A Funeral Sermon ON MORDECAI ABBOTT Esq Preached at Lorimers Hall, April the 7th, 1700.  
By THOMAS HARRISON.  Psal. 89.48. 
What Man is he that liveth, and shall not see Death? Shall he deliver his Soul from the hand of the Grave?  Mat. 24.46. 
Blessed is that Servant, whom his Lord when he cometh, shall find so doing.  
LONDON, Printed for D. Brown at the Black Swan and Bible without Temple-bar, and A. Bell at the Cross-keys and Bible in Cornhill. 1700.   

ERRATA.  
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To the Sorrowful Widow of Mordecai Abbott Esq  
MADAM;  
THOUGH I readily complied with Your desire in preaching the following Sermon, I could not without some reluctancy consent to the printing of it: But my great Obligations both to Your deceased Husband, and Yourself, gave Your Request the force of a Command. I rather chose to have my Prudence censured than my Gratitude. I am sensible that I studied it under a great disadvantage, both by reason of my bodily Indisposition, and those necessary Affairs that lay upon my hands; which made me the more unwilling to publish it. But if God, who is a Sovereign Agent, shall be pleased to make it useful to any that read it, I shall find no reason to repent its being brought upon the public Stage.  
I hope, Madam, when you seriously consider how suitable those Words w●●ch I preached upon are to the Character of your departed Relative, it may be a means to support You under that severe Stroke which separated Him from You. He was a good and a faithful Servant, and I question not but he is now entered into the Joy of his Lord. His Conversation upon Earth gives You solid ground to hope that he is advanced to Heaven, where he is possessed of a complete Felicity: And that sweet Savour he has left behind him perfumes his Family, now his Body is clothed with Corruption. 'Tis an honour to You that You had such a Husband; to Your Children, that they had such a Father.  
That the Lord would supply this Loss by the more eminent Vouchsafement of his Gracious Presence to You; that he would adopt Your Fatherless Children into his own Family; that the choicest of his Blessings may constantly descend upon You and Yours, is the unfeigned desire of,  
Madam, Your humble Servant, THO. HARRISON. April 15th, 1700.   
Matth. xxv. 21. 
His Lord said unto him, Well done good and faithful Servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee Ruler over many things: enter thou into the Joy of thy Lord.  
THE great Apostle of our Profession, during the public exercise of his Ministry upon Earth, spoke very much in Parables, according to the stile and manner of the Jewish Nation: Hereby spiritual things were brought down to the Capacities of his Hearers, being represented by those earthly ones which were most familiar to their Understandings. We have two Parables in this Chapter, my Text is a part of the latter, which gins with the 14th, and ends with the 30th Verse. The Scope of this Parable was to persuade Men to diligence in the Service of God, and to a faithful improvement of the Benefits which they receive from him.  
In order to the Explication of my Text, I shall consider four things.  
1st. The Speaker.  
2dly. The Person spoken to.  
3dly. The Speech itself.  
4thly. The time when it was delivered. An account of these things will give you further light into the whole Parable.  
1st. The Speaker; His Lord. Hereby our Lord intends himself, who was ready to travel into a far Country, to ascend to the Imperial Heaven, which is at a vast local distance from this lowly Earth, wherein he then sojourned. He hath a double Lordship over all Countries, viz. Essential and Primitive, as the second Person in the Trinity; and Derivative and Dispensatory, as Mediator. Tho many of the human Race refuse to serve and obey him, they are all his rightful Servants and Subjects: His Dominion over them is not founded upon their Consent; he is nevertheless their Lord, though they will not own him to be so. In short, they that slight his Authority now, will find it exercised hereafter in the infliction of a deserved and severe Punishment upon them. The unprofitable Servant shall be cast into outer Darkness, where shall be weeping and gnashing of Teeth; as you may see in the 30th Verse of this Chapter.  
2dly. The Person spoken to: His Lord said unto Him. We have an account of the Person in the preceding Verse, and that with respect to two things, viz. his Receipt, and his Improvement.  
