that he be your Saviour, to justify you by his blood, and sanctify you by his Spirit. To repent, is to be so sorry that you have sinned, that if it were to do again, you would not do it (as to gross sin and a state of sin); and the smallest infirmities, your will is so far set against, that you desire to be delivered from them. Believing to justification, is not the believing that you are already justified, and your sins forgiven you; and repenting consisteth not in such degrees of sorrow as some expect; but in the change of the mind and will, from a life of sensuality to a life of holiness. When you know this, then answer the tempter thus, If I should suffer thee to deprive me of the comfort of all my former uprightness, yet shalt thou not so deprive me of the comfort of my present sincerity, and of my hopes; I am now too weak and distempered to try all that is past and gone. Past actions are now known but by remembering them; and they are seldom judged of, as indeed they then were; but according to the temper and apprehension of the mind when it revieweth them: and I am now so changed and weakened myself, that I cannot tell whether I truly remember the just temper and thoughts of my heart in all that is past or not. Nor doth it most concern me now, to know what I have been, but to know what I am. Christ will not judge according to what I was; but according to what he findeth me; never did he refuse a penitent, believing sout, because he repented and believed late: I do now unfeignedly repent of all my sins, and am heartily willing to be both pardoned, and cleansed, and sanctified by Christ, and here I give up myself to him as my Saviour, and to this covenant I will stand; and this is true repenting and believing.' Thus a poor Christian in the time of sickness, may ofttimes much easier clear it up to himself, that he repenteth now, than that he repented formerly; and it is his surest way.

Tempt. 11. And yet sometimes he cometh with the quite contrary temptation, and must be resisted by the contrary way. When he findeth a Christian so perplexed, and distempered with sickness, that his understanding is disabled from any composed thoughts, then he asketh him, Now where is thy faith and repentance? If thou hast any, or ever hadst any, let it now appear.' In this case a Christian is to take up with the remembrance of his former sincerity,

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and tell the tempter, I am sure that once I gave up myself unfeignedly to my Lord; and those that come to him he will in no wise cast out; and if now I be disabled from a composed exercise of grace, he will not impute my sickness to me as my sin.'

Tempt. 111. Another ordinary temptation is, that 'It is now too late; God will not now accept repentance; the day of grace is past and gone; or at least, a deathbed repentance is not sincere.' To this the tempted soul must reply, 1. That if faith and repentance were not accepted at any time in this life, then God's promise were not true, which saith, that "whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life b." There is a time in this life, in which some resisters of the truth are given up to their own lusts, to the love of sin, and hatred of holiness, so that they will not repent; but there was never a time in this life, in which God refused to justify a true repenting sinner, upon his belief in Christ. 2. That if a deathbed repentance do truly turn the heart from the world to God, and from sin to holiness, so that the penitent person, if he should recover, would lead a new and holy life, then that repentance hath as sure a promise of pardon and salvation, as if it had been sooner; and yet delay must be confessed to be dangerous to all, and casteth men under very great difficulties, and their loss is exceeding great, though at last they repent and are forgiven.

Tempt. IV. Sometimes the tempter saith, Thou art not elected to salvation; and God saveth none but his elect,' and so puzzleth the ignorant by setting them on doubting of their election. To this we must answer, that every soul that is chosen to faith, and repentance, and perseverance, is certainly chosen to salvation: and I know that God hath chosen me to faith and repentance, because he hath given them me and I have reason enough to trust on him for that upholding grace, which will cause me to persevere.

Tempt. v. But, saith the tempter, Christ did not die for thee; and no one can be saved that Christ did not die for. To this it must be answered, That Christ died for all men, so far as to be a sufficient sacrifice for their sins, and

b John iii. 16. So Luke xxiv. 47. Acts v. 31. 2 Tim. ii. 25. 2 Pet. iii. 9.

to make a promise of pardon and salvation to all that will accept him and his gift; and he entreateth all that hear the Gospel to accept it; and accordingly he will save all that consent unto his covenant.' I am a sinful child of Adam, and therefore am one that Christ became a sacrifice for; and I consent unto his covenant, and therefore I am one that Christ by that covenant doth justify and will save.

Tempt. VI. Sometimes the tempter troubleth the soul with temptations to blasphemy and infidelity: and asketh him, How knowest thou that there is a God, or a life to come, or that souls are immortal, or that the Scripture is true?' Of this I spake before. To this we must then answer, I abhor thy suggestions: these things I have seen proved long ago; and I will not so far gratify thee in my weakness and extremity, as to question and dispute these sealed fundamental truths, no more than I will dispute whether there be a sun or earth.

