IF the conspiring wishes of the great­est part of Christendom, could reverse the immutable Decrees of Heaven; if the most eminent and distinguishing personal Accomplishments, could bribe the grim Messenger to delay his Summons; or the most elevated Courage and Bravery of Soul, could awe the King of Terrours into a favourable compliance; we had not now been met together, to perform our last duties to the small remains of This Great Man; not so dearly paid for a remarkable [Page 2]Instance, of the unavoidable necessity of Death to all men; by seeing one of the noblest of our English Worthies within the short compass of a few days shrunk into a Coffin full of dust and ashes. But since we are convinced by too sad an experience, that nothing can exempt from that impartial Sentence, which has pas­sed upon all the Sons of Adam; since the Wise and the Foolish, the Noble and the Base, the Valiant and the Coward, must equally ly down in the bed of Corruption, and descend together un­to the silent Chambers of the Earth; since Death is thus the necessary conse­quence of Life, and the living know that they must die; it will be a useful labour to enquire, what advantage may be made by us of such a knowledge, and after what manner we ought to lay it to our hearts, that Death is the end of all men.

And indeed it is matter of the justest astonishment, that Death, which is the entertainment of every day, which endea­vours to refresh our memory of it, by such repeated instances of its unavoidable certainty; that speaks to us out of the mouth of every dead man, and reads us a Lecture out of every Coffin; should yet almost utterly be lost to our remembrance, should fall so very seldom under our serious consideration: and therefore the wise Man had sufficient reason to inform us, as he does at the beginning of this Verse, that it is better to go to the house of morning than to go to the house of feasting, religious meditations and refle­ctions upon Death, being at all times a proper and useful entertainment; but when we have before us such objects of Mortality, as This, which has assembled us together at the present, contemplations of this nature are necessary and indispensable, the solemnity of the occasion calls for them loudly, and forcebly exacts them at our hands; and as our deceased bro­ther [Page 4]seems to preach to us this Doctrine, That that is the end of all men; so every well instructed Christian will be ready to make this sober Application, That the living will lay it to his heart.

That Death is the period of every Life, that we must all die and return unto our Dust; is a truth acknowledged so univer­sally, and so undeniably verified by con­stant experience, that it is needless to pro­duce arguments for the proof of that as­sertion, which none have the confidence or the folly to deny; I shall not therefore lose my time and abuse your patience, in the unnecessary confirmation of this estab­lished Maxime, that Death is the end of all men; but shall wholly confine my follow­ing discourse, to the inference which the wise Man draws from thence, that the living will lay it to his heart; by shewing what useful deductions may be made, from a due reflecton upon the certainty of Death, in order to influence our lives and conversations.

First, Then, from a due reflecton upon the certainty of Death, we may learn this lesson of instruction; that, since Death is the common lot of all mankind, and some time or other we must submit to it, we ought therefore to be always so prepared to meet it, as that we may at any time un­dergo it willingly and chearfully.

