the Lord preserve his servants, that now are, or hereafter shall be called to those places; but there is no reason why a thing good in itself, should be condemned or rejected for the evil of abuse: For so no good thing at all should be retained in the church. And in this calling how I have walked, and what my care was to advance the gospel there, I trust I shall not, nor yet do want witnesses.

"In this estate do I now live; my soul alway in mine hand, ready to be offered to my God; where, or what kind of death, God hath prepared for me I know not: But sure I am, there can be no evil death to him that liveth in Christ, nor sudden death to a Christian pilgrim, who, as Job says, every day waits for his change, yea, many a day have I sought it with tears, not out of impatience, distrust, or perturbation, but being weary of sin, and fearful to fall into it. Concerning those who have been my enemies without cause, and charged me with many wrongful imputation's, from which my conscience clears me, excusing me of these things, love of gain and glory, or such like, whereof they accused me; the Lord lay it not to their charge. I go to my Father, and wish his blessing to them, to rectify their judgments, and moderate their affections, with true piety, from faith and love."

Amongst the same papers were found the meditations, with which he comforted himself, whilst he found his death approaching, written also with his own hand, and bearing date the seventh of December, in the year 1618.

"Now, my soul, be glad: At all parts of this prison, the Lord hath set to his pioneers to loose thee, head, feet, milt, and liver are fast failing; yea, the middle strength of the whole body, the stomach is weakened long age. Arise, make ready, shake off thy fetters, mount up from the body, and go thy way.

"Let me tell you that which I know, yea, foreknow, yet I, after others, have foretasted before you. Death is somewhat dreary, and the streams of that Jordan between us and our Canaan run furiously; but they stand still when the ark cometh. Let your anchor be cast within the veil, and fastened on the rock Jesus: Let the end of the threefold cord be buckled to the heart, so shall ye go through what threads the cord is made of; I cannot now tarry to tell you, who knows? But if ye ask, God will teach you. "I saw not my children when they were in the womb; there the Lord fed them without my knowledge: I shall

not

not see them when I go out of the body; yet shall they not want á father."

We will subjoin an account of this good man's death, written by the editor of his Works, which is the whole that we can gather of him. The bishop appears to have been a man of a calm and a catholic spirit, not at all fitted for the contentious times he lived in, or for the active and turbulent dignity he was called to support. This is the frame of the most excellent spirits, who indeed make least noise in the world, but are those secret ones of the Lord, who pass, unobserved by man, from the lowest earthly humiliation to the most exalted state of glory. The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: And the greatest saints desire human observation the least of any. Worldly ostentation is no proper object of their pursuit ; nor worldly riches, nor worldly views. They are pilgrims and strangers upon earth, passing through it, as an unpleasant wilderness, to a better country and a heavenly kingdom. And the more they possess of this pilgrim spirit, and the more they are abstracted in their affections from the world, and all its lying vanities; the more happy they are in their own hearts, and the sweeter enjoyment do they find in every one of GOD's blessings and mercies. To return,

This faithful servant of God (says his Editor), who from the time of his entry into the ministry had always shewed himself diligent and painful in his calling; notwithstanding his sickness grew daily upon him, was no way deficient in his duties of ordinary preaching. Besides his labour and studies, the grief he received for the backwardness of unruly spirits, in giving obedience to the articles concluded in the assembly, and ratified by authority, to the great disturbance of the peace of the church, which he laboured carefully through all his life to procure, did hasten him not a little to his end. In the beginning of January 1619, his infirmity increasing, he was compelled to keep at home; yet as his weakness permitted, he gave himself to revise his writings, and dispose of his worldly affairs, that he might be ready for his passage, which every day he expected. And some ten days before his departure, having his mind free of all earthly business, to those that visited him, he manifested a great contentment he had in his approaching death. The Wednesday before, which was the tenth of February, the bishops and some other brethren being assembled at Edinburgh for certain affairs of the church, took occasion to

meet

meet at his house because of his sickness, which he took most kindly, and continued with them that whole afternoon, giving very wholesome advice in matters propounded, and shewing himself as pleasant in conversation as ever before. Nevertheless, even then he signified to them that his death was drawing near, and declared his mind with great composure, concerning his successor. The days following, he kept with all that came to visit him in most holy and divine conferences, expressing a great willingness of exchanging this life for a better. And upon Monday, the fifteenth day of February, 1619, at one o'clock in the afternoon, feeling his strength and spirits to decay, after he had uttered a most heavenly prayer, in the company of those that were by him, he desired to be laid in bed (for the days before he arose always, and either walked or sat in his chamber,) which being done, after he had again commended himself most devoutly to Almighty God, he took some quiet rest: After which he spake not many words, but those that he uttered, shew his memory and other senses to have been perfect, his tongue only failing him; and in this manner about seven o'clock at night, he rendered his soul to God in a most quiet and peaceable manner. On the seventeenth of February his body was interred, according to his own direction, in the church-yard, called the Black-fryars, at Edinburgh, on the south side of the new church, and was con veyed to the place by the earl of Dunfermline, chancellor, and the rest of the honourable lords of council, with the magistrates of the city, and many others. The funeral sermon being preached by the archbishop of St Andrews.'

