a dying when in course of nature a man might have lived long it is one thing for a candle to go out of it self and another to be blown out by the wind it is one thing for a flower to wither and another to be blasted it is one thing for a tree to fall and another to be plucked up by the roots Finally it is one thing for a man to go away and another to be taken away from any place those are Emblemes of a natural these of a violent death In this notion this word addeth something to the former phrase namely the manner of the death The righteous perisheth and that not in a natural way but is taken away by the hand of violence The result of what hath been said on this first general amounts to these two things 1. That righteous and mercifull men perish and are taken away by death Indeed it is said of Enoch God took him that he should not see death so was Eliah and had God so pleased he might have exempted all righteous men from death but then neither his power in raising them to life would have been so illustrious nor their faith and hope in believing and expecting a Resurrection so conspicuous in which latter respect the Father saith well that had good men been priviledged from death Carni quidem faelicitas adderetur adimeretur autem fidei fortitudo though it might have been some kind of advantage to the frailty of our flesh yet it would much have detracted from the strength of out faith In great wisdome therefore hath God so ordered it that righteous and mercifull men as well as others should walk through the valley of the shadow of death Indeed our Saviours assertion is universall He that keepeth my sayings shall not see death but he meaneth the second death and so else where he explaineth himself when he saith He that believeth in me shall not die for ever True it is Solomon tells us that righteousness delivereth from death but it is from the evil not from the being of death death indeed is an advantage to a good man yet still die he must But this is not all which the Prophet here intends since this perishing and taking away by death being that which is appointed for all seemeth not to be a matter of much lamentation and therefore thâ—t which no doubt is further aimed at in these expressions is 2. That sometimes righteous and mercifull men perish and are taken away by a violent death Indeed it is that which is threatned by God as a curse upon wicked especially bloud-thirsty and deceitfull men it is that which Malefactors are sentenced to by the justice of the Judge but yet withall it is that which may and sometimes doth befall Gods own servants nay which is more strange and yet is many times true the righteous are taken away whilest the wicked remain Solomon observed it in his time There is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness yea which is yet most sad but very frequent the righteous perish by the wicked and that for righteousness sake and the mercifull are taken away by cruell hands and that for pietyes sake wicked men never want malice in their hearts and sometimes through divine permission have power in their hands to take away the liberties estates and lives of the righteous One of the first good men that was in the world began this bitter cup which many both men of God and other godly men have since pledged It was the complaint of the Church in the Old Testament and St. Paul taketh it up as most truly applicable to the Church of the New For thy sake we are killed all the day long and are accounted as sheep for the slaughter This is that which the wise God suffers to come to passe for many excellent ends That wicked men by such bloody acts may fill up the measure of their sins and thereby at once hasten and heighten their punishment That good men may have occasion of exercising and manifesting many graces particularly the length of their patience the height of their courage and the depth of their charity When a man endureth to the end suffering even death it self patience hath its perfect work That 's a Resolution indeed which maketh a man faithfull to the death and enableth him to look upon its pale visage with confidence There cannot be greater charity then to forgive my enemy especially when he persecuteth me to the death So that when righteous men perish violently their graces flourish gloriously That hereby righteous men may be fully conformable to the righteous one the Messiah concerning whom this Prophet foretelleth that he should be cut off as the tree is by the ax from the land of the living And in respect of which the Apostle chargeth those Jews that by wicked hands they had taken and slain him Finally That by so perishing the Religion which they profess may be honoured and the God whom they serve glorified Since though both these are in some measure effected by doing well and living uprightly yet much more by suffering ill and dying cheerfully in a righteous cause And now what should the consideration hereof teach us but 1. That certainly there is another world besides this wherein a difference shall be put between the righteous and the wicked between him that feareth God and him that feareth him not Here the righteous perish as well as the wicked nay the righteous perish and the wicked prosper and the mercifull are taken away by the wicked But shall it be so alwaies Will not the Judge of all the world do right Will there not be a Reward for the righteous Yes doubtless And since in this world all things fall alike to all and for the most part it fareth better with the wicked