CHAPTER XL – Directions to procure a willingness to die
and man will be man. But yet let me tell you, that before you die God may very much abate your fears, and very ordinarily doth so with his servants: 1. By giving them that grace that is suited to a dying state; and 2. By the help of sickness and pain itself: and that is one great reason why sickness shall usually go before death, that pain and misery may make the flesh even weary of itself, and make the soul weary of its companion, and both weary of this miserable life.
And now I shall briefly name some few directions, which, if you will practise, you will more easily submit to death.
CHAPTER XL
Directions to be willing to Die Direct. 1. BY all means endeavour the strengthening of your belief of the reality of eternal life, and the truth of the promise of Christ concerning it; for if you believe it not, you cannot die for it, nor cheerfully submit to a natural death through the hopes of it. This is the sum or principal work of the Christian faith, to believe the everlasting life, as procured for us by the love of the Father, the obedience, death, resurrection, and intercession of the Son, and the sanctification of the Holy Ghost. It is the unsoundness, or the weakness of this belief, that is the principal cause of our unwillingness to die.
Direct. 2. By all means endeavour to get and maintain the assurance of your title to this promise and felicity. Get sound evidence, and keep it clear: expunge all blots without delay. Take heed of such sin as woundeth conscience, and wasteth comfort, and grieveth the
Spirit of adoption by which you are sealed to the day of redemption, and by which you have your peace and comforts. If by such sin your souls are clouded and estranged from God, be diligent in seeking for healing and reconciliation, and rest not till your peace be made with God; for while you think of him as displeased, you will be afraid of coming to him, and this will double the fears of death.
Direct. 3. Deny yourselves first in the carnal and worldly comforts of this life, or else you are unlikely to deny yourselves in the matter of life itself. Disuse yourselves from unnecessary pleasures of the flesh, and learn to endure dishonour, contempt, and reproach from the world, and sickness and poverty, when it is inflicted on you by the hand of God. Till you can deny your ease, and profit, and appetite, and honour, and all the delight of this present world, you are never likely to deny your lives sincerely. To deny your lives, doth contain the denying of all these, and more; and therefore you must learn the lesser if you would do the greater. These are the parts of life, as it were, and it is easier thus to overcome it in its parts, than in the whole: when particular soldiers are destroyed, the army is the weaker.
And the use of suffering the afflictions of this life, will make you hardy, and make death seem a smaller matter; for when you thus die daily, you will the more easily die once.
Besides, death is half disarmed when the pleasures and interests of the flesh are first denied; for the leaving of fleshly contents and pleasures is much of the reason of men's unwillingness to die: and therefore when these are denied beforehand, the reasons of your unwillingness are taken away. If you pull down the nest, the birds
will be gone. Men that are loath to leave their country would willingly be gone if their houses were fired, or they were turned out of doors and their friends and goods were all sent away. This is it that makes men so unwilling to die, because they practise not mortification in their health, but contrarily study to live as pleasingly as may be to the flesh, and think it part of their Christian liberty, thus making Christ a carnal Saviour, as the Jews conceive of their expected Messiah; and taking up with a carnal, false salvation, not purchased by Christ, but given by satan in the name of Christ, and assumed by themselves.
They make it their business to have buildings, and lands, and meats, and drinks, and honours, and all things as pleasing as may be to the flesh, and then they complain that they are unwilling to die, and I easily believe them: it is no wonder. They make it the work of their lives to feather their nests, and make provision for the flesh, and then complain that they are loath to leave those nests that they have been feathering so long, and loath to scatter all the heap and treasure which they have been gathering. And did you think that gathering it was the way to make you willing to leave it? Men load themselves with the lumber and baggage of the world, and then complain that they cannot travel on their journey, but had rather sit down. They fall a building them habitations in their way, when they should have none but inns or tents; and when they have bestowed all their time, and cost, and charges on them, they complain of their hearts for being loath to leave them. Such mad doings as these are not the way to be willing to die: to provide for self and flesh in your lifetime, is not the way to deny your lives. Sirs, the way is this, if you will learn it, and stick not at the cost and trouble: self must be here stript naked of all its carnal comforts, so that it shall have nothing left to fly to, or trust upon, nor nothing left that it can take delight in, and then
it will away. If you would drive out an ill tenant, you will cast out all their goods, and leave them nothing but the bare walls, and not so much as a bed to lie on, and uncover the house over their heads, and then they will be gone. So if you cast out all your sensual commodities and delights, that when the flesh looks about it shall see nothing but the bare walls, and cannot find a resting place, then death will be less grievous and less unwelcome; or rather, indeed, even the flesh and self must be mortified, and in the sense in which it must be denied, it must have no being or life (that is, as it is withdrawn from its subordination to God), and then there will be nothing to rise up against your submission to death. Though nature, as nature, will keep you from loving death as death, yet were but selfdenial perfect, there would be nothing to keep you from submitting to it, and desiring to pass through it to immortality. O, that you would but try such a self-denying life, and you would certainly die an easy, comfortable death.
Direct. 4. Suffer not unworthy thoughts of God to abide in your soul.
Think not of his infinite love and goodness with doubtfulness or diminution. You will never be willing to come to God while you think of him as cruel, or as a despiser of his creatures, or unwilling to do good; but when once you think of him as the surest, greatest good, and your fastest friend, and the most lovely object that can be conceived of, and these thoughts are deep and wrought into the very nature of your soul, then you will be ready more cheerfully to die. No man can love the presence of a tyrant, or an enemy, or of him that is so far above him that there is no communion with him to be had. If you entertain such blasphemous thoughts of God, you are unlikely ever to desire his presence. See you think as honourably and magnificently of the goodness and love of God, as you do of his
knowledge or his power; and as you would abhor any extenuating conceptions of the one, so do of the other, and then the loveliness and glory of his face will draw out your desires, and make you long to be with God.
