This audio was created with an artificial voice for the audiobook initiative on Sermon Audio. The life of the late Reverend Mr. John Flavell, Minister of Dartmouth. Those of the name of Flavell derived their pedigree from one who was the third great officer that came over with William the Conqueror. But this worthy divine was far from that weakness and vanity to boast of anything of that nature, being of the poet's mind, who said, Et genus et proavos et quae non fesimus ipsi, vixia nostra voco. His father was Mr. Richard Flavell, a painful and eminent minister. He was First Minister at Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, then at Hasler, and removed from thence to Willesey in Gloucestershire, where he continued to 1660, whence he was ousted upon the restoration of King Charles II, because it was a sequestered living, and the incumbent then alive. This did not so much affect Mr. Flavell as that he wanted a fixed place for the exercise of his pastoral function. He was a person of such extraordinary piety that those who conversed with him said they never heard one vain word drop from his mouth. A little before the turning out of the nonconformist ministers, being near Totnes in Devon, he preached from Hosea 7, verse 6. The days of visitation are come, the days of recompense are come, Israel shall know it. His application was so close that it offended some people, and occasioned his being carried before some justices of the peace. But they could not reach him, so that he was discharged. He afterwards quitted that country and his son's house, which was his retiring place, and came to London, where he continued in a faithful and acceptable discharge of his office till the time of the dreadful plague in 1665, that he was taken and imprisoned in the manor following. He was at Mr Blake's house in Covent Garden, where some people had met privately for worship. Whilst he was at prayer, a party of soldiers broke in upon them, with their swords drawn, and demanded their preacher, threatening some and flattering others to discover him, but in vain. Some of the company threw a coloured cloak over him, and in this disguise he was, together with his hearers, carried to Whitehall. The women were dismissed, but the men were detained and forced to lie all that night upon the bare floor, and, because they would not pay five pounds each, were sent to Newgate, where the pestilence raged most violently, as in other places of the city. Here Mr Flavour and his wife were shut up and seized with the sickness. They were bailed out, but died of the contagion, of which their son John had a divine munition given him by a dream, as we shall observe in its proper place. Mr Richard Flavour left two sons behind him, both ministers of the gospel, namely John and Phinehas. John, the eldest, was born in Worcestershire. It was observable that, whilst his mother lay in with him, a nightingale made her nest in the outside of the chamber window, where she used to sing most sweetly. He was religiously educated by his father and, having profited well at the grammar schools, was sent early to Oxford and settled as a commoner in university college. He applied himself diligently to his studies and exceeded many of his contemporaries in university learning, Soon after his commencement as Bachelor of Arts, Mr. Walplate, the Minister of Dipford in the County of Devon, was rendered incapable of performing his office by reason of his age and infirmity, and sent to Oxford for an assistant. Mr. Flavell, though young, was recommended to him as a person duly qualified, and was accordingly settled there by the Standing Committee of Devon on April 27th, 1650, to preach as a probationer and assistant to Mr. Walplate. Mr. Flavell, considering the weight of his charge, applied himself to the work of his calling with great diligence, and being assiduous in reading, meditation and prayer, he increased in ministerial knowledge daily, for he found himself to have come raw enough in that respect from the university, so that he attained a high degree of eminence and reputation for his useful labours in the church. About six months after his settling at Diptford, he heard of an ordination to be at Salisbury, and therefore went there with his testimonials, and offered himself to be examined and ordained by the presbytery. They appointed him a text, upon which he preached to their general satisfaction, and having afterwards examined him as to his learning and so forth, they set him apart to the work of the ministry with prayer and imposition of hands on the seventeenth day of October, 1650. Mr. Flavell, being thus ordained, returned to Diptford, and after Mr. Walplate's death, succeeded in the rectory. To avoid all encumbrances from the world and distractions from his studies and ministerial work, he chose a person of worth and reputation in the parish, of whom he had a good assurance 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 pleasing to his people. By