all his sin. Shew such pity to him as a father doth to his child, and lay no more upon him than he is able to bear. Lord, give patience and strength answerable to the burden of trouble thou hast laid on him. In time of his weakness uphold him by thy strength. Relieve his wants out of thy infinite fulness. Lord, thou knowest his frame, and rememberest that he is dust; save him from extremity of trouble, either abate his pain, or increase his patience to endure what thou measurest out to him. Give him the evidences of all the graces of thy Spirit. Arm and defend him against all the suggestions and temptations of Satan. Take his heart wholly off the world, and set his affections on things above. Lord, make use of this chastisement of his body as a medicine to cure his soul, by drawing his soul, that is sick of sin, to thyself. O enable him in a penitent believing manner, to come by repentance to Christ his soul-physician, to get it healed of all its maladies. Sanctify his sickness, and let the fruit of it be to purge away his sin.

If God shall be pleased to add to his days, bless all means of his recovery. Remove the disease; renew his strength both outward and inward; heal his soul as well as his body. And enable him to walk tenderly before God, and carefully to remember and perform such vows and promises of obedience as men are apt to make in time of sickness.

If God hath determined to finish his days by the present visitation, let him find such evidence of the pardon of his sins, of his interest in Christ, and eternal life, as may cause his inward man to be renewed, while his outward man decayeth; that he may meet death without fear, cast himself wholly on Christ, without doubting, and desire to be dissolved, that he may for ever be with Jesus Christ-Lord, make his last works better than his first, and the day of his death better than the day of his birth. Make his last words his best words, his last thoughts his best thoughts, and

his last hour his best hour. O let him die the death of the righteous, and let his last end be like his.Let the eyes of his soul be opened to see his sins and his Saviour, before the eyes of his body be shut by death. Take away the sting of death, and the guilt of sin, that he may walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and fear no evil.-Open thou his lips, that his mouth may shew forth thy praise, before he go to the place of silence. And when his strength doth fail, and his tongue is not able to utter words, let the blood of Christ speak for him in heaven. And let thy Holy Spirit within him, make requests for him with sighs and groans that cannot be uttered.When the sight of his eyes doth fail him, let the eyes of his faith be strengthened, that his soul (with Stephen at his death) may behold Jesus Christ in heaven ready to receive him.-Lord, stand by him in his last conflict with his enemies, Satan and death, that he may overcome both, and be more than a conqueror, through Christ that hath loved him. Into thy hands we commend his spirit.

Lord, teach us who do survive, by this and other like daily spectacles of our mortality, to see how frail and uncertain our condition is, and so to number our days, that we may seriously apply our hearts to hea venly wisdom, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

DIRECT. V. Be careful to furnish your friends with suitable company and spiritual converse, when they are sick or dying.

As S worldly company and converse are great hin derances, so spiritual company and converse are special helps to the sick and dying. Now that the friends of the sick may prevent the one, and provide for the other, let the following advices be remem bered.

1st, Mind your friends timeously to make their wills,

and despatch the settlement of their worldly affairs, that so they may not be disturbed at the last, nor any wise diverted from their main work, by thoughts or discourses about the world. A mind abstracted from the world is a most suitable disposition for a dying man. You cannot carry the things of this world with you when you go hence; and it is not fit you should carry the thoughts of them.

2dly, Keep carnal company from them as much as possible, and all those that would divert them by idle or worldly discourse. It is both impertinent and cruel to throw in such impediments in the way of those that are going speedily to their endless state.

3dly, Do what you can to get faithful ministers and godly Christians to be much about them, who are fit to instruct and counsel them about their soul's matters, and also to pray with them and for them.

4thly, Be often minding your sick friends of their chief work, and these things which belong unto their peace. Whatever be their state, whether gracious or graceless, it is proper to be minding them, 1. Of the vanity and emptiness of the world, that can neither give ease to the body nor comfort to the soul, when either of them is in trouble.-2. Of the sinfulness of sin, which is the spring of all diseases and miseries whatsoever.-3. Of the preciousness and usefulness of Christ to a sinner in all cases, and especially at a dying hour. 4. Of the inexpressible felicity of believers in Christ after death, &c.

Lastly, If you think yourselves not able to instruct or advise your sick friends as they stand in need, then read some good book to them, that may be suitable to the condition of their souls; and if you have not a fitter at hand, read some chapters or directions of this book to them, as you may see most proper for them. But above all books, read to the sick the Holy Scriptures, and some particular chapters and Psalms there, such as the last three chapters of Genesis; the last chapter of Deuteronomy;-the 17th chapter of the

first book of Kings;-the 2d chapter of the 2d book of Kings; the 14th and 19th chapters of Job;-the Psalms of David, and particularly the 6th, the 23d, 25th, 30th, 38th, 41st, 42d, 49th, 51st, 71st, 73d, 77th, 88th, 89th, 90th, 103d, 116th, 118th, 130th, 142d, 144th, and several other Psalms.-The 12th chapter of Ecclesiastes ;-the 30th, 53d, 54th, and 55th chapters of Isaiah ;-the last three chapters of Luke; the 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, and 20th chapters of John ;-the 8th chapter of the Romans;-the 15th chapter of 1st Corinthians;-the 5th of the 2d Corinthians; the 4th of 1st Thessalonians ;-the 11th and 12th of the Hebrews; the last three chapters of the Revelation, and the like.

DIRECT. VI. Be likewise suitably concerned for the bodies of your friends, when they are sick.

IF you would evidence a suitable concern for them, then you must deal tenderly and compassionately with them in their sickness, bear with their impatience and fretting, weary not of them, nor grudge at the trouble they put you to: for shortly you yourselves may be in the like case; when you shall be as great a trouble to others, as your friends are now to you.

Again, it is necessary to employ physicians, and use the best means for the recovery of your friend's health. The means, indeed, must not be trusted to, instead of God, but used in subserviency to him, who hath appointed them, and can only give success to them. We must beware of Asa's sin, that sought to the physicians, and not to the Lord. Let us neither take food nor physic without prayers to God for his blessing thereupon.

DIRECT. VII. When the sickness of your relations or neighbours doth issue in death, study a Christian and suitable behaviour under such a dispensation. WHEN a parent loseth a promising child, or a child loseth a loving parent, when death de prives us of any near relation, it is a speaking and trying providence; and we have much need of grace and counsel from God to carry aright under it. Let us observe these advices.

I. It is necessary in such a case that we have a tender sense and feeling of God's afflicting hand. There are two extremes which we must equally avoid, viz. to make light of the death of relations, and to be excessively grieved on that account. God will have us neither to despise his rod nor to faint under it, Heb. xii. 5. God is displeased with those that are stupid and insensible under such afflictions. Why? They despise his rod, and make light of his correction. Hence he complains of these, Jer. v. 3. "I have smitten them but they have not grieved." God will have us feel his hand, to inquire into the meaning of the rod, and search for these sins that have provoked God to smite us. It is a sign of a naughty, selfish, and unchristian spirit, to be unconcerned for the death of friends, and much more is it so in these children, who have a secret satisfaction in the death of parents, because of the worldly riches or liberty which they get thereby. God useth to follow this wicked temper with his heavy judgments even in this life.

II. Consider, that God is calling you, by the death of others, to keep up lively and lasting impressions of death and eternity upon your spirits. God knoweth how advantageous it would be for men so to do; and therefore he sets frequent spectacles of mortality before their eyes for this end. But such is the corruption and earthliness of our minds, that we soon forget the thoughts of death. When we see our friends