the glass of Time and yet how little care is taken to imploy it well We seldom value it till we can no longer use it to any advantage and tho we know it can neither be retarded in its motion or recalled when past yet of nothing are we more Prodigal Yea how many complaine of it as a Burden and know not what to do with their Time are excedingly at a losse wherein to imploy it what to doe to be rid of it But alas how near is that change when they shall think nothing too dear to purchase some few grains of that sand which now seem too many while they are passing thro their Hourglass Did we consider it as we ought we should not foolishly throw away so much of it in trifles and things Impertinent or what is worse How much more might we redeem then commonly we doe to how much better purpose might we husband it how much more work might we doe were we never Idle or did not loyter we might walk far did we not often stand still or goe out of our way We see it plainly by the great and excellent effects of some few mens Industry in every Age. Art hath found means to set spies and watches as it were on the Sun that He cannot look out but they take hold of his shadow and force it to tell how far he is gone that day and yet while we are curious in making time give a just account of it self to us how little do we consider the account of our Time which we must shortly give to God. Oh that such a thought might effectually persuade me to redeem it that I may not tarry till the end of Time to know the worth of it Let me not undervalue it while 't is given me to be used that I may not eternally regret my folly when Time shall be no more VII Of the Ordinances of Heaven Day and Night Summer and Winter Seed Time and Harvest their order and succession establisht by God is the effect of Infinite Wisdom and Goodness What they may teach us WHen I consider the Beginning of another year I can hardly avoid reflecting on its several parts summer and winter spring and fall and day and night and their alternate Turns This calls me to observe and admire his Eternal power and Godhead Wisdom and Truth who is the Great Author of this admirable variety Who hath fixed the Earth with his Foot and hanged it on nothing and setled the Luminaries of Heaven for Excellent Ends The Sun to rule by day and the Moon by night therby to distinguish Times and Seasons to separate Day and Night Winter and Summer and consult the convenience and coin ful of Man and Beast by their doe succession The Day is thine the Night also is thine thou makest Summer and Winter How wonderfull is their order Beauty and constant cours that when the sun withdraws and the shadows of the Evening cover the Earth with darkness to conclude the Day the Moon and Stars supply the place of the absent Sun during the Night and that tho they differ in length yet gradually lessen till they are both equall at the years end and have made the same circuit How excellent a work of God is that quick succession to one another The supposition of a perpetual night is a dismal gloomy thought O what will the Everlasting Darkness of the Infernal prison be The Sun by day inlightens the Earth directs our motion guides our way governs our Travail assists conversation awakens Industry warms the Earth and Air gives life and vigor and fruitfulness to all things under the Sun and makes the whole Inferior Creation to rejoice An Emblem of God's universal Goodness who is kind to all his creatures How admirable is its Lustre how glorious is its Light how loudly doth it proclaim his power and wisdom who made this and the other Lights of Heaven by his powerful word and preserns them hitherto by his daily Providence If God be now so glorious contemplated in his works considered in the lustre of the created sun viewed only thro the windows of sâ—ns how much more glorious will he appear hereafter when we shall see him face to face and nothing interpose betwixt us and his incomparable Light If mine Eyes darle to look upon the meridian Sun in what inaccessible Light must he dwell who is the Father of Lights If this lower world the common receptacle of his Friends and Enemies have so much of his Glory vouchsafed them by the Heavenly Bodies O what a place will Heaven be where shall be no Sun or Moon nor need of any but the Glory of God shall lighten it and the Lamb be the Light therof While I thus consider the Sun and the Day I must not think the Night is use less which discovers another part of the Heavens not discernible by Day viz the Stars and Planets refreshing the Earth cooling the air giving necessary rest to the Creatures c. their order motions aspects oppositions influences are all usefull and Instructive The agreable mixture of Light and Darkness the regular succession of Day and Night within a few hours are exceeding wonderfull and advantagious In other parts of the world where the Sun beams are more direct and it s he at excessive God hath made amends by the length of the night under the Equinoctial line it is allways 12 hours and in the more northern parts where the Influence of the Sun is weaker the days are proportionably longer So good is God to all his Creatures in all parts of the world As the morning and evening answer to the day of 24 hours so doth Spring and Autumn to the 12 moneths of the year that we may not pass immediately from one extreme to another but gradually be disposed for so great a change as is between summer and winter between winter and summer So mercifull and gracious and infinitely wise is God in all his works so that we cannot say one part of the year is more necessary then another The winter is as usefull for the good of the universe as the summer in this we are supplied with what is necessary to maintaine us in that and the admirable situation of the Sun most probably in the center of the world seems much to contribute to it If it had been at a farther distance from us our earth would have been in a manner desolate because the influence of the sun could not have been considerable and if it had been nearer the stars above would have wanted Light and this Earth in under been burnt up The Excellent order which it hath now obeyed for above six thousand years is also wonderfull The sun never stood still but once and that by a miracle tho much inferior to that of its daily Progress What a subject is here to admire the Power goodness Wisdom and Faithfulness of God Lord what is man for whom then dost all this and because I
art able to be and do and give In whom or what shall I Rejoyce but in Thee o Lord shall I solace my self in transitory Goods that slip between my fingers and perish in the using or relish carnal Joys which pollute and debase the soul when I may and ought to rejoyce in Thee at all Times as the only Source of perfect Everlasting Joy. Let me then stirr up my drooping desponding unbelieving Heart to rejoyce in God who takes pleasure in the chearfull service and obedience of his children who delighteth in those who delight in him Vid. Mr. Howe of Delighting in God. Is not Delighting in God a most essential vital part of Religion should it not be my constant Frame hath not God sufficiently provided that it may be so Can I say and believe that God is the Portion of my Soul that he is my God and I hope to live with him for ever and not rejoyce or can I consider the grace of the New Covenant the matchless Love of Christ and the precious promises of the Gospel and not see reason to rejoyce yea doth my soul love God and endeavor to please him And is not the very act and exercise of holy Love mixt with unspeakable sweetness Whom is there in Heaven or in Earth or Hell that I ought to Fear but Thee who hast a negative voice in all the designs men and Devils an hook in their nostrils a bridle in their mouths to make them fullfill thy pleasure and in every thing accomplish thy Soveraign Decree Is there any Other in whom I may repose my Trust but in Thee o Lord the Rock of Ages the might of thy Power the unsearchableness of thy wisdom the Righteousness of thy Nature the stability of thy Truth the riches of thy Grace and the immutability of thy promise are a sure foundation