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
spared for his Greatness nor the mean man for his Poverty O Fool o Wretch that I am shall many then say who now brave it out in Pride and vanity unconcern'd about a future Judgment not to be persuaded by the Terrors of the Lord which I was so often warn'd and foretold of what refuge of Hope can I now flye to what can I say for my self what can I doe to escape to dye to exist no longer I would have no compassion on my own Soul I would not so much as consider its Danger I shall now find none from Christ I can expect none his Mercy is gone and gone for ever I am lost undone tormented and must Eternally be so O the amazement Horror and Despair of self condemned Sinners in that day of Vengence O my Soul what is there of greater Consequence or of greater Certainty from the word of God then that I must appear to Judgment when Christ shall come againe Lord teach me to believe it firmly to consider it often to lay it seriously to Heart to act under the influence and power of it as long as I live that at the Great Resurrection from the Dead I may lift up my head with a joyfull Hope and find the Judge to be my Friend my Advocate my Jesus and not my Enemy and Destroyer XXIII Meditations of the Glory of Christ in his Glorifyed Saints and of the thankfull Admiration of Believers when He shall come againe from Heaven which shall be continued to all ETERNITY THe Terror of our Lords Appearance to Judgment cannot be greater to the wicked then the comfort and Joy it will be to the Saints When they shall see him whom their Souls love ascend with him to Heaven and be wellcom'd according to his promise with those indearing words Matt. 25. Come the Blessed Children of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from before the foundation of the world 'T was for your sakes I assumed flesh lived on Earth and dyed on the crosse to purchase this Glorious Kingdom for you which I now come to give you the Possession of 'T was for this I prayed and suffered on Earth for this I interceded ever since in Heaven I was heard in that prayer accepted in those sufferings and my Intercession granted that where I am you may be also to behold my Glory Come therefore Good and Faithfull Servants enter into your Lords Joy. O what Ravishing words will thees be what an Extasy of Love and kindness is implied in them What matter of Rejoycing may it now give me to admit the Hope that my Blessed Saviout will say such words as these to me and bid me stand upon his Right Hand among his sheep O what an exulting frame of soul will such Expressions raise how shall all my doubts and fears and sorrows be scatter'd in a moment and cease for ever O Glorious Day when my Blessed Lord shall thus publickly acknowledg me for his own and plead my cause against all the accusations of Satan and the malicious Calumnies of all his Instruments when I shall be able to say of all my Sins and sufferings as my Lord upon the crosse It is Finished It is Finished My warfare being accomplisht being more then Conqueror over all thro him who loved me and dyed for me and now is come to wipe away all Tears from mine Eyes as it were with the Napkin that was bound about his Head when laid in the Grave all being the fruit of his Meritorious Death Then shall I have nothing more to fear or wish or beg I shall offend provoke and dishonour him no more or by my folly and scandal discredit his holy name and Gospell But by consummate Holiness be fitted to Rejoyce in his Presence Love and celebrate his Praise for ever I shall never more lament his Absence or complaine of his Anger never see a cloud on his Face or a Frown in his look any more Now I must wait and pray struggle and strive labor and suffer desire and expect believe and hope c. but then perfect Rest and Holiness love and joy vision and fruition bliss and glory unutterable and everlasting shall take place All the Attributes of God all the wonderfull Perfections of Christ will then be glorifyed in Believers and admired by them His invariable Truth will then be honoured which they trusted to and waited for for now they shall know and find they did not wait in vaine they hoped in his word and ventured their Salvation upon it and now they shall receive the End of their Faith and Hope infinitely beyond what they ever expected or believed The Glory of Divine Wisdom will then appear when the Constitution Administration and design of the Mediators Kingdom shall be fully known in the admirable order and beauty of every part of it with the exact tendency of all the particulars to one Glorious end and the whole undertaking crownd with so blessed an issue What is now a mystery even to Believers themselvs and hath a vail upon it shall then no longer be