The Happiness of Good Men after Death.  
A SERMON AT THE FUNERAL OF Mr. Robert Castell, Late of Deptford in Kent. Preached in the Parish Church of Deptford, August the 19th. 1698.  
Published at the Request of the Relations and Executors of the Deceased:  
By GEORGE STANHOPE, D. D. Chaplain in Ordinary to his Majesty.  
LONDON: Printed for R. Sare at Grays-Inn-gate in Holborn, 1699.   
Rev. xiv. V 13. 
I heard a Voice from Heaven saying unto me, Writ; Blessed are the Dead which die in the Lord from henceforth. Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their Labours, and their Works do follow them.  
THat the Importance of these words is very great, we need no other Argument to convince us, than the solemn manner in which they are delivered to the Apostle. Such is the express Command, that they should be carefully preserved by writing, I heard a Voice from Heaven saying unto me, Writ; Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth. To which is added yet farther the Testimony of the Holy Ghost, confirming the Truth of what that Voice had dictated, and declaring particularly, wherein the Blessedness of such persons consists, Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their Labours, and their Works do follow them. These forms are such Preparations, as always speak the matter ushered in by them to be of mighty Consequence; And are intended to awaken our Minds more powerfully, and to recommend it to our best and most attentive Consideration.  
The immediate Occasion and Design of the Passage now before us, was plainly to fortify the Christians against some very violent Persecutions, which St. John had a certain foresight given him of, and describes accordingly by very terrible Circumstances. Infomuch, that he pronounces it here a very great Happiness, to be taken out of the World, before those Calamitous and Trying times should come, which might endanger the shaking the most resolute Faith and Patience, even of the best Men. Or (as some other Interpreters think) he describes the Blessedness of those faithful Professors of Christianity, whom the Grace of God should enable to persevere unto the end, and to suffer Martyrdom for the Doctrines of his Gospel. Those persons being sometimes said, with a peculiar Emphasis, to die in the Lord, who suffer in his Cause, and lay down their Lives for his sake.  
But there is no necessity, nor indeed any sufficient Reason, for confining this Expression to those times of Primitive Perfecution only, or to the Martyrs who suffered in them. For, as every sincere good Man, who hearty embraces the Faith of Christ, and whose Conversation is such as becomes that Faith, is said in Scripture to 
* 2 Cor. v. 15.  live unto the Lord; so every one who continues in that Belief and Obedience to the End of his Days, is very truly and properly said, when God takes him out of the World, to 
† 1 Thes. iv. 14.  sleep in Jesus, and to die in the Lord.  
And thus, it is manifest, not our Own only, but the Christian Church in general, hath constantly understood the Text, by making it in many ancient Liturgies a part of the Burial Service: And so declaring the Blessedness here to belong to every deceased Person, who lives and dies a worthy Member of her Communion.  
Having therefore so good Authority to bear me out, I shall make no difficulty to treat of my Text, in this larger and more popular Sense; and so to apply it to the occasion of our present meeting, that we may gather from hence those useful and comfortable Reflections, which may minister to us a Reasonable Hope of our Departed Brother's Happiness, and a joyful Expectation of our Own.  
In order hereunto, I shall, so far as the time will give me leave, do these three things. 

I. First, I shall endeavour to represent to you the Happy State of Good Men after Death, as the Words have here described it to us.  
II. Secondly, I shall, from this Doctrine so established, draw some few Inferences, which may be of use to us, both for the Conduct of our Lives in general, and more particularly seasonable upon these Melancholy Occasions.  
III. And then in the Third and last Place, I shall apply the Substance of my two former heads yet more closely, to the Circumstances of the Person, whose mortal part now lies before us.    
