Mortality Represented, And Practically Improven in A SERMON Preached at the Funerals of the Pious and Reverend Mr. JAMES FULLARTON Late Minister at St. NINIANS.  
●y a Presbyter of the Church of SCOTLAND.  
●or what is your life? It is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away, Jam. 4.14.  
●he righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance, Psal. 112.6.  
EDINBURGH, ●rinted by the Heir of Andrew Anderson, Printer to His most Sacred MAJESTY, CITY and college, Anno Dom. 1687.   

TO THE Right Honourable ANNA Countess of ARGILE, &c.  
MADAM,  
YOUR long and great Experience of the pleasures and sweetness's of Religion, hath made it so dear and precious to you, that whate●… er you conceive can have any Tendencies to ●… e Advancement and Propagation of it in a ●… egenerat World, you are inclined highly to ●… alue. It was your Charitable Apprehension ●… at the following Performance, in the Cir●… mstances wherewith it was attended, and ●… reason of the Account it gives, might have ●… me influence this way, at lest among those ●… hom it did more particularly concern, that prompted you to pled for the Publication of it. The Piety and goodness of the motion of being serviceable to the World, I did exceedingly relish; but I was so sensible of the defectiveness, and unaccuracy of my Meditations, that I could not think of allowing them to face the public without a blushy. The Circumstances in which I was, when obliged to have these Reflections, and my frequent interruptions since( with which your Ladyship was not altogether unacquainted) will, I know, be a sufficient Apology to you, for all the imperfections that will appear in them, especially when this consideration is added that great and elaborat performances, cannot be justly expected from one of so little experience, and so mean capacity, as, without any great self-denial, I must aclowledge myself to be: And if this will no●… procure the favourable Constructions of others, I shall give them leave, if they thin●… it worth their while to pass Censures. However, if what I have done be of any efficacy to beget a pious Inclination, or a good Resolution in the Hearts of any that shall giv●… themselves the trouble of a Perusal, yo●… have got the design you aimed at, and shall think myself very sufficiently rewarde●… though more of my time and pains had been expended.  
The worthy Person, of whose Funeral Solemnities, the ensuing Discourse, made apart, you was used to admit into great and( while he was alive, he would himself modestly add) very undeserved degrees of your Favour and Esteem: And indeed, your Respects to him have not died with him: You was deeply sensible, how sad a Presage, and how great a Disadvantage, the removeal of a gracious and useful Soul out of the World is; and therefore you hearty wished, and cheerfully contributed your loving Endeavours, that his Life should be lengthened; but when that could not be, you was content to take occasion to put Respects upon his Memory; and therefore you often times testified, with a deal of pious Affection and Concern, how well he deserved to be had in everlasting remembrance; And the sense you had of his singular subserviency, for advancing the great design of Religion, did draw that kind Expression from you, when he was in his Grave, that now a great Light was laid in Darkness.  
How tenderly you endeavoured to wipe off the Tears from the Eyes of his mournful Relations, by the influences of your Charities, it would, I know, be an encroachment on your Modesty, to make a public declaration of it, though it were but a doing Justice to the World, to set so laudable and imitable a Pattern of Goodness before it. You have been long and well Trained up in the School of Afflictions: Your continued experience of a distressed State, hath acquainted you with the Temptations and necessities that attend it, and makes you to melt and dissolve in Mercies and Compassions, towards all whom you see in it, and hath furnished you with a Magazine of suitable Consolations, and Directions to Relieve under it; out of this proceeded that excellent Sentence, wherewith you did alleviat and ease the Griefs of your deceased Friends, disconsolat Relict, which was to this purpose, that we should not follow our dead Relations to the Grave, for this will nourish and foment our Sorrows, But to Heaven, where they are made perfect and happy; and this can not choose but silence our immoderat Regrates for them.  
Madam, The reason why I prefix your Name to these Papers, is not to honour you, but to adorn them. The pious design that was proposed in the Publication of them, can not be attained, you know, if they be not red; and to oblige to do this, it will be inducement great enough to see your worthy Name in the entry: For all that know you, will reasonably conclude, that certainly some excellent thing must needs follow so Noble and Glorious an Introduction. 'tis true, I am sensible they meet with a signal disappointment. However, I think the time that is spent in perusing these few Leaves, may haply be worse employed.  
I shall not trouble you any further, only suffer me hearty to wish, that, for the benefit of the World, which stands greatly indebted to your large and universal Charity, for the interest of Religion, to which much Honour, and many Advantages redound from your Christian and exemplary Conversation, for the sake of the Ministry, which, wherever you are, you signally encourage and respect, and for the comfort and satisfaction of your Relations, who can not enough value the happiness they have, in being interressed in your daily and fervent Prayers, your Life may be long and prosperous, your Consolations abundant, your Piety persevere and flourish, and bring forth Fruit in your old age. So preys,  
Madam ●our Ho. most humble Servant, and most affectionate Remembrancer at the Throne of Grace, G. M.   

TO THE PAROCHIONERS OF St. NINIANS.  
Honoured and well beloved.  
