first his kingdom, is engaged to give it them that do sincerely seek it. He called thee off the pursuit of vanity when thou wast following the pleasures and profits of the world; and he called thee to labour for the food that perisheth not, but endureth to everlasting life. (John vi. 27.) Since then it hath been thy care and business, (notwithstanding all thine imperfections,) to seek and serve him, to please and honour him, and so to run that thou mightest obtain.

Say, then, "Though my sins deserve thy wrath, and nothing that I have done deserve thy favour, yet godliness hath thy promise of the life to come; and thou hast said, "That he that seeks shall find." (Matt. vii. 7, 8.) O now let me find the kingdom that I have sought, and sought by thy encouragement and help; it cannot be that any should have cause to repent of serving thee, or suffer disappointment that trusts upon thee. My labour for the world was lost and vain, but thou didst engage me to be steadfast and abound in thy work; on this account that my labour should not be in vain. (1 Cor. XV. 58.) Now give the full and final answer unto all my prayers: now that I have done the fight, and finished my course, let me find the crown of righteousness which thy mercy hath laid up. (2 Tim. iv. 8.) O crown thy graces, and with thy greatest mercies recompense and perfect thy preparatory mercies, and let me be received to thy glory, who have been guided by thy counsel. (Psalm lxxiii. 24.)'

received millions of There are now with

13. Consider that Christ hath already souls, and never was unfaithful unto any. him, the spirits of the just made perfect, that in this life were imperfect as well as you. Why, then, should you not comfortably trust him with your souls? and say, 'Lord, thou art the common salvation and refuge of thy saints; both strong and weak, even all that are given thee by the Father shall come to thee, and those that come thou wilt in nowise cast out. Thousands have been entertained by thee that were unworthy in themselves, as well as I. It is few of thy members that are. now on earth, in comparison of those that are with thee in heaven. Admit me, Lord, into the new Jerusalem; thou wilt have thy house to be filled; O, take my spirit into the number of those blessed ones that shall come from east, west, north, and south, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom, that we may, together with eternal joys, give thanks and praise to thee that hast redeemed us to God by thy blood.'

14. Consider that it is the will of the Father himself that we should be glorified. He, therefore, gave us to his Son, and gave his Son for us, to be our Saviour, "That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." All our salvation is the product of his love. (John iii. 16, 17; Eph. ii. 4; John vi. 37, and xvi. 26, 27.) I say not that I will pray the Father for you, for the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, &c. (John xiv.) He that loveth me, shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

Say, therefore, with our dying Lord, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit; by thy son who is the way, the truth, and the life, I come to thee." (John xiv. 6.) "Fulness of joy is in thy presence, and everlasting pleasures at thy right hand." (Psalm xvi. 11.) Thy love redeemed me, renewed and preserved me; O! now receive me to the fulness of thy love. This was thy will in sending thy Son, that of all that thou gavest him he should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. O let not now this soul be lost that is passing to thee through the straits of death. I had never come unto thy Son: if thou hadst not drawn me, and if I had not heard and learned of thee. (John vi. 44, 45.) I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast revealed to me, a babe, an idiot, the blessed mysteries of thy kingdom. (Luke x. 21; Acts iv. 13.) O, now, as the veil of flesh must be withdrawn, and my soul be parted from this body, withdraw the veil of thy displeasure, and show thy servant the glory of thy presence: that he that hath seen thee but as in a glass, may see thee now with open face; and when my earthly house of this tabernacle is dissolved, let me inhabit thy building not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. (2 Cor. v. 1.)'

15. Lastly, consider that God hath designed the everlasting glory of his name, and the pleasing of his blessed will, in our salvation; and the Son must triumph in the perfection of his/ conquest of sin and Satan, and in the perfecting of our redemption; and, doubtless, he will not lose his Father's glory and his own. Say, then, with confidence, I resign my soul to thee, O Lord, who hast called and chosen me, that thou mightest make known the riches of thy glory on me, as a vessel of mercy prepared unto glory. (Rom. ix. 23.) Thou hast predesti nated me to the adoption of thy child by Christ unto thyse to the praise of the glory of thy grace, wherein thou hast ma me accepted in thy beloved. (Eph. i. 5, 6, 11, 12ake

SO

ceive me now to the glory which thou hast prepared for us. (Matt. xxv. 34.) The hour is at hand, Lord, glorify thy poor adopted child, that he may for ever glorify thee. (John xvii. 1.) It is thy promise to glorify those whom thou dost justify. (Rom. viii. 30.) As "there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ; (Rom. viii. 1 ;) so now let him present me faultless before the presence of the glory with exceeding joy; and to thee the only wise God our Saviour, be the glory, majesty, dominion, and power for evermore. Amen." (Jude ver. 23, 34.)'

What now remaineth, but that we all set ourselves to learn this sweet and necessary task, that we may joyfully perform it in the hour of our extremity, even to recommend our departing souls to Christ, with confidence that he will receive them. It is a lesson not easy to be learned; for faith is weak, and doubts and fears will easily arise, and nature will be loth to think of dying; and we that have so much offended Christ, and lived so strangely to him, and been entangled in too much familiarity with the world, shall be apt to shrink when we should joyfully trust him with our departing souls. Oh! therefore, now set yourselves to overcome these difficulties in time. You know we are all ready to depart; it is time this last important work were thoroughly learned, that our death may be both safe and comfortable.