then the godly it necessarily followeth that there is a state after death wherein the righteous judgment of God in punishing the wicked who now prosper and recompensing the righteous who now perish shall be made manifest 2. That it is a needfull prudence in righteous and mercifull men to improve their time and Talents in serving God and doing good to others whilest they live They must perish at last by a natural they may be taken away soon by a violent death and when they perish all ability and opportunity will be taken away of doing good works either of piety or pitty justice or mercy Oh then how great industry and celerity is needfull in putting forth themselves to the utmost for God their souls their Brethren whilest they live that they may do much in a little time according to that sage advice of the wise man Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do do it with thy might for there is no work nor device nor knowledge nor wisdome in the grave whether thou goest 3. That sowing in
righteousness and reaping in mercy they would not be discouraged from the apprehension of this perishing and taking away I am afraid such thoughts as these do sometimes arise in the minds of men How dieth the wise man even as the fool the righteous as the wicked Let me live never so well I must perish Nay my conscientious walking may occasion my ruine How much better is it to spend my daies in pleasure and indulge to my lusts whilest I live since I can but die at last But far be such reasonings from wise and righteous men especially when we consider how great a mercy the very perishing of the righteous and taking away of the mercifull is which will appear if we proceed to the 2. Mitigation of the complaint as it is expressed in the close of the verse The righteous are taken away from the evil to come There are according to the known distinction of the Schooles two sorts of evil the one of sin and the other of punishment and it is true in reference to both 1. When righteous men die they are taken away from the evil of sin into which they are prone to fall so long as they live Nusquam tuta est humana fragilitas saith St. Herome Humane frailty is never safe In this world we are continually assaulted and sometimes captivated but death puts us out of all danger we shall be tempted no longer and sinne no more 2. But no doubt it is the evil of punishment which here the Prophet intends and thus it may admit of a double notion 1. They are taken away from those ordinary personal evils to which they with the rest of mankind are subject in this world The best men whilest they live here are exposed to aâ—hes paines sicknesses losses crosses manifold troubles and miseries But when they die all teares are wiped away from their eyes Feares removed from their hearts They rest from their labours so St. John They enter into peace they rest in their beds so our Prophet in the very next verse 2. But that which is here principally meant is that the righteous and mercifull are taken away by death from some extraordinary and publipue evil of Judgement which is to come upon the place where they live Those words of the Prophet Come my people enter thou into thy chambers shut thy doors about thee hide thy self as it were for a little moment while the indignation be overpast are by some expounded of the chambers of the grave in which God is pleased to hide his people before he cometh forth of his place to punish the Inhabitants of the world Indeed this is not alwaies the dispensation of Divine Providence Sometimes the righteous are taken away in the common calamity together with the wicked The fruitfull and barren trees are blown down at once by the same wind of Judgment Perhaps good men have by sinfull complyances been involved in the national guilt and no wonder if they are also involved in the notional punishment Sometimes the righteous are delivered from the common misery and yet not taken away by death Whilest the whole world is overwhelmed with a deluge of waters Noah is preserved alive in the Ark When Sodome is to be destroyed Lot is sent to Zoar And when Jerusalem is to be overthrowne the godly are admonished to go to Pella That Promise in the Psalms hath been sometimes literally and fully verified in a time of pestilential infection A thousand shall fall on thy right hand and ten thousand on thy left but it shall not come night thee God sets a mark upon the mourners and the destroying Angel passeth by them as he did by the Israelites houses in Aegypt And then sometimes the righteous are taken away by death before the general desolation come Thus God dealt with Josiah that good King before the captivity of Israel St. Austin that godly Father before the destruction of Hippo and Luther that eminent Dr. before the devastation of Germany Before I go any further it will not be amiss to take notice how this truth unfolds the riddle and cleareth the seeming injustice of Divine Proceedings We ofttimes see and seeing wonder nay perhaps repine at it that good men are taken out of whilest wicked men continue in this world But surely this can be no just cause of casting any blemish upon Divine Dispensations when we consider that On the one hand the wicked are preserved but it is for the evil to come They escape for a time that some remarkable Judgment may fall upon them As the voice told that wicked wretch when sleeping under a rotten wall it awaked him and saved him from the ruine {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} I saved thee