her comprehensive Character fhall I first chufe to infift on? Let us determine our felves to begin there, where he always began, at her Devotions. In These she was very Punctual and Regular: Morning and Evening came not up more constantly in their Course, than her stated Hours of Private Prayer; which she ob_ ferv'd not formally, as a Task, but return'd to them always with defire, delight, and eagerness. She would on no occafion dispense with her felf from paying this Duty; no Business, no common Accident of Life could divert her from it: She esteem'd it her great Honour and Happiness, to attend upon God; God; and fhe refolv'd to find Leisure for That, for whatever else she might want it. How the behav'd her felf in these Secret Tranfactions between God and her own Soul, is known to Him alone whom She worshipp'd: but, if we may guess at her Privacies by what was feen of her in Publick, we may be fure, that she was full of Humility, Devotion, and Fervency; for fo fhe remarkably was always, P during SERM, VI. VI. SERM. during the time of Divine Service. Her Behaviour was then very devout and folemn, and yet the most decent, easy, and unaffected, that could be; there was nothing in it either negligent and loose, or extravagant and ftrain'd: it was throughout fuch, as declar'd it felf not to be the work of the Paffions, but to flow from the Understanding, and from a clear knowledge of the true Grounds and Principles of that her Reasonable Service. This Knowledge fhe attain'd by early Inftructions, by much Reading, and Meditation, to which fhe appear'd from her Childhood to be addicted) and, give me leave to add, by a very diligent and exact attendance on the Leffons of Piety which were utter'd from the Pulpit; which no one practis'd better, because no one delighted in, liften'd to, or confider'd more. For, at thefe Performances fhe was all Attention, all Ear; fhe kept her Heart fix'd and intent on its holy Work, by keeping her Eye from Wandring. It was her Misfortune indeed, that the Exemplariness of her Behaviour call'd off the Eyes of feveral to obferve it; but more Her, and Their Misfortune, that, when they had seen it, and satisfy'd their Curiosity, they did not go on alfo to imitate it. She often exprefs'd her dif fatisfaction at that Indecency of Carriage which univerfally prevails in our Churches; and wonder'd that They fhould be moft carclefs of their Behaviour towards God, who are most scrupuloufly nice in exacting and paying all the little Decencies that are in use among Men. When the Bread of Life was diftributed, fhe was fure to be there, a devout and never-failing Communicant; and the ftrictness of her Attention, and the reverence of her Behaviour were, if it were poffible, rais d and improv'd on those Occafions: The lively Image of a crucify'd Saviour, then exhibited, could not but make very moving Impreffions on a Mind that abounded with fo much pious warmth and tenderness. SERM. VI. Books fhe took Pleasure in, and made good ufe of; chiefly Books of Divinity, and Devotion; which she studied, and relifh'd above all others. History too had very often a Share in her reflections; and fometimes fhe look'd into pieces of pure Diverfion and Amusement ; whenever fhe found them written in fuch a way, as to be innocently entertaining. I need not tell You, to how narrow a choice fhe was, by this Means, confin'd. But of all Books, the Book of God was That, in which he was most delighted and employ'd; and which was never, for any confiderable time, out of her hands. No doubt, fhe knew, and felt the great use and sweet influence of it, in calming her Mind, and regulating her defires, and lifting up her Thoughts towards Heaven, in feeding and spreading that Holy Flame, which the Love of God had kindled in her Heart, and which fhe took care, by this means, to keep perpetually burning. When When she met with any thing there, or in any other pious Book, which would be of remarkable use to her in the conduct of her Life and Affairs, fhe trusted not her Memory with it; not even that excellent Memory, which fhe fafely trusted with things of leffer moment; but immediately committed it to Writing. Many Obfervations of this kind fhe hath left, drawn from good Authors, but chiefly from those Sacred Pages; in collecting which, whether her Judgment, or her Piety had the largest share, it is not eafy to fay. : SERM. The Paffages of Holy Writ which the took notice of, were indeed commonly fuch, as related either to the Concerns of her Spiritual Estate, or to Matters of Prudence but it appears alfo that she fpent fome time in meditating on thofe places where the fublimeft Points of Christian Doctrine are contain'd, and in posfeffing her felf with a deep Sense of the wonderful Love of God towards us, manifested in the mysterious Work of our Re P 3 VI. |
