90 BAXTER'S DYING THOUGHTS. ours, but his; not our desires,but his will, must measureout its mer- cies. We are not so merciful as he is. It is notunmeet'for us to desire many things which God will not give, nor. seeth it meet to grant the particulars of such desires. Nothing ever lay so heavy on my heart as the sin and misery of mankind, and to think how much the world lieth in folly and wickedness ! And for what can I pray so heartily as for the world's recovery? And it is his will that I should show a holy and universal love by praying, "Let thy name be hallowed, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven : " and yet, alas! how unlike is earth to heaven, and what ignorance, sin; confusions, and cruelties, here reign and prosper! And unless there be a wonderful change to be expected, even as by a general miracle, how little hope appeareth that ever these prayers should be granted in the things ! It . mak- eth us better to desire that others may be better; but God is the free disposer of his own gifts; and it seemeth to, be'his will, that the permitted ignorance and confusionsof this world should help us the more to value and desire that world of light, love, and order, which he calleth us to prefer and hope for. And if I am any way useful to the world, it is undeservedmercy that hath made me so, for which I must be thankful; but how long I shall be so is not my business to determine, but my Lord's. My many sweet and beautiful flowers arise anti appear in their beauty and sweetness but for one summer's time, and theymurmur not that they flourish for so short a space. The beasts, andbirds, and fishes, which I feed on, do live till I will have them die ; and as God will be served and pleased by wonderful varietyat once of animals and vegetables; &c., so will he by many successive gene- rations. If one flower fall or die, it sufficeth that others shall, summer after summer, arise from the same root; and if my pears, apples, plums, &c., fall or serve me when they are ripe, it sufficeth that not they, but others, the next year shall do the same : God will . have other generations to succeed us. Let us thank bim that we have had our time : and could we overcome the grand (too little observed) crime of selfishness, and could love others as oúrselves, and God, as God, ,above all the world, it would comfort us at death, that 'others shall survive us, and the world shall continue, and God will be still God, and be glorified in his works : and love will say, I shall live in my successors, and I shall more than live in the lifeof the world, and yet most of all in the eternal life and glory of God. And -God, who made us not gods,but poor creatures, as it pleased him, doth know best our measures, and he will not try us with too long a life of temptations, lest we should grow too familiar where we should be strangers, and utterly strangers to our home. No
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