he seldom or never would eat or drink but when 't was Necessary and an Habitual Abstinence for 24 hours bred in him a nauseous dislike of those Meats which other Men have made almost natural by the contrary Custom From his knowledg of the true God whom he constantly worship'd with a great deal of Reverence and Devotion both in publick and in private He took his measures of this Evil World and then made the best use of it imaginable not like a Proprietor but a Steward that waits patiently for his Lords coming and hopes to give up his Account with joy He may be thought to be of the same Opinion with Plato esteeming his Body no better then a prison to the Soul He therefore used it not for his Mansion but his Inn looking upon himself as a stranger in the Land or like a wafering Man which tarryeth but for a Night Briefly neither his Meat nor Drink no nor Sleep were at all superfluous or exceeding the bounds of that Soberness which becometh Christians For he never so clog'd and stupified the Stomach and the Brain as to become indisposed for Action exemplifying the Truth of our Souls being one continued Act whilst our Bodies are but the dull Engines to those nimble Spirits And he thereby testified also that man is to live here like the Israelites in the Desert having no resting place no continuing City before he comes up to Canaan the good Land of Promise Upon this account he vertuously contemn'd and slighted all the Pomps and Vanities of this fading sinful World and learned with Saint Paul to count their temporary things not better then dung in comparison to that life of Grace which after all our Tribulations will end in Glory Real Godliness like Almighty God the Spring and Fountain of it is exhaustible restless and impatient of constraint before it flows over with all imagninable Freedom to enrich and beautify the Neighbouring Fields and Meadows Thus we see the Clouds do liberally spend themselves in dropping fatness both on the barren Hills and more fertile Vallies the Rain makes no difference and the Sun too sheds Light and Influence both on the Righteous and the Wicked High and Low Rich and Poor one with another And is it any way probable that Man should be wonderfully made for himself alone Can we think that ever infinite Wisdom ever intended that he should live at his own pleasure and so take his pastime and sport himself upon Land as the Leviathan doth at Sea but much more unreasonably to the Reproach of his being in the World and in open defiance both of his own Conscience and his God This Honourable Person here departed was I am sure of another mind more sensible of Gods undeserv'd Munificence and more conscientious in making all possible returns of Gratitude in proportion to those engagements which accomplished his Blessings His Godlike Soul was endued in good measure with all the Virtues that could represent him once more in his Makers Image If you pause a while and impartially reflect on the former passages of his life both in respect of himself his Neigbour and his God I believe you 'l readily acknowledge that God was in him of a Truth for he had learnt of that grand Exemplar his Lord and Master to be meek and lowly of heart full of Contentment in every Condition choosing tranquility of Mind with a good Conscience void of all offence both towards God and Man before abundance of Wealth and Riches Honours and Preferments with trouble and vexation of Spirit He was sober grave and temperate in all things even amidst many powerful Temptations to the contrary Vices He was obliged I suppose more than ordinary To keep his Tongue from evil and his Lipps from uttering any thing of deceit and Guile For you may remember no corrupt Communication proceeded out of his Mouth but only such manner of Discourse as would Minister grace or knowledge for his attentive Hearers His familiar Conversation was affable courteous pleasant facetious both from scurrilous or obscene Language and also from a Stoical morose Taciturnity He could seem angry sometimes but still in imitation of his God rather with the faults then persons of Men with due regard unto the Christian precept of being in Wrath but without Sin For Love and Charity that Bond of perfectness commanded all his Passions possest his whole Soul and crown'd all other Vertues with good success Being once Master of that most excellent spiritual Gift exceeding both our Faith and Hope he was truly Rich and Honourable too these things were indeed his beloved inheritance fairer in his Eyes then stately Buildings and large Mannours dearer unto him then many thousands of Gold and Silver sweeter also then Honey and the Hony Comb He seem'd by the course of his life to have taken Moses or much rather Christ for an example in renouncing the good things in this World and in suffering Evil for he did always highly prize the Christians Ornament of a meek and quiet and inoffensive Spirit above all the glittering Honours and ensnaring Gayeties of an usurping Tyrants Court choosing rather to suffer Afflictions then to enjoy the pleasures of Sin for a season Godliness with Contentment he judged rightly to be the most real Gain having the promise of this life and of that which is to come and it s therefore much greater and more lasting Riches then all the Treasures in Egypt and cannot be purchased with