A funeral sermon preach'd at the internment of Mr. Samuel Stephens for some time employ'd in the work of the ministry, in this city : who departed life the fifth of January, 1693/4 in the twenty eighth year of his age / by Edmund Calamy. Calamy, Edmund, 1671-1732. 1694 Approx. 44 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 19 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2005-03 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A32083 Wing C271 ESTC R10147 11672975 ocm 11672975 48060 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A32083) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 48060) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 526:6) A funeral sermon preach'd at the internment of Mr. Samuel Stephens for some time employ'd in the work of the ministry, in this city : who departed life the fifth of January, 1693/4 in the twenty eighth year of his age / by Edmund Calamy. Calamy, Edmund, 1671-1732. [4], 31 p. Printed for Abraham Chandler ..., London : 1694. Reproduction of original in Cambridge University Library. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. 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Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Stephens, Samuel, 1666 or 7-1694. Bible. -- N.T. -- John IX, 4 -- Sermons. Funeral sermons. Sermons -- English -- London -- 17th century 2003-11 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2003-12 SPi Global Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2004-12 Mona Logarbo Sampled and proofread 2004-12 Mona Logarbo Text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-01 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion A Funeral Sermon , Preach'd at the Interment of Mr. SAMVEL STEPHENS , For some time Employ'd in the Work of the Ministry , in this CITY . Who departed this Life the Fifth of January , 1693 / 4. in the Twenty eighth Year of his Age. By EDMVND CALAMY . 1 Pet. 1.24 . All flesh is as grass ; and all the glory of man , as the flower of grass : the grass withereth , and the flower thereof falleth away . Psal. 103.16 . For the wind passeth over it , and it is gone ; and the place thereof shall know it no more . LONDON , Printed for Abraham Chandler , at the Chyrurgeons-Arms , in Aldersgate-street , MDCXCIV . TO THE READER . THou hast here an awful Providence to draw forth and exercize thy solemn Thoughts : A Person Young , Strong , Healthful , and of no ordinary Hopefulness and Proficiency in what might render him a Light and Blessing to and in his Generation ; but soon cut down by a malignant Fever . I knew him intimately , and greatly valu'd him ; and , by my free and frequent Conversation with him , I found him Apprehensive , Inquisitive , Receptive of things in their Evidences , Attentive to what was said , Calm and Modest , but Pertinent in his Replies ; and prone to consider Seriously of Matters . But yet the Concernedness of his Soul for Holiness and Heaven , drench'd in a Scrupulous Temper , did too exorbitantly agitate his Imagination , or Fancy ; the strength whereof was his bewail'd Vnhappiness . For though his Conscience was tender , and his Life blameless , and his Industry evidently great in the pursuit of Things Eternal ; yet was he rarely ( if ever ) free from urgent Doubts and Fears : yet not discernible to any , until related by himself unto some few ; and among these , to me ; to whom his Resorts were very frequent , free , and grateful : for his ordinary Conversation was not morose , but pleasant and profitable ; though , through Self-diffidence and Suspicion , he both kept guard , and much reflected on himself , rather to Censure , than to Exalt himself in his own Conceit , or to extort Self-Commendation from Others . He is Dead : Neither was Providence long about this fatal and awakening Work. Through Providential Conduct , the Author of this Sermon thus entertain'd a great and attentive Auditory , at the Funeral Solemnity of the Deceased . The Composer of this Sermon ( my Dear and Worthy Fellow-Labourer in the Gospel ) I could copiously Commend , but will not : He is well known to be more prest by me , and others , than forward of himself to make this serious and useful Sermon publick . The First-Fruits of an hopeful Harvest are not the worse for being early , but the better . Young Timothy , when deserving it , was Commended even by St. Paul , that great Apostle . And Grace , I hope , will keep him safe and humble ; and I beg it may do so . But — Manum de Tabula — God's Word and Providence have their loud Call , and solemn Errand to us all . Oh! Hear , Prepare , Fulfil , Dispatch , Pray , Wait and Hope ! The Iudge is at the Door ; the End of all Things is at hand ; we little know when , how near , or how . A Fever ( such as made this Spectacle of Mortality ) may quickly send us after him , who is lately gone unto the Grave : And what comes next ? Pardon me , Reader , if I vent my very Heart and Wishes in these borrow'd Strains : O Deus ! aut nullo caleat mihi Pectus ab igne ; Aut solo caleat pectus abigne tui . Languet ut illa Deo , mihi mens simul aemula languet ! Coelitus ut rapitur ! me violenta rapit . Ut Paveam scelus omne , petam super omnia Coelum ; Da mihi Fraena Timor , Da mihi Calcar Amor. Luctibus Caetera & Suspiriis . LONDON , Jan. 15. 