, and even those recompences are but im- 
 perfect before in comparison of what they will be 
 when body and soul are united. 
 
 (4.) Then will be the most glorious visible and sen- 
 sible distinction made between the good and bad ; 
 and since this belongs to the body as well as the 
 soul, it is very properly set before the eyes of men 
 in the holy writings as done at the resurrection ; be- 
 cause corporeal and sensible things work more pow- 
 erfully on their imagination, and more sensibly and 
 
SECT. IV. A SEPARATE STATE. 73 
 
 effectually strike the consciences of men, than the 
 notion of mere spiritual rewards and punishments in 
 the Separate State. 
 
 (5.) The state of rewards and punishments after 
 the resurrection, will be far the longest and most du- 
 rable recompence of the good and the bad : And 
 thei-efore it is called eternal so often in Scripture ; 
 ever/cisting life, and everlasting fire ^ Matth. xxv. 41. 
 Whereas the retributions of the Separate State are 
 comparatively but of short duration ; and this is an- 
 other thii.er that makes a sensible impression on the 
 hearts of men, viz. the * eternal continuance' of the 
 joys \i\\d sorrows that follow the last judgment. 
 
 Perhaps it will be replied here, that in the begin- 
 ning of this essay I represented the Separate State 
 as a * more effectual motive' to the hopes and fears 
 of men, because the joys and sorrows of it were so 
 much * nearer at hand' than those of the resurrec- 
 tion : And why do I now represent the recomj^ences 
 of the resurrection under such characters as are fit to 
 have the strongest influence, and become the most 
 effectual moti^ue ? 
 
 ylnsw. It is granted, that the recompences after the 
 resurrection have several circumstances that carry 
 with them some peculiar and most powerful motives 
 to religion and virtue; but that awful day may still 
 seem to want this one motive, viz. ' the nearness of 
 it,' which belongs eminently to the recompences of 
 the Separate State. Now, if the Scripture does 
 really reveal the doctrine of rewards and punishments 
 of souls immediately after death, and of soul and 
 
74 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF OF SECT. IV. 
 
 body together at the resurrection, then all those cir- 
 cumstances of efFeciual motive to piety are collected 
 in our doctrine, viz. the * immediate nearness of them' 
 in the Separate State, and the public appearance, the 
 unhersality^ the completeness, the sensibility, and the 
 duration of them after the great rising-day. 
 
 I might yet take occasion, from this objection, to 
 give a further i^ason, why the Apostles more fre- 
 quently draw their motives of hope and fear from the 
 resurrection and the great judgment, i. e. that even 
 that day of recompence was generally then supposed 
 to be * near at hand^' and so there was less need to 
 insist upon the joys and sorrows of the Separate 
 State. 
 
 As the patriarchs and the Jews of old, after the 
 Messiah was promised, were constantly expecting 
 \i\'^ first coming, almost in every generation till. he did 
 appear, and many modes of prophetical expression 
 in Scripture (^Ahich speak of things long to come, as 
 though they were present or just at hand) gave them 
 some occasion for this expection, so the Christians 
 of the first age did generally expect * the second com- 
 ing' of Christ to judgment, and the resurrection of 
 the dead, in that very age wherein it was foretold. 
 St. Paul gives us a hint of it in 2 Thess. ii. 1, 2. 
 They supposed the * day of the Lord was just appear- 
 ing.' And many expressions of Christ concerning 
 his return or coming again after his departure, seem- 
 ed to represent his absence as a thing of no long con- 
 tinuance. It is true, these words of his may partly 
 refer to his coming to destroy Jerusalem; and the 
 
SECT. IV. A SEPARATE STATE. 75 
 
 coming in of his kingdom among the Gentiles, or his 
 coming by his messenger of death, yet they gene- 
 rally, in their supreme and final, sense, point to his 
 coming to raise the dead and judge the world: And 
 from the words of Christ also concerning John, chap, 
 xxi. 22. ** If I will that he tarry till I come ;" it is 
 probable that the Apostles themselves at first, as well 
 as other Christians, might derive this apprehension of 
 his speedy coming. 
 
 It is certain, that when Christ speaks of his com- 
 ing, in general and promiscuous and parabolical 
 terms, whether with regard to the destruction of Je- 
 rusalem or the judgment of the world, he saith, 
 Matth. xxiv. 34. '' Yerily I say unto you, this gene- 
 ration shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled." 
 And the Apostles frequently told the world, the com- 
 ing of the Lord was near, Phil. iv. 5. '* The Lord is 
 at hand," Heb. x. 25. '* Exhorting one another, so 
 much the more as you see the day approaching." 
 And that this is the day of the ** coming of Christ." 
 ver. 37. assures us, '' For yet a little while, he that 
 shall come will come, and will not tarry." Rom. xiii. 
 12. *'Now it is high time to awake out of sleep.. 
 The night is far spent, the day is at hand." 1 Pet. 
 iv. 5. " To him who is ready to judge the quick and 
 the dead." Ver. 7. *'The end of all things is at 
 hand.'* James v. 8, 9. '' The coming of the Lord 
 draweth nigh. Behold the judge standeth at the 
 door." Rev. xxii. 10. *' Seal not up the prophecy of 
 this book, for the time is at hand." Ver. 12. *' And 
 behold I come quickly, and my reward is with me. 
 
76 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF OF SECT. IV. 
 
 to give to every man as his work shall be:" And 
 the sacred volume is closed with this assurance, ver. 
 20. '* Surely I come quickly," and the echo and the 
 expectation of the Apostle or the church, Amen. 
 Ei^en SO; come Lord Jesus, 
 
 It is granted, that in prophetical expressions, such 
 as all these are, some obscurit}' is aliovved : And it 
 may be doubtful, perhaps, whether some of them 
 may refer to Christ's coming by the destruction of 
 Jerusalem, or his coming to call particular persons 
 away by his messenger of death, or his appearance 
 to the last judgment. It is granted also, it belongs 
 to prophetical language to set things far distant, as it 
 were, before our eyes, and mafoe them seem present 
 or very near at hand. But still these expressions 
 had plainly such an influence on primitive Christians, 
 as that they imagined the day of resurrection and 
 judgment was very near: And, since the prophetical 
 words of Christ and his Apostles seemed to carry 
 this appearance in them, and to keep the church un- 
 der some uncertainty, it is no wonder that the Apos- 
 tles chiefly referred the disciples of that age to the 
 day of the resurrection for comfort under their suf- 
 ferings and sorrows : And, though they never assert- 
 ed that Christ would come to raise the dead and 
 judge the world in that age, yet, when they knew 
 themselves that he would not come so soon, they 
 might not think it necessary to give every Christian, 
 nor every church, an immediate account of the more 
 distant time of this great event, that the uncertainty 
 of it might keep them ever watchful: And even 
 
SECT. IV. A SEPARATE STATE. *^>^ 
 
 when St. Paul informs the Thessalonians that tlie 
 day of the Lord was not so very near as they imagin- 
 ed it, 2 Thess. ii. 2. yet he does not put it off be- 
 yond that century by any express language. 
 
 Thus we see there is very good reason why the 
 •New Testament should derive its motives of terror 
 and comfort chiefly from the resurrection and the ' day 
 of judgment;' though it is not altogether silent of 
 the Separate State of souls, and their happiness or 
 misery, commencing, in some measure, immediately 
 after death, which has been before proved by many 
 Scriptures cited for that purpose. 
 
 Here let it be observed, that I am not concerned in 
 that question, Whether human souls separated from 
 their bodies have any other corporeal vehicle to which 
 they are united, or by which they act during the in- 
 termediate state between death and the resurrection? 
 All that I propose to maintain here, is, that that peri- 
 od or interval is not a state of sleep, i. e. utter un- 
 consciousness and unactivity : And, whether it be 
 united to a vehicle or no, I call it still the Separate 
 State, because it is a state of the soul's separation 
 from this body, which is united to it in the present 
 life. 
 
78 ESSAY TOWARDS TIIL PROOF OF SECT. V 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 Alore Objections ansivercd. 
 
 SINCE this book was written I have met withsc 
 veral other objections against the doctrine here main- 
 tained J and, as I think they may all have a sufficient 
 answer given to them, and the truth be defended 
 against the force of them, I thought it very proper 
 to lead the reader into a plain and easy solution of 
 them. 
 
 Object. VII. Is not long life represented often in 
 Scripture, and especially in the Old Testament, as a 
 blessing to man? And, is not death set before us as 
 a curse or punishment? But, how can either of these 
 representations be just or true, if souls exist in a Se- 
 parate State? Are they not then brought into a state 
 of liberty by death, and freed from all the inconveni- 
 ences of this flesh and blood ? By this means death 
 ceases to be a punishment, and long life to be a 
 blessing. 
 
 Answ. It is according as the characters of men 
 are either good or bad, and according as good men 
 know more or less of a Separate State of rewards or 
 punishments, so a long life, or early death, are to be 
 esteemed blessings or calamities in a greater or a less 
 degree. 
 
 Long life was represented as a blessing to good 
 men, in as much as it gave them opportunity to en- 
 joy more of the blessings of this life, and to do more 
 
SFXT. V. A SEPARATE STATE. 79 
 
 service for God in the world: And especially since, 
 in ancient times, there was much darkness upon this 
 doctrine of the future state, and many good men had 
 not so clear a knowledge of it. Long life was also 
 a blessing to wicked men, because it kept them in 
 a state wherein there were some comforts, and with- 
 held them, for a season, from the punishments of the 
 Separate Statp. 
 
 Death was doubtless a punishment and a curse 
 when it was first brought into human nature by the 
 sin of Adam, as it cut oft' mankind from the blessings 
 of this life, and plunged him into a dark and unknown 
 state: And if he were a wicked man, it plunged him 
 into certain misery. 
 
 But, since the blessings of the future state of hap- 
 piness for good men are more clearly revealed, long 
 life is not so very great a blessing, nor death so great 
 a punishment to good men ; for death is sanctified 
 by the covenant of grace to be an introduction of 
 their souls into the Separate State of happiness, and 
 the curse is turned in some respect into a blessing. 
 Object. VIII. Was it not supposed to be a great 
 privilege to P2noch and Elijah when they were trans- 
 lated without dying? But, what advantage could it 
 be to either of them to carry a body with them to hea- 
 ven, if their souls could act without it? 
 
 I answer, when Enoch and Elijah carried their bo- 
 dies to heaven with them, it was certainly a sublime 
 honour and a peculiar privilege which they enjoyed, 
 to have so early an happiness both in fiesh and spirit 
 conferred upon them so many ages before the rest of 
 
80 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF OF SECT. V. 
 
 mankind: For though the soul can act v/ithout the 
 body, yet as a body is part of the compounded na- 
 ture of man, our happiness is not designed to be coni- 
 plete till the soul and body are united in a state of 
 perfection and glory: And this happiness was con- 
 ferred early on those two favourites of heaven. 
 
 Object. IX. Was it not designed as a favour when 
 persons were raised from the dead under the Old Tes- 
 tament or the New, by the Prophets, by Christ, and 
 by his Apostles? But what benefit could this be^to 
 them, if they had consciousness and enjoyment in the 
 other world? Was it not rather an injury to bring 
 them back from a state of happiness into such a mise- 
 rable world as this ? 
 
 Jrisiv, 1. Since these souls were designed to be soon 
 restored to their bodies, and the persons were to be 
 raised to a mortal life again in a few days, it is pro- 
 bable they were kept just in the same state of imme- 
 morial consciousness, as the soul is in while the 
 body is in the deepest sleep; and so were not immedi- 
 ately sent to heaven or hell, or determined to a state 
 of sensible happiness or misery. Then when the 
 person was raised to life again, there was no remem- 
 brance of the intermediate state, but all the consci- 
 ousness of that day or two vanished and were forgot- 
 ten for ever, as it is with us when we sleep soundly 
 without dreaming. 
 
 Ansvc. 2. If those who .were raised by Christ, or 
 the Prophets, or the Apostles, were pious persons, 
 they submitted by the will of God to a longer con- 
 tinuance in this world, amidst some difficulties and 
 
SECT. V, A SEPARATE STATE. 81 
 
 sorrows, which submission would be abundantly re- 
 compeiiccd hereafter. If they were not good per- 
 sons, their renewed life on earth was a reprieve from 
 punishment. So there was no injury done to any of 
 them. 
 
 As for those who were ' raised at the resurrection 
 of Christ.' and were 'seen by many persons in the 
 holy city,' there is no doubt but they were raised to 
 immortality, and ascended to heaven when Christ did, 
 as ^art of his triumphant attendants, and went to 
 dwell with him In the heavenly state. 
 
 Object, X. If the martyrs and confessors were to be 
 partakers of the first resurrection in Rev. xx. 4, 5. 
 would not this be a punishment instead of a blessing, 
 to be called from the immediate presence of God and 
 Christ and angels, to be re-united to bodies on 
 earth and dwell here again with men? Therefore it 
 seems more probable, that the souls of these holy 
 martyrs had no^uch separate existence or enjoyment 
 of happiness. 
 
 Ans\\). Perhaps neither that text nor any others in 
 the Bible foretell the resurrection of any number of 
 persons to an animal earthly life again in this world: 
 Perhaps that prophecy means no more, than that the 
 cause of Christ and religion, for which men were 
 martyred and beheaded heretofore, shall rise again in 
 the world, and the professors of it in that day shall 
 be in flourishing circumstances for a thousand years, 
 or a very long season : So that in prophetic language 
 these words do not signifv the same i'.ulividual mar- 
 
82 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF OF SECT. V. 
 
 tyrs or confessors, but their successors in the same 
 faith and practice. 
 
 Or if there should be any resurrection of good men 
 to an animal life in this world, foretold by the pro- 
 phets, and intended by the great and blessed God, I 
 doubt not but they would be here so far separated 
 from the wicked world where sins and sorrows reign, 
 that it would be a gradual advance of their happi- 
 ness beyond what they enjoyed before in the Sepa- 
 rate State. 
 
 Object. XI. Though man is often said to be a com- \ 
 pounded creature of soul and body, yet in Scripture 
 he is represented as one being: It is the man that is 
 born, that lives, that sleeps or wakes, and that rises 
 from the dead. This is evident in many places of 
 Scripture, where these things are spoken of; and it 
 seems to be the law of our nature or being, that we 
 should always act and live in such a state as souls 
 united to bodies, and never in a state of separation. 
 
 Jnsw. Though there arc several Scriptures which 
 represent man as one being, viz. soul and body unit- 
 ed, yet there are many other Scriptures which have 
 been cited in the former parts of this essay, wherein 
 the souls and the bodies of men are represented as 
 two very distinct things: The one goes to the grave 
 at death, and the other either into Abraham's bosom, 
 or to a place of torment ; either to dwell ^ with God,' 
 to ' be present with Christ the Lord,' and to become 
 one of the spirits of the just made perfect, or to go 
 to their own place as Judas did. Now those texts 
 where man is represented as one being, may be ex- 
 
SECT. V. A SEPARATE STATE. 83 
 
 plained with very great ease, considering man as 
 made up of two distinct substances, viz. body and 
 spirit united into one personal agent, as we have 
 shewn before : But the several texts where the soul 
 and body are so strongly and plainly distinguished, 
 as has been before represented, there is no possible 
 way of representing these Soriptures but by suppos- 
 ing a Separate State of existence for souls after the 
 body is dead, which makes it necessary that this ex- 
 position should take place. 
 
 Object, XII. How comes death to be called so often 
 in Scripture 2i sleeps if the soul wakes all the while? 
 
 Ansiv. Why is the repose of man every night call- 
 ed sleep, since the soul wakes, as appears by a thou- 
 sand dreams? But as a sleeping man ceases to act in 
 the businesses or affairs of this world, though the soul 
 be not dead or unthinking, so death is called sleep, 
 because during that state men are cut off from the 
 businesses of this world, though the soul may think 
 and act in another. 
 
 Object, XIII. The Scripture speaks often of the 
 general judgment of mankind at the last great day of 
 the resurrection, but it does not teach us the doctrine 
 o^ 2l particular judgment, which the soul is supposed 
 to pass under when every single man dies; why then 
 should we invent such a supposition, or believe such 
 a doctrine of a particular judgment in a Separate 
 State ? 
 
 Ansiv, It is evident in many Scriptures, as we have 
 shewn before, that the souls of men after death are 
 represented as enjoying pleasure or punishment in 
 
84 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF OF SECT. V, 
 
 the Separate State. The soul of Lazarus in heaven, 
 the soul of Dives in hell, the soul of Paul as being 
 ' present with the Lord, which is far better,' than 
 dwelling in this flesh, or being present with this bo- 
 dy, &c. therefore there must be a sort of judgment 
 or sentence of determination past upon every such 
 soul by the great God, whether it shall be happy or 
 miserable: for it can never be supposed that happi- 
 ness or misery should be given to such souls without 
 the determination of God the Judge of all: And 
 perhaps that text Heb. ix. 27. refers to it, " it is ap- 
 pointed unto men once to die, but after this the judg- 
 ment:" i. e. immediately after it. 
 
 Or suppose that in the Separate State the pleasures 
 or sorrows, which attend souls departing from the 
 body, should be only such as are the necessary con- 
 sequents of a life spent in the practice of vice or of 
 virtue, of religion or ungodliness, without any form- 
 alities of standing before a judgment-seat, or a solemn 
 sentence of absolution or condemnation : Yet the 
 very entrance upon this state, whether it be of peace 
 or of torment, must be supposed to signify, that the 
 state of that soul is adjudged or determined by the 
 great Governor of the world : And this is all that is 
 necessarily meant by a particular judgment of each 
 soul at death, wdiether it pass under the solemn form- 
 alities of a judgment and a tribunal or not. 
 
 Object. XIV. If the saints can be happy without a 
 body, what need of a resurrection.^ Let the body be 
 as refmed, as active, as powerful and glorious as it 
 can be, still it must certainly be a clog to the soul; 
 
SECT. V. A SEPARATE STATE.. 85 
 
 and this was the objection that the heathen philoso- 
 phers made to the doctrine of the rcburrection, u hich 
 the Christians profess; for the philosophers told them, 
 this resurrection, which they called their highest re- 
 ward, was really a punishment. 
 
 Answ. The force of this objection has been quite 
 taken away before, when it has been shewn that man, 
 being a creature compounded of body and spirit, 
 was designed for its highest happiness, and the per- 
 fection of its nature in this state of union, and not in 
 a state of separation. And let it be observed, that 
 when the body shall be raised from the grave, it shall 
 not be such flesh and blood as we now wear, nor 
 made up of such materials, as shall clog or obstruct 
 the soul in any of its most vigorous and divine exer- 
 cises; but it shall be a '* spiritual body," 1 Cor. xv. 
 44. a body fitted to serve a holy and a glorified spirit 
 in its actions and its enjoyments, and to render the 
 spirit capable of some further excellencies, both 
 of action and enjoyment, than it is naturally capable 
 of without a body. What sort of qualities this new- 
 raised body shall be endued with, in order to increase 
 the excellency or the happiness of pious souls, will 
 be, in a great measure, a mystery or a secret, till that 
 blessed morning appears. 
 
 Object, XV. Is not our immortality in Scripture 
 described as built upon the incorruptible state of our 
 new- raised bodies? 1 Cor. xv. 53. '* This corrupt- 
 ible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must 
 put on immortality :'' but the doctrine of the Immor- 
 
86 ESSAY TOWARDS THE PROOF Of SECT. V. 
 
 tality of the soul is not particularly found or taught 
 in Scripture. 
 
 Jnszu» It is granted that the immortality of the 
 new raised body is built on that incorruptible sort of 
 materials of which it is to be formed, or which shall 
 be mingled with it, or the incorruptible qualities 
 which shall be given to it by God himself: But the 
 soul is immortal in itself, whether with or without a 
 body : And he that can read all those texts of Scrip- 
 ture which have been before made use of in this es- 
 say, wherein the existence of the spirit after the death 
 of the body is so plainly expressed, and cannot find 
 the ' immortality of the souP in them, or the * spirit's 
 capacity of existence in a Separate State from the 
 body,' must be left to his own sentiments to explain 
 and verify the expressions of Christ and his Apos- 
 tles some other way; or he must acknowledge that 
 these expressions are somewhat uncautious and dan- 
 gerous, since it is evident they lead thousands and 
 ten thousands of wise and sober readers into this sen- 
 timent of the soul's immortality. 
 
 Whether the soul in its own nature be necessarily 
 immortal, is a point of philosophy, and not to be 
 sought for directly in Scripture: But whether the 
 great God, the Governor of the world, has not ap- 
 pointed souls to exist in a Separate State of happi- 
 ness or misery after the bodies are dead, seems to 
 me to be so plainly determined in many of the Scrip- 
 tures which have been cited, as leaves no sufficient 
 reason to doubt of the truth of it. 
 
SECT. V. A SEPARATE STATE. 87 
 
 To conclude, though I think the doctrine of the 
 Separate State of souls to be of much importance in 
 Christianity, and that the denial of it carries great 
 inconveniencies, and weakens the motive to virtue 
 and piety, by putting off all manner of rewards and 
 punishments to such a distance as the general resur- 
 rection, yet I dare not contend for it as a matter of 
 such absolute necessity, that a man cannot be a Chris- 
 tian without it. But this must be confessed, that 
 they who deny this doctrine seem to have need of 
 stronger inward zeal to guard them against tempta- 
 tion, and to keep their hearts always alive and watch- 
 ful to God and religion, since their motives to strict 
 piety and virtue are sensibly weakened, by renounc- 
 ing all belief of this nearer and more immediate 
 commencement of heaven and hell. 
 
BIS COURSES 
 
 ON THE 
 
 WORLD TO COME. 
 
 DISCOURSE I. 
 
 THE END OF TIME. 
 
 Kev. X. 5, 6. And the angel ivhich I saw stand up- 
 on the sca^ and upon the earth, lifted up his hand to 
 hea'Den, and sxvare by him that li^eth for euer and 
 ever, — that there should be time no longer. 
 
 THIS is the oath and the solemn sentence of a 
 mighty angel who came down from heaven, and by 
 the description of him in the first verse, he seems to 
 be the ** angel of God's presence, in whom is the 
 name of God," even our Lord Jesus Christ himself, 
 who pronounced and sware that *' Tim»e should be no 
 longer;" for all seasons and times are now put into 
 his hand, together with the book of his Father's de- 
 crees. Rev. v. 7, 9. What special age or periocf of 
 time in this world the prophecy refers to, may not be 
 so easy to determine; but this is certain, that it may 
 be happily applied to the period of every man's life; 
 for whensoever the term of our continuance in this 
 world is finished, * our Time,' in the present circum- 
 stances and scenes that attend it, ' shall be no more : ' 
 
PISCOURSE I. THE END OF TIME. 89 
 
 We shall be swept off the stage of this visible state 
 into an unseen and eternal world : Eternity comes 
 upon us at once, and all that we enjoy, all that we do, 
 and all that we suffer in '- Time, shall be no longer.*' 
 
 Let us stand still here, and consider in \}i\t first 
 place what awful and important thoughts are contain- 
 ed in this sentence, what solemn ideas should arise 
 to the view of mortal creatures when it shall be pro- 
 nounced concerning each of them, that ' Time shall 
 be no more.' 
 
 1. ' The Time of the recovery of our nature from 
 its sinful and wretched state shall be no longer.' We 
 come into this world fallen creatures, children of 
 iniquity, and heirs of death ; we have lost the ' image 
 of God' who made us, and which our nature enjoyed 
 in our first parents; and instead of it we are chang- 
 ed into the ' image of the devil' in the lusts of the 
 mind, in pride and malice, in self-sufficiency and en- 
 mity to God ; and we have put on also the ' image of 
 the brute' in sinful appetites and sensualities, and in 
 the lusts of the flesh; nor can we ever be made truly 
 happy till the image of the blessed God be restored 
 upon us, till we are made holy as he is holy, till we 
 have a divine change past upon us, whereby we are 
 created anew and reformed in heart and practice. 
 And this life is the only time given us for this impor- 
 tant change. If this life be finished before the image 
 of God be restored to us, this image will never l>e 
 restored; but we shall bear the likeness of devils for 
 ever; and perhaps the image of the brute too at the 
 resurrection of the body, and be further off from God 
 
'90 THE END OF TIME. DISCOURSE I. 
 
 and all that is holy than ever we were here upon 
 earth. 
 
 Of what infinite importance is it then to be fre- 
 quently awakening ourselves at special seasons and 
 periods of life to inquire, whether this image of God 
 is begun to be renewed, whether we have this glori- 
 ous change wrought in us, whether our desires and 
 delights are fixed upon holy and heavenly things, in- 
 stead of those sensual and earthly objects which draw 
 away all our souls from God and heaven. Let it ap- 
 pear to us as a matter of utmost moment to seek after 
 this change; let us pursue it with unwearied labours 
 and strivings with our own hearts, and perpetual im- 
 portunities at the throne of grace, lest the voice of 
 liim who swears that, * there shall be Time no longer,' 
 should seize us in some unexpected moment, and 
 least he swear in his wrath concerning us, *' let him 
 that is unholy be unholy still, and let him that is 
 filthy be filthy still. '» 
 
 2. When this sentence is pronounced concerning 
 us, ' the season and the means of restoring us to the 
 favour and love of God shall be no longer.' We are 
 born ' children of wrath' as well as the sons and 
 daughters of iniquity, Ephes. ii. 2. We have lost 
 the original favour of our Maker and are banished 
 from his love, and the superior blessings of his good- 
 ness ; and yet, blessed be the Lord, that we are not 
 at present for ever bajiished beyond all hope: This 
 ' Time of life' is given us to seek the recovery of the 
 love of God, by returning to him according to the gos- 
 pel of his Son : Now is pardon and peace, now is grace 
 
DISCOURSE I. THE END OF TIME. 91 
 
 and salvation preached unto n>en, to sinful wretched 
 men, who are at enmity with God and tlie objects of 
 his high displeasure ; now the voice of mercy calls to 
 us, " This is the accepted time, this is the day of sal- 
 vation," 2 Cor. vi. 2. ** To-day if ye will hear his 
 voice let not your hearts be hardened to refuse it:" 
 Now the fountain of the blood of Christ is set open 
 to wash our souls from the guilt of sin; now all the 
 springs of his mercy are broken up in the ministra- 
 tions of the gospel : Now * God is in Christ recon- 
 ciling sinners to himself,' and ' he has sent us,' his 
 ministers, * to intreatyou in Christ's stead, be ye re- 
 conciled to God;' and we beseech you in his name, 
 continue not one day, or one hour, longer in your 
 enmity and rebellion, but be ye reconciled to God 
 your Creator, and accept of his offered forgiveness 
 and grace. 2 Cor. v. 20. 
 
 The moment is hastening upon us when this 
 mighty angel, who manages the affairs of the king- 
 dom of Providence, shall swear concerning every 
 unbelieving and impenitent sinner, that the * Time 
 of offered mercy shall be no longer, the Time of par- 
 don and grace and reconciliation shall be no more :' 
 The sound of this m.ercy reaches not to the regions 
 of the dead; those who die before they are recon- 
 ciled, they die under the load of all their sins, and 
 must perish for ever, without the least hope or 
 glimpse of reconciling or forgiving grace. 
 
 3. At the term of this mortal life, 'the Time of 
 prayer and repentance and service for God or man in 
 this world shall be no longer,' Eccl. ix. 10. *' There 
 
92 THE END OF TIME. DISCOURSE I. 
 
 is no work nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, 
 in the grave whither thou goest," whither we are all 
 hastening. Let every sinful creature therefore ask 
 himself, ' Have I never yet began to pray ? Never 
 began to call upon the mercy of God that made me? 
 Never began to repent of all my crimes and follies? Nor 
 begun in good earnest to do service for God, or to 
 honour him amongst men ?' Dreadful thought indeed ! 
 When it may be the next hour we may be put out of 
 all capacity and opportunity to do it for ever! As 
 soon as ever an impenitent sinner has the vail of death 
 drawn over him, all his opportunities of this kind 
 are for ever cut off: He that has never repented, ne- 
 ver prayed, never honoured his God, shall never be 
 able to pray or repent or do any thing for God or his 
 honour through all the ages of his future immortality: 
 Nor is there any promise made to returning or re- 
 penting sinners in the other world, whither we are 
 hastening. " As the tree falls," when it is cut down, 
 '* so it lies," and it must for ever lie, * pointing to 
 the north or the south,' to hell or heaven, Eccles. 
 xi. 3. 
 
 And indeed there is no true prayer, no sincere re- 
 pentance can be exercised after this life ; for the soul 
 that has wasted away all its time given for repentance 
 and prayer, is, at the moment of death, left under 
 everlasting hardness of heart; and whatsoever enmity 
 against God and godliness was found in the heart in 
 this w^orld is increased in the world to come, when 
 all manner of softening means and mercies are ever 
 at an end. Thi^ leads me to the next thought. 
 
DISCOURSE I. THE END OF TIME. 93 
 
 4. * How wretched soever our state is at death, the 
 day of hope is ended, and it returns no more.' Be 
 our circumstances never so bad, yet we are not com- 
 pletely wretched while the time of hope remains. 
 We are all by nature miserable by reason of sin, but 
 it is only despair can perfect our misery. There- 
 fore fallen angels are sealed up under misery because 
 there is no door of hope opened for them. But in 
 this life there is hope for the worst of sinful men: 
 There is the word of grace and hope calling them in 
 the gospel; there is the voice of divine mercy sounding 
 in the sanctuary, and * blessed are they that hear the 
 joyful sound:' But if we turn the deaf ear to the voice 
 of God and his Son, and to all the tender and com- 
 passionate intreaties of a dying Saviour, hope is has- 
 tening to its period ; for this very angel will shortly 
 swear, that this joyful sound shall be heard no longer. 
 
 He comes now to the door of our hearts, he sues 
 there for admittance, ' Open unto me and receive 
 me as your Saviour and your Lord, give me and my 
 gospel free admission, and I will come in and bestow 
 upon you the riches of my grace and all my salva- 
 tion: Open your hearts to me with the holy desires 
 and humble submission of penitence, and receive the 
 blessings of righteousness, and pardon, and eternal 
 life.' He now invites you to return to God with an 
 acknowledgment and renunciation of every sin, and 
 he offers to take you by the hand and introduce you 
 into his Father's presence with comfort: This is a 
 day of hope for the vilest and most hateful criminals; 
 but if you conlinue to refuse, he will shortly swear 
 
94. THE END Of TI5IE, DISCOURSE I. 
 
 in his wrath, you shall never enter into his kingdom, 
 you shall never taste of the provisions of his grace, 
 you shall never be partakers of the blessings pur- 
 chased with his blood, Heb. iii. 18. *' I svvare in my 
 wrath," saith the Lord, *' they shall not enter into 
 my rest.^^ 
 
 Oh the dreadful state of sinful creatures, who con- 
 tinue in such obstinacy, who waste away the means 
 of grace and the seasons of hope, week after week, 
 and month after month, till the day of grace and hope 
 is for ever at an end with them ! Hopeless creatures I 
 Under the power and the plague of sin, under the 
 wrath and curse of a God, under the eternal displea- 
 sure of Jesus who was once the minister of his Fa- 
 ther's love ; and they must abide under all this 
 wretchedness through a long eternity, and in the land 
 of everlasting despair. But I forbear that theme at 
 present, and proceed. 
 
 5. At the moment of our death *the Time of our 
 preparation for the hour of judgment, and for the in- 
 surance of heaven and happiness shall be no longer.* 
 Miserable creatures that are summoned to die thus 
 unprepared I This life is the only time to prepare for 
 dying, to get ready to stand before the Judge of the 
 whole earth, and to secure our title to the heavenly 
 blessedness. Let my heart inquire, * Have I ever 
 seriously begun to prepare for a dying hour, and to 
 appear before the Judge of all? Have I ever concern- 
 ed myself in good earnest to secure an interest in the 
 heavenly inheritance, when this earthly tabernacle 
 shall be dissolved ? Have 1 ever made interest for the 
 
DISCOURSE I. THE END OF TIME. §5 
 
 favour of God and a share of the inheritance of the 
 saints, by Jesus the great Mediator while he afforded 
 life and time?' Death is daily and hourly hastening 
 upon us : Death is the ' king of terrors,' and will ful- 
 fil all his name to every soul that is unprepared. It 
 is a piece of wisdom then for every one of us, since 
 we must die, to search and feel whether death has 
 lost its sting or no : Whether it be taken away by 
 the blood of Christ ? Is this blood sprinkled on my 
 conscience by the humble exercise of faith on a dying 
 Saviour? Are the terrors of death removed, and am 
 I prepared to meet it by the sanctifying influences of 
 the blessed Spirit ? Have I such an interest in the 
 covenant of grace as takes away the sting of death, 
 as turns the curse into a blessing, and changes the 
 dark scenes of death into the commencement of a 
 new and everlasting life ? This is that preparation 
 for dying for which our time of life was given us ; and 
 happy are those who are taught of God to make this 
 use of it. 
 
 Judgment is making haste towards us ; months and 
 days of divine patience are flying swift away, and the 
 last great day is just at hand : Then we must give an 
 account of ** all that has been done in the body whe- 
 ther it has been good or evil :" And what a dismal and 
 distressing surprise will it be to have the Judge come 
 upon us in a blaze of glory and terror, while we have 
 no good account to give at his demand? And yet this 
 is the very end and design of all our time, which is 
 lengthened out to us on this side the grave, and of all 
 the advantages that we have enjoyed in this life, 
 
95 THE END OF TIME. DISCOURSE I. 
 
 that we may be ready to render up our account with 
 joy to the Judge of all the earth. 
 
 Heaven is not ours by birth and inheritance, as 
 lands and houses on earth descend to us from our 
 earthly parents. We as well as they are by nature 
 unfit for heaven and children of wrath; but we may 
 be born again, we may be born of God, and become 
 heirs of the heavenly inheritance through Jesus 
 Christ: We may be renewed into the temper and 
 spirit of heaven; and this life is the only season that 
 is given us for this important chanj^fc : Shall we let 
 our days and years pass away one after another in 
 long succession, and continue the children of wrath 
 still ? Are we contented to go on this year as the last, 
 without a title to heaven, without a divine temper, 
 and without any preparation for the business or the 
 blessedness of that happy world ? 
 
 6. When this life comes to an end, * the time of 
 all our earthly comforts and amusements shall be no 
 more.' We shall have none of these sensible things 
 around us, to employ or entertain our eyes or our 
 ears, to gratify our appetites, to sooth our passions, 
 or to support our spirits in distress. All the infinite 
 variety of cares, labours and joys, which surround us 
 here, shall be no more; life, with all the busy scenes 
 and the pleasing satisfactions of it dissolve and perish 
 together : Have a care then that you do not make 
 any of them your chief hope, for they are but the 
 things of time, they are all short and dying enjoy- 
 ments. 
 
DISCOURSE I. THE END OF TIME. 97 
 
 Under the various calamities of this life we find a 
 variety of sensible reliefs, and our thoughts and souls 
 are called away from their sorrows by present busi- 
 ness, or diverted by present pleasures; but all these 
 avocations and amusements will forsake us at once, 
 when we drop this mortal tabernacle; we must enter 
 alone into the world of spirits, and live without them 
 there. 
 
 Whatsoever agonies or terrors, or huge distresses, 
 we may meet with in that unknow^n region, we shall 
 have none of these sensible enjoyments to soften and 
 allay them, no drop of sweetness to mix with that 
 bitter cup, no scenes of gaiety and merriment to re- 
 lieve the gloom of that utter darkness, or to sooth the 
 anguish of that eternal heart-ake. O take heed, my 
 friends, that your souls do not live too much on any 
 of the satisfactions of this life, that your affections be 
 not set upon them in too high a degree, that you 
 make them not your idols and your chief good, lest 
 you be left helpless and miserable under everlasting- 
 disappointment, for they cannot follow you into the 
 world of souls : They are the things of time, and 
 they have no place in eternity. Read what caution 
 the Apostle Paul gives us in our converse with the 
 dearest comforts of life; 1 Cor. vii. 29. *' The time 
 is short;" and let those who have the largest afflu- 
 ence of temporal blessings, who have the nearest 
 aiid kindest relatives, and the most endeared friend- 
 ships, be mortified to them, and be, in some sense, 
 ' as though they had them not,' for ye cannot possess 
 them long, St. Peter joins in the same sort of ad- 
 
98 THE END OF TIME. DISCOURSE 1. 
 
 vice, 1 Pet. iv. 7. *' The end of all things is at hand, 
 therefore be ye sober," be ye moderate in every en- 
 joyment on earth, and prepare to part with them all, 
 when the angel pronounces that ' Time shall be no 
 longer;' His sentence puts an effectual period to 
 every joy in this life, and to every hope that is not 
 eternal. 
 
 Thus we have taken a brief survey, what are the 
 solemn and awful thoughts relating to ' such mortal 
 creatures in general,' which are contained in this 
 voice or sentence of the angel, * That Time shall be 
 no longer.' 
 
 In the second place let us proceed further, and in- 
 quire a little ' what are those terrors which will 
 attend sinners, impenitent sinners, at the end of 
 time.' 
 
 1. A dreadful account must be given of all this 
 lost and wasted time. When the Judge shall ascend 
 his throne in the air, and all the sons and daughters 
 of Adam are brought before him, the grand inquiry 
 will be, * What have you done with all the time of 
 life in yonder world ? You spent thirty or forty years 
 there, or perhaps seventy or eighty, and I gave you 
 this time widi a thousand opportunities and means 
 <)f grace and salvation; what have you done with 
 them all ? How many Sabbaths did I afford you? 
 How many sermons have ye heard ? How many sea- 
 sons did I give you for prayer and retirement, and 
 converse with God and your own souls? Did you 
 improve time well? Did you pray? Did you con- 
 verse with your souls and with God? Or did you 
 
OISCOURSE I. THE E^D OF TIME. 99 
 
 suffer time to slide away in a thousand impertinen- 
 cies, and neglect the one thing necessary?' 
 
 2. ' A fruitless and bitter mourning for the waste 
 and abuse of time' will be another consequence of 
 your folly. Whatsoever satisfaction you may take 
 now in passing time away merrily and without think- 
 ing, it must not pass away so for ever. If the ap- 
 proaches of death do not awaken you, yet judgment 
 will do it. Your consciences will be worried with 
 terrible reflections on your foolish conduct. 
 
 O could we but hear the complaints of the souls 
 in hell, what multitudes of them would be found 
 groaning out this dismal note, < How hath my time 
 been lost in vanity, and my soul is now lost for ever 
 in distress: How might I have shone among the 
 saints in heaven, had I wisely improved the time 
 which was given me on earth, given me on purpose 
 to prepare for death and heaven?' Then they will 
 for ever curse themselves, and call themselves eter. 
 nal fools, for hearkening to the temptations of flesh 
 and sense, which wasted their time, and deprived 
 them of eternal treasures. 
 
 3. Another of the terrors which will seize upon 
 impenitent sinners at the end of time, wHl be * end- 
 less despair of the recovery of lost time, and of those 
 bfessings whose hope is for ever lost with it.' There 
 are blessings off*ered to sinful miserable men in time, 
 which will never be offered in eternity, nor put with- 
 in their reach for ever. The gospel hath no calls, 
 no invitations, no encouragements, no promises for 
 the dead, who ha^•e lost and wasted their time, and 
 
100 THE END OF TIMEr DISCOURSE I, 
 
 are perished without hope. The region of sorrow, 
 whither the Judge shall drive impenitent sinners, is 
 a dark and desolate place, where light and hope can 
 never come: But fruitless repentance, with horrors 
 and agonies of soul, and doleful despair reign through 
 that world, without one gleam of light or hope, or 
 one moment of intermission. Then will despairing 
 sinners gnaw their tongues for anguish of heart, 
 and curse themselves with long execrations, and 
 curse their fellow sinners, who assisted them to 
 waste their time, and ruin their souls. 
 
 4. The last terror I shall mention which will attend 
 sinners at the end of time, is an * eternal suffering of 
 all the painful and dismal consequences of lost and 
 wasted time. Not one smile from the face of God 
 for ever, not one glimpse of love or mercy in his 
 countenance, not one word of grace from Jesus 
 Christ who was once the chief messenger of the 
 grace of God, not one favourable regard from all 
 the holy saints and angels; but the fire and brim- 
 stone burn without end, *' and the smoke of this their 
 torment will ascend for ever and ever before the 
 throne of God and the Lamb." 
 
 Who knows how keen and bitter will be the ago- 
 nies of an awakened conscience, and the vengeance 
 of a provoked God in that world of misery ? How 
 will you cry out, ' O what a wretch have I been to 
 renounce all the advices of a compassionate father, 
 when he would have persuaded me to improve the 
 time of youth and health! Alas, I turned a deaf ear 
 to his advice, and now time is lost, and my hopes of 
 
DISCOURSE I. THi: END OF TIME. 101 
 
 mercy for ever perished. How have I treated with 
 ridicule among iny vain companions the compassion- 
 ate and pious counsels of my ap:ed parents who la- 
 boured for my salvation? How have I scorned the 
 tender admonitions of a mother, and wasted that 
 time in siiining and sensuality which should have 
 been spent in prayer and devotion? And God turns 
 a deaf ear to my cries now, and is regardless of all 
 my groanings.' This sort of anguish of spiiit with 
 loud and cutting complaints would destroy life itself, 
 ' and these inward terrors would sting their souls to 
 death, if there could be any such thing as dying 
 there. Such sighs and sobs and bitter agonies would 
 break their hearts, and dissolve their being, if the 
 heart could break, or the being could be dissolved: 
 But immortality is their dreadful portion, immortal- 
 ity of sorrows to punish their wicked and wilful abuse 
 of time, and that waste of the means of grace they 
 were guilty of in their tnortal state. 
 
 I proceed in the last place to consider what reflec- 
 tions may be made on this discourse, or what are 
 some of the profitable lessons to be leann from it. 
 
 Reflect. I. We may learn with great evidence * the 
 inestimable worth and value of time, and particularly 
 to those who are not prepared for eternity.' Every 
 hour you'live is an hour longer given you to prepare 
 for dying, and to save a soul. If you were but ap- 
 prized of the worth of your own souls, you would 
 better know the worth of da} s and liours, and of 
 every passing moment, for they are given to secure 
 your immortal interest, and save a soul from ever- 
 
102 THE END OF TIMK. DISCOURSE I. 
 
 lasting misery. And you would be zealous and im- 
 portunate in the prayer of Moses, the man of God, 
 upon a meditation of the shortness of life, Psal. xc. 
 12. ^' So teach us to number our days as to apply 
 our hearts to wisdom," i. e. So teach us to consider 
 how few and uncertain our days are, that we may be 
 truly wise in preparing for the end of them. 
 
 It is a matter of vast importance to be ever ready 
 for the end of time, ready to hear this awful sentence 
 confirmed with the oath of the glorious angel, that 
 * Time shall be no longer.' The terrors or the com- 
 forts of a dying bed depend upon it: The solemn and 
 decisive voice of judgment depends upon it: The 
 joys and the sorrows of a long eternity depend upon 
 it: Go now, careless sinner, and in the view of such 
 things as these, go and trifie away time as you have 
 done before; time, that invaluable treasure : Go and 
 venture the loss of your souls, and the hopes of hea- 
 ven and your eternal happiness, in wasting away the 
 remnant hours or moments of life: But remember 
 the awful voice of the angel is hastening towards 
 you, and the sound is just breaking in upon you, 
 that ' Time shall be no longer.' 
 
 Reflect. II. * A due sense of time hastening to its 
 period will furnish us with perpetual new occasions 
 of holy meditation. 
 
 Do I observe the declining day and the setting sun 
 sinking into darkness : So declines the day of life, 
 the hours of labour, and the season of grace : O may 
 I finish my appointed work w ith honour, before the ' 
 light is fled ! May I improve the shining hours of 
 
DISCOURSE I. THE END OF TIME. 103 
 
 grace before the shadows of the evening overtake 
 me, a fid my time of working is no more ! 
 
 Do I see the moon gliding along through mid- 
 night, and fulfilling her stages in the dusky sky ? 
 This planet also is measuring out my life, and bring- 
 ing the number of my months to their end. May I be 
 prepared to take leave of the sun and moon, and bid 
 adieu to these visible heavens and all the twinkling 
 glories of them ! These are all but the measurers of 
 my time, and hasten me on towards eternity. 
 
 Am I walking in a garden and stand still to observe 
 the slow motion of the shadow upon a dial there ? 
 It passes over the hour lines with an imperceptible 
 progress, yet it will touch the last line of day light 
 shortly : So my hours and my moments move on- 
 ward with a silent pace; but they will arrive with 
 certainty at the last limit, how heedless soever I am 
 of their motion, and how thoughtless soever I may 
 be of the improvement of time, or of the end of it. 
 
 Does a new year commence, and the first morning 
 of it dawn upon me ? Let me remen^ber that the last 
 year was finished, and gone over my head, in order 
 to make way for the entrance of the present : 1 hive 
 one year the less to travel through this world, and to 
 fulfil the various services of a travelling state : May 
 my diligence in duty be doubled, since the number of 
 my appointed years is diminished. 
 
 Do I find a new birth-day in my survey of the ka- 
 lendar, the day wherein I entered upon the stage of 
 mortality, and was born into this world of sins, frail- 
 ties and sorrows, in order to my probation for a bet- 
 
104 THE END or TIME. DISCOURSE I, 
 
 tcr state ? Blessed Lord, how much have I spent al- 
 ready of this mortal life, this season of my probation, 
 and how little am I prepared for that happier world ? 
 How unready for n^y dying moment ? I am hasten- 
 ing hourly to the end of the life of man which began 
 at my nativity ; am I yet born of God > Have I be- 
 gun the life of a saint ? Am I prepared for that awful 
 day which shall determine the number of my months 
 on earth ? Am I fit to be born into the world of spi- 
 rits through the strait gate of death ? Am I renewed 
 in all the powers of my nature, and made meet to 
 enter into that unseen world, where there shall be no 
 more of these revolutions of days and years, but one 
 eternal day fills up all the space with divine pleasure, 
 or one eternal night widi long and deplorable distress 
 and darkness > 
 
 When I see a friend expiring, or the corps of my 
 neigiibour conveyed to the grave, alas ! Their months 
 and minutes are all determined, and the seasons of 
 their trial are finished for ever ; they are gone to their 
 eternal home, and the estate of their souls is fixed 
 unchan?2;eably : The angel that has sworn their ' time 
 shall be no longer,' has concluded their hopes, or 
 has finished their fears, and, according to the rules 
 fu^ righteous judgment, has decided their misery or 
 happiness for a long immortality. Take this warn- 
 ing, O my soul, and think of thy own removal. 
 
 Are we standing in the church yard, paying the 
 last honours to the reiicks of our friends ? What a 
 number of hillocks of death appear all round us > 
 What are the tomb-stonc:, but memorials of the in- 
 
\ 
 
 DISCOURSE T. THE END OF TIME. 105 
 
 habitants of that town, to inform us of the periods of 
 all their lives, and to point out the day when it was 
 said to each of them, » your time shall be no longer.' 
 O may I readily learn this important lesson, that my 
 turn is hastening too ; such a little hillock shall short- 
 ly arise for me in some unknown spot of ground, it 
 shall cover this flesh and these bones of mine in dark- 
 ness, and shall hide them from the light of the sun, 
 and from the sight of man till the heavens be no 
 more. 
 
 Perhaps some kind surviving friend may engrave 
 my name with the number of my days, upon a plain 
 funeral stone, without ornament and below envy : 
 There shall my tomb stand among the rest as a fresh 
 monument of the frailty of nature and the end of time. 
 It is possible some friendly foot may now and then 
 visit the place of my repose, and some tender eye 
 may bedew the cold memorial with a tear : One or 
 another of my old acquaintance may possibly attend 
 there to learn the silent lecture of mortality from my 
 grave stone, which my lips are now preaching aloud 
 to the v/orld : And if love and sorrow should reach 
 so far, perhaps while his soul is melting in his eye- 
 lids, and his voice scarce finds an utterance, he will 
 point with his finger, and shew his companion the 
 month and the day of my decease. O that solemn, 
 that awful day, which shall finish my appointed time 
 on earth, and put a full period to all the designs of my 
 heart, and all the labours of my tono^ue and i)en ! 
 
 Thijik, O my soul, that wliile friends or strani^ers 
 are engaged on that spot, and reading the date of thy 
 
106 THE END OF TIME. DISCOURSE I. 
 
 departure hence, thou wilt be fixed under a decisive 
 and unchangeable sentence, rejoicing in the rewards 
 of time well-improved, or suffering the long sorrows 
 M'hich shall attend the abuse of it, in an unknown 
 world of happiness or misery. 
 
 Reflect. III. We may learn from this discourse, 
 the ' stupid folly and madness of those who are terri- 
 bly afraid of the end of time whensoever they think 
 of it, and yet they know not what ta do with their 
 time as it runs off daily and hourly.' Jhey find their 
 souls unready for death, and yet they live from year 
 to year without any further preparation for dying: 
 They waste away their hours of leisure in mere tri- 
 fling, they lose their seasons of grace, their means 
 and opportunities of salvation, in a thoughtless and 
 shameful manner, as though they had no business to 
 employ them in ; they live as though they had nothing 
 to do with all their time but to eat and drink, and be 
 easy and merry. From the rising to the setting sun, 
 you find them still in pursuit of impertinencies; they 
 waste God's sacred time as well as their own, either 
 in a lazy, indolent, and careless humour, or in fol- 
 lowing after vanity, sin and madness, while the end 
 of time is hastening upon them. 
 
 What multitudes are there of the race of Adam, 
 both in higher and lower ranks, who are ever com- 
 plaining they want leisure ; and when they have a 
 release from business for one day, or one hour, they 
 hardly know what to do with that idle day, nor how 
 to lay out one of the hours of it for any valuable pur- 
 pose? Those in higher station and richer circum- 
 
DISCOURSE I. THE END OF TIME. 107" 
 
 Stances, have most of their time at their own com- 
 mand and disposal : but by their actual disposal of 
 it, you plainly see they know not what it is good for, 
 nor what use to make of it; they are quite at a loss 
 how to get rid of this tedious thing called Time, 
 which lies daily as a burden on their hands. Indeed 
 if their head ake, or their fiice grow pale, and a phy- 
 sician feel their pulse, or look wishfully on their 
 countenance; and, especially, if he should shake his 
 head, or tell them his fears that they will not hold 
 out long, what surprise of soul, what agonies and 
 terrors seize them on a sudden for fear of the end of 
 time? For diey are conscious how unfit they are for 
 eternity: Yet when the pain vanishes and they feel 
 health again, they are as much at a loss as ever what 
 to do with the remnant of life. 
 
 O the painful and the unhappy ignorance of the 
 
 sons and daughters of men, that are sent hither on a 
 
 trial for eternity, and yet know not how to pass away 
 
 time! they know not how to wear out life, and get 
 
 soon enough to the end of the day: ' They doze 
 
 their hours away, or saunter from place to place,* 
 
 without any design or meaning: They enquire of 
 
 every one they meet, what they shall do to kill time^ 
 
 (as the French phrase is,) because they cannot spend 
 
 it fast enough; they are perpetually calling in the 
 
 assistance of others to lau<j;h, or sport, or trifle with 
 
 them, and to help them off with this dead weight of 
 
 time, while, at the same moment, if you do but men- 
 
 tion the end of time, they are dreadfully afraid of 
 
 coming near it. What fol'y and distraction is this? 
 
108 THE END OF TIME. DISCOURSE I. 
 
 Wliat sottish inconsistency Is found in the heart and 
 practice of smful men, Eccles. ix. 3. '* The heart of 
 the sons of men, is full of evil, madness is in their 
 heart while they hve, and after that they go down to 
 the dead." 
 
 O that these loiterers would once consider that 
 time loiters not; days and hours, months and years, 
 loiter not; each of iheni flies away with swiftest wing, 
 as fast as succession admits of, and bears them on- 
 w^ard, to the goal of eternity. If they delay and lin- 
 ger among toys and shadows, tii;^ie knows no delay; 
 and they will one day learn by bitter experience what 
 substantial, important, and eternal blessings they 
 have lost by their criminal and shameful waste of 
 time. The Apostle Peter assures them, 2 Pet. ii. 
 3. Though diey slumber and sleep in a lethargy of 
 sin, so that you cannot awaken them, yet * their jiidg- 
 ment lingereth not, and tiieir damnation slumbereth 
 not.' The awful moment is hasting upon them 
 which shall teach them terribly the true value of 
 time: Then they would give all the golden pleasures, 
 and the riches and the grandeur of this world, to 
 purchase one short day more, or one hour of time, 
 wherein they might repent and return to God, and 
 get within the reach of hope and salvation: But time 
 and salvation and hope are all vanished, and fled, 
 and c^one out of their reach for ever. 
 
 Reflect. IV. Learn from such mediations as these, 
 * the rich mercy of God, and the grace of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, in giving us so long a warning, before 
 he swears that thne shall he no more,'* Every stroke 
 
DISCOURSE I. THE ENI> OF TIME. 109 
 
 of sickness is a warning-piece that life is coming to 
 its period: every death amongst our friends and ac- 
 quaintance, is another tender and painful admonition 
 that our death also is at hand : The end of every 
 week and e^ery dawning Sabbath is another warning; 
 every sermon we hear of the ' shortness of time,' and 
 the ' uncertainty of life,' is a fresh intimation that 
 the great angel will shortly pronounce a period upon 
 all our time. How inexcusable shall we be if we 
 turn the deaf ear to all these warnings? St. Peter 
 advises us to " count the long-suffering of the Lord 
 for salvation." 2 Pet. iii. 15. and to secure our eter- 
 nal safety, and our escape from hell, during the season, 
 of his lengthened grace. 
 
 Alas! How long has Jesus, and his mercy, and 
 his gospel, waited on you, before you began to think 
 of the things of your everlasting peace? And if you 
 are now solemnly awakened, yet how long has he 
 waited on you with fresh admonitions, and with spe- 
 cial providences, with mercies and judgments, with 
 promises and invitations of grace, with threatenings 
 and words of terror, and with the whispers and ad- 
 vices of his own Spirit, since you began to see your 
 danger ? And after all, have you yet sincerely re- 
 pented of sin? Have you yet received the offered 
 grace ? Have you given up yourselves to the Lord 
 and laid hold of his salvation? 2 Cor. vi. 2. *'This 
 is the accepted time, this is the day of salvation; To- 
 day if ye will hear his voice harden not your hearts." 
 Heb. iii. 7, 8, &c. It is never said through all the 
 Eible, that ' to-morrow is the day of grace j' or * to- 
 
 p 
 
110 THE END or TIME. DISCOURSE I^ 
 
 morrow is the time of acceptance:' It is the present 
 hour only that is oiFered. Every clay and every hour 
 is a mercy of unknown importance to sinful men : It 
 is a mercy, O sinners, that you awaked not this 
 morning in hell, and that you were not fixed without 
 remedy beyond the reach of hope and mercy. 
 
 Reflect. V. Learn from this discourse what ' a very 
 useful practice it would be to set ourselves often be- 
 fore hand as at the end of time,' to imagine ourselves 
 just under the sound of the voice of this mighty an- 
 gel, or at the tribunal of Christ, and to call our souls 
 to a solemn account in what manner we have past 
 away all our leisure time hitherto: I mean, all that 
 time which hath not been laid out in the necessities 
 of the natural life for its support and its needful re- 
 freshment, or in the due and proper employments of 
 the civil life : Both these are allowed and required 
 by the God of nature and the God of providence who 
 governs the world: But what hast thou done O man ; 
 O woman, what hast thou done with all the hours 
 of leisure which might have been laid out on far bet- 
 ter employments, and to far nobler purposes? Give 
 me leave to eater into particulars a little, for generals 
 do but seldom convince the mind, or awaken the 
 conscience, or affect the heart. 
 
 1. Have you not * slumbered' or squandered' away 
 too much time ' without any useful purpose or de- 
 sign' at all ? How many are there, that when they 
 have morning hours on their hands, can pass them 
 off on their beds, and lose and forget time in ' a little 
 more sleep and a little more slumber;' a few imper- 
 
DISCOURSE I. THE END OF TIME* HI 
 
 tinencies with breakfast and dressing wear out the 
 morning without God. And how many afternoon 
 and evening hours are worn away in such sauntering 
 idleness as I have described, that when the night 
 comes they cannot review one half hour's useful 
 work, from the dawn of morning to the hour of rest. 
 Time is gone and vanished, and as they knew not 
 what to do with it while it was present, so now it is 
 past, they know not what they have done with it : 
 They keep no account of it, and are never prepared 
 to come to a reckoning: But will the great Judge of 
 all take this for answer to such a solemn inquiry ? 
 
 2. Have you never laid out much more time than 
 w^as needful in * recreations and pleasures of sense ?' 
 Recreations are not unlawful, so far as they are ne- 
 cessary and proper to relieve the fatigue of the spirits, 
 when they are tired with business or labour, and to 
 prepare for new labours and new businesses; but 
 have we not followed sports without measure and 
 without due limitation? Hath not some of that very- 
 time been spent in them which should have been laid 
 out in preparing for death and eternity, and in seek- 
 ing things of far higher importance? 
 
 3. Have you not wasted too much time in your fre- 
 quent clubs, and what you call good company^ and in 
 * places of public resort.' Hath not the tavern, or the 
 coffee-house, or the ale-house, seen and known you 
 from hour to hour for a whole evenino:, and that 
 sometimes before the trade or labours of the day 
 should have been ended ? And when your Bible and 
 your closet, or the devotion of your family, have 
 
112 THE END er TIME. ptaCOURSE I. 
 
 sometimes called upon your conscience, have you 
 not turned the deaf ear to them all ? 
 
 4. Have not ' useless and impertinent visits' been 
 made to no good purpose, or been prolonged beyond 
 all necessity or improvement? When your conver- 
 sation runs low even to the dregs, and both you and 
 your friends have been at a loss what to say next, 
 and knew not how to fill up the time, yet the visit 
 must go on, and time must be wasted. Sometimes 
 the wind and the weather, and twenty insignifican- 
 cies, or (what is much worse) scandal of persons or 
 families, have come into your relief, that there might 
 not be too long a silence ; but not one word of rod 
 or goodness could find room to enter in and relieve 
 the dull hour. Is none of this time ever to be ac- 
 counted for ? And will it sound well in the ears of 
 of the great Judge, * We ran to these sorry topics, 
 these slanderous and backbiting stories, because we 
 could not tell what to talk of, and we knew not how 
 spend our time.' 
 
 5. Have you not been guilty of ' frequent and evea 
 perpetual delays or neglects of your proper necessary 
 business in the civil life, or in the solemn duties of 
 religion, by busying yourselves in some other need^ 
 less thing under this pretence, it is time enough yetP 
 
 Have you learnt that important and eternal rule of 
 prudence, * never delay till to-morrow what may be 
 done to-day; never put off till the next hour what 
 may be done in this?' Have you not often experi- 
 enced your own dis^fppointment and folly by these 
 delays? And yet have you ever so repented as to 
 
DISCOURSE I. THE END OF TIME. IIS 
 
 learn to mend them ? Solomon tells us, Eccles. i'lu 
 1, <* There is a time for every purpose, and every 
 work, under the sun :" A proper and agreeable time 
 for every lawful work of nature and life ; and it is the 
 business and cjre of a wise man to * do proper work 
 in proper time;' but when we have let slip the pro- 
 per season, how often have we been utterly disap- 
 pointed? Have we not sustained great inconvenien- 
 cies? And sometimes it hath so happened that we 
 could never do that work or business at all, because 
 another proper season for it hath never offered ? Time 
 hath been no more. Felix put off his discourse with 
 Paul about the " faith of Christ, and righteousness, 
 and judgment to come, to a more convenient time," 
 which probably never came, Acts xxiv. 25, And 
 the word of God teaches us, that if we neglect our 
 salvation in the present day of grace, the angel in my 
 text is ready to swear, that * Time shall be no 
 longer.' 
 
 Here permit me to put in a short word to those who 
 have lost much time already. 
 
 O my friends, begin now- to do what in you lies to 
 regain it, by double diligence in the matters of your 
 salvation, lest the * voice of the arch-angel' should 
 finish your time of trial, and call you to judgment 
 before you are prepared. 
 
 What time lies before you for this double improve- 
 ment God only knows: The remnant of the mea- 
 sure of your days are with him, and every evening 
 the number is diminished: Let not the rising sun 
 upbraid you with continued negligence. Hcmem 
 
114 THE END OF TIME. 3)lSC0URSE I. 
 
 ber your former abuses of hours, and months, and 
 years, in folly and sin, or at best in vanity and tri- 
 fling : Let these thoughts of your past conduct lie 
 with such an effectual weight on your hearts, as to 
 keep you ever vigorous in present duty. Since you 
 have been so lazy and loitering in your Christian 
 race in time past, take larger steps daily, and stretch 
 all the powers of your souls to hasten towards the 
 crown and the prize. Hearken to the voice of God in 
 his word, with stronger attention and zeal to profit: 
 Pray to a long-suffering God with double fervency ; 
 cry aloud and give him no rest till your sinful soul is 
 changed into penitence, and renewed to holiness, till 
 you have some good evidences of your sincere love 
 to God, and unfeigned faith in his son Jesus. Ne- 
 ver be satisfied till you are come to a well-grounded 
 hope through grace, that God is your friend, your 
 reconciled Father; that when days and months are 
 no more, you may enter into the region of everlast- 
 ing light and peace. 
 
 But I proceed to the last general remark. ' Learn 
 the unspeakable happiness of those who have im- 
 proved time well, and who wait for the end of time 
 with Christian hope.' They are not afraid, or at 
 least they need not be afraid of the sentence, nor the 
 oath of this mighty angel, when he lifts up his hand 
 to heaven, and swears with a loud voice, * There shall 
 be time no more,' 
 
 O blessed creatures, who have so happily improv- 
 ed the time of life and day of grace, as to obtain the 
 restoration of the image of God, in some degree, on 
 
DISCOURSE I. THE ENt) Or TIME. -115 
 
 their souls, and to recover the favour of God through • 
 the gospel of Christ, for which end time was bestow- 
 ed upon them : They have reviewed their follies with 
 shame in the land of hope ; they have mourned and 
 repented of sin ere the season of repentance was past, 
 and are become new creatures, and their lips and 
 their lives declare the divine change. They have 
 made preparation for death, for which purpose life 
 and time were given. Happy souls indeed, who 
 have so valued time as not to let it run off in trifles; 
 but have obtained treasures more valuable than that 
 time which is gone, even the riches of the covenant 
 of grace, and the hopes of an eternal inheritance in 
 glory. 
 
 Happy such souls indeed when time is no more 
 with them ! Their happiness begins when the dura- 
 tion of their mortal life is finished. Let us survey 
 this their happiness in a few particulars. 
 
 The time of their ' darknesses and difficulties' is no 
 longer: The time of painful ignorance and error is 
 Gome to an end : You shall wander no more in mis- 
 take and folly : You shall behold all things in the 
 light of God, and see him face to face, who is the 
 original beauty and the eternal truth. You shall see 
 him without vails and shadows, without the reflecting 
 glass of his word and ordinances, which at best give 
 us but a faint glimpse of him, either in his nature or 
 wisdom, his power or goodness. You shall see him 
 in himself and in his son Jesus, the brightest and 
 fairest image of the Father, and * shall know him as 
 you are known.' 1 Cor, xiii. 10, 12. 
 
116 THE END OF TIIUE. DISCOURSE f« 
 
 There Is no more time for ' temptation and dan-' 
 ger:' when once you are got beyond the limits of 
 this visible world, andall the enticing objects of flesh 
 and sense, there shall be no more hazard of your sal- 
 vation, no more doubting and distressing fears about 
 your interest in your Father's love, or in the salva* 
 tion of his beloved Son. 
 
 There is no more time nor place for * sin to inhabit 
 in you;' The lease of its habitation in your mortal 
 body must end, when the body itself falls into the 
 dust : you shall feel no more of its powerful and dc» 
 fihng operations either in heart or life for ever. 
 
 The time of * conflict with your spiritual adversa. 
 ries is no longer.' There is no more warfare betwixt 
 the flesh and spirit, no more combat with the world 
 and i he devil, who, by a thousand ways have attempt^ 
 ed to deceive you, and to bear you off" from your 
 heavenly hope. Your warfare is accomplished, your 
 victory is complete, you are made overcomers 
 through him that has loved you. Death is the last 
 enemy to be overcome ; the sting of it is already 
 taken away, and you have now finished the conquest^ 
 and are assured of the crown. 1 Cor. xv. 56, 57. 
 
 The time of your * distance and absence from 
 God is no more:* The time of coldness and indiffer- 
 ence, and the fearful danger of backslidings, is no 
 more: You sh^ll be made as 'pillars in the temple 
 of your God, and shall go no more out:' He shall 
 love you like a God, and kindle the flames of your 
 love to so intense a degree, as is only known to angels 
 and to the spirits of the just made perfect. 
 
~^:>ISCOURSE T. -THE END OF TIME. 117 
 
 ' There is no more time for you to be vexed with 
 the ' society of sinful creatures :' Your spirit within 
 you shall be no more ruffled and disquieted with the 
 teazins: conversation of the wicked, nor shall vou be 
 interrupted in your holy and heavenly exercises by 
 any of the enemies of God and his grace. 
 
 The time of your ' painful labours and sufferings 
 is no more.' Rev. xiv. 13. ''Blessed are the dead 
 that die in the Lord, for they rest from all their la- 
 bours" that carry toil or fatigue with them : ' There 
 shall be no more' complaints nor groans, ' no sorrov/ 
 or crying ;' the springs of grief are for ever dried up, 
 ' neither shall there be any more pain' in the flesh or 
 the spirit. '* God shall wipe aw^ay all tears from 
 your eyes, and death shall be no more." Rev. xxi. 
 4. 
 
 ''It is finished," said our blessed Lord on the 
 cross : ' It is finished,' may every one of his followers 
 say at the hour of death, and at the end of time : 
 My sins and follies, my distresses and my sufferings^ 
 are finished for ever, and the mighty angel swears to 
 it, that the ti??2e of those evils is no longer : They are 
 vanished, and shall never return. O happy souls, who 
 have been so wise to count the short and uncertain 
 number of your days on earth, as to m.ake an early pro- 
 vision for a removal to heaven. Blest are you above 
 all the powers of present thought and language. 
 Days, and months, and years, and all these short and 
 painful periods of time, shall be swallowed up in a 
 long and blissful eternity ; the stream of time which 
 has run between the banks of this mortal life, and 
 
il« THE END OF TI^lE. PISCOURSE 3. 
 
 bore you along amidst many dangerous rocks of 
 temptation, fear and sorrow, shall launch you out 
 into the ocean of pleasures which have no period: 
 Those felicities must be everlasting, for duration has 
 no limit there, Time^ with all its measures, shall be 
 no more* Amen. 
 
DISCOURSE 11. 
 
 THE WATCHFUL CHRISTIAN DYING IN PEACE, 
 
 OCCASIONED 
 
 BY THE DECEASE OF MRS. SARAH ABNEY, 
 
 Daughter of the late Sh' Thomas Abney, Knt. &c. 
 Preached April 2, 1732. 
 
 Dedicated to the Lady Abney, Mother of the deceas- 
 edy and to Mrs. Mary and Mrs. Elizabeth 
 Abney, her two surviving Sisters. 
 
 Madam, 
 
 IF sorrows could be diminished in proportion to 
 the multitude of those who share in them, the spring 
 of your tears would have been drawn almost dry, 
 and the tide of grief have sunk low, by being divid- 
 ed into a thousand streams. But though this cannot 
 afford perfect relief to your Ladyship, yet it must be 
 some consolation to have been blessed with a daugh- 
 ter, whose removal from our world could give occa- 
 sion for so general a mourning. 
 
 I confess, Madam, the wound which was made by 
 such a smarting stroke is not to be healed in a day 
 or two, reason permits some risings of the softer and 
 kinder passions in such a season; it shews at least 
 that our hearts are not marble, and reveals the tender 
 
liJO THE DEDICATION. 
 
 ingredients that are moulded up in our frame ; nor 
 does religion permit us to be insensible when a God 
 afflicts, though he doth it with the hand of a father 
 and a friend. Nature and love are full of these sen- 
 sibilities, and incline you to miss her presence in 
 every place where she was wont to attend you, and 
 where you rejoiced in her as one of your dearest 
 blessings. She is taken away indeed from mortal 
 sight, and to follow her remains to the grave, and 
 to dwell there, gives but a dark and melancholy view, 
 till the great rising-day. Faith may ken the distant 
 prospect, and exult in the sight of that glorious futu- 
 rity ; yet I think there is also a nearer relief, Madam, 
 to your sorrows. By the virtues vi^hich shone in her 
 life, you may trace the ascent of her spirit to the 
 world of immortality and joy. Could your Ladyship 
 keep the eye of your soul directed thither, you would 
 find it an eifectual balm for a heart that bleeds at the 
 painful remembrance of her death. What could 
 your Ladyship have asked as a higher favour of hea- 
 ven, than to have born and trained up a child for that 
 glorious inheritance, and to have her secured of the 
 possession beyond all possible fear or danger of los- 
 ing it. 
 
 This, Madam, is your own divinest hope for your- 
 self, and you are hastening on toward that blessed so- 
 ciety as fast as days and hours give leave. When your 
 thoughts descend to this lower world again, there are 
 two living comforts near you of the same kind with 
 what you have lost: May your Ladyship rejoice in 
 them yet many years, and they in you ! And when 
 Jesus, who hath the keys of death and the invisible 
 
THE DEDICATION-. I2l 
 
 state, shall appoint the hour for your ascent to hea- 
 ven, may you leave them behind to bless the world 
 with fair examples of virtue and piety among men, 
 and a long train of services for the interest of their 
 Redeemer. 
 
 If I were to say any thing, Young Ladies, to you in 
 particular, it should be in the language of our Savi- 
 our, and his beloved Apostle, "Hold fast what you 
 have till the Lord comes, that none may cleprhe you 
 of your crown. Take heed to yourselves, that you 
 lose not the things which you have wrought, but that 
 ye receive a full reward." Go on and persevere as 
 you have begun, in the path of true religion and hap- 
 piness : And in this age of infidelity and degenerate 
 life, be ye daily more established in the Christian faith 
 and practice, in opposition to the smiles and frowns, 
 and every snare of a vain delusive world. Let this 
 one thought set a double guard upon you, that while 
 your elder sister was with you, it Was something 
 easier to resist every temptation, when she had pro- 
 nounced the first refusal : Her steadiness was a guard 
 which you have now lost, but you have an Almighty 
 God in covenant on your side, and the '< grace of our 
 Lord Jesus is sufficient for you," 
 
 To his care, My Lady, I commend yourself, and 
 your whole family, with affectionate petitions: And 
 am, 
 
 Madam, 
 
 Tour Ladyships s most obliged 
 
 and faithful Scri^ant^ 
 
 I. WATTS. 
 
 London, April 26, 1732. 
 
