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SER M. lickly acquitted at the general Judgment, X. fhall in pursuance of this Sentence enter

with him into Heaven, and be actually inftated in his Kingdom of glory; and fo shall they ever be with the Lord. This is the confummation of the Golpel-œconomy, and the accomplishment of the Kingdom of Chrift: Thus Chrift, having totally fubdued all his Enemies, shall for ever be glorified with his faints; and they fhall be before the throne of God, and shall ferve him day and night in his temple; and be that fitteth on the throne fhall dwell among them they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither fall the Jun light on them nor any heat: for the lamb which is in the midst of the throne fhall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of water, and God fhall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and they shall for ever fing that joyful fong of praife, Rev. i. 5. Unto him that loved us and washed us from our fins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests to God and his Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

HAVING thus at large explained how S ER M. Chrift gives his Servants the Victory over X. their last enemy, which is Death, I fhall only draw an inference or two from what has been said, and fo conclude. And ift, If these things be fo, then let us, as the Apostle infers in the words imediately following the Text, be stedfaft, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forafmuch as we know that our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. Our Saviour has affured us that if we be ftedfast in our Religion, and persevere in our Obedience to it, nothing fhall by any means hurt us, but we shall be more than conquerors over all our enemies, even over Death itself. I am, faith he, the refurrection and the life; he that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet fhall be live, Joh. xi. 25. Now what greater incouragement can any man defire than to be affured that his labour shall not only not be in vain, but that it shall alfo meet with a great and inexpreffible reward? And what greater reward can poffibly be proposed, than deliverance from death and an entrance

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SER M. into life eternal? If then we in earnest believe these things, as by our religion we profefs and pretend to do, let us alfo confider them and urge them upon our felves; let us by frequent meditation, convince our felves of the truth and importance of them; and let us always fo live, as being under the power of these convictions. Let not the terrour of short and temporary evils drive us into Sin, who are convinced that the consequence of that fin, will be mifery and death eternal; and let not the allurements of fhort and tranfitory pleasures withdraw us from our duty, who are convinced that the performance of that duty, will be life and happiness for ever. The religion of Chrift requires nothing of us but what is extremely reasonable and manifeftly for our advantage, namely, to live foberly, righteously and godly in this prefent World; yet does it promise to obedience fuch an infinite reward, as life from the dead, even life eternal; and he that will not by fuch a motive be perfwaded to be ftedfast in fuch a religion, must have

loft

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loft all fenfe, I do not fay only of vir- SER M. tue and goodness, but also of his own intereft and happiness. 2dly, If Christ has taken away the fting of death, and gives us the victory over it; then good Christians ought not to be afraid and terrified at death, any more than at an enemy that is already conquered, and can do them no hurt. Chrift bath both died for us and is rifen again, and one great reason why he did fo, was to affure us that as it was not poffible for him to be holden of death, so neither should we be detained by it; for he took part of flesh and blood, that through death he might deftroy him that had the power of death, i. e. the Devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime fubject to bondage, Heb. ii. 14 and 15. Chrift has made death to be nothing elfe but a paffage unto life eternal, to all those who shall obey his commandmandments; Let us then fincerely indeavour to obey the commands of God, and death fhall have no fting, nothing that is terrible in it. He that has either from VOL V. R

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SER M. the beginning, or after true Repentance, X. made it the principal business of his life,

to live foberly, righteously, and godly; may without fear expect the approach of death, nay even with joy and comfort hope for it. And this the generality of mankind are so fenfible of, that tho' they defire not to be like the Servants of God in their lives, yet they cannot but wish with Balaam to be like them in their deaths, Num. xxiii. 10; Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his. 3dly and laftly, If Christ will give all his Servants victory over death, then we ought not to grieve immoderately at the death of our friends who die in the Lord. I would not have you ignorant,faith St Paul, concerning them that are afleep, that ye forrow not even as others that have no hope; For if we believe that Jefus died, and rofe again, even so them also which fleep in Jefus, will God bring with him, I Theff. iv. 13. If we believe that there shall be a refurrrction from the dead, we ought not to forrow immoderately for the

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