1. His Receipt. This Servant had received five Talents from his Master. All the Blessings that the Children of Men enjoy, flow from Jesus Christ: Temporal good things are dispensed by him as the Governor of the World; and spiritual, as the Head of the Church. His Favours are not communicated to all in an equal measure. We read of one Servant that received but one Talon, of another that received two Talents; but this Servant was entrusted with five. The supreme Lord makes a considerable difference between one and another by the distribution of his Favours. One hath no more than Food and Raiment, just enough to supply the Necessities of Nature; another abounds in Wealth, his Cup is so full that it runs over: one lives obscurely, and makes no figure in the World; another is in an exalted Station: one is very weak in his Intellectuals, another is furnished with a considerable stock of Parts and Learning. And surely the Proprietor of Heaven and Earth may dispose of his own as he pleases. They that enjoy the least, have more than they deserve; they that enjoy the most, must acknowledge that it is not their Worthiness, but the sovereign Goodness of their Lord, that hath made them to differ from others.  
2. His Improvement; He gained besides them five Talents more: he did not hid his five Talents, as his fellow Servant did his one Talon, but laid them out and improved them. He gained more by his five Talents than the other Man did by his two; his Improvement was proportionable to his Receipt. To whomsoever much is given, of him shall much he required; Luke 12.48. The more God hath done for us, and bestowed upon us, the more will he expect from us. All that we have received from him should be laid out in his Service, for the advancement of his Honour. I proceed,  
3dly. To the Speech itself: Well done good and faithful Servant, thou hast been faithful in a few things, I will make thee Ruler over many things: enter thou into the Joy of thy Lord. Herein we have his Lord's Commendation of him, and the Happiness to which he adjudges him.  
1. His Lord's Commendation of him; Well done good and faithful Servant, thou hast been faithful in a few things. He approves of his Service, and commends him for it. I conceive the latter word faithful may be explicative of the former Epithet, good: the Goodness and Excellency of a Servant chief consisting in his Fidelity to his Master. The things wherein he had been faithful are called few, in comparison of what should be entrusted with him, and bestowed upon him. The most that we receive from Christ at present, is very little compared with what we shall receive from him hereafter. There is a vast disproportion between what we have in hand, and what we have in hope. I may say of the Enjoyments, as the Apostle doth of the Sufferings, of the present time, that they are not worthy to be compared with the Glory which shall be revealed in us, Rom. 8.18. God will deal more bountifully with his own Children when they come to Heaven, than he ever doth while they remain upon Earth.  
2. The Happiness to which he adjudges him: I will make thee Ruler over many things; enter thou into the Joy of thy Lord. We must not be solicitous to accommodate every word in a Parable to that spiritual Truth that is taught us by it. I will not determine whether these words, I will make thee Ruler over many things, do purely serve for the setting off the Parabolical Narration, or are to be taken in a spiritual sense. According to the former Notion they are expressive of a kind Master's treatment of a faithful Servant; having experienced his Fidelity in smaller matters, he entrusts him with greater, and advances him to a higher Station. According to the latter Notion they are expressive of that great Felicity which Christ will confer upon his faithful Servants in another World. This is further held forth in the following words, Enter thou into the Joy of thy Lord; whereby is certainly intended the Glory and Blessedness of the Heavenly State. This is expressed by Joy, because the fruition of it will produce a triumphant and unspeakable Joy in those that enter into it. Thus Psal. 16.11. In thy Presence is fullness of Joy, and at thy right-hand are Pleasures for evermore. 'Tis called the Joy of his Lord, and that probably on a double account.  
(1.) Because in the Vision and Enjoyment of Christ the greatest part of their Felicity will consist. Tho there be many Jewels in that never fading Crown of Glory which shall be set upon the Heads of Believers in another World, this is the brightest and most sparkling. When our Lord prays for the final Happiness of his People, he thus expresses himself; Father, I will that they be with me where I am, that they may behold my Glory which thou hast given me, Joh. 17.24. The Apostle therefore desired to departed, that he might be with Christ, Phil. 1.23.  
