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A64802
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A wise virgins lamp burning; or Gods sweet incomes of love to a gracious soul waiting for him Being the experiences of Mrs. Anne Venn, (daughter to Col. John Venn, & member of the Church of Christ at Fulham:) written by her own hand, and found in her closet after her death. Wherein is declared her exceeding frequent addresses to the throne of grace, and how speedily answered. Written for the comfort of such as mourn in Sion, and quickning of saints by her blessed example.
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Venn, Anne.
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1658
(1658)
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Wing V190; ESTC R219225
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131,041
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301
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in his Family upon his Children and Servants and by this means this daughter and one of his servants were brought home unto the Lord and which I mention as an alarum to the Saints to the practise of this duty which seems in this licentious age to bee so greatly neglected She had this honor to enjoy the indeared affection of all Saints that conversed with her as being eminent in these graces First in love to all Saints though of different Judgements where she discerned any characters of Christs image her heart delighted in them which grace shined the more clearly because she lived in a time wherein the contrary evill most prevailed Again she was eminently exemplary in that holy art of the Improvement of the society of the Saints by serious propounding of prepared questions about matters of most infinite concernment with such wisdom in searching out the deepest of the Treasures God had laid up in others hearts that she grew abundantly in experimental knowledge of saving Truths and was able and ready to communicate richly unto others She was a most diligent Christian in attending all the Ordinances and in every administration did hearken what God said to her soul and as her soule waited for some discoveries of God so the shining forth of God in his counsels and comforts shee did abundantly enjoy Shee was a careful Observer of the Lords day and found such profit in the ways of the Almighty that his Day was her delight and she requently was fild in her soule as with marrow and fatness She was a steddy Christian in reeling times and received nothing for truth but what she would often weigh in the ballance or the Sanctuary and upon solid grounds lay up in her heart or put forth in her practice And for her diligence and industry about heavenly things she so far abounded that whoever hath the sight of her labours would not easily conceive so much could be done in one whose life was so short She wrote her dayly Meditations upon the holy book of God which shee kept in a book fair written She contracted all she heard in the publike Ministry into a method in a book in Folio hath fairly transcribed some part of that work which would have contained the substance of all the labors of the Ministers of Christ whose Ministry she was partaker of And in another had written all the attributes of God and Christ that she could finde in Scripture for the strengthning of the saith of beleevers The truth is shee was a soul wholly dedicated to the Lord and in her whole conversation humble and holy and tender-hearted One truly weaned from this world weary of it and often breathing out holy longings to be with Christ frequently saying VVhat is there in this dark world that should cause a Christian to desire to continue in it And as shee longed to be at home so the Lord hastned the time and in her tender yeers gathered her to himself And in her death shee shewed forth a gracious frame of spirit and with holy confidence in Christ resigned her selfe to him And such was het holy jealousy of any pride or hypocrisy that might arise by discovering of her labour that untill shee fell asleep in the Lord her writings came not to the view of any Thus this blessed soule walked with the Lord and these things are recorded of her for our example that we may tread in her steps and be followers of her as he she followed Christ which is the hearty desire of him who is a servant of Christ and his Church Isaac Knight O My soul what hath been the Method and manner of the Lords working that effectual work of his upon thy heart which thou hast some comfortable hopes is begun by him and shall be carried on in thy soul to the glory of his own grace set them down as the Lord shall enable thee according as he hath been pleased from time to time and from year to year to make it out to thee that so if the Lord please it may stand thee instead in an evil day I mean a day of inward or outward affliction and the Lord help thee to do it as in his sight who is the searcher of all hearts and knows better than thou dost what work himself hath wrought in thee but so farre as he hath or shall please to enable thee to discern it in thy own heart set it down and let it lye upon record against all the temptations of Sathan that great adversary of thy soul IN the year 1635 when I was yet very young being not at the most full nine years old the Lord was pleased through the preaching of his word as I conceive together with my fathers repeating and farther pressing it home upon our spirits to begin to work upon my heart and to give in some kind of desires after the best things whereupon I began to take some delight in hearing the word but most of all in reading to my self in which I then spent many hours if not whole dayes the Lord setting the one and the other so home upon my spirit as to convince me both of my sinful and miserable condition by reason of my continual breach of his holy lawes and grieving the spirit of my parents the which was much set home upon me by reading Mr. Dod upon the commandements and the like treatises whereupon I had a temptation to curse the day of my birth which in some measures I consented unto often wishing that I had never been born or at the least had dyed from the breast as I saw some of my Brothers esteeming their condition to be much better than mine they never living to commit any actual sin and therefore as I then thought should without all doubt go to Heaven but for my self I did really think and fear that I should certainly go to Hell then being put out to board for a quarter of a year to one who pretended much skill and ability for the cure of some weakness that I then lay under which being a very profane family although I was yet very young yet being so contrary to those wayes I had been brought up in to come now to hear continual cursing and swearing and prophaning the Lords day and being forced to be in their company not daring by reason of those fears I then lay under to be alone and so sometimes prevailed with once or twice to play upon the Lords day I thought my self all this while to be in the belly of hell being thereunto condemned by my own conscience so that I could receive no contentment in all the fulnesse of those outward things which I there enjoyed but was restless untill I got home again being yet only convinced of my actual evills But when the Lord was pleased by the ministery of his word and other private instructions going along with it to convince me in some measure of my original corruption that I brought into the
