THE Words that I have read unto you, are a Reason render'd by the Apostle of something before discoursed of; and if we look into the preceding Chapter, we shall find that he is there rendring an Account of his Sufferings for the Gospel, and his chearful Submission to those Sufferings, on the hopes of being better Rewarded in another World. It was the Contemplation of those Eternal Joys which God hath prepared for those that love Him, that made him run through so many Dangers, and endure such a Numerous Train of Misfortunes, with so Heroick and Undaunted a Courage as he did. That made the Primitive Christians despise the Swords and the Axes, the Racks and the Tor­tures of their Persecutors; that taught them to sing in the midst of the most scorching Flames, and expire in the midst of the most cruel Torments, with as much Serenity and Unconcernedness as if they had been Reposing themselves on a Bed of Roses. For they had an Eye to the Recompence of a Reward hereafter, and were as certain of enjoying it as [Page 4] if they had it in actual possession: They look'd upon all their Sorrows and Afflictions as light and easie, in respect of that far more exceeding and eternal Weight of Glory that was ready to Crown all their Labours, 2 Cor IV. 17. They look'd not at the things that were seen, which were able to affright them with the Terror of their Appearance; but at the things which were not seen, at that invisible state of Joy and Comfort, which was abundantly sufficient to comfort and refresh their Spirits in the height of their greatest Suf­ferings. And when their Persecutors were tormenting of their Bodies, and exercising all the Cruelty upon them that the Wit and Rage of an Enemy could invent, they were so far from shrinking back, or complaining under their Pains, that they looked upon them as an hastening of their Joys, and an Emancipation of their Souls from the dark and me­lancholy Prison of their Bodies: Being well assured that when the Earthly House of their Tabernacle was Dissolved; they had a Building of God prepared for them, an House not made with Hands, Eternal in the Heavens.

By the Earthly House of this Tabernacle, we are to understand the frail and mortal Body of Man, which the Apo­stle calls an Earthly House, and a Tabernacle, because of its similitude to them. It is compared to an House, because it is the Habitation of the Soul that is lodged within it, our Bodies being only given us for the Entertainment of our Souls, and the more easie exercise of their Operations: And so much the Stoicks have instructed us out of their Philosophy, whilst they compare the Body to a Casket, but the Soul to a rich and pretious Jewel that is lodged within it▪ It is called an Earthly House, because it was first framed out of the Dust of the Earth, and must again return to its first Principle; and it is resembled to a Tabernacle, not only in Conformity to the Phrase and Idiom of the Jews and the Pythagoreans, who do frequently call it so in their Writings▪ [Page 5] but also because of its Mutability & Uncertainty, it is the na­ture of a Tabernacle to be removed from place to place; and it is the Nature and Constitution of our Bodies to be subject to Changes, and at last dissolved and pulled in pieces. By the House not made with Hands, Eternal in the Heavens, we are to understand that state of Dignity and Immortality to which our Bodies shall be advanced in another World, which is therefore called a Building of God, because it is of his ordering and preparing. An House not made with Hands, because not subject to Changes and Decays, and it is called Eternal in the Heavens, to denote the place and the perpe­tuity of it, our Immortal Bodies shall be placed in Heaven, and shall be no more subject to Dissolution or Corruption.

So that the sence of the Words may be explain'd by this short Paraphrase: We Christians do certainly know that our Bodies shall be Dissolved into Dust and Ashes, and we do not in the least doubt but that after their Dissolution they shall be raised up again to a state of Immortality and In­corruption, and placed in the Heavens, where they shall no more be subject to Decays and Alterations. From the Words thus Explain'd, I shall raise these following Obser­vations.

1. That these Bodies that we carry about us are only the Outward Shell or Covering of some more Excellent Thing that is lodged within them.

2. That they shall be Dissolved, and pull'd in pieces.

3. That after their Dissolution, they are not to remain Eternally Rotting in the Graves, but shall be Advanced to a better state than they enjoyed before, to a state of Im­mortality and Eternal Happiness.

4. That the Place or State in which they shall be fixed, is the Heavens above.

5. That we Christians have the highest Reasons, and the strongest Arguments to induce us to believe all this, for we [Page 6] know and are assured, That when the Earthly House of this Tabernacle is Dissolved, we have a Building of God an House not made with Hands, Eternal in the Heavens.

