paft life and future ftate. Now is it time for me to look into my foul, and examine my ftate, Oh, how many do mifs falvation when they think themselves fure of it? They mistake a form of godlinefs for the power of it, and thereby deceive themfelves, thinking themselves fomething when they are nothing.

Some come the length as to thed tears, as Efau did; profefs fair, yea fight for the Lord, as Saul and Jehu did; wifh for the end of the righteous, as Balaam did; defire God's people to pray for them, as Pharaoh and Simon Magus did; walk foftly, and mourn for fear of judgment, as Ahab did; joy in gofpel-ordinances, and reform in many things as Herod did; prophecy and fpeak well of Chrift, as Caiphas and Judas did; be convinced and tremble at hearing a fermon, as Felix did; yea, tafte the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, as apoftates have done: And yet for all thefe attainments, remain ftrangers to the faving work of the Spirit on the heart.

O that the confideration of hypocrites attainments might alarm me out of my fecurity, and make me restlefs till I find the diftinguishing marks of true grace and fincere faith in my foul? O that I could fay, there is a principle in me that will not fuffer me to build on any foundation in the world but Chrift and his righteoulnefs; that makes me content with Chrift, with all his offices, with all his precepts, and with his very cross for his fake! Doth the love of Chrift keep me back froin fin, more than the law or fear of hell? Have I aimed at God's honour in all my actions, civil, natural, and religious? Am I humble, and denied to my own will, wit, credit, eafe and honour, and to all the enjoyments of the world? Am I acquaint with the throne of grace, and defirous to keep up a conftant correfpondence with it? O let me not reft till I perceive those things in my foul which accompany falvation.

O how comfortable would it be to me now, if I could fay with good Hezekiah in his fickness, "Remember now, O Lord, how I have walked before thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy fight? O that I could pray, and fay with Jefus

Jefus my Saviour when in the view of death, "Father," I have glorified thee on earth; I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do: and now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own felf, with the glory which theu haft ordained for me before the world was

Alas, Lord, I muft confefs, my iniquities have gone up above mine head; my mifpent time, my unfruitfulness under the means of grace, and waterings of ordinances, may caufe me to cry out, Wo is me for the Jeannefs of my foul, and barrennels of my heart? I have been an empty vine, bringing forth fruit only to myfelf. I have hid my Lord's money, and therefore deferve the doom of the wicked and flothful fervant. But my relief is in my Surety's righteoufnefs. Bleffed be the Lord, who hath fent his Son to blefs those who by nature lie under the curfe, and to intercede for those who cannot speak for themselves. O how fuitable is he to my foul's cafe! I have indeed a multitude of fins, but he hath a multitude of tender mercies; I have deep and heinous guilt, but he hath a deep fountain for walling it out; I am fold under fin, but he hath a ransom to buy me back again; my fore is broad, but his plaister is answerable; my wound is great, but his balm is excellent. Surely it is my wifdom to go to Chrift with all my grievances, and always to lie and cry at my Redeemer's door.

O that now, when the fun of my life is fetting, the bleffed fun of righteousness may arife and fhine upon my foul! Goodness and mercy hath followed me while lived: O that Chrift and glory may meet me when I die! I must acknowledge thy goodness; were this the laft hour I had to live, and this the laft word I had to speak in the world, I behoved to fay, Lord, thou haft been a merciful and gracious God to me, my whole life hath been a continued tract of mercy; Lord, crown the end of it with mercy alfo. Surely the fea is not fo full of water, nor the fun fo full of light, as thou art full of grace and mercy. O let not my fins ftop the current of thy tender mercies at this time. Lord, drown all my fins in the fea of Chrift's blood, that my foul may not be funk by them in the ocean of Divine

wrath.

wrath. Lord Jefus, embrace my perishing foul in thy arms let thycrofs be my fecurity, and thy wounds my refuge.

O thou that hearest the young ravens which cry, be not filent to me at this time, left, if thou be filent to me, I be like them that go down to the pit.

Lord, I am now called to the work I never did: give me the ftrength I never had. Surely it is an important matter to die, and my eternal ftate dependeth upon dying aright. What I do amifs in my life one day, I may amend it in the next; but not fo here, I can die but once: if I mar this piece of work, I cannot come back to mend it again; if I forget any thing neceffary for my journey, I cannot return to fetch it. Oh, a wrong ftep in going out of this life is highly dangerous. In one refpect, it is like the fin against the Holy Ghoft, and can never be forgiven: For I cannot come back to mourn for it. Of all the bufinefs I ever undertook, I have moft need to take care of my dying.

