A SERMON AT THE FUNERAL Of the Reverend Mr. THOMAS GREY, Late Vicar of Dedham in Essex; PREACHED In the Parish-Church of Dedham, Febr. the 2d. 1691/2.  
With a short Account of his LIFE.  
By JOSEPH POWELL, A. M. Rector of St. Mary on the Wall, in Colchester.  
LONDON, Printed for Thomas Speed, at the Three Crowns near the Royal Exchange in Cornhill, 1692.   
St. LUKE CHAP. two. VER. 29. 
Lord now lettest thou thy Servant departed in peace.  
IT is related in the Sacred History, 
1 King. 19.4.  of the great Prophet Elijah, that he was perfectly cloyed with Life, and prayed for a dismission; he went a days Journey into the Wilderness, and came and sat down under a Juniper Tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, It is enough now, O Lord, take away my Life; for I am not better than my Fathers. This looks like a Fit of Melancholy, occasioned by a Reflection on the unsuccessfulness of his Ministry, and the rage of Jezabel against him; and seems rather to be mentioned as an Instance of the Imperfections that stick to the best of Men in this Life, than to be proposed for our Imitation, or to be drawn into Example by us. 
Job 7.16.  The like Account the Holy Books give us of another Man, very Eminent for his Piety in the Age he lived in; that he loathed Life, and was very desirous an end might be put to it. The Objection against this Example also is, that Holy Job breaks forth into this Expression in the anguish and vexation of his Spirit; and that it was the mere effect of the pressure of that load of Troubles and Evils under which he laboured: Neither can this be denied; for the Holy Man seems hereupon, both to ground, and to excuse his desire of Death, as will be easily discerned by any, who will be at the pains to consult that Chapter; of which give me leave to give you a short Paraphrase, so far as concerns this his Complaint of Life, and earnest desire of Death. Let me ask you, says he to his Friends, these Questions; Is not Death appointed by the Sovereign Lord of the World to every Man? And does not Man spin out his short Life on Earth in trouble and toil, like an Hireling his Day? And doth not such an one, wearied out with the Work and Labour of the day, naturally desire the approach of the Night to give him ease and refreshment? And is not this my Case, or rather, is not my Case much worse? For both day and night are alike uneasy to me; you cannot but be sensible into how miserable a State I am fallen; you who have seen my former Prosperity (unless you have quite put off Humanity itself) must pity my present Condition; and (which is to me a very sad Consideration) you are never like to see it better; for I shall enjoy no more good in this Life; my Body is already overrun with Worms, and I am become loathsome while I live; and you cannot but be sensible how very difficult I find it to maintain my Temper of Mind in this Condition. Since therefore God has assigned Death as the End of all these Miseries; can you blame me, that I pray God to hasten it? I know that 'tis my Duty to refer myself wholly to God's wise disposal of me; but assure yourselves, if God would give me leave to make my own choice, I would much rather desire to die than to live: And I cannot but look upon this desire as proceeding from Wisdom, and a right Judgement of things. But notwithstanding the special Circumstances attending both these Cases, there seems to be something in the Requests of those great Men, very agreeable to the desires of the best Men, whilst under these, wisest, and most composed Thoughts, and the happiest and most promising Advantages of Life. A due Reflection upon the Vanity of Humane Life in its best State, with a steadfast Faith of a future happy State, to succeed the determination of the short Period of our days here on Earth, are enough to dispose us, not to be over fond of living any very long time here; and, with submission to the Will and Providence of God, very cheerfully to receive our Dismission, when ever it shall be sent us. We so sensibly find, that there is no perfect Happiness to be met with on Earth, that nothing needs to be said to confirm our Experience; nor are we ignorant of the result of dying, and the Rewards that befall the Righteous; when once this Difficulty is overcome. Happiness is the thing that all humane Nature is reaching at; and who would die struglingly and with reluctancy, whilst under the vigorous expectation of that great Declaration and Assurance given by our Religion? Rev. 14.13. And I heard a Voice from Heaven, saying unto me Writ, from henceforth, i. e. from the very time of their Deaths, blessed are the Dead which die in the Lord; yea saith the Spirit (which denotes the undoubted certainty of the thing) that they may rest from their Labours, and their Works do follow them. The Scriptures therefore have given us other Instances less liable to these Exceptions; and which represent the desire of Death, not as a rash, unadvised, impatient, or melancholy Request, but as the effect of great Piety, high Attainments in Virtue and Goodness, and a very lively sense of a future World; disposing those, who have thus raised themselves above this World, and enlarged their Minds by the Principles of Religion, easily to part with all things here below; and to be under Wise, and Pious, and Devout Desires of Death and Dissolution. Such is the Instance of the great Apostle, who expresses his longing to be gone; 
Phil. 1.21.  and concludes peremptorily, that it was much for his Advantage to die; and though he was content to live, this was upon no other score, but his being useful and serviceable to others: And he Pronounces this, as the common Desire of all the Apostles, and very proper to be embraced by all Wise and Pious Christians. 
2 Cor. 5.1.  We know that if the earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with Hands, eternal in the Heavens. For in this, q. d. for this Reason, we groan earnestly, desiring to be clothed upon with our House, which is from Heaven. And to mention no more, this was the Case of good old Simeon, a Just and Devout Man, as the Evangelist gives his Character, who had lived in the Faith and Hope of Israel, the expectation of the Messiah to come; and by the Account given of him, seems for some time to have been waiting, both for the fulfilling of this Hope; and for his own Dissolution. For he had received a Revelation, that he should not die till the Messiah should come, and he see him: In submission therefore to the Will of God, and in expectation of this Promise, he still lived, not fond of Life, but cheerfully waiting for Death, as the End of his Troubles here on Earth, and the beginning of a new and better Life; and coming into the Temple at the time that Jesus was presented to the Lord, according to the Custom of the Law, he took the Child up in his Arms, and publicly declared, that this was the Messiah so long promised; and the Revelation of his seeing him in the Flesh being fulfilled to him, he now expresses his hearty and earnest desire to be gathered to his Fathers in the Words of my Text.  
Lord, now lettest thou thy Servant departed in peace.  
From which I might fairly Discourse these Two things.  
I. That it is very becoming a Wise Man, and especially a Pious Christian, to be very indifferent to Life, and to know when he has had enough of it; yea, to be weary of the World, and to be very willing to have his Dismission.  
II. That it is a very desirable thing to departed this Life in peace.  
I shall consider only the First Particular, and before I enter upon the Argument, I must set these following Bounds and Limitations to it.  
1. This is to be understood with great deference to the Wisdom and Providence of God, so as to show no impatience of Life.  
2. With respect to the Benefit and Advantage of others, for whose sake a Wise and Good Man, who is very willing to die, may also be willing to live; yea, upon this account he may be desirous to live: when otherwise, and for his own sake, he would make it his choice to die.  
3. This desire of Death is never to be divided from a firm persuasion of Mind, that whatever God orders to us, be it Life, or Death, is, for that reason, best; and therefore it is rather to be understood, as a desire, that God would then take us out of this World, when, to his Infinite Wisdom, it shall appear to be most for our, and the Advantage of others, who depend upon us, or we have any relation to.  
