I Bring you this Day, a Text of Sacred Scrip­ture, which a Faithful Servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, lately gone unto Him, did before his going, order for you, as his Legacy. Give your Attention.

THat Holy, and Worthy Minister of the Gospel, whose Funeral is this Day to be attended, having Long Laboured for the Conver­sion of men unto God, at length grew very Praesagious that his Labours in the E­vangelical Ministry, drew near unto an End. While he was yet in Health, and not got be­yond the Fifty Fourth Year of his Age, he did, with such a Praesage upon his mind, (having first written on this wise in his Diary, Oh! that [Page 4] Christs Death might fit me for my own!) begin to Study a Sermon, on this very Text, Into Thine Hand I Commit my Spirit. But his Great Ma­ster, who favoured him with such a Praesage, never gave him an opportunity to Finish and Utter, what he had begun to Study. His Life had all this while, been a Practical Commentary upon his Doctrine; and now, behold! His Death must Expound and Apply the Doctrine, which he would have Preached unto us. He must show us, how to do that Important work of Committing a Departing Spirit into the Hands of God, no otherwise than by the Actual doing of that work himself. While therefore he Lay a Dying, he a [...]k'd one of his dearest Relations, Dost thou know what I am doing! She said, No; He then added, I am Rendring, I am Rendring! mea­ning, I suppose, his own Spirit unto the Lord. But while he was doing of that work, and with Humble Resignation Committing his own Spirit into the Hands of God, he desired of me, that I would Preach upon the Text, about which he had been under such Intentions. Where­fore [If at least I may be thought worthy of such a Character!] You are now to consider me, shall I say, as Executing the Will of the Dead? or, as Representing a Man of God, whom God hath taken. The Truths, which we shall now Incul­cate, wi [...]l be such, as you are all along to think, These are the Things which a Saint now in Glory [Page 5] would have to be Inculcated. And when we have briefly set those Truths before you, we will de­scribe a little that Excellent Saint, as from whom you have them Recommended: We will de­scribe him chiefly, with Strokes fetch'd from his own Diaries, out of which, in the little Time I have had since his Death, I have collected a few Remarkables.

Our Psalmist, the Illustrious David, now, as we may judge, drew near unto his End: and we may say of the Psalm here composed by him, These are among the last words of David, the man who was Raised up on High. The Sighs of the Psalmist here collected, seem to have been occasion'd, by the Sufferings, which he under­went, when his own Subjects, took up Arms a­gainst him. Nevertheless, as our Psalter is all over, The Book of the Messiah, so this particular Hymn in it, is contrived Elegantly to point out, the Sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ unto us. In the Text now before us, the Psalmist appre­hending himself in danger of Death, does the Great work of a Dying man: Which i [...], To Com­mit a Surviving Spirit, into the Hand of God. But in doing this, he Entertains a special Consi­deration of God, for his Encouragement in do­ing it: This is, Thou hast Redeemed me, O Lord God of Truth. It is the Messiah, that hath Re­deemed us; It is the Messiah, whose Name is The Truth; David upon a view o [...] the Messiah, said, This is the man, who is the Lord God. Where­fore, [Page 6] In Committing our Spirits unto God, our Lord Christ is to be distinctly considered; and He was, no doubt, by David considered. The Power of God, is called, His Hand; The Wisdom of God, is called, His Hand: But above all, The Christ of God, who is, The Power of God, and the Wisdom of God, He is the Hand of God; By Him 'tis, that the God of Heaven doth, what He doth in the World: And He is, for that cause also Styled, The Arm of the Lord. It is therefore to the Power and Wisdom, and Good­ness of God, in Christ, that our Expiring Spirits are to be committed.

There was indeed a wonderful Time, when our Lord Jesus Christ Himself made a wonder­ful Use of this very Text. We read in Luke 23.46. When Jesus had cried with a loud voice, He said, Father, into thy Hands I commend my Spi­rit; and having said thus, He gave up the Ghost. Syrs, God uttered His voice, at this rate, and the Earth Trembled at it! And well it might, for ne­ver did there such an amazing thing occurr upon the Earth before. Now, our Lord having said, Into thy Hands I commend my Spirit, stop'd at those words; for He was Himself the Redeemer, the Lord God of Truth. But as for us, we are to consider God, as in our Lord Jesus Christ, when we Commit our Spirits into His Hands. As Lu­ther could say, Nolo Deum Absolutum, I Tremble to have to do, with an Absolute God; that is to [Page 7] say, a God with [...]ut a Christ: So, we may all Tremble to T [...]ink of Committing our Spirits, into the Hands of God, any otherwise than as He is, in Christ Reconciling the World unto Himself. We are truly told, in Heb. 10 31. It is a Fearful Thing to fall into the Hands of the Living God. Our Spirits are by Sin become obnoxious to the Fearful Wrath of God; and, wo to us, if our Spirits fall into His Hands, not having His Wrath Appeased! Syrs, We Commit Bri [...]rs and Thorns, and wretched Stubble to Infinite Flames, if we Commit our Spirits into the Hands of God, not in a Christ, become our Friend. We deliver up our Spirits, unto a Devouring Fire, and unto E­verlasting Burnings, if we approach the Holy, Ho­ly, Holy Lord God Almighty any otherwise than thro' the Immanuel, our Mediator. We are to Commit our Souls unto our Faithful Creator: But if He be not our Merciful Redeemer too, then, He that made us will [...]ot have mercy on us. When Hezekiah was, as he thought, a [...]ying, he Turn'd his Face to the Wall: I suppose it was, to that side of the Upper Chamber, the Pra [...]ing Chamber, where he Lay, that had Gods Window in i [...], the Window that opened it sel [...] towards the Ark in the Temple. When we Commit our Spirits into the Hand of God, we are to Turn our Face to­wards that Ark of God, our Lord Jesus Christ▪ We have this matter well directed by the words of the Dying Martyr St [...]phen; in Acts 7.59. [Page 8] He said, Lord Jesus, Recive my Spirit.

And now, there is a weighty CASE, that lies before us;

After what manner should we commit our Spirits unto our Lord Jesus Christ, that so the Eternal Safety and Welfare of our Spirits, may be effectu­ally provided for?

If our Faithful BAILY were now Alive, I do not know any one CASE, that he would more Livelily have discoursed among you: but I know, that he would have Discou [...]sed on This, with a Soul full of Inexpressible Ago­nies. He was a Man, who had, from a Child, been full of Sollicitous Cares about his own Soul; and from hence in part it was, that when he became a Preacher of the Gospel, he Preach'd nothing so much, as the Cares that all men should have, about the Conversion of their Souls, unto God, and the Sincerity of their Souls before Him. There were many Great Points of our Christian Faith, which he still treated with Shorter Tou­ches, because his Thoughts were continually Swallow'd up, with the Vast Concern of not being Deceived, about the Marks of a Rege­nerate and a Sanctifyed Soul, and Hopes of being found in Christ at a Dying Hour. Those two words, A SOUL, and ETERNITY, were Great Words unto him; and his very Soul was [Page 9] greatly, and alwayes under the Awe of them. Hence, The very Spirit of his Preaching, lay in the points, of Turning from Sin to God in Christ, and the Trial of our doing so, and the Peril of our not doing it. Wherefore, as far as alas, one of my sinful coldness in those dreadful points, can do it, I [...]ill set before you in a few minutes, what I app [...]ehend my Dead Friend would have to be spoken, upon these points, in relation to the CASE, that is now to be conside­red.

I. Let every mortal man be very sensible, that he hath an Immortal Spirit in him, and prize that Spirit exceedin [...]ly. How shall we Commit a Spirit into the Hands of the Lord Jesus Christ, if this thing be not Rea [...]ized unto us, That we have a Spirit, which will be ho [...]ribly miserab [...]e to all Eternity, if the Lord Jesus Christ look not after it!

