Grace, Sermon
A Funeral Sermon preached by Mr Love at the Funeral of Miſtris B. at Lowrence Ju…y London. April 29. 1651. being the laſt Sermon that ever he preached
JOB 30. 23.
For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the houſe appointed for all living.
IN the handling of theſe words 'tis needfull I ſhould diſpatch theſe two things.
1. Give you the ſcope.
2. The ſenſe of the words.
For the firſt, the ſcope of the words, becauſe they are uſher'd in with an illative or cauſal particle (For) which carries a reference to ſomewhat that goeth before, and that you may diſtinctly take notice of the reference, you muſt look back to the 18. verſe of this chapter, there Iob tells you of a ſtrong diſeaſe under which he laboured, By the great force of my diſeaſe is my garment changed, Verſ. 18.it hind…th me about as the collar of my coat. It ſeemes the diſeaſe was ſo ſtrong upon him, it even ſtrangled his breath, it was as a collar about his neck, upon the ſenſe of this his diſeaſe, he breaks out into this holy meditation, For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the houſe appointed for all living. Now take a hint from the ſcope and context, that ſiekneſſes and diſeaſes they ſhould be remembrancers of us about our dying. Sick men ſhould alwayes think with themſelves they are dying men, and they that die daily, need not fear dying ſuddenly. So I come to the ſenſe of the words, I know. It is not to be underſtood of a notional or ſpeculative knowledge,Non ſolùm …em notam' ſed quaſi peculiari experientiâ ſibi perſuaſam, ſignifica…. Pined. Experio… Jun. that doth ſignifie a bare and naked knowledge of a general truth; but ſuch kinde of knowledge as is practical and experimental: and ſo alſo did Junius tranſlate it. This experimental knowledge wrought in Iob holy preparations for death I know, and by experience can tell, I have ſuch a kinde of knowledge, that hath practicalneſſe and experience in it. (That thou wilt bring me to death) This ſhewed the holineſſe of Iob in oppoſition to the doctrine of the Heathens, who gueſt that all ſuch events fell out by fate and fortune, and not by the determinate decree and counſel of the moſt High. (And to the houſe appointed for all living.) Though he doth not ſpeake here where this houſe is,Job 17. 13. yet it doth in Iob. 17. 13. If I wait, the grave is mine houſe, and I have made my bed in the darkneſſe. Now that which was his houſe, muſt be the houſe of all living, that is, the grave. Now the grave is compared to an houſe. 1. Alluding to the Egyptian Sepulch…es, which were made like a houſe with ſeveral arched rooms. 2. Becauſe there we dwell in ſilence. Thus ye have the words briefly paraphraſed unto you. Now I ſhall give you ſome practical deduction from them, For I know that thou wilt bring me to death. Theſe words are the gracious ſpeech of Iob, touching his own mortality, and in them we have three particulars.
