In like manner, when God vouchfafes to us the warning and opportunities of ficknefs; there are certain exercises of religion which have a special relation to this state, and are therefore of great concernment to be done, that we may make our condition as fure as we can, and our portion of glory greater, and our pardon more compleat, and our love to God more intense; and that our former omiffions and breaches may be repaired, in fome proportion to those great hopes which we are then going to poffefs.

Particularly, it behoves the fick perfon, in the beginning of his fickness, and in every change and great accident of it, to make acts of refignation to God, and intirely submit himself to the divine will; remembring, that sickness may, to a man properly difpofed, do the work of God, and promote the intereft of his foul; as being in it's own nature apt to make us confess our own impotency and dependencies, and to understand our needs of mercy, and the continual influences and fupports of heaven; to withdraw our appetites from things below, to correct the vanities and infolencies of our fpirits, to remind us of A a 2

Our

our state of pilgrimage, and that heaven is our country. For fo, fickness is the trial of our patience, a fire to purify us, an inftructer to teach us, a bridle to reftrain us, and a state inferring great neceffities of union with, and adhering unto God.

And this will furnish us with grounds of patience. We are to confider in fuch cafe, that no temptation hath befallen us, but fuch as is common to man; that God is faithful, who will not fuffer us to be tempted above what we are able; but will with the temptation make a way to escape, that we may be able to bear it: That whatfoever things were written aforetime, were written for our learning, that we thro' patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. We should stand still, and arreft our spirits, and confider, that this is no more than what we looked for, and were always certain fhould happen, unless God in his difpleasure fhould take us away without any warning; and in no cafe fhould we fuffer our spirits to be difcompofed with fear or wildness of thought, but should stay their loosenefs and difperfion, by ferious confideration of what is present and what is

to

to come. We should call in all the auxiliaries of reason, and know that then is the time to try our ftrength, and the firmnefs of our principles; and fince we muft fubmit to the trial inevitably, we should refolve to do it chearfully; confidering withal, that if we behave our felves weakly and timoroufly, we shall suffer never the less of ficknefs, and shall bewray a daftardly and unmanly fpirit.

And this is the time for the full exercife of our faith. It is then that faith appears moft neceffary, and moft difficult. Faith is the foundation of all our hopes; it is that without which we cannot live well, and without which we cannot die well; it is a grace that then we fhall need, to support our spirits, to fuftain our hopes, to alleviate our fickness, to refift temptations, and to prevent despair. Upon the belief of the articles of our religion, we can do the works of an holy life; and upon the belief of the promises of God, we can bear our fickness patiently, and die chearfully. The fick man's faith therefore fhould be exercifed about the promises of grace, and the excellent things of the gofpel; those which A a 3

can

can comfort his forrows, and enable his patience; thofe upon the hopes of which he did the duties of his life, and for which he is not unwilling to die; fuch as the interceffion and mediation of Chrift, remiffion of fins, the refurrection, the myfterious arts and mercies of man's redemption, Chrift's triumph over death and all the powers of hell, the covenant of grace, or the bleffed iffues of repentance; and above all, the article of eternal life and happiness in the other world.

And when the fick perfon is thus difpofed, let him begin to drefs his lamp with the repetition of acts of repentance; perpetually praying to God for pardon of his fins, representing to himself the horror of them, the multitude, the aggravations; being helped by arguments to excite contrition, and by repetition of holy prayers and refolutions. And he may, by accepting and humbly receiving his ficknefs at God's hand, tranfinit it into the condition of an act or effect of repentance; acknowledging himself by fin to have deferved and procured it, and praying that the punishment of his crimes may be here, and not referved

reserved for the state of separation, and for

ever,

And let him inquire particularly into the repentance of his former life; whether it was of a great and perfect grief, and productive of fixed refolutions of holy living, and effectual in reducing them to practice; how many days and nights we have spent in forrow and care, in habitual and actual pursuances of virtue; what means we have chofen and used for the rooting out of fin; how we have judged our felves, to prevent our being judged of the Lord; whether we have, by the grace of repentance, changed our life, from criminal to virtuous, and from one virtuous habit to another.

And we should fupply the imperfections of our repentance, by a general or univerfal forrow for the fins of our whole lives; for all fins known and unknown, repented and unrepented of, of ignorance or infirmity, of openness or fecrecy.

And we should be watchful and diligent, that the principle of our repentance be a forrow for our fins, commenced not upon the grounds of a flavifh and abject fear, but of the love of God, gracious and merA a 4 ciful