Tempt. VII. Sometimes the tempter will say, ' At best thou hast no assurance of salvation, and how canst thou choose but tremble to think of dying, when thou knowest not whether thou shalt go to heaven or hell?' To this, the soul that hath not assurance must answer, 'It is my own mistake or weakness that keepeth me unassured:' and I will neither take part with my infirmities, nor increase them by their effects. My hopes are such as should draw up my desires, though I want full assurance. The child delighteth in the company of the mother, and every man of his friend though he is not certain that the mother or friend will not hurt him, or take away his life. Why should I trouble myself with improbabilities? or fear that which I have no sound reason to fear? Rather I should be glad to die, that death may perfect my assurance, and put an end to all my doubts and fears.

Tempt. VIII. But, saith the tempter, how strange art thou to God and the life to come? Thou never sawest it: is it not dreadful to enter upon an unchangeable life, in a world which thou art so great a stranger to? Answ. But Christ is not a stranger to it; he seeth it for me, and I will implicitly trust him. Where should my eyes be, but in my head? I shall never see it till I come thither. When I have been there a while, this darkness, and fear, and strangeness

will be gone: I was as strange to this world before I came into it, and more: and all those holy souls in heaven were strange to it once, as well as I: I should therefore long to be with Christ, that I may be strange to him no more.

Tempt. 1x. 'But, saith the tempter, thy fear and unwillingness is a sign that thou hast no love to God, nor heavenly mind; and how then canst thou hope to come to heaven.' Answ. My fears come from strangeness, and weakness of faith, and a natural enmity to death. If I could come to Christ in joy and glory, and be perfected in holiness without dying, I should not be unwilling of it. God looketh not that my nature should be willing to die; but that grace make me willing to be with Christ, and patiently submit to so dark a passage. Even Christ himself prayed, “That if it were possible, that cup might pass from him.”

Tempt. x. But what will thy wife and children do, when thou art gone? Answ. God hath more interest in them than I have; he will look to his own without my care: doth all the world depend upon him, and is he not to be trusted with my wife and children?

Tempt. x1. But thou wilt never more be serviceable to the church: all thy work will for ever be at an end; and there are many things which thou mightest have done before thou diest, which will all be lost.' Answ. 1. I shall have higher, and holier, and sweeter work: whether it will any thing conduce to the good of those on earth, I know not; but I know it will more conduce to the highest, most desirable ends. 2. As my work will be done, so my trouble, and weariness, and fears, and sufferings from a malignant, unthankful world will all be done. 3. And when my work is done, my reward and everlasting rest begin. 4. And God needeth not such a worm as I! the work is his, and it is reason that he should choose his workmen.

Tempt, XII. But when thou hast said all, death will be death, the king of terrors.' Answ. And when thou hast said all, God will be God, and heaven will be heaven, and Christ will be Christ, that hath conquered death, and hath the keys or power of death and hell: and the promise will bè sure; and those that trust on him shall never be ashamed or confounded. And therefore "the Spirit is willing, though the flesh be weak."

Tit. 4. Directions for doing good to others in our Sickness.

The whole life of a Christian should be a serving of his God; and though his body in sickness seem to be unserviceable, yet it is not the least or lowest of his services, which he is then at last to do: partly, by his holy example, and partly by his speeches; which are both more observed in dying men, than in any others. For now all suppose, that if there were before any mask of hypocrisy, it is laid aside, and the soul that is going to the bar of God will deal sincerely. And now it is supposed, that we are delivered much from all the befooling delusions of prosperity, and therefore fitter to be counsellors to others. And every Christian should be very desirous to do good to the last, and be found so doing.

Direct. I. 'Shew not a distempered, impatient mind.' Though pain will be pain, and flesh will be flesh, yet shew men that you have also reason and spirit: and that it calmeth your soul, though it ease not your body. Speak good of God, as beseemeth one that indeed believeth that it is good for us when we are afflicted by him, and that all shall work together for good to us. Speak not a repining word against him. "In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly." And speak not too peevishly and impatiently to those about you; though weakness incline you to it, yet let the power of grace appear.

Direct. II. Let those that are about you see, that you take the life to come for a reality, and that you verily expect to live with Christ in joys for ever. Let them see this in your holy joy and confidence, and your thankfulness to God for the grace and hopes which he hath given through Christ.' I know that a pained, languishing body, is undisposed to express the comforts of the soul: but yet as long as the soul is the commander, they may be expressed in some good measure, though not with such vivacity and alacrity as in health. Behave yourselves before all, as those that are going to dwell with Christ. If you shew them that you take heaven for a real felicity, it will do much to draw them to do so too; shew them the difference between the

e Job i. 22.