Oh, is death coming to take down this earthly tabernacle, and to put the one-half of me in the dark grave, and the other half of me in heaven or in hell; and fhall I give fleep to mine eyes, or flumber to mine eyes lids, till I find myself in that cafe, that I dare look death in the face, and dare hazard my foul upon eternity?

O to have right impreffions of the certainty of death and the uncertainty.of life! What is my life but a vapour, a fand-glass of fixty or feventy years, which will foon run out? eternity and a judgment-feat are now hard upon me. The blaft of the last trumpet is at hand. There will fhortly be a proclamation by one, (ftanding in the clouds,) that time shall be no more. The world looks big in men's eyes in time of health; but when the eye-ftrings break, the breath turns cold, and the imprisoned foul looks out at the window of the clay house, ready to leap out into eternity, can the world give any fatisfaction? No, no; a lamp full of oil will be valued then more than a house full of gold, The finest things on earth will then appear nothing but a peice

a piece of painted duft and gilded clay. How gladly would the greatest worlding, then, give all his gold and filver, riches and honours, for one fight of Chrifl's fair face, one fmile of his countenance? O wherefore fhould men in health neglect the market of grace, and flight the pearl of great price? why should they spend their money for that which is not bread, and their labour for that which fatisfieth not?

Lord, fave me from the hypocrite's cafe at death, whofe candle of profeflion and of hope burns and bla zes fair all the way with him, but goeth out in the dark trance of death; and there he ftumbles and falls, and fhali rife no more. O that my profeffion and hope may be of God's creating! If God light my candle, then fhall my feet be enlightened through the dark valley, and neither death nor hell fhall be able to put it out.

Lord, fubdue fin in me, and let it be continually dying now, that it may certainly be dead before me. God forbid that my fins should furvive me!

Oh, that when the ftroke of death diffolves my body, my foul may efcape as a bird out of the fnare of the fowler, and may afcend to the heavenly regions to enjoy God himself.

O let me look through the gates of mortality, and long for the jailor's coming to fet me at liberty. God help me to overcome the love of life, and fears of death. If my neighbour lend me any thing, I pay it again with thanks, and fhall I not reftore my life to God with thanks, who hath been pleafed to lend me it fo long? arife, and let me depart, for this is not my reft: Heaven is my home, Lord bring me to it; the joys of it are too great to enter into me, O make me fit to enter into them.

While I lie on a fick bed, Lord help me to patience in my ficknefs without murmuring.

How willingly would the damned in hell endure my pains a thousand years, if they had any hopes of being faved at leaft! Bleffed be God that my sickness is not in hell, that my pains are not eternal.

O that I may look on my affliction as coming from the hand of him that is the Lord of health and of ficknefs, of life and of death; who killeth and maketh

alive

alive, bringeth down to the grave, and raiseth up again! That Sovereign and wife Lord hath determined the time when my affliction fhall end, as well as the time when it began. Thirty-eight years were appointed the fick man at Bathefa pool; eighteen years the woman that Satan kept bound; twelve years to the woman with the bloody iffue; ten days tribulation to thofe of Smyrna; three days plague to David. The number of the godly man's tears is regiftrated in God's book; yea, the hairs of his head are numbered.

When David got his choice of his own chastisements, he chofe rather to be corrected by the hand of God, than by any other means, faying, "Let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercies are great." I was dumb and opened not my mouth, because thou didst it. Glory to God, that I am fallen into his merciful hand. Hath God appointed that man's coming into the world fhall be attended with pain and crying, and his going out of it with grief and trouble; and fhall I quarrel at it? No, I defire humbly to underly the correction of mine iniquity, and to bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have finned against him. O that the fickness of my body may be a means of health to my foul! May I be chaftened of the Lord, fo that I may not be condemned with the world!

It is good for the believer that he is afflicted. Why? it fprings from Divine love, and it works for his foul's good. Affliction is a feal of his adoption, and no sign of reprobation. The pureft gold is molt often tried, the fweeteft grape is hardeft preffed, and the truest Christian is heaviest crofled. But O how foon will the Chriftian forget all his groans when he comes to heaven! As foon as Stephen faw Christ, though at a distance, he forgot all his wounds and bruises; 'he minded no more the terror of the ftones about his ears, but fweetly yielded his foul into his Redeemer's hands.

I read of many in the gofpel, that by fickneffes and difeafes were driven unto Chrift, who, if they had enjoyed health and profperity, would have neglected, like many others, to come to him. O bleffed is that cross, that draweth a finner to Chrift, to lay open his own VOL. I. mifery,

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