that Justice that inflicteth on him the penalty of death Especially since Mercy hath made it a usefull Castigation As some penitent malefactors have been so sensible of their crimes that they have not deprecated death but consented to it as a needfull work of Justice as it s written of the penitent Murderer lately hanged at London So Holiness doth contain such a hatred of our own sins and such impartial Justice on Gods behalf that it will cause us to subscribe to the righteousness of his sentence and the more quietly to yield to the stroke of death DIRECTION IX IT will somewhat abate the fears of Death to consider the Restlesness and troubles of this life and the manifold evills that end at death And because this Consideration is little available with men in prosperity it pleaseth God to exercise us with adversity that when we find there is no hope of Rest on earth we may look after it where it is and venture on death by the impulse of necessity Here we are continually burdened with our selves annoyed by our corruptions and pained by the diseases of our souls or endangered most when pained least And would we be thus still We live in the continual smart of the fruit of our own folly and the hurts that we catch by our careless or inconsiderate walking like children that often fall and cry and would we still live such a life as this The weakness of our faith the darkness of our minds the distance and strangeness of our souls to God are a continuall languishing and trouble to our hearts How grievous is it to us that we can love him no more nor be more assured of his love to us that we find continually so much of the creature and so little of God upon our hearts that carnal affections are so easily kindled in us and the Love of God will scarce be kept in any life by the richest mercies the most powerfull means and by our greatest diligence O what a death is it to our hearts that so many odious temptations should have such free access such ready entertainment such small resistance and so great success that such horrid thoughts of unbelief should look into our minds and stay so long and be so familiar with us that the blessed mysteries of the Gospel and the state of separated souls and the happiness of the life to come are known so slightly and believâ—d so weakly and imperfectly and meet with so many carnall questionings and doubts that when we should be solacing our souls in the fore-thoughts of heaven we look toward it with such strangeness and amazement as if we staggered at the promise of God through unbelief and there is so much Atheism in our Affections God being almost as no God to them sometime and Heaven almost as no Heaven to them that it shews there is too much in our understandings O what a death is it to our minds that when we should live in the Love of Infinite Goodness we find such a remnant of carnal enmity and God hath such resistance and so narrow so shâ—â—â— so cold so unkind entertainment in those hearts that were made to love him and that should know and own no love but his What a bondage is it that our souls are so entangled with the creatures and so detained from the love of God and that we draggle on this earth and can reach no higher and the delightfull Communion with God and a Conversation in Heaven are things that we have so small experience of Alas that we that are made for God and should live to him and be still upon his work and know no other should be so byased by tâ—e flesh and captivated by self-love and lost at home that our affections and intentions do hardly get above our selves but there we are too prone to terminate them all and lose our God even in a seeming Religiousness while we will be Gods to our selves How grievous is it that such wonders and glorious appearances of God as are contained in the incarnation life and death of Christ and in all the parts of the work of our Redemption should no more affect us then they do nor take up our souls in more thankfull admiration nor ravish us into higher joyes Alas that Heaven commands our souls no more from earth that such an infinite glory is so near us and we enjoy so little of it and have no more savour of it upon our souls That in the hands of God and before his face we do no more regard him That the great and wonderfull matters of our faith do so little affect us that we are tempted thereby to question the sincerity of our faith if not the reality of the things believed and that so little of these great and wondrous things appeareth in our lives that we tempt the world to think our faith is but a fancy Is not all this grievous to an honest heart and should we not be so far weary of such a life as this as to be willing to depart and be with Christ If it would so much rejoyce a gracious soul to have a stronger faith a more lively hope a more tender conscience a more humble self-abhorring heart to be more fervent in prayer more resolute against temptations and more successfully to fight against them with what desire and joy then should we look towards Heaven where we shall be above our strongest faith and hope and have no more need of the healing graces or the healing Ordinances nor be put upon self-afflicting work nor troubled with the temptations nor terrified by the face of any enemy Now if we will vigorously appear for God against a sinfull generation how many will appear against us how bitterly will they reproach us how falsly will they slander us and say all manner of evil against us and it is well if we scape the violence of their hands and what should be our joy in all these sufferings but that Great is our reward in