from the wall reserving thee for the wheele On the other hand the righteoas are indeed taken away but it is from the evil to come So that whilest the wicked mans preservation is a curse the good mans perishing is a favour God spareth the one in anger and taketh away the other in mercy Indeed Righteous men are taken away from the evil to come upon a double account 1. Ne veniat That the evil which is to come upon the place may not come upon them God will not have his righteous ones to be spectators of nor sufferers in those ruines which his justice hath decreed to inflict upon the wicked for their sinnes This is rendered as the reason why that immature death befell Josiah who was slain in the battell that he might not see the evil which was coming 2. Ut veniat That the evil may come and be inflicted on the place for Beloved you must know that whilest righteous men live they are very prevalent with God by their prayers and tears to keep off judgement Unus homo plus valet orando quam mille pugnando one righteous man can do more by prayer then a thousand by armes Let me alone saith God to Moses that my wrath may wax hot against this people Fatetur se Moysis orationibus teneri so the gloss God seemeth to confess that his hands were as it were tied by Moses his Prayer so that he could not punish that idolatrous people I can do nothing said the Angel to Lot whilest thou art here Good men stand in the gap to turn away the wrath of God from the Nation where they live and therefore when God is resolved and the time prefixed is accomplished that he will destroy a people he suffereth the wicked to fill up the measure of their sinnes by killing his servants or else he appoints some other meanes by which they are removed out of this world from the evil to come The Meditation of this truth affords matter of 1. Comfort to the righteous {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} said the Greek Poet Whom God loveth he dyeth young Certain it is that when God cuts off any righteous ones betimes or permits them to
be cut off by their bloody enemies though these do it in malice he suffers it in love For tell me is it not a mercy to be put into a safe harbour before the stormy tempest arise To get into the House before the thunder and lightning rain and hail fall This is Gods design in taking away his Servants and therefore they have reason to bid death welcome Indeed the strongest consolation against death is the consideration of the terminus ad quem to what the righteous are taken even that good and bliss and glory to come They are taken to an innumerable company of Angels to the spirits of the just men made perfect They are taken to a Palace of Glory a Paradise of Pleasure and a Mansion of Eternity Finally they are taken to the Beatifical Vision of the face of God and the full fruition of his glorious presence But withall it is confortable to reflect on the terminus a quo from what they are taken from the evil misery and calamity to come upon the place where and people among whom they lived 2. Terrour to the wicked Nothing more usual with ungodly men then to rejoyce when the righteous are taken away from among them They had rather have their room then their company as being desirous to be rid of them Hence it is that they are not only glad of but many times very active in taking away the righteous They do not account themselves safe whilest the godly are among them But oh what fools are they and how grossly deceived Rejoyce not against me O mine enemy saith the Church So may every Sonne of the Church Little cause have the wicked to rejoyce Nay instead of laughing they have more cause to weep when the righteous are taken away For if the righteous be taken away from it must needs follow that their taking away is a sign of evil to come So that the death of the godly is a sad Prognostick of the destruction of the wicked What a wall is to a Town an hedge to a Field a pillar to an House that is a righteous man to the place where he liveth And therefore as men when they intend to take the Town batter the walls to lay waste the Field pluck up the hedge to pull down the House take away the pillar So Almighty God when he designeth to pluck up to overthrow and to pull down a Kingdom or a Nation he first removeth his own Servants Wicked men look upon the good as thornes and pricks to offend them whilest they have more cause to account them as Chariots and Horse-men to defend them They think themselves most secure and happy but indeed they are then nearest to misery and ruine when the godly are taken from them By taking away the righteous they intend a courtesie to themselves but it is in truth as a courtesie to the good so an injury to themselves Though yet such is the blindness of their minds they will not see and the hardness of their hearts that they will not consider it Which leads me to the Other part of the text the Complaint which the Prophet taketh up against the wicked in these words No man layeth it to heart none considering It might be here taken notice of in general that the sin which the Prophet declaimeth against is not positive but negative Not the bloody taking away of righteous ones not the cruel rejoycing at their fall but the not laying it to heart Indeed to be an Instrument of or laugh at the calamity of the godly making their tears our wine their ruine our sport is abhominable But though we be not in the seat of the scorners yet if we be not in the posture of mourners it is justly culpable Thus Dives is