instrument of my eternal Happiness that from this temporal Commemoration I may rise to the blessed Vision of my sweet Redeemer I am now almost in the Suburbs of Death grant that it may be in order to my entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem 't is not long before I shall try the Grand Experiment for now my Pulse beats about threescore and much further the strength of man cannot go Therefore I desire to settle the affairs of my Soul before I go hence and be no more seen I cannot tell whither I shall have another opportunity to partake of thy holy Table Therefore let this present participation of the holy Sacrament be a Seal and Testimony for the Remission of my Sins Though I have not long to live yet I will enter into covenant with my Soul to serve and obey thee to love the Lord my God with all my heart and with all my strength for the Righteousness of thy Testimonies is everlasting give me understanding and I shall live O thou who art the appointed Heir of all things the express Image of thy Fathers Person let thy Grace comfort and refresh me who hunger and thirst after eternal life let my Soul never faint in the Courts of the Lord as long as my heart and my flesh cryeth out for the living God Let Satan never find an opportunity to tempt and ensnare my Soul may I ever be diligent to prevent a surprize and abstain from transgressions lest my portion be among sad and accursed Souls As for me I will call upon God and the Lord shall save me Evening and Morning and at noon day will I pray and cry aloud and he shall hear my voice he hath delivered my Soul in peace from the Battel that was against me therefore I will put my trust in him for ever I confess I have omitted much good and am guilty of many Offences of Ignorance Infirmity and Knowledge therefore thy pardon I still beg and assistance of thy Grace that I may bring forth fruits worthy of Repentance Make thy Church happy in a Moses and Aaron in Nursing Fathers to go in and out before thy people and holy Ministers to stand before thee our God Preserve them from the malice of their Enemies and the strivings of the people let their lips preserve knowledge that we may seek the Law at their mouth Spare thy people bless them in their Souls Bodies and Estates that this Nation may be at length as great an instance of thy mercy as it has been of thy wrath and fury Every one of us more or less has contributed to the vast heap of crying sins yet seeing thou hast graciously afforded us a space for repentance and suspended the dreadful execution let our sorrow procure the continuance of thy Favours that Peace and Plenty may be within our Borders and no Invasion in the Land I thank thee O merciful Father for the freedom of thy Gospel the food of the Word the sweet refreshings of thy Sacraments publick Communions in thy Church and for all the benefits which are enjoyed by the society of Saints and good men Pitty all those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of Death who are not acquainted with thy Name or knowing it are nevertheless carried away by strong delusions into the ways of errour and mischief Bless all the sons and daughters of affliction strengthen them in the hour of tryal that neither the love of this world nor the loss of light neither the fear of death nor the terrors of Hell may make them unwilling to depart this life And now at length I humbly desire thee to give me wisdom to order my life aright from henceforth that I may be wary and circumspect in all my actions a careful and an understanding Hearer of thy Word a constant frequenter of thy Courts sober and temperate exercising my self unto all godliness that my whole Spirit Soul and Body may be kept blameless unto the end Plant in my Soul a deep detestation of all evil that when I see my sins I may also behold my Redeemer Bless this Religious Society the pious and aged Brethren that Peace and Love may endear and unite us all together that we may faithfully communicate heavenly things one to another temper our minds with submission and reverence that we may honour our Governours and pay our just duty to all our Superiours and no way carry our selves insolently to our Inferiours O Father Son and Holy Ghost the Blessed Three in One the All in All accept of these and all my hearty Prayers through Jesus Christ my God and Saviour Amen In the time of Sickness O Thou determiner of my days in whose hands are the Issues of Life and Death behold and pity thy aged and sinful Servant diseased in body and distressed in mind turn thy face unto me send down thine aid to comfort me for I am in pain desolate and poor Speak peace unto my Soul and say thou art my Salvation O dearest Jesus the brightness of thy Fathers Glory dispel these Clouds of Darkness and Despair thou who art the Souls Physician arise with healing under thy wings and shew thy skill in my weakness If it be thy Will and uncontroulable Decree by this thy Chastisement to finish my days draw near to my humble and afflicted Soul support it by thy strength in this day of Trial as I have alwaies endeavoured to live so let me now dye the death of the Righteous diminish the fears of death by the hopes of a blessed life hide not thy face from me in the time of my trouble hold not thy peace at my tears now my Soul cleaveth unto the dust but let the last Minute be the best of all my life Many days have I enjoyed the Comforts of Life in this quiet and Religious Sanctuary and all I ascribe to thy particular mercy and gracious instances of Providence But now my spirits faint my eyes wax dim my hands shake and the pillars of my house tremble now I find the time of my dissolution approaches by the regular Course of Nature therefore what is my Hope O Lord truly my hope and affiance is even in Thee O Lord my heart is smitten down and wither'd like Grass so that I forget to eat bread there is no health in my flesh because of thy displeasure and no rest in my bones by reason of my sin Therefore dear Saviour pardon me forgive me all my sins comfort me in this day of sorrow ease my pains and satisfie my doubts strengthen my hopes and relieve my Soul Thou who are the First-born from the dead the appointed Heir of all things uphold my faint and trembling Soul in the conflict and agony of death that I may utter nothing displeasing to thee O God and give me assurance that my portion shall never be among hopeless and accursed Souls in the Regions of Torment and Despair Welcome blessed Hour the period of my Pilgrimage the term of my
they say to write soon after the matter of fact is to tread too close upon the heels of time c. I am glad I speak to the face of Time for many Persons are now alive who knew the Founder he having been dead not above 66 years so that if it be my misfortune to transcribe any Errours I hope they may be discerned and I will engage they shall thankfully be amended Some small pleasure and satisfaction may possibly be found in things of this nature for I have heard say that he whose understanding is not elder than himself looseth the noblest Inheritance of his Ancestors and stick 's in the worst kind of minority Some wise men therefore have thought Works of this nature very necessary for the improvement of Virtue and Goodness for Example is observed to have more force and virtue among men than the Legislative Power the Fundamental Laws of States and Kingdoms what penal Laws Courts of Judicature the Rods and the Hatchet are designed to effect by Legal Force and Compulsion that Example will perform with the unresisted eloquence of its own nature without the formidable Retinue of Guards and Tumult According to the Kings of Israel so varied the Worship of God for Examples are the Springs from whence human actions derive their motion The power of the Laws may pursue and seize upon the body but Example surprises and attacks the soul it invades and charms the mind with the secret Magick of love and imitation It represents vertue to the world not in faint and languishing colours but moving full of life and vigour It propounds Reason not as imperious and tyrannical in its precepts but eloquent and attractive in its Operations Thus the great difficulty of Obedience is master'd and made easie by our desire of imitation I thought therefore it would not be amiss when I undertook this innocent diversion at spare hours to propound our great Founder to the World as a mighty Example of Charity and Benevolence For it is no small Honour to our Country that we can give such a famous Instance of the warmth richness of its Soyl when without any auxiliary Charity by the scattering of a single Hand it has brought forth so much piety such unparallel'd Benevolence Yet these great men meet with some strokes of misfortune from the ruder Ages wherein they live for as the highest Mountains are most subject to the storms of Thunder and the batteries of Hail so these who are placed on high are the usual marks at which the Instruments of Envy and Malice are levelâ—d Some men love to look on the knotty side of the Arras and take little notice of the comely figure that is wrought upon the right side of the Hangings The same indignities and affronts were offered to our generous Founder or at least it was so suspected which are fully wiped off in the body of his life But what will not the licentious Stage traduce when Socrates himself was the unexpected subject of Aristophanes's Buffoonry I wish we could find many Suttons so long liv'd to their Country by their Fame and Munificence and so long liv'd to themselves by their temperance and sobriety If he seem'd to the world something too sparing this may suffice at present Si non errâsset fecerat ille minùs The Instances I bring of the Carthusian Order are faithfully taken from Petrus Sutor one of their own Fraternity If any Person be more curious Lib. de vita Carth. be may read Johannes Morocurtius's Poem upon the Life of Bruno in four Books printed at Antw. 1540. 