THE great design, I may confidently assure you, that was aimed at in the publication of this Sermon, was the advancement of the interest of Souls, and of yours especially, in whose hearing it was delivered, and whom the occasion of it did more particularly respect, it being Preached at the Interment of your Spiritual Shepherd, whom all of you, I suppose, did dearly value, and were greatly sensible of the advantages you had in being under his well-managed and faithfully discharged Ministry. And that he had a considerable interest in your affections, many of you did evidence by your loving tears, when you heard and reflected on the loss which you sustained, in being deprived of so laborious and faithful an Overseer. I doubt not but his memory will be fragrant and savoury amongst all the sincere and ingenuous Proselyts of Religion; An●… therefore to such of you it will, I hope, be neither unpleasant nor unedifying, to peruse th●… following Pages, wherein you have, amongst other things, a true, though imperfect and rud●… Idea and Character of him. The Image of 〈…〉 deceased Friend, when we look on it, will recover the affectionate resentments we had for him while he was alive; and gives us occasion to discourse of, and inculcat on our practices, what was imitable and worthy in him. Here you have the Image of him that lately laboured amongst you in the Word and Doctrine, not the Image of his Face, but that of his Mind, his better part●… And when-ever you take a view of it, it canno●… choice, but revive and strengthen these Impressions, which his travels among you did make on your Spirits. And now the greatest honour you can do his Memory, is to keep in mind an●… practise these excellent things he delivere●… unto you, and pressed upon you, and to b●… followers of him, as he was of Christ which if ye do, I am persuaded that your God wil●… not accuse you of impiety, nor your Soveraig●… of disloyalty, nor your Neighbours of injustice nor yourselves of insobriety. I know he Preached among you the great essentials of Religion, an●… sincerely endeavoured to examplifie in his ow●… conversation what he exhorted you unto; and ●… hereby he became an example of the Believers, ●… s it is, 1 Tim. 4.12. in Word, in Conversa●… ion, in Charity, in Spirit, in Faith, in Pu●… ity. I shall say no more, but only tell you, that ●… f you comply with the design of what is here of●… eared unto you, God will be honoured, your Souls ●… dified, and a great satisfaction will redound to ●… im, who glories to be  
A sincere well-wisher to the Souls of Men,   
ISAIAH XL. VI. 
●he voice said, Cry, and he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass.  
THE Responses that were given by the Heathen Oracles, were mostly Deceits and Fallacies: The Terms in which they were delivered, were either abstruse, or equivocal, and so became ●… bsolutely useless to the Consulters. The darkness in which these Oracular returns was wrapped up, made them unintelligible; and ●… f a greater light at any time appeared in them, ●… t was merely a pretence and a falsehood, a de●… usive Ambiguity, which left the minds of ●… en dubious and in suspense, and filled them with infinite uncertainties.  
But the Oracle that bespeaks us in the Text, ●… s infallible; it's Responses are no Illusions; ●… t's the Voice of God; Nothing can issue from essential Truth, but what is eternally true: Here are no dark and perplexing Riddles, or ●… mposing Ambiguities, all is plain and easy, and accessible to the meanest capacity, All flesh is grass. This is a Text the Divine Providence hath been Commenting on since the b●…ginning of the World until now: it asserts truth, that hath been made good by innum●…rable instances: Not a day passes over, wit●…out giving it many thousand confirmations and yet, 'tis strange, there is nothing we appear to be more under the practical disbeli●… of, or allow our minds to dwell less upo●… than this. Men, one would think, seem 〈…〉 fancy, that they are constitute of Incorruptibles, that they are framed of such Material as have no tendency to a dissolution. This the only tolerable account that can be give●… of that amazing insensibleness of Mortality and forgetfulness of their latter end, which i●… the epidemic Disease, or, if you will, th●… wretched stupidity of Mankind.  
The blessed God, that he might reclai●… Men unto a just sense of their dying estate, an●… teach them to know how frail they are, and oblige them to a holy and religious numbering of their days, he utters his voice. When Eternal Truth crys, 'tis but reasonable to hope that its voice should be noticed, that mer●… should give credit to what it says, and be influenced by it, unto a dutiful and serious consideration of whatever it recommends.' Ti●… not easy to rouse up and excite the drowsy attentions of men; And therefore God is oft●… imes at the pains to double his voice: To the voice of his Word he adds that of his Provi●… ence. And thus it is with us to day; God ●… peaks not only to our ears, but to our eyes, and cries, and inculcats upon us, that All flesh is grass. And now is it possible, that any ●… 'mongst us should be so stupefied, as to sleep over these rousing methods the Divine Wisdom contrives for our recovery unto a just and affecting apprehension of our Mortality? Shall we indulge ourselves in a supine and careless inconsideracy, when the Holy God by the united cries of his Word and Providence, as by an Heavenly Trumpet, loudly sounds in our Ears this little regarded Truth, All flesh is grass: But I shall adventure to approach this Oracle more closely, and open up its mind at a greater length, and then shall endeavour to red out unto you that mournful Commentary the Divine Providence hath afforded us on the Text.  
In the words we may notice, 1. A Commission given; The voice said, Cry. 2. A Consultation made; And he said, What shall I cry? 3. An Answer returned; All flesh is grass. The former two I shall but briefly glance at, because it is the third, as being most suitable to my design, that I intend more largely to insis●… upon.  
