is to be chofen, than the raging Phrenzies of a Fever, or the fudden Stroke of an Apoplexy. Reflect upon the Condition of thofe Wretches, who are fnatched out of the World, it may be, in an Act of damning Sin but however in an Inftant; without fo much as the Power, or the Leifure, to feek Pardon or Peace, to commit their Souls to God, or fo much as once implore his Mercy at the laft Gafp. O! what would they have given, how much more would they gladly have endured to purchase this long Warning, these flow and folemn Approaches of Death, the happy Advantages thou now enjoyeft of trimming thy Lamp, and putting thy Soul in readiness to meet the Bridegroom at his coming? For, tho' we ought indeed to expect him every Hour, even in our most confirmed Health; yet well is it for that Servant, who receives express Notice of his Master's Approach, and takes care fo to provide for it, as in zealous Prayers, and eager Wishes to go out to meet him; and, having on the Wedding Garment, waits only for his laft Call, to enter with him to the Marriage.

Pf. xliii. 5, 6.

xviii. 18.

EJACULATIONS,

WH

HY art thou fo heavy, O my Soul, why art thou fo disquieted within me? Still put thy Trust in God, for I will yet give bimThanks,who is the help of my Countenance, and my God.

The Lord hath chaftened and corrected me; but he hath not given me over unto Destruction. cxix. 75. I know, O Lord, that thy Judgments are right: and that Thou of very Faithfulness baft caufed me to be troubled.

Lam. iii. 22.

24.

It is of the Lord's Mercies,that I was not long ago confumed: because his Compaffions fail not. The Lord is my Portion, faith my Soul: therefore will I hope in him.

It

It is good for a Man that he should conftantly bope, and quietly wait for the Salvation of the Lord: for the Lord will not caft off for ever.

26.

31.

32.

But tho' be caufe Grief, yet will be bave Compaffion, according to the Multitude of his Mercies. Tea, like as a Father pitieth his own Pfal.ciii.13. Children, even fo is the Lord merciful unto them that fear him.

In the Multitude of the Sorrows which I have xciv. 19. in my Heart,thyComforts have refreshed my Soul

For, I know, That with thee there is Mercy : and with my God is plenteous Redemption. O remember not my old Sins, but have Mercy upon me, and that foon, for I am come to great Mifery.

Heal my Soul,which bath finned against thee: and then let the Lord do what feemeth him good. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, &c. As it was in the Beginning, &c.

H

PRAYER.

cxxx. 7.

lxxix. 9.

xli. 4:

I Sam.iii.18.

Ear me, Almighty and moft merciful God and Saviour, extend thy accustomed Goodness, to me thy poor Servant, now caft upon this Bed of Languishing, and griev'd with Sickness. Sanctify, I beseech, thee this thy Fatherly Correction to me, and grant that I may receive it, with all the Patience and Submission of a Dutiful Child. I defire to acknowledge and adore thy Divine Wisdom and Goodness, in every Difpenfation of Providence towards me; and only beg, that thou wouldeft keep me fafe under all, and then ufe what Methods thou pleafeft, of bringing me to thy felf. Manifeft thy Strength in my Weakness. Make even my feeble Condition an Inftrument of thy Glory; and, the more my outward Man decayeth, Strengthen me, I beseech thee, fo much the more continually, with thy Grace and holy Spirit in the Inner Man. Let the Senfe of my Weakness add Strength to my Faith,

and

and Serioufness to my Repentance. That if it be thy good Pleafure to restore me to my former Health, I may lead the Řefidue of my Life in thy Fear, and to thy Glory; or elfe grant me jo to take thy Vifitation, that, after this painful Life ended, I may dwell with thee in Life Everlafting. For this, O Lord, is the chief, the most earneft Defire of my Soul; that whether I live, I may live unto the Lord; or whether I die, I may die unto the Lord; so that living and dying I may be thine, through Jefus Chrift, my dear and only Saviour. Amen,

I.

MED. V.

Upon Recovery from Sickness.

