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SÉÀM.XL.]
LIVING
ABOVE
TIÌE
DEAD.
I91
in
heaven
;
courage to speak boldly for Christ, and
zeal
to give him
public
glory, by
maintaining
his gospel in
the
face
of terror
and death
:
for there are
no infidels,
no
sinners, no
enemies in all
the heavenly
regions.
There
are
no
threatening
tyrants, no
persecuting
powers, no
penal
laws
in
the
upper
world
:
No
prisons,
no
fires,
no gibbets
nor
axes
there
for the followers
of
the
Lamb;
no cruel mockings,
nor
so
much
as
a reproachful word
:
but
the
greater our
zeal
is
for
the
service
of God
an-d
our
Saviour in the heavenly state, the
greater
shall
be
our
honour and applause
among the
inhabitants
of
that
country.
Endure
then for a
season,
ye
disciples
of
Christ, grow
bold
in
the profession
of
his name,
and
exult
with holy
joy,
"
that
you are
counted
worthy
to suffer
shame for
his
sake
;"
Jets
v.
41.
It
is
here
on
earth
only;
that
it
is
in
your power
to
shew,
how much
you love
your
Sa-
viour more
than your
life,
and
that
your
love to
your
Lord
is
stronger than
death
with
all its
terrors.
Upon
this
account shall
I
exhort
you to
practise what
the apos-
tle
James
expresses
;;
James
i.
2.
"
Count
it all
joy,
my
brethren,
when
ye
fall
into
divers
temptations
;
for
the
proof or
trial
of
your
faith shall
appear
honourable
and
glorious when
Christ
cornes
;"
1
Pet.
i.
7.
It
was
a frequent
and
sacred ambition among
the
primitive
christians
to
contend for the
crown
of
martyrdom.
This
world
is
the only stage
for such bloody
conflicts,
and
this
life
is
the
only
season wherein
we
can obtain the
ad-
dition
of
this
ornament
to
our crown of
glory.
XII.
May
I
add
in
the
last
place,
that
a calm
and
chearful
readiness for
a
removal
out
of
this world,
is
an
honour
done
to
Christ
and
his
gospel
here
on
earth,
which belongs
not
to the
heavenly state.
Death,
in
the
course
of
nature,
as well
as
by
the hands
of
violence,
bath
always
something
awful
and formidable
in it.
Flesh and
blood shrinks and trembles
at
the
appearance
of
a
disso-
lution, and
Christ
delights to
see
the grace
that
he
has
wrought
in his
saints, gain
the ascendancy
over
flesh
and
blood, and
conquer the
terrors
of
death
and the
grave.'
He
loves
to
see his
followers
maintain
a
serene
soul, and
venture
into
the invisible
world upon the merit
of
his
blood,
with
holy
fortitude,
and
a chearful faith.
It
is
only
the living
christian-
that
can
dies
and
glorify
God
N
3