The Christians Defense Against the Fears of Death, Chapter 5
CHAP. 5.
Why we are yet ſubject to the Corporal or Natural Death, and what advantage we do thereby receive in Jeſus Chriſt.
THe wiſe King teacheth us in the 9 of the Eccleſiaſtes, That the ſame accident happens to all to the righteous and to the wicked, and to the clean, and to the polluted, to him that ſacrificeth, and to him that ſacrificeth not. Theſe words are to be underſtood of the ſeveral afflictions unto which we are expoſed, during this mortal life; but we may apply it to the Natural Death, for it is appointed unto all once to dye, and after that the judgement follows, Heb. 9. By one man ſin is entred into the World, and by Sin Death, and thus Death is come upon all men, becauſe they have all ſinned, Rom. 5, Therefore when Joſhua felt himſelf feeble and decaying, he told the Children of Iſrael, That he was going the way of all fleſh. Joſh. 23. and Job complains unto God, I know that thou wilt reduce me to death, and to the houſe appointed for all living. Job 30. It was upon this ſubject that the Royal Prophet was exerciſing his Meditation, when he cryed out, Who is he that liveth and ſhall not ſee death, ſhall he free his ſoul from the power of the Grave? Eccleſ. 12. And to ſpeak in the language of Salomon, or ever the Silver Cord be looſed, or the Golden Bowl be broken, or the Pitcher be broken at the Fountain, or the Wheel broken at the Ciſtern. That is to ſay, The Back-bone, whereof the Marrow is as white as Silver be unlooſed, when the Scull, which is like a precious veſſel of Gold, be broken, when the Vena Cava receives no more Bloud from the Liver, the fountain of Life, when the Lights that draw in and puſh forth the breath, move no more; or when the Kidneys that extract the humidity from the Veins, and cauſe it to drop down into the Bladder, as into a Ciſtern, begin to fail, Then ſhall the Body return to the Earth as it was, and the Spirit ſhall return unto God who gave it.
To expreſs unto us this inevitable fate, Moſes reckons up all the antient Fathers, that have lived longeſt in the firſt world; he mentions ſome who lived 700, others 800, others 900 years, and ſome near a thouſand, Gen. 5. But when he hath well ſpoken of their deeds, and of the Children which they left in the world; he adds in the concluſion of all, And then ſuch an one died; So that our Creator doth execute upon all men, the Sentence once pronounced againſt Adam, the Father of all Mankind; Duſt thou art, and to duſt thou ſhalt return, Gen. 3.
By this means God declares his Juſtice and Truth, and accompliſheth what was ſignified by the antient Types, Levit. 14. For according to the Laws which God gave to Iſrael by Moſes, the houſe that was infected with the Leper, was to be demoliſhed and caſt into a noiſome place; There was a far more important reaſon for mans body to be deſtroy'd, and laid in the Sepulchre, becauſe he was created to be the Palace of the living God, the Dwelling of his Glory; But Sin that is a kind of infectious Leper, hath inſinuated it ſelf, and disfigured it; it hath entred the Skin, corrupted the Blood, diſordered the Spirits; it is crept into the Joynts and Marrow, and hath ſpeard its venom in ſuch a manner, that there is none of our Members, but is an inſtrument of iniquity and unrighteouſneſs, Rom. 6.
For the ſame reaſon, we cannot ſufficiently admire the difference that God had put between the Veſſel that were clean, and ſuch as were unclean; for he commanded, that the earthen Veſſel that was infected ſhould be broken to pieces, Levit. 11. but that ſuch as were of a more precious ſubſtance, ſhould be only waſht with water and purified with fire. Numb. 11. The Commands and Laws of the great God, are excellent Commentaries upon his actions; our Soul is like a Golden Veſſel, becauſe it is of a Spiritual and Heavenly ſubſtance; therefore God doth not altogether deſtroy it, although it be infected with ſin, but cauſeth it to be waſhed and cleanſed at the fountain of his infinite mercy; he purifies it with the blood of his Son, and cauſes it to paſs through the fire of his Holy Spirit; but for this miſerable Body, that is but an earthly Veſſel and Tabernacle, he doth break it to pieces, and reduce it to duſt and aſhes. It is my judgement, that death is an excellent means to demonſtrate the infinite power of our great God and Saviour; for the greater the diſeaſe is, the more admirable is the Cure; without doubt the finger of God, and his infinite power, is far more viſible in raiſing one man from the dead, than in preſerving many thouſands alive.
