or toward the North in the place where the Tree falleth there it shall lie which Scripture is thus interpreted by a learned Author Olympiodor in Eccles. In whatsoever place therefore whether of light or darkness whether in the work of wickedness or vertue a Man is taken at his death in that degree and rank doth he remain either in light with the just and Christ the King of all or in darkness with the wicked and Prince of the World There is no rectifying the errors of this Life in the next the day of Grace ends with this Life here all the Evidences and Graces of a Christian are to be acquired in the future state he shall receive his reward according to the things done in the Body Vid. Victoris Erabdum whether they be good or bad After we are gon from hence There remains no place for repentance no effect or benefit of satisfaction here Life is either lost or obtained and at the moment of death thou hast a passage hence to immortality So that whatever is done by us to obtain the favour of God and a blessed immortality must be done in this World The time of this Life Dr. Sherlock upon Death is all the preparation time that ever will be afforded to us to work out our Salvation There is no middle state or place as they of the Roman communion do fondly fancy to do it in we consist but of two parts Body and Soul and Solomon hath assured us that when we die Eccles. 12.7 the body returns to the Earth from whence it originally came Fundamentum ex pulvere et in pulvere finis ejus and the Soul to God that gave it The holy Angels conveyed Lazarus his Soul at his death into Abraham's bosom immediately upon its separation from the Body so saith the Spirit from henceforth from the instant of their dying the dead are blessed and rest from their labours from all the labours of their Christian calling their Race is at an end their course is finished and the crown is to be received All the Divine graces and Religious dispositions of mind which are requisite to fit the Soul for Heaven and make it happy when it leaves the Body must be obtained and exercised in the Body So that to day whilst it is called to day we must seriously mind and prosecute the things which belong to our peace and give obedience to the Commands of God which are reasonable and easie advantagious to our interest and do claim a Priority in our affections and endeavours for so we are directed to remember now our Creator and to seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness in the first place for by so doing we not only secure to our selves the temporal Emoluments of this Life so far as the wisdom of God seeth them good for us but dispose and prepare our selves for eternal Glory and our obedience shall not miss of a suitable reward ii The solemn work of preparation for Death and Judgment is difficult it is not every one that saith Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doth the will of his Father which is in Heaven that sincerely endeavours to fulfil the whole will of God by faith and holyness The truth power of piety lies not in a mouthful of good words be ye warmed be ye filled be ye cloathed nor in a meer outside Form of worship but in practice 't is not enough for us to live inofsensively and harmlesly to abstain from that which is evil but we must actually do good and abound in fruits of righteousness 'T is a great work to die well and unless we do lay up an ample stock of spiritual preparations we shall never be able to go safely through the dark passage of death to Eternity Assure your selves dear Souls that a few penitent resolutions forced promises death-bed sorrows mournful tears melancholy looks formal prayers and crying God's mercy and asking him forgiveness will not serve the turn and prove effectual no we must put forth the most painful efforts of our Souls in mortifying our earthly Members in conquering vicious habits in regulating disordered appetites in governing according to the Laws of reason and religion all the faculties of our Souls in eradicating strong prejudices from our Understanings in bending our obstinate and rebellious Will in regulating unruly Affections in taming wild extravagant Passions in guarding our Hearts from vain Thoughts and inordinate Desires in subduing powerful Lusts which war against the Soul in resisting temptations and repelling the fiery darts of the professed Enemy of our Salvation in fighting manfully under Christ's Banner against Sin the World the Devil and the rebellious Flesh in curbing its impetuous and eager desires in bridling our Tongues from idle obscene and unsavoury talk in directing our steps in the straight path of holiness in sustaining Crosses Afflictions and Troubles with a generous patience and unshaken constancy doing our duty faithfully to God conscientiously waiting upon him in his Ordinances studying to know his Pleasure to do his Will to obey his Commands to promote his Interest advance his Glory in the World We shall have need of sincere Repentance Faith unfeigned unshaken Patience universal Charity seraphyck Love invincible Constancy an humble submission to the Will of God to bring down the Joys of Heaven into our Souls perseverance unto the end and a well grounded hope of partaking with the Saints in joys unspeakable and full of glory unless our Souls be habited and attired with these goodly vertues we shall be very unfit to die and to appear in Judgment Now to obtain these heavenly Graces is the work which we are to apply our selves unto with diligence and vigour For every Vertue hath its peculiar difficulty 2 Thes 1.11 1 Thes 1.3 Faith is called the work of Faith 'T is a difficult thing to believe the Existence of things which eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither is the heart of man able to conceive the immortality of the Soul and the existence of it in an immaterial world It 's hard to believe firmly all the promises and threatnings of the Word to rely upon Christ alone for Salvation perfectly to submit our Understandings and to resign our Wills to his holy will Repentance is a work not easily wrought upon the Soul though it be highly reasonable that when we have done contrary to our duty we should be cordially sorry for it resolve to do so no more and labour to undo what we have done amiss by godly sorrow and compunction of heart humble confession to God and restitution to Men yet experience sheweth that it is very hard to do this Gan the Aethiopian change his skin or the Leopard his spots Jer. 13.23 then may ye also do good that are accustomed to do evil Hence it is called renovation a new creation regeneration a new birth in which there is pain and difficulty Charity
expected that he should communicate it to any of the Sons of men because it is not at all necessary that they should know it but believe it and walk by Faith and Works and labour in the Vineyard till the Son of man cometh Of that day and hour knoweth no man 〈◊〉 13.32 â—â— c. no not the Angels which are in Heaven neither the Son as man only but the Father Take ye heed watch and pray for ye know not when the time is c. Verses 35 36. When ever he cometh Rev. 3.3 it will be by way of surprize to many So he told the Church of Sardis If thou wilt not watch I will come on thee as a Thief and thou shalt not know when I will come upon thee The Thief comes when the Master of the House least expects him in the dead and solitary time of the night when all the Inhabitants are asleep Such will be the coming of the Son of Man who a little before my Text represents it by the coming of the great Deluge in the days of Noah or as the Fire and Brimstone came upon the Cities of Sodom and Gemorrah as Thro's and Pangs come upon a Woman with Child As a Snare shall it come upon all that dwell upon the face of the Earth Now when a Fowler layeth a Snare to take a Bird he gives no warning but surprizeth it suddenly even so will the Judge of all the world come upon the generality of men when they promise themselves peace and security and walk at ease and think of nothing but plenty and pleasure of laying House to House and Field to Field of Mansions and Manors of reigning as Kings on the Earth and of Lording it over their fellow servants Behold the Judge standeth at the door ready to surprize them when they are most secure And this may be our case if we keep not up our watch If therefore the Kingdom of Heaven be worth securing and the salvation of your souls be dear and precious to you 't is both your wisdom and your interest speedily and without delays to set upon this necessary and glorious work For it is no easy matter to obtain Heaven and Happiness neither