PAul (as you may see in this Chapter) stands at a certain doubt with himself, whether he should live or die; live he would, that he might glorifie God; die, to be with Christ. The words con­tain in them two things.

1. Paul's desire to be with Christ. [...], Having a desire, &c.

2. The reason of it; because it is best of all. The Greek is most emphaticall, [...], Which is farre better; or as if one should English it, Much more better. Luke 2.29. Simeon desired to die, because he had seen the Lords Christ: Paul here, that he might see Christ, and be for ever with him. Simeon's word is [...], Paul's, [...], there is no materiall difference between them. Vid. Sculter. Exercit. 156. The former, according to the mind of the learned, signifies a dimis­sion, to be fairly dismist, and suffered to depart: the latter, to be let loose, as mariners, when they let loose and lanch forth. Or it may signifie to return: as, [...], Luke 12.36. When he will re­turn from the wedding. The first sense may imply thus much, that the body is the souls prison, wherein it is kept till it be sent forth, and suffered to depart. The second addes chains or coards wherein it is held till it be let loose. The third, that this life is a place of exile, and the soul herein a pilgrim, till it return to God that gave it. But not to stand straining of metaphors, when he saith, He desired to depart, or be dissolved, it is as much as if he had said, That he de­sired to die. Now consider who it was that thus desired death, Paul, a most zealous man, the Spirit of God calls him an elect [Page 2]vessel; Chrysostome, an heavenly man, or, if ye will (saith he) an earthly Angel: yet he seeks death, he desires to be dissolved.

We see then, Act. 9.15. Doct. That all must die, the best that are; the greatest and holiest must taste of death: young men die as well as old: we see short graves as well as long: rich men die as well as poore. It is said in the Gospel, that the beggar died: and presently it is added, the rich man also dyed: Luk. 16.22. And wise men die, as well as the foolish: nay, Psal. 49 10. holy men too; Adam is called the son of God; Abraham, the friend of God; Luc. 3.38. Moses, the man of God; the Virgin Mary, the mother of God: Jam. 2.23. David, was a man after Gods own heart: John Baptist, Psal. 93. tit. a burning and shining light: yet they are all dead and gone, Luc. 1.43. and descended into the slimy pit, as the Prophet calls it: so that howsoever there may be a difference here amongst men, yet then, Abierunt, obie­runt. all shall be alike.

Reason 1 For first, thus hath God decreed, Statutum est (saith the Apo­stle) It is a Statute-law, a thing decreed in the high Court of Hea­ven, Heb. 9.27. and must needs stand fast what is there determined.

Reason 2 Secondly, God doth fufter this, even the best and holyest to taste of death, because he will have them conformable to their head, even Jesus Christ, who died for us.

Reason 3 Thirdly, because of the mortality of men, and the nature of their condition here on earth: all men are of one matter, the godly are not made of one matter, and the wicked, of another, but all of one common matter, the dust of the earth; according to that, Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return; though while we live here, one be higher then another, yet then, there is an equality: as it is in casting account, one counter stands for a thousand, another for an hundred; but put them together into the bag, and one is no bet­ter then another: or, as it is in a play, one bears the person of a King, another of a Knight, another of a Beggar, and very busie they are; but when the play is done, every man goes to his own place. Thus it is with men; one may stand here in a higher room then another: but death makes him equall with the meanest: and if yee look into the same grave, after twenty or thirty years, you shall find no difference between the dust of a King, and a beggar.

Reason 4 Lastly, this comes to passe because of sin, the proper cause of death; this poysons our natures, and continually cleaves to us: as it was with Gehazi, this was his sentence, That the Leprosie should cleave to him and to his posterity for ever: So sin cleaves close to [Page 3]us, till the day of our death: And as the Ivy sticks so close to the wall, that you cannot get it out, unlesse you pull the wall it self down: so sin will not be had out of us, till the earthly house of this Tabernacle be dissolved.

Object. But, what difference then is there between the death of the god­ly, and the wicked?

Answ. Magnum discrimen, a great difference. For, God hath ordain­ed, that death to wicked men shall be a passage to misery; but it is altered to the godly, to them it is a passage to happinesse; for to them, the sting of it is taken away, therefore they need not to fear it, it can do them no hurt. Even as when you see a snake or serpent, its sting being drawn out, you may play with it, put it in your bosome, it cannot hurt you: so may we entertain death, the sting being taken away. Even as through the same gate, the con­demned person is led out to execution, but the honest Citizen walks out for his pleasure and recreation: so through the same gate of Death, wicked men passe to the torments of hell, but the godly to the paradise of heaven. As it is with one that goes over a bridge to a fair medow: so death is as it were a bridge to bring the saints to heaven. As Moses from the top of mount Pisgah had a sight of Canaan before he died: Deut, 34.1. so when the Saints and servants of God are ready to dye, they can see heaven before they depart this world: or as the Israelites, having travelld fourty years in the wildernesse, being now come to Jordan, they could look over it, and see the land of Canaan; they had no more to do, but to passe over the foard, and they were in the Land which flowed with milk and honey: so the people of God, when they have lived fourty or three-score years, in the wildernesse of this world, and are come to die, they are onely to passe over the foard of death, and then they are in the land of promise. Thus you see, that howsoever all die, yet the death of all is not alike; Num. 23.10. Oh let me dye the death of the righteous (said that wizard Balaam) and let my last end be like his: shewing plainly, that the death of righteous and wicked men, in regard of their future estate, do exceedingly differ; alike they may be in their death, but they shall be unlike to each other after death.