Direct. 5. And by such means as this aforesaid, labour to bring up your souls to live in the love of God. It is love that is the divine and heavenly nature in us; and therefore must incline us heavenwards.
The nature of love is to long after communion with him that we love.
The more love, the more of God in the soul, and the more desire after God. This is the grace that must live for ever, and therefore bendeth towards the place of its perfection. It is want of love to God, that maketh most of us so contented to be from him. Strengthen and exercise all other graces, as far as in you lieth; but above all, live in the exercise of this enjoying, heavenly grace.
Direct. 6. Consider of all the burdens that are here upon you, which should make you long to be with God. One would think the feeling of them would force you to consideration and weariness of them, and make the thoughts of rest to be sweet to you. Have you yet not sin enough, and sorrow, and fear, and trouble enough? Or must God lay a greater load on you, to make you desire to be disburdened? Every hour you spend, and every creature you have to do with, afford you some occasions of renewing your desires to depart from these, and be with Christ.
Direct. 7. Observe and magnify that of God which is here revealed to you in his word and works. Study him and admire him in Scripture, study and admire him in the frame of nature; and when you look towards sun, or moon, or sea, or land, and perceive how little it is
that you know, and how desirable it is to know them perfectly, think then of that estate, where you shall know them all in God himself, who is more than all. Study and admire him in the course of providences; study and admire him in the person of Christ; in the frame of his holy life; in the work of redemption; in the holy frame of his laws and covenants; study and admire him in his saints, and the frame of his holy image on their souls. This life of studying and admiring God, and dwelling upon him with all our souls, will exceedingly dispose us to be willing to come to him, and to submit to death.
Direct. 8. Live also in the daily exercise of holy joy and praise to God; which is the heavenly employment. For if you use yourselves to this heavenly life, it will much incline you to desire to be there. Exercise fear, and godly sorrow, and care in their places; but especially after faith and love, be sure to live in holy joy and praise. Be much in the consideration of all that riches of grace in Christ, communicated and to be communicated to you. And be much in thanks to God for his mercies; and cheering and comforting your soul, in the Lord your
God; and thus the joy of grace will much dispose you to the joys of glory; and the peace which the kingdom of God consisteth in, will incline you to the peace of the everlasting kingdom; and the cheerful praising of God on earth, in psalms or other ways of praise, will prepare and dispose you to the heavenly praises. And therefore
Christians exceedingly wrong their souls, and hinder themselves from a willingness to be with God, in spending all their days in drooping, or doubting, or worldly dulness, and laying by so much the joy of the saints, and the praises of God.
Direct. 9. Dwell on the believing forethoughts of the everlasting glory which you must possess. Think what it is that others are enjoying while you are here; and what you must be, and possess, and do for ever. Daily think of the certainty, perfection, and perpetuity of your blessedness. What a life it will be, to see the blessed God in his glory, and taste of the fulness of his love, and to see the glorified Son of God, and with a perfected soul and body to be perfectly taken up in the love, and joy, and praises of the Lord, among all his holy saints and angels, in the heavenly Jerusalem. You must by the exercise of faith and love, in holy meditation and prayer, even dwell in the spirit, and converse in heaven, while your bodies are on earth, if you would entertain the news of death as beseems a Christian. But of this at large elsewhere.
Direct. 10. Lastly, if you would be willing to submit to death, resign up your own understandings and wills to the wisdom and the will of God; and know not good and evil for your carnal selves; but wholly trust your lives and souls to the wisdom and love of your dearest
Lord. Must you be carking and caring for yourselves; when you have an infinite God engaged to care for you? O, saith self, I am not able to bear the terrors and pangs of death. O, saith faith, My Lord is easily able to support me, and it is his undertaken work to do it: my work is but to please him; and it is his work to take care of me in life and death; and therefore "though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, yet will I fear no evil." O, saith self, I am utterly a stranger to another world! I know not what I shall see, nor what I shall be, nor whither I shall go the next minute after death: none come from the dead to satisfy us of these things! O, but saith faith, My blessed
Father and Redeemer is not a stranger to the place that I must go to!
He knows it, though I do not! He knows what I shall be and do, and
whither I shall go; and all is in his power; and seeing it belongs not to me, but to him to dispose of me, and give me the promised reward, it is meet that I rest in his understanding; and it is better for me, that his infinite wisdom dispose of my departing soul, than my shallow, insufficient knowledge. I may much more acquiesce in his knowledge than my own. O, but saith self, I fear it may prove a scene of darkness and confusion to my soul! what will become of me, I cannot tell. O, but saith faith, I am sure I am in the hands of Love! and such love as is omnipotent, and engaged for my good! And how can it then go ill with me? If I had my own will, I should not fear. And how much less should I fear when I am at the will of God, even of most Wise,
Almighty Love?
There is no true centre for the soul to rest in but the will of God. It is our business to obey and please his will, as dutiful children; and to commit ourselves contentedly to his will for the absolute disposal of us. It is not possible that the will of a heavenly Father should be against his children, whose desire and sincere endeavour hath been to obey and please his will. And therefore learn this, as your great and necessary lesson, with joyful confidence to commit yourselves, and your departing souls to your Father's will, as knowing that your death is but the execution of that will, which is engaged to cause "all things to work together for your good;" Rom. 8:28. And say with Paul, I suffer, but am not ashamed "for I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that day;" 2 Tim. 1:12. "Therefore we labour and suffer—because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, especially of those that believe;" 1 Tim. 4:10. Say therefore as Job, "Though he kill me, yet will I trust in him." Or rather as Christ, "Father, into thy hands I commend my Spirit;" Luke