being met the whole charge of entertaining you here had been the province and task of some other of my brethren that had been every way more able to have discharged it than my self It may I hope be a pardonable excuse if I allege for my self that my meditations have been much very much discomposed by my sorrows that mine eyes have sometimes vyed drops with my pen while I was about this sad task And probably had I loved and honoured him less I might have performed this service better But t is fit I leave Apologies and come to my remaining task that is to make some honourable mention of our Israel now he is dead whom we deservedly honoured while he was alive I shall not stick long upon the Parallel yet shall I first observe that our Israel like him in the Text was by God made happy in the number of so many surviving children as were the heads of the twelve Tribes though not all of the same Sex and had the addition of one grandchild more than Joseph presented to departing Israel to receive his benediction Of all which our Israel made frequent and affectionate mention and to which together with his own he bequeathed his blessing as old Jacob did to the sons of his son Joseph 2. The name Israel as you heard before was superadded to the former name of Jacob as some think or rather given in its stead because he was Rectus Dei an up right man Jacob signifies a supplanter some conjecture he was so called because he got his brother Esaus birth-right by a wile but the word signifies properly plantam tenens and the child was in likelyhood called Jacob because about the time of his birth he held his twin brother by the heel Our Honoured Lord could not be called Jacob at all for whose birth-right had he taken We may say with St. Paul he had wronged no man defrauded no man but he might be called Israel for he was rectus Dei had an upright plain dealing soul like Nathaniel a true Israelite in whom was no guile 3. Israel was vir videns Deum a man that saw God and so I doubt not but this Honourable Person did too though not as Jacob face to face yet by some such means by which God is pleased to make discovery of himself to men in these latter times Lyra upon Genesis thinks it was by vertue of the Spirit of prophecy that old Israel foretold his death before it came and said I dye But whether he had the Spirit of Prophecy or no I do not question Sure I am there is no great need of any extraordinary Revelation to let a man of an 147. years of age as Israel was know that the time drew nigh that he should dye but I have reason to believe that there was something more than ordinary in it though being a man of singular reservedness he did not discover it that this Honourable Person when he was but about 52. years of age and under no visible distemper of body or mind should above three moneths ago even then when he accompanied his dear and honourable Mother to her long home in his passage from the house to the Church say with some kind of confidence that he should be the next that should go that way And before he was seiz'd with any sickness let fall some expressions in the hearing of his dearest relations whom he yet was most unwilling to grieve signifying his expectation that ere long they should have occasion to Mourn for him And I am the more confident that he had some foresight of his approaching end from one expression uttered to my self in the time of his visitation which was upon this occasion We that were about him and observed how little he was afraid or spoke of what we so much suspected doubted that the nature of his disease had made him insensible of his danger that though Death made irresistable though slow assaults he did not apprehend it hereupon I did as I conceiv'd I was oblig'd make my private application to him and dealt plainly with him discovering to him our just fears and his own great danger and admonished him to prepare himself throughly for Death which we doubted he could not avoid And I was satisfied that he foresaw his danger and therefore had prepared for it when I heard him say and that with a serene countenance and a very grave utterance Parson I was sensible of this before any of you were And we were afterwards satisfied why he was so long desirous to conceal his danger for when he saw it was to no purpose to endeavour to hide what his dearest relations had discovered and therefore thought fit to yield and in effect to say with old Israel Behold I dye and saw his dearest Confort and the rest about him thereupon to give vent unto their passion and let it out in a floud of tears he presently added these words I this is it I was afraid of thereby declaring that the reason why he seem'd to take so little notice of his danger was not because he was insensible of it but because he would not have his Relations understand it nor be troubled at it 4. Israel was so called as most do probably think because he was Princeps cum Deo and prevail'd with God when he wrestled with him for a blessing Gen. 32. 28. It was our Israels custom to wrestle with God as Jacob did Devotion was one part of his dayly exercise And it hapned to him as to Israel Gen. 32. For coming from his morning exercise he was seiz'd as Israel with a lameness in his thigh And I make no question but that as he did with Israel go away with a bodily foyl he receiv'd a spiritual blessing and though he came or rather was carried off with a maim in the body he was princeps cum Deo and prevail'd for a blessing on his soul And I do not think fit nor can I let pass this observation without commending it to the careful notice and consideration of all that hear me that the great stroke by which God call'd him to himself befell him presently upon his rising from his private devotions as if God had said to him Thy prayers are come up and I come down to fetch thee up likewise Thy work is done and now I will do mine and give thee a reward Sure happy is that devout soul whom his Lord when he cometh shall find so doing standing upon his watch and calling upon his God Oh consider it how much more comfortable it is for a man to be found so doing than to be snatch'd away with his Dalilah in his arms or with an intemperate cup in his hand or a dam-me in his mouth or any Idol in his heart which might make him incapable of communion with his God! But I leave the Parallel and offer him 2. To your consideration as a Person of Honour different indeed from most other men of
