The Praise of a Godly Woman

THE PRAISE OF A GODLY WOMAN

A Sermon preached at the Solemne Funerall

of the Right Honourable Ladie, the Ladie

Frances Roberts, at Lanhide-rock-Church

in Cornwall the tenth of

Auguſt, 1626

By

Hanniball Gamon, Miniſter of the word of God, at St. Maugan in the ſame Countie

TO THE TRVLY

NOBLE Iohn Roberts,

Son and Heire to the Right

Honourable Richard Lord Roberts

of Truro: the Vnualuable Riches of

ſincere Grace here, and of Eternall

Glory hereafter

Honovrable Sir,

Although it bee true (which a worthy Diuine¹ obſerueth) that formall Hypocrites are heartned and hardned in their lewd courſes & falſe conceits of happineſſe, when they heare more infamous Sinners than themſelues, gloriouſly and flatteringly commended at their Deaths; yet we need not feare any ſuch bad effect by the Funerall-commendation of Gods true Saints; becauſe the publike Teſtimonie of their iuſt Praiſes doth not onely make the wicked more inexcuſable, and the Glory of Gods Graces ſhine farre brighter to Poſteritie; but alſo enkindleth in the hearts of the godly a greater fire of Zeale for imitation. Theſe are ſome of the Ends, why it hath euer been and is ſtill an vnreproueable Cuſtome in Gods Church, that the Godly ſhould be Marked² and Honoured³ at their Deaths, as Hezekiah was by all Iudah & Ieruſalem: Valentinean, Satyrus and Theodoſius by Saint Ambroſe⁴: Baſil, Gregory and Gorgonia by Nazianzen⁵: Nepotian, Paula and Marcella by S. Ierom⁶. Had not their Holy Liues and Happie Deaths beene publiſhed by ſuch vnpartiall Pens, wee ſhould haue bin ignorant now of many excellent Courſes of ſanctified Men and Women, of many comfortable workings of the Holy Ghoſt in them, and ſhould haue wanted many inflaming Motiues to follow their religious ſteps. Vpon this conſideration I was bold to commend vnto Gods people the more than Ordinary paſſages of your Honourable Mothers Holy Life and Death: wherein I haue as a Chriſtian ſpoken the truth of a Chriſtian, that is, (as Saint Ierom⁷ proteſteth in a like caſe) made a true Narration; not a Vain-glorious Panegyrick. Let Poets and Oratours praiſe thoſe women, which Poppæa-like⁸, are graced with all other things ſauing a Gracious Heart: Let them commend their Wit, Wealth, Beautie, Nobilitie, and other Gifts of Fortune (as they call them) in ſtead of Vertues⁹. Wee the Miniſters of Chriſt, and Stewards of the Myſteries of God, muſt adorne none with the Honourable Attributes of Heauenly Praiſe; but ſuch as are truly beautified, enriched, and ennobled with the Purity and Power of Gods Feare in their Humble Soules¹⁰. This praiſe the Lord will Proſper¹¹, which is vttered in that Wiſdome¹², whereof the Feare of the Lord is the beginning. But for the Saints themſelues: I dare ſay with Saint Auguſtine¹³, that they deſire more the Imitation, than the Commendation of their vertues: and therefore to tell you the truth (as the ſame Father doth his friend) you ſhould neuer haue heard mee commend this deceaſed Lady, but in hope, that Gods Graces in Her might by this meanes, ſuruiue in your religious Imitation, and not only in you and all them that are of Her bloud; but alſo in all them that haue heard or ſhall reade this Sermon. This is all the gaine I looke and pray for, that Gods¹⁴ word, which I haue faithfully alledged (not without ſome Illuſtrations (I confeſſe) borrowed from the holy Fathers¹⁵, whereof I need not to be aſhamed) may be conſtantly practiſed by vs all. For when all is done and ſaid, aſſure your ſelfe (Deare Sir) it is only the Life of Grace, the Grace of the Feare of the Lord can truly Honour you, or any vpon earth, ſweetly comfort you at your Death, and eternally Glorifie your Soule and Bodie in Heauen. Abandon then I beſeech you in the name of Chriſt¹⁶, all iniquitie, and all workers of iniquitie, yea abominate the ſweeteſt ſin, to which your youthfull affections are moſt endeared, elſe you will neuer be able to encline and enlarge them to the purſuit and practiſe of ſo excellent and Glorious a Grace as the Feare of the Lord; becauſe this godly Feare and the impenitent Allowance of any luſt, is as incompatible as Heauen and Hell: ſo that if you ſhould hate to be diuorced from your Boſome-ſin whatſoeuer it be (which God forbid) you could haue no true right and intereſt to the precious promiſes of this and of that other life¹⁷. Thinke on this continually, and hold it your greateſt Honour, the Nobleſt imployment of your Soule, as it is indeed, to keep your ſelfe (as a King¹⁸ did before you.) from your iniquitie. Quod ſi tu (quod procul abſit) nolueris, ego liber ero. Epiſtola, immo concio me hæc mea, cum lecta fuerit, abſoluet.¹⁹ And ſo I reſt, being mindfull of your Vertues,

