Meditate often on these four last things:
Death, which is most certain.
Judgment, which is most strict.
Hell, which is most doleful.
Heaven, which is most delightful.
Meditate upon DEATH, which is most certain.
"It is appointed unto men once to die."
Hebrews 9:27
Out of the dust was man formed; into the dust shall man be turned.
To think of death--is a death to some men!
Oh, sirs! Meditate upon death.
Meditation on death--will put sin to death!
Death to the wicked--is the end of all comfort, and the beginning of all misery!
Death to the godly--is the outlet to sin and sorrow, and the inlet to peace and happiness!
The saints' enjoyment shall be incomparable, when the sinners' torments shall be intolerable!
When a believer's soul goes out of his own bosom--it goes into Abraham's bosom! When a saint dies--he leaves all his bad behind him, and carries his good with him! When a sinner dies--he carries his bad with him, and leaves his good behind him!
The godly man goes from evil--to all good.
The wicked man goes from good--to all evil.
When a saint leaves the world--his soul returns to happiness and rest!
When a sinner leaves this world--his body goes to worms to be consumed, and his soul goes to flames to be tormented!
The saint goes to Abraham's bosom; the sinner goes to Beelzebub's bosom!
The wheat goes to the barn; the chaff goes to the fire!
Oh, sirs! meditate upon death!
Meditate upon JUDGMENT, which is most strict.
"We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ!"
Those who will not come before His mercy-seat, shall be forced to come before His judgment-seat!
Those who will not hear His Word--shall feel His Sword!
Those who are graceless in this day--will be speechless in that day!
At the world's end--such will be at their wits' end, to see:
the earth flaming,
the heavens melting,
the stars falling,
the graves opening,
the judgment hastening,
the sun and moon mourning,
Christ and His angels coming!
He who comes to raise the dead, will also come to judge the dead.
Oh! sirs, the great day to great sinners will be a dreadful day--when they shall see Christ coming in the clouds:
with great power and glory,
crowned with dignity,
enraged with anger, and
attended with His angel reapers!
He will bring all kings and nobles, high and low, rich and poor, to His judgment bar! And there He will judge them, not by the whiteness of their faces--but by the blackness of their hearts!
"He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity!"
Psalm 98:9
You who make no account of His coming--how can you give an account at His coming?
Sirs! Meditation on judgment--may make you judgment proof!
Those who now judge themselves in their own private sessions--shall not be judged by Christ at His great white throne judgment!
Meditate upon HELL, which is most doleful!
Heaven is a place where all is joyful; and Hell is a place where all is doleful.
In Heaven--there is nothing but happiness; but in Hell--there is nothing but heaviness!
"The wicked shall be turned into Hell, and all the nations that forget God.''
Psalm 9:17
Mark, sirs--the wicked shall be turned into hell.
Oh, dreadful place--where the devil is the jailer!
Hell is the prison, damnation is the punishment, eternity is the duration, brimstone is the fire, and men and devils are the fuel!
To endure this will be intolerable; and to avoid it will be impossible!
This is the day of God's long-suffering; that will be the day of man's long-suffering!
There they will suffer:
pain without ease,
torment without end,
sorrow without support,
and misery without mercy!
Sirs! Meditate upon Hell! Oh, what hells are there in Hell!
Hell is:
the loss of God,
the loss of Christ,
the loss of all good!
Endless, ceaseless, and remediless torments must be their eternal portion!
Oh, that you would often think of Hell!
If once you drop into Hell--then after a thousand years:you will be as far from coming out of Hell, as you were at your first entrance into Hell!
There is only one way to KEEP a man out of Hell--but there is no way to GET a man out of Hell!
In this world, the wheat and the chaff both grow together, but they shall not always both lie together!
In Hell, there shall not be a saint among those who are terrified!
In Heaven, there shall not be a sinner among those who are glorified!
The sea of damnation--shall never be sweetened with a drop of compassion!
Will you pity a person who is going to the gallows--and will you not pity a person who is going to the bottomless pit?
What a dreadful visitation is that--where the black horse of death goes before, and the red horse of wrath follows after!
Oh, that must needs be sad--when one death comes upon the back of another; when the second death comes upon the back of the first death!
A man's condition in this life may be honorable, and yet his state in eternity may be damnable!
Poor Lazarus goes to Heaven--when rich Dives goes to Hell.
It is far better to go to Heaven poorly--than it is to go to Hell richly!
Oh, sirs! let us go to Hell by contemplation, that we may never go to Hell by condemnation!
Oh sirs! Meditate upon Hell!
Meditate on HEAVEN, which is most joyful.
"Then the King will say to those on His right--Come, you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world!" Matthew 25:34
"Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of your Lord!"
Matthew 25:21
Heaven is a place where all joy is enjoyed!
In Heaven, there will be:
mirth without sadness,
light without darkness,
sweetness without bitterness,
life without death,
rest without labor,
plenty without poverty!
Oh, what joy enters into the believer--when
the believer enters into the joy of his Lord!
Who would not . . .
work for glory with the greatest diligence, and
wait for glory with the greatest patience?
Oh, what glories are there in glory! Thrones of glory, crowns of glory, vessels of glory, a weight of glory, a kingdom of glory!
Here on earth--Christ puts His grace upon His spouse!
There in Heaven--He puts His glory upon His spouse!
In heaven the crown is made for them, and in Heaven the crown shall be worn by them!
In this life believers have some good things--but the rest and best are reserved for the life to come!
Oh, sirs! meditate upon Heaven, for meditation on Heaven will make us heavenly!
Heaven is not only a possession promised by Christ--but a possession purchased by Christ!
When our contemplations and minds are in Heaven--then we enjoy Heaven upon earth!
To be IN Christ is Heaven below; to be WITH Him is Heaven above!
There cannot be a better thing for us, than for us to be with the best of beings! "To me to live is Christ--and to die is gain!"
Philippians 1:21
Let our condition now be ever so great--it is Hell without Christ! Let our condition now be ever so bad--it is Heaven with Christ!
"I had rather be in Hell with Christ--than in Heaven without Him!" said Luther.
Hell itself would be Heaven--if Christ was in it!
Heaven would be Hell--if Christ was out of it!
That which makes Heaven so full of joy--is that it is above all fear!
That which makes Hell so full of horror--is that it is beyond all hope!
The vessels of grace--shall swim in the ocean of glory!
We may talk of the greatness of our crowns--but we shall never know the weight of our crowns--until they are set on our heads!
We would all do well to head this advice. Print This Post
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