that the great Reafon of Mortality that a Chriftian is fubject unto, is that he may be made free of that which made him at firft, Mortal. Because Sin hath taken fuch Poffeffion in this earthly Tabernacle, and is fo ftrong a Poifon, that it hath infected all the Members, and by no Purgation here made can be fully cleanfed out, but there are many fecret Corners it lurks into, and upon occafion vents itself: Therefore it hath pleafed God in his infinite Goodness, to continue the former Appointment of Death, but under a new and living Confideration, to take down this infected and defiled Tabernacle, as the Houses of Leprofie were taken down under the Law, that fo they might be the better cleanfed, and this is the laft Purification of the Soul from Sin. And therefore, as one of the Ancients faid well, That we might not be eternally miferable, Mercy bath made us mortal. Juftice hath made the World mortal, that they may be eternally miferable; but to put an End to this Mifery, Chrift hath continued our Mortality. Elfe he would have abolished Death itself, if he had not meant to abolish Sin by Death; and indeed it would appear this is the Reafon why the World must be confumed with Fire at the laft Day, and new Heavens and Earth fucceed in its Room; beoaufe, as the little Houfe, the Body, fo the great Houfe, the World, was infected with this Leprofie, and fo fubjoined to Vanity and Corruption because of Man's Sin: Therefore that there might be no Reninant of Man's Corruption, and no Memorial of Sin to interrupt his eternal Joy,the Lord will purify and change all: All the Members that were made Inftruments of Unrighteoufnefs, all the Creatures that were Servants to Man's Lufts, a new Form and Fahion fhall be put on all, that the Body being reftored, may be a fit dwelling Place for the purified Soul, and the World renewed, may be a fit House for righteous Men. Thus you fee, that Death to a Chriftian is not real Death; for it is not the Death of a Chriftian, but the Death of Sin his greateft Enemy, it is not a Punishment, but the Enlargement of the Soul. Now, the next Comfort is that which is but partial, it is but the Diffolution of the loweft Part in Man, his Body; fo far from prejudging the immortal Life of his Spirit, that it is rather the Accomplishment of that. Though the Body must die, yet eternal Life is begun already within the Soul, for the Spirit of Chri hath brought in Life; the Righteousness of Chrift hath purchafed it, and the Spirit hath performed it, and applied it to us: Not only there is an immortal Being in a Chriftian, that muft furvive the Duft (for that is common to all Men) but there is a new Life begun in him, an immortal Well-being in Joy and Happiness, which only deferves the Name of Life, that cometh never to its full Perfection, till the bodily and earthly House be taken down. If you confider seriously what a new Life a Chriftian is tranflated unto, by the Operation of the Holy Ghoft, and the Miniftration of the Word, it is then moft active and lively, when the Soul is most retired from the Body in Meditation: The new Life of a Chriftian, is most perfect in this Life, when it carrieth him the furtheft Distance from his bodily Senfes, and is moft abftracted from all fenfible Engagements, as you heard; for indeed it reftores the Spirit of a Man to its native Rule and Dominion over the Body, fo that it is then moft perfect, when it is most gathered within it felf, and difingaged from all external Intanglements." Now, not terrible unto him. Since there is no Way to fave the Paffenger, but to let the Veffel break, he will be content to have the Body fplitted, that himself, that is his Soul, may efcape; for truly a Man's Soul is himself, the Body is but an earth Now, certain it is, fince the Perfection of the Soul in this Life, confifts in fuch a Retirement from the Body, that when it is wholly feparated from it, then it is in the most abfolute State öf Perfection; and its Life acts most purely and perfectly, when it hath no Body to com-ly Tabernacle that must be taken down, municate with, and to entangle it either to let the Inhabitant win out to come with its Lufts or Neceffities. The Spirit near his Lord. The Body is the Prifonis Life, it hath a Life now which is then houfe that he groans to have opened, that beft when furtheft from the Body; and he may enjoy that Liberty of the Sons of therefore it cannot but be furpaffing bet God. And now to a Christian, Death is ter when it is out of the Body; and all not properly an Object of Patience, but this is purchased by Chrift's Righteoufnefs. of Defire