God hath lately taken away many very famous instruments both Ministers and others so that we have cause to cry out with the Psalmist Ps 12.1 Help Lord for the godly man ceaseth for the faithful fail from among the children of men Now this dispensation of God calls for deep humiliation and it becomes us to bow before God and to meet him in the way of his judgments least his wrath break out further against us and there be no remedy But 2d and more particularly I would beg you of this Congregation to consider the present stroke of God upon you in taking away Mr. John Sympson And for the enforcing of this consideration I shall propose these few particulars First This to me is a very speaking providence I know all the providences of God speaks something to us but this speaks very much as first it speaks forth an immediate hand of God God hath taken him from you and not man Now for God to take away his Ministers at such a day as this is must needs be a speaking providence even at such a day wherein men slay them civilly slay them in their testimony and render them as naturally dead for God then to take them away by death is as much as if God should say Well if my servants trouble you if their testimony be a torment unto you I 'le take them from you and provide for them in another world You say they shal be as if they were naturally dead and because you say so they shall be dead indeed for God and man to be both at this work man to slay them civilly and God to slay them judicially is surely matter of great lamentation 2. This stroke may speak forth to many of you a non improvement of so great a mercy as the continuance of his Ministery was I judg many of you present lived years under the Ministry of this faithful servant of Christ and his Ministry hath been unto you As a very lovely song Ezek. 33.32 of one that hath a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument you have heard his words but you would not do them There hath not been a suitable conversation to such a Ministry A Gospel spiritual heavenly Ministry calls for a Gospel spiritual and heavenly Conversation such was his Ministry but such I fear hath not been the conversation of many of his hearers And indeed all of us that did injoy more or less of his labours have cause to mourn before the Lord this day for our non-improvement that we were so vain and careless in our hearing that we took no more care about the hearing receiving and practising what God was pleased to reveal unto us by his servant This faithfull man might according to the judgement of reason have lived many years done much service Now for God to take away his faithfull labourers in the midst of their days to cause their son to set at noon is a providence that hath a dreadfull aspect upon unfaithfull and unfruitfull hearers And indeed such like strokes tells us all that Eternity draws on apace that 't wil not be long ere the Kingdom of Christs patience be over 't wil be but as a day and Christ shall cease to make proffers of grace and the spirit shal cease to strive with man and all faithful Ministers and Laborers shall cease to pray and preach for ever and those unalterable words shall be made good Rev. 22.11 Let him that is unjust be unjust still c. Oh! what would many a condemned wretch give at the great day to have Christ and mercy and pardon proffered to it then as they have been many a time proffered in the Ministry of this glorified Saint But know O soul that if thou diest despising and rejecting Christ and spiritual blessings Christ will despise thee at that day and then 't wil not be all thy crying and roaring that will save thee from the wrath of the Lamb from everlasting plagues and judgements 3. This dispensation of God may possibly speak to many of you a dispising sleighting the person and gifts of this holy man In this generation of professors hath been found a haughty proud spirit a heart lifted up against God and his honest sincere hearted servants No sooner have persons gotten a few airy notions of religion but presently they have been apt to slight and trample upon not onely those that have been below them but upon those also who have infinitly to speak by way of comparison excelled them both in parts and grace Now for God to take away his eminently gifted servants doth very much condemn this proud and haughty spirit In such kind of providences God seemeth thus to speak Is it not enough O ye professors of England is it not enough that my faithfull ministers labourers should be reproached and scorned and trampled on by the prophane wicked people but you my professing people must despise and scorn them and delight to grieve their spirits When it may be a faithful servant of mine hath with prayers and tears secretly sought unto me for light in such a scripture or truth and I have answered his prayer and given him light therein and he hath preacht unto you in my spirit and fear then with a great deal of dis-respect to my servant you have brought forth your objections and cavils against the truth delivered and this not to satisfie your selves in the knowledge of truth It hath not been that you might know love and obey truth but to please your itching ears and your critical fancies and so