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A56121 A sermon at the funeral of the learned and ingenious Mrs. Ann Baynard daughter and only child of Dr. Edward Baynard, Fellow of the Colledge of Physicians, London. Together with some remarkable passages in her life. Preached at the parish-church of Barnes in the county of Surry, June the 16th. 1697. By John Prude, A.M. chaplain to his Grace the Duke of Norfolk, and curate of St. Clements Danes in the county of Middlesex. Published at the desire of her friends. Prude, John. 1697 (1697) Wing P3881; ESTC R218353 15,546 40

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that know us So that no Ointment is so powerful to preserve the Body from Corruption as a good Name and Report is to preserve our Vertue from Oblivion but this is only for some time and is the Prerogative only of one sort of Wisdom which seeking those things which are above has the least to do with the Praise and Glory of this World and yet notwithstanding gets the greatest and the most lasting share of it Thus the Psalmist tells us that the righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance meaning thereby a very long one Our Saviour gave this Commendation of Mary Magdalen's anointing him that what she had done should be published throughout the Christian World for a memorial of her And St. Paul setting forth the Eulogies of Faith in the 11th Chapter to the Hebrews amongst the rest delivers that by it the Elders obtained a good report and we have great reason to hope that those Men who have their Praises recorded in Holy Writ shall have a name among Men as long as the Sun and Moon endureth But as I was saying this is the Priviledge only of a few and is as an Exception to the general Rule 'T is not the greatness of our Actions but the goodness of them that preserves our Memories the longest Let us otherwise do what we can to transmit our name to distant Posterities use all our Wit and Art spend the most costly Perfumes and precious Ointments for our embalming we may justly take up the rebuke which the Disciples of Christ though unjustly gave to the Woman in the Gospel Quorsum perditio haec To what purpose is this waste Mat. 26.8 to preserve a name from Stench and Putrifaction 'T is a sore vanity to be thus anxiously solicitous for the perpetuity of that which is but a shadow at best and must take its chance in the World as well as other things 'T is a vanity in a wise Man passionately to pursue that which is but of little worth tho' it were eternal and a greater to do so when 't is both insignificant and transitory too and yet this is a secret Desire more or less in every man of the World And thus we see That wise men also die and perish together as well as the ignorant and foolish and leave the Fruits of their Wisdom to be enjoyed by others And tho' thy think that their houses shall continue for ever and that they have called their Lands after their own names yet there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever The Vanity then that is here justly charged upon the coveting Vertue for the sake of Honour or the seeking Wisdom to raise an immortal name is very obviously unfolded by this Dilemma If I get my self a name in the World I shall be either sensible of it when I am dead or insensible If I am insensible of it what good can it be to me If I am insensible of it it must be either in a state of Misery or a state of Glory If I have any apprehensions of it in a state of Misery it will certainly prove an aggravation to the Worm that never dieth to be under the heavy Wrath of God for what the World is then applauding me for If I am in a state of Glory I cannot think the good opinion of Men can be any accession to the Happiness above The Praises of poor Mortals must certainly be swallowed up and disappear amidst the Eulogies and Acclamations of Saints and Angels The Consideration then of what has been said should teach us these two plain Lessons which are not only the dictates of Reason and confirmed by the wise Man's Experience but commanded by him who is wiser than Solomon 1st That we despise the Honour and Glory of this World However it was permitted to former Ages who had but weak and very imperfect Discoveries of a future state to seek a reward of Vertue in fame as well as other temporal goods yet to us who have life and immortality brought to light through the Gospel the great Command is deny thy self and fellow me Those who have professed under the Cross of Christ are to be crucified to the World and to have the World crucified unto them they are to renounce its Pomps and Vanities its Flatteries and Applauses their condition here is not to be in Greatness and Spendour but in Humility and Poverty of Spirit They are not to seek the Praises of Men but the Praise and Honour of the All-wise God For to seek the good opinion of others is inconsistent with the true sense of our own Unworthiness and to do good that we may be commended is to let go the Substance and pursue the Shadow Therefore the Son of God has strictly caution'd us not to do our works to be seen of Men and if our light is to shine before others 't is to enlighten them and not to be reflected on our selves in an over-weening Complacency And how reasonable is this Command to those who are to set their affections on things above who are in this World but as Pilgrims and Travellers in an Inn who tarry but a night The Hardships they meet with the Smallness of the stay will not certainly make them very curious what the People will say of them when they are gone 2dly This will teach us to make the best use of our Reason and Understanding which is not to get our selves a name but to answer the End and Excellency of our Being The Faculties and Powers God has endowed us with are best employ'd about the knowledge of our selves what we are from whence we derived our Being what Duty we owe the Author of it and how we are to promote his Glory This is the Conclusion of the whole matter That the fear of God is the highest and truest Wisdom and that which will certainly lead us into all other Let us therefore never think our selves wise till we are wise unto Salvation never think we know any thing before we know we have a part in Christ In our searches after Knowledge let us have recourse to him who is the God of Truth to his Word which is the Word of Truth and to his Spirit which is the Spirit of Truth which is the only way to dispel our Darkness here and to bring us to the Beatifick Vision hereafter which is light eternal I have not spoke so much upon this Text as perhaps the subject matter might well enough bear because I have another sad Text laid before me and upon which it is very requisite that I should speak something namely the sad Dispensation of Divine Providence in cuting off the strength and shortning the days of this excellent and rare Example of Wisdom and Mortality this young Gentlewoman whose Funerals we now celebrate and whom considering her great Parts and Endowments it is not meet to bury in silence For tho' we are foretold that the Memory of the wisest and