man hath true Faith in some degree or other or else to what purpose do these men talk of mens giving an assent of Faith to the Divine Truths of the Gospel but this is as gross as the other if Paul may be believed 2 Thes 3. 2. That we may be delivered from unreasonable men for all men have not faith 3. IT supposeth that all men by nature have Power to obey the Gospel if they please or else why do the men of this Notion talk as they do of mens living in obedience to the Rules of the Gospel but this is as foreign and wide from the Scripture as any of the former if Paul may be believed by an Arminian Rom. 8. 7. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God for it is not subject to the Law of God neither indeed can be So that unless a man have new Eyes put into his Head and a new Faith put into his heart and a new Will put into his Soul it is wholly Impossible that men should either see believe or obey the Gospel to the Salvation of their Souls but Regeneration which is right is another thing than these men dream of it is supernatural work carried on by the Holy Ghost in the Heart where and when he pleaseth it is called a new creation Eph. 2. 10. Is this supernatural or is it not it's called a being born again 1 Pet. 1. 23. Now who is there which can contribute to his own Birth It 's called a Resurrection Rom. 6. 5. Rev. 20. 6. And who is it that can contribute to his own Resurrection all as able is a poor Sinner to convert himself from sin to God or believe and obey the Gospel if Christ himself may be believed Joh. 15. 5. Without me ye can do nothing therefore see that this work be done upon your Souls before you dye or else your corporal death will lanch you into an eternal death for ever 3. Rule LAY in a good stock of Prayer against a dying hour comes it is Paul's Exhortation Lay up a good foundation for the time to come Oh let it be your Prayer night and day to God that he would prepare your Souls for Death Undoubtedly those who pray mostly for this mercy in time of life have mostly the joyful comfort of it in an hour of death they that live prayingly will dye prayingly 4. Rule IF you would prepare for Death make your selves as familiar with it as you can in a time of Life then will it be the less dreadful to you when it comes it is in the case of death as it is with a Lyon death is called the King of terrors to men as the Lyon is to the rest of the Beasts of the Forest and little less a terror to men also But if you take a Lyon when it is but a whelp you may train it up to so tame a rate that you may lead it up and down by a Chain in your Hand when others would tremble to look on it so if you would but make Death so familiar with your thoughts you might find it to smile upon you when it looks grim upon others Last Use MUST good men dye as well as bad men Yet here comes meat out of this eater and honey out of this strong one to a believer Oh what sweet and pleasant thoughts should every believer have of Death when they dye and never till they dye shall they be fully brought home to God. Death to the Saints is the door by which they enter into the enjoyment of God. The dying Christian is almost at home yet a few Pangs and Agonies more and then he is come to God in whose presence is fulness of Joy. I desire saith Paul to depart and to be with Christ which is far better Phil. 1. 23. It should not scare us to be brought to Death the King of Terrors so long as it is the office of Death to bring us to God. That dreaming Opinion of the Souls sleeping after Death is as ungrounded as it is uncomfortable the same day we loose from this shore we shall be landed upon the blessed shore where we shall see and enjoy God for ever Oh if the Friends of deceased Believers did but understand where ond with whom their Souls are while they are mourning over their Bodies here certainly a few believing thoughts of this would quickly dry up their Tears I SHALL conclude with that word in Psal 37. 37. Mark perfect man and behold the upright for the end of that man is peace FINIS
been a Report cast abroad That she should say in the time of her Sickness That none should go to Heaven but such as was of her Judgment and Perswasion in the matters of Religion but of all or amongst all the Passages which she uttered in her dying Condition none that were most conversent with her can in the least remember that she uttered such a Passage I WAS desired to Conclude her Sayings with this Verse which a Friend of hers delivered to me Now as to She or any other that shall be ready at his call Shall ever live and rest with Christ and that is best of all The Funeral Sermon Preached at the Interment of the Body of Susannah Yeats of the Parish of Minching-Hampton in Glocester-shire THE Text was from the Gospel of St. John Chapter the Eleventh part of the Eleventh Verse Our friend Lazarus sleepeth The occasion of these words arose from the Divine Intelligence which the Godhead of Christ gave to his Manhood of the death of Lazarus Brother to Mary Magdellen who deceased in the Town of Bethany verse the first WHICH Intelligence our Saviour communicated to his Disciples in the words of the Text but in a dark and ambiguous manner Our friend Lazarus sleepeth Which doubtful expression occasioned from his Disciples this reply Verse 12. Then said his Disciples Lord if he sleep he shall do well For so indeed natural sleep is a great mercy to a labouring or travelling Man or to one under the visiting hand of God in Feverish or Consumptive distempers now it 's most probable that in this sense the Disciples understood the words of their Master as verse 13. sheweth Howbeit Jesus spake of his death but they thought that he had spoken of taking rest in sleep BUT our Saviour not being willing to leave them in the dark plainly tells them that Lazarus was dead Verse 14. Then said Jesus unto them plainly Lazarus is dead FROM hence we may observe this Note by the way Doct. THAT tho Christ may suffer his People to lye in the Dark as to some things and some Truths for a while yet in his time he will reveal it more plainly to them The Disciples of Christ were as ignorant of most of the Truths of the Gospel and Mysteries of Salvation as they were of what our Saviour meant about the sleep of Lazarus But in his good time he as plainly unfolds the Mysteries of the Kingdom of God to them as he did the mystery of Lazarus sleep Acts 1. 