too mean and of too little moment to trouble the world with. I reply, there's little of this to be found in what he wrote himself for the view of others; but our friends after our decease are ready, from an access of affection, to show many of our leffer affairs to the public, fondly imagining they will be acceptable to the world, because their own delightful memory of their friend makes it relifh fo well to themfelves. After all, I cannot fay but a judicious abftract of this book would render it more useful to the reader, and more fecure from every exception.

May the bleffed fpirit, who formed the foul of this author to the divine model of his gofpel, form the heart of every reader by the fame perfect rule, and raife them to equal or to higher degrees of faith and holinefs; that they may be living witneffes and honours to the name of Chrift; and let them join with me to adore my God and Saviour, who, though he hath fecluded me from fervice in his houfe, by long ficknefs, yet he honours me to stand as a figure on his high-way, to direct travellers in the road; and while he restrains my tongue from its delightful work, he is pleased to use me as a filent finger to point to the footsteps of a faithful shepherd, and by them to guide the flock in their way to heaven.

Theobalds in Hartfort-2 fhire May 1, 1718. S

I. Watts.

то

THE

PREFACE

ΤΟ ΤΗΕ

READER.

Fall biography,the lives of eminent faints are, beyond all controverfie, the most edifying and ufeful, being, in fome meafure, a tranfumpt of the holinets of God and of his word. Their laudible and amiable example carries in it fuch a ferer and powerful efficacy to make impreffions on fellow-chriftians yea on all generous fouls, with whom there is any remains of

confcience, that it has oft provok'd them Heb. x. 24, to love and good works and by a pious Matth v. 16. emulation to tread their steps to glorifiei. I. I Pet. ü, 12. God, and mend their pace heaven-ward.

Without the holy and exemplary lives of the vot aries of religion, the gospel of Chrift usually is so far from gaining ground, that it daily lofes the room it has in the world; of which the prefent melancholy ftate of the reformed churches is too plain a docu ment. I am perfwaded that next to the great out. pouring of the spirit from on high, Ifa. xxxii. 15. the rapid and admirable fuccefs of the glorious gofpel, was greatly owing to the holy lives of its profeffors, especially their fhining in the peculiar and diftinguishing duties of Christianity, and their cheerful and undaunted boldness in fuffering for Chrift. There's for fince in our day the gospel is fo vifibly destitute of

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great advantage to commend the christian 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 hypocrify, formality, luke warmnefs and fecurity, &c. with many in the visible church, when the fcandalous and profane lives of many profeft Christians, are giving fo deep and deadly a wound to the credit of religion and the gospel; when not a few, especially of our youth, and that not of the meanest 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 most profligate debauchees, and with aithieftical and blafpemous books against all religion; in a time when the world is abufed with lying ftories of the lives of men, base apoftates, that preached an other gospel, ceafed not to pervert the right ways of the Lord, and that were cruel wolves and perfecutors; by which they are reprefented, and very artfully dreffed up in the likeness of great virtuoufos, first rate Chriftians, and men of God indeed. Who knows, but this book, may be of fome ufe to roufe decayed Chriftians, waken fuch as have a name to live, but are dead,give a check to the vicious and loofe lives of the immoral, expofe the diftinguifed lives of ene mies, and convict athiests; and tho' it fhould be wholly fruitless that way, yet it fhould be a standing teftimony and witness again ft the dangerous and growing evils of this perlious time, they shall know there has been a prophet among them.

The first three periods of his life were all found after his death in a manufcript, written with his own hands as they are printed; but all we could have of the fourth period of his life, is only fome gleanings from imperfect fhort hints of things in his diary,

which he had never digefted nor enlarged, which is certainly a very confiderable lofs, feeing the experiences of this fourth period, might have been much more useful, being the whole time of his ministry; but the wife Lord, the master, called him off, and prevented it, After he was fixed in a charge, he had much work, his parish being both spacious and numerous; he was oft abroad preaching at facraments, alfo about business, and always when he preached, if in health, he wrote much, as is told afterwards, and he was scarce three years a minister, when his health broke. These and other difficulties had hindred his finishing those memoirs,we judge, which we know he defigned; he told himself 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 terror he was once under, when, as he words it, the Lord brought him to Sinai, it would be remembred, that tho' preparatory law-works with all the adult that are called, be the fame as to fubftance, all must be enlightened, convinced of their fin and mifery, be made truly fenfible of their loft ftate, be throughly humbled, made to see 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 awaking, the duration of it, the means by which, &c. measure of terror, or down-cafting, and diftinétnefs about their exercife, and the like.

No ferious foul has reafon to be fhaken about their interest in Chrift Jefus, tho' they have not been fo early awakened as fome, or had fo great a degree of terror, and been fo long under it as others, or tho' they cannot give fo diftinct account of the time when, the means or inftruments by which the Lord first awakened them, as fome can do, by all which they have no fmall advantage. 'Tis to be regreted, that fome worthy men have, by uncautious difcourfes on