Concerning Death and Heaven, Chapter 1
CHAP. I.
Of Death in general. Of the ſorts and kinds of Death mentioned in Scripture. Death befalls all Men; there is no withſtanding of it, nor any priviledged from it. The time of Death urknown unto us, yet Fixed and Appointed by GOD. Death makes all equal. Sin ſubjects unto Death.
DEATH is a Subject every Chriſtian ſhould often have in his thoughts, becauſe it is that, unto which he is lyable every moment of his Life; neither the hearing, thinking, nor ſpeaking of it, can therefore be unſeaſonable at any time: And tho' Conſiderations of Death to living Men, are uſually moſt unwelcome, yet are they as profitable to promote the Intereſt of a Chriſtian as any other; for no Man can live well, till he can dye well; and no Man is ſo prepared for Death, as he who frequently imploy's his Thoughts in the Conſideration of his own Frailty and Mortality. Indeed Cuſtom hath made it become almoſt an improper thing, either for a Miniſter to Preach of Death, without the Repreſentation of a Funeral, or for one Chriſtian to ſpeak unto another of their Latter End, without it be in the Houſe of Mourning, where an Example of their Mortality is before their eyes: But if the Mouths of Chriſtians were more frequently filled with Diſcourſes of Death and the Grave, to which all are haſtening (but know not who ſhall get thither ſooneſt) they would find ſuch Benefit and Advantage thereby (in the quickning and haſtning their Preparations for their diſſolution, that they might always be in a readineſs when Death ſhall come) as would infinitely make amends, either for the unaccuſtomarineſs of the Work, or whatever pains and labour they had taken with their hearts, to render them fit for the coming of their Lord.
What Death is, is as little known unto ſome, as it is conſider'd by moſt; many take it to be nothing but a Ceſſation of Life, and all actings in this World; and it were well, if there were not too many to be found, who think this to be all that Death doth, and when they are thus dead there is an end of them, making themſelves no better than the Beaſt that periſheth. Happy were it for all wicked Men, if Death were no more than this: But though Death be a Ceſſation of Natural Life, and ſo of all Natural Motion and Action, yet is it more properly a Separation between Soul and Body, whereby the Body becomes a dead unactive thing, becauſe the Soul which is the Principle of Life and Operation hath forſaken it; but yet Death, as it reacheth not the Soul at all, for that lives after its Separation from the Body, ſo it ſhall not for ever keep Soul and Body aſunder, but only until God's appointed Time, and then ſhall the Body be raiſed again out of the Grave by the mighty Power of GOD, and united to the Soul, to live together in a ſtate of Bleſſedneſs or Miſery for ever, according to what they have both been and done together in this World, whether it be good or evil.
But becauſe Generals do not ſo much affect us unto our Edification, I ſhall be a little more particular in my Diſcourſe upon this Subject; and ſo I ſhall ſpeak ſomething concerning Death, in a Threefold Sence, as the Scripture holds it forth unto us; And ſo there is,
I. A Death in Sin.
II. A Death to Sin: And,
III. A Death for Sin.
Firſt, There is a Death in Sin; this the Scripture mentions often, 5 John 25. The hour is coming and now is, when the Dead ſhall hear the Voice of the Son of God, and they that hear ſhall live: So 5 Epheſ. 14. Awake thou that ſleepest, and ſtand up from the dead, and Christ ſhall give thee Light. So let the dead bury the dead, Mat. 8.22. This Death in Sin, conſiſts in the want of a Principle of Spiritual Life, being the deprivation of the Life of Grace and Holineſs, which is the Life of the Soul, and without which the Soul is dead. And thus all Men naturally are dead; becauſe they are without the Spirit of Chriſt, which enlivens and quickens the Soul to all Acts of Grace and Holineſs, wherein this Spiritual Life doth manifeſt it ſelf, as the Soul enlivens and quickens the Body unto all Acts of Nature, wherein the natural Life doth manifeſt it ſelf. That all Men are thus dead in Sin, naturally is evident from Scripture, 2 Epheſ. 1, 2, 3. The Apoſtle writing to the Epheſians, who by the Almighty Power of God were raiſed from this Spiritual Death, as he tells them in the Firſt Verſe, And you hath he quickned, who were dead in treſpaſſes and ſins, that he might beget in them a grateful Senſe of God's Goodneſs towards them herein: He deſcribes to them their former deplorable Condition; Wherein, ſays he, in times paſt, ye walked according to the Courſe of the World, according to the Prince of the Power of the Air, the Spirit that worketh in the Children of Diſobedience: And in Ver. 3. the Apoſtle puts himſelf into the Number, Among whom, ſays he, we all had our Converſation in times past, in the luſts of our fleſh fulfilling the deſires of the fleſh, and of the mind, and were by nature Children of Wrath, even as others. And then in the fourth Verſe he gives them to underſtand, by whom they were raiſed out of ſo miſerable an Eſtate; But God, ſays he, who is rich in Mercy, for his great Love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in ſins, hath quickned us together with Christ; by Grace ye are ſaved. Now this Spiritual Death, or this Death in Sin, is the fruit and effect of our firſt Parents Apoſtacy from God, whereby we are not only deprived of the Image of God, which is the Beauty; yea, the Life of the Soul, but are alſo depraved with the Image of the Devil, which is not only the Deformity of the Soul, but even as Death unto it. And becauſe this is a Spiritual Death, and reacheth chiefly to the Soul; it is therefore the more hurtful and dangerous, though the effects of it extends it ſelf to the Body alſo, being that which is the Cauſe of Natural Death, for therefore the Body is a frail dying Body, becauſe it is joyned to a ſinful Soul; but this is not all the Miſchief it doth; for this Death in Sin, unleſs Grace prevent, is that which ends in Eternal Death, which conſiſts in an everlaſting ſeparation of Soul and Body from the eternal Enjoyment of God in Heaven, in whoſe preſence there is fulneſs of Joy, and at whoſe right hand there are Pleaſures for evermore.
