The Christians Labor and Reward, Imprimatur – Errata
IMPRIMATUR, Robert Grove.
THE CHRISTIANS Labour and Reward; OR, A SERMON, Part of which was Preached at the Funeral of the Right Honourable the Lady Mary Vere, Relict of Sir Horace Vere, Baron of Tilbury, on the 10th of January, 1671. At Caſtle Heviningham in Eſſex.
The memory of the Juſt is Bleſſed, Prov. 10.7.
By humility and the fear of the Lord, are Riches, Honour, and Life, Prov. 22. ver. 14.
By William Gurnall, M. A. of Emman. Coll. now Paſtor of Lavenham, Suffolk.
Nobilis genere, ſed multo nobilior Sanctitate, Hieron. Epitaph Paulae Matris, Ep. 27.
LONDON, printed by J. M. for Ralph Smith, at the Bible under the Piazzo of the Royal Exchange in Cornhill. 1672.
TO THE Right Honourable Lady ELIZABETH, Counteſs Dowager of Clare.
MADAM,
IT was a very merciful Providence, which brought your Honour to your dear Mothers aſſiſtance, in her dying ſickneſs; by which, as you had the pleaſure of recreating her Spirit with your preſence, and of giving an high Demonſtration of your Piety to her, in her low and weak ſtate of body (a vertue of great price with God, and remarkably rewarded by him, even in this life) So alſo the happineſs of being an eye witneſs to her Chriſtian Deportment, in her ſharpeſt Pains and Agonies; how her Faith and Patience triumphed over them all; which, no doubt, did much ſweeten the ſorrow, that her outward diſtreſs, inflicted upon your tender Heart. And, indeed, it is no wonder ſo holy a Life, ſhould have ſo Happy an end. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is Peace. This Pretious Saint had made her Bed, before ſhe was to lye down on it. Long had ſhe been gathering theſe Spices (Graces I mean) for her dying Neſt; in the ſweet Odours of which, ſhe at laſt ſo Holily, and Peaceably, breathed forth her Gracious Soul, into the Arms of her beloved Saviour. And, now Madam, ſeeing God hath determined your Will, by declaring his, it will highly become your Honour to bear her Deceaſe,Non Maeremus quòd talem amiſimus, ſed gratias agimus, quòd habuimus, imò habemus Deo enim vivunt omnia, & quicquid revertitur ad Dominum, in familiae numero computatur. Epiſt. 27. Epitaph Paulae Matris. as Saint Hierom did the death of the Noble Paula, whom he ſo much honoured for her Piety. Not by Mourning you have loſt, but by Praiſing God you had ſo Pretious a Saint to be your Mother; and that you had her ſo long, even to live to ſee, and give her Bleſſing to your Childrens Children, before her departure; yea, that you have her ſtill. Is there no way to have our Friends, unleſs we have them in our ſight? She is not loſt, that ſtill lives. Her death was the end of her Mortality, but there is no end of her Life. In her Spirit, ſhe lives in Heaven with God, to whom ſhe lived on Earth. In her good Name, ſhe lives with all that knew her, or heard of her admirable Piety. This like an after beam of the Sun-ſett, followed her, to her bed of the Grave, and ſtill ſhines to her Honour. The memory of the juſt is bleſſed, though the name of the wicked rots, even while it is remembred; as the name of Pilate doth in the Creed, to his reproach and curſe. And as to her Vertues, ſhe lives in your ſelf, and in as many other of her Noble Deſcendants, as imitate her Piety. It joyed this Bleſſed Saint while alive, that ſhe ſhould leave her ſurviving Children, and ſo many of her Grand-Children, walking in the Truth. And if an Heathen took ſuch high content, that the Honour which he arrived to, befel him, while his Parents were yet living; whereby they had a pleaſure in ſeeing his happineſs; How much more may it comfort the Pious Relations of this Saint, that this their Pretious Parent, had the joy of ſeeing them ennobled with Divine Grace, and ſo in their way to Heaven, before her ſelf went thither. I am ſure, it hath been an Heart-breaking-ſorrow to ſome Children, that they converted not to God, before their Godly Parents bodies, were converted into Duſt; and thereby cauſe them to go ſighing with ſorrow to their Graves; who, might they but firſt have ſeen them reclaimed, would have gone down to them ſinging for joy. It