2.20 Oliver to their doubts that fear death. horrour : And I canot blame them unlefs they were in abet- , ter cafe. But this I muff blame them for, as moll unreafo- nable,, that they can make fuch a lamentable complaint when death and Hell are neer hand, and yet make fo light of it all their life time. CHAP. X XXIX Anfwer to their doubts that fear death,. RUT becaufe this is the hardefl part of felf-denial, andyet -3--/ moft necellary, and the particular fubjed of myText, I (hall flay upon it yet fo much longer as to refolve a quellion. of fome doubting Chriffians,and to give you Lome Diredions for the furtherance of felf-denial herein. Objed. If it be a necefrarypart of Pelf-denial to deny our own lives5I ammuch afraid that I am no Difciple ofChrifi as having no true ftlf-denial?For Ifind thatfor all theje Reafons I cannot be willing to die, but when you havelaid all that can befetid, death it the mot terrible thing in the world to me. Anftt .I prayyou lay to- gether thefe following particulars for anfwer to this great and common doubt. x ..Death as death is naturally dreadful! to all, and the bell men as men are naturally averfe to it and abhor it. No man can defire death as death, nor ought to do it.. If it had not been an evil to nature, it had not been fit to be the matter of Gods punifhment,and to be Threatned to the world.. Threatnings would not do their work if that which is threat nevi werenot naturally evil,or hurtful and dreadfull to thefub, ;ed. To Threaten men with, a benefit is a contradidion, as much as to promife him a mifchief, and more. 2. It is not therefore a Pimple Difplacencyor Averfenefs to clie,that God requirethyou to lay by. Self-denial confifleth not in recoil ciling us to Death as death ; For then he might as well per- fwade us to become. Angels as to deny our (elves,. and Preachers had as hard a work to do as to perfwade men to ceafe to be men. Death will be an enemy as long as it is death. Even the feparatedfoul hath fo natural an incli- nation.
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