Languishing, with Strength in his Soul. As his outward Man perifhed, the inward Man was renewed day by day; for which Caufe he fainted not : But lay calm and patient, ftrong in Faith and full of bumble Submission; defiring to depart and be with CHRIST, and wishing the bleffed Time might be haftned, yet still refign'd to the Will of his heavenly Father. Favour'd with living Comforts in his expiring Moments, he cou'd and did with a lively Hope commit his Soul into the Hands of his dear REDEEMER, in whom he had believ'd, and whom he had preach'd and ferv'd; leaving his dying Teftimony for CHRIST, his Truths and Ways; trembling for the Ark of GOD, and praying for the Peace of Jerufalem; commending all about him to GOD, and to the Word of his Grace, and expreffing the best Wishes in folemn manner for one and another that made their respectful Vifits to him. May I never forget the Bleffing wherewith the Man of GoD bleffed Me before his Death! And may the LORD GOD of Elijah, who only can command the Bleffing, caufe it to rest upon me, in my Service bere on Earth, while the happy Spirit of my departed Father is enjoying his Reward in Heaven, as his Flesh, now laid in the Duft, rests in Hope. SUCH WAS THE MAN, WHOM GOD HATH TAKEN! I pretend not indeed to have drawn his Character at full Length, and in all its lovely Proportions, tho've held you long upon it, beyond my firft Intention. There may have happen'd fome material Defects; but I am not conscious of any faulty Exceffes, nor yet of any artful Gloffes, to fet it in a falle Light. The Reflection now is obvious, that we find, an uncommon Affemblage of very valuable ufeful Qualities form bis amiable Character; fuch as fpeak him Great in the Sight of the LORD, and fuch as may well make his Name precious with all that have a juft Idea of real Greatness. It mayn't be amifs to repeat here an Obfervation I've met with "Tho' many had made a brighter and greater Figure in the Eye of the World, than John, yet CHRIST prefers him to them all; There hath not rifen a GREATER than John the Bap tift. tift. Thofe are the greatest Men, that are the greateft Saints, and the greateft Bleffings, under the vital Influence of the Spirit of God and of Glory. I may therefore with a fingular Propriety apply that well known Lamentation, in the prefent Cafe, Know ye not that a GREAT MAN is fallen this Day in Ifrael! And now fhall we not all mingle our Tears over the Grave of the Man of GOD, mark the perfect Man, and mouth our own and the public Lofs in the Death of a Father in Ifrael! We heartily fympathife with the bereaved Family and Rela tives and pray GOD to comfort the many Mourners on this Occafion. May the GOD of all Grace and Comfort, in par ticular, fupport his Handmaid, the defolate Widow, under her heavieft Sorrow! May her MAKER ftill be het Husband, and remember her, the Kindness of her Youth, and Love of her Efpoufals, and yet more fenfibly efpoufe her to Himself in Lovingkindness, give her now the Oil of Joy for Mourn ing, and the Garment of Praise for the Spirit of Heaviness! May the bereav'd College have this Stroke of the Divine Hand upon it fanctify'd, both to the Mafter and the Scholar, even to all belonging or related to it! And may the GOD of the Spirits of all Flefh chufe out an Elifba, to fucceed in the prefent Vacancy, on whom He will caufe to reft a double Portion of the good Spirit, fo vifible on the Elijah taken from their Head May this Death be fanctify'd also to Minifters, and all of publick Character! May We,the Minifters of this Church in particular, hear GOD's Voice, fpeaking to us in louder Accents, and be excited to our Work, as by the Thought of Mortality and a future Account, fo by wife Reflections on the Example left us by the deceased Servant of GOD! Brethren, pray for us. Óthat this Church and Congregation may have the Spirit of GOD fpeaking powerfully to them on this Occafion, awakning a due Remembrance of the Man of God, and reviving the good Imprefions of his Miniftry! GOD expects, we remember and hear the Words, which He hath cried to us by his former Prophets (Zech. 7. 7, 12.) and by his Apostles (Jude, ver. 17.) And that Exhortation feems to refer to the ordinary standing Miniftry (Heb. 13. 7.) Remember them which have spoken to you the Word of God, &c.- It's obfervable, Our Lord (as in Matth. 