(2.) Because his Glory in Heaven is the Exemplar and Pattern of that which his People shall enjoy. They shall enter into that Joy, which he as their Forerunner is already entered into: Not that they shall possess the same Glory in all respects that Christ hath; for his personal Glory as the Son of God, and as Mediator, are incommunicable; but they shall partake of his Glory according to their Capacity. We are told that they shall reign with him, 2 Tim. 2.12. and that when he shall appear they shall be like him, 1 Joh. 3.2. Their Souls shall be perfectly conformed to his human Soul, in Purity and Felicity, and their Bodies shall be fashioned into the likeness of his glorious Body. An entering into this Joy may denote the plenitude and abundance of it: Here Joy enters into us, but hereafter we shall enter into Joy; we shall be swallowed up in a fathomless Ocean of pure and unallayed Pleasures. I proceed,  
4thly. To consider the Time when this Speech was delivered. If we look back into the 19th Verse, we shall find it was when the Lord came to reckon with his Servants. Hereby our Lord's second Coming in visible Glory, to judge both Quick and Dead, is evidently intended: Of this we have a particular account in the latter part of the Chapter. The Heavens must contain our ascended Lord till the times of the restitution of all things, and then he shall descend from thence in the Glory of his Father, with all his holy Angels, to convene the whole Race of Adam before his Judgment-seat, to call them to an account for the Deeds done in the Body, and to pass a definitive Sentence upon them according to their Works. 'Tis true, there is a particular Judgement which immediately follows after Death: When the Soul is separated from the Body, it appears before the Bar of the supreme Judge, to give an account of its Stewardship, and then receives an irreversible Sentence of Condemnation, or Absolution. But I conceive our Lord chief respects the General Judgement, when the Trial will be public, the Sentence pronounced with the most awful Solemnity; and the Happiness or Misery of every Man completed.  
Having gone thro' the words by way of Explication, I might raise several Observations from them. But that I may comply with my time, I shall only speak to this Proposition:  Doct. That they who are faithful Servants of Christ in this Life, shall be possessed of a very joyful and happy State in the next. 
In prosecuting this Point, I shall, 

I. Describe the faithful Servants of Christ.  
II. Give an account of that joyful and happy State of which they shall be hereafter possessed.  
III. Show the certain Connexion between serving Christ faithfully in this Life, and the Possession of that blissful State in the next.  
iv Make some Application.    
I. I am to describe the faithful Servants of Christ, who they are that shall be owned as such by the Supreme Lord, when he comes to Judgement. They may be described, (1.) From their State. (2.) From their Actions. The former is necessarily presupposed to their serving Christ with Faithfulness and Acceptance. The Service which they do for Christ consists in the latter.  
1. Their State may be described ●n two Particulars.  
(1.) They are justified by the Righteousness of Christ. 'Tis impossible that any good Fruit should be brought forth by a Person till he be engrafted into Christ, as is plainly taught us by our Lord himself; Joh. 15.4, 5. Now being found in Christ, and ●aving on his Righteousness, are conjoined, because they are inseparable; Phil. 3.9. They who are mystically one with Christ, must ●eeds be interested in his Mediatory Righteousness, and so perfectly justified in the sight of God. Tho, according to the Tenor of the Covenant of Works, the Servant was to be first accepted, and then the Person on that account; yet according to the Tenor of the Covenant of Grace, the Person must be first accepted, and then the Service. Nothing short of an Investiture with Christ's perfect Righteousness can render our Persons acceptable to the most High; and till they become so, our most splendid Services will be abominable in his sight.  
(2.) They are renewed and sanctified by the Spirit of Christ: Every acceptable Service flows from a Principle of spiritual Life. A corrupt Tree cannot bring forth good Fruit, Mat. 7.18. We may as well suppose that Grapes should be the Product of Thorns, o● Figs of Thistles, as that an unsanctified Person should bring forth Fruit unto God. They that are in the Flesh cannot please God; Rom. 8.8. Their Persons cannot therefore their Actions cannot; because they are the Products of a Nature at variance with him, a Nature that is not, nor cannot be subject to his Law. The faithful Servants of Christ are conformed to his Image: The Law of God is first written in their Hearts, and then copied out in their Lives.  
