imitated by it the most Apostolick and truly Catholick Constitution that did arise from it and all the happy Advantages that were obtained by that blessed undertaking to which we owe as our Bishop with much thankfullness and comfort was wont to acknowledge and avouch that at this day by a singular felicity we enjoy the envied Communion of a Church the most exactly conformable to the Primitive and purest of any other Christian Society upon Earth On the other side He knew as well how most effectually to expose the Uncatholick impositions and Anathema's of the Romish Church and to shew plainly how unlike She is become to Her First Self how prodigiously deform'd and overgrown with monstrous Innovations in Doctrine and Discipline how unchristian in Her Usurpation and in Her Tyranny insupportable To explain and maintain such Truths as these was the business of the Bishop's study spent a great deal of his Time and was some part of his daily work even to the last But all this could not secure the Good Man from the malicious and impudent Calumnies and Railing of such as were Enemies to Him because they were so to Religion and the Publick The most Heavenly Innocence is not Antidote sufficient against the venome of the Tongue that is it cannot prevent the malignant assaults of a Serpentine brood of people that will be vomiting out poison tho' they cannot hurt Malice will be gnawing at the most entire and solid Virtue which tho' it be impenetrable armour and a sure defence yet is it still the Envy and Aime of those men Psal 57. 4. whose teeth are spears and arrows and their Tongue a sharp sword All the Zealous endeavours I say of our Learned Bishop against the Romanists and his many Victories and Successes in that Cause could not hinder as doubtless you remember and not without much indignation at the very thought of it but that the Faction voted and reported this unwearied Champion of the English Church a very Papist But it was at a time indeed when it seemed very behoofull for their purposes that the best Subjects and the best Churchmen should be so reputed And accordingly it was in such good company that the Bishop suffer'd For almost all the Loyal Nobility Clergy and Gentry fell under the same injurious imputation But all that popular Madness and Malice did but serve to exercise and Illustrate new Graces in our Holy Prelate and bring still further into the light the more hidden and undiscover'd Beauties of his soul By this means it did appear how smoothly and evenly He could go through or lie under good and evil report and how perfectly He had learn'd from the Apostle both to labour and suffer reproach 1 Tim. 4. 10. All their tumult and noise was not able to discompose the sweet calmness and serenity of his mind which the inward testimony and applause of his own Conscience had made sure and perpetual to him The slanders and clamours of people against him could not rise higher and louder then his Wishes and Prayers for them He bless'd as fast as they could curse And when the rage of the Rabble began to swell high and at last became threatning and dangerous yet was He not then concern'd for any interest of his own so much were his thoughts possess'd with the generous apprehensions He had for those miserable people themselves and the fatal Mischiefs which their unbridled Fury might bring upon the Government and the Publick But I have done The time will not admit of any more I must leave both the Death-bed and the Grave of this Great Man And I am e'ne glad that I am to procede no further You could bear it seems with the prolixness of my Discourse whilst I was speaking of his Life but may not perhaps so well endure the galling of your Memories with sad Reflexions upon his Death Elisha himself could not look on with Patience when Elijah was parted from him tho He saw him ascending into Heaven Nor can you I dare say reflect upon the last Hours of your late Bishop's Life tho' they were the last of his labours too without troubled and sorrowfull hearts For it is to your almost irreparable Loss tho' to his unspeakable Advantage that He was taken from you To conclude therefore Let Virtue have its perfect work 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plut. Peric that effect I mean upon you which the Moralist tells us is natural unto it that is to dispose men not only to Praise or Admire things well done but likewise to imitate the doers of them I dare say this Holy Bishops memory is precious to you and you would do it Honour Then use your best endeavours to practice his Doctrine and imitate his Virtues Recollect some atleast of the many Divine Precepts and Rules He has often with so much Religious vehemence deliver'd explain'd and press'd upon you from this place and make conscience to put in practice those his Pious Admonitions which you know the Holy Bishop recommended both by Word and Deed. This as it will best express your esteem of him by testifying your value of his Advice and your confidence in his Abilities and Integrity So will it likewise speak your care and kindness for your selves Such practice made your Bishop Famous and Honourable here and has rais'd him without doubt to a very high degree of Glory in another world The same means will produce the same happy effects for you that they did for him Imitate I say his Excellencies all of you in your several Stations as far as they are imitable by you and persevere in well doing And then you will not fail to be made partakers of those inestimable Rewards of Glory and Immortality which God hath laid up for them who diligently seek him which that we may all endeavour faithfully and constantly God of his infinite mercy grant to whom be glory and honour and praise now and for evermore Amen THE END
