him apart to the work of the miniftry, with prayer and impo fition of hands, on the 17th day of October, 1650.

Mr. Flavel being thus ordained, returned to Diptford, and after Mr. Walplate's death fucceeded in the rectory. To avoid all incumbrances from the world, and avocations from his ftudies and ministerial work, he chofe a perfon of worth and reputation in the parish (of whom he had a good affurance that he would be faithful to himself, and kind to his parishioners) and let him the whole tithes much below the real value, which was very well pleafing to his people. By this means he was the better able to deal with them in private, fince the hire of his labours was no way a hindrance to the fuccefs of them.

Elizabeth
Morries.

Whilft he was at Diptford he married one Mrs. Jean Randal, a pious gentlewoman, of a good family, who died in travail of her first child without being delivered. His year of mourning being expired, his acquaintance and intimate friends advised him to marry a fecond time, wherein, he was again very happy. Sometime after this fecond marriage, the people of Dartmouth (a great and noted fea port in the county of Devon, formerly under the charge of the Reverend Mr. Anthony Hartford deceased) unanimously chofe Mr. Flavel to fucceed him. They urged him to accept their call, (1.) Because there were exceptions made against all the other candidates, but none against him. (2.) Because, being acceptable to the whole town, he was the more like to be an inftrument of healing the breaches among the good people there. (3.) Becaufe Dartmouth, being a confiderable and populous town, required an able and eminent minifter, which was not fo neceffary for a country-parish, that might besides be more easily supplied with another paftor than Dartmouth.

That which made them more preffing and earnest with Mr. Flavel, was this; at a provincial fynod in that county, Mr. Flavel, tho' but a young man, was voted into the chair as moderator, where he opened the affembly with a most devout and pertinent prayer; he examined the candidates who offered themselves to their trials for the miniftry with great learning, ftated the cafes and questions propofed to them with much acutenefs and judgment, and in the whole demeaned himfelf with that gravity, piety, and ferioufnefs, during his prefidency, that all the minifters of the affembly admired and loved him. The Reverend Mr. Hartford, his predeceffor at Dartmouth, took particular notice of him, from that time forward contracted a strict friendship with him, and spoke of him

among the magiftrates and people of Dartmouth, as an extraordinary perfon, who was like to be a great light in the church. This, with their having feveral times heard him preach, occafioned their importunity with Mr. Flavel to come and be their minifter; upon which having spread his cafe before the Lord, and fubmitted to the decifion of his neighbouring minifters, he was prevailed upon to remove to Dartmouth, to his great lofs in temporals, the rectory of Diptford being a much greater benefice:

Mr. Flavel being fettled at Dartmouth by the election of the people, and an order from Whitehall by the commiffioners for approbation of public preachers, of the 10th of December, 1656, he was affociated with Mr. Allein Geere, a very worthy, but fickly, man. The minifterial work was thus divided betwixt them; Mr. Flavel was to preach on the Lord's day at Towntall, the mother-church ftanding upon a hill without the town; and every fortnight in his turn at the Wednesday's Lecture in Dartmouth. Here God crowned his labours with many converfions. One of his judicious hearers expreffed himself thus concerning him; "I could fay much, tho' not enough, of the "excellency of his preaching; of his feafonable, fuitable and

fpiritual matter; of his plain expofitions of fcripture, his "taking method, his genuine and natural deductions, his convincing arguments, his clear and powerful demonftrations, his heart fearching applications, and his comfortablé supports to thofe that were afflicted in confcience. In short, that perfon must have a very foft head, or a very hard heart, or "both, that could fit under his ministry unaffected."

By his unwearied application to ftudy, he had acquired a great flock both of divine and human learning. He was maIter of the controverfies betwixt the Jews and Chriftians, Papifts and Proteflants, Lutherans and Calvinifts, and betwixe the Orthodox, and the Arminians and Socinians: He was likewife well read in the Controverfies about Church difcipline, Infant-Baptifin, and Antinomianifm. He was well acquainted with the School divinity, and drew up a judicious and ingenious fcheme of the whole body of that Theology in good Latin, which he prefented to a perfon of quality, but it was never printed. He had one way of improving his knowledge, which is very proper for young divines; whatever remarkable paffage he heard in private conference, if he was familiar with the relator, he would defire him to repeat it again, and infert it into his Averfaria: By thefe methods he acquired a val

Ttock of proper materials for his popular fermons in the pulpit, and his more elaborate works for the prefs.

He had an excellent gift of prayer, and was never at a lofs in all his various occafions for fuitable matter and words: and, which was the most remarkable of all, he always brought with him a broken heart and moving affections; his tongue and fpirit were touched with a live coal from the altar, and he was evidently affifted by the holy Spirit of grace and fupplication in that divine ordinance. Thofe who lived in his family, fay, that he was always full and copious in prayer, feemed conftantly to exceed himfelf, and rarely made ufe twice of the fame expreffions.

When the act of uniformity turned him out with the reft of his nonconforming brethren, he did not thereupon quit his relation to his church, he thought the fouls of his flock to be more precious than to be fo tamely neglected: he took all opportunities of miniftring the word and facraments to them in private meetings, and joined with other minifters in folemn days of fafting and humiliation, to pray that God would once more restore the ark of his covenant unto his afflicted Ifrael. About four months after that fatal Bartholomew day, his reverend collegue, Mr. Allein Geere, died: fo that the whole care of the flock devolved upon Mr. Flavel, which, tho' a heavy and preffing burden, he undertook very cheerfully.

