The following is a modernized transcription of Thomas Harrison's funeral sermon on Mordecai Abbott, Esq., originally preached at Lorimer's Hall on April 7, 1700, and printed later that year. Spelling, capitalization, and punctuation have been updated to modern conventions, and a few archaic contractions and verb forms have been adjusted for readability (e.g., "receiv'd" to "received," "intrusted" to "entrusted"). No paraphrasing has been done — the wording, phrasing, and sentence structure remain Harrison's own throughout.1

Thomas Harrison was the son of 1LCF subscriber Edward Harrison (a former vicar in Kensworth, Hertfordshire who served in Petty France church, London) and a recognized London Baptist pastor. James and Samuel Renihan write:

"Some men subscribed to both Confessions — William Kiffen, Hanserd Knollys, and Henry Forty as well as the father/son pairs Benjamin Coxe and Nehemiah Coxe and Edward Harrison and Thomas Harrison — and these men knew what they believed throughout these years."2

"The resources he provided for my studies, the guidance he gave, and the knowledge he shared make me thankful that he is my Benjamin Coxe, or my Edward Harrison, as I am his Nehemiah Coxe, or his Thomas Harrison."3

Harrison's 1700 funeral sermon on Mordecai Abbott, Esq., takes its text from Matthew 25:21 — "Well done, good and faithful servant... enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." He argued that those who serve Christ faithfully in this life will have a joyful and happy state in the next. Harrison preaches on those who count as faithful servants, expounds on what that future joy actually involves, and demonstrates the sure connection between faithful service now and glory hereafter. He ends the sermon with a direct application: examine yourself, be spurred on by the reward set before you, and find comfort in the loss of godly friends — comfort he extends to Mordecai Abbott's own grieving widow and family, holding up Abbott as a faithful servant now entered into the Joy of his Master.

A Funeral Sermon on Mordecai Abbott, Esq.
Preached at Lorimer's Hall, April 7, 1700
By Thomas Harrison

Psalm 89:48 — "What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? Shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave?"

Matthew 24:46 — "Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing."

London. Printed for D. Brown at the Black Swan and Bible without Temple Bar, and A. Bell at the Cross Keys and Bible in Cornhill. 1700.

To the Sorrowful Widow of Mordecai Abbott, Esq.

Madam,

Though I readily agreed to your request that I preach the following sermon, I could not consent to its being printed without some reluctance. But my great obligations both to your deceased husband and to yourself gave your request the force of a command. I would rather have my judgment criticized than my gratitude.

I am aware that I prepared it under real disadvantages — both because of my poor health and because of pressing responsibilities on my hands — which made me all the more reluctant to publish it. But if God, who governs all things, should be pleased to make it useful to anyone who reads it, I will have no cause to regret bringing it before the public.

I hope, Madam, that when you seriously consider how well the words I preached on suit the character of your departed husband, it may help support you under the severe blow that separated him from you. He was a good and faithful servant, and I do not doubt that he has now entered into the joy of his Lord. His life on earth gives you solid grounds to hope that he has been received into heaven, where he now enjoys complete happiness — and that the sweet fragrance he has left behind still perfumes his family, even now that his body is given over to decay. It is an honor to you that you had such a husband, and to your children that they had such a father.

That the Lord would make up this loss by granting you an even greater measure of his gracious presence; that he would take your fatherless children into his own family; and that his choicest blessings would continually rest upon you and yours — this is the sincere wish of,

Madam, Your humble servant,

April 15, 1700
Thomas Harrison

A Funeral Sermon

Matthew 25:21 — "His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."

The great Apostle of our faith, during his public ministry on earth, spoke very often in parables, following the style and manner of the Jewish nation. In this way spiritual things were brought down to the understanding of his hearers, being pictured by earthly things that were most familiar to them. We have two parables in this chapter; my text is part of the second, which begins at verse 14 and ends at verse 30. The purpose of this parable was to persuade people to be diligent in God's service, and to make faithful use of the gifts they receive from him.

To explain my text properly, I will consider four things:

  1. The speaker.
  2. The person spoken to.
  3. The speech itself.
  4. The time when it was delivered.

An account of these will shed further light on the whole parable.

