but ftill it hangs about the believer.

Sometimes he gets his feet on the neck of his lufts, but they rife up again upon him: therefore he is never in fafety to let down his watch, or to lay by the fword of the Spirit. The fpiritual bands are never quite off here; but then it will be faid, Loofe him and let him go. At death the faints fhall be free,

(1.) From all commiffion of fin, Rev. xxi. 27. In the carthly paradife fin was found, there Adam broke the whole law; but into the heavenly paradife no fia can enter. Not a vain thought fhall ever go through a believer's heart more; there fhall be no more temptation to fin, nor the leaft inclination to it.

(2.) From the very inbeing of fin. The body of death fhall go out with the death of the body, and then shall the defire be answered, Who fhall deliver me from the body of this death? Sin's reigning power is broken in fanctification; yet it still abides as a trouble. fome gueft; but at death it is plucked up by the roots. It is like the house under the law infected with the leprofy, for the removal of which the ftones were carried away into an unclean place.

(3.) From a poffibility of finning, Rev. iii. 12. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he fhall go no more out. The firft man in paradife, yea the angels in heaven till they were confirmed, were but as reeds liable to be fhaken with the wind of temptations, as the doleful event made appear. But by death putting an end to the believer's probationary life, he becomes a pillar in the temple of God, which can never more be moved.

2. In the arrival of their holiness at the highest pitch they are capable of, Eph. iv. 13. Now every fincere foul has a perfection of holiness in refpect of the parts thereof; they are like little children who have all the parts of a man, but none of them grown to their utmoft pitch. But then they will have a perfection of degrees, anfwering to the holy law in all

points, like men who are come to their full growth. Sincerity fhall then be turned to legal perfection.

(1.) Their understandings fhall be perfectly illuminated, 1 Cor. xiii. 12. For now we fee through a glass darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. There fhall then be no more complaints of weakness of knowledge in them who in their life were the weakest of all faints. There fhall not be the leaft remains of darkness there, but a full funshine shall be in them.

(2.) Their wills fhall be perfectly upright, fo that they fhall will nothing but what is good, and that without the leaft bias to the other fide, Rev. xxi. 27. A perfect conformity fhall then be betwixt God's will and theirs, without the leaft poffible jarring, 1 John

iii. 2.

(3.) The executive faculty fhall then perfectly anfwer their will, readily and with all imaginable ease and delight, Matth. vi. 10. Now the believer is often in the dark, he knows not what to do. Sometimes when he knows his duty, he has no will to it; there is a great averfion and backwardnefs that he has to ftrive with. Oftimes when he would fain do it, he cannot, Matth. xxvi. 41. The Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. But then there fhall be no more fuch impotency; he will be able to do whatever he will, and will nothing but what is good.

Secondly, Immediate entering into glory. As Pharaoh's jailor opening the prifon-door to the butler, let him out into the court; fo death letting the foul out of the body, it goes to glory. Chrift faid to the thief on the cross, This day Jhalt thou be with me in paradife, Luke xxiii. 43. So death is to them the beginning of an immortal life; a ftrait entry by which they go out into the heavenly paradife; the fhip by which they are tranfported into Immanuel's land. Here confider,

1. The glory they enter into. They pafs after death into,

ift, A glorious place, namely, heaven, the feat of the bleffed, 2 Cor. v. 1. It is Chrift's Father's house, where their room is ready for them, when they have no more place on earth, John xiv. 2. In my Father's boufe, fays Chrift, are many manfions: I go to prepare a place for you. The place which has no need of the fun and moon, but the glory of God lightens it, Rev. xxi. 23. Behold the outside befpangled with fun, moon, and ftars; how glorious muft it be within? 2dly, A glorious fociety, namely, the fociety of other faints gone before them, the general affembly and church of the firft-born which are written in heaven, Heb. xii. 23.; the fociety of the holy angels, ib; the fociety of the glorious Mediator, his Father, and Holy Spirit, even the bleffed Trinity, John xvii. 24. Heb. xii. 23. 24. It is a glorious fociety they are admitted into.