THE 
 
 WATCHFUL CHRISTIAN DYING IN PEACE. 
 
 A FUNERAL SERMON, &c, 
 
 IT is an awful providence which hath lately re- 
 moved from among us a young person well known to 
 most of you, whose agreeable temper and conduct 
 had gained the esteem of all her acquaintance, whose 
 constitution of body, together with the furniture of 
 her mind, and circumstances in the world, concur- 
 red to promise many future years of life and useful- 
 ness. But all that is born of the race of man is frail 
 and mortal, and all that is done by the hand of God 
 is wise and holy. We mourn, and we submit in si- 
 lence. Yet the providence hath a voice in it, and 
 the friends of the deceased are very solicitous that 
 such an unexpected and instructive appearance of 
 deaih, might be religiously improved to the benefit 
 of the living. For this end I am desired to entertain 
 you at present with some meditations on those words 
 of our Saviour, which you read in 
 
 Luke xii. 37. 
 
 Blessed are these ser'va?its, wbom the Lord, when he 
 Cometh^ shall find watching, ^ 
 
 VARIOUS and well chosen are those parables 
 V hereby our Saviour gave warning to his disciples, 
 
BISCOURSK II. THE WATCHFUL CHRISTIAK, &C. 12^ 
 
 that when he was departed from this world they 
 should ever be upon their guard, and always in a rea- 
 diness to receive him at his return : Because he 
 would come on a sudden, and '' in such an hour as 
 they thought not," to demand an account of their be- 
 haviour, and to distribute his recompences according 
 to their works. There are two of these parables in 
 this chapter : But to enter into a detail of all the par- 
 ticular metaphors which relate to this one, whence I 
 have borrowed my text, would be too tedious here, 
 and would spend too much of the present hour. 
 Without any longer preface therefore, I shall apply 
 myself to improve the words to our spiritual profit 
 in the following method. 
 
 I. I shall enquire what is meant by the * coming of 
 Christ' in the text, and how it may be properly- 
 applied to our present purpose, or the * hour of 
 death.' 
 
 II. I shall consider what is implied in the ivatchfiiU 
 ness which our Saviour recommends. 
 
 III. 1 propose some considerations which will dis- 
 cover the ' blessedness of the watchful soul' in a 
 dying hour. 
 
 IV. I shall add some practical remarks. 
 
 Firsts Let us enquire W' hat is meant by the ' com- 
 ing of Christ' in my text. 
 
 The * coming of Christ,' in some of these parables, 
 may have reference to his speedy appearance in the 
 course of his providence in that very age, to judge 
 
124- THE WATCHFUL CHRISTIAN DISCOURSE II. 
 
 and punish the Jewish nation, to destroy their city, 
 and put an end to their church and state, for their 
 many heinous iniquities, and the most provoking 
 crime of rejecting and crucifying the Son of God. 
 But these words, in their supreme and most impor- 
 tant sense, always point to the ' glorious appearance 
 of Christ at the last day,' when he shall come to shut 
 up all the scenes of this frail life, to put an end to the 
 present world, to finish all the works of this mortal 
 state, and to decide and determine the eternal states 
 of all mankind by the general judgment. 
 
 Yet * Christ comes' to each of us in * the hour of 
 death' also, for * he hath the keys of death and of 
 hell,' or of the invisible world, Rev. i. 18. It is he 
 who appoints the very moment when the soul shall 
 be dismissed from this flesh, he opens the doors of 
 the grave for the dying body ; and he is Lord of the 
 world of spirits, and lets in new inhabitants every 
 minute into those unseen regions of immortal soir- 
 row, or immortal peace. 
 
 And as Christ may be said to * come to us' by the 
 message or ' summons of death,' so the many solemn 
 writings and commands o^ivatchfuhiess, which attend 
 these parables of Christ, have been usually, and with 
 good reason, applied to the * hour of death' also, for 
 then the Lord comes * to shut up the scene of ^ each 
 of our Ihes, our ' works are then finished,' our ' last 
 day is come,' and the * world is then at an end' with 
 us. 
 
 Let it be observed also, that there is a further pa- 
 rallel between the day of the « general judgment,' and 
 
DISCOURSE II. DYING IN PEACE. 125 
 
 that of 'our own death:' The one will as certahily 
 come as the other, but the time when Christ will 
 come in either of these senses, is unknown to us and 
 uncertain: And it is this, which renders the duty of 
 perpetual watchfulness so necessary to all men. The 
 parable assures us, that our Lord will certainly come, 
 but whether at the * second or third watch,' whether 
 at 'midnight, or at cock-crowing, or near the morn- 
 ing,' this is all uncertainty ; yet whensoever he comes, 
 he expects we should 'have our loins girded,' like 
 servants fit for business, ' and our lamps burning,' 
 to attend him at the door, and that we ' be ready to 
 receive him as soon as he knocks.' 
 
 Were the appointed hourof judgment, or of death, 
 made known to us for months or years before-hand, 
 we should be ready to think constant watchfiihzess^ a 
 very needless thing. Mankind would persuade them- 
 selves to indulge their foolish and sinful slumbers, 
 and only take care to rub their eyes a little, and be- 
 stir themselves an hour or two before this awful 
 event: But it is the suddenness and uncertainty of 
 the coming of Christ to all mankind, for either of 
 these purposes, that extends the charge of Vw'atchful- 
 ness to all men as well as to the Aposdes, Mark xiii. 
 57. and that calls upon us aloud to keep our souls 
 ever awake, ' lest (as our Lord there expresses it,) 
 coming suddenly he should find us sleeping.' And 
 remember this, that if we are unprepared to meet the 
 Lord at death, we can never be ready when he comes 
 to judgment ; peace and blessedness attend the watch- 
 ful Christian, whensoever his Lord cometh. " Bless- 
 
 I? 
 
126 THE WATCHFUL CHRISTIAN DISCOURSE U* 
 
 ed is that servant, whom, when his Lord comes, he 
 shall find watchnig." This leads me to the second 
 general head. 
 
 Secondly^ What is implied in ivatchfiilncss ? 
 
 Ans%v. In general, it is opposed to sleeping^ as I 
 have already hinted, in Mark xiii. 2^5^ 36. And in 
 the language of Scripture, as uell as in common 
 speech, sleep and slumbering, denote an unprepared- 
 ness to receive whatever comes, for this is the case 
 with those who are asleep: On the other hand, "watch- 
 fidness is a preparation and readiness for every event, 
 and so it is expressed in some of these parables, ver. 
 40. '* Be ye theiefore reaXiy." But to enter into a 
 few particulars. 
 
 1. There io a '' sleep of death," Psal. xiii. 3. Spi. 
 ritual death as v/ell as natural, is sometimes called iz 
 sleep. Such is the case of a soul ** dead in trespasses 
 and sins," Eph. v. 14. compared with ii. 1. '* Awake 
 thou that sleepest and arise from the dead, and Christ 
 shall give thee lighi." 
 
 Watchfylness therefore implies life^ a principle of 
 spiritual life in the soul: Surely those who are dead 
 in sins arc not prepared to receive their Lord: He is 
 a perfect stranger to them, they know him not, they 
 love hiru not, they obey him not; and a terrible 
 stranger he will be, if he comes upon them before 
 they are awake. But those who are awakened by 
 divine grace into a spiritual life, have seen something 
 of '' the glory of God in the fiice of Jesus Christ," 
 they are acquainted with tlieir Lord, they love him, 
 and have some degree of preparation to meet their 
 
DISCOURSE TI. DYING IN PK ACE. 127 
 
 Saviour when he summons them to leave this world. 
 This is therefore a matter of highest consequence, 
 that we awake from a state of sin and death, that we 
 be made alive to God, begin the Christian life, and 
 set upon religion in good earnest, according to tlie 
 rules of the gpspel, before Christ call us away. It 
 is only this divine life begun in us, that can secure 
 us from eternal death; though even Christians may 
 be found slumbering in other respects, and expose 
 themselves to painful evils, if that hour surprise them 
 at unawares. 
 
 2. There is * a sleep of indolence and thoughtless- 
 ness:' When a man is insensible of his own circum- 
 stances, and too careless of the things which most 
 concern him, w^e say, 'the man is asleep.' Such a 
 sleep seems to be upon the church of Israel, Isa. 
 xxix. 10. '' a spirit of deep sleej>," when the law 
 which contained the great things of God, and their sal- 
 vation, was to them * as a sealed book,' they read it 
 not, their eyes were closed, their spiritual senses 
 were bound up. Many a Christian who hath been 
 raised from a death in sin, has been seized with this 
 criminal slumber, and has had the image of death 
 come again upon'^him: He has grown too careless 
 and unconcerned about his most important and eter- 
 nal affairs; and in this temper he hardly knows Vvhat 
 his state is toward God, nor keeps up a lively sense 
 or notice of divine and eternal things upon his spirit. 
 
 Watchfulness in opposition to this sleeps implies a 
 holy solicitude and diligence, to know our own spi- 
 ritual state; a consciousness of what we are; a keep- 
 
128 THE WATCHrUL CHRISTIAN .DISCOURSE II. 
 
 ing all the spiritual senses in proper exercise, and 
 maintaining a lively perception of divine things. It 
 implies an acute, painful sense of indwelling sin, and 
 the irregular propensities of the heart, a delightful 
 relish of heavenly objects, frequent thoughts of death 
 and eternity, constant waiting for those awful events, 
 with a quick apprehep.-ion and resentment of all 
 things, that help or hinder the spiritual life. This 
 is the character of a wakeful Christian, and such an 
 one as is ready to receive his returning Lord. 
 
 3. There is a ' sleep of security and foolibh peace,' 
 when a person is not apprehensive of imminent dan- 
 ger, and is much unguarded against it. Such was 
 the sleep of Jonah in the storm, of Sampson on the 
 lap nf Delilah, when the Philistines were upon him, 
 and of the disciples when Judas and the band of sol- 
 diers were just ready to seize their Master. This is 
 the case of many a slumbering Christian; he is not 
 upon hib guard against his ijiward lusts and passi- 
 ons, nor against those outward temptations and pe- 
 rils to which he is continually exposed, while he 
 dwells in flesh and blood. 
 
 IFatchfulness in this respect is, when a Christian 
 hath his eyes open, and turns them round on every 
 side to foresee approaching evil, and prevent it ; 
 when he is prepared for every assault of every adver- 
 sary, whether sin or the world, whether death or the 
 devil; he hath his spiritual armour girt upon him, 
 and is ready for the combat. He is every hour guard- 
 ed against the powers of the flesh, and watching 
 against its allurements and attractions, lest he be de^ 
 
DISCOURSE ir. I>YING IN PEACE. 129 
 
 filed thereby, and unfit to meet his returning Lord : 
 He is daily loosening his heart from all sensual at- 
 tachments, and weaning himself from the world and 
 creatures, because he knows he must quickly take his 
 long farewel, and part with them all, at the call and 
 appointment of his great Master. He is like a centi- 
 nel upon his watch-tower, ever awake, because dan- 
 gers stand thick around him. 
 
 4. There is a ' sleep of sloth and inactivity,' Prov. 
 xix. 15. " Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep." *A 
 little more sleep, a little more slumber,' saith the la- 
 zy Christian, who 'turns upon his bed, as the door 
 upon its hinges,' and makes no progress or advance 
 in his way to heaven. We are sleepy Christians wheii 
 we do little for God, or our own souls, in compari- 
 son of the vast w^ork, and important varieties of duty 
 that lie upon us : When our zeal is cold, and our 
 efforts of service slight and feeble : When the light 
 of grace shines so dim, and the spark of holiness is so 
 covered with ashes, that it is hard to say, Vv'hether it 
 burn or no. As in natural things, so in spiritual) it 
 is a difficult matter sometimes to distinguish between 
 a dead man, and a lethargic sleeper. 
 
 Watchfulness in opposition to this slumber, is a 
 lively and vigorous exercise of every grace, and a di- 
 ligent attendance on every duty, both toward God 
 and man, a constant converse with heaven by daily 
 devotion, an active zeal for God in the world, a steady 
 faith in the promises, a joyful hope of heavenly bless- 
 edness, a longing expectation of the returning Sijvi- 
 our, which makes the soul stretch out the wings of 
 
150 THE WATCHFUL CHRISTIAN DISCOURSE II* 
 
 desire and joy, as though it were going forth to meet 
 him. This is the meaning of the Apostle Peter's 
 expression, 2 Pet. iii. 12. '' Looking for, and hasten- 
 ing to the coYning of the day of God.'' 
 
 Put all these things together now, and they make 
 up the character of a * watchful Christian :' He is 
 awake from the sleep of death, and made spiritually 
 alive ; he hath the work of vital religion begun in his 
 heart. 
 
 He is awake from the sleep of * thoughtlessness 
 and indolence ; he is solicitous to know his own 
 state, and hath good hope through grace ; he lives in 
 the view of heavenly things, and keeps his eye open 
 to future and eternal glories. 
 
 . He is awake from the sleep of security, he is upon 
 his guard against every danger, and ready to receive 
 every alarm. 
 
 He-is awake from the sleep of slothfulncss, and is 
 active in the pursuit of the glory of his God, and his 
 own eternal interest, and still • pressing toward the 
 mark to obtain the prize.' This is the soul that is 
 ready to meet a returning Saviour, and to receive his 
 Lord when he comes, either at the hour of death, or 
 to the general judgment. 
 
 Thirdly, Let me propose some special considera- 
 tions ^^ hich discover ' the blessedness of the watch- 
 ful -Christian at the hour of death. 
 
 1. Cons'uL That moment dispossesses us of every 
 enjoyment of flesh and blood, and divides us from the 
 commerce of this visible world ; but * the Wijkeful 
 Christian is happy, for he is ready to be thus divided 
 
DISCOURSE II. DYING IN PEACE. 131 
 
 and dispossessed.' Death breaks the band at once 
 between us, and all the sensible things round about 
 us, by dissolving the frame of this body, which had 
 united us to them ; and the watchful saint is content 
 to have that bond broken, these unions dissolved. 
 His heart and soul are not torn away, from the dear 
 delights of ihis mortal state with that pain, anguish 
 and horror, that attends the sinner when death sum- 
 mons him off the stage, and divides him from his 
 fleshly idols. The Christian hath been untying his 
 heart by degrees from the dearest delights of sense, 
 and disengaging it from all that is not immor- 
 tal : With holy pleasure he can bid farewel to sun, 
 moon, and stars, and to all things which their light 
 can shew him, for he is going to a world where the 
 Sun of righteousness ever shines in unclouded glory, 
 and discovers such sights, as are infinitely superior 
 to all that the eyes of flesh can behold ; he can part 
 with friends and kindred with a composed spirit, 
 for he is going to meet better friends and diviner kin- 
 dred, as we shall shew immediately : He can leave 
 his dying flesh behind him, and commit it to the 
 dust, in joyful hope of the great rising-day, and he 
 hath a better nuii.sion at piesent provided for him on 
 hi.L^h in his Father's house, while he lives tar separate 
 from all earthly dwellings, 2 Cor. v. 1. '' We know 
 thcit if this earthly house of our tabernacle be dissol- 
 ved, we have a building of God not made with hands 
 eternal in the heavens." 
 
 2. Consid, The moment of death finishes our state 
 of trial, and fixes us unchangeably in the state of sin 
 
132 THE WATCHFUL CHRISTIAN DISCOURSE II. 
 
 or holiness, in which we are then found ; and ' bles- 
 sed is the vvatchfijl Christian, for he is prepared to 
 have his trial thus ended, and his state thus fixed and 
 made unchangeable/ '' As the tree falls, so it lies.'* 
 Eccles. xi. 10. *' whether to the north, or the south :" 
 As the soul parts from the body, so it remains, whe- 
 ther fitted for heaven or hell. It is therefore a mat- 
 ter of the last importance to be prepared and ready 
 for such an eternal sentence, and unchangeable deter- 
 mination. Were any of us to be surprised some 
 moment this day, and forced to continue all our lives, 
 in that very posture of body, in which we are then 
 found, should we not be awake, and keep ourselves 
 in the most natural and easy gestures all that day, 
 lest we be seized at once, and fixed in some distort- 
 ed, painful, and uneasy situation, all our months and 
 years to come? Or if we were to be bound down to one 
 sini^le thought, or passion, all the remnant of our life, 
 in which we were found in any uncertain minute in 
 this hour, should we not watch with utmost care, and 
 guard against ^vcry unpleasing thought, and every 
 fretful and vexing passion, lest it should be fixed up- 
 on us till we die ? 
 
 Now this is the case at death : The Almighty 
 voice of God then pronounces, ** he that is unclean 
 and unholy must for ever be unholy and unclean, but 
 he that is righteous let him be righteous still, and he 
 that is holy shall be for ever holy." Rev. xxii. 11. 
 I will not ptecisel} determine that this is the sense 
 of that text, yet since the Apostle speaks there con- 
 cerning the coming of Christ, it may be very appli- 
 
DISCOURSE II. DYING IN PEACE. 133 
 
 cable to the present case. Now, how dreadful so-» 
 ever this thought is to a guilty sinful creature, it is 
 no terror to a wakeful Christian : He is ready to 
 have these words pronounced from heaven, for they 
 will establish him in eternal holiness and eternal 
 peace : He hath endeavoured to secure to himself an 
 interest in the love of God, through the faith and love 
 of Jesus the blessed Mediator, and at death he is fix- 
 ed for ever in their love. He hath loved God in time, 
 and in this visible world, and there is nothing in all 
 the unseen worlds, nothing through all the ages of 
 eternity, shall ever separate him from the love of God 
 in Christ Jesus. The moment of death hath fixed 
 him for ever a holy and beloved soul, beyond the 
 power of creatures to change his temper, or his 
 state. This is the blessedness of the watchful Chris* 
 tian. 
 
 3. Consid, Death sets us in a more immediate and 
 sensible manner in the presence of God, a glorious 
 and holy God, God the Judge of all ; and ' blessed 
 is the watchful Christian, for he is willing to stand 
 before this God, to be brought into his presence:' 
 This is wh^t he hath longed and prayed for, to be for 
 ever with God. It is the blessedness that he hath 
 sought with incessant labours and tears, with holy 
 diligence, and daily devotion, and blessed is the 
 *' pure in heart," who hath watched against the pollu- 
 tions of the world, *'for he shall see God," Matth. 
 v. 8. 
 
 It is certain, that when the soul departs from the 
 body, *' it returns to God who gave it," Ecclcs. xii. 
 
134- THE WATCHFUL CHRISTIAN DISCOURSE II. 
 
 7. And probably to God as a Judge too, Heb. ix. 
 27. ** After death judgment." There is some sort 
 of determination of the state of each single person at 
 death, before the great and general judgment-day, 
 because that day is appointed rather for the public 
 vindication of the equity of God in his distribution 
 of rewards and punishments, and is particularly put 
 into the hands of our Lord Jesus : Now, since the 
 separate soul returns to God who gave it, it is of vast 
 importance that we be then prepared to come before 
 him. 
 
 Some of us here would be mightily afraid of ap- 
 pearing before a prince, or a great and honourable 
 person in an undress ; but for our souls in a naked 
 state, or in a garment of sinful pollution, to be sur- 
 prised by the great and holy God, to be set on a sud- 
 den in his presence, what terror is contained in this 
 thought ! Now the * watchful Christian hath this 
 blessedness,' that he is washed from his defilements 
 in the blood of the Lamb, *'he is clothed with the 
 robe of righteousness, and the gcirments of salva- 
 tion." Isa. Ixi. 10. He is prepared to appear be- 
 fore a God of infinite holiness without terror, for he 
 is made like him, he bears his image, he appears 
 as one of his children, and he is not afraid to see his 
 Father. 
 
 However some commentators may confine and im- 
 poverish the sense of David in the end of the seven- 
 teenth Psalm, yet I am persuaded the Spirit of God 
 in him designed to express his faith and jcy, either 
 at the hour of death, or in the morning of the resur- 
 
DISCOURSE II. DYING IN PEACE. 135 
 
 rection, ** I shall behold thy face in righteousness, I 
 shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness :" 
 When the Psalmist had described what were the sa- 
 tisfactions of the men of this world in death, ver. 14. 
 viz. that they had filled their houses with children, 
 and leave their substance or riches to them, he then 
 declares, what was his support and hope in his dy- 
 ing hour, As for me, saith he, I have other views: 
 I am not afraid, O my God, to appear before thee 
 in the other world, for I shall see thy face, not as a 
 criminal, but as a person approved and accepted, and 
 righteous in thy sight : I shall awake from this world 
 of dreams and shadows into thy complete image and 
 perfect holiness ; or, I shall awake from the dust of 
 death, and shall be fully satisfied ; and rejoice to find 
 myself made so like my God, and to dwell for ever 
 in his presence. 
 
 4. Consicl. It is the Lord Jesus Christ that lets the 
 soul out of the body, for he * hath the keys of death, 
 and of the unseen world,' and * blessed is the watch- 
 ful Christian, who waits for the coming of his Lord, 
 for he can meet him gladly, when fulfilling this part 
 of his glorious office.' He shall be introduced by 
 him into the presence of God his Father, and shall 
 receive most condescending instances of mercy from 
 Christ himself. See the text, Luke xii. 06, 37. 
 *' Be ye yourselves like men that wait for the Lord, 
 that when he cometh and knocketh, ye may open to 
 him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom 
 the Lord, when he cometh, shall find watching : 
 Verily I say to you, he shall gird himself, and make 
 
136 THE WATCHFUL CHRISTIAN DISCOURSE II. 
 
 them sit down to meat, and come forth and serve 
 them." He shall condescend, as it were, even below 
 the office of a steward, he shall bring out the heaven- 
 ly provisions of his Father's house, and make them 
 sit down in his kingdom, and give them divine re- 
 freshments after their labours ; he shall ' feed them' 
 as a shepherd, shall ' lead them to living fountains 
 of waters,' and aftord them his presence for ever. 
 
 The watchful Christian is blessed indeed, when 
 he shall be ' absent from the body, and be at once 
 present with the Lord,' 2 Cor. v. 8. The Lord Je- 
 sus vvhom he hath seen by faith in his gospel, whose 
 voice he hath heard in his word, and obeyed it ; Je- 
 sus, whom he hath touched and tasted in the appoint- 
 ied emblems of his supper on earth, in whom he hath 
 believed through the word of grace, and Vvhom he 
 hath loved before he saw him, shall now receive him 
 inio his presence, and the disciple shall rejoice for 
 ever to meet his Lord, with joy unspeakable and full 
 of glory. 
 
 5. Cofjsid, At the hour of death we are sent at 
 once into an invisible w^orld ; we shall find ourselves 
 in the midst of holy or of unclean spirits ; borne away 
 at once into an unknown region, and into the midst 
 of unknown inhabitants, the nations of the saved, or 
 the crouds of damned souls ; ' and blessed is the 
 watchful Christian, for he is ready to enter into the 
 vmseen regions:' He knows he shall not be placed 
 among those whose company and whose character 
 he never loved here on earth ; ' his soul shall not be 
 gatliered with sinners,' nor hjs dwelling be * with the 
 
DISCOURSE II. • DYING IN PEACE. 137 
 
 workers of iniquity,' but with the * saints, the excel- 
 lent in the earth, in whom was all his delii^ht.' 
 Every one when dismissed from the prison of this 
 body, must go as the Aposdes did, when released 
 from the prison at Jerusalem, ' must go to their own 
 company,' Acts iv, 23. Judas the traitor ' went to 
 his own place,' Acts i. 25. And the watchful Chris- 
 tian will be disposed among * spirits of the just made 
 perfect,' he will find himself in that blessed society, 
 at his dismission from flesh and blood. Read and 
 see what a glorious society it is, Heb. xii. 22, 23, 
 *' To the innumerable company of angels, the gene- 
 ral assembly and church of the first-born, who are 
 written in heaven, to God the Judge of all, and to 
 the spirits of just men made perfect, and Jesus the 
 Mediator of the new covenant." The Apostle say?, 
 ' we are come to them' already, that is, by the cove- 
 nant of grace, as administered under the gospel ; wc 
 are brought into a blessed union with them, in spi- 
 rit, and in temper, even in this life ; we are members 
 of the same body, we are united to the same head, 
 and made parts of the same household, though we 
 are not yet brought home : But at death we are ac- 
 tually present with them, and dwell and converse 
 among them with holy familiarity, as citizens of the 
 same heavenly Jerusalem, as parts of the same sacred 
 family, and at home, as children of the same God, 
 and in their Father's house. The watchful Christian 
 is at once carried into the midst of the blessed world 
 by ministering angels, the world where Abraham, 
 
iJ8 THE WATCfilUL CHRISTIAN DISCOURSE II. 
 
 Isaac, and Jacob dwell, and made a speedy partaker 
 of their blessedness, Luke xvi. '22, 
 
 6. Consul. Death brings with it a most amazing 
 and inconceivable change of all our present circum- 
 stances and thoughts, our actions and pursuits, our 
 sensations and enjoyments ; I mean all those that re- 
 late to this life only, such as eating, drinking, buy- 
 ing, selling, &c. it dislodges us from these bodies, 
 and thereby finishes all those affections, concerns and 
 troubles, which belong to the body, and sends us 
 into another sort of w^orld, whose affairs and con- 
 cerns are such only, as belong to spirits, wdiether 
 sinful or holy : A most delightful, or a most dread- 
 ful change ! A world of unknown sorrows, or un- 
 known happiness ! Luke xxiii. 43. **This day shalt 
 thou be with me in paradise.*' Luke xvi. 22. '' The 
 rich man died, and in hell he lift up his eyes.*' And 
 indeed the change is so vast, that, comparatively 
 speaking, we know not what sorrow, or happiness 
 is, till this day comes. Now it is a very foolish and 
 dangerous thing at best, to pass into such an ex- 
 treme change of states, infinitely worse, or infinitely 
 better, while we are asleep and at all uncertainties ; 
 What if it should be the miserable state, and we 
 should awake in hell ? But *the watchful Christian is 
 blessed, for he is ready for this amazing change.' 
 He hath long lived upon it by faith and hope, though 
 he knows not so well what the particular enjoyments 
 of heaven are ; and he is well satisfied that he is pre- 
 pared for that happy world by God himself. 2 Cor. 
 V. 5. ''He that hath wrought us for the self- same 
 
DISCOURSE It. DYING IN PEACE. 139 
 
 thiiii^ is God :" He is well pleased to have his faith, 
 changed into sight, and his hope intofruition: He hath 
 been long pained and burdened in this sinful world, 
 with the vain trifles, the poor low cares and amuse- 
 ments of it ; the sins and sorrows and temptations 
 that surround him in it, give him continual disquie- 
 tudes, and he hath been training up in the school of 
 Christ, by devotion and good works for those high- 
 er services of heaven. Since he can trust the pro- 
 mises of the gospel, and has had some small fore- 
 taste of these pleasures, he knows that the actions 
 and employments, the businesses and joys of the up- 
 per world, are incomparably superior to any thin» 
 here on earth, and free from all the uneasy and deli- 
 ling circumstances of this life. He is awake to re- 
 ceive this change: He rejoices in his removal from 
 world CO world : His vital and active powers are rea- 
 dy for the business of paradise, and he opens his 
 heart to take in the joy. 
 
 7. Cojisid. Death makes its approaches oftentimes, 
 and seizes us in such a manner as to give no room 
 for prayers or repentance, then * the blessedness of 
 the watchful soul appears, that if he is carried out of 
 the world and time in such a surprising way, he is 
 safe for eternity.' 
 
 Sometimes the messenger of death stops all our 
 thoughts and actions at once by a lethargic stroke, 
 or confounds them all, by the delirious rovings of a 
 fever; the light of reason is eclipsed and darkened, 
 the powers of the mind are all obstructed, or the lan- 
 guishings of nature have so enfeebled them, that ei- 
 
140 THE WATCHFUL CHRISTIAN DISCOURSE II, 
 
 iher we cannot exercise them to any spiritual pur- 
 poses, or we are forbid to do it, for fear of counter- 
 working the physician, increasing the malady, and 
 hastening our death. Thus we are not capable of 
 making any new preparation, for the important work 
 of dying; w^e can make use of none of the means of 
 grace, nor do any thing more to secure an interest in 
 the love of God, the salvation of Christ, and the 
 blessings of heaven. 
 
 This is a very dismal thought indeed. But the 
 watchful Christian hath this blessedness, that he is 
 fit to receive the sentence of death in any form; nor 
 lethargies, nor deliriums, nor languors of nature, can 
 destroy the seed of grace and religion in the heart, 
 which were sown there in the days of health; nor can 
 any of the formidable attendants of death, cancel his 
 former transactions with God and Christ, about his 
 immortal concerns. That great and momentous 
 work was done before death appeared, or any of its 
 attendants. He was not so unwise, as to leave mat- 
 ters of infinite importance at that dreadful hazard: 
 He is not now to begin to seek after a lost God, nor 
 to begin his repentance for past sins : He is not now 
 a stranger at the throne of grace, nor beginning to 
 learn to pray: He is not now commencing his ac- 
 quaintance with Jesus Christ his Saviour, in the 
 midst of a tumult and hurry of thoughts and fears, 
 nor are the works of faith, and love, and holiness, to 
 be now begun. Dreadful work indeed, and infinitely 
 hazardous! To begin to be convinced of sin on the 
 borders of death, and to make our first enquiries af- 
 
DISCOURSE II. DYING IN PEACE. 141 
 
 ter God and heaven, upon the very brnik of hell ! 
 To begin to ask for pardon, when we can live in sin 
 no longer; to cry out, Jesus, save me, when the waves 
 of the wrath of God, are breaking in upon the drown- 
 ing soul ! Hopeless condition and extreme wretched- 
 ness! To have all the hard work of conversion to go 
 through, under the sinkings of feeble nature, and to 
 begin the exercises of virtue and godliness, under 
 the wild disorders of reason ! What a madness is it, 
 to leave our infinite concerns at such a horrible un- 
 certainty ! 
 
 But these are not thy circumstances, oh wakeful 
 Christian : Nor was this the case of our young de- 
 parted friend, though her distemper soon discom- 
 posed her reasoning powers, and gave her very little 
 opportunity to make a present preparation for dying. 
 But she had heard the voice of Christ in his gospel 
 betimes, and awoke to righteousness at his call, that 
 she might be always ready for his summons in death. 
 Religion was her early care, a fear to offend God, 
 possessed and governed her thoughts and actions 
 from her childhood, and heavenly things were her 
 youthful choice. She had appeared for some years, 
 in the public profession of Christianity, and maintain- 
 ed the practice of godliness in the church, and the 
 world ; but it began much more early in secret. Her 
 beloved closet, and her retiring hours, were silent 
 Vv'itnesses of her daily converse with God, and her 
 Saviour: There she devoted her soul to her Creator 
 betimes, according to the encouragements and rules 
 of the gospel of Christ, and there she found peace 
 
 T 
 
142 THE WATCHFUL CHRISTIAN DISCOURSE II. 
 
 and salvation. It was there she made a conscientious 
 recollection of the sermons she heard in public, from 
 her tender years, and left behind her these fruits of 
 her memory, and her pen to attest, what improve- 
 ments she gained in knowledge, by the ministrations 
 of the word ; and her cabinet has now discovered to 
 us, another set of memoirs, wherein she continually 
 observed what advances she might make in real piety 
 by those weekly seasons of grace. 
 
 It was under tliese influences she maintained a 
 most dutiful and affectionate behaviour to her honour- 
 ed parents, and with filial fondness mingled with 
 esteem, submission and reverence, paid her constant 
 regards to the lady her mother, in her widowed es- 
 tate. It was by the united principles of grace and 
 nature, she lived with her younger sisters in uncom- 
 mon hcirmony and friendship, as though one heart 
 and soul animated them all. It was under these in- 
 fluences she ever stood upon her guard, amongst all 
 the innocent freedoms of life, and though she did not 
 immure herself, in the walls of a mvother's house, but 
 indulged a just curiosity to learn some of the forms 
 of the world, the magnificence of courts, and the 
 grandeurs of life, yet she knew how far to appear 
 among them, and when to retire. Nor did she for,, 
 bid herself all the poUte diversions of youth, agree- 
 able to her rank ; nor did reason or religion, or her 
 superior relatives forbid her ; yet she was still awake 
 to secure all that belongs to honour and virtue, nor 
 did she use to venture to the utmost bounds, of what 
 
DISC0X7RSE n. DYING IN PEACE. 143 
 
 sobriety and religion might allow. Danger of guilt 
 stands near the extreme limits of innocence. 
 
 Shall I let this paper inform the world, with what 
 friendly decency, she treated her young companions 
 and acquaintance, how far from indulging the modish 
 liberties of scandal on the absent, how much she 
 hated those scornful and derisive airs, which persons 
 on higher ground, too often assume toward those 
 who are seated in the inferior ranks of life ? Is it pro- 
 per I should say, how much her behaviour won upon 
 the esteem of all that knew her, though I could appeal 
 to the general sorrow at her death, to confirm the 
 truth of it? But who can forbear on this occasion, to 
 take notice, how far she acquired that lovely character 
 in her narrow and private sphere, which seems almost 
 to have been derived to her by inheritance, from her 
 honoured father, deceased, who had the tears of his 
 country long dropping upon his tomb, and w^iose 
 memory yet lives in a thousand hearts ? 
 
 Such a conversation, and such a character, made 
 up of piety and virtue, were prepared for the attacks 
 of a fever, with malignant and mortal symptoms. 
 Slow and unsuspected were the advances of the dis- 
 ease, till the powers of reason began to falter and 
 retire, till the heralds of death had made their appear- 
 ance, and spread on her bosom, their purple ensigns. 
 When these disorders began, her lucid intervals were 
 longer, and while she thought no person was near, 
 she could address herself to God, and say, how often 
 she had given herself to him ; she hoped she had 
 done it sincerely, and found acceptance with him, 
 
144 THE WATCHFUL CHRISTIAN DISCOURSE II. 
 
 • 
 
 and trusted that she was not deceived. The gleams 
 of reason that broke in between the clouds, gave her 
 light enough to discern her own evidences of piety, 
 and refresh her hope. Then she repeated some of the 
 last verses of the 139th Psalm in metre,* viz. 
 
 ** Lord, search my soul, try every thought: 
 ' Tho' my own heart accuse me not. 
 Of walking in a false disguise, 
 I beg the trial of thine eyes. 
 
 Doth secret mischief lurk within? 
 Do I indulge some unknown sin! 
 O turn my feet whene'er I stray, 
 And lead me in thy perfect way." 
 
 She was frequent and importunate in her requests for 
 the P.salm-book, that she mii^^ht read that Psalm, or 
 at least have it read to her. throughout; and it was 
 with some difficulty, we persuaded her to be compos- 
 ed in silence; thus sincerely willing was she, that 
 God might search and try her heart, still hoping well 
 concerning her spiritual state, yet still solicitous about 
 the assurance of her own sincerity, in her former 
 transactions with heaven. 
 
 The next day among the roving of her thoughts, 
 she rehearsed all those verses of the 17th Psalm, 
 which are paraphrased in the same book, with very 
 little faltering in a line or two: 
 
 " Lord I am thine ; but thou wilt prove 
 My faith, my patience, and my love," &c. 
 
 The traces of her thou.u^hts under this confusion of 
 animal nature, retained something in them divine ancj 
 heavenly. 
 
DISCOURSE II. DYING IN PEACE. l45 
 
 O blessed situation of soul, when \vc stand pre- 
 pared for death, though it come with the formidable 
 retinue of a disordered brain, and clouded reason ! It 
 would be too long at present to represent to you the 
 * sad consequences of being found asleep when Christ 
 comes to call us away from this world,' I shall there- 
 fore only make these three reflections. ^ 
 
 Reflect. 1. * None can begin too early to awake to 
 righteousness, and prepare for the call of Christ, since 
 no one is too young to be sent for by his messenger 
 of death.' I do not here speak of the state of infancy, 
 when persons can hardly be said to be in a personal 
 state of trial: But when I say, 'none can awake too 
 early to mind the things of religion,' I mean, after 
 reason begins its proper exercise, and this appears 
 sometimes in early childhood. All our life in this 
 world, compared with heaven, is a sort of night and 
 season of darkness; and if our Lord summon us away 
 *'in the first watch of the night," in the midst of 
 youth and vigour, and the pleasing allurements of 
 flesh and sense, we are in a deplorable state if we are 
 found sleeping, and hurried away from earth, into 
 the invisible world, in the midst of our foolish dreams 
 of golden vanity. Dreadful indeed, to have a young 
 thoughtless creature carried off the stage, sleeping 
 and dead in trespasses and sins ! Let those that are 
 drunk with wine fall asleep upon the top of a mast in 
 the middle of the sea, where the winds and the waves 
 are tossing and roaring all around them; let a njad- 
 man who has lost his reason, lie down to sleep upon 
 the ^(\^(^ of a precipice, where a pit of fire and brim- 
 
iiO^ THE WATCHFUL CHRISTIAN DISCOURSE II. 
 
 Stone is burning beneath him, and ready to receive 
 bis fall; but let not young sinners, whose rational 
 powers are in exercise, and whose life is every mo- 
 ment a mere uncertainty, venture to go on in their 
 dangerous slumbers, while the wrath of a God and 
 eternal misery attend them, if they die before they are 
 awake. 
 
 It is granted that no power beneath that which is 
 divine, can effectually quicken a dead soul, and 
 awaken it into a divine life. It is the work of " God 
 to quicken the dead," Rom. iv. 17. Eph. ii. 5. It is 
 the son of God who is the *' light and life of the 
 world," John i. 4. To whom '' the Father hath 
 given this quickening power,'' John vi. 26. He 
 calls sinners to awaken them from their deadly sleep, 
 Eph. V. 14. And '' they live by him, as he lives 
 by the Father," John vi. 57. He awakens dead 
 souls to life, by the same Ihing spirit, which *' shall 
 quicken their mortal bodies," and raise them from 
 the grave, Rom. viii. 9, 11, 13. 2 Cor. iii. 3. 
 which spirit he *' hath received from the Father," 
 John iii. 34, And on this account we are to seek 
 the vital influences of this grace from heaven, by con- 
 stant and importunate prayer. Yet in my text, as 
 well as in other Scriptures, '' awaking out of sleep," 
 and *' watching unto righteousness," is represented 
 as our duty, and we are to exert all our natural pow- 
 ers with holy fervency, for this end, while our daily 
 petitions draw down from heaven the promised aid of 
 grace. Our diligence in duty, and our dependence . 
 on the divine power and mercy, are happily and effec- 
 
30ISCOURSE 11. DYING IN PEACE. 147 
 
 tually joined in the command of our Saviour, on this 
 very occasion, in one of his parables, Mark xiii. 33. 
 *' Watch and pray, for ye know not when the time is 
 that the Lord will come." And again, chap. xiv. 
 38. ** Watch and pray that ye enter not into tempta- 
 tion.'' Trust not in your own strength and suffici- 
 ency for the glorious change to be wrought in your 
 sinful hearts, and yet neglect not your own labours 
 and restless endeavours under a pretence, that it is 
 God's work, and not yours. *' Awake thou that 
 sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall 
 give thee light." 
 
 Nor should frail dying creatures in their youngest 
 years, delay this work, one day, nor one hour, since 
 the consequences of being found asleep when Christ 
 calls, are terrible indeed. We are beset widi mor- 
 tality all around us; the seeds of disease and disso- 
 lution are working within us from our very birth and 
 cradle, ever since sin entered into our natures; and 
 we should ever be in a readiness to remove hence, 
 bince we are never secure from the summons of hea- 
 ven, the stroke of death, and the demands of the 
 grave. ' 
 
 There was a lovely boy, the son of the Shunamite, 
 who was given to his mother in a miraculous way, 
 and when he was in the field among the reapers, he 
 cried out, my head, my head ; he was carried home 
 immediately, and in a few hours died in his mother's 
 bosom, 2 Kings iv. 18. Who would have in^agined 
 that head-ach should have been death, and that in so 
 short a time too ? This is almost the case which we 
 
148 THE WATCHFUL CHRISTIAN DISCOURSE II. 
 
 lament at present ; the head-ach was sent but a few 
 days before, nor was the pain very intense, nor the 
 appearance dangerous, yet it became the fatal, though 
 unexpected fore-runner of death. 
 
 This providence is an awful warning-piece to all 
 her young acquaintance, to be ready for a sudden 
 removal; for she was of a healthy make, and seemed 
 to stand at as great distance from the gates of death 
 as any of you : But the firmest constitution of human 
 nature is born with death in it. From every age, and 
 every spot of ground, and every moment of time, 
 there are short and sudden ways of descent to the 
 grave. Trap-doors (if I may use so low a metaphor) 
 are always under us, and a thousand unseen avenues 
 to the regions of the dead. A malignant fever strikes 
 the strongest nature wiih a mortal blast, at the com- 
 mand of the great Author and Disposer of life. My 
 youngest hearers may be called away from the earth, 
 by the next pain that seizes them. Nothing but 
 religion, early religion, and sincere godliness, can 
 give you hope in youthful death, or leave a fragrant 
 savor on your name or memory among those that 
 survive. 
 
 Reflect. 2. If such blessedness as I have described, 
 belong to every watchful Christian at the hour of 
 death, then it may not be improper here to take no- 
 tice of ' some peculiar advantages which attend those 
 who shake off the deadly sleep of sin in their younger 
 years, and are awake early to God and religion.' 
 
 (1.) They have much fewer sins to mourn over on 
 a death-bed, and they prevent much bitter repent- 
 
©ISCOURSE II. DTING IN PEACE. 149 
 
 ance for youthful iniquities. Holy Job was a man 
 of distinguished piety, and God himself pronounces of 
 him that ** there was none like him in all the earth," 
 Job i. 28. But it is a question whether his most 
 early days were devoted to God, and whether he 
 was so ^^^atchful over his behaviour, in that dangerous 
 season of life, for he makes a heavy complaint in his 
 addresses to God, Job xiii. 26. *' Thou vvritest 
 bitter things against mc, and makest me to po^isess 
 the iniquities of my youth." The sooner we begin 
 to be awake to holiness, the more of these follies and 
 sorrows are prevented: Happy those who have the 
 fewest of them, to imbitter their following lives, or 
 make a death-bed painful! 
 
 (2.) Young persons have fewer attachments to the 
 world, and the persons and things of it, which are 
 round about them, and are more ready to part with 
 it wdien their souls are united to God by an early faith 
 and love. They have not yet entered into so nuuie- 
 rous engagements of life, nor dwelt long enough here 
 to have their hearts grown so fast on to creatures, 
 which usually makes the parting stroke so full of an- 
 guish ahd smarting sorrow. A child can much more 
 easily ascend to heaven, and leave a parent behind, 
 without that tender and painful solicitude, which a 
 dying parent has for the welfare of a surviving child. 
 The surrender of all mortal interests at the call of 
 God, is much more easy when our souls are not tied 
 to them by so many strings, nor united by so many 
 of the softer endearments of nature, and where grace 
 has taught us to practise an early weaning from all 
 
 TJ 
 
150 THE WATCHFUL CHRISTIAN DISCOURSE 11^ 
 
 temporal comforts, and a little loosened our hearts 
 from them, by the faith of things eternal. 
 
 (3.) Those that have been awake betimes to godli- 
 ness, give peculiar honours to the gospel at death, and 
 leave this testimony to the divine religion of Jesus, 
 that it was able to subdue passion and appetite in that 
 season of life, when they are usually strongest and 
 most unruly. They give peculiar credit and glory 
 to the Christian name and the gospel, which has 
 gained them so many victories over the enemies of 
 their salvation, at that age wherein multitudes are 
 the captives of sin, and slaves to folly and vanity. 
 
 (4.) Those Christians who are awake to God in 
 their early years, leave more happy and powerful ex- 
 amples of living and dying, to their young compan- 
 ions and acquaintance. It is the temper of every 
 age of life, to be more influenced and affected by the 
 practice of persons of the same years. Sin has fewer 
 excuses to make, in order to shield itself from the 
 reproof of such examples, who have renounced it be- 
 times ; and virtue carries with it a more effectual 
 motive to persuade young sinners to piety and good- 
 ness, when it can point to its votaries of the same 
 age, and in the same circumstances of life. * Why- 
 may not this be practised by you, as well as by your 
 companions round about you, of the same age?' 
 But I must hasten to the last reflection. 
 
 Reflect, 3. ' When we mourn the death of friends 
 who were prepared for an early summons, let their 
 preparation be our support.' Blessed be God they 
 were not found sleeping! While we drop our tears 
 
DISCOURSE II. DYING TN PEACE. 151 
 
 V 
 
 upon the grave of any young Christian who was 
 awake and alive to God, that blessedness which Christ 
 himself pronounces upon them, is a sweet cordial to 
 mingle with our bitter sorrows, and will greatly as- 
 sist to dry up the spring of them. The idea of their 
 piety, and their approbation in the sight of God, is 
 a balm to heal the w^ound, and give present ease to 
 the heart-ach. 
 
 We are ready-to run over their virtues, and spread 
 abroad their amiable qualities in our thoughts, and 
 then, with seeming reason, we give a loose to the 
 mournful passion ; whereas all these, when set in a 
 true light, are real ingredients towards our relief. 
 
 We lament the loss of our departed friend, when 
 we review that capacious and uncommon power of 
 memory, which the God of nature had given her, and 
 which was so well furnished with a variety of human 
 and divine knowledge and was stored with a rich 
 treasure of the w^ord of God, so that if Providence had 
 called her into a more public appearance, she might 
 have stood up in the world as a burning and shining 
 light, so far as her sex and station required. This 
 furniture of the mind seems indeed to be lost in death, 
 and buried in the grave; but we give in too much to 
 the judgment of sense; did not this extensive know- 
 ledge lay a foundation for her early piety ? And did 
 it not, by this means, prepare her for a more speedy 
 removal to a higher school of improvement, and a 
 world of sublimer devotion ? And does she not shine 
 there among the better and brighter company? 
 
.152 THE WATCIirU'T. CHRISTIAN niSCOURSE IT. 
 
 We mourn again for our loss of a person so valu- 
 able, when we think of that general calmness and se- 
 dateness of soul, which she possessed in a peculiar 
 degree, so that she was not greatly elevated or de- 
 pressed, by common accidents or occurrences; but 
 this secured her from the rise of unruly passions, 
 those stormy powers of nature, which sometimes sink 
 us into guilt and distress, and make us unwilling and 
 afraid of the sudden summons of Christ, lest he 
 should find us under these disorders. 
 
 We think of her firmness of spirit, and that steady 
 resolution, which, joined with a natural reserve, was 
 a happy guard against many of the forward follies and 
 dangers of youth, and proved a successful defence 
 against some of the allurements and temptations of 
 the gayer years of life: And then we mourn afresh 
 that a person so well formed for growing prudence 
 and virtue, should be so suddenly snatched away 
 from amongst us. But this steady and dispassion- 
 ate frame of soul, well improved by religion and divine 
 grace, became an effectual means to preserve her 
 youth more unblemished, and made her spirit fitter 
 for the heavenly world, where noUiing can enter that 
 is defiled, and whose delights are not tumultuous as 
 ours are on earth ; but ail is a calm and rational 
 state of joy. 
 
 We lament yet further when we think of her na- 
 tive goodness and unu'iilingness to displease: But 
 goodness is the very temper of that region to which 
 she is gone, and she is the fitter companion for the 
 inhabitants of a world of love. 
 
DISCOURSE II. DYING IN PEACE. 15J 
 
 We lament that such a pattern of early piety should 
 be taken from the earth, when there are sofevvprac- 
 tisers of it, especially among* the youth of our degen- 
 erate age, and in plentiful circumstances of life. But 
 it is a matter of high thankfulness to God, who en- 
 dowed her with those valuable qualities, and trained 
 her up so soon for a world so much better than ours 
 is. Let our sorrow for the deceased, be changed into 
 devout praises to divine grace. Let us imitate the 
 holy language of St. Paul to the Thessalonians, and 
 say, * we are comforted' even at her grave, ' in all our 
 affliction and distress, by the' remembrance of ' her 
 faith' and piety. *What' sufficient 'thanks can we ren- 
 der unto God, upon her account, for all the joy 
 wherewith we rejoice for' her ' sake before our God, 
 night and day, praying exceedingly that we may see 
 her face' in the state of perfection ? And ' may God 
 himself, even our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 direct our w^ay,' to the happy world, where she 
 dwells, 1 Thess. iii. 7, &c. The imitation of what 
 was excellent in her life, and watchful readiness to 
 follow her in death, are the best honours we can pay 
 her memory, and the wisest improvements of the 
 present providence. May the spirit of grace teach 
 us these lessons, and make us all learn them with 
 power, that when our Lord Jesus shall come to call 
 us hence by death, or shall appear with all his saints, 
 in the great rising-day, we may be found among his 
 wakeful servants, and partake of the promised bless- 
 edness I Ame?i, 
 
DISCOURSE III. 
 SURPRISE IN DEATH. 
 
 • *•►::'#« 
 
 Mark xiii. 36. 
 
 Watch ye therefore^ lest coming suddenly ^ he find you 
 sleeping. 
 
 AMONG the parables of our Saviour, there are 
 several recorded by the Evangelists, which represent 
 him as a Prince, or Lord and Master of a family, de- 
 parting for a season from his servants, and in his 
 absence, appointing them their proper work, with a 
 solemn charge to wait for his return ; at which time 
 he foretold them, that he should require an account 
 of their behaviour in his absence, and he either inti- 
 mates or expresses a* severe treatment of those, who 
 should neglect their duty while he was gone, or make 
 no preparation for his appearance. He informs them 
 also that he should come upon them on a sudden, 
 and for this reason charges them to be always awake 
 and upon their guard, ver. 35. '* Watch ye there- 
 fore, for ye know not when the Master of the house 
 cometh, whether at even, or at midnight, or at cock- 
 crowing, or in the morning." 
 
 Thou.ch the ultimate design of these parables, and 
 the < coming of Christ' mentioned therein, refer to 
 
DISCOURSE III. SURPRISE IN DEATH. tSS 
 
 the great day of judgment, when he shall return from 
 heaven, shall raise the dead, and call mankind to ap- 
 pear before his judgment-seat, to receive a recom- 
 pense according to their works; yet both the duties 
 and the warnings, which are represented in these pa- 
 rables, seem to be very accommodable to the hour of 
 our death; for then our Lord Jesus, who * has the 
 keys of death and' the grave, and ' the unseen world,' 
 comes to finish our state of trial, and to put a period 
 to all our works on earth : He comes then to call 
 us into the invisible state; he disposes our bodies to 
 the dust, and our souls are sent into other mansions, 
 and taste some degrees of appointed happiness or 
 misery, according to their behaviour here. The 
 solemn and awful warning which my text gives us 
 concerning the return of Christ to judgment, may be 
 therefore pertinently applied to the season when he 
 shall send his messenger of death, to fetch us hence: 
 " Watch ye therefore, lest coming suddenly, he find 
 you sleeping." 
 
 When! had occasion to treat on a subject near akin 
 to this,* I shewed that there was a distinction to be 
 made, between the ' dead sleep of a sinner,' and 
 ' slumber of an unwatchful Christian.' Those who 
 never had the work of religion begun in their hearts 
 or lives, are sleeping the sleep of death ; whereas 
 some who are made alive by the grace of Christ yet 
 may indulge sinful. drowsiness, and grow careless and 
 
 * In a funeral Sermon for Mrs. Sarah Abney, on Luke xij. 37. " Bles-o- 
 ed are those servants, whom the Lord, when he cometh, shall find watch- 
 
15G SURPRISE IN DEATH. DISCOURSE III. 
 
 secure, slothful and unactive. *' The wise virgins 
 as well as the foolish, were slumbering and sleep- 
 ing," Matt. XXV. 5. The mischiefs and sorrows 
 which attend each of these, when Christ shall sum- 
 mon them to judgment, or shall call them away from 
 earth, by natural death, are great and formidable, 
 though they are not equally dangerous : Let us con- 
 sider each of them in succession, in order to rouse 
 dead sinners from their lethargy, and to keep drowsy 
 Christians awake. 
 
 Fir^, Let us survey the sad consequences which 
 attend those that are ' asleep in sin and spiritually 
 dead,' when the hour of natural death approaches : 
 They are such as these, 
 
 L ' If they happen to be awakened on the borders 
 of the grave, into what a horrible confusion and dis- 
 tress of soul are they plunged ?' What keen anguish 
 of conscience for their past iniquities seizes upon 
 them ? What bitter remorse and self-reproaches, for 
 the seasons of grace which they have wasted, for the . 
 proposals of mercy which they have abused and re- 
 jected, and for the jdivine salvation which seems now 
 to be lost for ever, and put almost beyond the reach 
 of possibility and hope. They feel the messenger of 
 death, laying his cold hands upon them, and they 
 shudder and tremble, with the expectation of ap- 
 proaching misery. They look up to heaven and they 
 see a God of holiness there, as a consuming fire rea- 
 dy to devour them, as stubble fit for the flame : They 
 look to the Son of God, who has the keys of death 
 in his hand, and who calls them away from the land 
 
DISCOURSE III. SURPRISE IN DEATH. 15/^ 
 
 of the living, even to Jesus the compassionate Medi- 
 ator, but they can scarce persuade themselves to ex- 
 pect any thing from him, because they have turned 
 a deaf ear so long to the invitations of his gospel, and 
 so long affronted his divine compassion. They look 
 behind them, and with painful ag(jnies are frighted 
 at the mountaj^is of their former guilt, ready to over- 
 whelm them ; They look forward, and see the pit of 
 hell opening upon them, with all its torments; long 
 darkness without a glimpse of light, and eternal des- 
 pair with no glimmerings of hope. 
 
 Or if now and then amidst their horrors, they 
 would try to form some faint hope of mercy, how are 
 their spirits perplexed with prevailing and distracting 
 fears, with keen and cutting reflections? ' Oh that 
 I had improved my former seasons for reading, for 
 praying, for meditating on divine things! But I can- 
 not read, I can hardly meditaie, and scarce know- 
 how to pray. Will the ear of God ever hearken to 
 the cries and groans of a rebel that has so long re- 
 sisted his grace? Are there any pardons to be had 
 for a criminal, who never left his sins till vengeance 
 WMs in view ? Will the blood of Christ ever be ap- 
 plied to wash a soul, that has wallowed in his defile- 
 ments, till death roused him out of them ? Will the 
 meanest favour of heaven, be indulged to a wretch 
 who has grown bold in sin, in opposition to so loud 
 and repeated warnings? I am awake indeed, but I can 
 see nothing round me but distresses and discourage- 
 ments, and my soul sinks within me, and my heart 
 dies at the thoughts of appearing before God.* 
 
168 SURPRISE IN DEATH. DISCOURSE IIIc 
 
 It is a wise, and just observation among Chris- 
 tians, though it is a very common one, that the Scrip- 
 lures give us one instance of a penitent saved in his 
 dying hour, and that is the * thief upon the cross,' 
 that so none might utterly desprir ; but there is hit 
 one such instance given, that none might presume. 
 The work of repentance is too difficult, and too im- 
 portant a thing, to be left to the languors of a dying 
 bed, and the tumults and flutterings of thought, which 
 attend such a late conviction. There can be hardly 
 any effectual proofs given of the sincerity of such re- 
 pentings : And I am verily persuaded there are few* 
 of them sincere; for w^e have often found these vio- 
 lent emotions of conscience vanish again, if the sin- 
 ner has happened to recover his health : They seem 
 to be merely the wild perplexities and struggles of 
 nature, averse to misery,' rather than averse to sin : 
 Their renouncing their former lusts, on the very bor- 
 ders of hell and destruction, is more like the vehe- 
 ment and irregular efforts of a drowning creature, 
 constrained to let go a most beloved object, and tak- 
 ing eager hold of any plank for safety, rather than 
 the calm and reasonable, and voluntary designs of a 
 mariner, who forSiikes his earthly joys, ventures him- 
 self in a ship that is offered him, and sets sail for the 
 heavenly country. I never will pronounce such ef- 
 forts and endeavours desperate, lest I limit the grace 
 of God which is unbounded ; but I can give very 
 little encouragement for hope to an hour or two, of 
 this vehement and tumultuous penitence, on the very 
 brink of damnation. ' Judas repented,' but his ago- 
 
DISCOURSF. III. SURPRISE IN DEATH. 151) 
 
 nies of soul hurried him to hasten his own death, 
 *' that he might go to his own place:" And there is 
 abundance of such kind of repenting, in every corner 
 of hell; that is a deep and dreadful pit, whence there 
 is no redemption, though there are millions of such 
 sorts of penitents; it is a strong and dark prison, 
 where no beam of comfort ever shines, where bitter 
 anguish and mourning for sins past, is no evangelical 
 repentance, but everlasting and hopeless sorrow. 
 
 II. * Those that are found sleeping at the hour of 
 death, are carried away at once, from all their sensual 
 pursuits and enjoyments, which were their chosen 
 portion, and their highest happiness.' At once they 
 lose all their golden dreams, and their chief good is, 
 as it were snatched away from them at once and for 
 ever. ' They stand on slippery places, they are 
 brought to destruction in a moment,' and all their 
 former joys * are like a dream when one awaketh,' 
 and finds himself beset round with terrors. 
 
 Are there any of you that are pleasing yourselves 
 here in the days of youth and vanity, and indulge 
 your dreams of pleasure, in the sleep of spiritual 
 death, think of the approaching moment, when the 
 death of nature shall dissolve your sleep, and scatter 
 all the delusive images of sinful joy. This separa- 
 tion from the body of flesh, is a fearful shock given 
 to the soul, that makes it awake indeed. Sermons 
 would not do it ; the voice of the preacher was not 
 loud enough ; strokes of affliction, and smarting pro- 
 vidences would not do it ; perhaps the soul miglu be 
 roused a little, but dropt into profound sleep again : 
 
i60 SURPRISE IN DEATH. 
 
 DISCOURSE III. 
 
 sudden or surprising deaths near them, and even the 
 pains of nature in their own flesh, their own sick- 
 nesses and diseases, did not awaken them, nor the 
 voice of the Lord in them all : But the parting-stroke 
 that divides the soul and body, will terribly awaken 
 the soul from the vain delusion, and all its fancied 
 delii^hts for ever vanish. 
 
 When they are * visited by the Lord of hosts with 
 this thunder and earthquake,' as the Prophet Isaiah 
 speaks, when * this storm and tempest' of death, shall 
 shake the sinner out of his airy visions, he shall * be 
 as an hungry man that dreameth he was eating, but 
 awakes and his soul is empty ; or as a thirsty crea- 
 ture dreaming that he drinks, but he awaketh and be- 
 hold he is faint,' and his soul is pained with raging 
 appetite : The sinner finds to his own torment, how 
 wretchedly he has deceived himself and fed upon 
 vanity : There are no more earthly objects to please 
 his senses, and to gratify his inclinations ; but the 
 soul for ever lives upon a rack of carnal desire, and 
 no proper object to satisfy it. His taste is not suit- 
 ed to the pleasures of a world of spirits, he can find 
 no God there to comfort him : God with his offers 
 of grace are gone forever, and the world widi its joys 
 are for ever vanished, while the wretched and mali- 
 cious creatures, into whose company he is hurried, 
 and who were the tempters or associates of his crimes, 
 shall stand round him to become his tormentors. 
 
 IIL * Though death will awaken sinful souls into 
 a sharper and more lively sense of divine and heaven- 
 ly things than ever they had in this world, vet thev 
 
DISCOURSE III. SURPRISE IN DEATH. 161 
 
 shall never be awakened to spiritual life and holi- 
 ness:' And I think 1 may add, that though they 
 should be awakened to a sight of God, and his jus- 
 tice, and his grace, to a sight of heaven and hell, more 
 immediate and perspicuous than what even the saints 
 themselves usually enjoy in this life, yet they would 
 remain still under the bondage of their lusts, still 
 dead in trespasses and sins. They shall for ever 
 continue unbeloved of God, and incapable of all the 
 happiness of the heavenly state, because they are for 
 ever averse to the holiness of God, and themselves 
 for ever unholy. It is only in the present state of 
 trial, and under the present proposals of grace, that 
 sleeping sinners can be awakened into the spiritual 
 and divine life. The voice of the son of God, that 
 breaks the monuments of brass, and makes tombs of 
 hardest marble yield to his call, shall never break 
 one heart of stone, which is gone down to death, in 
 its native and sinful hardness: That almighty voice 
 that must awaken the nations of the dead, and com- 
 mand their bodies up from the grave, shall never 
 awaken one dead soul, when they are past the limits 
 of this life. The compassionate calls of a Saviour, 
 and the offers of mercy, are then come to their utmost 
 period : And if we refuse to hear the call of mercy 
 to the moment of death, we shall then be terribly 
 constrained to feel the loss of it, but never able to 
 obtain the blessing. 
 
 Obstinate sleepers shall be awakened to see God, 
 but only as Balaam was: <' I shall see him but not 
 nigh," Numb. xxiv. 17. The saints in this life 
 
162 SURPRISE IN DEATH. DISCOURSE 111. 
 
 have God near them in all their trials, as a father and 
 a friend, to uphold, to comfort, to sanctify, though 
 they see him but darkly through a glass, and behold 
 hut little of his power or glory : The sinner awaking 
 in hell sliali, perhaps, have a clearer and more acute 
 perception of what God is, than any saint on earth : 
 But he shall behold him as an enemy, and not a 
 friend : If he beholds him in the glory of his grace, 
 it is at a dreadful and insuperable distance ; there is 
 no erace for him : He sees him in his holiness, but 
 he cannot love him, he has no meltings of true peni- 
 tence for his former rebellions against God, his heart 
 is hardened into everlasting enmity, and shall never 
 taste of his love. Hence arise all the foul and gnaw- 
 ing passions of envy, malignity, and long despair, 
 which are the very image of Satan, and change man- 
 kind into devils. 
 
 These impenitent sons and daughters of men, shall 
 e;row into the more complete likeness of those wick- 
 ed spirits, and, under the impressions of their guilt 
 and dLimnation, they shall rival those apostate and 
 cursed creatures, in the obstinate hatred of God, and 
 all that is holy. 
 
 IV. Hence it will follovv* in the last place, that the 
 sinner who is Mast asleep in his sins at the hour of 
 death, sb.all awake into such a life as is worse than 
 tlN'in^.' He sluill be surprised all at once into dark- 
 ness and fire, which have no gleam of light, and sor- 
 rows without mitigation, and which can find no end. 
 'y\\& punishment of hell is not called eternal deaths 
 to denote a state of senseless and stupid existence ; 
 
DISCOURSE III. SURPRISE IN DEATH. 163 
 
 but death being the most opposite to life, and all the 
 enjoyments of it, the misery of hell is described by 
 death, as the most formidable thing to nature, as a 
 word that puts a period to all the enjoyments of this 
 mortal life, and stands directly opposite to a life of 
 joy and glory in the immortal world. Happy would 
 it be for such souls if they could sink into an ever- 
 lasting sleep, and grow stupid and senseless for ever 
 and ever ; but this is a favour not to be granted to 
 those who have been constant and unrepenting rebels, 
 against the law and the grace of God. 
 
 The moment when the body falls asleep in death, 
 the soul is more awake than ever, to behold its own 
 guilt and wretchedness. It has then such a lively and 
 piercing sense of its own iniquities, and the divine 
 wrath that is due to them, as it never saw or felt 
 before. The inward senses of the soul (if I may so 
 express it) which have been darkened and stupified, 
 and benumbed in this body, are all awake at once, 
 when the veil of flesh is thrown off, and the curtains 
 are drawn back which divided them from the world 
 of spirits. Every thought of sin, and the anger of 
 God, wounds the spirit deep in this awakened state, 
 though it scarce felt any thing of it before ; and " a 
 wounded spirit who can bear?" Prov. xviii. 14. But 
 sinners must bear it days without end, and ages with- 
 out hope. 
 
 Then the crimes they have committed, and the 
 sinful pleasures they have indulged, shall glare upon 
 their remembrance, and stare them in the face with 
 dreadful surprise ; and each of them is enoudi to 
 
164 SURPRISE IN DEA1*ir. DISCOURSE IIJ. 
 
 drive a soul to despair : Nor can they turn their eyes 
 away from the horrid sight, for their criminal prac- 
 tices beset them around, and the naked soul is all 
 sight and all sense ; it is eye and ear all over ; it 
 hears the dreadful curses of the law, and the sentence 
 of the Judge, and never, never forgets it. This is 
 the character, these the circumstances of an obstinate 
 sinner, that awakes not till the moment of death, and 
 *' lift up his eyes in hell," as our Saviour expresses 
 it : These will be the consequences of our guilt and 
 folly, if we are found in a dead sleep of sin, when our 
 Lord comes to call us from this mortal state. 
 
 Secondly^ Let us spend a few thoughts also upon 
 the dangerous and unhappy circumstances of those 
 of whom we may * have some reason to hope, they 
 have once begun religion in good earnest, and are 
 made spiritually alive, but have indulged themselves 
 in drowsiness, and worn out the latter end of their 
 days in a careless, secure, and slothful frame of 
 spirit.' 
 
 1. If they have had the principle of vital religion 
 wrought in their hearts, yet * by these criminal slum- 
 bers, they darken and lose their evidences of grace, 
 and by this means, they cut themselves off from the 
 sweet reflections' and comforts of it on a dying bed, 
 when they have most need of them.' They know 
 not whether they are the children of God or no, 
 and are in anxious confusion and distressing fear : 
 They have scarce any plain proofs of their conver- 
 sion to God, and the evidences of true Christianity 
 ready at hand, when all are little enough to support 
 
DISCOURSE III. SURPRISE IN DEATH. 165 
 
 their spirits: They have not used themselves to search 
 for them by self-enquiry, and to keep them in their 
 sight, and therefore they are missing in this import- 
 ant hour: They have not been wont to live upon their 
 heavenly hopes, and they cannot be found when they 
 want them to rest upon in death : They die therefore 
 almost like sinners, though they may perhaps have 
 been once converted to holiness, and there may be a 
 root of grace remaining in them ; and the reason is, 
 because they have lived too much as sinners do : 
 They have given too great and criminal an indul- 
 gence, to the vain and worldly cares, or the trifling 
 amusements of this life ; these have engrossed almost 
 all their thoughts and their time, and therefore in the 
 day of death they fall under terrors and painful ap- 
 prehensions of a doubtful eternity just at hand. 
 
 If we have not walked closely with God in this 
 world, we may well be afraid to appear before him 
 in the next. If we have not maintained a constant 
 converse with Jesus our Saviour, by holy exercises 
 of faith and hope, it is no wonder if we are not so 
 ready with cheerfulness and joy, to re^isjn our de- 
 parting spirits into his hand. It is possible we may 
 have a right to the inheritance of heaven, having had 
 some sight of it by faith as revealed in the gospel, 
 having in the main chosen it for our portion, and set 
 our feet in the path of holiness that leads to it ; but we 
 have so often wandered out of the way, that in this 
 awful and solemn hour, we shall be in doubt, whe- 
 ther we shall be received at the gates, and enter into 
 the citv. 
 
166 SURPRISE IN DEATH. DISCOURSE HI. 
 
 Such unwatchful Christians have not kept the eter- 
 nal glories of heaven, in their constant and active pur- 
 suit, they have not lived upon them as their portion 
 and inheritance, they have been too much strangers 
 to the invisible world of happiness, and they know 
 not how to venture through death into it. They have 
 built ' indeed upon the solid ^oundixtion, Christ Jesus' 
 and the gospel, but they have mingled so much ' hay 
 and stubble' with the superstructure, that when they 
 depart hence, or when they appear before Christ in 
 judgment, *' they shall suffer great loss by the burn- 
 ing of their works, yet themselves may be saved so 
 as by fire," 1 Cor. iii. 10 — 15. They may pass as 
 it were by the flame of hell, and have something like 
 the scorching terrors of it in death, though the 
 abounding and forgiving grace of the gospel, may 
 convey them safe to heaven : They escape as a man 
 that is awakened with the sudden alarms of fire, who 
 suffers the loss of his substance, and a great part of 
 the fruit of his labours, and just saves his own life. 
 They plunge into eternity, and make a sort of terri- 
 ble escape from hell. 
 
 2. * They can never expect any peculiar favours 
 from heaven at the hour of death, no special visita- 
 tions of the comforting spirit, nor that the love of 
 God, and the joy of his presence, should attend them 
 through the dark valley.' It is not to such unwatch- 
 ful or sleepy Christians, that God is wont to vouch- 
 safe his choicest consolations. They fall under ter- 
 rible fears about the pardon of their sins, when they 
 stand in most need of the sight of their pardon; and 
 
BISCOURSE III. SURPRISE IN DEATH. 1^)7 
 
 Christ as the ruler of his church, sees it fit they should 
 be thus punished for their negligence. They lay 
 hold of the promises of mercy w ith a trembling hand, 
 and cannot claim them by a vigorous faith, because 
 they have not been wont to live upon them, nor do 
 they see those holy characters in their own hearts and 
 lives, which confirm their title to them. They have 
 no bright views of the celestial world, and earnests of 
 their salvation, for it is only for watchful souls, that 
 these cordials are prepared in the fainting hour : It is 
 only to the watchful Christian, that these fore-tastes 
 of glory are given. ** The fruit of righteousness is 
 peace, and the effect of righteousness is quietness and 
 assurance for ever," Isai. xxxii. 17. '.'Blessed is he 
 which watcheth, and kecpeth his garments" clean, 
 that he may enter with triumph into that city, where 
 nothing shall enter that defiLeth. 
 
 3. ' Slumbering and slothful Christians are often- 
 times left to wrestle with sore temptations of Satan, 
 and have dreadful conflicts in the day of death :' and 
 the reason is evident, because they have not watched 
 against their adversary, and obtained but .few victo- 
 ries over him in their life. These temptations are 
 keen and piercing thorns, that enter deep into the 
 heart, of a dying creature. The devil may be let 
 loose upon them ' with great wrath, knowing that 
 his time is but short;' and yet there is great justice 
 in the conduct of the God in heaven, in giving them 
 up to be buffetted by the powers of hell. What 
 frightful agonies are raised in the conscience, by the 
 tempter, and the accuser of souls, on a sick or dying 
 
168 SURPRISE IN DEATH, DISCOURSE III. 
 
 bed, can hardly be described by the hving, and are 
 known only to those who have felt them in death. 
 
