before shee died it is a glorious conquest to get victory over the world and the creatures before a man dies Seventhly Shee was publique 7. Publikenes of spirit hearted having her spirit set upon the times both in the sins and sorrowes thereof being so sensible of both that she could bewaile both and would be often in stirring up others to pray for Sions peace and glory Oh how did shee rejoyce when she saw any hopes of good towards the Church of God revived and shee would be much cast downe under the feares of nationall calamities fearing that her sinnes were the procurers of the same Eightly She was bearing 8. Patience hearted God put her pietie to proofe laying his hand heavily upon her in much weakenesse which kept her long under the Phisitians hands yet under all gods dealings she was a patterne of patience quietly resigning her selfe so to the good will and wisedome of God that shee did not checke or dislike God in the course of his providence but did acquit the Lord as righteous and just in his way and did let him alone in his workes being troubled at the rising of impatiency within her desiring chieflly that God would be pleased to make her able to beare his hand and to give her a sanctified use of his hand which she knew would be for good unto her Ninethly Shee was stout 9. Stoutnesse hearted which appeared in this that she did not feare the king of feare death it selfe I know that shee was very sensible that the time of her departure was at hand for shee apprehended more in her selfe then the many skillfull Physitions could in her body she would tell mee that they were all mistaken in her disease for she should not escape this sicknesse which was now upon her and though she did thinke much and talke often of it yet it was not death it selfe that could daunt or dampe her spirits she did no feare to die having the knowledge of this that it was only death which could bring her unto her desired home Tenthly and lastly Shee 10. Confidence in death was confident hearted her experience of God and faith in God had raised up her soule to such a trust in Gods mercy that finding death approaching shee left of disputings with Satan and fixing her eyes with much stedfastnesse on Heaven about the beginning of the Sabboth which was the day of her delight whilst she lived and I make no doubt a token unto her of an eternall rest in Heaven she concluded her life with this saying Death Death O Lord in thee is my trust which wordes of hers gave occasion to her loving Husband to give unto mee that Text of Scripture to preach on at her funerall And now leaving her Application to the Auditory whose soule is made perfect in Heaven and free from all sinne and sorrow give me your patience from the whole Narration to lesson you in these things that so you may 4. Duties depart hence with profit First see the joyntnes of women with men in the common salvation of Christians God hath given unto them soules as well as men and he is pleased to make them as eminent in graces and gracious practises as he doth men and therefore their sex should not be despised nor their holy courses scorned whilst they doe but endeavour to save their poore soules Secondly know That the more gracious men and women are in their lives the more comfortable shall they be in their deathes and the more honourable after their deathes such seeke for comfort and credit in a wrong way that doe not seeke it in a gracious way Thirdly Learne that wee must improove all the holy examples of Gods Saints by following their courses and Exempla maxime movent Cic de Orat lib. 3. actions the Heathen man telles us that good examples are of great force and sure I am that among Christians this is a truth that good examples are of speciall use and profit and such as we must be accountable for to God as well as for precepts we cannot doe greater honour to our religious Ancestors deceased then to endeavour to resemble them in goodnesse and godlinesse Oh that you would all resolve to go home being such as shee was and doing that which shee did of whom we have spoken Lastly Draw your owne deaths out of this occasion let it put you into dying thoughts remember that you must all follow her that is gone before you and how soone you know not and that every step of your life degrees you into the Chamber of death you being here sayling down times streame into that gulph of death which enters you into Heavens or hels eternity My beloved upon this short and shortning time of yours which is uncertaine and irrevocable depends eternity and if ever you will be wise for your soules bee wise in this to make your life the only providing time for Heavens eternity And so much for the Text and the occasion * ⎠* FINIS Imprimatur THO WYKES Iuly 30. 1640.