Indeed if all our care and apprehension, if all our carefulness and concern, could enable us to avoid the stroke of Destiny, there were then some reason for us, to be anxious and solicitous upon that occasion; but since this is an irreversible Decree which has past upon all the race of mankind, a wise man will make a vertue of necessity, by endeavouring to manage himself after such a rate, as may make this dreadful Enemy of humane nature, appear least formidable and affrighting: He will at least attempt to disarm him of his Sting; and that can be done no other way, but by lead­ing [Page 6]a life unblameable and inoffensive: we are assured, that the sting of Death is sin, it is that only which makes his ap­proaches to very terrible; let us but se­cure our selves upon that side, and we may then meet him with assurance and satisfaction: Nothing will rejoice us up­on a Death-bed, so much as the Consci­ence of a well spent life; all outward Consolations shall then drop a way; our Riches can purchase nothing for us, but a Coffin and a Windingsheet; our Friends can only weep by our Bed-side, attend us to our Grave, and ly down there and lament over us; our Honours will but serve to adorn our Hearse, and to lay us in the dust with greater Pomp and Page­antry; but a Life that has been led Inno­cently and Devoutly, this will support us un­der our last conflict, will strengthen and sustain us in our mortal Agonies, and en­able us to confront Death in its most ug­ly shape, not only with courage but with comfort also: Every good action which we [Page 7]have at any time performed, will then administer to us joy and satisfaction; and if we have constantly persevered in well doing, we shall have nothing to ruffle or discompose us; our passage out of this World will be easie and agreeable; we shall ly down in Death as to a sweet re­pose, from whence we shall awake into everlasting happiness; and shall close our eyes with that triumphant exclamation, O Death, where is thy Sting? O Grave, where is thy Victory? Thus is it the Office of true wisdom, to make that easie and familiar to us, which we know is not possibly to be avoided; since tho we hang back never so much, and are never so unwilling to be acquainted with it, yet still Death follows us close at the heels, and will at last infallibly overtake us. But nothing will more effe­ctually prepare us for our end, than to have it continually in our thoughts; that whenever it comes to seize on us it may not be new to us, and add to its other terrours the fright of a surprise: Things the most terrible and frightful in their nature, [Page 8]become easie and supportable by our be­ing used to them; and so we shall find it in Death its self: He who lives every day as if that were his last, will never be unprovided when his last day comes; he who contemplates upon his end frequent­ly, will receive Death when ever it calls upon him, as an acquaintance whom he has long conversed with, and whose nearer appreoaches he has expected hour­ly: whereas that man who makes it his business, to put off that evil hour (as he stiles it) far from him, never to fix his thoughts upon the consideration of it, will be strangely startled and discomposed at its appearance, he will not know how to give reception, to a an intruding rugged Guest, whose visit is as unwelcome as it was unexpected, and yet whose distastful compa­ny he cannot possibly avoid. And indeed, when the good man has accustomed him­self some time, to a due consideration of his latter end, he will not meet with any thing else in it, but matter of delight and [Page 9]satisfaction; it will only appear, as an ill-looked Jaylor, that comes to release him out of a hard captivity; as a surly messenger, that is sent upon a welcome errand; or as a rough gust of Wind, that blows him into the Harbour: He has so fully reflected up­on the certainty of Death, that he has made it his business to be ready for it whensoever it shall come; and can lay down his life chearfully and contentedly, because he has the assurance of taking it up again, as knowing it is but hid with Christ in God. Thus a due reflection upon the certainty of Death, will instruct us in this lesson of true Wisdom; that we should at all times be qualified to look Death in the Face, without being terrified at it, or un­provided for it. But,

Secondly, Another lesson of true Wisdom which may be learnt from a due reflection upon the certainty of Death, is this; that since our continuance in this world cannot last for ever, we should therefore wean [Page 10]our selves from too great a fondness, for such things as we must certainly part with at the last.

Being rationally convinced, that all the enjoyments of this world must at one time or other drop away from us, the common rules of Prudence will then instruct us to disintangle our affections from them be­times; not to wed and tye our selves too closely to them; but only to value them so far as they are necessary to us in our pre­sent circumstances, without foolishly placing our chiefest happiness, in the possession of those things which we must certainly be divorced from; Riches, and Honours, and Pleasures, and all the enjoyments of this life, are seldom so constant as to attend us to the end of it; they generally forsake us be­fore we reach the Grave, but it is most certain that they cannot accompany us be­yond it; and there will be no more remem­brance of them, within the Land where all things are forgotten; and how unreasonably [Page 11]then does that man act, who places all his sa­tisfaction in such transitory trifles, as must shortly either leave him, or be left by him? Indeed if it were probable, or but barely possible for us, to be always conversant in this Land of the living; we had then some reason to be careful and solicitous, for the delights and conveniencies of this present life: But when we are assured, that our years must come to an end, as a tale that is told, and that our age is even as nothing; that we are but Travellers and Pilgrims in this world, have no sure abiding place, no settled dwelling or habitation in it, this should teach us, to deal with it, as wayfaring men with the Inns which they bait at; just to make use of it for our present occasions, without ever con­tracting any great intimacy with it, or be­ing much concerned what becomes of it when we are gone. For how dreadful must Death be to that unwary person, who so little re­flects upon the certainty of his leaving this world, that he never attempts to disengage himself from it? How will that clog and en­cumber [Page 12]him in his flight? and how hardly will his soul be able to get loose, with such a weight of earth about it? To such a man as this, Death comes arrayed in all his pomp of Terror; to take him from the world, is to tear him from himself; he is grown (as it were) one piece with it, being rivetted to it by all the ties of interest and inclination; and to separate him from that his beloved companion, is like another divorce of Soul and Body: whereas that serious and con­sidering man, who has duly represented to himself, that Death will call upon him some time or other, and that then he must leave behind him all the gaieties of this World; will never be so besotted with the love of them, as to doat upon those things which he must one day renounce; and the loss of which will be so much the more grie­vous, by how much the more deeply he is enamoured of them. Thus will a due refle­ction upon the certainty of Death, give to us that are living this most useful instructi­on; that we should wean our selves from [Page 13]the vanities of this present life, and disen­gage our selves from too extravagant a fond­ness for them. But,

