Samarias Downfall, Verse 3
VERSE 14.
I will ransom them from the power of the grave, I will redeem them from death; O death I will be thy Plagues, O grave I will be thy destruction, Repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.
THis Verse is a kinde of Parenthesis, and being taken intirely in it self, the context will run more smoothly. 'Tis full of knots and difficulties, it hath almost as many interpretations, as there be Interpreters, and as many various Lections, as words.
Some read the words conditionally, and put in the word, if, and put the Verb in a different Mood and Tense, thus, if Ephraim were wise and Would but repent, I would have ransomed him from death, I would have redeemed him from the power of the grave, (i. e.) I would either have preserved him from captivity, or else I would have delivered him thence. This is true, but not from the Text, for the word is Ephdem in the future Tense, liberabo, I will ransom, I will redeem: and wee may not change Mood and Tense to make a sense of our own, though never so good. The words therefore are to bee taken simply in themselves for a singular support to Gods people in their deepest distresses; as containing in them a pretious cordial, and a most comfortable Evangelical promise, of a mighty Redemption and glorious Resurrection to the remnant, according to the election of grace, whom God would have comforted in times of distress. 'Tis usual with the Prophets to intermingle comforts with their threatnings) to keep Gods people from despaire. (So Hos. 1. and 2. and 11. Amos 9. 8 to 15.) Before he had threatned destruction to the wicked, now he comforts the Penitent.
In the words we have, 1. The deep distress that Gods people were in, they were in the*Mijad Sheol, e manu s…pulchri, (i e.) e s…mmo periculo, Job 5. 20. Psal. 49. 16. See Rivet on the word S…eol, on Psal. 16. 10. hand of the grave, and in the jaws of death (i. e.) they were as 'twere dead and buried in captivity. The word Sheol signifies, both the grave and hell. 1. 'Tis taken for the grave, so Gen. 37. 35. …rov. 30. 16. 2. For hell Metaphorical (i. e.) some deep distress, Psal. 86. 13. 3. For the local hell, Prov. 15. 11. Wee may take in all these, for Christ hath Redeemed us from them all, and triumphed over them on the Cross, Colos. 2. 14.
2. Here is a Promise of their Redemption from this their misery, I will ransom them from the power of the grave. What is that? why exegetically 'tis added, I will redeem them from death, (i. e.) I will bring my Elect out of their captivity, where they lay for dead as 'twere; and this deliverance shall bee to them a pledge of their Resurrection to eternal life.
3. Here is the manner how this shall bee done, set forth by a Prosopopeical Apostrophe to death and the grave, whom he brings in as some living enemy, and therefore calls to him, saying; O death I will bee thy death, O grave I will bee thy destruction, q. d. O death, thou seemest to be mighty and powerful, but I will disarm thee of it all; I will not only bite thee, but destroy thee; 'tis not morsus (as the Vulgar) but exitium, an utter destruction of these enemies of our salvation.
4. Here is the certainty of this deliverance, drawn from the constancy of God in keeping his Promise, and from the immutability of his decree. Repentance shall be hid from mine eyes, q. d. I will never repent of the mercy which I have promised them, but my goodness to them shall be firm and unalterable. This sense suits best with the Original and with the context, wherein God promiseth a choice mercy to his people. The Vulgar and the seventy render it,Notham, paenitudo consolatio. consolation is hid from mine eyes: 'tis true, the word in the Original signifies consolation as well as repentance; but to render it as a threatning here, as if God should say, I am fully determined to destroy my people, for consolation is hid from mine eyes; This is very improper here, for it confounds the context, and the scope of the Verse, which is to comfort, and not to disquiet Gods people. In it the Prophet, the better to strengthen the faith of Gods people, doth highly extol Gods Almighty power; for when wee are in straights, wee are very apt to question that, (Num. 11. 13, 21, 22, 23. Psal. 78. 19.) To an eye of sense, Gods people lying in captiviy, were as dead men, and past all hope of recovery; I but saith the Prophet, though ye were dead, yet God can raise you again, for hee's Lord of death and hell, and hath a sovereign power over them all; though death conquers all, yet hee conquers death; though it be mighty, yet God is Almighty, and there's nothing too hard for him; he will be the death of death, and if none will redeem you thence, yet he will.
Quest. The Question is, of what Redemption and deliverance doth the Prophet here speak, whether of a corporal or spiritual Redemption?
Ans. Of both. 1. Literally the Lord promiseth to free his Elect and penitent people from the grave of their captivity. Banisht men are counted as dead men, especially in a civil sense, and the place of their banishment is as the grave. Now many of the remainders of Israel, after the destruction of their Kingdom, joyned themselves to the Jews, and with them came out of Babylon. Though for their Idolatry and ingratitude, hee threatned perpetual banishment to them, yet for the comfort of his people that then were, and after should arise, hee promiseth a Redemption for them, (Hos. 1. 10.) which was fulfilled about two hundred years after that Samaria was taken, when Cyrus proclaimed liberty to the Jews to go build the Temple, Ezra 1.
