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The wound in his ftomach was afterwards opened, when the ventricle was so much swoln, that it came out at the orifice of the wound, and lay like a livid difcoloured tripe upon his body, and was alfo cut through; every one thought it impoffible for him to live; however, the chirurgeon enlarged the o rifice of the wound, fomented it, and wrought the ventricle again into his body, and, ftitching up the wound, left his pa tient to the difpofal of providence,

It pleased God that he was cured of those dangerous wounds in his body; and, upon folid grounds of a rational charity, there was ground to believe that he was also cured of that more dangerous wound which fin had made in his foul, Mr. Fla vel spent many hours with him during his fickness; and when the chirurgeon return'd to Pool, after his recovery, Mr. Samuel Hardy, that worthy minifter there, thanked Mr. Flavel in a letter, for the great pains he had taken with that young man, and congratulated his fuccefs, affuring him, that if ever a great and thorough work was wrought, it was upon that

man.

The second instance is this: Mr. Flavel being in London in 1673, his old bookfeller, Mr. Boulter, gave him this following relation, viz. That fome time before, there came into his shop á fparkih gentleman to enquire for fome play-books; Mr. Boulter told him he had none, but fhew'd him Mr. Flavel's little treatife of Keeping the Heart, intreated him to read it, and affured him it would do him more good than play-books, The gentleman read the title, and glancing upon feveral pages here and there, broke out into thefe and fuch other expreffions, What a damnable Phanatic was he who made this book? Mr. Boulter begg'd of him to buy and read it, and told him he had no caufe to cenfure it fo bitterly; at laft he bought it, but told him he would not read it. What will ye do with it then, faid Mr. Boulter? I will tear and burn it, faid he, and fend it to the Devil. Mr. Boulter told him, then he should not have it. Upon this the gentleman promis'd to read it; and Mr. Boulter told him, if he disliked it upon reading, he would return him his money. About a month after, the gentleman came to the fhop again in a very modeft habit, and, with a ferious countenance, befpeaks Mr. Boulter thus; Sir, I moft heartily thank you for putting this book into my hands; I bless God that mov'd you to do it, it hath faved my foul; bleffed be God that ever I came into your fhop. And then he bought a hundred more of those books of him, told him he would give them to the poor who could not buy them, and to

left him, praising and admiring the goodness of God. Thus it pleafed God to blefs the fermons, difcourfes and writings of Mr. Flavel.

He never delighted in controverfies, but was oblig'd, contrary to his inclination, to write against Mr. Cary, the principal Anabaptist in Dartmouth, with whom, however, he maintained a friendly and Christian correfpondence. When he wrote his Planelogia, or, Blow at the Root, he declared to his friends, that tho' thofe ftudies were very neceffary, he took no pleasure in them, but had rather be employed in practical divinity. When he compofed his Reasonableness of Perfonal Reformation, he told an intimate acquaintance of his, that he feldom had a vain thought to interrupt him, which made him hope it would do the more good in the world. He purpos'd' to have enlarged his book of Sacramental Meditations, and had moft judiciously stated and handled several cafes of conscience on that occafion, which he defigned to have inserted in the next edition, but liv'd not to finish them for the prefs.

Many times, when he preached abroad, he has had letters fent him from unknown perfons, informing him how God had bleffed his miniftry to their fouls, and converted them from being bitter enemies to religion. This encouraged him when he rode abroad, not only to accept of invitations to preach, but many times to offer his labours unto thofe that would be pleafed to hear him; though for this he had no occasion where he was known, the people being generally importunate with him. One day after a long and hard journey, an intimate friend of his, out of a tender regard to him, preffed him with cogent arguments to forbear preaching at that season, but could not prevail with him; his bowels of compaffion to needy and perifhing fouls made him overlook all confiderations of himself: he preached an excellent fermon, by which there was one converted, as he declared himself afterwards upon his admission to the Lord's table.

The laft fermon that he preached to his people at Dartmouth, was on a public day of fafting and humiliation; in the close of which he was enlarged in fuch an extraordinary manner, when offering up praifes to God for mercies received, that he feem'd to be in an extafy. This happened about a week before his death, and may justly be accounted a foretake of those heavenly raptures that he now enjoys amongst the blessed spirits above.

