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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65694	Eighteen sermons preached upon several texts of Scripture by William Whittaker, late minister of Magdalen Bermondsey, Southwark ; to which is added his funeral sermon preached by Sam. Annesley.	Whittaker, William, 1629-1672.; Annesley, Samuel, 1620?-1696.	1674 (1674)	Wing W1718; ESTC R29271	230,495	446

EIGHTEEN SERMONS Preached upon several TEXTS of SCRIPTURE By the Reverend Mr. William Whittaker late Minister of Magdalen Bermondsey Southwark With a short Account of the Author in an Epistle prefixed by Tho. Jacomb D. D. To which is added His FUNERAL SERMON Preached by Sam. Annesley D. D. The righteous perish and no man layeth it to heart and merciful men are taken away none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come Isa 57.1 LONDON Printed for Tho. Parkhurst and are to be sold under the Gate on London-Bridg and at his Shop at the three Crowns and Bible in Cheapside near Mercers Chappel 1674. To the Right Honourable Lady Elizabeth Countess Dowager of Exeter Madam IT is but justice I should give to your Honour some account of my publishing these Sermons to the world and making bold to present them under the protection of your Name Notwithstanding the discouragements of the Age wherein we live which seems to have a fulsom loathing of such Manna Yet I must confess I was strongly inclined thereunto by the due respects I bear to the memory of my dear deceased Husband and was willing the world should have some lasting tasts of his worth which through Gods goodness I had the happiness for divers years to enjoy Besides a mournful Widow he left divers worthy Friends who to feed their reflecting thoughts desired some useful and innocent Relique of him whom living they so much lov'd and honour'd and dying so lamented If I was overcome by the perswasions of such as I might well account wiser than my self though the action should seem to be in some sort inconvenient yet I hope with all ingenuous persons the weakness of my Sex and strength of my affections will become my just Apology They are indeed offered in a homely dress of words and deprived of that polishing which my dear Husband could well have bestowed upon them and doubtless would have done had be thought they should have been thus exposed They are for the most part as they drop'd without curiosity from his mouth and were taken by the pen of an affectionate friend Nor would a scrupilosity which I had permit they should be so altered though for the better as that they might not be wholly call'd his own Yet must I not here dissemble that the concurrence of better judgments than mine your Honours encouragement and approbation made me apt to believe these Sermons even as they are might be both acceptable to all that knew him and in some degree serviceable to the Souls of others who should please to read them These Reasons I think sufficient to mention as inducements to this ●●●lication Which when I had once resolv'd upon I was held in no suspence to whose Patronage to commit them Your Honour hath so many Titles to them that it had been a kind of robbing to alienate or transfer your right to any other person They are Sermons and therefore they ought to be your Honours If any understand not the force of this consequence they want Eyes to behold the most eminent Example of true Virtue and Piety I can fear no imputation of flattery while I mention your known and exemplary worth which prescribes to those of your high Degree things truly great and becoming that Noble Blood that runs in your Veins You are one and where 's the other that dares be so visibly good in an Age wherein Virtue is almost scandalous and Godliness is matter of sport to the froth and smaller Wits of the Town You therefore doubtless will favour and own what others will scorn and disdain Add to this Madam as a special ground of this Dedication That constant and singular favour which your Honour hath been pleased to reflect first upon my ever honoured Father-in-Law Mr. Jeremy Whitaker whose Name is still precious as of a man for piety learning and prudence famous in his generation Then upon his Son my dear Husband who hath also left such impressions on his friends as I hope will not soon be defaced and since his death upon my most unworthy self so that you have not left off to shew kindness both to the living and to the dead The last though not the least motive is That some of these Sermons were preached in obedience to your Commands for such were your Honours desires always to my dear Husband And as they then were so I doubt not but they now will be therefore the more acceptable Some one or all of these Reasons however they may acquit me of indiscretion yet I hope will procure at least a pardon for the boldness of Madam Your Honours most deeply obliged Servant E. W. TO THE READER Reader THou art here presented with some Sermons preached by that solid and judicious Divine Mr. William