Dirtl/•4• Dirtl!. 5· Direll. IS. ff0eft• 3· ~. 5· Direlt. 4• Keep away vain company from thtm ai ftJr as you can convenienrly (-e~ce~ · b fuch as mull needs be admitted, or fuch as are like to receive any good by the: holy counfel ofthi /\ c lr is a great annoyance to one that is near death, to hear people talk to little purpofe, abouc thee " ( pr fome impertinencies , when they are going fpeedily to their endlefs flare anll haVe'needW~r~d .,q"Jore imped~ments i~ ~heir way; _bu~ of the b.ett.affill_an~e_thar their friends c:m ;iford rbenJ. PJ':,;: fome ablt [Jtthfrtl Mmijfcr to be rrttb them to coun{elthcm about the jbte nf their foul! : And ger {; holy ablt ChriHians to be much about them, who axe tit to pny with them, and inHruct them. omc 9· 6. Direct. 5· Be~r 1vith tbeir imfatiem;_e, and g!.~dge no_t at. any trOitble tbat tbty p:tt you 10 : Re– ~c~ber th?.r JVeaJt~rji IS froward, an'd {s you Pear w~t~ th~ crymg of chi!drcn, fo mutt you with the plCVIlhnefs of the hck : And remember th1t fhorrly IllS like to be your own cafe, and you mufi b auoub1e to others, and~th~y mun bear withJ:ou. ~Be,not weary of y,our friend~ i~ licliJ~cfs i butlovin e and tender, and'tompaflmnate, ahd patient... ,; , 1 1 ,. ~ -~ g, 9- ?· D.ircl:t. 6. Deal f.ritbfrrlly c;11d _prudently witb them about tht ftm of their flm/,: Your f•it!J– fulnrjl mutt be lhcwcd _111 thek two pomts; I· That you do not jl.Jfler them with vain hopuof life when they are more likely 10 d~e: z, That you do not fluter them-with falle perlwalionsrhar ·thm Hate os fofe when they are yet unlancbhed , nor put them in hop" of being faved without n:g~11erauon. . · : Your Prudence ~ufi be manifeficd, t.ln fuitjng.your counfel, and fpcccltes," and prayers ro their flatt ; and nQt uhng the Came ~ords to the upg_odly, as you would ro the godly. 2· In fo cont'laliing your coun.fel for the Con.verhon of the ungodly, as nor to overwhelm· them wirh more rhan they can bear; and yet not t.o leave out, any point of abfolute necc:lTity to falvation. Alas, how much skill doth luch a work r<quire? and how few .ChriQians, (that I fay nor, Pujf,,) .,. ttit for lt. • · . . ) . §. 8, -Q.:!.efi. ])ut i1 it a duty r;vhcn tht fipJt are.like to dye, tn mak.f it "11own to them l o.. Anfw. Sometime it is, .ancl fometimc:s not. I· Some fickndfes arc fuch, as will be fo increafed with [far, tf)at thc:P.:~~jcqt that befor~ \fas in~ bo]e of a recovery, wil! be put almoft pafi hope. And fome tickncffcs arc much different, and ar(i not .like tQ be fo incrcafed by it. And fame are plH all hope al~eady. -2; Som~ art: -~0 .. pn:pated ~u d·yc, (that they Have the h.fs need to be acqu;tinted wirh their dang.cr : an.d fome are unconveued and in fo dangerous a cafe, that the abfolute ncct.ffiry of their fc;)U_ls may require it. When the }Out .is i~ (o fad a c~fe, and yet the body may be endangered by the fiar of the fentence Qf dea~h, ·it is the fafefi .courfe to tcll.them, that thOllgh God may rtcover tbem,yet ,I heir difeufe ii fo d:tngCrous ar calletb for.. their fpeedy .and fori0111 prep.1rati011 [vr death: which wilJ net ,he laft if God rcjfore them.: So that t~ey may have fo much hopes as to keep their fear from killing them, ~nd fo much acqu~intance with their danger, as