Exhortations to thoſe that have patiently watied on God even in Old Age.

Reflect. 1. How gracious he has been to you, in giving you many years, wherein to get Oyl, and to trim your Lamps, and to prepare for another World. How many ſtorms have you out-lived that made others ſink? Many, many young People are gone to Judgment a great while ago, while that Hand that cruſht them, has been very gentle and merciful to you. You have ſurvived the dangers, and the ſins, and the giddineſs of Youth, and are now almoſt at our Journeys end.

2. Endeavour to do good to others, that have not had ſuch experience of God as you. Thus you bring forth fruit in old age, and are fat and flouriſhing, Pſ. 92.14. you do, as it were, grow young again, with a vaſt acceſſion to your Spiritual ſtature. When you are full of patience, and by your Example and your Words declare to others how faithful and how kind God has been to you: So, by teaching them knowledge, you will rekindle and inflame your own Light; whilſt others younger then you decay, you ſhall thrive and proſper. He that planted you makes the green Tree to wither, and the dry to grow. You'll not only go to Heaven fully ripe for Glory, like a ſhock of Corn gathered in due ſeaſon, but there will be ſomething for others to glean when you are gone: And in the mean time Summer and Winter. Youth and Old Age, doe as it were meet in you; the decays of one, and the fruitfulneſs of the other. In your Evening there is Light, Zech. 8.4, 5. Fortifie your ſelves with the Experiences of God, goodneſs whenever your patience is like to tire, as Polycarp ſaid, when he was urged by the Proconſul to deny Chriſt, or to do ſomething like it: Theſe fourſcore and ſix Tears, have I ſerved Christ, and he never did me any harm; and how can I then blaſpheme my Maſter and my Saviour. Exhort others to fear, and love, and truſt God, as you have done; by your Holy Awe and Reverence, ſeek upon all occaſions to Correct their Lightneſs and their Vanity. You have ſerved a good Maſter, and you have had the Honour to ſerve him very long; be not now weary of his work, be not now for going out of his Vineyard, when he that employed you, is juſt coming to reward your diligence. Be of good Courage, The Lord is at hand; O ye aged People bleſs the Lord your Preſerver, and daily ſing his praiſe; let your Winter, as well as the Spring of Youth, praiſe the Lord. How few have had that time for Heaven, that you have had? Oh the bleſſed Seaſons and Days of Grace, that you have had! It's a wonderful Honour to thoſe that are old, that they have ſo large a ſpace, wherein to do a World of Good, to enlarge the Kingdom of Chriſt, and to make their future Crown more weighty: And none ſhould grudge to labour for fourſcore or an hundred Years, when for ſo ſhort a Duration of painful Diligence, he ſhall have an Everlaſting Recompence. By living to old Age, you have more Wiſdom, and Experience, and Skill, than others; your Graver Years teach you to beware of ſeveral Rocks that they ſplit upon. And all theſe Mercies are heightned to ſuch as arrive to an Healthful old Age, not loaded with the uſual Pains and Griefs, and Languiſhing Motions of decaying Age, for then the longer the Life, the more the Miſery, Joſhua 14.10, 11. Thus Life does ſmoothly take its courſe, without meeting with great Obſtructions in the way, and is not only Long but Happy too. This was the peculiar Felicity of the Patriarchs before the Flood, their Lives were extended to almoſt a thouſand Years, and yet we read of none of thoſe Sad Symptoms attending them, that attend us now at fourſcore, Pſal. 90.10. It's a very comfortable thing, to have neither a poor nor ſickly Age, neither to want Neceſſaries, nor to be in Pain: 'Tis a Bleſſing to live to ſee your Poſterity, and a greater Joy to ſee them walking in the Truth, Pſal. 128.6. but yet none can expect to be freed from the evil days mentioned Eccleſ. 12.1. full of trembling Palſies, grievous Aches, lingering Pains, and innumerable Evils; but if you patiently wait on God, and improve well your declining Years, you'll at length be ſatisfied with living as 'tis ſaid of Job, Chap. 42.17. He died, being old and full of days. He roſe as from a Feaſt, not Surfeited, but well pleaſed with the Joys and Plenty of his latter Days. He was once indeed in another Frame, when his Spirits were overclouded with Melancholy, and his Soul was burnt with Anguiſh, when he had reſtleſs Pain by day, and no ſweet Sleep at night, Chap. 7.4. then he wiſh'd for any ſort of Death, tho' Shameful and Untimely, tho' Violent and Uncommon, Verſe 5, 16. But this was more Job's Diſeaſe than his Grace, 'twas a moſt raſh and haſty Wiſh; to die in Terror and Anguiſh, is a forlorn and doleful way of dying: He eagerly thirſted for the Grave, but at laſt he looked upon it with another Eye, and went to it as a weary Traveller goes to Bed: He looked for the finiſhing of his Courſe with ſubmiſſive regular Deſires, and Quiet Hopes: So refreſh'd and ſatisfied with living, are thoſe that are good in Age, but a Sinner an hundred year old is accurſed. Curſed in his neglect of the Buſineſs of Life, Curſed as condemned by a perpetual Deſire of Longer and Longer Time, he is pained with Trouble, and afraid to die. The Sins of his Youth have a Reſurrection in his Thoughts, and ſcare him with the ſight of Death, as knowing they will not only