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rule of the word of God; and to add to this fervent prayers that God would be pleased to open his eyes, and, by the light of his grace, to give him a true sight of his unhappy situation.

In thus turning his thoughts on his past life, he will clearly observe these two particulars :

First, That he has done none of those things which he ought to have done, in order to work out his salvation.

Secondly, That he has committed innumerable sins of all kinds in thought, word, and action, against God, his neighbour, and against himself.

On duly considering his former behaviour in this light, it will appear to him to be the greatest madness, and the most brutal stupidity. He will acknowledge, that he has acted contrary to the most common rules and maxims of sound reason, by despising the inexpressible felicity freely offered to him in the gospel ; that he had suffered himself to be diverted, by the most wretched and trifling impediments, from the greatduty of making his reconciliation with God; that perhaps for the sake of petty worldly advantages, which now must forever cease with death, he has forfeited the real and glorious possessions of a blessed eternity; and that for a momentary sinful lust, he has precipitated himself in an abyss of torment and misery. In his former behaviour he will observe a dreadful injustice, and abominable ingratitude; for he has by numberless crimes offended that God who gave him his being, and who from time to time has showered down innumerable blessings on him; he has set at nought his worship, has not believed his promises, nor feared his menaces; and, instead of making any grateful returns of love to such a gracious, bountiful, and benevolent Being, he has shewed himself a stubborn, abandoned rebel. When his former behaviour appears thus abominable to him, he must further call upon God, intreating him that he would work in him a salutary repentance, and Godly sorrow. This will induce him

to detest his whole former conduct; sincerely to hate and abhor his sins; and to be heartily sorry for his base and unworthy behaviour towards God, whose goodness is infinite, by requiting all his love and accumulated benefits with such unnatural returns of ingratitude.

But the nearer he approaches to the last hour of his life, the more expeditious must he be, amidst the most contrite sentiments of his unworthiness, and of his having deserved the wrath of God, in applying to the infinite mercy of God in Christ Jesus; and for his sake, he must humbly implore the forgiveness of all his sins. He must, like a dying malefactor who is just at the point of execution, confess that he is a wretched sinful worm, that deserves to be trodden under foot, and crushed by the Divine justice; and yet place his confidence on the gracious promise of God, by which he has sworn by himself, that he does not desire the death of a sinner, but rather that he should be converted and live. Thus must he persevere, hungering and thirsting after mercy, lamenting and bewailing his sins, and praying for remission of them, till faith proves victorious over the accusations of conscience, and the terrors of hell and death; and till he obtains in his soul some comfortable hopes of the grace of God, and the remission of his sins. Such must be the resource and behaviour of him, whom God summons to die in the midst of his sins.

That a sinner, who thus sincerely and heartily labours towards his conversion in his last hours, may be snatched as a brand out of the fire, is not to be doubted. But alas! how rare are such examples of late and effectual repentance? Many who never experienced any thing of repentance or faith, who made religion their jest during their lives, die with a lethargic and insensible conscience, that does not once disturb them on account of their past wicked lives. They depart hence with blinded eyes and a more than stoical apathy, quite unconcerned, to their eternal per

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dition. After death they are celebrated by mercenary orators as persons that died serenely and piously, in the full enjoyment of their senses and reason, without any delirious symptoms, and in the fulness of faith in Christ. Many fall into the hands of false comforters, who mistake the natural motions of fear and grief, for the work of conversion; and if the agonies of deathextort from them a short prayer or a few tears, it is immediately construed as a sign of an effectual repentance, and they are soothed with a false hope of future happiness. But many are so suddenly surprised by death in their security, that they are removed from this world to the next, as it were, in a hurricane, before they are aware of their condition. Therefore, O ye unwise, defer not your repentance to such uncertain precarious moments, as are not in your power! How wise and happy is he, who betimes regulates the concerns of his soul, and sets his house in order! so that when he comes to die, he may have nothing to do but, after the example of his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, to recommend his soul into the hands of his heavenly Father.

But even when a person, who in the days of health has reconciled himself with his Creator, and been fruitful in the practice of good works, and of faith which worketh by love, is seized with his last illness; he will likewise find it necessary to employ in a Christian preparation for death those remaining hours, which God is pleased to favour him with.

Now what this preparation of a dying Christian consists in cannot be better learned than from the example of our blessed Saviour. In this preparation of a dying believer, a sincere conversion to God is presupposed to have been already done in the time of health, the genuineness of which has appeared by the fruits it has produced. But in case any mistrustful doubts arise in the minds of such persons especially of the weak and scrupulous; they must, before all things, endeavour to remove and clear them up by a

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careful examination. It will therefore be proper to take a review of the whole ground of their hope, in order to know whether they have built their house on the sand, or on an immoveable rock. It will be likewise proper to examine, whether ever they had a sincere concern about the favour of God, so that they could willingly forego all the carthly advantages of this life in order to obtain it. It will be proper, farther, to search their own heart, and enquire whether they had a real hatred and abhorrence against every sin, so that they no longer complied with any one sin willingly and deliberately; and, even concerning the common failings and weaknesses which still cleave to the best of us, whether they have often in private humbled themselves before God, and been troubled for nothing so much as a want of fervent love to their God and Saviour, who is so worthy of all our affections. If we find these tokens in us, we may be sufficiently convinced of the genuineness of our repentance, and the change or our heart; though we cannot, as some pretend, tell the day and hour of our con

version.

In this case, it is not necessary to renew the whole conflict of repentance, unless God, from particular motives, leads the soul into it, and brings it before his tribunal; either on account of its natural impurity, or of particular bosom sins, in the mortifying of which it has not shown proper vigour and resolution; and thus, as it were, by a salutary fire purifies it from much hidden dross and secret sins. Thus it sometimes happens that those persons, who in their life time had the appearance of good Christians, have, on their deathbed, undergone severe conflicts for things which, in the time of life, they looked on as trifles. For, at that important crisis, the accuser of mankind is industrious in bringing forth every thing that may annoy us, and throws many dying persons into dreadful terrors. But, exclusive of such circumstances, it is sufficient for good Christians if, on their death-bed, they in

general sincerely repent of all the sins of their whole life, humbly acknowledge their secret faults, and seek remission of them in the blood of Christ. They ought also, where it is necessary, so far to shew the fruits of their genuine repentance, (if they are conscious of having given offence, or caused trouble to any one by some inadvertent steps) as to endeavour to make amends for it by a sincere acknowledgment, and ask. ing pardon of the party offended; or if they recollect that any person, without any blame on their side, has lived in enmity with them, to use all possible means for a reconciliation, so that before their departure, their neighbour may thus be turned from the error of his ways.

True conversion to God being pre-supposed before a man is laid on a sick-bed, the preparation of a Christian for his approaching death, according to the example of our Saviour, consists of these four parti culars.

First, The exercise of prayer.
Secondly, Of faith.

Thirdly, Of hope, and

Fourthly, Of an entire offering up of the soul to God.

First, In the exercise of prayer. Our blessed Saviour began and finished his last hours on the cross with prayer. His first words were, Father, forgive them;' and his last words, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.' Therefore prayer is the chief business of a dying Christian. He will easily find great abundance of matter for prayer. For, with regard to what is past, there will be a necessity of humbly imploring his Creator to forgive all his sudden surprises, his numberless failings, weaknesses, and defects. He will likewise find cause to thank the giver of every good gift, for all temporal and spiritual benefits; for all deliverances, encouragements, warnings, comforts, and salutary chastisements, that have prouced the peaceable fruits of righteousness, which he

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