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<NAME>John Pas</NAME>
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<P>A LETTER FROM S^r <HI>MATTHEW HALE,</HI> K^t Sometime <HI>Lord Chief Ju&s;tice</HI> of ENGLAND<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter"> To One of his SONS, <HI>After his Recovery from the</HI> SMALL-POX.</P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed by <HI>J. Playford,</HI> for <HI>W. Shrowsbery,</HI> at the Sign of the <HI>Bible</HI> in <HI>Duke-lane:</HI> 1684.</P>
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<DIV1 TYPE="letter">
<PB N="1" REF="2">
<HEAD>A LETTER FROM Sir <HI>MATTHEW HALE,</HI> To One of his SONS.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE><HI>Son</HI>&mdash;</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>ALthough by rea&s;on of the Conta|giou&s;ne&s;s of your Di&s;ea&s;e, and the many dependents I have upon me, I thought it not convenient to come unto you during your &s;ickne&s;s; yet I have not been wanting in my earne&s;t Prayers to Almighty God for you, nor in u&s;ing the be&s;t means I could for your reco|very.</P>
<PB N="2" REF="3">
<P>It hath plea&s;ed God to hear my Prayers for you, and above means and hopes now to re&s;tore you to a Competent degree of health, for which I return unto him my humble and hearty thanks, and now you are almo&s;t ready to come abroad again, therefore I have thought fit to write this little Book to you, for the&s;e rea&s;ons.</P>
<P N="1">1. Becau&s;e it is not yet &s;ea&s;onable for you to come to me, in re&s;pect of the&s;e &s;ame rea&s;ons above mentioned, which hitherto have re&s;trained my coming to you.</P>
<P N="2">2. Becau&s;e at your coming abroad, you will be &s;ubject to Temptations, by young and incon&s;iderate Company, which in&s;tead of &s;erious Thankfulne&s;s to God for his mercy to you, might perchance per&s;uade you to a vain, and light jollity: And I thought fit to &s;end you the&s;e Lines to prevent &s;uch in|con&s;iderate impre&s;&s;ions, and to meet you ju&s;t at your coming abroad, to &s;ea&s;on you with more wi&s;e and &s;erious principles.</P>
<P N="3">3. Becau&s;e you are even now come out of a great and &s;ore Vi&s;itation, and therefore, in all probability, in the fitte&s;t temper to receive the impre&s;&s;ions of a &s;erious Epi&s;tle from your Father.</P>
<P>And I have cho&s;en to put it into this little Volume, becau&s;e it is &s;omewhat too long
<PB N="3" REF="3">for a Letter; and may be better pre&s;erved for your future u&s;e and memory.</P>
<P>God Almighty hath brought you to the very Gates of Death, and &s;hewed you the Terrour, and Danger of it; and after that he had &s;hewn you this Spectacle of your own Mortality, he hath marvellou&s;ly re&s;cued and delivered you from that danger, and given you life, even from the dead, &s;o that you are as a man new Born into the World, or returned to Life again, which now you &s;eem as it were to begin: You have pa&s;&s;ed through tho&s;e two great Di&s;pen&s;ations of the Divine Providence, tho&s;e two great Experiments, that God is plea&s;ed &s;ome|times to u&s;e towards the Children of men, namely, Correction and Deliverance, his Rod and his Staff: And therefore in all rea|&s;onable conjecture, this is the mo&s;t &s;ea&s;ona|ble time to give you a Lecture upon both, and tho&s;e admonitions which may be, render the one, and the other profitable unto you: And this I &s;hall endeavour to do in the&s;e following Lines.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, you &s;hall not need to fear that I intend to upbraid you with the errors of your Youth, or to expo&s;tulate with you touching them: For I do a&s;&s;ure you, I do from my heart forgive you all your follies, and mi&s;carriages: And I do a&s;&s;ure my &s;elf,
<PB N="4" REF="4">that you have repented of them, and re|&s;olved again&s;t them for the time to come, and that thereupon God-almighty hath al&s;o fully forgiven what is pa&s;t: And this is a great a&s;&s;urance thereof to me, in that he hath &s;o wonderfully re&s;tored you, and given you as it were a new Life, wherein you may obey and &s;erve him better than ever you yet did: And therefore if in this Letter, there be any touches concerning former vanities, a&s;&s;ure your &s;elf, they are not angry repetitions, but only nece&s;&s;ary Cautions for your future ordering of your Life.</P>
<P>The bu&s;ine&s;s of the&s;e papers, is principally, to commend unto you, two general Remem|brances, and certain Re&s;ults and Collections, that ari&s;e from them, they are all &s;ea&s;ona|ble for your pre&s;ent Condition, and will be of &s;ingular u&s;e and benefit to you, in the whole en&s;uing Cour&s;e of your Life.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, I would have you as long as you live, remember your late Sickne&s;s in all its Cir|cum&s;tances, and the&s;e plain and profitable inferences, and advices, that ari&s;e from it.</P>
<P>Secondly, I would have you remember as long as you live, your great deliverance, and the &s;everal Circum&s;tances of it, and tho&s;e nece&s;&s;ary duties that are incumbent upon you, in relation thereunto.</P>
<PB N="5" REF="4">
<P>It is evident to daily experience, that while Afflictions are upon us, and while deliverances are fre&s;h, they commonly have &s;ome good effect upon us: But as the Iron is no &s;ooner out of the fire, but it quickly returns to its old coldne&s;s, and hardne&s;s; &s;o when the Affliction or Deliverance is pa&s;t, we u&s;ually forget them, count them com|mon things, attribute them to Meanes and &s;econd Cau&s;es: And &s;o the good that Man|kind &s;hould gather from them vani&s;h, and men grow quickly to be but what they were before they came; their &s;ick-bed promi&s;es are forgot, when the &s;ickne&s;s is over.</P>
