their corruptions; whereby they are made to fink under their trial. They fee more unbelief, impatience, diftruft, and enmity to God in them, than they faw before; they fee more of the weakness of grace, and of their want of faith and love, than before; whereby they are fometimes tempted to raze the foundation, and fay, all their former attainments were but delusions, and their profeffions but hypocrify. These things make afflictions fometimes very heavy and 'finking to the people of God.

II. In the next place, for preventing and helping this evil of fainting under affliction; let believers confider,

1. These heavy trials are all needful for you. Deep waters are not more needful to carry a fhip into the haven, than great afflictions are to carry the veffels of our fouls into the port of blifs. Strong winds and thunder are frightful, but they are neceffary to purge the air. One of the fharpeft calamities that ever befel Ifrael, was the Babylonifh captivity, yet even this was in mercy to them, for the Lord faith, Jer. xxiv. 5. "I have fent them out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good." Strange! of freemen to be made prifoners, and that in a strange land among the Heathen; to be removed far from their own houses, vineyards, friends; nay, and from the temple of God and his ordinances; and yet all this for their good! Why? They were hereby effectually weaned and broke off from their darling fin of idolatry.

2. Confider that your affliction, however heavy it be, will foon have an end, Ifa. lvii. 16. " For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth; for the fpirit fhould fail before me, and the fouls which I have made." The goldfmith will not let his gold lie longer in the furnace than it is purified. The wicked have a fea of wrath to drink; but, O drooping believer, take comfort; you have but a cup of affliction, which will foon be exhaufted. The time is near, when all thy trials fhall have an end: In heaven there is no cross, no complaint, no tears, nor forrows for ever.

3. Faint not, O child of God; for thofe afflictions are the hell which thou shalt have; thou haft nothing to fear hereafter. Judas had two hells, one in time, by terror in his confcience, another after this life, which endures to eternity; but all the hell that a believer hath is the light affliction, which is but for a moment.

4. Defponding or murmuring in affliction, is evil in any, but in none is it fo bad as in the children of God: It doth very ill become their covenants, their privileges, their hopes. Have they refigned and given up themselves, and all they have, to God, by a folemn covenant, and will they fret when he difpofeth of them? Didft thou not say, O believer, in the day when thy heart was ftung with fin, and the terrors of God made thee afraid, "O, let me have Jefus Christ for my Saviour and portion, and I will be content though I fhould be ftricken with boils like Job, or beg my bread with Lazarus?" Now, God tries thee if thou wilt ftand to thy word : O beware of retracting. Hath not that foul enough, who hath an all-fufficient God for his portion? If God be thine in covenant, that comprehends all things.

5. It doth difcompofe and unfit the foul for any duty. It is ill failing in a storm, fo it is ill praying when the heart is in a ftorm of difquiet and defpondency.

6. Your fainting under affliction, and carrying as if the confolations of God were fmall, is enough to ftumble others at religion, and make them call the truth of it in question. When they fee thofe that profefs religion, and have often declared that their rejoicing is in Chrift Jefus as their portion, begin to fink and defpond under outward afflictions, O, may not they be tempted to fay, "Where is the truth of religion? Where are thofe divine fupports and confolations we have often heard of?"

7. O then feek to get faith revived, and ftrengthened, and refolve with Job to truit in God, though he fhould flay you. This would be of noble ufe to keep the heart from finking under preffures of affliction, as

the

Job xxxiv. 31, 32. Now is the feason, you should say with Ephraim, Hof. xiv. 8. "What have I to do any more with idols ?"

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Having duly examined yourfelves, and fearched out your fins, you ought to put a bill of divorce into each of their hands. Deliberately refolve against all your fins, whether secret or open; and especially refolve against your darling and beloved fins, thofe fins which do moft eafily befet you. Refolve also against all temptations to fin; and, particularly, against the snares of bad com. pany, whereby you have been formerly enticed; now fay with David, Pf. cxix. 115. " Depart from me, ye evil doers; for I will keep the commandments of my God." You must not only purpose to forfake all fin, but also mind every known duty; that you will make religion your one thing needful; the pleafing of God, the chief business of your life; that you will fet the Lord alway before you, give him your heart in all duties, aim at nearness and communion with God in every one of them; and still prefs forward to the full. enjoyment of God in heaven through eternity.