heaven Mat. 11 12. Alas how we are continually here annoyed by the presence and the motions and the succâ—ss of sin in our selves and others It dwelleth in us night and day we cannot get it stay behind no not when we address our selves to God not in our publike worship or our secret prayers not for the space of one Lords Day or one Sermon or one Sacrament in ordinary or extraordinary duty O what a blessed day and duty would it be in which we could leave our sin behind us and converse with God in spotless innocency and worship and adore him without the darkness and strangeness and unbelief and dulness and doubtings and distractions that are now our daily miseries Can we have grace and not be weary of these corruptions Can we have life and not be pained with these diseases And can we live in daily pain and weariness and not be willing of release Is there a gracious soul that groaneth not under the burden of
its best take such pleasure as may here be had and feed on that where a sensual mind hath less discouragement Whereas if Death did not stand in the way and darken Heaven to us and turn back our desires how easily should we get above thesâ— trifles and perceive the vanity of all below and how unworthy they are to be once regarded 8. Moreover it is much long of this last Enemy that God is so dishonoured by the Fears and droopings of believers They are but imperfectly yet freed from this bondage and accordingly they walk Whereas if the King of terrors were removed we should have less of Fear and more of Love as living more in the sight and sense of Love And then we should glorifie the God of Love and appear to the world as men of another world and shew them the faith and hope of Saints in the heavenly chearfulness of our lives and no more dishonour the Lord and our profession by our uncomfortable despondencies as we do 9. Moreover it is much long of this last Enemy that many true Christians cannot perceive their own sincerity but are overwhelmd with doubts and troublesome fears lest they have not the faith and hope of Saints and lest the Love of God abide not in them and lest their hearts are more on earth then Heaven When they find themselves afraid of dying and to have dark amazing thoughts about eternity and to think with less trouble and fear of earth then of the life to come this makes them think that they are yet but worldlings and have not placed their happiness with God when perhaps it is but the fear of death that causeth these unjust conclusions Christian I shall tell thee more anon that God may be truly loved and desired by thee and Heaven may be much more valued then Earth and yet the natural fears of death that standeth in thy way may much perplex thee make thee think that thou art averse from God when indeed thou art but averse from Death because yet this Enemy is not overcome 10. Lastly this Enemy is not the smallest cause of many of our particular sins and of the apostacie of many hypocritâ—s Indeeed it is one of the strongest of our temptations Before man sinned none could take away his life but God and God would not have done it for any thing but sin So that man had no temptation from the malice of enemies or the pride of Conquerours or the fury of the passionate or the power of Tyrants to be afraid of death and to use any unlawfull means to scape it An avoidable dâ—ath from the hand of God he was obliged moderately to fear that is to be afraid of sinning lest he die else God would not have threatened him if he would not have had him make use of a preventing fear But now we have an unavoidable death to fear and also an untimely death from the hand of man by Gods permission And the fear of these is a powerfull temptation Otherwise Abraham would not have distrustfully equivocated as he did to save his life Gen. 20.11 and Isaac after him do the same when he sojourned in the same place Gen. 26.7 If the fear of Death were not a strong temptation Peter would not have thrice denyed Christ and that after so late a warning and engagement nor would all his Disciples have forsaken him and fled Matth. 26.56 Nor would Martyrs have a special reward nor would Christ have been put to call upon his Disciples that they Fear not them that can kill the body Luke 12.4 and to declare to men the necessity of self-deniall in this point of Life and that none can be his Disciple that loves his Life before him Matth. 16.39 Luke 14.26 He is a Christian indeed that so Loveth God that he will not sin to save his Life But what is it that an hypocrite will not do to escape Death He will equivocate and forswear himself with the Jesuite and Familist He will forsake not only his dearest friend but Christ also and his Conscience What a multitude of the most haynous sins are daily committed through the fears of death Thousands where the Inquisition ruleth are kept in Popery by it And thousands are kept in Mahometanism by it Thousands are drawn by it to betray their Countries to deny the truth to betray the Church and cause of Christ and finally to betray their souls unto perdition some of them presume to deny Christ wilfully because that Peter had pardon that denyed him through surprize and through infirmity But they will not Repent with Peter and die for him after their repentance He that hath the power of an Hypocrites life may prescribe him what he shall bâ—lieve and do may write him down the Rule of his Religion and tell him what changes he shall make what oaths he shall take what party he shall side with and command hâ—m so many sins a day as you make your horse go so many miles Satan no doubt had much experience of the power