give us a clear Comment on St. Paul's words where he makes a distinction between principalities and powers and thrones and dominions Colos 1.16 Whither some of them are subordinated to others is not so clear But sure we are they are all subjected to Christ and there is not the least shadow of Confusion or Disorder among them The Spirits of just Men there are perfect and their number daily encreasing None there hath so much as a Thorn in his Foot a Cloud on his Face a Tear in his Eye or a Spot on his Soul There 's neither Pride nor Envy Jealousy nor Strife Weakness or Folly to render them uneasy to themselves or each other they are like flaming Tapers in a Branch of burnished Gold which so mingle their several Lights that at a distance they seem to be but one though indeed they are many They live in glorious Light entire Love and perfect Harmony and such a fulness of Joy that there is no room for any Sorrow to creep in among them Now if the Queen of Sheba when she saw the Glory and Wisdom of Solomon the Stateliness and Magnificence of his Buildings and the Riches Beauty and Order of his Court was wrapt up into such an Admiration of him and said 1 King 10.7 8. Happy are these thy servants which stand continually before thee Who can imagine the Extasies of a holy Soul when brought into the presence of Christ the Glory of whose Court and Government doth more exceed his than the place where Christ is is higher than that Throne on which Solomon sate 8. The universal Adoration given to Christ by all the Host of Heaven They all say with a loud voice Rev. 5.12 13. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing And they actually give him what they acknowledge him to be so worthy of for they add blessing and honour and glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb for ever and ever O the pleasant melodious found of this Song sung by so many sweet Voices in the heavenly Choir to a holy Soul that sees so much of Excellency and Glory in Christ and is so sensible of the straitness of his own narrow Spirit that he unfeignedly wishes that wherever there is a Heart he had a Throne and is daily grieved here below to behold him so despised and rejected of Men that know neither him nor their own Mercies So much for that second Consideration The State that Christ is in and what shall be manifested concerning him above To this I must add 3. The Circumstances which holy Men themselves shall be in when present with him And here consider 1. what lies in the Text viz. The being absent from the body i. e. the present one Not that it can be the happiness of a Soul to be eternally unclothed of any body at all and commence a purely naked Spirit nor the matter of a regular desire Departed Spirits retain an inclination to their old Collegue and the being reunited to it when 't is so much improved as it shall be at the last day will be an additional bliss to what they now enjoy But yet a removal from this Body as now it is where the bright Sword is so much impaired by the rusty Sheath wherein 't is lodged may justly be esteemed no small advantage For what vile things are these Bodies of ours at present 'T is an humbling description given of us while we are in this World Job 4.19 Ch. 17.14 that we dwell in houses of clay whose foundation is in the dust that corruption is our father and the worm our mother and our sister and these unnatural Parents will ere long devour their Children How many inconveniences and evils are we subject to while we are lodged in these sorry Tenements Sleep which is the rest of our Nature is the Image of Death and interrupts our most noble Thoughts and Designs 'T is to life like long and frequently returning Parentheses in an Author that suspend his sense and mar the beauty of his Stile The several Creatures that we live upon revenge themselves upon us for much of our precious time is eaten up while we feed upon them And he that never found any ones Table to be a snare to him is a perfect Man indeed Recreations tho innocent and necessary are a great Diversion from the main business of Life and hinder the Rational and Divine Exercise and Improvement of the Faculties of our Souls How doth the providing Accommodations for these Bodies of ours engross our Thoughts take off the edge and vigour of our Affections from heavenly things steal away our hearts from God and the one thing necessary and fill us with pale Fears and perplexing Cares so that we neglect our Duty or perform it with abundance of coldness and a world of distraction How much guilt do we contract How many follies are we betrayed into out of an inordinate love of bodily Pleasure and a sinful fear of bodily Pains How many Sins are Men strongly inclined to by their Constitution and Complection We need to make but one visit to a melancholy Person and we shall presently see what a fatal Enemy Bodily-Temper is to a Life of Grace and Peace How often doth Sin enter in at our Ears and our Eyes The Christian hath far more reason to complain of being deceived by his Senses than the Philosopher hath How frequently do bodily Passions darken our Minds and cloud our Judgments and involve