all the Gold of Opher Thus he lived and thus he dyed in the true Faith of Christ and in stedfast Hope of a good Reward in the Resurrection of the Just for he is now made free from Sin Death has no more Dominion over him for that he hath fulfill'd the Royal Law by loving his Neighbour as himself he frankly forgave his Enemies and likewise did the best he could for men of all sorts whether Friends or Foes without any distinction of Sects or Countrys In this charitable course he followed the precept and Example of his Master Jesus Christ forgiving all men their Trespasses either in words or deeds For it was no part of his Religion or his practice to repel injury with wrong to resist and recompence evil for evil he never so learn'd of Christ as to retaliate and revenge himself otherwise then by those harmless defensive weapons a patient silence and magnanimous contempt His great proneness to pity and compassion by forgiving other men their Trespasses produc'd in him remorse of Conscience and hearty sorrow for his own thus Charity began at home demonstrating to the World the soundness and sincerity of his heart by the streight line of his Conversation As the Sun being always one and the same Agent produces very different effects In like manner Charity bestows her Boons with one and the same hand but in very different ways of Dispensation according to the manifold Exigencies it meets with among the wretched Sons of miserable Men It cloaths
from the lusts and affections of human flesh and made stiff nature yield and submit her self to God Seing now That our merciful and faithful High-Priest hath given up his Innocent holy Soul an Offering and a Sacrifice for all our Sins by suffering that ignominious Death of the Cross and since he victoriously routed all the Forces and loosed all the pains of Death and of Hell triumphing over them at his Resurrection first and Ascension afterwards all true Christians may for that Cause readily bear a part in St. Paul's joyful 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Song of Triumph composed it seems for those very solemn Festivals O Death where is thy Sting O Grave where is thy Victory And forasmuch as the Merits of Christ the second Adam are as mighty to save Mankind as the Transgression of the first was powerful to condemn we may repeat the same words again with comfort of hope and in full assurance of our Faith in a cheerful Eccho to that heavenly Voice Blessed are the dead which dye in the Lord from henceforth even so saith the Spirit for they rest from their Labours and their Works do follow them These Words do plainly contain two general Parts 1. The first Part is a perfect express and affirmative Proposition wherein is peremptorily asserted The blessed unalterable State of all those Men who depart hence in the Lord Blessed are the dead which dye in the Lord or according to the Grammatical Order of the Words The dead which dye in the Lord are blessed 2. The Second general Part affords the strongest Reasons imaginable to prove and confirm the aforesaid Assertion This Confirmation thereof is twofold 1. From the best Authority that may be for 't is evidenced by the most infallible Testimony of the blessed Spirit full of Grace and of Truth 2. From Reason which is double The dead which die in the Lord are blessed 1. Because They rest from their Labours and 2. Because their Works do follow them For the clearer manifestation of the Truth now laid before us in the Method and Demonstration of the Spirit the Terms of the Proposition would be first of all explained in our Answers to these two Questions 1. What sort of men they be which the Spirit reckons to be dead in the Lord And 2. What is here understood by their being Blessed To the 1. Question What sort of Men they be which the Spirit reckons to be dead in the Lord Our Answer is briefly thus They are such Men as have not lived unto Themselves nor to the World but like Strangers and Pilgrims upon Earth having their Conversations and Hearts in Heaven That have mortifyed the Flesh with its Affections and Lusts being renewed in the Spirit of their Mind That have truly repented of all their Sins and subdued all the proud high Thoughts of their carnal minds in Obedience to Christ That have resisted and repelled the Devil in all his Attempts either by secret Suggestions or with open Force and have likewise renounced and overcome the World with all its Adherents Pomps and Vanities Now this Victory which all true Christians must obtain both over Themselves the Devil and the World before they can dye in the Lord is not otherwise to be gained than by sincere unfeigned Repentance manifest in all the Duties of self-denyal and mortification a lively persevering Faith in Christ and a constant hearty though not perfect Obedience to Gods Holy Commandments And seeing the best Men living are not able to perform that intire and exact Obedience which the Law requires at their hands to make them appear justifyed in the sight of a righteous holy God being judged of him according to their own Works but unprofitable Servants whosoever thinks to depart this Life in Peace with God with consolation to themselves must loath detest and abhor their past Wickedness like pious Job in dust and ashes and Jâ—b â—â—â— with S. Paul Phil. 3.9 cast off the polluted rags of