of this temptation when he boasted so confidently of it against Job 2.4 Skin for skin and all that a man hath he will give for his life And its true no doubt of those that love nothing better then their lives Satan thought that the fear of Death would make a man do any thing And of too many he may boldly make this boast Let me but have power of their Lives and I will make them say any thing and swear any thing and be for any cause or party and do any thing against God or man When lessâ—r matters can do so much as common sad experience sheweth us no wonder if the fear of death can do it In brief you may see by what is said that Death is become an Enemy to our Souls by being first the Enemy of our Natures The Interest of our Bodies works much on our Souls much more the Interest of the whole man The principle of self-love was planted in Nature in order to self-preservation and the government of the world Nature doth necessarily abhor its own destruction And therefore this destruction standing in the way is become an exceeding great hindrance to our affections which takâ—s them off from the life to come 1. It is a very great hindrance to the Conversion of those that are yet carnal imprisoned in their unbelief It is hard to win their hearts to such a state of Hapâ—inâ—ss that cannot be obtained but by yielding unto death 2. And to the truly godly it is naturally an impediment and a great temptation in the points before expressed And though it prevail not against them it exceedingly hindereth them And thus I have shewed you that Death is an Enemy further then I doubt the most consider of If the unbeliever shall here tell me that Death is not the fruit of sin but natural to man though he had never sinned and therefore that I lay all this on God I answer him that
and imprisonment they were stoned they were sawn asunder were tempted were slain with the sword Heb. 11.35 36 37. Thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ 1 Cor. 15.57 They overcome by the blood of the Lamb and love not their lives unto the death Rev. 12.11 They fear not them that kill the body and after thâ—t have no more that they can do Luke 12.4 They trust upon his promise that haâ—h said I will ransome them from the power of the grave I will redeem them from death O death I will be thy plagues O grave I will be thy destruction Hos 13.14 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints Psal 116.15 Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth yea saith the spirit that they may rest from their labours and their works do follow them Rev. 14.13 SECT IX Vse 7. MOreover from the Enmity of Death we may be directed which way to bend our cares and seeing where our difficulty most lieth we may see which way our most diligent preparations must be turned Death cannot be prevented but the malignant influence of it on our souls may be much abated If you let it work without an Antidote it will make you live like unbelieving worldlings It will deter your hearts from heaven and dull your love to God himself and make your meditations of him and of your Everlasting Rest to be seldom and ungratefull to you And it will make you say It s good to be here and have sweeter thoughts of this present life then of your inheritance It will rob you of much of your heavenly delights and fill you with slavish fears of death and subject you unto bondage all your lives and make you die with agony and horror so that your lives and deaths will be dishonourable to your holy faith and to your Lord. If it were meerly our own suffering by fears and horrors or meerly our loss of spiritual delights the matter were great but not so great But it is more then this For when our joyes are overwhelmed with the fears of death and turned into sorrows our love to God will be abated and we shall deny him the thanks and cheerfull praises which should be much of the employment of our lives and we shall be much discomposed and unfitted for his service and shall much dishonour him in the world and shall strengthen our temptations to the overvaluing of earthly things Think it not therefore a small or an indifferent matter to fortifie your souls against these malignant fears of death Make this your daily care and work your peace your safety your innocency and usefulness and the honour of God do much lie on it And it is a work of such exceeding difficulty that it requireth the best of your skill and diligence and when all is done it must be the illuminating quickning beams of grace and the shining face of the Eternal Love that must do the work though yet your diligence is necessary to attend the spirit and use the means in subserviency to grace and in expectation of these celestiall rayes And above all take heed lest you should think that carnal mirth or meer security and casting away the thoughts of death will serve to overcome these fears or that it is enough that you resolve against them For it is your safety that must be lookt to as well as your present ease and peace and fear must be so overcome as that a greater misery may not follow Presumption and security will be of very short continuance To die without fear and pass into endless desperation which fear should have wakened you to prevent is no desirable kind of dying And besides resolving against the Terrors of death will not prevent them When Death draws neer it will amaze you in despight of all your resolutions if you are not furnished with a better Antidote The more jocund you have been in carnal mirth and the more you have presumptuously slighted death its likely your horror will be the greater when it comes And