Advice to Mourners Under the Loss of Dear Relations, Paper 4 – Paper 5
PAPER IV.
GOD hath been pleased to deprive me of my dear Husband; so that my Care ought to be doubled in the Education of my poor Children, when I must discharge his part, and my own Duty too: I know not how soon God may call me out of this World, I have frequent Warnings of my Mortality by the Death of others, and my own often Indisposition. My Children are now young, and therefore what I say may not make due Impressions on them, by reason of their tender Age; and when I come to die, I know not whether I shall have Time, Opportunity, or my Senses, then to speak to them of the things that belong to their everlasting Peace: for ought I know, I then may be seized (as often I have been) with Convulsion-fits, which may soon carry my Soul out of this into an endless Life; so that I may not have any leisure to counsel, instruct or charge them to take care of their dear, precious and immortal Souls: therefore I shall leave my Charge and Commands in Writing, that they may often take a View of them, as being the Commands of their dying Mother. Dear Children, I charge you, as you hope to meet me with Comfort at the Day of Judgment, that you avoid all Sins, as Lying, Swearing, taking God's Holy Name in vain, (which I particularly mention as incident to your Age;) I charge you make Conscience of keeping the Sabbath-Day holy: Do not think your own Thoughts, nor speak your own Words, nor do your own Actions; remember it is God's Day, and must be spent in his Service. Before you go to Church, bless God for the Mercies of the Night past, for giving you leave to see the Light of another Day, especially another Sabbath-Day, wherein you may have an Opportunity of waiting upon God, and getting good to your poor Souls. When you are in the solemn Assemblies of God's People, let your Carriage be grave, serious and awful, as remembring God sees you; and let your Minds be attentive to what the Minister saith: Hear so that your Souls may live: Be not forgetful Hearers, but be ye Doers of the Word, and so shall ye be blessed in all that you do. Do not spend any time in idle Recreation, or walking in the Fields upon the Lord's Day, for the Profanation of that Day is an Inlet to many other Sins. My dear Children, spend some time every Day in reading God's Word, and in Prayer; you know not what a Blessing it is to have the Bible, therefore do not slight it, but make a good Use of it: Do not squander away your Time in reading Plays and Romances, and filthy Books, which will corrupt your Fancies, and make you unfit for the Service of God. I say to you, as David to his Son, And thou Solomon, my Son, know thou the God of thy Fathers, and serve him with a perfect Heart, and with a willing Mind; for the Lord searcheth all Hearts, and understandeth all the Imaginations of the Thoughts: If thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. Children, as soon as you are capable of knowing any thing, I would have you labour to know God, own him, love him, obey him, and serve him, and that with a willing Mind, knowing that he searcheth your Hearts; you cannot deceive him, for he knows the Imagination of all your Thoughts better than you know them your selves. If you seek him, he will be found of you: You may seek earthly Friends, and at last be disappointed: you may seek Riches, and lose your Labour: but if you do rightly seek God, he will be found of you, and then happy are you for ever. You see that if you forsake him, he will cast you off for ever. O miserable and wretched are they that are cast off by God; where shall they go for Comfort that have lost his Friendship and Favour? Children, if you lose all you have in the World, it is nothing to the Loss of God's Favour: If you lose Father and Mother, yet if God will take you up, you are happy: If all Friends fail you, if God do not fail nor forsake you, nor cast you off, still you may be happy: your true Felicity lieth not in the things of this Life, but in your Portion in the everlasting God.
My Children, if you honour God, he will honour you; but if you despise him, he will lightly esteem you: He will be with you while you are with him; but if you forsake him, (wonder not if) he will forsake you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.