lye down with him in the Grave, but riſe with him thence. And yet amidſt ſuch hideous Views and Apprehenſions, he has an unquenchable and painful Thirſt after thoſe Pleaſures that are paſt away: His Luſt is freſh and lively when his Head is grey; every thing about him grows old but his Sin; and a long Life to ſuch an one, is but a continued Load of Guilt, a daily treaſuring up of Wrath againſt the Great Day: But nothing is more Decent or more Lovely, than to ſee a remaining Green under the Snow of Age: The Beauty of an old Man, is his Grace as well as his Years: To be full of Days, and to be full of Grace, full of Faith, and Hope, and Joy in God, is to be as beautiful as ever any was in the moſt blooming gayeſt Youth. Job 5.26. Thou ſhalt come to thy Grave in a full Age, like as a Shock of Corn cometh in his ſeaſon. It ſheds and ſpoils if it ſtay too long, if it be not gathered when 'tis fully Ripe, and the Seaſon of it is as well loſt, as when 'tis taken too green. Do you that are Old, take care of all the Evils proper to your advanced Age, of Peeviſhneſs, and Moroſeneſs, and Sourneſs, and Covetouſneſs; and let thoſe that are Young, be Temperate and Sober, and uſeful to the World, that they may either live to be old, or get to Heaven betimes. Do you that are Aged improve your leiſure Hours to prepare for your Change; and do you that are Young, liſten to the Speeches and Directions of thoſe that are near their latter end. In your old Age recreate your ſelves with looking forward to a better State; and when you do but very faintly draw your Breath, yet be breathing after Heaven; and your ſincere Sighs and Groans ſhall be as acceptable as all the Motions of your ſwifter Youth: And when your Tongues begin to faulter, let your Actions ſpeak your Patience and Submiſſion to the Will of God: And when you are even like to ſink with Pains and Miſeries, Oh remember you are almoſt at home; you have but a little while to run, and you ſhall obtain; a little while to fight, and you ſhall be Crowned: Watch a little longer, the Sun is juſt ſetting, and in a few Moments you may be allowed to go to ſleep; there is but a little Sand left in your Glaſs; your Life is like a Candle burnt quite to the bottom: And though the Religion of young People is very pleaſant in the Eye of God, their Graces ſend forth a ſweet Perfume; and when he walks in his Garden, 'tis agreeable to him to ſee the moiſt Flowers breath out their Morning Incenſe; yet he loves old Diſciples too, and he gives them his Word and his Promiſe for their tottering Age to rely upon. Be ſure to improve the leiſure of your declining Years to the beſt Purpoſes, and be thankful that you are now retiring from the Noiſe and Hurry of the diſagreeing buſie World. As Sir Henry Wotton ſaid after a kind of tempeſtuous Life, I have a great Advantage from my God, that makes the Out-goings of the Morning to Praiſe him; I daily magnifie him for his particular Mercy, of an Exemption from Buſineſs, a quiet Mind, and a liberal Maintenance, even in this part of my Life, when my Age and Infirmities ſeem to ſound a Retreat from the Pleaſures of this World, and invite me to Contemplation, in which I have ever taken the greateſt Felicity. You may make uſe of all the Remembrances of the places where you have lived, to help you in the beſt things. As Mr. Walton tells us of the aforeſaid Politician, that he ſaid upon his being in his old Age in Wincheſter School, My being in this School, and ſeeing the very place where I ſate when I was a Boy, occaſioned me to remember the Thoughts of my Youth that then poſſeſſed me, Sweet Thoughts indeed, that promiſed my growing Years numerous Pleaſures, without mixtures of Cares; and thoſe to be enjoyed, when time (which therefore I thought ſlow paced) had changed my Youth into Manhood: But Age and Experience have taught me, thoſe were but empty Hopes; for I have always found it true, as my Saviour did foretel, Sufficient to the day is the Evil thereof. I have, ſays he to Mr. Hales then of Eaton, in my paſſage to my Grave, met with moſt of thoſe Joys of which a diſcurſive Soul is capable, and have not wanted thoſe that were inferior. Nevertheleſs, I have not in this Voyage always floated on a Calm Sea, but have often met with croſs Winds and Storms, with many Troubles of Mind, and Temptations to Evil. And yet though I have been and am a Man compaſs'd about with Humane Frailties, Almighty God has, by his Grace, kept me from making Shipwrack of Faith and a good Conſcience, the thought of which is now the Joy of my Heart, and I moſt humbly praiſe him for it; and I humbly acknowledge, that it was not my ſelf, but he, that hath kept me to this great Age, and let him take the Glory of his Mercy. And now my dear Friend, continues he, I now ſee that I draw near my Harbour of Death; that Harbour that will ſecure me from all the future Storms and Waves of this reſtleſs World; and I praiſe God I am willing to leave it, and expect a better; that World, wherein dwelleth Righteouſneſs. And to him I add the Example of Mr. George Herbert, that bleſſed Man, that other David, that tuned his Soul with Heavenly Thoughts, and Muſically lived, and Muſically died. Mr. Walton in his Life tells us, that in the time of his laſt Decays, he did often thus expreſs himſelf to Mr. Woodnot and his other Friends, that attended him in his Languiſhing Condition.

