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<DATE>2007-06-29</DATE>
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<NAME>Pip Willcox</NAME>
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<P>A SERMON Preached at the FUNERALL OF M. <HI>CHRISTOPHER LOVE,</HI> IN St. <HI>LA&V;RENCE CH&V;RCH,</HI> Augu&s;t, 25. 1651.</P>
<P>By <HI>THOMAS MANTON,</HI> Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pell at <HI>Stoak-Newington</HI> near <HI>London.</HI></P>
<Q><BIBL>ISAIAH 517.</BIBL>
The righteous peri&s;heth, and no man layeth it to heart, and mercifull men are taken away, none con&s;idering that the righteous is taken away from the evill to come.</Q>
<P><HI>London:</HI> Printed by <HI>J B.</HI> 1651.</P>
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<HEAD>To the Reader.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Courteous Reader,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_THou ha&s;t here pre&s;ented to thy view a &s;hort, but yet a &s;weet Sermon; in it is com|prehended among other things, the right way of dying well. If ever you would die comfortably, you mu&s;t fir&s;t live holily, get an a&s;&s;urance that your &s;innes are pardoned, that God is reconciled unto you through Je&s;us Chri&s;t, that &s;o you may be per&s;wa|ded by the holy Spirit of God, as &s;oon as ever you goe out of this world, you &s;hall then be received into
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an eternall. Reader, if this Sermon may prove for thy &s;pirituall advan|tage, for the mortifying of &s;inne, and the renewing of Grace in thy heart, ble&s;&s;e God for it. Thou maye&s;t bee confident it &s;hall be the daily Prayer of him that is thy friend in the Lord,</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>D. R.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
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<DIV1 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="1" REF="3">
<HEAD>A SERMON Preached at the Funerall of M. <HI>Chri|&s;topher Love</HI> in St. <HI>Laurence</HI> Church, Augu&s;t 25. 1651.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL>1 COR. 15. 57.</BIBL>
But thankes be to God which gives us the vi|ctory through our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_THE words in them&s;elves needs no ex|plication; they are the triumphing &s;ong of S. <HI>Paul,</HI> partly directed to the ene|mies them&s;elves, and partly to the gi|ver of victory, <HI>Thanks be to God, that gives us victory through</HI> Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>1. It is &s;inne that is the &s;ting of death, when the con&s;cience is awakened, and all di&s;gui&s;es are taken a|way, then &s;in will be &s;in indeed.</P>
<P>2. In regard of the Obligation, the Law binds us over unto death.</P>
<P><PB N="2" REF="4">3. Sin aggravated labours to &s;trengthen &s;in, and &s;ets them all in order in their proper colours before our face. But now the great que&s;tion will be, What &s;hall we do that we may come out of this horror and terror? The Apo&s;tle tells us, Chri&s;t hath given us victory in Chri&s;ts victory; he hath overcome the law, death, and hell; he foyled death in his own per&s;on, when he was upon the Cro&s;&s;e; he left death in the grave, when he him&s;elfe aro&s;e againe; he hath given us victory through Je&s;us Chri&s;t; and yet all Chri&s;ts work was not done upon the Cro&s;&s;e, there is much to be done in our hearts, the God of peace &s;hal brui&s;e Satan under your feet &s;hortly, <HI>Rom</HI> 16. 20. hee will make you fellow-Conquerors with his Sonne Je&s;us Chri&s;t; Chri&s;t hath got a victory for us, and he will get al&s;o a victory in us. From the words ob&s;erve this Doctrine:</P>
<P><HI>That Chri&s;ts victory over death may &s;erve for the in|comparable comfort of all true Believers.</HI> Death is ei|ther temporall or eternall; now wicked men are &s;ub|ject unto both; the wicked mans temporall death it makes way for his eternall; the taking them away out of this life, is but the bringing them into eter|nall wo and mi&s;ery.</P>
<P>For the opening of the point, he would 1. &s;hew how Chri&s;t delivereth us from death.</P>