1. First, I shall endeavour to represent to you the happy State of Good Men after Death, as the Words have here described it to us. And I may well say I shall endeavour only, that which it is not possible for me worthily to effect. For Who indeed can represent it justly? What Tongue of Men or Angels can find expressions strong and significant enough? What Images are so bright, so glorious? What finite Understandings of a Capacity so large, that they should contain adequate Ideas of that Bliss, to which nothing we are acquainted with in this Life is equal, nothing like, nothing in any degree comparable? That Bliss, which would lose a great part of its Perfection, if Sense and feeble Reason could fully comprehend it; and whose peculiar Excellence (we are told) it is, that 
* 1 Cor. two. 9  Eye hath not seen, nor Ear heard, neither hath it entered into the Heart of Man to conceive, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. The utmost therefore which you must expect in this case is only to have it drawn in little; In such proportions as frail Men are capable of; by Resemblances taken from things familiar to us; by setting it in opposition to the Miseries we are at present exposed to; and by such Other Considerations, as are of Value and Weight with us, in the Affairs and Transactions of humane Life. This is the Method, which the Holy Spirit hath made use of here: And the Arguments, by which he raises our esteem of that Blessedness pronounced from Heaven upon the Dead which die in the Lord, seem to be these Three.  
1. First. The Troubles such Men are delivered from. They rest from their Labours.  
2. Secondly. The good Acceptance and great Reward, which they shall after Death receive, for what they have done well during the present Life. Their Works do follow them.  
3. Thirdly. The Time when they enter upon this Happiness, intimated in that Term fixed here, Blessed are the Dead which die in the Lord from henceforth.  
1. First. They who die in the Lord are Blessed in regard of the Troubles they are delivered from, They rest from their Labours. I will not, I need not, upon this occasion undertake to show, how sore and manifold these Labours are. For This is an Argument that comes home to the Sense and Experience of every one of us. All that hear me are able to go before me in the Reflection, how thick we are beset with Troubles and Afflictions on every Side, in our Bodies and our Souls, in our public and our private Capacities. The Vanities of Youth, and the Infirmities of Age: The Difficulties of Supporting these Bodies, and the perpetual Wants and Weaknesses to which they are Subject; The lingering and the acute Distempers, the sensible decays, and the more sensible Pains, that waste and tear and torment them. The Miseries of an unhappy Temper, and Overflowings of a black heavy blood, which intercept all light and comfort, and condemn the Soul to the dark dismal prison of a melancholy Constitution; The Violence of Passions from within, and the vast Variety of Accidents from without, which are continually provoking us to Grief, or Anger, or some other disorderly excesses: These are personal and of a piece with us.  
The Losses in our Estates, the surprising Disappointments in our Expectations and Designs; The hurry of Business, the Strife and Contention our Affairs engage us in; The Travel of the Poor, and the Cares of the Rich; The Anguish of our Afflicted, and the Uncertainty of our most Prosperous Condition; The Treachery of pretending Friends, and the Spite of professed Enemies; The Snares of Conversation, the Vanity and extreme danger even of those Diversions and Pleasures, by which we labour to lighten this load of Life, and gain some Intervals of Ease at least, by forgetting for a little while our Cares and Calamities: These, and a thousand Difficulties more, are inseparable encumbrances of Mortality, to every one, considered Singly, and apart from his Relations and Engagements in Society.  
But as those Capacities increase, our Sorrows and Labours increase with them. The Care of Families, and kind Concern for those whom Nature hath made a Part of ourselves; The Fears and anxious Thoughts for their Safety, the  of their Sufferings; The restless Endeavours to help them in their Distresses, and the cutting regret we endure, when we would assist them but cannot, or when they will not suffer us to do them the Good we could; And (to name no more, that Calamity which all of you at this time are very deeply affected with) the having those Friends taken from us, whom Nature, or Kindness, or their own Worth, have rendered very dear and necessary. The tearing, as it were, our very hearts asunder, by cutting off that tenderest part of them, whom God and Affection had incorporated and made one with us; These are Trials, which we have so quick and piercing a Sense of, that it is much less difficult to lament and complain as they deserve, than to temper our Resentments, and keep them within the Bounds of Duty, and Decency, and Christian Moderation.  
