The Blessedness of the Death of These that Die in the Lord, Sermon 6
SERMON VI.
Revel. 14: 13.
Blessed are the Dead which die in the Lord, &c.
ALthough we have already spoken at greater length on these words then at first we intended, yet somewhat remaines that is useful, and which seemes to be their maine scope; therefore we shall insist a litle further. The way that we gather what we are to say is by considering the Spirits purpose and designe in this place, which comes in very remarkably, haveing no particular dependance (as would seem) on the former words, nor connexion with what followes; what can be the reasone that betwixt the denunciation of Judgment before, and the Prophecies of Judgment that follow, there is such ane interruption & breaking off from the series of the Historie made? I heard a voice saying to me, write, blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from henceforth, yea saith the Spirit &c. there must sure be some reason; We shall offer these two reasons that point especially at the scope of the Spirit of God and are insinuated in the words, that will be the grounds of two doctrines; The … reason is, That the Lord when he is speaking of sad things to come upon his Church, and and of Judgments to come upon the enemies thereof, casts in this as a ground of profitable meditation to his people at such a time, so that whither we looke to Judgments to come on enemies, or to tryals and tentations his own people are to meet with, this is cast in seasonably as a practical lessone plaine in itselfe, & profitable to them. A 2d reason is, that God by such a word, when death should be frequent & trouble & confusion should grow, may comfort and encourage his people, that death may not be bitter nor terrible to them since the Lord putts this motto, to say so, on mens dieing in him in the darkest and sadest times, that they are blessed.
These two being the scope, the one to prepare them for dieing, and the other to comfort them against dieing, they yeeld us these two useful points of doctrine, the first whereof we shall speak to at this time, which is this.
Doct. 1, That death and the happinesse of them that die in the Lord, is a suteable and profitable subject of the meditation of Gods people, especially in times of difficulty and trouble; This we conceive is clearly implyed in the words, certainly the Spirit that is so wise, and who most opportunely timeth and trysteth things for the good of his people, would not so abruptly have brocken in on this purpose at this time, if it wer not very pertinent and suteable to such a time; there is not in all this book such a remarkable diversion from the series of the History, having such a word prefixed to it, and such a word affixed and subjoyned to it as this; no doubt to stirr up Gods people that have this book to read, when they come to this memorable passage, to think and consider of it the m…re seriously: To clear the doctrine more generally a litle, we will find that these who have been most holy, have been most frequent in the thoughts and meditation of death, so David prayes, Psal. 39. Lord make me to know mine end, and the number of my dayes, that I may know how frail I am; and Moses, So teach us to number our dayes, that we may apply our hearts to wisedome, Ps. 90. (the numbering of our dayes, is this, serious thinking and meditating on approaching death) We may here also look on the example of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ, Luke. 9. 31. who speakes at his transfiguration on the mount with Moses and Elias of his deceasse▪ which he was to accomplish at Ierusalem; for though there was something peculiar in his death, yet his speaking of it, and prepareing for it, belongeth as a common dutie to us, and should be a paterne to us; And O! how doeth Solomon commend the meditating on death, Eccles. 7: v. 2. and 11: 8, 9. and Chap. 12. throughout.
But for further and more particular clearing of this doctrine, we shall speak a litle to these three contained in it; 1. What is meant, when we say that death is a suteable subject of meditation? 2. What profite or advantage comes to the people of God by it? 3. Why doe we say it is especially profitable and advantagious to be thought upon in ane evil time?
