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But then we are to confider very well, whether thefe things be certainly fo, and whether we may rely upon it, and whether it will bear all that weight which we lay upon it; whether thefe principles will not fail us, when we Come most to ftand in need of the comfort and fupport of them, and, when death is in view, and making up towards us, quite vanish and disappear; because it is of inmité confequence to us, to be well affured of this, fince our happiness or mifery to all eternity depends upon it, And, therefore, nothing lefs than a demonftration of the impoffibility of the thing, of our having immortal fpirits that shall furvive our bodies, and fubfift apart from them, and be extremely miferable or happy in another world; I fay, nothing but a demonftration of the impoffibility of this, ought to be fatisfaction to us in a cafe of fo great danger, and upon which fo much does depend.

For, if there be a poffibility, on the other fide, of our having immortal fouls, which shall live for ever in another world, nothing can acquit as from the greateft imprudence, if we fhould neglect to take care of that better and more lafting part of ourselves, and to provide for that duration which fhall never have an end.

And, therefore, if the fuppofition of the foul's immortality be infinitely more probable, as better agreeing with all the notions which men have of God and his providence, and with the natural defires, and hopes, and fears of mankind, and as most suitable to all our capacities and expectations, and to the general opinion and confent of wife men in all ages; then is it infinitely more fafe, and, confequently, more wife, to proceed upon this fuppofition, and to provide and act accordingly.

Thus, to number our days, that is, to make fuch an account of the fhortnefs and uncertainty of this life, as to employ it mainly in the care and preparation for a better life, will engage us effectually in the bufinefs of religion. And this, perhaps, is the meaning of this phrafe in the text, of applying our hearts to wisdom, according to that of Job, Job xxviii. 28. But unto man ke faid, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; as if he Had faid, this is the true wifdom, the great excellency and perfection of human mature is religion, the lively

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fenfe

fenfe and firm belief of a Deity, and a carriage and demeanour fuitable to that belief; and that man is well taught, and rightly inftructed in the great bufinefs and concernment of this life, and makes a wife reckoning and account of the fhortnefs and uncertainty of it, who applies himself to the business of religion: for this is the fundamental principle of wisdom, by which our whole life, and all the actions of it, ought to be governed and conducted.

So that, if we have immortal fpirits, which fhall live and continue for ever, we cannot, in reafon, but take our whole life, and our whole duration into confideration. And, if we do so, we can never justify it to ourselves, to employ all our care and time about the worst and more ignoble part of ourselves, and to make provifion only for the few days of our pilgrimage here in this world, with out any regard to that eternal duration, which we shall have in another world.

The ferious consideration of this cannot fail to make us careful of our fouls, and concerned for eternity; and, in order to the fecuring the happiness of that state, to mind us to work out our falvation with great care and diligence; that, if it be poffible, we may avoid the mifery, and obtain the happiness of another world; because there is no comparison between the goods and evils of this life, and thofe of the other, neither in respect of the degree, nor of the duration of them. And, therefore, it muft needs be great wifdom, to forego the good things of this life, to obtain thofe of the other; and to bear the evils and afflictions of this life, to escape thofe of the other. For what man, in his wits, for a temporal convenience and fatisfaction, would forfeit an eternal benefit and advantage, and, to escape a prefent evil, which cannot laft long, would run himself upon one infinitely greater, and which will laft for ever?

Confider, then, and fhew yourselves men. Can there be a greater overfight and mifcarriage in the conduct of our affairs, than to mind that least which concerns us moft? Is it poffible for men to run into a greater mistake than to think, that their great bufinefs in this world is to mind the things of this world? And yet the greatest

part

part of mankind not only run into this mistake at their firft fetting out, but perfift in it all their days; as if their great, and indeed their only concernment, were to please themselves for the prefent, and to provide for this world, as if they were to live always in it: forgetting all this while that they have immortal fouls, which fhall furvive their bodies, and, after a time, be re-united to them, to live for ever, deprived of that happiness which they would take no care to fecure, and undergoing that mifery and punishment which they would be at no pains to prevent, whilft they were in this world, and the opportunity of fecuring the one, and avoiding the other, was in their. hands.

II. The thoughts of our latter end fhould make us very ferious and compofed in our spirits. For, if we have immortal fouls, as well as dying bodies; if we shall live for ever, and if the happiness of all eternity depends upon the improvement of this fhort time of our lives, and our carriage and demeanour while we are here in this world; then it is no trifling business, it is not a matter of small concernment to us how we live here, and manage ourfelves during our abode in this world.