Could that mouth, which is this Day to be Laid in the Dust, once more be op [...]ned among us. I know what voice would issue f [...]om it: with a very zealous vivaci [...]ie, I know this voice would be uttered, Man, Thou hast a Soul, a Soul within thee; a Soul that is to Exist thr [...]ughout Eter­nal Ages; Oh! prize that Soul of thine, at the grea­test rate imaginable. I say then; We must be sensible, That we have Spirits which are Distinct from our Bodies, and which will out-live them: Spirits, which are Incorporeal Substances, Endued with Rational Faculties; and tho' Inclined unto our [Page 10] Humane Bodies, yet surviving after them [...] ▪ An In­fide Pope of Rome, once Lying on his Death­bed, had such a Speech as this; I shall now quick­ly be certified and satisfied, whether I have an Im­mortal Soul or no! Woful man, if he were not until Then certified and satisfied! God forbid, That there should be so much as one Epicurean Swine among us, dreaming, That man is nothing but a meer Lump of matter put into Motion. Shall a man dare to Think, that he has not a Rational Soul in him, which is of a very different Nature from his Body? Truly, his very Thinking is e­nough to confute his monstrous Unreasonableness: Meer Body cannot Think; and I pray, of what Figure is a Rational Atom? The Oracles of God, have therefore assured us, That the Fathers of our Bodies, are not the Fathers of Spirits; No; these have another Father! And, That the Spi­rits of men, may go from their Bodies; and be caught up to the Third Heaven too! Well; But when our Bodies Crumble & Tumble before the Strokes of Death, are not our Spirits over­whelmed in the Ruines of our Bodies, like Samp­son, when the Philistean Temple fell upon him? No; They are Sparks of Immortality, that shall never be Extinguished; they must Live, and Move, and Think, until the very Heavens be no more. Among other Evidences, That our Spirits are Immortal, there is no Contemptible one, in the Presages, which the Spirits of such good men, [Page 11] as he which is [...] to be In [...]err'd, have had, of their Spe [...]dy passage in a World of Spirits. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave His own Blood for the Purchase of our Souls, and can Tell, Sure! what it is that He ha's purchased; He ha's Ex­pressly told us, in Math. 10 28. They which Kill the Body, are not able to Kill the Soul. Our Bles­sed Apostle Paul, a mighty Student and Worker for Souls, was not fed with Fancies, when he took it for granted, in Phil. 1.21. That when he should be dissolved, He should be with Christ immediately. Do, Try, Thou Fool hardy Crea­ture, to perswade thy self, That thou hast not an Immortal Soul: Thou canst not, for thy Soul, render thy self altogether, and evermore perswa [...] ­ed of it: with very dreadful Suspicions, of its Immortality, will thy own Conscience, a certain Faculty of thy Soul, terrify thee, when God a­wakens it. I have known, a Sturdy Disputer against the Immortality of the Soul, go out of the World, with this Lamentable Out cry, Oh! my Soul, my Soul; what shall I do for my poor Soul! Syrs, Let this Principle Stand like the very Pil­lars of Heaven with every one of us, That we have Immortal Souls to be provided for. But if a man have an Immortal Soul within him, what will be the Natural Consequence of it? The consequence is plainly this; That since the Soul is Immortal, it should be very precious. It was infinitely Reasonable, for the Soul to be called, [Page 12] as it was, in Psal. 22.20. My Soul, my Darling! Oh! There should be nothing so Dear to a man, as that Soul of his, that shall Endure, when all other Things are Changed: For, O my Soul, of thy years there shall be no End. The Interests of our [...]pirits are to be much greater Things unto us, than the Interests of our Bodies. What will become of our Souls, That, That is a thing, that should Ly much nearer to our Hearts, than what will become of our Lives, our Names, our Estates. We should set an high value on our Spirits, and often meditate on the Text, which was once given to a Great man, for his daily meditation, in Mat. 16.26 What is a man profit­ed, if he gain the whole World, and Lose his own Soul.

II. Let every man in this World that hath an Immortal Spirit, he above all Things Thought­ful for the welfare of that Spirit in another World. When we Commit a Spirit into the Hands of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is, that so it may Escape that Wretchedness, and Attain that Blessedness, in another World, whereof our Lord hath in His Word advised us. When that Embassador of Christ, who is lately gone back unto Him, was Resident among us, there was no one Thing, that he more Vigorously Insisted on, than This; Oh! there is nothing so dreadful, as that Hell, which every wicked Soul shall be turned [Page 13] into: There is nothing so joyfull as that Heaven which is prepared for every Godly Soul: And there is nothing of so much concernment for you, as to flee from that Wrath to Come, and lay hold on that Life Eternal. I say accordingly; There are asto­nishing Dangers, whereto our Souls are Exposed by our Sins Our Spirits are in Danger of being forever B [...]nished from the Communion of the Lord Jesus Christ, into a State of Easeless, and Endless Horror; Our Spirits are in Danger to be Plung'd into doleful Torments, among the Devils that have been our Tempters: Our Spirits a [...]e in Danger to be Siez'd by the Justice o [...] that God against whom we have Sinn'd, and laid under Everlasting Impressions of His Indig­nation There are Spirits in Prison; there is Danger lost the Vengeance of God, Chain up our Spirits in that fiery Prison. (It was but a little before he went unto Heaven, that our Batly in Twenty Six Discourses on Rev. 6.8. Opened the Treasures of that Wrath among us▪) And we should now be so Thoughtful of nothing upon Earth, as how to get our Spirits Delivered from thi [...] Formidable Hell. The Fittest Lan­guage for us, would be like that, in Psal. 116.3, 4▪ The pains of Hell are getting Hold on me; O Lord, I beseech thee, to Deliver my Soul. But then, There is a Great Salvation, which our Lord Jesus Christ ha's wrought for us; and that Salvation is, The Salvation of the Soul. Our Spirits may [Page 14] be Released, from the Bonds, which the Sentence of Death, by the Law of God passed upon them, has laid them under. Our Lord Jesus Christ, Satisfying o [...] the Law, by His Death in our Stead, hath procured this Release for the Spirits of His Chosen. There a [...]e the Spirits of Just men made Perfect; and there is perfect Light, and perfect Love, and perfect Joy, among those Glori [...]yed Spirits. Our Spirits may be advanced into the Society of Angels; and be with our Lord Jesus Ch [...]i [...]t, in Heaven, the Spectators, and partakers of His Heavenly Glory. Now, we should be more Thoughtful to make sure of such a Heaven for our Spirits, than to Ensure any thing on Earth. We should wish for nothing so much as That, in 1 Sam 25 29. A Soul bound up in the Bundle of Life. There are Souls, which our Lord Jesus Christ, ha's Bundled, like so many Slips, to be Transplanted into the Sweet Garden of Heaven; Say now, O man, with all possible Ardour of Scul, Oh! may my Soul be one of them!

When our Father Jacob, was a Dying, he seems, upon the O [...]c [...]sion of mentioning a Ser­pent, immediately to call to mind the mischiefs which had been done by the old Serpent, unto our Spirits: whereupon he cryed out, Gen. 49.18. I have waited for thy Salvation, [for thy JESUS!] O Lord. That our Spirits may not be destroy'd in our Dying, This, This, is the Thing that we should be concerned for; That [Page 15] they may be Saved by a Jesus, from the mis­chiefs, which the old Serpent ha's brought upon them.

III. When we Commit our Spirits into the Hand of our Lord Jesus Christ, we must Be­lieve in Him, as fully able, to Save our Spirits unto the uttermost. It is by Faith acted unto the uttermost, that we are to Commit our Spirits, into the Hands of our Lord Jesus Christ: Now the Acts of this Faith are admirably expres­sed, in 2 Tim. 1.12 I know whom I have Believed, and I am perswaded, That He is Able to keep that which I have committed unto Him. We would have our Spirits preserved from the Direful An­ger of God, which threatens to Swallow them up: Say now, Lord Jesus, I am perswaded, Thou art able to preserve me. We would have our Spirits Enriched with the Knowledge, and Image, and Favour of God, in His Kingdom: Say now, Lord Jesus, I am perswaded, Thou art Able to En­rich me. We are therefore to place our Faith, on the Sacrifice which our Lord Jesus Christ hath offered unto God, on the behalf of His people. We read, in Job 33.22. When a Soul draws near unto the Grave, If there be a Messenger with him, an Interpreter, then He says, Deliver him from going down to the pit, I have found a Ransome. Some of the Ancients take that, Angelus Interprés, to be, Christ the Mediator. Syrs, When your Souls are drawing near unto the Grave, 'tis high [Page 16] Time to Believe on that Ransome, which, One among a Thousand, has paid unto God for us, We must Believe, That the Sacrifice of the Soul of the Messiah, when He was Cut off, but not for Himself, is a valuable Sacrifice, a sufficient Sacri­fice, and a Sacrifice which the wondrous Grace of God invites us to Depend upon; and with a firm Dependence on that Sacrifice, we must plead, O Let my Soul be delivered from going down to the Pit, since God has found such a Ransome for me! But while we Rely on our Lord Jesus Christ, as He has been Sacrificed for us here be­low, we must also Re [...] upon Him, as He is now above, in the Holy of Holies, Interceeding for us. And that our Faith in commi [...]ing our Spirits unto our Lord Jesus Christ, may be a Truly Christian Faith; We must Believe Him to be no less than, The Lord God of Truth; to be God as well as Man; to be God and Man in one person. That man, is a very Foolish man, who will Trust his own Soul, with any one Less than the God, who made our Soul, and who alone can Save it. Our Belief must pronounce our Lord Jesus Christ, the same that His Bible has pro­nounced Him; The True God, the Great God, and God over all; One who is, Every where, and who Knows every Thing. This Article of our Faith, which the modern Jews deny, i [...] in­deed so Incontestable, that I could presently overwhelm, with an Army of Testimonies, [Page 17] from the Rabbies among the Ancient Jews, con­fessing, That the Messiah must be very Jehovah Himself. I beseech you, Let no man dare to Dy, in any Doubt, whether the Lord Jesus Christ, unto whom he commits his own Soul, be not more than a meer man. Believing Him to be God, Let us believe, that His Blood is price enough to obtain for us, the E [...]erlasting Happi­ness of our Spirits; what can our Spirits want that the Blood of God can't obtain? Let us Be­lieve, that His Holy Spirit, can sit our Spirits for, and fill our Spirits wi [...]h, Eternal Glories; the Spirit of Christ, is the Spirit of God: What can't He do for us? Let us Believe, that He has Legiors, and My [...]iads, and Millions of Blessed Spirits, [...]o be our Convoy, and Safeguard from those Evil Spirits, which are waiting to arrest our Spirits at our Dissolution: He is God, a­mong the Thousands of His Angels, in His Holy Place: They'l [...]ly like swift Flashes of Lightning to succour us, when ever He shall command them so to do. What shall we say? When Ja­cob [...]ell Asleep, with his Head Lying upon a Stone, he had a Vision of Angels concerned for him. Truly, our Lord Jesus Christ is, The Stone of Israel. If you don't fall Asleep, till you have Laid your Heads, and Hopes on that Stone, you shall then see Armies of Angels about you, to secure you.

