weakness and languor all over: this comes home to me indeed, to make me fee myself wafting, and even dying away: till I am come even within the verge and territories of death; and almoft free already among the dead. Now fhall not I take this as a fufficient warning? when I do not only hear, but fee, yea and feel, the warning? and being fo fore-warned, if I am not alfo fore-armed; it will be my foul fhame and confufion, yea, my inexcufeable fault and condemnation.

O my foul, fhall I be like the beafts, feeding in a pafture; that when the butcher comes, and fetches away one after another for the flaughter; they ftill eat on, and play, and please themselves, and never regard the matter? and when it comes to my very bone and flesh; and the meffengers of death have made an entry, and feizure upon me; and got the prepoffeffion of me: O what should I have to fay for myfelf; if after all, I fhould be taken tardy, and found at the laft unready? if I should take no warning, nor be startled from wilful finning; but run on in a dangerous courfe of wicked living? "Noah, being warned of God, moved with fear "prepared an ark, to the faving his houfe," Heb. xi. 7. O do thou imitate that great example, my foul; and let the warnings of God have this influence upon thee; to quicken thy care, and engage thy endeavours, in making fuch preparation, that thou mayeft efcape the deftruction, and fee the joy of his falvation. O feek out for fhelter; and that in a better righteoufnefs than thy own. Get by faith into the ark of Chrift's righteoufnefs: and there fet up thy reft: and let that be all thy truft. That in the floods of great water, thou mayest ride fecure, and furmount the danger: and though toffed and threatened, not be overthrown and worfted; but fafe and happy for ever; under the covert and protection of a SAVIOUR, the LORD thy. ftrength, and thy Redeemer.

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My gracious God! thou art pleased to give me many monitors and remembrances "abroad in the world; and also at home, in my "own frail fabric; to acquaint and warn me, of

my approaching diffolution; that I must go fhort"ly down to the chambers of death, and be here "no more feen; what has befallen fo many, in my "circumstances already, gives me loud alarms, to "confider, that my turn is coming; when I fhall go after them; and lie by in the grave, as they "do; and be taken up elsewhere, as they are.

good Lord! awaken my reason, and engage my "ferious animadverfion; that I may not only have, "but take the warnings, and prevent the furprise, " and escape the danger; and be ready, at thy call, " and meet to enter into thy kingdom, and to live "for ever in the love and joy of my Lord. "Amen."

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MEDITATION XXXVIII.

Of death, as the object of fear.

OME have I heard talk with fuch boldness and affurance, as if they would out-vapour death, and fet him at defiance: crying, They fear him pot; come when he will. They are ready for him. And thus may they think to commend their valour, and die in bravery: but when it comes to be

tried, O how foon will fuch kind of courage be cooled; and leave them confounded? for what a vaft difference is there, my foul, between fool-hardinefs, and Chriftian courage? and it is not only, how confident men are: but what reason they have for it. It is one thing to die fecure and careless; and quite another thing, to depart in peace, and die in the Lord. They that have not firft been changed by grace, will find the faddeft change that ever befel them, in their death. Let them now put what face they will upon it; and think they have done enough, if they can but perfuade the world, that they are undaunted: many a tender Chriftian, that is exercifed with modeft diftrufts of himself, and humble fears of his cafe, may give a sweeter (I am fure, a fafer,) welcome to death; than fuch who have no ftronger batteries against it, but their ftout looks, and big words. Such an enemy as the king of terrors, a conqueror that has trodden down all the mightieft forces, is not to be flighted and hectored, by pitiful finners. But till grace and holiness are more to be seen in them, fear and trembling would much better become them. They that have done fo evil, have cause to be afraid. And death may not only ftrike terror into the man of pleafure; and ftrike the very heart of the unrenewed finner but it is indeed formidable ftill, even to many of their betters; as it is the dire effect of fin ; fhewing the havock that it makes, and the ruin that it brings, upon the world: and as it diffolves the very frame of nature, gives fuch a fhock and concuffion to our whole man, and tears the two parts of us afunder: turns the fairest beauty into a rueful picture and makes the remains even of our sweetest friend, a heap of stench, not to be endured above ground: yea, will alfo pluck us away from all that ever we love and value in the world. And it is well, if it be indeed the laft enemy: for

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to all ungodly men, out of Chrift, it is not; but the beginning of their endless forrows. Yea, it has a dreadfulness in it, even to them that are above the danger of being undone by it: and revives fomewhat of the spirit of bondage in them; after all that their mighty Deliverer has done for them. Often it ftartles their faith, and chills their love, and flatters their praifes: like a lion in the way to their better country; and an ugly porter to the heavenly city.

Here then, my foul, do not diffemble thy fear : but rather inquire after the right and only way of cure. It is the death of thy Saviour, that alone can give thee a comfortable remedy, against this fearing the death of thy body. Because he has not only, through that vale of death, tracked out the way to the regions of a better life: but by his own precious death, has made a perfect fatisfaction for those our fins, which rendered death indeed deadly to us and also destroyed the devil, that had the power of death; in killing that enmity, which gave him all the advantage over us. O fee then to thy intereft in this Lord Redeemer. For being in him, there is no condemnation to thee: and the death that kills thy body, cannot then touch thee; but only to release thee, out of thy prifon, into thy own country, the kingdom of glory and will alfo make that fleshy part, which has the worft of it now, the better for ever. O then conquer thy fears, by thy faith in him, that has conquered thy foes. And though thou canst not be in love with corruption, nor be fond of a diffolution; for any thing defirable that is in it: yet looking unto JESUS, thou mayeft defire it, for that which is beyond it: and fear no evil, in paffing through this gloomy vale: when it is to be with him, which is far better. Though ftill thou art afraid, because of thy remaining fins: (for fin and fear are fit companions

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to dwell together :) yet doft thou not know how fo far to difarm death of its fting, that thy hopes may be bigger than thy fears; and bear thee up, from finking into defperation, though not yet clear from all tranfgreffion? and how is that, my foul, but by thy juftification; which takes away its guilt and condemnation? and by thy fanctification, that delivers thee from its love and dominion? O plead the infinite merits, and full fatisfaction of thy bleffed Saviour; for the difcharge of every penitent, believing finner. And where thou canst not, (out of thy own stock,) pay for any one fin: yet depend upon what he has done and endured, to pay, even to the utmost, for all.

But then, let not fin reign in the mortal body; left it justify the fear of a worfe death, fo to come upon the immortal foul. For if it do not reign, it fhall not ruin. Where it has but a bare being, it will not be damning. O then be afraid of finning; that thou mayeft not be afraid of dying. Refift temptations, and pray for power against them and then, though thou can not quite get clear of them; yet thou needeft not fear to be undone by them. Yea, to give the deadly stroke to the fins that foment thy fears; fo give thyfelf to the love of God, that thou mayeft utterly diftafte all the pleasures of fin; and count nothing fweet, but what pleases thy beloved. And then fuch a relifh of things holy and heavenly, will give thee fome anticipation of heaven in thyfelf already, and give the feelings of fuch a life, as thou needeft not fear ever to kill. For that fpiritual life fhall not in the leaft be impaired, but perfected, by the natural death. And then, instead of dreading it, as a foe: thou mayeft expect it, to do the kind office of a friend and mayeft begin fomewhat of that triumph aforehand, O death, where is thy fting? O where is thy victory? welcome that, which

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