about me a Body of Flesh which is ready to shrink at the approach of any thing grievous do thou O Blessed Jesu pray for me that my Faith fail not that no terrors of Death or Pains may ever shake my constancy or cause me to deny that Lord that suffered such bitter Agonies for me but that I may continue faithful unto Death and so receive a Crown of Life 13. Vpon an Epileptick Person falling into the Fire and being thereby Cured of his Disease THis Person had for a long time laboured of his Epilepsie the accessions of which at length were so frequent and violent that it would often precipitate him to the Ground without as much as giving him any warnings of it's approaches where he would lie as incapable of helping himself as he was insensible of his condition The Patient used to have a Servant attending him to prevent danger but was now by God's providence out of the way In the mean time a fit seizes him he falls into the Fire which being fervent scalded and burned the hinder part of his Head and Neck whereby were produced many Blisters and Ulcers which afterwards unexpectedly by Gods blessing effected a Cure of that obstinate Disease which hitherto had eluded the force of all Medicines Good God! what a Providence is this how wonderful art thou in all thy doings what an allay of Mercy with Judgment is here judgment in Afflicting mercy in Relieving The impotent Man which thirty and eight years had been Diseased lay a long time at the Pool Bethesda but could not be cured till our Saviour came when we are all together unable to help our selves and when all outward means do fail then God comes with his seasonable Relief and to our amazement and admiration perfects that which we could not expect He that once brought light out of darkness can still bring good out of evil nothing shall impede or hinder his Designs but even that which in humane Judgment seems contrary shall prove a salutary Remedy This shall teach me even in the mid'st of the heaviest pressures not to despond but to trust in him who is able by ways tho altogether unknown to me to relieve me in the greatest difficulties Ejaculations for several Occasions For Pardon of Sin HAve mercy upon me O God according to thy loving kindness according to the multitude of thy tender Compassions blot out all my Transgressions Wash me throughly from my Iniquity and cleanse me from my Sin For I acknowledg my Transgressions and my Sins are ever before me O God thou knowest my foolishness and my Sins are not hid from thee Purge me with Hyssop and I shall be clean wash me and I shall be whiter than Snow If thou Lord should'st be extream to mark what is done amiss O Lord who could abide it But there is forgiveness with thee therefore thou may'st be feared Hide thy Face from my Sins O Lord and blot out all mine Offences Be Merciful unto me O Lord heal my Soul for I have sinned against thee Remember O Lord thy tender mercies and loving kindness for they have been ever of old For thy Names sake for thy Mercies sake yea for thy dear Son Jesus Christ his sake pardon all my Iniquities for they have been very great For Grace TEach me to do the thing that pleaseth thee for thou art my God Shew me thy way O Lord and I will walk in thy Truth O knit my heart to thee that I may love and fear thy holy Name Lead me in thy Truth and teach me for thou art the God of my Salvation on thee do I wait all the day With my whole heart have I sought thee O let me not wander from thy Commandments Incline my heart unto thy Testimonies and not to Covetousness Make me a clean heart O God and renew a right Spirit within me Search me O God and know my heart try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way Everlasting Set a Watch O Lord before my Mouth and keep the door of my Lips Blessed art thou O Lord teach me thy Statutes So teach me O Lord to number my days that I may apply my heart unto Wisdom Lord make me to know mine end and the measure of my days what it is that I may know how frail I am For the Light of Gods Countenance O Lord hide not thy Face far from me put not thy Servant away in anger thou hast been my help leave me not neither forsake me O God of my Salvation O Lord whatever thou art pleas'd to deny me yet lift up the Light of thy Countenance upon me Thy loving kindness is better than life My Lips shall praise thee Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy holy Spirit from me Give me the comfort of thy help again and stablish me with thy free Spirit Withhold not thy tender Mercies from me O Lord let thy loving kindness and truth continually preserve me Turn me again O God of Hosts and cause thy Face to shine upon me and so shall I be saved Make me to hear of joy and gladness that the Bones which thou hast broken may rejoyce Speak peace unto my Soul and Conscience and say unto my Soul Thou art my Salvation Thanksgiving I Will praise the Lord according to his Righteousness I will sing praise to the Name of the Lord