Life are mere Trifles. For to bestow our chief Care and Pains upon Matters of the greatest Consequence, was always esteemed a main Point of Wisdom and Prudence, and a Neglect of this Kind is justly branded with the Character of the utmost Folly. Since therefore Death will certainly translate us to endless Joys, or consign us to everlasting Torments, nothing can be wiser than to take such Measures as may secure the one and prevent the other. This Method will give the truest relish to all the Blessings of Life, and prove the best Preservative against the Terrors and Apprehensions of our great Change; the anxious Fears whereof proceed not so much from Death itself, as from the Consequences of that unchangeable State in which it fixes us. And though Reason may reconcile us to it as we are men, yet Religion alone can make it comfortable to us as we are Christians.

Q. What is the best Preparation for Death?

A. The constant Exercise of Piety and Virtue in the whole Course of our Lives, is the only Armour that is Proof against the Attacks of that dreadful Enemy to Nature. And Men strangely delude themselves, that depend upon any other Method than that of keeping a Conscience void of Offence Acts xxiv. towards God and towards Men.

Q. But since the Practice of Religion consists in several Particulars, what is the first Thing necessary to prepare us for a happy Death?

A. In order to make Death safe and happy, we must reconcile ourselves to God by a sincere and hearty Repentance. The Sting of Death is Sin, and a Mind loaded with Guilt is not only incapable of the Happiness of the next World, but excluded from it by the solemn Declaration of God, who is Truth. itself; so that except we repent, we shall certainly perish. Repentance, therefore, must be the first Step we should make, if ever we design to die well; which we should immediately apply ourselves to, lest Sickness and Death should overtake us, before

26.

we have accomplished so necessary a Work; for, though a Death-bed may be a proper Season to renew our Repentance, and to trim our Lamp, yet it is the most unfit Time to begin it; and it then very rarely, if ever, takes Effect.

Q. What is farther necessary to prepare us for a happy Death?

A. To set our House in Order, by a prudent and pious Disposition of our worldly Concerns. Now that this may be done wisely, requires Time and Consideration, and therefore cannot so well be dispatched in our last Moments, when our Minds are disordered, our Bodies oppressed with Pain and Sickness, and when we run the Hazard of being imposed upon by those who, out of Interest, officiously attend us. And though we should in some Measure be free from these Inconveniences, yet the little Time we shall then have to live, is too precious to be consumed about Trifles. So that, except we make our Wills in the Days of our Health, that Matter may possibly never be performed, or after such an imperfect Manner as to convey Strife and Contention to our Posterity, and at best to give great Trouble and Disorder to ourselves, when we are least able to bear it. It requires Thought and Consideration to dispose of our Estates in a Christian Manner, to give Children their fitting Portions, to acknowledge the Kindness of our Friends, to reward the Services of our Dependents, and to make Distributions for the Poor and Needy; and all this in so clear a Manner, that no Differences or Law Suits may arise among those we The Ru- leave behind us. To this Purpose the Church hath the Visita- Wisely directed the Minister, when he attends the tion of the sick Person, if he hath not disposed of his Goods, to admonish him to make his Will, and to declare his Debts, what he owes, and what is owing to him, for the better discharging of his Conscience, and the Quietness of his Executors: withal acknowledging, that Men should often be put in Remembrance to take Order

bric, in

Sick.

for the settling their temporal Estates whilst they are in Health.

Q. What is still farther necessary to make us die with Comfort and Satisfaction?

A. To wean our Affections from the Things of this World; for our Sorrow and Concern to part with them will bear a Proportion to the Love and Esteem wherewith we have enjoyed them; and to be separated from Objects, upon which we have fixed our Hearts, must be attended with great uneasiWe should therefore accustom ourselves to resign freely to God, what Death will snatch from us by Force; and gently to untie those Knots which fasten us to the World, that we may have less Pain when they are entirely broken. The Practice whereof consists in being less concerned for the Things. of the Body, and all bodily Enjoyments; to expect, with Resignation to the Will of God, the Success of our temporal Affairs; to suppress all ambitious and covetous Desires; to retrench sometimes the Use of lawful Pleasures; to abound in Works of Charity; to be ready to part with what we love most, when God thinks fit, and to bear all Losses and Afflictions without murmuring, that with St. Paul we may be able to say, we die daily; not only 1 Cor. xv. because the Time of our Death is every Moment 31. approaching, but also because we find daily less Fondness for Life, less Earnestness for Trifles, less Desire of Glory, less Eagerness for Profit, and less Concern for whatever the World most esteems.

