Interest in thy Son my only Saviour and Redeemer and do thou graciously give thy Holy Spirit to direct guide quicken counsel and comfort me the remaining part of my sojourning here How few Days may put a Period to my Life I know not In all probability it will not be long before I leave the Stage of this World and be summoned before the Bar of God to give a strict and impartial Account of my past Life O it is an awful thing to die and come to Judgment I beg O Lord I beg that I may be made meet for the Inheritance of the Saints in Light Sanctify me wholly let my whole Spirit Soul and Body be preserved blameless unto the Coming of my Lord Jesus Christ. O be thou pleased to preserve me unto thy Heavenly Kingdom Many Fears and much Ground for Fears have I that I shall never enter into Rest But blessed Lord do not exclude me from thy comfortable Presence hereafter Do thou make me fit to be a Member of those blessed Inhabitants of the New Ierusalem Though I am altogether unworthy yet if thou O Lord please to account me worthy I may then be so happy as to stand before the Son of Man with Courage and Comfort Keep thou me by thy Almighty Power through Faith unto Salvation Let me be preserved from fainting sinking and desponding in my last Conflicts and Agonies Let me see thee who art invisible and with an Eye of Faith look within the Vail whence I look for the Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ to change this vile Body of mine that it may be fashioned like to his glorious Body Let this Saviour be my Saviour and Redeemer even the Lord Jesus Christ and let me be assured that he is mine and I am indeed his and that this vile contemptible wretched Body shall be changed and made like to his glorious and blessed Body This is such an Honour and Privilege that I have hardly a Face to ask But I find a Warrant in thy Word to look long expect pant and wait for so happy a Day and Time as to be in a sinless State and Condition where we shall see our Saviour and be like him where earthly Troubles and Sorrows shall vanish and decay where the World the Flesh and the Devil shall have no Power to tempt molest or disturb those that thou O Lord God Almighty shalt admit into thy Heavenly Kingdom and Glory O blessed Souls that are here owned by thee approved by thee and shall at last be received by thee into those Eternal Mansions above Lord I humbly put in for a Share in these inestimable Mercies and Privileges Earthly things cannot content me without some Hopes some Prospect some Glimpse of thy Love and Favour If thou afford me this I may then bear the Inconveniencies the Hardships and ill Usage I meet with here in this howling Desart Let not my Unworthiness be a Bar and Hindrance to hinder good things from me Look not on me as in my self a vile polluted wretched undone Creature but behold me in and through thy well-beloved Son and for his sake alone be gracious and merciful to me I have been guilty of black and horrid Sins and Millions of Sins have I been committing daily without Sense Sorrow or Remorse O may such a Sinner as I find Mercy Lord I sometimes doubt and despair and conclude there is no Hopes for me I fear Heaven-Gate is shut against me and though I cry and knock it may all be in vain Lord I cannot bear such a Thought as to think I am rejected forsaken and cast off by thee I e'n cry out with the Jailor What shall I do to be saved What shall I do to obtain Eternal Life I find many comfortable Promises in thy Word to repenting and returning Sinners that those that come to thee thou wilt in no wise cast out and that the Blood of Jesus Christ thy Son cleanseth from all Sins Lord I desire to come to thee and come in a right manner and humbly beg thou wilt not cast me out nor cast me off as one whom thou no more canst love Let me have the Benefit of that healing cleansing Peace-speaking Blood of the Lamb of God which taketh away the Sins of the World I find in thy Word a black Catalogue of Sins and Sinners too who have been guilty of gross Offences whose Crimes would certainly exclude them Heaven unless thy unlimited Mercy and Compassion had inclined thee to look with Pity on them When the Apostle had mentioned those foul and horrid Sins that should deprive poor Souls of the Joys of Heaven he immediately for the Benefit of After-Ages and the Comfort of desponding Souls adds But such were some of you but ye are washed but ye are sanctified but ye are justified in the Name of the Lord Iesus and by the Spirit of our God Lord thou alone knowest what numberless Numbers of Sins I am guilty of and for which e're long I shall be summoned to give a strict and severe Account Lord I have nothing to plead for my self why I should not be condemned but I humbly cast my self at the Throne of thy Grace and implore Mercy Mercy Lord Mercy I need without this I cannot live comfortably nor die safely O let me even me be washed let me be sanctified let me be justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus let me be a Partaker of the Benefits of his Death Resurrection Ascension and Intercession and let me be assured I am one of those that shall live and reign with him World without end In my sorest Distresses and last Agonies and Conflicts let me see thee a God in Covenant and reconciled to me Let not my Evidences for Heaven be then to get When I come to die let me have nothing to do but to die and surrender up my Soul into the Hands of that God who gave it me Let not the Foresight or Prospect of Death be so terrifying as to overwhelm me and cause me to fall from thee Be with me when I pass through the dark and dismal Passage of Death When Flesh Heart and all Creature-Comforts fail and forsake me O Blessed Lord be thou the Strength of my Heart and my Portion for ever-more PAPER XI WORK while it is Day the Night is coming in which none can work Now is the Day of God's Patience and Forbearance this is the only time that God hath allotted for Work and Service He that doth the Work for which he came into the World faithfully and carefully shall in the Evening of the Day receive a bountiful Reward but if he neglects his Opportunity and squanders away his Time in Idleness and Sloth the Night will surprise him and then it will be too late to begin that Work which before he would not be perswaded to set about This Counsel is serious and grave every one hath Work to do O that all would be convinced of this great Truth we have Souls to