1693 / 4. Thine in and for the Lord , Whilst Matt. Sylvester . A Funeral Sermon , &c. A Funeral Solemnity ( my Friends ) is an awful Thing ; apt to dispose the Minds of those who are in any wise Thoughtful for Serious Impressions : and therefore affords an Opportunity for pursuing an Exhortation to Piety and Religion , with good Advantage . Though Funeral Orations had their Rise from Heathenish Vanity , yet may they ( provided all unjust Commendation of the Dead , and servile Flattery of the Living , be avoided ) be exceeding useful , even among Christians , in helping to make the Survivers better ; there being nothing that more promotes the Amendment of our Lives , than the serious Consideration and Improvement of the Departure of Others , who are snatch'd away by Death , both on our Right-hand and Left , leaving us behind , who Our Selves also must shortly follow . We have now before us the Corps of one , who , a Fortnight ago , might rationally have hop'd to have liv'd as long as most here present ; One that a few Days ago was Hale and Strong , Healthful and Vigorous , Aimable and Pleasant , Well-Accomplish'd and Useful : But a mortal Distemper seiz'd him , his Strength was on a sudden baffled , and all his Plenty of Spirits exhausted ; he is crush'd like a Moth , his Serviceableness is at an end ; and we are now going to commit his desented Carcass to the Earth , the grand Principle of its Composition . Who that will give way to Consideration , but must hereupon be provok'd to take up some such Resolution as this ? By the help of God , henceforward , whatever I neglect , I 'll mind my main Concern ; I 'll do what I have to do in this World without Delay , since I know not how soon Death may surprize me , and summon me to Judgment ? 'T is the engaging us to make and keep such a Resolution as this , which ( humbly imploring Divine Assistance ) I at present aim at : And in order thereto , I have pitch'd , for the Subject of my Discourse , on that Passage of Holy Writ which we meet with in JOHN ix . 4 I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day ; the night cometh when no man can work . WHich are the Words of our Blessed Saviour , ordinarily taken as spoken by him with reference to Himself , discovering his steady Purpose of managing that great Concern for which he came into the World with the utmost Speed and Diligence ; and more particularly , his Resolvedness to do as many beneficial Miracles as the short time of his stay here below would allow him . But waving this Sence , I shall consider them as having a general Aspect ; setting before us all that which is our plain Duty , and should be our resolved Purpose . For which Acceptation , ( besides the Obligation we are under to a Resemblance of our Blessed Lord , in this , as well as in other Respects , ) I think I have sufficient Ground , in that , according to one of the most valuable Copies * of the New Testament this day in the World , this Passage should be thus render'd , We must work the Works of him that sent us . And indeed , a transient Animadversion of the Circumstances of this Verse , will suffice to satisfie us , that it hath nothing in it peculiar to our Saviour ; but that he took a convenient Occasion to make his Followers sensible how much they were concern'd , according to their different Capacities , to do the Work that God had set them , in the Time that he had given them , which is short , and very uncertain , and therefore carefully to be improv'd ; and that he might insinuate this the better , he brings Himself in for Company . I shall not go about to try whether or no I could , on a Subject so circumstantiated as this , give you a learned and florid Discourse ; but shall only endeavour to be a plain Echo of that Providence which is the sad Occasion of our present Concourse , in laying before you , in distinct Propositions , the several Truths which these Words contain ; of which I shall afterwards make a brief Improvement , both General and Special . Now the Truths which these Words naturally present to our Thoughts , are such as these that follow . I. That we are all sent into this World by God. We must work the Works of him that sent us . We came not hither of our selves : We came not by Chance : Our Production's owing to an Agent infinitely Powerful and Wise ; who though he did not immediately create us out of Nothing , yet order'd dispos'd and actuated those Natural Causes by whose Concurrence we were form'd . One would wonder how any that have the least spark of Reason , should ever let it enter into their Thoughts , that so Noble a Being as Man should be the Workmanship of fortuitous Chance , when we see Men rising up in the World , Age after Age , in a stated Order . And as for that Term of NATURE , of which some are so fond , if they mean by it any thing distinct either from the Author , or the settled Order of Things , they introduce by it a Being of whose Existence they can give no Evidence . But let our Wits argue as long as they please , we may securely defie them to give any Account , how it should come about , that when it was but a little while ago altogether Indifferent whether such Beings should ever have been , or not , one Generation should now so statedly succeed another ; unless they 'll own the Agency of the Great Creator of all Things , the free Efflux of whose superabounding Goodness gave the first Rise to the World. 'T is He that manifestly gives Natural Causes their Vertue , sets them on Work , bounds their Influence , determines their Effects , and over-rules and manages them in all their Productions . So that , as Things are now disposed , we as much owe our Beings to God , as we should do , if , by virtue of his Almighty Word , we should in an instant start out of Nothing . 