how he ought both patiently and thankfully to fubmit to God's hand, and carefully to prepare himself for whatsoever may be defigned for him; fo that he may truly glorify God, whether it be by life or by death; and may himself be happy in whetherfoever of them. But I wait, tho' with fome impatience, for Timotheus's company, whom I am obliged to take along with me. He is a very good man, and Anchithanes's hearty friend, and wishes him as well as any one, and, I dare fay, would rejoice in good earnest to do him any friendly office. For which reasons I have already fent for him, and wonder he ftays fo long. But hold, I fee him coming, and will go meet him.-Excufe me, good Timotheus, that I have taken the liberty to fend for you upon an unexpected occafion.

Timotheus. I rejoice to fee you, Theophilus, in good health; and moft heartily thank you for all the civilities and kindneffes I have received from you, ever fince I had the honour to be known to you, and am glad of any opportunity of waiting upon you. But may I afk, Sir, why you have fent for me at this time? Is there any thing I can be fo happy as to ferve you in ?

Theoph. Have you not heard of your friend Anchithanes's fudden illness?

Timoth. You furprise me to a great degree: Is my good friend, and old acquaintance, Anchithanes fick? Theoph. He is fick, very fick indeed; and, by his meffage to me, feems to apprehend himself to be near his end.

Timoth. I am mightily concern'd at it, and must own I conceive it to be the worft news I have heard of a long time. But, as old Eli said, upon Samuel's acquainting him with God's denunciations against himself and his houfe, fo fay I in this cafe, (s) It is the Lord: let him do what feemeth him good. As every man is intirely at God's difpofal, fo fhould we all be () 1 Sam. iii. 18.

ready

ready at all times to fubmit to whatsoever he fhall think fit in any cafe to lay upon us.

Theoph. We are all (t) in the Lord's band, as the clay in the band of the potter, to order us as he pleases. Let us not therefore be overmuch afflicted for what has befallen our neighbour, that we seem not to ftrive against that Divine Will, which we continually pray (u) may be done, by ourselves and all mankind, in earth as it is in beaven, and go counter to our bleffed Saviour's example, who prayed to his Father a little before his crucifixion, (w) O my Father, if it is poffible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And again, (x) If this cup may not pass from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.

Timoth. But pray tell me, how long has he been thus ill? I never heard a word of it before, and am heartily forry to hear it now.

Theoph. It is not yet two days fince he was firft feiz'd.

Timoth. It is much he fhould be fo quickly weakened to fuch a degree as you feem to apprehend.

Theoph. Not at all, confidering the mechanism of the human body, the variety of its parts, and the niceness of its contexture, which, like a clock or watch of divers motions, is easily put out of order by every accident.

Timoth. Will your occafions permit you, Theophilus, to give him a visit?

Theoph. It was for that purpose I fent to defire your company.

Timoth. I am ready to wait upon you whenever you please.

Theoph. Then, if you think fit, we will be going as faft as we can. You know how truly christian an act it is to vifit and comfort the fick and weak. The wife fon of Sirach invites to it, as not only a commendable, but a profitable and advantageous practice: (y) Fail not to be with them that weep, and mourn with

(1) Jer. xviii. 6. (x) Ibid. ver. 42, 44.

(x) Matth. vi. 10.

) Ecclus vii. 34.
Ꭰ .

(w) Ibid. xxvi. 39.

them

them that mourn. Be not flow to vifit the fick; for that fball make thee to be beloved. And our christianity teaches us, that it is one of those duties, which being performed out of obedience to our Lord's command, is fure to be rewarded at the last day, with no lefs inheritance than that of the kingdom of heaven; as whofoever pleases may fee, in that awakening account our Lord himself gives us, of the final judgment to be paffed upon all mankind. (x) Then shall the King fay to them on his right-hand, Come, ye bleffed of my Father, inberit the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. And the reafon of this his favourable fentence you have in the two next verses; (a) For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat ; I was thirfly, and ye gave me drink; and amongst other good deeds, I was fick, and ye vifited me. Not that this office was performed to our Lord himself in his own person; but that being done to his poor fick members, he is pleas'd to interpret it, as tho' it had been done to himself. For fo it follows, (b) Verily 1 fay unto you, inafmuch as ye have done it unto one of the leaft of thefe my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Chrift being our head graciously reckons all kindneffes done to any the meanest of his members, as done to himself.

