THERE is a time to weep, and a time to rejoyce: every one here present will rea­dily agree with me, that this is a time to weep: But it will look like the venturing on a Paradox, to say that it is also a time to rejoyce, which on this occasion seems to bear a harsh and uncouth sound. What! to re­joyce, that both Church and State have lost the Patern, that he whose remains are now before us, set us, and the support that he gave us? But we are Christians as well as Men; and while Nature feels so great a loss and sinks under it, our Christianity must shew it self. Faith must triumph over Sense, and Grace over Nature. While we mourn our own loss, let us rejoyce at his Crown: and Glory in our Holy Religion, that has produced and now [Page 2] compleated, so great an Example of Sublim and Heroical Piety and Vertue: and has let the World see, what the power of these Principles are, which we profess, when they are truly believed and stea­dily pursued. Notwithstanding all the tenderness that this melancholy Solemnity inspires, I must still say that we ought to rejoyce, that to all those convincing Arguments, by which he so often and so clearly proved the Truth and Excellency of our Holy Faith, he has added this plain and sensible de­monstration, letting the World see in himself what a sort of a Man a Christian is. Words have not that en­ergy which facts have. A shining Life has an autho­rity to perswade beyond all the force of Arguments, or the beauties of Rhetorick. Men are disposed to believe a Man, who has shewed in a long series of many years, that he believed himself: And that he was not only convinced, but overcome by his own Arguments. And therefore how sensibly soever you all, and I my self may feel that this is a time to mourn, yet suffer me to stop your tears, and to temper your sorrow a little; by adding that it is also a time to rejoyce: both for his sake who is now delivered from the storms and tempests of this Life: and upon the account of that Holy Religion, in which he was so great an Instrument, and to which he was such a lasting honour. If we trace [Page 3] his steps and imitate his vertues, we shall quickly follow him, to that blessedness of which he is now possessed. The Instructions that he gave us, and the Life that he led among us, are no small ad­vantages to direct us, to follow him, as he fol­lowed his meek and lowly Master: while we consider the end of his conversation, the scope and design 13. Heb. 7. of it all, and that happy conclusion that God has now put to it, for happy it is in it self, and happy to him, how melancholy soever it may seem to us.

And since great Examples give the clearest and most effectual instruction, and afford both the pleasantest and usefullest Entertainment, I will now endeavour, but in a plainness suitable to that, in which he lived, to gather together some parts of his Character; and to set him out to you such as you all knew him to be: tho' not with that force with which he for so many years, and in this place, did fix your attention and conquer your thoughts: yet with a simplicity that will perhaps more effectually prevail upon you than more studied Composures. I am sure you will believe me, be­cause the greatest part of that which I am to say, was known to you: And if you will but remember what you heard from him, and what you saw in him, I am confident you will all acknowledge that I am using great Reserves, and that I say much less [Page 4] than you think. It being fit that a modesty of stile, should appear in the whole contexture of this Dis­course, since a modesty of deportment did shine with so peculiar a lustre in all the parts of his Life.

I will say no more of my Text than what shall be just necessary, to shew how pertinent it is to my Subject: and how naturally it will take in the se­veral branches of his Character. St. Paul was now a Prisoner at Rome: he appealed to Caesar, and had Ver. 16, 17. appeared oftner then once before him. He found that he was in the Paws of a Lion, that delighted in Blood: and who to cover himself from the just fury of the Romans for his burning their City, was endea­vouring to expose the Christians to their rage, and he complains that he was forsaken by his friends when it might seem that he needed their assistance most. Whe­ther St. Paul knew that his death was near by a speci­al Revelation, as St. Peter did, or whether he gathered 2. Pet. 1. 14. it from other Circumstances, it is plain he was now looking for it: he reckoned it so certain, that he considered it as a thing then a doing: for the pre­ceeding Words which are rendred, I am ready to be offered up, do strictly signifie, I am now as a Sacri­fice; and my blood is a pouring out, after the man­ner [...]. of the libations in Sacrifices: He considered his death as a thing resolved on, and to be spee­dily executed, so that his departure was at hand. [Page 5] This Thought must needs strike deep: the Dark­ness and Solitude of a Prison, the Solemnities of a Day prefixed, the Pomp of an Execution, and the Circumstances both of Ignominy and Pain, with which it might be accompanied, did concur to heighten that gloomy Prospect: But that which se­cured his Quiet, in opposition to all that Agitation of Mind, was a Firmness arising out of a strict Re­view of his past Life: Conscience upon such oc­casions will not flatter, but speak out, and will ra­ther aggravate matters too much; and his told him he needed fear nothing; he had a Witness within, as well as a Judge and a God above. The Testi­mony of a good Conscience was the foundation of his Joy, and gave him a well-grounded Confi­dence in God. The whole Period running thus; For I am now ready to be offered; the time of my depar­ture is at hand: I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous Iudge will give me at that day, and not to me only, but to all that love his appearing.

