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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	body_n	good_a	life_n	7,085	5	4.4715	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A17079	The vertuous daughter A sermon preached at Saint Maries in Warwicke, at the funerall of the most vertuous and truely religious young gentlewoman, Mistresse Cicely Puckering, daughter and co-heire to the right worshipfull, Sir Thomas Puckering, knight and baronet, the fourteenth day of Aprill, 1636. By Iohn Bryan, parson of Barford.	Bryan, John, d. 1676.	1636 (1636)	STC 3955; ESTC S114258	15,760	30

This doctrine is pregnant of profitable uses It may serve by way of inference to informe our judgements Inference 1 1 That it is not sufficient to have the theory or knowledge of vertue onely but practice must be added to speculation It is not vertue to know good and evill but to doe good and eschew evill Our Saviour saith Jf ye know these things Iob. 13.17 Luke 11 2● happy are ye if ye doe them Againe he saith Blessed are they that heare the word of God and keepe it implying that the knowledge of Gods word and bare understanding of the mysteries of salvation maketh no man happy but who so looketh into the perfect law of liberty James 1.25 and continueth therein hee being not a forgetfull hearer but a doer of the worke this m●n shall be blessed in his deed Reade Matth. 7.24 to the end Inference 2 2 That it is not enough to speake well but wee must also doe well The Scribes and Pharises have this brand of hypocrisie set upon them by our Saviour Christ (a) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Epict●tus They say and doe not Matth. 23.3 (b) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Arl. Eth. lib. 2. cap. 4. Too many in our dayes are like those Scribes and Pharises for though their tongues be steept in religion yet their lives are stained with foule abhominations to the great scandall of their glorious profession Let not these men thinke that God is any whit at all pleased to heare them speake piously of him and his kingdome and the righteousnesse thereof while they refuse to admit his kingdome into their hearts and to expresse the power of it in their lives Nay he is greatly herewith offended (c) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Agell lib. 17. cap. 19. Deut. 5.28 29. T it 1.16 What hast thou saith he to doe to take my covenant in thy mouth seeing thou hatest instruction and casteth my words behinde thee and livest unjustly and unchastly The Israelites spake well to Moses by Gods owne testimony They have well said in all that they have spoken but he wisheth Oh that there were such an heart in them that they would feare me and keepe my Commandements They proved afterward such as Paul speakes of who professed they knew God but in their workes they denyed h●m being abhominable disobedient and to every good worke reprobate Inference 3 3 That we must not content our selves to doe vertuous and religious workes but wee must have a care that we doe them in a vertuous and religious manner First therefore they must proceed from a good root and fountaine even a principle of regeneration within A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit And to them that are defiled and unbeleeving is nothing pure but their best workes are defiled in Gods eyes Math. 7.18 Tit. 1.15 Secondly they must be done in obedience to Gods command Respect to his will must be the ground and motive of our working Thirdly Gods glory must be our utmost end 1 Cor. 10.31 1 Pet. 4.11 Whatsoever we doe we must doe all to his glory Jf any man speake let him speake as the Oracles of God if any man minister let him doe it as of the ability which God hath given him that God in all things may be glorified Fourthly wee must be abundant alwayes in good workes unwearied in wel-doing And finally when we have done all that we can we must say we are unprofitable servants wee have done but that which was our duty to doe Inference 4 4 That we ought not to content our selves with an ordinary measure of grace and vertue but we must seeke to excell others like this woman in my Text who excelled all other daughters that did vertuously It is the Apostles injunction 1 Cor. 14.12 Eph 5 ●5 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mat●h 5.47 Seeke that ye may excell And againe See that ye walke exactly or precisely not as the ordinary sort of Professors walke Our Saviour saith That if ye salute your brethren onely what doe you more than others implying that wee must exceed others in weldoing Math 5.48 setting God himselfe before us as our patterne Be ye perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect Inference 5 5 That we ought not to praise but rather to reprove and condemne vitious persons The Apostle speaking of some disorders among the Corinthians saith thus 1 Cor. 11.22 Shall I praise you in this I praise you not As who should say I have no warrant to commend such as walke disorderly Pro. 2● 4. Salomon saith That they that forsake the law praise the wicked branding them with a marke of Apostasie from Gods law that speake