Q. What farther Care should we exercise about Preparation for Death?

4. We should use great Circumspection about the spending our Time, which is the precious Talent entrusted to us by God, to fit and prepare our Souls for a happy Eternity; and ought not to be consumed in impertinent Visits, nor to be squandered in vain Diversions, nor to be loitered away in unaccountable Sloth, as if Mirth and doing nothing were the Business of Life. Wherefore, if we are

Mat. 24,

25, &c.

settled in a Calling, let us manage it with Justice and Diligence, always remembering we have a Christian Calling of greater Importance: if we are not engaged in the World, let us chuse such Circumstances as we shall most approve in a dying Hour; if we have great Estates, and the Advantages of Power and Understanding, let us look upon ourselves as under great Obligations to spend our Time well; because in such Circumstances there is greater Capacity and Leisure to attend the Good of others as well as the Salvation of our own Souls. In order to this, we should frequently reflect upon the great Business we have to do in this World, and the uncertain Time that is allotted to the Performance of it; so that if we neglect what is in our Hands, we may never be trusted with another Opportunity; and let our Zeal be never so great, when we come to die, we shall wish we had done

more.

Q. What will give us particular Comfort upon a Death-bed?

A. Works of Mercy and Charity; because such Actions are the best Proof of our Sincerity and Religion, and are an Evidence that we can part with what is generally esteemed dearest in this World, for the Sake of that God whom we worship. Shewing Mercy to the Poor, perfects our Repentance, and entitles us to the Mercy of God, when we shall stand most in need of it. The Scrutiny at the Day of Judgment will be, Whether we have fed the Hungry, clothed the Naked, relieved the Stranger, and ministered to the Sick, and those that are in Prison? and what we in this Kind do to the poor Members of Christ, is reckoned as done to himself.

Q. Wherein consists our immediate Preparation for Death?

4. In bearing our Sickness, that precedes it, with a true Christian Frame and Temper of Mind, with great Patience under our Sufferings, and Resigna

tion of Mind to the Will of God; with a firm Truth and Dependence upon his infinite Wisdom and Goodness, and with thankful Acknowledg ments of those Mercies with which he allays the Sorrows of our Distemper, and lightens the Burden we labour under. Which Acts of our Mind should be frequently expressed in our Addresses to God, whose Grace and Assistance we should constantly implore, to enable us, in this Time of Trial, to discharge the Duty of good Christians.

Q. Wherein consists the Exercise of Patience upon a Sick-bed?

A. In carefully restraining all Murmurings against God, or any Discontent, by reason of what he lays upon us. In watching against all the Temptations to Anger, as the Mistakes and Inadvertencies of our Attendants, the unseasonable Kindness of our Friends, the Disagreeableness of our Medicines, and the Preparation of our Food. In curbing anxious Fears of worse that may happen: And in being content to wait God's Time for our Deliverance.

Q. Wherein consists the Exercise of Trust in God upon a Sick-bed?

A. In quieting our Minds under the Apprehension of future Evils, by considering that we are in the Hands of a good God, who will lay no more upon us than we are able to bear; and who will in his due Time either remove what afflicts us, or give us Strength to endure it in such a Manner that it may contribute to the Improvement of our Virtue, and the Increase of our Happiness. And that, however destitute we leave our nearest Relations, as Wife and Children, yet that they are under the Protection of his Providence, whose Blessing is the richest Portion, and without which the best human Provision is no Security.

Q. Wherein consists the Exercise of Resignation upon a Sick-bed?