[Page 18] IV. When we Commit our Spirits into the Hand of our Lord Jesus Christ, we must Submit unto all His Gracious Operations upon our Spirits. We Commit our Spirits into the Hand of our Lord Jesus Christ, we say: Well, He then demands of us, as in Mark 10.51 What wilt thou, that I should do unto thee? And, I pray, mark it; If there be any Article of Grace, al­wayes wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ, for the Spirits of Hi [...] Elect, which you do not Con­sent unto, He will not Receive your Spirits; No, He will Destroy them dreadfully. Some Commit their Spirits into the Hand of the Lord Jesus Christ, they say; but they are not willing that the Hand of the Lord Jesus Christ should, ever Do for them, all that must be done, in all that are brought Home unto God. Perhaps they would have their Spirits rescued from the Hands of the Devils hereafter; but they don't heartily Commit their Spirits into the Hands of the Lord Jesus Christ, for to have all the Lusts that make their Spirits like Devils, here Embittered, and Eradicated. They would have Easy Spirits, it may be, but Oh! they are Loth to have Holy Spirits. This Halving of it, Thou Hypocrite, This Halving of a Christ, will Hang the Milst [...]es of Damnation, about the Neck of thy Soul for e­ver. The Lord Jesus Christ, puts this Question unto us, Poor Sinner, what shall I do for thy Spirit? [Page 19] No man can a [...]ight Commit a Spirit into the Hand of the Lord Jesu [...] [...]rist, until he have se [...]iously pondered on [...] Question. Ponder i [...], Syrs, in the Fear of God! But then Let our Answer to it, be according to that, in 2 Thes 1.11 That He would fulfil all the good pleasure of His Goodness in you, and the work of Faith with power. In Committing your Spirits into the Hand of the Lord Jesus Christ, Oh! Let your Hearts, being made willing in the Day of His power, Declare themselves willing, to have Him Do for you, all that He is willing to Do. 'Tis the proposal of the Lord Jesus Christ, Shall my Obedience to my Father, furnish thee with that Atonement, and that Righteousness, whereby thy Spirit shall stand without Fault before the Throne of God? Reply, Lord, I Commit my Spirit into thy Hand, for Thee to Justify it. The proposal of the Lord Jesus Christ unto us is, All the Maladies of thy Spirit, shall I heal them all? Reply, Lord, I Commit my Spirit into thy Hand, as into the Hand of the Lord my Heal­er; O Let that Hand of thine, Open this Blind Mind, and Subdue this Base Will, & Rectify all these Depraved Affections; and on all Acc [...]unts Renew a Right Spirit within me. Man, Commit thy Spirit into the Hand of the Lord Jesus Christ, with such a Disposition; and then rest Assured, That Spirit shall never be Lost.

V. If you would successfully Commit your [Page 20] Spirits into the Hand of the Lord Jesus Christ, when you Dy, you are to Do it for your Spirits before you Dy. Indeed, what should all our Life be, but a preparation for Death? And all of our Life truly is little enough. So thought our Devout Baily. It was the Counsel which he often gave to his Friends, Let not one day pass you, without an earnest prayer, that you may have a CHRIST, for to stand by you in a Dying Hour. And his own practice, was according to that Counsel, as is well known to them that Lived with him in his Family. Syrs, you are not sure, that when the Decretory Hour of Death overtakes you, you shall have one minute of an Hour al­low'd you, to Commit your Spirits into the Hand of the Lord Jesus Christ. Is not a Sudden Death a Frequent Sight? There are very many so sud­denly Snatched away, by the Whirlwind of the Vengeance of the Almighty, that they have not opportunity, so much as to say, Lord have mercy upon me! And, Let me tell you, That a Sudden Death is most likely to be the portion of those who most presumptuously put off to a Death bed, the work of Committing their Spirits, into the Hand, that can alone befriend them. I have Read, That of old, according to the Laws of Persia, a Malefactor had Liberty, for an Hour before his Execution, to ask what he would, & what he ask'd was granted him. One that was under Sentence of Death, being Admitted unto [Page 21] the use of this Liberty, desired neither one Thing, nor another, but only, That he might see the Kings Face; which being allow'd him, he so plied the King, in that Hour, that he obtain­ed his pardon: Whereupon the Persians altered their Custome, and covered the Face of the Ma­lefactor, that he might never see the King any more. I will not now Enquire, how far this passage, will Illustrate the Story of Haman; but I will observe, That the Face of God, is the Name of the M [...]ssiah; and in this observation, I have given you a Golden Key, to come at New Treasures in [...]s [...]ores of Scriptures. And I will apply i [...], with saying; You have it may be an Hour, and no more, allow'd you, to ad­dress the Face of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. In this Hour, you may obtain His Favour and Mercy, and Pardon. Don't slip this Hour, Lest it be Too Late Or, peradventure, (and alas, 'tis but a peradventure!) you should upon a Death bed, have space enough, to Commit your Spirits into the Hands of the Lord, are you sure, that you shall then have the Grace to do it? It is a solemn caution, that is given us, in Phil. 2.12, 13. Work out your own Salvation wi [...]h Fear and Trembling; For it is God that wo [...]ks in you, both to Will, and to Do, of His own Good pleasure. Even so, Fear, and Tremble, to Delay Committing your Spirits into the Hand of the Lord, so much as one Day Longer; You don't know, that God [Page 22] will please to Work in you, for the doing of it, when your last Moments are upon you. I have read it, as the observation of some very Experi­enced Ministers, that they never handled in their Ministry, any Subjects more successfully, than those which led them to discourse against procrastination in the concerns of their Souls. Our Baily was much in making of this Experi­ment. Many a man inserts that clause in his Last Will, I bequeath my Soul unto God that gave it. But, in the Name of God; Art thou certain that He will Accept of it? The Law says, Lega­to renunciari potest, and, Legatum accipere nemo no­lens cogitur; One may Refuse a Legacy, there's no compelling one to Accept it. It is true, our Compassionate Lord, will ever Accept a poor Soul, whenever 'tis with a true Faith ▪ brought unto Him. Yea, but it may be, He will not Accept of thy Soul, inasmuch as thou hast no True Faith to bring it withal; Faith, which is not of our selves, 'tis the Gift of God! Wherefore, O man, if thou hast any Regard unto thy Ne­ver Dying Soul, Go thy ways presently, and ear­nestly Commit it unto the Lord before a Dying Hour. As the Apostle said, This I say, Brethren, the Time is short: Even so, This I say, My Friend; Thy Time it may be shorter than thou art well aware of What shall I say? I say. Boast not thy self of To morrow. I say, This Night thy Soul may be Required.