1. The Rationality of this ſpeech. He brings it in with an illative. For,
2. The Particularity of it. He drawes a particular meditation of death, &c. Me.…
3. The piety of it, he acknowledges Gods hand in bringing him to death. Thou, and not chance or fortune.
For the firſt, the Rationality of it. Holy Job doth not ſpeak of his death without ſome cauſe, but for the ground and reaſon foregoing. By the great force of my diſeaſe is my garment changed, it bindes me about as the Collar of my Coat; and then he breaks out into this holy meditation, For I know thou wilt bring me to death. From thence obſerve, That it is a very Rational thing in weakneſſe to have holy meditations about death. …oct 1.Job lay under a diſeaſe, that even was ready to choak and ſtrangle him, and then he breaks out into this holy meditation, For I know thou wilt bring me to death, &c. It is obſervable, the Ancients take notice that David made three Pſalmes, when he lay upon his ſick-bed, Pſalm. 6 Pſalm 30. Pſalm 39. and in all thoſe Pſalmes there are divine raptures and holy meditations about death. Iob. 17. 1. My breath is corrupt, my dayes are extinct, the grave is ready for me. He doth not mean an ill ſavour in his breath, but it was an obſtruction and ſtopping in his breath, that is, he was ſhort-breathed, and ſtraitned under a violent diſeaſe. It is conceived that Job had that diſeaſe which is called the Tiſſick, and the conſideration of this diſeaſe, made him think that the grave was ready for him. So Heman lay und… a violent diſeaſe, Pſal. 88. 3, 4, 5. For my ſoul is full of trouble, and my life draws nigh to the grave, Pſa. 88. 3, 4 5.I am accounted with them that go down into the pit, I am as a man that hath no ſtrength, free among the dead, like the ſtain that lye in the grave, whom thou numbreſt no more, and they are cut off from thy hands. When ſickneſſe is in the chamber, then death is at the window. Diſeaſes are but the meſſengers, harbingers and fore-runners of death; in the Prophets phraſe, Death is come up into our windowes: ler. 9. 21.When diſeaſes are in the houſe, then death is at the threſhold. So Job reckoneth, When I lye down, Job 7. 4, 5.I ſay, when ſhall I riſe, and the night be gone? and I am full of toſſings to and fro, unto the dawning of the day, and then he ſaith, My fleſh is clothed with wormes, and clods of duſt. My skin is broken, and become loathſome.
Firſt Vſe, Vſe 1.is to condemn thoſe, that when they lye on a ſick-bed, they hope for life, but never think of death, their own guiltineſſe and their own wickedneſſe of living doth ſo fill them with fear and horrour, that the thoughts of death are irkſome and tedious to them. Juſt like Lewis the eleventh King of France, when he lay ſick of a dangerous diſeaſe, he charged his ſervants and attendants, that they ſhould not ſpeak of death in his hearing. Many mens bodies are Magazines and Hoſpitals of diſeaſes, who when they are living never think of death, though there is but little betwixt them and the grave.
Second Vſe, Vſe 2.is to thoſe that are healthful and ſtrong; 'tis true, diſeaſes are the immediate harbingers and fore-runners of death in an ordinary way, yet you may ſoon dye though a diſeaſe ſeize not on you. As the fruits of a tree do more periſh by extraordinary windes and tempeſts, then do ſtay upon the tree, and are gathered by the husbandman: So violent diſeaſes may ſoon kill you, though marrow be in your bones, and ſtrength in your joynts. Paracelſus a skilful Phyſician, he gloryed, that if any man would follow his Phyſical Preſcriptions, he ſhould not dye any violent death, but meerly through age, and yet that boaſting man before he was forty yeares of age, he himſelf dyed of a Feaver. Thus I have done with the firſt conſideration, the Reaſonableneſſe of this; I am under a ſore diſeaſe, and therefore I do think of death.
Secondly, the Particularity of Johs ſpeech is to be obſerved. Job doth not ſtand upon that general concluſion, There is no man that liveth but he ſhall ſee death, Pſal. 88. 48. He doth not ſpeak in general ſo, but I know I must die. From thence obſerve this point,
That general Concluſions about death, Dect. 2.ſhould be enforced upon the ſoul by particular applications. Beloved, we ſhould not only have general notions and empty ſpeculations about death, but practical and particular concluſions concerning our death, ſuch as may lay an awe upon the conſcience. Thus in the caſe of the godly,Job 5. 26. 27. ſaid Eliphaz, Thou ſhalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a ſhock of Corne cometh in his ſeaſon; and then he addes, verſ. 27. Lo this, we have ſearched it, hear it, and know thou it for thy good. General Concluſions that all muſt dye, muſt be enforced upon the ſoul with particular applications, to turne you from the world, to beget in you ſerious thoughts touching your future and eternal welfare. General truths do not carry that force upon the conſcience, unleſſe they are drawn by applicative inference; and therefore. Pſ. 73. ult. The Pſalmiſt ſaith not only It is good to draw near unto God, but it is good for me.
The third particular, is the Piety of J…bs ſpeech, in theſe words, Thou wilt bring me to death. Now there are three particulars in it which note Iobs Faith and Piety.
