will not save you. It is only the soul that is justified by Christ, and sanctified by his Spirit, and brought up to the love of God and holiness, that shall be saved. Whatever opinion, or church you are of, without holiness you shall never see God to your comfort, as without faith it is impossible to please him". O now what a miserable case were I in, if I had all the wealth and honour in the world, and had not the favour of God, and a Christ to purchase it, and his Spirit to witness it, and prepare me for a better life. Now I see the difference between spending time in holiness, and in sin; between a godly, and a worldly, fleshly, careless life. Now I would not for a thousand worlds, that I had spent my life in sensuality and ungodliness, and continued a stranger to the life of faith. Now, if I had a world, I would give it to be more holy! O sirs, believe it, when you come to die, sin will be then sin indeed, and Christ, and grace, will be better than riches, and to die in an unregenerate, unsanctified state, will be a greater misery than any heart can now conceive.'

Direct. v. Endeavour also to make men know the difference between the godly and the wicked.' Tell them, ' I now see who maketh the wisest choice. O happy men, that choose the joys which have no end, and "lay up their treasure in heaven, where rust and moths do not corrupt, and thieves do not break through and steal, and labour for the food that never perisheth e." O foolish sinners, that for an inch of fleshly, filthy pleasure, do lose everlasting rest and joy! "What shall it profit them that win all the world,

and lose their souls?",

Direct. VI. 'Labour also to convince men of the preciousness of time, and the folly of putting off repentance, and a holy life, till the last.' Say to them, O friends, it is hard for you in the time of health and prosperity, to judge of time according to its worth: but when time is gone, or near an end, how precious doth it then appear! Now if I had all the time again, which ever I spent in unnecessary sleep, or sports, or curiosities, or idleness, or any needless thing, how highly should I value it, and spend it in another manner than I have done! Of all my life that is

d Heb. xii. 14. xi. 6. Rom. viii. 6. 7.-9.

e Matt. vi. 19, 20. John vi. 27.

past and gone, I have no comfort now in the remembrance of one hour, but what was spent in obedience to God. O take time to make sure of your salvation, before it is gone, and you are left under the tormenting feeling of your loss.' Direct. VII. Labour also to make them understand the sinfulness of sloth, and of loitering in the matters of God, and their salvation; and stir them up to do it with all their might.' Say to them, I have often heard ungodly people, deride or blame the diligence, and zeal, and strictness of the godly but if they saw and felt, what I see and feel, they could not do it. Can a man that is going into another world, imagine that any thing is so worthy of his greatest zeal and labour, as his God and his salvation? Or blame men for being loath to burn in hell? Or for taking more pains for their souls, than for their bodies? O friends, let fools talk what they will, in their sleep and phrenzy, as you love your souls, do not think any care, or cost, or pains too great for your salvation! If they think not their labour too good for this world, do not you think yours too good for a better world. Let them now say what they will, when they come to die, there is none of them all, that is not quite forsaken of sense and reason, but will wish that they had loved God, and sought and served him, not formally, in hypocritical compliment, but with all their heart, and soul, and might.'

Direct. VIII. Labour also to fortify the minds of your friends, against all fears of suffering for Christ, and all impatience in any of their afflictions.' Say to them, The sufferings as well as the pleasures of this life are so short, that they are not worthy once to be compared with the durable things of the life to come. If I have passed through a life of want and toil, if my body hath endured painful sickness, if I have suffered never so much from men, and been used cruelly for the sake of Christ, what the worse am I now, when all is past? Would an easy, honourable, plentiful life, have made my death either the safer or the sweeter? O no! it is the things eternal that are indeed significant and regardable. Neither pleasure nor pain, that is short, is of any great regard. Make sure of the everlasting pleasures, and you have done your work. O live by faith, and not by sense; look not at the temporal things which are seen. is not your concernment, whether you are rich or poor, in

It

honour or dishonour, in health or sickness; but whether you be justified, and sanctified, and shall live with God in heaven for ever.' Such serious counsels of dying men, may make their sickness more fruitful than their health.

CHAPTER XXXI.

Directions to the Friends of the Sick, that are about them.