1. The Speaker — "His Lord." By this our Lord means himself, who was about to travel into a far country, to ascend to the heaven of heavens, which is at an immense distance from this lowly earth where he then lived. He holds a double lordship over every country: one essential and original, as the second person of the Trinity; the other derived and appointed to him, as Mediator. Though much of humanity refuses to serve and obey him, all people are nonetheless his rightful servants and subjects. His authority over them does not depend on their consent — he is their Lord whether they acknowledge it or not. In short, those who disregard his authority now will find it enforced upon them later, in a just and severe punishment. The unprofitable servant will be cast into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, as you may see in verse 30 of this chapter.

2. The Person Spoken To — "His lord said unto him." We learn about this person in the preceding verse, in two respects: what he received, and what he did with it.

(1) What he received. This servant had received five talents from his master. All the blessings enjoyed by the children of men flow from Jesus Christ — temporal good things dispensed by him as governor of the world, and spiritual blessings as head of the church. His favors are not given equally to all. We read of one servant who received only one talent, another who received two, but this one was entrusted with five. The sovereign Lord makes a considerable difference between one person and another in how he distributes his favors. One has no more than food and clothing, just enough to meet the necessities of life; another has such abundance of wealth that his cup overflows. One lives obscurely and makes no impression on the world; another holds an exalted position. One is quite limited in understanding; another is furnished with a great store of ability and learning. And surely the owner of heaven and earth may dispose of what is his as he pleases. Those who receive the least have more than they deserve; those who receive the most must acknowledge that it is not their own worthiness, but the sovereign goodness of their Lord, that has made them different from others.

(2) What he did with it. He gained five more talents besides the ones he had received; he did not hide his five talents as his fellow servant hid his one, but put them to use and made them grow. He gained more by his five talents than the other man did by his two — his effort was proportionate to what he had received. "To whom much is given, of him shall much be required" (Luke 12:48). The more God has done for us and given to us, the more he will expect from us. All that we have received from him should be used in his service, for the advancement of his honor. I move on,

3. The Speech Itself: "Well done, good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful in a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." Here we have his Lord's commendation of him, and the happiness to which he raises him.

His Lord's commendation of him — "Well done, good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful in a few things." He approves of his service and commends him for it. I take it that the word "faithful" explains the earlier word "good" — the goodness and excellence of a servant consisting chiefly in his faithfulness to his master. The things in which he had been faithful are called "few" in comparison with what he will be entrusted with and given hereafter. What we receive from Christ at present is very little compared with what we will receive from him hereafter. There is a vast disproportion between what we have in hand and what we have in hope. I may say of our present blessings what the Apostle says of our present sufferings — that they are "not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18). God will deal more generously with his own children when they come to heaven than he ever does while they remain on earth.

The happiness to which he raises him — "I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." We must not press every word of a parable to correspond exactly to the spiritual truth it teaches. I will not try to determine whether the words "I will make thee ruler over many things" are purely part of the story, or are meant to be taken in a spiritual sense. Taken the first way, they express a kind master's treatment of a faithful servant — having proven his fidelity in smaller matters, he entrusts him with greater, and raises him to a higher position. Taken the second way, they express the great happiness that Christ will confer on his faithful servants in the next world.

This is further expressed in the following words, "enter thou into the joy of thy Lord," by which is certainly meant the glory and blessedness of the heavenly state. This is described as "joy," because the full experience of it will produce a triumphant and unspeakable joy in those who enter into it. So Psalm 16:11 — "In thy presence is fulness of joy, and at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore." It is called the joy of the Lord, and probably for two reasons.

(1) Because the vision and enjoyment of Christ will make up the greatest part of their happiness.

Though there are many jewels in that unfading crown of glory to be set upon the heads of believers in the next world, this is the brightest and most radiant.

When our Lord prays for the final happiness of his people, he expresses it this way: "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me" (John 17:24). This is why the Apostle desired to depart, that he might be with Christ (Philippians 1:23).

