the Station and Condition of life that God hath called you to seek not great things for your self and quarrel not with Providence albeit the Event of your lawful Endeavours should not answer your expectation for our God doth and certainly will make every thing turn to the advantage of such as fear and love him SON I Have no desire to enlarge much in writing to you and has in these few Lines I have last written minted at saying what might be the Subject Matter of a large Discourse and I require you may at suitable Occasions make the ground of your Meditation to be the Obligation you ly under to Frugality and Honesty to diligence in your Station and Profession and a contented and submissive frame of heart under all the Dispensations of God to you-ward 27. Evidence in all your Behaviour a heart-hatred to Intemperance in Meat or Drink for as being given to a luxurious Desire of eating much or of things pleasing to the Appetite is hateful even to persons that upon a moral Principle only values their Honour much more is it to be hated by such as profess to be Christians yea the Misery attending it even in this World is apparent from Prov. 23.21 For the Drunkard and the Glutton shall come to Poverty and the Apostle in Phil. 3.19 describing the Enemies of the Cross of Christ holds them forth to be such Whose end is destruction and whose god is their Belly 28. Drinking to Excess may be said to be the Mother of almost all Vices for as there is in every humane Creature when born a natural propensity to Evil so were it not the common Influences of the Grace of God even to all Mankind enlightening their Reason in so far as may let them see the Iniquity in breaking of the the most of His Commands and were not also restrained from the apprehension of temporal Punishment frail wretched man would always be committing every wickedness within his power Ought we not then to fear lest we should provoke God to give us up to our selves which is the worst of Evils when by intemperate drinking we not only cloud but destroy our Reason which as it is given us principally to distinguish us from Bruits and enable us to glorifie our Creator even so that we may thereby see the filthiness of Vice and fear the punishments justly due to it History doth plainly make appear its being hateful even to Heathens and the many and dreadful Judgments that hath befallen miserable Wretches given over to that wickedness and the Holy Spirit of God holds forth the folly and misery of that Sin as in Pro. 20.16 Wine is a Mocker strong drink is raging and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise And the great misery attending it is apparent from Prov. 23.29 30. And as being abominable to Almighty God it is put into the Catalogue of grievous sins that secludes from the heavenly Kingdom 1 Cor. 6.10 nor Drunkards nor Revilers c shall inherit the Kingdom of God 29. What I have said before this of Idleness and now of Intemperance brings me to disswade your being guilty of the beastly and to be hated sin of Uncleanness whereof they may be truly said to be Parents It is indeed most hateful and to be abominate and I intreat you may be earnest with God that He for Christ's sake by His Grace may prevent the very beginnings of and inclinations to that silthy sin for in every sin and especially this wherever Satan prevails but to a beginning or tendency thereto it is impossible without the special Grace of God of His great Mercy bestowed to prevent the being given over to the practise of that wickedness which is almost irrecoverable as in Pro. 2.19 None that go unto her return again neither take they hold of the paths of life Ye would not only forbear any Action or corrupt Communication that tendeth thereto but in your very heart entertain no thought that has any prospect to that Sin for albeit ye should forbear the grosser Acts of Uncleanness yet if you do with any delight entertain such sinful Thoughts and Fancies It is to be feared your forbearance flows not from a principle of the fear of God or love to Him and that your lodging such filthy Suggestions will bring you under great danger of being guilty of the gross Acts of Uncleanness which are utterly destructive to Man even in relation to his temporal Beeing Curses following that Sin being plain from Scripture Prov. 6.26 For by the means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread and the Adulteress will hunt for the precious life yea Wrath and eternal Judgment is frequenly denunced against it as in the 13. Heb. 4. But whoremongers and Adulterers God will judge The Body is called the Temple of the Living God and the Apostle in the 1 Cor. 3 17. peremptorly threatens destruction to the Defilers thereof If any man defile the Temple of God him shall God destroy for the Temple of God is holy which Temple ye are And it does eternally exclude from the presence of God Eph. 5.5 For this ye know that no whoremoonger nor unclean Person shall enter into the kingdom of God And how great will the stupidity and beastliness of Sinners appear even to themselves in that day of their standing before the Tribunal of God Almighty when they shall find from their being guilty of that beastly Sin that they are for ever secluded from his presence and kingdom 30. Swearing and Profaning the blessed Name of God is an evil directly contrair a positive Command and it 's being of the Devil is obvious I intreat you guard against all tendency thereto for God does often give over to themselves such as are usual Swearers and Profaners of His Name and leaves them to fall into that to be lamented State of constant Swearing where they have no Temptation nor the least pretence to any Advantage thereby Remember the Account you must make at the great day of your appearance before God's Tribunal and if they shall not escape who have spoken idlely and vainly how terrible shall their Judgment be who profane and abuse the Name of the most holy God Accustom your self to a most awful Dread of His Name and never pronounce the same in word or have it even in the thought of your heart but with due Reverence for he has expresly said He will not bold them guiltless that taketh his Name in vain 31. Lying is by every one known to be so inconsistent with Honour or any thing desireable As I think few Arguments may serve to diswade your being guilty thereof It 's Effects among such as ye converse with will be not to be believed when ye speak truth and Experience sheweth that any person being found to ly they are with difficulty after that believed but considered as void of Credit and very worthless As you respect your Honour and Reputation but above all your