their own imperfect Righteousness according to the Law to put on Christ by Faith and be found at last in the white robes of his Righteousness that was made perfect through Sufferings And there is no doubt but those Men who thus live unto the Lord by faith and perseverance in good works even unto their end may be sure of dying so too because they have discharged their whole duty so far as to render it an acceptable service unto God by Jesus Christ for having so duly testified both Repentance towards God and Faith working by Love in our Lord Jesus Christ they become thereby justifyed and obtain their peace and Reconciliation with God Whereupon they may safely cast the Anchor of their Hope on the promises which God once made unto their Fathers and then depart in peace according to his word in full assurance of an happy Resurrection from the Dead And having this hope what shall hinder Men from spending all their time their care and pains in exerting vigorously the powers and faculties of their Souls to purifie themselves from all filthiness of the Flesh and of the World that so they may grow still in Grace perfecting Holiness in the fear of God As the chased Heart pants after the Water Brook so these refined Spirits being wearied and heavy laden with all the frailties of their own Flesh tempted by Satan hated and persecuted by the World pant and groan earnestly for deliverance breathe and are athirst for their appearing before the presence of God where Mortallity shall be swallowed up of Life To the second Question what is here understood by their being Blessed who die thus in the Lord You may take this very plain yet apposite Solution notwithstanding Mens opinions about their Felicity present or to come have been as different numerous and irrational as concerning their very Gods themselves because one doth naturally presuppose and infer the other Felicity being nothing else but a close intimate Fruition of God in the notion of an All sufficient Immense Being that is absolutely good of himself and in his Nature and relatively too being the Fountain of all the goodness and pefection that can be met with amongst all the Creatures and Workmanship of his hands yet according to the common use and import of the word there have been always two things implied First a deliverance from evil and then a possession of something which is good And with regard unto the many kinds of good or evil which may befal the Sons of Men either in this present Life or in that which is to come so their happiness or misery doth both encrease and multiply And because every Man is naturally compounded of the Flesh and Spirit of an immortal Soul united with an earthly fading Body which nevertheless are by Gods infinite Power made capable of Life Eternal in dispight of Death or Hell it self therefore he may be counted happy 1 In respect of this present world and 2 with relation to the next and
us That if in this Life only there is hope in Christ his faithful Disciples are the most miserable Creatures in the World So then all that happiness which the dead in the Lord enjoy or the Living hope for cannot possibly fall out in this World but is peculiar to the next For at present as King Solomon hath rightly found by good Experience All things here come alike for all men there is one Event happens indifferently both to the righteous and the wicked both to the clean and unclean to him that sacrificeth and him that sacrificeth not as is the good so is the sinner and he that sweareth as he that feareth an Oath Hereupon we may resolve with confidence That Almighty God righteous in all his ways and holy in all his Works hath appointed a certain day known best unto himself wherein he will judg the world in Righteousness and make such a notable Discrimination betwixt the righteous and the wicked that all sorts of Men will be forc'd some with gladness of heart others with shame and sorrow to confess Verily there is a reward for the righteous doubtless there is God that judgeth the Earth And that Reward is no doubt an everlasting State of infinite incomprehensible Felicities which blessed and happy State consisteth as far as mortals are able to conceive it First in a full and certain deliverance for all kinds of evils and mischiefs whether it be Sins or Judgments whether Tribulations in this World or Hell torments in the next To the which very joyful deliverance there naturally succeeds in the second place a compleat endless enjoyment of all imaginable good of goodness it self being even the Beatifick Vision of God face to face in the highest Heavens where there is joy unspeakable and full of Glory The 1 thing implyed in our being for ever blessed in the day of our death is a deliverance from evil According as Men take their course at present either in Vice or Vertue so life or death eternal ineffable happiness or misery will be made their end hereafter And as it is one part of moral vertues to shun the fair and flattering appearances of Sin so to be void of Misery will be their first stept to future happiness and a deliverance out of the Chains of darkness the next way to the glorious Liberties of the Sons of God in their inheritance with the Saints in Light Now this deliverance whereby Sinners are pluckt as Firebrands out of devouring Flames will be so full and compleat