<P>2. How far he hath delivered us from death.</P>
<P>For the fir&s;t, that Chri&s;t hath delivered us from death, <HI>Heb. 2. 14. By death he de&s;troyed him that had the power of death:</HI> If you con&s;ider Chri&s;ts death by way of merit, or if you con&s;ider him as a Conque|ror,
<PB N="3" REF="4">
by his death he de&s;troyed death, he grapled and overcome death.</P>
<P>Whether you look upon it as the Act of a Redee|mer in dying for our &s;innes, Chri&s;t died in our room, or in our &s;tead, he died that the creature might be &s;pared, <HI>Iob. 33. 19. Deliver him from going down into the pit, for I have found a ran&s;ome;</HI> the &s;inner mu&s;t die, or el&s;e the Surety mu&s;t die; by Chri&s;ts death the wrath of God is expiated, the Law of God is &s;atisfied, the Ju&s;tice of God fulfilled, and the jawes of death are broken.</P>
<P>2. Looke upon it as the act of a Conqueror, and &s;o Chri&s;t hath foiled death in his owne per&s;on; for Chri&s;t is called the fir&s;t fruits of them that &s;leep in the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15. 20. yea, he is called the fir&s;t-borne of the dead; death is Satans la&s;t bea&s;t of prey, and Chri&s;t hath grapled this bea&s;t. 1. Be plea&s;ed to con&s;ider, the quality of the Grave is quite altered to wicked men; it is the King of terror; but to every beleever it is a bed of ea&s;e, <HI>I&s;ai.</HI> 57. 2. The righteous are taken from the evill to come, and re&s;t in their beds.</P>
<P>2. The &s;econd que&s;tion is, how far he hath delive|red us from death; I might an&s;wer, that it is &s;uffici|ent the &s;econd death hath no power over us; there is no condemnation unto them that are in Chri&s;t Je|&s;us, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8. 1. But this is not all, the very nature and habit of death is changed; death is not a de&s;tructi|on, but a deliverance; we are apt to have wrong thoughts of death, death is to us a ble&s;&s;ing, it is one of Chri&s;ts legacies bequeathed to his Church; while
<PB N="4" REF="5">
death was in the Devils hand, it was our enemy; but now it is in Chri&s;ts hand, it is our friend; it is now but our pa&s;&s;age into the Land of <HI>Canaan,</HI> our entrance into the heavenly <HI>Jeru&s;alem:</HI> a wicked mans death is his executioner, but to the Godly; it doth but fever us from our friends upon earth, and then we are uni|ted unto Je&s;us Chri&s;t our head; <HI>now lette&s;t thou thy &s;er|vant depart in peace,</HI> wicked men are taken away. <HI>This night &s;hall thy &s;oule be taken away,</HI> Luke 12. 20. Now what hope can a wicked man have when God takes away his &s;oule? the godly man re&s;ignes up his &s;oule unto Je&s;us Chri&s;t. The beleever dyeth not be|cau&s;e he mu&s;t dye, but becau&s;e he would dye: the Funerals of the Godly are but the Funerals of their &s;innes; it is not the man that dyeth, but his mi&s;ery and his &s;innes that dyeth. When God ju&s;tifieth a &s;inner, he takes away the condemning power of &s;inne; when he &s;anctifieth, he takes away the reigning power of &s;inne; but when he takes him away by death unto him&s;elfe, he takes away the very being of &s;inne: Death is our cure, &s;inne brings in death, and death by way of revenge de&s;troyeth &s;in. 2. By death there is way made for a pre&s;ent union of the &s;oule with Je|&s;us Chri&s;t; I de&s;ire to be di&s;&s;olved, and to be with Chri&s;t, &s;aith St. <HI>Paul;</HI> it is better the &s;oul &s;hould be &s;eperated from the body, then to be ab&s;ent from Chri&s;t, we have an union here, but whether is it better to be pre&s;ent with your friends, or pre&s;ent with Je|&s;us Chri&s;t? the &s;oul goeth away to God that gave it, immediately as &s;oon as ever the body is de&s;troyed; the body came from <HI>Adam,</HI> and mu&s;t be purified in
<PB N="5" REF="5">
the grave, but the &s;oul is a &s;upernatural Light and flyeth to God again.</P>
<P>3. The Body that &s;eemeth mo&s;t to &s;uffer, hath great advantage. A Shed is taken down to rai&s;e up a better Structure; It is &s;owed a Natural body, but it is rai&s;ed a Spiritual body; here it is not capable of high enjoyments, it is humbled by di&s;ea&s;es; it is &s;ow|ed a Corruptable body, but it &s;hall be rai&s;ed an Incor|ruptable body, 1 <HI>Corinth.</HI> 15. 54.</P>