It were easy to give you a yet more moving Spectacle, by opening the Prospect a little wider; and urging the Uneasiness we feel from the Distresses of the Needy, the Injuries of the Oppressed, the Cries of Helpless Widows and Orphans; the Corruptions, or the Calamitous Circumstances of the State, or the Church, whereof we are Members; All which affect us more sensibly, in proportion as we are better-natured Men, that is, better Christians. But That, which is to such the most afflicting Consideration of all is, that these things do not only create a present Uneasiness, but may likewise, if not very carefully managed, lay the foundation of Eternal Misery. That they are the Temptations and Instruments of Sin, such as the Frailty of humane Nature is but too apt, alas! to be overborne by; Such as are often successful even against the most Watchful and Resolute; And therefore, of all other Labours in this fight of Afflictions, the Wise and Good Man esteems those the heaviest, which hazard the Salvation of his Soul; And no Consideration renders a Deliverance from the Sufferings of Life, half so desirable, as that mentioned by St. 
* Rom. vi. 7.  Paul; that He that is dead is freed from Sin.  
These are all of them such Labours, as the Condition we now live in naturally exposes every Man to; And the very Severest of them such, as the Providence of God hath not thought fit to exempt the holiest and best beloved of his Servants from. They, like their Captain, are made perfect through Hardships and Sufferings. These are their Spiritual Warfare, the Exercises of their Virtue, the Proofs of their Patience and Fidelity, and constant Love to Him. And God is not much concerned to be very exact in the measures of Good and Evil in this Life, because this Life is not the Season of final Retribution: But he hath appointed another, wherein he knows how to make Good Men ample amends for all they do and suffer for him here. The Benefits we are to expect at present, are the Wisdom and Kindness of his Providence to turn every Affliction to our good, the powerful Assistances of his Grace to support us under our Conflicts, and the merciful Execution of that Decree, which, after we have toiled and suffered a while, may translate us to a State of Rest and Peace; may render that Death, which to mere Nature is so ghastly and formidable, a Blessing and Privilege, for such in truth it is in the Eye of Faith, and to those who die in the Lord.  
For ought not this to be a very Supporting Consideration, in the midst of difficulties and troubles, that, though these hemm us round, and thrust sore at us now, yet there is a day coming in which we shall make our escape from them all? That God will hid us in the Grave, and set us on that Shore, where we shall, full of Security, look back upon this tempestuous World, and have no part of the Storms that tossed us here, but only the Remembrance of them, left. A Remembrance so much more joyful, as the Miseries we call to mind were formerly more grievous: But especially, Is it not a mighty Comfort, to think we shall shortly put off this load of Infirmities; that we shall be perfectly at quiet from all the disturbance which the lustings of the Flesh against the Spirit, and the irreconcilable War in our Members create us every day and hour; that God will not only cover our Head in the Battle, but take us out of the Field, into a sure retreat, where the Enemy of Souls cannot hurt us, nor Temptation assault us, nor corrupt Nature betray us, nor pain, or affliction, or danger overtake us? Surely 
* Job v. 7.  Man that is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upwards, hath reason to be pleased with such a Refuge as This; Surely That aught to be no small Recommendation of the future State of Good Christians, which the Voice from Heaven gives in the xxith of this Book at the 4th verse, that God shall wipe away all tears from their Eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying; neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. So valuable a Blessing it is, merely to rest from their Labours; so proper this Argument to reconcile us to Death, that it removes us into a place of Ease and Safety. But if this make Death tolerable, there is something behind, which makes it even desirable. The prospect of a Deliverance may sustain us under our troubles, but it is enough to prevail with us, not only to bear, but even to bless our Troubles, when we reflect, that though our Sufferings are left behind, yet the Virtue and Effect of them are not. For that is the Second Reason,  
II. Wherefore the Dead are blessed, who die in the Lord, that they do not only rest from their Labours, but their Works follow them. The Toil and Drudgery is at an End, and all that could be grievous to them is put off with that Body, which exposed them to Corruption and Suffering; But those Labours are not forgotten, Their Diligence and Conscientious Care, The Meekness and Resignation wherewith they were endured, sticks by the Labourer still; And, as to all the desirable and advantageous purposes, will be sure to keep him company for ever in the other World. For by this Expression of their Works following them, is meant that Good Acceptance and great Reward, which the Saints shall be sure to find after Death, for what they have done well during this present Life.  