For the first, when we speak of death as a suteable subject of meditation, It is not to be strictly taken as contradistinguished from other things that preceed, accompany, and follow death; But 1. we take in the thoughts of the certaintie of dieing, and the uncertainty of its time and other circumstances as to us; Its then to think on death as the way of all flesh, as that which no man can gett a discharge from, and of the uncertainty of the time and manner of it, how sudden and surpri…ing it may be. 2ly, When we speak of the meditation of death, we take in all that accompanies it, the paine and outward deseases whereby men are made unable to doe any profitable work in their generation, as also all the challenges, convictions, tentations, terrours, and anxieties that accompanie death, and the estimation of things that we see dieing men to have; All these would be taken in as a part of this meditation. 3ly, When we speak of meditating on death, we mean not that it would be meditated on, only as it is a natural thing after the fall of man, but would consider and distinguish it in its several kinds as its dieing in sin and dieing in the Lord, the first and second death; we would look upon death on the one side, as ane effect of the curse, and on the other side, as sweetned with Gods love and as ane entry into happinesse: And we would add to this the causes of the one and of the other, what it is that makes death miserable to one, and happy or the entrie to happinesse to another. 4ly, When we speak of thinking on death we would take in the effects and consequents of death, our appearing before God, Judgment, and Eternity, that are at the back of death; The entring into an unchangeable estate of well or ill being, meeting with a sentence that is irrevocable, the eternal happinesse of them that die in Christ, the eternal miserie of them that die in sin, perfection of Joy, and extremity of sorrow for ever, which men and Angels are not able to conceave and farlesse to expresse; And when we speak of meditation on death, we say its a suteable subject to be thinking often and frequently on all thir, not only at more solemne and sett times, but even in the midst of our callings and employments, in the midst of our Joy, and of our greife and sadnesse, to be takeing some serious lookes of this day that will put ane end to all these in the way before spoken of; in your youth … be considering that this day of darknesse is comei…g, and in old age especially, when the shaddow of death sitts downe on the eye lids and the strong men begin to bow themselves &c.
As to the second, To commend this duty to you all consider what advantage flowes from it, though we spoke of meditation in general at another occasion, and hinted some what at meditation on death, yet it being so frequently spoken of in Scripture and so profitable to beleivers, we shall speak a litle to some advantages that will commend the expedience of the duty, as well as the necessity of it to you; And 1, Much of the improvement of the great truths we have been speaking of to you these dayes past, depends on your meditation on death, and these things that goe before, accompanie, and follow after it; its impossible to know a right, and to beleive how great a task and work it is to die well, and what is the happinesse of them that die so, if we be not takeing paines to be cleared and confirmed in it by Scripture and by meditating on it; folkes take but a glance at it in the by, but stay not to look on the quarrel and controversie that is betwixt God and them, neither doe they consider seriously what is at the back of death, and therefore it surpriseth them when it comes; whereas that man can speak of death boldly and advisedly that hath been acquainting himselfe with it before hand. 2ly, There is nothing that readily doeth more heighten the estimation of God and of Christ then the thoughts of death, the thoughts of it brings folks closser and neerer to his barr, and make them look on him as Judge, they put them to consider their fecklenesse, basenesse, and vilenesse upon the one hand, and the greatnesse of the Majesty of God upon the other; O! how sublimely doe David and Iob speak of God? when in the one word they talke of the grave, and of the cover of wormes there, and in the other word, highly exalt the Majesty and greatnesse of God; Meditation on death brings the thoughts of what God is, and of what we are, very neer us, and represents to us before hand what he will be found to be at and after death, and what we will be then; whereas on▪ the contrary, it is given as a root of our despising God, when men put the evil day far away, as no doubt a root of reverence and respect to God, is serious meditation on death. 3ly, More particularly, look to beleivers converseing with others that have grace, or that abound in corruption, we will find it exceeding needful, useful, and advantagious to carie along the thoughts of death; It would make Christians walk loveingly and edifieingly with others, loather to doe wrong, more patient when they suffered wrongs, and more easie to forgive, and more ready to forget wrongs; our carnal humours would not gett such way, if the thoughts of dieing wer suteably intertained; and halfe an houres discourse togither with the impression of it on us, thrugh Gods blessing, would edifie and profite us mutually, more then many dayes meeting without it could doe. 4ly, In reference to a mans selfe: 1. More generally, meditation on death is a most quieting and Spirit-sobering thing, it stayes the mind, it diverts from vanities, and removes them from being the object of his persute, nay it someway crucifies him to them; And hence it is that men are seldome or never in a more sob…r and in a better frame, then when they are seriously apprehensive of death, as suppose men to be in sicknesse, or in danger at Sea or on Land, they will readily be in another frame then ordinarly they use to be in, and when the danger or strait is by, that impression weares readily much away; but wer we more in meditation of death, this frame might be more constant and lasting. 