The Words of my Text run in Figures taken from the Olympick Games; where there were Wrestlings, a Race was to be run, and all was to be performed according to the Laws of those Games, that were esteemed the greatest and noblest Diversions of those Ages: Iudges were appointed to declare the [Page 6] Victors, and to give them the Prize: They were crowned with Garlands, and had very extravagant Honours done them: Those Exercises being esteemed the best Preparations to Military Glory; so that the World thought they could not do enough to encourage them.

According then to that Stile, the Importance of which was at that time well understood, St. Paul here comforts himself with this, That he had fought a good fight, or rather the good fight, which he else­where calls, the good fight of faith: He had been bred 1 Tim. 6. 12. up with the Prejudices, and sowred with the Pas­sions of the Iews, and of the Pharisees in particular; but by the mighty Hand of God he was delivered from both; and afterwards he preached that Faith which he had formerly persecuted; but with ano­ther Spirit; he studied to gain the Iews with a Spirit of Meekness and Charity; he judged favourably of them, that they had a zeal of God, tho not according 10. Rom. 2. to knowledge; he prayed for them, and complied with them as far as he could, without betraying the Principles and the Liberty of the Christian Reli­gion; 1 Cor. 9. 20. and he was willing not only to have died, but to have become an Anathema or Execration for 9. Rom. 2, 3. them: He was indeed reproached and persecuted by them with all possible Injustice and Cruelty; yet he was not changed or provoked by all that opposition: But tho he became all things to all [Page 7] men, yet when the Truth or Honour of the Chri­stian Religion was concerned, he gave them not place 2. Gal. 4, 5. by subjection (he yielded no ground to them) no not for an hour.

He had Enemies of another sort likewise; those who endeavoured to corrupt the Christian Religi­on by the Prophane Mixtures of Paganism and Idolatry: For tho he had large Thoughts concern­ing the Idol Feasts, and Meats offered to Idols, yet 1 Cor. 8. he could not bear with those that were the Ene­mies of the Cross of Christ, and that were study­ing to cover themselves from it, by those base Compliances with Heathenish Practices. His oppo­sing Idolatry had often raised Storms against him­self, that were like to have proved fatal to him, as at Lystra, Ephesus, and in other places; yet he ne­ver Acts 14. & 19. gave over declaring against it, and warning all men to forsake those vanities, and to serve the living God. He had also many False Brethren to deal with, men that envied him, that studied to disparage 2 Cor. 10, & 11. his Person, to detract from his Authority, and that endeavoured to raise Factions against him; but tho he was glad that Christ was preached, at what rate 1. Phil. 18. soever, even by these spiteful men; and tho in meekness he instructed those that opposed themselves, yet when occasion required it, he asserted the Dignity 1 Cor. 5. of his Character with great Boldness, and exerted 1 Tim. 1. 20. it in some severe Acts of Apostolical Jurisdiction. [Page 8] With all these different sorts of men he was enga­ged, and among them he fought the good fight.

He finished his course; he run the race that was set be­fore him with patience, as he finished it with joy. He was a Pattern in all respects both in what he did, and in what he suffered; in his Personal Deport­ment as a Christian, and in his Labours as an Apo­stle: He durst make his Appeals to all the Churches where he had laboured, as well as to God, who knew how holily, justly, and unblameably, he had beha­ved 1 Thes. 2. 10. himself among them. He wrought with his own hands, 20. Acts 34. to support himself, that so his Labours in the Go­spel might be the more successful, and be liable to 1 Cor. 9. 18. less exception. He went about laying himself out wholly in that Work, Preaching in season, and out of season, and as he himself said, publickly and from 20. Acts 18, 20. house to house: yet he was all the while reviled to the degree of being esteemed as the filth and the off­scourings 1 Cor. 4. 13. of the earth: and we have a large Cata­logue 2 Cor. 6. & 11. given us of the Imprisonments, Whippings, Stonings, and other Persecutions, through which he past. His Body was exhausted with his constant Labours; and his Zeal for all the Churches burnt him up inwardly; so that without and within, his Life was a continued Scene of Labour and Suffer­ings; yet through all this he went, undaunted and unshaken, and was so unstained in the whole Course of his Ministry, that he knew he could [Page 9] with assurance appeal to what his Compani­ons 2 Tim. 3. 10. in Labour had observed of his manner of Life.

