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A40737
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A funeral sermon on the occasion of the death of Algernon Sidney, Esq. Who was beheaded on Tower-Hill, on December the seventh 1683. for high-treason
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1683
(1683)
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Wing F2539A; ESTC R214649
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22,178
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74
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Commonwealth of Israel to degrade Moses and Aaron from their Dignities and in Case of resistance to murther them and to raise themselves to the Chief Places of Command and so to bring the People into a real Slavery of whose Liberty they seemed so zealous 1. That their Aim was at the Priesthood it appeareth by Moses his upbrading them ver 9 10. And Moses said unto Korah Hear I pray you ye Sons of Levi seemeth it but a small thing to you that the God of Israel hath seperated you from the Congregation of Israel to bring you near unto himself to do the Service of the Tabernacle of the Lord and to stand before the Congregation to Minister unto them And he hath brought thee near unto him and all thy Brethren the Sons of Levi with you and seek ye the Priesthood also vers 11. For which Cause both thou and all thy Company are gathered together against the Lord And what is Aaron that ye murmur against him As if he had said is it not enough that God hath advanced you above thousands of your Brethren but that ye will lift up your selves above Aaron and seek the Priesthood also This was the design or the Kahathites On the other side the design of the Reubenites was against the Scepter verse 12 13. and Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the Son of Eliab which said we will not come up that is we will not come up unto the publick place of Judgment where Moses by debateing with them might had perswaded them to have desisted from their evil enterprize and have found mercy Is it a small thing said they that thou hast brought us up out of a Land that floweth with Milk and Honey to kill us in this Wilderness except thou make thy self altogether a Prince over us verse 14. Moreover thou hast not brought us into a Land that floweth with Milk and Honey or given us Inheritance of Fields and Vineyards wilt thou put out the eyes of men We will not come up Hereby you see that they aimed at the Supream Power Now. what was the fair Vizard that they put upon so foul a Face First they pretend to be great Enemies to Ambition They said unto Moses and Aaron ye take too much upon you Why lift you up your selves above the Congregation of the Lord 2. They cry up the People They are an Holy People all the Congregation every one of them and the Lord is among them Wherefore then list ye up your selves above the Con gregation of the Lord The Presumption of their own Holiness brought them to Ambition and Affection of the Priesthood an Honour that none should take to himself but he that is called of God as was Aaron Hebrews 5. 4. 3. They seem to be very tender of the peoples sufferings First Of what Moses had deprived them Thou hast brought us up out of a Land flowing with Milk and Honey to kill us in the Wilderness Secondly In regard of what he had disappointed them Thou hast not brought us into a Land flowing with Milk and Honey or given us inheritance of Fields and Vineyards Thirdly They seem to be very zealous of the Peoples liberties All the Congregation is Holy fit to govern themselves let all be levelled all be equal to the Supream Power and none be above or under others Here was their pretence 4. Consider what was their way of proceeding 1. It was close and subtile the Kohathites and Reubenites being gathered near each other had opportunity to contrive their PLOT closely to cheat the Multitude 2. Mark their Audaciousness First They stood or rose up in a daring manner affronting Moses to his Face Secondly They gathered themselves together against Moses and Aaron they banded themselves and came strongly armed 3. They spake too saucily to them Ye take too much upon you why lift ye up your selves above the Congregation of the Lord They charge them shamelesly for taking too much upon them whereas they took no more than God had given them And for lifting up themselves above the Congregation when God had lifted them up to it Yea Moses was very backward to take a Commission from God and after he had it complains of his Burden Numb 11. 11. as desiring to be freed from it Again they tax them for bringing them out of a Land flowing with Milk and Honey viz. out of Egypt wherein their Infants were murthered and themselves cruelly enslaved And charged them for not bringing them into a Land flowing with Milk and Honey Whereas it was their Murmuring and Unbelief that kept them out of Canaan and shut them up in the Wilderness Now consider the Remedy Moses used First The Course he took and there ye may see 1. That he shewed his utter Detestation of this Wickedness When Moses heard this he fell on his Face as abhorring so foul a Rebellion 2. He makes a solemn Appeal to the righteous God v. 5. He spake unto Korah and all his Company saying even to morrow the Lord will shew who are his and who is holy by causing him to come near unto him even him who he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him Thirdly He Summon's Korah and his company to the highest Judicature This do take the Censers Korah and his Company and put fire therein and put Incense in them before the Lord to morrow And it shall be that the man whom the Lord will chuse he shall be holy verses 6 7. As if he had said ye reject mine Authority but I am content to plead this cause with you before the Judge of the whole world Fourthly He doth unmask them verses 8 9 10. Seemeth it a small thing to you that the God of Israel hath seperated you from the Congregation of Israel to bring you near unto himself to do the service of the Tabernacle of the Lord c. And he hath brought thee near to him and all thy Brethren the Sons of Levi with thee and seek ye the Priesthood also For which cause both thou and all thy Company are gathered together against the Lord And what is Aaron that ye murmur against him Fifthly He sends for Dathan and Abiram to give an account of their Action and upon their refusal to come up he is full of Holy Indignation against their wickedness and said unto the Lord verse 15. Respect not thou their Offering Sixthly He pleads his own integrity I have not taken away one Ass from them neither have I hurt one of them Seventhly He prays for the People whom God threatened to destroy upon a sudden for siding with these Rebels v. 22. And then exhorts the people to withdraw from the Tabernacles of Korah Dathan and Abiram lest they be consumed in their sins And then makes a Declaration to them Hereby ye shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these works For I have not done them of mine own mind If these men die the common death of all