2. Typically it alludes to our Spiritual and eternal Redemption by Christ, and our conquest over death and hell by him. By Adams sin, death came upon all men (Rom. 512.) but Christ by his Resurrection hath freed us from the power of death and hath led it captive, which formerly led us captive, Ps. 68. 18. Eph. 4. 8. This is the Redemption (saith Zanchy) which is principally and properly here meant: for though the people of Iudah, after seventy years captivity in Babylon, did return again out of it; yet the people of Israel, after that Samaria was taken, never returned again to their own land, for it was laid waste, and inhabited by strangers. 'Tis usual with the Prophets, to use such Metabases, sudden digressions and passings from their history, to Christ, who was their scope, delight and love; so that every hint and shadow in the Old Testament, brought him to their remembrance: and then from Christ, they fell to the continuance of their history again. Thus 'tis here; and so Esay prophecying of C…rus, who should deliver Israel out of B…bylon, in the same Chapter prophesieth of Christ the Redeemer of his Church, Esay 45. So Ezekiel having enveyed against Idle and Idol Shepherds, presently turns his speech to Christ, who is the true Shepherd of his people, Ezek. 34. 2, 16. so Zach. 9. 9. and 13. …, 7.
In this Verse the Prophet brings in death and the grave, as it were two tyrannical enemies,S…ptuaginta a verbis & intellect… Scripturae saep… alienissima sunt, & vel volenres vel ignorantes transtulerunt quea defendi non possunt. Hieron. to whom he speaks in the Name of the Lord Christ (as the Apostle expounds it, 1 Cor. 15. 55.) as a Conquerour, saying, O death I will be thy death. Erotomata haec insultoria sunt, & sa…casmi speciem habent. Estius.Or as the Apostle from the Septuagint (though in this Text, the Apostle in some things varies from the present Septuagint, and so do the allegations in the New Testament; which shews the folly of those, who do equalize it with the Original Hebrew) O death where is thy sting, O grave where is thy victory? The first Adam brought death into the world, but the second Adam hath abolish'd it.
There is some difficulty in the words, and therefore I shall open them particularly, and break every clod, that I may finde out the golden Oar.
In these words we have a glorious triumph over death, and a notable Encon…ium of the Resurrection of the dead. Piscator and others, read the words Interrogatively, thus, O death where are thy plagues, O grave where is thy destruction? 'Tis an insulting and triumphing Interrogation, q. d. They are no where to be found, for Christ hath removed them, and taken them out of the way of his people; so that now there is no hurt in death.
This various reading comes from the ambiguous signification of the word Ehi, which is rendred truly, ero, I will be: others render it ubi, Paulus Versionem Septuagint. imitari videtur, quia ea versio po…issimum nota erat Corinthiis. Sed in…erim non discedit ab Hebraica Veritate. Pet. Martyr.where? So the Septuagint render it by … ubi; and the Apostle following the Septuagint, speaking to Greeks, and that in Greece, alledgeth a Greek text, as being most familiar and best known to them. The Apostle gives the sense and meaning, but not the words, which is frequent in Scripture, the Pen-men being intent on the matter, were not curious in the words, but did adde and alter what might explain and clear them: yet the Prophet and the Apostle are easily reconciled, thus, O death I will be thy Plagues, (i. e.) I will pull out thy Pestilent sting; O grave I will be thy destruction, (i. e.) I will get the victory over thee, q. d. I the Lord Christ (for to him the Apostle applies this text) will redeem them from death by paying a valuable price for their Redemption, Ephdem significat non simpliciter liberare, sed p…etio redemptionis redimere. It a Gaal significat jure affinitatis redimere, unde Goel assinis, ad quem pertinebat re…emp…io possessionum. Zanchy.this none could do but I, yea I will bee the death of death, I will bee its plagues and destruction; it shall never prevail against my people, for I will restore them to life again, 1 Cor. 15. 26, 54, 55. 'Tis not I am,Ehejch, that glorious Name of God, which notes his unchangeable eternity, Exod. 3. 14. comes from Ehi. or I have been, but 'tis Ehi, I will bee thy destruction. Now in Hebrew, the Future Tense doth oft express, both the Present Tense and the Preterperfect Tense; it implies not only the time to come, but also the time present, and the time past, q. d. I am, I have been, and shall bee for ever deaths destroyer. Christ was Virtually the Lamb …lain from the beginning of the world, and so was deaths destroyer; but actually he conquered death and the grave, by lying dead in the grave, and by his Almighty power raising himself thence again; so that death hath now no more dominion over him and his, Act. 2. 24.