Finally, He had kept the faith, either his Faith that he had plighted to God when dedicated first by the Vow of Baptism, and afterwards separated to the work of the Ministry by the Imposition of hands. He had been true to that Faith, and to those Vows. Or by the faith may be meant the purity of the Christian Doctrine, which he had received as a trust from the Lord Jesus, and had delivered it faithfully to the Churches as he had received it: 1 Cor. 11. 23. Neither corrupting nor suppressing any part of it, 20. Acts 27. but declaring to them the whole Counsel of God. And though some through weakness, and others through 2 Pet 3. 16. malice, might have wrested his words, yet he had never handled the word of God deceitfully, nor of men 2 Cor. 4. 2. sought he glory: He was neither ashamed nor afraid 1 Thess. 2. 6. of the Cross of Christ. He asserted the great 1 Cor. 15. Truths of Religion, when he saw them struck at, with an Authority and Zeal proportioned to the importance of them; while in lesser matters he left men to the just freedoms of Human Nature, 14 Rom. to be governed by those great measures of Discre­tion, and Charity, a care to avoid scandal, and to promote Edification, and Peace, Decency and Order.

So far I have opened the Importance and Extent of the words of my Text. They carry in them a [Page 10] threefold Character of the Struglings and Difficul­ties, of the Life and Labours, and of the Fidelity and sound Doctrine of this great Apostle. It was no presumption in him to propose himself as a Pat­tern, to be followed by others, as he was a follower 1 Cor. 11. 1. of Christ; and he bids them mark such as they saw followed the Example that he set them; which was far from claiming any equality with his Ma­ster: So I hope it will not seem to derogate from the dignity of this Apostle of the Gentiles, if Mo­dern Examples are proposed to you, that so you may learn to follow them as they followed the Apostles of Christ; still allowing that vast distance that is between even the greatest of those that mi­nister in Ordinary Functions; and men inspired, whose Commissions were unlimited, and their Assistances proportioned to the Services to which they were called, and to the Times in which they lived.

I do now return to the sad Occasion of this present Assembly, to consider how truly these words give us the Character of him over whom we do now mourn, and upon whose account we ought also to rejoice. His first Education and Impressions were among those who were then called Puritans; but of the best sort. Yet even before his mind was opened to clearer [Page 11] thoughts, he felt somewhat within him that dis­posed him to larger Notions, and a better Temper. The Books which were put in the hands of the Youth of that time, were gene­rally heavy; he could scarce bear them, even before he knew better things; he happily fell on Chillingworth's Book, which gave his mind the ply that it held ever after, and put him on a true scent. He was soon freed from his first Prejudices, or rather he was never mastered by them; yet he still stuck to the strictness of life to which he was bred, and retained a just value, and a due tenderness for the men of that Persuasion: and by the strength of his Reason, together with the clearness of his Prin­ciples, he brought over more serious Persons from their Scruples to the Communion of the Church, and fix'd more in it, than any man I ever knew. But he neither treated them with con­tempt nor hatred, and he disliked all Levi­ties and Railings upon those Subjects. This gave him great advantages in dealing with them, and he still persisted in it, how much soever it was either disliked or suspected by angry men. As he got into a true method of study, so he entred into friendships with some great men, which contributed not a little to the perfecting his own mind. There was then a Set of as ex­traordinary [Page 12] Persons, in the University where he was formed, as perhaps any Age has produced; they had clear Thoughts, and a vast Compass; great Minds, and Noble Tempers. But that which gave him his last finishing, was his close and long Friendship with Bishop Wilkins. He went into all the best things that were in that Great man, but so, that he perfected eve­ry one of them: For though Bishop Wilkins was the more Universal man, yet he was the greater Divine: if the one had more flame, the other was more correct. Both acted with great plain­ness, and were raised above regarding Vul­gar Censures. But if Bishop Wilkins had a Ta­lent so peculiar to himself, that perhaps never man could admonish and reprove with such weight and authority, and in a way so obliging as he did; so no man knew better than this his great Friend, the art of gaining upon mens hearts, and of making themselves find out that which might be amiss in them, though the Gen­tleness and Modesty of his Temper had not so well fitted him for the rough Work of Reproving.