this means he was better able to deal with them in private, since the hire of his labours was no hindrance to the success of them. Whilst he was at Diptford, he married Mrs Jane Randall, 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 acquaintances and intimate friends advised him to marry a second time, wherein he was again very happy. Sometime after this second marriage, the people of Dartmouth, a great and noted seaport in the county of Devon, formerly under the charge of the Reverend Mr. Anthony Hartford, deceased, unanimously chose Mr. Flavell to succeed him. They urged him to accept their call for the following reasons. One, 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 likely to be an instrument of healing the breaches among the good people there. 3. Because Dartmouth, being a considerable and populous town, required an able and eminent minister, which was not so necessary for a country parish that might more easily be supplied with another pastor than Dartmouth. What made them more pressing and earnest with Mr. Flavell was this. At a provincial synod in that county, Mr. Flavell, though but a young man, was voted into the chair as moderator. He opened the Assembly with a most devout and pertinent prayer, examined the candidates who offered themselves for trials for the Ministry with great learning, stated the cases and questions proposed to them with much acuteness and judgment, and in the whole demeaned himself with that gravity, piety and seriousness that, during his Presidency, all the Ministers of the Assembly admired and loved him. The Reverend Mr Hartford, his predecessor at Dartmouth, took particular notice of him. From that time forward, he contracted a strict friendship with him and spoke of him among the magistrates and people of Dartmouth as an extraordinary person who was likely to be a great light in the church. This, along with their having heard him preach several times, occasioned their importunity with Mr Flavell to come and be their minister. Upon this, having spread his case before the Lord and submitted to the decision of his neighbouring ministers, he was prevailed upon to move to Dartmouth, to his great loss in Temporals, the rectory of Diptford being a much greater benefice. Mr Flavell, being settled at Dartmouth by the election of the people and an order from Whitehall by the commissioners for approbation of public preachers on the 10th of December 1656, was associated with Mr Aline Gere, a very worthy but sickly man. The ministerial work was thus divided between them. Mr. Flairville was to preach on the Lord's Day at Townstall, the Mother Church standing upon a hill outside the town, and every fortnight in his turn at the Wednesday's lecture in Dartmouth. Here God crowned his labours with many conversions. One of his judicious hearers expressed himself thus concerning him. I could say much, though not enough, of the excellency of his preaching, of his seasonable, suitable, and spiritual matter, of his plain expositions of Scripture, his taking method, his genuine and natural deductions, his convincing arguments, his clear and powerful demonstrations, his heart-searching applications, and his comfortable supports to those that were afflicted in conscience. In short, that person must have a very soft head, or a very hard heart, or both, that could sit under his ministry unaffected. By his unwearied application to study, he had acquired a great stock of both divine and human learning. He was master of the controversies betwixt the Jews and Christians, Papists and Protestants, Lutherans and Calvinists, and betwixt the Orthodox and the Armenians and Sassinians. He was likewise well read in the controversies about church discipline, infant baptism and antinomianism. He was well acquainted with school divinity and drew up a judicious and ingenious scheme of the whole body of that theology in good Latin, which he presented to a person of quality, though it was never printed. He had a notable way of improving his knowledge, which is very proper for young divines. Whatever remarkable passage he heard in private conference, if he was familiar with the relator, he would request him to repeat it again, and then insert it into his avasaria. By these methods he acquired a vast stock of suitable materials for his popular sermons in the pulpit and his more elaborate works for the press. He had an excellent gift of prayer and was never at a loss in all his various occasions for suitable matter and words. Most remarkable of all, he always brought with him a broken heart and moving affections. His tongue and spirit were touched with a live coal from the altar, and he was evidently assisted by the Holy Spirit of grace and supplication in that divine ordinance. Those who lived in his family say that he was always full and copious in prayer, seemed constantly to exceed himself, and rarely made use twice of the same expressions. When the act of uniformity turned him out with the rest of his