Meekness need no Laws or Canons to Rule by other than those of the Holy Scripture How forceable are right words Iob. 6. 25. 4. He was very strict and very serious in observing the Publick Fasts appointed by Authority and called them a delight He had seldom any one to assist him in carrying on the Duties of those Days but perform'd the Service of them himself alone He began at Nine of the Clock or quickly after and never stirred out of the Pulpit till about four in the Afternoon spending all that time in Praying and Expounding and Singing and Preaching to the admiration of all that heard him who were generally more on such days than usual And he was sometimes observed to be more warm and lively towards the latter end of the Duties of a Fast-day than at the beginning as if the Spirit were most willing and enlarged when the Flesh was most weak In all his Performances on Publick Fast-days he did hoc agere attend to that which was the proper work of the day every thing is beautiful in its Season His Prayers and pleadings with God on those days were especially for National Mercies and the pardon of National Sins How excellently did he order the Cause before God and fill his Mouth with Arguments in his large and particular Intercessions for the Land for the King the Government the Army the Navy the Church the French Protestants c. He was another Iacob a Wrestler an Israel a Prince with God Before a Fast-day he would be more than ordinarily inquisitive concerning the state of publick affairs as Nehemiah was Neh. 1. 2. that he might know the better how to order his Prayers and Preaching for on such a day he hath sometimes said as good say nothing as nothing to the purpose He made it his business on fast-Fast-days to shew People their Transgressions especially the House of Iacob their Sins 'T is most proper said he to Preach of Christ on Lord's days to Preach of Sin on fast-Fast-days and to Preach Duty on both He went over the third Chapter of the Revelation in the Fast Sermons of two Years Another Year he Preached over the particulars of that Charge Zeph. 3. 2. Hypocrisie in Hearers and Flattery in Preachers as he would sometimes say is bad at any time but it is especially abominable upon a day of Humiliation 5. He Preached a great many Lectures in the Country about some stated some occasional in supplying of which he was very indefatigable He hath sometimes Preached a Lecture ridden eight or nine Miles and Preached another and the next day two more To quicken himself to diligence he would often say our opportunities are passing away and we must work while it is day for the Night cometh Once having very wet and foul Weather to go through to Preach a Lecture he said he comforted himself with two Scriptures one was 2 Tim. 2. 3. Endure hardness as a good Soldier of Iesus Christ. The other because he exposed and hazarded his Health for which some blamed him was 2 Sam. 6. 21. It was before the Lord. He took all occasions in his Lectures a broad to possess the minds of People with sober and moderate Principles and to stir them up to the serious regard of those things wherein we are all agreed We are met here together said he once in an Exhortation with which he often began at his Lecture not because we think our selves better than others but because we desire to be better than we are He was very happy in the choice of his Subjects for his Week-day Lectures At one which was stated he Preached against Errors in general from Iam. 1. 16. Do not err my beloved Brethren particularly from divers other Scriptures he shewed that we must not Err concerning God and Christ and the Spirit concerning Sin and Repentance Faith and Good Works concerning God's Ordinances concerning Grace and Peace and Afflictions and Prosperity and the things of the Life to come At the Monthly Lectures at his own House he chose to Preach upon the Four last things Death and Iudgment Heaven and Hell in many particulars but commonly a new Text for every Sermon When he had in many Sermons finished the first of the Four one that us'd to hear him sometimes enquiring of his progress in his Subjects asked him if he had done with Death meaning that Subject concerning Death to which he pleasantly replied No I have not done with him yet I must have another turn with him and he will give me a Fall but I hope to have the Victory at last He would sometimes remove the Lectures in the Country from one place to another for the benefit of those that could not Travel Once having adjourned a Lecture to a new place he began it there with a Sermon on Acts 17. 6. These men that have turned the World upside down are come hither also in which he shew'd how false the Charge is as they meant it for Religion doth not disturb the Peace of Families or Societies doth not cause any disorder or unquietness c. And yet that in another sense there is a great Truth in it That when the Gospel comes in Power to any Soul it turns the World upside down in that Soul such is the Change it makes there All this he did gratis and without being burthensome to any nay he was best pleas'd when at the places where he Preached nothing was got for his Entertainment but he came home though some Miles Fasting as in other places it was a trouble to him to see his Friends careful about much serving tho' it was out of their respect to him Lastly As he was an excellent Preacher himself so he was an exemplary Hearer of the Word when others Preached though every way his Inferiours so reverent serious and attentive was he in hearing and so observant of what was spoken I have heard him tell that he knew one and I suppose it was as Paul knew a Man in Christ who could truly say to the Glory of God that for Forty Years he had never slept at a Sermon He was diligent also to improve what he heard afterwards by Meditation Repetition Prayer and Discourse and he was a very great Encourager of young Ministers that were humble and serious though their Abilities and Performances were but mean He hath noted in his Diary as that which affected him this saying of a godly Man a Hearer of his I find it easier to go six Miles to hear a Sermon than to spend one quarter of an Hour in Meditating and Praying over it in Secret as I should when I come home As to the Circumstances of his Family in these last nine Years of his Life they were somewhat different from what they had been but the same Candle of God which had shined upon his Tabernacle continued still to do so In the Years 1687 and 1688. he Married all his Five Children the three eldest in four Months time in the
Course according to the Order of the Subject and occasional Sermons according to the Scripture-order of the Texts so that he could readily turn to any of them And yet tho' afterwards he was removed to a place far enough distant from any of that Auditory yet though some have desired it he seldom preach'd any of those hundreds of Sermons which he had preach'd at Worthenbury no not when he preach'd never so privately but to the last he studied new Sermons and wrote them as elaborately as ever for he thought a Sermon best preach'd when it was newly meditated Nay if sometimes he had occasion to preach upon the same Text yet he would make and write the Sermons over and he never offered that to God which cost him nothing When he went to Oxford and preach'd there before the University in Christ-Church as he did several times his Labours were not only very acceptable but successful too particularly one Sermon which he preach'd there on Prov. 14. 9. Fools make a mock at sin for which Sermon a young Master of Arts came to his Chamber afterwards to return him thanks and to acknowledge the good Impressions which Divine Grace by that Sermon had made upon his Soul which he hoped he should never forget In his Diary he frequently records the frame of his Spirit in studying and preaching Sometimes blessing God for signal help vouchsafed and owning him the Lord God of all his Enlargements at other times complaining of great deadness and straitness It is a wonder saith he that I can speak of Eternal things with so little Sense of the reality of them Lord strengthen that which remains which is ready to die And he once writes thus upon a studying Day I forgot explicitly and expressly when I began to crave help from God and the Chariot Wheels drove accordingly Lord forgive my Omissions and keep me in the way of Duty As to the state of his Soul in these Years it should seem by his Diary that he was exercised with some Doubts and Fears concerning it I think saith he never did any poor Creature pass through such a mixture of Hope and Fear Ioy and Sadness Assurance and Doubting down and up as I have done these Years past The Notice of this may be of use to poor drooping Christians that they may know their Case is not singular and that if God for a small Moment hide his Face from them he deals with them no otherwise than as he useth sometimes to deal with the dearest of his Servants It would affect one to hear one that liv'd a Life of Communion with God complaining of great straitness in Prayer No Life at all in the Duty many Wandrings If my Prayers were written down and my vain Thoughts interlined What incoherent Nonsense would there be I am ashamed Lord I am ashamed O pitty and Pardon To hear him suspecting the workings of Pride of Heart when he gave an Account to a Friend who enquired of him touching the success of his Ministry and that he should record this concerning himself with this Ejaculation annexed The Lord pardon and subdue 'T was a sign that he kept a very watchful Eye upon the Motions of his own Heart To hear him charging it upon himself that he was present at such a Duty in the midst of many Distractions not tasting sweetness in it c. When a Fire is first kindled saith he there is a deal of Smoak and Smother that afterwards wears away so in young Converts much peevishness frowardness darkness So it hath been with my Soul and so it is yet in a great measure Lord pity and do not quench the smoaking Flax though as yet it do but smoak let these Sparks be blown up into a Flame Great Mercies but poor Returns signal Opportunities but small Improvements Such are his Complaints frequently concerning himself And though few or none excell'd him in profitable Discourse yet in that he often bewails his Barronness and Unprofitableness Little good done or gotten such a day for want of a Heart 't is my Sin and Shame O that I had Wings like a Dove Yet when he wanted a Faith of Assurance he liâ—…'d by a Faith of Adherence Such a Day saith he a full Resignation was made of all my Concernments into the Hands of my Heavenly Father let him deal with me as seemeth good in his Eyes I am learning and labouring to live by Faith Lord help my Unbelief Another time he notes that many perplexing Fears being upon his Spirit they were all silenced with that sweet Word which was seasonably brought to his remembrance Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer He very frequently kept Days of Fasting and Humiliation in secret which he calls his Days of Atonement Sometimes he observed these monthly and sometimes only upon special occasions but the Memorandums in his Diary not only while he was at Worthenbury but often after shew what sweet Communion he had with God in those solemn Duties which no Eye was Witness to but his who sees in secret and will reward openly Remember O my Soul such a Day as a Day of more then ordinary Engagements entred into and strong Resolutions taken up of closer Walking and more Watchfulness O my God undertake for me And upon another of those Days of secret Prayer and Humiliation he notes If sowing in Tears be so sweet what then will the Harvest be when I shall reap in Ioy Bless the Lord O my Soul who forgiveth all thine Iniquities and will in due time heal all thy Diseases CHAP. IV. His Marriage Family Family Religion and the Education of his Children His removed from Emeral to the House in Worthenbury which the Judge had built for him in February 1658 9 and then had one of his Sisters with him to keep his House No sooner had he a Tent but God had an Altar in it and that a smoaking Altar There he set up Repetition on Sabbath-Evenings and welcom'd his Neighbours to it His Christian Friends often and sometimes his Brethren in the Ministry kept Days of Fasting and Prayer at his House He us'd to tell People when they had built new Houses they must dedicate them referring to Deut. 20. 5. and Psal. 30. ult that is they must invite God to their Houses and devote them to his Service Providence having thus brought him into a House of his own soon after provided him a Help-meet for him After long Agitation and some Discouragement and Opposition from the Father Apr. 26. 1660. he Married Katherine the only Daughter and Heiress of Mr. Daniel Matthews of Broad-Oak in the Township of Iscoyd in Flint-shire but in the Parish of Malpâ—… which is in Cheshire and about two Miles distant from Whitchurch a considerable Market Town in Shropshire Mr. Matthews was a Gentleman of a very competent Estate such a one as King Iames the First us'd to say was the happiest Lot of all others which set a Man below the Office of
