Esteem the Prophet David has given these Vertues of Honesty Justice and Truth by making them the chief Ingredients whenever he describes a truly pious Man So that let the Disturbers of Peace and Truth contend never so earnestly about Opinions Speculations and outward ways of Worship Men are no further religious than they are honest and just Our practising the Duties of the second Table being the best Evidence that we can give of our right Observation of the Duties of the first as may be undeniably manifested through the whole Current of the Old and New Testament particularly through all the account of the Lives of the Patriarchs through the ancient Book of Job the Psalms of David the Proverbs of Solomon the Sermons of the Prophets the Expositions Parables and Discourses of our Saviour and the Rules and Precepts of the Apostles And they who forsake these plain and numerous and divine Testimonies of what was always esteemed pure and sincere Religion and undertake to dress it up in new Notions of their own as they best suit with their private Passions Fancies and worldly Interests may make Mankind either ignorant Worshippers of they know not what or phantastically zealous they know not why but will never perswade People to be truly humble charitable and substantially Good or imprint upon their Minds an awful and just Reverence of the Eternal and Incomprehensible Godhead Now the Honourable Person whose bodily Remains are here before us was one who shew'd the Truth of his Religion by the Honesty and Justice of his Life and declar'd his Faith in God by his Fidelity to Man. He never took up a Reproach against his Neighbour or a Reward against the Innocent or admitted of any unlawful Gain but was true to all his Covenants and Contracts faithfully kept his Oath of Allegiance and would still have done so tho' it had been to his temporal Hindrance All you who are now present can fully testifie his exceeding Worth in all the Variety of his Capacities and Employments both private and publick You who are of the Nobility Gentry and his worthy Relations can witness the high Generosity of his Soul the Greatness and Constancy of his Friendships the Love the Honour and the Sincerity of all his Correspondencies You can witness for many of You were Partners with Him in all his eminent Stations and deserve your Commendations too You can witness how assiduous and punctual He was in all the Important Trusts that were committed to Him whether in the August Assembly of the Parliament his honourable Commands in the Militia or his Justitiary Affairs upon the Bench. How highly Loyal He was ever to His King and yet a studious Preserver of the ancient Priviledges of his Countrey but yet no such turbulent Lover of his Countrey as any ways to undermine the just Prerogatives of the Crown How firm and resolute He always was for upholding the established Church of England and yet not Factious against the right Succession How vast an Empire he had obtained in the Affections of the People by his Affability his Hospitality and his repeated Acts of Kindness and yet how innocently how justly and how loyally He managed so dangerous a Power That largely extended Popularity in which he always liv'd and which would have made perhaps another man vainly giddy or seditious made him more thoughtful and more steddy to the Crown For he could not but consider what peculiar Obligations He had to be faithful to the Government since so great a Multitude of all sorts had committed themselves to his charge and own'd Him for their Oracle in Civil Wisdom Therefore He guided them in all humble Submission to their Sovereign and inspir'd them with that Allegiance which He constantly practis'd himself which he practis'd with the same Sincerity with the same Conscience of his Oath to God as well as to Man under all Accidents and Circumstances through all Variations and Changes for no Sufferings could terrifie Him no Prosperity could soften him out of his Duty no publick Discontents could sowre Him no private Friendships could byass Him But lo He has now concluded the Male-Line of his Loyal Ancestors with untainted Honour and may all his collateral Posterity both imitate and inherit the Glory of this his Character And may all You who were his Noble Friends and Acquaintance maintain the same illustrious as well as truly Christian Vertue to the end of your days whatever difficulties arise whatever temporal Losses You undergo for otherwise You will blast the Reputation of the Church of England You will forfeit the Protection of the Divine Providence and lose the fairest Opportunity that this Nation ever had of glorifying God by a meek perseverance in Obedience and Truth And as You are Christians you must acknowledge that the Gospel is not upheld by Wilfulness but by Humility and by Patience They who are of the Clergy can testifie what Regard he always paid to that Order how gladly he receiv'd their Visits many times return'd them and never seem'd more satisfy'd than when his Table was fill'd with their Society He was not afraid of their Learning their