Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A45378
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A burning and a shining light a sermon preached at the funeral of the late reverend Mr. James Wrexham, minister at Haversham in the county of Bucks / by John Hammat.
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Hammat, John, b. 1657 or 8.
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1685
(1685)
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Wing H490; ESTC R9273
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13,378
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41
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A Burning and a Shining Light A SERMON Preached at the Funeral OF The late Reverend Mr. James Wrexham Minister at Haversham in the County of Bucks By John Hammat M. A. and Vicar of Stanton-berry LONDON Printed for Nath. Ponder in the Poultrey and Thomas Watson Bookseller in Newport-Pagnell 1685. TO THE READER Reader THIS plain Sermon had not seen the Light had it not been for the Sake and Desire of that dear People to whom my Reverend Brother and my self had a joynt Relation and to preserve his Memory amongst those who had the Happiness to know him and the Grace to love him The Death of good Ministers who are our Chariots and Horse-men is a sad Omen and 't is a sadder they dye no more lamented It is reported of Philo the Jew that he wept when he heard of the Death of any good Man but there are but few Philo's now Good Men live unbeloved by the generality and dye unbewailed I speak not this with respect to my Brother it pleased the Lord to place him more happily than most are his Auditours rejoyced in his Light while he lived and when dead with great Lamentation carried him to his Grave May God bless these few Lines to do that good that is intended and I shall be satisfied and none will have Reason to be dissatisfied Upon the Death of that Pious and Profound Divine Mr. James Wrexham I. BLEST with the Sight of Artificial Men Rank'd in a Gallery thus did I deem Are these their own Survivors in this room Or are th'Graves Prisoners loose and hither come I mus'd upon the matter once agen And second Thoughts corrected my Esteem Then I confest These man are sprung from Brains and Heart The Progeny of Love and Art Then a new thought my mind possest This is a teeming and improving Age I 'll Paint a Soul A Soul as dear as fair O 't will be rare When 't is invested in its lively hue Our Conversation we 'll renew I hasted to my work rapt with a pleasant rage II. I got such Colours as I judg'd most fit The Flame colour I thought would do Together with the heavenly Blue My Knowledge was th' enlight'ned Air My Heart the Chair In which the Darling of my Thoughts did sit I took my Pensil and began to draw I scarce had drawn a Line But lo I saw An Heaven-born Muse the gravest of the Nine Said she What mean those Colours there I answer'd readily A Soul is in my Eye A splendid Soul I 'll paint it on this Table here The Flame will shew its quick Ascent The Blue will shew its Element O how I pleas'd my self that my account was fair III. But pleasant Errours are but Childrens Playes She with a gentle smile reply'd The blue and the bright-flowered Curtains hide What shines un-envy'd on the other side But these To Mortals do forbid the glorious Raies Moreover Thou 'lt draw a Shine but can'st thou paint the heat The Vitals of his Soul and how his Heart did beat Can'st thou discover His quick and mighty Zeal Pure Zeal that issu'd from above Compos'd of Prudence and of Love Can'st paint the Pleasures which into his Soul did steal Tow'ring Eagles winged Boyes Are but faint Emblems of Devotional Joyes A golden Mouth doth fall within thy bounds But can'st thou paint his heavenly sounds She further said His depths of Learning cannot be pourtray'd By your poor Pensil He has done it with his Quill IV. He was the Jonah of the Age Buried alive In horrors Gulf involv'd Yet undissolv'd The Artist was too wise t' engage To draw sad Agamemnon's Face When he his Iphigenia did bewail But overcast it with a Vail And left it to Spectators to spell out the Case Tremble weak Hand none of thy strokes can show How he did conflict with the Fiends below He went into the deeps to learn And O the pious Myst'ries he did there discern V. But lo our Jonah comes a shore And the Leviathan never touch'd him more Then chearfully he went Whither he was most wonderfully sent He preach'd unto his Ninevites Repent His Words were light'ning of an heavenly rise Which spar'd the Person but consum'd the Vice O how his Hearers were to him enchain'd Whilst he the Sacred Text explain'd He sick'ned there In Moses Chair And he with Moses on the Mount did dye With Canaan in his Eye But can your Colours tell The Glories of an heavenly Throne O whither whither is he gone This said she left me all alone I stood amaz'd And down my Pensil fell Upon the Death of that Faithful Servant of Christ Mr. James Wrexham COME Tears ye pearly dewes your Forces joyn To wash the Body of a great Divine Lament O England at a Prophets Tomb One Pillar 's fall doth sorely shake the Room Late monstrous Stars did look us into fear What think we when our kind Stars disappear Needs must a dreadful Darkness us surround When Lamps are Tapers watching under Ground Ha'rsham Lament Thy pleasant Sermon Bell Is turn'd into a doleful Funeral-Knell You were the Field where he bestow'd his Pains In hopes to reap your Graces for his Gains Your Chancels Northern part bedew with Tears In memory of your former golden Years Ah Loss on Loss What Heart can this abide The young one sleeping by th' old Prophet's side Children Lament Your Catechist is gone Your Morning 's over-cast which lately shone Both Young and Old Lament your mighty Loss Ye wore the Crown but now you bear the Cross But he whose Heart doth not Lament his fall Deserves to be lamented most of all A BURNING AND A Shining Light c. JOHN 5.35 He was a burning and a shining light and ye were willing for a season to rejoyce in his light OUR Saviour in the Context speaks of four Witnesses who attested that he was the Christ the Son of God his Father his Works the Scriptures and John the Baptist The Testimony of John Baptist which was argumentum ad hominem he produced ex abundanti q.d. The Testimony of a wise and good man weighs with men and such a one John Baptist was esteem'd to be by you the Jews we know had a great Veneration for him and many of them have at this day ye consulted him concerning the Messiah he denied that he was the Person and bore witness of me and ye rejoyced in his Light the light of his Life and the light of his Ministry This I might insist on and expect that ye should believe because of his witness who was a burning and a shining Light a Prophet that might be credited but I receive not Testimony from man I have greater Witnesses neither do I speak it out of Ambition but for your Edification and Salvation The Text contains first an Encomium which our Saviour gave of John Baptist either after his Imprisonment or Death Divines determine not which his evident 't was when he was taken off from his publick Ministry He was a burning