well of evill men Pro. 5.20 Against these the Prophet pronounceth a woe Woe saith he to them that call good evill and evill good These doe what in them lyeth to make Gods commination of none effect Pro 10 7. For he hath threatned that the name of the wicked shall rot and stinke Let not therefore ungodly ones who have neither the habit nor the exercise of any grace or vertue in them whose soules serve for no other use then the soules of swine to keepe their bodies from putrifying as if they were borne for no other end than to consume Gods good creatures expect any praise either in life or death Fruges consumer● na●i except it bee from flatterers for as to them who continue patiently in weldoing shall be glory and honour so to them who obey not the truth but obey unrighteousnesse shall be shame and confusion of face both here and hereafter Reade Ierem. 22.17.18.19 Job expostulates thus with his friends Iob 13.7 Will you speake wickedly for God and talke deceitfully for him If wee may not speake falsly to glorifie God much lesse may we to glorifie men Thus should we justifie the wicked and so make our selves abhomination unto God Nay 't is dangerous for men to affect and receive praise and glory when they deserve it not Reade Acts 12.22.23 Inference 6 6 That such as unfainedly desire and endeavour to doe vertuously shall not faile to have praise both of God and men First of God who hath promised that although the credit of his servants may for a season be covered with a cloud of reproach as Iosephs was yet hee will bring forth their righteousnesse as the light and their judgement as the noone day The Apostle Paul saith Rom. 2.29 hee that is a Iew inwardly that is really religious who hath the inward power of godlinesse as well as the outward forme shall have praise of God And this indeed is the true praise 2 Cor. 10.18 For not he that commendeth himselfe saith Saint Paul is approved but whom the Lord commendeth Secondly of men Men will praise thee Psal 49.18 saith the Psalmist when thou dost well to thy selfe Now a man then doth good to himselfe when he doth vertuously And not

take heed of offending God by murmuring doe we not daily pray that Gods will may be done and therefore wh●● it is done we should bee content Heare also some passages in her sicknesse which prove that she was indeed indued with sound knowledge and judgement Being asked occasionally whether Christ would heale her of her sicknesse seeing he never refused to heale any She answered J beleeve that hee can doe it but J cannot beleeve that he will heale the sicknesse of my body but by death Againe being asked whether she thought God afflicted her in anger or in love She answered Truely J cannot tell but J know he hath cause to doe it in anger Againe telling us how Satan had long tempted her to doubt of her salvation She said her hope was that she did belong to God because Satan was so busie with her The second grace or vertue that evidenced it selfe in her and wherein we should all labour to imitate her was piety or godlinesse 1 Tim. 4.8 which ●●th the promise of this life and that which is to come And it consists of three parts or there are three graces required to make one truely pious viz. 1 Selfe-denyall 2 Sanctification 3 Devotion 1 Selfe-deniall the necessity whereof appeares by these speeches of our Saviour Luke 9.23 Luke 14.26 If any man will come after me let him deny himselfe and againe if any man come to me and hate not his Father and Mother and Wife and Children and Brethren and Sisters yea and his owne life also he cannot be my disciple That this grace was not onely in truth but in a great measure in her will appeare if we consider five sorts of things wherein she had denyed her selfe 1 All earthly profits and contentments It was my first question to her are you willing to leave the world her answer was yea truely for I see nothing in this world that should move me to desire to live 2 Bodily ease and freedome from paine for being almost tyred with a lingring sicknesse and this question put to her Whether had you rather continue in this misery still or commit a sinne to be released of it Shee answered cheerefully J had rather continue thou sicke as J am then commit any sinne to ●e well 3 Her Parents for being asked whether shee were willing to leave her Parents and goe to Christ She answered I love my Father and my Mother dearely but J love them lower then Christ 4 Her owne merits and righteousnesse for when I demanded of her what ground of hope she had to goe to heaven her answer was My hope is in the death and resurrection of Iesus Christ But have you nothing on your selfe said I to take comfort in No truely said shee I finde no good at all in my selfe but a great deale of evill 5 Her life She never smiled but twise in her sicknesse that I took notice of and both those smiles were at the mention of her death Once when I told her that death would cure her of al her infirmities oh I said she and smiled and my desire is to dye which is farre better than to live Againe I asked her whether had you rather if you might have your choise recover and be