<P>The next degree is, how far Chri&s;t hath conquer|ed death, the hurt of death is taken away. Death may kill you, but it cannot hurt you; it cannot have any power over your better part, Je&s;us Chri&s;t is your head in the grave; ye are rai&s;ed by the Spirit of ho|line&s;s, <HI>Rom.</HI> 8. 11. The Holy-gho&s;t can never leave his Temple; you belong to Chri&s;t in the grave.</P>
<P>1. Oh con&s;ider what ground of comfort we have again&s;t the mortality of the body: Chri&s;t hath uni|ted body and &s;oul, Chri&s;ts my&s;tical Body &s;hall not want the lea&s;t Member or Joynt.</P>
<P>2. God is in Covenant with your body and &s;oul, God is the God of your fle&s;h, though it remain with the du&s;t of the wicked.</P>
<P>3. Chri&s;t hath purcha&s;ed your body and &s;oul, 1 <HI>Corinth.</HI> 6. 20. Yea are bought with a price, There|fore glorifie Chri&s;t in your bodies; Chri&s;t will not loo&s;e one whit of his purcha&s;e: Therefore here is your comfort again&s;t the Mortality of the Body; God will call the grave to an account, What is be|come of my <HI>Abraham?</HI> my <HI>I&s;aac?</HI> and my <HI>Jacob?</HI> The grave &s;hall give up their dead, when Chri&s;ts
<PB N="6" REF="6">
commands it: the grave is but a che&s;t (and with re|ference be it &s;poken) Chri&s;t wares the Keys at his own Girdle; God hath a &s;pecial care of your du&s;t, when your friends and neighbours have left you in the grave, yet Chri&s;t hath not left you there.</P>
<P>4. We are ea&s;ed from the terror and horror of death. Now death is terrible, as it is a natural evil, a di&s;&s;olution of the &s;oul from the body. Death is the King of terrors, Morral Phylo&s;ophy could never finde any remedy again&s;t the fear of death. But God by his holy Spirit, he fills the &s;oul with a hope of a better life, by which it is &s;trenthened again&s;t the fear of death; nature may &s;hrink when we &s;ee the pail hor&s;e approaching, yet we way rejoyce in this it is but to carry us home to our Fathers hou&s;e, And who would be affraid to be happy? Let them be af|fraid to dye, which are loath to go to Chri&s;t. St. <HI>Ste|phen</HI> &s;aw the Heavens opened for him, when he was &s;toned to death, at the very hour of their depar|ture they are exempted from fear and terror, by rea&s;on of that comfortable per&s;wa&s;ion, which they have in their brea&s;t, that their &s;ins are pardoned through the blood of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; that God is re|conciled unto their &s;ouls, that as &s;oon as they go out of this mi&s;erable would, they &s;hall be received into eternal Glory: The &s;ting of death is &s;in, the day of death is a black and glomy day to wicked men; Wicked men they drop like rotten Apples into that Lake that burns with fire and brim&s;tone for ever|more; Wicked men have many accu&s;ations laid to their charge, many &s;ins that fly in their face, which
<PB N="7" REF="6">
mo&s;t commonly perplex a dying &s;oul; but godly men are freed from all this: This made <HI>Luther</HI> cry out <HI>Percule domine percule, peccata remi&s;&s;a &s;unt,</HI> &s;trike Lord &s;trike, my &s;ins are pardoned: So may every true believer &s;ay, Lord do what thou wilt with me, my &s;ins are forgiven.</P>
<P>5. Chri&s;t hath utterly aboli&s;hed death, 1 <HI>Cor,</HI> 5. 16. Then death &s;hall be utterly aboli&s;hed to the Elect, the Dominion and Power of death is overcome, but for the wicked they mu&s;t be kept under a dying, and yet under a living death, death &s;hall be no more un|to Gods people, they may then triumphantly &s;ay, <HI>Oh death, where is thy &s;ting?</HI></P>
<P>Thus much for the Doctrinal part of the Text: There remains nothing but the u&s;eful Application unto our Souls.</P>
<P><HI>V&s;e.</HI> Fir&s;t let this &s;erve for terror to wicked men, Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath conquered death onely for his Elect: for the pre&s;ent wicked mens condition is &s;ad, in Death it is wor&s;e, and in Hell it is wor&s;t of all.</P>
