The Happiness of a Quiet Mind, Part 3

The Happiness of a Quiet Mind · Part 3

p. 67As to your Crys to God for help in trouble, obſerve theſe Rules.

1. Be ſure to offer up all your Crys in the Name of Chriſt, and all the while you pray think of his kind, and compaſſionate, and prevailing Interceſſion. Cry in his Name for you are encouraged ſo to do, from his Promiſes, from the vertue of his Blood and Merits, from his nearneſs to God, and his Love to you. You find Mat. 14.23. that he was praying on the Mountain when his Diſciples were in a p. 68ſtorm at Sea. As he ſuffers not in all our Agitations, ſo he is not unmindful of our Troubles: when we are toſt hither and thither by the changes of our Bodys or our Souls; He is the ſame yeſterday, to day, and for ever, Heb. 13.8. How many Gulphs would ſwallow us up, and againſt how many Rocks ſhould we be daſht if it were not for the powerful and tender remembrance of our Saviour. Let us under every Croſs pray to God in his Name; for by his ſufferings we are reconciled, and have acceſs to the Throne of Grace, a Throne ſprinkled with Blood; whereas without him we had trembled at the Bar of ſtrict Juſtice: And he prays for us, not only as a Favourite, but as the Surety of the Covenant; not meerly by intreaties, but in the vertue of his Blood. And whenever we make mention of his bleſſed Name, it muſt be with the loweſt reverence, with a due apprehenſion of our unworthineſs, and an high value of the Love and Grace of Chriſt; and take care to avoid whatſoever may obſtruct p. 69the ſucceſs of your repeated Crys. For ſays the Apoſtle, Ye ask and receive not, becauſe ye ask amiſs, James 4.3.

2. When you have Prayed and Cryed, look for an anſwer of your Prayers. Let not your Requeſts be ſhot at random, propoſe to your ſelves ſome good end, and ſee whether you have obtained it. If you have asked peace of Soul, enquire whether all be ſtill within, and whether his Light has ſhined upon you with its chearing Beams. If you have beg'd Patience, enquire whether you have more willingneſs to ſuffer; and ſo in all other Caſes it argues that we perform our duties as a Task, and from a ſlaviſh temper or a cold indifference, when we never concern our ſelves for the ſucceſs: and it is a with-holding of that Glory that is due to God; for upon every anſwer of our prayers we ſhould give him freſh Acts of Praiſe. If we have a Petition depending in any Court, as we wait with hope, ſo we fail not on all occaſions to enquire whether it be remembred and kindly received; and whether we p. 70are like to have what we petitioned for. But if we neglect to review this part of ſolemn Worſhip, we loſe that truſt and hope that we might have had, and we weaken our own hands. For to mind our anſwered prayers would encreaſe our Love, Pſal. 116.1. and our neighbours fare the worſe for this Omiſſion, we do not incourage and invite them to praiſe God with us.

3. Wonder greatly that ſuch poor Crys as yours ſhould reach Heaven. It was matter of great thought to Solomon, when he ſaid, 1 Kings 8.27. Will God indeed dwell on the Earth? He that has all the ſpatious Heavens for his Circuit and Dominion, will he not only viſit this Earth, but dwell there? So may you ſay, will he whoſe Court is thronged with Angels and happy Saints, regard ſuch a poor Wretch as I? Will he that ſits upon a Throne regard me a Priſoner on this Earth? Will he that is ſurrounded with Hallelujah's, regard my ſight, my groans, my tears? Oh what Grace is this! What adorable condeſcention! p. 71I know he would not regard me, but for the ſake of Chriſt; Glory be then given to him that fits upon the Throne, and to the Lamb. I am not worthy to look towards Heaven, what am I then that my prayers ſhould reach thither, and enter, and be recorded, and anſwered there? A poor Beggar is not diſdained by the King of Kings, he does not trample on a worm, Pſ. 34.3, 6. O what am I that I ſhould be admitted into the Preſence, and have audience of the King of Heaven; Lord what is man, or the ſon of man?

How ſhall I know that God has heard my Cry, and that my patient waiting has not been in vain.

1. If he beſtow upon you the very thing that you requeſted: If after your cry for eaſe you are eaſed; if you are recovered after you have prayed to be brought from the Gates of Death? If after having had many ſollicitous thoughts about your being falſly accuſed, God is at length pleaſed to ſcatter the Cloud, and make your Innocence appear to the ſhame of your malicious p. 72Enemies? Thus Jabez prayed in 1 Chro. 4.10. That God would bleſs him, and enlarge his Coaſt. And he granted him that which he requeſted. It was a ſuperabundant kindneſs to one deſirous of Grandeur and Dominion, for Jabez might have been a very happy man, tho' his Coaſt had not been enlarged; he might have governed and enjoyed himſelf and his Friends in a little room; and he might have gone to Heaven by the way of grief.

