A sermon preached at the funeral of the most honourable Rose, Lady Marchioness of Antrim at Carickfergus, the 4th of July, 1695 by Henry Leslie.

A SERMON Preached at the Funeral of , &c. Acts 9.36 , 37 ,

This Woman was full of Good Works , and Alms-deeds which she did , — And it came to pass in those days , that she was sick , and died .

WE read in several Authors of famous and sumptuous Monuments erected to perpetuate the Memory of mortal men , they vainly believing their names would thereby continue so long as the cement could hold the stones together : Some we find , with Cardan , only desired that their Names might be known , without knowing either what they were , or how they lived : Others , with Herostratus , would be remembred , tho it were for evil , for burning a Temple ; but most desired that their good Names might flourish to all posterity , and that their Bodies , by spices , and other ingredients , might be preserved sweet and uncorrupted , till the return of their Souls to their ancient receptacles . For these ends were the Egyptian Pyramids , the Arches , Obelisks and Mausoleums of the Ancients built so vast and lofty , that not only the Revenues of Kingdoms , but the whole purchass-money of Nations have been expended on them ; to that height and greatness were they erected , that they were accounted among the wonders of the World : but notwithstanding this , their designs were frustrated , they all proved but the feeding of empty wind ; Vanity of vanities ( saith the Preacher ) all is vanity ; what Time or Tyrants have spared of these Fabricks , do yet remain ; but whom they do contain , or who the Authors of 'em were , is now a question not to be resolved : all that we know of 'em is , that they are made merchandize of without distinction , and the old Pharaohs and Ptolomies perhaps are now promiscuously sold , with the bodys of meaner persons , for Mummy by our Druggists and Apothecaries .

These were the false & mistaken measures which the strangers to the Israel of God took to perpetuate their Memories , pursuing the vain methods laid down by the early Builders at Babel : Go to , let us build us a City and a Tower , whose top may reach unto Heaven , and let us make us a name , Gen. 11.4 . But confusion and disappointment were the effects of both , notwithstanding these mighty endeavors , in Solomon's phrase , The name of the wicked shall rot , Prov. 10.7 . But there is a way to be for a ever known , the other part of the same proverb tells us , the memory of the just is Blessed , blessed with content and satisfaction in this Life , with unspeakable joys in the World to come , and leaves an undying fame behind it , vertue , as t is it 's own reward , vaunteth not its self , is not puffed up , yet it cannot lye hid , nor be suppressed , immortal Glory is it 's shadow , always keeps it company unknown unto it 's self , and even when 't is declining from our hemisphere , it then casts the largest shadow , and is rising to another .

A good name is better than precious Oyntment , and rather to be chosen than great Riches ( saith the Wise man ) and how is this to be acquired ? only by humility and the fear of the Lord , Prov. 22 , 1 , 4. 't was to faithful and good Abraham that God promised to make his name great Gen. 12 , 2. 't was to his peculiar people when they should keep his commandments that he promised to make then high above all Nations in praise , and in name , and in honour , Deut. 26 , 18 , 19. 'T was to the man who ruled his ways according to Gods own heart , that he said he had made him a great name in the Earth , and had established his Kingdom for ever , 2 Sam . 7 , 9 , 16. and the same David answereth his own Question , Lord , who shall dwell in thy Tabernacle , or who shall rest upon thy Holy hill ? even he that leadeth an uncorrupt Life , and doth the thing which is right , Ps. 15 , 1 , 2. These are the means to live for ever , for thus saith the Lord unto those that keep my Sabbaths , and chuse the things that please me , I will give them an Everlasting name that shall not be cut off , Isa . 56 , 4 , 5. The Pious and Charitable works of God's Servants do leave a savour behind them , and a sweet perfume , which are not to be blown away by wind , nor worn by weather . Verily I say unto you , ( saith our Saviour of the Woman who annointed him for his Burial ) wheresoever this Gospel shall be Preached in the whole World , there shall also this that this Woman hath done be told for a memorial of her , Mat . 26 , 13. Wheresoever the Acts of the Apostles shall be read , there shall the Good Works and Alms-deeds of Tabitha be spoke off , and in our generations , whereever Piety , Charity , Sobriety and Wisdom , are discoursed of , then let the memory be precious of this Excellent and Noble Personage , whose Corps lye here before us , and to Celebrate whose obsequies is the occasion of this Solemn meeting , for she also was a Woman full of good Works and Alms-deeds which she did , but it came to pass in these days , that she was Sick and dyed .

I shall not take up your time in speaking much of this good Disciple of the Lord , mentioned in the Text , she is described unto us by the place of her abode , by her name , and by her good works ; the place Joppa , a Maritime Town on the Coast of Judea , one of the first walks of the Apostles after they had received Commission from on high to teach all Nations , and to be witnesses unto our Saviour to the uttermost parts of the Earth ; her name Tabitha , which by interpretation is called Dorcas a Greek word , which in English signifies a Doe , from derkéin , to behold , because of the Excellency and quickness of sight , which is attributed to that Creeature ; and it appears that she was very perspicacious , quick-sighted and apprehensive in her belief of Christianity and Knowledge of Divine things , being one of the earliest Disciples of St. Peter and the other Apostles ; Her good works mentioned are such as are proper to , and bespeak her a Woman of Riches , Quality , and good Fortune , as appears also by the great concern which was shewed for her at her Death , St. Peter the great Apostle was immediately sent for , and he arose and went with the messenger , and when he was come , they brought him into the upper chamber ( where she lay in state ) tho without the pageantry of Heralds and Escutcheons , yet with the more glorious Ensigns of her Vertue & Charity ; the Widows stood by weeping , and shewing the Coats and Garments which Dorcas made while she was with them , Acts 9 , 39. Thus was she a Woman full of good works and Alms-deeds which she did , and it came to pass in those days , that she was sick and dyed .

In discoursing of these words , I shall begin with the latter part of them , and it came to pass that she was sick and dyed , and from thence shall shew you what death is ; 2dly , Since death is a debt which all men owe to Nature , since the death of the Body is but an entrance to another state of everlasting happiness or misery , after this Life we must all appear before the tribunal of a just Judg , and give an account of our own actions , whether they have been good , or whether they have been evil , I shall from thence shew you , that the best way to prepare for this Death and Judgment , is by a good Life here ; that is , by being full of good works , and Alms-deeds ; And lastly , I shall make the application to this mournful object here before us , and shew that this noble Lady was this woman full of good works and Alms-deeds . And it came to pass in those days , that she was sick , and died .

