Richard Baxter's dying thoughts upon Phil. I, 23 written for his own life and…

And if God will so try me, why should I repine? Flesh will groan, but the Mind may obediently submit. It is but Flesh: that Flesh that hath tempted and imprisoned my Soul. I have too much loved it, and am too loth to leave it? And is it not Mercy from God to make me weary of it? God is engaged against Idols; that is, all that is loved and pleased before him: and if any thing, that's likest to be this Flesh. It's corruptibility tells us that both its pleasure and its pain will be but short. Long pain is usually tolerable: And intolerable pain will conquer Nature and not be long. The Grace of Christ is sufficient for us, and his strength is manifested in our weakness, when he will not take the Thorn out of our Flesh, though as Christ and Paul did, we pray thrice or oftener.

And if God will so try me, why should I repine? Flesh will groan, but the Mind may obediently submit. It is but Flesh: that Flesh that hath tempted and imprisoned my Soul. I have too much loved it, and am too loth to leave it? And is it not Mercy from God to make me weary of it? God is engaged against Idols; that is, all that is loved and pleased before him: and if any thing, that's likest to be this Flesh. It's corruptibility tells us that both its pleasure and its pain will be but short. Long pain is usually tolerable: And intolerable pain will conquer Nature and not be long. The Grace of Christ is sufficient for us, and his strength is manifested in our weakness, when he will not take the Thorn out of our Flesh, though as Christ and Paul did, we pray thrice or oftner.

And to be impatient with Death is to repine that we are born Mortal men; and to fly from Heaven and all true Hopes, and all the Felicity purchased by Christ? And is this renouncing the World, and trusting Christ for Life everlasting? And why fear we that which endeth all our pains and fears? A true Believer never suffereth so much, but his Mercies are far more and greater than his sufferings. His Soul is united to Christ: His hopes of Heaven have a sure Foundation: He is sealed up to ⟨p. 322⟩Glory: Rest and Joy are near at hand. And former Mercies should not be forgotten: And should not such men patiently endure? O what a shameful contradiction is it, to choose Heaven as our only Portion, to believe in Christ for it, and to seek it as the business of all our lives, and yet to be loth to die, that we may obtain it, and to fly with fear from that which we so seek and hope for? What a contradiction is it to call God our God and Father, the God of Love, and to call Christ our Gracious glorified Redeemer, and yet to Fly from his presence with distrustful fear? Almighty love may correct us, may kill us, but it cannot finally hurt true Believers.