2. Your Crys are heard when God gives you reſignation to his Will, even in the abſence of that which you moſt eagerly deſired: if after having poured out your ſupplications, you return from his preſence chearful, and eaſie, and well pleaſed, leaving him that is inſinitely wiſe to do with you and your Bodies, with you and your Friends, what ſeems beſt to him: when you find your hearts unbroken with anxious cares and ſolicitude whether you are gratified or no: This ſecret contentment is a foretaſt of Heaven, and a pledge and inſtance of Divine Love.

p. 733. 'Tis a moſt certain ſign of your Cry, being heard, when even in the delays, of the deſired Comfort, you love God more than you ever did. When your thoughts of him are more frequent and delightful: when your love to all his appointments, and even to paintful Duties is increaſed, and that you are thankful for the ſmalleſt mercies, for the ſmalleſt intervals of pain and trouble; and when even in the way of his judgments you wait for him; by all which you may plainly perceive that your prayers may be heard when your affliction is not removed, and many times the Mercies may be given, and they are ſo ſudden or ſurprizing, that you ſcarce can believe your ſelves delivered, even when you are delivered, Pſal. 126.1. and Acts 12.14. tho' they had the faith to pray for Peter, they had not the faith to believe that he was eſcaped, and knocking at the door.

The Second General Head, in order to your patient waiting upon God, you muſt endeavour to keep up in your minds p. 74good and honourable thoughts of him all the while you are in trouble. It is with great induſtry and art that the Devil takes occaſion from our affliction to poſſeſs us with unbecoming thoughts of him that is our beſt Friend: and to make him, during our dark and gloomy ſeaſons, to paſs for an Enemy; as the Diſciples in the ſtorm miſtook their approaching Saviour for a Spirit; and in hideous conſternation ſhouted out, as thinking ſome Evil Spirit was come to make their Death more terrible, for they looked upon themſelves as juſt drowning. If we have irregular apprehenſions of God, as rigorous and inexorably ſevere, as rouzing up the greatneſs of his Power to cruſh and ruine us, ſuch undue thoughts breed black and ſuperſtitious fears, and ſhrink all the faculties of our minds with deſpairing unbelief; our minds are weakned and cramped by the terror of our thoughts; and the conſequent of this will be, that we ſhall either give him no ſervice, or that which is very trifling, and full of vain p. 75and idle Ceremonies: For to ſuch a ſort of pompous inſincere Worſhip does Superſtition lead thoſe poor People, whoſe Eyes are hoodwink't and blinded with it. Under our dark miſtaken thoughts of God and his Deſigns, our Obedience is the Action of a Slave; 'tis with unwillingneſs and conſtraint that we Obey, retaining at the ſame time a diſpoſition to throw off the Yoak. We proceed in our Devotions like thoſe that Row in Galleys; 'tis with a backward Heart, and an unwilling Shrug. Whatever we give to our Maker, is with a convulſt and ſtingy Hand; for we apprehend him as a ſevere and a rugged Maſter, as full of ſtern and ghaſtly Majeſty. Now to remedy theſe uneaſie fears, our Saviour came into this World, to give us admiring thoughts of God, to repreſent him as aimable and worthy to be delighted in; to make him the object of our Truſt and Hope, and not of our Dread: As a Benefactor, or a moſt liberal Phyſician moſt tender and compaſſionate, that wounds us in order to a p. 76laſting Cure; and his Spirit is ſent to promote our Love to him: and St. John, whoſe Soul was moſt full of Love, was the moſt beloved. God has in a great meaſure left off dealing with Men in viſible terrors, as he did heretofore. Nay, ſays the Apoſtle, Tho' we know the terrors of the Lord, yet 2 Cor. 5.11. we perſwade Men, we uſe towards them the moſt gentle, and ſoft, and eaſie Methods; we are to ſay to them, Behold the Lamb of God, that takes away the ſins of the world; and there is nothing frightful in him, that has all the tender Qualities of one of the meekeſt of all Animals, a Lamb.

