Advice to Mourners Under the Loss of Dear Relations, Paper 1
PAPER I.
I Hope I have avouched the Lord to be my God, and resolve to walk in his Ways, and to keep his Statutes, and his Commandments, and his Judgments, and to hearken unto his Voice. And I humbly implore, that the Lord would avouch me to be one of his peculiar People, and that he would enable me to keep all his Commandments. I often question whether I have any Interest in the Eternal God, or whether he will own me as one of his; but, Lord! I humbly say, I have and do avouch thee to be my only God and Saviour; (O cast me not off!) and I earnestly beg Grace to walk in thy Ways. Help me to keep thy Statutes continually: Let me not dare to offend thee: O that I might never provoke thee my good God to be angry or displeased with me! but let me, O Lord, be a Doer of thy Commandments, that so I may have Right to the Tree of Life: Lord, I have no Right, I can plead no Right, I fall infinitely short of my Duty; but have not I a blessed Saviour to plead for me, who died for the Chief of Sinners? and he hath promised that none that come to him, he will in any wise cast out. I know he is able to save to the utttermost, all those that come to God through him: in his prevailing Name, and for his sake I implore Divine Assistance to enable me to persevere and hold out to the end, that at the last I may enter in through the Gates into the City, into the Heavenly Ierusalem, where the Saints, and Angels, and Cherubims, and Seraphims are continually singing Hallelujahs to their King, Holy, Holy, Holy Lord. I acknowledg my Unfitness, my Unworthiness for this great inexpressible, inconceivable Privilege: but though I am unworthy, if thou my God wilt count me worthy through the Merits of my dear Saviour, I shall have Cause for ever to bless thy Name in the highest Heavens, World without End. Though I have no Right, if thou wilt give me Right to those Treasures and Pleasures which are at thy right Hand for evermore, this will be Matter of Thankfulness to Eternity. Give me some Hopes that I have an Interest in these invisible things, by my Care to please thee, and my Fear to offend thee; by my unfeigned Respect to all thy Holy, Righteous, and Just Commandments, and by my harkning to thy Voice, the Voice of thy Word, and the Voice of thy Rod. Thy Dealings are variously dispensed towards me. I met with many contrary Winds; O let them all blow me nearer to thy blessed Self.
Lord, I humbly say, I have avouched thee to be my only God, my Salvation, my Portion, my Rock, my Fortress; O be thou my reconciled Father, to whom I may continually resort: and when my Flesh and Heart here fail me, (as frequently they do) be thou the Strength of my Heart, and my Portion for ever. O God, my God, do not forsake me, nor cast me utterly out of thy Sight. The Things of this World they do not, they cannot, they will not content me. O give me some comfortable Hopes that I am thine, that thou hast adopted me, and that thou wilt sanctify me, and make me meet for thy blessed Self! I would be every Day sitting and preparing my self for my last Day, for my accounting Day, when I must be summoned before thy Tribunal Seat, to give a strict severe Account for all my Thoughts, Words and Actions, whereby I have offended thee, my gracious and good God: but I find my self unfit for any spiritual Duty. Lord, help me to mind the Work of Time while Time lasts: furnish me with Divine Assistance to enable me to do my Duty, without which I am utterly uncapable of serving or pleasing thy blessed Majesty. Death is hastning, Eternity approaching, the particular Day of Judgment near; and yet for all this, how inconsiderate art thou, O my Soul, to neglect the things that belong to thy everlasting Peace! I am often thoughtful what will become of me here, and how Matters will go with me here in this Life; Ah but when is the time to provide for Eternity, to get my Title to Heaven cleared, to get an undeniable Interest in Christ Jesus, which will yield me Comfort in the greatest worldly Distresses? Lord, give me some Hopes that thou hast avouched me to be thine; and that I have sincerely, without Reservation, or Power of Revocation, avouched thee to be my God.