*[In the evening, his mouth spake out of the abundance of his heart, expressing in a very affecting manner much the same things as are written in his _diary_: and among many other extraordinary expressions, were these; “_My heaven_ is to _please_ God, and _glorify_ him, and to give all to him, and to be wholly devoted to his glory; that is the heaven I long for; this is my _religion_, and that is my happiness, and always was, ever since I had any true religion; and all those that are of _that_ religion shall meet _me_ in heaven――I do not go to heaven to be advanced, but to give honour to God. It is no matter where I shall be stationed in heaven, whether I have a high or a low seat there; but to love, and please, and glorify God is all: had I a _thousand souls_, if they were worth any thing, I would give them all to God; but I have nothing to give, when all is done.――――It is impossible for any rational creature to be _happy_ without acting all _for God_; God himself could not make him happy any other way.――――I long to be in heaven, _praising_ and _glorifying_ God with the holy angels: all my desire is to glorify God.――――My heart goes out to the _burying-place_; it seems to me a _desirable_ place; but Oh to _glorify_ God! that is it; that is above all.――――It is a great comfort to me, to think that I have done a little for God in the world: Oh! it is but a _very small_ matter; yet I _have_ done a _little_, and I lament it, that I have done no _more_ for him.――――There is nothing in the world worth living for, but _doing good_ and _finishing God’s work_. I see nothing else in the world, that can yield any satisfaction, besides _living to God, pleasing him_, and _doing his whole will_.――――My greatest joy and comfort has been, to do something for promoting the interest of religion, and the souls of particular persons: and now, in my illness, while I am full of pain and distress from day to day, all the comfort I have, is in being able to do some little _char_ (or small piece of work) _for God_; either by something that I say, or by writing, or some other way.”
He intermingled with these and other like expressions, many pathetic _counsels_ to those that were about him; particularly to my children and servants. He applied himself to some of my younger children at this time; calling them to him, and speaking to them one by one; setting before them in a very plain manner, the nature of true piety, and its great importance; earnestly warning them not to rest in any thing short of that true and thorough change of heart, and a life devoted to God; counselling them not to be slack in the great business of religion, nor in the least to delay it; enforcing his counsels with this, that his words were the words of a dying man; said he, “I shall die here, and here shall I be buried, and here you will see my grave, and do you remember what I have said to you. I am going into eternity: the endlessness of it makes it sweet: but Oh, what shall I say to the eternity of the _wicked_! I cannot mention it, nor think of it; the thought is too dreadful. When you see my grave, then remember what I said to you when I was alive; then think with yourself how the man that lies in that grave, counselled and warned me to prepare for death.”
His body seemed to be marvelously strengthened, through the inward vigour of his _mind_; so that, although before he was so weak he could hardly utter a sentence, yet now he continued his most affecting discourse for more than an hour, with scarce any intermission; and said of it, when he had done, “it was the last sermon that ever he should preach.”
[It appears by what is noted in his _diary_, both of this day and the evening preceeding, that his mind was at this time much impressed with a sense of the importance of the work of the ministry, and the need of the grace of God, and his special assistance in this work; and it also appeared in what he expressed in conversation; particularly in his discourse to his brother Israel, who was then a member of Yale-college at New-Haven, and had been prosecuting his studies there, to the end that he might be fitted for the work of the ministry, and was now with him. He now, and from time to time, recommended to his brother a life of self-denial, of weanedness from the world, and devotedness to God, and an earnest endeavour to obtain much of the grace of God’s Spirit, and God’s gracious influences on his heart; representing the great need which ministers stand in of them, and the unspeakable benefit of them from his own experience. Among many other expressions he said, *“When ministers feel these gracious influences on their hearts, it wonderfully assists them to come at the consciences of men, and as it were to handle them with their hands; whereas, without them, whatever reason and oratory we make use of, we do but make use of stumps instead of hands.”]