A Spiritual Antidote Against Sinful Contagion, Treatise 1 · Duty 3
DUTY III.
A Consequent and fruit of this, Will be victory Overcoming the fears of Death.over the fears of Death. Hath God delivered you from the hurt and sting of Death, and will you remain under the fears of Death? Have you been praying, to be fit to die; and hearing, that you may be fit to die; and yet so afraid of it?
Fears of Death in Gods People, argues.
First, Three Aggravations of the fears of Death.Great Folly.
1. It is Folly to desire to live in a strange Countrey, rather then go home to your Fathers House.
2. To prefer Trouble and Sorrow, before a place of Rest and Joy.
3. To prefer Thraldom before Liberty, Death knocks off all our fetters of Sin and Corruption.
4. To take up with little measures of Grace and Love to God, when by Death, we might have Perfection.
Secondly, Great Weakness.
1. It argues Weakness of our love to God and Christ. Is this your love to Christ, to be more afraid then desirous to go to him? Doth not Love labor after Ʋnion? And do you not desire to be with them, whom you love?
2. It argues weakness of hope of Heaven and Eternal Life.
Thirdly, Great Wickedness.
1. In that it implies, That you are not yet weary of sinning: And what have you so oft wept for sin, and smarted for sin; and will not Death yet be welcome, that would release you from it?
2. It argues Great Hypocrisie and Dissimulation with God, and before Men. Have you not prayed sometimes, That you might be willing to die? And in some Prayers and Duties, have desired to be dissolved? And when God sends, are you unwilling to go?
3. It argues Great Sloathfulness and neglect of precious time; and mis-improving the means of Grace, and the several Providences of God to wean you from this World?
That you may overcome the fears of Death, How to overcome the fears of Death. Direct. I.take these Directions.
Let it be your care to prepare dJob 14. 14.for death: If Death come before you are ready, it will be terrible; when you must say, Oh! Lord, must I die, though not ready! Must I leave this World, though I do not see my self prepared for a better? Do you not live to prepare to What care to take to prepare for Deathdie? Let it be (1) your prime and first care. Before you take care to get any thing in this world, take care how you may safely and comfortably leave it. (2) Let it be your daily and constant care: You may die to day; therefore provide for death to day. (3) Let it be your greatest and most diligent care: For the order, let it be the first; for duration, constant; for the measure, great. There are great things that are to be one in order to our comfortable departure out of this World. A great God, to get reconciled; great sins, to get subdued and pardoned. Great oppositions from Satan and the World, to be resisted; and such great things will not be done with a little care. Death is a great change, you must change Time for Eternity; Earth for Heaven or Hell; your company upon Earth, for society of Saints or Devils, in another World. And doth not such a great change, call for great care and preparations.
And if you would be prepared; First, Die to How to prepare for Deathsin; if you would not fear Death when it comes, fear sin while you live; the sting of Death is sin. He that is dead in sin, and feareth not Death; it is because his minde is blinde, and his heart is hard: But he that is dead to sin, hath cause to look upon Death with courage, and embrace it with joy.
Secondly, Live to God ePhil. 1. 31 Direct II, take heed of walking loosly, carnally, vainly.
If you would overcome the fears of Death; get a great measure of Grace, and be much in the Exercise of it. The more grace, and exercise, the less fears; especially labor (1) for a strong Faith, that with its piercing eye, it may look beyond temporal death, to eternal life; and beyond a grave, to a joyful resurrection. (2) A strong burning love, longing after Gods presence. (3) A lively hope, of an incorruptible, never fading Crown.
Be much in the fore-thoughts and meditation Dir. III.of Death: Few consider their latter end before it come; and therefore fear it when it comes. Abhor that frame of heart that some express, when they say of a thing, They thought not of, no more then the day of their Death.
Get right apprehensions of Death; do not Dir. IV.look upon it, onelyonly as a debt due to nature; nor onelyonly as a punishment due to sinners; but as a priviledge granted to Believers; as that which is part of your Christian Charter, 1 Cor. 3. 22. Death is yours. For which purpose consider, That there are Ten evils you shall never be delivered from, till you die.