 4. ' Such drowsy Christians make dismal work 
 for new and terrible repentance on a death bed ;' for, 
 though they have sincerely repented in times past of 
 their former sins, yet, having too much omitted the 
 self- mortifying duties, having given too much indul- 
 gence to temptation and folly, and having not main- 
 tained this habitual penitence, for their daily offences 
 in constant exercise, their spirits are now filled with 
 fresh convictions, and bitter remorse of heart. The 
 guilt of their careless and slothful conduct finds them 
 out now, and besets them around, and they feel most 
 acute sorrows, and wounding reflections of consci- 
 ence, while they have need of most comfort. What 
 a glorious entrance had St. Paul into the world of 
 spirits, and the presence of Christ? He had made re- 
 pentance and mortification and faith in Jesus, his dai- 
 ly work : '' O wretched man that I am ! Who shall 
 deliver me from the body of this death ? I run, I fight, 
 I sui)due my body, and keep it under; I am cruci- 
 fied to the world, and the world to me ; the life which 
 I live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of 
 God :" When he was ** ready to be oflPered up, and 
 the time of his departure was at hand," from the edge 
 of the sword, and the borders of the grave, he could 
 look back upon his former life, and say, '^ I have 
 fouji'ht the good fight, I have finished my course, I 
 have kept the faith, henceforth there is laid up forme 
 a crovv'n of righteousness, which the Lord the righte- 
 ous Judge will give me." 2 Tim. iv. 7, 8. 
 
■DLSCOURSE III. SURPniSE IN DEATH. 169 
 
 5. ' The unwatchful Christian, atthehour of death, 
 havs the pain and anguish of reflecting, that he has 
 omitted many duties t6 God and man, and these can 
 never be performed now;' that he has done scarce 
 any services for Christ in the world, and those must 
 be left for ever undone : There isiio further ivork or 
 deiiice, no labours of zeal, no activity for God * in the 
 grave,' whither we are hastening. Eccl. ix. 10. 
 * Alas ! I have brought forth but little fruit to God, 
 and it is well if I be not cast away as an unprofitable 
 servant. My talents have lain bound up in rust, or 
 been but poorly employed, whilst I have lain slum- 
 bering and unactive : The records of my life in the 
 court of heaven, will shew but very little service for 
 God amongst men : I have raised few monuments of 
 praise to my Redeemer, and I can never raise them 
 now. I shall have but few testimonies for my love 
 and zeal, to appear in the great day of account, when 
 the martyrs, and the confessors, and the lively Chris- 
 tians, shall be surrounded with the living ensigns of 
 their victories over sin and the w^orld, and their glo- 
 rious services for their Redeemer. Wretch that I am ! 
 That I have loved my Lord at so cold a rate, and lain 
 slumbering on a bed of ease, whilst I should have 
 been fighting the batdes of the Lord, and gaining 
 daily honours for my Savioin* !' 
 
 6. * As such sort of Christians give but little glory 
 to God in life, so they do him no honour in death; 
 they are no ornaments to religion while they continue 
 here, and leave perhaps but little comfort with their 
 friends when they go hence:' Doubtings and jealou- 
 
-irO SURPRISE IN IJEATH. DISCOURSE 111. 
 
 sies about their eternal welfare, mingle with pur tears 
 and sorrows for a dying friend ; these anxious fears 
 about the departed spirit swell the tide of our grief 
 high, and double the inward anguish. They are gone 
 alas! from our world, but we know not whither ihey 
 are gone, to heaven or to hell. A sad farewel to 
 those whom we love! A dismal parting-stroke, and 
 a long heart- ake! 
 
 And what honour can be expected to be done to 
 God or his Son, what reputation or glory can be giv- 
 en to religion and the gospel, by a drowsy Christian 
 departing, as it were, under a spiritual lethargy ? He 
 dies under a cloud, and casts a gloom upon the Chris- 
 tian faith. St, Paul was a man of another spirit, a 
 lively and active saint, full of vigour and zeal in his 
 soul : It was the holy resolution and assurance of this 
 blessed apostle, "that Christ should be magnified in 
 his body, whether by life or death." Phil. i. 20. 
 He spent ' his life' in the service of Christ, and he 
 could rejoice in 'death as his gain.' It is a glory to 
 the gospel, when we can lie down and die with cour- 
 age, in the hope of its promised blessings. It is an 
 honour to our common faith, when it overcomes the 
 terrors of death, and raises the Christian to a song of 
 triumph, in view of the last enemy. It is as a new 
 crown put upon the head of our Redeemer, and a 
 living cordial put into the hands of mourning friends 
 in our dying hour, when we can take our leave of 
 them with holy fortitude, rejoicing in the salvation of 
 Christ. No sooner does he call but we are ready, 
 knd can answer, with holy transport, * Lord I come*' 
 
BISCOURSE III. SURPRISE IN DEATH. 17t 
 
 This is a blessing that belongs only to the watchful 
 Christian. May every one of us be awake to salva- 
 tion in our expiring moments, and partake of this 
 glorious blessedness ! 
 
 I proceed now to a few remarks, and particularly 
 such as relate to the necessity and duty of constant 
 watchfulness, and the hazardous case of sleeping 
 souls. 
 
 1. Remark. *To presume on long life is a most dan- 
 gerous temptation, for it is the common spring and 
 cause of spiritual sleep and drowsiness.' Could we 
 take an inward view of the hearts of men^ and trace 
 out the springs of iheir coldness and indifference 
 about eternal things, and the shameful neglect of their 
 most important interests, we should find this secret 
 thought in the bottom of their hearts, that ' we are 
 not like to die to-day or to-morrow.' They pui this 
 evil day afar off, and indulge themselves in their car- 
 nal delights, without due solicitude to prepare for the 
 call of God. There is scarce any thing produces so 
 much evil fruit in the world, so much shameful wick- 
 edness amongst the sensual and the profane, or such 
 neglect of lively religion among real Christians, as 
 this bitter root of presumption upon life and time be- 
 fore us. Matth. xxiv. 48, 49. *« The evil servant" 
 did not '* begin to smite his fellows and to eat and 
 drink with the drunken," till he '' said in his heart, 
 my Lord delayeth his coming:" It was '* while the 
 bridegroom tarried," and they imagined he would 
 tarry longer, that even the wise virgins fell into slum- 
 bers. Ask your own hearts, my friends, does not 
 
172 SURPRISE IN DEATH. DISCOURSE III. 
 
 this thought secretly lurk within you, when you com- 
 ply with a temptation, ' surely I shall not die yet, I 
 have no sickness upon me, nor tokens of death, I 
 shall live a little longer, and repent of my follies?' 
 Vain expectation and groundless fancy ! When you 
 see the young, and the strong, and the healthy, seiz- 
 ed away from the midst of you, and a final period 
 put at once to all their works and designs in this life. 
 Yet we are foolish enough to imagine our term of 
 life shall be extended, and we presume upon months 
 and years, which God hath not written down for us 
 in his own book, and which he will never give us to 
 enjoy. 
 
 We are all borderers upon the river of death, 
 which conveys us into the eternal world, and we 
 should be ever waiting the call of our Lord, that we 
 may launch away with joy, to the regions of immor- 
 tality : But thoughtless creatures that we are, we are 
 perpetually wandering far up, into the fields of sense 
 and time, we are gathering the gay and fading flowers 
 that grow there, and filling our laps with them as a 
 fair treasure, or making garlands for ambition to 
 crown our brows, till one and another of us is called 
 off on a sudden, and hurried away from this mortal 
 coast: Those of us who survive, are surprised a lit- 
 tle, we stand gazing, we follow our departing friends 
 with a weeping eye for a minute or two, and then we 
 fall to our amusements again, and grow busy as be- 
 fore, in gathering the flowers of time and sense. O 
 how fond we are to enrich ourselves with these perish- 
 ing trifles, and adorn our heads with honours an/i 
 
DISCOURSE III. SURPRISE IN DEATH. 173 • 
 
 withering vanities, never thinking which of us may- 
 receive the next summons to leave all behind us, and 
 stand before God; but each presumes, * it will not 
 be sent to me.' We trifle with God and things eter- 
 nal, or utterly forget them, while our hands and our 
 hearts are thus deeply engaged in the pursuit of our 
 earthly delights: All our powers of thought and ac- 
 tion, are intensely busied amongst the dreams of this 
 life, while we are asleep to God, because we vainly 
 imagine he will not call us yet. 
 
 2. Remark. * Whatsoever puts us in mind of dy- 
 ing, should be improved to awaken us from our spi- 
 ritual sleep.' Sudden deaths near us should have 
 this eifect ; our young companions and acquaintance 
 snatched away from among us in an unexpected 
 hour, should become our monitors in death, and 
 teach us this divine and needful lesson: The sur- 
 prising loss of our friends who lay near our hearts, 
 should put us in mind of our own departure, and 
 powerfully awaken us from our dangerous slumbers. 
 Sinners when they feel no sorrows, they think of no 
 death; but ' when the judgments of God are in the 
 earth,' his Spirit can awaken 'the inhabitants of the 
 world to learn righteousness.' At such seasons it is 
 lime for 'the sinners in Zion' to be * afraid,' and 
 ' fearfulness to surprise the hypocrites.' Even the 
 children of God have sometimes need of painful 
 warning-pieces, to awaken them tirom their careless, 
 their slothful, and their secure frame: And as for 
 those souls who are indeed awake to righteousness, 
 and lively in the practice of all religion and virtue. 
 
ir4 SURPRISE IN DExVTH. DISCOURSE III. 
 
 such sudden and awful strokes of Providence have a 
 happy tendency to wean them from creatures, and 
 keep them awake to God, that ' when their Lord 
 comes he may find them watching,' and pronounce 
 upon them everlasting blessedness, 
 
 3. Remark. ' No person can be exempted from this 
 duty of watchfulness, till he is Lord of his own life, 
 and can appoint the time of his own dying.' Then 
 indeed you might have some colour for your carnal 
 indulgences, some pretence for sleeping, if you were 
 sovereign of death and the grave, and had the keys 
 in your own hand. 
 
 And truly such as venture to sleep in sin, do in 
 effect say, * we are Lords of our own life : ' They act 
 and manage as if their times were in their own hands, 
 and not in the hand of their Maker : But the watch- 
 ful Christian lives upon that principle, which David 
 professes, Psal. xxxi. 15. *' my times are in thine 
 hand," O Lord; and they never give rest to them- 
 selves till they can rejoice with him, and say to the 
 Lord, ^^ thou art my God, into thy hands 1 cotrimh 
 my spirit, for thou hast redeemed it, and I leave it 
 to thy appointment when thou wilt dislodge me from 
 this body of flesh and blood, and call me into thy 
 more immediate presence.'' If we could but resist 
 the messenger of death, when the Lord of hosts has 
 sent it, if we could shut the mouth of the grave when 
 the Son of God has opened it for us, with the key 
 that is entrusted in his hand, we might say then to 
 our souls, ' sleep on upon your bed of ease, and take 
 your rest:' But woe be to those, who will venture 
 
DISCOURSE III. SURPRISE IN DEATH. 1-75 
 
 to sleep in an unholy and unpardoned state, or even 
 allow themselves the indulgence of short and sinful 
 slumbers, when they cannot resist death one moment, 
 when they cannot delay the summons of heaven, 
 when they cannot defer their appearance before that 
 Judge, whose sentence is eternal pleasure, or everv« 
 lasting pain. 
 
 Our holy watch must not be intermitted one mo- 
 ment, for every following moment is a grand uncer- 
 tainty. There is no minute of life, no point of time, 
 wherein I can say * I shall not die,' and therefore I 
 should not dare to say, * this minute I will take 
 a short slumber.' What if my Lord should sum- 
 mon me while he finds me sleeping ? His command 
 cannot be disobeyed, the very call and sound of it di- 
 vides me from flesh and blood, and all that is mortal, 
 and sends me at once into the eternal world, for it is 
 an almighty voice. 
 
 4. Remark, As it is a foolish and dangerous thing, 
 for any of the sons and daughters of men to presume 
 upon long life, and neglect their watch, so ' persons 
 vmder some peculiar circumstances, are eminently 
 called to be ever wakeful.' Give me leave here to 
 reckon up some of them, and make a particular ad- 
 dress to the persons concerned. 
 
 (1. ) 'Is your constitution of body weak and feeble ?' 
 You carry then a perpetual warning about you never 
 to indulge sinful drowsiness. Every languor of na- 
 ture assures you that it is sinking to the dust: Every 
 pain you feel, should put you in mind, that the pains 
 of death are ready to seize you: You are tottering 
 
170 SURPRISE IN DEATH. DISCOURSE III. 
 
 upon the very borders of the grave, and will you 
 venture to drop in before your hopes of life and im- 
 mortality are secured, and a joyful resurrection? You 
 pass perhaps many nights, wherein the infirmities 
 of your flesh will not suffer you to sleep, and to take 
 that common refreshment of nature, and shall not 
 these same infirmities keep you awake to things spi- 
 ritual, and rouse all your thoughts and cares about 
 your immortal interests? 
 
 (2.) ' You whose circumstances or employments 
 of life, expose you to perpetual dangers either by 
 land or by sea;' you who carry your lives as it were 
 in your hand, and are often in a day within a few 
 inches of death; is it not necessary for you to in- 
 quire daily. Am I prepared for a departure hence ? 
 Am I ready to hear the summons of my Lord, and 
 ready to give up my account before him ? Shall I 
 dare go on another day with my sins unpardon- 
 ed, with my soul unsanctified, and in immediate 
 danger of eternal misery ? A fall from a horse, or a 
 house-top, may send you down to the pit whence 
 there is no redemption; every wind that blows, and 
 every rising wave, may convey you into the eternal 
 world, and are you ready to meet the great God in 
 such a surprise, and without warning? 
 
 (3.) You who are ' young and vigorous, and flour- 
 ish amidst all the gaieties and allurements of life,' 
 you are in most danger of being lulled asleep in sin, 
 and therefore I addressed you lately in a funeral dis- 
 course, w'hen the present providence gave each of 
 
DISCOURSE III. SURPRISE IN DEATH- 177" 
 
 you a new and loud call to awake, and I pray God 
 you may hear his voice in it. 
 
 (4.) Perhaps others of you are arrived at old age, 
 and the course of nature forbids you to expect a long 
 continuance in the land of the living : Are any of my 
 hearers ancient sinners and asleep still? Venturous 
 and thoughtless creatures! That have grown old in 
 slumber, and worn out their whole life in iniquities! 
 Surely it is time for you to hear the voice of the Son 
 of God in the gospel, and accept of his salvation : 
 Behold the Judge is at the door, he comes speedily, 
 and he will not tarry, his herald of death is just at 
 hand : Are you willing he should seize you in a dead- 
 ly sleep, and send you into eternal sorrows ? 
 
 And let aged Christians bestir themselves, »^and 
 awake from their slothful and secure frames of spirit, 
 let them look upward to the crown that is not far off, 
 to the prize that is almost within reach : * Whatso- 
 ever your hand' or heart * find to do' for God, 'do it 
 with all your' zeal and * might : Let your loins be 
 girt' about, and your natural powers active in his ser- 
 vice, ' let your lamp' of profession be bright and burn- 
 ing, that when Jesus comes, ye may receive him with 
 joy. 
 
 (5.) And are there any of you ' that are under de- 
 cays of grace and piety,' that are * labouring and 
 wrestling with strong corruptions,' or in actual con- 
 flict with repeated temptations which too often pre- 
 vail over you, it becomes you to hear the watch- 
 word which Christ often gives to his churches under 
 such circumstances : Make haste and awake unto 
 
178 SURPRISE IN DEATH. DISCOURSE III. 
 
 holiness, * be watchful and strengthen the things that 
 remain that are ready to die ; hold fast what thou 
 hast received ; remember thy first affection and zeal, 
 and repent' and mourn for what thou hast lost, ' lest 
 I come upon thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know 
 the hour : Remember whence thou art fallen, and re- 
 pent, and do thy first works, for thou hast lost thy 
 first love:' Have a care of dangerous luke-ivarmnessy 
 and indifference in the things of religion. This is the 
 very temper of a sleepy declining Christian, while he 
 dreams he is rich and has great attainments : Take 
 heed, lest presuming upon thy riches and thy self- suf- 
 ficiency, thou shouldest be found ' wretched and mis- 
 erable, and poor, and blind, and naked.' Keep your 
 souls awake hourly, and be upon your guard against 
 every adversary, and every defilement, lest ye be 
 seized awav in the commission of some sin, or in 
 the compliance with some foul temptation. The 
 drowsy soldier is liable to be led captive, and to die 
 in fetters, and groan heavily in death. But ^ bless- 
 ed is the watchful' Christian ; he shall be found 
 amongst the oiier comers, and shall partake of the rich 
 variety of divine favours, which are contained in the 
 epistles to the seven churches. Rev. ii. and iii. 
 
 Though the greatest part of a former discourse, 
 has been describing the blessedness of a watchful 
 Christian at the hour of death, and in this I have set 
 before you the sad consequences that attend sleepers, 
 (both which are powerful prcseriiathes against drow- 
 siness) yet at the conclusion of this sermon, give mc 
 leave to add a few more mothes to the duty of watch- 
 
DISCOURSE III. SURPRISE IN DEATH- 179 
 
 fulness, for we cannot be too well guarded against 
 the danger of spiritual sloth and security. 
 
 Motive 1. * Our natures at best in the present state 
 are too much inclined to slumber.' We are too rea- 
 dy to fall asleep hourly : All the saints on earth, 
 even the most lively and active of them, are not out 
 of danger, while they carry this flesh and blood about 
 them. Indeed the best of Christians here below dwell 
 but as it were in twilight, and in some sense they may 
 be described as persons between sleeping and wak- 
 ing, in comparison of the world of spirits. We be- 
 hold divine things here but darkly, and exert our spi- 
 ritual faculties but in a feeble manner : It is only in 
 the other world, that we are broad awake, and in the 
 perfect and unrestrained exercise of our vital powers; 
 there only the complete life and vigour of a saint ap- 
 pears. In such a drowsy state then, and in this dusky 
 hour, we cannot be too diligent in rousing ourselves, 
 lest we sink down into dangerous slumbers. Besides, 
 if we profess to be 'children of the light and of the 
 day,' and growing up to a brighter immortality, ' let 
 us not sleei) as others do' who are the sons and dau2:h- 
 ters of night and darkness. 1 Thes. v. 4, 5. 
 
 Motive 2. ' Almost every thing around us in this 
 world of sense and sin, tends to lull us asleep again 
 as soon as we begin to be awake.' The busy or the 
 pleasant scenes of this temporal life are ever calling 
 away our thoughts from eternal things, they conceal 
 from us the spiritual world, and close our eyes to 
 God, and things divine and heavenly. If the eye of 
 the soul were but open to invisible things, what live- 
 
180 SURPRISE IN DEATH, DISCOURSE 111. 
 
 ly Christians should we be ? But either the winds 
 of worldly cares rock us to sleep, or the charm of 
 worldly pleasures soothe us into deceitful slumbers. 
 We are too ready to indulge earthly delights, and 
 while we dream of pleasure in the creatures, we lose, 
 or at least, abate our delights in God. Even the 
 lawful satisfactions of flesh and sense, and the entic- 
 ing objects round about us, may attach our hearts so 
 fast to them, as to draw us down into a bed of carnal 
 ease, till we fall asleep in spiritual security, and for- 
 get that we are made for heaven, and that our hope 
 and our home is on high. 
 
 Motive 3. * Many thousands have been found sleep- 
 ing at the call of Christ :' Some perhaps in a pro- 
 found and deadly sleep, and others in an hour of 
 dangerous slumber: Many an acquaintance of ours 
 has gone down to the grave, when neither they nor 
 we thought of their dying at such a season. But as 
 thoughdess as they were, they were never the fur- 
 ther from the point of death ; and we shudder with 
 horror when we think what is become of their souls. 
 
 While we are young we are ready to please our- 
 selves with the enjoyments of life, and flatter our 
 hopes with a long succession of them. We suppose 
 death to be at the distance ' of fifty or threescore 
 miles;' threescore years and ten is the appointed pe- 
 riod : But alas ! How few are there whose hopes are 
 fulfilled, or whose life is extended to those dimen- 
 sions > Perhaps the messenger of death is within a 
 furlong of our dwelling; a few more steps onv.ard, 
 and he smites us down to the dust* 
 
DISCOURSE IV. GLORIFIED IN HIS SAINTS. 1 89 
 
 ' seed of the woman,' till the time of his appearance 
 in the flesh, all the chosen of God have lived upon 
 his grace, though multitudes of them never knew his 
 name. It is true, the greater part of that illustrious 
 company on the right hand of Christ, lived since the 
 time of his incarnation, (for the *' great multitude 
 which no man could number, is derived from the 
 Gentile nations." Rev. vii. 9.) Yet the ancient pa- 
 triarchs, with the Jewish prophets and saints, shall 
 make a splendid appearance there: 'One hundred 
 and forty-four thousand are sealed among the tribes 
 of Israel :' These of old embraced the gospel in types 
 and shadows; but now their eyes behold Christ Je- 
 sus the substance and the truth. In the days of their 
 flesh they read his name in dark lines, and looked 
 through the long glass of prophecy to distant ages, 
 and a Saviour to come, and now behold they find 
 complete and certain salvation and glory in him. 
 '* These all died in faith, not having received the pro- 
 mises, but having seen them af.ir olf, and were per- 
 suaded of them, and embraced them." Heb. xi. 13. 
 They died in the hope of this salvation, and they shall 
 arise in the hX^s^s^d possession of it. 
 
 Behold Abraham appearing there, the Father of the 
 faidiful, who * saw the day of Christ,' and rejoiced io 
 see it, who trusted in his Son Jesus two thousand 
 years before he was born: His elder family the pious 
 Jews surround him there, and we his younger cliil- 
 Gh'en among the Gentiles, shall stand Vv ith him as the 
 followers of his faith, who trust in the same Jesus 
 almost two thousand years after he is dead. How 
 
 B 2 
 
190 CHRIST ADMIRED AND DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 shall we both * rejoice to see this brightest day' of the 
 Son of man, and congratulate each others faith, while 
 our eyes meet and center in him, and our souls tri- 
 umph in the sight and love, and enjoyment of him in 
 whom we believed! How admirable and divinely glo- 
 rious shall our Lord himself appear on whom every 
 eye is fixed with unutterable delight, in whom the 
 faith of distant countries and ages is centered and re- 
 conciled, and in whom * all the nations of the earth' 
 appear to be ' blessed,* according to the ancient word 
 of promise. Gen. xv. and xvii. 
 
 Secondly^ It is a further occasion of pleasing w^on- 
 der, * that so many wicked obstinate wills of men, 
 and so many perverse affections, should be bowed 
 down, and submit themselves to the holy rules of 
 the gospel.' This is another instance of the grace 
 of Christ, and shall be the subject of our joyful ad- 
 miration. Every son and daughter of Adam by na- 
 ture is averse to God, and inclined to sin, a child of 
 disobedience and death. Eph. ii. 2. There is a 
 new miracle wrought by Christ in every instance of 
 converting grace, and he shall have the glory of them 
 all in that day. It is a urst resurrection from the 
 dead, it is a new creation, and the Almighty power 
 shall rlien be publicly adored. 
 
 Then one shall say, ' I was a sensual sinner ^ drench- 
 ed in liquor and unclean lusts, and wicked in all the 
 forms of lewdness and intemperance : '' The grace 
 of God my Saviour appeared to me, and taught me 
 to deny worldly lusts," which I once thought I could 
 never have parted with, I loved my sins as n»y lif^, 
 
DISCOURSE IV. GLORIFIED IN HIS SAINTS. 191 
 
 but he has persuaded and constrained me to cut off 
 aright hand, and to pluck out a right eye, and to 
 part with my darling vices ; and behold me here a 
 monument of his saving mercy. 
 
 * I was enmous against my neighbour, (shall ano- 
 ther say) and my temper was malice and nv rath ; re- 
 venge was mingled with my constitution, and I 
 thought it no iniquity : But I bless the name of 
 Christ my Redeemer, who in the day of his grace 
 turned my wrath into meekness; he inclined me to 
 love even mine enemies, and to pray for them that 
 cursed me ; he taught me all this by his own exam- 
 ple, and he made me learn it by the sovereign influ- 
 ences of his spirit. I am a wonder to myself, when 
 I think what once I was : Amazing change and al- 
 mighty grace !' 
 
 Then a third shall confess, ' I was 2iprofann xvretch, 
 a s^voearer^ a blasphemer ; I hoped for no heaven, and 
 I feared no hell; but the Lord seized me in the midst 
 of my rebellions, and sent his arrows into my soul ; 
 he made me feel the stings of an awakened consci- 
 ence, and constrained me to believe there was a God 
 and a hell, till I cried out astonished, ivhat shall I do 
 to be saved? Then he led me to partake of his own 
 salvation, and from a proud rebellious infidel, he has 
 made me a penitent and a humble believer; and here 
 I stand to shew forth the wonders of his grace, and 
 the boundless extent of his forgiveness.' 
 
 A fourth shall stand up and acknowledge in that 
 day, * And I was 2i poor carnal covetous creature^ who 
 made this world my god, and abundance of money 
 
192 CHRIST ADMIRED AND DISCOURSE IVi 
 
 was my heaven ; but he cured me of this vile idolatry 
 of gold, taught me how to obtain treasures in the 
 heavenly world, and to forsake all on earth, that I 
 might have an inheritance there; and behold he has 
 not disappointed my hope: I am now made rich in- 
 deed, and I must for ever speak his praises.' 
 
 There shall be no doubt or dispute in that day, 
 whether it was the power of our own will, or the su- 
 perior power of divine grace, that wrought the bless- 
 ed change, that turned a lion into a lamb, a grovelling 
 earth-worm into a bird of paradise, and of a covetous 
 or malicious sinner, made a meek and a heavenly 
 saint. The grace of Christ shall be so conspicuous 
 in every glorified believer in that assembly, that with 
 one voice they shall all shout to the praise and glory 
 of his grace; '* Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to 
 thy Lame be all the honour." Psal. cxv. 1. 
 
 Thirdly^ It shall be the matter of our wonder, and 
 the glory of Chiist in that day, 'that so many thou- 
 sand guilty wretches should be made righteous by 
 one righteousness, cleansed in one laver from all 
 their iniquities, and sprinkled unto pardon and sanc-^ 
 tificati(M-i, with the blood of one man, Jesus Christ. 
 See the '' great multitude that no man can number," 
 Rev. vii. 9, 10. They all *' washed their robes, and 
 made them white in the blood of the Lamb." ver. 14. 
 
 It is a matter of wonder to us now on earth, that 
 the blessed Son of God who is one with the Father, 
 should stoop so low as to unite himself to a mortal 
 nature, that he should become a poor despicable man, 
 and pass through a life of sufferings and sorrows, and 
 
DISCOURSE IV. GLORIFIED IN HIS SAINTS. 193 
 
 die an accursed death, to redeem us from guilt and 
 deserved misery: But when we shall see him in his 
 native glory and lustre, his acquired dignities, and 
 all the honours of heaven heaped upon him, it will 
 raise our wonder high, to think that such a One 
 should once humble himself to the death of the cross, 
 the death of the vilest slave, that he might save our 
 souls from dying; that he should pour out his own 
 blood to wash off the stains of millions of sins, that 
 we might appear righteous before a God of holiness. 
 Then shall the multitude of the saved join in that 
 song, 'f To him that loved us, and washed us from 
 our sinjs in his own blood, be glory and dominion for 
 ever." Rev. i. 5, 6. ''Worthy is the Lamb that 
 was slain to receive power, and riches, and honour, 
 for thou hast redeemed us with thy blood from every 
 kindred, tribe and nation." Rev. v. 
 
 Then shall those blessed words of Scripture appear 
 and shine in full glory, howsoever they are often pass- 
 ed over in silence, and too much forgotten in our 
 age. Rom. v. 17, 19, 21. " If by one man's offence 
 death reigned by one; much more they which re- 
 ceive abundance of grace, and of the gift of righte- 
 ousness, shall re'gn in life by one, Jesus Christ. For 
 as by one man's disobedience many were made sin- 
 ners, so by the ol>»dience of one shall many be made 
 righteous. That as sin hath reigned unto death, 
 even so mii^ht grace reign through righteousness 
 unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord." Then 
 shall our blessed Lord shine in the complete lustre 
 of that inconimuniccible name, Jehovah Tzidkenu, 
 the Lord our righteousness. Jer. xxiii. 6. 
 
194 CHRIST ADMIRED AND DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 And not only the atonement and sahation itself, 
 shall be the subject of our glorious admiration, but 
 the ' way and manner' how sinners partake of it, shall 
 minister further to our wonder, and to the glory of 
 Christ. That such a world of poor miserable crea- 
 tures should be saved from hell, by believing or trust- 
 ing in grace, when they could never be saved by all 
 their own works; that they should obtain righteous- 
 ness and acceptance unto eternal life, by a humble 
 penitence and poverty of spirit, depending on the 
 death and righteousness of another, when all their 
 labours and toil in works of the law, could not 
 make up a righteousness of their own, sufficient to 
 appear before the justice of God; Christ will not on- 
 ly be glorified in their holiness as saints^ but admired 
 and honoured in and by their faith as believer s» 
 His blood and his grace shall share all the glory. 
 *' Therefore it is of faith," and not of works, **that 
 it* might be of grace," Rom. iv. 15. Yet this saving 
 faith is the spring of shilling holiness in every believ- 
 er. Duties and virtues are not left out of our reli- 
 gion, when faith is brought into it. The graces of 
 the saints join happily with the atonement of Christ, 
 to render that day more illustrious. 
 
 Fourthly, 'That a company of such feeble Chris- 
 tians, should maintain their cours*. towards heaven, 
 through so many thousand obstacles:' I'his shall be 
 anotlier subject of admiration, and yield a further re- 
 veniie of glory to c)ur Lord Jesus Christ, for he who 
 is their riglueousncss is their strength also. Isa. xlv. 
 5-4, 25. '' In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel glo- 
 
DISCOURSE IV. GLORIFIED IN HIS SAI^?T■S. 19 V 
 
 ry'' in that day, as their strength and their salvation. 
 They have broke through all their difficuliies, and 
 were ** able to do all things through Christ strength- 
 ening them." Phil. iv. 13. 
 
 Behold that noble army with palms in their hands; 
 once they were weak warriors, yet they overcame 
 mighty enemies, and have gained the victory and the 
 prize; enemies rising from earth, and from hell, to 
 tempt and to accuse them, but *' they overcame by 
 the blood of the Lamb." Rev. xii. 7, 11. What 
 a divine honour shall it be to our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 the captain of our salvation, that weak Christians 
 should subdue their strong corruptions, and get safe 
 to heaven through a thousand oppositions within and 
 without : It is all owing to the grace of Christ, that 
 grace which is all-sufiicient for every saint. 2 Cor. 
 xii. 9. They are '* made more than conquerors 
 through him that has loved them." Rom. viii. 38. 
 
 Then shall the faith, and courage, and patience of 
 the saints, have a blessed review; and it shall be told 
 before the whole creation what strife and wrestlings a 
 poor believer has passed through in a dark cottage, 
 a chamber of long sickness, or perhaps in a dungeon ; 
 how he has there combated with powers of darkness, 
 how he has struggled with huge sorrows, and ' has 
 borne and has not fainted,' though he has been often 
 * in heaviness through manifold temptations.' Then 
 shall appear ihe bright scene which St. Peter rci)ro- 
 sents as the event of sore trials. 1 Pet. i. 6, 7. 
 When our 'faith has been tried in the fire' of tribu- 
 lation, and is found ' more precious than gold,' it 
 
196 CHRIST xYDMIRED AK© DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 shall shine to the * praise, honour, and glory,' of the 
 suffering^ saints, and of Christ himself * at his appear- 
 ance.' 
 
 Behold that illustrious troop of martyrs, and some 
 among them of the feeblest sex and of tender age ; 
 now diut women should grow bold in faith, even in 
 the sight of torments, and children, with a manly cou- 
 rage, should profess the name of Christ in the face of 
 angry and threatening rulers; that some of these 
 should become undaunted confessors of the truth, 
 and others triumph in fire and toxture; these things 
 shall be matter of glory to Christ in that day; it was 
 his power that gave them courage and victory in mar- 
 tyrdom and death. Every Christian there, every sol- 
 dier in that triumphing army, shall ascribe his con- 
 quest to the grace of his Lord, his Leader, and lay 
 down all their trophies at the feet of his Saviour, with 
 humble acknowledgments and shouts of honour. 
 
 Almost all the saved number were, at some part oi 
 their lives, weak in faith, and yet, by the grace of 
 Christ, they held out to the end, and are crowned. 
 ' I was a poor trembling creature, shall one say, but 
 
 1 was confirmed in my faith and holiness by the gos- 
 pel of Christ ; or 1 rested on a naked promise and 
 found support, because Christ was there, and he shall 
 have the glory of it.' *' In him are all the promises 
 yea, and in him Amen, to the glory of the Father,'^ 
 
 2 Cor. i. 20, 21, 22. And the Son shall share in 
 this glory, for he died to ratify these promises, and 
 he lives to fulfil them. 
 
DISCOURSE IV. GLORIFIED IN HIS SAINTS. ' 197 
 
 ' Oh what an almighty arm is this (shall the be- 
 liever say) that has borne up so many thous hkIs of 
 poor sinkino^ creatures, and lifted their heads above 
 the waves!' The spark of grace that lived many 
 years in a flood of temptations, and was not quench- 
 ed, shall then shine bright, to the glory of Chnst who 
 kindled and maintained it. When we have been 
 brought through all the storms and the threatening 
 seas, and }et the raging waves have been forbid to 
 swallow us up, we shall cry out in raptures of joy 
 and wonder, '* What manner of man is this, that the 
 winds and the seas have obeyed him?" 
 
 Then shall it be gloriously evident, that he has 
 conquered Satan, and kept the hosts of hell in chains, 
 when it shall appear that he has made poor mean 
 trembling believers victorious over all the powers of 
 darkness, for the Prince of ' peace has bruised him 
 under their feet.' 
 
 Fifthly, There is more work for our wonder and 
 joy, and more glory for our blessed Lord, when we 
 shall see ' that so many dark and dreadful provi- 
 dences were working together in mercy, for the good 
 of the saints ;' it is because Jesus Christ had the 
 management of them all put in his hand; and we 
 shall acknowledge **he has done all things well," 
 Rom. viii. 28. ** All things have wrought together 
 for good." It is the voice of Christ to every saint 
 in sorrow, ** what I do thou knowest not now, but 
 thou shah know hereafter," John xii. 7. I saw not 
 then, saiih the Christian, tluit n»y Lord was curing 
 my pride, by such a threatening and abasing previ- 
 ew 2 
 
19^ ' CHRIST ADMIRED AND DISCOURSE IV, 
 
 dence, that he was weaning my heart from sensual 
 dehghts, by such a sharp and painful wound ; but 
 now I behold things in another light, and give thanks 
 and praises to my divine Physician. 
 
 We shall look back upon the hours of our impa- 
 tience, and be ashamed; we shall chicle the flesh for 
 its old rcpinings, when we shall stand upon the eter- 
 nal hills of paradise, and cast our eyes back upon 
 yonder transactions of time, those past ages of com- 
 plaint and infirmity. We shall then, v;ith pleasure 
 and thankfulness, confess, that the captain of our sal- 
 vation was much in the right to lead us through so 
 many sufferings and sorrows, and we were much in 
 the wrong to complain of his conduct. 
 
 Bear up your spirits then, ye poor afflicted dis- 
 tressed souls, who are wrestling through difficult 
 j'rovidences all in the dark. Bear up but a little 
 longer, " he that shall come, will come, and will not 
 tarry;" he will set all his conduct in a fair light, and 
 you shall say, * Blessed be the Lord, and all his gov- 
 ernment.' 
 
 Sixthly^ ^ That heaven should be so well filled out 
 of such a hell of sin and misery as this world is' shall 
 be another delightful reflection full of wonder and 
 glory. Take a short survey of mankind, how ' all 
 flesh has corrupted its Ways' before God, and 'every 
 imagination of the thought of man's heart is only- 
 evil,* and that continually; there is none righteous, 
 uo not one.' Look round about you and see how 
 iniquity abounds, violence, oppression, pride, lust, 
 !5.ensualities of all kinds, how they reign among the 
 
DISCOURSE IV. GLORIFIED IN HIS SAINTS. 199 
 
 children of men : Religion is lost, and God forG;ot- 
 ten in the world; and yet, out of tliis wretched 
 world, Christ has provided inhabitants for heaven, 
 where * nothing can enter that delileth.' Look into 
 your own hearts, ye sinners, see what a hell lies 
 there; and ye converts of the grace of Christ, look 
 into your hearts too, and see how many of the seeds 
 of wickedness still lie hid there; how much corrup- 
 tion, and how little holiness; look inward, and won- 
 der that Christ should ever fit you for heaven, by 
 by his converting and his sanctifying grace. 
 
 Look round the world again, and survey the mise- 
 ries of this earth ; as many calamities as there are 
 creatures, and perhaps ten times more: Who is there 
 on earth without his sorrows ? And sometimes a 
 multitude of them meet in one single sufferer: See 
 how toil, and weariness, and disappointment, pover- 
 ty and sickness, pain, and anguish, and vexatio:^, 
 are distributed through this world, that lies on the 
 borders of hell; see all this, and wonder at the grace 
 of Christ, that has taken a colony out of this miser- 
 able world, and made a heaven of it. 
 
 We shall, many of us, be a wonder to each other 
 as VvcU as to ourselves, and we shall ail review and 
 admire the grace of Christ in and towards us all. 
 Among the rest, there are two sorts of Christians 
 whose salvation shall be a special matter of wonder, 
 and these are the wdancholy and the uncharitable. 
 The melancholy Christian shall wonder that ever such 
 a sinner as himself was brought to heaven; and the 
 uncharitable shall wonder hov/ such a sinner as his 
 
200 CIIUIST ADMIRFD AND DlbGOURSE iV. 
 
 neighbour came there. The poor doubting melan- 
 choly soul, who was full of fears lest he should be 
 condemned, shall then have full assurance that he is 
 elected and redeemed, pardoned and saved, when he 
 sees, hears and feels, the salvation and the glory upryi 
 him, within him, and ail around him, and he shall 
 admire and adore the grace of God his Saviour. 
 The narroiD'SOLiIcd Christian, who said his neighbour 
 would be damned for want of some party notions, or 
 for some lesser failings, shall confess his uncharita- 
 ble mistake, and shall wonder at the abounding mer- 
 cy of Christ, which has pardoned those errors in his 
 nei,u:hbour, for which he had excommunicated and 
 condemned him. Both these Christians in that day, 
 I mean, the timorous and the censorious, shall stand 
 at his right-hand, as monuments of his surprising 
 grace, who forgave one the defects of his faith, and 
 t]*e other his v ant of Iwe ; and their souls and their 
 toninies shall join- together to rejoice in the Lord, 
 and their spirits shall magnify their God and Re- 
 deemer: Christ shall have his due revenue of glory 
 from both, in the hour of their public salvation. 
 
 O nhat honour shall it add to the overflowing mer- 
 cy of Christ, what joy and wonder to all the saints, 
 to see Paul the persecutor and blasphemer there, and 
 Feier who denied the Lord that bought him, and 
 Mary Magdalene that impure sinner! See what a foul 
 and shameful catalogue, what children of iniquity 
 are at last made heiis and possessors of heaven. 1 
 Cor. vi. 9, 10, 11. The fornicators and idolaters, 
 the thieves and the ccvetcus, tlie drunkards, the re- 
 
DISCOURSE IV. ("LORIFIRO IN HIS SAINTf]. 201 
 
 vilers, and the extortioners. Such ihcy were iii the 
 days oi' igriorance and heathenism, fii fuel ibr the lire 
 of hell ; and in those circumstances they are uiur- 
 ly excluded * from ihe kindom of God,' but now th.y 
 find a pluce in that blessed assembly; and the con- 
 verting i^race of Christ is admired and glorified, that 
 could turn such sinners iiito saints. O surprising 
 scene of rich salvation, w^lien the.se Corintiiian con- 
 verts, washed in the blood of Christ, and renewed by 
 his spirit, shall appear in their Vvhite garments of ho- 
 liness and glory! Tnere is not one sinful creature to 
 be found in all the vast retinue uf the holy Je^us. 
 But there are thousands who have been once great 
 criminals, notorious siimers, and have been snatch- 
 ed by the the arm of divine love, as ' brands out of 
 the burning.' VVHiat an affecting sight will it be, 
 when we shall behold all the members of Christ unit- 
 ed to their Head, and complete in glory ; and see at 
 the same time, a world of vile simiers doomed lo de- 
 struction ! With what adoration and wonder shall 
 we cry out, *' and such were some of these ha}>py 
 ones, but they are sanctified, but they a.e justified, 
 in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the spirit of 
 our God," ver. 11. * Not unto us, O Lord, not un- 
 to us, but to' God our Saviour be eternal honour. 
 
 Li the seventh place, There is another glory and 
 wonder added to to this illustrious scene, and gives 
 honour to our blessed Saviour, and that is, ' that so 
 many vigorous, beautiful, and inunortal bod.es, 
 should be raised at once out of the dust, ;viLl; all their 
 old iidirmiiics left behind them:' Not one ach or 
 
1202 CHRIST ADMIRED AND DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 pain, not one weakness or disease, among all the glo- 
 rified millions: As the Israelites came out of their 
 bondage in Egypt, so shall the army of saints from 
 the prison of the grave, *'and not one feeble among 
 them," Psal. cv. 37. This is the work of Christ 
 the Creator and the Healer. 
 
 Here 1 might run many sorrowful divisions, and 
 travel over the large and thorny field of sickness and 
 pains that attend human nature, those inborn mis- 
 chiefs that vex poor Christians in this state of trial 
 and suffering : But these were all buried when the 
 body went to the grave, and they are buried forever; 
 he that has the keys of death, shall let the bodies of 
 his saints out of prison ; but no gout nor stone, no 
 infirmity nor distemper, no head-ach nor heart-ach, 
 shall ever attend them. The body was * sown in 
 weakness, but it is raised in power ;' it was ' sown iii 
 dishonour, it is raised in glory,' through the power 
 of the second Adam, and his quickening spirit. 1 
 Cor. XV. 43, 45. Rom. viii. 11. 
 
 Then shall Christ appear to be Sovereign and Lord 
 of death, when such an endless multitude of old and 
 new captives are released at his word, and the grave 
 has restored its prey ; when those bodies which have 
 been turned into dust some thousands of years, and 
 their atoms scattered abroad by the winds of heaven, 
 shall be raised again in glory and dignity, to meet 
 their descending Lord in the air. Surely Jesus in that 
 day shall be acknowledged as a Sovereign of nature, 
 when, at the word of his command, a new creation 
 shall aribc, all perfect and immortal. 
 
DISCOURSE IV. CLORIFIED IN HIS SAINTS. 203 
 
 It ^vill add yet further glory to Christ, when we 
 remember what fruitful seeds of iniquity were lodged 
 in that flesh and blood, which we wore on earth, and 
 which we laid down in the tomb; and when, at the 
 same time, we survey our glorified bodies, how spi- 
 ritual, how holy, how happily fitted for the service of 
 glorified souls made perfect in holiness. How did all 
 the saints once complain of a * law in their members, 
 that warred against the lawof their minds, and brought 
 them into bondage to the law of sin ?' But this ' law 
 cf sin' is now for ever abolished, this * bondage' dis- 
 solved and broken, and these * members' are all new- 
 created, for * instruments' of ' righteousness' to serve 
 God in his temple, for ever and ever. Holy Paul shall 
 no more * groan in a sinful tabernacle,' he shall no 
 more complain of that * flesh wherein no good thing 
 dwelt,' he shall cry out no more, ** O wretched man 
 that I am, who shall deliver me ?" 
 
 Many and bitter have been the sorrows of a holy 
 soul in this world, because of the perverse disposi- 
 tions of animal nature and the flesh: But none of the 
 saints in that assembly shall ever feel again the stings 
 of inward envy, the pricking thorns of peevishness, 
 nor the wild ferments of ' wrath and passion :' None 
 of them shall ever find those ' unruly appetites' which 
 wrought so strongly in their old flesh and blood, and 
 too often overpowered their unwilling souls, those ap- 
 petites which brought their consciences sometimes 
 under fresh guilt, and filled them with inward re- 
 proaches, and agonies of spirit. These evil princi- 
 ples are all destroyed by death, they are lost in the 
 
204 CHRIST ADMIRED AND DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 grave, and shall have no resurrection. The new-rais- 
 ed bodies of die righteous in that day, shall be com- 
 pletely obedient to the dictates of their spirits, with- 
 out any vicious juices to make rcluctcincc, or perverse 
 humours to raise an inward rebellion : And not only 
 so, but perhaps even our bc^dies shall have home ac- 
 tive holy tendencies, wrought in them so far as cor- 
 poreal nature can administer, toward the sucred ex- 
 ercises of a glorified saint. A sweet and biessed 
 change indeed! And Jesus who raided these bodies in 
 this beauty of hoiii.ess, shall receive the glory of this 
 divine work. 
 
 The last instance I shall mention, wherein Christ 
 shall be admired in his saints, is this, ' they shall ap- 
 pear in diat day, as so many images of his person, and 
 as bO many monuments of the success of his office.' 
 
 Is the blessed Jesus a great Prophet and the Teach- 
 er of his church? These are the pennons that have 
 learnt his divine doctrine, they have ' heard the joyful 
 sou lid' of his gospel, and the holy truths of it are co- 
 pied out in their hearts. These are the disciples of 
 his scliool; and by his word, and by his spirit, they 
 have been taught to know God and their Saviour, 
 and ihcy have been trained up in the way to eternal 
 life. 
 
 Is Jesus a great * High Priest, both of sacrifice and 
 intercession?' Behold all these souls, an endless num- 
 ber, purified from their defilements by the blood of 
 his cross, washed and made white in that blessed la- 
 ver, and reconciled to God by his atoning sacrifice : 
 Behold the power of his intercession, in securing mil- 
 
DISCOURSE IV. GLORIFIED IN HIS SAINTS. 205 
 
 lions from the wrath of God, and in procuring for 
 them every divine blessing. He has obtained for 
 each of ihem grace and glory. 
 
 Is Jesus the ' Lord of all things,' and the * King of 
 his church?' Behold his subjects waiting on him, a 
 numerous and a loyal multitude, who have the laws 
 of their King engraven on their souls. These are the 
 sons and daughters of Adam, whom he has rescued 
 by his power from the kmgdom of darkness, and the 
 hands* of the devil : He has guarded them from the 
 rage of their malicious adversaries in earth and hell, 
 and brought them safe through all difficulties, to be- 
 hold the glories of this day, and to celebrate the ho- 
 nours of their King. 
 
 Is he the ' Captain of salvation ?' See what a bless- 
 ed army he has listed under his banner of love ; and 
 they have followed him through all the dangers of 
 life and time under his conduct. These are the 
 * chosen, the called, the faithful.' They have sus- 
 tained many a sharp conflict, many a dreadful battle, 
 and they are at last, ' made more than conquerors 
 through him that has loved them.' They attribute 
 all their victories to the wisdom, the goodness, and 
 the power of their divine Leader ; and even stand 
 amazed at their own success, against such mighty 
 adversaries : But they fought under the banner, con- 
 duct, and influence of the ' Prince of life,' the King 
 of righteousness, who is always victorious, and has 
 a crown in his hand for every conqueror. 
 
 Is Jesus the great * example of his saints ?' Behold 
 the virtues and graces of the Son of God, copied out 
 
 D 2 
 
206 " CHRIST ADMIRED AND DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 in all his followers. ' As he was, so were they in 
 this world, holy, harmless and undefiled, and separate 
 from sinners:' As he now is, so are they, glorious in 
 holiness, and divinely beautiful, while each of them 
 reflects the image of their blessed Lord, and they ap- 
 pear as wonders to all the beholding world. They 
 
 * were unknown' here on earth, even as ' Christ him- 
 self was unknown :' This is the day appointed to re- 
 veal their works and their graces. Jesus is the 
 
 * brightness of his Father's glory, and the express 
 image of Jiis person;' and all the sons and daughters 
 of God shall then appear, as so many pictures of the 
 blessed Jesus, drawn by the finger of the eternal spi- 
 rit. 
 
 And not their souls only, but their glorified bodies 
 also are framed in his likeness. What grace and 
 grandexir dwells in each countenance, 'as thou art,' 
 O blessed Je'sus, so shall they be in that day, ' all of 
 them resembling the children of a king!' Vigour and 
 health, beauty and immortality, shine and reign 
 throughout all that blessed assembly. The adopted 
 sons and daughters of God resemble the original and 
 only begotten Son : Christ will have all his brethren 
 and sisters conformed unto his glories, that they may 
 be known to be his kindred, the children of his Fa- 
 ther, and that he ' may appear the first-born among 
 jnany brethren.' When the Son of God breaks open 
 the graves, he forms the dust of his saints, by the 
 model of his own glorious aspect and figure, " and 
 changes their vile bodies into the likeness of his own 
 glorious body, by that power whereby he is able to 
 
DISCOURSE IV. GLORIFIED IN HIS SAINTS, 207 
 
 subdue all things to himself," Phil. lii. uh. He shall 
 be admired as the bright original, and each of the 
 saints as a fair and glorious copy: The various beau- 
 ties that are dispersed among all that assembly, are 
 summed up and united in himself; * he is the chiefest 
 of ten thousands, and altogether lovely.' One sun 
 in the firmament can paint his own bright image at 
 once, upon st thousand reflecting glasses, or mirrors 
 of gold : What a dazzling lustre would arise from 
 such a scene of reflections! But what superior and 
 inexpressible glory, above all the powers of similitude 
 and beyond the reach of comparison, shall irradiate 
 the world in that day, when Jesus the Son of righte- 
 ousness shall shine upon all his saints, and find each 
 of them well prepared to receive this lustre, and to 
 reflect it round the creation; each of them displaying 
 the image of the original Son of God, and confessing 
 all their virtues and graces, all their beauties and glo* 
 ries, both of soul and body, to be nothing else but 
 mere copies and derivations from Jesus, the first and 
 fairest image of the Father ! 
 
 USE. 
 The doctrines and the works of divine grace are 
 full of wonder and glory: Such is the person and 
 offices of Christ, such are his holy and fi^ithful follow- 
 ers, and such eminently will be the blessed scene at 
 his appearance. In the foregoing part of the dis- 
 course, we have briefly surveyed some of those glo- 
 rious Vv'oiiders, we now come to consider uhat UoC 
 may be made of such a theme. 
 
208 CHRIST ADMIRED AND DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 Use 1. It gives us eminently these two lessons of 
 instruction. 
 
 Lesson 1. * How mistaken is the jiidsrment of flesh 
 and sense, in the thin^s^s that relate to Christ and his 
 saints.' The Son of God himself, was abused and 
 scorned by the blind world, they esteemed him as 
 *' one smitten of God and unbeloved,'' and "they 
 saw no beauty nor comeliness in him," Isa. liii. 23. 
 He was poor and despised all his life, and he was 
 doomed to the death of a criminal and a slave. As 
 for the saints, they find no more honour or esteem 
 among men than their Lord, they are many times 
 called and counted ' the filth of the world, and the off- 
 scouring of all things,' 1 Cor. iv. 13. This is the 
 judgmentof flesh and sense. 
 
 But when the great appointed hour is come, and 
 Jesus shall return from heaven * with a shout of the 
 arch angel, and the trump of God,' when he shall call 
 lip his saints from their beds of dust and darkness, 
 and make the graves resign those * prisoners of hope, ^ 
 when they shall all gather together around their 
 Lord, a bright and numerous army, shining and re- 
 flecting the splendours of his presence, how will the 
 judgment of flesh and sense be confounded at once, 
 and reversed with shame ! ' Is this the man that vvas 
 loaded with scandal, that was bufletted with scorn, 
 and scourged and crucified in the land of Judea ? Is 
 this the person that hung on the cursed tree, and ex- 
 pired under agonies of pain and sorrow ? Amazing 
 bight ! How majestic, how divine his appearance I 
 The Son of God, and the King of glory ! And 
 
BISCOURSE IV. GLORIFIED IS HIS SAINTS. ii09 
 
 are tliese the men that were made the mockery of the 
 world ? That ivandered about in sheep-skins^ and goat' 
 skins, in dens and caves of the earth? Surprising ap- 
 pearance ! How illustrious! How full of glory !' O 
 that such a meditation might awaken us to judge 
 more by faith. 
 
 Lesson 2. The next lesson that we may derive 
 from the text is this, viz. ' One great design of the 
 day of judgment, is to advance and publish the glory 
 of Christ.' He shall come on purpose to * be glori- 
 fied in his saints;' the whole creation was made by 
 him and for him ; ihe transactions of Providence, 
 grace and justice, are managed for his honour; and 
 the joyful and terrib'c aifairs of the day of judgment, 
 are designed to display the majesty and the power of 
 Jesus the King, the wisdom and equity of Jesus the 
 Judge, and the grace and truth of Jesus the Saviour, 
 I will grant indeed, that the appointment of this day 
 is partly intended for the glory of Christ, in the * just 
 destruction of the impenitent,' for he will be glori- 
 fied in pouring out the vengeance of his Father upon 
 rebellious sinners: " The Lord Jesus shall be revealed 
 from heaven with his mighty angels in fiaming fire, 
 taking vengeance on them that know not God, and 
 obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who 
 shall be punished with everlasting destruction from 
 the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his 
 power," ver. 7, 8, 9. before my text. ' But his 
 sweetest and most valuable revenue of glory arises 
 from' among his saints. 
 
210 C.rtRlSl ADMIR'D ANf) DISCOURSE IV« 
 
 If the * messengers of the churches' are called * the 
 glory of Christ,' with all the weaknesses, and sins, 
 and follies that attend the best of them here, as in 2 
 Cor, viii. 23. much more shall they be his glory here- 
 after, when they shall have no spot nor blemish found 
 upon them, and the work of Christ upon their souls 
 has formed and finished them, in the perfect beauty 
 of holiness. The saints shall reflect glory on each 
 other, and all of them cast supreme lustre on Christ 
 their head : The people shall be the crown and glory 
 cf the minister in that day, and the minister shall be 
 the joy and glory of the people, and both shall be the 
 crown, joy and glory of oar Lord Jesus Christ, 1 
 Thes. ii. 19, 20. 2 Cor. i. 14. 2 Thes. i. 12. He 
 shall appear high on a throne in the midst of that 
 bright assembly, and say, ' Father, these are the 
 sheep that thou hast given me, in the counsels of 
 thine eternal love ; all these have I ransomed from 
 l^.ell at the price of my own blood; these have I res- 
 rued by my grace, from the dominion of sin and the 
 (kvil; I have formed them unto holiness, and fitted 
 them for heaven ; I have kept them by my power 
 through all the dangers of their mortal state, and have 
 brought them safe to thy celestial kingdom: All 
 th'inc arc m'lnc^ and all mine are thine ; I %vas glorified 
 in them on earth : John .svii. 10. and they are now 
 my everlastii'ig crown and glory.' 
 
 Then shall the unknown worlds that never fell, 
 worlds of aiigels and innocent creatures, and the 
 world of guilty devils and condemned rebels, stand 
 aud v.oiider togeUier at the recovery and salvation 
 
DISCOURSE IV. GLORIFIED IN HIS SAINTS. 211 
 
 Christ has provided for the fallen sons of Adam. 
 They shall stand amazed to see the niillions of apos- 
 tate creatures, the inhabitants of this earthly globe, 
 recovered to their duty and allegiance by the Son of 
 God, going down to dwell amongst them ; millions of 
 impure and deformed souls restored to the divine im- 
 age, and made beautiful as angels, by the grace and 
 spirit of our Lord Jesus. Those spectators shall be 
 filled with admiration and transport, to see such a 
 multitude of criminals pardoned and justified, for the 
 sake of a righteousness which they themselves never 
 wrought, and accepted as righteous in the sight of 
 God, by a covenant of grace unknown to other 
 worlds, and by faith in the great Mediator. They 
 shall wonder to see such an innumerable company 
 of polluted wretches, washed from their sins in so 
 precious a laver as the blood of God's own Son : And 
 he that hung upon the cross as a spectacle of wretch- 
 edness at Jerusalem, shall entertain the superior and 
 inferior worlds with the sight of his adorable and di- 
 vine glories, and the spoils he has brought from the 
 regions of death and hell. Thus to ^ the principali- 
 ties and powers in heavenly places, shall be made 
 known by the church triumphant, the manifold wis- 
 dom,' and the manifold grace of God the Father, and 
 his Son Jesus Christ, Eph. iii. 10. 
 
 But tremble, Oh ye obstinate and impenitent 
 wil'tches, ye sensual sinners, ye infidels of a Chris- 
 tian nanie and nation, Christ wiil be gloritied in you 
 one wav or another : If vour hearts are not bowed 
 and melted to receive his gospel, you shall be * pun- 
 
212 CHRIST ADMIRED AND DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 islied with everlasting destruction' among those that 
 * know not God, and obey not the gospei of his Son/ 
 
 Tremble, ye sensual and ye profane sons of ini- 
 quity, when ye remember this day, when ye shall see 
 the holy souls that ye scorned, with crowns on their 
 heads, and palms in their hands, with the shout of 
 victory and joy on their tongues, and the God- man 
 whom ye despised, and whose grace ye neglected, 
 shining at the head of that bright assembly. 
 
 Tremble, ye infidels, ye despisers of die name of a 
 crucified Christ, behold his cross is become a throne, 
 and his crown of thorns a crown of glory : See the 
 man whom ye have scorned and reproached, at the 
 head of millions of angels, and adored by ten thou- 
 sand times ten thousand saints^ while wicked princes 
 and captains, armies and nations of sinners, wait 
 their doom from his mouth, nor dare hope for a word 
 of his mercy. O make haste, and come and be re- 
 conciled to him, and to God by him, that ye may be- 
 long to that blessed . assembly, that ye may bear a 
 part in the triumphs of that day, and that Christ may 
 be glorified in your recovery from the very borders 
 of damnation. 
 
 This thought leads me to the next use, 
 
 II. This discourse gives ' rich encouragement to 
 the greatest sinners to hope for mercy, and to the 
 weakest saints to hope for victory and salvation.' 
 Such sort of subjects of the grace of Christ, shall 
 yield him some of the brightest rays of glory at the 
 last day. Yet, sinners, let me charge you here never 
 to hope for this happiness without solemn repentance, 
 
DISCOURSE IV. GLORIFIED IN HIS SAINTS. 213 
 
 and an entire change of heart unto holhiess, for an 
 unholy soul would be a fearful blemish in that assem- 
 bly, and a disgrace to our Lord Jesus. Christians I 
 would charge you also never to hope for the happi- 
 ness of this day, without battle and conquest, for all 
 the members of that assembly must be overcomers ; 
 but where there is a hearty desire and longing after 
 grace and salvation, let not the worst of sinners des- 
 pair, nor the weakest believer let go his hope, for it 
 is such as you and I are, in whom Christ will be mag- 
 nified in that day. 
 
 Believe this. Oh thou humbled and convinced sin- 
 ner, who complainest thy heart is hard, though thou 
 wouldest fain repent and mourn ; who fearest the 
 bonds of thy corruptions are so strong that they shall 
 never be broken ; believe that the sovereign grace of 
 Christ has designed to exalt itself in the sanctinca- 
 tion of such unholy souls as thou art, and in melting 
 such hard hearts as thine. And thou poor trembling 
 soul that wouldest fain trust in a Saviour, but art 
 afraid, because of the greatness of thy guilt, and 
 thine abounding iniquities, believe this, that ' where 
 sin has abounded, grace has much more abounded:' 
 It is from the bringing jsuch sinners as thou art to 
 heaven, that the choicest revenues of glory shall arise 
 to our Lord Jesus Christ, and thy acclamations of 
 joy and honour to the Saviour, shall perhaps be loud- 
 est in that day, ' when he shall come to be glorified 
 in his saints, and admired in all them that believe.' 
 
 Read 1 Tim. i. 13, 14, 15, and 16. and see there 
 what an account the great Apostle gives of his own 
 
 E 2 
 
214 CHRIST ADMIRED AND DISCOURSE IV« 
 
 conversion; <* I was a blasphemer, and a persecutor, 
 and injurious, yet I obtained mercy; and the grace 
 of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith, and 
 love, which is in Jesus Christ." Now I am sent to 
 publish and preach to blasphemers and persecutors, 
 that '*this is a faithful saying, and worthy of all ac- 
 ceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to 
 save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit, for 
 this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first, Jesus 
 Christ might shew forth all long- suffering, for a pat- 
 tern to them which should hereafter believe on him 
 to life everlasting." 
 
 Turn to another text, ye feeble believers, 2 Cor, 
 xii. 9, 10. there you shall find the same Apostle a 
 convert and a Christian, but too weak to conflict with 
 the messenger of Satan that buffetted him, nor able 
 to release himself from that sore temptation that lay 
 heavy upon him ; but having received a word from 
 Christ that his ' grace was sufficient, and that his 
 ' strength was' to shine ' perfect in glory in the midst 
 of our weakness,' the Apostle encourages himself to a 
 joyful hope: Now, says he, I can even " glory in my 
 infirmities (so far as they are without sin) that the 
 power of Christ may rest upon me; when I am weak" 
 in myself, ** I am strong" in the Lord. 
 
 Are not the most diseased patients the chief hon- 
 ours of the physician that hath healed them ? And 
 must not these appear eminently in that day, when 
 he displays to the sight of the world the noblest mon- 
 uments of his healing power ? When cripples and in- 
 valids gain tJie victory over mighty enemieS; is not- 
 
DISCOURSE IV. GLORIFIED IN HIS SAINTS. 21j; 
 
 the skill and conduct of their leader most admired ? 
 You are the persons then in whom Christ will be glo- 
 rified, be of £^ood cheer, receive his offered grace, 
 and wait for his salvation. 
 
 III. The next use I shall make of this discourse, is 
 to draw a * word of advice' from it. * Learn to des- 
 pise those honours and ornaments in this world, in 
 which Christ shall have no share in the world to 
 come.' 1 do not say, * cast them all away,' for many 
 things are needful in this life, that can have no imme- 
 diate regard to the other; but * learn to despise them,' 
 and set light by them, because they reach no further 
 than time, and shall be forgotten in eternity. Never 
 put the higher esteem on yourselves or your neigh- 
 bours, because of the gay glitterings of silk or silver; 
 nor let these employ your eyes and your thoughts in 
 the time of worship, v/hen the things of the future 
 world should fill up all your attention; nor let them 
 entertain your tongues in your friendly visits, so as 
 to exclude the discourse of divine ornaments, and the 
 glorious appearance of our Lord Jesus. 
 
 When I am to put on my best attire, let me consi- 
 der, if I am hung round with jewels and gold, these 
 must perish before that solemn day, or melt in the 
 la'3t great burning, they can add no beauty to me in 
 that assembly. If I put on love, and faith, and hu- 
 mility, I shall shine in these hereafter, and Christ 
 shall have some rays of glory from them. O may 
 your souls and mine be drest in those graces which 
 are '' ornaments of great price in the sight of God !" 
 1 Pet. iii. 3, 4. Such as may command the respect 
 
216 CHRIST ADMIRED AND DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 of angels, and reflect honour upon Christ in that so- 
 lemnity ! 
 
 I confess we dwell in flesh and blood, and human 
 nature in the best of us is too much imprest by things 
 sensible : When we see a train of human pomp and 
 grandeur, and long ranks of shining garments and 
 equipage, it is ready to dazzle our eyes, and attract 
 our hearts : Vain pomp, and poor equipage, all this, 
 when compared with the triumph of our blessed 
 Lord, at his appearance with an endless army of his 
 holy ones ; where every saint shall be vested (not in 
 silks and gold) but in robes of refined light, out- shin- 
 ing the sun, such as Christ himself wore in the mount 
 of transfiguration. Millions of suns in one firma- 
 ment of glory. Think on that day, and the illustrious 
 retinue of our Lord: Think on that splendor that 
 shall attract the eyes of heaven and earth, shall con- 
 found the proud sinner, and astonish the inhabitants 
 of hell : Such a meditation as this will cast a dim 
 shadow over the brightest appearances of a court, or 
 a royal festival ; it will spread a dead colouring over 
 all the painted vanities of this life ; it will damp eve- 
 ry thought of rising ambition and earthly pride, and 
 we shall have but little heart to admire or wish for 
 any of the vain shows of mortality. Methinks every 
 gaudy scene of the present life, and all the gilded ho- 
 nours of courts and armies, should grow faint, and 
 flide away, and vanish, at the meditation of this illus- 
 trious appearance. 
 
 IV. This text will give us also two hints of caiL- 
 tion. 
 
DISCOURSE IV. GLORIFIED IN HIS SAINTS. 217 
 
 First, * You that are rich in this world, or wise, or 
 mii^hty, dare not ridicule nor scoff at those poor 
 weak Christians, in whom Christ shall be admired 
 and ^^lorified in the last day.' You that fancy you 
 have any advantages of birth or beauty, of mind or 
 body here on earth, dare not make a jest of your poor 
 pious neighbour that wants them, for he is one of 
 those persons whom Christ calls his glory, and he 
 himself has given you warning, lest you incur his re- 
 sentment on this account, Matth. xviii. 6. ** Whoso 
 shall offend one of the^e little ones which believe in 
 me, it were better for him that a millstone were hang- 
 ed about his neck, and that he were drowned in the 
 depth of the sea.'' Perhaps the good man has some 
 blemish in his outward form, or it may be his coun- 
 tenance is dejected, or his mien and fiii;ure awkward 
 -and uncomely; perhaps his garments sit wrong and 
 vmfasH finable upon him, or it may be they hang in 
 tatters ; the motions of his body perhaps are ungrace- 
 ful, his speech imi^roper, and his deportment is simple 
 and unpolishefl ; hnx he has shining graces in his 
 soul, in which Christ shall be admired in the last 
 day, and how darest thou make him thy laui^hing- 
 stock ? Wilt thou be willing to hear thy scornful jest 
 repeated a^ain at that day, when the poor derided 
 Christian has his robes of glory on, and the Judge of 
 all shall acknowledge him for one of his favourites ? 
 
 The seccnd Wxni of caution is this, ' You that shall be 
 the glory of Christ in that day, dare not do any thing 
 that may dishonour him now.' Walk answerable to 
 your character and your hope, nor indulge the least 
 
21S CHRIST ADMIRED AND DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 sinful defiiement. Say within yourselves, * Am I to 
 make one in that splendid retinue of my Lord, where 
 every one must appear in robes of holii\ess, and shall 
 I spot my garments with the flesh ? When I am pro- 
 voked to anger and indignation, let me say, doth 
 w rath and bluster become a follower and an attendant 
 of the meek and peaceful Jesus ? When lam tempt- 
 ed to pride and vanity of mind, will this be a beauty, 
 or a blemish, to that assembly that shines in glorious 
 humility ? Or perhaps I am. wavering, and ready to 
 yield, and become a captive to some foolish tempta- 
 tion; but how then can I expect a place in that holy 
 triumph, which is appointed for none but c -nquerors? 
 And how shall I be able to look my blessed General 
 in the face on that day, if I prove a coward under his 
 banner, and abandon my profession of strict holiness^ 
 at the demand of a sinful and threatening world ?' 
 
 V. The last use I shall make of the text, is matter 
 of ' consolation and joy' to two sorts of Christians. 
 
 First y * To the poor, mean, and despised followers 
 of Christ,' and in whom Christ himself is despised by 
 the unp;odly world ; read my text, and believe that 
 in you, Christ shall be glorified and admired, when, 
 with a million of angels, he shall descend from hea- 
 ven, and make his last appearance upon earth ; mean 
 as you are in your own esteem, because of your ig- 
 norance and your weakness in this world, you shall 
 be one of the glories of Christ in the world to come; 
 Little and despicable as you are in the esteem of 
 proud sinners, they shall bt^hold your Lord exalted 
 on his throne, and you sitting among the honours at 
 
UiSCOURSE IV. GLORIFIED IN HIS SAINTS. 219 
 
 his right hand, while they shall rage afar ofF, and 
 gnash their teeth at your glory : When the eye of 
 faijth is open, it can spy this bright hour at a distance, 
 and bid the mourning Christian rejoice in hope. 
 
 Secondly^ There is comfort also in my text, to those 
 * who mourn for the dishonour of Christ in the world ;' 
 those lively members of the mystical body who sym- 
 pathize with the blessed Head, under all the re- 
 proaches that are cast upon him and his gospel, who 
 groan under the load of scandal that is thrown upon 
 Christ in an infidel age, as though it were personally- 
 thrown upon themselves. It is matter of lamenta- 
 tion indeed, that there are but few of this sort of 
 Christians in our day, few that love our Lord Jesus 
 with such tenderness; but if such there be among 
 you, open your eyes, ar^d look forward to this glori- 
 ous day. This day, to which t'noch, the first of all 
 the prophets, and John, the last of all the Apostles, 
 directs our f.iith. Read their own words, Jude 14, 
 \^, Rev. i. 7. " Behold, the Lord cometh with ten 
 thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon 
 all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them.; 
 of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodlily 
 committed, and of all the hard speeches, which un- 
 godly sinners have spoken against him. Behold, he 
 cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, 
 and they also which pierced him : And all kindreds 
 of the eartti shall wail because of him.'' Bear up 
 your hearts, yc mourners, and support your hopes 
 with the promise of our Lord. *' Again, a little 
 while and ye shall see me ;■' ye shall see *^ the Son 
 
220 CHRIST ADMIRED AND DISCOURSE IV. 
 
 of man sitting on the throne of his irlory." Matt. xxv. 
 31. 'Then shall your heart rejoice' in his honours 
 and in your own, and this "joy no man taketh from 
 you," John xvi. 19, 22. Aiid while he repeats this 
 promise with his last words in the Bible, ' surely I 
 come quickly,' let every soul of us echo to the voice 
 of our beloved, Amen, Even so come Lord Jesus, 
 
DISCOURSE V. 
 
 THE WRATH OF THE LAMB. 
 
 Rev. vi. 15, 16, 17. 
 
 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the 
 . rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men^ 
 and coery bond- man, atid every free-man hid tbem- 
 sehes in the dens, and in the rocks of the mountains ; 
 and said to the mountains and rocks , fall on us, and 
 hide usjrom the face of him that sittethon the throne, 
 and from the -wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of 
 his %vrath is come; and who shall be able to stand, 
 
 WHEN some terrible judgment, or execution of 
 divine vengeance is denounce 1 against an age or a 
 nation, it is sometimes described in the language of 
 prophecy, by a resemblance to the last and great 
 judgment-day, when all mankind shall be called to 
 account for their sins, and the just and fmai indig- 
 nation of God shall be executed upon obstinate aiid 
 unrepentipg criminals; the discourse of out Saviour 
 in the xxivth of Matthew, is an eminent example of 
 this kind, where the destruction of the Jewish na- 
 tion is predicted, together with the final jiidfMuent 
 of the world, in such uniform language, aiKJ sniiilar 
 phrases of speech, that it is difficult to siiy, whether 
 both these scenes of vengeance run ti.roui^h tlie 
 wholl discourse, or which ptirt of the discourse be- 
 
:222 THE WRATH OF THE LAMB. DISCOURSE V. 
 
 longs to the one, and which to the other. The 
 same manner of prophecy appears in this text. 
 