for my soul to trust to and rely upon Thy word stands firm for ever and the Truth of thine ability and readiness to help in every Time of need endures the same thro out all Generations At all times and in all places my soul may trust in thee and find relief And they who know thy name will do so for in the Lord Jehovah is Everlasting Kindness and Strength To answer all my doubts to supply all my wants to fill all my desires May not God take it unkindly that I trust him no more And is it not a criminal unkindness that I give him not the glory of all these Excellent Attributes which are the grounds of Trust by a constant steady intire dependance on him for all that I need I have none in Heaven but Thee o Lord as the object of my Invocation and Worship Let other Christians have recourse to new Mediators and call upon other Gods I will-make mention of thy name and of thy Righteousness only And ask of thee whatsoever I need for the sake of thy Christ my only adorable Mediator Him thou hearest allway with him thou art allways well pleased I honour the holy Angells as glorious Attendants about thy throne and bless thee for them as Ministring Spirits for the good of thy Servants but I dare not invoke or worship 'em because they are Fellow Servants On the same account I honour the memory of Departed Saints but neither invoke them or pay them religious worship That Glory thou will not give unto another I have no precept in H. Scripture to direct no promise to encourage no Example to authorize the invocation of any other but Thee in whom I believe and Trust 10. Rom. 14. Having such a God in Heaven what can I need on Earth His eyes behold me his wing is over me his hand can supply me his Grace provide for me I can want nothing that is Good unless I should need somewhat which God the infinitely Blessed and Allsufficient God cannot bestow If thou art the Portion of my Soul all mine Enemies cannot make me miserable unless they can void Heaven of the presence of God hinder his care bind up his hand or obstruct his Love. But tho my Enemies cannot I fear my Sins may They alone can separate between God and my Soul. And considering the multitude and aggravations of them and thine unspotted Holiness and Justice I should have too much reason to fear and tremble yea and utterly despair if I had none in Heaven but Thee But thy word assures me that I have a Mediator there a faithfull and a compassionate High Priest Jesus Christ the Righteous whom thou hast exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour to give Repentance and Remission of Sins Who lives for ever in Heaven to make Intercession till he hath brought me there to behold his Glory and pertake of it That Glory o Lord thou hast reserved for Heaven in this world we only desire believe and hope to injoy it Whom have I in Heaven that is the place of Fruition What can I desire upon Earth This world is the place of Desires as the other of full Injoyment most of that which men call Injoyment in this Life consists but in desire Desire or Lust is all that is in the wicked world 1 John. 2. c. 13. the Riches of a Covetous worldling makes him desire more and the great mystery of Intemperance is to create and increase desires Desires of another kind are the portion of good men in this world O that I could breath after a state of perfect Fruition in Heaven with more importunate desires Who will give me to be in Heaven with Thee On Earth I desire nothing So one version Let me o my Soul think of Heaven as such a place or state of blessed Injoyment speak of it seek it long for it prepare for it as such And let J. Christ who is the desire of all Nations thro whom all divine communications are made to fallen Sinners be the great object of my present desires and love Let me desire nothing but as in him and for him that believing his word obeing his Law adoring his person imitating his Example trusting his promise constrained by his love pertaking of his Image filled with his grace and comforted by his Spirit my meditations of him may be sweeter and my love stronger and I may have nothing more left to desire for my self but that God who hath raised and exalted him would keep alive my faith and hope and holy desires till he hath made me meet to be with him and after having guided me by his Grace and Spirit and councells here on Earth would receive me to his most blessed and Glorious Presence in Heaven Amen Amen XXII The Glorious Appearance of Christ to Judgment considered as Certaine the Terror and Astonishment Confusion and Despair of the Wicked to behold their Judge and hear his condemning Sentence to EVERLASTING Destruction WHen our Blessed Saviour shall appear to judge the world I read that it shall be in his own Glory the Glory of his Father and of the Holy Angels If
and yet how few do take the warning carefully to prevent the like unhappiness O Lord preserve those strong Convictions those serious thoughts those holy Resolutions those lively apprehensions of the Life to come of the Evill of sin and the Terrors of thy wrath which the Sight of dying persons hath at any time awakened in my soul O the Eloquence of a dying sinner to persuade to Repentance even when he hath lost his speech and lays gasping and trembling on a bed of sickness breathing out his last faint breath and passing into the other world to answer for the crimes and follies of a wicked Life Lord revive thes thoughts upon my soul and let me feel the power and influence of them in the hour of Temptation and in every time of need And let the consideration of the death of Believers the Blessedness they are thereby entred into and the Holiness they are to posses'd of quicken my desires and diligence to prepare to follow When I think where they are and what they are doing what is their work and what their state what their continual imployment and what their Injoyments and how different from ours I cannot but wish to be with them to be as they are and do as they do to know and love and praise God as they They are not hindred by such a clog as this body is to us or tempted by their senses appetite and fancy to sin against him they complaine not of a seducing flesh unruly passions low and disordered thoughts of Temporal afflictions spiritual desertions the snares of the world and the malice and subtility of the Devil we who are Pilgrims and Travellers are exposed to these difficulties and storms which they are freed from They are now rejoycing in the light of God's countenance and shall never question his love more while we are in Tears and sorrows groaning to be delivered But think o my soul that they were lately such as we are now They were members of the militant Church before they entred into joy and Triumph They had their conflicts and difficulties their hour of Temptation and time of trial as we have ours They were slandered and persecuted and sadned and disapointed as their Followers are They went to Heaven the same way and got the victory after the same manner by Repentance and Faith and humble persevering Obedience They were once imperfect as we are now and complained of the Body of Sin and Death and struglings of unmortified lust as we doe and were sometimes in the dark about their intrest in the promise and walkt heavily by the hiding of God's face and indured Temptation even as we And as we have nothing to doe or suffer but what they met with we have the same encouragement that administred to their support the same God and Saviour the same way and rule the same assistance by the aids of his H. Spirit offred us the same promises and the same rewards proposed which they injoyed first in faith and hope and afterwards in fruition Yea they pass'd thro the dark valley and so must we their Earthly Tabernacle was dissolved and so must ours be We must expect to goe the same way to Rest and Glory and wait God's Time for our admission We must finish first the work which God hath for us to doe and suffer and then all Tears shall be wipt from our eyes we shall grieve no more we shall sin no more but be as the Angels in Heaven or as the Spirits of the Just made Perfect XIII What Influence the consideration of