First, A Commission given: The voice said Cry. By the voice which here speaks, we mus●… understand God manifesting and discovering his Will to the Prophet, by way of Vision Dream, or immediat and secret Inspiration, and empowering him to deliver the following Response unto the People. Time was, that the Divine Law was Written legibly and in distinct Characters on our Hearts; but since the entrance of sin, that Lamp of Heavenly Light, God had set up in our Understandings, is greatly darkened; and were we left merely to the conduct of it in our inquiries after Happiness, 'tis not possible but we would be miserable bewildered in our way. It was necessary therefore, that there should be new discoveries of the Divine Will made to us, in order to direct our steps in the everlasting ways which leads to Blessedness. Now we are not, while enclosed within Walls of corruptible flesh, capable of immediat Converses with the Deity, we could not see his face and live: The overcoming Radiancy of that Light with which he is surrounded, would not so much enlighten, as dazzle and confounded us. In pity therefore and condescendency to our weakness, the Holy God hath in his great Good●… ess and manifold Wisdom, contrived methods ●… f discovering His Will unto us, which are ●… uited and accommodated to our present ca●… acities: He gave his Holy Spirit to men ●… ike ourselves, and enabled them to deliver ●… is Mind unto us, in our own Dialect: Such were the Prophets of old. And when He was ●… o make the fullest and clearest Manifestation of His Will unto the Children of men, for their Direction in the way to Life and Immorta●… ity, He was content that His Eternal Son should Espouse our Nature, that in Him, and from Him, who was the brightness of the Fathers glo●… y, and the express image of his person, we might ●… earn what He would have us both to believe ●… nd do. The Messiah, say the rabbis, is Fa●… ies Dei, the Face of God: To this purpose ●… s that phrase of the Apostle, 2 Cor. 4.6. The ●… lory of God in the face of Christ Jesus: The Divine Perfections appear in Him, as Beauty doth in the Face: The Invisible One may ●… ere be seen, and the Inaccessible Majesty ap●… roached unto. Infinity, that it might svit itself to our Model, comes to us Nube Carnis, ●… n a Cloud of Flesh, that His Glory might not ●… wallow us up. By Him that Divine Voice, which we were not able to hear immediately, did speak unto us, and acquainted us with t●… Mysteries of Salvation. And when the●…ly Jesus was taken up unto the Heavenly M●…sions, from the Fellowship and Converse 〈…〉 Men, the Voice of God called upon other●…raulds to deliver His Message unto the Wor●… namely the Apostles, who, though extraor●…narly qualified, yet were men like our selv●… and after their departure, the ordinary●…stors of the Church. So that until Mort●… have put on Immortality, and are made●…pable of Conversing with the unveiled Dei●… until they see God face to face, and know even 〈…〉 they are known; We need not question b●… there will be a continuation of a Sacred sta●… on of Men, for carrying the Divine Embas●… unto the World.  
Secondly, The Consultation which the P●…phet makes with the Heavenly Oracle we ha●… in the following Words. And he said, w●… shall I Cry? Here we have a practise exe●…plified, which well deserves the Notice a●… Imitation, of such as are called to be A●…bassadors for Heaven, they must be sure 〈…〉 Consult their Master's Will, in delivering 〈…〉 Messages. It will be a horrid Impiety to p●… fix a Thus saith the Lord, to the products 〈…〉 Fancy, or Interest, or Passion. 'twas t●… hallowing the Inventions of depraved Minds, ●… y bold pretences to Divine Authority, that hath abused Mankind, and opened a Door to ●… hat vast Deluge of Imposture, Error and De●… usion, that hath almost choked the World, ●… nd confined pure and incorrupted Truth to a ●… ery narrow compass. When therefore the Hea●… enly Voice commissions us to Cry, it will be ●… fe and proper for us with the Prophet, calm●… to deliberat and say, What shall I Cry? We ●… ust look about us, and consider that we ●… ent not to the World, under the notion of ●… ivine Messages, what bears not on it the ●… amp and Approbation of our great Sove●… ign. 'tis true, we are not to think that ●… e shall be informed of what we are to say, ●… y Visions or Dreams; we must not expect to ●… e acted by Enthusiasms, and immediat Im●… ulses, as were the Prophets and Apostles of ●… d: However, we have the dictates of the ●… me infallible Spirit, that guided and direct●… them, plainly and copiously Recorded in ●… e Holy Scripture; to these we must make ●… r recourse; with these we must seriously ●… onsult, and from them we must take the Mes●… ges, which the necessities of times and places ●… ill oblige us to deliver to the World. Ha●… ng thus passingly touched these Particulars, I hasten to my main Design, which is 〈…〉  
Thirdly, To consider the Return that is●…ven by the Divine Oracle to the Consulte●… we have it in these words, All flesh is grass. T●… is that the present occasion will oblige 〈…〉 to pursue at greater length.  
Grass is a Resemblance, which the H●… Ghost in Scripture makes frequent use of, 〈…〉 set forth Man by, as he is a Mortal dying c●…ruptible thing: And the aptness and sign●…cancy of it will appear, if we consider so●… particulars, wherein there is an observable●…greement betwixt the Grass and Man, the●…claration whereof will afford us many edi●…ing and instructive Meditations; I shall n●…tice but these.  
First, Man is as the Grass in his Origin●… Our Eyes will inform us at every return of t●… Spring, whence the Grass is derived; th●… same Creative Energy, which the Almigh●… did put forth in the first Formation of Thir●… is still continued; This is the Spiritus intu●… lens, and the Anima mundi, the Soul of t●… Universe, concerning which the Heathen P●…losophers and Poets delivered many things, 〈…〉 could not give the true and genuine accou●… of it: To this, Nature doth in every instan●… comform, as at the beginning, as then, so no●… The earth doth bring forth grass, Gen. 1.11. and as ●… e grass so the corporeal& visible part of man ●… with respect to which alone it is that the simi●… tude holds good) is originally Earth; And the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ●… round, Gen. 2.7. The Earth then is a common Parent to the Grass and Man; The skilful hand ●… f the Omnipotent Creator framed them both ●… ut of the same Womb. 'tis true, the Body of Man is the much more curious and elegant Composure. The admirable Contexture& wise Order of these Particles of Dust, which make up this excellent fabric, is a full Confutation of the Epicurean account of the primitive Origination of Mankind; viz. that the Earth did in process of time, of itself, without any designing over-ruling mind, bring forth Man by chance. This is so wild and extravagant a dotage, that to be capable to believe it, is one of the greatest Reproaches of human Nature; And when it obtained in the World, it was a sad evidence that( as the Apostle hath it, Rom. 1.21.) Men became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. A Ray of the Infinite Wisdom shines in every part of Mans Body; there is nothing in it but what proclaims, that it is the product of a Divine and intelligent Contriver. And indeed it is but reasonable, that there should be some peculiar and great excellencies in that Structure, which was designed to lodge for a while, so noble and Heavenly an Inhabitant as the Soul is. However, the Materials of this Composure, whatever the elegancy of it is, are mean and contemptible: We are not of an higher extract, in this respect, than the Grass is, on which we daily tread. The most beautiful and best proportioned Body that is, was once a piece of rude and indigested Earth, and will ere long be such again.  