4 o. and now to be found in the Oxford Library The helps I found in the composure of Sutton's life were many of them scatter'd here and there laid hold on rather by chance than direction For the World has not been so kind to this Great man as to represent him to the open view with those graceful lines and fair advantages his Actions really have deserved Sir Richard Baker Dr Heylin and Mr. Fuller say little of him and that little very full of mistakes for they call him Richard Sutton and affirm he lived a Batchelor and so by his single life had an opportunity to lay up a heap of mony whereas his dear wife is with much honour and respect mentioned in his Will Others give him bad words say he was born of obscure and mean Parents and married as inconsiderable a wife and dy'd without an Heir but then to give some reason for his Wealth having no time nor desire to enquire into the means of his growing rich to cut short the business they resolve all into a Romantick Adventure they say it was all got at a lump by an accidental shipwrack which the kind waves drove to shore and laid at his feet whilst the fortunate Sutton was walking pensively upon the barren Sands They report in the Hulk Coals were found and under them an inestimable Treasure a great heap of Fayery wealth This I fancy may go for the Fable and his farming the Coal-mines as may be seen hereafter for the Moral The Errors of the former and dreams of the latter will be sufficiently discovered by the following History of his Life some Remarks whereof I had from creditable and worthy men bred in this Foundation long ago Others by a Commemoration Sermon of Mr. Burrel's preached in a fit time to declare the truth for several of the first list of Governours were then living and one of the Founders Executors viz. Sir Richard Sutton This I have by me in print I had likewise assistance from the Records of the House and lastly from an Anonymous and Imperfect MS. left not long since in the Booksellers hands which did me very good service I shall now only offer a word or two in the behalf of good Works and then proceed to the Historical part Nothing is more pleasing to him who is the Giver of good Gifts unto men than to see his own Blessings rightly placed and bestowed upon Objects of pitty and compassion Moreover by this we shew our thankfulness to God for the truest Notion of Gratitude is never to give an occasion that our Benefactour should repent that he bestow'd his Bounty upon us By Charity also we do good to men we oblige and endear our Neighbour we imitate the good Angels nay our Saviour himself who went about all Judea doing good though his Estate and Kingdom was not in this World yet among his few Disciples he chose one an Almoner to scatter his Benevolence and to distribute his small Treasure Love and Charity are as necessary to the well-being of States and Communities in the Body Politick as union of parts is in the material and Philosophical World Furthermore by acts of mercy and pitty we are kind to our own selves for no good man can without grief behold the gaping wounds of a poor Lazarus this makes his bowels yearn and his own Soul bear a part in sorrow so that by
but to recommend this Great Example to the Christian World The Poets feign that at the end of the thred or web of every mans life there is a little Medal containing the person's name and that Time waiting upon the Shears as soon as the thred was cut caught the Medals and carried them to the River Lethe about whose Banks there were many Birds flying up and down that would get the Medals and carry them in their Beaks a little while and then let them fall into the River only there were a few Swans which if they got a Name would carry it to a Temple where it was Consecrated May the memory of this great Man long endure and in this Temple dwell for ever The last WILL AND TESTAMENT OF Thomas Sutton Esquire IN the Name of God Amen The Second day of November in the year of our Lord God One thousand six hundred and eleven I Thomas Sutton of Camp Castle in the County of Cambridge Esquire being weak in body and of good and perfect mind and memory thanks be given to Almighty God for the same Do make and declare this my last Will and Testament in manner and form following that is to say First and principally I commend my Soul into the hands of Almighty God trusting through his mercy and by the precious death and passion of my Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christ to be saved and to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven for ever And my Body I will to be buried where and in what sort it shall seem meet and convenient to mine Executor or Executors and Supervisor or Supervisors of this my last Will and Testament with the least pomp and charge that may be Item I give to every one of the Children of Richard Coxe late Bishop of Ely who shall be living at the time of my death Ten pounds apiece of lawful mony of England Item I give to the Children of Eleanor Aske late wife of Robert Aske of Aughton in the County of York Esquire the Sum of One hundred pounds of good and lawful mony of England to be equally distributed amongst them Item I give to the poor Town of Berwick upon Tweed One hundred Marks of lawful mony of England to be distributed amongst the Poor there by the discretion of the chief Governour and Preacher there for the time being to be paid within one year after my decease Also I give to Andrew Westwood's wife of Newcastle upon Tyne or to her Children or to so many of them as shall be living at my death Ten pounds to be bestowed equally amongst them And I give to the poor people of Stoke-Newinton in the County of Middlesex Ten pounds to be distributed by the Constables Church-wardens and Parson of the same Town for the time being to the most needy people there Also I give to Mr. Gray dwelling in Yorkshire sometimes servant to Ambrose Earl of Warwick or to his Children if any of them be living at my decease Forty pounds of good and lawful mony of England to be distributed equally amongst them within six months after my decease Also I give to the Children of my Aunt White or to so many of them as shall be living at my decease One hundred Marks to be equally distributed amongst them within six months next after my decease Also I give to William Cocket Son to William Cocket late Alderman of the City of Lincolne One hundred pounds of lawful mony of England Also I give to the Children of John Copeland late of Skillingthorp in the County of Lincoln or to so many of them as shall be living at the time of my decease One hundred pounds of lawful mony of England to be equally distributed amongst them saving unto Elizabeth Copeland for my meaning is that she shall not have any part of the said Legacy of One hundred pounds And unto the said Elizabeth Copeland I give the Sum of One hundred pounds of lawful mony of England to be paid unto her at the day of her marriage or within one year after my decease Item I give unto Jane Upton one of the Daughters of Elizabeth Upton late wife of Hamond Upton of Wamfleet in the County of Lincoln Esquire the Sum of fifty pounds of lawful mony of England And to every other of the Children of the said Elizabeth who shall be living at the time of my decease Twenty pounds apiece of lawful mony of England to be paid within six months next after my decease Also I give to the Children of one Skelton late of Lowth in the County of Lincoln and sometimes towards the Henneages of Heniton in the said County Ten pounds to be equally divided amongst them Item I give to the Children of Thomas Pynner late of Micham in the County of Surrey Esquire or to so many of them as shall be living at my decease Twenty pounds to be equally distributed amongst them Item I give to the Children of Henry Tutty late Gunner in Barwick or to so many of them as shall be living at my decease Ten pounds of lawful mony of England to be equally distributed amongst them Also I give to my Neece Elizabeth Allen Two hundred pounds of lawful mony of England And to every of her Children which shall be living at my decease One hundred Marks apiece Item I give to Simon Baxter if he be living at my decease Three hundred pounds of lawful mony of England if not then I give the same Sum to his Child or Children to be equally divided amongst them Item I give unto Francis Baxter if he be living at my death Five hundred Marks of lawful mony of England if not I give the same Sum to his Child or Children to be equally divided amongst them Item I give unto each of my Serving-men to whom I give wages with my Cook that shall be alive at my decease Thirteen pounds six shillings and eight pence over and above their wages then due Item I give to so many of my Maid-servants as I have in my house at the time of my decease five Marks apiece over and above their wages Item I give unto the Children of Reynold Tomps my late Servant if any of them be alive at my death Ten pounds to be distributed amongst them Item I give to the Fishermen of the Town of Ostend in the Low-Countries One hundred pounds of lawful English mony to be given and distributed amongst the poorest Fishermen of that Town or for want of a competent number of them to call in some other of that Town to have a share of the said one hundred pounds by the discretion of the Governours of that Town and his Assistants and the Parson and Minister there for the time being the same to be paid within one year after my decease Item I give towards the mending of the Highways between Islington and Newington in the County of Middlesex Twenty six pounds thirteen shillings and four pence of lawful mony of England to be imployed and bestowed by
