Death the destroyer of earthly and false hopes, under the divine dominion. A sermon preach'd on the Lord's Day, January 30. 1725. / By Thomas Foxcroft, Pastor of a church of Christ in Boston. ; [Four lines from Psalms]

Death the destroyer of earthly and false hopes, under the divine dominion. A sermon preach'd on the Lord's Day, January 30. 1725. / By Thomas Foxcroft, Pastor of a church of Christ in Boston. ; [Four lines from Psalms]

Table of contents

Title page

DEATH destroys the Hope of Man.

Some agreable Lines, mostly taken out of the Rev. Mr. Simon Browne's Book of Hymns.,

§

§

[Page]

[Page]

DEATH THE DESTROYER OF Earthly and False Hopes, UNDER The Divine Dominion. A SERMON Preach'd on the Lord's Day, January 30, 1725.

By Thomas Foxcroft, Pastor of a Church of CHRIST in Boston.

Psal. 146.3, 4.

Put not your trust in Princes nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth: in that very day his thoughts perish.

BOSTON: Printed by B Green, for Samuel Gerrish, in Cornhill. 1726.

DEATH destroys the Hope of Man.

[Page]

JOB XIV. 19.

THOU destroyest the Hope of Man.

IN this Chapter we have holy Job religiously meditating on the Life & Death of Man; communing with his own Heart, and expostulating with GOD.

IN the first 6 verses, he represents the shortness and uncertainty of our Lives, the vanity & vexation of the World, the Pollution of human Nature, and the settled Period of human Life: and urges these Considerations with GOD, as so many Pleas for Mercy and Forbearance. Man, that is born of a Woman, is of few days, &c.

IN the next place he turns his Tho'ts upon [Page] DEATH, & affects himself with the dreadful Nature and Consequences of it; groaning out his Soul in various Complaints, Requests, and passionate Expostulations. He realises it to himself, that Death is an awful & final Remove out of the Present World; but then refreshes himself with the Prospect of a future Resurrection, & his Existence in another & better World. ver. 7 — 15. For there is hope of a Tree, if it be cut down, &c.

HAVING said these things, he falls again into complaining Language; and tho' not utterly desperate, yet is hard put to it to bear up under his present Troubles. He complains of GOD's Severity in his dealings with him, as if he was strict to mark Iniquity against him; ver. 16, & 17. For now thou numbrest my steps, &c. In the next place he observes the decaying Condition and Mutability of all Earthly Things: and then he speaks of it as the common Lot of all Mankind to die; and mentions the power, the terror, and the agonies of Death: ver. 18. to the end, And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, &c.

ALL things in Nature are subject to continual Vicissitudes, to Decays, and Desolations; even Man (the noblest of visible Creatures) not excepted. We are of the Earth, earthy, sprang originally out of the Dust, and must return to our native Earth. The very Mountains & Rocks have not such a Stability, but that they may be unfixed from their places, be removed & broken to pieces, or gradually moulder away. No marvel then if frail Mankind be in a wasting Condition. The very strongest, the most healthy & most powerful among [Page] Men, are subject to Mortality, as well as others. Tho' they see many days, & last a long time, yet sooner or later, they are worn out, as the Rocks in the Sea wax old and Stones wear away with the continual dropping of Water upon them. — And as to the Generality of Mankind, they are easily carry'd away, & often suddenly, as Flowers of the Field, and tender Herbs which grow out of the dust of the Earth, by a sweeping Rain, which (as Solomon observes) leaveth no Food, but cuts off the Expectations of the Husbandman, & when he looketh for much, bringeth it to little.

THUS saies Job, directing his Speech to the ALMIGHTY,— Thou washest away the things that grow out of the Dust of the Earth; and thou destroyest the Hope of Man. Thou prevailest for ever against him, &c.

HERE (1.) WE have an acknowlegement of GOD's Dominion and Agency in the Affair of our Death. — Thou destroyest &c.

(2.) WE have a Description of Death, by some of it's Properties, and Effects.

IN our Text he observes, It destroys the Hope of Man, puts a Period to all our Worldly Hopes and Projects, & to the presumptuous hopes of the Hypocrite. In the following verses 'tis observed:

IT prevails for ever against him, and he passeth away. The Stroke of Death is irresistible, & often makes quick dispatch. The Blow is many times given suddenly, & the Man passes away; makes a speedy flight, as a timorous Bird hastens out of it's Nest when disturb'd, or as a conquer'd Soldier slys before his pursuing Adversary. — 'Tis added,

[Page] IT changeth his Countenance; it's Approach is terrible, and discomposes the Mind; and it's Execution alters the looks, slurs the Beauty of the Face, and turns it into Paleness & Deformity.