1. I bgin with the first particular, That our Bodies are only the Outward Shell or Covering of some more Excel­lent Thing that is lodged within them. For the proof of this, I shall only insist on such Arguments as do arise na­turally out of the Text: They are here compared to an House and a Tabernacle, now the Notion of an House, doth imply some Person or another that is to inhabit it, no Man being so Unreasonable as to Erect it, but with a respect to this End, and out of a Design to fit it for the Conveniencies of some to dwell in it. And the Notion of a Tabernacle doth imply the same thing, and direct us to the same Sence and Meaning: We read in the Old Testament of the Ta­bernacle of the Testament, and of the Tabernacles of the Shep­herds,; the former directs us to the Presence of God that was pleased to dwell in it▪ and for whose Honour and Ser­vice it was Erected; And the latter points us to the End and Use for which those Tabernacles were Erected, name­ly, For the Conveniencies of the Shepherds that were to lodge in them. It is so likewise in the state and condition of these mortal Bodies that God hath given to the Sons of Men, which are only prepared for the Receptacle of our Souls, to be an Help meet and convenient for them, and to serve as a ready Organ or Instrument of their Actions.

When Almighty God breathed into the First Man the Breath of Life, and quickned the first Lump of Clay with an Active Principle of Heat and Motion, it was none of his Design that Men should fall in love with the Beauty of their own Faces, or the neat Contexture of their Parts. This were in effect to place our Affections on things below them, and make an Idol of our selves; we should rather consider that all this Symmetry and Proportion of Parts [Page 7] the Activity of our Bodies, and the Strength of our Limbs, and the admirable Order and Proportion of all the Mem­bers of our Body, were principally given us for the Use and Convenience of that Ray of Himself, that Divinae Au­rae Particula, that he was resolved to place in so fair a Pile of Building. And from thence we should descend to an Admiration of his Wisdom and Providence in the Contri­vance of it, and conclude with our selves, That when he made us after his own Image and Similitude, by placing an Immortal Soul within us, that it was our incumbent Duty, not only to honour that Divine Guest which he sent to in­habit it; but also to take a care of treating it with as much Ceremony and Respect as men do the richest Jewels in their Cabinet. Let the Consideration therefore of this Particu­lar, prevail with you, my Brethren, to prefer your Souls before your Bodies, to look upon them as more Valuable, and more Useful; and consequently to spend more of your Care and Time in the Salvation of your Souls (which are so precious in the Eyes of God) than in the Adorning of your Bodies, or the vain pursuits of the Delights and Profits of the World.

2. But because this Proposition is only implied in the Text, I shall therefore enlarge no longer on it, but proceed to the next Particular, That these Bodies shall be Dissolved and pull'd in pieces. The Similitudes that the Apostle makes use of, do import as much, for he calls them Houses of Clay, and Earthly Tabernacles; by the one referring to their Original, by the other to the Uncertainty of their Sta­tions. Had he barely compared these Bodies of ours unto Houses, we might perhaps flatter our selves with some vain Confidence and Expectation of their more lasting Continu­ance; for as some Houses have been observed to out-last the Violences of Wind and Weather, so some Persons might perhaps presume upon a more long Continuance and Dura­tion [Page 8] of their Bodies. But when it is considered that he ac­counts them no better than Tabernacles, and Houses of Clay or Earth, this alone is an Affrighting Consideration to the Carnal Man, and a Dreadful Allay to all his Mirth and Jol­lity: For by these Similitudes he designs to inform us that there is a Principle of Corruption within our Bodies that will bring them to Decay, tho' no Exterior Accident should conspire to destroy them. That they molder and decay every moment, and are in a constant progress to a Change: That they have not only an Internal Principle of Corrup­tion that hurries them to their Ruine, but that they are subject to the Will of Almighty God, who removes them from place to place, as the Shepherds do their Tabernacles: That we have no abiding City in this World, but are tossed about like a Ship in the Sea, and become the Sport and Pastime of every wanton Wave: That in the midst of Life, we are in Death; and when we think our selves most Secure, then Danger is at hand: That our Lives are not at our own Disposal, nor is it in the power of our hands to preserve these Bodies from Sickness and Distempers: For they are either sent upon us by the hand of God, or we invite them to our selves by our own Riot and Debauche­ries; and when the Physician comes to cure our Distemper, he unhappily mistakes the Disease, and hastens his Patient to his long home. Thus every thing almost, either in Art or Nature, by a secret and undiscernable Hand of Provi­dence, contributes to the Dissolution of our Tabernacle; and whilst we look for Life, he turns it into the shadow of Death, and makes it gross Darkness.