[Page 23]And, if thy Faithless Heart, have the Assistences of the Divine Grace witheld from if, when the Damp Sweats of Death are upon thee, there is yet another Objection, with which the God of Heaven will Thunder-strike thy Attempts to Commit thy Spirit into His Hand. That is This: That Spirit of thine, is it thy own to Dispose of? Hast thou not already otherwise disposed of it? It is a Rule in Law, Nemo potest Legare, quod suum jam non est: No man can by will, Demise, Devise, Dispose of that, of which he had made Sale be­fore. It is said of a very ungodly man, in 1 King 21.25. He sold himself, to work Wicked­ness, in the sight of the Lord. Ungodly Sinner; The Devil ha's often bargain'd with thee, about thy Soul; he hath said, By Deliberate Sinning a­gainst Heaven, do thou make over thy Soul to me, and thou shalt have the short pleasures of Sin for it. God knows how often, thou hast thus Bargain'd away thy Soul to the Devil; and since thou hast not in all thy Life Revok'd that Bargain, then though thou do at thy Death cry unto Him, Lord, Receive this poor Soul of mine! how justly may He say, No, Not I! Thou hast Sold that Soul to another; And Let him keep it forever! There will also be this further to be said; What power hast thou to Dispose of thy Spirit? Hast thou any thing at all, at thy own Disposal? It is a Rule in Law, Servus non potest Condere Testamentum; A Slave can't make a Will: He ha's nothing of [Page 24] his own to Dispose of. It is said, in Joh. 8.34. Whosoever practiseth Sin, is the Slave of Sin. It may be, thou hast all this while, been a very Slave; Thy Lust is thy Lord; A Lust of Un­cleanness, of Drunkenness, of Worldiness, it hath ut­terly Enslaved thee. And, What? Not got out of that Slavery, before thy Dim Eyes, and Cold Lips, and Faltering Tongue, and Failing Breath, hath put over thy Soul into the Hand of the Lord! How justly may He say, Slave, Thou art not Able to do for thy wretched Soul, what thou dost now pretend unto. The Lord Jesus Christ, will not [...] off thy Soul, with such Objections, if thou Seek the Lord while He may be found, and call upon Him while He is near. I earnestly Testify unto you, The Vilest & the Oldest Sinner among you all, may Come, and be Welcome, unto the Lord Jesus Christ, if you will come Now, while it is the Ac­ceptable Time, Now, while it is the Day of Salvation. Though thou art never so Bad, yet come and Heartily complain to Him of all thy Badness, and He will do Good unto thy Soul! I am sure my BAILY, would have said nothing more Heartily than this among you; you heard him often say it, Come in to the Mercy of my Lord, for yet there is Room! But it is to be fear'd, That if thou stay, till the Last Assaults of Death are made upon thee, the Door of Mercy will be shut, and so, when thy Shrieks are, Lord, Lord, Open to me! all the Answers will be Rebukes and Fiery Thunders.

[Page 25] VI. Often Committing our Spirits into the Hand of the Lord Jesus Christ while we Live, Let us Endeavour after such Characters upon our Spirits, as may Assure us, that He will Receive us, when we Dy.

Indeed when we first Commit our Spirits into the Hand of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are to bring them, with no other Characters but those of Sin, and Hell, upon them. If we then Com­mit our Spirits into the Hand of the Lord Jesus Christ, under the Encouragement of any Lau­dable Qualifications and Recommendations, in them, Ah! Lord, Thou wilt Abhor us, and cast us off! In our first Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, He Enquires of us▪ What Spirit is that, which thou dost now Commit into my Hand? Our Answer must be, Lord, It is a Guilty Spirit, a Fil­thy Spirit, a Spirit as full of Sin and Hell, as ever it can hold, and a Spirit horribly under the Curse of God. Sirs, If you Answer any otherwise than So, the Redeemer of Spirits, will not Receive your Spirits. But when we Commit our Spirits into the Hand of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the last Actions of our Life, it is to be supposed, That we only Repeat, what we have done be­fore, and that our Lord Jesus Christ, ha's already Received our Spirits, on our doing of it. Oh! Tis a dreadful Thing, for a Dying man, to think, The Lord never yet Received this poor Soul of mine; [Page 26] for I never till now Committed it unto the Lord! When such Persons Commit their Spirits into the Hand of the Lord Jesus Christ, under the Dim­ness of the Anguish of Death, tis, as one sayes, As if one should bequeath unto an Honourable Person, some greasy Dish clout, or some dirty Shooe clout. It is of unutterable Concernment, for every man, to get the Symptoms of a Received Soul upon him, Now before his last Surrender of a Distressed Soul: and for a man to be able to say, at the last, Lord, I Commit a po [...]r Sinful Spirit now into thy Hand; but it is a Spirit upon which thy Blood ha's been Sprinkled, & it is a Spirit which thy Spirit ha's long since taken possession of. Now, to render this Unquestionable, we are to Examine our selves, Whether our Spirits have been Renewed by the Holy Spirit of God? and be Restless in our own Spirits till we are sure of such a Renovation. The Apostle once concluded, That when our Spirits depart from hence, the Lord Jesus Christ, will Receive them, into an House not made with Hands, Eternal in the Heavens: And upon what was it, that he Raised this Conclusion? He sayes, in 2 Cor. 5.5. [...]or He that wrought us, for this self-same Thing is God▪ The Greek word, used there, is the same that the LXX use for the Curious works about the Tabernacle. When Bezaleel had neatly wrought a Board, for to be set up in the Silver Sockets of the Tabernacle, he would not throw it away among the Rubbish. Man! [Page 27] If thou hast a Well wrought Soul within thee, God will Receive it, and Advance, and Improve it, in His House for ever. A Work of Grace produced by the Spirit of God, upon the Spirits of men, is a sure Token, of His purpose to bestow a State of Glory upon them, at their Departure from their Bodies. The primitive Martyrs were bidden, in 1 Pet. 4.19. To Commit the keeping of their Souls unto God, as unto a Faithful Creator. But it is pro­bable, the New Creation Experienced by Renewed Soul, is especially therein referr'd unto. Has the Spirit of God, made a New Creature of thy Spirit? This will be a Demonstration, that the Lord Jesus Christ, ha's already Received thy Spirit, and that, when thou dost again Commit thy Spirit unto Him, He will Receive it. When we do, in our last Actions, Commit a Spirit, into the Hand of the Lord Jesus Christ, what is it for? It is that He may put an upper Garment of Glory upon that Spirit. But He will demand, Where is the under Garment of Grace upon it? If thou art without that Garment, He will doom thy Spirit unto outer Darkness, that is to say, (for Outer Darkness was the Name of the Prison a [...]ong the Jews,) He will make a Perpetual Imprison­ment, the porti [...]n of thy Soul. Wherefore, let us Enquire diligently, into the Signs of a New-born Soul upon us, before we come to Dy. Wo to us, i [...] we are not Born Twice, before we Dye Once! Why should we incur this Desolation [Page 28] upon our Souls, That when at last, we go to Commit them into the Hand of the Lord, He shall Reject them, and say, No, I know them not; They are none of mine; They are the Workers of Ini­quity! The more certainly to prevent this De­solation, Let this one Comprehensive Duty of the New Creature, be often Renewed with you. Receive the Lord Jesus Christ into thy Soul, when He does Command it of thee, and the Lord Je­sus Christ will Receive thy Soul into Heaven, when thou dost at last Commit it unto Him. As Jotham said, in Judg. 9.7. Hearken to me, that God may Hearken to you: Even This do I now say to you; and I carry it on to This Issue: Do you Hearken to the Lord Jesus Christ, when He bids you to Receive Him, and when you Pray Him to Receive you. He will then Hearken to you. The Lord Jesus Christ, is often knock­ing at the Door of thy Soul: There would He Enter, with all His Gracious Influences: Open to the Lord, by Resigning up thy Soul to the Sweet Influences of His Grace: Reply, O come in, thou blessed of the Lord, why standest thou without? So, when thy Last Sands are a running, thou mayst joyfully think, My Lord Jesus Christ will now Receive me, more heartily, than ever I Received Him: If I have had an Heart, alas, a vile Heart! for Him. I am sure He has an Heaven for me! Lord, I now Commit into thy Hand, a Spirit into which thou hast been Received, when thy wondrous [Page 29] Grace demanded it for an Habitation: And thou wilt now Receive this unworthy Spirit of mine into a better Habitation. Think thus, and, Rejoyce, with Joy unspeakable and full of Glory!

VII. When we come to Commit our Spi [...] [...]n­to the Hand of our Lord Jesus Christ, at and for, our Last Resignation, Let us do it very Humbly, but very Wittingly, but very Chearfully.