They shall not undertake the following of others mens Causes and Suits nor procure the molestation of trouble or expence of other the Kings Subjects by their suggestions or informations upon pain of paying what Mulct the Master by the Ordinances can impose upon them and abiding the Governours further Censure 21 Junii 1627. All other Duties to be performed after their Admission as daily frequenting the Chappel Reverent behaviour at Prayers Civil fashion of Feeding Cleanly and decent Cloathing Neat and wholsom Lodging Friendly and Brotherly Conversing and Living together shall be referred to the Masters discretion to direct and to the power given him to correct 21 Junii 1627. At an Assembly of the Governours 27 February 1656. It is Ordered That whensoever any Pensioner or poor Man of this Hospital shall with leave or without leave go into the Country and be absent from the Hospital or shall live in or about the City of London Westminster or elsewhere and shall not be Abiding Lodging and Resident at and in the Hospital he shall have no allowance at all in mony or otherwise for his Commons or Diet during any such time as he shall be absent from the Hospital And those that are now absent are at their perils to take notice of this Order and to return home to the Hospital by the Feast of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary now next ensuing Neither shall any Pensioner or poor Man that lodgeth in the Hospital and goeth abroad into the Town be suffered to be out of Commons nor be paid any mony for or in lieu of his Commons but shall take and eat his Commons in kind in the common Dining-Hall of the Hospital according to the Orders of the House and shall carry none of it away uneaten and what he cannot eat there shall be there left and given to the poor women that are appointed to do service in the Hospital And We the Governours do charge the Receiver not to pay any of them any mony or allowance contrary to the intent of this our Order upon pain not to be allowed the same upon his Accompt besides incurring our further Censure Provided always that if any of the said Pensioners shall be sent or go away out of the Hospital upon the Dismission of the House in the Sickness time in respect of the danger of the Plague then in such case during such time of Dismission and Absence he shall have his full Allowance in mony for Commons and Diet as hath been formerly given in such case There are divers other Orders made by the Governours concerning the poor Men and Brothers of this Hospital which are not so proper to be comprehended in this Table but are with these herein mentioned transcribed into a Book remaining in the Vestry whereunto any Pensioner or poor Man of this Hospital may at convenient times repair to see and read for his better knowledge and observation My House shall be called THE HOUSE OF PRAYER Mark 11. â— Spare the People 〈…〉 Let the Priests the Ministers of the Lord Weep between the 〈◊〉 and the Altar and let them say Spare thy People O LORD Ioel. 1.17 London Printed for Henry Bromâ—â— 1677. PRAYERS UPON Several Occasions Fitted for the PRIVATE DEVOTIONS OF THE Ancient Gentlemen IN THE CHARTER-HOVSE c Vpon their Admission into the House O Thou Lord of Hosts and God of Battels The great Preserver of Men I adore reverence and magnifie thy holy Name that after the skirmishes of a tedious and uneasie life I have the blessed Opportunity of retiring and making my peace with thee O God my Life has been a real warfare I have been exposed to the dangers of Night and the discoveries of Day to the fury of unkind Weather and the rage of Enemies but yet thou wast my defence and shield the support of my Soul and my great Deliverer Therefore blessed be the God of Heaven I will take the Cup of Salvation and praise thy glorious Name I will never cease to cry out Holy holy holy Lord God of Hosts Blessed be thy Name for ever and ever O Father who hast looked upon me in the times of hazard and sear mou'd and frame my mind into acknowledgment and thankfulness Thou who art absolute in thy Providence hast wonderfully raised means to succour and relieve thy Servant in danger may thy grace and goodness never forsake me but continue to be my loving God Helper and Saviour unto the worlds end How many are in â—onds and Distress when I am Free and provided for How many are in wars and necessity when I am in peace and encompas't with plenty Though I have justly deserved many years ago to have been cut off from the Land of the Living and by reason of my sins to have been sent early to the House of Mourning yet thou hast drawn out my life to a great length thy mercy has saved and protected me all the time of my Pilgrimage and now I remain as a signal Monument of thy loving kindness O grant that the remainder of my time may be spent in Thanksgiving and Repentance that all the days of my appointed time I may patiently wait until my change come Let my Admission into this Religious house be an Emblem of my Entrance into Heaven above that my Life may be a continual walking with Thee that the main tendency of my thoughts may be heaven-wards and my conversation there also Grant O Lord that my entring into this Society of Grey-hairs below may be an Earnest of my joyning with the Elders that are before thy Throne above That when I first put on these Garments of Charity I may resolve to endeavour that my Soul may be cloathed with humility and gratitude and the robes of Righteousness I am sensible O Lord of the weakness of my Body and the decays of Nature but our Souls are of another frame and complexion Therefore be pleased to quicken and revive my thoughts to awaken the powers faculties of my Soul that the feebleness of my Body may be recompenced with the strength of my mind that the declination of my outward man may be in order to the Ascension of my Soul into the Heaven of Heavens Not long since the sorrows of my heart were enlarged but now thou hast graciously brought me out of all my trouble I have nothing now to do in this place of Retirement but to live well and love thee from whom I receive my daily bread who art the Fountain of all I drink Therefore O my Soul praise that God who is so great a lover of the sons of men Thou hast not dealt so with every man neither have the wicked a desire to praise thee Thou hast plentifully prepared all things for me thy aged and infirm Servant so that I must confess I want nothing but thankfulness to Thee What Reward shall I give unto thee or what Sacrifice shall I pay for all thy benefits Now I am setled in this Religious