larger then was intended yet I have this day before its coming to your hand received the Lord Capels Apothegms or Contemplations and am so satisfied with concise Sayings of that Kind that I recommend your reading them and the like as very conducive to the improving of and rectifying the Judgment their Brevity Independance one upon another the Quaintness and Pertinency of Expression being not only Taking to Readers but to Persons not intent upon reading and but of ordinar Comprehension and Memorie more easily comprehended and some of them with some others written by other persons which I desire ye may imprint in your Memorie I have herein set down that as you read what I have written in thir Sheets they may be the more obvious to you 1. Nothing can hurt us but Sin and that shall not hurt us if we can repent of it and nothing can do us good but the Love and Favour of God in Jesus Christ and that we shall have if we humbly and in sincerity seek it 2. So much Sin so much Sorrow so much Holiness so much Happiness 3. Make thy Sin thy greatest Sorrow so shall Sorrow never hurt thee make Jesus Christ thy greatest Joy so shalt thou never want Joy 4. It may be learned by experience that seriousness is the greatest Wisdom Temperance the best hysick a good Conscience the best Estate and the time will certainly come that Men and Women will repent of all their life but that part they spend in Communion with God and doing good 5. There is an odious Spirit in many who are better pleased to detect a Fault than commend a Vertue 6. Such a man is to be honoured and imitated that will rather suffer Injurie than do it 7. Wise and happy is that Man that will not be drawn to commit either an undecent or dishonest Act for Love Hatered or Gain 8. A wise Man will not speak the Truth at all times nor an honest Man speak an Untruth at any time 9. A wise Parent more patiently suffers the death of his Children than their wicked and debauched Actions 10. Moderation in Dyet Sleep and Exercise are especial means to prolong and make healthfull our days 11. It is worth the Observation to hear the labouring man sing at his Plough and the Rich man fret in his Palace this shows it is the Mind not Riches that makes us happie I thought to have sent you some more of these but the Paper of this sheet being ended I shall delay it whilst after this I write to you SON I Have Reason as minding I am in the presence of my good God to acknowledge the great Corruption and Pravitie of my nature and unfitness for performing of any Duty required of me yet have I ground to bless his Name that there is in my heart any earnestness of desire that he may be glorified in the Salvation of Sinners I do seek of him in Christ Jesus that he may bless you so as your Lot in the World may be comfortable not in having great Riches which does but too often nourish Corruption and destroy Souls but in your having such competent means of Subsistance and that without perplexed involving your self in worldy concerns as may enable you to live with a comfortable Tranquilitie of mind in the Station that he shall call you to live in but above all the earnest desire of my Soul in your behalf is that Christ may be your Portion and that in Him and through his Strength you may so live in this World as that when death comes you may immediately beholding his Glory live with him to all eternity I have in the Sheets I wrot for your use given you such Directions as did occur to me and minded you of your Engagments to serve God which I intreat may be your great work indeed the generallitie even of such as owne themselves to be Christians does directly in all their Walk speak forth their misbelief of the manifest Truths contained in God's Word but go not you in the broad way with the Multitude for it undoubtedly tends to Destruction Our God in the Scriptures has plainly held forth the Duty of Man and if we could come cordially to resolve to close with him in the Terms offered therein we would see the Conditions of our Salvation in and by Christ to be neither unintelligible nor unpracticable In order to your so doing I desire your Diligence in improving the Means ye are trysted with I intreat you rejoyce in your enjoyment of Sabbaths and so live on these days as may evidence your heart being filled with the fear of and love to our great God who set a-part the seventh Day for his Service when you approach him in the publick Ordinances have your heart intent upon the Duties ye go about especially Prayer and Praise indeed wandering of heart whilst we pretend to hear the Word preached is grosly sinful in the sight of God but in prayer or Praise our hearts going out after any other Object is a direct contemning of Him and a dreadful Mean for drawing down his everlasting Wrath and Curse I advise you to follow my Directions anent your meditating upon what you have heard so soon as ye can have occasion after Sermon and write the same in so far as your Memorie will serve you and that what ye write of that kind may be useful for your own reading at other times and that I may be satisfied of your diligence herein when I see you I desire you buy for your self a Quair or half Quair Book bound in a long Octavo and write thereupon not in time of Sermon but after the ending thereof the day of the Month the Preacher's Name the Text and whatever you are able to remember of the Sermon write it so as it may be distinctly read be diligent and attentive in hearing mind the Doctrines raised and and forget not the Uses and Application thereof endeavour with all your might to see your Sins whereby your Condition is for ever lost and undone without Christ and with humility of heart depend upon God that he may direct and strengthen you to every Duty I have been sometimes much inclined to wonder at the Actions of almost all Men in their whole Converse and dealing that does constantly sin in Thought Word and Actions and very often without any reasonable Prospect of the least even shadow of temporal Advantage But this is the Effect of our dreadful Fall in our first Parents which Fall did so much destroy the Original Purity of Mankind and fill him with an unresistable Inclination to every Evil that the wonder is that all of us are not always committing the worst of Evils which that we do not is of Gods great Mercy I obtest that the consideration of your miserable State through Sin and of God's wonderful Condescension in offering Mercy in and through Christ may stir you up to a Christian-walk which I humbly for Christs sake beg of
