And to add one thing more out of the text concerning the excellency of this Lord : he is an unchangeable Lord. His love is as himself, and his care as himself, eternal : ' for whether we live or die, we are his.' What other people that are under a government can say so? For all their governors' love and care endeth in death. In the mean time their minds are variable, their aSections may die before themselves ; as how many have been cast off in their old days ! But God will not do so. ' Forsake me not in my grey heirs,' saith David, Ps. Ixxi. 18. He is our Lord while we live, and he leaveth us not when we leave to live, but is our God to death, in death, and after death, and for ever. It is a relation that holds for eternity, as our Saviour Christ saith of xibraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He
210 TiiK christian's end.
is the God of Abraham. Abraham ia dead ; Isaac and Jacob rotten in their graves. Ay, but their souls arc in heaven ; and because he is their whole God, their bodies shall be raised again and united with their souls, and be for ever with the Lord.
In all the vicissitude and intercourse of things in this world, wc need something to stick to ; and this the Christian hath to stick to, that never faileth. lie is the Lord's, and the Lord is his ; he is Christ's, and Christ is his. Christ hath a love that is as himself, unchangeable. * Whom the Lord loveth, he loveth to the end,' John xiii. 1. The promises made iu Christ are as Christ — the promises of grace here, and glory hereafter cer- tain. As his nature and love is unchangeable, so the Iruit of his love in his gracious promises is always certain. They are the everlasting portion of the church.
The good things promised are everlasting likewise. We may build upon them. We cannot build on riches here, or life here, but we may build on eternal life, eternal glory and happiness.
So that, cast a Christian into what condition you will, he hath God and Christ in covenant with him, and the love of Christ, and all the gracious promises and the things promised. And these do not vary. Life varieth : we may live now, die to-morrow ; but whether we live or die, these four things mentioned are certainly ours.
A Christian cannot say of anything here, that it will be his long. His estate is his now, and many ways there are to take it away ; his friends are his now, but their friendship may decline ; anything in the world may be so ours to-day, as not ours to-morrow. And therefore, were it not that in this variety of conditions we had something that is afterward, where were our comfort ? We may outlive all comfort here, but we cannot outlive our happiness in Christ : ' for whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.'^
To speak of this a little, as it yieldeth comfort in death. ' We are the Lord's,' not only while we live, but when we die. Why? Because we have a being iu Christ when we die. Christ is a living root; because I live, you shall live also.' This Lord is the ' Lord of life ;' and therefore whosoever is one with the Lord of life, he can indeed never die. Death is only a change of a natural gracious life here, to a glorious life in another world ; from the church warfaring here, to the church triumphant in heaven.
It is not properly death, for misery dieth, death itself dieth ; we do not die. Death overthroweth itself, but a Christian's life is hid with Christ ; and when he dieth he dieth to live, and is found in Christ at the day of judgment, and shall be for ever with Christ. Therefore it is no great matter what kind of death a Christian dieth, because he dieth in the Lord. ' Blessed are they that die in the Lord,' Eev. xiv. 13. He saith not, them that die a fair death. A wretch, an opposer, an hypocrite may do so, and go to hell. But blessed are they that die in the Lord, because Christ is their Lord in death ; and so saith the apostle, Heb. xi. 13, ' All these died in faith.' He saith not, they all died a fair death, for they did not, but many of them died a bloody death ; yet they ' all died in faith,' and so they died in the Lord.
And therefore when we read in the histories of the church that some were torn in pieces with wild beasts, that ' they gave the bodies of the saints to the fowls of heaven,' as David hath it, Ps. Ixxix. 2, which may discourage some to be Christians, let us not think that any matter ; ' they died in faith.' And as Ihe psalmist saith, ' precious to the Lord is the
THE christian's KND. 811
death of all Lis saints,' Ps. csvi. 15 ; for he taketh notice of them in their lives, not only in their lives, but the hairs of their head, they being all numbered. He taketh notice of the tears that fall from their eyes, and will not he take notice of their blood ? He taketh notice of their persons, their hairs, their tears, and will he part with their lives for nothing ? No. He will be paid for the lives of his children. When he parts with them, his enemies shall be sure to pay for it. He will be avenged on them for it, as the blood of Naboth was on Ahab. So he will be revenged on all the persecutors of his church, and take a strict account of every drop of blood that hath been shed, for their persons are precious. God taketh special notice of them. They are his members, his spouse, and near unto him.