Thirdly, Another lesson of instruction which we may be taught by a due reflection upon the certainty of Death, is this; that since that is the end of all men living, we should therefore look back upon the occasion of it; and seriously consider, by what means it prevails, so universally upon all mankind.

Man was created in a state of Immortality as well as Innocency; and after a long and happy life in this world, would have been translated into another, without any uneasie passage through the gates of Death: but when sin entred into the world, Death al­so entred with it and by it; and took its o­riginal commission for destroying, from God's primitive Curse upon our disobedience: and indeed they are now linked together so in­separably, that they always advance hand in hand; and as the world has daily grown more sinfull, so Death also has grown more [Page 14]powerful; has daily made its more near ap­proaches; and our life which passes away as a shadow, like that upon the Dial of Ahaz, has gone backwards. For tho' Death is the most dreadful enemy of humane nature, yet our darling sins, however they may seem to flatter and cajoll us, keep up a most strict League and Correspondence with it; every embrace they seem to give us, does but for­ward the inslaving us to this potent Adversa­ry, and every kiss, like that of Judas, does but betray us into Ruine and Destruction; all those enjoyments with which they seem to treat us, are but so many inlets to the Grave, and so many entrances into the chambers of Death: Those are they, how­ever gay and lightsome they may appear, which labour to deprive us of the light of the Sun, to lay us down in darkness and in silence, to throw us amongst mouldring Bones and pu­trifying Carkases, and to make us the compa­nions of Rottenness and Corruption: all our beloved bosome transgressions, are but so many bewitching Dalilahs, which lull our heads in their laps, and rock us into a Lethargy; [Page 15]that so they may give us up bound and set­tered, into the hands of our most mortal ene­my. And can we then be employed in con­siderations of this nature, can we believe that Death is the wages of sin, not only a Salary that will certainly be paid, but such a one as ought in justice to be so, as if we had bargained and covenanted for it; without loathing and abo­minating those fatal incendiaries, which have set us at enmity with our God, and have brought Death and destruction into the world? If there be any thing in Death that is fright­ful or dismal, it ought to work in us a strong aversion against sin, which alone has laid up­on us the invincible necessity, of entring into a conflict with that formidable Adversary. This then is another piece of prudence, which is taught us by a due reflection upon the cer­tainty of Death; it engages us to look back upon the cause of it, sin; and to entertain a horror and detestation for it. But,

Fourthly, Another Lesson of true Wis­dom, which may be learnt from a due refle­ction upon the certainty of Death, is this; that since nothing can exempt us from the [Page 16]Grave, that common receptacle of all hu­mane kind; we should therefore be patient and contented under Sickness, and bear the Infirmities of this life with a chearful resigna­tion.