and the Prophets and for the histocal part of the Bible I think it not so necessary that you do so often read it After your reading endeavour to enlarge your self in Confession and Prayer to God and lift up your heart not only in a general acknowledgment of his mercies but in particularly acknowledging him for the mercies you are ever meeting with In your Petitions pray for all especially these you have interest in and such as are in Authority yea omit not your very Enemies and forget not to be earnest with God in behalf of his Church and People And certainly you cannot better at some times conclude your wandering and sinful Prayers then in the words of that unconceivable excelling Prayer of our blessed Lord and Saviour Our Father c. You would endeavour duly to perform the duties of Prayer Reading and Meditation at the times set a part by you and not to omit them unless some special Reason occur obleiging you to alter in which case you would redeem the lost occasion by a new opportunity albeit I be not against the length of Prayers when fitness of frame and occasion enables you to enlarge therein yet I incline you should for ordinar be frequent albeit succinct in that Duty and besides the ordinar times for your Divotion Evening and Morning you would not only throughout the day be frequent in ejaculatory Petitions to God but as occasion offers of any privacy you would upon your Knees with thankfulness of heart humbly put up your desires to God for strength against your Corruption and a supply of your Souls wants which upon little Recollection you will always find to be many 4. When you eat or drink neglect not that Christian Practice of seeking a Blessing before your doing thereof and giving of Thanks after your partaking of what God in great merey has bestowed upon you it may truly be said to be a Christian Practice being as you may be satisfied from the Evangelists the Custom of our blessed Saviour But as ye are called to avoid Formalitie in Christian Duties so ye would especial-beware of it in this the Corruption of our wretched Hearts prevailing but too much to our being formal in the Duties we more frequently gâ— about it is to be feared that the Motives to this Duty with the most part is allanerly Custom or to shun some kind of publick Reproach that attends the neglect thereof And alas too seldom are our hearts intent upon what we are doing therein I desire ye may seriously mind that it is not Words but the Heart that God requires and whether by your self alone or as the mouth of others that with you doth partake of what he in Mercy gives be serious in expressing succinctly desires suitable to the occasion and especially if you do it with and for others I am satisfied of its being very suitable for Persons qualified at some occasions to enlarge in that Duty but I think it would be done with discretion for unless some singular Circumstance require it or that the Speaker be satisfied of an inclination in these that joyn with him to go along heartily in the Petitions put up to God not directly tending to the craving of a Blessing to or giving Thanks for the present Mercy He would beware of doing what the unsuitable frame in others and very likely in himself may be but a Snare to the Company Indeed we are not only in all our Approaches to God to forbear the doing thereof so as may evidence Formality and want of Attention to the Duty we go about but even in the most single Petition we put up it were fitting we did so express a sense of our own unworthiness and Gods infinite Goodness for which at all times we should praise him yet our Experience from a smal Observation may satisfie that tediousness therein reaches not to bring the hearts of these that should joyn in it to a serious doing thereof 5. With your Petitions in Prayer and at other occasions either in word or thought magnifie the Name of God for his Mercies they are unexpressibly Great in all that occurrs to us but oh the Greatness of the Love of God! in sending His Son to satisfy Divine Justice for wretched miserable rebellious Man Forget not at all times the Praising of God by word and in thought Our most Blessed Lord in that excelling Pattern of Prayer doth begin and conclude with the Father's Praise and surely the duty of Praise is of all that is required by God of Man what do's most immediatly tend to His giory what we are else call'd to do or seek of Him hath the immediat tendency to our own or our Neighbour's Well but our conscientious hearty praising of God of all Duties do's most directly glorify Him and it is the beginning here what shall be the delightful and ever continuing work of such as shall in and through Christ at the Great Day of His appearance be accepted of Him to all Eternity I have told you of my unfitness to direct you particularly in your duty God-ward and I pray God for Christ's sake give you knowledge in Duty and sanctify your heart let the World have nothing of the room of Christ therein for it is unspeakably vain and wicked Solomon doth uncontravertedly hold forth the vexatious Vanities incident to the life of Man and it is certainly evident there is nothing truly desireable but an Interest in Christ and that they are only happy whose God is the Lord and not only is the Evidence of an Interest in Christ desireable but it is attainable as is plain from the Mouth of our Blessed Lord who says what all the enemies to the use of Marks or Evidences can lay no exception against Mat. 6.21 For where your treasure is there will your heart be also And I recommend to your serious perusal Mr. Guâ—hrie's Tryal of a Saving Interest which will direct you therein and the Means for attaining to it 6. Let your whole walk throughout the day be as I have hinted to you have upon your heart the awful sense of Gods presence wherever you are or whatever you do or think I deny not but the World may and must be minded by you but still in its place secondarly and subordinatly for what is the World to your Soul What is Bread or Cloaths or Money or a house or Lands to an everlasting Kingdom Let the Lord have the whole ordering of you make no Purchase but where God who is present allows of the Bargain and go about no Business concerning which you cannot say I am herein trading for God That is your doing either what immediatly tends to his Glory or your serving Him in your Station and Calling as he hath appointed by the 15 Psalm you will see what is acceptable to God 7. Meditation is a Duty in which there is much delight to such as seriously practise it and it is what will truly tend to the bringing your heart
