duct of his future life. His fine natural parts, acquired knowledge, and above; all the grace of God, and the eminent gifts of it. beltowed upon him, and fitting him for public fervice, all contributed to form his character; in whom the gentleman, the scholar, the christian, and the divine, were fo happily united..

When he was about fifteen years of age, he made a profeffion of religion, and fubmitted to the ordinance of baptifm. And thofe, who have either heard his pious discourses, and fervent prayers; or read his excellent fermons, which are printed; can have no doubt left upon their minds, of his having received the grace of God in truth; which is fo abfolutely neceffary to a minister of the gofpel.

In the year 1714, Providence called him into Wales, where he firft entered upon his public ministry, and spent about four years at Abergavenny in Monmouthshire; from whence, having declined the pressing invitations of two congregations in this city, he removed to Exeter, not long after the dispute arose in that country concerning the doctrine of the Trinity, and while it was hot there: letters having been fent hither for advice, in the year 1719, occafioned great disturbances and animofities among Proteftant-diffenting minifters of all denominations in this city. In the mean time our young divine, as he then was, exerted himself with an uncommon, and diftinguished zeal at Exeter; made a noble stand for the proper. divinity of our Lord, and appeared with great luftre and brightness in the defence of it. Here he continued about fixteen years, faithfully discharging his ministerial trust, and adorning his office with a becoming life and conversation. In 1737, he was called to the pastoral care of this church, and was invested with that office September 15th the fame year, being twenty years ago and upwards: fo that he continued in the facred work of the ministry about forty years.

In the year 1754 he received a diploma creating him Doctor. in Divinity, from the Univerfity of St Andrews in Scotland, at the inftance and recommenda tion of his Royal Highness their Chancellor; who was pleafed to fend it to him in a very obliging manner by his Secretary.

The Doctor's minifterial abilities and qualifications are fo well known, as to want no description or commendation of them. His mein and deportment in the pulpit were graceful; his voice low, but foft and pleasant; and his language accurate and correct. He had a large compass of thought, freedom of expreffion, and fervency of foul, as well in preaching as prayer; and would often treat his fubject in a very comprehensive view, to the great delight, as well as profit, of his hearers.

As to his religious principles, befides thofe concerning baptifm and the fabbath, wherein he differed from many; there were others of greater importance, the doctrines of our first reformers, which he imbibed in his younger years, and abode

• See the Account of his Life, prefixed to his works, p. 34

abode by them throughout his miniftrations to the end of his life. I meet with an inftance of this in a letter fent by him to the members of this church, about two months before his decease, wherein are the following expreffions: "It is my 66 great comfort in the views of eternity, that I have been led in these changea"ble fad times, steadily and conftantly to maintain those doctrines, which I find "are able to fupport me at fuch a feafon as this. I call my dear charge at Exe"ter, where I spent the first part of my ministry (and the Lord knows in great "weakness) to testify this concerning me. I always thought, the great defign "of the gospel was to lay the creature in the duft, and to exalt the great re"deemer of the church. I always taught both them and you to love Jefus "Chrift; to live upon him; and to expect your juftification from him alone, "his blood, his righteoufnefs imputed, and his interceffion."

With regard to his political character, he was a warm afferter and defender of the liberties of mankind; most zealously attached to the intereft of his Majefty King GEORGE, and his royal house; heartily loved his friends, and all whom his Majefty esteemed as fuch; and was greatly offended with thofe, who gave into an unreasonable oppofition to his ministry. His talents for public service in civil affairs, were difcerned by fome perfons of the first rank and eminency, who were pleased to honour him with their friendship and acquaintance.. And the easy access which this gave him to thofe in power, rendered him capable of performing many good and kind offices to multitudes of perfons; which he attended to with great chearfulness and affiduity, and frequently with happy fuccefs. So that his death is a public lofs to mankind; particularly to the whole Diffenting-intereft, and especially with respect to its civil and political affairs..

ཐཱ

The diforder, which iffued in his death, was a mortification in his foot, under which he laboured near fix months. During which time, though it appeared very frightful and terrible to those about him; yet it was not at all startling. and surprising to himself. When he was first made acquainted with it, and it was intimated to him, that he might be carried off by it in a few days; he received the fummons with an amazing composure of mind. And through the whole of his affliction, he fhewed fuch chriftian heroifm, as astonished some who were strangers to the inward power of christianity, and obliged them to acknowledge its divine influence. His patience under those excruciating pains with which he was attended, was almoft inimitable; not one murmuring or repining word being heard to drop from his lips amidst all of them. And when he had any intervals from pain, it is thought, he never fo much enjoyed himself, his family, and his friends about him, in any period of his life, as he then did. This ferenity and chearfulness continued with scarce any interruption. And though

he:

he had not those raptures, which fome have experienced on their dying beds, and in their last moments; yet his faith continued unfhaken, and his hope firm and stedfast to the end. Thus your dear and faithful paftor finished his course, and fell asleep in Jesus, on the 7th instant; leaving behind him a very difconfolate widow and mournful family, all deeply affected with their great and irreparable loss.