O death I will bee thy plagues, not one or two, but many plagues, even so many as shall destroy thee. Thou didst destroy my people,Pestes (i. e.) pernities & prostigatio qua pered…n…ur & absumuntur om…ia. Junius in Parallel. but now I will destroy thee; thou didst triumph over them, but now I will triumph over thee, and lead thee, and all the enemies of my people in triumph at my Chariot wheeles, (Psal. 68. 18. Ephes. 4. 8.) for under death and the grave is Synecd…chically comprehended the conquest of all the enemies of our salvation;The word ketc… not only signifieth the Pest lence, but al…o other terrible sicknesses, wherewith God soon cuts off the life of man with bitterness. Ainsworth. as sin, death, he…, Satan, banishment, prisonment, poverty, sickness, tribulation, persecution, famine, sword, &c. over all these wee are more then conquerours, even triumphers, through Christ that loved us, Rom. 8. 35, 37. Hee names only death, because death is the last enemy that shall bee destroyed,Deber, pestis (i. e.) … durissima q…a hom…nes p…niebas & peredebas, ubi es? a Lapide. 1 Cor. 15. 26. yet by an Argument a Majore ad minus, from the greater to the less, he comforts his people thus, If I can deliver you from death and the grave, then much more from banishment and captivity.
O grave I will bee thy destruction, or ile bee thy rooting out and cutting off. The same word is used, Deut. 32. 24. Psal. 91. 6. I say 28. 2. q. d. Thou didst destroy my people, but now I will destroy thee, so that they may now sing triumphantly, Ehi debare…ba maveth. cro pestes … o mors (i. e) plenissima pestis & mors tua. The Plural number serves to aggravate the venom of death.O death where is thy pestilent sting wherewith thou wast wont to torture and torment us? 'tis gone, 'tis destroyed by Christ, who is thy death, O death, and thy utter destruction. As a man that drinks a cup of poyson, drinks that which will bee his ruine;K…t…cha significat excisionem, ev…lsionem, luem, q…a Christus …ntem o…ia succidentem succidit, a keteb, aculeus, pl…ga. so the grave by swallowing and devouring Christ, was conquered and killed by him. Of old they did celebrate the Victories and Triumphs of Achilles, Hercules, Alexander, Iulius Caesar and the rest of the great conquerours of the world; but alas al… those dyed and were conquered by death. Only Christ the King and Saviour of his Church and people, by his death hath conquered sin, Satan, and death; and hath made full satisfaction for us to the Law and Justice of God.
So that what the Prophet speaks here of the restauration of the Jews in particular;See Dr. Tucknys three Serm. on 1 Cor. 15. 54. p. 77. the Apostle applies to the general Resurrection of the dead, when this corruptible shall have put on incorruptio…, and this mortality shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in Victory, O death where is thy sting? &c. 1 Cor. 15. 54, 55. Where the Apostle alledgeth two Texts, and 'tis usual with the Pen-men of the New Testament, to alledge divers Texts out of the Old Testament, and compose them into one in the New. So doth Peter speaking against Iudas, Act. 1. 20. 'tis written in the book of the Psalms, let his habitation be desolate, and his Bishoprick let another take: the former part is taken out of Psal. 69. 26. and the latter part, out of Psal. 109. 7.See more in Glassius Philog. Tract. 2. c. 7. p. 1476.&c. So Mark 1. 2, 3. the former part is taken out of Mal. 3. 1. the latter part from Esay 28. 16. So Christ himself, (Mat. 21. 13. alludes to Esay 56. 7. and Ier. 7. 11.) So here the Apostle cites one text out of Esay 25. 8. he will swallow up death in Victory. The other is Hos. 14. 13. The seventy render it thus; devorabit mors praevalens. Death devours all, but this is contrary both to the sense of the Prophet and the Apostle, who speak not of the prevailing power of death, but of the power of Christ over death. Death is swallowed up in Victory, and that great devourer of all, is by Christ devoured. This promile is now fulfilled in the death of Christ, who hath already destroyed the power of death for his people; and shall bee compleatly fulfilled at the Resurrection of the dead, when all corruption and mortality shall bee totally taken away, and death shall bee swallowed up in Victory for ever. In the sense of this mercy the Apostle breaks forth ravished as it were with the contemplation of this conquest over death, into a triumphant song, which all the Saints shall sing at the last day; when they shall bee totally freed from the captivity of death and the grave, then shall they insult over subdued death, and say, O death where is thy sting, wherewith thou hadst wont to wound all creatures? O grave where is thy victory, by which thou hast hitherto kept the dead under by force, which now thou must render again, as not being able any longer to hold them under thy power? Rev. 20. 13, 14. It is onelyonly sin by which death hath power over us; and it is the just rigor of the Law which inflicts death upon us for sin. But thanks bee to God who hath given us the victory over sin, which is the cause of death, and over death which is inflicted for sin, through Jesus Christ our Lord, by whom wee obtain an immortal and incorruptible life. Thus the Apostle hath faithfully given us the sense of the Prophet, though not his very words.
The summe and substance of all is this, Though Ephraim hath been an unwise Son, and hath delayed his returning unto mee, yet his impenitency and security shall not retard or disanul my faithfulness and truth unto my people, I will never repent of those gracious promises which I have made to them, but will certa…nly fulfill them. Let not therfore my chosen, pen…ent ones despair as if there were no hope, nor help for them; for I their saviour will redeem them from the power of all their enemies, and cause them to rise from death (which had power over them through sin) unto the glory of eternal life. So that now they may begin their Triumphant song, O death where is thy sting? &c.
OBSERVATIONS.