As God is wont to draw light out of darkneſs, ſo he makes uſe of death to cauſe his infinite wiſdom to ſhine and appear to all his Creatures. Sin hath brought forth death, and death on the contrary, by a moſt fortunate paricide, kills and deſtroys its Parent Sin, for it is Death that totally roots out of our Souls all corrupt affections.
Moreover, God, who is the ſame yeſterday, to day, and for ever, Heb. 13. will have all his Children paſs through the ſame path, to take poſſeſſion of his eternal Inheritance, and enter by the ſame Gate into his Royal Palace; All the faithful of the Old Teſtament are gone already this way, through many tribulations, Acts 24. they are arrived to the kingdom of God, and through death they are come to the abode of life and immortality. The Holy Scriptures that are inſpired of God tell us, That the Reubenites, and half of the Tribe of Manaſſeth, Numb. 32. Joſh. 1. left their dwellings which they had beyond Jordan, to go over and fight in the Army of Iſrael, and that they did not offer to return, until God had given reſt to their brethren, and put them into a peaceable poſſeſſion of their inheritances; If I may make ſome ſtop, at ſuch an excellent Allegory, I may ſay that theſe paſſages repreſent unto us a lively image of the faithful that dye before the end of the world, for they leave their bodies, the abode and dwellings of their ſouls, and they paſs through death, as through another Jordan into the Celeſtial Canaan, to encounter with God by their Prayers, in the ſociety of the firſt-born, whoſe names are regiſtred in Heaven, and they will not return to the bodies, that they have quitted, until the number of the Saints be compleat, until the building of the Church be finiſhed, and until our great Joſhua hath introduced us into his Eternal Reſt, and put us in poſſeſſion of the incorruptible inheritance reſerved for us in Heaven; Then we ſhall not need to fight, but to enjoy peaceably the fruits of our victories, and to reſt for ever from all our labours. We ſhall have no cauſe to offer unto God Prayers and Supplications, but our buſineſs ſhall be to ſing unto him Praiſes and eternal Thankſgivings.
The ſtrongeſt and the moſt conſiderable Reaſon in my judgement, of this our deſtiny is, That God hath predeſtinated us to be comformable to the image of his Son, that he might be the firſt-born among many brethren; he will have us baptized with his Baptiſme, that we drink in his Cup, and that we enter into Bliſs by that ſame Gate, through which he hath already paſt through Shame and Diſgrace he is arrived to Glory, and through Death he is aſcended into life; he hath drunk of the bitter waters, before that he hath taſted of the Rivers of Celeſtial Joys, and he is gone down into the Grave before he would mount up to the right hand of God.
Although it is appointed unto all men once to dye, Heb. 9. I dare maintain that death hath no cauſe to boaſt it ſelf, and that it cannot ſing Songs of Triumph with any Reaſon, becauſe that it looſeth the moſt glorious and happieſt victory; for we read in the Book of Eſther, that King Ahaſuerus would not aboliſh nor recal the Proclamation that he had ſet forth againſt the Jews, but that he gave them full liberty to take up Arms to defend themſelves, to attack their Enemies, and to make them ſuffer all the evils that they intended againſt them: I find ſomething like unto this proceeding, for God would not call back the ſentence of Death that he had pronounced againſt Mankind, in the Garden of Eden; nevertheleſs he allows us, nay he commands his true Iſrael to take up Arms againſt Death, to conquer and trample it under feet.
