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<DATE>2014-09-29</DATE>
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<NAME>Simon Charles</NAME>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch Z140312.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<DIV1 TYPE="instructions">
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<HEAD>Short In&s;tructions for the SICK, E&s;pecially for the Contagion, or otherwi&s;e, are deprived of the Pre&s;ence of a Faithful PASTOR.</HEAD>
<BYLINE>By <HI>RICHARD BAXTER.</HI></BYLINE>
<P>_THo&s;e happy Per&s;ons who have made it the chief care and bu&s; ne&s;s of their lives, to be always ready for a dying hour, have lea&s;t need of my pre&s;ent coun&s;el: It is therefore tho&s;e unhappy Souls, who are yet unpre|pared, whom I &s;hall now In&s;truct. And, O that the Lord would ble&s;s the&s;e VVords; and <HI>per&s;wade</HI> them yet, ere Time be gone!</P>
<P>If &s;in had not bewitched men, and made them Mon&s;ters of &s;en&s;ele&s;ne&s;s and unbelief, it could not be, that an <HI>Endle&s;s Life,</HI> &s;o <HI>&s;ure,</HI> &s;o <HI>near,</HI> could be &s;o &s;otti&s;hly made light of, all their lives, as is by mo&s;t, till they per|ceive that Death is ready to &s;urprize them. But, poor &s;inner, if this have been thy ca&s;e, &s;uppo&s;ing yet that thou art unwilling to be damned, I ear|ne&s;tly intreat thee in the Name of Chri&s;t, for the &s;ake of thy Immortal &s;oul, that thou wilt pre&s;ently lay to heart the&s;e &s;hort In&s;tructions, before Time and Hope are gone for ever.</P>
<P N="1"><NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 6.5. &amp; 10.12. &amp; 11.1,13.</NOTE> I. At la&s;t bethink thee <HI>what thou art?</HI> and for <HI>what End</HI> and <HI>Work</HI> thou came&s;t into the VVorld? Thou art a Man of Rea&s;on, and not a Brute, and ha&s;t a Soul which was made to <HI>Know,</HI> and <HI>Love,</HI> and <HI>Serve</HI> thy Maker; and that not in the &s;econd place, with the leavings of the fle&s;h; but in the <HI>fir&s;t</HI> place, and with all thy Heart and Might. If this had been indeed thy Life, God would have been thy Portion, thy Father, and thy Defence, and thou might&s;t have liv'd and dy'd in peace and comfort, and then have liv'd with God for ever. And &s;hould not a Creature live to the Ends and U&s;es which it was made for? Mu&s;t God give thee all thy powers for Him &s;elf, and wilt thou turn them from him, to the &s;ervice of the fle&s;h, and that when thou had&s;t vowed the contrary in thy Bapti&s;m? How wilt thou an|&s;wer for &s;uch treacherous ungodline&s;s?</P>
<P N="2"><NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 32.29. Matth. 6.19.20,33. Matth. 25. Rom. 2. 2 Cor. 4.18. &amp; 5.7,18,19 Phil. 3.18,20. 2 The&s;. 1.9,10. 1 Pet. 4.18.</NOTE> II. It is time for thee now to <HI>have &s;erious thoughts of the Life which thou art going to:</HI> If thou could&s;t &s;leepily forget it all the way, it is time to awake when thou art almo&s;t there. When thy friends are burying that fle&s;h in the earth, which thou did&s;t more regard than God and thy Salva|tion, thy Soul mu&s;t appear in an endle&s;s world; and &s;ee tho&s;e things which God foretold thee of, and thou would&s;t not believe, or &s;et thy heart upon: As &s;oon as Death hath opened the curtains, O what a &s;ight mu&s;t thou pre|&s;ently behold! A world of Angels and of holy Souls adoring and prai&s;ing, and admiring that God, whom thou did&s;t refu&s;e to <HI>mind,</HI> and <HI>love,</HI> and <HI>&s;erve:</HI> A world of Devils and damned &s;ouls, in torment and de&s;pair, be|wailing their contempt of Chri&s;t and Grace, their neglect of God, and their Salvation; their &s;erving the fle&s;h, and loving the world, and wilfully lo&s;ing the time of Mercy, and all the means which God vouch&s;afed them. Believe it, <HI>&s;inner,</HI> there is an Endle&s;s Joy and Glory for the Saints, and an Endle&s;s Mi&s;ery for all the Ungodly; and one of the&s;e mu&s;t quickly be thy ca&s;e. Thy &s;tate is changeable while thou art in the fle&s;h; if thy &s;oul be mi|&s;erable, there is yet a Remedy; it's po&s;&s;ible Chri&s;t may renew and pardon it: But as &s;oon as thou goe&s;t hence, thou entere&s;t into a &s;tate of Joy or Torment which mu&s;t never change; no not when millions of years are pa&s;t. And do&s;t thou not think now in thy con&s;cience that &s;uch an End|le&s;s Mi&s;ery &s;hould have been prevented with greater care and diligence, then all the &s;ufferings of this life? And