To the Church of Chrift lately under the Paftoral Care of the Deceased Mr. William Collins.

Beloved in our Lord,

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IS not without fome regret that I permit the following Difcourfe to come abroad, having fo lately ventur'd to expofe my felf upon a like occafion. I Speak thus, because I am confcious of my unfitness to write in an Age fo Critical and Cenforious. I had much rather that on this Occafion Days fhould have fpoken, than Job 32. 7. one who is fo vaftly inferior to the Deceafed in Grace, Learning and Tears. And I have often thought, fince I preach'd on the Death of your Excellent Paftor, that a Sermon fo mean to celebrate the Memory of a Man fo Great, would be interpreted rather a Slight than a Token of Refpect. And tho you, my Brethren, have been pleas' d to think favourably of it, yet I fear that Learned Men will

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hardly forgive me, that I have ventur❜d on a Task fo much above me: However I have this fatisfaction, that I have done the best I could within the fhort Limits allow'd me; and 'tis defign'd well, however it fucceed.

My Brethren,

'Tis under your Umbrage that I expofe it to Pubiick View, not that I expect you should anfwer for my Faults; tho this I must say, 'tis your Fault that you had no better a Sermon : But fuch as this is, I hope, fince you caus'd it to be preach'd, and now to be publish'd, you will let your Prayers meet mine at the Throne of Grace, that it may be ferviceable to the true Intereft of Religion. And if God shall bless it to any good purpofe, to Saints or Sinners, I defire he may have all the Glory; while I have fo much Honour as to be imploy'd as an Inftrument in the Divine Hand to promote the common Salvation. I commend you to God, and the Word of his Grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an Inheritance among them that are Janiti fied; And fubfcribe my self,

Your Servant for Jefus fake,

JOHN PIGGOTT.

JOB XIV. 14.

-All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my Change come.

N this Life we meet with great Exercises and Trials, as did the Children of Ifrael in the Wildernefs. God leads us through many Difficulties and Hardships to humble and prove us, in order to make us meet for a more happy State. Eliphaz tells us, That Man is born to trouble, Job 5. 7. as the Sparks fly upward, i. e. naturally. And Fob in the beginning of this Chapter, of which my Text is a part, affures us, That Man that is born of a Woman, is of few days, and full of trouble. So that to repine at what is infeparable from Humanity, (confider'd as fallen) is in effect to be difpleas'd that we are Men. And with as much reafon may we murmur that God did not create us Angels, or that we are not immediately tranflated to Heaven, without taking a Journey of feveral Years from the Womb to the Grave; Heaven being the only Place exempt from Inconveniency and Trouble, where alone is no Sin or Sorrow, Clamour or Pain: But in this lower Region every Day is opening to us a new Scene of Mifery, in which we may behold the Vanity of the World, and

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the Frailty of Human Nature. No part of our time but hath its portion of Care and Trouble affign'd to it. And, as our Saviour hath told us, fufficient to the Day is the Evil thereof. So that Life and Mifery feem only to be feveral Names for the fame thing. I fpeak of Human Life indefinitely, whether that of a Prince or a Beggar; for thofe that are rais'd to the highest pitch of Honour in this World, meet with many things that occafion their difquiet and uneafinefs, as well as thofe that ftand upon lower Ground. Indeed it must be own'd, there is a vifible difference betwixt the Righteous and the Wicked now in fome refpects. Yet the Difpenfations of Divine Providence are promiscuously administer'd to both. The moft Excellent of the Earth are not exempted from those Diseases and Troubles that lead down to the gloomy Shades of the Grave. Man cometh forth like a Flower, and is cut down; he fleeth alfa as a Shadow, and continueth not. A very elegant Description of a Man's natural Frailty: A Flower quickly grows up and appears beautiful, but as fuddenly is deftroy'd by a rude Hand, or blafted by the Wind, or wither'd by the Sun, He fleeth as a Shadow, and continueth not: The Sun is no fooner fet, or wrapt in the Mantle of a thick Cloud, but the Shadow doth fuddenly disappear and entirely vanish; fo uncertain and fo fading is the Life of Man. And doft thou open thine Eyes upon fuch a one, and bringeft me into judgment with thee? q.d. Doft thou strictly obferve my ways, that thou mayst find caufe to punish a Creature fo mean as I am? Am I capable of contending with Heaven, that thou bringeft me into judgment with thee? i. e. Thou haft rebuk'd me by thy Judgments, and

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