Ʋse. Now for the use of this; Is it so? must all dye? Let us then as­sure our selves of this, and not onely say we are mortall, as all men will say so, but seriously think of it; think that God may take us away this day, this hour, this may be the last word I may [Page 4]speak, the last word that ye may hear; therefore let us think of it seriously, that so we may apply our hearts to wisdome: let us live every day, as if it were our last day: The life of man, how long so­ever, is but a life of seven dayes, which are multiplyed and run in a course: Now as a man that hath seven servants to serve him, if he be told that one of those seven will kill him, narrowly observes every one of them, when they come by course to serve him: so man, whose life runs upon seven dayes in the week, which serve him by course, since one of them will certainly make an end of him; he should therefore watch every day, saying to it, as John to Christ, Art thou he that should come? or do I yet look for another? sick­nesse must come, and death must come, nothing so sure; how are we provided for their coming? When sicknesse is upon us, we can do nothing for extremity of pain; and therefore now, when the marrow is in our bones, and blood in our veins, let us think of it; and earnestly prepare our selves for death. Now for the main Do­ctrine, I desire saith he to be dissolved, &c.

Doct. A Christian may lawfully desire death: Its lawfull, nay neces­sary sometimes to desire death. Now when I say, that a man may desire it, it is a great height this, and all attain not thereunto: for, death (saith the Philosopher) is the most terrible of terribles, [...] Job 18.14. the King of fears, as Job calls it: when a man shall seriously take to heart, and consider that his soul must be separated from his body, those two old friends part and go assunder; some doubting and fear will arise through our frailty, and the best may have temptations in that kind: we know this, that when a man is to change his dwel­ling, it puts him to trouble, if it be but into the next Shire, or the next town, every remove is troublesome: when therefore the soul shall depart as far from the tabernacle of the body, as heaven from earth, there may be some trouble at this great remove; yet there is something overcomes this trouble, whereby the Saints are willing to embrace death, and desirous of a dissolution. Would you see examples for it? Paul here in my Text, comes in with his cupio dissolvi; and Simeon with his Nunc dimittis; the old man had long waited for Jesus Christ, and now, when he had seen him, Lord (saith he) let thy servant depart in peace, Luk. 2.29. he had seen sal­vation; beheld Christ with a spirituall, as well as with his corporal eyes; held him in the arms of his faith, as well as with the arms of his body: and now the world would no longer away with him, Let me depart (saith he) let me be gone. But before I come to shew [Page 5]what should move us to desire death; I will speak a few things by way of caution, and to prevent mistakes.

Cautions. 1 The first is this, That this desire must alwayes be with submis­sion to the will of God; we must say as Christ, Let this cup passe, or come, as thy will and pleasure is; not my will, but thy will be done. If it be the will of Christ that Peter go, Mat. 26.39. and John tarry still; Joh. 2 1.22. they must both submit to it: So must we, for the time and manner of our death, submit our selves to God: our wills are never right but when they are conformable to the will of God. Thats the first, the rest will follow upon it. 2 As in the second place; That it is no good desire, to desire death merely to be rid of anguish and pain: For, what if it be the will of God to hold us long under the rod; we must learn to kisse his holy hand that smites us: he doth it for the tryall of our faith, and other graces; and therefore we ought to bear it patiently. Thus much we may learn from Pauls example, who saith here, he desired to be dissolved, but it was not meerly to be rid of pain, so himself tels us, bonds and afflictions waited for him in every place, yet he made no reckoning of them, as you may see, Act. 20.21. and 23. compared together. Many a man would be ready to break prison, but to be loosed from such bonds, that is, iron bonds or chains: but Paul gloried in these, yet cryes out of the chains of his sinnes, and wisheth himself loosed from them; Oh miserable man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death? he doth not say, oh miserable man, how am I afflicted? Rom. 7.24. I am in deaths oft, who shall deliver me from this death of the body? but, who shall deliver me from this body of death? This, this is it which makes many a godly Christian even to sigh and groan within himself, longing for a dissolution, that so the body of sin might be wholly destroyed; who yet is willing patiently to bear any crosse his heavenly Father shall lay upon him, to render him conformable to his head Christ: and therefore they do very ill, and shew that they have not learnt that self-denyall that be­comes Christians; who assoon as they begin to be afflicted in their bodies or estates, presently call for death to come and take them a­way. It was Jonas fault, Oh (saith he) that thou wouldest take a­way my life from me: he comes in a pelting chafe, Jonah 4.3.8. in a pettish hu­mour: So, many when they are crost of their wills, wish with him they were out of the world, that they were dead, and laid in their graves, who (God knowes) are but badly prepared, and would be found in an ill case, should death come indeed. Therefore let this be a second Caution.