is it the work of a few spare minutes to shake off evil habits and to attire the Soul with divine Graces and Vertues that it may appear without spot or wrinkle in the Bridegrooms presence Be not deceived it is not a few penitential tears in the time of Sickness and last Visitation that can purge the soul from the pollution of Sin which it hath been contracting many years or change its temper and in a moment put it into a readiness for a future state It is not safe for us to run so great a hazard we are not sure that we shall dye deliberately and by slow degrees But suppose that a fore going Sickness should by little and little weaken the powers of Nature the Devil will then be very busy in tempting us and the Flesh unable to bear the burden of Sickness and sink under the groans of expiring Nature If we have then our great work to do our Oyl to get and our Lamps to trim when the Bridegroom comes the door will be shut upon us and we shall bewail to all eternity the folly of slipping a season which can never be regained Let me therefore bespeak you dear Christians in words of love and tenderness and beseech you by all the obligations that your holy profession lays upon you by all the kindness which you bear to your immortal souls and the desire which you have to be eternally happy seriously to prepare to meet your Lord. Go hence from the House of God with fixed resolutions from this time forth to depart from all iniquity and to live righteously soberly and godly in this present World looking for the glorious appearance of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body according to the mighty working whereby he is able to subdue all things to himself To whom with the Father and Holy Spirit three Persons but one Eternal God be Glory Honour and Power now and for ever The CHARACTER I Have now performed my duty to the Living by shewing them both generally and particularly that a good life is the best preparation for Eternity and that the way to dye happily is to live holily It remains that I do now in some measure discharge my respects to the Dead whose memory will be precious among all good Christians for his many personal Excellencies and usefulness in his Generation 'T is a sad and mournful occasion that we are met upon to Solemnize the Funeral Rites and Obsequies of so dear a Friend and Relation But this is our comfort that his whole life was an excellent Comment upon this Text for tho his Visitation was short as for the most part is usual in such Apoplectical Distempers as carried him off and his Death sudden and surprizing to us from whom he was snatched away in a little time yet it could not be so to him who by the infirmities of a crazy body and by many sensible decays of Nature was put in mind of his approaching change and no doubt but his preparations for Eternity were answerable to his frequent and almost daily warnings For as in his youthful days he was by the mercy of God a well disposed Nature and a vertuous Education preserved from all gross Sins and Vices so in his riper years he lived a life of strict Vertue I am no great Favourer of Funeral Elogies because they look like mercenary Flattery if there be not some extraordinary merit to lay a just foundation for them but the Righteous ought to be had in perpetual remembrance and the memorial of the Just shall be praised 'T is justice to give every man his due praise and to commend those whose vertuous lives are bright and illustrious to others and it is kindness to the living to hold before their eyes a shining light a glorious pattern of Vertue to guide and direct them to walk in the paths of Holiness and Peace and to beget in them the like Goodness and Charity Thus our deceased Friend in his life and practice did shine as a burning Lamp and adorn'd his holy Profession by a good Conversation His divine Soul was inflamed with a fervent love and zeal for God and possessed with a holy fear and awe of his glorious Majesty whom he served with Reverence and filial Obedience His Piety did consist more in the vital and substantial parts of Religion than in Circumstantials He had a sincere love for the Preaching of the Word which he waited upon with diligence to the end that he might learn his duty and grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ whom to know and in whom to believe is life eternal His attendance upon the Word was with constancy if his infirm body would give him leave and he heard it with reverence as the word of Life and Salvation Great was his regard for the Lord's Day not only to keep it holy himself but to see that his whole Family did strictly observe and sanctify it not only by resting from their worldly labours and putting on finer Clothes c. but by performing religious Exercises and improving the present Vacation from the works of their Callings unto a more diligent attendance on God in the publick and private Duties of Religion and in the spiritual concernments of their Souls The Government of his Family was very decent and regular his House was an Oratory of Devotion wherein Morning and Evening Sacrifice was dayly offered to God and some portion of Holy Scripture was read with seriousness and devotion with love and delight and Prayer was the beginning and ending of every day And this I assure you is the duty of all Masters of Families which they ought to see performed in their Families for the care and charge of Souls is committed to them There they are Kings to rule Prophets to teach and Priests to offer up Spiritual Sacrifices for themselves and for those under their roof They their Children and Servants ought to serve the Lord and their neglect thereof is one chief cause of all that Atheism and Irreligion which too much abounds in the Age we live in To this may I add his secret Devotion in private which was most constantly and diligently performed by him The spirit of Religion eminently dwelt in this good man His Devotions were fervent and serious his affections and desires were in a great measure crucified to the world and all the delights and pleasures of it He was cloathed with Humility as with a Garment and beautified with the goodly ornament of a calm meek and quiet Spirit which in the sight of God is of great price His Mind was exquisitely tender and compassionate His kindness and charity truly admirable for he loved relieved and assisted all necessitous Objects according to his ability In company he was pleasant cheerful and facetiously witty His behaviour was modest and affable kind and courteous to all sorts of people By the evenness of his temper and sweet disposition and friendly deportment he gained the love and respect of good men His Servants speak him to be a kind respective Master and we all know that he was a true Friend a good Neighbour a very useful and serviceable person in his Generation a Patron to several Fatherless Children and Orphans a true lover of his King and Country sober and temperate in every thing in his Diet in his Apparel in his Words and Behaviour prudent in the management of his own and others Affairs wherein he was much employed a good Housekeeper according to his degree and ability and a great support to many indigent and needy persons In a word his many vertuous Qualities and praise-worthy Deeds deserve to be commemorated and recommended to your practice But he is gone to his unchangeable state God grant that we who survive may all of us tread in the steps of his exemplary Piety and Vertue of his unwearied diligence and patient continuance in well doing May the Eccho of his Praises tend to the setting forth of God's Glory to whom be ascribed by us and the whole company of his Saints as is most due eternal praises Amen Amen FINIS