Eternity would have upon our Hearts and Lives if soundly believed and considered Especially if the supposition of Dying this year be annexed to it WIth what Humility mortification and self denial what seriousness watchfulness and resolved constancy would every Christian live on Earth did he act allways under the influence and power of a confirmed Faith concerning the Life to come We should not then grudge at a little labor or boggle at a few difficulties in our way What tho I meet with injuries and affronts hardships and inconveniencies being now in a forreign country and every day I live one days journey nearer my Eternal Home Shall I not patiently bear momentany sorrows while I believe I am hastening to Eternal Joys Did I look more to the Everlasting World should I not make the pleasing of God in order to my Eternal welfare the great Business of my Life Should I not serve the Lord with more fervency of Spirit and be better fortified against the Fears of man who can but hurt and kill the Body nor that neither without the permission of God Should I not order all my affaires answer all Temptations mortifie in ward Lusts live in the Exercize of Grace and in circumspect persevering Obedience in order to it Should I not watch more over my Heart and Lips and Ways be more diligent to trim my Lamps more dead to this world more carefull to call my self frequently to an account to renew my Repentance Would not my converse be more usefull and edifying my discourses more savory and full of Religion my Prayers to God more humble and earnest my charity to men more unfeigned and extensive and my preparations every way more suitable to such a Faith and to such apprehensions of an Everlasting State Could we carry the thoughts of Eternity about with us every day and often admit them in our civil and secular affaires did we repeat it frequently to our selvs at least every morning as soon as we are awake that we are near Eternity this graine of Incense would perfume the whole Temple and be an Antidote against inward Lust and impure thoughts against the Infection and defilement of bad Company and the snares of worldly Business and do much to prevent vaine and sensual actions and to cure vaine affections Did we believe it and believe it near should we not take as much pains to secure Eternal life as we see men doe to get Riches Should we not use the same diligence care and circumspection the same prudent foresight watchfulness and perseverance to prevent Everlasting destruction as others doe to provide against Poverty and to live in Plenty a little while on Earth Should we not rejoyce as much in the promise and hopes of it as others do in the prospect and expectation of some Earthly Advantage Lord I confess and bewail the weakness of my faith How often have I concluded and said that Heaven alone is the place of Happiness and yet my carnal Heart is too much affected with Earthly ThÃngs How often have I resolved upon the conviction of the certainty of the Eternal world to mind this less and to affect and seek it no more as I have done and yet my foolish Heart is hankering after it still O crucifie my affections to things below and let the believing Thoughts of the next Life render me victorious over all the Temptations of this Pardon and
the Blessedness of an Endless Life No no they are far from repenting the Time they spent the trouble they were at the care they used the difficulties they met with the sufferings they indured to conflict with the world and the flesh to resist temptation to watch over their Hearts and words and ways to work out their Salvation to please God and be faithfull to him c. They find to their unspeakable comfort and Everlasting Joy that Heaven makes amends for all they could do or suffer in order to their coming thither Yea they find that they were not diligent and humble and patient and circumspect enough That they did not love God and seek his glory redeem their Time and improve all their Talents and opportunities of doing and receiving good and give up themselves intirely to prepare for Heaven to that degree they should have done They find by the transcendency of the Blessed Recompence that it deserved infinitely more then the most active zealous Christian upon earth did ever do in order to it Lord quicken my Resolutions and Endeavors by such thoughts as these inspire my sluggish carnal Heart with holy Light and Life and Zeal and fervor that looking to the things which are not seen which are Eternal I may lay up a good Foundation 1 Tim. 6. c. 19. against the Time to come and so lay hold of Eternal Life But alas how much have I neglected the great Duty of Holy meditation how little skill and experience have I in it how tastless and insipid oftentimes are my Thoughts of God! how confused and unsteady how little Pleasure or advantage have I by contemplaing his Highest Excellencies Yet methinks could I but retaine the same awakened lively thoughts of Heaven and Eternal Life which sometimes I have had might I continually feel the sweet and sacred Influence as for a little season I have sometimes felt it how little how very a Nothing would all this world be to me how comparatively weak its strongest and most alluring snares to draw me off from God! with what an unshaken mind could I refuse and resist'em with what an unconcerned indifference could I look upon all its most charming Glory Could I maintaine such a frame of Spirit as I have sometimes had for a little while in the serious contemplation of divine mysteries in fervent Prayer and other solemn duties of Religion when the acts of Faith were strong and lively my heart set on fire with love to God and holy breathings after him admiring his matchless Grace to fallen Sinners and to my Soul in partilar when he brought me to the very suburbs of Heaven tho alas how seldom by the delightfull Thought of what the Blessed Spirits above injoy in being where Christ is and beholding his Glory when I was ready to say within my self 'T is good to be Here this is no other then the gate of Heaven Oh when shall Mortality be swallowed up of Life But when I thought at any time to fix and settle in such sweet Contemplations how quickly did my lazy backward Heart flye off how soon did the flame decay and dye away how soon did I find my self fallen down to Earth againe sunk down from the bosome of my Lord presently forgot my self and Heaven to dwell among the Pots and imbrace a dunghill 'T was not on my own wings o Lord that I soared so high but I hope by the breathings of that H. Spirit of Light and Love who bloweth when and where and how long he listeth Who gave me at any time any such first fruits of the Spirit who convinc't me of the Certainty of the Heavenly Inheritance by a lively believing foresight of it who made me earnestly desire the wings of a Dove to be gone and appear before God in Sion made me pant and groan to be delivered and to be with God and Christ with inexpressible desire and joy unconceivably mixt together with sighs and Groans O my God! let not this experience be only such a Taste of the Powers of the world to come as is consistent with final Apostacy only the seeming zeal of the stony ground the rapturous Joy of an hypocrite from the power of Imagination and an heated Fancy from the workings of meer natural self love upon mistaken apprehensions of God and a fals Opinion of Heaven but by the holy effects let me be assured of the cause and Principle that it was of God! Teach me from the sweetness of a Spiritual Communion with God now in any of his apointed Ordinances to argue to my self what that most ravishing satisfaction will be that the Enjoyment of God in Heaven will afford the soul Our Holiness is now imperfect to what it shall be and therefore our Consolation Peace and Joy is but in part and incomparably less then we are assured it will be when we shall be admitted to behold the Glory of the Lord. 