“Heaven was in him, before he was in heaven” by Izaac Walton

“Richard Sibbes became known as ‘the heavenly Doctor,’ due to his godly preaching and heavenly manner of life. Izaac Walton wrote of Sibbes:

Of this blest man, let this just praise be given,

Heaven was in him, before he was in heaven.

–Joel R. Beeke and Randall J. Pederson, Meet the Puritans: With a Guide to Modern Reprints (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2006), 535.