Herald and in the Text proclaimeth the certainty of his coming but from the uncertainty of the time when presseth his Disciples to rouze up themselves and to stand perpetually upon their Watch looking for and awaiting the coming of the Lord either by Death or Judgment for it is all one in effect whether he come to us or we go to him whether the World endeth to us or we to it for when we die we then part with all our dear Delights and sweet enjoyments of this Life and go to Judgment for as Death leaves us Judgment will find us as soon as ever the Soul is separated from the body it is winged by the holy Angels to the Tribunal of God to receive its definitive Sentence to Joy or Misery according to its Works done in the body in this Life So that we had need to be ever waiting and prepared for that hour Therefore be ye also ready for in such an hour as you think not the Son of Man cometh Which Words were spoken by our Lord particularly to his Disciples but are of Universal concern to all Christians and do as much belong to Vs in our days as to Them in theirs and therefore I shall look upon them with particular Application to our selves they do contain two General Parts I. Our Blessed Saviours seasonable and serious Advice solemnly to prepare our selves for Death and Judgment Be ye also ready II. A powerful and cogent Motive enforcing this good Advice For in such an hour as you think not the Son of Man cometh I. The first thing to be considered is our Saviours serious Advice solemnly to prepare our selves for Death and Judgment therefore be ye also ready for this Reason because ye must die and come to Judgment and the time when is unknown be ye ready the Original imports set in the way as all those are whom God hath set in the Path of his Commandments Psal 85.13 Righteousness shall go before him as his Harbinger and shall set us in the way of his Steps i. e. in the path wherein he walketh and which he hath prescribed and appointed us to follow him in The Vulgar Latine reads it Parati made fit Now for as much as this is a long and difficult work and requires many Acts and Duties to be performed by us to dispose and qualifie us to meet our Lord with Joy and Comfort I will therefore shew i. Wherein this Preparation does chiefly consist ii Manifest the urgent necessity hereof and the many Obligations which we lie under to be always prepared for Death and Judgment i. My first work is to shew wherein this Preparation does chiefly consist this I shall do two ways Generally and Particularly 1. Generally This preparation does consist in the constant course of a Religious Holy and Heavenly Conversation and in the daily practice of Universal Purity 1. For this end the great and wise Creator did make us noble and reasonable Creatures Neh. 5.9 to walk in the fear of God to approve our selves by a blameless and harmless life Phil. 2.15 the Sons of God without rebuke in the midst of a perverse Nation among whom we being enlightned by the Son of Righteousness shine as lights in the World that others may see our good works the beauty and splendor of our Gifts and Graces Mat. 5.16 Joh. 15. â—8 and glorifie our Father which is in Heaven For herein is he glorified if we bring forth much fruit of Righteousness and true Holiness Not that it is in our power to add any thing to the essential glory of God but only contribute to the manifestation of his Glory and Majesty 2 This he doth command and require from us as we are his Creatures When God had chosen the Seed of Abraham and had separated them from all Nations and from all Impurities and Idolatries and set them apart for himself a peculiar People an holy Nation a chosen Race a People purchased to himself by Temptations by Signs and by Wonders and by War and by a mighty Hand and by a stretched out Arm and by great Terrors Deut. 4.34 according to all that he did in Aegypt He charged them thus Levit. 20.7 8. Sanctifie your selves and be ye holy for I am the Lord your God and ye shall keep my Statutes and do them We are the Seed of Faithful Abraham Gods peculiar People his proper portion and possession he hath brought us into a state of Salvation Tim. 1.9 and hath called us with an holy Calling not according to our works nor for any merit of ours but according to his own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began and as he that hath called us is holy so should we be holy in all manner of conversation 1. Pet. 1.16 for it is written be ye holy as I am holy Now there is a two fold likeness to God in holiness viz. a conformity to his nature and will in reference to which we are engaged to crucify the old man with his deeds to mortify the corruption of nature with all those sinful affections and actions which flow from it and to put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness 3 Cor. 5.17 2 Pet. 1.4 Which is called by St. Paul the new Creature and by St. Peter the divine Nature which consists not in any communication of the divine Essence to us but in our partaking of those divine Qualities and dispositions of knowledge righteousness and holiness which do express the perfections of God and in our analogical resemblance to him in his Attributes of Meekness Humility Patience Long suffering Justice and Faithfulness Mercy and Charity Love and Purity and in our sincere endeavour to please him to do his Will and keep his Commandments which require us to do justly to love mercy Micah 6.8 and to walk humbly with God To love him with all our hearts and soul and strength and might to discharge all the Duties that we owe to his Divine Majesty and to be fervent in spirit in his service To abstain from all injurious practices against our Neighbours to perform all kind and friendly offices to all men to bear good will to them to rejoyce at their happiness to pity their miseries and commiserate them in adversity to pay all due respect to them sutable to their degree and quality to shew all meekness to all men candidly favourably to interpret their words and actions mildly to reprehend their faults and sparingly relate their miscarriages forgiving and forgetting their greater offences and conniving at their lesser injuries which make no great breach upon our interest or reputation studying by all fair means as much as lieth in us if it be possible to live peaceably with all tho we we may sometimes sail in our purposes because some men are of such a turbulent fiery and malicious spirit and such profest enemies to
the most sweet and melodious Voices and all other delightful things as Musical Instruments of all sorts he denied not himself any thing that was pleasing to his Eyes or grateful to his Senses or that his heart desired neither was he hindred from the free and comfortable Enjoyment of all his Labours either by Wars abroad or Tumults at home or personal Afflictions or any outward Calamity or imbittering Occurrents and he had a heart to use and taste the sweetness of all his labours which the eager covetousness of wretched Misers will not suffer them to do who reap no more benefit by their Riches than to look upon them and to say the property thereof is Mine So true is that of the Royal Preacher He that loveth Silver Eccl. 5.10 11. shall not be satisfied with Silver nor he that loveth abundance with increase When Goods increase they are increased that eat them and what good is there to the Owners thereof saving the beholding them with their Eyes Which is a poor benefit indeed unable to make the Worldling compensation for his cares of getting and fears of losing them a Priviledge which is common to all others who may every day see more goodly sights the radiant lustre of the Sun adorned with Light as with a beautiful Garment and smiling upon the Earth with a most pleasant and amiable Countenance the sparkling Glories of the heavenly Bodies in their Constellations the lovely and fragrant Flowers of the Field the Rarities and Treasures of Nature and all the Pomp and Gallantry of Princes and Nobles all which are more pleasing sights to the Beholders But mark what Character he gives of all outward things after that he had taken a serious Review of all his Wealth and Labour and found himself disappointed in them Eccles 2.11 I looked saith he on all the labours that my hands had wrought and on the labour that I had laboured to do and behold all was vanity and vexation of spirit a disappointment of all my hopes and desires of satisfaction This was my portion of all my labour Alas all things here below are of too narrow an extent to satisfie the vast and capacious Desires of our Souls which are enlarged with enjoying and therefore the inspired Pen men of the holy Scripture have advis'd us That we labour not to be rich Prov. 23.4 Mat. 6.19 Colos 3.2 nor lay up for our selves Treasures upon Earth but that we set our affections upon things above 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Grace and Glory and the Inheritance which is incorruptible and undefiled and fadeth not away reserved in Heaven for us and not on things on the Earth the Pleasures Honours and Profits of this World which we are prone to desire inordinately and to pursue immoderately tho' we are charged to the contrary Love not the World 1 John 2.15 neither the things that are in the World if any Man love the World the love of the Father is not in him Know ye not that the Friendship of the World is enmity with God James 4.4 whosoever will be a Friend of the World is the Enemy of God in open hostility with him and unfit to see his Face in Death or Judgment therefore our