the death of his faints"; whom God has fanctified or fet apart for himself in election, whom Chrift has sanctified or made atonement for by his blood and facrifice, and whom the holy Spirit has fanctified by his grace and though there is something in death which is disagreeable, and makes the neareft relatives of the deceased, and who have the greatest affection for them, willing to bury them out of their fight, as Abraham did his beloved Sarah; yet there is that in the death of faints which is precious to the Lord, which he takes pleasure in; as a man that takes a walk in his garden, and spying a beautiful full-blown flower, he crops it, and puts it into his bofom; fo the Lord takes his walks in his gardens, the churches, and gathers his lilies, fouls, fully ripe for glory, and with delight takes them to himself. It is the death of the righteous man that is an happiness; Let me die the death of the righteous, fays Balaam: it is always well with them in time, and to all eternity; it is well with them at death; they are taken away, not only from present evil, but from evil to come, and are jmmediately poffeffed of everlasting good; for the righteous go into life eternal •. The end of fuch is different from that of others; and therefore the above wicked person said, let my last end be like his, the righteous man's; the end of fuch a man is peace? ; he goes out of the world with peace, ferenity and tranquility of mind, and enters into eternal peace; he receives the end of his faith, what his faith has been looking and waiting for, the falvation of his foul; he has his fruit unto boliness now, and his end, everlasting life hereafter. But I proceed,

III. To fhew more particularly, wherein lies the preferableness and superior happiness of the righteous dead to living faints.

First, It lies in what the righteous dead are delivered from; and this is what the wife man has chiefly respect unto; he had confidered the oppreffions, tears and uncomfortable condition of many in the present state of life, and obferved the dead were free from all this, and therefore pronounced them the more happy perfons. And,

ift, The righteous dead are entirely free from fin, the fource of all trouble and diftrefs in life; and when that is no more, there will be no more forrow. What the apoftle fays of thofe, who in a fpiritual fenfe are faid to be dead to fin, is true of the righteous dead in a natural sense; he that is dead is freed from fin', even from the very being of it; they are not only delivered from the guilt, and any return of it, but from that itself: living faints are delivered from the guilt of fin through Chrift bearing fin for them; and from fenfible guilt in their confciences, through the application of the blood of Chrift, which purges their confciences from dead works, the load and guilt of them, and their hearts from

an evil conscience sprinkled with his blood, which speaks peace and pardon, and fo better things than the blood of Abel; but then as fresh fins are committed, new guilt is contracted, which requires a repeated application of the blood of fprinkling; but this is not the cafe of the righteous dead, they fin no more, and have no more renewed guilt, and need no more renewed discoveries of pardoning grace and mercy. They are alfo not only free from the dominion of fin, but from any attempt made upon them to regain it; it is promifed, and it is true of living faints, men regenerated by the fpirit and grace of God, that fin shall not have dominion over them, and it has not; because they are not under the law, the law of fin and death, exercising its authority over them, but they are under grace, as a governing principle in them, which reigns through righteousness unto eternal life; yet notwithstanding, such at times is the power and prevalence of indwelling fin, that it brings them into captivity to the law of fin". but it has no fuch power over the righteous dead, for it has not fo much as a place in them; they are the Spirits of just men made perfect, not only perfectly righteous through Chrift's righteousness, but perfectly holy in themselves; they are without the spot or wrinkle of fin, or any thing like it; there is not a Canaanite in the land, not a single luft and corruption in their hearts: but not fo is it with living faints; they are not free from fin in fuch fenfe; they are far from a finless perfection. in themselves; this has always been disclaimed by faints on earth in all ages, as by Job, David, Solomon, the apostle Paul, and others; and, fays the beloved difciple, if we fay we have no fin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in usTM : their complaints, confeffions and prayers, abundantly confirm the fame; they groan being burdened with the weight of indwelling fin, and will, as long as they are in this tabernacle; the breakings forth of indwelling fin in them, their actual tranfgreffions and iniquities, are as an heavy burden, too heavy for them: but faints in heaven are rid of fuch incumbrances; thofe burdens are fallen off from them, and they will feel them no more; now fins of heart and life; are like the Canaanites to the Ifraelites, pricks in their eyes, and thorns in their fides, which give great pain and diftrefs. Perhaps it was fomething of this kind the apostle Paul felt when he complains of a thorn in the flesh; but in the heavenly state there will be no pricking briar, nor grieving thorn to all the boufe of Ifrael, or family of God there :: fin breaks the peace of the people of God now, fo that they have no reft in their bones because of it; yea, their bones are broken by it, and the joys of falvation taken away through it; and though it cannot dif folve the union between God and them, it interrupts their fenfible communion with him, and caufes him to withdraw his gracious presence from them; your iniquities have feparated between you and your God, and your fins have bid bis face.

