SERMON XLIII. DEATH A BLESSING TO THE SAINTS. 1 cox. iii. 22. whether life or death, all are yours. WE have already seen many divine comforts, and a rich variety of blessings derived from the formidable name of DEATH : One would scarce have thought that a word of so much terror should have ever been capable ofyielding so much sweetness; but the gospel of Christ is a spring ofwonders : It has consecrated all the terri ble things in nature, even death itself, and every thing beside sin, to the benefit of the saint. Death, in all its appearances, may furnish the mind of a believer with some sacred lesson of truth or holiness. When it appears in the extent of its dominion, and bringingall mankind down to the dust; when it,lays hold on an impenitent sinner, and fills his flesh and soul with agonies; when it assaults a saint, and is conquered by faith; when it makes a wide ravage among our acquaint- ance, when it enters into our families, and takes away our near and dear relatives from the midst ofus, still the christian may reap some divine advantage by it. But can our own death be ever turned into a blessing too? Nature thinks it hard to learn such a strange lesson as this, and has much ado to be persuaded to believe it. How dismal are its attendants to flesh and blood ! What languishings of the body ! What painful agonies ! What tremblings and convulsions in nature frequently attend the dying hour even of the best ofchristians ! Can that be a blessing which turns this active and beautiful engine of the body into loathsome clay ; which closes these eyes in long darkness, and deprives us of every sense? Can death become a blessing to us, which cuts us off from all converse with,the Eun and moon, and that rich variety of sensible objects which furnish out such delightful scenes all around us, and entertain the whole animal creation? Can that be a blessing which divides asunder
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