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A60355
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The souls return to its God, in life, and at death A funeral sermon, preached upon occasion of the death of Mr. John Kent, late of Crouched Friars, who departed this life Decem. 16. 1689. By Samuel Slater, minister of the Gospel.
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Slater, Samuel, d. 1704.
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1690
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Wing S3976; ESTC R217893
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35,053
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36
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THE Souls Return to its God IN Life and at Death A Funeral Sermon Preached upon occasion of the Death of Mr. JOHN KENT Late of Crouched Friars Who Departed this Life Decem. 16. 1689. By Samuel Slater Minister of the Gospel 1 Thes. 4. 14. Them which sleep in Iesus will God bring with him LONDON Printed for Iohn Dunton at the Black Raven in the Poultry 1690. To my Worthy Friend Mrs. MARY KENT AT your desire this Sermon was preached and at your repeated desire it is now published God grant that it may be accompanied where-ever it shall come with the Divine Spirit and Blessing that being so backt and inâ—…uenced it may accomplish the thing for which it is thus sent abroad â—…nd prove a singular means of good to precious and immortal Souls The hand of that God before whom it becomes the whole Earth to â—…eep silence hath made a very great breach upon you by depriving â—…ou of your dear and affectionate Husband whose Life was very desirable unto those that were his acquaintance but much more to â—…ou The good Lord stand himself in the breach for he alone is â—…ble to make it up who out of his infinite fulness is able to sweeten â—…ll our comforts to supply all our wants and to fill up all vacancies â—…nd to do far more abundantly than we can ask or think It is your wisdom not to stand poring upon your Loss but to endeavour â—…he turning it into gain for meat may be fetched out of the eater â—…nd life out of death that which devours our comforts may feed â—…ur graces Every thing shall one way or other befriend that person who is indeed a friend to himself Your Husband is taken from you and this is heavy upon you that you shall see his face no more yet see carefully to this that you mourn not as one that hath no hope rather believing that he is gone to a place of peace rest and happiness gird up the loins of your mind and by a diligent speedy preparation of your self make all the haste you can after him so you shall see him in a better place and better state and more than that you shall see your God and Saviour too in all his glory which shall reflect a glory upon you It may be our comfort to think that it is but a little time which you and I and the rest of the people of God have to mourn in and to conflict with Enemies and Troubles in and if we can through the assistance of grace obtain a Victory over our unruly and imperious lusts we rows Make we it our care and labour to get sin out of our hearts and the hand of Infinite Love and Goodness will infallibly wipâ—… away all tears from our eyes My hearts desire and prayer tâ—… God for you and yours is that ye may be saved and so folloâ—… those blessed Souls that are gone before and have through Faitâ—… and Parience enter'd into the possession of those glorious thingâ—… which are contained in the Promises and an intimate Communiâ—… with that God who made them as that you may be comportionerâ—… fellow-sharers with them Oh that the prevailing Comforter whoâ—… our dearest Lord sent to his Church may take up his abode witâ—… you and do that part of his Office to you in the midst of all yoâ—… disconsolations May be direct your feet into the way of peacâ—… and your hearts into the Love of God and a patient waiting fâ—… the coming of our Lord and the day of your Redemption Tâ—… Lord himself be your Sun and Shield give you grace and glory with whatever else he sees good May be teach you to live holiy and to all well-pleasing and then enable you to die triumphantly To his grace guidance and blessing I commend you and as I hope 〈◊〉 find you so I desire to leave you under the healing and refreshing wings of the glorious Sun of Righteousness My self remaining From my Study Ian. 24. 1690. Yours in our most precious Jesus Samuel Slater Psalm 116. 7. Return unto thy Rest O my Soul for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee THE words before us are part of a Psalm of Praise in which we have reason to conclude David's heart well tun'd and wound up to an high pitch of Thankfulness and therefore may by some be looked upon as somewhat improper for a Funeral Occasion and Solemnity But for the silencing and satisfaction of such as may so judge I shall only say this was the Scripture upon which the heart of our deceased Friend and Brother was much set and in the time of his health he did frequently mention it as the subject of that Sermon which should be Preached after his departure out of this World into an Eternal State and if I am not greatly mistaken it will freely and plentifully afford matter very fit for you to be entertained with at such a time as this For though when a Child of God dieth there is just cause of mourning among his Friends and dear Relations and in the Church of God of which he was a living Member not upon his account who is an unspeakable gainer but their own who are sensible of a great loss yet surely it ought to be such a mourning as doth not exclude joy as a thing with which it is utterly inconsistent because we are by the Word of Truth assured that the day of such an ones death is better than the day of his birth and in the midst of those tears which are shed there may be triumphs because of a blessed and glorious Victory that is obtained and a desired compleat deliverance wrought from all those troubles and pressures which tried his Faith and Patience while a Pilgrim here and likewise because then in a more special manner after all his afflictive wandrings from Mountain to Hill after all his sinful rambles and excursions and after all his tedious travels pursuits and runnings to and fro after Creature-enjoyments and comforts which did often run faster from him than he could after them so that he was forced to lie down in sorrow upon the score of his disappointment I say after all this his Soul doth at death take its flight for the other World and joyfully returns unto that God with whom it long'd to be and in whom it shall take up a perfect undisturbed and everlasting Rest. There are but two things in the Text which need and call for Explication Return unto thy rest O my Soul The Question will be What are we here to understand by Rest To which I answer in these three things briefly First Some do look upon it as importing a quiet state and condition after all those tumblings tossings which he had had the hurries of his life caused by the uncertainty and variety of Providences the many and great afflictions that had been ordered out to him God had now brought him ad loâ—… and take possession The Waters are asswaged the Ark