Day and of the Duties of it have been of singular comfort and advantage to me and I doubt not but it will prove so to you God Almighty is the Lord of our time and lends it to us and as it is but just we should consecrate this part of that time to Him so I have found by a strict and diligent Observation that the due Observation of the Duties of this Day hath ever had joined to it a Blessing upon the rest of my time and the Week that hath been so begun hath been blessed and prosperous to me and on the other side when I have been negligent of the Duties of the Day the rest of the Week hath been unsuccessful and unhappy to my own secular Employment so that I could easily make a◠estimat of my success in my own secular Employment the Week following by the manner of my passing this Day and this I do not write lightly and Inconsideratly but upon a long and sound Observation and Experience These being the words of that Grea◠Man are much to be considered he not only being of great Integrity but uncontrovertedly o◠a sound Judgment and great Knowledge almost in every thing 15. In the Evening of the day preceeding you would be more then ordinarly earnest with God that He may by his Grace fit you for 〈◊〉 suitable going about the Duties of the ensuin◠Sabbath And when it is come consider that as God did appoint in the Old Testament the Sacrifice to be doubled on that Day so he require◠of us Christians that we should therein double our Duties of Prayer Praise and Meditation◠and as at all times you are bound to remember the Church and People of God in your Prayers so especially in a Sabbath pray with earnestness that our Lord's Kingdom may be advanced throughout the world and that the Offers of Grace in his Gospel may be the Portion of the Land you live in Pray that God for Christs sake may send forth Ambassadors fitted for that Work and that he bless the Word and Ordinances where you are to be present in the discharge of the Duties of a Sabbath 16. Rise early that Morning and mind you are to spend the whole day in God's service When you repair to the place of Publick Worship do it so as you be there before any part of it begin and come not from the same whilest it be fully ended and in the time of Worship have your heart intent upon the Duties it is the heart especially that God requires and not only ought we to have presence of mind in hearing the Word preached but especially in Prayer and Praise for it is an intollerable contempt of God who searcheth the heart and knoweth the most secret of our Thoughts to draw near to Him in Worship and to have our hearts going out after any other Object whatsoever Yea it is a direct Saying practically that we are bruitish Fools and wretched Atheists in worshipping of God as knowing our Thoughts and doing it in that manner as evidences manifest contempt and directly draws down His Vengeance upon us 17. If the Sacrament of Baptism be administred where you are present you would not only with all your heart concur in the Petitions up to God before and after the Administration but hearken to your own Duty in what is held forth by the Minister and let such Occasions stir you up to new Resolutions to live up to your own Baptismal Engagements Mind that the whole Sabbath is to be a Mercat-day for your Soul and by dealing in the Duties thereof gain strength against the Corruptions of the ensuing part of your time 18. When occasion offers of your Communicating you are to consider that it is not indifferent to you to come or not to come to the Table of the Lord but that you are obliged to be serious in examining your self as to your Knowledge and your being otherwise fitted to partake of that Sacrament Instituted by our Saviour First in the remembrance of His Sufferings which were only able to expiate the Guilt of lost undone Sinners And next to be a Seal of Sinners Covenanting with God in Jesus Christ And 3dly to be a Mean of Communion with our merciful Lord that suffered for our Sins It is plain 1 Cor. 11.26 That the great end of the Sacrament is to hold forth to the Church the Lords Death and Suffering whilest he come again to Judgement And by the 27 28 and 29. Verses you see the absolute necessity for the worthy participating thereof You must search your heart and find out all your iniquity and hate it not only as it procures Gods Curse in this life and to all Eternity but especially as it is contrare to the Commandments and holy Nature of our God and as a needy Wretch having examined your heart and found out your Wants you are in coming to the Table of the Lord to bring with you some Faith some Love and some hope c. Your Errand being for more and cry with earnestness that you may be amongst the number of such of whom the Psalmist speaks Psal 110.3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy Power At such Occasions make conscience of mourning for every Sin and with all your heart magnifie Gods Mercy in his Dispensations to you and seek with earnestness of heart Grace enabling you to that and every duty and beg of God for Christs sake that he give a heart in a truly fitted frame So as in the Sacrament you may by the eye of Faith behold our lovely Lord and Saviour crucified and His Blood shed to expiate the Guilt of vile sinful Wretches and in particular to stand betwixt your self a vile sinful Wretch and the Vengeance of God due to you in Justice Seek with all earnestness from God a heart filled with love to Christ our Lovely Saviour who so loved loft undone Sinners as He took upon him the nature of frail man and to satisfy Divine Justice which could not be otherways satisfied for the sins of all that would truly come to Him and by Faith rely upon Him He suffered the shameful Death of the Cross it Representation whereof is this Sacrament Institute by our Lord himself before His suffering And before and at the time of your drawing near to the Table of the Lord have your heart filled with suitable Meditations and ejaculatory Petitions to God as saying within your self O my Soul can'st thou behold Justifying Blood and not love Him that shed it for thee Canist thou behold Precious Quickening softening Bloods and not love Him that gave it to quicken and soften thy heart and to Redeem the from Sin from Hell and everlasting Wrath O my God and Saviour enable me to say if my love were better it should be thine but such as it is thou shalt have it make it greater and make it better and I firmly resolve in thy Strength it shall ever be set upon thee 19.