I need not, I hope, enter into a tedious Harrangue con­cerning the Necessity and Unavoidableness of Death, nor use many Arguments to convince you that your Earthly Tabernacles shall be dissolved: Your own Experience is suf­ficient to perswade you to the belief of it, there being hardly [Page 9] any House or Family in the Country which hath not some Buried out of it; you dayly see your Friends Expiring be­fore your Faces: You are present at the Closing of their Eyes, and attend them after to their Graves. The Ring­ing of the Bells, and the Mourners about the streets, the frequent Lamentations of Wives for their Husbands, and Children for their Parents, and Friends for the loss of their Relations, are a sufficient Evidence of the Triumphs of Death over all Ages, all Sexes, and all Conditions. Or if these do not convince you, of the declining state of your Mortal Tabernacles, yet cast your Eyes I beseech you on that dismal Spectacle that hath assembled you together, and now lies before your Eyes, as the Spoil and Conquest of the King of Terrors. He was once as fresh and active as any of you that pay this Charitable Office to his Me­mory, but behold he now lyes as an useless and unactive lump of Clay, without any other use or signification than that of a Deaths Head, to put you all in mind of your own mortallity. In his Fate you ought to consider the uncertainty of your own condition; and from the view of his Sensless and Unactive Body, to reflect upon the frailty of your own, and so to number your Days, that you may apply your Hearts to that true Wisdom, which alone will com­fort and support you at the last. For this is the true end and design of Funerals, which were not so much intended for the Commendation of the Deceased, as the Information and Instruction of the Living: and so much Solomon hath told us, Eccles. 7. 2. It is better to go to the House of Mourning, than to go to the House of Feasting, for that is the end of all Men, and the Living will lay it to his Heart: That is, they ought to be seriously affected with it, and awakened to prepare themselves for Death.

3. I now proceed to the 3d. Particular or Observation, viz. That after the Dissolution of these Frail Bodies they shall a­gain [Page 8] [...] [Page 9] [...] [Page 10] be advanced to a state of Immortality: So the Apostle tells us in my Text, That after this Earthly Tabernacle is Dissolv'd, we have a Building of God, an House not made with Hands, Eternal in the Heavens; And this will be made good from Two Considerations. First from the Texts of Scripture that affirm it: Secondly from Natural Reason to ensorce it.

If we consult the Scriptures we shall find them plain and decretory in the point: Thus St. Paul tells us, 1 Cor. 15. 42. That it is sown in Corruption, but raised in Incorruption: That this Corruptible shall put on Incorruption, and this Mor­tal shall put on Immortallity, vers. 53, 54. And in Phil. 3. 21. 'tis his express Affirmation, That Jesus Christ shall change our Vile Body, that it may be fashioned like unto his Glorious Body according to the mighty working whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself. Now if our Bodies in the Resurrection must be like unto our Saviours, it will then follow that they must be advanced to a state of Incorrup­tion, since his was so after his Resurrection; for so the Scriptures affirm concerning him; Christ being raised from the Dead dyeth no more, Death hath no more dominion over him, Rom. 6. 9.

But secondly, Natural Reason may come in for the proof of this particular; Reason is able to inform us of these fol­lowing postulatums to prove the truth of it.

1. That a Resurrection in general is not impossible. To him that believes that there is a God, it is more easie to convince him of the possibility of a Resurrection than of the contrary; for it is founded on the Power and the Will of God; to the former of which nothing is impossible; and he has no reason to doubt the latter, if God had any where revealed his Intentions concerning it.

2. That it is no impossible thing to make a Body immor­tal, since it is no more than the devesting it of its corrupt­ing [Page 11] Qualities, and arraying it again with a fresher Lustre; 'Tis only done by taking away the Internal Principle, that inclines it to Corruption, and placing in its stead a Seed and a Principle of Incorruption; and he that thinks this impossible to an Omnipotent Power must have very mean and dishonourable thoughts of the Power of God.

3. That it is highly equitable, that the same Numerical Body should be raised again that once lived upon the Earth, that, as it has been a Partner with the Soul, in doing Good or Evil in this life, so it may again partake a share of its good or bad fortune in the life to come: We do all know that the Body is the great Instrument of the Soul, by which she acts and exerts her Operations, that it is fitted with Organs for the performance of them; That as it is the Unhappy Parent of most of the Sins that we commit, so it is a necessary Instrument for the discharge of several commendable Virtues; such as Fasting and Temperance, Sobriety, and Chastity, &c. And would it not be the most absurd and unreasonable thing in the World, to Punish one Body for the Sins committed in another; to have one worn out with Paleness and Mortification, and another snatch a­way its Reward.

