Christian Commemoration, Dedication – Letter to the author
To ISRAEL MAYO, Eſquire, and ELIZABETH his Wife, of the County of Hartford.
My Excellent Friends,
IN the days of old time, Religious Men did ſet up Stone Monuments, in the places where they received extraordinary Mercies. That cuſtom obtains not in Chriſtian practice. Otherwiſe I had haſtned to Build one in your delicious Bayford place. In your Bethel there, and my Children's Bethlehem. The Houſe of their Bread for a long time. Bread, bleſſed to be the Staff of a very ſinking and almoſt hopeleſs life in one of them.
A Paper Memorial I have thought better than none. And do hereon inſcribe my acknowledgments unto the Father of Mercies, and to your ſelves his Inſtruments. Bleſſed be God, and bleſſed be you from God! Amen and Amen! Unto the divine Grace, be Sacrifices of praiſe for ever. Unto your ſelves, be the Joy of a good Foundation againſt the time to come! The Holy Ghoſt ſo names your works of Beneficence; or as ſome Criticks conſtrue it, a Bill of Contract; by vertue whereof you have your final Judge made your Debtor, and the Day of Judgment enſured to be the Day of Payment. The Hebrews do call Alms by the name of Salt, for its preſerving and ſweetning power. And the great Alphonſus uſed to ſay, that he kept the very things he beſtow'd. Implying, that, by honouring God with his ſubſtance, he did not Alienate it, but Confirm his Propriety, in it. By your liberal things towards me deviſed, I am made a witneſs of your ſacred Unanimity. May your reward be great, preſſed down, ſhaken together, and running over.
Of this Diſcourſe whereto I have prefixt your Names, I have many ways expreſſed my humble thoughts. That great Man, whoſe weighty ones follow in his Letter unto me here annexed, is the only one from whom I have received much light in the Argument. I never heard one Sermon hereof; nor read many Lines, except in a Chapter of his Life of Faith. A Chapter worthy to be written in Cedar, and to be read as long as Letters laſt. And if I could have given to my Friends, half the number of thoſe Chapters, that I can of theſe Sermons, I ſhould not have now ſent them abroad, after ſo many Months confinement in my Cloſet. I think I ſhould have let them paſs through no more Honour and Diſhonour, good Report and evil Report, than had fallen upon them in the Preaching. Of your candid acceptation, I have no doubt in my Breaſt; and therefore make no needleſs intreaties for its welcome in your Houſe.
My great Benefactors,
My daily Prayers aſcend for your Perſons, and your numerous and lovely Branches. Prayers, that all the Treaſures of Divine Love may be the reward of your Families Love unto mine. That you may, all, be reaping to Eternity, the Kindneſſes you have vouchſafed to the Apples of my Eye. And that all the days of your Lives, your Treaſures, Hearts, Companions and Converſations, may verily be where this Diſcourſe directs them! That, as your ſelves, your Children may become, all of them, eminent inſtances of the poſſibility of Camels running through the Needles Eye; of Rich Folks entering the Kingdom of Heaven. That if your long Proſperity abide, it may not ſlay, or ſo much as wound you. And if Adverſity do overtake, it may never overcome you. Finally, That the leaſt of Chriſt's Miniſters that have obtained Mercy to be Faithful, may be made no unprofitable Servant to your holy Joy of Faith. Even
Your true Honourer, and very thankful Servant in Chriſt Jeſus, Daniel Burgeſs. From my Study in Bridges ſtreet in Covent-Garden, Aug. 28. 1690.
Mr. Baxter's Letter to the Author concerning this Diſcourſe.
SIR,
THough you ſent me your M. S. as if it were to know my thoughts of it, I am ready to conjecture that you did it in Charity, to be a help to a …anguiſhing dying Man: And I muſt …ay that I have long found a great deal …f benefit, by the Exerciſe of the Duty which you preſs: But you have …one it ſo very well for matter and …anner, as I hope will much add to …he pleaſing aſcent of my Affections. … have long ſuppoſed that God (tho' …very where equally in his Eſſence, …et not equally working every where, and on all things) doth firſt operate uſually on the higheſt Creatures, that are likeſt him in excellency, and by them on the lower, and ſo to the loweſt: And that, accordingly, to the aſcent of the loweſt there muſt be ſome advantage given by thoſe next them. Though we are unacquainted with the cauſality of moſt of the ſuperior mediate Cauſes, except thoſe whoſe knowledge is neceſſary to our Duty. As we know that there is one Mediator between God and Man, whoſe Office and Honour no Creature muſt invade; ſo we know that he uſeth variety of inferior means, Angels and Men, Apoſtles, Embaſſadors, Rulers, Ordinances, and many below theſe.
And they that will have nothing but God immediately, will have none of God: To ſet God againſt ſecond Cauſes natural or gracious, is to ſet him againſt his own Work, his Wiſdom and his Will, and that is to ſet him againſt his own Glory and Himſelf; I never believed that he that praiſeth an excellent Fabrick, doth thereby diſhonour the Builder: And he that ſaid, As my Father ſent me, ſo ſend I you, and he that heareth you heareth me, did not thereby ſet up ſo many Antichriſts, nor diſhonour himſelf.