In the firſt place, Jeſus Chriſt who is our head, hath encountered with Death, and conquered it, he hath purſued it into its Trenches, and overcome it in its own Fortification; Death thought to have devoured him, but it hath been devoured it ſelf; as the Fiſhes are taken by the Hook that they think to ſwallow; and as the Bees do hurt thoſe whom they ſting, and doe greater harm to themſelves; for they cauſe but a preſent pain in our body, and a heat that ſoon ceaſeth, but it cauſeth to it ſelf greater damage, for it breaks its ſting and looſeth thereby its life. Thus Death by fixing its ſting in the Humanity of Jeſus Chriſt, hath put him to a great deal of pain for a time, but it hath thereby loſt all ſtrength, vigor, and ſting, by this means.
The men of Juda to ſatisfy the furious Philiſtins, delivered into their hands Sampſon, bound with Ropes, when they ſaw him, the Philiſtins gave ſeveral joyful ſhouts, but the Spirit of God came upon him in ſuch a manner, that he tore in pieces the two Ropes wherewith he was bound, and overcame them by whom he was led away priſoner, and kill'd a thouſand of them. Thus the miſerable Jews for fear of the Romans, deliver'd unto them our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, their Brother according to the fleſh, bound like a Malefactor: when Hell ſaw him nailed to the Croſs, and afterwards laid in a Grave, it did wonderfully rejoyce the Devil and his Angels began to ſing Songs of Triumph. But it was altogether unpoſſible, that the Prince of Life ſhould be detained in the Priſons of Death; he hath not only broken out of the Grave by his infinite power, but he hath alſo trampled under feet all his moſt furious enemies, and overcame millions of infernal Fiends; and to declare how Life and Death were in his power, he hath Commanded Death, when he was, as it were a priſoner, ſhut up in its Dungeon. He hath broke open the Gates of this black priſon, and torn in pieces all its Fetters, for when he was yet in his Grave, he raiſed to life many that were dead, who were ſeen in the Holy City, and yet at preſent he holds in his hand the keys of Death, and of Hell: Therefore, as Children do rejoyce at their Fathers Victory, and as the Subjects are concerned at the proſperous proceedings of their King, and as the Members are the better for the Glory and Honor of their Head; thus we may juſtly glory in the moſt notable Victories, and famous Triumphs of Jeſus Chriſt, who is our Father, King, and Head we may alſo juſtly glory, that we are Lords of Death, and that we have overcome it in the perſon of our Great God and Saviour; I ſay this after the Apoſtle St. Paul, That God hath quickened us together, and raiſed us together, and made us ſit together in Heavenly places with Jeſus Chriſt, Eph. 2.
Moreover, as our Saviour hath once overcome Death for us, he continues to overcome it in and by us; he doth not ſuffer us to encounter with our enemies alone, nor doth he leave us in time of need; but as in a day of Battel, a wiſe and provident General hath an eye in every place, and encourages by his action and voice, his Soldiers whom he perceives at handy-blows with the Enemy, ſome he loads with praiſes, others with promiſes, by that means he encourageth ſuch as behave themſelves bravely; reſcues the weak and feeble, and to ſuch as are over-born, he furniſhes them with freſh Supplies; Thus deals with us our Lord and Saviour Jeſus Chriſt the great God of Hoſts, who ſits above in the Heavens in his triumphal Chariot, and beholds all our combats and encounters; when he perceives us too weak, that we might not be overcome by our moſt dreadful Enemies, he furniſheth us with his Holy Spirit, and his own Armor, as Jonathan did to David, when he deliver'd to him his Cloak, his Bow, his Belt and Sword; beſides this merciful Saviour diſarms Death of its moſt hurtful weapons, and takes away all its Arrows and Darts.