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Whom do not the lively thoughts of death, and the near, approach of it make grave and ferious, and many men, much wifer, and more confiderate than ever they were in any other time of their lives, and much truer judges of things? They can then tell how they ought to have lived, what use they should have made of their time, and what ufe they would make of it, if God would be pleafed to prolong it to them.

The near view of another world is an amazing thing, and apt to infpire men with better thoughts and refo lutions than ever they had before. And why should not the clear profpect of it at a distance, and the affured belief of it, have the fame effect upon us, to make us ferious, and to mind, in good earnest, in this our day, the. things which belong to our peace, and to wait all the days of our appointed time, till our change shall

come?

And, therefore, to engage us to a continual feriouf nefs and watchfulnefs, the great Judge of the world hath

hid from us, both the time of the general judgment, and of our particular fummons out of this world, that we might never be unprovided for the main chance, for that which may happen at any time, and which will con gern us for ever.

III. The meditation of our latter end should put us upon minding the great bufinefs of our lives with all our might, and make us very vigorous and induftrious in it; I mean, the bufinefs of religion, and the falvation of our fouls. And if we fet up this, as in reafon we ought, for the great end and defign of our lives, and the main fcopé of all our actions, it will make our lives of a piece, and every part thereof agreeable to itself: Because our mind will stand continually bent one way, and all our thoughts, and cares, and endeavours, will be united in one great end and defign.

And it will oblige us to great diligence and induftry, and make us work hard, to think how great a work we have to do, and how little time to do it in, perhaps much lefs than most of us do imagine. It is not an eafy work for a man to become good, and fit for heaven; it requires time, and care, and great watchfu nefs over ourselves, great ftrugglings, and many a conflict with the evil inclipations of our minds, which, after we have conquered them, will often rally and make head again; a ftout reftance of temptations, a stiff and obftinate refolution not to yield to them, and a patient continuance in well-doing. The confideration whereof should make us very careful and diligent to get oil into our lamps; that is, all thofe graces and virtues, all thofe good difpofitions which may f us for another world, and prepare us for eternity; it fhould make us very vigorous and industrious to do all the good we can, while the opportunity of doing it is in our hands, and to make ourselves as good as we can, because this is the time and feason of laying the foundation of our future happiness, and increafing the degrees of it; for as we sow. so shall we reap: he that foweth sparingly, fhall reap fparingly and he that fons plentifully, "att reap plentifully. Every degree of virtue and goodness that we attain to, in this world, will meet with a fuitable reward,

'reward, and a more refplendent degree of glory and hap pinefs in the next life.

And we shall have this advantage by a great induftrý and diligence in working out our own falvation, that, if we have made religion the great care and bufinefs of our lives, we shall have nothing to do when we come to die, but to renew our repentance for the errors and mifcarriages of our lives, and to beg God's pardon and for giveness of them, for the fake of the meritorious obedience and fufferings of our bleffed Saviour; to comfort ourfelves in the goodnefs and promifes of God, and in the glorious hopes of the happiness which we are ready to enter upon; and, in the mean time, to exercise faith and patience for a very little while till death put an end to the forrows and miferies of life.

IV. The meditation of our latter end fhould make us much in the exercife of repentance, and to renew it frequently; because we continually offend God, and provoke him every day, if not by fins of commiffion, yet of omiffion and neglect in one kind or other, and by the imperfection of our beft actions and fervices; if not by prefumptuous fins and against knowledge, yet by manifold fins of ignorance and infirmity; fo that the best of us may say with David every day, who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from fecret fins. If thou fhouldft be extreme to mark what is done amifs, O Lord, who can stand?

Thus, by exercifing a daily, or, at least, a very fre quent repentance, we may keep our accounts in a good measure even, and not to be in a hurry and confufion when we come to die, neither knowing where to begin our repentance, nor how to go through with so great a work in fo fhort a time, and in circumftances of fo much weaknefs and distraction. There are hardly any of us, efpecially of us who are ministers, and have frequent occafion to attend upon fick-beds, but have seen several in these wretched circumstances, not knowing what to do, defirous to repent, but what, through weakness of body, and horror and confufion of mind, not knowing how to go about it, lamenting their neglect of it in the time of their health, and defpairing of doing it now with any fuccefs and acceptance. Thefe are fad fpectacles indeed, and

ought

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