“Look upon your dying day as a gainful day. There is no gain to that which comes in by death: Phil. 1:21, ‘For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.’
A Christian gets more by death than he doth by life, Eccles. 7:1; to be in Christ is very good, but to be with Christ is best of all, Phil. 1:23.
It was a mighty blessing for Christ to be with Paul on earth, but it was the top of blessings for Paul to be with Christ in heaven. Seriously consider of a few things:
[1.] First, That by death you shall gain incomparable crowns.
(1.) A crown of life, Rev. 2:10; James 1:12;
(2.) A crown of righteousness, 2 Tim. 4:8;
(3.) An incorruptible crown, 1 Cor. 9:24, 25;
(4.) A crown of glory, 1 Pet. 5:4. Now there are no crowns to these crowns. But,
[2.] Secondly, You shall gain a glorious kingdom: Luke 12:32, ‘It is your Father’s pleasure to give you a kingdom.’ But death is the young prophet that anointeth them to it, and giveth them actual possession of it.
They must put off their rags of mortality, that they may put on their robes of glory. Israel must first die in Egypt before he can be carried into Canaan. There is no entering into paradise but under the flaming sword of this angel death, who standeth at the gate.
Death is the dirty lane through which the saint passeth to a kingdom, to a great kingdom, to a glorious kingdom, to a quiet kingdom, to an unshaken kingdom, to a durable kingdom, to a lasting kingdom, yea, to an everlasting kingdom.
Death is a dark, short way, through which the saints pass to the marriage-supper of the Lamb, Heb. 12:28; Dan. 2:44, and 4:3; Rev. 19:7. But,
[3.] Thirdly, You shall gain a safe and honourable convoy into that other world, Luke 16:22. Oh, in what pomp and triumph did Lazarus ride to heaven on the wings of angels!
The angels conduct the saints at death through the air, the devil’s region; every gracious soul is carried into Christ’s presence by these heavenly courtiers. Oh, what a sudden change does death make! behold, he that even now was scorned by men, is all on a sudden, carried by angels into Abraham’s bosom. But,
[4.] Fourthly, You shall gain a glorious welcome, a joyful welcome, a wonderful welcome into heaven. By general consent of all antiquity, the holy angels and blessed Trinity rejoice at the sinner’s conversion; but oh, what inexpressible, what transcendent joy is there, when a saint is landed upon the shore of eternity, Rev. 4:8–11; Luke 15:7, 10; Heb. 12:23.
God and Christ, angels and archangels, all stand ready to welcome the believer as soon as his feet are upon the threshold of glory.
God the Father welcomes the saints as his elect and chosen ones, Jesus Christ welcomes them as his redeemed and purchased ones, and the Holy Spirit welcomes them as his sanctified and renewed ones, and the blessed angels welcome them as those they have guarded and attended on, Heb. 1:14.
When the saints enter upon the suburbs of glory, the glorious angels welcome them with harps in their hands, and ditties in their mouths.”
–Thomas Brooks, “A Word in Season,” The Works of Thomas Brooks, Volume 5, ed. Alexander Balloch Grosart (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1867/1980), 5: 450–451.
Leave a Reply