Thirdly, If you would patiently wait upon God, beware of having only little Faith. We are not to lay the blame of our being troubled ſo much on the greatneſs of our danger, as on the weakneſs of our Faith; when we doubt and tremble, then, with Peter in the Storm, we begin to ſink. That our Faith may grow, we muſt uſe all the good means we can to enlarge our knowledge of God and p. 77Chriſt; for the dwarfiſhneſs of our truſt, is owing to the darkneſs of our Minds; They that know thy Name will truſt in thee. Knowledge of its ſelf does not produce this admirable reliance of the Soul: The Devils are very Learned and Knowing Spirits, but their Light does only ſerve to ſcortch them; it gives no comelineſs to their horrid ſhape, nor to their Flaming Torments any Relaxation: But ſuch a Knowledge as is founded upon Love and Hope, and ſweet Experiences of the Truths and Mercies of God, will convey to us great degrees of Strength. In order to remove our little Faith, we may make frequent and delightful uſe of Chriſt; we muſt run to his Arms with all the ſpeed and force we can; and by being near to him, we ſhall learn to bear the Croſſes of this Life; and how to long for that which is to come. Such whoſe Faith is rooted and ſpread to a mighty breadth, and of a tall Stature, ſcruple none of the greateſt Tribulations; and many of them p. 78go to Heaven with as much calmneſs, as if they were but going into another Room, or changing their Rags for a new Suit of Cloaths. But a little Faith ſhivers and trembles, and is loath to go hence, as amazed at the painfulneſs of the Paſſage, and the greatneſs of the Change. In no caſe let us blame God for his Rigor, but our ſelves for our unbelief. In this Life we are expoſed to very great Tryals, and theſe will not be patiently born with a little Patience. O! What a Conteſt is there between great Storms and little Faith? The time will come, when we ſhall wiſh to have had more Oyl in our Lamps, and more Grace in ſtore againſt an evil day; when the Devil and his Temptations and Diſeaſes, and pale and dreadful Death, with all his mourning Train of Evils will ſet upon us; How ſhall we meet ſuch Enemies, without well-poliſht Armour on? What ſhall the Sick, and the Lame, and the Blind, and the Decrip't do, in the day of Battle? Will not our little Faith be a moſt unkind p. 79and diſingenious return to the great Love of Chriſt? How unſuitably do theſe two look, his Love in its ſtrength, and our Faith in its decay; his Love in its flouriſhing perfection, and our Faith withered and lyable to be extinguiſhed, almoſt with every little breath? And our grief will be encreaſed from the time we had wherein to prepare for all the ſorrows that might come upon us; the leiſure and the helps of many Years: But if our Faith be ſtrong we ſhall not be diſcouraged with the delays of God; we ſhall truſt him tho' he kill us, and caſt our Anchor in the dark; we ſhall look to, even an abſent Saviour; and wait for his Salvation, when there is no deliverance within the Ken and View of Senſe, when all other reſuge fails; when all the Greatures cannot help us, even in the moſt threatning and the laſt extremities; when we ſee no light, we ſhall caſt our ſelves at the Power and Love of God.

Fourthly, If you would patiently wait upon God in trouble, you muſt have ſuitable p. 80promiſes to rely upon. You have but ſmall encouragement to wait, if you have no promiſe that your waiting ſhall not be in vain: We are not with vexatious labour to pain our ſelves, by ſtretching our thoughts too much upon futurity; or to plunge our ſelves into the unfathomable depths, to know the ſecret decrees of God. Our Eyes are too weak to read the Records of Heaven, and they are far diſtant from our Sight: But it is more eaſie and profitable to look into the Revelation, that is made to conduct our lives, both in Proſperity and in Trouble; and in this Revelation there are abundance of very reviving Promiſes for the moſt trembling Soul to rely upon. And all thoſe are moſt ſincerely true, not like thoſe of many Men in high Places, who draw along ſuch as wait upon them, with large Promiſes, moſt kind Looks, and obliging Words, but never think much of what they Promiſe; and ſo make the poor Expector of Preferment, at length to go away aſhamed; after having ſpent a deal p. 81of time, and perhaps Money too, to no purpoſe: And ſo all they gain is a little bought Wit, which alas they dearly bought, with the Circulation of many torturing and unquiet Hopes. But it often happens, that they go away both with their Heads and their Purſes empty. But now they that wait upon the Lord, ſhall not be aſhamed of their hope, Pſal. 34.5. Pſal. 25.3. they ſhall at length obtain what God hath promiſed, and what they waited for.