1. This is to be understood with great deference to the Wisdom and Providence of God, so as to show no impatience of Life. We are in this World like Soldiers in an Army, assigned by their General to their several Posts; which would be direct Disobedience, proceeding from Sedition, Mutiny, or Cowardice, to desert, without leave: And from what Cause soever it proceeds, it is highly punishable. Such a Post is humane Life; which must not be abandoned without permission, and till the Providence of God discharge us. We must not be so weary of Life, or fond of Death, as voluntarily to forsake the one, and hasten the other by our own acts, or any means used upon ourselves. This, I am ware, has of old been accounted a true Instance of a Roman Spirit of Magnanimity, and Greatness of Mind, for Men to dispatch themselves; and thereby put a period to those Evils they were not able to bear: Thus the brave Cato slew himself, not being able to bear Caesar's Victories, nor to endure to think of falling into the Conqueror's Hands. Thus Paulus Aemilius replied to Perseus, when he so meanly supplicated him that he might not be led in Triumph, That it had been, and was still in his own Power to prevent this Disgrace; and that it was the true mark of a Coward to have a Remedy at hand, and not to dare to use it. But as such actions as these are utterly inconsistent with a steady Belief of God's Wise Government of the World; and, particularly, with the Principles of Christianity; so neither are they Instances of that Greatness of Mind they pretend to; they are rather plain Evidences of Pusillanimity, and Vileness of Mind; in that Men cannot bear Evils, as becomes Philosophers, and especially Christians; but are prevailed upon basely and meanly to fly from them; as St. Austin excellently argues in that noble Book of his, of though City of God; where he maintains, that a voluntary Death is no Argument of Greatness of Mind.  
2. It must be understood with respect to the Benefit and Advantage of others; for whose sake, a wise and good Man, who is willing to die, may also be willing to live; yea, upon this account, be desirous to live, when otherwise, and for his own sake, he would make it his choice to die.  
That which causes other Men to desire their Lives, is a good reason to themselves to desire to live; at least, to be so well content with this, as not to be weary of Life. When a Man is of more than ordinary Use and Benefit to the Commonwealth, or the Church of God, or in the Place where he lives, or when he has a numerous Family, and many young Children, who are growing up as Plants for the next Age; who receive a mighty Benefit by his careful Provision for them, by his Instruction, by his Example, and by a great Diligence and Care used in their Education; and when, by the course of Nature, he might yet have lived many Years: In such cases it is very reasonable for others to desire the Lives of such Men: Sometimes the scarcity of such Men, and the circumstances of the time, when their Help and Assistance is like to be, in a special manner, beneficial to the World, renders it reasonable to be very earnest in ask of God, their Lives: And those are also good Reasons why they themselves should desire to live; living to the benefit of others, and so as to be useful in our Generations, being one great End of Life; and a considerable Reason why it is desirable. And this was the very case of St. Paul, which put him to such a struggle with himself, which to desire. In respect of himself, it was passed all dispute, that Death was most desirable; but in regard to those, to whom his Ministry was serviceable, he was content to bear Life a little longer. 
Phil. 1.23.  I am in a straight, says he, betwixt two, having a desire to departed, and to be with Christ, which is far better; nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.  
3. This desire of Death is never to be divided from a firm persuasion of Mind, that whatever God orders to us, be it Life, or Death, is, for that Reason, best: And therefore is rather to be understood as a desire, that God would then take us out of this World; when, to his Infinite Wisdom, it shall appear to be most for our own, and the Advantage of others, who depend upon us, or we have any relation to. This is that great Principle, which alone can carry us cheerfully through this World, and dispose us to submit freely, not only to the variety of Changes we meet with in it; but also to our great Change; and neither impatiently to expect it, nor yet to be startled at it, when it comes. In our very judgement, as Epictetus speaks, more to consent to that, which God would have, than what our own Inclinations lead us to: To desire and wish just so, as God doth: We may mistake (and so may our Friends too, in their Opinion of things) when we imagine, that had we lived longer, we could have been very useful to the World; and done a great deal of good in it. God is the best Judge of this; and he is the Wise Disposer of our Lives. 'Tis sufficient for us, that we have done what good we could while we did live. We may be troubled for our Family, and Relations, for our little Children, and some special Friends, who enjoyed a visible Advantage by our continuance amongst them. We may be concerned to consider how hard it is like to be with our Oss-spring, and how many shocks they may endure after our departure. But, do we remember that we leave them to the Care of that Waking and Merciful Providence, of which we ourselves have had so large an Experience all our Days. We may be wretchedly out, and often are so in our foreboding of Events. Their being deprived of our Help, and Assistance, and Provision, renders them the more immediate Objects of Divine Providence; and it has been often seen, that Children, whom their Parents feared they had left in had Circumstances, have in a wonderful manner, been better provided for when their Parents have been taken away from them, than probably they would have been, had they continued with them; that Reflection, which the Holy Psalmist makes upon his own Life, being frequently verified in the Posterity of good Men: 
Psalm 27.10.  When my father and mother forsake me, the Lord taketh me up Again, we may think, that hitherto we have made but low attainments in Virtue, and Goodness; but could we have lived a little longer, we should have been mighty Proficients in Christ's School; we could have got a much greater Conquest over the World, and ourselves; we could have ennobled our Minds with more fixed and lasting Habits of Virtue; and, if God would be pleased to continue our Lives, we should be much fit for Heaven some few Years hence, than we are at present. But in this also we may be as much mistaken, as in our other Thoughts. Have we considered that our Virtue, in this World, will always be very imperfect? Have we weighed what our Danger is, as long as we live here? Do we know, if we live longer, what future Temptations we may meet with? or can we tell what Influence they may have upon us? or be sure that they shall not prevail over us? And what do we think of that Declaration of the Prophet, which holds good under the Gospel-Covenant: 
Ezek. 18.24.  When the righteous man forsakes his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doth as the wicked doth, his righteousness that he hath done, shall not be mentioned: In his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he sinneth, in that shall he die. It sufficeth, that at present we walk sincerely, and with Integrity, in the way of God's Commandments; and that we hearty, and universally comply with our Duty, though in much weakness, and encompassed with many infirmities: The rest is to be left entirely to the Wisdom of God: And when he calls us out of the World, we may hope, and (in as much as all things are ordered by Infinite Wisdom, and God's Goodness is over all his Works) have reason to believe, that this is the most fitting time for us to die in, and best also for those, who belong to us, and for the World in general. Having fixed these Bounds to it, I now proceed to the Argument itself, viz.  
That it is very becoming a wise Man, and especially a Pious Christian, to be very indifferent to Life, and to know when he has had enough of it; yea, to be weary of the World; and to be very willing to have his Dismission. Many Considerations offer themselves for the evincing the Truth of this Proposition; some respect a wise Man barely considered as such; others concern him as he is a Christian. I shall name some few of both sorts: Those that respect a wise Man barely considered as such, are these following: 

I. A just and impartial Reflection upon the state of humane Nature.  
II. A Consideration of the future Contingencies of Life.  
III. A view of Death, with respect to the Good and Evil of Life.  
iv That universal Law, That all, who are born, must die.    
