: made me, many a time, not to differ much from a worldling. Keep your thoughts right, and all fhall be right: Keep thine heart with all diligence, (faith the Spirit of God), for out of it are the iffues of life. If your thoughts be right, your prayers will be feasonable, your words and actions will be fea fonable; for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth fpeaketh, and the hand acteth. Commit all your affairs, temporal, fpiritual, and eternal, wholly to your heavenly Father, without the leaft refervation he cares for you; therefore be careful for nothing, but in every thing give thanks. Run, run with patience the race that is fet before you; laying afide every weight, that may bear you down entangle not yourself with the world, have as little ado with it as you can: the righteous fball fcarcely be faved; they who go uprighteft, fhall find hard enough work; we are so full of corrup tions original and actual, that holinefs is quite contrary to our corrupt natures; I mean not the common holiness, which even those that are ftrict are thought to have; but that which our Lord commands; He that loveth father or mother, fifter or brother, or the world, or himself, better than me, is not worthy of me. O it is an unknown thing, to deny all, to take up their cross daily, and follow Chrift. I had a great defire to preach Christ; but he will accept the will for the deed: I go better exercife, whereof one hour is better than all the preachings betwixt this and Chrift's fecond coming, compendized in one. All here are but shadows; all above is fubftance. O what elevated divines are above! they are all filled with all the fulness of God; and do preach and cry up the tranfcen dent excellencies of JEHOVAH and the Lamb: there is a perpetual crying up of Chrift. In Canticles, to he he can never enough fpeak of his fpoufe; up above, his spouse can never enough fpeak of him. There all are ravished with the Ancient of days! Who, but the Ancient of days? who, but Chrift? who, but the faints? Then, let never earth and heaven be compared together; for I tell you, earth is but a tormenting hell, in comparison of that unfpeakably delightful, and altogether ravishing land, unto which unworthy, but happy I am going. O methinks I am touching the fkirts of the fragrant breathings of the mountains of fpices ! and O how muft I be ravished, when I fhall draw in no other air, but the breathings of the higher paradife? They have the advantage, that get the fore-ftart to heaven, and feeing the face of JEHO-, VAH first; and being more ancient poffeffors of that excellent inheritance. Why fhould any be afraid to go to heaven too foon? Why should any be afraid he be too foon happy? Let worldlings defire to crawl long on their dunghills: but let us ever be longing to be diffolved, and to be with our Lord, which is best of all. I com.nit you, your mother-in-law, your wife and children, to the protection of the Almighty, and pray for temporal, and eternal bleffings to be poured out upon you. These are the words of, Your dying coufin, A. Welwood. V. A Letter to Mr DAVIDSON. Right Reverend, the eternity, and thought to have been juft entering into it about half an hour ago, I could not but remember you, and dictate a little of my mind unto you: not that I intended to write any inftructions unto you, but only fhew, that God is good to them that feck him; and that in his providence, his promises are all accomplished, to the full, to me. I cannot tellwhat he hath done for my foul; but I think he hath brought me to the end of my days, to the end of my race, by fuch a wonderful chain of divine providence, that I would not for ten thousand worlds he had brought me any other way; or, that my race had been either longer, or shorter. He liveth long enough, who liveth till he get heaven: all other things are but pendicles. He liveth fhort while, who is unprepared for it, of whatsoever age he be therefore my death needs not offend any man; for, what can I get more than the kingdom immoveable, undefiled, and that fadeth not away? I defired to live for no other end, but to preach my Lord to the great congregation; and think you not he will accept the will for the deed? I dedicated my life for his fervice; and I hope he will graciously take it off my hand, as if I had done him many years fervice. And I must tell you, he hath many wonderful ways of bringing his children unto glory: I could tell you of it by fweet experience, if my weaknefs and breath would permit. I would not, for all the glory, riches, and pleasures of a vain world, my lot had been another than my Lord hath appointed it; yea, my laft half-year's providence had been a golden chain, which neither I, men, nor angels can fufficiently value. Would you know what I think now of heaven Though I were out of this state of mortality, I could never think of it enough. O! O! O! the joy of being with JEHOVAH and the Lamb! O! the excellency of the knowledge of Chrift Jefus, even even on this fide of time! but to see him as he is, O who can tell what a fight it is? Even thefe who see him face to face, fee as it were but the fkirts of his beauty and excellency: and let them dive still deeper and deeper, till eternity, as it were, be at an end, they shall still be but beginning; and yet never well begun. To fhew my great love and respect I have ever had to you, both formerly and now, I write unto you, even when the dead-rittle is in my throat and though I be in a great agony, I find the only way to heaven, that new and living way, is only by the blood of the Son of God: there is no other way, but, Believe in Chrift, and be faved. But it is a lively,, purifying, loving, and believing way. I cannot fay much, I am in death's pangs. But, O death! where is thy fting? O grave! where is thy victory? I am like to have a fharp combat; but, I hope, Chrift will not be an indif ferent fpectator. The end crowns the work. And if I were within Emmanuel's furpaffing sweet land of conqueft, then fhould I trample death and hell under foot, and triumph over all the miferies and afflictions of time, which feemed to triumph o ver me. O death, what art thou in mine eyes! my Lord hath fwallowed thee up in victory and can a free-born fon, and conqueror, through the blood of the everlafting covenant, be afraid of a conquered flave? Rev. xiv. 13. Hell, fin, devil, and death. are conquered flaves. I reft, once He prelude introductory THe Page L ib. 6. ib. 7 9 Some fellions exciting to this divine ftudy 11 ib. ib. 12 14 15 22. All creatures fome way capable of elevation 16 20 21 ib. 23 26 A gofpel difcovery of Emmanuel's land ib. 30 ib. |