A funeral sermon preached upon the death of Mrs. Rebecka Goddard, November the 13th. 1692 At Joyners-Hall. By Tho. Harrison. Harrison, Thomas, fl. 1700. 1692 Approx. 49 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 15 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2009-03 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A45686 Wing H910A ESTC R213017 99825548 99825548 29932 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. A45686) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 29932) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1849:30) A funeral sermon preached upon the death of Mrs. Rebecka Goddard, November the 13th. 1692 At Joyners-Hall. By Tho. Harrison. Harrison, Thomas, fl. 1700. [4], 24 p. printed for J. Harris at the Harrow in the Poultrey, London : [1692?] Publication date conjectured by Wing. Reproduction of the original in the British 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 Goddard, Rebecka, d. 1692 -- Early works to 1800. Sermons, English -- 17th century. Funeral sermons -- Early works to 1800. 2008-06 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2008-07 SPi Global Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2008-08 Megan Marion Sampled and proofread 2008-08 Megan Marion Text and markup reviewed and edited 2008-09 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion Funeral Sermon Preached upon the DEATH of M rs . Rebecka Goddard , November the 13th . 1692. At JOYNERS-HALL . By THO. HARRISON . James 5. ch . 9 , 10. v. Take my Brethren the Prophets , who have spoken in the Name of the Lord , for an Example of suffering affliction , and of patience : Behold we count them happy which endure . Ye have heard of the patience of Job , and have , seen the end of the Lord ; that the Lord is very pitiful , and of tender mercy . LONDON , Printed for J. Harris at the Harrow in the Poultrey . THE Epistle Dedicatory , TO The Husband and Parents of the Deceased Mrs. Rebecka Goddard . WORTHY FRIENDS , THe doleful Separation which that God in whose Hands all our Times are , hath lately made between you and your near and dear Relation , having occasioned my Preaching the following Sermon , the Dedication is justly yours : Though at your desire I did compose it for a Publick Auditory , I never designed to expose it to publick View . Many worthy Men having written largely and excellently upon Subjects of a like Nature , I was unwilling to cast in my Mite among their larger Summs , and feared it would look like a piece of Conceited Folly to thrust my slender unpolish'd Discourse into the vast croud of substantial and elegant Treatises which have already appear'd upon the Publick Stage : But seeing you desire that what God hath Bless'd to your selves , may be Publish'd to others , I thought I might look upon your Request as a Call from God to that which was always contrary to my own Inclination , therefore I hope none will Censure me for Complying with it : God works sometimes by small means , for he is not tyed to any ; he hath sometimes rendered mean Discourses preach'd or penn'd more successful than those of a more excellent Composure . That the ensuing Discourse may be farther useful to you , and may be bless'd to the Instruction and Consolation of others , into whose Hands it shall come , that God would make up your Loss by clearer Manifestations of his Love , and more plentiful Communications of his Grace to your Souls ; that this Rod may like that of Aaron , blossom and bring forth the peaceable fruit of Righteousness ; that you may be made yet more to bless that God who hath snatch'd your dear Relative from your Embraces , is the unfeigned Desire of Your Affectionate Friend and Servant , T. H. A Funeral SERMON , &c. JOB 1. ch . 21 v. latter part . — The Lord gave , and the Lord hath taken away , blessed be the Name of the Lord. THese are the Words of Holy Job , who was an eminent Example , both of suffering Affliction and of Patience under it . If we look into the beginning of this Chapter , we shall find that he was in a very prosperous and flourishing State and Condition ; and yet a very upright Holy Man. Greatness and Goodness are very rare Conjunctions , but they met together in him : When he was full , he did not forget God , neither when he waxed fat , did he ( Jeshurun like ) kick against him : His temporal Riches did not impoverish his Soul , the World did not alienate his Affections from God , which greatly evidenc'd the Strength and Vigour of his Grace ; but if we fix our Eyes upon the latter part of the Chapter , we shall see a great and sudden alteration made in his outward State , he soon rolled down the Mount of Prosperity into the lowest Vale of Adversity ; one Messenger treads upon the heels of another , bringing doleful Tidings concerning the flight of his outward Comforts from him , and the last Messenger was laden with the heaviest Tidings , who brought the News of his Childrens death , by a terrible stroke of God's hand . A Man's Children are more valuable than all his worldly Substance ; they are a part of himsellf , Flesh of his Flesh , and Bone of his Bone. The loss of an Estate is like the plucking off a Garment , the loss of a Child is like the tearing off a Limb from the Body . God seemed to empty this good Man from Vessel to Vessel , to lay Stripe upon Stripe : Deep called unto Deep at the Noise of Jehovah's Water spouts , and if not all , yet a great many of his Waves and Billows passed over him . It was certainly very terrible unto him , and must needs be so to us , for God to repeat his strokes , and multiply our Afflictions ; before we have ended our Lamentations for the loss of one outward Comfort , to behold and attend the Funeral of another . Before I