Secondly, There is a Death to Sin; of this we read, Rom. 6.2. How ſhall we that are dead to ſin live any longer therein? So in 1 Pet. 2.24. That we being dead to ſin ſhould not live any longer therein. This Death to ſin conſiſts in the Spirits indwelling in the Soul, by its ſanctifying Operations, enabling the Soul to mortifie ſin: Hence the Apoſtle tells us, Rom. 8.13. That if through the Spirit we mortifie the deeds of the Body we ſhall live. Such therefore who have felt the Efficacy of an Almighty Power from the Death of Chriſt, by the Operation of the Spirit, applying of it to their Souls, to break the power and ſtrength of ſin, ſo that it doth not reign in them, they may be ſaid to be dead to ſin, becauſe ſin is dying in them: As thoſe Perſons over whom Diſtempers have prevailed ſo far, that they have loſt their bodily ſtrength, that it cannot be recovered again, are ſaid to be dead even while they live; ſo, tho' ſin ſtill live in the godly, by reaſon of the Remainders of it, yet are they dead to ſin, becauſe the Power and Strength of it is abated and leſſened, the Spirit of Sanctification prevailing dayly over ſin, ſo that it doth not rule and reign as formerly it did. Thus to dye to ſin, is to be made alive to God, and bleſſed are they that have a part in this Reſurrection from the death of ſin, to the life of Grace; for on ſuch the ſecond Death ſhall have no Power.
Thirdly, There is a Death for Sin, or becauſe of ſin. Now this is Two-fold, Temporal and Eternal.
1. Temporal Death: This is contained in that merciful Threatning God gave unto Adam in Paradice, to prevent his Apoſtacy, Gen. 2.16, 17. where, after God had ſo largely expreſſed his bounty and goodneſs unto man, in giving him liberty to eat of every Tree of the Garden, reſtraining him only by a Command from the Tree of Knowledge, for the Tryal of his Obedience, as Ver. 17. Of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil thou ſhalt not eat; which he backs with a Threatning in the next Words: For in the day that thou eateſt thereof thou ſhalt ſurely dye. The Truth of which Threatning the Experience of all Mankind to this day, is a ſtanding Confirmation; ſo true is that of the Apoſtle, As by one Man ſin enter'd into the World, and Death by ſin; and ſo Death paſſed upon all, for that all have ſinned, Rom. 5.12.
2. There is an Eternal Death for ſin, and this follows upon the Death of the Body, conſiſting in the ſeparation of Soul and Body, from the Preſence and Favour of God for ever in Hell, and is in part executed on the Souls of wicked Men at Death, and perfectly upon Soul and Body at the Reſurrection, when the Wicked ſhall be turned into Hell, and puniſhed with everlaſting deſtruction from the preſence of the Lord, and from the glory of his Power; which in Scripture is called the Second Death. Rev. 21.8. Where wicked and unregenerate perſons are ſaid to have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the Second Death. This is the height and perfection of all Miſery.
This now is the Subſtance of what is contained in this Word Death, ſo far as Words can explain it, which if we conſider in all the forementioned Sences, it is that which we cannot comprehend; all that hath been ſaid of it, is but like the painting of the fire to the eye, which expreſſeth not the pain and anguiſh that is in it, unto the Senſes: For if we underſtand by Death, a Temporal, Spiritual and Eternal Death, I may allude to what the Pſalmiſt ſaith of the Power of God's Anger, Who knows the Power of thine Anger? So who knows the dreadfulneſs of the Horror and Pain that is contained in thee O Death, according to our Fear of thee? So, yea, and much greater, is the Miſery which the wrath of God by thee inflicts upon all thoſe that live and dye in their ſins.
But though Death be thus terrible, yet is it the more common acceptation of it, that chiefly affects the generality of Mankind; for, as for Spiritual Death, or Death in ſin, becauſe of the preſent pleaſures and Delights which bewitch the Senſes; this they are inſenſible of: And as for Eternal Death, that is looked upon by many as a Dream, or Notion, as a thing that may never be, or if among ſome it be credited for a Truth, yet is it looked upon as that which is a great way off; and if the terror of it doth ſtartle the Conſciences of ſome, yet are they ſoon quieted with ſuch thoughts as theſe, Chriſt dyed for all, and God is a merciful God; and ſo they hope all ſhall be well with them.