therefore see that you make a wise and safe preparation and that you groundedly and methodically cure these fears and not securely cast them away Though I have given you to this end some Directions in other writings in the Saints Rest and in the Treatise of Self-denyal and that of Crucifying the world yet I shall add here these following helps which faithfully observed and practised will much promote your victory over death which conquereth all the strength of flesh and glory of this world DIRECTION I. IF you would overcome the danger and the fears of Death Make sure of your Conversion that it is sound and see that you be absolutely devoted unto God without reserves Should you be deceived in your foundations your life and hopes and joyes would all be delusory things Till sin be mortified and your souls reconciled to God in Christ you are still in danger of worse then death and it is but the senslesness of your dead condition that keepeth you from the terrors of damnation But if you are sure that you are quickâ—ed by renewing grace and possessed by the sanctifying spirit and made partakers of the Divine nature you have then the earnest of your inheritance Eph. 1.14 2 Cor. 1.22 5.5 and the fire is kindled in your breast that in despight of Death will mount you up to God DIRECTION II. TO Conquer the Enmity of Death you must live by faith in Jesus Christ as men that are emptied of themselves and ransomed from his hands that had the power of death and as men that are redeemed from the curse and are now made heirs of the grace of life being made his members who is â—he Lord of life even the second Adam who is a quickning spirit The serious believing study of his design and office to destroy sin and death and to bring many sons to glory and also of his voluntary suffering and his obedience to the death of the Cross may raise us above the fears of death When we live by faith as branches of this blessed Vine are righteous with his righteousness justified by his blood and merits sanctified by his Word and Spirit and find that we are united to him we may then be sure that death cannot conquer us nothing can take us out of his hands For our life being hid with Christ in God we know that we shall live because he liveth Col. 3.3 John 14.19 and that when Christ who is our life appeareth we shall also appear with him in glory Col. 3.4 And that he will change our vile bodies and make them like to his glorious body by his mighty power by which he is able to subdue all things to himself Phil. 3.20 21. In our own strenâ—th we dare not stand the charge of death and with it the charge of the Law and of our Consciences How dreadfully should we then
prosperity And then sin will seem another thing and wrath more terrible then it did in your security Conscience will do much to make your burden light or heavy If Conscience groundedly speak peace and all be sound and well at home death will be less terrible the heart being fortified against its enmity But to have a pained body and a pained soul a dying body and a scorched Conscience that is afraid of everlasting death this is a terrible case indeed Speedily therefore get rid of sin and get your Consciences throughly cleansed by sound repentance and the blood of Christ For so much sin as you bring to your death-bed so much bitterness will there be in death Away then with that sin that Conscience tells you of and touch the forbidden fruit 〈◊〉 more and kindle not the sparâ—s of Hell in your souls to make the sting of death more venemous As it will quiet a believing soul through Chrâ—st when he can say with Hezekiah Isa 38.3 Remember now O Lord I beseech thee how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart and have done that which is good in thy sight and it will be our rejoycing if we have the testimony of our Consciences that in simplicity and godly sincerity we have had our conversation in the world 2 Cor. 1.12 So will it be most terrible to die in the fears of unpardoned sin and to have Conscience scourging us with the remembrance of our folly when God is afflicting us and we have need of a well composed mind to bear the troubles of our flâ—sh A little from without is grievous when any thing is amiss within Get home therefore to Christ without delay and cease not till you have peace in him that death may find your consciences whole DIRECTION VI. REdeeming time is another means to prevent the hurtfull fears of death When we foreknow that it will shortly end our time let us make the best of time while we have it And then when we find that our work is done and that we did not loyter nor lose the time that God vouchsafed us the end of it will be less grievous to us A man that studieth his duty and spareth for no cost or pains and is as loath to lose an hours time as a covetous man is to lose an hundred pound will look back on his life and look before him to his death with greater peace and less perplexity then another man But the thoughts of death must needs be terrible to a man that hath trifled away his life and been an unthrift of his time To think when you must die that now you are at your last day or hour and withall to think how many hours you vainly lost and that you knew not the worth of time till it was gone will make death more bitter then now you can imagine What else is Death but the ending of our Time and what can be more necessary to a comfortable end then faithfully to use it while we have it DIRECTION VII ANother help against the Enmity of Death is the Crucifying of the flesh with its affections and lusts and the conquest of the world by the life of faith and