3 Thirdly, this desire must never cause us to use any means to ha­sten our death. I have read of one Hegesias, a Philosopher, of that eloquence and power in perswading, that when he was pleased to represent before his auditours the miseries of this life, his words struck such an impression in them, that many of them went and made away themselves. And in Hollingsheads Chronicles, theres a story of a great man in this Kingdome, who in the times of the Ba­rons wars, being much perplext in his mind, calld the Keeper of his Park to him, told him, he feared his Deer were stolen, charged him every night to go into the woods, to walk his rounds, and if he spied any man that would not stand at the first word, to shoot him: some two or three nights after (out of the depth of melancholly, (the De­vil, that Prince of darknesse, working upon that black humour) he himself rose out of his bed, went into his Park, the keeper spying him, calld to him, and bid him stand; he answered not, but walk­ing on amongst the trees, the Keeper took his Crosse-bow, and shot his own Lord dead in the place: thus he fell by his own coun­sell, and procured his own death by the hand of his Keeper. And if reports, Lucernam non extinguebant, sed ultro consumi. Plut. Q. Rom. 468. Et tibi Publi, & piis omnibus re­tinendus est a­nimus in custodia corporis, nec in­juslu ejus à quo ille est nobis da­tus ex hominum vita migrandum est, ne munus hu­manum assigna­tum à Dco, defu­gisse videamini. Somn. Scip. or papers may be credited, some have been brought to the same passe by reason of the sore pressure of our late troubles. Now when I say, that a man may desire death, it is far from my mean­ing, that a man should bring it upon himself in any such way: grace teacheth us not to offer violence to nature: and therefore, as amongst the Romans, the lights of the Temple were not to be put out, but suffered to burn as long as they lasted: so this candle of our lives must not be extinguisht, till it consume and go out of it self, or till God shall require it in the defence of some lawfull cause: we must retain the soul in the custody of the body, it must not be forced out of it, till he that gave it, call for it; lest we should seek to forsake that office and imployment which God hath assigned us. This is a third Caution.

4 Fourthly, we ought also to consider, that this is a kind of mixt desire: as you may see here in S. Paul, he desires death, because it was so advantageous to him: yet is content to stay, for the bene­fit of Gods people; To stay (saith he) is more expedient for you, but for my self, I desire rather to be dissolved, and to be with Christ, which is far better: heres you see a mixture of desires, this is bet­ter one way, that, another; for their private advantage, Gods chil­dren desire to be in heaven; for the benefit of others, they are con­tent to stay still in this world. It is with them in this case, as it is [Page 7]with a chast and loving wife, her husband being gone from home, she desires his coming home; yet thinks sometimes, oh that my husband would not come yet, till such a businesse be dispatched, such a room drest, and made ready for his coming, therefore keeps her self doing, that nothing may offend the eye of her Lord when he comes and brings his guests with him: So the godly Christian de­sires the coming of Christ above all, Oh that thou wouldest rent the heavens and come down: Come Lord Jesus, Isa. 64.1. come quickly: Rev. 22.20. but because he knowes not what hour his Lord will come in deed, there­fore he busies himself in preparing and making all ready against his coming. It is written of Ortelius that great Cosmographer, that in his declining age, he set up the Globe of the world in his Study, Bucolch. chron. 803. with this inscription, Contemno, & orno, mente, manu: with his heart he contemnd the world, though with his hand he adornd it. This Embleme may teach us our duty; Let us seek to adorn the world by the works of our hands, let us endeavour what we can that the world might be bettered by us, while we live in it; yet let the world be in no esteem with us: let our minds sit loose from the world, ready to leave it, whensoever the Lord shall call us: and this is that we may learn out of that heavenly prayer of Christ, They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world; I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world, Joh. 17.14.15. but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil. In which words he meets with an Objection.

Object. Might some say, If the Saints be not of this world, as Christ is not of this world; why do they not then follow Christ? he is go­ing out of the world, why do not they go along with him?

Answ. Oh no: They must stay their time, they must not go yet, saith Christ, I will not have them presently taken out of the world, they shall stay a while to wrastle with their corruptions, to preach the Gospel to the world: that done, I will receive them to my self. Vers. 24. he saith, Father, I will that those whom thou hast given me, be with me: yet here he saith, I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world; that is, not yet. Conformable to this will of Christ, is the will and desire of the Saints: they desire to be with Christ (for where should the servant be, but with his Lord? the members, but with their head? the spouse, but in the bosome of the bridegroome?) they desire therefore I say, as the top of all their happinesse, to be with Christ; and know assuredly they shall one day be with him in glory: yet they desire to keep themselves from [Page 8]the evil of the world so long as tis his pleasure to continue them in it. Christ doth not pray his father to take us presently out of the world, but to take the world, that is, the love of it out of us, and that we may be satisfied with the truth, vers. 17. This should be our desire then, that whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. 2 Cor. 5 9. That man therefore can have no true desire to dye, that hath no desire to live well: neither doth he desire to have any com­munion with Christ after death, that doth not desire it in his life: he that desires to be with Christ after death, desires also that Christ may be with him, and dwell in him before death. These two desires then are in effect one, saving that one is the perfections of the other; and in that regard the most desirable. These things premised, I now come to shew, why death may be desired of us.

• 1. It delivers us from manifold evils.
• 2. It brings with it infinite good, to those that are prepared for it.