But now for Temporal Death, which conſiſts in the ſeparation of the Soul from the Body; this is ſo much Death to them, that they think there is no other but that, at leaſt, they apprehend none ſo prejudicial to them This is a Truth ſo evident, that which way ſoever they go or turn, objects of Mortality preſent themſelves before their eyes in the Death of Friends, Relations, and others, whereby the reigning Power of Death over all is viſible, ſweeping away all Men before it into the Grave, the place of ſilence and rottenneſs; yea, themſelves are not without ſome ſymtoms of their approaching diſſolution, diſeaſes and diſtempers, as well as buſineſs and employments, waſting and conſuming their bodies dayly, whereby they may be convinced that they alſo are made of the ſame Mould, and muſt ſhortly be crumbled into the ſame Duſt with others. Thus Death meeting with them ſo often, and ſtaring them ſo frequently in their faces, gives them to underſtand that there is no way for them to eſcape its ſtroke, the thoughts whereof cannot but now and then make them fear and tremble.
But though nothing be more certain than Death, yet nothing is more uncertain than the Time of Death: For though all ſhall dye, yet all do not dye at the ſame time, nor after the ſame manner: To ſome God gives long Warning, Nature waſting and conſuming in them by lingring Diſtempers; with others God is more quick, ſhooting them with an Arrow as it were, and ſuddenly they are wounded unto Death and Deſtruction; Some their hoary Heads are found in the Way of Righteouſneſs, and they come to their Graves in a good old Age; others ariſe early to that height of Impiety, that the Earth groans under the burthen of their great Wickedneſs; and God is ſo provoked thereby, that he cauſeth the Earth to ſwallow them up quick; to ſome the Promiſe of Long Life, made for an Encouragement to Obedience and Holy Walking, is turned into a Performance, God ſatisſying them with length of days, and then leaves them to depart in peace, ſhewing them his Salvation; others God cuts off in the midſt of their days, and of their ſins alſo, and they go down quick into the Grave, and into Hell too. Though the days of a good Man, at the moſt are but few, yet becauſe of ſome ſpecial Goodneſs, they are often prolonged: ſo though the days of a wicked Man at the moſt are but few, yet becauſe of ſome ſpecial Wickedneſs they are often ſhortned: The Wiſe Man proves this Aſſertion, Prov. 10.27. The fear of the Lord prolongeth, or adds to days, but the days of the wicked ſhall be ſhortned. As every Man becauſe he is a Sinner ſhall live but few days; ſo ſome ſhall not live half their days, becauſe they are Notorious Sinners. The ſhort of it is this, Death doth not always give Warning, how many riſe in the Morning, that make their Beds in the Grave before the Evening? How many go well to Bed at Night, whoſe Sleep is their Death, and they ariſe no more until the Morning of the Reſurrection? How often have we ſeen many projecting for themſelves and theirs, great things in the World, laying houſe to houſe, and land to land, that with the Fool in the Goſpel, they might eat, drink & be merry for many year, when on a ſudden, or in that very Night their ſouls have been taken from them? To preſume therefore of Long Life, and thereupon to neglect to prepare for Death, is the great … piece of Folly imaginable; for ſcarce is … Week paſſeth over our heads, wherein we may not hear of ſome or other that are ſuddenly gone into another World, and that which hath been the Caſe of others may be ours alſo. It is the ſad Condition of a wicked Man, let him dye how and when he will, he dies miſerably; if Death cut him off ſuddenly, then he goes down quick into Hell, that Gulf of all Woe and Miſery: If Death gives him long Warning by a ſucceſſion of many years diſtempers, yet all this while he doth but pine away in his Iniquity, and encreaſeth his Miſery when Death ſhall cut him off, and throw him into that place of Torment, the pain and anguiſh whereof is ſo great, that it cannot be ſufficiently expreſſed, no not by them that feel it But now it is the happineſs of a godly Man, let him dye never ſo ſuddenly, yet he always dyes happily, becauſe he is in a ſtate of Peace and Reconciliation with God; it is true, he may dye without a ſence and feeling of that Peace, and ſo his paſſing thorow the Valley of the Shadow of Death may be terrible to him, but ſtill God is with him; and though the eye of his Faith be held, ſo that he cannot diſcern him to be his God, though his Rod and his Staff do not comfort him, yet they do ſupport and ſtrengthen him, and as ſoon as Death hath opened his eyes, he beholds the face of God to his everlaſting joy and ſatisfaction. Doth Death then come certainly, and ſometimes ſuddenly? It is thy Wiſdom, O Chriſtian, always to be prepared for it, and then let it come when it will, tho' this Night, thou maiſt bid it welcome.
