N01146:43
Winthropi justa. A sermon at the funeral of the Honourable John Winthrop Esq. late…
Winthropi justa. A sermon at the funeral of the Honourable John Winthrop Esq. late governor of the colony of Connecticut, in New-England; who died, at Boston, Nov. 27. 1707 and was honourably there interred on Decemb. 4. ensuing; in the 69th year of his age. : [Three lines of quotation in Latin]Winthropi justa. A sermon at the funeral of the Honourable John Winthrop Esq. late governour of the colony of Connecticut, in New-England; who died, at Boston, Nov. 27. 1707 and was honourably there interr'd on Decemb. 4. ensuing; in the 69th year of his age. : [Three lines of quotation in Latin]
printed by Timothy Green, 1708
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
We see the Doctrine of Mortality, under some of its Demonstrations. But our Main Work this Day, and indeed the Main Work of every man, every Day of ⟨p. 22⟩his Life, must be to make some Good Improvement of such a Doctrine.
I. Must we Die? Then we should Live in a Daily Expectation of our Death. A Servant of God could say, 1 Cor. 15.31. I die daily. One thing in dying daily, is to Live with some Expectation every day, as if this may be the day of our death. I do not say, That a man should Live every day, as if he knew it were to be the day of his death. A strain, whereof the Expression should be a little mended. We may very truly and justly, and fairly thus Express it; We should Live every day, as not knowing but that it may be the day of our death. We know, That we are to die; But yet we may say with him; Gen. 27.2. I know not the Time of my death. We do not Know, but this Week, nay, this Day, may be the Time. Every Prayer we make, we may think, It may be this is the Last Prayer that ever I shall make. Every Sermon we hear, we may think, It may be this is the Last Sermon that ever I shall hear. Every time we are Conversing with our Friends, we may think, This, may be the Last Time of my Conversation with these ⟨p. 23⟩Friends. And we may let fall some Weighty, some Useful Sentence unto them, upon that Suspicion: Every Day we may think; Tis possible I may not Live to another Day. So we are taught; Prov. 27.1. Boast not thy self of To-morrow; for thou knowest not what a Day may bring forth. Such Thoughts, Verily, They should be very Frequent with us! Even Philosophy tells us, That the whole Course of our Life, should be a Meditation on Death. But then, Let us call in Divinity. This will prescribe, A Living to God, as the Preparation for Death, which must be joined with the Meditation of it. And this I am now to proceed unto.