1. Bodily evils. The evils from which we are freed by death, Quis enim suffi­cit quantovis e­loquentiae flumi­ne vitae hujus miserias explica­re▪ August. Eccles. 1.8. Verstegan. Anti­quit. 58. are either bodily evils, or soul evils, spirituall evils. For the first, bodily evils; even these, if I should begin to speak of them, they are more then I am able to expresse. All things are full of labour, man cannot utter it: What toile and labour are our bodies subject unto? What hardship do they here endure? Our old ancestours, the Saxons, counted the ages of their lives by Winters; to shew how many sea­sons of sharp and cold weather they had overpast: besides, how many diseases are there incident to the frail bodies of men, and wo­men! impostemes, swellings, agues, aches, apoplexies, strangury, stone, gout, &c. oh the stinging torment that is in some of these! I gave you an item indeed before, that none of these temporall bo­dily evils should cause us to desire death, through impatience, or any repining disposition; however, theres enough in them to wean us from this world, and to let us see the misery of it: and death when it comes, it will free us from all these diseases: when given by the hand of our heavenly Physician, 'tis the first physick that can be to cure us of them all. And as our bodies, so our estates likewise are subject to a thousand changes: what losses and crosses do we meet with there! as if a man be a rich man to day, he may be a beggar to morrow; if his estate lie in plate or money, thieves may break through and steal it; if in goods or houshold-stuffe, they may likewise plunder him of all; if in houses, the fire may consume all; (how many Briefs tells us so?) if in lands, the rain may come and [Page 9]slocken all his fruit; if in merchandise, the sea may swallow up all; if in cattell, the enemie, as the Sabeans did Jobs, may carry all away: and he may then sit down and say as he, naked came I out of my mothers womb, and I see I shall return a naked man to the womb of the earth. I add here again, that a man must take heed of impatience, and discontent, otherwise I see no harme in it, if these changes mind him of his last change: and being thus stript and left naked, he begin to think of lying down to his rest. Besides this, many are the afflictions of the righteous, Acerrimum par media mors diri­mit. Seneca. many are the wrongs they receive at the hands of wicked men: what cart-loads of reproches and disgraces are they ready to cast upon them? for there is an an­tipathy between the one and the other, as there is between fire and water, but when death comes, it ends the quarrell.

2. Spirituall evils. But now for the second, soul-evils, or spirituall evils, they are of far more force to draw on this desire. The devil he is our conti­nuall adversary; and so long as we live here, so long will he be tempting us; he can no sooner look into my heart, or thy heart, but he will see to what our natures and dispositions are most inclind, and thereby he will work upon us. Rom. 7.19. Add hereunto that virus ma­ternum, that venome and poyson of originall corruption, whereby we are disabled from doing the good we would, and the evil we would not, that we do: The flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary the one to the other: Gal. 5.17. so that we cannot do the things that we would. Paul had a pitcht field, as it were, between himself and himself. Velis, noli:; intra sines tuos erit Je­busaeus: prm. po­test, non extermi­nari. Connatam habe­mus cupiditatem, haec pussus est ut motus cordis, quem nemo mortalium in hac vita reprimit. Cas. eth. Dan. 3.23. & 25. As Rebecca had the two twins strugling in her womb: so in every regenerate man, theres the flesh and spirit strugling together; do what we can, this Jebusite will still be in our coasts: The seeds of sin may be in some measure supprest by the power of Gods spirit, but never rooted out till death: It is as the pulse of a mans body, alwayes beating till then, but then it will cease. Death will do no more to us, but what Nebuchadnezars fire did to the three children, it never toucht, nor harmd them, onely burnt their coards wherewith they were bound, and let them loose: So death, when it comes, will loose us from these coards and chains of our sins, and set us at liberty: Therefore we ought to long after this full redemption. I remember what the Heathen did, they placed the Temple of rest without the City, to shew, that if ever we would have tranquility and quietnesse, it must be by going out of this world; then there will be no trouble or vexation of spirit, no concupiscence, no sin to withdraw us from [Page 10]God. Death came into the world by sin, and sin will not out of the world, but by death: God shall wipe away all tears from the eyes of his children, and then he saith, there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, Revel. 21.4. nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: Mark, God will first take away tears, and sin, the cause of tears, that shall be covered with the garment of Christs righteousnesse: and then, as with a handkerchief, he will dry up their tears: he will first do away sin from their souls, then twill be easie to wipe away tears from their eyes: it is sin makes so many tears stand in the eyes of Gods children; therefore when sin is once done away, all sor­row and tears, all crying and pains will cease. Thus for the evils we shall be freed from. Now for the good, and benefit we shall be partakers of by death, and after: My text saith, We shall be with Christ, and that is, [...], far better: If shall be far better then, then now in these four respects.

• 1.
  Propter elonga­tionem suam à consuetudine no­stra & a rebus seculi istius non est facile, &c. Paris 696.
  The Place of our habitation.
• 2. Our Society and Company.
• 3. Our Bodies: and
• 4. In respect of our souls.

There is indeed a great elongation or estrangement between us, and things of eternity and that shall come to passe hereafter, by reason of our earthly mould and temper; let faith therefore which is the substance of things hoped for, here act, and stir up it self, carrying us above our selves, and above our senses, whilest we are speaking of these particulars. I begin with the Place.