The laft fermou he preach'd was on the 21ft of June 1691, at Afhburton, from 1 Cor. x. 12. Wherefore let him that

ftandeth take heed left he fall. It was a very pathetical and excellent difcourfe, tending to awaken carelefs profeffors, and to ftir them up to be folicitous about their fouls. After having preached this fermon, he went to Excter; and at Topshan, within three miles of that city, he prefided a moderator in an affembly of the Nonconformist minifters of Devonshire, who unanimously voted him into the chair: the occafion of their meeting was about an union betwixt the Presbyterians and Independents, which Mr. Flavel was very zealous to promote, and brought to fo great an iffue in those parts, that the minifters declared their fatisfaction with the heads of agreement concluded on by the London minifters of those denominations, Mr. Flavel clofed the work of the day with prayer and praifes, in which his fpirit was carried out with wonderful enlargement and affection.

He wrote a letter to an eminent minister in London, with an account of their proceedings, that fame day that he died;-providence ordering it fo, that he fhould finish that good work his heart was fo intent upon, before he finished his course.

him

The manner of his death was fudden and furprising; his friends thought him as well that day in the evening of which he died, as he had been for many years: towards the end of fupper he complained of a deadness in one of his hands, that he could not lift it to his head. This ftruck his wife and his friends about him into an aftonishment; they used fome means to recover it to its former ftrength, but instead thereof, to their great grief the distemper feized all upon one fide of his body. They put to bed with all speed, and fent for phyficians, but to no purpose; his diftemper prevailed upon him fo faft, that in a fhort time it made him fpeechlefs. He was fenfible of his approaching death; and when they carried him up ftairs, expreffed his opinion that it would be the last time; but added, I know that it will be well with me; which were fome of his laft words. Thus died this holy man of God fuddenly, and without pain, not giving fo much as one groan. He exchanged this life for a better, on the 26th day of June, 1691, in the 64th year of his age.

His corps was carried from Exeter to Dartmouth, attended by feveral minifters, and a great many other perfons of good quality; abundance of people rode out from Dartmouth, Totnefs, Newton, Afhburton, and other places, to meet the corps; when it was taken out of the hearfe at the water fide, his people and other friends could not forbear expreffing the fenfe of their great lofs, by floods of tears, and a bitter lamentation. It was interr'd the fame night in Dartmouth church,

"

and next day Mr. George Troffe, a minister of Exeter, preached his funeral-fermon from Elifha's lamentation upon the tranflation of Elijah, 2 Kings ii. 12. My father, my father, the chariot of Ifrael, and the horsemen thereof.

We fhall conclude with a character of Mr. Flavel. He was a man of a middle ftature, and full of life and activity: he was very thoughtful, and when not difcourfing or reading, much taken up in meditation, which made him digeft his notions well. He was ready to learn from every body, and as free to communicate what he knew. He was bountiful to his own relations, and very charitable to the poor, but especially to the houshold of faith, and the neceffitous members of his own church, to whom, during their fickness, he always fent fuitable fupplies. He freely taught academical learning to four young men whom he bred to the miniftery, and one of them he maintained all the while at his own charge. He was exceedingly affectionate to all the people at Dartmouth, of which we fhall give one remarkable inftance; when our fleet was first engaged with the French, he called his people together to a folemn fast, and, like a man in an agony, wrestled with God in prayer for the church and nation, and particularly for the poor feamen of Dartmouth, that they might obtain mercy; the Lord heard and anfwered him, for not one of that town was killed in the fight, tho' many of them were in the engagement. As he was a faithful ambaffador to his Ma, fter, he made his example the rule of his own practice, and was fo far from reviling again, thofe that revil'd him, that he prayed for thofe that defpitefully us'd him; one remarkable inftance of which is as follows: In 1685, fome of the people of Dartmouth, accompanied too by fome of the magiftrates, made up his effigie, carried it through the streets in derifion, with the covenant and bill of exclufion pinn'd to it, and set it upon a bonefire, and burnt it; fome of the fpectators were fo much affected with the reproach and ignominy done to this reverend and pious minifter, that they wept, and others fcoffed and jeered it was obfervable, that at the very fame time, tho' he knew nothing of the matter, he was heaping coals of fire of another nature upon the heads of those wicked men, for he was then praying for the town of Dartmouth, its mágistrates and inhabitants; and when news was brought him, upon the conclufion of his prayer, what they had been doing, he lift up his prayer unto God for them in onr Saviour's words, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

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Or, A DISPLAY of CHRIST in his Effential and Mediatorial Glory.

Containing Forty-two Sermons on various Texts.

To his much honoured and beloved Kinfman, Mr. John Flavel of London, Merchant, and his virtuous Confort, the Author wifheth Grace, Mercy, and Peace.

My dear and honoured Friends,

IF

my pen were both able, and at leifure, to get glory in paper, it would be but a paper glory when I had gotten it: but if by displaying (which is the defign of thefe papers) the tranfcendent excellency of Jefus Chrift, I may win glory to him from you, to whom I humbly offer them, or from any other inVOL. I.

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