During his illness, though at such a distance, he was not unmindful of this church, his more peculiar charge and care; as appears by his letter to you, in which he says: "Sometimes, I think, I could rejoice to talk to you once more "of the loving-kindness of the Lord, and what he has done for my foul; and "to recommend that dear Jefus, with all the bleffings of his falvation, to your "precious fouls, which I have often fincerely, though poorly, done in the "courfe of my ministry." And now, in your prefent circumftances, permit me to remind you of your duty, how you fhould behave under them. And this I fhall choose to do, not in my own words, but thofe of your late paftor, in his letter above-mentioned; which may, I would hope, make greater and more lafting impreffions on you, than any thing I am capable of saying: "My dear brethren, fays he, let your love abound one towards another; forbearing "one another, forgiving one another, as God for Chrift's fake bath forgiven you. "Exercise your charity to all men, in the manner in which the gospel recom"mends it. Brethren, as you would have your fouls profper, labour to main"tain holy discipline in the church; attend early and conftantly on the public "worship of God; and cultivate the duties of religion in your families and your clofets. See that the generous fpirit, that has long prevailed among you for the fupport and encouragement of the interest of our Lord Jesus "Chrift, may not decay; be exemplary in your conversation; and use your "kind endeavours to restore such as are departed from the truth, or by an un

66

holy walk have brought themselves under the cenfure of the church." My friends, frequently read over thefe inftructions and exhortations; and though your pastor is now dead, you will perceive that he yet speaks to you, with the most tender regard, for your truest and best interest.

To you, the dear relations of the deceased, his mourning widow and forrowing children, and other relations and friends, what fhall I say? The stroke upon you is heavy; the providence is very afflicting. The lofs of such an indulgent hufband, tender father, kind brother, amiable relation, and loving friend, is a great one indeed! but forrow not in an extravagant and unbecoming manner, as those without hope of a future ftate, and a glorious refurrection. Remember what is your lofs is his gain; and that you will fee your hufband, your father,

y February 1758.

your

your brother, your relation and friend again, to greater advantage than ever you faw or enjoyed him here; for if we believe that Jefus died, and rofe again, even fo them alfo, which fleep in Jefus, will God bring with him *.

The Superior Happiness of the Righteous Dead, to that of Living Saints. Occafioned by the Death of the Reverend Mr JAMES FALL, of Watford, in the County of Hertford. Preached March 25, 1763.

ECCLES. IV. 2.

Wherefore I praised the dead, which are already dead, more than the living, which are yet alive.

THE

HE particle wherefore fhews that thefe words have a connection with, and are an inference or conclufion from, those that go before, fo Ireturned, &c. The meaning according to fome, is, that the wife man, whose words these are, returned from his former thought and fentiment, expreffed in the last verse of the preceeding chapter, that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; that is, as he explains it in the following chapter, that he fhould eat and drink, and enjoy the good of his labour with moderation and chearfulness; but this he now revoked and called in, having obferved the violence and oppreffions that were in the world, so that a man could not enjoy the fruit of his labours with pleafure; but fince Solomon afterwards repeats this fentiment again, it does not appear to be his fenfe; but rather it is, that he had returned. to his former fubject, the abuse of civil power and authority, obferved in chap. iii. 16. I saw under the fun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there; and having made a fhort digref fion from thence, he here re-affumed his former argument, and enlarged and improved upon it, and confidered all the oppreffions that are done under the fun; all that occurred unto him, all that were within the compass of his knowledge, or that

Aben Ezra in loc.

b

that he had got any hint of by any kind of information, by tradition, or by reading the hiftory and annals of former times, of his own or other nations; as of the oppreffions of fubjects by tyrannical princes; of the widow, fatherless and stranger by unjuft judges; of the poor by the rich; and of fervants by cruel mafters; and perhaps he may have refpect to the oppreffions of the children of Ifrael in Egypt, and in the times of the judges; or he faw by the Holy Ghoft, as a Jewish writer paraphrafes it, and being now under divine infpiration, he might foresee by a spirit of prophecy, the oppreffions that would be in aftertimes, of the Jews in the captivity of Babylon, and in the times of the Maccabees; and the perfecutions of the churches of Chrift in gospel-times, by Rome, pagan and papal; and all the injuries that have been or will be done to them by antichrift, by the man of fin and son of perdition; the man of the earth, who ere long will no more opprefs: it is truly obferved by the wife man, that all thofe oppreffions were done under the fun; for there are none done above it, none in heaven, none beyond the grave; there the wicked ceafe from troubling, and there the weary be at reft: the wife man goes on with his obfervations, and beheld the tears of fuch as were oppressed; which poured forth from their eyes, and ran down their cheeks in great plenty, because of their oppreffions; which were all they could do, fince they had no helper. The word is in the fingular number, the tear, as if one continued ftream flowed from their eyes like a torrent, or as if the fource of nature was exhausted, and the fountain of tears dried up through exceffive weeping, so that scarce another tear could drop, or that it was as much as could be, that another should fall: and they had no comforter; none to speak a comfortable word to them under their oppreffions, to do any thing for them to alleviate their forrow, or to help them out of their trouble: that is, they had no human comforter, that either could or durst relieve or release them; which is a very deplorable cafe, and was the cafe of the Meffiah, as perfonated by David', and of the church, as described by Jeremiah: the people of God indeed, under the oppreffions of fin, Satan and the world, have God to be their comforter; he is the God of all comfort to them, who comforts them in all their tribulation: one of the names of Chrift is the confolation of Ifrael, whom good old Simeon was waiting for; the holy Spirit is another comforter, fent by the Father and Son; and it is the will of God that the minifters of the gospel fhould Speak comfortably to the faints, by affuring them that their fins are pardoned, full fatisfaction is made for them, and their warfare accomplished; otherwise they have no human comforters, at least at times; or they are fuch who are like Job's comforters, miferable ones: and it is further obferved, that on the fide of the