Preparation for death being a letter sent to a young gentlewoman in France, in a dangerous distemper of which she died. Wake, William, 1657-1737. 1687 Approx. 75 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 85 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2005-10 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A66253 Wing W253 ESTC R5512 12635776 ocm 12635776 64860 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A66253) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 64860) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 337:25) Preparation for death being a letter sent to a young gentlewoman in France, in a dangerous distemper of which she died. Wake, William, 1657-1737. [3], 155, [8] p. Printed for Richard Chiswell ..., London : 1687. Attributed to William Wake. Cf. Halkett & Laing (2nd ed.). Reproduction of original in Bodleian Library. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. 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Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Death. Death -- Religious aspects. 2004-11 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2004-11 Aptara Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2005-01 Judith Siefring Sampled and proofread 2005-01 Judith Siefring Text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-04 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion Preparation FOR DEATH . Being A Letter sent to a Young Gentlewoman in France , in a dangerous Distemper , of which She died . Numb . xxiii . 10. Let me die the death of the righteous , and let my latter end be like his . LONDON , Printed for Richard Chiswell , at the Rose and Crown , in S. Paul's Church-Yard . 1687. Advertisement . COuld either my desires , or endeavours have prevailed for the suppressing of the following Letter , it had been buried in the same Grave with her to whom it was address'd . But being fallen into the Hands of her Relations after her Death , many Copies were dispersed before my return into England , and thereby a necessity put upon me either to publish it my self , or to have the dissatisfaction of seeing others do it , for me . This being the true account of the Edition of this short Treatise , I shall need the less Apology , if there seem nothing in it for which it should be exposed to a publick view . It was writ as a private Letter , to a person of more Piety , than Curiosity ; and without any prospect ; nay I may add more , upon an assurance that it should never come to any ones sight but her own . And therefore it ought not to be wonder'd if it appear with all the plainness and freedom , which an Epistolary Stile and Character required . For the rest , as I can sincerely profess that it was no principle of vanity that led me first to write it , so much less does any such Motive induce me now to publish it . It was to serve a greater and better end , I both then did , and now do design it : And if those who shall hereafter peruse it , do it but with the same piety that she did for whom it was composed , I am perswaded neither they nor I shall have any cause to repent us of our Labour . Paris April 25. S. N. 1684. Madam ▪ THE Address I here make you , how meanly soever I have performed it ; is yet so suitable to your circumstances , and so well befits ▪ my character ; that I make no doubt but you will accept it with the same charity that I have designed it . And therefore instead of making Apologies for my undertaking , I will rather send it to you with my hearty Prayers , that those few directions I have here put together , may be as truly useful to you , as I do assure you they were really by me intended for your service . You are not , Madam , to expect in this short draught any thing but what you have often already heard , and , I perswade my self , have long practised . Religion is none of those things that change with the Fashion , and accommodate themselves to the mode : And though we have of late met with some who have endeavoured upon the foundations of Christianity to erect a new Scheme of Court-Divinity , by making the way to Heaven both broader and smoother than it is : yet both the projectors and those that follow them will sadly find themselves mistaken in the end ; when the one shall perish for betraying their Master , and the others be condemn'd for not rejecting their Innovations . But , Madam , if you find nothing new in the matter , I am sure much less will you have any thing in the Stile and Method , but what is plain and easie . In such discourses as these , he seems to me to speak most properly , that expresses himself most clearly . Some things indeed I should have added ; others have changed , and have dress'd the whole with greater care ; but I had little time , and much other business , which I am sure you know to be more than pretence . The rules yet I am confident are sound and useful , and may as they are , serve your devotion ; But if your abundance of better helps frustrate that design , yet at least you will be pleased to esteem it an undoubted testimony of that sincerity with which I am , Madam , Your most humble , and most obedient Servant , W. W. INTRODUCTION . THERE is nothing hath proved more fatal to that due Preparation we ought to make for another life , than our unhappy mistake of the nature of this . We are brought into the World , Children , Ignorant ▪ and Impotent ; we grow up in vanity and folly ; and when we come to be Men , we are but very little more prudent and more considerate . The whole of our Reflections terminates in this , what course we are to take to pass our time ; some to get , others to spend their Estates ; and when Interest or Inclination , Friends or Fortune have determined the choice , we are then entred in , and our remaining business is to pursue this end to the best advantage , for our present ease and our future establishment . Thus are our thoughts and our desires wholly tied to this World ; we vainly project a settlement in it , nor look we any farther than the little Interests and Employments thereof engage us . 2. I AM sure , Madam , I need not say much to convince you , who have had so many opportunities to settle this Reflection upon your own Experience , and who , I am perswaded , have so profitably employ'd them , that this is the just character of the far greater part of Mankind : And for the unhappy influence of it to the Decay of Christianity , I think it is not to be doubted that 't is the tying of our affections so much to this World , that above any thing indisposes us to think of another . Whilest we set up our Hopes and our Establishment here , we either altogether forget , or at least do not so vigorously consider , That God has provided another and better place for us , whither we shall in a very little time be transferred by him , and for which therefore the great affair of our whole lives now should be to provide . 3. IS IT possible to be imagined that we should see such numbers engage their lives and Labours , some to heap together A little dirt that shall bury them in the end ; Others to gain an Honour , that at best can be celebrated but by an inconsiderable part of the World , and is envied and calumniated by more than 't is truly given ; Most to pursue the pleasures ( as they call them ) of their Natures ; which begin in sin , are carried on with Danger , and end in bitterness ; and scarce one that troubles himself about the Blessings of Heaven , or at least lives as if he did so ; would Men seriously perswade themselves that they have here no abiding place , no City to dwell in : but are only in their passage to the heavenly Jerusalem , their City which is above , where alone true happiness is to be found , and upon which therefore their thoughts and their endeavours ought chiefly to be employed . 4. CAN we behold the vices and debaucheries of many ; the carelessness and irreligion of almost all ; and believe that the Christian World is seriously convinced of those great truths their Religion teaches them of A future life , and A vast Eternity of rewards and punishments , according as we observe or neglect the Duties it commands in This ? 