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of more value than all this world to us, efpecially if the whole weight of eternity fhould hang upon it, (as oftentimes it doth) then the loss of that portion of time, is the lofs of foul, body, and hope for evermore.

Confider. 3. Much of that little precious time of departing fouls will be unavoidably taken up, and employed about the inexcufable, preffing calls and neceffities of diftressed nature; all that you can do for your fouls must then be done only by fits and fnatches, in the midft of many disturbances, and frequent interruptions: So that it is rarely found, that a dying man can purfue a serious meditation with calm and fixed thoughts: for befides the pains and faintings of the body, the abilities of the mind usually fail. Here alfo they fall into a fad dilemma; if they do not with the utmost intention of mind fix their hearts and thoughts on Chrift, they lose their comfort, if godly, and their fouls if ungodly; and if they do, friends and phyficians affure them they will destroy their bodies. Thefe are the ftraits of men bordering close upon eternity; they must haftily catch a few moments in the intervals of pain, and then are put by all again.

Confider. 4. There is no man living but hath fomething to do for his own foul in a dying hour, and fomething for others also.

Suppose the best that can be fuppofed, that the foul be in real union with Chrift, and that union be alfo clear; yet it is feldom found but there are fome affaults of Satan : Or if not, yet, how many relations and friends need our experiences and counfels at fuch a time? How many things fhall we have to do after our great and main work is done? And others have a great deal more to do, though as fafe as the former. O the knots and objections that are then to be diffolved and answered! The ufual onfets and affaults of Satan that are then to be refifted! And yet most dying perfons have much more upon their hands than either of the former. The whole work of repentance and faith is to do when time is even done.

Confider. 5. Few, yea, very few, are found furnished with wildom, experience and faithfulnefs to give dying perfons any confiderable affiftance in foul-affairs. It may be there may be found among the vifitants of the fick, now and then a perfon who hath a word of wifdom in his heart; but then either he wants opportunity or courage and faithfulness to do the part of a true fpiritual friend. Elihu defcribes the perfon fo qualified as he ought for this work, Job xxxiii. 23, 24. and calls him, One among a thousand. Some are too clofe and referved, others too trifling and impertinent; fome are willing, but want ability;

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others are able, but want faithfulnefs; fome cut too deep by uncharitable cenforiousness; others skin over the wound too flightly, fpeaking peace where God and confcience speak none : So that little help is to be expected.

Confider. 6. How much therefore doth it deferve to be lamented, that, where there is fo much to do, fo little time to do it, and fo few to help in the best improvement of it, all should be loft as to their fouls by earthly incumbrances and worldly affairs, which might have been done fooner and better in a more proper season! O therefore let me persuade all men to take heed of bringing the proper business of healthful days to their fick beds.

Infer. 4. What an excellent creature is the foul of man, which is capable, not only of fuch preparatious for God, whilft it is in the body, but of fuch fights and enjoyments of God, when it lives without a body.

Here the Spirit of God works upon it, in the way of grace and fanctification, Eph. ii. 10. The fcope and defign of this his workmanship, is to qualify and make us meet for the life of heaven, 2 Cor. vi. 5. For this felf-fame thing, or purpose, our fouls are wrought, or moulded, by grace, into quite another frame and temper, than that which nature gave them; and when he hath wrought out and finished all that he intends to be wrought in the way of fanctification, then fhall it be called up to the highest enjoyments, and employments for ever, that a creature is fufceptible of.

Herein the dignity of the foul appears, that no other creature in this world, befide it, hath a natural capacity, either to be fanctified inherently in this world, or glorified everlastingly in the world to come; to be transformed into the image, and filled with the joy of the Lord. There are myriads of other fouls in this world, befides ours, but to none of them is the Spirit of fanctification fent, but only to ours: The fouls of animals ferve only to move the dull and fluggish matter, and take in for a few days the fenfitive pleasures of the creation, and fo expire, - having no natural capacity of, or defignation for, any higher employment or enjoyment.

And it deferves a moft ferious animadverfion, that this vaft capacity of the foul for eternal bleffedness, must of neceflity make it capable of fo much the more mifery and felf-torment, if at laft it fail of that bleffednefs: For it is apparent they do not perish becaufe they are uncapable, but becaufe they are unwilling: not becaufe their fouls wanted any natural faculty that others have, but because they would not open those they have,

to receive Chrift in the way of faith and obedience, as others

did.

Think upon this, you that live only to eat, and drink, and fleep, and play, as the birds and beafts of the field do; What need was there of a reafonable foul for fuch fenfual employments? Do not your noble faculties fpeak your defignation for higher ufes? And will you not wish to exchange fouls with the moft vile and defpicable animal in this world, if it were poffible to be done? Certainly it were better for you to have no capacity of eternal bleffedaefs (as they have not) if you do not enjoy it; and no capacity of torment beyond this life (as they have have not) if you must certainly endure it.

Infer. 5. If our fouls and bodies must be separate shortly, how patiently should we bear all leffer feparations, that may and will be made, betwixt us and any other enjoyments in this world?

No union is fo intimate, ftrict, and dear, as that betwixt our fouls and bodies. All your relations and enjoyments in this world, hang loofer from your fouls than your bodies do: and if it be your duty, patiently and fubmiffively, to fuffer a painful parting pull from your bodies; it is doubtless your duty, to fuffer meekly and patiently a feparation from other things, which are but a prelude to it, and a mere fhadow of it. It is good to put fuch cafes to ourfelves in the midst of our pleasant enjoyments.