thou didst give Friendship in others but a Name A mere Pretence an empty Sound In thee Reality became In thee and scarce in any else was sound Many of Wisdom's Daughters have done well But thou Great Heroine didst all excel V. By sharp and long continu'd Pains To thee this World embitter'd was That Chear with which God entertains Those whom he has appointed to a better Place Thither at length thou' rt gone allow'd to be One of that Heav'nly Royal Society Eight lovely Babes before thou sentst from hence To take Possession for thee of thy Bless'd Inheritance There dost thou shine in Robes of uncreated Light Whose dazling Lustre than the Sun 's more bright There dost thou with a tuneful Voice And more melodious Heart rejoice For ever love for ever sing The Praises of thy glorious King Yet give us leave though we congratulate Thy never-fading Happiness And Scenes of unpoluted Bliss Our own Loss to regret Thou wast so well belov'd Death's fatal Dart Wounded ten thousand others when it pierc'd thy Heart VI. Heaven knew thy Worth and call'd thee hence lest we Too ready to commit Idolatry At thy Vertues amaz'd should prostrate fall Court the Idea and contemn the great Original Let those aspiring Ones erect a Tomb And with a fruitless Cost adorn Some stately though decaying Urn Who only great by being buried would become Thy Fame by pure Desert is rais'd so high That ' spight of Time and Fate it shall not die But as it well deserves live to Eternity Sic raptim cecinit HEN. CUTTS Her EPITAPH HERE lies or rather lives a Saint whose Worth No Heraldry's able to blazon forth Perfectly fair as to her outward Form But greater Beauties did her Soul adorn Good to a Miracle in Temper even Always submissive to the Will of Heaven By her own Deeds she most her self commends The best of Wives of Mothers and of Friends Precious in ours but in her Maker's Eyes A Pearl of most inestimable Price Much too Angelick long on Earth to stay To Heaven her blessed Home she 's flow'n away There 's her immortal Part her frailer Dust Shall have the Resurrection of the Just. To sum up all her Vertues this is she That was what others should but cannot be HENRY CUTTS On the greatly lamented Death of Mrs. Ann Terry my most dear Aunt who departed this mortal Life on the 9th of November 1693. in the thirty eighth Year of her Age. A Pindarique Ode O faciles dare summa Deos eademque tueri Difficiles Lucan Stanza I. IN vain do Mortals court Eternity In vain do they attempt to baffle Fate And hope by Actions worthy Praise Themselves to Immortality to raise No they are all to Death predestinate For both the Vertuous and the Vitious must Fall alike undistingaish'd in the Dust Else thou bright Mirror of thy Sex Had been preserâ—'d aliâ—e To endless Ages but thy glorious Fame Thy fading Ahes shall survive And with Arabian Sweets persume thy fragrat Name II. O that my long since bed-rid Muse Cou'd somewhat worthy thee produce But how alas can she enfeebled sing The Praises of an earthly Cherabim How can she he prepar'd for such a losty Theme Or such rapturous Strains bring forth As may be adaequate to thy immensurable Worth He that unto thiue Altar comes Must bring no less than Hecatombs Thy Vertues do require a nobler Pen Vertues above the reach of mortal Verse And all that the sublimest Flights of Fancy can rehearse But yet methinks though not inspir'd I may be suffer'd to attend Unto her melancholy Urn So dear an Aunt so much esteem'd a Friend Thy Bed of Rest with briny Tears I 'le strow And on thy gloomy Hearse my Wreath of Cypress throw III. Thy outward Beauty was so exquisite It claim'd at once both Wonder and Delight Hadst thou but lived in Apelles time And thy corporeal Graces in their prime He had not pick'd up Features here and there To limn a Goddess all in thee collective were Nature thy Form thus elegant â—â—â—â—iv'd As if that yet more radiant Gem thy Mind Disdain'd in a less glorious Case to be confin'd But O! who can express Th' Immensity of thy ubounded Tenderness A Temper so for Obligations frram'd Requests were ever granted soon as nam'd A general Philanthropy thou hadst And so th' whole Universe thy Debtor mad't For thy surprining Goodness did extend Beyond the narrow Limits of a Relative or Friend Thus we in thee a Female Titus find Born to be the Delight of all Mankind IV. But still those had the best Pretence To thy distributive Benevolence As were afflicted tatter'd poor Who up and down the World by want were thrown And unjust Fortune's Langhing-stock become Rarely did they go unrelieved from thy Door Nor didst thou hereby aim at Praise The wise Man's Scorn though Pride of Fools Or strive vain-gloriously to gain Applause Thou wast too gen'rous such mean Ends to have Thy left Hand seldom knew what 't was thy right Hand gave Vertue that 's so transcendent wants a Name Exceeding Wonder and surpassing Fame Such was thy exemplary Piety So imaffected and so void of Art As made appear Sincerity