First then , What Death is ; I shall not trouble you with making an exact logical definition of it , nor puzzel my self and you with nice and philosophical enquiries into the nature of it ; but as most proper for your Instruction at present , shall lay before you the causes of it , and shew some of the effects of it which are most useful for the knowledge of all men . First then God is the cause efficient , and sin the formal cause of Death in man , for tho we are bound to believe that our first Parents were created in a State of Innocence , and therefore of immortality , had they continued obedient to the commands of God , yet was that Immortality not Natural , but Artificial , their Bodies were made of the same Corruptible matter that ours are , dust of the Earth , and there was the same mixture in them of heat & cold , of dryness & moisture , which naturally tends to corruption , yet God was pleased to provide a supernatural Remedy , the Tree of Life was to be to them a continual never dying medicine , to preserve them always in life and health , while they preserved themselves in obedience to the Condition on which that Blessiing was promised , but they becoming disobedient , forfeited their lives , and so brought upon themselves and their posterity the Execution of Gods most just sentence , in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely dye , that is , become mortal ; here then is the cause of death , by the sin of Adam we are all reduced to the Laws of our own Nature , and must say with Joab's wise Woman , 2 Sam . 14 , 14. we must needs dye , and are as water spilt on the ground , by one man sin entred into the World , and Death by sin , Rom. 5 , 12.

Death then is nothing else but the privation or recession of life , for since life consists in the union of the soul to the body , from whence as from the fountain , proceed motion , sensation and all our vital actions , death must formally consist in the actual separation of the the soul from the body ; And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground , and breathed into his Nostrils the breath of Life , and man became a living soul , Gen. 2.7 . when then God pleaseth to stop that breath , and to withdraw his enlivening power , then does man dye , the dissolution is then made , and the separation of the spirit from the body , which when they were joyned together made one living person ; this death with the forerunners of it , is most elegantly described by the wise Preacher in his last Chap. of Ecclesiastes ; He chargeth us to remember our Creator in the days of our youth , while the evil days come not , in the days when the keepers of the house shall tremble , and the strong men shall bow themselves , and the grinders cease , because they are few , and those that look out at the Windows be darkned , and the doors shall be shut in the streets , and all the Daughters of Musick shall be brought low , and fear shall be in the way , because man goeth to his long home , and the Mourners go about the streets , or ever the silver Cord be loosed , or the golden Boul be broken , or the Pitcher be broken at the Fountain , or the Wheel be broken at the Cistern , then shall the dust return to the Earth as it was , and the Spirit shall return to God who gave it , Eccl. 12. As we have thus seen the first and great efficient and formal causes of death , so if we would consider the secondary & Instrumental causes thereof , they are inumerable , let us reflect on the multitude of means & ways by which the life of man is destroyed , by ature , by diseases , by accidents , which may be subdivided into millions , by folly , by the lusts and intemperance of men , and almost every thing we can think of , may be the cause and instrument of our death , there are many sicknesses and infirmitys that walk in darkness , and there are exterminating Angels , that destroy us at Noon ; the Sword sweeps away thousands in one Field , Famine and Pestilence have rooted up whole Nations : there is no age nor condition exempted from Death , the Grave either finds or makes all men equal , we dye without rule , and with or without occasions . When Isaac was old , and his eyes grew dimm , he said to his Son , Behold now I am old , I know not the day of my death , Gen. 27.1 , 2. With as much reason may every man say this in youth as well as in age , in health as well as in sickness ; there are so many sally-ports for the soul to fly out of the body , that were it not for that Almighty providence that determines all things , and preserves every man till his appointed time , It would be a wonder if any should reach to half the standard that David observed in man , the days of our age ( saith he ) are threescore years and ten ; in short , sooner or later , we must all say with Job , I know that thou wilt bring me to Death , and to the house appointed for all living , Job 30.23 . So much for the causes of Death .

2dly , The effects thereof are : 1st , It ends this life , as soon as the Bird of Paradice is fled from it 's Cage , then all our words , our thoughts , and actions cease , our mirth & jollity , grief and sadness have an end ; for when the breath of man goeth forth , he shall turn again to his Earth , and then all his thoughts perish , Ps. 146.3 . the dead know not any thirst , their love , and their hatred , and their envy , is now perished ; neither have they any more a portion for ever , in any thing that is done under the Sun , Eccl. 9.5 , 6. And this we must understand of our Religious as well as civil actions , as well of the supernatural gifts and graces of Gods holy Spirit within us , as of the natural indowments of the soul and body , our life , as it gives way to Death , so must it make the way and prepare for it , 't is the day wherein we must work , death brings the night wherein no man can work , let us then walk while we have the light , lest darness come upon us ; are not my days few ? saith Job , let us then hear Gods voice , and harden not our hearts , while 't is called to day , before we go hence and shall not return , even to the land of darkness , and the shadow of death , a Land of Darkness , as Darkness it self , Job 10.21 , 22. The most wicked are in this convertible , if they will take warning , and amend their ways ; but if they will perversly go on to sin wilfully , after they have received the knowledg of the truth , there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins , after death there is no more hope of Repentance , but a certain and fearful looking for of Judgment Heb . 10.26 , 27. Consider this all ye that forget God , lest he destroy you for ever , lest he take you , and pluck you out of your dwelling , and root you out of the Land of the living , Ps. 52.6 .

2dly , A second Effect of Death is , that as it ends this life , so it begins a life to all Eternity , both to the godly , and to the wicked , to the latter 't is the sad conclusion of all joy and comfort , the beginning of never dying pain and sorrow , the entrance of Hell , and the first part and feeling of that just sentence which shall be more fully pronounced by our Saviour at the last day to those on his left hand , depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire , prepared for the devil & his Angels , Matt . 25 , 41. But to the former , 't is the first step to blessedness , the taking down the Tent-poles where with this Earthly Tabernacle is supported , the Goal-delivery of a prisoner , the sleep of the body and the awaking of the soul , transitus a labore ad refrigerium , a passage from labour to rest , as Seneca calls it , and in the phrase of several good men of old , a change from expectation to fruition , from faith to knowledg , from a pilgrimage to a countrey , from a frail world to the father of mercies , a deposition of this burden of flesh , and a journey to the City of God , the birth-day of a better life , a death of misery , and a burial of sin ; Come ye blessed of my Father , inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the World ; Death shall then be swallowed up in Victory ; O Death , where is thy sting ? O Grave , where is thy victory ? 1 Cor . 15.55 .