us in Practical as well as Speculative Errors And the weakness and disorders of the Flesh cramp the forward motions of a willing Spirit What a multitude of tormenting Diseases are they subject to which shatter our Understandings and bow down our Spirits to a continual Meditation on our Misery are an Obstruction to the present performance of Duty as well as a Chastisment for our former neglects and expose us to strong Temptations to impatience and fretting against Gods jealousies and hard thoughts of him How many cruel methods of Cure are we forced to submit to How many Potions do we sometimes swallow down which are so very nauseous that they would make a man Sick if they did not find him so And when the Tempest is over how much time and pains doth it cost us to stop the Leaks and piece up the ruins of the poor weather beaten Vessel All which too is but the rigging it out for a new Storm that will arise again in a few days For the Sun doth not more certainly and more constantly run through the same Signs than many pass through the same Diseases And they who happily escape such Calamities as these shall have the rough Wind often blowing upon them from some other Corner in this open State where we are so much exposed every moment 'T is no small part of the Happiness of departed Saints
A FUNERAL SERMON ON THE DECEASE Of the Reverend Mr. Richard Mayo Late Minister of the Gospel in London Who Died the 8th of September 1695. By NATHANAEL TAYLOR LONDON Printed for Thomas Cockerill Sen r and Jun r at the Three Legs in the Poultrey over-against the Stocks-Market M DC XCV TO That part of the Church of Christ in London of which the Reverend Mr. RICHARD MAYO was lately Pastor Beloved in our Lord I Here present you with the following Sermon which I hope will meet with a kind and favourable Reception from You. Indeed a stately Monument shewing the Excellency of the Work-man that erected it as well as of him that is enclosed in it is necessary to invite and gratify the curiosity of a Stranger But any little thing though so mean in it self that it cannot challenge any regard upon its own account yet is wont to have some value set upon it because 't is the Memorial of a Departed Friend The Relation to you wherein both of us stood the entire Affection you so justly had for him the great kindness you have shewn me for so many Years together with the Additional one of so unanimously fiixing me in his room since his Decease do not only justify but also command this my present Dedication I shall now more than ever need your Remembrance of me at the Throne of Grace in order to the discharge of the great Trust committed to me with Faithfulness and Success so that none of you may want a Crown of Glory nor I one of Rejoycing in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming 1 Thess 2.19 which shall â—lso be the daily Prayer and faithful Endeavour of him who is on many accounts with great Sincerity and Affection Yours to serve You In the Work of the Gospel Nathanael Taylor 2 COR. V. 8. We are confident I say and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. IN that Prophecy of our Blessed Saviour recorded by the Evangelist Luke 17.34 36. concerning some black and terrible Day which some understand of the approaching ruin of the Jewish State and others apply to the dissolution of the World among other things we are told That two Men shall be in the same field two Persons in one and the same bed the one shall be taken the other shall be left Somewhat like this the Sovereign discriminating Providence of God hath lately done among you Not long since Two Persons were working in this part of God's Field A few days ago there were Two that were wont to stand in the same Pulpit the unprofitable Servant indeed is left but Alas the very Valuable one is taken The first remarkable stroke that was given him was in this very Place and in the midst of his Work and the change that it made in his Countenance and thereupon in many of yours you cannot but remember Death pursued the Blow that made the strong and fruitful Tree to shake till at last it fell to the Ground And now if like the Sons of the Prophets we should seek our Elijah it would be in vain for he is Ascended 'T is to no purpose to enquire for him at his own home for he is absent from his Family 'T is a vain thing to search the houses of any of his People for him for he is absent from his Flock It would be lost labour to seek him any where here below for he is absent from the Body too and present with the Lord. Our time and pains will be far better employed in seeking after some portion of the same Spirit that rested on him that so we who have so lately followed him to his Grave and must ere long do so in another sense may follow him to Heaven too For the hour of our decease will come whether we are willing or no we also must ere long be absent from the Body and I wish our being present with the Lord were but as sure as that is For could we but say upon good grounds with our A postle and his Brethren that we are confident of this we should not stop there but be able to go on to the end of the Text and add we are willing rather to be absent from the one and present with the other In which words you have these three Parts 1. One of the true Notions of Death 'T is a being absent from the Body 2. What immediately follows upon it to a holy Soul He shall thereupon be in Heaven which the Apostle describes by one of the greatest Privileges of it being present with the Lord. 