place O Lord grant that by my life I may answer the ends of my admission and the purposes of our Noble Founder's Charity Sanctify my memory to treasure up good things purifie my conscience to have peace in thee and reform my will to do thy pleasure Teach me to be humble and meek to be patient full of content and thankfulness for the riches of thy mercy For how poor must that man be who is not content with a God so rich as thou art Let the remainder of my time be spent in the thoughts of eternity and the ravishing joys of another life that while I carry about with me this decay'd and wither'd body which will soon moulder into dust and ashes while I have time and opportunity I may endeavour to live in thy fear that I may dye in thy favour O thou Strength and Redeemer of Israel Amen On the Founder's Day BLessed be thy Name O God and this happy Morn wherein the Foundation of my present Comfort of this Life was laid wherein this Noble Benefaction was given by Thomas Sutton a great Lover of Souls and Bodies who has so plentifully provided for the repair and support of my aged Body and the heavenly entertainment of my Soul O my Soul give thanks unto the Lord for he is good and his mercy endureth for ever This Day let us worship him in the beauty of holiness let us come before his Presence with Thanksgiving and make a joyful noise unto him with Psalms Blow the Trumpet at the time appointed at our Solemn Feast-day Be pleased O Lord to send the Influence of thy Grace upon me that I may answer the intent and purposes of our Noble Founder in my Life and Conversation that my years and department may be exemplary for Piety and Devotion that I may sanctifie this Earth with a blameless and angelick Life and that at my last hour I may be reconciled unto Thee or else all these Benefits will rather become a Curse than a Blessing unto me Teach me O dearest Saviour to live a life worthy of the name I bear as a Member of thy Church worthy of the Blessings I have received of the Food I eat and the Ease I take of the Love my gracious God hath shewed to me and the Glory he has reserved for me I live in the abundance of thy Favours and within the influence of thy Goodness I thank thee O Lord for the fixedness and condition of my Life for many corporal and earthly comforts which I now enjoy nay thy blessings exceed far the number of my sins which are more than the hairs upon my head In this House is God known and his Name is great in our Israel for his mercy reacheth unto the Heavens and his truth unto the Clouds O Lord thou hast brought up my Soul from the grave thou hast kept me alive that I should not go down unto the Pit Thou art my Shepherd and I shall never want yea though I walk through the Valley of the shadow of Death I will fear no evil for thou art with me thy Rod and thy Staff they comfort me This day thou preparedst a full Table for me surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and afterwards I hope to dwell in the House of the Lord for ever When I looked round about and saw no hand to help me thy Providence relieved my fears and all my wants and led me to this Habitation of Comfort When I was weak and stooped for Age thou wast my strength and the lifter up of my head when my eyes waxed dim and I was almost banished from the sense of the pleasures of this life thou didst recompense that loss with the joyful prospect of those Blessings which are in the Kingdom above Though my hands and the Pillars of my House tremble yet I rejoyce because my hope is founded upon the Rock of Ages which cannot be removed but abideth stedfast for ever My Passions decay and all things prove insipid unto me I have but a small relish of mortal Joys because the sense of them is swallowed up in the unexpressible thoughts of Heaven and Happiness what I am capable of partaking of in this life I heartily thank the Great Preserver of Men that he has plenteously afforded it me I had perisht long ago if I had not been sustained by his protecting Hand Therefore will I pour forth his deserved Praises with a joyful and thankful heart hoping in God's due time to sing Eternal Hallelujahs with the Blessed Saints above O thou first born of the Dead put me always in mind of the Resurrection now I am full of years let me be full of Grace and full of Faith I am heartily sensible of all the Miscarriages of a long and sinful Life yet thy mercy is over all thy Works though my Sins are as Scarlet yet thou canst make me all over as white as Snow As I have tasted of thy benefits here so let me partake of thy Salvation hereafter I consult not with Flesh and Blood but rely upon thy Providence desiring thee to bestow upon me Wisdom and Patience and Thanksgiving to know thy Will to suffer what I deserved and to extoll and praise my Guide to everlasting Glory This is the glorious Day of Relief and Consolation therefore from the rising up of the Sun to the going down of the same the Lord's Name be praised The Dead praise not the Lord nor any that go down into the Pit but we that are alive and in health who live in the Enjoyment of his peculiar Blessings will bless the Lord from this time forth for evermore Glory be to God on high on Earth peace and good will towards men Amen Vpon the Decease of a Pensioner O Thou who art the Spring and Original of all Comfort the Hope of them that live and the Resurrection of the Dead Sanctifie this mournful occasion to me thy Servant that I may seasonably prepare for my latter end and wisely provide for the journey to my long Home Spare me a little before I go hence and be no more seen I am daily sensible of the near approaches of death every moment I receive some warnings of mortality and I know within a few days I must depart and render an account of all my life Therefore teach me rightly to state the Accounts of my Soul and to improve the precious minutes of my stay in this life for on the least of them depends Eternity My Soul longeth and waiteth for the living God I desire in thy due time to appear before thy glorious Presence that I may see the good things thou hast laid up in Heaven for them that are thine Confirm my hope and make it perfect until I enjoy the lively Fruits of thy assured Salvation Bear me upon thy saving wings through the miseries of this life and let not the mire and clay wherein I stick fast detain me for ever For thy Names sake
O Lord have mercy upon me for my sin is great If every moment we offend thee and can do nothing as we ought then how long must my Accusation be who have so many years repeated so many transgressions How dreadful must the thoughts of the Process of the Day of Judgment be unto me who have been so long an experienced sinner I faint at my own unworthiness and yet otherwise I cannot appear before thee O Lord I have no other qualification for thy mercy but my extream misery I am now brought very low to a vale of misery and tears surrounded with all the Chambers and Instruments of Death This dear Brother just deceased only shews the way that I must soon follow e're long I must repair to the House of mourning I must bid my last farewel to the world but wo and eternal sorrow will be my Portion if I dye in my sins and depart in thy displeasure Therefore out of the abundance of thy love pardon cleanse and reform my poor and sinful Soul send me thy sanctifying thy guiding and supporting Spirit that I may pass safely through the valley of Death in the lively sense of thy mercies and the refreshments of thy love in the hopes of pardon and the expectation of glory O thou ancient of days at whose voice the pillars of Heaven shake and the whole Creation trembles thou art my strength and defence in whom is my sole trust deliver my Soul from death mine eyes from tears and my feet from falling cleanse me from all my iniquities and purge me from my secret sins for Heaven is so holy a place that no impure thing can inhabit there teach me so to number the rest of my days that I may apply my heart unto Wisdom Here length of days is in her right hand and her ways lead to those rivers of joy which are at Gods right hand for evermore O Lord who art touched with a sense of my Infirmities let me not be afraid of the thoughts of Death that King of Terrours but soften its severity by a mild Commission sweeten its bitterness with the most pleasant relishes of joy and immortality My life I had of thee and all the blessings I have enjoyed ever since I came into the World O Lord make me willing to render them back again into thy hands Whom have I in Heaven but thee and I desire no other Saviour but thee Teach me often to meditate on Heaven that I may wish for it of Hell that I may abhorr it of Death that I may expect it and of the Day of Judgment that I may be prepared for it To thy mercy I appeal I fly unto thee for succour my sole dependance is on thy love I fear love reverence and adore thy goodness which is thy glory Blessed is the man whom thou choosest for though he seemeth to decay and perish to be a companion of death though the body wax feeble and impotent yet he lives the life of Faith he lives in the secure Courts of thy protection and the Guardian Angels pitch their Tents round about him Let not this be a short heat and suddain fit of Devotion raised by this late instance of mortality and the amazing thoughts of Death but may these exercises of piety continue and endure to my lives end For I know that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the Earth and though after my skin worms destroy this body yet in my flesh shall I see God Amen In the Morning before he stirs abroad O Lord God Almighty who makest the out-goings of the Morning and Evening to praise Thee I cannot but reverence and adore thy Divine Majesty for the Blessings of the last Night for my Preservation from all evils both of Body and Soul I laid me down and slept and rose up again for the Lord hath sustained me For I am a weak and aged Creature surrounded with Infirmities of Nature and seldom free from the assault of Temptations night and day Though my Limbs wax stiff and cold yet let my Soul be vigorous and fervent that like Jacob I may seem to wrestle with thee for thou delightest in the earnest and importunate Solicitations of thy people Now I am risen from my place of slumber teach me to look upwards to found my hopes on Thee to fix my eye upon that holy place from whence the day does break