Sickness is the usual forerunner of our end, the commom road which most Men tread, to the dark Palace of imperious Death; and there­fore, to murmor or repine under such dispen­sations, is as if we should be angry, at being put into the way, which leads directly to our jour­ne's end: Diseases are the general Harbingers of Mortality, which come before to marck out those places, where the great King of Terrours designs to lodge; and tho' some go off with­out any warning, and drop out of the World suddenly and insensibly, yet whether that may be in Mercy or in Judgment, God only knows; sure I am, that which can but once be done, and the consequences of which are so conside­rable, ought to be done very well, and sickness is the surest and most effectual re­membrancer, to put us in mind of dying as we should. It is recorded of King Phi­lip the Macedonian, that least his prosperous [Page 17]estate should too far puff him up, he order­ed one of his Attendants, each morning to remind him of his Mortality, with this ex­pression, O King thou must die: and how many of us should be apt to forget our selves, did not sickness perform for us this charita­ble office, and give us a kind Item of our perishing condition! How unjust then and ungrateful a proceeding will it be, to quar­rel at the Visits of an obliging Monitor, who only comes to refresh our memory, that we may not be forgetful of our most valuable concernments? how heavy or intolerable soever our pressures may appear, yet Death (we are sure) whose messengers they are, will not fail quickly to put an end to them; and can we not then bear, with a quiet resignati­on, those things that bring with them so con­siderable an advantage, and whose remedy is so certain, and so near? How unfit is that man to look Death in the face, who cannot bear its most distant approaches? or to struggle with mortal Agonies and Convulsions' that shrinks under the first assault of an Ague [Page 18]or a Feaver? whereas that constant and re­solved mind, which chearfully submits to the hand of God, and breaks the force of his distemper by a Christian patience; is by these lighter tryals exercised and prepared, to stand the shock of the grand encounter; he becomes familiar and acquainted with Death, by conversing calmly with its friends and companions, and can never be startled at its Personal appearance, when he has thus been used to correspond with it, by the interposition of its Embassadours. This therefore is a 4th lesson, which we may learn from a due re­flection upon the certainty of Death; pati­ently to undergo all sicknesses and infirmi­ties, which are the necessary preliminaries and forerunners of it. But

Fifthly and lastly, Another lesson of in­struction, which may be taught us by a due reflection upon the certainty of Death, is this; that since that is the end of all men and nothing can qualify us for an exemp­tion from it, we ought therefore to bear the loss of our Friends or our Relations, without [Page 19]any immoderate or excessive sorrow for them.

For why should that violently afflict or discompose us, which we have all the reason in the world to expect? can we suppose, that our Friends should be peculiarly excepted, out of the common lot of all mankind? or because they are Ours must they therefore be Immortal? It was the comfort which a fa­ther applied to himself, to lighten the loss of an only Son, Scio me mortalem genuisse, I know that I begot him a mortal man; by having considered that he must once die, he was able to support his Death whensoever it hap­pened; and this will not fail to have the same effect upon us, if we will but press it as homely upon our selves: all our care and endeavours are necessary and decent, to assist our sick friends in order to their recovery; a becoming sence of our own loss of them, and a moderate sorrow for them, is natural and commendable; but to carry our concern to an unreasonable height, to be violent or extra­vagant in our expressions of grief, to let it swell [Page 20]beyond the limits of Reason and Christianity; this is, as if we would arraign the providence of God, which has appointed that Death should be the end of all men; or as if we expect­ed, that for our sakes, our Friends should be excepted out of that general Sentence, which has universally past upon all mankind: We should consider, that they have got the bet­ter of the exchange, by being taken out of a miserable world, to be admitted into a state of happiness and perfection; we should prefer their advantage before our own en­joyment, rejoycing at their removal into bliss, tho we pay dearly for it by our own want of them; we may long to be dissolved, and to be with Christ and them, but cannot be so selfish or uncharitable, as to wish them back again with us! we should rejoyce that our com­panions are in a better Society! and that our Friends are preferred into Angels! in a word, we should have nothing so dear which we cannot resign unto our God, or which we can desire to be disposed of better: He that by considering his latter End, has seriously im­printep [Page 21]printed in his mind, the unavoidable necessi­ty of Death to all men, that it strikes impar­tially and will spare none, will best be ena­bled to practice this lesson; will never be too much disturbed, at such an event as he always foresaw; and for which he has con­stantly been prepared, whether in himself or in others. This then is a fifth Aphorism of Wisdom which may be learnt by a due reflection up­on the certainty of Death; that we should restrain all excessive or immoderate sorrow, for the loss of our Friends or our dearest Relations.