(2) Because Christ's glory in heaven is the model and pattern of what his people will enjoy. They will enter into that very joy which he, as their forerunner, has already entered into. Not that they will possess the same glory in every respect that Christ has — for his personal glory as the Son of God, and as Mediator, cannot be shared — but they will partake of his glory according to their capacity. We are told that they will reign with him (2 Timothy 2:12), and that when he appears they will be like him (1 John 3:2). Their souls will be perfectly conformed to his human soul, in purity and happiness, and their bodies will be fashioned like his glorious body. Being said to "enter into" this joy may suggest the fullness and abundance of it: here, joy enters into us; hereafter, we will enter into joy; we will be swallowed up in a bottomless ocean of pure and unmixed pleasures. I move on,

4. The Time When This Speech Was Delivered. Looking back to verse 19, we find it was "when the lord came to reckon with his servants." This clearly refers to our Lord's second coming in visible glory, to judge both the living and the dead, of which we have a detailed account in the latter part of this chapter. The heavens must hold our ascended Lord until the time of the restoration of all things, and then he will descend from there in the glory of his Father, with all his holy angels, to gather the whole human race before his judgment seat, to call them to account for the deeds done in the body, and to pass final sentence on them according to their works.

It is true that there is also a particular judgment that immediately follows death: when the soul is separated from the body, it appears before the bar of the supreme Judge, to give an account of its stewardship, and then receives an irreversible sentence of condemnation or acquittal. But I believe our Lord is chiefly speaking here of the General Judgment, when the trial will be public, the sentence pronounced with the most awful solemnity, and the happiness or misery of every person made complete.

Having gone through the words by way of explanation, I could raise several observations from them. But to make good use of my time, I will speak only to this proposition:

Doctrine: That those who are faithful servants of Christ in this life shall possess a very joyful and happy state in the next.

In developing this point, I will:

I. The Faithful Servants of Christ Described

I am to describe the faithful servants of Christ — who they are that will be acknowledged as such by the supreme Lord when he comes to judgment. They may be described, first, from their state, and second, from their actions. The former is necessarily presupposed by their serving Christ with faithfulness and acceptance; the service they render for Christ consists in the latter.

1. Their State may be described in two particulars.

(1) They are justified by the righteousness of Christ. It is impossible for any good fruit to be produced by a person until he is grafted into Christ, as our Lord himself plainly teaches (John 15:4–5). Now, being found in Christ and clothed with his righteousness are joined together, because they are inseparable (Philippians 3:9). Those who are mystically united to Christ must necessarily share in his mediatorial righteousness, and so be perfectly justified in the sight of God. Although, under the terms of the Covenant of Works, the servant was to be accepted first, and then his service accepted on that basis, yet under the terms of the Covenant of Grace, the person must first be accepted, and then the service. Nothing less than being clothed with Christ's perfect righteousness can make our persons acceptable to the Most High; and until we are so clothed, our finest service will be detestable in his sight.

(2) They are renewed and made holy by the Spirit of Christ. Every acceptable act of service flows from a principle of spiritual life. "A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit" (Matthew 7:18). We might as well suppose that grapes could grow from thorns, or figs from thistles, as that an unsanctified person could bring forth fruit for God. "They that are in the flesh cannot please God" (Romans 8:8). Their persons cannot please him, and therefore neither can their actions, because these actions are produced by a nature that is at odds with him, a nature that neither is nor can be subject to his law. The faithful servants of Christ are conformed to his image: the law of God is first written on their hearts, and then lived out in their lives.

2. Their Actions. I would only note beforehand that we are not to suppose they are altogether free from sin. Even the most faithful servants of Christ fail in many things; their failings are so many and so great that they cannot fully grasp them. Their best efforts are imperfect, tainted by the remaining corruption of their nature. Should God be strict to mark the flaws in their holy acts, they could not stand before him. But:

(1) They aim at the honor of Christ in the service they render him. Many unconverted people do things that align with this glorious Lord's revealed will and that genuinely serve his interests; but they have no regard for his glory in any of these actions — they aim only at advancing their own reputation, promoting some worldly interest, or quieting their own consciences. But those who sincerely serve the Blessed Jesus set his glory as their ultimate end, and whatever good they do is intended as a means to that end. The underlying reason for their practical holiness and obedience is that they themselves might not only acknowledge the glory of their great Master, but also proclaim it to others.