1 This world is a Sea of glasse: a Sea, for trouble; and glasse, Place. Rev. 15.2. for brittlenesse: it is a vale of misery, as you have heard; but Heaven is a haven of rest, a Paradise of pleasures and delights. The earth is [...], an ill-favoured, dark, squallid, filthy place: 2 Pet. 1.19. but in heaven is light inaccessible. Now if a man that had lived in a dark cell or dungeon, should be taken thence to live in some great and sumptuous palace; he would think the world well amended: or if a man that had lived thirty or fourtie years in some mud-wall-Cottage in the countrey, should change his dwelling, and live in the chiefest City of the Kingdome, and enjoy the trea­sure and riches of it, he would think himself a happier man then ever he was before: Job 4.19. We now dwell in houses of clay, whose founda­tion is in the dust; but the City of God is a most glorious City, the very gates of it, Rev. 21.10, 11. Saint John saith, are of Pearl, and they that do his commandments, Rev. 22.14. shall enter in through the gates into the City. [Page 11]Oh how glorious shall things appear, when we shall come to the gates of that City! but when we shall passe through those gates, how shall our souls be ravisht with joy, to see the things are there to be seen! The very streets (he tels us) are of pure gold; But alas, What are Pearls? What is Gold? Indeed we see no better things here, and thats the reason the spirit of God sets forth the glory of heaven by these things; otherwise they were not good enough to be compared, or worthy to be named the same day with heavens glory. And should you imagine such a City as he there describes, whose gates were pearl, and streets gold; the glory of it would not so far exceed the glory of the meanest village or hamlet, as the glory of heaven would surmount, and go beyond it. Think then with your selves, how desirous a place heaven is. S. Peter, you know, when he was upon the holy Mount, Mat. 17.4. and beheld Christ trans­figured, was not his own man, but fell a talking of building Taber­nacles, and I know not what: but, how would he have been ravisht, if himself had been transfigured, and translated into the place of the Blessed! and S. Paul being rapt up thither, was not able, 2 Cor. 12.2. of fourteen years after, to tell us, whether he was in the body, or out of the body, such and so glorious is that place.

2 But what shall be our company there? not that which is now a vexation to our spirits, the company of swearers, drunkards, &c. but of Angels, Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs, &c. Company. Oh praeclarum diem, cum in illud animorum concilium coetúmque pro­ficiscar, & ex hac turba & colluvione discedam! That is, Oh hap­py day, when I shall depart out of this place of filth and loath­somnesse, and go into that Synod of souls! an excellent saying to come out of the mouth of a Heathen. So let us say with Da­vid, Oh when shall I come and appear in the presence of God? and with Paul, When shall I enter into the City of the living God, Psal. 42.2. the heavenly Jerusalem? When shall I be amongst that innumerable company of Angels, and that generall Assembly? When shall my soul be gathered to the souls of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediatour of the new Covenant? Heb. 12.22. Oh when shall I rest in my center Christ Jesus? when shall I be wholly his, and he be wholly mine? Oh this is our happinesse to be with Christ, with him, who is the desire of all Nations: with him, who suffered an accursed death on the Crosse, for our sins: with him, Joh. 17.24. whom our soule loveth: to be with him, and to behold the glory which the father hath given him: this is that shall make us happy for ever and ever.

Object. But all this, that is place, and company, seems to be but the happinesse of the object; what shall be the happinesse of the subject?

Answ. It shall be in our bodies, and in our souls.

3 For the body, it shall not then be subject to any change passion, or wearinesse; Body. [...], which are tour excel­lent properties of a glorified bo­dy. Naz. orat. funebr. Mat. 26.41. Phil. 3. [...]. it shall not be so dull and lumpish as now, but most agile and nimble: it shall not then stand in need of sleep, meat and drink, which chain us so fast by the teeth here. Now the spirit is sometimes willing, but the flesh is weak; our souls would fly up to heaven, but the flesh clogs them and keeps them down: then it shall not be so, but the body as a ready and willing instrument shall follow the motions and desires of the soul or spirit. The Lord shall change our vile bodie, or our body of humiliation, that it may be fashioned and made like unto his glorious body: it is sown in weaknesse, raised again in power: it is sown a naturall bo­dy, it is raised a spirituall body: a body still, but adorned with spirituall qualities. Now, will not faith cause us earnestly to desire a dissolution (though nature shrink a little at the thought of it) when we shall consider, that this mutable, sinfull, corruptible, frail, and rotten tabernacle of our body shall be taken down, for no o­ther end, but that by a blessed and glorious resurrection, it may be restored, advanced, to perfect, firm, incorruptible, and celestiall glory?

