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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	holy_a	read_v	scripture_n	8,342	5	5.9261	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A55916	A sermon preached at the funeral of Mrs Mary Dawes at Great Bardfield in Essex, January 15. 1690. By Thomas Pritchard, M.A. and late rector of West-Tilbury in Essex. Imprimatur. C. Alston. Nov. 16. 1692.	Pritchard, Thomas, d. 1692.	1693 (1693)	Wing P3526; ESTC R220530	12,337	33

A SERMON Preached at the FUNERAL OF Mrs Mary Dawes AT Great Bardfield in Essex January 15. 1690. By THOMAS PRITCHARD M. A. and late Rector of West-Tilbury in Essex Imprimatur C. Alston Nov. 16. 1692. LONDON Printed for Walter Kettilby at the Bishops-Head in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1693. TO THE Lady Dawes MADAM THO such was the modesty of the Author and so mean the Opinion which he had of all his own Performances as would not suffer him consent to the Publication of this Discourse Yet ●e great Usefulness of the Subject and the extraornary Virtue and Piety of the Person herein described ●hose example may influence others to an imitation of 〈◊〉 Goodness and Perfections The consideration I say 〈◊〉 these things has at length prevailed with those to ●ose disposal this Discourse was committed to send it ●●rth into the World tho in a plain and unartificial ●ress I must beg your Pardon Madam if hereby I con●●ibute any thing to the renewing of your Ladyships ●●ief for the loss of so excellent a Daughter whom tho I never had the honour to know yet I have hea● my dear Friend Mr. Pritchard speak so often 〈◊〉 so great Things of her that considering his si●cerity and great aversion to Flattery I am confide●● the Character here given of her is true I shall 〈◊〉 presume to make any addition to it tho perhaps it mig●● be said that she as far exceeded the Character 〈◊〉 others fall short of it All that I shall further add is to let the World kno● how much they are obliged to your Ladyship who 〈◊〉 your own good Example and wise Instructions and car●ful Education of your Daughter in the ways of Religi●● and Virtue has furnish'd them with so excellent a P●●tern so worthy of their Imitation may they all follow here and be happy hereafter I am MADAM Your Ladyships most Humble And most obedient Serva●● T. 〈◊〉 A Funeral Sermon Heb. xiii 14. For here have we no continuing City but we seek one to come THE Great and Allwise God who is Righteous in all his Ways and Holy in all his Works ordereth and disposeth all Things here below as he pleaseth directing all his providential Occurrences how harsh or grievous soever they may seem to us to very gracious and wise Ends and Purposes Whence it is our Duty not to murmur or complain of what God doth but to bear all Adversities whatever befal us here all losses of what kind soever even those of our nearest Relations and dearest Friends calmly and patiently entirely resigning our Wills to God's Acquiescing in and submitting to the severest Dispensations of his Providence firmly believing that they all proceed from an infinitely holy just and righteous God 'T is this consideration alone that can restrain us from breaking out into immoderate and excessive Grief on so mournful an occasion as this the Death of this most excellent and pious Lady who was deservedly dear justly admired and highly honoured and esteemed by all that were so happy as to know her All the usual Attractives of Love and Esteem were in her in the highest Degree as being complete Mistress of all those gentile Accomplishments which make up what the World calls a fine Woman a great Fortune handsom and ingenious modest and humble chearful and pleasant courteous and obliging a most entire faithful and fast Friend of a most incomparably sweet and singularly good Humour her Conversation very pleasing and charming in a word strictly Virtuous smcerely Pious Under this then so heavy a Stroak under this to us so sad a Providence nothing is able to support us but this consideration only that it is God's doing We must therefore as David was be Dumb and not open our Mouths to complain God hath taken her from us to himself to our great Loss indeed but to her inexpressible Advantage she being now with him whom she loved with all her Heart and with all her Soul whom she ever duly and constantly served even with that God in whose presence is Fulness of Joy and at whose Right Hand there are Pleasures for evermore God was pleased to allot her but a short time here upon Earth the greater is our nuhappiness her life was scarce a Span long yet she lived a great deal in this little suffering none of her time to run wast but was always busied in some Employment or other suitable to her Quality and most ingenious Mind She spent a great part of her time in reading the holy Scriptures and other good Books which might furnish her with the most necessary and useful Knowledge esteeming the Knowledge of God and Religionto be such chiefly endeavouring after this which she attained to in a very great Degree and made the best and truest Use of her Knowledge in Religion by reducing it to good Practise which is the Life of Religion without which the Knowledge of it is not only vain and useless but dangerous and hurtful For he that knoweth his masters will and doth it not shall be beaten with many stripes 'T is not the bare Knowledge of our Duty but the Practise of it that maketh us happy If ye know these things then happy are ye if ye do them Thus by a conscientious Practise of religious Duties and by her dayly Walking with God by a Life tho short yet very holy and good she did excellently provide for her future eternal Welfare which was the main Care of her Life She was very sensible of her uncertain State and Condition in this World knew very well that this World was not her home that she had here no continuing City and therefore made it the great Business of her Life to seek one to come which made me chuse these Words to Discourse of at this time which I must do very briefly that I may have some time to say more of her who is the sad Occasion of our now meeting here In the Words that I have read to you I shall observe these Two Parts I. The State and Condition of all Men in this Life here we have no continuing City II. Our Hopes and Expectations as to another we seek one to come Was a Christians Hope terminate in this Life did he expect nothing beyond the Grave we might then justly conclude with the Apostle that Christians were of all men the most miserable But blessed be our gracious God we have a most sure Word of Prophecy informing us and giving us the highest Assurances and the most convincing Testimonies that thenature of the Subject is possibly capable of That there shall be a Future State a Life after this where we shall afterthe few short and uncertain days of this our Pilgrimage is ended find an abiding and continuing City I. The present State and Condition of all Men in this World we have here no continuing City Man in this Life is in an unquiet and troublesom State in a wandring and unsettled Condition but a Pilgrim and a Traveller a