2ly, More particularly 1. It contributs, thrugh Gods blessing, to rectifie a mans Judgment that by orriginal sin is darkened, and accounteth ill good and good ill, the thoughts of death make a man wise, discreet, and condescending; men while they are in health and without these thoughts, will not quite ane inch of their will, they will rather wound their conscience then their credit; and to get their barnes full and all goeing well with them in the world, wholly takes them up, but the serious thoughts of death makes them wise to discerne and judge of things, therefore Moses joines these two togither, thinking on death and the applying of the heart to wisedome, Psal. 90. when folkes think not on death, they are cumbered with many things, they r…ne to cisternes and turne their back on the fountaine; whereas serious pondering on death, lets the vanity and emptinesse of these things be seen; how many see we dayly when dieing, counting litle of these things they thought much of before, and calling & accounting themselves fools that suffered themselves to be so caried away with them; and however Gods Spirit calls them fooles that make such a choise. 2ly, As it inlighteneth the Judgment, so it ordereth the affectiones and rules the passions, therefore when Solomon is speaking to the young man who will be tyed with no bands, he Ironically bids him rejoice and laugh on, but withall wills him to remember that for all these things he will come to Judgment, the meditation of Death and Judgment would say of laughter thou art mad, and of mirth what doest thou? It would make men look on them as vanity, folly, and madnesse; & these thoughts especially would become folkes in prosperity, and in their youth when their humours are more high bended and light; meditation on death is a notable bridle to lightnesse. 3ly, If we will yet look more particularly forward, Its exceeding profitable to advance mortification, to bring us out of the entanglements of a world, and to help us with singlenesse and denyednesse in following Christ, thou fool, (sayes death) this night thy soul may be taken from thee, and whose shall all these things be? It makes mens carrouseing and good fellowship (as they call it) teastlesse; conscience would in that case speak and say, what if thou die drunken or with the cup in thy hand? this meditation makes a man care litle for the world, riches, pleasures, and honour; it would make all to grow very unsavoury, in a word, it mortifies these three which are the worlds trinity, pride, covetousnesse, carnal lusts. 1. It mortifies pryd, as we may see in David, who sayes, Psal. 39. Lord teach me to know my end and the measure of my dayes, that I may know how fraill I am. And in Iob, who sayes to corruption, it is his mother, and to the wormes, they are his Sisters; It puts to say, dust I am and into dust I shall returne. 2. It mortifies covetousnesse, for the meditation of death wrings the heart from the things of the world, and gives the man other thoughts to think upon; how many when death approaches are forced to say, they have cumbered themselves with the world and it hes beguiled them. 3. It mortifies carnal pleasures, for what can vaine fleshly lusts doe to men that are dieing? For as merrie as they are now, say these thoughts, they must appear within a litle before God in Judgment, and if this be not a bridle to these lusts, I know not what will be a bridle. 4. It stirrs up to the diligent exercise of all duties, and to the goeing about them soberly and seriously, one preaching or prayer after serious meditation on death would have more weight, and be waited with more advantage, then many others without it; It puts to humiliation, selfeexamination, selfe-searching; it furthers the exercise of the fear of God, and brings the soul to stand in aw of him before whom it is to appear shortly: It furthers repentance and prayer, Job 41: 25. Because of breakings they purifie themselves; they make themselves for death by repentance, prayer, and the offering of sacrifices even these Heathens in the Ship with Ionah; And if meditation on death put profaine men to the forme of Religion, how much more will it put beleivers to be serious and spiritual, in the exercise of these duties and in the practice of Religion? And if God give them time and seriousnesse at dieing, their prayers will be more feckful and fervent at that time then before. 5. It is exceeding profitable to work kindly submission to crosse-dispensations, and to make folkes goe softly under them; what will a man care, (carkeingly I mean) that is taken up with meditating on death, for the fore faulture of his estate or to have his house brunt, or his land wasted? He knows death will put ane end to all these things. 6. As it fitts for all duties and restraines from all vices, so it exceedingly prepares for death itselfe which is the great scope; Solomon describes sicknesse and old age, Eccl. 12. to make the young man readie for death ere it come, and if there wer no other advantage by meditation on death, this is no small one, not to be surprised with it: Yea, it some way also mitigats the bitternesse of death, so that its not so terrible to them that have been thinking on it seriously, as it is to others who have never made it the subject of their meditation? And what wonder is it to see many either mightily terrified or very stupid at death, since they never studied the lesson of dieing before it came on them?
