2 5 Mr. Ca lamy's Serpitom. himself was much difplealed with this report, and lookt upcn it as a °rear affiialon that he fhould not die, and therefore he himfelf confutes it ; But yet Jefus (laid ire} fail not that he Ihcaildnot die; as if he had laid, God forbid that I cnould not die. Beforell come to the application of this point, give me leave to fpeak fomething to the fecond point, and Co 1 (hall apply them both tegether. The fecond Dotrine is this, That the per ifhingofa righteous, man, is nothing, 614 a gathering ofhim to God, krift, and the blefired fociety of :;aims and ering,ls in Heaven. This is contained in the second expreffion, merciful men are taken away i the word in the Hebrew is Co/kgeontsr, they are gathered; it is evegetical of the formes; they did not periffi, but they are gathered to God and Chriii: there is a great deal of excellency and a Magazine of fvveetnefs in this exprtffion, They are gathered. It implyes two things. Find, That the righteous are in a fcattered condition while they are in this world, and that three ways. . They are scattered among the wicked and ungodly of the world, as a Cheep among wolves as lambs among lions, rent and torn a peices, forced to wander up and down in fheeskins and goat-skins. 2. The righteous are fcattered in the world one from another, and that two wades it. They ate fcattered by their difrerent habitations,. for the godly are forced to feperate one horn another as Lot from eA- braharia. 2. They are fcattered one from another- by the cruel perfecu- tion of wicked men ; and therefore you read .ills 8. that at that time.- when there was a perfecution agai nfi the Church at Jerufalem, that they were allfcattered abroad. 3. The godly are fcattered in this life from the glorious prefence of God in Heaven, indeed they are never fcattered from the gracious pre,. fence of God, but fon-let:Imes they are fcrttered from thecomforting pre- tence of God, and as long as we live in the world, we (hall be fcattered from the glorious prefence of God; for while we are in the body, we -f are ablentfrom the Lord, Secondly this implies a bringing ofGod's people out of this icattered condition it is a gathering of the righteous our of this world into ano ther, from a fitful perfecutedworld, into a finleffe glorious world, from diverfity ofdwellings onearth, to dwell altogether in one heaven; it is a aatherina out of the reach ofman and devils a gathering them not only to the gracious but to the glorious prefence of God and Chrlti,and to the fouls °fiat men made perfea, and to the generall altembly of the 3 born, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerufalem, -- where
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