 Learned interpreters suppose these words to fore- 
 tel the universal consternation which was found 
 amongst the heathen idohiters and persecutors of the 
 Church of Christ, when Constantine, the first Chris- 
 tian Emperor, was raised to the throne of Rome, 
 and became governor of the world. But whether 
 they hit upon the proper application of this prophecy 
 or not, yet still it is pretty evident, that this scene 
 of terror is borrowed from the last judgment, which 
 will emmently appear to be the ''day of wrath," as 
 it is called, Rom. ii. 5. It is the great day of divine 
 indignailon, in so eminent a manner, that all the tre- 
 mendous desolations of kingdoms and people, from 
 the creation of the world, to the consummation of 
 all things, shall be but as shadows of that day of 
 terror and \eiigeance. 
 
 I shall therefore consider these words at present, 
 as they contain a solemn representation of that last 
 glorious and dreadful day ; and here I shall enquire 
 particularly, (1.) ' Who are the persons whose aspect 
 and appearance shall then be so dreadful to sinners? 
 (2.) How comes the wrath 'which discovers itself at 
 that time to be so formidable? and (3.) How vain 
 will all the shifts and hopes of sinners be, in that 
 dreadful day, to avoid the wrath and vengeance.' 
 
 First, Who are the persons that appear clothed in 
 so much terror ? 
 
 Ansiv. It is he that ''sits upon the throne and the 
 Lamb:" It is God the Father of all, the great and 
 
msCOURSE V. THE WRATH OF THE LAMB, 223 
 
 Almighty Creator, the supreme Lord and Governor 
 of the world, and the Lamb of God, i. e. our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, his Son, dwelling in human nature, 
 to whom the judf^ment of the world is committed, 
 and by whom the Father will introduce the terrible 
 and the illustrious scenes of that day, and maniige 
 the important and eternal affairs of it. It it by these- 
 names that the Apostle John, in this prophetical 
 book, describes God the Father and his Son Jesus, 
 Rev. iv. 10. and v. 6. — 13. 
 
 If it be enquired, why God the Father is describ- 
 ed as the person 'sitting on the throne,' this is 
 plainly agreeable to the other representations of him 
 throughout the Scripture, where he is described as 
 first and supreme in authority, as sitting on the 
 throne of majesty on high, as denoting and commis- 
 sioning the Lord Jesus, his well-beloved Son, to act 
 f(Dr him, and as placing him on his throne, to execute 
 his w^orks of mercy or vengeance. Rev. iii, 21. <*H[e 
 thatovercometh shall sit down with me on my throne," 
 saith our Saviour, '* even as I have overcome, and am 
 setdown with the Father on his throne." Johnv. 22, 27. 
 *The Father hath committed all judgment into the 
 hands of the Son." It is true, the Godhead or divine 
 essence is but one, and it is the same Godhead which 
 belongs to the Father that dwells in the Son, and in 
 this respect ^'Christ and the Father are one, he is in 
 the Father, and the Father in him," John x. 30, 38 ; 
 yet the Fither is constantly exhibited in Scri[)turc, 
 with peculiar characters of prime authority, and the 
 
22-i THE WRATH OF THE LAMB. DISCOURSi: V. 
 
 Son is represented as receiving all from the Father. 
 John V. 19, £0, 22, 526, 27. 
 
 If it be farther enquired, * why Christ is called the 
 Lamb of GocL' I shall not pursue those many fine 
 metaphors and similes, in which the v. it and fancy 
 of men have run a long course on this subject ; but 
 shall only mention these two tilings. 
 
 1. He is called the Lamb, from the innocence of 
 his behaviour, the quietness and meekncbs of his dis- 
 position and conduct in the world. The character of 
 JchUs, among men, was peaceful, and harmless, and 
 patient of injuries; "when he was reviled, he reviled 
 not again, but was led as a Lamb to the slaugliter," 
 widi submission, and without revenge : This re- 
 semblance appears, and is set forth to view in several 
 Scrijjiures, wherein he is compared to this gentle 
 creature. Acts viii. 32. 1 Pet. ii. 23. 
 
 2. He is called the Lanib, because he was appoint- 
 ed a sacrifice for the sins of men; John i. 29. ''Be- 
 hold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins 
 of the world.'' 1 Pet. i. 18, 19. *'You were redeemed 
 with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb with- 
 out blemish, and without spot." It was a lamb that 
 was ordained for the constant daily sacrifice amongst 
 the Jews, morning and evening, to typify the con- 
 stant and everlasti?)g infiuence of the atonement made 
 by the death of Christ. Heb. x. 11, 12. It was a 
 lamb which was sacrificed at the passover, and on 
 which the families of Israel feasted, to commemorate 
 their redemption from the slavery of Egypt, and to 
 typify Christ who is ''our passover, who was sacrific- 
 
DISCOURSE V. THK WRATH OF THE LAMB. 22:y 
 
 Q(\ for us," and for whose sake the destroying angel 
 spares ail lliat irust in him, C ) . v. 7. 
 
 But will a /a//ilf discover such dreadful wraih ? 
 lL»b the Lamb i.f God such indignation iu him ^ 
 Can the meek, the comjiassionate, the niercilui Son 
 of God, put ou such t?rril)le forms and aj)pearances r 
 Are his tender mercies vanished quite away, and 
 will he renounce the kind aspect, and the gentle 
 lanL^uage of a lamb for ever ? 
 
 To this I answer, that the various glories and of- 
 fices of our !)lessed Lord, require a variety of human 
 metaphors and emblen^s to represent them. He was 
 a lamb, full of gentleness, meekness, and ompas- 
 sion, to invite and encourage sinful perishing crea- 
 tures, to accept of divine mercy: But he has now to 
 deal with obstinate and rebellious criminals, who re- 
 nounce his Father's mercy, and resist all the gentle 
 methods of his own grace and salvation : And he is 
 sent by the Father to punish those rebellions, but he 
 is named 'the Lamb of God' still, to put the rebels 
 in mind what gentleness and compassion diey have 
 affronted and abused, and to make it ap))ear that their 
 guilt is utterly inexcusable. 
 
 Let us remember, Christ is now a Lauib. raised to 
 the throne in heaven, and furnished and armed 'with 
 seven eyes and seven horns,' with perfect knowled^-c 
 and j^erfect pov\er, to govern the world, to vindicat'; 
 his own honour, and to avenge himself upon his in)- 
 penitent and obstinate enemies. Rev. v. 5, 6. Herr 
 the Lamb will assume the name c^f the "Lion of the 
 tribe of Judah" also, and he must act in fi*(il*rent 
 
226 THE WRATH OF THE LAMB. "ttlSCOURSE V, 
 
 characters, according to the persons he has to deal 
 with. 
 
 Tlie s-cco?id p^eneral question which we are to con- 
 sider, is, ' How comes the wralh of that great day to 
 be so terrible ?' 
 
 I answer in general, because it is not only the 
 < wrath of God,' but of ' the Lamb :' It is the wrath 
 that is manifested for the affronts of divine authority, 
 and the abuse of divine mercy: It is wrath that is 
 awakened by the contempt of the laws of God, writ- 
 ten in tlie books of nature and Scripture, and for the 
 contempt of his love revealed in the Gospel by Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 It is proper to observe here, that the * wrath of 
 God,' and the * wrath of the Lamb,' are not to be con- 
 ceived as exactly the same, for it is the wrath of the 
 Son of God in his human nature exalted, as well as 
 the displeasure of God the Father: It is the righteous 
 and holy resentment of the man Jesus, awakened and 
 let loose against rebellious creatures that have broken 
 all the rules of his Father's government, and have re- 
 fused all the proposals of his Father's grace : It is the 
 vv'rath of the highest, the greatest, and the best of 
 creatures, joined to the wrath 'fan offended Crea- 
 tor*. But let us enter a little into particulars. 
 
 * Here let it be observed, that when the holy Scripfiire speaks of the 
 i-rath and indignation of the blessed God, we are not to understand it as 
 thou;^h God were subject to such passions or affections of nature, as we 
 feel fermenting or working within ourselves when our anger rises: But 
 because the jus'ice or re. toral wisdom of G^d inclines him to !)ring. natu- 
 ral evil, pain or sorrow, upon those who are obstinately guilty of moral 
 evi! or si J, and to treat them as anger or v,'ra .h inclines men to treat those 
 
•DISCOURSE V. THE WRATH OF THE LAMB. ^^2T 
 
 1. It is righteous wrath, and just and deserved 
 Vengeance, that * arises from the clearest discoveries 
 of the love of God neglected, and the sweetest mes- 
 sages of divine grace refused.' All the former dis- 
 coveries of the love of God to men, both in nature 
 and providence, as well as by divine revelation, 
 whether made by men, or by angels, whether in the 
 days of the Patriarchs, or in the days of Moses and 
 the Jews, were far inferior to the grace which was 
 revealed by Jesus Christ ; and therefore the sin of 
 rejecting it is greater in proportion, and the punish- 
 ment will be more severe. "If the word spoken by 
 angels was stedfast, and every transgression and dis- 
 obedience received a just recompeuce of reward, — 
 how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation, 
 as THIS which began to be spoken by our Lord?'' 
 Heb. ii. 2, 3. 
 
 Moses had many true discoveries of grace made to 
 him, and entrusted with him, for sinful men : But the 
 Scripture saith, Johni. 17. *'The law came by Moses, 
 and grace and truth came by Jesus Christ," i. e. in 
 such superabundance, as though grace and truth had 
 never appeared in the world before. The forgiving 
 mercy of God, under the veil of ceremonies and sa- 
 crifices, and the mediation of Christ, under the type 
 
 that have offended Ihem ; therefore the Scrip'iure, s])eakir.g after the mdn- 
 ner of men, calls it, the loraih and indipiation of G<kI. 
 
 And it is hard to say, whether or no the vjratb of the LuDib, i. e. of the 
 man Christ yesus,\\\ whom L)ie Godhead dwells, be any thing more,, than the 
 calm, dispassionate, rectoral wisdom of the human nature of Chnst, in- 
 clining him to punisii rebellious and impenitent sinners, in conformity to 
 the will of God his Father, or in concurrence >vith the Godhead v. hlcU 
 dwells in liim. 
 
228 THE WRATH OF THE LAMB. DISCOUIISE V. 
 
 of the high priest, was bat a dark and .imperfect 
 discovery, in comparison of the free, the large, the 
 full forgiveness, which is brought to us by the gospel 
 of Christ. Learn this doctrine at large, from Heb. 
 X. 1. — 14. This is amazing mercy, astonishing 
 grace, and the despisers of it will deserve to perish 
 with double destruction, for they wink their eyes 
 against clearer light, and reject the offers of more 
 abounding love. 
 
 2. It is wrath that is * awakened by the most pre- 
 cious and most expensive methods of salvation slight- 
 ed and undervalued.' Well may God say to Chris- 
 tian nations, especially to Great- Britain, who sits 
 under the daily sound of this gospel, **\Vhat could 
 I have done more for you than I have done?" Isa. v. 4. 
 'I have sent my own Son, the son of my bosom, the 
 son of my eternal love, to take flesh and blood upon 
 him, that he might be able to die in your stead, who 
 were guilty rebels, and deserved to die: I have given 
 him up to the insults and injuries of men, to the 
 temptations, the buffetings, and rage of devils, to the 
 stroke of the sword of my justice, to the cursed death 
 of the cross for you ; here is heaven and salvation 
 purchased for man, with the dearest and most valu- 
 able life in ail the creatioii, with the richest blood 
 that ever ran in the veins of a creature, with the life 
 and blood of the Son of God ; and yet you refused 
 to receive and accept of this salvation, procured at so 
 immense a price. I called you to partake of this 
 invaluable blessing freely, "\viihoutmone\ and with- 
 out price," and yet you slighted all these oiters of 
 
DISCOURSE V» THE WRATH OF THE LAMB. 
 
 mercy ; what remains but that my wrath shottld 
 kindle against you in the hottest de,u:ree, and fill your 
 souls with exquisite anguish and misery ; you have 
 refused to accept of a covenant which was sealed 
 with the blood of my own Son, which was confirmed 
 by miraculous operations of my own Spirit ; you 
 have valued your sinful pleasures, and the trifles of 
 this vain world, above the blood of my Son, and the 
 life of your souls : It is divinely pro})er that divine 
 vengeance should be your portion, who have rejected 
 such rich treasures of divine love.' Heb. x. 28—31, 
 *He that despised Moses' law, died without mercy, 
 under two or three witnesses; of how -much sorer 
 punishment suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, 
 Avho hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and 
 hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith 
 he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath dr.ne 
 despite unto the spirit of grace ? For we know hini 
 that hath said vengeance belongeth unto me, I will 
 yepay, saith the Lord.' 
 
 3. It is wrath that *must avenge the affronts and 
 injuries done to the prime minister of God's govern- 
 ment, and the chief messenger of his mercy.' All 
 the Patriarchs, and the Prophets, and Angels them- 
 selves, were but 'servants' to bring messages of di- 
 vine grace to men: and some of them in awful forms 
 and appearances, represented the auth(jrity of God 
 too: But the *Son of God' ib the prime nunister of 
 his government, and the noblest ambassador of his 
 grace, and the chief deputy or vicegerent in his Fa- 
 ther's kingdom. See Heb. i. 1, 2. Psal. ii. 6, 9, 12, 
 
 G 2 
 
230 THE WRATH OF THE LAMB. DISCOURSE V. 
 
 His Father's glory and grandeur, compassion and 
 love, are most sublimely exhibited in the face of 
 Christ his Son, and God will not have his highest 
 and fairest image disgraced and affronted, virithout 
 peculiar and signal vengeance. 
 
 The great God will vindicate the honours of his 
 Son Jesus, in the infinite destruction of a rebellious 
 and unbelieving world: And the Son himself hath 
 wrath, and just resentment; he will vindicate his own 
 authority, and his commission of grace. He hath a 
 rod of iron put into his hands, as well as a sceptre of 
 mercy, and with rhis rod will he break to pieces re- 
 bellious nations. Rev. iii. latter end. It is not lit 
 that the first minister of the empire of the King of 
 heaven, and the brightest image of his majesty and 
 of his love, should appear always in tiie character of 
 a Lamb, a meek and unresenting creature. He will 
 put on the Lion when his commission of grace is end- 
 ed: He is the 'Lion of the tribe of Judah,* Rev. v. 5. 
 And will 'rend the caul of the heart' of those unre- 
 penting sinners, who have resisted his authority and 
 abused his love. 
 
 And how will the wrath of the Lamb of God pe- 
 netrate the soul of sinners with intense anguish, 
 when the meek and the compassionate Jesus, shall 
 be commissioned and constrained to speak the lan- 
 guage of resentment and divine indignation ? 
 
 ' Did you not hear of me sinners in yonder world, 
 which lies weltering in flames ? Did you not read of 
 me in the gospel of my grace ? Did you not learn my 
 character and my salvation in the ministrations of 
 
DISCOURSE V. THE WRATH 0F THE LAMB. ii3 1 
 
 my word ? Were you not told that I was appointed 
 to be the Saviour of a lost world, and a minister of 
 divine mercy to men ? And was there not abundant 
 evidence of it by miracles and prophecies? Were you 
 not told that I was exalted after my suQerings to the 
 ri^^ht hand of God, on purpose to ** bestow repen- 
 tance and remission of sins?" Acts v. 31. And 
 were you not inf )rmed also, that I had a * rod of iron' 
 given me to dash rebels to death ? Psal. ii. Whit 
 is the reason you never came to me, or submitted to 
 my government, or accepted of my grace ? Did you 
 never hear of the threatenings that stood like drawn 
 swords agiinst those who wilfully refuse this mercy ? 
 Did you think these were mere bugbears, mere 
 sounding words to fright children with, and harm- 
 less thunder that would never blast you ? Did you 
 think these fiashes of wrath in my word, were such 
 sort of lightenings as you might safely play widi, and 
 flame that would never burn ? What punishments 
 think you, do you deserve, first for the abuse of my 
 authority, and then {ox the wilful and obstinate refusal 
 of my grace? Is it not diviiiely fit and proper, my 
 wrath should awake agaiiist such heinous criminals \ 
 Where is any proper object for my resentment, if 
 you are not made objects of it ? Take them, angels, 
 bind them hand and fo )t, and cast them into utter 
 darkness : Let them be thrown headlong into the 
 prison of hell, where fire and brimstone burn un- 
 quenchably, where light, and peace, and hope can 
 never come. Let them be crushed with the rod of 
 iron, which the Father hath put into my hands, as 
 
53^ THIL WIIATH or THE LAMB. DISCOURSE \ . 
 
 the first minister of his kingdom, as the avenger oi 
 his despised grace.' 
 
 4, It is a wrath, that is * excited by a final and ut- 
 ter rejection of the hist proposals of divine love.* 
 When mercy was offered to men by the blessed God 
 at first, the discoveries were more dark and imptrfect, 
 there were still further discoveries to be made in fol- 
 lowing aees : Therefore the crime and guilt of sin- 
 ners in those former days, was much less than the 
 crime and guilt of those who reject this last proposal 
 of mercy. There is no further edition of the cove- 
 nant of grace, for those who refuse this offer. Those 
 u ho neglect Christ as he is set forth in the gospel, to 
 be a sacrifice for sin, '* there remains no more sacri- 
 fice for them, but a certain fearful expectation of 
 vengeance and fiery indignation, \> hich shall con- 
 sume the adversarv." Heb. x. 26, 28. 
 
 All the former dispensations of grace are contained 
 eminently and compleated in this tlispensation of the 
 gospel. God can bend no greater messenger than 
 bis own Son, and he concludes and finishes the whole 
 scene and period of grace, with the gospel of 
 Christ. There remains nothing but wrath to the ut- 
 termost for those who have abused this last offer of 
 mercy. This was exernplified in the destruction of 
 Jerusalem and the Jews, a little after they had put 
 Christ to death, and rejected the salvation which he 
 proposed ; and this wrath will be more terribly glo- 
 rified in the final destruction of every sinner that wiU 
 fully rejects the glad tidmgs of this salvation. 
 
IHSCOURSE V. THE WRATH OF THE LAMB. 
 
 5. It is such wrath, as * arises from the patience of 
 a God, tired and worn out by the boldest iniquities 
 of men, and by a final perseverance in their rel)el- 
 lions.' It is the character and glory of God to be 
 '' long-suffering, anrl slow to anger." Kxod. xxxiv. 
 6. *' The Lord God merciful and gracious, long- suf- 
 fering, and abundant in goodness and truth ;" and Je- 
 sus his Son, is the minister of this his patience, and 
 the iritercessor for this delay of judgment and venge- 
 ance. He is represented as interceding one year 
 after another, for the reprieve of obstinate sinners, 
 and at his intercession, God the Father * w^aits to be 
 gracious:' But God will not wait and delay, and 
 keep silence for ever, nor will Jesus for ever plead. 
 Psal. 1. 1,3, 21, 22. *' Consider this ye that forget 
 God, lest he tear you in pieces, and there be none to 
 deliver." God will say then to obstinate sinners, as 
 he did to the Jews of old, Jer. xv. 5, 6. *' I will 
 stretch out my hand against thee and destroy thee, I 
 am weary of repenting:" and even the abused pati- 
 ence of Jesus the Saviour, shall turn into fury, when 
 the * day of recompence' shall come, and the " day of 
 vengeance which is in his heart," Isa. Ixiii. I, 4. 
 
 O let each of us consider, ' How long have 1 made 
 the grace of God wait on me ? How many messages 
 of peace and pardon have I neglected .'' How many 
 years have I delayed to accept of this salvation, and 
 made Jesus wait on an impenitent rebel with the 
 commission of mercy in his hand, while I have re- 
 fused to receive it ? Let my soul be this day awaken- 
 ed to lay hold of the covenant of grace, to submit to 
 
^34 THE WRATH OF THE LAMB. DISCOURSE V. 
 
 the gospel of Clirist, lest to-morrow the days of his 
 comniission of mercy toward me expire, lest the pa- 
 tience of a God be finished, lest the abused love of a 
 Saviour turn into fury, and nothing remain for me, 
 but unavoidable destruction.' 
 
 6. It is a sentence of divine wrath, which * shall 
 be attended with the fullest cf)nviction of sinners, and 
 self-condemnation in their own consciences.' This 
 doubles the yensations of divine wrath, and enhances 
 the anguish of the criminal to a hii^h deeree. 
 
 This final unbelief and rejection of grace, is a sin 
 against so much light and so much love, that how- 
 ever men cheat their consciences now, and charm 
 them into silence, yet at the last great day their own 
 consciences shall be on the side of the Judge, when 
 he pronounces wraih and damnation upon them. 
 What infinite terrors will shake the soul, when there 
 is not one of its own thoughts can speak peace with- 
 in ? When all its own inward powers, shall echo to 
 the sentence of the Judge, and acknowledge the jus- 
 tice and equity of it for ever. 
 
 Oh who can express the agonies of pain and tor- 
 ture, when the impenitent sinner shall be awakened 
 into such reflections as these? ' I was placed in a land 
 of light and knowledge; the light of the gospel of 
 grace shone all round me ; but 1 winked my eyes 
 against the light, and now I am plunged into utter 
 and eternal darkness ; I was convinced often that I 
 was a sinner, and in danger of death and hell, I was 
 convinced of the truth of the gospel, and the all-suffi- 
 ciency of the salvation of Christ, but I loved the 
 
DISCOURSE r. THE WRATH OF THE LAMB. 23'5 
 
 vanities of this life, I followed the appetites of the 
 flesh, and the delusive charms of a tempting world, 
 I delayed to answer to the voice of Providence and 
 the voice of mercy, the voice of the gospel inviting 
 me to this salvation, and the voice of Christ requir- 
 ing me to be saved. My own heart condemns me 
 with ten thousand reproaches: how righteous is God 
 in his indignation ! How just is the resentment of the 
 Lamb of God in this day of his wrath! What clear 
 and convincing and dreadful equity attends the sen- 
 tence of my condemnation, and doubles the anguish 
 of m\ soul ?' 
 
 7. It is such wrath as * shall be executed immedi- 
 ately and eternally, without one hour of reprieve, and 
 without the least hope of mercy, and that through all 
 the ages to come :' For though Jesus is the Media- 
 tor between God and man, to reconcile those to God 
 who have broken his law, there is no mediator ap- 
 pointed to reconcile those sinners to Christ, when they 
 have finally resisted the grace of his gospel. There 
 is no blood nor death that can atone, for the final re- 
 jection of the blood of this dying Saviour. If we re- 
 sist Jesus Christ the Lord, and his atonement, and 
 his sacrifice, his gospel, and his salvation, there re- 
 mains no more atonement for us. Let us consider 
 each of these circumstances apart, and dwell a little 
 on these terrors, that our hearts may be affected with 
 them. 
 
 (I.) This ' wrath shall be executed immediately,' 
 for the time of reprieve is come to an end. Here 
 divine wisdom and justice have set the limits of di- 
 vine patience, and they reach no further. 
 
2,o5 THE WRATH OF THE LAMB. DISCOURSE ^c 
 
 (2.) It is ' wrath that shnll be executed without 
 mercy,' because the day and hour of mercy is for 
 ever finished. That belongs only to this life. The 
 day of grace is gone for ever: " He that once made 
 thenj, will now have no mercy upon them; and he 
 thar ioimed them will shew them no favour," Isa. 
 xxvij. 11. The very mercy of the Mediator, the 
 compassion of the Lamb of God, is turned into wrath 
 and fury. The Lamb himself has put on the form 
 of a Lion, and there is no Redeemer or Advocate to 
 speak a v, ord for them who have finally rejected Je- 
 sus tiie only Mediator, worn out the age of his pity, 
 and provoked his wrath as well as his Father's. 
 
 (3.) It is ' wrath without end,^ for their souls arc 
 immortal, their bodies are raised to an immortal state^ 
 and their whole nature being sinful and miserable, and 
 immurtal, they must endure a wretched and misera- 
 ble {nmiortaiiiy. This is the representation of the 
 book of God, even of the New Testament, and I have 
 no ( ommission from God, either to soften these 
 \voicis~~of terror, or to shorten the term of their 
 misery. 
 
 REMARKS ON THIS DISCOURSE. 
 
 Remark 1. ' What a wretched mistake is it to im- 
 agine the great God is nothing else but Mercy,' and 
 Jesus Clirist ' is nothing else but Love and salvation.' 
 It is true, God has more mercy than we can imagine, 
 his love is b'-«indiess ni many of its exercises, and 
 Jesus his Son, who is the image of the Father, is the 
 
DISCOURSE V. THE WRATH OF THE LAMB. 237 
 
 fairest image of his love and p^race. His compas- 
 sions have *' heights and depths, and lengths and 
 breadths in them, that pass all our knowledge," hjjh. 
 iii. 18. Bui God is an universal Sovereign, a mtisc 
 and righteous Governor: There is nuijesty with him 
 as well as grace ; and ' Jesus is Lord of lords and 
 King of kings;' he bears the image of his Father's 
 justice, as well as of his Fadier's love; otherwise, he 
 could not be the full '' brightness of his glory, nor the 
 express image of his person," 
 
 And besides, the Father hath armed him with 
 powers of divine vengeance, as well as with powers 
 of mercy and salvation, Psal. ii, 9. He has put * the 
 rod of iron' into his hand, " to dash the nations like 
 a potters vessel." Rev. ii. 27. and xix. 13. He is 
 the *' elect and precious corner stone laid in Zion/' 
 1 Pet. ii. 6, But he is a stone that *' will bruise 
 those u ho stumble at him," and *' those on whom he 
 shall fall, he will grind them to powder," Matth. xxi. 
 42. He is a Lamb and a Lion too : He can suffer at 
 Jerusalem and mount Calvary, with silence, ' and not 
 open his mouth ;' and he can roar from heaven with 
 overspreading terror, and shake the world with the 
 sound of his anger. See that his mercy be not 
 abused. 
 
 Remark 2, ' The day of Christ's patience makes 
 haste to an end.' Every day of neglected grace has- 
 tens on the hour of his wrath and vengeance. Sinners 
 waste their months and years in rebellion against his 
 love, while he waits months and years to be graci- 
 ous : but Christ is all-wise, and he knows the proper 
 
 H 2- 
 
'2S3 THE WRATH OF THE LAMB. DISCOURSE V. 
 
 period of long-suffering, and the proper moment to 
 let all his wrath and resentment loose, on obstinate 
 and unreclaimable sinners. Oh may every one of 
 our souls awake to faith and repentance, to religion 
 and righteousness, to hope and salvation, before this 
 day of our peace be finished and gone for ever. Psal. 
 ii. 12. "Kiss the Son lest he be angry, and ye per- 
 ish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a 
 little." There was once a season when he saw the 
 nation of the Jews, and the people of Jerusalem, 
 wasting the proposals of his love ; they let their day 
 of mercy pass away unimproved, and he foretold their 
 destruction with tears in his eyes, Luke xix. 41, 
 42. '* He beheld the city and wept over it," alas, for 
 the inhabitants who would not be saved. He was 
 then a messenger of salvation, and clothed- with pity 
 to sinners, but in the last great day of his wrath, 
 there is no place for these tears of compassion, n© 
 room for pity or forgiveness. 
 
 Remark 3. * When we preach terror to obstinate 
 sinners, we may preach Jesus Christ as well as when 
 we preach love and salvation, for he is the minister 
 of his Father's government both in vengeance and in 
 mercy :' The Lamb hath wrath as well as grace, and 
 he is to be feared as well as to be trusted ; and he 
 must be represented under all the characters of dig- 
 nity to which he is exalted, that ' knowing the ter- 
 rors of the Lord,' as well as the compassion of the 
 Saviour, ' we may persuade sinful men to accept of 
 salvation and happiness.' 
 
DISCOURSE VI. 
 
 THE 
 
 VAIN REFUGE OF SINNERS : 
 
 OR, 
 
 A 3IEDITATI0N ON THE ROCKS NEAR TUNBRIDGE-WELLS, 1729. 
 
 Rev. vr. 15, 16, 17. 
 
 And the kings of the earth , and the great men^ and the 
 rich men^ EsV. hid themsehes in the dens, and in the 
 rocks of the mountains ; and said to the rocks and 
 mountains, fall on us, and hide us from the face of 
 him that sitteth on the throne^ and from the ivrath 
 of the Lamb, 
 
 IN the former discourse on this text, we have 
 taken a survey of these two persons and their cha- 
 racters, God and the Lamb, whose united wrath 
 spreads so terrible a scene through the world at the 
 great judgment-day; we have also inquired, and 
 found sufiicient reasons, why the anger and justice of 
 God should be so severe against the sinful sons and 
 daughters of men, who have wilfully broken his law, 
 and refused the grace of his gospel ; and why the in- 
 dignation of the Son of God should be super-added 
 to all the terrors of his Father's vengeance. 
 
240 THE VAIx\ REFUGE OF SINNERS. DISCOURSE VI, 
 
 We are now come to the third and last general 
 head of discourse, and that is to consider, * how 
 vain will all the refuges and hopes of siin\ers be 
 found in that dreadful day, when God and the Lamb 
 shall join to manifest their wrath and indignation 
 against them.' 
 
 These hopes, and shifts, and refuges of rebellious 
 and guilty creatures, are Vepresented by a noble 
 iniage and description in my text: *' They shall call 
 to the rocks and the mountains to fall upon them, 
 and to cover them from the face of him that sits up- 
 on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb." 
 As this address to mountains and to rocks appears 
 to be but a vain hope in extreme distress, when a 
 feeble and helpless criminal is pursued by a swift and 
 mighty avenger, so vain and fruitless shall all the 
 hopes of sinners be, to escape the just indignation 
 and sentence of their Judge. In order to shew the 
 vanity of all the refuf^es and shifts to which sinners 
 shall betake themselves in that day, let us spread 
 abroad this sacred description of them in a para- 
 phrase under the following heads. 
 
 1. Let us consider the ' rocks and mountains, as 
 vast and mighty created beings, of huge figure, and 
 high appearance, whose aid is sought in the last ex- 
 themity of distress;' and what is this but calling 
 upon creatures to help them against their Creator ? 
 V hat is it but flying to creatures to deliver and save 
 them, when their offended God resolves to punish? 
 A vain refu.e indeed, when God, the Almighty Ma- 
 ker of all things, and Jesus his Son, by whom all 
 
DISCOURSE VI. THE VAIN REFUGE OF SINNERS. 241 
 
 thiiii^s were made, sliall agree to arise and go forth 
 against them, in their robes of judgment, and with 
 their artillery of vengeance ! What created being 
 dares interpose in that hour to shelter or defend a 
 condemned criminal ^ What high and mighty crea- 
 ture is able to afford the least security or protection? 
 The princes of the earth, and the captains, the 
 kings, and heroes, and conquerors, with all their mil- 
 lions of armed nien, are not able to lift a hand, for 
 the defence of one sinner against the anger of God 
 and the Lamb. They themselves shall quake and 
 shiver a* the tremendous sight, and they shall fly in- 
 to ihe holes of the rocks like mere cowards, and shall 
 join their enterics with the poor and the slave, en- 
 treuiiig the rocks and mountains to befriend them 
 with shelter and safety. 
 
 Not the highest mountains, not the hardest or the 
 strongest rocks, not the most exalted or most power- 
 ful [lersons, or things in nature can defend, when the 
 God of nature resolves to destroy: When he vvho is 
 higher than the highest, and stronger than the strong- 
 est, shall pronounce destruction upon rebels, what 
 creature can speak deliverance ? 
 
 The rocks and the mountains obey their Maker, 
 they shiver in pieces at the word of his wrath, and 
 will yield no relief to criminals: But man, rebellious 
 man, disobeys his Maker, and calls to the rocks and 
 mountains to protect him. Vain hope. Oh sinner, to 
 make the most exalted creatures vour friends, when 
 God the Creator is your enemy. These inanimate 
 things have never learnt disobedience to their Maker, 
 
242 THE VAliN REFUGE OF SINNERS. DISCOURSE V4. 
 
 and rather than screen a rebel from his deserved judg- 
 ments, they will offer themselves as instruments of 
 divine vengeance. 
 
 2. Rocks and mountains in their cllfts^ and dcnsy and 
 ca'ucrnSj are sometimes considered as ' places of se- 
 cresy and concealment.' My text tells us, that 
 * kings and mighty men, the rich and the free man, 
 as well as the poor and the slave, hid themselves in 
 dens, and in the rocks of the mountains.' They 
 hoped there might be some secret corner, whose 
 thick shadows and darkness were sufficient to hide 
 them, where the Judge might not spy or find them 
 out. Vain hope for sinners to hide in the holes of 
 the rocks, and the deepest caverns of the mountains, 
 to escape the notice of that God, who is all eye and 
 all ear, and present at once in every place of earth and 
 heaven! Foolish expectation indeed, to avoid the 
 riotice of the Son of God, " whose eyes are as aflame 
 of hre," and shoot through the earth and its darkest 
 caves. 
 
 Read the 139th Psalm, Oh sinner, and then think 
 if it be possible to flee from the eye of God, aiul to 
 iiide thyself in the clefts of the rock, where his hand 
 shall not find tliee. — He has already < beset thee be- 
 hind and before,' and his hand already compasses thee 
 round about in all thy paths. Darkness itself cannot 
 cover thee ; ' the night shines as the day' before him, 
 and scatters li2:ht round about the criminal that wMild 
 Iiide himself from the wrath of God. Ask Jeremy 
 the prophet, and he shall tell thee, that *' none can 
 hide hhnself in secret places where God shall not see 
 
IJISCOUllSE VI. THE VAIN REFUGE OF SINNER3. 24^ 
 
 him, the God who fills heaven and earth." Jer. xxiii. 
 4. He shall hunt obstinate sinners from every moun- 
 tain, 'and out of the holes of the rocks ; for his eyes 
 are upon all their ways, neither their persons, nor 
 their iniquities, can be hid from him. 
 
 And, as you can never conceal yourselves from the 
 sight and notice of the Judge, so neither can you 
 turn your eyes away from him : You must behold 
 his face in vengeance, and endure the distressing 
 sight. The rays of his Majesty; in the day of his 
 wrath, shall strike through all the crannies of the 
 darkest den, and pierce the deepest shade. ^'Lord, 
 when thy hand is lifted up they will not see ; but 
 they shall see and be ashamed." Isa. xxvi. IQ. 
 And the face of the Lamb must be seen in all its 
 unknown terrors. Rev. i. 7. ''Behold, he comes in 
 the clouds, and every eye shall see him:" The guilty 
 creature, and the divine Avenger, shall meet eye to 
 eye, though the creature has liid himself under 
 rocks and mountains. 
 
 3. These * rocks and mountains' are designed to 
 represent, not only concealment and darkness by 
 their holes and caverns, but tlu^y are known * bul- 
 warks of defence,' and 'places of security and shelter, 
 by reason of their strength and thickness.' When 
 tlie prophet would express the safety of the man who 
 practises righteousness in a vicious age, Isa. xrxiii. 
 16. he says, *'He shall dwell on high, his place of 
 defence" shall be a munition of rocks." These shall 
 be a bulwark round him for his guard and safety. 
 When sinners therefore Ree to the mountains, and 
 
244 THE VAIN REFUGE OF SINNERS. DISCOURSE VI, 
 
 to the rocks, they may be supposed to seek a thick 
 covering, or a bhieid of defence to secure them, 
 where the strokes of divine auger shall not break 
 through and reach them : They trust to the solid 
 protection of the rocks, and the strength of the moun- 
 tains to guard them ; but these, alas ! can yield no 
 shelter from the stroke of the arm of God. Shovad 
 the rocks, Oh sinners, attempt to befriend thee, and 
 surround thee with their thickest fortification, his 
 wrath would cleave them asunder and pierce diee to 
 the soul, with greater ease than thou Ccuisi break 
 through a paper wall with the battering engines of 
 war. Ask the prophet Nahum, who was acquainted 
 with the majesty of God, and he shall tell thee, how 
 it *' throws down the mountain, and tears the rock 
 in pieces : When his fury is poured out like fire, the 
 mountains quake at him, the hills melt, the earth is 
 burnt at his presence, with all that" dwell therein. 
 He that *Mias his way in the whirlwind and in the 
 storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet," what 
 mountain *'can stand before his indignation ?" And 
 where is the rock *' that can abide in the fierceness 
 of his anger?" Nah. i. 2 — 6. Were the whole globe 
 of the earth one massy rock, and should it yawn to 
 the very centre to give thee a refuge and hiding- 
 place, and then close again and surround thee with 
 its solid defence, yet, when the Lord commands, the 
 earth will obey the voice of him that made it ; this 
 solid earth would cleave again and resign the guilty- 
 prisoner, and yield thee up to the sword of his justice. 
 Wheresoever a God resolves to strike, safety and 
 
DISCOURSE VI. THE VAIN REFUGE OF SINNERS. 245 
 
 defence are impossible thing^s. The sinner musE 
 suffer without remedy, and without hope, who has 
 provoked an Almighty God, and awakened the wrath 
 of that Saviour **who can subdue all things to him.- 
 self." 
 
 4. * Rocks and mountains' falling upon us are 'in- 
 struments of sudden and overwhelming death.'— 
 When sinners therefore call to the * rocks and moun- 
 tains to fidl upon them and cover them,' they are 
 supposed to endeavour to put an end to their own 
 beings by some overwhelming destruction, that they 
 may not live to feel and endure the resentments of 
 an affronted God, and an abused Saviour. Though 
 they are just raised to life, they would fain die again ; 
 but God, who calls the dead from their graves, v/ili 
 forbid the rocks and the mountains, and every crea- 
 ture, to lend sinners their aid to destroy themselves* 
 Sinners, in that dreadful day, shall 'seek death, but 
 death shall flee from them.' Their natures are now 
 made immortal, and the fall of rocks and mountains 
 cannot crush them to death. They must live to 
 sustain the weight of divine wrath, which is heavier 
 than rocks and mountains. 
 
 The life which God hath now given to men in this 
 mortal state, may be given up again, or thrown away 
 by the daring impiety of self-murder ; and they may 
 make many creatures instruments of their own de- 
 struction ; but the life which the Son of God shall 
 give them, when he calls them from the dead, is ever- 
 lasting ; they cannot resign their existence and im- 
 mortality, they cannot part with it, nor can any rren- 
 
 I 2 
 
S46' THE VAIN^ RLFUGL or SINNERS. DISCOURSE Vl. 
 
 ture take it from them. They would rather die than 
 see God in his majesty, or the Lamb arrayed in his 
 robes of judi^ment; but the wretches are immortaliz- 
 ed to punishment, by the long abused majesty and 
 power of God : And they must live for ever to learn 
 what it is to despise the authority of a God, and to 
 abuse the grace of a Saviour. Their doom is "ever- 
 lasting burnings : They have no rest day nor night, 
 the smoke of their torment will ascend for ever and 
 ever, in the presence of the holy angels, and in the 
 presence of the Lamb." Rev. xiv. 10, 11. 
 
 Thus have w^e considered those huge and bulky 
 beings, the rocks and the mountains, in all their vast 
 and mighty figures and appearances, with all their 
 clefts, and dens, and caverns, for shelter and conceal- 
 ment, with all their fortification and massy thickness 
 for defence, and with all their power to crush and de- 
 stroy mankind, and yet we fmd them utterly insufH- 
 cient to hide, cover, or protect guilty creatures, in 
 that great d^y of the wrath of God and the Lamb. 
 
 RErLECTIONS ON THE FOREGOING DISCOURSE. 
 
 1. ' How strangely do all the appearances of Christ 
 to sinners, in the several seasons and dispensations oi 
 his grace, difter from that last great and solemn ap- 
 pearance, which to them will be a dispensation oi 
 final vengeance. He visited the world in divine vi- 
 sions of old, even from the day of the sin of Adam- 
 and it Was to reveal mercy to sinful man ; and he 
 isometimes assumed the majesty of God, to let the 
 
iJISCOURSE VI. THE \'A1N REFUGE OF SINNERS. 21-7 
 
 world know he was not to be trifled with. He visited 
 the earth at his incarnation: How lowly was his state I 
 How full of grace his ministr}^! yet he then i^ave no- 
 tice of this day of vengeance, when he should appear 
 in his own and his Father's most awful glories. 
 
 He visits the nations now with the word of salva- 
 tion, he appears in the glass of his gospel, and in the 
 ordinances of his sanctuary, as a Saviour whose heart 
 melts with love, and in the language of his tenderest 
 compassions, and of his dying groans, he invites sin- 
 ners to be reconciled to an offended God: He appears 
 as a Lamb made a sacrifice for sin, and as a Minister 
 of his Father's mercy, offering and distributing par- 
 dons to criminals. But, when he visits the world as 
 a final judge, how solemn and illustrious uill that ap- 
 pearance be ? How terrible his countenance to all 
 tliose who have refused to receive him as a Saviour ? 
 **Behold he cometh in flaming fire, with ten thousand 
 of his angels, to render vengeance to them that" re- 
 sisted his grace, and disobeyed the invitation of his 
 gospel, 2 Thes. i. 7. 
 
 Time was, when the <' Father sent forth his Son, 
 not to condemn the world, but that through him the 
 world might have life," John iii .17. But the time is 
 coming, when God shall send him arrayed with Ma- 
 jesty, and with righteous indignation, to condemn the 
 rebellious world, and inflict upon them the pains of 
 eternal death. Hast thou seen him. Oh my soul, in 
 the discoveries of his mercy, fly to him with all the 
 wings of fiiith and love, with all the speed of desire 
 and joy fly to him, receive his grace, and accept of 
 
2-i8 THE VAIN RErUGE OF SINNERS. DISCOURSE VI. 
 
 his salvation, that when the day of the wrath of the 
 Lamb shall appear, thou mayest behold his counte- 
 nance without terror and confusion. 
 
 Refi, 2. ' How very different will the thoughts of 
 sinners be in that day, from what they are at present ? 
 How different their wishes and their inclinations?' 
 And that with regard to this one terror, which my 
 text describes, viz. that they shall address themselves 
 to the rocks and mountains for shelter, and fly into 
 the dens and caverns of the earth for concealment 
 and safety. Let us survey this in a few particulars. 
 
 Sinners, vvhose 'looks vVere once lofty and disdain- 
 ful,' whose eyes v;ere exalted in pride, their mouth 
 set against the heavens, and their hearts haughty and 
 full of scorn, they shall be humbled to the dust of 
 the earth, they shall creep into the hiding-places of 
 the moles and the bats, and thrust their heads into 
 holes and caverns, and dens of desolation, at the ap- 
 pearance of God their Creator in flaming fire, and 
 the Son of God their Judge ; for he is the avenger 
 of his own nnd his Father's injured honours. 
 
 Sinners who were 'once fond of their idols and 
 their sensual delights,' who made idols to themselves 
 of every agreeable creature, and gave it that place in 
 their hearts which belongs only to God, they shall 
 be horribly confounded in that day, when God shall 
 appear in hisMiijesty, to shake the earth to the centre, 
 and to burn the surface of it with all its bravery. 
 This is nobly described by the prophet Isaiah, chap, 
 the 2d from 10 — 2\, "In that day shall a man cast 
 \\\^ idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they 
 
WISCOUR^E VI. THE VAiiV REI'UGi: OF SIGNERS. i24'j 
 
 
 made, each one for himself to worship, to tlie mole 
 and to the bats, to .^o into the clefts of the rock, and 
 into the to[)s of the ra,y^ged rocks, for fear of the Lord, 
 and for the glory of his Majesty, when he ariseth to 
 shake terribly the earth." 
 
 Sinners who once * could not tcll Iiow to spend a 
 day without gay company,' those sons and daughters 
 of mirth, who turned their midnights into noon, with 
 the splendor of their lamps, and the rich and shining 
 furniture of their palaces, those noisy companions of 
 riot, who made the streets of the city resound with 
 their midnight revels, they shall now fly to the soli- 
 tary caveins of the rocks, and would be glad to dwell 
 there m darkness and silence for ever, if they might 
 but avoid the wrath of a provoked God, and the 
 countenance of an abused Saviour. Tiiey would 
 fain be shut up for ever from day-light, lest they 
 should see the face of an Almighty enemy, whose 
 name and honour have been reproached, in their 
 songs of lewd jollity and prophaneness. 
 
 Sinners who once ' were fond of liberty in the wild- 
 est sense,' and could not bear that any restraints 
 should be laid upon their persons or their wishes, who 
 never could endure the thought of a confiiienient tr» 
 their closets, for one half hour to converse with God, 
 or v/ith their own souls there, they now call aloud to 
 the rocks and the mountains to immure them round, 
 as a refuge from the eye of then' Judge. They were 
 once perpetually roving abroad, and gadding through 
 all the gay scenes of sensuality, in quest of new and 
 flowery pleasures, but now they beg to be imprison- 
 
i?50 THE VAIN RKfUGE Of slNN£RS. WISCOURSfi VI. 
 
 cd for ever in the dens and caves of the earth; tlie 
 deepest and most dismal caves arc tlieir most ardent 
 wishes, that they might never see the countenance 
 of their divine Avenger, nor feel the weight of his 
 hand. 
 
 Sinners who 'heretofore thought themselves and 
 their deeds of darkness secure enough from the eye 
 of God, and from the strokes of his justice,' while they 
 revelled in their common habitations, those, who 
 even under the open sky could defy the Almighty, 
 could laugh at his threatnings, and mock the prophe- 
 cies of his vengeance, nou' they can find no caverns, 
 deep or dark enough, to hide them from his sight; 
 his lightenings penetrate the hardest rocks, and shine 
 into the deepest solitudes: There is no screen or 
 slrelter thick and strong enough to stand between 
 God and them, and to cover and shield them from 
 liis thunder. They call now to the mountains and 
 the rocks to be an eternal screen ; but the rocks and 
 the mountains are deaf to their cry : Then shall they 
 remember, with unknown regret and anguish, those 
 days of grace, when Christ Jesus, who is now their 
 Judge, offered himself to become a screen to them, 
 and a defence from the anger of God their Creator; 
 But they rejected this offered grace. Me would have 
 been the rock of their safety, where they should have 
 found refuge from the fiery threatnings of the broken 
 law, and the majesty of an offended God: The Fa- 
 ther himself had appointed him for this kind ofiicfe to 
 repenting sinners; and perhaps he gave Mosesa type or 
 emblem of it, when hecommunded himtohidehimself 
 
WISCOURSE VI. THE VAIN REFUGE OF SINNEUS. '2!ri 
 
 in the clefts of the rock, to secure him from destruc- 
 tion, while the burning blaze of his glory passed by, 
 Exod. xxxiii. 22. And L^aiah the prophet had fore- 
 told, that this Jesus should be as '^ the shadow of a 
 great rock," to shelter them from the beams of the 
 wrath of God ; but they refused this blessing, they 
 renounced this refuge; and now they find there is no 
 other rock sufficient to become^a shelter from the 
 stroke of his Almighty arm, or a sufficient shadow 
 from the burning vengeance. 
 
 Sinners, who ' once over-rated their flesh and 
 blood; and loved it with infinite fondness,' who treat- 
 ed their fleshly appetites with excessive nicety and 
 elegance, and affected a humourous delicacy in every 
 thing round about them, would now gladly creep into 
 the mouldy caverns of the rocks, they would be glad 
 to hide and defile themselves in the diirk and noisome 
 grottos of the earth, and squeeze their bodies into 
 the rough and narrov/ clefts, to shield themselves 
 from the indignation of him that sits upon the throne, 
 and of the Lamb. 
 
 Those who ' once were so tender of this mortal 
 life and limbs,' and cdtld not think of bearing the 
 least hardship for the sake of virtue and piety, are 
 now wishhig to have those delicate limbs of theirs 
 crushed by the fall of rocks and mountains : They 
 \vish earnestly to have their lives and their souls de- 
 stroyed for ever, and their whole natures buried In 
 desolation and death, if they might but avoid the 
 eternal agonies and torments that are prepared for 
 them. Nov/ they long for caverns, and graves, to 
 
252 THE VAIN REFUGE OF SINNERS. DISCOURSE VI, 
 
 hide them for ever from the justice of God, whose 
 authority they have despised, and from the wrath of 
 a Saviour whose mercy they have impiously renounc- 
 ed. 
 
 Look forward. Oh my soul, to this awful and 
 dreadful hour; survey this tremendous scene of con- 
 fusion, when sinners shall run counter to all their for- 
 mer principles and wishes, and pass a quite different 
 judgment upon their sinful delights, from what they 
 ■were wont to do in the days of this life of vanity. 
 Learn, Oh my soul, to judtre of things more agreea- 
 bly to the appearances of that day: Never canst thou 
 set the flattering pleasures of sense, and the joys of 
 bin, in a truer and juster view, than in the light of this 
 glorious and tremendous judgment. 
 
 Rcjh 3. ' How great and dreadful must the dis- 
 tress of creatures be, when they cannot bear to see 
 the face of God their Creator :' How terrible must be 
 the circumstances of the sons of men, when they can- 
 not endure to see the face of the Son of God, but 
 would fain hide themselves from the sight under rocks 
 and mountains? How wretched must their state be, 
 who avoid the face of the Massed God with horror, 
 which the holy angels ever oehold with most intense 
 delight, and which the saints rejoice in as their high- 
 est happiness? It is their heaven to see God, and be- 
 hold the glory of his Son Jesus, Matth. v. 8. John 
 :^vii. But this is the very hell of sinners in that 
 dismal hour, and will fill their souls with such inex- 
 pressible anguish, that they call to the rocks and 
 mountains to hide them from the sight. Dreadful 
 
DISCOURSE VI. THE VAIN REFUGE OF SINNERS. 853 
 
 «nd de])lorable is their case indeed, who cannot en- 
 dure to see the countenance of Jesus the Son of God, 
 Jesus the Saviour of n\en, the copy of the Fa'tlicr's 
 glory, and the image of his beauty and love. They 
 cannot bear to see that Jesus who is the chiefest often 
 thousands, and altoj^ether lovely; they fly from that 
 blessed countenance, which is the ornament, and the 
 joy of all the holy and happy creation ; That blessed 
 countenance is become the terror and confusion of 
 impenitent and i^uilty rebels. 
 
 And what shall I do, if I should be found amongst 
 tins crijninal number, in that great day ? If I look at 
 the wisdom and the righteousness of God, these will 
 reflect the keenest rays of horror and anguish upon 
 my soul, for it is that wisdom, and that righteous- 
 ness, that have joined to prepare the salvation which 
 I have rejected, and therefore now that wise and righ- 
 teous God seeth it proper and necessary to punish 
 me with everlasting sorrows. If I look at the power 
 of God, It is a dreadful sight: Eternal and Almigh- 
 ty power, that can break through rocks and moun- 
 tains, to inflict vengeance upon the guilty, and stands 
 engaged by his honour to break my rebellious spirit 
 with unknown torments. If I look at his goodness or 
 his love, it is love and goodness that I have despised 
 and abused, and it is now changed into divine fury. 
 If I look at the /ace of ^esus, and find there the cor- 
 respondent features of his Father, I shall then hate to 
 see it — for this very reason, because it bears his Fa- 
 ther's image, who is so terrible to my thoughts. I 
 
 K 2 
 
254 THE VAIN REFUGE OF SINNERS. DISCOURSE VI, 
 
 shall neither be able to bear the sight of God or of his 
 fairest copy, that is, Jesus his Son, because I am so 
 shamefully unlike them both, and besides, I have 
 affronted their majesty, and despised their mercy. 
 
 How painful and smarting will be the reflection of 
 my heart in that day, when I shall remember, that 
 Jesus called out to me from heaven, by the messen- 
 gers of his grace, and said, *' Behold me, behold 
 me, look unto me from the ends of the earth, and 
 be saved :" But now he is armed with a commis- 
 sion of vengeance, and he strikes terror and exquisite 
 pain into my soul with every frown, so that I shall 
 wish to be forever ' hid from the face of the Lamb, 
 for the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall 
 be able' to endure this wrath, to stand before his 
 thunder, or bear the lightning of this day ? Alas, 
 how miserable must I be by an everlasting necessi- 
 ty, if I cannot bear the countenance of God and 
 Christ, which is the spring of unchangeable happi- 
 ness to all the saints and the blessed angels ? Oh 
 ■may I timely secure the love of my God, and gain 
 an interest in the favour and salvation of the bless- 
 ed Jesus ! Here, Oh Lord, at thy foot I lay down 
 all the weapons of my former rebellions ; I implore 
 thy love through the interest of thy Son, the great 
 Mediator : Let me see the light of thy countenance, 
 and the smiles of thy face : Let me see a reconciled 
 God, and let him tell me that my sins are all for- 
 given ; then shall I not be afraid to meet the coun- 
 tenance of him that sits upon the throne, or the 
 
I 
 
 DISCOURSE VI. THE VAIN REFUGE OF SINNERS. 255 
 
 Lamb, when Christ shall return from heaven, to 
 punihh the impenitent rebels, against divine grace. 
 
 Reji, 4. * How hopeless, as well as distressed, is 
 the case of sinners in that day, when they are driv- 
 en to this last extremity, to seek help from the rocks 
 and the mountains ?' It is the last, but the fruitless 
 refuge of a frighted and perishing creature : The 
 rocks and mountai)is refuse to help them; they will 
 not crush to death those wretches, whom the justice 
 of God has doomed to a painful immortality, nor 
 will they conceal or shelter those obstinate rebels, 
 whom the Son of God has raised out of their graves, 
 to be exposed to public shame and punishment. 
 Those high and hollow rocks, those dismal dens 
 and caverns, dark as midnight, /those deep and 
 gloomy retreats of melancholy and sorrow, which they 
 shunned with the utmost aversion, and could hard- 
 ly bear to think of them without horror here on earth, 
 are now become their only retreat and shelter ; but 
 it is a very vain and hopeless one. 
 
 Wiien I see such awful appearances in nature^ 
 huge and lofty rocks hanging over my head, and at 
 every step of my approach they seem to nod upon 
 me with overwhelming ruin, when my curiosity 
 searches far into their hollow clifts, their dark and 
 deep caverns of solitude and desolation, methinks 
 while I stand amongst them, I can hardly think my- 
 self in safety, and at best they give a sort of solemn 
 and dreadful delight : Let me improve the scene to 
 religious purposes, and raise a divine medication. 
 Am I one of those wretches, who shall call to these 
 
256 THE VAIN REFUGE OF SINNERS. DISCOURSE VI. 
 
 huge impending rocks to fall upon me ? Am I that 
 guilty and miserable creature, who shall entreat 
 these mountains to cover me from him that sits on 
 the throne and the Lamb ? Am I prepared to meet 
 the countenance of the blessed Jesus the Judge in 
 that day ? Have I such an acquaintance with the 
 Lamb of God who takes away the sins of die world, 
 such a holy faith in his mediation, such a sincere 
 love to him, and such an unfeigned repentance of all 
 my sins, that I can look upon him as my friend and 
 my refuge, and a friend infinitely better than rocks 
 and mountains, for he not only screens me from the 
 divine anger, but introduces me into the Father's 
 love, and places me in his blissful presei ce forever? 
 Reft, 5, 'What hideous and everlasting mischief 
 IS contained in the nature of sin, especially sin against 
 the gospel of Christ, against the methods of grace, 
 and the offers of salvation, which exposes creatures to 
 such extreme distress?' The fairest and the most 
 flattering iniquity, what beautiful colours soever it 
 may put on in the hour of temptation, yet it carries 
 all this hidden mischief and terror in the bosom of it, 
 for it frights the crtature from the sight of his Creator 
 and his Saviour, and makes him fly to every vain re- 
 fuge. Adam and Eve, ihe parents of our race, when 
 they iosi their innocence and became criminals, fled 
 from the presence of God, who they conversed with 
 before in holy friendship. Gen. iii. 8. ' They hid 
 themselves among the trees of Paradise,' and the 
 thickest shadows of -he garden; but the eye and the 
 voice of God reached them there : The curse found 
 
JHSCOURSE VI. THE VAIN REFUGE OF SINNERS. 257 
 
 them out, though that was a curse allayed with the 
 promised blessing of a Saviour. Guilt will work in 
 the conscience, and tell us, that 'God is angry,' and 
 the next thought is, * where shall I hide myself from 
 an anjrry God?' But Vv^hen the mercy of God has 
 taught us where we may hide ourselves, even under 
 the bhadow of the cross of his Son, and we refuse to 
 make him our refuge, there remains nothing but a 
 final horror of soul, and a hopeless address to rocks 
 and mountains, to hide us from an offended God, 
 and a provoked Saviour. 
 
 Whensoever, Oh my soul, thou shalt find or feel 
 some flattering*iniquity alluring thy senses, making 
 cocirt to thy heart, and ready to gain upon thy inward 
 wishes, remember the distress and terror of heart 
 that sinners must undergo in the great and terrible 
 day of the Lord. Think of the rocks and mountains 
 which they vainly call upon to befriend them, to 
 shield them from the vengeance of that almighty arm 
 whi(^h is provoked by sin, to m.ake his creatures mi- 
 serable. Remember, Oh my soul, and fear; remem- 
 ber and resist the vile temptation, and stand afar 
 off from that practice, which will make thee afraid 
 to see the face of God. 
 
 Reft. 6. *Of what infinite importance is it then to 
 sinners, to gain a humble acquaintance and friendship 
 with the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of 
 the world, that we may be able with comfort, to be. 
 hold the face of him that sits on the throne in that 
 day.' Which of us can say, *1 am not a sinner, I 
 am not guilty before God ?' And which of us then 
 
258 tHE VAIN REFUGE OF SINNERS. DISCOURSE VI. 
 
 lias the couraj^e and hardiness to declare, 'I have no 
 need of a Saviour ?' And is there any one amongst 
 us, who hath not yet fled for refuge to Jesus our only 
 and sufficient hope? There is a protection provided 
 aj^ainst a provoked God, but there is none against a 
 neglected and abused Saviour: I mean, where this 
 neo^lect and abuse is final and unrepented. Oh, how- 
 sol icitous should every soul be, in a matter of this 
 divine moment, this everlasting importance ? What 
 words of compassion shall we use, what words of 
 aw^akening terror, to put sinners in mind of their ex- 
 treme danger, if they neglect the only security which 
 the gospel has appointed? What language of fear 
 and importunity shall we make use of, to hasten you 
 Oh sinners, to the acquaintance, the faith and the 
 love, of Jesus the Saviour, that you may behold his 
 face, and the face of the Father, with serenity and joy 
 in the last day ? Give yourselves up to him then with- 
 out further delay, as your teacher, your high-priest, 
 your reconciler, your Lord and king. His blessed 
 offices are the only chambers of protection, when 
 God shall arise to burn the world, and to avenge him- 
 self on his enemies that will not be reconciled. 
 
 RcjL 7. Let us take occasion from my text, also 
 to meditate on tiie 'happy circumstances of true 
 Christians, in that day of terror:' Behold the Judge 
 appears, he cometh in the clouds sorrounded with 
 armies of a\''enging angels, the ministers of his in- 
 dignation; he rideth on a chariot of flaming fire, the 
 earth w ith all its mountains melt like w-ax at the {=re- 
 scr^ce of the Lord, the fields and the forests become 
 
DISCOURSE Vi. THE VAIN REFUGE OF SINNERS. 259 
 
 one spacious blaze, the sea grows dry and forsakes 
 its shores, and rivers flee away at his hghtening; the 
 rocks are broken and shivered at the appearance of 
 his majesty, the tombs are thrown open, and with 
 terrible dismay shall the graves give up their dead ; 
 the pyramids of brick and stone, moulder and sink 
 into dust, the sepulchres of brass and marble yield 
 up their royal prisoners, and all the captives of death 
 awake and start into life, at the voice of the Son of 
 God. Amidst all these scenes of surprise and hor- 
 ror, with how serene a countenance, and how peaceful 
 a soul, do the saints awake from their beds of earths 
 Calm and serene among all these confusions they 
 arise from their long slumber, and go to meet their 
 returning Saviour and tiicir friend. They have seen 
 him in the glass of his gospel, submitted to his laws, 
 and rejoiced in his grace, and they now delight to see 
 him fiice to face in his glory. They have seen him 
 vested with his commission of mercy, they have 
 heard and received his message of goodness and love, 
 and they cannot but rejoice to see him coming to 
 fulfil his last promises. They have cheerfully sub- 
 jected themselves to his government here on earth, 
 they have followed him in paths of holiness, through 
 the wilderness of this world; and what remains, but 
 that they be publicly acknowledged by Jesus the 
 Judge of all, and follow him up to the place of bles- 
 sedness v/hich he hath prepared for them. 
 
 Perhaps some of these holy ones, in the days of the 
 flesh, were banished from the cities and the societies 
 of m.en for the sake of Christ, thev were driven oqt 
 
260 THE VAIN REFUGE OF SINNERS, UlSCOURSE Vl. 
 
 from their native towns, and forced to seek a shelter 
 in solitary 'dens and caves' among rocks and moun- 
 tains, '*to wander through desarts in sheep-skins and 
 goat-skins, destitute, afflicted, tormented," Heb. xi. 
 31. They made the clefts of the rock and caverns 
 of the earth their refuge from the face of their cruel 
 persecutors: The mountains and rocks sheltered 
 them from the wrath of princes, and the dark grottos 
 of the earth, and the dens of wild beasts, concealed 
 them from the rage of men, from the sword of the 
 mighty ; but nov/ the scene is gloricnisly changed, 
 the martyrs and holy confessors awaking from their 
 graves, exult and triumph in the smiles of their 
 Judge, and receive pubhc honours before the whole 
 creation of God. They behold the infinite conster- 
 nation of haughty tyrants and persecuting princes, 
 of proud geiierals and bloody captains in that day : 
 They hear them 'call to rocks and mountains to hide 
 them from the face of him that sits upon the throne 
 and the Lamb.' The authority and regal honour of 
 the emperors of the earth, hath long slept in the dust, 
 but it is lost there for ever; their glory shall not awake 
 nor arise with them: Behold the mighty sinners who 
 have been the enemies of Christ, or negligent of his 
 salvation, how they creep aifrighted out of their shat- 
 tered marbles, and leave all that pomp and pride of 
 death in ruins, to appear before God with shan\e and 
 everlasting contempt. The men of arms, the captains 
 and sons of valour, whose swords lay under their 
 heads, with their trophies and titles spread around 
 them, shall raise their heads up from the dust, with 
 
DISCOURSE VI. THE VAIN REFUGE OF SINNERS. 261 
 
 Utmost ciiFright and anguish. of s])irit : Their courage 
 fails them before the foce of Jesu^ the Lord and Judge 
 of the whole creation. They would fly to the com- 
 mon refuge of slaves, they shrink into tjie h'Jes of the 
 rocks, and cull to the mountains to screen and pro- 
 tect them : *and every bond-man, and every free- 
 man,' who have not known nor loved God and Christ, 
 are plunged into extremest distress; but the humble 
 Christian is serene jjnd joyful, and lifts up his head 
 widi courage and delight, in the midst of these scenes 
 of astonishment and dismay. 
 
 *He is come, he is come, saith the saint, even that 
 Lord Jesus, whom I have seen, whom I have known 
 and loved in the days of my mortal life, whom I have 
 long waited for m the dust of deaths he is come to 
 reward all my labours, to wipe away all my borrows, 
 to fmisli my faith, and turn it into sight, to fultil all 
 m\ ho;M-s and his own promises ; he is come to de- 
 liver me for ever, from all my enemies, and to bear 
 me to the place which he has prepared for those that 
 love him, and long for his appearance. 
 
 * O blessed be the God of grace, who hath con- 
 vinced m.e of the sins of my nature, and the sins of 
 my life in the days of my flesh; who hath discovered 
 to me the danger of a guilty and sinful state, hath 
 shewn me the commission of mercy in the hands of 
 his Son, hath pointed me to the L^mib of God, who 
 was offered as a sacrifice to take away the sins of 
 rnen, and hath inclined me to receive him in all his 
 divine cliaracters and offices, and to follow the Cap- 
 tain of my salvation through all the labours and dan- 
 
 L 2 
 
262 THE VAIN REFUGE OF SINNERS. DISCOURSE VI. 
 
 gers of life. I have trusted him, I have loved him, 
 I have endeavoured, though under many frailties, to 
 honour and obey him, and I can now behold his face 
 without terror : While the mighty men of the earth 
 tremble with amazement, and call to the rocks and 
 mcuintains to hide them from his face, I rejoice to see 
 him in his robes of judgment, for he is come to pro- 
 nounce me righteous in the face of men and angels, 
 to declare me a good and faithful servant before the 
 whole creation, to ^et the crown of victory on my 
 head, to take me to heaven with him, that 'where he 
 is 1 may be also to behold his glory,' and to partake 
 for ever of the blessings of his love.' Amen. 
 
DISCOURSE VII. 
 NO NIGHT IN HEAVEN. 
 
 Rev. xxii. 25. 
 
 And there shall be no Night there. 
 
 LENGTH of night and over-spreading darkness 
 in the winter season, carries so many inconveniencies 
 with it, that it is generally esteemed a most uncom- 
 fortable part of our time. Though night and day 
 necessarily succeed each other all the year, by the 
 wise appointment of God in the course of nature, by 
 means of the revolution of the heavenly bodies, or 
 rather of this earthly globe, yet the night-season is 
 neither so delightful nor so useful a part of life, as 
 the duration of day-light. It is the voice of all nature, 
 as well as the word of Solomon, ** light is sweet, and 
 a pleasant thing to enjoy the sun-bejms." Light 
 gives a glory and beauty to every thing that is visible, 
 and shews the face of nature in its most agreeable co- 
 lours ; but night, as it covers all the visible world 
 with one dark and undistinguishing vail, is less pleas- 
 ing to all the animal parts of the creation. Therefore 
 as hell and the place of punishment is called * utter 
 darkness' in Scripture, so heaiicn is represented as a 
 mansion of 'glory,' as the * inheritance of ihc sanUs 
 in light:' And this light is constant without inter- 
 
264 NO NIGHT IN HEAVEN. DISCOURSE VII. 
 
 ruption, and everlasting, or without end : So my 
 text expresses it, Hhere shall be no night there.' 
 
 Lei it be observed, that jn the language of the holy 
 writers, Might' is often ascribed to intellectual be- 
 ings, and is used as a metaphor to imply ' knowledge, 
 an(i holiness, and joy.' '■ Knowledge' as the beauty 
 and excellency of the ' mind,' ' holiness' as the best 
 regulation of the * will,' and 'joy' as the harmony of 
 our best affections in the possession of what we love : 
 And in opposition to these, * ignorance, iniquity and 
 sorrow,' are represented b) the metaphor of 'dark- 
 ness.' Then we are in * darkness' in a spiritual sense, 
 when the understanding is beclouded or led into mis- 
 take, or when the will is perverted or turned away 
 froni God and holiness, or when the most uncomfort- 
 able affections prevail in the soul. I might cite parti- 
 cular texts of Scripture to exemplify all this. And 
 when it is said,.' there shall be no night in heaven," 
 it may be very well applied in the spiritual sense ; 
 there shall be no errors or mistakes among the blessed, 
 no such ignorance as to lead them astray, or to make 
 them uneasy ; the w ill shall never be turned aside 
 from its pursuit of holiness, and obedience to God; 
 nor shall the affections ever be ruffled with any thing 
 that may administer grief and pain. Clear and un- 
 erring knowledge, unspotted holiness, and everlast- 
 ing joy, shall be the portion of all the inhabitants of 
 the upper world. These are more common subjects 
 
 of discourse. 
 
 But I chuse rather at present to consider this word 
 
 NIGHT, in Its literal stiise, and shall endeavour to 
 
DISCOURSE VII. NO NIGHT IN HEAVEN. 265' 
 
 repre-^cnt part of the blessedness of the heavenly 
 stale, under this special description of it. ' There 
 is no night there'. 
 
 No^r, in Older to pursue this design, let us take 
 a brief survey of the several e'uils or incotiDemenccs 
 which attend the night, or the season of darkness 
 here on earth, and shew how far the heavenly world 
 is removed, and free from all manner of inconveni- 
 ence of this kind. 
 
 1. Though night be the season of sleep for the 
 relief of nature, and for our refreshment after the la« 
 bours of the day, yet * it is a certain sign of the weak- 
 ness and weariness of nature, when it wants such 
 refreshments, and such dark seasons of relief.' But 
 there is no night in heaven. Say; O ye inhabitants 
 of that vitL;! world, are ye ever weary ? Do your na- 
 tures know any such weakness ? Or are your holy 
 labours of such a kind, as to expose you to fat!;;ue, 
 or to tire your spirits? The blessed above ' mount up 
 towards God as on eagles wings, they run at the 
 command of God and ;e not weary, they walk on 
 the hills of paradise and never faint,' as the Prophet 
 Isaiah expresses a vigorous and pleasurable state. 
 Chap. xl. ver. last. 
 
 There are no such animal bodies in heaven, whose 
 natural springs of action can be exhausted or weak- 
 ened by the business of the day : There is no flesh 
 and blood there, to complain of weariness, and to 
 want rest. O blessed state, where our faculties shall 
 be so iiappily suited to our work, that we shall never 
 feel ourselves ucary of it, nor fatigued by it. 
 
26-6 NO NIGHT IN HEAVEN. £)ISCOURSE Vlll 
 
 And, as there is no weariness, so there is no sleep- 
 ing ^in re. Sleep was not made for the heavenly 
 statr. Can the spirits of the just ever sleep, under 
 the full blaze of divine glory, under the incessant 
 communications of divine love, under the perpetual 
 influences of the grace of God the Father, and of Je- 
 sus the Saviour, and amidst the inviting confluence 
 of every spring of blessedness. 
 
 2. Another inconvenience of night, near akin to 
 the former, is, that * business is interrupted by it, 
 partly for want of light to perform it, as well as for 
 want of strength and spirits to pursue it.' This is 
 constantly visij^le in the successions of laboj^ir and re- 
 pose here on earth ; and the darkness of the night 
 is appointed to interrupt the course of labour, and 
 the business of the day, that nature may be recruit- 
 ed. But the business of heaven is never interrupt- 
 ed ; there is everlasting light and everlasting strength. 
 Say, ye blessed spirits on high, who join in the ser- 
 vices which are performed for God and the Lamb 
 there, ye who unite all your powers in the worship 
 and homage that is paid to the Father and to the Son, 
 ye that mingle in all the joyful conversation of that 
 divine and holy Assembly, say, is there found any 
 useless hour there? Do your devotions, your duties 
 and your joys, ever suffer such an entire interruption 
 of rest and silence, as the season of darkness on earth 
 necessarily creates amgngst the inhabitants of our 
 world. 
 
•DISCOITRSE VIT. NO NIGHT IN HEAVEN. 
 