As the ſtrength and power of Sampſon did lodge in the hair of his Head, which the Philiſtines could never have imagined; ſo the ſtrength and power of Death conſiſts in ſuch things as the world do leaſt dream of. The moſt dreadful weapons with which it terrifies and beats us, are the Thunderbolts, and Curſes of the Law; and our ſins are as the poiſon in which it dips its Arrows; or rather, our ſins are the fiery Dart with which it wounds and deſtroys us. Now Jeſus Chriſt hath redeemed us from the Curſe of the Law, when he became a Curſe for us. Gal. 3. He hath carried our ſins in his Body upon the Croſs, 1 Pet. 2. And as the He-Goat Harazel, he hath tranſported them away into an inhabitable Deſart, Levit. 16. He hath removed them from the eyes of our God, as far as the Eaſt is from the Weſt. he hath caſt them into the bottom of the Ocean, and drown'd them in his Bloud, ſo that we now ſee fulfilled, what was foretold by the Prophet Jeremiah, The iniquity of Iſrael ſhall be ſought for, and there ſhall be none, and the ſins of Juda, and they ſhall not be found, chap. 50.
Therefore being inveſted with the Grace of God, and armed with the Vertue of his Holy Spirit; Let us ſhew our courage and defie death; let us look it in the f…e without fear, laugh at all its threats, and encounter with it without dread, for it is now but like a Soldier, who without his weapons carries himſelf proudly; It is like a Bee that buzzeth about without its ſting; It is like an old Lion that roars, but hath loſt all his Claws; It is like a Snake that would caſt its poyſon, but hath no venemous Teeth left, becauſe they have been all pull'd out by him who hath bruiſed the Serpents Head.
If you conſider nothing but Deaths Exterior, its Face, and fearful appearance, its frightful Eyes, its meager Body, its iron'd Hands; you cannot perceive any difference between the death of Gods Children, and that of the moſt wicked Varlets; but if you lift up the vizard and examine the Death of the one, and of the other, more exactly, you will meet with as much difference, as between Heaven and Earth, the Paradiſe of God and Hell, for as Moſes's brazen Serpent, which he lift up in the Deſart, had the form and appearance of a burning Serpent, but nothing of the Priſon and Fire, thus the death of the faithful appears, as the death of other men, but hath not the deadly and pernicious conſequences, for it is not only a ſign and a teſtimony of Gods Grace and Favour but the beginning of our deliverance, and the cure of all our Diſeaſes; As Moſes, when he had caſt wood into the waters of Marah, they had the ſame colour, but not the ſame bitterneſs and unpleaſant taſte: Thus the death of Gods deareſt Children hath the ſame tincture and appearance as before, but Chriſts Croſs hath taken away the danger, the trouble, and extracted out of it its unſufferable bitterneſs, and changed it into unſpeakable ſweetneſs. As Pharaoh was drowned, with all his Army, in the waters of the Red Sea; but the Children of Iſrael found a ſecure and a pleaſant paſſage into the promiſed Land; When they were arrived upon the other ſhoar of that dreadful Sea, they ſung unto God Songs of Triumph and Thankſgiving; Thus Death opens its Throat to devour the Reprobates; It is an Abyſſe where they can find no bottom, but unto the Children of God▪ it is a favourable paſſage into an eternal Bliſs; aſſoon as they are gone through, they are arrived to a place of Aſſurance, Joy, and Reſt, where God furniſheth them with Songs of Triumph and Thanſgiving to the Lamb, 1 Rev. 15.
Moſes's Rod was turned into a Serpent, but Aaron's being laid up in the Tabernacle, began to flouriſh and bear Almonds, Exod. 4. and 7. Thus while we are in the hands of the Law, Death is dreadful and terrible; but when we draw near to Chriſt the true Ark of the Covenant, it bloſſoms and brings Fruits forth of Joy and Eternal Comfort.