I now look back upon the Pleaſures of my Life paſt, and ſee the Content I have taken in Beauty, in Wit, in Muſick, and pleaſant Converſation are now all paſt by me, like a Dream, or as a Shadow that returns not, and are all now become dead to me, or I to them: And I ſee, that as my Father and Generation has done before me, ſo I alſo ſhall now ſuddenly (with Job) make my Bed in the dark and I praiſe God I am prepared for it; and I praiſe him that I am not to learn Patience, now I ſtand in ſuch need of it, and that I have practiſed Mortification, and endeavoured to die daily, that I might not die Eternally: And my Hope is, that I ſhall ſhortly leave this Valley of Tears, and be free from all Fevers and Pain: And which will be a more Happy Condition, I ſhall be free from Sin, and all the Temptations and Anxieties that attend it; and this being paſt, I ſhall dwell in the New Jeruſalem, dwell there with Men made perfect; dwell where theſe Eyes ſhall ſee my Maſter and Saviour Jeſus, and with him ſee my Relations and my Friends: But I muſt die, or not come to that happy Place; and this is my Content, that I am going daily towards it; and that every day that I have lived, hath taken a part of my appointed time from me: And that I ſhall live the leſs time for having lived thus, and the day paſt — And to another he ſaid, My dear Friend, I am ſorry that I have nothing to preſent to my merciful God but Sin and Miſery; but the firſt is pardoned, and a few hours will now put a period to the latter.

Thirdly, Do not murmur, if ſome that began to wait upon God later than you, yet have more Joys. He is gracious to you ſtill, and he may do with his own what he will. Though it is your Privilege to have ſerved him long, yet remember you are at the beſt, and when you have done all, but unprofitable Servants; they that came in later to the Vineyard, may have as much Joy as you, but you have as much as you deſerve: He may give to his Returning Prodigals very noble Entertainment, but you that are elder are not excluded from the Feaſt, you may come and taſte of the Fatted Calf, and ſhare in all the Feſtival Solemnities and Joys of others. The Surlineſs of the elder Brother in the Parable, diſcovered a great deal of Spiritual Pride; made him undutiful to his Father, and unkind to his Brother, whom in Union to his Father's Carriage, he ſhould have welcom'd home. There was in all the Behaviour towards him, nothing of Injuſtice or Partiality, he took nothing from the Elder to give the Younger, he did not ſtrip him to cloath his Brother. Can you who are Aged murmur who muſt have Heaven at laſt? In the mean time God is yours, all that he hath is yours, his Son, his Word and Promiſes, and Innumerable Bleſſings. It ſhould rejoyce you, to think that theſe younger Servants of your Maſter may prove eminent Inſtruments of his Glory, when you are at reſt from your Labours.