'T is the Lord Jesus Christ he here means For of him is this word Lord used in the New Testament as peculiarly belonging to him And in other parallel places the Apostle describes the happiness of Heaven by our being with Christ Phil. 1.23 1 Thess 4.17 and being for ever with the Lord where the Context plainly shews that Christ is meant for 't is that Lord that shall descend from Heaven with a shout and whom they that remain alive to that day shall be caught up to meet in the Air. And so our Saviour himself was wont to describe Heaven Where I am there shall my servant be also And John 12.26 Chap. 14.3 I will receive you to my self that where I am there ye may be also 3. The frame of his Spirit and of other holy Men like him in reference to Death on this account We are confident I say and willing rather to be absent from the body and be present with the Lord. I say These words are not in the Original but are well put in by our Translators The Apostle had said this before v. 6. And after the interposition of a short Parenthesis v. 7. For we walk by faith and not by sight he here repeats it lest any should suspect that these great words had hastily dropp'd from him He intimates hereby that he had well-weigh'd the Point and that this was indeed the settled temper of his Soul We are confident i. e. we are well assured of Heaven or we are full of holy Courage to venture on all dangers that lye in the way of our Duty and are able to look even Death it self in the face without the least degree of fear We are willing We do acquiesce in and approve of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the word signifies We are willing rather We have a natural Inclination to continue in this Body but yet this is over-ruled by Reason and Grace to that degree that of the two we like this better to lay down these our Earthly Tabernacles as knowing the advantage we shall receive thereupon by being immediately introduced into the blessed Presence of Christ above From the words thus open'd many Doctrines might be raised but I shall confine my self to these two I. 'T is a most desirable thing to a holy Soul to be present with Christ in Heaven II. 'T
thither and would forbear reaching after this Fruit which hangs too high for them in their present State till they strain themselves and it may be tumble into the Ditch These great things of God partly through the craft of Satan and his Instruments and partly through the darkness and unbelief of their own Spirits the best are sometimes apt to stagger at but yet because they are laid down in the Scriptures they humbly adore and receive with the Obedience of Faith It cannot but shed a mighty pleasure throughout the Souls of the Blessed when they shall see them displayed in such an illustrious manner before them as never more to have an uneasy thought like a Thorn in their Minds about them 3. His glorious work of Redemption shall then be much better understood The breadth and length the depth and height of the love of Christ and the glory of Divine Wisdom Power Holiness Justice Goodness Mercy and Grace manifested herein is that which they are daily studying of their Souls do live upon and are refreshed by These things we see now through a glass darkly 1 Cor. 13.12 Ver. 9. What things doth the Apostle mean The fame things that they did prophecy about viz. Christ and him crucified We see these now as a Man doth those objects that are at a great distance through a Perspective-glass which he hath but a small glimpse of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They are obscure in a great measure to us as Truths wrapt up in a Riddle But then we shall know them face to face have such a knowledge of them as two persons have of one another that steadily view each others faces Now we know but in part but then shall we know even as also we are known 4. The views they shall have of his Intercession for all Saints Heb. 5.5 This is a part of that Honour and Office to which the Father hath called and thereby glorified him To perceive how near an access he hath to God being now within the Veil how high his designs are how powerful his claims how acceptable his suit how great an interest he hath in him how faithfully he doth improve it in the behalf of his and their Brethren how fervently he doth plead their cause recommend their persons and services procure their renewed pardon and continual supplies of Grace and Strength for the carrying them through the same or the like temptations doubts distresses and dangers wherewith they themselves had been exercised here below and how effectually he takes care of their eternal Salvation The beholding all this cannot but be highly grateful and pleasing to those Holy departed Souls that have so high a concern for the glory