But as Mans Life is ſhort and frail, ſo is his Death ſure and certain, for it is the common lot … Men. Man, ſaith Job, that is all Men, are good … dye; it is the way of all the Earth, it is the end of all Men. Who is he that lives and ſhall not ſee Death? No Man can redeem his Brothers, no nor his own Life from Death; that he ſhould ſtill live for ever and not ſee Corruption, ſuch a ſufficient Ranſome no man can give to God: Chriſt is indeed become a Ranſome for Believers, but it is to deliver them not from the firſt, but from the ſecond Death; for as to the firſt Death, it is appointed unto all Men once te dye. Some have a longer time in this world, and others a ſhorter, but all dye; one goes before, and another follows after; one Man rots in the Grave and makes it empty, that he which is yet alive, may have a place to lye down therein. We all dwell in houſes of clay, whoſe foundations are in the duſt, which will ſhortly tumble down into it. Earthly Tabernacles we have that muſt be diſſolved, and laid in the Earth; here we have no abiding place: Death and the Grave will ſhortly take all, for all go to one place, all are of the duſt, and all turn to duſt again, Eccleſ. 3.20. Some are ſent before, and others follow after, but all go the ſame way; ſome have a long Race to run, others but a ſhort, but Death is at the end of both. To him that is old Death is certainly near, and to him that is young, Death is not far off: He that dyes not till he is old, travels a long way before he meets with Death; whereas he that dyes young hath but a ſhort way to his long home, Death meeting him betimes; but ſtill whither young or old, all muſt dye, the decree is gone forth, and there is no reverſing of it. There is an appointed time to Man upon Earth, as Job ſpeaks, and when that is expired, Death cuts him off and throws him into the Grave, the houſe appointed for all living. Death is inexorable, it ſpares none, and the Grave is in atiable, it is not ſatisfied with any, when it hath the Husband, it gapes for the Wife; when it hath the Parent, it gapes for the Child; when it hath one Generation, it gapes for another; one Generation paſſeth away, and another Generation cometh, and the latter crowds the former out of the world. No Man hath a diſpenſation againſt Death, there muſt be a diſſolution of all things, and therefore, a diſſolution of all Men.
No Man hath more Priviledge than another againſt the Sentence of Death; the greateſt Prince dyes as ſoon as the meanest Peaſant: Neither Power, nor Wiſdom; neither Strength nor Riches, neither Beauty nor Honour, nor any outward Excellency whatſoever, can protect any againſt the ſtroke of Death; theſe things can do much among Men, yea every thing, but they avail not againſt Death, powerful Death deſpiſeth them all. Power can do nothing to ward off the ſtroke of Death from any; where is Alexander, and Caſar, and all the Great Conquerors of the World; why they and all their Greatneſs and Power are gone down into the Grave; and after all their Conqueſts over others, have yielded themſelves up as conquered by Death. There is no Title can be given unto Man, which ſets him farther off from Death, than to call him God, and this high Title God himſelf hath honoured, ſome Men with, Pſal. 82.6.7. I ſaid ye are Gods, but leaſt they ſhould be lifted up with Pride; with the ſame Breath he adds an humbling Conſideration to take down all proud and lofty Thoughts, but ye ſhall dye like Men. Kings and Princes that are the greateſt for worldly Power, and have the priviledge to be called Gods, yet have they not the priviledge of God, not to dye like men.
No Mans Wiſdom can ſave him from dying, Death will be too hard for the moſt cunning Politician: Wiſdom is an excellent Gift of God, and renders a Perſon lovely in the Eyes of all, it makes a mans face to ſhine; it ſets a Glory and Beauty upon a Mans Perſon and Actions; a Man can hardly give a greater Commendation of any Man, than to ſay he is a Wiſe Man; and yet of Solomon, not only the wiſest of Kings, but the wiſeſt of Men; it is ſaid, than he ſtept with his Fathers, as well as others; and though he tells us Wiſdom excells Folly, as far as Light excells Darkneſs; yet we know wiſe men dye, as well as the fooliſh and bruitiſh perſon: We read indeed of a poor Wiſe Man, that by his Wiſdom delivered a City; but we never read of any that by their Wiſdom delivered themſelves or others from Death no, for as there is no work, no leviſe in the Grave whither we are going; ſo is there no Knowledge or Wiſdom that can keep a man from going into the Grave, Eccleſs. 9.10.
No Man by his ſtrength can overcome Death: Bodily health and ſtrength are no defence at all againſt Death: It is true, they are great Mercies where God gives them unto any, a ſickly weakly Man is burthenſome to himſelf and others, though God heaps upon him other Mercies in abundance, as Wealth, Honours and Relations, yet he takes little delight in them, the want of Health imbitters all; whereas a Man that is hcalthful and ſtrong, takes delight in every Comfort and Enjoyment, though it be even poor and mean in compariſon of what others have: but though health and ſtrength be ſo great a Mercy, yet can they not withſtand the Power of Death, they may make a man dye with ſtrong pains upon his bed, but they cannot defend him againſt Death. If God beſtow upon any of us a ſtrong healthy Body, it is a great Mercy, and we ought to be thankful for it, but we may be ſoon laid in the Grave for all that. Death ſhould not be a ſtranger to us, becauſe ſickneſs and distempers are ſtrange things to us, for we have not long Life, much leſs can we eſcape the ſtroke of Death, becauſe we are bealthy and strong, for in the fullneſs of our ſtrength we may be in Death; one dyeth in the fullneſs of his ſtrength, when his Bones are full of Marrow: As for the ſtrength of any Man, though he be a Sampſon, yet this great Leviathan Death counts it but as ſtraw, and the ſoundest and pureſt health, but as rotten wood. David complains that the Sons of Zerviah were too hard for him. But there are none ſuch that are too hard for Death; Death ſtays not to take men at advantage, when they are weakned with age and ſickneſs, as Simeon and Levy did the Schecemites when they were ſore, Gen. 34.25. No Death can do its work as eaſily and as ſpeedily in health as in ſickneſs, in ſtrength as under weakneſs.