non-conforming brethren, he did not, thereupon, quit his relation to his church. He thought the souls of his flock to be more precious than to be so tamely neglected. He took all opportunities of ministering the word and sacraments to them in private meetings and joined with other ministers in solemn days of fasting and humiliation to pray that God would once more restore the ark of his covenant unto his afflicted Israel. About four months after that fatal Bartholomew Day, his reverend colleague, Mr. Alain Gere, died. Thus, the whole care of the flock devolved upon Mr. Flavell, which, though a heavy and pressing burden, he undertook very cheerfully. Upon the execution of the Oxford Act, which banished all non-conformist ministers five miles from any towns which sent members to Parliament, he was forced to leave Dartmouth, to the great sorrow of his people, who followed him out of town. At Townstall Churchyard, they took such a mournful farewell of one another that the place might very well have been called Bochum. He moved to Slapton, a parish five miles from Dartmouth or any other corporation, which put him out, out of the legal reach of his adversaries. Here he met with signal instances of God's fatherly care and protection, and preached twice every Lord's Day to such as dared venture to hear him. Many of his own people and others attended, notwithstanding the rigor and severity of the act against conventicles. He often slipped privately into Dartmouth, where, by preaching and conversation, he edified his flock to the great refreshment of his soul and theirs, though at great personal risk due to his watchful adversaries, who constantly laid wait for him. This forced him to avoid long stays in the town. During this time Mr. Flavell, being at Exeter, was invited to preach by many good people of that city. For safety, they chose a wood about three miles from the city as the place of their assembly. However, their enemies broke up the meeting by the time the sermon was well begun. Mr. Flavell, by the care of the people, made his escape through the middle of his enraging enemies. Though many of his hearers were taken, carried before Justice Tuckfield, and fined, yet the rest, being nothing discouraged, reassembled and carrying Mr. Flavell to another wood, he preached to them without any disturbance. After he had concluded, he rode to a gentleman's house near the wood, who, though an absolute stranger to Mr. Flavell, entertained him with great civility that night. The next day, he returned to Exeter in safety. Among those taken at this time, there was a tanner who had a numerous family and but a small stock. He was fined £40. Yet he was nothing discouraged but told a friend, who asked him how he bore up under his loss, that he took the spoiling of his goods joyfully for the sake of his Lord Jesus, for whom his life and all that he had was too little. As soon as the non-conformists had any respite from their troubles, Mr. Flavel seized the opportunity and returned to Dartmouth. There, during the first indulgence granted by King Charles II, he kept open doors and preached freely to all who would come and hear him. When that liberty was revoked, he made it his business to preach both in season and out of season, seldom missing an opportunity of preaching on the Lord's Day. During this time, God was pleased to deprive him of his second wife, which was a great affliction, she having been a helpmeet for him, and such a one he stood much in need of, being a man of an infirm and weak constitution who laboured under many infirmities. In convenient time, he married a third wife, Mrs Anne Down, daughter of Mr Thomas Down, minister of Exeter. She lived very happily with him for eleven years and left him two sons, who were youths of great promise. The persecution against the non-conformists being renewed, Mr Flavell found it unsafe to stay at Dartmouth and therefore resolved to go to London, where he hoped to be in less danger and to have more liberty to exercise 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 arose which exceedingly terrified the passengers. During their consternation, he saw a person of admirable sagacity and gravity sitting at a table with a child in a cradle nearby. The child was very froward, and the father took up a little whip and gave the child a lash, saying, Child, be quiet, I will discipline, but not hurt thee. Upon this Mr. Flavell awoke. Reflecting on his dream, he concluded that he would meet with some trouble in his passage. His friends, dining with him, assured him of a pleasant voyage, as the wind and weather were very fair. Mr. Flavell replied that he was not of their mind, but expected much trouble because of his dream, adding that when such representations were made to him in his sleep, they seldom or never failed. Accordingly, when they were advanced within five leagues of Portland in their voyage, they were overtaken by a dreadful tempest, insomuch that between one and two in the