'Tis the Argument that Tertullian insists on De Resurrect. Cap. 56. to prove the Resurection of the same body, Quam absurdum, quam Ethnicum, utrum (que) autem quam Deo indignum aliam substantiam operari, aliam mercede di­spungi, ut hoec quidem caro Matyrio lanietur, alia vero coro­netur: Nonne prestat omnem semel fidem, a spe resurrectionis abducere, quam de gravitate at (que) justitia Dei ludere, Marcio­nem pro Valentino resussitati. 'Tis a thing unbecoming the Justice of God to oblige one substance to Toyl and Labour, and give away its Recompence to another: That one body should suffer the pains of Martyrdom for the sake of Christ, and another shall receive the Crown that never labour'd for [Page 12] it, and it were much better to Deny the Article of the Re­surrection, than so to Sport with the Wisdom and the Justice of God, as to suppose him to raise up Marcion in stead of Valentinius

4. That where God has declared his Mind that he will do so, and we have no just reason to doubt that it his will to have it so; 'tis then highly reasonable to believe that it shall be ordered according to his Will: Now all Christi­ans are agreed, That the Scriptures do contain the Reve­lation of the Divine Will, that God has therein made a discovery of his Intentions, as to the future state of our Souls and Bodies: And since we have an account given us in those Scriptures, that God will raise them to a State of Honour and Immortality, we have no reason to distrust either the possibility of the thing, or the actual performance of it, in its due and appointed season.

I should now descend to the Consideration of those par­ticulars that remain, but I must pass them by at present, and show you what use you are to make of what has been already discoursed unto you: I shall only name the Heads and so conclude.

First. This may inform us of the indispensible necessity of so ordering all our Affairs in this Life, as persons that expect to be called to an account for them in the next; if it be so that after Death our Bodies must again be raised out of the Dust, and entred into a state of Eternal Joy or Pain, and if every Man must receive the things done in his Body, according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad, what manner of persons ought we to be in all ho­ly Conversation and Godliness, looking for, and hastening to the coming of our Lord Jesus.

Secondly, This should learn us not to abuse these Bodies of ours by Riot or Intemperance, by Adultery or Unclean­ness; for if they must be raised again to a state of Immorta­lity; is it any wisdom in us to treat them at that rate, as if we were never more to see them or enjoy them: Do we act like prudent and considering persons? like Men that wish well to those Bodies we seem so fond of? as to in­gulph them in a state of endless and irremediable sorrows.

Thirdly, It may instruct us farther in the necessity and advantage of a patient Submission to the Will of Heaven, whensoever any Sharp Pains, or Accute Diseases are sent upon our Bodies, knowing that these Distempers will not last for ever; that they are sent from Heaven with a de­sign of Kindness to wean us from the World, and pre­vent our falling into that place of Torments from whence there is no Redemption: We ought therefore to bear with patience all those Pains that Arrest our Bodies; For as our own Sins have pull'd them upon our Heads, so our Repentance may make them the salutary Instruments of our Reformation. We may comfort our selves in the midst of our Agonies with the Reflections of reposing them, and our Bodies together in our Beds of Dust, and that how crazy soever and disordered they may be in this life we shall re­ceive them again in an improved condition, like a Totter­ing House pull'd down to the ground that it may be re edi­fyed to for better advantage.

These are the Considerations with which every one of us may entertain our Thoughts, in the midst of Infirmities, and Acute Distempers; and with such Reflections as these, I doubt not, but this Reverend Deceased Prelate did enter­tain himself in the intervalls of his Sickness, till the vio­lence of an Appoplexy discomposed his Reason, and [Page 14] rendered all farther Meditation useless to his Expiring Soul.

And now that he has submitted to the Laws of Death, and is become a Captive to the King of Terrors, it will I presume be desired by some, and expected by most that are present at this Mournful Solemnity, that some short ac­count should be given of his Life and Actions, who had the peculiar Talent of Concealing Himself, and of being known to None so well as to God and His own Consci­ence; and happy is that Man who can so order his Acti­ons, and the whole Course of his Life and Conversation, as to have them approved by his own Conscience, and to be able to appear with Confidence at the Tribunal of the Searcher of Hearts, whatsoever Censures and Opinions the vain World may either make or entertain of them: 'Tis the Affirmation of St. John, That if our Hearts condem us not, then have we Confidence towards God; we need not fear that he will lay any thing to our Charge that we are not guilty of, but may appear before him with a modest Assurance of his Approbation of all that is good in us, and of his Pardon for these Infirmities which we could not help.