 267 
 
 The living creatures * which are represented by 
 John the Apostle, in Rev. iv. whether they signify 
 saints or angels, yet they were * full of eyes' that never 
 slumber; * they rest not day nor night;' this is 
 spoken in the language of mortals, to signify, that 
 they are never interrupted by any change of seasons, 
 or intervening darkness in the honours they pay to 
 God : They are described as ever saying, *' Holy, 
 holy, holy. Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, 
 and is to come." And the same sort of expression 
 is used concerning the saints in heaven. Rev. vii. 
 15. " They who came out of great tribulation, and 
 have washed their robes, and made them white in 
 the blood of the Lamb, they are before the throne 
 of God, and serve him day and night in his temple," 
 i. e. they constantly serve or worship him in his 
 holy temple in heaven. Perhaps the different orders 
 and ranks of them in a continual succession, are 
 ever doing some honours to God. As there is no 
 night there, so there is no cessation of their services, 
 their worship, and their holy exercises, in one form 
 or another, throughout the duration of their being. 
 
 Our pleasures here on earth are short-lived : If 
 they are intense, nature cannot bear them long, any 
 more than constant business and labour : And, if 
 our labours and our pleasures should happily join 
 and mingle here on earth, which is not always the 
 case, yet night compels us to break off the pleasing 
 
 • The word Zi;«, which is translated beasts, signifies only animals or 
 living creatures, and does not carry with it so mean and so disagreeable an 
 ff^a as the word deasta in English. 
 
268 NO NIGHT IN HEAVE>r. DISCOURSE VII. 
 
 labour, and we must rest from the most delightful 
 business. Happy is that region on high, were busi- 
 ness and pleasure are for ever the same among all 
 the inhabitants of it, and there is no pause or entire 
 cessLition of the one or the other. Tell me, ye warm 
 and lively Christians, when your hearts are sv/eetiy 
 and joyfully engaged in the worship of God, in holy 
 conversation, or in any pious services here on earth, 
 how often you have been forced to break off ?hese 
 celestial entertainments by the returning niidit ? 
 But in the heavenly state theie is everlasting active 
 service, with everlasting delight and satisfaction. 
 
 In that blessed world there can be no idleness, no 
 inactivity, no trifling intervals to pass away time, no 
 vacant or empty spaces in eternal life. Who can be 
 idle under the immediate eye of God? Who ca.-\ ui- 
 fle in the presence of Christ ? Who can neglect die 
 pleasurable work of heaven, under the sweet influ- 
 ences of the present E^trity, and under the srtdles of 
 his countenance, who approves all their work and 
 worship ? 
 
 3. As in our present world ' "he hours of night' 
 are unactive if we sleep, so ' they seem lony; ,^nd 
 tedious when our eyes are wakeful, and sleep flies 
 from us.' Perhaps we hear the clock strike one hour 
 after another, with wearisome longings for the next 
 succeeding hour: We wish the dnrk season at an 
 end, and we long for the approach of morning, we 
 grow impatient for the dawning of the day. But in 
 heaven, ye spirits who have dwelt tbngest there, can 
 ye remember one tiresome or tedious hour, through all 
 
DISCOURSE VII. NO NIGHT IN HEAVEN. 2G9 
 
 the years of your residence iu that country ? Is there 
 not eternal wakefuhiess amoni^ all the blessed ? Can 
 any of you ever indulge a slumber ? Can you sleep 
 in heaven ? Can you want it, or wish for it > No, 
 for that world is all vital and sprightly for ever. 
 When we leave this flesh and blood, farewel to all 
 the tedious measures of time, farewel tiresome dark- 
 ness; our whole remaining duration is life and light, 
 vital activity and vigour, attended with everlasting 
 holiness and joy. 
 
 4. While we are here on earth, * the darkness of 
 the night often exposes us to the danger of losing 
 our way, of wandering into confusion, or falling in- 
 to mischief.' When the sun-beams have withdrawn 
 their light, and midnight clouds over-spread the 
 heaven, we cannot see our path before us, we can- 
 not pursue our proper course, nor secure ourselves 
 from stumbling. How many travellers have been 
 betrayed by the thick shadows of the night, into mis- 
 taken ways or pathless deserts, into endless mazes 
 among thorns and briars, into bogs, and pits, and 
 precipices, into sudden destruction and death ? But 
 there are no dangers of this kind in the heavenl}^ 
 world : All the regions of paradise are for ever illu- 
 minated by the glory of God: The light of his coun- 
 tenance shines upon every step that we shall take, 
 and brightens all our way. We shall walk in the 
 light of God, and under the blessed beams of the Son 
 of righteousness, and we are secured for ever against 
 wandering, antlagainst every danger of tripping or fall- 
 ing in our course. * Our feet may stumble on the dark 
 
 M 2 
 
270 NO NIGHT IN HEAVEN. DISCOURSE VII. 
 
 mountains here below,' but there is no stumbling- 
 block on the hills of paradise, nor can we go astray 
 from our God or our duty. The paths of that coun- 
 try are all pleasure, and ever-livin.s: day-light shines 
 upon them without end. Happy beings who dwell 
 or travel there ! 
 
 5. ' In the night we are exposed here on earth, to 
 the violence and plunder of wicked men, whether 
 we are abroad or at home.' There is scarce any 
 safety now a-days to those who travel in the night, 
 and even in our own habitations there is frequent 
 fear and surprise. At that season, the sons of mis- 
 chief ' dig through houses in the dark, which they 
 had marked for themselves in the day-time : They 
 lurk in corners to seize the innocent, and to rob him' 
 of ills possessions. But in the heavenly world there 
 is no dark hour; there is nothing that can encour- 
 age such mischievous designs; nor are an* ^f the 
 sons of violence, or the malicious powers of uark- 
 ness, suffered to have an abode or refuge in that 
 country. No surprise nor fear belongs to the inhabi- 
 tants of those regions. Happy souls, who spend all 
 their life in the light of the countenance of God, and 
 are for ever secure from the plots and mischievous 
 devices of the wicked ! 
 
 While we dwell here below, amongst the chang- 
 ing seasons of light and darkness, what daily care is 
 taken to shut the doors of our dwellings against the 
 men of mischief ? What solicitude in a time of war to 
 keep the gates of our towns and cities well secured 
 against all invasion of enemies ? ' Every man with 
 
DISCOURSE VII. NO NIGHT IN HEAVEN. .271 
 
 his su'ord upon his thigh, because of fear hi the 
 night.' But in that blessed world there is no need of 
 such defences; no such guardian cares to secure ^he 
 inhabi cants. * The gates of that city shall nof- be 
 shut by day, and there is no niirht there.' There 
 shines perpetual day-light, and the gates are ever 
 
 ' open to receive new-comers from our world, or for 
 the conveyance of orders and messages to and fro 
 from the throne through all the dominions of God 
 and of the Lamb. Blessed are the inhabitants of that 
 country, where there are no dangers arising from any 
 of the wicked powers of darkness, nor any dark mi- 
 nute to favour their plots of mischief. 
 
 6. The * time of night and darkness is the time 
 of the concealment of secret sins.' Shameful iniqui- 
 
 ' ties are then practised amongst men, because the 
 darkness is a cover to them. ** The eye of the 
 adulterer watches for the twilight, saying, no eye 
 shall see me," Job xxiv. 15. ' In the black and 
 dark night' he hopes for concealment as well as the 
 thief and the murderer, *« and they that are drunk- 
 en, are drunken in the night," 1 Thes. v. 7. The 
 hours of darkness are a temptation to these iniqui- 
 ties, and the shadows of the evening are a vail to co- 
 ver them from the sight of men : They find a screen 
 behind the curtains of the night, and a refuge in thick 
 darkness. But in the heavenly world there is no 
 temptation to such iniquities, no defilement can gain 
 an entrance there, nor could it find any vail or cover- 
 ing. The regions of light, and peace, and holy love, 
 are never violated wiUi such scenes of villany and 
 
272 NO NIGHT IN HEAVEN. DISCOURSE VII. 
 
 guilt. No secret sins can be committed there, nor 
 can they hope for any screen to defend them from the 
 eye of God and the Lamb, ' whose eyes are like a 
 flame of fire.' The light of God shines round every 
 creature in that country, and there is not a saint or 
 angel there, that desires a covering from the sight 
 of God, nor would accept of a vail or screen to in- 
 terpose between him and the lovely glories of divine 
 holiness and grace. To behold God, and to live un- 
 der the blessings of his eye, is their everlasting and 
 chosen joy. O that our world were more like it ! 
 
 7. When the night returns upon us here on earth, 
 * the pleasures of sight vanish and are lost.' Know- 
 ledge is shut out at one entrance in a great degree, 
 and one of our senses is withheld from the spread- 
 ing beauties and glories of this lower creation, al- 
 most as though we were deprived of it, and were 
 grown blind for a season. 
 
 It is true, the God of nature has appointed the 
 moon and stars to relieve the darkness at some sea- 
 sons, that when the sun is withdrawn, half the world 
 at those hours may not be in confusion : And by the 
 inve.iiions of men, we are furnished with lamps and 
 - car.dles to relieve our darkness within doors: But if 
 -we otir abroad in the black and dark night, instead 
 of the various and delightful scenes of the creation 
 of God in the skies and the fields, we are presented 
 with an universal blank of nature, and one of the 
 great entertainments and satisfactions of this life, is 
 quite taken away from us. But in heaven, the glo- 
 ries of that world are for ever in view : The beau- 
 
DISCOURSE VII. NO NIGHT IN HEAVEN. 
 
 teous scenes and prospects of the hills of paradise arc 
 never hidden : we shall there continually behold a 
 rich variety of * things which eye hath not seen on 
 earth, which ear hath not heard, and which the heart 
 of man hath not conceived.' Say, ye souls in para- 
 dise, ye ir.hubitants of that glorious world, is there 
 any loss of pleasure by your absence from those 
 works of God which are visible here on earth, w^hile 
 you are for ever entertained with those brighter 
 works of God in the upper world? while every cor- 
 ner of that country is enlightened by the glory of 
 God himself, and w^hile the Son of God with all his 
 beams of grace shines for ever upon it. 
 
 8. It is another unpleasing circumstance of the 
 night season, * that it is the r>;'ldest part of time.' 
 When the sun is sunk below the earth, and its beams 
 are hidden from us, its kindly and vital heat, as well 
 as its light, are removed from one side of the globe; 
 and this gives a sensible uneasiness in the hours of 
 midnight, to those who are not well provided with 
 warm accommodations. 
 
 And I might add also, it is too often night with 
 us in a spiritual sense, while we dwell here on earth : 
 Our hearts are cold as well as dark : How seldom do 
 we feel that fervency of spirit in religious duties 
 which God requires ? How cool is our love to the 
 greatest and the best of beings? How languid and 
 indifferent are our affections to the Son God, the 
 chiefest often thousand, and altogether lovely ? And 
 how much d^>th the devotion of our souls uant its 
 proper ardour and vivacity ? 
 
274 NO NIGHT IN HEAVEN. DISCOURSE Vlf. 
 
 But when the soul is arrived at heaven, we shall 
 be all warm and fervent in our divine and delight- 
 ful work. As there shall be nothing painful to the 
 senses in that blessed' cHmate, so there shall not be 
 one cold heart there, nor so much as one lukewarm 
 worshipper ; for we shall live under the immediate 
 rays of God who formed the light, and under the 
 kindest influences of ' Jesus the Son of righteous- 
 ness.' We shall be made like his angels who are 
 most active spirits, and ' his ministers' uho *' are 
 flames of fire." Psal. civ. 3. Nor shall any dulness 
 or indiffcrency hang upon our sanctified powers and 
 passions : They shall be all warm and vigorous in 
 their exercise, amidst the holy enjoyments of that 
 country. 
 
 In the 9th and last place, as night is the season 
 appointed for sleep, ' so it becomes a constant peri- 
 odical emblem of death, as it returns every evening.' 
 Sleep and m/idnight, as I have shewn before, arc no 
 seasons of labour or activity, nor of delight in the 
 visible things of this world : It is a dark and stupid 
 scene wherein we behold nothing with truth, though 
 we are sometimes deceived and deluded by dream- 
 ing visions and vanities : Night, and the slumbers 
 of it, are a sort of shorter death and burial, inter- 
 posed between the several daily scenes and transact- 
 ons of human life. But in heaven, as there is no 
 sleeping, there is no dying, nor is there any thing 
 there that looks like death. Sleep, the image or em- 
 blem of deadi, is for ever banished from that world. 
 All is vital activity there : Every power is immor- 
 
DISCOURSE VII. NO NIGHT IN HEAVEN. Q7S 
 
 tal, and every thing that dwells there is for ever 
 alive. There can be no death, nor the image of it^ 
 where the ever-living God dwells and shines with his 
 kin(!est beams; his presence maintains perpetual vi- 
 tality in every soul, and keeps the new creature in its 
 youth and vigour for ever. The saints shall never 
 have reason to mourn over their withering graces, 
 languid virtues, or dying comforts ; nor shall they 
 ever complain of drowzy faculties, or unactive powers, 
 where God and the Lamb are for ever present in the 
 iiiidM of them. Shall I invite your thoughts to dwell 
 a liitle upon this subject? 
 
 Shall we make a more particular * enquiry, whence 
 it comes to pass that there is no night nor darkness 
 in the heavenly city ?' We are told a little before the 
 words of my text, that *the glory of God enlightens 
 it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. There is no 
 need of the sun by day, or of the moon by night j' 
 there is no need of any such change of seasons as day 
 and night in the upper regions, nor any such alternate 
 enlightners of a dai^k world, as God has placed in our 
 iirmatnent, or in^this visible sky. The inheritance 
 of the saints in light is sufficiently irradiated by God 
 himself, who at his first call made the light spring up 
 out of darkness over a wide chaos of confusion, be- 
 fore the sun and moon appeared ; and the beams of 
 divine light, grace and glory, are communicated 
 from God, the original foundation of it, by the Lamb, 
 to all the inhabitants of the heavenly country. It was 
 by Jesus his Son that God made the light at first^ 
 and by him he conveys it to all the happy worlds. 
 
276 NO NIGHT IN HEAVEN. DISCOURSE VII. 
 
 There is no doubt of this in the present heaven of 
 sahits departed from flesh, who are ascended *tc. the 
 spirits of the just made peifect.' It is one of dicir 
 privileges that they go to dwell, not only where they 
 see the face of God, but where they behold the glory 
 of Christ, and converse with * Jesus the Mediator of 
 the new^ covenant,' and are *for ever present with the 
 Lord' who redeemed them. Heb. xii. 23, 24. 2 Cor. 
 V. 8. Since his mediatorial kingdom and offi- es are 
 not yet finished in the present heaven of separate 
 souls, we may depend on this blessedness to be com- 
 municated throujrh Christ the Lamb of > -od, and all 
 the spiritual enjoyments and felicities which are re- 
 presented under the metaphor of Might,' are convey- 
 ed to them through Jesus the Mediator. 
 
 The sun, in the natural world, is a bright emblem 
 of divinity, or the Godhead, for it is the spring of jU 
 light, and heat, and life, to the creation. It is by the 
 influences of the sun, that herbs, plants, and animals^ 
 are produced in their proper seasons, and in all their 
 various beauties, and they are all refreshed and sup- 
 ported by it. Now if we should suppose ihis vast 
 globe of fire which we call *the sun,' to be inclosed 
 in a huge hollow sphere of crystal, which should at- 
 temper its rays like a transparent vail, and give milder 
 and gender influences to the burning beams of it, 
 and \et transmit every desirable and useful portion 
 of light or heat, this would be an happy emblem of 
 the man ^Christ Jesus, in whom dwells all the fulness 
 of the GodliCLid bodily.' It is the Lamb of God who, 
 in a mild and gracious manner, conveys the blessings 
 
DISCOURSE VII. NO NIGHT IN HEAVEN. 277 
 
 originally derived from God his Father to all the 
 saints. We partake of them in our measure in this 
 lower world among his churches here on earth ; but 
 it is with a nobler influence, and in a more sublime 
 degree, the blessings of paradise are diffused through 
 all the mansions of glory, by this illustrious medium 
 of conveyance, Jesus the Son of God ; and there can 
 be no night nor coldness, death nor darkness, in this 
 happy state of separate souls. 
 
 When the bodies of the saints shall be raised again, 
 and re- united to their proper spirits, when they shall 
 ascend to the place of their final heaven and supreme 
 happiness, we know not what manner of bodies they 
 shall be, what sort of senses they shall be furnished 
 with, nor how many powers of cf.'> versing with the 
 corporeal world shall be bestowed upon them. Whe- 
 ther they shall have such organs of sensation as eyes 
 and ears, and stand in need of such light as we de- 
 rive from the sun or moon, is not absolutely certain. 
 The Scripture tells us, it shall not be a body of flesh 
 and blood : These are not materials refined enough 
 for the heavenly state ; "that which is corruptible 
 cannot inherit incorruption." 1 Cor. xv. 50. But- 
 this we may be assured of, that whatsoever inlets of 
 knowledge, whatever avenues of pleasure, whatever 
 delightful sensations are necessary to make the inha- 
 bitants of that world happy, they shall be all united 
 in that spiritual body which God will prepare for the 
 new-raised saints. If eyes and ears shall belong to 
 ihat glorified body, those sensitive powers shall be 
 
 N 2 
 
C78 NO KIGHT IN IIEAVLK. DISCOURSE VIL 
 
 nobly enlarged, and made more delightfully suscep-^ 
 tive of richer shares of knowledge and joy. 
 
 Or what if we sliall have that body furnished with 
 such unknown mediums, or organs of sensation, as 
 shalKmake ligbt and sound, such as we here partake 
 of, unnecessary to us ? These organs shall certainly 
 be such, as shall transcend all the advantages that we 
 receive in this present state from sounds or sun- 
 beams. There shall be no disconsolate darkness, 
 nor any tiresome silence there. There shall be no 
 night to interrupt the business or pleasures of that 
 everlasting day. 
 
 Or what if the whole body shall be endued all over 
 with the senses oi see'ijig and hearing > What if these 
 sort of sensationjv;shall be diffused throughout all that 
 immortal body, ^'^ feeling is diffused through all our 
 present mortal flesh ? What if God himself shall in 
 a more illustrious manner irradiate all the powers of 
 the body and spirit, and communicate the light of 
 knowledge, holiness, and joy, in a superior manner 
 to what we can now conceive or imagine ? This is 
 certain, that darkness in every sense, with all the in- 
 conveniencies and unhappy consequences of it, is and 
 must be for ever banished from the heavenly state. 
 * There is no night there.' 
 
 When our Lord Jesus Christs hall have ** given up 
 his" mediatorial kingdom to the Father, ''and have" 
 presented all his saints spotless and without blemish 
 before his throne, it is hard for us mortals in the 
 present state, to say how far he shall be the everlast- 
 ine medium of the communication of divine bless- 
 
DISCOURSE VII, KO NIGHT IN HEAVEN. 270 
 
 ings to the happy inhabitants on high. Yet when 
 we consider that the saints and angels, and the whole 
 happy creation, are gathered together in him as their 
 head,^ it is certain they shall all be accounted in 
 some sense * his members;' and it is highly proba- 
 ble he, as their head, shall be for ever active in com* 
 municaiing and diffusing the unknown, blessings of 
 that world, amongst all the inhabitants of it who are 
 gathered and united in him. 
 
 I come in the last place, to make a few remarks 
 upon the foregoing discourse, and in order to ren- 
 der them more effectual for our spiritual advantage, 
 I shall consider the words of my text, < there shall 
 be no night there,' in their metaphorical or spiritu- 
 al meaning, as well as in their literal sense. There 
 is no night of ignorance or error in the mind, no 
 night of guilt or of sorrow in the soul: But the bless- 
 ed above shall dwell surrounded with the light of 
 divine knowledge, they shall walk in the light of holi- 
 ness, and they shall be for ever filled with the light 
 of consolation and joy, as I have explained it at the 
 beginning of this discourse. 
 
 The 1st remark then is this, * When heaven, 
 earth and hell, are compared together, with relation 
 to light and darkness, or night and day,' we then see 
 them in their proper distinctions and aspects. Eve- 
 ry thing is set in its most distinguishing situation 
 and appearance, when it is compared with thing*? 
 which are most opposite. 
 
 * The Greek word a(,at;ttpx>.»<or.', used in Eph. i. 10. favours this meaning-, 
 -and perhaps Col. i. 20- includes ihe same thing. 
 
280 ^O NIGHT IN HEAVEN. DISCOURSE VII. 
 
 The earth on which we dwell during this state of 
 trial, has neither all day nor all nii^ht belonging to it, 
 but sometime^ light appears, and again darkness, 
 whether in a natural or a spiritual sense. 
 
 Though there be long seasons of darkness in the 
 winter, and darkness in the summer also, in its con- 
 stant returns, divides one day from another, yet the 
 God of nature has given us a Uv^qv portion of light 
 than there is of darkness, throughout the whole globe 
 of the earth : And this benefit we receive by the re- 
 maining beams of the sun after its setting, and by the 
 assistance of the moon and the stars of heaven. Blcs* 
 sed be God for the moon and stars, as well as for the 
 sun-beams and the brightness of noon. Blessed be 
 God for all the lights of nature, but we still bless him 
 more for the light of the gospel, and for any rays 
 from heaven, any beams of the sun of righteousness, 
 which diffuse in low^er measures knowledge, and holi- 
 ness, and comfort, among the inhabitants of this our 
 world. God is here manifesting his. love and grace 
 in such proportions as he thinks proper. Some beams 
 of the heavenly world break out upon us here in this 
 dark region. God the spring of all our light, and the 
 L^mb of God by his Spirit communicates sufficient 
 light to us, to guide us on in our way to that heaven- 
 ly country. 
 
 In hcUihtrt is all night and darkness, thick dark- 
 ness in every sense, for the God of glory is absent 
 there as to any manifestations of his face and favour. 
 And therefore it is often called '* utter darkness, 
 where there is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing 
 
discourse: vn. no night in heaven. 281 
 
 of teeth." There is no holiness, there is no comfort, 
 there are no benefits of the creation, no blessings of 
 grace ; all are forfeited and gone for ever. It is 
 everlasting night and blackness of darkness in that 
 Avorld : Horror of soul, without i\ beam of refresh- 
 ment from the fLice of God or the Lamb for ever. 
 The de\ils are now '* reserved in everlasting chains 
 under darkness to the judgment of the great day," 
 Jude 6. But then their confinement shall be closer, 
 and their darkness, guilt, and sorrow, shall be more 
 overwhelming. Is it lawful for me in this place, to 
 mention the description which Milton our English 
 poet gives of their wretched habitation ? 
 
 ' A dungeon horrible on all sides round, 
 As one i^ieat furnace flarn'd ; yet from those flames 
 >^o light, but rather darkness visible 
 Serv'd only to discover sights of woe ; 
 Regions of sorrou , doleful shades, where peace 
 And rest can never dwell ; hope never comes, 
 That comes to all : But torture without end 
 Still urges, and a fiery deluge fed 
 With ever burning sulphur unconsum'd. 
 Such place eternal justice had prepar'd 
 For rebel-angels; here their pris'n ordain'd 
 In utter darkness, and their portion set 
 As far remov'd from God and light of heaven 
 As from the centre thrice to th' utmost pole.' 
 
 To this the poet adds, 
 * O how unlike the place from whence they fell !' 
 
282 NO NIGHT IN HEAVEN. DIS<:-OiniSE Vli* 
 
 How unlike to that heaven which I have been de- 
 s'cribin^, in which there is no night ; and all the evils 
 of darkness in every sense are for ever secluded from 
 that happy region, where knowledge, hoUness, and 
 joy, are all inseparable and immortal. 
 
 2. Remark. * What light of every kind we arc 
 made partakers of here on earth, let us use it wiih 
 lioly thankfulness, with zeal and religious improve- 
 ment.' Hereby we may be assisted and animated to 
 travel on, through the mingled stages and scenes of 
 light and darkness, in this world, till we arrive at 
 the inheritance of the saints in perfect light. It is a 
 glorious blessing to this dark world, that the light 
 of Christianity is added to the light of Judaism, and 
 the light of nature ; and that the law of Moses, and 
 the gospel of Christ, are set before us in this na- 
 tion in their distinct views, on purpose to make our 
 -^ay to happiness more evident and easy. May the 
 snng of Moses, and the song of the Lamb, be sung 
 in our land ! But let us never rest satisfied, till the 
 light that is let into our minds become a spring of 
 divine life within us, a life of knowledge, holiness, 
 and comfort. Let us not be found amongst the num- 
 ber of those, who, when * light is come into the 
 world, love darkness rather than light,' lest we fall 
 under their condemnation. Johniii. 19. Let us never 
 re&t till we see the evidences of the children of God 
 wiought in us with powder; till the 'day-spring that 
 ]i^ visited us from on high' has entered into our 
 spirits, and refined and moulded them into the di- 
 vitie image; till we who are by nature all * darkness 
 are made light in the Lord,' 
 
DISCOURSE V'll. NO NIGHT IN HEAVEN. 283 
 
 O vvliat a blessed change does the convertin<^ 
 grace of Christ make in the soul of a son or daugh- 
 ter of Adam? It is like the beauty and pleasure 
 which the rising morning diffuses over the face of 
 the earth, after a night of storm and darkness: It 
 is so much of heaven let into all the chambers of 
 the soul : It is then only that we begin to know 
 ourselves aright, and know God in his most awful 
 and most lovely manifestations : It is in this light 
 we see the hateful evil of every sin, the beauty of 
 holiness, the worth of the gospel of Christ, and of 
 his salvation. It is a liy:ht that carries divine heat 
 and life with it; it renews all the powers of the 
 spirit, and introduces holiness, hope and joy, in the 
 room of folly and guilt, sin, darkness and sorrow. 
 
 3. Remark. If God has wrought this sacred and 
 divine change in our souls, if we are made the 
 children of light, or if we profess to have felt this 
 change, and hope for an interest in this bright in- 
 heritance of the saints, * let us put away all the works 
 of darkness with hatred and detestation.' ** Let us 
 walk in the light" of truth and holiness, Eph. v. 8. 
 *' Ye were once darkness, but are now light in th.e 
 Lord ; walk as children of light." And the Apostle 
 repeats his exhortation to the Thessalonians in I 
 Kpist. 5th chapter and the 5th verse. ' Ye are all 
 children of the light and of the day, and not the so??s 
 of night or darkness ; therefore let us not sleep as do 
 others, but let us watch and be sober; [)utiing on 
 the breast-plate of faith and love, and for an hel'.net 
 the hope of salvation, for God hath not ;ip[)oinied us 
 
284 NO NIGHT IN HEAVEN. DISCOURSE VII* 
 
 to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus 
 Christ.^ 
 
 To animate every Christian to this holy care and 
 watchfulness, let us tliink w hat a terrible disappoint- 
 ment it will be, after we have made a bright prcfes- 
 sion of Christianity in our lives, to lie down in death 
 in a state of sin and guilt, and to awake in the world 
 of spirits, in the midst of the groans and agonies of 
 hell, surrounded and covered with everlasting dark- 
 ness. Let our public profession be as illustrious and 
 bright as it will, yet if we indulge works of darkness 
 in secret, night and darkness will be our eternal por- 
 tion, with the anguish of conscience, and the terrors 
 of the Almighty, without one glimpse of hope or re- 
 lief. It is only those who walk in the light of holi- 
 ness here, who can be lit to dwell in the prescr>ce of 
 a God of holiness hereafter. ' Light is sown only for 
 the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart ;' and 
 it shall break out one day from amongst the clods, 
 a glorious harvest ; but only the sons and the daugh- 
 ters of light shall taste of the blessed fruits of it. 
 
 Think again with yourselves when you are tempt- 
 ed to sin and folly, What if I should be cut off on 
 a sudden, practising the works of darkness, and my 
 soul be summoned into the eternal world, covered 
 with guilt and defilement ? Shall I then be fit for the 
 world of light ? Will the God of light ever receive 
 me to his dwelling ? Do I not hereby render myself 
 unfit company for the angels of light ? and what if I 
 sliould be sent down to dwell among the spirits of 
 
DISCOURSE VII. NO NIGHT IN HEAVEN. 2^5 
 
 darkness, since I have imitated their sinful manners, 
 and obeyed their cursed influences ? 
 
 O may such thoughts as these dwell upon our 
 spirits with an awful solemnity, and be a perpetual 
 guard against defiling our garments with any iniqui» 
 ty, lest our Lord should come and find us thus pol- 
 luted. Let us walk onwards in the paths of light, 
 which are discovered to us in the word of God, and 
 which are illustrated by his holy ordinances, to guide 
 us through the clouds and shades which attend us 
 in this wilderness, till our Lord Jesus shall come 
 with all his surrounding glories, and take us to the 
 full. possession of the inheritance in light. 
 
 4. Remark. ' Under our darkest nights, our most 
 unactive and heavy hours, our most uncomfortable 
 seasons here on earth, let us remember we are tra- 
 velling to a world of light and joy.' If we happen 
 to lie awake in midnight darkness, and count the 
 tedious hours one after another, in a mournful suc- 
 cession, under any of the maladies of nature, or the 
 sorrows of this life, let us comfort ourselves that we 
 are not shut up in eternal night and darkness with- 
 out hope, but we are still making our way towards 
 that country where there is no night, where there is 
 neither sin nor pain, malady nor sorrow. 
 
 What if the blessed God is pleased to try us, by 
 the with- holding of light from our eyes for a sea- 
 son ? What if we are called to seek our duty iu 
 dark providences, or are perplexed in deep and dif- 
 ficult controversies wherein we cannot find the light 
 of truth ^ Vv^hat if we * sit in darkness' and mourn- 
 
 o 2 
 
255 NO NIGH I IN HEAVEN. DISCOURSE VH. 
 
 ing, * and see no light,' and the beams of divine con- 
 solation are cut off, let us still ' trust in the name 
 of the Lord, and stay ourselves upon our God,' espe- 
 cially as he manifests himself in the Lamb that was 
 slain, the blessed medium of his mercy, Isa. 1. 10. 
 Let us learn to say with the Prophet Micah in the 
 spirit of faith, Micah vii. 8, 9. *' When I sit in 
 darkness the Lord will be a light unto me ; he will 
 bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his 
 righieousness." 
 
 Blessed be God that the night of ignorance, grief, 
 or affliction, which attends us in this world, is not 
 everlasting night. Heaven and glory are at hafid ; 
 wait and watch for the morning star, for Jesus and 
 the resurrection. Roll on apace in your appointed 
 course ye suns and moons, and all ye twinkling en- 
 lightners of the sky, carry on the changing seasons, 
 of light and darkness in this lower world with your 
 utmost speed, till you have finished all my appoin- 
 led months of continuance here. The light of faith 
 shews me the dawning of that glorious day, which 
 shall finish all my nights and darknesses for ever. 
 Make haste, O delightful morning, and delay not my^ 
 hopes. Let me hasten, let me arrive at that blessed* 
 inlieritance, those mansions of paradise, where night 
 is never known, but one eternal day shall make our 
 knowledge, our holiness, and our joy, eternal. 
 J men. 
 
DISCOURSE VIII. 
 
 \ SOUL PR jE PA RED FOR HEAVEN. 
 
 . 2 Cor. v. 5. 
 
 No\v be that hath vor ought us for the selfsame thing, 
 
 is God, 
 
 WHEN this Apostle designs to entertain our hope 
 in the noblest manner, and raise our faixh to its 
 highest joys, he generally calls our thoughts far away 
 from all present and visible things, and sends them 
 forward to the great and glorious day of the resurrec- 
 tion : He points our meditations to take a distant 
 prospect of the final and complete happiness of the 
 saints in Heaven, when their bodies shall be raised 
 shining and immortal; whereas it is but seldom that 
 he takes notice of the Heaven of separate souls, or 
 that part of our future happiness which commences 
 at the hour of death. But in this chapter the holy 
 writer seems to keep both these Heavens in his e\-e, 
 and speaks of that blessedness which the spirits fo 
 of the just shall enjoy in the 'presence of the Lord,' 
 as soon as *they are absent from the body,' and yet 
 leads our souls onwards also to our last and most 
 perfect state of happiness, which is delayed till our 
 corruptible bodies shall be raised from the dust, and 
 mortality shall l)e swallowed up in life. 'We know,' 
 saitli lie in llie lirst verse of this chapter, 'we know 
 
288 A SOUL PREPARED FOR HEAVEN. DISCOURSE VILI. 
 
 that as soon as our mortal tabernacle,' in which we 
 now dwell, «is dissolved, we have a building,' ready 
 for us *in the heavens;' i. e. an investiture in a glo- 
 rious state of holiness and immortality, which waits 
 to receive our spirits when we drop this dying flesh : 
 Yet the felicities of this paradise, or first heaven, 
 shall receive an unspeakable addition and advance- 
 ment, when * Christ shall come the second time,' 
 w ith all his saints, to complete our salvation. 
 
 But which heaven soever we arrive at, whether it 
 be this of the separate state, or that when our bodies 
 shall be restored, still we must be ' WTought up' to 
 a proper fitness for it by God himself; and as the 
 end of this verse tells us, he 'gives us his own spirit 
 as an earnest' of these future blessings. 
 
 The observation which shall be the subject of my 
 discourse, is this : * Those who shall enjoy the 
 heavenly blessedness hereafter, must be prepared 
 for it here in this world, by the operation of the 
 blessed God.' 
 
 Here we must take notice in the first place, that 
 since wc are sinful and guilty creatures in ourselves, 
 and have forfeited all our pretences to the favour of 
 God and happiness, we must be restored to his fii- 
 vour, we must have our sins forgiven, we must be 
 justified in his sight with an everlasting righteous- 
 ness, we must be adopted as the children of God, 
 and have a right and title given us to the heavenly 
 inheritance, before we can enter into it, or possess it; 
 and this blessing is procured for us by the obediciice 
 and death of the Son of God. It is in his blood that 
 
^DISCOURSE VII r. A SOUL PREPARED FOR HEAVEN. 28\^ 
 
 we fiiul an atonement for our iniquities, and we must 
 be made heirs of glory by becoming the adopted 
 children of God, and so 'we are joint-heirs' with his 
 Son Jesus, and shall be glorified with him, Rom. 
 viii. 17. 
 
 And it is by a true and living faith in the Son of 
 God, that we become partakers of this blessing. God 
 has set forth his Son Jesus as a propitiation for 
 sinners through faith in his blood, Rom. iii. 24. 
 ** We are justified by faith" in his blood, and *' have 
 hope of eternal life through him," Rom. v. We also 
 receive our adoption, and *' become the children of 
 God through fliith in Christ Jesus," Gal. iii. 26. and 
 thereby we obtain a title to some mansion in our 
 Father's house in Heaven, since Jesus our elder bro- 
 ther, and our forerunner, is admitted into it to take 
 a place there in our name. This is a very consider- 
 able part of our necessary preparation for the heaven- 
 ly world, that we should be believers in the Son of 
 God, and united to him by a living faith; and this 
 fliith also is Mhe gift of God,' Eph. ii. 8. We 
 are wrought up to it by his grace. 
 
 But as this does not seem to be the chief thing 
 designed in the words of my text, I shall pass it over 
 thus briefly, and apply myself to consider what that 
 further fitness or preparation for heaven intends, for 
 which we are said here * to be wrought up by God' 
 himself. The former preparation for heaven, may 
 rather be said to be a * relative change,' which is in- 
 cluded in our pardon or justification, and alters our 
 state from the CQudemnation of hell, to the favour 
 
290 A SOUL PREPARED FOR HEAVEN. DISCOURSE Vlll. 
 
 and love of God : But this latter preparation im- 
 plies a real chano;e of our nature by sanctifying 
 grace, and gives us a temper of soul suited to the 
 business and blessedness of the heavenly world. 
 This is the * preparation' which my text speaks of. 
 
 The great enquiry therefore at present is, * What 
 are those steps, or gradual operations, by which the 
 blessed God works us up to this fitness for heaven ?' 
 
 And here I shall not run over all the parts and li- 
 neaments of the new creature, which is formed by 
 regeneration, nor the particular operations of con- 
 verting y-race, whereby we are convinced of sin, and 
 led to faith and repentance, and new obedience, though 
 these are all necessary to this end ; but I shall con- 
 fine myself only to those things which have a more 
 immediate reference to the heavenly blessedness; 
 and they are such as follow : 
 
 1. 'God w^orks us up to a preparation for the hea- 
 venly felicity, by establishing and confirming our be- 
 lief, that ther.'^ is a heaven provided for the saints, 
 and by giving us some clearer acquaintance with the 
 nature, the business, and the blessedness of this hea- 
 ven.' All this is done by the gospel of Christ, and 
 by the secret operation of the blessed God, teaching 
 us to understand his gospel. 
 
 Alas ! how ignorant were the heathen sages about 
 anyfutiire state for the righteous? How bewildered 
 were the best of them in all their imaginations ? how 
 vain were all their reasonings upon this subject, and 
 how liule saiisfaction could they give to an honest 
 enquirer, wheihcr there was any reward provided for 
 
DISCOURSE VIII. A SOUL PREPARED FOR IIEAVI-N. 20i 
 
 good men beyond this life ? The light of nature was 
 their guide ; and those in whom this feeble taper 
 burnt with the fiiirest lustre, were still left in great 
 darkness about futurity. As the Gentile philoso- 
 phers Were left in great uncertainties whether there 
 was any heaven or no, so were their conceptions of 
 heavenly things very absurd and ridiculous ; and 
 their various fancies about the nature and enjoyments 
 of it, were all impertinence. 
 
 And how little knowledge had the Patriarchs them- 
 selves, if we may judge of their knowledge by the 
 five books of Moses, which give no plain and ex- 
 press promise of future happiness in another world, 
 neither to x\bel nor Noah, to Abraham, Isaac, Ja- 
 cob, or to Moses himself? And were it not fo;.* 
 some expressions in the"New Testament, and by the 
 xith chapter to the Hebrews, where we are told, that 
 these good men 'sought a heavenly country,' and 
 hoped for happiness in a future and invisible state, 
 we should sometimes be ready to doubt whether they 
 knew almost any thing of the future resurrection and 
 glory. 
 
 That great and excellent man Job had one or two 
 lucid intervals of peculiar brightness, which shone 
 upon him fr4)m heaven, in tlie midst of his distresses, 
 and raised him above and beyond the common level 
 of the dispensation lie lived in ; yet, in the main, when 
 lie describes the state of the dead, how desolate and 
 dolesome is his language, and what heavy darkness 
 hangs upon his hope ! See his expression. Job x. 
 21, 2-1, '' Let me alone that I may take coudurt a 
 
292 A SOUL PREPARED FOR HEAVEN. DISCOURSE VIII* 
 
 little, before I go whence I shiill not return, even to 
 the land of darkness, and the shadow of death, a 
 land of darkness as darkness itself, and of the sha- 
 dow of death without any order, and where the light 
 is as darkness." Mark how this good man heaps 
 one darkness upon another, and makes so formida- 
 ble a gloom as was hardly to be dispelled by the 
 common notices given to men in that age. 
 
 And if we look into the Jewish writings in and af- 
 ter the days of Moses, we find the men of righteous- 
 ness frequently entertained with promises of corn, 
 and wine, ard oil, and other blessings of sense ; and 
 few there were amongst them who saw clearly, and 
 firmly believed the heavenly inheritance through the 
 types, and shadows, and figures of Canaan, the pro- 
 mised land, which flowed with milk and honey. 
 
 It is granted there are some hints and discoveries 
 of a blessedness beyond the grave in the writings of 
 David, Isaiah, Daniel, and some of the Prophets: 
 But the brightest of these notices fall far short of 
 what the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ has set be- 
 before us. The Son of God who came down from 
 heaven, where he had lived from before the crea- 
 tion of this world, has revealed to us infinitely more 
 of the invisible state than all that went before him : 
 He tell us of the ' pure in heart enjoying the sight 
 of God,' and conversing with 'Abraham, Isaac 
 and Jacob,' the ancient saints : He assures us there 
 * are many mansions in his Father's house,' and 
 that he ' went to ])repare a place' there for his fol- 
 lowers. " I tell vou" savs he, John viii. 38. '' I 
 
J)ISC0UIISE VIII. A SOUL PREPARED FOR HEAVEN. 293 
 
 tell you the thino-s which I have seen with my Fa- 
 ther.'' And when he came again from the dead, he 
 made it appear to his disciples that he had *' I wrought 
 life and immortality to li^ht by his gospel,',' 2 Tim. 
 i. 10. 
 
 It is only the New Testament that p^ives us so 
 bright and satisfiictory an account what our future 
 heaven is : The • righteous shall be with God,' shall 
 beholvl him, shall dwell with Christ, and see his glo- 
 ry ; they shall worship day and night in his >eniple, 
 and sing the praises of him tliat sits upon the throne, 
 and of the Lamb that has redeemed them by his 
 blood ; there shall be no sin, no sorrow, no death, 
 nor any more pain ; they shall have such satisfac- 
 tions and employments as are worthy of a rational na- 
 ture, and a soul refined from sense and sin. St. 
 Paul, one of his disciples, was transported into the 
 third heaven before he died, and there learnt " un- 
 speakable things," 2 Cor. xii. 2, 4. and he, together 
 with the other Apostles, have published the glories 
 of that future world which they learnt from Jesus 
 their Lord, and confirmed these thingb to our faith 
 by prophecies and miracles without number. 
 
 Now the blessed God himself prepares his own 
 people for this heaven of happiness, by giving them a 
 full conviction and assurance of the truth of all these 
 divine discoveries ; he impresses them upon their 
 heart with power, and makes them attend to those 
 divine impressions. Every true Christian has learnt 
 to say within himself, * This celestial blessedness 
 is no dream, is no painted vision, no gay scene of 
 
 V 2 
 
294 A SOUL PREPARED TOR HEAVEN. DISCOURSE VIII. 
 
 flattering fancy, nor is it a matter of doubtful dis* 
 pute, or of uncertain opinion. I am assured of it 
 from the words of Christ the Son of God, and from 
 his blessed followers, whom he authorised to teach 
 me the things of a future world.' He that is taught 
 of God beholds these glories in the light of a divine 
 failh, which is to him the " substance of things 
 hoped for, and the evidence of things not yet seen,'' 
 Heb. xi. 1. 
 
 2. God works up the souls of his people to a pre- 
 paration for the heavenly state, by ' purifying them 
 from every defilement that might unfit them for the 
 blessedness of heaven.' The removal of the guilt of sin 
 by his pardoning mercy I have mentioned before, as 
 necessary to our entrance into the heavenly state ; 
 and we must walk through this world, this defiling 
 world with all holy watchfulness, lest our soul be ble- 
 mished with new pollutions, lest new guilt come up- 
 on our consciences, and the thoughts of appearance 
 before God be terrible to us. That soul is very much 
 unfit for an entrance into the presence of a holy God, 
 who is ever plunging itself into new circumstances of 
 guilt, by a careless and unholy conversation. To 
 stand upon the borders of life, and the very edge of 
 eternity, will be dreadful to those who have given 
 themselves a loose to criminal pleasures, and indul- 
 ged their irregular appetites and passions. 
 
 But it is not only a conscience purged from the 
 guilt of sin by the blood of Christ, but a soul wash- 
 ed also from the defiling power and taint of sin, by 
 the sanctifying spirit that is necessary to make us meet 
 
DISCOURSE Vlir. A SOUL PREPARED FOR HEAVEN. 295 
 
 for the heavenly inheritance. This is that purifica- 
 tion which I now chiefly intend, Matth. v. 8. *' Bles- 
 sed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.'' No- 
 thing- that defileth must enter into the city of God 
 on high, nor whosoever maketh a lye or loveth it, 
 Rev. xxi. 27. No injustice, no falsehood, no j^uile 
 or deceit can be admitted within those gates : They 
 must be without guile both in their heart and tongue, 
 if they will '' stand before the throne of God," Rev. 
 xiv. 5. sincerity and truth of soul, with all the beau- 
 ties of an upright heart and character, are necessa- 
 ry to prepare an inhabitant for that blessed state. 
 There must be no envy, no wrath or malice, no re- 
 venge; nor will any of the angry principles that dwell 
 in our flesh and blood, or that inflame and disturb 
 the mind, be found in those regions of peace and 
 love. There must be no pride or ambition, no self« 
 exaltation and vanity that can dw^ell in heaven, for it 
 cast out the angels of glorious degree, when they 
 would exalt themselves above their own station. 
 * Pride was the condemnation of the devil,' and it 
 must not dwell in a human heart that ever liopes for 
 a heavenly dwelling-place, 1 Tim. iii. 6. and Jude 
 ver. 6. There must be no sensual and intemperate 
 creature there, no covetous selfishness, no irregular 
 passions, no narrowness of soul, no uncharitable and 
 party spirit will ever be found in that country of dif- 
 fusive love and joy. 
 
 And since the best of Christians have had the seeds 
 of many of these inicpiities in their hearts, and they 
 have made a painful complaint of these rising corrup- 
 
295 A SOUL PREPARED FOR HEAVEN. DISCOURSE VII f. 
 
 tions of nature upon many occasions, these iniqui- 
 ties must be mortified and slain by the work of the 
 Spirit of G >d within us, if ever we ourselves would 
 live the divine life of heaven, Rf)m. viii. 13. There 
 is a p:reat de.il of this purifying work to be done in the 
 souls of all of us, before we can be prepared for the 
 heavenly world, and though we cannot arrive at per- 
 fection here, yet we must be wrought up to a tem- 
 per in some measure fit to enter into that blessed- 
 ness : And God is training his people up for this pur- 
 pose all the days of their travels through this desert 
 world. Happy souls, who feel themselves more and 
 more released from the bonds of these iniquities, day 
 by day, and thereby feel within themselves the grow- 
 ing evidences of a joyful hope ! 
 
 3. God d')es not only purify us from every sin in 
 order to prepare us for heaven, but ' he is ever loose- 
 nins: and weaning: our hearts from all those lawful 
 things in this life, which are not to be enjoyed in 
 heaven.' Oar sensual appetites, and our carnal de- 
 sires, so far as they are natural, though not sinful, 
 must die before we can enter into eternal life. * Flesh 
 and blf'od ciinnot inherit' that divine, incorruptible, 
 and refined happiness. Riches and treasures of gold 
 and silver virhich the 'rust can corrupt, and which 
 thieves can break thrriugh and steal,' are not provi- 
 ded for the hea\enly state: They are all of the earth- 
 ly kind, and too mean for the relish of a heavenly 
 spi it. Aith :;ug]i a Christian may possess many of 
 thtse things in the present life, yet his affections 
 must be divested of them, and his soul divided from 
 
discoursl: viii. a soul prepared for heaven. 297 
 
 them, if he would be a saint indeed, and ever ready 
 for the purer blessings of paradise. The businesses, 
 the cares and the concerns of this secular life, are 
 ready to drink up our spirits too much while ue are 
 here ; we are too prone to mingle our very souls wih 
 them, and therel)y i^row unfit for heavenly felicities: 
 And therefore it is that our Saviour has warned us, 
 Luke xxi. 34. ** Let not your hearts be overcharged 
 with the cares of this world," any more dian *' with 
 surfeiting and drunkenness," if you would be always 
 ready for your flight to a better state, and meet the 
 summons of your Lord to paradise. 
 
 There are also many curious speculations and de- 
 lightful amusements which may lawfully entertain us 
 while we are here ; there are sports and recreations 
 which may divert the fie-.h or the mind in a lawful 
 manner, whilst we dwell in tabernacles of flesh and 
 blood, and are encompassed with mortal things : But 
 the soul that is wrought up for heaven must arise to an 
 holy indifference to all the entertainments of flesh and 
 sense, and time, if it would put on the appearance of 
 an heavenly inhabitant. Christians that would be ever 
 ready for the glories of a better world must be such 
 in some measure as the Apostle describes, 1 Cor. 
 vii. 30. &c. They must * rejoice' with such modera- 
 tion in their dearest comforts of life ' as though they 
 rejoiced not,* they must weep and mourn for the loss 
 of theai with such a divine self-government ' as 
 though they wept not,' they must * buy as though 
 they possessed not,' ihey must 'use this, world as 
 not abusing it' in any instance, but must look upon 
 
£98 A SOUL PREPARED FOR HEAVEN. DISCOURSE VIII, 
 
 the fashions and the scenes of it as vanishing things, 
 and have their hearts " set on the things that are 
 above where Christ Jesus is at the Father's right 
 hand,'' Colos. iii. 1, 2. 
 
 If you ask nie, what methods the blessed God uses 
 in order to attain these ends, and to purify and refine 
 the soul for heaven ? I answer, he sometimes does it 
 by sharp strokes of affliction, making our interests in 
 the creature bitter to us, that we may be weaned 
 from the relish of them, and the power of divine 
 grace must accompany all his weaning providences, 
 or the work will not be done. 
 
 Sometimes again he weans the soul from the law- 
 ful things of this world, by permitting our earthly 
 enjoyments to plunge us into difficulties, to seize the 
 heart with anxieties, or to surround us with sore 
 temptations : Then, when we feel ourselves falling 
 into sin, and bruised or defiled thereby, we lose our 
 former gust of pleasure in them ; and when we are 
 recovered by divine grace, we are more effectually 
 weaned from such kind of temptations for the future; 
 but it is impossible in the compass of a few lines to 
 describe the various methods which the blessed God 
 uses to wean the spirit from all its earthly attach- 
 ments, and to work it up to a meetness for the inhe- 
 ritance of the saints in light. Blessed souls, who 
 are thus loosened and weaned from sensible things, 
 though it be done by painful sufferings ! 
 
 4. The great God not only weans our hearts from 
 those thiuii^s that are not to be enjoyed in heaven, 
 but he ' i^ives us a holy appetite and relish suited t© 
 
i^ISCOURSE VIII. A SOUL PREPARED FOR HEAVEN, 299 
 
 the provisions of the heavenly world, and raises our 
 desires and tendencies of soul towards them.' By 
 nature our minds are estranged from God, and fromi 
 all that is divine and holy ; we have no desires after 
 his love, nor delight in the thoughts of dwelling with 
 God : but when divine grace has effectually touched 
 the heart, it ever tends upwards to that world of holi- 
 ness aud peace. So the needle, when it is touched 
 by the load-stoi?e, ever points to the beloved pole- 
 star, and seems uneasy when it is diverted from it, 
 nor w^ill it rest till it return thither again. 
 
 Do the sweet sensations of divine love make up a 
 great part of the heavenly blessedness ? The soul is 
 in some measure fitted for it, who can say with Da- 
 vid in Psal. iv. 7. '* Lord lift thou up upon me the 
 lii^ht of thy countenance, and it shall rejoice" my 
 heart *' more than if corn and wine, and oil al ound- 
 ed," and all earthly blessings were multiplied upon 
 me ; for in thy love is the life of my soul, and thy 
 *' loving kindness is better than life," Psal. Ixiii. 
 
 Is the felicitating presence of God to be enjoyed in 
 the future world, and shall we see his face there with 
 unspeakable delight ? Then those souls are prepared 
 for heaven, who can say with the Psalmist, Psal. xliii. 
 2. ^' When shall I come and appear before God ?" 
 When shall I have finished my travels through this 
 wilderness, that I may arrive at my Father's house ? 
 *' This one thing have I desired, that I may dwell in 
 the house of God for ever to behold the beauty of the 
 Lord there," Psai. xxvii. 4. It is enough ior me 
 that I shall '* behold thy fiice in righteousness, and 
 
800 A SOUL PREPARED FOR HEAVEN. DISCOURSE VIIT. 
 
 I shall be satisfied when I awake" out of the dust 
 *' with thy likeness. With my soul have I desired 
 thee, O Lord, in the night," in the darkness of this 
 desert world I have lono;ed for the light of thy face, 
 '*and with my spirit within me I will seek thee 
 early. Whom have I in heaven but thee, neither is 
 there any on earth that I desire beside thee," Psal. 
 xvii. Isa. xxvi. Psal. Ixxiii. O when shall the day 
 come when there shall be no more distance and es- 
 trangement of my heart from God, but I shall feel all 
 my powers for ever near him ? 
 
 Is the sweet society of Jesus to be enjoyed in the 
 heavenly region, then those are prepared for this 
 happiness who feel in themselves " a desire to depart, 
 and to be with Christ, which is far better" than the 
 most pleasureable scenes on earth, Phil. i. 23. *' I 
 am vvilling" and rejoice in the thought of it " rather 
 to be absent from the body, and to be present with 
 the Lord," 2 Cor. v. 8. I behold in the light of 
 faith the dawning glory of that day, when Jesus shall 
 return from heaven, when he shall revisit this wretch- 
 ed world, and put an end to these wretched scenes 
 of vanity. " Behold he cometh in the clouds, and 
 every eye shall see him." He comes into our world 
 *' to them that look for him," not to be made a sa- 
 crilice for sin, but to complete our salvation. I long 
 to behold him, and I love the thought of his appear- 
 ance, Rev. i. Heb. ix. 2 Tim. iv. &c. 
 
 Is there not only a freedom from pain and sorrow 
 among the saints on high, but is there also an eter- 
 nal release from all the bonds of sin and temptation ^ 
 
DISCOURSE VIII. A SOUL PREPARED FOR HJTaVEN. 301 
 
 Thenlhat soul discovers a degree of preparation for 
 it, who can say with an holy groan and grief of heart, 
 *' O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me 
 from this body of sin and death?" Rom. vii. *' In 
 this tabernacle we groan indeed being burdened, and 
 are desirous rather to be clothed upon with our 
 house which is from heaven," w ith our holy state of 
 immortality, 2 Cor. v. 
 
 5. That God who has WTought these divine breath- 
 ings in the soul will one day fulfil them all, and he 
 is working up the Christian to a blessed meetness for 
 this felicity, by awakening these wishes in the very 
 centre of the heart. Happy heart, which feels these 
 holy aspirations, these divine breathings ! 
 
 6. The blessed God is pleased to work us up to a 
 preparation for the heavenly world * by forn^ing the 
 temper of our minds into a likeness to the inhabit- 
 ants of heaven,' i. e. to God himself, to Christ Jesus 
 the Son of God, to angels and saints, to the spirits of 
 the just made perfect. From the children of folly and 
 sin w^e must be transformed into the children of God, 
 we must be created anev/ after^iis image, and resem- 
 ble our heavenly Father, that we may be capable of 
 enjoying his love, and rejoicing in his presence. We 
 inust be conformable to the image of his only begot- 
 ten Son Christ Jesus, and walk and live as he did in 
 this world, that we may be prepared to dv\ell with 
 him in the world to come, Rom. viii. '29. 1 John iv. 
 17. We must have the same temper and spirit oi" 
 holiness \\rought in us, that we may be iniitaiors of 
 all the holy ones that d\Aell in heaven, and that \sc 
 
 o '2 
 
602 A SOUL PREPARED FOR HEAVEN. DISCOURSE VIII. 
 
 may be followers of the saints who have been stran- 
 gers and travellers in this world in all former a^es. 
 
 How can we hope to have free conversation with 
 glorious beings, wliich are so luilike to ourselves, as 
 God, and Christ, and angels are unlike to the sinful 
 children of men ? How can we imagine ourselves to 
 be fit company for such pure and perfect beings, 
 beauteous, and shining in holiness, while we are de- 
 filed with the iniquities of our natures, and ever fall- 
 ing into new guilt and pollution ? Happy souls, who 
 can say through grace, ' I have walked in the light 
 as God is in the .light,' and I trust, O Father, I 
 shall dwell for ever with thee there. I have been a 
 follower of the Lamb through the thorny and rugged 
 passages of this wilderness, and I humbly hope I shall 
 sit with thee, O Jesus, upon a throne glorious and 
 holy. 1 have been a companion of them who have 
 finished the Christian race, who have fought the good 
 fight, and obtained the victory, and I trust I shall have 
 a nanie and a place amongst all you holy ones who 
 have fought and overcome. O for a heart and 
 tongue furnished for such appeals to all the blessed 
 iijhabitants of paradise, the possessors of those man- 
 sions on high ! 
 
 7. The grace of God works us up to a preparation 
 for heaven * by carrying us through those trials and 
 sufferings, those labours and conflicts here in this 
 life, which will not only make heaven the sweeter to 
 us» but will make it more honourable for God him- 
 self to bestow this heaven upon us.' 
 
DISCOURSE VIII. A SOUL PREPARED FOR HEAVEN. 303 
 
 When the spirits of a creature are almost worn out 
 with the toilsome labours of the day, what an addi- 
 tional sweetness does he find in rest and repose? 
 What an inward relish and satisfaction to the soul, 
 that has been fatigued under a long and tedious war 
 with sins and temptations, to be transported to such 
 a place where sin cannot follow them, and temptation 
 can never reach them ? How will it enhance all the 
 felicities of the heavenly world when we enter into it, 
 to feel ourselves released from all the trials and dis- 
 tresses and sufferings which we have sustained in our 
 travels thithehvards ? The review of the waves and 
 the storms wherein we had been tossed for a long sea- 
 son, and had been almost shipwrecked there, will 
 make the peaceful haven of eternity, to which we shall 
 arrive, much more agreeable to every one of the suf- 
 ferers, 2 Cor. iv. 17. ** Our light afflictions, which 
 are but for a moment, are" in this way ** working for 
 us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory," 
 and preparing us for the possession of it. 
 
 But it should be added also, that the prize of life, 
 and the crown of glory, is much more honourably be- 
 stowed on those who have been long fighting, run- 
 ning, and labouring to obtain it. Heaven will appear 
 as a condecent reward of all the faithful servants of 
 God upon earth, and a divine recompence of their 
 labours and sufferings, 2 Thes. i. 6. ' As it is a 
 righteous thing with God to recompence tribulation 
 to them that trouble you, so to give to those who are 
 troubled rest' and salvation. 
 
304) A S<\»UL PREPARED FOR HE WEN. DISCOURSE VIII. 
 
 This is thai equitable or condecent fitness that God, 
 as governor of the world, has wisely appointed and 
 iTiadc necessary before our entrance into heaven. 
 Christ himself our forerunner, and the * captain of 
 our salvation, was made perfect through his suffer- 
 ings,' and v»as trained up for his throne on high by 
 enduring the contradiction of sinners, and the variety 
 of agonies which attended his life and death in this 
 lower w orld, this stage of conflict and sufferings. See 
 Heb. ii. 10. and xii. 1. 
 
 Though we cannot pretend by our labours in the 
 race to have merited the prize, yet we must labour 
 through the race before we receive it. Oar conflicts 
 cannot pretend to have deserved the crown which is 
 pronfised, but we must fight the battles of the Lord 
 before we obtain it. This was St. Paul's encourage- 
 ment and hope, 2 Tim. iv. 7, 8. ** I have fought the 
 good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept 
 the faith, henceforth there is laid up for me a crown 
 of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous Judge 
 V ill give me, and not to me only, but to all those 
 who love his appearance." There is a great deal of 
 divine wisdom in this appointment, that the children 
 of God may be ** counted in this sense, worthy of 
 his kingdom for which they also suffer," 2 Thes. i. 
 5. and that the relish of those satisfactions may be 
 doubled to all the sufferers. 
 
 8. God yet further prepares and vvorks up his peo- 
 ple, for heaven, by * teaching them some of the em^ 
 ploymciits of the heavenly world, and initiating and 
 inuring tliem to the practice thereof.' Is the * con- 
 
IMSCOURSE VIII. A SOUL PREPARED FOR HEAVEN. 305 
 
 templation of tlie blessed God' in his nature and his 
 varicMis perfections the business of glorified souls > 
 God teaches his children, whom he is training up for 
 glory, to practise this holy contemplation : He fixes 
 their thou.qhts upon the wonders of his nature and his 
 grace, his works of creation and providence, the 
 blessings of his redeeming love by his Son Jesus, 
 sinCi the terrors of his justice which shall be executed 
 by the same hand, while the soul at the same time 
 can appt'iil to God with holy delight, * My medita- 
 tion of thee hhall be sueet indeed,' O may I dwell 
 for ever in tlie midst of thy light, and see all thy won- 
 drous glories diffused around me, and make my joys 
 cverijsting ! 
 
 Are we told that heaven consists also in *' behold- 
 ina: the ^h^vy of Clirist," John xvii. 24. And how hap- 
 pily does God prepare his saints for this part of heaven, 
 by filling iheir thoughts with the various graces and 
 honours of J<rhus the Saviour? And when they are in 
 their lonely retirements, they trace the footsteps of 
 their beloved through all his labours and sorrows in 
 this mortal state, even from his cradle to his cross ; 
 they fallow hiui in their holy meditations to his 
 agonies in the garden, to his anguish of soul there ; 
 through all his sufferings in death, through the grave 
 his bed of darkness, and trace him on still to his glo- 
 rioLis resurrection, and to his ascent to his Father's 
 house, u hen a bright cloud like a chariot bore him 
 up to heaven with attending angels : * This is my 
 beloved,' says the soul, and * this is my friend,' 
 whom I shall see u ith joy in the upper world : He 
 
306 A SOUL PREPARED FOR HEAVED'. DISCOURSE VIll. 
 
 is altogether lovely, and he demands my highest 
 love. 
 
 Is it part of the happiness of heaven to * conversef 
 with the blessed God by holy addresses of acknow- 
 ledgements and praise,' as it is described in Rev. 
 iv. and v. and vii. '* They are before the throne of 
 God day and night, and serve him in his temple," 
 and join with holy joy to pronounce that divine song, 
 *' Blessing- and honour, and glory and power, be to 
 him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb for 
 ever and ever : Worthy art thou, O Lord, to re- 
 ceive glory and honour, for thou hast created all 
 things for thy pleasure : Worthy is the Lamb that 
 u as slain to receive power, and riches, and strength, 
 glory and blessing, for thou was slain, and hast re- 
 deemed us unto God by thy blood out of every kin- 
 dred and nation." Now it is evident that those 
 whose hearts and lips are joyfully fitted to pro- 
 nounce this holy song, and to join in this harmony, 
 are fitted also for these blessed employments of the 
 heavenly state : x'\nd yet at the same time they abase 
 themselves in the dust of humility, and with the liv- 
 ing creatures or angels they fall dov/n before the 
 throne, and with the elders they cast down their 
 crowns at his foot, they confess themselves the sons 
 of earth and dust, and would appear as nothing while 
 God is all, Rev. iv. 9, 10. and v. 8. 
 
 Are all the powers of glorified nature in heaven ac- 
 tive in the unknown services of God and Christ 
 there? So the saints are tPc'.ined up for this service 
 and t'hrS-ftetivitJ'Ihere on earth, by diligence and de- 
 
DISCOURSE VIIT. A SOUL PREPARED FOR UEXVKK, 
 
 light in their less noble employments, the inft.nv* 
 labours and duties that providence demands of thevn. 
 here, whereby they are prcpare^l for more glorious 
 employment on high ; for heaven is no idle or unac- 
 tive state. 
 
 Do some of die satisfactions of the heavenly vi'orld 
 arise from the ' sweet society of the blessed above, 
 their fervent love to each other, their mutual delight 
 in holy converse, the joy that arises in the heart of 
 each upon a survey of the happiness of all the holy 
 and blessed inhabitants ? Docs benevolence and 
 goodness of every kind overflow in the heavenly 
 world ?' It is plain that God is training up his own 
 children for this blessedness, by employing them in 
 this manner Vv^bile they are here below : He is in some 
 measure fitted for this heaven, who can say, the 
 * saints are the excellent of the earth, in whom is all 
 my delight :' I love tliem from my soul, because they 
 love my God and my Saviour. I see tlie image of 
 the Father, and of Jesus his Son in them, and 1 can- 
 not but love that image wheresoever I behold it. i 
 feel myself ready to rejoice when my fellov/ chris- 
 tians partake of joy, and I long for that temper cf 
 mind when I shall delight myself in the felicity of all 
 my fellow saints in perfection, and shall make their 
 heaven a part of my own. But I proceed not here, 
 ])ecause this would anticipate what I design hereaf- 
 ter. 
 
 9. God Is pleased to work up his people to a pre- 
 paration for the heavenly state, by ' giving thcn\ a 
 pledge and earnest of the blessedness of heaven,' that 
 
.308 A SGITL PREPARED FOR HEAVEN. DISCOURSE VllI, 
 
 is, by sending his own Spirit into their hearts under 
 this very character, both as the spring of divine life, 
 and as the evidence of our hope, and sometimes 
 bestowing upon them such 'foretastesof the heavenly 
 world,' by the operations of his holy Spirit, which 
 are too joyful and glorious to be fully expressed in 
 mortal language ; but we shall attempt something 
 of it in another discourse. 
 
 I proceed now to seek what inferences or edifying 
 remarks may be made upon our meditations thus far. 
 
 Rem, 1. We learn from my text ' \\\v<xi are the 
 brightest, the plainest, and the surest evidences of 
 our interest in the heavenly blessedness : Are we 
 trained up to it, and prepared for it?' Has tlie bles- 
 sed God wrought up our souls to any hopeful degrees 
 of this preparation : Has he in any measure made us 
 meet for this inheritance of the saints in light ? 
 
 I grant the scripture teaches us, that it is by a 
 true and living faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, that 
 we obtain a title to eternal life,, according to the pro- 
 posals of the covenant of grace in the gospel ; but 
 our preparation for heaven by a holy and heavenly 
 temper of mind and conduct of life, is the fairest 
 and most uncontested evidence of the truth and life 
 of our faith, and such a proof of it as will stand the 
 test both in life and death, in this world, and in the 
 world to come. If we would manifest our faith in 
 Christ to be sincere and genuine and effectual for our 
 salvation, we mubt make it appear that we are grow- 
 ing up into the image of Christ in all things, we must 
 be formed after the likeness of the Son of God, uho 
 
DISCOURSE VIII. A SOUL PREPARED FOR HEAVEN. 309. 
 
 is our great example, and our fore-runner into heaven; 
 and where this evidence is found the soul cannot fail 
 of salvation. Wlieresoever there is tliis fitness for 
 the joys on high, God will assuredly bestow these 
 divine pleasures. It is for such souls that he has 
 prepared a heaven, and when he has prepared such 
 souls for the heavenly world, he will surely bring 
 them to the possession of it. 
 
 Of how great moment and importance is it then 
 for each of us to examine ourselves with watchful 
 diligence and sincerity, whether we are in any mea- 
 sure fitted for the blessedness above : And to this 
 end we may run over in our enquiries all the former 
 steps of preparation. 
 
 Let us enquire of our souls then, Am I so fully 
 persuaded of this state of future happiness, as to re- 
 solve this shall be my aim, this my everlasting pur* 
 suit? Have we seen this blessedness in the various 
 representations of it in the word of God, as the most 
 amiable and desirable thing, and have we set our 
 faces to travel thither with an holy purpose and de- 
 termination, through grace, never to tire, or grow 
 weary till we arrive at the enjoyment of it ? Have we 
 fixed our hope and expectation upon the blessed 
 promises in the word, and are we by these promises 
 endeavouring daily to cleanse ourselves from all de- 
 filements of flesh and spirit, and to perfect holiness in 
 the fear of God ? Do we obtain any victories over our 
 spiritual enemies, and maintain our pious conflicts 
 against all the oppositions which we meet with in our 
 way ? Do we labour to surpress every rising ferment 
 
 R 2 
 
510 A SOUL PREPARED fOR HEAVEN. DISCOURSE VI II. 
 
 of envy, pride, wrath, sensuality, and those corrupt 
 appetites and passions which render us unfit for that 
 holy and heavenly world : Are your hearts daily 
 more mortified to the things of this world, the en- 
 joyments of Piesh and sense,^ which are not to be 
 found in heaven? Are our hearts more weaned from 
 the sensual satisfactions and intemperate delights of 
 the animal life! Are we deadto the temptations of gold 
 and silver, the grandeurs and the gaieties, and splen- 
 dors of this present low life of flesh and blood, which 
 are no part nor portion of the heavenly felicity ? Do 
 we view the tempting things of this world with an 
 holy indifference, and possess and use them with af- 
 fections so calm and so cool, as becomes a rank of 
 beings that have a nobler, a richer, and a more exalt- 
 ed hope ? Have we found the labours and burdens, 
 the sorrows and afflictions of the present state, hap- 
 py instruments to prepare us for the blessedness 
 above, bv curins: all our vain and carnal desires? 
 Are we in any measure imitators of those who have 
 gone before us thro'ugh faith and patience, and are 
 made possessors of the promised joy? Are we *^fol- 
 lo\^crs of God as dear children ?" Have we the im- 
 age of our heavenly Father created anew in us, .and 
 do we walk as our Lord Jesus Christ also walked, 
 Mhile he was in this wilderness travelling ro his Fa- 
 ther's house ? Are our earnest desires towards this 
 sort of felicity excited and raised high ? Have ^^ e a 
 strong tendency of soul to the holy enjoyments of 
 till- upper world r Do we si.u^h and groan afier a corn- 
 piece freedom from sin, and a deliverance from ev^- 
 
DISCOURSE VIII. A SOUL PREPARED FOR HEAVEN. 311 
 
 ery temptation ? Do we employ ourselves with pica- 
 sure in the work and business of heaven, in the holy 
 contemplation of God, in a delii^htful survey of the 
 person and offices of his Son Jesus, his wondrous, 
 condescension, an/d his amazing compassion ? Do we 
 take pleasure in conversing with God our Father by 
 holy addresses of praise and thankfulness ? Do we 
 love all the saints, and delight in their society, and 
 do we rejoice to spend our time with them in heaven- 
 ly conversation, though they may be amongst the 
 lower ranks of life here on earth ? And do we dif- 
 fuse our love through all who wear the image of God, 
 and take a pleasing satisfaction of soul in their in- 
 crease in holiness, and rejoice in their joys ? 
 
 If God has thus fitted thee, O Christian, in this 
 manner for the mansions of the happy world, then 
 surely he has set thee apart for himself, he has be- 
 gun eternal life in thee, the dawn of eternal glory is 
 risen upon thee, and he will bring thee into the com- 
 plete noon of blessedness, into the overflowing light 
 of divine beatitudes. ''Arise and shine" O Christian, 
 for thy light is come, *' the glory of the Lofd is risen 
 upon thee ;" thou hast no need to ascend into heaven 
 to search for thy evidences among the decrees of God, 
 and to pry into the rolls of electing grace ; for if 
 thou hast been transformed into an heavenly temj^er, 
 thy name is surely written in the Lamb's book of 
 life; heaven \^ begun within thee, and God will 
 fulfil his own work. 
 
 Rem. 2. ' What a solid comfort is it to poor 
 mouriiin?-, troubled, afflicted souls under all their 
 
312 A SOrL PREPARED FOR HEAVEN. DISCOURSE VIIT. 
 
 sorrows, their frailties, their temptations, and infir- 
 mities here on earth, that they have a clear evidence 
 of heaven within them.' This is such a peace as Je- 
 sus Christ left to his disciples by legacy, John xiv. 
 27. '^Such as the world cannot give," and such as 
 the world cannot take away. 
 