1. He doth not aſcribe dying to fate and fortune, but to the Providence of the moſt High. From thence obſerve,
That it is the property of the godly, Doct. 3.to ſee Gods band in taking away men by death. It was but the dotage of the Heathen that knew not God, to aſcribe events to blind fortune, and it was the corruption of the Chaldeans to overlook the Deity in all fatal events; Yet Iob he deſired to ſee and ſubmit to death, and to Gods hand in bringing it upon him. Thou wilt bring me to death. Another thing obſervable is this, I know thou wilt bring me to death. It is not a notional and bare knowledge of the underſtanding, but ſuch a kinde of knowledge that is conſiderate and practical, which works upon the affections. From thence obſerve,
That though all men do know notionally they muſt dye, Doct. 4.yet only godly men know it practically and conſiderately. To know practically of your dying, conſider before hand, how ſhall I do to launch into the eternal gulfe? what ſhall become of me in another world, when I leave this? Is my peace made with God? Is my perſon juſtified? Am I in a ſtate of grace? Now Iobs ſpeech hath latitude in it, I know thou wilt bring me to death, that is, I do ſo know it, that I will provide for it, and I will prepare for it, and I will lay a foundation for eternal life. Solomon ſpeaking of Funeral ſolemnity,Ec…l. 7. 2. ſaith he, It is better to go to the houſe of mourning, then to go to the houſe of feaſting, that is the end of all men, and the living will lay it to his heart. I but all men that do do not lay death to heart, they may perhaps talk of death at a Funeral, but the living they ſhall lay it to heart,foreign lay it upon the heart, as the Hebrew, they ſhall lay it to heart, and lay it upon their hearts, ſo Tremelius. Dabit ad Cor ſuum Ar. Mont. Inditur… eſt iſtud anim… ſu…. Tremel.A wicked man layes it upon his tongue, but a godly man layes this truth upon his heart. There is none but a godly man, that ſo knowes any thing of dying; as to know it ſo practically, affectionately and conſiderately, and ſo as to do theſe three things.
1. None but a godly man conſiders of his dying, that he dies deſervedly, he taſtes the bitterneſſe, and feels the burden of ſin; in his diſeaſes and ſenſe of approaching death, he conſiders with himſelf, that it is not a diſeaſe that will bring him to his grave, but the ſins of his life that kill him.
2. None knowes that he muſt dye ſo as a godly man, whoſe care it is to dye preparedly. A godly man he knows he muſt dye, and this knowledge makes him prepare for a dying time, to live every day as his laſt day. The Prophet he ſpake of death in the former part of Pſal. 90.Pſal. 90 11. 12. that the dayes of man are threeſcore and ten. See what followes, So teach us to number …ur dayes, that we may apply our hearts unto wiſdom; he doth mean by numbering our dayes, to live ſo exactly as to count the number of our dayes to be ſo few, every day… as if this were the laſt day; and this time as the time of the coming of Chriſt to judgement.
3. None but a godly man knows of his dying, ſo as to conſider that there is a neceſſity that ſin muſt dye in him before his body dies. … an Heathen could ſay, Let thy vices dye before thee. … ant… … viti…. Sen.There muſt not be only a ſuſpenſion, but a mortification of ſin. A godly man conſiders, though I live blameleſly, that men cannot ſay, Black is mine eye to any outward practice, yet I muſt have my inward luſts and corruptions dye before my body dye; and therefore they ought to be converſant in things that tend to mortification… this is to know death conſiderately and affectionately; whereas wicked men conſider of death notionally, their ſenſes tell them that all muſt die. They ſay all men, men, young and old, rich and poor muſt dye; but this is but matter of diſcourſe in them, but the godly know it with ſavoury knowledge.
Thirdly, Iobs Piety was, in that he doth repreſent death to himſelf, not in a formidable and dreadful way, but under a comfortable repreſentation; For I know thou wilt bring me to death… and to the houſe, &c. He doth repreſent the grave under the notion of a houſe, as he repreſents it elſewhere. From thence obſerve this point.