Upon the execution of the Oxford act, which banished all nonconformist minifters five miles from any towns which fent members to parliament, he was forced to leave Dartmouth, to the great forrow of his people, who followed him out of town; and at Townstall church-yard they took fuch a mournful farewel of one another, as the place might very well have been called Bochim. He removed to Slapton, a parish five miles from Dartmouth, or any other corporation, which put him out of the legal reach of his adverfaries: here he met with fignal inftances of God's fatherly care and protection, and preached twice every Lord's day to fuch as durft adventure to hear him, which many of his own people and others did, notwithstanding the rigour and feverity of the act against conventicles. He many times flipped privately into Dartmouth, where by preaching and converfation he edified his flock, to the great refrelhment of his own foul and theirs, tho' with very much danger, because of his watchful adverfaries, who conftantly laid wait for him, fo that he could not make any long flay in the

town.

In thofe times Mr. Flavel being at Exeter, was invited to

11

preach by many good people of that city, who for fafety chofe a wood about three miles from the city to be the place of their affembly, where they were broke up by their enemies, by that time the fermon was well begun. Mr. Flavel, by the care of the people, made his escape through the middle of his enraging enemies; and tho' many of his hearers were taken, carried before Juftice Tuckfield, and fined; yet the rest, being nothing difcouraged, re-assembled, and carrying Mr. Flavel, to another wood, he preached to them without any disturbance; and, after he had concluded, rode to a gentleman's houfe near the wood, who, tho' an abfolute ftranger to Mr. Flavel, entertained him with great civility that night, and next day he returned to Exeter in fafety. Amongst thofe taken at this time, there was a Tanner who had a numerous family, and but a fmall ftock; he was fined notwithstanding in forty pound; at which he was nothing difcouraged, but told a friend, who asked him how he bore up under his lofs, That he took the fpoiling of his goods joyfully, for the fake of his Lord Jefus, for whom his life and all that he had was too little..

As foon as the Nonconformifts had any refpite from their trouble, Mr. Flavel laid hold on the opportunity, and returned to Dartmouth, where, during the firft indulgence granted by king Charles II. he kept open doors, and preached freely to all that would come and hear him; and when that liberty was revoked, he made it his bufinefs notwithstanding to preach in feafon and out of feason, and feldom miffed of ap opportunity of preaching on the Lord's day. the Lord's day. During this time, God was pleafed to deprive him of his fecond wife, which was a great affliction, the having been a help meet for him; and fuch an one he flood much in need of, as being a man of an infirm and weak conftitution, who laboured under many infirmities. In convenient time he married a third wife, Mrs. Ann Downe, daughter of Mr. Thomas Downe, minifter of Exeter, who lived very happily with him eleven years, and left him two fons, who are youths of great hopes.

The perfecution against the Nonconformifts being renewed, Mr. Flavel found it unfafe to stay at Dartmouth, and therefore refolved to go to London, where he hoped to be in lefs danger, and to have more liberty to exercife his function. The night' before he embarked for that end, he had the following premonition by a dream: he thought he was on board the ship, and that a storm arofe which exceedingly terrified the paffengers; during their confternation, there fat writing at the table a person of admirable fagacity and gravity, who had a

child in a cradle by him that was very froward; he thought he faw the father take up a little whip, and give the child a lash, faying, Child be quiet, I will difcipline, but not hurt thee. Upon this Mr. Flavel awak'd, and mufing on his dream, he concluded, that he should meet with fome trouble in his paffage: his friends being at dinner with him, affured him of a plealant paffage, because the wind and weather were very fair; Mr. Flavel replied, That he was not of their mind, but expected much trouble because of his dream; adding, that when he had fuch reprefentations made to him in his fleep, they feldom or never failed.

Accordingly, when they were advanced within five leagues of Portland in their voyage, they were overtaken by a dreadful tempeft, infomuch that, betwixt one and two in the morning, the mafter and feamen concluded, that, unless God changed the wind, there was no hope of life; it was impoffible for them to weather Portland, fo that they must of neceflity be wrecked on the rocks or on the fhore. Upon this Mr. Flavel called all the hands that could be fpared into the cabin to prayer; but the violence of the tempeft was fuch, that they could not prevent themselves from being thrown from the one fide unto the other as the fhip was toffed; and not only fo, but mighty feas broke in upon them, as if they would have drowned them in the very cabin. Mr. Flavel in this danger took hold of the two pillars of the cabin bed, and calling upon God, begged mercy for himself and the rest in the ship. Amongst other arguments in prayer, he made ule of this, that if he and his company perished in that storm, the name of God would be blafphemed, the enemies of religion would fay, that tho' he efcaped their hands on fhore yet divine vengeance had overtaken him at fea. In the midst of prayer his faith and hope were raised, infomuch that he expected a gracious anfwer; fo that, committing himself and his company to the mercy of God, he concluded the duty. No fooner was prayer ended, but one came down from the deck, cyring, Deliverance! Deliverance! God is a God hearing prayer! In a moment the wind is come fair Weft! And fo failing before it, they were brought fafely to London. Mr. Flavel found many of his old friends there; and God raised him new ones, with abundance of work, and extraordinary encouragement in it. During his ftay in London, he married his fourth wife, a widow gentlewoman, (daughter to Mr. George Jefferies formerly minister of King's-Bridge) but now his forrowful relict.