 This is a spring of constant and divine consolation 
 to those who seem to be worn out with old age or 
 infirmities of nature, and they complain they are fit 
 for no service in this world ; but if they can Teel in 
 themselves this holy fitness for the enjoyments of 
 heaven, they have a rich and living fountain of plea- 
 sure in their own breasts, ever springing, ever flow- 
 ing, and such as will follow them with daily supplies 
 of pleasure, if they are not wanting to themselves, 
 through all this wilderness, till they arrive at that 
 land were all the rivers of blessing meet and join in 
 a full stream, to make the inhabitants for ever hap- 
 
 It may be, O Christian, thou art afraid that thou 
 hast felt but little of this divine preparation ; thou 
 seest so many defects in thyself daily, so much un- 
 likeness to God, so much working of iniquity, such 
 restless efforts of the body of sin, so much prevalence 
 of temptation, so much coldness in duty, such dead- 
 ness in acts of devotion, such frequent returns of 
 guilt and pain in a tender conscience, and so many 
 enemies to struggle with every step of thy way to 
 heaven, that thou art greatly discouraged and afraid 
 this divine preparation is not wrought in thee. En- 
 quire then yet further, are all these melancholy 
 
DISCOURSE VIII. A SOUL PREPARES FOR HEAVEN. 313 
 
 scenes both within and without, the matter of thy 
 sincere p^rief and burden ? Canst thou say in this 
 tabernacle, I groan, being burdened with the body 
 of sin, as well as with the frailties and pains of na- 
 ture I Canst thou say sincerely, that thy inmost de- 
 sires are towards God and his glory in the present 
 life, and towards his enjoyment in the life to come > 
 Dost thou maintain a constant converse with heaven 
 as well as ihou canst, though it be so much broken, 
 and so often painfully interrupted? Hast thou a con- 
 tinual and settled aversion and hatred to sin, and a 
 holy jealousy and fear of its defilements ? Hast thou 
 a restless breathing of soul after greater likeness to 
 God, and greater communion with him? Dost thou 
 delight in spiritual and holy conversation ; and does 
 thy zeal for the honour of God and his Son Jesus, 
 carry thee forth to those actions which are suitable 
 to thy station, for the advancement of religion in the 
 world ? Be assured then that God is training thee 
 up for this heavenly state, and has in some measure 
 prepared thee for it. God has begun in thee the busi- 
 ness and blessedness of the upper world. In the 
 midst of all thy sorrows and complaints here below, 
 peace be with thee, and joy in the Lord, for thy 
 salvation and thy felicity shall be compleated. 
 
 Rem, 3. * How vain, and idle, and unreasonable 
 are all the hopes of sinners, that they shall ever ar- 
 rive at heaven without any preparation for it here?' 
 There is nothing divine and holy begun in them in 
 this world, and yet they hope to be made ha|)py in 
 the world that is to come ; there is nothing of true 
 
314 A SOUL PREPARED FOR HEAVEN. DISCOURSE VIII. 
 
 grace in their hearts here, and yet they vainly expect 
 to be made perfect in pleasure and glory hereafter. 
 
 Think with thyself, O carnal creature, that hea- 
 ven will be a burden to thee; the powers, the appe- 
 tites, and passions of diy sinful nature, will not suf- 
 fer thee to relish the joys of the heavenly state. 
 Dost thou imagine that a worm or serpent of the 
 earrh, or a swine which is ever tumbling in the mire, 
 can be entertained with the golden ornaments and 
 splendors of a palace ? Or will the stupid ass be de- 
 lighted with the harmony of a harp or viol ? No more 
 can a soul of a carnal and sensual taste, and which is 
 ever seeking and groveling after earthly gratifica- 
 tions, be pleased or gratified with the refined enjoy- 
 ments of the heavenly world. Thou must have a 
 new nature, new appetites and affections, ere thou 
 canst partake of divine joys, or relish them if thou 
 wert placed in the midst of them. Holy adoration of 
 God, and humble converse with him in worship, 
 converse widi the suints about divine things, per- 
 fect purity and devotion, with the meditation of the 
 excellencies of Christ, and the sight of him in his 
 ordinances, have never yet been the object of thy 
 delight or iov ; nav they have rather been thine aver- 
 sion ; and shouldst thou have the gates of heaven open 
 before thee, and see what business the holv souls 
 there are en^ploycd in, thou wouldst find no desire 
 to such sort of satisfactions ; the place and the com- 
 panv wcvuld be thy burden, if thou couldst be kt at 
 once into the niidot of them. 
 
DISCOURSE VIII. A SOUL PREPARED FOR HEAVEN. 315 
 
 Think ap:ain, O sinful wretch, thy carnality of 
 soul, thy supreme love of sensual and brutual joys, 
 the secret malice or envy, the pride and impiety of 
 thy heart, have prepared thee for another sort of com- 
 pany ; thou art fitted for hell by tlie very temper of 
 thy spirit, for such are the inhabitants of that misera- 
 ble world, and in thy present state there can be no 
 admission for thee into heaven. Thou hast treasur- 
 ed up food for the worm that ne^'er dies, for the eter- 
 nal anguish of conscience; thou hast made thyself 
 fit fuel by indulgence of thy sinful and rebellious ap- 
 petites and passions, for the fiery indigi^ation of God; 
 and every day thou persistest in this state, thy pre- 
 paration for the dark regions of sin and sorrow is in- 
 creased. But this leads me to the last remark. 
 
 Rem, 4. ' How dangerous a thing it is for a sinner 
 to continue a day longer in a state so unprepared for 
 the heavenly world.' Dost thou not know, whilst 
 we are inhabitants in these region*? of mortality, we 
 are borderers upon deatli ; and if we are unprepared 
 for heaven, we are borderers upon damnation and 
 hell ? Our life is but a vapour, and the next puff 
 may blow us away into the regions of everlasting 
 darkness, misery, and despair. 
 
 Alas ! How much of this divine preparation do the 
 best of saints stand in need of for an immediate en- 
 trance into heaven ? "What care do they take, how 
 constaiit are their labours, and how fervent their 
 prayers to increase in this divine fitness, in these ho- 
 ly and heavenly qualifications ? Aiuldost thou vainly 
 imagine to exchange earth fi)r htaven at once, and 
 
316 A SOUL PREPARED TOR HEAVEN. DISCOURSE VIIJ. 
 
 to be received into the pure and holy mansions of 
 paradise without any conformity to God or Christ, or 
 the rest of the inhabitants of that world ? 
 
 Objection, But some idle and slothful creatures will 
 be ready to olject and say, if it be God who creates 
 his people anew, according to his own image, and 
 fits them for heaven : if we must be wrought up by 
 his power and grace for the participation of this 
 glory, what can we do towards it ourselves } Or why 
 are we charged and exhorted to prepare ourselves 
 for heaven ? Since then it is God must do this work, 
 why may we not lie still, and wait till his grace shall 
 prepare us ? 
 
 I answer, no, by no means ; for God is wont to 
 exert his grace only while creatures are in the use of 
 his appointments, and fulfil their duty. This lan- 
 guage therefore, and these excuses, seem to be the 
 mere cavils of a carnal mind, or the voice of sloth and 
 indolence. Those who have no inclination to pre- 
 pare themselves for the joys of the heavenly state, 
 may wait and expect divine influences in vain, if 
 they will never stir up themselves to practise what is 
 in their own power, and to attempt what the gospel 
 of grace demands. 
 
 In almost all the transactions of God with men, it 
 is the V. ay of his wisdom to join our diligence and 
 his grace together ; and there are many Scriptures 
 that give us sufficient notice of this. See how St. 
 Paul argues with the Philippians, and stirs them up 
 to zeal and activity in securing their own salvation 
 by the hope of divine assistances: Phil, ii, 12, 1.3. 
 
niSCOURSE VIII. A SOUL PREPARED FOR HEAVEN. Sl"^ 
 
 '* Work out your own salvation, for it is God that 
 worketh in you both to will and to do." So said 
 David to his son Solomon, when he appointed him 
 to build the temple of the Lord, 1 Chron. xxviii. 
 20. " Be strong and of good courage, and do it, — 
 for the Lord God, even my God, will be with thee, 
 and will not lliil thee, nor forsake thee, until thou 
 hast finished all the work." This was the charge 
 also that God gave to his people Israel, Lev. xx. 7, 
 8. " Sanctify yourselves^ and be ye holy, keep my 
 statutes; I am the Lord who sanctifieth you." So 
 the Psalmist tells us, Psal. iv. 3. *' The Lord hath set 
 apart, or separated him who is godly for himself;'* 
 and yet, 2 Cor. vi. 17. The Lord commands his peo, 
 pie to '^separate themselves" uiito him, to *'comeout 
 from amongst" the sinners of this world ; and *' be 
 you separate," saith the Lord, ** and I will receive 
 you." So in other places of Scripture, divine wis- 
 dom commands sinners to fulfil their duty, Prov. i. 
 23. *' Turn ye at my reproof:" And yet in the 80th 
 psalm, the church prays, " Turn us, O Lord, and 
 we shall be saved." The case is very much the 
 same even in the things that relate to this life, where- 
 in divine assistance and blessing are connected with 
 our diligence in duty. Solomon tells us, Prov. x. 4. 
 *'The hand of the diligent maketh rich;" and yet 
 ver. 22, It is *' the blessing of the Lord that maketh 
 rich also." We can never expect the favours of 
 heaven, unless we are zealous to obey the commands 
 of heaven. 
 
 f, 2 
 
518 A SOUL PREPARED FOR HEAVEN. DlSCOtfRSE VIIlo 
 
 When the sinful children of men are found waiting* 
 on God in his own appointed ordinances, then they 
 are in the fairest v\ay to receive divine communica- 
 tions, and be transformed into saints. If the blind 
 man liad not obeyed the voice of Christ, John ix. 7. 
 and washed himself * in the pgol of Siloam,' he 
 could not expect to have received his eye-sight. If the 
 man with the withered hand, Matth. xii. 10, 13. had 
 not used his ov/n endeavours to * stretch forth his 
 hand' at the command of Christ, I can hardly believe 
 it would have been restored to its ancient vigour and 
 usefulness. If the poor impotent creature had not 
 been waitini^ at the side of the * pool in Beihesda,* 
 John V. he had not met with the blessed Jesus, nor 
 been healed by his miraculous power. You will say, 
 perhaps, that our blessed Saviour could have visited 
 him in his own house, could have directed his jour- 
 ney towards his habitation, or have sent for him into 
 the public, and healed him there. No, our Lord did 
 not choose either of these ways; but while the man 
 was waiting at the pool, where he had encourage- 
 n\ei^t to hope for a cure, there the Lord found him, 
 and healed him. 
 
 Let not any presuming sinner therefore, who is sen- 
 sible of his own unfitness for heaven, dare to continue 
 in a careless indifference about so important a con- 
 cern : Let him not put oft' his own conscience with 
 this foolish exr.use, ' It is God must do all in us and 
 for us, and therefore I will do nothing myself.' Dost 
 thou think, O soul, that this will be a sufScient an- 
 swer to him that shall judge thee in the great and 
 
DISCOURSE VIII. A SOUL PREPARED FOR HEAVEN'. 319 
 
 solemn day ? May you not expect to hear the Judge 
 reply terribly to such an excuse, * You never soui^ht 
 after this preparation for heaven, and you must be 
 plunged into hell, for which your own rebellion and 
 slothfulness hath prepared you.' 
 
 But perhaps you will object again, what can so 
 feeble, so sinful a creature as I am, do towards this 
 divine work ? 
 
 I ansvjcr, Canst thou not separate one quarter of 
 an hour daily to think of thy dreadful circumstances, 
 and thine eternal danger in a sinful and defiled state 
 of soul ? Think of the uncertainty of life, and hov/ 
 sudden thy summons may be into the eternal and un- 
 changeable state. Survey thyself in thy sinful con- 
 dition both of heart and life, and see how unfit thou 
 art for the company of all the holy ones above. Me- 
 ditate on these thy perilous circumstances, till thy 
 heart be deeply affected therewith; fall down before 
 God in humble acknowledgment of thy former guilt 
 and pollutions: Give up thyself to him with holy so- 
 lemnity, to have thy heart turned away from every 
 sin, and strongly inclined to holiness and heaven. 
 Commit thy soul, guilty and defiled as it is, into the 
 hands of Jesus the Mediator ; entrust thy case with 
 him as an all-sufficient Saviour; entreat that he 
 would cleanse thee from all thy guilt and pollution, 
 by the blood of his sacrifice, and the grate of his 
 Spirit; that blood of atonement which has procured 
 for sinners pardon and peace with God, and those 
 operations of his grace which may sanctify thy sinful 
 nature. Address thyself to the exalted Saviour for 
 
320 A SOUL PREPARED FOR HEAVEK. DISCOURSE VI1I» 
 
 healing influences from his hand, to cure all the 
 maladies of thy soul, to form thee after his image, 
 and to make thee a son of God. Pray with holy 
 importunity for this necessary and divine blessing, 
 wait on God in secret and in public; give him no 
 rest niixht nor day till he has renewed thy soul, and 
 transformed thee into a new creature, and given thee 
 a relish of the heavenly enjoym.ents: Dwell at the 
 throne of grace till thou feelest thy heart drawn up- 
 ward and heavenward, and watch against every thing 
 that would defile thy soul anew, or make thee unfit 
 to enter into the company of the blessed. 
 
 Permit me here to dwell a little upon those 71:0- 
 thes that should awaken thee to bethink thyself ere it 
 be too late, before the grave has shut its mouth up- 
 on thee, and thou art consigned to the place of eter- 
 nal misery. Awake, awake, O impenitent sinners, 
 who are as yet unprepared for the business and bless- 
 edness of the heavenly state ; awake and exert your 
 souls in w^armest reflections on matters of infinite 
 importance. 
 
 (1.) Think with yourselves how much the great 
 God has done towards the preparation of sinful men 
 for this heaven ; think seriously of his long-suffering 
 goodness, and his sparing mercy, w^hich should have 
 led you long ago to a melting sense of your own folly, 
 and brought you back unto him by humble repen- 
 tance. For what reason were his patience and his 
 long suffering exercised towards you, if not for this 
 very purpose? Rom. ii. 4. Think of the blessings 
 of nature with v/liich he has surrounded vou, and 
 
DISCOURSE VIII. A SOUL PREPARED FOR HEAVEN. 321 
 
 ■the comforts of this life wherewith he has furnished 
 you, in order to allure your thoughts towards him, 
 who is the spring of all goodness ; and to raise your 
 desires towards him: It is he invites you, who will 
 be the everlasting portion and happiness of his peo- 
 pie, and in whose favour consists life and felicity; and 
 dare not any longer neglect your preparation for this 
 happiness, which consists in the enjoyment of God, 
 lest you should be cut off before you are prepared. 
 
 (2.) Consider again what Jesus the Son of God 
 has done and suffered, and consider what he is yet 
 doing- towards the preparation of souls for heaven : 
 He came down to our world to undertake the glori- 
 ous and dreadful work of the redemption of sinners 
 from the curse of the law and the terrors of hell, and 
 to procure a heaven for every rebellious creature that 
 would rerurn to God his Father. Think of the agon- 
 ies of his death with which he purchased mansions 
 of glory for those that receive his grace in his own 
 appointed methods, those that are willing to have 
 their hearts and minds formed into a suitable frame 
 to receive this felicity. Remember that he is risen 
 from the dead, he is ascended to prepare a place in 
 glory for those that are willing to follow him through 
 the paths of holiness. Hearken to the many kind in- 
 vitations and allurements of his gospel, w^hich calls 
 to the worst of sinners to return and live, and en- 
 treats and exhorts those who are in the ends of the 
 earth, and upon the borders of hell, '* to look uiUo 
 him that they may be saved," Isa. xlv. 22. Take 
 heed that you suffer not these seasons of hit, inviting 
 
o2'2 A SOUL PKEPARED FOR HEAVEJJ. DISCOURSE VIII. 
 
 love to slide away and vanish unimproved ; take 
 heed how you rebel against the language of the grace 
 of his gospel, and thereby prepare yourselves for 
 double and everlasting destruction. 
 
 (3.) Think again, what blessed assistances he has 
 proposed to those who are desirous to be trained up 
 for heaven ; how many thousand souls, as carnal, as 
 sensual, and as criminal as yours are, have been re- 
 covered by the word of his gospel, and the influ- 
 ences of his Spirit, to a new nature and life of holi- 
 ness ? How many are there who from children of 
 wrath, have become the sons and daughters of the 
 most high God, heirs of tliis blessedness, and pre- 
 pared for the enjoyment of it ? O take heed that yon 
 resist not this grace, nor rebel against the kind and 
 i.acred motions of the blessed Spirit within you, when 
 his very ofdce and business is to change your sinful 
 natures, and to prepare you for the regions of eter- 
 nal holiness and peace. 
 
 (4.) Think yet further what advantages you have 
 had from the weekly ministrations of the word of 
 grace, from reading the book of God in your own 
 language, and from the pious education many of you 
 have enjoyed in tlie families from whence you sprung. 
 Think what awakening hints you have received by 
 the inward conviction of your own consciences, and 
 by the christian friends you may have conversed 
 widi: Have you not been told plainly enough by the 
 voice of consricnce, that you are now utterly unpre- 
 pared for heaven ? Have not public and private ad- 
 monliioiis glvci:; you sudicient vvariiing of the danger 
 
PISCOURSE VIII. A SOUL PREPARED FOR HEAVENS 32:^ 
 
 of your present state ? And after all this will you pro- 
 ceed in your own sinful course till you arrive at the 
 very gates of hell and destruction, till you have 
 prepared yourselves, and made your souls ripe for 
 the vengeance of God, and are plunged into it by- 
 death without remedy or relief? 
 
 (5.) Consider how dreadful will your state be if 
 death meet you in all your guilt and defilements, un- 
 washed, unpardoned, and unsanctified, without any 
 garment of righteousness, without any robe of salva- 
 tion. V/iiat a terrible sentence is that which death 
 will pronounce upon every such sinner the moment 
 that he strikes their heart ? Hear it and tremble, O 
 miserable creature, hear the formidable and eternal 
 sentence, '* Let him that is unholy be unholy still :" 
 Let him that is unprepared for heaven go down to 
 the regions of death and hell, for which his iniquities 
 have best prepared him. 
 
 (6.) Tinnk with yourselves, if you have any thing 
 of importance to do in this world, or have any mo- 
 mentuous scene of life to pass through, how diligent 
 are you in preparation for it. If you are but to visit 
 the court of a prince, or to ^o to make your ad- 
 dresses to any great man of honour and power, or 
 to be admitted into any numerous society of a su- 
 perior character, how diligendy do you endeavour 
 to furnish yourselves ^vith such knowledge of the 
 common ceremonies of life, and such ornaments 
 about your body as may render you acceptable 
 amongst those whom you are goiiig to converse with: 
 And does not an entrance into the court of heaven. 
 
•S24f A SOUL PREPARED FOR HEAVEN. DISCOtTRSE Vni.- 
 
 into the presence of a God of holiness, and into the 
 society of pure and blessed spirits, require some so- 
 licitude and care about those ornaments and qualifi- 
 cations which are necessary for so solemn and glori- 
 ous an appearance? If you are designing^ in this life to 
 commence any trade or business for your employ- 
 ment and your support, you are vvillin^^ to serve an 
 apprenticeship of seven years in order to a prepara- 
 tion for the exercise of this public business ; and can 
 you not afford one day in a week to learn the busi- 
 ness of heaven, and to prepare for the blessedness 
 of it ? 
 
 And let parents also consider whh themselves what 
 pains they have taken that their children may be fit 
 for the trades and employments of life to which they 
 design them, and then let each enquire of their own 
 consciences, have I ever done so much to train up 
 my son for the heavenly world, to fit him for the ap- 
 pearance before God, and saints and angels, and for 
 all the unknown services of that celestial country ? 
 
 (7.) Go on yet futher, O impenitent sinners, and 
 consider with } ourselves what a blessedness it is to 
 be prepared for heaven ; for then you are prepared 
 for death, and at once you take away all the terrors 
 of it. O what an unspeakable happiness is it to pass 
 through this world daily without the fear of dying; 
 what is it that makes life so bitter to multitudes of 
 souls, and every malady or accident so frightful to 
 tliem, but the perpetual terrors of death ? Think 
 what a divine satisfaction it is to walk up and down 
 in this desert land, ready prepared for an entrance 
 
 i 
 
DISCOURSE VIII. A SOUL PREPARED fOR HEAVEN. 325 
 
 into the land of promise, the inheritance of the saints 
 in light : Think of the solid joy and inward consola- 
 tion of those souls who feel in themselves an habi- 
 tual readiness for a departure hence, and who are 
 wrought up by divine grace to a preparation for the 
 business and the joys above. Think of the victory over 
 death, which is obtained by such a readiness for hea- 
 ven, and how glorious a thing it is to meet that last 
 enemy the king of terrors, and encounter him with- 
 out fear, and to triumph over him with divine lan- 
 guage, ** O death, where is thy sting?" How joyful a 
 scene would it be to take leave of all our friends in 
 this land of mortality, with an assured hope that we 
 are entering into a happier climate and a better coun- 
 try, ready prepared for all the more glorious scenes 
 that shall meet us in the invisible world ? 
 
 It is an amazing thing to me, how the children of 
 men, who are dying daily off from this stage of life, 
 who must all shortly die, and enter into a world of 
 eternal futurity, should be no more concerned about 
 a preparation for their departure hence : That they 
 should be so stupidly thoughtless of a world to come, 
 while they are on the very borders of it, and eternal 
 joy or eternal sorrow depends upon this one question, 
 ' Am I prepared for heaven or not?' O these two aw- 
 ful regions of the unseen world ; where the love of 
 God shines with its bjightest glories, or where the 
 vengenance of God is discovered in all its anguish 
 and horror? One of these will be the certain and eter- 
 nal dwelling place of the souls that are prepared for 
 them, and iherc must they pass their long immurta- 
 
 T i> 
 
^26 A SOUL PREPARED TOR HEAVEN. DISCOURSE Villi. 
 
 Jity, either in joy or in sorrow, without a change; 
 and yet the foolish and besotted tribes of mankind 
 seem to have abandoned all thought and concern 
 about them, A dangerous lethargy, or distraction ! 
 
 What shall we do to cure sinners of this madness ? 
 Shall I try to rouse these indolent unthhiking wretches 
 out of their dangerous and mortal slumbers with the 
 loudest voice of thuHder and divine terror ? But the 
 lethargy of sin is proof against all these terrors and 
 thunders. Shall I call for a fountain of tears into my 
 eyes, and weep over them with the tenderest sympa- 
 thy and covnpassion ? But they feel not any meltings 
 of pity for themselves, nor are their hearts to be sof- 
 tened by all our tears and wailings. Shall I beseech 
 them in the name of Christ by the bowels of his dy- 
 ing love, and the blood and anguish of his sufferings 
 for our salvation ? But even these divine and aston- 
 ishing instances of tenderness and mercy make no 
 impression on their souls. While Satan holds them 
 in his chains, they are sleeping the sleep of death. 
 O for a word of Sovereign and Almighty Grace to 
 reach the centre of their spirits ! To shake all the 
 powers of their nature! To awaken them to behold 
 their eternal interest! And to prepare for heavenly 
 felicity. Awake, O sleepers, ere the angel of death 
 seize you, and the grave shut its mouth upon you ; 
 then all your seasons and hopes of mercy are cut off 
 for ever, and you will awake hopeless immortals. 
 
 I shall conclude this discourse with one word of 
 exhortation to those who are in any measure wrought 
 up to a preparation for the heavenly blessedness. O 
 
DISCOURSE VIII. A SOUL PREPARED TOR HEAVEN. 327 
 
 happy creature ! Whatsoever pains you have taken, 
 whatever conflicts you have endured in the matter 
 of your own salvation, yet let God and his grace have 
 all the honour of this work. It is to God yon owe 
 your sacrifices of praise. * He that hath wrought 
 you up for this felicity is God.' It was he who 
 awakened you first, and set you a thinking of your 
 most important concerns : It was he that led you fir^ 
 into the way of salvation by Jesus Christ his Son, 
 and hath thus far crowned your labours and your 
 prayers with success and blessing. Every stumbling- 
 block in your way might have thrown you down to 
 perdition : Every temptation might have turned you 
 back from this glorious pursuit : Every enemy of 
 your souls might have discouraged or overcome you, 
 if God and his grace had not been engaged on your 
 side. 
 
 It is he hath upheld you when you were falling, 
 he hath taken you by the hand and led you right on- 
 ward when you were wandering, and he hath sup- 
 ported you by his divine cordials of promise when 
 you were fainting. It is God who hath enabled you 
 to maintain your conflict with all the mighty obstacles 
 of your faith and hope ; it is his grace hath renewed 
 your nature, hath weaned you from this vain flatter- 
 ing world, and given you a sacred relish of divine 
 blessedness. It is he who hath formed you again 
 after his own image, and hath trained you up, and 
 made you meet for the inheritance of the saints in 
 light. Call up all your powers to praise his good- 
 ness, and say, ** Bless the Lord, O my soul, and 
 
328 A SOUL PREPARED FOR HEAVEN. DISCOURSE VIII. 
 
 all that is within me, bless his holy name : Bless the 
 Lord for ever, and forget not all his benefits." ' It 
 is God who hath called me out of darkness into his 
 marvellous light, and given me to see the things that 
 belong to my everlasting peace. It is God who wash- 
 ed away my iniquities in the blood of his own Son, 
 and hath renewed me unto holiness by his blessed Spi- 
 rit. It is God who hath taken me out of the family of 
 sin and Satan, and given me a place among his chil- 
 dren ; who hath begun to prepare me for the joys and 
 blessings of heaven, and in his own time he will fulfil 
 all my hopes, and complete my felicit)^ ' Walk before 
 him with all holy care and watchfulness, and * take 
 heed that you lose not the things which you have 
 wrought,' nor the things which God hath wrought 
 in you, but that, persevering to the end, < you may 
 receive the full reward,' and obtain the crown of ever- 
 lasting life. Amen. 
 
DISCOURSE IX. 
 NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED 
 
 Rev. xxi. 4. 
 
 Neither shall there he any more pain. 
 
 THERE have been some divines in ancient times, 
 as well as in our present age, who suppose this pro- 
 phecy relates to some glorious and happy event here 
 on earth, wherein the saints and faithful followers of 
 Christ shall be delivered from the bondage and mise- 
 ries to which they have been exposed in all former 
 ages, and shall enjoy the blessing which these words 
 promise. Among these writers some have placed 
 this happy state before the resurrection of the body ; 
 others make it to belong to that * first resurrection* 
 which is spoken of in Rev. xx. 6. But let this pro- 
 phecy have a particular aspect upon what earthly 
 period soever, yet all must grant it is certainly true 
 concerning the * heavenly state;' from whose feli- 
 cities, taken in the literal sense, these figurative 
 expressions are derived to foretel the happiness of 
 any period of the church in this world ; and in this 
 sense, as * part of our happiness in heaven,' I shall 
 understand the words here, and propose them as the 
 foundation for my present discourse^ 
 
330 NO PAIN AMOxVG THE BLESSED. DISCOURSE IX. 
 
 Among the many things that make this life uncom- 
 fortable, and render mankind unhappy here below, 
 this is one that has a large influence, viz. that * in 
 this mortal state we are all liable to pain,' from which 
 we shall be perfectly delivered in the life to come. 
 The Greek word which is here translated pain, sig- 
 nifies also toil divx^ fatigue and excessive labour of the 
 body, as well as anguish and vexation of the spirit r 
 But since in the two other places of the New Testa- 
 ment where it is used, the word most properly signi- 
 fies the * pain of the body,' I presume to understand 
 it chiefly in this sense also in my text. 
 
 I need not spend time in explaining ' what pain is* 
 to persons who dwell in flesh and blood : There is 
 not one of you in this assembly but is berter acquain- 
 ted with the nature of it by the sense o^ feeling, than 
 It is possible for the wisest philosopher to inform you 
 by all his learned language. Yet that I may proceed 
 regularly, I would just give you this short descrip- 
 tion of it. * Pain is an uneasy perception of the 
 soul, occasioned by some indisposition of the body 
 to which it is united ;' whether this arise from some 
 disorder or malady in the flesh itself, or from some 
 injury received from without by wounds, bruises, or 
 any thing of the like kind. Now this sort of uneasy 
 sensations is not to be found or feared in heaven. 
 
 In order to make our present meditations on this 
 part of the * blessedness of heaven' useful and joyful 
 to us while we are here on earth, let us enquire, 
 
 I. What are the evils or grand inconveniencies that 
 generally flow from the pains we suffer here ; and as 
 
iJlSCOURSE IX. NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. 331 
 
 we go we shall survey the satisfactions which arise 
 by our freedom from them all in heaven. 
 
 II. What just and convincing proofs may be given 
 that there are no such uneasy sensations to be felt ia 
 heaven, or to be feared after this life. 
 
 III. What are the chief reasons or designs of the 
 blessed God in sending pain on his creatures in this 
 world ; and at the same time I shall shew that pain 
 is banished from the heavenly state, because God has 
 no such designs remaining to be accomplished in that 
 world. 
 
 IV. What lessons we may learn from the painful 
 discipline which we feel while we are here, in order 
 to shew there is no need of such discipline to teach 
 tis those lessons in heaven, let us address ourselves 
 to make these four enquiries in their order* 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 First, * What are the evils which flow from pain, 
 and usually attend it in this life;' and all along as 
 we go we shall take a short view of the heavenly 
 state, where we shall be released from all these evib 
 and inconveniencies. 
 
 1. * Pain has a natural tendency to make the mind 
 sorrowful as well as the body uneasy.' Our souls 
 4re so nearly united to flesh and blood, that it is not 
 possible for the mind to possess perfect happiness 
 and ease, while the body is exposed to so many 
 occasions of pain. It is granted, that natural courage 
 And strength of heart may prevail in some persons to 
 
332 NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. DISCOURSE I^, 
 
 bear up their spirits under long and intense pains of 
 the flesh, yet they really take away so much of the 
 ease and pleasure of life, while any of us lie under 
 the acute sensations of them. Pain will make us 
 confess that we are flesh and blood, and force us 
 sometimes to cry out and groan. Even a stoick in 
 spite of all the pride of hisphilosophy, will sometimes 
 be forced, by a sigh or a groan to confess himself a 
 a man. What are the greatest part of the groans 
 and outcries that are heard all round this our globe 
 of earth but the effects of pain, either felt or feared ? 
 But in heaven, where there is no pain, there shall 
 be no sighing or groaning, nor any more crying, as 
 my text expresses. There shall be nothing to make 
 the flesh or the spirit uneasy, and to break the eter- 
 nal thread of peace and pleasure that runs through 
 the whole duration of the saints : Not one painful 
 moment to interrupt the everlasting felicity of that 
 state. "When we have done with earth and mortality, 
 we have done also with sickness and anguish of na- 
 ture, and with all sorrow and vexation for ever. There 
 are no groans in the heavenly world to break in up- 
 on the harmony of the harps and the songs of the 
 blessed ; no sighs, no outcries, no anguish there to 
 disturb the music ar.d the joy of the inhabitants. 
 Aud though the soul shall be united to the body, 
 new-raised from the dead, to dwell for ever in union, 
 yet that new- raised body shall have neither any 
 springs of pain in it, nor be capable of giving an- 
 guish or uneasiness to the inciwclling spirit for ever. 
 
DISCOURSE IX. NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. 333 
 
 2. Another evil which attends on pain is this, that 
 * it so indisposes our nature as often to unfit us for 
 the businesses and duties of the present state.' With 
 how much coldness and indifferency do we go about 
 our daily work, and perform it too with many inter- 
 ruptions, when nature is burdened with continual 
 pain, and the vital springs of action are overborne with 
 perpetual uneasiness? What a listlessness do we find 
 to many of the duties of religion at such a season, 
 unless it be to run more frequently to the throne of 
 God, and pour out our groanings and our complaints 
 there ? Groanings and cries are the language of na- 
 ture, and the children of God address themselves 
 in this language to their heavenl}^ Father ; Blessed 
 be the name of our gracious God, who hears every 
 secret sigh, who is acquainted with the sense of every 
 groan, while we mourn before him, and make our 
 complaints to him, that we cannot worship him, nor 
 work for him as we would do, because of the anguish 
 and maladies of nature. 
 
 And what an indisposition and backwardness do 
 we feel in ourselves to fulfil many of the duties to- 
 wards our fellow creatures while we ourselves are un- 
 der present smart and anguish ? Pain will so sensi- 
 bly affect self as to draw off all our thoughts thi- 
 ther, and centre them there, that we cannot so much 
 employ our cares and our active powers for the be- 
 nefit of our neighbours : It abates our concern for 
 our friends, and while it awakens the spirit within 
 us into keen sensations, it takes away the activity 
 of the man that feels it from almost all the services 
 
 IT 2 
 
334 NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. DISCOURSE IX. 
 
 of human life. When human nature bears so much 
 it can act but little. 
 
 But what a blessed state will that be when we shall 
 never feel this indisposition to duties, either human 
 or divine, through any uneasiness of the body I 
 When we shall never more be subject to any of 
 these painful impediments, but for ever cast off all 
 those clogs and burdens which fetter the active pow- 
 ers of the soul ? Then we shall be joyfully employ- 
 ed in such unknown and glorious services to God 
 our Father, and to the blessed Jesus, as require 
 much superior capacities to what w^e here possess, 
 and shall find no weakness, no weariness, no pain 
 throughout all the years of our immortality, Rev. vii. 
 15. None of the blessed above are at rest or idle, 
 cither ** day or night, but they serve him in his tem- 
 ple," and never cease, and iv. 8. No faintness, no 
 languors are known there. The ** inhabitants of that 
 land shall not say, I am sick :" Everlasting vigour, 
 cheerfulness and ease shall render every blessed soul 
 for ever zealous and active in obedience, as the an- 
 gels are in heaven. 
 
 3. * Pain unfits us for the enjoyments of life^ as 
 well as for the labours and duties of it.' It takes 
 away all the pleasing- satisfactions which might at- 
 tend our circumstances, and renders the objects of 
 them insipid and unrelishing. What pleasure can a 
 rich man take in all the affluence of earthly blessings 
 around him, while some painful distemper holds him 
 upon the rack, and distresses him with the torture > 
 How little delight can he find in meats or in drinks 
 which are prepared for luxury when sharp pain calls 
 
DISCOURSE IX. NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. 335 
 
 all his attention to the diseased part ? What joy can 
 he find in magnificent buildings, in gay and shining 
 furniture, in elegant gardens, or in all the glilter- 
 ing treasures of the Indies, when the gout torments 
 his hands and his feet, or the rheumatism afflicts his 
 limbs with intense anguish ? If pain attacks any part 
 of the body and rises to a high degree, the luxuries 
 of life grow tasteless, and life itself is embittered to 
 us : Or when pains less acute are prolonged through 
 weeks and months, and perhaps stick in our flesh all 
 the night as well as in the day ; how vain and feeble 
 are all the efforts of the bright and gay things around 
 us to raise the soul into cheerfulness ? Therefore So- 
 lomon calls old age the " years wherein there is no 
 pleasure," Eccles. xii. 1. Because so many aches 
 and ails in that season pursue us in a continual suc- 
 cession ; so many infirmities and painful hours at- 
 tend us usually in that stage of life, even in the best 
 situation that mortality can boast of, as cuts oflP and 
 destroys all our pleasures. 
 
 But O what a wondrous, what a joyful change 
 shall that be, when the soul is commanded to forsake 
 this flesh and blood, when it rises as on the wings of 
 angels to the heavenly world, and leaves every pain 
 behind it, together widi the body in the arms of death? 
 And what a more illustrious and delightful change 
 shall we meet in the great rising day, when our bo- 
 dies shall start up out of the dust with vigorous im- 
 mortality, and without any spring or seat of pain ^ 
 All the unknown enjoyments with which heaven is 
 furnished, shall be taken in by the enlarged powers 
 
336 KO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. DlSCOUkSE IX. 
 
 of the soul with intense pleasure, and not a moment's 
 pain shall ever interrupt them. 
 
 4. Another inconvenience and evil which belongs 
 to pain is, that ' it makes time and life itself appear 
 tedious and tiresome, and adds a new burden to all 
 other grievances*' Many evidences of this trfith are 
 scattered throughout all nature, and on all sides of 
 this globe. There is not one age of mankind but 
 can furnish us with millions of instances. In what 
 melanchply language does Job discover his sensations 
 of the tiresome nature of pain ? ** I am made to pos- 
 sess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are ap- 
 pointed to me: When I lie down I say, when shall 
 I rise and the night be gone ? And I am full of toss- 
 ing to and fro unto the dawning of the day," Job vii. 
 3. When pain takes hold of our flesh, it seems to 
 stretch the measures of time to a tedious length: We 
 cry out as Moses expresses it, Deut. xxviii. 67. ** In 
 the morning we say, would to God it were evening; 
 and at the return of the evening we say again, w^ould 
 to God it were morning." 
 
 Long are those hours indeed, whether of day- 
 light or darkness, wherein there is no relief or inter- 
 mission of acute pain. How tiresome a thing is it to 
 count the clock at midnight in long successions, and 
 to wait every hour for the distant approach of morn- 
 ing, while our eyes are unable to close themselves 
 in slumber, and our anguish admits not the common 
 refuge of sleep. There are multitudes among the 
 race of mortals who have known these truths by sore 
 
DISCOURSE IX. NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. ^ 33r 
 
 experience. Blessed be God that we do not always 
 feel them. 
 
 But when we turn our thoughts to the heavenly- 
 world, where there is no pain, there we shall fmd no 
 weary hours, no tedious days, though eternity with 
 all its unmeasurable lengths of duration lies before 
 us. What a dismal thought is eternal pain ? The 
 very mention of it makes nature shudder and stand 
 aghast ; but futurity with all its endless years, in a 
 land of peace and pleasure gives the soul the most 
 delightful prospect, for there is no shadow of un- 
 easiness in that state to render our abode there tire- 
 some, or to think the ages of it long. 
 
 5. Another evil that belongs to pain is, that * it has 
 an unhappy tendency to ruffle the passions, and to 
 render us fretful and peevish within ourselves, as well 
 as towards those who are round about us.' Even the 
 kindest and the tenderest hand that ministers to our 
 relief, can hardly secure itself from the peevish quar- 
 rels of a man in extreme pain. 
 
 Not that we are to suppose that this peevish hu- 
 mour, this fretfulness of spirit are thereby made inno- 
 cent and perfectly excused : No, by no merns ; but 
 it must be acknowledged still that continuance in pain 
 is too ready to work up the spirit into frequent dis- 
 quietude and eagerness : We are tempted to fret at 
 every thing, we quarrel with every thing, we grow 
 impatient under every delay, angry with our best 
 friends, sharp and sudden in our resentments, with 
 wrathful speeches breaking out of our lips. 
 
338 4 NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. DISCOURSE IX. 
 
 ' This peevish humour in a day of pain is so com- 
 mon a fault, that I fear it is too much excused and 
 indulged. Let me rather say with myself, * My God 
 is now putting me to the trial what sort of Christian 
 lam, and how much I have learnt of self govern- 
 ment, and through his grace I will subdue my uneasy 
 passions, though I cannot relieve my pain.' O it is 
 a noble point of honour gained in a sick chamber, or 
 on a bed of anguish, to lie pressed with extreme pain, 
 and yet maintain a serenity and cahnness of soul; to 
 be all meekness and gentleness and patience among 
 our friends or attendants, under the sharp twinges of 
 it ; to utter no rude or angry language, and to take 
 every thing kindly that they say or do, and '' become 
 hke a wean^rd child." But such a character is not 
 found in every house. 
 
 A holy soul, through the severity of pain, may 
 sometimes in such an hour be too much ruffled by 
 violent and sudden fits of impatience. This proceed- 
 ed to such a degree even in that good man Job, un- 
 der his various calamities and the sore boils upon his 
 flesh, that it made him ** curse the day wherein he was 
 born," rnd cry out in the anguish of his spirit, '' my 
 soul chooseth strangling and death rather than life," 
 Job iii. and vii. 15. and there have been several in- 
 stances of those who, having not the fear of God be- 
 fore their eyes, with hasty violence and murderous 
 hands have put an end to their own lives, through their 
 wild and sinful impatience of constant pain. 
 
 But these trials are for ever finished when this life 
 expires : Then all our pains are ended for ever if we 
 
DISCOURSE IX. HO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. 339 
 
 are found among the children of God. There is not^ 
 nor can be any temptation in heaven, to fretfuhiess 
 or disquietude of mind: All thov peevish passions are 
 dropped into the grave, together with the body of 
 flesh; and those evil humours which were the sources 
 of smart and anguish here on earth have no place m 
 the new-raised body : Those irregular juices of animal 
 nature w hich tormented the nerves, and excited pain 
 in the flesh, and which at the same time provoked 
 choler and irritated the spirit, are never found in the 
 heavenly mansions. There is nothing but peace and 
 pleasure, jt)y and love, goodness and benevolence, 
 ease and satisfaction diffused through all the regions 
 on high : There are no inward springs of uneasiness 
 to ruffle the mind, none of those fretful ferments 
 which were wont to kindle in the mortal body, and 
 explode themselves, with fire and thunder upon every 
 supposed offence, or even sometimes without provo- 
 cation. O happy state and blessed mansions of the 
 saints, when this body of sin shall be destroyed, and 
 all the restless atoms that disquieted the flesh and pro- 
 voked the spirit to impatience, shall be buried in the 
 dust of death, and never, never rise again T 
 
 6. ' Pain carries a temptation with it, sometimes 
 toj-epine and murmur at the providence of God.' 
 Not fellow-creatures alone, but even our sovereign 
 Creator comes within the reach of the peevish hu- 
 mours, which are alarmed and roused by sharp or 
 continual pain. Jonah the prophet, when he felt the 
 sultry heat of the sun smite fiercely upon him, and 
 the gourd which gave him a friendly shadow was 
 
340 NO PAIN AMON.G THE BLESSED. DISCOURSE IX, 
 
 withered away, he told God himself in a passion ^ 
 that ** he did well to be angry, even unto death, '- 
 Jonah iv. 9. And even the man of Uz, the pattern 
 of patience, was sometimes transported with the 
 smart and maladies that were upon him, so that he 
 complained against God as well as complained to 
 him, and used some very unbecoming expressions 
 towards his Maker. When we are under the smart- 
 ing rebukes of Providence, we are ready to compare 
 ourselves with others who are in peace, and then the 
 envious and the murmuring humour breaks out into 
 rebellious language, " Why am I thus afflicted more 
 than others? Why hast thou set me as a mark for 
 thine arrows ? Why dost thou not let loose thy hand 
 and cut me off from the earth ?" 
 
 But in heaven there is a glorious reverse of all such 
 unhappy scenes: There is no pain nor any tempta- 
 tion to murmur at the dealings of the Almighty: 
 There is nothing that can incline us to think hardly of 
 God: The days of chastisement are for ever ended, 
 and painful discipline shall be used no more. We 
 shall live for ever in the embraces of the love of God, 
 and he shall be the object of our everlasting praise^ 
 Perfect felicity without the interruption of one un- 
 easy thought, for ever forbids the inhabitants of that 
 w^orld to repine at their situation under the eternal 
 smiles of that blessed Being that made them. 
 
 7. To add no more, ' pain and anguish of the flesh 
 have sometimes prevailed so far as to distract the 
 mind as well as destroy the body.' It has overpow- 
 ered all the reasoning faculties of man, it has destroy 
 
DISCOURSE IX. NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. ,'^41 
 
 ed natural life, and brought it down to the grave : 
 The senses have been confounded, and the under- 
 standing overwhelmed with severe and racking pain, 
 especially where there hath been an impatient temper 
 to contest with them. Extreme smart of the fiesh 
 distresses feeble nature, and turns the whole frame 
 of it upside down in wild confusion : It has actually- 
 worn out this animal frame, and stopped all the 
 springs of vital motion. The gout and the stone 
 have brought death upon the patient in this manner; 
 and a dreadful manner of dying it is, to have breath, 
 and life and nature cjuite oppressed and destroyed 
 with intense and painful sensations. 
 
 But when we survey the mansions of the heavenly 
 world, we shall find none of these evils there: No 
 danger of any such events as these ; for there is no 
 pain, no sorrow, no crying, no death nor destruction 
 there. The mind shall be for ever clear and serene 
 in the ease and happiness of the separate state : And 
 when the body shall be raised again, that glorified 
 body, as was intimated a little before, shall have none 
 of the seeds of distemper in it, no ferments that can 
 rack the nerves, or create anguish; no fever, or gout, 
 or stone, v/as ever known in that country, no head- 
 ach or heart-ach have ascended thither. 
 
 That body also shall be capable of no outward 
 wounds nor bruises, for it is raised only for happiness, 
 and leaves all the causes of pain behind it. It is a 
 body made for immortality and pleasure; there the 
 sickly Christian is delivered from all the maladies of 
 the liesh, and the twinges of acute pain which made 
 
 X 2 
 
342 NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. DISCOURSE IJC. 
 
 him groan here on earth night and day. There the 
 martyrs of the religion of Jesus, and all the holy con- 
 fessors are free from their cruel tormentors, thos^ 
 surly executioners of heathen fury, or anti-christian 
 wrath : They are for ever released from racks, and 
 wheels, and fires, and every engine of torture and 
 smart. Immortal ease and unfading health and cheer-- 
 fulness run through their eternal state, and all the 
 powers of the man are composed for the most regular 
 exercises of devotion and divine joy. 
 
 Thus 1 have endeavoured briefly to set the differ- 
 ent states of heaven and earth before you under this 
 distinguishing character, that * 4II the tempting, the 
 distressing and mischievous attendants and conse- 
 quences of pain' to which we are exposed in our mor- 
 tal life, are for ever banished from the heavenly 
 world. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 The 'second general enquiry' was this, * What 
 just and convincing arguments or proofs can be given, 
 that there are no pains or uneasy sensations to be 
 felt by the saints in a future state, nor to be feared 
 after this life?' 
 
 My answers to this question shall be very few ; 
 because I think the thing must be sufficiently evident 
 to those who believe the New Testament, and have 
 liberty to read it. 
 
 First argument. ' God has assured us so in his 
 V, ord, that there is no pain for holy souls to endure 
 
.DISCOURSE IX» NO PAtNT AMONG THE BLESSED. 345 
 
 in the world to come : ' My text may be esteemed a 
 sufficient proof of it ; for whatsoever particular event 
 or period of the church on earth this prophecy may 
 refer to, yet the description is borrowed from the 
 blessedness of heaven ; and if there shall be any such 
 state on earth, much more will it be so in the hea- 
 venly world, whereas that period on earth is but a 
 shadow and emblem. We are expressly told, Rev. 
 xiv. 8. in order to encourage the persecuted saints 
 and martyrs, '* Blessed are the dead who die in the 
 Lord from henceforth, for they rest from their labours, 
 (or pains) and their works follow them;" i. e. in a 
 way of gracious recompence. 
 
 It is granted indeed by the Papists themselves, that 
 in heaven there is no pain; yet they suppose there 
 are many and grievous pains for the soul to undergo 
 in a place called purgatory^ after the death of the 
 body, before it arrives at heaven. 
 
 But give me leave to ask, does not St. Paul ex* 
 press himself with confidence concerning himself and 
 his fellow Christians — "that they shall be present 
 with the Lord when they are absent from the body," 
 2 Cor. V. 8. Surely the state wherein Christ our 
 Lord dwells after all his sufferings and agonies, is a 
 •state of everlasting ease without suffering; and shall 
 not his followers dwell with him? Do we not read 
 in the parable of our Saviour, Luke xvi. 22. that 
 J^azarus was no sooner dead, but *'his soul was car- 
 ried by angels into the bosom of Abraham," or para- 
 dise ? Every holy soul wherein the work of grace is 
 begun, and sin liath received its mortal wound, is 
 
344 NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. DISCOURSE IX, 
 
 perfectly sanctified when it is released from this body ; 
 and it puts off the body of sin and the body of flesh 
 together, for " nothing that defileth must enter into" 
 paradise or the heavenly state. 
 
 The word of God has appointed but two states, 
 viz. hca-^en and hcll^ for the reception of all mankind 
 when they depart from this world: And how vain a 
 thing must it be for men to invent a third state y and 
 make a purgatory of it ? This is a building erected 
 by the church of Rome between heaven and hell, and 
 prepared by their wild imagination for souls of imper- 
 fect virtue, to be tormented there with pains equal to 
 those of hell, but of shorter duration. This state of 
 fiery purgation, and extreme anguish, is devised by 
 that mother of lies, partly under a pretence of com- 
 pleting the penances and satisfactions for the sms of 
 men committed in this life, and partly also to purify 
 and refine their souls from all the remaining dregs of 
 sin, and to fill up their virtues to perfection, that they 
 may be fit for the immediate presence of God. But 
 does not the Scripture sufficiently inform us, that 
 the^atonement or satisfaction of Christ for sin is full 
 and complete in itself, and needs none of our additions 
 in this world or another ? Does not the Apostle John 
 tell us, 1st epist. chap. i. ver. 7. " The blood of Je- 
 sus Christ cleanseth us from all sin ?" Nor shall the 
 saints after this life sin any more, to require any new 
 atonement; nor do they carry the seeds of sin to hea- 
 ven with them, but drop them together with the flesh, 
 and all the sources of pain together: Now since nei- 
 ther Christ nor his apostles give us any intimation of 
 
DISCOURSE IX. NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. 345 
 
 isuch a place as purgatory for the refinement or puri- 
 fication of souls after this life, we have no ground to 
 hearken to such a fable. 
 
 The second argument is this : * God has not pro- 
 vided any medium to convey pain to holy souls after 
 they have dropped this body of flesh.' They are par- 
 doned, they are sanctified, they are accepted of God 
 for ever; and since they are in no danger of sinning 
 afresh by the influences of corrupt flesh and blood, 
 therefore they are in no fear of suflfering any thing 
 ^thereby. And if, as some divines have supposed, 
 there should be any pure aethereal bodies or vehicles 
 provided for h.oly separate spirits, when departed 
 from this grosser tabernacle of flesh and blood, yet 
 it cannot be supposed that the God of all grace would 
 mix up any seeds of pain with that gethereal matter, 
 which is to be the occasional habitation of sanctified 
 spirits in that state, nor that he would make any 
 avenues or doors of entrance for pain into these re- 
 fined vehicles, when the state of their sinning and 
 their trial is for ever finished. 
 
 Nor will the body at the final resurrection of the 
 saints be made for a medium of any painful sen- 
 sations. All the pains of nature are ended, when 
 the first union between flesh and spirit is dissolved. 
 When this body lies down to sleep in the dust, it 
 shall never awake again with any of the principles oi 
 sin or pain in it : Though *' it be sown in weakness. 
 it is raised in power; though it be sown in dishon- 
 9ur, it is raised in glory ;" and we shall be made like 
 
S46 tfp PAIN AMOKG THE BLESSED. DISCOURSE IX. 
 
 the Son of God without sorrow and without sin for 
 ever. 
 
 3d. Argument. * There are no moral causes or 
 reasons why there should be any thing of pain pro- 
 vided for the heavenly state.' And if there be no 
 moral reasons for it, surely God will not provide 
 pains for his creatures without reason ! But this 
 thought leads me to the next general head of my dis- 
 course, 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 The third general enquiry which I proposed to 
 make was this, * What may be the chief moral rea- 
 sons, motives, or designs of the blessed God in send- 
 ing pain on his creatures here below ; and at the same 
 time I shall shew that these designs and purposes of 
 God are fmished, and they have no place in heaven.' 
 
 1st, Then, * pain is souTetimes sent into our na- 
 tures to awaken slothful and drowsy Christians out 
 of their spiritual slumbers, or to rouse stupid sin- 
 ners from a state of spiritual death.' Intense and 
 sharp pain of the flesh has oftentimes been the ap- 
 pointed and effectual means of providence to attain 
 these desirable ends. 
 
 Pain is like a rod in the hand of God, wherewith he 
 smites sinners that are dead in their trespasses, and 
 his Spirit joins with it to awaken them into spiritual 
 life. Tills rod is sometimes so smarting and severe, 
 that it will make a senseless and ungodly wretch look 
 upwards to the hand ibat sOiites it, and take notiQe 
 
DISCOURSE IX. NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. 24^ 
 
 of the rebuke of heaven, though all the thundering 
 and lightnhig of the word, and all the terrors of hell 
 denounced there, could not awaken him. 
 
 Acute pain is also a common instrument in our 
 heavenly Father's hand, to recover backsliding saints 
 from their secure and drowsy frames of spirit. David 
 often found it so, and speaks it plainly in the 38th 
 and 39th Psalms ; and in Psalm cxix. 67. he con- 
 fesses, '* before I was afflicted I went astray ;" but 
 when he had felt the scourge, he learat to obey, and 
 to ' keep the word of his God.' 
 
 But there is 'no need of this discipline in heaven :'* 
 No need of this smarting scourge to make dead sin- 
 ners feel their Maker's hand, in order to rouse them 
 into life, for there are no such inhabitants in that 
 w^orld: Nor is there any need of such divine and pater- 
 nal discipline of God in those holy mansions, where 
 there is no drowsy Christian to be awakened, no 
 wandering spirit that wants to be reduced to duty : 
 And v/here the designs of such smarting strokes have 
 no place, pain itself must be for ever banished; for 
 ' God does not willingly afflict, nor take delight in 
 grieving the children of men,' without substantial 
 reasons for it. 
 
 2. Another use of bodily pain and anguish in this 
 world is, * to punish men for their faulty and follies, 
 to make them know what an evil and bitter thing it 
 is to sin against God, and diereby to guard them 
 against new temptations,' Jer. ii. 19. *' Thy own 
 wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backsliding 
 shall reprove thee;" i, e. by means of the smartini^ 
 
S48 NO PAIN" AMONG THE BLESSED. DISCOURSE Ia, 
 
 chastisements they bring upon men. When God 
 makes the sinner taste of the fruit of his own ways, he 
 makes others also observe how hateful a thing every 
 sin is in the sight of God, which he thinks fit so ter- 
 ribly to punish. 
 
 This is one general reason why special diseases, 
 maladies, and plagues are spread over a whole nation, 
 viz. to punish the sins of the inhabitants, when they 
 have provoked God by public and spreading iniqui- 
 ties. War and famine with all their terrible train 
 of anguish and agony, and the dying pains which 
 they diffuse over a kingdom, are rods of punish- 
 ment in the hand of God, die Governor of the 
 world, to declare from heaven and earth his indigna- 
 tion against an ungodly and an unrighteous age. 
 
 This indeed is one design of the pains and tor- 
 ments of hell, where God inflicts pain without inter- 
 mission; And this is sometimes the purpose of God 
 in his painful providences here on earth: Shall I rise 
 vet higher and say, that this was one great design in 
 the eye of God, '' when it pleased the Father to bruise'' 
 his best beloved Son, and put him under the impres- 
 sions of extreme pain, viz. to discover to the world 
 the abominable evil th^t v;as in sin ? while Jesviy 
 stood in the stead of sinners, then *' his soul was ex- 
 ceeding scrjiowful even to death, and he sweat drops 
 of blood" under the pressure of his agonies, to let 
 the world see what the sin of man had deserved: 
 And sometimes God smites his own children in this 
 world with smarting strokes of correction, when they 
 have indulged any iniquity, to shew the world that 
 
DISCOURSE IX. NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. 349 
 
 God hates sin in his own people wheresoever he finds 
 it, and to bring his children back again to the path^ 
 of righteousness. 
 
 But * in the heavenly state, there are no fiiults to 
 punish, no follies to chastise.' Jesus, our Surety in 
 the days of his flesh, has suffered those sorrows which 
 made atonement for sin, and that anguish of his holy 
 soul, and the blood of his cross, have satisfied the de- 
 mands of God ; so that with honour he can pardon 
 ten thousand penitent criminals, and provide an in- 
 heritance of ease and blessedness for them for ever. 
 When once we are dismissed from this body, the spi- 
 rit is thoroughly sanctified, and there is no fire of 
 purgatory needful to burn out the remains of sin : 
 Those foolish ir^j^ented flames are but false fire, kin- 
 dled by the priests of Rome to fright the souls of the 
 dying, and to squeeze money out of them to purchase 
 so many vain and idle masses to relieve the souls of 
 the dead. Upon our actual release from this flesh 
 and blood, neither the guilt nor the power of sin shall 
 attend the saints in their flight to heaven : AH the 
 spirits that arrive there are made perfect in holiness 
 without new scourges, and commence a state of feli- 
 city that shall never be interrupted. 
 
 3. God has appointed pain in this world, ' to exer- 
 cise and try the virtues and the graces of his people.' 
 As gold is throv/n into the fire to prove and try how 
 pure it is from any coarse alloy, so the children of 
 God are sometimes left for a season in the furnace of 
 sufferings, partly to refine them from their dross, and 
 
 Y 2 
 
350 no PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. DISCOURSE IX^ 
 
 partly to discover their purity and their substantial 
 weight and worth. 
 
 Sometimes * God lays smarting pain with his own 
 hand' on the flesh of his people, on purpose to try 
 their graces : When we endure the pain without mur» 
 muring at Providence, then it is we come off con- 
 querors. Christian submission and silence under 
 the hand of God, is one way to victory. "I was 
 dumb," says David, ** and opened not my mouth, be» 
 cause thou didst it," Psal. xxxix. Our love to God, 
 our resignation to his will, our holy fortitude and our 
 patience find a proper trial in such smarting seasons. 
 Perhaps when some severe pain first seizes and sur- 
 prises us, we find ourselves * like a wild bull in a 
 net,' and all the powers of nature ,are thrown into 
 tumult and disquietude, so that we have no posses- 
 sion of our own spirits ; but when the hand of God 
 has continued us awhile under this divine discipline, 
 we learn to bow down to his sovereignty, we lie at 
 his footstool calm and composed : He brings our 
 haughty and reluctant spirits down to his foot, and 
 makes us lie humble in the dust, and we wait with 
 patience the hour of his release. Rom. v. 3, 4. ' Tri« 
 bulation worketh patience, and patience' under tribu^ 
 lati'on ' gives us experience' of the dealings of God 
 with his people, and makes our way to a confirmed 
 ^jope in his love. The evidence of our various graces 
 grows brighter and stronger under a smarting rod, 
 till we are settled in a joyful confidence, and the soui 
 rests in God himself. 
 
DISCOURSE I.X. 1^0 PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. 351 
 
 Sometimes he has * permitted evil angels to put 
 the flesh to pain,' for the trial of his children ; so 
 ** Job was smitten with sore boils from head to foot'* 
 by the malice of Satan, at the permission of God ; 
 but ** he knows the way that I take," says this holy 
 man, ** and when he has tried me I shall come forth 
 as gold ; for my foot hath held his steps" through all 
 these trials, '* neither have I gone back from the com- 
 mandments of his lips," Job. xxii. 10, 12. 
 
 At other times * he suffers wicked men to spend 
 their own malice, and to inflict dreadful pains on his 
 own children:' Look back to the years of ancient per- 
 secution in the land of Israel, under Jewish or heathen 
 tyrants ; review the annals of Great Britain ; look 
 over the seas into popish kingdoms; take a view of 
 the cursed courts of inquisition in Spain, Portugal, 
 and Italy ; behold the weapons, the scourges, the 
 racks, the machines of torture and engines of cruelty, 
 devised by the barbarous and inhuman wit of men, 
 to constrain the saints to renounce their faith, and 
 dishonour their Saviour. See the slow fires where 
 the martyrs have been roasted to death with linger- 
 ing torment : These are seasons of terrible trial in- 
 deed, whereby the malice of Satan and Antichrist 
 would force the servants of God, and the followers of 
 the Lamb, into sinful compliances with their idolatry, 
 or a desertion of their post of duty : But the spirit 
 of God has supported his children to bear a glorious 
 testimony to pure and undefiled religion; and they 
 have seemed to mock the rage of their tormentors, 
 to defy all the stings of pain, and triumphed over 
 
352 NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. DISCOURSE IX, 
 
 their vain attempts, to compel them to sin against 
 their God. 
 
 One would sometimes be ready to wonder, that a 
 God of infinite mercy and compassion should suffer 
 his own dear children to be tried in so terrible a man- 
 ner as this ; but unsearchable wisdom is with him, 
 and he does not give an account to men of all the 
 reasons and the rules of his conduct. This has been 
 his method of providence with his saints at especial 
 seasons, under the Jewish and the Christian dispen- 
 sations, and perhaps under all the dispensations 
 of God to men, from the days of Cain and Abel 
 to the present hour. Our blessed Lord has given 
 us many warnings of it in his word by his own 
 mouth, and by all his three Apostles, Paul, Peter and 
 John: "They that will live godly in Christ Jesus 
 shall suffer persecution: Think it not strange there- 
 fore concerning the fiery trial : The devil, by his 
 wicked agents, shall cast some of you into prison, 
 that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation 
 ten days, but fear none of the things which thou 
 shalt suffer : Be thou faithful unto death, and I will 
 give thee a crown of life." 
 
 But blessed be God that this world is the only 
 stage of such trials. As soon as the state of proba- 
 tion is finished, the state of recompence begins. 
 Such hard and painful exercises to try the virtues of 
 the saints, have no place in that world, which was 
 not made for a stage of trial and conflict, but a palace 
 of glorious reward. ' Heaven is a place where crowns 
 and prizes are distributed' to all those blessed ones 
 * who have endured temptation,' and who have been 
 
DISCOURSE IX. NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED, 353 
 
 found faithful to the death. These sharp and dread- 
 ful combats with pain, have no place among con- 
 querors, who have finished their warfare, and have 
 begun tlieir triumph. 
 
 4. * Pain is sent us by the hand of Providence to 
 teach us many a lesson both of trutli and duty, which 
 perhaps we should I'wever have learnt so well without 
 it.' This sharp sensation awakens our best powers 
 to attend to those truths and duties which we took 
 less notice of before : In the time of perfect ease we 
 are ready to let them lie neglected or forgotten, till 
 God our great Master takes his rod in hand for our 
 instruction. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 And this leads me to the * fourth general head' of 
 my discourse, and that is to * enquire what are those 
 spiritual lessons which may be learnt on earth from 
 the pains we have suffered, or may suffer in the flesh.' 
 I shall divide them into two sorts, viz. ' Lessons of 
 instruction' in useful truth, and ' lessons of duty,' or 
 practical Christianity ; and there are many of each 
 kind with which the disciples of * Christ in this world' 
 may be better acquainted, by the actual sensations of 
 pain, than any other way : ' In this world' I say, and 
 * in this only;' for in heaijen most of these ' lessons 
 of doctrine and practice' are utterly needloss to be 
 taught, either because they have been so perfectly 
 well known to all its inhabitants before, and their pre- 
 sent situation makes it impossible to fc)rget them ; or 
 
354 NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. DISCOURSE IXj 
 
 they shall be let into the fuller knowledge of them 
 in heavien in a far superior way of instruction, and 
 without any such uneasy discipline. And this I shall 
 evidently make appear, when I have first enumerated 
 all these * general lessons' both ' of truth and duty,' 
 and shewn how wisely the great God has appointed 
 them to be taught here on earth, under the scourge 
 and the wholsome discipline of pain in the flesh. 
 
 I. ' The lessons of instruction here on earth, or 
 the useful truths,' are such as these : 
 
 1. Pain teaches us feelingly, * what feeble creatures 
 we are, and how entirely dependent oo G jd our Ma- 
 ker for every hour and moment of ease.^ We are 
 naturally wild and wanton creatures, and especially 
 in the season of youth, our gayer powers are gadding 
 abroad at the call of temptation; but when God sends 
 his arrows into our flesh, he arrests us on a sudden, 
 teaches us that we are but men, poor feeble dying 
 creatures, soon crushed, and sinking under his hand. 
 We are ready to exult in the vigour of youth, when 
 animal nature, in its prime of strength and glory, 
 raises our pride, and supports us in a sort of self- 
 sufEciency ; we are so vain and foolish, as to imagine 
 nothing can hurt us : But when the pain of a litde 
 nerve seizes us, and we feel the acute twinges of it, 
 we are made to confess that * our flesh is not iron, 
 nor our t«ones brass;' that we are by no means the 
 lords of ourselves, or sovereigns over our own nature: 
 We cannot remove the least degree of pain, till the 
 Lord who ser.i it takes off his hand, and commands 
 
DISCOURSE IX. ^0 PAIN AMONG THE BLESSEDo 355 
 
 the smart to cease. If the torture fix itself but in a 
 finger or a toe, or in tlie little nerve of a tooth, what 
 intense agonies may it create in us, and that beyond 
 all the relief of medicines, till the moment wherein 
 God shall give us easfe. This lesswi of the frailty of 
 human nature must be some time written upon our 
 hearts in deep and smarting characters, by intense 
 pain, before we have learnt it well; and this gives 
 us, for some time to come, a happy guard against 
 Qur pride and vanity* Psal. xxxix. 10. When David 
 felt the stroke of the hand of God upon him, which 
 corrected him with sharp rebukes for his iniquity^, 
 he makes an humble address to God, and acknow- 
 ledges that his " beauty, and all the boasted excellen- 
 cies of flesh and blood, consume away like a moth; 
 surely every man is vanity !" Psal. xxxix. 10, 11. 
 
 2. The next useful truth in which pain instructs 
 us, is * the great evil that is contained in the nature 
 of sin, because it is the occasion of such intense pain 
 and misery to human nature.' I grant, I have hint- 
 ed this before, but I would have it more powerfully 
 impressed upon our spirits, and therefore I introduce 
 it here again in this part of my discourse as a spiritual 
 kssoiiy which we learn under the discipline of our 
 heavenly Father, 
 
 It is true indeed that innocent nature was madc^ 
 capable of pain in the first Adam, and the innocent 
 nature of the man Jesus Christ suffered acute pain, 
 when he came in the likeness of sinful flesh: But if 
 Adam had continued 'in his state of innocence, it is 
 a great question with me, whether lie or bis cUil^ciren 
 
G5(j NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. DISCOURSE IX. 
 
 would have actually tasted or felt what acute pain is; 
 I mean such pain as we now suffer, such as makes 
 us so far unhappy, and such as we cannot immedi- 
 ately relieve. 
 
 It may be granted, that natural hunger, and thirst, 
 and weariness after labour, would have carried in 
 them some degrees of pain or uneasiness, even in the 
 state of innocence ; but these are necessary to awak- 
 en nature to seek food and rest, and to put the man 
 in mind to supply his natural wants ; and man might 
 have immediately relieved them himself, for the sup- 
 plies of ease were at hand ; and these sort of unea- 
 sinesses were abundantly compensated by the plea- 
 sure of rest and food, and perhaps they were in some 
 measure necessary to make food and rest pleasant. 
 
 But surely if sin had never been known in our 
 world, ail the pain that arises from inward* diseases 
 of nature, or from outward violence, had been a 
 stranger to the human race, an unknown evil among 
 the sons of men, as it is among the holy angels, the 
 sons of God. There had been no distempers or acute 
 pains to meet young babes at their entrance into this 
 world ; no maladies to attend the sons and daughters 
 of Adam through the journey of life ; and they should 
 have been translated to some higher and happier re- 
 gion, without death, and without pain. 
 
 It was the eating of the tree of knowledge of good 
 and evil, that acquainted Adam and his offspring 
 with the evil of pain. Or if pain could have attack- 
 ed innocence in any form or degree, it would have 
 been but in a wav of trial; to exercise and illustrate 
 
DISCOURSE IX. NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. 357 
 
 his virtues ; and if he had endured the test, and con- 
 tinued innocent, I am satisfied he should never have 
 fdt any pain which was not overbalanced with supe- 
 rior pleasure, or abundantly recompensed by succeed- 
 ing rewards and satisfactions. 
 
 Some persons indeed, have supposed it within the 
 reach of the sovereignty of God to afflict and tor- 
 ment a sinless creature : Yet I think it is hardly con- 
 sistent with his goodness, or his equity, to constrain 
 an innocent being, which has no sin, to suffer pain 
 \yithout his own consent, and without giving that crea- 
 ture equal or superior pleasure as a recompence. 
 Both those were the case in the sufferings of our 
 blessed Lord in his human nature, who was perfectly 
 innocent : It was with his own consent that he gave 
 himself up to be a sacrifice, when " it pleased the Fa- 
 ther to bruise him and put him to grief:" And God 
 rewarded him with transcendent honours and joys 
 after his passion, he exalted him to his own right 
 hand and his throne, and gave him authority over all 
 things. 
 
 In general therefore we have sufficient reason to 
 say, that as sin brought in death into human nature, 
 so it was sin that brought in pain also; and where- 
 soever there is any pain suffered among the sons and 
 daughters of men, I am sure we may venture to as- 
 sert boldly, that the sufferer may learn the evil of sin. 
 Even the Son of God himself, when he suffered pain 
 in his body, as well as anguish in his spirit, has 
 told us by his Apostles, thatour sins were the causes 
 of it ; ' he bore our sins on his own body on the tree, 
 
 z 2 
 
558 KO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. DISCOURSE IX, 
 
 and for our iniquities he was bruised,' so says Isaiah 
 the prophet, and so speaks Peter the Apostle. 
 
 And sometimes the Providence of God is pleased 
 to point out to us the particular sin we are guilty of 
 by the special punishment which he inflicts. In Psal. 
 cvii. 17, 18. " Fools are said to be aiBicted," i. e. with 
 pain and sickness, ** because of their transgressions" 
 of riot and intemperance; *' their soul abhors all 
 manner of meat, and they draw near to the gates of 
 death." Sickness and pain over-balance all the plea- 
 sures of luxury in meats and drinks, and make the 
 epicure pay dear for the elegance of his palate, and 
 the sweet relish of his morsels or his cups. The 
 drunkard in his debauches, is preparing some smart- 
 ing pain for his own punishment. And let us all be 
 so wise as to learn this lesson by the pains we feel, 
 that sin which introduced them into the world is an 
 abominable thing in the sight of God, because it pro- 
 vokes him to use such smarting strokes of discipline 
 in order to recover us from our folly, and to reduce 
 us back again to the paths of righteousness. 
 
 O blessed smart! O happy pain, that helps to sof- 
 ten the heart of a sinner, and melts it to receive divine 
 instruction, which before was hard as iron, and at- 
 tended to no divine counsel! we are ready to wan- 
 der from God, and forget him amongst the monthb 
 and the years of ease and pleasure ; but when the 
 soul is melted in this furnace of painful sufferings, 
 it more easily receives some divine stamp, some last- 
 ing impression of truth, which the words of the 
 preacher and the book of God had before inculcated 
 
DISCOURSE IX. NO PAIW AMONG tHE BLESSED. 359 
 
 without success, and repeated almost in vain. Happy 
 is the soul that learns this lesson thoroughly, and 
 gains a more lasting acquaintance with the evil of 
 sin, and abhorrence of it, under the smarting stroke 
 of the hand of God. *' Blessed is the man whom 
 thou correctest, O Lord, and teachest him the truths 
 that are written in thy law," Psal. xciv. 12. 
 