Balaam the Prophet was called to curſe the People of God, but he bleſſed it, contrary to the vain expectation of Balak, King of Moab. Thus Death hath been brought into the world by the Devil, to deſtroy, and utterly aboliſh the Holy Seed; but God by his infinite Goodneſs and Wiſdom, hath changed it into Salvation and Bleſſing; Let us not therefore be any longer puzled to find out the meaning of Sampſons Riddle, Out of the eater came forth Meat, and out of the ſtrong came forth ſweetneſs, Judg. 14. For the Church of God unto whom Chriſt hath diſcover'd the moſt excellent Secrets of his Kingdom, teacheth us to ſeek the Hony, the ſweeteſt comforts, out of the Belly of this old Lion.
It is not poſſible to Judge of Muſick by a Tone, or of an Oration by a Period, nor of a Comedy by a Scene. So we muſt not judge of a Battel by the firſt Aſſault, nor of a wreſtling by the firſt embraces and effects of the wreſtlers, for ſome in the beginning of the Battel turn their backs, who nevertheleſs at the laſt, doe ſometimes win the day and the victory; and ſome in wreſtling are foiled at the beginning, who nevertheleſs at laſt ſupplant their Enemy, and caſt him upon the back; Therefore that we may better underſtand the great and notable advantages that we have over death, we muſt examine it all along, until the end of the encounter; we muſt take notice of every Aſſault that we do give unto this unreconcileable Enemy.
Aſſoon as the Taper of our Life, begins to burn, Satan, ſends forth his blaſts to extinguiſh it: Death labours to undermine 'this poor Dwelling, from the firſt moment that it was built, it beſieges it on all ſides; it makes its approaches, in time it ſaps the foundation, it batters us with ſeveral diſeaſes and unexpected accidents, every day it opens a breach, and pulls out of this building ſome ſtones: But if Death labours to demoliſh on her part, we on ours labour to repair; And as thoſe who built the Walls of Jeruſalem, held with one hand the Trowel, and with the other a Sword to ſight; ſo we defend our ſelves as well as we are able, againſt the aſſaults of Death; Therefore we do not only endeavour to preſerve this earthly Lodge that God hath Lett and Sett to us for a term, and to mend up the continual Dilapidations that happen in it; but at the very ſight of death, when it gives us the Aſſault, we do then alſo advance our Spiritual building, and labour to bring it to perfection, ſo that we may ſay as the Apoſtle St. Paul, If our outward man decays, the inward man is renewed day by day. 2 Cor. 4.
To ſpeak true, Death meddles with nothing but with the exterior part of Man, for our principal Fort and chief Bulwark, doth neither fear to be undermined nor ſapt, nor to be won by Aſſault, for it is rais'd above the Heavens, and built upon the Rock of Eternity; it cannot be batter'd, for as the Thunderbolts, the ſtorms of Hail and ill weather cannot prejudice the Sunbeams, becauſe they are of a Spiritual nature, ſo all the Fury of the World, all the Powers of Hell, and the Rage of Death can never wrong the Soul, that is of a Spiritual and Immortal Nature. This Caſtle can never be famiſhed, for God furniſheth it with Manna from Heaven, and from the Rock upon which it is built, there runs a ſource of living waters, that riſeth to everlaſting life. In one word, as the Serpents do crawl only upon the Duſt, Death hath no power but upon the earthly part of Man; therefore our Lord Jeſus Chriſt adviſeth his Apoſtles, To not fear them that kill the Body, but cannot kill the Soul.
