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<DATE>2010-07-12</DATE>
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<NAME>Olivia Bottum</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Did text and markup review.</ITEM>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<P>THE Believers happy Change BY DYING As it was Recommended in a SERMON Preached, on the Occa&s;ion of the DEATH of <HI>Capt.</HI> Thomas Daniel <HI>E&s;q.</HI> Who was interred the day before, <HI>November 17th</HI> 1683.</P>
<P>By the Reverend Mr. <HI>Jo&s;hua (Mondey)</HI> late Pa&s;tor of the Church of Chri&s;t at <HI>Port&s;mouth</HI> in <HI>New-England,</HI> now gone to Re&s;t.</P>
<BIBL>I&s;a. 57. 2.</BIBL>
<Q>He &s;hall enter into peace, they &s;hall re&s;t in their beds, each one walking in his Uprightne&s;s.</Q>
<P><HI>BOSTON</HI> in <HI>N. E.</HI> Printed by <HI>B. Green,</HI> and <HI>J. Allen,</HI> 1697.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="sermon">
<PB REF="3" MS="y">
<PB N="3" REF="3">
<HEAD>The Heads of a SERMON Preached upon the Occa&s;ion of the Death of Capt. <HI>Thomas Daniel,</HI> E&s;qr. Who was Interred on the 17^t^h. of <HI>Novem|ber,</HI> 1683. Being <HI>Satturday,</HI> and this was Preacht the next Day.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL>Daniel XII. 13.</BIBL>
<Q>But go thou thy way until the end be, for thou &s;halt re&s;t, &amp; Stand in thy Lott at the End of Dayes.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>A Prudent Phy&s;ician ob&s;erves the State of his Patient's Body, and Admini|&s;ters accordingly, <HI>Purgatives, Cordials,</HI> &amp;c. as his Condition may require.</P>
<P>The Scripture is the Chri&s;tian's A|pothecaries Shop where he may go and take free|ly (if he <HI>buy, it is without money and without Price,</HI>
<PB N="4" REF="4">
as&punc; I&s;a. 55. 1.) what his Occa&s;ions call for. If a man needs <HI>Reproof, Correction, Doctrine, In&s;truction,</HI> &amp;c. all the&s;e are there to be had. 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3. 16. If Cordials, they are ready, <HI>Rom.</HI> 15. 4. <HI>David</HI> experi|enced <HI>the Lords Statutes to be his Songs in the Hou&s;e of his Pilgrimage.</HI> P&s;al. 119. 54. And tells us that he <HI>had fainted unle&s;s he had believed to &s;ee the Goodne&s;s of the Lord. (P&s;al.</HI> 27. 14.) of which the Scripture gives an account.</P>
<P>The la&s;t Lords-Day we were called upon in the word (and that in compliance with &s;uch awful Di&s;pen&s;ations of Divine Providence as were then among us) to mourn &amp; weep, but withal to weep as tho' we wept not; &s;ince which time we have been under &s;uch Di&s;pen&s;ations as call for an Oce|an of Tears, &s;o that there is le&s;s danger of exceed|ing; our great care is (or &s;hould be) le&s;t thro' in|&s;en&s;iblene&s;s of Gods hand we be found &s;hort of our Duty.</P>
<P>We were ye&s;terday at the opening of a Grave, wherein no &s;mall part of the remaining Glory of&punc; this Province is covered up.</P>
<P><HI>Death,</HI> and <HI>Graves,</HI> and <HI>Funeral Di&s;cour&s;es</HI> are of late grown common among us, tho' &s;uch Graves (I confe&s;s) are not common.</P>
<P>Since the coming in of this la&s;t Month, how many Witne&s;&s;es hath the Lord renewed again&s;t us? how many Deaths in this little place? Let me without offence allude to a Text in 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 2. 30. where the lo&s;s of <HI>Davids</HI> &s;ide is reckoned up and worded thus [<HI>Nineteen men and A&s;ahel</HI>] And why
<PB N="5" REF="4">
not twenty men? Becau&s;e <HI>A&s;ahel</HI> was a man of &s;ingular Worth, and therefore de&s;erved to be na|med &s;ingly, and hence not reckoned in the num|ber of the vulgar, but &s;et by him&s;elf. Among our &s;elves I may &s;ay, we have lo&s;t within the time pre|fixed preci&s;ely the like number, and let it be thus worded [<HI>Nineteen men and Daniel</HI>] A per&s;on that de&s;erved to be di&s;tinctly mentioned, let him &s;tand alone, it being very difficult to find an equal to &s;et by him. It was part of <HI>I&s;raels</HI> Ble&s;&s;ing. (<HI>Numb.</HI> 23 9.) <HI>to dwell alone, and not be reckoned among the Nations.</HI> A <HI>Daniel</HI> he was indeed, <HI>Daniel</HI> &s;ignifies Judgment of God, or Judgment from God, and we may &s;ay &s;o of him two ways, either,</P>
<P>He was a man of <HI>Judgment,</HI> which was given him by God from whom all Wi&s;dom, Prudence and Judgment comes, and he had a large mea&s;ure of it, was a man of great Judgment, Meekne&s;s and Moderation al&s;o, prudent and patient, as all that knew him know.</P>
<P>Again, <HI>Judgment of God,</HI> as a man the taking a|way of whom is a great Judgment from God upon us, for &s;o is the removal of the <HI>Prudent</HI> and <HI>Coun&s;el|ler, &amp;c.</HI> accounted (<HI>I&s;a.</HI> 3. 1-3.) A man who&s;e lo&s;s e&s;pecially at &s;uch a time we &s;hall have occa&s;ion many a Day hence to bewail, a u&s;eful per&s;on re|moved (I fear in Judgment to us) from the Evil to come. Thus God takes away &s;uch <HI>of whom the World is not worthy,</HI> and leaves &s;uch among us that are not worthy of a place in the World.</P>
<P>I remember &s;ome of his dying words&punc; <HI>I have</HI>
<PB N="6" REF="5">
(&s;aid he) <HI>e&s;pecially of late times made it my Bu&s;ine&s;s to &s;ecure mine Intere&s;t in Chri&s;t, and have made &s;uch progre&s;s therein, that I can hopefully lean upon him for pardon and life, and am willing to dye.</HI> So lived, &s;o died this pious, righteous, prudent, patient, amiable per&s;on. I neither need nor dare flatter in the ca&s;e. To flatter a man is to &s;peak more good of him than he de&s;erves, a Crime not &s;o ea&s;ily committed upon &s;o worthy a Subject. We may and mu&s;t &s;peak of per&s;ons and things as they be, and of him we may truly &s;ay as <HI>David</HI> &s;aid of <HI>Abner, 2. Sam. 3. 38, 39. Know you not that there is a Prince and great man fallen this Day in I&s;rael, and I am this day weak,</HI> &amp;c. A Text which I had &s;ome thoughts of ma|king the Subject of my pre&s;ent Di&s;cour&s;e, had I not been for &s;ome cogent rea&s;ons diverted; how|ever take the&s;e four notes from the words, very &s;uitable to our pre&s;ent Concerns, which I &s;hall but name, and come to my Text.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>Men of Prudence and Conduct, are great men;</HI> yea, Princes in a Place. So is <HI>Abner</HI> called, and &s;o was our <HI>Daniel.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Whatever per&s;ons be in them&s;elves, or whatever the Concernment of the place is in them, yet Death will make them fall.</HI> This great man and Prince (&s;aith <HI>David</HI>) is fallen. <HI>Wi&s;e men dye as well as fools. P&s;a.</HI> 49. 10. Neither piety nor prudence, nor u&s;efulne&s;s can keep men from falling. Princes and Coun&s;el|lers, the Studs and Staies of a Place mu&s;t fall.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>The Fall of &s;uch per&s;ons is a weakening to the Survivers.</HI> His Fall made <HI>David</HI> weak.</ITEM>