2. I shall describe them from their Actions: Only I would premise this, we are not to suppose that they are altogether free from Sin. The most faithful Servants of Christ offend in many things; their Errors are so many and so great, that they cannot fully understand them: Their best Performances are imperfect, being tinctured with the remaining Corruption of their Natures. Should God be strict to mark the Iniquities of their holy things, they could not stand before him. But,  
(1.) They design the Honour of Christ in that Service which they do for him. Many carnal Persons do several things that are agreeable to the Revealed Will of this glorious Lord, and have a proper tendency to serve his Interest; but they have no eye to his Glory in any of these Actions: they only aim at the advancement of their own Reputation, the promotion of some Secular Interest, or the quieting of their own Consciences. But they who sincerely serve the Blessed Jesus, fix upon his Glory as their ultimate end; and what Good they do is proposed by them as a means subservient to it. The grand reason of their practical Holiness and Obedience is, that they themselves may not only acknowledge the Glory of their great Master, but likewise proclaim it to others.  
(2.) They have a regard to all his Commandments. The Character which Christ gives of his Friends, Joh. 15.14. agrees to his faithful Servants, they do whatsoever he commands them: They do not slight any Precept on which they can discern the stamp of his Authority: They make conscience both of first and second Table Duties, of those that are Personal and those that are Relative of the least as well as the greatest, of the most difficult as well as the most easy.  
They will not say of any Divine Command, This is a hard saying, who can bear it? They are ready to do any sort of Work their Master sets them about, however toilsome and laborious, however mean and contemptible in the eyes of the World, however costly or hazardous: They mind the Duties of every place and station wherein the Providence of God hath set them, whether Civil, Domestic, or Ecclesiastical▪ They discharge their Duty towards their Country, their Families, and the Church to which they are related, with Integrity and Diligence. And this they do, not by constraint, but willingly.  
(1.) They lay out all the Talents with which they are entrusted in his Service: As they are Stewards, they improve what he hath put into their hands to those Ends and Purposes for which they received it.  
Have they a plentiful Estate? they do not spend it in making provision for the Flesh; nor do they covetously hoard it up, but employ a considerable part of it in supporting the Worship of God, propagating the Gospel of Christ, and relieving those that are in distress. They honour God with their Substance, and with the first-fruits of their Increase. Are they advanced to any Station wherein they are capable of serving Christ or his People with their Interest? they improve it to the utmost for such a purpose. They serve the Lord with those Parts and Abilities, with those Gifts and Graces which he hath bestowed upon them.  
II. I proceed to give you an account of that joyful and happy State whereof those faithful Servants shall be hereafter possessed: And since it is expressed by Joy in my Text, I shall mention some things which render that State very joyful, or excite a triumphant Joy in those that enter into it; and then give you the Properties of that Joy which results from these Fruitions.  
1st. I shall mention some things which render that State very joyful, or excite a triumphant Joy in those that enter into it.  
1. A freedom from those Infelicities which attend a mortal State. As the privation of Good is cause of Sorrow, so a deliverance from Evil gives a natural rise to Joy. Will not a Prisoner rejoice when relieved from that Dungeon to which he was confined, and freed from those Fetters wherewith he was shackled? How joyful is a Man when recovered from a languishing Sickness, and eased of racking Pain? Surely our Mouths will be filled with Laughter, and our Tongues with singing when we shall be perfectly freed from that mighty train of Evils which Adam's Fall brought into this lower World. How will our Spirits exult when we shall be set at a vast distance from those things, which often made us sigh, groan and weep! When we enter into the other World, we shall be freed from all sorrowful, and from all sinful Evils.  