most high I will praise thee O Lord with my whole heart I will shew forth all thy marvellous Works I will freely sacrifice unto thee I will praise thy Name O Lord for it is good Blessed be the Lord God of Israel which only doth wondrous things Morning and Evening and at Noon will I praise thee Seven times a day will I praise thee because of thy Righteous Judgments While I live I will praise the Lord I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being Praise the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me praise his holy Name Praise the Lord O my Soul and forget not all his benefits Blessed be the Lord God which daily loadeth us with his benefits who is the God of our Salvation and blessed be the Name of his Majesty from everlasting and to everlasting Amen Amen In the time of outward or inward Trouble O Lord rebuke me not in thine Anger neither chasten me in thy heavy displeasure Look upon my Adversity and Misery and forgive me all my sin Be merciful unto me O Lord for my Soul trusteth in thee and under the shadow of thy Wings shall be my refuge until these Calamities be overpast Have Mercy upon me O Lord for I am weak O Lord heal me for my Bones are vexed My Soul also is sore vexed but thou O Lord how long Be not far from me for trouble is near at hand and there is none to help Give me help for I am in trouble and vain is the help of Man Keep me as the
Physician passing by and moved with compassion bleeded some of them and prescrib'd such Medicines as he thought proper to their condition which it pleased God to succeed with his benediction so that those and those only recovered which were thus handled the others suffering the common though untimely fate of all Mankind So that hence it seems manifest that tho God had prepared the means yet had there not been an actual application of it they must of necessity have shared in the same destiny The other is this which I my self have been more than once the sad beholder of that persons labouring under a troublesom Cough or Catarrh which hath disturb'd their rest at nights and being of a thin texture of Body and weak Constitution by the unseasonable and unskilfull administration of Opiatick Medicines have taken their laethaean nap and gone smoothly and quietly to the Land of forgetfulness The like may be said of giving the same Medicine in a Pthysis Pleurisie Empyema and the like which hath often produced the same effect To say nothing of those many strong robust men that meerly through wantonness or for prevention of some Epidemical and Popular Disease that hath then threatn'd have committed themselves to the hands of confident Empiricks who not regarding or not knowing the temper of their Patients Bodies and the Nature and Dose of their Medicines have been by a Hypercatharsis or too violent Evacuations sent head long to the other World which may sufficiently evince that many have shortned their daies by rashly exposing themselves to such dangers or else wilfully neglecting those assistances they might have had for the preservation or prolongation of theiâ— lives The common Objection of Asa's reprehension for seeking to the Physician and not to the Lord is a very weak one to draw this Conclusion from That therefore I ought not to apply my self to a Physician for it is evident by the text 2 Chron. 16.12 that here is no Antithesis or opposition but a Protimesis and is an Expression by way of choice and estimation Asa is reproved because that in his Disease he sought not to the Lord but rather to the Physicians or them onely Had he implored the divine as well as humane assistance he had not without doubt been reprehended for it So in the 16 of St. Matthew the 19. and 20. verses we are bid not to lay up treasures for our selves vpon Earth but lay up for our selves treasures in Heaven and in a Parallel place we are forbad to labour after the Meat that perisheth but to labour after that which endureth to everlasting Life which are not to be understood as plain prohibitions to lay up Earthly treasures or to labour for our daily food but by way of choice or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rather lay up treasures in Heaven than treasures upon Earth rather labour after that Meat which endureth to everlasting Life than that which perisheth which is no more than this have a greater care of the one than the other Our Saviour himself says They that are whole need not the Physician but as it follows they that are sick which is a sufficient warrant for all in that Condition to apply themselves unto him for he is as Herophilus observes Manus Dei the hand by which God conveys health unto their diseased Bodies And though he can as I have before shewed cure them by a miracle yet his usual and common way is by fit and appropriate means so that they who wilfully neglect them do sihi manus inferre even cruelly prove their own Executioners therefore as the Son of Syrach Eccles 38.4 observes that