fickness and bodily diftrefs. It is therefore highly the concernment of all, whether families or private perfons, to enquire how they ought to behave under or after afflicting fickness; and how they fhall provide for such an evil time before it come. And, for the help of all that defire inftruction in this matter, I have written the following Directory, which, for method's fake, I fhall divide into feveral chapters.

I. I fhall give fome general directions to all families and perfons visited with fickness and affliction.

II. Some particular directions to those who are sharply afflicted with fore fickness and long trouble.

III. Directions to the children of God under fickness.

IV. Directions to unregenerate perfons under sickness.

V. Directions to the people of God, when recovered from fickness.

VI. Directions to unrenewed perfons recovered from
fickness.

VII. Directions to thofe fick perfons who are appa-
rently in a dying condition.

VIII. Directions to the relations, acquaintances, and neighbours of the fick, who are themselves in health , for the time.

N. B. Let it be remembered, that what I fay to those vifited with sickness, is likewife applicable to all other afflicted perfons, whatever their distress be.

CHAP.

CHAP. I.

Containing General Directions to all Families and Perfons vifited with fickness.

DIRECT. I, Diligently enquire into the Ends and Defigns for which usually God fends fickness and affliction upon perfons.

AN infinitely holy and gracious God hath various and

wife ends in afflicting the children of men, whether they be converted or unconverted; which ought to be duly confidered by all, and efpecially by thofe who are vifited by ficknefs; fome whereof I fhall instance.

I. God vifits with fickness, to caufe careless finners bethink themselves concerning their fouls eftate and condition, who perhaps had never a serious thought a bout it before. There are many, who, when in health and ftrength, are fo intent upon the pleasures and profits of the world, that they mind nothing elfe; all the warnings, exhortations, and counfels of minifters, teachers, and friends, are loft upon them; they cannot endure to entertain a thought of God, of the foul, of death, of heaven, of hell, or of judgment to come; till God doth caft them into fome ficknefs or bodily distress, and then fometimes they begin, with the prodigal, to come to themselves, and bethink themselves concerning their fouls and a future life. Now, this is God's defign, i Kings viii. 47. "If they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captives, and repent," &c. By fickness, God gives a man, that before was wholly diverted from foul-matters, by bufinefs, company, and pleasures, occafion to bethink himself. The man is now confined to his chamber, is deprived of his former company and diverfions, and fo gets time and leisure to commune with his own heart, and reflect on his former

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ways,

ways, and to hear what conscience speaks concerning a judgment day, and a world to come, and the need of a Saviour. And fo, by the bleffing of God upon fuch afflictions, not a few have begun their firft acquaintance with God and Chrift, and ferious religion. Nay, the furnace is Chrift's ufual work-house, where he has formed the most excellent veffels of honour and praise, Ifa. xlviii. 10. "I have chofen thee in the furnace of affliction." Manaffah, the Prodigal, Paul, and the Jailor, were all chofen there.

II. God vifits us with fickness, in order to inftruct and teach us those things we know not, Pfal. xcvi. 12. It was a faying of Luther, "Schola crucis eft fchola lucis." And indeed the school of affliction is the place where many of Zion's scholars have made good proficiency in fpiritual and experimental knowledge. Now, there are feveral remarkable leffons which God would teach us by the rod.

1. The knowledge of God. It is faid of Manaffeh, 2 Chron. xxxiii. 12, 13. "When he was brought to affliction," &c. " then Manaffeh knew that the Lord he was God." Though Manaffeh was well educated, and early taught the knowledge of God; yet, till now, he knew not the Lord :-But now he knew him in his power and greatpefs, his holinefs and hatred of fin; How he knew God in his goodness and mercy, and wondered that he had kept him fo long out of hell.

2. Another leffon is the knowledge of ourselves. In time of health and profperity, we are apt to forget ourselves, and our mortality: but fickness caufeth us to know that we are but men, and frail men, Pfal. ix. 20. that God hath an abfolute sovereignty over us, and can as cafily crush us as we do a moth.