Saviour warned his Disciples to take heed and beware of Covetousness Lake 12.15 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or an inordinate desire of earthly things a Mans Life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth he may live as easily and comfortably without it Nature is content with little and Grace with less Abundance is not necessary to render our Lives happy the Poor are as merry and chearful as vigorous and healthy as well satisfied and contented with a small pittance as the Wealthy and Opulent with their Superfluity which serves only to administer to Pride and Vanity Prov. 23.11 to make them wise in their own conceit to puff them up with Haughtiness and Arrogancy Insolency and Imperiousness of Spirit and to betray them to sin and solly They that will be rich fall into temptations and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts 1 Tim. 6.9 which drown men in destruction and perdition which take up their time and fill their heads with solicitous Cares and Fears engross their Affections encumber their Lives with toilsome Labours about them expose them to a great many Sorrows which pierce their Souls and render Death and Judgment exceeding formidable to them Therefore since the love of this World is so dangerous a thing let us not with Martha be careful and troubled about many things and leave Mary's Vnum Necessarium wholly unregarded but rather spend our Days and Years in this mortal state in adorning our Souls with Evangelical Graces and Vertues to fit us for Heaven for if we had the Riches of both the Indies we can take nothing away with us when we depart hence Job 1.21 Naked came we out of our Mothers Womb and naked shall we return We must everlastingly part with all that we have when we dye and leave it as Solomon saith to the Man that shall come after us and who knoweth whether he shall be a wise Man or a Fool Ecoles 2.18 19. yet shall he have rule over all our labour and gather all that we have heaped up but works of Righteousness will accompany us into the other World and now is the time for us to be rich in good Works to grow in Grace and Holiness To give all diligence to add to our Faith Vertue to Vertue Knowledge to Knowledge Temperance to Temperance Patience to Patience Godliness and to Godliness Brotherly Kindness and Charity for if these things be in us and abound and our Minds fit loose to the Affairs of this Life we shall be ready and willing to leave them whensoever our Lord shall please to call us hence 3. This Readiness and Preparation for Death and Judgment does confist in making our Peace and Reconciliation with God and Men. 1. With God which is a thing of infinite moment for so long as we continue in enmity with him and maintain a Rebellion against his Crown and Dignity he is engaged for the Vindication of his own Soveraign Power and Justice to be our Enemy and to execute his severe Judgments upon us and we have no Security that he will not do it speedily without giving us farther time to consider our ways and throw down our Arms of Hostility against him For the Psalmist assures us Psal 7.11 12 13 That God is angry with the wicked every day even while his Providence seems to smile upon them and they think themselves most secure and confident If he turn not he will whet his Sword he hath bent his Bow and made it ready he hath prepared for him the Instruments of Death God is loth for the Glory of his Patience and Long suffering forthwith to proceed against us For my Names sake Isa 48.9 will I defer mine
anger and for my Praise will I refrain He forbears us because he is slow to anger he knows our frame and propension to evil and remembers the Weakness and Mortality of our Nature that we are but Dust unable to bear the weight of his Indignation and therefore he is pleased to fore-warn us of our danger by some signal Tokens thereof as the whetting of his Sword and the bending of his Bow thereby to awaken in us a serious Consideration of his anger and a great care to prevent it and a very earnest desire and endeavour to be at peace with him the which we may obtain by Repentance and Faith in Christ and by fervent Prayers and Supplications for the Remission of our Sins 1 By cordial and sincere Repentance which is a Divine Remedy the means which God hath appointed us to use for the obtaining of his Favour the Doctrine of Repentance was never taught in the School of Nature neither could be learned from the Writings of the grave Heathens tho' their wise Philosophers in their Works have given us some impersect descriptions of it But as Tertul. de poenit hath observed They were as far from understanding the true Reason of Repentance à ratione ejus tantum absuerunt quantum à rationis autore as from understanding the God of Reason They have given us many excellent Rules for the practice of Moral Vertues but were not able to instruct us in the nature of that Peace and Rest which is Eternal all that they aspired to was Peace and Serenity Tranquility and Composedness of Mind which they called Happiness but was only a Moral Attainment and they that lived most Regularly according to the Dictates * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of Right Reason and Directions of Nature found most Ease and Peace in their own Bosoms Certainly Socrates and Plato had not such disturbed and distracted Minds as Cain and Judas neither had Tully and Cato such black and guilty Souls as Cethegus and Cataline neither had Plutarch and Seneca those Gripes and Twinges those Fears and Horrours which Nero and Caligula felt they beheld a Beauty and Comeliness in the face of Vertue Turpitude and Deformity in Vice and Wickedness and discovered that sin was against their Reason and true Interest Nature taught them not to sin à naturâ sequitur ut meliora probantes pejorum poeniteat to renounce and forsake Sin but it never read them Lectures of Repentance God himself made known the first Discoveries of it to the World and published his gracious intentions to accept of a sincere Repentance as the Soveraign Means to reconcile us to Himself He sent his dear and only Son to publish it by his Doctrine and confirm it by his Miracles and to make way for it by his Death and Sacrifice So that if God had not been in serious earnest to have Sinners reconciled to him by Repentance he would never have sent the Son of his love to have obtained Peace for us by the Blood of his Cross Tully and Aristotle were wholly silent in their Writings how so great a Work might be effected but the Gospel hath discovered the Counsels and Purposes of Grace and Mercy agreed upon by all the Persons in the Godhead at the Council-Board of Heaven if I may so say for the Restoring of lost Man by a new and living way which Christ hath consecrated for us and opened unto us that we might have access to God The chief Articles and Conditions whereof are Repentance and Conversion to God and Renovation of Mind which are indispensibly necessary to fit us for the Appearance of Christ and everlasting Happiness which is to be obtained by him and he therefore began his Prophetical Office with a Sermon upon Repentance Mat. 4.17 Repent signifies not only sorrow for Sin but a change of Mind Will and Affections as may be seen at large in the Parable of the Prodigal Son Luke 15. where it is fully described in all the material constitutive and principal lines and parts of it viz. Pensive Thoughtfulness and Consideration a manly and serious application of our Minds to take an impartial Re-view of our selves in which God himself doth place the first signs of our Recovery Ezek. 18.14 28. Serious and deliberate Resolution to amend our ways and doings such as we find in the Penitent King of Israel I thought on my ways Psal 119.59 69. and turned my feet to thy Precepts I made haste and delayed not to keep thy righteous Judgments 'T is dangerous for us to trifle and delay in so momentous and weighty a matter therefore while God waits to be gracious let us not abuse his Goodness and Patience but without delay resolve to mind and prosecute the things which belong to our Peace before they be hid from our Eyes and to the end that we may appease the just Displeasure of our Heavenly Father and be re-instated into his favour it is requisite that we make an ingenious Confession of all our former Transgressions with shame and sorrow of heart and great Contrition accompanied with actual Reformation and Amendment and a sincere desire and endeavour to be universally good and holy to yield an intire Obedience to all God's Commandments If these Ingredients do constitute our Repentance God is faithful and just 1. John 