seeing God hath created Medicines out of the earth he that is wise will not abhor them I could here swell this Section to a great bulk if I designed to depaint the dignity of Physick and learned Physicians but the Sun needs not the light of a Candle to make it seen nor a perfect natural Complection the disgraceful help of such Artificial Tinctures besides being of the same Profession my self I fear I should be condemned either of Pride or Vain-Glory and therefore shall conclude this only with too Disticks of the famous Horstius In ventum Medicina Dei est Medicusque peritus Rectè mortalis dicitur esse Deus Hoc Medico hoc commune Deo quod uterque misellis Auxiliatrices detque feratque manus SECT VII That a Holy and Vertuous Life is a necessary Qualification for a Physician in order to the imbettering his Judgment and his good success in Practice WHat is true in Theology That the Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom and the knowledg of the Holy Ones is Vnderstanding Prov. 9.10 and that The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him Psal 25.14 is also most true in Physick and Philosophy which Truth is acknowledged by the best and divinest Philosophers and hence is it that they so frequently discourse of their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Purgative Vertues such as they judged necessary to prepare the Soul in order to its clearer Contemplation and Knowledg of the most useful and sublime Speculations It is Aristotle's Observation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that Wickedness is destructive of Principles and a greater than he hath observed that Wisdom cannot enter into a Wicked Heart nor dwell in the Body that is subject unto Sin Wisdom 1.4 Immorality and a Vicious Life unfits and indisposes the most Ingenious Minds for the Acquisition of the noblest Truths whether Moral or Divine and though sometimes they may hit upon some Curious and Philosophical Notions and Secrets of Nature yet even here they had done far better and excell'd themselves had they been more purg'd from Vice and Wickedness which casts such a mist before their Eyes that they can not discern Truth from Error dulls their Invention and so clouds their Understanding that they never arrive to the full discovery and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 even of common Arts and Sciences Thus you see that a Holy and Good Life affords the greatest advantages to the imbettering the Judgment not only in Divine but Philosophical Speculations Next of all such a life is necessary in order to their Directions of profitable Prescriptions for their Patients Although as I have before hinted God is not always tyed up to means or to these in particular yet he usually co-operates with those that are proper and adequate to the end Those that do truly fear God as the pious and worthy Judge Hales of late blessed Memory hath observed have a secret Guidance from a higher Wisdom than what is barely Humane namely from the Spirit of Truth and Wisdom that doth really and truly but secretly prevent and direct â—â—em and let no Man think that this â—s a piece of Fanaticism for any Man that fears Almighty God and relies upon him calls upon him for his Guidance and Direction hath it as really as the Son hath the Directions of his Father and tho the voice be not audible
Subtilties and Assaults of the Devil and discover to thee the sin for which he now sees it fit to afflict thee anâ— make an absolute surrender of thy seâ—â— unto Gods all-wise disposal 2. As soon as thou art in thy Bed anâ— hast leisure and privacy begin whilâ— thou hast strength and the free use 〈◊〉 thy Reason which possibly in some acuâ— Distempers thou may'st not long enjoy to renew thy Repentance taking a freâ— survey of all thy Capital Sins which the former Catalogue will help thee in and of any others lately committed by thee remembring that God never corrects but for Sin When thou with rebukes saith David dost chasten Man for sin Psalm 39.11 These again humbly confess to Almighty God acknowledg thy de-merits and the justice of his proceeding and most earnestly implore his pardon 3. Next exercise thy Faith by a stedfast recumbency on God through Jesus Christ for the full pardon of all thy sins and resting upon those gracious promises of his that he hath made Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as Snow though they be red like Crimson they shall be as Wooll Isa 1.18 That God will never leave thee nor forsake thee Heb. 13.5 That Jesus Christ is the propitiation for thy sins and that in him God hath said He is well pleased Math. 3.17 That God will deliver thy Soul from going down to the pit because he hath found a Ransom Job 33.24 and will certainly give thee Eternal Salvation if thou continue faithful unto Death Believe also that God is wise and just in sending thee Afflictions that he wil not suffer thee to be tempted above what thou art able That all things