morning, the master and seamen concluded that unless God changed the wind, there was no hope of life. It was impossible for them to weather Portland, so they would inevitably be wrecked on the rocks or the shore. Upon this Mr. Flavell called all the hands that could be spared into the cabin to pray, but the violence of the tempest was such that they could not prevent themselves from being thrown from one side to the other as the ship was tossed. Not only that, but mighty seas broke upon them as if they would have drowned them in the very cabin. In this peril, Mr. Flavell took hold of the two pillars of the cabin bed and, calling upon God, begged mercy for himself and the rest aboard. Among other arguments in prayer, he pleaded that if he and his company perished in that storm, the name of God would be blasphemed. The enemies of religion would say that although he escaped their hands on shore, divine vengeance had overtaken him at sea. In the midst of prayer, his faith and hope were raised, insomuch that he expected a gracious answer. So that, committing himself and his company to the mercy of God, he concluded the duty. No sooner was prayer ended than one came down from the deck, crying, Deliverance! Deliverance! God is at God, hearing prayer! In a moment the wind turned fair west, and sailing before it, they were brought safely to London. Mr. Flavell found many of his old friends there, and God raised him new ones, with an abundance of work and extraordinary encouragement in it. During his stay in London, he married his fourth wife, a widow gentlewoman, daughter of Mr. George Jeffreys, formerly minister of King's Bridge, but now his sorrowful relic. While in London, Mr. Flavell narrowly escaped being taken along with the Reverend Mr. Jenkins at Mr. Fox's in Moorfields, where they were keeping a day of fasting and prayer. He was so near that he heard the insolence of the officers and soldiers of Mr. Jenkins after they had taken him. He recorded in his diary that Mr. Jenkins might have escaped as well as he had it not been for a piece of vanity in a lady whose long train hindered his descent down the stairs. Mr. Jenkins, out of too great civility, had let her pass before him. After this, Mr. Flavell returned to Dartmouth, where, with his family and dear people, he blessed God for his mercies toward him. He was, shortly after, confined closely as a prisoner to his house, where many of his dear flock stole in overnight or early on the Lord's Day morning to enjoy the benefit of his labours and spend the Sabbath in hearing, praying, singing of psalms and holy discourses. Mr. Jenkins, mentioned earlier, died in prison. After his death, his people gave Mr. Flavell a call to take up the pastoral office among them, and Mr. Reeves' people did likewise. Mr. Flavell communicated these calls to his flock, and kept a day of prayer with them to seek God's direction in this important affair. God graciously answered their prayers by fixing Mr. Flavell's resolution to remain with his flock at Dartmouth. Many arguments were made to persuade him to move to London, pointing out that, since the act of uniformity had turned him out, his maintenance from the church had been very little, that London had rich and numerous congregations, that he had a family and children to provide for, and that the city was a theatre of honour and reputation. But none of these arguments could prevail upon him to leave his poor people at Dartmouth. In 1687, when it pleased God to overrule affairs so that King James II thought it in his interest to dispense with the penal laws against them, Mr. Flavell, who had formerly been confined to a corner, shone brightly as a flaming beacon upon the top of a hill. His affectionate people prepared a large place for him where God blessed his labours to the conviction of many people by his sermons on Revelation chapter 3 verse 20. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. This encouraged him to print those sermons under the title England's Duty, hoping that it might do good abroad as well as in his own congregation. He made a vow to the Lord during his confinement that, if he were entrusted with public liberty once more, he would improve it for the advancement of the gospel. He performed this vow in a most conscientious manner, preaching twice every Lord's Day and lecturing every Wednesday, during which he expounded much of the third chapter of St. John's Gospel, demonstrating the indispensable necessity of regeneration. He also preached every Thursday before the sacrament and admitted communicants after due examination. On sacrament days he had no assistance and was often nearly spent by the time he had distributed the elements. After completing the day's duties he would frequently complain of a sore breast, an aching head and a pained back, yet would be back to study early the next Monday. Mr. Flavell allowed himself very little recreation, viewing time as a precious jewel that ought to be redeemed at any rate. He