The Life And Testimony Of Catherine Overton
8 The Sower 1886:
Catherine Overton was born at Bedworth, in the county of Warwick. Her father was Mr. Valentine Overton, Rector of Bedworth. It pleased God betimes to plant the seeds of grace in her heart, which first discovered themselves when she was about fifteen years old, at which time God discovered to her the corruption of her nature, by which a deep impression was made upon her tender years. The following narration was found in her cabinet after her decease:—
“I was but young. My father, being at prayers in his family, I many times found such sweetness, and was so affected therewith that I could not but wish that my heart might oftener be in such a frame. I was convinced in my conscience that, without faith, I could not be saved, and that every faith would not serve turn to bring me to heaven. Hereupon, I fell to examination of myself, and, though I could not find the marks of a strong, yet, through God’s mercy, I found the marks of a true, though but weak, faith, which was some comfort and support to me.
When I was about seventeen years old, my parents sent me to wait upon a young gentlewoman in Northamptonshire, at which time, being far from my near and dear relations, and meeting with some other discouragements in the family, through want of the means of grace which I formerly enjoyed, I grew very melancholy. I began also to have great workings of conscience in me, and Satan, that deadly enemy, took his advantage, through my ignorance of his devices, to raise up fears and terrors of conscience by reason of my manifold sins; and by reason thereof I had no peace nor rest in my soul day or night, but was persuaded that all the threatenings contained in the Book of God against wicked and ungodly men did belong to me, and were my portion, insomuch that, when I took up the Bible to read therein, I was filled with fear and trembling, yet, withal, I durst not neglect it. Thus I continued a great while under these grievous temptations and inward affliction of conscience, yet durst not open my mind to any, judging my case to be like nobody’s else. But God, who is rich and infinite in mercy, and Jesus Christ, who bought His elect at so dear a rate, would not suffer any of His to be lost, and, therefore, He was graciously pleased to preserve, strengthen, and uphold me by His own power from sinking into despair. But I was so by the anguish of heart that, when I came home, in six months, my dear parents scarcely knew me.”
After remaining at home for some years, she was united in marriage to Mr. S. Clarke, minister at Shotwick, which union the Lord greatly blessed. But I shall proceed with the narration of her exercises of soul in her own words:—
“It pleased God for many years to keep me in a disconsolate state, not clearly evidencing the certain assurance of His love to my soul, so that many times I questioned whether I had any part in Jesus Christ or not—whether I should ever attain to life and salvation or no—and this made me walk with a drooping spirit, so that I could take no true comfort in anything. But, though heaviness endured for a night, yet joy came in the morning, when the Lord caused the light of His countenance to shine upon me. Upon the death of my youngest child, it lay very heavy upon me, so that I was brought oft upon my knees to beg support from God, and to crave His grace, that I might not speak nor act anything whereby God’s name might be dishonoured, and that He would make up this outward loss with some more durable and spiritual comforts; and I found a seasonable and gracious answer to these my requests, for the Lord did sweetly manifest His special love to my soul, assuring me that He was my gracious and covenant Father in Christ, whereby my love to Him was much increased, and, by His grace, was wrought in me a holy submission unto His will, as well in suffering as in doing, as also by avoiding whatsoever might provoke Him to withdraw the evidences of His love from me. And, furthermore, I bless God, and speak it to the praise of His rich and free grace, my prayers and earnest desires have been answered by His giving me comfortable assurance, both from the testimony of His holy Word and the witness of His blessed Spirit, of my eternal and everlasting salvation in and by Christ Jesus.
By all these I have gained this experience—first, that God is true and faithful in making good all His promises seasonably unto us, as that ‘He will never leave nor forsake us,’ &c. Secondly, that it is not in vain to wait upon God, and to seek unto Him in our straits who is more ready to hear than we are to ask. Thirdly, that I desire to see—yea, and the Lord hath showed me—the vanity and uncertainty of the most satisfying comforts that this world can afford, and what an emptiness there is in them, and I desire to sit loosely from them, that I may be ready to part with them when God calls them from me or me from them.