shall work together for good to them that love God Rom. 8.28 That if thou live thou shalt live to him and if thou die Death shall be unto thee advantage In a word firmly believe all those Truths that thou did'st believe and wert perswaded of in the time of thy greatest health 4. The next Grace now to be exercised is Hope which is nothing else but a comfortable expectation of the performances of all those good promises made unto thee by God Job assures us that the hope of the Hypocrite shall perish because it was not founded upon a good bottom he continued in his sins and yet hoped for Mercy But thou hast repented of thy sins and purified thy self from them quite forsaken them and therefore thy hope is such as maketh thee not ashamed but thou may'st be assured that thou art of the number of those Righteous ones Who have hope in their death Prov. 14.32 Fifthly Exercise throughout the whole course of thy Sickness Prayer and Devotion This is a time of trouble and God bids us then to call upon him and to encourage us hath promised to hear us Psalm 5.15 besides as we have now greater needs than ever so for the most part the Devotion of every pious Soul is at this time raised to a greater height and accompanied with more fervency and humility than in the time of his greatest health Therefore frequently Pray and Ejaculate unto God as thou findest the temper of thy Soul requires whether it be for support under thy weaknesses against despondencies impatience distractions or confusions of Mind whether for Revelations of his Goodness and Irradiations of his Love and Favour and if thou art a constant Reader and Meditator of Gods Word thou canst not want suitable Expressions out of that rich Treasury the Holy Bible You may find some cull'd out for that purpose in the subsequent pages and in The Whole Duty of Man many more But if thy Devotion be not so much exalted as thou would'st have it remember this is a time for Passion not Action and God will accept thee 6. Exercise likewise throughout the whole time of thy Sickness Christian patience You have need of Patience saith the Apostle Heb. 10.36 That when you have done all you may inherit the promises Now is the chief use of this grace therefore you cannot want it It is that which crowns all the rest This discovers it self by a cheerful submission to Gods Fatherly Correction justifying God and condemning thy self saying with the Psalmist Thou hast punished me less than my sins have deserved or with the Prophet I will bear the Indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him Micah 7.9 or with good old Ely It is the Lord let him do as it seemeth him good Or with the Apostle Chasten me here as thou pleasest that I be not condemned with the World And then resting in a cheerful Expectation that God will convert all to thy good and that he will be to thee both in life and death advantage taking up holy Job's resolve That tho he kill thee thou wilt trust in him Job 13.5 and that tho thou walk through the valley of the shadow of death thou wilt fear no Evil Psalm 23.4 Submit to the Rules of thy Physician and be kind and courteous not peevish as too many are towards thy Attendants and all that come to see thee and give them and thy Family good Instructions â—eeing those that are spoken from a Friend on a dying Bed stick closest â—f any Be sure no word drop from thee of repining or murmuring against Gods dispensations towards thee but let thy words be sueh as tend to the use of Edifying and in all things behave thy â—elf as if thou wert giving up the Ghost â—he next moment Be willing and content to die say as St. Paul did I desire to be dissolved and â—o be with Christ which is best of all or as David Like as the Hart desireth the Water-brooks so longeth my Soul aftee thee O God My soul is athirst for God even for the living God when shall I come and appear before the presence of God O that I had Wings like a Dove for then would I fly away and be at rest Thou art my Helper and my Redeemer O Lord make no long tarrying Last of all exercise thy Charity not as if thou wert not to use it all along but now more particularly give and forgive Beg pardon for any injury done thy Neighbour and if it be in thy power make restitution for any Offence that is capable of it if not beg God to accept of thy Intentions and to pay thy debt in Blessings Forgive from thy heart all others who have injured thee as thou expectest to be forgiven by God When thou shalt find thy strength fail and Death approaching say or ejaculate thus Lord Jesus receive my Soul Into thy hands I commend my Spirit for thou hast redeemed it O Lord thoâ— God of Truth Come Lord Jesus come quickly Remedies against some particular Temptations of the Devil in the time of Sickness THe Devil is so delusory and subtil a Spirit that like the cunning Angler he loves to fish in Troubled Waters and takes all Advantages of our weaknesses and disturbances of mind to insnare