made Conscience and made a Business of Family-Worship in all the parts of it and in it he was uniform steddy and constant from the time that he was first called to the Charge of a Family to his dying Day and according to his own Practice be tooâ—… all occasions to press it upon others His Doctrine once from Iosh. 24. 15. was That Family-Worship iâ—… family-Family-Duty He would say sometimes if the Worship of God be not in the House write Lord have Mercy on us upon the Door for there is a Plague a Curse in it It is the Judgment of Arch-Bishop Tillotson in that excellent Book which he Published a little before his Death upon this Subjecct That constant Family Worship is so necessary to keep alive a sense of God and Religion in the Minds of Men that he sees not hoâ—… any Family that neglects it can in reason be esteemed a Family of Christians or indeed to have any Religion aâ—… all How earnestly would Mr. Henry reason with People sometimes about this Matter and tell them what a Blessing it would bring upon them and their Houses and all that they had He that makes his House a little Church shall find that God will make it a little Sanctuary It may be of use to give a particular Account of his Practise in this Matter because it was very Exemplary As to the Time of it his Rule was commonly the earlier the better both Morning and Evening in the Morning before Worldly Business crowned in early will I seek thee He that is the first should have the first nor is it fit that the Worship of God should stand by and wait while the Worlds turn is served And early in the Evening before the Children and Servants began to be sleepy and therefore if it might be he would have Prayer at Night before Supper that the Body might be the more fit to serve the Soul in that Service of God And indeed he did industriously contrive all the Circumstances of his Family-Worship so as to make it most solemn and most likely to answer the end He always made it the Business of every day and not as too many make it 〈◊〉 By-business This being his fixed Principle all other affairs must be sure to give way to this And he would tell those who objected against Family-Worship that they could not get time for it that if they would but put on Christian Resolution at first they would not find the Difficulty so great as they imagined but after a while their other Affairs would fall in easily and naturally with this especially where there is that Wisdom which is profitable to direct Nay they would find it to be a great preserver of Order and Decency in a Family and would be like a Hem to all their other Business to keep it from Ravelling He was ever careful to have all his Family present at Family-Worship though sometimes living in the Country he had a great Houshold yet he would have not only his Children and Sojourners if he had any and Domestick Servants but his Workmen and Day-Labourers and all that were employ'd for him if they were within call to be present to join with him in this Service and as it was an act of his Charity many times to set them to work for him so to that he added this act of Piety to set them to work for God And usually when he paid his Workmen their Wages he gave them some good Counsel about their Souls Yet if any that should come to Family-Worship were â—…t a distance and must be staid for long he would rather want them than put the Duty much out of time and would sometimes say at a Night Better one away than all sleepy The Performances of his Family-Worship were the same Morning and Evening He observed that under the Law the Morning and the Evening Lamb had the same Meat-offering and Drink-offering Exod. 29. 38 41. He always began with a short but very solemn Prayer imploring the Divine Presence and Grace Assistance and Acceptance particularly beging a Blessing upon the word to be read in reference to which he often put up this Petition That the same Spirit that indited the Scripture would enable us to understand the Scripture and to make up something to our selves out of it that may do us good And esteeming the Word of God as his necessary Food he would sometimes pray in a Morning that our Souls might have a good Meal out of it He commonly concluded even this short Prayer as he did also his Blessings before and after Meat with a Doxology as Paul upon all occasions To him be Glory c. which is properly Adoration and is an Essential part of Prayer He next sung a Psalm and commonly he sung David's Psalms in order throughout sometimes using the old Translation but generally Mr. Barton's and his usual way was to sing a whole Psalm throughout thô perhaps a long one and to sing quick yet with a good variety of proper and pleasant Tunes and that he might do so usually the Psalm was sung without reading the Line betwixt every one in the Family having a Book which he preferred much before the common way of Singing where it might conveniently be done as more agreeable to the Practise of the Primitive Church and the Reformed Churches abroad and by this means he thought the Duty more likely to be performed in the Spirit and with the Understanding the Sense being not so broken nor the affections interrupted as in reading the Line betwixt He would say that a Scripture Ground for singing Psalms in Families might be taken from Psal. 118. 15. The voice of Rejoycing and of Salvation is in the Tabernacles of the Righteous and that it is a way to hold forth Godliness like Rahab's Scarlet Thread Iosh. 2. 17. to such as pass by our Windows He next read a Portion of Scripture taking the Bible in order and would sometimes blame those who only pray in their Families and do not read the Scripture In Prayer we speak to God by the Word he speaks to us and is there any reason saith he that we should speak all In the Tabernacle the Priests were every day to burn Incense and to light the Lamps the former Figuring the Duty of Prayer the latter the Duty of reading the Word Sometimes he would say those do well that Pray Morning and Evening in their Families those do better that pray and read the Scriptures but those do best of all that pray and read and sing Psalms and Christians should covet earnestly the best Gifts He advised the reading of the Scripture in order for though one Star in the Firmament of the Scripture differ from another Star in Glory yet wherever God hath a Mouth to speak we should have an Ear to hear and the diligent searcher may find much excellent Matter in those parts of Scripture which we are sometimes tempted to think might have been spar'd How affectionately
last Clause of the Act which when the Gentlemen perceived they discharged him from that Office before he had served out the Time He was much affected with it that the Burning of London happned so soon after the Nonconformists were banished out of it He thought it was in Mercy to them that they were removed before that desolating judgment came but that it spoke aloud to our Governours Let my People go that they may serve me and if ye will not behold thus and thus will I do unto you This was the Lord's voice crying in the City In the Beginning of the Year 1667. he removed with his Family to Whitchurch and dwelt there above a Year except that for one quarter of a Year about harvest he returned again to Broad-Oak His Remove to Whitchurch was partly to quiet his Adversaries who were ready to quarrel with him upon the five Mile Act and partly for the benefit of the School there for his Children There in Apr. following he buried his eldest Son not quite six Years old a child of extraordinary praegnancy and forwardness in learning and of a very towardly disposition his Character of this Child is Praeterquam aetatem nil puerile fuit This Child before he was seized with the Sickness whereof he died was much affected with some Verses which he met with in Mr. Whites Power of Godliness said to be found in the Pocket of a hopeful young Man who died before he was twenty four Years old Of his own accord he got them without Book and would be often rehearsing them they were these Not twice twelve Years he might say Not half twelve years full told a wearied Breath I have exchanged for a happy Death Short was my Life the longer is my Rest God takes them soonest whom he loveth best He that is born to day and die's to morrow Loses some hours of joy but months of sorrow Other Diseases often come to grieve us Death Strikes but once and that Stroak doth relieve us This was a great Affliction to the render Parents Mr. Henry writes upon it in the reflection Quicquid amas oupias non placuisse nimis Many Years after he said he thought he did apply to himself at that Time but too sensibly that Scripture Lam. 3. 1. I am the Man that hath seen affliction And he would say to his Friends upon such occasions Loosers think they may have leave to speak but they must have a care what they say lest speaking amiss to God's dishonour they make work for Repentance and shed tears that must be wipt over again He observed concerning this child that he had always been very patient under rebukes The remembrance of which saith he teacheth me now how to carry it under the rebuke's of my heavenly Father His Prayer under this Providence was shew me Lord shew me wherefore thou contendest with me have I over-boasted overlov'd over-priz'd A Lord's Day intervening between the Death and burial of the Child I attended saith he on publick Ordinances though sad in Spirit as Job who after all the evil Tidings that were brought him whereof Death of Children was the last and heaviest yet fell down and worshipped And he would often say upon such occasions that weeping must not hinder sowing Upon the Interment of the Child he writes My dear Child now mine no longer was laid in the cold Earth not lost but sown to be raised again a glorious Body and I shall go to him but he shall not return to me A few days after his dear Friend Mr. Lawrence then living in Whitchurch Parish Buried a Daughter that was grown up and very hopeful and giving good Evidence of a work of Grace wrought upon her Soul how willing saith he may Parents be to part with such when the Lord calls they are not amissi but praemissi And he hath this further Remark The Lord hath made his poor Servants that have been often Companions in his Work now companions in Tribulation the very same Tribulation me for my Sin him for his Trial. While he liv'd at Whitchurch he attended constantly upon the publick Ministry and there as ever he was careful to come to the beginning of the Service which he attended upon with Reverence and Devotion standing all the time even while the Chapters were read In the Evening of the Lord's day he spent some time in instructing his Family to which a few of his Friends and Neighbours in the Town would sometimes come in and it was a little gleam of opportunity but very short for as he Notes He was offended at it who should rather have rejoyced if by any means the Work might be carried on in his Peoples Souls He observes in his Diary this Year how zealous People had generally been for the Observation of Lent a while ago and how cold they are towards it now The same he Notes of Processions in Ascention Week for saith he what hath no good Foundation will not hold up long but in that which is Duty and of God it is good to be zealously affected always In this Year I think was the first time that he Administred the Lord's Supper very privately to be sure after he was Silenced by the Act of Uniformity and he did not do it without mature Deliberation A fear of Separation kept him from it so long what induced him to it at last I find thus under his own Hand I am a Minister of Christ and as such I am obliged Virtute Officii by all means to endeavour the good of Souls Now here 's a company of serious Christians whose Lot is cast to live in a Parish where there is one set over them who Preacheth the Truth and they come to hear him and join with him in other parts of Worship only as to the Lord's Supper they scruple the lawfulness of the Gesture of Kneeling and he tells them his hands are tyed and he cannot administer it unto them any other way wherefore they come to me and tell me they earnestly long for that Ordinance and there is a competent number of them and opportunity to partake and how dare I deny this Request of theirs without betraying my Ministerial Trâ—…st and incuring the Guilt of a grievous Omission In February 1667 8. Mr. Laurence and he were invited by some of their Friends to Betley in Staffordshire and there being some little publick Connivance at that time with the Consent of all concerned they adventured to Preach in the Church one in the Morning and the other in the Afternoon of the Lords day very peaceably and profitably This Action of theirs was presently after Reported in the House of Commons by a Member of Parliament with these Additions That they tore the Common-Prayer Book trampled the Surplice under their Feet pull'd the Minister of the place out of the Pulpit c. Reports which there was not the least Colour for But that with some other such like false Stories produced an Address of the
first time he went thither after that Calamity a Neighbouring Justice having Notice of it sent to forbid him to Preach to his own Grief as well as to the Grief of many others who came expecting But saith he in his Diary there was a visible Sermon before us the Ruins Preaching that Sin is an evil thing and God a terrible God However a few days after he got an opportunity of Preaching to them a word in Season which some will not forget from Hos. 6. 1. Come and let us return unto the Lord for he hath torn And at the return of the Year when the Town was in the Rebuilding he gave them another very suitable Sermon from Prov. 3. 33. The Curse of the Lord is in the House of the wicked but he blesseth the Habitation of the just Though it be rising again saith he in his Diary out of its Ashes yet the burning of it should not be forgotten especially not the Sin that kindled it He oft pray'd for them that the Fire might be a Refining Fire In the Years 1677 1678 and 1679 in the Course of his Ministry at Broad-Oak he Preached over the Ten Commandments and largely open'd from other Texts of Scripture the Duties requir'd and Sins forbidden in each Commandment For thô none delighted more than he in Preaching Christ and Gospel-Grace yet he knew that Christ came not to destroy the Law and the Prophets but to fulfil and that though through Grace we are not under the Law as a Covenant yet we are under it as a Rule under the Law to Christ. He was very large and particular in pressing second Table Duties as essential to Christianity We have known those saith he that have called Preaching on such Subjects good Moral Preaching but let them call it as they will I am sure it is necessary and as much now as ever How earnestly would he press upon People the necessity of Righteousness and Honesty in their whole Conversations A good Christian he us'd to say will be a good Husband and a good Father and a good Master and a good Subject and a good Neighbour and so in other Relations How often would he urge to this purpose that it is the Will and Command of the Great God the Character of all the Citizens of Sion the Beauty and Ornament of our Christian Profession and the surest way to thrive and prosper in the World Honesty is the best Policy He would say that these are things in which the Children of this World are competent Iudges They that know not what belongs to Faith and Repentance and Prayer yet know what belongs to the making of an honest Bargain they are also Parties concern'd and oftentimes are themselves careful in these things and therefore those who profess Religion should walk very circumspectly that the Name of God and his Doctrine be not Blasphemed nor Religion wounded through their sides Thus he Preached and his constant Practise was a Comment upon it One thing I remember he was more than ordinarily enlarged in the pressing of which was upon the Ninth Commandment to speak evil of no Man from Tit. 3. 