1 Though the Lord bee terrible to the wicked, yet hee is a Tower to the righteous. Though plagues come suddenly and inevitably upon the wicked, like pangs upon a woman in travel, yet even then hath the Lord a tender respect to his people, and will ransome them from the power of the grave, Isa. 1. 24, 25, 26, 27 and 3. 10, 11. And though they should go into Captivity with the wicked, yet God will set a distinguishing mark of mercy upon them, Ezek. 9. 4. Rev. 7. 3. In the midst of his Judgements hee remembers mercy, and hath a tender care over his people, making them to bee pittied of all that lead them captive, Psal. 106. 46. where ever they go, they have his more especial presence with them to uphold and comfort them, Isa. 43. 2, 3. Ier. 16. 13, 14, 15. Micah 4. 10. Dan. 3. and 6. 22. When all forsake them, yet I will not forsake them, but will bee a sanctuary to them in their Captivity, Ezek. 11. 16, 17. God is ever mindful of his Covenant to his people, and in the midst of all confusions, hee hath an Ark for Noah, a Zoar for Lot, a Midian for Moses, a Haran for Iacob, a Cave for David, a Grave for Methusalem, and Iosiah, and a Pella for Christians. Elijah that was zealous, and a man of fire for God in wicked times,See more in Dr. Reynolds on Hos. 14. 1. …ct. 2. obs, 1. p. was carried in a fiery Chariot to heaven. Ieremiah that witnessed against the corruptions of the times, how renderly doth the king of Babylon deal with him, when the King and his Nobles lay in misery? Ier. 39. 1, 12, 13, 14.
2 Obs. The Scripture of the Old Testamest is the Word of God.
The Apostle to shew the divine Authority of it, even in Gospel-times, refers us to this Text, and another in Isa. 25. 8. to prove the divine mystery of the Resurrection. About four hundred places,But of this see more in my Comment on 2 Tim. 3. 15. P. 262. &c. are cited out of the Old Testament in the New. Both Testaments are the sacred word of the great God, and serve for the mutual illustration and explanation of each other.
3. Obs. The Scripture lyeth not in the bare words and syllables, but in the sense and meaning.
Hence it is that Christ and his Apostles citing Texts out of the Old Testament,Perspicuum est Apostolos & Evangelistas in Veterum Scripturarum interpretatione, sensum quaesisse non verba, nec magn…pere de ordine ser… nibusque curasse, dum intelectui res pateret. Hieron. ad Pammach. give us the sense and meaning of the place, but not the very words; so in a Text sometimes they omit a word, and sometimes they adde something for explanation sake, as Math. 2. 15, 23. and 26. 31. Rom. 10. 15, 18, 19,U…us, unam, u…i. 20, 21. So Gen. 2. 24. compared with Matth. 19. 5. Where foreign, they two, is added emphatically, not they twenty, shall bee one flesh. So Deut. 6. 13. compared with Matth. 4. 10. where the exclusive particle, OnelyOnly, which was not expressed in Deuteronomy, but tacitly and interpretatively understood, is added by our Saviour very significantly. So Isa. 64. 4. collated with I Cor. 2. 9. And hath not entred into the heart of man: These words are added by way of illustration by the Apostle. So Isa. 22. 13. Let us eat and drink, for to morrow wee shall dye. But the Apostle puts it in the present tense, 1 Cor. 15. 32. To morrow wee dye; and this hee doth for explication sake, to express the desperate madness of those Epicures, who would eat and drink securely, although they were to dye presently. This shews the folly of the Quaking Scripturists(such there are in our dayes as well as Anti-scripturists) who take the bare words and syllables, and will not suffer any meaning, or exposition to bee given of them. Thus when they call for a proof of Infant-baptism, you must shew them in so many words, Thou shalt baptise Infants, else they will not beleeve you. Tell them, that generals include particulars, and that children are confederates, and in Covenant with their Parents, and therefore have right to the seal of the Covenant; and that Infant-baptism now, is as lawful as Infant-circumcision of old: yet this doth not satisfe, because they cannot read it in so many letters, Thou shalt baptise Infants. So the Papists they stick to the bare letter, This is my body. Whereas that bread could not bee his natural body, for Christ was then alive when hee said, This is my body, and the Apostle calls it Bread, Bread, four of five times after con…ecration, 1 Cor. 11. 23, to 28.
The Scripture lyes not in the bare and naked words, but in the scope and true interpretation of the words,No p…temus in verbis S…iptu… ess… Evang…lium, sid in … sed in …adice rationis Hieron. Com. … Gal. 1 See more Dr. P…rideau… fascicu… controvers. Q. … P 23. 24 Glassius Philolog. T…act. 2. c…p. 7. p. 1472 …ems Christ Syn…gog c 4. p. 62. Vol. 1. Schools Guard Rule 20. which is as it were the soul and life of the Scripture. Hence Christ bids us not barely read, but search for the sense and meaning of the Scriptures, Ioh. 5. 39. The Lawyers have a saying, Mens leg is est lex, not the bare words, but the meaning of the Law is the Law.
