A Sermon upon the Death of the Ciueen 751 rfl. While the Church is in this lower World the Sphere of Mutability. The fir!l: Sin of Adam open'd a Paffage to innumerable Evils, that either opprefs us, or are impendent over us : Man at his be.ft Ejiate is 11ltogcther Vanit y : not only when Ian- PfJI. 39 . gui01ing and wafting by Dif~fes, when afRiCl:ed by Difafl:ers, bnt in his faireft Flower and bell: Vigour. Nay, the hi~her his Exaltations in this World, the more he is expoled to the Storms of Mmability. How fhall Man, a Creature fo impotent and apprehenfive of Dangers, compofe the Diforder of his Paflions ? How il1all he fupport his Spirit in an unli1fe and unquiet Condition? The prefent World, as 'tis in[ufficient for our Satisfaction, [o it cannot afford us Protection : it cannot fill the Immenfity of our Dcfires, nor extend to the Eternity of our Duration, nor preferve us from Affiitl:ions here. The [eeming Felicity here is like a Fea!l: in an empty Dream, mere imaginary Food, and vanifhes in a little while. What then can quiet our Fears under imminent Evils? what can revive and [upport our Hopes in our Dill:re[s and Exigencies bLJt the unchangeable God, whofe Love, and Power, and Truth, are everlaft:ing? Tl1erefore we aie encouraged to tr~tfl i1z the Lord for ever, beca11fe in the Lord ]ehovah to~v~/:~b~Irf.:{~If~~~ inHac e~;t{;i!:eCir~/:. TI~~~~u~~su~~;k~~~~if~e~st~~fi~fbfr; our Troubles, but they are [o fal[e or fading, that we !hall be deceived in our Reliance on them, and Difappointment will increafe our Vexation; yet our carnal Confiitution O:rongly inclines us to depend upon them, either for the obtaining what we ~ei~~0th~r i;:s t~~ ff:n~n~i~g ~~~~d~~~f;a~Ae~~et~~:~~~e!it~~~~r~u~~i{~~y';~~~ vifible to us. Therefore we are fo often direCted not to put our Tmft iu Princer, nor in the Sons of Men1 in who11t there is no Help: His Breath goeth forth, he ret11rtu to his' Earth, in that very Day his Tho11ghts perifb. They are di!l:inguifb'd from others in the Quality of Living, but are under the Came hard and inflexible Ncceflity of Dying. ~~edar~~h~~~~~F :;~:t~~yt~~;1~r~~p~~fi~::i;~~r~t~W:Ky~~~:~~e~e:tn~~,:~~ to imprefs a Reverence upon others. AU Flefb is Grafs, and the Glory of it .u the Flower ofGr4(s: the Grafs withers, and the Flowers thereof fades ; bHt the Word of the Lord end11reth for ever. God is our living Strength, a Cure Refuge to which we may ?!, ~~ l~~di~xtt~~'%:~e~;, tl~eJ~v~~frl~~l~g~gi'!fh':~~~~h~; lf[:X";c~~~i: ~~ufo~ ~} his Confidence, Art 110t tho1t jio11z everlajling, 0 L?rd "'! God, mine holy o11e i! we jhaU .. not die. And accordingly t}.1e Prophet J~remi11.h argues; Thou 0 Lord remaimft for Lam.s. t9',2ii, ever, thy Throlte is' from Generation to Gene1·atio11 I Wherefore doft thoJt fOrget w for ever, •nd foif.ke "'fo lo11g ti11ze i! odly. In the next State we fhall be uncbangeably happy in his influxive Pre[ence. Here there are many Viciffitudes, flrange and fuddain Profperity and A<\verfity, Riche$ and Poverty, Health and Sicknefs in the Circulation of time fucceed one another: as in a Voyage, the change pf the Winds, fometimes a Storm, and after a Calm, the unquiet Agitation of the Ship, the Sicknefs of the Paffengers, are Accidents that ha!": pen to tho[e who fail in the Ocean : but when they arrive at the Port, all is at ari end. Thus when we fhall come to Heaven, all the Variations of Time fhall en.d in a permanent O:able State : Our Bleffedne[s fhall exceed all our Defires, and exclude ali our Fears : it fhall be compleat and furrounded with Eternity. There God is AU i" AU. The Text I have been difcourfing of, is very applicable to the Occafion; for we are in!l:rutl:ed by very atl!itl:ing Experience how fallacious our Hopes are, that depend upon dying Creatures. The excellent Queen, from whofe Inclination and Power the Kingdom expetl:ed fuch diffufive Good, and for a long Continuance, was in the Prime and Vigor of her Age taken from us. , . , How convincingly verified are the words of the wife Preacher, Vanity ofVanities, it.!/ -K Vitnity. . Thofe who ate {liled Gods by Deputation and Vicegerency, and Children ofpral. 8a". G, 7 • the mofl High, fba/1 die like Men: they are made of the Came frail Materials, and liable to the Came Accidents with the lowefi of the People. That we may have a due fenfe of our heavy Lofs, I fhall endeavour firicerely and bnefly to repre[ent what fhe was, and what a Blefling we enjoyed in her Government. . I know that the praifing of the Dead is ufually fufpetl:ed to be guilty of Flattery, either in di[guifing their real Faults, or in adorning them with counterfeit Virtues, and fi1ch Prai[es are pernicious to the Living. The Temptation to Excefs in this kmd IS never fo dangerous as in the Funeral Encomiums of Princes. The moll: regnEeeee Jar
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