'T is now at most but as the Break of Day to the lustre of the. Meridian Sun. But if in this low imperfect State we can sometimes obtaine so near a view of his Glory and feel such sweet communications of his Grace how much more of this consolation and Joy is reserved to Heaven If in this Pilgrim state the gifts and graces and comforts of the H. Spirit are so refreshing O what hath God prepared beyond the Grave for those who love him If now he sometimes shed abroad his love in our Hearts after such a manner how much better shall I love him and feel the influence and evidence of his Love to me when I shall be with him and see him face to face If the apprehensions of this future Blessedness do now encourage raise and animate my drooping soul O what shall I know and see and how shall I rejoyce when the vail is removed If a Sacramental Communion with God and J. Christ be sometimes so sweet and so affecting what will the Blessed Communion with God and all his Saints above amount to when I shall sit down with all the Children of God in the Presence of the Bridegroom at the last Great Supper of the Lamb in Glory If the earnest of our Inheritance be so reviving what will be the ful Possession of it If the Hopes of that glorious day by holy meditation be so transporting what will be the end of our Faith and Hope If a Grape or two in the Wilderness be such a cordiall what will be the whole vintage in the Land of Promise Shall I after all this forget my own Experience and run from God and Heaven to imbrace or seek a perishing Toy Shall I hide my self with Saul among the stuff and lumber of this world when God is calling me to a Glorious Crown Art thou o my Soul a Kings Son an Heir of Heaven an expectant of such Great Felicity and yet stoop so low Hope for Heaven and yet grasp this Earth and hugg the vaine Appearances of Earthly Good Hope to be like
to God and oh how Glorious an Hope is that to pertake of his Image and live Eternally with him and yet be sollicitous anxious and disquieted about Honor and money and a Tempora Interest and mightily concerned about the momentany gratifications of the Flesh and the Injoyments of this World Art thou a Pilgrim and Stranger here and travelling home to the Heavenly Country and yet Eager and passionate about Earthly Things Should an Heart that is set upon Heaven or may be so and ought to be so should it burn with such kitchin such common Fire and neglect the unconceivable Riches and Pleasures and Immortal Honors of the other Life and the dawnings of that Glory upon my soul by the foretasts of it in this Should I not live as seeking such things as expecting such a Glory And are careless and indifferent thoughts sleepy heartless prayers faint and weak indeavors becoming in such a case Shall I not mend my pace and double my diligence in my preparatory work When I can believingly foresee the Blessed Recompence Wayting for that Everlasting Light of the Sun of Righteousnes which no Ecclipse shall ever darken or obscure for that Eternal Glorious Day which shall never be closed with an Evening When I shall see the face of God in Christ and be like him participate more of his image rest in his love and dwell for ever in the light of his Countenance according to the Prayer and Promise of my Blessed Saviour And ought not such a prospect to sweeten the Bitterness of all our intermediate sufferings we are now oftentimes in heaviness and sorrow but Eternity will be enough for an interrupted Joy. When we shall exchange all our troubles for Everlasting Rest our prisons for perfect liberty our Poverty for the Riches of God darkness for Light discord for love deformity for beauty our weaknesses and present languishings for strength and vigor folly for wisdom disgrace for Glory sickness and paine for Eternal Ease and Health the Animal for the Angelical Life imperfection and pollution for consummate Holiness our Sighs and Tears and Sorrows and complaints for triumphant Everlasting Praise our losses affronts disapointments perplexities fears groans and Death for crowns and scepters hymns and Hallelujahs light and life and Bliss unutterable and such great things as are fit for us to hope but too Great to be now particularly understood and talk't of while we know but in part and see thro a glass darkly yea it seems as if it were not lawfull to utter'em 2 Cor. 12.4 and now they can not be exprest or fully known for Eye hath not seen or ear heard or can it enter into the Heart of man to conceive that prepared Glory XXI A devout Meditation upon the 73 Psalm 27. Whom have I in Heaven but thee and there is none upon Earth that I desire besides thee WHat is there in Heaven or in Earth o Lord but Thy Presence to be valued loved desired chosen sought or delighted in there is nothing in either world desireable without Thee nothing certainly above Thee nothing in Comparison with Thee In Thee alone I trust On Thee I depend In Thee I repose my confidence and hope From thee I expect all my felicity and Salvation What ever I can lose yet with the continuance of thy Favor which is my Life I have still Enough With that I am Rich and without it I am poor and miserable And if I want the Love of God all that Heaven and Earth can give besides will not make my Happy In Thee therefore I would terminate all my affections all my devotions There is nothing of Heaven to be had on Earth but in thy favor image and love and the reviving Sense of it And all the Heaven I expect hereafter 't is in the more full and immediate communications of these in thy blessed Presence I can desire nothing upon Earth I can injoy nothing in Heaven but Thee both here and there thou art and shalt ever be my all sufficient satisfactory Portion my Everlasting All None els can be the Portion of my soul Nothing els can fill up all its wants answer all its cravings be suited to all its capacities appease and charm all its restless motions and give complacence to all its Desires and be the proper object of all its Affections What is there els can justly claime my Love or pretend to my supreme Affection in comparison with God Thou art alone the proper center of it Thine infinite and incomparable Excellencies who art Love it self deserve my choicest Love and thy numberless mercies and Benefits challenge it as a just debt as a peice of Homage due from All and of special Gratitude also from me Oh that I could love thee above all Things who alone art worthy of all my Love O that Divine Love might be the ruling Principle within me to inspire all my Thoughts to regulate all my desires to set all the Powers of my soul on work O that it might take the full possession of my Heart and so animate and order all my Actions to please him whom my Soul Loveth If as yet I cannot say with thine Apostle Lord thou that knowest all things thou knowest that I love thee Yet I can say Lord thou knowest that I would love thee Thou hast provided for our Happiness by that first and great command of loving thee with all our hearts and souls and strength But alas how backward is my sluggish carnal Heart to this delightfull exercise tho I have so oft been told that God is Love and that he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him O shed abroad thy love into my Soul that I may feel the vital power and influence of it and live continually in the love of God and that nothing may ever be able to separate me from it Whom have I in Heaven or Earth to Hope in but Thee I expect more from Creatures then they can or will perform but God can do for me more abundantly then I can ask or think exceed my largest thoughts outstrip my highest expectations And no man was ever disapointed who made Thee his Hope When I meet with crosses and wrongs unfaithfulness contempt hatred and persecution from men I need not wonder I was never told by God it would be otherwise here Did I look for less from Creatures and expect more from God did I reckon this World to be a state of Trial and not a place of Rest and Satisfaction my Faith and my desires would be stronger with respect to God and Heaven and temporal Calamities and disapointments less afflictive and vexatious And what is there o Lord in Heaven or in Earth my soul can desire besides Thee is there any thing desireable but as it is thine of thee and from thee and bears some impression of thine Excellence or brings some intimation of thy Love and what can I reasonably desire what that is worth desiring or having but thou