(1.) From all sorrowful Evils. There is no more Death, nor Sorrow, nor shall there be any more Pain; for former things are passed away; Rev. 21.4. There is no Infirmity of Body, no Poverty, no Disgrace, no Treachery of pretended Friends, no Persecution of open Enemies; there are no perplexing Cares, or tormenting Fears, no Temptations from within or without, no Divine Withdrawing. How will the Soul rejoice when it can say, I felt abundance of Pain by reason of the disorder of my Body, but now I enjoy perfect Ease: I was racked and tortured with many Cares and Fears, but now they are all chased away as the Shadows of the Evening by the rising Sun: I was violently buffeted by the wicked one, but he is now bruised under my Feet, I have obtained a complete and final Victory over him; I am got out of the reach of his fiery Darts and malignant Suggestions.  
(2.) From all sinful Evils. These are most grievous to a renewed Soul, when in a right frame; no Pressure so heavy as that Body of Death which he continually carries about with him. Of this the Apostle Paul made a very doleful Complaint, Rom. 7.34. And from the fountain of indwelling Sin many actual Sins do frequently stream. But all vicious Habits are entirely rooted out of Believers when translated into another World. No unclean thing can enter into the holy place above. The rags of mortal Defilement drop from them, as Elijah's Mantle did from him when mounting up to that lofty Region. And none of those Sons that are brought to Glory, ever wander from God's Commandments: There is no more disconformity to the Divine Will in their Actions than there is in their Hearts. And how will the holy Soul exult when freed from those Fetters of Corruption which so often kept it at a distance from God, and hindered it from doing his Will! To what an ecstasy of Joy will it be raised, when it finds itself without spot or wrinkle!  
2. The moral Perfection of our Souls. The separate Spirits of just Men are made perfect, Heb. 12.23. As the old Man shall then be destroyed, so the new Man shall come to its full growth, to its highest pitch. That moral Image of God which was imperfectly portrayed upon us at our Introduction into the Kingdom of Grace, will be brought to its utmost Perfection upon our entrance into the Kingdom of Glory. Now we may consider this moral Perfection both as it respects the Understanding, and as it respects the Will, the two supreme Faculties of the human Soul.  
(1.) As it respects the Understanding; and so it consists in a Perfection of Knowledge. Now we see thro' a Glass, darkly; but then face to face: now we know in part, but then shall we know even as also we are known; 1 Cor. 13.12. Then that which is perfect will come, and that which is in part shall be done away. Those things we have at present concealed from us, shall then be unfolded to us: Our Apprehensions of those things which we are now acquainted with, will be much clearer and more distinct than they are while we dwell in this cloudy Region, where so many Mists and Fogs arise to obscure our sight of Divine and Spiritual Objects, and our Souls are apt to make a judgement of them as represented by the Senses. What bright views shall we then have of the Nature and Perfections of the Deity, of the glorious Mysteries than are contained in the everlasting Gospel, of the eternal Counsel and Designs, of the beautiful and harmonious Providences of the Eternal King! Knowledge is so agreeable to the human Mind, that Men take abundance of Pains, and wade thro' many Difficulties in the pursuit of it, and are even transported with Joy when they have obtained it, though in a trifling inconsiderable matter. What an elevation than will be given to our Joy, by the clearest view of the most excellent Objects? What Pleasure will result from those bright Ideas of God and Christ, wherewith our Minds shall be filled?  
(2.) As it respects the Will; and so it chief consists in a Perfection of Love, which is a Grace very suitable to the triumphant State. There is a vast difference between that Love which a militant Saint bears to his Heavenly Father and his Glorious Redeemer, and that of a triumphant Saint. Our Love, when we come to Heaven, will bear a just proportion to our Knowledge. The Light wherewith our Minds shall be irradiated, will be accompanied with a suitable warmth of Affection. And as a Perfection of Love to God will mightily ennoble our Wills, so it will produce solid and unspeakable Joy, forasmuch as it renders the fruition of God and Christ exceeding delightful. There can no satisfaction arise from the Presence of an unbeloved Object: and the Pleasure that we take in the Enjoyment of any thing will be proportionate to its share in our Affections. In short, since Believers mourn at present to find their Love of the supreme Being but as smoking Flax, how will they rejoice hereafter when it shall become a triumphant Flame?  