Timoth. Yes, to his poor members, such as stand in need of our charity and relief, that we not barely vifit them, but make fome provifion for the fupply of their streights,

Theoph. But is this all that you take to be here intended? The foul, you know, is of infinitely more value than the body. And you may be fure therefore, that to comfort, inftruct, encourage, admonish, or any way affift a fick foul, tho' of a wealthy perfon, and who needs no alms from us, is at least as great a charity as can be done to the body.

Timoth. I am convinced.

Theoph. The apoftle St. Paul alfo invites to this fort of charity, that we not only (c) rejoice with them

(z) Matt. xxv. 34. (a) Ibid. ver. 35, 36. (6) Ibid. ver, 40. (c) Rom. xii. 15, 16.

that

that do rejoice; but weep also with them that weep, being of the fame mind one towards another, compaffionately defirous of each other's welfare, whether fpiritual, or temporal, as our own. Let us go then, and vific this fick man, and adminifter what confolation we can to him, that he may be prevailed with to bear this his fickness with the greater patience and fubmiffion to his heavenly Father's juft correction. For in truth this I take it to have been his end, in defiring me to fend and to intreat your company. And this therefore I did, that we might together try, if we can be any way ferviceable to him in his weak eftate.

Timoth. I were not only very unkind, both to him and you, but unworthy the name of a chriftian, or even of a man, if I could find in my heart to refuse accompanying you, when going upon fo charitable a defign.

Theoph. Let us haften then. (d) It is better, fays the preacher, to go to the house of mourning, than to the boufe of feasting; for that is the end of all men, and the living will lay it to heart. What better motive can there be to a true repentance for all our fins, and a ferious and affecting confideration of what is like to become of us in a future ftate, than to obferve a fick friend ftruggling with the pangs of death, and ready to expire at every gafp? It is not only a kindness to our friends, to vifit and attend them in these agonies, and afford them the best affiftance we are able in any respect, but may prove a greater to ourselves, by reminding us of our mortality, and the dreadful state of fuch as are forced to leave this world, before they have prepared themselves for a better. Let us therefore lofe no time. And God grant we may find him well in his understanding, that however he be otherwife affected, his head and intellectuals be not difturbed.

Timoth. And that his fickness be not fo violent, as to unqualify him for fuch difcourfe, as is proper far one in fo declining a condition.

The first VISIT.

The more remote preparation for Death.

Theoph. I

AM glad to find you alive, good Anchithanes. I made hafte to see you as foon as ever Timotheus came; but by your fervant's relation I was not without fome fufpicion of coming too late.

Timoth. Theophilus affrighted me with his account of the danger, wherein you was reprefented to be: but I am heartily glad to find it not fo bad as we imagin'd.

Anchithanes. My good friends, I unfeignedly thank you, both for your kind vifit to a poor fick man, and for your compaffionate concern for my welfare.

Theoph. We fhould be extremely to blame, if we fhould not be highly concern'd for the life of fo dear a friend, and fo fingularly useful upon all accounts: but pray, good Anchithanes, How do you find yourfelf?

Anchith. I was exceedingly ill, troubled with fainting fits, in which I thought I should have died away, before I could hope to fee you: but I thank God they are now over; and tho' I doubt I have got a fever, it is not yet so violent but that I am quite another creature than I was a few hours fince.

Timoth. God be praised for that!

Theoph. It is a great bleffing, that you have met with fuch an abatement of your diftemper: but it is a far greater, that you have not your main work now to do, but have been long expecting the time, when you must come to languifh upon a fick bed, and getting your foul into a readiness for it.

Anchith. If I had not, I must have been in a most difconfolate condition at this time. For to die, and enter upon an eternal ftate, is a ferious matter, and of the utmost importance that can be. And to prepare aright for it, is a work of time and pains, in

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