by the glory of his Father be meant that of the Divinity as the Original and Author of all things in nature as Creator of the World and by the Glory of his holy Angels be understood that of the Legal administration the Law being given by the disposition of Angels and by his own Glory that of the Gospel as he is the Messiah that in the Glory of all these he shall come to Judgment we have a summary account of the three different Revelations which God hath made of himself to mankind by the Light of Nature that of the Law and the more manifest one of the Gospel According to which every man is to be judged at the last day Tho we cannot distinctly tell what or how great our Lord's Glory will then be we may be certaine it will be suitable to the dignity of his Royal person suitable to the grandeur of his Fathers Majesty with the splendor of a Triumphant Prince who is Heir of all Things and hath all power in Heaven and in Earth committed to him the Great Lord of both Worlds Head of Angels an men and suitable to his glorious office as Mediator and the apointed Judge of Quick and Dead If at his Transfiguration his Face shone and his Rayment was white and glittering how much more splendid will his last Appearance be When the Bodies of his Saints shall be seven times brighter then the lustre of the Sun and if his Members shall then be so glorious how transcendently more so will their Head their Lord appear If the delivery and promulgation of the Law on Mount Sinai was accompanied with such circumstances of terrible Majesty how much more may we suppose the Great Assize will be attended with When he comes to judge for the violation of the Law and the contempt of the Gospel And if even Moses did then exceedingly quake and fear what will be the consternation and trembling of the wicked World at the Coming of Christ When he shall be revealed from Heaven in flaming Fire with a glorious retinue of his mighty Angels as so many bright Stars about the more glorious Sun of Rightousness The lights of Heaven shall be Ecclipst the visible Sun shall vail its blushing head as infinitely out shone the present glory of the Creation be all benighted by reason of his transcendent Brightness Yea the Heavens shall be wrapt up as a scrol the Elements melt away with a mighty noise the Earth and all its works be burnt up and the whole universe as one great Bonefire to adorn the Triumph of our Lords Appearance And this ushered in by the voice of an Archangel proclaiming his approach and the voice of God supplying the use of a Trumpet to raise the Dead and possess mankind with an awefull Reverence of their Judge Thus in triumph as a Conqueror and a Judge shall he come againe who once appear'd in the form of a Servant to be judged and condemn'd by Man. Then he was called King in scorn now he will appear as much above all Earthly and Humane Greatness as once he stoopt for our sakes beneath it Then the Contempt of Nations and no way esteem'd Desireable when he came from the womb of his Virgin-Mother now the Terror of the World when he comes againe from the right hand of his Father No more to be subject to a state of Meaness but to render vengeance to all 2 Thess 1. chap. who know not God and obey not the Gospell and to be glorified in his Saints and admired in and by all them that believe The Holy Scripture doth frequently and expressly assure us that he will thus come againe and for these ends He is exalted and gone to Heaven as the Head of his Church and the King of Glory and when he foretold his Ascension he gave a promise of his Return The Heavens are to containe him till the Restitution of all things By his Providence and by the H. Spirit he now carries on the designs of his Death and when these are accomplisht he will appear to the Joy of Believers and the confusion of the Wicked He is entred as our Forerunner Heb. 19 â—â— 10. c within the vail to prepare Mansions and to take possession for us and will not allways leave us in this dark and defiling World. He knoweth our sorrows and heareth our prayers and bottles our Tears takes notice of our groans and in all our Afflictions he is afflicted Being reconciled by his Death at his first Coming we shall be saved by his Life since he lives to make good his word of coming againe How confortable is the news of it how joyfull will be the meeting to such as expect and prepare to see him When the Sea and the Graves shall yeild up their Dead and all the Prisoners of Hope lift up their heads arise goe up and meet the Lord in the Air and ascend with him to the Heavenly Glory But who can express how dismal a Sight this will be to the secure and the Impenitent to all who dye in their Sins to behold their Judge who formerly offered to be their Saviour upon a glorious Throne and all the Children of Adam summon'd to his Tribunal to have nothing to answer against his charge and no way to escape his condemning sentence they despised him as a Lamb offer'd in Sacrifice to take away the sins of the World but shall no longer do so when he comes as the Lion of the tribe of Juda to devour and destroy the Enemies of his Crosse Now they will not own him for their Lord but shall then find he is so by the vengeance he will execute As a Jesus as a Saviour they rejected him making light of his Salvation despising his Mercy refusing his Grace but the neglected Gospell will then be a more killing Letter then the Law. He who by his Ambassadors doth now intreat Sinners to be reconciled will then be as deaf to their Intreaties as they have been to his Because they would not turn at his Reproof hearken to the call of his word and obey its voice they must hear the sentence of Condemnation and feel the Execution of it wither they will or no. Yea the bloud of his Crosse will upbraid accuse and plead against them And what ever foolish Evasions they now make to continue in security they shall then be speechless and self-condemned Nothing will be able to hide them from the amazing Presence of their Judge or from the Wrath of the Lamb. Who will inflict an intolerable and righteous vengeance an Everlasting Destruction upon all the Ignorant and ungodly World. The Greatest the Stoutest the boldest of them shall then be humbled and stand before Christ's Tribunal upon an equal Level with the meanest seized with horror filled with Guilt Anguish and Despair and find to their Eternal Confusion that the Judge is no respecter of Persons but every man shall receive according to his wâ—rks The Mighty shall not be
Thank fullness shall Believers then contemplate the unskearchable Riches of his Grace in all the parts and instances of his Humiliation from his conception to his Crucifixion and Burial in all the Evidences and discoveries made of it from the first Promise to it's completion yea from before the foundation of the World in the Covenant of Peace between the Father and the son untill his second Coming to Judge the World and deliver up the Kingdom to his Father How shall we then admire and adore his Powerfull Grace which snatcht us as fire brands out of Everlasting Burnings that effectually shin'd into our minds by Heavenly Light conquer'd the opposition of our Stubborn Wills Sanctified our Carnal Hearts rescued us from the tyranny of Satan and the dominion of lust giving cherishing and preserving the holy Seed of Grace and making it Spring up to Eternal Life defeating the malicious and subtle endeavors of the Devil to destroy it inabling us to indure Tribulation and persevere to the End giving us victory over Death conducting us thro the dark valley raiising our Bodies reviving and reuniting them to our Souls and rendring them glorious like his own Body and at length raising our imperfect Services with Eternal Life yea tho our best services were mixt with sin our holyest duties spotted our most couragious sufferings mixt with unbelief yet rewarded with a Blessedness that hath no alloy of Evil but all the ingredients of a perfect Felicity and nothing to lessen and interrupt it How shall we then admire the Bounty of our Gracious Lord the freeness tenderness riches and the