5. How shall we believe that those Men are perswaded of the true business of this Life , that 't is the time of tryal , that God has thrown us into this World as into A Circle , to exercise our selves in it , and receive the Crown if we come off with Victory , who so shamefully decline the Combat ; and are so far from obtaining the victory , that we are scarcely to be brought but even to do any thing towards it . 6. IN a word ; were it possible that the thoughts of Eternity , but especially the near approaches of it , by a mature age , a crasy constitution , or a violent sickness , should amaze so many as we find it does , make them so unwilling to go to Christ , and receive the Reward of their Labours ; had they ever truly considered all these things ; and not rather with old Simeon sing their Nunc dimittis , with comfort and assurance ; and cry out with S. Paul , Phil. 1. 21. To me to live is Christ , and to dye is gain ; and again , v. 23. I have a desire to depart and to be with Christ. 7. WERE I now , Madam , to deal with any other than your self , these and the like considerations would engage me , before I entred on the following prescriptions , to dispose your mind to a reception of them , by shewing you the great interest we have in Eternity ; That our Lives are uncertain , to be sure cannot be long here , and that therefore we ought to hasten all we can , before it be too late , to examine our Souls , and provide for futurity . That all the little Objects we now pursue , for which our ease , our conscience , nay our very Religion it self is sacrificed by us , are but vanities and trifles , neither worthy in themselves , nor satisfying in their enjoyment ; But , Madam , your vertue , and your prudence , make all such preparations unnecessary formalities , and instead of opening the way to the following Address by such insinuations , I ought rather to apologize for my indiscretion in the whole undertaking , which your piety prevents , and which your dayly ▪ practice shews you already to understand beyond any thing I am able to offer for your assistance . 8. NEVERTHELESS since it has pleased God to an excellent natural disposition to add yet other Obligations , and by the troubles of this Life to draw you to himself ; to shew you worthy of his favour , and I trust more highly to reward you in the next ; be pleased to give me leave this way to congratulate with you those Evils , which so many are wont to lament , and which no one more sincerely wishes ( if it please God ) to see you free from , than my self ; and as you have done me the honour to command my attendance whilst you were with us here , pardon me if I intrude upon your meditations a few of my most serious Reflections , to supply my absence ; and be a testimony of that real respect wherewith I honour you now in your retirement . CHAP. I. Of Contentedness under your Condition . THO' I am infinitely distant from that excellent perfection which made the Primitive Christians glory in their tribulations , and St. Paul rejoice in that sting in the flesh which God had given him as a peculiar Blessing from above ; yet is it really some satisfaction to me , that I am not now wholly liable to that Censure , which is so usually made on these occasions , that 't is easie for any Man when he is well to give advice to them that are not . It hath pleased God , for the rashness perhaps of my usual discourse , to make it at present very uneasy for me to speak at all . I cannot but acknowledge his Mercy in the Admonition , and if it please him altogether to silence me , so , That I shall not only , as now , speak with difficulty , but wholly ▪ be disabled to open my mouth , to any articulate utterance , yet I hope he will give me grace even in my thoughts to praise him ; To consider the justice of his proceeding with me , and to implore his pardon of what my sins have justly deserved . 2. IT cannot be deny'd but that this is an exercise of the most difficult Nature , and the Apostle himself confesses even where he most exhorts us to an acquiescence in it , That no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous , but grievous ; Yet considerations there are that are able to alleviate our greatest miseries , and make us , if not come up to the character of those who rejoyce in Tribulations , yet at least satisfy the duty I am now recommending , of being patient and contented under our sufferings . 3. AND the first of these both in our practice and this Discourse ought to be , To look up to that Hand that inflicts them . IT is our great unhappiness when any calamities fall upon us , that we are uneasie and dissatisfied ; and our whole business and project is , how to remove them , not to consider from whence they come . Sometimes indeed , if the cause be visible , we discourse of it as of a chance or a misfortune , but we stop at the instrument , and never pass on to him that directed it ; the second cause we know , but trouble our selves no further to recur to the first : whereas , would we seriously consider , * that the Providence of God orders all the affairs of the World ; * that without his assistance we can no more get quit of our Affliction , than but by his permission we first fell into it ; * that this unquietness therefore is a murmuring against his justice , a rebellion against his Providence , upon whom alone we ought to rely ; and whose mercy we should by all imaginable submission implore ; We should then acquiesce in his dispensation , till it pleased his goodness to remove our evils ; cry out with old Eli , It is the Lord , let him do what seemeth him good : and as we dayly pray that his will may be done in Earth , so by our submission shew that we truly desire it . 4. LET us to this add , Secondly ; That God delights not to afflict , nor ever willingly grieves the Children of Men. * IT may be we suffer in our calamity the punishment of our sins , and then let us not murmur at that which is the just reward of our deservings . * Perhaps God proves us in this life , that he may the more plenteously reward us in the next ; and how then shall we repine against his mercy , which makes these light afflictions that are but for a moment , work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory ; To be sure if we make that use of them which he intends , if we repent seriously , submit contentedly , and serve him faithfully , they shall turn to our advantage : tho' the passage be troublesome , yet is it secure , and shall in a little time bring us ease and quiet , and peace at the last . 5. FOR let us not mistake the goodness of God , nor imagine that because he smites us , therefore we are forsaken by him , but let us consider rather , Thirdly ; That 't is the very Condition of all his promises , through much Tribulation to bring us to his Kingdom ; That blessed place where all evils shall be removed , and there shall be no more any death , nor sorrow , nor crying , nor pain . We have a full account of this , Heb. 12. A place so satisfactory , that I will transcribe only one passage , to engage you to recur your self to the rest ; My son despise not thou the chastning of the Lord , nor faint when thou art rebuked of him ; for whom the Lord loveth he chastneth , and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth . But , Fourthly ; 6. Let us look into the Ages that have gone before us ; LET us consult our own experience in the present ; we shall find the observation of our Apostle ever to have been verified , that the best men generally fall under the severest pressures , Our Saviour Christ was our forerunner in this trial , as well as in the reward that accompanies it : He began as we ought to follow after , and for the joy which was set before him endured the cross , despising the shame . Which of his holy Apostles escaped this trial ; What numbers of the Primitive Saints were under the perpetual persecution of the most malicious enemies that Hell could raise against them , for many hundred Years . They were stoned , they were sawn as under , were slain with the sword , they wandred up and down in sheeps skins and Goats skins , being destitute , afflicted , tormented , and yet were these the Men , of whom the world was not worthy , whom we ought with comfort to look up unto , and run with patience the race that is set before us . 