is a bleſsed ſight, to behold Children, eſpecially of Noble Perſons, imitating their Godly Parents Graces. God is no reſpecter of Perſons, Minimè quidem Deus eſt acceptor perſonarum: Neſcio tamenquo pacto, virtus in Nobili plus placet; An fortè quia plus claret? Epiſt. CXIII. ad Sophiam virginem.yet ſaith Saint Bernard, I know not how it comes to paſs, that Vertue in a Noble Perſon, doth more pleaſe; Is it not haply, becauſe it is more conſpicuous? and ſo more attractive. This Conſideration made me more readily obey your Honours commands, in publiſhing theſe mean Papers; hoping that this great Example of Piety, in ſo Noble a Lady, together, with the Honour that attended her to the Grave for it, may cauſe ſome of high Birth, a little more, to conſider their great miſtake, in thinking to overtake Honour in the dirty paths of Prophaneneſs and Irreligion; and ſo be moved, at laſt, to change their way, and turn into this clean road of Piety; wherein this good Lady walking, lived with ſo much eſteem, and dyed ſo wonderfully lamented. The character, that I have here given of her, is True, but not full; nay, far ſhort of her worth. Her Graces were of ſo high a ſtrain, that I may truly ſay,Quid in illâ virtutum, quid ingenii, quid ſanctitatis, quid puritatis invenerim; vereor dicere, ne fidem credulitatis excedam. Hieron. Ep. 16. ad Princip. Virg. what Saint Jerome did, concerning his commending Marcella, a Noble Roman Lady. I was afraid to ſpeak all I knew of her Wiſdom, Sanctity, Charity, and other Excellencies, leſt I ſhould ſeem to exceed the belief of ſome; thoſe, I mean, who knew her not; for as any were more, and longer acquainted with her, ſo their eſtimate of her advanced higher. And muſt not that Piece be admirably well drawn, which is moſt commended by thoſe (if able to judge) that ſtand neareſt, and look longeſt on it? And none, I think, will deny, that famous light of his Age, Biſhop Uſher, to have been as able to judge in this caſe, as any other; and what an high eſteem he had of this Lady, and her Noble Lord and Husband alſo, appears, from a Letter written by him, to her, Forty years ago, in which there is this paſſage.This Letter was writ, An. Dom. 1628. The thing that I have moſt admired in your Noble Lord, is, that ſuch lowlineſs of mind, and ſuch an high pitch of a brave Spirit, ſhould be yoaked together, and lodged in one Breaſt. And on the other ſide, when I reflect upon you; methinks, I underſtand that ſaying of the Apoſtle better, than I did. That as the man is the Image and Glory of God, ſo the woman is the Glory of the Man. And to your comfort, let me add this, That if I have any inſight in things of this Nature, or have any judgment to diſcern of Spirits; I have clearly beheld engraven in your Soul, the Image and Superſcription of my God. Thus wrote this Excellent Perſon, whoſe admirable judgment, may keep any ſober Perſon from thinking him in this high character, guilty of raſhneſs and light credulity; and his known integrity is enough to free him from all ſuſpicion of abuſing his Pen to any ſervile flattery. And they, who knew the lowly Spirit of this good Lady, and how ready ſhe was to be dejected from an over deep ſence of her unworthineſs, will find reaſon to believe, that this Man of God, gave this Teſtimony of her, to her, as a Cordial to revive her Humble Spirit; and therefore brings it in with, And this to your comfort I add. But I am too troubleſom, I fear, to your Honour; my hearty Prayers are, that as you have begun, ſo you may go on in living your Mothers Holy Life; and that then yon may, in a good Old Age, dye her happy death, with much Peace and Honour. And that ſo long, as you ſhall have a Poſterity live on Earth, your good Mother may never be Dead; but may from Generation, to Generation, have thoſe deſcending from her, that will keep her Name, and Pretious Example alive, by a due Veneration of the one, and Pious imitation of the other.
Madam, I am your Honours moſt Humble Servant, W. GƲRNALL. Evenham, March 13. 1671.
ERRATA.
PAge 51. Line 25. read Bewrayed. pag. 87 l. 2O. r. on. p. 97. l. 22. r. ſloughs. p. 110 l. 11. r. Sin.