of the first Covenant The Lord is righteous in all his ways and holy in all his works Behold thou hast now made my days as it were a span length and mine age is even as nothing in respect of thee and I am altogether vanity The sentence of Death hath passed upon all for that all have sinned And I who have had so great a share in sinning cannot but expect to receive the due Wages of it Death Only I beseech thee blessed God to make me wise now in the time of my Health and Srength to understand this and to consider my latter end Grant O Lord that by departing from every known sin by keeping Innocency and always taking heed to the thing that is right I may be in an habitual preparation for Death and find peace at the last Wean my heart daily more and more from the love of the World and worldly things and place my affections upon their right and more deserving Objects Heaven and Heavenly things that my heart may be where my Treasure is and that whenever I shall be called to part with them I may leave all without any murmuring or reluctancy and be willing and content to die Let every pain and sickness mind me of my last And that Death may not be a surprize unto me furnish my Soul with all those Graces before-hand which I shall have greatest occasions to make use of in my last Conflict Give me Repentance unto life not to be repented of A Stedfast Faith that worketh by Love towards thee my God and Charity to all the World A Firm Hope such as maketh not ashamed but may become an Anchor of my Soul entring even within the Vail True Christian Courage and Patience and a resolvedness of a cheerful submission to thy Fatherly Correction And Grant that in all things I may so put my Soul and House in order that when I come to die I may have nothing else to do but to die Let not my Death be unexpected untimely or violent if it be thy holy will And when it shall please thee to cast me on my last Bed give me Grace to search my Heart to renew my Repentance and Interest in Jesus and to compose my Soul for God Give me the opportunity and refreshment of thy holy Sacrament the Seal of the Divine Love the benefit of Absolution Some irradiations of thy Love and Favour in the assurances of pardon and peace together with a patient and comfortable expectation of the performance of all thy promises Let not the Devil take advantage of my weakness nor any of his Suggestions prevail upon me Let not his Accusations or my Sins distract me in my last hour but do thou interpose thy seasonable Relief O forsake me not when my strength faileth me but in the mid'st of the sorrows and temptations that I have upon my Bed let thy Comforts refresh my Soul O suffer me not for any pains of death to fall from thee And in my last Agonies when my Soul shall quit the ruinous habitation of my Body let thy holy Angels convey it into the Regions of a glorious Eternity where there shall be no more death nor sorrow nor crying nor pain Grant this O merciful Father for the sake of him who by death hath overcome death even Jesus Christ my High Priest and blessed Redeemer Amen A Prayer for Sincerity out of the Whole Duty of Man O Holy Lord who requirest Truth in the inward parts I humbly beseech thee to purge me from all Hypocrisie and unsincerity The heart O Lord is deceitful above all things and my heart I fear is deceitful above all hearts O thou who searchest the Heart and Reins try me and seek the ground of my heart and suffer not any accursed thing to lurk within me but purifie me even with Fire so thou consume my dross O Lord I cannot deceive thee but I may most easily deceive my self I beseech thee let me not rest in any such deceit but bring me to a sight and hatred of my most hidden Corruptions that I may not cherish any darling Lust but make an utter destruction of every Amalekite O suffer me not to speak peace to my self when there is no peace but grant I may judge of my self as thou judgest of me that I may never be at peace with my self till I am at perfect peace with thee and by purity of haert be qualified to see thee in thy Kingdom through Jesus Christ Amen For Contrition out of the same Author O Holy Lord Who art a merciful Embracer of true Penitents but yet a consuming Fire towards obstinate sinners how shall I approach thee who have so many provoking sins to inflame thy Wrath and so little sincere Repentance to incline thy Mercy O be thou pleased to soften and melt this hard obdurate heart of mine that I may heartily bewail the Iniquities of my life Strike this Rock O Lord that the Waters may flow out even Floods of Tears to wash my polluted Conscience my drowzy Soul hath too long slept securely in sin Lord awake it though it be with Thunder and let me rather feel thy Terrors then not feel my sin Thou sentest thy blessed Son to heal the broken hearted but Lord what will that avail me if my heart be whole O break it that it may be capable of his healing Virtue and grant I beseech thee that having once