"First, When in the beginning of our civil wars and distractions I was sometimes overwhelmed with base and distrustful fears, occasioned by my not acting faith upon the promises, and not remembering my former experiences, nor considering God's, love, power, and fidelity to his children, in performing his so many gracious promises, made unto them in all estates and conditions, and to me among the rest: hereupon I resolved, by God's grace and assistance, not to give way to this distrust and diffidence, praying God to assist me therein, and found more courage than formerly, so far as I know mine own heart; though truly the heart is very deceitful, as I have found by sad experience. The Lord teach and enable me to rely upon him with more courage and constancy, and more to live by faith upon his promises than formerly I have done.

"Indeed I have been apt to fall into new fears upon approaching dangers; yet upon successes and glorious deliverances, I have oft resolved never to distrust God again, and yet my naughty heart hath deceived me and made me ready to faint. But this I found by experience, to the praise of my God's free grace, that as troubles have abounded, my consolations have much more abounded: for God brought seasonably into my mind many precious promises, which were as so many sweet cordials, which much supported and comforted my heart, and upheld my spirit: when also new storms have arisen and unexpected deliverances have followed, I have resolved, and do by God's grace, not to distrust him any more. Yea, though more and greater dangers shall arise, yet will I trust in and stay myself upon him, though, as Job said, he should slay me.' The good Lord establish my heart in this good and holy resolution, who is able to keep us to the end, and hath promised that he will preserve us by his power, through faith, to the salvation of our souls.""

In regard to Satan's temptations, especially concerning my coming to the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, my experiences have been these:

"Finding often that I was very unable to fit and prepare myself for a comfortable approach to that sacred ordinance, I used to desire the prayers of the congregation unto God in my behalf, and I used the best endeavors I could in private, as God enabled me, though I came far short of what was required, and of what I desired; so that I did trust and hope, through God's mercy, to find a comfortable day of it, and to have it a sealing ordinance to my soul. But, on the contrary, I found much deadness and little spiritual taste, relish, and comfort in the use of it; so that my spirit was oft much troubled and cast down in me, fearing lest I had some secret sin undiscovered and unrepented of, which caused the Lord thus to hide his face from me. "But then my gracious God brought this into my mind, that the Lord doth sometimes afflict us for the exercise and improvement of our graces, as well as to humble us for our sins. I also considered, that as the Lord doth tender great mercies to us in this Sacrament,

renewing his covenant of grace, and sealing unto us the pardon of our sins in the blood of Christ; so he gives us leave to engage ourselves, by renewing our covenant with him, to believe in him, and to trust upon Christ for life and salvation: and it pleased God to give me faith to apply this in particular to my own soul; and a while after to shew me and to make good to my soul that precious and comfortable promise, that though he hide his face from us for a little moment, yet with mercy and loving kindness he will return to us again.' This was a wonderful comfort and support to my dejected heart blessed be the Lord for ever, I desire to treasure up these experiences, that for the future I may resolve in the like case to put my whole trust and confidence in him, that so Satan may not entrap me in his snares through unbelief, but that I may resist him steadfast in the faith: for I am not altogether ignorant of his devices. God's promise is, that in all these things we shall be more than conquerors, through him that hath loved us; and hath said, that this is the victory which overcometh the world, even our faith."" 1 John,

v. 4.

In the year 1669, there came to us the sad news of the death of my second son, Mr. John Clarke, a godly and faithful minister, rector of Cotgrave, in Nottinghamshire, who died the 18th of September.

Thus as the waves of the sea follow one another, so God is pleased to exercise his children with one affliction after another. He sees that whilst we carry about with us this body of sin, we have need of manifold trials and temptations, as saith the Apostle. 1 Pet. i. 6, "Now for a season ye are in heaviness, if need be, through manifold temptations;" to keep us under, and to make us the better to remember ourselves.

Indeed it hath been the Lord's course and dealing with me ever since he stopped me in the way as I was posting to hell, to raise up one affliction or other, either inward or outward, either from Satan, the world, or from mine own corrupt heart and nature, not having grace and wisdom to behave and carry myself as I ought under his various dispensations and providences, as appeared at this time by his laying so great and grievous an affliction upon me, in taking away so dear a son, from whom I had much soul-comfort, and ardent affections, which he manifested by his fervent prayers for me, and by his spiritual letters and writings to me, wherein he applied himself suitably to my comfort in those inward troubles of heart and spirit which lay upon me. This caused my grief and sorrows to take the greater hold of me, upon the loss of one who was so useful to me: yet hereby I do not derogate from my elder son, from whom I have the like help, and comfort.

Upon this sad occasion my grief grew so great that I took no pleasure of any thing in the world: but was so overwhelmed with melancholy, and my natural strength was so abated, that little food served my turn, and I judged that I could not live long in such condition.