1. A just and impartial Reflection upon the state of humane Nature. That this is very Deplorable, has been the loud Complaint of all the Ages of the World; which has been made by the wisest Men, who have most narrowly considered Man's Condition in all his various Circumstances: And though there are many Goods in Life, which are not morosely, and with sullenness to be despised; yea, it is an Instance of great Folly to rank them in the number of indifferent things; yet it has been generally agreed, that the Evils of Life do much overbalance the Good: And though perhaps this is not so, in respect of every individual Man; for some are in very happy outward Circumstances in respect of others: Yet, if we consider how it fares with the generality, (which we must do, in duly examining the Case of humane Nature) upon this view, there is no great doubt to be made, but the Observation will be found to be as true as 'tis common, and 'tis a Wise Man's part, not barely to consider his own present Circumstances, but to inquire how it goes with other Men; since (humane Nature being common to all) whatever any other Man's Condition is, he cannot tell how soon his may be the same. When thou art lifted up with admiration of thyself, for the Pomp wherein thou appearest to the World, cast thy Eyes downwards upon those who are clothed in Rags, and want the Necessaries of Life: When thou art wand'ring, says the Philosopher, at Xerxes crossing the Ocean with his mighty Navy; think of those Wretches who are digging through Mount Athos, who are forced to their Labour with Blows, and Blood mingled with their Sweat; call to mind that they had their Ears and Noses cut off, because the Bridge was broken down by the violence of the Waves; and consider what secret Reflections they make upon their sad Circumstances.  
'Tis enough to cause a Wise Man readily to embrace Death, 
Job 3.17.  to consider only Job's Description of the Grave: There the wicked cease from troubling; there the weary are at rest. There the prisoners rest together, they hear not the voice of the oppressor.  
2. A Consideration of the future Contingencies of humane Life. These are without Number, and yet the daily expectation of every Wise Man, who has considered, what is represented by the Emblem of the Wheel, constant change and vicissitude in the Life of Man. We are, suppose, very Rich; but do we know how long we shall be so? and may we not, ere we are ware, be as Poor; Riches make themselves wings, 
Prov. 23.5.  they fly away as an Eagle towards Heaven, so says the Wisest of Men. We are at present in perfect health, brisk and lively, and full of vigour; but may not our Constitution soon be broken, and we cast upon a Bed of Sickness, grappling with Pains, or crying out under extreme Torture. We enjoy Liberty, and have a quiet Possession of the Blessings of Life; but is it impossible that ever we should fall under the Yoke of some of the mighty Nimrods' of the World, the Hunters of Mankind? 
Job 7.15.  When, as Job expresses it, we should choose strangling rather than Life. i e. If we were at our own dispose, the worst of Deaths would be far more desirable than such a Life. When Xerxes viewing his numerous Army, bemoaned it, that within a little more than half an Age there would not be a Man of them left alive; one of his Captains replied, Sir, Let not this trouble you, for they are like to endure so great fatigue, and so many hardships, that the greater number will, in all probability, wish themselves dead, a long time before they shall be so happy as to die. And thus the Roman Orator, comparing the Great Pompey's Sickness at Naples, where he had like to have died, with his last End, concludes, That it had been much better for this Great Man to have died, when he had the Command of the Arms of Rome, and was the darling of the World; for this had prevented the Bloody War with Caesar; the loss of his Army; his flying with Disgrace; his being slain by one of his own Servants; the presenting his Head to his Father-in-Law; his Children turning Fugitive, and the Consiscation of his Estate, but he had died in Honour, and never known any of these Evils: neither himself nor his Family. And upon this account was that wise saying of Solon to Croesus, who had cause enough afterward to remember and acknowledge the Truth of it, That he must first see him die before he judged of his Happiness; it being a Point of the Grecian Wisdom, to account no Man happy before his Death.  
3. A view of Death, with respect to the Good and Evil of this Life. 'Tis true, Death deprives us of all those, which are properly called the Goods of Life: But, as these are not over Considerable, so it is our present want of them that renders them of any Consideration at all: If we did not need them, their absence would be no injury to us in this Life; the true Notion of Riches, being a sufficiency to answer our Conveniencies; beyond which all is but mere imagination, and attended with the increase of trouble. Since therefore Death puts us in Circumstances, that we cannot want them, and perfectly takes away their use, what trouble can it be that it removes us from them. To look upon it as a very uncomfortable thing, to be cast into Circumstances, where we cannot use these Goods, is to be so drowned in sensuality, that we are thereby become fit for nothing beyond this World, and hardly fit for this. But then Death takes us also from the Evils of Life, which are more in Number than the Goods, and much overbalance them, in respect, at least to the generality of Mankind. A bare enumeration of the Evils of Life, does sufficiently, in Tully's Opinion, commend Death, which puts an end to them. He tells us of one, who writing a Book in the praise of Death, did therein only describe the Calamities of humane Life: On this Account Death has been sometimes interpreted as a Reward for Eminent Piety. The very Heathens seemed to have looked upon it under this Notion. Thus when those who built the Magnificent Temple of Apollo, prayed that what was best for Man, might befall them, the third day after they were found dead; which was reckoned upon as a Reward of their Piety. Agreeably to this, 
Isaiah 57.1.  the Prophet Isaiah, speaking of the Death of Good Josias, says, He was taken away from the Evil to come.  
4. The Universal Law upon humane Nature, that all who are born must die. It has ever been accounted a great part of Wisdom, to bring our Minds quietly to comport with what is not in our Power to avoid. By this Consideration we bear up under all the disasters of Life; this brings us into Temper, when we have roiled ourselves never so much, upon the death of our nearest Relations, or dearest Friends: And the same Thought aught, in common Discretion, to bring us at least, patiently to submit to our own Deaths, whenever they come. This is the great Argument that runs through all the Books of the Moralists: A Pilate, says Plutarch, cannot in a Storm command the Billows, or calm the Winds; or, by Hectoring, cause the Storm to cease; he at last therefore commits himself to its Fury; pulls down all his Sails by the Board, and expects the sinking of the Leaky Vessel; and thus must we, when Life grows painful and uneasy, and Death approaches, wait our Dissolution, according to the Common Law of Nature; since that which is unavoidable, aught to disturb us as little as is possible. This is the Principal Argument of all Seneca's Books of the Brevity of Life, and the Tranquillity of the Mind, and his Discourses of Providence, That it is a very unbecoming thing to struggle with the Laws of Fate, and not to be carried willingly, whither we must go whether we will or no. But far greater reason have we for this, who are taught, what a Virtue it is, and how capable of Reward, cheerfully to submit to the Wisdom of God, in disposing of our Lives; and these are such Arguments, as are proper to induce a Wise Man not to be over fond of Life, and to know when he has enough of it; and, at least, quietly and calmly to entertain the Message of Death, when it is sent to him. But then a Pious Christian has Arguments beyond all these, to do not only thus much, but a great deal more; to be perfectly above any fondness for Life, and to rejoice at the Thoughts of his Dissolution; and, with submission to the Will and Providence of God, hearty to desire his Dismission; and they are these following.  

