A SERMON Preached at the FUNERAL OF GEORGE pain, Jun.  
Son of George pain, an Apothecary.  
March 6. 1699/ 700.  
At Midhurst in SUSSEX.  
And Published at the Request of his Friends.  
By Richard Oliver, Curate of Midhurst.  
LONDON, Printed for Arthur Bettesworth, at the Red Lion on London Bridge: And Sold by John Colebrook in Midhurst, and William Webb in Chichester, Booksellers, 1700.   
1 Cor. 7. and part of Ver. 30. 
And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not.  
TO make the Sense entire, we must take in part of the 29th Verse. This I say, Brethren, The time is short: It remaineth, that they that weep be as though they wept not, etc.  
Some in the Primitive Times, and others at this Day, from this and other Expressions of the like Nature, have concluded, That the coming of Christ to Judgement upon the World is to be in a short time. But nothing of this Nature can be inferred from this, or the like Passages; for in all probability they relate only to the Dissolution of the Jewish State, which happened not many Years after this, and the rest of the Epistles, were Writ, to the Times of Persection, and to the Destruction of Heathenism. But notwithstanding this, the Assertion is true in many other respects, and may afford us many useful and practical Observations.  
The Time is short; it remaineth therefore, that they that weep be as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not;— and they that use this World, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this World passeth away.  
Where we have, (1.) An Assertion. The Time in short.  
(2.) The Inference from it, That we should moderate our Affections and Passions, so as not to be overwhelmed with Grief under Afflictions, nor too much transported with Joy in Prosperity. I begin with the First of these, the Assertion, The Time is short.  

I. The Time of Joy and Prosperity.  
II. The Time of Trouble and Affliction.  
III. The Time of our Abode and Continuance in this World. And,  
iv The Time of our Separation from our Friends, occasioned by Death. And shall show what Practical Inferences may be drawn from each of these.   
1. The Time of Tranquillity, Joy and Prosperity is short. Job tells us, That Joy is but for a Moment, Job 20.5. And Solomon, That in the midst of Laughter the Heart is sorrowful, and the end of that Mirth is Heaviness, Prov. 14.13. Extrema gaudii luctus occupat, Grief follows close after Joy, and dogs it at the Heels. Worldly Goods and Prosperity, like all other things below, are in a continual Flux and Reflux, like the unstable Ocean; so that no Man can have any long, or at least any secure Possession of any thing that he enjoys; neither the Rich Man of his Riches, nor the Potentate of his Power, nor the prosperous Man of his Successes, nor the Epicure of his Delicious Fare and Pleasures: All these things have their Period and Change; they vanish away from the deluded Owners, and leave them only possessed of mournful Complaints of their Instability and Vanity. We have here no Abiding City, no secure Possessions; they are of an uncertain and changeable Nature, and often fly from us when we least expect it. Our Joy is soon overtaken with Grief, Prosperity pursued with Adversity, Mirth converted into Mourning, and Honour blasted with the Breath that raised it. Riches, when we think we have them in safe keeping, make themselves Wings and fly away, Prov. 23.5. And the Apostle calls them uncertain Riches, 1 Tim. 6.17. The Health of the Body, like other curious Engines, is soon disordered, and the Possession of Relations, Parents or Children, Husband or Wife, is as uncertain as any of the rest. Worldly Men indeed think they have built themselves and their Enjoyments upon a Rock, when it proves only a Bog or Foundation of Sand, which adverse Winds and Floods of Affliction soon beat down or wash away.  