That a child of God that hath not allowed guilt upon his conſcience, Doct. 5.he may and ought to re-preſent death to himſelf in ſuch familiar repreſentations, as may make it leſſe dreadful and more deſirable. Sometimes it is repreſented as going to bed, They ſhall reſt in their bed. A godly man when he lyeth upon his death-bed, and by ſickneſſe is weary of his life,Iſa. 57. 2. toſſing to and fro till the dawning of the day, let him think the grave will be but a bed of reſt unto him; ſo death is often ſtiled a ſleep. And many of them that ſleep in the duſt of the earth, Dan. 12. 2.ſhall awake, ſome to everlaſting life, and ſome to ſhame and everlaſting contempt. Death is embalmed with ſweet and comfortable language.
The grave is the houſe for all the living to be lodged in. Doct. 6.If I wait, the grave is mine houſe, I have made my bed in the darkneſſe. Job 17. 13.The grave is the houſe that I muſt go to, as after a hard dayes labour in my houſe I go to bed in a dark night: So we go to our beds, as into our graves for a long night; going to bed is but for a ſhort night, but going to the grave is for a long night; death is ſomtimes repreſented with dreadful conſiderations, but with amiableneſſe too. There is an abhorrency in nature againſt death, it is embalmed by Jeſus Chriſt; he lay in the grave three dayes, to embalme the grave to you, though your beds be cloudy and dark, yet ye reſt in them till the Reſurrection-day. For the opening of the doctrine.
I ſhall diſpatch theſe two Queries.
1. I ſhall ſhew you, why the grave is compared to an houſe.
2. I ſhall ſhew you, what kinde of houſe the grave is.
For the firſt Query,Query 1. why the grave is compared to an houſe?
1. This Reaſon ſome Authors give, becauſe in ancient times, (as hath been hinted) among the Egyptians their graves and ſepulchres, they were made after the faſhion of houſes, with Arches, and ſuch kind of ſuperſtructures; therefore they ſay it is called an houſe.
2. Other Authors give this reaſon; becauſe that as a man after a dayes labour abroad, he comes to his houſe for reſt, ſo a man after a lifes labour in this world, he comes to his grave, as to his houſe for reſt.
The ſecond Query is this,Query 2 what kinde of houſe is the grave? Now I will give you theſe four properties of this houſe. 1. It is a deſolate and a loneſome houſe. 2. It is a dark houſe. 4 It is an old houſe. 4 It is a ſilent houſe. For the firſt, the grave is
1. A deſolate and a loneſome houſe.Job 3. 14. I ſhall be, ſaid Iob, with Kings & Counſellers of the earth which build deſolate places for themſelves, that is, they build tombs, and monuments where they ſhall lye, and then they ſhall leave all their attendance.Ezek. 26. 20. When I ſhall bring thee down with them that deſcend into the pit, with the people of old time, and ſhall ſet thee in the low parts of the earth, in places deſolate of old, with them that go down into the pit, that thou be not inhabited. Job 17. 14. I have ſaid to corruption, Thou art my Father, and to the wormes, Thou art my mother and my ſiſter: there is all the company you will have, corruption and the wormes; friends bring you to your grave, and there they leave you.
2. Your grave is a dark houſe, I have made my bed in the darkneſſe, that is, in the grave. The grave is like the ſleeping room in a houſe, not like the dining room and working room. The dining room is to be light, and ſo the working room, but the ſleeping room is dark. 'Tis but the ſtopping of the mouth of the grave, and it is but the drawing of the Curtains of the bed, where thou ſhalt lye in darkneſſe till the Reſurrection… day. In the grave there is neither the light of the body, which is the eye; nor the light of the aire, which is the Sun: the Sun it ſhall not ſhine there, nor the body ſee there; Therefore Eccl. 11. 9. Rejoyce, Oh young man in thy youth, and let thy heart cheere thee in the dayes of thy youth, and walk in the wayes of thy heart, and in the ſight of thine eyes, but know thou that for all theſe things God will bring thee unto judgement. And verſ. 8. He had ſaid remember the dayes of darkneſſe; for they ſhall be many. The meaning is this, The continuance in the grave, which is the houſe of darkneſſe, ſhall be long, even to the end of the world.
3. The grave is an old houſe, as old as Adam, he digged his grave with his owne fingers;Rom. 5. 12. Wherefore as by one man ſin entred into the world, and death by ſin, and ſo death paſſed upon all men, for that all have ſinned. The grave it is a laſting houſe, a houſe where thou muſt ſtay a great while. Eccleſ. 11. 5. Alſo when they ſhall be afraid of that which is high, and fear ſhall be in the way, and the Almond tree ſhall flouriſh, and the Graſhopper ſhall be a burden, and deſire ſhall faile, becauſe man goeth to his leng home, and the mourners go about the ſtreets, 'Tis a long home, a kinde of a houſe of eternity, a long while till Chriſts comming to judgement, our long home, in oppoſition to our preſent houſes, that is; our ſhort home. Your houſes are your ſhort homes, but the graves are your long homes.
4. The grave is a ſilent houſe, Pſal. 31. 17. Let me net be aſhamed, Oh Lord, for I have called upon thee: let the wicked be aſhamed and let them be ſilent in the grave. The Pſalmiſt prayes here for deliverance from his Perſecutors, here is nothing but clamour, perſecution and oppoſition, and one ſhall not have a good word from them. But as Iob comfort… himſelf in the grave, There the voice of the Oppreſſor ſhall not be heard: Job 3. 18.So may we, we ſhall be at reſt and ſilence there, there the weary ſhall be at reſt, and there the Priſoners ſhall reſt together. For the Uſes of this point.
The firſt Vſe, is an uſe of comfort to the godly, they may be comforted upon this doctrine. This doctrine is a doctrine that is dreadful to wicked men, their graves are dungeons to them; but to Gods children the grave is an houſe. Now you may be comforted upon theſe four conſideratious.
1 That though the grave be an houſe, yet be comforted, it is a reſting houſe, Iob▪ 3 17. There the wicked ceaſe from troubling, Job 3. 1…, 1….and there the weary be at reſt. He ſpeaks here of the grave in verſ. 13. For now ſhould I have lien ſtill and been quiet, I ſhould have ſlept, then had I been at reſt. There is no work to be done in this houſe, Eccleſ. 9. 10. Whatſoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might, for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wiſdom in the grave whither thou goeſt. Iſa. 57. 2. They ſhall reſt in their beds.
2. That though the grave be a houſe, yet be comforted, it is but a ſleeping houſe, it is not a houſe where thou ſhalt be everlaſtingly. Beloved though it be a houſe, yet it is but a ſleeping houſe; it ſhall not alwayes keep your bodies; that is the meaning of Pauls exultation: O death, where is thy ſting? Oh grave where is thy victory? 1 Cor. 15. 57.He refers it to the Reſurrection; the grave though it compaſſe us, yet it ſhall not conquer us.
1. Though the grave be a houſe, yet be comforted, it is but a hiding houſe, ſuch a houſe as is but a hiding place for Gods people. Job. 14. 13. Oh that thou wouldſt hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me in ſecret untill thy wrath be paſt, that thou wouldſt appoint me a ſet time and remember me. Times may be ſo calamitous, that there may be more ſafety under ground then above ground, they that have layen a long time in their graves, may be more happy then thoſe that are living,Iſa. 26. 20. Iſa. 26. 20. Come my peeple, enter thou into thy chambers, and ſhut thy door about thee, hide thy ſelf, as if it were for a little moment until the indignation be overpaſt. Though ſome refer this to a temporal deliverance, yet others refer it to the grave, where God lodges his children, when he takes them from the evil to come.
Though the grave be a houſe, yet be comforted it is a perfumed houſe, a houſe imbalmed and perfumed by Chriſts lying in the grave. All the acts that Chriſt did, they were for our ſakes. Chriſt died to ſave us by dying. Chriſt lay buried in the grave, to make the grave a bed of reſt, he roſe again from the dead to ſanctifie our reſurrection, and by his preſence there he hath perſumed this bed; this houſe the grave.