pass this , give me leave to Observe , That sharp and sore Afflictions are often times the Lot of God's dearest Children in this Life . They who have a large room in God's Heart , are often very severely Disciplin'd by his Rod : They who do most carefully eschew the evil of sin , are frequently exercis'd with the evil of Suffering . Let us make this profitable Use of this Note , viz. Not to conclude our selves to be the Objects either of Divine Love or Hatred , from any of the external Dispensations of Divine Providence towards us . We cannot Warrantably draw any such Conclusions from such Premises . God may load thee with Common Benefits , and yet not remember thee with the Favour which he bears to his own People : He may Visit thee with great Afflictions , and yet thou may'st be Visited with his spiritual Salvation here , and his Eternal Salvation hereafter . Thy Wife may be as a Fruitful Vine , thy Sons like Plants grown up in their Youth , and thy Daughters as Corner stones polished after the similitude of a Palace , and yet thou may'st not be broken off from the wild Olive-tree of Corrupt Nature , nor engrafted into Christ the Noble Vine and the good Olive-tree : Thy Root may be dry , and thy Branches wither and be lopt off , the Desire of thine Eyes , and the Fruit of thy Body , may be taken away by terrible strokes , and yet God may be the strength of thy Heart and thy Portion for ever . Now let us Observe Job's Carriage and Deportment under this dark and gloomy Providence ; and this may be gathered both from his Gestures and Expressions . First , From his Gestures , Ver. 20. Then Job arose , and rent his Mantle , and shaved his Head , and fell down upon the ground and worshipped : His renting his Garment , and shaving his Head , were signs of his great Sorrow . When Jacob supposed Joseph to be dead , he immediately rent his Garment , Gen. 37. ch . 34. v. And after Abner's Death , David to express his Sorrow , rent his Cloaths , and commanded all the People that were with him to do the like , 2 Sam. 3. ch . 31. v. And we find that Baldness is often joined with Mourning and Weeping in the Scriptures ; Cut off thine Hair , O Jerusalem , cast it away , and take up a Lamentation , &c. Jer. 7.29 . so Amos 8.10 . Mich. 1.16 . and several other places . His falling down upon the ground and Worshipping , were signs of that Honour and Homage which he tender'd unto God , in and under the Affliction . It is very Observable how Job divides himself between his outward Comforts and his God , the former have his Sorrow , to the latter he gives Worship . Secondly , From his Expressions , Ver. 21. Words are , or ought to be , the Interpreters of our Hearts , and a Comment upon our Actions . Least some observing Job in such a Posture , might think that he was beside himself , and thrown into a Frenzy by these doleful Tidings , he declares the Frame of his Heart , and the meaning of these forementioned Actions , by these following Expressions ; Naked came I out of my Mothers Womb , and naked shall I return thither . These Words are , as I conceive , used by him as an Argument to support his own Spirit under his present Afflictions ; q. d. Altho' I am now in a Naked Condition , stript and depriv'd of mine outward Comforts , yet , I have no Cause to Murmur , for I brought nothing into the World , neither can I carry any thing with me out of it ; and then , says he , in the Words of my Text , The Lord gave , and the Lord hath taken away , blessed be the Name of the Lord. These Words may be divided into two general Parts . 1. Two Propositions , The Lord gave , and the Lord hath taken away . 2. A natural and necessary Inference and Conclusion from them both , Blessed be the Name of the Lord. I shall speak to both . First , Two Propositions or Assertions . ( 1. ) The Lord gave . ( 2. ) The Lord hath taken away . First , The Lord gave : q. d. The Lord gave me those Outward Comforts and Enjoyments ; that Wealth , those servants and Children which I lately had , but am now bereaved of . From hence I shall Observe , Doct. That all our Outward Comforts and Temporal Enjoyments come from , and are the Gift of God. God is the giver of every good and perfect Gift , James 1.17 . Not only of the best and most perfect Gifts , but also of those that are good and perfect in their kind . Temporal as well as Spiritual and Eternal Blessings are streams flowing from this Fountain of Goodness . In the Prosecution of this Point I shall do two things . First , Lay down some Explicatory and Demonstrative Propositions . Secondly , Present you with some Practical Applicatory Inferences . First , I shall lay down some Explicatory and Demonstrative Propositions . First Prop. The God is the efficient Cause of all our Creature Comforts : Every good thing that we enjoy is God's Creature ; for as every Creature of God is good , so nothing is good but what is his Creature . Sin which is essentially evil , is not God's but the Devil's Creature . Our near and dear Relations must own God only for their Creator . Though Parents are the Instrumental Causes , yet God is the Principal Efficient Cause of their Children's Beings ; though their Bodies were formed of their substance , yet they were formed by God's Omnipotent Arm ; by him they were fearfully and wonderfully made , Psal . 139.14 . and he animated and informed them with a rational Soul , therefore is he called the Father of Spirits , Heb. 12.9 . and the God of the Spirits of all flesh , Numb . 