Fifthly, That you may patiently wait upon God, remember how many kind experiences you have had of his love hitherto, 2 Cor. 1.10. Without this Reflection, you'll be ſtartled at your new Tryals: But no Goliah, with all his ſtalking Greatneſs and his big Words, will make you quit the Field; if you conſider how God has often ſecured you from as near and as bulky dangers; from the hiſſing Serpents that were ſwollen with Venom, and ready to ſpit it all upon you; and from the paw of the Lyon and the Bear: But unleſs we call to mind the years of p. 82the right hand of the most High, every preſent Storm will always ſeem the moſt bluſtering, and every preſent pain the moſt ſharp, it will be a moſt unreaſonable thing for us now to ſink, when we have been formerly delivered from as near and as great Calamities. That arm that ſaved us once, is not now ſhortned that it cannot ſave: The ſweet Experiences we have had of God, ſhould cauſe us to be aſſured, that when we wait on him we do not wait in vain; and no Evidence can give us ſo unſhaken a certainty, both of his Being and his Providence, as thoſe inward taſts and reliſhes of his Love. This inward Senſation is extreamly quieting; 'tis a beam of Divine Light: Nor can we by any troubles, how long or how ſharp ſoever, be forced to quit our Religion and our Faith, when we have once felt the joy and pleaſure of them. A good Man has Two Harveſts every Year, one from the Furrows of the Field, and another from his own Thoughts. Such efficacious Faith, diffuſes a vital warmth over p. 83every faculty, and is no more to be ſeparated from a Chriſtian, than he can be divorced from himſelf; and keeps the pleaſed recreated Soul from being liſtleſs and indiſpoſed, from being chilled and frozen with exceſſive fear and anguiſh. To have a Treaſury of Experiences whereto to have recourſe, is the Priviledge of thoſe that are arrived to a good old Age; every year of their Pilgrimage, they have had new Experiences of the kindneſs of their unerring Guide; they can look back and ſee wonders of Mercy and Deliverance. O! What a Catalogue of joyful paſſages offers its ſelf to their Obſervation? How often they were dying, and God made them to recover; how often they were ſinking and afraid, and he bid them be of good Courage. It's comfortable to old People to have a great deal of Money by them, which they got in the Spring and Summer of their Active Life: It ſupplies their wants, makes their Attendants reſpectful, and the decays of weary Age more tolerable, when they p. 84cannot work for a livelihood as they uſed to do. But O! How much more comfortable is it to be Rich in Faith, ſuch their good Maſter looks upon with a pitiful and watchful Eye: He takes care of their weakneſs, as all good People have a great kindneſs for an old Servant, that has lived many years in their Family. Very Honourable and Bleſſed is that Age, that has been long faithful to God. Beſides, Such as have been careful to remember their Experiences of his Mercies, may plead them with hope in Prayer, Judg. 15.18. Pſal. 77.7. Lord, thou haſt been my Father hitherto, be not now my Enemy; thou haſt heretofore dealt graciouſly with me, do not now overwhelm me with the weight of numerous and too great Afflictions: In other diſtreſſes I have had thy Preſence, O be not now a ſtranger to me!

Sixthly, That you may patiently wait on God, maintain in your Spirits a great indifference to the things of this World; that you may be prepared upon the firſt Summons to take your flight from it: p. 85Regard without concern or too paſſionate Affection all that is dear to you in this Life; and while you are on Earth, let your Eye be on Heaven. Ceaſe to live to ſin, that you may not be torn from your Enjoyments; but bid them farewel without a ſigh: by a continued progreſs in Mortification, you will outgrow that anxiety of thought which others have, as to what ſhall befal the World or themſelves; this Earth by moſt of its Inhabitants is over-rated, and ſo they are loath to quit it.