Who that had seen Xerxes at the Head of Seventeen Hundred Thousand Men, in the Morning; or Proud Bajazet in the midst of all the strength of the Turkish Empire, could have thought, that the one before Night should have fled over the Hellespont in a Cockboat? Or that the other should be cooped up in a Cage, and be made a Footstool to his Conqueror? That Pompey, who for his Power and Grandeur was called The Great, upon a Revolution of sickle Fortune, should fly to Egypt, and have that Head, which was wont to be adored cut off by the Hand of a vile Slave? Or that his Conqueror in the height of his Power and Greatness should ingloriously fall a Victim at the foot of his Statue? Or that Darius, Lord of so many Provinces and large Territories, should have all forced from him in a short time by Philip's Boy, as he called Alexander in derision, and be obliged to him for the skirt of his Garment to cover him when he lay Derserted, and almost Expiring upon the Sand? The Uses we are to make of this, are these:  
(1.) If the good things of this World are thus Short-lived and Transitory, we ought to moderate our Affections to them. The value of good Things is much intranced by the certainty and duration of them, which not being to be had in the things of this World, it ought to abate and lessen our Esteem and Affection for them. The Apostle tells us, The fashion of this World passeth away, 1 Cor. 7.31. nothing is fixed or certain in it, every thing is in Motion, or may speedily be so: All things we possess are subject to more Accidents than the wisest Man can foresee or prevent; or if they were more durable than they are, yet our Lives are short and uncertain: All the advantages this World can afford are built at the best but upon a Foundation of Sand, lean upon an Arm of Flesh, than which nothing is more frail and uncertain, which requires an indifferency of Affection towards them, a using this World, as though we used it not; a rejoicing, as though we rejoiced not.  
(2.) The Consideration of the shortness and uncertainty of Temporal Felicity and Prosperity should suppress Pride. Charge those who are rich in this World that they be not highminded, saith St. Paul, 1 Tim. 6.17. and this Charge is but too often necessary. There are those, saith the Psalmist, who boast themselves in the multitude of their riches. Ps. 49.5. This Plutarch has observed, it's the Pride and Folly of some Men, that if they be raised above the common sort by the greatness of their Riches, they presently swell with Conceit, and insult over their Inferiors, never considering how mutable their Condition is, and how easy a Revolution it is for things that are uppermost to be thrown down from their Height, and Humble things to be Exalted; 
Plut. Mor. Vol. 1.  which Changes are performed quickly, and in the swiftest Moment's of Time. The mutability of earthly Riches made even an Heathen sensible of the Folly of Pride, upon the account of Worldly Prosperity; and a Christian will have more Reason to Condemn it, who knows, that all the Advantages Riches, Greatness, and Power afford, end with this Life; but the Disadvantages, the Abuses of them, will bear a Man Company into another World; and both the Use and Abuses of them before the Impartial Judgement Seat of Christ must be brought to a strict account.  
(3.) If the Time of Worldly Prosperity be short, we must not confide, rely upon, or place our Happiness in it. The same Apostle who teaches us not to be , teaches also not to Trust in Uncertain Riches, 1 Tim. 6.17. God can blast and take them away in a Moment, and destroy both our Substance and Confidence together: At longest they will last but the short Term of our Lives; at the end of which, if we have took up our Rest, fixed our Hopes, and bottomed our Happiness upon them, we have miserably deceived ourselves, and are undone for ever. For Death does not put an end to our Being's, though our Bodies fall into the Grave, and are not capable of Delight, or Pain, during the time of Separation; yet the Soul subsists for ever; and if it has not made Provision for another State, if its Happiness was centred only in Wealth or Honours, in Worldly and Bodily Delights and Pleasures, it is lost and undone to all Eternity. This was the unhappy Condition of the Rich Glutton in the Gospel, who having placed his Happiness in this World, in costly Apparel, Purple and fine Linen, and in faring sumptuously every day, as soon as the Scene changed by Death, was wrapped in Flames, and wanted a drop of Water to cool his Tongue, Luke 16.19, 24.  