have sent home my servant with a troubled and a perplexed spirit for your sakes Well saith God since it is so that my servants testimony is a torment to the prophane and their gifts and persons despised by you that profess my name I 'l take them out of the world out of all your way take them into mine own bosome and kingdom where neither a scornful malicious sinner nor a proud professor shall trouble or grieve them more This kind of spirit was in the Church of Corinth Paul that glorious preacher was sleighted by many of the gifted persons of that Church 2 Cor. 10.10 and it 's not to be questioned but that there were some in that Church that thought themselves as wise as Paul and as fit to preach as Paul and to advise and give counsell as Paul c. But I would have persons of this spirit to weigh that text Ezek. 33.30 saith God to Ezekiel Also thou son of man the children of thy people are still a talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses and speak one to another every one to his brother saying Come I pray you and hear what is the word that cometh from the Lord. Here God taketh notice of their secret whisperings against his Prophets how they spoke against Ezekiel behind the door and the wall and said scoffingly come let us go hear
set the bells a ringing which imports matter of joy rather then of sorrow I am preaching now to a people who have by a profession separated themselves from the world and the traditions thereof you 'l do well to keep your ground in these evil dayes and so to educate and bring up your children as that they also may be delivered from these snares But 2 If it be a Christ like frame of spirit to bewail the perishing of good men it informs us how unlike to Christ that spirit is whereby men do censure and reproach good men when taken away by death And I do the rather mention this because some have taken the boldness to judge and censure this pretious servant of Christ now in glory and to speak very unworthily concerning him since his death Oh dreadfull how unlike to Christ is this spirit thou that shouldst be judging condemning thy self for non improvement of so great a mercy artjudging this eminent servant of Christ now dead The Liturgy of the Church of England wil teach theebetter for let personsbe never so vile in their lives yet when they come to be laid in the grave then they are dear brethren sisters Consider you that are of this spirit how sad it will be if this servant of Christ shall appear as a witness against you at the great day of account if the sermons that he preach'd the profers of grace that God made by him shal witness against thee and thou then be judged condemned and sent to hell for not receiving entertaining and improving the precious sermons of this glorified saint It 's possible now you that judge and condemn him and speak more then you know or more then is truth of him and that possibly to carnall and wicked persons you may have your tale heard it may be pleasing to wicked prophane people that he should be so judged by his own followers but at the great day of Christ there wil be none to hear a tale against him at that day God will clear his innocency before men and Angels and it shall appear to all the world that he was a true and a faithful servant of Christ when it may be some of those that do now judge him shall then be condemned for notorious hypocrits and it shall appear that notwithstanding all their profession and pretended Zeal for the name and glory of God they were workers of iniquity and such who did live in the love of some accursed sin or other O therefore away with this spirit to hell with it for from thence it came Let it suffice that this glorified saint suffered much in this kind while he was living I am apt to think the heats and passions and rash censures of professors hath made him oft go home with a sad heart and cost him many a tear in private let this his suffering suffice let not his name suffer now he is dead suffer him to be quiet in his grave Leave his judgement to the Lord and let it be your work to improve those many pretious sermons that he hath in the fear of his God preach'd unto you As to the matter of his taking the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy upon his releasment out of Prison About Mr. Sympson's taking the Oaths which hath occasioned so much talk I shall onely say these two things First that in Queen Elizabeths and King James time these Oaths were taken and pleaded for and that not onely by the faith and troth Christians but even by the Non-conformists of those times who were eminent for God in their day and whose names are yet pretious among the Lords people who are known by their works to be men greatly inlightned in the mysteries of the Gospel Now although I do not look upon their example to be binding to the saints in after-ages or a sufficient rule for our practice yet I judge the consideration not onely of the great holyness but also of the clear light that many of those who did them take the Oaths with great satis faction had in the word of God may a little take off the edge of that bitter spirit that is in many professors against their brethren for these things for that it cannot be judged otherwise but