2. If we can say no good of Persons we must say nothing of them He gave it as a Rule Never to speak of any ones faults to others till we have first spoken of them to the Offender himself He was himself an eminent Example of this Rule Some that have Convers'd much with him have said That they never heard him speak evil of any Body nor could he bear to hear any spoken evil of but often drove away a Backbiting-tongue with an angry Countenance He was known to be as Faithful a Patron of Offenders before others as he was a Faithful Reprover of them to themselves Whenever he Preached of Moral Duties he would always have something of Christ in his Sermon either his Life as the great Pattern of the Duty or his Love as the great Motive to it or his Merit as making Atonement for the neglect of it In the Year 1680. he preached over the Doctrines of Faith and Repentance from several Texts of Scripture He us'd to say that he had been told concerning the famous Mr. Dod that some call'd him in scorn Faith and Repentance because he insisted so much upon those two in all his Preaching But saith he if this be to be vile I will be yet more vile for Faith and Repentance are all in all in Christianity Concerning Repentance he hath sometimes said If I were to dye in the Pulpit I would desire to dye Preaching Repentance as if I dye out of the Pulpit I would desire to dye practising Repentance And he had often this saying concerning Repentance He that Repents every day for the sins of every day when he comes to dye will have the sins but of one day to repent of Even Reckonings make long Friends That Year also and the Year 1681 he preached over the Duties of Hearing the Word and Prayer of the former from the Parable of the four sorts of Ground of the latter from Luke 11. 1 c. when he preached over the Lord's Prayer in above Thirty excellent and elaborate Discourses Helook'd upon the Lord's Prayer to be not only a Directory or Pattern for Prayet but according to the advice of the Assembly of Divines proper to be us'd as a Form and accordingly he often us'd it both in Publick and in his Family And as he thought 't was an Error on the one hand to lay so much stress upon it as some do who think no solâ—…mn Prayer accepted nor any solemn Ordinance or Administration of Worship compleat without it and so repeat it five or six times and perhaps oftner at one Meeting so he thought it an Error on the other hand not to use it at all since it is a Prayer a compendious comprehensive Prayer and may be of use to us at least as other Scripture Prayers but he thought it a much greater Error to be angry at those that do use it to judge and censure them and for no other reason to conceive Prejudices against them and their Ministry A great strait saith he poor Ministers are in when some will not hear them if they do not use the Lord's Prayer and others will not hear them if they do What is to be done in this case We must walk accord-to the Light we have and approve our selves to God either in using or not using it and wait for the day when God will mend the matter which I hope he will do in his own due time He was in the close of his Exposition of the Lord's Prayer when a dark Cloud was brought upon his Assemblies and he was necessitated to contract his Sails CHAP. VII The Rebukes he lay under at Broad Oalâ—… betwixt the Years 1680. and 1687. IN the beginning of the Year 1681. in April and May the Country was greatly afflicted and threatned by an extream Drought there was no Rain for several Weeks
AN ACCOUNT OF THE Life and Death OF Mr. Philip Henry Minister of the Gospel near Whitchurch in Shropshire Who Dy'd Iune 24. 1696 in the Sixty fifth Year of his Age. LONDON Printed for Tho. Parkhurst at the Bible and Three Crowns in Cheapside and Iohn Lawrence at the Angel in the Poultrey 1698. TO His much Honoured Friend Sir Henry Ashurst Baronet SIR THE Ministers of the Gospel are in the Scripture Language Stars in the right Hand of Christ to signifie their diffusive Light and beneficial Influences As in the future State of the Resurrection some Stars shall differ from others in Glory so in the present State of the Regeneration some Ministers are distinguish'd from others by a brighter Eminence in their Endowments and a more powerful Emanation of Light in their Preaching Of this Select Number was Mr. Philip Henry in whom there was Union of those real Excellencies of parts Learning and Divine Graces that signaliz'd him among his Brethren This does evidently appear in the Narrative of his Life drawn by one very fit to do it as having had intire knowledge of him by long and intimate Conversation and having by his Holy Instructions and the impression of his Example been made partaker of the same sanctifying Spirit The describing the External Actions of Saints without observing the Holy Principles and Affections from whence they derived their Life and Purity is a defective and irregular Representation of them 'T is as if an account were given of the Riches and Faecundity of the Earth from the Flowers and Fruits that grow upon it without considering the Mines of Precious Metals contain'd in its Bosom Now only an inward Christian that has felt the Power of Religion in his Heart can from the Reflexion upon himself and his uncounterfeit Experience discover the Operations of Grace in the Brests of others Mr. Henry was Dedicated to the Service of Christ by his Mother in his tender Age. His first Love and Desires when he was capable to make a judicious Choice were set upon God He entred early into the Ministry and Consecrated all the Powers of his Soul Understanding Memory Will and Affections with his Time and Strength to the Servioâ—… of Christ. And such was the Grace and Favour of God to him that he lost no Days in his Flourishing Age by satisfying the voluptuous Appetites nor in his declining Age by Diseases and Infirmities but uncessantly applied himself to his Spiritual Work He was called to a private place in Wales but his shining Worth could not be shaded in a Corner A Confluence of People from other parts attended on his Ministry Indeed the word of Truth that dyes in the Mouths of the cold and careless for they are not all Saints that serve in the Sanctuary had Life and Spirit in his Preaching For it proceeded from a Heart burning with Zeal for the Honour of Christ and Salvation of Souls Accordingly he suited his Discourses to the wise and the weak and imitated the Prophet who contracted his Stature to the dead Body of the Widows Son applying his Mouth to the Mouth of the Child to inspire the Breath of Life into him The poor and despised were instructed by him with the same compassionate Love and Diligence as the Rich notwitstanding the civil distinction of Persons which will shortly vanish for ever For he considered their Souls were of the same Precious and immortal value In the Administration of the Lord's Supper he exprest the just temperament of sweetness and severity with melting Compassion he invited all relenting and returning Sinners to come to Christ and receive their Pardon Sealed with his Blood But he was so jealous of the Honour of Christ that he deterr'd by the most fearful Consequences the Rebellious that indulg'd their Lusts from coming to partake of the Feast of the unspotted Lamb. He was not allur'd by Temporal Advantage which is the mark of a Mercenary to leave the first place where by the Divine Disposal he was seated When the fatal bartholomew-Bartholomew-day came tho he had fair Hopes of Preferment by his Attendance upon the King and Duke of York in their early Age of which the remembrance might have been reviv'd Yet he was guided by a Superiour Spirit and imitated the Self-denyal of Moses a Duty little understood and less practised by the Earthly minded rather choosing to suffer Affliction with the People of God than to enjoy the good things of this World As the Light of Heaven when the Air is stormy and disturb'd does not lose the rectitude of its Rays So his enlightned Conscience did not bend in compliance with the Terms of Conformity but he obeyed its sincere Judgment After his being Expell'd from the place of his publick Ministry his deportment was becoming a Son of Peace He refus'd not Communion with the Church of England in the Ordinances of the Gospel so far as his Conscience permitted Yet he could not desert the Duty of his Office to which he was with sacred Solemnity set apart He was Faithful to improve Opportunities for serving the Interest of Souls notwithstanding the Severities inflicted on him And after the restoring our Freedom of Preaching he continued in the Performance of his delightful Work till Death put a period to his Labours After this account of him as a Minister of Christ I will glance upon his Carriage as a Christian. His Conversation was so Holy and regular so free from taint that he was unaccuseable by his Enemies they could only object his Nonconformity as a Crime But his vigilant and tender Conscience discover'd the spots of sin in himself which so affected his Soul that he desir'd Repentance might accompany him to the Gate of Heaven an excellent Testimony of Humility the inseparable Character of a Saint His love to God was supreme which was declar'd by his chosen Hours of Communion with him every day The Union of Affections is naturally productive of Union in Conversation Accordingly our Saviour promises He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father and I will love him and will manifest my self to him And he repeats the Promise If a man love me he will keep my words and my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our abode with him To his special and singular Love to God was joined a universal Love to Men He did good to all according to his Ability His forgiving of Injuries that rare and difficult Duty was eminently conspicuous in the shaâ—…pest Provocations When he could not excuse the offence he would pardon the offender and strive to imitate the perfect Model of Charity exprest in our suffering Saviour who in the extremity of his Sufferings when resentments are most quick and sensible pray'd for his cruel Persecutors His filial trust in God was Correspondent to God's Fatherly Providence to him This was his Support in times of Tryal and maintain'd an equal temper in his mind and tenor in his Conversation In short he led
hitherto find though there be that within me that would seek great things for my self if indeed they were to be found in this Calling yet with my Mind I seek them not But the Improvement of the Talent which I have Received in the Service of the Gospel for the Glory of God and the Salvation of Souls I hope is in my Eye if there be any thing else I own it not I allow it not while so many seek their own it is my desire and shall be my endeavour to seek the things of Jesus Christ. Qu. 2. What are your purposes as to Diligence and Industry in this Calling Answ. I do purpose and resolve by the help of God to give my self wholly to these things to Prayer Reading Meditation instant Preaching in Season and out of Season wherein I shall very gladly spend and be spent if by any means I may both save my self and them that hear me And when at any time I fail herein I desire God by his Spirit and my Christian Friends Neighbours and Brethren by seasonable Reproof and Admonition to put me in mind of this Engagement now made in the presence of this great Congregation Qu. 3. Do you mean to be Zealous and Faithful in the Defence of Truth and Unity against Error and Schism Answ. I believe what the Spirit hath foretold that in the last days perilous times shall come wherein Men will not endure sound Doctrin but after their own lusts shall heap unto themselves Teachers 'T is my resolution by the Grace of Christ to watch in all things to contend earnestly for the Faith to hold fast the Form of sound and wholsom Words even the Words of our Lord Jesus and the Doctrine which is according to Godliness in Meekness as I am able instructing those that oppose themselves And for Peace and Unity if my heart deceive me not I shall rather chuse to hazzard the loss of any thing that is most dear to me than be any way knowingly accessary to the disturbance of these in the Churches of Christ. Qu. 4. What is your Perswasion of the Truth of the Reformed Religion Answ. My perswasion is that the Bishop of Rome is that Man of Sin and Son of Perdition whom the Lord Jesus will consume with the Spirit of his Mouth and whom he will destroy by the Brightness of his coming And the Separation which our first Reformers made I do heartily rejoyce in and bless God for for had we still continued to partake with him in his Sins we should in the end have partaked with him also in his Plagues Qu. 5. What do you intend to do when the Lord shall alter your condition and bring a Family under your charge Answ. When the Lord shall please in his Providence to bring me into new Relations I hope he will give me Grace to fill them up with Duty it is my purpose to wait upon him and to keep his way to endeavour in the use of means that all that are mine may be the Lords Qu. 6. Will you in Humility and Meekness submit to Admonition and Discipline Answ. I believe it to be a Duty incumbent upon all that profess the Name of Christ to watch over one another and that when any is overtaken in a fault those that are Spiritual are to set him in joynt again with the Spirit of Meekness It shall be my endeavour in the strength of Jesus Christ to walk without rebuke and when at any time I step aside for who is there that lives and sins not I shall account the smitings of my Brethren kindness and their wounds Faithful Qu. 7. What if Troubles Persecutions and Discouragements arise will you hold out to the end notwithstanding Answ. Concerning this I am very jealous over my own heart and there is cause I find a great want of that Zeal and courage for God which I know is requir'd in a Minister of the Gospel nevertheless I perswade my self that no Temptation shall befall me but such as is common to Man and that God who is faithful will not suffer me to be tempted above that which I am able but that with the Temptation he will also make a way to escape that I may be able to bear it I promise faithfulness to the Death but I rest not at all in my promise to God But in his to me when thou goest through the Fire and through the Water I will be with thee When this was done Mr. Parsons Pray'd and in Prayer he and the rest of the Presbyters Mr. Porter Mr. Houghton Mr. Malden and Mr. Steel laid their hands upon him with words to this purpose Whom we do thus in thy Name set apart to the Work and Office of the Ministry After him there were five more after the like previous Examinations and Trials Professions and Promises at the same time in like manner set apart to the Ministry Then Mr. Malden of Newport clos'd with an Exhortation directed to the newly Ordained Ministers in which saith Mr. Henry in his Dairy this word went near my heart As the Nurse puts the Meat first into her own mouth and chews it and then feeds the Child with it so should Ministers do by the Word Preach it over before-hand to their own hearts it loses none of the vertue hereby but rather probably gains As that Milk nourisheth most which comes warm from the warm Brest so that Sermon which comes warm from a warm heart Lord quicken me to do thy will in this thing The Classes gave him and the rest Instruments in Parchment certifying this which it may satisfy the curiosity of some to read the Form of Whereas Mr. Philip Henry of Worthenbury in the County of Flint Master of Arts hath addressed himself unto us Authorised by an Ordinance of both Houses of Parliament of the 29th of August 1648 for the Ordination of Ministers desiring to be Ordain'd a Presbyter for that he is chosen and appointed for the Work of the Ministry at Worthenbury in the County of Flint as by a Certificate now remaining with us touching that his Election and Appointment appeareth And he having likewise exhibited a sufficient Testimonial of his deligence and proficiency in his Studies and unblameableness of his Life and Conversation he hath been examin'd according to the Rules for Examination in the said Ordinance expressed and thereupon approved there being no just exception made nor put in against his Ordination and Admission These may therefore testifie to all whom it may concern that upon the Sixteenth day of September 1657. We have proceeded solemnly to set him apart for the Office of a Presbyter and work of the Ministry of the Gospel by laying on of our hands with Fasting and Prayer By virtue whereof we do declare him to be a lawful and sufficiently authoriz'd Minister of Iesus Christ And having good Evidence of his lawful and fair Calling not only to the Work of the Ministry but to the Exercise thereof at the Chappel of
