constantly affectionate in his prayers for the king and government, so desirous to keep up a fair correspondence and communion with his conformable brethren,* so very indifferent in making proselytes to his particular opinions; and withal, so zealous to promote substantial goodness and true Christianity, so mighty inoffensive and peaceable in all his expressions and actions; so prudent, pure, pious, just, sober, charitable, cheerful and pleasant, that I profess I am almost afraid to give him his due character without some correctives, lest they that knew him not should suspect my veracity, and imagine my pen to be managed by some mercenary hand. I remember the worshipful Rowland Hunt, of Boreatton, Esq. speaking of Mr. Henry, thus expressed himself to me, and if I mistake not, the Lord Ambassador Paget was present. I was, said he, near seven years resident in the Universities, and seven more at the Inns of Court in London, and had opportunity of knowing and acquainting myself with the most eminent divines and preachers in both those places; yet I never found any every way so accomplished, for clearness and quickness of apprehension, solidity of judgment, and roundness of style, as Mr. Henry is. I have noted in my Book of Providences,† the remark I made upon the temporal blessings God hath rewarded him with; viz. a good and virtuous consort, who brought him a good estate, gave him a due reverence, loved him with an entire affection, an ingenious and hopeful offspring, well affected, well educated, and well disposed in the world, the favour of men, and a quiet undisturbed habitation upon earth, in great measure, &c.

Sic testatus, sic monet, sic precatur,
Amicus mærens, anhelus, superstes.

W. Turner, A. M."

Another very worthy conformist, formerly of his acquaintance,

The remark, applied to an eminent nonconformist, may be fitly quoted in connection with Mr. Henry :-"As he chose to leave his living rather than stain his conscience, so his nonconformity was no way tinctured, either with spleen to the established church, or disloyalty to his prince." Life of Richard Allein. Biog. Brit. v. 1, p. 143.

+"Mr. Philip Henry, of whom I have made mention before, was a man of a very sedate even temper, a calm spirit, a great peace-maker in his neighbourhood; and, accordingly, he lived, loved, and died, with the universal lamentation of people of all sorts; and which, perhaps, ought not to be omitted in the consideration, after the enjoyment of a kind and loving wife, who brought him a good and plentiful estate; and, seeing his children all disposed of with his consent, and to the content of all persons concerned, and they walking in the truth, and in mutual love one with another, and his children's children, to his great joy and comfort. I say, after all these blessings poured plentifully upon his head, with great assurance and satisfaction about his spiritual and eternal estate, he, quietly, with a short sickness of about twelve hours continuance, or not much more, resigned up his spirit into the hands of the God of peace." Turner's History of Remarkable Providences, ch. Ixxvii. p. 100, ut supra.

but now living at a great distance, having occasion to mention him in a letter to a friend, calls him,-The great, good, and now glorious Mr. Henry, whose memory, saith he, shall ever be precious, and even sacred to me.

Such as these were the honourable testimonies which all that knew him, and knew how to value true excellency, attended him with. It is part of the recompence of charity and moderation in this world, that it obtains a good report of all men. The kingdom of God, saith the blessed apostle, Romans, xiv. 17, 18, is not meat and drink, which were then the matters of doubtful disputation, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost; and he that in these things serveth Christ, is not only acceptable to God, but approved of men; as, on the contrary, they that judge will be judged, and with what measure we meet, it will be measured to us again. And this is the excellency of a good name, that it is out of the reach of death, and is not buried in the grave, but rather grows up from it. It is not for nothing that Solomon hath joined this good name, which is better than precious ointment, with the day of one's death, which, upon that account, is better than the day of one's birth, that it completes the character of those that finish their course well, and are faithful unto death; whereas a great name, like the names of the great ones of the earth, is often withered and blemished by death. We read of those that bear their shame when they go down to the pit, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living. Ezekiel, xxxii. 35.

At a meeting of the Dissenting Ministers of Cheshire, at Knutsford, in May, 1696, a few weeks before Mr. Henry died, it was agreed, that their next meeting should be at Chester,* though inconvenient to many of them, upon condition that he would meet them there, and give them a sermon. It was with much difficulty that he was prevailed with to promise it, but his Master called for him before the time appointed came. Mr. Flavel, of Devonshire,† died when he was under a like appointment. But happy they that are come to the general assembly, and church of the first-born, and to the spirits of just men made perfect.

As to his bodily presence, he was of a middle stature, his complexion not approaching to any extreme, of a very pleasant aspect, and an unusual mixture of gravity and sweetness in the air of his countenance, which was the true index of the mind. [He would never be persuaded to wear a perriwig or border, though he had but very little hair, and was like Elisha for a bald-head. He sometimes said,-As long as I have three hairs of my own, I will never wear any body's else.] When some of his friends have solicited

See Memoirs of Mrs. Savage, pp. 51, 52, ut supra.

See his Life, prefixed to his Works, vol. 1. He died the 26th of June, 1691, æt. 64.