was not only a zealous preacher in the pulpit, but also a sincere Christian in his private devotions, being frequent in self-examination and pressing it upon others, always afraid lest, while he preached to others, he himself should be a castaway. To prove this, I shall transcribe what follows from his own diary. To make sure of eternal life, said he, is the great business which the sons of death have to do in this world. Whether a man consider the immortality of his own soul, the ineffable joys and glory of heaven, the extreme and endless torments of hell, the inconceivable sweetness of peace of conscience, or the misery of being subject to the terrors thereof, all these put a necessity, a solemnity, a glory upon this work. But oh the difficulties and dangers attending it! How many and how great are these! What judgment, faithfulness, resolution, and watchfulness doth it require? Such is the deceitfulness, darkness, and inconstancy of our hearts, and such the malice, policy, and diligence of Satan to manage and improve it, that he who attempts this work had need both to watch his seasons for it, and frequently look up to God for his guidance and illumination, and to spend many sad and serious thoughts before he had venture upon a determination and conclusion of the state of his soul. To the end, therefore, that this most important work may not miscarry in my hands, I have collected, with all the care I can, the best and soundest characters I can find in the writings of our modern divines, taken out of the Scripture, and by their labours illustrated and prepared for use, that I might make a right application of them. 1. I have earnestly sought the Lord for the assistance of his Spirit, which can only manifest my own heart unto me, and show me the true state thereof, which is that thing my soul does most earnestly desire to know. And I hope the Lord will answer my desire therein, according to his promises. Luke 11, verse 13. John 14, verse 26. 2. I have endeavoured to cast out and lay aside self-love, lest my heart, being prepossessed with it, my judgment should be perverted and become partial when passing sentence on my estate. I have, in some measure, brought my heart to be willing to judge and condemn myself for a hypocrite, if such I shall be found on trial, so as to approve myself for sincere and upright. Yea, I would have it so far from being grievous to me so to do, that if I have been all this while mistaken and deceived, I shall rejoice and bless the Lord with my soul, that now at last it may be discovered to me, and I may be set right, though I lay the foundation new again. This I have laboured to bring my heart to, knowing that thousands have dashed and split to pieces upon this rock, and, indeed, he that will own the person of a judge must put off the person of a friend. 3. It hath been my endeavour to keep upon my heart a deep sense of that great judgment day throughout this work, as knowing by experience what a potent influence this hath on the conscience, to make it deliberate, serious, and faithful in its work. 4. Having seriously weighed each mark, and considered where in the weight and substance of it lies, I have gone to the Lord in prayer for his assistance, before I have drawn up the answer of my conscience, and as my heart has been persuaded therein, so have I determined and resolved. What has been clear to my experience I have so set down, and what has been dubious I have here left it so. 5. I have made choice of the fittest seasons I had for this work, and set to it when I have found my heart in the most quiet and serious frame. For as he that would see his face in a glass must be fixed, not in motion, or in water must make no commotion in it, so it is in this case. 6. Lastly, to the end I may be successful in this work, I have laboured all along carefully to distinguish between such sins as are grounds of doubting, and such as are only grounds of humiliation. knowing that not every evil is a ground of doubting, though all, even the smallest infirmities, administer matter of humiliation. Thus I have desire to undertake this great business. O Lord, assist thy servant, that he may not mistake herein, but if his conscience do now condemn him, he may lay a better foundation whilst he hath time, and if it shall now acquit him, he may also have boldness in the day of judgment. These things being previously dispatched, he tried himself by the scripture marks of sincerity and regeneration. By this means, he attained a well-grounded assurance, the ravishing comforts of which were many times shed abroad in his soul. This made him a powerful and successful preacher, as one who spoke from his own heart to those of others. He preached what he felt, what he had handled, what he had seen and tasted of the word of life, and they felt it also. We may guess what a sweet and blessed intercourse he had with Heaven from that history we meet with in his Pneumatologia, p. 323, which I refer to, and likewise