(2) They have regard to all his commandments. The description Christ gives of his friends in John 15:14 fits his faithful servants: "they do whatsoever he commands them." They do not disregard any command on which they can discern the stamp of his authority. They are conscientious about both tables of the law — duties that are personal and duties that concern others — the least as well as the greatest, the most difficult as well as the easiest. They will not say of any divine command, "This is a hard saying, who can bear it?" They are ready to do any task their Master sets before them, however burdensome and laborious, however mean and contemptible in the eyes of the world, however costly or dangerous. They attend to the duties of every place and position in which God's providence has set them, whether civil, domestic, or church-related; they discharge their duty toward their country, their families, and the church to which they belong, with integrity and diligence — and they do this not under compulsion, but willingly.

(3) They use all the talents entrusted to them in his service. As stewards, they put to use what he has placed in their hands, for the purposes for which they received it.

Do they have a comfortable estate? They do not spend it on gratifying the flesh, nor do they covetously hoard it up, but employ a considerable part of it in supporting the worship of God, spreading the gospel of Christ, and relieving those in distress.

They honor God with their wealth, and with the first fruits of their increase. Are they advanced to any position in which they are able to serve Christ or his people with their influence? They make the most of it for such a purpose. They serve the Lord with whatever gifts and abilities, graces and talents, he has given them.

II. The Joyful and Happy State of Christ's Faithful Servants

I move on to give you an account of the joyful and happy state those faithful servants will hereafter possess. Since it is expressed by "joy" in my text, I will mention, first, some things that make that state so very joyful, exciting a triumphant joy in those who enter into it; and then I will give you the qualities of that joy which results from these blessings.

1. Some things that make that state very joyful.

A freedom from the troubles that attend our mortal state. As the loss of good is a cause of sorrow, so deliverance from evil naturally gives rise to joy. Will not a prisoner rejoice when released from the dungeon to which he was confined, and freed from the chains that bound him? How glad is a man when recovered from a wasting sickness and relieved of racking pain? Surely our mouths will be filled with laughter, and our tongues with singing, when we are perfectly freed from that whole train of evils which Adam's fall brought into this lower world. How our spirits will rejoice when we are set at a vast distance from the things that so often made us sigh, groan, and weep! When we enter the other world, we will be freed both from every sorrowful evil and from every sinful evil.

(1) From all sorrowful evils. "There is no more death, neither sorrow, nor shall there be any more pain: for former things are passed away" (Revelation 21:4). There is no infirmity of body, no poverty, no disgrace, no betrayal by false friends, no persecution from open enemies; there are no perplexing cares or tormenting fears, no temptations from within or without, no withdrawal of God's presence. How the soul will rejoice when it can say: "I once felt a great deal of pain from the disorders of my body, but now I enjoy perfect ease; I was tormented with many cares and fears, but now they are all chased away like the shadows of evening before the rising sun; I was fiercely attacked by the evil one, but now he is crushed under my feet — I have won a complete and final victory over him; I am beyond the reach of his fiery darts and his wicked suggestions."

(2) From all sinful evils. These are most grievous to a renewed soul when it is in a right frame of mind; no burden weighs so heavily as that "body of death" which it continually carries about with it. Of this the Apostle Paul made a very sorrowful complaint (Romans 7:24). And from the fountain of indwelling sin, many actual sins frequently flow. But every sinful habit will be entirely rooted out of believers when they are taken into the other world. Nothing unclean can enter the holy place above. The marks of mortal defilement will drop from them, as Elijah's mantle dropped from him when he was carried up to that lofty region. And none of those sons who are brought to glory will ever again stray from God's commandments: there will be no more disagreement between their actions and the divine will than there is in their hearts. How the holy soul will rejoice when freed from those chains of corruption which so often kept it at a distance from God and hindered it from doing his will! To what ecstasy of joy will it be raised, when it finds itself without spot or wrinkle!

2. The moral perfection of our souls. "The spirits of just men are made perfect" (Hebrews 12:23). As the old man will then be destroyed, so the new man will come to full growth, to its highest point. That moral image of God which was imperfectly formed in us at our entrance into the kingdom of grace will be brought to its utmost perfection at our entrance into the kingdom of glory. We may consider this moral perfection both as it concerns the understanding and as it concerns the will — the two supreme faculties of the human soul.