Whatever may be the Station that God shall call you to make Conscience of doing therein what is required of you Evite idleness as the Bane of well-being in this side of time or to Eternity Your acting diligently in your Station is commended from 2 Thess 3.10 11 12. For even when we were with you this we commanded you that if any man would not work neither should he eat c. In many places of Holy Scriptures is diligence in our Calling not only commended but required and the temporal inconveniencies following idleness are manifest from Prov. 19.15 Sloathfulness casteth into a deep sleep and an idle soul shall suffer hunger 20. Such a competency of Riches and other temporal Blessings as is consistent with a comfortable Being in this World is desireable and what you may not only by lawful Means in your worldly Station endeavour to acquire but you are allowed yea required with submission to seek them of God only in this and whatever else you do make your principal end His Glory Do not exceed to satisfie your carnal and worldly Appetites either in your Prayers for or your Endeavours after temporal Enjoyments Let the Prayer of Agur the Servant of God be your Rule Prov. 30.8 9. Remove far from me vanity and lies give me neither Poverty nor Riches feed me with Foâ—d convenient for me lest I be full and deny thee and say who is the Lord Or lest I be poor and steal and take the Name of my God in vain And what it pleases God to bless you with you would mind your Tyes to the Gracious Giver and endeavour with all your strength so to use it with relation to your self and others as may evidence your thankfulness and if it shall please our Wise and infinitely Good God to refuse your desires and render your Endeavours without success seek of Him that His Dispensations to you may be sanctified and beware of repining for the frailty of foolish man under any cross Dispensation befalling him makes him but unwillingly examine why the Lord contendeth and sinking under his trouble do's not readily fly to Him in and through Christ Jesus by fervent and earnest Prayer but is rather poring upon his Calamities and aggravating them to the raising in his heart thoughts inconsistent with Faith and true Love to the Glorious and Merciful God which upon serious Reflection will appear the most unreasonable of Practices for every man upon due consideration will see what befalls him to be God's dealing with him in wonderful Mercy and far from what in Justice his Iniquity calls for And man's being tempted to lament his troubles in comparison of others and to aggravat them from Circumstances too readily occurring to him under any affliction will upon little examination evidence the height of folly for by a true comparison betwixt the Circumstances of the Afflicted and these of such as He judgeth more desirable if they were alike apparent to Him it is more then probable he would have no desire to exchange and undoubtedly such as are most pressed under worldly Calamities has manifold Mercies to be thankful for and it will be their own default if such of God's Dispensations as are even burdensome to corrupt carnal man tend not it is like to their temporal but surely their spiritual advantage sometimes because He loveth he chastiseth indeed miserable man from his blindness cannot rightly see into the Causes of God's dealing with him yet however blinded with Ignorance he may be and surrounded with all imaginable difficulties it it is obviously apparent that he hath infinit reason to magnify God's Mercy in not only allowing but inviting the most miserable of Wretches to draw near to Him as their God and Portion in and through Christ Jesus the merciful Saviour of Sinners And I do advise your being earnest in seeking after Grace enabling to true contentment with your Condition for being content with what God in His Providence is pleas'd to tryst you with as it is your duty toward Him so it is what contributes most to your worldly satisfaction yea it is uncontravertedly apparent that it is not our attaining to what in the World we propose as the Means of reaching satisfaction that answers our expectation be it Riches Honour Pleasures or whatever else And as it can be truly said that true Happiness consists only in an Interest in Christ so one of the great Consequents of that Happiness is the quiet and peaceable acquiescing with a contented mind in whatever is our worldly Lot I remember to have heard one asked the Question if he were to have one wish granted what would it be To which it was answered an Interest in Christ Jesus nay but says the Inquirer that I grant is beyond all exception the only answer to my Question but I desire to know what you could wish as most conducive to your worldly satisfaction To which he again answered a contented mind with whatever in Providence is dispensed to me which is indeed beyond what it is not possible for man to wish for as the ultimat end of all the desires the toil and labour of man is his reaching contentment so it is apparent the attaining what he desires toils and labours for reaches not the end and mans endeavour to do with diligence what he is called to do and resting contented with what Providences dispenses to him is truly most to be desired in things relating to our temporal Being and is attainable if we would but put in exercise the little Reason we have for discontent and anxiety avails nothing to the bettering of our Condition and doth certainly more fret and torment Solomon in Prov. 19.3 tells you The foolishness of man perverteth his way and his heart fretteth against the Lord. Yea mans wickedness and stupidity is manifest in repining against what is done by our Creator and Disposer of what concerns us for every thing be it great or mean is ordered by Him as in Psal 113.5 6. Who is like the Lord our God who dwelleth on high Who humbleth himself to behold â—he things that are in Heaven and in the Earth And so particular are the Providences of God in relation to mankind as our Blessed Lord hath said Mat. 10.29 30. Are not two Sparrows sold for a farthing and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father but the very hairs of your head are all numbred And it may be said the great and only Mean of attaining true Contentment is a free and absolute Resignation of our Wills to the Will of God who is not only able but willing to do for the best to such as trust and love him as the Apostle tells you Rom. 8 28. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God c. Let us make sure the full resignation of our Wills to Him and Contentment will undoubtedly follow the doing thereof yea consider that all Endeavours after true Contentment