3. Light is sown for the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart Not only the light of Prosperity but the light of Knowledg and as it hath its seeding so in Christ's time it shall have its springing season The path of the just shineth more and more unto the perfect day Col. 2. 3. It 's true that in Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledg and it 's in Christ for believers John 1. 16. but he will give it down to them as he sees his time Christ had many things to say to his Disciples but they could not bear them at that time But let this be the comfort of every sincere Christian That first or last Christ will open the treasures of light and knowledg to thee only be often putting up that Prayer for thy self which Paul put up for the Ephesians Ephes 1. 16 17 18 19. and doubt not of a good Issue AND so we come to the words themselves in which you have these three things 1. The Person speaking 2. The Person spoken of 3. The Words spoken 1. YOU have the Person speaking and that was Jesus Christ 2. You have the Person spoken of and that was Lazarus 3. You you have the Words spoken which are these Our friend Lazarus sleepeth Which words have these two things in them first A manifestation of the relation that there was betwixt Christ the Disciples and Lazarus mark he doth not say Lazarus my Friend but Lazarus our friend sleepeth FROM hence we may observe by the way Doct. THAT those who are friends to Christ are friends also to his People Lazarus was Christ's Friend therefore Christ tells his Disciples that he was their Friend Lazarus our friend sleepeth And then if only those which are friends to Christ are friends to his people then those which are not friends to the people of Christ will never prove themselves friends to Jesus Christ There is a reciprocal respect in the relation To love Christ is to love his people and to love the people of Christ is to love Christ because Christ and his people are one 2. THE second thing contained in the words of the Text is this namely the qualification of the person spoken of That is understood tho not exprest namely That he was a good Man for he was the Friend of Christ Lazarus our friend is dead From hence also we may observe by the way Doct. THAT none but godly gracious men are indeed the friends of Christ Christ hath many pretended Friends in the World but for his real Friends we may say of them in our day as Solomon spake of a vertuous Woman in his day One of a thousand of such can we not find Many that will serve Christ so long as they may serve themselves in serving of him but when an impoverished Christ comes to live upon them they will quickly give him cause to say That such friends were never true to them that trusted them And as for ungodly men they are not friends but enemies to Jesus Christ they are enemies to his Person to his Offices to his Laws to his Gospel to his Ministers to his People Col. 1. 21. You that were sometimes alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works IT 's only the Godly and Gracious which are the real Friends of Christ where there is no reconciliation there can be no friendship Now it 's only Grace which can reconcile the heart to Christ and none but godly men have true Grace Therefore none but such can be real Friends to Christ Abraham was a godly man therefore called the Friend of God and Moses was a godly man and it 's said that God talked with him face to face as a man talketh with his friend LASTLY You have the final end of Lazarus as to this Life spoken of 1. Which is delivered figuratively 2. More plainly 1. HIS end is spoken of in a figure Our friend Lazarus sleepeth 2. IT is delivered more plainly Our friend Lazarus is dead FROM hence we shall observe these two points of Doctrine Doct. 1. THAT good men must dye as well as bad men Doct. 2. THAT to the Friends of Christ Death is but a sleep IT is the first Observation which we shall handle at this time which we shall 1. Prove to you 2. Shew you what death is 3. Give you the grounds of the point 4. Apply the whole Doct. THAT good men must dye as well as bad men This you have