Whitaker Whom the Supreme and Soveraign Disposer in whose hands are the life breath and time of all men a few months since was pleased to take to himself After which dark and very afflictive Providence his sorrowful Relict and some faithful Friends made it their business to single out of the many Sermons which in the course of his Ministry he had preached some few which they should judg most fit for the Press and them to publish to the world What progress they have made in this Vndertaking as full of zeal towards the living as of affection towards the dead thou wilt see by that which is here exposed to thy view 'T is by this means that these Sermons are brought to light concerning which I do stedfastly hope that as they who have promoted the printing thereof will have no cause to repent of the pains they have taken in the collecting and publishing of them so that they who shall buy and read them will have no cause to repent either of the cost they shall be at in buying or of the time they shall spend in the perusing of them 'T is sad very sad that so good a Man so useful a Minister in the midst of his days maturity of judgment ripeness of parts heigth of serviceableness should so suddenly be snatcht away from us but the Lord hath done it in whose Will it becomes us to acquiesce And we have this to alleviate the sadness of this dispensation though he be dead all is not dead with him his person to our great grief is gone but to our great comfort some of his profitable labours are left behind 'T is too true the having a few select Sermons will not countervail the loss of himself but things being as they are we must make the best of what we have when we cannot have what we would When we cannot enjoy himself we must be glad of any thing that was his as Elisha was glad though he had but the Mantle of Elijah that dropt from him when he ascended to Heaven Reader The great thing design'd in the publication of these Discourses being the promoting of thy good thou canst not but apprehend thy self the more

strongly obliged to receive them with all thankfulness and to peruse them with all seriousness Do not mistake thy self in any fond imagination that the thing mainly aimed at in this work is the perpetuating of the Name and Memory of the Author deceased though 't is pity that should ever be forgotten or the making of his choice abilities somewhat more publickly known to the world though 't is pity too they should not better be understood No so far as I can judg of the ends of others I think I may confidently aver that the furtherers thereof had higher things in their eye viz. the advancing of Gods Honour and next to that of the spiritual and eternal good of immortal Souls Which if so then surely as thou art greatly indebted to them for their singular love so thou shouldst be very earnest with the Lord in prayer that these great ends may be accomplished We know too well by variety of instances what a disadvantage it is to the labours of godly Ministers when they are put forth after their death by others and not by themselves For upon this they often want the Authors own last hand in the perfecting and polishing of them and besides the world is the more apt to question whether they be natural and genuine Now as to the first of these inconveniencies I can say nothing I not having had the opportunity of perusing these Sermons and therefore can be no competent Judg whether they do or do not lie under that defect But as to the later I can assure all who may desire satisfaction therein here is nothing but what is the genuine issue of the Author himself The word is posthumous but not in the least spurious These Sermons were taken from his own mouth by a very exact and accurate Noter and so printed without any considerable alteration as I am credibly informed And I do not doubt but that such who knew the Father will find so much of his image in the whole work as that they will presently conclude it to be his very Child I must not commend what I have not seen Yet though I may not commend the Preacher from the Sermons I may commend the Sermons from the Preacher He therefore being one who knew much of the Mysteries of the Gospel that had a large stock of knowledg Humane and Divine that was an able Minister of the New Testament a Workman that needed not to be ashamed I say he being such a person I may well presume what was done by him to be well done and that much good may be expected thereby * Judg. 8.21 as was the man so was his strength And I am very confident that none who concur with me in these apprehensions will meet with any disappointment Reader I 'le say no more of what is here done I wholly commit it to Gods blessing and thy Christian candour But as to the Author how much could I say What a large Panegyrick without any falshood or partiality might I make of him how eager is my Pen to run out in giving the world a full Narrative of his singular worth and excellent endowments But I must keep it in considering I am writing