from you, that he will not hear. Sin makes this world a weary land to faints, and all their folace and comfort is, that Chrift is as the fhadow of a great rock to them in it; and fpeaks a word in feafon to their weary fouls, inviting and encouraging them to come to him for fpiritual reft, where they find it: their inbred corruptions are to them like the daughters of Heth to Ifaac and Rebekab make them weary of their lives; but the righteous dead are no more haraffed with them, but are entered where the weary are at reft, even into that reft, or fabbatifin, which remains for the people of God. Sin now caufes a war within them, where there are, as it were, a company of two armies, the law in the members, and the law in the mind, warring against each other; the flesh and spirit, fin and grace, lufting the one against the other, fo that they cannot do the things they would; but with the righteous dead this warfare is accomplished, and they serve the Lord without any interruption, and do his will as it is done by the angels in heaven.

2dly, The righteous dead are delivered from the temptations of Satan: living faints, as well as they, are redeemed out of his hands by Christ, who has taken the prey from the mighty, and delivered the lawful captive, and has led captivity captive, Satan and his principalities and powers, who led his people captive at their will: and they are taken out of his hands at converfion; when the strong man armed is difpoffeffed of his palace by him that is stronger than he, his armour taken away, and his spoils divided; and they are turned from the power of Satan unto God, and tranflated into the kingdom of Chrift; but then they are not freed from his temptations, even the greatest faint and strongest believer; the apostle Peter, was fifted by him as wheat is fifted, and the apostle Paul had a meffenger of Satan fent to buffet him; yea, Chrift, the Son of God, in our nature here on earth, was tempted in all things, like unto his people, excepting fin. Satan folicits good men to fin; he provoked David to number Ifrael, contrary to the mind and will of God; he finds fomething in them to work upon, the corruption of their nature, which he could not find in Chrift; he knows what fin is most prevalent in them, and they are inclined unto, and he baits his hook, or frames his temptations agreeable thereunto; these are some of his crafty wiles, and cunning devices and stratagems, faints are not altogether ignorant of: he has great power and influence on the fpirits of men; he not only works in the children of disobedience, and puts it into the heart of Judas to betray his Lord, and into the hearts of Ananias and Saphira to lie against the holy Ghoft, but he can fuggeft things blafphemous and atheistical into the minds of good men; as to call in queftion the being of a God, and the authority of the fcriptures, the truth of chriftianity, and the like; which are

fome

Ifai. lix. 2.