Fourthly, With humble reliance on the Grace of God, endeavour to perſevere in his Service to the laſt moments of your Lives. You have done a great deal for Chriſt, which is matter of Joy, but you have done it all with his aſſiſtance, which is matter of Humility, 1 Cor. 15.9, 10. Alas, how little have you done for God, of what you might have done: It was a great Favour to you, that you did not grow old among his Enemies; but it is a Favour that obliges you to a particular Acknowledgment. Oh take heed leaſt having begun in the Spirit, you end in the Fleſh, and degenerate to Formality and Worldlineſs, and a vain Religion: Take heed leaſt your latter end be not worſe than your beginning; Paul the Aged, and a Priſoner, was ſtill doing good, Philem. 9. Some will ſay I have laboured ſo hard, and done ſo much, I hope I may now ſit ſtill and take mine eaſe. You muſt labour till your laſt Sand be run; you muſt labour from your firſt Morning to the concluſion of your day, from your Converſion to your Death; and you muſt ſtrive that your laſt days may be your beſt.

To all ſuch aged Servants of our Lord, ſo Steddy, ſo Religious, and ſo Fruitful, there is a great Reverence due from young People: We muſt not deſpiſe thoſe that are Old, for if we live we ſhall be ſo too, and then others may with juſtice treat us as we treated them; a good old Man or Woman are never to be ſpoke of, but with terms of Reſpect, and not with ſuch a ſlight Air, and jearing Contemptuous ſort of Expreſſion, that is uſual with many giddy People; with all imaginable deference does St. Paul ſpeak of Andronicus and Junia who were in Christ before him, Rom. 16.7. And as Solomon obſerves, Prov. 16.31. The heary head is a Crown of Glory, if it be found in the way of Righteouſneſs, that is, Old Age is very honourable, if it do not diſhonour it ſelf by a Courſe of wicked Actions. The wiſe King intimates, that a great reſpect is to be paid to one who has long travelled in the beſt way, ſomewhat reſembling that which is to be given to a Crowned Head. It's a moſt comely thing to ſee Grace ripening with the Maturity of Age; and the number of Services to God and Men, bearing proportion with the number of increaſing Years: Old Age, though decrepit, is honourable, like the Ruins of ſome noble Palace, there remains in the Fragments of the ſtately Structure, ſome Gracefulneſs and Beauty, ſomething uncommon and Magnificent. It may be ſaid of Goodneſs of a long ſtanding, as of old Gold, old painting, Sculpture, Statuary and Architecture; the Pieces that have moſt Antiquity, are generally moſt valuable, their Duration does not leſſen, but increaſe their Excellence: Good old Age is, to the true diſcerners of things, full of Wonder and Obſervation, as in a Winter or a Froſt Landskip may be expreſſed a curious deal of Art, though ſuch as are young Practitioners in Painting, may perhaps be more affected with thoſe Deſcriptions that repreſent the blooming Spring. 'Tis certain that Perſons advanced in years and Grace, have a more eſtabliſh'd Love to God than younger People; and we may, as to this, prefer their more grounded Knowledge, before that of ſuch as have been but a while tutored and diſciplin'd in the School of Chriſt.

The more General Ʋſe.