<P>And therefore I &s;hall give you an account of your &s;ickne&s;s, and of your recovery: And let them never be forgotten by you, as often as tho&s;e Spots and Marks in your Face are reflected to your view from the Gla&s;s, as often as this paper comes in your fight, nay as often as you open your Eyes from &s;leep, which were once clo&s;ed, and likely never to open again; &s;o often and more often remember your &s;ickne&s;s, and your recovery, and the admonitions that this paper lends you from the Con&s;ideration of both.</P>
<PB N="6" REF="5">
<P>Fir&s;t, therefore touching your late &s;ick|ne&s;s, I would have you remember the&s;e particulars: 1. The Di&s;ea&s;e it &s;elf, in its own nature, is now become ordinarily very Mortal, e&s;pecially to tho&s;e of your Age: Look upon even the la&s;t years General Bill of Mortality, you will find near Two Thou|&s;and dead of that Di&s;ea&s;e the la&s;t Year, and had not God been very merciful to you, you might have been one of that number, with as great likelyhood as any of them that Dyed of that Di&s;ea&s;e: 2. It was a Contagious Di&s;ea&s;e, that &s;ecluded the ac|ce&s;s of your neare&s;t Relations: 3 . Your &s;ick|ne&s;s &s;urpri&s;ed you upon a &s;uddain, when you &s;eemed to be in your full &s;trength: 4. Your &s;ickne&s;s rendred you Noy&s;om to your &s;elf, and all that were about you, and a &s;pectacle full of deformity, by the exce&s;s of your Di&s;ea&s;e beyond mo&s;t that are &s;ick there|of: 5. It was a fierce and violent &s;ickne&s;s, it did not only take away the common &s;upplies of nature, as dige&s;tion, &s;leep, &s;trength, but it took away your memory, your under&s;tanding, and the very &s;ence of your own Condition, or of what might be con|ducible to your good: All that you could do was only to make your Condition more de&s;perate, in Ca&s;e they that were about you, had not prevented it, and taken more
<PB N="7" REF="5">Care for you; than you did or could for your &s;elf: 6. Your &s;ickne&s;s was de&s;perate, in &s;o much, that your Symptoms, and the violence of your di&s;temper, were without Example; and you were in the very next degree to ab&s;olute Rottenne&s;s, Putrefaction, and Death it &s;elf.</P>
<P>Look upon the foregoing De&s;cription, and remember that &s;uch was your Condition, you were as &s;ad a Picture of Mortality, and Corruption, as any thing but Death it &s;elf could make: Remember it: And Remember al&s;o, the&s;e en&s;uing In&s;tructions, that may make that Remembrance profitable and u&s;e|ful to you.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Remember that <HI>Affliction cometh not forth of the du&s;t, nor doth trouble &s;pring out of the ground,</HI> Job 5.6. But this terrible vi&s;i|tation, was &s;ent to you from the wi&s;e overru|ling Providence of God: It is he that bringeth down to the Grave, and bringeth up again. It is true, that this Di&s;ea&s;e may &s;eem common, but you may and mu&s;t know, that there was more than the common hand of God in &s;ending it upon you, in &s;uch a manner, and &s;uch a mea|&s;ure, and at &s;uch a &s;ea&s;on, when you were grown up to a Competent Age, and degree of under&s;tanding, to make a due u&s;e of it, that you might &s;ee his ju&s;tice in Afflicting you, and his goodne&s;s in delivering you from &s;uch a danger.</P>
<PB N="8" REF="6">
<P>Secondly, Remember that Almighty God is of mo&s;t infinite Wi&s;dom, Ju&s;tice and Mercy, he hath excellent ends in all his di&s;|pen&s;ations of his providences: He never &s;ends an Affliction, but it brings a me&s;&s;age with it, his Rod has a voice; a voice Com|manding us, to &s;earch and try our ways, and to examin our &s;elves whether there hath not been &s;ome great &s;in again&s;t him, or neglect of duty to him; a voice Command|ing us to repent of what is a mi&s;s, to humble our &s;elves under his mighty hand, to turn to him that &s;triketh us, to &s;eek to him by Prayer for deliverance, to depend upon him by Faith, in his mercy and power; to amend what is a mi&s;s, to be more watchful, circum&s;pect, and obedient to him, in the future cour&s;e of our lives, to fear to offend him: And if a man hear this voice, God hath his end of mercy and goodne&s;s, and man hath the fruit, benefit, and advantage of his Affliction, and commonly a Comfor|table i&s;&s;ue of it: Read often and attentively the 33th. Chapter of <HI>Job,</HI> from the beginning to the end.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Remember how uncertain, and frail a Creature man is, even in his &s;eeming &s;tronge&s;t Age, and Con&s;titution of health; even then a pe&s;tilential Air, &s;ome evil humour in his blood, &s;ome ob&s;truction it may
<PB N="9" REF="6">be of a little vein or artery, a little meat ill-dige&s;ted, and a thou&s;and &s;mall occurren|ces may upon a &s;uddain, without any Con|&s;iderable warning, plunge a man into a de&s;pe|rate and mortal &s;ickne&s;s, and bring a man to the grave. Remember this terrible &s;ickne&s;s &s;eized upon you &s;uddenly, pulled down your &s;trength quickly, and brought you to the very brink of the Grave: And though God hath recovered you, you know not how &s;oon you may be brought into the like Condi|tion.</P>
<P>Fourthly, Remember therefore, that you make and keep your peace with God, and walk in his fear in the days of health; e&s;pecially after &s;o great a deliverance, and that for very many rea&s;ons: 1. You know not whether you may not be overtaken with &s;udden Death, and then it will be impo&s;&s;i|ble for you to begin that work: 2. If you have &s;ickne&s;s to give you warning of the approach of Death, yet you know not whether that &s;ickne&s;s may not &s;uddenly take away your &s;en&s;es, memory, or under&s;tand|ing, whereby you may be di&s;abled to make your peace with God, or to exerci&s;e any &s;erious thoughts concerning it: 3. But if that &s;ickne&s;s give you fair warning, and take not away your under&s;tanding, yet your own experience cannot chu&s;e but let you know,