Had Livery and Seisin of thy Heart What didst thou not attempt to be A Denizon of Immortality Whilst here on Earth in thee we might have seen A Citizen of New Jerusalem Thou couldst not with inglorious Sloth dispense But stormedst Heaven with a Holy Violence Inflamed with Seraphick Fire Thither thou didst from whence thou cam'st aspire Thither thou didst both Aims and Actions bend And to that blessed Port did all thy Steerage tend V. Knowledg the richest Boon that can be given To Earth's Possessor by indulgent Heaven Which others often labour for in vain And reap no Fruit to recompense their Pain Thou hadst without a stint Dispensed with such Liberality That t was not difficult to find A whole Encyclopaedia in thy Mind It came so swift we almost did believe 'T was not acquir'd by Study but intuitive Yet so transcendently immense was thy Not to be parallellâ—d Humility As is that vast illustrious Magazine of Worth That with so great a Splendor did shine sorth And unto all that knew thee was reveal'd Were only from thy modest self conceal'd Thus o're his radiant Face a Vail the God-like Moses drew And shrowded Glories much too bright for mortal Eyes to view VI. Yet so divinely great a Life Found not uninterrupted Ease Thy Conduct in full Lustre did appear When thou by Fate wast summoned to steet Thy fluctuating Bark in most tempestuous Seas Heaven saw it fit to exercise Thy passive Vertues that Afflictions should Imbitter a vain World to thee A World made up of Vanity And from its Ore refine such precious Gold This Blessing only didst thou want before Thou wast a Saint but now almost a Consessor At length too good for Earth thou' rt called hence A Member of the Church Triumphant to commence But why
cast into the Fire God will dash the Potter's Vessel Gen. 19. 22. Haste thee scape to Zoar for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither I cannot mark that Exod. 32. 10. Let me alone and I will make of thee a great People God offereth Moses Composition Acts 27. 24. The Lord hath given thee all them that sail with thee These are the Staff and the Stay therefore we have Reason to be sensible of their Removal from us Use 2. We have Reason also to be comforted 1st For the Glory that cometh to God by her sweet Departure Those that have envied her Life may wish for her Death even such Solace as she felt in the most bitter Agonie Numb 23. 10. Let me die the Death of the Righteous and let my latter End be like his It is a great Comfort that wicked Men have not wherewithal to blast Religion when they see how the Love of God can compose our Spirits in the greatest Extremities that befal us either in Life or Death 2dly That she hath left us for Glory It was indeed through many Throws and Pains and Sorrows but Death played the Midwife to help her into Glory It is the Apostle's Exhortation to the Thessalonians 1 Epist. chap. 4. ver 13. That they should not sorrow even as others which have no Hope concerning them which are asleep in Jesus but admonish them to comfort one another with these Words That at Christ's Coming they which survive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the Clouds to meet the Lord in the Air And so shall we be ever with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these Words FINIS PAPER I. I Hope I have avouched the Lord to be my God and resolve to walk in his Ways and to keep his Statutes and his Commandments and his Judgments and to hearken unto his Voice And I humbly implore that the Lord would avouch me to be one of his peculiar People and that he would enable me to keep all his Commandments I often question whether I have any Interest in the Eternal God or whether he will own me as one of his but Lord I humbly say I have and do avouch thee to be my only God and Saviour O cast me not off and I earnestly beg Grace to walk in thy Ways Help me to keep thy Statutes continually Let me not dare to offend thee O that I might never provoke thee my good God to be angry or displeased with me but let me O Lord be a Doer of thy Commandments that so I may have Right to the Tree of Life Lord I have no Right I can plead no Right I fall infinitely short of my Duty but have not I a blessed Saviour to plead for me who died for the Chief of Sinners and he hath promised that none that come to him he will in any wise cast out I know he is able to save to the utttermost all those that come to God through him in his prevailing Name and for his sake I implore Divine Assistance to enable me to persevere and hold out to the end that at the last I may enter in through the Gates into the City into the Heavenly Ierusalem where the Saints and Angels and Cherubims and Seraphims are continually singing Hallelujahs to their King Holy Holy Holy Lord. I acknowledg my Unfitness my Unworthiness for this great inexpressible inconceivable Privilege but though I am unworthy if thou my God wilt count me worthy through the Merits of my dear Saviour I shall have Cause for ever to bless thy Name in the highest Heavens World without End Though I have no Right if thou wilt give me Right to those Treasures and Pleasures which are at thy right Hand for evermore this will be Matter of Thankfulness to Eternity Give me some Hopes that I have an Interest in these invisible things by my Care to please thee and my Fear to offend thee by my unfeigned Respect to all thy Holy Righteous and Just Commandments and by my harkning to thy Voice the Voice of thy Word and the Voice of thy Rod. Thy Dealings are variously dispensed towards me I met with many contrary Winds O let them all blow me nearer to thy blessed Self Lord I humbly say I have avouched thee to be my only God my Salvation my Portion my Rock my