Direct. 1. WHEN you see the sickness or death of friends, take it as God's warning to you, to prepare for the same yourselves.' Remember that thus it must be with you: thus are you like to lie in pain; and thus will all the world forsake you, and nothing of all your honour or wealth, will afford you any comfort. This will be the end of all your pleasures, of your greatness, and your houses, and lands, and attendance; and of all your delicious meats and drinks; and of all your mirth, and play and recreations. Thus must your carcases be forsaken of your souls, and laid in a grave, and there lie rotting in the dark; and your souls appear before your Judge, to be sentenced to their endless state. This certainly will be your case: and O how quickly will it come! Then, what will Christ and grace be worth? Then, nothing but the favour of God can comfort you. Then, whether will it be better to you, to look back on a holy, wellspent life, or upon a life of fleshly ease and pleasure? Then had you rather be a saint, or a sensualist? Lay this to heart, and let the house of mourning make you better, and live as one that looks to die.

Direct. 11. Use the best means for the recovery of the sick, which the ablest physicians shall advise you to, as far as you are able.' Take heed of being guilty of the pride and folly of many self-conceited, ignorant persons, who are ready to thrust every medicine of their own, upon their friends in sickness, when they neither know the nature of the sickness, or the cure. Many thousands are brought to their death untimely, by the folly of their nearest friends, who will needs be medicining them, and ruling them, and despising the physician; as if they were themselves much

wiser than he, when they are merely ignorant of what they do. As ignorant sectaries despise divines, and set up themselves as better preachers, so many silly women despise physicians; and when they have got a few medicines, which they know not the nature of, nor how to use, they take themselves for the better physicians, and the lives of their poor friends must pay for their pride and folly. No means must be trusted to instead of God, but the best must be used in subservience unto God. And one would think that a small measure of wit and humility might serve to make silly women understand, that they that never bestowed one year in the study of physic, are not so likely to understand it, as those that have studied and practised it a great part of their lives. It is sad to see people kill their dearest friends in kindness; even by that ignorance and proud selfconceitedness, which also maketh them the destroyers of their own souls.

Quest. 1. But seeing God hath appointed all men's time, what good can physic do? If God hath appointed them to live, they shall live; and if he have appointed them to die, it is not physic that can save them.'

Answ. This is the foolish reasoning of wicked people about their salvation. If God have appointed me to salvation, I shall be saved; if he have not, all my diligence will do no good. But such people know not what they talk of. God hath made your duty more open and known to you, than his own decrees: and you separate those things which he hath joined together: as God hath appointed no man to salvation simply, without respect to the means of salvation; so God hath appointed no man to live, but by the means of life. His decree is not, 'Such a man shall be saved,' or, 'Such a man shall live so long,' only; but this is his decree, 'Such a man shall be saved, in the way of faith and holiness, and in the diligent use of means,' and, ' Such a man shall live so long, by the use of those means which I have fitted for the preservation of his life.' So that as he that liveth a holy life, may be sure he is chosen to salvation, (if he persevere) and he that is ungodly, may be sure that he is in the way to hell; so he that neglecteth the means of his health and life, doth shew that it is unlike that God hath appointed him to live: and he that useth the best means is more likely

to recover, (though the best will not cure incurable diseases, nor make a man immortal.) The reasoning is the same, as if you should say, 'If God have appointed me to live so long, I shall live though I neither eat or drink but if he have not, eating and drinking will not prolong my life.' But you must know, that God doth not only appoint you to live, that is but half his decree, but he decreeth, 'That you shall live by eating and drinking.'

Direct. III. 6 Mind your friends betimes to make their wills, and prudently by good advice to settle their estates, that they may leave no occasion of contending about it, when they are dead.' This should be done in health, because of the uncertainty of life: but if it be undone till sickness, it should then be done betimes. The neglect of it, oft causeth much sinful contending about worldly things, even among those near relations, who should live in the greatest amity and peace.

Direct. iv. Keep away vain company from them, as far as you can conveniently' (except it be such as must needs be admitted, or such as are like to receive any good by the holy counsel of the sick). It is a great annoyance to one that is near death, to hear people talk to little purpose, about the world, or some impertinencies; when they are going speedily to their endless state, and have need of no more impediments in their way; but of the best assistance that their friends can afford them. Procure some able, faithful minister to be with them, to counsel them about the state of their souls: and get some holy, able Christians to be much about them, who are fit to pray with them, and instruct them.

Direct. v.. Bear with their impatience, and grudge not at any trouble that they put you to.' Remember that weakness is froward, and as you bear with the crying of children, so must you with the peevishness of the sick; and remember, that shortly it is like to be your own case, and you must be a trouble to others, and they must bear with you. Be not weary of your friends in sickness; but loving, and tender, and compassionate, and patient.

Direct. vi. Deal faithfully and prudently with them about the state of their souls.' Your faithfulness must be shewed in these two points. 1. That you do not flatter