Seventhly, That you may patiently wait on God, keep your Eye most conſtantly and ſteddily fixed on your bleſſed Maſter. When the Storms ariſe, look on him whoſe Power can in a moment make the Sea calm, and the lowring Skie clear again: In your trouble look to your Helper, as when we ford a deep River, we look to the further ſide. Whereas, if we only pore upon our Miſeries, we tire our Spirits, and raiſe to our ſelves more hideous proſpects of Calamity. You need not go far to ſee your Saviour, p. 86for he is with you in your Aſſemblies, in your Cloſets; he is in the Scriptures, and in all the Promiſes; no part of the World is out of his Dominion, and he has all Power in Heaven and Earth. The Prince of the Air that is limited to his own Principality, and to his changeable Empire, cannot raiſe a Storm without his leave; tho' he is in himſelf very powerful, yet he is Subject to a greater Power. The Apoſtle directs the Chriſtians of his days to wait for the Lord from Heaven, 2 Theſ. 3.5. To wait for the ſight of that glorious Perſon on whom they have believed, with whom they hope to live for ever; the ſight of him is what they extreamly long for. It will be an Heaven to ſee him who has done ſo much for them, and of whom they have heard ſo very much: When he comes, he will reward his patient Servants; he will manifeſt their Grace, and make the World to wonder at his Power in their ſupport: Behold the Faith and Patience of the Saints. Thus in the Text, David p. 87ſays, I have waited for the Lord. I have not waited ſo much for mine own Exaltation or the Conqueſt of mine Enemies, as for the Favour and the Love of God. I have not long'd to ſee mine Houſe flouriſh, and my Friends enriched, or my Name perpetually celebrated on Earth. No, truly Lord, I have longed for thee, and thee alone. This is all my Satisfaction, this is all my Deſire; tho' no Deliverance come, yet if thou, O my God, doſt thy ſelf come, I ſhall have enough. Another ſort of Spirit have thoſe who are only of this World, they all would climb, and are uneaſie to attain ſome high or Lofty things. Oh that I were Honourable ſays the Rich; and O that I were Rich, ſays the Poor Man: Every one that has Money would fain have more, and he that has a deal of Land, would fain be Maſter of another Field; he that is obſcure would fain be noted; and he that is publickly talked of, would fain be more popular. Theſe are the things they long and wait for; not ſatisfied with what God thinks p. 88fit to give them. Even Princes ſometimes think they have not room enough, unleſs they invade the Dominions of others, as well as lord it in their own. And Ahab a wicked King, could find no pleaſure in his Crown, unleſs he had the Vineyard of honeſt Nabaoth. But be you ſatisfied with whatever is allotted you by Providence; and do not grumble if you meet with Pain, Reproach, Poverty, and various Croſſes: For all the Saints in Heaven, went through great Tribulations thither; moſt of the Illeſſed Saints performed their Voyage to that happy Land.

And now I come to ſpeak of our Departed Friend Mrs. Haſſelborn, who dyed this Month, in the 95th Year of her Age; in a good old Age indeed. Few, very few of all the Sons and Daughters of Adam, have, in theſe times of the World ſo long a Life: few of thoſe that dye of Age, hold out ſo long as ſhe. I ſhall make no manner of excuſes, nor tell you, whilſt I am praiſing her, that p. 89I am not for praiſing thoſe that are Departed; nor confute my ſelf, as ſome do, that ſay they are againſt commending the Dead, even when they ſay of them all that ever they can. Our Saviour ſaid of this or that Perſon, O Woman, great is thy Faith; and he that commends his Saints when they live, would not have their Memory roughly treated when they are Dead. No body will ſuſpect the Humble Jeſus as guilty of Flattery, or of over-admiring any Perſons; and yet what a large Character does he think fit to give of his Predeceſſor, Matth. XI. 11. Verily I ſay unto you, among them that are born of Women, there has not riſen a greater then John the Baptiſt. And the plain-hearted free-ſpoken Paul, that never never balked the boldeſt truth, or the moſt ſearching reproof; yet he was not ſo moroſe, as to chide the People for commending Dorcas, for her good Work, and Alms-deed, for the Coats and Garments which ſhe made, Acts 9.36. Nay, ſo far was he from ſo four a temper, that he highly p. 90extols Andronicus and Junias who were in Chriſt before him, and who were of note among the Apostles. It is a fault not to commend good People, if it be done with truth and modeſty; eſpecially in an ill-natured Age, where thoſe that God will own as his Jewels, are trampled on; and thoſe that he will commend and accept are Cenſured and Reproacht, though for their hard ſpeeches that Men utter againſt the Innocent, they muſt be rigorouſly Judged; therefore, for my part, I reckon it my Duty to contribute what I can to embalm the Memory of ſuch as were dear to Chriſt on Earth, and now live with him above. All the Graces of the bleſſed Spirit, are too valuable to be neglected or obſcured in the dark: We are to invite others to behold the aimableneſs and beauty of Religion; behold how it ſhines and triumphs, and ſpreads its healing Beams. Behold, an Iſraelite indeed, John 1.47. And it's an Encouragement to others to be good, when they find their works ſhall praiſe them in the gates of Zion, p. 91it ſhall be ſaid, this or that man was born there; we ought with great freeneſs and candor to acknowledge the Gifts and Graces that are beſtowed on others. Let us not bury the remembrance of their excellent Actions in the Grave: Thus we may lawfully give them Praiſe, while we do not give them Worſhip. We think the Virgin Mother bleſſed among Women, and to all Generations ſhe is bleſſed: We will honour her Memory, but never think ſhe is above her Son; nor will we take the Crown from his Head, to place it upon hers: We will imitate the Examples of the Saints Departed, but not pray to them; for even Abraham himſelf is ignorant of us. In preſerving the Memory of good People, we act ſuitably to the Deſign of God, who has taken care to Record ſeveral of his Excellent Servants, of whom we otherwiſe had never heard: As they were zealous for his Glory whilſt they were alive, he will not let their Names be trampled on with p. 92the Feet of Pride, when they are Departed: Such Perſons are like withered Flowers: In their flouriſhing Condition they recreated and pleaſed their Acquaintance with the ſweet Odours of their Charity, their Meekneſs and their good Works. For when the Flower and the Green is Blaſted by the cold of Death, they are after all, like the tender Plants Medicinal, even when dryed and in their moſt unbeautiful State, of great uſe and ſervice to the World. The Scripture perpetuates the Memory of ſeveral good Women, as well as Men, as Sarah, and Rebeccah, and Rachel, and Miraim, and Hannah, and Deborah, and the Bleſſed Virgin; and that affectionate Perſon, that ſcrupled no coſt to ſhew her reſpect to our Saviour, Mark 14.9. And Jeſus loved Martha, and her Siſter, and Lazarus, John 11.5. He often met with a welcome at their Hoſpitable Houſe. And St. Paul greets Priſcilla as well as Aquila, and Mary and Julia, and ſeveral others, in Rom. 16.