Having dedicated himself to the Service of the Church, and being sensible of the great Good that might be done by a plain and edifying way of Preaching, he was very little disposed to follow the Patterns then set him, or indeed those of for­mer [Page 13] times. And so he set a Pattern to himself, and such an one it was, that 'tis to be hoped it will be long and much followed. He begun with a deep and close Study of the Scriptures, upon which he spent four or five Years, till he had arrived at a true understanding of them. He studied next all the antient Philosophers and Books of Morality: Among the Fathers St. Basil and St. Chrysostom were those he chiefly read. Upon these Preparations he set himself to compose the greatest Variety of Sermons, and on the best Subjects, that perhaps any one Man has ever yet done. His joining with Bishop Wilkins in pursuing the Scheme of an Uni­versal Character, led him to consider exactly the Truth of Language and Stile, in which no Man was happier, and knew better the Art of preserving the Majesty of things under a Simplicity of Words; tempering these so equally together, that neither did his Thoughts sink, nor his Stile swell: keep­ing always the due Mean between a low Flatness and the Dresses of false Rhetorick. Together with the Pomp of Words he did also cut off all Super­fluities and needless Enlargements: He said what was just necessary to give clear Idea's of things, and no more: He laid aside all long and affected Peri­ods: His sentences were short and clear; and the whole Thread was of a piece, plain and distinct. No affectations of Learning, no squeezing of [Page 14] Texts, no superficial Strains, no false Thoughts nor bold Flights, all was solid and yet lively, and grave as well as Fine: so that few ever heard him, but they found some new Thought occurred; something that either they had not considered be­fore, or at least not so distinctly, and with so clear a View as he gave them.

Whether he explained Points of Divinity, Mat­ters of Controversy, or the Rules of Morality, on which he dwelt most copiously, there was some­thing peculiar in him on them all, that conquered the Minds, as well as it commanded the Attention of his Hearers; who felt all the while that they were learning somewhat, and were never tired by him; for he cut off both the Luxuriances of Stile, and the Length of Sermons; and he con­cluded them with some Thoughts of such Gravi­ty and Use, that he generally dismissed his Hearers with somewhat that stuck to them. He read his Sermons with so due a Pronunciation, in so se­date and so solemn a manner, that they were not the feebler, but rather the perfecter, even by that way, which often lessens the Grace, as much as it adds to the Exactness of such Discourses.

I am sure I have before me many Witnesses to what I say. The World has already seen such Es­says of this, and shall, I hope, see so much more, that I need say the less on this Head.

[Page 15]He saw, with a deep Regret, the fatal Corrup­tion of this Age, while the Hypocrisies and Ex­travagancies of former times, and the Liberties and Loosness of the present, disposed many to Atheism and Impiety. He therefore went far into this Matter: and as he had considered all the antient and modern Apologies for the Christian Religion, with an Exactness that became the Importance of the Subject, so he set the whole Strength of his Thoughts and Studies to withstand the Progress that this was making. In order to that he labour­ed particularly to bring every thing out of the clear­est Principles, and to make all People feel the Rea­sonableness of the Truths, as well as of the Pre­cepts of the Christian Religion. When he saw that Popery was at the root of this, and that the Design seemed to be laid, to make us first Atheists, that we might be the more easily made Papists, and that many did not stick to own, that we could have no Certainty for the Christian Faith, unless we believed the Infallibility of the Church, This gave him a deep and just Indignation: It was such a betraying of the Cause of God, rather than not to gain their own, that in this the Foundation was laid of his great Zeal a­gainst Popery. This drew his Studies for some Years much that way: He looked on the whole Complex of Popery as such a Corruption of the [Page 16] whole Design of Christianity, that he thought it was incumbent on him, to set himself against it, with the Zeal and Courage which became that Cause, and was necessary for those Times: He thought the Idolatry and Superstition of the Church of Rome did enervate true Piety and Morality; and that their Cruelty was such a Con­tradiction to the Meekness of Christ, and to that Love and Charity which he made the Character and Distinction of his Disciples and Followers, that he resolved to sacrifice every thing, except a good Conscience, in a Cause for which he had resolved, if it should come to Extremities, to be­come a Sacrifice himself.

His Enemies soon saw how much he stood in their way, and were not wanting in the Arts of Calumny, to disable him from opposing them with that great Success which his Writings and Sermons had on the Nation. His Life was too pure in all the Parts of it, to give them a Pretence to attempt on that. So regular a Piety, such an unblemished Probity, and so extensive and ten­der a Charity, together with his great and con­stant Labours, both in private and publick, set him above Reproach. That Honourable Socie­ty which treated him always with so particular a Respect, and so generous a Kindness; and this great City, not only the Neighbourhood of [Page 17] this Place, which was so long happy in him, but the whole Extent of it, knew him too well, and esteemed him too much, for those his Ene­mies to adventure on the common Arts of de­faming; subtiler Methods were to be used, since his Vertue was too exemplary to be soiled in the ordinary way.

