ciful and of great goodness. To which purpose we should confider, that there are in God all the motives and caufes of amiability in the world: That God is fo infinitely good, that there are fome of the greatest and most excellent fpirits of heaven, whose work and whofe felicity, and whose perfections, and whofe nature it is, to fhine forth in the brightest and most excellent love: That to love God is the greatest glory of heaven: That in him there are fuch excellencies, that the smallest rays of them, communicated to our weaker understandings, are fufficient to caufe transports and fatisfactions, and joys unspeakable and full of glory: That all the wife chriftians of the world know and feel fuch caufes to love God, that they all profefs themselves ready to die for the love of God: And the apostles, and numberless martyrs, did die for him: That all thofe good perfons that have ever been followers of Chrift, did for his love endure the crucifying their fins, the mortification of their appetites, the contradictions and death of their most violent and natural defires: That all the good we have, is derived from God's love to us; and all

the

the good we can hope for, is the effect of his love, and can defcend only upon them that love him: That by his love it is, that we receive the holy Jefus; and by his love we receive the bleffed fpirit; and by his love we feel peace and joy within our felves; and by his love we receive the mysterious facrament of Chrift's body and blood. And what can be greater, than that from the goodnefs and love of God, we receive Jefus Chrift, and the Holy Ghoft, and the adoption and inheritance of fons, and to be co-heirs with Chrift, and to have pardon of our fins, and a divine nature, and reftraining grace, and the grace of fanctification, and rest and peace within us, and a certain expectation of glory? Who can chufe but love him, who, when we had provoked him exceedingly, fent his fon to die for us, that we might live with him; who doth fo defire to pardon and fave us, that he hath appointed his only fon continually to intercede for us? That his love is fo great, that he offers us great kindness, and intreats us to be happy, and makes many decrees in heaven concerning the intereft of our fouls, and the very provision

for

for and fupport of our perfons: That he fends his angels to attend upon his fervants, and to be their guard and their guide in all their dangers and diftreffes: That he it is, that makes all the creatures ferve us; and takes care of our fleeps; and preserves all plants and elements, all minerals and vegetables, all beafts and birds, all fishes and infects, for food to us and for ornament, for physick and instruction, for variety and wonder, for delight and for religion: That as God is all good in himself, and all good to us; fo fin is directly contrary to God, to reafon, to religion, to fafety, and pleasure, and felicity.

And now is the time particularly, beyond which the fick man must by no means defer to make reftitution of all his unjust poffeffions, or other mens rights; and fatisfactions for all injuries and violences, according to his obligation and poffibilities. Above all fingle acts of this exercife, we are concerned to fee, that nothing of other mens goods ftick to us; but let us fhake it off, as we would a burning coal from our flesh; for it will deftroy us, it will carry a curfe with us, and leave a curfe behind us.

Those

Those who by our means or importunity have become vicious, we muft exhort to repentance and an holy life; thofe whom we have cheated into crimes, we muft reftore to a right understanding; those who are by violence or intereft led captive by us to any indecency, we must restore to their liberty, and encourage to the prosecution of holinefs. We muft difcover and confefs our fraud and unlawful arts, ceafe our violence, and give as many advantages to virtue as we have done to viciousness. We must make recompence for fuch wrongs as we cannot repair in kind; and restore every man (as much as we can) to that good condition from which we have removed him; reftore his fame, fo far as it is in our power; give back his goods, and take off all unjust invafions of his eftate; pay debts; fatisfy for our fraud and injustice, as far as we can, and as foon. Otherwise this alone is weight enough to fink us into perdition.

And having thus difpofed himself, let the fick man be reconciled to all those, in whom he knows or fufpects any degrees of anger, or malice, or displeasure towards. him; fubmitting himself to those with

humility,

"

humility, whom he unworthily hath difpleased; and offering pardon to those that have difpleafed him.

And after these preparatives, he may with piety and confidence refign his foul into the hands of God, to be deposited in holy receptacles till the day of the reftitution of all things; and in the mean time, with a quiet fpirit, defcend into that state which is the lot of all men, where kings and conquerors have laid afide their glories.

It only remains, that we who are yet in health, and have fpace and opportunity before us, should so live, and by the actions of religion attend the coming of the day of the Lord, that we neither be furprized, nor leave our duties imperfect, nor our fins uncancelled, nor our perfons unreconciled, nor God unappeased: but that when we defcend to our graves, we may rest in the bofom of the Lord, till the manfions be prepared, where we shall triumph and rejoice eternally.