crucifying it by the Cross of Christ and dying daily by the patient suffering of the Cross our selves When we are loose from all things under the Sun and there is nothing that entangleth our affections on earth a great part of the difficulty is then removed But death will tear the heart that is glued to any thing in this world Possess therefore as if you possessed not and rejoyce as if you rejoyced not and use the world as not abusing it for the fashion of this world doth pass away I Cor. 7.29 30 31. It is much for the sake of our flesh that must perish that death doth seem so bitter to us If therefore we can throughly sudue the flesh and live above its pleasure and desires we shall the more esily bear its dissolution Shut up your senses then a little more and let your hearts grow stranger to this world and if you have known any persons relations accomodations after the flesh from henceforth know them so no more How terrible is death to an earthly-minded man that had neglected his soul for a treasure here which must then be dissipated in a moment How easie is death to a heavenly-mind that is throughly weaned from this world and taketh it but for his pilgrimage or passage unto life and hath made it the business of his dayes to lay up for himself a treasure in heaven He that hath unfeignedly made heaven his end in the course of his life will most readily pass to it on the hardest terms For every man is willing to attain his end DIRECTION VIII IT will much help us against the Enmity of death to be duly conformed to the Image of God in the hatred of sin and love of holiness and in special in the point of Justice When we hate sin throughly and find it so incorporated into our flesh that they must live and die together it will make death the more easie to us because it will be the death of sin even of that sin which we most hate and that God hateth and that hath cost us so dear as it hath done When we are in love with holiness and know that we shall never be perfect in it till after death it will make death the more welcome as the passage to our desired life When the Justice even the castigatory and vindictive Justice of God is more amiable in our eyes and we are not blinded by self-love to judge of God and of his wayes according to the interest of our flesh we shall then consent to his dissolving stroke and see that the bitterness of death proceedeth from that which is good in God though from that which is evil in our selves Doubtless as Justice is one of the blessed Attributes of God so should it be amiable to man there being nothing in God but what is lovely It is the prevalency of self-love that makes men so insensible of the excellency of Divine Justice while they speak so respectfully of his mercy So far as men are carnall and selfish they cannot love that by which they smart or of which they are in danger But the soul that is got above it self and is united unto God in Christ and hath that Image of God which containeth the impress and effect of all his Attributes hath such an habit of impartial justice in himself and such a hatred of sin and such a desire that the honour of God should be vindicateed and maintained and such an approbation of the Justice of God that he can the more easily consent or submit to the dissolving stroke of death He hateth his own sin and loatheth himself for all his abominations and is possessed with that Justice that provoketh him to self-revenge in an ordinate sort and therefore doth love and honour
fervent heat But we according to his promise look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness 2 Pet. 3.7 8 9 10 11 12 13. Beza marvelleth at Tertulliaâ— for saying that the Christians in their holy assemblies prayed pro mora finis Apologet. c. 39. And so he might well enough if it were not that to Christians the Glory of God is dearer then their own felicity and the salvation of millions more precious then the meer hastening of their own and the glory of the Church more desirable then our personall glory and the hallowing of Gods name were not to be prayed for before the coming of his Kingdom and the Kingdom of grace must not necessarily go before the Kingdom of glory But as much as we long for the coming of our Lord we are content to wait till the Elect be gathered and can pray that he will delay it till the Universal Body be made up and all are called that shall be glorified But to our selves that are brought out of Aegypt into the Wilderness how desirable is the promised Land When we think on our own interest we cry Come Lord Jesus Come quickly The sooner the better Then shall our eyes behold him in whom we have believed Not as he was beheld on earth in his despised state but as the glorious King of Saints accompanied with the Celestial Host coming in flaming fire to render vengeance to the rebellious and Rest and Joy to believing souls that waited for this day of his appearance Then faith and patience shall give up their work and sight and fruition and perfect love shall everlastingly succeed them The rage of persecutors shall no more affright us the folly of the multitude shall no more annoy us the falseness of our seeming selfish friends shall no more betray us the pride of self-conceited men shall no more distuâ—b us the turbulency of men distracted by ambition shall cast us no more into confusions The Kingdom that we shall possess shall not be lyable to mutations nor be tossed with pride and faction as are these below There is no monethly or annual change of Governours and Laws as is in Lunatick Common-wealths but there will be the same Lord and King and the same