There are divers other uses of this doctrine, that I should have urged upon you, had there been time. As, 1. If Christ will receive your departing souls, then fear not death, but long for this heavenly entertainment.

2. Then do not sin for fear of them that can but kill the body, and send the soul to Christ.

3. Then think not the righteous unhappy because they are cast off by the world; neither be too much troubled at it yourselves when it comes to be your case; but remember that Christ will not forsake you, and that none can hinder him from the receiving of your souls. No malice nor slanders can follow you so far as by defamation to make your justifier condemn you.

4. If you may trust him with your souls, then trust him with your friends, your children that you must leave behind, with all your concernments and affairs: and trust him with his gospel and his church; for they are all his own, and he will prevail to the accomplishment of his blessed pleasure.

kuBut, 5. I shall only add that use which the sad occasion of and praising doth bespeak. What cause have we now to mix

our sorrows for our deceased friend, with the joys of faith for her felicity? We have left the body to the earth, and that is our lawful sorrow, for it is the fruit of sin; but her spirit is received by Jesus Christ, and that must be our joy, if we will behave ourselves as true believers. If we can suffer with her, should we not rejoice also with her? And if the joy be far greater to the soul with Christ, than the ruined state of the body can be lamentable, it is but reason that our joy should be greater for her joy, than our sorrow for the dissolution of the flesh. We that should not much lament the passage of a friend beyond the seas, if it were to be advanced to a kingdom, should less lament the passage of a soul to Christ, if it were not for the remnant of our woful unbelief.

She is arrived at the everlasting rest, where the burden of corruption, the contradictions of the flesh, the molestations of the tempter, the troubles of the world, and the injuries of malicious men, are all kept out, and shall never more disturb her peace. She hath left us in these storms, who have more cause to weep for ourselves, and for our children, that have yet so much to do and suffer, and so many dangers to pass through, than for the souls that are at rest with Christ. We are capable of no higher hopes than to attain that state of blessedness which her soul possesseth; and shall we make that the matter of our lamentation as to her, which we make the matter of our hopes as to ourselves? Do we labour earnestly to come thither, and yet lament that she is there? You will say, it is not because she is clothed upon with the house from heaven, but that she is unclothed of the flesh but is there any other passage than death into immortality? Must we not be unclothed before the garments of glory can be put on? She bemoaneth not her own dissolved body; the glorified soul can easily bear the corruption of the flesh; and if you saw but what the soul enjoyeth, you would be like-minded, and be moderate in your griefs. Love not yourselves so as to be unjust and unmerciful in your desires to your friends! Let Satan desire to keep them out of heaven, but do not you desire it. You may desire your own good, but not so as to deprive your friends of theirs; yea, of a greater good, that you may have a lesser by it. And if it be their company that you desire, in reason you should be glad that they are gone to dwell where you must dwell for ever, and therefore may for ever have their company; had they stayed on earth you would have had their company but a little while, because you must make so

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short a stay yourselves. Let them therefore begin their journey before you, and grudge not that they are first at home, as long as you expect to find them there. In the mean time he that called them from you hath not left you comfortless; he is with you himself, who is better than a mother, or than ten thousand friends; when grief or negligence hindereth you from observing him, yet he is with you, and holdeth you up, and tenderly provideth for you; though turbulent passions injuriously question all his love, and cause you to give him unmannerly and unthankful words, yet still he beareth with you, and forgiveth all, and doth not forsake you for your peevishness and weakness, because you are his children, and he knoweth that you mean not to forsake him rebuke your passions, and calm your minds; reclaim your thoughts, and cast away the bitterness of suspicious, quarrelsome unbelief, and then you may perceive the presence of your dearest friend and Lord, who is enough for you, though you had no other friend. Without him all the friends on earth would be but silly comforters, and leave you as at the gates of hell; without him all the angels and saints in heaven would never make it a heaven to you. Grieve not too much that one of your candles is put out while you have the sun; or if indeed it be not day with any of you, or the sun be clouded or eclipsed, let that rather be the matter of your grief; find out the cause, and presently submit and seek reconciliation: or if you are deprived of this light, because you are yet asleep in sin, hearken to his call, and rub your eyes: "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. (Eph. v. 14.) "Knowing that it is now high time to awake out of sleep, our salvation being nearer than when we first believed; the night is far spent, the day of eternal light is at hand; cast off therefore the works of darkness, and put on all the armour of light; walk honestly and decently as in the day." (Rom. xiii. 11—14.) And whatever you do, make sure of the Friend that never dieth, and never shall be separated from you, and when you die will certainly receive the souls which you commend unto him.

And here, though contrary to my custom, I shall make some more particular mention of our deceased friend on several accounts. 1. In prosecution of this use that now we are upon, that you may see in the evidences of her happiness how little cause you have to indulge extraordinary grief on her account, and how much cause to moderate your sense of our loss with the sense of her felicity. 2. That you may have the benefit of