Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
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A59884
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A sermon preached at the funeral of the Reverend Richard Meggot D.D. and late Dean of Winchester, Decemb. 10th, 1692 at Twickenham by William Sherlock ...
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Sherlock, William, 1641?-1707.
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1693
(1693)
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Wing S3355; ESTC R11116
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9,300
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33
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A SERMON PREACHED At the Funeral of the Reverend RICHARD MEGGOT D. D. AND LATE Dean of WINCHESTER Decemb. 10 th 1692. AT TWICKENHAM By WILLIAM SHERLOCK D. D. Dean of St. Pauls Master of the Temple and Chaplain in Ordinary to their Majesties IMPRIMATUR Geo. Royse R. R mo in Christo Patri ac Dom. Dom. Johanni Archiep. Cantuar. Ã Sacris Domest Decemb. 18. 1692. London Printed for W. Rogers at the Sun over against St. Dunstan's Church in Fleetsteet 1693. A SERMON Preached at the Funeral of Dr. Meggot Decemb. 10. 1692. I PHIL. 23 24. For I am in a strait betwixt two having a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you ST Paul wrote this Epistle to Philippi from Rome where he was in Bonds for the Gospel but though his Body was confined to a Prison his Soul his great Divine Soul was at Liberty to visit the Churches he had planted to advise and counsel and comfort them to encrease their Knowledge and to confirm their Faith to inflame their Zeal and to spur them forward to more perfect Attainments in all Piety and Vertue The Philippians seem greatly concerned least the Progress of the Gospel should be hindred by St. Paul's Imprisonment and least they and the whole Church should be deprived of the Labours and Ministry of so great an Apostle should this Persecution extend to Life as they had reason to fear it would As for the first St. Paul assures them That his Bonds were for the furtherance of the Gospel for his Imprisonment was taken notice of both in the Court and City which made Men curious to know what that Doctrine was which he preached and for which he suffered Bonds and this published the Gospel more effectually than his Preaching could have done v. 12 13 c. As for the second he tells them He was no farther concerned either about Life or Death but that Christ might be magnified in his Body If he lived his Life was wholly devoted to the Service of Christ and of his Church if he died it would be for his own great Advantage To me to live is Christ and to die is gain vers 20 21. and this made it a hard choice to him whether he should desire to live or die whether he should get rid of his Bonds and make his Escape out of a troublesom World into the Regions of Ease and Rest to reap the Fruit of his Labours here in the eternal Enjoyment of his Lord whom he had so faithfully served or whether he should live to Encounter with a thousand Difficulties and Deaths in the Service of Christ and of the Souls of Men. What I should chose I wot not for I am in a strait betwixt two having a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better nevertheless to abide in the Flesh is more needful for you Was there ever such a Dispute as this before That a Man who was as certain to go to Heaven as he was to die who had himself been snatch'd up into the third Heavens and had his Mind possest with strong and vigorous and lively Idea's of the Glories of that place who had seen and heard such things as could not be expressed who saw a Crown a glorious immarcessible Crown prepared for him I say that such a Man should make any question what he should chose whether immediately to take possession of this Crown and Kingdom or to live longer in this World to suffer Bonds and Imprisonments Hunger and Cold and Stripes and all the ill usage which he had so often met with for no other reason but still to preach the Gospel and to enlarge the Borders of Christ's Church What a Contempt is this not only of the little Pleasures and Satisfactions but even of all the Miseries of Life what a Triumph is this over the World over all the Frowns and Terrours of it what a Triumph is this over Self such a degree of Self-denial as the Gospel it self does not command which is in some sence to deny Heaven to deny all the Joys of Christ's Presence for the sake of doing good for it is to delay to put off Heaven to adjourn his own Happiness that he may live the longer to serve his great Master though with great Difficulties and Labours What Love was this to his Lord what Love was this to the Souls of Men it is certainly the most perfect imitation of the Love of Christ that is possible to Man Christ so loved us as to come down from Heaven to live a laborious Life and to die an accursed Death for us this great Apostle so loved his Lord and so loved the Souls of Men that he made it his choice to stay some time out of Heaven and to encounter all the Miseries and Terrours of this Life to serve Christ and his Church Where is this Divine Spirit now to be found Let us my beloved Brethren who are entrusted also with the Care of Souls by the great Shepherd and Bishop of our Souls blush to think how far short we fall of this Example let this inspire us with a flaming Love and Zeal for the Souls of Men for whom Christ died and make us at least contented to deny our selves some of the Ease and Security and Pleasures of Life to serve the Church of Christ which he hath purchased with his own blood But to keep my self within some Bounds I shall briefly Discourse on these two Heads which are very proper for this Occasion and very proper to my Text. First The great Rewards of faithful Pastors and Ministers of Christ and how much it is for their advantage to be removed out of this World St. Paul was very sensible of this which made him desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better Secondly How necessary the Lives of such Men are to the Church and what a great loss it is when God removes them out of it Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you 1. Let us then consider in the first place the great Rewards of the faithful Ministers of Christ and how much it is for their advantage to depart and to be with Christ. Now I do not here intend a comparison between Heaven and Earth Good God! what different things are these and what Christian doubts whether Heaven be a happier Place than this World Heaven whither no Troubles or Sorrows can follow us no persecuting Sword no persecuting Tongue where we shall be delivered from all the Wants Necessities and Infirmities of the Body from Hunger and Cold and Nakedness from wracking Pains and languishing Sicknesses where there is eternal Ease and Rest and Joy without labour without discontents without quarrels where our Souls shall be perfected in knowledge and in love where we shall dwell in the Presence of God see him as he is and know him even as we are known where