At the very inſtant of our Souls ſeparation from the Body, Death ſee…s to have a great advantage upon us, but when I conſider all, I find that it hath no cauſe to glory, and that it is without reaſon that it chalenges the victory. When a valiant Captain marches out of a Town almoſt deſtroyed, to another more ſecure, and better fortified, with his weapons in his hand; we ſay that he hath quitted his ſtation, and not that he is overcome: Thus when this wretched Body decays, and that our Souls depart well armed with Faith and Hope, to lodge in a more ſecure place in the higheſt Heavens, no body can ſay, to ſpeak properly, that we have been overcome; And as it happens with ſuch as ſail on the wide Sea, when a violent ſtorm threatens them with Shipwrack they think themſelves very happy, if they can quit then Veſſel, leave it to the mercy of the Winds and Waves, and eſcape to Land with their Riches and Lives ſafe: Thus it is with us who ſail upon this tempeſtuous Sea of the world; for when Death raiſeth its moſt cruel ſtorms; we think our ſelves happy if we can leave this miſcrable Body, which ſeems as a ſhip to our Souls, and if we can ſecure our Spiritual Life and our Heavenly Riches; Therefore we may juſtly ſay to the faithful Souls that are frighted when they ſee Death threatening to drown them in its depths, as St. Paul to his Ship-company, who did tremble for fear, at the ſight of a roaring and furious Sea; Take good courage my brethren, for I do aſſure you in the name of the living God, that your lives are ſecure, and that you ſhall looſe nothing but this Ship, Acts 27. We may yet furniſh them with ſtronger comforts, for theſe good Mariners loſt their Ship without any hopes of recovering it again; but we are aſſured that God will one day, gather up every piece of theſe broken Veſſels of our Bodies, and will joyn them together in a more perfect eſtate.
Therefore Death doth not carry away our bodies by violence, but we leave them willingly, we do not ſtay for its ſummons, but we do prevent Death, and give it a Licence, when we have packt up our Bag and Baggage, we are ready to depart out of this wretched abode, where we endure all manner of calamities, for in this houſe defluxions do rain down, If Vapors do ariſe, the Pillars and Foundation does tremble, the Joynts do open, the Windows are darkened, and the burning Feavers, like violent fires, conſume it.
I muſt not forget that the faithful do name their death, not only a removal of their Lodging, but a removal from a Tabernacle: this teacheth us that we muſt depart from hence with as much joy and readineſs, as a Soldier doth out of his Tabernacle, at the end of a laborious and bloudy warfare; and with as much pleaſure as the Children of Iſrael did out of their Tents, under which they had remained in the Deſart, to enter into the ſweet and comfortable dwellings of the Land of Canaan.
Not only this Body is like to an hired Houſe, or to a Tabernacle tranſported up and down, but it is by Sin, become to our Soul a woful priſon; Therefore Death may be compared to the Meſſengers ſent by King Pharaoh, on purpoſe to take Joſeph out of his Dungeon, and bring him to his Palace; The Body that was created to be a noble Pavillion of Joy and Honor, is become, to our Soul, a wretched and incommodious Priſon; Death is like to the Furnace of Babylon, that burned and conſumed the Bonds of the three Children, without prejudicing their Perſons or Attire, Dan. 3. for it conſumes thoſe ſad Bonds that detain our Soul, en…laved to the Earth, but it doth not meddle with the O… naments of our Juſtice and Sanctification; it is like the Skin that encloſeth the Child in his Mothers Womb, or like the Shell where the Chicken is formed, for of neceſſity it muſt be broken before we can enter into immortal Life: In ſhort, we may ſay, That the Body which was given to the Soul, to be its Palace, is become, by Sin, its Grave and loathſome Sepulchre, far more noiſome than that of Lazarus; and that Death is like the voice that calls upon us, Lazarus come out. Faithful Souls, you ſee then, that as Sampſon carried away the Gates of the City of Gaza, and tranſported them to the top of the Hill, ſo hath Jeſus Chriſt our true Sampſon, tranſported and carried the Gates of death to the higheſt pitch of Glory. Therefore, whereas before we did look upon it with horror, as the very entrance of Hell; now we may behold it with Confidence and Joy, ſaying as Jacob did of Bethel, This is the Gate of Heaven.
