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many rich men among us die, and leave nothing to such pious uses. The liberality of Papists on their death-bed, may give a sharp challenge to many professed Protestants. O what a shame it is to the professors of the Doctrine of Grace, that the false Doctrines of merit and purgatory should produce so many donations and mortifications among the Papists, and the faith of Christ's most glorious gospel should not do the like among true believers! Shall the proud conceit of merit, and the imaginary fear of purgatory, prompt men to do more this way than the certain persuasion of the love of God in Christ, and the well-grounded hope of eternal life through the alone merits of Jesus Christ? O what a reproach is this to our holy religion?

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4thly, It might be much to the glory of God and good of souls, that a great part of our testaments and latter wills should consist of solemn charges, exhortations and blessings to our children, or those to whom we bequeath any legacy; so as they can never open our testaments, or look into them, but they might hear something that may make impressions on their souls for their spiritual edification, and for quickening them to the diligent practice of both family and personal godliness..

CHAP. II.

CONTAINING SOME PARTICULAR DIRECTIONS TO THESE WHO ARE SHARPLY AFflicted wITH SICKNESS AND LONG TROUBLE.

DIRECT. I. Justify God in the greatest afflictions which befal you.

THOUGH God should condemn you, see that you acquit him, and say, he is righteous in all bis dealings. When the church was under the heaviest distress, she finds cause to justify God, Lam. i, 18. "the Lord is righteous, for I have rebelled against his commandment." So doth godly Nehemiah, Neh. ix.

83. "Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly." The same doth holy David acknowledge, Psalm cxix. 75. "I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that in faithfulness thou hast afflicted me." Now, in order to bring you to this agreeable frame, and to convince you of the equity and justice of God in his dispensations, however heavy and long your distress be, I shall lay before you the following

considerations.

1st, Consider the infinitely holy and righteous nature of that God who smiteth thee, Psal. cxix. 137. "Righteous art thou, O Lord, and upright are thy judgments." We presume it of a righteous man that he will do righteous things and shall we not much more believe so of a holy and righteous God? We cannot be infallibly certain that a righteous man will always do so; for a righteous man may leave his righteousness, because the creature is mutable: but God is immutably righteous; so that we may be confident of it, that the judge of all the earth will do right, for it is impossible he can do otherwise, Zech. iii. 5. "The just Lord is in the midst thereof, he will not do iniquity." He will not, he cannot; for it is contrary to his nature.

2dly, Consider that God never brings on any affliction without a cause, 1 Cor. xi. 30. "For this cause many are sick." He hath still just ground for the heaviest affliction, from thy sins and provocations; and may always say to thee, as to Israel, Jer. ii. 17, 19. "Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, when he led thee by the way? Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backsliding shall reprove thee: know therefore, and see, that it is an evil thing and bitter that thou hast forsaken the Lord." There is still ground enough for affliction to be found in the best of God's people; and therefore it is said, Lam. iii. 33. "For he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men." No; it is our sins that oblige him to it. As Christ whipped

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the sellers of oxen and sheep out of the temple with a whip (as is generally thought) made of their own cords; so God never scourgeth us but with a whip made of our own sins. Prov. v. 22. "His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins." If we consider the mighty God as a Lord dispensing grace, then we find he acts sovereignly, and according to his will and pleasure, Mat. xi. 16. "Even so, Father, for it seemed good in thy sight." But, if we consider him as a judge dispensing judgments, he never doth it without a foregoing cause on the creature's part. God's treasure of mercy is always full and ready to be let out to them that seek it; but his treasure of wrath is empty till men fill it by their sins, Rom. ii. 15. "Thou treasurest up to thyself wrath against the day of wrath," We do always provide fuel for God's wrath before it kindle and break out upon us.

3dly, Consider further this instance of God's equity, that when there is a cause given, God doth not presently take it, but continues to threaten oft, and warn long, before he executes the sentence of his word: He sends lesser strokes as warnings of greater if we repent not; and he repeats his warnings many times both by his word and providence before he smites. Yea, even when repeated warnings are slighted, he delays a long time and waits to be gracious, Isa. xxx. 18. And when men's obstinacy and incorrigibleness arrive to such a height that he can spare no longer, yet, how loath is he to give them up to severe judgment! Hos. xi. 8. "How shall I give thee up Ephraim? How shall I deliver thee, Israel? How shall I make thee as Admah? How shall I set thee as Zeboim? Mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together." When the Lord hath sinners in his arms, ready to give them up to severe judgments, yet he makes a stand, and would fain be prevented before be proceeds to his strange work: for so he calls his acts of judgment, Isa. xxvii. 21. Acts of mercy are con

natural, most agreeable, and pleasant to God, Mie. vii. 18. "He delighteth in mercy," but judgment is his strange act, and his strange work.

4thly, Consider, that when at last he sends strokes on us, they are always short of the cause; he exacts not the whole debt that sinners owe to his justice, as Ezra doth acknowledge, Ezra ix. 13. "Thou hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve." The stroke he there is speaking of, was of a most heavy judg ment; fearful ruin and desolation came upon Jerusalem, and the whole land of Judah; the city and tentple were burnt to ashes, the people carried captive to a strange land, and treated as bond slaves among the heathen: Yet, saith the holy man, thou hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, q. d. "It is true we have been carried to Babylon, but in justice we might have been sent to hell: our houses were burnt, but our bodies might have been burnt too: We have been drinking water, but we might have been drinking -blood: We have had grievous burdens on earth, but we might have been groaning in hell: We were banished from the temple, but we might have been eternally banished from God's presence.". We think it a great favour among men, when any punishment is mitigated, when the sentence of death is changed into banishment, or when banishment is turned into a fine, or a great fine is made smaller: And will you think that God deals severely or rigorously with you, when he lays you on a sick-bed, when he might justly have laid you in hell, and poured out all his wrath upon you there! You but taste of the brim of the cup, when God might cause you drink of the bottom and dregs thereof.

Have you not cause then to acknowledge God's justice, nay, neven his mercy too, in his dealings with you, however rough they may seem to be? May you not with good reason, say, anything less than hell is a mercy to such an ill-deserving creature as I am? If even a hard-hearted Pharaoh, under distress, came the length to own the justice of God, Exod. ix. 27. "I have sin

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ned, the Lord is righteous;" shall any professed Christian fall short of that obstinate Egyptian?

DIRECT. II. Labour still to be sensible of God's hand under heavy affliction, and beware of stupidity and unconcernedness under it.

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is a sin to faint under heavy affliction, but it is a duty to feel it, Heb. xii. 5. "My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him." The apostle there doth caution against two extremes, which every Christian under the rod should be careful to avoid. 1. Despising or making light of affliction. 2. Sinking or desponding under affliction. We are in great hazard of running into the one or the other. As to the first, We may be said to despise the chastening of the Lord, when we do not observe God's hand in our affliction, so as to reform the things whereby he is displeased; or when we resolve to abide the trial, by the strength of our own resolutions, and stout-heartedness, without looking to God for supporting grace; or when we turn stupid and insensible under the heavy and long continued rod. This despising and slighting of the rod is not patience, but stupidity; it is not Christian magnanimity, but a stoical temper of mind, most sinful and provoking to God. We see how angry God is with sinners when his strokes are not felt, Isa. xli. 25. “He hath poured upon him the fury of his anger; and it hath set him of fire round about, yet he knew not; and it hath burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.” Jer. v. 3.Thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved: thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock, they have refused to return." There is little hope of a scholar minding his lesson, that is regardless of whipping. It is a dreadful sign to be like Pharaoh, sleeping in our sins, when God is thundering in his wrath. He that

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