In this consists the blessedness of those who die in the Lord, that none of their good works will be lost or forgotten in the sight of God. The tears of their repentance, their prayers and devotions, their patient suffering for the truth's sake, their deeds of mercy and charity, all these things are now noted in the book of God, and shall hereafter be remembered. Then will they have honour, whom the world despised; Angels will celebrate the acts of those conquerors in the cause of God and of righteousness, whose lives the fools accounted as madness. Every difficulty, which now meets us when we consider the lot of a righteous man, will then be cleared up. If he hath served God in a low estate here, he shall then be held in honour. If he hath promoted peace upon earth, and met with nothing but hatred for his good will, he shall then be owned amongst the children of God. If he hath delighted in works of mercy, and received nothing here in return for them, he shall then receive, what all the powers upon earth cannot bestow, even the forgiveness of his sins; and having shewed mercy, shall find mercy at the hands of God. If he hath suffered shame, loss, or persecution of any kind, for righteousness' sake, the kingdom of heaven, which God will permit him to claim as his own, will infinitely more than balance the account. Therefore, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from henceforth : Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours, and their works do follow them. The Church being like that net, which was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind both good and bad; this Essay may fall into the hands of very different readers, some of whom are in the way to those blessings which the Saviour of the world hath in store for them, and whose works, through his merits, will justify them in the great day of retribution. There are others, whom Death, whenever it shall come, is not like to translate to the region of the blessed, and whose works will follow them, only to bring them into everlasting confusion. The drunkard may now vaunt himself, and scoff at the terrors of death and judgment. If his profane jests, and all the horrible oaths that are intermixed with them, were written down upon paper, and repeated in public before his face, he would be abashed, if his sober reason and senses were about him. What will be his confusion then, when all his expressions, from the heaviest of his blasphemies down to the lightest of his idle words, shall be exposed before men and angels? How will blasphemy appear, should it be rehearsed in the ears of a sinner, and confronted with the tremendous Majesty of the Almighty, seated upon the clouds of heaven, with darkness under his feet, the noise of thunder rolling through the skies, and flames of lightning flashing round about him? No man should be so weak as to imagine, that I am dressing up this sight, to make it terrible: for all the words we can bring together will never describe one half of the terrors of divine vengeance, or paint the amazement of those, to whom conviction shall come when the day of repentance is gone. Now then let them consider, that they have an account to give; that their most secret actions are noted, yea, and the very thoughts of their hearts registered in heaven. Now let the covetous remember, that all the unjust gain he hath been heaping up will be left behind him; while the deceit and oppression, with which he got it, will follow him into his grave, and stick close to his dust, and rise again to meet him in the day of judgment. Cursing, swearing, lying, cheating, debauchery and drunkenness, are now looked upon as the several ingredients of mirth and jollity; but what will they be then? For if any man accepts of such company in this world, it will follow him into the world of Spirits, and cry after him for vengeance. Thrice happy then is he, who, in the days of his health and strength, before the evil days of age and weakness have overtaken him, hears that celestial voice of the Evangelist, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, &c. daily sounding in his ears, stirring him up to farther degrees of faith and devotion, and keeping him ever mindful of that last great Account, which can be rendered supportable by nothing but a timely preparation. |