may pm them upon their dury. Hut in caf: .there be . al~eady littl~ or no hope, or jn q(e the Dileaf,C will be but Jiltle increaled by the fear (which ~s thecale of the mort ), the d•nger lhould not ar a\!.be hid. : ~,· 9· Q!dt l{m J. lli'Jl!a)'ts bound toteNa wick.,!d m&;: of hi1 ji1J a11d '1Ji/try, wbm it m.lJ exafpcrate ;kir difiofi, ••doffwabii mind l , ., ;Aflfw. If it were a fickncfs that ,is void of danger in cafe his mind be quiet, and be lil(e to kill .hirp jf his mind be dilturbtd, then it were the moll pr-udent courfe to c1ll him fo f.u te Rcpenrance rand .f~ith,_ as .you can do it without any dangerops 4illurbancc of him: Brcaufe it is moll Charity to .Qis foul,_ to hdp him to a -kng,er time of Repentance, rather than to lay all the hopes of his falvati– on,' upon the prefcnt time. But this is not an ordinary cafe : Therefore ordin:1rily it is a duty to ac~ qua~nr tin: ficlt perfou that is yet io his fin and un-regenerate Hate, with' the truth of his danger, and .~~c, nef=tlliry 9f rcnov3tioq._: AlJs, it is a lamcntabl,t kind of friendfuip, to flJtt,er a poor foul into damnation, or to hide hiS dangu till he is'pall: recovery. When he is in a fiatc of unexpreffiblc mh '[ery, .and hath•but a few DJ}'CS or Weeks t.irrle kfr, to do all tha~ ever muU be ~done for his fal– vation, what horrid, cruelty is it then, to let him go to Hell fer fear of dilpleafing or difquict· ~ing/::? Objec!t. But I •m afraid I jhaV ;oft ·bim'into drfP;ir, if · I reV him ploi11ly tqot be i< in • ftate of damnation. . , ,Anfw. If you let him alone a little longer, he will be in lemc.dilt{i drfP;ir. There is no defpair re· .medilefs llut that in Hell. But now you ma~ help 10 lave him both from prrlent and cndle!s d<fpe– ration. He: mufine~ds- defpair of ever being faved wi"thout a Chril1, or wirhout the Regmcr:JtirJn of ·.th.e Holy Spirit, or wirhout true f,;itb, ~n~ rtpentunce~ and love to God, and h~/inejJ: Bur _need be de– fp.:zir of attaining all thefc, while Chnfi IS otT~.:red hnn fo freely, and a full remedy lS at hand? He m•ft know his fin and mifery, or elfe he is never like m fcapc it: But he muft alfo he ac– ,quainted with the true remedy; and that ·is yQur way to keep him from de[pair, :md not by fiattcring him into Hell. . : r :.~: . ~ 1 J, Que(}. But wbatjhould one doin .foJTnrt a time a/Ui witb dr.:zd bearttdfimurJ? Ala1, w/J;t bapt tUthere? lf it wtrt nothing bttl tbeir Igncra.;:ce, it cannot be cztrtd in a t1JOmcnt : And i4 tbctt tbtit mry ,b.,pe ill {o flJart "'Jp'.z~e,· to bring tbulf. to ~1towledge, a11d fJith, a11d rrptntancc, and a cba11grd bratt, to love God and holiltC{s ; and that when pai11 and wcak,nefJ .do di}:tblc tbcm? .. _ Anfw. The ca{e .indeed is very f•d : but-yet while there is life, there is lome hope: And whcle there is a1ry hope~ we l11ould do our belt, when it is for .the faving of a foul : And the difficulty Own\~ lm~ ihr us up tQ ufc our, utmoll: skiU and diligc_nce: But as it is the mifery of fuch to delay convcthon ullfo ·unfit a time · fo is it too fnquently the fin of Believers, that they delay their [crious eude;vour; to con~ .vert men, rii'rtuch a time as theplmofi delpair of the fucccls. -: ~ ~· 12·
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