Fortress O be thou my reconciled Father to whom I may continually resort and when my Flesh and Heart here fail me as frequently they do be thou the Strength of my Heart and my Portion for ever O God my God do not forsake me nor cast me utterly out of thy Sight The Things of this World they do not they cannot they will not content me O give me some comfortable Hopes that I am thine that thou hast adopted me and that thou wilt sanctify me and make me meet for thy blessed Self I would be every Day sitting and preparing my self for my last Day for my accounting Day when I must be summoned before thy Tribunal Seat to give a strict severe Account for all my Thoughts Words and Actions whereby I have offended thee my gracious and good God but I find my self unfit for any spiritual Duty Lord help me to mind the Work of Time while Time lasts furnish me with Divine Assistance to enable me to do my Duty without which I am utterly uncapable of serving or pleasing thy blessed Majesty Death is hastning Eternity approaching the particular Day of Judgment near and yet for all this how inconsiderate art thou O my Soul to neglect the things that belong to thy everlasting Peace I am often thoughtful what will become of me here and how Matters will go with me here in this Life Ah but when is the time to provide for Eternity to get my Title to Heaven cleared to get an undeniable Interest in Christ Jesus which will yield me Comfort in the greatest worldly Distresses Lord give me some Hopes that thou hast avouched me to be thine and that I have sincerely without Reservation or Power of Revocation avouched thee to be my God PAPER II. DO thou by a patient Continuance in Well-doing seek for Glory and Honour and Immortality and Eternal Life Be not weary of Well-doing for in due time thou shalt reap if thou faint not Is there Glory Honour Immortality and Eternal Life set before me and yet shall I tire and wax weary Dare I be impatient and fret at any of the Lord's Dealings towards me If Heaven were oftner in my Eye and View I should be more calm and composed in the midst of all Trials Troubles and Afflictions that do or may overtake me during my Abode in this distracting and Sin-defiling World Is there Glory to be had hereafter and shall not I endeavour to be a Sharer therein Is there Honour to be conferr'd upon those that are true Worshippers of the Lamb and shall I be dull and dead and sluggish and unmindful of the Honour that
with me as to worldly Matters I was not a little comforted and refreshed also by the last Verse of that Psalm which saith Surely Goodness and Mercy shall follow me all the Days of my Life and I will dwell in the House of the Lord for ever I am sure Goodness and Mercy have followed me to this very Day therefore I will not distrust the merciful Kindness of God to me to my Life's End But if I should be stripp'd of earthly Blessings I beg I may have the Liberty of God's House here and the Happiness of dwelling with him for ever hereafter If I should with Lazarus be clothed with Rags and fed with Crumbs all my Days if my Body should be full of Sores yet if God will own me and approve me and at Death receive me to himself I may with tolerable Patience bear the Inconveniencies of my Pilgrimage-state knowing that they will not last long And that I may with the more Confidence cast my poor fatherless Children upon God I will call to mind those Places that did quiet me under the Loss of my dear and loving and tender Father which were these that God was pleased to promise to be a Father to the Fatherless and that when Father and Mother forsake then the Lord would take them up God hath bidden poor Creatures to cast their Burden upon him assuring them that he takes Care of them and sustains them And the forementioned Place Isa. 41. 10. is a sufficient Cordial to keep any Soul from fainting and sinking under any Distress whatsoever therefore I hope and trust and believe that the good God who hath been so bountiful so merciful and so kind to me to extend so many Favours to me will also take pity of my fatherless Babes With him the Fatherless find Mercy Lord I therefore commit them into thy Hands as unto a faithful Creator and Redeemer and beg that thou wouldst here guide them with thy Counsel and afterwards receive them to Glory Sometimes when my Children have been taken very ill so that there was no room for hope of Life to outward Appearance yet even then hath my good God supported me by some comfortable Portion of his Holy Word Once one of my Children being given over I was in great Perplexity of Mind that Place came to my Thoughts Call on me in the day of Trouble and I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorify me I was extremely revived at the Consideration of that Place for that was then a Time of Trouble to me And then being incouraged that if I called upon God he would deliver me I did then with firm Hopes and Confidence rely upon my merciful God and Father whom I have found ready to help and deliver me out of many Distresses Blessed and for ever blessed be his Name who was pleased to hear the Cries and Groans of his poor unworthy undeserving ill-deserving and Hell-deserving Creature And seeing God was pleased to deliver me from my great Fears my next Inquiry should be how I may glorify this good God Lord help me to make it the Care and Business and Study of my Life how I may please thee and honour thee and serve thy Blessed Majesty the remaining part of my Days Amen Amen PAPER VII WHat a Cordial to the Godly is the first of Peter the first Chapter the second Verse and so on Where we find that God intends Heaven for them and is graciously pleased to reserve and preserve them for it