p. 93This Old Diſciple of Chriſt, of whom I am now to ſpeak, had ſpent her years in the Fear and the Love of God, and full of Days; full of pleaſant quietneſs and hope ſhe is gone to Reſt: She calmly Sleeps till the Morning of the Reſurrection; when ſhe will have a Body without all the marks of withering and decayed Age; a Body full of Luſtre, full of Activity; and, Like to the glorious body of our Lord: Like the Angels that poſſeſs an eternal Youth, their Beams never dimly ſhine, their Light never weakly burns: After a long Circulation of Hymns and Joys, their Praiſes are as cheerful, and their Voices as loud as ever.

This aged Servant of our Lord, had made it her great buſineſs to truſt in him; and in the midſt of Revolutions, that were attended with threatning Proſpects, ſhe remain'd unmoved: When others were frighted with Alarums, and the imagined approaches of Bloody Enemies, ſhe was undiſturb'd, ſaying, I have a good God, and I fear nothing; and often p. 94uſed to ſay, They are well kept that God keeps, for ſhe ſafely dwelt under the ſhadow of his Wings; and as one that knew, that the thoughts and diſcourſe of worldly things, were very unſeaſonable in a dying Hour, ſhe ſettled all her affairs before Death gave the laſt Summons, and ſo was prepared to dye.

She poſſeſſed to almoſt an Hundred, a a very good Age, without pineing weakneſs, and the ſorrows that cloud others, and ſend them early to the Grave: She was now and then afflicted, but ſhe was never overwhelmed.

This good Woman ſpent her time in Prayer, and Reading of the Holy Scripture, that beſt of Books, that great Conveyer of all Heavenly Light and Heat; Where are the gracious Souls, to whom this Revelation was not dear and precious? What ſort of People are thoſe, whoſe Ignorance and Rudeneſs forces them to Ridicule, what others lay their whole ſtreſs for another World upon? Dear to her, as well as to all other Holy Souls, was her Bible: there ſhe placed her truſt, p. 95thence ſhe drew her Supports and Conſolations. This was her Lanthorn in this World, during the darkneſs of her Pilgrimage; ſhe now needs it not, where there is everlaſting Day. Next to the Bleſſed Scripture, ſhe often read in Dr. Preſton, Dr. Sibbs, and in the Lives of Luther and Calvin, and ſome of their Works in Engliſh: On Precious and Reviving Names of Men, that were Stars of the firſt Magnitude, that ſhined in the Church! And when they were placed in ſuperiour Orbes, leſt their influence and heat behind; they ſtill edifie the Church by their Grave and Learned Writings, in which every thing is manly and ſubſtantial, and nothing ſlovingly or ridiculous, or trifling and unbecoming the Majeſty of Divinity, and the Character they bore: How much more happy were thoſe uſeful Men, in leaving ſuch ſolid Writings behind them: then are ſome of the Poets of our days, who ſauce a great part of their Compoſures with Wit and Folly; or as I may ſay, with fooliſh Wit, p. 96whilſt they content themſelves in dreſſing up Vice with ſoft and eaſie Names; and accommodate every thing to the guſt and humour of a depraved Age; and do not ſo much Combat with Sin, as diſcover it; ſtudy more to pleaſe then to profit; their Books are Contagious, whilſt the Authors are alive; and when they dye, they do, like Nero, leave Poiſon behind them, and propagate infection for a long time together.