Saint Mauganthe

19. Auguſt 1626.

Yours in all Chriſtian Deuotion,

and heartieſt prayer to

God for you,

Hannibal Gamon

THE PRAISE OF A

Godly Woman

Prov. 31. 30

– But a woman that feareth the Lord, ſhee ſhall be praiſed

Praiſe is a Debt (ſaith Gregory Nazianzen²⁰) and it muſt be paid, not to men alone, but to women alſo; yet not to euery woman, be ſhee neuer ſo noble, wittie, wealthy or faire²¹, vnleſſe ſhe be godly withall: For fauour is deceitfull, and beautie is vaine; but a woman that feareth the Lord, ſhee ſhall be praiſed.

The Diuiſion.

A promiſe this is and affirmatiue, and an affirmatiue promiſe hath two parts in it. The firſt is the Partie to whom it is made, and ſhee is Muliertimens Dominum. A woman that feareth the Lord, which is alſo the reaſon why ſhe ſhall be praiſed: euen becauſe ſhe is a woman fearing the Lord. The ſecond is the thing promiſed, and that is Laudabitur, ſhe ſhall be praiſed.

I.

In the former, it is not enough that ſhe is a woman, becauſe euery woman is not Timens, one that Feareth, nor ſufficient that ſhe Feareth; becauſe euery woman that feareth is not Timens Dominum, one that feareth the Lord; but ſhe that ſhall be praiſed, is all three. 1. A woman by nature²², where the weaker her ſex is, the more ſhee ſhall be commended. 2. By Grace²³, a woman that feareth, where the continuall act of this Fearing is required. 3. That feareth the Lord, where the right Obiect of her continuall feare is limited.

II.

And in the latter we are to conſider; Firſt, to what matters, Laudabitur, her praiſe will reach, and in what reſpect to Ipſa Her perſon. Then ſecondly, When ſhe ſhall be praiſed; not for the preſent, perhaps, no more than ſhe hath beene heretofore; yet Laudabitur, the time will come when ſhe ſhall be praiſed, and then too her praiſe ſhall ſo be, that it ſhall be ſtill. Thirdly, of whom ſhee ſhall haue praiſe, for Laudabitur is an action, and must bee done of ſome agent, therefore we muſt finde who ſhal praiſe her, and they will fall out to be her Huſband and her Children (if ſhe haue them²⁴) and if they faile in this dutie, then the godly ſhall praiſe her; and if they ceaſe to doe it, then her own workes ſhall praiſe her, yea rather than faile, God himſelfe ſhall praiſe her, which is beſt of all. So ſure ſhe is to be praiſed, not for the preſent onely, but for euer. And ſo this Text beſides that it is a Promiſe, it is alſo a Motiue to ſtirre vs vp to feare God, that so we also may haue true and eternall praiſe of God. It is both, and both waies wee to haue vſe of it, as of a Promiſe, and as of a Motiue: both theſe waies at once; A woman that feareth the Lord ſhe ſhall be praiſed.

A Promiſe, and Motiue.

I.

The partie that ſhall be praiſed.

A weake ſex²⁵ to beginne with, and yet being ſtrengthned by Grace²⁶, no impediment; but that a woman as wel as a man may feare the Lord, and haue praiſe of him, and ſo become the partie who ſhall, and one Reaſon too, why ſhee ſhall be praiſed.