F Dangers and Diftreffes awaken our Confideration, the Deliverance from them ought not to pass unobferved. The Judgments of God extort Complaints from us; and fhall his Mercies be received in Silence? When he afflicts and wounds, we feek him early; and shall we forget him, when he refreshes and heals us? That fure were moft unworthy, moft reproachful, The rather fo, because we are able to give our felves a very plain and rational Account, how it comes to pass that we receive Evil at the Hand of God; But the Good he vouchfafes us, furnishes juft Matter, no lefs of Wonder, than of Thankfulness, Death is the Punishment of Sin; The Diseases and Decays of our Bodies are so many Degrees of, and Advances toward that Death: And our Confciences can find no Difficulty in justifying these painful Difpenfations. For none of us can defcend into his own Breaft, without discovering infinite perfonal Offences, which might provoke God to take this forfeit Life, and to cut us off in the midst of our Days. But, when he forbears to do fo, when he checks his Wrath, and fufpends the Execution of that fatal Sentence gone

out

out against us; We can difcern no Reafon for This in our Selves, but muft refolve it all into the fole, the undeferved, Goodnefs of our compaffionate and longfuffering Lord.

And fuch, my Soul, is now thy Cafe. Thou wert haftening apace to the Regions of the Dead, and in Fear that thou fhould'st be depriv'd of the Refidue of thy Years. But when thou waft almost cut off with pining Sickness, and thine Eyes Ifa. xxxviii. even failed with looking upward; when thou reckoned'ft each Night and Morning, that there would be an End of thee upon Earth; then did the Lord stand by thee and fave thee, even because be had Pf. xviii. 19.

a Favour unto thee.

12, 13.

II. Now, tho' this be the Condition common to all Mankind, that we contribute no part, to the Efficient or Meritorious Caufe of fuch Goodnefs; yet in the Final Caufe we may and must bear a very confiderable Part. We could not give the Bleffing to our felves: We could not deferve that Almighty God fhould give it us: But it will lie upon us to take care, that fuch Grace be not bestowed in vain. In one refpect indeed, and ftrictly speaking, neither This, nor any other of the Difpenfations of Providence, can poffibly be in vain. For fome Effect they will of Neceffity have, even with regard to Us. But, if they do not anfwer the good Purposes, for which they were defign'd, better were it for Us, that we had never received them at all. The lengthening out our Days, if we do not amend our Manners, is but the miniftring fresh and larger Opportunities of adding yet more, to our Sins here, and to our Torments hereafter. And happier had it been, to have been fwept away with a fwift Deftruction, than to be deliver'd from our Fears, and live fuch a Life afterwards as is certain to render us more miferable in the End. For every Mercy,every Escape,must be accounted for; and thefe

which are entertained unthankfully, will at length prove Curfes, inftead of Bleffings, to us. It will therefore become thee, my Soul, very feriously to confider, wherein true Thankfulness consists, and what are the Inftances, by which it must be exprefs'd.

III. When Men do any fignal Acts of Kindness to each other, the Receiver efteems himself oblig'd to pay them back again, in fome Service or Benefit as good. This is what Men cannot be excufed from, provided fit Opportunities offer, and their Circumftances enable them to do it. But when the Power of doing thus is wanting, we are fenfible, that fo much as falls fhort in procuring a Friend's real Advantage, ought to be made up in all becoming Teftimonies of Refpect. In fuch a Readinefs of Mind as plainly fhews, that the Party does not however want the Will and hearty Defire, of returning fuch Favours in kind, and to the full.

Now the fame Rule of Equity must needs hold toward our great Benefactor in Heaven. He is indeed fo great, that his All-fufficiency can neither need, nor receive, any Addition. And we are fo very Poor and Impotent, that it were the Extremity of Vanity and Madnefs, to imagine our felves capable of adding to him. The utmost We can do is fo to demean our felves, that He, and all the World, may plainly perceive us duly fenfible of his Bounty. Now this can be demonftrated only by our conftant and zealous Care, to please and honour him, by taking delight in the Obedience he hath enjoined us, and teftifying, by our Practice, that we esteem the Service of fo liberal a Mafter, our most reasonable Duty, and perfect Freedom. Altho' therefore our Lips ought to fet forth the Praises of the Lord, and his Kindnefs fhould ever be in our Mouths; Yet are those Praises never fet forth effectually, yet is that Kindness never acknowledged as it ought, except our Lives and every Action publish it. The Profeffions of Gratitude