We have says the Apostle this Treasure in earthen Vessels that the excellency of the Power might be of God and not of Man 2. Cor. 4.7 On therefore you that have good Ministers walk in their Light while they shine amongst you for you cannot enjoy them long they will be extinguished Zach. 1.5 Your Fathers where are they and the Prophets do they live for ever No they dye as other Men. Fourthly As they are called Candles because they will burn out so because they waste in giving Light their Spirits and Strength are exhausted in studying and preaching c. It was a great Comfort to our Bishop Jewel of blessed Memory when he was on his Death-Bed that his Body was wasted away in the Labours of his holy Calling the same we may say of our Brother He spent himself in the Work of the Ministry and as St. Austin desired that Death might arrest him aut precantem aut praedicantem either praying or preaching the Sickness that was the Death of our Brother seised him Praedicantem while he was preaching Jer. 6.29 30. The Bellows are burnt that is the Lungs of the Prophets The Lead is consumed of the Fire the Exhortations Affections c. of the Prophets by which they endeavoured to draw the People from their Sins as the Founder by Lead melteth the Silver in order to the purifying it from Dross Wo to those for whom they have been spent in vain Reprobate Silver shall Men call them for the Lord hath rejected them Fifthly and lastly Because there will be no need of Ministers in the Morning of the Resurrection as there is not of Candles when we have the Light of the Sun We expect a brighter time than this before the Resurrection when the Earth shall be filled with the Knowledge of the Lord as the Waters cover the Sea which will be at the re-ingraffing of the Jews but it will not be day untill the Sun of Righteousness comes in the Clouds and therefore even then there will be need of Ministers otherwise God had not appointed as he hath that there should be Pastours and Teachers untill all the Elect are called and the Body of Christ perfected which will not be e're the end of the World Ephes 4.11 12 13. And he gave some Apostles and some Prophets and some Evangelists and some Pastours and Teachers for the perfecting of the Saints for the work of the Ministry for the edifying of the Body of Christ till we all come to the Vnity of the Faith and of the Knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect Man unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ To boast that we are above Ordinances as some do e're the Body of Christ is perfected shews Ignorance and Pride and imputes imprudence to the All-wise God in ordering that there should be a Ministry till that time but then when the Body of Christ is edified the Ministry will cease all darkness will be dispelled we shall see Face to Face and know as we are known The second thing to be enquired into is why they are called burning Candles Ans It is because of the Zeal the fervour of their Affections by which they warm the cold benummed Affections of their People and kindle in them good Desires and Resolutions or rather the Spirit of God by them O that there are no more such Ministers How lifeless are the Souls of our People under our Ministry because we do not burn How can we expect that they should be affected with our Sermons when the Word of Life seems to dye in our cold and heartless preaching it Oh that God would fire our Affections that we might be instrumental to kindle good Affections in others I have read of a Man that gave this reason for his forsaking Paris that he perceived their Sermons were every day colder than other so that he feared if he tarried there longer he should be spiritually frozen to death I relate not this to justifie Separatists but to give a hint of the Mischief of careless preaching We want burning Ministers in this frozen Age. Plain Sermons preached with Affection will do more good than the most learned coldly delivered Eusebius tells us of a Heathen that came to an assembly of Bishops to discourse the Articles of Faith and when the learned'st of them looked one upon another fearing to encounter with him because of his acute Parts one esteemed the meanest for Learning with great Ardour of Affection told him that unless he believed in Father Son and Holy Ghost he should be damned and therefore it was in vain to cavil he must subject his carnal Reason to Faith which so wrought upon him that he embraced the Christian Religion and was baptized saying he could answer Reason with Reason but he could not resist the Authority with which that Bishop spake Lucerna ut luceat ardere debet we must burn that we might shine They who have not good Affections do not cannot give light to others into the most spiritual Mysteries of Christianity their Sermons are dry and jejune more like the Discourses of the Heathens than Gospel Sermons It is seldom that they touch upon the Vitals of Religion and when they do it 's superficial and insipid to a sanctified Sence neither do they shine in their Conversations for it is Zeal that makes a Person active for God The third thing to be enquired into is why they are called shining Lamps or Candles Ans It is because they give light by their Doctrine and Example The Learning of some is lost for want of Zeal and the good Affections of others for want of Knowledge and there are some Hypocrites that shine and seem to burn to have a concern for the Glory of God and Happiness of Souls in the Pulpit but darken the light of their Doctrine by their wicked scandalous Conversations Zeal without Knowledge is fitly compared to the Fire of Hell which hath Heat but no Light and they that have Learning and not Grace to the Toad who as Naturalists say hath a Jewel in his Head but Poyson in his Belly Theresore we must both burn and shine have Knowledge Zeal and a holy Conversation Appl. But alas alas are there not some that want a Head and more that want a Heart for God and O that I had not cause to say it too many that want both and are scandalous in their Conversations I know this Age hath afforded as many holy and learned Ministers as any but yet there are too few and therefore they have cause to lament from whom God hath taken a faithful Minister Oh what a Mercy is it to benighted Souls whose way is covered with Snares and who have a seducing Devil whom they are prone to follow to have a faithful Minister to call them when out of the way and shew them the Way of Life and light them along in it What a mercy is it to have a zealous Minister to warm our