rather, I defire to be diffolved As Man's Obedience made an End of his and be with Chrift, Phil. i 23. He that Life, Chrift's Difobedience hath made our hath but advanced little in Christianity Life endless: He fuffered Death to fting will be content to die: But because there him, and by this hath taken the Sting is too much Flesh, he will defire to live; from it: And now, there is a new Sta- but a Chriftian that is riper in Knowtute and Appointment of Heaven publish- ledge and Grace, will rather defire to ed in the Gospel, whoever believeth in die, and only be content to live: He bim fball not perib, but bave eternal will exercife Patience and Submiffion Life. Now indeed, this hath fo entirely about abiding here; but Groanings and changed the Nature of Death, that it hath Pantings about removing hence, because now the most lovely and desirable Afpect he knoweth that there is no Choice beon a Chriftian, that it is no more an Ob-tween that Bondage and this Liberty. ject of Fear, but of Defire, amicable, SERMON XXIX. Verfe 10. And if Chrift be in you, the Body is dead becaufe of Sin: But the Spirit is Life, because of Righteoufness. T was the firft curfe and threatning, [cording to the Letter, yet from that Day wherein God thought fit to comprehend all Mifery, Thou fbalt die the Death in that Day thou eatet: Though the Sentence was not prefently executed as forward Man was made mortal; and there feemeth to be much Mercy and Goodnefs of God interveening to plead a delay of Death it felf, that fo the Promise of Life . Life in the fecond Adam might come to the first and his Pofterity, and they might be delivered from the fecond Death, though not from the firft. Always we bear about the Marks of Sin in our Bodies to this Day, and in fo far the Threatning taketh Place, that this Life that we live in the Body, is become nothing else but a dying Life: The Life that the Ungodly thall live out of the Body is a living Death; and either of these is worfe than fimple Death or Destruction of Being. The ferious Contemplation of the Mife. ries of this Life, made wife Solomon to praife the Dead more than the Living, contrary to the Cuftom of Men, who rejoice at the Birth of a Man-child, and mourn at their Death. Yea, it preffed him further, to think them which have not at all been, better than both; becaufe they have not feen the Evil under the Sun This World is such a Chaos, fuch a Mafs of Miferies, that if Men understood it before they came into it, they would be far more loath to enter into it, than they are now afraid to go out of it. And truly we want not Remembrances and Reprefentations of our Mifery every Day, in that Children come weeping into the World, as it were bewailing, their own Misfortune, that they were brought forth to be fenfible Subjects of Mifery. And .what is all our Lifetime, but a Repetition of Sighs and Groans, Anxiety and Satiety, loathing and longing, dividing our Spirits and our Time between them? How many Deaths muft we fuffer, before Death come? For the Abfence or Lofs of any Thing much defired, is a Separation no lefs grievous to the Hearts of Men, than the parting of Soul and Body: For Affection to temporal perifhing Things, unites the Soul fo unto them, that there is no parting without Pain, no Diffolution of that Continuity without much Vexation; and yet the Soul muft fuffer many fuch Tortures in one Day, because the Things are perishing in their own Nature, and uncertain. What is Sleep, which devours the moft Part of our Time? But the very Image and Picture of Death, a visible and daily Reprefentation of the long Ceffation of the fenfitive Life in the Grave; and yet truly it is the beft and most innocent Part of our Time, though we accuse it often: There is both lefs Sin, and lefs Mifery in it; for it is almoft the only Leniament and Refreshment we get in all our Mife ries. Job fought it to affwage his Grief, and eafe his Body: But it was the Extre mity of his Mifery, that he could not find it. Now, my Beloved, when you find that which is called Life, fubject to fo much Mifery, that you are constrained often to defire you had never been born: you find it a Valley of Tears, a House of Mourning, from whence all true Delight and folid Happiness is banished: Seeing the very Officers and Serjeants of Death are continually furrounding us, and walk alongft with us, though unpleasant Company, in our greatest Contentments, and are putting Marks upon your Doors, as in the Time of the Plague upon Houses infected, Lord, have Mercy upon us, and are continually bearing this Motto to our View, and founding this Direction