1.9 to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness He will not exact the forfeiture of us but freely and fully pardon us and remember our sins no more When the wicked man turneth away from all his sins Ezek. 18.21 and keepeth my Statutes and doth that which is lawful and right he shall surely live he shall not dye all his transgressions that he hath commited they shall not be mentioned unto him in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live We have Gods gracious Promise Isa 55 7. That when any wicked man whether he be Jew or Gentile doth forsake his ways and thoughts and returns unto the Lord he will have mercy upon him and abundantly pardon him For his Mercies are as the great Mountains firm and stable he will not alter the Word that is gone out of his Mouth Those that repent tho' their Sins are of a scarlet and a crimson dye great and many he will certainly pardon and receive into favour Tho' it be a very difficult thing for a Man to retrieve himself that hath been long accustomed to vicious Habits Jer. 12.23 and hath debauched his Reason gratified his Lusts and Passions debilitated all the Powers of his Soul and cauterized his Conscience through a long continuance in sin tho' it be I say a hard thing for such a one to cast off the Yoke of Custom and to reform himself yet the thing is * Job 14.7 8 9. possible to be effected nay it is absolutely necessary Mat. 18.3 Verily I say unto you Except ye be converted and become as little Children ye cannot
things which belong to our peace in the day of our visitation If we pass our alotted time and the terrors of Death surprize us he may then give us hearts that cannot repent and seek him and Conscience will then upbraid us with our neglects and fill us with bitter anguish when we shall call to mind how many holy opportunities of publick and private Devotion we have neglected how many hours we have prodigally spent upon vain emploiments sinful pleasures and carnal delights which God intended we should have bestowed in prayer and communion with him Let us therefore often think of the day of Death when our Body shall return to the Earth from whence it originally came and the Spirit to God who gave it Let us awaken our selves to a lively sense of our approaching change that we may see the necessity of preparing for it and lay up betimes a stock of Grace against that day comes Let us not put off Devotion as a work proper for a Death-bed for if we die not suddenly God only knows whether we may die sensibly For our Understandings may be disturbed our Reason fail us an Apoplexy may seize and stupifie and benum our Spirits in such a degree that we may only perceive with our animal Faculties Some painful or acute Disease may sensibly afflict us and cause a great disorder in our Souls and distract our Thoughts from minding our spiritual Estate Our hearts which have been all along subtile and dilatory may deceive us at the last hour God may substract his aids and assistance from us and prove inexorable or deliver us over to a reprobate mind So that our safest and wisest course is to lay up a good treasure for our selves while there is time in our hands against our final change cometh A life of strict Virtue and Devotion will not then fail us but we may look back upon it with comfort and satisfaction It must needs save us many sorrowful sighs and tears and pensive thoughts of heart But our Conscience will never upbraid us with any bitter reflections for having done our duty neither will it be any regret or trouble to us to remember that we did serve our Creator in the days of our youth but now we shall certainly reap the benefits of an early piety Let us therefore now acquaint our selves with God that we may be at peace and be ready to receive him at his coming Having thus made our peace with God it is incumbent upon us in the second place 2 To make our peace with Men to reconcile our selves to our Brethren whom we have wronged and injured in any kind whatsoever this is necessary to be done in order to the fitting every one of us for Death and Judgment for when we come to die we would willingly with good old Simeon depart in peace without any sparks of anger or malice wrath or displeasure abiding upon our minds unexstinguished or any unjust gain to cleave or stick close to us for in the day of Judgment God will require a strict account of our obedience to his Commandments and there is not any duty of Christianity which he hath inculcated with greater plainness then this of peace one with another for it is one of the greatest earthly blessings and doth most lively represent the peaceful state of Heaven where the blessed Angels and Souls of just men made perfect live in perfect peace and amity Now that we may be here in a great measure fitted for that blessed Society Eph. 4.31 we are commanded to put off all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor with all malice and to put on kindness Colos 3.8 12 14. humbleness of mind meekness long suffering and clemency towards each other and above all to put on charity i. e. mutual christian love Joh. 13.35 which is the proper livery of Christs Disciples By this shall all men know that ye are my Disciples if ye love one another We are likewise prohibited all seuds and quarrels and are charged not to revenge our selves but to give place unto wrath Rom. 12.19 17. 1 Thes 4.11.5.13 1 Pet. 3.11 Heb. 12.4 not to retaliate injuries to recompence no man evil for evil but to study to be quiet to be at peace among our selves to seek peace and ensue it yea to be at some pains to obtain it when it seems to fly from us to follow peace with all men Follow in the original is an emphatical word which imports an eager unwearied pursuit of peace and comfortable association with all persons in all things good and lawful as far as it is possible for us Rom. 14.19 And in order to the obtaining thereof to follow the things which make for peace to endeavour all things that will promote it by performing all kind Offices and doing good to all men shewing them all due respects and affable deportment courteous salutations easie access cherful countenance soft words and friendly discourse candidly interpreting their words and actions mildly reproving their faults patiently bearing their hasty passions burying their affronts and injuries in oblivion the which in the opinion of Solomon the wisest of men is an effectual means to obtain peace and preserve an inviolable amity and friendship among men Prâ— 17.9 he that covereth a transgression seeketh love These and such like things are the things which make for peace which we must pursue with zeal and vigour Rom. 12.18 that if it be possible we may live peaceably with all men that nothing may be wanting in our endeavours to obtain the friendship and good will of men And to fit us for the presence and society of the Prince of Peace it is necessary that we make restitution to all persons whom we have wronged by fraud or circumvention injustice or violence oppression or deceit That we submit our selves to all persons whom we have justly offended acknowledge our faults crave their pardon and readily forgive those that have offended us unless we do so we are not fit to die and appear in judgment i It is indispensibly necessary that we make restitution as far as we are able to all persons whom we have wronged by oppression and violence deceit or fraud Now by Restitution I mean with Theologists an act of commutative justice whereby the injury done is repaired and the person wronged is put in possession of his goods injuriously taken away from him or whereby due compensation is made or equivalent satisfaction given to him from whom any thing is unjustly taken or detained or who is unjustly damnified by another Bp. Andrews on the 8th Commandment There are indeed some cases wherein it is impossible to perform this incumbent duty For corrupted honour cannot be repaired nor abused chastity be restored He that in proud wrath anger and malice hath taken away the precious life of another cannot possibly restore it to him again but must heartily beg pardon of God whose sole Prerogative it is to