'T was He that first shap'd us in the Womb ; as we may see , Psal. 139. 14 , 15 , 16. 'T was He that brought us out of our first strait Confinement , into so large and noble an Habitation as that of this Visible World , Psal. 71. 6. 'T is on Him that we subsist all the time that we are here , and therefore we may be assurd He sent us hither . II. A Second Truth these Words afford , is this ; That we have all of us Work to do here . And need I go to prove this to you ? Do we not see all the Creatures , in their several Ranks , according to their Capacities , at work about us ? Do we not find that we have Active Natures , Noble Powers , Large Capacities , and Boundless Cravings ? And can we then think that we were design'd to be Idle ? Should we indeed look into most Mens Lives , we should be apt to think either that we have nothing at all , or nothing of any Consequence to do in this World. But let 's but look ●ound about us , or into our selves , and we shall soon be satisfy'd that such active Natures as ours must have an Employment . A Wise Being can never produce Powers to no purpose ; a Capacity , without setting it a work : We must have some Work or other to do , or else we should be useless Impertinencies , and insignificant Cyphers in the Creation of God. Neither can our Work be at our own Choice ; we cannot be free to do what we please . It naturally belongs to Him that gave us our Powers , to employ them ; to Him that sent us into the World , to allot and cut out proper Work for us in it : And whenever we pretend to cut out Work for our selves , we arrogate to our selves the Prerogative of our Maker ; who being an infinitely Wise Agent , and having made us capable of Working , hath designed Work for us ; and that such Work as is every way suitable to the Dignity , Excellency and Ability of our Natures . Now , it 's well worth our serious Consideration , what Work it is God design'd us for . And this is a Thought which the greatest Part of the World seldom , if ever to any purpose , harbour ; and therefore 't is no wonder that their Lives are so disorderly , confus'd , and unaccountably extravagant and foolish . I doubt not but there are some Hundreds and Thousands to be found , who never spent one half Hour , in all their Lives , in deliberate Thoughtfulness about the Work for which they were made , and sent into the World. For , can any Man , who will allow himself soberly to weigh Matters , ever think that so Noble a Creature as he should have no other Work in this World , than to build Houses , and plant Vineyards ; take his Pleasure , and live at his Ease , indulging his Appetites , gratifying his Senses , and pampering a short-liv'd Body ? to prog for Wealth , and weary himself in heaping together a few Bags of perishing Dust ? to hunt for Honour and Credit , Esteem and Applause among his Fellow-Creatures , together with whom he himself must shortly pass off this earthly Stage , so as to be quite forgotten ? Can any One , I say , that will give himself leave to think , imagine this to be Work fit for so Noble a Creature as Man to be sent into this World for ? And yet of how great a Part of Mankind , in all Ages , hath this been the sole Employment ! Oh , for God's sake ! let us be wiser : Let 's but open our Eyes a little , and we shall soon discern quite otherguess Work than this for us to mind . Should I attempt here to be particular , I should soon expatiate beyond the Bounds of a single Discourse : Let me desire you therefore , in short , to observe , that the Work which we have to do in this World , is either Common or Special . The great Work that is common to us all , is , while we are in this World , to prepare for another ▪ this Life not being in order to it self , but in order to a better Life . We are sent into this World to be prepar'd , qualify'd , dispos'd and fitted for the noble and refin'd Enjoyments of another State , for which we are design'd ; to live a Life of Faith and Patience , that in due time we may be admitted to a Life of Glory . And a greater Work this is than we are ordinarily aware of : But herein lies the main of it : We are to get our Spirits refin'd , and a New and a Divine Nature convey'd into us ; without which , we can never be capable of a Divine Life . In order hereto , there 's a great deal of Knowledge to be gotten : We must know the God that made us , and in the Enjoyment of whom our Happiness lies : we must know our Apostacy from him , with its sad Effects : we must know the Means of our Recovery , and use them . And here comes in Jesus Christ , whom we must know and use in all his Offices : We must know what He was by the Father design'd to do for us ; what Advantages he hath procur'd us , and on what Terms . To which Terms we must take care to come up ▪ we must heartily return to God , through his Son ; give up our selves to our Lord Redeemer's Conduct ; obey the Laws that he hath given us ; use all the subordinate Means that he hath appointed us ; believe and trust in the Promises that he hath made us ; follow the Example that he hath set us ; and depend on the Assistance of that Spirit which he hath purchased for us : We must be continually fighting against the three grand Enemies of our Happiness , the Flesh , the World and the Devil : we must improve all our Faculties , Talents , Abilities , Mercies , Relations , and Enjoyments , for God , like Accountable Creatures ; and do all the Good we can to Others . This is the Work that lies upon all our hands : without doing which , we live in vain ; we answer not the Ends of Life . But besides this General , there 's Special Work to which God calls some . And this is either Ordinary or Extraordinary : and each of them is of several sorts , which I shan't stay to enumerate : but among them all , there 's none more Awful , Sacred and Tremendious , than the Ministerial Employment ; and none lie under a greater necessity of Diligence , Care and Industry ; none stand in need of more Assistance from Above , than those who are call'd to , and employ'd in it . That is a Work , indeed , in it self , unfit for Humane Hands ; and yet it must be undertaken and done when God calls to it : and his Goodness is wonderfully seen , in spiriting and fitting any mortal Men , in any tolerable Degree , for it ; assisting them in it , and carrying them through it . But 't is but few who have a genuine Call to such Work as this ; nor are all fit to Judge of the Dueness of a Call to it : But to the former we are all Call'd , and we must do it ; 't is required of every one of us , by God that sent us hither . And so much for the Second Observable . III. The Third thing observable , is this ; That God gives us a Day in which we may do our Work. We must work the Works of him that sent us , while it is Day . Which implies , that we all have a Day to work in . God is not , in any case , like the Egyptian Task-masters , who requir'd Bricks without Straw . He 'll give us Time to do the Work he 'll require at our hands . The great Difficulty here , is , with reference to those who die in Infancy , or at any time before they come to Years of Discretion . What Time , may in be demanded , have such as they to do any Work in ? Whereto I reply , That God expects no Work of any sort , of any , for which he gives not Time and Capacity . As to the Eternal State of Dying Infants , if that be farther enquired , into , we can say no more than this , That those of them who sprang from truly Pious Parents , are reckon'd as a Part of their Parents ; and therefore their Parents right acquitting themselves in the Work that God set them , is available for their Good ▪ But as for those of them whose Parents are Irreligious , who have not done the Work for which God sent them into the World , the Scriptures give us no Account ; and therefore we may and should be content to be ignorant what becomes of them . But as for us ( my Friends ) we have a Day afforded us ; and therefore afforded , that we may Work in it . In whatsoever sence well take the Day , we have it : we have Life prolong'd , Offers and Seasons of Grace continued , God's Patience waiting , and his Spirit striving : Some of us have had a long Day of it : We , blessed be God , have Time , and Health , and Strength ; Oh! that we had Hearts to do our Work ! IV. A Fourth Observation is this ; That this Day of ours is but short . We must Work while it is Day . That implies it won't last long ▪ Which , it 's manifest , is principally meant of the Time of Life , which is but short . And this is a common Theme of Complaint with some ; yet as much Forgotten and Overlook'd by others , as if they did not believe it . How mournfully shall we hear some complain , that we no sooner pass through helpless Infancy , and inobservant Childhood , and come ; after much Pains and Toil , to get some tolerable Fitness for Service in the World , but we are presently gone ; our Days at an end ? And yet how carelessly and negligently do the most live ? just as if they thought their Day would last always ? But what little Reason is there for the former Complaint , when our Day suffices for our Work ? And how unaccountable is the latter Instance of Folly , when our Day , if prolong'd to the utmost Period , is so exceeding short ? If we 'll but look into Scripture , we shall see things brought in as Emblems of it , that are the most short , brittle and fading , that the whole Creation can furnish . Let 's consult the Experience of Mankind , in all Ages , and see if our Working-time be not short . How easily may a Man , when the Sun Rises in the Morning , fore-see its Setting , when the Light will be succeeded by Darkness , the Day by Night ? As easily may we , while in Health , and Strength , and Vigour , fore-see an approaching Death . How short is our Day , compar'd with the Days of Eternity ? even infinitely less than a single Moment , compar'd with the whole World's Duration . Nay , what is our Day now , to that of those who liv'd in the first Ages of the World , but as a short Dream , compar'd to a long Summer's Day ? This Point were easily illustrated and prov'd ; but it needs neither , so much as Improvement . And so doth , V. The Fifth Observable , which is this ; That our Day is not only Short , but Uncertain . For thus much that Passage also implies , We must work while it is Day . Which seems to intimate , that it may , for ought we know , last but a very little while ; it may expire e're we are aware . And can there be any thing more evident than this ? when so many Thousands of unforeseen Casualties , Disorders or Distempers may put an end to it ? Let 's look abroad into the World , and we shall find some of all Ages daily Dying . Who then can tell at what Age his Day may end ? at what time his Sun may set ? I need look no further for a sensible