After Elijah's God. fin'd to Parties or Opinions. He was a Man of manifold and preffina . . and of anfwerable Patience and Subinifioxt under the. handof God ; áe ß he was feldom without 'pain;' ficknefs ( but riottly papa;) murmur; but us'd to fay, It it but fiefh. And when i have askt him, hew His ufival Anfwer was, Either Almofk yell: Or, Better tban I defer-tie to fo melt as I hope to be. Once, I rémember, when I was with him in the :_o:_t: -:; athis Requeft : he, being in the Extremity of Pahl ( and that fo c v ciite as ca appear in the fudden and great Changes of his Countenance ) ruis'd i.irifelf from his Conch whereon he had laid himfelf; and thus exprelt himfelf; Whatever the World thinks of me, I can truly fay, that I have Peeved God with uprig itn-fe ofhe o ; and that I never Spake any thing that I took not to be a ruth, and a; that tine my Duty. He was no ways clandeltiuely rigid, or cenforious as to others. ,Whe he told Men to their faces of their faults, he would hear what they had tofr3,a,, . then reprove them with as great pungency as Ise thought their f u;t def rv'd yet behind Mens backs he was always ready to believe theheft ; and whatever could think on that might extenuatetheir Crime if there was any likely hood ce truth therein, he would be fore to mention that : So great a Friend was'he to very Man's ufeful Reputation. As to himfelf, even to the loft, I never coup perceive his Peace and Heavenly,Hopes alfaulted or dilturbed. I have often hear,^. him greatly lament himfelf, in that he felt no greater Livelinefs in what appcar'ci fo great and clear to him, and fo very much defir'd by him. As to the influence thereof upon his Spirit, inorder to the ferfible refrefhments of it, he clearly lbw what ground he had to rejoyce in God ; he doubted not of his Right to Heaven He told me, He knew it Ihnuld bi wel( with him when he was gone. He won dred to hear others fpeak of their fo fenfible Paflionately thong Delires to Die; and of their tranfports of Spirit when fenfible of their approaching Death: when as he himfelf thought he knew as much as they ; and had as rational fatisfadion as they could have, that his Soul was fafe : andyet could never feel their Senfible Confolations. And when I asked him, Whether muéhof this was not to be re- folved into Bodily Conititution? He did indeed tell me , That he thought t might be fo. But I have oftenthought, that God wifely made him herein (as in many other things) conformable to his Great Mafter ÿefus Chrifl; whofe Joys we find Commonly the fruit ofdeep andclofe-thought. Chrift argu'd himfelf into his own Comforts, Which thing is evident from Scriptures not a fete; Take for a talle, Pf. xvi. 8- -i i. Heb, xii. 2. The teftimony of his Confcience was ever his rejoycing : like that in z Cor. i. sz. He ever kept that tender ; and,gave fuch diligence to run his race, fulfil his Miniftry, and fo to make his Calling and Eleltion firm and clear, as that I cannot but conclude an Entrancewas miniftred abundantly to his departed Spirit into the Everlafling Kingdomof (Elijah'sand) his God and Saviour; and that it will be more abundant to his raifed perfon when the Lord appears. The Heavenly State colt him fevere and daily thoughts, and Solemn Con-. temptations; for he fet force time apart every day for that weighty work. He knew that neitherGrace nor Duty could be duly aftuated without pertinent and ferious meditation. What can be done without thought ? And as he was a Scribe inftrtïtted to the Kingdomof Heaven, fo he both could and did dram forth out of his Treafsrea things new and old, to his own fatisfa{_tion and advantage, as well as to the benefit of others. Self-unconcerneduefs (be it is Study, Preaching, Prayer or Con- ference ) difpirits and dilates expreflions and performances, as to others or our own felves. To enquire Speculatively after God; to Speak to God oi- for him , Without ferious thinking how to do it well ; how little does it fignifie to Minifters-t How little he efteein'd the World; or Flefh or Men ( fave'as they are of, and under,and for God)is everyway too evident to need infilting on.He neither valued nor fear'd any man fo much as to be influenced into Sinful Diltances from, or Conn- Pliances with them, in wrong to Gad, and to Soul-Concerns. But I mutt not be too Copious here, left it be thought that my relations, or afleEtions to him have deceiv'dor brib'd my Judgment: After much Labour in his work, and troubles from Ìnformers, who caus'd him to be Convifteed, diftrain'd upon and imprifon'd, becaufe he durit not negle& what he thought God had bound him to: when Liberty was granted to Dilfenters; and he himfelf was fetcht from prifon; after his injurious Confinement thereunto for his book call'd His Paraphrafe on the New TeJlament,he fetled iu Cbarterhoufe-Yard, C ítí
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=