Laws and Government and the same Subjects and obedience without any mutinies rebellions or discontents to all eternity The Church of which we shall then be members shall not be divided into parties and factions nor the members look strangely at each other because of difference of opinions or distance of affections as now we find it to our daily grief in the militant Church We shall then need no tedious debates to reconcile us Unity will be then quickly and easily procured There will be no falling out in the presence of our Lord. There will be none of that darkness uncharitableness selfishness or passion left that now causeth our dissentions When we have perfect Light and perfect Love the perfect Peace will be easily attained which here we labour for in vain Now there is no peace in Church or State in Cities or Countreys in families or scarce in our own souls But when the glorious King of peace hath put all his enemies under his feet what then is left to make disturbance Our enemies can injure us no more for it is then their portion to suffer for all their former injuries to Christ and us Our friends will not injure us as here they do because their corruption and weakness is put off and the relicts of sin that caused the trouble are left behind O that is the sight that saith prepareth for that is the day the blessed day that all our dayes are spent in seeking and waiting and praying for then shall the glory of holiness appear and the wisdom of the Saints be justified by all that now is justified by her childreâ— Then it shall be known Whether faith or unbelief whether a heavenly or earthly mind and life was the wiser and more justifiable course then shall all the world discern between the righteous and the wicked between them that serve God and them that serve him not Mal. 3.18 Then sin that is now so obstinately defended and justified by such foolish cuâ—ning shall never more find a tongue to plead for it or a Patron to defend it more Then where is the man that will stand forth and break a jest at godliness or make a scorn of the holy diligence of believers How pale then will those faces look that here were wont to jear at piety What terror will seize upon those hearts that here were wont to make themselves sport at the weaknesses of the upright servants of the Lord That is tâ—â— day that shall rectifie all judgements and cure the errors and contemptuous thoughts of an holy life which no perswasions now can cure that is the day that shall set all straight that now seems crooked and shall satisfie us to the full that God was just even when he prospered his enemies and afflicted the souls that loved him and walkt in their integrity before him We shall then see that which shall fully satisfie us of the reason and equity of all our sufferings which here we underwent we shall marvail no more that God lets us weep and groan and pray and turns away his face and seems not to regard us We shall then find that all our groans were heard all our tears and prayers did succeed which we suspectâ—d had been lost We shall then find that a duty performed in sincerity through all our lives was never lost no nor a holy thought nor a Cup of cold water that from holy love we gave to a Disciple We shall then see that our murmurings and discontents and jealous unbelieving thoughts of God which sickness or poverty or crosses did occasion were all injurious to the Lord and the fruit of infirmity and that when we questioned his Love on such accounts we knew not what we said We shall then see that Death and grave and Devils were all but matter for the glorifying of grace and for the triumph of our Lord and us Up then my soul and shake off thy unbelief and dulness Look up and long and meet thy Lord. The more thou art afraid of death the more desire that blessed day when mortality shall be swallowed up of life and the name of death shall be terrible no more Though death be thy enemy there is nothing but friendly in the coming of thy Lord. Though death dissolve thy nature the Resurrection shall restore it and make thee full reparation with advantage How glad would I have been to have seen Christ but with the Wise Men in the Manger or to have seen him disputing with the Doctors in his Child-hood in the Temple or to have seen him do his Miracles or heard him Preach much more to have seen him as the three Disciples in his transfiguration or to have seen him after his resurrection and when he ascended
still answâ—red that he had enough and minded not removing without necessity so was she ever of the same mind and still seconded and confirmed him in such resolutions even to follow Gods work while they had a competency of their own and to mind no more 4. Her very speech and behaviour did so manifest meekâ—ess and humility that in a little converse with her it might eâ—sily be discerned 5. She thought nothing too mean for her that belâ—nged to her in her family and râ—lation no employment food c. saying often that What God had made her duty was not too low a work for her And indeed when we knâ—w â—nce that it is a work that God sets us upon it signifieth much forgetfulness of him and our selves if we think it too base or think our sâ—lves too good to stoop to it 6. No neighbour did seem too mean or poor for her familiar converse if they were but willing 7. She had a true esteem and cheerfull love for the meanâ—st of her husbands Relations and much rejoyced in her comfort in his kindred recording it among her experienced mercies 2. She was very constant and diligent in doing her part of family duties teaching all the inferiours of her family â—nd