Conviction of this , than the Corps before us ; the Looking on which , may ( and will , if we consider Circumstances ) satisfie us all that our Day 's uncertain . But yet , VI. In the Sixth and Last place , though that be Uncertain , this is most Certain , That a Night will , sooner or later , overtake us all , in which no Work can be done , but we must receive our Wages . Let our Day be never so bright and clear , some time or other the Shadows of the Evening will overspread us ; our Sun will set , and Night will come ; a Night in which no man can work . After which , nothing more can be done , in order to a Preparation for Happiness , or an Escape of Misery ; in which no more Means can be us'd , in order to our Amendment ; no more Knowledge can be gotten , that can do us any Good : after which , no further Opportunity will be afforded us of repairing to , and making use of Christ ; and no further Time of Trial allow'd us . Which is as certain , as 't is , that 't is appointed to all men once to die ; of which we may be as certain as we are , that now we live . The Day 's our Working-time ; when the Night comes , we must expect to receive our Wages . Thus we find it was in the Parable of the Labourers , recorded in the Twentieth Chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel , and thus 't will be with us . When God hath waited upon us , and given us as long a Day as he thinks fit , he 'll then call us to an Account , what Work we have done ; how we have behav'd our selves . If we have done the Work for which God sent us hither , he 'll Commend and highly Reward us . If we have not done it , his very Look will strike us through with Ternour , and he 'll severely punish us : For he will render to every one according to their Works . As you may see more at large , if you please to consult Rom. 2. 6 , and the following Verses . And thus much may suffice for the Doctrinal handling of the Words ; the Improvement follows : which might be manag'd to good purpose several ways : But that I may keep within bounds , I 'le reduce what I would say for general Improvement to these two Heads . If these things be so , then certainly it becomes us all , 1. To improve the day we have to work in to the best advantage . 2. Often to think of , and seriously to prepare for an approaching night . 1. Then , Let us manage and improve the day we have to work in , to the best advantage that may be . I 'm satisfy'd there 's scarce any one among us all , but if ask'd , would say , that we heartily believ'd the forementioned Truths : that but who almost lookt into our Lives could believe us when we say so ? Should we every one of us set our selves down seriously to examine what we have done of the work that we were sent into the world for ( to do which would be a great instance of our wisdom ) , what a poor account should we bring in ! How much of our day have we spent in doing nothing ! how much in that which comes to nothing ! Nay , how much have many of us spent in that which must , so far as it 's possible , be undone again ▪ or else we are eternally miserable ! How many of us have liv'd the half ; nay , two thirds ; nay , almost the whole of our day , and are yet to begin our great Work ? To what purpose then , I pray , have we liv'd all this while ! And as for those of us who have in earnest begun our work , how little of it have we done ? how is it done , as 't were by halves ? How little proportion doth our Diligence , and Industry , and Activity in it , bear to the momentousness and greatness of it , to the assistances we have , and the uncertainty we are at ? And shall we then refuse to think these things over again in our Secret Retirements ? and endeavour , by consideration , to drive them home into our Souls , till all the Powers we have , are awakened to the earnest doing of the Work of him that sent us , while the Day lasts , before the Night over-takes us ? Is our working Day so short , and can we then find any of it to lose ? Is it so uncertain , and shall we dare to delay ? Oh , if we have any sober Reason left , if we are not perfectly mad , besotted , and stupify'd ; if we would not in another State fruitlesly torment our selves for ever , let us improve our working time to the best advantage . That we may so do , let us , 1. Begin to work betimes ; Which if we could be prevail'd upon to do it , would bring unspeakable advantages with it . Oh , let none of us who think not our selves too young to live , or too young to die , think our selves too young to do that work for which we were sent into the world . The sooner we begin to work , the more ease and peace may we expect in our remaining days , and the more work may we hope to do . If we 'll begin to work in our youthful days , and hold on working , we may hope by the Divine Blessing to do Three times as much work as those , who , tho they should live as long as we , yet spend a third part of their day idly , without any ways answering the Ends of Life : And we might expect an increase of our Reward hereafter , proportionable to the increase of our work here . Night may overtake the youngest of us , and therefore we have Reason to go to work out of hand . And the more advanc'd any of us are in years , still the more Reason have we immediately to begin it , if we have not already done it . A delay in this case is dangerous , and may be our Ruin. O let 's therefore be idle no longer , but work the Work of him that sent us while it's day . 