3. Obs. Christ is the Lord.
Hee that hath power over death and hell is the Lord, but Christ hath this power. Rev. 1. 18. and 20. 13. Death and hell gave up their dead to Christ their Judge. It is hee that by the price of his own blood hath redeemed us from the hand of sin and Satan,V. Com. on 2 …im. 4. 1. p. 306, &c. from death and hell; what the Prophet spake of Jehovah, the Apostle applies to Christ, 1 Cor. 15. 54, 55. But of this I have spoken at large elsewhere.
4 Obs. There is an holy harmony, and sweet consent in the Scripture.
There is no repugnancy, no real contradiction there. Like stones in an Arch, they mutually uphold, and strengthen each other. The Doctrine of the Prophets gives light to the Apostles, and the Apostles again illustrate and explain them. In both there is one, and the same Spirit of truth, who at sundry times, and in sundry manners, hath published one and the same truth to his people, Heb. 1. 1, 2. They must not therefore bee opposed, but composed; Not made to contradict, but to confirm each other, Luke 24. 44.
5 Obs. Gods people, whilest they are in this world, may fall into deep distress and misery.
They may bee brought so low, that to a carnal eye they may seem dead and buried, past hope and help, not onelyonly in their own eyes, but also in the eyes of others. Wee have a notable instance for this, Ezek. 37. 1. to 15. the desperate condition of Gods people in their Babylonish captivity, is there set forth, by dead, dried bones, to an eye of sense past all hope or possibility of recovery; in so much, that Gods own people whose faith should not fail, cry out, vers. 11. Our bones are dried, our hope is lost, and wee are cut off. Yea the Prophet himself staggered, and was non-plust, verse 3. the Lord asked him, Son of man, can these bones live? Is it possible that ever such dry bones should live again? The Prophet answers, Lord thou knowest, q. d. it passeth my apprehension to conceive how this should bee; I know not how it should bee effected, but Lord thou knowest what thou hast to do, and to thee nothing thing is impossible. This the Lord doth in his wisdome, to out us of our selves, and all creature-confidences; that in an holy desperation wee may say with repenting Israel, Ashur shall Not save us, neither will wee ride upon horses, nor say any more to the work of our hands, Yee are our gods, for with thee the fatherless finde mercy, Hos. 14. 3.
6 Obs. God in his due time will deliver his people out of the deepest distress.
Hee is Omnipotent, hee can, and will redeem Israel, not out of one or two, but out of all his troubles, Psal. 25. ult. Art thou weak? Hee can strengthen thee. Art thou sick? Hee can heal thee. Art thou dark? Hee can insighten thee. Art thou dead? Hee can inliven thee. Hast thou lain in thy grave till thou stinkest again? so did Lazarus. Hast thou lain till thou art rotten? so did Israel in their Babylonish Captivity, and yet were restored, Ezek. 37. 11, 12. So in desertions wee are apt to bee despondent, when wee walk in darkness, and can see no light, neither Sun-light, nor Moon-light, neither Star-light, nor Candle-light, but are like unto dry bones in a Sepulchre, without life, without spirit, without strength, without comfort, and see no way of deliverance. Aye, but now is a time to live by faith, and not by sense, Isa. 40. 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, and 50. 10. Such is our weakness, that wee are apt to limit the holy one of Israel, and to think that hee can help us in lesser trials, and bring us out of petty crosses, but when some fluctus decumanus, some great waves of Tentation come, then wee are apt to question Gods power and promises, and to say with David, I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul, 1 Sam. 27. 1. Wee are apt to say with Martha, If Christ had come a little sooner, hee might have raised Lazarus, but now (saith she) he stinks, and is past help, Ioh. 11. 39. Aye but it is the better for that, for now Christs power will bee the more manifested, and his Father the more glorified. The more grievous thy disease, the greater will the praise of thy Physitian bee in thy cure, and wee shall love much, when wee see how much is forgiven; and therefore David makes it an argument to move the Lord to pitty him, because his sins were great, Psal. 25 11. Remember, it is Gods usual course to let men bee dead and buried (as it were) in misery, and to bring things to extremity, and then appear; Gen. 22. 14. Psal. 461. when trouble comes, then hee comes too. Wee read of three persons that Christ raised from the dead;V. Bedle his Jou…nal p. 91, 92▪ One was dead, but not carried out, Ma…k. 5. 41▪ A second was dead, and carried out, Luke 7. 14. A third was dead, carried out, buried, and lay till hee stunk in his grave, and that was Lazarus, Christ speaks but the word, Lazarus come forth, and hee lives. God is never nearer to his people,See more in my Comment on 2 Tim 3. 11 & 4 17. p. 204 & p. 456. than when to a carnal eye hee seems furthest off. As wee see in the three young men that were cast into a fiery Furnace, and Daniel into the Lions den. Sense and carnal reason would have said, God had now forsaken them, and there was no help, yet even then did they finde the greatest help, so good it is to trust in God.