Secondly, Man is as the Grass, in regard of frailty and weakness. A little pull will snap the Grass asunder; Even so, how easily is the tender thread of Man's Life broken! with how small a force, and in how short a time may the curious fabric of Mans Body, which not a little pains, nor a few years did raise up, be overthrown! The Life of Man is but a Spark, a Breath, a smoke, a Spark in the Heart, which is soon put out, a Breath in the Mouth, which many little accidents may quickly stop; a smoke in the Nostrils, which is easily driven away. Man, if we consider him only, with regard to his corruptible part, is little other than a show, a mere shadow, a semblance of being: There is an appearance of somewhat, but search a little, and inquire into it, and it vanishes into nothing, is found a lye, a piece of falsehood, as if he did but feign a Being, and were not. The consideration of this, we may think, gave Wing to that hasty Expostulation the Psalmist makes with God, Psal. 89.47. Wherefore hast thou made all men in vain? The passion he was in upon the view of his own, and the common case of Mankind, how fast all were hastening out of Life, and laying down the Being which they rather seemed to have assumed and borrowed, than to possess and own; I find emphatically enough represented by a very pious and judicious Author, to this purpose, Lord, why hast thou made Man such a fictitious thing, given him such a mock-beeing? Why hast thou brought forth into the Light of this World, such a sort of Creatures, that rather seem to be than are, that have so little of solid and substantial being, and so little deserve to be taken for Realities; that serve to cheat one another unto an opinion of their true Existence, and presently vanish, and confess their falsehood? What, hovering shadows, what uncertain entities are they? In a moment they are, and are not. I know not when to say, I have seen a Man. It seems as if there were some such things before mine Eyes; I persuade myself that I see them walk to and fro, that I talk and converse with them, but instantly my Sense is ready to give itself the lye, they are on a sudden dwindled away, and force me almost to aclowledge a Delusion: I am mocked with a show, and what seemed a reality, proves an imposture; they only personat what they are thought to be, and quickly put off their very selves as a disguise. This is agreeable to the Language of the Scripture elsewhere; Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lye, Ps. 62.9.  
The account which the Holy Ghost gives of all the Nations of men, is that they are less than nothing and vanity, Is. 40.17. If so, What a scarcity, what a penury of being must we suppose in each individual, especially if we look upon the outer part, or rather the shadow or umbrage of Man. Now the less of Being any thing hath, the more frail it is; for that thing is said to be frail, whose Being can be easily taken away from it; Now the smaller the degree of the Being of any thing is, the more easy can it be taken away. What thing in this lower World can you fix upon, that in this respect is frailer than Man? How little a portion of Being hath his mortal part in it! We may without incongruity compare him to the most Fugitive and momentany Creatures: He is a Worm which a little force can crush; an heap of Dust, which a small blast of Wind can blow asunder; a tottering, though curious fabric, which a ruder touch can level with the ground. He is a Flower, soon withering; a Vapour, soon vanishing; a Cloud of smoke, quickly disappearing. From all which it appears, that the Grass is not an unsuitable emblem of Man, in regard of his frailty. But  
Thirdly, Man is as the Grass, in regard of tendencies to decay; The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, Isai. 40.7. The Grass will by little and little lose it's lovely verdure, and the Flower it's pleasing comeliness; so our corruptible part doth discover daily tendencies to Corruption; Our outward Man is perishing; the pins of our Earthly Tabernacles are lousning by degrees. The Rosy Cheeks of Youth will gradually contract the Wrinkles of old age; and the strength of Manhood will decline unto weakness. The clear and sparkling Eye is insensibly gathering a Cloud of dimness; and the nimble and swift Limbs becoming stiff. The visible and material part of man hath nothing steady and consistent in it; 'tis fluid and unstable; there is a continual defluence of its parts; 'tis hastening to its Original, the Dust: All its motions are but so many steps towards the Grave. The consideration of this made St. Aug. say, 
confess. Lib. 1.  Se nescire utrum vita haec nostra appellanda potius sit, vita mortalis quam mors vitalis; That he knew not which was the properest Appellation, to call this Life of ours a dying Life, or a Living Death. And 
Contra Marci. Lib. 4. c. 21.  Tertullian prettilie observes, That our swaddling clothes are emblems, and prognostics of our Winding-sheets: Initium vitae fini correspondet. The beginning of our Life is agreeable to the end of it. As soon as we begin to Live, we begin to die. The clayey Structures of our Bodies are mouldering away by piecemeal, though we do not notice it. This is a decay common to all Mankind, a Consumption, that every one of us is sick of; that is, our Mortal part is gradually wearing, and we may observe in ourselves every day palpable tendencies to a final dissolution. The ruins and breaches that appear, and increase in our Earthly House, will issue in the total downfall of it; and this leads me to the  