(1) As it concerns the understanding, and so it consists in a perfection of knowledge. "Now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known" (1 Corinthians 13:12). "Then that which is perfect is come, and that which is in part shall be done away." Those things that are now hidden from us will then be revealed to us; our grasp of things we are already familiar with will be much clearer and more distinct than it is while we dwell in this cloudy region, where so many mists and fogs arise to obscure our sight of divine and spiritual things, and our souls tend to judge of them only as represented through the senses. What bright views we will then have of the nature and perfections of God, of the glorious mysteries contained in the everlasting gospel, of his eternal counsel and purposes, of the beautiful and harmonious workings of the Eternal King's providence! Knowledge is so agreeable to the human mind that people take great pains and endure many difficulties in pursuit of it, and are overjoyed when they obtain it, even in trifling matters. What elevation of joy, then, will come from the clearest view of the most excellent objects? What pleasure will result from those bright ideas of God and Christ with which our minds will be filled?

(2) As it concerns the will, and so it chiefly consists in a perfection of love, a grace well suited to that triumphant state. There is a vast difference between the love a struggling saint bears toward his heavenly Father and glorious Redeemer, and that of a triumphant saint. Our love, when we come to heaven, will bear a just proportion to our knowledge. The light with which our minds will be illuminated will be accompanied by a fitting warmth of affection. And as a perfection of love for God will greatly ennoble our wills, so it will produce solid and unspeakable joy, since it makes the enjoyment of God and Christ exceedingly delightful. No satisfaction can arise from the presence of an unloved object, and the pleasure we take in the enjoyment of anything will be proportionate to its share in our affections. In short, since believers now grieve to find their love for the Supreme Being no more than smoking flax, how will they rejoice hereafter when it becomes a triumphant flame?

3. The full enjoyment of God and Christ. Though believers are granted the gracious presence of God on their way to heaven, the glorious presence of God will not be fully enjoyed by them until they enter that blissful dwelling place. Our fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ is only partial at present; hereafter it will be complete. Since God is our highest good, the supreme object of our love, we must necessarily rejoice in the complete enjoyment of him. What a triumphant joy will spring up in our souls when we lie in the embrace of so glorious a person as our Emmanuel — one who is the brightness of the Father's glory and the express image of his person; one who is very closely related to us, being our elder brother, our head, our husband; one who has laid the most binding obligations upon us by what he has done for us. How pleasant it will be to dwell with him who undertook for us from eternity as our surety, who in the fullness of time took our nature upon him, stood in our legal place, redeemed us from eternal misery, and purchased everlasting happiness for us by his obedience and sufferings; who loved us so much as to give himself a ransom for us; of whose fullness we have received, and grace for grace; who has helped us in our temptations, supported us under our afflictions, and led us to the heavenly Canaan.

4. The company of glorious angels and glorified saints. How joyful that state will be, in which we will dwell and associate with the highest order of created beings, who have performed many eminent services for us during our time in this world, being "all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to them who shall be the heirs of salvation"! How pleasant it will be to dwell and converse with the whole assembly of triumphant saints, when free from all those imperfections that attended them in their mortal state and greatly diminished the comfort of their fellowship with one another! There will be no divisions or hostilities among them, but perfect unity, and a burning love will reign in all their hearts.

5. The glorious and blessed state of our bodies. When our great Master comes again as a life-giving Spirit, he will raise the bodies of his people from their beds of dust and reunite them to their souls. And though in substance they will be the same bodies they were before their dissolution, their qualities will be greatly changed. The bodies of believers will be remade with every glorious perfection suited to their nature, and will share with their souls in complete blessedness in a glorious immortality (1 Corinthians 15). The soul must have great affection for its body, and when separated from it, longs for reunion. How it will rejoice when the marriage bond is retied, and it finds such a vast and happy change made in its dear companion since their painful separation! How it will rejoice to possess an incorruptible, spiritual, glorious, and immortal body!

The qualities of that joy which results from these blessings, in two particulars: it is endless, and it is unfading.