IT sends him away, — with Speed & Force; out of Time into Eternity; out of a State of Probation into a State of Retribution. Finally, His sons come to Honour, and he knoweth it not, & they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not, &c.

I shall consider at present only the Beginning of the Account here given of Death. And shall speak to it under these two Observations.

1. GOD is the Sovereign Dispenser of Death.

2. DEATH destroys the Hope of Man.

PROP. I. GOD is the Sovereign Dispenser of Death, and the absolute Disposer of all the Circumstances and Consequences of it.

JOB attributes all to GOD, — Thou destroyest the Hope of Man; Thou prevailest for ever against him,— Thou changest his Countenance, and sendest him away. — Thus he ascribes this great Event, in the several Circumstances & Consequents of it unto GOD.

AND this Truth might be confirm'd from many other Passages in sacred Writ. I shall here only mention that one place, where GOD himself asserts his Dominion over human Life, and challenges it as his Prerogative to dispose of it. Deut. 32.29. See now, that I even I am HE, and there is no God with me: I kill & I make alive; I wound & I heal; neither is there any that can deliver out of my [Page]hand. He orders & disposes every thing relating to the Death of every one; the Time, the Place, the Manner, together with all the Effects, and Things which follow.

DEATH is no contingent or accidental Event, the fruit of Chance, but the Result of Divine Counsil & Efficiency. It may be said indeed to be fortuitous or casual with respect to us, who are ignorant of futurities, and meet with many things we could not foresee, or did not expect. But GOD is perfect in Knowlege, & foresees the most distant Events; and with reference to him nothing can be call'd a Contingency, Accident, or Chance. He worketh All things according to the Counsil of his own Will: & in particular, He presides in the great affair of Death. Thus saith Job, Chap. 12.9, 10. Who knoweth not in all these, that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this? In whose hand is the Soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind. It is he turneth Man to Destruction, & bringeth us to the House appointed for all Living. The Decree (wherein it's appointed unto Man once to die) came out of his Mouth; and the Execution is done by his powerful Hand. Men don't die at random, just when & as it happens: but our times are in GOD's hand; He measures out our Life, & determins our days; the number of our Months is with him; He hath appointed our Bounds that we cannot pass. And when the set time is come, he gives the fatal Blow, takes away our breath, and lays us in the dust. There is the hand of GOD in every one's Death, whatever be the way, & means; whether it be a [Page] natural or a violent Death; by Distempers or Disasters; if he be slain in Battel, cut off by the Sword of Justice, or stab'd by an Ehud's Dagger &c. All comes to pass by the Determination & Providence of GOD. It was according to the determinate Counsel & Fore-knowledge of God, that our blessed Saviour was by wicked Hands crucify'd & slain. GOD directed the Arrow, when a certain Man drew his bow at a venture, and smote the King of Israel between the Joynts of the Harness. ‘It is appointed to us, not only once to die, but how and when: the particular Time of our Birth is not more fully settled in the Counsels of GOD, than the Time of our Death.’ There is a Time to be born, and a Time to die; a set Time for both: and GOD determineth the Times fore-appointed. ‘It is the same Invisible Hand, which writes down our Names in the Book of the Living, and blots them out too.’

THIS is a Truth we should often meditate upon; that GOD hath the power of Life & Death; and we should make a wise application hereof to the Ends of Holiness and spiritual Comfort.

THIS Reflection should serve to greaten and elevate our Apprehensions of the Divine Majesty. Death is one of the weightiest and most important Events. 'Tis the Destruction of an human Body, which infinite Wisdom hath fearfully and wonderfully made. 'Tis the dislodging of an immortal Soul; a changing of its State, & translating it from a world of Sense to a world of Spirits, from a State of Trial, to a State of Rewards unknown and everlasting. It is therefore a great and very awful [Page] Thing to die. And it is no small Exercise of the Divine Dominion, which is seen in this Affair. Hence we should maintain a profound Reverence of GOD, in whose hand our Breath is, and should have exalted Tho'ts of Him on this account.

Again, THE Thought of this should strike a Terror on rebellious Sinners, and excite them to a speedy Repentance. This tells you, that your Lives are under a Divine Inspection, the most strict, accurate, and never-ceasing. The LORD of all has his Eye upon you continually, observing how you fill up the measure of your Iniquity, and waiting the fit season to turn the Keys of Death & Hell upon you. O Consider this, & tremble. Your Death will certainly be a miserable one, if you die in your Sins. And you know not how soon or suddenly you may have the fatal Summons serv'd upon you. The Providence of GOD is at this day calling aloud on you in several sudden Deaths. It is owing intirely to the Patience & Forbearance of a good and merciful GOD, that you are spared, & have had your Lives lengthen'd out hitherto. You are continually abusing this Patience by your Rebellion and Impenitence. And if you go on in your Trespasses, there is hazard lest abused Patience should break out into inflamed Wrath, & cut you down as Cumberers of the Ground, & cast you as fit Fewel into the Everlasting Burnings. GOD has said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man. O secure Sinners, think of this, & tremble lest Divine Vengence should kindle against you, & burn to the lowest Hell. — The Doctrine before us reads loud Lessons of Terror to the Wicked. O that such [Page] would hear & fear & no longer harden their Hearts, but to Day while it is called to day, hearken to the Casts of the Gospel, & turn from their evil ways, that they perish not. But then further,