Prudence and their Observations but could throughly relish their wisest Discourses and match their accutest Sayings A Reverend and a Virtuous Divine was no tedious Burden to him no Censure on his Manners no Comedy to his Servants and no Jest among his Family No I am sure whoever of them brought any Esteem along with them to his House never went away with it any ways diminish'd but rather increas'd with the Additions of a due Respect He well knew the sad Degeneracy of this Age with what Contempt and Scorn the Men of that Function are many times treated by those who envy their Subsistence and hate their Vertues who having renounc'd their Allegiance to God are continually offering Violence to his Embassadors and being conscious to themselves that they have justly deserv'd an Excommunication for the notorious lewdness of their Lives cannot but expect an Anathema from every Church-man that they meet and therefore treat them as their greatest Enemies These horrible Impieties he knew were too much in fashion among the Great in whom Civility and common Manners are usually accounted the lowest of their Qualifications and therefore he endeavour'd to set them a better Example for he had never any thing to do with the Throne of Wickedness or with the Chair of the Scorners He never put those Faces to Confusion that were made tender by Modesty and Retirement he never cast a Cloud of Infamy and Reproach upon the Beauty of Holiness but he always rejoyc'd to express his Reverence of God and his Affection to Religion by his proportionable Respects to the Clergy he lov'd to be a Partaker of the Tranquility the Wisdom the innocent and meek Conversation the Joy and Gladness of the Righteous and to be held a Companion of all those who with an unparalell'd John 15.14 15. but yet unenvy'd Title are call'd
A SERMON AT THE FUNERAL OF Sir JOHN NORTON Bar. Lately deceased Preach'd in the Parish-Church of East-Tysted in HANTSHIRE By Thomas Mannyngham Rector of that Parish and Preacher at the Rolls LONDON Printed for William Crooke at the Green Dragon without Temple-Bar 1687. Imprimatur Hen. Maurice R. P. D. Wilhelmo Archiepisc Cant. a Sacris Feb. 7. 1687. To the much Honoured Lady THE Lady DOROTHY NORTON Relict of Sir JOHN NORTON Lately deceas'd Honoured Madam IT was my Proposal that if there were any thing acceptable in this Sermon Your Ladyship might have it first transcrib'd for your own use and in that manner communicate it to what Friends You pleas'd But since Your Ladyship is of another Judgment as that the Character of one who was every way so worthy and so universally known and belov'd deserves to be made more publick I humbly submit Only I have one thing to request that if at any time I should be accused of Flattery in the management of this Subject and if I should it can be by such Persons only as envy all Commendations that are given to others or were very ignorant of the Worth of Sir John Norton Your Ladyship would be ready to vindicate me from that Aspersion and to witness that as my Pastoral Behaviour towards my Honoured Patron both in the time of his Health and of his Illness had never that Guilt upon it so now likewise though it be less dangerous I have not bestowed upon Him any undeserved Praise But though some parts of His Character may seem warmly and very affectionately represented yet there are none of them above the Truth Madam I shall not here attempt any Consolatory Discourse neither shall I undertake either to describe or to renew Your Grief but I shall rather chuse to draw a Vail over it at present or leave You to declare it Yourself not by fruitless Lamentations and dark Retirements as if You were discontented at Providence and the World but what is a clearer Argument of Your Wisdom and Your Love by doing all things in Honour of the deceased the whole remainder of Your days And as You have hitherto been not only a Companion with Him in all his commendable Actions but an Encourager too so I doubt not but Your Ladyship will continue the same Acts of Charity keep up the same decent Hospitality improve the same Friendships respect the Clergy which He so truly lov'd maintain the same Constancy in attending on the publick Worship of God and persevere in the same Faith Then the Almighty will bless Your Ladyship with the Prosperity of this Life and afterwards admit You to the same Place of Joy and Rest whither Your Dearest Husband is gone before Which that he may do is the hearty Prayer of Madam Your most Faithful and most Obedient Servant Tho. Mannyngham PSALM XV. v. 1 2. Lord who shall abide in thy Tabernacle who shall dwell in thy holy Hill He that walketh uprightly and worketh Righteousness and speaketh the truth in his Heart THIS Psalm may be called a Description of a Citizen of Sion of one that God will admit unto all the Priviledges of his Sanctuary here and reward with eternal Happiness hereafter For whosoever so orders his Conversation in this World as to live and die a true Member of the Church of God shall never fall shall never be moved but shall stand in the Congregation of the