us That if in this Life only there is hope in Christ his faithful Disciples are the most miserable Creatures in the World So then all that happiness which the dead in the Lord enjoy or the Living hope for cannot possibly fall out in this World but is peculiar to the next For at present as King Solomon hath rightly found by good Experience All things here come alike for all men there is one Event happens indifferently both to the righteous and the wicked both to the clean and unclean to him that sacrificeth and him that sacrificeth not as is the good so is the sinner and he that sweareth as he that feareth an Oath Hereupon we may resolve with confidence That Almighty God righteous in all his ways and holy in all his Works hath appointed a certain day known best unto himself wherein he will judg the world in Righteousness and make such a notable Discrimination betwixt the righteous and the wicked that all sorts of Men will be forc'd some with gladness of heart others with shame and sorrow to confess Verily there is a reward for the righteous doubtless there is God that judgeth the Earth And that Reward is no doubt an everlasting State of infinite incomprehensible Felicities which blessed and happy State consisteth as far as mortals are able to conceive it First in a full and certain deliverance for all kinds of evils and mischiefs whether it be Sins or Judgments whether Tribulations in this World or Hell torments in the next To the which very joyful deliverance there naturally succeeds in the second place a compleat endless enjoyment of all imaginable good of goodness it self being even the Beatifick Vision of God face to face in the highest Heavens where there is joy unspeakable and full of Glory The 1 thing implyed in our being for ever blessed in the day of our death is a deliverance from evil According as Men take their course at present either in Vice or Vertue so life or death eternal ineffable happiness or misery will be made their end hereafter And as it is one part of moral vertues to shun the fair and flattering appearances of Sin so to be void of Misery will be their first stept to future happiness and a deliverance out of the Chains of darkness the next way to the glorious Liberties of the Sons of God in their inheritance with the Saints in Light Now this deliverance whereby Sinners are pluckt as Firebrands out of devouring Flames will be so full and compleat as 't is possible For the dead in the Lord are absolutely freed 1 from the guilt the polution and dominion of all Sin that is the greatest and first evil that ever came into the World for every Creature of God is good and sin is naturally bad being directly repugnant both to the nature and attributes of a Just and Holy God that is the circumference of all conceivable goodness and the very Center of all happiness and perfection Whatsoever then deprives Men of Gods Blessing in his gracious and favourable countenance is an abominable evil and a dreadful curse to boot odious in the pure Eyes of God and most injurious to themselves And if the proper effect of Sin be nothing less then eternal death and misery by the rule of contraries a freedom from sin is a sure preparative to the future happiness of our Souls in everlasting Life For take away the true cause and its natural effect will presently fall of its own accord cease from Sin first and then be sure neither the Law nor Death nor Hell can have any power over you therefore eschew evil and be still doing that which is good so shall you be for ever blessed in the recompence of your deeds blessed as to the first part of your deliverance from that infectious evil of Sin and also from the second that is the sore evil of punishment so grievous indeed that no man could ever express the pains thereof but only those who feel them and have learned the woful experience of their past wickedness from their present miseries how lamentable a thing it is for men to serve their own lusts and pleasures when they should honour and obey their God It is one part of Gods happiness that he cannot sin and it 's no small portion of ours that after we have sinned we can find a way to escape the punishment It is Gods perfection that his nature is invulnerable and it is one degree towards our own that our wounds are capable of a cure Now the malady which all sinners contract upon themselves by their own defaults is a complicate disease made up of all evils in the world that is their guilt and the punishment thereof which last thing is really the lesser evil of the two because it is but Relatively such in respect of those persons upon whom it is inflicted For punishment absolutely consider'd is not evil but rather good because Christ himself would have been found guilty by suffering and so the Course of Sin must have proceeded in infinitum or without end Nay God the Father should have pass'd for the first Cause and Author of Sin because he hath ordained the evil of punishment making his only Son