16.22 . Hence , Second Prop. God hath an Original Right to , and Propriety in them : He must needs be the sole Proprietor of those things whereof he is the sole Creator . Those Bodies and Souls must needs be his , who derived their Being from him . The first Cause of every thing hath an unquestionable Dominion of Propriety in it upon the score of Justice . By the Law of Nations , the first Finder of a Countrey is esteemed the Rightful Possessor of that Countrey : And the first Inventor of an Art hath a right of exercising it . Thirdly , All the Outward Comforts which we enjoy , were bestowed upon us by God ; they being Created by him , and he being the rightful Lord of them , we cannot enjoy them 'till we receive them from him : The Right and Title which we have to them is not Primitive but Derivative . Some of our Relations ( at least ) might have had an Existence , and yet we might not have had an Interest in them . Hast thou a good Husband or Wife ? as God's Creating Power gave them being , so his wise and gracious Providence made them thine . He allotts one Person for a Conjugal Union with another , and by his Providence , and that sometimes very strangely and wonderfully , brings about and effects it . Fourth Prop. All those excellent Qualities which any of our Outward Enjoyments are the subjects of , whereby they are rendered very Comfortable and Delightful to us , proceed from God : All the natural and acquired Endowments of the Body and Mind , which endear Relations to us , as Beauty , Ingenuity , a good Natural Temper and Disposition , as well as Grace , which is a supernatural Endowment of the Soul , are bestowed upon them , by the Fountain of all Perfections . He curiously formed their Bodies , and dignified their Minds with these Intellectual Qualities . Fifthly , Whatsoever we receive from God , flows from the Free Grace and Sovereign Goodness of God : This is indeed the proper Notion of a Gift ; It is a good thing freely bestowed upon us . When we receive some good from another which he is not Obliged to give us , it may properly be styled a Gift . Now in this sense all our Temporal as well as our Spiritual Enjoyments are the Gifts of the Supream Being : He is under no Engagement or Obligation to any of his Creatures , but what he voluntarily and freely enters into and lays himself under : We are less than the least of his Mercies , and unworthy of the smallest of his Favours . Have any of us a Wife , Children , or any other Relations , which greatly add to the Comfort of our Lives , we must say concerning them , as Jacob did to his Brother Esau , concerning his Children , these God hath graciously given thy Servant , Gen. 33.5 . Sixth Prop. When God bestows any Outward Comforts upon us , he doth not divest himself of , nor make over unto us an absolute Propriety in them . Among Men there are several sorts of Gifts , or several ways of giving : Sometimes Men cannot be said to retain any Right to those things which they have given unto another : All the right to the Gift passeth over from the Giver to the Receiver by Vertue of the Donation ; and the Person that gave it , cannot without a Breach of the Rules of Justice reassume it , without the Receiver's full Consent . But other things are so given by Men , that they still retain their right to and Propriety in them , or indeed they are rather lent than given : We have an Instance hereof in Places of Profit and Trust , which are bestowed by Princes upon their Favourites , during their Pleasure : This Donation is not absolute , so as to divest the Sovereign of his Right to them , for he can take them away when he pleases , without committing any Act of Injustice . And of this latter sort of Gifts are those outward Comforts which we receive from God. He did not divest himself of the Propriety when he granted us the Use . Our Relations are His , and not Ours , even when they are in some sense Ours : Though they may be Ours in opposition to Men , yet they are not Ours in opposition to God ; they are granted us only for our Use , as the Coller of Esses , and Sword , and other Ensigns of the Chief Magistrate in the City pass through many Hands in regard of the Use of them , but the Propriety remains in the Community and Body of the City . I shall now Secondly , Present you with some Practical Applicatory Inferences . First , Hence I Inferr , That God is more excellent , and consequently ought to be more highly prized and valued by us than any of our Outward Comforts : The Donor must needs transcend the Gift in Worth and Value : It is impossible for us perfectly to Conceive how far God transcends in Excellency those good things which we receive from him : And the more excellent any Object is , the greater share ought we to give it in our Esteem and Love. We are all too prone to set up our outward Comforts in competition with God , to set them down in the Throne of our Hearts , a Seat only becoming the Father of Spirits . Let us make all our Temporal Enjoyments strike Sail to that Supream Being who gave them ; let him be the Darling of our Souls , and the Sovereign of our Affections . Secondly , Hence I Inferr , That we ought thankfully to ascribe the Glory of all the good things which we enjoy , to God : We must not Sacrifice to our own Net , nor burn Incense to our own Drag : We must not attribute those outward Comforts which we are partakers of , to our selves or any of our Fellow Creatures as the principal Causes of them ; but must own them to be the Gifts of God , and bless his Name for them . His Goodness to us Calls for our Thankfulness , and his Soveraignty over us Calls for an higher Elevation of it . A Smile from a Prince is more valued , and thought worthy of greater Gratitude than a Present from a Peasant . What is Man , that Thou so great a Soveraign art mindful of him , to bestow this or that Favour upon him ! is but a due reflection upon every Blessing that we receive . Thirdly , Hence I Inferr , That all our Outward Comforts should be