from that revelation he had of his father and mother's death, p. 339. He was a mighty wrestler with God in secret prayer, and particularly begged him to crown his sermons, printed books, and private discourses with the conversion of poor sinners, a work which his heart was much set upon. It pleased God to answer him by many instances, of which the two that follow deserve peculiar notice. In 1673, there came into Dartmouth Port a ship from Poole on her return from Virginia. The surgeon of this ship, a lusty young man of 23 years of age, fell into a deep melancholy which the devil used to tempt him to murder himself. On the Lord's Day, early in the morning, while in bed with his brother, he attempted suicide. First, he cut his throat with a knife he had prepared for the purpose, and then, leaping out of bed, thrust it likewise into his stomach. He lay wallowing in his own blood until his brother awoke and cried out for help. A physician and surgeon were brought, who concluded the wound in his throat to be mortal. They stitched it up, however, and applied a plaster, but they had no hope of his recovery, because he already breathed through the wound, and his voice had become inarticulate. Mr. Flavell came to visit him in this condition, and apprehending that he was within a few minutes of eternity, laboured to prepare him for it. He asked the young man about his own apprehensions of his state, and the young man answered that he hoped in God for eternal life. Mr. Flavell replied that he feared his hopes were ill-grounded, saying, the scripture tells us that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Self-murder, Mr. Flavell explained, was the grossest of all murders. He insisted so much on the aggravations of the crime that the young man's conscience began to fail, his heart began to melt, and he broke out into tears, bewailing his sin and misery. He asked Mr. Flavell if there might yet be any hope for him. Mr. Flavell told him there might, and finding him altogether unacquainted with the nature of faith and repentance, he opened them to him. The young man eagerly received the doctrine, prayed with great vehemence to God that he would work these graces in his soul, and entreated Mr. Flavell to pray with and for him that he might, though late, become a sincere gospel-penitent and sound believer. Mr. Flavell prayed with him accordingly, and it pleased God to exceedingly melt the young man's heart during that prayer. He was very reluctant to part with Mr. Flauvel, but the duties of the day obliged him to leave. In a few words, Mr. Flauvel summarized the most necessary counsels and took his farewell, never expecting to see him again in this world. But it pleased God to order otherwise. The young man continued alive, contrary to all expectation. He earnestly sought after the Lord Jesus, and no discourse was pleasing to him but that of Christ and faith. In this frame, Mr. Flavell found the young man in the evening. He rejoiced greatly when he saw him come again, entreated him to continue his discourse upon those subjects, and was told by the young man, Sir, the Lord hath given me repentance for this and for all my other sins. I see the evil of them now as I never saw them before. Oh, I loathe myself. I do also believe. Lord, help my unbelief. I am heartily willing to take Christ upon his own terms. But one thing troubles me. I doubt this bloody sin will not be pardoned. Will Jesus Christ, said he, apply his blood to one who has shed his own blood? Mr. Flavel assured him that the Lord Jesus shed his blood for those who with wicked hands had shed his own blood, a sin greater than the shedding of one's own. To this the wounded man replied, I will cast myself upon Christ, let him do what he will. In this condition Mr. Flavell left him that night. The next morning the young man's wounds were to be opened, and the surgeon's opinion was that he would immediately expire. Mr. Flavell was again requested to visit him. Upon arriving, he found the young man in a very serious frame and prayed with him. The wound in his stomach was afterwards opened, and the ventricle was so swollen that it protruded through the orifice of the wound, lying like discoloured tripe upon his body, and also being cut through. Everyone thought it impossible for him to survive. However, the surgeon enlarged the orifice of the wound, fermented it, and worked the ventricle back into his body. After stitching up the wound, he left the patient to the disposal of Providence. It pleased God that the young man was cured of those dangerous wounds in his body. Moreover, on solid grounds of rational charity, there was reason to believe that he was also cured of the more dangerous wound which sin had made in his soul. Mr. Flavell spent many hours with him during his sickness. When the surgeon returned to Poole after the man's recovery, Mr. Samuel Hardy, a worthy minister there, wrote a letter to Mr. Flavell. He thanked him for the great pains he had taken with the