The Praise of a Godly Woman

The Praise of a Godly Woman
Hannibal Gamon

Hannibal Gamon

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 Diuine[1 - Mr. Bolter Diſc. of true Happineſſe, p. 61.] 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 Marked[2 - Pſalm. 37. 37.Deut. 34. 7, 10, 11,12. Hebr. 3. 2. & 11. cap.] and Honoured[3 - 2 Chron. 32. 33.] at their Deaths, as Hezekiah was by all Iudah & Ieruſalem: Valentinean, Satyrus and Theodoſius by Saint Ambroſe[4 - S. Ambr. tom. 3.]: Baſil, Gregory and Gorgonia by Nazianzen[5 - Greg. Nazian.Orat. 30.Orat. 28.Orat. 25.]: Nepotian, Paula and Marcella by S. Ierom[6 - S. Ierom.Ad Heliod.Ad Euſtoch.Ad Princip.Ad Ocean.]. 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 Ierom[7 - Teſtor Iesum cui illa ſeruiuit & ego ſeruire cupio, me utramq, in partē nihil fingere; ſed quaſi Chriſtianū de Chriſtianâ quæ ſunt vera proferre, id eſt, Hiſtoriam ſcribere non Panegyricum. S. Ierom, Epitaph. Paulæ.] proteſteth in a like caſe) made a true Narration; not a Vain-glorious Panegyrick. Let Poets and Oratours praiſe thoſe women, which Poppæa-like[8 - Poppæa cuncta alia fuêre præter Honeſtum animum. Tacit. Annal. l. 13.], 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 Vertues[9 - Laudauit ipſe Nero apud roſtra formam eius & quòd diuinæ formæ parens fuiſſet, aliaque fortunæ munera pro Virtutibus. Id. Annal. l. 16.]. 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 Soules[10 - Eſai. 61. 3.]. This praiſe the Lord will Proſper[11 - Eccleſ. 15. 10.], which is vttered in that Wiſdome[12 - Prou. 9. 10.], whereof the Feare of the Lord is the beginning. But for the Saints themſelues: I dare ſay with Saint Auguſtine[13 - Epiſt. 125. where S. Auguſtine refuſeth to commend vnto a wicked Husbād his godly wife that was dead, not onely becauſe ſhe deſired not his praiſe, ſaying: Laudem ab hominibus iam illa non quærit, imitationem verò tuā tantum quærit etiam defuncta, quantum te dilexit etiam diſſimilem viua; but alſo becauſe her Husband loued Her not, which he proueth thus: Nam utiq ſi amares, cum illa eſſe poſt mortem deſiderares, quod profectò non eris, ſi quàlis es, talis eris.], 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 Gods[14 - Ier. 23. 22, 28.1 Pet. 4. 11. Tit. 2. 8.2 Tim. 2. 15.1 Tim. 4. 13. & 6. 3.] word, which I haue faithfully alledged (not without ſome Illuſtrations (I confeſſe) borrowed from the holy Fathers[15 - – Ingenuo pudore qui ornabat ætatem, quid cuius eſſet, confiteri … Illud (aiebat) Tertulliani, iſtud Cypriani, hoc Lactantij, illud Hilarij eſt. Sic Minutius Fœlix, ita Victorinus, in hunc modum eſt locutus Arnobius. S. Ierom. ad Heliodor de Nepotian.], 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 Chriſt[16 - 2 Theſſ. 3. 6. 2 Tim. 2. 19. Prou. 4. 14. 1 Cor. 5. 11. Epheſ. 5. 11. Pſalm. 26. 4, 5. & 119. 32, 36, 128. 2 Chron. 19. 2. & 20. 37.], 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 life[17 - 1 Tim. 4. 8.]. 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 King[18 - Pſal. 18. 23.] 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 - S. Ierom. ad Caſtorin. Materteram.] 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 Nazianzen[20 - Orat. 25. fol. 439. Rom. 13. 7, 8.]) 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 faire[21 - Non poſſumus reprehendere diuini artificis opus; ſed quem delectat corporis pulchritudo, multo magis illa delectet venustas, quæ ad imaginem, Dei eſt intus, non foris comptior. S. Ambr. Inſtit. Virg. c. 4. Prou. 11. 22. Eccle. 11. 2. … Homo igitur mihi non tam vultu quam affectu admirands emineat atque excellat: vt in his laudatur, in quibus etiam Deus prophetico iudicio laudatur de quo ſcriptum eſt Pſal. 66. 5. Terribilis in conſiliis ſuper filios hominum; cuius opera coram Deo luceant, qui bona iugibus operibus facta contexat. Id. ib. cap. 3.], 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 nature[22 - Naturale vocabulū eſt Fœmina. naturalis vocabuli generale, Mulier. – Tert. de Virg. Veland. cap 4.], where the weaker her ſex is, the more ſhee ſhall be commended. 2. By Grace[23 - Aliud eſt Timere ſimpliciter, aliud Timere Deum – quippe timere & amare ſimpliciter prolata, affectione: cum additamento aute virtutes ſignificāt. Simplices nempe affectiones inſunt naturaliter nobis tanquam ex nobis, Additamenta ex Gratiâ. S. Bern. de Grat. & lib. Arb.], 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 them[24 - Mulier enim no naturâ nomen eſt vxoris, ſed vxor coditione nomen eſt mulieris. Tert. ib. c. 5. Gen. 2. 23. Hæc vocabitur mulier, quoniam de viro ſuo ſumpta eſt: Quia ſumpta eſt (inquit) de viro suo, non quia virum experta … Non enim corruptelæ, ſed ſexus vocabulum eſt. Gal. 4. 4. Luke 1. 28. S. Ambr. ibid. c. 5.]) 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 ſex[25 - 1 Pet. 3. 7. Ier. 50. 37. Nah. 3. 13. Gal. 3. 27, 28.] to beginne with, and yet being ſtrengthned by Grace[26 - – Ex parte natura (niſi ſit fortitude maioris gratiæ) faciliùs incarnatur ad malum ſexus formineus. Bonau. L. 2. d. 21. q. 3. p. 18.], 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 ſinne[27 - Rom. 3. 9.], All come[28 - Rom. 3. 23.] ſhort of the glory of God, and are All the children of[29 - Epheſ. 2. 3.] wrath, becauſe they Are without all feare of God[30 - Rom. 3. 18.]

