For when the soul by faith considers the horror of the grave as the chambers of death, faith considers they be but resting places for the body, that it sleeps there awhile till the day of the resurrection, and then they meet again. And it considers that the flesh rests there in hope of a glori- ous resurrection ; and faith sees a time of restoring, as St Peter saith, ' There shall be a day of restoring of all things,' Acts iii. 21. There is a day of refreshing and restoring to come, when those eyes wherewith we now look up to heaven, and those feet that carry us about our callings, and about the exercises of religion, and those hands that have been lift up to God, that body that hath been the vessel of the soul, shall be restored, though it be turned to dust and rottenness. Faith seeth the faithfulness of God, that God in Christ hath taken these bodies of ours in trust. ' I know whom I have believed, and he is able to keep that I have committed
FAITH TRIUMPHANT. 417
to him,' 2 Tim. i. 12. I have committed to him my soul, m}' body, my whole salvation. I know he is able to keep that I have committed to him. 'And I know that my Redeemer liveth,' saith Job. It was his comfort in all extremity, that he should see him with his very same eyes.
And then for the pangs of death, which nature trembles and quakes at, faith considers of them as the pangs of child-birth. Every birth is with pangs. Now, what is death but the birth to immortality, the birth of glory ? We die to be born to glory and happiness. All our lifetime we are in the womb of the church, and here we are bringing forth glory. Now death, I say, it is the birth-day of glory, and a birth is with pain. Faith sees it is a birth-day. It sees that presently upon it there shall be joy. As with a woman after she hath brought 'a man-child into the world,' John xvi. 21, so it comforts itself against the pangs of death. Again, faith sees them short, and sees the glory after to be eternal. It is a little dark passage to an eternal glorious light.*
Then for the dissolution and parting of two friends, soul and body, faith sees that it is but for a while, and then that that parting is a bringing in a better joining; for it brings the soul immediately to her beloved, our Saviour Christ Jesus ; and faith sees that it is not long till body and soul shall be re-united again for ever, ' and they shall be for ever with the Lord,'
And then for friends. Faith sees, indeed, that we shall part with many sweet friends ; but faith saith we shall have better friends. We go to God, we go to the souls of perfect men, we go to [an] innumerable company of angels, Heb. xii. 22, we go to better company a great deal.
And for all the employments we have here, that we have below, faith sees that there will be exercise in heaven. We shall praise God with angels and all the blessed and glorious company of heaven. So consider what you will that is bitter and terrible in death, faith conquers it. It sees an end of it, and opposeth to it better things ; because, notwithstanding death cuts off many comforts, yet it brings better. It is a blessed change ; it is a change for the better every way. Faith sees that there is a better place, better- company, better employment, better liberty, — all better. And, which is more, to die in faith is to die in assurance that all is ours, as the apostle saith, 1 Cor. iii. 16. Even death is ours. Paul is yours, Christ is yours, death is yours. This is our comfort when our days shall be closed up with death. Faith beheves that death is ours, that is, it is for our good ; for, as I said, it brings us to our wished haven; it brings an end to all misery, an end to our sins, an end to our pain, an end to our vexations, an end to our discomforts, and to all scandals here below ; an end to all the temp- tations of Satan. * The Lord will wipe all tears from our eyes then,' Il»v. vii. 17. And it is the beginning of happiness that shall never end. So, indeed, faith sees that the day of death is better than the day of birth. When we come into misery, it is not so good as when we go out of misery, and enter into happiness. This is to die in faith. For the time past to see the forgiveness of all our sins, to see the sting pulled out; and for the present to look to Christ, ready to receive omr souls, and to see him present with us to comfort us, to strengthen us against the pangs of death ; and for the time to come, by faith to overlook the grave, to overlook death and all, and to see all conquered in Christ ; to see ourselves in heaven already with Christ. And thus a Christian being upheld with this grace, he ends his days in faith.