7. THESE considerations , though I have ( as I ought ) proposed in general terms , yet I am sure , Madam , you will not fail by a particular application to bring them home to your own concerns ; and for your easier performance I will go on if you please to make yet a reflection or two that may fortifie you in it . 8. IN enquiring into the goods that you have lost , or the evils , you either fear or suffer ; I shall not trouble you with an Enumeration of that which I know you despise , the flatteries , the courtship , the other vanities of the World ; The very loss of these is a happiness almost equal to what you undergo for it . And though that Beauty , which yet others , I perswade my self , valued too more highly than your self , was a Blessing which you owed much to Heaven for ; yet the additional ornaments you have hereby the opportunity of making to your Soul , will in the end give you a more solid satisfaction , and as much chain to you the affections of the good and wise , as the other attracted the eyes of the rest . 9. FOR your present distemper ; it is , God be thanked , neither so troublesome for the present , as to take you off from all satisfaction ; nor , I am willing to perswade my self , shall it prove so dangerous in its consequence , as to deprive you of all hope of seeing your self again in your former health , only disciplined and instructed , not utterly cut off by sickness . 10. HOWEVER , let us suppose now , as well as fear the worst ; Is there any thing particular in dying young ? Do not thousands every day do it ? And have you known none in health and vigour , who have pitied your condition , and behold they are themselves gone before you , even since you fell into this Distemper : And what is the harm then of this ? that you have fairer warning than others , who are unexpectedly cut off , and so have a better opportunity , as well as greater engagements , to cultivate your Soul , and provide for your latter end ? To dye is no pain , to leave this World is only to get quit of a troublesome place , where you could never find any ease or quiet , any solid satisfaction and comfort . To go to Heaven is to be transferr'd to that Kingdom you have ever long'd for ; to enjoy all the glories of eternity , to become company for Saints and Angels , and behold the Blessed presence of God , in whose presence there is fulness of joy , and at whose right hand there are pleasures for evermore . 11. THE truth is , the greatest part of your misfortune is founded on the opinion of the World : we fools esteem these things evils , and this makes others believe they really are so . But the good Christian who considers them only as necessary passages to a glorious immortality ; that through this dark scene of fansied horror sees a Crown and a Throne , and everlasting blessings prepared for him ; joyfully receives his Summons as he has long impatiently expected it : goes off out of the World as contentedly as the Actor when the Play is ended leaves the Stage . His only concern is , whilst he appears upon it , so to demean himself , that he may have a Plaudite at last ; and then 't is all one whether his part ended in the Third Act , or continues on to the very last Scene . 12. SUCH , Madam , are your Obligations to this first Duty , and the performance of them will especially engage you to these three things ; 1. Never despair either of Gods blessings here , or of his reward hereafter ; but go on as you have begun ; fulfil your duty as he has commanded ; embrace his promises with Faith and assurance ; and for the rest , leave it in his hands ; as in the hands of a most merciful Saviour , who himself became Man , and suffer'd Death upon the Cross for our sakes , and by that stupendious act of Mercy , has taught us ever to rely in all things upon his Goodness . 2. Murmur not at your sickness , for thereby you will sin against God's Providence and Government ; but submit with peace to what you suffer , and pray for your deliverance . I do not say you should affect a rude insensibility : Sighs and Groans and mournful expressions , this is the sick Mans proper language ; David roared for the disquietness of his soul ; our blessed Lord himself in his last and sharpest pang of sorrow , cryed out with a loud voice , before he gave up the ghost . There is nothing in this but what is innocent ; and though too much of it may betray your weakness , yet whilst you keep still a resignation to God's disposal , it cannot be imputed to you for any sin . 3. TAKE heed of that , which is the general fault of sick persons , and which a long disorder almost unavoidably brings with it , and that is Peevishness . This will but render you uneasie to your self , and to those about you ; it troubles your repose , without doing you any good ; and is equally to be avoided both for the folly , and for the sin . 13. I SHALL close this reflection with one necessary remark , which I desire you to apply to all the following ; That in speaking thus to you , I am so far from charging you as guilty in this matter , that I can sincerely say , I believe the exhortation wholly needless , only it was my duty in so important a concern to omit nothing that might any way be thought necessary ; and it will be your satisfaction to see how far you are advanced in your duty ; and your engagement to pursue that very little , which you may perhaps find to be still wanting . CHAP. II. That you ought not to be amazed at the fear of Death . THERE is nothing in the world more generally dreaded , and yet less to be feared than Death . Indeed for those unhappy Men , whose hopes terminate in this life , no wonder if the prospect of another seems terrible and amazing . Hell is a place which the most resolute Soul cannot but tremble to think of , how much more to enter into ? But for him who has lived well , and who therefore relies on God's mercies for an eternal Salvation , to shew this concern , it betrays either much weakness or great doubt , and either his faith , or his hopes , or both , are less firm than they ought to be , HE therefore that will not fear to dye , must first be careful to live well . 2. THE stroak of death is nothing ; Children endure it , and the greatest Cowards find it no pain : But when to this we shall add the certain apprehension of its being the gate to an eternal life , then may we presume to say , we have wholly conquer'd this King of terrours , and sing the Epinikion of St. Paul , 1 Cor. 15. O death where is thy sting ! O grave where is thy victory ! Thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Secondly ; He must take off his Affections from this world . 3. IT was the reflection of the Son of Sirach Ecclus 4. 1. O death , how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a Man that liveth at rest in his possessions , to the Man that hath nothing to vex him , but hath prosperity in all things . Whilst we please our selves with the vanities we enjoy here , we cannot expect but that it must needs be a trouble to us to be divorced from them : But let us only change the scene ; instead of these earthly , transient goods ; let us raise our Souls to the Heavenly and Eternal : then shall we begin to think the time long , that we are divorced from them , and wish for that end , we before feared . Tully tells us that Cleombrotus was so taken with this speculation , that having only read in Plato the conjectures of that great Man concerning the state of the Soul after death , he had not patience to tarry the tedious course of nature , but by a violent death cut the thread himself , that he might immediately enjoy what he so infinitely desired . 