Fourth Instance, and 'tis the last I shall mention. Man is as the Grass in his end and period. Grass and Flowers in the morning appear with a pleasant gayetie; they look ●… ike health and beauty, when besprinkled with the early due, and quickened with the first Beams of the rising Sun; But in the Evening they become sick, and hang down their heads, and at Night they die. This is a lively hieroglyphic of Man: For he, as Job tells us, Ch. 14. ver. 2. cometh forth as a flower, and is cut down. Man in the beginning of his day, hath a delightful grace and loveliness in his aspect; he appears in his fresh and verdant Flowrishes, and discovers nothing but life and vigour, whiles his Youthly Blood nimbly glides alongst his Veins: But when once the heat and glo●… y of his Meridian is over, he sensibly declines from his strength and beauty; and towards the evening of his day, his Spirits flag and languish, and the shadows of Death begin to spread themselves; and in end the night comes on, and Man( as the same Job hath it, ver. 10.) dieth and wasteth away; yea he giveth up the ghost; and where is he? This is the common fate of Mankind, 'tis the way of all flesh, an irreversible statute, which Heaven hath made since the entrance of sin. I●… is appointed unto all men once to die: It is the Municipal Law of the Earth to die once, a●… of Heaven to live for ever, and of Hell to die for ever. There is no exemption from Death, nor Redemption from the Grave: What man is he that liveth and shall not see death? shal●… he deliver his Soul from the hand of the grave? Ps. 89.48. Death will be the most universal conqueror, he will carry away all the Children of Men as so many Captives, and shut them up within the dark Prison of the Grave; For, as it is, 2 Sam. 14.14. We must needs die, and be as water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. We must go down into the house of all living, and sleep in the dust, where, for a Pillow, we shall have a could turf, and the Creeping things will be our Companions; which, though we could not endure, they should approach us while we were alive, yet now we must feed with the best of our substance, and lodge them in the hollow Chambers of our Eyes. We may( and it is our duty by all lawful and prudent means to) endeavour to underprop these Tabernacles of ours, and procure their standing as long as we can; but all the supports we are able to administer, will not secure them against the violence of the last fatal Storm, which will certainly crush them into the confusion of a ruinous heap. Death is a most impartial executor of the Decree of Heaven against fallen Mankind; he respects not the persons of any: Aequo pede pulsat pauperum tabernas, regunque turres: The crwoned head will not escape the dint of his blows, no more than the poorest beggar: Honour and greatness will not keep him at a distance: he will not be obliged by Presents, nor beat back by Force and Power: He will not reverence the Grayhairs of the aged, nor spare the early and tender Blooms of Infancy. No Motives, no endeavours will persuade him to leave the field, until he hath got the victory over all the Children of Men, and made them take up their Residences within his dark Dominions. And thus I have endeavoured to give you some account of the Import and Significancy of that Resemblance, which the Heavenly Voice commands to be Proclaimed in the Ears of Men, that in it, as in a just mirror, they might take a view of themselves, and learn the meanness of their pedigree, and the frailties of their Nature, their daily decays, and latter end.  
And now 'tis time that I proceed to the Application of the truths I have been hitherto declaring. But here my larger pains is prevented; the Divine Providence hath effectually Preached that already; which should have made up this part of my Discourse. This is the mournful Commentar I promised to red out to you. Here things I have been discoursing of are practically applied before your eyes. Behold, the Doctrine of Mortality exemplified in an unwished-for, and justly regretted instance, the removal of your most faithful and most affectionate Pastor.  
I question not but all who have a true sense of Piety and Virtue, who have any measure of concern for the interests of Religion and Christianity will dearly resent the greatness, and( with a humble submission to the over-ruling wisdom) the unseasonableness of the loss of him, who was a very worthy and imitable Pattern in the one, and a signal instrument in advancing the other.  
I need not think, neither do I intend to add to the greatness of his Character by panegyrics: His own Converse, and Carriage, and Ministerial appearances have made that great enough already in the minds of all that knew him. How-ever, since( as the Wise Man tells us, Prov. 10.7.) The memory of the just is blessed, it will, I suppose, be no unacceptable entertainment to all that loved him,( as I am inclined to think all his Acquaintances did) to hear some instances of his worth displayed before them. This will be as the breaking of a Box of precious ointment, which will diffuse such a fragrancy, as will at once both endear his Memory, and oblige the sincere Votaries of Religion, to writ after that Copy of Piety and Goodness, which his unblamable Conversation did set before them. And though my affection to him was great, and my interest in him considerable, yet I shall not divert unto airy and ungrounded topics, and erect, or rather blow up a Monument of false praises unto his Memory. My design is not to entertain you with Bombast and rhetoric: I purpose not so much to commend, as to recommend him to your Christian imitation. And I am glad that I shall say nothing, but what I am well assured all his Acquaintances will give thei●… joint and hearty Suffrages unto.  
Let us then take a glance of him,( 1.) I●… his Accomplishments, both Natural and Gracious. 2. In his Diligence, Fidelity, Prudence, Accuracy, Zeal, and loving Design for those of his Congregation, in the Discharg●… of the Sacred Function.  
First, His accomplishments. Nature wa●… no Step-mother unto him: She gave him 〈…〉 liberal allowance of her most desirable an●… lovely Ornaments. If a clear and perceptiv●… Mind, a large and comprehensive Soul, 〈…〉 deep and solid judgement, a sagacious an●… ready Wit, and all these greatly improve●… and cultivated by the advantages of polit●… and substantial Learning, may be reckone●… amongst the number of Natural Endowments; all that had any intimacy with him could not but discover them in him in a very eminent degree. But it is not this I inten●… to descant upon: 'tis what was imitable i●… him, that Incline mostly to notice. Com●… we then to the consideration of his  
Gracious accomplishments, these which discovered him to be a partaker of the Divin●… Nature, and that Christ was formed in him Of this I shall give but the following instances, which all that had any longer converse with him could not but have occasion oft●… imes to discern.  
First, He had a very lovely mixture of Seriousness and Cheerfulness, Serious and Cheer●… ul might be the Ingredients of his Motto.  