Children, honour God by chusing his word for your Rule and Guide, by chusing him for your alone Portion: prefer him before all the World; so that if the Devil should come to you, as once to your blessed Saviour, and tell you of giving you great Matters if you will but serve him, yet resolve to serve and please God: Though he see fit to afflict you, yet love him and cleave to him, trust in him, and rely upon him: Honour God, by keeping his Commandments, by believing his Promises, by walking in his Ways; rather choose to die at a Stake for your Religion, than to deny God or his Cause. Hath God said, he will be with you while you are with him? O then keep close to God, beg him to keep you from falling, to preserve you blameless and unreproveable unto his Heavenly Kingdom: Implore him to keep you by his mighty Power through Faith unto Salvation. Draw nigh to God in a way of Duty, and he will draw nigh to you in a way of Mercy. My dear Children, I charge and command you to love God, and keep his Commandments; his Commandments are not grievous, but his Laws are all holy, just and good. Let it be your Aim and End, living and dying, to approve your selves to God: Let his Word direct and guide, counsel and comfort you in all Conditions and State of Life, whether high or low, rich or poor, in Health or Sickness: whatever your Conditions be in the World, if you belong to God, he can and will order it for your Good; therefore let that be your first Care that you are his: you are his by Creation, you are his by Redemption and Purchase; therefore give up your selves intirely to him, to be ruled, and guided, and disposed of as your Heavenly Father thinketh meet. Say, Lord, here we are, do with us as seemeth best to thy Godly Wisdom: Do but love us, and delight in us, and own us, and approve us, and take us for thine own; and then take what Method thou pleasest to bring us to Glory.
Dear Children, you were both dedicated to God in your Infancy, remember to renew and keep your Baptismal Covenant, wherein you did promise before God, Men, and Angels, to Renounce the World, the Flesh, and the Devil, and to be intirely the Lord's, and his only; to keep his Laws, and Commandments, and Statutes, all the Days of your Life: Dare not to live in the Breach of any of them; Watch and pray, that you enter not into Temptation. Take heed of taking God's Name in vain, of playing on the Lord's Day, of Lying, Swearing and Idleness. I repeat these again, as being very common, and little taken notice of in the World. My dear Children, remember this Counsel of your dear, deceased, Mother, as one that had a great Concern for your precious and immortal Souls.
PAPER V.
WHen my Spirit is overwhelmed, lead me, O Lord, to the Rock that is higher than my self! If I had no Supports now to fly to, more than this vain World affords, I were a miserable Creature; but God hath been pleased, in some measure, to bless me with the Knowledg of himself, whom to know, to love, and to injoy, is Life Eternal. I cannot express the Comfort that the Word of God doth yield me, even now in my Distress; so that I can say with the Psalmist, that thy Word is better to me than thousands of Gold and Silver. What though the Figtree should not blossom, neither should there be any Fruit in the Vine: If the Labour of the Olive shall fail; if the Fields shall yield no Meat; if the Flock shall be cut off from the Fold; if there be no Herd in the Stalls; if dear Relations and Friends die; if Husband and Children are taken away; yet if thou canst rejoice in the Lord, and joy in the God of thy Salvation; if thou canst but say, that the Lord God is thy Strength, thy Portion, thy Refuge, and thy Deliverer, thou mayst be happy, whatever thy Condition be in this World. If thy good God will but say, as unto Israel of old, in Isa. 43. 1. But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, and he that formed thee, Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy Name, thou art mine. Lord, I know I am thine by Creation, it was thou alone that formed me; I beg that I may be thine by Redemption; let me be effectually called. O blessed Lord, assure me that I am thine; and let me know that thou lovest me, though thou afflictest me; that thou art not angry with me, though thou chastisest me sorely. There is much Bitterness, let there be no Wrath in this Cup: Give me some Hopes thou wilt be with me when I pass through the Water, and through the Fire. Lord, if thou wilt be but with me, I will fear no Evil: Lift thou up the Light of thy Countenance upon me, and then it will put more Gladness into my Heart than if I were possessed of all the good things in the World. Deal with me as thou usest to do to those that love thy Name. Lord, I hope I love thee! Lord, I desire to love thee, and to be beloved by thy blessed Majesty; and then all the Afflictions that I meet with, will make no Breach between thy self and my poor Soul. Thou art pleased to afflict me very sore, but I do not, I dare not, I will not say unto thee, What dost thou? for thou givest no Account of thy Matters. It is my Duty to submit, admire, not to quarrel at thy Providences; therefore with all humble Submission, I acquiesce to thy Sovereign Will, saying, as my Blessed Saviour, Not my Will, but thine, O Lord, be done.