4 Lastly, for our souls, how shall those two faculties thereof, un­derstanding and will, Soul. be then enobled! How perfect the operati­on of them! Our understandings shall be wonderfully irradiated, for the present they are blind and ignorant. let a man be never so studious, and labour for knowledge with all his strength; yet all he knows is but the least part of what he is ignorant: For now we see through a glasse darkly, 1. Cor. 13.12. but then face to face: now we know in part, but then we shall know even as we are known. The soul having been never so little a while in heaven, shall get more knowledge, then here it hath done in twenty or thirty years: For we shall then see him as he is. 1 Joh. 3.2. So for our wills, what a sweet conformity shall there be between them, and the will of God! We shall then fol­low the Lamb wheresoever he goeth. Rev. 24.4. Now we follow him too, but 'tis but lamely, and 'tis not wheresoever he goeth; because as we follow Christ, so the Devil follows us with his temptations, whereby we are drawn aside and go astray. Oh, but then it shall not be so, but our wills shall be wholly conformable and obedient [Page 13]to his blessed will, we shall follow him wheresoever he goeth. I have set before you the crown of life: I have truly, though imper­fectly and very briefly, described the nature of our future happi­nesse. All is true that hath been said; yet all that hath been said, is nothing to the greatnesse of it. You must remember that of the Apostle, The glory that shall be revealed in us, Rom. 8.18. it cannot be com­prehended by us, no not by the most enlarged understanding, but hereafter it shall be revealed in us. And this was it made Paul so desirous of his dissolution: as Chrysostome brings him in speaking thus. I have tasted of the joyes of heaven, Chrys. to. 5. ad pop. Antioch. hom. 5. therefore delay is tedi­ous to me; I have had the first-fruits of the spirit, therefore I de­sire the whole harvest; I have been caught up into the third heavens and have seen the glory which is unutterable; I have beheld the splendor and glory of the court of heaven: Oh, I have learnt, I have learnt what good things I want the fruition of, staying here: for this cause I sigh, and groan within my self, desiring to be dis­solved. To summe up all, we see what reason there is, to make us desire our dissolution, whether we respect outward and bodily evils, or spirituall evils, the Devil, and our own corruptions joyning with him; and because our sanctification is imperfect here. The world is [...], a dusty, squalid, filthy place: no marvell, if the feet of our affections be still gathering soyle, while we are walk­ing in it. And lastly, because our condition hereafter shall be far better then now it is, free from sin and misery; death will bring us to a far better estate, both for place, company, body and soul: even to such happinesse as eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor heart con­ceived. We can say no more, 1 Cor. 2.9. but we shall know more when Christ shall say to us, Enter into thy Masters joy: it cannot enter into us, Mat. 25.21. therefore we shall enter into it, and be filled with it.

Now for application of this Doctrine, Death is a thing that may be desired. I desire (saith Paul) to be dissolved and to be with Christ.

Ʋse 1 First, I may from hence shew you the dotage of the Papists, concerning Purgatory: they say mens souls must have a purgation there, before they come to heaven; and the pains of that place (some of them say) are as sharp as the pains of hell, save onely 1 that they are not so lasting: With what comfort then can a man desire death, to go to such a place? Nay, I have heard of some, whom this doctrine hath distracted, and they have fallen mad at the very thought of it. 2 Secondly, Christ tells the good [Page 14]thief, Luc, 23.43. to day shalt thou be with me in Paradise. And I will (saith he) that those whom thou hast given me be with me, Joh. 17.24. where I am: I hope they dare not say, that Christ is in Purgatory; he is not in limbo, Heb. 8.1. but in olympo: not in purgatorio, but in empyreo, at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, there is he in glory, and he will have us to be where he is, the text is plain.

3 Thirdly, the Scripture tells but of two places mens souls go to when they depart hence, heaven and hell: the beggar dyed, and his soul went, whither? to purgatory? no; but 'twas presently recei­ved into Abrahams bosome, Luc. 16 22. that is, into heaven: and (saith the Text) the rich man also dyed, and was buried, and whether went his soul? to hell: the Text speaks plainly, The rich man dyed, and was buried, and in hell, stayed no where by the way, but down to hell he went immediately. So in Matthew, he shall set the sheep on his right hand, the goats on his left; at his right hand is the kingdome of heaven, at his left hand everlasting fire: he that is not on his right hand, shall surely be on the left; therefore he that goes not into the kingdome of heaven, shall doubtlesse go to hell, and fire everlasting: the Scriptures tell not of any third place.

4 Lastly, the close union of death, and Christs presence, over­throws this dream of theirs: I desire (saith Paul here) to be dis­solved, and to be with Christ; there is no Medium between them. But enough of this.

Ʋse. 2 In the second place, it may teach us how to take the death of our friends; 1 Thes. 4. Weep not (saith the Apostle) as men without hope: these tears are unprofitable, they do our friends no good, but they may do us hurt. Consider the necessitie of death; it cannot be a­voided: all must dye: 'tis a debt our parents brought upon us, and must be paid, whensoever it shall be required: and think likewise of the commonnesse of death: 'tis as common a thing for men and women to dye, as to be born, and to go out of the world, as it is to come into the world: why then should we wonder more at the one, then at the other? Anaxagoras, when one came and told him his son was dead; Spatio annorum 2256. compre­henditur aetas quatuor partium qui à mundi ex­ordio hucus (que) vi­xerant. Nam &c. Bucolch. chron. 224. made him this Answer: I knew my son was mortall: as soon as I had begot him, I knew he should die. Death now in our dayes is a very common thing; indeed, in the time between the Creation and the Flood, there was not a Coarse to be seen, it may be, in two or three hundred years, they were then so long lived: but now with us, many hundreds dye, and depart [Page 15]this world, every year, nay every week: seeing then others dye so fast, what reason have we to think our friends should be exempted, or why should we be so full of grief, Quid admiratio­nis meretur res, si scissum est quod eratscissile, & liquefactum quod eratliquesi. & si id crematum est quod erat u­stile, & si id per­iit, quod ita na­tum est ut possit perire? Plut de consol. 185. seeing death is so common a thing? What wonder is it to see trees consume with age, wax melt, soluble things dissolved, or to see frail mortals die that are born so, that they cannot but dye; is this any matter of wonder? But that which should especially qualifie our grief, is, from my text, and the doctrine delivered. Death is a thing to be desired, then not over­much lamented: we should (I say) desire, and do desire it, as oft as we say the Lords Prayer, Thy Kingdome come. Therefore let us turn our sorrow for the death of our friends, into a desire of being with them in restand peace, when Gods good will and pleasure is.