Among all the reſt of the Old Divines, ſhe had a particular reſpect to Dr. Preſton; which ſhewed, that ſhe had both a good Taſt and Judgment in Divine things. His ſolidity and wiſe management of truth, gave Light to her Underſtanding; and his ſerious and devout Applications warmed her Heart: And of all the Works of this Pious Doctor, ſhe was moſt pleaſed and edified with his Diſcourſe about God's All-ſufficiency; and ſo was another Old Diſciple, that I knew of above 90. that found always a peculiar refreſhment in that very Treatiſe. So wiſely did theſe Aged People, p. 97having ſorrowfully viewed the Vanities of Life, and of all Creatures betake themſelves to God alone, whoſe help they ſought, and whoſe help they found.

As ſhe was careful to prepare her own Soul for another World, ſhe alſo thirſted for the welfare and happineſs of others; and often paſſed the moments that were moſt free from pain, in preſſing them to mind things of the greateſt and moſt laſting Conſequence, deſiring them to prepare to dye; and earneſtly moving them, in order to this, to live an Holy Life; fully thinking, with the great Apoſtle, that Without holineſs none can ſee the Lord. The ſight of the pure Majeſty of Heaven, would be amazing and aſtoniſhing to a Soul full of evil inclinations to objects terrene and ſenſual: Therefore this excellent Woman, did often deſire her Friends to take care leaſt they were in their way of living, like perſons walking in a Gallery, that went forwards and backwards without advancing any nearer to their Journeys end; intimating, p. 98that ſhe wiſht they might every day be nearer Heaven then they were before.

With a mighty pleaſure, when I was once with her, ſhe diſcourſed of the forementioned famous Divines, and of the advantages ſhe had by the Preaching and Sermons of many worthy Men, ſuch as Mr. Burroughs, Mr. Lockyer, old Mr. Calamy, and ſeveral others, whom ſhe had long Survived. Her Lot indeed was caſt in happy times; and ſhe had the favour to live in the days of our Fore-fathers, when Religion was more practiſed and eſteemed, then alas now it is. The Puritans diſputed leſs then we, and lived better: Oh that their Catholick Charity, their peaceable Spirit, and their innocent ſimplicity might have a Reſurrection!

She lived to ſee moſt of her old Acquaintance removed by Death, and ſo was, after having been ſatisfied with living, very willing to depart, that ſhe and her Friends might meet again. She truſted God in her Health, and ſo ſhe died, when her Pain and Sickneſs came p. 99upon her. She often deſired one that attended her in her near approaches to Eternity, to read the first words of the 40th Pſalm, as extremely ſuitable to her own Caſe and Temper. She was very humble and very patient in her illneſs; ſhe had no fretful diſordered Expreſſions; ſhe bore her burden laid upon her by God; tho' her earneſt deſire to ſee him, made her now and then ſay, O why does he tarry? On her Sick Bed ſhe kept her Eye fixed above, and ſent before her arrival at Heaven, her longing Prayers thither; begging that her Iniquity might be blotted out, and wiſhing to be with Christ. And when her Daughter attending on her Miniſtred to her ſupport, with a language proper for one juſt in the cloſe of Life; and told her, God would receive her into the Arms of his Mercy; ſhe with the compoſure of a Soul bordering upon Happineſs, anſwered, She had laid her ſelf as the feet of Jeſus Chriſt, and had ſubmitted to him, who was able to ſave to the uttermost; which words ſhe p. 100often uttered in her former and latter Years. And a Night or two before ſhe was called away, ſhe repeated part of 39th Pſalm, Verſe 8, 9, 10. and ſuch was her Faith and Hope, that ſhe was able to apply to her ſelf, thoſe Triumphant words of that patient Job; I know that my Redeemer lives, and that ſhe ſhould ſee him for her ſelf, and this Redeemer ſhe is now gone to ſee: In his Arms we leave her, till he, and all that ſleep in him, ſhall come together at the laſt day.

And now my Friends, from all that I have ſaid concerning this departed Saint, we may without any difficulty obſerve, that Meekneſs and Patience is the ready way to long Life: I do not believe this good Woman had lived ſo long, had ſhe not been of a calm and quiet Spirit. Thoſe that are furious and paſſionate, and ill-natured, corrode and vex themſelves, and with haſt ſnap aſunder the Thread of Life. There are two things to be wondered at with reſpect to this Perſon: First, That ſhe ſhould live ſo p. 101long, as being one of the weaker and feebler Sex; and Secondly, That her Patience ſhould not be tired during ſo long an abode in this World as 95 Years, but be continued to the laſt moment of her Life. How illuſtrious is that Power, that kept ſo frail a Veſſel from being daſh't in pieces? How glorious is that Grace, that enabled her to perſevere in the Love of God?