Worthenbury in the County of Flint We do hereby send him thither and actually admit him to tâ—…e said Charge to perform all the Offices and Duties of a faithful Pastor there exhorting the People in the Name of Iesus Christ willingly to receive and acknowledge him as the Minister of Christ and to maintain and encourage him in the Execution of his Office that he may be able to give up such an account to Christ of their Obedience to his Ministry as may be to his joy and their everlasting comfort In Witness whereof we the Presbyters of the Fourth Class in the County of Salop commonly called Bradford-North Class have hereunto set our Hands this 16th day of September in the Year of our Lord God 1657. Tho. Porter Moderator for the time Andrew Parsons Minister of Wem Aylmar Haughton Minister of Prees John Malden Minister of Newport Richard Steel Minister of Hanmer I have heard it said by those who were present at this solemnity that Mr. Henry did in his Countenance Carriage and Expression discover such an extraordinary Seriousness and Gravity and such deep Impressions made upon his Spirit as greatly affected the Auditory and even struck an Aw upon them Read his Reflection upon it in his Diary Methoughts I saw much of God in the carrying on of the work of this dayâ—… O how good is the Lord he is good and doth good the Remembrance of it I shall never loose to him be Glory I made many promises of Diligence Faithfulness c. but I lay no stress at all on them but on God's Promise to me that he will be with his Ministers always to the end of the World Amen Lord so be it Make good thy Word unto thy Servant wherein thou hast caused me to put my Trust. And in another place I did this day receive as much Honour and Work as ever I shall be able to know what to do with Lord Iesus proportion supplies accordingly Two Scriptures he desir'd might be written in his Heart 2 Cor. 6. 4 5 c. and 2 Chron. 29. 11. Two Years after upon occasion of his being present at an Ordination at Whitchurch he thus writes This Day my Ordination Covenants were in a special manner renew'd as to diligence in Reading Prayer Meditation Faithfulness in Preaching Admonition Catechizing Sacraments Zeal against Error and Profaneness Care to preserve and promote the Unity and Purity of the Church notwithstanding Opposition and Persecution tho' to Death Lord thou hast filled my Hands with Work fill my Heart with Wisdom and Grace that I may discharge my Duty to thy Glory and my own Salvation and the Salvation of those that hear me Amen Let us now see how he applied himself to his Work at Worthenbury The Sphere was narrow too narrow for such a burning and shining Light There were but Forty one Communicants in that Parish when he first set up the Ordinance of the Lord's Suppe and they were never doubled Yet he had such low Thoughts of himself that he not only never sought for a larger Sphere but would never hearken to any Overtures of that kind made to him And withal he had such high thoughts of his work and of the worth of Souls that he laid out himself with as much diligence and vigor here as if he had had the over-fight of the greatest and most considerable Parish in the Country The greatest part of the Parish were poor Tenants and labouring Husbandmen but the Souls of suâ—… he us'd to say are as precious as the Souls of the Rich and to be look'd after accordingly His Prayer for them was Lord despise not the day of small things in this place where there is some willingness but much weakness And thus he writes upon the Judges settling a handsome Maintenance upon him Lord thou knowest I seek not theirs but them Give me â—…he Souls He was in Labours more abundant to win Souls besides Preaching he Expounded the Sciptures in order Catechized and Explain'd the Catechism At first he took into the Number of his Catechumens some that were adult who he found wanted Instruction and when he had taken what pains he thought needful with them he dismiss'd them from further attendance with Commendation of their Proficiency and Counsel to hold fast the form of found Words to be watchful against the Sins of their Age and to apply themselves to the Ordinance of the Lord's Supper and make ready for it afterwards he Catechized none above Seventeen or Eighteen Years of Age. He set up a Monthly Lecture there of Two Sermons one he himself Preached and the other his Friend Mr. Ambrose Lewis of Wrexham for some Years He also kept up a Monthly Conference in private from House to House in which he met with the more knowing and judicious of the Parish and they discoursed Familiarly together of the things of God to their mutual Edification according to the Example of the Apostles who tho' they had the liberty of publick Places yet taught also from House to House Acts 5. 42. 20. 20. That which induced him to set and keep up this Exercise as long as he durst which was till August 1660. was that by this means he came better to understand the state of his Flock and so knew the better how to Preach to them and pray for them and they to pray one for another If they were in doubt about any thing relating to their Souls that was an opportunity of getting Satisfaction It was likewise a means of encreasing Knowledge and Love and other Graces and thus it abounded to a good Account He was very industrious in visiting the Sick instructing them and preying with them and in this he would say he aimed at the good not only of those that were Sick but also of their Friends and Relations that were about them He Preach'd Funeral Sermons for all that were Buryed there rich or poor old or young or little Children for he looked upon it as an opportunity of doing good He called it setting in the Plow of the Word when the Providence had softned and prepared the Ground He never took any Money for that or any oâ—…er ministerial Performance besides his stated Salary for which he thought himself obliged to do his whole Duty to them as a Minister When he first set up the Ordinance of the Lord's Supper there he did it with very great solemnity After he had endeavoured to instruct them in his publick Preaching touching the Nature of that Ordinance he discoursed personally with all that gave up their Names to the Lord in iâ—… touching their Knowledge Experience and Conversation obliged them to observe the Law of Christ touching brotherly Admonition in case of Scandal and gave â—…otlce to the Coâ—…gre gaâ—…on who they were that were â—…mitted adding thâ—… 〈◊〉 Concerning these and my self I have two things to say 1. As to what is past we have sinned if â—…e should say we have nâ—… we should deceive our selves and the Truth
Baptism which is the Seal of the Covenant So that in the Administration of this Ordinance this Day according to the Institution of Jesus Christ we look upon you who are the Father of this Child as a Person in Covenant with God How far you have dealt unfaithfully in the Covenant is known to God and your own Conscience but this we know the Vows of God are upon you and let every one that nameth the Name of Christ depart from Iniquity But before we Baptise your Child I am to acquaint you in a few words what we expect from you Q. 1. Do you avouch God â—…n Jesus Christ this Day to be your God See to it that this be done in Truth and with a perfect Heart you may tell us you do so and you may deceive us but God is not mocked Q 2. And is it your desire that your Children also may be received into Covenant with the Lord and that the Lord 's Broad-seal of Baptism may be set to it Q. 3. And do you promise in the presence of God and of this Congregation that you will do your endeavour towards the training of it uâ—… in the way of Godliness that as it is by you through Mercy that it lives the Life of Nature so it may by you also through the same Mercy live the Life of Grace else I must tell you if you be wanting herein there will be a sad Appearance one Day when you shall meet together before the Judgment-seat of Christ and this solemn Engagement of yours will be brought in to witness against you These were but the first Instances of his Skilfulness in dispensing the Mysteries of the Kingdom of God He declin'd the private Administration of the Lord's Supper to sick Persons as judging it not consonant to the Rule and Intention of the Ordinance He very rarely if ever Baptised in private but would have Children brought to the solemn Assembly upon the Lord's Day that the Parents Engagement might have the more Witnesseâ—… to it and the Child the more Prayers put up for it and that the Congregation might be edified And yet he would say there was some inconvenience in it too unless People would agree to put off the Feasting part of the Solemnity to some other time which he very much perswaded his Friends to and observed that Abraham made a great Feast the same Day that Isaac it is weaned Gen. 21. 8. not the same Day that he was circumcised His Carriage towards the People of his Parish was very exemplary condescending to the meanest and conversing familiarly with them bearing with the Infirmites of the weak and becoming all things to all Men. He was exceeding tender of giving Offence or occasion of Grief to any body minding himself in his Diary upon such occasions that the Wisdom that is from above is pure and peaceable and gentle c. Yet he plainly and faithfully reproved what he saw amiss in any and would not suffer Sin upon them mourning also for that which he could not mend There were some untractable People in the Parish who sometimes caused Grief to him and exercised his Boldness and Zeal in reproving Once hearing of a merry Meeting at an Ale-house on a Saturday Night he went himself and broke it up and scattered them At another time he publickly witnessed againt 〈◊〉 â—…rolick of some vain People that on a Saturday Night came to the Church with a Fidler before them and dress'd it up with Flowers and Garlands making it as he told them more like a Play-house And was this their preparation for the Lord's Day and the Duties of it c. He minded them of Eccl. 11. 9. Rejoyce O young Man in thy Youth but know thou Many out of the neighbouring Parishes attended upon his Ministry and some came from far though sometimes he signifi'd his dislike of their so doing so far was he from glorying in it But they who had spiritual Senses exercised to discern things that differ would attend upon that Ministry which they found to be most edifying He was about Eight Years from first to last labouring in the Word and Doctrine at Worthenbury and his Labour was not altogether in vain He saw in many of the travel of his Soul to the rejoycing of his Heart but with this particular Dispensation which I have heard him sometimes speak of that most or all of those in that Parish whom he was through Grace instrumental of Good too died before he left the Parish or quickly after so that within a few Years after his removal thence there were very few of the visible Fruits of his Ministry there and a new Generation sprung up there who knew not Ioseph Yet the opportunity he found there was there of doing the more good by having those that were his Charge near about him made him all his days bear his Testimony to Parish Order where it may he had upon good Terms as much more elegible and more likely to answer the end than the Congregational way of gathering Churches from places far distant which could not ordinarily meet to worship God together From his Experience here though he would say we must do what we can when we cannot do what we would he often wished and prayed for the opening of a Door by which to return to that Order again He had not been long at Worthenbury but he began to be taken notice of by the neighbouring Ministers as likely to be a considerable Man Though his extraordinary Modesty and Humility which even in his Youth he was remarkable for made him to sit down with silence in the lowest Room and to say as Elihu Days shall speak yet his eminent Gifts and Graces could not long be hid the Ointment of the Right-hand will betray it self and a Person of his Merits could not but meet with those quickly who said Friend go up higher and so that Scripture was fulfilled Luke 14. 10. He was often called upon to preach the Week-day Lectures which were set up plentifully and diligently attended upon in those parts and his Labours were generally very acceptable and successful The Vox Populi fasten'd upon him the Epithet of Heavenly Henry by which Title he was commonly known all the Country over and his Advice was sought for by many neighbouring Ministers and Christians for he was one of those that found Favour and good Understanding in the sight of God and Man He was noted at his first setting out as I have been told by one who was then intimately acquainted with him and with his Character and Conversation for three things 1. Great Piety and Devotion and a mighty savor of Godliness in all his Converse 2. Great Industry in the pursuit of useful Knowledge he was particularly observed to be very inquisiâ—…ive when he was among the Aged and Intelligent hearing them and asking them Questions a good Example to young Men especially young Ministers 3. Great Self-denial Self-diffidence and Self-abasement this eminent Humility