 3. Pain in the flesh teaches us also *how dread- 
 fully the great God can punish sin and sinners when 
 he pleases, in this world or in the other.' It is writ- 
 ten in the song of Moses, the man of God, Psal. xc. 
 11. ** According to thy fear, so is thy wrath," i. e. 
 the displeasure and anger of the blessed God is as 
 terrible as we can fear it to be ; and he can inflict on 
 us such intense pains and agonies, whose distressing 
 smart we may learn by feeling a little of them. Un- 
 known multiplications of racking pain, lengthened 
 out beyond years and ages, is part of the de- 
 scription of hellish torments, and the other part 
 lies in the bitter twinges of conscience and keen 
 remorse of soul for our past iniquities, but without 
 all hope. Behold a man under a sharp fit of the gout 
 or stone, which wrings the groans from his heart, 
 and tears from his eye^lids ; this is the hand of God 
 in the present world, where there are many mixtures 
 of divine goodness ; but if ever we should be so wil- 
 fully unhappy as to be plunged into those regions 
 where the almighty vengeance of God reigns, without 
 one beam of divine light or love, this must be dread- 
 ful indeed. *< It is a fearful thing to fall into the 
 hands of the living God," Heb. x. 31. to be banish- 
 
360 NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. DISCOURSE IX. 
 
 ed far off from all that is holy and happy, and to be 
 confined to that datk dungeon, that place of torture, 
 '* where the gnawing worm of conscience never dies," 
 and * * where the fire of dhine anger is never quench- 
 ed." 
 
 We who are made up of flesh and blood, which is 
 Interwoven with many nerves and muscles, and mem- 
 branes, may learn a little of the terrors of the Lord, 
 if we reflect that every nerve, muscle, and membrane 
 of the body is capable of giving us most sharp and 
 painful sensations. We may be wounded in every 
 sensible part of nature; smart and anguish may 
 enter in at every pore, and make almost every atom 
 of our constitution an instrument of our anguish. 
 *^ Fearfully and wonderfully are we formed" indeed, 
 capable of pain all over us ; and if a God shall see 
 fit to punish sin to its full desert, and penetrate every 
 atom of our nature with pain, what surprising and 
 intolerable misery must that be ? And if God should 
 raise the wicked out of their graves to dwell in such 
 sort of bodies again, on purpose to shew his just 
 anger agai^nst sin in their punishment, how dreadful, 
 beyond expression, must their anguish be through 
 the long ages of eternity ? God can form even such 
 bodies for immortality, and can sustain them to en- 
 dure everlasting agonies. 
 
 Let us think again, that when the hand of our Cre- 
 ator sends pain into our flesh, we cannot avoid it, we 
 cannot fly from it, we carry it with us wheresoever 
 •we go: His arrows stick fast in us, and we cannot 
 shake tliem ofF; oftentimes it appears that we can 
 
DISCOURSE IX. NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. 361 
 
 find no relief from creatures : And if by the destruc- 
 tion of ourselves, i. e. of these bodies, we plunge 
 ourselves into the world of spirits at once, we shall 
 find the same God of holiness and vengeance there, 
 who can pierce our souls with unknown sorrows, 
 equal, if not superior, to all that we felt in the flesh. 
 **If I make my bed in the grave, Lord, thou art there, '> 
 thy hand of justice and punishment would find me 
 out. 
 
 What a formidable thing it is to such creatures as 
 we are, to have God, our Maker, for our enemy ? 
 That God who has all the tribes of pain and disease, 
 and the innumerable host of maladies at his command? 
 He fills the air in which we breathe with fevers and 
 pestilences as often as he wills : The gout and the 
 stone arrest and seize us by his order, and stretch 
 us upon a bed of pain: Rheumatisms and cholicks 
 come and go wheresoever he sends them, and exe- 
 cute his anger against criminals. He keeps in his 
 hand all the various springs of pain, and every invi- 
 sible rack that can torment the head or members, the 
 bowels or the joints of man: He sets them at their 
 dreadful work when and where he pleases. Let the 
 sinner tremble at the name of his power and terror, 
 who can fill both flesh and spirit with thrilling ago- 
 nies ; and yet he never punishes beyond what our 
 iniquities deserve. How necessary is it for such 
 sinful and guilty beings as we are, whose natures are 
 capable of such constant and acute sensations of pain, 
 to have the God of nature our friend and our recon- 
 ciled God ? 
 
362 NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. DISCOURSE IX. 
 
 4. When we feel the acute pains of nature, we 
 * may learn something of the exceeding greatness of 
 the love of Christ, even the Son of God,' that glo* 
 rious Spirit, who took upon him flesh and blood for 
 our sakes, that he might be capable of pain and death, 
 though he had never sinned. He endured intense 
 anguish, to make atonement for our crimes. ** Be- 
 cause the children" whom he came to save from 
 misery *' were partakers of flesh and blood, he also 
 himself took part of the same," that he might suffer 
 in the flesh, and by his sufferings put away our sins. 
 
 Happy was he in his Father's bosom, and the de- 
 light of his soul through many long ages before his 
 incarnation: But he condescended to be born ^^in 
 the likeness of sinful fiesh," that he might feel such 
 smart and sorrows as our sins had exposed us to. 
 His innocent and holy soul was uncapable of such 
 sort of sufferings till he put on this clothing of hu- 
 man nature, and became a Surety for sinful perish- 
 ing creatures. 
 
 Let us survey his sufferings a little. He was born 
 to sorrow, and trained up through the common un- 
 easy circumstances of the infant and childish state, 
 till he grew up to man : What pains did attend him 
 in hunger and thirst, and weariness, while he travel- 
 led on foot from city to city, through wilds and de- 
 serts, where there was no food nor rest? The Sou 
 of man sometimes wanted the common bread of na- 
 ture, nor had he where to lay his head. What un- 
 easy sensations was he exposed to, when he was buf- 
 feted, when he was smitten on the cheek, when his 
 
DISCOURSE IX. NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. 363 
 
 tender flesh was scourged with whips, and his tern- 
 pies were crowned with thorns, when his hands and 
 his feet were barbarously torn with rude nails, and 
 fastened to the cross, where the whole weight of his 
 body huog on those wounds > And what man or 
 angel can tell the inward anguish, when **his soul 
 was exceeding sorrowful unto death,*' and the 
 conflicts and agonies of his spirit forced out the 
 drops of bloody sweat through every pore. It was 
 by the extreme torture of his nature that he was sup- 
 posed to expire on the cross ; these were the pangs of 
 his atonement and agonies that expiated the sins of 
 men. 
 
 O blessed Jesus ! What manner of sufferings were 
 these ? And what manner of love was it that willingly 
 gave up thy sacred nature to sustain them? And 
 what was the design of them, but to deliver us from 
 the wrath of God in hell, to save our flesh and spirit 
 from eternal anguish and distress there ? Why was 
 he ** made such a curse for us," but ** that he might 
 redeem us from the curse of the law,;* and the just 
 punishment of our own iniquities. 
 
 Let us carry our thoughts of his love, and our be- 
 nefit by it, yet one step further: Was it not by these 
 sorrows, and this painful passion, that he provided 
 for us this very heaven of happiness, where we shall 
 be for ever freed from all pain ? Were they not all 
 endured by him to procure a paradise of pleasure, a 
 mansion of everlasting peace and joy for guilty crea- 
 tures, who had merited everlasting pain > Was it not 
 by these his agonies in the mortal body, which h** 
 
364 NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. DISCOURSE IX* 
 
 assumed, that he purchased for each of us a glorified 
 body, strong and immortal as his own when he rose 
 from the dead, a body which has no seeds of disease 
 or pain in it, no springs of mortality or death ? May 
 glory, honour and praise, with supreme pleasure, 
 ever attend the sacred person of our Redeemer, whose 
 sorrows and anguish of flesh and spirit were equal to 
 our misery, and to his own compassion. 
 
 5. Another lesson, which we are taught by the 
 long and tiresome pains of nature, ' is the value and 
 worth of the word of God, and the sweetness of a 
 promise, which can give the kindest relief to a pain- 
 ful hour, and sooth the anguish of nature.' They 
 teach us the excellency of the covenant of grace, 
 which has sometimes strengthened the feeblest pieces 
 of human nature to bear intense sufferings in the 
 body, and which sanctifies them all to our advantage. 
 Painful and tiresome maladies teach us to improve 
 the promises to valuable purposes, and^the promises 
 take away half the smart of our pains by the sensa- 
 tions of divine love let into the soul. 
 
 We read of philosophers and heroes in some an» 
 cient histories, who could endure pain by dint of rea- 
 soning, by a pride of their science, by an obstinacy 
 of heart, or by natural courage ; but a Christian takes 
 the word of a promise, and lies down upon it in the 
 midst of intense pains of nature ; and the pleasure of 
 devotion supplies him with such ease, that all the 
 reasonings of philosophy, all the courage of nature, 
 all the anodynes of medicine, and soothing plaisters 
 
DISCOURSE IX. NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. 38 J 
 
 have attempted without success. When a child of 
 God can read his Father's love in a promise, and by- 
 searching into the qualifications of his own soul, can 
 lay faster hold of it by a living faith, the rage of his 
 pain is much allayed, and made half easy. A pro- 
 mise is a sweet couch to rest a languishing body in 
 the midst of pains, and a soft repose for the head or 
 heart-ach. 
 
 The Stoicks pretended to give ease to pain, by 
 persuading themselves * there was no evil in it;' as 
 though the mere misnaming of things would destroy 
 their nature : But the Christian, by a sweet sub- 
 mission to the evil which his heavenly Father inflicts 
 upon his flesh, reposes himself at the foot of God on 
 the covenant of grace, and bears the wounds and the 
 smart with much more serenity and honour. * It 
 is my heavenly Father that scourges me, and I know- 
 he designs me no hupt, though he fills my flesh with 
 present pain: His own presence, and the sense of his 
 love, soften the anguish of all that I feel : He bids 
 m.e not yield to fear, for when I pass through the fires 
 he \mll he njoith me ; and he that loved me, and died 
 for me, has suffered greater sorrows and more an- 
 guish on my account, than what he calls me to bear 
 under the strokes of his wise and holy discipline : He 
 has left his word with me as an universal medicine 
 to relieve me under all my anguish, till he shall bring 
 me to those mansions on high, were sorrows and 
 pai(>s are found no more.' 
 
 6. Anguish and pain of nature here on earth teach 
 us * the excellency and use of the mercy-seat in hea- 
 
 A 3 
 
366 KO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSLD. DISCOURSE IX^ 
 
 ven, and the admirable privilege of prayer.' Even 
 the sons of mere nature are ready to think of God 
 at such a season ; and they who never prayed before, 
 * pour out a prayer before him when his chastening 
 is upon them,' Isai. xxvi. 16. An hour of twing- 
 ing and tormenting pain, when creatures and medi-^ 
 cines can give no relief, drives them to the throne 
 of God to try whether he will relieve them or not. 
 But much more delightful is it for a child of God 
 that has been used to address the throne of grace, to 
 run thither with pleasure and hope, and to spread 
 all his anguish before the face of his heavenly Father. 
 The blessed God has built this mercy-seat for his 
 people to bring all their sorrows thither, and spread 
 them before his eyes in all their smarting circum- 
 stances, and he has been often pleased to speak a 
 word of relief. 
 
 Our Lord Jesus ^Christ, when he dwelt in flesh 
 and blood, practised this part of religion with holy 
 satisfaction and success. '* Being in an agony he 
 prayed more earnestly," and an angel was sent to 
 strengthen and comfort him, Luke xxii. 43, 44. 
 This was the relief of holy David in ancient times. 
 Psalm XXV. 18. "Look upon my affliction and my 
 pain, and pardon all my sins." Psah cxvi. 3, 4. 
 " The sorrows of death compassed me, and the 
 pains of hell, or the grave, took hold of me ; then 
 called I upon the name of the Lord; O Lord, I be- 
 seech thee, deliver my soul." And when he found 
 a gracious answer to his request, he acknowledges 
 the grace of God therein, and charges his soul to 
 
DISCOURSE IX. NO PAIN AMONG THE BLES.SED. 367 
 
 dwell near to God; *' return to thy rest, O my soul, 
 for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee; I was 
 brought low, and he helped me, he delivered my 
 soul from death, and mine eyes from tears." 
 
 But we have stronger encouragement than David 
 was acquainted with, since it is revealed to us, that 
 we **have an high Priest" at this throne ready to be- 
 speak all necessary relief for us there, Heb. ii. 18. 
 ^' An high Priest who can be touched with the feel- 
 ing of our infirmities, '^ who has sustained the same 
 sorrows and pains in the flesh, who can pity and re- 
 lieve his people under their maladies and acutest an- 
 guish, Heb. iv. 15. When we groan and sigh un- 
 der continued pains, they are ready to make nature 
 weary and faint : We groan unto the Lord, who 
 knows the language of our frailty : Our High Priest 
 carries every groan to the mercy-seat : His compas- 
 sion works towards his brethren, and he will suffer 
 them to continue no longer under this discipline than 
 is necessary for their own best improvement and 
 happiness. 
 
 O how much of this sort of consolation has many 
 a Christian learnt and tasted, by a holy intercourse 
 with heaven, in such painful seasons ? How much 
 has he learnt of the tender mercies of God the Fa- 
 ther, and of the pity and sympathy of our great High 
 Priest above? Who would be content to live in such 
 a painful world as this is, withdut the pleasure and 
 relief of prayer ? Who would live without an inter- 
 est at this mercy-seat, and without the supporting 
 friendship of this Advocate at the throne ? 
 
368 NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. DISCOURSE IX, 
 
 Thus I have run over the chief lessons of instruc- 
 tion or doctrine, which may be derived from our 
 sensations of pain here in this world : But there is 
 no need of this sort of discipline in the blessed re- 
 gions of heaven to teach the inhabitants such truths. 
 
 They will remember * what feeble helpless crea- 
 tures they were' when they dwelt in flesh and blood ; 
 but they have put off those fleshly garments of mor- 
 tality, with all its weaknesses together. The spirits 
 of the blessed know nothing of those frailties, nor shall 
 the bodies of the saints, new raised from the dust, 
 bring back any of their old infirmities with them. 
 These blessed creatures know well * how entirely 
 dependent they are for all things upon God' their 
 Creator, without the need of pains and maladies to 
 teach them, for they live every moment with God, 
 and in a full dependence upoft him : They are sup- 
 ported in their life, and all its everlasting blessings, 
 by his immediate presence, power and mercy. 
 
 They have no need of pain in those fields or gar- 
 dens of pleasure to teach them the evil of sin ; they 
 well remember all the sorrows they have passed 
 through in their mortal state, while they were tra- 
 versing the wilderness of this world, and they know 
 that sin was the cause of them all. They see the evil 
 of sin in the glass of the divine holiness, and the 
 hateful contrariety that is in it to the nature of God 
 is discovered in thf^ immediate light of all his per- 
 fections, his wisdom, his truth and his goodness. 
 They behold the evil of sin in the marks of the suf- 
 ferings of their blessed Saviour ; he appears in glo- 
 
DISCOURSE IX, NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. 3G9 
 
 ry ' as the Lamb that was slain,' and carries some 
 memorials of his death about him, to let the saints 
 know for ever what he has suffered to make atone- 
 ment for their sins. 
 
 Nor have the blessed above any need to learn ' how 
 dreadfully God can punish sin and sinners,' while 
 they behold his indignation going forth in a long and 
 endless stream, to make the wicked enemies of God 
 in hell for ever justly miserable : And in this sense 
 it may be said, that *' the smoke of their torments 
 come up before God and his holy angels, and his 
 saints for ever." 
 
 Nor do these happy beings stand in need of new 
 sensations of pain, to teach them ' the exceeding 
 greatness of the love of Christ,' who exposed him- 
 self to intense and smarting anguish, both of flesh 
 and spirit, to procure their salvation : For while they 
 dwell amidst the blessedness of that state, which 
 the Redeemer purchased with the price of his own 
 sufferings, they can never forget his love. 
 
 Nor do they want to learn in heaven the ' value 
 of the word of God and his promises,' by which they 
 were supported under their pains and sorrows in this 
 mortal state. Those promises have been fulfilled 
 to them partly on earth, and in a more glorious and 
 abundant manner in the heavenly world. They rel- 
 ish the sweetness of all those words of mercy, in 
 reviewing the means whereby divine grace sustained 
 them in their former state of trial, and in the com- 
 plete acconiplishment of the best of those promises 
 
3/0 NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSEU. DISCOURSE IX* 
 
 in their present situation amidst ten thousand end- 
 less blessings. 
 
 And if any of them were too cold and remiss, and 
 infrequent in their applications to the mercy- seat by 
 prayer, when they were here on earth, and stood in 
 need of chastisement to make them pour out their 
 prayers to God, yet they can never forget *the vahie 
 of this privilege,' while they themselves dwell round 
 about the throne, and behold all their ancient sin- 
 cere addresses to the mercy-seat answered and swal- 
 lowed up in the full fruition of their present glories 
 and joys. Praise is properly the language of heaven, 
 when all their wants are supplied, and their prayers 
 on earth are finished ; and whatever further desires 
 they may have to present before God, the throne of 
 grace is ever at hand, and God himself is ever in the 
 midst of them to bestow every proper blessing in its 
 season that belongs to the heavenly world. Not one 
 of them can any more stand in need of chastisement 
 or painful exercises of the flesh to drive them to the 
 throne of God, while they are at home in their Fa- 
 ther's house, and for ever near him and his all-suffici- 
 ency. It is from thence they are constantly deriving 
 immortal supplies of blessedness, as from a spring 
 that will never fail. 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 I proceed now to consider in the last place, what 
 are the * practical lessons which pain may teach us 
 while we are here on earth' in our state of proba- 
 
DISCOURSE IrX. NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSE;.!^. 371 
 
 tion and discipline, and shall afterward make it evi- 
 dent, that there is ' no need of pain in heaven for the 
 same purposes.' 
 
 1. The frequent returns of pain may put us in mind 
 ' to offer to God his due sacrifices of praise for the 
 months and years of ease which we have enjoyed;' 
 we are too ready to forget the mercy of God herein, 
 unless we are awakened by new painful sensations ; 
 and when we experience new relief, then our lips are 
 opened with thankfulness, and our mouth shews forth 
 his praise : Then we cry out with devout language, 
 * Blessed be the Lord that has delivered us !' When 
 we have been oppressed for some time with extreme 
 anguish, then one day, or one hour of ease fills the 
 heart and the tongue with thankfulness ; * blessed be 
 the God of nature that has appointed medicines to 
 restore our ease, and blessed be that goodness that 
 has given success to them !' What a rich mercy is it 
 under our acute torments, that there are methods of 
 relief and healing found among the powers of nature, 
 among the plants and the herbs, and the mineral 
 stores which are under ground ? Blessed be the Lord, 
 >vho in the course of his providence has given skill 
 to physicians to com.pose and to apply the proper 
 means of relief! Blessed be that hand that has plant- 
 ed every herb in the field or the garden, and has made 
 the bowels of the earth to teem with medicines for 
 the recovery of our health and ease, and blessed be 
 bis name who has rebuked our maladies, who has 
 constrained the smarting diseases to depart by the 
 vse of balms and balsams that are happily applied ! 
 
572 y:0 PAIN AMONG THX BLESSED. DISCOURSE IXo 
 
 While we enjoy the benefits of common life, in 
 health of body and in easy circumstances, we are too 
 often thoughdess of the hand of God, which showers 
 down these favours of heaven upon us in a long and 
 constant succession ; but when he sees fit to touch 
 us with his finger, and awaken some lurking mala- 
 dy within us, our ease vanishes, our days are rest- 
 less and painful, and tiresome nights of darkness pass 
 over us without sleep or repose. Then we repent 
 that we have so long forgotten the God of our mer- 
 cies ; and we learn to lift up our praises to the Lord, 
 that every night of our lives has not been restless, 
 that every day and hour has not been a season of 
 racking pain. Blessed be the Lord that enables us, 
 without anguish or uneasiness, to fulfil the common 
 business of the day ; and blessed be his hand that 
 draws the peaceful curtains of the night round about 
 us I And even in the midst of moderate pains, we 
 bless his name who gives us refreshing slumbers; and 
 we grow more careful to employ and improve every 
 moment of returning ease, as the most proper way 
 of expressing our thankfulness to our Almighty 
 healer. 
 
 Alas, what poor, sorry, sinful creatures are we in 
 the present state, who want to be taught the value of 
 our mercies by the removal of them ! The man of a 
 robust and vigorous make, and a healthy constitution, 
 knows not the tr*&v^vorth of health and ease, nor 
 sets a due value upon these blessings of heaven ; but 
 we are taught to thank God feelingly, for an easy 
 bo\ir after long repeated twinges of pain : We bless 
 
DISCOURSE IX. NO PAINAMONG THE BLESSED. 573 
 
 that goodness which gives us an easy night after a 
 day of distressing anguish. Blessed be the God of 
 nature and grace, that has not made the gout or the 
 stone immortal, nor subjected our sensible powers 
 to an everlasting cholick or tO-Oth-ach. 
 
 2. Pain in the flesh more effectually teaches us * to 
 sympathise with those who suffer.' We learn a ten- 
 derness of soul experimentally by our own sufferings. 
 We generally love self so well, that we forget our 
 neighbours under special tribulation and distress, 
 unless we are made to feel them too. In a particular 
 manner, when our nature is pinched and pierced 
 through with some smarting malady, we learn to pity 
 those who lie groaning under the same disease. A 
 kindred of sorrows and sufferings works up our na- 
 tures into compassion ; and we find our own hearts 
 more sensibly affected with the groans of our friends 
 under a sharp fit of the gout or rheumatism, when 
 we ourselves have felt the stings of the same dis- 
 temper. 
 
 Our blessed Saviour himself, though he wanted not 
 compassion and love to the children of men, since he 
 came down from heaven on purpose to die for them, 
 yet he is represented to us as our merciful High 
 Priest, who had learnt sympathy and compassion to 
 our sorrows in tlie same way of experience as we 
 learn it. He was " encompassed about w^ith infir- 
 mities," when he took the sinless frailties of our na- 
 ture upon him, that he might learn to pity us under 
 those frailties. <' In that he himself hath suffered 
 being tempted, he is able to suGCour them that are 
 
 B 3 
 
374 NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. DISCOURSE IX» 
 
 tempted : For vve have not an High Priest which 
 cannot be touched with the feehng of our infirmities, 
 but was in all points tempted like as we are," though 
 he was always ** without sin ; and by (he things which 
 he suffered," he may be said, after the manner of 
 men, to learn 'sympathy and pity' to miserable 
 creatures, as well as obedience to God, who is blessed 
 for ever, Heb. ii. 18. and iv. 15. and v. 2, 8. 
 
 3. Since our natures are subject to pain, it should 
 teach us ' watchfulness against every sin, lest we 
 double our own distresses by the mixture of guilt 
 with them.' How careful should we be to keep 
 always a clear conscience, that we may be able at all 
 times to look up with pleasure to the hand of God 
 who smites us, and be better composed to endure 
 the pains which he inflicts upon us for our trial and 
 improvement in grace. Innocence and piety, and a 
 peaceful conscience, are an admirable defence to sup- 
 port the spirit against the overwhelming efforts of 
 bodily pain : But when inward reproaches of mind, 
 and a racking conscience join with acute pain in th& 
 flesh, it is double misery, and aggravated wretched- 
 ness. The scourges and inward remorse of our own 
 hearts, joined to the sorrows of nature, add torment 
 to torment. How dreadful is it when we are forced 
 to confess, * I have procured all this to myself by 
 intemperance, by my rashness, by my obstinacy 
 against the advice of friends,' and rebellion against 
 the commands of God ! 
 
 Probably it was such circumstances as these, that 
 gave the soul of David double anguish, '* when his 
 
DISCOUUSE IX. NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESS.FD. 117^ 
 
 boires waxed old, through his roaring all the day 
 long, when day and night the hand of God was heavy 
 upon him, and his moisture was turned into the 
 drought of summer;" when he complained unto Gcid, 
 ** thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth 
 me sore : There is no soundness in my flesh, because 
 of thine anger ; nor any rest in my bones, because 
 of my sin. Mine iniquities are gone over mine head 
 as an heavy burden, they are too heavy for m^* 
 Deep calls unto deep at the noise of thy water- spouts, 
 all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me." 
 The * deep of anguish' in my flesh calls to the < deep 
 of sorrow' in my soul, and makes a tremendous tu- 
 mult within me. *< My wounds stink, and are cor- 
 rupt, because of my foolishness: I am feeble and 
 sore broken ; I have roared by reason of the disqui- 
 etness of my heart;" nor could he find any rest or 
 ease till he ** acknowledged his sin unto God, and 
 confessed his transgressions," and till he had some 
 comfortable hope that *'God had forgiven the iniquity 
 of his sin." See this sorrowful scene exemplified in 
 a very affecting manner in the 32d and 38th Psalms. 
 Happy is the man that walks closely with his God in 
 the days of health and ease, that whenever it shall 
 please his heavenly Father to try him with smarting 
 pain, he may And sweet relief from a peaceful con- 
 science, and humble appeals to God concerning his 
 own sincerity and watchfulness. 
 
 4. Pain in the flesh may sometimes be sent by the 
 hand of God, to teach us * to wean ourselves by de- 
 grees from this body, which we love too v;ell ; this 
 
37Q NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. DISCOURSE IX. 
 
 body, which has all the springs of pain in it.' How 
 little should we be fond of this flesh and blood 
 in the present feeble state, wherein we are continually- 
 liable to one malady or another ; to the head-ach or 
 the heart-ach, to wounds or bruises, and uneasy sen- 
 sations of various kinds > Nor can the soul secure 
 itself from them, while it is so closely united to this 
 mortal body. And yet we are too fond of our present 
 dwelling, though it be but a cottage of clay, feeble 
 and ruinous, where the winds and the storms are 
 continually ready to break in and distress us. A 
 sorry habitation indeed for an immortal spirit, since 
 sin has mingled so many diseases in our constitution, 
 has made so many avenues for smart and anguish iu 
 our flesh, and we arc capable of admitting pain and 
 agonies at every pore. 
 
 Fain is appointed to be a sort of balance to the 
 * tempting pleasures of life,' and to make us feel that 
 perfect happiness does not grow among the inhabit- 
 ants of flesh and blood. Pain takes away the plea- 
 sures of the day and the repose of the night, and 
 makes life bitter in all the returning seasons. The 
 God of nature and grace is pleased, by sending sick- 
 ness and pain, to loosen his own children by degrees 
 from their fond attachment to this fleshly tabernacle, 
 and to make us willing to depart at his call. 
 
 A long continuance of pain, or the frequent repeat- 
 ed twinges of it, will * teach a Christian and incline 
 him to meet death with courage, at the appointed hour 
 of release.' This will much abate the fiierccness of 
 ihQ king of terrors, when he appears as a sovereign 
 
IMSCOURSE IX. NO PAIN AlIONG THE BLESSED. Z77 
 
 physician to finish every malady of nature. Death is 
 sanctified to the holy soul, and by the covenant of 
 grace this curse of nature is changed into a blessing. 
 The grave is a safe retiring place from all the attacks 
 of disease and anguish : And there are some incura- 
 bles here on earth, which can find no perfect relief 
 but in the grave. Neither maladies, nor tyrants can 
 stretch their terrors beyond this life: And if we can 
 but look upon death as a conquered enemy, and its 
 sting taken away by the death of Christ, we shall 
 easily venture into this last combat, and obtain an 
 everlasting victory. Blessed be God for the grave as 
 a refuge from smarting pains ! Thanks be to God 
 through Christ Jesus, who enables us to triumph 
 over the last pain of nature, and to say, ** O death 
 where is thy sting ? and O grave where is thy vic- 
 tory?" 
 
 In the fifth and last place, by the pains that we suf- 
 fer in this body, ^ we are taught to breathe after the 
 blessedness of the heavenly state wherein there shall 
 be no pain.' When the soul is dismissed from the 
 bonds of flesh, and presented before God in the world 
 of spirits without spot or blemish by Jesus our great 
 Forerunner, it is then appointed to dwell among the 
 " spirits of the just made perfect,'* who were all re- 
 leased in their several seasons from the body of flesh 
 and sin. Maladies and infirmities of every kind are 
 buried in the grave, and cease for ever ; and if we sur- 
 vey the properties of the new raised body in the great 
 resurrection-day, as described 1 Cor. xv. we shall find 
 no room for pain there, no avenue or residence for smart 
 or anguish. It v/ill not be such a body of flesh and 
 
SrS NO PAIN AMONG TH£ BLESSED. DISCOURSE IX^ 
 
 blood which can be a source of maladies, or subject to 
 outward injuries; but by its own principles of innate 
 vigour and immortality, as well as by the power and 
 mercy of God, it shall be for ever secured from those 
 uneasy sensations which made our flesh oo earth 
 painful and burdensome, and which tended toward 
 dissolution and death. It is such a body as our Lord 
 Jesus wore at his ascent to heaven in a bright cloud 
 forevei* incorruptible ; ** for flesh and blood cannot 
 inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth corrup- 
 tion inherit incorruption. As we have borne the im- 
 age of the earthly'' Adam in the frailties. and suffer* 
 angs that belong to it, so shall ** we also bear the 
 image of the heavenly," even the ** Lord Jesus Chiist 
 who shall change our vile body, that it my be fashion- 
 ed like unto his own glorious body, according to the 
 working whereby he is able to subdue all things un- 
 to himself," Phil. iii. 2L *' We shall hunger no 
 more, wc shall thirst no more, nor shall the sun 
 light on us" with its parching beams, nor shall we 
 be annoyed with fire or frost, with heat or cold, in 
 those temperate and happy regions. ** The Lamb 
 which is in the midst of the throne shall feed" his peo- 
 ple for ever there '* with the fruits of the tree of life," 
 and with unknown entertainments suited to a glori- 
 fied state. *' He shall lead them to living fountains 
 of waters, and God sliall wipe away all tears from 
 tlieir eyes.'' 
 
 Thus have I set before you * the practical lessons' 
 which pain is designed to teach us in our present 
 state ; and we find that a body subject to maladies 
 
DlSCOUr^SE IS. NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. S79 
 
 and pains, is a well appointed school, wherein our 
 great Master gives us these divine instructions, and 
 trains us up by degrees for the heavenly world. It is 
 rough discipline indeed for the flesh, but it is whole- 
 some for the soul : And there is m^ny a Christian here 
 on earth that have been made to confess, they had 
 riever learnt the practice of some of these virtues, if 
 they had not been taught by such sort of discipline. 
 Pain, which was brought into human nature at first 
 by sin, is happily suited by the providence of God 
 to such a state of probation, wherein creatures born 
 in the midst of sins and sorrows are by degrees re- 
 covered to the love of God and holiness, and fitted 
 for a world of peace and joy. 
 
 But when we have done with this world, and de- 
 parted from the tribes of motal men, and from all the 
 scenes of allurement and temptation, there is no more 
 need that such lessons should be taught us in heaven^ 
 nor any painful scourge made use of by the Father 
 of spirits, to carry on, or to maintain the divine work 
 of holiness and grace within us. Let us survey this 
 matter according to the foregoing particulars. 
 
 Is it possible that while the blessed above are sur- 
 rounded with endless satisfactions flowing from the 
 throne of God and the Lamb, they should * forget 
 their benefactor, and neglect his praises ?' Is it pos- 
 sible they should dwell in immortal heal^i and ease 
 without interruption, under tlie constant vital influ- 
 ences of the King of Glory, and yet want gratitude 
 to the spring of all their blessings ? 
 
380 KO TAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. DISCOfUSE IX, 
 
 Nor is there any need for the inhabitants of a worldy 
 where no pains nor sorrows are found, ' to learn 
 compassion and sympathy to those who suffer,' for 
 there are no sufferers there : But love and joy, in- 
 tense and intimate Icf^^e, and a harmony of joy runs 
 through all that blessed company, and unites them 
 in an universal sympathy, if I may so express it, or 
 blissful sensation of each other's happiness. And I 
 might add also, could there be such a thing as sor- 
 row and misery in those regions, this dkine princi- 
 ple of love would work sweetly and powerfully to- 
 ivards such objects in all necessary compassion. 
 
 What if pain was once made a spur to our du- 
 ties, in this frail state of flesh and blood ? What if 
 pain were designed as a guard against temptation, 
 and a means to awaken our watch against new trans- 
 gression and guilt ? But in a climate where all is ho- 
 liness, and all is peace, in the full enjoyment of the 
 great God, and secured by that everlasting cove- 
 nant which was sealed by the blood of the Lamb, there 
 is no more danger of sinning. The soul is moulded 
 into the more complete likeness of God, by living 
 for ever under the light of his countenance and the 
 warmest beams of his love. 
 
 What if we had need of the stings of pain and an- 
 guish in time past, ' to wean us by degrees from this 
 body, and from all sensible things,' and to make us 
 w illing to part w^ith them all at the call of God ? Yet 
 when we arrive at the heavenly world, we shall have 
 no more need of being weaned from earth, we shall 
 never look back upon that state of pain and frailty 
 
DISCOURSE IX. NO PAIN AMONG THE BLESSED. 381 
 
 with a wishful eye, being for ever satisfied in the af- 
 fluence of present joys. 
 
 O glorious and happy state ! Where millions of 
 creatures who have dwelt in bodies of sin and pain, 
 and have been guilty of innumerable follies and of-> 
 fences against their Maker, yet they are all forgiven, 
 * their robes are washed, and made white in the 
 blood of Jesus,' their iniquities are cancelled for ever, 
 and there shall not be one stroke more from the hand 
 of God to chasten them, nor one more sensation of 
 pain to punish them. Divine and illustrious privi- 
 lege indeed, and a glorious world, where complete 
 sanctification of all the powers of nature shall for ever 
 secure us from new sins, and where the springs and 
 causes of pain shall for ever cease, both within us 
 and without us. Our glorified bodies shall have no 
 avenue for pain to enter ; the gates of heaven shall 
 admit no enemy to afflict or hurt us: God is our 
 everlasting friend, and our souls shall be satisfied 
 with the *' rivers of pleasure which flow for ever at 
 the right hand of God." Amen, 
 
 c 3 
 
DISCOURSE X. 
 
 THE 
 
 FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT, 
 
 OR THE 
 
 FORETASTE OF HEAVEN. 
 
 Kom. viii. 23. 
 
 And not only they^ but oiirsehes also ivbo ba^ve the first 
 fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within 
 ourselves, waiting for the adoption, that isy the re- 
 demption of the body, 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 IT is by a beautiful figure of speech the Apostle had 
 been describing, in the foregoing verses, the unna- 
 tural abuse which the creatures suiFer through the 
 sins of men, whei\ they arc e:nployed to sinful pur- 
 poses and the dishonour of God their Creator. Per- 
 mit me to read the words and represent the sense of 
 them in a short paraphrase. Ver. 22. ** We know 
 that the whole creation groancth and travelleth in 
 pain together until now." The earth itself may be 
 represented as groaning to bear such loads of ini- 
 quity, such a multitude of wicked men who abuse 
 the creatures of God to the dishonour of him that 
 made them : The air may be said lo groan to give 
 breath to those vile wretches who abuse it in filthi- 
 
DISCOURSE X. THE TIRST EFwUITS Or THE SPIRIT, &C. 383 
 
 ness and foolish talking, to the dishonour of God, 
 and to the scandal of their neighbours; it groans to 
 furnish men with breath that is abused in idolatry by 
 the false worship of the true God, or the worship 
 of creatures which is abominable in his sight : The 
 sun itself may be said to groan to give light to those 
 sinners who abuse both day-light and darkness in 
 rioting and wantonness, in doing mischief among 
 men and committing fresh iniquities against their 
 Maker : The moon and stars are abused by adulterers 
 and thieves, and other midnight sinners, when they any 
 way afford light enough to them to guide them in their 
 pursuit of wicked ways and practices. The * beasts 
 of burden' may be said also to groan and be abused 
 when they bear the wicked sons and daughters of 
 Adam to the accomplishment of their iniquities : 
 And even all the parts of the brutal world, as well as 
 of the inanimate creation, are some way or other 
 made to serve the detestable and wicked purposes of 
 the sinful children of men, and may be figuratively 
 said to groan on this account. And if we have tast- 
 ed of the fruits of the spirit of grace, we cannot but 
 in some measure groan v;ith the rest of the creation 
 in expectation of the blessed daj^, when the creatures 
 shall be delivered from this bondage of corruption, 
 to which the providence of God has suffered them to 
 be subjected in this degenerate state of things. 
 We hope there is a time coming, when the creatures 
 . themselves shall be used according to the original 
 appointment of their Maker, agreeable to their own 
 first design, and for the good of tlieir fellow- crea- 
 
384 THE FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT, DISCOURSE X, 
 
 tures, and supremely for the honour of their God, 
 ** in that day when holiness to the Lord shall be writ- 
 ten upon the bells of the horses ; and every pot in 
 Jerusalem shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts." 
 Why should we not join then with the whole crea- 
 tion in groaning and longing after this promised time, 
 when all the works of God shall be restored to their 
 rightful us&> and the glory of the Maker shall some 
 way or other be made to shine in every one of them? 
 
 The Apostle then adds, in the words of my text, 
 **and not these creatures only, but ourselves also who 
 have the first fruit of the Spirit," we who are filled 
 with the gifts and graces of the holy Spirit, and emi- 
 nently the first fruits hereof appear in our taste and 
 relish of the divine provisions that God has given 
 us here in this world to prepare for a better ; and 
 even bestows upon some of his Christian servants 
 these first fruits of the tree of paradise, th-ese blessings, 
 and these foretastes which are near a-kin to those of 
 the upper world, when the saints shall be raised from 
 the dead, when their adoption shall be clearly mani- 
 fested, and they shall look like the children of God, 
 and their bodies and afl their natural powers shall 
 be redeemed from those disorders, whether of sin or 
 sorrow, and from all the springs and seeds of them, 
 which they are more or less liable to feel in the pre- 
 sent state. 
 
 Here let it be observed, that ih.t first fruits of any 
 field, or plant, or tree, are of the same kind with the 
 full product or the harvest ; therefore it is plain, that 
 the first fruits of the Spirit, in this place cannot chief- 
 
DISCOURSE X. OR THE rORETASTL OF HEAVEN. C85 
 
 ly signify the gifts of the Spirit, such as the gifts of 
 tongues, or of heaUng, or of miracles, nor the gifts 
 of prophecy, preaching, or praying, because these 
 are not the employments nor the enjoyments of hea- 
 ven. The * first fruits of the Spirit' must rather 
 refer therefore to the knowledge and holiness, the 
 graces and the joys which are more perfect and glo- 
 rious in the heavenly state, than they were ever de- 
 signed to be here upon earth. Now these first fruits 
 of graces and joys are sometimes bestowed upon 
 Christians in this world, in such a degree as brings 
 them near to the heavenly state : And that is the 
 chief observation I design to draw from these words, 
 viz. ' That God has been pleased to give some of 
 his children here on earth several of the foretastes of 
 the heavenly blessedness, the graces and the joys of 
 the upper world ;' as they are the first fruits of that 
 paradise to which we are travelling : And tliese pri- 
 vileges have brought some of the saints within the 
 verge of the courts of heaven, within the confines 
 and borders of the celestial countrv. What these are 
 I shall shew immediately; but before I represent 
 them I desire to lay down these few cautions. 
 
 Caution 1. * These sensible foretastes of heaven 
 do not belong to all Christians ; these are not such 
 general blessings of the covenant of grace, of which 
 every Christian is made partaker;' but they are spe- 
 cial favours now and then bestowed on some parti- 
 cular persons by the special will of God. (1.) Such 
 as are more eminent in faith, and holiness, and pray- 
 er than others are, such as have made great advan^;e. 
 
5S6 THC FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT, JilSCOURSE X. 
 
 ments in every part of religion, in mortification to 
 the world, in spiritual-mindedness, in humility, and 
 in much converse with God, &c. Or, (2.) Some- 
 times these first fruits may be given unto such as 
 ^YC weak both in reason and in fiiith, and may be 
 babes in Christ, and are not able by their reasoning 
 powers to search out their evidences for heaven, 
 especially under some present temptation or dark- 
 ness. Or, (3. ) Sometimes to those who are called 
 hy providence to go through huge and uncommon 
 trials and sullerings, in order to support their spirits, 
 and bear up their courage, their faith and patience. 
 
 It is true, the more general and common way 
 whereby God prepares his people for heaven, is by 
 leading them through several steps of advancing ho- 
 liness, sincere repentance, mortification of sin, wean- 
 edness from the world, likeness to God, heavenly 
 mindedness, 8j:c. These are indeed the usual prepa- 
 ratives for glory, and the surest evidences of a state 
 of grace. Therefore let not any person imagine he 
 is not a true Christian, because he hath not enjoy- 
 ed these special fiivours and signal manifestations. 
 
 Cautloji 2. ' If there be any who have been fa- 
 voured with these peculiar blessings, they must not 
 expect them to be constant and perpetual, nor always 
 to be given in the same manner or same measure ;' 
 they are rare blessings and special reviving cordials ; 
 they are not the common food of Christians, nor the 
 daily nourishment of the saints. The word of God, and 
 the grace of Christ in the promises is our daily sup- 
 yorij and the constant nourishment of our souls. 
 
DISCOURSE X. OR THE FORETASTE OP IIEAVLX. 387 
 
 Cordials are not given for our daily nourishment n\ 
 the life of grace. 
 
 Caution 3. ' However great and rapturous these 
 foretastes may be, let us not so depend on them as 
 to neglect the more substantial and solid evidences 
 for heaven, and those steps of preparation' which I 
 have elsewhere mentioned. Let not those who have 
 enjoyed them give a loose to their souls, and let go 
 their watchfulness, or neglect their daily mortifica- 
 tion and diligence in every duty. Some of these di- 
 vine raptures have sometimes been so nearly coun- 
 terfeited by raptures of fancy, by warm self-love, or 
 perhaps by the deceit of evil angels, that they are noi 
 so safe a foundation for our dependence and assured 
 hope, as the souTs experience of a sincere repentance, 
 and general turn of heart to God, and mortification o! 
 sin, and delight in every practice of holiness. The 
 devil sometimes ** has transformed himself into au 
 angel of light," 2 Cor. x\, 14. And there have been 
 some who at first hearing of the gospel have had 
 wondrous raptures. Ilcb. v'. 4. it is said, *' they 
 have tasted of the powers of the world to come," 8cc- 
 who have yet fallen away again, and having lost ali 
 their sense and savour of divine things, have become 
 vile apostates. 
 
 Caution 4>. * If you seem to enjoy any of these affec- 
 tionate and rapturous foretastes of heaven, be jealous 
 of the truth of them, if they have not a proportionate 
 sanctifying influence upon your souls and your ac- 
 tions-^ 
 
388 THE riRfiT TRUITS OF THE SPIRIT, DISCOURSE X. 
 
 If you find they incline you to negligence in duty, 
 to coldness in the common practices of religion and 
 godliness, if they make you fancy that common ordi- 
 nances are a low and needless dispensation, if they 
 seem to excuse you from diligence in the common 
 duties of life towards man, or religion towards God, 
 there is great reason then to suspect them : There is 
 danger lest they should be mere suggestions and de- 
 ceitful workings either of your own natural passions, 
 or the crafty snares of the artful and busy adversary 
 of souls,, on purpose to make you neglect solid reli- 
 gion, and make you part with what is substantial for a 
 bright and flashy glimpse of heavenly things. 
 
 But, on the other hand, if you find that these spe- 
 cial favours and enjoyments raise your hearts to a 
 greater nearness to God, and more constant converse 
 with him; if they keep you deep in humility, and in 
 everlasting dependence on the grace of Christ in the 
 gospel, and warm and zealous attendance on the or- 
 dinances of worship; if they teach and incline you to 
 fulfil every duty of love to your neighbour, and par- 
 ticularly to your fellow Christians, then tliey appear 
 to be the * fruits of the Spirit;' and as they fit you 
 for every duty and every providence hereupon earth, 
 there is very good reason to hope they are real 
 visits from heaven, and are sent from the God of 
 all grace to make you more meet for the heavenly 
 glory. 
 
DISCOURSE X. OR THE FORETAST£ OF HEAVEN, 389 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 These are the four cautions, I proceed now to de- 
 scribe some of these * foretastes of the heavenly- 
 blessedness,' and shew how nearly they resemble the 
 blessedness and enjoyments of the heavenly world. 
 
 First, In ' heaven there is a near view of God in 
 his glories, with such a fixed contemplation of his 
 several perfections, as draws out the heart into all 
 correspondent exercises, in an uncommon, transcend- 
 ent, and supreme degree.' It is described as one of 
 the felicities of heaven, that ** we shall see God." 
 Matth. v. 8. that we shall behold him " liice to face," 
 and not in shadows and glasses, 1 Cor. xiii. 12. 
 Let us exhibit some particulars of this kind, and 
 dwell a little upon them in the most easy and natural 
 method. 
 
 1. In heaven the blessed inhabitants 'behold the 
 majesty and greatness of God' in such a light as fixes 
 their thoughts in glorious w^onder and the humblest 
 adoration, and exalts them to the highest pleasure and 
 praise. Have you never fallen into such a devout 
 and fixed contemplation of the ' majesty of God,' as 
 to be even astonished at his glory and greatness, and 
 to have your souls so swallowed up in this sight, that 
 all the sorrows and the joys of this life, all the busi- 
 nesses and necessities of it hath been forgotten for a 
 season, all things below and beneath God have seem- 
 ed as nothing in your eyes? All the grandeurs and 
 splendors of mortality have been buried in darkness 
 
396 TH£ FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT, DISCOURSE X. 
 
 and oblivion, and creatures have, as it were, vanish- 
 ed from the thoughts and been lost, as the stars die 
 and vanish at the rising sun and are no more seen ? 
 Have you never seen the face of God in his sublime 
 grandeur, excellence and majesty, so as to shrink in- 
 to the dust before him, and lie low at his foot with 
 humblest adoration ? And you have been transport- 
 ed into a feeling acknowledgment of your own no- 
 thingness in the presence of God. Such a sight the 
 prophet Isaiah seems to have enjoyed, Isai. xl. 12, 
 15, 17. *' Behold the nations before him are as the 
 drop of the bucket, and as the small dust of the bal- 
 ance, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. 
 All nations before him are as nothing, they are count- 
 ed to him less than nothing and vanity." 
 
 When the lips are not only directed to speak this 
 sublime language, but the soul, as it were, beholds 
 God in these heights of transcendent pajesty, it is 
 overwhelmed with blessed wt)nder and surprising de- 
 light, even while it adores in most profound lowliness 
 and self-abasement. This is the emblem of the wor- 
 ship of the heavenly world, see Rev. iv. 10. where the 
 elders, saints and prophets, martyrs, angels, and do- 
 minions, and principalities of the highest degree 
 **cast down their crowns" at the foot of him that made 
 them, and exalt God in his supremacy ove-r all. 
 
 2. In heaven there are such blessed and extensive 
 surveys of the * infinite knowledge of God,* and his 
 amazing wisdom discovered in his works, as makes 
 even all their own heavenly improvements in know- 
 ledge and understanding to appear as mere ignorance, 
 
DISCOURSE ^. OR THE FORETASTE OF HEAVEN. 391 
 
 darkness, and folly before him. In such an hour as 
 this is, the holy angels may charge themselves with 
 folly in his sight, as he beholds them in the imperfec- 
 tion of their understanding. Now have you never 
 been carried away in your meditations of the all-corn-' 
 prehensive knowledge of God to such a degree, as to 
 lose and abandon all your former pride and appear- 
 ances of knowledge and wisdom in all the native and 
 acquired riches of it, and count them all as nothing 
 in his sight? Have you never looked upward to the 
 midnight skies, and with amazement sent your 
 thoughts upward to him who * calls all the stars by 
 their names,' and brings them forth in all their spark- 
 ling glories, who marshals them in their nigluly ranks 
 and orders, and then stood overwhelmed with sacred 
 astonishment at the wisdom which made and ranged 
 them all in their proper situations, and there appoint- 
 ed them to fulfil ten thousand useful purposes, and 
 that not only towards this little ball of Earth, but to 
 a multitude of upper planetary worlds ? Have you 
 never enquired into the wonders of his wisdom in 
 framing the bodies, the limbs, and the senses of mil- 
 lions of animals, birds, and beasts, fishes, and insects, 
 as well as men all around this globe, and who hath 
 framed all their organs and powers of nature with 
 exquisite skill, to see and hear, to run and fly, and 
 swim, to produce their young in all their proper 
 forms and sizes, furnished with their various powers, 
 and to feed and nourish them in their innumerable 
 shapes and colours, admirable for their strength and 
 beauty 't And have you not felt your souls filled with 
 
392 THE FiRtT FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT, DISJCOURSE X, 
 
 devout adoration at the unspeakable and infinite con- 
 trivances of a God. 
 
 And not only his * works of creation,' but of his 
 pro'oidence too, have afforded some pious souls such 
 devout amazement. What astonishing wisdom must 
 that be which has created mankind on earth near six 
 thousand years ago, and by his divine word in every 
 age continues to create them or give them being, 
 with all the same natural powers and parts, beauties 
 and excellencies! That he hath wisely governed so 
 many millions of animals with living souls or spirits 
 in them, so many millions of intelligent creatures, 
 endued with a free will of their own to choose or re- 
 fuse what they will or will not do, and hath managed 
 this innumerable company of beings in all ages, not- 
 withstanding all their different and clashing opinions 
 and customs, their crossing humours, wills and pas- 
 sions in endless variety, and yet hath made them ail 
 subservient to his own comprehensive designs and 
 purposes through all ages of the world and all nations 
 on earth ! What unconceivable wisdom is that which 
 hath effectually appointed them all to centre in the 
 accomplishment of his own eternal counsels ! And 
 with what overwhelming amazement will this scene 
 appear, when he shall shut up the theatre of this 
 earth, and fold up these heavens as a curtain > and this 
 visible structure of things shall be laid in ashes? 
 What an astonishing view must this be of the all- 
 surveying knowledge^ all-comprehending wisdom of a 
 God, and with what holy and humble pleasure must 
 the pious soul be filled who takes in and enjoys this 
 
DISCOURSE X. OR THE TORETASTE Of HEAVEf^. 393 
 
 scene of infinite varieties and wonders ? How near 
 doth such an hour approach to the bliss of heaven and 
 the raptures of contemplation, which belong to the 
 blessed inhabitants of it ? 
 
 3. I might add something of the Almighty power 
 of God in his creation and government of the world, 
 in his kingdoms of nature and providence. Did not 
 the angels r'djoice at the birth-day of this universe, 
 and *' those morning stars shout for joy" at the first 
 appearance of this creation ? And what the inhabit- 
 ants of heaven make their song, may not a holy soul 
 be entertained with it, even to extacy and rapture > 
 I behold, says he, in divine meditation, I behold this 
 huge structure of the universe rising out of nothing 
 at the voice of his command ; I behold the several 
 planets in their various orders set a moving by the 
 same word of power. With what delightful surprise 
 do I hear him pronouncing the words, '* let there be 
 light," and, lo * the light appears?' Let there be 
 earth and seas ; let there be clouds and heavens ; let 
 there be sun, moon and stars, and lo the heavens, and 
 the dry land, and the waters appear, the clouds and 
 the stars in their various order and situation, and all 
 the parts of the creation ajise, all replenished with 
 proper ornaments and animals according to his word. 
 At his command nature exists in all its regions with 
 all its furniture ; the beasts, and birds, and fishes in 
 all their forms arise, and at once they obey the several 
 Almighty orders he gave, and by the unknown and 
 unconceivable force of such a word they leap out into 
 existence in ten thousand forms. 
 
S94 THE FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT, DISCOURSE X. 
 
 Again, what divine pleasure is it to hear a God 
 beginning the work of his providence, and speaking 
 those wondrous words' of power to every plant and 
 animal, '* be fniitfal, and multiply, and replenish the 
 earth," and lo, in a long succession of near six thou- 
 sand years the earth has been covered all over wi*h 
 herbs and plants, with shrubs and tall trees in all their 
 beauty and dimensions. The air hath been filled 
 with birds and insects, the seas and rivers with fish, 
 and the dry land with beasts and men even to this 
 present day. When all this philosophy is changed 
 into devotion, it must also be transformed into divine 
 and unutterable joy. 
 
 Nor are these things too low and mean for the con- 
 templation of heavenly beings: For God is seen in all 
 of them: There is not a spire of grass but the power 
 and wisdom of a God are visible therein. And it is 
 certain the heavenly beings must be sometimes em- 
 ployed in the contemplation of many of these lower 
 wonders. The plants and beasts in desolate regions 
 where no man inhabits, and in distant and foreign 
 oceans and rivers, where the fishy shoals in all their 
 variety and numbers, in all their successions and 
 generations for near six thousand years were never 
 seen nor known by any of the sons of men ; these 
 seem to have been created in vain, if no heavenly be- 
 ings are acquainted with them, nor raise a revenue of 
 glory to him that made them. 
 
 This Almighty power therefore which made this 
 huge universe, which sustains the frame of it every 
 moment, and secures it from dissolving ; this power 
 
DISCOURSE X. OR,THE rORfiTASTE OF H£AVEN. 305 
 
 which brings forth the stars in their order, and worms 
 and creeping things in their innumerable millions, 
 and governs all the motions of tliem to the purposes 
 of divine glory, must needs affect a contemplative 
 soul with raptures of pleasing meditation ; and in 
 these sublime meditations, by the aids of the divine 
 Spirit, a soul on earth may get rtear to heaven. And 
 with what reUgious and unknown pleasure at such a 
 season doth it shrink its own being as it were into 
 an atom, and lie in the dust and adore ! 
 
 4. The ' all-sufficiency of the great God to form 
 and to supply every creature with all that it can want 
 or desire,' is another perfection of the divine nature, 
 which is better known in heaven than it ever w^as here 
 on earth, and affords another scene of astonishment 
 and sacred delight : And there may be some ad- 
 vances towards this pleasure found among saints be- 
 lov/, some first fruits of this heavenly felicity and joy 
 in the all-sufficiency of God. 
 
 My whole self, body and mind, is from God and 
 from him alone. All my limbs and powers of flesli 
 and spirit were derived from him, and borrowed their 
 first existence from their original pattern in his fruit- 
 ful mind. All that I have of life or comfort, of breath 
 or being, with all my blessings round about me, is 
 owing to his boundless and eternal fulness ; and all 
 my long reaching hopes and endless expectations that 
 stretch far into futurity, and an eternal v.oild, are 
 growing out of this same all-suilicient fulness. 
 
 But what do 1 think or speak of so little a trifie as 
 I am ? Stretch thy thoui];hls, O my soul> througli the 
 
396 THE rj-RST TKUITS OF THE SPIRIT, DISCOURSE X. 
 
 lengths, and breadths, and depths of his creation, O 
 what an unconceivable fulness of being, glory, and 
 excellency is found in God the universal parent and 
 spring of all ! What an inexhaustible ocean of being 
 and life, of perfection and blessedness must our God 
 be, who supplies all the infinite armies of his crea- 
 tures in all his known and unknown dominions with 
 life and motion, with breath and activity, with food 
 and support, with satisfaction and delight ! Who 
 maintains the vital powers and faculties of all the spi- 
 rits which he hath made in all the visible and invisi- 
 ble worlds, in all his territories of light, and peace, 
 and joy, and in all the regions of darkness, punish- 
 ment and misery ! In him all things '* live and move, 
 and have their beings," Acts xvii. 28. Psal. civ» 
 29. ** He withdraws his breath and they die." He 
 hath writ down all their names in his ow^i mind, he 
 gives them all their natures, and without him there 
 is nothing, there can be nothing ; all nature without 
 him would h^ve been a perpetual blaiik, an universal 
 emptiness, an everlasting void, and with one turn 
 of his will he could sink and dissolve all nature into 
 its original nothing. 
 
 Confess, O my soul, thy own nothingness in his 
 presence, and with astonishing pleasure and worship 
 adore his fulness: He is thy everlasting all. Be 
 thy dependence ever fixed upon him; thou canst 
 not, thou shalt not live a moment without him, with- 
 out this habitual dependence, and a frequent delight- 
 ful acknowledgment of it. Such a devout frame as 
 this, is heaven, and such scenes now^ aqd then pass- 
 
DISCOURSE K. OR THE FORETASTE OE HEAVEIT. 397 
 
 ing through the soul, are glimpses of the heavenly- 
 blessedness. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 Though the eternity and immensity of God might 
 perhaps, in their own nature, and in the reason of 
 things, be first mentioned, yet his majesty, his pow- 
 er^ and his wisdom in their sovereign excellency 
 strike the souls of creatures more immediately, there- 
 fore I have put these first. However, let us now con- 
 sider the eternity of the great God and his omnipre- 
 sence, and think how the spirits in heaven are af- 
 fected therewith, and what kindred meditations may 
 be derived from these perfections by the saints here 
 on earth. I proceed therefore, 
 
 5. To the eternity of God : Which though the 
 most exalted spirit in heaven cannot comprehend, 
 yet it is probable they have some nearer and clearer 
 discovery of it than we can have here in this mortal 
 state, while we dwell in flesh and blood. We have 
 nothing in this visible world that gives us so much 
 as an example or similitude of it. The great God 
 ^' who is, who was,'* and ** who is to come" through 
 all ages, he is, and ivas, and for ever will he the same. 
 l^et us go back as many thousand ages as we can in 
 our thoughts, and still an eternal God was before 
 them ; a Being that had no beginning of his exiijt- 
 ence, nor will have any end of his life or duration. 
 And as he says to Moses, my name is I am that I am^ 
 so as there is nothing which had anv hand in his be- 
 
898 THIS. FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT, DISCOURSE Xo 
 
 ing, but all the reasons of it are derived'from his own 
 self-fulness, therefore we may say of him that be is 
 because he is, and because he will be : He had no 
 spring of his first beginning, nor any cause of his 
 continued existence, but what is vviihin himself. 
 We can never set ourselves in too mean a light when 
 an eternal God is near us ; and every thing besides 
 God can be but little in our eyes. 
 
 And, O my thinking powers, are ye not sweetly 
 lost in this holy rapture, and overpowered with di- 
 vine pleasure, O my soul in such meditation as this ? 
 Art thou not delightfully surprised with the thoughts 
 of such self-sufficience and such an unconceivable 
 perfection ? Thy being considered as here in this 
 life, is not so much in the sight of God as an atom in 
 comparison of the whole earth ; and even the sup- 
 posed future ages of thy existence in the eternal state 
 are unconceivably short, when compared with the 
 glory of that Being that never began his life or his 
 duration. 
 
 Many things here on earth concur towards my sa- 
 tisfaction and peace, but if I have God my friend, 1 
 have all in him that I can possibly want or desire. 
 Let me then live no longer upon creatures when God 
 is all. 
 
 Let sun, moon and stars vanish, and all this vi- 
 sible creation disappear and be for ever annihilated 
 if God please, he himself is still my eternal hope and 
 licverfailing spring of all my blessedness : My ex- 
 I)ectations are continually safe in his hands, and shall 
 
DISCOURSE X. OR THE FORETASTE OF HEAVEN. C}^ 
 
 never fail while I am so near to him. This is joy 
 unspeakable and a-kin to glory. 
 
 6. Let us meditate also on the iinmenshy of God, 
 which I think is much better expressed by his oimii- 
 presence. God is wheresoever any creature is or can 
 be ; knowing immediately by his own presence all 
 that belongs to them, all that they arc or can be, all 
 that they do or can do, all that concerns them, whe- 
 ther their sins or their virtues, their pains or their 
 pleasures, their hopes or their fears. It implies also 
 that he doth by his immediate power and influence 
 support and govern all the creatures. In short, this 
 Immensity is nothing else but the infinite extent of his 
 knowledge and his power, and it reaches to and be- 
 yond all places, as eternity reaches to and beyond all 
 time. This the blessed above know and rejoice in, 
 and take infinite satisfaction therein : Having God, 
 as it were, surrounding them on all sides, so that they 
 cannot be where he is not, he is ever present with 
 his all-sufficiency ready to bestow on them all they 
 wish or desire while he continues their God, i. e. for 
 ever and ever. They are under the blessing of his 
 eye, and the care of his hand, to guard them from 
 every evil, and to secure their peace. 
 
 Let thy flesh or spirit be surrounded with ever so 
 many thousand dangers or enemies, they cannot do 
 thee the least damage without his leave by force or 
 by surprise while such an Almighty Being is all 
 around thee : Nor hast thou reason to indulge any 
 fear while the spring and ocean of all life, activity, 
 and blessedness thus secures thee ow every side. If 
 
400 THE FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPlKiT, DISCOURSE X. 
 
 thou hast the evidences of his children on thee, thou 
 possessest an eternal security of thy peace. 
 
 7. * The sovereignty and dominion' of the blessed 
 God is a further meditation and pleasure which be- 
 comes and adorns the inhabitants of the heavenly 
 world. There he reigns upon the throne of his glory, 
 and the greater part of the territories which are sub- 
 ject to him are less in their view than our scanty 
 powers of nature or perception can now apprehend, 
 and a proportionable degree of pleasure is found with 
 the saints above in these contemplations. 
 
 But in our present state of mortality our souls can 
 only look through these lattices of flesh and blood,- 
 and make a few scanty and imperfect inferences from 
 what they always see, and hear, and feel : And yet 
 tlie glorious sovereignty and dominion of the blessed 
 God may so penetrate the soul with a divine sense of 
 it here on earth, as to Taise up a heaven of wonder 
 and joy within. 
 
 Adore him, O my soul, who surveys and rules all 
 things which he has made with an absolute authority, 
 and is for ever uncontroulable. How righteous a 
 thing is it that he should give laws to all the beings 
 which his hand hath formed, which his breath hath 
 spoken into life, and especially that rank which his 
 favour bath furnished v/ith immortality ? How just 
 that he should be obeyed by every creature without 
 the least reluctance or reserve, without a moment's 
 delay, and that to all the length of their existence? 
 
 Submit to his government with pleasure^ O my 
 nature, and be all ye my powers of soul and body in 
 
©ISCOURSE X. OR THE FORETASTE OF HEAVEN. 401 
 
 everlasting readiness to do whatsoever he requires, 
 and to be whatsoever he appoints. Wilt thou have 
 me, O Lord, lie under sickness or pain, wilt thou 
 have me languish under weakness and confinement? 
 I am at thy foot, I am for ever at thy disposal. Wilt 
 thou have me active and vigorous in thy service ? 
 Lord, I am ready with utmost cheerfulness. Wilt 
 thou confine me to painful idleness and long patience? 
 Lord here I am, do .with me what secnieth good 
 unto thee, I am ready to serve thy purposes here, 
 or thy orders in the unknown world of spirits, when 
 thou shalt dissolve this mortal frame : I lay down 
 these limbs in the dust of death at thy command : I 
 venture into the regions of angels and unbodied minds 
 at thy summons. I will be what thou wilt, I v/ill go 
 when thou wilt, I will dwell where thou wilt, for thou 
 art always with me, and I am entirely thine. I both 
 rejoice and tremble at thy sovereignty and dominion 
 over all. God cannot do injury to a creature who is 
 so entirely his own property; God will not deal un- 
 Jcindly with a creature who is so sensible of his just 
 dominion and supremacy, and which bows at the 
 foot of his sovereignty with so much relish of satis- 
 faction. 
 
 8. Let us next take notice of the perfect purity of 
 the nature of God, his universal holiness ^ the rectitude 
 of the divine nature manifested in all his thoughts, 
 his works, and his words, all perfectly agreeable to 
 the eternal rules of truth and righteousness, and at 
 the furthest distance from every thing that is false 
 and faulty, every thing that is or can be dishonour- 
 
402 THE riRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT, DISCOURSE X. 
 
 able to so glorious a Being. Have we never seen 
 God in this light, in the glory of his holiness, 
 his universal rectitude, and the everlasting har- 
 mony of all his perfections in exact correspondence 
 with all the notions we can have of truth and reason? 
 And has not God appeared then as a glorious and 
 lovely Being ? And have we not at the same time be- 
 held ourselves as unclean, and unholy creatures, in 
 one part "or other of our natures, ever ready to jar or 
 fall out with some of the most pure and perfect rules 
 of holiness, justice or truth? Have we not seen all our 
 sins and iniquities in this light, with utmost abhor- 
 rence and highest hatred of them, and looked down 
 upon ourselves with a deep and overwhelming sense 
 of shame and displicence against our depraved and 
 corrupted natures, and abased ourselves as Job does, 
 in dust and ashes, and not daring to open our mouths 
 before him ? Job xlii. 6. ** I have heard of thee by 
 the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee, 
 and I abhor myself in dust and ashes." The least 
 spot or blemish of sin grows highly offensive and 
 painful to the eyes of a saint in this situation. 
 
 Every little warping from truth in our conversa- 
 tion, every degree of insincerity or fraud becomes a 
 smarting uneasiness to the mind in the remembrance 
 of our past follies in the present state. There is the 
 highest abhorrence of sin among all the heavenly in- 
 habitants, and this sight of God in the beauties of his 
 holiness, and his perfect rectitude, is an everlasting 
 preservative to holy souls against the admission of an 
 impure or unholy thought : And therefore some di- 
 
DISCOURSE X. OR THE FORETASTE OF HEAVEN. 403 
 
 vines have supposed, that the angels at their first 
 creation were put into a state of trial before they were 
 admitted to this full sight of the beauty of God in his 
 holiness, which would have secured them from the 
 least thought or step towards apostacy. 
 
 O my soul, of what happy importance it is to thee 
 to maintain, as long as possible, this sense of the 
 purity^ rectitude and perfection of the nature of the 
 blessed God, *' who is of purer eyes than to behold 
 iniquity," with the least regard of approbation or 
 allowance ? And what infinite condescension is it in 
 such a God to find out and appoint a way of grace, 
 whereby such shameful polluted creatures as we are 
 should ever be admitted into his presence to make 
 the least address to his majesty, or to hope for his 
 favour > 
 
 Besides, in this sublime view of the holiness of 
 God, we shall not only love God better than ever, as 
 we see him more amiable under this view of his glo- 
 rious attributes, but we shall grow more sincere and 
 fervent in our love to all that is holy, to every fellow 
 Christian, to every saint in heaven and on earth: We 
 shall not bear any estrangedness or alienation from 
 those who have so much of the likeness of God in 
 them. They will ever appear to be the *' excellent 
 of the earth, in whom is all our delight:" Their sup- 
 posed blemishes will vanish at the thought of their 
 likeness to God in holiness: And especially our bless- 
 ed Lord Jesus, the Son of God, will be most precious 
 and all- glorious in our eyes as he is the most perfect 
 image of his Father's holiness. There is nothing in 
 
404 THE FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT, DISCOURSE X,' 
 
 the blessed God, but the man Christ Jesus bears a 
 proportionable resemblance to it, as far as a creature 
 can resemble God, and he will consequently be high- 
 est in our esteem under God the Lord and Father of 
 all. 
 
 9. The ever-pleasing attribute of divine ' goodness 
 and love' is another endless and joyful theme or ob- 
 ject of the contemplation of the heavenly world. 
 Thepe this perfection shines in its brightest rays,' 
 there it displays its most triumphant glories, and 
 kindles a flame of everlasting joy in all the sons of 
 blessedness. 
 
 But we in this world may have such glimpses of 
 this goodness and love as may fill the soul with 
 unspeakable pleasure, and begin in it the first fruits 
 and earnest of heaven. When we survey the inex- 
 haustible ocean of goodness which is in God, w^hich 
 fills and supplies all the creatures with every thing 
 they stand in need of; when we behold all the tribes 
 of the sons of men supported by his boundless suffi- 
 ciency, his bounty and kind providence, and refresh- 
 ed with a thousand comforts beyond what the mere 
 necessities of nature requVe : In such an hour if we 
 feel the least Rowings of goodness in ourselves to- 
 wards others, we shaH humble ourselves to the dust, 
 and cry out in holy amazement, Lord, what is an 
 atom to a mountain? What is a drop to a river, a 
 sea of beneficence ? What is a shadow to the eternal 
 substance? What good thing is there in time or in 
 cternhy, which I can possibly want which is not 
 abundantly supplied out of thine overflowing fulness ' 
 
DISCOURSE X. OR THE FORETASTE OF HEAVEN. 405 
 
 Hence arises the eternal satisfaction of all the holy and 
 happy creation in being so near to thee, and under 
 the everlasting assurances of thy love. I can do no- 
 thing but fall down before thee in deepest humihty, 
 and admire, adore, and everlastingly love thee, who 
 hast assumed to thyself the name of love, 1 John iv, 
 8. ''God is love." 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 Thus far our joys may rise into an imitation of the 
 joys above in the devout ' contemplation of divine 
 perfections.' 
 
 And not only the * perfections of God' considered 
 and surveyed single in themselves, but the imlon and 
 blessed harmony of many of them in the divine works 
 and transactions of Providence and of grace, espe- 
 cially in the gospel of Christ, administer further mat- 
 ter for .contemplation and pleasure among the happy 
 spirits in heaven : And so far as this enjoyment may 
 be communicated to the saints here on earth, they 
 may be also said to have a foretaste of the business 
 and pleasure of heaven. Let us take notice of this 
 harmony in several instances. 
 
 1. In the sacred constitution of the person of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ as God and man united in one per- 
 sonal agent : Here majesty and mercy give a glorious 
 instance of their union, here all the grandeur aiid 
 dignity of Godhead condescends to join itself in 
 union v/ith a creature, such as man is, a si)irit dwell- 
 ing in ikbh and blood. 1 Tim. ii. 5. " There is one 
 
 I' 3 
 
406 THE riRST TRUITS OF THE SPIRIT, DISCOURSE X^ 
 
 God, and one Mediator between God and men, even 
 the man Christ Jesus :" But this man is personally 
 united to the blessed God, he is '' God manifested 
 in the flesh :" He is a man in *' whom dwells all the 
 fulness of the Godhead bodily," to constitute one all- 
 sufficient Saviour of miserable and fallen mankind : 
 What an amazing stoop or condescension is this for 
 the eternal Godhead thus to join itself to a creature, 
 'and what a surprising exaltation is this of the creature, 
 for the man Christ Jesus thus to be assumed into so 
 near a relation to the blessed God ? All the glories 
 that result from this divine contrivance and transac- 
 tion are not to be enumerated in paper, nor by the best 
 capacity of writers here on earth : The heavenly in- 
 habitants arc much better acquainted with them. 
 
 Again, here is an example of the harmony and 
 co-operation of unsearchable wisdom and all-com- 
 manding power in the person of the blessed Jesus; 
 and what a happy design is hereby executed, namely, 
 the reconciliation of sinful man and the holy and glo- 
 rious God : and who could do this but one who was 
 possessed of such wisdom and such power ? When 
 there was no creature in heaven or earth sufficient 
 for this work, Gcd was pleased to appoint such an 
 union between a creature and Creator, between God 
 and man, as might answer all the inconceivable pur- 
 poses concealed in his thought. If there be wanting 
 a person fit to execute any of his infinite designs, he 
 will not be frustrated for want of an agent, he will 
 appoint God and man to be so nearly united as to be-^ 
 come one agent to execute this design. 
 