Refolve alfo, through grace, that you will, in afpecial manner, mind fecret duties, which the eyes of men do not observe, and thofe duties which confcience doth most challenge you for neglecting. And you that are heads of families, refolve to make more confcience of familyreligion, of worshipping God with your families, both morning and evening; inftructing your children and fervants in the knowledge of Chrift; and recommending religion and godlinefs to all round about you, whether relations or strangers.

And, if you would have your refolutions effectual, fee that they be accompanied with a deep fenfe of your infufficiency to perform them in your own ftrength. Bear always in mind the corruption and deceitfulness of your own heart; and make all your refolutions in a humble dependence on the fufficiency of Jefus Chrift your furety. Obferve the apostle Paul's advice to his fon Timothy, 2 Tim. ii. 1." Be ftrong in the grace that is in Jefus Chrift." All your ftock, O believer, is in his hand, fo that without him you can do nothing;

but

but, through Chrift ftrengthening you, thou art able to do all things.

DIRECT. VI. Set your houfe in order, by making your latter-wills, and fettling your domeftic and fecular affairs, while you have freedom and capacity for doing it.

AFTER the heart is fet in order, the next work is to fet your house in order, according to God's counfel to Hezekiah, Ifa. xxxviii. 1. It is recorded of the Patriarch Abraham, that he was careful to fettle the affairs of his family before his death, Gen. xxv. 5, 6. He difpofed of his eftate to Ifaac, and legacies to the fons of his concubines. It is too general a fault, that men delay and put off making their wills, as they do their repentance, to the very laft, and fo too frequently never make them at all. Confider the evil of deferring or ne glecting this neceflary affair; for if you, upon whom God hath beftowed means, fhould die inteftate, your eftate may defcend otherwife than you intended; much of it may be spent in tedious and expenfive law-fuits; fuch differences may fall out among relations, that should live in friendship and mutual affection, as cannot be healed; fome of them may be reduced to extreme want, when a small legacy might have put them in a way of living; and many fuch inconveniences may follow. Well, then, if your neglect fhould bring on these evils, and involve pofterity into endlefs ftrifes and contentions, may you not justly fear that the guilt thereof will purfue you into another world, whofe wretched carelessness was the occafion of all that mischief?

Pray,, what is the reason that men put off this affair? Is it not because they do not incline to think so seriously on death, as this will occafion them to do? Doth not this smell of abominable earthly-mindednefs, fpeak as if a man defired all his portion in this life, and cared not for a better? and that he is fo far from preparing for death, that he cannot endure to think of it? Alas, that

this worldly difpofition fhould fo far prevail among us! But furely there is no wife man will fay, that the putting off the thoughts of death, will keep death at the greater diftance; or, that preparing for death, and making our wills, will bring on death the fooner.

It were furely beft to order our affairs timeously; yea, do it in time of health, rather than to delay unto a fickbed, or a death-bed; for either you may be snatched off fuddenly, and have no time for it; or you may be taken with fuch a diftemper as fhall feize your tongue, fo as you cannot exprefs your mind; or feize your underftanding, fo as you cannot rationally difpofe of your effects. And though none of those should happen, yet, certainly it proves a great difturbance to a dying man, to be cafting up, ordering, and fettling the affairs of his family, when he should be fecuring a heavenly manfion for his foul, and clearing up his evidences thereunto. It is great wifdom to put this affair by hand, that you may have as little to do with the world as may be, and all occafions of diftraction to your immortal foul may be prevented, when it is near to its flitting into an eternal and unchangeable state.

Moreover, in fettling your fecular affairs, obferve these following advices: 1. Make your wills cheerfully, and freely lay down whatever you enjoy, when God calls you to do it. Praife God that you had thofe things. while you needed them, and, when you have no longer ufe for them, leave them without repining to thofe that come after you. Look not back to Egypt when you are upon your march to Canaan.

2. See that you deal justly, in providing your family, paying all your juft debts, and making reftitution, if you have wronged any. Abhor all defigns of defrauding any of your lawful creditors; for, if your last act fhould be unjust, you leave a blot upon your name here; and fince you cannot repent of this wickednefs, it being among your last deeds, you expofe yourself to a fearful doom in the world whither you are going.

3. In fettling your eftates, fee that God and good ufes be not forgot nor left out. When you are leaving the world, and can glorify God no longer here by your

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