condemn the Indiscretion of those Parents who are partial in their affections to their Children making a Difference between them which he observed did often prove of ill Consequence in Families and lay a Foundation of Envy Contempt and Discord which turns to their shame and ruine His Carriage towards his Children was with great Mildness and Gentleness as one who desir'd rather to be loved than feared by them He was as careful not to provoke them to Wrath nor to discourage them as he was to bring them up in the Nurture and Admonition of the Lord. He Rul'd indeed and kept up his Authority but it was with Wisdom and Love and with a high Hand He allowed his Children a great degree of Freedom with him which gave him the opportunity of reasoning them not frightning them into that which is good He did much towards the Instruction of his Children in the way of Familiar Discourse according to that Excellent Directory for Religious Education Deut. 6. 7. Thou shalt whet these things so the word is which he said noted frequent Repetition of the same things upon thy Children and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy House c. which made them love home and delight in his Company and greatly endear'd Religion to them He did not burthen his Childrens Memories by imposing upon them the getting of Chapters and Psalms without Book but endeavoured to make the whole word of God familiar to them especially the Scripture Stories and to bring them to understand it and love it and then they would easily remember it He us'd to observe from Psal. 119. 93. I will never forget thy Precepts for with them thou hast quickned me that we are then likely to remember the word of God when it doth us good He taught all his Children to write himself and set them betimes to write Sermons and other things that might be of use to them He taught his eldest Daughter the Hebrew Tongue when she was about six or seven Years old by an English Hebrew Grammar which he made on purpose for her and she went so far in it as to be able readily to Read and Construe a Hebrew Psalm He drew up a short Form of the Baptismal Covenant for the use of his Children it was this I take God the Father to be my chiefest Good and highest End I take God the Son to be my Prince and Saviour I take God the Holy Ghost to be my Sanctifier Teacher Guide and Comforter I take the Word of God to be my Rule in all my Actions And the People of God to be my People in all Conditions I do likewise Devote and Dedicate unto the Lord my whole self all I am all I have and all I can do And this I do deliberately sincerely freely and for ever This he taught his Children and they each of them solemnly repeated it every Lord's Day in the Evening after they were Catechized he putting his Amen to it and sometimes adding so say and so do and you are made for ever He also took pains with them to lead them into the Understanding of it and to perswade them to a free and cheerful Consent to it And when they grew up he made them all write it over severally with their own Hands and very solemnly set their Names to it which he told them he would keep by him and it should be produced as a Testimony against them in Case they should afterwards depart from God and turn from following after him He was careful to bring his Children betimes when they were about Sixteen Years of Age to the Ordinance of the Lord's Supper to take the Covenant of God upon themselves and to make their Dedication to God their own Act and Deed and a great deal of pains he took with them to prepare them for that great Ordinance and so to transmit them into the State of adult Church-membership And he would often blame Parents who would think themselves undone if they had not their Children baptized and yet took no care when they grew up and made a profession of the Christian Religion to perswade them to the Lord's Supper 'T is true he would say Buds and Blossoms are not fruit but they give hopes of fruit and Parents may and should take hold of the good beginning of Grace which they see in their Children by those to bind them so much the closer to and lead them so much the faster in the way that is called Holy By this solemn engagemement the Door wich stood half-open before and invited the Thief is shut and bolted against Temptation And to those who pleaded that they were not fit he would say that the further they went into the World the less sit they would be Qui non est bodie cras minus aptus erit Not that Children should be compell'd to it nor those that are wilfully ignorant untoward and perverse admitted to it but those Children that are hopeful and well inclin'd to the things of God and appear to be concern'd in other Duties of Religion when they begin to put away childish things should be incited and encouraged and perswaded to this that the matter may be brought to an Issue Nay but we will serve the Lord Fast bind fast find Abundant Thanks-givings have been rendred to God by many of his Friends for his Advice and assistance herein In dealing with his Children about their spiritual State he took hold of them very much by the handle of their Infant-Baptism and frequently inculcated that upon them that they were born in God's House and were betimes dedicated and given up to him and therefore were oblig'd to be his Servants Psal. 116. 16. I am thy Servant because the Son of thy handmaid This he was wont to illustrate to them by the comparison of taking a Lease of a fair Estate for a Child in the Cradle and putting his Life into it The Child then knows nothing of the matter nor is he capable of consenting however then he is maintained out of it and and hath an Interest in it And when he grows up and becomes able to chuse and refuse for himself if he go to his Landlord and claim the Benefit of the Lease and promise to pay the Rent and do the services well and good he hath the Benefit of it if otherwise it is at his Peril Now Children would he say our great Landlord was willing that your Lives should be put into the Lease of Heaven and Happiness and it was done accordingly by your Baptism which is the Seal of the Righteousness that is by Faith and by that it was assur'd to you that if you would pay the Rent and do the Service that is live a Life of Faith and Repentance and sincere Obedience you shall never be turn'd off the Tenement but if now you dislike the Terms and refuse to pay this Rent this chief Rent so he would call it for it 's no Rack you forfeit the Lease
of Sion mourning and the quiet in the Land treated as the troublers of it his Soul wept in Secret for it And yet he join'd in the Annual Commemoration of the King's Restauration and preach'd on Caesar's considering saith he that it was his right also the sad Posture of the Civil Government through Usurpers and the manner of his coming in without Bloodshed This he would all his Days speak of as a national Mercy but what he rejoyced in with a great Deal of Trembling for the Ark of God and he would sometimes say That during those Years between forty and sixty though on Civil accounts there were great Disorders and the Foundations were out of Course yet in the matters of God's Worship things went well there was Freedom and Reformation and a Face of Godliness was upon the Nation tho' there were those that made but a mask of it Ordinances were administred in Power and Purity and though there was much amiss yet Religion at least in the Profession of it did prevail This saith he we know very well let Men say what they will of those times In November 1660. he took the Oath of Allegiance at Orton before Sir Thomas Hanmer and two other Justices of which he hath left a Memorandum in his Diary with this added God so help me as I purpose in my Heart to do accordingly Nor could any more Conscientiously observe that Oath of God than he did nor more sincerely promote the Ends of it That Year according to an Agreement with some of his Brethren in the Ministry who hoped thereby to oblige some People he Preached upon Christmas-day The Sabbath before it happen'd that the 23d Chapter of Leviticus which treats intirely of the Jewish Feasts called there the Feasts of the Lord came in course to be Expounded which gave him occasion to distinguish of Feasts into Divine and Ecclesiastical the Divine Feasts that the Jews had were those there appointed their Ecclesiastical Feasts were those of Purim and of Dedication and in the Application of it he said He knew no Divine Feast we have under the Gospel but the Lord's Day intended for the Commemoration of the whole Mercy of our Redemption And the most that could be said for Christmas was that it is an Ecclesiastical Feast and it is questionable with some whether Church or State though they might make a good Day Esth. 9. 19. could make a Holy Day Nevertheless for asmuch as we find our Lord Iesus Joh. 10. 22. so far complying with the Church Feast of Dedication as to take occasion from the Peoples coming together to Preach to them he purposed to Preach upon Christmas day knowing it to be his Duty in Season and out of Season He Preached on 1 Ioh. 3. 8. For this purpose was the Son of God manifested that he might destroy the Works of the Devil And he minded his People that it is double dishonour to Iesus Christ to practise the Works of the Devil then when we keep a Feast in Memory of his Manifestation His Annuity from Emeral was now with held because he did not read the Common Prayer tho' as yet there was no Law for Reading of it hereby he was disabled to do what he had been wont for the Help and Relief of others and this he has Recorded as that which troubled him most under that Disappointment but he blessed God that he had a Heart to do good even when his Hand was empty When Emeral Family was unkind to him he reckoned it a great Mercy which he gave God thanks for who makes every Creature to be that to us that it is that Mr. Broughton and his Family which is of considerable Figure in the Parish continued their kindness and respects to him and their countenance of his Ministry which he makes a grateful mention of more than once in his Diary Many attempts were made in the Year 1661. to disturb and ensnare him and it was still expected that he would have been hindred Methinks saith he Sabbaths were never so sweet as they are now we are kept at such uncertainties now a day in they Courts is better than a thousand such a day as this saith he of a Sacrament Day that Year better than ten thousand O that we might yet see many such days He was advis'd by Mr. Ratcliff of Chester and others of his Friends to enter an Action against Mr. P. for his Annuity and did so but concerning the Success of it saith he I am not over sollicitous for though it be my due Luke 10. 7. yet it was not that which I Preached for and God knows I would much rather Preach for nothing than not at all and besides I know assuredly if I should be Cast God will make it up to me some other way After some Proceeding he not only mov'd but sollicited Mr. P. to refer it having learned saith he that it is no Disparagement but an Honour for the Party wronged to be first in seeking Reconciliation The Lord if it be his Will incline his Heart to Peace I have now saith he two great Concerns upon the Wheel one in reference to my Maintenance for time past the other as to my continuance for the future the Lord bâ—… my friend in both but of the two rather in the latter But saith he many of greater Gifts and Grace than I are laid aside already and when my turn comes I know not the Will of God be done He can do his Work without us The issue of this affair was that there having been some Disputes between Mr. P. and Dr. Bridgman about the Tithe of Worthenbury wherein Mr. P. had clearly the better Claim to make yet by the Mediation of Sir Tho. Hanmer they came to this Agreement Septemb. 11. 1661. that Dr. Bridgman and his Successors Parsons of Bangor should have and receive all the Tithe Corn and Hay of Worthenbury without the Disturbance of the said Mr. P. or his Heirs except the Tith-Hay of Emeral Demesn upon Condition that Dr. Bridgman should before the first of November following avoid and discharge the present Minister or Curate Philip Henry from the Chappel of Worthenbury and not hereafter at any time re-admit the said Minister Philip Henry to Officiate the said Cure This is the Substance of the Articles agreed upon between them pursuant to which Dr. Bridgman soon after dismiss'd Mr. Henry and by a Writing under his Hand which was published in the Church of Worthenbury by one of Mr. Puleston's Servants October the 27th following Notice was given to the Parish of that Dismission That Day he Preached his Farewel Sermon on Phil. 1. 27. Only let your Conversation be as becomes the Gospel of Christ. In which as he saith in his Diary his desire and design was rather to profit then to affect it matters not what becomes of me whether I come unto you or else be absent but let your Conversation be as becomes the Gospel His parting Prayer for them was The