Having so fair an opportunity , I cannot pass from it without touching a little at the immortality of the Soul , a Subject most proper for Funeral-Sermons , and made too pertinent by the wicked lives of most men in this degenerate and corrupted age , wherein we meet with two many , if not in plain words , yet interpretatively by their actions denying the everlasting being of their own Souls ; when we consider how vice of all sorts does abound among us , notwithstanding all the methods that have been taken , and the means that God in his mercy has used to reform us , when we open the eyes of our understanding , and see how God's holy Name , and his very Essence is profaned and blasphemed by professed Atheism , and foul-mouth'd Blasphemy ; by unreasonable and extravagant Cursing and Swearing , openly practised by all sorts , even by those whose stations fitt and oblige them to reprove others for smaller Crimes : When we reflect on the great oppressions & injuries committed by men in any sort of Authority , on the Drunkenness and Uncleanness that walk bare-fac'd in our streets ; on the open Injustice practised by almost all men , few making conscience of their ways ; but without any remorse , defrauding and cheating their Neighbours to that degree , that as the Poet fancied of old , Astrea , even common Honesty and Justice is fled from the Earth , at least from our parts of it . When we see the multitude of our people so far in love with mischief , as to take delight in raising scandal and reproach , in murdering the good Name , and as far as in them lies , the Credit , Fortunes , and too often the very persons of their Christian Brethren : I say , when we consider and reflect on these things , can we believe that men have any sense or apprehension of the future and everlasting being of their own souls ? that they are placed in their bodies here only as sojourners , for some little time , to prepare for an everlasting state hereafter ?

I cannot spare time to run out in a Lecture , to prove this Immortality ; and indeed one might think it very needless to spend time in the proof of that which has been owned and acknowledged as a postulatum , or first principle , not only by Christians ( who are Baptized into that very Faith ) but by the Heathens themselves , who owned any Deity ; for they having daily before their eyes objects of good and just men afflicted , tormented , persecuted , by Imprisonments , Deaths , Banishments ; by Poverty , Sickness , and what else is usually unpleasant to humane nature : And on the other hand , seeing the wicked in great prosperity , flourishing like green Bay-trees , and glutting themselves with all the varieties of the pleasures of this life : They , I say , observing these things , by the light of their very carnal reason , without entring inro the Sanctuary of God , in some measure understood the end of these men , concluded , that ( unless the Gods were unjust , which they conceiv'd impossible ) there must certainly be another life after this , wherein all shall be rewarded or punished according as they have here deserved : And indeed this was the great rational inducement to the Heathen-world to believe not only the immortality of the soul ( which generally all acknowledged ) but to the wiser of them , the Resurrection of the body also , the most difficult to be believed of any Article of our Faith .

We read that on the great Temple at Delphos , there were two Insciptions written ; the one EI , relating to God , by which the Worshippers there acknowledged the immutable Being , and eternal nature of that Godhead who was there invoked ; the other GNOTHI SEAUTON as a memento to all who came thither to take notice of , and remember the dignity and immortality of their own souls : Where the souls of these Heathens are , who invented such wise and divine Sayings , is not our business to enquire ; but we may believe they lye not so deep in Hell , but they shall rise up in Judgment to condemn the unreasonable folly and wickedness of many of our licentious Christians , who indeed ought rather to be called Epicureans , or Sadduces ; for they deserve not to name the name of Christ .

There is nothing makes men so much question their own immortality as wicked and sensual lives , when Men have sold themselves to work wickedness , they then quit all thoughts of things above , and settle their affections wholly on earthly blessings , they have no other conversation but with their lusts , and the vanities of this life , which flatter them for a short time with a shadow of contentment , and when that vanisheth , they lose both substance and shadow for ever , they are prejudiced by wicked and abominable Lives to the precepts and Judgments of Almighty God , and rather than forsake their fleshly lusts , which they know do War against the Spirit and Laws of God , they will bid defiance to Heaven , and pronounce War both with the Almighty , and against the Existence of their own Souls , they please themselves with an Imagination of a self-sufficiency here , and being swollen in their own thoughts , their base & earthly lives make them first wish , that their Souls were mortal ; and then they begin to believe that they are so , from hence the old Philosophers of the Academy concluded , that the Souls of wicked Men could not for a long time rest after their departure from their Bodies , but hover'd and wander'd about the Graves where the Bodies lay , to which they were so strictly wedded , when they were united ; but such a wandring will not serve for a punishment to the wicked Christians , they shall then but begin their eternal Life of Death ( if I may so say ) when they shall wish to be annihilated , call to the Mountains to cover them , and to the Sea to swallow them up ; but it will not be , for they did not , while they lived here , lift up their Souls with Christ , and because they did not here die daily , they must then live continually in a state of Dying , and yet their worm of Torment shall never Dye , nor their Fire be ever quenched ; it is then that in misery they shall cry out , what can a Man give in Exchange for his Soul ? Mar. 8.37 .

But Vertue and real Goodness , make Men know and believe , and take delight in Contemplating their own Eternal state and fruition of God in another life ; the good man lives above this world , and all the false excellencies thereof , he places his heart where his treasure is , where neither rust , nor moths , nor thieves can prejudice him ; he looks always beyond this mortal , and suffers not his thoughts to be bounded within the narrow sphere of sensual pleasures , but even while he lives here , he sends up his immortal soul to its proper home , which , in good time , shall , like a load-stone , draw up after it , his more material part , and place it in the society of Angels in Heaven : The seraphick love wherein the children of God employ their meditations , is stronger than Death , and more powerful than the Grave ; this makes them set God always before them ; wherefore their hearts are glad , and their glory does rejoyce , their flesh also shall rest in hope ; for why ? God shall not leave their souls in Hell , neither will he suffer his holy ones to see corruption ; he shall shew them the path of life , in his presence is the fulness of joy , and at his right hand there is pleasure for evermore , Psal . 16 , from the 9th verse . Tho worms destroy their flesh , and rottenness enters all the letts and caverns of their bones , yet they know that their Redeemer lives , and that they shall perceive him at present with the intellectual eye of their immortal soul , and at the joyful resurrection of their bodies , in their flesh they shall see God , and enjoy for ever the beatifick vision , wherein Blessedness it self consists . I have also heard the same , that power belongeth unto God , and that thou , Lord , art merciful ; for thou rewardest every man according to his work , Psal . 62.11 , 12. Seeing then that all this world shall be dissolved , and all these things shall so come to pass , what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness , 2 Pet . 3.11 . Which leads me to the next thing proposed , that a good life is the best preparation for death and judgment . This Woman was full of good Works and Alms-deeds which she did .