tasted the bitterness of sin I may fly from it as from the Face of a Serpent and bring forth Fruits of Repentance in amendment of Life to the praise and glory of thy Grace in Jesus Christ our blessed Redeemer Amen Those whose Devotions are apt to be assisted by variety or are desirous of Forms for other Graces or more particular occasions may find a plentiful supply in the Books of the aforementioned-Pious Author in Dr. Tailor's holy Living and Dying but more especially in the Book of Devotions composed by the Reverend and Learned Dr. Patrick A Prayer to be used by any Pious Christian in these difficult times O Most just and holy Lord God thou art Righteous in all thy ways and holy in all thy Works I must needs confess that when I seriously consider the multitude and hainousness of my own Sins and those of the whole Nation which cry loudly to Heaven for Vengeance that it is even a miracle of Mercies that we have not long since felt the severities of thy Wrath in some direful Judgments but thou O Lord hast been exceedingly gracious and with much patience and long suffering hast waited for our Repentance and Amendment of Life but yet we have abused this Mercy of thine beyond all the former and have not returned unto thee And now O Lord seeing we would not be allured by thy Mercies thou art pleas'd to threaten us with the approach of thy Judgments which if thou wilt not avert O fit and prepare me for the cheerful Entertainment of whatsoever thy Wisdom shall think fit to
sonat sed Deum certè which bespeaks God and not Man the Author of it and therefore he alone deserves the Glory And if we shall be so impudent to appropriate that to our selves which belongs only to him we may justly expect to fare as the Man in the Gospel Acts 12.23 who was eaten up of Worms for not giving the Glory to the right Proprietor It is of his pleasure and goodness that we our selves enjoy our health and beings and of his great mercy that we can be any way Instrumental to convey the one or preserve the other to any person let us not be therefore so unreasonable and ungrateful to defaulk from God what is his due and of right pertains to him but as his is the Work so let him have the glory Moreover neither doth this only correspond with Divinity but common Prudence for since it is in the power of God to bless or frustrate our proceedings to prosper or blast the operation of our Medicines For it is he that maketh sore and bindeth up he woundeth and his hands make whole Job 5.18 we cannot rationally imagine but that he will do better when he sees them turn to so bad an account And I do not doubt but this one sin is that which renders them so often unprosperous and ineffectual Now that they may better succeed for the future and that the Physician may discharge his duty in his place I should with submission to more pious and learned persons offer these following Rules and Directions 1. Having premised that a Physician ought to live a Holy and Vertuous Life let him in the first place when any sick person desires his assistance cast himself on his knees or if the suddainness or multitude of business or want of privacy interrupts he may supply it by silent Ejaculation and most humbly implore the great Phpsician to instruct his Judgment and bless his Undertakings for whatever the Second Cause be God is the First and therefore the Divine presence and assistance is absolutely necessary and first to be invoked in all weighty affairs and what greater than those which concern the Lives of Men 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plin. in Paneg. Bene sapienter majores instituerunt ut rerum agendarum initium à praecationibus caperetur and it was a high pitch of a Heathens mind namely Epictetus Enchirid. Cap. 78. In quovis incaepto haec optanda sunt duc me ô Jupiter et tu factum Guid me O God and thou divine providence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plaâ—o in Tymaeo If Hippocrates thought it necessary for those who had taken any Cure in hand 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to ask Advice of all even of Ideots and those who knew but little in that Art much rather then ought we 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ask Counsel of God by Prayer and then perhaps our Prayer may do as much as our Medicine or if both prove successless tho we are assur'd to the contrary James 5.15 That the Prayer of Faith shall save the Sick yet we have this satisfaction in our Consciences that we have done our duties 2. Neither must we rest here but must joyn our Studies and Endeavours to our Prayers and after we have fully inform'd our selves of our Patients condition and throughly examin'd all Circumstances carefully and advisedly prescribe them abstaining from trying any new Experiments or extreme Remedies except in extreme and desperate Diseases or where they are very consentaneous to the Rules of Physick and highly probable to answer those designs