1. The time of death is the time when souls are usually most violently assaulted by Satan with hoi'rid temptations and black sug- gestions. We may say of that figuratively, as it is said of the natu- ral serpent, numquam nisi moriens, producitur in logum ; he never exerts his utmost rage till the last encounter : and then his great design is to persuade the saints that God loves them not, hath no care nor regard for them nor their cries ; though they pray for ease and cry for sparing mercy, they see none comes. He handles them with as much roughness and severity as other men ; yea, many of the vilest and most dissolute uTetches endure less torments, and are more gently handled than they. Psal. Ixxiii. 4. " There *^ are no bands in theb- death," when as thou must go through
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a long lane of sickness to the grave, and endure many deaths in one.
But what credit can these plausible tales of Satan obtain with a Christian who hath been treasuring up, all his life long, the me- mor'ials of God's tender regard both to his wants and prayers, and that hath carefully remarked the evident returns of his prayers and gracious condescensions of God to him, from his beginning to that moment ? In this case, his faith is mightily assisted by thou- sands of experiences, which back and encourage it, and will not suffer the soul to give up so easily a truth Avhich he hath so often sensibly felt and tasted. I am sure, saith he, God hath had a tender, fatherly care of me ever since I became his ; he never fail- ed me yet in any former strait ; and I cannot believe he will do so now. I know his love is like himself, unchangeable, John xiii. 1. " Having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them '' unto the end : for this God is our God for ever and ever, he " will be our guide even unto death,"" Psal. xlviii. 14. Did he love me in my youth, and will he cast me off in my decrepit age ? *' O God, (saith the Psalmist) thou hast taught me from my youth, " and hitherto have I declared thy wonderous works ; now also *•* when I am old and grey-headed, O God, forsake me not,"" Psal. Ixxi. 17, 18.
2. At death the saints are engaged in the l^st, and one of the most eminent works of faith, even the committing of themselves into the hands of God, when we are launching forth into that vast eternity, and entering into that new state which will make so great a change U]x>n us in a moment. In this Christ sets us a pattern, Luke xxiii. 46. " Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit ; " and having said thus, he gave up the ghost." So Stephen at his death, " Lord Jesus, receive my spirit, and immediately fell " asleep,'" Acts vii. 59-
There Ix; two signal and remarkable acts of faith, both exceed- ingly difficult, viz. its first act, and its last. The first is a great venture that it makes of itself upon Christ ; and the last is a great venture too, to cast itself into the ocean of eternity upon the cre- dit of a promise. But yet I know the first adventure of the soul u|x>n Christ, is much moi*e difficult than the last adventure upon death ; and that which makes it so is, in a great measure, the ma- nifold recorded experiences that the soul hath been gathering up from the day of its espousals to Christ unto its dying day, which is (in a sense) its marriage-day. Oh ! with what encouragement may a soul throw himself into the arms of that God with whom he hath so long conversed and walked in this world; whose visits have been sueet and frequent, with whom the soul hath contract- ed so intimate acquaintance in this world; whom he hath com-
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mitted all his affairs to formerly, and still found him a faithful God, and now hath no reason to doubt but he shall find him so in his last distress and exigence also !
3. At death the people of God receive the last mercies that ever they shall receive in this world by the hand of providence, and are immediately to make up their accounts with God for all the mer- cies that ever they received from his hand. What can be more suitable therefore to a dying person than to recount with himself the mercies of his whole life, the manifold regeits of favour for which he is to reckon with God speedily ; and how shall this be done without a due and serious observation and recording of them now ? I know there are thousands of mercies forgotten by the best of Christians : a memory of brass cannot contain them : and I knoAv also that Jesus Christ must make up the account for us, or it will never pass Avith God ; j^et it is our duty to keep the accounts of oiu* mercies, and how they have been improved by us, for we are stewards, and then we are to give an account of our stew- ardship.
4. At death we owe an account also to men, and stand obliged (if there be opportunity for it) to make known to them that survive us what we have seen and found of God in tiiis world, that we may leave a testimony for God with men, and bring up a good report upon his ways. Thus dying Jacob, when Joseph was come to take his last farewell of him in this world, strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed, and related to him the eminent appearances of God to him, and the places where. Gen. xlviii. 2, 3. as also an account of his afflictions, ver. 7. So Joshua, in his last speech to the peo- ple, makes it his business to vindicate and clear the truth of the promises, by recounting to them how the providence of God liad fulfilled the same to a tittle in his day. Josh, xxiii. 14. " And be- *' hold (saith he) this day I am going the way of all the earth, and " ye know in all your hearts, and in all your souls, that not one ** thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your " God spake concerning you ; all are come to pass unto you, and " not one thing hath failed thereof."
And certainly it is of great importance to the world to under- stand the judgments, and hear of the experiences of dying men. They, of all men, are presumed to be most wise and m.ost serious : besides, this is the last opportunity that ever we shall have in this world to speak for God. O then what a sweet thing would it be to close up our lives with an honourable account of the ways of God ! to go out of the Avorld blessing him for all the mercies and truth which he hath here performed to us ! liow would this encou- rage weak Christians, and convince the atheistical world, that verily there is a reahty, and an excellency in the ways and people of God !
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