in it experiencing that all its ways are ways of pleasantness and all its paths peace being trained up when a Child in the way she should go she did not depart from it and this was it which did exceedingly Adorn and Beautifie her far beyond what the finest Accomplishments could do tho she had them in as great a degree as any Religion giving her a greater Grace and Lustre than all things else besides She was blessed with great Endowments of Mind she was a Lady of very great and extraordinary Parts highly Ingenious of quick Apprehension of firm Memory and of most solid Judgment she had a most curious and fine way both of Speaking and Writing the one all know that ever had the Honor to Converse with her and she hath left lasting Monuments of her great Abilities in the other she was a most obedient and dutiful Daughter she was of a very generous and charitable Disposition which she exprest upon all fit Occasions and particularly at her Death by that liberal and considerable Legacy which she gave to the Poor All which joyned with her great Piety made her an Ornament to her Sex and a Pattern most worthy of Imitation I should be tedious if I should but barely mention all those things that were Commendable in her but I must contract and what I have farther to add I shall comprise under these Three Heads Modesty Humility Piety every one of which she was very eminent for First Modesty This is a great and becoming Virtue very commendable in all of both Sexes but more especially so in the fair Sex whom it maketh very amiable and desireable being highly prized by all sober Persons with which Virtue this Lady was most eminently adorned being extremely Modest having a perfect abhorrence and utter aversion to any thing that might but seem to trespass upon it never being able without the greatest Detestation to hear any Discourse that had the least tendency to Levity or Wantonness which Virtue is the greater in this loose and dissolute Age when too many have laid it aside as a very unnecessary and troublesom thing All her Discourses all her Behaviour all her Actions were guided by the strictest Rules of Modesty Such was her Modesty Secondly Humility A most excellent Christian Grace which procureth to the Person that hath it favour both from God and Man the humble God beareth an especial Regard to and hath a particular Care of tho saith the Psalmist the Lord be high yet hath he respect unto the lowly but the proud he knoweth afar off and saith the Prophet Isa 57.15 Thus saith the high and lofty One he that inhabiteth eternity whose name is Holy I dwell in the high and holy place with him also that is of an humble spirit of which especial Favour we we have reason to believe this truly humble Soul did partake who tho none was more deserving yet none had a lower opinion of themselves than she she always thought meanly of herself yet was she free from that abject Meanness of Spirit which some miscal Humility none could have more to puff them up than she had but she very well knew how great a Folly it is to be proud of any thing since all that we have we receive from God and why then should we boast as tho we had not received Her care was to improve well the Talents God entrusted her with to his Glory from whom she thankfully acknowledged she received whatever good Thing she had in this following the great Pattern of Humility our Blessed Saviour who when by the mighty Works he had wrought he had gained the Applause and Admiration of the People he did what he could to avoid them ascribing to God the Father the Power by which he wrought them saying the Father that dwelleth in me he doth the works So would this humble Soul not to take to herself the praise of any thing but ascribe all to the Grace of God There is nothing more peculiar to or more becoming a Christian than Humility it was this Lesson which our Blessed Lord singled out from all others and which he calls upon us to learn of him learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart which Lesson she had perfectly learnt she was to use the Apostle's Phrase clothed with Humility the humble Disciple of an humble Saviour the same Mind that is the same lowly Frame and Temper of Spirit which was in Christ Jesus was as the Apostle requireth should be in us in her also Such was her Humility Lastly Piety This is that which the Apostle tells us hath the Promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come intitling men to the happiness of both Worlds and tho God for very good Reasons may sometimes give but little of this world's Happiness to some that are truly Pious God's Promises of temporal Felicity being conditional only yet they shall be sure to be abundantly compensated in the other World for what they come short of here in this there they shall be sure not to lose their Reward Oh how great things saith the Psalmist are those which thou hast prepared for them that fear thee such they are as eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither hath it entred into the heart of man to conceive A fair and sufficient encouragement to Piety which this Lady did in a most exemplary manner practise whose Piety was of the right Stamp not formal but real not by Fits and Starts only but constant and uninterrupted not partial picking and chusing some of Gods Commandments and disregarding the rest but universally having Respect to all God's Commandments She daily set apart a portion of her time for the service of God which she spent in Prayer reading the holy Scriptures and other good Books Meditation c. and if she was at any time prevented by Company or Diversions which were always harmless and innocent or by any other unavoidable Accident she would be sure to make it up at another and would not rob God and her Soul of the time set apart for them And well were it if all Persons of Quality the Plentifulness of whose Estates freeing them from those mean Employments which Persons of lower Rank are busied in and so having more leisure and time to spare would devote a greater share of their time to God and their Souls as certainly if they consider it they must acknowledge they ought to do for the more liberal and bountiful God hath been to them the more thankful they ought to be unto him Besides her private Devotions which I believe she never omitted she never failed to be at the Prayers of the Family unless she was hindred by Sickness or was abroad which she seldom was at Prayer time so that I can scarce remember that ever she was absent behaving herself very devoutly and reverently with all imaginable Fervency and the most profound Humility putting up her Prayers to God presenting them