(4.) This Consideration leads to another, viz. The things of this Life being short and uncertain, we ought chief to value, regard, and make Provision of those things which will endure and abide with us for ever. If we have here no abiding City, this should teach us, with the good Patriarches, to seek for a better Country, to look for a City which hath Foundations, whose builder and maker is God, Heb. 11.10, 16. to lay up treasure in Heaven, and to get a Title to those Spiritual Joys which are at God's right-hand for evermore. The World passeth away, (saith St. John) and the Lust thereof, but he that doth the will of God, abideth for ever, 1 John 2.17. The World, and all that is desirable therein, is Transient, but Obedience to God's Commandments is of everlasting Consequence, and will entitle us to a Happy Eternity and Eternal Delights in it. To this purpose is the Exhortation of St. Paul, Charge them that are Rich in this World, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain Riches, but in the living God, that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate: Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life, 1 Tim. 6.17, 18, 19 And that of our Saviour, Mat. 6.19, 20. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thiefs break through and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thiefs do not break through nor steal.  
(2.) The time of Adversity and Trouble is short. As we all partake of Adam's Fall, so we must all, more or less, share with him in his Punishment and Misery. The Holy Patriarches and Prophets had their evil, as well as good Days; and our blessed Saviour himself, the most Innocent and Perfect of our kind, the beloved Son of God, the peculiar Darling and Favourite of Heaven was a Man of Sorrow, and acquainted with Grief, Is. 53.3. He left his Cross as a Legacy and Badge to his Disciples, and some part of his Bitter Cup, who told those who were to come after them, that they must also through much Tribulation enter into the Kingdom of God, Acts 14.22. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution, 2 Tim. 3.12.  
But though Sorrow and Affliction may be the universal Portion of Mankind, though the Afflictions of the Best Men be many and sharp, yet they are short too. The Hand of God, which is afflicting, is also healing; and he who forgets not to chastise, remembers to deliver. Sorrow may endure for a Night, but that we may not faint or despend, Joy cometh in the Morning, Ps. 30.5. Our Saviour, who tells his Disciples, that they should be sorrowful, assures them in the next Words, that their Sorrow should be turned into Joy, John 16.20. The Storm by which the Apostles were endangered, as a Type of their future Troubles, was soon converted into a Calm, Mat. 8.26. And though Clouds eclipse the Sun for a time, they blow over, and make its return more welcome and refreshing. Was ever any Man plunged into more or greater Afflictions all at once than Job? And yet we sooner see an end of his Troubles, than of his Patience; and his latter end was happier than his beginning, Job 42.12. The Afflictions of Joseph were surprising, and his Deliverance as remarkable; he was delivered from a Dungeon almost to a Throne, and from a Bondslave to be the Second Person in a great and flourishing Kingdom. Daniel of a Captive became Precedent of a mighty Empire; and David, whose Troubles and Adversities were sometimes great, was refreshed and comforted, and brought from the deep of the Earth again, Ps. 71.18. The Captivity of the Jews ended in a happy return, and the Christain Churches Persecutions under Dioclesian terminated in a Constantine. Our Saviour tells us, Those who mourn now shall be comforted, Mat. 5.4. and St. Paul reckons the heaviest afflictions light, because they are but for a moment, 2 Cor. 4.17. The longest Troubles of a Good Man must end in Death, if not sooner; they can continue only the short space of this Life; and what is that to a Happy Eternity?  
To conclude this Head: We may say of our Afflictions as Athanasius did of his, Nubecula est & cito pertransibit, It is but a little Cloud, and will soon blow over. Mourning has its Change into Joy, as well as Joy into Mourning; and it may be some satisfaction for the uncertainty of Temporal Goods, Prosperity and Felicity, that our Griefs and Afflictions are as short and changeable as they. However we may well account all those Sufferings short, which end happily, which humble us for our Sins, amend us in our Lives, and sit us for a blessed Immortality.  
The Use of this is, that those who weep be as those that wept not: That our Grief under Afflictions or Losses be moderated, as well as our Joy in Prosperity; and that because the Time is short. Whatever of Afflictions befall us, they are but for a short time; they may also promote our Spiritual Welfare, if rightly improved. And these two Considerations, whatever our Grief be, will afford some Ingredients of Joy and Comfort in it. My Brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations, knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience, James 1.2, 3. And why should we be concerned for Light Afflictions for a moment, which will work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory? 2 Cor. 4.17.  