But as to the 3d, Why adde we this, that it is especially advantagious in evil times? Which seems to be the very scope of the words, and the godly such as David and others have thought it so; we doe not say that meditation on death is especially profitable and advantagious in ill times, as if it wer not to be thought on in times of prosperity and peace, but that it is exceeding necessary, and singularly profitable in ane evil time, and in such ane one as we now live in; And the great necessity and advantage of this ariseth from three things that accompanie ane evil time; 1. Many snairs and tentations; in ane ill time flesh and blood is ready to postpone a good conscience and to preferre selfe preservation; now living in the meditation of death guards against that; if the tentation say, man spare or save thyselse, the soul that is thinking on death will say, I may soone losse my good conscience by yeilding to such a thing for preservation of selfe, and yet it may be myselfe shall not live a year after it, and though I should live twentie yet shall I be brought to com…t for it, And therefor I will rather hazard on the losse of any thing, yea of life itselfe, then by wounding or ship-wracking my conscience on provocking God; Hence the Apostle tells us, 2 Cor. 5. that he was not swayed with outward things. 2. Another evil accompanies ane evil time, and its carnal sorrow, fainting, perplexity, discouradgment; meditation on death mitigats these, It sayes that these things, or any other thing the Godly can suffer, are not eternal, It sweetneth our greife, it diverts the mind from carnal thoughts to that which is more profitable, it easeth the mind, and layeth the …lormes, and calmeth the confusions, that outward difficulties and troubles raise and awake in it, and gives a profitable use of sad things. 3ly, There is in ane evil time ordinarly, much confusion and distraction; that is downe which we think should be up, and that is up which we think should be downe, and our mindes are ready to stagger and reill to and fro like a drunken man, because of these confusions; but the thoughts of death stay the mind, and say, that death er long will bring all these things to ane end or else ane end to us, and will bring them all to be recognosced and judged over againe; To this purpose compare, v. 16, and 17. of Eccles. 3. where Solomon sayes, I saw the place of Iudgment that wickednesse was there, and the place of righteousnesse that iniquitie was there; And what does comfort him against this? I said in my heart, God will Iudge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work; oftentimes there is not a seasone for things here, but at death there is a season for every thing, all sentences that have been wrongously past here will be reduced there, the consideration of this stayes his heart and comforts him.
The Uses are two, The 1st is by way of exhortation, to commend this excellent though much slighted duty, not only meditation in the general, but meditation in particular on this subject of death; folkes have often as litle mind of this duty as if it wer not in the word of God, and yet it is frequently called for there, and if in any generation, then in this, wherein there is so much confusion, turneing of things up syde downe, and reilling to and fro; so many snairs and so many grounds of greife and sorrow; when so many are carnally weighted and dejected, and so many are declineing and goeing wrong: And (as we shew before) we think that this text relats to this time of the World, the time of Gods beginning to execute his Judgments on Antichrist before the full harvest and vintage come; and therefor we would speak to this use a litle more particularly, because its very usefull and a notable mean to make you goe profitably about the practice of all that we have spoken to this purpose; for it puts us in mind of these directions for right living in order to dieing, and it holds us at them; without the minding of death, there can be no minding of them, for these that mind not the end can never mind the midses; because, I say, its thus useful, We shall therefore for further clearing of it speak a litle to two things; 1. To some directions or rules, shewing how ye should think on death. 2. To some helps and means thereto.