3. He teacheth us the emptiness of the world. How vain a help is that, which fails a man in the time of his greatest need! And oftentimes we fee, that worldly means and friends can neither give the least case to the bodies, nor comfort to the fouls of perfons under ficknefs and diftrefs.

4. Another leffon is the great evil of fin, which is the caufe of all ficknefs and difeafes whatsoever, I Cor.

xi. 30. "For this caufe many are weak and fickly a mong you" Ah! what a root of bitterness must that be, which brings forth fuch bitter fruit!

5. He fheweth us the precioufnefs and excellency of Chrift and his promifes; which only can enable a Chrif tian to rejoice in tribulation, and be eafy under the greatest pains and difeafes. There are many who are indifferent about Chrift in time of health, that when fickness comes, do change their note, and cry, O for an intereft in Chrift above all things!

III. God fends fuch trials and diftreffes, in order to mortify and kill fin in us, Ifa. xxvi. 9. "By this fhall the iniquity of Jacob be purged, and this is all the fruit to take away his fin." And, indeed, fickness and affliction, through the bleffing of God, hath a native tendency to weaken and fubdue our prevailing fins and lufts. O man, is thy heart turned hard, fo as thou art not fenfible of thy own fins, or of others fufferings? God fees meet to try the fire of affliction, to fee if it will melt thy frozen heart. Haft thou undervalued health, and flighted thy mercies? Now God removes them from thee, that, by the want of them, thou mayest know the worth of them. Art thou turned proud and felfconceited? God fends thee a thorn in the flesh, to prick the fwoln bladder of pride, that thou mayest not be puffed up above measure: God lays thee low upon thy bed, that thou mayeft be lowly in thy heart. Doth love for the world prevail in thee? God fends affliction to discover-its emptinefs, and wean thee from it. Art thou fallen fecure, dead, and formal? God fends affliction to awake thee, that thou mayeft not sleep the fleep of death.

IV. God fends sickness, to awaken in us the spirit of prayer and fupplication, and make us more earneft and importunate in our addreffes to the throne of grace. There is a great difference betwixt our prayers in health and in fickness, betwixt our humiliations in profperity and in adverfity. In profperity we pray heavily and drowfily, but adverfity adds wings to our defires, Ifa. xxvi. 16. "Lord, in trouble have they vifited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chaftening was up

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on them." Though they were backward enough to pray before, yet they pour it out moft freely now. The very heathen mariners cried loud to God in a ftorm. What a famous prayer did Manaffeh make, when he was under his fetters! We find it thrice mentioned, 2 Chron. xxxiii. 13, 18, 19. And the voice of a fervent prayer is what the Lord defires to hear.

V. Another end is, to loose our hearts from things of this world, and caufe us look to and long for heaven. When we enjoy health and ease in this world, we are apt to fay with Peter on the mount, "It is good for us to be here;" but, when diftrefs cometh, God's people will turn their tongue, and fay, with the Pfalmist, Pfal. lxxiii. 27. "It is good for me to draw nigh to God." When things here go well with us, we are apt to think ourselves at home; but, when trouble arifeth, we begin to fay, "Arife, let us depart, this is not our reft." Though heaven was much out of fight, and out of mind before; yet, when afflcting fickness comes, the poor believer will figh, and fay with David, Pfal. lv. 6. "O that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away and be at reft: I would haften my escape from the windy tempeft."

VI. God defigns to make the world bitter, and Chrift fweet to us. By fuch affliction, he lets men fee that the world is nothing but vanity and vexation of fpirit; that riches avail not in the day of wrath; then it is they may fee the infufficiency of the world to relieve them, that, as one faith, " A velvet flipper cannot cure the gout, a golden cap cannot drive away the headache, nor a bed of down give ease in a fever." And as the world turns bitter, fo Chrift grows sweet to the believer. In time of eafe and health, Chrift is often very much neglected and forgot. As the difciples, while the fea was calm, fuffered Chrift to fleep with them in the fhip, thinking they might make their voyage well enough without his help; but when they were ready to be drowned, then they faw their need of Chrift, they awaked him, crying, "Mafter, fave us, or elfe we perith.” So the best of faints, when all is easy about them, are pronę