lUr. Eenjamin Alhurfl:'s Funeral Sermon. upon this indiCpenfable Condition, that from the Heart we forgive eve': tl;e moU injurious Offences, and·violent Provocations from others. An unforglvtng · T~mper, like a Mill-fl:one fafl:cn'd about the Neck, will fink us into unfathom'd Mifery. He that is fiilf and irrecoucilcable, either never ferioufly confiders his own numerous Sinl~to~sn:~if~:~~~~~e~~~~ t~!~;~~,r"~etlilfifl:. We mufl: fl:oop to his Power as our Judge; A.r I live faith the Lord, every knee jhaU bow to me, 1111d .every To11gue JbaU co,fifs to God ; 'tis our WiCdom therefore to yield Obedience to his Authority as our Law-giver. He K theAutbor ofeternal Salvatiou to aU who ~bey him. 8?_5 Let us faithfully improve all our Tal ents, all the means and advantages to ferve and glorify him, for the Account will be fl:riCl:, and the Reward infinite. Briefly, let us learn this point of Wifdom of our fpirituai Enemy, who, becaufe his time is' fbort, is more aCtive and vigilant to do MiCchief; fo confidering our opportunity of doing good is fhort, and the omiffion irreparable, Let 111 with zealom diligence always 1 Cor.•;. abOJmd in the 1-f'ork of t he Lord, l·nowi11g that our Labo;tr jhaU uot be in vain in the Lord. 0 that Men were wire to cpnfider their Mortality and Immortality: to do thofe things now, which in the lafl: and great Day they !hall wifh they had done. I !hall now, as the pre(ent occafion direCts, fpeak of the deceafed Mr. BEN~ JAMIN ASHVRST, of whofe Goodnefs there are very. valua]:>le Tefl:imonies. He had the Felicity to be infl:ruCl:ed and order'd in his early and obfequious Age by ~~~i~~:~r~~;[;:fe~~~~~rtl,:~~x:,' ~~hi~~u~~:e~f~~~?;e ~~sv~~~~P~~~~~t ~; f,7s"E~~~ cation.There is a fit refcmblance between the natural Culture of the Earth and the moral of our Minds: T hree things are requifite to make the Earth fruitful, a good Soil, good Culture, and ?;Ood Seed; fo by Analogy, that Education may be fuccefsful, a well• difpofed Natme, an Underfl:anding and good Infl:ruCl:er, and the Precepts of Religi• en and Virtue are necefr:1ry. All thefeconcurr'd in the prefent Subject. Some by a rare Priviledge are exempt ed fromthofe tyrannous Paffions thatfo frequently diforderthe Lives of Men ; and in their Childhood are of fuch mild and gaull efs Spirits, fo receptive of virtuous lmpreffions, that at the fight of their Difpofitions and Carriage we may have a conjecture of the Felicity of the innocent State, of which one Kay, or rather Shadow, is fo amiable. With fuch a happy Temper God was pleafed to endow our deceafcd Friend : his Spirit was humbl e, modefl:, ~entle and complying with the Counfel s of his gracious Father, wl1o with tender Care led him in the way to Heaven. \Vhen he was grown up to the Age of Vanity, he was preferved from yo"thfitl Ltjls: His Converfation was unfl:ained: He was not fwell'd with Pride, nor mffied with Paffion, nor diforder'd with Excefs. And as to a judicious Eye, no SpeCtacle is more deformed than an old Man in whom the Vices of Youth are notorious, levity of Mind, vehemence ofPaffions, and vanity in Converfation: So on the contrary, there is not a more amiable Gght, than a young Man in whom the Virtues of Age arc confpicuous ; a (bid Mind, temperateDefires, a compos' cl Deportment: and it were happy for the World if foolifh old Men were as rare to be found, as wife young Men. _ This Praife-worthy Perfon, when fit to enter into a particular Calling, was placed in the Family of a Turky Merchant: there his Behaviour was fo religious and feri<:tlS, that it was fa id of him by fomc that obferved his ACtions, that he wou ld be a Merchant for Heaven. He after fame time: went to Smyrna, and preferv'd his Integrity and Purity in the midfl: of T emptations: where many by vicious Exceffes difparage the SanCtity of the Chrifl:ian Religion profefs'd by them, lte adorn'd it by the Soliriety of his ConverCation. He return'd to E"gla"d after fome Years fpent beyond Sea, and perfeveid in his Chri!l:ian Courfe, ferious and folemn in his Carri• age, and ready to do good to thofe that wanted fupplies from relieving•Charity. A few Years after ltis return, he fell into a dying Conrumption that quickly put a Period to his Days. In his languifhing Difeafe he exprefl: an humble quiet Submiffion .to the Divine Difpofal : he was filent from murmuring, but not from Prayer, wh!Ch he performed wtth folemn Reverence to the Lord of Life and Death even in ]JisWeakners. When the hour of his Departure was come, he calmly render'd his Soul to his faithful Creator. There is jufl: caufe of Sorrow that one in the Flower of his Age, of fu ch hopes, fhould ro fuddenly wither and return to Dufl:: if one ol? in Y;ars and Vices, a Corrupter of others by his contagious Example die, the World JS well rtd of htm : 1f a good Man comes to the Grave i" afitU Age, like «< a fhock of Com comes ;, hk fc~{on, there is caufe of Thankfgiving, that he was . sffff (o
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