I might here ( had I time ) recommend to you a pious and good life , and prove the necessity and benefit thereof from several topicks and considerations ; as the profit , the pleasure , the easiness of it above wickedness , the righteous shall inherit the earth ; If any man desireth long life , and wou'd fain see good days , let him eschew evil , and do good . My Son , saith Solomon , forget not my Law , but let thy heart keep my Commandments ; for length of days , and long life , and peace shall they add unto thee , Prov. 3.1 , 2. A man's Conscience is either his Heaven or Hell upon Earth , and shall be witness either for or against him hereafter : Let the wicked be never so seemingly happy , tumble in his beloved pelf , riot in all the delicacies of Epicurism , of Gluttony , Drunkenness , or Venery ; let him , like an Apple of Sodom , appear ruddy and pleasant to the sight , yet he shall be found but dust and rottenness within ; the twinges of Conscience will upon all cccasions frighten him into ghastly looks , and fearful apprehensions of himself and his future-state ; but the pleasure of a good Conscience is past expression , as the Poet saith of troubles , they are only the small that speak , but the great ones are silent , so this cannot well be told , and is only known to those who possess it , this is the true Philosophers Stone which turns all Conditions that can but touch it , to the true gold of Content , and therefore of pleasure , the Hermite in his Cell , the Beggar who has not a roof but the Canopy of Heaven to cover him , the Gally-slave at his Oar , or the wretch in chains dragg'd to Torments , let these have but good Consciences , they may defy the frowns of fortune , command the stars , and much rather deserve to be made the Objects of Envy than Pitty , this is the true nourishment of the Soul , which feeds it so that it may live happily here by grace , and more happily hereafter in Glory .

If we consider the promises and rewards all along in the Book of Gods holy word , we shall find them always propounded on the performance of , and obedience to Gods Commandments ; under the divine Oeconomy of the Law , when God's people were not grown up to be perfect men , were not ascended unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ ; we find that people , like school-boys , were to be instructed in that Law , which was a Covenant of works , and established chiefly upon promises of health and plenty , of peace and victory in this Life ; for in this manner we find it speaking , If ye walk in my Statutes , and keep my Commandmens , and do them , then will I give you rain in due season , and the land shall yield her increase , and your threshing shall reach unto the vintage , and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time , and ye shall eat your bread to the full , and I will give peace in the Land , and ye shall chase your Enemies , and they shall fall before you by the Sword , Lev . 26. from the 3d ver . But upon their disobedience the contrary was threatned , as may be seen at large in the same Cap. of Lev . Terror , Consumption , and the burning Ague , and many other Plagues and mischiefs are there denounced against the breakers and contemners of that Law . And when God was pleased to abolish the outward and Ceremonial part of this Law , and in the fulness of time to send his well beloved Son into the World to Establish Christianity , and to propagate the everlasting Gospel of peace , which was to work on the inward , and most retired thoughts and speculations of all it 's embracers , the first step to this great alteration , was to be a change in life , and manners , our Saviour first sent the holy Baptist before him to prepare his way by Preaching Repentance to all men , Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand ; and when he was come , his Sermons and Lectures ( which are the Text of the Gospel ) did chiefly consist of enjoining Evangelical Vertues and Graces , Meekness , Long-suffering , Humility , Peaceableness , Purity , Temperance , Justice , Charity , and to the performance of these are promised fulness , the sight of God , Mercy , Inheritance of the Earth , and the Kingdom of Heaven ; The two great Commandments of the Gospel are to love God above all things , and our Neighbours as our selves , on these two hang all the Law and the Prophets , and on the performance of these it was that our Saviour promiseth life to the Lawyr ; This do , and thou shalt live , Luke 10.28 .

'T is to the later of these great precepts that the words of the Text , good works and Alms-deeds do chiefly belong . 'T is one great part of every Disciple of Christ to be Charitable to his Neighbours , as far as in him lies , and tho 't is not in the power of every man to exercise Alms-deeds ( which is but one part of Charity ) yet every man is bound to do good to his Neighbour as far as his Ability can reach , by good advice , by good words , or good deeds .

St. Paul gives a large commendation to this Vertue in his 13th Cap. of his 1st Ep , to the Corinthians ; Tho I speak with the tongues of Men and Angels , and have not Charity , I am become as sounding Brass , or a tinckling Cymbal ; and tho I have the gift of Prophecy , and understand all Mysteries , and have no Charity , I am nothing : Charity suffereth long , and is kind , envieth not , doth not behave it self unseemly , seeketh not her own , thinketh no evil : Charity never faileth , but Prophecies , Tongues , Knowledg shall vanish away , and then he concludes , and now abideth Faith , Hope , Charity , but the greatest of these is Charity . St. James places true Religion in being kind to our Brother , and this must not consist in a loving expression , or an empty wish , if a Brother or Sister be naked , or destitute of dayly food , and one of you say unto them , depart in peace ; be ye warmed and filled , notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body , what doth it profit ? Jam . 2.15 , 16. But pure Religion , and undefiled before God and the Father is this , to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction , and to keep himself unspotted from the world , Jam . 1.27 . we must ( if we be able ) cloath the naked , feed the hungry , relieve the oppressed , and in all things verify what the moral Phylosophy of the Stoicks said , that men were born for the sake of one another , that they might in all things promote the common good of mankind ; but behold a greater than the Stoicks is here . We find the great Apostle of the Gentiles paraphrasing in his and our Master's words , in his Epistle to the Rom. 13.8 . Owe no man any thing ( saith he ) but to love one another ; for he that loveth another , hath fulfilled the Law : and again , all the Law is fulfilled in one word , even in this , Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self , Gal. 5.14 . Whoso doth these things , shall never fall , Gal. 15.7 . These are the means , my Brethren , to make our Calling and Election sure ; for if we can perform these good works thro Faith in Jesus Christ , we need not be afraid at the summons of Death , but shall enter into our Master's presence with joy and gladness : Let us then lead good lives in these our days , and then we may be assured , that when we go hence , we shall have the accomplishment of Balaam's wish , Let me die the death of the righteous , and let my last end be like his , Numb . 23.10 .