We may further conſider that Death is the Lot of all thoſe that are the moſt Aged, are not immortal; they moſt at length go to their Long Home, tho' many Thouſands go with quicker and more haſty ſteps then they. The Oak that is the oldeſt Father of the Foreſt, that has ſurvived many ſcorching Summers, and many cold blaſts of Winter, muſt at length feel the decays of Age; and periſh as ſurely, tho' not as ſoon as the little Trees: the longeſt day will have a concluding Night. Thoſe that are an hundred years old, and thoſe that are but Twenty, muſt both in a while lye down in a Bed of Duſt. Methuſalem p. 102lived many long Years, but he did not live for ever. O let us, by the thought of this, be moved to lay hold on a Life that is Eternal; a Life that has no mixture of Corruption, and has no fears of decay, and ſuch a life the bleſſed live in Heaven; there is no death.

Again, Let none here fancy, becauſe they now and then hear of ſuch an one, that has attained to almoſt an Hundred, that therefore they ſhall live as long; and having ſuch a proſpect, may ſpend their preſent days in Jollities and Mirth, as believing they have an huge deal of time lying on their hands: For what a ſurprize will it be to ſtumble into the Grave in Youth, when they imagined they ſhould not come thither till they were Old. If you Examine the weekly Bills, you'll find few dye of Age comparatively, to what dye of other Diſeaſes; more dye before thirty, then live to Fourſcore. The youngeſt here have ſeen younger then themſelves ſnatcht away by Death; and many a Flower is withered, when it juſt began to open. p. 103The Sun with many goes down at Noon: As well might every Diſciple of Chriſt expect to live as long as St. John, who was to tarry longer on Earth than moſt of the reſt, and Died at 93. Simeon the Son of Cleophas, Brother of our Lord, lived an 120. Length of Life, is not of all other Bleſſings the moſt deſirable; and as one obſerves, it was not peculiar to Grace, or the Holy Line; for there are reckoned of the Fathers to the Flood Eleven Generations, but of the ſons of Adam by Cain, only Eight Generations ſo as the Poſterity of Cain may ſeem the longer lived. The good Men and good Women too, ſometime lived very long; as Abraham to One hundred ſeventy five, Iſaac to One hundred and Eighty, Jacob to One hundred forty ſeven: Sarah, whoſe years only among Women are Recorded, dyed in the One hundred twenty ſeventh year of her Age, an excellent Mother and a good Wife, Luke 2.36, 37. Anna is ſaid to be of a great Age, a very p. 104patient Perſon: For when ſhe was about Eighty four, ſhe departed not from the Temple.

As to you that are the Relations of this good old Diſciple, do not water the Grave of your Friend with uſeleſs Tears: There is indeed great cauſe to Lament, when an uſeful ſerviceable Perſon is taken away by ſudden or untimely death; 'tis the falling of Fruit before Autumn come. But ſuch as have been a Bleſſing, and a long example of Piety, to the very laſt ſtep of Humane Life, are not ſo to be lamented, as having moſt regularly finiſhed their Courſe; and were not cut off in the middle of their Race. And yet, as one ſays, it is to be obſerved, that the Saints of God, tho' never ſo Old, and brought never ſo low through the Miſeries attending them, when they changed this Life for a better, were ſtill buried with great Lamentation. Abelmizraim, Gen. 5. was a place never to be forgot, either by the Egyptians or the Canaanites; and not Jacob only, but p. 105Moſes and Aaron, and Samuel, were buried by the People of Iſrael, and great Publick Mournings made made.

It would be very unreaſonable for you to Mourn, and needleſs for me to deſire you not to do it. She prayed and longed to be with Chriſt, and would you mourn that God has heard her Prayers, and that ſhe now is where ſhe longed to be. It would be a moſt unjuſt thing to be ſorry that a Labourer is gone to reſt, or to bewail the death of one that is Ninety Five; who was not gathered till the fulleſt time of Harveſt, and when ſhe was duely ripe for Glory. Oh be thankful that God has at length comforted this Handmaid of his, that waited for his Conſolations. Be thankful that you ſo long have had the benefit of her good advice, her ſhining example, and her holy prayers. Let the remembrance of her Faith and Patience, and Hope, and her other excellent Qualifications kindle in you the like Graces. Conſider the end of p. 106her Converſation, with what peace ſhe lived, and with what joy ſhe dyed. Do nothing unworthy of the Children of ſo good a Mother; tread in her ſteps, and follow her in the practiſe of all praiſe worthy things, that ſo ſhe and you may comfortably meet at the laſt day, and never never part again. Amen.

The End.

ERRATA's.

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End of the text · Timothy Rogers, The Happiness of a Quiet Mind (1696)