His endeavouring to make out every thing in Religion from clear and plain Principles, and with a Fulness of demonstrative Proof, was laid hold on to make him pass for one that could believe nothing that lay beyond the Compass of hu­mane Reason: And his tender Method of treat­ing with Dissenters, his Endeavours to extin­guish that Fire, and to unite us among our selves, against those who understood their own Interest well, and pursued it closely, inflaming our Differences, and engaging us into violent Animosities, while they shifted Sides, and still gained Ground, whether in the Methods of To­leration, or of a strict Execution of Penal Laws, as it might serve their Ends; those calm and wise Designs of his, I say, were represented as a want of Zeal in the Cause of the Church, and an Inclination towards those who departed from it. But how unhappily successful soever they might be, in infusing those Jealousies of him, into some warm and unwary Men, he still went [Page 18] on in his own way: He would neither depart from his Moderation, nor take Pains to cover himself from so false an Imputation. He thought the Openness of his Temper, the Course of his Life, his Sincerity, and the visible Effects of his Labours, which had contributed so much to turn the greatest Part of this vast City to a hearty Love of the Church, and a firm adhering to the Com­munion of it, in which no Man was ever more eminently distinguish'd than he was: He thought; I say, that constant Zeal with which he had al­ways served such as came to labour in this great City, and by which he had been so singularly useful to them; he thought the great Change that had been made in bringing Mens Minds off from many wild Opinions, to sober and steady Principles, and that in so prudent a manner, that things were done without Mens perceiving it, or being either startled or fretted by the Peevish­ness which is raised and kept up by Contradicti­on or disputing, in which, without derogating from other Mens Labours, no Man had a larger Share than himself; upon all these Reasons, I say, he thought that his Conduct needed no Apology, but that it was above it.

After the Restoration of the Church, Anger upon those Heads was both more in fashion, and seemed more excusable: Men coming then out [Page 19] of the Injustice and Violence by which they had been so long ill used, and were so much pro­voked; yet neither that, nor the Narrowness of his Fortune, while he needed Supports, and saw what was the shortest way to arrive at them, could make him change his strain. A Benefice being offered him in the Country, he once intended to have left this great Scene, and gone to that Retire­ment, where he spent almost a Year: But he was happily recalled by that Honourable Society, for whom he always retained just Impressions of Gratitude. And though in the Intervals of Terms he could have given a large Part of the Year to his Parish, yet so strict he was to the Pastoral Care in the Point of Residence, that he parted with it even when his Incomes here could scarce support him.

I need not tell you for how many Years, and with what Labour and Success he divided him­self between that Society and this Place. I am confident you have profited so much by it, that you will remember it long; and that you do reckon it as a great Item of the Account you must all one Day give, that you were so long blessed with his Ministry. The numerous As­sembly that this Lecture brought together, e­ven from the remotest Parts of this wide City; the great Concourse of Clergy-men who came hither to form their Minds, the happy Union [Page 20] that thereby the Clergy of this great Body grew into, and the blessed Effects this had, are things which it is to be hoped an Age will not wear out of Mens Minds. Some great Charity, some publick Service or good Design was the Work of most of those Days. Every one saw him considered as the Head of this learned and emi­nent Body; he was the only Person that made no Reflections on it himself; he was still so affable and humble, so modest, and so ready to serve the youngest and meanest in it, that such as saw all that, must needs feel the Impressions of it go deep, and stick long with him.

Those great Preferments to which his ex­traordinary Worth seemed to have forced some who had no Kindness to him, to advance him afterwards, had no other Effect on him, but to enlarge his Capacity of doing Good: He neither slackned his Labours, nor advanced his Fortunes by them: he did not content himself with such a Residence as answered the Statute; considering his Obligations to attend at Court: but gave as much of his Time and Labours to his Cathe­dral as could agree with his Obligations here. He neither aspired nor hearkned to the Motions of a further Advancement; and all that he de­sired upon this Happy Revolution, was such a Change as did considerably lessen his Income, [Page 21] but delivered him from the invidious load of ha­ving two Dignities. He bore this in the former Reigns, because the practice was common: And he was enabled by it, to go far in his Charities: But as he intended to put a stop to that Abuse, so he resolved to set an Example to others in it.

Thus he went on, while his Enemies were still endeavouring to beat down a Reputation, which gave him, as they thought, too great an Authority. How fatally this grew to be hearkned to, and how much it was entertained, I chuse rather to suppress than to lament, that so this Discourse may have the more of his own Air in it: And may be as free from resentment as his Mind was.

