is the best time, and thy pleasure the 'best pleasure.' See here the end of a good man! how calm, how serene and comfortable is his death! Is there any thing like this, in the case of a wicked man, in the hour of his dissolution? alas! no. If you behold such a person in his last extremity (unless he die hardened and impenitent) you will hear little else but bitter reflections, sad bewailings, wretched upbraidings of himself, for the folly and madness of his past life, together with despairing sighs and groans, black and dreadful to himself, and very terrible to all about him. May God of his infinite mercy keep every one of us from such a dreadful hour! and teach us all so to number our days, as to apply our hearts unto wisdom; unto that true wisdom, which will make us wise unto salvation; fill our minds with comfort and satisfaction, while we live; and, what is of infinitely more value, give us, when we come to die, that peace of God which passeth all understanding, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen! A PRAYER. MOST great and mighty God! in whose hands are the issues of life and death! Thou orderest all things by thy infinite power and wisdom, and hast appointed for all men once to die; and, after this short life shall be ended, hast, of thy infinite goodness, provided for thy faithful servants a state of endless bliss and happiness. O! make me truly sensible of the frailty and uncertainty of my life; and teach me so to number my days, that I may apply my heart unto true wisdom. Let not death ever surprize me unawares, or find me in a state unprovided. But grant that I may live in such a constant preparation for my latter end, that, how suddenly soever thou shalt be pleased to take me out of this world, I may be found ready and prepared for that great account, which I must one day give before the judgment-seat of Christ. Enable me, by the assistance of thy grace and holy spirit, to finish the great work of my salvation before the night comes, when no when no man can work, and to lay a good foundation of hope and comfort against the hour of my death: that, when the time of my departure shall come, I may look back upon a well-spent life with joy and comfort, and may meet death without fear. Look upon me, O most gracious God, when the time of my dissolution draws nigh, as a reconciled father in Christ Jesus. Speak peace unto my conscience, and say unto my soul, 'I ་ am the God of thy salvation.' Let not the cruel enemy of souls affrighten me with his terrours; but give thy holy angels charge over me, to keep me out of his hands; and let the comforts of thy Holy Spirit chear and cherish my soul in its passage through this vale of tears and misery, to a happy eternity. O Lord! leave me not to myself in that time of distress, when I shall stand in so much need of thee. Confirm my faith; support me in my dying agonies; and forsake me not when my strength H faileth. Let thy merciful ears, O God, be then open to my prayers; and spare me, O Lord most holy, O God most mighty, O holy and merciful Saviour, thou most worthy judge eternal! suffer me not at my last hour, through any pains of body, or weakness of mind, to renounce my dependence upon thee. But grant, O merciful father, that, with an humble reliance on thy mercies, and the infinite merits of my dear Redeemer, and with an entire submission to thy blessed will, I may chearfully resign my soul into thy hands, and may be willing, and even desirous, to leave this world, when thou, my God, in thy great wisdom, shalt see it fitting. O Lord! let me never be separated from thee; but grant that my soul may be so united to thee, who art the fulness of all happiness, by the strongest ties of faith, love, and obedience, that, after a life spent here in thy service, I may dwell with thee in life everlasting, and be re ceived into those mansions of eternal bliss and glory, which thou hast prepared for them that truly love and fear thee. Grant this, O Lord, through the merits, and for the sake, of thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our only Saviour. CHAP. III. HITHERTO I have considered, the great advantages of religion, as they respect only our well being in this world, and our going comfortably out of it: but, there are other advantages attending a good life, infinitely beyond all that have been mentioned; namely, that it will entitle us, through the merits of Christ Jesus, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away. I shall endeavour, therefore, to shew, in the last place, that a serious and conscientious observance of the duties of religion, will most certainly be rewarded with eternal happiness in the life to come. And here I shall not presume so much as to aim at a description of that exceeding weight of glory, which God has reserved for those that truly love |