<PB N="10" REF="7">that pain, and weakne&s;s, and di&s;traction of mind, and impatience, and unquietne&s;s, are the common attendants of a &s;ick bed, and render that &s;ea&s;on at lea&s;t very difficult, then to begin that greate&s;t and &s;olemne&s;s, and mo&s;t important bu&s;ine&s;s of a mans Life. 4. But if your &s;ickne&s;s be not &s;o &s;harp, but that it leaves you patience, and attention of mind for that great bu&s;ine&s;s, how do you know whether your heart &s;hall be inclined to it? Repentance and Conver&s;ion to God is his gift, though it mu&s;t be our endeavour: And though the merciful God, never refu&s;eth a repenting, returning offender; yet how can a man that all the time of his health hath neglected Almighty God, refu&s;ed his invitations, and &s;erved his lu&s;ts and his &s;in, expect rea&s;onably, that God in the time of &s;ickne&s;s, when the man can &s;erve his &s;ins no longer, will give him the grace of re|pentance?</P>
<P>What ever you do therefore, be &s;ure you make your peace with God, and keep it in the days of your health, e&s;pecially after &s;o great a deliverance from &s;o de&s;perate a &s;ick|ne&s;s.</P>
<P>Fifthly, Remember that your Condition is never &s;o low, but that God hath power to deliver you, and therefore tru&s;t in him: But remember withall, that your Condition
<PB N="11" REF="7">is never &s;o &s;afe and &s;ecure, but you are within the reach of his power to bring you down: You are now by the mercy of God recovered from a terrible &s;ickne&s;s, think not with your &s;elf that your turn is now &s;erved, and that you &s;hall have no more need of him, and therefore that you may live as you lift, and never regard your duty to him; deceive not your &s;elf herein, remember that this &s;ick|ne&s;s, within two or three days brought you upon your knees, even from a &s;eeming &s;tate of health: The Ca&s;e is the &s;ame &s;till, nay much wor&s;e, if this Affliction make you not better; Almighty God called you to love, and &s;erve, and obey him, by the &s;till voice of his word, by the per&s;wa&s;ion of your Friends, by the advi&s;es and reproofs of your Father; and when the&s;e were not &s;o effectual, (as I know you now wi&s;h they had been,) He &s;ent a me&s;&s;enger that &s;pake lowder, that would be heard, even this ter|rible &s;ickne&s;s; and mo&s;t certainly, if you have heard the voice of this Rod, (as I am hopeful you have) and thereupon entirely turn to your duty to God in all &s;incerity and obedience, it is the happie&s;t providence that ever befell you, and you will upon &s;ound Conviction, conclude with the Pro|phet, <HI>It was good for me that I was Afflicted:</HI> But on the other &s;ide, if notwith&s;tanding this
<PB N="12" REF="8">voice of the Rod, you &s;hall after your re|covery turn again to folly, and vanity, and exce&s;s, and harden your &s;elf again&s;t this me&s;&s;enger; know for certain you are within the reach of the Divine Ju&s;tice and Power: <HI>And if you walk contrary to him, he will walk contrary to you, and puni&s;h you yet &s;even times for your &s;ins,</HI> Levit. 26.24. I therefore give you that Coun&s;el, that our Lord gave to him that he had healed, <HI>Behold thou art minde whole, go thy way and &s;in no more, le&s;t a wor&s;e thing befall thee.</HI> There is no conte&s;ting with Al|mighty God, he is ready and ea&s;ie to be re|conciled to the wor&s;t of men, upon humi|liation and true repentance, but he is not to be Ma&s;tered or Conquered by ob&s;tinacy and oppo&s;ition: <HI>Who hath hardened him&s;elf again&s;t him and pro&s;pered?</HI> Job 9.4.</P>
<P>Sixthly, I would have you Remember, that &s;ickne&s;s as well as death doth undeceive Man|kind, and &s;hews them where their true Wi&s;dom lies: When a young man, e&s;peci|ally, is in the full career of his vanity and plea&s;ures, he thinks that Religion, and the fear of God, and walking according to his word, and the &s;erious practice of duties of Religion towards God, prayer unto him, making our peace with him, are pitiful, low, fooli&s;h, and incon&s;iderable matters, and that tho&s;e that practi&s;e them, are a &s;ort
<PB N="13" REF="8">of brain-&s;ick, melancholy, unintelligent per|&s;ons, that want wit or breeding, and un|der&s;tand not Them&s;elves or the World; that they are mere empty fancies and ima|ginations, whim&s;ies, puritani&s;m, and I know not what el&s;e: But on the other &s;ide, they think they are the brave men that live &s;plendidly, deny them&s;elves no Plea&s;ure, can Drink, and Roar, and Whore, and De|bauch, and wear the newe&s;t Fa&s;hions; it may be, this Gallant or Wi&s;e man comes to be taken with a fit of &s;ickne&s;s, that tells him he mu&s;t dye, Death is at the door, his Gla&s;s is almo&s;t out, and but a few &s;ands left in it: And then the man becomes quite of another judgment, he cries out of his former fooli&s;hne&s;s, he finds his plea&s;ures and intem|perance and exce&s;s, are not only perfect follies, but madne&s;s, vexation, torment; and Religion and Prayer to God, and De|votion and Peace with God, they are now in reque&s;t; and now nothing but declamations again&s;t tho&s;e Cour&s;es, which in his health he valued as the only Wi&s;dom; and nothing but promi&s;es of amendment; and reformation of Life, and Devotion to God; &s;o &s;ickne&s;s hath undeceived the man, and given him a true and rectified judgment concerning Wi&s;dom, and Folly, quite contrary to what he had before. Therefore I would have you recollect your
<PB N="14" REF="9">&s;elf, (and if the violence of your Di&s;ea&s;e left you at any time the u&s;e of your rea&s;on) bethink your &s;elf what opinion you then had of intemperance, wa&s;ting of time, unlaw|ful lu&s;t, or any of tho&s;e &s;ins that formerly plea&s;ed you in your health, whether they did not appear to you in your &s;ickne&s;s, very vain, fooli&s;h, vexing things, &s;uch as you wi&s;hed never to have been committed; and on the other &s;ide, what opinion you had in your &s;ickne&s;s touching Piety towards God, hearing of his word, calling upon his name, redeeming of time, mode&s;ty, temperance: Whether tho&s;e actions of your life pa&s;t, that favoured of the&s;e, were not Comfortable, and Contenting to you in your &s;ickne&s;s; whether your purpo&s;es, and promi&s;es, and re&s;olutions of your &s;ick-bed, were not full of &s;uch thoughts as the&s;e: If it plea&s;e God to recover me, I will never be &s;uch a fool as I have been, I will never drink to exce&s;s, mi&s;pend my time, I will never keep &s;uch evil Company as I have done, I will be more devout towards God, more obedient to his word, more ob&s;ervant of good Coun&s;el, and the like: And if you find it to be &s;o, I mu&s;t de&s;ire you to remember that affliction, is the School of Wi&s;dom, it rectifies mens judgments; and I mu&s;t again de&s;ire you, to keep your judgment right &s;till, and &s;et not