We must not from This, or from any Other Expressions like it in Scripture, infer such Merit and Sufficiency in the best works of the best Men, as can convey to them a Right to demand this happiness, as in Rigour and Equity their due. For All have come short of the Glory of God, 
* Rom. iii. 23. Psal. cxliii. 2.  and no Flesh can be justified in his Sight, should Judgement, and not Mercy, be the Standard of his Proceed. But hereby is meant, that according to the Terms of the Gospel-Covenant, which, for the Sake and Sufferings of Christ, promiseth Pardon for Sins rerepented of, Compassion for Infirmities not indulged, and a Recompense for those Good Actions which the Grace of God hath wrought in, and by, and with us, Every sincere Christian shall not fail to be abundantly considered, for, and in proportion to, what he hath performed and endured, as became him, in the days of his Flesh. I say, abundantly considered; More or less, as the Trials and Instances of each Man's Virtue have been more or less; but yet in such manner and measure, as far exceeds the Value of his best Works, and the Degree of his sharpest Afflictions. For St. Paul hath assured us, 
* Rom. viij 18.  That the Sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the Glory that shall be revealed in us, and that 
† 2 Cor. iv. 16.  these light Afflictions which are but for a moment, work out for us a more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory. In short, God will deal with such Men, according to the Riches of his own infinite Mercy, and make them actually happy then, far above what they now are able so much as to conceive.  
For how indeed can it be supposed, that We, in this imperfect State of things, should have any distinct Notions of that future, and vastly different State, when this dross of Earth and sensual Appetites, shall be purified; when the Faculties of our Mind shall be enlarged; freed from Prejudice and Error, 
* 1 Cor. xiii. 12.  and not see as now, darkly and through a Glass, but know even as also we are known. When we raise our Souls as high as possibly we can, yet even then our thoughts are cloudy and confused. We speak as Children, we think as Children, we understand as Children; but when we come to the fullness of the Stature of perfect Men in Christ Jesus, these childish things shall be put away, and we shall have quite other apprehensions of the matter. Then shall we see, and know, and feel, that all those lofty descriptions of Heavenly Joys in Scripture, which now so hardly gain our belief, are much beneath the Dignity of that Happiness they would represent and recommend to us; And that those Images were made use of, not because they were worthy and proportionable, but because they were the fittest and best resemblances of that Bliss which We were capable of. And therefore even in these noblest flights, there is all along a condescension to our weaknesses; A veil of Figures and sensible Similitudes drawn before that Glory, which is too strong and bright for our naked Eye, too big for even Thoughts and Wishes, much more for Words, to reach and come up to.  
O! the incomprehensible Excellence of that knowledge, which shall see God as he is, and liken the Soul to the Excellence it sees! O the Delights of that Wonder and Praise and perpetual Thanksgiving, with which glorified Saints extol the amazing Wisdom, and Justice, and Goodness of God The mighty Satisfaction of being let in to the hidden Treasures of his Mercy, the exact harmony of his Providence, the Mysteries of his Nature, and his Deal with Mankind, which now pretending Mortals wrangle and raise such a Dust about! O the perfect purity and tranquillity of a Life free from Lust and Passion, from doubtful and painful Struggles, and ever choosing, ever delighting in, that which is good! O the Charms of that entire Love, and Peace, and joint Consent, in honouring and serving God, and rejoicing in each other's Happiness; void of that Envy, and Grudging, that Jealousy and Discord, that Ill-nature, or Selfishness, those Personal Injuries, or differences in Interests and Opinions, which will not suffer us to enjoy a perfect Unity in this World! O Gracious God, how plentiful is thy Goodness, which thou hast laid up for Them that fear thee! They pay thee a short imperfect Obedience, and what is this, that the King of Heaven should recompense it with so great a Reward! They are unprofitable Servants, and yet thou makest them Sat down at thy Table in thy Kingdom! Their Sins and Frailties are Many, and Those are remembered no more; their Good Deeds in comparison but very few, and yet not one of These is forgotten! Their present Labours and Sufferings have their Intervals and Comforts, and are but light and short at worst; light in consideration of that future weight of Glory; short and even as nothing to that Eternity of Bliss, that pure uninterrupted Bliss, which they work out for them. Nor dost thou, Blessed Jesus, put off these Labourers with distant Prospects and uneasy Expectations: For no sooner does that Night come on in which they can work no longer, but they are called to present payment. The Combat once ended, and the Race run, the Conqueror is crowned without delay. Which brings me to the third Circumstance, whereby this Spirit here represents to us the Blessedness of Good Men departed; and that is  
III. The Time when they enter upon their Happiness, intimated in that Term fixed in those words, Blessed are the Dead which die in the Lord from henceforth. I am not ignorant, what differing Interpretations are put upon this word in the Original, but neither the Time, nor the present Temper of your Minds, will bear so cold a thing as Criticising now. And therefore it shall suffice to say, that both the Sense in which I have all along taken the words, and the Church in using them at the Burial of every Christian, do warrant us to conclude, that this Rest from Labour, and the Reward of Good Works, begin at the instant of Men's dying in the Lord. And if the passage before us do not sufficiently prove this, yet there are Others which may even oblige us to understand it so. The Labourers in the Vineyard, assoon as ever the Even was come, 
* Matth. xx. 8.  and the Duty of the Day over, are called to receive their Wages. Lazarus immediately upon his Death, is said 
† Luke xuj 22, 25.  to be carried by Angels into Abraham's bosom, and comforted for the Evil things he received in his Life-time. St. 
* 2 Tim. iv. 6, 7, 8.  Paul, upon mentioning his departure at hand, and reflecting upon the good fight he had fought, declares, that from thenceforth there was laid up for him a Crown of Righteousness. Perhaps indeed this Crown is not yet so bright, nor Lazarus his happiness so exquisite, as it will be at the last great day of account. But still that Crown was determined and fixed from the day of this Apostle's departure, though he is to be more solemnly invested with it, at the day when the Righteous Judge shall appear. And Lazarus was at least in a Condition of Comfort, Such as made him good amends for the Poverty and Diseases he had undergone in his Body. So that these Passages, as well as that of the Labourers in the Vineyard, sufficiently confute that fond imagination which some have entertained, of the Soul sleeping in a State of Insensibility till the general Resurrection; They also overthrow that profitable Delusion of the Romish Purgatory, and render Prayers for the Dead superfluous and useless. For how can they be comforted who have no Sense? What occasion have they for our Prayers, who are already blessed? or how can they be said to rest from their Labours, who pass from hence into a Condition of Torments, more exquisite by far than this Life can possibly endure? and yet such the Popish Purgatory is represented. So just ground have we to conclude, that there is no Interval between the End of Good Men's Labour, and the Beginning of their Rest; So substantial a Reason is it of their Happiness, that their Works do not only follow them at a distance, but keep them company, go with them hand in hand, and render the Dead blessed, from the very moment of their Dying in the Lord.  
II. I have now done with my first general Head, and after so largely insisting upon it, shall think it necessary to say less upon my Second, which consists of such Inferences, as are proper to be drawn from the foregoing Particulars. And they (among many Others) may be These that follow.  
1. As First. We shall do well seriously to consider what vast encouragement these words contain to a Godly Life. For it must always be remembered, that the Glorious Privileges we have hitherto been treating of do not belong to all indifferently, but only to such as Die in the lord That is, (as was declared in the beginning of this Discourse) To Them that embrace the Faith of Jesus, that live up to the Principles of the Gospel, and persevere in doing so to the End of their Days. As for Those, who either refuse and oppose this Belief, or who hold it in unrighteousness, their Case is the very Reverse of what we have been describing. They are so far from finding Rest after their Labours, that all the Evils they sustain in this world, are light and gentle, and less than nothing, in comparison of the intolerable, the unconceivable, the infinitely heavier Miseries, reserved for them in another. Their Works follow them too, but it is to upbraid them with their Gild and Impenitence, to wound them with sad and fruitless Remorse, to testify against them in the Great Day of Account, and to condemn them to everlasting Flames. Let me then most earnestly conjure, let me prevail with, All that hear me, to Secure a Title to this Blessedness, by breaking off their Iniquities from this very moment. And this will best be done by possessing their minds with just and worthy Notions of these Comforts in my Text; by considering what vast amends will be made them for all the hardships of Virtue here; and how wretched an Exchange those Men will make at last, who indulge the pleasures of Sin for a season, at the prodigious Expense, the certain and irrecoverable Loss, of their Souls and Eternal Happiness hereafter. The Severest Doctrines of the Gospel have more than enough to enforce their practice upon us, if we would but consider them impartially, and proceed upon the same Measures, which humane Prudence puts us upon in the Affairs of this World. And What are the Affairs of this world, when put into the balance against our Spiritual Concerns? What are the troubled and imperfect Joys of Sense, which a thousand cares and fears, pains and disasters innumerable disturb, in comparison of that sweet and sure Repose above, which nothing can annoy? What are the Honours, the Wealth, the Pomp we so eagerly pursue here, if set against the Glories of Saints, and the inestimable Treasures of our heavenly Father's Kingdom? Trust me, Such gains are not where to be had, so cheaply to be bought, so certain to be obtained, so durable in the Enjoyment. No gains indeed are durable but these; Nothing turns to True account, but Piety and Virtue. And This is profitable for all things, so exceeding profitable, that we could not have hoped, we could not have imagined it; and if any other than God the Giver had told us of this, we could not have been so easy as to believe, so presumptuous as to expect it.  
2. Secondly. The Considerations, which went before, are very proper to arm our minds against the Fear of Death. A passion, where it prevails to any great degree, of all Others the most Tyrannical and tormenting. It must be so: Because Scaring us perpetually with hideous Apprehensions of a Danger, which, we are fully satisfied beforehand, it is not possible with all our Industry to shun. And this domineering Evil is what nothing but Christianity ever was, or could be, a match for. But when we consider how many things there are, which may justly abate our fondness for This Life, and that they who die in the Lord are effectually delivered from all these: When we look upon Death as a necessary Passage to Happiness; and reflect, that the instant we cease to be miserable here, we take possession of a never failing Bliss in another State; This puts quite another face upon the matter, from what it carries to the Wicked, or to the Natural, Man. 
* 1 Cor. xv. 56.  The Sting of Death is Sin, says the Apostle, that is, the Only thing which can in reason render Dying terrible, is the being called to an account for our evil deeds. But the Gospel frees us from the Bondage of this Fear too. It shows us a Victorious Redeemer, One, who hath made Satisfaction for the Sins of Mankind, and by so doing hath triumphed over Death; nay, hath perfectly changed the nature of the thing, and made it a Blessing to them that die in Him. And This is what we may all do, by the assistance of his Grace, which is wanting to none, who seek and use it diligently. So that, upon the whole matter, this Fear is an Affliction, in our power to correct and moderate at least. We may conquer it as Christians, though we cannot wholly remove it, as Men; For the better we are provided for the Approach of Death, the less troublesome all Apprehensions of it will be to us. And a firm prospect of our future Blessedness would bring us, so far as is consistent with our Duty, even to thirst and pant, and long for that very Dissolution, which now we start and tremble at, and take such infinite pains to run away from.  
3. Thirdly. From hence we may fetch the most, in truth the only, powerful Argument, to support us under any Injuries or Afflictions, that befall us in this present World. To think, that These things cannot last long, is some, but far from a sufficient, Consolation. But to be assured, that they will turn to our Advantage, an incomparably greater Advantage, such as bears no proportion at all to the utmost we can ever endure, this is a substantial Stay to our Spirits. To reflect, that He who afflicts us in the mean while, does it for our good, and out of fatherly tenderness; that what we complain of is the Exercise of our Virtue, and every Fresh trial a higher Step to Perfection; that not One Sighs or groan vanishes into Air, but reaches the Ears of the Almighty; not One Tear falls to the ground, but all are put into his Bottle, (as David expresses it 
* Psal. lvi. 8. ;) not One Injury or Affront we ever forgave, but it hath contributed to the forgiveness of our infinitely more heinous Offences against God; Not One pang, or Sickness we have gone through, patiently and with a Christian Resignation, but it will be paid us back with Interest in perfect Joy: These are the invincible weapons of a Good Man, such as harden, and render him proof, against all the Assaults of Ill Men, and what we call ill-fortune. And he who is careful to have this Armour girt close about him, will find his Courage keep up with his Faith, and be able to withstand in the Evil day, and having done all to Stand.  
Fourthly and Lastly. What hath been now said may and aught to prevent, or at least to check those Sallies of excessive Grief, which we are too often disposed to give a lose to, when it pleases God to remove Good Men, and especially our Friends and Relations, out of the World. For do the Men, who indulge such Passions, consider at all what they say or do, when they profess this Concern for such Persons? For Them? Why are we sorry for Them? Is it such an insupportable Calamity to us, that they whom we loved most dearly, have after many painful struggles broke lose at last from Misfortunes and Diseases, from Hazards and Dangers, from Sorrow and Sin? Do we use to weep and lament, when our best Friends escape many a terrible Storm, and come Safe into Port; especially too, if the Returns of their Voyage have been prosperous beyond all Imagination? Yet this (my Brethren) is directly the Case of our Friends who are dead in the Lord. And can we suppose that the being sorry for Their Happiness is an Argument of Our Love? This is most absurd. And it is plain our refusing to be comforted in such cases, proceeds from want of considering how happy They really are; or else it is not Kindness for Them but for ourselves. And yet if it be for ourselves; Do we not think it a necessary proof of affection, to be pleased with the very great Advantage of a particular Friend, though We suffer some little uneasiness or Inconvenience by it? And shall we not be content, that a Useful Neighbour, a Darling Child, or a tender Husband, should be blessed above what we can frame any Idea of to ourselves, though we must not enjoy his Company here any longer? But a good Man you'll say, can least of all be spared; True. When we speak and think as Men; But if we argue as Christians; It is as true, that such a one we may best bear to part with. Because the better the Man is, the more assured hope we have of his obtaining that better Life; which is the most Effectual Argument to Soften these Trials of our Resignation to us.  
And therefore I cannot but think it very well becomes me to exhort You the Relations of this deceased, that you would dry up your Tears; And, from the dark Side of this afflicting Providence to yourselves, turn your thoughts rather to the bright prospect of his happy Change. For such I make no doubt we shall think it, if to my two former Heads, be added that very Little, which I have still to speak upon my Third and Last, wherein I promised to apply myself to the Circumstances of this Person, upon whose account we are now met, and whose Remains of Mortality lie here before us.  
III. When I say I will add but little, you will not so understand me, as if the Subject would not bear a great deal. But Much is not necessary, when I speak to Them, who have had the happiness of a longer Acquaintance than myself; and therefore All I have to do, is only to refresh you. Memories, with some of those remarkably good qualities and actions, which I have received from persons of undoubted Authority, and such as yourselves will bear testimony to upon the mention of them. And here I shall follow the method of my Text.  
1st. then. It could not be but a Person of his Engagements in the world must have a share of Labours and Troubles, Losses and Disappointments; All which were entertained with great Moderation, and just Reflections upon that Providence of God, which disposes of Us and Ours as he sees fit. But besides these Trials, it pleased God, in his later years, to afflict him with Sore Pains and frequent Distempers. All which he bore with such Evenness of Mind, that even the Racking of the Gout and Stone could not often provoke him to Any, and never to such as were Unbecoming, Complaints. God exercised that patience, we may hope, to increase the Reward of it, and to render it exemplary, among those who observed and conversed with it. And that Meekness and Submission, which continued to his very last hours, notwithstanding the most acute pangs, of one of the most insupportable Diseases mankind are subject to, give us just ground of Confidence, that he is now at rest from his Labours, and that it is good for him to have been so afflicted, since Troubles thus sustained never fail to turn to the Sufferers unspeakable Advantage.  