His Notions of Religion were true and ge●… uine. He knew that the design of Christia●… ity was not merely to fill the minds of Men with Light and Knowledge, but with Divine ●… if and Love; That the Holy Jesus came ●… ot into the World only to acquaint it with great and venerable Mysteries, but to purify ●… nd reform it. Accordingly it was his great endeavour to comform his heart and life to this Design. He greatly laboured to introduce into his mind a frame and temper becoming the enjoyments of Heaven, and to witness the sincerity of his Faith and Hope, ●… y an answerable accuracy of life and conversation. The sense he had of Divine things was great and affecting. He could not endure to handle Sacred Offices with a trif●… ling unconcerned Spirit. Hence all that have ●… een Witnesses to his discharging his incum●… rancies, could not but remark, how grave and affectionate he was in all his Exhortations, how devout and powerful in his Prayers, and that he could not go about the meanest duties of Religion( if any of them wil●… allow of that Epithet) without a great and just concern of Soul. And what greater evidence of seriousness.  
But as he was serious, so he was cheerful: These may very well consist together in a gracious heart. Religion is not intended to make men melancholy and sad, morose and moppish, but to better our humours, and civilize our natures. Good Souls may allow themselves Mirths and Hilarities, providing they do not degenerat into irreligious Levities; and with these innocent intertainments, after more important and weighty Discourses, he used to treat his dear Friends and Acquaintances, by which he discovered such a plausibleness of Nature, as made his Converse most acceptable unto all.  
Secondly, He attained to great measures of self-government. That which we get over ourselves is the noblest piece of victory: While we are slaves to our passions, and under the tyranny of our natural inclinations, we deserve not the name of men. And this Conquest, our dear Friend, that was lately conversing with us, was very noticeable for; he would sometimes with a sweet ingenuity aclowledge, that choler was a prime ●… ngredient in his Constitution. But yet, I suppose, it was very seldom, if ever, that he was seen in an ungovernable transport and hurry of passion. Hence flowed that equa●… ity of humour, that loving and easy, and ●… niform temper, which without any remark●… ble alterations ever appeared in him.  
Thirdly, Another instance of real good●… ess that he was eminent in( and it is but a ●… esult of the former) was a Christian dispas●… ionatness, a pious indifferency with reference ●… o the things of the World: The Crosses of ●… t could not ruffle nor discompose the sereni●… y of his mind, nor its prosperity blow up ●… is fancy with conceit and vanity, or deeply ●… ngross his affections. If there was any thing ●… the World that he inclined to discover a ●… oncern for, it was his Friends, Relations, and ●… cquaintances; and yet these, though he dear●… loved them, he could not flatter, or be ●… and of them, His methods lead him to vent ●… is respects more by Actions than Words.  
Fourthly, Notice we his admirable Love ●… d Charity: A love unfeigned, and without ●… uile. Of this it appeared, as if there had ●… een a Spring in his Soul, which liberally ●… owed out unto all: It w●s not confined and narrow-hearted, it took the World in its embraces: It deeply pitied the miseries of Mankind, and longed much, and prayed often for the Reformation of all the Nations of the Earth, by an hearty subjection to the everlasting Gospel: But its special object●… were the Saints, the excellent ones of the earth●… in whom was all his delight. How dear a value did he put on all that carried the Image o●… his Heavenly Father! How overjoyed wa●… he to be in their fellowship! He looked o●… these as the most refreshful portions of hi●… time, that were employed in converses wit●… the Votaries of Jesus. No circumstances the could be in, how despicable and mean so●…ver, could render them unlovely and unacceptable unto him. How charitable woul●… he construe their infirmities, and meekly e●…tenuat their regretted failziours! How gre●… a pleasure did he take in distributing his sp●…ritual Charities! To instruct the ignorant, 〈…〉 support the weak, to confirm the waverin●… to reclaim the wandering, to resolve th●… doubtful, and comfort the dejected Sou●… were his delight and choice, and not a grie●…ous task, which his circumstances merely fo●…ced him to undergo. But this leads me,  
Secondly, To consider him in the dischar●… of his Ministerial incumbency; and this will considerably add to the loveliness of his Character. I shall, amongst the many particulars that might be insisted on, briefly touch these few only, of which all these who have been under his care, are living Witnesses.  
I. His Diligence. How constant and unwearied was it! He knew that sloth in a Minister was as ominous and fatal, as sleep in a Sentinel: And therefore he was in season, and out of season, at his duties; I do not remember that ever I heard him resent the frequent returns of these; but oftentimes would he regrate, that by reason of his bodily indispositions, he was not able to make these returns so frequent as he inclined they should be, considering the vastness of his Charge.  
II. His Fidelity. He delivered the Messages of his Lord and Master impartially, and without respect of persons. I am sure he did neither court the smiles, nor fear the frowns of men. He considered the necessities of times and places, and accordingly dispensed the Word of Truth. He concealed nothing of the whole Counsel of God from his People; and disdained to svit his Doctrine to the humors of Men, or the interests of the Flesh.  
III. His Accuracy. He did not the work of the Lord negligently. The Discharges of his Duty were the performances of his whole Man: They were all ad amussim, according to Rule. All his appearances were managed with such a manly dexterity and quaintness, as filled the Hearers with just expectations of great things, when they saw him in the Pulpit.  
IV. Prudence. He did not allow Passion, or private Interests to Dictat his Sermons, or influence his Administrations. All his Ministerial Offices were gone about with a profound Discretion, and a due consideration of his Circumstances. He had great measures of the Wisdom of the Serpent, but sweetly attempered with proportionable Dozes of the meekness of the Dove: He, with the great Apostle, became all things to all men. How calmly would he comply with, and pity the infirmities, and svit and accommodat himself to the humours and capacities of these he had to deal with, that he might with the greater success win them unto the paths of Righteousness; So that I am prove to believe, none that knew him well, will think it an undeserved Designation, to call him a wise Master-builder in the Spiritual House.  
