Qualifications, wherewith the LORD bath endued you, may eafily account for my prefuming fo far and give me Affurance that the Prefent will be acceptable to your Ladyship, and shat you will readily pardon my Prefumption, in prefixing your honourable Name to it, Name to it which is all I have Accefs to do, in Teftimony of that profound Refpect your Ladyship may justly claim, and which I fhall always be ambitious to pay: Being in all Sincerity,

READER.

Fall Biography, the Lives of eminent Saints are, beyond all Controverfie, the moft edifying and useful, being in fome Measure a Tranfumpt of the Holiness of GOD, and of his Word. Their laudable and amiable Example carries in it fuch a fecret and powerful Efficacy to make Impreffions on Fellow-chriftians, yea on all generous Souls, with whom there is any Remains of Confcience, that it has oft provok'd them to Love and good Works, and by a pious Emulation to tread their Steps to glorifie GOD, and mend their Pace 3. 13

Heb. 10. 24. Matt. 5. 16. 1 Pet. 2. 12.

Without

Without the holy and exemplary Lives of the Votaries of Religion, the Gofpel of CHRIST ufually is fo far from gaining Ground, that it daily lofes the Room it has in the World; of which the prefent melancholly State of the reformed Churches is too plain a Document. I am perfwaded that next to the great outpouring of the Ifa. 32. 15. Spirit from on high, the rapid and admirable Succefs of the glorious Gofpel, was greatly owing to the holy Lives of its Profeffors, efpecially their fhining in the peculiar and diftinguishing Duties of Chrifti. anity, and their chearful and undaunted Boldness in fuffering for CHRIST. Therefore fince in our Day the Gofpel is fo vifibly deftitute of this great Advantage to commend the Chriftian Religion to the Confciences of all, both Friends and Foes; We hope the printing of the following Sheets, will not be found unfeasonable, when there is fo evident, and univerfal a Decay of the Life and Power of Religion with the truly Godly, and fuch a prodigious and formidable Growth of Hypocrifie, Formality, Lukewarmness and Security, &c. with many in the vifible Church, when the fcandalous and profane Lives of many profeft Chriftians, are giving fo deep and deadly a Wound to the Credit of Religion and the Gofpel; when not a few, efpecially of our Youth, and that not of the meaneft Quality, are poifoned, I fear beyond the Power of Antidote, with profane Romances, Stage-plays, and Hiftories of the filthy and impure Amours of the vileft Rakes, and moft profligate Debauchees, and with Atheistical and blafphemous Books againft all Religion; in a Time when the World is abufed with lying Stories of the Lives of Men, base Apoftates, that preached an other Gofpel, ceafed not to pervert the right Ways of the LORD, and that were cruel Wolves and Perfecutors; by which they are represented, and very artfully dreffed up in the Likeness of great Virtuofos, firft Rate Chriftians and Men of GOD indeed. Who knows, but this Book may be of fome Ule to rouze decayed Chriftians, waken fuch as have a Name to live, but are dead, give a Check to the vitious and loofe Lives of the immoral, expofe the difguifed Lives of Enemies, and convict Atheifts; and tho' it fhould be wholly fruitless that Way, yet it fhall be a ftanding Teftimony and Witness against the dangerous and growing Evils of this perilous

Time, They fhall know there has been a Prophet among

them.

The firft three Periods of his Life were all found after his Death in a Manufcript, written with his own Handas they are printed; but all we could have of the fourth Period of his Life, is only fome Gleanings from imperfect Short Hints of Things in his Diary, which he had never digefted nor enlarged, which is certainly a very confiderable Lofs, feing the Experiences of this fourth Period, might have been much more useful, being the whole Time of his Miniftry; but the wife LORD, the Mafter, called him off, and prevented it. After he was fixed in a Charge, he had much Work, his Parish being both fpacious and numerous; he was oft abroad preaching at Sacraments, allo about Business; and always when he preached, ifin Health, he wrote much, as is told afterwards; and he was fcarce three Years a Minifter, when his Health broke. These and other Difficulties had hindred his finishing those Me moirs, we judge, which we know he defigned; he told himfelf to fome Friends, if Health and Bufinefs would have allowed, he would have written as much on the fourth Period, as on all the other three.

In reading of his Exercife, the Terrour he was once under, when, as he words it, The Lord brought him to Sinai, it would be remembred, That tho' preparatory Lawworks with all the Adult that are called, be the fame as to Subftance, all muft be enlightned, convinced of their Sin and Mifery, be made truly fenfible of their loft Stare, be throughly humbled, made to fee their State defperate without a Saviour, and be renewed ere they will come to Jefus, fo there is a great Variety among the Lord's People as to the Time of their awakning, the Duration of it, the Means by which, &c. Measure of Terrour, or Down-cafting, and Diftinctness about their Exercife, and the like.

No ferious Soul has Reafon to be fhaken about their Intereft in Chrift Jefus, tho' they have not been so early awakned as fome, or had fo great a Degree of Terrour, and been fo long under it as others, or tho' they cannot give so diftinct Account of the Time when, the Means or Inftruments by which the Lord firft awakned them, as fome can do,by all which they have no fmall Advantage, It's to be re*greted

greted, that fome worthy Men have, by uncautious DifCourses on this Subject, ftumbled not a few ferious and exercifed Chriftians.

As to what we have of his dying Words annexed to the Memoirs of his Life, it's but a little, we affure you, of what he spoke the laft five Days before his Death; fome of the sweeteft and moft favoury Difcourfes he had, are wholly loft, being fo mangled by the Writer, that we were forced to drop them; for great Care was taken not to infert any Thing, but what he spoke. The Occafion of this was, the Writer was forced to ftand at a Diftance, and out of his Sight, because when he observed him writing, he was difpleafed, and would not allow it, likewife the Noife that fometimes was in the Room,with People's speaking to him, their coming in, or going out, and ordering Things about him, made the Writer oft lofe half a Sentence, neither was it poffible for those that revised his dying Words to help

this.

The Want of Connexion, there is oft betwixt Purposes difcourfed by him, was occafioned partly by the fhort Slumbers he fometimes fell in, his taking fome Refreshment, and other Interruptions, and partly by Reafon of different Dif Courses Perfons had to him.

We affure you, There are very few Difcourfes he had that are full and compleat, as he then spoke them.

Reader,

There are fome Things very Obvious, that add a peculiar and bright Luftre to the Teftimony this dying Saint, and faithful Minifter of Chrift has given to the good Ways of God; which fhould commend this his Swan-fong to all ift, They are the laft Words ofone that gives you a rational and diftinct Account of the Work of God on his own Soul fome Years ago, and who afterwards by a holy convincing Walk adorned the gospel of Christ, and glorified his Lord and Mafter, which was his greateft Ambition on Earth. He tri. ed the Reality and Sweetnefs of Religion fome Time, found it was a true report the Gospel made, and that the half was not told. His laft Words deferve the more Regard, fince ye may fee he was far from being bigotted unto a fond Con

The