<ITEM><PB N="7" REF="5">4. <HI>The Death of &s;uch Worthies ought to be noted:</HI> Hence know you not, &s;uppo&s;ing they did, &amp; could not but know, &amp; that it was their Duty to know.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>The Application and Improvement of the&s;e Notes, I leave to the &s;erious hearer, and the Intel|gent <HI>Regarder</HI> of the <HI>Operation of Gods Hand,</HI> who will readily under&s;tand the &s;ea&s;onablene&s;s and &s;ui|tablene&s;s of &s;uch Truths.</P>
<P>But to come to my Text.</P>
<P>This <HI>ver&s;e</HI> is the clo&s;e of the Prophecy of <HI>Daniel</HI> one of the Children of the Captivity, &amp; a man of great Integrity &amp; Intimacy with God, whom the Lord pre&s;erved in <HI>Babylon,</HI> and (tho' a Captive) made u&s;e of as an eminent In&s;trument in his Hand for the Service of the Church, &amp; for that end ad|vanced him unto great Dignity, made him a chief Ruler, and kept him in his place for the good of his poor people, tho' he had many Enemies, that out of envy and malice watcht for his halting&punc; And be&s;ides that, the Lord was plea&s;ed to be very familiar with him, &amp; acquaint him with much of his mind and will concerning both his pre&s;ent and future Di&s;pen&s;ations in his Providence, both to the Church and the World, as is to be &s;een at large in his Prophecy.</P>
<P>Not to go any further back than this <HI>Chapter&punc;</HI> here is in the Beginning of it a <HI>Revelation</HI> of a Time of great Trouble coming upon his people &s;uch as had not been &s;ince they were a Nation (<HI>v.</HI> 1.) with other things that <HI>Daniel greatly de&s;ired</HI> a plainer di&s;covery of, and further &s;atisfaction
<PB N="8" REF="6">
about, as not fully under&s;tanding what was &s;aid, &amp; therefore enquired, <HI>v.</HI> 8. but received that An&s;wer <HI>v.</HI> 9. that the words were <HI>Sealed till the Time of the End,</HI> and therefore willed him to <HI>go his way,</HI> and adds that <HI>many &s;hould be tried, and that the wi&s;e &s;hould under&s;tand, &amp;c.</HI> and annexes &s;omething (tho' dark|ly too) concerning the Time of the end. <HI>v.</HI> 10, 11, 12. about which he had enquired. (<HI>v.</HI> 8.)</P>
<P>The words read are an <HI>Encouragement</HI> and <HI>Cordi|al</HI> referring to his own particular Ca&s;e, there &s;hould be &s;uch and &s;uch di&s;mal Changes and Troubles in the World, and upon the Jews, but as for his part it &s;hould be well with him, he &s;hould go to Re&s;t, and <HI>at the End of Dayes &s;hould ri&s;e and &s;tand up to take his Lott.</HI></P>
<P>The People of God that have a pro&s;pect of Evil to come, are very much concerned there about, &amp; &s;o was he, but God gave him this word of Con&s;o|lation, which is of u&s;e to all other in like Condition.</P>
<P><HI>But thou</HI>] i. e. Thou <HI>Daniel,</HI> as <HI>v.</HI> 9. unto whom this &s;peech was directed.</P>
<P><HI>Go thy way</HI>] Satisfy thy &s;elf with what I have told thee, cea&s;e to be over inqui&s;itive about the pre|mi&s;es, &s;et thy heart at re&s;t, &s;peak no more to me, concerning this matter.</P>
<P><HI>Until the End] i. e.</HI> until thy End, which is quickly coming, or which thou ha&s;t but a little way to; go about thy Bu&s;ine&s;s till thou come to the end of thy Bu&s;ine&s;s, be not over &s;olicitous a|bout tho&s;e future events, nor di&s;tractingly thought|ful about what &s;hall fall out. Think of thine end
<PB N="9" REF="6">
to which thou art going, and there &s;hall be an end of all Trouble with thee.</P>
<P><HI>Thou &s;halt re&s;t</HI>] Sometimes God gives his Emi|nent Servants a particular Exemption from future Trouble, tho' they live in the Time of it, they &s;hall not &s;hare in it; he finds <HI>Chambers of Provi|dence to hide them in</HI> (I&s;a. 26. 20.) we hear con|cerning <HI>Noah, Daniel</HI> and <HI>Job</HI> what &s;hall be their per&s;onal Lott in trouble&s;ome Times; tho' they &s;hall <HI>Save neither Son nor Daughter,</HI> yet them&s;elves &s;hall e&s;cape. <HI>Ezek.</HI> 14. 14, 16. But this &s;eems not to be the meaning here, rather it refers to the end of his life, that he &s;hould re&s;t in the Grave which is given in Scripture as the common place of cer|tain Re&s;t to all the Saints. See <HI>Rev.</HI> 14. 13. with <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 57. 2. &s;o <HI>Job</HI> calls the Grave a <HI>re&s;ting place.</HI> Job 3. 17, 18. and probably <HI>Daniel</HI> was now near the end of his life, drawing on toward the Even|ing of his Day, ready to be put into the <HI>Bed</HI> of his <HI>Grave,</HI> there to take his <HI>Re&s;t.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Shall &s;tand up</HI>] &s;halt ri&s;e again, or come up out of thy Grave. <HI>Death</HI> is a falling, and therefore the <HI>Re&s;urrection</HI> is a &s;tanding up again, or a recovering after that fall.</P>
<P><HI>In thy Lott] i. e.</HI> in that place and condition which God has appointed for thee. Thou &s;halt have thine Inheritance or Portion in another World, called a <HI>Lott,</HI> becau&s;e the Land of <HI>Canaan</HI> an eminent <HI>Type</HI> of Heaven was laid out by <HI>Lott</HI> to the people; hence a po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion there was called a <HI>Lott,</HI> in allu&s;ion to which the Lord minds <HI>Daniel</HI>
<PB N="10" REF="7">
of a Lot laid out to, &amp; re&s;erved for him there, which he &s;hould &s;tand up in, or come to the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of.</P>
<P><HI>At the End of Dayes</HI>] That is, at the end of the World, when <HI>Time &s;hall be no more;</HI> then an Eter|nity of Happine&s;s &s;hall be thy Lott or Portion.</P>
<P>As if he had &s;aid, Oh! <HI>Daniel,</HI> thou ha&s;t heard from me a Prediction of Impending Calamity, I have &s;omewhat darkly di&s;covered it, and thou art very thoughtful thereabout, but go thy way, con|tent thy &s;elf with what has been told thee, thy Time is ha&s;tening to a period, and then for thy part thou &s;halt go to re&s;t, and in the &s;ea&s;on of it &s;tand up to take thy Lott among the Righteous, and let that be enough to thee.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="doctrine">