7 Obs.foreign. Death in it self is a formidable enemy, and considered as a curse due to impenitent sinners, O mors omnium terribilium terribilisstmum Arist. Ethic. l. 3. c. 6.it is very terrible; even the terriblest of all terribles, as Aristotle calls it. It is armed with stings and plagues, and is therefore called an Enemy, 1 Cor. 15. 26. And the King of terrours, even such a terrour as is the chiefest and greatest of terrours, Iob 18. 14. Hence dreadful calamities are set forth by the shadow of dea…h, Job 10. 21, 22. and 16. 16. and 24. 17. Psal. 23. 4. Ier. 13. 16. and the messengers of death, Prov. 16. 14. and the snares, sorrows, and terrours of death, Psal. 18. 4, 5. and 55. 4. It is this that snatcheth men (when they least think of it) from their dear Relations, Pleasures, Riches, Recreations, Mansions, Honours, &c. which they love as their lives; and this must needs bee terrible to a natural man who hath no assurance of better things when he dyes. Hence such are said to be in bond age, and a slavish fear of death all their life long, Heb. 2. 15. whilst wicked men look upon death at a distance, and think it far off, they fear it not; but when God shall open their eyes by sickness, and summon them to appear before him, then like Pashur, they are Magar-missabib, a terrour to themselves, and all that are …ound about them, Ier. 20. 3, 4. Saul, though a King, and a … man, yet when hee heard that death was at the door, and hee must dye to morrow, was so dis-spirited with this dismal news, that hee fell into a deadly trance, and was not able to bear it, the fear of death had well nigh ended him before his death came, 1 Sam.? 9. 19, 20. So Bel…hazzar, a mighty Monarch, in the height of his mirth, is all amort his countenance is changed, his thoughts trouble him, and his joynts are loosed; but whence came all this terrour and amazement? why it is for fear of this King of fears, Death, which suddenly after surprized him. Dan. 5. 1, 2. &c. This puts an end to all a wicked mans comforts and hopes,See this Point excellently improved, Caryl on Job 18. 14. conscience shall now bee awakened, and hee must give an account of his Stewardship. This made Lewis the eleventh King of France to command his servants in his sickness, that they should not once mention that bitter word Death in his hearing. Yea even the godly in a temptation, for fear of death, have not acted like themselves at other times, as wee see in three of the greatest-Worthies that wee read of in the Scriptures, first Abraham famous for faith, Gen. 12. 12, 13. & 20. 2. 11. And David, famous for valour, 1 Sam. 22. 12, 13. And Peter for courage, yet to save his life, denied his Lord.
8 Obs. Death is a conquered Enemy.
Christ h…th disarmed him, and taken away his sting. Hee hath redeemed his from the power of the grave, and swallowed up death in Victory. Christ by his death hath destroyed death, and him that had the power of death, the Devil,Diabolus dicit…r habere mort is imperium, non qua Rex, sed qu… Tyrannus, vel qua carnifex qui habet imperium in eos q…i mo…te propter facinora sua adiudicati & ipsius potestati t…aditi sunt. Gerhard. Heb. 2. 14. by suffering of that death which was due to us for our sins, hee hath destroyed the power of Satan, and taken away that advantage which hee had against us by reason of sin, whose wages is death. Satan thought by death to destroy Christ, but Christ by his death destroyed his Kingdome, and became more glorious by dying; like another Sampson, hee slew more at his death, than in his life. So that now wee are more than Conquerers,O beatam illorum mort…m qui participes facti sunt mortis Christi! Knox. even Triumphers through Christ that loved us. Hee hath triumphed over death, and all the enemies of our salvation, and wee in him our head triumph, 2 Cor. 2. 14. Col. 2. 14, 15. by lying in the grave hee hath sweetned our graves for us, so that now wee may sleep in it as in a bed of down, Isa. Non dicit simpliciter foreign, Plusquam viotores sumus, supervincimus, i. e. Eg…egie & excellenter superamus. Tactica Sacra, 1. 3. c. 3. sect. 1. ubi plura.57. 2. and our flesh may rest in hope of a glorious Resurrection, Psal. 16. 9. Now if ever wee may sing that Triumphant song▪ O death where is thy sting! It is destroyed, abolished, gone. This strong man armed is overcome by a stronger than hee. It is not the pleasures of life, nor the pains of death, neither the height of prosperity, nor the depth of adversity, nothing now can separate us from Christ, Iob 5. 20, 21, 22.How Christs death should support us, see D. Goodwin on Christ his Death and Resur. sect. 2, 3. p. 22. quarto. Rom. 8. 35, &c. Death may dissolve our corporal marriage, but it is so far from abolishing, that it perfects our spiritual marriage; killed we may bee, but conquered we can never be; Christs victory is our victory, and all his Conquests ours.
Quest. If Christ by his death hath destroyed death, why then do the godly dye?
Answ. Christ did not dye to deliver us from sickness and death, but to free us from the curse that is in these. By his death hee hath pulled out the sting of death; the death of the body still remains, but the sting, and that which is penal, is taken away,Tollitur mors non n…sit, sed ne obsit. Aug. so that it cannot hurt us; and therefore the Text doth not say, I will free you from death, sed…è manu mortis, but from the destructive power of death, so as it shall have no dominion over you to hurt you, nor bee able to separate you from Christ. As the Apostle saith of sin, it is in us, but it doth not reign in us; so dye wee must, but death hath no dominion over beleevers, as it hath over wicked men; it gets the victory over them, they dye, and dye eternally; but a beleevers death is neither
Total,
Penal, nor
Perpetual.