Ʋse. 3 Is death a thing desirable? see here then the difference between the true Christian, and the worldling. As it is with women, some have living births, and in their time they will come forth; others have dead births, and they stir not, but dye, and lye still in the womb: so is it with men, some are dead, and they desire to lye here still; others have living births, are new born Christians, and they cry out with Paul, Oh miserable man that I am, who shall deliver me! Rom. 7.24. they would fain be delivered, they long to be with Christ, to en­joy his desired presence. As a man that hath sores and ulcers on his body, and his shirt begins to cleave thereto, with what pain is it puld from his back? Even so is it with worldlings, whose affecti­ons are glewed to the earth, they are haled and puld from it, when they are to dye, as Joab was from the horns of the Altar. Oh death! how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man that lives in his pleasures? It is the King of terrours to such men; when the thought of it comes into their minds, how doth it amaze and trou­ble them! Solomon describing such a man, saith, All his dayes, Ecclus. 41.1. Eccl. 5.17. Foaming anger with or in his sicknesse. Pemb. in loc. Invenitur aliquis qui malit inter supplicia tabesce­re, & perire mem­bratim, & toties per stillicidiam amittere ani. mam, quàmsemel exhalare. Sen. 450. Epist. he eateth in darknesse, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sicknesse, because he is loth to depart, unwilling to leave this world. As it was with the Gibeonites, they were content to be hewers of wood, drawers of water, rather then depart from the tents of the Israelites: So these men had rather do any thing here, endure any drudgery, then depart out of this world; had rather consume in the midst of torments, have their souls drop away in drops, and all the members of their bodies perish one after another; then dye and leave the world.

Object. Oh Sir, but life is sweet:

Answ. What life do you mean? for this we live here, hardly deserves [Page 16]the name of life: for, how can we call that life, where heat scorch­eth, cold pincheth, meats and drinks make us dull and heavie, fast­ing weakens us, humours swell us up, old age buckles us together, shrinks our sinews, wrinckles our skins, dimms our sight, ratling phlegme rises up and choaks us, and at last, death seizeth upon us! What a life is this? Oh vita non vita­lis. Oh wretched life that tendeth to death! Let us therefore be in love with that life which death brings us unto, for that is life indeed. The Apostle saith, Our life is hid with Christ in God: the Saints aspire after this life, and they have their affecti­ons wafted up to heaven, and this, to them, is all in all. When Christ is here present, sometimes in his ordinances, what comfort do they find herein! But how much greater will it be hereafter, when we shall see him as he is! As a woman is glad of a Letter from her husband, but more desirous of the company of her husband: so it may comfort us a little, that we hear from him, and that God sends his Ministers, and servants to us, as Paul sent Timothy to the Thessalonians, 1. Thes. 3.2. to comfort us concerning our faith; that he is plea­sed to give us his holy word, which is as it were a letter sent us from heaven: Oh, but how much greater will our joy and happinesse be, when we shall be with Christ, enjoy his desired presence, and follow him wheresoever he goeth! Now then, what terrour do we find in death? or for what need we to fear it? for it shall then come to us, as an officer comes to an heir, giving him possession of an in­heritance: So, death is no more but Gods officer, to bring us into the possession of the Kingdome of Heaven.

Ʋse. 4 Therefore in the last place, let it teach us to labour to get Pauls de­sire; let us desire thus, that we may desire death: Its a great heighth this, and God sometimes will not give his children so great a desire as at other times, therefore labour thou to come to this, which that thou mayst the better do, consider these helps to further thee herein.

1 First, because contraries are oft cured by contraries, too much love of this bodily life, Dulcedo divini amoris carnalis amoris suavita­tem procul ex­pellit. Divinae dilectio­nis fervor inter­nè ardens affe­ctiones omnes externas quasi paleas absumit. Comp. sper. doct. 198. with the love of the spirituall life, too much affecting of earthly things, with the love of heavenly; there­fore raise up thy self to consider the excellency of heaven, and hea­venly things, and then earthly things will seem lesse: as a man on the top of a high mountain, or tower, sees men below like crowes. I remember a pleasant relation in Scipio's dream, how that when he, as he thought, was taken up into heaven amongst his friends Paulus and Affricanus, and they shewed him the motion of the Planets, and the greatnesse of the Celestiall Orbs; he cast his eyes down up­on [Page 17]the earth which seemd but like a Tennis-ball, & searching to find out the place where his kingdome lay, it was so small he could scarce discern it: But as he was thus poaring on the ground, Coelestia semper spectato, illa hu­mana contemni­to. Affricanus puls him by the sleeve, and bid him mind heavenly things, and not to regard earthly; for what is it (saith he) to have a name upon earth? say thou hadst Carthage, and all Numantia; yet cannot thy name fly over this Caucasus, nor swim over this Ganges: Thou seest how small a thing the earth is, and that sea, (pointing to the Atlantick.) which ye call the great sea and the main ocean, which though it have so great a name, thou seest how small a thing it is. This was but a Philosophers dream, yet 'cis pleasant to consider how far those men went. Let us that are Christians, seriously con­sider the excellency of heaven, and vanity of earthly things; let us mount aloft upon the wings of divine contemplation, and our mindes being there, all things here below will be as nothing to us. Seek those things (saith the Apostle) that are above, or on high: What? where the Orbs and Planets are? No, higher then so: Col. 3.2. where Angels and Arch-angels are? No, higher yet, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Oh if the soul of any here present were, with Paul, rapt up into the third heavens, to be there but one hour, to see what he saw; how would he be ready to trample these things under his feet, as vile and despicable! he would count them trash in comparison of Jesus Christ, as dung to that pearl.