some of those fiery darts he cafts at them, and into them, which give them great pain and uneafinefs, and forely grieve them: he disturbs them in religious exercifes, not only in private, but in public; he comes among the fons of God when they present themselves before the Lord to wait upon him, and worship him; and he not only catches away the word preached from a careless and ignorant hearer, but diverts the minds of good men to other objects, from a close application to the word, and hinders their profit and edification; and therefore they have need to pray that they enter not into temptation, as not to be able to watch in divine fervice with Chrift one hour: he goes about to and fro in the earth, and obferves the fins and failings of God's people, picks up all he can against them, and then accufes them before God; as he did Joshua the high-priest, who had fallen into fin, though Satan met with a fevere reprimand for it from Chrift, the advocate and interceffor, and Joshua was acquitted and discharged; he often poffeffes the minds of faints with fears; he fifts them, being suffered, as wheat is fifted, and throws the chaff of corruption uppermoft, that they cannot difcern the true feed of grace in them; and fo fear the work of God was never begun upon them, and that they are hypocrites, and have only the form of godliness, and not the power of it; and that they shall one day perish through their own fins and Satan's temptations; and many of them, by his fuggeftions, are through fear of death all their life-time fubject to bondage. But this is not the cafe of the righteous dead; they are free from all the temptations, folicitations and suggestions of this enemy of fouls; they are out of his reach, he is under their feet, and bruifed there; he is caft out of heaven, and will never be admitted there any more. There was a tempter and a subtil one in the garden of Eden; but there is none in the garden of God, in the paradise above. Satan indeed, as foon as he fell, was caft out of heaven, and laid in chains, though suffered to walk about in them on our earth to tempt the children of men; but ere long he will not only be bound by the mighty angel, and caft into the bottomless pit, and there be shut up for a thousand years, and then for a time let loofe once more to deceive the nations; but he will be laid hold upon again, and cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beaft and falfe prophet are, to be tormented for ever and ever; he will never regain his place in heaven more: fo that the faints will be clear of him, and every annoyance from him to all eternity.

3dly, The righteous dead are delivered from all darkness and defertions the living faints are liable to, and therefore are preferable to them. Now good men are not only, like Heman the Ezraḥite, laid in darkness, and in the deeps of afflictive providences, but are often in darkness of foul; walk in darkness, and fee no light; have no clear evidence of their intereft in the love of God, and in the covenant of his grace, nor of their interest in Chrift, his blood, righVOL. I.

4 C

teousness,

teousness and sacrifice; nor fight of the spirit of grace in their hearts; are with out the light of spiritual peace and joy, without fenfible communion with God and the light of his countenance: he hides himself from them, and they cannot fee him; their beloved withdraws himself from them, and is gone, and they feek him in the word and ordinances, and cannot find him. But now the faints. that are dead and gone to heaven, they fee the face of God, and have unbeclouded views of him; they fee him face to face in the clearest manner they poffibly can; they see him as he is, so far as finite creatures are capable of; their fun no more goes down, neither does their moon withdraw itfelf; for the Lord is their everlasting light, and the days of their mourning are ended.

4thly, The righteous dead are delivered from all doubts and fears, mifgivings of heart and unbelief, to which living faints are fubject in the present state; they have their fears left God fhould not be their God, or that he has forfaken. them, and will return no more, or that they have not the true work of grace upon them, and shall come fhort of eternal glory and happiness at last: the language of their unbelieving hearts fometimes is, Will the Lord caft off for ever? Will he be favourable no more? Is his mercy clean gone for ever? Doth his promise fail for evermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath be in anger shut up kis tender mercies? Unbelief reads all this in the affirmative, which caufes great diftrefs and trouble; but in heaven there is not the leaft doubt of the love of God, no fear of being caft off by him, nor any disbelief of intereft in him, of the least jealoufy of change of state and condition for evermore.

5thly, The righteous dead are free from all toil and labour, trials and afflictions of whatsoever kind, which are endured in this life, in which their fuperior happiness lies; bleffed are the dead which die in the Lord they reft from their labours, and their works do follow them: they reft from toil and labour of body, are not obliged to get their bread with the fweat of their brow, as living faints do; and from toil and labour of the mind, by frequent reading, deep meditation and constant study, the employment of fuch who labour in the word and doctrine, which at death is at an end; and from all difeafes and disorders living faints labour under. In the other state there are no more pain, no more fickness, no more forrow, and also no more penury and want, to which good men are here sometimes fubject; no more tribulations of any kind which faints have in the world, and through which they pass till they enter the kingdom, and then they leave them; no more reproaches and perfecutions, which they that live godly in Chrift Jefus here must expect, and do fhare in. In the heavenly ftate, where the righteous dead are, neither the fun nor heat of perfecution light

•. Rev. xxii. 4. • Rev. xiv. 13.

1 Cor. xiii. 12. 1 John iii. 2. Ifai. Ix. zo.

upon

Pfalm lxxvii. 7—9.