3dly, A glorious ftate. This is the house in the heavens, eternal, not made with hands, 2 Cor. v. 1. It is a glorious ftate the foul enters into, a glory God puts on the fouls of believers when out of the body. It is what eye hath not feen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive; it is what we cannot make language of. It is a ftate of reft and perfect bleffednefs.

2. That they immediately after death pafs into it, and do not abide any where elfe, and fleep until the day of judgement, as fome profane men would have it, is clear. For,

(1.) Scripture-inftances plead this. So to the thief on the crofs it was faid, This day shalt thou be with me in paradife, Luke xxiii. 43. So of Lazarus it is faid, that he was carried by the angels into Abraham's bofum, Luke xvi. 22. And if it be a parable, as moft likely it is, it is the more full to the purpofe. And there is the fame reafon for all the faints as for one, they being all as ready at death as ever they will be, working-time for preparation being then over, John ix. 4.

(2.) There is no middle ftate; but when the faints Y Y

VOL. II.

put off the body, they put on glory, 2 Cor. v. 1. 2. When they are abfent from the body, they are present with the Lord, ver. 8. When they depart, they are with Chrift, Phil. i. 23. When they die, they enter into peace and reft, If. Ivii. 1. the rest remaining for the people of God, Heb. iv. 9.

(3.) Laftly, The contrary doctrine is utterly inconfiftent with the bleffed ftate the fcripture afcribes to believers after death, Rev. xiv. 13. Bleffed are the dead which die in the Lord, from henceforth: Yea, faith the Spirit, that they may reft from their labours. And it is inconfiftent with believers their defire of death, that they may be with Chrift in glory, 2 Cor. v. I. 2. Phil. i. 23. What was to make Paul in that strait? if he could not be with Chrift before the general judgement, he would have chofe rather to have lived till then, that he might have been with him in fome fort, than to have died.

SECONDLY, In refpect of their bodies death is gain. They muft lie down in a grave; but death,

1. Cannot harm them, nor bring them to any real lofs to be lamented. For,

(1.) Their dead bodies are ftill united to Chrift. Though it feparate their fouls from their bodies, it cannot feparate them from Chrift, even every part of their body from another, 1 Theff. iv. 14. They are members of Christ ftill, though in a grave, Rom. viii. 11. Our friend Lazarus is dead, faid Chrift. (2.) They cannot be held there for ever. It is but till the refurrection, Job xix. 26. The faints duft is precious, locked up in the grave as a cabinet, till the Lord have further ufe for it. They are his precious fruit, that lie mellowing in the grave, and ripening for a glorious refurrection.

2. It is real gain to them, in refpect their graves are the places of their reft; not their prifon, but their beds of reft, wherein they are to reft till the morning of the refurrection. The foul is the man, and it en joys the glory of heaven; mean while the body refts in

the grave, where it will enjoy a profound and tranquil repofe, till it be united to the foul at the time when the dead in Chrift fhall rife from their long fleep,

II, I come to fhew how death comes to be gain to them. It is a reft,

1. From all the ordinary troubles and afflictions of this life, Rev. xiv. 13. forecited.

2. From all perfecutions and hardships from men for the cause of Chrift, Job viii. 17. There the wicked ceafe from troubling; and there the weary be at reft. I fhall conclude with a few interences.

Inf. 1. That the faints may be encouraged and stirred up to prefs after perfection in iolinets, fince they fhall certainly obtain it at length, Phil. iii. 13. 14.

2. The wicked fhall come to a perfection, lò tọ fpeak, in their wickednefs, and immediately pafs into hell, Luke xvi. 22. 23,

3. There is no purgatory nor middle ftate betwixt heaven and hell.

4. The toils and troubles of the world, that find men in the way of the Lord, fhould not ditcourage them, or carry them off their way, fince they will all foon have an end.

5. There is no reason to mourn as those that have no hope for the death of godly relations, 1 Theff. iv. 13. 6. Lastly, A dying day is the beft day for a ueliever that is in all his life, Eccl. vii. 1, 'Tis their marriage, home-coming, and redemption day.

HEBREWS xi. 35.

That they might obtain a better refurrection.

N this chapter the apoftle brings in a cloud of witheftes to the truth and excellency of religion,