<PB N="15" REF="9">the recovery of your health become the lo&s;s of your wits; but in your health re|tain that Wi&s;dom your &s;ickne&s;s taught you, and practice what you then promi&s;ed: <HI>Re|member he is the wi&s;e&s;t man that provides for his latter end:</HI> Deut. 32.29.</P>
<P>Seventhly, Remember by your former &s;ickne&s;s, how pitiful an incon&s;iderable thing the Body of man is; how &s;oon is the &s;trength or it turned to faintne&s;s, and weakne&s;s, the beauty of it to ugline&s;s and deformity, the con&s;i&s;tency of it to putrefaction and rotten|ne&s;s; and then remember how fooli&s;h a thing it is, to be proud of &s;uch a Carca&s;s, to &s;pend all, or the greate&s;t part of our time in triming and adorning it, in &s;tudying new Fa&s;hions, and new Po&s;tures, and new De|vices to &s;et it out: In &s;pending our time and provi&s;ions in pampering it, in plea&s;ing the Appetite; and yet this is the chief bu&s;i|ne&s;s of mo&s;t young men of this Age: Learn therefore Humility and Lowline&s;s, learn to furni&s;h thy Noble and Immortal part, thy Soul, with Religion, Grace, Knowledge, Virtue, Goodne&s;s, for that will retain it to eternity: How mi&s;erable is that mans Condition, that whiles &s;ickne&s;s hath made his Body a deformed, weak, loath&s;om thing, &s;in hath made his Soul as ugly, and deformed; The Grave will heal or cover the deformity
<PB N="16" REF="10">of the former, but the Soul will carry its Ulcers and Deformity (without Repentance) into the next World: Learn and remember therefore, to have thy greate&s;t Care for thy Noble&s;t part, furni&s;h it with Piety, Grace, Knowledge, the Fear and Love of God, Faith in Chri&s;t: And as for thy Body, u&s;e it Decently, Soberly and Comely, that it may be a fit In&s;trument for thy Soul to u&s;e in this Life, but be not proud of it, nor make it thy chiefe&s;t care and bu&s;ine&s;s to a|dorn, much le&s;s defile it.</P>
<P>Eighthly, Remember to avoid intempe|rance and &s;inful Lu&s;ts: It is true &s;ickne&s;s and di&s;ea&s;es, and finally death, are by the Laws and Con&s;titutions of our nature inci|dent to all Mankind: But intemperance, exce&s;s of Eating and Drinking, Drunken|ne&s;s, Whoreing, Uncleanne&s;s and di&s;order bring more di&s;ea&s;es, e&s;pecially upon young men, and de&s;troy more young, &s;trong, healthy men, than the Plague, or other na|tural or accidental di&s;tempers: They weaken the Brain, Corrupt the Blood, decay and di&s;temper the Spirit, di&s;order and putrefie the humours, and make the body a very bag full of putrefaction: Some di&s;ea&s;es are as it were &s;pecifical, and appropriate to the&s;e vices, other di&s;ea&s;es are commonly occa&s;ioned by them, by their inflammation and putrifacti|on
<PB N="17" REF="10">of the Blood and humours: And all Di&s;ea|&s;es, even tho&s;e that are Epidemical, Natural or Ca&s;ual, yet are rendred by tho&s;e vices far more &s;harp, la&s;ting, malignant and incurable, by that &s;tock of Corrupted matter, they lodge in the body to feed tho&s;e Di&s;ea&s;es, and that impotency that the&s;e vices bring upon Nature to re&s;i&s;t them: Therefore if you ever expect to have as well a &s;ound body, as a &s;ound mind, carefully avoid intemperance and de|bauchery: The mo&s;t temperate and &s;ober per&s;ons are &s;ubject to &s;ickne&s;s, weakne&s;s and Di&s;ea&s;es, but the intemperate can never be long without them.</P>
<P>And thus I have done with the pro&s;pect of your Di&s;ea&s;e, and at lea&s;t many of the&s;e profitable u&s;es you may gather from the re|membrance of it.</P>
<P N="2">II. I &s;hall now in the &s;econd place, put you in Remembrance of your Deliverance, touch|ing which, you mu&s;t remember: 1. That it was a great, eminent, and extraordinary Deliverance, you need no other evidence of it, than by looking back upon the greatne&s;s and &s;everity of your Di&s;ea&s;e before-men|tioned: 2. It was a deliverance by the im|mediate power and mercy of that God, that &s;ent you the Vi&s;itation.</P>
<P><HI>&V;na eademque manus vulnus opemque tulit.</HI> If you had been delivered by the immediate
<PB N="18" REF="11">efficacy of means, yet you are blind if you &s;ee not that the efficacy of means depends upon the providence of God, it is he that provides it, and that makes means effectual. But in this deliverance God hath plea&s;ed to hedge up (as it were) your way from attri|buting it to means, and hath given you an indication, that it was done by his own im|mediate power, and that he delivered you above, and beyond means: It is true, you had a very able and careful Phy&s;itian, and very great attendance and care was u&s;ed a|bout you: But when your Phy&s;itian and all that were about you, began to de&s;pair of your recovery, when means proved ineffectual, when the &s;trength of Nature was exhau&s;ted and baffled by your Di&s;ea&s;e, God Almighty upon a &s;uddain, and beyond expectation, re|lieved you, and as it were by his own hand brought you back from the very thre&s;hold of the Grave: And this he did, that you and all about you, and all your Relations might take notice of it, that it was he that did it.</P>
<P>And thus Almighty God hath exerci&s;ed towards you, two great Experiments, the fir&s;t of his &s;everity, the &s;econd of his mercy: And as your Sickne&s;s and Rod had its voice, (a lowd and &s;harp voice) &s;o your recovery and deliverance hath its voice al&s;o, a &s;weet, gentle, and (I hope) effectual voice; and I will as &s;hort|ly as I can tell you what it is.</P>