it being a reviving Consideration to me sometimes to see how God deals with his poor Children and what Steps he takes to bring them to Glory I will for the Benefit of my too often desponding Soul ruminate on this Place of Scripture where I find these Words of Peter an Apostle of Iesus Christ who writes to the Strangers scattered throughout Pontus Galatia Cappadocia Asia and Bithynia Elect according to the Fore-knowledg of God the Father through Sanctification of the Spirit unto Obedience and sprinkling of the Blood of Iesus Christ Grace unto you and Peace be multiplied In this Verse I observe how the whole Trinity are imployed in the Salvation of Sinners God the Father he elects he fore-knoweth whom he will bring to himself then the Spirit sanctifieth those whom God hath elected and makes them obedient to their Heavenly Father and they are sprinkled with the Blood of Jesus Christ their Sins for his sake are all done away therefore the Apostle may well say Grace unto you and Peace be multiplied for who can want Grace or Peace whom God the Father Son and Spirit are contriving how to bring them to Glory We may well go on with the Apostle blessing God for his unspeakable Mercies saying Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Iesus Christ which according to his abundant Mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively Hope by the Resurrection of Iesus Christ from the Dead to an Inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in Heaven for you who are kept by the Power of God through Faith unto Salvation O Blessed Blessed Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Here in this Life we want Time and Hearts to bless the Lord for his abundant Mercy towards us Eternity will be little enough to sing forth the Praises of the King of Kings for giving us a lively Hope that one Day we shall be so happy to be admitted into the Heavenly Society that are continually viewing the Face of the Lamb and contemplating his Glory This inestimable Privilege is only procured and purchased by the Sufferings Death and Resurrection of our alone Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ who hath provided an Inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away O the Emphasis of these Words an Inheritance What a poor Mortal to be an Heir of Heaven And this Inheritance is incorruptible not subject to Corruption Alteration or Change and it is undefiled The Things of this World are defiled with Sin they are vile contemptible and vain nay Vanity it self but this Heavenly Inheritance we see is incorruptible and undefiled And to compleat our Fruition it fadeth not away but continueth throughout all Successions of Ages There is no Probability nor Possibility of Decay or End for the Immutable and Eternal God hath assured us that they fade not away but are reserved in Heaven a secure Place beyond the reach of Men or Devils It is not in the power of Friend or Foe to dispossess the Children of God of this Heavenly Inheritance When I consider the Happiness the inconceivable Felicity of the Saints above that are now Possessors of this Inheritance that is incorruptible undefiled and that will never fade away I am apt to say with Austin's Mother when she had heard a Discourse of the Glory above What do I here then So am I reflecting What do I here in this defiling World sinning against and offending God when many are got safe beyond
the reach of Sin and Sorrow and are now Possessors of this Blessed Inheritance We are told it is reserved but for whom For those who are kept by the Power of God through Faith unto Salvation Lord it is thy Work from first to last it is thou that preparest this Inheritance and thou alone canst make thy People meet to be Possessors of it Let me find the comfortable Effects of thy Almighty Power which may enable me through Faith to attain Salvation that at the end of my Days I may receive the Salvation of my poor precious and immortal Soul for his sake who I hope loved me and washed me and died for me and is now at thy right Hand interceding for poor penitent Sinners Let me have a share of those Benefits he hath purchased for his Elect People Do thou O Blessed Father prepare Heaven for me and make me meet for it and however thou dealest with me in this World do not deny me Heaven at last the Hopes of that alone doth sweeten my Pilgrimage and make my Passage through this World tolerable therefore I humbly beg that whatever I miss here I may not be excluded from thy comfortable Presence but may be of the Number of those blessed Ones for whom thou hast prepared an incorruptible and undefiled Inheritance which fadeth not away but is reserved in Heaven for all those that Infinite Grace qualifies for and makes meet to be Partakers of PAPER VIII WHen thy Iudgments O Lord are abroad in the Earth the Inhabitants should learn Righteousness What 's the Lesson that I and all Persons ought to learn by the late dreadful Earthquake Hath it not a Voice Doth it not cry aloud and tell us that our Sins have reached Heaven that God is angry and displeased with us and that except we repent we shall likewise perish We are as grievous Sinners as any therefore have just cause to think God hath a Controversy with us in this Kingdom In a neighbouring Nation God hath seen meet to lay his afflicting Hand in a tremendous manner he hath visited them with a sore amazing and dreadful Judgment in permitting thousands to be destroyed by a lamentable Earthquake and Inundation of Water And who or what are we that we should expect to be exempted from the same or worse Judgments We whose Sins have exceeded theirs may rationally look to drink the Dregs of their Cup for we in England have had