IT reads sweet Lectures of Consolation to the Children of GOD.

UNDER the Difficulties & Troubles of Life, in general, it should minister Support & Comfort to Believers, to consider that GOD is the Sovereign LORD of Life & Death. However your Lives may be embitter'd to you by a Variety of Afflictions; so that you may be even weary of Life, and be tempted (with Job) to wish for Death, yet remember it is GOD who continues your Lives, and delays your Death; HE performeth the Thing that is appointed for you; and let this Tho't teach you a humble Submission & patient Waiting. And remember that er'e long He will command Deliverance for you; will give you a Quietus, and bring you to the Rest which remains for the People of GOD. The prospect of this shou'd calm your Spirit, and make you easy under all your present Trials —.

BUT in particular, under Bereavements, the Tho't of GOD's Dominion over Death should be quieting to you. Job composed himself with this consideration, — The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, (Job 1.21.) Let such as are Mourning under bereaving Dispensations, eye the hand of GOD. You may not with the ignorant & foolish Philistins make a Doubt, Whether it is GOD who hath done this Evil, or whether it is a Chance that hath happened to you. You must not impute it to [Page] second Causes merely; but look above & beyond Instruments & Means to the Prime Efficient, and acknowledge with Naomi, That the Hand of the Lord is gone out against you. Realize the Agency of Divine Providence in your Afflictions, and in the midst of your disquieting Tho'ts within you, let this Reflection comfort you. Remember Who it is that has laid you under these bereavements. He is One absolutely Sovereign and giveth not account of any of his Matters. Why then shouldest thou strive against Him? Wo to him, who striveth with his Maker! Behold, He taketh away, and who can hinder him, or who may say to him. What doest Thou? Behold in this thou art not just: I will answer thee, That GOD is greater than Man! Again, He is One Infinitely Wife; and therefore knows what is best & fittest to be done, and even how to bring Good out of Evil. Is it not then both a Duty and a Decency in you to acquiesce in his Pleasure, with the highest Satisfaction? Moreover, He is infinitely Good & Gracious, and has engag'd himself by his faithful Promise, to employ his Wisdom & Power in making all things work together for your final and best Advantage; so that you shall be spiritual Gainers by your temporal Losses & Bereavements. O how should this Tho't sustain, animate & comfort you! I shall only subjoyn, You may fetch in additional Consolations from the prospect of that Happiness & Glory, which such of your deceased Friends, as were Pious, are gone to inherit, and which shall be abundantly increased at their future Resurrection. It is GOD who has taken them away; and you must needs conclude [Page] from his Love to his People, and from his gracious Promises to them, that he has remov'd them into a State more excellent & happy, than that they were in here; and that he will raise up their Bodies at the last day, to Glory, Blessedness & Immortality. So that not a Tear nor Sigh is due on the score of the departed Godly, who are pleased with the Change which we lament. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. Take them for a Spunge, to dry up all your excessive Tears; and let not immoderate Resentments prevail over you, to the dishonour of GOD, and the prejudice of your own Souls. At least, let your Resentments turn upon Sin, the grand Occasion & Procurer of Death: Hear the Lord's Controversy with you, and inquire into the Grounds of it; O humble your selves under his mighty hand, and learn Righteousness from his Judgments; knowing that He will one day call you to an Account for your Afflictions, as so many Talents, put into your Hands to improve for his Glory.

Further, THE Doctrine before us should teach us all to be Thankful to GOD for the Preservation of our Lives hitherto, and to trust in him for the future Continuance of them. We live in the midst of danger, are encompass'd with innumerable Evils; and it is of the Lord's Mercies we are not consumed. To him give the Glory of past Preservations; and in him let us put our Confidence for the future. What Time we are afraid, let us trust in the Lord: when our Lives are in hazard by Sickness, by Accidents, by the Rage of Creatures, let us confide in GOD, and be quiet from the fear of Death. If [Page] He cover us with his Feathers, we are safe, and need not fear whrt Men or Devils can do unto us. Prov. 26.2. As the bird by wandring, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come. We should trust in GOD as the GOD of our Life, for the preservation of it, and for all the Blessings needful to sweeten it to us: and we should resign to his Will, as to the Time & Manner of our Death. We should daily by Faith be putting over ourselves into his safe and glorious Hands, and commit the keeping of our Souls, and ordering of our Bodies and all our Concerns wholly unto Him; from a realising view of his Sovereignty, Goodness, and Wisdom.