But I must now give you the last Scene of the Struglings thro' which this holy Man past, but out of which he is now escaped. He did truly rejoyce in the happy Deliverance of these Nations: he could not but observe those amasing Steps of Providence that accompanied it, and hoped it was a beginning to great Blessings that were to follow it. Many of those who had longed for it, and wisht well to it, did of a sudden start back: And some in high Sta­tions of the Church would neither openly declare for it, nor act against it, according to the Authority of their Characters: One of which they certainly ought to have done. If they did then judge it so un­lawful as they would now represent it, they ought [Page 22] to have thundered both with their Sermons and Cen­sures against it, especially in the first fermentation, when a vigorous Opposition might have had con­siderable Effects; and would have made them look like Confessors indeed, to which they afterwards pre­tended. They did it not: But left their Authori­ty intirely with their Chancellors; who acting in their Name and by their Commission, were the same Persons in Law with themselves. Oaths were tendred to others, and taken by them, in their Name which they thought unlawfull, and yet would scarce say so much even in confidence to any of their Clergy that asked their Opinions about it: Both concealing their Principles, and withdraw­ing from the publick Worship of the Church, and yet not daring to act or speak against it. They hoped at this rate to have held their Sees, and en­joyed their Revenues, while in a silent, but fearful manner they still adhered to an Interest, with which, as one of them writ, they could no more part than with their Interest in Heaven.

Thus did they abandon the Government of the Church: We were in such a Posture by their means, that neither our Laws nor our Princes could bear it long: And therefore the same Authority mdae their Sees void, that had displaced the Non-conformists in 61, and the Popish Bishops in the beginnings of Queen Elizabeth's Reign. Our Sovereigns after a [Page 23] long forbearance, beyond the term prefixed by Law; resolved at last to fill the vacant Sees: And that great Judgment which they have shewed upon other occa­sions, made them soon settle on him as the fittest Per­son to steer this Church. It is well known how long and how earnestly he withstood this: Not from any feeble or fearful Considerations relating to himself: He was not afraid of a Party, nor concerned in such Censures and Calumnies as might be thrown upon him: He was not unwilling to sacrifice the quiet of his Life, which he apprehended might soon decline and sink under so great a Load. The Pomp of Great­ness, the attendance upon Courts, and a high Station, were indeed very contrary to his Genius: But tho' these were grounds good enough to make him unwil­ling to rise higher in the World, yet none of them seemed strong enough to fix him to an obstinate Refusal. That which went the deepest in his own mind, and which he laid out the most earnestly before Their Majesties, was, That those groundless preju­dices with which his Enemies had loaded him, had been so industriously propagated, while they were neglected by himself, that he believed, that he, who (as his Humility made him think) could at no time do any great Service, was less capable of it, now than ever. But their Majesties persisting in their In­tentions he thought it was the Voice and Call of God to him, and so he submitted: Yet with a heavi­ness [Page 24] of Mind that no Man knew better than my self. But as he engaged in it, he formed two settled Resolu­tions, from which he never departed. The one was, That whensoever the state of their Majestie's Affairs was such that he could hope to be dismist from that Post, he would become a most importunate Suitor to be delivered from it. The other was, That if the Infirmities of Age, should have so overtaken him, that he would not go thro' the Fatigue and Labours of it, then he would humbly offer it up to Their Ma­jesties: And he charged some of his most particular Friends to use all freedom with him in this matter, if they should observe it, before it were perceived by himself,

Thus did he enter upon this last Scene of Life: how much he applied himself to it, and how faithful­ly he went thro' it, and how constantly he proposed and promoted all good designs in it, is so well known, that I need not enlarge upon it. He enjoyed more privacy in it, than in the former parts of his Life; for while he lived in or near this great City, his acquaintance was so much desired, and his conver­sation was so much valued; so many came to him, or sent for him, that his time was almost wholly given up to the Labours of his Function, or the en­dearments of Friendship: And he chose rather to live to the good of others, than to himself. So that his Studies were by this means much broken; for he [Page 25] thought that to do an Act of Charity, or even of Tenderness, and Kindness, was of more va­lue both in its self, and in the sight of God, than to pursue the pompous Parts of Learning, how much soever his own Genius might lead him to it. But in his last Years the Post he held, and the place he lived in, set him more at liberty, from that Croud, which he had suffered to break in upon him formerly. This Privacy was for most part imployed in considering what could be done for the good of the Church, and the advancement of Religion and Vertue: In his minutes of leisure, he was looking over his Ser­mons and giving them their last touches. His Thoughts were indeed chiefly raised to the best Objects; for he gave himself much to Prayer and Meditation. He had one great encourage­ment in that high but Invidious Station: Which was not only the constant favour of Their Ma­jesties, but that which gave him a support of another nature, since the other was only Per­sonal, and so was less regarded by one that con­sidered himself very little, was that he perceived in them, such serious Designs, so true a Zeal, and so right a Judgment in all the concerns of Religion, and of this Church; that he often said, he did not think that any Age had produced Princes who understood the true Interests of our [Page 26] Church so well, and were so much set on pro­moting them, as Their Majesties were. A zeal he observed in them, that was so tender, and yet so well guided, that he did indeed expect greater Blessings from it, than so corrupt an Age is ei­ther capable of, or can well deserve and hope for. But God seemed to have a great Work to do, and they seemed to be proper Instru­ments for it. This did animate him to cast about and project a great variety of Designs, every one of which was always graciously recei­ved and well entertained.