How Humbly ought we to Commit our Spirits into the Hand of the Lord Jesus Christ! With how much Loathing and Judging of our selves, and with what Shameful Reflections, on all our past Behaviours. We are bitterly to Acknow­ledge the Disorders, and Corruptions, of our [...] Spirits, when we Commit them unto the Lord, and Acknowledge the numberless Errors, whereinto our Spirits have betray'd us. When we Lift up our Soul unto the Lord, Let it be in Terms like those, in Ezra 9.6. O my God, I am Ashamed, and blush to Lift up my Face to thee, my God! And therefore, what-ever Blessings we ex­pect for our Souls, Let us with all possible Self-Abhorrence found our Expectations on the pure Mercy of God, in our Lord Jesus Christ. Most sweetly did our Dying Hooker, express the frame of Spirit, wherewith a Spirit, is to be Committed into the Hand of the Lord: When one that stood weeping by his Bed side, said unto him, Syr. You are going to Receive the Reward of all your [Page 30] Labours, he replied, Brother, I am going to Receive Mercy! What shall I say? The Frame of Spirit, necessary in this Glorious Transaction, I cannot better paint out unto you, than by reciting the words, which I remember I once had, from an Eminent old Servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, at my taking Leave of him: said he, ‘Sir, I am every Day expecting my Death; but I desire to Dy, like the Thief, crying to the Crucifyed Je­sus for mercy. I am Nothing, I have Nothing, I can Do Nothing, except what is Unworthy ▪ My Eye, & Hope, and Faith, is to Christ on His Cross. I bring an Unworthiness, like that of the poo [...] Dying Thief unto Him, and have no more to plead than he. Like the poor Thief, Crucified with Him, I am wai [...]ing to be Received, [...] the Infinite Grace of my Lord, into His King­dom. And, pray tell me, Did not Aged Paul mean something of This, when he said, I am Crucified with Christ?’

Syrs, This is the Frame, wherewith we are to do, what we do. But then, How Willingly, How Chearfully! God forbid, That we should Commit our Spirits into His Hand, as only Drag'd, and Forc'd unto it by Unavoidable Death. Our Dy­ing Lord said, Father, Into thy Hands I commend my Spirit. When God calls for our Spirit, we are to think, 'Tis my Father that calls for me; and shall not I go to my Father? It was a good Speech even of an Heathen, Bene Mori est Libenter Mo­ri, [Page 31] one Thing in Well Dying, is to Dy willingly. 'Tis a dismal Thing, for the Spirit of a man to be Torn from him, and be pull'd away with Roa­ring Reluctances, with Horrid Convulsions. Where would be the sense of it, if a Dying man should say, Lord, Into thy Hand I commit my Spirit, but if I could have my choice, my Spirit should never come there! When we perceive that Call from our Lord Jesus Christ, Go up and Dy! Let us Freely Surrender our Spirits, unto our Great Lord, and, Go up and Dy: He is the Lord of our Lives. Freely, did I say? Yea, and Gladly too. When we have aright Committed our Spi­rits into the Hand of the Lord, then take up that conclusion, in Psal. 49.15. God will Receive my Soul. And then, Let us wonderfully comfort our selves, in the Thoughts of that Spiritual World which we are going into Think, I shall quickly Rest from Sin, and all Temptations, and all Afflictions, and all the cursed Effects of Sin, and all Annoyances of Ill Spirits for ever. I shall quickly be Lodg'd among the pure Spirits, that see God, and serve Him Day and Night in His Temple, and God shall wipe away all Tears from my Eyes. Yea, I shall quickly be with my Lord Jesus Christ, which is by far the best of all. Oh! Rejoyce in the Hope of this Glory of God! And let not your Joy be In­terrupted, by any Fear, of what may become of your Friends, when you shall be Dead and Gone. The Lord that calls you to Commit your [Page 32] Spirits into His Hand, calls you at the same time, to Commit your Widows, your Orphans, and all your Friends, into that Omnipotent Hand: He says, Leave them all with me, and He take the care of them all! It wa [...] noted of the English Martyrs, which Dy'd at the Stake, in the Bloody Marian Persecution; That none of them went more joyfully to the Stake, than those that had the largest and the dearest Families then to commit unto the Lord: And afterwards those large Families, were wondrously provided for. The Excellent Mr. Heron, a Mi­nister, that had a Family of many small Children in it, when he lay a Dying, his poor Wife said with Tears, Alas, what will become of all these Children? He presently, and pleasantly Replied; Never Fear, He that feeds the young Ravens, won't starve the young Herons! And it came to pass accordingly.

Syrs, Thus are you to Commit your Spirits in­to the Hands of the Lord Jesus Christ.

My Reverend BAILY did so; and it is as from Him, that I do this Day, be speak your do­ing like him; yea, Not from Him only, but from the Lord Jesus Christ, the God▪ whose he was, and whom he Served. If you would more particularly be told, after what manner, he did Commit his own Spirit into the Hands of the Lord, I can faithfully Recite you his own Account of the Transaction. He gives it, thus;

‘I spent half the Day alone in seeking of [Page 33] God; Desiring to give up my self unto God in Christ wholly, and to be His in Soul and Bo­dy. The particulars I omit. I hope, God in Christ, will Accept of me, and enable me by His Spirit to keep Touch with Him: for I owned my self wholly Unworthy to Enter into Covenant, and also Unable to keep it; but Je­sus Christ is both Worthy and Able.’

'Tis from one who thus did it, that you are now call'd upon to Do Likewise.

When you see the Coffin of this Man of God, anon carried along the Streets, imagine it a mournful Pulpit, from whence, Being Dead he yet speaks thus unto you; Whatever you do, Commit your perishing Souls into the Hands of the Lord Je­sus Christ, as you have been Advised.

That these Admonitions may have the more of Emphasis, a short Account of this Worthy man must now be given you.

He was Born, on Febr. 24. 1643. near Black­bourn in Lancashire; of a very pious Mother, who even before he was Born, often, as Hannah her Samuel, Dedicated him unto the Service of the Lord.

Of this his Birth day, in the Return of every Year, he still took much Notice in his Diaries: and made his humble and useful Reflections thereupon.

Once particularly, I find him thus Entertain­ing it.

[Page 34] ‘This is my Birth day, I am ready to say of it, as Job doth of his: but I forbear any unad­vised words about it: only, I have done Little for God, and much against Him; for which I am sorry.’

When this Day, last arrived unto him, he thus wrote upon it.

‘I may say with a Great Sigh, This was my Birth day! O how little Good have I done all this while! O what Reason have I to stand amazed at the Riches of Gods Forbearance! Much may happen this year: Lord, Carry me through it!’

From a Child he did know the Holy Scriptures, yea, From a Child he was wise unto Salvation. In his very Childhood, he discovered the Fear of God, upon his young Heart; and Prayer to God was one of his Early Exercises.

There was one very Remarkable Effect of it. His Father, was a man of a very Licentious Conversation; a Gamester, a Dancer, a very Lewd Company-keeper. The Mother of this Elect Vessel, one day took him, while he was yet a Child, and calling the Family together, made him to Pray with them. His Father co­ming to unde [...]stand, at what a rate, the Child had pray'd with his Family, it smote the Soul of him, with a great Conviction, and prov'd the Beginning of his Conversion unto God. God lest not off working on his Heart, until [Page 35] he proved one of the most Eminent Christians in all that Neighbourhood. So he Lived; so he Dyed; A man of more than ordinary Piety. And it was his manner sometimes to Retire unto those very places, of his former Lewdnesses, where, having this his Little Son in his Compa­ny, he would pour out Floods of Tears, in Re­penting Prayers before the Lord.

This Hopeful Youth, having been Educated in Grammar-Learning, under a worthy Schoolmaster, one Mr. Sage [...] ▪ and in further Learning, under the Famous D [...]. Harrison, at Length, about the Age of Twenty Two, he Entred on the Pub­lick Employment of Preaching the Gospel. In so doing, he was not one of those, of whom even the Great Papist Bellarmine complains, Qui non valde Solliciti esse solent, an ea qua par est pre­paratione accedant, cum Finis eorum magis sit cibus Corporis, quam Animae. He began, at Chester; but afterwards went over to Ireland, where his Labours were so frequent, and fervent, that they gave those wounds unto his Health, which could never be Recovered. About Fourteen years of his Time, in Ireland, he spent at Lim­rick, and saw so many Seals of his Ministry, in that Countrey, that he seem'd rather to Fish with a Net, than with an Hook, for the King­dom of God. I am not willing to Relate, How Grievously, and yet, how Patiently he Suffered Long and Hard Imprisonments, from those men, [Page 36] concerning whom a Conformable Divine of the Church of England, very truly says, That they were Atheists, with the Inventions of Ceremonies hab [...]ed like Christians, for the Service of the Devil, to Corrupt and Destroy True Christianity: I should Relate but little of this, because that Spirit of Persecution, has been Repented by an Happy Act of Parliament.