Here I began to examine my heart why it should be so with me, and whether carnal and immoderate affections were not the great cause of my trouble, which I much feared; and having used many arguments, and laid down many reasons to myself to quiet and moderate my passions, and yet nothing prevailed to quiet and calm my heart, and to bow me to the obedience of his revealed will: and withal, considering that it was God only that could quiet the heart, and set our unruly and carnal affections into an holy frame and order, and that he was a "present help in times of trouble," I often and earnestly sought unto the Lord with many prayers and tears, beseeching him to quiet my heart, and to overpower and tame my unruly affections, so as to be willing to submit unto him, and to bear his afflicting hand patiently and fruitfully, and to be ready and willing to submit, either in doing or suffering, to whatsoever he pleased to impose upon me, and to be ready to part with the best outward comfort I enjoyed, whensoever he should please to call for the same.

And it pleased God seasonably to hear my prayer, to regard my tears, and to grant my requests, by calming and quieting my heart and spirit, and by giving me much more contentedness to submit to his holy will and good pleasure, who is a "God of judgment," and knows the fittest times and seasons to come in with refreshing comforts, and who "waits to be gracious" unto those that trust in him. Yet surely I was not without many temptations in this hour of darkness, from that subtle adversary, who always stands at watch, to insinuate and frame his temptations answerable to our conditions, and like a "roaring lion walks about continually, seeking to devour" poor, yet precious souls. Then I "called upon the Lord in my distress, and he answered me and delivered me."

"Bless the Lord, O my soul! and all that is within me praise his holy name!" For he hath remembered me in my low and troubled estate, because "his mercy endureth forever."

Having thus had new experience of God's readiness to hear and help when I called upon him; and having found that it is not in vain "to seek to and to depend upon God in all" our straits, I could not but record these things, that so "every one that is godly may seek unto him in a time wherein he may be found," who is a "present help" in times of trouble, and who doth for us "abundantly above what we can ask or think."

The Lord knows that I write these things for no other end, but that God may have the glory, and that others, especially my relations, may be encouraged to seek God in their straits, and to trust in him at all times. Amen.

After her decease there was also found in her cabinet a paper with this superscription :-My will and desire is, with the leave of my husband, to bestow upon my children these things as tokens of my motherly affections, and that I may be remembered by them. She began with her husband; and what she gave to him and all the rest,

were all wrapped up in several papers, and each name endorsed on the outside to whom it did belong. And then concludes all thus:"But above all, my prayers unto God are, that he would especially bestow upon you all needful saving graces, whereby you may be enabled to glorify his great name in those several places and callings wherein he hath set you. Amen, amen.”

She left also legacies to some poor neighbors, as also ten shillings to Mr. W. the minister of the place, to buy him a mourning ring, concluding thus:

"If God shall please to bring me to my grave in peace, let this be the text at my funeral, Eph. ii. 8. 'for by grace ye are saved, through faith. This Scripture I was oft put upon to have recourse to in times of temptations and desertion."

Thus she lived, adorning in all things the doctrine of the Savior; and died in the joyful expectation of that rest which remaineth for the people of God.

THE COUNTESS OF CARBERY.

THE following character is extracted from a sermon preached at the funeral of the Countess of Carbery, (the lady of Richard, Earl of Carbery, who died in the prime of life, in the year 1650,) by the pious, learned, and eloquent Dr. Jeremy Taylor, and published in a collection of his discourses in folio.

sermon.

I have now done with my text but am yet to make you another I have told you the necessity and the state of death; it may be too largely for such a sad story; I shall, therefore, now with a better compendium teach you how to live, by telling you a plain narrative of a life which if you imitate and write after the copy, it will make, that death shall not be an evil, but a thing to be desired, and to be reckoned amongst the purchases and advantages of your fortune. When Martha and Mary went to weep over the grave of their brother, Christ met them there, and preached a funeral sermon; discoursing of the resurrection, and applying to the purposes of faith, and confession of Christ, and glorification of God: we have no other, we can have no better precedent to follow; and now that we are come to weep over the grave of our dear sister, this rare personage, we cannot choose but have many virtues to learn, many to imitate, and some to exercise.

I choose not to declare her extraction and genealogy; it was, indeed, fair and honorable; but having the blessing to be descended from worthy and honored ancestors, and herself to be adopted and ingrafted into a more noble family, yet she felt such outward appendages to be none of hers, because not of her choice, but the purchase of the virtues of others, which although they did engage her to do noble things, yet they would upbraid all degenerate and less honorable lives than were those, which began and increased the honor of the families. Accordingly, myself have been a witness of it, how this excellent lady would, by an act of humility and Christian abstraction, strip herself of all that fair appendage of exterior honor which decked her person and her fortune; and desired to be owned by nothing but what was her own, that she might only be esteemed honorable according to that which is the honor of a Christian and a wise person.

She had a strict and severe education, and it was one of God's graces and favors to her. For being the heiress of a great fortune, and living amongst the throng of persons in the sight of vanities and empty temptations, that is, in that part of the kingdom where greatness is too often expressed in great follies and great vices, God had provided a