lawfully in a great Degree stir us up to come to Him But let your great Endeavour be that your heart may be filled with love to the only Living and True God who is wonderful in Mercy and make love to Him the great Motive to whatever you go about let the manner of your doing thereof evidence your sense of God's knowing the most secret of the thoughts of your heart It is much to be lamented that the Duty of Prayer is so generally neglected but alas How great is the guilt of such as but seemingly goes about the performance thereof in not coming aright as in the Presence of God It is the heart that God sees and requires and how wicked are its wanderings at all times especially in that Duty as you expect to be owned of God in Christ Jesus the day of your Appearance before His Tribunal Strive against this Wickedness and as an useful Help through the Blessing of God after you have been about the Duty by your self or joyning with others meditate upon your particular Failings in the motives to and manner of your Performance and hold them up to God as being hateful to you and with a full desire seek He may strengthen you against such in all time coming and this without any seeming affectation yea without being noticed even by these in company with you you may do by serious Meditation whatever be you Diversion in worldly Concerns and if you do it with earnestness you may with confidence expect the weakning of the Corruptions of your evil heart and as your subordinate ends in Duty may be His blessing you even in this Side of time but especially to all Eternity so let your great end in this and whatever else you do be His Glory 37. My heart doth much serve me in repeating my Desires that ye prize the Goodness of God in allowing wretched mankind to put up their Desires to Him in Prayer for His Mercy therein is Incomprehensible yet I incline to Caution you that your coming to Him in that Duty may not be your Snare for as there is but too many that do's slight the doing thereof so there are not wanting such who are not only hypocritical or selfish in their Ends therein but there are who mistakes the Means for the End and think their praying may and will atone for Immoralities in their Conversation and are ready too much to consider the performance of that Duty as the carnal Jews did sacrificing under the Law We ought indeed with joy to consider that our Blessed Lord was once offered a Sacrifice to satisfie for Sin and that we are not only allowed but enjoyned to apply our selves by Prayer to our Merciful God that in Him we may be accepted But as I have said to you that without being morally honest all your Endeavours to religious Duties will be but lost labour so where one of your Ends in praying is not for Grace enabling you so to live you want not Reason to regrate your doing of it for as the First and Great Command is Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart with all thy soul and with all thy mind so the Second is Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self And no way can a Christian more adorn the Gospel of our Blessed Lord then by such a Conversation towards all men as the Apostle enjoyns Rom. 13.14 Let us walk honestly as in the day not in Riâ—ting and Drunkenness not in Chambering and Wantonness not in Strife and Envying but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the flesh to fulfil the Lusts thereof And as hating what the same Apostle dehorts 2 Cor. 12.20 Debates Envyings Wraths Strifes Backbitings Whisperings Swellings Tumults and let us mind that it is our Duty what he says 2 Tim. 2.19 And let every one that nameth the Name of Christ depart from Iniquity 38. You know the summ of the whole Commands is to love the Lord your God with all your Soul c. and to love your Neighbour as your self A due Consideration of this great Precept and making use of that short Rule of doing as we would be dealt by and that in every thing that may relate to our Neighbour might be instead of Advice to you upon that head 39. Be tender of his Goods and Good Name as of your own in so far as ye have access to interess your self therein and hate in your self or others detracting or speaking to the prejudice of any for Charity towards your Neighbour and being charitable in order to the Relief of his wants are Duties then which there are none more clearly and positively held forth in Scripture We are called to judge charitably of every thing our Neighbour does or says and ever to put the best Construction upon the same that it will suner The Apostle in the 3. to the Col. 14. Exhorteth thereto and presseth that above things ye may put on Charity which is the Bond of Peace The said 3 to the Col and 12. to the Rom. Ye often would read they containing many excellent Precepts And a charitable relieving of your Neighbour in his wants is as fully enjoyned and as great Promises annexed thereto as almost any other Duties in the Scriptures It is true as we are required to give liberally so we are to do it with discretion and not only to give what is our own alanerly but even what in our Stations our Circumstances being considered we may spare but what we do therein we are to do it with a liberal and chearful heart You shall know that there are no sort of Duties which God hath more expresly commanded than that of Bounty and Mercy toward our Brethren whence evidently the high value thereof in God's Esteem may be inferred in the Old Testament it is said Deut. 15.7 Thou shalt not harden thine heart nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother and in Vers 11. Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy Brother unto thy Poor and unto thy Needy in the Land And when Daniel would prescribe to King Nebuchadnezzar the best way of Amendment and the surest Means of averting God's Judgements impendent on him he says to him Dan. 4.27 Wherefore O King let my counsel be acceptable unto thee break off thy sins by righteousness and thine Iniquities by shewing mercy to the Poor this he pitched upon as chiefly grateful to God and clearly testifying Repentance Yea we not only have a positive Command from God for being charitable but we have in Prov. 19.17 His express Obligation for its repayment He that hath pity upon the Poor lendeth unto the Lord and that which he hath given will he pay him again Men are rationally satisfied when their Stook is intrusted in the hands of an apparent sufficient Creditor and certainly the only true Wisdom and reasonable improving of what is within our Power must be in the disposal thereof so as that we have our God who is
of whatever you do or think His Glory It is true we may have subordinat Ends consisting with our Duty but let what tends directly and immediatly to the Glory of God have the first and great Room in your heart and when you repeat the Lords Prayer let your heart go out more earnestly in desiring that His Name may be Hallowed His will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven and His Kingdom come then you desire He may give you your daily Bread and forgive you your sins c. This may seem hard to be required that we desire any thing more earnestly than the Salvation of our Souls but if our Love be in any degree as it ought we will surly see it to be our Duty which being performed our Salvation is secured to us in and for Christ's sake and there can be no surer Mark of our Hearts being right with God than our truly finding that really above all things whatsoever we longingly desire that God's Name may be hallowed his Kingdom come and his Will be done The saying of that holy Man Quench Hell and burn Heaven yet will I love and fear my God did hold forth the most desireable frame of his heart and that it did flow from a right and excellent Principle Herein he acted meerly from a principle of Love to God without the immediat prospect of his eternal or temporal Advantage there is indeed nothing more certain than that either Salvation or utter Destruction will in end be the irretrivable Doom of all Mankind and that we are called with our power to endeavour the avoiding of that Sentence and the goodness of God is unexpressibly great in promising his Spirit enabling us to Duty in living up to his Precepts which even in relation to our temporal Beeing are so advantageous as it is obvious that if there were neither Heaven nor Hell the ways of true Wisdom have in themselves an excellencie and desireableness a thousand degrees beyond what is possible to find in giving way to our wicked Inclinations and living as may be pleasing to corrupt and depraved Nature Be you intreated by me not to make the Practice of such as only own themselves to be Christians your Rule Minde what is said Prov. 23.17 18. Let not thy heart envy Sinners but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long For surely there is an end and thine Expectation shall not be â—ut off Let all your thoughts and Actions be aâ— minding you are in the presence of a dreadfully just albeit merciful God and endeavour with all your Strength that your heart may be filled with knowledge of Christ faith in and love to him and be diligent in using the means of Grace which in providence you are trysted with I have hinted at some things of your Duty and you have the benefite of the Word preached publick Prayer and Praise and the administration of the Sacraments which I pray God in his mercy may continue to this Land you have also the benefite of many Pieces of practicall Divinity written by serious and Godly Men such as Flavel's Writings the two Allens Joseph and Richard and many others the serious reading of which with Prayer for a Blessing upon your doing thereof will be Strength to your Soul and at the hour of Death unexpressibly more savourie than the Consideration of having done what is generally the Practice of the world I desire ye may write over a Double of this and keep the Principal carefully by you for I have no exact Copy thereof And that you at sometimes read what I have written to you and whilst you are at the Colledge stint your self to the reading thereof excepting what is Advice relating to a married state once in the Week Let me know with your first Conveniencie if Joseph Allen's Allarum to unconverted Sinners be to be had in any Stationers Shop where you are and if it be not I will endeavour the sending it to you within a short time Make conscience of reading it seriously and diligently and when fitness of Frame in your heart enables you engage your self to God in the terms set down by that seriously holy Man But see to it that your whole heart go out after God in the Duty The Sin of an unfitted Frame of heart in what ever we do is great in Gods sight but in so solemn Approaching to him the doing of it unsuitably is a great Aggravation thereof I think it not amiss that sometime ye put in write to be kept by you what may evidence your Frame at such occasions if you have a suitable sense of Sin or your heart go out after God in Faith for Mercy or if in the expectation of particular Mercies or the Receit thereof you engage your self to any particular Duty or in the general more solemnly to serve God I think ye would put down in Writ your Engagements to God and what may evidence your Frame of Heart at these occasions I have my self considered with satisfaction even some few Petitions which may heart has gone out after God in the desire of and which at the time I have set down in Write not so much with a design