<P>1. For the pre&s;ent their condition mu&s;t needs be &s;ad; they cannot &s;o much as think of death or hell without a great deal of terror and fear: It is like the hand writing again&s;t <HI>Bel&s;hazer</HI> upon the wall, it will mar all their Jovial company, but with the righteous death makes way for their eternal happine&s;s, <HI>Though I walk in the vale and &s;hadow of death,</HI> &s;aith <HI>David, yet will I fear none ill.</HI> It is a &s;ad walk to walk at Deaths right hand.</P>
<P>2. In Death it will be wor&s;e, the nearer you come
<PB N="8" REF="7">
to your everla&s;ting e&s;tate, the more your Con&s;cience will be troubled, and your &s;ins will fly in your face: Every man doth not dye thus &s;en&s;ible, &s;ome there are that &s;acrifice their bodies with great courage, but mark this in them all, they oftentimes dye anxious of their &s;piritual condition: A wicked man is like one that leaps over a great Gulph in the dark, but u&s;ually their death is full of terror. Oh con&s;ider what a &s;ad ca&s;e you will be in, when your &s;ins &s;hall &s;tare you in the face, your con&s;cience accu&s;e you, the law binde you over to hell, hell open her mouth for you, and heaven be &s;hut up again&s;t you; how will you be able to appear before the Judgement Seat? what a hideous cry will it be to hear the &s;in|ner cur&s;e his body, and his body to cur&s;e his &s;oul, becau&s;e he did not make &s;ure of heaven. It is quite contrary when the godly man dyeth, he takes fare leave of his fle&s;h, fle&s;h farewell, and re&s;t in hope, God will not &s;uffer his holy One to &s;ee corruption.</P>
<P>3. In Hell it will be wor&s;t of all, Envy will be a part of your &s;orrow, as well as di&s;pare, when you &s;hall &s;ee the godly in heaven, whom you have &s;corn|ed, di&s;pi&s;ed, and thought not worthy to love among you, when your &s;elves &s;hall be tormented in hell fire with the Devil and his Angels for ever, there is a &s;pecial conviction upon the damned &s;oul in hell.</P>
<P>Here you would not live, and their you &s;hall not dye: Oh mi&s;erable will be your condition! when con&s;cience, that worm that never dyeth, &s;hall gnaw your &s;oul to all eternity. You are now fallen into the hands of a living God, who liveth for ever to &s;ee
<PB N="9" REF="7">
vengeance executed upon his enemies.</P>
<P>The &s;econd U&s;e is to labor to get an Intere&s;t.</P>
<P>1. In Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and fir&s;t you mu&s;t take care to get your &s;ins pardoned; all the power of the Devil and Death, depends upon this particular, you can never have any true or real &s;olid comfort, when you come to dye, unle&s;s you are a&s;&s;ured that your &s;ins are pardoned, unle&s;s that you are confidently a&s;&s;u|red by the &s;pirit of God, that when you go out of this Life, you &s;hall be received into a Better. There are two pits which God hath digged, that are deep enough to bury your &s;ins in that they &s;hall never be|able to hint you, <HI>vid.</HI> the Ocean of Divine mercy, and the grave of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, &s;ee your &s;ins buried in one of tho&s;e graves, and then be &s;ure they &s;hall never trouble your &s;oul again. It is the great fault of Chri&s;tians, that when they come to dye, they come altogether naked: it is an ill favoured thing to &s;ee a man &s;tark naked; Chri&s;tians &s;hould come cloath|ed with the White Robes of Chri&s;ts Righteou&s;ne&s;s, for the grave hath no power over them.</P>
<P>2. Strive for an a&s;&s;urance of Gods love; mine eyes have &s;een thy &s;alvation, therefore now let thy &s;ervant depart in peace; now let me dye &s;aith old <HI>Ja|cob,</HI> when he had &s;een his &s;on <HI>Jo&s;eph;</HI> when you have &s;een Je&s;us Chri&s;t, when you can &s;ay experiment|ally he is my portion; then you may bid welcom to any death: death never comes untimely to &s;uch a man, though he may be cut off by &s;ome &s;udden &s;troak, if he hath an intere&s;t in Je&s;us Chri&s;t. A &s;in|ner though he live to be an old man, yet he is ac|cur&s;ed.</P>