that the attaining of &s;uch an End|le&s;s Glory, had been worth thy greate&s;t care and labour? And that it is far better to <HI>&s;ee</HI> the Glory of God, and be filled with his Love, and joy|fully prai&s;e him with his Saints and Angels for evermore, and by a holy life to have prepared for this; than to plea&s;e the fle&s;h, and follow the world a little while, and be undone for ever! Ha&s;t thou got more by the world and &s;in than Heaven is worth? Thou art almo&s;t at the end of worldly plea&s;ures, and ha&s;t all that ever they will do for thee; but if God had had thy heart and &s;ervice, he would not thus have ca&s;t thee off; and his Rewards and Joys would have had no end. O how much happier are the ble&s;&s;ed Souls in Heaven than we?</P>
<P N="3">III. And &s;eeing you are &s;o near to the Judgment of God, where your Soul mu&s;t receive its final Sentence, it is high time now to <HI>juag your &s;elf,</HI> and know what e&s;tate your Soul is in; whether in a &s;tate of <HI>Ju&s;tification,</HI> or of <HI>Damnation.</HI> For this may be certainly known if you are willing. And fir&s;t you mu&s;t know <HI>who they be</HI> whom Chri&s;t will <HI>ju&s;tifie,</HI> and whom he will <HI>condemn:</HI> And this the <HI>Word of God</HI> will tell you; for he will Judge them by <HI>that Word.</HI> In a word [<Q REND="inline">All tho&s;e whom Chri&s;t will ju&s;tifie and &s;ave, are made new creatures by the renewing work of the Holy Gho&s;t: Their eyes are opened to &s;ee the vanity of this world, and the certainty and excellency of the Glory of Heaven; and to &s;ee the <HI>odiou&s;ne&s;s</HI> of <HI>&s;in,</HI> and the <HI>goodne&s;s</HI> of a <HI>holy life,</HI> and to believe that <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> is the <HI>only Sa|viour,</HI> to clean&s;e them from their &s;ins, and bring them to that Glory. And therefore they for&s;ake the &s;inful plea&s;ures of the fle&s;h, and &s;et their hearts on the everla&s;ting ble&s;&s;edne&s;s, and &s;eek it before all things; and lamenting and hating their former &s;ins, they give them&s;elves &s;incerely to their God and Father, their Saviour and their Sanctifier, to be taught and ruled, ju&s;tified, &s;anctified, and &s;aved by him; re&s;olving whatever it co&s;t the fle&s;h, to &s;tand to this choice and Covenant to the death.</Q>] <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 2 7,10. Prov. 11.7. Job 8.13.14.</NOTE> This is the ca&s;e of all that Chri&s;t will ju&s;tifie and &s;ave: The re&s;t, who never were thus renewed and &s;anctified, will be condemned, as &s;ure as the Go&s;pel is true. Therefore let it be &s;peedily your work, to try whether this be your ca&s;e or not. Have you been thus enlightned, convinced, and renewed, to believe in Chri&s;t, and the life to come, and to give up your &s;elf in a faith|ful Covenant to God your <HI>Father,</HI> your Saviour and your Sanctifier; to hate your &s;in, and to live and love a holy life, in mortifying the fle&s;h, and &s;eeking Heaven before the World? If this be not your ca&s;e, I &s;hould but flatter and deceive you to tell you of any hope of being &s;aved, till you are thus renewed and ju&s;tified. Never imagine a lye to quiet you, tell help is pa&s;t. No one that is unregenerate, or unholy, &s;hall ever dwell with God. Yet you may be &s;aved, if yet you will be truly converted and &s;anctified; but <HI>without this,</HI> a&s;&s;uredly there is no hope.</P>
<P N="4"><NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 13.3,5. Luke 15 Matth. 18.3.</NOTE> IV. Therefore I coun&s;el you in the Name of Chri&s;t,to <HI>look back upon your &s;inful life with &s;orrow;</HI> not only becau&s;e of the <HI>danger</HI> to <HI>your &s;elf,</HI> but al&s;o becau&s;e you have <HI>offended God!</HI> What think you <HI>now</HI> of a <HI>&s;inful</HI> and of a <HI>holy life?</HI> Had it not been better that you had valued Chri&s;t and Grace, and lived in the love of God, and in the joyful hopes of the life to come, and denied the &s;inful de&s;ires of the fle&s;h, and been ruled by the Law of God, and &s;pent your time in preparing for Eternity? Do you not hearti|ly wi&s;h that this had been your cour&s;e? Would you take this cour&s;e if it were to do again, and God recover you? Repent, repent from the bot|tom of your heart, of the time you have lo&s;t, the mercy you have abu&s;ed, the grace you have re&s;i&s;ted, of all your <HI>fle&s;hly, worldly</HI> de&s;ires, words and deeds; and that you gave not up your &s;oul and life to the love of God and Life eternal.</P>