1. Not from the ignorance there is in your Ten things we shall never be delivered from, till we die.mindes. There are many things we understand not lumine naturae, by the light of nature, which we do lumine gratiae, by the light of grace. And many things we understand not lumine gratiae, the light of grace, which we shall lumine gloriae, by the light of glory, 1 Cor. 13. 9, 10, 11, 12.
2. Nor from the vanity of your thoughts. You will in this life have low and too irreverent thoughts of God, in your most solemn approaches unto him.
3. Nor from the total perverseness of your will. And though the inclination of the Will is towards God, and its choice is of God for his portion and its happiness; yet the disobedience of the Will is taken away but in part till you die.
4. Nor from the turbulent motions of your Affections. Your love is not now pure love, and your joy is now too much in carnal outward things, then all in God and Christ. Now hatred is exorbitant; and anger, is unruly; and desires, are extravigant: None of all this, the very moment after Death.
5. Nor from the Pollution of your Conscience. Though it be washed, yet you still defile it.
6. Nor from the frailty of your memory. You now forget oftentimes the love of your Lord, and many of his kindnesses to your Soul.
7. Nor from the war in your members. The contrary principles in a Believers heart can never be in esse quieto, at true quiet. Now you would often do good, but you are hindered, Gal. 5. 17. Rom. 7. 18, 21. When you would delight your self in God, and solace your self in the forethoughts and foretastes of Heaven, you are hindered.
8. Nor from the temptations of the Devil. Do not you finde him busie with you in every place, and nibbling at your heart in every duty? Oh my Friends! Death will set you out of his reach.
9. Nor from an insufficiency for the managing of your duties. Now you complain you cannot pray to God, but in Heaven you shall never say you cannot praise him.
10. Nor from a liableness to Death. The same day you live, the same day you may die; but after death, you shall no more be liable to die: Nay, when you have got above the slavish fears of death, yet the natural fears of Death will remain, till by death you put off this natural body.
Secondly, That you might perceive Death to be a priviledge, consider there are Five great things you cannot have till you die.
1. Till you die, you cannot have the beatifical Five things we cannot have, till we die.vision.
2. Nor perfection of grace. While you live, you are to grow in grace; but you will not be perfect till you die.
3. Nor perfect satisfaction and contentment of heart. In every state you will here finde something to imbitter it; and in the Creatures fulness, you will finde an emptiness.
4. Nor society with spotless Angels and Saints.
5. Nor the crown of glory, for that is reserved for you, till you go into another World.
Be much in the meditation of the death of Direct. V.Christ. You might have trembled at the thoughts of Death, if Christ had never died: The efficacy of this cure will be experimented, if you believingly consider.
1. That Christ by death hath destroyed dHeb. 2. 14, 15. Seven particulars, how Christs death cures our fears of Death.him that had the power of death; that is, the Devil.
2. That Christ by death hath overcome the power of death, as well as him that had the power of death. Christ hath turned the Serpent into a Rod: It is indeed but a Rod, and will you fear a disarmed Enemy, a weaponless Adversary, a Serpent without a sting?
3. That Christ hath sanctified death and the grave unto us. Christ knows what it is to go through the gates of death; and he knows how to pitty you, when you are to do that work which you must do indeed but once.
4. That Christ by his death hath delivered you from spiritual death. He killed your sin, by the application of his death unto your Soul.
5. That Christ by his death, hath delivered you from eternal death. You die temporally, but yet you shall not die eternally. Let them fear death, that must die after death: That must for ever roar, and howl, and lament, amongst the cursed crue of damned souls.
6. That Christ by his death hath pacified God, whose anger is worse then death, and peace with him, is enough to sweeten it. If God be not angry with you, when you come to die, what hurt can Death do unto you?
7. That Christ by his death hath purchased for you eternal life; and shall temporal death be Dir. VI. How to get right apprehensions of the World. 1. By diminishing the seeming excellencies of it.more dreaded, then eternal life be desired by you?
Get right apprehensions of this World, in which you now live, and the nature of all things contained therein. We have over-valuing thoughts of this World, and that makes us so loth to leave it. Oh that we could esteem it but according to its worth!
First, Consider the seeming excellencies of this World, as, riches, honor, relations, beauty.
