CHAPTER XIX. OF DEATH AND THE RESURRECTION. I. THE shortness of human life. Gen. xlvii. 9. Jacob said, Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been. Job xiv. 1. Man that is born of a woman, is of few days. 1 Sam. x. 3. There is but a step between me and death. 1 Chron. xxix. 15. Our days on earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding. Job viii. 9. Ps. cii. 11.-cxliv. 4. Zech. i. 5. Job vii. 6. Our days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle ix. 25, 26. Oh days are swifter than a post, they fly away. They are passed away as the swift ships, and as the eagle that hasteth to the prey. xvi. 22. When a few years are come, then I shall go the way whence I shall not return. cannot pass.-Ver. 14. All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Ps. xc. 10. The days of our years are threescore and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off and we fly away. Eccl. iii. 2. A time to be born, and a time to die. Matt. vi. 27. one cubit to his Which of you can add stature [or age]? Acts xvii. 26. God hath made of one blood all nations of men that dwell on the face of the earth; and hath determined the times, before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation. Job v. 18. The Lord maketh sore, maketh alive; he bringeth down to the Ps. lxviii. 20. belong the issues from death. Ps. ix. 13. Unto God the Lord xvii. 1. My days are extinct, my breath is corrupt, the graves are ready for me. Ps. xxxix. 4, 5. Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is, that I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth, and mine age-ciii. 4. is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best estate is altogether vani-breath is, and whose are all thy ways. Dan. v. 23. God, in whose hand thy ty.-Ver. 13. O spare me, that I may recover strength before I go hence and be no more. Ps. xc. 3. 5, 6. 10. 12. ciii. 15, 16. Man's days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more. Isa. xl. 6, 7. 8. James i. 10. 1 Pet. i. 24. James iv. 14. Our life is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. Heb. xiii. 14. Here we have no continuing city. 1 Chron. xxix. 15. There is none abiding II. Of the term or boundary of human lfe. Job vii. 1. Is there not an appointed time for man upon earth? Are not his days like the days of an hireling? xiv. 5. Man's days are determined; the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he Acts xvii. 28. In him we live, and move, and have our being. and of death, saith Christ. IV. Death prevailing over all mankind, of every character, rank and station. Josh. xxiii. 14. Joshua said, I am going the way of all the earth. 1 Kings ii. 2. Job iv. 19-21. Mortal men dwell in houses of clay; their foundation is in the dust, they are crushed before the moth. They are destroyed from morning to evening; they perish for ever, without any regarding it. Doth not their excellency that is in them go away? they die without wisdom. He vii. 9, 10. He that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more. shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more. Job ix. 22. God destroyeth the perfect, and the wicked. xiv. 2. Man cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down.-Ver. 10. Man dieth and wasteth away; yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?-Ver. 12. Man lieth down, and riseth not till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of sleep. Ver. 19, 20. Thou destroyest the hope of man. Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth; thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away. xvii. 13, 14. If I wait, the grave is mine house. (Ver. 1.) I have said to corruption, Thou art my father; and to the worm, Thou art my mother and sister.-Ver. 15. And where is now my hope? xxi. 23-26. One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet. His breasts are full of milk, and his bones moistened with marrow. Another dieth in the bitterness of his soul, and never eateth with pleasure. They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them. xxiv. 24. The mighty are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way as all others, and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn. Eccl. viii. 8. Neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it. xxx. 23. I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living. Eccl. viii. 8. There is no discharge in that war. xxxiv. 14. If he set his heart upon man, and if he gather unto him his spirit and his breath; all flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again to dust. Ps. xlix. 7. 9, 10. They that trust in their wealth, none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him; that he should live for ever, and not see corruption. Wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others. Ver. 11 to 14. lxxxii. 6, 7. I have said, Ye are gods, and all of you children of the Most High. But ye shall die like men. Ps. cxlvi. 4. lxxxix. 48. What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? Shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? xc. 3. Thou turnest man to destruction.