so all the riddles of Gods Graee and Providence be plainly understood O how transporting a view must it needs be when the Glory of all the divine Attributes which God intended to accomplish in and by Christ shall be manifest to his Redemed Saints The whole method of our Salvation will then appear to be the fruit of unscearchable Wisdom when we shall all see the reality and substance and intire scheme of all that God designed in and by him all that was typified of him and foretold concerning him in the old Testament How will it all appear to be the Manifold Wisdom of God. Ephes 3. c. 10. As in uniting Heaven and Earth together in the Person of our Mediator fullfilling the Truth of a terrible Threatning in his death by the same way accomplishing many gracious Promises Vid. Mr. Charnock of the Div. Attrib Wisdom Satisfying Justice and at the same time showing Mercy manifesting infinite Grace and kindness by shedding of bloud conquering Death by dying and disarming the Law by obedience to it c. afterwards subduing the world to the Faith of the Gospel by the foolishness of preaching making men wise to Salvation by the knowledg of the Crosse and spreading that Faith the more by all the opposition made against it c. how wonderfully will a clear view of these things discover and glorifie the Wisdom of God. But the Love and Grace of Christ the infinite Goodness and Compassion of God will then be magnified in an especial manner What but Soveraine Love in the whole Contrivance and Counsell of God about our Redemption what admirable Love and Grace in the whole management of that design what unparrallel'd kindness in the accomplishment of it by the sacrifice of the son of God and how glorious will this Love appear when he shall come againe to give us the full Harvest of all his Purchase with what admiring
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
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
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
do oblige to and enforce upon All who shall read them and therefore much more upon him self That they were penn'd at several times and in occasional retirements for Spiritual Exercises will with the difference of the subject be a sufficient excuse that some are larger and others shorter and that the stile is in some places more neglected then in others If I may hereby render any service to then Souls of men if any secure Sinner any self deceiving Hypocrite or backsliding Christian be hereby awaken'd or any serious Believer's Devotion be quicken'd and advanc'd I hope God will accept it To his Blessing I humbly recommend it for those Ends. THE CONTENTS THe Introduction From what Time the Jews reckon'd the Beginning of their Year The difference between their Sacred and Civil Account The feast of Trumpets on the first Day of the Year Its Institution nature and Design the Traditions and Customs of the Jews respecting that Day pag. 1 Section I. Of the Changeable State and Short Duration of Earthly Things especially of Man how little it is consider'd and believ'd how necessary it should be so p. 16 II. Of the Change in Mens Inclinations Opinions and Actions which one Year shows How observable it is in Others how much more discernable in our Selves Honour and Reputation c. how uncertainly preserv'd and how easily blasted p. 23 III. The Uncertainty of Living to the Period of Another Year The Vanity of this Life the Swiftness of Time and how it ought to be improv'd p. 30. IV. Of the seeming Difference between so many Years Past and the same number of Years consider'd as Future p. 36 V. The little Portion of our Time on Earth consider'd by a Computation of the Life of Man from the Number of Years and Hours p. 39 VI. Of the Redemption of Time how precious and valuable a Treasure it is and will be thought to be when 't is too-late p. 54 VII Of the Ordinances of Heaven Day and Night Winter and Summer Seed Time and Harvest their order and succession as establisht by God is the effect of Infinite Wisdom and Goodness What thy may teach us p. 48 VIII Of Evils to be Expected in this one Year the wisdom and Mercy of God in concealing from us the Knowledg of future Events p. 55 XI The Supposition of dying this Year should be improv'd the Consequence of Redeeming Time and providing for Eternity farther prest The Folly of Elder Persons is condemn'd and checkt from the Example of Children 'T is adviseable to familiarize the thoughts of Death and to imagine before hand what Apprehensions of Things we shall then have p. 60 X. The Brevity of Life considered as a Fruit of Sin. There are but three ways of leaving this World as Abel Adam or Enoch A diligent Improvement of Time farther prest and the neglect of it bewailed p. 68 XI Of the Expectation of