§ 31. But, "O thou, the merciful Father of Spirits, the attractive of love, and ocean of delights, draw up these drossy hearts unto thyself, and keep them there till they are spiritualized and refined; and second thy servant's weak endeavors, and persuade those that read these lines to the practice of this delightful, heavenly work! O suffer not the soul of thy most unworthy servant to be a stranger to those joys, which he describes to others; but keep me, while I remain on earth, in daily breathings after thee, and in a believing, affectionate walking with thee! And when thou comest, let me be found so doing; not serving my flesh, nor asleep with my lamp unfurnished; but waiting and longing for my Lord's return! Let those who shall read these heavenly directions, not merely read the fruit of my studies; but the breathings of my active hope and love: That, if my heart were open to their view, they might there read the same most deeply engraven with a beam from the face of the Son of God; and not find _vanity_, or _lust_, or _pride_ within, when the _words of life_ appear without; that so these lines may not witness against me; but, proceeding from the heart of the _writer_, may be effectual, through thy grace, upon the heart of the reader, and so be the savor of life to both! Amen."
_Glory be to God in the highest; on earth peace; good will towards men._
The Trustees of Phillips Academy, to whom is committed the distribution of the pious bounty of the late Lt. Gov. PHILLIPS wishing to co-operate in the same benevolent and useful design, affectionately recommend this inestimable book to the serious and careful perusal of every person into whose hands it may fall.
Reader, whoever thou art, the work before you is the production of one of the ablest and best of men, whose praise is in all the churches. Though dead, he is instructing thousands by his numerous and excellent practical writings, which have survived him. Among these, his _Saints' Rest_, has been most highly esteemed. He wrote it in the near view of death, when in feeble health, and for his own immediate use; and he testifies that he derived "more benefit from it, than from all the other studies of his life." Few books have ever received higher commendations, been translated into more languages, passed through more numerous editions, been more read, or more useful in the Christian church than this. No person of a serious mind can read it without profit.