(3.) The time of our Life and Continuance in this World is short. Man that is born of a woman is but of few days, Job. 14.1. If he lives to the utmost extent of Nature, his Time is but short in respect to the first Ages of the World, much more in respect of God. Mine age is nothing before thee, says David, Ps. 39.5. What is Sixty or Eighty Years to Eternity? And of this short time how much is consumed and spent in Childhood, in Vanity, in Sleep Sickness and Bodily Decays? We are destroyed from morning until evening, Job. 4.20. From the Morning of our of Birth, or coming into the World till the Evening of our Death and going out of it. We are declining and wasting soon after we arrive at our full Strength, and shall be so till we come to the Dust of Death. And how often is this short Life still made shorter by Accidents? Some stumble at the Threshold, dropping from the Womb into the Grave: Some continue a little longer, but go out of the World before they knew why they come into it: And how many are taken off in the Prime, the Bloom and Height of their Strength? The Consideration of which will afford us these Practical Uses.  
1. The shortness of Life considered with the Evils, Afflictions, Miseries, Snares and Temptations of it, should teach us to be contented and thankful that it is no longer.  
When Xerxes wept, that the vast Army which he was carrying against Greece should all be dead in the space of an Hundred Years: Artabanus told him, That they would meet with so many and great Evils, that every one of them would wish himself dead long before. If the shortness of our Lives afflicts us, in that it puts a speedy Period to our Joys and Possessions, it makes us amends for this by putting an end to our Miseries and Troubles too. If our Days be evil, it is no small Comfort to think that they are also few. The World is a Storehouse of Evils the Regions of Storms and Tumult, a Veil of Tears, a large Hospital in which we may see the melancholy Effects of Sin and Mortality, Man a Map and Complication of Miseries; the Road he is to take lies through heavy and miry Ways, variety of Snares, many Tribulations, his Life is Labour and Sorrow, and for this Reason we have no great Cause to complain that it so soon passeth away, and we are gone, Psal. 90.10.  
It is the Complaint of many, That the Life of Man is the Entrance and End of a Tragedy, a Web of unhappy Adventures, a Chain of Miseries; that Man's Life and Troubles are Twin-Sisters, and almost individual Companions; that Life and Misery are two different Names for the same thing; that no Man would accept of Life, if he knew what it is; that it is well he knows not whether he is coming, lest he should draw back and start at the entrance; that to live here, is to be harassed with variety of Evils under different Names, to meet with hard Usage, distempered Humours, bodily Sickness, shameful Reproaches, vexatious Disappointments, besides Dangers, Temptations, Disquietude, and Anguish of Mind: This is the common Cry from weeping Infancy to querulous Old Age; to this doleful Ditty most Tongues and Voices are tuned, of Poets, Philosophers, Historians, Laity, Divines, Prophets, Kings, and who not?  
What is it then we complain of in short Life? That we have not had time to go through and experience the several sorts of Evils that are in the World? Or that we have not the Opportunity to repeat and go over them again? That we are but a short time upon the Rack? That our Day-labour is soon done? That Death delivers us from our Miseries, and sends us to a happy Eternity too soon?  
If our Life and Condition in this Word be so full of Misery, we have reason to bless God that our time in it is so short, and to look upon Death, if it succeeded a Virtuous Life, as our Friend and Deliverer, the end of our Miseries, the Haven of Rest, a Sanctuary and Refuge from Danger and Temptation, a safe Port after a Tempestuous Voyage, the welcome Deliverer that enlarges us from Prison, ends our Labours, discharges our Debts, wipes all Tears from our Eyes, dispels all Anxiety from our Hearts, and is our Passage to endless Felicity and everlasting Rest.  
