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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	word_n	work_n	year_n	708	4	4.3046	3	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A79898	A Looking-glass for good women to dress themselves by: held forth in the life & death of Mrs. Katherine Clarke, who dyed, Anno Christi, 1675. Late wife of Mr. Samuel Clarke, minister.	Clarke, Samuel, 1599-1682.	1677 (1677)	Wing C4540A; ESTC R223051	22,206	99

A Looking-Glass FOR GOOD WOMEN TO Dress themselves by Held forth in the LIFE DEATH OF M rs Katherine Clarke WHO Dyed Anno Christi 1675. Late Wife of Mr. Samuel Clarke Minister LONDON Printed for William Miller at the Gilded Acorn in St. Paul's Church-yard over against the little North Door 1677. THE LIFE and DEATH OF M rs Katherine Clarke WHO Died Anno Christi 1675. KAtherine Overton for so was her Virgin Name was born at Bedworth in the County of Warwick Her Parentage and Birth four miles from Coventry February the Twenty fifth Anno Christi 1602. of Godly and Religious Parents Her Father was Mr. Valentine Overton Rector of Bedworth where he lived a constant and painful Preacher of Gods Holy Word till he was almost Eighty two years old Her Mother was Mrs. Isaverton a gracious Woman and an excellent Huswife who took off the whole burden of Family affairs both within and without Doors from her Husband that he might with the more freedom attend his Holy Calling Her Education Our Katherine was by these her Parents brought up Religiously and it pleased God betimes to plant the Seeds of Grace in her Heart which first discovered themselves Early working of Grace when she was about fifteen years Old At which time God was pleased to discover unto her the corruption of her nature and some common miscarriages which are incident unto youth And these made such a deep impression upon her tender years that whereas she was naturally of a cheerful Sanguine Constitution she now became serious and somewhat Melancholy Her Temptations And support Hereupon Satan that Old Serpent and Enemy to our Souls assaulted her with many and various Temptations whereby he sought to quench these Heavenly Sparks to stifle this New Creature in its first Conception But by frequent reading the sacred Scriptures diligent attending to the Word Preached and secret Prayer it pleased the All-Wise God to support and strengthen her against him and all his Devices Yet did these conflicts continue the longer because she had none to whom she durst unbosome herself and make her Case known When she was about seventeen years old More Troubles she was by her Parents sent to Siwel in Northampton-shire to wait upon a young Lady that was somewhat Related to her Yet this kind of life was so tedious and irksom to her that at the end of Six Months she prevailed with her Parents to send for her home again Her return home Hear the Narrative of it in her own Word as they were found Written in her Cabinet after her Decease Her own acco●●● of her Conversion When saith she I was but young my Father being at Prayers in his Family I many times found such sweetness and was so affected therewith that I could not but wish that my Heart might oftner be in such a frame But Childhood and the Vanities thereof soon cooled these Heavenly Sparks But my Father caused me to write Sermons and to repeat the same As also to learn Mr. Perkins his Catechism which I oft repeated to my self when I was alone And therein especially I took notice of those places wherein he had set down the Signs and Marks of a strong and weak Faith being convinced in my Conscience that without Faith I could not be saved And that every Faith would not serve turn to bring me to Heaven Hereupon I fell to Examination of my self and though I could not find the Marks of a Strong yet through Gods Mercy I found the Marks of a true though but weak Faith which was some Comfort and support to me And that God which began this good work in me was pleased to quicken and stir me up to a diligent use of such means as himself had ordained and appointed for the encrease thereof As Hearing the Word Preached Receiving the Sacrament of the Lords Supper and use of other private Duties But when I was about seventeen years old my Parents sent me to wait upon a young Gentlewoman in Northamptonshire the only Daughter of Sr. W.W. At which time being sent so far from my neer and dear Relations and meeting with some other discouragements in the Family through want of the means of Grace which I formerly enjoyed I grew very Melancholy I began also to have great workings of Conscience in me and Satan that deadly Enemy to the health and welfare of our Souls who like a Roaring Lyon walks about continually seeking whom he may devour took his advantage through my Ignorance of his devices to raise up fears doubts and terrors of Conscience in me by reason of my manifold Sins and for walking so unworthy Gods Mercies whilst I did enjoy them and for being so unfruitful under the means of Grace and so unable to obey God and to keep his Commadments And by reason hereof I had no Peace nor rest in my Soul Night nor Day but was perswaded that all the threatnings contained in the Book of God against Wicked and Ungodly men did belong unto me and were my Portion as being one of them against whom they were denounced Insomuch as when I took up the Bible to read therein it was accompanied with much fear and trembling Yet being convinced that it was my Duty frequently to read Gods Word I durst not omit or neglect it Thus I continued a great while bearing the burden of grievous Temptations and inward Afflctions of Conscience yet durst I not open the wound nor reveal my condition to any as thinking and judging my condition and case to be like no Bodies else But God who is rich and infinite in Mercy and Jesus Christ who bought his Elect at so dear a rate would not suffer any of his to be lost and therefore he was graciously pleased to preserve strengthen and uphold me by his own power from sinking into Hell through Despair and from running out of my Wits Thus by reason of my continual grief and anguish of Heart Night and Day I was so weakned and changed within the compass of these six Months that when I came home my Dear Parents they scarce knew me Her growth i● Grace Some years after her return she for the most part continued in her Fathers Family where by a diligent and consciencious use of the means both publick and private she did thrive and grow in Grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as she increased and grew in Dayes and Years and therewith also learned and exercised all parts of Huswifry which might fit her for the Government of a Family wen God should call her thereunto Her Marriage February 2 Anno Christi 1625. Which was the same Day on which K. Charles the first was Crowned she was with the consent of Parents on both sides married to Mr. Sa. Clarke who at that time was Minister at Shotwick four miles beyond West-Chester who looked upon this Match as the greatest outward temporal Blessing that ever