Life. Orig. MS. ut supra. See Walton's Lives by Dr. Zouch, v. 2, p. 417. Mr. Matthew Henry, in his Diary, writes thus:

him to have his picture drawn, he would put them off* with this, that the best picture of a minister is in the hearts of his people.

"1707-8, January 22. This day I was quite over-ruled by Brother H. and some of my friends, to cut off my hair, I having of late been very uneasy with coldness in my head, tooth-ache, and at present a deafness. I had purposed not to have done it, but feared, lest persisting in my refusal against the most earnest advice of my physician and friends, should arise from a secret pride in my own hair, and an affectation of singularity." Orig. MS.

See Heywood's Life of Angier, p. 62, ut supra; and Dr. Jortin's Life of Erasmus, v. 2, p. 93.

235

CHAPTER X.

A Miscellaneous Collection of some of his Sayings, Observations, Counsels, and Comforts, out of his Sermons, Letters, and Discourses.

MR. HENRY, through the excess of his modesty and self-diffidence, never published any of his labours to the world, nor ever fitted or prepared any of them for the press; and yet none more valued the labours of others, or rejoiced more in them; nor have I heard any complain less of the multitude of good books, concerning which he often said, that store is no sore,* and he was very forward to persuade others to publish; and always expressed a particular pleasure in reading the lives, actions, and sayings of eminent men, ancient and modern, which he thought the most useful and instructive kind of writings. He was also a very candid reader† of books, not apt to pick quarrels with what he read, especially when the design appeared to be honest; and when others would find fault and say, this was wanting, and the other amiss, his usual excuse was,―There is nothing perfect under the sun.

It will be but a small repair of this want of the publishing of some of his works, but I doubt it will prove the best we can make, to glean up some few of many of his sayings, observations, and good instructions, as his remains, which we shall not marshal in any order, but give them as they occur, besides those which have been already inserted into this narrative.

It was a saying he frequently used, which hath been mentioned already, That every creature is that to us, and only that which God makes it to be: and another was,-Duty is our's, events are

"Store is no sore, young mistress,

My mother is wont to say."

Ben Jonson. Works. vol. 6, p. 34, ut supra.

↑ Appendix, No XXV.

God's: and another was,-The soul is the man,† and, therefore, that is always best for us, which is best for our souls: and another was,-The devil cozens us of all our time, by cozening us of the present time.

[Referring to the death of a friend who had often expressed his intention of leaving the substance of his estate to pious uses, but had not done so, he remarked,-Many good purposes lie in the church-yard.+]

In his thanksgivings for temporal mercies, he often said,-If the end of one mercy were not the beginning of another, we were undone and to encourage to the work of thanksgiving he would say,―That new mercies call for new returns of praise, and then those new returns will fetch in new mercies.

:

[Sometimes he would say,-Former mercies are a support to faith in expectation of future mercies: at other times,-Praise is our rent-penny, which we pay to our great landlord. We are God's tenants for his creatures, and we are tenants at will. Three-pence of rent he looks for; a penny of thankfulness, of obedience, of charity. We must relieve to our power proportionable to what we hold.

Of all the blessings we enjoy, saving, spiritual blessings cry loudest on us for returns of praise. They are the best blessings, the most excellent in themselves, the most costly to the Father, the most advantageous to us. §]

From Psalm, 1. 23. He that offers praise || glorifies me, and to him that orders his conversation aright, he observed, that thanksgiving is good, but thanks-living is better.

[O what a mercy, he would say, is health. If the least wheel in our watch (the most menial servant) be out of order, what trouble is it to all the family.¶]

When he spoke of a good name, he usually described it to be a name for good things with good people.

See also a Letter from Philip to Matthew Henry, where this and others of Mr. Henry's sayings are introduced. Prot. Diss. Mag. v. 2, p. 454.

"Duties are our's, and events are God's." Mr. Rutherford. See Joshua Redivivus, or 352 Religious Letters, by the "eminently pious and learned Mr. S. Rutherford." Lett. xci. to the Rev. D. Dickson, Mar. 7, 1637, oct. 1809, p. 111, 13th ed.

"The soul," saith a Heathen, "is the man; that which is seen is not the man:" Οὐκ ἐστὶν ἄνθρωπος τὸ ὀρῶμενον.

Plato.

See Flavel's Husbandry Spiritualized, ch. vi. Works, ut supra, v. 6, p. 60.

Mens cujusque is est quisque.

Cicero. Somnium Scipionis. Fragmenta. p. 64, op. tom. 8. duod. 1642.

And see 2 Cor. iv. 16, where the soul is called the inward man.

Diary. Orig. MS.

§ P. Henry. Orig. MS.

Christians are to give God the praise, Ps. cxv. 1, of all they have; gifts, graces; -of all they do; duties;-of all they get; success. P. Henry, Orig. MS.

Diary. Orig. MS.