For a woman muſt be more good than nature, art, policie, preferment can make her, elſe ſhee is not good enough for Gods Spirit to praiſe her. He commends neither men nor women conſidered in their pure Naturalls only, in that eſtate of corruption, they all heare alike to their diſgrace, that they are All vnder ſinne²⁷, All come²⁸ ſhort of the glory of God, and are All the children of²⁹ wrath, becauſe they Are without all feare of God³⁰

By nature then both ſexes are alike faultie, alike diſcōmendable in Gods ſight, and ſo they ſhould be in ours. We ſhould not diſpraiſe women more than men, for the ſex ſake only (as ſome doe³¹) becauſe they haue as noble ſoules as men, for³² ſoules haue no ſexes, (as Saint Ambroſe ſaith) nor praiſe women for the endowments of the fleſh onely (as otherſome doe³³) vnleſſe they be adorned alſo with the ſauing Graces of the Spirit, whereof a chiefe one is not noble birth, great wealth, excellent wit, or rare beautie: but the feare of the Lord, his treaſure.³⁴ This godly feare is that, that makes a Woman in relation³⁵ to God, praiſe-worthy. And good reaſon it ſhould do ſo, if we regard the weakneſſe of a woman, in whom ſo excellent a Grace as the feare of the Lord, is found, and the Nobleneſſe of fearing the Lord, being ſo found.

Firſt, a womans weakneſſe is naturally³⁶ greater than the mans, and therefore by how much her fleſh is weaker, and her ſpirit leſſe willing, by ſo much the combate ſhe hath, is more difficult, and the victory ſhe gets, more commendable. I know a man (Bleſenſis by name) that thought two things ſhould excuſe him at the dreadfull day of iudgement, the Frailty of his fleſh, and the Ignorance of his minde; but then he feared leſt God would iudge men by womē, whoſe ſex being more fraile, more ignorant than that of mens, were for all that oftentimes more holy, more deuout than many men.

Secondly, the Feare of the Lord is the trueſt Nobilitie (as Gerſon³⁷ proues) the nobleſt grace that can ennoble and extoll a man or a woman. Other naturall, ciuill, and meerely morall excellencies, perfections, and endowments a woman may haue, nay (which is neereſt the point) other kindes of Feare ſhe may haue, and yet be baſe, ſeruile, curſed as Iezebel³⁸, not praiſe-worthy, as namely, if ſhe feare men³⁹, or what elſe beſides more than God, or not for God (as Saint Bernard⁴⁰ limits) or if ſhee feare God as a Iudge, in reſpect of his puniſhments only⁴¹, & not as a Father for loue of his goodneſſe, and from an hatred of wickedneſſe, or if ſhe haue caſt off the feare of the Lord, which ſhee hath ſeemed to haue, or if ſhee puts off his Feare from time to time, and continues not in it.

Looke we then firſt to the Obiect of the Laudable womans feare, that he whom ſhe feareth be the Lord, in reſpect of his Mercy and Iuſtice both; then to the continuall employment of her Feare, not one that hath feared him, or will feare him; but one that doth feare him for the preſent, and continueth therein, elſe ſhee is not a woman Timens Dominum, Fearing the Lord, and ſo not worthy to be praiſed.

I.

The Obiect of her feare.

Firſt then (that the Obiect may be right) the⁴² Lord is her feare, who ſhal be praiſed. For if He be not, all exquiſiteneſſes beſides are nothing in compariſon; and if He be, all ſufficiencies (remarkable in that ſex) are improued, and all Duties (obſerueable in the feare of the Lord) are practiſed. To ſee this the better, let vs follow Tertullians⁴³ rule, and oppoſe one againſt another, a veſſell of diſhonour againſt a veſſell of honour, a woman not Fearing, againſt a woman Fearing the Lord.

A womā fearleſſe of God.

She that fears not the Lord, ſets light by Gods anger and her Huſbands⁴⁴, not caring whether they bee pleaſed or diſpleaſed. Shee neglects to plant the feare of the Lord in her childrens hearts, chuſing rather to be an example of wickedneſſe vnto them, and to miſplace them in mariage for ſiniſter reſpects. She brings want of things neceſſary to her family by her waſtefulneſſe, brauery, and idleneſſe. She contemnes her naturall and legall kindred, lifts vp her ſelfe aboue her equalls, diſdaines her inferiours, diſhonours her place by an ouer-loftie or an ouer-baſe and contemptible behauiour in the ſame. She alienates the hearts of Gods people from her, by neglecting the offices of courteſies and helpfulneſſe. She declines and vnderualewes the moſt ſearching meanes of Saluation, the Word, Prayer, Conference, Repentance, Meditation, Sacraments; in a word (according to Saint Ambroſes⁴⁵ Diſtinction) ſhe feares hell torments, becauſe ſhee hath ſinned, but ſhee feares not Gods diſpleaſure, leſt ſhe ſhould ſinne, and therefore ſhee liues and dies in worldlineſſe, wantonneſſe, pride, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, ſtrife, reuenge, impatiencie, gluttonie, or ſome ſuch darling ſinne: and tell me (Beloued) if ſuch a woman not beautified and adorned with religion and the feare of the Lord, be worthy to bee praiſed of the Lord? I am ſure the ancient Fathers⁴⁶ declaime bitterly againſt her filthy heart, falſe haire, adulterate paintings, naked breaſts, new-fangled faſhions of ſuperfluous, monſtrous attire: & the holy Scriptures⁴⁷ vilifie her to her face, threatning her (notwithſtanding all her other ornaments and excellencies of nature, art, policie, preferment,) that without this Feare of the Lord, it ſhall not be well with her, Eccleſ. 8. 13. The Lord will come neare to her to iudgement, he will be a ſwift witneſſe againſt her, Mal. 3. 5. She ſhall leaue her memorie to be curſed⁴⁸, and her reproach ſhall not be blotted out, ſhe ſhall be counted vngodly of all⁴⁹, more bitter than death⁵⁰. As rottenneſſe in her husbands bones⁵¹, As ſpittle⁵², yea As a Dogge⁵³, and at laſt ſhe ſhall be caſt into hell fire, Saluâ Veniâ, without pardon from God, becauſe (ſaith Tertullian⁵⁴) ſhe hath ſinned Saluo metû, without any feare of God.