<HEAD><HI>DOCTRINE;</HI> It &s;hould quiet and &s;atisfy the People of God when Evil Dayes are coming, that he can take them away to re&s;t, and cau&s;e them to &s;tand up again at the End of Time in their Lott.</HEAD>
<P>The taking away of pious ones is the bringing them to re&s;t till the End of Time when they &s;hall &s;tand up in their Lott.</P>
<P>There be four <HI>Propo&s;itions</HI> in the Doctrine.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. God can and &s;ometimes doth take away his precious Ones by Death, when Evil is coming.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. When the Saints are taken hence, they go to Rest.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. All &s;o removed and laid to Re&s;t, &s;hall Stand up again at the End of Dayes.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. Each &s;hall &s;tand up in that Lott which is appoin|ted for them.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P><PB N="11" REF="7">Propo&s;ition 1. <HI>God takes away &s;ome of his People when Evil Dayes are coming.</HI></P>
<P>This was the ca&s;e in the <HI>Text,</HI> unparallel'd Evil was coming, <HI>v.</HI> 1. and now <HI>go thy way Daniel.</HI> I&s;a. 57. 1, 2. is a plain Confirmation thereof. Scripture In&s;tances abound for the proof of it: <HI>Methu&s;elah</HI> dyed ju&s;t before the Flood. <HI>Jo&s;iah</HI> was to go to his Grave in peace before the threatned Calamities came. 2 <HI>Chron 34. 28. Hezekiah</HI> was to have <HI>Peace</HI> and <HI>Truth</HI> in his Dayes, and the Judgments &s;poken of not to come till he was gone. <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 39. 6, 7, 8.</P>
<P>Daily Examples al&s;o confirm it.</P>
<P>The Rea&s;ons are,</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>From the great love of God to his Children to call them home before Trouble comes.</HI> A tender Father &amp; Mother will do &s;o by their Children; call them in when the night is drawing on, or when a Storm is ri&s;ing.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>From the Saints them&s;elves,</HI> whom the Lord may find ripe, and &s;o hou&s;e them before a Storm, their work may be fini&s;hed, and &s;o he calls them off, to give them their Reward.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>For warning to the wicked,</HI> and as a means to awaken them, if ought may prevail, or el&s;e to leave them without excu&s;e.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. <HI>On the account of the Godly that do Survive,</HI> who are concerned in the removal of them that go, &amp;
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>For their further Exerci&s;e and Trial of their Faith and Patience;</HI> and a great Trial it mu&s;t needs be to be deprived of &s;uch Helps.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>To nece&s;&s;itate them to Live by Faith;</HI> when he
<PB N="12" REF="8">
takes away &s;uch Props that they leaned on. When <HI>Chariots</HI> and <HI>Hor&s;emen,</HI> Studs and Pillars are remov|ed, it's time then to look to, &amp; lean upon the Lord.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>5. <HI>From God him&s;elf,</HI> who hereby di&s;covers his <HI>Soveraignty</HI> in taking and leaving when he plea&s;es. <HI>His Wi&s;dom</HI> in having other ways to carry on his work than we can think of. <HI>His Power</HI> in rai&s;ing up other In&s;truments when he plea&s;es.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>Or that he may appear &s;o much the more clearly &amp; gloriou&s;ly with his own Arm and Power when In&s;truments (that often eclip&s;e his Glory) are ta|ken away.</P>
<P>Prop. 2. <HI>When Godly Ones go, they go to Re&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>For proof &s;ee <HI>I&s;a. 57. 1, 2. Rev.</HI> 14. 13. Hence Death is called a <HI>falling a&s;leep;</HI> &s;o did <HI>Stophen</HI> ju&s;t before the heat, or at the beginning of that great Per&s;ecution. (<HI>Acts</HI> 7. ult.)</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>What Re&s;t do they go to?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w. 1. A Re&s;t from Labour.</HI> This Life is a laborious Life, e&s;pecially to the Godly; many o|thers &s;in, and play and &s;leep away their time, but they labour and &s;trive, &amp; run, &amp; fight, &amp; wre&s;tle; all which are very laborious Imployments. <HI>Rev.</HI> 14. 13.</P>
<P>2. <HI>A Re&s;t from Sin;</HI> there is no man lives &amp; &s;ins not; but when the Saints dye, they cea&s;e from Sin.</P>
<P>3. <HI>A Re&s;t from the Temptations of Satan.</HI> There is no Serpent in that Paradi&s;e whither the Spirits of Ju&s;t men go at Death.</P>
<P>4. <HI>A Rest from Oppre&s;&s;ion</HI> by, or any vexation from evil men. <HI>Job</HI> 3. 17, 18, 19.</P>
<P>5. <HI>A Re&s;t from all Suffering and Sorrow from with|in,</HI>
<PB N="13" REF="8">
without, them&s;elves, or others, they &s;hall have no more Pain, Grief, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> All Tears &s;hall be wi|ped away.</P>
<P>6. <HI>To make up all that can be thought on that good is;</HI> it is a Re&s;t in Chri&s;t and with Chri&s;t, and that is be&s;t of all, yea all that is be&s;t or good.</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>Why do the Saints then Re&s;t?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w. Becau&s;e they Laboured and Toyled while here,</HI> were faithful at their labour while they lived, and therefore go to re&s;t when they dye. And <HI>it is a righteous thing with God</HI> to give the labouring and troubled ones Re&s;t at that Day, 2 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 1. 6, 7. Our life-time is the Day wherein we are to work, there is no work, device or labour in the Grave, <HI>Eccl.</HI> 9. 10. which tho' it be a Judgment to the wicked, who &s;lept away their labouring Time, that they &s;hall then have no more Opportunity to work, yet it is a comfort to the Godly Labourers that they &s;hall have no more need or occa&s;ion to work, but &s;hall go to their Re&s;t, &amp; cea&s;e from all work.</P>
<P>Prop. 3. <HI>After their going away to Re&s;t, they &s;hall &s;tand up again at the La&s;t Day.</HI></P>
<P>There needs no more to be &s;aid toward the Con|firmation of this A&s;&s;ertion, &s;ave the Doctrine of the <HI>Re&s;urrection,</HI> which is one of the main <HI>Articles</HI> of our Faith, and that without which all our Faith and Hope would be vain, as not reaching any further than this life, and &s;o leaving us mo&s;t mi&s;e|rable. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 15. 17, 18, 19.</P>
<P>Chri&s;t told <HI>Martha,</HI> her Brother &s;hould ri&s;e a|again, and &s;he owned it. This was <HI>Pauls</HI> hope.
