with caufeless Terrors? Thus we confume our own Comforts, and prey upon our trueft Pleasures. When we might lie down, and rise up, and walk abroad, with our Hearts full of the Joys of God, we continually fill them with perplexing Fears. For he that fears dying, must be always fearing; because he hath always Reason to expect it. And how can that Man's Life be comfortable, who lives in continual Fear of lofing his Comforts? -Are not thefe Fears of Death Self-created Sufferings? As if God had not inflicted enough upon us, but we must inflict more upon ourfelves. Is not Death bitter enough to the Flesh of itself, but we must double and treble its Bitterness? The Sufferings laid upon us by God, do all lead to happy Iffues; the Progrefs is, from Tribulation to Patience, from thence to Experience, and fo to Hope, and at laft to Glory. But the Sufferings we make for ourselves, are circular and endless, from Sin to Suffering, from Suffering to Sin, and so to Suffering again: And not only fo, but they multiply in their Course; every Sin is greater than the former, and fo every Suffering alfo: So that except we think God hath made us to be our own Tormentors, we have fmall Reafon to nourish our Fears of Death.- -And are they not ufelefs, unprofitable Fears? As all our Care cannot make one Hair white or black, nor add one Cubit to our Stature; fo neither can our Fear prevent our Sufferings, nor delay our Death one Hour; willing or unwilling, we muft away. Many a Man's Fears have haftened his End, but no Man's ever did avert it. 'Tis true, a cautious Fear, concerning the Danger after Death, hath profited many, and is very ufeful to the preventing of that Danger; but for a Member of Chrift, and an Heir of Heaven, to be afraid of entering his own Inheritance, is a finful, ufelefs Fear.- And do not our Fears of dying infnare our Souls, and add Strength to many 213 many Temptations? What made Peter deny his Lord? What makes Apoftates in fuffering Times forfake the Truth? Why doth the green Blade of unrooted Faith wither before the Heat of Perfecution? Fear of Imprifonment and Poverty may do much, but Fear of Death will do much more. So much Fear as we have of Death, fo much Cowardice we ufually have in the Caufe of God: Befide the Multitude of unbelieving. Contrivances, and Difcontents at the wife Difpofals of God, and hard Thoughts of most of his Providences, which this Sin doth make us guilty of. $23. Let us farther confider, what a competent Time most of us have had. Why fhould not a Man, that would die at all, be as willing at Thirty or Forty, if God fee fit, as at Seventy or Eighty? Length of Time doth not conquer Corruption; it never withers nor decays, thro' Age. Except we receive an Addition of Grace, as well as Time, we naturally grow worse. "O my Soul, depart in Peace! As thou wouldst not "defire an unlimited State in Wealth and Honour, fo "defire it not in Point of Time. If thou waft fenfi"ble, how little thou deferveft an Hour of that Patience which thou haft enjoyed, thou wouldst think "thou haft had a large Part. Is it not divine Wif "dom that fets the Bounds? "felf by various Perfons, and feveral Ages, and not by one Perfon or Age. Seeing thou haft acted thine own Part, and finished thine appointed Course, "come down contentedly, that others may fucceed, "who must have their Turns. as well as thyself. "Much Time hath much Duty. Beg therefore for "Grace to improve it better; but he content with thy "Share of Time."- "Thou haft also had a Com. petency of the Comforts of Life. God might have "made thy Life a Burthen, till thou hadst been as weary of poffeffing it, as thou art now afraid of 66 lofing it. He might have suffered thee to have con"fumed thy Days in Ignorance, without the faving "Knowledge of Chrift: But He hath opened thine "Eyes in the Morning of thy Days, and acquainted "thee betimes with the Bufinefs of thy Life. Hath "thy heavenly Father caufed thy Lot to fall in Europe, "not in Afia, Africa, or America; in England, not "in Spain or Italy? Hath He filled up all thy Life "with Mercies, and doft thou now think thy Share "too fmall? What a Multitude of Hours of Confo"lation, of delightful Sabbaths, of pleasant Studies, "of precious Companions, of wonderful Deliverances, "of excellent Opportunities, of fruitful Labours, of "joyful Tidings, of fweet Experiences, of aftonishing "Providences, hath thy Life partaken of? Hath thy "Life been fo fweet, that thou art loth to leave it? "Is that thy Thanks to Him, who is thus drawing "thee to his own Sweetness? O foolish Soul! would thou waft as covetous after Eternity, as thou art for a fading, perifhing Life! and after the Prefence "of God in Glory, as thou art for Continuance on "Earth! Then thou wouldst cry, why is his Charist fo long in coming? why tarry the Wheels of his Cha"riots? How long, Lord! how long!". "What "if God fhould let thee live many Years, but deny thee the "Mercies which thou haft hitherto enjoyed? Might He ઃ not give thee Life, as He gave the murmuring "raelites Quails? He might give thee Life, till thou "art weary of living, and as glad to be rid of it as Judas, or Achitophel; and make thee like many "miferable Creatures in the World, who can hardly "forbear laying violent Hands on themfelves. Be not "therefore fo importunate for Life, which may prove a Judgment, inflead of a Bleffing." How many of the precious Servants of God, of all Ages and Places, "have gone before thee? Thou art not to enter an "untrodden 66 "untrodden Path, nor appointed first to break the Ice. "Except Enoch and Elijah, which of the Saints have "escaped Death? And art thou better than they? "There are many Millions of Saints dead, more than now remain on Earth. What a Number of thine "own Bofom-Friends, and Companions in Duty, are 66 now gone, and why shouldft thou be fo loth to "follow? Nay, hath not Jefus Chrift himself gone "this Way? Hath He not fanctified the Grave to 66 us, and perfumed the Duft with his own Body, and art thou loth to follow him too? Rather fay as Thomas, Let us alfa go, that we may die with him." 24. IF what hath been faid, will not perfuade, Scripture and Reafon have little Force. And I have faid the more on this Subject, finding it so needful to myself and others; finding among fo many Chriftians, who could do and fuffer much for Chrift, fo few that can willingly die; and of many, who have fomewhat fubdued other Corruptions, fo few have got the Conqueft of this. I perfuade not the Ungodly from fearing Death: 'Tis a Wonder rather, that they fear it no more, and spend not their Days in continual Horror. СНАР. CHA P. XI The Importance of leading a heavenly Life upon Earth. $1. The Reasonableness of delighting in the Thoughts of the Saint's Reft. § 2. Chriftians exhorted to it, by confidering; 3. (1) it will evidence their fincere Piety; 4. (2) it is the highest Excellence of the Chriflian Temper; § 5. (3) it leads to the mot comfortable Life; §6-9. (4) it will be the best Prefervative from Temptations to Sin; § 10. (5) it will invigorate their Graces and Duties; § II. (6) it will be their best Cordial in all Afflictions; 12. (7) it will render them moft profitable to others; 13. (8) it will honour God; § 14. (9) without it, we difobey the Commands, and lofe the most gracious and delightful Discoveries of the Word of God; $15. (10) it is the more reasonable to have our Hearts with God, as His is fo much on us; § 16, 17. and (11) in Heaven, where we have fo much Intereft and Relation; § 18. (12) befides, there is nothing, but Heaven, worth fetting our Hearts upon. § 19 Tranfition to the Subject of the next Chapter. SI. S there fuch a Reft remaining for us? Why I then are our Thoughts no more upon it? Why are not our Hearts continually there? Why dwell we not there in conftant Contemplation? What is the Caufe of this Neglect? Are we reasonable in this, or are we not? Hath the eternal God provided us fuch a Glory, |