I. A General Consideration of the Religion we Profess, which has chief a respect to a future World.  
II. Our Knowledge that the Sting of Death is pulled out.  
III. The Thoughts of being absolutely and perfectly freed from Sin.  
iv The enlargement of our Faculties and Perfection of our Virtue.  
V The immediate Possession of Happiness at Death.  
VI The Completion of this in Body and Soul at the General Judgement.   
1. A General Consideration of the Religion we Profess, which has chief a respect to a future World. The Christian Religion Promises us very little or nothing that respects merely this present Life: In this it differs from God's Ancient Covenant with the Jews, that it secures us of nothing of this World absolutely, but requires us to refer all things to God's Wisdom and Providence to appoint them to us, as they shall best tend to the making us wise and good; and to the sitting of us for what we are designed in another World. Hence Christ's Kingdom is said not to be of this World: hence we are directed to look upon ourselves as Pilgrims and Strangers on this Earth; 
John 13.36. Heb. 11.13. 1 Pet. 2.11. Heb. 13.14. Phil. 3.20.  that we are put in Mind, that we have here no continuing City; and are exhorted to be in the continual search after one that is to come; that we are counselled to Set our Affections on things above, and not on things on the earth; to have our Conversation in another World: That is, to behave ourselves as those who expect a Portion and an Interest there; and if we consider a great number of the Gospel Precepts, and weigh those high degrees of Virtue they oblige us to; and to deny ourselves in a great many Instances, which are very hard and difficult, and yet not altogether necessary for this World; yea sometimes to hate and despise this World, and to choose the greatest Evils of Life; together with those Duties of overlooking our own Advantage for the greater Benefit of others; of doing Good for Evil, of wasting our Spirits, and laying out the Strength and Vigour of our Days, in doing good to Mankind; we cannot but conclude, that these Rules have a respect to some future World; and that they are designed to raise us up to such a Temper of Mind, as may prepare us for something God has intended us for, when there shall be an end of this Life of Man upon Earth. Neither can we possibly have any doubt of this, who believe the Christian Revelation; the Promises whereof have so direct a reference to a Future State of things. This Faith was the great support to the Primitive Christians, under those hard Circumstances they were in: Their Thoughts were fixed upon such Promises as these, 
Revel. 3.5.21.— 21.7.— 22.5.  Him that overcometh will I  in white raiment, and I will not blot out his name out of the Book of Life; and I will confess him before my Father, and he shall sit down with me in my Throne, even as I have overcome, and am set down with my Father in his Throne; and he shall inherit all things, and he shall reign with me for ever and ever. Hence it was, that they were such great Instances of Virtue, such Bright and Shining Lights to the World, such Glorious Examples of a mighty Zeal for God, of an ardent Piety and Devotion, of the most heroic Goodness, the most enlarged Charity; an exemplary Patience, and a very entire Resignation of themselves to the Will of God. Hence it was that they so readily parted with their Lives, and so willingly chose to die, to the amazement of the Heathen World; who observed of them, that it was the belief of a Life after this, that was the Cause of all this Courage and Resolution; who therefore would not sometimes suffer them to be buried, but burned their Bodies, and dispersed their Ashes; foolishly thinking, that this would abate their Hope of a Resurrection. Now if this be the great thing that the Christian Institution teaches us, That this World is not our home, but that we live here expectants of one to come; What great reason have we to be fond of this Life? Or who can blame any Man for desiring and courting Death upon these Principles? What is related of Trismegistus when he died, whether ever said by him or no, does very well become a dying Christian, expressing his future Hopes and Expectations. I have hitherto lived an Exile from my Country, but now I am going safely thither; I am returning to that Blessed City, whither we cannot pass, without taking Death in our way.  
2. The having the Sting of Death pulled out for us. Death must be allowed to be very terrible to a wicked Man; for when he dieth, His hope perisheth, 
Prov. 11.7.  his expectation is utterly cut off. There's an end of all that, in which he has placed his Confidence; the Man who has Calculated all his Projects, and designs merely for this World, must needs be strangely surprised, when the Message is brought him, that God requires his Soul, and that he must give up his Account, and his Stewardship (for so the Scripture calls this Life) is at an end: But the loss of his present Enjoyments is not all; he goes out of this World in a State of Gild, and is haled to the Divine Tribunal, and there Sentenced to a Punishment, we know little more of, than this, That it is certainly a very Terrible one; and probably greater than we can at present conceive it to be; 'Tis far otherwise with the Good Man; he parts with nothing that is overvaluable to him, having never engaged his Affections to what he always knew, was to be left in a few days; and he goes out of the World with his Sins Pardoned, and delivered from the Threaten annexed to the Law; and this is that pulling out the Sting of Death, which we own to the Merits and Satisfaction of our Blessed Saviour; in Consideration of which, a Christian may look on Death as a hurtless thing, whose wounding Power is taken away, as St. Paul tells us in that Triumphal Song, 1 Cor. 15.55. O Death where is thy Sting? O Grave where is thy Victory? The Sting of Death is Sin, and the Strength of Sin is the Law; but thanks be to God, who giveth us the Victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  
3. The Thoughts of being absolutely and perfectly freed from Sin.  
All the Evils and Miseries of this Life put together, are not half so much a Burden to a Pious Christian, as the sharp Contest that is kept up within him, betwixt the Flesh and the Spirit: The struggle betwixt the Principles of Grace and those of a Corrupt Nature; and the Advantage which the Devil, and Temptations, and his own Evil Inclinations, not perfectly subdued, often get of him, through the Remainders of Sin in him. These are Matters of his daily Sorrow; and Repentance, and Humiliation; and he often Trembles for those Sins he has fallen into, though long since; and which yet he hopes he has truly Repent of, and to his very last Breath, continues to work out his Salvation with fear: And though he uses all Diligence, 
Heb 6.11.  according to the Apostle's Advice, to reach to the full assurance of hope unto the end; yet he considers that this is a Modest and Humble sort of Assurance, which the Apostle speaks of, and so very well consistent with some Fear. Now Death is desirable by a sincere Christian on this Account, that it sets him above all his Troubles and his Fears: It puts him into a State where the Devil shall have no further Advantage against him, where this struggling betwixt Grace and Nature shall perfectly cease, where he shall no more dishonour God, nor blemish his own Nature; nor have so much as the Sins of Infirmity to lament and bewail, but shall live in a perfect freedom from those Moral Evils, which created so much uneasiness to him, and so often put him in hazard in this Life.  