A Wise Virgins Lamp Burning OR Gods sweet incomes of LOVE to a gracious soul waiting for him BEING The EXPERIENCES of Mrs. ANNE VENN Daughter to Col. John Venn Member of the Church of Christ at Fulham written by her own hand and found in her Closet after her death Wherein is declared her exceeding frequent Addresses to the Throne of Grace and how speedily answered Written for the comfort of such as mourn in Sion and quickning of Saints by her blessed Example Psal 30.5 VVeeping may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning Psal 66.16 Come and hear all ye that fear God I will declare what he hath done for my soul Psal 85.8 I will hear what God the Lord will say for he will speak Peace to his people Lam. 3.25 The Lord is good to them that wait for him to the soul that seeketh him LONDON Printed for E. Cole and are to be sold at the signe of the Printing-Press in Cornhil 1658. Christian Reader HEre mayest thou see the free frequent familiar intercourse betwixt the Lord a godly soul her continual Addresses to him and his gracious Returnes to her doubtless she was one that as it is said of Caleb followed God fully and lay as much in the besome of Christ as any that I have heard of a rare pattern in these cold declining times wherein so many either turn aside from the truth or else lose their first Love but her pious soul in an eminent manner kept Truth and Zeal warm her in heart even till she enjoyed full communion with her beloved in Heaven As she began to seek after God betimes about the age of nine years so she continued with her loins girt her Lamp burning and her Light shining more and more till the perfect day The tenderness of God the malice of Satan her patience in waiting on God for certain years t gether in her first conversion were remarkable The closeness of her spirit not opening her condition to such as might have relieved her her seeking to heal her self by duties and holy walking for a long time kept down her soul from looking up to the free Grace in Christ till she was even tyred out as Noahs Dove by fluttering upon the unsteady waters but then the Lord Jesus put forth his hand and took her weary soul into the Ark of his rest giving her such a clear sight of himself that now having with the Spouse found her beloved she took him and caught him and held him and would not let him go oft saying with the Spouse Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth for his love is better then Wine being able from that time to sing the sweet Song of Simeon longing to be at home with her Jesus Oh the peace and or Oh the blessed revivings and quicknings Oh the prayer praises and admirings her precious soul was filled withall from that day forward though now aâ—d then some secret withdrawings to the last moment of her life Her conversation was in heaven she walked with God her heart loosned from this world as this Treatise fully speaks so much of her strength spirit affection and time she spent in Closet-meetings with God in reading praying meditation self-examination c. that it was a wonder her poor weak body was able to subsist and doubtless had not God renewed her strength anointing her with fresh oyle it could not have been I marvelled I confess to see so many of her writings found in her Closet as I did God gave her a quick wit a large understanding a considering spirit and looking much into her self taught her to put an high price on ordinances made her very diligent in the use of all means laid her very low in her own eyes with much self-emptiness thus bespoko a la ge room in her heart that he might bestow a great deale of Christ therein and so made her a Vessel capable of a greater measure of Grace then I am perswaded many others though truly godly attain on this side heaven So exceeding tender was her heart in point of sin that she would often and deeply judge her self as this Treatise abundantly shews for pride passion inordinate love to the creature neglect of duty to her relations c. whereas those that daylie conversed with her being of discerning spirits could see no such appearances but the contrary frame of spirit eminently shining out in her she was so afraid of pride that she dared not wear such Jewels apparel as she had by her for feâ—r her heart should be drawn from God thereby and so fearful of vain glory that though she had this Treatise of the incomes of God lying by her yet not any no not her dear Parents ever knew thereof till they found it in her Closet after her death her sel leaving this as the reason lest her wretched heart should be lifted up and others should think better of her then was meet She was such an high prizer of Ordinances that she forgetting the weakness of her own body the length of the way many other obstructons would frequently break through all to enjoy them and when she was to hear she first was ful of prayer to God to meet her therein and make out some discoveries to her soul which the Lord usually did and she straightly observing Gods incomes returned with praise her deep acknowledgements of the same No small importunities of very many godly that knew her have forced the publishing of this Treatise and others of long standing in Christ and eminent Grace who have seen some of it in Manuscripts have freely confessed they never looked into it but were much humbled to soe how short themselves come in such heart-searchings self-judgings close-walkings with God and such observings of the answer of their prayers as they read in this her daylie practice I hope it may be useful in these declining times to convince some Christians of their slackness and awaken others and shew them how to make more heart-work by the example of one of the weak Sex and if to thy knowledge it should not adde much yet to thy spirit and practice it may conduce not a little Thine in our dearest Lord and Head THO. WELD To all that love the appearance of the Lord Jesus Grace and Peace BEing called upon by the earnest importunity of many gracious souls to give forth my testimony of this blessed servant of Christ Mr Anne Venn and having had many yeers converse about the great matters of eternal life with her and injoying her society for some yeers in the holy fellowship of the gospel I could not but present to the Saints the sweet savour of her holy walking in which she was a lively example to all that knew her The Lord first brake in upon her heart by the frequent impressions of the Word as they were instilled into her by her honour'd father whose practice was to re-inforce the Truths publikely preached