I found also by experience that, in the least affliction, if God hides His face from us, and withdraws the evidences of His love, we can neither do nor suffer anything; and, on the contrary, I found that I could, with much cheerfulness, bear great distempers when I enjoyed the favour of God in them, so that then I could readily say, ‘Good is the work of the Lord, as well as His Word’; and ‘Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.’ I found also that, by my pains and sickness, I was the better able to sympathize with, and to pity and pray for, others in the like case. Also, I hereby learned to prize health, and that because in health we have liberty and opportunity to enjoy the public ordinances with others of God’s people, whereby the graces of God’s people are quickened and strengthened, which otherwise, by reason of our corrupt nature, are apt to grow cold and languish—because in health we find sweet, satisfying comfort in the use of God’s creatures, whereas, in sickness the daintiest food is loathsome. The consideration of these things made me the more to prize health, to be very thankful for it; and the more careful to improve health, and employ the strength given to God’s glory.
I found also that I was very unable to fit and prepare myself for a comfortable approach to that solemn ordinance, the Lord’s Supper. Though I prayed in private, and desired the prayers of others on my behalf, yet I came far short of what I desired, or what was required, so that I found little spiritual relish and comfort in the use of it, so that my spirit was oft much troubled, fearing lest some secret sin, undiscovered, had caused the Lord to hide His face from me. But even then my gracious God brought this into my mind, that the Lord does sometimes afflict us for the exercise of our graces, as well as to humble us for our sins. I also considered that, as the Lord in this sacred ordinance doth renew His covenant of grace, sealing unto us the pardon of our sins, through the blood of Christ, so He calls us to renew our covenant with Him, to believe in Him, and trust upon Christ for life and salvation; and that comfortable promise was precious to my soul, ‘Though He hide His face from us for a little moment, yet with mercy and loving-kindness He will return to us again.’ Blessed be the Lord for ever! I desire to treasure up these experiences, that, in times of temptation, I may resist Satan, ‘steadfast in the faith,’ for I am not altogether ignorant of his devices; and God’s promise is, that in all these things we shall be ‘more than conquerors.’
On September 18th, there came to me the sad news of the death of my son, John Clarke, a faithful and godly minister at Cotgrove, in Nottinghamshire. Thus, as the waves of the sea follow one another, so God is pleased to exercise me with one affliction after another. Indeed, it hath been the Lord’s course and dealing with me ever since He stopped me in the way, as I was posting to hell, to raise up one affliction or other, either inward or outward, or from my own corrupt heart or nature; and, not having grace and wisdom to carry myself under these, various afflicting dispensations, as in the case of the loss of this dear son, from whom I had much soul-comfort by his spiritual letters and writings to me, this caused my griefs and sorrows to take the greater hold upon me, upon the loss of one who was so useful to me. My grief grew so great that I took no pleasure in anything in the world, but was so overwhelmed with melancholy that I judged I could not live long in such a condition. Here upon I began to examine my heart why it should be so with me. I often and earnestly sought unto the Lord with many prayers and tears, beseeching Him to quiet my heart, and it pleased God seasonably to hear my prayers and to regard my tears, by calming my spirit, and giving me to submit to His holy will and pleasure who is a God of judgment, and who waits to be gracious unto those that trust in Him, so that I could say, ‘I called upon the Lord in my distress, and He answered me, and delivered me.’ ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul.’
The Lord knows that I write these things for no other end but that God may have the glory, and that others may be encouraged to seek unto God in their straits, and to ‘trust in Him at all times.’ Amen.”
She had some friends from London come to dine with her in the month of May. Whilst at dinner, it pleased God to strike her with a shivering, which brought on a distemper, from which she never recovered. As to the state of her soul, during her sickness, she enjoyed, through God’s mercy, much joy and peace in believing. She would often cry out, “Hold out, faith and patience!” She earnestly desired to be dissolved, saying, “It is hard work to die.”
A few minutes before she departed, her daughter speaking to her of Jesus Christ, she said, “My Lord and my God!” and, thus she passed away, exchanging this life for a better, aged, seventy-three years.—R. F. R.
Catherine Overton (1602-1675) was a sovereign grace believer. She was the daughter of Valentyne Overton, Rector of All Saints Parish Church in Bedworth; the wife of Samuel Clarke, an eminent Puritan biographer and author; the mother of John Clarke, a gospel minister at Cotgrove, Nottinghamshire.
