A discourse concerning the Redeemer's dominion over the invisible world, and the entrance thereinto

Whereupon it is a great piece of wisdom and dutifulness towards our great Lord, not to pray absolutely, peremptorily, or otherwise than with great submission, and deference to his wise and holy pleasure, for our own or our Friends lives, ease, outward prosperity, or any external or temporary good thing. For things that concern our Spiritual and eternal welfare, his good and acceptable will is more expressly declared, and made known already, and before hand.

Whereupon it is a great piece of wisdom and dutifulness towards our great Lord, not to pray absolutely, peremptorily, or otherwise than with great submission, and deference to his wise and holy pleasure, for our own or our Friends lives, ease, outward prosperity, or any external or temporary good thing. For things that concern our Spiritual and eternal welfare, his good and acceptable will is more expresly declared, and made known already, and before hand.

But as to the particular case of the usefulness of any Friend or Relative of ours in this, or the other State, the matter must be finally left to the arbitrement and dispose of him who hath the Keys o• Hades, and of Death. And when by his turn of them he hath decided the matter, we then know ⟨p. 165⟩what his mind and judgment is, which it is no more fit for us to censure, than possible to disannul. Whatever great purposes we might think one cut off in the flower of his Age, capable of serving in this World, we may be sure he judged him capable of serving greater in the other.

And now by this time I believe you will expect to have somewhat a more particular Account of this excellent young Gentleman, whose early Decease hath occasioned my Discoursing so largely on this subject. Not more largely than the importance, but much less accurately, than the dignity of it did challenge.