matched to the greatest Noble man in the world or dye and be matched with Christ She smiled againe and said I had rather dye for there is no difference betweene them you meane no comparison said I yea said she There is no comparison betweene the greatest Lord and Iesus Christ I meaned there is great difference The second part or branch of piety is Sanctification or regeneration which is nothing else but a stamping of the Image of God upon the soule 2 Pet. 1.4 and the writing of his law in the heart a partaking of the divine nature a spirituall principle or divine instinct inclining the soule upward unto God That she was partaker of this new birth and had an heart throughly sanctified will appeare by two things 1 She was throughly humbled for her sinnes for She complained that she had forsaken God and broken that covenant which she made with him in Baptisme and therefore deserved no comfort thence She feared that though she mourned for sinne yet God would not accept it because she was not grieved enough She said moreover that she was weary and laden with sinne more than with sicknesse Finally being exhorted to call to minde for her comfort the promises of the Gospell she answered with griefe and iterated it Truely I have beene much too blame in neglecting to reade the Scriptures These and many more signes she had of a soule savingly humbled for her sinnes 2 There appeared divers expressions of divine and gratious impressions in her which were infallible characters of sanctification as namely 1 Poverty of spirit she complained of her want of grace saying she had very little grace or rather none at all in her 2 Her hungring and thirsting after grace Oh I would give said she any thing for grace 3 Her hatred of sinne and love of Christ evidenced in some former answers 4 Her humility mixt with faith for hearing me say that her heavenly husband had prepared a place in heaven for her Psal 84 10. whither she was hasting Oh said she Let me have the lowest place there and I shall thinke my selfe happy Acts 10 2. The third thing requisite to make one godly is Devotion It is said of Cornelius that he was a devout man and so it may be said truely of this childe that she was a devout childe for shee held in her judgement and professed with her mouth the true religion of God which gives all to Gods free grace and leaves man none occasion of boasting in himselfe You heard before how freely she renounced all worth in herselfe and sought for all her comfort out of her selfe onely in Iesus Christ 1 Pet. 3.15 Againe she made conscience of the duties of religion was fearefull of an oath strict in sanctifying the Lords day She was frequent in reading the Scriptures and desirous to heare them read when she could not reade her selfe because of the sorenesse of her eyes and yet she thought her selfe too blame because she read no more as ye heard even now She would presse nigh and hearken diligently when any good conference was in hand where she was She was frequent in prayer and fervent and when it was painefull for her to speake she would aske may J not pray in spirit and answer being made that she might she did accordingly She would also praise God for his mercies to her and in particular for the spirituall comforts which he was pleased to afford unto her And thus shee held on till death deprived her of ability The third and last grace wherein she excelled I had almost sayd all other daughters was Patience and whether this grace had not it perfect worke in her I leave you to judge when you have

THE VERTVOVS DAVGHTER A Sermon Preached at Saint Maries in Warwicke at the Funerall of the most vertuous and truely religious young Gentlewoman Mistresse Cicely Puckering Daughter and Co-heire to the right Worshipfull Sir Thomas Puckering Knight and Baronet the fourteenth day of Aprill 1636. BY IOHN BRYAN Parson of Barford PSAL. 8.2 Out of the mouthes of Babes and Sucklings hast thou ordained strength LONDON Printed by Thomas Harper for Lawrence Chapman and are to be sold at his shop in Holborne at Chancery lane end 1636. To the right Worshipfull Sir THOMAS PVCKERING Knight and Baronet and to his vertuous and religious Lady increase of all saving graces here and everlasting peace and rest in heaven THis Sermon preached at the funerall of your dearest childe who was a gratious Saint on earth and is now a glorious one in heaven I doe humbly dedicate to you both it being yours by all manner of right and the best Present J am able to present your Worships with My poore paines taken herein J heartily acknowledge to deserve neither yours nor the acceptation of any that are judicious but the speeches which proceeded from the heavenly mouth of your blessed Daughter which are here related deserve in the judgement of wise and good men to be written in letters of Gold and to be known and read of all men being full of life and power to quicken the dullest soule to a love and liking of the wayes of godlinesse The desire to heare this Sermon preached was great and generall as appeared by the great confluence of people out of Towne and Country neither is it doubted but