righteous for ever Or though in some sense he fall by Death yet shall he rise again by a glorious Resurrection tho' he be moved yet it is but from one Church to another from the Church Militant to the Church Triumphant In the Words we have a most important Question proposed by the Prophet David to God himself Lord who shall abide in thy Tabernacle who shall dwell in thy holy Hill and God presently returns an Answer as it were by a voice out of the Clouds He that walketh uprightly and worketh Righteousness and speaketh the truth in his Heart These being the chief distinguishing Marks of a true Israelite for whatever Particulars are contained in the following part of this Psalm may be reduced to these general Heads of Integrity Justice and Truth Here therefore we see what are the principal and substantial things that God requires to fit us for his Communion and so make us capable of the peculiar Blessings of his Covenant and Promise viz. such Moral Duties as evidence the Truth and Simplicity of our Hearts and declare the Uprightness of our Conversation with Men for by these he measures the sincerity of all those who come to worship him Nothing was more liable to the abuses of Hypocrisie than the Ceremonial or Tabernacle Service of the Jews which is proportionably true of all other outward Worship whatever and therefore God tries the Truth of their most solemn Acts of Worship by their Conformity to the plainest Duties of Human Society For what does the Lord require of thee saies the Prophet Micha Mich. 6.8 but to do justly and to love Mercy and to walk humbly with thy God And St. Paul in his Epistle to the Romans tells them Chap. 14.17 18. that the Kingdom of God consists in Righteousness Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God and approved of men 'T is not my Business at present to enlarge upon any Point of Divinity but only to declare what are the Qualifications which the Prophet David here gives of his true Citizen of Sion and then to consider how near a Resemblance the Life of the Honourable Person whose Funeral Rites we are now performing had to the Description laid down in this Psalm So that when we shall find Him to have maintain'd a great Integrity Righteousness and Truth through the whole Course of his days and also to have been a constant and devout Worshipper of God in his holy Tabernacle we may have good Christian Hope and Comfort and Confidence to conclude that he is now praising and glorifying the Almighty in a more excellent manner in the New Jerusalem I. Therefore I shall endeavour to make it evident that in the main Actions of his Life He duly practis'd the great Moral and Political Duties laid down in this Psalm both as a private Person and as a publick Magistrate II. That as in Conformity to the Rules of this Psalm He was rightly qualified to abide in the holy Tabernacle so accordingly he liv'd and dy'd a devout Worshipper of God. And therefore III. We have reason to conclude that his Soul is now at rest upon the spiritual Sion the holy Mount of God. I. I shall endeavour to make it evident That in the main Actions of his Life He duly practis'd the great Moral and Political Duties laid down in this Psalm both as a private Person and as a publick Magistrate But before I proceed to his Character it may be worth our Observation to consider what a proper Place and
the Friends of Christ Thus he fully answer'd that part of the Character of a Citizen of Sion laid down in this Psalm where it is said of him That in his Eyes a vile Person is contemned v. 4. but he honoureth them that fear the Lord. Indeed his Civility embrac'd all men though his Judgment knew well how to distinguish To contemn any one was not in his Nature though it sometimes happen'd to be his Duty especially as a Magistrate But the vile Persons that he contemn'd were not the poor and destitute those he reliev'd They were not those of a mean or common Parentage for such he many times enobled with his Invitations and courteous Notice neither were they those whose Vices were private or known only by common rumour or long since committed for as to such things he was not hasty to judge any but left them to God and their own Consciences despising none as Publicans because he could not tell what Saints Repentance might one day make them But the vile Persons that he contemn'd were more especially the busie Disturbers of Church and State either by open Rebellion secret Conspiracy or libellous Pamphlets And likewise among the vile Persons he could not but reckon all such though otherwise never so high in Quality who scoff'd at Religion and despis'd the Clergy because so profligate a Demeanour towards sacred things and persons was an Argument to him of the worst of Tempers that was incident to human Nature as denoting both the highest pitch of Prophaneness and the lowest Dregs of Sensuality But our good Citizen of Sion made much of them that feared the Lord defended them from the Insolence of those that would oppress them render'd them Aweful to their Flocks and Charges teaching them new measures of