222 LIFE OF RICIIARD $AXTER: prayer. He said, ' God may justly condemn me for the best duty 1 ever did ; and all my hopes.are from the free mercy of God in Christ,' which he often prayed. for." . " His resignedsubmission to the will of God in his sharp sick- ness was eminent. When extremity of pain constrained him ear- nestly to pray to God for his release by death, he would check himself; ' It is not fit for me to prescribewhen thouwilt, what thou wilt, how thou wilt.' "Being in great anguish, he said, 'Oh, how unsearchable are his ways, and his paths past finding out; the reaches of his provi- dence we cannot fathom!' And to his friends, ' Do not think the worse :of religion for what you see me suffer.' " Being often asked .by his friends, how it was with his inward man, he replied, ' I bless God I have a well-grounded assurance of my eternal happiness, and great peade,and comfort within.' But it was his trouble he could not triumphantly express it, by reason of his extreme pains. He said, 'Fleshmust perish, andwe must feel the perishing of it ; and that though his judgment submitted, yet sense would still make him groan.'. "Being asked by a person of quality, whether he had not great joy from his believing apprehensions of the invisible state, he re- plied, ' What else, think you, Christianity serves for?' He said, the considerationof the Deity in his glory and greatness, was too high for our thoughts; but 'the consideration of the Son of God in our nature, and of the saints in heaven whom we knew and loved, did much sweeten and familiarize heaven to him. The description of heaven, in lieb. xii. 22, was most,comfortable to him ; ' that he was goingto the innumerable company of angels, and to thegeneral assembly and church of the first-born,, whose names are written in heaven ; and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits ofjust men Made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, which speaketh better things than the blood of Abel.' That scripture, he said, ' deserved a thousand thousand thoughts." He said, ' Oh, how comfortable is that promise ; Eye hath not seen nor ear heard, nor bath it entered into the heart of man to copceive, the things God bath laid u,p for those who love him !' "At another time, he said, that he found great comfort and sweetness in repeating the Lord's prayer, and was sorry somegood people were prejudiced against the use of it, for there were all necessary petitions for soul and body contained in it. "At other times, he gave exoellent counsel to young ministers that visited him ; and earnestly prayed to God to bless their labors, and make them very successful in converting many souls to.Christ ; and expressed great joy in the hopes that God would do a great .
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