charged by our blessed Saviour not with oppressing Lazarus by taking any thing from him but not relieving him in giving something to him There are sins of omission as well as commission There are breaches of the negative as well as of the afffirmative Precepts We sin as well though not so much in not doing the good required as in doing the evil prohibited Not only the wastfull Steward but the unprofitable Servant shall be cast out The Vine that bringeth sorth no grapes shall be cut down as well as that which bringeth forth wild grapes Those whom Christ will at the last day set at his left hand are not accused with any evil or unjust acts they did but only with neglect of those charitable acts they ought to have done Oh let us make conscience of not doing as well as doing To let this go the sinne in particular reproved is not laying to heart and considering the death of the righteous Concerning which I shall briefly discover three things the nature the extent and the guilt of it 1. The Nature of the sin what it is will the better appear if we observe the Emphasis of the words the one whereof considering is an act of the Judgment weighing things in the ballance of Reason the other laying to heart refers to the affections Since then any thing is laid to heart when we are deeply affected with it These do one infer the other since what we affect we take into consideration and by considering we come to be affected Whilest I was musing the fire kindled saith David The consideration of any object causeth sutable affections If delightfull joy if hurtfull sorrow The fault then here characterized is that though the righteous were taken away before their eyes yet they did not lay it to their hearts And though they could not but take notice yet they would not consider it at leastwise not so seriously and affectionately as they ought 2. The Extent of this sin will be the more evident if we observe the several Circumstances by which it is aggravated 1. It was not the death of any but a righteous man not of one but of many mercifull men and some of those men of God and yet it was not laid to heart 2. These righteous and mercifull ones did not die a natural death but were taken away when yet they might have lived in course of nature many yeares longer and done a great deal of service for God in their Generation And yet this was not laid to heart by them 3. This taking away the righteous by death did portend no lesse then ruine and misery to come and that upon themselves And yet they were so stupid as not to consider it 4. And which enlargeth the Complaint their fault was general None considered none laid to heart That is very few as else-where There is none righteous By which phrase is intimated though not a nullity yet a paucity not one of many were sensible of the losse a spiritual Lethargy had seized upon the most and the disease was become Epidemical 3. The Guilt of this sinne how great it is will be manifest in a three-fold respect 1. In regard of God it argueth
want of Piety Almighty God hath placed us in this world as upon a Theater that we might take notice of the various passages of his Providence So that not to regard his works and consider the operation of his hands cannot but highly provoke him Indeed they are equally bad not to regard the sounding of his word in our eares and not to observe the appearances of his works in our eyes Among his many Providential works none more observable then the taking away of the mercifull For certainly if a sparrow fall not to the ground much less doth a Saint without Divine permission If the hairs of his head are numbered surely his head cannot be taken off without a special Providence Indeed the perishing of a righteous man is a work at once both of Gods mercy and Judgment Mercy to him Iudgment to the wicked And not to consider such a work so as to lay it to heart must needs be a great sin against him 2. In regard of the righteous it argueth want of pitty To him that is afflicted saith Job pitty should be shewed from a friend And especially to him that is persecuted to the death We may observe among beasts even swine a sympathy so that when one is killed the rest are troubled And shall there not be among men Didicimus cum homines simus alienis calamitatibus moveri nothing more humane then to be moved with compassion towards them that are under sufferings So that it is not only impiety but inhumanity 3. In regard of the persons themselves it argueth want of wisdome When the righteous perish and mercifull men are taken away it is a losse to them who remain They loose the light of their good Example the benefit of their Prayers And should not this be considered Nay it is not only a losse but as hath been already expressed it is a dolefull presage of ruine And shall it not be laid to heart So that it argueth a sensless stupidity not to consider what is so much our own concernment By all which it appeareth an impious an inhumane and unnatural sinne which our Prophet bemoaneth when he saith The righteous perisheth and no man layeth it to heart and mercifull men are taken away none considering that the righteous are taken away from the evil to come Oh then be we all exhorted to the contrary duty Solomon the wise seemeth to promise himself that when the living are in the house of mourning they will lay it to heart And if we ought to lay to heart the death of any much more of righteous men and especially when either Josiah the King or Eliah the Prophet or Zacharias the Priest are taken