God are without Repentance Rom. 11.29 These Texts of Scripture having been as so many Cordials unto her in Times of Temptation it is hoped that they may prove so to others and therefore for their sakes they are here set down And hereby it appears that she was not without some shakings but through Gods Mercy they were such as made her root the faster And by her prudent and seasonable holding forth the Shield of Faith and the Sword of the Spirit she became more than a Conquerour through him that had loved her In another little Book which was found after her Death she gives this account of herself and of Gods gracious dealing with her From the beginning writes she of Gods shewing me Mercy in my Conversion I here set down Gods gracious dealings with me Her Conversion not for mine own Praise but for the Glory of God and to stir up my Heart unto true Thankfulness for such invaluable Mercies And then she set down the time manner and means of her Conversion And afterwards proceeds thus What have been my Experiences of Gods gracious dealings with me at several times under Afflictions As First when Personal Afflictions have lain upon me in regard of Bodily Sickness or Spiritual Distempers Secondly Or Family Afflictions when God hath taken away my dear Children Thirdly Or when I have been under fears that God would take away my dear Husband by some dangerous Sickness which he lay under Fourthly Or when I have been under great fears in the time of our Civil Wars Fifthly Or when I have been under spiritual Desertion by Gods hiding his Face and Favour from me Or by reason of weakness and wants in Grace Or by reason of strong and prevailing Corruptions Or by reason of Satans Temptations In all which Cases she left a memorial of Gods gracious dispensations towards her I shall set down only a few of them It pleased God saith she for many years to keep me for the most part in a sad and disconsolate estate and condition not cleerly Evidencing the certain Assurance of his Love to my Soul So that many times I questioned whether I was a Child of God or no Whether I had part in Christ Jesus or no Whether I should ever attain to Life and Salvation or no And this made me walk with a drooping and disconsolate Spirit so that I could take no true comfort in any thing But though heaviness endured for a Night Yet joy came in the Morning when the Lord caused the Light of his Countenance to shine upon me which was better then Life It pleased God upon the Death of my youngest Child that it lay very heavy upon my Spirit insomuch as I was brought oft upon my Knees to beg support from God and to crave his Grace and assistance that I might not break out to speak or act any thing whereby Gods Name might be dishonoured or the Gospel discredited And that he would be pleased to make up this outward loss with some more durable and spiritual Comforts And I found a seasonable gracious and speedy answer to these my Requests For though I lay long under the burden of that loss yet in this time did the Lord sweetly manifest his special Love to my Soul assuring me that he was my gracious and reconciled Father in Christ whereby my Love to him was much encreased and even inflamed So that by his Grace it wrought in me more diligence and carefulness to maintain and preserve these Evidences of his Love and to yield a holy submission unto his Will as well in suffering as in doing As also by avoiding whatsoever might provoke him to withdraw the Evidences of his Love from me without the sense whereof I could take little or no comfort in any thing And furthermore I bless God for it and speak it to the Praise and Glory of his Rich and Free Grace My Prayers and earnest Desires have been answered by Gods giving me comfortable Assurance both from the Testimony of his Holy Word and the witness of his Blessed Spirit of my Eternal and Everlasting Salvation in and by Jesus Christ Yet have I not been without fears and doubtings many times through want of looking over my Evidences or by neglecting to keep a narrow watch over my Heart Or from weakness of my Faith and all through my own default and negligence The Lord pardon it and make me more circumspect for the time to come By all these I have gained this Experience First That God is true and faithful in making good all his Promises seasonably unto us As That all things shall work together for our Good And that God will never fail us nor forsake us c. Secondly That it is not in vain to wait upon God and to seek unto him in our Straits who is mote ready to hear then we are to ask Thirdly That I desire to see Yea and the Lord hath shewed me the vanity and incertainty of the most satisfying Comforts that this World can afford and what an emptiness there is in them that so I may and I desire so to do keep weaned affections towards them and to sit loose from them that I may be ready to part with them when God calls them from me or me from them Again in regard of Bodily weakness and Sickness my Experiences have been these First That as a broken Shoulder can bear no Burden So the least Distemper when the Heart is not in an holy frame and temper is a burden insupportable If God hides his Face from us and withdraws the Evidences of his Love and denies to assist us by his strength we can neither do nor suffer any thing And on the Contrary I found by Experience that I could with much cheerfulness holy submission and willingness bear great Distempers when I enjoyed the favour of God in them So that then I could readily say Good is the work of the Lord as well as his Word And I will bear the Indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him Mich. 7.9 And Though he slay me yet will I trust in him Job 13.15 Secondly I found by experience also that by my pains and Sickness I was the better able to Sympathize with and to pitty and pray for others in the like Case Thirdly Hereby I learned the more to prize Health And that First Because in Health we have liberty and opportunity to enjoy the Publick Ordinances with others of Gods People whereby the Graces of Gods People are quickned strengthened and encreased in us which otherwise by reason of our corrupt natures are apt to grow cold and languish as will our Bodies when they want food Secondly Because in Health we injoy the benefit and the comfort of sweet and quiet sleep which much refreshes and cheers and which commonly we want in Sickness Thirdly Because in Health we find sweet satisfying comfort in the use of Gods good Creatures whereas in Sickness the daintiest Food is lothsom and