Thus I have ended the two first general Heads proposed , I have shewed you what Death is , both in its causes , and in its effects ; and the best preparation both for Death and Judgment , is a good life here : I come to the last , the application of what has been said to this Honourable deceased Lady , this Woman was full of good works and Als-deeds which she did , in shewing whereof I shall pursue the general design of this whole discourse , by laying before you the pattern of a life , which if you can but imitate in your practices , will certainly be a means to teach you how to live , and thereby prepare you for Death and Judgment : Death shall be so far from being an evil to any that shall write after her Copy , that it shall rather be reckoned among the benefits and advantages of the best fortune .

Before I speak of the rare endowments of her mind ( which indeed is my proper Subject ) I shall touch a little at the descent of her body , the Cabinet in which that precious jewel for upwards of sixty years was preserved ; It is not my province to personate the Herald , by displaying her Arms , and Banners , nor to play the Bard by ripping up her pedigree , and flattering her successors by fulsom commendations of her Family and Ancestors , only thus much it may not be improper to inform you from hence , that she was descended by her Father from the great and ancient family of the O Neil's , a family , who by their Prowess , Wisdom and Valour , for many ages , by a regal power swayed the Scepter of this Province , if not sometimes of this whole Island ; As all great Families must subdivide into several branches and houses , so did this great fountain send out it 's several streams , who were the Rulers and Proprietors of several Counties & Baronies , and so the Ancestor of this Noble Lady was the chief O Neil of this County , and not far beyond the memory of some now living , possessed as his proper Estate this place with all the adjacent Countrey . By her Mother she sprung from the Noble , and ancient Family of the Staffords , who for three generations were the great Dukes of Buckingham in England , and for many years both before and after , continued Noble , with several Titles , and were related to the Crown of England , so that by both Father and Mother she descended from , and was related to Crowned heads ; Solomon tells us , Blessed art thou O Land , when thy King is the Son of Nobles , Eccl. 10.7 . So also blessed is the Land , when the Nobles are the Sons and Daughters of Kings , and when the King's Daughter appears all glorious within , when God gives unto the King Judgment , and his Righteousness to the King's Children Ps. 72.1 .

When the Poets describe their Heroes , they always draw their pedegree from the Gods , Contingit sanguine Coelum , saith Virgil of his Aeneas ; but our Christian Heroin was more nearly and truly of heavenly descent ; by her Vertues she was allied to God himself : Whosoever shall do the will of God , the same is my Brother , and my Sister , and Mother , saith our Saviour ; Mar. 3.35 . Her Countrey then is Heaven , her City the new Jerusalem , which is above ; her fellow-Citizens , the Saints and Angels ; and her Nobility was the following the steps of her Blessed Saviour , by being holy as he is holy . Thus have you seen the Rock whence she was hewn , and the Pitt whence she was dugg .

She was born ( as I am informed ) at Black-Hall within 24 miles of London , in or about the year of God 1631. where Sir Henry O Neil , her worthy Father then lived , and where , about seven years after he died . She spent her infancy and childhood till the tenth year of her age , under the tuition of a careful , kind , and religious Mother , who early infused into her goodness , both by precept , and by her example ; and so well had the Mother perform'd her part in instructing her Child , and so well was the Daughter qualified to stand in the King's Palace , being without blemish , and well favoured , and apt to be instructed in Wisdom and Knowledg , Dan. 1.4 . That when King Charles the first ( of ever Blessed Memory ) in the year 1641 , had espoused his eldest Daughter to the then young Prince of Orange , then was our Lady ( together with the Daughters of some of the Prime Nobility of England ) pitched on to attend the Princess-Royal out of the Kingdom , when the King's Daughter , by being married , was to forget her own People ▪ and her Fathers house , then was this to be one of the Virgins to be her fellows , and to bear her Company , Psal . 45.15 .

In that high service to that Excellent Princess , she lived for above 9 years , in which time she was educated in all those perfections which are the accomplishments of great Ladies , she spent not her time in the follies and vanities wherein too many place the happiness and greatness of Courts , even in the days of her youth ( which are commonly the days of vanity ) she knew how to distinguish betwixt true and counterfeit greatness , she very early , with Mary , chose that good part which was never taken from her , and so as she grew in stature , she grew in vertue , and therefore in favour with God and Man , and from that path she never deviated all the daies of her Life , she forsook not the guide of her youth , nor forgot the Covenant of her God , Prov. 2.17 .