4. NOR may we fortify our selves much less against the fear of death , Thirdly , From the Consideration of those evils it frees us from , than of that happiness it transfers us to . When the Great Emperor of Persia wept over his Army upon this Consideration , that within the revolution of a single Age , not a Man of all that innumerable confluence would be left alive ; Artabanus standing by , improved his meditation ; by adding , that yet all of them should meet with so many and great evils , that every one should wish himself dead long before that . It is the true character of our lives which Job once gave . Man that is born of a Woman hath but a short time to live , and is full of trouble . It is the great blessing of Heaven that as our lives are very miserable , so are they very short too , and what we usually complain of as our misfortune , we ought rather to congratulate as our happiness . Had David died a little sooner , How much trouble had he escaped which now he endured , in the rebellion and death of his own Son , and all the miseries of a Civil War that was raised against him . Let any Man consult his own experience , and say , how many sorrows he had miss'd , had God called him to his rest but a few years before ; and therefore whether the promise he has made to deliver the just from the evils to come , ought not to be made our dayly prayer for its accomplishment , rather than fill our Souls with terror at the apprehension . But fourthly : Death do's not only free us from misery , but sin too . 5. THE life of a Christian is a continual warfare , full of dangerous conflicts and doubtful consequences : Our lusts sollicit us , the World encourages , the Devil tempts us ; we fall often , and are never secure . But Death frees us from all danger , sets us safely on Shore in our long-expected Canaan , where there are no temptations , no dangers , no possibility of falling ; but eternal purity , and immortal joys secure our happiness for evermore . 6. THERE is yet an advice which may usefully be added here , and it is this , That since the time of our dying is uncertain , we should every day expect what every hour may bring to us : IT is our great unhappiness in this matter that though we live never so many years , we are still surprized . We put the evil day far from us , and then it catches us at unawares , and we tremble at the prospect . But let us stand on our guard , let us live like those who expect to dye , and then we shall find these terrors very much lessen , and that we fear'd Death only because we were unacquainted with it . Philip King of Macedon had a Page constantly attending in his Chamber to tell him every morning as soon as he awaked , Remember , O King , that thou art mortal . 7. BUT to quit you wholly of this fear , and that ▪ I may close this point too with something particular , give me leave , Madam , to desire you , instead of a thousand arguments , to recur only to your own experience ; you have already lookt death in the face , you are acquainted with it , what have you found so terrible in it as to disturb the repose of a good Christian , i.e. of such a one as your self . I cannot without satisfaction remember the calm , the quiet , the peace you were then in ; when every hour seemed to tell you 't was your last . Death is an enemy you have already met , and already conquer'd ; you have pull'd out his sting , by the preparation you have made for it , and you know he has nothing now remaining that can injure or affright you . Only maintain your conquest , by securing your innocence ; and working out your Salvation , and then you may with confidence undervalue that which so much terrifies the world , and which yet all , even those who the most dread it , must in a little time meet whether they will or no. CHAP. III. That you ought to be careful to provide for another World. THIS is the great duty of our lives , and ought to be the chief business of us all every day of them . No Man knows what the next hour may bring forth , and to put our Salvation , and the hopes of eternity to so dangerous a hazard as we do , when we procrastinate ( though never so little ) our working of it out with fear and trembling , is to shew either a very unwarrantable presumption upon God's goodness , or a very light esteem of our own Souls . 2. OUR lives depend on so many curious parts and organs , so many diseases assail them every moment , so many accidents may take them from us , that we can never say the next minute is our own ; and that he therefore who neglects his salvation to day , may without danger put it off to to morrows consideration . God has told us that his Spirit shall not alway strive with Man , but as he offers to every one a space to repent , so there is a time too ( if we omit that opportunity ) when there shall be no longer any space for it . AND how can any of us tell that this hour is not the last wherein God will give us his grace for so great a work ; so that though we should live to see the next , yet that then our sentence shall not be found already pronounced , and we shall not be able to repent , though we never so much desire it . 3. SUCH obligations therefore have we all immediately to consider our ways , and turn our feet to God's testimonies : But , Madam , it has pleased his great goodness to lay more than ordinary ties upon you , to do this : He has taken you off , by a peculiar instance of his Mercy , from the vanities and tempations of the World : He has disabled you from falling into many sins ; and calls upon you to watch against the rest ; He has brought you to an early knowledge of your self , and of him , at an age when most others are the servants of sin , and creatures of vanity . He has given you opportunity from the writings and conversation of the best Men , to understand your duty , your danger , and your interest : And , Madam , what you ought above all things to bless him for , he has given you a heart too , to receive instruction , and that is desirous of his glory ; and though after so many better means as you have had of informing your self how to proceed in this important business ; after the knowledge you have attain'd , and the progress you have made , there is little need for me to add any thing on this subject ; yet I know I cannot better satisfie your piety , or discharge my own duty , than by laying before you , in a short view , a prospect of your labours , through which you have so long been travelling , and are now so nearly come , to everlasting life . 4. AT the first Creation , when God created Man upon the Earth , he planted in him a Law teaching him his whole Duty , he gave him besides , a positive Law not to eat of the fruit of the tree of Knowledge ; and to perform this , he added a perfect strength and ability whereby he might for ever have lived without the least sin ; had Adam done this , his perfection ( the Knowledge and Ability God created in him ) had still continued , and after a certain period of years , which God should have determined , he had been rewarded with an assumption to eternal felicity . 5. THIS is that which is usually called THE FIRST COVENANT , which Adam fatally breaking by his disobedience , soon forfeited ; and came short of that Glory which God had prepared for him : yet it pleased the Lord to enter into a SECOND with him , the tenour of which was , That the Seed of the Woman should bruise the Serpent's head : i. e. That Christ taking our nature upon him , and so becoming the seed of the Woman , should perform that Covenant of unsinning obedience which Adam broke , and yet being faultless , undergo a shameful , and ignominious death for him and his Posterity ; and so bruise the Serpent's head ; i. e. deliver us from the power of the Devil , who by this transgression had got the dominion over us . 6. AND this is that Covenant we now live under , the Promises of which are * pardon of sins through the blood of Christ ; * strength and grace to perform the conditions , * and eternal glory to reward our labours ; This is what God on his part has declared to us ; for the requisites on ours , what we must do to obtain these blessings , that is the great business of us all to know , and the peculiar design of this place briefly to consider . 