Another Life The Vanity and Misery of Man in his Best Estate if there be none The Satisfactory removal of that Supposition by the thoughts of God and of Eternal Felicity in his Blessed Presence p. 73 XII The Consideration of the Death of Others especially of Relations Friends and Acquaintance how to be improv'd what Instructions we may learn by the sight of a Dead Corps or a Deaths-Head and the usual Motto on it and what by the Death of Holy Christians to quicken our Desires to be as They. p. 83 XIII What Influence the Consideration of ETERNITIE would have upon our Hearts and Lives if soundly believ'd Especially if the Supposition of DYing this Year be annexed to it p. 93 XIV How a Good Man may improve and encourage himself under the Supposition of Dying THIS YEAR even in the most uneasy and undesirable Circumstances p. 101 XV. Of Dying in a Forreign Country and of Dying Young Considerations proper to reconcile the mind to both p. 111 XVI The Contemplation of our Approaching Change may assist us to mortifie the Lusts of the Flesh the Lust of the Eyes and the Pride of Life to cure Ambition and promote Contentment p. 119 XVII The same Argument consider'd farther as a dissuasive from Worldliness and Earthly mindedness and as proper to confute the Vanity of Long Projects and great Designs for this World. p. 125 XVIII The Consideration of the Certaine and near Approach of an EVERLASTING State amplifi'd and prest to enforce an Holy Life p. 131. XIX The Punishments of the Damned considered as Intolerable and EVERLASTING and unquestionably Certaine what the Reflection upon HEL-Torments may and ought to teach us p. 142 XX. The Eternal Blessedness of HEAVEN considered as the Perfection of Holiness to quicken our Desires and Endeavors after greater Meetness to possess it p. 159 XXI A devout Meditation upon the Psalm 73. v. 25. Whom have I in Heaven but Thee And there is none upon Earth that I desire besides Thee p. 180 XXII The Glorious Appearance of J. Christ to Judgment considered as Certaine The Terror and Astonishment Confusion and Despair of the Wicked to behold the Judge and hear his condemning Sentence to EVERLASTING Destruction p. 194 XXIII Meditations of the Glory of Christ in his Glorified Saints and of the Thankfull Admiration of Believers when he shall come againe from Heaven which shall be continued to all ETERNITY p. 205 XXIV Concerning the Examination of a Mans Heart and Life the Reasonableness Advantages and Necessity of it Some Directions and advice concerning the Time and Manner That we may know in what Preparedness we are for ETERNITY p. 223. XXV How Christians ought to examine their Decays of Grace and Piety The greatness of their Sin and of their Losse under such a Declension God's displeasure and departure from them consider'd to awaken present Endeavors of a Recory In what manner the Faith of Adherence may be acted by one who hath no Assurance p. 242 XXVI Confession of Sin Humiliation and Repentance must follow upon self-Examination Advice concerning Repentance of some particular Backsliding The great Perplexity and distress of a Penitent Sinner represented as a Caution against returning to Folly. p. 261. XXVII The Necessity of Christian Resolution to upright persevering Obedience how full and extensive it ought to be and yet humble By what means we may be assisted to Perform that which we Resolve p. 279 XXVIII The Import and obligation of our Baptismal Covenant The Renewal of it by a solemn Dedication of our selves to God the Father Son and H. Spirit exemplifi'd and recommended p. 289 XXIX Practical and Consolatory Reflexions on the preceding self-dedication or Covenant with God. p. 301 XXX Thanksgiving to God for his Innumerable Benefits and Mercies particularly in the Year Past With some directions and advice concerning it p. 314 THE INTRODUCTION From what Time the Jews reckoned the Beginning of their Year of the difference between their sacred civil account The Feast of Trumpets on the first day of the year its Institution nature design the
Traditions Customs of the Jews respecting that Day UPon the deliverance of the Jews out of Aegypt the first moneth which began with the new Moon next to the vernal Equinox was to be acounted the Beginning of Moneths Exod. 12 2. it answers to the latter end of our March the Beginning of April is sometimes called Nisan sometimes Abib It was ever after that Deliverance reckond the First moneth of the year in their Sacred or Ecclesiastical Acount Therefore the Passover kept in this moneth is said to be observed in the first moneth the Feast of Purim which was kept in our February is said to be in the last moneth that is of the Sacred year A Period so remarkable extraordinary as that was to the Jews deserved very well to