Firſt. IN all your Troubles, to further your patient waiting upon God, be ſure to pray unto him for Support, or for Deliverance. When St. Paul had a Thorn in the Fleſh, a painful Diſeaſe, that created as much trouble to him, as a Thorn uſually does in the tender Fleſh; He ſought the Lord thrice, which denotes his earneſtneſs and his fervent Deſire to have the Croſs removed; as to that he was not heard, but he obtained ſufficient Grace, which was infinitely better than external Eaſe and Comfort: Say when you are deeply diſtreſſed, O Maſter ſave me or elſe I periſh: And when Troubles increaſe, we muſt renew our Cries, as the Mariners double their Cable of the Anchor when the Storm grows more furious; and it is far from being a Sin, to pray againſt violent and ſharp Afflictions, becauſe it argues a right Knowledge of our own Weakneſs, and that we are not able to bear a Burden that is very heavy? We may lawfully deſire to be freed from tedious, and lingering, and ſharp Pain, for the length of it is a very great Temptation. There are two things which we may pray againſt, 1. Reproach, That like ſome Indian Poiſons Murthers us by ſlow degrees, and ſhoots its envenomed Arrows in the dark, we are wounded, and we know not who it is that bends the Bow; the blaſting of our good name, is a Perſecution of the worſt kind, 'tis one of the moſt refined Stratagems of Hell; and ſuch as ſlander their Neighbour, either know not what they do, and then they are Fools, or they do it wilfully, and then they are Devils, they ſmell rank of Fire and Brimſtone: Some are as forward to put off all the Productions of their gangreen'd ulcerated Spirits, as if they had got a Patent for Lying, as if they had engroſs'd and monopoliz'd this Sin; they think a little Backbiting has no great harm in it, whereas there may be Death in a Whiſper, as well as Murther in a Wiſh. We may pray againſt Anguiſh and Terror of Soul, which is like a fiery Furnace and ſcorches us on every ſide, and imbitters all that others call the Pleaſures and the Sweets of Life: Eſpecially muſt we pray, that when ſickneſs or pain robs us of our Health, ſin may not at the ſame time rob us of our Faith and Hope in God: as alſo that it would pleaſe him not to allow Satan to rake in our wounds; and when his Almighty hand has ſmitten us, that he would not leave his Enemy and ours to touch us to the Quick as he did Job: and that at laſt all his malice may be defeated, and that thirſt extinguiſhed whereby he ſo eagerly thirſts and longs for our Ruine; and if we patiently wait, we muſt in all our Pains maintain a moſt entire Compliance with the Will of our Corrector, both as to the continuance and removal of our Sufferings: And while they laſt, let us open with all the freedom imaginable our whole Caſe, and all its circumſtances to the Father of our Spirits; and when we open our Griefs, his Bowels will earn over us: our very miſeries have with him a pleading and a moving Eloquence. This poor man cryed, and the Lord heard him. You may cry to the Lord, which implies a vehement eager motion of the Soul, and an outward expreſſion of your ſenſe of Grief: The beſt of men have not been inſenſible of pain and trouble; Abraham, and Iſaac, and Jacob and the other Patriarchs felt theſe Inconveniences of Life as well as other men. 'Tis ſaid of Jacob, Gen. 48.1. that he was ſick; and ver. 10. that his eyes were dim for age, ſo that he could not ſee: he was bedrid ſometime before his death, and no doubt had his Groans and his Crys like other Aged men. David with all his Muſick could not preſerve an undecaying Youth, nor charm away the cold Winter of his Life. When he was old and ſtricken in years, they covered him with clothes, but he got no heat, 1 Kings 1.1. And in other ſeaſons of his Life, he ſays, the preſſure of his grief was ſo very weighty, that it made him groan all the night, and he was weary with his groaning, and his bed ſwimmed in an inundation of overflow-Tears, Pſ. 6.6. and Pſ. 38.8. I am feeble and ſore broken: I have roared by reaſon of the diſquietneſs of my heart. This Roaring, notes the Loudneſs and Vehemence of his Cries. And ſays the poor deſolate Job, when his melancholy and terrors were upon him, chap. 30.28. I went mourning without the Sun: I ſtood to and cryed in the Congregation. I had, during my tempeſtuous Night, ſcarce a glimpſe or beam of Joy. I was in ſuch flaming Anguiſh, that ſcorcht my Body, and preyed upon my Soul; I was in ſuch dreadful and amazing fears that I, was not able to keep ſilence. My inward torment, even when I was in any publick Aſſembly, made me ſhriek and cry aloud. And Hezekiah ſays of his ſick and languiſhing condition, Iſa. 38.14. Like a Crane or a Swallow, ſo did I chatter; I did mourn as a Dove. His Cry was quick, and frequent, and loud, and frightful; with a very ſorrowful and doleful Tone: His Eyes failed with waiting, and his Heart was even like to break. Theſe Examples I alledge to ſhew you that the beſt of men may be ſenſible of pain, and yet be ſubmiſſive to the Author of it. Loud Groans and Crys are no marks of an inward Impatience and diſorder; for by theſe troubled Nature gives it ſelf a little vent, and it gives a little eaſe, tho' indeed but very little; becauſe our returning Grief makes our Groans and Crys return. Tho' they are innocent and unavoidable expreſſions of ſome weighty ſorrow that is like to cruſh us. Grace does not overthrow Nature, tho' it corrects all its exceſſes and diſorders. We know that the Language of the Sick has not the livelyneſs the briskneſs and ſtrength of thoſe that ſpeak in health: their Countenance, their Looks, their Actions, their words are all changed. All indeed are not equally ſenſible, for ſome perſons have a finer ſet and contexture of Spirits, and conſequently a quicker ſenſe of Pain than thoſe that are of a heavier and duller Conſtitution. The delicate temper of the Body of our Saviour, was more ſuſceptible of grief than the Bodies of the Thieves that were Crucified with him.