but a compendicus Preface which will not admit of so large a Subject 'T would be an injury to the living though none to the dead if such an one as our departed Friend should not be drawn at his full length and I hope I shall find that done by some other hand I must content my self with a shorter draught of him only to shadow out some of his most lovely features and lineaments without filling of them up My hearty Affections commands me to do so much the strict bounds of a Preface will permit me to do no more And where shall we take a view of this excellent person and not have something in our eye praise-worthy and commendable View him as a Man he was of a most sweet disposition a most ingenuous temper a most obliging affable courteous winning deportment and made up of love all honey no gall who ever either did or could charge him with a sowre morose ugly nature And what an advantage is such a temper and carriage to all especially to Ministers 't is pity that Grace and good Nature should ever be parted the latter makes a little of the former go a great way as a little Sugar is enough to sweeten the Wine that is not sharp and rough the one makes a person amiable to God the other to Men. View him as a Scholar he was a very learned Man one richly accomplished in all parts of good literature His skill in the several Languages his insight into all Philosophy Philology c. but especially into Theology was such that if any should attempt to diminish or disparage his Learning they must give me leave to say of them Either they did not know him or else they do not know themselves His natural abilities were very good which by study and industry he had highly improv'd He was not one that lov'd to make a noise 't is your shallow waters that use to do so but he had well digested and mustered the most considerable parts of true Learning And I am confident all will concur with me in this Character of him who are not under a spirit of malevolence and detraction of that naughty humour to engross all knowledg to themselves and to lessen the worth of those let them be who they will who are not of their own way and party View him as a Christian he was sincerely gracious and godly which puts a greater beauty and luster upon him than all his natural or acquired endowments whatsoever He was another Nathaneel without guile another Jacob of a plain spirit one of a tender conscience of which some great turns in his life were a very signal demonstration one who made it his daily exercise to keep a conscience void of offence towards God and men And surely such who saw the blamelesness and holiness of his life could not but judg this of him That he was a person truly fearing God All the several graces of the Spirit were more or less auspicious in him but not any one more than Humility O how eminent was he in this grace of graces what a pattern was he thereof to all who observed him He was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 high in Gifts Parts Grace Service low in nothing but only in his own thoughts How meanly did he always speak and think of himself how highly of others yea of many who were much his inferiors Did he use to exalt himself and depress others no! in lowliness of mind he esteemed them better than himself wherein I would to God we could all imitate him View him as a Minister and as such I think I may say of him Not many did equalize him very few did excel him He was a sound solid profitable Preacher and in all the other works of the Pastoral

Office as he was eminently fitted for it so he was eminently faithful in the discharging of it Should I particularize the several Graces Qualifications Duties which the Word sets down concerning Ministers we should find them all to be in and done by our deceased Brother and that too in a very great proportion He was no loyterer in the Vineyard but a diligent and painful labourer in the work of his great Lord and Master He sought not himself but the good of others and I verily believe of him there were but few amongst his Brethren who were more above the temptations of vain-glory and filthy lucre than he was Great was his soundness in the Faith he held fast the faithful Word and the form of sound words preach'd no other Gospel than what Christ and the Apostles had preach'd before him started no fond and novel Opinions but kept to the Faith once delivered to the Saints He was no corrupter of the Word of God but as of sincerity as of God in the sight of God spake he in Christ as the great Apostle once said of himself 2 Cor. 2.17 no Hay and Stubble was by him laid upon the Foundation nothing came from him but the sincere milk of the Word In his preaching the everlasting Gospel he was no trifler O how much was he above the wisdom of word 't was not polite language but solidity of matter which he minded what might reach the conscience rather than what might tickle the ear or please the fancy that was regarded by him And as his Doctrine was without taint so his Conversation was