Devour Me, Devour Me!
Assurance brings a desire for death, as it is seen as a means to be with Christ and experience God's presence.
Thomas Brooks emphasizes that assurance in Christ transforms the perception of death from a fearsome enemy into a welcomed friend. He illustrates how assurance sweetens the thoughts of death, making it a desirable release from sin, sorrow, and affliction, while also being a gateway to eternal joy with God. Brooks quotes Nazianzen, who boldly invites death to 'devour' him, highlighting the Christian's hope in the resurrection and the ultimate victory over sin. The assured soul looks forward to death as a day of liberation, where all that burdens them will be left behind. Thus, for the believer, death is not to be feared but embraced as a passage to eternal life with Christ.
Text
Assurance will sweeten the thoughts of death--
and all the aches, pains, weaknesses, sicknesses,
and diseases--which are the forerunners of death;
yes, it will make a man look and long for death.
Nazianzen said to the king of terrors, "Devour me,
devour me! Death cures all diseases, the aching
head, and the unbelieving heart!"
Assurance makes a man smile upon the king
of terrors. The assured soul knows that death
shall be the funeral of . . .
all his sins,
all his sorrows,
all his afflictions,
all his temptations.
He knows that death shall be the resurrection of
his joys. He knows that death is both an outlet
and an inlet; an outlet to sin; and an inlet to the
soul's clear, full, and constant enjoyment of God!
And this makes the assured soul to sing it sweetly
out, "O death, where is your sting? O grave, where
is your victory? "I desire to depart and be with
Christ, which is better by far!" "Make haste, my
beloved." "Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly!"
Now death is more desirable than life. Now says
the soul, "let him fear death, who is averse to go
to Christ."
The Persians had a certain day in the year, in which
they used to kill all serpents and venomous creatures.
The assured Christian knows that the day of death will
be such a day to him--and that makes death lovely and
desirable. He knows that sin was the midwife which
brought death into the world; and that death shall be
the grave to bury sin. And therefore death is not a
terror--but a delight unto him. He fears it not as an
enemy--but welcomes it as a friend.
Sermon Outline
- I. Assurance and Death
- A. Assurance sweetens the thoughts of death
- B. Assurance makes death desirable
- C. Assurance brings joy in the face of death
- II. The Assured Soul's Perspective
- A. Death is the funeral of all sins and sorrows
- B. Death is the resurrection of joys
- C. Death is an outlet and an inlet to God's presence
Key Quotes
“Devour me, devour me! Death cures all diseases, the aching head, and the unbelieving heart!” — Thomas Brooks
“O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?” — Thomas Brooks
“I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far!” — Thomas Brooks
Application Points
- As an assured Christian, you can view death as a means to be with Christ and experience God's presence.
- You can see sin as the midwife that brought death into the world, and death as the means to bury sin.
- You can welcome death as a friend, rather than fearing it as an enemy.