Bless me in all my endeavours and duties of this day that in every action I may have a regard to thy glory and the salvation of my own Soul Unto thee O Lord have I cryed and early in the morning shall my Prayer come before thee As long as I live will I magnifie thee on this manner and lift up my hands in thy Name O let me hear of thy loving kindness in the morning betimes for in thee is my trust Shew me the way I should walk in for I lift up my Soul unto thee I desire to dedicate the powers of my Soul the Affections of my heart and the Faculties of my Body to be thy Faithful Loyal and Obedient Servants Extend O merciful Father thy loving kindness over all the World especially this sinful Land of my Nativity Herein bless his most Excellent Majesty his Royal Consort and the Illustrious Prince let the Sons of Violence do them no harm Let Mercy and Truth preserve him and his Throne be establish't for ever before thee O thou who art the wonderful Counsellor and Prince of Peace Be gracious to thine Inheritance for the glory of thy Name let not thine Enemies devour the Church and lay waste her dwelling places Defend it with the Custody of Angels and the Patronage of Kings and Princes that She may flourish under the Beams of thy Favour and Providence take root and spread and fill all Lands that the whole Nation may be blessed with thy health and salvation Bless our Noble Governours under whose care and protection we live and are sustained Let thy Truth and Mercy be ever with them and when they have happily finish't their Course in this Life crown their Wisdom and Fidelity with Immortality and Glory Hear me for all those whom I am obliged to by the bonds of Duty Charity or Affection Pity all those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death preserve them in the midst of an untoward and sinful Generation Avert thy Judgments from us and soften the hearts of all our Enemies O Lord whom my Soul does desire and my Spirit seeks early in the morning How excellent is thy Name in all the World Grant me a pure intention of mind and a stedfast regard of thy glory in all my Actions Create in me sorrow for my sins thankfulness for thy benefits fear of thy Judgments and love of thy mercies that I may have a continual reverence for thy Name and be mindful of thy presence for evermore Every morning I draw nearer the last Stage of my Life therefore
Lord assist me with thy Grace that I may be the more prepared every minute for my dissolution that when I hear news of thy Messenger Death I may not be amazed and wax faint but hope in thy Salvation Let this Day be a day of Reformation and Repentance that though I am weak and aged yet I may become a new Creature and serve thee in true holiness and righteousness all the days of my life Rule and govern my heart that it may every day be intent and studious upon good things that I may not live as an useless Creature and so become a burthen to the Earth Support me in this my long Pilgrimage in the Journey of this day and the performances thereof hold me by thy right hand that my feet slip not aside that I may fall into no danger I brought nothing into this World and it is certain I can carry nothing out therefore O Lord be thou my portion and my hope in whom I will ever trust My abode here is of no long continuance which often puts me in mind of Eternity My present weakness and poverty reminds me of thy strength and the riches of thy glory Remember thy Promises O merciful Father and suffer me never to forget thy Praises O fail me not this day following and all the days of my life my God and my Redeemer through Jesus Christ his sake Amen An Evening Prayer OMnipotent and Everlasting God thou who neither slumberest nor sleepest the great Shepherd of Israel I dare not commit my body to rest before I have commended my soul to thee I dare not suffer my eyes to sleep nor mine eye-lids to slumber nor the temples of my head to take any rest before I have poured out my soul before Thee in Praises and Thanksgiving for the blessings of this day past and the succours of thy Favours for the length of my life and the continuance of thy Providence for the comforts of my soul and the refreshment of my body which I have largely received The Day is thine and the Night is thine therefore let me experience thy goodness in both Let my Prayers be set forth in thy sight as Incense and the lifting up of my hands be as the Evening Sacrifice I humbly thank thee for all the late Instances of thy love and goodness for the improvement of my time and the blessed opportunities of Divine worship for the occasions of doing good and the benefit of holy conference for the gracious issues of thy love and the manifestation of thy glory make me to remember that the more Blessings I receive the greater will my account be at the last day Take away all the mutinous thoughts of repining nature that when I consider the happiness of my birth and the quality of my education I may not quarrel with my present condition but study to repay as much thankfulness as I receive charity Praised be thy Name that I am thus provided for that I have a place whereon to lay my head and that I am not tempted to put forth my hand to wickedness for some strange course of supply Whenever I consider of the mean circumstances of my condition let me then remember the smalness of my deserts who might well be satisfied with the bread and water of Affliction or with the crums that fall from other mens Tables Possess me with this seasonable perswasion that this my present state is fittest for me and make me sensible that thy Providence does visit the lowest condition of men and that the beams of thy Favour do reach unto the most withdrawn and solitary places of the world O thou who art pleased to call thy self the Hearer of Prayers give me a tender sense of Conscience that out of the abundance of my sorrow I may pour out a most plentiful and hearty confession of my sins before thee Make me to consider seriously that all pain and grief is but the fruit of sin and that as all sickness naturally makes way for death so death in it self is the fore-runner of Condemnation Why should I cover and hide my sins from thee when the discovery of them is the way to receive thy pardon and release For thou hast bound thy self by a promise to hear and assist all those that seek thee with an unfeigned heart I have a thousand ways done evil in thy sight My Prayers have been interrupted my Meditations perplexed and robbed of their wonted sweetness and my careless hearing and reading of thy Word hath proved unprofitable My faith has been encountred with grievous doubtings because I cannot feel that strength and power of thy Spirit which I desire I am compassed about with many weaknesses as I have found by the experience of this day Satan is full of his old subtilty to work upon all advantages therefore give me thy holy wisdom to discover his snares and thy grace to withstand his siercest assaults O Lord forgive my Ignorance and forget my Presumption pardon my iniquities committed both in youth and age give me prudence and sobriety to carry my self among men out of the reach of just exception and arm me with resolution that I may sacrifice my credit and estimation nay life it self if need be for the testimony of thy Faith Let me not be haunted with troops of unquiet thoughts because I feed on Charity when my Relations live plenteously upon their own for all the World is thine and thou art an equal Lord and Disposer of that and this too Enrich my Soul with Spiritual Blessings in heavenly things raise and ennoble my Soul that it may not dwell too long upon the Earth but often be entertained with the thoughts of that City above which hath Foundations whose Builder and Maker is God Make me to see the depth of my sins that I do not flatter and deceive my Soul pardon the vanities of my youth and the offences of my riper years When I look upon my days that are past and consider how much time has been consumed in sin and folly and how little in the exercises of Piety and offices of Religion when I behold all my sins marshalled in rank and order before my eys I am even ashamed and confounded within my self and have no other sanctuary to repair unto but thy mercy and goodness Let not thy Graces in me wither with my age nor my zeal for thy glory cool with the decay of bodily heat Suffer me not to put the evil day far from me to delude my Soul with the idle hopes of living a little and a little longer but teach me with St. Paul to dye daily Now therefore do I bow my Soul to thee O God and humbly lay my self low before thy Throne pity these feeble and trembling knees have mercy upon thy poor Suppliant though now sleep be ready to seize upon the eyes of my body yet let not vain security oppress my Soul I am now thinking of thy everlasting Rest which I hope at length to