And yet, for the Admonition of Our Inexcu­sable Young Men, [The Sin of the Young men is very Great before the Lord! above that of those, who have been brought up, as many very Godly Christians have, in those ways of the Church of England, for a Secession from which, this Coun­trey was first planted:] Who notwithstanding their Descent from Fathers and Grandfathers, that were great Sufferers, for their Non Conformi­ty to an Uninstituted Worship of Christ, and not­withstanding their Education in the Knowledge of what is Required, and what is Forbidden, in the Second Commandment, and notwithstanding their being urged by no Temptation, of Persecution, or being Tempted by any thing, but the Vanity of their own minds, do yet so Rebel against the Light, as to Turn Apostates from the First Princi­ples of New England; it may be seasonable to Repeat so much of the History of this Worthy man, as a little further to Illustrate this Article.

He no sooner began to Preach the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, but his Fidelity to that [Page 37] Gospel, was Tryed, by an Hard Imprisonment, which he underwent because his Conscience could not Conform to Humane Inventions, In the Sacred Service of Heaven. Yea, while he was yet a Young man, he often Travell'd far by Night in the Winter, as well as in the Summer, that so he might enjoy the Ordinances purely Administred, in the Meetings of the Faithful; and was laid up sometimes in Lancashire Gaol for being sound at those Meetings. When he was at Limrick, the Attendance which a Person of Great Quality, and his Lady, (who were nearly related unto the Duke of Ormond, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland,) upon his Ministry, provoked the Bishop, to Complain unto the Lord Lieutenant. This Gentleman then profered unto Mr. Baily, that if he would conform, he would procure his being made Chaplain to the Duke, and having a Deanery immediately, and a Bishoprick upon the first Vacancy: But he Refused the profer. Al­beit, another Eminent Non conformist Minister, not far from Limrick, a Godly, and an Able man, and one who had appeared much against Conformity at the first pressing thereof, did after­wards Accept of the aforesaid Chaplain ship, & by Degrees Conformed, and Arrived unto several [...]aces of preferment: pretending, That he did it for the sake of Opportunities to Preach the Gospel. But it was Remarkable! God so Disabled him, with Distempers after this, that he was very [Page 38] Seldom, if ever Able to Preach at all. Mr. Baily went on, in the Exercise of his Ministry, not pursuing any Factious Designs, but meerly the Conversion, of men to Christ, and Faith, and Ho­liness, which the Devil counts the worst of all Designs. And now, although he were so Harm­less and Blamless, in his whole Conversation, that he was alwayes much Beloved wherever he came, yet another long Imprisonment was inflict­ed on him, while the Papists in the Neighbour­hood, had all manner of Liberty and Counte­nance. When he was before the Judges, he told them, If I had been drinking and gaming and carou­sing at a Tavern with my Company, my Lords, I presume that would not have procured my being thus treated as an offender. Must Praying to God, and Preaching of Christ, with a Company of Christians, that are as Peaceable, and Inoffensive, and Serviceable to His Majesty and the Government as any of His Subjects, must this be greater Crime? The Re­corder answered; We will have you to know, it is a greater Crime. While he was Imprisoned, his Church being divided into Seven Parts, visited him, one part a Day, so that Preaching to them, and Praying with them, every Day, he once in a Week Served them all. But this, in a Little while gave such Offence, that a Violent-Ob­struction was given thereunto; and though his Flock, particularly, His dear Young men, (as he call'd them) did Pray without Ceasing, and not [Page 39] without Fasting, for his Release; and Humble Applications were also made unto the Judges, at the Assizes for i [...]; yet no Rele [...]se could be gran­ted him, without his giving Security, to Depart the Land, within a little Time then limited unto him. It was not long, before, a Wrath unto the uttermost came upon the City, which had thus persecuted this Faithful Minister of God; and that Person particularly, who had been the chief Instrument of his Persecution, was (as we have been told) within a while, upon other Accounts, himself run into Prison, where he Cryed ou [...] with horror, of the Wrongs done by him to Mr. Baily, and then run [...]ing Distracted, he dyed Miserably. But, New-England, a Countrey Ori­ginally a Retreat for Persecuted Non conformists, hereupon afforded unto our Baily an Opportu­nity, of Labouring near Fourteen Years more, in the Work, which he Loved above all Things in the World; the Work, of Turning the Souls of men, from Darkness to Light, and from Satan to God: wherein, for some [...]ime his Younger and Godly, and Sweet-Natured Brother, who came over with him, was his Comfortable Companion, and Assistent; until he g [...]t the Start of him in his departure to the Glories of the Better World. They were indeed, Fratrum du [...]ce par; a David and a Jonathan. Death, which for a while part­ed them, ha's now again brought them together. This Mr. Thomas Baily dyed, January 21. 1689. [Page 40] As this his Brother and Colleague notes in his Diary; He dyed well, which is a great Word; so sweetly, as I never saw the like before! But as for this Elder Brother, he was a man of Great Holi­ness, and of so Tender a Conscience, that if he had been at any Time Innocently Cheerful, in the Company of his Friends, it cost him after­wards abundance of sad Reflection, through Fear, lest e're he had been aware, he might have Grieved the Holy Spirit of Christ. A Savoury Book of his, about, The Chief End of Man, pub­lished among us, ha's fully described unto us, that Savour of Spirit, which was in his dayly walk mentained.

The Desire of this Holy man, was, (as him­self Expressed it,) to Get up unto Three Things: To Patience under the Calamities of Life; To Impatience under the Infirmities of Life; and, To earnest Longings for the Next Life.

And his Desire at another Time, he thus Ex­pressed. Oh! that I might not be of the Number of them, that Live without Love, Speak without Feeling, and Act without Life! Oh! that God would make me His Humble and Upright and Faith­ful Servant!

From this Holy Temper it was, that when some kind presents were made unto him, he wrote in his Diary thereupon; I have my wages quickly; But Oh! that God may not put we off, [Page 41] with a Reward here! Oh! that God may be my Reward!

We will more particularly Note, a few No­tables, wherein the Holiness, which Irradiated him, will be described unto us.

We might begin, with Observing, That the Holy Word of God was very dear to him, as in­deed it is to every Holy man. Hence, I find this passage in his Diary. Jan. 11. ‘I finished the Reading of the Bible, in my Family (as for­merly,) Oh! it's a Dear Book; it's alwayes New. In the Beginning of every Chapter, it's good to say, Lord, open my Eyes, that I may see Wonders out of thy Law; And when we shut it up, to say, I have seen an end of all perfection, but thy Law is exceeding Broad. Oh! now terrible are the Threatenings; how precious are the Promises; how serious are the Precepts; how deep are the Prophecies of this Book!’ But we will pass on, to some further Observations.

What is Holiness, but a Dedication to the Lord Jesus Christ? This Holy man was often brea­thing in himself, and pressing on others, that Great point, of Dedicating every thing to the Service of the Lord. Thus, in his Diary there frequently occur, such Strains as these. ‘Oh! that I may Glorify God, with all I am, or have; even with all the faculties of my Soul, all the members of my Body, and in all the Places and Relations that I Stand in, as Man, Master, Mini­ster, [Page 42] Husband, Kinsman, & Neighbour. Oh! I stand in need both of a Justifying Christ, and a Sanctifying Christ. When shall I sensibly find a Christ, Swaying his Scepter in my Soul!’ Thus, whatever House he came to Live in, it came under a Dedication; and once upon a Re­move, he wrote this passage in his Diary. ‘I could not but Leave my Old House, with a Prayer in every Room of it, for pardoning mercy.’

But it was particularly Expressed, when one of his Children was to be Baptised. He thus wrote upon it. ‘I spent some Time, in Offer­ing up my self, and my Child unto the Lord, and in taking hold of the Covenant for my self and him. It is Actually to be done to mor­row, [in Baptism.] I prayed hard this day, all this day, that I might be able in much Faith, and Love, and New-Covenant-Obedience, to do it to morrow. It is not Easy, tho' Common, to offer a Child unto God in Baptism. Oh! that's a sweet word, I will be a God to Thee, and thy Seed after thee. No marvel Abraham fell on his Face at the hearing of it!’

Hence, when he parted with the greatest En­joyment he had in this World, he thus wrote upon it, in his Diary;

‘If I can but Exchange Outward Comforts for Inward Graces, 'tis well enough: Oh! for an Heart to Glorify God in the Fire!’

[Page 43]From this Holiness, proceeded that Watchfulness, which Discovered a singular Fear of God, in his whole Conversation. I find him Entring in his Diary, such passages as these.

At one Time.

‘I did not watch my Tongue so as I ought; which cost me much Trouble afterwards, and made me walk Heavily. It's a mad Thing to Sin!’

At another Time.

‘I spoke Two unadvised words to day. Tho' there was no great Harm in them, yet I was Rebuked by my Conscience for them. Let the Lord Forgive them; and for the future, set a watch before the Door of my Lips. Let my Thoughts and words be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord.’

At another Time.

‘That's a serious word, methinks, in Eph. 5.30. I have Grieved the Holy Spirit, by my Un­edifying Communication. Oh! that in speaking, I might Administer Grace to the Hearer! Oh! that Honey and Milk were under my Tongue continually.’