Improved by us to the Glory of God. Nothing is more reasonable , than that he who is the first Cause should be the last End , than that what is bestowed upon us by Divine Bounty should be Improved by us to God's Glory . We ought not to Napkin up , but to lay out our Talents ; and such are all our Outward Comforts , we receive them as Stewards , and therefore must be accountable for them to our Supream Lord. O that when he shall Call us to give an Account of our Stewardships , and we must be no longer Stewards , we may give up our Accounts with Joy and not with Grief . I proceed now to the Second Proposition laid down in my Text ; The Lord hath taken away . There seems to be something of difficulty in understanding this Assertion : You will be ready to say , Was it not told Job by the Messengers , that the Caldeans and Sabeans came and took away his Cattel , and plunder'd and pillaged his Estate , that the Fire consumed his Sheep and his Servants , and the Wind blew down the House upon his Children , and had not Satan a hand in all this ? How then could Job charge this upon God ? Doth not this look like the Blasphemy which the Devil expected out of his Mouth ? I Answer , Hereby Job only sets forth the Supream Power and Sovereignty of God , in ordering all things ; and shews that the Devil , Wicked Men , and other second Causes , could not have effected these things without a Divine Concurse . And this was no Stain to the Holiness of God , nor any reflection upon his Justice ; for that Action which is impure and unrighteous in the Creature , is holy and righteous in God. Tho' Men injuriously dispossess us of our outward Comforts , God doth it justly ; tho' Men's Ends are base and sordid , God's are Noble and Excellent . From this Branch of the Words I shall present you with the two following Propositions . First , That there is a Vicissitude and Vncertainty in all our Outward Comforts and Temporal Enjoyments . Secondly , That when we are deprived of any of our Outward Comforts , we must acknowledge the Efficiency of God therein . First Prop. That there is a Vicissitude and Vncertainty in all our Outward Comforts and Temporal Enjoyments : Though spiritual Blessings are stable and durable , these Gifts of God are so without Repentance , that they shall never be taken away from us ; yet Vanity is written in legible Characters upon all our Temporal good things : They are not only Vanity because they cannot satisfie us while we have them , but because they are transitory and short-liv'd . When our Mountain seems to stand strong , it is a vain thing for us to say , We shall never be moved . We may upon this account say of all Outward Comforts in general as the Wise Man doth of Riches in particular , They are not , because they make themselves Wings , and fly away as an Eagle towards Heaven , Prov. 23.5 . Job had Cattel and Children , but now they were all gone from him ; our living Comforts are dying Comforts . Death frequently rends those from Men's Embraces who were of all Mortals nearest and dearest to them ; this is a Truth which almost every Day 's Observation will sufficiently demonstrate to us . Do not we see them who had Children one day , Childless the next ; and those who had Wives one day , to be Widdowers before the next ? Let us strike this Rock , and see whether we cannot fetch Water from it ; let us look into the Bowels of this Lyon , that we may find some Honey in it ; let us consider what Improvement may be made of this doleful Truth . First , Hence I Inferr , How unreasonable it is for any of the Children of Men to place their Happiness in the fruition of Temporal good things : This is a great evil under the Sun , that which the generality of Mankind are guilty of ; but did they act like reasonable Creatures , they would not place their Felicity in those things which are fading and uncertain , but in those things which are durable and lasting . Oh that I could disswade my self , and you from this Piece of Folly ! Have we Relations who are extraordinary Comforts to us , let us not make them our chief good , nor esteem them our highest Happiness , for within a few dayes their Breath may be stopt , and how miserable shall we then be , not only in reality , but even in our own Apprehensions ! then shall we say with Micah when the Danites had taken away his Idol and his Priest , What have I more ? Judges 18.24 . Let us make God our highest Happiness , and place our Felicity in Conformity to and Communion with him , and in the Fruition of him , who is an unchangable and an everlasting good , whose Perfections never leave him , and who never leaves any that truly enjoy him . Secondly , Hence I Inferr , That we ought diligently to improve our Outward Comforts , while they are continued with us : I shall instance particularly in Relations . Let us do what good we can to them , let us Instruct them in the things of God and the great Concerns of another World ; let us as much as in us lies endeavour the Salvation of their Souls , and let us strive to receive what good we can from them , for we know not how speedily Death may make a separation between us and them . Thirdly , Hence I Inferr , That when we enjoy any Outward Comforts , we ought to be continually expecting and preparing for the loss of them : Let us not think that we shall always enjoy them , but look upon them as fading and uncertain ; let us endeavour to wean our selves from them , to use them as if we used them not : In this respect , let those who have Wives and Children be as if they had none . That Affliction which comes unlookt for , usually comes unprepar'd for : The more loose we sit from our outward Comforts when we have them , the more easily shall we part with them . Jacob could better