Indeed, if the loss be of an Extraordinary nature, if the Publick be a sufferer as well as Private families, (as it is in that Great man whose Obsequies we now celebrate;) as sor­row is then most busy and importunate, so ought we then most especially to stand upon our guard; we should Summon to our assistance what­soever may sustain us, against the attempts of a grief so just and piercing. But God, who delights not to afflict the Children of men, has generally accompanied such melancholy cir­cumstances, [Page 22]with an Antidote sufficient to com­bate their malevolence. The fame and reputa­tion which such persons leave behind them, and which always shines clearest out of the land of Darkness, and stretches out with their dead bodies, usually administring such additi­onal consolation, as may serve to buoy up the spirits of their friends, under the heavy pres­sure of their encroaching sorrow. And if ever that comfort was abundantly indulged, it is now imparted in a most eminent degree, to the surviving lamenters of this departed Heroe; than whom, as none has gone to the Grave more universally regretted; so none will live more generally or more lastingly, in the Remembrance and respect of all that knew him. And now, as I have per­formed my Duty to the Living, by shewing them what advantages may accrue to them, from a due reflection upon the certainty of Death; so give me leave, to aquit my self in some measure of my respects to the Dead, by hinting to you some sew of those many excellencies, by which he was eleva­ted very considerably, above the common [Page 23]rank of men. But lest too a great a variety of matter, should make my discourse con­fused and rambling; I shall therefore con­fine my imperfect character, to these three qualifications in which he was most emi­nent, of a Gentleman, a Patriot, and a Souldier.

First. Then, let us consider him as a Gen­tleman; and we shall find him possessed of all those accomplishments, which intitle a man justly to that honourable appellation, and recommend him to universal esteem. Besides the felicity of an illustrious extracti­on, of an antienter date than the Norman con­quest; (for which he afterwards over-paid his family, by imparting to it greater lustre than he borrowed from it) he was singu­larly remarkable for those commendable em­bellishments, which distinguish a man of sense and breeding, from the less resin'd part of human kind: His conversation was familiar and engaging, his wit lively and piercing, his judgment solid and discerning; and all these set off by a graceful person, a [Page 24]chearful aspect, and an inviting air. his natural abilities were cultivated and impro­ved, by the additional advantages of Travel and Experience; to his own reputation and the credit of his Country, much of his youth­ful time did he spend abroad; by which his riper years were qualified, to become more useful and serviceable at home; he made it not his business, (as too many have done) to glean the follies and the weaknesses of those Nations he conversed with, and to traffick only in Bells and Bawbles: but imported such things as deserved his application, and inriched his mind with their most valuable Commodities: He pryed into their customs, their politicks, and their strength, without being partial­ly byassed in their favour; returning, as he went out, a True Englishman; and valuing more highly the constitutions of his own Coun­try, by comparing them with the misma­nagements and irregularities which he had carefully observed in the Government of others: Thus did he wisely endeavour to fit him­self, more for Service than for shew; look­ing, [Page 25]upon Language and fashionable breeding (in which however he was versed as well as any man) but as the becoming trappings and furniture, of his more considerable substantial improvements: Besides all which he was particu­larly taken notice of, for a surprizing largeness and generosity of Soul; such as set him above the little temptations of private intriguings and narrow designs; being always ready to make his own interest truckle to the advantage of others, or the service of the Publick: By such methods as these he gain'd esteem every where: and had the general commendation from all tongues of being, what so many aim at, and so few attain to a compleat English Gentleman. But

Secondly, Let us consider him as a Patriot; and we shall find his affection to his native Country, to have been as disinterested, as it was firm and exemplary: His earlier years were spent abroad in her Service, and in the honourable fatigues of a foreign war; nor could all the allurements of royal favour (which would largely have been showred up­on so considerable a man) bribe him after­wards to forsake her cause, or to espouse a Party opposite to her interests; he stuck close to [Page 26]his Honour, and to his Love to her, tho at the expence of a valuable employment, and much more valuable expectations; he laid down his Commission with a chearful resignation, when he could no longer keep it without disserving her, for whose sake and safety he accepted it before; and exposed himself readily to a vo­luntary banishment, rather than he would be a spectator to those miseries, which were about to exercise his native land, and to which he could then apply no remedy: since that how vigoroysly did he contribute his assist­ance, to our late happy Revolution! and how firm and unalterable has his adherence been, to the best of Princes and of Governments! and all this, without being acted by those little motives, of advancing his fortune, or his fi­gure in the world; but receiving all his de­served preferments, as the favours of a Prince whom he valued more, for his personal ver­tues than for his royal Bounties; and only esteeming them as the instruments and oppor­tunities, of being more signally and success­fully useful to his Country. How freely ever after did be expose himself to danger, when­soever her honour or advantage called upon [Page 27]him! till at last he sealed his tenderness for her, with the highest expression of it that could be given, Greater love than this has no man, that he lay down his Life! This did he for his dear Country, fighting in her cause, a­gainst her most powerful and most inveterate enemies; and testified a sensible concern at his Death, that he had not another life to sacri­fice, for the advancement of her interest and the service of his Prince: and he met with a grate­ful return of love; since few, if any, have ever had the happiness, to be so much the Darling of all sorts of people, or to be attended to their grave with so general a sorrow, But