<PB N="14" REF="9">
(Act. 24. 15.) and <HI>Jobs</HI> Comfort. <HI>Job</HI> 19. 25. The Scripture is full of this Truth.</P>
<P>The ground of it is, <HI>partly</HI> from their <HI>Union to Chri&s;t</HI> their Head, who dyed and ro&s;e again, and &s;o &s;hall they by vertue of his Re&s;urrection. Part|ly that they may receive their <HI>Reward</HI> according to <HI>their works.</HI></P>
<P>Prop. 4. <HI>When they &s;tand up, each &s;hall &s;tand in his Lott.</HI></P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>There &s;hall be a Lott Laid out to each of them;</HI> a peculiar place and &s;tation provided for every one: All the Saints both great and &s;mall, not only a general State of Glory for all, but each &s;hall have his own <HI>Lott, Man&s;ion, Crown.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>He &s;hall &s;tand, abide or continue therein.</HI> The Lot is that State of Glory peculiar to every Belie|ver. Indeed there &s;hall be degrees, &s;ome greater, &s;ome le&s;&s;er, tho' every Ve&s;&s;el &s;hall be filled. Some &s;hall have Five Cities, others two, every one an|&s;werable to the <HI>Mea&s;ure</HI> of free Grace be&s;towed on him, and the <HI>Degrees</HI> of its acting in him, each &s;hall be rewarded both for kind and mea&s;ure ac|cording to his works.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>And the Rea&s;on is <HI>from the Righteou&s;ne&s;s of God,</HI> who will therefore (as Ju&s;tice obliges) render to every one what is his own, or due. Indeed not unto Believers on Chri&s;t for the &s;ake of their works upon the account of their own merit properly, but for the &s;ake of the Works and Merits of Chri&s;t only, yet &s;till <HI>according to their works: Not for your &s;akes, but for mine own Name &s;ake.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="uses of proposition">
<PB N="15" REF="9">
<HEAD>U&s;es of the Fir&s;t Propo&s;ition.</HEAD>
<P>If God doth u&s;e to take away &s;ome of his Emi|nent Ones, or bid them go away before Evil Days.</P>
<P><HI>U&s;e 1. Then it is an ill Omen,</HI> and &s;hould be ac|counted matter of great awakening and &s;olemn Con&s;ideration <HI>to &s;ee good men removed.</HI> If prudent and u&s;eful, e&s;pecially if pious men be taken away, when <HI>meek</HI> and <HI>merciful ones</HI> are removed, it looks as if there were <HI>Evil</HI> at hand, which God is wil|ling to Save them from. <HI>Noahs</HI> hou&s;ing in the <HI>Ark,</HI> and <HI>Lot's</HI> entering into <HI>Zoar</HI> carried an ill face to the <HI>Old World</HI> and <HI>Sodom.</HI> E&s;pecially if the remo|val of &s;uch be not <HI>Laid to heart,</HI> their removal is &s;ignal, and not laying to heart Cau&s;al al&s;o of ap|proaching Evil.</P>
<P><HI>U&s;e</HI> 2. Learn hence al&s;o that <HI>however the Death of any may prove to the Survivers, it's always in mer|cy to the Godly.</HI> As all other Troubles, &s;o <HI>Death</HI> is <HI>theirs;</HI> let it come when and how it will. It is an effect of his Kindne&s;s to them, and in pur&s;uance of his Care for them. Gods way often is to take a|way the be&s;t fir&s;t, and lay them up &s;afe out of harms way, and leave the re&s;t, either to mend or grow wor&s;e; and if they grow wor&s;e, &s;o to ripen them unto ruin, for not growing better under &s;uch <HI>awakening Providences</HI> as the removal of the good.</P>
<P><HI>U&s;e 3. Then we &s;hould not be inordinately careful or &s;olicitous, for fear of Trouble before hand;</HI> do not di|&s;tract thy &s;elf about what may be hereafter; yea, tho' it &s;eems to be near, even at the very door:
<PB N="16" REF="10">
For, be&s;ides that fixedne&s;s without <HI>fear of evil Ti|dings</HI> is attainable, and ought to be laboured after, as a fruit of Faith. <HI>P&s;a.</HI> 112. 7, 8. and be&s;ides that many times evils feared do not come at all. I &s;ay be&s;ides both the&s;e, this may comfort us again&s;t ap|proaching Trouble, that it may be we may be gone into the Grave before it comes: Who can tell how &s;oon God may &s;ay to him, <HI>Go thy way Daniel,</HI> go to thy Re&s;t out of the reach of that Trouble thou feare&s;t, before it comes to &s;uch an height as to work thee any con&s;iderable Damage. A <HI>prudent fore&s;ight</HI> of evil, and guarding or prepa|ring again&s;t it is good, and a Duty, but <HI>di&s;tracting thoughtfulne&s;s</HI> is always &s;inful, and oft needle&s;s, be|cau&s;e po&s;&s;ibly thou may&s;t not live to &s;ee it.</P>
<P>If thou art a good, faithful and diligent Servant, the Lord may accept of thy good will, and call thee off before the pinch comes. A good Ma&s;ter will do &s;o by a good Servant that is diligent, and willing to do what he is able; he will call him by name, and take him off when he &s;ees the heat of the day a coming, or &s;ome pinch at hand that will be too hard for him, he will favour him, and lay the burden upon others. So did the Lord here &s;ay to <HI>Daniel, Go thy way,</HI> give over, thou ha&s;t done well, go lye down and take thy Re&s;t.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="uses of proposition">
<HEAD>U&s;es of the Second Propo&s;ition</HEAD>
<P>Do the Saints go to Re&s;t when they Dye?</P>
<P><HI>U&s;e</HI> 1. Then &s;ee <HI>what cau&s;e we have to ble&s;s God for Je&s;us Christ,</HI> who hath made one of the wor&s;t things in the <HI>Cur&s;e,</HI> viz. <HI>Death,</HI> to be matter of
<PB N="17" REF="10">
comfort unto all his, as it brings them to ea&s;e, quiet and re&s;t. That dreadful thing Death, the King of Terrours &s;hall be to them their Sleep and Re&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>U&s;e 2. Then Death is not &s;o dreadful to the People of God as it is repre&s;ented and &s;uppo&s;ed u&s;ually to be.</HI> If it be their Re&s;t, or that which gives them a Pa&s;&s;age or Entrance into Re&s;t, it is a very plea&s;ant, &s;weet, de&s;irable and comfortable thing.</P>
<P>It's true, Death is indi&s;pen&s;ibly the Lot of all, and made &s;o by Divine Appointment; (<HI>Heb.</HI> 9. 27.) and it is to <HI>Nature</HI> very irk&s;ome, and unto <HI>&s;inning Nature</HI> terrible and affrighting, but to them that are in Chri&s;t, and &s;o have their &s;ins pardoned, &amp;c the <HI>Sting of Death</HI> removed, it &s;hould not be &s;o. And to prevent its being &s;o, the Lord is plea&s;ed to find out the mo&s;t &s;weet, plea&s;ant and alluring <HI>Me|taphors</HI> to &s;et forth the Nature of it by, not only to take away the Terror of it, but to render it delight|&s;ome and de&s;irable to them; and among many o|ther, the&s;e two of <HI>Re&s;t</HI> and <HI>Sleep</HI> which are not on|ly harmle&s;s things, but very de&s;irable and attractive too; how does the labouring and travelling man long for the &s;etting of the Sun, and end of his Jour|ney that he may re&s;t, the &s;ick and pained man to <HI>whom weari&s;ome days and nights are appointed;</HI> what would he give for a nights &s;leep? Oh that I could &s;leep! Oh that I could take my Re&s;t! that I could get a little &s;leep&punc; Then why &s;hould a true Believer be &s;cared at Death; there is no matter of Affright|ment in going to re&s;t. And that is one thing the Lord is aiming at, in making the World a weary
<PB N="18" REF="11">