part with his ten other Sons into the Land of Egypt than with his Benjamin , that almost brought his grey Hairs with Sorrow to the Grave . No wonder if we immoderately grieve for those things when absent , which we immoderately Love when present : By dying daily to them , let us prepare to follow them to their Graves . Fourthly , I Inferr , How unreasonable it is for us to be surprized , when any of our outward Comforts are removed from us : These fiery Tryals should not be thought strange of by us , for no strange thing hath happened to us . If we thought them durable , we were mistaken about them ; and if we thought them uncertain and vanishing , why should we be surprized when they disappear ? It was an excellent saying of a Heathen , when one told him of his Son's Death , Sciebam me genuisse mortales , I knew that I begat Mortals . O Parents , did not ye know that your Daughter ! O Husband , did not you know that your Wife was a Mortal ! be not then surprized at her Dissolution . Fifthly and Lastly , Hence I Inferr , That we ought all of us to prepare for our own removal from our Relations . As our Relations who are Comforts to us , so we who are Comforts to them , are fading Dying Creatures : How soon our living Relations may walk the Streets in Mourning for us , as we have done for those who are already gone to their long Home , we know not . The daily Instances of Humane Frailty which are given us , should put us upon Considering and Preparing for our latter End , that we may not be hurried from our Relations Embraces into everlasting Flames , but may enter into Abraham's Bosom . Let none of us deferr the great Work of Preparation for Death , for we know not how soon we may enter into its gloomy shades . Job's Children were snatcht away suddenly , and so are many others . Death is not always usher'd in with the formality of a long and lingring Sickness . Our deceased Friend did not lye long upon her Bed of languishing , but was quickly carried off the Stage by that Distemper which seized upon her . It is not long since she was Worshipping God with us in this Assembly , and now she is gone into the Congregation of the Dead : Therefore be ye also ready , for in such an hour as ye think not , the Son of Man cometh , Matth. 24.44 . Let not those who are Young put off this Business of highest Concernment to Old Age , for young ones are often taken away by the stroke of Death . Our Deceased Friend was like a pleasant Flower , in her blooming Age , blasted by the Wind of Death ; the Days of her appointed time were but few , before her Change came : Remember therefore your Creator , Oh young Ones ! in the dayes of your Youth , for it may be ye may not live 'till Old Age comes : Your Maker may soon take you away . Get an Interest in Christ , who hath abolished Death , and brought Life and Immortality to light by the Gospel : So when you come to dye , may ye chearfully resign your Souls to him , and he will receive them into his Divine Embraces . Whatever your Judgments are now , when you come to lye upon a Death bed , you will think an Interest in Christ more valuable than the whole World , if you are not extreamly stupified . The Hopes which our Deceased Friend had of this , carried her comfortably through the Valley of the shadow of Death . Thus much for the first Proposition . Second Prop. That when we are deprived of any of our Outward Comforts , we must acknowledge the Efficiency of God therein . The Lord hath taken away . Whoever is the Instrumental , God is the Efficient Cause of all our Afflictions . The Manichees of old tell us of two Beginnings , or two Gods , the one a good God , and the other an evil God ; the former they asserted to be the Author of all Good , and the latter to be the Author of all Evil ; the former they called A giving God , and the latter A taking God : But my Text will sufficiently confute that horrid Notion , for Job ascribes the Donation and the Removal of his Outward Comforts to the same Divine Being , as the first Cause of both ; and indeed it was necessary that he should do so , because there is but one God. Yea , many Heathens taught better Doctrine than these Hereticks ; for they feigned that their great Jupiter had two great Vessels placed at the Entrance of his Palace , whereof the one was filled with Good , and the other with Evil , and these he dispensed according to the Dictates of his own Will , among the Children of Men. But not to trouble you with Poetical Fictions , the Scriptures frequently assert this Truth ; says God , Isa . 45.9 . I form the light , and create darkness ; I make peace , and create evil : I the Lord do all these things : Says the Church , Lam. 3.38 . Out of the mouth of the most high proceedeth not evil and good ! When any of our dear Relations are taken away by Death , they fall by the stroke of God's Hand ; says God to the Prophet Ezekiel , Son of Man , behold I take away from thee the Desire of thine Eyes , with a stroke , Ch. 24. v. 16. The Diseases of which our Relations dye , are only the means w hereby God brings about his designed End , even their Dissolution . These Winds God holds in the Hollow of his Hand , and lets them loose at his pleasure , to blow poor Mortals from the River of Time into the Ocean of Eternity ; and this is no Impeachment at all to Divine Goodness . Punishments themselves are not Moral Evils in the Person that inflicts , though they are Natural Evils in the Person that suffers them . I need not insist farther upon the Proof of this Point , but shall present you with some Inferences from it . First , Hence I Inferr , That when we are Threatned with the Privation of any of our Outward Comforts , it is our wisest and safest way to apply our selves to God for