The Art of Building Comfort, Prefatory letter – Table of contents
TO THE DISCONSOLATE AND SORROWFVLL FRIENDS OF IANE GILBERT DECEASED: WILLIAM GILBERT WISHETH TRVE COMFORT OVT OF GODS WORD.
IN this Caſe, that of the Pſalmiſt is the Pinacle of Comfort, to be placed on the top of this Building, aPſal. 112. 6.The Righteous ſhall be had in everlaſting Remembrance. The Righteous; Such a One was this our Siſter and my Wife, One clothed with the Roabe of Righteouſneſſe, which was woven out of Chriſts ſide, adorned and embroidered with ſanctifying graces in her life and converſation. Is it not a Chriſtian Duty, that ſuch a One ſhould be had in Remembrance ſo farre as we can propagate her worth to Poſteritie? She did not ſeeke Fame by well doing to be remembred, but Fame comes unſought for: and Her well doing ſhall be remembred after Her death; for 'tis worth our obſervation that David ſets it not down in the preſent time, (are) but in the future, (ſhall be had in remembrance.) What though the Righteous in their life time are little thought of, except to be ill ſpoken of? yet Time the Mother of Truth ſhall bring all things to light, and cauſe the Righteous to be had in everlaſting Remembrance before God and his Angels, and the whole Theater of Righteous juſt Men. bSatis eſt coram Deo, & Angelis, totóque piorum theatro, benedictam eſse eorum Memoriam. Cal. in locum.The Fame of the Righteous buds forth when He is in the grave; then we may beſt ſpeak of the Mariner, when He is at his Haven: and praiſe the Captaine, when He hath got the Triumph: and ſet the Crowne of Praiſe upon this our Siſter, now She hath fought her long fight, and finiſhed her courſe with Ioy: who every day for many moneths before Her Death, did pray that Prayer, which is the laſt in the Handmaide to Devotion cWorthy Dr … Manual.and thus begins. Welcome bleſſed houre, the Period of my Pilgrimage: the End of my Cares: the Cloſe of my Sighes: the Bound of my travailes: the Goale of my race: the Heaven of my Hopes. Is She not worthy to be had in remembrance, who did give the houre of Death ſo good Entertainment, as ſo long before to bid it heartily welcome with ſo many ſweet Names; as End, Period, Cloſe, Bound, Goale, Heaven? What ſhall I ſay next for your Comfort, But this? the the better She was, the greater her Gaine for ever: and my loſſe for the preſent. Yet her Gaine waighes downe my loſſe; I confeſſe the loſſe of her enters deepe into my heart, and deeper it would goe; but that her Gaine cannot enter into the Heart of man to conceive it: her Gaine to the tongue of man, unſpeakable; but my loſſe is unvaluable onelyonly according to the Common waights of the World, becauſe She was of great Eſtimate, according to the very waight of the Sanctuary. My knowledge of it is now doubled, tàm carendo, quàm fruendo: for eleven yeares and halfe I enjoyed a rare Religious Piece of Gods making, and now God hath made up this his Iewell fit for His own Cabinet, 'tis moſt fit that I ſhould want it. And to my wants this is added, that I want words to tell others what I want. I want my Fellow-Helper, my Boſome-Comforter; my ſecond Heart, which did command my firſt Heart in a Religious way. 1. Her Faith was founded upon the Rocke, 1.Chriſt Ieſus: witneſſe Her every Dayes taske, which was to ſay by Heart, and in Her Heart, the eight chapter to the Romans; which chapter alone in it ſelfe is a compleat Confectionarie of ſpirituall Comfort beginning with, No condemnation Rom 8. verſ. firſt and laſt.to them that are in Chriſt Ieſus: and ending with, No Separation from the Love of God in Chriſt Ieſus. 2. Her Hope and Truſt was fixed upon Her God, witneſſe 2.that anſwer She gave me the laſt Day that She lived out in this World; Now what is my Hope? my Hope is in thee ô Lord d…39. 7.. There was in her an admirable mixture of Godly ſorrow for ſinne, and holy Ioy for that Sorrow, which Ioy I perceived to be back'd by her Hope, to get the upperhand: though S. Ierome ſummes up the devout ſoules private carriage with God in theſe words, Dolet, & de dolore gaudet. Surely 'twas her Practiſe to ſorrow after a godly manner, and to rejoyce for that Sorrow. 