thing is hard to an unwilling mind yet it is absolutely necessary for without emptying our hearts of all rancour malice ill will and desire of revenge we cannot obtain peace with men nor remission of our sins and reconciliation with God He hath declared that no religious duty which we perform will be pleasing and acceptable to him so long as we are not in charity with our Neighbour as appears from the forequoted Scripture If thou bring thy gift to the Altar Mat. 5.23 c. go first and be reconciled to thy Brother 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 do thy endeavour at least to appease his anger and make him friends with thee then come and offer thy gift If he receive thy submission thou hast gained thy Brother if he continue the Enmity the fault is his and he shall answer it to Almighty God whose Law he violates in denying his pardon to the Penitent If thy Brother trespass against thee rebuke him and if he repent forgive him if he trespass against thee seven times a day and seven times i. e. as often in a day turn again unto thee Luk. 17.3.4 saying I repent thou shalt forgive him and lay aside all thoughts and desire of Revenge This is a Doctrine directly contrary to the principle of the Stoicks a Sect of Philosophers who pretended to be most sublime and refined in their Morals which was this That a wise man ought not to pardon another mans faults nor to commiserate his sufferings for this is to invite injuries by a stupid patience Magni animi injurias despicere Lib. 2. de Ira. But the wise Seneca was of another mind who saith That it is the character of a great Soul to despise injuries Chap. 34 and that nothing is more glorious then to change enmity into amity The World may think a man stupid and without sense of honor that passeth by wrongs But Cato a wise Heathen is commended by Seneca for not resenting an affront or blow given him by a rude fellow in the Bath to whom he said when he came to make satisfaction Chap. 32. I remember not that thou didst strike me as thinking it a wiser part not to acknowledg the wrong then to repay it And a wiser man than he affirmeth that the slower a person is to anger and the readier to forgive the more understanding he hath and is more worthy of praise and honour Prov. 19.11 The discretion of a man deferreth his anger and it is his glory to pass over a transgression When the Prince of Peace came into the world to set up his his Kingdom introduce his holy Religion he enacted Laws of Peace Love of gentleness and forbearance of forgiveness as most agreeable to his own nature and the design of his coming He charged his Disciples to love their Enemies 1 Pet. 3.9 1 Thess 5.15 to be kindly affectionate one towards another to render to no Man evil for evil but ever to follow that which is good To bear no grudge or ill will to harbour no thoughts of Revenge for that is God's Prerogative Dearly beloved avenge not your selves Rom. 12.19 but rather give place unto Wrath for it is written Vengeance is mine I will repay saith the Lord. It so properly belongs to Him that none but His Ministers who are commissioned by Him may execute it He severely threatned the Edomites and Philistines for their revengeful usage of the Jews Ezek. 25.14 15 16 17. I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my People Israel and they shall do in Edom according to my anger and fury and they shall know my Vengeance saith the Lord behold I will stretch out my hand upon them and will execute great Vengeance upon them in furious Rebukes or fierceness of wrath and without pity and they shall know that I am the Lord when I lay my Vengeance upon them But tho' God is sometimes forced to vindicate his own Honour in Acts of vindictive Justice yet in regard of his ordinary proceedings with Men he is frequently stiled the God of Love and Peace of Patience and Consolation the Father of pities rich in Mercy full of bowels ready to turn from his anger easie to be intreated and willing to forgive those who are guilty of the greatest trespasses against him This is his glory and delight because he is merciful and gracious Exod. 34.6 7. long suffering and abundant in goodness keeping mercy for thousands forgiving iniquity transgression and sin Now this kind and indulgent disposition of Mind which is the perfection of the divine Nature John 4.11 Eph. 4.31 32. the holy Apostles recommend to our imitation and practice beloved if God so loved us we ought also to love one another let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and evil speaking be put away with all Malice and be kind one to another be tender hearted forgiving one another even as God for Christs sake hath forgiven you It is mighty kindness in our heavenly Father to offer us easie tearms of Peace and to beseech us to be reconciled to God 2 Cor. 5.20 the consideration hereof should melt us into love and tenderness towards our offended Brother for the wrongs and injuries which he hath forgiven us are infinitely greater and of a more provoking nature then those which he requires us to forgive our Brethren our offences against him are like Beams their 's against us but as Motes ours for Number and Magnitude are Ten thousand Talents their 's for paucity and meanness but a hundred pence and since he hath so frankly forgiven us Reason and Ingenuity should engage us to be very easie to forgive those that have offended us freely and fully unfeignedly and cordially from our very Hearts This the great King in the Parable insisteth much upon to his ungrateful Servant Mat. 18.22 I forgave thee all that Debt thou owedst me because thou desiredst me should'st not thou also have had compassion on thy Fellow Servant even as I had pity on thee Our Saviour gave us his admirable Pattern of Charity and Forgiveness he shewed greater love to us whilst we were professed Enemies to him then ever any of us have done to our Neighbour and when he was upon the Cross in the height of his bitter Passion in the agony of Death he Prayed for his mortal and most malicious Enemies and earnestly interceded with his Father for his Crucifiers Luk. 23.34 Father forgive them for they know not what they do Now so worthy a Precedent should Rouse our industry and influence our Practice and we are the greatest Monsters of ingratitude in the World if we are not provoked by an Example so illustrious in it self and so advantagious to us to go and do likewise The benefits which accrew unto us thereby are very considerable the inconveniencies which attend the neglect of so doing are very dangerous and hurtful 1 The benefits which we gain
by forgiving injuries are very considerable such are freedom from all those unreasonable Passions of envy hatred malice and desire of Revenge which are continually fretting and vexatious to our Spirits and eat out the peace and comfort of our Lives whensoever we do cordially forgive a Trespass we find a great Calm on a sudden in our Bosoms our Souls are at ease and our Thoughts are no longer disturbed with meditating of Revenge the offence is to us as if it had never been committed Envyings Strife and Contentions cease together with the sources of them anger malice pride emulation in the room whereof springs up charity kindness gentleness meekness humility long sufferings patience and other God like Vertues which are the Riches and Beauty the Glory and Ornament of a Christian and render him lovely and amiable in the Eyes of his Enemies and Venerable in the esteem of all good Men and all his Duties and Services pleasing and acceptable to God and greatly contribute to the obtaining remission of his sins with God as our Saviour himself certifies us Mat. 6.14 If ye forgive Men their Trespasses your heavenly Father will also forgive you not that our forgiving our Brethren without the concurrence of other divine Graces and holy Duties is alone sufficient to entitle us to the remission of our Sins but to shew us that without this forgiving of our Brethren Almighty God will not forgive us as also to represent the excellency and necessity of this Duty which is very grateful to him and of great Power in order to the commending us to his Grace and favourable acceptance and a principal part of that Obedience which we owe to him Psal 32.1 2. and which he will reward with eternal Blessedness Blessed is he whose Transgression is forgiven whose Sin is covered blessed is the Man unto whom the Lord imputeth not Iniquity and in whose Spirit there is no guile 2 The inconveniencies which do attend the neglect of this Duty are very dangerous and hurtful the implacable and irreconcilable Person encreaseth his own sorrows vexeth and cruciateth his own Soul makes his anguish more sharp and piercing To use the words of a great and good Man Arch Bp. Tillotson's Sermon on Mat 5.44 The very design of Revenge is troublesom and puts the Spirits into an unnatural fermentation and tumult the Man that meditates it is always restless his very Soul is stung swells and boiles is in pain and anguish hath no ease no enjoyment of it self so long as this passion reigns It entails enmitie and mischief upon him that is guilty of it from his Adversaries who will not fail to add weight unto his shoulders and multiply fresh injuries and affronts upon him which will gall his very Soul and make his Life painful and uneasie to him and which is most of all afflictive and deplorable he puts a bar to the remission of his own sins If ye forgive not Men their Trespasses Mat. 6.15 neither will your Father forgive your Trespasses one Man beareth hatred to another and doth he seek pardon of the Lord Ecclus. 