V. Zeal. O! how near did the Interests of his Master touch him! How dear was the honour of God to him! If any thing would raise his passions to an excess, encroachments made upon that, would do it. He could not see his Lord dishonoured without a just resentment and indignation. From this mighty and lasting zeal, which burned in his breast, proceeded that great love which he had to the Souls of his people. He thought he could never do enough for their edification and comfort. Of this his last, but most remarkable appearance in this place, is a very taking instance: For though he was overwhelmed with the Agonies of a racking distemper, though his weakness was such, that it was with great difficulty he could rise from his Bed, though his dear Relations importuned him with repeited entreaties to desist from an attempt, which might prove prejudicial to him, though the storminess of the day might be temptation enough to a person in his circumstances to keep within Doors, yet nothing would divert him. He could not find it in his heart, he said, to disappoint his dear people, while he had any remainders of strength; so willing was he to spend, and be spent for you all.  
VI. His loving Designs for these of this Congregation. How frequent and particular was he resolved to be in his Examinations; he had a great sense of the singular usefulness of these for the advancing of Knowledge and Piety among the People: And indeed his Method and way of managing them could not choose but have a signal efficacy that way: He could not endure to slabber them over; he knew that slight and superficial glances at things, would not be sufficient to inform a rude and ignorant, and oftentimes a dull and incapable multitude: And therefore he endeavoured in his Examinations by methodical proceedings, by plain and pertinent enlargements, to inculcat, and leave the dint and impression of the Divine Truths he Discoursed of, on the Hearts of his People. When he had finished his first Circuit of catechizing, he intended to resume that same laborious Task again; and thereby to prepare and dress the Souls of his People for that Solemnity he was designing for them, I mean the holy Eucharist, which had been the entertainment of this Congregation, had it been the Divine Pleasure to have lengthened his ●… ays for some few moneths.  
But I shall not enlarge any more upon this ●… ubject, I thought it proper for many Reasons, to give this account of him; and that it ●… but just and true, I dare appeal to the in●… enuity of his acquaintance. And now is it ●… ny wonder the loss, or rather the Remov●… of so exemplary a Christian, and so well ●… ccomplished a Minister, should be passion●… tly lamented by all, and especially by these ●… ho had( I need not scruple to say it) the ●… appiness to be his Flock. The Shepherd ●… smitten, and the poor Sheep will be scat●… eared for a while. He that was the Watch●… an and Overseer of your Souls, is called ●… own from his Watching-Tower. He that ●… iligently Laboured among you, is now ●… eaping the Fruits of his Labours. He hath ●… nished his Course, and now he possesses the ●… rown. He hath Fought the good Fight, ●… nd now hath obtained the Rewards of his ●… ictory. He hath run out his Race, and ●… ot the prise. He hath left among you the ●… vour of good Doctrine, and an unblam●… le Conversation. He hath sown the Seed ●… 'mong you, which, I hope, will bring forth ●… ruit when he is lying in the Grave.  
But to draw this Exercise altogether to a close, pray consider here a startling instance of Mortality: Behold how great a change may a few days produce! Oh surprising alteration! He that the preceding Lords Day was Preaching from his Pulpit, is this day Preaching from his Grave, and speaks to you in the Language of my Text, All flesh is grass. And will not you take Instruction from him? You have learned, I hope, many good things of him in his Life, learn something from him in his Death too. This is the last Warning he is to give you, the last appearance he is to make among you: You shall never see one another again until the Great-day, when that which is now sown in weakness, shall be raised in power. Consider then seriously, I entreat you, what this Voice, this doubled Voice, the Voice of Gods Word, and the Voice of his Providence, loudly proclaiming in your Ears, All flesh is grass, calls for at your hands. 'tis but reasonable to hope, that it should have some influence upon us all, and teach us many excellent Lessons, such as these following, which I shall passingly mention, and shall shut up this Discourse with all.  
First, The consideration of this, that all flesh is grass, should give a check to our pride and vanity. Let not the strong glory in their strength, nor the fair ones in their beauty; for how soon may beauty degenerat into deformity, and strength into weakness. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth. These are Emblames the Sacred Oracles make use of, to represent our Mortal part by, that part which we are most inclined to be proud of, and put greatest respect upon. Thou that boastest of a stately, vigorous and well proportioned Body, know that ere long, the glory thereof will put on darkness; It's flowrishes will whither; the lovely mixtures of colours in thy Face will be changed into paleness; and the taking symmetry of its parts become indiscernible, by reason of the Furrows of Age.  
When you are tempted to admire yourselves, and to fall in love with the reflexes of your own comeliness, pray do but take a view of yourselves in your own fancies, and think what your Circumstances will be, when you are clothed with the dishonours of the Grave, and the deformities of Corruption; I am persuaded of it, that if we did make Death present unto us, and dress it in all its proper and Ghostly appearances; if we did seriously consider, what the most elegant and stately Body will be, when it hath dwelled a while in the House of Rottenness, and become the Inheritance of Worms, it would greatly abate the heights of our pride and vanity: But  
Secondly, The consideration of this, that All flesh is grass, that is, weak and frail, should oblige us to daily Gratitude to that God, whose gracious Providence and tender Care preserves and upholds such brittle and infirm things as we are. Could you but see with your Eyes these small and tender Vessels, on the soundness and good order of which our animal Life depends, ye would be amazed to think that you have lived so long: you would wonder, that some violent motion or sudden fall hath not long since crushed to pieces, or at least discomposed the order of these weaker, but more noble and necessary parts of the Body. Sure it is the Watchful Eye, and mighty Power of Heaven, that hath sustained us hitherto, and protected us from these innumerable hazards, to which we are infinitely exposed: He gives his Angels charge over us; and when we are encompassed with dangers that we know not of, they take us up in their Arms, although we are not ware of it. O let none of us be ever unmindful of this uninterrupted care of the merciful God: Let us resent it every day, by the devotest and most liberal expressions of thankfulness, that we are continued in life, notwithstanding our many weaknesses, and the multitudes of inconveniencies and hazards that surround us.  
