and bowels with this forerunner of death. O my God, extend thy compaffions to me, and enable nie to bless thee, that it is the only hell I fhall have; and that all these momentary fufferings shall be fucceeded with an eternal weight of glory."

My dear friend, after pronouncing these words, fell into a violent fit of coughing, fo that I thought he would have died; for he lay fometime infenfible, with his eyes diftorted. While he was in this fituation, the young gentleman referred to in his prayer above inferted, came in very opportunely. Soon after recovering from his fit a little, Mr M (that was the gentleman's name) afked him if he fhould call a phyfician. But Mr Ts having answered, By no means; Mr Mfaid, I will step out for a medicine which I know is useful in fuch a cafe. He did fo, and gave him a little of it; which brought him entirely out of the fit, and affuaged the violence of the cough. He then faid, "Mr M, I am obliged to you for the feasonable relief administered to me, which the great Phyfician hath bleffed. O dear Sir, apply to him for the cure of all your fpiritual difeafes. No diftemper can baffle his fkill, no difeafe is too hard for him. His name is, I am the Lord that healeth thee. Say to him in faith, Thou art the Lord that healeth me. Sin is the disease of the foul, and grace its cure, Apply to him for it, and all thy diseases fhall be healed."

Having after this had feveral sharp returns of the cough, and it being near ten at night, Mr M- faid to my friend, "Dear Mr T—s, as I perceive you are growing worse, and probably may be carried off in one of these fits of coughing, I think it will be neceffary that fome other body befides Mr N-u wait upon you by night and day. Mr N-u cannot do it every night: therefore, Sir, if you please, I will come and

wait on you along with him continually till your change comes. We will both attend you by day, and wait on you alternately by night. I owe you this fervice, because you have been, I hope, a fpiritual father unto me, and the bleffed inftrument of converting me to the faith of Chrift.” Mr Ts replied, "My dear Sir, I cheerfully accept the offer of your fervice, and the Lord reward you for this labour of love to a poor dying mortal."

Mr M

went out to bring fome neceffaries; and foon returned, bringing with him a foporific draught, which he defired my friend to take, affuring him it would procure him a good night's reft. He did fo, and flept calmly till fix next morning. When he was afleep, I read my friend's prayer to Mr M, and fome of his private fpeeches to me; at which he expreffed great fatisfaction, faying, "I hope I have feen the evil of my ways, my loft eftate by nature, the fuitableness and all-fufficiency of Chrift as a Saviour, and my warrant to receive him as fuch; and that he hath taken hold of me, and called me by his grace; fo that I have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope fet before me." We then agreed to attend Mr Ts continually by day; Mr Mm to fit up with him from ten at night till four in the morning, and I then to relieve him; and that, if neceffary, we fhould take a fhort fleep in the day-time.

About fix my friend awaked, greatly refreshed with fleep; but foon fell into fits of coughing, In a lucid interval he faid, "- This is the day on which the Lord Jefus Chrift very early rofe from the dead, having triumphed over fin, Satan, hell, and the grave; a day of triumph to all the re deemed from among men, and which will be ob ferved as a day of facred reft by all who have ob

and I, if the Lord will be gracioufly pleased to grant a refpite from this diftreffing cough, will pray to the God of falvation." Accordingly we fung the following hymn.

Lord, we confess our num'rous faults,
How great our guilt has been?
Folifb and vain were all our thoughts,
And all our lives were fin.

But, O my foul, for ever praise,

For ever love his name,

Who turns thy feet from dang'rous ways
of folly, fin, and shame

Tis not by works of righteousness
Which our own hands have done;
But we are fav'd by fov'reign grace,
Abounding through his Son.

'Tis from the mercy of our God
That all our hopes begin;
'Tis by the water and the blood,
Our fouls are wash'd from fin.

'Tis through the purchase of his death
Who hung upon the tree,

The Spirit is fent down to breathe
On fuch dry bones as we.

Rais'd from the dead, we live anew ;

And justify'd by grace,

We ball appear in glory too,

"

And Jee our Father's face........

I then read the chapter directed to; and my friend faid the following prayer, which I took down in fhort-hand.

O glorious and eternal JEHOVAH, we de fire to glorify and adore thy exalted name; to draw near to thy Majefty with high and elevated

thoughts

thoughts of thy infinite perfections and excellencies, and low thoughts of our own meanness and unworthiness. We prefume to take thy facred name in our polluted lips, praying that thou mayft fend a live coal from thine altar, to touch cur lips, and our iniquity fhall be taken away. Let us approach thee under the covert of the Redeemer's blood, in which thou hast smelt a fweet favour, and the favour of which perfumeth the throne of thy glory, and excites the fongs of elect angels and glorified men. We defire, O Lord, to confefs our bainous fins and tranfgreffions, and to trace up all to our birth-fin, our original guilt and pollution derived to us from the first Adam, who became a spring of defilement and mifery to all his pofterity; and from which only we can be faved by the obedience and death of the Second Adam, who is the Lord. from heaven. We defire in particular to confess the errors of our youth and riper years, the Thameful indulgence we have given to the lufts of the flesh and of the mind, in an unrestrained courfe of ebriety, wantonnefs, and debauchery, by which we debased ourselves below the brute creation; our neglect and contempt of religion, and the glorious gofpel of the grace of God; our continued unbelief, in rejecting Chrift, and the great falvation; our profanation of thy holy name and day; and all thofe abominations in which we wallowed for a series of years, and which might have justly provoked thy offended and infulted Majefty, to cut us off in thy wrath, and fet us up as eternal monuments of thy incenfed juftice. We praife and adore thy infinite name for the covenant of grace made with the Second Adam from eternity; for the contrivance of that glorious tranfaction, the foundation of all our faith and hope; for the revelation of thy faving

T 2

purposes

purposes towards mankind finners; for the manifeftation of Chrift in the flesh, his tabernacling among men, his obedience and fatisfaction completed on the cross, his glorious refurrection from the grave, his triumphant afcenfion to fit on the throne of God, and his all-powerful interceffion. We magnify thee, O Lord, for the gofpel of thy grace, and all the glorious difplays of thy amazing wisdom, love, and grace, in the contrivance, application, and completion of falvation through Chrift. We defire to wonder and be astonished at the marvellous exhibitions of redeeming love and grace, and to cry out, Without controversy, great is the mystery of godlinefs: God was manifeft in the flesh, juftified in the Spirit, feen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. O Lord, acquaint us favingly with this mystery, which in other ages was not made known unto the fons of men, but is now revealed to us by the gofpel; in which the unfearchable riches of Chrift are expofed as the treafuré for enriching the impoverished heirs of hell. Counfel us to buy of thee gold tried in the fire, that we may be rich; white raiment, that we may be clothed, and that the fhame of our nakedness do not appear; and anoint our eyes with eye-falve, that we may fee. Lord, cleanfe us from all our iniquities, filthinefs, and impurity; fprinkle us with the water of the Spirit. Wafh our guilty and polluted fouls in the purifying blood of Jefus, which cleanfeth from all fin. Deliver us from the power of enmity against the free grace of God, and of unbelief in defpifing the gracious overtures of thy mercy to us. Reconcile our hearts to the obedience of Chrift, and powerfully perfuade us to embrace him for wifdom, righteousness, fandtification, and redemption. Give us to fee thee reconciled to us in the Beloved, and ftretching

forth