World to his people, that they may be willing to leave it, long to be out of it, de&s;irous of the Grave, that they may go to Re&s;t therein.</P>
<P><HI>U&s;e</HI> 3. <HI>Then be not over much troubled at the removal of any of our pious Friends whom God has taken away by Death, they are but gone to Rest, and why &s;hould that grieve us?</HI> When per&s;ons are &s;ick or di&s;ea&s;ed and weak, one of the principal things we are &s;olicitors about in their behalf is that they may take their <HI>Re&s;t,</HI> when their eyes have been long held waking, O how do we wi&s;h for them that they might take their <HI>Re&s;t,</HI> we make all quiet &amp; &s;till, &s;uffer no noi&s;e nor any di&s;turbance that might hinder them of their <HI>Re&s;t;</HI> and if we can &s;ee them take their <HI>Rest,</HI> we hope they &s;hall do well. So when night comes we get our Children to bed, and if they be once a&s;leep we are plea&s;ed, and think all is well with them. And why are we not as well &s;atisfied and contented about our Friends that <HI>Dy in the Lord;</HI> they do <HI>Sleep in Je&s;us,</HI> and &s;o &s;hall do well, they have been toyling in the world, and are tired with the labour of it, and are now gone to Sleep, why &s;hould we begrudge them their Re&s;t?</P>
<P>Indeed for our own lo&s;s of them we &s;hould grieve and for Gods di&s;plea&s;ure that may appear in the &s;troke we &s;hould mourn, and for our &s;ins that have made God angry, we &s;hould cry bitterly; but for them that are gone to Re&s;t, &s;ee that we <HI>weep as though we wept not.</HI></P>
<P>The <HI>Grave</HI> is called an <HI>Hou&s;e</HI> and <HI>Bed,</HI> &amp; it is &s;o &s;anctified by the Death of Chri&s;t, that it is a good
<PB N="19" REF="11">
hou&s;e, a good bed, both &s;oft and warm, a com|fortable bed, a place of quiet and repo&s;e, a place of <HI>Security</HI> and <HI>Secrecy;</HI> hence <HI>Job</HI> &s;peaks of Gods <HI>hiding him in the Grave. Job</HI> 14. 13. a man in the Grave is hidden from the &s;trife of Tongues, hid|den from the rage and malice of evil men, &amp; out of the reach of all that devi&s;e mi&s;chief again&s;t him; he is there freed from all Trouble and Mo|le&s;tation what&s;oever: <HI>There the Servant is free from his Ma&s;ter, and they hear not the cry of the Oppre&s;&s;or? Job</HI> 3. 13, 17, 18, 19. They that are lodged in the Grave, are lodged in an hou&s;e, where they are &s;afe from fear, are not di&s;turbed by all the noi&s;e and lumber in the World, tho' the Earth quake, &amp; the Sea roar they are not moved, <HI>though the Mountains be ca&s;t into the mid&s;t of the Sea,</HI> they are not affect|ed with it; the &s;ound of the Trumpet and Alarms of Wars do not affright them. There is no aking head, &s;ick &s;tomach, pained Bowels, &s;pending, weak|ning Cough to break their Re&s;t; no Evil Tidings can make their ears Tingle, or hearts Tremble; Di&s;ea&s;es, Pains, Bu&s;ine&s;s, Cares, Fears, would not let them re&s;t here, but none of the&s;e things &s;hall mole&s;t them there; nothing &s;hall awaken them till the <HI>La&s;t Trumpet</HI> &s;ounds, when they &s;hall ari&s;e to receive that <HI>Incorruptible Crown that fades not away&punc; re&s;erved in the Heavens for them.</HI> Then let not us di&s;turb our &s;elves about them, be at re&s;t concern|ing them, there let them re&s;t quiet till the Morn|ing of the Re&s;urrection, in which they &s;hall ri&s;e to the full Enjoyment of that Chri&s;t in who&s;e Bo|&s;ome
<PB N="20" REF="12">
they are now &s;leeping. If they be quiet in their Beds, let us be quiet al&s;o about them, if they be at Re&s;t, labour we to compo&s;e our &s;elves unto free &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion to Soveraign Di&s;po&s;al; yea, and comfort our &s;elves in this, that however it may fare with us or others, yet &s;uch and &s;uch of ours are well and at re&s;t, gotten quite out of harms way, that no evil &s;hall come near their dwelling however, they are &s;afe, enjoying quiet re&s;t, <HI>till the Pit be digged for the wicked. P&s;al.</HI> 94. 13. Such of our Friends are out of the Gun&s;hot of the malice and rage of men and Devils.</P>
<P>Rather let us &s;o believe and live, &s;o work and labour while here, that when we dye we may re&s;t with them, than &s;pend our time in inordinately grieving for them who are at re&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>U&s;e</HI> 4. Let this &s;erve al&s;o <HI>to comfort and quiet us against all the labour, toyl and travel that God hath appointed to us in this World.</HI> Work willingly, la|bour chearfully, bear our Cro&s;s which God lays on us without repining or reluctance, it is but for a little while, <HI>Rest</HI> is a coming.</P>
<P>It comforts the <HI>Hireling</HI> while he is bearing the heat and burden of the day, that it is but for a <HI>Day,</HI> and when he hath accompli&s;hed <HI>his Day,</HI> there is a Recompence and Re&s;t ready for him, when he hath ended his <HI>work,</HI> he &s;hall have his <HI>Reward,</HI> and go to his <HI>Re&s;t.</HI> And as <HI>the Re&s;t of a labouring man is &s;weet,</HI> when it comes, &s;o the fore thoughts of it &s;hould be &s;weet while he is at work; be &s;ure it &s;hould be &s;o with all the Godly. It &s;hould
<PB N="21" REF="12">
make every good mans work go off hand with the more content and comfort: I &s;hall re&s;t anon and the harder my work, the &s;weeter my Re&s;t.</P>
<P>The Parents of <HI>Noah,</HI> when he was born, by a Spirit of <HI>Prophecy</HI> (no doubt Gen. 5. 29.) called him <HI>Noah;</HI> promi&s;ing them&s;elves <HI>Re&s;t</HI> by him under all their Toyl, <HI>&amp;c. Je&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> is the true <HI>Noah&punc;</HI> from whom all true <HI>Re&s;t</HI> comes; he hath by his lying in the Grave made it a place of Re&s;t; and this &s;hould be thought on, together with that E|verla&s;ting Re&s;t that Death leads to; and with this &s;hould we comfort our &s;elves and one another.</P>
<P>And as this Con&s;ideration &s;hould comfort us while we live, &s;o it is &s;uitable <HI>to make us willing to dye;</HI> yea, to long for Death as much as ever a tired Traveller or weary Labourer did for his bed&punc;</P>
<P>Alas! for all that lothne&s;s to dye which is to be found in us, either we are not weary of the world but have too much content and re&s;t in it. Or we do not look upon the Grave as a place of Re&s;t.</P>
<P>Or we do not con&s;ider the &s;weetne&s;s of that <HI>Re&s;t;</HI> or we are not well a&s;&s;ured that it is a Re&s;t for us; or el&s;e [<HI>Go thy way and go to Re&s;t</HI>] would be a &s;weet word to us.</P>
<P>This &s;hould make us <HI>Love Death,</HI> be fond of it embrace it as a very welcome Me&s;&s;enger &s;ent to poor weary Creatures to put them to Bed. We read of &s;ome who out of their extream mi&s;ery have been <HI>&s;eeking Death,</HI> courting the Grave, hunt|ing for a pa&s;&s;age into the Grave; but how much more earne&s;t and inten&s;e &s;hould we be, if be&s;ide
<PB N="22" REF="13">
the Troubles here to drive us, we had the hope of Re&s;t to allure us.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="uses of proposition">
<HEAD>U&s;es of the Third Propo&s;ition.</HEAD>
<P>After they have re&s;ted &s;hall they &s;tand up?</P>