A womā fearing the Lord.

But on the other ſide what perſonall ſufficiency, what ſingular duty is there requiſite in a Woman, either in reſpect of God, or of her huſband, children, kindred, ſeruants, place, and of Gods people, which the life of Grace, the Grace of the Feare of the Lord doth not animate, aduance, and accompliſh? This godly Feare ennobleth Nobilitie, beautifieth Beautie, enricheth wealth, teacheth wit, wiſdome. She that hath this Feare, dare not for her heart, but be loath to offend her huſband, and deny her inferiority⁵⁵, but be an example of godlineſſe to her children⁵⁶, prouide things neceſſary for her ſeruants⁵⁷ both in health and in ſickneſſe; loue her naturall and legall⁵⁸ kindred, eſteeme her equals aboue her ſelfe⁵⁹, countenance and relieue her inferiours⁶⁰, maintaine the dignitie of her place by all ſuch vertues as may diſcharge the⁶¹ ſame; winne the affections of Gods people, to her more and more, by the offices⁶² of courteſies, ſalutations, gifts, viſitations, inuitations and of helpfulneſſe; yea ſhe that feares God, dare not for her heart but Honour them that feare God, Pſal. 15. 4. but keepe her ſet taskes⁶³ of hearing, reading, faſting, praying, meditating, moderating paſſionate diſtempers, and of all other gracious exerciſes, of Selfe-deniall⁶⁴; ſo that there is not any knowne⁶⁵ ſinne which ſhe nouriſheth, alloweth, or goeth on in, but quaketh and trembleth at the very firſt thoughts, yea motions and inclinations thereunto, as being in the ſight⁶⁶ of an inuiſible God, vnder the perpetuall preſence of his All-ſeeing glorious pure eye, which ſhee will not prouoke to anger by any ſinne, for all the gold that euer the Sunne made, or ſhall make while it ſtands in Heauen⁶⁷.

This glorious deſcription of a woman fearing the Lord, is not mine (Bleſſed Brethren) but the Scriptures, wherein I finde; 1. The cauſe of her Feare to be not Selfe-Loue⁶⁸, but the Loue of God; not the ſpirit of Bondage⁶⁹; but the Spirit of Adoption: 2. The Obiect of her feare to be not the precepts of men⁷⁰, but the Commandements of God⁷¹: not his Threats only⁷², but his Promiſes alſo⁷³: not his Anger only againſt ſin⁷⁴, but his Mercy alſo in Chriſt⁷⁵: not his Preſence only, as a Reuenging Iudge⁷⁶, but his Forbearance alſo as a louing Father⁷⁷. 3. The workings of her Feare to be in the heat of temptations and afflictions, not Deſpairing⁷⁸; but Beleeuing the forgiueneſſe of her ſinnes, not Limiting God to the present danger; but⁷⁹waiting for his mercy, not Diſtruſting his Prouidence; but hoping for Good⁸⁰: not Murmuring againſt him; but praiſing Him, and praying vnto Him⁸¹, yea (which is the proper Act of her Feare) not Louing any ſin, but hating and eſchewing all ſin⁸², not out of a ſlauiſh terrour of puniſhment; but chiefly becauſe it is Sinne, an Infinite euill; and becauſe an Infinite Good God, whom ſhe loueth (ſaith Saint Auguſtine) is offended by it, though ſhe ſhould neuer goe to Hell-fire to be puniſhed for it⁸³.