exceeding Greatness and Glory of his Infinite Goodness and Grace to poor Believers With what extasies of Joy and Gratitude may we imagine that our Lord will be then admired by all his Redecmed ones Saying This is He who made our peace with God and reverst the Sentence of Damnation which we were under who bought us with the price of his most precious Bloud bore the Wrath of his Father and submitted to an infamous and cursed Death for us he assumed our nature that we might pertake of his became the Son of Men that we might be made the Children of God for our sakes he became poor that we thro his Poverty might beeome Rieh stoopt to bear the greatest Ignominy and reproach to conferr honour on us was for a time forsaken of his Father that we might not be so Eternally felt the stroke of his Anger against sin that we might not perish under it Was a man of sorrows and acquainted with griefs that we might rejoyce his agonies and bloudy sweat were for our Refreshment and by his stripes we are healed he bowed his head on the Crosse that we might lift up ours in Triumph and because we had eaten of the forbidden fruit he hung on the accursed Tree 'T was for us that he suffered the frowns of Heaven the enmity of Hell the rage of Devils the hatred and persecution of the world He was judged that we might not come into Condemnation he was crucifyed that we might be glorified and he is now Come againe finally and fully to effect it O the height and depth and length and breath of the Love of Christ which passeth knowledg but calls for admiration and Everlasting Gratitude This is the Blessed Day we long'd and waited and prayed for This is our Gracious our Glorious Lord whose love melted our Hearts whose Promise was our Support whose Word was our Rule whose Spirit was our Comforter whose Crosse was our Crown and the hope of his Appearance our chief Consolation Lord what am I what was I that the ever Blessed Son of God should do and suffer and purchase all this for me I can remember when I was ignorant of God a Stranger to him at Enmity with him under the power of Darkness and the Devil serving divers lusts and Pleasures hastening to Hell and liable to his Wrath. But he chose me out of the world stampt his Image upon me pardoned my Sin and imbrac't me in the arms of his unchangeaâ—â—â— Love. O Happy Change aâ—â— yet how little did I prize his Grace admire his love and express my own or pomote his glory and honour him in the Eyes of others how did I dishonor my profession and holy Calling as his Disciple by agravated Apostacy but he recovered me by Repentance and healed my Backslidings and received me graciously because he loved me freely O admirable Grace to pardon and save and bring to Glory such an unthankfull Wretch as I have been to make such a difference between me and others whom I knew on earth that the same Power which makes them Miserable now makes me Blessed that when they are banisht from his Presence into Everlasting Destruction I am admitted to behold his Glory and shall dwell with him for ever O how much â—â—â—e do I now see and find then ever I believed of the Love of Christ and his promised Salvation how much more glorious is the Person of my Redeemer how much more Excellent is the Heavenly State then ever I thought or expected I could not have imagined the thousandth thousandth part of that which I now see and feel I cannot but admire and spend an Eternity in admiring and praising the Incomparable Grace and Glory of my Blessed Redeemer Such holy admiration will certainly produce the most thankfull Adorations of our Lord Jesus Saying one to another I Bless the Lord of Love and Glory who humbled himself so low as our Mediator and hath exalted us so high as the blessed fruit of it how can we ever enough adore and praise him who condescended so far and hath done and sufferd so much for us See how the Holy Angels worship this King of Glory and have not every one of us more reason to do so O let all the Quire of Heaven celebrate his glorious Love and let us his Redeemed his Glorified ones say continually Let the Lord be magnified who hath loved us and washed us from our sins in his own Bloud and made us Kings and Priests unto God his Father and thro him ours O Mercifull Saviour O glorious Change O Happy Society with whom we shall Eternally adore our Common Lord. We can some of us remember when we lived together on Earth how we wept and praid and fasted and mourned together when we suffered and complain'd and sin'd together O the Marvellous change our Redeemer hath now wrought for us and in us These Bodies these Souls this Life this Place this Company these Injoyments are not like those in yonder World. But alas who can describe what Believers shall then think and say to extol their Saviour how smal a portion is it we understand of that World How little can I conceive and much less express Blessed be God we know so much as the matter of our joyfull Hopes and forever Blessed be God who hath promised and provided such a Glory for us as cannot now be fully known
devotion to God is therby extinguisht all the restraints of vice removed the floud gates of Impiety opened the encouragements of vertue the rewards of Holiness the foundation of Patience in Tribulation and suffering for Righteousness sake all at once taken away Lord confirm my belief of the invisible future state of Rewards and Punishments and let not Sadduceism and Infidelity damp my zeal in thy service or rob me of the comforts of this Life which if I have any solid ones must suppose the hopes of a Better Let others therefore o my Soul who expect not an Everlasting Heaven beyond the Grave place their affections on Earthly things and mind this world as if there were no better no other Let them who doubt or disbelieve the promised rewards of Eternity take up with what they must shortly leave and labor for the Bread that perisheth But since I profess to believe and seek the Life Everlasting let me dayly intertaine my self with the hopes of it and let all the flattering dreams of what is desireable upon Earth give place to nobler and better Thoughts Let me derive my principal Joy from the promise and expectation of that future felicity and indeavor nothing more then a meetness to pertake of it O my God my God! thou art my Life and Joy and Portion in thee and in thy love all my desires and hopes are answered and all my wants supplied How ever Evill this world is made by sin yet thou art the infinite and supreme Good. How mutable how uncertaine how perishing soever are all sublunary things yet thou art the rock of Ages the fountaine of Everlasting Life and hast apointed another world and another Life when this is ended wherein thou wilt be better known and loved and served and honored and communicate thy self more abundantly then now to those the desire of whose souls is towards thee that believe and love thee that partake of thine image and are devoted to thy fear The assurance of this and nothing els will answer the objection of the present vanity and misery we are subject to XII The consideration of the Death of others especially of Relations Friends and Acquaintance how to be improved What instructions we may learn by the sight of a Dead Carcass or a Deaths-head and the usual Motto on it and what by the Death of Holy Persons to quicken our desires to be as they HAth divine Patience added one year more to the number of my Days when so many others were removed by Death the last year Others whom a few moneths since I knew in vigorous health wiser stronger more likely to live and to answer the ends of Life then me some of them my near Relations and usefull Friends in whose converse I took delight and promised my self advantage by their Company and Exemples But they are taken and I am left Thy Holy will o Lord is done and they who were prepared are infinite Gainers by this my loss Quicken my preparations by following their piety to meet them in thy Heavenly Kingdom Let thy long suffering lead me to Repentance and suffer me not to slight thy warning by the death of others to expect my own Lord cure my Earthly mindedness and practical unbelief and by