I have now many comfortable relatives in the world, wife, children, kindred, and friends; God hath made them pleasant to me, but he may bereave me of all thefe. Doth not providence ring fuch changes all the world over? Are not all kingdoms, cities, and towns, full of the fighs and lamentations of widows, orphans, and friends bereaved of their pleasant and ufeful relations? But if God will have it fo, it is our duty to bound our forrows, remembring the time is fart, 1 Cor. vii. 29. In a few days we must be fript much nearer, even out of our own bodies by death.

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God may alfo feparate betwixt me and my health by fickness, fo that the pleafure of this world fhall be cut off from me; but fickness is not death, though it be a prelude and step towards it I may well bear this with patience, who must fubmissively bear fharper pains than thefe ere long. Yea, and well may I bear this fubmiffively, confidering that by fuch imbittering and weaning providences, God is preparing me for a much easier diffolution, than if I fhould live at eafe in the body all my days, till death comes to make fo great and sudden a change upon me, God may alfo feparate betwixt me and my liberty by reftraint.

It hath been the lot of the beft men that ever were in the world; and if it fhould be ours alfo, we should not be much ftartled at it, confidering thefe bodies of ours must be fhortly pent up in a ftraiter, darker, and more loathfome place of con finement, than any prifon in this world can be. The grave is a darker place, Job xvii. 13. and your abode there will be longer, Eccl. xi. &.

These, and all other our outward enjoyments, are feparable things, and it is good thus to alleviate our lofs of them.

Infer. 6. How heavenly fhould the tempers and frames of thofe fouls be, who are candidates for beaven, and must be fo fhortly numbered with the fpirits of juft men made perfect.

It is reasonable that we all begin to be, that which we expect to be for ever; to learn that way of living and converfing, which we believe muft be our everlafting life, and bufinefs in the world to come. Let them that hope to live with angels in heaven, learn to live like angels on earth, in holiness, activity, and ready obedience.

There is the greatest reafon that our minds be there, where our fouls are to be for ever. A fpiritual mind will be found poffible, congruous, fweet, and evidential of an intereft in that glory, to all thofe holy fouls, who are preparing and designed for it.

1. It is poffible, notwithstanding the clogs and entanglements of the body, to be heavenly-minded. Others have attained it, Phil, iii. 20. Two things make a heavenly conversation polli ble to men, viz.

(1.) The natural abilities of the mind.

(2.) The gracious principles of the mind.

(1) The natural abilities of the mind, which can, in a minute's time, difparch a nimble meffenger to heaven, and mount its thoughts from this to that world in a moment. The power of cogitation is a rich endowment of the foul, fuch as no other creature on earth is participant of. Though spiritual thoughts be not the natural growth of the foul, yet thoughts capable of being fpiritualized are. And without this ability of projecting thoughts, all intercourse must have been cut off.

(2.) The gracious principles implanted in the foul, do actual. ly incline the mind, and mount its thoughts heaven-ward. Yea, this will prove more than a poffibility of a converfation in heaven; whilft faints tabernacle on earth, in bodies of flesh, it will almost prove an impoffibility that it (hould be otherwife, for thefe fpiritual principles fetting the bent and tendency of the VOL. III.

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heart heaven-ward, we must act against the very law of our new nature, when we place our affections elsewhere.

2. A mind in heaven is most congruous, decorous and comely for those that are the enrolled inhabitants of that heavenly city. Where should a Christian's love be, but where his Lord is! Our hearts and our homes do not use to be long afunder. It be comes you fo to think, and so to speak now, as thofe who make account to be shortly finging hallelujahs before the throne.

3. It is moft fweet and delightful; no pleasure in this world is comparable to this pleasure; Rom. viii. 6. "To be fpiritual ly minded is life and peace." It is a young heaven born in the foul in its way thither.

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4. To conclude: it is evidential of your interest in it: an a greeable frame is the fureft title, Col. iii. 1, 2. Matth. vi. 21. If heaven attract your minds now, it will center them for ever.

Ufe 2. This doctrine of the feparation of the fpirits of the juft from their bodics, as it lies before you in this difcourfe, affords a fingular help to all the people of God, to entertain lovely and pleafant thoughts of that day; to make death not only an unregretted, but a moft pleafant and defireable thing to their fouls,

I know there is a pure, fimple, natural fear of death, from which you must not expect to be perfectly freed, by all the arguments in the world. And there is a reverential, awful fear of death, which it would be your prejudice and lofs to have de ftroyed. You will have a natural, and ought to have a reveren. tial fear of death: the one flows from your fenfitive, the other fanctified nature.

from your

But it is a third fort of fear, which doth you all the mischief; a fear fpringing in gracious fouls out of the weakness of their graces, and the ftrength of their unmortified affections: a fear arifing partly out of the darkness of our minds, and partly out of the fenfuality and earthlinefs of our hearts; this fear is that which fo convulfeth our fouls when death is near, and imbit ters our lives, even whilft it is at a distance. He that hath been over-heated in his affections to this world, and over-cooled by diverfions and temptations, neglects and intermiffions, to that world, cannot chufe but give an unwilling fhrug, if not at frightful fcreech at the appearance of death.

And this being the fad cafe of too many, good and upright fouls for the main; and there being fo few, even amongst seri ous Chriftians, that have attained to that courage and compla cence in the thoughts of death, which the apofile fpeaks of, 2 Cor. v. 8. to be both confident and willing rather to be abfent from the body, and to be prefent with the Lord;. I will, from

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