to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him Amos 3.6 The Prophet Amos demands therefore in this very Sense no doubt Is there evil in a City and the Lord hath not done it And God hath said of himself Jer. 45.7 by the mouth of another Prophet I form the Light and create Darkness I make Peace and create evil I the Lord do all these things And again 't is plainly spoke to the same effect that when God saw the Ninevites return from their evil ways or sinful courses Jonah 3. Non est per se malum sed malum videtur he compassionately repented of that evil or punishment which he before had threatned and he did it not upon which words 't is observed by St. Jerom that evil which God hath sometimes only threatned against his people or else brought actually to pass is not evil in its nature and of it self but meerly with regard unto those persons which feel the smart of it and undergo the pains and anguish Now this brief account of the matter in hand will be found most agreeable and consonant both to the nature of Almighty God and also to the general conceptions of mankind which are more visible in the common practise of the World then with any shew of reason to be denied For it is daily seen how much men do love and lust after notorious Crimes whereas they dread and abhor the punishments upon which ground I dare say the Scaffold and Gallows do conduce almost as much to the peace and good order of our state that we may lead quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty as even Religion it self Because men for the most
hath alone declared and exhibited Remission of Sins by the Death and Passion of an Holy Jesus who gave his Life a Ransom and a Propitiation for the sins of the whole World This conclusion follows immediately thereupon that no moral Philosophers among the Gentiles with all their very good and commendable precepts nor any the straightest Sects amongst the Jews with all their external Rites and Ceremonies and their exactest skill and observance of the Mosaic Laws could therewith appear justified before God Ps 32.1 2. or be consequently Blessed for briefly those alone are truly Blessed whose Transgressions are forgiven whose Sins are cover'd and St. Paul interprets Almighty Gods non-imputation of our Iniquities Transgressions and Sins to be the ready way for Blessedness Rom. 4.7.3 20. the most effectual means of being accounted Righteous rather by Faith in Christ then by the deeds of the Law It appears now That every man at his very best Estate in this mortal Life is altogether Vanity no better to be accounted of in the greatest affluence of worldly Goods than the fading Grass or Flower of the Field For he withereth as Grass and like the Flower thereof He quickly falleth away for all his Wealth and Riches cannot possibly save him from Death or in the least redeem his miserable Soul from the destroying hand of Hell The Crown shall then be taken from the proud Monarchs Head his Honour laid in the Dust and his fatted Carcass lamentably fall a Prey to Putrefaction Stench and rottenness Then his feeble macerated Soul will be freed it 's true from the weight of his abominable Flesh but loaded still with his Transgressions For she must appear in that instantly before the Judgment Seat of God and receive her endless doom either of Bliss or misery proportionable to the Works done of her in the Body whether it be good or bad In that horrible Day of Retribution wherewithal may the Wise the Scribe and the Disputer of this World appear For their Wisdom and their Knowledg will be counted Madness their Laughter will be then exchanged into Mourning and their Mirth for Heaviness If they boast of Prophesies they shall fail If they plead their Skill in Tongues they shall cease and if Knowledg in all Arts and Sciences it shall vanish away But then you 'l ask what shall become of those Men at last which have lived zealous and strict Observers of Moral Precepts contained in the Law with a good Conscience both towards God and Man May not their good Lives in this present World assure them of Blessedness in the next Will not their Obedience to Gods Commands in the Law of Moses afford them a just and full Title to the Promise For however it be true Jam. 2.14 17. That Faith or Knowledg cannot save any Man without good Works being dead and alone yet when it is made perfect in bringing forth wholesom Fruits worthy of Repentance are not their Persons thereby justifyed in Gods Account and so blessed in their Deed Ro. 2 1 2. Jo. 3.17 For not the Hearers of the Law are just before God but the Doers of the Law shall be justifyed and Christ himself hath said That if ye know these things happy are ye if you do them where it seems Obedience joyned with Faith or Knowledg has the Promise of Eternal Felicity with God in the Kingdom of Heaven which Position is not so strang a thing as true being frequently delivered as well in the Gospel as in the Law For answer to this very plausible Objection we must needs take notice of a