4. The Enlargement of our Faculties, and Perfection of our Virtue.  
How short Humane Knowledge is, they best understand who have spent the longest Time, and used the greatest Pains in improving it; they who know almost nothing, may perhaps esteem themselves very great Clerks: If by chance they light upon a thing, which every one does not know, they presently have a very great Opinion of their own Understanding; and (like the Son of Syrach's Description of a Fool, That he traveleth with a word) are very big, to let other Men see how very wise they are, of a sudden, grown; whilst those, who know the most things knowable in this State, have very different Thoughts of themselves; and, though they avoid such a Scepticism, as to doubt of every thing; yet are they very sensible how many things there are which they know not, and how far they are from perfectly understanding very Common things: So also a little Pharisaic Piety makes a very fine show, and a mighty noise and bluster in the World: They who are got no further than this empty Form of Godliness, are highly opiniated of themselves, and apt to despise all others as mere Sons of the Earth, not worth regarding: Whereas a truly Pious Christian, is always a Humble Christian; he has a very mean Opinion of himself, and is very ready to entertain a good one of other Men; he is sensible of the Imperfection of his Virtue, and what low Degrees of it he has attained to; and his greatest Comfort is grounded upon his Sincerity; and that he hopes and trusts, that his Heart is right towards God. Now who would be fond of this Life, which is so dark and so imperfect a State? Who would not be willing to die, that expects the enlargement of his Knowledge upon his Dissolution, extending to a clear view of all the Works of God, and looking into the Secrets, and unfolding the Mysteries of Providence, to the near Contemplation of the Divine Nature, seeing God as he is, and comprehending his Perfections, as much as Angels do, and to the Fathoming the Wonders of our Redemption by Christ Jesus; things so far out of the reach of our Understandings in this World; where also he shall arrive at Degrees of Virtue infinitely above what he is ever capable of coming to here: And, in one word, shall be, in all things, like unto the Angels of God which are in Heaven; and how happy may he conceive himself then to be? who considers, that he owes the chief pleasure of his present Life, to the small Attainments he has been able to make in Wisdom and Goodness.  
5. The immediate Possession of Happiness at Death.  
Indeed if all Pious Christians (some few only excepted) were to enter immediately upon Death, into a Place of the most exquisite Torment, differing very little from Hell, saving in the infinite duration of it, and there to abide, none knows how long, even to the Day of the Great Judgement, some of them; it would be very unreasonable for any Man to desire Death, unless it were by Martyrdom, by which he might escape this Purgatory Fire; and the thought of dying would be the most dreadful one that a Man could have in his whole Life: But this is a mere Fiction, brought into the Church by Ignorance and Superstition, and maintained for Reasons well known; and has no Foundation neither in Scripture or Primitive Antiquity; defended by some, even of the Roman Communion, only as some other Doctrines are, because Decreed in Councils, and so not to be let go, for fear of shaking a Pretence, that is not to be parted with. The Scripture is, in this Point, very clear and express, and assures us, that immediately upon Death, there is an admission to Bliss. To day, says our Saviour to the Thief on the Cross, shalt thou be with me in paradise. 
Luke 23.43. Phil. 3.23.  And St. Paul mentions his being with Christ, as an immediate consequence of his Departure. These are so plain Proofs, that, to evade the force of them, they must be exempt Cases; and the Thief, and St. Paul, and some few more, never went to Purgatory. But this shift signifies little, for the Scripture speaks of all that die in the Lord; that is, in the Faith and Obedience of the Gospel, as being at rest; which is a Jewish Idiom, and imports a state of Bliss. And St. Paul takes notice, that living here, keeps us from Christ, and therefore assigns this as a Reason, why we should be willing and desirous to leave this World, that we might go to Christ: 
2 Cor. 5.6, 8.  Knowing that whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: We are therefore confident and willing, rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.  
6. The completion of this Happiness in Body and Soul at the General Judgement.  
Though good Men are admitted to immediate Happiness at Death, yet not to a full Participation of it, or to all that Happiness God has designed them, by way of Reward: This is reserved for that Great Day, so often made mention of in the Holy Books, when Christ, 
Matth. 25.31.  to whom the Judgement of the World is committed, shall come in the Glory of his Father, in Triumph, and with great Splendour, attended with an innumerable Host of Angels, 
Acts 1.11. 1 Thess. 4.16.  to render to every Man according to his Works. Then shall those who sleep in the Dust awake, and the Dead shall be called out of their Graves, by the Voice of the Son of Man, and the Sound of the last Trump. These Bodies of ours shall then be raised up from Mortality, and Corruption, to an Immortal and Incorruptible State; A wonderful thing, to be effected by that Power alone, which first made all things out of nothing: A Truth knowable only by Revelation, and received by Faith; and being united to their proper Souls, together with them, who shall then be found alive, and remaining on the Earth, we shall be caught up in the Clouds, 
1 Thess. 4.17.  to meet the Lord in the Air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. This is that great Day, the Apostle speaks of, 
2 Tim. 4.8.  when Crowns shall be put upon the Heads of all the Faithful; even all those who love his appearing. This is the Day, when the whole World shall have its last Period and Consummation; when Death itself shall be Eternally destroyed; and God's Kingdom shall be set up over all, 
Revel. 20.14.  and his Saints shall Reign with him for ever and ever. And these I take to be good Reasons for every Pious Christian to be indifferent to Life, and very willing, with submission to God's Wisdom in Disposing of him, to have his Dismission.  
Now the Use of this Doctrine, is,  
1. To endeavour to reduce it to Practice. I mean to carry ourselves, with all that indifferency towards this World, and Life, and present state of Things, which becomes wife Men, and good Christians. We cannot dispose of Events: What belongs to us, is to be content with that Portion, whatever it is, that Providence allots us, and to manage every thing to the best advantage, and to take care that what befalls us, without our leave, may not disturb us. It is not worth the while, for gaining the World, to do any thing, not only, which is plainly Unjust; but any thing, that is Uncharitable, Mean, Pitiful, or Base: And what we possess fairly, and honestly, it is Wisdom so to use, as not to abuse it; 
1 Cor. 7.11.  remembering, as the Apostle speaks, That the Fashion of this World passeth away: Neither to be over anxious and solicitous about it, nor to suffer our whole Life to be eat up with the Cares and Concerns of it, nor so to set our Hearts and Affections upon it, as that it should ever prove horribly troublesome, and uneasy to us to part with it: To avoid that Error, our Saviour corrected in Martha, To be always Carking about things little and needless; and with her wiser Sister, to be careful to secure to ourselves that better part, 
Luke 10.40, 41, 42.  those virtuous Dispositions and Habits of the Mind, which shall never be taken away from us. To consider this World as only of present Use; and when the time comes, that this Use is to cease, to take our leaves of it, as a thing we are no further concerned in. If we enjoy the Good of Life, to receive it Thankfully, and manage it with Discretion, and so as it may turn to our Advantage hereafter. If we have our share in the Evils of Life, to bear these with Moderation, and Patience, as expecting better things to come. And, as to Life itself, neither to be Prodigal, nor Niggardly of it; to esteem it neither above, nor below its just Value; to take care to preserve it, as far as becomes a wise Man; and yet to be ready to part with it upon a good account; to prefer the keeping the Integrity of our Minds and a good Conscience before it; but yet to choose to die, though a violent and immature Death, rather than do an ill thing to prolong Life; the doing of which is a far greater Evil, than Death can be to a good Man.  