2dly. When you pray, do not wonder if you are not immediately anſwered: do not murmure at the ſlow pace of Divine Mercy. You ſhall have help in the moſt beautiful ſeaſon, when the glory of God and your good may be moſt promoted. If he as yet delay to hear your very earneſt and importunate Crys, remember that his Elect cry to him day and night, and he will at length avenge their Cauſe. The Souls under the Altar cry; all Nature, Groans and Crys to be eaſed of the miſeries that our ſin has brought upon it. We muſt pray, but not preſame to tell our Benefactor what, and when he is to give. 'Tis an excellent poſture to be found waiting on our Knees, tho' mercy and deliverance come not juſt when we would have it.

1. Thoſe things which we many times moſt earneſtly ask might be vaſtly prejudicial to us. Many an one ſays, give me this or that or elſe I die; and the very things they prayed for, when obtained, prove a curſe; and thoſe in which they hoped to rejoyce many years, ſend them betimes mourning to the grave. Rachel ſaid to Jacob, give me Children, or elſe I die. There was in her ſpeech a great deal of childiſh weakneſs and impatience: She hoped the having a Child, would prolong her life, and ſhe ſmarted for her wiſh, ſhe died in her Lying In. Many are very importunate with God, and nothing will ſerve them but this or that particular Comfort, I muſt have it, or I am undone; and when they have the Idolized Vanity that they doted on, they quickly find cauſe to repent of their haſty follies. The Iſraelites were fond of a King, but they had a long time wherein to repent of that fondneſs. You may perhaps have what you ask, but you may have it with a frown, with ſuch diſpleaſure as will change your Wine to Vinegar; and your ſmootheſt delights into the rougheſt thorns, Pſal. 78.31. It is a friendly act of God to refuſe us often what we ask, when it is really for our hurt; and to ſave us from our miſguided wiſhes is the love and kindneſs of a Father. If Paul had had his thorn removed immediately he might too greatly ſwell with his Gifts and Revelations, or be like a Saul again.

2dly. Tho' God do not immediately hear our Crys, yet he may gratifie us in better things. Moſes begged to enter into Canaan, but he had no remaining longing after that happy Land, when he was once in Heaven. The joys of Paradiſe had with him a ſweeter taſte than all the Milk and Honey of that could ever give. We have no cauſe to grumble that our Suits too long depend, if in the delays of deſired help, he now and then gives us a ſight of his amiable Face: The Croſs will not overwhelm us, when his Arms are underneath: when, tho' he do not remove the Cup, yet he ſweetens it with his Love: he delays to ſave us to try our faith, and to make his Salvation more illuſtrious. As Jeſus, tho' he heard that Lazarus was ſick, Joh. xi. 6, 7. he did not haſten to his dying Friend, as knowing he intended to glorifie his power in his Reſurrection.

3. He delays an immediate Anſwer to our Crys, to ſee whether we can patiently wait, and believe his promiſe, when we have no ſenſible proofs of his good will. Whether with the Woman of Canaan we will continue Suppliants when he ſeems to chide us from his preſence. This is an evidence of confirmed patience when we abide waiting at his door, tho' for ſeveral hours or days he ſeems to take no notice of our Crys.

4. He ſuffers us to wait a long time before he hear our Crys, to bring our ſins to remembrance; and to put us in mind how we uſed him, how long, how many a tedious hour we made him ſtay before we bid him welcome to our hearts, a long time he knockt e're we let him in: It's no wonder that he uſes us as we uſed him, 'tis a moſt equitable and unblameable retaliation, that we ſhould taſt of the Fruit that we have planted.

5. He loves to ſee his Servants in a praying poſture, for it is an argument of Love and of Humility; their Tears are botled; he knows that theſe Sorrows, like April ſhowers, will make them more fruitful afterwards; and that by praying they learn to pray; and the frequent returns of duty make them to perform it with greater zeal and skill.

As 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 ſtorm 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 the 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 are 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! I 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 Enemies? 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.

3. '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 good 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 and 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 laſting 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 Chriſt; 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 go 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 and 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 promiſes 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 of 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 the 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 every 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 cannot 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: Regard 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, for 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 ſays, 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 fit 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 I 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 extols 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, it 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 the 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.

This 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 uſed 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, thence 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, whilſt 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, having 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, that 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 upon 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 often 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 long, 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 lived 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. The 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 patient 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 Moſes 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 her 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.