<PB N="19" REF="11">
<P>Fir&s;t, Remember this benefit, remember it was reached out unto you, from the mere power, goodne&s;s, and mercy of God: Re|member evermore in your Heart and Soul, to be thankful to him for it: Remember as long as you live upon all occa&s;ions to ac|knowledge it; daily to return upon your knees humble thanks for it, to him that had regard to you, and remembred you in your low E&s;tate, to him that forgave your Iniquities, and healed your Di&s;ea&s;e, to him that did this for you when all means failed, that did it for you, when you had not the under&s;tanding to call upon him for it; to him that did it for you, that de&s;erved it not, for you that had provoked him, and neg|lected him too much in the time of your health. This God it was, that thus deli|vered you; Read often the 103 <HI>P&s;alm</HI> at|tentively, and apply it to your own Con|dition, it will do you good.</P>
<P N="2">2. Remember to acknowledge this good|ne&s;s of God with all humility; your delive|rance was not the purcha&s;e of your own power, nor of your own de&s;ert, it was an Act of the free and unde&s;erved goodne&s;s of God; what Almighty God &s;aid by <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> unto the <HI>I&s;raelites,</HI> Deut. 9.4.6. I &s;hall &s;ay to you with &s;ome variation; under&s;tand therefore that the Lord thy God hath not
<PB N="20" REF="12">given thee this deliverance for thy Righte|ou&s;ne&s;s: No it is the mere effect of his own goodne&s;s, and to give you opportunity to prai&s;e him, and &s;erve him, better than ever you did before.</P>
<P N="3">3. Remember that although great delive|rances, require your great acknowledgments, yet there is &s;omewhat more required, namely, a real practical glorifying of God, by ordering your Conver&s;ation aright, by &s;erving him, plea&s;ing him, obeying him, living to his honour: This Almighty God expects as well as prai&s;es, and acknowledg|ments: As the end of God in afflictions is to make men better, &s;o the end of God in deliverances is to make men better, and if we are not the better men by both di&s;pen|&s;ations, we do as much as in us lies di&s;ap|point Almighty God in his de&s;ign, and di&s;|appoint our &s;elves of the benefit and advan|tage intended in both, and ea&s;ily to be gained by both. This therefore is the voice of this deliverance, it calls &s;weetly, and gently in|deed, but earne&s;tly and effectually for a|mendment of life: And that upon two great and moving arguments: 1. Your recovery and great deliverance calls for this from you, upon the accompt of common ingenuity and good nature, which obligeth a man to be ob&s;ervant and dutiful to his benefactor:
<PB N="21" REF="12">God Almighty is the greate&s;t Benefactor, and hath manife&s;ted him&s;elf &s;uch to you, upon a vi&s;ible and eminent account; this is engage|ment enough upon the account of common humanity, to be dutiful and obedient to him: When therefore you are at any time by the Temptation of your own Corruption, or by the &s;ollicitation of evil per&s;ons, &s;ollicited to evil Actions: Con&s;ider thus with your &s;elf, Is this a becoming return to that God, that hath thus wonderfully delivered me? Is this the requital that I &s;hall make to him for his mercy? Shall I plea&s;e a vain Lu&s;t, or a vain Companion, and di&s;plea&s;e the great God of Heaven and Earth, that hath thus delivered me and done me more good, than all the World could ever do me, or than I can ever recompence? <HI>Do ye thus requite the Lord, O ye fooli&s;h People, and unwi&s;e? Is not he thy Father that hath bought thee? Hath he not made thee, and e&s;tabli&s;hed thee?</HI> Deut. 32.6.</P>
<P N="2">2. This mercy calls for your obedience to God, in an eminent manner upon the account of common prudence and di&s;cretion; the benefit of your obedience to him will be your own, your own happine&s;s in this Life, and in that to come: There is no greater moral &s;ecurity again&s;t future dangers and troubles, than obedience, and reformation of Life upon great deliverances received, nor is
<PB N="22" REF="13">there any greater invitation of new troubles and mi&s;chiefs, than ingratitude, di&s;obedi|ence, and great &s;ins after great mercies and deliverances: There is a kind of certain and infallible connexion between great &s;ins, after great mercies received, and great Judg|ments to follow, <HI>Ingentia beneficia, ingentia peccata, ingentia &s;upplicia.</HI> Again, as I have formerly told you, you do not know how &s;oon you may &s;tand in need of the &s;ame mercy, and goodne&s;s of God, which you have for|merly found: You are never out of the reach of his power, and the nece&s;&s;ity of his help; what ever you do, therefore never di&s;oblige him, by whom you Live, and who&s;e ex|traordinary mercy you may &s;tand in need of, you know not how &s;oon: There is nothing in the World doth more provoke God, than neglect, forgetfulne&s;s, or willful di&s;obedience after &s;ignal mercies: The&s;e provoke the mer|ciful God to a &s;everity of the highe&s;t kind, becau&s;e the &s;weete&s;t and mo&s;t obliging call of mercy and deliverance is neglected: Read the fir&s;t Chapter of the <HI>Proverbs</HI> at|tentively.</P>
<P>And the merciful God hath given us a plain Rule and Method, how he may be &s;erved, obeyed, and plea&s;ed, he hath given us a plain di&s;covery of his will in the Scrip|tures of both Te&s;taments: Read that often,
<PB N="23" REF="13">you have it by you, and you need not go far to find what is your Maker's Will, and what that obedience is, that he requires as the return of this, and all other his mercies: Yet I think it not ami&s;s, to mind you of &s;ome particulars, that may be u&s;eful for you upon this occa&s;ion, and to direct you how par|ticularly to improve it, and &s;o order your future Life in &s;ome mea&s;ure an&s;werable to it.</P>