28.3 4. he sheweth no mercy to a Man which is like himself and doth he ask forgivness of the Lord God will surely keep his sins in remembrance Mat. 7.2 and repay him in his own kind and measure he that is pitiful and merciful to his offending Brother shall find mercy from God he that will not forgive shall not be forgiven but shall be judged with impartial justice according to the severity of the Law without the least mixture of Mercy he shall have Judgment without mercy Jâ—m 2.13 that hath shewed no mercy God will deal with him according to the demerit of his sins and appoint him his portion with the reprobate Angels whose example he imitated in implacable malice and revenge this will be the dreadful sentence of malediction Mat. 25.41 depart from me thou cursed Sinner into everlasting Fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels miserable companions for distressed Souls but their condemnation is just and agreeable to their own requests for as oft as they said the Lords Prayer they in effect prayed for their own Damnation and besought God to forgive them their Debts as they forgave their Debtors i. e. that he would not forgive them because they will not forgive their offending Brethren Upon the whole then it does appear that as abiding anger malice and uncharitableness renders us unfit to die and to appear in Judgment so forgiveness and mercy dispose and prepare us for the coming of our Lord let us therefore take the Wise-Mans advice Ecclus 28.6 7. Remember our End and let enmity cease remember Corruption and Death and abide in the Commandments and bear no malice to our Neighbour tho' our Blood flows now warmly in our veins and our spirits are brisk and we enjoy a perfect state of Health and therefore delay and put off many things that are necessary to fit us for our final change yet it will not be long but we must put off this tabernacle and put on corruption when Death approacheth us we shall then with Balaam desire to die the death of the Righteous and that our latter End may be like his peaceable and happy that we may see the Felicity of Gods chosen and the glory of his Saints in Heaven the which we shall never attain unto unless we quit our selves of all uncharitableness and root out the malignant distemper of mind and all those bad dispositions those keen and tumultuous passions which hitherto have rufled us and disturbed the tranquility and repose of our Souls therefore the great Men of the World who have been prone to remember affronts and injuries with the highest resentments when they come to Die look upon Forgivness and Charity as necessary preparations for their change do give their general Amnesty to all that have offended them either out of Fear or Obedience to him who is the fountain of Love and Goodness who passeth by innumerable indignities and poureth down showers of bounty and mercy upon them that provoke him to wrath and indignation against them every day A chief part of our readiness and preparation to meet our Lord consists in doing all the good we can while we live with unwearied diligence and expedition For there is no work Eccles 9.10 nor device nor knowledge nor wisdom in the Grave Now is the season for us to lay up for our selves Treasures in Heaven for if once Death put a period to our Lives the time of our preparation for Eternity is at an end our Souls will be for ever what they are when they leave the Body so that it ought to be our chiefest care to improve the present seasons of Grace and to secure to our selves a right and title to that exceeding great and eternal weight of Glory which is reserved in Heaven for all those that are rich in works of Piety Justice and Charity
is a visible instruction to me really to converse with sickness and weakness and to think that it will not be long but I shall feel and endure mortal pains and the miseries of a Death bed I shall breath short feel cold sweats dying pangs My Body which I am now so indulgent and tender of shall be wrapped in a Shroud be nailed up in a Coffin Luk. 7.12 and carried forth as the Widow of Nain's Son was upon the shoulders of men to be intombed in the Grave the House of all living and my immortal Soul shall expire and go to God who gave it to be rewarded and sentenced according to the things done in the body Such serious thoughts as these will be a sovereign Antidote against all Sin and Wickedness and dispose and prepare us before hand that when the critical moment comes we may not run the great hazard of miscarrying for ever For in the day of Death we play the last Game for everlasting Felicity or endless Misery so that we had need to do it wisely and warily because an uncorruptible Crown of Life and Glory depends upon it the winning whereof will make us unspeakably happy and the losing of it eternally miserable beyond all humane apprehension Thus have I shewed at large both generally and particularly wherein this preparation does consist because the burden of the Text lies upon it II I proceed now to the second thing in order of method which is to manifest the urgent necessity of this readiness and the great obligations which lie upon us to be always prepared for death and the Son of Mans coming The omniscient God who certainly knows what is best for our present good and future happiness hath very warmly pressed it home upon our hearts by many Precepts and Commands the work it self is difficult the time allotted us to do it in is very precious life it self is very short and uncertain and Death inevitable and if we be not prepared for our change by inherent holiness and sanctification we shall fall short of happiness So that upon these accounts it is absolutely necessary that we be always in readiness 1 The omniscient God who certainly knows what is best for our present good and future happiness hath very warmly and earnestly pressed it home upon our hearts by many precepts which he hath inculcated in the Scriptures that we knowing our Duty may yield a cheerful and and filial obedience Throughout this whole Chapter of the Text we are taught that the coming of our Lord will be very sudden like Lightning which in the twinkling of an eye Verse 27. darts through the Air and surprizes the Inhabitants of the Earth before they are aware of it or can avoid it that it will be at a time when the spirit of security hath seized the hearts of Men and they are given up to sensuality and debauchery wholy unconcerned at all Gods invitations and warnings and unmindful of the great things which belongs to their everlasting Peace This was the case of the old World and of Sodom and Gomorrah Verse 37 38. Luke 17.28 29 30. in the day of Noah and Lot They did eat they drank they bought they sold they planted they builded they went on securely in their luxurious courses and lived in a careless regard of their Duty till the day that Lot went out of Sodom when God rained down fire and brimstone from Heaven upon them and destroyed them all even so shall it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed Now the time of his coming being concealed from us lays the greatest obligation upon us to be Vigilant watch therefore saith Verse 42. Mark 30.33 c. our Saviour watch and pray for ye know not when the time is for the Son of Man is as a Man taking a far journey who left his House and gave authority to his Servants and to every Man his work and commanded the Porter to watch watch ye therefore for ye know not when the master of the House cometh at even or at midnight or at the cock-crowing or in the morning lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping and what I say unto you I say unto all watch The design of which precept is to engage all of us to abstain from all sin and to be diligent and industrious in doing of our duty that at what time soever our Lord cometh we may be ready Luke 21.34 35 36. Take heed to your selves lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with Surfeiting and Drunkenness and the cares of this Life and so that day come upon you unawares the day of particular or general Judgment For as a snare it shall come upon all that dwell on the face of the