j)ire8iom for young [hriftiam. Dire&. I9• p Romi[e 1101 _yo11r felvu lon7, life, or pr(lfptrity andgrea~ matte~~- in tbe world, left it tn- Dirtl1. I9• ta11gle your hearts witb tranfitory tbings amJ tngage)'OU tn ambJt:OUJ or covetou; dejign1, 8nd fteal awo~y your hearts from God, and dejlroy aU y~11r [erioHJ apprchwfions ofEternity._ 9· 1• Our own experience, and the alterations which the approach of d~at~ m~kcs upon r_he moll, doth fentibly prove, that the expectation of a fpeedy change> a·~d ~eckonmg upon a lh?r.r hfe, doth greatly help us in all our preparation, and in ~ll the wor~ of _Holmefs through_ our hves._ Co~e ro a man that lyeth on his death-bed, or a pnfoner that IS to dye to morrow, and rry hu:n ~Jth N~mini ex– difcourfc of riches, or honours, or tcmprar_ions to 1utl, o.r drunkcnncfs, or exccfs : and he Will th1nk ploran.~m po– you are mad or very impertinent, to tell h1mof fuch thmgs : If he be but a man of Common Rea- tdl ellc quo– fan, you !hall fee that he will more cafily vili~e fuch tem~tations, .than m1ny religions perfons .wilt ~:b1~r~~~ lit do, in their profperity and health : 0 how fenous are we m reptnt~ng and f.H.:rufing our former hve~, co,p.us, non and cafiing up our accounts, and asking, What we !hall do to be h.vcd, when we fee that death 1s dico o1d 2 n– indeed at hand, and time is at an end, and w~ muti away ! Every fentencc of Scripture hath then num fcdn~ vc– fome life and power in ic : Every word of Exhortation is favoury 10 us: Every reproofof our neg- fperum, C1'C'11 ' ligence 3nd fin, is then well taken: Every thought of tin or Cbrifi, or Grace, or Eternity goes then D·de('z.. 1 to the quick: Then time fcems precious : and if you ask a man whether it be better fpent in Cards q~.~'i'd ~~~\~ and Dice, and Playesand Feafiings, and needlefs recreations and idlenelS, or in prayer and holy con· h~mints _v~ta ference, and reading and meditating on the Word of God and the life to come, and the holy uie of d~u? Mtbt ne our lawful labours? How. e~fily will he be fatis~e~ o~.the tru~h? and confute. the C1vils of voluptu- d~~~~~u~~icous time·wallers? Then h1s Judgement will eafiher be m the r1ght, than Learnmg or Argument~ be- ~uam vidltur, fore could make it. In a word~ the expeCtation of the fpeedy approach of the !oul into the prefence in Juocfi a:1-, of the ~t~rnal God, and of our entring imo an unchange~ble endldS li~e, of joy .or to~men_t, hath fo qui extrCwn m~chm_ H to awaken all the: powers of the foul, that 1f ever we ~I.ll be Cenous, It will make m :1~i:·id aJve– fcnous, m every thought, and fpetch, and duty. And therefore as It IS a great mercy ofGod, that nit·, cum i!:uJ. this life which is fo fhort, thould be cw uncertain, and that frequent dangers and fickneffes call eo us, prxceriit, e!-. to look about us, and be ready for our change; fo ufually the fickly that look for death, are mofi Ru:<it: un confiderate; and it is a great part of the duty of thofe that are in youth and health, to confider their run~re~u~:~ frailty, and the fhortneiS and uncet:tainty of theirlives, and alwayes live 35 thofe that wait fur the 1uorc;~nf~-e coming of their Lord. And we have great rea[on f01: it~ when we arc certain it will be ere long; 8:is fit conf..– a11d when we havefo many perils and weakneffes to warn us; and when we are never fure to fee cutus: hotz another hour; and when time is fo fwift, fo quickly gone, fo unrecoverablc, and Nothing when ~ui<h:m J~- it is pafi. Common reafon requireth fuch to live in a conthnt readinefs to dye. ~m~;e~fes:C'~ . . . . . . • . · anni,ncc pra:- teruum tempus unquam reverwur , nee qmd ftquatur fmt pmell : C1c. n Cat. M.1J. Q!tem f.rpe tranlir, carus aliqu:tndo, mvcmt. §. 2· But ifyoutb or heal~b do once make you reckon of living long, and make you put away the Nihil ta_m fi~day of your departure, as if it were far off; this will do much ro deceive and duU the befi, and take mumcu1 pcrt– aw~y the. power of e~ery truth, and the life o.f every good thought an~ duty, and all will be apt to ~~i~~~~ ~bn ~:~ dwmdle mto c~fiomarme[s and form : You W11l hardly keep the faculues of the foul awake, ifyou vahdo, do not £\ill think of death and judgement as near at hand. The grwcft Certainty of the greateft Change, and the grcatrjt Joy or Mifery fer ever, will not keep our fiupid h.earcs awake, unlcfs we look at all as mar, as well as certain. This is plain in the common difference that we find among all men, between their thoughts of death in health, and when.they fee indeed that they mull prdCntJy dye. They that in health could think and talk of death with laughter, or lightly \lllthout any awakening of foul, when they come to dye arc oftentimcs as much alte~·ed, as if they had. nevc[ heard before that they are mortal. By which it is plain, that to live in the houfe of mirth is more dangerous~ than to live in the houfe of mourning; and that the expeCtation of long life is a grievous enemy to the operations of grace, and the fafety o£ the foul. 9· 3· And it is one of the grcarefi firengthenersof your temptations to lu:x;u{y, ambition, worldli– nefs and almofi every fin : When men think that they !hall have many years Ieifure ro repent, they are apt the more boldly to tranfgrdi : when they think that they have yet many years ro live, it tcrnpteth them to pafs away T ime in idlene!S, and to loiter in theil' nee, and trifle in ~11 their work, and to over-value all the pleafures, and honours, and £hadows of felicity that are here below. He that hath hi~ life in _his Houfeor Land, or harh it fOr inheritance, will Cet more by it, and bellow more upon tr, than If he thought he mull go out of it the next }'Car. To a man that thinks oflivc– jng many years, the favour ()f great ones, the railing of his efiate, and name, and family, and the ac– commodations and pleafing of his Befh, will feem great matters to him, and will do mu;,h with him and will make felf-denyal a very hard work. ' 9· 4- Therefore though Health be a wonder[~] great mercy, as Enabling him to duty, that hath a h(/J•. t to ufe tt to that end ; yet 1t IS b,y acc.'dent a very gre~t danger and fiure to the heart it [elf, to turn tt from the way of duty•. The bell hfe.for the foul, IS that which !call endangered> it by being OVLt·pl<_fing to the Body, and mwhrch the fleOr hath the finallell intcrc]l, to fet up and plead again!\ the Sprut. Not but that the large]! /loc/t,. mull be acceplfd and ufcd tor God, \Vhen he trull<th us !{ • witlj
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