7. WHERE , first , I must lay down this for your encouragement , that we are no longer now tied to the heavy yoke of a perfect , unsinning Obedience ; not to have committed any deliberate sin , nay or even to have persisted in a habit and course of it ; but it is , * a sincere endeavour to perform whatsoever God enables us ; * an unfeigned Obedience to the whole Gospel of Christ : and * a hearty bewailing of our own infirmities , as often as we come short of it ; with * a real ▪ desire , and * true endeavour of doing better for the future . 8. To enter on a minute consideration of this would engage me to lay before you a Summary of the whole Gospel of Christ : But , Madam , this were to exceed the limits of my design , & you have abundant assistances for this Knowledge , in those excellent books which you have chosen for the companions of your Travels . Only because certain it is that the very best of us come short of our duty , and stand in need of God's pardon , and forgiveness ; I will briefly lay before you the method you are to take to obtain this , in the particular consideration of those two great duties of Faith and Repentance . Sect. I. Of Faith. TTHERE is scarce any duty which ha's been so obscured in the writings of learned Men as this . I will not enter here into any of their disputes , but briefly say , what I think fit for your practice and performance of it . 2. FAITH then is an assenting to , or believing * the whole word of God , but especially of his Gospel , and of the * Commands & * Threats and * Promises therein contained . This is the nature of that Faith which is required of us , and it is then perfect when it affords to every one of these that assent which is proportioned to it , viz. 1. A firm assent to whatever the Gospel has revealed : 2. an obediential submission to the Commands : 3. An humble fear and awe of the Threats : and 4. a fiducial relyance on the promises of it . 3. To have the first of these you must in general firmly believe , that whatever God hath said , is infallibly true ; and though in particular , there be many revelations which you cannot it may be understand the possibility of ; as that God became Man , was born of a Mother still remaining a Virgin ; that he suffered and died , and yet lives for ever ; yet must you undoubtedly conclude , that since he has plainly told you these things are so , you ought firmly to believe him , seem they never so repugnant otherwise to your apprehension . 4. To have the second , you must in general assent to God's commands , that they are most fitting , just , and righteous ; and that all men therefore ought diligently to fulfill them ; and in particular you must resolve that by the assistance of Heaven you your self will. 5. FOR the third you must believe stedfastly that these threats shall certainly , as most justly they ought , be executed upon all those impenitent Sinners against whom they are denounced , and that except you take care to work out your Reconciliation , and get out of the number of these unhappy creatures , you shall certainly find your part in them . 6. FOR the last you are infallibly to believe what God has promised ; especially that he will give pardon of sin , and everlasting salvation to all humble and repenting sinners ; and for what refers to your own particular , you are confidently to rely upon his word , that if you perform your part , Christ will never fail in his ; and that therefore you ought to fulfill those duties , which he commands , and to which alone this promise of Reward is given . 7. IT is a question which my little experience lets me know do's oftentimes trouble very good Men , that certainly their faith in this last instance is not right , because they still find it accompanied with fears and doubts of their own Salvation . But , Madam , you must consider that the faith which God requires in this matter is only this , That he will certainly reward all those that believe in him , and obey his Commandments ; This we are undoubtedly to assent to ; but now for the particular application of this Faith to our selves , that deserves no more of our assent , nor can indeed warrantably have it , than what is founded on the serious consideration of our own performances . Now though our conscience bearing witness to our sincerity , may give us great cause to hope we are in a State of Salvation , yet is it no part of any man's Faith undoubtedly to believe it ; Nay rather some degree of fear and trembling mixt with it may be a good means to secure us in our duty ; whilst a confident dependance is very often ill grounded , and may create such a negligence as will certainly ruine us . 8. LET your endeavour therefore be to fulfill God's commands , to repent as often as you fail of it , and to hope for pardon and acceptance of him . Infinite reason you have for all this ; and this will be sufficient for your present comfort , and for your future acceptance . But if still , either * the greatness of the danger , or * glory of the reward ; * either your desires of becoming better , * or a true and humble sense of your own unworthiness ( which is almost the perpetual case of the best persons ) keep your Soul under an awe and a concern , and will not suffer you to rise up to that confidence , which some Men , I fear , unwarrantably themselves pretend to , I am sure unwarrantably require of others ; Assure your self , that whilst you firmly acquiesce in the general belief , That God will reward all them that love him , and doubt of your self only because you fear whether you do this so well as you ought ; this doubting shall prepare you to receive the reward of your Humility , but never bring you in danger of any punishment for your infidelity . Sect. II. Of Repentance . REPENTANCE is usually defined to be a change of mind , an absolute entire conversion of our Souls from sin to God. It is not a thing to be done at certain times , as when we give an Alms , we exercise a particular act of charity ; but 't is a state of life , and consists in a continual sincere practice of all those duties which God has required , and a hearty sorrow , confession , and resolution of better obedience , as often as we violate any of his commands . 2. THE passage to it is difficult and uneasie ; It contains many steps which the habitual sinner will find it hard to overpass . I shall here consider only four of the more principal , and which are ever found in that Christian who truly lives in a State of it . 3. THE first is , To have a true sense of sin , of its Odiousness , and of its danger . i.e. YOU must firmly be convinced that every sin you commit , sets you at enmity with Heaven , and will ( if not forsaken ) render you uncapable of it : That to persevere in any evil course , is the way to make you unhappy in this Life , and shall certainly throw you into everlasting torments in the next : Of all this you must seriously perswade your self , and that not lightly and in general , deceiving your own Soul ; but bringing it home to your particular concern in it ; affecting your mind , and engaging your utmost endeavours to avoid that evil , which is thus odious to God , and thus dangerous to your Everlasting Salvation . THE second step to this Duty , is , To have a hearty sorrow and contrition for your sin . 4. AND this you must endeavour after , not by being frighted and terrified , and so upon that account troubled , as often as you reflect on those infinite evils your sins are like to bring upon you . There is no Man living so wicked , but would do the same ; But , Madam , you must really sorrow that you have ever sinn'd ; That you have provoked so loving and merciful a Father ; That you have disobey'd so gracious a Redeemer , and all to gratify your passions in some baser instance , which you ought to abhor upon these grounds alone , though there were no punishment awaiting your transgressions . 