<P N="5"><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 12.28. 2 Cor. 8.5. Acts 11 23.</NOTE> V. And now re&s;olvedly give up your &s;elf in a hearty Covenant to God: Though it be late, he will yet accept and pardon you, if you do it in &s;in|cerity. Take God for your God your portion and felicity, to live in his love and prai&s;e for ever; take Chri&s;t for your Saviour, to teach, and rule, and ju&s;tifie you, and bring you unto God; and the Holy Spirit for your Sanctifier, and certainly he will take you for his Child. But &s;ee that you be truly willing of his Grace, and re&s;olved never to for&s;ake him more. O happy Soul, if at la&s;t the Lord will make this change upon thee! And I'le tell you certainly how to know, whether this late Repentance will &s;erve for your Salvation, or not. <NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 78.34,35,36,37. Heb 8.10. &amp; 10.16. Jer. 32.40.</NOTE> If it be but <HI>Fear</HI> only which cau&s;eth your Repentance, and the <HI>Heart</HI> and <HI>Will</HI> be not renewed, but you would turn again to fle&s;hly, worldly, and ungodly life, if you be recovered; then it will never &s;ave your Soul: But if your <HI>Heart,</HI> your <HI>Will,</HI> your <HI>Love</HI> be changed, and this change would hold if God recovered you to health again, then doubt not of Pardon and Salvation.</P>
<P N="6"><NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 1.21,23. 2 Cor. 5.8. Rev. 14.13: Acts 7.59. John 17.24. &amp; 12.26. Rev. 21 &amp; 22.</NOTE> VI. And if God have thus changed your heart, and drawn it to him&s;elf, be thankful for &s;o great a mercy: O ble&s;s him for giving you a Redeemer and a Sanctifier, and the pardoning Covenant of Grace. And now be not afraid or loath to leave a &s;inful world, and come to God; pray harder for Grace and pardon then for life. Commit and tru&s;t your &s;ouls to Chri&s;t: He had never done &s;o much for &s;ouls, if he had not loved them, and been willing to receive them. How wonderfully came he down to man to bring up man to the &s;ight of God! He is gone before to prepare us a Man&s;ion in the City of God; and hath promi&s;ed to take us to him&s;elf, that we may dwell with him, and &s;ee his Glory! The world which you are going to, is unlike to this; there is no pride, or lu&s;t, or cruelty, oppre&s;&s;ion, deceit, or any &s;in: No wicked men to &s;corn or per&s;ecute you; no vanity to allure us; no Devil to tempt us; no corruption of our own to burden or endan|ger us; no fears, or cares, or griefs, or di&s;contents; no poverty, &s;ickne&s;s, pain, or death; no doubtings of the love of God, or our Salvation: But the &s;ight of God, and the feelings of his love, and the fervent flames of our love to him, will be the everla&s;ting plea&s;ure of the Saints. The&s;e will break forth in triumphant and harmonious thanks and prai&s;e in the pre|&s;ence of our glorified Redeemer, and in concord with all the heavenly Ho&s;ts, the Ble&s;&s;ed Angels, and the Spirits of the Ju&s;t: This is the end of Faith and Holine&s;s, Patience and Per&s;everance; when Hell is the end of unbelief, ungodline&s;s, &s;en&s;uality and hypocri&s;ie. How ju&s;tly are they con|demned, who &s;ell their part of endle&s;s Joys for a &s;hadow and dream or tran&s;itory plea&s;ures? And can delight more in the filth of &s;in, and in a fading vanity, than in the love of God, and the fore-thoughts of Glory? What Love can be too great? what De&s;ires too fervent? what Prayer and Labour can be too much? what Sufferings too dear for &s;uch a Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s?</P>
<P N="7"><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mal. 2.7. James 5.14. P&s;al. 73.26.</NOTE> VII. La&s;tly, Becau&s;e there are many ca&s;es of the Sick which require the pre&s;ence of a <HI>judicious Divine,</HI> if it be po&s;&s;ible get the help of &s;uch; if not, remember that God is ju&s;t in denying men that mercy in their di|&s;tre&s;s, which in time of their health and pro&s;perity they rejected with &s;corn and contempt, and cleave to him whom they may enjoy for euer.</P>
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<P>This was Written in the time of the great Plague, 1665. for the Sick, in the City of <HI>London,</HI> but becau&s;e it is the VVork of all our Lives, to prepare for a Safe and Comfortable Death, it is Reprinted for the U&s;e of all. 1673.</P>
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