Far be it from us to aſcribe any of Gods Prerogative to any Creature. Juſtin Martyr ſaith, He would not have believed Chriſt himſelf, if he had Preached any but the true and only perfect God. But infiniteneſs even of Perfection overwhelmeth us if our Thoughts approach him not by a Mediator, of whom as in our nature we have more familiar thoughts: And certainly Chriſt would not have us pretend to glorifie him as ſeparated from his Church: The Glory of the New Jeruſalem was ſhewed John in its particulars, for the exerciſe of his Faith, and the raiſing of his Deſire, Hope and Joy. Chriſt is not there ſolitary, nor would ſo be thought of. To ſit down with Abraham, Iſaac, and Jacob, is part of the promiſed Felicity.
Some men think they diſhonour Heaven, and Saints, if they deſcribe not their Perfection, too like to that of God himſelf; and ſet not Man above Man, yea above Angels; yea ſome Deifie Souls on Earth it ſelf, feigning their Spirits as diſtinct from Soul and Body, to be Specifically Eſſentiated, by the Eſſence of God himſelf, or as others of the ſecond and third Perſons in the Trinity, which they ſay are the Prime Emanant Life and Matter, and this not only as the Efficient, but Conſtitutive Cauſe. A Heaven of mens own feigning, will be no Heaven.
Though you know who (Mr. F.) correcteth me for thinking that there is Repentance in Heaven, I am ſo far from thinking otherwiſe, that I dare not pray for to be freed from repenting there. A Heaven conſiſtent with an Everlaſting penitent ſenſe, that I ſinned, and thereby needed a Saviour, Mercy and Forgiveneſs, exciting me to the joyful praiſes of him that Redeemed us, and waſhed us from …ur ſins in his Blood, ſuch a Heaven …ill ſatisfie my hopes. I believe that …ll Sin and Curſe ſhall be done away; …ut I think ſuch a Repentance is nei…her Sin nor Curſe.
As I live in almoſt continual thoughts … Heaven, ſo the remembrance of …ultitudes of my old holy Acquaintance, … ſeldom left out of theſe thoughts. …nd there are few ſleeping nights in …hich I dream not of ſome or other of …hem.
And, if it be a weakneſs, I will …nfeſs it to you, that I have much ado … think but ſome ſhame with confeſ…on will accompany me, when I firſt …eet any there that I have been unkind …, or wronged; and that will know …y faults better than here they did; …nd that I ſhall ask them forgiveneſs: … which I know being forgiven by Chriſt they will ſoon grant.) I ſup…oſe you have read or heard of my Dear and Holy Friend Dr. Drake's Letter to Mr. Love before his Execution. I go not ſo far; but with my… thanks for your excellent Books, I tel… you, that waking and ſleeping, living, and I hope dying, I cannot ſpare in my Meditations of Heaven, the pleaſant familiar thoughts of my Acquaintance gone before, with all the bleſſed Body of Chriſt.
With ſuch thoughts is paſſing, your unworthy Brother▪ Rich. Baxter. Aug. 21. 1690.
Men and Brethren,
THE Supreme Lord hath wonderfully diſtinguiſh'd men, in the condition of Living. But all are equal in …e neceſſity of Dying.
David, a King, proclaimed him…f a Worm. And alas! we ſee and …el it, The Prophets do not live for …er. Tho', bleſſed be God, our great …rophet dies no more; but is with …s Church to the end of the …orld. The beſt of the Church …uſt be taken out of the World. …racious Perſons muſt Die to be …ved; as Graceleſs ones muſt Die … be Damned.
The Churches Angels be not im…ortal. Mr. HENRY HURST was …t; for God has taken him. You …ow this good Man is fallen. You know it; you have, and you do ſtil… bewail it. So Samuel died, and a… the Iſraelites were gathered together… and lamented him.
Many of you have heard a ver… ſeaſonable and uſeful Sermo… preach'd at his Funeral in this pla… And many more would have hea… it, if the Place had been lar… enough to receive them. All of yo… if I miſtake not, are melted into … good diſpoſition for another Se… mon on the ſame Subject. And … Eſteem for him, and Affection … your ſelves, have inclin'd me to gi… you this.
An Impulſe is faln on me, (… weak as I am) to undertake a thi… very great herein. Even, to raiſe t… Dead. To raiſe again this h… Man, and very many more. … raiſe them in a very good ſen… and unto very good ſervice. Bett… than it would be, if I could fet… back their Souls from Abraha… boſom, and their Bodies from t… Earth's bowels. Plainly Sirs, I aſſay in this Sermon, to raiſe of our bleſſed Brother, and of other glorified Brethren, tho' not the Lovely PERSONS, yet the holy FAITH, the heavenly CONVERSATION, and the victorious END, Egreſs, or Going forth thereof into Glory. And all theſe, for your Inſtruction and Encouragement unto Faith and Holi…neſs.
I have found a Text, apt, (like the Archangel's Trumpet,) thus to raiſe the Dead, and change the Quick. To raiſe Dead Saints, and make more Lively the Living ones. A Text, which if I handle not …nd you hear not amiſs, will do it. For it is the King of Heaven's Mandate given for the raiſing of them. And I will be bold to …ay, If the mighty work be not done, …tis becauſe of our unbelief.