young man, and congratulated him on his success, assuring him that if ever a thorough work of grace was wrought, it was in that man. The second instance is as follows. While Mr. Flavell was in London in 1673, his old bookseller, Mr. Bolter, shared this story. Sometime earlier, a sparkish gentleman had entered Mr. Bolter's shop inquiring about playbooks. Mr. Bolter replied that he had none, but showed him Mr. Flavell's little treatise, Keeping the Heart. He entreated the gentleman to read it, and assured him it would do him more good than playbooks. The gentleman read the title, glanced through several pages, and then broke out into angry expressions, exclaiming, What a damnable fanatic was he who made this book! Mr. Boulter begged the gentleman to buy and read the book, telling him he had no cause to censure it so bitterly. At last, the gentleman bought it, but said he would not read it. What will you do with it, then? asked Mr. Boulter. I will tear and burn it, said he, and send it to the devil. Mr. Boulter told him he should not have it. Upon this, the gentleman promised to read it, and Mr. Boulter assured him that if he disliked it after reading, he would return his money. About a month later, the gentleman came back to the shop in a very modest habit and with a serious countenance. Addressing Mr. Bolter, he said, Sir, I most heartily thank you for putting this book into my hands. I bless God that moved you to do it. It hath saved my soul. Blessed be God that ever I came into your shop. He then bought a hundred more copies of the book and told Mr. Bolter that he would give them to the poor who could not afford them. He left, praising and admiring the goodness of God. Thus, it pleased God to bless the sermons, discourses, and writings of Mr. Flavell. Mr. Flavell never delighted in controversies, but was occasionally obliged, contrary to his inclination, to write against Mr. Carey, the Principal Anabaptist in Dartmouth. Despite their theological differences, he maintained a friendly and Christian correspondence with him. When he wrote his Planologia, or Blow at the Root, Mr Flairville declared to his friends that although such studies were very necessary, he took no pleasure in them and would rather be employed in practical divinity. When he composed The Reasonableness of Personal Reformation, he told an intimate acquaintance that he seldom had a vain thought to interrupt him, which made him hope the work would do even more good in the world. He also intended to enlarge his book, Sacramental Meditations, and had judiciously handled several cases of conscience on that occasion, which he designed to include in the next edition. However, he did not live to finish them for publication. Many times when preaching abroad, he received letters from unknown individuals informing him how God had blessed his ministry to their souls, converting them from bitter enemies to religion. These accounts encouraged him during his travels and spurred him to accept invitations to preach and even to offer his labours to those willing to hear him. However, when he preached in places where he was well known, people were often insistent and unfortunate with him. On one occasion, after a long and exhausting journey, an intimate friend, out of tender regard for his health, urged him with persuasive arguments to forbear preaching at that time. Yet they could not prevail upon him to do so. His deep compassion for needy and perishing souls made Mr. Flavelle overlook all considerations for himself. He preached an excellent sermon that led to the conversion of one soul, as the individual later declared upon their admission to the Lord's Table. The last sermon he preached to his congregation in Dartmouth was on a public day of fasting and humiliation. During the closing part of the sermon he was so extraordinarily enlarged in his expressions of praise to God for mercies received that he appeared to be in an ecstasy. This occurred about a week before his death and may justly be considered a foretaste of the heavenly raptures he now enjoys among the blessed spirits above. The very last sermon he preached was on June 21st, 1691, at Ashburton, on 1 Corinthians 10, verse 12. Wherefore let him that standeth take heed, lest he fall. It was a highly moving and impactful discourse, intended to awaken careless professors and stir them up to be earnest about their souls. After preaching this sermon, he travelled to Exeter. While at Topsham, just three miles from Exeter, he presided as moderator at an assembly of non-conformist ministers of Devonshire, who unanimously voted him into the chair. The occasion of the meeting was to promote a union between the Presbyterians and Independents, a cause Mr Flavell was deeply zealous about. His efforts brought the matter to such a resolution in those parts that the ministers expressed their satisfaction with the heads of agreement concluded by the London ministers of those denominations. Mr Fleville closed the day's