3. The full enjoyment of God and Christ. Tho the Divine gracious Presence be afforded to Believers in their way to Heaven, yet the glorious Presence of God will not be enjoyed by them till they enter into that blissful Habitation. Our Fellowship with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ, is but partial at present, hereafter it will be full. Since God is our chiefest Good, the supreme Object of our Love, we must needs rejoice in the complete fruition of him. What a triumphant Joy will spring up in our Souls, when we shall lie in the Embraces of such a glorious Person as our Emanuel, one who is the brightness of the Father's Glory, and the express Image of his Person: one who is very nearly related to us, being our elder Brother, our Head, our Husband: one who hath laid the most endearing Obligations upon us by what he hath done for us. How pleasant will it be to dwell with Him, who from Eternity undertook for us as our Sponsor, who in the fullness of time took upon him our Nature, stood in our Law-place, redeemed us from eternal Misery, and purchased everlasting Happiness for us by his Obedience and Sufferings; who loved us so as to give himself a Ransom for us; of whose fullness we have received, and Grace for Grace; who hath succoured us in our Temptations, supported us under our Afflictions, and conducted us to the Heavenly Canaan.  
4. The Society of glorious Angels and glorified Saints. How joyful will that State be, wherein we shall dwell and converse with the highest Order of created Being's, who have performed many eminent Services for us in the house of our Pilgrimage, being all ministering Spirits, sent forth to minister to them who shall be the Heirs of Salvation? How pleasant will it be to dwell and converse with the whole Assembly of triumphant Saints, when free from all those Imperfections which attended them in their mortal State, and very much abated the Comfort of their mutual Society? There will be no Divisions or Animosities among them, but perfect Unity, and a flaming Love shall reign in all their Hearts.  
5. The glorious and blissful state of our Bodies. When our great Master shall come again as a quickening Spirit, he will raise the Bodies of his Members from their Beds of Dust, and reunite them unto their Souls: And though for substance they will be the same that they were before their Dissolution, yet the Qualities will be greatly altered. The Bodies of Believers shall be reformed with all glorious Perfections suitable to their Nature, and partake with their Souls in consummate Blessedness in a glorious Immortality; 1 Cor. 15. The Soul must needs have a great Affection for its Body, and when separate from it, desires a reunion. How will it exult then when the Marriage-knot shall be retied, and it shall find such a vast and happy change made in its dear Relative since the doleful Separation? How will it rejoice to possess an incorruptible, a spiritual, a glorious and an immortal Body?  
2dly. I shall give you the Properties of that Joy which results from these Fruitions, in two particulars: 'Tis endless, and 'tis undecaying.  
(1.) 'Tis endless. That fullness of Joy which is in God's immediate Presence, lasts for evermore: It must needs be so, because that Happiness whence it results will be of a perpetual duration. Those Evils from which the glorified Saints are freed, shall no more return upon them; they shall never be deprived of the Beatific Vision of God, nor dislodged from the immediate Embraces of their dear Redeemer. Tho the first Adam was soon expelled the Earthly Paradise, the Seed of the second Adam shall never be driven out of the heavenly: Their Souls shall no more be divorced from their Bodies. In short, when millions of millions of Ages are run out in the fruition of Heavenly Pleasures, their Happiness will be no nearer to its Period than at the first moment of their admission into the Regions of Glory.  