1. Consider their Transitoriness.
2. The unsuitableness of the things of this World.
First, To your Soul, which is (1) immortal, these temporary. (2) Your Soul immaterial, these corporeal. (3) Your Soul capable of an infinite Good, these but finite. So that it was a demonstration of the folly of the rich man in the Gospel, Luk. 12. 19, 20. who spake of his riches, as if they had been soul-riches; but God convinced him of his folly, by giving Devils leave to fetch away his soul, and others to take the possession of his goods, which could not go with him into eternity; but he did, must leave behinde him.
Secondly, To your new-man; not onelyonly to our Souls considered as a constitutive part of man, but unsuitable to the renewed part. If your Soul, as natural, cannot feed upon these things, muchless, as renewed: But the promises of the Gospel, the priviledges of the covenant of Grace, the joys of the Holy Ghost, communion with God, are things suitable unto a renewed Soul; and should the losing of these things, make us unwilling to leave the World.
3. The commonness of these things; they are given to the wicked, as well as to the godly. God gives great riches to some, to whom he doth not give the least degree of grace here, he will never admit into his glory hereafter. Riches never were in themselves a demonstration of Gods special and peculiar love to men in this World, nor an evidence of their salvation in another. But Grace, and Christ, and Pardon of sin, are peculiar fruits of Gods special love to you now, and a pledge, that he will save you when you die. You may have riches, and yet be damned; and honors, and yet be damned; and beauty of body, and gifts of minde, and yet be damned: For all these are common unto Reprobates.
4. The unusefulness of worldly things, in the time of your greatest need. They cannot keep sickness from your Body, nor terrors from your Soul, nor your Body from the Grave, nor your Soul from Hell; they may make you worse, but cannot make you better. That is best, that comforts your heart, and supports your spitits, when Death looks you in the face. Now lay all together, and get a right apprehension of the best things in this World: And what can you see in them, to make you loth to leave them; or afraid of death, because it will deprive you of them.
Secondly, To help you to a right discovery of 2. By shewing the real inconveniencies of it.this World; consider, what are the real inconveniences of it, and the lively representations thereof; which duly weighed, will diminish your love to it, and consequently quell your fears of leaving of it.
1. This World is a Wilderness, but Heaven is our Canaan; and will you be afraid to leave a Wilderness, to be possessed of the Promised Land. Now this World is a Wilderness; (1) In regard of the wants we are pinched with, while we are in it. Did ever God set you in that condition, that you could say, you wanted nothing. I am sure he never did, and I am sure, he never will. Sometimes you have wanted health of Body, and sometimes peace of Conscience, and true content: If not these, yet you always want more love to God, and delight, and joy in God. (2.) In regard of the dangers you are exposed unto, while you are in it. A Wilderness is full of Pits, and Snares, and venomous Serpents, and wilde Beasts: So this World is full of Snares and Temptations. You are in danger of a tempting Devil, of a seducing World, and of being diverted from the holy ways of God, by your own corrupt, deceitful hearts. (3) In regard of liableness, to lose your self, as a man easily loseth his way in a Wilderness. How often do you lose your warmth of Affection; your actual zeal for God; your comforts, and your peace of Conscience, in a Wood of worldly business; in the Thickets of worldly affairs; in the Briers and Thorns of worldly cares; that sometimes you have not opportunity to recollect with your self, what you are, and whether you are going? (4) In regard of the uncomfortableness of this World, it is a Wilderness; were it not that you had a God to comfort you, and a Bible to refresh you, and the Spirit of God to apply promises unto you; what an uncomfortable place would this World be?
2. This World is a very Pest-house, a place of great Infection; where you converse with men daily that have Plague-sores upon their Souls, as now upon their Bodies; and sin is more loathsome and more catching then the Plague. When the Plague is in the City, how many are willing to remove into the Countrey for their preservation? Or would a man that hath been cured in the Pest-house, be unwilling to leave the company of things that are yet infected? God hath cured you in part of the Plague of your heart; and will you be afraid to be removed from among the diseased, into your Fathers House, where all are well, and no infection of sin remaining?
3. This World is a Plague of worse then Egyptian Bondage, where we have many cruel Task-masters, that do double our drudgeries; As,
First, The World it self, it makes us work in Clay: The Egyptians had power over the Bodies of the Israelites, but the World doth inthral our Will, and our Affections, and so is worse.