Finally, WHAT has been said shou'd give Check to all inordinate Fears of Men, however they may set themselves against us, or any of GOD's People. Are we apprehensive of Danger to ourselves, or to the Publick, or to the Church of GOD abroad, from subtil & powerful Enemies? Do Tyrants & Oppressors arise, and do they breathe out Threatnings and Slaughter? This is our Comfort, Their Breath (as well as ours) is in GOD's hand; and tho' they may be called gods, they shall die like men. The LORD, when he pleaseth, can dash them to pieces with his strong Arm, and cover them with shame, can bring down the glory of their high looks, and cast their Throne down to the Ground, by one easy instantaneous Blow, either with or without Instruments. It was the Word of the LORD to the Prince of Tyre, Ezek. 28.8—10. They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas. Wilt [Page]thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man and no God in the hand of him that slayeth thee. Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised, by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God. — Pharaoh, that oppressor of GOD's Israel, was drowned in the Red Sea. So Herod the King who vexed the Church, was smote by the Angel of the Lord, & devoured of Worms. Thus those Persecutors were stopt in their furious Career; by the Blast of GOD, they perish'd out of the Earth, & went where the Wicked cease from troubling. Wait on the Lord then, & keep his way. Fret not thy self because of evil doors; neither be afraid of Dying Creatures tho' they plot against the just, & bend their Bow, to slay such as be of upright Conversation. The wrath of Man shall praise GOD, & the Remainder thereof shall be restrained. Lo, I have seen the Wicked in great power & spreading himself like a green Bay-Tree, yet he passed away; and lo, he was not. The Salvation of the Righteous is of the Lord, and unto GOD belong the Issues from Death, Psal. 72.14. He shall redeem their Soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight. 1 Pet. 3.13, 14. And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;

I come now to the other Observation.

PROP. II. DEATH destroyes all Earthly and False hopes, and puts a period to the Expectations & Projects of the Men of this World.

SO in our Text — Thou destroyest the hope of [Page]Man. ‘Death is the Destruction of all those Hopes which are built on Worldly Confidences, and confin'd to Worldly Comforts. Hope in Christ and hope of Heaven [well grounded] Death will consummate and not destroy.’ But it destroys the Hope, which is Worldly or False. We read 1 Chron. 29.15. Our days on Earth are a shadow, and there is none abiding, or no Expectation, as it might be render'd, Prov. 11.7. When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth.

(1.) IT puts a period to all Worldly Projects, to all Earthly Hopes, and the prospects of Temporal Glory and Happiness, which vain Man is so apt to flatter himself with. Death puts an end to his temporal Life and Abode here on Earth; and together therewith, to all his Worldly Employments and Designs, as well as Enjoyments and Possessions. Death turns us out of our several Callings, Relations & Secular Capacities, & leaves us no more opportunity to attend the common works of Life, and pursue any designs relating to the present World. Thus we read, Eccle. 9.10. There is no work, nor device, nor knowlege, nor wisdom in the grave whither thou goest. So Psal. 146.4. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth: in that very day his thoughts perish. The meaning is not, that the Soul then passes into a tho'tless, stupid indolent State, & loses its power of Cogitation, No, but it imports, that a Period is then put to the Designs they formed for this World. When Death comes, they can no longer prosecute the Schemes they have laid for Worldly Gains, Pleasures or Preferments. [Page] In that very day the Plans they have laid perish: "their designs die with them, their Thoughts vanish with their Breath! — In one Moment all their Hopes are dash't; their Desires, and their Expectations perish forever.

HENCE, Let us not put our Trust in Men; whose Lives, however important & useful, are uncertain; and therefore our Expectations from them very precarious, & easily defeated. Hear the Prophet's Advice, Isa. 2.2 2. Cease ye from man whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of? Surely Man is like to Vanity; his days are as a Shadow that passeth away. Men of low degree are Vanity: and Men of high degree are a Lye. Hear the Psalmist's Advice, Psal. 146.3, 4, 5. Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth: in that very day his thoughts perish. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God: "This is a Life, & Will, & Power we may depend upon".