which a known and tried Medicine would not effect that to they make not themselves accessory to the destruction of their Patients and ruin of their own Reputation 3. That we do not peremptorily promise a Cure in uncertain and dangerous Diseases It is too well known how many Physicians there are who are so Dogmatical in their Opinions confident of their own Abilities and Success of their Medicines that they will not stick even in the most difficult Cases at first sight to warrant a perfect Cure by which at last when they find themselves defeated in their hopes and their prognosticks deceive them they expose their Judgments and many times forfeit their Repute And it were well if this were all but alass the consequence is far more dangerous for by this means the Patient is careless of putting his House in order and which is worse of trimming and preparing his Soul for Death The best Christians altho they live in an habitual holiness and constant preparation for their end and like the Wise Virgins have Oyl in their Lamps in expectation when the Bride-groom will come yet they would willingly then yet once more dress their Wedding Garments and trim their Lamps by Repetition of Acts of Repentance Faith Hope Devotion Patience Charity and Resignation of themselves to God And who is there who when he is ready to breath his last thinks so well of his Condition that he would not pray Davids Prayer O spare me a little that I may recover my Strength before I go hence and be no more seen Or cry out with Crisorius in Gregory Iuducias vel usque ad mane iuducias vel usque ad mone Truce respite Lord until the Morning But I fear the far greater number of those we are concern'd for are such as need not only trimming but Oyl in their Lamps too not only the Ornaments but the Garment it self and then certainly when there is time for it and God may in mercy accept of a Death-bed Repentance how much have we to answer for either for flattering them with the hopes of Recovery or not acquainting them with their approaching danger I know the common Objection to this is that by incouraging the Patient his langushing Spirits are upheld he more readily submits to the use of means and bears his Sickness with a greater cheerfulness and on the contrary by telling him the truth his Spirits are dejected he becomes impatient and rejects the Prescription To these it is easily answered that either the Patient is a Religious good Man or a Vicious and Wicked Man If the former he loves not to be flattered but will certainly have the better esteem of his Physician for dealing so plainly with him and because he thinks the time of his deliverance from his present Pains and Sickness and inauguration into a State of everlasting Joy and Blessedness so near approaches his Spirits instead of being dejected are exalted and because he knows that his time is in Gods hand that neither he nor the Physician can infallibly know the time of his departure and that God hath commanded the use of means he is content to submit to the Rules prescrib'd him and leave the success to God On the contrary If he be a Vicious and Wicked Man it is but fit that if more gentle and mild perswasions will not prevail that he should be fright'ned into a sense of his desperate condition and not suffer'd to go like
Give us grace to apply it to our selves and to reduce it into practice that thy word may be unto us the savour of life unto life and not unto any Soul of us the savour of death unto death These Mercies O most merciful Father for our selves or any of thine and whatever else thou knowest fitting for us together with the acceptance of our praises we humbly beg at thy hands though not for any worthiness that is in our selves for we utterly disclaim all but for the Merits of him who alone is worthy Jesus Christ the Righteous in whose endearing Name and holy Words we continue to pray unto thee saying Our Father c. Thy Grace O Lord Jesus Christ c. A Prayer for Sunday Evening in the Family Open thou our Lips O Lord and our Mouths shall shew forth thy praise O Most blessed and glorious Lord God Father of Mercies and of our Lord Jesus Christ Thou fillest Heaven with thy Glory and the Earth with thy Goodness All thy works praise thee O Lord and thy Saints give thanks unto thee Thy Name only is excellent and thy praise above Heaven and Earth but because thou art good and delightest in doing good thou art pleased to permit us thy poor unworthy Creatures here on Earth to offer up our Prayers and our Praises unto thee who dwellest in the highest Heavens that thou may'st reward them with thy favour and loving kindness And that we might never be wanting to our selves thou art daily pleased to give us new and fresh occasions of Praising and Magnifying thy Holy Name Even this very day we have had large Experiences of thy Goodness which call for our highest Thanksgivings The temporal Mercies we have received in thy protection of us from those many