During this attendance on her Royal Highness , that most vertuous Princess observing in this young Lady the seeds of a growing vertue , much good nature , and extraordinary Ingenuity , admitted her to a more then ordinary friendship and familiarity with her , which , with her deserts always increasing , grew at last to that height , that she esteemed her as her intimate friend , which was as her own soul unto her , and this she demonstrated during her whole Life , by many expressions of great fondness and signal favours conferr'd upon her , she shew'd that there is a Friend that sticks closer than a Brother , Prov. 18.24 . Nay , we may say she intailed this friendship to her posterity ; our present King ( whom God preserve ) always owning her for such , both before and since his happy accession to the Throne of these Kingdoms ; His own friend , and his Parent's friend , he never forsook , Prov. 27.10 . When maturity of Age had fitted her to change her condition from Virgin to Wife , she being Heiress to a great Estate , and Mistress of so many rare Perfections and Endowments both of mind and body , both of wit and beauty , could not want many Suiters of the first and highest Rank and Quality ; but to them all , by her Mother's choice , ( which was always a rule to her ) the Lord Marquiss of Antrim was preferr'd , and made the happy man , by being Married to this Excellent Lady in or about the year 1652. By this Match she had Nobility and Honour added to her other Blessings , being made Consort to the chief ( at least in this Kingdom ) of the great and ancient Family of the Mc Donnells , whose Ancestors were the great Lords ( and sometimes Kings ) of the Isles of Scotland , and whose valour , and their Prince's favour in this later age , made them Masters and Proprietors of one half of the County of Antrim : And how great a Blessing she proved to that Honorable Family , I believe many of the best of this Auditory know better than I can inform them . By these Nuptials , she became the second in Quality of the Nobility of this Kingdom ; and if Vertue be the sole and true Nobility ( as long ago it has been called ) then she was second to none . And now , if any might glory after the flesh , surely she might glory also . Are they of the seed Royal of Ireland ? so was she : Are they descended from the prime Nobility of England ? so was she : Are they matched into the ancientest and greatest Families of Scotland ? so was she : the whole three Kingdoms joyned together to make her great : She was great by Birth , great by Education , great by Marriage , but greatest of all by her Vertue and Goodness : the others were the adventicious blessings of her good fortune ; but this was her own by choice , and therefore most to be valued .

Et genus & proavos & quae non fecimus ipsi vix ea nostra voco . She valued not her fortune , for making her Rich or Noble , but thought her self obliged to perform vertuous and worthy actions , lest she should degenerate from the worthyness of those Stocks from whence she sprung .

Thus having brought her to the State of woman-hood , 't is time to describe her to you by those Excellencies by which she was properly and deservedly esteemed good , for all before , what is done in childhood , and youth , are but tendencies to vertue , and inclinations to goodness . In performing of this , I shall first speak of her Religion to God , 2dly , of her Charity to man , and lastly of her Sobriety and Wisdom in relation to her self .

First , then of her Religion and Duty towards God , and here we shall find her not of mean and common sanctity , but of extraordinary and exemplary Piety and Devotion ; God was always the first in her intention , and therefore that ultimate end , to the enjoyment of whom , all the intermediate ends and actions of her life were directed : She was the most constant and regular at her Prayers and holy Meditations , of any that ever I knew ; for these she had her fixed and settled hours , which nothing of business or compliment diverted her from : Her Closet was her constant withdrawing-room , and with holy David , in the evening , and morning , and at noon-day did she always pray , and that instantly , and doubtless was heard in that she prayed , Psal . 55.17 . Her Devotion was not superficial and formal , but always so managed as not to be seen of men , not with the ostentation of the Pharisee , to be heard thanking God that she was not like other people ; but with the humble and penitent Publican , smiting on her breast , and praying her God to be merciful to her a sinner , Luke 18.13 . She was not of a constitution like an ill planted and unpruned Tree , which shoots out into excrescencies of suckers , leaves , and irregular branches , without bringing any fruit to perfection ; but being grounded in Humility , she took deep root downward , and brought forth much fruit upward , in the substantial graces of Christianity , in Meekness and Purity , in Justice and Charity , in Temperance and Prudence , and always turn'd away from such who having a form of godliness , deny the power thereof , 2 Tim . 3.5 .

She was born and bred within the Pale of the Protestant-Church of England and Ireland , of whose Doctrine and Discipline , she lived a Zealous Professor , and of whose Communion she dyed a faithful Partaker , and for which great blessing she was ever most thankful to her gracious God , as shall even now appear from her own Notes and Meditations ; She was a most strict observer of the Offices and Lyturgy of the Church , which was always read twice a day in her Family ; She was a constant companion at the Altar , never omitting any opportunity of Receiving the blessed Body and Blood of her Saviour ; and here I must shew you how worthy a Communicant she was , by observing the wonderful order she took in performing this great duty . In a private Cabinet ( which she reserved wholly to her self ) were found after her death , several excellent pieces of Devotion , written with her own hand ; among others , are entries made of every time she Receiv'd the Sacrament , ( which , by computation , appears to be six or seven times yearly when in the Countrey , and twelve or ●●fteen times when she liv'd in the City ) here are also entred her Resolutions at each of these good times , with her performances of them , which are most Excellent , and Wonderfully perform'd ; in her Confessional Notes she shewed her great knowledge of her Duty to God , to her Neighbour , and to her Self , by her sorrow for every the least Breach of them , not the least Peccadillo , or Passion shew'd to a Servant , but notice is taken of it with Confession and Sorrow , and every Passage has it 's Date ; Here she had Registred a Catalogue of Gods Mercies , and favours to her from her Birth , begins with the general blessings of being Born within the Christian-Church , with particular thanks for being bred a Protestant ; then she recounts all the particular Mercies Vouchsafed unto her , her journies by Sea and Land , all the Transactions about her Lords and her own Estate , Recoveries of health , Reconciliations with her Friends and Neighbours , deliverances from Fire , Theft , and Stormes , with the certain times and Dates of Each ; thus did she keep her accounts clear with her Great Master , and happy must needs that servant be , Whom her Lord at his coming found so doing , Mat . 24.46 . Her Meditations on the Life and Death of our Saviour , and on the different manner of God's dealing with his own Creatures are most Excellent and Divine ; her thoughts were setled on things above , and not on things on the Earth ; and therefore in her better part , she is certainly risen with Christ , and is now with him on the Right-Hand of God , Coll . 3.1 . She was a dilligent and constant Reader of the Holy Scripture , obliging her self to great Portions of it every day , and her neglects herein at any time are found among her Penitential Confessions ; she Studied these Books , not out of Vanity , Ostentation or Curiosity , but to render her a true Schollar of Christ , and to make her wise unto Salvation ; She knew that this Scripture was given by the Inspiration of God , and is Profitable for Doctrine , for Reproof , for Correction , and for Instruction in Righteousness , that whoever therein employ themselves may be perfect , throughly Furnished unto all good works , 2. Tim . 3.16 , 17. And being on this Subject , I must take notice unto you of a paper found in the aforesaid Cabinet , which I cannot better recommend than in her own words , thus then it was written .

How I know the Bible .