that some good was then wrought upon many souls And the desire to have it published is greater and more generall there being hope conceived that much glory may be brought to God and much edification to men by considering the worke of God upon so tender yeares Your Worships have much honoured God and your selves by bearing so great a triall with such admirable patience and comfort What remaineth but that you alwayes set before your eyes this matchlesse patterne which proceeded from your owne bowels for your imitation that as you were instruments to give her a temporall life so she though dead yet speaking may be an happy instrument though not to give yet to increase and maintaine the life of grace and consolation in your soules You have begunne to cleave to Christ with firme decree and ●ull purpose of heart and the world observeth that you are already rich gainers by this great losse Goe on I beseech you and grow daily in the exemplary practise of a really religious life being fully assured that he whose glory you seeke and whose yoke you beare will in due time make up this breach and recompence this losse if not in the same kinde which I pray and hope yet in some other which shall be most for his glory and your comfort in the end Neither is there cause that you should overmuch lament the losse of this one childe seeing God hath blessed you with many children though but one living upon whom God Almighty double his blessings For to omit many whose parents in effect you are may I not call those sixe poore children in Warwicke for whom you have provided honest and profitable trades and callings every seven yeares successively to the worlds end of whose death there is no feare while the common wealth and lawes continue in life your children But fearing lest J should exceed the bounds of an Epistle desiring your favourable acceptance of this poore expression of my thankefull minde for your many favours J humbly take my leave and rest Your Worshi●s much obliged and in the Lord ever to be commanded Iohn Bryan The Vertuous DAVGHTER PRO. 31.29 Many Daughters have done vertuously but thou excellest them all THis Chapter spends it selfe for the most part in the description commendation of a vertuous woman The exordium or beginning of the encomium is in the tenth verse Who can finde a vertuous woman for her price is farre above rubies The conclusion of it is in the four last verses whereof my Text is one Wherein the holy Ghost giveth her as we see a most ample testimony and commendation by way of comparison for hee compareth her not with a vitious one whom it is no great grace to surpasse but with the vertuous nor with one onely but with many all which he witnesseth she doth not onely equallize but farre excell Many daughters have done vertuously but thou excellest them all The maine lesson which the Spirit of God intendeth to teach us in this context and especially in these words is this That such as doe vertuously may and should bee praised yea the more vertuously any doe the more praise and commendation is due to them This good woman described in this chapter is as you see not onely positively but superl●tively praised For the explication of this point Explication nothing needs opening save what is meant by doing vertuously What it is to doe vertuously Morall Philosophers define vertue thus It is say they an habit of the minde acquired and confirmed by custome use and practise enabling a man to rule his appetite and to discharge the duties of his calling in a laudable manner In fewer words thus It is an elective habit inclining the will to well-doing Now to wel-doing they teach (a) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Aristot eth lib. 2. cap. 4. foure things to be requisite 1 That t●e thing or subject matter of the action be in it selfe lawfull and good even such as is approved and warranted by the judgement of wise men for this they make the rule of vertue (b) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 lib. 2. cap. 6. 2 That the agent both know and purpose the doing of it for he that doth a good action ignorantly or rashly cannot be said to doe well seeing science and counsell are the foundation of every good worke for as to him that knoweth to doe good and doth it not to him it is sinne so to him that doth good and knoweth it not or purposeth it not it is sinne also 3 That his end be right for hee that doth a good worke for some by-respect and not out of love to goodnesse and for it owne sake he may doe something which may be materially good but it is at the best far from being well done 4 That he continue and hold out unto the end in his purpose and endeavour of doing well for perseverance is the complement and crowne of vertue Divinity defines it thus It is a gift of Gods Spirit and a part of regeneration whereby a man is made apt and able to deny all ungodlinesse and worldly lusts and to live soberly righteously and godly in this present world And to doe thus is to doe vertuously Confirmation 1 For confirmation of this truth first I will give you some examples of vertuous women both out of the old and new