considerable difference between Legal and Evangelical Dispensations and that under the first nothing else but only perfect intire Obedience even to the smallest Jot or Tittle of the Law could ever acquit Men from the guilt of its Transgression or afterwards rescue them from the Curse Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the Words of this Law to do them And although St. Paul quotes the same Text as if it were of like force under the Gospel too however 't is observable that he makes use of it with a special Eye to Christ whose Obedience to the Law both Active in that he did the will of his Father without sin and likewise passive in suffering the full Viols of wrath on behalf of the Transgressors was most perfect and intire in every particular For which cause Men are now to be justifyed not by the Deeds of the Law but merely through free Grace and a lively Faith in Christ Jesus and their Faith must be shewed in their good Works not as the meritorious Cause of their Acceptance with God but as the genuine effects the signs and symptoms tokens and witnesses of the sincerity of their hearts and the Truth of their Belief So that you see Faith in Christ and Obedience to Moral Precepts are both of them indispensable Duties incumbent upon all Christians even under this Oeconomy of the Gospel according to the most rigid Interpretation of the Law that is enlarged by Christ unto the very Thoughts and Intentions of our Hearts with the same Curse retained still because of its Transgression whether in thought word or deed howbeit there is reserved a full Treasure of Grace not in the merits of Saints or Angels but in Christ's absolute Righteousness neither at Rome but in the Court of Heaven to perfect and fill up our inevitable Failings and Imperfections For according to that Parable in the 17th of St. Luke's Gospel the professed Servants of Christ are strictly bound for to perform all his Commandements and yet having done at last all they can they must never think of pleading their own Deserts but with meekness and lowliness of mind acknowledg themselves Vnprofitable Servants And whatsoever becomes the final recompense of Reward be sure to give Almighty God All the Praise and Glory that God in all things may be glorifyed through Jesus Christ our Lord. Our Answer to the Question hath been hitherto Negative by shewing That many things which are good enough and convenient in their kind but not absolutely such being Evil in excess are therefore ineffectual means for compassing that happy Design which all men would gladly propose unto themselves Now 't is very certain That our adequate real and lasting Happiness consisteth not in those mundane transitory Goods that we possess Because this World and all that is in it shall one day be dissolved whereas our Souls are of more enduring substance to continue for ever Upon which ground the Poet hath truly said ultima semper Expect anda dies homini est dicique beatus Ante obitum Nemo supremaque funera debet The Roman Oratour is quoted also by Lactantius who concurs with him in the same Opinion * In hac vita virtutis praemium nullum est sed praemium virtutis post moâ—tem mors non extinguit Hominem sed ad praemia virtutis admittit Sen. de Vit. Beat. nay St. Paul himself hath told
own All tears will then be wiped from their eyes there will be no more death neither sorrow nor crying nor any more pain for the righteous men are in peace at the last being taken away from all Evil that is to come either of Sin or Judgment Death is then swallowed up in Victory the powers of Hell are all vanquisht and overcome and albeit they cease from all their Labours yet their works do follow them For amongst their Acquaintance of all sorts Enemys or Friends their Memories will survive their persons and preserve the Fruits of their own hands to praise them in the Gates And above all God Almighty will then call to Remembrance all their good works and recompence them for all their pains with full wages and above their deserts in those Heavenly Mansions where they shall for ever celebrate his holy Name with Hallilujahs or Songs of Triumph Honour Praise and Glory to Father Son and Holy Ghost one God World without end ALthough I have already wearied your Attention with a tedious very jejune Discourse and may therefore presume on your forgiveness of the Sermon for want of its Application Yet I will rather trespass more upon your patience then expect your pardon For however I am conscious of many Failings in this weak performance yet I don't fear the Censure nor seek the savour of this illnatur'd captious World but am sure of comfort and satisfaction to my self in that I have done it in Obedience to some irresistable Commands with singleness of heart as unto God and out of good will to the vindication of the Truth Everlasting Happiness consisting in a full immediate fruition of Almighty God the Cause and Author of every good and perfect Gift is a subject so very suitable and pleasing to the natural