more darke then the leaving the soule destitute in divine respects doth make the soule sad and miserable 'T is misery to be under misery but in times of misery to be left unto misery by Gods withdrawing of himselfe from a man makes the misery overmiserable For a lame man to fall it's misery but when hee is downe to have his crutches taken from him and all to forsake him it 's the leaving of him in misery It is a mercy to finde divine succour in misery Obser 3 Thirdly That it is a great mercy to bee followed with spirituall succours and divine supplies in times of misery this is easing to the spirit and the burthen will be the better borne and endured this is chearing and reviving the spirit will not soone sinke and faint under any trouble whilst God is with it and all its comforts are about it the woe is to him that is alone Obser 4 Fourthly that the instant and constant desire of a Christian Divine assistance presence is to be sought should bee after divine assistance in troubles 1. A man shall never need a God more in company and comfort then when he is in and under trouble if all the creatures leave us as they may yet till God leave us wee shall never be destitute for God is all in all for the reliefe of that soule with whom hee is present besides 2. the soule hath many pretious promises for divine supply and succour in evills and therefore hee may be the more bold to put up his request to God Leave not my soule destitute To conclude the whole Vse 1 First I pitty such men who are forsaken and destitute men such whom Sathan hath bereaved of their comforts God denies his grace unto or withdrawes the influence of his comfort from A desolate Widdow forsaken of friends a brave Commander destitute of men and munition and a soule left by God in misery are equally miserable Vse 2 Secondly We learne that men destitute of God are the most helpelesse creatures under Heaven such shall doe God the King and the Country little good service that have Feathers in their hatts Armour on their backs and Weapons in their hands wanting Grace in their hearts though their oathes may be many and violence great yet their strength is small for they are destitute and deserted persons Vse 3 Thirdly In the middest of our dangers let us labour to keepe God with us and about us if we make him our friend wee need not feare who is our enemy and God supplying us wee have strength enough and shall finde comfort enough in the midst of dangers and death it selfe * ⎠* The Narration of the vertuous Life and happy Death of Mistrisse Iulian Blackwell WEE are this day The Application to the occasion met according to the practise of the Saints in Scripture to performe a duty and pay a debt to the remainder of our Christian Sister Mistrisse Iulian Blackwell which is now to be laid with honour in her grave as into a house of safe custody and bed of rest to remaine there untill the resurrection And finding this to be the practise of venerable Cent. Mag. 4. c. 6. p. 45 5. antiquity to celebrate the Funerals of Christians with the mentioning of their just praises you must give mee leave treading in Testimonium dabo veritati non amicitiae Ber. their paths to give testimony unto the truth in speaking of her gratious disposition and vertuous conversation onely take two things along Securius sinceerius visa solent quam audita narrari Goff vit Bern. lib 1. pre ces with you First that I intend to speake no more of her then what mine owne knowledge and observation doth leade mee unto Secondly that my aime in this Worke is to moderate the grieving spirits of those that were neere unto her whose losse is great and to yeeld unto you all matter of good instruction and Christian imitation seeing you know not how soone her condition may be yours And here passing over her descent leaving that to the Heralds I might begin with her curtesie modestie and gravity in her outward course and carriage in which shee did so shine that shee wonne much love from all such who well knew her and were themselves lovers of a courteous and sober conversation Next I might lay downe before you her fidelity and love to her loving Husband with whom shee lived in an unspotted way avoiding that lightnesse and loosenesse which is too too notorious and shamefull in many of her Sexe I might also further discourse of her tendernesse and love unto her children to whom shee shewed her selfe a Mother indeed by seeking their good in the best things and furthering them to her power in the waies of holinesse But leaving these there 10. Things in her are ten things which I observe as notable in her and worthy all our imitation First God had made her 1. Tendernesse of heart seene in foure things a Christian of a very tender heart and sensible spirit as her naturall disposition was softly so shee had a spirituall disposition of softnesse there were foure waies by which her tendernesse of Spirit did appeare 1. Shee was apprehensive 1. Sense of sin and feeling of sins working and burden the body of sinne which shee did beare about her as a body within her body shee made such a body of death unto her that with teares shee would often complaine to my selfe and others of her wretchednesse and wearisomenesse under the same a blessed temper and arguing spirituall life to find and feele the contrary workings of sinfull corruption unto the workings of grace within the soule 2. Shee was sensible of Satans 2. Acquaintance with tēptations temptations and his strong workings against her graces and her comforts Satan was her adversary and shee knew what it was to have Satan to be her adversary surely if God be a mans friend Satan will be his enemy and who so have tender and gratious spirits they cannot but be more or lesse sensible of Satans workings against them Satan did so often and sensibly disquiet her that shee feared least shee should at the last be overcome by him 3. Shee had a sympathizing 3. Sympathy spirit feeling the present conditions of the members of the mysticall body whether in misery or in comfort if the Church and Christians did rejoyce shee rejoyced also if they were in sadnesse shee was in heavinesse in which practise shee shewed her selfe a right living member and I could wish that there were not the failing of bowels this way amongst too too many of us What a shame is it unto us that Churches abroad are bleeding and many Christians at home in misery and dying and yet none in comparison do regard or feele the same 4. Shee had an undigesting 4 Risings against sinfull vanities spirit I meane a spirit that was full of painefull gratings at the
