4 Calamy's SerMoth of you may lay to heart the death of this ancient, Merciful, teous mane The Obfervations from the words are there fix. Firft, That the righteous man Inuit perifb as well as the unrighteous, Secondly, That the perifhing ea righteous man is nothing but his gathering to God, Chri(f, and the bleffed company, of Saints andAngels. Thirdly, That a righteous man as long as he liveth, is the prejerwa- tive of a Nation, and the fupporter of a Kingdom, the Charriots and Horfemen ofa Nation. Fourthly, The deathaf a righteous man is a warning-piece from Heaven, a Beaconfet enfire to give notice of evil approaching. Fifthly, That God doth on purpofe take away righteous men, that they might not fee the evil that is comming on a Nation. Sixthly, That it is agreat and commonfin not to confider and lay to heart the death ofa righteous man. Fitt}, it is a common fin, and therefore it is fet down in the greateft Latitude, the righteous perifbeth, and no man lays it to heart , that is, very few And mercifiti men are taken array, no man confider- ing: that is, very few. Secondly, it is a great fin, and therefore the Prophet Jeremy in the former Chapter calls to all the beafts of the field to devour, that is, all the enemiesofthe Church to deftroy the children of /frac!, becaufe they drank ttrongdrink; filling themfelves with merriment,and prothiCed thenifelvei happy days,but did not con- fider that the righteous were taken away fromthe evil to come. ifhall begin with the firft, That t he righteousperifh as well as the unrighteous. How is it that the righteous perith?notin their foul, they can- not perifh fo .? nay, the truth is, they cannot perifh properly in their bodies :for thebodies oftheSaints never totallyand finally f era : for the very duff ofthe Saints in the grave, is precious in Gods fight, and they are a II ep in jeCtis, and by the oower of je- fus Chtift they fitall be railed againglorious bodies: Nothing pe- rifheth ofa righteous man by death totally and final! y,but fin and therefore the meaning of the word is as Muftu/ur and yuftin Mar- tyr °Verveperit, per itheth : v.at is,not according tothe truth of the thing, but according to the opinionoftheworld,and the pro- per language of this expreflion is this, the righteous perifh : that is, the righteous mutt die and goe down to thebottle of rottenneffe, as well as others, and that upon a four-folclaccdtint. Firft, Becaufe the righteous are included within that flatute of death as well as the unrighteous ;fiat:gum efhlieb.9.27. It is appoin- tedfor all men once to die,the righteous as well as the unrighteous Juiced
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