be particularly remembred taken notice of might justly be acounted the First or chiefest of their moneths And by comparing Exod. 12.41 with Gal. 3.17 it may be concluded that Abraham received the Promise on the fifteenth day of this moneth 't is computed that about the same time of the year Isaac was born the Tabernacle afterward erected in the wilderness As that Redemption of Israel from their Bondage in Aegypt was but a type of a more glorious one by the Messiah which all the World are concerned in as well the Jews he was pleased to suffer Death in this moneth 18. John. 28. According to this computation the moneth Tisri which began with the first new moon next to the Autumnal Equinox is in several places of H. Scripture called the Seventh moneth Tho as to Civil Political Affaires this was the First moneth of the year so accounted both before after their coming out of Aegypt For this reason the Feast of Tabernacles or the Feast of Harvests on the 15. day of this moneth when the Fruits of the Earth were gathered in is said to be in the end of the year Exod. 23.16 This moneth Tisri answers to part of our September part of October About this Time of the year is most commonly reckon'd the Creation of the world the Birth Baptism of J. Christ the Head of the second Creation the consecration of Solomon's Temple other remarkable Events from hence they computed their years of Jubilee the seventh year for their Land to rest c. There were as many Feasts religious Solemnities Apointed to the Jews in this moneth as in all the year besides The Eighty first Psalm composed by Asaph for the first day of this moneth or the Feast of Trumpets is supposed to have been in remembrance of that Deliverance of Israel out of AEgipt Hammond in loc the sounding of Trumpets being a token of liberty This Feast of Trumpets on the first day of the new-year according to their Civil Acount is thùs commanded Levit. 23.24 Numb 29.1 10. cap. 10. that it should be a Sabbath and a Memorial of blowing of Trumpets an holy Convocation c. Some think it is called a Memorial of Trumpets to preserve the memory of Isaac's Deliverance Godâ—an univer Hist de l'Eglise Tom. 1. c. 1. §. 6. by the substitution of a Ram to be sacrificed in his stead to this purpose it may be alledged that it is sometimes called by the Jews the Binding of Isaac which they suppose to have been in the same day of the year By others termed Festum Cornu the Feast of the Horn. But it is more probable that this name was not given with any respect to Isaac but on the account of that kind of Trumpets Hospinian de Fest Judaic which where then sounded viz such as were made of sheeps or rams horns Others think it to have been Apointed as a gratefull remembrance of former victories which God had afforded them But the most likely acount of it is this that it was intended to solemnize the Beginning of the new-year to mind them of the Beginning of the World to excite their thankfulness for the fruits blessings Benefits of the year preceding The extraordinary Blowing of Trumpets by the Priests at this time in all their Cities as well as at Jerusalem where two silver Trumpets were also used at the Temple Lightfoot Temple Service chap. 16. as well as these of Horn the Levites sung the 81. Ps might serve both to stirr up the People to bless God for the favors of the year past acknowledging his Goodness in preserving them to the beginning of another withal excite them to pray for his Protection Blessing for the new year on which they now entred Maimonides the famous Jewish Rabbin thinks the sounding of Trumpets at this time was designed to signifie some such Exhortation as this Arise O ye sleepers Canones de Poeuitent cap. 3. can 6. out of your sleep and you that slumber awake out of your slumbering Search your works and turn by Repentance Remember your Creator you that have forgotten the Truth and have exchanged it for the vanities of the world and have all your lives wandred after vanity which will not profit or deliver you Consider your souls consider your ways and works and let every one of you forsake his evil way and his thoughts that are not good Some have imagined a typical Representation of the two Covenants in this Feast The old Covenant figured by the year passed and the Covenant of Grace or the Gospell state by the new year then began and that by the sound of Trumpets was prefigured the future preaching of the Gospel according to that of the Apostle Their sound went forth unto all the Earth and their words unto the end of the world and so the Feast of Trumpets is abrogated by the preaching of the Gospel if that were typically signified by it Without supposing any Type here in a strict and proper sens we may ye farther consider the Parallel and observe how the Joy and Gratitude that thes Trumpets did excite is exceeded by that greater rejoycing promised and foretold by the Prophets when the Glad tidings of the Gospel of Salvation by the Messiah should be publisht to the world 54 Is 1. 