The following is a list of his WRITINGS, published together in one folio volume: "1. Heaven Opened, in three Parts, from the whole of the eighth chapter to the Romans. 2. The Triumph of a Christian, or Jacob's wrestling with GOD, Gen. xxxii. 24. 3. A Conduit of Comfort, Rom. viii. 28. 4. A Preparative to the Lord's Supper, Cor. xi. 28. 5. The Anatomy of a Christian, 2 Cor. v. 19. 6. A holy Alphabet for Zion's Scholars, or, a Commentary on the hundred and nineteenth Psalm. 7. A Mirror of Mercy, or the Prodigal's Conversion, Luke xv. 11, &c. 8. A Defiance to Death, 2 Cor. v. 1. 9. The Genealogy of Christ, Matt. i. 23. 10. The Baptism of Christ, Luke iii. 2. Christ with Satan, Mat. iv. 1, for Instruction and Consolation. ference between a Catholic-Christian, and Catholic-Ro

11. The Combat of &c. 12. Meditations 13. Seven Days Con

man,

man. 14. A Treatise of the heavenly Mansions, John xiv. 1, 2, 3. 15. The Praise of Patience, Luke xxi. 19. 16. Good News from Canaan, or, an Exposition of the fifty-first Psalm. 17. A Comfortable and Christian Dialogue between the Lord and the Soul. 18. Two Sermons preached before the King, in Scotland. One from Psalm cxxi. 8. and the other from Psalm 1xxx. 17. 19. A Sermon preached the sixth of August, in the year 1615, at the Translation of the Archbishop of St Andrews to that see, from Titus ii. 7, 8. 20. PATHMOS: Or, a Commentary on the Revelation of St John, divided into three Prophecies."

ANDREW WILLET, D. D.

DR ANDREW WILLET, a laborious and learned

divine, was born at Ely, in Cambridgeshire, of pious parents, who to a religious education added their own good example. His father, Thomas Willet, was in the younger part of his life sub-almoner to K. Edward VI. and when Q. Elizabeth came to the throne was made rector of Barley in Hertfordshire. His mother was rich in good works, abounding in acts of charity; who, when her children were gone from her, and settled in life, used to feed her poor neighbours in her own house, and say, Now

again have I my children about me.' Andrew had his instructions in the rudiments of grammar in the collegiate school of Ely; where, says our Biographer, I have heard his school-master say, that he was the most industrious of all his scholars; his eye and countenance had the characters of ingenuity, and in quickness of apprehension, strength of memory, and solid judgment, he outstript his fellows, and so became the delight of his teacher. His parents were under a necessity of inventing different kinds of recreation in order to draw him from too close an application to his books, which endangered his health.

At about fourteen years of age, his father sent him to the university, under the care of Dr Andrew Perne, then master of Peter-house, Cambridge, and his god-father. He afterward removed to Christ-college, where meeting with Downham, Perkins, and others of his own standing, a

laudable

laudable emulation took place amongst them, and young Willet's extraordinary application and proficiency in his studies soon appeared in a performance, published at the age of twenty-two, entitled, De anime naturá & viribus. Among other anecdotes related of him while at Cambridge, tending to shew the promising greatness of his abilities, is the following: The proctor of the college, being prevented, by some unforeseen accident, executing his office at the commencement just at hand, none could be found to stand in his place but Willet, who acquitted himself so well, that his orations gained the approbation and applause both of the university and strangers, and the entire admiration of all those, who knew how short a time he had to prepare for it.

After he had spent thirteen years in the university, his father, now grown old, resigned his prebend in the church of Ely, and his rectory of Barley, which by favour of Q. Elizabeth (sede vacante) were conferred upon the son: Upon which he married a wife, a relation of Dr Goad, provost of King's-college, by whom he had a numerous issue. He never sought after other preferments, which he rather studied to deserve than to obtain, observing that commonly some enjoy promotions, while others merit them, and that a work of the divine should be reckoned as a part of his wages, it being no small honour to be employed for GOD.

He engaged himself most sedulously in digesting the fathers, councils, ecclesiastical histories, the civil and canon law, and other authors. In short, he read so much, and understood what he had read so well, that he (as well as his contemporary Rainolds,) was called very justly su Boden, a living library, for his learning was, like ready cash, always at hand.

Our Author was not only diligent in his study, but very laborious in his proper work of the ministry. He constantly preached three times in the week in his church at Barley, and paid great attention to catechizing the children- an excellent practice, now, like many other excellent things, too much disused. But how it became thus disused, and how those, who have great or double cures attend only to the profits of them, may hereafter be demanded of some by that GREAT BISHOP of Souls, (1 Peter ii. 25.) who never yet granted a dispensation to any Pastor for ceasing to feed his flock.

His manner of teaching was plain and simple, accom modated to the capacities of his people. Those he esteemed

for