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upon them, for the Lamb in the midst of the throne fhall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of water; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes'. Secondly, The fuperior happiness of the righteous dead to that of living faints. lies in what they enjoy there; the beft things are referved unto the laft; faints have, as Lazarus had, their evil things here, but their good things hereafter, fuch as eye has not feen, nor ear beard, nor has it entered into the heart of man to conceive of; they are beyond conception and expreffion: it cannot be faid, how great is that goodnefs which God has laid up, and is in referve for them that fear him and truft in him, and which they enjoy in another world.

ft, The faints in heaven have better company than the faints on earth; the righteous are immediately with Chrift, which is far better than to be in this world; their fpirits, as foon as feparated from their bodies, are with him in paradife; and where they are for ever with him, beholding his glory, and enjoying uninterrupted communion with him, and with his Father and the bleffed Spirit. Indeed the living faints on earth have fometimes the prefence of Chrift with them; and it is known by themselves, and perceived by others, that they have been with Jesus: but then they complain that he is as a wayfaring man, that tarries but for a night; he foon withdraws himfelf, and is gone, and their fouls faint within them. They have fellowship with the Father and his Son Jefus Christ, but then it is of a fhort duration. Whereas the faints in heaven are always in the prefence of God, and behold his face for evermore. They also there enjoy the company and converfation of angels; here indeed the faints come to an innumerable company of them, who wait upon them, are guards about them, and convoy their spirits at death to Abraham's bofom. But in the blissful ftate they are always with them, and join in the fame divine service of praifing God and glorifying him. The righteous dead are immediately with perfect faints, and fit down with Abraham, Ifaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; with patriarchs, prophets and apostles, and with all good men who have departed this life from the beginning of the world. Here living faints, like righteous Lot, are vexed with the filthy converfation of the wicked; as were David when he fojourned in Mebec, and the prophet Isaiah when he dwelt among a people of unclean lips; and good men, even in the churches, have fuch in fellowship with them as are often a grief unto them, by reason of their unhappy tempers and disagreeable converfation; of whom the apoftle says, I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the Gross of Christ. But in heaven there is none to disturb by their words or actions ; The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor finners in the congregation of the righteous".

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2dly, The employment of the righteous after death is superior to that which living faints are engaged in, even to that which is most facred and spiritual. Prayer is the work of faints on earth, and is both pleasant and profitable; but it fuppofes want, implies imperfection, and is attended fometimes with groanings which cannot be uttered: but prayer ceafes in heaven; there is no need of it there: the preaching and hearing the word, administration of, and attendance on ordinances, are a principal part of the business of the people of God here; but in the future state there is no need of the fun and moon of gospel-ordinances, for the glory of the Lord lightens it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. The work of the faints in heaven is praife; their conftant employment is finging the fongs of electing, redeeming, fanctifying and persevering grace.

3dly, The joys of the righteous dead vaftly exceed the joys of the living; faints now have joy in the holy Ghoft, and peace in believing: they can at times rejoice in Christ, and in hope of the glory of God; but these joys are often interrupted by indwelling-fin, the temptations of Satan, divine defertions, and the troubles of the world. But at death a faint enters into the joy of his Lord, and his joy is full, and always continues; everlasting joy is on his head and forrow and fighing flee away; he is immediately in the presence of God, in whose prefence is fulness of joy, and at whose right hand are pleasures for evermore: fo that upon the whole, the state of the dead in Chrift is better than the ftate of living believers in this world; death is a gain to them, and better is the day of their death to them, than the day of their birth, fince the one is the outlet of those troubles, which the other is an inlet into; and however defirable the lives of faints, and particularly of minifters of the gospel, may be to their fellow-christians, it is more to their advantage to be removed hence: you may think, that it was more needful for you, that your late pastor should abide in the flesh, for your furtherance and joy of faith; but it is better for him to be where he is; he has done all that work which it was the pleafure of God' he should do among you, and it is your duty to fubmit to the will of God concerning him; of whom something may be expected to be faid.

The Reverend Mr JAMES FALL was one of the fruits of my miniftry, under which it pleased God to call him by his grace, and reveal his Son in him; he was baptized upon a profeffion of his faith, and received a member of the church under my care, in January 1730, upwards of thirty-three years ago. After fome time it was thought he had a gift fitting him for the public miniftry of the word; and it was accordingly tried, judged and approved of by the church, and he was regularly fent forth as a minister of the gofpel; and in a little time after, this church being without a paftor, fent for him to minister to them, and approving