that judgeth in the Earth In the Beginning of the Year 1665. when the Act for a Royal Aid to his Majesty of two Millions and a half came out The Commissioners for Flintshire were pleas'd to nominate Mr. Henry Sub-collector of the said Tax for the Township of Iscoyd and Mr. Steel for the Township of Hanmer They intended thereby to put an Affront and disparagement upon their Ministry and to shew that they look'd upon them but as Lay-men His note upon it is It is not a Sin which they put us upon but it is a Cross and a Cross in our Way and therefore to be taken up and born with patience When I had better work to do I was wanting in my Duty about it and now this is put upon me the Lord is righteous He procured the gathering of it by others only took account of it and saw it duly done and deserv'd as he saith he hoped he should that Inscription mentioned in Suetonius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To the Memory of an honest Publican In September the same Year he was again by warrant from the Deputy Lieutenant's fetch'd Prisoner to Hanmer as was also Mr Steel and others He was examined about private Meetings some such but private indeed he own'd he had been present at of late in Shropshire but the Occasion was extraordinary the Plague was at that Time raging in London and he and several of his Friends having near Relations there thought it time to seek the Lord for them and this was imputed to him as his Crime He was likewise charged with Administring the Lord's Supper which he denied having never Administred it since he was disabled by the Act of Uniformity After some Days Confinement seeing they could prove nothing upon him he was discharged upon Recognizance of 20 l. with two Sureties to be forth-coming upon Notice and to live Peaceably But saith he our Restraint was not Strict for we had liberty of Prayer and Conference together to our mutual Edification thus out of the Eater came forth meat and out of the strong Sweetness and we found Honey in the Carcase of the Lion It was but a little before this that Mr. Steel setting out for London was by a Warrant from the Justices under Colour of the report of a Plot stop't and search'd and finding nothing to accuse him of they seiz'd his Almanack in which he kept his Diary for that Year and it not being written very legibly they made what malicious readings and comments they pleas'd upon it to his great Wrong and Reproach though to all sober and sensible people it discover'd him to be a Man that kept a strict Watch over his own heart and was a great Husband of his time and many said they got good by it and should love him the better for it Psal. 37. 5 6. This Event made Mr. Henry somewhat more cautious and sparing in the Records of his Diary when he saw how evil Men dig up Mischief At Lady-day 1666. The Five-mile Act commenced by which all Nonconformist Ministers were forbidden upon pain of Sixth Months imprisonment to come or be within five Miles of any Corporation or of any plaâ—…e where they had been Ministers unless they would take an Oath of which Mr. Baxter saith 't was credibly reported that the Earl of Southampton then Lord High Treasurer of England said no honest Man could take it Mr. Baxter in his Life hath set down at large his Reasons against taking this Oxford Oath as it was called part 2. p. 396. c. part 3. p. 4. c. Mr. Henry set his down in short 'T was an Oath not at any time to endeavour any Alteration of the Government in the Church or State He had already taken an Oath of Allegiance to the King and he look'd upon this to amount to an Oath of Allegiance to the Bishops which he was not free to take Thus he writes March 22. 1665 6. This Day methoughts it was made more clear to me than ever by the Hand of my God upon me and I note it down that I may remember it 1 That the Government of the Church of Christ ought to be managed by the Ministers of Christ. It appears Heb. 13 7. that they are to rule us that Speak to us the Word of God 2 That under Prelacy Ministers have not the Management of Church-Government not in the least being only the Publishers of the Prelates Decrees as in Excommunication and Absolution which Decrees sometimes are given forth by Lay Chancellors 3 That therefore Prelacy is an Usurpation in the Church of God upon the Crown and Dignity of Jesus Christ and upon the Gospel-Rights of his Servants the Ministers And therefore 4 I ought not to subscribe to it nor to swear not to endeavour in all lawful ways the Alteration of it viz. by Praying and Perswading where there is opportunity But 5 that I may safely venture to suffer in the refusal of such an Oath committing my Soul Life Estate Liberty all to him who judgeth righteously And on March 25. the day when that Act took place he thus writes A sad day among poor Ministers up and down this Nation who by this Act of Restraint are forced to remove from among their Friends Acquaintance and Relations and to sojurn among strangers as it were in Mesech and in the Tents of Kedar But there is a God who tells their wandrings and will put their Tears and the Tears of their Wives and Children into his Bottle are they not in his Book The Lord be a little Sanctuary to them and a place of Refuge from the Storm and from the Tempest and pity those Places from which they are ejected and come and dwell where they may not He wished their Removes might not be figurative of Evil to these Nations as Ezekiel's were Ezek. 12. 1. 2. 3. This severe Dispensation forced Mr. Steel and his Family from Hanmer and so he lost the comfort of his Neighbourhood but withal it drew Mr. Laurence from Baschurch to Whitchurch Parish where he continued till he was driven thence too Mr. Henry's house at Broad Oâ—…k was but four reputed Miles from the utmost Limits of Worthenbury Parish but he got it measured and accounting 1760 Yards to a Mile according to the Statute 35 Eliz. cap. 6. it was found to be just five Miles and threescore Yards which one would think might have been his Security but there were those near him who were ready to stretch such Laws to the utmost rigor under Pretence of construing them in Favour of the King and therefore would have it to be understood of reputed Miles this obliged him for some time to leave his Family and to sojurn among his Friends to whom he endeavoured wherever he came to impart some Spiritual Gift At last he ventured home presuming among other things that the Warrant by which he was made Collector of the Royal Aid while that continued would secure him according to a Promise in the
it as they stood affected for my own part saith he upon Reflection I find I have great reason to be ashamed of my manifold infirmities and imperfections and yet do bless God that seeing I could manage it no better to do the Truth more Service there was not more said and done to its disservice to God be Glory But there were others who said that Mr. Henry was an Instrument of glorifying God and serving the Church in that affair almost as much as in any thing that ever he did except the Preaching of the Gospel And some who were Adversaries to the Cause he pleaded thô they were not Convinced by his Arguments yet by his great Meekness and Humility and that truly Christian Spirit which appear'd so evidently in the whole Management were brought to have a better Opinion of him and the way in which he walked The Conference broke off a little abruptly the Bishop and Mr. Henry being somewhat close at an Argument in the Recapitulation of what had been Discoursed of Mr. Ionathan Roberts whisper'd to Mr. Henry Pray let my Lord have the last word which a Justice of Peace upon the Bench over-hearing presently replied You say my Lord shall have the last word but he shall not for I will we thank God we have the Sword of Power in our hands and by the Grace of God we will keep it and it shall not rust and I hope every lawful Magistrate will do as I do and look to your selves Gentlemen by the Grace of God I 'll root you out of the Country To which a forward Man in the Crowd said Amen throw them down Stairs This the Bishop heard with Silence but the Mayor of the Town took order for their safety Two Days after this Discourse the Bishop wrote a very obliging Letter to Mr. Henry to signify to him how very much he was pleased with the good Temper and Spirit that he found in him at Oswestry and that he looked upon him as one that intended well but laboured under Prejudices and to desire further Acquaintance and Conversation with him particularly that he would come to him straitway to Wrexham and about three Months after sent for him again to Chester in both which interviews a great deal of Discourse with much Freedom pass'd between them in private in which they seem'd to vye nothing more than Candor and Obligingness shewing to each other all Meekness I remember the Bishop was pleas'd to shew him his Plan for the Government of his Diocess and the Method he intended to take in Church-Censures which Mr. Henry very well approv'd of but pleasantly told his Lord-ship he hoped he would take care that Iuvenal's Verse should not be again verified Sat. 2. Dat veniam Corvis vexat Censura Columbas which the Bishop smil'd at and told him he would take care it should not His Lordship observing his true Catholick Charity and Moderation told him he did not look upon him as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but only as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and that if he were in his Diocess he did not question but he should find out some way to make him useful But all his Reasonings could not satisfie Mr. Henry's Conscience of the Lawfulness of being Re-ordain'd and Conforming The Bishop for some Years after when he came that way towards London either call'd on Mr. Henry at his House or sent for him to him to Whitchurch and still with all outward expressions of Friendship The Trouble which Mr. Henry was in about the Meeting at Weston obliged him for a while to keep his Sabbaths at home somewhat private but in the Year 1682. he took a greater Liberty and many flocked to him on Lord's Dayes through the kind Connivance of the Neighbouring Magistrates but in the Year 1683. when the Meetings were generally suppress'd throughout the Kingdom he was again necessitated to contract his Sails and confine his Labours more to his own Family and his Friends that visited him He continued his Attendance at Whitewell Chappel as usual and when he was abridged of his Liberty he often blessed God for his Quietness Once when one of the Curates Preached a bitter Sermon against the Dissenters on a Lord's Day Morning some wonder'd that Mr. Henry would go again in the Afternoon for the second part But saith he if he do not know his Duty I know mine and I bless God I can find Honey in a Carcass In this time of treading down and of perplexity he stirred little abroad being forced as he us'd to express it to throw the Plough under the Hedge but he preached constantly at home without disturbance and often comforted himself with this When we cannot do what we would if we do what we can God will accept of us when we cannot keep open Shop we must drive a secret Trade And he would say There is a mean if we could hit it between Fool-hardiness and Faint-heartedness While he had some opportunity of being useful at home he was afraid lest he should prejudice that by venturing abroad One of his Friends in London earnestly solliciting him to make a visit thither in this time of restraint in the Country he thus wrote to him I should be glad once more to kiss my Native Soil though it were but with a kiss of Valediction but my indisposedness to Travel and the small prospect there is of doing good to countervail the Pains are my prevailing Arguments against it I am here 't is true buried alive but I am quiet in my Grave and have no mind to be a walking Ghost We rejoyce and desire to be thankful that God hath given us a Home and continued it to us when so many better then we have not where to lay their Head having no certain dwelling place 't was at the time of the dispersion of the French Protestants Why they Exiles and not we they strangers in a strange Land and not we We must not say we will dye in our Nests lest God say nay nor we will multiply our Days as that Bird the Phaenix referring to Iob 29. 18. lest God say this Night c. Our times and all our ways are at his dispose absolutely and universally and it is very well they are so At the time of the Duke of Monmouths Descent and the Insurrection in the West in the Year 1685. Mr. Henry as many others pursuant to a general Order of the Lord Lieutenant for securing all suspected Persons and particularly all Nonconformist Ministers was taken up by a Warrant from the Deputy Lieutenants and sent under a Guard to Chester Castle where he was about three Weeks a close Prisoner He was lodg'd with some Gentlemen and Ministers that were fetched thither out of Lancashire who were all Strangers to him but he had great comfort in the Acquaintance and Society of many of them He often spake of this Imprisonment not as matter of Complaint but of Thanksgiving and blessed God he was in nothing uneasie all
the plain and powerful Preaching of the Gospel and thus they who granted that liberty were out-shot in their own Bow which manifestly appear'd in the Event and Issue And as they did good Service to the Protestant Religion among Scholars who wrote so many Learned Books against Popery at that time for which we return them our best thanks so they did no less Service among the Common People who are the Strength and Body of the Nation that Preached so many good Sermons to arm their Hearts against that strong Delusion which Mr. Henry as the rest of the Nonconformists generally did took all occasions to do How often would he commend his Hearers as Dr. Holland Divinity Professor in Oxford was wont to do to the Love of God and the Hatred of Popery Besides his Preaching professedly to discover the Errours and Corruptions of the Church of Rome which he would have taken occasion to do more fully had he seen those he Preached to in any immediate danger of the Infection there could not be a more effectual Antidote against Popery than the instructing and confirming of People in the Truth as it is in Jesus and advancing the Knowledge of and a Value and Veneration for the Holy Scriptures to which how much Mr. Henry in his place did contribute all that knew him well bear Record He us'd to observe that the Fall of Babylon followed upon the free and open Preaching of the Everlasting Gospel Rev. 14. 6 7. He apprehended this Liberty likely to be of very short continuance and to end in trouble and because he could not see how his not using of it would help to prevent the Trouble but he did see that his vigorous improvement of it would help to prepare for the Trouble he set himself with all diligence to make the best use he could of this Gleam both at home and abroad on Sabbath-days and Week-days to his Power yea and beyond his Power The great Subject of Debate at this time in the Nation was concerning the Repeal of Penal Laws and Tests Mr. Henry's thoughts were as to the Penal Laws that if those against the Dissenters were all Repeal'd he would Rejoyce in it and be very thankful both to God and Man for he would sometimes say without Reflection upon any he could not but look upon them as a National Sin and as for those against the Papists if our Law-givers see cause to Repeal them in a regular way I will endeavour saith he to make the best of it and to say The Will of the Lord be done When King Iames came his Progress into that Country in September 1687. to court the Compliments of the People Mr. Henry joined with several others in and about Whitchurch Nantwich and Wem in an Address to him which was presented when he lay at Whitchurch the purport of which was not to Sacrifice their Lives and Fortunes to him and to his Interest but only to return him thanks for the Liberty they had with a promise to demean themselves quietly in the use of it Some time after Commissioners were sent abroad into the Country to enquire after the Trouble that Dissenters had sustain'd by the Penal Laws and how the Money that was Levy'd upon them was disposed of little of it being found paid in the Exchequer they sent to Mr. Henry to have an account from him of his Sufferings he returned Answer by Letter that he had indeed been Fined some Years before for a Conventicle and Distreyn'd upon and his Goods carried away which all the Country knew to which he referred himself But being requir'd particularly to give account of it upon Oath though he said he could be glad to see such Instruments of Trouble legally removed yet he declin'd giving any further Information concerning it having as he wrote to the Commissioners long since from his Heart forgiven all the Agents Instruments and Occasions of it and having purposed never to say any thing more of it It was on Tuesday Iune 14. 