more Means of Grace than they but we have not improved them we have had the Gospel but we have slighted it we have had the Offers of Salvation but we have rejected them we have had Sabbath upon Sabbath Sermon upon Sermon and yet have not made a due Improvement of these precious Opportunities So that it 's but just with God to destroy us and our Habitations in which we have too too often dishonoured our good God and brought a Scandal on that Holy Profession which we have made We have the Name of Christians but too many amongst us live like Devils Incarnate How much Swearing Lying Stealing Killing and filthy Lewdness is to be found in this Land and Nation and especially in this City O the horrid Oaths and Imprecations that are every Minute uttered is dreadful to consider What little Conscience is made of keeping the Sabbath that is as a Day of Recreation to most and those that spend it best do too much think their own Thoughts and speak their own Words and do their own Actions So that every one must lay their Hand upon their Mouth and cry Guilty Guilty Have not we in this Nation cause to expect great and amazing Judgments when in our Land those Sins are found that a moral Heathen would blush to commit Our Sins as well as the Ninivites have reached to Heaven O that our Repentance was as real universal and unfeigned as theirs and then there might be still some Hopes that God in Judgment would remember Mercy and would not stir up all his Wrath though we are an undeserving ill-deserving and Hell-deserving People Lord we are in the dark and know not what thou art adoing with us Thou hast lately let us see what thou canst do in a Minute thou hast shaken the Earth and it trembled and it was of thy infinite Mercy that we were not all destroyed and sent quick to the lowest Hell Thou art God and not Man therefore is it that we are not consumed It 's of the Lord's Mercy that we are yet spared Help us O Lord to make a good Use of this Reprieve for we are as Brands pluck'd out of the Burning What Jeopardy were we in when the Earth of late trembled under us and our Houses seemed to be tumbling about our Ears our Hearts failing us no Place left to run to for Shelter How dejected and astonished did People look one upon another What Fears possess'd the Breasts of many all in expectation of sorer Calamities than yet felt but God hath hitherto spared us we are yet in the Land of the Living on this side the Grave and everlasting Burnings God hath of late shook the Earth O that we poor Mortals could get a Title to those unshaken Regions above which are not obnoxious to those Vicissitudes and Changes that here in this lower World we are liable to We ought to make a good Use of the late Earthquake it should awaken every one in particular to see in what Posture of Readiness we are in to meet our God What if he should repeat this amazing Judgment and not only threaten but actually destroy us It were but just with God to deal with us as lately with Iamaica How insensible have we been of their Judgments and Calamities how unreform'd are we though we see how God deals with others of our Fellow-Creatures We in probability are as great Offenders as they we spared they consumed God gives us Space to repent O that he would not deny the Grace of true Repentance We may look upon this late Warning like Ionah's Message that within a little while this City and Inhabitants shall be utterly destroyed Without dispute our Sins have reached Heaven the Cry of them is very great and should God deal with us as we have deserved we might long since have been consumed our Bodies been sent to the Grave and our Souls to Hell But we have a God whose Compassions fail not therefore is it that we are not utterly forsaken He is God and not Man wherefore it is that we are not Monuments of his Justice But his Mercies are still extended to us a sinful rebellious Nation O that they may lead us to Repentance and that the Effects of his Goodness may be shewed in our thankful Lives for this and all other Mercies which the Bounty of his Providence still vouchsafeth us PAPER IX DEath seemeth to make its near Approach to me and I am of all Persons most inexcusable who have frequent Warnings of my Departure hence if I do not
in some measure bethink my self and consider my latter End Lord I have reason to conclude that few Sands remain in my Glass to run With what Astonishment Anguish and Trouble may I review my Life past not one Thought Word or Action but needs a Pardon I blush to see how vile I have been and if I cannot bear the Scrutiny of my own Conscience how shall I abide thy severe Trial who hath kept an exact Account of all my Sins and Offences A numberless Number of Sins may be charged upon me which I confess I have been guilty of To whom shall I betake my self for Relief and Mercy but to thee O my gracious God for that I have heard that the God of Israel is a merciful God that he is slow to Anger and plenteous in Mercy that he doth abundantly pardon and forgive the Sins Offences and Provocations of his poor Creatures and therefore as I would not presume so I dare not despair Lord I fly from the Throne of thy Justice to the Throne of thy Mercy and humbly implore Pity Pardon and Compassion for thy Son's sake Magnify thy Grace in pardoning me though my Sins have abounded let thy free Grace superabound Blot out all my Sins out of the Book of thy Remembrance and let my Name be written in the Book of Life Let me be meet for the Inheritance of the Saints in Light when this earthly Cottage shall crumble to Dust. Let me be admitted to that Building an House not made with Hands eternal in the Heavens Let not me though unworthy be excluded from thy Presence