5. NOR must this sorrow and contrition be only for the grosser evils of our unregenerate estate , but even when we live best we must repeat it as often as we transgress the divine command ; nay we should employ it too , even upon the weaknesses , the frailties , the pollutions of our natures : our very proneness and inclination to sin : for however these ( unconsented to ) are no actual transgressions ; yet are they matter of sorrow and grief to every true Christian , and therefore ought to be part of his humiliation also . THE third preparatory to this Duty , is , Confession . 6. AND this so necessary to our pardon , that we have no promise of any forgiveness without it : To fulfill this you must not satisfy your self to acknowledge to God Almighty in general , That you are a sinner ; but you must carefully remark , and particularly enumerate also , at least the several kinds of sin whereof you know your self guilty : You must shew your sense of them by aggravating them with all the unhappy circumstances , and heightning accidents of them ; and for the rest , you must comprise your unknown and lesser sins under some such general confession as that of the holy David , Who can tell how oft he offendeth ? O cleanse thou me from my secret faults . 7. YOU will , Madam , doubtless expect that I should here add somewhat of another sort of Confession , which I have sometimes had the honour to discourse with you about ; I then told you that unless some Accident rendred it so , I did not esteem it absolutely necessary . The expediency of it , I must confess , I ever much approved , and have often wish'd others would do so too ; and the reasons I have at large given you may be summed up into these : 1. That St. James has advised us to confess our faults one to another , Chap. 5. 16. and pray one for another . 2. If we have injured another , then we ought to go and confess our fault to him , as ever we mean to obtain the forgiveness of God. 3. But if our sin belongs only to him , yet to confess to his Minister is in some sort a fuller satisfaction to his justice ; It declares our greater detestation of that offence , for which we are content to commit this violence upon our selves . It gives us this comfort too , that thereby we get the opinion of our Spiritual Guide concerning the state of our Repentance ; and his direction and assistance for the perfecting of it ; and if we desire his particular absolution , we must then make our confession to him before we can obtain it . What force these motives may have upon you , I cannot tell ; but for the present you are passing into a place where you will have little opportunity to practise it , and should therefore resolve to supply it , by a more due and careful performance of it to God Almighty . THE last thing preparatory to a true Repentance , is , A firm resolution and vow of a new life . 8. THAT you will immediately quit all your Sins , and all the occasions that are wont to lead you into those sins ; That you will wholly resign your self up to the guidance of Christ ; and perform whatsoever you know to be his will ; and this do truly and sincerely all the days of your life . 9. AND here , Madam , behold in short the duties that are required of you : This is what you must do to inherit eternal Life ; And if you have ( as I make no doubt ) already come up thus far , you are then firmly to persevere in it unto the end ; If you fulfil this Resolution , though you * fall sometimes by infirmity ; * are betrayed by Ignorance , * or surprized by some sudden , and dayly incurring temptations ; * Nay , though you should be so unhappy as to fall into some greater Act , even of deliberate sin , which you might have avoided , and which you presently retract by confession and amendment , you are nevertheless in a regenerate estate , you live the Life of a Christian here , and shall inherit the reward that is promised to him , in a glorious Immortality hereafter . 10. I SHALL close this with my earnest desires , which not any doubts of your goodness , but my real concern for your welfare , extort from me ; that you will seriously consider your own state as to this affair ; Flatter not your self , * neither a transient sorrow that you have sinned , * nor a wish that you had not , * neither a faint and general , God be merciful to me a sinner ; * nor an imperfect resolution not to be so any longer ; * not an observing , for the rest , the whole Law , if you indulge your self but in any one habit of sin ; * not praying to God to give you his grace ; without your own sincere endeavours of using it ; nothing but a steady resolution brought to practice ; God's grace used , his commandments obey'd as far as your infirmities will permit , and his pardon begg'd where you have not ; This is that which alone must save your Soul , and carry you on to that glorious Immortality , which I beseech him to give you for his Son Jesus Christ's sake . CHAP. IV. A consideration of some particular duties which I would more especially recommend to you . I THOUGHT , Madam , here to have ended your trouble , and referr'd my self 〈◊〉 what may concern your farther practice , to those excellent and useful Treatises you have so wisely provided for that purpose ; But they speak in general , and though I know the care you take to apply them to your self , yet I cannot but beg leave to add two or three considerations that may more immediately be accommodated to your particular circumstances . First , That you duely implore the blessings of Heaven by your constant Prayers to God Almighty I NEED not tell you that you have * many wants to be supplied , * many blessings to receive , * many sins to be forgiven , and that there is nothing can obtain all these for you but your prayers ▪ or were you so all-sufficient as not to need the influences of Providence to support you , yet would sure every day bring to your remembrance slips and infirmities to be confess'd to him , to be sure blessings and mercies to be gratefully acknowledged , in a perpetual return of praises and thanksgivings to the great Donor . Upon all which accounts there can never be any pretence for your neglect of that duty , which so many continual engagements oblige you to . 2. LET me to this , add the great assistance it will afford you in the performance of all the rest of your duty ; whilst thus you have your conversation in Heaven , all the little goods here below will seem poor and inconsiderable in your sight ; this will strengthen your patience in bearing your calamities , whilst with faith you contemplate the glorious end to which they lead ; It will raise in your Soul the greatest care of fulfilling the divine will , lest you lose so excellent a reward ; in a word ; this exercise will call down the favour of Heaven upon you , either to remove those afflictions you now labour under , from you , or you from them ; will bring you peace , and comfort , and satisfaction in this life , and an everlasting peace and repose in the next . 3. IT has been the great discouragement of some Christians in the exercise of this duty , that they do not find these great Benefits of their devotion : That they are told indeed of the mighty influences of prayer : and have read how that by it Joshua changed the order of nature , and made the Sun stand still in the midst of the Firmament ; Elias tied up the Windows of Heaven that it rained not for three whole years in Israel ; Hezekias added fifteen years to his life ; The Apostles gave feet to the Lame , Eyes to the Blind ; and even life to the Dead ; But themselves are so far from working such miracles , that they cannot so much as obtain the supply of those ordinary wants they very often labour under . 4. BUT , Madam , we must not for all this think either that the Arm of the Lord is shortned , that he cannot , or his will alter'd that he should not hear us , as well as he did them ; indeed for such miraculous effects , we have now no longer need of them , and it would therefore be a fond presumption in us to expect them ; But for the rest there are two considerations which Men would do well to reflect on before they charge God foolishly . 