Philippians 1:21

Our apostle had declared, in the foregoing verse, his firm expectation that Christ would be magnified and glorified by him, both in life and death; in this verse he discovers what reason he had to think so; for, says he, To me to live is Christ, and to die is gain; that is, If. live, Christ shall be the scope of my life, and the end of my living;. resolve to live to his service; if. die, death will be. real gain and advantage to me; intimating, that both life and death are gain to. good man, and that it is Christ that makes both life and death gainful and advantgeous. To me to live is Christ, to die is gain. Words both short and sweet, few in expression, but large in extension: in them we are taught both how to live, and how to die.

Observe, 1. The scope and end of. Christian's life, To me to live is Christ.

2. The hope and fruit of. Christian's death, To die is gain.

Learn, That Christ is the believer's life, and death the believer's gain. The life of. real Christian is resolved into Christ, and his death is resolved into gain.

Note, 1. Christ is the believer's life; both his life of grace, and his life of glory, is resolved into Christ.

As to his life of grace, Christ is the life of this life; he is the efficient or principal cause of this life; he is the exemplar, cause, or pattern, of it; he is the final cause or scope of it; and he is the conserving cause, or preserver and maintainer of it.

So for the life of glory, which believers have in reversion, Christ is also the life of that life; thus he has purchased it for them, he has given it to them, he has taken and keeps possession of it in their names, he has prepared it for them,and them for it, and will put them into the full and actual possession of it, in his own time.

Note, 2. That death is the believer's gain; death in general, violent as well as natural death; it is not only not injurious, but advantageous: no hurt, but profit; no loss, but benefit; not only to die for Christ, but to die in Christ is gain. Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord, as well as those that die for the Lord.

Death appears gain to the believer, if we consider the private evils it frees and delivers him from, namely, from sin, from all temptations to sin, from all inclinations to offend, from all temporal afflictions, from all sufferings for God, from all sufferings from man for God's sake; especially if we consider the positive good that the believer gains by death, namely, perfection in grace, fulness of joy, the blessed vision, the society of glorified saints and angels, and the spirits of just men made perfect. So then, if. state of perfect holiness and purity be better than. state of corruption and temptation, if. state of rest and peace be better than. state of labour and sorrow, if it be better to be triumphing above, than sighing and groaning below, then dead saints are better where they are, than where they were, and death to them is gain, and infinitely advantageous.

Note, 3. That the gain which comes by death to the believer, is procured by Christ, namely, by his meritorious satisfaction, by his glorious ascension and possession, by his prevailing intercession; To live is Christ, to die is gain: