The Christians Hope.  
A SERMON PREACHED At the Solemn Funerals, of William Christmas, Esq in the Church of St. Michael Bassishaw, London, Decemb. 16. 1652.  
By Phil. Edelen, B. D.  
LONDON, Printed for R. thrall, in S. Pauls Church-yard. M. DC. LIII.   
1 COR. 15. 19. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. 
THe Resurrection of the dead, is a riddle in nature, and a paradox to reason; but an undoubted Article of the Christian faith. If a man die, shall he live again? saith Job; 
Job 14. 14  that is, in this world, or by the ordinary course of nature, he shall not, he cannot live again. Death is a privation of life, and that, from the privation to the habit, there is no returning: it goes for a maxim amongst Philosophers, and is evidently 
A privatione ad habitum non datur regressus. Plin. lib. 10. c. 2.  true, according to the course and power of mere natural causes. That of the long-lived Arabian bide, the Phoenix, towards her end, making her nest( as it were her death-bed) of spices, which are said to be set on fire by the Sun-beams; and out of her ashes, a worm, and from that worm, a new Phoenix to be produced, may well go among vulgar errors( which credulous 
Dr. Brown  ignorance and common reception have made currant) and may rhetorically serve for a 
Ambr. Hexam. l. 5. cap. 23.  symbolical allusion, but no sound argument, of the Resurrection. Resurrection,( as Creation) is 
Tertul. de Resur. car. cap. 13. 2 Cor. 1. 9. John. 11. 45.  an act of Omnipotency, an argument of Christs Deity, in matter of fact; a work beyond the sphere of Natures activity, and an object of divine faith. One of the greatest masters of philosophy; who saw as far by the dim Moonshine of natural reason, as any man since his daies( unless by having that advantage, which a dwarf may have, by standing on a Giants shoulders) could see and say no farther then this, That of nothing, nothing can be made. He knew not the difference betwixt making, and 
Ex nihilo, nihil fit.  creating; To make something of something, is a production natural or artificial, as of an egg, a bide; of a three, an image: but to bring something out of nothing, is supernatural; merely the finger of God, and fals under the notion of faith. And as the creation of things, is an 
Heb. 11. 3.  omnipotent act, in bringing light out of darkness at the first; so is Redemption, and( the blessed issue of it) Regeneration( which is our new creation) 
2 Cor. 5. 17  out of the darkness of ignorance, bringing us to the light of the knowledge of Jesus Christ; which 
2 Cor. 4. 6.  is called the first Resurrection, Rev. 20. and is the 
Rev. 20. 6.  raising of the soul, from the corruption of sin, as the second resurrection shall be, the raising of the body, from the corruption of the grave: The one is the act, of a merciful power; the other, of a powerful mercy, and both Gods. That which fals under the Apostles argument at large in this chapter; and our present discourse, is the Resurrection of the body; a grand truth, which the Sadduces denied, the Epicures laughed at, 
Luke 20. Acts 17. 23.  Profane men tremble at, but good Christians believe, and believing rejoice in, and rejoicing desire, and desiring hope and long for; knowing and saying with our Apostle, If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.  
Which words, at the first view, present us with these two parts; first, a supposition, and secondly, a conclusion. A supposition, in the first words, If in this life only we have hope in Christ. A conclusion in the rest, we are( then) of all men most miserable. A supposition of a thing very untrue; Christians to have their hope in Christ, in this life only. A conclusion of a thing very unjust and unreasonable, Christians to be of all men most miserable: But the best is, the first is not a position, but a supposition, or a position( perhaps) of the Sadduces, but a supposition only of the Apostles, which he gives, but grants not, si nisi non esset; If it were not for if, Christians were but in a sad case. As to the conclusion, the consequent is very unjust, that the servants of the best master, should have the worst wages ( absit) God forbid; that such as have lead a strict, mortified and righteous life; yea, and have laid down their precious lives, for the testimony of Jesus; that they should( like, martyres stultae philosophiae) have no better, no farther hopes, then here, and now, where they neither found, nor expected, nor were ever promised better usage, then reproach, poverty, persecution and the cross: A consequent[ I say] very unjust, yet the consequence or inference, 
Mat. 16. 24 Mar. 10. 30 Joh. 16. 33  very just and necessary, upon the hypothesis, upon which it depends and from whence it argues, as in all connex axioms be the parts( one or both) simply and singly true or false; the inference is mainly looked at, and that holds strongly here— If— Then. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are( Then)( {αβγδ}, for {αβγδ}, an enallage of the degree, frequent in the Scriptures, the comparative, 
Bezae annot. in lo.  for the superlative) more miserable then any, or most miserable of all men. The design of the Apostle, in his way of arguing all along, is ( adversarium ducere ad absurdum) by just and due inferences, from the Tenet his adversary holds, to bring him thereby necessary to grant( {αβγδ} or {αβγδ}) something absurd or ridiculous. If there be no resurrection of the dead, then is not Christ risen, vers. 13. which is plainly against evidence of fact and sense: Then is our preaching vain, and your faith also vain, vers. 14. Then are we false witnesses of God, vers. 15. Then you are yet in your sins, vers. 17. and the Saints departed( in this hope) perished, vers. 18. Then the baptizing over the dead is in vain, vers. 29. Then all the reproaches, dangers& sufferings of Christians even to death, are all in vain, vers. 30, 32. and in the Text, Then Christians have their hopes in this life only, and then are of all men most miserable.  
Now upon a second view, having taken off the veil, not so much from the words as from the mind of the hearers, we find the sense quiter otherwise, then the sound of the words, and what is affirmative, upon the supposition, is negative, upon the disquisition, both the antecedent and the consequent; that is, Christians have not their hope in Christ in this life only: Christians are not of all men most miserable; and so by a retorted argument( as it were by a back-blow) it implies, that therefore, there must be surely a Resurrection of the dead. Thus we have looked upon the text, as upon a fist or hand closed together, as upon a rose in the bud: now we will blow out this bud into its leaves, stretch out this hand into so many fingers, in what is expressed or implied, in six propositions. First, Christians have their hope. Secondly, Christians have their hope in Christ. Thirdly, Christians have their hope in Christ in this life. Fourthly, Christians have their hope in Christ, but not in this life only. Fiftly, If Christians had their hopes in Christ, in this life only, they were then of all men most miserable. Lastly, Christians, in that they have their hope, and that in Christ, and that in this life, and not in this life only, are not of all men most miserable; nay, [ consideratis considerandis] upon the whole matter, are of all men most happy; and in the completing thereof, in the shutting up of all, at the Resurrection it will appear so. Thus you see the tide runs in upon us, and every part gains of another, and swells higher and higher; like the waters in Ezekiel, from the ankles to the knees, and 
Ezek. 4●.  from the knees to the loins, and from the loins to the neck; and so over head and ears that we cannot wade, but must swim through them. Thus I have opened the hand, and stretched it into five particulars, as so many fingers; yea, into six, as many as were the fingers of the Giant of Gath, upon each hand six: I must not omit one, lest 
2 Sam. 21. 20.  some accurate hearer should take notice of it, as the midwife tied a scarled thread upon the hand of Pharez, when he put it forth and drew it in again, 
Gen. 38. 28.  Gen. 38. Therefore I shall take leave to run through them all; on such as are implyed only, I shall only touch and go, as by the by: on such as are chiefly intended, I shall insist longer, as upon the main; with Gods assistance and your good attention, which I humbly beg: For I see I have cut out as much work, as would require a far better work-man then I am, and more time, then can be reasonably asked or allowed me to do it in: Help me, I beseech you, Men, brethren and fathers, help me by your prayers, and by your patience; your patience shall make my task easier to me, and make the time seem shorter unto you, and now the good Lord prosper it in all our hands. I begin with the first.  
Christians have hope: Faith, hope, and charity are the three Theological virtues, daughters 
1 Cor. 13. 13.  of one mother, or handmaides of one mistress, which is Divine Truth: what Truth propoundeth or promiseth, Faith believeth, Love embraceth,& Hope waiteth for; so that hope is the expectation of some good thing, that is possible and future. There are three things requisite to make up the object of a regular and discreet hope, that it be something; 1. good, 2. possible, and 3. future. First, that it be good, for whatsoever presents itself as evil( either, corruptivè or contristativè, as we distinguish it, into the evil of sin, or of sufferings) the soul naturally abominates and avoids it, if that evil be present, grief undertakes it; if future, fear: It must be good then which the soul enlargeth itself unto and makes towards. Secondly this good must be future, for if it be present good, joy entertains it; but if it be future, it fals under the jurisdiction and office of hope. Thirdly, it must be possible, which possibility is a conveniency or proportion, betwixt the end or the thing hoped for, and the means tending to that end: and if no such proportion be apprehensible, this seeming impossibility discourages and balks hope, which gives over the chase or pursuit, and causes the soul to shrink and shrivel up and dwindle into despair. Fourthly, Aquinas adds 
Aqui. 12. q. 40. 1. 0.  another qualification of the object of hope; that is, that it be something that is hard or difficult; which difficulty hath an eye to something without us, as the help or means necessary concurrent to the attaimment thereof; since no man is said properly to wait for that thing, which is absolutely in his own power, how and when he will to bestow upon himself. And this difficulty exercises and provokes courage, unto sedulity and perseverance, and puts metal into hope; whereas that which is apprehended to come easily, certainly and of course, makes the will languish into a lazy presumption. Fiftly, S. Augustine adds 
Aug. Euchir. cap. 8.  one more; and that is, that hope is of such good things, as concern ourselves, only or chiefly, and so differs from faith, which is of greater latitude, and extends to any Truth at large; and when hope takes in the good that concerns other men, it is by the conjunction of charity, which is rarely separated from the other two, in any of their actings. Now because some things that nearly and highly concern us, appear and are not only difficult, but impossible to nature, which yet are possible to grace; impossible to men, but yet possible unto God; therefore a Christians faith 
Mat. 19. 26  and so his hope( which virtues many times in Scripture exchange both names and duties) is of a strain higher then his reason; as to know that which passeth knowledge, Eph. 3. so to believe in 
Eph. 3. 19.  hope, above or against hope, Rom. 4. as in the case 
Rom. 4. 18  of Abraham to believe and expect, that strange and( only because God's not incredible) promise, of having a child, when his own body and Sarahs womb were now as it were dead; that is barren; and in the date and strength of nature, past children: Such is the hope of the Resurrection from the dead, a hope above hope, as in another sense, out of the stones, so in this, out of the dust, to raise children unto Abraham, and so to all his children, 
Mat. 3. 9.  who was called the father of the faithful Now indeed this hope here mentioned, is not either that natural passion of hope, nor yet that theological virtue of hope, singly or properly( for, to speak accurately, hope in that sense, is in this life only, in the chief exercise of it) for in heaven, faith shall be turned into vision, and love into union; and then hope shall be turned into fruition, and hope that is seen, is not hope: for what a man seeth( or enjoyeth) why doth he yet hope for it? Rom. 8. But it is the object of hope or the thing 
Rom. 8. 24  hoped for, that is here intended; the hope which is laid up for us in heaven, as S. Paul says, Col. 1. 
Col. 1. 5.  which faith, the substance of the things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen; so antidates 
Heb. 11. 1.  for the time, and represents unto us in the manner of a divine prospective glass; that, that which is a far off in the place, and time of the accomplishment, is very near in the assurance and apprehension; yea rather, the comprehension of it. Yet nevertheless it is in relation unto, and under the exercise of this passion, and of this virtue, of hope here, waiting for it, and rejoicing in it, as in a just and indubitate, as in a certain and indefeizable, right, title and interest in reversion, to great things. This is the Christians hope. This is that we are chosen unto, even the hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lye, promised before the world began, Tit. 1. This is that we are 
Tit. 1. 2.  begotten unto, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,( who hath purchased it by his death, completed and settled it, by his resurrection) even to a lively hope, 1 Pet. 1. This is that we are called unto, in one hope of our calling, Eph. 4. this being[ sure 
1 Pet. 1. 3. Eph. 4. 4.  enough] the price of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, Phil. 3. unto this we are sanctified, 
Phil. 3. 14.  that we might have good hope, through grace, 2 Thes. 2. both as grace refers to the fountain, whence it is graciously given; and as it refers to 
2 Thes. 2. 16.  the water, which is grace itself, given, and given, as a sure pledge, that God will own both it and us; given us as a well of water within us, springing up into everlasting life, John 4. for grace is 
John. 4. 14  nothing less, then glory inchoated, and glory nothing more, then grace consummate, when we shall enjoy that blessed hope( which now with watering eyes and longing hearts, we wait for) even the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour 
Tit. 2. 13.  Jesus Christ. This is that blessed hope, that lively hope, as it is called,& well may be so, that depends& relies upon such lively and such precious merits and promises: exceeding great and precious promises, 2 Pet. 1. Great in the greatness of the 
2 Pet. 1. 4.  things promised; great both in their value, and in their durableness, spiritual and eternal things; and great in the greatness of the promise, who is the great God himself, wise and good, potent and constant; divine attributes abundantly enough to create confidence, and to corroborated hope into an humble assurance. Faithful is he that hath promised, who also will do it, 1 Thes. 5. 
1 Thes. 5. 23.  and I know whom I have trusted, and that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him, 2 Tim. 1. This is the Saints helmet: take for a 
2 Tim. 1. 12. 1 Thes. 5. 8. 1 Pet. 1. 5. Heb. 6. 19.  helmet the hope of salvation, 1 Thes. 5. A helmet that cannot be battered nor beaten off, because it is made and kept on by a sure hand. This is the anchor of the soul, Heb. 6. 19. which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil: An anchor forged by the finger of God himself, which 
Lu. 11. 20 Mat. 12, 28.  is his Spirit, and fixed in heaven, in the truth of God itself, and so fastened to a cable that cannot be cut or broken, the promise of God let down unto us in the Scripture; yea, let down into us by the holy Ghost. It was the folly of Tyrus( as it is described at large Ezek. 27.) that 
Ezek. 27.  having made provision of all necessaries for a voyage to Sea, both as to the hull and tacklings, and mariners, there is no mention of anchors in all the inventory: and such is the misery and madness of all such, as being to sail on the sea of this world, where they must needs expect storms and billows, are yet without the anchor of hope; such are all unregenerate men, that are without Christ, having no hope, Eph. 2. a sad thing, to be 
Eph. 2. 12.  without a helmet in a day of battle, especially where they go to it with down-right blows: a sad thing to be at sea in a storm, without an anchor, or to have an anchor that will start and lose its hold and come home, and so the ship be driven to and again, at the mercy of the winds. Such was his condition, that lay languishing on his deathbed, saying, doubting I have lived, and doubting I die, I know not whither I go, even farewell friends. Job says of the hypocrites hope, that it shall perish, and shall be cut off, and his trust 
Job 8. 13, 14.  shall be as a spiders web Job 8. A spiders web, that is curiously wrought, but soon swept down, of no strength, of no stead, such is the hope, rather the presumption, of the hypocrite, and such it will prove to them that fix their pretended hopes on Gods unconditioned mercy, or on natural abilities, or on moral preparations, or on their own merits, or on works of supererogation, the Churches abundancie, or on any thing, but that on which the Christians hope is lodged and fixed, and that is on Christ, which hastens us, to the second particular.  
Christians have their hope in Christ. Now, O Lord, what is my hope? truly my hope is even in thee, saith holy David, Psal. 39. even in our Lord 
Psal. 39. 7.  Jesus Christ, who is our hope, saith S. Paul, 1 Tim. 1. 
1 Tim. 1. 1  from him we derive all our right and interest to grace and glory, we in Christ, and Christ in us, 
Col. 1. 27.  the hope of glory, Col. 1. Christ is the foundation of a Christians hope: In this our elder Brothers 
Gen. 27.  garment, we receive the blessing, not by supplantation, but by consent, and by a gracious compact, for ( a filio filiatio nostra) from this Son of God, we come into son-ship with the 
Gal. 3. 27.  Father, and into the privileges of it; children, and if children, heirs; heirs, and coheirs with Jesus 
Rom. 8. 17.  Christ, Rom. 8. This is the general claim of Christians, their plea, their tenor; we hold all, in Capite, from him; All things are yours, and 
1 Cor. 3. 22  you are Christs, 1 Cor. 3. and all the promises of God,( the charter of our hopes) are in him, yea, and in him, Amen, 2 Cor. 1. Out of Christ, we 
2 Cor. 1. 20  must needs be out of all hope of respect or union with God, whom sin hath set at such an infinite distance from him, far below the baseness of our mortal condition: for what is the daughter of the thistle, till she be married to the son of the Cedar? It is the union, the marriage of our flesh, with the Son of God, by his incarnation, that enobles our blood, and gives us a title of the kings daughter( not by birth, as Thamar, the daughter 
Psal. 45. 13  of King David, but as Esther, a poor bondmaid, 
Esther.  but freely beloved, chosen by, and married to King Ahasuerus) so are we, as a chased virgin, espoused unto one husband, even to Christ, 
2 Cor. 11. 2  by a particular right, and in a double sense, made partakers of the divine nature, 2 Pet. 1. 
2 Pet. 1. 4.  What are the children of darkness, until they are engrafted into the stock of light? What is the issue of sinful corruption, until they bee adopted into the family of grace and hope, which is in Christ Jesus. It is his assuming our nature 
Heb. 2. 16.  that advances us even above the Angels: it is his righteousness, his active and passive obedience, 
Rom. 8. 33.  that makes us hold weight, in the balance of the sanctuary: it is his intercession, that ingratiates our persons, and our petitions, and, as incense, 
Rom. 8. 4.  perfumes our prayers offered up on his golden altar, and out of his fullness, we all receive, even 
John 1. 16  grace for grace, John 1.  
A perfect emblem of our Blessed Saviour, and our interest in him, we have in that ladder Jacob saw in his dream, Gen. 28. The foot thereof 
Gen. 28. 12  stood upon earth, in reference to his humanity, and the top of it reached to heaven, in order to his Divinity: His incarnation, circumcision, temptation, holy life, his passion, crucifixion, burial, resurrection, ascension, session at Gods right hand, his intercession, and mission of the Holy Ghost, are the several rounds of this ladder. And as the Angels ascended and descended, by and upon this ladder, so all our addresses, and all our returus, to and again, are made by, and upon Him: our prayers, and praises, and alms-deeds, and all our hopes and wishes, go up this ladder: all his graces, and his promises, and his comforts, all come down this ladder; even all our hope whatsoever is in Christ, which is( in part) in this life, and leads us to the third particular.  
Christians have hope in Christ, even in this life. godliness( as S. Paul says) hath the promise of this life: It hath the promise of this life, and 
1 Tim. 4. 8.  in this life. First, of this life, and the things of this life, as to the spiritual right, and secondly, as to the sanctified and comfortable use of them, and thirdly, as they are evidences of Gods inward love, and fourthly, pledges of better things to come. Wicked men have them not so( though their natural or civill right to them, may be unquestionable, as their portion in this life:) but( which is much more) even in this life, they have the 
Psal. 17. 14  promises of a better, and so a title to it ( jus ad rem) even here, and now, a right to heaven, and to eternity. All things are yours,[ saith the Apostle] whether Paul or Apollo, or Cephas, 
1 Cor. 3. 21, 22.  or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come, all are yours, 1 Cor. 3. And Beloved now are we the sons of God, saith S. John, 
1 Joh. 3. 2.  1 John 3. Sons under age, indeed, and not yet come to be ( adulti) of full yeers, to be heirs in possession, yet sons and heirs we are, in right of reversion, and have received that which is the earnest of our inheritance, Ephes. 1. Now the earnest is not onely a pledge, but a part of the bargain: And doubtless God will not forfeit, cannot lose his earnest, as S. Chrysostom sweetly; 
Chrys. in 2. Cor. 1. hom. 3.  we have it upon his word, and under his seal, and he hath given earnest of it, and that no less then his own eternal and unchangeable Spirit, being sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 
Ephes. 1. 13. 14.  which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory: This is, by the same Apostle, called the first fruits of the spirit, Rom. 8. and the first fruits sanctify all the harvest, or vintage, 
Rom. 8. 23  and entitle us comfortably to the whole crop. These are as the fair cluster of grapes, brought down out of the land of Canaan, by them that went to make a search of it, and brought down for an Essay, to show what fruit the vines of Canaan bore, Num. 13. This is that 
Num. 13. 23.  which is given us for a taste, to whet our appetites, and to stay our stomacks, as the Church prays passionately in the Canticles, Stay me with 
1 Pet. 2. 3.  flagons, and comfort me with apple, for I am sick of love. These are the flagons, to stay us a while, 
Cant. 2. 5.  and to refresh us, till we come into the wine-seller; these are the apple to comfort us, till we come into the orchard, unto the three of life. These are as the full sacks, and as the wagons, Joseph sent down to his father Jacob, but as a 
Gen. 45.  token of what shall be. But this is not all, nor one half, for Christians have not their hopes in Christ, in this life onely, which is the fourth particular.  
Christians have not their hope in Christ, in 
1 Tim. 4. 8  this life onely, godliness hath the promise of this life, and that which is to come: And now we are the sons of God, but it doth not yet appear, what 
1 Joh. 3. 2.  we shall be: but we know when Christ shall appear, we shall be like him, or, we shall see him, as he is. Sons we are, and heirs, though ( nondum apparet) not yet heirs apparent: but we know, we shall be like him; we know, by the assurance of hope, and of adherence; we know, by the assurance of his promise, and of his Spirit, although we do not see him yet, by the evidence of vision, of fruition, yet we shall see him, in his 
Joh. 17. 21, 22.  glory, as he is, and be, as he is; we shall be like him, as like as like may be, as far as our capacity will reach, and that humble distance will admit us, which our scantling of grace has prepared us for; we shall be like him, in the participation of his glorious perfections, and beatitudes: we have here, but jus ad rem, there we shall have jus in re, here an expectation, there a fruition, here a reversion, there a possession: Here we stand, as Moses on a hill, and take a view of Canaan at a distance, but then and there, as Caleb and Joshua, we shall enter and enjoy that 
Deut. 34. 1, 4.  good land which floweth with milk and honey, whereof Canaan was but a type: Here with Jacob we have news of Joseph, and see the wagons, 
Gen. 45.  that is, partake of the promises and the glad-tidings that are sent us, but then we shall go up and see Joseph, our Brother, that will freely remit, all the injuries we have done him, and highly prefer us, I say not, in Egypt, but in Heaven, where he is governor in Chief, In whose presence 
Psal. 16.  is fullness of joy, and at his right hand are pleasures for evermore. I believe that my Redeemer 
Job 19.  liveth, and that I shall see him with these eyes. This was Jobs Creed. O how great is thy goodness which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee? This was Dauids meditation. We 
Psal. 31. 19  know when this earthly tabernacle shall be dissolved, 
2 Cor. 5. 1.  we have a building of God, a house not made with hands eternal in the heavens: This is the Saints general assurance, 2 Cor. 5. and S. Paul for his own particular, I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith, from henceforth there is laid up for me, a crown of 
2 Tim. 4. 8.  righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day, 2 Tim. 4. Henceforth, not here, not now, there is laid up, in the unchangeable decree of God, in the infallible promise of God, in the unconquerable hands and power of God, there is laid up, a crown of righteousness, a crown not of bays, or of laurel, for that may whither, not of silver or of gold, for 
1 Pet. 1. 4.  that may canker; not a crown of gold, but of glory, not a crown of gold, set with diamonds, but a crown of glory, set with stars, or with some things richer then stars, grace, and peace, and immortality: and this the righteous Judge will do, righteous, not to us, in the justness of our merit, ( Lord enter not into judgement with thy servants, said one of the best of his servants) 
Psal. 14.  but righteous to himself, to his own word, who hath graciously promised it, and so made himself 
Aug.  both a donor, and a debtor; and righteous to his Son, who hath dearly earned, and justly won this crown, that we might wear it, and hath prepared it for our heads. There are three things, which when I consider sadly, my heart faints and dies within me; they are, the indignity of my person, the imperfection of my best works, and that huge disproportion, that is betwixt me, a poor-mortall-sinfull creature, and a glorious everlasting crown, promised, and therefore expected, from God. But there are three things to set against them, able to support me 
Bern. de fragmen. 7. misery. ser. 3.  at the lowest; that is, first the free love of my heavenly Father, that hath adopted me; secondly the faithfulness of his word, that hath promised me; and thirdly the omnipotency of his power to perform what he hath promised; I will add a fourth, it is, the perfect and infinite merit of my Saviour, who hath redeemed me, and purchased this glory for me; and though I am utterly unworthy, yet is he worthy, both as to that I hope for in this life, and not in this life onely. It is said of Alexander the Great( great in every mans mouth) that as he conquered several Towns and Countries, he bestowed them royally on his followers, and when he was asked, what he would reserve for himself, he answered, Hope; and yet at last when he had conquered all the World,( as the estimate of the world then went) he is said, to have sate down, and to have wept, that there were no more Worlds to conquer: and weep he might, poor man, after all his victories, and mourn, as a man without hope, that was ignorant 
1 Thes. 4. 13.  of another world, a world to come, of another kingdom, not yet conquered, not yet heard of, the kingdom of heaven, which is said to suffer violence, and the violent to take it by 
Mat. 11. 12  force. This, this is the misery of the men of this 
Psa. 17. 14.  world, that they have their portion in this life onely; who build their hope or trust on riches, or on honour, or on strength, or on Princes, or on any thing under the Sun, for they die and perish, and their hopes, and their thoughts, perish with them. But the righteous hath hope in his 
Prov. 14. 32.  death; and it goes with him to his grave, and it leaves him not there, as his dearest-friends do, for his hope is not at an end, until he receives the end of his hope, which is the salvation of his soul; and if it were not so, but that the hope and the happiness of a Christian determined with this present life, if he had his hope in this life onely, he were of all men most miserable, which is our fifth particular.  
If Christians had their hope in Christ in this life onely, they were then of all men most miserable. For what is a mans life at the best, but a warfare upon earth? and what is this earth at best, but a thoroughfare? and what are we else, but strangers 
Psal. 39. 12  and pilgrims as all our fathers were? Now what do strangers find in their travail homeward, but could winds in their face, foul ways, hard lodgings in their inn, and sharp reckonings, Ex vita exeo, tanquam ex hospitio, said a wise 
Seneca.  Heathen, I go out of the World as out of an inn. This is common to men; but Christians, it may be hoped, find better entertainment in the world: nay, but much worse, For we are 
1 Cor. 4. 9,  made( saith S. Paul) or set out, as a spectacle, as a gazing stock, to the world, to Angels and to men: Even to this present hour, we hunger and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and( as vagrants) have no certain dwelling place; and labour, working with our hands, reviled, persecuted, and defamed; yea, worse yet, we are made as the filth of the world, and as the off-scouring of all things, as the faeces, or dregs, or refuse, or something perhaps more foul then modesty would have name. This is the estimation, this the entertainment that the followers of Jesus, yea the prime of them, the Apostles themselves, had in this life. red the history of S. Pauls usage, under his own hand, 2 Cor. 4. We are 
2 Cor. 4. 8.  troubled on every side( yet not distressed) we are perplexed[ but not in despair] persecuted[ but not forsaken,] cast down[ but not destroyed,] always bearing about in the body, the dying of our Lord Jesus, and we which live are always delivered over unto death, for Jesus sake: And again, Chap. 11. In labours abundant: in stripes above 
Chap. 11. 23.  measure, in prisons frequent: in deaths oft: of the Jews five times I received forty stripes save one: thrice was I beaten with rods: once was I stoned: thrice I suffered shipwreck: in journeying often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren: in weariness, and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in could and nakedness. I see it pities you, it wearies you to hear it, oh how would it weary you to bear it? yet such was the usage of the best Christians, in this life. Take an extract of the usage of all the primitive Saints, almost all the world over. Heb. 11. Some were tortured, 
Heb. 11. 35.  others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea moreover of bonds and imprisonment, they were stoned, they were sawen asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword, they wandered about in sheep-skins, and goats-skins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens, and caves of the earth, of whom the world was not worthy, and yet the world counted them not worthy of the least civilities, yea rather worthy of the most exquisite cruelties. red the bloody Records of the ten persecutions; red the ecclesiastical Histories of all times, first or last, and you must needs conclude; If Christians had their hope in Christ in this life only, they weremore miserable then any men: for other men are of other mindes, and so of other ways then Christians are: as for Epicures, they can, upon their own principles, indulge and pamper their genius, and let themselves loose and at large, to all sensual pleasures, as if the earth were given them, as the sea to the 
Psal. 104. 26.  Leviathan, to take their pastime in: jollity and dalliance is the highest good, they aim at, and therefore they rant it one to another, as those reveling Romans did, saying, ( Dum vivimus vivamus) Let us eat and drink for to morrow we 
1 Cor. 13.  shall die; and when we are gone, all is gone with us. For we are born( say they) at all adventures, 
Wisd. 2. 2.  and we shall be hereafter, as if we never had been, for the breath in our nostrils is as smoke, and a little spark in the moving of our heart, which being extinguished, our bodies shall be turned into ashes, and our spirits shall vanish, as the soft air. For our time is a very shadow that passeth away, and after our end, there is no returning, for it is fast sealed, so that no man cometh again. Come on therefore, let us enjoy the good things that are present, and let us speedily use the creatures, like as in youth. Let us fill ourselves with costly wines and ointments; and let no flower of the spring pass by us. Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds, before they be withered, let none of us go without his share of our voluptuousness: let us leave tokens of our jollity in every place, for this is our portion, and this our lot. Alas, this is their portion indeed, all they hope for: a mess of pottage, goes for profane Esau's blessing; music and a fatted calf, the prodigals of the world, accept 
〈…〉. 10  for their childs part, as that wild Atheist said, he would not quit his part in Paris, for his part in Paradise. Again, ungodly men are men of this world, and therefore this world owns and 
Joh. 15. 19  loves them; and Satan the God of this world has no quarrel at them: they are dear in his own Park, and tame Fowls in his own Yard, and at his command, and he( as Holofernes said) will 
Judeth 11. 1.  never hurt any, that will serve Nebuchadonosor the king of all the earth: his deadly feud is against the servants of the King of heaven, job, and Paul, and Peter, and such as they shall feel his sting, if God restrain him not: as for others, whom Satan, the God of this world hath blinded, who 
2 Cor. 4. 4.  are lead captive by him at his will, they need not fear at present, whiles the strong man armed 
2 Tim, 2. 26.  keeps the house, all is quiet there. So long as Israel will do their tasks, and couch under 
Luk. 11. 21  their bondage, Pharaoh sits still, but if once they turn their backs upon Egypt, he will soon pursue them, with all his might. 3. Yea, God himself is pleased a while to wink at his 
Act. 17. 30  enemies, and to hold his peace, and to say within himself, Let them alone, why should 
Psa. 50. 21.  they bee smitten any more? he prunes not 
Isai. 1. 5. James 5.  wild vines, but lets them run, reclaims not untamed heifers, but suffers them in his green pastures, to bee fatted to the 
Psal. 73. 5.  slaughter. So that they are not in trouble as others, neither are they plagued as other men, Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain, and violence covereth them as a garment; therefore their eyes stick out with fatness, and they have more then their hearts can wish. Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world and increase in riches. When all the day long I have been plagued, and chastened every morning. This troubled David, till he had recovered himself, by going into the sanctuary and by considering their end( that this is their share and their portion, a poor, short and sensual happiness) and suddenly they are cast down into destruction. Last of all, other men can dispense with their consciences,( by a little mistake) serving the time instead of serving the Lord, they can keep a temper, comply, and serve 
Rom. 12. 11 {αβγδ} pro {αβγδ}.  turns, and( in an evil sense) become all things to all men, to gain something, though they lose themselves, in the end, by it: By this means they provoke no enemies( as to their religion at least) or endanger themselves, as Daniel, and the Apostles 
Dan. 6. 10. Acts 4.  did, so they may sleep in a whole skin, and preserve their own interest with the world, they dare trust God with their souls, and for matters of lawful or unlawful, Gallio careth for none of these things. These censure and be fool other men, that betray themselves into sufferings, as too nice and tender, as too precise and scrupulous, accounting carnal policy, to be the only piety, 
1 Tim. 6. 5  and gain to be godliness; by a fallacy of dividing what Christ hath joined; the serpents wisdom, 
Mat. 10. 16  from the doves innocency. But the Saints cannot do so, cannot give or take to themselves liberty, to become the servants of men, by a sinful compliance, 
1 Cor. 7. 23  or to warp to the sunny side, when their duty and conscience strongly inclines them another way: God corrects every son that he receiveth, 
Heb. 12. 6.  and whom he loves he chastiseth, lest they should wax wanton and unworthy of the sincere discipline of such a father. Satan is their sworn enemy, 
Rev. 12. 10  who are Gods friends, the accuser of the brethren, and let loose upon them some times, for their trial, exercise and glory; yea, and they in assured hope of a better life, are content to accept of Christs terms in this,( being no worse then he under-went himself for us, and before us) that is, through many tribulations to enter into the 
Acts 14. 22  kingdom of God: for this is the general rule ( via regia) the great road of Christendom; All they 
2 Tim. 3. 12.  that will live godly in Christ must suffer persecution( {αβγδ}:) they that will, that are resolved upon it, what ere it cost them; resolved to walk urightly( {αβγδ}) to walk strictly( {αβγδ}) they shall, they must prepare, to suffer for it; We are not called to be Christs Disciples upon any other conditions, then to take up his cross and 
Mat. 16.  follow him; nor promised to reign with him, unless we also suffer with him. Did Christ our master 
2 Tim. 2. 12  drink of any other cup, and must not we pledge 
Mat. 20. 23 Mat. 10. 25  him in the same cup, though it be gull and vinegar? it is enough that the disciple be as the master. They that go about to pull the cross out of the Christians arms, spoil the whole coat, if I have any skill, in the heraldry of heaven: they prevent the glory of martyrdom, and deflower the Saints of their prime renown, whose robes were died white 
Rev. 7. 14.  in blood, double died in blood, their Saviours and their own: whose glory shines most bright in their sufferings; as silver vessels( vessels of 
2 Tim. 2. 21.  honour) scoured with scorn and cruelties, by the Devils scullions upon earth: here is the faith and patience of the Saints; and these are they that follow 
Rev. 13. 10. 14. 4.  the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. Those then that misapply the doctrine of Christian prudence and self-preservation, to save their skins, and to avoid their sufferings for righteousness sake and a good conscience, seem to me to attempt to pluck out the thorns out of Christs crown, which is made up of them,& so mar it in the mending, and prevent the crown of martyrdom. These men surely dream of a temporal kingdom of Christ, as sometimes 
Acts 1. 6.  the Apostle did, and could hardly be beaten out of that haunt, or to have feigned to themselves a smother, easier, way to heaven, then that the Apostles and confessors of Christ,& Christ himself, either went, or chalked out for us to go by. No, no, this life is not the place for Saints to receive their 
1 Cor. 9. 24 2 Tim. 4. 8. Mat. 20. 1.  hopes in: this is their race, to run in, their field to fight in, their vineyard to work in; a glassy sea, a fiery furnace, a valley of tears; and had they their hopes in this life only, they were of all 
Luke 16.  men most miserable. Then were the rich-man, with the purple and fine linen, and his dainty fare, to be adjudged more happy then poor Lazarus, that lay at his door, on whom the dogs took more pitty then their master did: then should Herod have been accounted more happy, then John Baptist, Saul then David; when David 
1 Sam. 20. 26.  was hunted by Saul like a partridge upon the mountains. Saul is the hawk, a proud bide of prey, man'd and dieted and carried on the fist, with her velvet hood, her silver varvels, her silken jesses, her jingling bells, and attendants after her, which whistled off the fist upon her wings, lessons her self in the air, watching till the poor partridge be sprung to her pleasure. But David is as the partridge, safe no where, but in a sad dilemma for her life; if she rise she is in danger of the hawk, if she flick on the ground, she is in danger of the dog: but mark the end, when the hawk dies, she is stripped of her ornaments, and cast out unto the dung-hil, as a carrion kite: but when the partridge is killed, she is carefully dressed and served up in a dish for princes. This is the difference then, of such as fear God, and such as fear him not, of such as have hope, hope in Christ, in Christ in this life, but not in this life only; surely they cannot be of all men most miserable; surely they cannot but be of all men most happy, which( as the rebounding of the text) is the last particular.  
Christians having hope, and if in Christ, and that in this life, and not in this life onely, are of all men most happy, and that they may be completely happy, may sure enough expect a resurrection of the body. Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord: henceforth, even so saith the Spirit, for they rest from their labours and their works follow them, Rev. 14. 
Rev. 14. 13  Their good works die not with them, they follow them, those that went before them in the performance, follow them in their good famed among men. 2. In their good acceptance and reward with God; the works done in the body, shall be rewarded, and therefore the body itself must needs rise again; in which, and by which, they 
2 Cor. 5. 10  were done, that reward may be done in kind. Can we reasonably imagine or believe, that Almighty God, who fashioned the body by his own 
Gen. 2. 7.  hands, quickened it with his own breath, honoured it with his own likeness, fitted it to be the habitation of the soul, which in it first is capable of grace, and in it only of the means of grace, the holy word and Sacraments, who allows it to be his chapel and chaplain for prayers, his almoner for bounties and good works, his votary and martyr, in watching, fasting, continency, enduring could, nakedness, shane, imprisonment, stripes, yea, and death itself for Gods cause, can we think that that body shall not rise again from the grave and have a share in glory? Can we believe, that body which Christ so ennobled, as to assume it 
John 1. 14. 1 Cor. 6. 19  unto his divine nature, which the holy Ghost so graced, as to make it his temple, and which Christ hath taken with him as our pledge, specifically into heaven, when he ascended thither as our head, that we may be well assured the head and members cannot be for ever separated, and shall not this body rise again from the dead? Can he that commanded us to love our neighbour as ourself( says Tertullian) forget that flesh 
