342 CHRIST IS BEST.
and ivith a pen of iron, Jer. xvii. 1, who shall get it out? Nothing but gx'eat repentance and faith, applying the blood of Christ. It is no easy matter to get it off there, and to get the conscience at peace again ; and when conscience is not appeased, there will be aU clamours within. It will fear to appear before the judgment-seat. A guilty conscience trembles at the mention of death. Therefore I wonder how men that live in swearing, in looseness, in filthiness, in deboisedness * of life, that labour to satisfy their lusts and corruptions, I wonder how they can think of death without trembling, considering that they are under the guilt of so many sins. Oh, beloved, the exercising of the heart to keep a clear conscience, can only breed this desire in us to depart, and to be with Christ. You have a com- pany of wretched persons, proud enough in their own conceits, and cen- sorious. Nothing can please them, whose whole life is acted by Satan joining with the lusts of their llesh, and they do nothing but put stings into death every day, and arm death against themselves, which when once it appears, their conscience, which is a hell within them, is wakened, and where are they ? They can stay here no longer ; they must appear before the dread- ful Judge ; and then where are all their pleasures and contentments, for which they neglected heaven and happiness, peace of conscience, and all ? Oh, therefore let us walk holily with our God, and maintain inward peace all we can, if we desire to depart hence with comfort.
4. Again, Paul had got assurance that he u'as in Christ, hy his union with him. ' I live not,' saith he, ' but Christ lives in me,' Gal. ii. 19. There- fore labour for assurance of salvation, that you may feel the Spirit of Christ in you, sanctifying and altering your carnal dispositions to be like his. ' I know whom I have trusted,' 2 Tim. i. 12, saith he. He was as sure of his salvation, as if he had had it already. How few live as if they intended any such matter as this, assurance of salvation, without v.'hich how can we ever desire to be dissolved, and to be with Christ ? Will a man leave his house, though it be never so mean, when he knows not whither to go ? Will a man leave the prison, when he knows he shall be carried to execution ? Oh, no ; he had rather be in the dungeon stiU. So when there is guilt on the soul, that it is not assured of salvation, but rather hath cause to fear the contrary, can it say, ' I desire to depart, and be with Christ,' &c. ? No; they had rather abide in the flesh still, if they could, for ever, for all eter- nity. Therefore, if we would come to Paul's desire, labour to come to the fi'ame of the holy apostle's spirit. He Imew whom he had believed; he was assured that nothing could separate him from the love of God, neither life, nor death, nor anything whatsoever that could befall him, Rom. viii. 88, 89.
5. Paul had an art of sweetodng the thoii/jhts of death. He considered it only as a departure from earth to heaven. When death was presented unto him as a passage to Christ, it was an easy matter to desire the same ; therefore it should be the art of Christians to present death as a passage to a better life, to labour to bring our souls into such a condition, as to think death not to be a death to us, but the death of itself. Death dies when I die, and I begin to live when I die. It is a sweet passage to life. We never live till we die. This was Paul's art. He had a care to look beyond death, to heaven ; and when he looked upon death, he looked on it but as a passage to Christ : so let it be our art and skill. Would we cherish a desire to die, let us look on death as a passage to Christ, and look beyond it to heaven. All of us must go through this dark passage to Christ (c), which when we consider as Paul did, it will be an easy matter to die.
* That is, 'debauchery.' — Q.
CHKIST IS BEST. 343
I come now to the next words — -Neiwtheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.
This is the other desire of Paul, that brought him into this strait. He was troubled whether he should die, which was far better for himself, or live, which was more needful for them ; but the love of God's people did prevail in holy St Paul, above the desire of heaven, and the present enjoy- ing his own happiness. Oh, the power of grace in the hearts of God's children, that makes them content to be without the joys of heaven for a time, that they may do God's service, in serving his church here upon earth.
Obs. 1. Observe hence, that the lives of worthy men, especially magistrates and ministers, are very needful for the church of God.