2. Let us carefully avoid all those things that would hinder us in our Work. The Weakness and Necessities of our Natures , in our present State , occasion a great many unavoidable Avocations from our great Work. Much of our short day 's cut off by Infancy , when we can do nothing ; and Childhood , when we are at most capable but of just beginning our Work ; By the time that must be spent in eating , and drinking , and sleeping , for the Recruit and support of our Bodies , and in Recreation that 's needful for our Health and Refreshment ; and a great many other things I might mention , which tho subordinate duties , yet are avocations from that great Work we were made for . We have no need therefore to be in love with Clogs , Impediments , and Embarrasments , as too too many seem to be . Let 's rather prudently endeavour to avoid them : if we have any , let 's as much as may be lay them aside : Let 's watch and strive against all the Encroachments they would make upon that time which ought to be spent in our great Work , like those that are in earnest for Heaven and another World. And , 3. Thirdly and Lastly , Let us work apace , and do as much Work as ever we can in so short and uncertain a time as we have to do it in . Our Day hastens , and so let our Work. Whatever our hand finds to do , let 's do it with our might ; as the Wise Man expresses it , Eccles. 9. 10. Were our day as long as Methusalah's , our work is such that we should have no time to lose . But when it is so short and uncertain , and we have such great and important Work to do , we had need double our diligence ; and if we 'll take this course , we shall have no Reason to complain of the Shortness of our Lives ; for he that does the work of Fifty or Threescore Years in Seven or Eight and Twenty , is happier than he that lives so long in the world . Oh , let 's earnestly endeavour to make such daily advances , as that our Work may be at an End as soon as our Day . 2. Let us often think of , and seriously set ourselves to prepare for an approaching Night . We are all ( my Friends ) endued with a Power of Foresight ; Let 's in this case make use of it : Let 's think with our selves , that as surely as 't is now Day with us , 't will e're long be Night ; as surely as we now live shall we shortly die ; and let 's endeavour to yield to the Power of such a Thought . Whenever we are tempted to Delays , to Negligence , Indifference and Remissness in our Grand Concern ; Let 's think how swiftly the Night is hasting towards us , and how earnestly Death is pursuing after us ; and let 's act as those that are in expectation of it . Let 's resolve with holy Job , that we 'll wait all the days of our appointed time , till our change come , Job 14. 14. Let 's not be so foolish as to hear of others Deaths , without reflecting on our own : To accompany others to their graves , without thinking that we must shortly follow them . Let 's Live in the day time as those that have night in their view . When the labouring Countreyman sees the night approaching , he 'l put to all his strength , and vigorously endeavour to finish his undertaken work ere the sun go down : Let us do so too ; and then be our day longer or shorter , our Night will be comfortable ; We may lift up our Heads with joy . But on the contrary how doleful will our night be if we work not in the day time ! How dismal a thing will it be at the close of our Lives to find just cause for this Reflection , that we have liv'd in vain , without doing that for which God sent us hither ! What Horror and Amazement will then seize upon us ! What can we then expect will support or cheer us ! What Rage and Despair will possess us ! Would we not have this to be our case ? Then let us by doing our work in the Day , prepare for the Night that 's coming . And Oh what account shall we be able to give to the God that sent us hither , if we mind not the Work for which he sent us ? If we can find time now for every thing else but to mind our main Concern , how shall we dare to look God in the Face another day ? How can we think we stand before his Bar , to give an account for all our Power and Capacity , Time and Opportunity of Working ; for our Calls , Admonitions and warnings to apply our selves to our work , for all our allurements and enticements , Helps and assistances to work ? Oh how shall we then stand speechless if now we remain idle ! Then be confounded if now we are negligent ! Oh then if we love our selves , if we desire to be Happy , Let us by doing the work of him that sent us while the day lasts , prepare for that night which approaches , in which no work can be done , but we must receive our Wages . And thus much may suffice for general Improvements . And now that I may follow this present Stroke of Providence , whither it seems more particularly to direct its Voice , give me leave to address my self to you , my Brethren , of the Younger Sort , whom God is pleased to call to publick Work in his Vineyard . One of our small Number 's gone . and he none of the inconsiderablest neither . God set him a Work for a little while , and then call'd him away ; and hath not this a Voice , and that to us particularly ? Our Deceased brother , and God by him seems to cry aloud to all of us , to work the works of him that sent us while 't is day , ere the night overtake us . The work , my brethren , to which we have set our hands is sacred and awful ; 'T is enough , I profess seriously , to make our hearts to ake , and our Knees to tremble , to set our selves solemnly to think upon it . 