desires and propensities of our immortal Souls that whoever stupidly neglect the Message and like the deaf Adder stop their dull Ears to those ravishing Charms will prove themselves to be men of little understanding nothing better nay worse than the Beasts that perish And because ordinary prudence will engage Men upon the use of those means which appear most likely for obtaining of their ends whilst every one at his departure out of this World earnestly seeks for an Assurance of being ever Blessed in the next I see no cause to fear a kind reception of wholsom Exhortations to the practice of a good life at present so long as it is accounted a reviving Cordial at the hour of Death and the day of Judgment For I suppose there is no man of sufficient sense and reason to believe the Joys of Heaven or the wofull conditions of damned Spirits in Hell and is perswaded also that both sorts are Eternally decreed by the most Righteous Judge of all the Earth to be the certain Wages of all those good or evil Deeds which are transacted in the Flesh but he could wish with all his heart like Balaam to dye the death of the Righteous and that his latter end may be like his But alas what can such faint wishes avail without answerable Endeavours in the progress of our Lives For whoever yet won the prize before he set out upon the Race or else hath tired and sluggishly thrown himself down upon the way What Souldier yet hath gain'd the Victory with honour and good success which hath not held out and maintained the Fight unto the last Now that all Christians might happily finish the Race here set before us and accomplish their designs in that Holy War obtaining a Brabeum or Crown of Righteousness for all their pains and everlasting Rest after all their Travails in the ways of Holiness and Righteousness the Scripture abounds with Precepts and Examples Admonitions Promises and Threats for that purpose And seeing the Precepts of the Gospel seem difficult and grievous to the men of this World that walk by sight more than Faith and are sooner carried away with some Visible Example then with any troublesome Commands I cannot think of a readier way to beget their good liking to the Christian Precepts then by giving them some instance of their practice nor can I possibly remember for several years a better Example that what lies now before us Wherefore that we may take this Worthy persons Upright Life as a pattern for the well-framing of our own I most humbly beseech your leave to present some Lineaments thereof in this rude imperfect draught such as it is for want of a more skilful Hand that would polish and compleat the piece If Hercules could be seen at full stature by the demensions of his Foot and Historians are not thought much the worse for describing vast Empires with all their Periods in a few sheets 'T is hop'd you 'l pardon the Composer of these Lines though very short of that ample subject whereunto they do pretend And also that you will supply those defects you cannot choose but meet with from your own better knowledge or at least with a charitable interpretation of his audacious but well intended enterprize And if you please to cast a favourable Eye 't is believ'd the full measure of a Man will soon appear in the Perspective-glass that is here put into your hands 'T is true the person whose Funeral we are come hither to celebrate was enriched with many rare Accomplishments not easie to be discern'd by vulgar Eyes and hardly to be matched by those of greater advantages and higher stations in the World nor can they be set forth to their highest pitch by those mean parts that have undertook so difficult a task For which cause they must needs appear like the Stars twinkling and obscure by reason of their distance or like to the Sun it self when it strikes the silly Gezar blind with too much Light Nevertheless we may chance make some Discoveries by tracing out the course of his life in a few passages thereof in regard both of Himself his Neighbour and his God As for his own Person his Body was of a temper and constitution most healthy vigorous and active the strength whereof was not so much the good effect of Nature though descended from the Loins of Honourable and Virtuous Ancestours as the product of his better temper'd Mind which govern'd as Queen Regent of that little World and manfully subdu'd all his carnal Affections and Lusts to move in their proper Sphere and serve like Handmaidens unto Reason The sensitive Appetites that Beast with many Heads could never so much prevail as to dismount his Reason from the Saddle or so ride the Man as it often does in some others till they become like Brutes for Intemperance and Lust Now 't is truly said Animus cujusque is est quisque The Mind is indeed and effect the man because it is that alone which makes an essential difference betwixt him and the Beasts of the Field which being void of Reason do live and Act without knowledge or discretion and are uncapable of Commendation or