other saints that have been pitied and spared in this day of the Lord's
(4.) Fourthly, No godly man dies in any common calam.ify till his glass he run, and his icork done, and he prepared and fitted for another world : Job xiv. 5, ' Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee ; thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass,' Job v, 26 ; Rev. xi. 6, 7 ; Acts xiii. 2.5, 36. God hath set every man both his time and his task. In this scripture, as in a glass, you may see the true reason why some likely to live long die soon, even whilst their bones are 'full of marrow, and their breasts are full of milk ;' and others that are more w^ak and infirm live long, yea, very long. The reason is, because God hath set bounds to every man's life, to a very day, ay, to a very hour : ver. 14, ' All the days of my appointed time of warfare will I wait till my change come,' i.e., till my death. Job calls death a ' change.' Death is not an annihi- lation or extinction, but a mutation.
1.] It is the last change that we shall meet with till the resurrection.
2. J It is a lasting, yea, an everlasting change. It puts every one into an eternal condition of happiness or misery.
[3.] It is a universal change — 1. In respect of persons; all must meet with it : 'it is appointed for all men once to die,' Heb. ix. 27. 2. In respect of the whole man, body and soul. Death lodges the body in the grave, and puts the soul into heaven or hell.
[4.] It is a different change according to the quality of the person changed. It is terrible to a sinner : for,
First, It wnll put a full period to all his outward mercies, comforts, contentments, and enjoyments. Job i. 21. Saladin, a Turkish emperor, the first of that nation that conquered Jerusalem, lying at the point of death, after many glorious victories, commanded that a white sheet should be borne before him to his grave upon the point of a spear, with this proclamation, ' These are the rich spoils which Saladin car- rieth away with him ; of all his triumphs and victories, of all the riches and realms that he had, now nothing at all is left him but this sheet.'
Secondly, It will put a full period to all his hopes. Now he shall never hope for mercy more, nor never hope for pardon more, nor never hope for heaven more.
Tliirdly, It will put a full period to all the means of grace. Now he shall never hear sermons more, nor never read the word more, nor never enjoy the prayers of the people of God more, nor never taste any of the dainties of God's store more, &c.
Fourthly, It will put a full period to the patience, forbearance, and long-suffering of God, Rom. ii. 4, 5.
Fifthly, It will put a full period to all the pleasures of sin. Now the sinner shall never have one merry day more. In hell there is no singing, but howling ; no music, but madness ; no sporting, but sigh- ing ; no dancing, but wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth for evermore, &c.
Sixthly, It will put a full period to all gracious reprieves. The . sinner in his lifetime hath had many a reprieve, from many execu- tions of wrath and judgment. Oh ! but now he shall never have one reprieve more.
A HEAVENLY COKDIAL. 425
Seventhly, It will put a full period to all the strivings of the Holy Spirit. Now the Spirit shall never strive with the sinner more, 1 Sam. vi. 3 ; nor Christ will never knock at the sinner's door, at the sinner's heart, more, &c.
Eighthly, and lastly, It will put a full period to all gracious examples. Now the sinner shall never cast his eye upon one gracious example more. The sinner in his lifetime hath had many gracious examples before his eyes, which it may be at times have had an awakening, convincing, silencing, and restraining power in them. Oh ! but now he shall never have his eye upon one pious example more. All hell will not afford one good example. In a word, now the sinner shall find by woeful experience that death will be an inlet to three dreadful things: 1. To judgment, Heb. ix. 27; 2. To an irreversible sentence of condemnation, Mat. xxv. 41 ; 3. To endless, ceaseless, and remediless sufferings. Not many years since, in the town of Yar- mouth, there was a young man, who, being very Aveak and nigh to the grave, and under the apprehensions of the wrath of God, and supposing that he was presently going down to the pit, to hell, he cried out, * Oh that God would spare me but two days ! Oh that God would spare me but two days ! Oh that God would spare me but two days ! ' This poor creature trembled at the very thoughts of wrath to come. Oh who can dwell with everlasting burnings ! who can dwell with a de- vouring fire ! Isa. xxxiii. 14. And as death is terrible to the sinner, so it is desirable, comfortable, and joyful to a child of God : Cant, viii. 14; Luke ii. 27-32; 2 Cor. v. 1-8; Phil. i. 23 ; Rev. xxii. 20. ' I desire death,' saith Melanchthon, ' that I may enjoy the desirable sight of Christ.' And ' when will that blessed hour come ? wheu shall I be dissolved? when shall I be with Christ?' said holy Mr Bolton when he lay on his dying-bed. Jewel was offended at one that in his sickness prayed for his life. One whom I knew well, a little before his death, after a sharp conflict, cried out three times, Victory I victory ! victory ! He breathed out his soul and his doxology together, ' Thanks be to God for Jesus Christ,' and so conquered Satan in his last encounter.! The dying words of my young Lord Harrington were these: ' 0 my God, when shall I be with thee? '2 ' Shall I die ever ?' saith Austin ; ' Yes ; or shall I die at all ? Yes,' says he : ' Lord, if ever, why not now ?' When Modestus, the emperor's lieutenant, threatened to kill Basil, he answered, ' If that be all, I fear not ; yea, your master cannot more pleasure me than in sendino- of me unto my heavenly Father, to whom I now live, and to whom I desire to hasten.' Mr Dereing,^ a little before his death, being raised up in his bed, and seeing the sun shine, was desired to speak his mind ; upon which he said, ' There is but one sun that giveth light to the whole world, but one righteousness, one communion of saints. As concerning death, I see* such joy of spirit, that if I should have pardon of life on the one side, and sentence of death on the other, I had rather choose a thousand times to die than to live.' So Mr John
1 Much more to this purpose you may find in my ' Saint's Portion,' and in my ' String of Pearls.' [Works, Vol. I., as before. — G.]
' Cf. Stock's Funeral Sermon on Lord Harrington, as before.— Q. ' Edward Dereing or Deering— a fine old Puritan writer. — G. ♦Query, 'feel'?— G.
426 A HEAVENLY CORDIAL.