<P><HI>U&s;e</HI> 1. Then <HI>Death is not an Annihilation,</HI> it is a Di&s;&s;olution, but does not annihilate, it returns men to Du&s;t, but not to nothing.</P>
<P><HI>U&s;e</HI> 2. This &s;erves <HI>to magnify the power of God that can make a dead per&s;on &s;tand up again,</HI> not only one that hath been four days, but more than &s;o many thou&s;and years dead, to appear again. And the Con&s;ideration of the power of God in the work of <HI>Re&s;urrection</HI> &s;hould &s;trengthen our Faith with re|ference to all other difficult ca&s;es whether bodily or &s;piritual, per&s;onal or relative, that our &s;elves in particular, or the Church in general may meet with, however di&s;couraging and afflictive; if the Lord can make the <HI>Body</HI> after its Di&s;&s;olution and re&s;olution into its principles to ari&s;e &amp; &s;tand up a|gain, then he can do &s;o by the <HI>Soul</HI> al&s;o which is &s;unk, and low and di&s;couraged, is ready to &s;ay that <HI>he is &s;hut up, and &s;hall come out no more,</HI> is become like the <HI>dry bones in the valley,</HI> the Lord can make him &s;tand up. In like manner can he do by his own work, Religion, the Cau&s;e and Intere&s;t of Chri&s;t and his people; it may &s;em to run low, and <HI>I&s;rael</HI> may be brought very low, but the Lord can re|vive his work, and people; He can <HI>rai&s;e up the Ta|bernacle of David that is fallen:</HI> He can <HI>build up the walls of Jeru&s;alem.</HI> Je&s;us Chri&s;t is the <HI>Re&s;urrection and the Life,</HI> both to <HI>Zion</HI> in general, and to all
<PB N="23" REF="13">
the true Sons and Daughters thereof; and will certainly give a <HI>Re&s;urrection</HI> to his fallen Cau&s;e and Work, and cau&s;e it to &s;tand up.</P>
<P><HI>U&s;e</HI> 3. Hence al&s;o, <HI>Pious Friends though gone away are not lo&s;t;</HI> as they are not annihi|lated, &s;o as not to be, &s;o neither are they lo&s;t &s;o as not to be found. As to this world, &s;o they are lo&s;t never to be &s;een here any more in that Ca|pacity as formerly: <HI>the place that has known them, &s;hall know them no more,</HI> they &s;hall no more have a Portion in ought that is done under the Sun; but really they are not lo&s;t, they &s;hall all be found and &s;tand up: Not one Grain &s;hall be lo&s;t; all the Dead both &s;mall and great &s;hall make their per&s;o|nal appearance; and e&s;pecially none of Chri&s;ts Beloved Ones &s;hall be lo&s;t.</P>
<P>We think it no great matter to take leave of our Friends at Bed-Time, yea to look on them and &s;ee them unclothe them&s;elves and go to bed, lye down to re&s;t, we can chearfully bid them good night, expecting to &s;ee them upon their legs again, &s;tand|ing up next morning. It's want of Faith that we do not treat our dying friends accordingly; take leave of them chearfully, wi&s;hing them a good nights re&s;t, expecting to &s;ee them in the <HI>Morning</HI> of the <HI>Re&s;urrection.</HI> (as P&s;al. 49. 14.) when the <HI>Righ|teous &s;hall &s;tand up,</HI> and be uppermo&s;t too, have dominion over all their Enemies that de&s;pi&s;ed and trampled upon them in this World.</P>
<P><HI>U&s;e</HI> 4. See a <HI>va&s;t difference between a pious Saint,</HI> a precious <HI>Daniel</HI> in his Condition then, <HI>and that of
<PB N="24" REF="14">
a wicked man,</HI> an ungodly one. <HI>The Godly &s;hall &s;tand, the wicked are not &s;o,</HI> they &s;hall not &s;tand in Judgment. (<HI>P&s;al.</HI> 1.) they &s;hall ri&s;e only to fall, to fall utterly and eternally. The Believer only &s;hall be accounted worthy to &s;tand when the Son of Man &s;hall come; but others &s;hall be thought worthy to fall, yea &s;hall be ca&s;t down into utter De&s;truction.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="uses of proposition">
<HEAD>U&s;es of the Fourth Propo&s;ition.</HEAD>
<P>Shall each &s;tand in his Lot?</P>
<P><HI>U&s;e</HI> 1. Hence <HI>there is a peculiar Lott appointed to each after the Re&s;urrection.</HI> Every one &s;hall have his own lot, reward and portion; every one that is written up among the Living &s;hall &s;tand up unto a Lot, and to that which is his own lot, not another mans. Many now that profe&s;s Religion, do but trim them&s;elves with borrowed Feathers, adorn them&s;elves with a <HI>Form of Godline&s;s without the pow|er of it,</HI> &amp; &s;o get the name &amp; repute which belongs to Godly men indeed, being by charity &s;o accoun|ted, but then it &s;hall be otherwi&s;e; every man &s;hall have his own lot, &s;hall be rewarded according to his works. Not only great <HI>Daniel,</HI> but every one of Chri&s;t's little ones &s;hall each have his Lot and &s;hare of Glory.</P>
<P><HI>U&s;e</HI> 2. See hence <HI>what ought to be our great care while here,</HI> viz. <HI>after a good Lot then, &amp; our &s;tanding therein.</HI> E're long we mu&s;t go into the Grave, where there is no work or device, nothing more to be done, &s;ave only to receive &amp; take po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of our lot an&s;werable to the life we have led while
<PB N="25" REF="14">
here. <HI>To work out our Salvation with fear &amp; trem|bling</HI> is therefore our bu&s;ine&s;s now, and then our Lot will be an&s;werable. Be &s;ound in the way that may lead us to the getting a good lot then; we would not then be <HI>gathered with Sinners &amp; bloody</HI> or worldly <HI>men. (P&s;al&punc;</HI> 26) then do not <HI>ca&s;t in our Lot</HI> with them now, which we may be tempted to, as <HI>Prov.</HI> 1. 14. it is no great matter what we get or lo&s;e here, &s;o we may have a good lot there. Here is a great deal of ado among us at this day about our Lots &amp; Lands, what a &s;cuffle is there about a little Earth? here is arre&s;ting, pleading, impleading, fending and proving; one pleading his right, &amp; another his, one claiming &amp; another endeavouring to invalidate his claim; and about this how bui&s;y are men! But be not over &s;olicitous here, know that there is a far greater Que&s;tion in hand, <HI>viz. What &s;hall be my Lot and where &s;hall it lye in the other World;</HI> &amp; how &s;hall I get a good Title to a good Lot there, and how &s;hall I maintain it, and &s;ecure my right again&s;t all that would di&s;po&s;&s;e&s;s me? Oh! let this be the main bu&s;ine&s;s with us. Alas, the be&s;t Lot that any man has in this world is <HI>Cabul,</HI> a dirty place, &amp; it will co&s;t more to keep it than its worth, con&s;idering what &s;triving and contending there is about it: but if thou get a Lot there, God is the maintainer of it; it was purcha&s;ed for thee, and given to thee by <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> and al&s;o <HI>re&s;erved</HI> and kept for thee, that God who hath given it thee is obliged to make good &amp; to warrant his Deed of Gift again&s;t all Claimers what&s;oever. No Writ of Ejection &s;hall ever di&s;|po&s;&s;e&s;s
<PB N="26" REF="15">
