little Effect upon their Souls. Minifters have a great Charge committed to them, and a great Work to go through, many Trials and Temptations in their Work, they had need be daily the Subject of your Prayers and Pity. Your ftrangeness to the Work, may caufe their Work to be much a Stranger to your Souls. To be a Minifter faith Luther, is nothing elfe but to derive the Worlds Wrath and Fury upon himself. The Dirt of Reproach, faith one, lies no where fo thick as on Ministers Coats. How many would count themselves Happy in their Ruin, that bring the Tidings of Peace and Salvation to their Souls! A miferable Happiness that rejoyceth in the Deftruction of them that bring Salvation to them: As the People would have their Minifters good Nurfes to their Souls, and good Examples to their Flock, as they would not have them pervert them by their Error in Doctrine, nor be Temptations to them by their Falls, they should Pray hard for them, that they may neither miscarry in Life nor Doctrine, that God's Urim and Thummim may be with them. I hope, Beloved in the Lord, you will not shut me out in your Prayers, as you would have the Name of Chrift Honoured by me, your Souls well fed with wholfome Spiritual Food; as you would not have my Enemies have the defire of their Hearts that wait for my Halting. Alas! I am a poor frail Creature that am encompaffed about, it may be with as many Temptations, if not more than many others are, and I fear have lefs Strength to go through them. Pray for me, that while I Preach to others, I may not be a Caft-a-way myself. It is dreadful to drop into Hell from under the Pulpit, but more dreadful to, drop out of it into the Bottomless Pit. It is fad

for

for Ministers to be without the Grace of God, and truc Knowledge of Jefus Chrift, they prefs others upon pain of Damnation, not to neglect: Like one that thould fpend time and strength to draw Water for others, and perish with Thirst himself: Or as one that directs many the right Way, and yet doth lofe his own way, As you would have me a Faithful Labourer in the Harveft, to bring full Sheaves to your Souls, Pray the Lord of the Harveft to give me Skill and Strength to bear the Burden and Heat of the Day. As you would have the Word which I Preach drop upon your Souls as the Rain, and Distil as the Dew and small Rain upon the Herb, and as the Showers upon the Grafs, beg of God to pour a double Portion of his Spirit on me. As you would have my Preaching powerful, my Life teaching, my Sermons Heaven-born, my Lamp burning, my Heart engaged, my Talent improved, my self to spend and be fpent for your Souls good, pray forget me not at the Throne of Grace,

I fhall now take my Leave of you, and Subfcribe with my Hand the Reality of my Heart, your Loving Paftor and faithful Servant for the Lord's Sake,

སྐྱ

TO THE

READER.

Chriftian Reader,

T

HE fubfequent Tract being fent down to me in the Country, I did, as my other occafions would admit, (for I have not had time for a strict Perufal) turforily look it over, and finding to my great fatisfaction fuch a sweet breathing in every part of it, I do joyfully recommend it to thy ferious View, as a Jewel not common, or eafy (among the Multitude of Books this Age abounds with) to be? found: And that thou mayeft know the Cask that hath fent forth fuch precious Wine, I will give thee a brief Account of the Author; tho indeed ex pede Herculum, his own Work portrays him, and delineates the Frame of his Spirit far beyond what my feeble Pen can do. But being well known to me (perhaps better than any befides) I think it my Duty to wait upon him to the Prefs in this his firft Effay, with this fuft and Impartial Character of him-He was an Holy, Serious, good Man, abounding with the Gifts and Graces of the Spirit; and every way fitted for that Great Work he was called to. Prayer, Meditation, and the Sanctified use of Affiction, (Luther', Three Ingredients to make a Gofpel-Minister) few had a greater share of. He was of an Excellent Spirit, of great Faithfulness and Courage, a perfect Hero in the Minifterial Work ; none of thofe Rattle-Snakes that Hifs and Sputter in Warm Sun Shiny Weather, but durft not peep out of

1

their Holes in a Winter Seafon. This worthy Champion, (for which bis Praife is, and will be in the Gates of Sion) bore a Glorious Teftimony in the late horrid Perfecution; he stood Manfully to his Arms, when the Bulls of Bafhan encompaffed him about, he never quitted the Field, nor flinch'd from his Pofts, notwithstanding the Eminent Danger himself and Family were daily Expofed to, but as one unconcern'd in any Terrene Events, he went on in his way, in bis Work, and verily the Lord was with him, he Crowned his Labours with extraordinary Succefs, and (as a Token of his fpecial Favour) gave into his Bofom a most fweet People to be a Nurfing-Father to, whofe Unanimity among themselves, and Fervency of Love to their endeared Paftor, whatever others may, I am fure I cannot match in the Sphere of my Acquaintance. But to pass from the Workman to the Work---- His Book will exactly fhew him, fuch an one as I have hinted. Read it but feriously over, and thou wilt be under no Temptation to think me a Flatterer, but think me as much too low, as the Queen of Sheba did the Relators of Solomon's Court. Thou wilt meet with no uncouth Phrafes of wanton Rhetorick. But here, Oh! Here thou wilt find the refined Language of Canaan, the Dialect of the New Jerufalem, and fuch a melodious Confort of Divine Mufick, as (if the Lord fet in with it) will warm thy Heart, refresh thy Spirit, ravish thy Soul, as the Spouse was ravished with the Rays af Chrift's Glory. I am,

Christian Reader.

T

HE Author of thefe enfuing Sheets defired my Perufal thereof, that afterwards I would give my Judgment of the fame to the World, the former of which I easily granted, and have Sheet by Sheet, as they were done, perufed the fame, and fuppofe that thou hast them intire without Typographical Errors (fo far as we obferv'd they are very carefully corrected.) However, if fome have efcaped the Prefs, they must be (as is ordinary) imputed to the Printer, and not to the Author, or any of us who have Read the Original Copy thereof, (as I may fay for my felf) with pleasure and profit.

Touching the latter, fcil. commending it to thee, I moft declined, partly because I esteemed it needlefs, in regard that the matter thereof fufficiently commends it felf; and partly because I did not think my felf fo fit (as fome fitter might be) of doing fuch a kind of Work. However, I think my felf bound in Juftice to Say Something hereof; I hope I may give this Account of the Author without any Temptation, that I efteem'd him a good Chriftian, and a GofpelMinifter, one who endeavoured to keep a good Confcience, walk'd clofe with God in his Perfonal and Relative Duties in the worst of Times, of a Catholick Spirit, loving all that have aliquid Chrifti in them, making Sainthip the Ground of ChurchCommunion, and avoiding all factious Singularity, which befide his Minifterial Abilities, were the Grounds of my intimateft Correfpondence with him