1681. that he was disturb'd at Weston in Shropshire when he was Preaching on Psal. 66. 18. and on Tuesday Iune 14. 1687. that day Six Years he Preached there again without disturbance finishing what he was then prevented from delivering concerning Prayer and going on to v. 19. 20. But verily God hath heard me Blessed be God Concerning the Duty of Thanksgiving This Seventh Year of their Silence and Restraint prov'd through God's wonderful good Providence the Year of Release In May 1688. a new Commission of the Peace came down for the County of Flint in which by whose Interest or procurement was not known Mr. Henry was nominated a Justice of Peace for that County It was no small surprize to him to receive a Letter from the Clerk of the Peace Directed to Philip Henry Esquire acquainting him with it and appointing him when and whither to come to be Sworn To which he return'd answer that he was very sensible of his Unworthiness of the Honour and his unfitness for the Office which he was nominated to and therefore desired to be excus'd and he was so and did what he could that it might not be spoken of in the Country There were some who upon this occasion unhappily remembred that a few Years before a Reverend Clergy-man in Shropshire told Mr. Henry to his Face that he had done more mischief in the Country than any man that ever came into it and that he himself hoped shortly to be in the Commission of Peace and then he would rid the Country of him But alas he â—…as quite disappointed Thus Honour is like the shadow which flies from those that pursue it and follows those that flee from it For two Years after this Liberty began Mr. Henry still continued his Attendance as usual at Whitewel-Chappel whenever there was Preaching there and he Preached at his own House only when there was no supply there and in the Evening of those days when there was For doing thus he was greatly clamour'd against by some of the rigid Separatists and call'd a Dissembler and one that halted between two and the like Thus as he Notes in his Diary one side told him he was the Author of all the mischief in the Country in drawing People from the Church and the other side told him he was the Author of all the mischief in drawing People to the Church And which of these saith he shall I seek to please Lord neither but thy self alone and my own Conscience and while I can do that I have enough In a Sermon at Whitewel-Chappel one Lord's-day in the Afternoon where he and his Family and many of his Congregation were attending much was said with some keen Reflections to prove the Dissenters Schismaticks and in a damnable State When he came immediately after to Preach at his own House before he begun his Sermon he expressed himself to this purpose Perhaps some of you may expect now that I should say something in answer to what we
him he hath made us accepted in the Beloved After the Exposition of the Chapter he sung a Psalm and commonly chose a Psalm suitable to the Chapter he had Expounded and would briefly tell his Hearers how they might sing that Psalm with Understanding and what affections of Soul should â—…e working towards God in the singing of it his hints of that kind were of great use and contributed much to the right Performance of that Service he often said The more singing of Psalms there is in our Families and Congregations on Sabbath-days the more like they are to Heaven and the more there is in them of the Everlasting Sabbath He would say sometimes he loved to sing whole Psalms rather than pieces After the Sermon in the Morning he sung the 117th Psalm without reading the Line He intermitted at Noon about an Hour and a half and on Sacrament days not near so long in which time he took some little Refreshment in his Study making no solemn Dinner yet many of his Friends did partake of his Carnal as well as of his Spiritual things as those did that follow'd Christ of whom he was careful they should not faint by the way The Morning Sermon was repeated by a ready Writer to those that staid in the Meeting place as many did and when that was done he begun the Afternoons Exercise in which he not only Read and Expounded a Chapter but Catechized the Children and Expounded the Catechism briefly before Sermon Thus did he go from strength to strength and from Duty to Duty on Sabbath-days running the ways of God's Commandments with an enlarged Heart And the variety and vivacity of his publick Services made them exceeding pleasant to all that joined with him who never had cause to complain of his being tedious He us'd to say Every Minute of Sabbath Time is precious and none of it to be lost And that he scarce thought the Lord's day well spent if he were not weary in Body at Night wearied with his Work but not weary of it as he used to distinguish He would say sometimes to those about him when he had gone through the Duties of a Sabbath Well if this be not the way to Heaven I do not know what is In pressing People to Number their days he would especially exhort them to Number their Sabbath-days how many they have been and how ill they have been spent how few 't is like they may be that they may be spent better and to help in the Account he would say that for every twenty Years of our Lives we enjoy above a thousand Sabbaths which must all be accounted for in the day of Reckoning As to his constant Preaching it was very Substantial and Elaborate and greatly to Edification He us'd to say he could not Starch in his Preaching that is he would not as knowing that where the Language and Expression is stiff and forced and fine as they call it it doth not reach the greatest part of the Hearers When he grew old he would say sure he might now take a greater liberty to talk as he call'd it in the Pulpit that is to speak familiarly to People yet to the last he abated not in his Preparations for the Pulpit nor ever delivered any thing raw and undigested much less any thing unbecoming the Gravity and Seriousness of the Work If his Preaching were talking it was talking to the purpose His Sermons were not Common Place but even when his Subjects were the most plain and 〈◊〉 yet his management of them was usually peculiar and surprizing In those Years as formerly he kept for the most part in a method for Subjects and was very seldom above one Sabbath upon a Text. And his constant Practise was as it had been before when he concluded a Subject that he had been a good while upon he spent one Sabbath in a brief Rehearsal of the Marrow and Substance of the many Sermons he had Preached upon it which he call'd the clenching of the Nail that it might be as a Nail in a sure place So very industrious was he and no less ingenious in his endeavours that his Hearers might be able after his Decease to have these things always in remembrance 2 Pet. 1. 15. and it is hoped that by the Blessing of God the effect did not altogether disappoint his Expectation In the later times of his Ministry he would often contrive the Heads of his Sermons to begin with the same Letter or rather two and two of a Letter but he did not at all seem to affect or force it only if it fell in naturally and easily he thought it a good help to Memory and of use especially to the younger sort And he would say the chief reason why he did it was because 't is frequently observed in the Scripture particularly the Book of Psalms And though it be not a fashionable Ornament of Discourse if it be a Scripture Ornament that is sufficient to recommend it at least to justifie it against the imputation of Childishness Mr. Porter of Whitchurch very much us'd it so did Mr. Malden But the Excellency of his Sermons lay chiefly in the Enlargements which were always very solid grave and judicious but in expressing and marshalling his Heads he often condescended below his own Judgment to help his Hearers Memories Some of his Subjects when he had finished them he made some short Memorandums of in Verse a Distich or two of each Sabbaths work and gave them out in Writing among the young ones of his Congregation many of whom wrote them and learned them and profited by them It might be of use especially to those who had the happiness of sitting under his Ministry to give some Account of the Method of his Sabbath Subjects during the last Eight or Nine Years of his Ministry and it was design'd till 't was found 't would swell this Narrative into too great a Bulk 2. As to the Administration of the Sacraments those Mysteries of God which Ministers are the Stewards of As to the Sacrament of Baptism he had never that I know of Baptized any Children except his own from the time he was turn'd out in 1662. till this last Liberty came though often desir'd to do it such was the tender regard he had to the Established Church but now he reviv'd the Administration of that Ordinance in his Congregation The occasion was this One of the Parish-Ministers Preaching at Whiteweâ—… Chappel Mr. Henry and his Family and many of his Friends being present was earnestly cautioning People not to go to Conventicles and us'd this as an Argument against it That they were Baptized into the Church of England Mr. Henry's Catholick Charity could not well digest this Monopolizing of the great Ordinance of Baptism and thought it time to bear his Testimony against such narrow Principles which he ever expressed his dislike of in all Parties and Perswasions Accordingly he took the next opportunity that offer'd it self publickly to
Baptize a Child and desir'd the Congregation to bear witness That he did not Baptize that Child into the Church of England nor into the Church of Scotland nor into the Church of the Dissenters nor into the Church at Broad-Oak but into the visible Catholick Church of Iesus Christ. After this he Baptized very many and always publickly though being in the Country they were commonly carried a good way The publick Administration of Baptism he not only judged most agreeable to the Nature and End of the Ordinance but found to be very profitable and edifying to the Congregation for be always took that occasion not only to explain the nature of the Ordinance but affectionately and pathetically to excite People duly to improve their Baptism He usually received the Child immediately out of the hands of the Parent that presented it and return'd it into the same hands again with this or the like charge Take this Child and bring it up for God He us'd to say that one advantage of publick Baptism was that there were many to join in Prayer for the Child in which therefore and in Blessing God for it he was usually very large and particular After he had Baptized the Child before he gave it back to the Parent he commonly used these words We receive this Child into the Congregation of Christ's Church having washed it with Water in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost in token that hereafter it shall not be ashamed to confess Christ Crucified and manfully to fight c. He Baptized many adult Persons that through the Errour of their Parents were not Baptized in Infancy and some in Publick The Solemn Ordinance of the Lord's Supper he constantly Celebrated in his Congregation once a Month and always to a very considerable number of Communicants He did not usually observe publick days of Preparation for that Ordinance other than as they fell in course in the weekly Lectures nor did he ever appropriate any particular Subject of his Preaching to Sacrament-days having a great felicity in adapting any profitable Subject to such an occasion and he would say What did the Primitive Christians do when they Celebrated the Lord's Supper every Lord's day His Administration of this Ordinance was very solemn and affecting He had been wont to go about in the Congregation and to deliver the Elements with his own hand but in his latter time he delivered them only to those near him and so they were handed from one to another with the assistance of one who supplied the Office of a Deacon as having also the Custody and disposal of the Money gathered for the use of the Poor Mr. Henry taking and carefully keeping a particular account of it Such as desir'd to be admitted to the Lord's Supper he first discoursed with concerning their Spiritual State and how the Case stood between God and their Souls not only to examine them but to instruct and teach them and to encourage them as he saw occasion gently leading those whom he discern'd to be serious though weak and timorous He usually discoursed with them more than once as finding Precept upon Precept and Line upon Line necessary but he did it with so much Mildness and Humility and tenderness and endeavour to make the best of every body as did greatly affect and win upon many He was herein like our Great Master who can have compassion on the ignorant and doth not despise the day of small things But his admission of young People out of the rank of Catechumens into that of Communicants had a peculiar solemnity in it Such as he Catechiz'd when they grew up to some Years of discretion if he observed them to be intelligent and serious and to set their Faces Heaven-wards he marked them out to be admitted to the Lord's Supper and when he had a competent number of such twelve or fifteen perhaps or more he order'd each of them to come to him severally and discoursed with them of the things belonging to their Everlasting Peace put it to their choice whom they would serve and endeavoured to affect them with those things with which by their Catechisms they had been made acquainted drawing them with the Cords of a Man and the bands of Love into the way which is called Holy For several Lord's days he Catechized them particularly in Publick touching the Lord's Supper and the Duty of Preparation for it and their Baptismal Covenant which in that Ordinance they were to take upon themselves and to make their own Act and Deed. Often telling them upon such occasions that they were not to oblige themselves to any more than what they were already obliged to by their Baptism only to bind themselves faster to it Then he appointed a day in the Week before the Ordinance when in a solemn Assembly on purpose he prayed for them and preached a Sermon to them proper to their Age and Circumstances and so the following Sabbath they were all received together to the Lord's Supper This he looked upon as the right Confirmation or Transition into the State of adult Church membership The more solemn our Covenanting with God is the more deep and the more durable the impressions of it are likely to be He hath Recorded it in his Diary upon one of these occasions as his Hearts desire and prayer for those who were thus admitted That it might be as the day of their Espousals to the Lord Jesus and that they might each of them have a Wedding Garment 3. The Discipline he observed in his Congregation was not such as he could have wished for but the best he could get considering what a scatter'd Flock he had which was his trouble but it could not be helped He would sometimes apply to the circumstances he was in that of Moses Deut. 12. 8 9. However I see not but the end was effectually attained by the methods he took though there wanted the formality of Officers and Church-Meetings for the purpose If he heard of any that walked disorderly he sent for them and reproved them gently or sharply as he saw the Case required If the Sin had scandal in it he suspended them from the Ordinance of the Lord's Supper till they gave some tokens of their Repentance and Reformation And where the offence was publick and gross his judgment was that some publick satisfaction should be made to the Congregation before Readmission But whatever offence did happen or breaches of the Christian Peace Mr. Henry's peculiar Excellency lay in restoring with the Spirit of meekness which with his great Prudence and Love and Condescension did so much command the respects of his People and win upon them that there was a Universal Satisfaction in all his Management and it may truly be said of him as it was of David 2 Sam. 3. 36. That whatsoever he did pleased all the People And it is an Instance and Evidence that those Ministers who will Rule by Love and