death were offended at his words and fell foul upon him telling him that now they knew that he had a Devil for say they Abraham is dead and the Prophets are dead If any thing could reprieve from death probably it must be either greatness or goodness 1. Not Greatness For man being in honour abideth not but is like the beasts that perish that is must dye as well as they Psal 49. 12. So again Psal 82. 6. I have sayd you are Gods but ver 7. Ye shall dye like men Death knocks as boldly and enters as irresistably into the rich mans palace as the poor mans cottage Lazarus died and so did the rich man also and was buried with more pompous solemnity it is likely but with less comfort and advantage as you may collect if you view the passage Luke 16. 22. Death when it comes with its commission makes no distinction all in this respect are alike and go to one place saith Solomon and are dissolved into the like indistinguishable dust 2. Nor Goodness Jacob who was loved dyed as well as Esau that was hated nay though Greatness and Goodness meet they cannot exempt nor rescue from the grave Israel was Princeps cum Deo and Rectus Dei He wrastled with God and prevailed yet when he came to grapple with Death he had the foyl None so great none so good as our Blessed Redeemer yet when he was pleas'd to take our nature and to bear our sins he sunk under the unsupportable load and the bitter cup of Death must not pass by but he must tast and drink it And sure the servant is not greater nor hath reason to expect to fare better than his Lord. If he dyed before he entered into glory so must wee too we must dye with him if we will reign with him and partake with him in death if we will share with him in glory It hath been observ'd by others that Moses was bid go up and dye but that we must dye before we can go up But I add that it was but to Mount Nebo whither Moses must go up before his death Neither he nor we can ascend Mount Sion that is above before we descend unto the Hades that is below We must stoop to the grave ere we can rise to glory So it is a truth Israel and we too must dye 2. It is a truth that Israel did and we must apply I dye sayd old Israel I am a stranger and a sojourner with thee as all my fathers were Oh spare me before I go hence saith David Psal 39. 22. My days are swifter than a Weavers Shuttle saith Job cap. 7. 6. and my days are vanity saith he ver 16. The time of my departure is at hand said S. Paul 2 Tim. 4. 6. And my life draws nigh to the grave saith David again Psal 88. 2. So that unless a man can say that he is better than David Abraham Isaac or Jacob than Moses and the Prophets and all his Predecessors he must say with Israel I die And he must not say it onely but take notice of it For 3. This is a notable and observable Truth as the word Behold which is prefixed doth imply 1. It is a considerable Truth in respect of a mans self and his own death For First this consideration will make the thoughts of death less troublesome Elijah could pray for death when he considered it had been the portion of his fathers and that he was no better than they 1 Kin. 19. 4. Though the thoughts of company cannot abate the miseries of the second death they may lessen the terrours of the first St Paul could desire to be dissolved when he thought of being with Christ who was dead before him 2. This consideration that we must die may by Gods blessing make us more careful how we live It is the indiscreetest folly and the greatest improvidence imaginable for a fleeting soul to feed it self with hopes of going to this or that place and getting this or that gain to morrow when it may be lost to day To bath it self in pleasures when 't is ready to be ravished into everlasting burnings or promise it self rest for many years when it may be snatch'd from its deluding delights before the approaching night If we must die t is fit we take time to live to live to the Lord that we may dye in the Lord and live hereafter with the Lord. 3. This consideration that we must die should make us strive to do all the good we can while we live Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do do it with thy might or do it quickly saith Solomon Ec. 9. 10. and he adds the reason for his advice for there is no work nor device nor knowledge in the grave whither thou goest Death is that night when no man can work Therefore while we have time let us do good to all Gal. 6. 10. to our selves and to others too Dives Luke 16. had no permission to return to his Fathers house to warn his Brethren When a man is dead and gone hence his place shall know him no more Job 7. 10. The grave is the den of that roaring lion from whence vestigia nulla retâ—orsum the place to which all go and from whence none return But perhaps the young gallant may think that though this doctrine may be seasonably preach'd to those of old Israels age and to his own decrepit friends or father that are as weary of the world as he is of them it is yet too soon to have his delights eclips'd or his delicate ears struck with such un welcom and terrible truths But let him consider he is growing up and ripening for death from the time he first had life 'T is true what Seneca says tunc quoque cùm crescimus decrescit vita each day that makes the time he hath lived longer makes the remainder shorter Thy glass is still running and the more sands are spent already the fewer are behind 2. And as we are concerned in respect of our own so it doth concern us to take notice of the death of others also First when we see or hear of the death of another we should remember and prepare for our own Joseph a son is not privileg'd above Israel the father though he was born after him he might have dyed before him 2. Since others as well as our selves must dye it is our part to do all the good we can unto them and get all the good we can from them before they dye If they live in the fear of God imitaâ—e them and so shalt thou dye like them and live for ever with them I shall detain you no longer in the prosecution of the Text already treated on there remains another subject I mean that Honourable though liveless spectacle that hath brought us unwillingly hither and is the sad occasion of this solemnity I could wish had God seen it good there had been no such occasion of this concourse or that