thee. And it is a Lot lying in a plea&s;ant place, and a <HI>goodly Heritage.</HI> It is the <HI>Lot of the Righteous</HI> upon which the <HI>Rod of the Wicked</HI> &s;hall not always re&s;t: A lot which God hath ca&s;t for thee, which Chri&s;t is gone before as thy <HI>Forerunner, Agent, Advocate,</HI> to take po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of for thee, and in thy name &amp; &s;tead, if thou be a believer on him, kept for thee, &amp; thou <HI>kept for it &amp; to it, by the mighty power of God thro' Faith unto Salvation.</HI> 1 Pet. 1. 3, 4, 5. Thy Lot there is the <HI>Inheritance among the Saints in Light, Abrahams Bo&s;ome,</HI> the <HI>Ma&s;ters Joy,</HI> an <HI>Incorruptible Crown,</HI> a <HI>Kingdom prepared,</HI> &amp;c. Then let not world|ly Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ions, Enjoyments, Profits, Plea&s;ures, Bui|&s;ine&s;s take up that time, and tho&s;e thoughts that &s;hould be imployed about things of an higher Im|port &amp; Concernment. We may conclude our Di&s;cour&s;e with this one practical Que&s;tion.</P>
<P>Q. <HI>What &s;hall I do that when called away, or com|manded to go away, I may be &s;ure to re&s;t till the end of Dayes, and then &s;tand up in an Happy Lott?</HI> Or how &s;hall I &s;o live that I may go to re&s;t when I go a|way from hence?</P>
<P><HI>A.</HI> It is a great Que&s;tion, and that which near|ly concerns us all.</P>
<P>In general, I would &s;ay it is for the Lords faith|ful ones, his <HI>Daniels,</HI> or <HI>beloved ones,</HI> this <HI>Re&s;t remains for the People of God,</HI> and that for tho&s;e that are really not only nominally &s;o. It is the <HI>Righteous man,</HI> who when he dyes <HI>enters into his Bed, &amp; Re&s;ts in his Grave,</HI> (I&s;a. 57. 1, 2.) The Securing to thy &s;elf that thou art one of the&s;e will &s;ecure the other.</P>
<P><PB N="27" REF="15">More particularly take the&s;e three Directions.</P>
<P>1. If thou woulde&s;t go to Re&s;t when thou dye&s;t, <HI>See that a State of Sin which is a State of Nature be made a Re&s;tle&s;s &s;tate to thee:</HI> See that thou be not able to re&s;t in Sin, or in any thing in this World; &s;ee that nothing un|der the Sun quiet or give thee re&s;t.</P>
<P>Tho&s;e whom God brings to re&s;t when they dye, are &s;uch as were di&s;te&s;ted while alive, driven out of all fal&s;e Re&s;ts that Sinners take up-withal in the World. Some re&s;t in one thing, &s;ome in another. Some cannot re&s;t un|le&s;s they Sin or have done &s;ome mi&s;chief: Some rejoyce in Iniquity, &s;ome re&s;t in the Abundance of the World, fill their Barns &amp; Bags, and then go to re&s;t; &s;ome get a Pro|fe&s;&s;ion of Godline&s;s, a Name to live, they hear, read, pray, <HI>&amp;c</HI> and therein they re&s;t, their Priviledges, their own Righteou&s;ne&s;s is the <HI>Rest</HI> of many. But the Lords way to give <HI>Re&s;t</HI> is fir&s;t by di&s;quieting and di&s;re&s;ting them in till he brings them out of all other things, that &s;o he may bring them to the true <HI>Re&s;t.</HI> Sin &s;hall give thee no Re&s;t, no nor the World, nor any thing therein. If the Lord intend to bring thee to re&s;t, an Unregenerate E&s;tate &s;hall be an unquiet State to thee, thou &s;halt find no re&s;t to the Sole of thy foot, while in it, no re&s;t till got into the Ark, the only place of Re&s;t If ever God give thee Re&s;t, Sin &s;hall be a meer <HI>Slavery &amp; Bondage</HI> to thee, wor&s;e than E|gyptian Bondage, under which he will make thee to groan and &s;igh and cry till he bring thee out. He will make indwelling Sin, out-breaking Sin, Original Sin, actual Sin, a burden to thee too heavy for thee to bear, if ever he give thee Re&s;t. This know, that one of the next Mercies to Chri&s;t, and a Preparatory Mercy in order to the giving of Chri&s;t &amp; Re&s;t in him, is to di&s;re&s;t in Sin, and for want of Chri&s;t; nor will he ever bring any to Re&s;t but in this way. And thou mu&s;t be &s;o di&s;quieted about Sin, that all
<PB N="28" REF="16">
the World cannot quiet thee, neither plea&s;ures, profits, honours, company, bu&s;ine&s;s; no nor thy Duties, Prayers, Tears, own Righteou&s;ne&s;s, &amp;<HI>c.</HI> &s;hall be able to give thee Re&s;t.</P>
<P>2. Being thus weary, labouring and re&s;tle&s;s, <HI>Come to Christ at his Call,</HI> and his Promi&s;e is, that <HI>he will give thee Re&s;t</HI> (Mat. 11. 28.) Oh! make that thy bu&s;ine&s;s (as our <HI>Daniel</HI> who&s;e Death we are bewailing, &s;aid he had done) to &s;ecure an Intere&s;t in Chri&s;t, and there is Re&s;t. Faith in Chri&s;t will give thee true Re&s;t. Faith &s;tabli&s;hes and fixeth the Heart. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 112. Faith in his Power, Pro|mi&s;e, Will. And be &s;ure thou make Chri&s;t not only the <HI>Refuge,</HI> but the <HI>Re&s;t</HI> of thy Soul, which no Hypocrite does or can do; &s;ay of him and to him, <HI>I have none but thee:</HI> he who&s;e heart can &s;ay, <HI>None but Chri&s;t, none but Christ,</HI> &s;hall have him and in him Re&s;t here, and with him ever|la&s;ting Re&s;t hereafter Make u&s;e of all Bereavements, di&s;quietments, troubles here to make thee hie away to Chri&s;t for Re&s;t. The poor <HI>Dove</HI> found nothing but Wa|ter all over the face of the Earth, and could not be quiet till gotten to the Ark, where <HI>Noah</HI> was ready to put forth his hand and pull her in. This World hath alwayes been, though at &s;ome times more than other, it is a trou|bled Sea, there is nothing but in&s;table Water; uncertain comforts, certain di&s;quietments; let this Serve to make Chri&s;t Precious, with whom is certain Re&s;t.</P>
<P>And the rea&s;on why tho&s;e that get into Chri&s;t &s;hall re&s;t is becau&s;e he takes away Sin the only cau&s;e of di&s;re&s;t, Sin the &s;ting of Death, and then <HI>Death cannot &s;eparate from the Love of Chri&s;t,</HI> and where that is mu&s;t needs be Re&s;t. He that hath &s;een Chri&s;t and in him obtained Salvation from Sin, he may <HI>depart in peace,</HI> and &s;hall <HI>goe to Re&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>3. <HI>Then follow Je&s;us Christ &V;niver&s;ally, Laboriou&s;ly in all the wayes of New-Obedience;</HI> and that will carry thee to
<PB N="29" REF="16">
Re&s;t. Tho&s;e only that followed the Lord fully entered into Re&s;t, and had a Lott in <HI>Canaan,</HI> and they were only two of the Congregation, <HI>Numb</HI> 14 24 with 32. 12. If you would Re&s;t when you dye, work hard for Chri&s;t while you live. <HI>The Rest of a Labouring man is &s;weet;</HI> then labour with all your might, and that will both &s;e|cure your Re&s;t and make it Sweet. And indeed it is a bui&s;y World in which we are, here is a great deal of work, much bu&s;ine&s;s to be done for Chri&s;t, none need &s;tand &s;till for want of work, and none &s;hall re&s;t but tho&s;e that did work. Lazy, idle, &s;lothful Sinners &s;hall never goe to re&s;t: Idlene&s;s tends to di&s;re&s;t, but all regular la|bour and motion leads to re&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>And the nearer we come to our end the more vigorou&s;ly let us move toward our re&s;t.</HI> Its ob&s;erved of natural Motions the nearer the Centre the Swifter, &s;o let it be with Chri&s;ti|ans. Are there any of us Aged and Gray-headed, do we &s;ee the Time of our Di&s;&s;olution drawing nigh, are the Shadows of the Evening &s;tretcht out upon us, then let us lift up our feet, put on, mend our pace, the Grave is in view, we walk &amp; work in the &s;ight of our Re&s;ting place, and that &s;hould quicken us. It is the la&s;t day of the Week with many of us, and toward the evening of that al&s;o, and then comes the <HI>Sabbath,</HI> the <HI>Rest,</HI> the con|&s;tant, eternal re&s;t of labouring Believers, tho&s;e who have been working, their <HI>Works follow them</HI> and yield them <HI>Re&s;t.</HI> And if the Lord help us now to believe, and that with &s;uch a Faith as works by Love, we not only &s;hall, but already <HI>doe enter into Re&s;t.</HI> Heb. 4. 3. Troubles in the World we &s;hall have, but peace and re&s;t in Chri&s;t. Sin di&s;turbs, fle&s;h makes us groan, bodily di&s;ea&s;es afflict us, toyl &amp; travel in the World tire us, evil Tidings make us afraid, and fears of wor&s;e di&s;quiet us, but &s;till this Re&s;t remains &s;ure. And know that there is a voice of
