An account of the life and death of Mr. Philip Henry, minister of the…

Let the Potsherds strive with the Potsherds of the Earth, but let not the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? And as for the Improvement of this Affliction, (which I hope both of you earnestly desire, for it is a great Loss to lose such a Providence, and not be made better by it) I conceive there are four Lessons which it should teach you, and they are good Lessons, and should be well learned, for the advantage of them is unspeakable. 1. It should for ever embitter Sin to you; you know what she said to the Prophet, 1 Kings 17. 18. Art thou come to call my Sin to remembrance, and to slay my Son? 'Tis Sin, Sin that is the old Kill-Friend, the Jonah that hath raised this Storm, the Achan that hath troubled your House; then how should you grow in your hatred of it, and endeavours against it? that you may be the Death of that which hath been the Death of your dear Children; I say the Death of it, for nothing less will satisfy the true Penitent, than the Death of such a Malefactor. 2. It should be a Spur to you, to put you on in Heavens way; It may be you were growing remiss in Duty, beginning to slack your former pace in Religion, and your Heavenly Father saw it, and was grieved at it, and sent this sad Providence to be your Monitor, to tell you, you should remember whence you were fallen, and do your first Works, and be more Humble and Holy, and Heavenly, and self-denying, and Watchful, abounding always in the work of the Lord. O Blessed ⟨p. 238⟩are they that come out of such a Furnace thus refined, they will say hereafter, 'twas a happy day for them that ever they were put in. 3. You mu• learn by it as long as you live, to keep your Affections in due Bounds towards Creature Comforts. How hard is it to love and not to over-love, to delight in Children or Yoke-fellows, and not over-delight; now God is a jealous God, and will not give his Glory to any other; and our excess this way doth often provoke him to remove that Mercy from us, which we do thus make an Idol of; and our Duty is to labour when he doth so, to get that matter mended, and to rejoice in all our Enjoyments with Trembling, and as if we rejoiced not. 4. It should be a means of drawing your Hearts and Thoughts more upwards and home-wards; I mean your Everlasting-Home. You should be looking oftener now than before into the other World.