as 't is possible For the dead in the Lord are absolutely freed 1 from the guilt the polution and dominion of all Sin that is the greatest and first evil that ever came into the World for every Creature of God is good and sin is naturally bad being directly repugnant both to the nature and attributes of a Just and Holy God that is the circumference of all conceivable goodness and the very Center of all happiness and perfection Whatsoever then deprives Men of Gods Blessing in his gracious and favourable countenance is an abominable evil and a dreadful curse to boot odious in the pure Eyes of God and most injurious to themselves And if the proper effect of Sin be nothing less then eternal death and misery by the rule of contraries a freedom from sin is a sure preparative to the future happiness of our Souls in everlasting Life For take away the true cause and its natural effect will presently fall of its own accord cease from Sin first and then be sure neither the Law nor Death nor Hell can have any power over you therefore eschew evil and be still doing that which is good so shall you be for ever blessed in the recompence of your deeds blessed as to the first part of your deliverance from that infectious evil of Sin and also from the second that is the sore evil of punishment so grievous indeed that no man could ever express the pains thereof but only those who feel them and have learned the woful experience of their past wickedness from their present miseries how lamentable a thing it is for men to serve their own lusts and pleasures when they should honour and obey their God It is one part of Gods happiness that he cannot sin and it 's no small portion of ours that after we have sinned we can find a way to escape the punishment It is Gods perfection that his nature is invulnerable and it is one degree towards our own that our wounds are capable of a cure Now the malady which all sinners contract upon themselves by their own defaults is a complicate disease made up of all evils in the world that is their guilt and the punishment thereof which last thing is really the lesser evil of the two because it is but Relatively such in respect of those persons upon whom it is inflicted For punishment absolutely consider'd is not evil but rather good because Christ himself would have been found guilty by suffering and so the Course of Sin must have proceeded in infinitum or without end Nay God the Father should have pass'd for the first Cause and Author of Sin because he hath ordained the evil of punishment making his only Son to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him Amos 3.6 The Prophet Amos demands therefore in this very Sense no doubt Is there evil in a City and the Lord hath not done it And God hath said of himself Jer. 45.7 by the mouth of another Prophet I form the Light and create Darkness I make Peace and create evil I the Lord do all these things And again 't is plainly spoke to the same effect that when God saw the Ninevites return from their evil ways or sinful courses Jonah 3. Non est per se malum sed malum videtur he compassionately repented of that evil or punishment which he before had threatned and he did it not upon which words 't is observed by St. Jerom that evil which God hath sometimes only threatned against his people or else brought actually to pass is not evil in its nature and of it self but meerly with regard unto those persons which feel the smart of it and undergo the pains and anguish Now this brief account of the matter in hand will be found most agreeable and consonant both to the nature of Almighty God and also to the general conceptions of mankind which are more visible in the common practise of the World then with any shew of reason to be denied For it is daily seen how much men do love and lust after notorious Crimes whereas they dread and abhor the punishments upon which ground I dare say the Scaffold and Gallows do conduce almost as much to the peace and good order of our state that we may lead quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty as even Religion it self Because men for the most
Israel The Stars 't is very probable were at that time very propitious and fortunate in their Aspects for thrice happy was the day when he receiv'd like Saul a light from Heaven for the Conviction of his Error and acknowledgment of the Truth and heard a voice from Heaven too something like to that Saul Saul why persecuteth thou me Thereupon his illuminated Mind scattered those cheating Mists that were cast before his tender Eyes by the Juglers of those times and his understanding well informed wholy vanquisht nd put irreversibly to flight all impeteous and juvinal passions then he clearly discovered how basely the Laws Liberties and Religion it self had been deceitfully worn as a Cloak of Maliciousness and all kind of Wickedness and Vice all manner of impieties appearing like the Prince of Darkness under the form of Godliness and in the shape of an Angel of Light He could plainly distinguish the Shrines from the Goddess Diana that was there inclosed which our Silver-Smiths and Extortioners had set up like those of Ephesus and would have to be worshipt as their God their Profaness and Hypocrisies were noted with indignation just and reasonable for he beheld Gods Holy Temple abominably