is upon firm ground now my Soul go forth and offer such a Sacrifice as will be of a sweet savour Secondly Others do by Rest understand a still and pacate frame He had been before very uneasie and thereupon unquiet in his Spirit He had been under great and furious tempests which had raised much filth and corruption that greatly royl'd him while there were fightings without there were fears within and those fears did bid defiance to his Faith in many Encounters prevailed against it so that his Soul was dejected and disquieted within him Now he would have those storms to be laid and his Soul to return unto that blessed tranquillity and calm which in former times it did enjoy through the comfortable shinings of God upon it But I shall pass by both these therefore Thirdly Others do here by Rest understand God himself so that when the Psalmist saith Return unto thy Rest O my Soul his meaning is Return unto thy God redi ad illum apud quem summam invenies tranquillitatem nempe ad Deum return to him namely to God with whom thou wilt enjoy thy self as thou wouldest in whom thou wilt have the greatest peace and sweetest repose Thou hast been going to this and to the other scattering thy ways now my Soul give them their last farewel and go to thy God for with him it will be better with thee than it is now As for that other phrase the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee it is variously rendred He hath recompensed thee he hath given thee a reward He hath done thee good viz. in delivering thee from thine Enemies from thy dangers and from thy distresses and from all thy fears He hath satisfied thee by granting thy desires and accomplishing thy hopes but I see no just reason why we should leave our own Translation the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee There is nothing else in the words that carrieth in it the least appearance of a difficulty In them we may take notice of these two parts First A gracious persons inviting or calling his Soul home calling upon his Soul to leave its idle extravagancy and to go back to the place from whence it came to direct its steps or motions to that God with whom it should both be and love to be Return unto thy Rest O my Soul Return unto thy God O my Soul Secondly Here is the Argument he useth for the prevailing with his Soul and persuading it to steer this holy and blessed course for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee thy Experiences may very well be thy Encouragements The Doctrines which I shall present you with from hence are of the same number with the parts unto both which I shall speak at this time First Doctrine is this A gracious Soul should be glad to think of returning to its God and often call upon it self to that purpose Return unto thy Rest O my Soul The second Doctrine is this The Experiences that gracious Souls have had of God or his former gracious and bountiful dealings with them should be a covent and prevailing Argument for their returning unto him This was the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee We shall handle them in their order and so begin with the former Doct. 1. A gracious Soul should be glad to think of returning to its God and call often upon it self to such a blessed purpose Return unto thy Rest O my Soul Now the very mentioning of a return to God doth naturally and directly lead us to the consideration of a distance at which the Soul before was from God for if there had not been a departure from God there would not be any need of nor occasion for a return to him Ier. 3. 12. Return thou backsliding Israel saith the Lord. And again he calls verse 22. Return ye backsliding Children and I will heal your backslidings They had not walked with God nor kept close to him as they were by their duty and interest obliged to have done but were gone from him Though they had once come up to him and went after him in a Wilderness in a Land that was not sown yet they drew back again kindness would not hold them nor Covenant nor the Cords of a man but back they did draw yea and that not a little way but as the Lord himself complained in Ier. 2. 5. They had gone far from him and walked after vanity and were become vain But whither did they go when they left God you may be sure they changed not for the better they went to base Idols to them that were not Gods and that was a great way they went far from God in going to Pagan Heathenish Idolatry as those among us are gone far from God who have renounced the Protestant Religion and are gone over to the Tents of Antichrist to Popish Idolatry Yet for ever to be admired is the Divine mercy and goodness those that had gone from God yea that had gone so exceeding far from him without having any just cause given them for so doing he was graciously pleased to call back again to himself Return O backsliding Children so that a return doth speak a distance that is between God and man Now this distance is to be found in a threefold state and answerable to that threefold distance there is to be a threefold return there is a distance from God at which man stands in a threefold state 1. In his Unregenerate State 2. In his Imperfect 3. In his Mortal 1. Men all men are at a distance from God during their corrupt and unregenerate state those that are in their sins are as the Apostle said of the unconverted Ephesians Eph. 2. 12. without God in the world let them have what they will never such natural and acquired accomplishments such friends and relations such honour and power such estates and revenues they have not God let them make never so great a figure in the world they are without God in the world You that are in your impure naturals the Servants of sin under the power and dominion of your lusts you that have not been born again nor quickened by the Divine Spirit nor made partakers of Grace and Holiness you are to this day far from God you may indeed frequent the Assemblies of the Saints and walk in an outward Felâ—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 external performance oâ—… commanded duties you may sit 〈◊〉 the Table of the Lord Foolish Virgins had their Lamps and walked with the Wife Simon Magus was baptized Iudas received the Sop but you never yet came to God All this amounts to no more than a drawing nigh with your lips the shadow of an approach a coming before him 〈◊〉 his People in pretence and shew there is nothing of truth and reality nothing of soundness and honesty in what you do it is all complement and hypocrisie for your bearts are far from him I doubt not but you will easily grant that those who are bitter and