I shall not pretend to give you an exact and entire Histo­ry of his Life and Actions, which have been so much in the View and Observation of the World, by the several Eminent Stations that he has passed through in the Church, but shall only confine my self to some short and imperfect hints, and leave the rest to the Sober Reflections of such as were his Intimates and Familiars. He was Born in Gloucester-shire in the Year 1629, and Educated in the Free-Shool of Glou­cester where he made such early and nimble advances in Gramaticall Learning, that by Thirteen Years of Age he was fit to be Admitted into Emanuel Colledge in Cambridge; A Society Famous for the Education of Men of Parts and Learning, and happy in Three of its Members, Men [Page 15] of Great Learning and Fiety, of Great Prudence and Mo­deration; the late Reverend Dr. Bedle, Bishop of Kil­more, together with the Late, and Present, Most Reverend ArchBishop of Canterbury; from thence he was Elected into a Fellowship in Gonvill and Caius Colledge, in which Society he continued till the Restoration of the Royall Family, applying himself with so much Industry and Ap­plication to the Knowledge of all the several parts of Use­ful Learning, that (if I am not mis-informed in my Ac­counts) he obtained the Reputation of a good Mathemati­cian, an excellent Crittick in the Greek Tongue, and was looked on as one of the most Eminent Persons of his Stand­ing in the University:

He was well skill'd in the Old, and the New, the Ari­stotelian and Cartefian Phylosophy; and as he took a parti­cular fancy to the Platonick and the Stoical Phylosophy, the one tending to the Explication of the Christian Do­ctrines and Institutions, and the other to the Reformation of the Immoral Lives of the Heathen World; so he had fully Imbibed all the Principles that those Institutions could instruct him in, and gave a convincing Evidence of the Power of those Principles, and the Influence they had up­on him, in the [...], and [...], the great Compo­sure of his Mind, and the Moderation and Undisturbed­ness of his Passions: No man ever yet saw him Angry at any Injury or Affront that was offered him, nor Disturbed in his Thoughts by any cross Accidents that came in his way, but he remained Unmoved, like a Rock in the midst of Angry Billows, they only broke themselves into Frag­ments by Dashing on the Outward Man, but could make no Impression on a Mind that contemned the exterior Blasts of Fortune, and understood the Art of Calming the Force, and Moderating the Impetus of them.

In the Year 1660 he was Invited into Ireland by that great Master of Parts and Learning, of Eloquence and In­genuity, the late Reverend Pious and Learned Dr. Taylor, Lord Bishop of Down and Connor; a Person that had all the Requisites and all the Indowments of a Schollar and a Gentleman, a Great Phylosopher, and an Excellent Divine, a Sublime Wit, and an Admirable Preacher; and had be­sides that the advantage of so Obliging a Conversation, that as one (that knew him well) affirmed of his Discour­ses, they had all the Pleasantness of a Comedy, and all the Usefulness of a Sermon: This was that Great and Wor­thy Man that first Invited your Diocesan into Ireland, and I take it to be no small Character and Advantage to this Deceased Person, that so Great a Master of Learning, so Exemplary a Person for Devotion, so Wise a Discerner of Spirits, and so Able a Judge of the Abilities of Others, did pitch upon your Departed Archbishop as a Person worthy of his Care and Favour: By him he was first Admitted in­to the Orders of Deacon and Priest, as if he had thereby a fatidical and presaging Spirit of the growing hopes of that Plant which he had first planted in the Lords Vineyard.

And as it is natural to all Husbandmen, to intend the cul­tivation of that Plant which answers their Pains and Expe­ctation, so he soon afetr procured his Advancement to the Deanary of Connor, from whence, by the Unexpected Kindness of the Lord Chancellor Hide, he was Removed to the Deanary of Ardmagh, and had a Patent sent him for it out of England without any seeking or application of his own. In this Dignity he continued discharging the Office of a Dignatary and a Private Minister, with all Faithfulness and Diligence, till in the Year 1667 he was Advanced to the Bishoprick of Lymrick, from whence, by gentle and ea­sie steps, he was removed to Kilmore and Ardagh, and at last to the Dignity of a Metropolitan in this Province: And [Page 17] all these Promotions fell upon him (as he affirmed) he knew not how, otherwise than by the Providence of God, and the Kindness of his Freinds, that negotiated his Removals with­out his application for them.