prophaned into an Exchange the Law tun'd a Pander to Sacriledge and Murder Liberty loudly voic'd up into Licentiousness Religion took up as a Trade or Occupation and Gods House of Prayer made a Den a Refuge for Theives and Robbers The same God whose Hand is not shortned or Goodness abated that he cannot or will not save pluckt him at first as a Firebrand out of those devouring Flames that have justly fallen upon their Heads who prepared them first of all for others and the same infinite Goodness and power have preserved him ever since what his Majesty lamenting for his great loss affirmed of him a real and true Convert For in the latter part of this Life even to Death he was a true Son of the Church and a subject very dutiful to the King for both in Opinion and Practice he trod in the strait middle path which the Church of England hath in all Respects very judiciously prescribed neither inclining to the dissenting Sectaries upon this hand nor to the Superstitious Papists upon that he could not see Christs beloved Spouse overlaid with a needless and unprofitable Dress that would exhaust her vital Spirits with Excrementitious humours nor stript altogether Naked that might expose her upon reproach profanation to the danger of her life His Behaviour in time of Divine service whether it were at Home or in the Church was in all points conformable to the Rights and Customs that are establisht by the Laws Humble Devout and Pious performing his part in all Offices with Reverence and Godly Fear with all possible Meekness and Humility both of Soul and Body His Judgment concerning the Church of England as it is now Legally settled is fully delivered in his Last Will and Testament wherein he prosesses the Doctrine to be pure and Canonical the Discipline Decent and Agreeable to the same And the Book of Common Prayer he most heartily embraced as the best Form of publick Prayers ever yet composed by Men earnestly desiring that wheresoever he should happen to be buried it might be done by that Book I forbear any further mention of these things being already prevented by the interposal of another Hand The Religious and very necessary Duties of Prayer and Supplication with Thansgiving unto God he most carefully performed in all the Course of his Life to the very Moment of his Expiration when with great submission he resigned up his Soul into Gods merciful Hand who gave it Bidding this World Adieu in those comfortable words I am well I am well which words I believe he spoke in a joyous and thankful remembrance of our Saviours Exit upon the Cross who cry'd there It is finished then bowed his Head and gave up the Ghost Beloved in the Lord you heard now this melancoly and gloomy Character of a Person greatly good and generally beloved a man after Gods own Heart denying all ungodliness and worldly Lusts to lead a Godly Righteous and sober Life A man that was Master of himself and a good friend of all besides A Father to the Fatherless an Husband to the Widdows You have heard a description of a Primitive Christian even in our late Antichristian days one Orthodox in his Faith Regular and Conformable in his Practice I have set before you the Portraicture of a Son obedient and submissive to that spiritual Mother the Church of Christ here establisht of a Subject Loyal to his Prince and above all things of a Servant very just and faithful sincere and constant with his God And seeing that your deceased Friend hath so well fought the good fight so finisht his course and kept the Faith your Tears now should be dried up with the Sunshine of joy and gladness your Sighs and Groans be silenced with Hymns of praise and thanksgiving for you must needs know that immoderate sorrow for the Dead is against your own Reason because it is in vain 't is against the Faith and Hope which you profess in the Resurrection of the Dead Nay further 't is against that very Love which you think to manifest by such unlikely means for you seem to begrudg him that Felicity which he partakes of with Christ in Glory Lastly 't is against the Common Principles of Justice also because you seem desirous even to rob God himself of those things which are his What then remains upon your part But that you Religiously keep the Memory of this Just Man your dear friend as a thing sacred and precious in your sight That you make your own Heart become his Monument and your good life his most legible and lasting Epitaph That ye would embalm his Ashes with Practical Commemorations of his Vertues and Enshrine those Reliques in the Temples of your Hearts not as Objects of your Adoration but as Holy Charms and Exorcisms for the casting out of those unclean Spirits your Sins and healing the diseases of your Souls What Remains But that in the midst of all the Winds and Waves of this Troublesome yet fading World you take the course of his life as the compass to steer out your own That so passing through the streights of Repentance and self denial Faith and Obedience we might arrive with him at the Land of Promise that Heavenly Jerusalem where you shall be for ever Bless'd in the Perpetual Rest and Joy of your Souls through the Infinite Merits of Jesus Christ the Righteous To whom with the Father and the Blessed Spirit be rendred and ascribed all Honour Praise and Glory both now and for evermore Amen FINIS