No man by his Riches can protect himſelf againſt Death; all the Riches in the world are too low a Value to ranſome any from Death and the Grave. Solomon tells us, Money anſwers all things; and indeed rich Men can do great things by their Wealth; many ſeek the favour of ſuch, their Riches make them many Friends: The Wiſe Man tells us, The rich mans wealth is his ſtrong City, Prov. 18.11. by reaſon whereof they truſt to their Wealth, and boaſt themſelves in the multitude of their Riches, thinking they are well provided for againſt all Evils: What made the rich Man in the Goſpel elſe ſo confidently ſay to his Soul, Thou baſt Goods laid up for many years, eat, drink and be merry: But Death would not be put off ſo, for that Night was his Soul taken from him, notwithſtanding all his great Poſſeſſions. It is in vain to cry out on a Death Bed with that wretched Cardinal Beauford in Henry the Sixth Time, Wherefore ſhould I dye being rich, will not Death be bribed? Will Money do nothing? No truly it cannot; for as Riches profit not in the day of Wrath to pacifie the Juſtice of an angry God; ſo neither will they profit in the day of Death to bribe that King of Terrors.
Beauty, is another outward Excellency that many glory in; and indeed it is a great Ornament, a Gift of GOD and no ſmall one, it is a taking thing. We delight in things that are beautiful: Beauty to ſome is a Portion among men, to others a favour from God. It is a ſilent Eloquence, a tacite Perſwaſion, and works much upon ſome: What is ſaid of the Church, Pſal. 45.11. So ſhall the King greatly deſire thy Beauty; I know it is ſpoken there of Spiritual Beauty, the Graces of the Spirit of God, which beautifie and adorn the Church in the eyes of Christ; for it is ſaid the KING's Daughter is all glorious within: But yet it is true alſo in ſome me ſure of outward Corporeal Beauty, it is a deſireable thing, and may duly be an attractive of Love; it is that which draws the Eyes and Hearts of many, tho' often it is an incentive to Luſt, both to great Men and to good Men. Solomon loved ſtrange Women, the Scripture ſaith, and they turned away his heart from God; and having ſmarted ſeverely for it, as a fruit of the ſincerity of his Repentance, and to prevent ſo great wickedneſs in others he hath left us many Excellent Cautions and Counſels in Sacred Writ, againſt the enſnaring Temptations and powerful Charms of Beauty But though Men are deluded and deceived by beautiful Objects and Perſons, yet Death is not: A beautiful Face is as mortal, and as ſoon, yea ſooner many times turned into duct and corruption, than a face that is deformed. Death regards a goodly well favoured Joſeph or Abſolom, no more than a leprous Ʋzziah or Gebazi; nor doth it ſpare a beautiful Rachel more than a blear ey'd Leah: Favour is deceitful, and Beauty is vain in this reſpect, for they profit none in a dying hour; the beautifuleſt Perſon, and the moſt lovely Complexion is quickly turned into Paleneſs and Corruption, when once the time of their diſſolution is come; Death ſoon making thoſe, that for their Beauty and Comelineſs were moſt admired by others become moſt loathſome and intolerable, and they moſt deſirous with Abraham to bury ſuch dead out of their ſight.
By what hath been ſaid, it appears that all Men, notwithſtanding all their great Attainmen's in Worldly Excellences, are not exempted from dying: And as no outward, ſo no inward-Excellency and Perfection can priviledge any from Death, no not Grace it ſelf Grace is as Salt to the Soul to preſerve it from Moral Corruption for ever, but it cannot preſerve the Body from Natural Corruption in this World: In Heaven, where there ſhall be nothing but Grace and Holineſs in the Soul in perfection, there, there ſhall be no dying; but here on Earth, where Grace is insperfect, being mingled with Sin and Corruption, there is a neceſſity of dying. Death is become domestical to us, we have the Seed of it within us, we carry it daily in our boſoms; I mean in the body of Sin, as the Apoſtle calls it; that we carry about with us, which will never be extirpated and deſtroyed till the death of the body.
All our Prayers and Tears cannot prevent Death. Prayer can do great things, to inſtance in particulars of its Prevalency would be endleſs. Our Lord himſelf tells us. That whatever we ask the Father in his Name he will give it us, John 16.23. That is an Aſtoniſhing Scripture. Eſay 45.11. Thus ſaith the Lord, The Holy One of Iſrael, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come, concerning my Sons, and concerring the Works of my hands command ye me. As if, ſaith one, God was as ready to do them ſervice, as if they had him at their Command. There is a kind of Omnipotency in Prayer, and therefore it is ſaid of Jacob, that as a Prince he had power with God, and prevailed, Gen. 32.28. And the Apoſtle tells us, The effectual fervent Prayer of a Righteous Man availeth much; how much the Apoſtle could not tell us, but leaves it to every one to make Obſervations from their own Experience. But though Prayer can do ſuch great things, yet it cannot prevent Death: We read indeed that the Prayer of Faith doth ſave the Sick; but though it can even reſtore from a ſick-bed, yet it cannot raiſe from a Death-bed. Nay, Chriſt himſelf hath not ſo Redeemed us that we ſhould live for ever, and not ſee Corruption; he hath Redeemed us that we ſhall live for ever in Heaven, but he hath not Redeemed us that we ſhould live for ever on Earth and not dye; no, it was the Priviledge of Jeſus Chriſt the Redeemer, that he ſhould not ſee Corruption, and therefore of him only it is ſaid, Thou wilt not leave my Soul in Hell, nor ſuffer thy Holy One to ſee Corruption.