obtain when time shall be swallowed up in Eternity when Faith shall be turn'd into Vision bare hopes into actual Enjoyment O Lord hear and graciously accept of these my Prayers through Jesus Christ his sake Amen A Preparatory Prayer before the Sacrament O Thou Searcher of hearts who knowest the secrets and most silent passages of the mind assist me in the survey and examination of my Soul that I may draw up a true Inventory of all the furniture of sin which is lodged in my breast I dare not approach thy Table before I have entred into my self and laid open all my sins and iniquities before thee which I have been contracting so long that I am become an aged sinner I have no other Sanctuary to repair to but thy mercy therefore O Lord pardon the sins of my whole life and pity the Infirmities of age and though I am of small esteem and no reputation among men though this trembling and wither'd Body of mine is become unwelcome to the eye of the World yet grant that thy holy Spirit would vouchsafe to dwell in this Ancient Temple that I may daily magnifie thy holy Name I dare not presume to draw near thy Table without making my addresses to the Throne of Grace for he that confesses his sins shall obtain a covering for them O Lord cleanse my hands and purifie my heart and make me conformable to thy Will and thy Image that I may not pollute thy heavenly food nor prophane the most blessed body and blood of my dearest Saviour To this end sanctifie my body and soul that no unclean thing may come out of my mouth that I may detest and abhor covetousness lying and injurious dealing all cursing blasphemy and unreasonable anger that I may be chaste virtuous meek and religious that I never offer to put that heavenly Food into a mouth used to gluttony and drunkenness to falsifying the truth and speaking evil of my Brethren for this will be to make no difference yea to prophane the Lord's Body Teach me to put off the Old man and repair the breaches of my decay'd Nature prosper and direct my present purposes of communicating at thy Table that I may prove a true Disciple and know my Lord in breaking of bread This is the commemoration of my Saviours death may it prove instrumental to my eternal life strike an aw and reverence in my heart because of thy Presence and in consideration that it is thy holy Ordinance My soul mourns when I consider at what a great distance my sins have set me from thee but yet now I begin to revive and wax glad because of thy faithful promise of re-union O how I hunger and thirst for thy saving health to be united to that sacred Body whose Head is Christ Give me Faith to believe in him who by Faith and new Obedience is made mine Make me a welcome Guest at thy holy Table that all the days of my life I may bear a good Conscience both towards God and towards Man which will be a continual Feast O Lord this is a Feast of Love therefore expel out of my mind all disorderly and uncharitable thoughts that I may lovingly embrace all my aged Brethren who are fed within the walls of this Religious House that I may extend it to all men even my enemies and forgive the whole world for thou didst the same thing to us who were at variance with thy holiness and purity For he that comes to thy Table with the barbarous thoughts of Revenge does certainly crucifie his Saviour afresh If my Lord and Saviour descended from his glorious Palace in Heaven was so humble as to take our Nature upon him endured the contradiction of sinners and at last laid down his life for my sake truly I am ashamed to think that I should scruple acts of kindness and civility Instances of love and charity to those who are bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh for so thy Prophet tells me by advising me not to turn away my face from my own flesh Seeing my God was made a Sacrifice for me what can I do less than make my solemn vows in the House of the Lord to serve him faithfully all the days of my life than to thank him for the pledges of his love and the seals of his Favour that while I carry about with me this frail and shattered body I may fit my self for the glorious Mansions above where there will be an Eternal Communion of Saints Who can tell how oft he offendeth therefore O Lord cleanse me from my secret faults Cast me not away in the time of my old age and forsake me not when my strength faileth me enable me to get the mastery of sin that I may perform holy duties with more ease and satisfaction and that I may have sweeter fellowship with thy Spirit I am eternally bound to thank thee for thy gracious instances of Providence in my own behalf that when I was a slave to sin and punishment thou gavest thy Son for a Ransom didst send thy holy Spirit for a pledge and comforter thy Word for a Guide and hast prepared a Kingdom for my inheritance I am now going about to renew thy Covenant to beg pardon for my failure in any of the conditions that I may not forfeit my right to Eternal Happiness Accept of my Prayers and Vows my imperfect offers of Duty and Obedience for the sake of the Son of thy Love the Holy Jesus my Mediator and Redeemer the Saviour of Mankind Grant that I may be a worthy Receiver that this holy action prescribed us by the great Attonement may prove efficacious and add to the life and refreshment of my Soul through Jesus Christ his sake Amen A Prayer after the Receiving the holy Communion O Dearest Jesu the Head of the Church the Beginning and First-born from the Dead thou who gavest thy self a Sacrifice and Propitiation for my sins accept of my hearty Prayers and receive my Thanksgiving thou who upholdest all things by the word of thy Power sustain my weak and aged body thou who art the brightness of thy Fathers glory purifie and refine my Soul that it be not sullied with the filthiness of sin I humbly thank thee for the greatness of thy love in humbling thy self to the death of the Cross for thy institution of this Blessed Sacrament for thy gracious invitation to this holy Table and lastly for the unspeakable comfort and refreshment of my Soul Possess my Soul with a mighty sense of thy great goodness that I may declare to the sons of men the wonderful works that the Lord hath done unto me Let me clearly perceive the manifestation of thy wisdom and love who to inform and instruct my weakness are pleased by these Elements of Bread and Wine to figure out unto me the Body and Blood of my dearest Saviour may the Shadow lead me to the Substance and this Seal of thy gracious Covenant be an
Bondage the end of my Care and the Haven of my Hopes now I am to take my flight to the place from whence I shall never more return now I am to enter into the loving Embraces of my Lord and Saviour O thou Father of Comforts how do I love to hear of thy mercy and the joys of Heaven O how dear unto me are the promises of the Living God Suffer me not to be impatient in this day of Visitation but meekly to resign my spirit up into thy Hands and peaceably to pass by the Gates of Death to the Kingdom of Glory Separate my Transgressions O Lord from my Soul or else they will separate me from Heaven Now the Enemy is busie and Satan watches for an advantage secure my apprehension add strength to my faith and pity my Infirmities make all my Friends who stand around my Death-bed sensible of Human frailty by beholding me an object of Mortality just setting out for Eternity O Lord let thy pardon refresh my Soul let thy Spirit guide me safely in the way to the blessed Mansions above If they are at the point of death I have fought a long fight in much weakness I have near finish't my Course though in great faintness and the Crown of my Life is that through the strength of thy Grace I have kept the true faith and now dye in it I thank God for all his blessings the company of my Friends the means of Physick holy Prayers and living and dying in the best established Church in the Christian World I willingly resign my Earthly body to the Dust from whence it came and I earnestly desire to be with God I profess to all the World I know no other Name by which any man can be saved but by the Name of Jesus I renounce all presumption and confidence in my own merits I thankfully acknowledge Gods repeated Blessings and heartily bewail my own sins I repose all my trust in the mercy and promises of God and I forgive all my Enemies as now I beg of God to forgive me Into thy hands O Lord I commend my Soul Amen A Prayer to be said at any time by a young Scholar of the House O Merciful Father the Redeemer and Sanctifier of all thy Children I praise and magnifie thy holy Name because I have received many special and peculiar Blessings at thy hands I thank thee O God that I was born of Christian Parents that I was baptized into the true Faith that my Lot is fallen in this excellent place of Piety and Education and that I have the knowledge and opportunity of making my early approaches to the Throne of Grace Teach me O Lord to remember my Creator in the daies of my Youth to dedicate the Spring and Innocency of my Age to the God of Purity and Perfection I am now soft and tender apt to receive the first Impressions that are laid upon me suffer me therefore not to be led aside by the whispers of sin or the pernicious Examples of a wanton and prophane Age Season the beginnings of my years with thy Grace and Goodness let wisdom teach me the fear of the Lord that I may cheerfully run the way of thy Commandments I am now