Look on me in and through thy well-beloved Son in whom only thou art well pleased and for his sake be reconciled to me a vile Wretch By his Stripes let me be healed I have nothing to plead for my self only the Satisfaction of my Blessed Saviour on whom alone I rely for Pardon and Life Give me some undeniable Evidence that I do belong to the Election of Grace and that within a little while I shall be released from this Body of Sin and Death and shall be made perfectly blessed in a full Injoyment of thee to all Eternity Let me have some comfortable Hopes and Foretaste of a blessed Immortality to sweeten my Passage through and out of this World I am hastning and posting apace into an endless Eternity O that I were ready for my Appearance at thy Bar. Ah Lord if my Judg be not my Advocate with what Dread and Astonishment must I needs think of thy Tribunal where I must appear before a Heart-searching and a Sin-revenging God! There is not one Sin in my whole Life but is seen to thine all-seeing Eye and is all naked and open to thee Lord I would humbly beg that my Sins though many and great may all be pardoned and forgiven Many horrid Sinners have been received to Mercy and though my Sins are of a Crimson and Scarlet Dye yet the Blood of an All-sufficient Saviour can wash them white He is able and willing to save all those that come to God through him and he ever lives to make Intercession for them Help me by Faith to lay hold on this Redeemer who came into the World on this very Errand to save poor Sinners and reconcile them to God If so I dare not I will not despair yet Lord I beg I may not presume Help me humbly to cast my self prostrate at thy Feet and implore thy Heavenly Benediction Bless me even me in turning me away from all my Sins let them never separate between thee and my poor Soul Let them all be remitted and then it will be as if they had never been committed In my last and sorest Agonies let me see thou art reconciled to me Be with me till I die and when I die and when this World can yield me no Help Comfort or Support let me find it all in thee I know thy Presence can sweeten all the Troubles of this Life and Death it self Then let me not be dismayed at that last and great Enemy When I pass thorow the Valley and Shadow of Death I will fear no Evil for thou wilt be with me O Lord I beg thou wouldst not then be a Terror to me Thou art my Hope in the Day of Evil Help me then to hold up my Head with Comfort hoping my Redemption draweth nigh Let not this World have such possession of my Heart and Affections as to make me unwilling to dislodg and go hence when thou callest me off the Stage of this Life Let the last Scene of my Life be the best part of my Days Let me honour thee by doing thy Will and submitting to whatever thou my God shalt think fit to lay on me Help me to bear patiently thy afflicting Hand either Sickness or worldly Crosses or Death it self Let me not dare to murmur grumble or complain when Death looks me in the Face Let me not be too much daunted startled and affrighted at its Approach Thousands and ten thousands have gone through that dark Passage and shot that Gulph and there is no escape for any of the Children of Adam they that have deserved Death Eternal have no cause to grumble at Death Temporal especially if it be unstung nay then there 's Cause of Triumph for it is an Entrance into Life and Messenger to Glory therefore I hope and firmly believe and trust that that God who hath conducted so many safe through those dark Regions will not leave my poor Soul in its last Conflicts PAPER X. I Sensibly find my outward Man perish and decay but how comfortable would it be to me if I could as easily perceive the inward Man to be renewed day by day This Earthly Tabernacle is tottering and e're long will tumble down but in what plight is the poor Soul that now inhabiteth this ruinated Cottage What Provision hath it made against that Day when it must be turned out hath it got an Interest in and a Title to an enduring Substance a House above eternal in the Heavens This Life of mine is but a Vapour it appeareth but for a little while and then vanisheth away Lord teach me to number my Days that I may know how frail I am This outward Man is daily consuming wasting perishing and decaying and shall I be careless negligent remiss and unconcerned about my future State how it will go with me hereafter in the other World Though my bodily Strength abate yet let the inward Man be renewed every Day and wax stronger and stronger When the Comforts of this Life are as Iob saith of the White of an Egg unsavory have no Relish and are no Satisfaction to me let me have Comforts and Cordials that this World knoweth not of even the Light of thy Countenance and that will put Gladness into my Heart more than all the Treasures and Pleasures of this vain World Whatever thou deniest me deny me not thy self to be my God and Portion and let me have an