1 It is not Total; it seizeth onelyonly on the body, the carcass, the outside, it goeth to its dust, but the spirit returns to God that gave it, Eccles. 12. 7.
2 It is not Penal, but profitable; in the grave wee put off our filth, deformities, defects, infirmities, and mortality it self. It is our attiring house to fit us for immortality and glory.
3 It is not perpetual, it is but a sleeping till the general Resurrection, Rom. 8. 10, 11. our conquest over death is inchoate, in fieri, and partly fulfilled in this life, but it shall bee consummate in facto, and fully compleated at the Resurrection. Then shall they awake and sing that dwell in the dust,See an excellent Tract of Mr. Garbu… on the Resurrection. Isa. 26. 19. This upheld Iob in the midst of all his sorrows, I know that my Redeemer lives, my comfort is, though I dye, yet I have one to right mee that lives for ever, Iob 19. 25. David comforts himself with this, that God would redeem him from the power of the grave, and from the hand of hell, though riches cannot redeem the rich, yet God would redeem him, Psal. 49. 15.
Object. I must part with Wife, Children, Friends, Pleasures.
Answ. All these losses will bee made up in a better kinde, as you may see at large in Mr. Byfields Cure of the fear of death, p. 745. it is in the end of his Marrow. And B. Halls Balm of Gilead, p. 141.
Use. Fear not death with a slavish fear. Christ dyed to free us from such a fear of death, Heb. 2. 15. A religious prudential fear doth well; fear it so, as to arm your selves, and prepare for it, but not so as to bee dejected under it. No wise man will fear a conquered enemy;See Mr. Hierons Ser. on Prov. 14 32. p. 464. if you truly beleeve in Christ, the Conquerour of death, you need not fear death. Think on Christ when you think on death, and then you may in a holy sarcasm and contempt say, O death where is thy sting! Christ hath unstinged it, and as it were disarmed it;Sicut s…rpentes & venenata quaecunque aculeis praedita, iis ferire & l…thalit…r vulnerare solent, at si iis fo…te spoli…ntur nullam amplius nocendi vim habent; it a mors per peccatum tanquam t…lum homines trans…git & conficit, at sine peccato inermis est. Tactica S. l. 3. c. 3. sect. 9. p. 329. so that now wee may safely put it in our bosomes; buz it may, about our ears as a drone Bee, but sting it cannot, for Christ hath taken away the guilt of sin, and hath made that which was sometimes a curse, to become a blessing; of a foe hee hath made it a friend, of a poyson a medicine, of a punishment an advantage, Phil. 1. 21. of the gate of hell a passage to heaven. It is now like the valley of Achor, a door of hope; that which was sometimes the King of Terrours, is now become the King of Comforts, as making way for the enjoyment of the highest comforts. Wee part with a life of misery, to enjoy a life of glory. Wee use to say Change is no Robbery,See the Point excellently inlarged by Mr. Swinnock on Philip. 1. 22. p. 19 to 54. but such a change is our great advantage. Hence it is that the Apostle summing up a Christians priviledges and riches, sets down Death as part of it, 1 Cor. 3. 22. not onelyonly life, but Death is yours; hee that can truly say, I am Christs subject and servant, may as truly say, Death will bee my preferment and high advancement.See Mr. Cotton on Eccl…s. 7. 1. See 17. Priviledges of a bele…ver in death. Byfields Marrow, p. 670. &c. So true is that of Solomon, Eccles. 7. 1. The day of a mans death, is better (in many respects) than the day of his birth. Then, and never till then shall wee rest from our labours, Iob 3. 17. Rev. 14. 13. and bee perfectly freed from sin, and all its concomitants.
Look not therefore on death with Philosophical eyes, as if it were the end of all our comforts, but look on it with Christian eyes, as the year of Jubilee, the day of our Coronation, and consummation of the Marriage between Christ and our souls.
A natural man that looks upon death with an eye of sense, sees nothing but horror and terror in it; but a gracious soul that looks on it with an eye of faith, seeth life in death, light in darkness, and comfort in discomfort; though for a time hee must lye in the grave, and death seems to have dominion over him, yet hee as certainly sees a Resurrection, as if hee were already in possession of it, and therefore hee triumphs already in assurance of a total conquest through Christ; death is already swallowed up by him in victory, Isa. 25. 8. Christ was his life,Non potest male mo… qui bene vixerit. Aug. and therefore now death is his gain. Hee lived holily, and now hee dyes happily, hee lived unto the Lord, and therefore hee now dyes unto him, Rom. 14. 7, 8. 2 Cor. 5. 15. His care was to keep a good conscience, and now hee hath the comfort of it, 2 Cor. 1. 12.