Again, LET us not be high minded and trust in uncertain Riches. We must not fix our Desires and Hopes on the things of Time & Sense: we must not conceive too big Hopes, nor indulge too peremptory Expectations; but always project & act with an absolute Resignation to GOD, & sit loose from the World, as Pilgrims & Strangers upon Earth. Let us not put on too much Confidence, nor flatter and please ourselves too much with Worldly Hopes and Views at any time. Hear the Wise Man's Caution, Prov. 27.1, 24. Boast not thy self of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring[Page]forth. — For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation? Remember the Admonition of our Saviour, in the Parable of the Rich Fool, Luk. 12.16—22. And that of the Apostle, Jam. 4.13—15. [Which, you'l do well to turn to and read.]

LET us not be immoderately anxious, nor spend too much of our Time in unprofitable Projections, about the perishing Enjoyments of the Life which now is. But let us be laying Schemes for Eternity, which will never perish; and be forming Designs of Good (Spiritual Good) to coming Generations. We should be projecting proper Methods to serve Posterity, as well as the present Generation in their Religious Interests: particularly by devoting of our Estates to Pious Uses, by the Pious Education of our Children, &c. Thus we shall lay the Foundations of peculiar Benefit & Service to the World, after we are Dead. But especially we should be wisely laying Schemes for a Blessed Immortality: we are hidden to lay up Treasures in Heaven, to lay up in store a good Foundation against the time to come, that we may lay hold on Eternal Life. — We are here upon our good Behaviour, in a state of Trial for Eternity. Great then is the Folly of the Men of this World, who only seek a Portion under the Sun, and terminate all their Tho'ts & Cares & Hopes upon Sublunary things. They set their Hearts on that which is not, & neglect the great Salvation which is the one thing needful. Verily this their Way is their Folly. O let us beware of such egregious Folly. Eccl. 11.8. But if a man live many years, and rejoyce in them all; yet let him remember[Page]the days of darkness, for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity. Let us shew our selves Men, by applying all our Powers to secure the great Interests of our Souls & Eternity, which will never fail, & which are of the highest possible value and importance. Let us look off from this present World, retire from it in our Thoughts, Affections and Pursuits; live above its frowns & flatteries, and pass the time of our Sojourning here in the fear of GOD. Let us look into the coming World, extend our Cares, Designs & Hopes beyond the Limits of fleeting Time; and seek another Country even an Heavenly. Let us make it the great Business of our Lives to provide for the next World, and secure to our selves an Inheritance among the Saints in Light. And considering the shortness and uncertainty of our opportunities, let us make Haste. We are frequently warned of GOD, both in his Word & Providence, to prepare for Death. The Voice of the Lord crieth aloud to the City, (in the late sudden Deaths, which have alarm'd the Town) in such moving Language as that—BE YE ALSO READY, for ye know not the day nor the hour. O let us fear GOD, and receive Instruction: let us number our days, & apply our Hearts unto Wisdom. Hear, ye Old Men, and be wise, & understand this. And hear, ye Children! O Young Man Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy Youth, lest the Iniquity of thy Heels overtake thee, & thou be snared in an evil time, and mourn at the last, saying How have I hated Instruction! Verily Death (that irresistible Devourer of all false hope & peace) is coming, yea it [Page] hastens greatly upon us, when the day of Salvation will end. Now is the day of Salvation; now is the accepted time. Death will conclude the season of Grace: and then there will be no retrieving lost opportunities; 'twill be too late to Repent, too late to obtain Mercy, too late to work out our Salvation. It must be done Now or Never. When we have once put off the Body, we shall never return into it, to redress the Errors of our former Lives; but must receive our Reward, according to the things already done in the Body, whether good or bad. After Death comes the Judgment, even eternal Judgment, an irresistible Doom. After that we shall no more have the offers of Salvation made to us; nor any more Enjoy the Hopes & Means of Grace; but shall be fixed in an everlasting State. We have only the present short Life to work in and prepare for an eternal World. We had need then be up & doing As our Lord said, Joh 9.4. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh when no man can work. Let us make haste and not delay. It is high time to awake unto Righteousness. Let us not be secure, and trifle away our time in idleness, putting far away the evil day: but let us do with Might, with Speed and Vigour, what our hand findeth to do, redeeming the Time. Let us not content ourselves with empty wishes, and unactive Resolutions; for in the day of Death all our Tho'ts will perish, and avail us nothing, unless now put in Execution.

AND let us see to it that we be Sincere, that our Hearts be right with GOD, and sound in his Statutes; that we so number our days, as indeed to [Page] apply our Hearts unto Wisdom. Let no man deceive Himself. Be not deceived: GOD is not mocked. But whatsoever a Man soweth, that shall he also reap. He that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap Life everlasting. But he that soweth to the Flesh, shall of the Flesh reap Corruption and Death. Let us see to it that we be indeed the Children of GOD by Faith in Christ Jesus: and if Children, then shall we be Heirs of GOD, and joynt Heirs with Jesus Christ; we shall receive the End of our Faith, the Salvation of our Souls.