2 Luk. 11. 4 Gal. 27. which hath been in part accomplisht and will be more compleat in that Kingdom of Peace and Purity which Christ will establish upon earth towards the end of the World and shall be finally perfected at the end of Time when Days and Years and Time thus measured shall be no more But the Messiâh our B. Saviour having finisht his mediatory undertaking as to what concerns Earth shall come againe from Heaven with the Trump of God to raise the Dead and summon all the world to their final Judgement Then shall he deliver up the Kingdom to his Father and the Faithfull enter into the Joy of their Lord and be for ever with him There is a Tradition among the Jews mentioned by Maimonides Canones Poenit. cap 3. can 5. that on the first
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
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
me O most Blessed and Glorious TRINITY Father Son and H. Spirit Thy favor is my Life and thy Loving kindness is better then Life Thy Will should have been my Rule thy word my Law thy Glory my end to please thee my principal Business and to injoy thy Love and Presence my ultimate Felicity But I am one of thy revolted Creatures who have lost thine Image and rebell'd against thy Law slighted thy Authority and rejected thy Grace and deserve to be cast out of thy sight and banisht from thy Presence for ever Nevertheless O most mercifull God and Father upon thy gracious invitation and call I now return to thee my rightfull Lord acknowledging thee as my Allmighty Wise and Bountifull Creator my absolute Owner my Righteous Governour my End my Happiness and Chief Good. I now accept thine offer'd Mercy I now submit to the Scepter of thy Grace and give up my self to Thee as my King and my God to rule and sanctifie me now and be my Everlasting Portion I desire to be no longer my own but Thine to whom of right I belong and ought to be devoted I yeild my self to Thee O my Lord Accept and possess that which is thine own I lay my self at thy Foot at all Times and in all Conditions to be at thy dispose and in every thing to acquiesce in thy Good Pleasure Deliberately resolving with unfeigned and free consent of my Will to walk before Thee in Holiness and Righteousness all the days of my Life Hereby I consecrate and devote my self to be thy perpetual avowed Servant Lord I am thy servant I am thy servant the Son of thine Hand maid Tho other Lords have had dominion over me I will now make mention of thy Name and of thy Righteousness only by Jesus Christ O Blessed Jesus my All sufficient Saviour Thy dying Love infinite Condescention and matchless Grace hath at last overcome me and constrain'd me to resolve to be wholly Thine who hast redeem'd and bought me with thy most precious Bloud I now acknowledge and own Thee as my Lord and my Jesus my Prophet Priest and King my Sacrifice Surety and Ransom to satisfie for my sins and reconcile me unto God to instruct me in his will and teach me the Mysteries of his Kingdom and the way to the Father How often hast thou open'd thine arms and called me yea beseecht me to come unto thee and accept of Life but I refused to come I adore thy mercifull Condescention that yet thou wilt receive me on such easy Terms O thou Lord of life and glory now accept of an unworthy helpless Sinner who flies to Thee as his only Refuge and Hope who is convinc't that None but Christ None but Christ can make his Peace with God and save from wrath come I acknowledge thy Title to me and my obedience and to all I have by dying for me I desire to take thy yoke upon me for it is Easy and thy Burden which is Light. I desire to be intirely and for ever thine in an Everlasting Covenant never to be broken to take up the Crosse and follow thee whither so ever thou shalt lead me thro the straight Gate and the narrow way I will reserve no Lust refuse no Labor grudge at no suffering stick at no difficulty so I may please and honour thee and continue in thy Love. Os hed abroad more of thy Love in my Heart to make all Things easy for his sake who hath loved me and washed me from my Sins in his own Bloud O God the Holy Ghost I acknowledg Thee as my Great Teacher and Sanctifier and give up my self to Thee as the Author of all saving Knowledg and Holiness By Thee I have been convinc't of my Sin against the Law of God and the Gospel of Christ and of my necessity of his merit satisfaction and Righteousness to Justifie my guilty Soul by procuring the Forgiveness of Sin and my acceptance with God and of the freeness of