At another Time.

‘I was too forgetful of God, and exceeding in Tobacco. The Lord pardon that, and all o­ther Sins, and heal this Nature, and humble this Heart.’ At another Time.

‘This Day I have been more chearful, than I [Page 44] have been, of a Long Time. It hath afflicted me since, fearing it was not suitable. Oh! I ought to walk in the midst of my House, in a perfect way. I ought every day to be wri­ting Copies; and to Leave a Stock behind me, that others may trade for God withal, when I am Dead.’ And, Behold, you see this Day, that he did so.

And as Holy men, use to be full of Hearty Prayers, and Wishes, for the Good of other men, thus this Holy man, has fill'd many places in his Diaries, with his Prayers for the Welfare of those, with whom he was concerned; from whence we may gather how full his Heart was of Blessings for his Neighbours.

Once particularly I find him thus Writing.

‘I desired to know of Dr. O. what I was in­debted to him, for those many Rich Things I have had from him: he told me, Nothing; [which was a great Favour!] only desired my Prayers for him. Oh! that I could Pray! Whenever I can Pray, I would heartily say to God in the Name of Christ, for him, The Lord bless him indeed! Let thy Hand be with him, and keep him from all Evil, that it may not Grieve him.’

Moreover, It was not only among the Great Signs, but also among the Great Means, of his Holiness, that he was very sollicitous, as well in his Preparation for the Table of the Lord, as in [Page 45] his Observation, of what Communion he Enjoyed with the Lord Jesus Christ, at His Table.

His Diary abounds with passages of this Im­portance; the Expressions of a Careful Soul.

The Last Time of his being at the Lords-Ta­ble, he wrote the Ensuing Passages.

‘I was Encouraged to carry my Late Ba [...] Frame to the Cross of Christ, and to Bewayl there, my late Prayerlesness, and Unthankfulness. Of Late, it hath Troubled me, to think, how little I have Admired Christ, for bringing me out of some late plunges of Temptation. I now come to Him, for Two Things; name­ly, for Pardon; and also for Double Power; both to Receive Him, and to shew forth His Praises.’

Let me add; Sometimes, as he was Able, he would set a part Half a day, for Extraordinary Prayers: He still did so, when there were any Extraordinary Cares upon him. Thus he Records in his Diaries.

At one Time.

‘Being of late in so ill a Frame, I spent some Time, to seek the Fair Face of Jesus Christ; and I did, on purpose, Address my self to Him, who is the most Admirable Saviour. I left my self with Him; my Mind, Heart, Mouth; especially my Conscience. Oh! how many Wonders are to be wrought in me! I know, the Loving, and wonder-working Jesus can do them all.’

[Page 46]At another Time.

‘I spent some Time alone in Prayer, from 8 to 3. I was much tired. Oh! that I might wait for Returns, and never more turn to Folly. I can't tell how God should Admit me near Him, considering how I have grieved His Spirit. Having Pray'd in the Morning in the Family, I Retired; and first Sought at large unto God for Help to go through the day: especially begging Repentance, and not only so, but Faith; That I might not rest in the bare work; That Satan might get no Ad­vantage after it; That I might have Reason to desire more such dayes. Then after a little Meditati [...]n, and Breathing, I went to Prayer again, only to Confess my Sin before God, and to set my Soul as before the Lord; Labouring to Judge and Loath my self, for all my Sin, from first to last. God helped a little; but Oh! that my Heart was broken in pieces, and Hum­bled to the Dust. After a little more Medita­tion, I went to Prayer, in way of Petition, and that at large. Oh! Lord, hear me, and give me the Wisdom that I want. I hope God will hear, pitty, pardon, and help me. After a little more Meditation, I fell to Praise & Bless God for my Mercies, by Sea and Land; but was somewhat short in this part, for which I am sorry. At last, I Concluded all, in Pray­ing for the Church of God in general, for [Page 47] London, Lancashire, and Limrick; and for New-England also. Here I brought all my Relati­ons to the Lord. Oh, Lord, Accept of me, and my poor Services in Christ. Oh! that I may Watch afterward, and never more be sensual, unbelieving, Proud, nor Hypocriti [...]l Lord, say, Amen.’

And that Praises, as well as Pr [...]ers might not be forgotten with him, I find him once parti­cularly in his Diary, thus Expressing himself.

December 15. 1691.

‘I Resolved, through the Grace and Strength of Jesus Christ, even in the midst of all my Sorrows and Sinkings, despairings and distracti­ons, to keep as much of this Day, as I could, in THANKSGIVING; which I did; but could not go thorow with It▪ through bodily Faintness. I spent Five Hours somewhat Comfortably; but after that I flagged. I Re­solved to do Three Things. First, To spend some Time in Praising God for His Excellencies. God was with me, I hope, in that part of it, and I spent my self so much therein, that I was Disabled for the Rest. To help it forward God brought to hand Mr. Burroughs, of the Nature of God; I bl [...]s God for it. After that, I went to Praye [...] Labouring to Exalt God; (It was a Good Time!) After that I Sang the 148th. Psalm▪ Secondly, After that, I set my self to bless God, for His Benefits and [Page 48] Kindnesses to me. But being Spent, I did not much; only going to Pra [...]er, I made mention of some Mercies; such as these; viz. for Christ; His Covenant of Grace; and the Promises of it, (some of which, were particularly mentioned and pressed:) also my Education; my mani­fold preservations by Land & Sea; (especially that in Ips [...]ich Bay:) and manifold tedious Sicknesses [...]ce; For the long Day of Gods Pa­tience, notwithstanding many Sins: For my Comfortable Provisions all along; For preser­ving His Great Name, that I have in nothing openly Dishonoured it; For my Success and Acceptance in my work; For my dear Wife, that I had her so long; and that my Brother, and my dear Wife, dyed both of them Glorify­ing of God: They are in Heaven, and I am out of Hell! That I have hitherto been kept from Distracti [...]n, and Despair, and kept to my Work: Tha [...] I have any Friends (in this strange Land,) and any in my Family to mind me, and tend me: That I have Work here, and Opportunities of Service: For my sore Crosses and Losses of Late, Afflictions and Temp­tations, hoping they may work for Good▪ T [...]dly, To Conclude all, with a chearful Ac­cepting of Christ, and Devoting my self to His Service: To Do for Him, that had done all this for me: Saying, If God would help me to Study, He should have all the Glory of it.’

Thus did he Walk with God.

[Page 49]His Ministry was very Acceptable to the peo­ple, whose Good he most aimed at, wherever he came: Great Auditories usually Flocking thereunto, proclaimed it. But that he might not be Lifted up, it seemed meet unto the Wis­dom of Heaven, to Humble him, with sore and long Temptations, often Recurring to Buffet him. In his Dayes, he saw many Disconsolate Hours; he was filled with Desponding Jealousies, Least after he had Preached unto others, he should be himself a Cast-away: and he often Entreated those, who saw the Distresses of his mind, That they would by no means take up any prejudice against the sweet and good wayes of Religion, from what they saw of his Disconsolate Uneasinesses.

It may be, 'twill be profitable unto some Dis­couraged minds, to understand how he expres­sed himself on such occasions. In Sermons on those words, I am Oppressed, undertake for me, he much described it unto us. But in his Diaries 'twas thus: At one Time.

‘I was almost in the Suburbs of [...] all day; a meer Magor-missabib. I saw Death and Sin full of Terror: I thought I never sought the Glory of God: Ah! What a matchless Wretch am I! Oh! that I could Love above all things, and seek the Glory of God, and Live content­edly on Him alone! Oh! that I could see the Blood of Christ on my Soul, and at the bot­tom of my profession. Oh! for a Sight of [Page 50] the Mystery and Majesty of the Grace and Love of Jesus Christ; so that all Excellencies might fall down before it!’

At another Time.

‘I am in a woful Frame; far from saying, with Dr. Avery, Here I Ly, not knowing what God will do with me, but tho' I thus Ly, God doth not Terrify me, either with my Sin, or with my Death, or with Himself.’

At another Time.

‘If God should yet Save my Soul, and His Work in my Hand, it would be amazing There is a, May be! If these Inward Troubles hold, I shall be forced to lay down my work. O Lord, step in for my Relief! O the worth of the sense of Gods Love in Christ!’

At another Time.

‘I am oppressed unto Death, and fill'd with the Angry Arrows of God: It ariseth not at present, from any particular Cause, but the sense of my woful Estate in general. Oh! that the Issue may yet be, peace, and that I may not fetch comfort unto my self, but by Faith in Jesus Christ.’

At another Time.