2. In order to this, it ought to be our great and main endeavour, to live up to the height of the Principles of that Religion we profess. Plutarch tells us of one, who leading a very lose life, consulted the Oracle, Whether ever he should live any better; to which the Answer was, That it should be better with him after he was dead. Not long after this he dies; but while they were carrying him forth to be buried, of a sudden, he Revives, and comes to himself: But it was almost incredible, what a Change there was in the course of his Life; he became one of the most Pious and Verthous Men of his Age, and being asked, by his Friends, the Reason of this great Change, he gave them this account of it, That no sooner was his Soul parted from his Body, but he found a mighty confusion in himself, which he could not compare to any thing better, than the Pilot of a Ship being fling from the Helm, by the force of a Storm, into the vast Ocean; after this, rising up, as it were above Water, and recovering himself from this Confusion, he thought he felt himself alive, and, looking round him, he saw all things clearly; but very different sights they were, from what he had ever beheld in this World: Amongst other things, he saw a numerous Company of Souls, in very different states; some in mighty Transports of Joys, others in Miseries inexpressible: Some of these latter, whom he thought he knew, he endeavoured to have approached and discoursed them; but they seemed to be like Persons frighted and bereaved of their Senses, in a deep Consternation flying from him, and wholly avoiding him: At last he meets with a certain Kinsman of his, who had been for some time dead, who calls him by his Name, and gives him a large Account of that State, and carries him about, and makes him an Eye Witness of the several Conditions of separate Souls; but withal tells him, That he was not in the Number of the Dead, but by permission only was come hither, and must return again to his Body. Whilst he stood trembling at what he had seen, a certain Woman, admirable for her Form, took him by the Hand, and bade him keep in Remembrance these things. The Moral of this Story instructs us, what influence a direct view of another World is fitted to have upon us; and what then may not be expected from us, who have so full and clear a Revelation of it, and of the several States of Men, when arrived there? Let us then walk by this Faith, and have our Eyes fixed upon the Recompense of a future Reward. Let us remember, that the great design of our Religion is to Train us up for Heaven; and that all the great things it has promised, are to be accomplished and perfected in a future World: Let us look upon ourselves as only passing through this, and travelling home to our Father's House, whither our Forerunner is already gone, and where Mansions of Glory are prepared for us; such Weights of Glory, as the Apostle did not know how to express, exceeding Eternal weights of Glory: Let us often converse with that World, the World of Angels and Blessed Spirits; a World of perfect Knowledge and Virtue, of Goodness and Charity; a Region of Pure and Spotless Light, where God himself has his peculiar Throne; where there is no need of the Sun, nor of the Moon to shine in it; 
Rev. 21.21.  for the Glory of God does lighten it, and the Lamb is the Light thereof. Let our Hearts be much there where our chief Treasure is, where our consummated Happiness lies; so shall we be able to preserve a Wise and Pious Indifferency to this World and Life, so shall we take care to live as usefully, and do as much good as we can in the World; so shall we always keep ourselves in an actual Preparation for Death; and, whenever it comes, being born up by the strength of our Faith and Hope in God, and in his Promises, we shall cheatfully take up this Pious Hymn of good Old Simeon, and say,  
Lord, now lettest thou thy Servant departed in peace.  
I am sensible I have been too long upon this Subject, in regard there is another I know you will expect I should speak something to: But if I beg a little of your Patience, I know not when I shall do this again; and I am pretty well assured, never upon so sad an Occasion. I am well ware how liable Discourses of this Nature are to Censure and Exception: But in this Auditory, upon the present Occasion, I am above these fears. It is allowed by all, that there is a just Praise due to those who have raised themselves above a common Level: I do not mean in amassing together a more than ordinary heap of Riches, the Portion as commonly of Fools as of the Wise, and at least equally reached by Good and Bad Men; but in those Gifts of true Wisdom and real Goodness, the greatest God has given to Men; by which there seems to be as great a difference amongst Men, as betwixt Man and the Beasts, or as betwixt some Men of exalted Virtue and the Angels above: For while some are raised up to a Divine Likeness, others have almost quite defaced the Image of God in themselves, and are sunk a vast way below the Dignity of Humane Nature, into Ignorance, Folly, Immorality, and downright Brutishness: Such who have been thus distinguished from others in their Lives, aught to be so in their Deaths too; and not to go out of the World without a more than ordinary notice taken of them: 'Tis fit that their Wisdom and Virtue, which rendered them so useful while they lived, should be proposed to the World as an Example, and for the imitation of such as survive them. This has been the Practice of all Nations, to have Orations of Praise, at the Interment of such who lived usefully in their Generations. The Scripture mentions it as an Act of Honour done to the Righteous at their Deaths, and seems very plainly to recommend it in those Promises to the Good Man, 
2 Chron. 32.33.  That his Name shall be had in remembrance, and his Memory be blessed. The Practice of the Christian Church in this Point is so well known, that I shall not spend time needlessly to insist on it. Supported by this Authority, I will venture to draw a short Character of your Deceased Pastor. He was a Man of a very large Understanding, of a quick and ready Apprehension, and had a very happy way of expressing himself, which, as far as these are mere Natural Endowments, do, by no means, seem to be given by God to all Men alike; and would tempt to believe, that the difference in Men does not wholly arise from the Disposition of Bodily Organs or Education, or any the like Causes, but that there is really an inequality in their Original make. These natural Endowments were cultivated by a happy Education, and an early Acquaintance with all that School Learning, which is so necessary a Foundation for rendering a Man useful in any considerable Post in Church or State: He was called very early out, to be a Labourer in God's Vineyard; an Employment (though some perhaps may imagine little of difficulty in it, and that the Clergy, of all other Men, live most at ease) that requires a mighty Pains, to be able to discharge it wisely and usefully; which perhaps the Apostle intimates, when he calls it Labouring in the Word and Doctrine. 