dangers to which we were exposed by reason of our sins and the plentiful refreshment we have had in the use of thy good Creatures deserve our due acknowledgments but that thou hast given us Dust and Ashes an opportunity and leave to come into thy more immediate presence to wait upon thee in thy House to speak unto thee the glorious Majesty of Heaven before whom Angels cover their Faces and to hear thee speaking unto us instructing us in our Duties and offering unto us terms of Reconciliation most justly challenge our devoutest Affections and most exalted Praises Thou hast given thine only Son to be a Sacrifice for us by whom we have Redemption through his Blood thou hast given him Victory over Hell and the Grave by his Resurrection from the dead and he is now sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high making continual Intercession for us Thou hast given us the constant Solicitations of thy blessed Spirit of Truth the Seal of our Adoption and the earnest of the Inheritance of the Saints together wih a succession of Pastors and Teachers to be the Dispensers of thy Word and Will and the Guides of our Souls And thou hast prepared such things for those that fear thee as Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard nor ever entred into the heart of Man to conceive Lord what is Man that thou art mindful of him Or the Son of Man that thou hast done such great things for him Praise the Lord O our Souls and all that is within us praise his holy Name Praise the Lord O our Souls and forget not all his benefits O that all this Goodness of thine might ingage us by way of just return to thy free and undeserved Mercies more heartily to love thee more devoutly to worship thee and more diligently to live after thy Commandments Give us a due savour and relish of those Divine Truths we have learned this day Grant that we may not be only hearers but doers of thy Word lest we deceive our own Souls Cherish those holy Thoughts Affections and Resolutions which thy good Spirit hath raised in us O Let not them pass out of our minds with the day but leave Impressions upon our hearts the whole Week following and all our days that as we have received how we ought to walk and to please thee our God so we may abound more and more Bless all the faithful Dispensers of thy Word and Sacraments however dignified or distinguished More especially bless him O Lord who hath this day blessed us in thy Name Pour down a double portion of thy holy Spirit into his heart make him an eminent Instrument for thy Glory Let him turn many from their wicked ways unto thee the living God and hereafter let his Soul shine as a Star in the Firmament of thy Kingdom Continue unto us O Lord such holy opportunities and seasons of Grace as thou now affordest us and send them where they are not Let not O let not the loud cry of our national Sins provoke thee to remove thy Candlestick from us or to quench the Light of our Israel but blessed God whatever temporal Judgments thou art pleased to bring upon us whatever Mercies thou art pleased to deny us yet for thy Names sake and for thy Truth and Righteousness sake be pleased still to continue unto us the free liberty of thy House of thy Word Sacraments and Ordinances in their primitive purity and regularity until time shall be no more Pardon we pray thee good God whatever thou hast seen amiss in us the day past even the many frailties and imperfections of our holiest Duties and Performances Look not upon the weakness of our Flesh but upon the sincerity of our Hearts and Desires Pity all our Infirmities and let those Sacrifices which we have this day offered unto thy Divine Majesty be accepted in and for that Sacrifice which thy Son Christ Jesus hath offered up upon the Cross for us Finally O Lord we commend into thine hands this Night our Selves Souls and Bodies and all our Friends every where to be protected by thy providence refreshed with moderate rest and raised again the next Morning by thy power to serve thee with more cheerfulness and to praise thee for thy renewed Mercies And all we beg for the alone sake and love of thy Son who is the Son of thy love Jesus Christ our Lord In whose holy Name we are bold to beg the acceptance of our Petitions and Thanksgivings and to continue to supplicate thy Divine Majesty Saying as he hath taught us Our Father which art in Heaven c. Thy Grace O Lord Jesus Christ c. A Prayer preparatory for Death to be often used in the time of Health O Immortal and Everliving Lord God thy years endure throughout all Generations from everlasting to everlasting thou art God I thy frail Creature created at first by thy power to a state of Immortality with thy self which by Adams Transgression the representative of all mankind I have long since forfeited my right to and am become liable to Death I acknowledg thy mercy towards me in my Creation and thy justice and faithfulness in the execution of thy Threatnings upon breach