from us Though the Sun is not much observed by us whilest it shineth yet if it be in an Eclipse who doth not take notice of it Oh let not the Eclipse and much lesse the setting of any of Gods eminent servants passe by unregarded Let us then consider and lay to heart the death of the righteous 1. Recordando by keeping a Register of the death of the Godly in all ages but chiefly in the age wherein we live both as to the quality of the Persons and the manner of their death 2. Lamentando by bewailing their removall from us Not in respect of them to whom death is a favour but in regard of our selves who may in their departure sadly foretell approaching misery 3. Imitando by following the good example both of their life and death so far as we are called to it By which means their death will not only be their gain but ours 4. Preparando by fitting our selves for that evil which their death foretells that whilest the simple passe on and are punished we may like prudent men fore see the evil and hide our selves or rather God may hide us either by preserving us in it or by taking us away as he hath other of his servants before the vengeance come And now Beloved least I and you should be guilty of the sinne against which my text declaimeth give me leave in a few words to put you in mind of the death of that righteous and mercifull man of God who hath been lately taken from us Titles which I hope none will envy him since if we look no further then his death we shall find just occasion of applying them to him As for the cause of his death it concerneth not me to meddle with it I shall leave the censure of it to that day when all the Judgment of men shall be scanned over But I trust none will be offended if I take notice of the manner of his death The righteous saith Solomon is as bold as a Lyon And again The righteous hath hope in his death And surely it was the confidence of a well led life that made him so meekly bold humbly confident at his death the righteousness of his way which filled him with cheerfulness at his end Of all acts of mercy none greater then the remitting injuries and forgiving enemies and how great a measure he had of this grace those charitable lines which were read at his Funerall and the sweet words he uttered on the Scaffold abundantly testifie I want both time and tongue to give you a Narrative of his life which was a constellation of many bright Stars many excellent Graces which were obvious to all that knew him throughout the whole course of his conversation This righteous and mercifull man is now perished from the earth and taken away from us but so as that I have good reason to believe he is removed to that place of bliss where he enjoyeth the society of Saints and Angels yea of God himself And now Beloved let it not be said Out of sight out of mind We can no longer enjoy him but I hope we shall not forget him especially not you my Brethren among whom he hath spent his paines and exhausted his strength to do your souls Good Do you I beseech you consider and remember how often you have beheld him in this holy Mount how many wholesome Reproofs Counsels and Comforts you have heard from him and withall reflect upon your own unthankfulness for unprofitableness under his and the labours of others of Gods faithfull Servants among you Finally do you and let us all seriously lay to heart what a sad presage the death of this good man is of ruine and destruction whilest me thinketh he saith to us this day in the words of his Saviour Weep not for me I am taken away from the evil to come but weep for your selves upon whom evil is likely to come unless by your reall and speedy repentance you prevent it And now I am come to the end of my Sermon and that which was my end in Preaching it to stirre up both my self and you to consider the death of this Righteous man not so as to be imbittered against the Instrument by whom it hath been effected but against our selves for our sinnes which have procured it that this dolefull losse may be an occasion of our sorrowfull Repentance and that Repentance may prevail with God to avert those Judgments which hang over us to continue his faithfull Labourers among us and restore his ancient blessings to us which God grant for his mercies sake in Jesus Christ Amen FINIS Isa. 22. 12. Gen. 1. Partic. 1. Lap. in loc. {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Psal. 14. 2. Aug. ibid. Mal. 4. 2. Joh. 1. 16. Lam. 1. 12. 2 King 21. 16. Lap. Sanct. Musc. in loc. Jer. 23. 6. Isa. 61. 10. 1 Cor. 1. 30. Ambros. Eph. 4. 24. 2 Pet. 1. 4. 1 Joh. 5. 1. 1 Joh. 3. 7. Rom. 13. 7. Gen. 6. 8. Job 1. 1. Isa. 56. ult. Ambros. in Apocal {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Psal. 145. 9. Psal. 144. 3. Psal. 5. 12. Mat. 3. 17. Mic. 7. 2. Isa. 32 8. Gal. 6. 2. Mic. 6. 8. Hos. 10. 12. Mat. 5. 7. Job 4. 7. Psal. 49. 20. Mat. 26. 24. Prov. 10. 7. Joh. 4. 16. 1 Pet. 4. 17. 2 Cor. 11. 26. Luk. 7. 7. 24. Joh 24. 15. Luk. 20. 38. Musc. in loc. Job 14. 10. 10. 21. Mic. 2. 2. Calv. in loc. Lap. in loc. Heb. 11. 4. Ambros. Joh. 8. 51. 1. 26 Prov. 10. 2. Psal. 55. 22. Eccles. 7. 15. Psal. 44. â—2 Rom. 8. 33. Isa. 53. 9. Eceles. 9. 10. Quest Answ. Hier. Ep. ad Eustoch. Rev. 14. 16. Isa. 57. 2. Isa. 26. 20. Psal. 91. 4. Ezek. 9. 4. â— Exo. 32. 10. Gen. 19. 22. Hebr. 12. 22 23. Gen. 2d Psal. 39. 3. Psal. 14. 1. Psal. 26. 4. Job 6. 14. Eccles. 7. 2. Prov. 22. 3. Dr John Hewit who died June 8. and was buried in the Church of St Gregories the â—â—th day of that moneth Prov. 28. 1. 14. 32.