according to my Duty and Promise earnest at the Throne of Grace on your behalf that the Lord will pour out upon you of his Holy Spirit that what he calls you to he would fit you for especially that he would take you off your own bottom and lay you low in the Sense of your own Unworthiness Inability and Insufficiency that you may say with the Evangelical Prophet Wo is me I am undone And with Ieremiah I am a Child and with Paul I am nothing where this is not the main thing is wanting for God resists the Proud but gives Grace to the Humble Now the Lord give you that Grace to be Humble and then according to his Promise he will make you rich in every other Grace It were very easie to Transcribe many more such Lines as these out of his Letters to his Son but these shall suffice We shall next gather up some few passages out of some of his Letters to a Person of Quality in London such of them as are come to our Hands which are but few of many The beginning of his Correspondence with that Gentleman which continued to his Death and was kept up Monthly for a great while was in the Year 1686. and the following Letter broke the Ice Honour'd Sir HOping you are by this time as you intended returned to London to your Home and Habitation there I make bold according to my Promise to Salute you in a few Lines In the first place to be your Remembrancer of the Vows of God which are upon you upon the account of the many Mercies of your Journey both in your going out and in your coming in Was not every step you took hedg'd about with special Providence Had not the Angels charge over you Did not they pitch their Tents where you pitched yours Did not Goodness and Mercy follow you and should it not then be had in thankful Remembrance Where Mercy goes before should not Duty follow after If you have Mr. Angier's Life you will find there Page 88 89. a Collection out of his Diary of ten Heads of Mercies acknowledged in a Journey to heighten God's Praises and to quicken his own and others Hearts therein and they are certainly very affecting Next Sir I am to acquaint you that I have faithfully dispos'd of the Money you left with me at parting to eight poor praying Widows in this Neighbourhood as you appointed And this among all the rest of your Alms Deeds is had in Memorial before God 't is Fruit that will abound to your Account Bread sent a Voyage upon the Waters which you and yours will find again after many Days for he is Faithful that hath promised The Apostles Prayer shall be mine 2 Cor. 9 10. Now he that ministreth Seed to the Sower both Minister Bread for your Food and multiply your Seed sown and increase the Fruits of your Righteousness Amen And some time after he writes Your Acknowledging God in all your Affairs I cannot but rejoyce in as an evidence of the uprightness of your Heart towards him 't is the Life and Soul of all Religion 't is indeed to walk with God That includes as much as any other Scripture command in so few words In all thy ways acknowledge him in every thing thou dost have an Eye to him make his Word and Will thy Rule his Glory thy End fetch in strength from him expect success from him and in all Events that happen which are our ways too whether they be for us or against us he is to be acknowledged that is ador'd if prosperous with Thankfulness if otherwise with Submission as Iob The Lord hath given and the Lord hath taken and blessed be the Name of the Lord. This is to set the Lord always before us to have our Eye ever towards the Lord where this is not we are so far without God in the World In another Letter As to the Accession lately made to your Estate much good may it do you that is much good may you do with it which is the true Good of an Estate The Lady Warwick would not thank him that would give her a Thousand a Year and tye her up from doing good with it I rejoyce in the large Heart which God hath given you with your large Estate without which Heart the Estate would be your Snare I have lately met with a Letter of Mr. Henry's to a Couple related to him who in a very short time had Buryed all their Children of the Small Pox to their great Grief 't was in the Year 1679. What Comfort and Counsels he Administred to them may be of use â—…o others in their Afflictions and therefore I shall Transcribe the whole Letter though it be long Dear Cosins THis is to you both whom God hath made one in the Conjugal Relation and who are one also in the present Affliction only to signifie to you that we do heartily Sympathize with you in it The Trial is indeed sharp and there will be need of all the Wisdom and Grace you have and of all the help of Friends you can get both to bear and to improve it aright You must bear it with Silence and Submission Surely it is meet to be said unto God I have born Chastisement He is Sovereign Lord of all and may do with us and ours as pleaseth him It is not for the Clay to quarrel with the Potter It was Mercy you had Children and comfort in them so long it is Mercy that yet you have one another and your Children are not lost but gone before a little before whither you your selves are hastning after And if a Storm be coming as God grant it be not it is best with them that put first into the Harbour Your Children are taken away from the Evil to come and you must not Mourn as they that have no hope Sensible you cannot but be but dejected and sullen you must not be that will but put more bitterness into the Cup and make way for another perhaps a sharper stroke You must not think and I hope you do not that there cannot be a sharper stroke for God hath many Arrows in his Quiver he can heat the Furnace seven times hotter and again and again seven times hotter till he hath Consumed us and if he should do so yet still we must say he hath punished us less than our Iniquities have deserved For Examples of Patience in the like kind we have two eminent ones in the Book of God those are Iob and Aaron of the latter it is said Lev. 10. 3 He held his Peace and that which quiered him was what his Brother Moses said to him This is that which the Lord hath said I will be sanctified and if God be Sanctified Aaron is Satisfied if God have Glory from it Aaron hath nothing to say against it Of the former it is said Iob 1. 20. he fell down but it was to Worship and we are told how he expressed himself The Lord gave
before he Dyed he had this Expression Go forth my Soul go forth to meet thy God adding by and by It is now done Come Lord Iesus come quickly One present saying to him that he was now going to receive his Reward he replied It is free Grace Mr. Henry was much importun'd to Print his Sermon at Mr. Nevet's Funeral with some account of his Life and Death which he was somewhat inclined to do but was discouraged by the difficulties of the Times and it was never done But some Materials he had for it out of which we have Collected these hints Mr. Robert Fogg my old dear Friend was buried at Acton near Nantwich April 21. 1676. he dyed in a good old Age about Eighty He was Minister of Bangor in Flintshire till after the King came in and thence forward to his Death was a poor silent Nonconformist but of a bold and zealous Spirit giving good Counsel to those about him A little before he dyed he had this weighty saying among others Assure your selves the Spirit of God will be underling to no Sin Mr. Andrew Parsons sometimes Minister of Wem dyed at London October 1. 1684. He was Born in Devonshire and was Minister there some Years before the War being driven thence to London he became well known to Mr. Pym. who sent him down to Wem when that Town was Garrison'd for the Parliament there he continued in the Exercise of his Ministry till the Year 1660. He was an active friendly generous Man and a moving affecting Preacher Mr. Baxter in his Life Part 3. Page 94. commends him for a moderate Man and speaks of his being in trouble for seditious words Sworn against him which were these Preaching from 2 Tim. 3. 13. he said The Devil was like a King that courted the Soul and spoke fair till he was gotten into the Throne and then play'd pranks The Witnesses deposed contrary to the Coherence of his Discourse that he said the King was like the Devil He was tryed at Shrewsbury before my Lord Newport Mr. Serjeant Turner and others May 28. 1662. It was also charged upon him that he had said there was more Sin committed now in England in a Month than was heretofore in seven Years And that there had been more and better Preaching in England for Twenty Years past then was ever since the Apostles days He had Council assigned him who pleaded that the time limited by the Stature in which he was Indited was Expired The Court yielded it was so allowing Twenty eight Days to a Month but they would understand it of Thirty Days to a Month so he was found Guilty and Fined Two hundred Pound and ordered to be Imprisoned till it should be paid Mr. Hugh Rogers a worthy Faithful Minister of Jesus Christ turn'd out for Nonconformity from Newtown in Montgomery-shire was buried at Welshpool March 17. 1679 80. he was look'd upon as Congregational but his declared Judgment was That Ministers ought to be Ordained by Ministers and to give themselves wholly to that Work and that none but Ministers have Authority to Preach and Govern in a Constituted Church and that Christ's Ministers are his Ministers in all places and that where the word of Christ is Preached and his Sacraments administred there is a true Church He was a Man of Excellent Converse and whose peculiar felicity lay in pleasant and edifying Discourse Iuly 2d and 3d 1680. these two days brought tidings of the Death of Mr. Haines sometime Minister of Wem in Shropshire and since at New Chappel in Westminster and of Mr. Richard Edwards Minister at Oswestry both worthy Conformists pious peaceable and good Men whom I hope through Grace to meet shortly in Heaven The Lord raise up others in their room to be and do better Mr. Robert Bosier my dear Friend and Kinsman having just compleated the Twenty third Year of his Age dyed of a Fever September 13th 1680. at Mr. Doelittle's House in Islington whither he was gone but a few Weeks before for Improvement in Learning being formerly a Commoner of Edmund-Hall in Oxford and since having spent some Years in my Family and designed himself for the Service of Christ in the Work of the Ministry He was a young Man of Pregnant Parts great Industry and exemplary Seriousness and Piety and likely to be an eminent Instrument of good in his day His Friends and Relations had promised themselves much comfort in him but we know who performeth the thing that is appointed for us and giveth not account of any of his Matters Mr. Iohn Malden my dear and worthy Friend turned out from Newport in Shropshire for Nonconformity dyed at Alkington near Whitchurch May 23d 1681. a Man of great Learning an Excellent Hebrician and of exemplary Piety and a solid Preacher as he lived so he dyed very low in his own Eyes esteeming himself good for nothing though really good for every thing which was manifestly a prejudice both to his Comfort and to his Usefulness He said he was far from repenting his being a Sufferer against Conformity The Relicks of so much Learning Piety and Humility I have not seen this great while laid in a Grave But blessed be God we had such a one so long Dr. Ioshua Maddocks a beloved Physician our very dear Friend and Kinsman dyed of a Fever at Whitchurch in the midst of his Days Iuly 27th 1682. a very pious Man and especially eminent for Meekness an Excellent Scholar and particularly learned in the Mathematicks he lived much desired and dyed as much lamented Mr. Thomas Bridge who had been Rector of the higher Rectory of Malpas about fifty seven Years being aged about eighty two Years was buried at Malpas Octob. 7. 1682. In his last sickness which was long he had appointed Mr. Green one of the Curates there to preach his Funeral Sermon on 1 Tim. 1. 16. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy that in me first Iesus Christ might shew forth all long-suffering And to say nothing in his Commendation but to give a large Account of his Repentance upon his Death-bed c. He was a taking popular Preacher preaching oftâ—…n and almost to the last When old he could read the smallest Print without Spectacles Mr. William Cook an aged painful faithful Minister of Jesus Christ in Chester finished his Course with Joy Iuly 4. 1684. in the midst of the cloudy and dark Day See Mr. Baxter's Character of him in his Life Part 3. Pag. 98. And an honourable Account given of him by Mr. Samuel Bold of Steple in Dorsetshire in a large Preface to his Book of Man's great Duty He was eminent for great Industry both in publick and private Work great self-denial mortification and contempt of the World and a strict adherence to his Principles in all the Turns of the Times He was first Minister at Wroxal in Warwick-shire there he published two Treatises against the Anabaptists From thence he was by the Advice of the London Ministers removed to Ashby