(1) It is endless. That fullness of joy found in God's immediate presence lasts forever; it must be so, because the happiness from which it springs is of eternal duration. The evils from which the glorified saints are freed will never return upon them; they will never be deprived of the beatific vision of God, nor dislodged from the immediate embrace of their dear Redeemer. Though the first Adam was soon driven out of the earthly paradise, the offspring of the second Adam will never be driven out of the heavenly one; their souls will never again be divorced from their bodies. In short, when millions upon millions of ages have run their course in the enjoyment of heavenly pleasures, their happiness will be no nearer its end than at the first moment of their entrance into the regions of glory.

(2) It is unfading. As they will never cease to rejoice, so their joy will never be weakened or lessened: there will be no clouds to darken the splendor of that eternal day. Our happiness will always remain the same, and our perception of it equal, throughout an endless eternity. The long enjoyment of heavenly pleasures will not make us grow weary of them. There is infinite variety in God, and whatever is truly desirable is supremely enjoyed in him. An infinite good always produces the same pure, complete joy, because it arises from its own intrinsic perfection, which needs no outside contrast to set it off. In a word, this joy is no fleeting rapture, but a constant height of affection.

III. The Connection Between Faithful Service and Future Blessedness

To show the certain connection between serving Christ faithfully in this life and possessing that blissful state in the next. There is no connection between the one and the other by way of merit. Eternal life is the free gift of God, and therefore not the proper reward of our service. Since we owe perfect obedience to our Lord, even if we could render it, it would not entitle us to the glory of heaven. But since there are many flaws and defects in our obedience, it is quite absurd to claim so great a blessing on that basis. Yet the Word of God assures us that the possession of heaven will certainly follow upon the faithful serving of Christ on earth. I could cite several texts to this purpose, but two will suffice.

We are assured that Christ "will render eternal life to them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory, honour and immortality" (Romans 2:6–7). "He that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting" (Galatians 6:8). This glorious Judge will, at the great assize, pronounce a sentence upon everyone suited to the nature of his works, though not according to their merit. Then people will return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serves God and him that serves him not. Since all Christ's faithful servants are justified and sanctified, they will certainly be glorified. Those who have a right to heaven, and a fitness for it, will certainly enter that delightful dwelling place. There is such a connection between the fruits of electing love that those who have received any one of them will certainly receive all the rest.

IV. Application

1. How deeply it concerns us to ask ourselves whether we are the faithful servants of Christ or not! Since this is a matter of everlasting importance, how strict we should be in examining ourselves, so that we may reach a true conclusion about it in our own minds! Let us seriously consider whether the character that has been described fits us. We have a great deal of work to do — are we diligent in it? Certain talents are entrusted to all of us — do we carefully make use of them? If we are idle and unfaithful, we cannot hide our unfaithfulness from our all-knowing Lord, even if our fellow servants remain unaware of it. Deceitful pleas and excuses will not help us when we stand before that Judge whose eyes are as a flame of fire.

2. How sad the condition of unfaithful servants will be on that terrible day of reckoning! If the faithful will enter into the joy of their Lord, then the unfaithful will be doomed to everlasting sorrow. As there is a vast difference between their state and their actions at present, so their condition will be vastly different hereafter. Those who spend all their time in the service of sin and Satan will receive dreadful wages — even everlasting death — at the end of it. The talents now entrusted to them will only inflame their reckoning when they stand at their Lord's judgment seat: since they have sown to the flesh, they will of the flesh reap corruption. Think of this, O sinners, before it is too late. That time, those estates, those opportunities, those natural and acquired abilities which you now carelessly squander away must soon be accounted for. In a short time Christ will say to every one of you, "Give an account of thy stewardship, for thou mayest be no longer steward." And how sad an account will you give if you are taken out of the world in your present state? Think what horror will seize you (if you are not utterly thoughtless) when death sits upon your quivering lips, and your soul is just ready to take its flight into an eternal world! How dreadful will the thought of appearing before the Lord be to you, when you sense his judgment seat drawing near! Think of that awful day when Christ will be revealed from heaven in flaming fire, to take vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel. What a dreadful sight will the Supreme Judge be to you who have despised and scorned him, when he appears in majesty, armed with almighty power, attended by a vast company, to pronounce an irreversible sentence of condemnation upon you? Can you bear to dwell in blackness of darkness, and to lie in unquenchable flames with legions of devils?