his age and time The man I think is not to be found that can justly accuse him or blast his reputation or honour by justly charging him with dissimulation ot fraud or unfaithfulness or lying or incontinency or drunkenness or swearing or any other notorious vice I have had the happiness to be frequently near him and often in the hearing of him for a dozen years together yet did I never that I remember hear any obscene or filthy communication come from his mouth nor observe him upon any provocation let any one of those many oaths escape his lips that many men now adays reckon and look upon as the greatest if not only ornament and grace of their discourse But it is not enough to be extra vitia without any nororious vice God will not be satisfied with a negative holiness we must not only cease to do evil but learn to do well Isa 1. And so did he And that you may take a short view of his vertues I shall present him briefly to you in all or most of his remarkable Relations and offer to your considerations how he did carry himself towards his Correlates And then I admonish and beseech you to go and do likewise 1. Consider him as a Christian and how he behaved himself towards God both in the time of his health and sickness While God enabled him to come hither we seldome very seldome missed his early company here He was resolved that God loves the Gates of Syon more than all the dwellings of Jacob and will not be put off with our pretences of doing our Devotions in our Closet when he expects us in the Church Nor was his Devotion personated and put on to deceive the world but he took his time for private as well as publick performances as I have told you before In his sickness those three Christian graces of Faith Hope and Charity were very remarkable He signified his Charity in forgiving all that had done him any injury and desiring to be reconciled to all betwixt whom and himself there had been any misunderstanding and debate His Faith and Hope he expressed to my unworthy self in private while he was able affirming he did firmly relye on the merits and mediation of his Saviour Jesus and through him hoped for a glorious Resurrection And in this Faith and Hope he earnestly desired and received both the Absolution of the Church and the Sacrament of the Supper of the Lord. When his tongue had fail'd to do its office and we perceiv'd that he endured a great fight of afflictions that the Lord delay'd his coming and Death made but slow though sure approaches I did as I thought I was in duty bound advise him to search his own heart whether there were any thing yet undone that God expected he should do before he call'd him hence and that he would signifie to us by some token whether he hoped that his peace was perfected and his conscience quier Whereupon he looked upon us with a more chearful countenance than it is ordinary for a dying man to manifest and then casting up his eyes to Heaven he layd his hand upon his heart seeming to say that all was quiet there and that he died in Peace and rested in Hope His Piety and Devotion all along his sickness was very exemplary He acted his part in all the prayers and that with a stronger and more chearful voice than we conceaved he had been able to utter or did utter upon any other occasion The last word as I remember that I heard him say was Amen to our prayers but he moved his lips when he could not use his tongue to do that office which yet held out beyond our expectations and fail'd him not till very near his end And as his Piety was great towards God so was Gods mercy towards Him for though the stroke light on almost all the one side of his body it miss'd his brain So that by Gods great goodness he enjoy'd the use of his intellectuals and all or most of his senses in a wonderful vigour and acuteness towards his very latter end insomuch that he could hear our very whispers distinguish his drink see and know his visitants beyond the expectation of his friends and perhaps beyond the belief of Strangers And as his Piety so was his patience very remarkable He did endure much and long but complain little or nothing at all Oh me I am sick very sick oh me I am full of pain was all that could he said came from him tending towards a complaint You have heard of the patience of Job said St. James c. 5. Yes we have heard of Jobs patience and many of us have seen his and I think those that have seen and observ'd it will say they never saw his Christian Patience Fortitude equalled much less exceeded 2. Consider him next in the relation of a Subject concerning which I need to say but little because you all or most of you know his loyalty and fidelity to his Soveraign as well as my self Only let me mind you that in the last ingagement in this County he did not publickly appear untill there was great cause to doubt if not despair of any good success which was an argument there was no other motive but meer Loyalty and Conscience that drew him to hazard Himself his Sons that accompanied him and his Estate rather than he would incur the suspition of being backward to do his King and Country service 3. Consider him as a Son 1 A Son of the Church whose peace he was very careful to maintain whose orders he was ready to observe And as God gave him a very dutiful affection to his Mother the Church so he made the Church Service serviceable comfortable unto him I cannot think it possible that one that doth not really delight in reciprocally find comfort by the service of the Church should so frequently and cheerfully joyn and bear a part in it as he did notwithstanding all the Obstacles and Impediments of pain and sickness which is an argument that the Church service is not so faulty as our selves and that we might take pleasure in it reap profit by it if our own corrupt hearts were not indispos'd and out of order I confess we owe much to his example if our Congregation be in practice any thing more observant of the Churches Orders than some of our neighbours Let the contemptible Priests as some call us in scorn say what they will or can the peremptory vulgar will do as they list If their betters will not believe us they will despise us If a man of Authority Honour or Worship will not be persuaded to change his posture but keep his seat they will use neither leg nor knee unless it be to cross the Church in her directions and commands but believe it Gentlemen it is no disparagement to use your own tongues to make confession of and cry God mercy for your own