all such admonitions of thy Providence teach me to possess and use this world as knowing I must shortly leave it and let not the thoughts of my mortality wear off assoon as the funeral of my Friends is over Every year some or other of our Acquaintance drop into the Grave we attend them thither and lament it may be for a few days their departure and removal but consider not that others will ere long do the same for us it may before this year is ended Oh how soon do we forget our deceased Friends and our selvs who are likewise dying and count upon a long life which we cannot reasonably expect and hug the injoyments of this transitory world as if our present state would last for ever Will nothing but our own dissolution effectually convince us of our mistake and folly in this perticular Tho the arrows of Death flye continually round about us sometimes over our heads when Superiors are taken away sometimes fall at our feet when Children and Servants and inferiors dye sometimes on our left hand when an Enemy is cut off and while I am pleased with that in that very hour it may be another arrow on our right hand strikes the Friend of our bosome and delight and can we see all this that great and smal high and low friends and foes are all vanity and drop down dead round about us and shall we not consider that we are as vaine as they and must shortly follow shall we not by a Christian Chymistry extract Spirits out of thes dead Bones and by thes Examples learn the End of all Men and lay it to heart When ever I see the funeral of another let me think thus with my self why might not I have been that man or woman that is now carried to the Grave If we had been compared a few days since 't is probable I should have been thought as likely to have been his monitor by dying first as he mine By such an improvement of thes warnings the request of Dives to Abraham were in great measure granted for 't is a call from the dead that speaks loudly to us to consider our selvs and prepare in time for so great a change and say as the Prophet to Hezekiah Set thine house in order for thou shalt dye Can we look upon a Deaths-head and not remember what we shall shortly be may not much be learnt from its common motto Sum quod Eris Fueramque quod Es. I am that which thou shalt shortly be and have been that which thou art now that is I have been as gay and jocund as brisk and merry as proud and vaine as rich and great as careless and secure as honourable and as much esteemed as beautifull and as well beloved as witty and as learned as thou art or canst be now I valued my self as much upon my estate and trade and health and beauty upon my education profession imployments parts friends family c. as thou hast ever done or canst doe I lived in ease and pleasure in mirth and jollity I minded the world as much and indulged my self as much in sensuality and was as carefull of my body and pampered and pleased my flesh as much as thou and thought as little of a sudden death and prepared as little for such a change as thou dost but now my dry Bones are lookt upon with contempt and scorn but thou shalt shortly return to dust and be as vile as I am It cannot but affect us did we consider it to see Divers snatcht away in their Youth and outward Prosperity and in the midst of their sin and folly without any visible signs of true Repentance or in terrible anguish and horror for their past crimes
cure the staggering trembling Thoughts of an unbelieving Heart by greater measures of a lively Faith. That my desires may be strong and urgent and my diligence and stedfastness in the way of Truth be some way correspondent to the important Article Let me live only for Eternity hope for nothing but Eternity design and intend nothing as my chief end but Eternity and seek and mind nothing in comparaison with Eternity Did we believe it how would every thing in this world be look't upon as eligible or fit to be refused as it is like to be an help or an hindrance with reference to Eternity we should then indeavor to do nothing unbecomming such an Expectation Considering this world as our passage and the invisible future world as our abiding Country where we are to dwell forever what ever we meet with here wither sweet or bitter easy or troublesome pleasing or ungratefull we should not much matter but as it relates to hereafter And were I certaine I should have no longer time of Trial in order to this Eternal State then this one year which is now begun if a Messenger from God should convincingly assure of it what would I not doe to prepare for Death and secure the Intrests of Eternity with what remorse and deep Repentance should I reflect on the Follies of my past Life with what importunate cries should I beg Forgiveness how patiently should I bear Calamity for so short a time how little should I value the favors or frowns of men how circumspect to improve every Season of doing and receiving good how carefull to avoid Temptation and how resolute in resisting it Did I verily believe I had no longer time to live on Earth then this one year at most how insipid would be the offer of carnall mirth vaine pastime sensual diversions idle company c. how should I value every hour every inch of my little Time under the apprehension that Eternity is at hand O my soul shall I make no provision against the possibility of such a case is not my change as certaine as if it were this year as if it were to morrow tho I am not certaine it is so near nor certaine but it may be Let me then seek first the Kingdom of God and his Rightcousness let me fix it well and make it clear that I have secured my great Concern and am ready for a sudden summons XIV How a Good man may improve and encourage himself under the supposition of dying this Year even in the most uneasy and undesireable circumstances I May dye this year then all my cares and fears if I am Rich all my sorrows and calamities as to this world if I am Poor will die too I may dye this year then I shall have no more Enemies no more sickness and which is infinitely better I shall sin no more I must shortly dye it may be this year but there is no other way to come to a Blessed Life but by dying and my Saviour hath dyed for me and he that believs in him shall never see death he lives who was once dead yea he lives for ever more and hath promised that I shall be with him to behold his Glory He hath the Keys of Death and Hell He is the Resurrection and the Life he hath removed thes thing of Death and I need not fear a conquered Enemy If I dye this year I must quit the company of all my dearest Friends on earth but I shall goe to better Company above and if they are the friends of Christ we shall shortly meet againe and love one another in a better manner then now and never more be parted I may dye this year my Friends and Enemies may dye to Let me injoy the one as mortal dying persons that must ere long leave me or I them and not fear the other who may so soon perish and quickly be uncapable of doing me or others mischief I may dye this year let me not then think much of Temporal sufferings of any Evils which may so soon be over Oh what would condemned sinners in the other world give to be able to believe and say so of their sufferings I may dye this year and can I wonder that I am sometimes Sick and in paine and my Body out of order Am I not mortal and dwell in an house of clay which must shortly moulder into dust and is it any thing strange that such a crasy Building doth sometimes shake and need repair and threaten a dissolution 'T is a greater wonder I am any time well That such a Body compounded of so many little parts and so easily disordered by innumerable accidents should be in health is hardly less to be admired then that an Instrument of a thousand strings should be kept in Tune I thank thee o Heavenly Father for the many advantages of sickness to weaken the power of sin to humble my Pride and cure my worldliness and sensuality to reduce me from wandering to empty me of self conceit to awaken the consideration of Death and Judgment to impress the Thoughts of the vanity of this world and the Eternity of the next to assist