'Tis an argument of an Extraordinary Providence, as well as of great Merit, that Preferments drop into the mouths of some, when others are forced to court like Coy Mistrisses, and after all meet with Disappointment; But you have had the honour of an Archbishop that has been rather courted by Preserments than a Soliciter of them, which ought therefore to give a due Value and Esteem to his Memory and Reputation.

I need not put you in mind of his Actions and Behaviour in so publick a Theater of Promotion, you are all witnesses of them as well as my self, and are able to contradict any Narrative, that is not founded upon the greatest Candour and Veracity; you know that he has walked, according to the Character of the Apostle, by Evil Report and Good Report, that some of his most innocent Actions have had the Misfor­tune to be misrepresented; and thô it is not possible for Men in his Eminent Station to walk with so much Caution, but that some one or other shall blame their Conduct, especi­ally in a Censorious Age, and among a Busie People, that are more Ready to enquire into the Miscarriages of others, than Reform their own; and who, like the Athenians, spend their time either in Telling or Hearing some New thing, yet this I will be bold to Affirm, because I know the Truth of it, That no Man was more willing to retract an Error when told of it, nor more thankful to his Monitor, than he was.

And if a Man may make an estimate of his Love of Lear­ning, and his reall desire of advancing and rewarding it in others, by the Choice of his Chaplains, no Man in his Station, could make a more prudent choice, nor perform it with more [Page 18] frankness and generosity, for he courted them to it with out their own intercession for it. For being well versed in Ecclesiastical Antiquity, and having observed the Lives and Behaviour of the Primitive Bishops, how ready they were to advance the Glory of God, and promote these to Officers in the Curch, whom they beleived most likely to carry on that designe after their Death; He Resolved to conform himself to so Glorious a President, and make their Examples a Pattern for his Imitation.

Nor was he less Remarkable for his Charity to the Poor, then his love of Learning; many Indigent Persons partake­ing of his Bounty, without knowing the Hand from whence it came, and dispencing it with that Secresie and prudent Caution, that his Left Hand knew not what his Right Hand did. He was loath to loose the Reward of a Good Action by making it Pompous and Theatrical, and thought it more valluable to receive the Approbation of God, and the Applause of Men and Angels, than the Prai­ses of Men in this life.

I need not mention his great Temperance and Abstemi­ousness in the midst of a Plentifull Table, and a Luxurious Age, least it should seem a silent Reproof of that Riot and Debauchery that too much reigns among us, and for which we have so lately been scourged by the Hand of God. An Abstinence so much the more commendable, because it seem'd to be done in Imitation of the Ancient Eremites, that fed upon Roots and Hearbs, preferring them before the greatest Dainties; it was the putting a Knife to his Throat, in the Phrase of Solomon, and a voluntary act of Penance, and Mortification upon himself: A mighty and convincing evidence of self Denyall, and an argument of his mastery over his Appetite, that he could restrain its motions at a season, when Pleasures and Temptations invited to the con­trary.

Shall I mention it as an argument of his Peaceable Disposi­tion, that he abhored Controversies and Suits of Law, chu­sing rather to Remit something of his Right, then to be Vexatious and Uneasy to himself and others. That he followed the things that made for Peace, and chose rather to prevent and close a Breach, then suffer the Wound to sester and rankle by an unseasonable opposition; that he was of a most Compassionate and Resenting Disposition, being not only willing to Pitty and Releive the Necessities of his wanting Brethren: But besides that, full of Indulgence and Compassion to his Tenants, in making them considera­ble Abatements for their sufferings by the Calamities of the Times.

These my Brethren, and several other Instances that I could give, of his Regular and constant Devotions in his Family, of his Liberality in adorning of his Episcopall Pallace, of his great Humility and Affability, are an argu­ment of a rare and an excellent Spirit, and a fit president for the Imitation of others. And now that our Elias is taken up into Heaven, and stands no more in need of our Prayers, or our Wishes, let us all joyn in an united Prayer to God, that a double Portion of his Spirit may descend upon his Successor, when he shall be Invested with his Robe and Mantle; That so he may, not only Imitate him in every thing that is comendable, but be a wholesome pattern to the Flock of Christ which he has purchased with the shedding of his Blood. Amen.