For the first, ye remember when we said death was a suteable subject of meditation, we took in death in its circumstances, concomitants, and kinds; And our first direction or rule shall be this, be particular in your meditation, let it not be abstracted from yourselfe in particular, Its not enough to take it for granted that death is common to all; So does Iob, cap. 30. 23. I I know that thou shalt bring me to death, and so does David, Ps. 39. Lord teach me to know mine end and the number of my dayes, how frail I am; goe thrugh all the concomitants of death, and consider what may be your case at death, what will be your challenges, tentations, and thoughts; and what will be the effects and consequents of death to you, when ye must with these same eyes and none other for you behold and face your Judge. 2ly, Cast a reflexe look on yourselves and your own way in meditation, when ye look to that way that prepares one to die well, look back and see if such a preparation be in you, consider how your way sutes with that which the Scripture holds out to be the way, if such a challenge may meet you at death, and what course is taken with it to answer or prevent it; this was Iobs way Chap. 31. where he tells us that he durst not slight the cause of his man-servant or maid-servant when they contended with him, for then he should not have had a good answer to his judge, & that if he had done otherwayes, it would have marred his boldnesse. 3ly, Labour to have your affections moved in your meditation on death; This is a cheife end of meditation; otherwayes we will but run to and fro, and roave up and downe to informe the Judgment, and cary the thoughts of death as a common place along with us, but will gett no more good of it; the special thing is to have somewhat dropeing from it that may melt the heart, as it was with David, Psal. 77. I thought on God and was troubled; and Psal. 63. My soul shall be filled as with marrow and fattnesse; there is something like this in meditating on death, it affects the heart with terrour, when the soul thinks on dieing without clearnesse of interest; It affects the heart with comfort and joy, when the soul is clear in its interest; to think on dieing in Christ so as thereby to be advanced a step nearer unto it, and to drink in what we have been thinking upon, that is the truly profitable thinking on such a thing; the meditation that is without affecting of the heart, is like the chewing of meat that is presently spitt out againe and not swallowed down and digested; or to the looking only on what is profitable without makeing any further use of it: Such, I say, is all our preaching, hearing, speaking, and thinking of death, when they doe not affect the heart. 4ly, Study to be practical in your meditation, that is, to have it tending to some profitable use in your practice as its end; when ye have found out such a thing to be wrong, presently to sett about the amending of it; when ye have found out some thing spiritually profitable, resolutly to goe about it and all the meanes to attaine it. 5ly and lastly, Seek to be much in prayer to God, and in dependance on him for direction in this particular, goe about meditation on death as a duty commanded by God, with prayer to him and with dependance on him for his assistance and his blessing on it, many look not on the meditation of death in particular as a peculiar duty, and therefor its so much slighted: When we commend it to you as a duty, we mean these three things; 1. That ye should look upon it as required of God, and as being useful and profitable as well as any other duty: 2ly, That ye should goe about it as in his presence, ordinarly folk take a greater latitude in meditation then in prayer, but ye would remember and consider that he is witnesse to your meditation as well as to your prayers, that he is the great subject of it, that it is laid on by his command, that su…eable meditation is and must be wrought by his Spirit, and that ye will and must count to him for your wand…ings in it, as well as in prayer. 3ly, That ye should take in all, at least, the general circumstances of it pointed at before, that ye should take time to it, and betake yourselves to it of set purpose, and even now and then when possibly ye might have some other thing to doe that is not necessary for the time; and that ye should by prayer seek Gods guiding in this particular duty as well as in any other duty, as Moses doeth Psal. 90. Teach us to number our dayes: Be not frighted from it by the apprehended difficulty of it, for as meditation in the general is hard and difficult, so is the particular meditation of death even a subject that we are naturally very averse from, therefore David Prayes, Psal. 39. Lord teach me to know mine end, &c. and indeed, more frequent and habitual exercise and practise of it, would, thrugh Gods blessing, make it more easy.