Thirdly, Let us consider him as a Souldier and here we shall find him vigorous and a­ctive; surprizingly brave in the most dan­gerous emergencies; and eagerly catching at all opportunities, in which he might signa­lize his Courage without forfeiting his Judg­ment: If all the other actions of his life were silent, Athlone would speak both his Valour and his Conduct; an action, in which I know not whether was more wonderful, the At­tempt, or the Execution; both of them were admirable, and both his own. I appeal to those [Page 28]who were under his Command if he ever. re­fused to take the first Essay of danger; or, addressed to them in other Language than that of the great Julius, who requited, and ex­pected nothing more from his Legions, than that they would follow where he led the way: and yet, with all this ardour of an invincible cou­rage, he was not of an uneasy turbulent dispo­sition, or overapt to be engaged in idle quar­rels; for as the sweetness of his nature, and; the politeness of his education, hindered him from offering an affront to any man; so the modest sense which he had of his own just merit, would not suffer him to suspect, that he was designed upon by others; the Fire then of his temper worked calmly and regu­larly, like that vital warmth which cherishes the body, and is subservient to the great ends of health and liveliness; whilst that of too many others, resembles the malignant heat of a Feaver, which boils up into folly and distra­ction: He loved all Souldiers, he lived amongst them, and he died like one; and since he was no less beloved by them, I have hopes that the desire of revenging his death, may prove a sharper Spur to their future Undertakings, [Page 29]than even his presence formerly and great ex­ample; that so the just anger which his loss works in them (the loss of a Patron as well as of a Leader) may send thousands of our Ad­versaries to wait upon his Ghost, and make Sampson's character be applicable to him, that the Enemies which he destroyed by his Death, were more than those which he slew in his Life.

Thus have I acted like that Painter, who drawing the picture of a young Noble-man some days after he was buried, was fain to fall vastly short of the beautiful Original, and could only copy out a very faint resemblance: in like manner have I dealt with my present sub­ject; giving you only some imperfect lines, by which you may be just able to guess at the party. Such then, as fame and your own knowledge will more fully decipher him was this Great man, who is now but a cold neg­lected lump of Clay: Death, which is the end of all men, has asserted its Jurisdiction over him also; I mean, over as much of him as could dye; for his unblemished reputation is ex­empted from mortality, Death has no farther dominion over him. Tho his carcass must be consigned to worms and putrefaction, yet the [Page 30] memory of his great actions shall for ever live and flourish; in whatsoever parts of the earth, an accomplished Gentleman, a zealous Lover of his Country, or a deserving Commander is re­membred with respect the name of Tolmach who was eminently all these, shall never fail of an honourable mention.

Let us then attend him to his Grave with decent expressions of a manly sorrow; let no mixture interfere of weakness or esseminacy; nothing unbecoming the person we mourn for: but let us take our leave of him at the Dormitory of his Ancestors, with the Prophet's Lamentation, Alas my Brother!

And let us, who are yet living, so duly and seriously lay to heart, not only his end but that of all men else; that whensoever this common lot of mankind, shall (as it once must) be ours in particular; we may leave behind (as he does) the odour of a good memory, and only exchange this life for a better. Which God of his infinite mercy grant we may all do through the merits and mediation of our blessed Redeemer, to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be ascribed all honour, power, might, majesty and dominion, henceforth and for evermore, Amen.