<P N="1">1. I would have you make it your fir&s;t bu&s;ine&s;s after your perfect Recovery, to Con|&s;ider the cour&s;e of your Life pa&s;t, &s;ince you came to the Age of di&s;cretion, and &s;ee what hath been ami&s;s in it; whether you have not neglected Religion, and the Duties of it too much, as Prayer, hearing the Word Preached, ob&s;erving the Lords day, receiv|ing the Sacrament; whether you have not been guilty of intemperance, exce&s;s of drinking, wantonne&s;s, uncleanne&s;s, idlene&s;s, mi&s;pending your time, and tho&s;e &s;upplies which have been allowed you for your main|tenance; whether you have not too much delighted in vain and &s;inful, and di&s;orderly Company, vanity and expence in Apparel: And if any &s;uch, or the like faults have been, repent of them, be &s;orry for them, re&s;olve again&s;t them; and let the future cour&s;e of your Life be amended in relation thereunto;
<PB N="24" REF="14">I have before told you, that your heavenly Father hath forgiven you, and I have for|given you, neither do I mention the&s;e things to upbraid you for them, but that you upon the con&s;ideration of what hath been ami&s;s, may be thereby the better enabled to rectify and &s;et in order your future Life: If this be done and practi&s;ed, I will reckon your late &s;ickne&s;s and di&s;temper one of the greate&s;t ble&s;&s;ings that ever befel you.</P>
<P N="2">2. I would have you always keep a habit of the fear of God upon your heart; Con|&s;ider his pre&s;ence, order your Life as in his pre&s;ence, Con&s;ider that he always &s;ees you, beholds, and takes notice of you, and e&s;pe|cially whether you carry your &s;elf an&s;wer|able to this great deliverance, it is one of tho&s;e Talents for which he will expect an Account from you.</P>
<P N="3">3. I would have you frequently and thankfully con&s;ider of the great Love of God in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, whom he hath given to be the In&s;tructor, and Governour, and Sacrifice for the &s;ins of you and all Mankind, through whom upon Repentance you have a&s;&s;urance of the remi&s;&s;ion of your &s;ins and eternal Life; and frequently con&s;ider how great an ingagement this is upon you, and all Mankind, to live according to &s;uch a hope and &s;uch a mercy.</P>
<PB N="25" REF="14">
<P N="4">4. I would have you every morning read a portion of the Holy Scriptures, 'till you have read the Bible from the beginning to the end: Ob&s;erve it well, read it reverently and attentively, &s;et your heart upon it, and lay it up in your memory, and make it the direction of your life; it will make you a wi&s;e and a good man: I have been ac|quainted &s;omewhat with Men and Books, and have had long experience in Learning, and in the World: There is no Book like the Bible for excellent Learning, Wi&s;dom, and U&s;e, and it is want of under&s;tanding in them, that think or &s;peak otherwi&s;e.</P>
<P N="5">5. Every morning and every evening, upon your knees with all reverence and at|tention of mind, return hearty thanks to God for his mercy to you, and particularly for this deliverance, de&s;ire his Grace to enable you to walk in &s;ome mea&s;ure an&s;wer|able to it, beg his Providence to protect you, his Grace to direct you, to keep you from evil Actions, and evil Per&s;ons, and evil occurrences, beg his pardon for your &s;in, and the continuance of his favour, always conclu|ding with the Lords Prayer.</P>
<P N="6">6. Ob&s;erve con&s;cionably the Lords day to keep it Holy, avoid idle Company, idle Di&s;cour&s;e, Recreations, and &s;ecular imploy|ments upon that day; re&s;ort twice that day
<PB N="26" REF="15">to the publick Prayers and Sermon, come early to it, be attentive at it, keep your Eyes and Mind from roveing after vain thoughts or objects; and &s;pend the re&s;t of that day, that is free from nece&s;&s;ary occa|&s;ions, in Reading the Scriptures, or &s;ome good Books of Divinity.</P>
<P N="7">7. Once ever Term at lea&s;t come prepa|redly, and reverently to the Holy Com|munion, receive it with great reverence, and thankfulne&s;s, and due Con&s;ideration of the end of its in&s;titution: Renew your Co|venant with Almighty God that you made in Bapti&s;m, and to live Soberly, Righteou&s;ly, and Godly before him, and beg his Grace and Strength to perform it.</P>
<P>And as tho&s;e directions before, do more &s;pecially relate to Almighty God, and your deportment immediately towards him; &s;o the&s;e that follow, more e&s;pecially relate to your &s;elf and others, and your moral Con|ver&s;ation: Therefore,</P>
<P N="8">8. Be very moderate in Eating and Drink|ing, Drunkenne&s;s is the great vice of the time, and by Drunkenne&s;s I do mean not only gro&s;s Drunkenne&s;s, but al&s;o Tipling, Drinking exce&s;&s;ively, and immoderately, or more than is convenient or nece&s;&s;ary; avoid tho&s;e Companies that are given to it, come not into tho&s;e places that are devoted
<PB N="27" REF="15">to that bea&s;tly Vice, namely, Taverns and Alehou&s;es, avoid and refu&s;e tho&s;e devices that are u&s;ed to occa&s;ion it, as Drinking and Pledging of Healths: Be re&s;olute again&s;t it, and when your re&s;olution is once known, you will never be &s;ollicited to it: The <HI>Re|chabites</HI> were Commanded by their Father not to drink Wine, and they obeyed it, and had a ble&s;&s;ing for it; my Command to you is not &s;o &s;trict, I allow you the moderate u&s;e of Wine and &s;trong Drink at your meals, I only forbid you the exce&s;s, or unnece&s;&s;ary u&s;e of it, and tho&s;e Places and Companies, and Artifices that are Temptations to it.</P>
<P N="9">9. Avoid Wanton and La&s;civious, Speeches and Company: Read <HI>Proverbs</HI> 2, 5, 6, 7.9. A Whore hunts for the precious Life of a man, and that vice brings a ruine with it to the Body, Soul, and E&s;tate: If you cannot Conveniently contain your &s;elf in a &s;ingle Life, and be of Competent health, Marry, but with the Advi&s;e and Coun&s;el of your Father, while he lives.</P>
