The blessedness of the death of these that die in the Lord and more…The blessednesse of the death of these that die in the Lord and more…

It stirs up to the diligent exercise of all duties, and to the going about them soberly and seriously, one preaching or prayer after serious meditation on death would have more weight, and be waited with more advantage, then many others without it; It puts to humiliation, self-examination, self-searching; it furthers the exercise of the fear of God, and brings the soul to stand in awe of him before whom it is to appear shortly: It furthers repentance and prayer, Job 41: 25. Because of breakings they purify themselves; they make themselves for death by repentance, prayer, and the offering of sacrifices even these Heathens in the Ship with Jonah; And if meditation on death put profane men to the form of Religion, how much more will it put believers to be serious and spiritual, in the exercise of these duties and in the practice of Religion? And if God give them time and seriousness at dying, their prayers will be more feckful and fervent at that time then before. 5. It is exceeding profitable to work kindly submission to cross-dispensations, and to make folks go softly under them; what will a man care, (carkeingly I mean) that is taken up with meditating on death, for the fore faulture of his estate or to have his house brunt, or his land wasted? He knows ⟨p. 101⟩death will put an end to all these things. 6. As it fits for all duties and restrains from all vices, so it exceedingly prepares for death itself which is the great scope; Solomon describes sickness and old age, Eccl. 12. to make the young man ready for death ere it come, and if there were no other advantage by meditation on death, this is no small one, not to be surprised with it: Yea, it some way also mitigates the bitterness of death, so that its not so terrible to them that have been thinking on it seriously, as it is to others who have never made it the subject of their meditation? And what wonder is it to see many either mightily terrified or very stupid at death, since they never studied the lesson of dying before it came on them?

It stirrs up to the diligent exercise of all duties, and to the goeing about them soberly and seriously, one preaching or prayer after serious meditation on death would have more weight, and be waited with more advantage, then many others without it; It puts to humiliation, selfeexamination, selfe-searching; it furthers the exercise of the fear of God, and brings the soul to stand in aw of him before whom it is to appear shortly: It furthers repentance and prayer,