Thirdly, Is all flesh grass? Then how unreasonable and unbecoming is it, to be overmuch taken up in minding the Flesh: All that we can do will not secure it from corruption; it will become the portion of Worms, though we pamper it never so much, though we cloath it in Silk and Purple, and treat it with the most delicious accommodations, yet its strength will decay as the Grass, and its goodliness fade as the flower of the field. Oh! Then let us not be excessively concerned about that part of us, which we must shortly put off. This is that the Apostle exhorts unto, Rom. 13.14. Make no provision for the flesh to fulfil its lusts. How unmanly is it to confine our cares and endeavours chiefly, much more, altogether to the interests of the Body. It is our duty indeed to be moderately careful of it, and to preserve its health by all honest and prudent methods; But to be fond of it, and to gratify all its wild and extravagant cravings, is deliberately to rank ourselves among the Beasts that perish. We must value our Bodies, not so much for their own, as for the Works sake which we are to do in them. We must treat them as Tabernacles, out of which we must shortly remove, and not as Mansions in which we hope to live for ever.  
Fourthly, Another influence this consideration, that all flesh is grass, that is, of a corruptible decaying nature, should have on us, is this; It should oblige us frequently to cast our Eyes on our immortal, undecaying part, and employ our chiefest care in adorning and cultivating of that, we should consider that though these brittle Tabernacles of ours be muldering away by degrees, yet there is something within us that is steady and permanent, something that will survive the ruins of our Bodies. The Body, we should think, is but an Earthly House, which lodges a Heavenly Inhabitant, a frail Cabinet wherein is contained a Jewel more valuable than a World. 'tis on this better part of ours, that our greatest care should be employed. What we deny the Body, we should bestow on this. We should consider what are the proper ornaments of our Spirits, what will most fitly qualify them for that blessed state they were designed for, and make it the matter of our earnest study to get them put in these Divine and becoming Dresses. We should not give ourselves rest, until we are sensible that we are made partakers of a Divine Nature, until by the power and mighty Assistances of the Grace of Christ, we are refined and purified from all unbecoming degrees of Earthliness and Sensuality, until we find that our Lusts are Mortified, and our Passions are made Tame and Governable, that the Graces of the Spirit abound in us, and are duly exercised, and so a Disposition and Temper suiting Heavenly enjoyments introduced into our Souls.  
Fifthly, This consideration, that all flesh is grass, should put us frequently in mind of our approaching Death and Dissolution. Do we not see the Grass losing its sap and greenness, and the flower that did lately please our Eye, declining to softness, and in end bowing its head, and breaking its stalk, and so as it were giving up the Ghost; and at last, having lost all its Life and Beauty, it hath a Grave assigned to it among the useless and unlovely Weeds? And can we look on these, and not remember, that they are Emblames of what all of us shall ere long be? How can we be unmindful of that, whereof we cannot but discern some beginnings in ourselves every day? How can we forget the Grave, when we carry so much of it about us? What are our languishings and faintings, our Diseases and Weaknesses, but degrees of Death? What are our Failings and decays, but some Tastes of the Grave? But in the  
Sixth and last place, as the Conclusion and upshot of all; Let us learn Moreover from the consideration I have now so often mentioned, to be making daily preparations for death. Let us be laying up in store for that Great Day of expense. Our Death is certain and inevitable. The Divine Voice that Proclaims in our Ears, that all flesh is grass, assures us of this: For as certain as the Grass shall whither and be cut down; so certain it is that we, who are as the Grass, shall die and return to our Dust. Now to die well is not easy; 'tis an excellent Art, but most difficult; a great design of our whole life should be to learn it, and to become expert in it. What 〈…〉 formed! How many Grac●● 〈…〉cised by these that would die we 〈…〉 fervent Prayers, what dependencies o● Faith, and breathings of Heavenly Love, what pantings of holy Desires, what submissions of Patience, what applications of Promises, and Acts of Resignation and Selfsurrender are necessary unto these, who are to enter the Lists with Death, and would gain a comfortable Victory over the dreadful Adversary! Let us be sure then, while the opportunities of Life and Health are before us, while our Faculties are entire and vigorous, while we can red, Meditat and Pray, Let us be sure, I say, to set about the learning of this excellent Skill; with care and diligence, and not delay it until sickness and old age seize on us, or till we are in the Jaws of Death, when common sense tells us, it will be very unreasonable to begin the study of that, which a whole life-time was little enough to acquaint us with the practise of.  
Though it would not be unproper here to afford you some particular Assistances or Directions, how to behave in your Preparations 〈…〉 n, yet since I am afraid that 〈…〉 y longer would be too great an●●●●●●●ng upon your patience; All I shall do on this Head, is to recommend you to the serious practise of these excellent Duties, which your late Pastor delivered you, from Eph. 3.17. That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; which was the Heavenly Subject, wherewith he did shut up and close his Labours among you: And the dying words, I think, of so dear and faithful a Friend should never be forgotten, especially when they can be of so advantageous a tendency, as to fit and prepare you for fighting that battle, which all of you must resolve to face ere long. For when Christ dwells in our hearts, when he is formed in us, when we have got a vital Image of him in our Souls, prompting us to comform to him, to imitat him in our Lives and Conversations; when we are beautified with Meekness, Humility, self-denial, contempt of the World, and all the other imitable Graces that were eminent in him, and so are become living Images of him; In a word, when the Gospel is not merely received into our heads, but incorporated into our Spirits, and powerfully influencing our Practices, then, and never till then are we sufficiently prepared to die. Now to the Blessed God, who can to the voice of his Word and Providence, add that of his Holy Spirit, and effectually Teach us these Heavenly Lessons, we desire to give Praise, &c.  
FINIS.