Secondly, The Devil, who though we make too great a Tally of sins and transgressions, yet still sollicites us to double our number.
Thirdly, Our own Lusts do impose upon us; and when we do yield unto them once, they are the more eager and impetuous. The more we do obey, the more they do require and exact.
Fourthly, An erroneous Conscience exacting sometimes what God requites not, and when God doth not require it.
4. This World is a very Sodom, abounding with Pride, fulness of Bread, and Idleness; and yet shall we (with Lot) be so unwilling to leave this World, that he might bring us unto Zoar!
5. This World is a place where the dead lie among the living; where those that are dead in sin, do walk among those that live a life of Grace. You cannot go along the streets, but you meet with walking ghosts; nay, in your self, a dead man tied to a living man; the old man yet within you, though you are in part renewed. And are you so much afraid, that Death should translate you out of such a place into a better, infinitely better!
Familiarize Death to your self, by representing Dir. VII.it to your minde, under the easiest notions. This hath been usual with the holy men of God, in-Scripture, to set forth Death by the resemblance
1. Of a Sleep. And who is afraid, or loth at Death's a sleep.night, to go to sleep, when he hath been at hard labor all the day? Children indeed might cry when they are to go to bed. Sleep is the shadow of Death, Joh. 11. 11. 1 Thes. 4. 13, 14. 1 Cor. 6. 18. Death is but the putting off your old rags. 2 Cor. 5. 2, 3, 4. When Men go to sleep, they leave their wealth in some other place; their Lands and Houses are elswhere. You take not your Gold into your Bed, so neither must you into your Grave. The putting out of your Candle, as the expiration of your life; you are covering you with cloaths, as the covering of your Body with the Mold of the Earth, And in the morning when you awake, think of the Resurrection when your Body shall be raised; and be then,
First, A strong and powerful Body: Secondly, Seven properties of the Body at the Resurrection.Immortal: Thirdly, Quick and active: Fourthly, Spiritual: Fifthly, Beautiful: Sixthly, Impassible, no more subject to hunger and cold, &c. Seventhly, Glorious, like to Christs. As after sleep, you are refreshed and lively; so after Death, will your Body be at the Resurrection.
2. Death is represented by Rest. Death is a Death's a rest from three things.Sleep, and the Grave your Bed.
First, Death is a resting from the burden of sin: Remember nothing but Death can part you and sin.
Secondly, A resting from your worldly labors in this life; there the Servant is at rest, Job 3. 19.
Thirdly, A resting from guilt, and apprehensions of Gods wrath. Guilt is wearisome, and doubts are toilsome.
3. Death is represented by a Departing: The Death's our Exodus.same word is used to signifie, The going out of this World; as is the name of the Second Book of Moses, which treats of the Children of Israels going out of Egypt, foreign. 2 Pet. 1. 15. Simeon and Paul looked upon Death but as a departure, Luk. 2. 29. Phil. 1. 23.
An holy life. Walk close with God while you Dir. VIIIlive, as you will wish you had done, when you come to die. Suppose your self sometimes in a dying condition, and ask your self, If I were now a dying, what would my Conscience accuse me of? and that forbear now. And what should I wish I had done? and do that now. Isai. 38. 2, 3. When Hezekiah had received the message of Death, it comforted him, that with appeal to God, he could say, Lord, now remember how I have walked before thee with an upright heart. But it will terrifie you to think, Now the Lord remembers against me, a dying man, the formality or omission of my secret duties: The Lord remembers against me, my Pride and Passion: This will gall your Conscience. Take heed when you come to die, Conscience might not have just cause, with roaring, to cry out, Alass, I have mispent my time! I have not done the work that God committed to my hands! A strict and holy life, will bring you to an happy, and a comfortable death.
Thus have I more largely insisted upon the cure of your fears of Death; which is a grievous bondage to such as are filled with them, And, Oh how becoming the Gospel, would it be for Christians to go with humble boldness about their duty, though Death doth look them in the face? That the World may see there is something you hope and look for, that Death cannot strip you off. If you do but live in the consciencious practice of these Directions, I am perswaded you will finde the Fears of Death (in these dying days) to be much abated.