Look upon death – Thomas Brooks

Look upon death as that which is best.

“Better is the day of death, than the day of one’s birth.” Ecclesiastes 7:1

“I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.” Philippians 1:23

The Greek is very significant “far, far the better!” A saint’s dying day is the daybreak of eternal glory! In respect of pleasure, peace, safety, company and glory a believer’s dying day is his best day.

Look upon death as a remedy, as a cure. Death will perfectly cure you of all bodily and spiritual diseases at once: the infirm body and the defiled soul, the aching head and the unbelieving heart. Death will cure you of all your ailments, aches, diseases, and distempers.

In Queen Mary’s days, there was a lame Christian, and a blind Christian both burned at one stake. The lame man, after he was chained, casting away his crutch, bade the blind man to be of good cheer; “For death,” says he, “will cure us both; you of your blindness, and me of my lameness!

As death will cure all your bodily diseases, so it will cure all your soul distempers also. Death is not the death of the man but the death of his sin! Death will at once free you fully, perfectly, and perpetually from all sin; yes, from all possibility of ever sinning! Sin was the midwife which brought death into the world and death shall be the grave to bury sin.

Why, then, should a Christian be afraid to die, unwilling to die seeing death gives him an eternal separation . . .
from infirmities and weaknesses,
from all aches and pains,
from griefs and gripings,
from distempers and diseases,
both of body and soul?

When Samson died, the Philistines died together with him. Just so, when a saint dies, his sins die with him.

Death came in by sin, and sin goes out by death! Death kills sin which bred it.

Look upon death as a rest, a full rest. A believer’s dying day is his resting day . . .
from sin,
from sorrow,
from afflictions,
from temptations,
from desertions,
from dissensions,
from vexations,
from oppositions,
from persecutions.

This world was never made to be the saints’ rest. Arise and depart, for this is not your resting place, because it is polluted! (Micah 2:10)

Death brings the saints . . .
to a full rest,
to a pleasant rest,
to a matchless rest,
to an eternal rest!