Seeing therefore, that this is the nature and condition of Death, I find that Men do give it too much advantage, for we ſhould not offer to ſay, that ſuch are dead whom God hath admitted into Eternal life; becauſe the qualification ſhould be derived from the chief and nobleſt part; as it is in nature, there is no generation without corruption, and we commonly ſay, that it is a Generation when the thing engendred is more excellent than the thing corrupted, as we ſay, that it is a corruption when the thing corrupted excels the thing that is engendred; Therefore our change and removal out of this world, ſhould be rather ſtiled a Life than a Death; for if our Body Dies and Rots in the Earth, our Soul revives and mounts up to Heaven; and this mortal life that we leave in leaving the Earth, is nothing in compariſon of that life that we ſhall enjoy with Chriſt and his Holy Angels: God is named the God of Abraham, of Iſaac, and of Jacoh. Now he is not the God of the Dead, but of the Living, Exod. 4. Matt. 22.
I may alſo, without any Figure, ſay, That Death in reſpect of the Body, is no real Death, but a kind of ſleep, as it is ſaid in the Prophet Daniel, Many do ſleep in the duſt of the Earth, chap. 12. and in Iſaiah, that the Juſt ſleep in their beds,: Therefore our Saviour ſpeaking of Jairus's Daughter, declared, The Child is not dead but ſleepeth, Mat. 9. and of Lazarus his friend, Lazarus our friend ſleepeth, but I go to awake him. Beloved, if thou art of the number of ſuch as Chriſt loveth, thy Death will be but a kind of ſleep, of a ſhort continuance, and a few days; The Lord will raiſe thee up again, For the hour cometh, and is already, That the Dead ſhall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that ſhall hear ſhall revive, John 5. During this Life the aſſaults of Death are no better than light skirmiſhes, the moſt ſenſible and moſt dangerous blow that it ſtrikes in appearance, is when Death ſeparates the Soul from the Body; but the laſt and moſt ſignal encounter, which will put an end to all diſputes, will happen at the day of Judgement, Jeſus Chriſt will then appear from Heaven in the company of all his immortal Angels and Saints, to encourage us to the encounter; He will come with a terrible voice of an Archangel, and the laſt Trumpet ſhall ſound, then Death will endeavor to keep us ſtill in its black priſon, and our Bones will be found without life or motion, but the Spirit of God ſhall breathe upon theſe dry Bones, and will cauſe them to revive; As the Prophet Jonas was three days and three nights in the belly of the Whale, God Commanded the Fiſh to vomit him up again upon the ground. Thus, when we ſhall have made ſo long our abode in our Graves, as God hath appointed in his wiſdom, Death ſhall be conſtrained to reſtore all that it hath ſwallowed; and as Daniel came out of the Lions Den by break of day, theſe ſavage Beaſts having done him no harm; Thus, at the break of the laſt day, at the Riſing of the Sun of Righteouſneſs, we ſhall all go out of Deaths deep Den; and as if God had ſent his Angel on purpoſe to ſhut the mouth of this old Lion, we ſhall then find that he ſhall have done us no harm; inſtead of devouring of us, he will prove a faithful keeper of our bones; therefore the faithful may ſpeak unto Death in the language of the Prophet Micah, Rejoyce not againſt me O mine Enemy, when I ſhall fall I ſhall riſe, when I ſit in darkneſs the Lord ſhall be a light unto me. Mic. 7.8. As Moſes ſaid to Pharaoh, we will go into the Wilderneſs to ſacrifice unto God, we will go out of thine Egypt with our young, and with our old, with our Sons and with our Daughters, with our Flocks, and with our Heards, there ſhall not an Hoof be left behind. Exod. 10. Thus we, in an Holy Confidence, may talk with Death, maugre thy Rage and Fury, we will go up to Heaven to ſacrifice unto our God immortal praiſes, we ſhall get out of thy ſlavery; We, our Wives, our Children, our Brothers and Siſters, our Parents and Friends; all the People of God whom thou doſt at preſent keep in a cloſe reſtraint; notwithſtanding