But may ſome ſay, this neceſſity of dying ſeems not to be unalterably impoſed upon all Men; for ſome have lived who never dyed; and ſome ſhall live hereafter that ſhall not dye.
I Anſwer: It is true, the Scripture makes mention of Two, and but Two, that lived here o… Earth, and by ſpecial Grace and Favour were exempted from Death, aſcending up unto God, leaping over Death and the Grave as it were in their paſſage to Heaven, and they are Enoch and Elias concerning Enoch, it is ſaid, That by Faith he wa… tranſtated, that he ſhould not ſee Death, Heb. 11.5… He was a Perſon eminent for Holineſs; for it is ſaid, That he walked with God three hundred years and obtained this Testimony before his Tranſlation… that he pleaſed God, Gen. 5.22. And being ſuch an Eminent Proficient in Grace, as that there wa… none that we read of like him at that time; he obtained ſuch Grace and Favour from God, as none did; for it is ſaid, He walked with GOD, and he was not, for GOD lock him. O the Excellency of Grace and Holineſs, how highly doth it ennable and advance a Man! Enoch walked with God, and God thinks the Earth not good enough for him, and therefore he takes him to himſelf into Beaven; nay, this is not all, ſo much was God taken with the Holineſs of Enoch, that he ſhall not go to Heaven in the ordinary way as other Saints do by Death, but he ſhall be tranſlated from Grace to Glory without ſo much as looking into the Grave. The like we read of Elias another eminent and zealous Servant of God, 2 King. 2.23. That he was taken up in a ſiery Chariot by a Whirl-wind into Heaven. So great was his Zeal for God and his Glory, and ſo highly did God eſteem it, and him for it, that he muſt not abide any longer on Earth, but be taken up into Heaven, and that in no other way, but by a fiery Chariot; a Paſſage to Heaven that did bear ſome Reſemblance to his Zeal for God while he was here on Earth. The Apostle alſo tells us, 1 Cor. 15.51. That at the laſt Day we ſhall not all dye, but we ſhall all be changed; and 1 Theſ. 4.17. We that are alive, and remain, ſhall be caught up with him in the Clouds to meet the Lord, and ſo ſhall we be ever with the Lord. Theſe Exceptions of ſome few that have not dyed, nor ſhall not dye, do not at all make void this general Truth that all ſhall dye, but rather make for the Confirmation of it. The general Rule or Law ſaith, all muſt dye, none eſcape but by ſpecial Grace or Priviledge; and though the Saints that ſhall be found on Earth at the Reſurrection of the dead, dye not, yet they ſhall undergoe that which is equivalent unto Death, for they ſhall be changed. Death is call'd a Change; ſo ſaith Job, All the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change ſhall come: And they that are alive at the Last Day, undergoe a Change alſo: The Change of Death is a putting off of our Mortality, but the Change at the Laſt Day, is a putting on of our Immortality; The one is a Change by being uncloathed, the other is a Change by being cloathed upon, but both is a Change: And thus all dye, or ſhall be changed.
By what hath been ſaid, it is very evident, That Death befalls all men one time or other, ſooner or later. But for the Manner, how, or the Time when any ſhall dye, this is unknown unto any. The Living may and do know that they ſhall dye, but they know not when they ſhall dye. What our Lord ſaith of the day of Judgment, is true of the day of Man's Death; of that day and hour knoweth no Man. Many a Man hath been miſtaken concerning the purpoſe of God; I ſaid ſays David, in my proſperity, that I ſhall never be moved, but he was miſtaken; for he adds in the next words almoſt, But thou didſt hide thy face, and I was troubled. Much more may we be miſtaken concerning the Time of our Death. I ſaid, ſays Hezekiah, in the cutting off of my days, I ſhall go to the gates of the Grave; I ſhall not ſee the Lord, even the Lord in the Land of the Living: I ſhall no more behold man with the Inhabitants of the World Good Hezekiah thought there was no way for him to eſcape Death, but he was mistaken; for afterwards he tells us, God had in Love to his Soul, delivered it from the Pit of Corruption, and he Lived fifteen Years longer after he had given himſelf over for dead. A Man may have the Sentence of Death in himſelf, when as to that particular time, God hath given out none againſt him: So on the other hand, the Rich Man in the Goſpel reckons not of Death till many years hence, and he is very liberal to his Soul, becauſe God had been bountiful to his Body; he had got a great Stock of Riches, and he gives himſelf a rich ſtock of Time, even many years, he reſolves to make his Life larger, as he had done his Barns; and becauſe they are full of Corn, he alſo will be full of Days; whereas the Word came out againſt him from God, Thou Fool, this night ſhall thy Soul be taken from thee, and he that before reſolved to Live many years, could not now Live till the next Morning. It is our Wiſdom always to be prepared for Death, but its more than belongs to us peremptorily to determine the Time of our Death, or the Length of our Days.