BUT if we are not the Children of GOD, if we do not truly believe in CHRIST, and live Godly in him, but prove finally the Children of this World, we shall certainly perish, and our Hope shall perish: which brings me to say,

(2.) DEATH destroys the Hope of the Hypocrite, and puts an End to all his Dreams of Heaven and Happiness. The Righteous hath Hope in his Death, and becomes an Heir according to the hope of eternal Life. But the Way of the wicked shall perish, and the Expectation of the Hypocrite shall perish. If we die in our Sins, verily Hell will be our portion; we shall lie down in sorrow and be doomedd to everlasting Despair: If we die Hypocrites, verily all Hope will die with us, and nothing but Misery and Confusion remain for us. However we may now flatter ourselves in our own Eyes and rejoyce in our Boastings, we shall then be shaken out of all our [...]rusts and have an End put to all our Triumphs. [...] Hypocrites [...] compared to the [...]ush and the Flag, which tho' they [...] green & verdant for a while, [Page] and out-strip the Grass, yet are hollow and empty, have no solid Foundation, or Consistence in their Nature, and wither presently before any other herb. Even so (says he) are the paths of all that forget GOD, and the Hypocrite's Hope shall perish. His Hope shall be cut off, and his Trust shall be a Spider's Web (woven out of his own bowels, light and airy, and easily swept away by the besome of Destruction:) He may lean upon his house, but it shall not stand; he may hold it fast, but it shall not endure. All the false Confidences of Hypocrites will fail them in the day of Wrath; their sandy Foundations will crumble under them in the Storm that's coming, and they themselves shall perish in the Ruines. The Refuges of Lies will be swept away; and all their bright Thoughts of Heaven and Happiness shall end in black Despair.

WHILE here in this World, Sinners in Zion are many times carnally confident and at ease; They speak Peace & promise Safety to their Souls. They value themselves upon their extraordinary Gifts, on their Gospel-priviledges, on their Religious Profession and Performances, and the like: but these will all prove vain Pleas, and avail them nothing. Of this we are assur'd by the Judge himself, Mat. 7.21—27. So in the Parable of the Virgins, Mat. 25.1—12. [Which Scriptures for brevity sake, I must only turn you to.]

THUS the Hope of the Hypocrite shall be cut off, and destroyed for ever. Now to apply what has been said, in a hint or two.

CONSIDER this, ye that forget GOD and flatter your selves with presumptuous Hopes; Let [Page] Destruction from GOD be a terror to you, and be perswaded by the Terrors of the LORD. You may now think your Mountain stands strong, and be crying Peace, Peace to your selves: but behold (Thou Hypocrite) Destruction cometh, as a Whirlwind, even a Destruction without Remedy. O Remember you are ere long to DIE: and Death will storm you out of all your delusive Confidences, and pull down your towering Imaginations. Then you will see the Vanity of your present Dreams. That which is now a high Wall in your Conceit; a Munition of Rocks, and a substantial Security unto you, will then prove but a shadow, mere appearance & deceit. Then you will see and bewail your Folly and Presumption; will be ashamed of your treacherous Hope, and abandon your self to everlasting Despondence, Regret & Rage. — At Death there will be a fatal period of all your Joys and Hopes. Your Hope may now bud & flourish, and yield unto you peaceable fruits; but verily the latter Harvest shall be a Heap in the day of Grief and of desperate sorrow.

O that Sinners who are at ease in Zion, would hear & fear, & no longer delude themselves with a groundless hope. Job 15.31. Let not him that is deceived, trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompence. Consider before it be too late, how vain & destructive your false hope will prove in the end. Consider how Death is hastning upon you, which will destroy your Hope, & turn it into en less Desperation. O give Credit to the Divine Threatnings, & take seasonable Warning. Phil. 3.18, 19. For many walk, of whom I have told you [Page]often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly: and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things. Isa. 50.11. Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass your selves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand, ye shall lie down in sorrow. O Rest not easy in your present Condition. Fly for refuge to Jesus Christ & lay hold on the hope set before you. Repent & turn to GOD, else how shall you escape the Damnation of Hell? How shall you escape, if you neglect so great Salvation, and die in your sins? None can fly from GOD, and hide themselves in secret places. None can resist. He will prevail for ever against them, & will destroy all the hopes of the Wicked. And how aggravated your Misery, if you perish from under the Gospel! Job 36.18. Because there is wrath, beware lest be take thee away with his stroke: then a great ransom cannot deliver thee. To him that is joyned to the Living, there is hope, but Death destroys the hope of Sinners, destroys it totally, destroys it finally.

