Wholesome words. A visit of advice, given unto families that are visited with sickness;…

First; Repentance! Repentance! That is the Sick Mans main Duty & Interest; tho' tis well if Repentance then come Soon Enough, to Be Good, or to Do any Good. Now to carry on this Repentance, there must be several Actions. If Sickness be come upon you, Examine the Cause of the Sickness, I mean, the Sin that is the Moral Cause of it. When Sickness overtakes us, there is usually some Cause to be enquired after. God will have us to know, That He hath not without a Cause done all that He hath done unto us. [See 1 Cor. XI. 30.] Upon the Arrest of any Sickness then Conclude, Here is a Sickness come for Something! And immediately fall to enquiring what Controversy of God with us may be the most probable Cause of our Sickness. Make that Petition, Job X. 2. Show me wherefore thou Contendest with me. And then, Let both Scripture and Conscience have a fair Hearing upon it. It is said, Fools because of their Transgressions, and because of their Iniquities are Afflicted with Sickness. When we have ⟨p. 16⟩Discovered the Folly that has brought our Sickness upon us, Oh! Confess it and Bewail it before the Lord, and Ask the Pardon of it, through' the Blood of Jesus Christ the Son of God, which Cleanseth from all Sin. Yea, but the Sick Man must express this Repentance of Every Sin. Sickness causes Loathing. O Sick Man, Let all Sin become of all things the most Loathsome unto thee. If thou hast any measure of Strength for it, Let the EXPOSITION of the TEN COMMANDMENTS in the Catechisms be distinctly Read over unto thee; Make a pause upon every Clause, and ponder, Have not I Omitted what is thus Required by God? And, Have not I Committed what is thus Forbidden by God? Judge thy self before God, as worthy to be Judged unto Eternal Misery's, for these thy Sins. But be sure to Reflect upon that Fountain and Bundle of all Sins, thy Original Sin, and Know the Plague of thy own Heart. Thus Mourn for all thy Sins, even till thou dost Water thy Couch with thy Tears. And especially Mourn for thy Loss of Time: A Sin big with bitter Lamentations. In Sickness we lose much Time, and are threatened that ⟨p. 17⟩we shall have but little more Time. Now is a Time for us to Mourn, Lord, I Mourn that I have so Sinfully Misspent my Time. When the Axe is laid unto the Root of our Tree, in Sickness, what can we do, but Mourn for our Unfruitfulness?