2. But it was not in the Passive kind alone, that he discharged himself so well, his Virtue was Active too. Many of his good Works there are, which should not, and Some, which scarcely can be, forgotten. Such were his Honesty and Strict Justice in his Deal. His Moderation and Prudence, The Peaceableness of his Temper, and Readiness to compose Differences, His Integrity and Candour, his Modesty and Humility, which recommended him to the Conversation, and the good Opinion of all that had opportunities of knowing him. He was remarkably careful to discharge the duty of those several Capacities God placed him in. An Affectionate Husband, a kind Relation, a faithful and generous Friend. And though he left no Issue of his own, yet did not that destroy but diffuse rather the Relation of a Father, for he was such in some sort to several, whom Nature had setat a greater distance from him. His Piety and great Regard to Religion was testified by attending diligently upon the public Worship of God, as oft as his Indispositions would permit. And his Love of the Beauty and Decency of the House and Service of his Great Master cannot die, so long as the 
* Deptford Church rebuilt, 1697  Place where we are now assembled, Stands. For This is a lasting Monument of that Generosity and Godly Zeal, which moved in the foremost rank of those many noble Contributors, to so necessary, so becoming, so pious a Work. And his Charity to the Living Temples of the Holy Ghost, as it was freely extended upon fit occasions in his Life-time, so is it continued in a very large and useful Provision for the Benefit of the Poor after his Death. I forbear several of the Works of this kind, which, together with these now mentioned, no doubt do follow him, and are already, (we trust) begun to be repaid, in the Comforts and Joys of a Blessed Immortality.  
The only thing left for us to do is carefully to copy after such good Examples, that when we shall be called upon, (as shortly we shall) we may with holy Trust and steady Submission to God's Will, commit ourselves into the hands of our most merciful Creator, and Redeemer. And such a Trust and cheerful Resignation, I, who, by the particular Approbation of his Reverend and very worthy Pastor, attended him in his last hours, did with great Satisfaction observe in Him in the very Agonies of Death. For even then his Mind was much composed, and except the tender Impressions which the Tears of his dearest Relations made upon his Spirits, all seemed easy and full of Content to him. So much power had the Hopes of a better World to Sustain him in his last conflicts. But now those conflicts are happily over, and the truest Honour and Affection we can pay to his Memory, is to bless God for that perfect Peace, and sweet Tranquillity which we believe he hath exchanged this dangerous and troublesome life for; and so to imitate his commendable Actions, and resemble his meek Christian temper and good dispositions, that We may in God's due time meet again, at our Joyful and blessed Resurrection; Even then, when all Those who have died in the Lord shall shine as the Brightness of the Firmament, when these vile Bodies of ours shall be fashioned after Christ's glorious Body, to live, and reign with Him for ever and ever. So amply shall even these Bodies be recompensed for their present Sufferings and Decay; So sweet shall be their Rest: To so excellent purposes shall every good Man's works follow him. Which that Ours may do, let us pray and endeavour with all our might, that we may live and die in Him, who lived and died and risen again for us, the Blessed Jesus the Son of God: To whom with the Father and Holy Spirit, Three Persons and One God, be all Honour and Glory, now and for evermore. Amen.  
FINIS.   


Books Written by George Stanhope, D.D.  
Epictetus' Morals, with Simplicius' Comment in English.  
A Sermon of Death and Judgement. Preached at Whitehall on the Death of the Queen.  
A Sermon at the Commencement at Cambridge, July 6. 1697.  
A Sermon at the Funeral of Dr. Towerson.  
A Sermon at the Feast of the Sons of the Clergy, Dec. 7. 1697.  
Thomas a Kempis' Christian Pattern; With Meditations and Prayers for Sick Persons, 8ᵒ.