3. Her 3.love to man let all that knew her, ſpeak it; Her love to God, I judge it ſincere by the moſt cleare Expreſsions of it; She loved his houſe ſo dearely, that the large diſtance of her Habitation from Church (nigh a mile) was no Remora to keep her at home; the laſt Lords Day She lived, She was twice at Church. She prayed Conſtantly eight ſeverall times every Day; I knew it to be moſt true, who was neareſt to her, when ſhe drew neare to her Father in ſecret. She had by heart a diſtinct Prayer for every Evening and Morning in the ſeven dayes of the weeke, beſides other Prayers for other times. What a loving Miſtris She was to her ſervants, they would quickly ſpeak, if they could for crying. How tranſcendent her love was to me, her Husband? my tongue would faile, becauſe my heart is readie to faint for want of ſuch love, and faint it might, had not Gods Spirit brought to my remembrance how earneſtly on her Death-bed She deſired me not to grieve ſo immoderately for her, for we ſhould meete in Heaven: and 'tis my Hope that as we were Caro una on Earth, we ſhall be ſydus unum in Heaven eSydus is properly a Company of Starres together., of that one Holy Companie of Starres attending the Sun of Righteouſneſſe. And here I cannot but fixe my Contemplation on thoſe rayes of divine Beautie which ſhined in her ſoule, for She mightilie delighted to ſet before her Solomons Copie of a good wife, Prov. 31. They that knew her Prov. 31.may eaſily compare her life written according to that exact Copie: Sure I am, her Siſters child (whom She educated) can riſe up and call her bleſſed, Her Husband alſo praiſeth her, Prov. 31. verſ. 28. How? why thus in Solomons ſtyle, Favour is deceitfull and Beauty is vaine, but a Woman that feareth the Lord, She ſhall be praiſed, Verſ. 30. the Pronowne foreign foreign. She.Emphatically argues a Negation of any other Woman worthy to be praiſed, but She that feareth the Lord, She ſhall be praiſed: Ipſa, Trem. Ipſa, Mont.the garland of praiſe only to be ſet on her head. This is her Remuneration, therfore Solomons laſt verſ. ſhall be mine. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her owne workes praiſe her in the Gates: that is, in publique. This, This is the Woman, the Woman to whom I
Subſcribe: William Gilbert perdidit. Invenit, nullus ſuper teram. Recepit Deus in coelum.
TO THE SEEKER OF COMFORT, NOT READER ONLY.
MOST ſorry I am for the Occaſion fThe Death of my Wife.that induced me to Preach, and now moved me to Print; but the Providence of God being the Firſt Mover may not onelyonly command bounds to my Sorrow, Hither and no further; but alſo give me a licence as to Preach, ſo to Print it, both for the Commemoration of the Dead, and Conſolation of the Living. What though I lye open to ſome Exceptions? I had rather doe it in this partlcular, then not doe all the Right I can to the Dead: and wiſh all true Comfort to the Living; who ſhall read this Art of Building Comfort, not to cenſure one another; but to Comfort one another, according to this Apoſtolicall Exhortation, which is my Text, 1 Theſ. 4. 18. 1 Theſ. 4. 18.Wherefore Comfort one another with theſe words: which if thou doſt, I am
Thine, in Chriſt the Fountaine of Comfort: William Gilbert.
A GENERALL REPRESENTATION OF THE Method of this Manuell aScarce halfe a handfull: but with Gods bleſſing it may be a whole Heart-full of Comfort., or rather Cordiall of Comfort, containing the Ingredients of Five Sermons.
1. THe Accommodation of the Text to the Times calling for comfort p. 1. 3. 2. 4. 5
2. The Diviſion following the Metaphore of Building in the eight Parts of it p. 6.
1. The Specificall Difference of this from other Buildings p. 7. 8.
2. The Neceſsity of this Building in a Chriſtian Common-wealth p. 9. 10. 11. 12.
3. Perſwaſives inducing to goe about this Building, and to ſtudie this Art of Divine Comfort p. 13. 14.
4. Diſſwaſives from the Neglect of going forward with it p. 15.
5. The Materialls of this Building: Theſe words, in the Text.
1. In a particular Relation to S. Pauls former Doctrine p. 16. 17, 18. 19.
2. In a generall Relation to Gods Word p. 20. 21. 22. 23.
6. The Habituall Ability to make good uſe of this Art of Comforting p. 24. 25.
7. The Actuall Abilitie to make good uſe of it, in the Platforme of Comfort ſet up according to the exact Rule of Gods Word p. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30.
8. The Strength and Duration of this Building where yee ſhall ſee p. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35.
1. The Contignation and Knitting of the Building of Comfort by five Attributes of God
Wiſdome. p. 36.
Power. p. 37.
Iuſtice. p. 38.
Mercy. ibid.
Truth. p. 39.
2. The Buttereſſes of the Building ſet up by three Duties of man.
1. Submiſsion to Gods Will. p. 40.
2. Right Reaſon ſanctified. p. 41.
3. Prayer for ſtrength and Continuance of Comfort. p. 42. &c.