and there is no Christian man or woman but must needs confesse so much and beside the generall calamity we have the time of our particular misery our conditions either are or have beene sad and perplexed tell mee now where are your eyes fixed upon God then it 's well and give mee leave to presse you to this triall upon this one ground because that multitudes of men have no eyes upon God in evill times Surely if our eyes are upon God First we shall make God present with us beholding and regarding us in our miseries the eye doth make the object present to it selfe and faith looking upon God doth make God present to a Christian the truth is that it 's no misery that can divide a Christian and his God for God hath tied his presence and love with his children in the fire and water and prison and dungeon and Esa 43. 2. it is as true that if the eye of faith be once rightly set upon God in times of trouble there is no want of God to such a soule such a one whose eyes are upon God may want the company of neere and deere friends they may be sequeâ—tred and kept from him but â—he company of a God he can â—ever want a Christian is neâ—er without his God so long as hee can keepe up the eye of his Faith upon God Though I walke in the valley of the shadow of death thou art with mee thy rod and thy staffe they comfort mee O sweet comfort and happy condition in times of distresse when the soule can say men are against mee yet God is for mee men are shut out from mee by men but my God they cannot shut out from mee the eye of Faith will bring downe God into a dungeon and see him in a dungeon and maketh a man to see no want of creature-company because he hath divine company Secondly wee shall have some comfortable representation of God unto us it iâ— true in nature that the eye in it selfe hath no colour but all its colour is in the object and I conceive that the glorious discoveries of God are made over unto Faith till the eye of Faith be erected in the soule God is in darknesse to a man let things have a colour Simile and luster in them untill light come to make them cleare they are as if they were not so though there be a glory in God yet to sence and reason God is a God in night and darknesse or such a one as cannot be espied and observed but when Faith comes into the soule now God is a God in the light and the Christian is enabled in some measure to enjoy the blessed reflexe of God to his soule whereby even in his greatest misery he is able to look upon his God with that boldnesse that the very beholding of his God in the way of Faith doth greatly joy and glad his soule making him unspeakeably glorious unto his soule a man that lookes up to God shall see more grounds of comfort seated in God then grounds of sadnesse in his troubles the face of times cannot gather more blacknesse or threaten more misery then Gods face doth promise and assure peace and protection Faith seeth all the worst below and best above in God and with God Thirdly we shall be ravished and greatly affected with the glories and beauties of God vision drawes on affection or things doe affect the soule by sence by looking we come to liking the true cause why a wicked man doth neither joy in God or admire the beauties that are in God is because he wants eyes to look upon God but the man whose eyes are opened open unto God takes notice of such excellency of grace and mercy in God that his soule is taken with God and rapt up into a holy ravishment and admiration Now he cries out who is a God like unto our God O the Majesty and mercy that is in him I see that in him for mee and my necessity that I cannot see in all the creatures put them together the soule doth now begin to feede it selfe and cheere it selfe in and upon God in the midst of all afflictions making this to be its greatest comfort that it hath such a God who is so great a good to enjoy Faith cannot looke up to its God without encreasing of its confidence and comforts Fourthly we shall be set into a longing after God and his comforts the seeing of things stirres up desires in us after them so the looking up to God doth fill the soule with a fervent longing after the Lord the Christian that lookes up hopes the soule in this case is much after the manner of a tender wife who looking for her Husband by such a day or such an hower shee is faint and full of griefe untill that day come and when the day is come shee runnes to the doore and window to see if he be not comming being much troubled that hee is not yet come surely all the sight of God which we have by Faith doth cast us into hope of enjoying God according to his promise and now our soules Psal 119. 81. Rom. 8. 23 Psal 119. 82. doe faint for him and his salvation we sigh in our selves waiting and our eyes doe faile for his Word saying when wilt thou come to us and comfort us O when shall I have my helpe and deliverance from the Lord the eye of Faith doth either actually bring downe God into the soule and is as the setting of the eye of a skilfull fowler upon a bird who if he hold the bird in his eye he will not have him long out of his hand or actually carrie up the soule unto God in strength of desire so that the soule cannot be in any quiet untill God be gotten and gained Fiftly we shall not be overwhelmed by the sight of any calamities troubles beheld without a God doe exceedingly damp and daunt the spirits of men till Elishaes servant had his eyes opened to see the strength of Heaven his heart was much dismayed by the hoste of the Syrians but to have an eye to God in times of trouble will prove the great upholdment of the soule it is no miserable estate that can distresse that man whose eyes are the eyes of Faith say that troopes of troubles come and that we are to encounter with contrarieties and crosses even the ruffling rage of wicked meÌ„ whose power in some degree might equall their malice yet such a soule stands and his heart is staied within him for he sees more with him then against him O the wisedome and power which Faith doth see in God for the preservation of those that are his I reade of a Generall who Antigonus finding his souldiers dismaied by the smalenesse of their company and the multitudes of their enemies asked them but how many do you reckon mee at who am your Commander and Leader this Generall is Faith in the soule which takes