(2.) The Shortness of Life considered with the Frailty and Uncertainty of it, should teach us to be always prepared for our Departure out of it. The Emperor Maximilian was so sensible of the Shortness and Uncertainty of Life, that (it is said) he always carried with him among his Robes whatsoever was necessary for his Funeral, that he might never be unfurnished of that which he might every Day be in want of. O that Men would be thus mindful of their Mortality, and always carry about them those good Dispositions and Qualities, which are not only necessary for a peaceable Departure out of this Life, but also for a happy Entrance into the next! That they would always have their Souls provided with those Virtues and good Habits which will make Death welcome, as it ends a mortal troublesome Life; and much more so, as it is the Door and Passport to a more happy and glorious one!  
Our Life in this World is only in order to another; it is the time of Trial and Probation, in which we stand Candidates for a happy or miserable Eternity; it is the time allowed to make our Peace, and to work out our Salvation; and for this it is long enough, though in other respects it may be short; and yet how diligently do Men usually employ their time, or rather how prodigally do they squander it away, in any thing but this great and important Work? Till they receive a hasty and speedy Summons from Death, a sad and unexpected Surprise: O how do they then lament their Folly, that they had spent this short time of their Lives upon their Sins and Vanities, and have now scarce the shortest Point of it left for the saving their Souls, which should have been the chief Employment of the whole of it?  
Archimedes, a famous Mathematician of Sicily, when the Romans took Syracuse, was killed by a private Soldier as he was poring on his Mathematics, and drawing Schemes in the Dust. How often do we see this verified and acted over again in our own Times? While Men are busy and bustling about some mighty Affair of this World▪ as they fancy it; the Rich Man in the Gospel in pulling down and building his Barns bigger; the Merchant in compassing Sea and Land; the Ambitious Courtier in projecting for Places of Preferment; the covetous Worldling in grovelling in the Dust, and seeking for hid Treasure; the plotting Politician in spinning of Stale-web; and others are prosecuting their Pleasures, their Sins, Injustice, and Revenge; Death stands at the Door, steps in, and breaks off the tender Thread of Life with their Designs and Projects together, their short time of Life is at an end, and they must go as they are, unprepared, as full of Sins as Astonishmet to the Impartial Tribunal of Christ.  
But can there be any Error so great or Fatal as this? To suffer our Bodies to fall into the Grave before we have secured the Welfare of our Souls: To spend our short time only about that, which, if attained, will profit us nothing when our Time is at an end, but may make us miserable to all Eternity?  
Scipio Africanus used to say, It was shameful and intolerable in Military Affairs to say, Non putaram, I did not think it would come to this; because the Error or Misfortune might be irreparable and past mending. And can that be thought fitting or credible in a Christian in regard to his Soul, which would be intolerable in a Military Man in Affairs of War? New Chances of War, or After-diligence, may possibly retrieve in the latter the Opportunities he had omitted; but if the Christian has lost his time and opportunity of Grace, there is no possibility of redeeming it, his Doom is sealed up for ever.  
It was one of the Three Things which grieved Cato most, That he had let one Day pass over his Head without a Will, in which he might have died Intestate. If the uncertainty of Life taught him to be thus solicitous to settle his Worldly Affairs, ought not the Christian to think it a great Folly to let one Day pass from him before the Welfare of his Soul is secured, his Peace made with Heaven, and he is sure of a comfortable Reception, when he must pass into the Regions of Eternity?  
Seeing our Time is thus not only short, but uncertain, ought we not to watch as our Saviour commands, not knowing at what hour our Lord will come, Mat. 24.42. Ought we not, as Pythagoras advises, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, to have our Tackle ready, and Baggage packed up to be gone, our House set in Order, our Debts canceled, Accounts stated, Provision laid in, every thing prepared, that there may be no Delay, no Demur, no Stop or Backwardness when our Lord shall call?  
(3.) Our Time being short in this Life, we ought to moderate our Desires, Esteem, and Value of the things of this World. Things take something of their intrinsic Value from the long Continuance and Duration of them, upon which account those which are frail and brittle, transitory, and but for a short time, are much inferior to those which are for ever: And this is the Nature of all sublunary Goods; our Lives are short, which makes them necessarily to be so, and we are not certain we shall enjoy them so long; they are subject to variety of Accidents, which the best Foresight cannot prevent or secure them from. We have here no Abiding City; the World, and all the things thereof, as well as our Lives in it, pass away. Why then should we set our Hearts upon that which is not? 