<PB N="30" REF="17">
Chri&s;t in every trouble, lo&s;s, bereavement, is that we come to him for Re&s;t, he is Father, Mother, Wife, and he is the only Husband in who&s;e Hou&s;e we &s;hall find Re&s;t. Oh! let all the Sorrowful, bereaved ones that are ready to &s;ay with him (Jer. 45. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">.) <HI>Wo is me, I faint and find no Re&s;t;</HI> I &s;ay, let all &s;uch hear Chri&s;t &s;aying, <HI>Come to me and take my Yoke on you and walk</HI> with, and work for me, and <HI>you &s;hall find Re&s;t.</HI> Hearken to this Invitation unto <HI>Re&s;t,</HI> which <HI>Faith</HI> leads to the begin|ning of, <HI>Obedience</HI> helps to a progre&s;s in, and <HI>Death</HI> will bring to the full Accompli&s;hment of. And <HI>let us follow them who through Faith and Patience doe inherit the Promi|&s;es:</HI> and for our Imitation, let me Commend to you &s;ome of the Excellencies found in this <HI>Daniel</HI> of whom the Text &s;peaks, and there were not none of them wanting in our <HI>Daniel,</HI> who&s;e Death we are lamenting.</P>
<P>He is noted for a man of <HI>Great Wi&s;dom and Prudence,</HI> (Chap. 1.) <HI>The Fear of God is the beginning of Wi&s;dom,</HI> and the Lord has directed all that want Wi&s;dom to ask it.</P>
<P>He was a man of a <HI>Tender Con&s;cience,</HI> afraid of de&s;ile|ing him&s;elf with the Portion of the Kings meat. Oh! get and keep a Tender Con&s;cience, e&s;pecially in dange|rous, tempting and defiling times; a <HI>Tender Con&s;cience,</HI> e&s;pecially where there is an inlightened under&s;tanding, and &s;ound Judgment, is a choice Mercy.</P>
<P>Again, He was a man <HI>not given to Appetite,</HI> but one who&s;e <HI>Moderation</HI> was eminently obvious, he could con|tent him&s;elf with <HI>Pul&s;e &amp; Water,</HI> when he might have had Wine and fle&s;h.</P>
<P>A man <HI>much in Prayer,</HI> e&s;pecially in <HI>Secret Prayer,</HI> from which Duty <HI>three Times a day,</HI> the Kings Edict, and Dan|ger of being devoured by <HI>Lyons</HI> could not deterr him, yea was conver&s;ant al&s;o in <HI>Fasting and Prayer.</HI> A man of
<PB N="31" REF="17">
Prayer, hence mentioned as &s;uch an one. <HI>Ezek.</HI> 14. 14. Never more need of Prayer than in our dayes: Pray al|wayes, Pray fervently; and in evil Times we &s;hould pray more frequently and fervently than at other Times He is no Chri&s;tian that does not Pray, he cannot be mi&s;erable what ever befalls him that can and does Pray.</P>
<P>He was a <HI>Thankful man,</HI> as well as a Praying man. See <HI>Chap</HI> 2. &amp; 7.</P>
<P>A very <HI>Humble, &s;elf-denying man;</HI> &s;till gave God the Glory of ought that was done by him: <HI>Not unto us, not unto us, but unto thy Name be the Prai&s;e,</HI> &s;ay they, <HI>P&s;al</HI> 115. 1. So he <HI>Chap.</HI> 2. 28, 30. <HI>God revealeth Secrets, and it is not for my Wi&s;dom,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>above others.</HI></P>
<P><HI>He was not lifted up by his great Advancement,</HI> &s;o as to forget his God, him&s;elf, or his bu&s;ine&s;s; one of the fir&s;t or be&s;t of tho&s;e few that was not the wor&s;e for Worldly greatne&s;s or advancement, lo&s;t nothing of his Religion by his preferment.</P>
<P><HI>An Exact and Circum&s;pect walker;</HI> much afraid and &s;hy of Sin, and &s;o punctual and prudent in his Carriage, as that they could find nothing again&s;t him, &s;ave in the matter of his God, though he was maliciou&s;ly and curi|ou&s;ly watch't; he was a man that had obtained an An|&s;wer to that Prayer, <HI>Lord, lead me in a plain path becau&s;e of mine ob&s;ervers.</HI> And indeed his being &s;o much in Com|munion with God help't him to be &s;o harmle&s;s &amp; blame|le&s;s, like one of the Sons of God among men, though in the mid&s;t of a Crooked &amp; Perver&s;e Generation.</P>
<P>He was <HI>much concerned for the Church of God;</HI> &s;o was good <HI>Nehemiah</HI> al&s;o. And note, the be&s;t men have alwayes been mo&s;t Solicitous for <HI>Sion;</HI> its a good <HI>Character</HI> of a good man that is full of thoughts for, Inquiries after the State of, and much in Prayer in the behalf of Gods Church and People: one that has imbark't his All with the
<PB N="32" REF="18">
Church of God, joyes their joy, feels their Trouble, weeps their Tears, can heartily mourn when <HI>Sion</HI> mourns, cannot <HI>drink Wine in Bowls</HI> and not be <HI>grieved for the Af|fliction of Jo&s;eph;</HI> can take up his Lott with the Church tho' in a low and &s;orrowful Condition, and de&s;ires no o|ther joy than to be made glad with the gladne&s;s of Gods Heritage; this is like <HI>Daniel:</HI> tho' <HI>Daniel</HI> him&s;elf was in Pro&s;perity, in great plenty, Credit &amp; Reputation &s;o that he wanted nothing, yet <HI>Sion</HI> lay at his heart; his Prayers and tears, and fa&s;tings, were for Jeru&s;alem. And this is alwayes indi&s;pen&s;ibly, but at &s;ome Times more eminently the Duty of every Chri&s;tian: we &s;hould prefer <HI>Jeru&s;alems Joy</HI> before all our Joy, and mourn when <HI>Sion</HI> mourns, what ever matter of rejoycing we may have in our &s;elves, As it fairs with <HI>Sion,</HI> &s;hould it fair with us.</P>
<P>If we thus live lives of Faith &amp; Obedience, we &s;hall keep our &s;elves in the Love of God, and have the Peace. of God to keep us. Troubles are come and will come, but we &s;hall be under the &s;pecial Care of God even in wor&s;t Times; and it will not be long ere the Lord will &s;ay to every Sincere Soul that has <HI>followed him in the Re|generation,</HI> that has known him, and loved him, and made it his bu&s;ine&s;s to Serve him, and to abound in the work of the Lord; <HI>Go thy way,</HI> goe to Re&s;t, thou ha&s;t laboured long enough, done and &s;uffered &s;o much as I had appoin|ted for thee, now goe take thy Re&s;t, enter into the bed of thy Grave, which I have Sweetened and Sanctified for thee, there take thy quiet Repo&s;e, <HI>till the end of Dayes,</HI> and then thou &s;halt ari&s;e again and <HI>stand up in thy Lott</HI> to receive that <HI>Crown of Life which Chri&s;t the Righteous Judge &s;hall give at that Day, to all that Love his Appearing.</HI></P>
<P>In the mean Time let all Sincere Souls, <HI>Comfort them|&s;elves and one another with the&s;e Words.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<PB REF="18">
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