Though you have greatly offended your Lord, it is not yet too late to find mercy. He now sits upon a throne of grace, and extends his golden scepter to the greatest of sinners. Come to Christ by faith, that you may be clothed in his righteousness, which will free you from the guilt of your former unbelief; and receive from him that grace which will enable you to serve him faithfully for the rest of your days. Know that many who were once in the same condition as you are now reigning in life through Jesus Christ their Lord.

3. What encouragement believers have to be faithful in the service of their Lord! The assurance you have of a future happiness should encourage you to give yourselves wholeheartedly, even now, to the service of Christ. The use the Apostle makes of the doctrine of the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:58) follows naturally from this doctrine as well: "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." Since Christ will bestow such unspeakable happiness upon you hereafter, how willing you should be to do your utmost to serve him here! The joy set before you should carry you cheerfully through all the hardships and difficulties of your present condition.

4. This may comfort us in the loss of our godly friends and relatives. It is true, the better they were, the greater the loss we suffer by their removal. But considering what they have gained by being taken into another world may greatly lighten the affliction and cheer our spirits under it. If we are satisfied that our departed friends were good and faithful servants of Christ, we may conclude that they have entered into the joy of their Lord, and have therefore passed through a very happy change.

And I may reasonably suggest this to the surviving relatives of that excellent person whose death has occasioned this sermon. I believe the words of my text apply justly to him. To give his true character might make me suspected of flattery by those unacquainted with him. Ever since I had the honor of his acquaintance, I took him to be a sincere Christian, and the better I came to know him, the more confirmed I became in that opinion. I found him a solid and serious man, not a shallow and superficial professor of religion — one who had great concern not only for the welfare of the nation, but for the interests of Christ within it. His Lord had entrusted him with several talents: he had a comfortable income, held an eminent position, possessed great natural ability, and enjoyed a good reputation among all sorts of people. And did he bury these talents? No — he put them to use in the service of his Lord. How freely and generously did he contribute toward the relief of those in need and the spread of the gospel! I never knew him reluctant to support any good cause, but could, if it were appropriate, give many instances of his readiness to do good both with his purse and his influence.

He was admirable in every capacity — a good subject, a true patriot, a useful and honorable member of the church of Christ, a loving husband, a careful father, a kind master, and a faithful and affectionate friend. But he is gone; his place will know him no more. Having "served his own generation by the will of God, he is fallen asleep"; God has called him away in the middle of his days, when so many unprofitable servants are left behind. Such a loss, so public and so general, ought to be mourned. Now a righteous man has perished, a merciful man has been taken away, and we ought to take it to heart. But let us not mourn as those who have no hope. It would be a worthy response to this providence if people of means and influence would follow his example. That covetous, narrow spirit which prevails among professing Christians today is a great reproach to our holy religion.

I close with a brief word to the grieving family of this worthy man. Be careful not to resent God's hand, even though you have received a severe blow. He who has taken him from you first gave him to you, and had a sovereign right to dispose of him. It becomes creatures and subjects well to submit to the will of the supreme Lord. God is righteous in all his ways and holy in all his works, and his will is always in accord with infinite wisdom. The ways of his providence are all mercy and truth, even when he seems to act contrary to them. For your comfort, consider the happy state into which your dearest friend has entered:

Death was a blessed gain to him; he has thereby obtained a position not to be exchanged for the highest honor in the court of an earthly prince.

Follow his example, as he followed Christ's. Strive to serve your Lord in your day and generation with uncorrupted faithfulness; so you also will be acknowledged by him on the day of reckoning. He will then say to you, "Well done, good and faithful servants; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things: enter ye into the joy of your Lord."

FINIS.

Footnotes

  1. Source: A Funeral Sermon on Mordecai Abbott, Esq. (1700) — Wikimedia Commons, via the Internet Archive (Early English Books, 1641–1700). ↩

  2. James M. Renihan, Baptist Symbolics, Volume 1 (Founders Press, 2022), 9. ↩

  3. Samuel D. Renihan, From Shadow to Substance (Christian Focus, 2018), v. ↩