the Continuance of them : We may allowably pray for , and deprecate the removal of our Temporal Enjoyments , provided we do it with Modesty and Humility , with these necessary Limitations , If it be agreeable to his Will , If it may be for his Glory and our good , to bestow them upon us , or continue them with us . Though we may make use of all lawfull Means to obtain and preserve Temporal good things , yet we must not forget to apply our selves unto God , whose Blessing alone can render them effectual . Physitians will be of no Value for the recovery of our languishing Relations , unless God sends forth his Word and heals them . Secondly , Hence I Inferr , That they deserve to be reproved , who when they have sustained any Losses , reflect upon , perplex themselves about , and ascribe those Losses solely or principally to second Causes : We are very prone in such Cases to blame Instruments , instead of eyeing the Providence of the principal Efficient ; to resolve all troublesome Events into the malignity of Second Causes : This part of practical Atheism we are apt to be guilty of , thô common Observation might be sufficient to Confute it . The same second Cause which produces such an effect at one time , or in one Person , shall not produce the like at another time , or upon another Person . Why should we ascribe the Death of our Relations principally to the Malignity of the Distemper wherewith they were seized , when we see others surviving the same Distemper , when attended with the same dangerous Circumstances ? Thirdly , I Inferr , That when any of our Outward Comforts are taken away from us , we should diligently enquire into the end and design of that separation which hath been made between us and them . Tho' the Ends of Humane Acts are not always worthy of our search and enquiry , yet the ends of Divine Acts are always so : God hath Noble and Excellent Ends in all his Operations . Let us therefore at such a time address our selves to God in the words of Holy Job , 10. ch . 2. v. Shew me wherefore thou contendest with me . Fourthly , I Inferr , The Folly of those who put their Trust , and place their Confidence in any thing as a security from Death . Were they who go to their long Home only taken away by Men , then there might be some probability of warding off the fatal blow ; but seeing they are taken away by God , what can prevent it ? Can you think that the great Jehovah will be charm'd by your Beauty , or overpower'd by your Strength ? Are there any Forts or Towers into which he cannot enter ? Can you flie into any remote Countrey where his Arm cannot reach you ? Will the Great God have any regard to your Worldly Riches , or Temporal Grandure ? By none of these things can you deliver either your own , or others Souls from Death , or hinder them from going down to the Pit. Thus much for the first part of the Words , I now proceed to the second . Secondly , We have a Natural and Necessary Inference , or Conclusion , from both the forementioned Propositions , Blessed be the Name of the Lord : In which words we have two things contained , viz. First , An Object , The Name of the Lord. This Phrase hath various acceptations in the Holy Scriptures : But there are two things which I conceive may be intended by it in this place ; and indeed the latter is plainly included in the former . First , By the Name of the Lord , is intended God himself . The Name of a Person , or Thing , is often put for the Person , or Thing named : Thus 1 Acts 15. The number of the Names together , were about an hundred and twenty ; i. e. the number of Persons , they being numbered by their Names : So 44 Psal . 5. and several other places . Secondly , By the Name of the Lord are intended the Attributes and Perfections of God : By them is his Nature discovered unto his Creatures ; and indeed all his Perfections are inseparable from his Essence . Secondly , We have an Act which was exerted upon this Object , and that is Blessing . By blessing God , we are to understand , either what we express in Words concerning God , or what we think concerning him . God is blessed by his Creatures , when his glorious Perfections are published with Praise and Thanksgiving ; or when they have high , great and glorious Thoughts of him ; when they inwardly reverence , Honour and Love him : The former is a Blessing with the Tongue , the latter is a Blessing with the Heart ; the Tongue blessing without the Heart , is but a tinkling Cymbal ; the Heart blessing , without the Tongue , makes sweet , but still Musick : both in Consort make that Harmony , which fills and delights both Heaven and Earth . When Job saith here , Blessed be the Name of the Lord , we are to understand it both ways , Job speaks out the Blessing of God with his mouth , and likewise had high and honourable Thoughts of him : From these words I shall present you with the following Observation , Doct. That it is the Duty , and will be the Disposition of the People of God , when in a right frame of Spirit , to bless a taking as well as a giving God. This is indeed a very hard Work , but it is a very necessary Work : God's People are not at all times engaged in it , but they are so when in a right frame of Spirit . In the Prosecution of this Point , I shall take the following Method . First , I shall more particularly shew you , what is intended by , or implyed in our Blessing a taking God. Secondly , Endeavour the Proof and Demonstration of the Doctrine . Thirdly , Make some Improvement , and Application of it . First , I shall more particularly shew you , what is intended by , or implyed in our blessing a taking God. This I shall do , by laying down the following Propositions . First Prop. This is not exclusive of a holy mourning