to our Ears, cito, procul, diu, to get foon out of Sodom, that is appointed for Deftruction, to fly quickly out of our felves, to the Refuge appointed of God, even one that was dead and is alive, and bath redeemed us by bis Blood; and to get far off from our felves, and take up dwelling in the bleffed Son of God, through whofe Flesh there is Access to the Father; feeing all these (I fay) are fo, why do not we we awake our felves upon the Sound of Therefore, we may conclude with the Apoftle, that all Men by Nature are miferable in Life, but infinitely more mife rable in Death; only the Man who is in Jefus Chrift, in whofe Spirit Chrift dwells, and hath made a Temple of his Body, for offering up reasonable Service in it, that Man only is happy in Life, but far happier in Death: Happy that he was born, but infinitely more happy that he was born mortal, born to die; for if the Body be dead because of Sin, the Spirit is Life because of Righteouf ness. Men commonly make their Accounts, and calculate their Time fo, as if Death were the End of it: Truly, it were Happiness in the Generality of Men, O then, how happy are they in whose is longing to be more closely united: The inward Senfes are exercised about fpiritual Things, but the Burden of this clayie Manfion doth much dull and damp them, and proves a great Remora to the Spirit: The Body indifpofes and weakens the Soul much: 'Tis Life, as in an Infant, though a reasonable Soul be there, yet overwhelmed with the Incapacity of the Organs, this Body is truly a Prifon of Reftraint and Confinement to the Soul, and often lothfome and ugly through the Filthinefs of Sin: But when the Spirit is delivered from this neceffary Burden and Impediment, O! how lively is that Life it then lives; then the Life, Peace, Joy, Love and Delight of the Soul, furmounts all that is poffible here, further than the highest Exercise of the Soul of the wifeft Men furpaffes the brutish-like Apprehenfions of an Infant: And indeed then, the Chriftian comes to his full Stature, and is a perfect Man, when he ceaseth to be a Man. Shadows, breathing Clay, and no more. A godly Man used to calculate the Years of his Nativity from his fecond Birth, his Converfion to God in Chrift: And truly, this is the true Period of the right Calculation of Life, of that Life which fhall not fee Death. True Life hath but one Period, that is, the Beginning of it; for End it hath none: I beseech you reckon your Years thus, and I fear that you reckon your felves, many of you, yet dead in Sins and Trefpaffes. Is that Life, I pray you, to eat, to drink, to fleep, to play, to walk, to work? Is there any Thing in all these worthy of a reasonable Soul, which muft furvive the Body, and fo ceafe from fuch Things for ever? Think within your felves, do you live any other Life than this? What is your Life, but a tedious and wearifome Repetition of such brutish Actions, which are only terminate on the Body? O! then how miferable are you, if you have no other Period to reckon from, than your Birth-day? If there be not a fecond Birth-day before your Burial, you may make your Reckoning to be banished eter How will you not be perfwaded, Beloved in the Lord, to long after this Life, to have Chrift formed in your Hearts; for truly the Generality have not fo much asnally from the Life of God. Chrift fashioned in their outward Habit, but are within Darkness and Earthinefs, and Wickednefs, and without Impiety and Profanity! Will you not long for this Life? for now you are dead while you live, as the Apostle fpeaks of Widows that live in Pleasure: The more the the Soul be fatisfied with earthly Things, it is the deeper buried in the Grave of the Flesh, and the further feparated from God: Alas! many of you know no other Life, than that which you now live in the Body, you neither apprehend what this new Birth is, nor what the perfect Stature of it thall be afterwards; but truly while it is thus, you are but walking As for you, Chriftians, whom God hath quickned by the Spirit of his Son, be much in the Exercife of this Life, and that will maintain and advance it: Let your Care be about your Spirits, and to hearten you in this Study, and to beget in you the Hope of eternal Life, look much, and lay faft hold on that Life-giving Saviour, who by his righteous Life, and accurfed Death, hath purchased by his. own Blood, both Happiness to us and Holinefs: Confider what Debters you are to him, who loved not his own Life, and fpared it not to purchase this Life to us. Let our Thoughts and Affections be occupied about this high Purchase of our Saviour's, |