honour of his God This I say was the fire that seems at the last to have kindled for him even the wings of Angels and turn'd them into a flaming Chariot and Horses with which He ascended unto a place of Bliss prepared for him according to that in the first of the Maccabees Elias for being zealous and fervent for the Law 1 Maccab. 2. 58. was taken up into heaven It pleased God to reward his signal piety with signal and singular Honour And for that and other reasons best known to his Divine wisdom He made him an exception from the general rule exempting him from the common fate of all men by taking him up alive to himself in a visible and most wonderfull manner It is not my present business nor was it my design or at all in my thoughts when I chose this Text for my Theme to draw a parallel betwixt the Prophet Elias and our late Bishop And yet I judge this a proper part of my discourse for the mention of that holy zeal for God and every good thing which was so visible and lovely in that excellent Person God had inrich'd his mind with many extraordinary endowments which render'd him eminent and honourable above most of his generation But nothing deserv'd and procur'd him a greater veneration and awe from all that knew him then the unblemished sanctity of his life his zeal for God and our most Holy Religion and his own steddy uniform and exemplary obedience to those Evangelical precepts which he so faithfully preached and recommended unto others The day would fail me before I could recite the many Evidences and Instances that may be given of what I say But it is not my business to write the Great man's Life as he must and that very voluminously who undertakes to do him right in this particular His discourses designs endeavours undertakings his labours and his studies almost every thing that he did or said capable of expressing the piety of the heart discover'd the Holy frame of his Spirit and convincingly prov'd to those that convers'd with him what Elijah's miracle did to the widdow of Sarepta that he was a man of God 1 Kings 17. 24. and that the word of the Lord was in his mouth Nor could so sincere a Piety towards God be in the Bishop any more then in the Prophet without a suitable love and religious regard to his Holy Church But this was so eminent in our Prelate and is so famously known at home and abroad and his praises on this account are so acknowledg'd and receiv'd in all our Gates that I shall not need to justifie this part of his Character by alledging here any of the very many instances of his zeal in opposing the attempts of the late Schism and Rebellion He did not forbear to protest publickly against the Faction even when it was most formidable And in a Sermon preach'd before the University in St Maries Church in Cambridge He urged them vehemently and convincingly to publish a formal protestation against the Rebellious League And they to whom he spoke were sufficiently dispos'd to comply and close with so Christian and Loyal an exhortation For the spirit of Error and Delusion of Faction and Fury which had long before broke loose and ravaged far and near confounding and subverting all Orders of men and things had not been able to poison or corrupt that bright and wholesome Fountain of Learning and Religion tho' situated in the midst of the enemies quarters and perpetually surrounded and infested with boisterous Troops of Rebels The good Work was therefore presently begun and soon finish'd But could not be published in the name of the whole Corporation and consequently not at Cambridge because one man who alone could hinder it would not permit it to be done But I have not only Charity enough to hope but sufficient Reason to believe that He soon repented of the opposition He had made and became quite of another mind But however printed it was tho' most of the impression was seiz'd at London before it could get abroad And this Renowned Nursery of Learning and Loyalty did not loose the honour of getting the start of her equal Sister and giving her an excellent pattern and encouragement by so early and laudable an undertaking In this conscientious zeal for the Church did our Bishop and many others to their lasting comfort and Renown faithfully persevere to the loss of all they had in this world but their lives And those lives which God gave them for a prey were cheap and vile in their own eyes in competition with their Loyalty and Religion for which the Bishop was ready and resolv'd and sometimes very likely to resist even unto blood Every place where this Good man sojourn'd after He was driven from his study in Cambridge can furnish out various evidences of his pious and restless endeavours for the benefit of the publick His time was always usefully spent in confirming those that stood supporting them that were falling raising up them that were down encouraging the faint-hearted and reducing them that were gone astray In the very worst of times when the Rebellion was rampant and the bloody Usurper had kill'd and taken possession then did our Elijah even in Samaria in the Rebels Metropolis in spite of all their menaces and malice couragiously stand up and in words assert and in practice perform his duty to God and to the Church And to him gladly flock'd Loyal multitudes of Religious and true hearted people to celebrate those Holy Offices to which they were by Law obliged in private houses when by armed violence they were forced out and driven from the Churches Now can you believe that this Heroick Instance of Primitive Christian Loyalty and Zeal could be alledg'd for the justification of Factious and Schismatical Conventicles But what hath not been said and done to give life and countenance to the beloved tho' desperate Cause It might have been hoped that such an instance of integrity and honest perseverance in obedience to the Church in a time of tryal and danger would have wrought some relenting in Her persecutors and made them more mindfull of their own duty for the future But instead of that the thing has been represented as an argument or defence for the illegal meetings of Nonconformists One would think this could not be intended for good earnest but be that as it will I am sure the Bishops answer was very ingenious and apposite and it was to this purpose that as our present Sovereign was rightfull King of England even when hid in the Royal oak and Cromwell an Usurper tho' at Whitehall and in the Throne so was He a regular Preacher and his meeting at Exeter-house a true Congregation of the Church of England whenas the Objectour tho' preaching at St Pauls Cross would be still a schismatick and His assembly of Separatists a Conventicle even in the Cathedral Church of Canterbury or St Pauls in