the infernal attempts of thine inhumane power, there ſhall not remain ſo much as an handful, no not ſo much as the leaſt grain of our Aſhes behind us. When the Son of God ſhall appear in his Glory from Heaven, he ſhall conſume all Death's Trophies and Monuments, with irreſiſtable Flames, ſo that it ſhall happen to this imperious Enemy of Mankind, as it happened to the Kings of the Amorites mentioned in the Iſraelitiſh Hiſtory, Joſh. 10. for as Joſhua ſuffered them to live until he was returned from his victory, and then, when he had perfectly overcome all his Enemies, he Commanded them to be brought forth, and gave order to his Captains to tread upon their necks, and then with his own ſword he diſpatcht them, caſt them into a Cave, and cauſed great ſtones to be rowled at the entrance of it: Thus ſhall our true and Celeſtial Joſhua deal with Death, he ſuffers it to reign while he is gone to purſue his Enemies; for the laſt Enemy that ſhall be deſtroyed by him is Death; when he ſhall have perfectly ſubdued all other Enemies, he will then conclude all his victories with a glorious end, and accompliſh the Churches Triumph, by cauſing us to trample upon Death; that ſhall be caſt into the bottomleſs pit, whereof the entrance ſhall be ſhut up for ever, Rev. 10. then ſhall be accompliſht this glorious Propheſie, Death is ſwallowed up in victory, 1 Cor. 15. for the Spirit of God aſſures us in expreſs words, That Death ſhall be no more. By what we have ſaid, it may eaſily appear what is become of the Rope thrice twiſted by the Devil, with an intent to ſtrangle therewith all Mankind; for the Son of God hath cut in pieces the firſt of theſe unhappy ties, by his Almighty power, by the Spirit of Sanctification he looſens the ſecond by degrees, and by the laſt he draws us to himſelf, and then he burns and conſumes it altogether; therefore we have no reaſon to fear an Eternal Death, nor to tremble when Hell opens wide its mouth: If we reſiſt the Devil he flies away from us, Jam. 4. at laſt we ſhall trample him under our feet, Rom. 16. It is true, that the ſad and doleful effects of the Spiritual death, do commonly draw out of us many a ſad Groan and Tear, whilſt our Soul remains in this ſinful Fleſh, we are already got out of the Tombs of Corruption and Sin, but yet bear about us, as it were, our Winding-ſheet, and ſome odd Reliques of our natural Miſery. But we have this conſideration to comfort our drooping ſpirits, That Chriſt will ſhortly give the ſame order from Heaven for us, as he did for Lazarus, Looſe him and let him go, Joh. 11. So that inſtead of the corruption of our Nature, that is ſo incommodious to us, he will inveſt us in Eſtate of Glory, Incorruption. Immortality, and perfect Happineſs; for the Corporal Death, we may juſtly ſay, That our Lord and Saviour hath freed us from all the fears that it might beget in us, ſo that it is my judgement, that we may not only affirm, that we have not the leaſt apprehenſion of it, but expect it with aſſurance, for if we be truly of the number of the faithful, and Gods adopted Sons, we hope, deſire, and haſten Deaths arrival by our moſt carneſt, and moſt paſſionate wiſhes.
What I have already declared in this Chapter, might ſatisfy any Chriſtian Soul, and furniſh it with ſufficient conſiderations to ſtrengthen it againſt all apprehenſions of Death; But as one that is wont to buy Stuffs in a Shop, when he cheapens ſuch as are ſlight, and of a ſmall value, he caſts his eye only upon a piece or a pattern, and by that judges of the reſt; but when he intends to purchaſe a rich Tapeſtry of great value, he deſires to viſit and conſider every part, one after another, and make an eſtimation of the value and beauty of every corner; So I judge, that the Wiſe and Religious Reader will deſire now, that I have diſcover'd to him in groſs, the Body of Conſolations againſt the fears of Death, that I ſhould in the next place unfold theſe hidden Excellencies, produce every part of them by degrees to his contemplation, and with my Pen, make him take notice of all the Rarities.