<P N="10">10. Be frugal of your time (it is one of the be&s;t Jewels we have) and to that end avoid Idlene&s;s, it con&s;umes your time, and lays you open to wor&s;e inconveniences; let your Recreations be healthy, and Creditable, and Moderate, without too much expence of time, or money: Go not to Stage-plays, they
<PB N="28" REF="16">are a mo&s;t profu&s;e wa&s;ting of time; value time by that e&s;timate we would have of it, when we want it, what would not a &s;ick|man give for tho&s;e portions of time of health, that he had formerly improvidently wa&s;ted?</P>
<P N="11">11. Bee diligent in your Study and Cal|ling; it is an Act of duty to Almighty God that requires it, and it will be your wi&s;dom and benefit; it will be a good expence of time, a prevention from a Thou&s;and incon|veniences and temptations, that otherwi&s;e will befall a man; it will furni&s;h you with knowledge and under&s;tanding, give you the advantage and means of a comfortable and plentiful &s;ub&s;i&s;tence, and make you a &s;upport, comfort and benefit to your Friends and Country.</P>
<P N="12">12. Be frugal in your expences, live within the Compa&s;s of that Exhibition, that Gods Providence and your Father's abili|ties &s;hall &s;upply you withall; it is enough to maintain an hone&s;t provident man, and ten times more will not be enough for a pro|fu&s;e mind: A frugal man will live Com|fortably and Plentifully upon a little; and a profu&s;e man will live beggerly, nece&s;&s;itou&s;ly and in continual want, whatever his &s;upplies be.</P>
<PB N="29" REF="16">
<P N="13">13. In all your expences con&s;ider before hand: Can I not be well enough without this that I am about to buy? Is there an ab&s;olute nece&s;&s;ity of it? Can I not forbear 'till I am in a better Condition to compa&s;s it? If I buy or borrow can I pay? And when? And am I &s;ure? will this expence hold out? How &s;hall I bring about the next Quarter, or the next year? If young men would but have the patience to con&s;ider, and ask them&s;elves Que&s;tions of the like nature, it would make them Con&s;iderate in their Expences and provident for the future; and the&s;e Con&s;ide|rations will in a &s;pecial manner concern you, in re&s;pect of your Fathers great Expences for you, which though I have forgiven, and forgotten, I would have you remember with Gratitude and Caution.</P>
<P N="14">14. The vanity of Young-men in loving fine Cloaths, and new Fa&s;hions, and valuing them&s;elves by them, is one of the mo&s;t Childi&s;h pieces of folly that can be, and the occa&s;ion of great profu&s;ene&s;s and undo|ing of Young-men: Avoid curio&s;ity and too much expen&s;ivene&s;s in your Apparel: Let your Apparel be comely, plain, decent, cleanly not curious or co&s;tly; it is the &s;ign of a weak Head-piece, to be &s;ick for every new Fa&s;hion, or to think him&s;elf the better in it, or the wor&s;e without it.</P>
<PB N="30" REF="17">
<P N="15">15. Be careful what Company you con|&s;ort with, and much more careful what per&s;ons you grow intimate with; chu&s;e &s;ober, wi&s;e, learned, hone&s;t, Religious Com|pany, you will gain Learning and Wi&s;dom, and improve your &s;elf in Virtue and Good|ne&s;s, by conver&s;ing with them: But avoid debauched, fooli&s;h, intemperate, prodigal, athei&s;tical, prophane Company, as you would avoid a Plague; they will Corrupt and un|do you, they are a &s;ort of the mu&s;t pitiful fools in the World, and familiar acquaintance and conver&s;ation with them, will endanger to make you like them.</P>
<P N="16">16. Weigh and con&s;ider your words be|fore you &s;peak them, and do not talk at random or at a venture; let your words be few, and to the purpo&s;e, be more ready to hear others than to &s;peak your &s;elf; accu&s;tom your &s;elf to &s;peak lei&s;urely, and deliberately, it will be a means to make you &s;peak warily and con&s;iderately.</P>
<P N="17">17. Be very careful to &s;peak truth, and beware of lying; as lying is di&s;plea&s;ing to God, &s;o it is offen&s;ive to man, and always at the latter end returns to the reproach or di&s;advantage of him that u&s;eth it; it is an evidence of a weak and unmanly mind. Be careful that you believe not ha&s;tily &s;trange news, and &s;trange &s;tories, and be much more
<PB N="31" REF="17">careful that you do not report them, though at the &s;econd hand, for if it prove an un|truth, (as commonly &s;trange &s;tories prove &s;o) it brings an imputation of levity upon him that reports it, and po&s;&s;ibly &s;ome di&s;|advantage to others.</P>
<P N="18">18. Take heed what you promi&s;e, &s;ee that it be ju&s;t, and hone&s;t, and lawful; and what is in your power, hone&s;tly and cer|tainly to perform: And when you have &s;o promi&s;ed, be true to your word. It is for the mo&s;t part the fa&s;hion of incon&s;ide|rate and Young-men, (e&s;pecially that run in debt) they will with great a&s;&s;everations, promi&s;e preci&s;e payment, at this or that day; when either they certainly know they cannot perform, or at lea&s;t have no pro|bable a&s;&s;urance that they can do it; and when their turn is &s;erved, they are as back|ward in performance, as they were before liberal in their promi&s;es. Breach of promi|&s;es and lying are much of a nature, and commonly go together, and are argu|ments of an impotent and unmanly mind.</P>
<P N="19">19. Beware of Gaming, it is the &s;ud|denne&s;t Con&s;umption of an E&s;tate that can be, and that vice &s;eldom goes alone; com|monly debauchery of all kinds accompa|nies it: Be&s;ides it makes a man of a wild,
<PB N="32" REF="18">va&s;t and un&s;ettled mind; and &s;uch men are impatient of an hone&s;t Calling, or of moderate or hone&s;t gain.</P>
<P N="20">20. Run not into debt either for Wares &s;old, or Money borrowed; be content to want things that are not of ab&s;olute nece&s;&s;ity, rather than to run upon the &s;core; &s;uch a man pays at the latter end a third part more than the Principal comes to, and is in perpetual &s;ervitude to his Creditors, lives uncomfortably, is nece&s;&s;itated to in|crea&s;e his debts, to &s;top his Creditors mouths, and many times falls into de&s;pe|rate Cour&s;es.</P>