I was born of Christian Parents by Gods especial Grace , and by them baptised and bred in the Christian Religion , and taught to read the Scriptures in my Childhood , which is not to be Reproved , since St. Paul approves it , 2 Tim . 3.11 . I was then taught to esteem it as the word of ●od , and so to Reverence it , to Believe it wi hout any kind of doubting , and to make it the Rule of my Life . Then on all ●ccasions , for Encouragement of Vertue and suppressing Vice , I still heard Arguments brought from it by all Parties , none rejecting its Authority . All Preachers take their Texts from thence , and strengthen their Ass●●tions by quoting it . When I grew up to some understanding , I thought I found in that Book another Spirit than in any other , the Rules so Just and Equal ; especially in the New Testament , the Mercies of God so Eminent and Loving , his Punishments so Just , his Works so Wonderful , and those of his Servants ; his Prophecies accomplish'd , the Characters of good Men ; especially our Lords ; so Excellent , the Devotion therein so Excellent , Mild , and yet fervent , the Prayers so Devout , the Praises so Exalted , all of it so Meek , so Just , so Wise , that what I had at first been taught , my Reason now assented unto , and I believe it proceeded not from a prepossest Mind , but hope it was the good Spirit of my gracious God that inform'd me . When I enter'd into the concerns of the World , and read Books , I found that all Christians acknowledged the Bible to be the word of God , that it was all Truth , awd every several Sect , pretended it made for them . I found all other People called the Bible the Christians Book , which they esteemed Sacred , and the ground of their Religion , and to be the Word of their God ; so that I saw I must be Ridiculous , if I called my self a Christien , and made any doubt of the Bible , which none of 'em ever questioned , tho' they differed concerning the Translation of it , which is another Point .

Is not this a Rational Discourse , and might it not become the best and most Learned Divine ?

There were two other Papers like this , the one against the Socinians Assertion , That the Mystery of the Trinity , is as much against Sense and Reason , as Transubstantiation , wherein she shewed the excellency of her Parts , in confuting that newly revived monstrous Heresie ; and on the clean Paper on the front is piece of her Closet ; BIBLE I saw written in her own Hand , Quotations to several Texts , proving the Divini●y of our Saviour , against the Error of that pernicious Sect : The other Paper , is against an infallible Guide , the Great Diana of Rome , which brings such Gain to the mighty Men of that occupation , and which most of any one point , keeps up the difference , betwixt them and the Reformed Churches , and all other Christians ; by these she demonstrated how much she laboured to make her self Orthodox in the Faith , and that her Religion was not grounded in fancy , or opinion , but on the strength of Reason and a saving Faith ; she was not to be blown aside by the Wind of every Doctrine , nor to be prevail'd on , by the specious Sophisms of those , who of all Men are most busie to make Proselytes to their corrupted Tenents ; of this sort are they which creep into Houses , and chiefly lead captive silly Women laden with Sins , led away with divers Lusts , 2 Tim . 3 6. But she was too powerful for these , even in their late times of prevailing , when either weakness of Judgment , or hopes of profit in them to whom Gain is Godliness , made their endeavours too successful on those who started aside like broken Bows ; she stood fixed and unmoved like a Rock against all those beating Billows , and violent Storms , who only broke themselves , but hurt not her ; and thus after the way which many of her Relations call Heresie , so Worshipp'd she the God of her Fathers , believing all things which are written in the Law and the Prophets , Acts 24.14 . So much for her Duty to God .

Secondly , For her Duty to Man , she was most signally famous , she had as it were incorporated Love and Charity into her Soul , and made the principles thereof one with her self , in the Philosophers Phrase ; she was dipp'd into Charity over Head and Ears , had not a superficial tincture of it , but was Dyed and Colour'd quite thro' with it ; so that , wheresoever she had a Soul , there was Love and Friendship ; Plato tells us , Non nobis solum nascimur , we are not born only for our selves , but part of us our Country requires , part our Parents , part our Friends , thus did she divide her self , but into more parts than that Wise Heathen enumerated ; Nature dictated to him , but she had Nature improved by Grace for her Guide ; in Relation then to her Country , she was a faithful and Loyal Subject ; she knew that 't was her Duty to Render to Caesar the things that are Caesars , as well as to God the things that are Gods , and therefore she extreamly abominated all Tumults and Discords , all Seditions and Rebellions , and that not only for Wrath , but for Conscience sake ; Woe was her , when she was constrained to dwell with Mesech , and to have her Habitation among the Tents of Kedar ; she laboured much for Peace , and hated those who were always making ready for Battle , Psal . 120.4.6 . in her Country likewise she was an eminent Patriot , minding in all things the good of the Publick , she was affable and courteous to all People , friendly to her Neighbours , hospitable to Strangers , kind and affectionate to her Relations , to her Tenants a most bountiful Land-Lady , forgiving and forbearing them , to that degree , that all or 'em lived happily under her Wings , and under her Protection ; and now they have lost a great Mother in our Israel .

If we look upon her as a Wife we shall find that for thirty years together , she fully perform'd one of the great Ends for which Woman was made ; And the Lord God said , it is not good that Man should be alone , I will make him an help meet for him , Gen 2.18 and surely , she was this meet help unto her Lord , who being bred up in the Delicacies of a Court , and his Genius not inclining to the fatigue of business , lest the whole management of his Estate and Confused Affairs to her Prudence and Discretion , which in all particulars appeared so Signal , that few Women ( if any of our Age ever attain'd to so great a Dexterity in business , and yet without diminishing ought of her Duty to God , or neglecting the more weighty Concerns of her Soul . Her Lord and she intirely loved each other , they in all things thought and spake the same thing , save in the manner of Worshiping of God , and even in that , tho' they differ'd , they did not disagree , but each enjoyed their own way in which they had been Educated in Peace , Content , and Happiness , without the least Heats , or Animosities , which are the too usual consequents of differing Opinions in the same House , betwixt Man and Wife , and not only betwixt themselves was all Bitterness and Rancour laid aside , but also , their Protestant Tenants and Neighbours enjoyed the Favour and Countenance of their Lord ; and never suffered by that furious Zeal and Bigottry , which too often byasses the Great Men of that Perswasion .