Joh. 2.17.  Prov. 23.5. Why should we trust in uncertain Riches? Why should we make long Provision for a short Journey? Why should we lay out our Pains, Time, Thoughts, and even Souls, for Excess and Superfluities, which will be of no use to us beyond the short Term of this Frail Life? Which will be external Objects of Vanity to a more enlightened Mind, at a Dying Hour, and may be Internal Causes of inward Remorse and Vexation of Spirit?  
(4.) Our Lives being short here, our chiefest Care, Concern and Provision ought 10 be for Eternity. Were our Lives longer than they are, yet they must sooner or later have an end, and then an endless immutable State, either of Woe or Happiness commences; and how can we better employ our short time, than in providing to be happy for ever? Earthly things concern only the Body, during its abode in this Life; but our Souls are to outlive the Body, and even the Body refined from its Dross and Mortality, will at length be raised to live and converse with the Soul in an Immutable State: Ought we not then to make it our chief Business and Care to lay up Treasure in Heaven, and provide those things which will be as lasting as our Being's?  
Riches and Honour, Houses and Lands, Worldly Pleasures and Enjoyments, Dignities and High Titles, leave us with our Breath: But Righteousness and Mercy, Holiness and Purity, Obedience to the Will of God, Alms and Charity, a Holy Life and a Good Conscience will attend and enrich us on the other side of the Grave; Death can not destroy them, nor the Canker of Time consume them. They are the only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, or Foundation, upon which we may safely build for future Ages a Fund which will never fail us, a Stock to set up with and live happily upon in the Region of Spirits, when this World, and all that is in it, shall be burnt up and reduced to ashes.  
Lastly, The time of Separation of one Relation from another by Death is short. And this should moderate our Grief for the Loss of them.  
The Heathens might be allowed to exceed in their Grief at the death of their Friends, because they were without hope of seeing them again. But Christianity assures us, that our Friends are only removed to a happier Place, where, in a short time, we shall be with them. Some Tears are due to Decency, to Custom, to Nature, to the Loss and Memory of a Friend: Loud and clamorous Outcries are wild and barbarous; excessive and immoderate Grief is inconsistent with our Hope and Christianity. It is fitting that the Body, when it is sown in Corruption, should be watered by those that plant it in the Earth; but a Deluge may drown the Living, without profiting the Dead.  
Can we immoderately lament the Departure of him, who is not only delivered from the Evils, the Cares and Pains, the Miseries, Sickness, Crosses, Dangers, Sins and Temptations of this mortal Life, but is also gone to the Happy and Glorious Company of Saints and Martyrs, Angels and Archangels, to the Paradise of God, the Presence of his Blessed Redeemer, the Beatific Vision, where there is nothing but Joy and Triumphs, Hallelujahs and Praises; where the Rivers of Spiritual Pleasures overflow, and the Blessed Inhabitants enjoy an ever-flourishing Youth and perpetual Spring? Can we bewail without Measure the departure of one who is not lost, but gone before us to take Possession of a Kingdom? To which a Holy Life, in a short time, will assuredly bring us, through the Assistance of God's Grace, where we shall meet and embrace again.  
And that this is the Happy Case of the Person Deceased, we may not only charitably, but reasonably believe. He was Religious and Devout in his Duty to God: Dutiful and Obedient to his Parents: Faithful and Diligent in his Employment: Civil and Respectful in his Behaviour: Chaste, Sober, and Temperate in his Life: Addicted to none of the Vices Young Men are too frequently guilty of; such as Swearing, Lying, Lewdness, etc. He was Patiented and Submissive to the Will of God during the whole Course of his Sickness, and at the end of it willingly resigned up his Soul into the Hands of his Redeemer, after he had Received the Holy Sacrament, in whose Hands we must leave it in Joy and Comfort, while his Friends and Relations pay their Mournful and Last Duty to his Body.  
FINIS.