DISCOURSE I. 357 their cold mansions, in beds of darkness and Bust? The shadows of a long evening are stretched over them, the curtains of a deep midnight are drawn around them, and theworm lies under them, sod the worm covers them. A saint is no more exempted from all these frightful atten- dants of death than a sinner is. Those eyes that have beenper- petually lifted up to the God of heaven in prayer, lie closed under ground. That tongue that has spoken much for God in the world, lies silent in death. Those hands that have ministered to the necessities of the saints, and those feet that have goneoften to the house of God, death has confined them in his chains. Thosenatural powers that have been active in the service of the gospel, can speak,'can move, can act no more. But I need not recite these things toyou, the images of them are too fresh and painful, and sit too heavy upon your remembrance. 3. Death is an enemy to the saint, so far as it hinders bins from the enjoyment of his perfect heaven, for it keeps one part of him in the grave for many years or ages: Let us think of the dust of the ancient martyrs, the dust of the apostles, and the holy prophets : Let us look many ages back- ward to the dust of David, and Abraham, and Noah, to the dust of Adam, the first of men : how long have their souls waited in heaven, as it were in awidowed estate ? How long has their flesh been mingled with common earth, and laid confined under the bands of death, useless to all the glorious purposes of their for- mation and their being ? A tedious extent of time ! Four or five thousand years, wherein they have done nothing for God in.th,e body, and in the body received nothing from God ? For death hinders a believer from seine of the business ofheaven, and some n the blessedness of it. 1. From seine of the business of heaven : It is only the soul that is then received to glory, and dwells there alone for a sea- son, while death keeps the body prisoner in the grave; it is only the soul that glorifies its Maker in that upper world, the world of spirits, forthe flesh lies silent in the dust : The grave cannot praise thee, death cannot celebratethee, O Lord ;- Isa. xxxviii. 18. The body is redeemed with the blood of Christ, as well as the soul, but death puts fetters upon it,. and forbitls it to serve its Re- deemer. 2. The believer is restrained also by death from some of the blessedness of heaven ; it is only the soul enjoys the delight, and that too only in its abstracted nature, and 'pure intellectual capa- city ; it is cut off by death from all that rich variety of pleasure which rises from its communion with so noble a frameas thebody of man is. It lias no senses to receive the satisfactionsthat arise from the material part of heaven : It has no eyes to behold the glorified flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ ; no ears to hear his z 3
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