<P><PB N="10" REF="8">3. Mortifie Corruption: he dyeth well that mor|tifieth corruption fir&s;t; &s;ee your &s;ins dead before you come to dye: Either &s;in mu&s;t dye, or we mu&s;t dye, What &s;hould an unmortified man do with hea|ven? that would be no place for his abode, becau&s;e there are no carnal Be&s;tial delights there; when wicked men go howling to hell, then might God &s;ay, go &s;ee whether your vain delights can &s;ave you.</P>
<P>4. There mu&s;t be a holy Life and Conver&s;ation. Men live as though they never thought to dye, and then they dye as if they never thought to live; they that are not a&s;hamed to live are not affraid to dye. We have a &s;ingular in&s;tance of this in our decea&s;ed brother, <HI>Balaam</HI> would fain dye the death of the righteous, but he would not live the life of the righ|teous: if we are careful to ob&s;erve the&s;e directions, then our la&s;t hour will be our be&s;t hour.</P>
<Q>The third U&s;e is to improve the comfort of Chri&s;ts Victory,</Q>
<P>1. Improve it for your friends, that are departed in the Lord: Why &s;hould we weep in the day of their preferment? Chri&s;tians in the primitive times, at the &s;olemnizing of their friends Funerals, had wont to light Tapar, &s;ing P&s;alms, and rejoyce in the Lord (but may &s;ome &s;ay) Sir do you not read, when <HI>Stephen</HI> was &s;toned to death, that certain devout men carried him, and made great lamentation for him, <HI>Acts</HI> 8. 2. But for an&s;wer to this, mourn for your friends decea&s;ed, but not di&s;tractedly mourn for them as tho&s;e that know they &s;hall meet their friends in glory: when you weep for your friends it &s;hould
<PB N="11" REF="8">
be like rain upon earth, when the Sun &s;hines.</P>
<P>2. Improve it for your &s;elves, and that in your life time.</P>
<P>1. In your re&s;olutions, that you may be willing to dye: we are apt to linger ond linger, and fain we would live a little longer; but ala&s;s what Prince would be willing to be uncrowned: this argueth a great deal of carnallity. Chri&s;tians are begotten to a lively hope.</P>
<P>2. Improve it in your death again&s;t the fear of death: death it &s;elf &s;tartles the Creature. When once you come to Heaven, death &s;hall mole&s;t you no more, Believers, when they come to heaven, &s;hall have the &s;ame welcom that Je&s;us Chri&s;t had, the Angels &s;hall carry your &s;oul into <HI>Abrahams</HI> bo&s;om, <HI>Luk.</HI> 16. 22, there &s;hall a train of Angels carry your &s;oul into eternal Glory.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, Ble&s;s your Redeemer, that hath freed you from the fear of death. Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath given him|&s;elf a ran&s;om for thy &s;oul; he hath &s;atisfied Divine Vengeance for thy &s;ins: Many men give their lives to death for their Prince; but here is a Prince, that gives his life for his People.</P>
<P>It remains that we &s;peak a little concerning this our decea&s;ed Brother: I might &s;peak much concern|ing tho&s;e ravi&s;hing Comforts, that he had in his &s;oul: What a rare a&s;&s;urance he had of heaven, as a patern mo&s;t worthy of your imitation. He was a man eminent in Grace, A man of a &s;ingular Life and Conver&s;ation. When he was to dye, he profe&s;&s;ed high thoughts of his Congregation; Therefore I
<PB N="12" REF="9">
pray do not fru&s;trate his expectations; when he looks to finde you among the &s;heep, the Lord grant you be not found among the goats; do not think that now he is gone, his truths are gone too? for God will require them at your hands. God takes an exact account, how long a Mini&s;ter hath been in &s;uch a place, what good a people hath got under his Mini&s;tery: The Lord grant that you may now reap the fruit of all his labours. I might &s;peak much more, but I will forbear.</P>
<P>The Lord ble&s;s what you have heard, and give you under&s;tanding in all things.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
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<OPENER><DATELINE><DATE>Augu&s;t 30, 1651.</DATE></DATELINE></OPENER>
<P>Imprimatur</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>JOHN DOWNAME.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
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