1. WHETHER we do not very often receive the benefit of our prayers , when yet ungratefully we charge Heaven with denying our Petitions . 2. IF our Requests are really deny'd , whether the fault do's not ly at our own doors that they are so . 5. FOR the former of these we may very easily be mistaken , and I doubt very often are so : Did we indeed perfectly know the state of our own condition , and what was most proper and convenient for us , we might then have some reason to conclude our Prayers were not heard , if our desires were not answered : But now that such is our ignorance that though we are sensible enough of the evils that lie upon us , yet we cannot say either whether they are fit to be removed at all ; or when , or by what means ; or for what state ; we ought to be very wary in our thoughts of God's Providence , and not rashly pronounce what we can never be sure of ▪ 6. SHOULD you now , for instance , your self , Madam , pray to God for a recovery from this sickness ; how rash would it be to accuse God of not hearing your Prayers , because you found your Disease to continue still ? * It may be he sees it has not yet perfectly wrought in you all those good effects he intends ; That if you should at this time recover your health , it might occasion your return to the sins and follies of your age . * It may be he intends yet longer to prove your vertue , that so he may afterwards more plenteously reward it ; * Perhaps he punishes your sins by it in this Life , that he may spare you in the next . Now if these or the like are the causes of your affliction , certainly you could not have a greater injury done you , than the removing of your distemper : and those Prayers you make for a recovery are to be lookt upon as best heard by God , and best answer'd for you , if they move him to a longer continuance of your sickness . Again : * Though God does not answer your requests in the very removal of your distemper ; it may be yet he shews their efficacy in supporting you with strength and patience to bear it ; Infinite are the methods of his Providence , and impossible it is for us to trace them all , and though we are not able to point out the very mercy which our devotion has obtained , yet this God has promised , and we must therefore firmly believe and rely upon it , That if we ask , we shall , we do , receive . 7. BUT here my other consideration must come in , St. James , speaking of the ineffectualness of some mens Devotion , tells them , Ye ask , and receive not , because ye ask amiss ; and that I fear is too often our condition ; And therefore that you may be able both to know and avoid this , I will beg leave , Madam , to give you only a short Catalogue of what qualifications seem to me more immediately requisite to render your Devotion prevalent . 1. TAKE heed that the things you desire be such as are fit for God to give , and you to receive ; Let not any instances of sin defile your requests ; and even in the most innocent matters , rather beg in general the blessings of God which he knows requisite , whether for your Soul or Body , than descend too much to the particulars your self , and prescribe to him , who so little understand your own wants . Secondly BEFORE you pray , clear your Soul from all those sins which you know displeasing to God Almighty ; for till that be done he regards you as his Enemy ; and you cannot therefore expect that he should reward you as his servant . Thirdly PREPARE your Soul with all those necessary Graces that are more immediately requisite to this performance : with Humility and Resignation ; with Faith in his power and Hope of his mercy , with Love and Charity towards God and towards your Neighbour ; All which will infinitely dispose him to give , and prepare you to receive . Fourthly , WHEN you pray , let it be with attention , with fervency , with perseverance ; To which end I should think it better that your prayers were short and frequent , than over long ; which only make them tedious and uneasie to you in your present state , but never the more acceptable to God ; who delights not in mens words , but requires their hearts ; and hears the shortest ejaculation , as certainly as the longest prayer . Fifthly , IN a word : Having pray'd , leave the issue contentedly in his hands : Let it satisfy you that you have his promise for your security , and that if thus you make your requests to him , you shall sooner or later most certainly find that your labour has not been in vain , in the Lord. A SECOND duty , that I must more particularly recommend to you is Charity : A GRACE That has more promises annext to it than any other moral or theological vertue , St. Paul prefers it even to Faith it self , 1 Cor. 13. And could we have every other vertue which the Gospel enjoyns in the highest perfection , yet he plainly assures us that without this , they would all avail us nothing . 2. CHARITY taken in its largest extent is nothing else but , The sincere Love of God and our Neighbour : The former of these requires not only your highest esteem of him , your desires of going to him , and filling your self with his goodness ; but also a sincere endeavour to please and obey him , to fulfill his commands , and hate all those things that he dislikes , and may any way set you at enmity with him . 3. THE latter engages you to a universal love of all Men , even your very Enemies ; to retain no malice nor hatred against any ; to be ready to do them all the kindness you are able , by reproving the Vicious , instructing the ignorant , relieving the poor ; for all which , you have the peculiar promise of God for your engagement ; and shall receive the pardon of your sins , and everlasting glory for your Reward . I MUST now hasten to a conclusion , and therefore will presume to add only this one caution more , I THIRDLY , that you would take an especial care how you employ your time . IT is not , Madam , for me to divine what opportunities you may have for this , nor can I therefore advise you any thing in particular : Only let me beg you to lose no occasion of doing all the good you can ; which whatever the issue of your present sickness be , is to be sure your duty , and shall prove your blessing either in this World or another . 2. I NEED not desire you to spend the hours you may have for your friends and your diversion innocently , but if I may presume to speak my thoughts in a matter of no great importance , I should perswade you not only to do this , but even to deny your self somewhat of that full liberty which others do usually allow themselves ; the Wise man has told us , that Mirth is not proper in the time of sorrow ; since it has pleased God to lay his inflictions upon you , You ought so far ( I had almost said in civility to him ) to comply with your circumstances , as to be a little more reserved than otherwise were needful , and though not to fly ▪ to the other extreme ( which , I rather ought to disswade you from ) yet to keep in such a temper , as may both speak you sensible , as you ought , of your condition , and yet not discontented at God's dispensations . 3. BUT , Madam , whatever your employs be , let no day pass without some time to retire into your self , and either by reading , meditating , or some other pious exercise to feed your zeal , and confirm your devotion . 