his Love the Riches and all sufficiency of his Grace towards all who come unto God by Him. I adore Thee O most Blessed Spirit as proceeding and sent from the Father and the Son to renew all the Powers of my Soul and restore the divine Image there to enlighten my mind to know and receive the Truth as it is in Jesus and purifie my Heart and to sanctifie all the Members of my Body and make them Instruments of Righteousness unto Holiness which before were servants unto Sin and gradually to deliver me from the power the defilement and abode of Sin as from the Guilt and Punishment by the bloud of Jesus And as the Witness of God to the Truth of the H. Scriptures and as the Great Paraclete to comfort and establish the Hearts of Belivers sealing them up to the day of Redemption and giving them the Earnest of the Heavenly Inheritance O Blessed Spirit be thou my witness that tho I have violated the Law of God and defac't his Image and formerly undervalu'd the Love of Christ and the Grace of the Gospell yet by thine aid I now accept what I have so long neglected and thankfully devote my self hence forward to be the Lords in a Covenant Relation But fearing and distrusting my self I give up my self entirely to the conduct of thy Grace depending upon it for my establishment and perseverance O form my Heart into an obediential Frame that in every thing I may endeavor to answer the Ends and Obligations of this Devoted State. To this One God I have once againe dedicated and resign'd my self to serve and please and honour Thee in Thought Word and Act to the last moment of my Life in the Performance of all Duties even those whic I have been most averse from in the mortification of every Lust and the forsaking of every Sin even those which I was once most addicted to Resolving deliberately to allow my self in nothing great or little secret or open which I shall know or believe to be contrary to thy holy will making it my business to be fruitfull in good works to the praise of my Redeemer waiting in the use of all his apointed means for higher measures of Grace and Holiness to be more victorious over inward Lusts and outward temptations still pressing towards the mark for the prize of my high and holy Calling even eternal Life I call Heaven and Earth O Lord to witness this day that I own and avow this to be my Mind and the setled Prevailing Purpose of my Soul. This I againe ratifie and confirm with out any Clauses or Exceptions So help me O my God. Glory be to God the Father God the Son and God the H. Spirit XXIX Prastical and Consolatory Reflexions on the preceding Self-dedication or Covenant with God. I Have this day solemnly avouched the Lord to be my God Deut. 6. c. 17.18 to walk in his ways therby to fortifie my Resolutions that I and my House and All that I can
which way to turn he hath made my Path plaine Under sinking Disapointments he hath commanded Succour and been a present Help in the time of Trouble In Great Perplexities his Eye hath been my Guide and his own Arm hath brought Salvation it may be by the Ministry of his H. Angels obeing his order and giving unusual Intimations of very great and otherwise unsuspected Dangers or sending Relief and Deliverance by such small unlikely and unexpected Means as carried the name of God visibly ingraven on them Innumerable Calamities he saves me from which Others groan under and as many Blessings am I favor'd with whereof they are destitute He Spreads my Table and fills my Cup and gives me All Things richly to enjoy when many Excellent Persons of whom the World is not worthy are fed with the bread of Affliction and the Water of Affliction Others have only Necessaries or but few Conveniencies in Comparison with the Plentifull Provisions God hath made for my Chearfull Obedience to Him. And shall I not Praise Him for the precious Things of Heaven the blessings of the Earth the dew and the deep and more especially for the Goodwill of Him who dwelt in the Bush to sanctifie and sweeten All Wherby Common Mercies become the pledge and fore-runner of better Things as the fruit of his Special kindness the witness of his Truth and the seed of Peace and Joy and Righteousness and Praise by reason of his Blessing on all that I possess which otherwise would prove a snare and a Temptation and be intermixt with a Curse And besides the ordinary and Continued Bounty of every Day in the midst of how may Difficulties and Dangers Deut. 33. v. 13.14 have I felt the dear obligations of his Preserving Mercy abroad and at home in forreign Countries as well as my own in the midst of Enimies and among Friends in all Places and at all Times He hath prolonged my Health or made my Bed in Sickness He hath often granted the Desires of my Heart when ever it was for his Glory