<P N="21">21. Be re&s;pectfull to all, familiar and intimate with few, be Grateful to your Benefactors, e&s;pecially to tho&s;e, who under God, were in&s;trumental for your good, in your late &s;ickne&s;s, and return your thanks to them; to your Father that &s;pared no co&s;t for your Recovery, to your Doctor that was exceedingly diligent about you, to tho&s;e that attended you in your &s;ickne&s;s, to tho&s;e that together with your Father often prayed to God for your Recovery, and for a ble&s;&s;ing upon this Affliction, who&s;e names you &s;hall in due time par|ticularly know. But above all, to Almighty God, who not only provided and ble&s;|&s;ed the means, but &s;aved, and delivered
<PB N="33" REF="18">you above means, and when means fai|led.</P>
<P N="22">22. La&s;tly, I &s;hall conclude with one advice more, without the ob&s;ervance where|of my labour in writing this long Epi&s;tle will be probably fruitle&s;s: Be not wi&s;e in your own conceit, this is the unhappy error, and many times the ruine of Young-men e&s;pecially: They are u&s;ually ra&s;h, giddy, and incon&s;iderate, and yet extreamly confident of that which they have lea&s;t rea|&s;on to tru&s;t, namely their own under&s;tand|ing, which renders them mo&s;t re&s;erved from them that are willing and be&s;t able to advi&s;e them, impatient of reprof, love to be flattered, and &s;o become uncapable of good and wi&s;e Councel, 'till their follies have reduced them to extream &s;traits and inconveniences; &s;u&s;pect therefore your own judgment: Advi&s;e often with your Father, e&s;pecially in all things of moment; be glad of his Councel, and be Contented and willing to follow it, and to guide your Life according to it; at lea&s;t 'till ripene&s;s of Age, Ob&s;ervation, and Experience, have enabled you better to advi&s;e your &s;elf: This is an ea&s;ie, and ready, and cheap way of attaining Wi&s;dom, and avoiding of infinite inconveniences.</P>
<PB N="34" REF="19">
<P>And thus I have in this long Epi&s;tle, given you the means how you may improve both your &s;ickne&s;s, and recovery, to the Glory of God, and your own benefit.</P>
<P>I &s;hall therefore Conclude with two Con|&s;iderations, that may the more ingage you to this u&s;e of both the&s;e di&s;pen&s;ations.</P>
<P N="1">1. The danger is great, if Afflictions make not a man more humble and dutiful, and the danger is yet greater, if great de|liverances and mercies do not make a man more thankful and obedient to God; be|cau&s;e it is the mo&s;t obliging method that the Gracious God can u&s;e towards the Chil|dren of men, for that end, in this Life: And the neglect of that invitation, adds Ingratitude and Contempt to the neglect of it.</P>
<P N="2">2. The benefit that you will receive by making a good u&s;e of the&s;e two di&s;pen&s;a|tions, in improving your dutifulne&s;s and obedience to God, will be &s;ingular and excellent: 1. It will make you a wi&s;e man, by making you a Good, and a Religious man: Believe it from your Father, who will not deceive you, nay, believe it from a greater than your Father, the very Spirit
<PB N="35" REF="19">of truth, who cannot deceive you; the true fear of God, is the only true Wi&s;dom: Read <HI>Deut. 4.6. Job 28.28, P&s;al, 111.10, Prov. 1.7. Prov 9.10. Eccle&s;. 12.13,</HI> and very many more declarations there are of this great truth: 2. It will make you a happy man, it will give you the Favour and Love of God, which is better than Life it &s;elf: You &s;hall have his Mercy to pardon you, his Providence to protect you, his Wi&s;dom to direct you, his Goodne&s;s to ble&s;s you, and to forgive, and forget what|&s;oever hath heretofore been done ami&s;s by you: This will make all Conditions Com|fortable to you, whether Life or Death, Sickne&s;s or Health: By this means you may be a Comfort to your Father, a &s;upport to your Brothers and Si&s;ters, an In&s;trument of good to your Country, and attain an Hone&s;t, Credible, and Competent Sub|&s;i&s;tence in this World, and an everla&s;t|ing inheritance of Glory and Immorta|lity in the World to come. Thus I have given you a large Letter of &s;ound and good Coun&s;el: Set your heart to it, and ob&s;erve and remember it: We &s;ee how un&s;table our Lives are, you nor I know not how &s;oon, either or both of us may leave this World: It may be, this may be
<PB N="36" REF="20">the la&s;t paper of Advice that your Father may give you: But however it &s;hall plea&s;e God to deal with you or me, touching our continuance in this World, yet let me leave this with you, in the clo&s;e of this Letter: If I &s;hall find that the&s;e directions are dutifully ob&s;erved, I &s;hall be ready from time to time, freely to advi&s;e and di|rect you; and as I have pa&s;&s;ed by your for|mer Extravagancies, &s;o I &s;hall thereby have great a&s;&s;urance, that God hath ble&s;&s;ed this Vi&s;itation to you. But on the other &s;ide, if I &s;hall find that you neglect my Coun|&s;els, that you make light of them, that you &s;till pur&s;ue tho&s;e Cour&s;es that will certainly be bitterne&s;s in the end, I mu&s;t then tell you, I &s;hall pray for you, and be &s;orry for you with my heart; but I &s;hall not ea&s;ily be per&s;waded to give any more Advices or Coun&s;els, where I find them de&s;pi&s;ed or neglected. In this paper there are many things omitted, which might have been in&s;erted; but the con|&s;tant Reading of the Holy Scriptures will &s;upply unto you that defect: I have cho|&s;en only in this paper to mention &s;uch things which are &s;ea&s;onable for you upon this occa&s;ion. God Almighty hath not been wanting to you in Admonition, Cor|rection,
<PB N="37" REF="20">Mercy, and Deliverance; neither hath your Father been wanting to you in Education, Coun&s;el, Care, and Expence: I pray God Almighty ble&s;s all unto you. This is the Prayer of,</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Your Loving Father, <HI>MATTHEW HALE.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
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