of God and the welfare of their Brethren that are left behind them exposed to so many storms which themselves have so happily escaped Especially considering this further that the tenderness of Christ towards their Brethren which they there behold cannot but create in them a quick and lively Sense of the incomparable Kindness and Compassion which he formerly shewed to themselves when in the same straits In what he doth for them as in a Glass they see how near they lay to his Heart and in what a manner he appeared in the presence of God for them 5. That universal Kingly Power that he is instated in This is a part of that Glory that Christ means in that Petition of his that runs in a very peculiar strain Father I will John 17.24 that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the World The insisting upon his most endearing Relation to him Father the manner of expression I will and the enforcing it with the consideration of the everlasting Love that he bare to him shew how much the Heart of Christ was set upon this matter The views of Christ as lifted up on the Cross have been unspeakably refreshing to them here below How much more will the views of him be so upon the Throne above Eph. 1.21 22. where he is exalted far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named not only in this world but in that which is to come all things being put under his feet It cannot but be so considering how fit and reasonable a constitution this is how honourable to him that 't is his reward for what he endured on their account and that of the rest of their Brethren that he is now in a condition to vindicate his own Honour against all those whom they formerly saw to the great grief of their Souls reproaching despising hating and opposing of him that he is able to save his whole Church and fulfil all the promises made unto her He is in such Circumstances that he can give Eternal life to all that John 17.3 the Father gave him for he hath a power over all Flesh given him to that end Eph. 1.22 23. And he is head over all things unto his Church which is his body the fulness of him that filleth all in all 6. His entire Faithfulness and Devotedness to his Father How amiable a sight is an eminent Saint on Earth on whom the Divine Image is stamp'd the whole tenor of whose life shews the sincerity of his aims for God and the purity of his affections to him Such a one is a very valuable thing like a small but exact Medal of a great King and 't is Pity there should be the same reason to enhance the worth of the one as of the other the great scarcity of them And yet there 's no such person to be found on Earth but hath his Blemishes and sometimes takes a wrong Step or two as the most exact compass in some places hath its Variations What then will it be to behold our Lord Jesus the brightest and most perfect Exemplar of Fidelity to and Zeal for his Father's Interest and Honour For he not only leads a life of Glory above but a life of Service too Rom. 6.10 In that he liveth he liveth unto God Both as Priest and King he faithfully manageth all things with due Respects to his Father's Will and Glory and goes on continually beating down every person and thing that exalt themselves against him till all being brought into an entire subjection to him the Kingdom be resign'd up into his Father's Hands 7. The excellent State of all that are present with him Angels and departed Saints For in the same Firmament where the Sun is these Stars are fixed and shine with a distinct Glory His Government is acceptable and all his Subjects easy and orderly noble and holy numerous and inexpressibly happy The place where they are as St. Peter styles it 2 Pet. 1.17 The most excellent Glory Who can tell what noble Creatures the good Angels are or how many Myriads of them there be Or
that they are absent from such a Body as this is which yet they know shall be restored to them with so great advantage at the last day 2. Consider the happiness of their Souls They shall be perfectly conform'd to God's Image and satisfied with his Likeness They shall never any more groan as now they do Wretched Creature that I am who have so much of Corruption and so little of Christ in me In this World sometimes they are sick of love to him Cant. 2.5 but have oftner reason to be so for want of it There they shall love him as they would which they never could do before They shall have no chilness on their Spirits no coldness on their Hearts Never more shall that doleful cry be heard Cant. 3.1 We sought him whom our souls loved but we found him not Now they have a small glimpse of him in an Ordinance as a Man of a Star through a glass held in a shaking and trembling hand which he just sees and loses Now a Cloud is often drawn between him and them but then they shall with a steady Eye always behold his pleased and glorious Face They sup with him now and how sweet but oh how short is the Banquet But then they shall always eat and drink with him at his Table sit with him on his Throne as he sat down on his Father's Throne shall be Heirs together with him and have a Kingdom appointed to each of them as his Father