But though the Time of our Death be unknown to us, yet is it known to, and fixed by God, he hath determined, not only the Time when, but alſo the Place where, and the Manner how we ſhall dye, with all the Circumſtances relating thereunto. It is God that turns up the Giaſs of our Time, and puts ſuch a Meaſure of Sand into it, and no more; ſuch a Meaſure, that it may and ſhall run ſo long, and no more; that it ſhall run no longer than his Appointment. God ſpeaking after the manner of Men, is ſaid in Scripture to have a Book, wherein is written down, not only the Number of our Sins, but alſo the Number of our days; and as we cannot commit a Sin but it is written down in ſome Leafe of his Book; ſo can we not live a day, or hour, that hath not our Name written down upon it in Gods Book. That ſome have the Time of Life confined only to the dark Cell of the Womb, and never ſee the Light; that others are ſtrangled in the place of breaking forth of Children, and are only Cauſes of Grief to them that bear them: that others dy… in their Infancy, without the Knowledge of good or evil, and leave only ſad Remembrances to their Parents, that once they were; that others grow up to years of Diſcretion, but are cut off in the prime of their days. and in their full ſtrength; and that others live to extream old Age, till Nature is wholly ſpent and conſumed in them: All this is from the Appointment of God; they all fill up the Number of thoſe Days, and the meaſure of that Time, that God hath allotted to them, and then they depart according to his Will. How many have we ſeen caſt upon ſick beds, whom God hath there viſited with ſtrong pains, bringing them ſo low, that their Lives ſeem'd to be brought unto the Grave, and themſelves numbred with them that go down into the Pit, free among the dead, and as the ſlain that lye in the Grave, given over by themſelves, and all others for ſuch; and yet even theſe God hath raiſed up again, ſhewing Wonders as it were to the dead, as the Pſalmiſt ſpeaks, cauſing them to ariſe, and praiſe his Name. What's the Reaſon of all this? Why God's appointed Time was not come, and ſo Diſeaſes could have no further Power over them: And what is true of Sickneſs, is as true of Men, who are but like Diſeaſes, Executioners of God's Decree upon Man; even they have no Power to lengthen Life, or to haſten Death, but what is given them from above. God hath not only ſet us the bounds of our Habitations, but the bounds of our Living alſo. Job ſpeaks much to the ſtating and determining of this Caſe, Job. 7.1. Is there not an appointed Time to Man upon Earth: Now in an Appointment of God, there muſt be a Certainty, or elſe we make him like unto a mortal Man, that is changeable, which cannot be. Therefore Man having an appointed Time by God upon Earth, he muſt reach to it, and he cannot go beyond it: But Job further explains it in the next Words, Are not his days as the days of an Hireling? Now an Hireling is one that hath days or time prefixed or ſet, which he muſt fulfil, and then he is diſcharged from his Employment: And ſo it is with Man, God hath ſet him his Time, which when he hath accompliſhed, Death by God's Appointment comes and diſchargeth him from his Work; ſo in Job 14.5. Job tells us, Mans days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou haſt appointed his bounds, beyond which he cannot paſs. And all the days of my appointed Time, ſaith he, will I wait till my Change ſhall come. Mans Life is appointed and fixed by God, his days are determined by him: We know not how long we ſhall live, but God doth; he gives us out our days and our months by Tale, the number of his months are with thee. Whatever Man is Lord of, he is not Lord of his Time. We cannot diſpoſe of one minute for our ſelves or …thers. We live not by our own Wills, if we did, who would dye? Nor do we live at the Will of others, for who of us then would live, or at leaſt …ive long? But we live at the Will of God, Tenants we are at his Will, he gives us the Leaſe of our Lives, and for what Years he pleaſeth; He is Lord of Time, and therefore he hath Power to appoint to one man a greater, to another man a leſſer meaſure of Time, as ſeems good unto him. David therefore, when his Enemies were taking Counſel againſt him to take away his Life, bears up his Spiris with this as a comfortable Conſideration, My Times are in thy hands O Lord, Pſal. 31 15. The Jews we know deſign'd the Death of Chriſt a long time, but they could not accompliſh it, till his hour was come, and therefore when he was brought before Pilate to be judged, ſays Pilate to him, Knoweſt thou not that I have Power to Crucify thee, and have Power to releaſe thee; No, ſays Chriſt, thou haſt no ſuch Power of thy ſelf, neither couldſt thou have any ſuch Power, except it were given thee from above. What Chriſt ſaid of himſelf, is true of every Man, he lives not after, nor dyes before his hour is come: Our Friends cannot lengthen our days, nor can our Enemies ſhorten them; no, it is God that holds our Souls and Lives in being, and when he pleaſeth, and not before, we return unto our Dust. God hath determined our days to us, and God keeps the reckoning of our days for us; and if, as our Lord tells us, That a Sparrow falls not to the ground without our Father, and that the very hairs of our heads are all numbred: Surely then the days of our Lives are numbred. The hairs of the head are the meaneſt part of us, and indeed but a ſtringy Excrement, and there are ſuch numerous multitudes of them, that it is a kind of a Wonder that they can be numbred, or any Account kept of them, but yet to ſhew that the Providence of God extends its ſelf to the leaſt things, it extends to the numbring of our hairs, much more than to the numbring of our days: But.