4. LASTLY , in your most busy occupations , when you are never so much taken up with other affairs , yet steal now and then a minute to the thoughts of Heaven , send up an Ejaculation to the God of your Salvation ; This is a piece of thrift that by frequent exercise will do you much good , and yet never injure any other business . Augustus Caesar is highly commended by the ancient Poet , that in the midst of his most troublesome occupations he could still find time to look up to Heaven , and consider the frame , and contemplate the parts and motions of it . How much more should we always be at leisure to reflect on him that framed both that and us ; to whose Providence we owe every minute of our lives , and whom therefore we ought , above all other things , incessantly to praise for his unspeakable Mercies . CLOSE . AND now , Madam , that I may close with what I begun , after so long an intrusion upon your Meditations , with these reflections , which I am confident make a great part of your dayly entertainment ; The only thing that can render either these Papers or their recommendations acceptable unto you ; that can secure you against sin , and endear Vertue and Religion to your practice , will be to raise your affections above this World , by seriously considering the excellence and certainty of another life ; and how vain and transient , indeed how troublesome and unsatisfying are the highest felicities of this . 2. I HAVE not here time to delineate to you the glories of God's heavenly Kingdom , nor indeed could I tell you ( if I had ) what the happiness of that place is likely to be , where all tears shall be wiped from our eyes , and there shall be no more death , nor sorrow , nor crying , nor pain ; When our Bodies shall be freed from every disease ; our Souls from every trouble ; those shall be chang'd into incorruptible and immortal substances , these be entertain'd with the most comfortable and ravishing objects , and both continue to be thus unspeakably happy throughout all Eternity , without the least danger of either losing or lessening their enjoyments . 3. BLESSED God! How contrary is this to our melancholy and uncomfortable portion here below ? a place , where not a day passes , but we eat our Bread with sorrow and cares ; The present troubles us , the future amazes us ; and even the past fills us with grief and anguish . I forbear to mention the particular evils which every Man best knows by his own experience : If we look abroad upon the present face of the World , What do we see in the several Kingdoms about us , but Wars and confusion , all things running to ruine , and destruction , to the confounding and devouring of each other . If we consider the Church , that holy Mother of us all , how do her unnatural Children rend and tear her sacred bowels by their contentions ? What Schisms , What Heresies , what Profaneness is there in it ? Only in Sin and Impiety we agree on all sides ; here there is neither Jew nor Gentile ; but all are united in a monstrous confederacy against God and our own Souls . 4. IF we contract our view , and confine it to our own sinful nation ; It has pleased God to preserve us yet in peace , to see if we will repent and anticipate his Judgments ; But alas ! his hand is lifted up to strike , and we do nothing to prevent the blow : and what can we expect but that it should at last fall upon us to our confusion . 5. PARDON me , Madam , if I freely confess to you my fears , that I tremble to think what shall be the issue of so great an Impenitence , as we have now these many years shew'd under all the various methods of God's Providence to redeem us . 6. HE has sent the sword , both of civil Troubles and publick War amongst us , and it has been deeply stain'd in the blood of the best and chiefest of our strength ; Our Princes have been forced into Captivity ; Our Church been chased into the Wilderness ; The breath of our nostrils , the Anointed of the Lord ▪ has been cut off by the vilest of his Subjects , yet have we not return'd , nor sought our God. 7. THE Fire has consumed our dwellings , the Plague destroy'd its Thousands and ten thousands in our Streets , yet behold we are still incorrigible , we go on as before in the ways of our own hearts , and speak peace to our souls even in the midst of all these dangers . 8. GREAT certainly is our sin , and fatal , I fear , shall be the punishment of it , and what shall we do , ( for , Madam , I must here beg leave to joyn my self in this reflection ) to prevent our part in the common destruction ? Let us take heed that we have no share in their sins , and then by God's mercy we shall have none in the punishment . Let us live as those who attend such trials , and then he will either be pleased to take us from the evil to come , or cover us with his hand in the midst of it : He will to be sure with the danger make a way for us to escape ; and being past through this short storm , will bring us to that Port where we shall find everlasting Rest , and a consummated felicity ; Those blessings , which neither Eye has seen , nor Ear heard , nor does it enter into the Heart of Man to conceive ; but which God has prepared for them that love him : Among which blessed number that you may then be found , as it was the only intention of these reflections to prepare you , so shall it ever be the hearty prayer of him who with all imaginable respect and sincerity remains , Madam , Your most humble , and most obedient Servant , W. W. THE CONTENTS . * 1. INtroduction to Pag. 30 That the fatal source of all our evil is , That our affections are tied to this World , and we do not as we ought , consider another . * 2. The Letter it self divided into 4. Chapters . CHAP. I. Of Contentedness . p. 30. This I. A duty very difficult . n. 2. Yet which we are engaged to , 1. Because 't is God who smites us . n. 3. 2. He always designs our good in it . n. 4. 3. And by our Afflictions shews that we are his . n. 5. 4. That the best Men have still had their share . n. 6. 5. Particular considerations . n. 7. to 1● . This II. Expressed in 3. particulars : 1. Of not despairing ; nor , 2. Murmuring ; nor , 3. Being fretful under our Calamities . CHAP. II. Of the Fear of Death . p. 57 Nothing more generally dreaded . n. 1. Yet this fear may be banished , 1. By living well . n. 2. 2. By taking off our ▪ Affections from this World. n. 3 3. By considering the evils it frees us from . n. 4 4. By viewing the sins it prevents . n. 5 5. By expecting it every day . n. 6 6. Particular considerations . n. 7 CHAP. III. Of providing for another World. p. 72 This we ought immediately to set about . n. 1 , 2 , 3. How we ought to do it , 1. In general . n. 4. to 8. 2. In particular by I. Faith. II. Repentance . I. Faith. p. 86 What it is . n. 1 , 2. The parts of it . n. 4. ib. these fulfilled 1. In a firm assent to God's truths . n. 3. 2. An obedience to his Commands . n. 4. 3. A fear of his punishment . n. 5. 4. A hope of his promises . n. 6. What faith every man is bound to have of his own Salvation . n. 7 , 8. II. Repentance . p. 97 What it is . n. 1. The parts of it . n. 4. 1. A sense of sin . n. 3. 2. Contrition for it . n. 4 , 5. 3. Confession of sin . n. 6 , 7. 4. Resolution against it . n. 8 , 9 , 10. CHAP. IV. Of particular Duties . p. 115. I. Prayer . p. 116 Its necessity . n. 1 , 2. Why we do not always perceive the benefit of it . n. 3 , 4. 1. We often receive it when we think we do not . n. 5 , 6. 2. If we receive it not , the fault lies at our own doors . n. 7. The qualifications requisite that we may obtain it . II. Charity . p. 134 Its Excellence . n. 1. Parts Towards God. n. 2. Towards our Neighbour . n. 3. III. Of spending your time well . p. 137 1. Take all occasions of doing good . n. 1. 2. Live innocently . n. 2. 3. Often return to holy Exercises . n. 3. 4. Constantly intermix pious ejaculations . n. 4. * The Close . p. 144 FINIS . Advertisement . Private Devotions digested into six Litanies , with Directions and Prayers , by Hen. Valentine . A Private Prayer to be used in difficult Times . Newly published . Both Printed for Ric. Chiswell . Notes, typically marginal, from the original text Notes for div A66253-e490 Luk. 2. 29. Phil. 1. 21. 23. Notes for div A66253-e980 Heb. 12. v. 11. 1 Sam. 3. 18. 2 Cor. 4. 17. Revel . 21. 4. v. 5. 6. Heb. 12. 2. Heb. 11. 37. — 38. Heb. 12. 1. Ps. 38. 8. Matthew xxvii 46. Notes for div A66253-e1960 — v. 55. — v. 57. Job 14. 1. Notes for div A66253-e2560 Psal. 119. 55. Gen. 2. 17. Gen. 3. 15. Psal. 19. 12. Notes for div A66253-e4320 Phil. 3. 20. Josh. 10. 12. 1 Kings 17. 2 Kings 20. 6. James 4. 3. 1 Cor. 15. 58.