me to mortifie the flesh to rule my Passions to exercise Patience and quicken Prayer and try my faith and love and excite my diligence to redeem Time and convince me of the worth and uncertainty of it and thereby promote my preparations for my final change The Great Apostle by dying dayly had as many victories over this world as he lived Days Oh that I might so far walk by the same Rule as every day to think of providing for my last and in health to do that which in sickness I shal wish I had done I may dye this year it may be by some tedious painful Sickness some troublesome and loathsome Disease But God hath promised his Grace shall be sufficient he will make my bed in my sickness and put under his Everlasting arms for my support and not suffer me to be tempted above what I am able he will increas my Patience and carry me thro the pangs of Death and the dark valley and when Heart and flesh fail be the strength of my Heart and my Portion for Ever I may dye this year what if it should be by an hand of violence if for Righteousness sake in defence of the Truth for a good Cause and a good Conscience and my peace be made with God and am accused for doing well or innocent of the Evill which is laid to my charge there is ground enough for encouragement and support Thousands of my Betters have met with the like whose names are precious renowned Innumerable Christians have dyed by the sentence of a Judge with more chearfullness and Joy then others or it may be then they themselvs would have done by the sentence of the Phisitian The Torture of many diseases is unspeakably more formidable as to the meer paine and for all the Rest the Righteous Lord
who loveth Righteousness will clear my Integrity if it may best subserve his own Great and holy ends at least he will stand by and help me when all forsake me and if he speak Peace and give inward Consolation who can speak Trouble and his final Judgment which is near at hand will distribute rewards and punishments to all according to their works Suppose farther that I should want a sepulcher after Death There is nothing I could better be without If God receive my Soul and will raise my Body at the last day wither it putrifie and consume under ground or above it is no great matter They who are alive will be more concern'd in that then I shall be Graves are for the sake of the Living rather then the Dead The Sun the Raine the Air Birds Beasts Worms will all contribute to give me Burial if men deny it The only difference is that it will be a little longer ere I am buried If my soul rest in the Bosome of my Saviour and by persevering in the love and practise of the Truth I have secured my Reputation with wise and Good men I need not be sollicituos what become of my Body My Almighty Judge will raise me a glorious Body like his own and reunite it to my soul As easily as certainly as for any of those whose Bodies were preserved in Caves and Vaults in Proud Sepulchers and under stately Monuments I may dye this year and shall not then have the satisfaction to see my Children or nearest Kindred educated provided for setled and disposed of But is not the Everliving God the same cannot he as well take care of them when I am gone as now answer all my prayers after my deceas and exercise that Fatherly care wisdom and love which shall dispose of their conditions save them from Temptations and supply all their wants and exceed all my desires in reference to them and fullfill his Covenant promise from generation to generation to the Childrens of them that fear him O how weak is my Faith that cannot trust God in so common and plaine a case Lastly I may dye this year and not live to see the Ruine of the Antichristian Kingdom and Interest and the accomplishment of many Excellent Promises which concern the Rest and Peace and Purity and Glory of the Churches of Christ on earth in the latter days But have I not deserved by my provoking unbelief Ingratitude and Disobedience to dye in the Wilderness and not behold the promised land or see the Peace of Jerusalem and will not the strugglings of Satan to support Babilon infer a dismal night of darkness and distress before the expected morning of deliverance so that it may now if ever be truly said Henceforth Blessed are the Dead who dye in the Lord. And if God will take me to himself in the other world I cannot possibly be a looser tho I should not see the Beginnings of a New Heaven and a New Earth in this However I rejoice in Hope and pray incessantly for the Resurrection of the Witnesses and the rebuilding of Sion and the more plentifull Effusion of see the H. Spirit the great comprehensive promise of the Latter Times to effect a glorious Kingdom for Christ on earth and my Faith assures me I shall hereafter the Son of God revealed from Heaven clothed with Majesty sitting on a cloud leading the Heavenly Host raising the Dead by his powerfull voice summoning all the World to appear to Judgment gathering his Elect and finally destroying death and him that had the power of it the Devil condemning the wicked to Everlasting Destruction but acquitting honouring and rewarding his poor members with infinite and Eternal Blisse XV. Of Dying in a Forreign Country and of Dying Young. Considerations proper to Reconcile the mind to both I May not live to the end of this year God in his Providence having called me abroad I may never see my Native Country more Let me still remember o my Soul that wherever I am I am travelling towards the Grave and passing to another world that I may live in all Places as a Pilgrim and Stranger here on Earth with Affections suited to my condition becoming one who is travelling in a Strange Land. Let me bear the Inconveniencies I may meet with in this world as Strangers in their Travells are wont to doe Let me not repine at the ill accommodations of an Inne where I am to lodge but a night or two but encourage my self with the assurance of better Entertainment at home when my Pilgrimage is ended and my Journey over One of my dearest holy Friends Mr. Thomas Bent who dyed at Geneva May 10. 1683. and Fellow Travellers whose memory will be ever precious with those who knew him quickly arrived to his Journeys end and is entred into Rest betimes Which of his Companions shall next follow we know not or how soon Lord make me apprehend the nearness of my change in every place and if I am prepared for dying no matter where it be There is no one Country farther from the Presence of God then another The whole world may be considered as one Great House and the several Kingdoms and Countries of it but as different Apartments in the same house and they who tarry at home are no more exempt from Death then they who Travell abroad The Presence of my Gracious Father is every where the same in some measure Blessed be my God I have hitherto found it so And may I not rejoyce in God in a desart in a Wilderness tho all the World should forsake me tho all the world should be against me Should I have no other Friend or Helper is not God an infinite God Enough and without his favor and Presence what can all this world do for me If I am sick and in danger of Death among my Relations and Friends if the comforts of the Allmighty do not refresh and delight my soul they cannot and if I want not these in my last agonies no matter in what part or corner of the Earth I breath my last If the word and promise of God be my Foundation an holy Hope my anchor Christ my Pilot and Heaven my Country I shall not fail of being landed there at last Suffer me not to forsake thee o Heavenly Father while I live and do not thou forsake me in my last Hour and let it come when and where thou wilt If my Blessed Saviour will receive my departing soul at death I am not sollicitous in what Country or part of the Earth it be And that I may not be unwilling in the flower of my Age and Time in Youth and Strength to leave this world let me think often that no one age or part of Life is more privileged against the stroke of Death then another If I have done my work betimes as my deceased Fellow Traveller had is it not better to receive the Blessed Recompence then to tarry longer