for the loss of our Outward Comforts : At the same time that we bless God who hath taken away what we once enjoyed , we may Mourn for our Loss . These two ( as plainly appears from the Text and Context ) were joined together by Job ; and their Conjunction was approved by God , as appears from the words following my Text , In all this Job sinned not , nor charged God foolishly . Mourning is allowable , if we exercise a Christian Moderation therein . Second Prop. Our Afflictions are not in themselves the proper Subject of Thanksgiving . Outward Comforts being in themselves good things , the loss of them absolutely considered , is an evil : Now the proper Subject of Praise is something that is Good. Third Prop. Blessing God is absolutely exclusive of , being directly opposite to every thing that is implyed in Cursing him : Blessing and Cursing are Opposites . To Curse God , is to Blaspheme him either in our thoughts or words ; to think or speak unworthily , or unbecomingly of him : there is a Cursing God with the Heart , as well as a Cursing him with the Lips. We Curse God , when our Hearts are imbitter'd against him , or our Tongues sharpen'd to wound his Honour : Therefore they that Bless him , will not either think or speak unbecomingly of him ; they will not either mentally or verbally Murmur and repine at him ; they will not Question his Justice , Reproach his Goodness , or Accuse his Providence . Fourth Prop. Blessing God implies the Exercise of Patience , and our thinking and speaking honourably of God under affliction : The Soul who blesses God , accounts and acknowledges God to be glorious in Holiness , Justice , Goodness and Truth , when he strips him of his Outward Comforts ; he justifies God in all his Dealings with him ; the Language of both his Heart and his Lips is the same with David's , Thou hast dealt well with thy Servant , according to thy Word , Psal . 119.65 . Fifth Prop. This includes our offering up Praise and Thanksgiving to God under , if not for our Afflictions : He that thus Blesses God , will Praise his Name when he takes as well as when he gives ; he will return Thanks for those Mercies which are still continued with him , though he mourns for the removal of others from him ; yea , if he observes Mercy either in the Circumstances of the Affliction , or in the Issue and Event of it , he will remember to offer up the Sacrifice of Praise to God , even when he hangs his Harp upon the Willows . I Proceed Secondly , To Prove and Demonstrate the Point , and this I shall do more Generally and more Particularly . First , More Generally : God is to be Blessed by us at all times , and therefore when he deprives us of our Outward Comforts as well as when he gives them to us : This is evident from the Nature of God , our Relation to him , and the Revelations and Discoveries which he hath made of his Will to us . Is God the most excellent Being ? surely we who stand related to him , as Creatures to a Creator , and as Subjects to a Sovereign , are Obliged at all times to Glorifie him , not by making him glorious , but by accounting and acknowledging him to be glorious our selves , and Proclaiming him to be so unto others . Is not Praise and Thanksgiving due from us to him at all times ? unless he could cease to be God , or we cease to be Creatures , we can under no Circumstances be freed from our Obligation to glorifie the Perfections of his Nature . Those terrible Dispensations of Divine Providence which make a great Alteration in our Outward State and Condition , neither make nor argue any Change in God. He is the same when he takes and when he gives , when he empties us and when he fills us . To suppose him a good God at one time , and an evil God at another , is a flat Contradiction ; it is to suppose him not to be God : And hath he not frequently prohibited those things which are excluded by , and Commanded those things which are implyed in Blessing a taking God. They must be greatly unacquainted with the Holy Scriptures who are Ignorant hereof . Secondly , I shall more particularly demonstrate , that this Conclusion naturally and necessarily flows from the preceding Propositions . First , We ought to Bless a taking as well as a giving God , Because the same God who takes them away from us , first gave them to us . The force of this Argument will be apparent from the two following Considerations . First , That God who gave them to us , hath an unquestionable right to take them away from us : As I told you before , he retained his Propriety in them , when he had bestowed them upon us , and may not God do what he pleases with his own ? We may suppose Job speaking to God after this manner , Lord , Thou hast depriv'd me of my Wealth and my Children , but I will subscribe to the Equity of thy Proceedings with me , for thou dost but exercise thy Sovereign Right , thou gavest them to me , and yet still they remained thine , therefore thou hast righteously taken them away from me . Secondly , When God takes our Outward Comforts from us , we have reason to Bless him for giving them to us . We are very prone to be guilty of this piece of Ingratitude towards both God and Man , our Creator and our fellow Creatures ; if they shew Kindness to us for a time , and refuse the Continuance thereof , instead of thanking them to quarrel with them . Let none of us say , when any of our Enjoyments are snatcht away from us , Better we had never enjoy'd them , than to be so soon depriv'd of them . Hast thou lost a Child , a comfortable Child , a Child in its ripe Age ? thou hast reason to bless God that he gave thee a Child , that he made it a Comfort which might have been a Cross to thee , and hath continued it so long with thee : Hast thou lost a delightful