All the Living Must Surely Die, and Go to Judgment

Mr. Edwards's Sermon,

—It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the Judgment.

Hez. Wyllys Secr.

p. 1All the Living must surely die, and go to Judgment.

—It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the Judgment.

GOD is the Supream Lord & Ruler of the world, and Governs it according to his own eternal Counsels, wherein he is absolutely free and Sovereign, and though in all his decrees and dispensations he acts in infinite Wisdom, & according to the spotl◊ss Purity, & glorious Holiness of his own most blessed Nature, and the Rules of the most perfect Equity and Righteousness, yet in some of them he is not only to high for the most soaring thou◊hts of the w◊◊◊st & most knowing men, and too deep for the reach of the longest line of humane Understanding, but also very cross & contrary to the natural inclinations of men; especially while in their fallen and depraved State, And in particular he is so in the things mentioned in our Text For the opening of which several things may be observed.

p. 21. An Appointment or Decree of God, in these words, It is appointed, that is by God: He is the author of this decree; this is implied here, and abundantly expressed elsewhere in the holy Scripture.

2. The Objects of this decree, and they are Men. It is appointed for men.

3. The Extent of this decree with respect to the Objects of it, and that is noted by this word All. It extends to all men; the decree with respect to the Object of it is of universal extent.

4. The things contain'd in this decree or appointment of God, and they are two, viz, Death and Judgment.

(1) Death It is appointed for all men to die. And here we may observe the Limitation of this, namely of mens dying, by the Divine decree as to time; as God hath appointed that all men must die, so he hath Limited their dying to one time, they must die but once. There have been two men since the world began that never died, viz. Enoch & Elijah And they also that will be alive when Christ comes to Judge the world (as seems plain from Scripture will not die; And some of the lead that were raised to life by Christ & his Apostles, & by some of the Prophets, might (for ought that we know) die a second time; but in all Ages & Generations of p. 3men (those mention'd only excepted) we have reason to conclude that all have died & must die, & that but once. This seems to be the decree of Heaven: this is the appointment of the great Sovereign of the world concerning men.

p. 3(2) The second thing mentioned in the decree of God concerning men is, that they shall go to Judgment. Now men are favour'd with a time of Patience & a day of Grace; but a day of Judgment is coming, wherein they must receive a Judicial Sentence from God their Judge, and be dispos'd of by him acccording to the Rules of strict Justice.

5. The last thing I shall Observe in the Text, is, the time of this Judgment, & that is, after Death. It is appointed for all men once to die, & after this the Judgment. What is further needful for the Opening of the words, may be left to the Explication of the Doctrine, which is this, viz.

DOCT. The Time is coming when all Persons now Living, must surely Die & go to Judgment.

In many things men in this life do greatly differ, and that both in temporal & spiritual respects, but there is one thing wherein they all agree: Men of all ranks & degrees, of all kinds & qualifications do agree in this, that they are mortal & must die.

p. 4And as men greatly differ in their state & condition during this present life (I mean especially while health is continu'd to 'em) so they do in the manner of their dying. Thus it is both as to godly & wicked men. Some that have liv'd a truly godly life say but little when they come to die; others say much, & that to the great comfort of their friends about them▪ Some godly persons die with but a supporting hope, others die with a triumphant joy; & some of the dear children of God have (without doubt) died in the dark.

The death of wicked men also is attended with very differing circumstances; some of them die in the same carnal security & senseless stupidity in which they all along liv'd, Job 21.23 Others die as with a guilty, so with an awakenend & accusing Conscience. Some die under delusions & with false hopes, and in others their hope is as the giving up of the ghost. Job 11.20. Terrors are upon them, yea they take hold of them as waters. Job 27.20. They are in great distress upon their death-beds, they die in the bitterness of their souls, Job 21 25. Yea, it hath been the doleful case of some that have liv'd wicked lives to go out of the world despairing of mercy. Thus greatly do some men differ from others in the circumstances that their death p. 5is attended with & that both of the godly & of the wicked, but in this they all agree, that they come to their end, their breath goeth forth, they return to their dust, their souls go into Eternity, their bodies go to the grave, to the house appointed for all living, they enter into the state of the dead, and there they take up their lodging, lying and sleeping in silence in the dark chambers of death, and have no more a portion for ever in any thing done under the Sun.

p. 5And as there is a great difference between some men & others at their death, or in the manner of their dying, so there is still a far greater difference in their state after death.