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 doe[31 - Eurip. Plutarc. de Tranquilit Mulier quantibuis proba, Mulier tamen eſt.]) becauſe they haue as noble ſoules as men, for[32 - Anima enim ſexum non habet. – De Virg. som. 1. lib: 3. fol. 99.] ſoules haue no ſexes, (as Saint Ambroſe ſaith) nor praiſe women for the endowments of the fleſh onely (as otherſome doe[33 - Cornel. Agrip. de Nobilit. fœminei ſexus. Bocacius de claris mulieribus.]) 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 - Eſ. 33. 6.] This godly feare is that, that makes a Woman in relation[35 - Caiet. in. loc.] 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 naturally[36 - Naturaliter etiam maior lucti eſt inter carnem et ſpiritū mulieris quam viri: quantò enim caro eius infirmior, & ſpiritus minus promptus, tãtò pugna diſſicilior – & victoria commēdabilior. Pet. Bleſ. ſer. 33. p. 420. Timeo autem ne fortè viri à virginibus iudicentur: Comparatione tamē non Auctoritate: quia per duo tantum ſcilicet: per Fragilitatē carnis & Ignorantiam mentis putobã, &c. ſer. 35. p. 428.] 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 Gerſon[37 - Tractat. de Nobilitate, part. 2. p. 52. lit. E. Et Greg. Naz. Orat. 13. tom. I. fol. 352.] 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 Iezebel[38 - 2 Kings 9. 34. Act. 14. 25. 1 Ioh. 4. 18.], not praiſe-worthy, as namely, if ſhe feare men[39 - Matth. 10. 28. Eſ. 51. 12.], or what elſe beſides more than God, or not for God (as Saint Bernard[40 - Convertatur ad ipſum etiam Timor tuus, quia peruerſus eſt timor omnis, quo metuis aliquid præter eum aut non propter eum. S. Ber. in cap. Ieiun. ſer. 2.] limits) or if ſhee feare God as a Iudge, in reſpect of his puniſhments only[41 - Quid magnū eſt, pœnā timere? Quis enim nō timet? quis Latro, quis ſceleratus, quis nefarius? &c. S. Auguſt. de Verb. Apoſt. ſer. 15. fol. 332. tom. 10.], & 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) the[42 - Deut. 10. 12. 2 King. 17. 36. Luk. 12. 5. Eſ. 8. 13. Mal. 1. 6.]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 Tertullians[43 - Loquacitas in ædificatione nulla turpis, ſi quando turpis. Itaque ſi de aliquo bono ſermo eſt, res poſtulat contrarium quoque boni recenſere. Quid enim ſectandum ſit, magis illummabis, ſi quod vitandū ſit, proinde digeſſeris. Tertul. de Patien. c. 5. tom. 2.] 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.