Let Atheists then, and worldlings, and wicked men fear death, who know no better life; but let the righteous, who hath hope in his death, Prov. 14. 32. imbrace it, and bid it welcome, as the Martyrs did, who went as joyfully to their stakes, as others do to marriages. Witness all those living speeches of dying Saints which will shortly be published by an able and industrious hand to the world. Mr. Trapp.Cyprian hearing the sentence of death pronounced against him, said, Lord I thank thee that now thou wilt free mee from the bonds of the body. I shall not now lose my life, but change it for a better. Excellently Pomponius Algerius in an Epistle which hee writ to his friends from the delectable Hortyard of the Leonine prison, Iuly 1…. 1555. I shall tell you (said hee) str…ge things, I have found a honey comb in a Lions belly; In a deep dungeon I have found pleasantness, in a place of bitterness and the shadow of death I have found peace and hope of life. In the belly of hell I have found comfort. Where others weep, there do I sing for joy; and wh…re …thers fear, there have I support. The good hand of my God hath done all this for mee. Hee that seemed sometime to bee far from mee, is now most present with mee. Hee that I had but some glympses of before, now I see him face to face. Hee hath turned my winter into a glorious Spring; why should I fear any freezi…g cold, who am thus inflamed with the love of God? Let Malefactors fear this prison, to mee it flows with honey.
[See seven Consolations against Death in Caryl on Iob 18. 14. p. 96 97. and in my Comment on 2 Tim. 4. 6. Obs. 3. p. 370, &c. Byfields Cure of the fear of Death, p. 653. Perkins Art of Dying well Mr. Gatakers Sermon on Philip. 1. 23. part 2. p. 222. Hierons Sermon p. 653. Mr. Baxter Saints Rest, p. 25. &c. B. Halls Balm of Gilead, p. 247. Drexelius Prodromus Aeternitatis p. 33. Vol. 1. folio. Mr. Sam. Fishers Antidote against the fear of Death, at the end of his Sermon on Psal. 39. 9.]
9 Obs. Gods Decrees are infallible and u…changeable.
Repentance is hid from his eyes, hee knows not what it means. Hee is not as man that hee should lye or repent, Nu…b. 23. 19. 1 Sam. 15. 25. Hee is Jehovah, hee changeth not, Mal. 3. 6. His Covenant hee will not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of his lips, Psal. 89. 34, 35. and 110. 4. Isa. 54. 9, 10. if hee hath decreed to shew mercy to his people, and to redeem them from the power of hell, all the Devils in hell shall not bee able to hinder it. It is not the counsel of men or Devils, but the counsel of the Lo…d that shall stand, Psal. 33. 10. 11. If hee hath spoken it hee will do it, yea and the contrary plots of wicked men shall help to effect it, Rom. 9. 11. Acts 2. 23.
Obj. Is not God said to repent? Gen. 6. 6. Ier. 18. 8. Amos 7▪ 3, 6.
Answ. It is spoken, not properly, but after the manner of men,See more in our large Annotat. on Gen. 6. 6. and according to our capacity, because his work is changed, though himself continueth un…hangeable, for with him is no variableness, nor so much as a shadow of changeing. He is constant and faithful in performing all his promises to his people, 1 Thess. 5. 24. All his wayes are mercy and truth to them that fear him, and keep his Covenant. They are mercy in promising, and truth in performing; not one thing shall fail of all the good things which God hath promised to his people, Iosh. 23. 14. though they bee not presently fulfilled, yet in Gods due time they shall bee accomplished, for though God come not at our time, yet hee never fails his own, Deut. 32. 35. Hab. 2. 3.
10 Obs. Beleevers, in this life, may bee assured of their sal…vation.
Repentance is hid from Gods eyes, whom hee loves once, hee loves for ever. Not one of those that the Father hath given to Christ shall perish, Matth. 18. 14. Ioh. 6. 39. The foundation of the Lord stands sure, more sure than the Pillars of the earth, or the Poles of heaven. 2 Tim. 2. 19. The Decree of Election is there called a foundation. 2 It is not every foundation, but a firm and sure foundation. 3 It is not a foundation of mans laying, but it is the foundation of the Lord. 4 It is not a tottering, but a standing foundation built on a rock, sealed and confirmed by the Spirit, counsel, and special knowledge of God. Hee knows who are his. Hence the Covenant of the Lord made with his people, is called An everlasting Covenant, 2 Sam. 23. 5. Hos. 2. 19, 20. And hee hath promised to plant his fear in their hearts, that they shall never depart from him, Jer. 32. 39. if they fall, yet they shall not bee utterly cast down, for the Lord upholds them with his hand, Deut. 33. 3. Psal. 37. 24. Prov. 2. 7, 8. Ioh. 10. 28. They stand not by their own strength, but are kept and guarded by his Almighty power through faith unto salvation▪ 1 Pet. 1. 5. Common gifts and graces may fade and fail, but his gifts,Comment on 2 Tim. 4. 8. p. 403. &c. i. e. his peculiar, essential gifts, which appertain to salvation, are without repentance, Rom. 11. 29. But of this I have treated at large elsewhere.