IN a Word, Let us all then from what has been said, be put upon Examining our Hope, whether it be a Hope that Death cannot destroy.

THIS is an Inquiry of infinite Importance. It relates to our Souls, & to the Eternal World; to our Spiritual & Everlasting Safety & Welfare: And therefore surely must deserve our Consideration, and calls for a peculiar concern that we be not deceivd about it.

[Page]BUT yet Multitudes do deceive themselves in this great Affair, resting in a false Faith and presumptuous Hope.

AN Error here is fatal, and yet (alas) very common.

WE had need then apply our selves with the greatest Care and Solicitude to inquire into the Truth & Grounds of our Hope, that we may not by a deceived Heart be turned aside from the path of Life, and finally perish with a Lie in our right hand.

Let it be Inquired then,

IS your Hope built on the Promise of GOD in Jesus Christ, and accompany'd with Qualifications and Deportments agreeable to the Terms of the Promise? Are you of the Number of those, Phil. 3.3. Which worship God in the Spirit, and rejoyce in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh? Can you take up the Language of the Apostle, and from the Heart repeat his words in the following verses, ‘I count all things but loss, for the excellency of the knowlege of Christ Jesus my Lord; and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ; and be found in him, not having on mine own Righteousness, but that which is of Christ by Faith. I count not my self to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark, for the prize of the high Calling of GOD in Christ Jesus.’

DO'S your Hope in Christ in flame your Desires and invigorate your Endeavors after Communion [Page] with him and Conformity to him? In fine —

HAS your Hope a purifying Influence upon you? The Apostle John lays down that infallible Character for us to try our selves by, — 1 Joh. 3.3. Every man that hath this hope in him, purifieth himself, even as God is pure. — Verily, if these be the Properties & Fruits of your Hope, 'tis a good Hope, and shall stand the shock of Death, & may well reconcile you to the Tho'ts of the Grave. It is a Hope built on sure and everlasting Foundations, strong in the LORD, and guarded with all the Forces of his strength. Wherefore it is said in the Scripture, He that believeth on Him, shall not be confounded. They shall not be ashamed, that wait for the LORD, and hope in his Mercy. Such may triumph with the Prophet, Isai. 50.7, 8. — The Lord God will help me; — I know I shall not be ashamed. He is near that justifyeth me: who will contend with me, &c. — So you may glory with the Apostle, in like words, Rom. 8.33, &c. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's Elect? It is God that justifyeth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died —. Who shall separate us from the Love of Christ? — Neither Death nor Life, nor Angels — nor any other Creature shall be able —. Verily, if you truly believe in CHRIST, your Hope is such an one as shall not be disappointed; shall not make you ashamed. Even Death shall not destroy it, but accomplish it. Your Flesh shall rest in Hope, and your Hope shall never perish; but be completed in everlasting Fruition, swallow'd up in the Sight and Enjoyment of the Blessed GOD.

[Page]GOD may seem to hide himself from you for the present, but he will never forsake you utterly. Isai. 45.15, &c. Thou art a God that hidest thy self, O God of Israel the Saviour. They shall be ashamed, all of them, — that are makers of Idols. But Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed, nor confounded world without end. You may be apt to condemn your selves, but GOD wou'd have you trust in him. Isai. 50.10. Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness and hath no light? let him trust in the Name of the LORD, and stay upon his GOD. Finally, Men may vote you Reprobates, and pass the Doom of Hypocrites upon you: but says the same Prophet, Chap. 66.5. Hear the Word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word: Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my Name's sake, said Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed. AMEN!

Some agreable Lines, mostly taken out of the Rev. Mr. Simon Browne's Book of Hymns.,

WAke up, my Soul! The awful Day

Is coming swiftly on,

When thou must leave this House of Clay,

And fly to Worlds unknown.

Oh! do not pass thy Life in Dreams,

To be surpriz'd by Death:

And drop unthinking down to Flames,

When I resign my Breath.

No: ev'ry day thy Course review,

Thy real State to learn:

And with an ardent Zeal pursue

Thy great and chief Concern.

Rouze all the Man: thy Work is great,

And all the Man demands;

[Page]Thine head, thine heart, thy br [...]h, thy sweat,

Thy strength, and both thine hands.

Oh! let th'important Work be done,

Done whilst 'tis call'd to Day:

Lest thou the time of Hope out-run,

And rue the mad Delay.

Repent (my Soul) Believe, and Pray:

Bid ev'ry Lust Farewel:

To thy Redeemer haste away,

And 'scape from Death and Hell

To whom, dear Jesus, should I live!

To whom but Thee alone!

Thou didst at first my Being give,

And I am all thine own.

To Thee I'll then my self dovote,

My Life and all my Pow'rs:

Each warm Affection, busy Thought,

And all my passing Hours.