11.) fpake honorably of Fohn, when he had finish'd his Teftimony and was fallen into fome Oblivion; intending by what he faid, to retrieve his declining Memory, and to reftore his dying Work by reviving the People's Regard to his Preaching, which they had formerly been fo zealous to hear, and which therefore they ought now to think it worth fome Care Care to recollect.In Conformity to this great Example, I have been stirring you up, by putting you in Remembrance: I've done it with a View to your Profit, as well as to the Praife of the Deceased, and in both to the Glory of GOD. Let us give GOD the Honour of all the Gifts, Graces and Usefulness of his Servant; be thankful that we enjoy'd fuch a Bleffing in his Miniftry; examine our Improvements under it, and pursue the Ends of it by a lively practical Remembrance. Reading hisprinted Works will ferve to keep up his Memory, and (as it were) perpetuate his Miniftry among us. I commend to you in particular his valuable familiar Explanation of the Affembly's Catechifm, his labour'd Treatife on Confcience, and his judicious Guide to the Doubting. That was the Text which animated him in his many Publications, 2 Pet. 1. 12, 15. We fhall do well to ftir up one another by way of RememBrance. We fhall do well to review him as in the Pulpit and in his Vifits, and recollect in particular (as we are able) any remarkable Inftructions, Advices, or Reproofs, we receiv'd from him: and let us be careful to maintain a good Remembrance of him always, even as it is meet, being mindful of his Tears, and following his Faith. I truft, there are fome among You, that were his Hope on Earth, and will be his Foy and Crown in Heaven: let fuch ftill live the Credit of his Miniftry by a holy Perfeverance. But may we not fear, there are others, whom the Word preached by him did not profit? Yea, are not fome of You confcious, You were a Grief to his righteous Soul? Let fuch tremble at the awful Profpect of his ftanding a Witness againft you in the Day of Judgment. And (as it is written, Ezek. 33. 33.) when it cometh to pafs (lo, it will come) then shall ye know that a PROPHET hath been among you. O fear, left you be put to mourn at the laft, when there's no Remedy. Let us all hear GOD fpeaking to us in thofe Calls of his Providence and Word (2 Chron. 20. 20.) Believe in the LORD your GOD, believe his Prophets. And (Jam. 5. 1 Take the Prophets, which have spoken in the Name of the Lord, for an Example. Let us fuppofe the Man of God himself addreffing us (as in Phil. 4. 9.) Thofe Things which ye have both learned and received, and heard and feen in ME, do; and the GOD of Peace fhall be with You. To conclude, Let us all now (as they, 1 Sam. 7. 2.) lament after the LORD; and with Elifba, inquire for the GOD of Elijah: making it our great Concern to fecure the gracious Prefence of the ever-living GOD with us, which was the Sum of our departed Friend and Father's dying Wishes for us. Let our Inquiry be frequent and perfevering, fervent, penitent and heying, fincere and practical. A juft Refpect to the Memo ту ry of the Deceased, the Honour of God, and the Intereft of Religion, our own Safety and Happiness, are Confiderations that unite to perfuade us into fuch an Inquiry. This is one genuine Fruit of the Divine Nature in us, and a hopeful Sign of the Divine Prefence with us; and it bodes well to us for the coming World. If we have Elijah's Grace, we shall attain his Glory too. Faith, Love, Hope and Defire intense are as the fiery Chariot and Horfes to mount us up into heavenly Places now and Angels will conduct us thither when we die, gathering our Souls to the Affembly of glorify'd Spirits in Paradife: and in the Refurre&ion-Day we fhall fee one another's Faces with Joy. GOD will raife the dead Bodies of the Saints, and fhew them alive to us, as He did Elijah with Mofes to the Difciples in the Mount of Transfiguration: but with this happy Circumftance of Difference, that ours will be a final Meeting, and in greater Glory; for we fhall dwell together in the blissful Prefence of GOD through the Ages of eternal Futurity. Read i Thef. 4. 13,17. and comfort one another with thefe Words. Now the God of Peace be with us ali! AMEN. FINI S. ERRAT A. 41. 12. read, Pag. 8. lin. 13. read, But by my- P. meaning the P. 42 1. 35. read, the Hope of or Reproof. N. B. There are a ƒ • lip' the Author i [I mean) of future- P. 61. 1. 35. read ter Efcapes of the Printer: but that of Vory Epifle efpecially asks Candour; the Hint Additions to the Sermon. For, notwithstand Tother, when I fent the Preface to the Printer, Falch'd before I enter'd upon the Transcript of the Divine Favour my Hands being firengthen'd s, as I was newly under a Return of great Indifpofi dan Inclination to make fome Additions not at firft de-. Je when I came to the feveral Heads of USE (most of which hinted in the Pulpis) 1 cou'd not perfuade my felf to let Prefs without fomething of Inculcation; fo 1 freely ins And they are the Enlargements here, reffions upon me. the Sheets to this enormous Size. However, I hope ification the better confulted upon the whole: not repent my Pains, fo others will the more pg T. F |