-Ver. 5, 6. Thou carriest them away as with a flood: they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass that groweth up. In the morning it flourisheth and groweth up, in the evening it is cut down and withereth. Eccl. i. 4. One generation cometh, and another goeth. ii. 16. How dieth the wise man? as the fool. viii. 8. No man hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war. xii. 5. Man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets. Ver. 7. The dust shall return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. xxxii. 29. O that they were wise; that V. Preparative duties for death. Deut. they would consider their latter end. Ps. xc. 12. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom. Ps. xxxix. 4. John ix. 4. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day; the night cometh when no man can work. 1 Pet. i. 17. Pass the time of your soMatt. x. 28. journing here in fear. VI. No preparative duties are to be performed after death. Isa. xxxviii. 18, 19. The grave cannot praise thee; death cannot celebrate thee: they that go down to the pit cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day. See Ps. vi. 5.-xxx. 9.-lxxxviii. 10, 11, 12.cxv. 17. VII. The death of the righteous happy. Ps. xxxi. 5. Into thine hand I commit my spirit, O Lord. Acts vii. 59. xxxvii. 37. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace. cxvi. 11. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. Let Prov. xiv. 32. The righteous hath hope in his death. Numb. me die the death of the hous, and let my last end be like his. Eccl. vii. 1. The day of his death is better than the day of his birth. Isa. lvii. 1, 2. The righteous is taken away from the evil to come. He shall enter into peace. 2 Kings xxii. 19, 20. Job iii. 17, 18. There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the 348 Of the Resurrection from the Dead. weary be at rest. There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. Ps. lxxiii. 24. Thou wilt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Ps. lxxxiv. 11. The Lord will give grace and glory. Luke xvi. 22. Lazarus died, and was carried by angels into Abraham's bosom.-Ver. 25. Now he is comforted. xxiii. 43. Jesus said, This day shall thou be with me in paradise. 1 Cor. iii. 22, 23. Whether life or death, all are yours; and ye are Christ's. 2 Cor. v. 6. While we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. Ver. 8. We are willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Phil. i. 21. For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.-Ver. 23. I have a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. 1 Thess. v. 10. Christ died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Roin. xiv. 8, 9. Heb. xii. 23. The righteous go to the spirits of just men made perfect. Rev. xiv. 13. Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours, and their works do follow them. VIII. Death of the wicked. Job xxvii. 20, 21. Terrors take hold on him as waters; a tempest stealeth him away in the night. The east wind carrieth him away and he departeth, and as a storm hurleth him out of his place.Ver. 22, 23. For God shall cast upon him, and shall not spare. Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place. Jer. xxiii. 19. xxxvi. 6. God preserveth not the life of the wicked. Ps. xxxvii, 34. When the wicked are cut off thou shalt see it.-Ver. 38. The end of wicked men shall be cut off. Prov. xi. 7. When a wicked man dieth, his expectation perisheth.-Ver. 10. When the wieked perish there is shouting. xii. 7. The wicked are overthrown, and are not. Ch. x. 27. xiv. 32. The wicked is driven away in his wickedness. CHAP. XIX. xiv. 15. Thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. Ezek. xviii. 18. He shall die in his iniquity. Ch. xxxiii. 8, 9. Luke xvi. 23. The rich man died, and was buried; and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torment. Ps. ix. 17. IX. The dead leave all their possessions behind them. Ps. xlix. 10. They leave their wealth to others. Job i. 21. Eccl. ii. 18. Ver. 14. Their beauty shall consume in the grave.-Ver. 17. When he dieth he shall carry nothing away, his glory shall not descend after him. Eccl. v. 15, 16. As he came, naked shall he return, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand. In all points as he came, eth whether he shall be a wise man or so shall he go. Ch. ii. 19. Who knowa fool that shall be after him. ix, 5, 6. The memory of them is forgotten. Also, their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun. Job xiv. 21. His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not. 1 Tim, vi. 7. We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out. OF THE RESURRECTION FROM X. That there shall be a resurrection of the dead. (See Christ shall raise the dead.) Job xix. 25-27. I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me. Ps. xlix. 15. Ps. xvi. 9. My flesh shall rest in hope. Ver. 10. Ps. lxviii. 20. Acts ii. 26, 27, 28. 31. Dan. xii. 2. Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some to everlasting life, and some to everlasting shame and contempt. Ps. Eccl. viii. 10. I saw the wicked bu-xvii. 15. ried; they were forgotten. Matt. xxii. 30. In the resurrection Isa. xiv. 9. Hell from beneath is moved they neither marry nor are given in for thee, to meet thee at thy coming. marriage; but are as the angels in CHAP. XIX. Of the Resurrection from the Dead. heaven.-Ver. 31, 32. As touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob: God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. Luke xx. 35, 36. Luke xiv. 14. Thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. Acts xiv. 2. The apostles taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. Heb. vi. 1, 2. xxiii. 6. Paul said, Of the hope of the resurrection of the dead I am called in question. Ch. xxiv. 21. xxiv. 15. Paul said, I have hope to ward God, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. xxvi. 8. Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead. Rom. iv. 17. God quickeneth the dead. 2 Cor. i. 9. God raiseth the dead. viii. 11. If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Ver. 19. The earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.-Ver. 21. Because the creature shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the children of God. -Ver. 23. We ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. 1 Cor. vi. 14. God both raised up the Lord Jesus, and will also raise up us, by his own power. xv. 12-14. How say some of you, that there is no resurrection of the dead? (2 Tim. ii. 17, 18.) If there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.-Ver. 20. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept. Ver. 21-23. Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his order: Christ the first-fruits, and afterward they 349 that are Christ's, at his coming. Col. i. 18. Ver. 35. Some men will say, How are the dead raised? and with what bodies do they come? Ver. 38. God giveth a body as it pleaseth him.-Ver. 42. So also is the resurrection of the dead: it is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption.-Ver. 43. It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.-Ver. 44. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. Ver. 52-54. The dead shall be raised incorruptible. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. Isa. xxv. 7, 8.-xxvi. 19. Hos. xiii. 14. 2 Cor. iv. 14. He that raised up the Lord Jesus, shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. v. 1-3. We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven. If so be that being clothed, we shall not be found naked.-Ver. 4. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened; not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Eph. iv. 30. By the Holy Spirit of God ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 1 Thess. iv. 14. If we believe that Jesus died and rosé again; even so them that sleep in Jesus, will God bring with him. Ver. 15-17. For this we say unto you, by the word of the Lord, That we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: so shall we ever be with the Lord. Heb. xi. 19. Abraham accounted that God was able to raise Isaac from the dead. Ver. 35. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Rev. xx. 6. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. Ver. 13. The sea gave up the dead which were in it. Isa. xxvi. 19. See Christ shall change the bodies of mankind. CHAPTER XX. OF A FUTURE JUDGMENT, AND THE STATE OF THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED. I. OF a future judgment, and its consequences. Acts xxiv. 15. As Paul reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled. Heb. vi. 1, 2. Let us go on unto perfection. Not laying again the foundation of the resurrection of the dead and of eternal judgment. ix. 27. It is appointed unto all men once to die, but after this the judgment. II. God is judge. (See Christ shall judge the world.) Ps. 1. 6. God is judge The judge of all the earth. Gen. xviii. 25. xcvi. 13. He cometh to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth. Ver. 10. Ps. lviii. 11.-xcviii. 8. Acts xvii. 31. He hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the world in righteousness. Rom. ii. 2. The judgment of God is according to truth. Ch. iii. 5. Ver. 12. As many as have sinned in the law, shall be judged by the law. Ver. 16. In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ. 1 Cor. iv. 4. He that judgeth me is the Lord. Ver. 17. Judgment must begin at the house of God. Rev. xx. 11, 12. I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven IV. When the day of judgment shall fled away; and there was found no be: Mark xiii. 24-26. The sun shall place for them. And I saw the dead, be darkened, and the moon shall not small and great, stand before God; and give her light; and the stars of heavthe books were opened; and another en shall fall, and the powers that are book was opened, which is the Book of in heaven shall be shaken. And then Life: and the dead were judged out of shall they see the Son of Man, coming those things which were written in the in the clouds with great power and books, according to their works. glory.-Ver. 32. But of that day and |