between his two Cures which did not lessen his Preaching but made the Benefit of it the more diffusive For indeed he was an admirable Preacher not for Noise and Lungs but for well digested useful pious Discourses delivered with all that becoming Gravity Seriousness and a commanding Elocution as made them sink deep into the Minds of his Hearers and made them hear This I speak with Assurance and Confidence in this place which was so long blessed with his Labours with what fineness of Thought perspicuity and easiness of Expression instructing and entertaining Images of Things he expounded the Doctrines and inculcated the Laws of our Saviour how plainly he Taught with what Vehemence and Passion he Exhorted with what tender Sharpness he Reproved remember how he used both to Please and Instruct to Chide and Shame you without making you angry how he has warmed and chaffed your Minds into the most pious and serious Resolutions and sent you home from this place wiser and better then you came and if you grew cold and suffered your good Resolutions to die again consider I beseech you what Account you have to give As he grew in Years it was necessary by degrees to ease his Labours he could not Preach so often but yet continued to Preach And yet had he not Preached at all or much less then he did he had not ceased to be a very useful Pastor to the Church for he was a Man of great Experience and great Prudence and Fore-sight fit for Government and Counsel who knew Men and Things was dexterous in his Applications zealous without Passion or Peevishness steady and resolved without violent Oppositions and needless Provocations who served the Church and the Truth with little Noise and without making many Enemies And I am sure at such a time as this there is more need of such Men and a much greater scarcity of them than of good Preachers But he was not only a good Preacher and a prudent Guide but a very good Man he Preached continually by his Life and Example his Conversation was Innocent Entertaining and Useful he was a true sincere Friend very Courteous Affable Civil to all Men but never pretend Friendship where he had none he was ready to do all good Offices was Liberal Generous and Charitable a Man of a true publick Spirit who scorned to serve himself to the Injury of others who hated little Arts and Tricks mean and servile Compliances he was an open and generous Enemy if we may ever call him an Enemy who never wished never intended any hurt to any Man but my meaning is that when any Dispute and Quarrel happened as such things will sometimes happen he was open and undisguised any Man might know what he disliked and had no reason to fear any thing worse from him than what he would tell them In a Word he was a very good Christian and that made him good in all Relations and that Crowned all his other Labours he took care as St. Paul did Lest while he preached to others he himself should become a cast-away And now he is gone to rest and we must all shortly follow him God grant that we may all so run our Race and finish our Course that when we depart this Life we may rest in Him as our hope in this our Brother doth and may receive that Crown of Righteousness which God the Righteous Judge will at that Day bestow on all his faithful Servants and on all those who love his Appearing FINIS Books Published by the Reverend Dr. Sherlock Dean of St. Pauls Master of the Temple and Chaplain in Ordinary to Their Majesties AN Answer to a Discourse entituled Papists protesting against Protestant Popery Second Edition 4to An Answer to the Amicable Accommodation of the Differences between the Representer and Answerer 4to A Sermon Preached at the Funeral of the Reverend B. Calamy D. D. 4to A Vindication of some Protestant Principles of Church-Unity and Catholick-Communion from the Charge of Agreement with the Church of Rome 4to A Preservative against Popery being some plain Directions to unlearned Protestants how to dispute with Romish Priests In Two Parts with the Vindication in Answer to the Cavils of Lewis Sabran Jesuit 4to A Discourse concerning the Nature Unity and Communion of the Catholick Church First Part. 4to A Sermon Preach'd before the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of the City of London on Sunday Nov. 4th 1688. 4to A Vindication of the Doctrine of the Holy and Ever Blessed Trinity and the Incarnation of the Son of God c. The Second Edition 4to The Case of the Allegiance due to Soveraign Powers stated and resolved according to Scripture Reason and the Principles of the Church of England Sixth Edition 4to A Vindication of the Case of Allegiance due to Soveraign Powers c. 4to A Sermon Preach'd at White-Hall before the Queen on the 17th of June 1691. being the Fast-Day 4to A Practical Discourse concerning Death The Fifth Edition 8vo A Practical Discourse concerning a Future Judgment Third Edition 8vo A Sermon Preached before the Honourable House of Commons at St. Margarets Westminster January 30th 1691 92 4to A Sermon Preached before the Queen at Whitehall Febr. 12th 1691 92. 4to The Charity of Lending without Usury and the true Notion of Usury stated in a Sermon Preach'd before the Right Hounourable the Lord Mayor at St. Bridget's Church on Tuesday in Easter-week 1692. 4to A Sermon Preach'd at the Temple-Church May 29. 1692. and Printed at the Desire of the Bench-Table of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple 4to A Sermon Preached before the Queen at White-Hall June 26th 1692. 4to Printed for W. Rogers