I shall be safe, and rich, and blest,

If I belong to Thee:

Contented here I'll take my Rest,

Thine let me ever be!

Thus shall my heav'nly Hopes begin,

Thus I'll my Hopes maintain:

Nor once expect, in ways of Sin,

Eternal Life to gain.

O! let those glorious Hopes refine,

And elevate my Soul;

To heav'nly Things my Heart incline,

And meaner Joys controul.

May Faith and Hope stretch all their Wings,

And bear me up on high;

And as I mount, may Earthly Things,

Below unheeded lie!

JESUS, my Saviour and my God,

My Life and Sacrifice!

My Hopes, deep founded in thy Blood,

Raise far above the Skies.

Prepare me, Lord, for thy Right Hand,

Then come the joyful Day:

Come Death, and come Celestial Band,

To bear my Soul away.

FINIS.

Information about this book

Title statement

Death the destroyer of earthly and false hopes, under the divine dominion. A sermon preach'd on the Lord's Day, January 30. 1725. / By Thomas Foxcroft, Pastor of a church of Christ in Boston. ; [Four lines from Psalms]

Foxcroft, Thomas, 1697-1769.

Publication

Publisher

Text Creation Partnership,

Place of publication

Ann Arbor, MI :

Date

2008-09.

ID [DLPS]

N02307

ID [TCP]

N02307

ID [STC]

Evans 2743

ID [NOTIS]

APZ0257

ID [IMAGE-SET]

2743

ID [EVANS-CITATION]

99037874

Availability

This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal. The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.

Series

Early American Imprints, 1639-1800 ; no. 2743.

Notes

(Evans-TCP ; no. N02307)

Transcribed from: (Readex Archive of Americana ; Early American Imprints, series I ; image set 2743)

Images scanned from Readex microprint and microform: (Early American imprints. First series ; no. 2743)

Source

— Death the destroyer of earthly and false hopes, under the divine dominion. A sermon preach'd on the Lord's Day, January 30. 1725. / By Thomas Foxcroft, Pastor of a church of Christ in Boston. ; [Four lines from Psalms], Foxcroft, Thomas, 1697-1769., Browne, Simon, 1680-1732. Hymns and spiritual songs ....

Extent

[2], 25, [1] p. ; 18cm. (8vo)

Printed by B Green, for Samuel Gerrish, in Cornhill.,. Boston: :: 1726.. (Running title: Death destroys the hope of man.) ("Some agreable lines, mostly taken out of the Rev. Mr. Simon Browne's Book of hymns."--p. 24-25.)

Creation

Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford.

Editorial practices

EEBO-TCP is a partnership between the Universities of Michigan and Oxford and the publisher ProQuest to create accurately transcribed and encoded texts based on the image sets published by ProQuest via their Early English Books Online (EEBO) database (http://eebo.chadwyck.com). The general aim of EEBO-TCP is to encode one copy (usually the first edition) of every monographic English-language title published between 1473 and 1700 available in EEBO.

EEBO-TCP aimed to produce large quantities of textual data within the usual project restraints of time and funding, and therefore chose to create diplomatic transcriptions (as opposed to critical editions) with light-touch, mainly structural encoding based on the Text Encoding Initiative (http://www.tei-c.org).

The EEBO-TCP project was divided into two phases. The 25,363 texts created during Phase 1 of the project have been released into the public domain as of 1 January 2015. Anyone can now take and use these texts for their own purposes, but we respectfully request that due credit and attribution is given to their original source.

Users should be aware of the process of creating the TCP texts, and therefore of any assumptions that can be made about the data.

Text selection was based on the New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature (NCBEL). If an author (or for an anonymous work, the title) appears in NCBEL, then their works are eligible for inclusion. Selection was intended to range over a wide variety of subject areas, to reflect the true nature of the print record of the period. In general, first editions of a works in English were prioritized, although there are a number of works in other languages, notably Latin and Welsh, included and sometimes a second or later edition of a work was chosen if there was a compelling reason to do so.

Image sets were sent to external keying companies for transcription and basic encoding. Quality assurance was then carried out by editorial teams in Oxford and Michigan. 5% (or 5 pages, whichever is the greater) of each text was proofread for accuracy and those which did not meet QA standards were returned to the keyers to be redone. After proofreading, the encoding was enhanced and/or corrected and characters marked as illegible were corrected where possible up to a limit of 100 instances per text. Any remaining illegibles were encoded as <gap>s. Understanding these processes should make clear that, while the overall quality of TCP data is very good, some errors will remain and some readable characters will be marked as illegible. Users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a TCP editor.

The texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the TEI in Libraries guidelines.

Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements).

Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site.