1 Tim. 5.17.  Our Deceased Brother was so apprehensive of this at his first coming among you, where his constant Task was to preach three times a Week; besides the Monthly Preparation Sermon for the Sacrament, and many other occasional Sermons; that to be able to give a good Account of his Ministry to God, to his own Conscience, and to Wise Men; to approve himself a Workman that needed not to be ashamed, 
2 Tim. 2.15.  rightly dividing the word of Truth; and that as becomes the Man of God, he might be perfect, 
2 Tim. 3.17.  throughly furnished to every good work, as the Apostle exhorts Timothy; that is as a Teacher or Preacher of the Gospel, by the Study of the Scripture, be furnished for all turns, and enabled to discharge his whole Duty towards the Souls of his Flock, as Dr. Hammond has Paraphrased those Words; he fell upon that excessive hard Study, which broke an excellent Constitution of Body, and so impaired his Health, that he was never able to recover it; and though he was in a while sensible of this, and often admonished by his Friends to remit that Rigour, yet his Circumstances partly necessitated him to continue it; and besides, by Use and Custom, it was become so pleasant a Diversion, that he seemed to think the Improvements hereby made to himself, to be an abundant Recompense for the Infirmities it brought along with it; and, as Tully preferred the living one Day according to the Precepts of Philosophy, to a vicious Immortality; so our Deceased Brother had a far greater Inclination to improve his Knowledge, and to live usefully, though but a few years, than to arrive at an extreme old Age, with no other Sign upon him that he had lived long, but what might be discovered, as Seneca speaks, in Wrinkles and Grey Hairs. This I have particular Reason to observe, inasmuch, as when I have been discoursing with him, which was frequently, of giving himself a little case, and calling in one to his Assistance, his constant Answer was to this Effect, That his Life could not be better wasted than in a careful discharge of his Ministry, and in doing all the Good he could; and let his Great Master call him when he pleased, Happy was that Servant, whom his Lord, when he should come, found so doing. In Consideration of this, his hard Study was not barely to satisfy his Curiosity, or to please himself with his own Notions (though this is both an Innocent and a very delightful Piece of Epicurism;) but to render himself serviceable to others, to discharge his Office with Credit to Religion; and to profit those in trust committed to his Care, he was a Constant, Judicious and Profitable Preacher. In all his Discourses he Studiously avoided, according to the Apostle's Advice, all useless Questions, which minister only to strife; and by which (let the Preacher argue and defend either side of the Question) none are made either the wiser or better Men. His chief Business was to prosecute Practical Subjects, with the utmost force of Persuasion; well knowing, that most Men understand their Duty, much better than they Practise it; and that to stir up their Remembrance, and overrule their Wills, was one great part of the Minister's Office. His main Endeavour was to speak good Sense, and to deliver the most useful Truths in plain and easy Expressions; and was often wont to say, That the Practical Doctrines of Christianity, were so perfectly agreeable to natural Principles, that if they were fairly represented, no Man would be found to make the least opposition to them; but that the same Doctrine; might be so entangled with Controversy, under the show of clearing them, that Mens Prejudices would still oversway them, and every Man would retain the Principles of his first Education; and that such Discourses never turned to any Advantage of the Hearers, but served either to Prejudice them against their Preachers, or to drive them into Heats and Contentions among themselves, to the bane of Christian Practice. We are lately told of a Noble Design, provided for in the Will of a very extraordinary Person Deceased, that every year should be composed a few well Digested Sermons, wherein should be set forth the Truth of the Christian Religion in General, without descending to the Subdivisions among Christians: This is very agreeable to what was the constant Design of your Deceased Pastor; whose chief Business it was to represent Christianity, As a System of Truths, which ought to purify the Hearts, and govern the Lives of those who Profess it; where the Fundamentals of Christianity were in hazard, none shown a greater Zeal in exhorting earnestly to contend for the Faith once delivered to the Saints; witness his many close Discourses against Popery in the late Reign: And, as he apprehended there might be in time occasion for it, he was ready to show the same Zeal against such Errors, as threaten utter Ruin to all Positive Religion: But, in other Matters, he abhorred Bigotry; and knew how to pity the weakness of Humane Understandings, and to allow for the Prejudices of Education; and though no Man had a greater value for our Church Constitution, nor could more hearty wish the Recovery of our Discipline; nor yet had a truer, and righter Notion of Religion; yet he never cared, roughly to disturb People, though in an Error; when he saw the Error did no hurt, and that they, who were under it, did not pursue it, in any of its bad Consequences; but were as careful to live Piously, and Virtuously, as those could be, who were in the right: Yea, he would say, That, for some, whom he knew to be sincere Christians, he thought it was better to let them alone in Innocent Mistakes; and that there was Danger in going about to set them right; yet so far as he could fairly do it, he always took care to rectify men's Religious Notions, and occasionally, and by the buy, rather to insinuate some Truths, than purposely to set himself to Argue, and Defend them.  
His Conduct, among his Parishioners, was such, as deserves Imitation by the whole Order of the Clergy, in their several Places; and, perhaps, would do more to prevent the growing of Schism, than all the Laws that could be contrived in the Church's favour: His business was to keep up a good Understanding betwixt himself and his Neighbours, and likewise among themselves. He was ready to serve the meanest of them, upon all other occasions, as well as those immediately relating to his Function. If there happened any breach, his Care was to stop it in its first rise, well knowing how hard it is, ofttimes to do it afterward. I might here mention some Offices of Public Benefit and Advantage to this Town, which owed themselves chief to his Advice, Industry, and Conduct: Particularly, the Settling an Industrious and Useful Schoolmaster among you, and Recovering and Advancing the Credit and Reputation of your Grammar-School. This was his Behaviour among you, and such a mutual Friendship was hereby grown up into a Habit, betwixt him and his Flock, that he would often say, If the Governors of the Church should think fit to Reward his hard Labour, with some small Dignity in the Church, he would most thankfully accept it; but he could never be in a place, where he should be capable of doing more Good, or among apeople, that were more likely to receive Good from him; and that therefore he could not tell how to entertain any Thoughts of leaving you, as long as he lived. In all the other Relations he bore, which were those a of Father, a Husband, a Son, and a Brother, I never knew any Man that discharged these Obligations with greater Prudence, or more Exactness; with a wiser Conduct, or a better Sense of Duty. He had a Capacity which reached almost all sorts of Things, and a wonderful Dexterousness in Dispatch of Business; which made him to be sought to by all the Neighbourhood, and so often to be chosen an Umpire in their Controversies; in all which, as his Care was to avoid Entrenching upon any other Man's Profession, so he never sought any Advantage to himself, but designed only doing Good, and obliging Mankind. His Conversation was both Pleasant and Useful. He had, indeed, a sort of Facetiousness, that was very natural to him, and perhaps is so to most Men of free Thoughts; but it was Innocent, and when it had in it any thing of Design, it was only to convey wise Notices of things in this way, where he knew not how to come at men's Understandings in any other. For my own part, I must say, that being freed from the necessary Impertinencies of a mixed Conversation, I scarce ever spent an Hour with him, in all the time of our Acquaintance, but with some Advantage; and it is a Justice due to his Memory, to own that I have learned much from him. And, what I take to be a very high Accomplishment of human Nature, an argument of a great and noble Mind, and not to be omitted in his Character, is, That he was a Wise, a Faithful, and an Entire Friend. I had the Happiness (and a great Happiness it was to my Life) to live in a perfect Friendship with him, which, from our first entering into it, (being founded upon no selfish Ends) never received any interruption; but grew up, and waxed stronger, as all