But as this was the greatest, so it was almost the single Satisfaction that he enjoyed in his Ele­vation, while he was from other hands assaulted with the most boisterous, the most injurious, as well as the falsest Calumnies that Malice could invent: And yet how false soever these were generally known to be, the Confidence with which they were averred, joined with the envy that accompanies a high Station, had a greater operation than could have been imagined; con­sidering how long he had lived on so publick a Scene, and how well he was known. It seemed a new and an unusual thing that a Man who in a course of above thirty Years had done so much good, so many Services to so many Per­sons, without ever once doing an ill Office, or [Page 27] a hard thing to any one Person, who had a sweetness and gentleness in him, that seemed ra­ther to lean to excess, should yet meet with so much Unkindness and Injustice. But the re­turns of Impudence and Malice which were made to the Son of God himself, and to his A­postles, taught him to bear all this with sub­mission to the Will of God; praying for those who despitefully used him, and upon all occa­sions doing them good for Evil. Nor had this any other effect on him, either to change his Temper or his Maxims, tho' perhaps it might sink too much into him, with relation to his Health. He was so exactly true in all the representations of Things or Persons, that he laid before Their Majesties, that he neither rais'd the Character of his Friends, nor sunk that of those that de­served not so well of him, (I love not to say Ene­mies) but offer'd every thing to Them with that sincerity that did so well become him: that Truth and Candor was almost perceptible in every thing he said or did: his Looks and whole Manner seemed to take away all suspicion concerning him. For he thought nothing in this World was worth much Art, or great Manage­ment. With all these things he strugled till at last they overcame him, or rather he overcame them, and escaped from them.

[Page 28] He has now finished his course: An Exemplary one it has been: His Life was not only free from blemishes, which is but a low size of Commen­dation; it shined in all the Parts of it. In his Domestick Relations, in his Friendships, in the whole commerce of Business, he was always a Pattern, easie and humble, frank and open, ten­der-hearted and bountiful, kind and obliging, in the greatest as well as in the smallest Matters: A decent but grave chearfulness made his Conver­sation as lively and agreeable, as it was useful and instructing: He was ever in good Humour, always the same, both accessible and affable: He heard every thing patiently: was neither apt to mistake nor to suspect: His own great Can­dour disposing him to put the best Constructi­ons, and to judge the most favourably of all Persons and Things: He past over many Inju­ries, and was ever ready to forgive the grea­test, and to do all good Offices even to those who had used himself very ill. He was never im­perious nor assuming: And tho' he had a supe­riour Judgment to most Men, yet he never dictated to others: Few Men had observed Hu­mane Nature more carefully, could judge bet­ter, and make larger allowances for the Frail­ties of Mankind than he did. He lived in a due neglect of his Person, and contempt of Plea­sure, [Page 29] but never affected pompous Severities: he despised wealth, but as it furnished him for Charity in which he was both liberal and u­dicious.

Thus his Course in the private Vertues and Capacities of a Christian was of a sublime pitch: his Temper had made him incapable of the Practices either of Craft or Violence.

In his Function, he was a constant Preacher, and diligent in all the other parts of his Duty: for rho' he had no care of Souls upon him, yet few that had, laboured so painfully as he did; in Visiting the Sick, in Comforting the Afflicted, and in setling such as were either shaking in their Opinions, or troubled in Mind. He had a great compass in Learning: what he knew he had so per­fectly digested, that he was truely the Ma­ster of it. But the Largeness of his Genius, and the Correctness of his Judgment, carried him much further, then the leisure that he had enjoyed for Study, seemed to furnish him: for he could go a great way upon ge­neral hints. Thus he lived, thus he run, and thus he finished his course.