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of his ministration, gave him a call to take the paftoral care of them; in which office he was ordained, July 11th, 1735. So that he hath been almost twenty-.. eight years pastor of this church; what work God has done by him among you, in the converfion of finners, and in the edification of your fouls, you are the beft judges; this however must be said of him, that he abode by the truths of the gospel he first received and preached; and that his conversation, has been becoming his character, as a christian and a minifter, being holy, harmless and inoffenfive; he had a good report both of them that are without, and of them that are within. The diforder which iffued in his death, was of fuch a nature as rendered speaking difficult to him, and in a good measure unintelligible; but he was often heard to fay, I know that my Redeemer liveth; and declared he had no fear of death, and of what follows, but of the pangs of death; and fome of his last words were, Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief; and at the fame time, expreffed his full fatisfaction as to his eternal ftate. Thus died your pastor, and now fleeps in the arms of Jesus. And let me exhort you, this church of Chrift, to keep together, and keep up the worship and fervice of God among you; confult together and unite in your counfels for mutual good; be frequent and fervent in prayer, that God would give you a paftor in due time, to feed you with knowledge and understanding; let brotherly love be cultivated and continued with you; live in peace, and the God of love and peace shall be with you. And as And as for you his dear offspring, for whom your parent had the most tender concern, for your temporal, fpiritual and eternal welfare; remember the counsel and advice he frequently gave you for your good, walk as you had him for an example, tread in his steps, and ferve your father's God, and it will be well with you. And what has been said upon the fubject treated of, on this occafion, may serve to make death familiar to every believer here, and take off the dread and terror of it, which often poffefs the minds of real chriftians; for if the dead are more happy than the living, why fhould we be afraid to die, fince it will be greatly to our advantage, and give us a preference to those that furvive us? this may ferve to caufe us to breathe after that heavenly state, and choose rather to be abfent from the body, that we might be prefent with the Lord, and even to rejoice in hope of the glory of God; and it should be our great concern, that whether we live any longer space of time in this world, we live unto the Lord, to his honour and glory; or whether we die in a fhort time, having done our work, we die unto the Lord, to live with him to all eternity.

¡A Quinfey.

SERMON

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The Saints Defire after Heaven and a future State of Happiness *. Occafioned by the Death of Mrs ELIZABETH GILL. Preached O. 21, 1764.

HEBREWS XI. 16.

But now they defire a better country, that is, a heavenly; wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for he hath prepared for them a city.

THE

HE apoftle begins this chapter, with a definition of faith, which he defcribes, as the fubftance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen: and illuftrates this definition, by inftances and examples, in the patriarchs, both before and after the flood; and he first inftances in Abel, the immediate offspring of the first man, who by faith offered up a more excellent facrifice, than his brother Cain: he then proceeds to Enoch, who by faith was tranflated, that he should not fee death; and received a teftimony from God, that he pleafed him by his faith, he next goes on to Noah, the heir and preacher of the righteousness of faith who being warned of God, of unfeen things, by faith prepared an ark, for the faving of himself and family, from a flood threatened to drown the whole world. Abraham and his posterity are next taken notice of, on which inftance, the apostle enlarges, and observes, that God called this good man from his native country, to go to another, he was afterwards to poffefs; and that he by faith obeyed and went forth, not knowing whither he went; and that he, with Isaac and Jacob, dwelt in tabernacles in it, and confeffed themselves pilgrims and ftrangers; and though they had an opportunity of returning to the country from whence they came, were unmindful of it. Abraham never returned to it; and when he fent his fervant to take from thence a wife for his fon IJaac, he charged him not to lay himself under any obligation to bring his fon thither, for both he and they had another and better country in view; but now they defire a better country, &c. which refers, not to the time of the apoftle's writing; for then they were in heaven,

* This Sermon was preached by the Doctor, the first time of his appearing in public, after the decease of his beloved wife, Mrs ELIZABETH GILL, who departed this Life, October 10, 1764, in the 68th Year of her Age.

heaven, in this better country, but to the time when they dwelt in tabernacles in a strange land; when they confeffed themselves ftrangers and pilgrims there, and fhewed no regard to the country they came out of, their hearts being intent upon another and better country.

All this may be applied to any and every believer, in any and every period of time; they, as Abraham, are called from their native country, out of the world, and from the men of it, among whom they were born, and had their converfation in time paft, and are bid to be feparate from them, and have no fellowship with them; are exhorted and encouraged to forfake their own people, and their father's house; and under the influence of divine grace, do leave all, and follow Chrift, as the apostles did. And as the patriarchs dwelt in tabernacles on earth, fo they dwell in bodies, called boufes of clay, which have their foundation in the duft; earthly houses of this tabernacle; which are easily unpinned, and foon taken down and diffolved. The apoftle Peter makes use of this metaphor, with refpect to his own body: I think it meet, fays he, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to ftir you up, by putting you in remembrance; knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle; 2 Peter i. 13, 14. and as the patriarchs confeffed themselves ftrangers and pilgrims on earth, fo do those who are effectually called by the grace of God. They own themselves to be ftrangers and fojourners here as all their fathers were; that their state on earth is a state of pilgrimage, and their time in it, a time of fojourning, which they pafs in fear and hence the apoftle Peter addreffes fuch, and exhorts them, as pilgrims and ftrangers, to abstain from fleshly lusts, 1 Peter ii. 11. And thefe, though they have an opportunity of returning to their former ftate and manner of life; nor are temptations to it wanting from their carnal and unbelieving hearts, like the Ifraelites, who in a fit of unbelief, were for making themselves a captain, and returning to Egypt,. and their carnal appetites, hankering after the provifions there; and from Satan, who endeavours to draw them back, by the fnares and allurements of the world; yet notwithstanding fuch are the impreffions and influences of divine grace upon them, that they mind and favour spiritual and heavenly things, and are unmindful of their former country, and earthly things; and fuch is the power of divine grace, by which they are kept, that they are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the faving of the foul, Heb. x. 39. but they defire, feek after, and look for, a better, even an heavenly country; this world is not their home, their place of reft; here they have no continuing city, but they seek one to come, their citizenship is in heaven, and their hearts are there.

What I fhall further do with these words, will be to obferve the following things.

I. The

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