'T is difficult work : Difficult in it self , and more peculiarly so , by reason of the circumstances of the time wherein our Lot is cast . It hath ever indeed been difficult to bear up Gods honour in the world , to vindicate his truths from contempt , to engage men heartily in his service , and to bring Souls to Heaven : But how are the difficulties encreased upon us , thro' the desperate malignity of many , the Lukewarmness and indifference of most ; The peevishness and morosness of some , and the Giddiness and wantonness of others ! Alas for us , what shall we do to promote that Wisdom that is from above , that is pure , and peaceable , and gentle , and easy to be entreated , full of good fruits , without partiality and without Hypocrisy , in the Age we live in , in which the wisdom of the world so much prevails , and true Religion is so like to expire ? 'T is true , Our Reverend Fathers , thanks be to God , do as yet bear the Brunt of the Day ; and God grant they may long do so . But alas , the Prophets dont live for ever , any more than others ; Within a few years they 'll all drop off , and the burthen will lie on young shoulders : And what shall we then do ? What shall we do to stem that Tide of Atheism and Irreligion , that hath overflown us ? What shall we do in opposition to the Scepticism by which we find so many unravell'd and undone ? What shall we do to recover the Power of Godliness , of which our Fathers tell us so much , tho we can see so little , it being almost lost ? What shall we do to root out those Prejudices which have so long been rivetted in many peoples minds ? What shall we do to pacific those angry Heats , and stop those raging Contentions vvhich have continued so long , till they have almost eat out the Spirit and Life of Religion ? What shall we do to revive True , Generous , Catholick Christianity ? Our Difficulties seem rather to grow than diminish : And shall we not then , out of a sense of the great opposition we shall meet with on all sides , take great care to qualifie , dispose and fit our selves for the Great Work that will lie upon us , by treasuring up of Knowledge daily , laying aside of Prejudices our selves , and taking up nothing but upon good Grounds , by studying the things that make for Peace on all hands , by arming our selves vvith resolution to go through good report and bad report , to be above Smiles and Frowns ; and aboveall , by keeping up an intimate Acquaintance vvith that God vvho gives us a Commission , and vvho alone can give us assistance and success ? And yet in the mean time the Day we have to work in is short and uncertain ; We know not but our Work may be at an end as soon almost as we begin ; and therefore we have need carefully to improve all opportunities of Service , and to work apace . It is indeed enough to surprize us , vvhen we consider all things , to think that God should have rais'd up so many of us in so discouraging Times as we have pass'd through ; that he should have given us any tolerable competency of Fitness for his Service , and that he should in any measure own us in it . But alas , my Brethren , let 's not be too confident ; God can nip budding hop● ; he can , if he pleases , just show us to the World ▪ and then snatch us away again . Let 's take care le●t we by our sins , provoke him to lay us aside , as Vessels wherein he hath no pleasure . Let 's work therefore for God , without Self-seeking : Let 's take care to recommend Religion to others by our Lives : Let 's love as Brethren , and studiously strengthen , and no ways weaken one anothers hands : Let 's apply our selves diligently to our Work , and let this Instance of our Mortality quicken us : Let 's often think this Work of ours will soon be at an end ; in which , if we have been faithful , we shall be amply rewarded ; for we shall shine as Stars in God's Right Hand . If we have been idle , negligent and careless , our punishment vvill be proportion'd to our sin . Let 's not be so fond as to feed our selves with hopes of a long time of use and service to come ; but in the Day let 's foresee our Night : Let 's seriously bethink our selves that Death will soon seize us , and summon us to Judgment ; Our Souls will take their flight , and leave our Bodies behind ; and we must be beholden to our surviving Friends to do that last Office for us which we are now going to do for the Relicks of our Deceas●d Brother , Mr. SAMVEL STEPHENS . Of whom I shan't say much to you , though I could , if I thought it needful . As for his Family , ' t vvas Noble and Honourable in Heavens Bla●●●ry , it having been successively employed in the Work of the Ministry ever since the Reformation , his immediate Father only excepted ; Which Gap the Two Brothers would have made up , if both had liv'd : But blessed be God that hath spared us One Branch of so Worthy a Stock . As for the Person of the Deceased , he was design'd for the Ministry from his Younger Years ; and had as Good Advantages all along , for the acquiring the needful Accomplishments for it , as this Land vvould afford to those under our Discouragements . Which Advantages he so Well Improv'd , as at length to become a Workman that needed not to be asham'd . He had a Sense of Religion instill'd into him in his early Days , about the Fourteenth or Fifteenth Year of his Age ; ever since which time he hath been observed , by