A FUNERAL SERMON ON THE OCCASION OF THE DEATH OF Algernon Sidney Esq Who was BEHEADED on TOWER-HILL on December the seventh 1683. for HIGH-TREASON LONDON Printed for J. Smith M DC LXXXIII Numbers XVI 1 2 3 4. Now Korah the Son of Izhar the Son of Kohath the Son of Levi and Dathan and Abiram the Sons of Eliab and On the Son of Peleth Sons of Reuben took Men And they rose up before Moses with certain of the Children of Israel Two Hundred and Fifty Princes of the Assembly Fathers in the Congregation Men of Renown And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said unto them Ye take too much upon you seeing all the Congregation are Holy every one of them and the Lord is among them wherefore then lift you up your selves above the Congregation of the Lord And when Moses heard it he fell upon his Face c. SUCH is Satan's Malice and the Corruption of Man's Nature That the Church of God is Exercised with variety of Difficulties and Distractions Satan turning himself into divers shapes appearing in variety of Forms and by several sorts of Instruments sometimes acting one part and sometimes another whereof we have plentiful Evidences in the History of Israel penned by Moses who wrote the Story of many hundred years and in the Book of Exodus and this Book of Numbers the things that befel for the most part his own Government 1. Satan seemed to shew himself in Pharaoh like a roaring Lyon or a wild Boar of the Forrest breaking into the Vineyard of the Lord of Hosts commanding first the Midwives and afterwards his own People to cast every Son of the Children of Israel that should be born into the River Nilus Exod. 1. â— the last And withal made the men of Israel themselves to serve with rigour and to sigh for hard Bondage 2. And when as it appeareth after Moses and Aaron were sent from the Lord to deliver them and the Lord sealed to it by many Miracles the Devil appeared in the shape of a Mountebank or Jugler apishly imitating the glorious Works of God by counterfeit Signs and Lying Wonders until the Lord did confound him and brought him to an open Confession This is the Finger of God Afterward he proceedeth no further that way 3. Now in the third place the Devil puts on his Harness and appears like a mighty man stirring up Pharaoh by force of Arms to destroy them and bring them back again into Bondage after they marched out of Egypt but the Lord caused the Sea to fwallow up Pharaoh and all his Host 4. And now Satan remembring how he prevailed over our first Parents in the Form of a Serpent he putteth on that shape and windeth into the Bosoms of many of the Israelites stiring them up to Pride Murmuring Idolatry Fornication Tempting of God Lusting and at last to Unbelief and Apostacy hereupon the Lord passeth Sentence upon them and excludeth them out of the promised Land and adjudging them to wander Forty years in the Wilderness the Lord reserved the Mercies they had forfeited for their innocent Children Now in this time of Vacation their old Enemy was not idle bnt seems to take upon him the appearance of an Angel of Light and by his Accomplices sets on foot the Levelling Design viz. by his Factors Corah Dathan and Abiram who said unto Moses and Aaron Ye take too much upon you What need have we of Prince and Priest seeing all the Congregation are Holy every one of them c. This was a most mischievous Plot and more like to undermine the Church than Pharaohs Rage and Cruelty Where ye may observe two things First the Mutineers Attempt and in that Four Particulars First The Actors and they are of two ranks 1. The Principals 2. The Accessories The Principals are described by their Names and Pedigree And of these there were Two Parties Korah a Levite and Dathan and Abiram Reubenites 1. Korah and his Pedigree He was descended of Levi of the same Tribe whereof Moses and Aaron was yea he was of the principal Family of Levi coming from Kohath who was the principal Son of Levi. And this is thought to be one cause of the discontent because the preheminence was given to Elizapban the Son of Uzziel Numb 3. 30. He was appointed to be the Chief of the House of the Family of the Kahathites Elizaphan was of the Fourth and youngest Family of the Kahathites yet preferred to be Prince over them This as the Hebrews think was offensive to Korah who was of the second Family of Izhar and occasioned him to rebel Korah is noted as the Principal in the Rebellion which St. Jude calls the Gainsaying of Kore Epistle of Jude v. the 11. And in Numb 27. 3. only Korah's Companies are mentioned where Speech is of this mutiny To Elizaphan was given the charge of the Ark and the Table and the Candlestick and the Altars and the Vessels of the Sanctuary wherewith they minister and the hangings and all the service thereof therefore as R. Sol. Jarchi on Numb 3. noteth Korah was offended that Elizaphan and his Family should have this Honourable Charge rather than Korah and his Posterity Another part of these Actors were Dathan and Abiram and On Sons of Reuben i. e. descended from Reuben who had forfeited his Birth-right by defiling his Fathers Bed Reuben had lost his Honour by his Sin which his Sons by unlawful means seek to recover By the Sequel it appeareth that Korah lifteth up himself not only against Elizaphan but against Moses and Aaron who were descended of Levi the Third Son of Jacob and they did not only stomach at the personal preferment of Moses but sought the Priesthood also verse 10. Now compare their Stations Numb 2. 10. Ye shall find that the Reubenites were to be placed on the South-side of the Camp of Israel and on the otherside the Kohathites of whom Korah was encamped on the side of the Tabernacle South ward Numb 3. 29. These Reubenites encamped next unto the Kahathites and so being Neighbours in Situation associated themselves in evil which Sol. Jarchi observing saith woe be unto the wicked and woe unto his Neighbour Their quarters being so near one to another their Agitators had leave to confer together and to hatch this Conspiracy The Accessories in general were certain of the Children of Israel In particular Two Hundred and Fifty Men described first by their Degree Princes of the Assembly or Called of the Assembly or Senatours called to the Assembly Men of Name of Renown famous in the Congregation whereby the Conspiracy was the stronger A small number in comparison of those who were under Moses's Government yet in regard of their Eminence such as had a great Influence upon the People 2. Consider their Design which as it was closely carried by them so it is covertly laid down here Their Aim was to destroy the present Government setled by God in the Church and