Though Death obſerves the Order and Appointment of God, yet it obſerves no Order among men: It fears none for their greatneſs, nor ſpares none for their goodneſs, nor deſpiſeth any for their lowneſs. Though Chriſtians are Souldiers, and in a continual Warfare with their Spiritual Enemies, obeying the Commands of the Captain of their Salvation while they live, yet do they obſerve no Order, nor keep to any Rule in dying. The Old go not always before the Young, nor the Rich before, and the Poor following after. Death hath no Maſter of Ceremonies, but it takes promiſcuouſly, here a Child, and there a Man; here a Rich Man, and there a Beggar; here a ſtrong Man, and there a weak Man; here a Master, and there a Servant. The Law of Nature ſaith, that a Man in his full ſtrength is not ſo likely to dye, as one that is wither'd with Old Age; it ſets Death further off from one whoſe breaſts are full of milk, and their bones moiſtened with marrow. The Law of Nature ſaith, O Death, go to the wrinkled face, to the dry bones, to thoſe, the Infirmities and Weakneſſes of whoſe Age are ſo many and ſo afflictive, that they ſeem to have no Pleaſure in their Lives, but are deſirous of thy preſence and company, O Death, for their eaſe and relief; But O meddle not with this g…odly young Man, or that beautiful Woman, alas, they are but now in the flower of their days, and in the prime of their years, and therefore ſpare them. But Death will not Anſwer nor Regard theſe Requeſts; for Death obſerves not the Law of Nature, but the Appointments of God, who is the Lord of Nature. We ſee it therefore daily, Death knocks as often at the young Man's door, as at the old Man's; and as frequently carries the ſtrong and healthful Man Priſoner to the Grave, as the weak and ſickly.
And as there is no Order obſerved in Death, ſo is there none in the Grave. Death and the Grave are the two great Levellers of Mankind. While Men live, there is, and there ought to be diſtinctions among them, God hath appointed it ſo, and Men ought to obſerve it, acknowledging the power and greatneſs of thoſe that are in high Places: For as the Scripture obſerves, as there is one Glory of the Sun, and another Glory of the Moon, and another Glory of the Stars, for one Star differeth from another Star in Glory, 1 Cor. 15. and 41. And as there is difference in the Celeſtial Glories, ſo alſo is there in the Terreſtrial; there is a Glory belonging unto Kings, there is a Glory belonging unto Noble-Men, and a Glory belonging unto Common People; all have not, nor ought to have the ſame Glory, but one Man differs from another Man in Glory. But when Death comes, there is an end of all theſe diſtinctions; the Grave mingles the Duſt and Pones of the one with the other: We cannot there diſtinguiſh the rich Man's Duſt, from the poor Man's; nor the Bones of Kings, from thoſe of their loweſt Subjects. Rich Men indeed deſcend with greater Pomp into the Grave, and are buried in more eminent Places, and under more ſtately Monuments. But though great Men's Tombs differ from their Inferiours, yet their Bones do not; but the Worms feed upon all alike. While Men walk upon this Duſt, their diſtances are many; but when they lie down in the Duſt, they are all alike. Civil Differences then all ceaſe, and Moral Differences only take place; and according as Men have been or done, good or evil here, ſo ſhall they be differenced for ever hereafter.
If it be demanded now, how Man came to be notal;
I anſwer, Not by Creation; for he was created, as in a holy, ſo in a deathleſs State. Immortality was a part of God's Image at firſt imprinted upon Man. God's Image being defaced by Sin, Mortality took place. Man never had an Impoſſibility not to die, but he had a poſſibility not to die, and that was the State of Man's Immortality. In his State of Innocency, his Life was made as long as his Obedience. In God's dealing with our firſt Parents, he back'd his Command with the threatning of Death, Gen. 2.17. Of the Tree of knowledge of good and evil thou ſhalt not eat; for in the day thou eateſt thereof thou ſhalt ſurely die. Our firſt Parents diſobeyed this moſt righteous and equitable Command of God, and thereby brought Death upon themſelves and all their Poſterity: For though God formed Man, as the Holy Story tells us, out of the Duſt of the Earth; yet ſo long as Man ſtood, he never ſaid, to Duſt thou ſhalt return; but only put in a ſuppoſition or threatning, that in caſe he did fall, he ſhould ſurely die. But when by Sin he had fallen from God, then he hears what he muſt be, Duſt thou art, and unto Duſt thou ſhalt return. So that the Juſtice of God ſtands engaged to inflict Death upon every Tranſgreſſour. And to this the Apoſtle aſcribes it, Rom. 5.12. By Sin Death entered into the World, and ſo Death paſſed upon all, becauſe all have ſinned. Death therefore ſeizeth upon us not as we are Men, but as we are Sinners. To die, is a penalty inflicted upon Man for Sin. If Man had not ſinned, he had not been under a neceſſity of dying; but by ſinning, he became mortal. Sin therefore is not only the Sting of Death, but the Cauſe of Death: It is that which gives it not only its Terror, but its very Being; and therefore it is ſomewhat remarkable, that among all the Creatures in the World Man only is termed mortal. It is certain other Creatures decay and periſh as well as Man; yet among all periſhing things Man only hath the wretched Denomination of being mortal, and there is good Reaſon for it; ſince he alone of all periſhing things, being created immortal, voluntarily ſubjected himſelf unto Death, and by his own default brought upon himſelf the Name of Mortal, as a brand of perpetual Infamy.