Reverence by his own Demeanour making them ready and chearful to render their whole Dues when they saw him who was so strict an Observer of Judgment Mercy and Truth to be so exact and punctual in the payment of all his Tythes He had no Fortunes to make no prodigally wasted Patrimony to repair by Fraud and Sacriledge but what was wanting to the ancient Demesns of his worthy Family was nobly lost by their faithful adherence to the Church and Crown and therefore never to be re-built upon their Ruines Yet notwithstanding all the loss it underwent in the civil Wars it still remain'd an ample and a thriving Estate under the Discretion and Liberality of its Owner it had no Canker in it no unjust Titles to moulder it away no Curse of the Needy upon it but was alway blessed with the good Providence of God the Prayers of the Clergy and of the Poor And thus shall every Man be blessed that maketh much of them that fear the Lord. They that love God's Ministers shall be beloved of God they shall dwell in plenty all their days descend with Honour unto their Graves and their Memories shall be dear and sacred as long as Learning and Wisdom and Piety shall remain They who are of the Commonalty can sufficiently witness the Condescentions of his Kindness the easie Familiarity of his Converse the readiness of his Favours and the uprightness of his Magistracy how he us'd his Authority chiefly to reconcile the minds of those that were offended with each other to cool their Passions to lessen their Differences to recommend the Benefits of Peace and Amity to declare the ill Consequences of Enmity and Revenge and by threatning the Rigour of the Laws to keep them from the punishments of them How often have fierce and contending Adversaries forgot their Malice in his presence and been asham'd to prosecute their Neighbours before him who always was so kind to his He was every way so compleatly fitted for his Justitiary Jmployment by his Wisdom his Equity and his Reputation that there were few but were ready to stand to whatever he propos'd They were fully possess'd with an admiration of his person and his worth they knew how inflexible he was in Honesty and Truth and repair'd to him rather as an Arbitrator than as a Magistrate and accordingly he manag'd their Controversies as a true Lover of his Countrey and an equal Guardian of Peace and Concord he often serv'd the true ends of Government more by advising as a Friend than by giving out Orders as a Justice and compos'd more Differences by the good humour of a Gentleman than by the severity of a Magistrate You can witness how he spent his time and his Estate continually in the Countrey and scarce ever went to London but to attend in the Parliaments and there to promote your Interest how he preferr'd his Habitation here before all the Splendor and Diversions of the City and how he valued the plain and downright Affection of honest and industrious Farmers before the finest Professions of Flattery and Courtship you cannot but remember with what chearfulness of Looks and heartiness of Language he receiv'd you to his Table which you always found loaded with such substantial Provisions as having serv'd the Parlour afterwards feasted the Hall and plentifully reliev'd the Poor at his Gates When his House was fill'd as it often was with promiscuous Guests how obligingly would he accommodate himself to Persons of all degrees and ranks salute the Gentry with compleat Address give such respect unto the Clergy as should invite others to pay the same talk friendly and facetiously with the middle sort of People kindly and affably with the Lowest Nay he would oftentimes give Life and Countenance to the meanest Guests by particular Applications and the repeated Testimonies of their Welcome Those who were his Tenants can witness how far he was from being a hard Landlord or requiring more than his Ground would yield how favourably he consider'd all Casualties how desirous he was of their honest Profit what Pleasure he took in seeing them prosper and thrive so that we may be assur'd Job 31.38 that his Land will never cry against him nor the Furrows thereof complain His Servants know what a gracious Master they have lost in whose Service they found no harshness of Commands and no Indulgence unto Vice To retain unto him was not Licentiousness but Discipline and good Manners neither was it Slavery but Preferment and accordingly they perform'd their Duty more from Love than from Fear Some he educated and provided for with the tenderness of a Father some he apprentis'd out to profitable and honest Callings he rewarded all that any ways deserv'd and there were few but did deserve for he took care to instill both Civility and Religion into them and to let them know that he was most offended when they neglected their Duty to God He never affected much Appearance or Splendor in his Retinue but the only Pomp in which he seem'd to be most delighted was in walking constantly to the House of God before a numerous and well-order'd Family And now Beloved you may think perhaps that I have finish'd his