labouring to season them wiâ—h principles of holiness and admonishing them of their sin and danger never failing on the Lâ—rds day at night to hear them read the Scriptures and recite their Catechisms when publike duty and all other family duty was ended and in her Husbands absence praying with them How much the imitation of such examples would conduce to the sanctifying of families is easie to be apprehended 3. In secret duty she was very constant and lived much in those two great soul-advancing works Meditation and Prayer in which she would not admit of interruptions This inward holy diligence was it that maintained spirituall life within which is the spring â—f outward acceptable works When communion with God and daily labour upon our own hearts is laid aâ—ide or negligently and remisly followed grace languisheth first within and then unfruitfulness if not disorders and scandalls appear without 4. Her Love to the Lord Jesus was evidenced by her great affection to his Ordinances and wayes and serâ—ants A very hearty Love she manifested to those on whom the Image of God did appear even the poorest and meanest as well as the rich or eminent in the world Nor did a difference in lesser matters or any tolerable mistakes alienate her affections from them 5. She was a Christian of much plainness simplicity and singleness of heart far from a subtile crafty dissembling frame and also from loquacity or ostentation And the world was very low in her eyes to which she was long crucified â—nd on which she looked as a lifelesâ— thing Sensuality and pampering the flesh she much loathed Wheâ— she was invited to feasts she wâ—uld oft complain that they occasioned a difficulty in maintaining a sense of the presence of God whose company in all her company she preferred 6. She was a very carefull esteemer and redeemer of her time At home in her family the works of her generall and particular calling took her up When necessary business and greater duties gave way she was seldom without a Book in her hand or some edifying discâ—urse in her mouth if there were opportunity And abroad she was very weary of barren company that spent the time in common chatt and dry discourses 7. She used good company practically and profitably making use of what she heard for her own spirituall advantage When I understood out of her Diary that she wrote down some of my familiar discourses with serious application to her self it struck exceeding deep to my heart how much I have sinned all my dayes since I undertook the person of a Minister of Christ by the slightness and unprofitableness of my discourse and how exceeding carefull Ministers should be of thâ—ir words and how deliberately wisely and seriously they should speak abâ—ut the things of God and how diligently they should take all fit opportunities to that end when we know not how silent â—earers are affected with what we say For ought we know there may be some that will write down what we say in their Books or hearts or both And God an conscience write down all 8. In her course of Reading she was still laying in for use and practice Her course was when she read the Scriptures to gather out passages and sort and refer them to their several uses as some that were fit subjects for her Meditations Some for encouragement to prayer and other duties Promises suited to various conditions and wants as her papers shew And for other Books she would meddle with none but the sound and practicall and had no itch after the empty Books which make ostentation of Novelty and which Opinionists are now so taken with not did she like writing or preaching in envy and strife And of good Books she chose to read but few and those very often over that all might be well digested Which is a course for prâ—vate Christians that tends to avoid luxuriancy and make them sincere and solid and established 9 She had the great blessing of a tender conscience She did not slightly pass over small sins without penitent observation Her Diary records her trouble when causelesly she had neglected any Ordinance â—r was hindered by rain or small occasions or if she had overslept her self and lost a morning-exercise in London or came to late â—r if she were distracted in secret duty And if she mist of a Fast through misinformation disappointments and fâ—und not her heart duly sâ—nsible of the loss that also she recorded So did she her stirrings of anger and her very angry lookâ— resâ—lving to take more heed against them Though all ought not to spend so much time in writing down their failings yet all should watch and renew repentance 10. She was very solicitous for the souls of her friends As for instance hâ—r Brothers in Law over whom she exercised a motherly care instructing them and watching â—ver them and telling them of miscâ—rriaâ—es â—nd counselling them Causing them to keep a constant course of reading the holy Scriptures and meditating on it as far as she could Causing them to learn many Chapters without Book and to read other good Books in season Eâ—rnestly praying for them in particular Much desiring one or both should be Ministers And when her Father-in-law appointed the eldest to go to France she was much troubled for fear of his miscarriage among strangers especially those of the Romish Way 11. She was a serious Mourner for the sins of the time and place she lived in 12. In summ for strict close watchfull holy walking with God â—ven her Huâ—band professeth that she was a pâ—ttern to him As I hiâ—ted before she kept a daily account in writing which is now to be seeâ— from the beginning of the year 1654. especially of these