DISCOURSE X. OR THE FORETASTE OF HEAVEN. 407 
 
 2. * In the manner of our salvation,' (viz.) by an 
 * atonement for sin.' The great God did not think 
 it proper, nor agreeable to his sublime holiness, to re- 
 ceive sinful man into his favour without an atone- 
 ment for sin, and a satisfaction made to the Gov- 
 ernor of the virorld for the abuse and violation of his 
 holy law here on earth ; and therefore he appointed 
 such a sacrifice of atonement as might be sufficient 
 to do complete honour to the law-giver, as well as to 
 save and deliver the offender from death : Therefore 
 Jesus was made a man capable of suffering and dying, 
 that he might honour the majesty and the justice of 
 the broken law of God, and that he might do it com- 
 pletely by the union of Godhead to this man and Me- 
 diator ; the dignity of whose divinity diffuses itself 
 over all that he did and all that he suffered, so as to 
 make his obedience completely acceptable to God 
 instead of thousands of creatures, and fully satisfac- 
 tory for the offence that was given him by them ; 
 here is a sacrifice provided equal to the guilt of sin, 
 and therefore sufficient to take it away. 
 
 You see here what a blessed harmony there is be- 
 tween the justice of God doing honour to his own law, 
 and his compassion resolved to save a ruined creature: 
 Here is no blemish cast upon the strict justice and 
 righteousness of God, when the offender is forgiven 
 in such a method as may do honour to justice and 
 mercy at once. Rom. iii. 24, 25. <*We are justified 
 freely by his grace through the redemption that is in 
 Jesus Christ ; whom God hath set forth to be a pro- 
 pitiation through faith in his blood, to declare hh 
 
408 THE FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT, DISCOURSE X. 
 
 righteousness," even his perfect governing justice, 
 though he passes by and pardons the sins of a thou- 
 sand criminal creatures: * To declare,' I say, < at 
 this time his righteousness, that he might appear to 
 be just' to his own authority and law, while he justi- 
 fies the sinful man who believeth or trusteth in Jesus 
 the Mediator as becoming a proper sacrifice and pro- 
 pitiation for sin. 
 
 3. By the * sanctification of our nature.' There is 
 also another remarkable harmony between the holi- 
 ness of God and his mercy in this work of the salva- 
 tion of sinful man. The guilt of sin is not only to be 
 forgiven and taken away by a complete atonement 
 and sacrifice, but the sinful nature of this ruined 
 creature is to be changed into holiness, is to be re- 
 newed and sanctified by the blessed Spirit, and re- 
 formed into the image of God his Maker : He must 
 not only be released from punishment by forgive- 
 ness, but he must be restored to the image of God by 
 sanctifying grace ; that so he may be fit company for 
 the rest of the favourites of God in the upper world ; 
 that he may be qualified to be admitted into this 
 society, where perfect purity and holiness are neces- 
 sary for all the inhabitants of this upper world, and 
 for such near attendants on the blessed God : In that 
 happy state nothing shall enter there that defileth, 
 Rev. xxi. 27. and therefore concerning the criminals 
 amongst the Corinthians, as vile and as offensive to 
 the pure and holy God as they are represented, 1 
 Cor. vi. 9, — 11. viz. * 'Fornicators, idolaters, adulter- 
 ers, drunkards, Sec. but, it is said, they are washed, 
 
DISCOURSE X. OR THE FORETASTE OF HEAVEN. 409 
 
 but they are sanctified, but they arc justified in the 
 name of the Lord Jesus, and by the spirit of our 
 God." 
 
 Now when the souls of the saints here on earth are 
 raised to such divine contemplations, what transport- 
 ing satisfaction and delight must arise from the sur- 
 prising ^ union and harmony' of the attributes of the 
 blessed God in these his transactions ? And especi- 
 ally when the soul in the lively exercise of grace and 
 view of its own pardon, justification, and restored ho- 
 liness, looks upon itself as one of these happy favour- 
 ites of the majesty of heaven: It cries out as it were 
 in holy amazement, ' What a divine profusion is here 
 of wisdom and power, glory and grace, to save a 
 wretched worm from everlasting burnings, and to ad- 
 vance a worthless rebel to such undeserved and ex- 
 alted glories ! 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 ' The wonders of divine perfections united in the 
 success of the gospel,' give an ecstasy of joy some- 
 times to holy souls. Not only do these views of the 
 united perfections of God, as they are concerned in 
 the contrivance of the gospel, entertain the saints 
 above with new and pleasurable contemplations, but 
 the wonders of divine wisdom, power and grace, unit- 
 ed and harmonizing in ' the propagation and success 
 of this gospel,' become a matter of delightful atten- 
 tion and survey to the saints on high. 
 
410 THE riRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT, DISCOURSE X, 
 
 This is imitated also in a measure by the children 
 of God here on earth. Have you never felt such a, 
 surprising pleasure in the view of the attributes of 
 God, his grace, wisdom, and power in making these 
 divine designs so happily efficacious for the good of 
 thousands of souls? If there **be joy in heaven among 
 the angels of God" at the conversion *' of a sinner," 
 what perpetual messages of unknow^n satisfaction and 
 delight did the daily and constant labours of the bless- 
 ed Apostle Paul send to the upper world ? What per- 
 petual tidings were carried to the worlds on high of 
 such and such souls, converted unto God from gross 
 idolatry, from the worship of dumb idols, from the 
 vain superstition of their heroes and mediator- gods, 
 and from the impure and bloody sacrifices of their 
 own countrymen, whereby they intended to satisfy 
 their gods for their own iniquities, and to reconcile 
 themselves to these invented gods, these demons or 
 devils which were deified by the folly and madness of 
 sinful men ? What new hallelujahs must it put into 
 the mouths of the saints and angels on high, to se^e 
 the true and living God worshipped by thousands 
 that had never before known him, and to see Jesus 
 the Mediator in all the glories of his divine offices ad- 
 mired and adored by those who lately had either 
 known nothing of him, or been shameful revilers and 
 blasphemers of his majesty. 
 
 And what an unknown delight is diffused through 
 many of the saints of God now here on earth upon 
 such tidings, not only from the foreign and heathen 
 countries, but even some that have professed Chris- 
 
DISCOURSE X. OR THE FORETASTE OF HEAVEN. 411 
 
 tianity, but under gross mistakes and miserable fogs 
 of darkness and superstition ? What an unconceiv- 
 able and overwhelming pleasure has surprised a 
 Christian sometimes in the midst of his zealous wor- 
 ship of God and his Saviour, to hear of such tidings 
 of new subjects in multitudes submitting themselves 
 to their divine dominion > 
 
 And even in our day, whensoever we hear of the 
 work of grace begun by the ministry of the word 
 awakening a drowsy and lethargic soul from its dan- 
 gerous sleep on the brink of hell, rousing a negli- 
 gent and slothful creature from his indolence and 
 carelessness about the things of eternity ; or again, 
 in making a heart soft and impressive to the powers 
 of divine grace, which was before hard as the nether 
 millstone ; and especially when multitudes of these 
 tidings come together from distant places, as of late 
 we have heard from New England, and several of 
 those plantations, from Scotland, and several of her 
 assemblies, what additional scenes of heavenly joy 
 and pleasure have been raised amongst the pious 
 souls, both those who relate and those who hear 
 them. 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 Foretastes of heaven are sometimes derived from 
 * the overflowing sense of the love of God' let in up- 
 on the soul. 
 
 The spirits above who are surrounded with this 
 blessedness and this love, and rejoice in the everlast^ 
 
412 THE FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT, DISCOURSE X, 
 
 ing assurance of it, cannot but be filled with intense 
 joy. What can be a greater foundation of complete 
 blessedness and delight than the immediate * sensa- 
 tion and assurance of being beloved by the glorious, 
 and supreme, and the all-sufficient Being, who will 
 never suffer his favourites to want any thing he can 
 bestow upon them to make them happy in perfection, 
 and for ever ? All creatures are under his present 
 view and immediate command ; there is not the least 
 of them can give disturbance to any of the favourites 
 of heaven, who dwell in the midst of their Creator's 
 love ; nor is there any creature that can be employ- 
 ed towards the complete happiness of the saints on 
 high, but is for ever under the disposal of that God 
 who has made all things, and it shall be employed 
 upon every just occasion for the display of his love 
 to his saints. 
 
 Some have imagined, that that * perfect satisfaction 
 of soul which arises from a good conscience, speak- 
 ing peace inwardly in the survey of its sincere de- 
 sire to please God in all things, and having wiih up- 
 rightness of heart fulfilled its duty,- is the supreme 
 delight of heaven : but it is my opinion God has ne- 
 ver made the felicity of his creatures to be drawn so 
 entirely out of themselves, or from the spring of their 
 own bosom, as this notion seems to imply. God 
 himself will be all hi all to his creatures ; and all 
 their original springs of blessedness as well as being 
 are in him, and must be derived from him: It is 
 therefore the overflowing sense of being beloved by a 
 God almighty and eternal, that is the supreme foun- 
 
DISCOURSE X. OR THE FORETASTE OF HEAVEN. 41 3 
 
 tain of joy and blessedness in every reasonable na- 
 ture, and the endless security of this happiness is joy 
 everlasting in all the regions of the blessed above. 
 
 Now a taste of this kind is heavenly blessedness 
 even on this earth, where God is pleased to bestow it 
 on his creatures ; and the glimpses of it bring such 
 ecstacies into the soul as can hardly be conceived, or 
 revealed to others, but it is best felt by them who en- 
 joy it. 
 
 SECTION Vil. 
 
 < Foretastes of heaven in the fervent emotions of 
 soul in love to Jesus Christ.' 
 
 What the love and strong aifections of the blessed 
 saints above towards Jesus Christ their Lord and Savi- 
 our may impress of joy on their spirits, is not possible 
 for us to learn in the present state; but there are some 
 who have even here on earth felt such transcendent 
 affections to Jesus the Son of God, even though they 
 have never enjoyed the sight of him, yet they love 
 him with most intense and ardent zeal; their devo- 
 tion almost swallows them up and carries them away 
 captive above all earthly things, and brings them 
 near to the heavenly world. There is an unknown 
 joy which arises from such intense love to an object 
 so lovely and so deserving; such is that which is 
 spoken concerning the saints to whom St. Peter 
 wrote, 1 Pet. i. 8. '* Whom having not seen, ye love, 
 in whom though now ye see him not, yet believing 
 ye rejoice v/ith joy unspeakable and full of glory.'* 
 
 G 3 
 
414 TH.Ii^ FJftS.I'i^ft'^JlTS 01 THE SPIRIT, DISCOURSE X. 
 
 Il is through thig^ divine taste of Iqv^, and joy, and 
 glory communicated, by thq blessed Spirit, revealing 
 the things of Christ to their souls, that many of the 
 confessors and .martyrs in the primitive ages, and in 
 latter, tijnes, have not only joyfully p?i.rted wjth all their 
 pQS^ssions ^nd their comforts ii); this, life, but have 
 follQvyeii the call of Qod through prisp^sand deaths 
 of a. most, dreadful kind ; through racks, and fires, 
 and many torments for the sake of the love of Jesus: 
 And perhaps there may be some in our day who have 
 had so lively and strong a sensation of the love of 
 Christ let in upon their souls, that they could not 
 only.bje content to be absent from ail their carnal de- 
 lights for ever, but even from their intellectual and 
 more spiritual entertainments, if tlicy might be for 
 ever placed ia such a situation to Jesus Christ, as to 
 feel the everlasting beams of his love let out upon 
 them, and to rejoice in him with perpetual delight. 
 As he is the nearest image of God the Father, they 
 can love nothing beneath God equal to their love of 
 him, nor delight in any thing beneath God equal to 
 their dehght in Jesus Christ: Indeed their love and 
 their joy are so wrapped up in the great and blessed 
 God as he appears in Christ Jesus, that they do not 
 usually divide their affections in this matter, but love 
 God supremely for ever, as revealing himself in his 
 most perfect love in Christ Jesus unto their souls. 
 How near this may approach to the glorified love of 
 the saints in heaven, or what difference there is be- 
 tween the holy ones above and the saints below in 
 this respect, may be hard to 3i\y, 
 
DISCOURSK X. OR THE FORF.TASTE OF HF.AVE!^. 41 S 
 
 SECTION VIII. 
 
 ' Foretastes of heaven in the transcendent love 61 
 the saints to each other.' I might here ask some hd- 
 vanced saints, 
 
 Have you never seen or heard of a fellow Chris- 
 tian growing into such a near resemblance to the 
 blessed Jesus, in all the virtues and graces of the spi- 
 rit, that you would willingly part whh all the attain- 
 ments and honours that you have already arrived at, 
 which make you never so eminent in the world or the 
 church, as to be made so near a conformist to the 
 image of the blessed Jesus as this fellow Christian 
 has seemed to be ? 
 
 Have you never seen or read of the glories and 
 graces of the Son of God exemplified in some of the 
 saints in so high a degree, and at the same time been 
 so divested of self, and so mortified to a narrow self- 
 love, as to be satisfied with the lowest and the meanest 
 supports of life, and the meanest station in the church 
 of Christ here on earth, if you might but be favour- 
 ed to partake of that transcendent likeness to the 
 holy Jesus, as you would fain imitate and possess. 
 
 Have you never had a view of all the virtues and 
 graces of the saints, derived from one eternal foun- 
 tain, the blessed God, and flowing through the medi- 
 ation of Jesus his Son, in so glorious a manner, that 
 vou have longed for the day when you shall be amongst 
 them, and receive your share of this blessedness ? 
 Have you never found yourself so united to them in 
 
416 THE FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT, &C. DISCOURSE X. 
 
 one heart and one soul, that you have wished them 
 all the same blessings that you wished to yourself, 
 and that without the least shadow of grudging or 
 envy, if every one of them were partaker as much as 
 you? There is no eni^y among the heavenly inhabit- 
 ants; nor doth St. Paul receive the less because Ce- 
 phas or Apollos has a large share. Every vessel has 
 its capacity enlarged to a proper extent by the God 
 of nature and grace, and every vessel is completely 
 filled, and feels itself for ever full and for ever happy : 
 Then there cannot be found the shadow of envy 
 amongst them. 
 
 Now, to sum up the view of these things in short; 
 who is there that enjoys these blessed evidences of an 
 interest in the inheritance on high, who is there that 
 has any such foretastes of the felicity above, but 
 must join with the whole creation in groaning for that 
 great day, when all the children of God shall appear 
 in the splendor of their adoption, and every thing in 
 nature and grace among them shall attain the proper 
 end for which it was at first designed ? And whenso- 
 ever any such Christian hears some of the last words 
 in the Bible pronounced by our Lord Jesus, ** Surely 
 I come quickly," he must immediately join the uni- 
 versal echo of the saints with unspeakable delight, 
 ^'even so come, O Lord Jesus." 
 
DISCOURSE XI. 
 SAFETY IN THE GRAVE, 
 
 AND 
 
 JOY AT THE RESURRECTION 
 
 Job. xiv. 13, 14, 15. 
 
 that thou luouldst hide me in the gra'ue^ that thou 
 nvouldst keep me in secret until thy wrath be past, 
 that thou wouldst appoint me a set time arid remem- 
 
 ( her me ! If a man die shall he live again ? All the 
 days of my appointed time %vill Iwait till my change 
 come. Thou shalt call and I will answer thee: Thou 
 wilt have a desire to the work of thy hands. 
 
 BEFORE we attempt to make any improvement 
 of these words of Job for our present edification, it 
 is necessary that we search out the true meaning of 
 them. There are two general senses of these three 
 verses, which are given by some of the most consi- 
 derable interpreters of Scripture, and they are ex- 
 ceeding different from each other. 
 
 The^r^r is this. Some suppose Job under the ex- 
 tremity of his anguish to long after death here, as he 
 
416 SAFETT IN THE GRAVE, DISCOURSE 2^1. 
 
 does in some other parts of this book, and to desire 
 that God would cut him oft' from the land of the liv- 
 ing, and ** hide him in the grave," or, at least, take 
 him away from the present stage of action, and con- 
 ceal him in some retired and solitary place, dark as 
 the grave is, till all the days which might be design- 
 ed for his pain and sorrow were finished : And that 
 God would '* appohit him a time'* for his restoration 
 to health and happiness again in this world, and raise 
 him to the possession of it, by calling him out of 
 that dark and solitary place of retreat; and then Job 
 would answer him, and appear with pleasure at such 
 a call of Providence. 
 
 Others give this sense of the words, that though 
 the pressing and overwhelming sorrows of this good 
 man constrained him to long for death, and he en- 
 treated of God that he might be sent to the *' grave 
 as a hiding-place,'' and thus be delivered from his 
 present calamities, yet he had some divine glimpse 
 of a resurrection or livhjg again^ and he hopes for the 
 happiness of a future state when God shofild call him 
 out of the grave. He knew that the blessed God 
 would have * a cksire to' restore * the work of his 
 own hands' to life again, and Job would * answer the 
 call' of his God into a resurrection with holy plea- 
 sure and joy. 
 
 Now there are four or five reasons which incline me 
 ro prefer this latter sense of the words, and to shew 
 that the comforts and hope which Job aspires to in 
 this place, are only to be derived from a resurrection 
 to final happiness. 
 
DISCOURSE X[. AND JOY AT THE RF.SURRECTION. 4i9 
 
 1. The express words of the text are, <'0 th^t 
 thou wouldst hide me in the grave !" Not in a dark- 
 some place hke the grave; and where the literal sense 
 of the words is plain and agreeable to the context, 
 there is no need of making metaphors to explain them, 
 There is nothing that can encourage us to suppose that 
 Job had any hope of happiness in this world again, 
 after he was gone down to the grave, and therefore 
 he would not make so unreasonable a petition to the 
 great God. This seems to be too foolish and too hope, 
 less a request for us to put into the mouth of so wise 
 and good a man* 
 
 2. He seems to limit the continuance of man in 
 the state of death to the duration of the heavens, ver. 
 12th, *' man lieth down and riseth pot till the heavens 
 be no more:" Not absolutely yc?r ever does Job desire 
 to be hidden in the grave, but till the dissolution of 
 all these visible things, these heavens and this earth, 
 and the great rising-day for the sons of men. These 
 words seem to have a plain aspect towards the resur- 
 rection. 
 
 And especially when he adds, *^ they shall not be 
 wakened nor raised out of their sleep." The brutes 
 when dying are never said to sleep in Scripture, be- 
 cause they shall never rise; again ; but this is a fre- 
 quent word used to signify the death of man both in 
 the Old Testament and in the New, because he only 
 lies down in die grave for a sci-ason, as in a bed of 
 sleep, in order to awake and ari.se hereafuCr. 
 
 3. In other places of this book, Job gives us some 
 evident hints of his hope of a resurrection, especially 
 
420 SAFETY IN THE GRAVE, J)ISCOURSE XI, 
 
 that divine passage and prophecy, when he spake as 
 one surrounded with a vision of glory, and filled with 
 the light and joy of faith. Job xix. 25. " I know 
 that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at 
 the latter day upon the earth : And though after my 
 skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall 
 I see God; whom I shall see for myself, and mine 
 eyes shall behold, and not another, though my reins 
 be consumed within me." But in many parts of this 
 book the good man lets us know, that he had no 
 manner of hope of any restoration to health and peace 
 in this life. Job vii. 6, 7, 8. "My days are spent 
 without hope: Mine eye shall no more see good: 
 The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no 
 more: Thine eyes are upon me, and I am not." 
 Ver. 21. " Now shall I sleep in the dust, thou shalt 
 seek me in the morning and I shall not be." Job xvii. 
 15. " Where is now my hope ? As for my hope, who 
 shall see it ?" He and his hope seemed " to go down 
 to the bars of the pit together, and to rest in the 
 dust." And if Job had no hope of a restoration in 
 this world, then his hopes must point to the resur- 
 rection of the dead. 
 
 4. If we turn these verses here, as well as that no- 
 ble passage in Job xix. to the more evangelical sense 
 of a resurrection, the truths which are contained in 
 the one and the other, are all supported by the lan- 
 guage of the New Testament : And the express words 
 of both these texts are much more naturally and 
 easily applied to the evangelical sense, without any 
 strain and difRcultv. 
 
DISCOURSE XI. AND JOY AT THE RESURRECTION. 421 
 
 The expressions in the xixth of Job, *' I know 
 that my Redeemer liveth," &:c. have been rescued 
 by many wise interpreters from that poor and low 
 sense which has been forced upon them, by those 
 who will not allow Job to have any prospect beyond 
 this life : iVnd it has been made to appear to be a 
 bright glimpse of divine light and joy, a ray or vision 
 of the sun of righteousness breaking in between the 
 dark clouds of his pressing sorrow: And that the 
 words of my text demand the same sort of interpreta- 
 tion, will appear further by these short remarks, and 
 this paraphrase upon them. 
 
 Job had been speaking, ver. 7. &c. that ** there is 
 hope of a tree when it is cut down that it will sprout 
 again" visibly, and bring forth boughs; but when 
 *' man gives up the ghost" he is no more visible up- 
 on earth: ''Where is he?" Job does not deny his 
 future existence, but only intimates that he does not 
 appear in the place where he was ; and in the follow- 
 ing verses he does not say, a dying man shall never 
 rise, or shall ' never be awakened out of his sleep,' 
 but asserts that '' he rises not till" the dissolution of 
 " these heavens" and these visible things: And by 
 calling death a sleep, he supposes an awaking time, 
 though it may be distant and far off. 
 
 Then he proceeds to long for death, '* O that thou 
 wouldst hide me in the grave ! That thou wouldst 
 keep me secret till thy wrath be past!" Till these 
 times and seasons of sorrow be ended, which seem 
 to be the effect of divine wrath or anger : But then 
 I entreat *' thou wotildst appoint me a set tim<"" for 
 
 II 3 
 
422 
 
 S A F ET Y I N T II K C R A \ i , 
 
 j:)iscourse xi. 
 
 my tarning in the grave, ''and reniember me" in 
 order to raise me agaiti. Then with a sort of sur- 
 prise of faith and pleasure he adds, *'if a man die 
 shall he Hve again? Shall these dry bones live?" And 
 he answers in the language of hope: '* All the days of 
 that appointed time" of tliine *'I will wait till that 
 glorious change shall come. Thou shalt call" from 
 heaven, *'and I will answer thee" from the dust of 
 death. I will appear at thy call and say, *' Here am 
 I : Thou wilt have a desire to the work of thy hands," 
 to raise me again from the dead, whom thou hast 
 made of clay, and fashioned me into life. 
 
 From the words thus expounded, we may draw 
 these several observations^ and make a short reflec- 
 tion upon each of them, as we pass along. 
 
 Obs, I. This w^orld is a place wherein good men 
 are exposed to great calamities, and they are ready to 
 think the anger or wrath of God:;tippears in them. 
 
 Obs, II. The grave is God's known hiding-place 
 for his people. 
 
 Obs, III. God has appointed a set time in his own 
 counsels for all his children to continue in death. 
 
 Obs. IV. The lively view of a happy resurrection, 
 and a well-grountied hope of this blessed change, is 
 a solid and divine comfort to the saints of God, under 
 all trials of every kind both in life and death. 
 
 Obs, V. The saints of God who are resting in their 
 beds of dust, will arise joyfully at the call of their 
 heavenly Father. 
 
DISCOURSE XI. AND JOY AT THE RESURRrXT lON. AZi 
 
 Obs. VI. God takes delight in his works of nature, 
 but much more when they are dignified and Luiorncd 
 by the operations of divine grace. 
 
 Obs. VII. IIow much are we indebted to God for 
 the revelation of the New Testament, which teaches 
 us to ftnd out the blessings which are contained in 
 the Old, and to fetch out the glories and treasures 
 \vhich are concealed thc:c ? 
 
 Let us dwell awhile upon each of these, and endea- 
 vour to improve them by a particular application. 
 
 Obs, I. * This world is a place wherein good mea 
 are exposed to great calamities, and they are ready 
 to think the anger or wrath of God appears in them.' 
 This mortal life and this present state of things, are 
 surrounded with crosses and disappointments; the 
 loss of our dearest friends, as well a* our own pains 
 and sicknesses, have so much anguish and misery at- 
 tending them, that they seem to be the seasons of 
 divine wrath, and they grieve and pain the spirit of 
 many a pious man, under a sense of the anger of his 
 God. It must be confessed in general that misery is 
 the effect of sin, for sin and sorrow came into the 
 world together. It is granted also, that God some- 
 times afflicts his people ** in anger, and corrects them 
 in his hot displeasure,'* when they have sinned 
 against him in a remarkable manner: But this is not 
 always the case. 
 
 The great God was not really angry with Job when 
 be suffered him to fall into such complicated dis- 
 tresses ; for it is plain, that while he delivered him up 
 into the hands of Satan to be afflicted, he vindicates 
 
424 SAFETY IN THE GRAVE, DISCOURSE XI. 
 
 and honours him with a divine testimony concerning 
 his piety. Job i. 8. *' There is none like him in the 
 earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth 
 God and avoideth evil." Nor was he angry with 
 his Son Jesus Christ, when it ** pleased the Father to 
 bruise him and put him to grief," when he *' made 
 his soul an offering for sin," and he was *' stricken, 
 smitten of God and afflicted," Isai. liii. To these we 
 may add Paul the best of the Apostles, and the great- 
 est of Christians, who was abundant in labours and 
 sufferings beyond all the rest. See a dismal cata- 
 logue of his calamities, 2 Cor. xi. 23, &:c. What 
 variety of wretchedness, what terrible persecutions 
 from men, what repeated strokes of distress came up- 
 on him by the providence of God, which appeared 
 like the effects of divine wrath or anger P But they 
 were plainly designed for more divine and blessed 
 purposes, both with regard to God, with regard to 
 himself, and to all the succeeding ages of the Chris- 
 tian church. 
 
 God does not always smite his own people to pun- 
 ish sin and shew his anger ; but these sufferings are 
 often appointed for the ' trial of their Christian vir. 
 tues and graces,' for the exercise of their humility 
 and their patience, for the proof of their steadfastness 
 in religion, for the honour of the grace of God in 
 them, and for the increase of their own future weight 
 of glory. *' Blessed is the man that endures tempta- 
 tion, for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown 
 of life which the Lord hath promised to them that 
 love him," Jam. i. 12. *'The devil shall cast some 
 
DISCOURSE XI. AND JOY AT THE RESURRECTION. 425 
 
 of you into prison, that you may be tried, and ye 
 shall have tribulation ten days : Be thou faithful unto 
 death, and I will give thee a crown of life," Rev. ii. 
 10. *' Our light afflictions which are but for a mo- 
 ment, are working for us a far more exceeding and 
 eternal weight of glory," 2 Cor. iv. 17. 
 
 However, upon the whole, this world is a verv 
 troublesome and painful place to the children of 
 God ; They are subject here to many weaknesses 
 and sins, temptations and follies; they are in dan- 
 ger of new defilemen*<s; they go through many 
 threatening perils and many real sorrows, which 
 cither are the effects of the displeasure of God, or, at 
 least, carry an appearance of divine anger in them : 
 But there is a time when these shall be finished, and 
 sorrow shall have its last period: There is a time 
 when these calamities *' will be overpast," and shall 
 return no more for ever. 
 
 Reflection, Why then, O my soul, why shouldst 
 thou be so fond of dwelling in this present world >. 
 Why shouldst thou be desirous of a long continuance 
 in it? Hast thou never found sorrows and afflictions 
 enough among the scenes of life, to make thee weary 
 of them ? And when sorrow and sin have joined to- 
 gether, have they not grievously embittered this life 
 unto thee ? Wilt thou never be weaned from these 
 sensible scenes of flesh and blood ? Hast thou such 
 a love to the darknesses, the defilements, and the 
 uneasinesses which are found in such a prison as this 
 is, as to make thee unwilling to depart when God 
 shall call ? Hast thou dwelt so long in this tabernacle 
 
426 SATETY IN THE GRAVE, DISCOURSE XI. 
 
 of clay, and doest thou not '^ groan, being burden- 
 ed ?" Hast thou no desire to a release into that upper 
 and better world, where sorrows, sins and tempta- 
 tions have no place, and where there shall never be 
 the least appearance or suspicion of the displeasure of 
 thy God towards thee ? 
 
 Obs. II. ' The grave is God's known hiding-place 
 for his people :' It is his appointed shelter and re- 
 treat for his favourites, when he finds them overpress- 
 ed either with present dangers or calamities, or when 
 he foresees huge calamities-And dangers, like storms 
 and billows, ready to overtake them, Isa. Ivii. 1. 
 ** The righteous is taken away from the evil to come." 
 God our heavenly Father beholds this evil advancing 
 forward through all the present smiles of nature, and 
 all the peaceful circumstances that surround us. He 
 hides his children in the grave from a thousand sins, 
 and sorrows, and distresses of this life, which they 
 foresaw not: And even when they are actually beset 
 behind and before, so that there seems to be no natu- 
 ral way for their escape, God calls them aside into the 
 chambers of death, in the same sort of language as he 
 uses in another case, Isa. xxvi. 20. *' Come my 
 people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy 
 doors about thee, hid(^ thyself as it were for a little 
 moment till the indignation be overpassed.'* 
 
 And yet perhaps it is possible, that this very lan- 
 guage of the Lord in Isaiah may refer to the grave, 
 as God's hiding-place, for the verse before promises 
 a resurrection. ** Thy dead men shall live ; together 
 with my dead body shall they arise : Awake and sing 
 
DISCOURSE XI. ANT) JOY AT THE RESURRECTION. 427 
 
 ye that dwell in the dust, for thy dew is as the dew of 
 herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead/' And 
 if we may suppose this last verse to have been trans- 
 posed by any ancient transcribers, so as to have fol- 
 lowed originally verse 20, or-21, it is very natural then 
 to interpret the whole paragraph concerning death, as 
 God's hiding-place for his people, and their rising 
 again through the virtue of the resurrection of Christ 
 as their joyful release. 
 
 Many a time God is pleased to shorten the labours, 
 and travels and fXtigues of good men in this wilder- 
 ness, and he opens a door of rest to them where he 
 pleases, and perhaps surprises them into a state of 
 safety and peace, '* where the weary are at rest, and 
 tlie wicked cease from troubling;" and holy Job 
 seems to desire this favour from his Maker here. 
 
 Sometimes indeed, in the history of this book, he 
 seems to break out into these desires in too rude and 
 angry a manner of expression ; and in a fit of crimi- 
 nal impatience he murmurs against God for uphold- 
 ing him in the land of the living: But at other times, 
 as in this text, he represents his desires with more 
 decency and submission. Every desire to die is not 
 to be confitrued sinful and criminal. Nature may ask 
 of God a relief from its agonies and a period to its 
 sorrows; nor does grace utterly forbid it, if there be 
 also an humble submission and resignation to the will 
 of God, such as we rinQ exemplified by our blessed 
 Saviour, '* Father, if it be thy will let this cup pass 
 from me; yet not as I, will but as thou wilt.'' 
 
428 SAFETY IN THE GRAVE, DISCOURSE XI. 
 
 On this second observation^ I desire to make these 
 three reflections. 
 
 Reflect. 1. Though a good man knows that death 
 was originally appointed as a curse for sin, yet his 
 faith can trust God to turn that curse into a blessing: 
 He can humbly ask his Maker to release him from 
 the painful bonds of life, to hasten the slow ap- 
 proaches of death, and to hide him in the grave fron\ 
 some overwhelming sorrows. This is the glory of 
 God in his covenant of grace with the children of 
 men, that he ** turns curses into blessings," Deut. 
 xxiii. 5. And the grave, which was designed as a prison 
 for sinners, is become a place of shelter to the saints, 
 where they are hidden and secured from rising sor- 
 rows and calamities. It is God's known hiding- 
 place for his own children from the envy and the 
 rage of men; from all the known and unknown ago- 
 nies of nature, the diseases of the flesh, and the dis- 
 tresses of human life, which perhaps might be over- 
 bearing and intolerable. 
 
 Why, O my fearful soul, why shouldst thou be 
 afraid of dying? Why shouldst thou be frighted at 
 the dark shadows of the grave, when thou art weary 
 with the toils and crosses of the day? Hast thou not 
 often desired the shadow of the evening, and longed 
 for the bed of natural sleep, where thy fatigues and 
 thy sorrows may be forgotten for a season? And is 
 not the grave itself a sweet sleeping-place for the 
 saints, wherein they lie down and forget their dis- 
 tresses, and feel none of the miseries of human life, 
 and especially since it is softened and sanctified by 
 
TtlSCOimSE XI. AND JOY AT THE RESUPvl-lECTION. 429 
 
 the Son of God lying clown there? Why shouldst thou 
 be afraid to lay thy head in the dust ? It is but en- 
 tering into ' God's hiding-place,' into his chambers 
 of rest and repose : It is but committing thy ftesh, the 
 meaner part of thy composition, to his care in the 
 dark for a short season : He will hide thee there, and 
 keep thee in safety from the dreadful trials which per- 
 haps would overwhelm thy spirit. Sometimes in the 
 course of his providence he may find it necessary 
 that some spreading calamity should overtake the 
 place where thou dwellest, or some distressing stroke 
 fall upon thy family, or thy friends, but he will hide 
 thee under ground before it comes, and thus disap- 
 point all thy fears, and lay every perplexing thought 
 into rest and silence. 
 
 Reflect, 2. Let it be ever remembered, that the 
 grave is God's hiding-place and not our own : We 
 are to venture into it without terror when he calls us; 
 but he does not suffer us to break into it our own 
 way without his call. Death and life are in the hands 
 of God, and he never gave the keys of them to mor- 
 tal men, to let themselves out of this world when 
 they please, nor to enter his hiding-place without his 
 leave. 
 
 Bear up then, O my soul, under all the sorrows 
 and trials of this present state, till God himself shall 
 say. It is finished ; till our blessed Jesus, who has the 
 keys put into his hands, shall open the door of death, 
 and give tliee an entrance into that dark and peaceful 
 retreat. It is a safe and silent refuge from the hustle 
 ?.vA the noise^ the labours and the troubles of life ; 
 
 I 3 
 
4oO SArETY IN THE GllAVL, DISCOURSE XI, 
 
 blithe that forces it open with his own hands, how 
 ^vill he dare to appear before God in the world of 
 spirits? What will he answer, when with a dreadful 
 frown the great God sliall demand of h.im, *> friend, 
 how comest thou in hither :" Wlio sent for thee, or 
 gave thee leave to come ? Such a wretch must ven- 
 ture upon so rash an action at the peril of the wrath 
 of God, and his own eternal destruction. 
 
 Our blessed Jesus, who has all the vast scheme of 
 divine counsels before his eyes, by having the books 
 of his Father's degrees put into his hands, he knows 
 how long it is proper for thee, O Christian, to fight 
 and labour, to wrestle and strive with sins, tempta- 
 tions and diiiiculiies in the present life: He knows 
 best in what moment to put a peiiod to them, and 
 pronoiUK^e thee concjucror. Fly not from the field 
 of battle for want of holy fortitude, though thy ene- 
 i"nies and thy dangers be never so many, nor dare to 
 dismiss thyself from thy appointed post, till the 
 Lord of life, pronounce the word of thy dismission. 
 
 Sometimes I have been ready to say uilhin my- 
 self, why is my life prolonged in sorrow f Why are 
 my days lengthened out to see further wretchedness : 
 Methinks the '' grave should be ready for me, and 
 the house appointed fur all the living." What can I 
 do further lor God or for man here on earth, since 
 my nature j)ines away with painful sickness, my 
 nerves are unstrung, my spirits dissipated, and my 
 best powers of acting are enfeebled and almost lost r 
 Peace, peace, O thou complaining spirit ! Dost thou 
 know the counsels of the Almighty, and ihe secrc: 
 
UI SCOURS!-. XI. AND JOY A I' THE liKSUKK F C T l(j>J. 4^,1 
 
 designs of tliy God and thy Saviour? lie has nv.my 
 deep and unknown pnrpDses in continuing his chil- 
 dren amidst heavy sorrows, which ihey can never 
 penetrate or learn in this world. Silence and sub- 
 mission becomes thee at all times. *' Father, not 
 my will but thy will be done." 
 
 And let it be hinted to thee, O my soul, that it is 
 much more honourable to be weary of tins life, be- 
 cause of the sins and temptations of it, than because 
 of the toils and sorrows that attend it. If we must 
 " groan in this tabernacle being burdened," let the 
 snares, and the dangers, and the defilements of it be 
 the chief springs of thy groaning and the warmest 
 motives to request a release. God loves to see his 
 people more afraid 'iv!r'sin than of sorrow. If thy cor- 
 ruptions are so strong, and the temptations of life so 
 unhappily surround thee, that thou art daily crying 
 out, " who shall deliver thee from the body of sin 
 and death," then thou mayest more honourably send 
 up a wish to heaven, '* O that I had the wings of a 
 dove, that I might fly away and be at rest ! O that 
 God would hide me in the grave" from my prevailing 
 iniquities, and from the ruffling and disquieting influ- 
 ence of my own follies and my daily temptations ! 
 But never be thou quite weary of doing or suficring 
 the will of thy heavenly Father, though he should 
 continue thee in this mortal life a length of years !)e- 
 yond thy desires, and should witlihold thee from his 
 secret place of retreat and rest. 
 
 A constant and joyful readiness at the c;ill of God 
 to depart hence, with a ^;heerful patienr-e to ^;<;ntinue 
 
432 SAIETY IN THE GRAVE, DISCOURSE XI* 
 
 here during his pleasure, is the most perfect and 
 blessed temper that a Christian can arrive at : It 
 gives God the highest glory, and keeps the soul in 
 the sweetest peace. 
 
 Reflect. 3. This one thought, that the * grave is 
 God's hiding-place,' should compose our spirits to 
 silence, and abate our mourning for the loss of friends,- 
 who have given sufficient evidence that they are the 
 children of God. Their heavenly Father has seized 
 them from the midst of their trials, dangers and dif- 
 ficulties, and given them a secure refuge in his own 
 appointed place of rest and safety. Jesus has open- 
 ed the door of the grave with his golden key, and 
 hath let them into a chamber of repose : He has con- 
 cealed them in a silent retreat," vitiere temptation and 
 shi cannot reach them, and where anguish and misery 
 can never come. 
 
 When I have lost therefore a dear and delightful 
 relative or friend, or perhaps many of them in a short 
 season are called successively down to the dust, let 
 me say thus within myself, <^ It is their God and my 
 God has done it : He saw what new temptations were 
 ready to surround them in the circumstances of life 
 wherein they stood : He beheld the trials and diffi- 
 culties that were ready to encompass them on all 
 sides, and his love made a way for their escape : He 
 opened the dark retreat of death, and hid them there 
 from a thousand perils which might have plunged 
 them into guilt and defilement : He beheld this as 
 the proper season to give ihem a release from a world 
 of labour and toil, vanity and vexation, sin and sor- 
 row : They arc taken aii:ayfrom the evil to cojriey and 
 
DISCOURSE XI. AND JOY AT THE REGURRFCTION\ 4.^3 
 
 I will learn to complain no more. The blessed Je- 
 sus to whom they had devoted themselves, well knew 
 what allurements of gaiety and joy might have been 
 too prevalent over them, and he gave them a kind 
 escape lest their souls should suffer any real detri- 
 ment, lest their strict profession of piety should be 
 soiled or dishonoured : He knew how much they 
 ivere able to hear^ and he ivoidd lay upon them no fur- 
 ther burden : He saw rising diificulties approaching, 
 and new perils coming upon them beyond their 
 strength, and he fulfils their own promises, and glo« 
 rifies his own faithfulness, by opening the door of hij> 
 well-known hiding-place, and giving them a safe re- 
 fuge there. He keeps them there in secret from thr 
 corruptions of a public life, and the multiplied dan- 
 gers of a degenerate age, which might have divided 
 their hearts from God and things heavenly : And per- 
 haps he guards them also in that dark retreat from 
 some long and languishing sickness, some unknown 
 distress, some overbearing flood of misery, which was 
 like to come upon them had they continued longer 
 on the stage of life. 
 
 '< Let this silence thy murmuring thoughts, O my 
 soul ; let this dry up thy tears which are ready to 
 overflow on such an occasion. Dare not pronounce 
 it a stroke of anger from the hand of God, who divid- 
 ed them from the tempting or the distressing scenc^i 
 of this world, and kindly removed them out of the 
 way of danger. This was the wisest method of his 
 love to guard them from many a folly and many 
 a sorrov/, v/hich he foresaw just at the door." 
 
434 SAFETY IN THt GRAVE, DlStOURSE XI. 
 
 Will the wounded and complaining heart go onto 
 groan and murmur still, * But my son was carried off 
 in the prime of life, or my daughter in her blooming 
 years ; they stood flourishing in the vigour of their 
 nature, and it was my delight to behold their growing 
 appearances of virtue and goodness, and that in the 
 midst of ease, and plenty, and prospects of happiness, 
 bo far as this world can afford it ?' 
 
 But could you look through the next year to the 
 end of it ? Could you penetrate into future events, 
 and survey the scenes of seven years to come ? Could 
 your heart assure itself of the real possession of this 
 imaginary view of happiness and peace ? Perhaps the 
 blessed God saw the clouds gathering afar off, and at 
 a great distance of time, and in much kindness he 
 housed your favourite from unknown trials, dangers 
 and sorrows. So a prudent gardener, who is ac- 
 quainted with the sky, and skilful in the signs of the 
 seasons, even in the month of May, foresees a heavy 
 tempest rising in the edge of the horizon, while a 
 vulgar eye observes nothing but sunshine ; and he 
 who knows the worth and the tenderness of some 
 special plants in his garden, hous«es them in haste, 
 lest they should be exposed and demolished by the 
 sweeping rain or haih 
 
 You say, ' these children v/ere in the bloom of life, 
 and in the most desirable appearance of joy and satis- 
 fiiction :' But is not that also usually the most dan- 
 gerous season of life, and the hour of most powerful 
 temptation ? Was not that the time when their pas- 
 sions might have been too hard for them, and the de- 
 
DISCOUR-SE XI. AND JOY AT THF- RT.SURRECTION. 43 J 
 
 lucling pleasures of life stood round them with a most 
 perilous assault? Aud what if God, out of pure com- 
 passion, saw it necessary to hide them from an army 
 of perils at once, aud to carry them off the stage of 
 life with more purity and honour? Surely when the 
 great God has appointed it, when the blessed Jesus 
 has done it, we would not rise up in opposition and 
 say, ' But I would have had them live longer here at 
 all adventures : I wish they were alive again, let the 
 consequence be what it will.' This is not the voice 
 of faith or patience ; this is not the language of holy 
 submission and love to God, nor can our souls ap- 
 prove of such irregular storms of ungoverned affec- 
 tion, which oppose themselves to the divine w ill, and 
 ruffle the soul with criminal disquietude. 
 
 There are many, even of tlie children of God, who 
 had left a more unblemislied and a more honourable 
 character behind them, if they had died much sooner. 
 The latter end of life hath sometimes sullied their 
 brightness, and tarnished the glory they had acquired 
 in a hopeful youth : Their growing years have fallen 
 under such temptations, and been defiled and dis- 
 graced by such failings, as would have been entirely 
 prevented had diey been summoned away into GckI's 
 hiding-place some years before. Our blessed Jesus 
 walks among the roses and lilies in the garden of his 
 ehurch, and when he sees a wintry storm coming 
 upon some tender plants of righteousness, he hide:; 
 ibem in earth to preserve life in ihem, that tliey may 
 l)loom with new glories when they shall be raised 
 ftom diut bed. The blessed God acts like a tender 
 
436 SAFliTY IN THE GRAVE, DISCOURSE XI. 
 
 Father, and consults the safety and honour of his 
 children, when the hand of his mercy snatches them 
 away before that powerful temptation comes, which 
 he foresees would have defiled and distressed, and 
 almost destroyed them. They are not lost, but they 
 are gone to rest a little sooner than we are. Peace 
 be to that bed of dust where they are hidden, by the 
 Iiand of their God, from unknown dangers ! Blessed 
 be our Lord Jesus, who has the keys of the grave, 
 and never opens it for his favourites but in the wisest 
 iscason I 
 
 Obs» III.^ * God has appointed a set time in his 
 own counsels for all his children tocontinue indeath:* 
 Those whom he has hidden in the grave he remem- 
 bers they lie there, and he will not suffer them to abide 
 in the dust for ever. When Job entreats of God that 
 he may be hidden from his sorrows in the dust of 
 death, he requests also that '' God would appoint a 
 set time" for his release, '' and remember him." 
 His faith seems to have had a gllrnpse of the blessed 
 resurrection. Our senses and our carnal passions 
 would cry out, where is Abraham, and Isaac, and 
 Jacob, and the rest of the ancient worthies, who have 
 been long sleepers in their beds of repose for many 
 thousand years ? But faidi assures us, that God num- 
 bers the days and the months of their concealment 
 under ground, he knov/s where their dust lies, and 
 v/here to find every scattered atom against the great 
 restoring day. They are unseen indeed and forgot- 
 ten of men, but they are under the^eye and the keep- 
 ing of the blessed God : He watches over their sleeps 
 
DISCOURSE XI. ANO JOY AT THE Rr.SURRECTIO.V. 4Z7 
 
 ing dust, and while the world has forgotten and lost 
 even their names, they are every moment under the 
 eye of God, for they stand written in his book of 
 life, with the name of the Lamb at the head of 
 them. 
 
 Jesus, his Son, had but three days appointed him 
 to dwell in this hiding-place, and he rose again at the 
 appointed hour. Other good men, who were gone 
 to their grave not long before him, arose again at the 
 resurrection of Christ, and made a visit to many in 
 Jerusalem : Their appointed hiding-place was but 
 for a short season ; and all the children of God shall 
 be remembered in their proper seasons in faithful- 
 ness to his Son to whom he has given them : The 
 Head IS raised to the mansions of glory, and the 7nem' 
 hers must not for ever lie in dust. 
 
 Refection, Then let all the saints of God wait with 
 patience for the appointed time when he will call them 
 down to death, and let them lie down in their secret 
 beds of repose, and in a waiting frame commit their 
 dust to his care till the resurrection. ** All the days 
 of my appointed time (says Job) I will wait till my 
 change come." The word * appointed time' is sup- 
 posed to si'^mh'ivat'fare in the Hebrew: As a cen- 
 tinal, when he is fixed to his post by his general, he 
 waits there till he has orders for a release. And this 
 clause of the verse may refer either to dying or rising 
 again, for cither of them is a very great and inij)ort- 
 ant change passing upon human nature, whether from 
 life to death, or from death to life. 
 
 K 3 
 
438 SAFE'lT IN THE t>RAVE, IHSCOURSR XI^ 
 
 Ills said by the prophet Isaiah, chap, xxviii. 16. 
 ** He that believeth shall not make haste," i. e. he 
 thattrusts in the wisdom and the promised mercy of 
 (}od will not be too urgent or importunate in any of 
 his desires : It is for want of faith that nature some- 
 times is in too much haste to die, as Job in some of 
 his expressions appears to have been, or as Elijah 
 perhaps discovered himself when he was wanoering 
 in the wilderness disconsolate and almost despairing, 
 or as the prophet Jeremiah sufficiently manifested, 
 when he cursed the day of his birth, or as Jonah was, 
 that peevish prophet, when he was angry with God 
 for not taking away his life; but the ground of it was, 
 he was vexed because God did not destroy Nineveh 
 according to his prophecy: These arc certain blem- 
 ishes of the children of God left upon record in his 
 word, to give us warning of our danger of impati- 
 ence, and to guard us against their sins and follies. 
 And since we know that God has appointed the sea- 
 sons of our entrance into death, and into the state of 
 the resurrection, we should humbly commit the dis- 
 posal of ourselves to the hand of our God, who will 
 bestow upon us the most needful blessings in the 
 most proper season. 
 
 Do not the '* spirits of the just made perfect" wait 
 in patience for the great and blessed rising-day which 
 God has appointed, and for the illustrious change of 
 their bodies from corruption and darkness to light, 
 and life, aiul glory ? God has promised it, and thut 
 suffices, and supports their waiting spirits, though 
 thcv know not the hour. The *' Father keeps that in 
 
DISCOURSC XI. AND JOY AT THE RES.URRECT I ON. 4^^ 
 
 his owa hand," and perhaps reveals it to none but his 
 Son Jesus, who is exahed to be the governor and 
 judge of the world. There are millions, of souls 
 waiiip.g in that separate state for the accomplishment 
 of these last and best promises, ready to shout and 
 rejoice when they shall see and feel that bright morn- 
 ing dawning upon them. 
 
 Wait therefore, O my soul, as becomes a child of 
 God in the wilderness among many trials, darknesses, 
 and distresses. He has stripped thee perhaps of one 
 comfort after another, and thy friends and dear rela- 
 tives in succession are called down to the dust ; they 
 are released from their conflicts, and are placed far 
 out of the reach of every temptation ; and it is not 
 thy bu^siness to prescribe to God at what hour he shall 
 release thee also. Whensoever he is pleased to call 
 thee to lay down thy flesh in the dust, and to enter 
 into God's hiding-place, meet thou the summons with 
 holy courage, satisfaction and joy, enter into the 
 chamber of rest till all the days of sin, sorrow and 
 wretchedness are overpast ; Lie down there in a wait- 
 ing frame, and commit thy flesh to his care and keep- 
 ing till the hour in which he has appointed thy glori- 
 ous change. 
 
 Obs, IV. * The lively view of a happy resurrec- 
 tion, and a well grounded hope of this blessed 
 change, is a solid and divine comfort to the saints of 
 God, under all trials of every kind, both in life and 
 death.' The faith and hope of a joyful rising-day 
 has supported the children of God under long dis- 
 tresses and huge agonies of soirov/ which ihey sus- 
 
440 SAFETY IN THE GRAVE, DISCOURSE XI. 
 
 tain here. It is the expectation of this desirable da 
 that animates the soul with vigour and life to fulfil 
 every painful and dangerous duty. It is for this we 
 expose ourselves to the bitter reproaches and perse- 
 cutions of the wicked world ; it is for this that we 
 conflict with all our adversaries on earth, and all the 
 powers of darkness that are sent from hell to annoy 
 us ; it is this joyful expectation that bears up our 
 spirits under every present burden and calamity of 
 life. 
 
 What could ive do in such a painful and dying 
 world, or how could we bear with patience the long 
 fatigues of such a wretched life, if we had no hope of 
 rising again from the dead ? Surely " we are the most 
 miserable of all men'' in days of public persecution, 
 *'if we had hope only in this life," 1 Cor. xv. 19. 
 It is for this that we labour, and suffer, and endure 
 whatsoever our heavenly Father is pleased to lay upon 
 us. It is this confirms our fortitude, and makes '' us 
 steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work 
 of the Lord, for as much as we know that our labour 
 shall not be in vain in the Lord," 1 Cor. xv. 58. It 
 is this that enables us to bear the loss of our dearest 
 friends with patience and hope, and assuages the 
 smart of our sharpest sorrows : For since we believe 
 that ** Jesus died and rose again," so we rejoice in 
 hope that *' they which sleep in Jesus shall be brought 
 with him" at his return, and shall appear in brighter 
 and more glorious circumstances than ever our e3^es 
 were blessed with here on earth, I Thes. iv. 13. 
 This teaches us to triumph over death and the grave 
 
DISCOURSE XI. AND JOY AT THE RESURRECTION. 441 
 
 in divine lan^ruagc, ** O death, where is thy sting? 
 O grave, where is thy victory ?" 
 
 Reflection. What are thy chief burdens, O my 
 soul ? Whence are all thy sighs and thy daily groan- 
 ings ? What are thy distresses of flesh or spirit > Sum- 
 mon them all in one view, and see whether there be 
 not power and glory enough in a resurrection to con- 
 quer and silence them all, and to put thy present 
 sorrows to flight ? 
 
 Dost thou dwell in a * vexing and persecuting 
 world,' amongst oppressions and reproaches ? But 
 those who reproach and oppress are but mortal crea- 
 tures, who shall shortly go down to the dust, and 
 then they shall tyrannize and aflPiict thee no more : 
 The great rising-day shall change the scene from 
 oppression and reproach to dominion and glory. 
 When ''they lie down in the grave like" beasts of 
 slaughter, *' death shall feed on them, and the upright 
 shall have dominion over them in the morning, when 
 God shall redeem thy soul from the power of the 
 grave." Thy God shall hide thy body from their 
 rage in his own appointed resting-place, and lie shall 
 receive thy soul, and keep it secure in his own pre- 
 sence, till that blessed morning break upon this louer 
 creation ; then shalt thou " arise and shine, for the 
 glory of the Lord is risen upon thee." 
 
 Do the 'calamities which thou suflfercst proceed 
 from the liand of God?' Art thou disquieted with 
 daily pain, with sicknesses and anguish in thy flesh? 
 Or art thou surrounded with crosses and disappoint- 
 ments in thy outward circumstances ? Are thy spirits 
 
44.2 SAFETY IN THE GRAVE, DISCOURSE XI. 
 
 sunk with many loads of care and pressing perplexi- 
 ties ? Cansi thou not forget them all in the vision that 
 faith can give thee of the great rising-day ? Canst 
 thou not say in the language of faith, ** the sufferings 
 of this present time are not worthy to be compared 
 with the glory that shall be revealed in us?" Then 
 the head and the heart shall ake no more, and every 
 circumstance around thee shall be pleasing and joy- 
 ful for ever. 
 
 Or art thou tenderly affected with the * loss of pi- 
 ous friends,' who have been very dear and desirable? 
 Perhaps thy sensibilities here are too great and pain- 
 ful : They are such indeed as nature is ready to in- 
 dulge, but are they not more than God requires, or 
 the gospel allows ? Do not thy thoughts dwell too 
 much on the gloom and darkness of the grave ? O 
 think of that bright hour when every saint shall rise 
 from the dark retreats of death with more complete 
 characters of beauty, holiness and pleasure than ever 
 this world could shew them in ! They are not perish- 
 ed, but sent a little before us into * God's hiding* 
 place,' where though they lie in dust and darkness, 
 yet they are safe from the dangers and vexations of 
 life; but they shall sj)ring up in the happy moment 
 iiUo immortality, and shall ji)in with thee in a mutual 
 burprise at each other's divine change. 
 
 Or dost thou feel the ' corruptions of thy heart' 
 workii^g within thee, and the sins of thy nature rest- 
 less in their endeavours to bring defilement upon thy 
 ooui, and g'lilt upon thy conscience: Go on and 
 maintain the holy warfare agaiJist all these rising ini- 
 
DISCOURSE XI. AND JOY AT THE RESURRECTION. 44j 
 
 quities : This thy warfare shall not continue long : 
 Thou shalt find every one of these sins buried with 
 thee in the grave, but they shall rise to assault thee no 
 more. The saint shall leave every sin behind him 
 when he breaks out of the dust at the summons of 
 Christ, and thou shalt find no seeds of iniquity in thy 
 body when it is raised from the grave. ** Holiness 
 to the Lord" shall be inscribed upon all thy powers 
 for ever. 
 
 Or art thou perplexed, O my soul, * at the near 
 prospect of death,' and all the terrors and dismal ap- 
 pearances that surround it? Art thou afraid to lie 
 down in the cold and noisome grave ? Does thy na- 
 ture shudder at it as a gloomy place of horror ? These 
 indeed are the prejudices of sense ; hut the language 
 of faith will tell thee, it is only * God's hiding-place,* 
 where he secures his saints till all the ages of sin and 
 sorrow are overpast. Look forward to the glorious 
 morning when thou shalt rise from the dust among 
 ten thousand of thy fellows, every one in the image of 
 the Son of God, with their *' bodies formed after the 
 likeness of his glorious body," and rejoicing together 
 with divine satisfaction in the pleasure of this heaven 
 ly change. Try whether the meditation of these glo- 
 ries, and the distant prospect of this illustrious day, 
 will scatter all the i^loom that hovers round the grave, 
 and vanquish the fiercest appearances of the king ol 
 terrors. 
 
 What is there, O my soul, among all the miseries 
 thou hast felt, or all that thou fcarest, that can sink 
 thy courage, if the faith of a resurrection be butaliVc 
 and v»akefu!> But this leads me to the 
 
4<i.4 SAFETt IS THE GRAVE, D13GOUHSE XJ- 
 
 Ohs, V. * The saints of God, who are resting in 
 their beds of dust, will arii^e joyfully at the call of 
 their heavenly Father/ *' Thou shalt call, and I will 
 answer thee," said holy Job. The command of God 
 creates life, and gives power to the dead to arise and 
 speak. ' I come, O Lord, I come.' When Jesus, 
 the Son of God, as with the trumpet of an archangel, 
 shall pronounce the word which he spake to Lazarus, 
 '* Arise and come forth," dust and rottenness shall 
 hear the call from heaven, and the clods of corrup- 
 tion all round the earth shall arise into the form of 
 man : The saints shall appear at once and answer to 
 that divine call, arrayed in a glory like that of angels; 
 an illustrious host of martyrs and confessors for the 
 truth ; an army of heroes and valiant sufferers for the 
 name and cause of God and his Son ; an innumerable 
 muhitude of faithful servants who have finished their 
 work, and lay down at rest. 
 
 How shall Adam, the Father of our race, together 
 with the holy men of his day, be surprised, when they 
 shall awake out of their long sleep of five thousand 
 vears ? How shall all the saints of the intermediate 
 ages bieak from their beds of darkness vvith intense 
 delight ? And those who lay down but yesterday in 
 the dust shall start up at once with their early ances- 
 tors, and ansu er to the call of Jesus from one end of 
 time to the other, and from all the ends of the earth. 
 They shall arise together to * meet the Lord in the 
 air, that they n)ay be for ever with the Lord.' 
 
 Never was any voice obeyed with more readiness 
 and joy than the voice or trumpet of the great arch- 
 
DISCOURSE XI. AND JOY AT THE RESURRECTION. 445 
 
 angel, summoning all the children of God to awake 
 from their long slumbers, and to leave their dusty beds 
 behind them, with all the seeds of sin and sorrow, 
 which are buried and lost there for ever. Never did 
 any army on earth march with more speed and plea- 
 sure, at the sound of the trumpet, to attend their gen- 
 eral to a new triumph, than this glorious assembly 
 shall arise to meet their returning Lord, when this 
 last trumpet sounds, and when he shall come the 
 second time in the full glories of his person and his 
 offices, as Lord and Judge of the world, to bring his 
 faithful followers into complete salvation. 
 
 Refiection. Whensoever, O my soul, thou feelest 
 any reluctance to obey the summons of death, encou- 
 rage thy faith, and scatter thy fears, by waiting for 
 the call of God to a blessed resurrection. Jesus him- 
 self lay down in the grave at his Father's command, 
 and he arose with joy at the appointed hour as the 
 head of the new creation, as the first-born from the 
 dead ; and he has orders given him by the Father to 
 summon every saint from their graves at the long ap- 
 pointed hour. Because Jesus arose and lives, they 
 shall arise and live also. O may my flesh lie down 
 in the dust with all courage and composure, and re- 
 joice to escape into a place of rest and silence, far 
 away from the noise and tumult, the hurry and bustle 
 of this present life ; being well assured that the next 
 sound which shall be heard is the voice of the Son 
 of God, *' arise ye dead !" Make haste then, O bless- 
 ed Jesus, and finish thy divine work here on earth • 
 
4i(> SAFETY IN THE GRAVE, DISCOURSE XI. 
 
 I liiy down my head to sleep in the dust, waiting fof" 
 thy call to awake in. the morning. 
 
 Obs, VI. * God takes delight in his works of na- 
 ture, but much more when they are dignified and 
 adorned by the operations of divine grace.' ** Thou 
 V. ilt have a desire," saith the good man in my text, 
 ** to the work of thy own hands." Thou hast mould- 
 ed me and fashioned me at first by thy power, thou 
 hast new created me by thy spirit, and though thou 
 hidest me for a season in one of thy secret chambers 
 of death, thou wilt raise me again to light and life, 
 '' and in my flesh shall I sec God." 
 
 When the Almighty had created this visible world, 
 he surveyed his works on the seventh day, and pro- 
 nounced them all good^ and he took delight in them 
 all before sin entered and dcfded them : And when 
 he has delivered the creatures of his power from the 
 bondage of corruption, and has purged our souls and 
 our bodies from sin and from every evil principle, he 
 will again delight in the sons and daughters of Adam 
 whom he has thus cleansed and refined by his sove-- 
 reign grace, and has qualified and adorned them for 
 his mvn presence : ** lie will sing and rejoice over 
 ihem, and rest in his love," Zcphan. iii. 17. 
 
 He will love to see them with his Son Jesus at their 
 head, disusing holiness and glory through all his 
 members. Jesus the Redeemer will love to see them 
 round him for he has bought them with his blood, 
 and they are a treasure too precious to be for ever 
 lost. He will rejoice to behold them rising at his 
 call into a splendour like his ovrn, and they " shall be 
 
DISCOURSE XI. AND JOY AT THE RESURRIXTION. 417 
 
 satisfied when they awake" from death ** into his like- 
 ness," and appear in the image of his own glorious 
 body, fit heirs for the inheritance of heaven, fit com- 
 panions for the blessed angels of light, and prepared 
 to dwell for ever with himself. 
 
 Reflection, And shall not we w ho arc the work of 
 his hands have a desire to him that made us ? To him 
 that redeemed us? To him that has new created and 
 moulded us into his own likeness ? Do we not lono: to 
 see him? Have we not a desire to be witli him, even 
 though we should be *' absent from the body" for a 
 season ? But much more should we delight to think 
 of being " present with the Lord," when our whole 
 natures, body and soul, shall appear as the new work- 
 manship of Almighty powder ; our souls new created 
 in the image of God, and our bodies new born from 
 the dead, into a life of immortality. 
 
 VII. The last observation is of a very general na- 
 ture, and spreads itself through all my text, and that 
 is, * how much are we indebted to God for the reve- 
 lation of the New Testament, which teaches us to 
 find out the blessings which are contained in the Old, 
 and to fetch out the glories and treasures which are 
 concealed there V The writers of the gospel have not 
 only pointed us to the rich mines where these trea- 
 sures lie, but have brought forth many of the jewels 
 and set them before us. It is this gospel that " brings 
 life and immortality to light by Jesus Christ," 2 Tim. 
 i. 10. It is this gospel that scatters the gloom and 
 darkness which was spread over the face of the grave, 
 and illuminates all the chambers of deatli. ^Vho 
 
448 SAFETY IN THE GRAVE, DISCOURSE XI. 
 
 could have found out the doctrine of the resurrection 
 contained in that word of grace given to Abrahann, 
 ** I am thy God," if Jesus, the great prophet, had 
 not taught us to explain it thus, Matth. xxii. 31? 
 '* God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.'' 
 We who have the happiness to live in the days of 
 the Messiah, know more than all the ancient prophets 
 were acquainted with, and understand the word of 
 their prophecies better than they themselves ; for 
 '' they searched what or what manner of time the 
 spirit of Christ, which was in them, did signify, when 
 it testified before hand the sufferings of Christ, and 
 the glory which should follow," 1 Pet. i. 11. But 
 we read all this fairly written in the gospel. Do you 
 think that good David could have explained some of 
 his own Psalms into so divine a sense, or Isaiah given 
 such a bright account of his own words of prophecy, 
 as St. Paul has done in several places of the New 
 Testament, where he cites and unfolds them ? Could 
 those illustrious ancients have given us such * abun- 
 dant consolation and hope through the Scriptures,* 
 which they themselves ' wrote aforetime,' as this 
 Apostle has done, Rom. xv. 4. Do you think Job 
 could have read us such a lecture on his own ex- 
 pressions in this text, or in that bright prophecy in 
 the xixth chapter, as the very meanest among the 
 ministers of the gospel can do by the help of the New 
 Testament ? For in point of clear discoveries of di- 
 vine truths and graces, <^ the least in the kingdom of 
 the Messiah is greater than John the Baptist and all 
 the prophets," and our blessed Jesus has told us so, 
 
OISCOURSE Xr. AND JOY AT THE RESURRECTION. 449 
 
 Matth. xi. 11. 13. And by the aid and influences 
 of his spirit we may be taught yet further to search 
 into these hidden mines of grace, and bring forth new 
 treasures of glory. 
 
 Refectioji. Awake, O my soul, and bless the Lord 
 with all thy powers, and give thanks with holy joy 
 for the gospel of his Son Jesus. It is Jesus by his 
 rising from the dead has left a divine light upon tlie 
 gates of the grave, and scattered much of the dark- 
 ness that surrounded it. It is the gospel of Christ 
 which casts a glory even upon the bed of death, and 
 spreads a brightness upon the graves of the saints in 
 the lively views of a great rising-day. O blessed 
 and surprising prospect of faith ! O illustrious scenes 
 of future vision and transport ! When the Son of God 
 shall bring forth to public view all his redeemed ones, 
 who had been long hidden in night and dust, and 
 shall present them all to God the Father in his owri 
 image, bright and holy, and unblemished, in the 
 midst of all the splendors of the resurrection ! O 
 blessed and joyful voice, when he shall say with di- 
 vine pleasure, " Here am I, and the children which 
 thou hast given me :" ' We have both passed through 
 the grave, and I have made them all conquerors of 
 death, and vested them with immortality according 
 to thy divine commission ! Thine they ivere^ O Ydi- 
 ih^T^ and thou hast ghcn them into my hands, and 
 behold I have brought them all safe to thy appointed 
 mansions, and I present them before thee without 
 spot or blemish.' 
 
 And many a parent of a pious household in that 
 day, when they shall see their sons and their dauglu 
 
4o0 SAFETY IN THE GKAVE, &C. DISCOURSE XI, 
 
 ters around them, all arrayed with the beams of the 
 Son of righteousness, shall echo with holy joy to the 
 voice of the blessed Jesus, **Lord, here am I, and 
 the children which thou hast given me." ' I was 
 afraid, as Job once might be when his friends sug- 
 gested this fear ; I was afraid that my children had 
 rAnned against God y and he had cast them a^w ay for 
 their transgression : But I am now convinced, when 
 he seized them from my sight, he only took them out 
 of the way of temptation and danger, and concealed 
 them for a season in his safe hiding-place: I mourn- 
 ed in the day-time for a lost son or a lost daughter, 
 and in the night my couch was bedewed with my 
 tears : I was scared with midnight dreams on their 
 account, and the visions of the grave terrified me 
 because my children were there: I gave up myself 
 to sorrow for fear of the displeasure of my God both 
 against them and against me; But how unreasona- 
 ble were these sorrows ? How groundless were my 
 fears ? How gloriously am I disappointed this bless- 
 ed morning ? I see my dear offspring called out of 
 that long retreat where God had concealed them, and 
 they arise to meet the divine call. I hear them an- 
 swering with joy to the happy summons. My eyes 
 behold them risen in the image of m.y God and their 
 God : they are near me, they stand with me at the 
 right hand of the Judge ; now shall we rejoice toge- 
 ther in the sentence of eternal blessedness from the 
 lips of my Lord and their Lord, my Redeemer and 
 their Redeemer.' Amen. 
 
A SPEECH OVER A GRAVP. 451 
 
 Among my papers I ha'ue found a speech spoken at a 
 grai)ey ivbicb I transcribed almost fifty years ago, 
 and whic/j deser'ues to be saved from perishing. It 
 %\) as pronounced many years before at the funeral of 
 a pious person, by a minister there present, supposed 
 to be the Re'D, Mr, Peter S terry ; and the subject of 
 it beifig suited to this discourse, I thought it not im- 
 proper to prescribe it here, 
 
 *' CHRISTIAN friends, though sin be entered 
 into the world, and by sin death, and so death passed 
 upon all men, for that all have sinned ; yet it seems 
 not wholly suitable to our Christian hope, to stand 
 by and see the grave with open mouth take in, and 
 swallow down any part of a precious saint, and not 
 bring some testimony against the devourer. And, 
 yet that our witness may be in righteousness, we 
 must first own, acknowledge, and accept of that 
 good and serviceableness that is in it. 
 
 *' For through the death and resurrection of our 
 dear Redeemer, death and the grave are become 
 sweetened to us, and sanctified for us : So that as 
 death is but a sleep, the grave through his lying 
 down in it and rising again, is become as a bed of 
 repose to them that are in him, and a safe and quiet 
 hiding-place for his saints till the resurrection. 
 
 ** And in this respect we do for ourselves, and for 
 this our dearly beloved in the Lord, accept of thee, 
 O grave, and readily deliver up her body to thee ; 
 it is a body that hath been weakened and wearied 
 with long affliction and anguish, v.p freelv ehe '-^. un^ 
 
452 A 3PEECII OVLH A GRAVE, 
 
 to thee ; receive it, and let it have in tlicc..a quiet 
 rest from all its hibours ; for thus we read it written 
 of thee, there the ivicked cease from troubling^ and 
 there the weary be at rest. 
 
 ** Besides, it is, O grave, a body that hath been 
 sweetly embahiied by a virtuous, pious, peaceable 
 conversation, by several inward openings and out- 
 pourings of the spirit of life, by much patience and 
 meekness in strong trials and afflictions : Receive it, 
 and let it enjoy thee, what was once deeply impress- 
 ed on her own heart, and in a due season written out 
 with her own hand, a sabbath in the grave : for thus 
 also we find it recorded of our Lord and her Lord, that 
 enjoyed the rest of his last sabbath in the grave. 
 
 "But we know thee, O grave, to be also a de- 
 vourer, and yet we can freely deliver up the body 
 into thee. 
 
 *' There was in it a contracted corruptibility, dis- 
 honour and weakness ; take them as thy proper prey, 
 they belong to thee, and we would not with-hold 
 them from thee : Freely swallow them up for ever, 
 that they may appear no more. 
 
 ** Yet know% O grave, there is in the body,. consi- 
 dered as once united to such a soul, a divine relation 
 ^o the Lord of life ; and this thou must not, thou 
 canst not dissolve or destroy. But know, and even 
 before thee, and over thee be it spoken, that therfc is 
 a season hastening wherein we shall expect it again 
 hom thee in incorruption, honour and power. 
 
 " We now sow it into thee in dishonour, but expect 
 it again T''^tnrn<"d from thee in glory ; we now sow \- 
 
A SPEECH OVER A GRAVE. 453 
 
 ^into thee in weaknessj we expect it again in power ; 
 we now sow it into thee a natural body^ we look for 
 it again from thee a spiritual body, 
 
 " And when thou hast fulfilled that end for which 
 the Prince of life, who took thee captive, made thee 
 to serve, then shalt thou who hast devoured be thy- 
 self also swallowed up ; for thus it is written of thee, 
 death, I will be thy plague^ gra^oe^ 1 will be thy 
 destruction. And then we shall sing over thee what 
 also is written of thee, O deaths where is now thy 
 sting? O grave, where is now thy victory F Amen." 
 
 2iote. A line or two is altered in this speech, to suit it more to the 
 understanding and the sense of the present a.g;e. 
 
 END OF VOLUME r. 
 
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