and bring them back to the Church and worship of God Nor are you or the world ignorant of your late Bishop's great Abilities and as great Industry in Teaching You I say of this Church especially can tell of his wisdom Ecclus. 44. 15. and this Congregation can shew forth his praise You are happy witnesse how He minister'd the gifts that He had received as a good Steward of the manifold grace of God You saw with wonder and perhaps not without pity how unmercifull He was to his own body that He might be profitable to your souls by his indefatigable labours in Preaching and in Catechising And not you alone but all that ever had the happiness to be under his charge or near the places of his Residence were or might have been not only witnesses but partakers of the benefit of his labours in the publick He was never weary of doing Good and tho' his body unable to keep pace with the zeal and eagerness of his mind languish'd and fainted in the service yet could He never be perswaded in his age and weakness to abate any thing of the toils and hardships of his younger and stronger days He knew God had intrusted him with much and therefore was very intent on the great account He was one day to give of the use and improvement of so great a treasure He had always a steddy eye on that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ A deep and Religious meditation on this made him covetous of his time fearfull and impatient of omitting any opportunity of doing good for which He could not but be sensible that He was admirably qualified and prepar'd 'T is true and He knew it well that a Bishop may be able to give a very good account of the trust reposed in him tho' He be not often in the Pulpit or the Desk He may be apt to teach and do it effectually tho' He make not many Sermons in the vulgar use and signification of the word If He makes due inquisition into the merits and manners of his Clergy and takes full pains and care to instruct by way of Conference or otherwise to advise commend rebuke encourage discountenance reward and cesure as often and as far as occasion shall require He I say that shall constantly and conscientiously discharge these and such other acts of Government as He will not abound with spare time for other purposes so will He thereby most certainly benefit and edifie the Church much more then He can do by Sermons and such like set and Solemn Discourses to the people however industrious He may be and frequent in that employment But the Great Good man that I am speaking of thought He had time and strength enough for more then was or could be reasonably expected from him And truly I fear He was much mistaken in the judgement He made of the ability of his body Indeed nothing could be too much for his soul His mind and memory admirably stock'd and stor'd plentifully furnished out matter and words whenever He had occasion for them Few men have acquir'd a more general perfect and comprehensive knowledge in most parts of Learning than He himself had But in Theology in the study of the holy Scriptures and all Antiquity usefull for the explaining and illustrating the Doctrines and Mysteries of our holy Religion He was so very extraordinarily versed that it is hardly possible for any to labour therein more fruitfully and succesfully then did this Prelate The foundation of so many Excellencies were laid in his Nature his Temper and Constitution For as I have shewn already God had furnished this chosen vessel with all that was requisite for the great improvements and purposes for which He was intended His Industry from his very Youth was extraordinary and beyond Example for the supporting of which God had provided him a strong body and a firm health which lasted him many years and as his Physicians and Friends thought might have held out much longer could He have been perswaded to have remitted somewhat of his continual pains and severities to himself But He was not convinc'd by such their carefull and affectionate remonstrances for his health I wish in this one particular He would have been govern'd more by others then himself for perhaps in this one only could they advise him better He found such delight in preparing his thoughts for the publick and so much pleasure after the performance that He had no leisure to observe how greatly his body had suffer'd and paid for that satisfaction of his mind It was meat and drink exercise and recreation life and health to him to be searching the Scriptures comparing and pondering on the lively and holy Oracles of God and then to deliver his happy and well digested meditations to the people He was well when He was thus employed as He thought and said Whereas indeed too often this was no more but that He was well-pleased That chearfulness and complacency of mind which is the present natural reward and consequent of a conscientious discharge of duty that testimony and approbation which a man 's own breast pays to his sincerity and worthy endeavours this Good Bishop I believe often interpreted as an effect of health and the natural strength of his own body or at least plac'd too much of it to that account The weakness and decay which He felt in himself and could not but acknowledge He wholly ascrib'd to other causes but would impute nothing of it to his immoderate pains in Studying and Preaching But had He been convinc'd that those his labours by night and day press'd too hard on his infeebled body and impair'd his health I question whether the argument would have prevailed to have made him spare himself as much as his Friends desir'd And for this I have reason from what I have heard him say particularly a day or two before his last sickness when observing his languishing looks and being in private with him I took the boldness to insist more vehemently then ever I had done on this subject For He then with some warmth and earnestness told me that He would never be perswaded to indulge his ease to the neglect of any opportunity of doing good propter vitam vivendi perdere causas He desir'd to live no longer then when whilst he might be serviceable to the Church But to return It is no wonder that so great natural Endowments carefully cultivated by unwearied industry and assiduous application did multiply into so vast an increase and turn at last to such excellent account as we know they did in this Bishop Especially if we consider that He prayed as hard as He studied He well knew that without God He could do nothing that in order to the happy searching the Scriptures and full comprehending the reveal'd will of God and the Sacred mysteries of our Holy Faith there was need of special assistance from