more fully to imprint on my Memorie the Expressions of my Desires albeit my Memorie be very frail as to have the satisfaction of knowing by my reading them that at such times my heart did in some measure go out with earnestness in these desires and that my Remembrance of the Endeavours albeit frail and faint I have had to bring my Heart to that Frame might afterward shame me from any Sluggishness of Temper or any proness to gratisle my many Corruptions so as may be inconsistent with what God at the time enabled me to attain to Make Conscience always your Friend it is Gods witness within you beware of doing what may harden or kill it depend upon God that it may be in you according to knowledge and so walk in every thing as it may witness for you in the day of your greatest need I do intreat your whole Life and Conversation may be humble and serious in the sight of God have always upon your Heart a Sense of your unexpressibly great misery which will stir you up to the performance of Duty in which you must ever be most intent and serious And besides your daily Performance set at times some Hours and at some times one day a-part for your wrestling with God that He for Christs sake may subdue Corruption in you and give knowledge in every Duty and Grace to perform it and I hope our good God in his mercy will so far discover to you the filthiness of Sin and how Desireable Lovely and Advantageous it is to serve him That times so set a-part will be your delight for your direction in such Duties you have many means as Scudders daily walk and the Works of many other serious and godly Divines both of this and the English Nation and that
things are remarkable in her Answer besides her Faith so eminently expressed First her Humility she owneth her self a Dog 2ly Her Modesty she beggeth no more than a Crumb 3ly Her Fervency and Importunity after three Repulses By this w◠know our Duty in Prayer to go to God humbly to implore Him modestly and to be instant 〈◊〉 Prayer going on in our Duty though we have no◠such an Answer as we desire These things conjoyned with Faith make an acceptable Prayer Having begun to write upon Man's Misery◠from his wretched Heart I am satisfied that without straining their might be much said thereupon and I wish by communing or by Writ◠we could stir up our selves to the consideration thereof and to the use of means enabling us in God Strength to subdue the same it at all times and all occasions is ready to go out after what is unallowable in the sight of God And even in our approaches to him in Duty which does dreadfully speaks forth the power of Corruption within us and at times when we are alone which we ought much to improve in suitable Meditation Alas how ready are our wretched Hearts torove after vain and unallowable Imaginations My dear Theophile we are to consider that whilst our Sin be our Burden we have no ground to expect freedom from the power thereof I pray God may strengthen us duly to examine all our ways which if we seriously do our Failings will be palpably obvious and that he enable us under a due sense thereof from our hearts to acknowledge the same and with earnestness to seek for Christs sake that we in every thing live as minding we are in the presence of God to whom the thoughts of the heart are naked and open and before whose Tribunal we must stand and give an Account therefore I am truly at this present so full of what I think layes open to me the vanity of all earthly things as if my Capacity did allow of my expressing to you rationality what I conceive thereof it would give palpable ground to believe the folly yea the madness there is in almost all the actions and ways of every man And surely I can say that only in doing what tends to our eternal Well-being is Man reasonable It 's true it is our Duty in our Stations to go about what we are called to in relation to our worldly Beeing but where even what is so done has not it's principal aim to the glory of God and the salvation of our Souls in and for Christs sake it will at the time of death or when we come to the true use of Reason appear to be what the remembrance thereof will be better unto us I pray God for Jesus sake may do away our sinful and wretched Hearts and that He by his Grace fit us for such suitable Meditation as may by his Blessing be a mean enabling us so to live as Christ may be our Portion I am March 28. 1692. D. Th. Your Neighbour and Servant THEOCRITUS Post-script I Have in my last Letter to you insinuat that it might be warrantably said that none ought to aim at an higher Station in the World than they are in wherein I may appear Taxable for as there is a necessity of differing Stations for the being and governing of Societies 〈◊〉 there must be Changes by Death or otherway◠of Persons in those Stations and it cannot be denied to be the Duty of every one to endeavour a fitness for being serviceable in their Generation in whatever Station Providence shall ca◠them to yea I do acknowledge there may be Endeavours after Qualifications with some Prospect to Advancement but surely the principal End in so doing ought only to be God's Glory in the God of the Society and I yet say how ever there may be an Obligation upon person qualified not to decline their being useful it whatever Station they are called to that undoubtedly their own quiet and particular lies in their neither seeking after nor having worldly Honour and Advancement for there is no little Truth in that old Saying Rare fumant felicibus Arae And as excellent Flavel says that as it is the misery of the Poor to be neglected of Men 〈◊〉 it is the misery of the Rich to neglect God and who can be poorer then he that hath the World and its Honours and loves them And who Richer then he that enjoys but little of them and lives above them And I think it may be truly enough said that not any Change to an higher Station but alanerly their being serviceable to God in what is advantagious to the Society they live in ought to be the Aim of whatever they do having tendency thereto