and contradicted my wishes and disapointed my Endeavors in other Instances when it was more to my Advantage From how many Mischiefs hath he sav'd me by such Things as I deprecated and would have hinder'd How many Evills hath he turn'd for Good He hath heard my Cry in the day Adversity and set my feet in a large Place He hath Chasten'd me for my Profit His Rod and his Staff have comforted me He hath spoken comfortably to me in the Wilderness Affliction hath been usefull and necessary Physick made an Instrument of Vertue and so a token of his Love. Therfore I will sing of the Mercy of the Lord for ever and with the voice of Thanksgiving will make known his Faithfullnes He hath all along conducted me by his Wisdom guided me by his Providence and the Angel of his Presence hath directed my Path and ordered all my Goings He hath been a Cloud to me by Day and a Pillar of Fire by night he hath helped me in my Straits and suppli'd my wants and comforted me in all my sadnesses His powerfull and gracious Presence hath been my constant Guard and his Soveraign never-failing Goodness hath compast me about with Mercy on every side For which O most Mercifull Father my Soul and all that is within me desires to speak thy Praise Ps 89. v. 1. The advantagious Circumstances of many divine Favors do raise their value and deserve to be particularly observ'd and and acknowledged How suitably how seasonably how wisely hath he conser'd his Benefits with what Tenderness and Kindness with what Freedom and Readiness Of his own bounty and goodwill without any Necessity or Obligation on his Part without any desert and Sometimes without so much as a Prayer on mine And what is more notwithstanding my Ingratitude and Forgetfullness of Him and great Provocations heigthned by the abuse of so much Mercy demanding nothing after all in requital of so much Kindness but my Acceptance of his Love and gratefull sense of his Goodness and the sweetest and most reasonable Expressions of it by Thankfull Obedience More especially would I Bless the Lord for Inlightening my mind in the Great Mysteries of Religion disposing in wonderfull Wisdom the several means and methods wherby he brought me to the Knowledg of the Truth by Parents Ministers Friends Acquaintance Books Afflictions c. Beginning with me in Childhood awakening and cultivating the inbred notions of God and natural Religion of Good and Evil Rewards and Punishments by the carefull Instructions of Parents or others concern'd in my Education giving me the advantage of Good Examples Counsels and Encouragements to know and do well with more assistance and less hindrances and diversions then to many Others Particularly for the Excellent Priviledge and inestimable Blessing of his H. Word and Sacraments the liberty of the Christian Religion in the Purity of it in most of those Places where God hath been pleas'd to cast my Lot. Causing me to lay down in green Pastures and leading me beside the still Waters Instructing me in the Revelation of his Will and Grace by J. Christ acquainting me with the sublime Principles and Articles Precepts and Rules Promises and Hopes of the Gospel in order to Eternal Life I bless Thee O Lord and shall for ever do so that with any or all these advantages and helps thy H. Spirit hath taught me to know the Truth as it is in Jesus heartily to believe and obey it That by thy Grace I have been convinc't of Sin and brought to Repentance showing me the necessity of a Saviour to make my Peace with Thee the All sufficiency of his Grace the fullness of his merit the freeness of his Love and his readines to receive me to mercy inviting and calling me to it and enabling me to accept his gracious Invitation and obey his Compassionate Call making me willing by a Powerfull and Victorious Grace drawing me with Cords of Love and so effectually persuading me to consent to thy Covenant and comply with thy message on the gracious terms of the Gospel Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord J. Christ who thro his abundant mercy hath begotten me againe to a lively Hope having humbled my proud Heart and conquer'd the perversness of my Stubborn Will and brought my Soul to an entire Subjection to himself Who took pitty on me when he saw me in my Bloud spread his skirt over me cast a mantle upon my nakedness washed me from my Sins and put his own Comeliness upon me by sanctification who open'd my Eyes when I was leaping blinfold into the pit of Destruction who healed my Soul when I was fick unto Death who rescue'd and recover'd me from the slavery of the Devil when I was led Captive by him at his will. Shall not a ransom'd redeemed Slave be thankfull to his Deliverer shall not a miserable undone Sinner who is receiv'd to mercy be thankfull for a