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CONTENT S.

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Large Preface in Defence of a Sermon preached at the Funeral of Mr. Thomas Bennet.

pag. iii. SEKM. I. I Cor. xv. 19. If in this Life only we have hope in Chrift, we are of all men moft miferable.

pag. 1 SERM. II. A ftanding Revelation the beft Means of Conviction.

St. Luke xvi. 31. If they hear not Mofes and the Prophets, neither will they be perfuaded, though one rofe from the Dead.

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SERM. III. A Sermon preached at the Election of the Lord Mayor.

Job xxix. 14. I put on Righteousness, and it cloathed me my Judgment was as a Robe, and a Diadem. SERM. IV. A Sermon preached before the Lord Mayor, on a Day of public Humi

liation.

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Pfal. xxx. 6, 7, 8. In my profperity, 1 faid, 1 fball never be moved, Lord, by thy favour thou haft made my mountain to fland ftrong : Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled, I cried to thee, O Lord: and unto the Lord I made fupplication.

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SERM.

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SERMON

Preached in the

Cathedral-Church of St. PAUL,

AT THE
FUNERAL

O F

Mr. THOMAS BENNET,

August 30, 1706.

1 CORINTH. xv. 19.

If in this Life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men met miferable.

UCH difcourfes, on fuch mournful occafions

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honour of the dead, as for the ufe of the living; that opportunity may be taken from hence to excite, in perfons attending on thefe folemnities, à due fenfe of the uncertainty and vanity of VOL. II. A

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all earthly fatisfactions; to imprint upon their minds, by proper arguments and reflections, a lively perfuafion of the certainty of a future ftate, and an earneft defire of fitting and preparing themselves for it.

There is no feafon, to which fuch thoughts as thefe are more fuitable; nor any, wherein men are likely to be more affected with them: And therefore I have chofen (not unfitly, I hope) to explain to you, at prefent, that great argument for a future ftate, which St. Paul hath couched in the words I have read to you; If in this life only we have hope in Chrift, we are of all men moft miferable: that is, If all the benefits we expect from the Chriftian inftitution were confined within the bounds of this prefent life, and we had no hopes of a better state after this, of a great and lafting reward in a life to come; We Christians fhould be the most abandoned and wretched of creatures: All other forts and fects of men would evidently have the advantage of us, and a much furer title to happiness than we.

This conceffion the apoftle openly makes, and from hence he would be understood to infer (tho' the inference be not exprefs'd) that, therefore, there must needs be another ftate, to make up the inequalities of this, and to falve all irregular appearances; fince it is impoffible to conceive that a juft and good God fhould fuffer the juftest and beft of men (fuch as the best Christians certainly are) to be oftentimes the most miferable.

If St. Paul found it neceffary, earnestly to prefs this argument to the Corinthians, foon after he had planted the gospel among them, and con

firm'd it by miracles; it cannot but be highly requifite for us, who live at fuch a diftance from that age of miracles, to fupport and enliven our faith, by dwelling often on the fame confiderations: And this argument, therefore, I fhall endeavour to open and apply in the following difcourfe; wherein,

First, I fhall fhew the undoubted truth of the apoftles conceffion; and from thence fhall establish, in the

II. Second Place, the truth of that conclufion, which he builds upon it.

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III. After which, I fhall fuggeft to you fome rules and directions, which, if duly purfued, will enable you to live like those who have their hope in an ther life; like men, who look upon themfelves as being only on their paffage through this ftate, but as belonging properly to that which is to come; on which, therefore, their eye, their aim, and their hopes, are altogether fixed and employed.

IV. And these general reflections fhall be followed (as they will very naturally be followed) by a just and faithful account of that valuable perfon, whofe remains now lie before us.

As to the Conceflion of the apoftle, I fhall urge it fomewhat further than the lettter of the text will carry us; proving to you, under two different heads, that, were there no other life but this, firft, men would really be more miferable than beafts; and fecondly,

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