Earth watch ye therefore and pray always that ye may be able to stand before the Son of Man to stand with cheerfulness and confidence without fear of condemnation in the last Judgment for the ungodly shall not stand in judgment Psal 1.5 nor be able to lift up their heads before the presence of the severe Judge because they have not been diligent to be found of him in peace without spot or blemish The design of our Lord in the Parable of the Ten Virgins is to press upon all Christians the urgent necessity of a constant preparation for his coming and not to content themselves with having Lamps and making a bare profession of Religion but to keep Oyl in their vessels with their Lamps i. e. truth of grace fruits of the spirit and works of mercy To have their Lamps trimmed their Loins girded about and their lights burning as those that look for their Lord. Herein lay the Wisdom of the prudent Virgins they provided Oyl in store to replenish their Lamps a good stock of faith and love and other divine graces to feed and maintain their profession and they trimmed their Lamps and took care to prepare themselves for the Bridegrooms coming by which means they being found ready were at his coming admitted by him into the place of Nuptial entertainments But the indiscretion of the improvident and formal Professors lay in pleasing themselves with an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a false Vnction they traded for the goodly Pearl the rich Treasure hid in a Field but they did it so unseasonably and coldly that they were not sensible of their mistake till it was too late to retrieve and amend it The Bridegroom came when they were not in a readiness to receive him and so the door was shut against them and tho' they cryed with earnest intreaties and ingeminations Lord Lord open to us yet there was no admission for them they were for ever excluded Which dismal Fate of theirs teacheth us this useful instruction To improve the present seasons of Grace and to work while it is to day For when the Night cometh no Man can work John 9 4. as the Tree falleth so it lieth if it fall toward the South
is a laborious exercise of many good works it consists in the performance of several kind Offices The Christian must exert that labour of love mentioned by the Apostle 1 Thes 1.3 Temperance is a vertue not easily attained it requires presence of mind and great wisdom to regulate unruly Appetites and to govern unnatural Lusts which are fired by a small spark of temptations and to withstand the allurements of pleasure to refuse the courtships and solicitations of jolly Companions to shun the snares of their wild examples and to bear with evenness and equanimity of mind the scoffs and sarcasms of those patrons and encouragers of Vice and Vanity who can have no kindness for those that will not run with them the same risk of madness and extravagance The like might be shewed concerning meekness humility self-denial and resignation to the Divine Will patience contentedness and all other Divine Graces which are from above from the Father of Lights who is the giver of Grace and Glory and hath placed them out of our reach that we might take pains to acquire them by fervent Prayer and Devotion and exert great diligence in the practice of them For since it is appointed for Men to die but once we should do all we can to prepare our selves to die happily and as St. John saith in the Lord that we may live for ever with the Lord. iii. The time allowed us to prepare for Eternity is precious for it is very short if we measure time according to the largest extention of it for all that space of this present life which is allowed us to do the works of our Callings in is exceeding short but if we take it for the opportunity of time or the proper season for the making our Calling and Election sure and securing our everlasting state 't is much shorter Of all the outward blessings and comforts which God is pleased to bestow upon us in this life he is not so frugal and provident in any of them as he is in the distribution of our time He confers upon us the comfortable accommodation of this world in great abundance but Time he proportions to us in a continual succession of days and hours and minutes so that we never enjoy two of them together but as one passeth away he gives us another and yet how profuse and lavish are we in the expence of them A considerable part of our time we have wasted in childish vanities and when we came to maturity of years and consistency of reason we spent no small part of it in gratifying inordinate appetites and in sensual pleasures So that before we seriously consider the end for which we were created the major part of our time is elapsed beyond revocation and we croud up this solemn work of preparation for Eternity into a narrow compass It concerns us therefore to redouble our diligence to redeem the time and to encrease in all Graces adding to our faith vertue and to vertue knowledge c. 2 Pet. 1.5 6 7. To reach forth with the blessed St Paul unto those things that are before Phil. 3.13 14 to stretch as hard as we can after that measure of holiness which we have not yet attained to press toward the mark that we may win the prize of eternal Glory and the rather should we exert the greatest vigour because we have but little time to do the work of him that sent us 1 Cor. 7.29 30 31. in The time is short furled like Sails when the Mariner hath finished his Voyage and is come into the Haven so that we should be careful to improve it to our best advantage which is a special point of wisdom commendable avarice as Seneca saith Nulla nisi temporis honesta est avaritia We are allowed to covet earnestly the best things amongst which this precious jewel of time may be reckoned and therefore not to be wasted in fruitless pastimes and carnal contentments in earthly pleasures and overmuch secular negotiations of this life much less in wicked projects or sinful practices but in adorning our Souls with such virtuous dispositions as will fit us for the presence of God and the society of the Saints in the future state of Glory When we come to die one of those days or hours which we have vainly wasted will be of more value to us then all this world It is scarce possible for us in the day of health and prosperity to conceive how valuable Time will then appear to us We shall sadly repent that we have spent any part of it in worldliness ambition idleness sensual gratifications or sinful lusts We shall heartily wish that we had improved every minute of it in the spiritual and everlasting concernments of our Souls and to be sure if we have any presence of Mind and the use of our Reason we shall then imploy every minute of it which is free from disturbances and interruptions in finishing our last preparatory work on Earth in order to our appearing before our great Judge It will be our wisdom to do that now with all our might which we shall then be so intent upon because a few sands more will bring us to that state in which we shall remain for ever and leave us in Eternity iv The urgent necessity of such a solemn preparation as I have described will farther appear if we consider that life it self which is the most valuable treasure the richest Jewel in this World is very short and uncertain and Death inevitable 1. Life is very short The most fading and vanishing things in Nature are made use of by the Penmen of the Holy Scriptures to set forth the brevity of the life of man 'T is represented by a Dream which for a little while affects the Fancy Job 20.8 but when the man awakes if not before it vanisheth away By a Flower of the Field or the Grass of the Earth Ps 73.20.90.6.103.15 which in the Morning is green and flourishing but in the Evening is cut down dried up and withered As for man his days are as grass as a flower of the field so he flourisheth Job 14.2 he cometh up like a flower and is cut down he fleeth as a shadow and continueth not His life slips away suddenly like a Tale that is told his beauty strength and all his excellencies consume away like a Moth Ch. 13.28.7.6.9.25 26. which by eating and fretting a Garment spoils the glory of it Sometimes the life of man is compared to a Weavers Shuttle which is an Instrument of a very swift motion and passeth the Loomb or Web speedily Sometimes it is compared to a swift Post which rideth upon fleet Horses and hasten his speed by land To swift Ships of Ebeh a River in the East where Job lived which by the force and strength of its Current added swiftness to the Vessels which sailed fast upon it And forasmuch as an Eagle of all the Fowls of the Air is