He kept the faith. If Fidelity is meant by this, no man made Promises more unwillingly, but observed them more Religiously then he did. [Page 30] The sacred Vows of his Function were Con­sciously pursued by him; he reckoned himself dedicated to the Service of God, and to the doing of Good. In this he lived, and seem­ed to live to no other end. But if by keep­ing the faith, be to be understood the preser­ving and handing down the sacred Trust of the Christian Doctrine, this he maintained pure and undefiled. Even in his younger days when he had a great Liveliness of thought, and finess of Imagination, he avoided the disturbing the Peace of the Church with par­ticular Opinions, or an angry Opposition a­bout more Indifferent, or doubtful Matters: He lived indeed in great Friendship with men that differed from him: He thought the sur­est way to bring them off from their mistakes, was by gaining upon their Hearts and Affe­ctions: And in an Age of such great Dissolu­tion, as this is, he judged that the best way to put a stop to growing Impiety, was first to establish the Principles of natural Religion, and from that to advance to the Proof of the Christian Religion, and of the Scriptures: which being once solidly done, would soon setle all other things. Therefore he was in great doubt, whither the surest way to per­swade the World, to the belief of the sublime [Page 31] Truths that are contained in the Scriptures, concerning God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, and concerning the Person of Christ, was to enter much into the discussing of those Mysteries: He feared that an indiscreet dwel­ling and descanting upon those things, might do more hurt then good: He thought the maintaing these Doctrines as they are pro­posed in the Scriptures, without entring too much into Explanations or Controversies, would be the most effectual way to preserve the Reverence that was due to them, and to fix them in mens belief. But when he was de­sired by some, and provoked by others, and saw just Occasions moving him to it, he as­serted those great Mysteries with that Strength and Clearness, that was his peculiar Talent. He thought the less mens Consciences were entangled, and the less the Communion of the Church was clogg'd with disputable Opini­ons, or Practices, the world would be the Happier, Consciences the freer, and the Church the Quieter. He made the Scriptures the mea­sure of his Faith, and the chief Subject of all his Meditations.

He indeed judged that the great design of Chri­stianity was the reforming Mens Natures, and governing their Actions, the restraining their Ap­petites, [Page 32] and Passions, the softning their Tempers, and sweetning their Humours, the com­posing their Affections. and the raising their minds above the Interests and Follies of this present World, to the hope and pursuit of endless Blessedness: And he considered the whole Christian Doctrine as a System of Prin­ciples, all tending to this. He looked on Mens contending about lesser matters, or about Sub­tleties relating to those that are greater, as one of the chief practices of the Powers of Dark­ness, to defeat the true ends for which the Son of God came into the World, and that they did lead Men into much dry and angry work, who while they were hot in the making Parties, and setling Opinions, became so much the slacker in those great Duties, which were chiefly de­signed by the Christian Doctrine.

I have now viewed him in this Light, in which S. Paul does here view himself, and have considered how much of that Character belong­ed to him: I have reason to believe that he went over these things often in his own Thoughts, with the same prospect that S. Paul had: For tho' he seemed not to apprehend that Death was so near him, as it proved to be, yet he thought it was not far from him: He spoke often of it as that which he was [Page 33] longing for, and which he would welcome with Joy.

Now the black part of this Discourse comes on me, I cannot avoid it, tho' I know not how to enter upon it, or how to go thro with it. He kept nothing in reserve for his last hours: He was still ready waiting for them, so he could not be surprized, tho every Body else was. The first Attacks came upon him while he was in that Imployment in which he delighted most, at Church, and in the Worship of God: he bore them with his usual neglect of himself: And tho' his Countenance shewed he was ill, he would neither Interrupt nor break off from those Sacred Exercises, nor make hast to look after his Health. Ah the unhappy Neglect! of a Life that deserved so well to be carefully preserved. The sit came on slowly, but seemed to be fatal: All Symptoms were melancholly. It soon turned to a Dead Palsie. The Oppression was so great that it became very uneasie for him to speak, but it appeared that his understand­ing was still clear, tho others could not have the advantage of it: he only said, that he had no burden on his Conscience. All Remedies pro­ved ineffectual: He expressed no concern to Live, nor fear to Die, but patiently bore his burden, till it sunk him on the fifth Day, and in the sixty [Page 36] fifth Year of his Age. Thus he Lived and thus he Died.

Now he has received that Crown of Righteous­ness which he lookt for, from the hands of that Righteous Iudge to whom he often made his Appeals, and who knew the sincerity of his Heart, and the Integrity of his Life. There he is now at rest, got beyond the strife of Tongues and the Pride of Man, into those Re­gions of Peace and Blessedness. May we all who stay behind, learn so much from what we saw in him, and heard from him, as to follow him thither, and so to possess our Minds and to govern our Lives, while we are in this our Pil­grimage, that when the Terrours of Death may overtake us, the prospect of a Blessed Im­mortality beyond it, may so support us, that we may not only overcome all those darkning and oppressive Fears, but may finish our Course with Joy, and pass into that State, of Life and Glory, where with Angels and Saints we shall always behold the Face of our Heavenly Father, and we shall be ever with the Lord: Let us both exhort and comfort one another, with these words,