entring upon the Stage of the World and humbly desire to be led by good Example therefore O blessed Father lead me not into Temptation but deliver me from Evil Curb and restrain the unruliness of my passion rebuke and subdue the rashness and heat of youth train me up in that way wherein thou desirest I should walk Frame in me an humble and submissive mind that I may be willing to be taught and obey to entertain all godly and profitable Instructions Give me understanding to discern my duty grace and wisdom 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all corrupt Example and Conveâ—â—â—… and to fix my heart upon Obeâ—â—â—… Thanksgiving Here thy wonâ—… 〈◊〉 mercy has placed me to be brought up in thy Fear and praise thy Name therefore I heartily desire to fulfill thy Will that these my fresh and greener years may be consecrated to thy Service before they receive any taint of Corruption from a lewd and infectious Age I bow my Soul before thee earnestly desiring that I may betimes become a Servant of the Living God Teach me to shun the occasions and appearances of sin that I may never be defiled with its Embraces Teach me to avoid the first steps and entrances of Impiety that I may never be so bold as to violate thy Commands Let the apprehensions of a small sin so terrifie and affright my tender Soul that I may alwaies abhor the malignity of gross and filthy sins that I may keep these Evils at a distance and not be entangled in their Snares As I grow up in years let me encrease in Goodness and Learning that I may fully Answer the ends of my Noble Benefactour and be instrumental to the publishing of thy Honour and Glory Now may I justly sing Hosanna seeing thou hast made so many shiftless Babes and Sucklings to rejoyce Plant in me a just and forward Obedience to all my Governours that are set in Authority over me In an especial manner bless my Soveraign Lord King Charles let him be as the First-born and glorious among the Kings of the Earth let thine Hand hold him fast and thine Arm strengthen him Bless him likewise in all his Royal Relations Be gracious to thine Inheritance bless them who watch diligently for our Souls that at the last day they may give a joyful account of them to the Shepherd and Bishop of our Souls Arise O God maintain thine own Cause remember how the foolish man blasphemeth thee daily continue unto us the Light of thy Gospel that the Name of the Man of thy Right Hand Christ Jesus may be glorified thy Church enlarged and defended and we all brought up in the true Faith of thy only Son Bless our Noble and Wise Governours our Instructors both in Sacred and Human Learning and sanctifie my heart with humility that I may shew all due Reverence to the several Members of this Religious House whether in Age or Authority placed above me Purge and cleanse my Soul from all the seeds and beginnings of evil root out of my mind all folly and vanity idleness and self-conceit expel all loose and wanton desires all stubborn and contumacious Humours which are apt to breed in younger years that every day I may wax wiser and more holy sensible of thy gracious assistance and the comforts of a chaste and vertuous life O thou Father of Lights it is by thy Providence I am placed here in the School of Instruction and from thy Goodness I crave a blessing upon my endeavours otherwise all my labour and study will be vain and fruitless To thee therefore do I lift up my Soul who art the Fountain of all Knowledge the Original of all Tongues and Languages I humbly desire thee to endue my mind with knowledge and discretion quickness of perception and a tenacious memory that I may be sit for that station which thou art pleased to design me for As I now make my Addresses betimes to thy holy Majesty so grant that the sincerity and fervour of my Soul may continue and encrease that I may be accustomed to Prayer and lifting up holy hands unto thee Pardon all the sins of my youth the errors and miscarriages of my few and imprudent years Bless me with health of body and soundness of mind increase of friends and profitable acquaintance sanctifie the ministry of thy Word unto me that my Soul may rejoyce in thy Salvation Make me able and ready every day to extol thy loving kindness and frequently to meditate upon thy mercy O thou Pittier of all that stand in need of help my Guide and Castle of Defence the great Preserver of Youth as well as Men through Jesus Christ his sake Amen FINIS Errata sic corrigat Lector Benevolus Page 10. line 14. read now p. 21. l. 11. r. dolentèr p. 21. l. 18. r. propagentur p. 38. l. penult r. 500 marks to Jesus Colledge p. 55. l. 6. r. cholick p. 87. l. 14. r. Horse-heath p. 114. l. 16. r. fitting p. 127. l. 12. r. all p. 135. l. 20. r. of age p. 187. l. 10. in the marg r. by How 's p. 191. l. penult r. latter p. 195. l. 9. r. Fryans p. 234. l. 18. r. the Senior p. 237. l. 16. r. shoes p. 238. l. 4. r. for such
who taught us to speak to proclaim his Charity by which we live to commend that Temperance which affords us affluence and plenty to admire his Self-denyal who was to do little less than a Miracle to feed a Multitude There are few such Usurers who design to receive their interest in Heaven few such Benefactors whose comprehensive Bounty embraces all Mankind from the Cradle almost to the grayest Head from the tender and helpless Youth to the most Impotent and Infirm old Age. Had our Founder gained that by unlawful Usury which he disposed to pious uses which is a sin almost to suppose unless we had evidence yet Restitution is the best sign and the greatest testimonial of sincere Repentance and where particular Restitution cannot be made to the parties wronged God requires it should be given to relieve the poor Thus Zacheus Luke 19.8 upon his Repentance and Conversion made an Overture of Restauration to all that he had wronged nay fourfold and gave half of his Estate to Souls that were in want this is recorded for our Example But this Accusation can lay no hold on Mr. Sutton for his Estate was gotten by Trade and Offices and never laid out for Interest until his years admonished him to quit his business and leave it for younger and more active people who could not undertake it unless he lent them mony and what Injury did he to any man to let him have that at 6 l. per Cent. which he was able to improve to 30 or 40 per Cent. Besides in his latter time his mony was chiefly laid out upon Annuities It was observed that when he lent mony he would enquire how it was spent and if he found that it was laid out for Necessaries Food and Rayment he never could be perswaded to take any Use No doubt but he rose by the Steps of Thrift and Frugality by being diligent in a lawful Calling nor was he Prodigal because he intended to be Magnificent Observe this Story which is told of his Parsimony Whilst he was busied in Forreign Trade and Commerce with other Nations he contracted a Familiar Acquaintance with a Merchant his Companion in Travel who though he did equal Sutton in Trade yet had not so well learned the Elements of Thrift For when on a Journey he called for his Pint of Wine Sutton called for a Gill and for every other Liquor doubled the Quantity At length this Merchant dyes and by Computation leaves an Estate of Fifty thousand pounds which Report coming to Sutton's Ears he said Alas I alwaies pitied him I thought he would dye no rich man This was in the person of his Friend to correct the Surfets and Extravagancies of a Profuse Age For a rich man is no way happier than another man but that he has more Opportunities ministred unto him of doing more good than his Neighbours Therefore Diogenes ask't of the Thrifty man but a half penny of the Prodigal a pound the former he said might give him often but the latter would shortly have nothing to give Good Husbandry is the fuel of Liberality He chose rather to deny himself in his Superfluities to retrench vain Expences that he might be able to refresh others in their day of sorrow not to rake from others wants that he might riot and rejoyce in their miseries The Fame and Credit of our Generous Founder brought him to share in many Offices at the Court and at the Custom-house where they had occasion for his mony for when an Industrious man has once rais'd his Fortunes to a considerable pitch he there grows rich apace by sharing in the constant Labours of many of the under sort of men He was a sharer in several publick Farms a Partner in Forreign Adventures especially in Muscovy and Hamburgh insomuch that he had no less than Thirty Agents abroad Thus he toyl'd and wrought as if he coveted all and gave away and he desired nothing He looked upon himself aâ— if he desired Steward of the Great God thriving as all should not for himself but others unwilling to lavish what he could spare from his own occasions on Pride or Ambition the Luxury and Vanity of a trifling World when God appointed it to be the Portion of his Fellow-Creatures Mr. Sutton according to the Methods of Wise men who mean to be wealthy appointed his Ordinary Expences to be but half of his Incomes when they were at the lowest and when they increased he ordered a third