good Dispositions do, till they come into confirmed Habits. Whether Friendship be dissolved by Death, on their part, who are gone into another World, I cannot tell. This was one of the Contemplations, our deceased Brother was entertaining himself with, a little before his Departure. He was musing, as he told me, whether he should be able to do any kind Offices for his Friends, whom he left on Earth: However, on their part, who survive, it is not dissolved; for there cannot be a more tender Point, than the Name and Memory of a dead Friend. But that which is above all other Endowments, either natural, or acquired; and which therefore I reserved to be mentioned in the last place, was his lively and vigorous Sense of Religion: He throughly understood the Design of it, and was very sensible of those infinite Obligations we are under, to the Goodness of God, for making so ample a Provision for our Happiness, as we see done, in the Covenant of Grace in Christ Jesus; and for furnishing us with such admirable Rules of Life; in the Practice of which Man's Happiness so plainly lies, That our reaches in Virtue give us a very lively Sense of our future Immortality. He was naturally of a very warm and quick Temper. Those who conversed with him, and knew what a clear and exact Conduct he had of his Mind, may perhaps smile at this; as those, who were acquainted with Socrates, and knew his absolute and entire government of his Passions, did at the Physiognomist's Character of him; but that wise Man vindicated his Art, and assured his Friends, That the Man had judged truly of his natural Temper, which was corrected by the Principles of Philosophy: And our deceased Friend would confess, That it was not Nature, but Grace that had assisted him in this Work; and that he had done nothing in it, without great Pains first taken with himself. He was very careful of the Worship of God; and as he did all he could to bring his Flock to a sense of Worship; being sirmly persuaded, that, unless Men can be brought to this, That reformation of Manners, which is so hearty desired, by all good Men, can never be effected; so he was very exact in keeping up constant Devotion in his Family, and careful to impress a Sense of it upon his own Children, and those other Youths he was pleased to take under his Charge. He was a Man of great Charity, laying aside, notwithstanding his large Family, a certain part of his Revenue, annually, for such uses. Many instances of this I have been witness to, and some of his Charities have passed through my Hands, with Directions, not to let the Receivers know who was their Benefactor. He paid for the Teaching of Six poor Boys at your Reading School, and gave as many Bible's Yearly, with the Name of DEDHAM, indorst; which you only understood to be a Gift of one, who concealed his Name; but I now acquaint you, That it was entirely his own Charity; and he has left it, under his Hand, that Five Pounds be paid at your next Governor's Feast, for Discharging the Schooling of these Boys, and Furnishing them with their Bibles, for the Year past. He had a mighty Sense, such a one as is not common, of the Wisdom of God, in disposing of all Events: The Providence of God has been defended admirably well, by many of the Philosophers: Christianity has helped us to further Arguments in its Defence, by a clear Revelation of a future World, and a Judgement to come; but they are two very different things, to acknowledge a Providence, or plead for it; and practically to comply with it, and to bring our very Understandings, to consent to every thing, as best, which God does. This latter was what our deceased Brother, above all things, aimed at bringing himself to. I will give you his Thoughts, in his own words, in a Letter, wrote to me, some Months before his last Sickness. Whether a longer continuance in this World be a Blessing, or no, neither you nor I can judge: For my own part, I protest solemnly, I have received a Resignation to the Divine Will as a Principle, from which I will never departed; and I am Labouring for nothing so much as to bring myself to approve, in my own Inclinations, the Choices that God shall make for me, whatever they be; and this I do, not only because I am so perfectly satisfied, how much we own that Obedience to that Government, under which we are; and to the Perfections of that Being, that Administers it; but because I can find no other Principle capable of ministering to my Quiet, and of supporting my Mind: For, especially as my Thoughts are of my present state, if it were not for the force of that, I could never call off my Mind from attending to its apprehensions of Danger, so much, as to do my Duty, and keep the Post, the great Disposer of things expects from me, and has placed me in: But with this, notwithstanding all my sad Thoughts, I can eat, drink, sleep, laugh, recreate myself, and enjoy my Friends; and not be uneasy to them, blessed be God, for such Reasons as we have to leave all Events in his Hand; and to hope they shall be merciful to us. For, by this Faith I live, and upon the Stock of this I hope to acquit myself, at least to my own Eternal Safety, when I die. This I take to have been the most inward Sense of his Soul, which abode upon him to the last. For, in an interval, not long before his Death, acquainting him with the hopes his Physicians gave us, his Reply was, His Opinion was otherwise; and, indeed, said he, now that I am gone on so far, unless God sees it best to appoint to me a longer Life, I do not think it worth the while to go back. But having exceeded all tolerable Limits allowed to these Occasions, I shall only leave with you, that were lately his Charge, the Advice of the Apostle, Heb. 13.7. Remember them that have the rule over you; or, rather, those that have had the rule over you. The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, though it signifies any sort of Ruler, yet, in this place, it must be restrained to Spiritual Governors, Pastors, and Teachers; those, who have spoken to you the Word of the Lord; and that it must refer to them that are dead, I think may be inferred from the latter words, where mention is made of their exitus, their departure, or the ending of their Conversation. To remember such a deceased Pastor, is to be thankful to God, that his Providence placed him over you; to be sensible of your loss in being deprived of him; to think of him with Love and Affection, and Honour to his Memory; frequently to reflect upon that wise Counsel, those wholesome Instructions, that Pious Example, which you have often heard from him, and long saw in him; and, above all, to continue in that good state, in which he has left you, free from Schism in the Church, or Divisions in your Town; living under a sense of Religion, and in Peace and Charity (which has hitherto been your Character) with one another. If you fail in any of these Points, besides that it will upbraid you with unprofitableness, under a painful and useful Ministry long enjoyed; the Effects that will follow, may force you to remember him, but without either Comfort or Advantage to yourselves; and perhaps to remember also my Words to you this Day. But to conclude all with the Words of the Apostle; Beloved, 
Heb. 6.4.  we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany Salvation, I mean, that Promise rather your future Happiness, than any Mischief to befall you, though we thus speak.  
FINIS.   

Books Printed for and Sold by Thomas Speed, at the Three Crowns near the Royal Exchange in Cornhill, 1692.  
THirty Six Sermons, viz. 16 Ad Aulum. 6 Ad Clerum. 6 Ad Magistratum. 8 Ad Populum. With a large Preface, by the Right Reverend Father in God, Robert Sanderson, late Lord Bishop of Lincoln. The Eighth Edition corrected and amended. Whereunto is now added the Life of the Reverend and Learned Author. Written by Isaac Walton. Folio.  
A Sermon at the Funeral of the Reverend Mr. Thomas Grey, Late Vicar of Dedham in Essex; Preached in the Parish-Church of Dedham, Febr. the 2d. 1691/2. With a short Account of his Life. By Joseph powel, A. M. Rector of St. Mary on the Wall, in Colchester.  
A brief Exposition of the Church Catechism, with Proofs from Scripture. By John Williams D. D. Rector of St. Mildred's Poultry, and St. Mary Cole, London. The Third Edition. 8o.  
Tachygraphy; The most Exact and Compendious Method of Short and Swift Writing, that hath ever yet been published by any. Composed by Thomas Shelton, Author and Professor of the said Art. Approved by both the Universities, 8o.  
Zeiglographia: Or a New Art of Short writing never before published; more Easy, Exact, Short, and Speedy than any heretofore. Invented and Composed by Thomas Shelton, Author and Teacher of the said Art. Allowed by Authority, 8o.  
Index Rhetoricus & Oratorius, Scholis, & Institutioni tenerioris aetatis accomodatus, cui adjiciuntur formulae Oratoriae, & index Poeticus. Opera & study Thomae Farnabii. Editio Novissima prioribus emendatior, 12o.  
Psalmorum Davidis Paraphrasis Poetica Georgii Buchanani Scoti: Argumentis ac Melodiis explicata atque illustrata. Opera & Study Nathanis Chytraei, 12o.