save Heaven to secure an Interest in Christ to get and yet we are stupid and negligent as if this were a Matter of no great moment O my God give me Wisdom that I may see the Necessity of looking after my Soul that it may go well with that however it fare with the Body and worldly Concerns Now is the Day now is the Time to provide for a happy Eternity to Day if you will hear his Voice to Morrow may be too late therefore now set about this Work in good earnest see how it stands with thy poor Soul Is God and thy Soul Friends or are they still at a distance Is God dearer to thee than all the World Dost thou think thy self happier in being a Child of God an Heir of Heaven than if thou wert possessed of all the things of this lower World Dost thou not prize and value God as thy Chief Friend and rather have his Favour and Friendship than to have the greatest Monarchs on thy side Dost thou humbly resolve to be the Lord's and his only and that thy Time thy Heart and Strength thy Memory Understanding shall be all exercised in thy Maker's Service Study his Mind and Will and then readily comply with his Commands fear his Threatnings believe his Promises obey his Precepts and resolve with Iob that though he slay thee yet thou wilt trust in him Resolve to follow God through all Difficulties beg of him to own thee for his to avouch thee to be one of his peculiar People Secure a Title to Heaven this World is passing away apace the Day is spending and the Night approaching in which I cannot work I am sensible of the Greatness of my Work and know not how short my Time may be it may be shorter than I or the World imagine My Work is so great and difficult that in my own Strength I can do nothing Lord Jesus I implore thy Aid and Assistance for thy Merit sake let my Sins all be done away let me be sanctified justified pardoned and be made meet to be received into those blessed Mansions that are prepared for thy Redeemed Ones Let me have those Qualifications that are requisite in all those whom thou admittest to live and reign with thee for ever that Holiness of Life that Purity of Heart that Sincerity that Heavenly-mindedness that Weanedness from this World and worldly Injoyments which is required in all those that love and fear thee Let me have those Divine Qualities that may render me amiable in the Eyes of my Judg. O blessed Jesus let thy Righteousness be imputed unto me and my Sins washed away with thy precious Blood Deny me not an Interest in thy meritorious Death and Sufferings I cannot be happy here nor hereafter without some comfortable Hopes that I do belong to the Election of Grace Lord if it be thy Will let me know assuredly that I am one of them for whom Christ died seeing he died for Sinners let me never die in my Sins And as I trust Christ died for me so let thy Holy Spirit live and reign in me Let me be guided directed counselled comforted strengthned and supported the remaining part of my Days that whether they be few or many they may be so spent that when I come to lie upon a sick and Death-bed I may lift up my Head with Joy unspeakable hoping my Redemption draws nigh In my last Agonies be not thou far from me thou art now and I am sure wilt be then my only Hope therefore be not a Terror unto me Let me then find that the Eternal God is my Refuge and that underneath are his everlasting Arms. I do expect to have my Flesh and my Heart within a little while to fail me but Lord be thou the Strength of my Heart and my Portion for ever Lord I hope I have chosen thee long ago for my Portion and am resolved by thy Grace enabling me to stick to my Choice therefore be thou pleased to be with me in my sorest Conflict at the Hour of Death and in the Day of Judgment Let me not then be left by thee or forsaken and rejected by thee the Great Judg of all the World whose irreversable dreadful Sentence will e'r long be pass'd upon all those that forget and neglect thee in which Number I beg I may not be found Seeing Time is posting away and Eternity appoaching and none knows how soon Death may arrest them it is highly necessary to be often considering what will do us most good and stand us most in stead at a dying Hour when this World and all its Injoyments will as Iob saith of the White of an Egg have no Relish nor 〈◊〉 in them When we come to the Brink of Eternity all our earthly Comforts will vanish and disappear our Friends and nearest and dearest Relations will bid as adieu they cannot help us nor hinder Death one Moment Our Riches though we had gained never so much cannot ease one Pain nor find one Remedy for our mortal Disease the Serjeant Death will not be bribed to stay till another Year or Day or Hour no they must be gone nill they will they they must into the other World Let me O Lord be in a Posture of Readiness that when thou shalt summons me to appear before thy dreadful Throne I may not be found naked but may be found in Christ and not in my Sins Let me by every Sabbath Sermon Prayer and Sacrament be brought nearer to thy self whose I am and whom I hope to serve here and injoy hereafter in thy Heavenly Kingdom where are an innumerable Company of Angels and the general Assembly and Church of the First-born which are written in Heaven where is God the Judg of all and the Spirits of just Men made perfect and Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant and the Blood of Sprinkling that speaketh better things than that of Abel Who can think of these glorious Inhabitants and not long to be with them O happy and blessed Souls are they that are safe got home and are now with God and his Angels and this Assembly and Church of the First-born whose Names were written in Heaven Who would not desire to be with the Spirits of the just Men who are made perfect O the Goodness of God to make Men perfect and then receive them to himself because they are so O what Thanks should be ascribed to our dear Lord Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant for purchasing at so dear a rate such inestimable Privileges and Blessings for such vile Worms as Men This Blood of Sprinkling cries louder for Mercy than the Blood of Abel did for Vengeance These holy Ones have washed their Robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb. The Lamb's Blood can wash the foulest Sinner white therefore are they brought before the Throne of God and serve him Day and Night in his Temple and he that sitteth on the Throne shall dwell among them they shall