that many who did take these Oaths with great satisfaction are now in glory But 2. Who made thee Lord over thy Brother's Conscience Must all professors be condemned by thee because they cannot see with thy eyes and tread in thy steps By what authority doest thou impose thy particular light and perswasion upon thy brother that so as almost to un-saint him without conformity This imposing spirit is an Antichristian spirit evermore How unlike thy self dost thou act when notwithstanding thou pleadest for Liberty of Conscience and against impositions yet thou shalt impose thine own perswasions upon thy brother after this rare Such imposing spirits let their protessions be what they will are not to be confided in for it may well be feared that those that can so readily take away the good name of a godly man because he cannot conform to their Light would take away his estate and liberty also upon the very same account were it in their power Note Indeed those men are greatly to be lamented that shall sin against Light against avowed principles against solemn covenants and engagements shall do that which is clean contrary to their own doctrines and assertions I mean when those avowed principles folemn covenants doctrines and assertions have been according to the Word of God But thus did not this faithful man he did nothing in this matter but what was according to his Light and that is evident for that several months before his imprisonment he did publickly declare his judgment to be for and not against the taking of these Oaths and did plead it while in prison with several friends and when he came before the Court the matter lying so that either he must take the Oaths or else return to prison he did judge that he should have sinned against God and against those over whom the Holy Ghost had made him overseer and against his family and against himself if he should have returned to prison for refusing that which he had light to do The case being thus as it is known to hundreds to be I should hardly trust my life estate or liberty in that mans hand that should trample upon the name of Mr. John Simpson for so doing Use 2 The next use may be of Exhortation Is it so that it is a Christ-like frame of spirit to be deeply affected with to mourn over the death of such as are truly gracious Then it concerns us seriously to consider the providences of God this way and that more generally and more particularly First more generally God hath lately made sad breaches upon many of the families of his precious servants many a flourishing samily hath mouldred away in a little time And
consider the great blessing and success that did attend his ministry He was through Gods blessing instrumental for the conversion of many souls he hath lâ—ft behind him many seals of his ministry Every faithful laborious preacher is not attended with such a blessing Many a Godly minister hath Isaiahs commision Chap. 6.10 To make the heart of his people fat and their ears heavy dreadful work and to shut their eies lest they see with their eies and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and convert and be healed It was the saying of a godly Minister in England after some years preaching to a people That he had preach'd his people dead I say not but that many might be the more fit for hell by the means of Mr. Sympson's ministry it might through the wickedness of the hearers be the savour of death unto death to many but this I say that God blest him above scores nay hundreds of Preachers in the great work of Conversion in turning souls from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God c. Now to lose a Minister whose ministry was attended with so great a blessing especially at such a time when it is rare to hear of one new Convert must needs be a great loss I shal here in the close of this Exhortation speak a word or two by way of Caution Caution and that 1. Though this stroke of God be a matter of sorrow and humiliation yet you must take heed of a murmuring spirit You have cause to bee displeased with your selves and your sins but not with God and that 1. Because God takes away nothing but what he first gave The person and gifts of this Saint were given unto you by the Lord he hath taken nothing but his own Learn therefore to say with Job Chap. 1.21 The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away blessed be the name of the Lord. 2. You have no cause to murmure and that because you had sorfeited this mercy long ago that God continued the Ministry of this his servant so long among you was a fruit of his superabounding love 2. Though you are to mourn under this stroke yet take heed of mourning as those without hope without hope I say 1. With respect to him his happiness is unquestionable your loss is his gain He is taken up into glory and hath there communion with God He is out of the reach of all his enemies they can now imprison him no more He is where hee 'l never have any thing imposed upon him contrary to Conscience hee 'l never suffer there for Non-conformity sake There God is served adored and glorified with one heart and with one consent 2. Mourn not without hope with respect to your selves as if God were not able to make up this loss I remember