without stain or blemish he preached well and which is much * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost in Actu Apost Hom. 30. harder he lived well too as he taught others so he did himself there was an excellent harmony between his Doctrine and his Practice he holding forth the Word of life not only in the Pulpit but in his whole course His tenderness towards weaker and dejected Christians his Prudence in counselling advising debating ordering all his Ministerial concerns his admirable conjoyning the wisdom of the Serpent with the innocency of the Dove his meekness and patience in bearing wrongs and unkindnesses with many other of his excellent properties I must pass over lest whilst I remember him I should forget my self Once more let us take a view of him in his Relations whilst God continued his Parents what a loving obedient dutiful Son was he when they were taken away how did he honour their memory and which was much higher how did he in all things tread in their steps He was indeed optimi patris optimi filius an excellent Son of an excellent Father where as he succeeded in the place of his Ministry so also in his Graces And which in these times is as a thing somewhat rare he kept to the last that tincture which he had first received in his pious education What a tender and affectionate Husband he was the daily tears deep sorrow of his disconsolate Widow do abundantly testifie and for the rest of his surviving Relations who of them do not greatly lament his death he was a prudent faithful hearty Friend and he was in my loss amongst many others Who had further experience of the truth and valuableness of his friendship than my self which doth very much heighten my grief for the loss of him But this year hath prov'd fatal to me it having pleased God therein to remove two of the truest ancientest Friends I had in the world this in the Ministry for one and * Mr. William Sommers Merchant in London one of the Laity for another And was he such a person in all these respects so amiable so accomplished what cause have we then with all seriousness to resent that sad Providence which hath made such a breach upon us How much have we lost in one Whittaker and shall we not be sensible of our loss yet withall how should we bless the Lord that ever we had him and that we enjoy'd him so long that though he be gone yet we have here left behind something of him And chiefly how should we endeavour to write after that fair Copy which he hath set us to follow him who was such a follower of Christ He lived Christ and therefore to him death was gain The good Lord grant we may all so live and so die Reader I 'll detain thee no longer only pray That all the Helps afforded to thee by the living by the dead may be blessed to the furtherance of thy salvation through the supplies of the Spirit I am whilest I am Thine in our Lord Jesus to serve thee Tho. Jacomb Jan. 27. 1672. The Texts of the Insuing Sermons 1 Tim. 1.16 The Pattern of Mercy Page 1 Col. 1.12 Meetness for the Inheritance in two Sermons p. 21 Isa 8.17 Waiting upon and looking for God p. 72 Tit. 2.10 Of Adorning the Gospel in six Sermons p. 105 Psal 18.46 Saints Admiring p. 206 1 Sam. 30.6 Their incouraging themselves in God p. 234 Psal 39.13 The life of Nature desirable in order to improving in spiritual strength p. 256 2 Tim. 2.19 Those that name the Name of God must depart from Iniquity p. 279 Rom. 8.38 39. Saint Paul's Triumph in four Sermons p. 299 Dr. Annesley's Sermon at Mr. Whittaker's Funeral on Zachariah 1.5 6. READER Pray mend with thy Pen these Errors in Printing directed to as underwritten and those others you meet with besides that mar the sense attribute it to the Carelesness of the Printers and not to the Transcriber much less Author Page 16. line 2. add cau p. 44. l. 28. for Ephes read Epistle p. 79. l. 23. r. Revelation 2 Chapter p. 112. l. 15. for must r. may p. 118. l. 22. for so r. no. p. 121. l. 22. r. to p. 121. l. last r. his poor p. 128. l. 13. for than r. that p. 144. l. 26. add thou l. 27. for and r. are p. 150. l. 32. r. Chapt. 5. v. 6 7. p. 290. l. 115. for that r. take p. 294. l. 7. r. in one word p. 342. l. 15. for ways r. wages p. 373. for sufficient r. Efficient SERMON I. The Text 1 Timothy 1.16 How be it for this cause I obtained Mercy that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all long suffering for a Pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting THE two great rocks which all the children of men are in danger of suffering the everlasting ship-wrack of their souls upon are presumption and despair And for presumption because of our natural pride self flattery high thoughts of our selves our carnal security and multitudes of other inbred distempers it is hard to escape it and it may be said of this that it hath slain it's ten thousands But for despondency multitudes of poor awakened souls who have escaped the danger of presumption have miscarried hereon From a deep sense of their sins and misery they have