For the 2d, Because there is difficulty in this duty as we have just now hinted, we shall therefore propose or point at a few things that may be helps to it; There is nothing we have moe motives to, nor moe memorandums of to say so) then of this, take then these helps. 1. Consider seriously the frequent deaths and burials among you every day, whereof ye are wittnesses and at which ye are present, and possibly of several younger, healthier, and stronger then yourselves, and of whom it might have been thought not many dayes since, they would have outlived you: And then reflect upon yourselves and see if ye be prepared for death, when ye are in your houses, or goeing in the streets, and hear the bell giving notice of the death of such and such persons, or see the corpses caried forth to their burial place, think on these things, for they are helpful: Therefore Solomon sayes, Better is the day of death then of ones birth, and he gives the reason, for the living will lay it to heart, that is, the living should lay it to heart. 2ly, Look unto, and consider well, your own infirmities, sicknesses, and diseases of one kind or another: There are none but they have the seed of fewer or of moe diseases in them, besides fitts of sicknesse that befal them now and then, and what is the language of all these but this? Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou returne: When folkes have in their bodies the beginnings of rottennesse or of a gangerine, they will spread; ye would hear all these infirmities, diseases, and distempers crying aloud upon you that ye will and must die, for these cry to you every day as that man was cryed unto by one whom he appointed to cry at his doore every morneing, thou art mortal. 3ly, Consider the extraordinary events that befal many men and women, some are suddenly stricken downe with palfies, some fall downe and never rise, some goe abroad and never returne, some are stricken with fury and madnesse; and are any of us exempted from these or any of them? 4ly, We commend to you frequent reading of, and meditating on, these Scriptures that speak of death, and of other bookes that treat of that subject, and sett forth most lively the shortnesse of mans life; be often reading of the death of the Saints, many are rather taken up with reading vaine Romances or Stories, that are unprofitable in comparison of this; and others are, it may be, taken up with mysterious, dark, doubtful, and litle edifieing questions and debats. 5ly, We commend to you to think seriously upon the names that death getts in Scripture, and the comparisons whereby it is there holden forth, for there ar not many things that we can readily mention or meet with, which may not serve to put us in mind of dieing; doe men put off their cloathes? Death is compared to that, 2 Cor. 5. doe we lye downe in our beds to take rest? Death is also compared to that Isay 57. vers. 2. where the Prophet speaking of the righteous, sayeth. He shall enter into peace, they shall rest in their beds: So to the same purpose death is compared to a sleep, one generation goes and another comes and every one sleeps their sleep Psal. 76. v. 5. would ye but reflect when ye are goeing to bed and consider what postour ye are lyeing downe in, and from this bethink yourselves what is out of order, and how ye may be suteably affected with it, and raise up in the morneing with a resolution to practise accordingly, it wer a profitable meditation; death is also called, the way of all flesh, and can we reckon our age or number our years, but it must at least should put us in mind of death that is fast comeing? Yea, can we so much as breath (which is one of the most ordinary things) but it must or at least might put us in mind of death? Thou takest away their breath, they die and returne to their dust, sayes the Psalmist, Psal. 104. 29. If there wer but a stop put to this continual breathing of ours, then our life should be quickly found to be but as a vapour that goes up and returnes not againe, that appeareth but for a litle time and then vanisheth away, as Iames sayes, cap. 4. 14. So that we want not sufficient occasions to putt us and keep us in mind of death; but alace! We want heart and affection to the thing, and spiritual-mindednesse to make use of these occasiones; Alwayes we leave it on you not only as a duty, but as a very profitable duty, to meditate more on death and to make use of these and the like means to help you to it, and the Lord himselfe blesse them to you.
A 2d Use is for reproofe and conviction, and O! what ground of reproof and challenge does it bring along with it? Wer this the very time of our goeing to die, and of our appearance before our judge, how many of us can say, we have made conscience of thinking on our last end? So that the Lord may expostulat with us, as he did with his people of old, Deut. 32. as with a foolish people and unwise, O! that they wer wise, O! that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end; many may sadly say, that they scarcely ever reckoned it among their duties, nor the neglect of it among their sinnes and grounds of challenge, and we fear, which is yet worse and more sad, that it may be said of many, that they doe not resolve to ranke and place it amongst their duties? But if ye will not be prevailed with, to make it and mind it as your duty, be assured it shall be your sin and ye shall have it for your challenge; What? Have ye not the command of God enjoyning it? Hath not the Saints practiseing of it so much, some weight with you? The plainnesse of the duty will make your guilt the greater and you the more inexcusable in your neglecting it; there are none of us but we may goe home with many challenges for our being so much intangled with the things of the world; and for the levity, unstayednesse, unsobernesse, and carnalnesse of our Spirits, which make us think so litle and speak so litle of dieing; and if any thoughts of it occurre now and then to our minds, they sink not, they affect not, they leave not suteable impressions: If ye would essay it seriously ye should find the fruit of it, it should further holinesse, it should sober and compose you, and fitt you for any thing that may be comeing in ane ill time, for doeing and for suffering as ye should be called to it, and for death itselfe; God himselfe give you so to essay it, as ye may find the blessed fruit and advantage of it.