Wife , one that was a Help Meet for thee ? thou hast reason to bless God that he gave thee such a Wife , who might have given thee one that would have been a Continual Torment and Vexation to thee , and that he hath spared her so long with you . Secondly , We ought to Bless a taking God ; because it is the Lord Jehovah who takes our Outward Comforts from us . The Lord hath taken away . The Lord , who can do no wrong to any of his Creatures . The Lord , who is Righteous in all his Ways , and Holy in all his Works . The Lord , against whom we have sinned , and by our sins forfeited all our Mercies . The Lord , who had he dealt with us according to our Iniquities , or rewarded us according to our Inventions , might have cast us into Hell long ago . The Lord , who is our God. The Lord , who hath done great things for our Souls , who is an alsufficient unchangable and everlasting Good , who can make up the Loss of Creature Comforts in himself . The Lord , who knows what Condition is good for us , better than we do our selves , who manages all things according to the Dictates of his Infinite Wisdom . The Lord , whose ways are all Mercy and Truth to his People , and aims at their Good as well as his own Glory in all his Dispensations towards them , who will support them under Afflictions , and sanctifie Afflictions unto them . I proceed Thirdly , To make some Improvement and Application of this Point , which shall be only an Exhortation to all in general , and you the Relations of our Deceased Friend in particular , to this Necessary Duty of Blessing a Taking God. To enforce this I might present you with many Motives , but I shall only offer you two , which shall be taken from the Context of that Scripture which is the Foundation of this Discourse . First , Hereby you will Disappoint Satan : What was the Devil's design against Job , in endeavouring the removal of his Outward Comforts , but to make him Curse God ? as is evident from Ver. 11. of this Chap. and questionless he is in the same Plot against us , when in the like Condition : He would fain Create some Prejudices against God in our Minds , or draw some unbecoming Reflections upon him from our Lips : Now as his Design against Job was defeated , when instead of Cursing God he Bless'd him , so will his Plot against us miscarry if we do the like ; and shall not we endeavour to frustrate his Designs who is an implacable Enemy both to our God and to us ? Secondly , Hereby you will please God. That this Carriage of Job's was well-pleasing to God , is apparent from his express Approbation thereof in the words following my Text ; In all this Job sinned not , neither charged God foolishly . This is a Negative Commendation inclusive of an Affirmative one ; q. d. In all this Job acted becomingly , suitably to the Character which I have given of him , and ought it not to be our endeavour in all things to please God ? More particularly , you my Friends whose Loss hath occasioned this Discourse , have cause to be thankful as well as to Mourn under that stroke of God's Hand which hath been lately laid upon you : God hath even in Judgment remembred Mercy with you , in that he did not take away your Relation by a Violent , but by a Natural Death ; the former is more terrible than the latter , not only to those who undergo it , but to their surviving Relatives . Moreover , though your dear Relation was taken away in a short time , after Sickness began to seize her , yet she did not dye suddenly , God gave you some Warning before he gave that fatal blow which separated her from your Embraces . Have you not reason to Bless God for those Supports which he gave her , and those Manifestations and Discoveries of his Love which he made to her in the time of her Sickness : Had she been stupid and insensible of her Condition , or gone out of the World full of Horrour , your Burthen would have been the greater , though then you ought to have acquiesc'd in the Will of God , but now you have good ground to Hope that she is not lost , but gone before ; that your Loss is her Gain ; that she was separated from you only in order to her Enjoyment of her Heavenly Father , and her dearest Husband , the Lord Jesus Christ ; that she is gone to that blessed Place , from whence she would not for a World return to you : That though you have had a doleful Parting , you will have a joyful Meeting , never to part more . And would you Bless this taking God ? seriously consider those things which I Proposed to you , to demonstrate the reasonableness thereof , endeavour to clear up your Interest in him , go forth by Faith to the Lord Jesus Christ , that you may derive that Grace and Strength from him , which may enable you to do this difficult Work ; so I hope you may say with the Holy Man in the Words of my Text , The Lord gave , and the Lord hath taken away , Blessed be the Name of the Lord. FINIS Advertisement . THe Revelation Unvailed , or an Essay towards the Discovering I. When many Scripture Prophecies had their Accomplishment , and turned into History . II. What are now Fulfilling . III. What rest still to be fulfilled , with a guess at the time of them . With an Appendix , proving that Pagan Rome was not Babylon , Rev. 17. and that the Jews shall be Converted . By Samuel Petto , Minister of the Gospel at Sudbury in Suffolk . Price 1 s 6 d The Life and Death of that Old Disciple of Jesus Christ , and Eminent Minister of the Gospel , Mr. Hanserd Knollys , who Dyed in the Ninety Third Year of his Age. Written with his own Hand to the Year 1672. and continued in General in an Epistle by Mr. William Kiffien : To which is added his last Legacy to the Church . Price stitcht 6 d or Bound 8 d Both Printed for John Harrls at the Harrow in the Poultrey .