must go to Meetings and wait at the Posts of Wisdoms gates A Kinswoman which came to see her sitting down by her unto whom she said this Oh Cousin it is sweet sweet all is made sweet to me by Jesus Christ I tell you the truth and I speak no lye At another time tells this Kinswoman of hers that she had been at Prayer and Oh Cousin says she Jesus Christ hath offered up sweet oh sweet Incense to God the Father for me oh it is perfumed it is sweet THE day before she died came in two Persons to see her to whom she gave this Admonition Friends I desire you to go to God more humbly than ever you have done and desire of him that you might know whether that Worship you wait upon be according to Christs Institution ONE time amongst the rest of her Husband 's coming to see her she exhorted him to have a special care not to trust to his own Righteousness also she piously exhorted her two young Cousins which lived in the House with her to look to it that they did serve the Lord. AT another time a Relation of hers which came to see her this dying Woman fixing her Eyes on her said Oh Cousin I have now something to say to you you are a hot Spark for the World and cold in Duty The other replied again Ay Cousin that is too true but seeing I am so dead in Duty I hope you will pray for me that I may be quickned to whom she replied again Yet Cousin I do believe that you do receive the Truth in the love of it the other replies again But I fear I do not receive the Truth in Love this dying Woman replies again Yes Cousin and it will be all well SHE asked of her Cousin where Mrs. Smith was her Cousin replied That she was gone to Nailsworth and she feared in some Discontent to which she answered Oh think not so for she is a good Woman she was a Ministers Wife therefore you must pass all by and not be offended at her nor count any thing a trouble which you do for her THERE was a Christian Friend touching whom she was Conscious to her self that she had not carried matters towards her in the time of her Health so respectfully as she ought to have done therefore desired that in all hast she might be sent for which accordingly was done and when the Party came to her and asked how it was with her She answered her again You must not come to me with a how do you do but you must say to me Dear Sister in the Bonds of the Gospel how do you do and you must kiss me Then putting forth her hand out of the Bed and taking her Friend by the hand she pluckt her to her self and saluted her Friend again and again concluding with these Words Oh there must not be that strangeness between us After this She desired that her Pastor might be sent for and when he was come and presented himself to her she lookt earnestly upon him and gave him this Admonition Oh Sir God make you humble you are our Leader and such should labour to be Examples to the rest God will teach the humble and dwell with the humble AFTER the uttering of this Words her Pastor asked her this Question Have you any doubt upon your spirit touching the way of Worship and Order of the Gospel which I have practised amongst you or words to the same effect unto which she replied No Sir I must tell you that you have dealt very faithfully with our Souls and God will own you in your Work and you must not abate any thing And I do believe that God will make this Work a very glorious Work in the Eyes of the Country round about AT another time her Pastor came to her and asked how it was with her To whom she replied What would you have me to say The Vessel can be but full and I am as full as a poor Creature can hold meaning with Joy and Comfort from the Lord. THE Thursday before her departure her Pastor turning into see her as he was going to Preach his Lecture-Sermon at Strowd and asking how it was with her she replied That at the present she was enclinable to Slumber but bid him farewell and desired the Lord to bless his Labour where he was going IT was observed by several how wonderfully her Spirit was filled with the Sense of Christ's Church and Kingdom in this World She would say That she was satisfied that the time was hastning that Sion should become the Praise of the whole Earth She did more than once say That the Kingdom of Darkness was coming down and the Work would be most amazing Work and wo to them that should be found in it Oh says she it will be a fearful day the Ears of wen will tingle to hear what will be the Portion of those that shall remain in that Kingdom then But says she God will bring his People out of it She named some particular Persons which she did hope God would not suffer long to abide under the Shadows of it With which she repeated these Verses which she had read about it so exactly that the perfectest Memory could not be more exact Leave off your Vanity my People at my call Lest for her sake you should partake her Sins and Plagues withal Because her Sins have reach'd unto the Heavens high Therefore God finds and calls to mind all her Iniquity Reward her to the full as she rewarded you And fill her Cup twice double up as She was wont to do Look how much She hath been a proud luxurious Liver So much inflict her Torment strict and so much Sorrow give her For thus within my Heart I sit a Queen saith She No desolate poor Widows state nor Sorrow shall I see And therefore shall her Plagues come on her in one Day Famine and Death and mournful Breath to make her Pine away And She shall utterly be burnt with Fire at length For God the Lord that doth Reward and judg her hath such strength WHEN she had ended her Poem her Pastor being by and wondring within himself at her sudden and ready casting forth of the Verses he asked her how she came by them Unto which she answered casting her Eye about towards the Window Look Sir there did once lye a Book out of which I learned them THIS is as just an Account as could be taken from the Lips of several Persons some hearing some of the Passages and others hearing of some other INDEED as she drew nigh her end there would now and then appear some short flashes of Giddiness through want of Sleep but they did not last long at a time BUT take her generally during the greatest part of her Sickness her Memory was as good and her Reason as clear a have ordinarily been found in any dying Person that hath departed this Life from these parts for years together THERE hath