‘Oh! that Jesus Christ would undertake for me! If God marvellously prevent not, I shall lay down my work. O Lord, Appear. Oh! for one saving sight, of the Love, and Loveli­ness of Jesus Christ. I wish I could say, as [Page 51] my dear Tutor, Dr. Harrison said, That he could not Live a day, without a fresh manifestation of God, unto his Soul!’

At another Time.

‘The Eclipse of the Moon last Night, made me think, Oh! that I could mourn bitterly, who have Sinned my self into Darkness. How is the Earth Interposing! Lord, Remove it. Let the Sun of Righteousness in His Glory and Strength yet be seen by me!’

At another Time.

‘I have much Reason to bless God, for Re­buking of Satan. I have been many a Time ready to give up all, and lay down my Mini­stry, thinking that God had utterly forsaken me, and hid Jesus Christ from me; which I would Justify Him in. But by the considera­tion of the Brazen Serpent, I was somewhat Recovered.’

At another Time.

‘I was now supported, by the Thoughts of a precious JESUS. I should for ever sink, but for Him! When I look Backward or Forward, Upward or Downward, I Dy, I Sink; but when I Look at the Sweet JESUS, I Live. I may Resolve with Dr. Preston; (O that I could!) saying, I have often Try'd God, and now I'l Trust Him. It's a Good Resolution; Lord, Help me to it!’ At another Time.

‘I would gladly think, That God is my Father. [Page 52] And if so, Oh! what Glory is due to the Riches of Free Grace! Oh! how glorious i [...] that Grace, and how will it shine through all Eternity! If ever I see my self Safe at Last, I must for ever cry out, I am wonderfully Saved!’

In fine. One Thing that much Reliev'd him in his Internal Troubles, was, what he had Oc­casion (thus) to write in his Diary, a little be­fore his End.

‘I do more see, into the Great Mystery of our Justification by Faith, meerly of Grace. There is no Respect in it, unto This, or That; but Jesus Christ having wrought out a Redemption for us, and by His Active and Passive Obedi­ence procured a Sufficient Righteousness, and making a Tender of it in the Gospel, it becomes Mine, by my Accepting of it, and Relying on it alone, for Salvation. And shall I not Ac­cept of it? God forbid!’

‘I see (saith he) there are Two Things, wherein I can't easily Exceed: viz. In Ascrib­ing to the Grace of God, the Freeness and Rich­ness of it, in mans Salvation; And in Ascribing to the Righteousness of Christ in mans Justification.’

At Length, Dismal Pains of the Gout, with a Complication of other Maladies, confined him, for a Quarter of a Year together, Under the Pains of his Confinement, he took an Extraor­dinary Contentment in the Fifty Third Chapter of Isaiah, which represents the Sorrows of our Lord [Page 53] Jesus Christ, whereby all ou [...] [...] are Sancti­fied: And he would [...] ever those words of our Saviour, else-where occurring, They pierced my Hands and my Feet. When the Remainders of his Flock, which waited on him to New England, Visited him, his usual and Solemn Charge unto them was, I Charge you, That I find you all safe at last! My Brethren, God make the charge of your Dead Pastor abide upon you. For some Time in his last Sickness, his Heavenly Soul was harrassed, with terrible Discouragements: Under all of which, it was yet a common Expression with him, The Master hath done all things Well! But at last, he arrived unto a Blessed Satisfacti­on, That the Lord Jesus Christ, had made his Peace in Heaven, and that he was going into Eternal Peace. Yea, at the worst, he would say, That his Fear was not so much about the End of all, as about what he might meet withal in the way to that End. He had begun to prepare a Sermon for our South Church, upon those words, Who is this that comes up from the Wilderness, Leaning on her Beloved? And he now spoke of it, as Expres­sing his own Condition; Thus am I going (said he) out of the Wilderness of all my Temptations, Leaning on my Blessed Jesus! When his Affectio­nate Friends, were weeping about him, he be­stow'd this Rebuke upon them, Away with your Idols! Away with your Idols! It was not very long before he fell Sick, that he wrote this pas­sage [Page 54] in his Diary. ‘I was affected, with what I Read, of Mr. Shewel of Coventry, who dyed in the Pulpit. Lord, Let no [...] me Dy meanly, but in Dying bring much Glory to Thee.’ And now, it shall be so! At last, just as he was going to Expire, he seem'd as if he had some Extraor­dinary Apprehensions, of the Glory, in which our Lord Jesus Christ is above Enthroned: He Strove to Speak unto his Vertuous Consort, and anon Spoke thus much, Oh! What shall I say? He is altogether Lovely! His Worthy Sister-in-Law, then coming to him, he said, Oh! All our Praises of Him here, are Poor and Low Things! and then added, His Glorious Angels are come for me! Upon the saying whereof he Closed his own Eyes, about the Time when he still opened his Bible for his Publick Labours: On the Lords Day, about Three in the Afternoon; and he never opened them any more.

This was he, whom you are now going to Bury; but I pray you, Bury not with him, all the Holy Counsils, and Warnings, that we have heard from him; Remember how you have Receiv­ed and Heard.

He was one, who took much Notice of what was from the Oracles of God, Spoken to him, in the Sermons of other men. He ha's much re­plenished his Diaries, with Remarks of this Im­portance; I heard a good Word to Day! And he would often decline going to Feasts, whereto his [Page 55] Friends invited him, that he might go to Private Meetings in some other parts of the Town, where he might at the same Time Feast on the word of God. Thus, more particularly.

At one Time.

‘I heard a very Good Word. Are ye not Car­nal? Ah, Lord, I am Carnal. The Lord give me His Spirit, to make me Spiritual! I was in many Things justly Reproved: Let me take it, and be wrought into the Likeness of this Good Word.’ At another Time.

‘To day I heard a most precious Word, with which I was much Edified and Refreshed, viz. Christ is All. Oh! that I might never forget it! Oh! that it might be written upon the Table of my Heart! Let my Soul feed upon it for­ever. It was very Seasonable. Though it was a Day most Intolerably Cold; so Cold, that there was little writing it; yet it heartily Warmed me, I needed a Christ: Oh! that I could get Him, and keep Him forever! I would make Him my All, and count Him my All. I need a whole Christ: Oh! that I may prize a whole Christ, and Improve a whole Christ. I have of late thought, that this may be one Evidence of my Right unto Glory, that Christ is more pre­cious to me than ever.’

What I say upon it, is; Imitate him, in a point so Imitable. This Preacher is well worthy to be Imitated, as he was an Hearer.

[Page 56]You can all testify, that he was none of those Cold Preachers, whereof one Complains, Verba vitae in quorundam Doctorum Labijs, quantum ad Virtutem, et Efficaciam Moriuntur: Adeo enim tepide, adeo re­misse, verba Dei annunciant, ut Extinct [...] in Labijs Eorum penitus videantur; unde Sicut ipsi Frigidi sunt, et Extincti, sic Frigidos et Extinctos relinquunt, et utinam non facerent, Auditores.

For his Preaching, he particularly prescribed unto himself, according to a Memorandum, which I found thus Entred in his Diary.

‘Old Mr. Thomas Shepard, when on his Death­bed, said unto the young Ministers about him, That their work was great, and called for great se­riousness. For his own part, he told them Three Things. First, That the Studying of every Sermon, cost him Tears; he wept in the Studying of every Sermon. Secondly, Before he Preach'd any Sermon, he Got Good by it himself. Thirdly, He alwayes went up inro the Pulpit, as if he were to give up his Ac­counts unto his Master. Oh! that my Soul (adds our Baily) may Remember and Practise according­ly!’

To this his Preaching, when he saw God gave any Success, he would still, in his private pa­pers, take as Thankful a Notice, as if great Riches had been heaped in upon him. And yet he would add, [such passages I sometimes find.]

[Page 57] ‘Let my Soul Rejoyce. But, Lord, keep me from Pride. I desire to be Humbled for it. Do I not know, that God makes use, of whom He pleases, and usually of the Weakest! No Flesh shall Glory!’

But if the Word Preached, by this Lively Dis­p [...]nser of it, Live not in our Lives, after he is Dead, he will himself be, which, he often told you, he fear'd he should be, in the Day of God; a Witness against many of you.

That we may then meet him with Joy, Let us Remember them, who have spoken to us the Word of God, and follow their Faith, considering the End of their Conversation.

But be thou sensible, O all my Countrey of New England, how much thou art weakened, by the Departure of such Blessings to the World of the Blessed.

Thy Baily could sometimes write such passa­ges as this, (I find) in his Reserved Papers.

‘There was a Day of Prayer. God was with me in Prayer, helping me to plead with Him an Hour and half, for this poor Land, and in some measure to Believe for it. I hope, God will hear and help.’

Such an one taking Flight from thee, Let thy Lamentations thereupon be Heard; My Father, my Father!