As a Mother also we may Remember her ; for tho' God was not pleased to Bless her with any fruit of her own Womb ; yet she endeavoured to supply that want , by taking unto her those of her nearest Relations , and making them her Chil●●en by Adoption ; to whom she gave such Education , as might in all things qualifie them to Inherit her great Estate ; which I hope they will look on , as an Obligation on them to endeavour to be heirs likewise of her Vertues ; I pray God give them Grace to walk in those Paths of Goodness , and to follow those Methods which she laid down unto them , which besides the Considerations of their Eternal Welfare ) will certainly be a means to continue those Earthly Blessings to their Family , which , we may believe , her Vertues procured ; let them honour this Mother of theirs , by being Obedient to her Precepts , and their days shall be long in the Land , which the Lord their God giveth them , Exod . 20.12 .

In her Family , she was a most excellent Mistress to her Servants of all Degrees , not only Rendring unto them what was Just and Equal knowing that she had a Master in Heaven , but being kind and bountiful , amiable , easie and familiar , without evil speaking , or railing , and thus in all these Relations ; whatsoever things were True , whatsoever things were Honest , whatsoever things were Just , whatsoever things were Pure , whatsoever things were Lovely , whatsoever things were of good Report , on these she Thought , and these she Practised , Phil . 4.8 .

But in her Duty to her Neighbour , we must not forget her Goodness to the Poor ; This Woman was full of good Works and Alms-Deeds which she did ; above all things have fervent Charity ( saith St. Peter ) for Charity shall cover the multitude of Sins , 1 Pet . 4.8 . And this part of her Charity did not run in the ordinary Channels , by giving a small Alms to walking Beggars ( and even in this , she was very large and liberal ; but so as by our Saviours Command , her left Hand scarce knew what her right Hand did ) but her way was to relieve by whole-sale ; she gave large Sums of Money together , to Gentlemen in Distress ▪ or to poor Widows ; she had many constant Pensioners to whom she allowed certain Annuities , and they not small ones , but fitted to the Qualities and Necessities of the Receivers , I wish the wants of many now in that Neighbourhood where she lived , may not be one of the Proclaimers of her good Deeds ; she cloathed the Naked , and provided Bread for the Hungry ; she was Eyes to the Blind , and feet was she to the Lame , and a Mother to the Poor , Job . 29.15 . She remembred the Words of our Saviour , That whatever Good was done to the least of these his Brethren , was done unto him , Mat . 25.40 . She never forgot St. Paul's Charge ; charge them who are Rich in this World , that they be ready to Give , and glad to Distribute , laying up in Store for themselves , a good foundation against the time to come , that they may attain Eternal Life , 1 Tim . 6.17 , 18 , 19. She always had pity on the Poor , and thereby lent unto the Lord ; and doubtless , what she thus laid out , is now paid her again with Interest and Advantage , Prov. 19.17 . I should in the third and last place , speak something of her Duty to her self , in Sobriety and Wisdom ; but what has been said , has in some measure laid that before you ; and the time being so far spent , I shall proceed no farther in it ; you have heard her Behaviour to God and her Neighbour ; and a very good Author tells us , That the fear of the Lord , that is Wisdom , and to depart from Evil , that is Understanding , and the fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom , and they only have a good Understanding who do thereafter , Psal . 111.10 .

Thus have I in as few words as I could ( much fewer than the Subject required ) brought this excellent Lady thro' all the Stages of her happy Life ; her warning for Dea●h was very short , being Sick but a few days ; but indeed her Life was ever so Regular , That she could not be taken unprovided ; her every days Devotion prepared her for Death at Night , and she was always one of the Gospel wise Virgins , who kept her Lamp Trimmed , and was ready to Receive the Heavenly Bridegroom at whatever hour he should come ; as she lived in a continued Calm , even when her Affairs were in the greatest Storm ; so she desired to dye without Noise or Confusion ; and therefore , she prayed her Physitian to make no Discovery of what fatal Signs or Symtoms he should perceive in her ; not many hours before her departure , she commanded all People to withdraw from her , and when alone , she was perceived by some who watched her , to Rise from her Chair , and to Kneel down , in which Posture she continued a considerable time , at most earnest Prayer ; and when she had ended , she called in her Attendance , and soon after in her Chair , she turned away her Head , and breathed her Last ; and thus she Lived and Dyed with the Innocence of a Lamb ; God was always in that still and quiet Temper of hers ; and n●w she is with God , in perpetual Rest , Quiet and Happiness .

And now , my Brethren , behold this Woman of Worth and Eminency , consider her Life to provoke unto love and imitation , and let not the meanness of my description derogate ought from the greatness of that Character which she deserved . This task was designed indeed for an abler Tongue , our late most excellent Bishop ( Dr. Foley ) who , had God been pleased to have spared his life , would have laid before you the rare Perfections and Endowments of this departed Saint , in such holy Rhetorick , as so great a Subject deserved ; and s●nce I mention that good man , I must ask your pardon and patience to drop one Tear to the memory of an old Friend , and a kind Indulgent Father : I know he designed so much good to these Diocesses , that all the members of them have reason to be concern'd for the great loss we sustain by his death ; it looks too like a punishment to us for our sins : I am sure we of his Clergy have reason to lament him in the words of Elisha , when his Master was taken from him ; My Father , my Father , the Chariot of our Israel and the Horsemen thereof : I wish he may have left his Ma●●●e behind him , and a part at least of his good Spirit : When he came first to his Charge here among us ( which he intended to Rule not with a rod , but in love , and in the spirit of meekness ) he told me that he had heard so great a same of the goodness of my Lady Marchioness of Antrim , that he earnestly desired to be of her intimate acquaintance , and to that end he made her one of his first Visits ; and to begin their friendship , he Preached before her ; and with her , he first in his Diocess Received the holy Sacrament of the Body & Blood of our Saviour , making that ( as it was called truly in the pious Primitive times of Christianity ) a Feast of Love and Charity ; and I make no doubt , they are now perfecting their acquaintance and friendship , and drinking together the fruit of that Vine new in their Father's Kingdom , Matth . 26.29 . They are now Blessed , being called to the Marriage-Supper of the Lamb , where all Tears shall be wiped from their eyes , and there shall be no more death , neither sorrow , nor crying ; neither shall there be any more pain ; for the former things are passed away , Rev. 21.4 . And I heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me , write , Blessed are the dead which dye in the Lord , that they may rest from their labours , and their works do follow them , Rev. 14.13 . Of which number , that we may all in good time be , God of his infinite mercy grant .

Amen . FINIS .