Igo The . L IFE of the Part III. ftri&nefs of Univerfal obedience, and for Thirty years longing to be with Christ; In conftant daily acquired infirmity of body ( got by avoiding all Exercife,' and long fecret prayer in the coldest Seafons, and fuch like) but of a con- ititution naturally ftrong : afraid of recovering when ever the was ill : For force days before her death the was fo taken with the Ninty firft Pfalm that i the would get thofe that came near her to read it to her over aid over which Pfalm alfo was a great means of Comfort to Old Beza, even againft his Death. §. 68. Soon after dyed bane Matthews aged Seventy fix, My Haufe-keeper fourteen years : though mean of quality, very eminent in KiderminJler, and the parts about for Wifdom, Piety, and a holy, Sober, Righteous, Exemplary Life. Andmany of my Old Hearers and Flock at Kiderminfler dyed not long efore. Amongwhom a mean Freeholder dames Butcher of Wannerton, hath:left few equal tohim for all that feemeth to approach perfeftioa in a plain Man: O how many holy Souls are gone to Christ out of that one Pariniof kiderminjier in a few years, and yet the Number feemethto increafe. §. 69. The Book which I publilhed calledThe Poor Man's FamilyBook, was fo well accepted, that I found it ,a ufeful work of Charity to give many of them ( with the Call to the Vnconverted) abroad in many Countries, where neither, I, nor fuch others had leave to Preach ( and many Hundreds fine, with good fuceefs. ) §. 70. The thaws were fo bad for felling Books, that I was fain to be my felf at thecharge of Printing my Methodus Theologie, fame friends contributed about Eighty pounds,' towards it ; It cost me one way or other about Five hundred pounds: About Two hundred and fifty pounds I received from thofe Noncon- formists that bought them. The Contrary party fet themfelves to hinder the .fate of it, becaufe it was mine, tho' elfe theMarineof it, being half Philofo- phical., andhalfConciliatory would have pleafed the Learned part of them. But -fnofi lay it by as too hard for them, as over Scholaftical and exaa. I wrote it :and my Engle Chriftian Direlloryto make up one Compleat Body of Theology, The Latin one the Theory, and the Englifh one the Prafical part. And the 'Iatteris commonly accepted becaufe lefs difficult. §. 71. My short piece againft Popery called The Certainty ofChtiflianity without Popery, provedof ufe againftInfidels as well as PapiJEs But molt deceivedmen will not be atthe labour to study any thing thatis diftin& andexaa, but take up with the fish appearances of things. §,' 72. The Miferahle State of Youngmen in London, was a great troubleto my mind; Efpecially Rich men's Sons and Servants, Merchant;: and Lawyers Appren- tices and Clarks, carried away by the flelh, todrinking, Gluttony, Plays, Gaming, Whoring, Robbing their Matters/2'c. I wrote, therefore a fmalTraEate for fuch, called Comp.ujfionate Counfel to Toung men e Sir Robert Atkins contributed towards thecharge of Printing it, and I gaveof them in City and Country One thoufand five hundred, betides what the Bookfeller fold : But few will read it that moll need. §. 73. About this timedyed my dear friend Mr.Thomas Gouge, of whore Life you may fee a little in -Mr. Clark's left book of, Lives : A wonder of fincere iú- duftrie in works of Charity ; It would make a Volume to recite at large,theChari- ty he ufed to his poor Parithioners at Sepulchres (before he was Ejefìed and Silen- ced for Non-conformity ; His Conjunfiion with Alderman AJhurjl and fome fuch others, in a weekly Meeting, to take account of the honeft poor families in the City that were in great want, he being the Treafurer andVifiter; hisvoluntary Catechizing the Chritt's Church boyes when he might not preach: The many thouCand Bibles Printed in Weill that he difperfed in Wales ; The Prallice of Piety, The Whale Dutyof Man, My Call, and many thoufands of his own Wri- ting, given freely all over Wales ; his Petting up about Three hundred or Four hun- dred Schools in 1-Vales to teach Children only to read, arid the Catechife, his in- . dultry to beg money for all this, betides molt of his own Estate laid out on it; His Travels over Wales once or twice a year to vifite his Schools and fee to the Execution : This was true Epifcopacy of a filenced Miniher (whoyet went con- Rantly to the Parish Churches, and was authorized by an old Univerfitp Licenfe to
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