hath appointed one for him By such earthly Expressions because we are not capable of understanding heavenly Language doth the Scripture shadow forth to us their most intimate and delightful Converse and Communion with him and how in their respective Measures and Degrees they shall be partakers together with him of such Bliss and Glory as eye hath not seen nor ear heard nor can it enter into our hearts to conceive Now all these things being laid together no wonder that holy Souls are willing to be present with the Lord. One would think that all the true Lovers of Christ should say not as his Disciples Let us go away and die with him John 11.16 but let us go away and live and be for ever with him And so they would but that there 's a Lion in the way Death is the passage to him They must be absent from the Body before they can get to him a thing that few have a heart to desire tho our Apostle and his Brethren did so Which brings me to the II Point 'T is possible for a holy Person to be willing to dye rather than live any longer that he may be with Christ in Heaven I shall endeavour to open this in these following Propositions 1. All sincere Christians are willing to be with Christ above For they profess themselves to be Pilgrims and Strangers on the Earth and declare plainly by the Tenor of their Lives that they seek another Country Their Conversations and their Hearts are in Heaven they have set their Affections upon and seek after the things that are above Colos 3.1 2. where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God They love him more than life it self and can't bear the thoughts of being eternally at so great a distance from him They have been drawn to him by that promise among others John 12.26 Where I am my servant also shall be the fulfilling of it therefore cannot but be grateful to them 'T is the main business of their Lives to prepare for an eternal Abode with him and Ministration before him in the holiest of all This is what they have in their eye as the great end of their attendance on him in his Ordinances And is it possible for them to be unwilling to enjoy what they are continually providing for They hope for Heaven and that cannot be without desiring to be there that they may have the nearest Conjunction with him and the fullest Enjoyment of him 2. All holy Souls are willing in the general to dye some time or other that they may be with him This follows from the foregoing particular They know there is no other way but being absent from the Body to get to him This therefore doth so far reconcile them to Death that they had rather on the whole submit to its stroke than to an eternal distance from him whom their Soul loveth They fear the King of Terrors indeed but they fear and abhor an everlasting Separation from Christ a great deal more Tho when it comes to the Point many of them are afraid to dye and ready to contradict all again yet they would not for all this World and the Glory of it live always if they might in their present State And this doth not flow from a sullen and impatient humour For 3. A holy Soul's willingness to dye proceeds from noble Principles He is not like the men of this World who when crossed in discontent passion and despair madly wish for Death and sometimes sinfully hasten it which is not a desiring to be with Christ but only to be out of their present Misery Not but that a sincere Christian may have those short-liv'd fits and pangs that are very unbecoming but these are the sinful Infirmities of the man not the holy Groanings of the Saint within which we are now speaking of The accidental fretting of a rich and generous Wine must be distinguisht from its natural Ferment 'T is true indeed a sense of those Miseries that press so hard upon them is a help to these desires Being burden'd we groan after the heavenly House 2 Cor. 5.4 But the true Springs of their willingness to depart are such as these A certain Knowledge and serious Consideration of the Happiness of being with Christ and how much better that is than to continue here A new Nature that tends to the place whence it came A Divine Faith Love to Christ some degree of a weanedness from and deadness to this World and a serious preparation for the next some good hopes through Grace of Eternal Life some taste of the sweetness of an imperfect fellowship with Christ here below and desires of drinking more of this Water of Life at the Fountain-head These are the things that make these Doves be upon the wing ready to fly away towards Heaven But yet they are not too forward to be gone For 4. This willingness is duly regulated with an entire submission to the Divine Will Tho they are in a close and painful Confinement yet they are not for breaking Prison but resolve to wait till they are released by Authority They are not like an hasty Clock that out-runs time and strikes before the hour is come Tho they are willing rather to depart yet they are contented to stay as long as God hath any Work and Service for them to do in this World considering that the Presence of Christ when they are introduced into it will make abundant amends for the delays and