(2.) 'Tis undecaying. As they shall not cease to rejoice, so their Joy will never be impaired or diminished: There shall be no Clouds to obscure the Splendour of that Eternal Day. Our Happiness will be always the same, and our Perception of it equal throughout an endless Eternity. The long Enjoyment of Celestial Pleasures will not make us to grow weary of them. There is an infinite variety in God, and whatever is truly desirable is eminently enjoyed in him. An infinite Good produces always the same pure equal complete Joy, because it arises from its intrinsic Perfection that wants no foil to commend it. In a word, this Joy is no ravishing Rapture, but a constant height of Affection. Thus I dismiss the second General Head. I must but touch upon the  
III. To show the certain Connexion between serving Christ faithfully in this Life, and the possession of that blissful State in the next. There is no Connexion by way of Merit between the one and the other. Eternal Life is the free Gift of God, and therefore not the proper Reward of our Services. Since we own a perfect Obedience to our Lord, could we yield that, it would not entitle us to the Glory of Heaven. But there being many flaws and defects in our Obedience, 'tis very absurd to claim so great a Felicity on that account. Tho the Word of God assures us, that the possession of Heaven shall certainly follow upon the faithful serving of Christ on Earth. I might produce several Texts to this purpose, but two shall suffice.  
We are assured, that Christ will render eternal Life to them who by patiented continuance in well-doing, seek for Glory, Honour and Immortality; Rom. 2.6, 7. He that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap Life everlasting; Gal. 6.8. This glorious Judge will at the grand Assize pronounce a Sentence upon every one suitable to the kind and nature, though not to the desert of his Works. Then shall Men return and discern between the righteous and the wicked; between him that serveth God, and him that serveth him not. Since all Christ's faithful Servants are justified and sanctified, they shall certainly be glorified. They who have a right to Heaven, and a meetness for it, shall infallibly enter into that delectable Habitation. There is such Connexion between the Fruits of electing Love, that they who have received any one, shall certainly receive all the rest. I proceed,  
iv To make some Application.  
1. How highly doth it concern us to inquire, whether we are the faithful Servants of Christ or not! Since this is a matter of everlasting importance, how strict should we be in the examination of ourselves, that we may come to a due result in our own Minds about it? Let us seriously consider whether the Character that hath been given of such Persons agrees to us. We have a great deal of Work to do, are we diligent in it? Some Talents are entrusted with us all, do we carefully improve them? If we loiter and are unfaithful, we cannot conceal our Infidelity from our Omniscient Lord, though our fellow Servants may be unacquainted with it. Deceitful Pleas and Excuses will not avail us, when we stand before that Judge, whose Eyes are as a flame of Fire.  
2. How sad will the Condition of unfaithful Servants be in the awful day of Account! If they that are faithful shall enter into the Joy of their Lord, than they that are unfaithful shall be doomed to eternal Sorrow. As there is a vast difference between their State and their Actions at present, so their Condition will be vastly different hereafter. They that spend all their time in the Service of Sin and Satan, will receive dreadful Wages, even everlasting Death, at the end of it. The Talents which are now entrusted with them, will inflame their Reckoning when they stand at their Lord's Tribunal: Since they have sown to the Flesh, they shall of the Flesh reap Corruption. Think of this, O Sinners, before it be too late. That Time, those Estates, those Opportunities, those natural and acquired Parts which you now profusely squander away, must e'er long be accounted for. In a short time Christ will say to every one of you, Give an account of thy Stewardship, for thou mayst be no longer Steward. And how sad an Account will you give if taken out of the World in your present state? Think what Horror will seize you (if not extremely stupid) when Death shall sit upon your quivering Lips, and your Souls shall be just ready to take their flight into an eternal World! How dreadful will the thoughts of appearing before the Lord be to you, when sensibly approaching his Judgment-Seat! Think of that awful Day when Christ shall be revealed from Heaven in flaming Fire, to take Vengeance upon them that know not God, and obey not the Gospel. How dreadful a Spectacle will the Supreme Judge be to you who have slighted and contemned him, when he shall appear in a pompous manner, armed with Almighty Power, and attended with a numerous Train, to pronounce an irreversible Sentence of Condemnation upon you? Can you bear to dwell in blackness of Darkness, and to lie in unquenchable Flames with Legions of Devils?  