2 It may be said, all this is but matter of speculation; therefore in the second place, Give thy self to the practise of mortification, de­sire to have all things mortified unto thee, then thou wilt not care so much for them. Offer what yee will to a dead man, he regards it not: So let us labour to get our affections, whether covetous, or pleasurable, mortified; and we shall not care for these things. Mor­tifie therefore your members which are upon earth, fornication, un­cleannesse, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousnesse. Col. 3.5. Indeed, this mortification of all evil affections is a hard work: for as it is with men that have strong bodies, and suffer violent deaths; you see what a lamentable conflict there is, what strugling between life and death, and when you think the man quite dead, a good while after, he gives a great sigh or groan, nature then gathering all her strength to withstand death, flying as it were in the very face of death, either to vanquish, or to be overcome: Even thus it is, if we go about to take away the life of our dearest lusts, they will gather all the forces they can either make of themselves, or the de­vil [Page 18]and the world can supply them withall, to stand before them, and defend them, that we may not come at them; but if for all that, we break through, and smite them so that we give them their deaths-wound, yet they will gather strength again, and rise up to hurt us, and do us a mischief afterwards. Oh, 'tis hard, 'tis hard, and many a Christian is forced even with tears in his eyes to cry out to heaven for help when he is at this work, yet this yee see, is that we are Gal. 5.24: Rom. 6.6.8.13. calld to, that which every regenerate man and woman sets him­self to: and he who hath in good earnest set himself to it, and en­deavoured the mortifying of his sins, will not be afraid of death; but rather see great cause why he should desire it: whatsoever pains it brings, he is provided for it, and may say thus: Oh death, I re­gard not any sting, thou canst sting my body withall; for, sin thy worst sting, wherewith thou wouldest sting my soul to death, is in some measure mortified and subdued by the power of Gods Spirit: that conflict thou art now about to bring upon my body, will be but short to that I have endured in my soul these so many years. Oh wel­come death, come, do thine office: I have been endeavouring a long time the death of my sins, and something through the power and mercy of God I have done; though not so much as I would: come, lend me thy hand to finish this work. I have oft smote my sins, think­ing to lay them in the dust; yet they have risen again: one stroke now of thy hand will cause them to dye, that they shall never rise up any more.

3 Thirdly, let us think oft, and consider what our condition is while we are here subject to sin and misery: do what we can, we cannot so mortifie sin that it shall not be in us: Non hîc sumus sine peccato, fed exibimus sine peccato. Aug. its true, the old man hath received his deaths wound in every regenerate man, and is bleed­ing out his life by degrees, and at death shall quite expire, and bleed his last, but not till then: Paul saith of himself, I find a law in my members, warring against the law of my mind; who shall deliver me from this body of death? Rom. 7.23, 24. or, oh that I were deliver­ed from it! There will be a body of sin and death in us, so long as we carry this body of earth and flesh about us: this is plain then, as long as we live here, we shall sin; and what Christian desires to live to sin, and to offend God! Oh ye that love the Lord, hate sin (saith the Psalmist) hate that which is evil. We should therefore desire it for this cause. Psal. 97.10.

4 Fourthly, let us oft look at death: Plato said, that the life of a Philosopher should be nothing else, but a meditation of death, much [Page 19]more, the life of a Christian. It was a custome amongst the Greek Emperours, a Stone-cutter came to the Emperour on the day of his Coronation, presented divers stones before him, and desired to know of him, which of those stones he would have for his Sepul­chre. And I have read of a people, who at their feasts were wont to drink to one another out of dead-mens skuls, to mind them of death. Joseph of Arimathea, who brought the Gospel hither into England, he had his sepulchre hewn out of a rock, Joh. 19.41. standing ready for him in his garden: So let us, when the world seems to crown us with its chiefest delights, then remember death: when we eat and drink, think we see death on our tables; when we are in our private Gardens, then also let us take a turn with death, and let us act death before it comes: As a man that would fain fall asleep, shuts his eyes, draws the curtains, layes his head to the pillow, and so com­poseth himself to sleep: so do thou; oft think with thy self in what manner death will surprise thee, look at it before it comes, and it will be the easier when it comes.

5 And lastly, as we must look at it, so we must also look beyond it: indeed it is a terrible thing to look at death, but cast thine eye now beyond it, and there will be no terrour in it. Think of Paul's [...], how it will be far better with us then, then now; in regard of Place, Company, our Bodies, and our Soules. But indeed (as I noted to you before) that glory is unspeakable. As the Queen of Sheba said of Solomons glory, She heard a great deal, yet not half of it was told her: the same may we say of eternall happi­nesse, that, we cannot declare half of it unto you: meditate we may, and ought, of that glory; yet this we must know, that we come exceeding far short. This therefore should make us go with as great desire to the grave, as they use to go to a marriage; because then, we shall be married to Christ Jesus: And as Travellers, when the day is well spent, and the Sun grows low, come chearfully into their Inns at night: so should we, to this common Inne of Death.