work with prayer and praises, in which his spirit was wonderfully enlarged and affectionate. That same day, he wrote a letter to an eminent minister in London, giving an account of the proceedings. It was providentially ordered that he should complete this good work, something so close to his heart, before finishing his earthly course. The manner of his death was sudden and unexpected. His friends thought him to be as well as he had been for many years. However, toward the end of supper, he complained of a deadness in one of his hands, saying he could not lift it to his head. This sudden symptom astonished his wife and those present. They attempted to restore strength to his hand, but to their great sorrow, the affliction quickly spread, seizing one side of his body entirely. He was put to bed with haste, and physicians were called for, but their efforts were in vain. The distemper advanced rapidly, and within a short time, it rendered him speechless. He was fully aware of his approaching death. When he was carried upstairs, he expressed his belief that it would be his last time, but added, I know that it will be well with me, which were among his final words. Thus, this holy man of God passed away suddenly and without pain, not even giving so much as a groan. He exchanged this life for a better on the 26th of June 1691 at the age of 64. His body was carried from Exeter to Dartmouth, accompanied by several ministers and many others of good standing. Large numbers of people from Dartmouth, Totnes, Newton, Ashburton and nearby areas rode out to meet the funeral procession. When his corpse was taken out of the hearse at the water's edge, his people and friends could not contain their grief, expressing their sorrow with floods of tears and heartfelt lamentation. Mr. Flavel was buried that same evening in Dartmouth Church. The following day, Mr. George Trostosh, a minister of Exeter, preached his funeral sermon. He took his text from 2 Kings 2, verse 12, my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof, reflecting Elisha's lamentation at the translation of Elijah. Character of Mr. Flavell. Mr. Flavell was a man of medium stature, full of life and activity. Thoughtful by nature, he was often absorbed in meditation when not reading or conversing. This habit of reflection allowed him to digest his ideas thoroughly and express them with great clarity and depth. He was always ready to learn from anyone and equally willing to share what he knew. Mr. Flavell was generous to his relatives and charitable to the poor, especially to the household of faith. To the needy members of his congregation, he sent suitable supplies during times of sickness. He freely taught academic learning to four young men whom he prepared for the ministry, even maintaining one of them entirely at his own expense. His affection for the people of Dartmouth was remarkable. One instance of his love for his community occurred when the English fleet first engaged with the French. Mr. Flavell called his congregation together for a solemn fast. Like a man in agony, he wrestled with God in prayer for the church, the nation, and especially for the poor seamen of Dartmouth, pleading that they might be spared. God graciously answered his prayer. Not one person from Dartmouth was killed in the battle, though many were involved in the engagement. As a faithful ambassador for Christ, Mr. Flavell made his own life a model of his teaching. He refrained from reviling those who reviled him, and instead prayed for his enemies. In 1685, during a period of political and religious tension, some individuals in Dartmouth, including magistrates, made an effigy of Mr. Flavell. They paraded it through the streets in mockery, attaching to it the covenant and the bill of exclusion, and burned it on a bonfire. Despite such provocations, he maintained his composure, demonstrating the grace and love he preached. Some of the spectators were so deeply affected by the reproach and dishonour done to this reverend and pious minister that they wept, while others scoffed and jeered. It was noted that, at the very same time, though he was unaware of what was happening, Mr Flavell was heaping coals of fire of a different kind upon the heads of those who mocked him. He was engaged in prayer for the town of Dartmouth, its magistrates and its inhabitants. When the news of what had been done was brought to him after he concluded his prayer, he responded by lifting up his voice to God and praying for them with the words of Christ, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. End of the life of the Reverend John Flavell This audio was created with an artificial voice for the audiobook initiative on Sermon Audio. There may be mispronunciations or occasional repetitions. To report a mistake, please email us at info at sermonaudio.com and include the sermon ID or title of the message and the time at which the error occurs. We will do our best to get it corrected for future listeners.