Tho you have highly offended your Lord, 'tis not yet too late to find Mercy. He now sits upon a Throne of Grace, and extends his Golden Sceptre to the greatest Criminals. Come to Christ by Faith, that you may be interested in his Righteousness, which will free you from the Gild of your former Infidelity; and receive that Grace from him which will capacitate you to serve him faithfully the remainder of your days. Know that many who were once in the same case with yourselves, are now reigning in Life, thro' Jesus Christ their Lord.  
3. What Encouragement have Believers to fidelity in the Service of their Lord! That assurance which you have of a future Felicity, should encourage you to lay out yourselves to the utmost in the Service of Christ at present. The Improvement which the Apostle makes of the Doctrine of the Resurrection, 1 Cor. 15. ult. is a natural Improvement of this Doctrine; Therefore, my beloved Brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your Labour is not in vain in the Lord. Since Christ will bestow such an unspeakable Happiness upon you hereafter, how willing should you be to do your utmost to serve him here? The Joy that is set before you should carry you cheerfully thro' all the fatigues and difficulties of your present State.  
4. This may comfort us under the loss of our Godly Friends and Relations. 'Tis true, the better they were, the greater loss we sustained by their removal. But the Consideration of what they have gained by a translation into another World, may very much lighten the Affliction, and cheer our Spirits under it. Are we satisfied that our deceased Friends were good and faithful Servants of Christ? we may conclude that they are entered into the Joy of their Lord, and therefore have passed thro' a very happy Change.  
And I may reasonably suggest this to the surviving Relatives of that Excellent Person whose Death hath occasioned this Discourse: I think the words of my Text were justly applicable to him. To give his just Character might render me suspected of Flattery by those who were unacquainted with him. Ever since I had the honour of his acquaintance, I took him to be a sincere Christian; and the better I knew him, the more I was confirmed in that Opinion. I found him a solid and serious, not a flashy and airy Professor; one that had a great concern not only for the Welfare of the Nation, but for the Interest of Christ in it. His Lord had entrusted him with several Talents; he had a plentiful Income, was in an eminent Station, had great natural Abilities, and a general Reputation among all sorts of Persons. And did he bury these Talents? No, he laid them out in the Service of his Lord. How freely and liberally did he contribute towards the relief of those that were in want, and the propagation of the Gospel? I never knew him backward to the promotion of any good design; but were it convenient, could give many Instances of his readiness to do good both by his Purse and Interest. He was lovely in every Capacity, a good Subject, a true Patriot, a useful and honourable Member of the Church of Christ, a loving Husband, a careful Father, a kind Master, and a faithful and affectionate Friend. But he is gone, his place shall know him no more: having served his own Generation by the Will of God, he is fallen asleep; God hath called him away in the midst of his days, when many unprofitable Servants are left behind. Such a loss, so Public, so General, aught to be bewailed. Now a righteous Man is perished, a merciful Man is taken away, and we ought to lay it to heart. But let us not mourn as those that are without hope. It would be a good Improvement of this Providence, if Men of Interest and Estate would imitate his Example. That covetous narrow Spirit which prevails among the Professors of this day, is a great Reproach to our holy Religion.  
I close with a short Address to the mournful Relations of this worthy Person: Have a care of repining at the Hand of God, though you have received a severe stroke. He that has taken him from you, first gave him to you, and had a sovereign Right to dispose of him. It highly becomes Creatures and Subjects to acquiesce in the Will of the supreme Lord. God is righteous in all his Ways, and holy in all his Works, and his Will is always agreeable to infinite Wisdom. The ways of his Providence are all Mercy and Truth, even when he seems to walk contrary to them. For your Comfort, think of that happy State into which your dearest Friend is entered; Death was a blessed Gain to him; he has thereby obtained a Post not to be exchanged for the highest Preferment in the Court of an Earthly Prince. Be followers of him as he was of Christ. Study to serve your Lord in your Day and Generation with uncorrupted Fidelity; so shall you also be owned by him in the day of Account: he will then say to you, Well done good and faithful Servants; You have been faithful over a few things, I will make you Ruler over many things: enter ye into the Joy of your Lord.  
FINIS.