those that knew him , to have had a very tender Conscience . He vvas noted for his frequency in Prayer , even while a School-Boy , the serious performance of which Duty argues the Greatest Love to God of any . He had a most awful Sense of the Ministerial Employment , which those with whom he had any intimacy , will readily testifie . He was very backward to begin to preach , though by his most Judicious Friends , judg'd sufficiently qualified , and earnestly prest : thro' his great humility , and unwillingness to rush into such a work . And I could tell you of a Worthy Divine , to whom he to his dying day , us'd for the most part to read his Notes , before he 'd Venture with Them into the Pulpit . His Spirit hath many a Time been so over-awed by a sense of the Sacredness of the Work he was engaged in , that he hath been afraid to persist in it , and almost perswaded to turn his Thoughts another way . And indeed he was humble and modest to a Fault . His Natural Temper exposed him somewhat to Melancholy ; and one thing that tended to make his Life uneasie , was his great Scrupulosity , and fear of offending God in the smallest matters , where others could apprehend no danger . But in this he was on the safest side , tho the most uncomfortable . But he had the happiness to be able to conceal his inward Trouble from the Observation of the World , by a free , pleasant and cheerful Conversation , by which he avoided discouraging others , of which he was fearful . I look upon him to have had as much of True Generosity in his Natural Temper , as most I know . He , from his heart , scorn'd to do any Thing that was mean , or base , or servile ; and abhorr'd every Thing that in the least lookt like undermining . He ever retain'd a most grateful sense of the Kindness of those Worthy Gentlemen , and others , who were his Friends ; and was always ready , to the utmost of his Capacity , himself , to do any Office of Kindness for any . Having been for some years employ'd occasionally in the Preaching Work of the Ministry , it so pleased God , that a Mortal Distemper seiz'd him , which depriv'd the Church of an useful Servant , and us of a Fellow-Labourer , that might have been very helpful . His Distemper with Violence seiz'd his head , the Rage whereof was Visibly increased by those awful Thoughts of Eternity wherewith he was possessed . I mention this , the rather , that I may thence take occasion to warn those who will defer , and put off their great work to a Dying Bed , from this Instance , and others of the like nature , often to be met with , to see their folly , and grow wise . For several days before he dy'd , his Distemper deprived him of the free use of his Reason ; and so it happens in many Cases : who then , in his Wits , would put off the Great Work he was sent into the World for , to such a Time ? And yet this may be the case of any one of us . Our Eternal State may be irrevocably fixt even before we die , and we absolutely incapacitated to do any thing in our Soul-Affairs . But I hope and believe our deceased Brother's Work was not then to do , but was finished before . After that his Natural Strength ( which was very great ) had for some days grappled with a malignant Fever , he was forc'd to yield , a Rent was made , his Soul took its flight , and left his Body lifeless , in the Eight and Twentieth Year of his Age. His Work 's soon done , but not too soon for him , who I hope is happy . We are now going to commit his Body to the Earth , there to lye and rot , which will shortly also be the Case of every one of us . His Toil , and Warfare , and Combat , and all painful Work is at an end . He 's taken away from those Evils which we may live to see . For who knows what is coming upon us ? We may , for ought we know , meet with miseries that we little think of , before we dye : But blessed be God that we have another Life , of Rest , and Peace , and Joy , in hope , and that tho we cant know what will befall us here , yet we know this assuredly , That Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord , for they rest from their labours , and their Works do follow them . FINIS . Books Printed for , and Sold by Abraham Chandler . THE Mourners Companion , or Funeral Discourses from several Texts , 8vo . Price bound 1 s. 6 d. Death a Deliverance : A Funeral Discourse , to bind up with the Mourners Companion . Sacramental Discourses on several Texts , before and after the Lords Supper , together with a Paraphrase on the Lords Prayer , 12ves . Price bound 1 s. 6 d. Practical Reflections on the late Earthquakes in Jamaica , Sicily , Malta , &c. with a particular Historical Account of those , and Divers other Earthquakes . Price bound 1 s. 6 d. The Day of Grace : Or a Discourse concerning the Possibility , and Fear of its being past before Death : Shewing the groundless Doubts , and mistaken Apprehensions of some , as to their being finally forsaken and left of God ; with the dangerous Symptoms and Approaches of others to such a sad state ; in Four Sermons from Psalm 81. 11 , 12. Serious Reflections on Time and Eternity , with some other Subjects , Moral and Divine ; To which is annexed an Appendix concerning the First Day of the Year ; how observed by the Iews , and may best be employed by a serious Christian. All Six by Mr. John Shower . Notes, typically marginal, from the original text Notes for div A32083-e480 * Viz. That of Beza , reserv'd at Cambridge Heb. 9 . 27. Jam. 3. 17. Rev 14.13 ▪