Second Vſe for inſtruction. 1. Here is matter of meditation; when you are in your own houſes, bethink your ſelves thus, Now I am here walking in my houſe, from chamber to chamber, but ere long my chamber ſhall be in the duſt. Now I am comming to my bed in a dark night, but ere long God wil put out the candle of my life, and wil lay me in the grave, as in a bed of darkneſſe. Now I am in my own houſe, but ere long my houſe wil caſt me our to my grave, and that is the houſe that wil take me in.
2. Let it check in you all covetous and inordinate deſires after worldly things; Thou ſhalt come from lying in the dark houſe in the womb, to lye in the dark houſe of the grave. Oh what a vaſt company of inordinat and luxurious deſires are there in the hearts of men. In the womb one foot, in the cradle three foot wil content you, and in the grave ſix foot, but when thou liveſt in the world a whole world wil not content you, there is ſuch inordinate and luxurious deſires in mens hearts, when they have all affluence and confluence of creature comforts; Now they muſt have their variety of Houſes, a Countrey-houſe, a Summer-houſe, a Winter houſe, yet thou muſt exchange thy many houſes for one houſe, 'Tis worthy your notice that paſſage you read of in Scripture, 1 Sam. 10. 24. Samuel when he had anointed Saul King, and the people had choſen him; what ſignal doth he give him to confirme him anointed, it was to goe to Rachels Sepulchre; now the reaſon is this, that he might not be glutted with the preferments & honours he was entring upon. The Emperours of Conſtantinople, in their inaugurations, on their Coronation daies,Iſa 57. 1. Elige ab his ſaxis ex quo invictiſſime Caeſaer ipſe tibi tumulum me fabricare velis. had a Maſon came and ſhewed them ſeverall Marble-ſtones, and asked them to chooſe which of thoſe ſhould be made ready for their Grave-ſtone. And ſo we read of Joſeph of Arimathea, that he had his Tombe in his garden to check the pleaſures of the place. Now in thy houſe thou haſt ſuperfluity and abundance. I can goe now to variety of houſes; bu… one day thou ſhalt leave all thy houſes, and go to one houſe, and there leave all your company and your friends.
But how can this be true, Object. 1.when the Scripture ſaith, Joh. 8. 51. Verily, verily, I ſay unto you, if a man keep my ſaying, he ſhall never ſee death.
To this I anſwer, that this Scripture intends not a natural and corporal death, but a ſpiritual and eternal death, and it is ſaid, John 11. 25, 26. I am the reſurrection and the life, he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet he ſhall live, and whoſoever liveth and believeth in me ſhall never die: That is, though he die naturally, yet he ſhall live eternally.
But you will ſay,2. Object. Enoch was not buried, and Elijah was carried up in a chariot.
Particular examples doe not fruſtrate general rules;Sol. though they were not laid in their graves, yet they underwent ſomething equivalent to death. There was a particular reaſon why God tranſlates Enoch and Elijah, becauſe they were to be types of Chriſts Reſurrection, and pledges of ours.
But ſome wil ſay,3. Obj. 1 Cor. 15. 51. We ſhall not all ſleep, but we ſhall be changed; therefore at the laſt day they ſhall not be buried, and the grave not the houſe of all men, but thoſe that are then living ſhall be ſuddenly carried up to Heaven.
To this I anſwer, that at the laſt day, though men ſhall not come to the grave,Sol. yet they ſhall be taken up when the trumpet ſhall ſound, and ſhall goe through the fire, and they ſhall in their tranſlation undergoe ſomething that ſhall be equivalent to a death, and to a buriall.
2. Laſtly, we are tied to this decree of death, though God be not tied, Rom. 5. 14. and Rom. 9. 27. By thoſe places we are to underſtand, all men doe deſerve to die, though God may exempt ſome,Rom. 5. 13. De jure mortis in omnes homines loquitur Apoſtol…, licet Deus aliquos à morte peſſet eximere. Rivet. as thoſe that live to ſee the end of the world, from a death as ours is. Death is the end of all men, and the grave is the houſe appointed for all living. Death hath paſſed upon all men becauſe all have ſinned. All deſerve to die; and even thoſe that are changed at the laſt day undergo ſomething equivalent to death it ſelfe.
FINIS.