a relation of a Lady from whom it pleased God to take an onely Son that sometime after a friend coming to visit her and bemoaning this her sad loss she breaks forth into these expressions I profess saith she God can never make me amends for the taking away of that Son A dreadful speech it was take heed my friends of this spirit It 's true your loss is great but God is able to supply it and that either 1. By causing the spirit of Elijah to fall upon Elisha by anointing and raising up of some other to head and feed you in the room of this his servant Or 2ly he can feed you himself without a Minister God can fill up the room of Ministry and Ordinances Indeed let God be absent and there 's nothing can fill up his room It 's not husband wife children estate liberty Pastors Ordinances c. can supply the want of God but now let God be present and that is above and more then all And undoubtedly if God deny you a publick Gospel-Ministry it 's your duty to wait upon him for more secret and immediate feedings I am afraid that as formerly professors were greatly guilty of sleighting and despising the means and ministry of the Gospel so now they will be guilty of Idolizing the Ordinance of publick Preaching at such a rate as to think themselvs bound and obliged to hear men of any principles or practices rather then to neglect that Ordinance Arminians Socinians Jesuits c. any thing every thing rather then be out of publick worship Take heed of mourning in a spirit of unbelief saying Can God spread a table in the wilderness can God feed and teach without a Preacher To live without the true worship of God is bad but to be found in a way of false worship is worse It 's my duty to omit that Ordinance of Christ which I can't enjoy without sin Thus much for that part of the Exhortation which relates to Humiliation I shall give you two brief words further and so close First Is it so that the death of faithful instruments is a matter of great Humiliation Then let this stirr you up to be earnest with the Lord that he would continue and preserve those faithful ministers that do yet remain that he would double his spirit upon them hide them in the secret of his presence increase their number Not forgetting the prayer of Moses for the tribe of Levi Deut. 33.11 in these words Bless Lord his substance and except the work of his hands smite through the loins of them that rise against him and of them that hate him that they rise not again These words shall undoubtedly be made good with respect unto the ministry of the Gospel Christ will in his time smite through the loins of them that rise up against a Gospel ministry hateing and despitefully using his faithfull servants hee 'l so pierce through their loyns as that they shall fall and never rise more In the mean time take heed you that profess the name of Christ that you do not endanger the rest of the faithful labourers that are left amongst you and that neither 1. By slighting and despising the meanest of them 2 Chron 36.16 But they mocked the messengers of God and despised his words misused his prophets untill the wrath of the Lord arose against his people till there was no remedy Nor Secondly By idolizing those that are most eminent How many famous instruments to speak according to man's judgement hath the professors of this age sent to their graves before their time by idolizing their persons and gifts ascribing that honor and glory to them which was due to Christ alone This spirit and frame hath even forced the Lord in order to the convincing and humbling of his people either to take away the spirit of zeal and courage from such instruments thereby render them unfit for further service or else to remove them by death from earth to heaven out of the sight of all his people that dwell in tabernacles of corrupt clay Lastly Such strokes should teach us all to provide for death God takes away our leaders and we must follow them those that would not follow the counsel and advise of Mr. Sympson while living must follow him to the grave now dead to the grave wee must all go and the Lord knows how soon Of what import therefore is it that we all manage matters so while we live as that when we com to die we may dye in peace in ful assurance of our entrance into glory We should manage all our matters so in this world as those that must once dye and come to judgement performing every thing with this proviso That I may dye well I am so to buy sell and converse with creatures that I may dye well I am so to hear pray read receive the supper have communion with the saints as that I may dye well dye in peace all is to be done in order to dying well My beloved this life is the trimming chamber unto eternity by all the means and mercies that thou dost injoy thou art fitting either to bear the eternal weight of glory or the eternal weight of wrath thou art fitting either for heaven or hell thou wilt either be bound up in the bundle of life or else thou wilt be bound up for hell fire Now the Lord give us all hearts to provide for that everlasting state Amen and Amen FINIS ERRATA Page 1. line last for secret read severe and what literal mistakes or mis-pointings-hath escaped the Press you are desired to amend as you find them