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CHAP. XX.

of the Four last things

ONE

Death, Hell,
&
& Heaven.

Fudgement,

I. of Death.

&

of the main bufineffes of our life. fhould be to prepare for death.

In order hereunto obferve these directions.. First, Meditate often and feriously on thy death and dißolution even in time of thy bealth. Foseph of Arimathea made his Sepulchre in his garden, that in the midft of his delights he might think of death. Often retire, and take thy felf alone, and walk in the valley of the shadow of death. Do not start from the thoughts of it. Do by thy foul, when thou findeft it by of such meditations, as we do by our horfes, that are given to boggle and start when we ride them, when they fly back, and start at a thing in the way, we do not yield to their fear, and go back (that will make them worfe another time) but we ride them up close to that they are afraid of, and fo in time break them of that ill quality. So do thou, bring up thy heart, and inure it to look upon death, and to handle that Serpent. Con

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fider, death is making its approaches tor and may be upon thee before thou art awart therefore, prepare for it, that when it com and attaches thee, thou maist be found in a gracious state, with fuch a frame of Spirit, walking in fuch a boly way of life that tho bid it welcom, and be able to fay with blef Paul, I defire to be dißolved, and to be Chrift.

The frequent meditation of death wes cellent means

1. To quicken thy foul to a deep bumilisins repentance for thy past fins. 2. To repreffe the eager and infatiable a riches, and the love of this world.

3. To antidote thee against fin for tim

come.

4. To make thee improve time, and caref work out thy falvation. Think often of death, it will keep worse company from thee.

Secondly, Labour to take away from th death the power and strength thereof. The liftims feeing Sampson so exceeding frong, boured to know wherein his power and fire principally confifted; and when they under it to lie in the hair of his head, they cealed till it was cut. Confider therefore, where the ftrength of death lies: The Spirit of G teacheth us that, in 1 Cor. 15. 56. The fing death is fin. The power and force and fting of ef

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y mans particular death lies in his own fins. Death cannot hurt us, but by the force of our own ins. A man may fafely handle a Serpent when che fting is out. If death be difarmed of its sting and poyfon, it cannot hurt us. It concerns us herefore to ule effectual means that our fins may De removed and pardoned, and to labour before ve die, to abolish the ftrength of death. Now the way to do this is,

1. To humble our fouls unfeignedly before the Lord, and to repent of all our fins.

2. To fly to Chrift and to close with him for pardon and Grace.

3. In the ftrength of his Grace to amend our lives, and to walk in the waies of holineffe. The fting of death is taken away by Chrift Fefus as to all real converts, and true believers, fo that it cannot hurt them, nay, will be an advantage to them: It will be only a dark and short paffage to a glorious Palace, to the bliffeful manfions above. So that they may triumph as Paul did, o death, where is thy fting? O grave where is thy victory? Thanks be to God, who giveth us victory through our Lord Fefus Christ. But now to all impenitent, unpardoned finners, how deadly, how incurable is the fting of death? Death is death with a witneffe, and Hell into the bargain to them that die in their fins. No fight in the world more dreadful than to fee a dying finner (with his Conscience newly awakened) conflicting with death,

and

Chap.20 and fin, and the Law, and Gods Curfe together. Ohow fad, how intollerably fad is it to fee man that hath gone on in a long, careleffe, ftinate courfe of finning, now at the point of death to have his eies first opened, and to fe himself on the brink of the dreadful pit, unavoid ably falling into the lake of fire and brimftom. To fuch a perfon, death brings its poyfoned arrow, and executes him with its venemous fting.

Thirdly, Give all diligence in this life, to lay hold on eternal life, 1 Tim. 6. 12. That is, to enter into the firf degree of life eternal. Eternal life may be look'd upon under three confiderations. As Initial, as Partial, as Perfectional.

1. The eternal life initial is that which is ob tained in this life, and is an earnest of that which is to follow. 'Tis the life of Grace: Of this ou Saviour fpake, Foh. 5.24. Verily, verily If unto you, be that heareth my Word, and believe on him that fent me, hath everlasting life, an fhall not come into condemnation, but is paffed from death to life. And Foh.3.36. He that believeth a the Son bath everlasting life.

2. The Partial life eternal is that which be longeth (though to the nobler) yet but to a pr of man, namely, to the Soul. The happine which the Souls of Saints enjoy between the tim of their death, and the last day, is the partial l

-eternal.

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fhall be conferred on the Saints immediatly after the bleffed reunion of their fouls and bodies, and that gracious fentence pronounc'd, come ye blessed of my Father, receive the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. So that we fee we must iu this world enter into the first degree of eternal life, if ever we intend to be

partakers of the other two. We must be raifed from: the death of fin to the life of grace. We muft as the Apostle (peaks, Col.1.13. Be delivered from the power of darknesse, and tranflated into the Kingdom of our bleffed Saviour. We must with Paul be able to fay, Gal.1.20. I live, yet not 1, but Chrift liveth in me, i. e. By his Spirit guides and governs my will, affections, and all the powers both of my foul and body. Whoever would be faved when he is dead, must begin to be faved while he is living. We muft begin to live that bleffed and eternal life before we die....

Fourthly, Inure thy felf to die to this world and the enjoyments of it, every day, more and more. Paul tels us, he died daily, Cor.15.31. If we would learn to do fo, it would not be fo hard to die, when we come to it in good earnest. Death is not fo ftrong to him whofe natural ftrength has been wafted with a long, pining fickneffe, as to him who lies but a few dates fick, and has ftrength of nature to make refiftance. That Chri stian, whose love to his life, and the content

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