part and at the highest he determined to be charitable to an eighth part or thereabouts while living When his Estate was Two thousand pound per Ann. he designed one Thousand for himself and Family in House-keeping and Board-wages Two or Three hundred pounds for Charity Four hundred pounds for Law and Physick and many other necessaries the rest for extraordinary Emergencies not thinking it any way dishonourable to have a Personal Inspection over his own Affairs He was happy in a Wife as well as Estate which was advanced by her near Twenty thousand pounds She was the Lady Popham and so enjoyed the Wealth of great Rich Popham He had no Issue by his Beloved Wife for God Almighty had designed him a numerous train of Children to be adopted into his Family and nursed up tenderly as if they came from his own Loyns His Addresses were manly and taking his Discourse clear and full of Eloquence He did not interrupt his Resolutions with fearfulness and too much caution nor deprive himself of the great Instrument of Action Trust or Belief These good Qualifications with the glad Circumstances of a large Fortune and a long Age near 80 years in a Peaceable and Flourishing Reign after the troublesome days of Queen Mary and before the late unhappy Rebellion could not but conspire to make him Considerable The Benefices that were in his Patronage he dearly bought that he might bestow them upon men fit to be burning and shining Lights in the Church of God One of which Divines was Dr. Fish of Hallingbury in Essex who has often testified Mr. Sutton's Integrity in this point He received his Presentation of Him Ann. Dom. 1610. and heard him say That he never desired any thing of a Minister of Gods Word but his Prayers and the due performance of his Office He was a good Parishioner where he had Land and no Living as well as a good Patron where he had both encouraging all People by his early presence at Church doing good Offices as repairing Churches and decently adorning those holy Places where God has said his Name shall dwell He was remarkable for the Compassion and Relief he bestowed on the Widows and Children of good Ministers and this more particularly incited to by the excellent Examples he had seen of Charity of this Nature in the Low-Countries He was very Temperate moderating his natural Appetite by Abstinence he was sober and vigilant and moderate in all his Recreations The outward Ornaments of his Body were clean and becoming neither
starch't or curious neither careless or nice These were not so properly the Comforts of his Soul as the Sweetness of his Life hence proceeded health of Body clean Strength a good Complexion and a graceful and treatable Disposition As a Master he was careful and diligent to enquire how his Servants performed their Labours for the dust of the Master's Shoos is the compost to improve the Soyl and his Love appeared to his Servants by making a comfortable provision for them for at this day many of the Tenants to the House are descended from those who were Servants to the Founder and the common Reason they give of their good Bargains is That they hold them as Rewards of their Ancestors Service Yet it lies in the power of the Governors to advance the Rent which in some places has been done though with great moderation and this rather to quicken than dishearten the Tenants It is not intended by this Character of Mr. Sutton that he should be free from all blemish that he should be another Bonaventure in whom some affirm Adam did not sin All things have a mixture of corruption here below nay it is riveted in our very Nature The fairest Figure must have some flaws and the most beautiful Image some unhappy strokes therefore he as all other men was subject to the like Passions Whatever were his failings common Charity should endeavour to hide his Infirmities who was content to spread his Garments over so great a multitude After a numerous train of Worthy and Religious Actions in a good old Age within One of 80 years he dy'd at Hackney in the County of Middlesex Decemb. 12. Ann. Dom. 1611. He had for some time laboured under a Feverish Distemper which wasted him away and brought him into a lingring Consumption this attended with frequent and sharp fits of the Stone and violent assaults of the Colick made him Surrender up his Soul to that God on whose power the Life of all Depends From Hackney he was removed Decemb 16. to Dr. Law 's House one of the Executors mentioned in his Will in Pater-noster Row and from thence was conveighed to his Grave with all the Pomp and Solemnity which might become the Funeral of so great a Man Six thousand people attended his Corps through the City whose passage lasted six hours until they came to Christ-Church where his Body lay till his Foundation at the Charter-house was finished which was about Three years Ann. Dom. 1614. from whence he was in a decent manner removed Decemb. 12. in the aforesaid year Upon which day is duly kept an Anniversary Commemoration a Sermon is appointed with a Gratuity to the Preacher The first who preached on that Occasion was Mr. Percival Burrell Minister of the House upon Luke 7.5 He hath built us a Synagogue The Sermon was primed Ann. Dom. 1629. After Sermon the Auditors repair to the Publique Hall where the Bounty and Magnificence of our Noble Founder is gracefully set forth in a Latin Oration by a Youth of the Foundation whom Sutton has taught to speak Thus have we brought our Founder to his place of Rest where in the Chappel on the North side is a Noble Monument Erected by his Overseers with this following Inscription on a fair Marble-stone in Golden Letters Sacred to the Glory of God In grateful Memory of Thomas Sutton Esquire late of Castle-Camps in the County of Cambridge at whose only Cost and Charges this Hospital was Founded and Endowed with large Possessions for the Relief of poor Men and Children He was Born at Knaith in the County of Lincoln of Worthy and Honoured Parentage He lived to the Age of 79 Years and Deceased Decemb. 12. 1611. Let us now consider what particular Motives were apply'd to perswade and mould the mind of this good Man to design this Great Benefaction as also what Objections and Inconveniences were proposed to hinder the Progress of the Work Dr. Willet who lived at Barkway not far from Mr. Sutton and was much consulted by him would often say That his Thoughts had eaten his Bowels had he not unbosom'd some of them to his Friends The Doctor advised him to be a Benefactor to Chelsey Colledge a Place intended for the convenience and maintenance of Learned Divines who should study and write Controversies against the Papists Erected Ann. Dom. 1610. Dr. Sutcliff Dean of Exceter was the first Master Mr. William Gambden Clarencieux and Mr. John Heywood Dr. in Law Historians were fellows of the Colledge The Reversion of some Lands in Chelsey held in Lease by the Earl of Nottingham was all the Encouragement this Colledge found whose Endowment Dr. Willet proposed to Mr. Sutton or the erection of a new Colledge to that purpose of his own Another Proposition of the Doctors was taken out of King James his Letter to the Arch-Bishop for the digging of a Trench out of the River Lee to erect Engins and Water-works to conveigh Water in close Pipes under ground unto the City of London and the Suburbs thereof by an Act of Parliament 7. Jacobi But both these proved ineffectual Then Mr. Hall Minister of Waltham in Essex afterwards made Bishop of Exeter sent him this following Letter Sir I Trouble you not with reasons of my writing or with excuses if I do ill no plea can warrant me if well I cannot be discouraged with any Censures I crave not your pardon but your acceptation It is no presumption to give good Counsel and Presents of Love fear not to be ill taken of Strangers my Pen and your Substance are both given us for one end to do good these are our Talents how happy are we if we can improve them well suffer me to do you good with the one that with the other you may do good to many and most to your self you cannot but know that your full hand and worthy purposes have possessed the World with much expectation What speak I of the World whose honest and reasonable claims yet cannot be contemned with honour nor disappointed with dishonour The God of Heaven hath lent you this abundance and given you these gracious thoughts of Charity of Piety looks long for the Issue of both and will easily complain of too little or too late your Wealth and your Will are both good but the first is only made good by the second for if your hand were full and your heart empty we who now applaud you should justly pity you you might have Riches not Goods not Blessings your Burden should be greater than your Estate and you should be richer in sorrows than in metals For if we look to no other world what gain is it to be keeper of the best Earth that which is the common Coffer of all the rich Mines we do but tread upon and account it vile because it doth but hold and hide those Treasures whereas the skilfullest Metallist that findeth and refineth those precious Veines for Publique use is rewarded is honoured the very basest