Tertul. de Resur. Car. cap. 9.  to which he was so near allied, so near neighboured, when he dwelled amongst us? No, no, but as the soul and body took sweet counsel together upon earth, fasted, prayed, and went to the house of God as friends, so they shall share together in felicity, though divorced while by death, they shall be married again, and live and love together to all eternity. Non possunt separari in mercede, caro& anima, quas in operibus conjunxit. Absit, absit ut Deus manuum suarum operam, ingenii sui curam, afflatus sui vaginam, molitionis suae reginam, liberalitatis suae haeredem, religionis suae sacerdotem, testimonii sui militem, Christi sui sororem in aeternum destituat interitum, saith the same father. Neither can the soul be completely happy without the body, nor the body without the soul; the soul takes possession first, but the body rests in hope, waiting the good time, when the trumpet shall blow, and the dead bodies shal rise incorruptible, 1 Cor. 15. 52. Such a day the saints may sure enough promise to themselves, knowing they serve a good master, and their works shal not be in vain in the Lord, verse 58. Not in vain, not of all men the most miserable, which negation of vanity or misery, may imply the contrary, in a strong and high elegancy. The day of a good mans death, is the last of his combats, and the first of his triumphs; the last enemy that shal be subdued( above ground) is death, and death itself is subdued for us, and the grave is only a dormitorie, a with-drawing chamber for a while: a good mans grave is his bed, where he rests from his labours, both from his sorrows and his sins. Why then should friends mourn, as men without hope, 1 Thes. 4. for them that died in a lively hope, candidates and expectants of that blessed hope, to be conpleated at the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ: yea, and in their better part, are gone out already to meet it, and to enjoy it? why should our griefs and out-cries, so much as call them or wish them back again, who are now in their haven, and at their rest? you bid them to their loss, to engage them to begin that warfare again, which they have happily finished. This is no place intended for the felicity or security of the Saints; here 1. the body is mortal, crazy and corruptible: 2. the soul clogged with infirmities, and corruptions. 3. The Church mixed of good and bad: 4. this is Satans walk, where he has leave and time to range and tempt. 5. This was never intended for our home, our fathers house; here are none of the patriarches, Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs, nor Jesus Christ himself, without whom heaven itself could not be a happy place. No, no, migremus hinc( as the voice said at Jerusalem while before the fatal ruins of it) let us away hence, let us away hence. Volemus ad coelum, Christiani, volemus ad coelum( as holy Monica in a devout ecstasy) let us fly to heaven; O Christians, let us fly to heaven! Oh that I had wings like a dove; that I might fly away and be at rest, said holy David, Psal. 55. 6. and so I hear you say ( me thinks) within your breasts. I would not live always upon earth, if I might; truly no wise man would, for that were to be ever miserable, so saith my Text; and so will all say I presume that have heard me this day; If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we were of all men most miserable.  

The eulogy.  
Having spoken thus far to the Text; give me leave to speak a few words to the occasion: The occasion of our meeting at this sad solemnity, is to do our last Christian office to this our deceased brother, William Christmas Esq in bringing his body decently to the grave. That body which was( not many days ago) the habitation of an immortal soul, a member of Chrift, a temple of the holy Ghost, and is now carefully to be laid up, as a pledge of Hope, until the Resurrection of the just. A grave and reverend Father, for his years having attained to the age of threescore and nine, and upwards, well nigh the complete age of a man, according the Psalmist's computation long ago: A grave and prudent Citizen, of this honourable City, wherein he was chosen( but fined) for the dignity of an Alderman of London, to the execution of which place, he was adjudged a man accomplished in all abilities, in all mens judgements, but in his own, who preferred a quiet privacy, before an honourable trouble. A grave and worthy Brother of the worshipful Company of the Drapers, wherein he went through the highest offices, with innocency and honour. A grave and loving Inhabitant in this Parish, wherein for many years together he hath so behaved& demeaned himself, that I must justly say, he neither lived unbeloved, nor dyed unlamented. And now the box of his body is broken by death, his good name like precious ointment, fills the place, with a sweet-smelling savour. A man religiously affencted, and expressed himself such, both in public and private; diligent in business, prudent in counsel, punctual al in his promises, just in his dealings: a man very tender of his children, careful of his servants, hospitable at his table, liberal to the poor; a man faithful to his friends, loving to his neighbours, and affable to all. It cannot reasonably be expected, that I should speak much of his life, which I can but take up upon trust, being in a manner a stranger to him; yet as little a stranger to him, as to any in this place, his very frequent and friendly invitations, and mine own duty obliging me often to visit him, whom God was pleased( soon after my reference to this place) by lameness and sickness( the summons to his death) to confine to his house. But those which knew him from his youth, to his dying-day, give a very fair testimony of him, as being a man of sound principles and constant to them; a legitimate son of the Church of England and no changeling; and that at last, upon private and intimate acquaintance, a grave Divine calling for an account of his hope, he made him an humble confession of his sins, and a sweet confession of his faith; with abundance of tears, as a holy water, distilled from a heart, warmed with zeal and joy. Sure, he was one that loved our Nation, I mean the despised clergy, and one that loved the Church, the house of prayer, that I observed often( almost as often as I saw him) it was his frequent and passionate wish, would to God I were able to go to Church with you, and I am sorry I cannot go to Church with you; as if he mist his legs upon no other terms, or for no other use so much, as to carry him to Church, as good Hezekiah, upon promise of his recovery, said to the Prophet, what is the sign, that I shall go up to the house of the Lord? Before his death a good while, he set his house in order, as well as his soul, and in his will forgot not the poor, the poor of this Parish, the poor of the Drapers Company, and the poor of Guildford where he was born; nor yet any of the Hospitals, or Prisons in and about London; besides other bounties, to his kindred, friends and servants. But a few dayes before his departure, I visited him, at which time, he gave a cheerful account of his Hope, and truly in such a manner, that I have rarely met with a man, that upon humble and just grounds looked death in the face with more courage and Christian gallantry. In my necessary absence, his end approaching, and he sensible of it, he desired the holy Sacrament at the hands of a Reverend Divine, and received it, as the last viaticum, in the way to his Fathers house; which having cheerfully received, he earnestly wished, if God were so pleased, he might even now die; as old Simeon, now his eyes had seen his salvation, which pious wish, God was soon pleased to grant; for after a little patience and time, spent in prayers, counsel, and blessings on his Children, his memory and speech serving him perfectly to the last moment of his life; he only turned him aside on his pillow, and fell asleep; who is now( we hope) at rest, sweetly sleeping in the Lord Jesus.   
FINIS.