444 LIFE or FAITH. performed, "That time shall be no longer l" Rev;x. 6. Won- derful ! that men can find time for any thing, save that for which theyhad their time. ' Non quam bene vivant, sed quamdiu, con- siderant (inquit Seneca) cum omnibus possit contingere ut bene vivant ; ut diu, nulli.' .To live well is both possible and necessa- ry, and yet is disregarded. To live long is neither possible nor necessary, and yet is sought by almost all. ' Incipiunt vivere cum desinendum est : immo quidam ante desierunt vivere, quam inciperent.' Sen. It is unseasonable we should begin to live, when we should make an end but it is most unhappy to have made an end before they do begin. 'Pulchrum est (inquit idem) consum- mare vitam ante mortem ; et expectare secure reliquam temporis partem.' Do the great work, and then you may comfortablyspend the rest in waiting for the conclusion. Yet you have time, and Ieave, and helps; you may read, and meditate, and pray, if you will; but, shortly, timewill be nomore. O, let not Satan insult over your carcasses and tormented souls, and say, ' Now it is too late. Now mourn and repent as long as you will. Now pray, and cry, and spare not.' O, use that faith which beholdeth the invisible world, and maketh future things as present, and then delay and loiter if you can ; then waste your hours in idleness or vanity, if you dare : either light or fire shall awake you. 4. Suffer as believers. Fear not the wrath of man; but endure as seeing him that is invisible ; Heb. xi. 27. Show plainly that you seek a better country ; ver. 14. 16. Read often Heb. xi. xii. Behold the kingdom prepared and secured for you by Christ, and then you will be indifferent which way the wind of human favor or applause shall sit ; or what weather lunatic influences and aspects shall produce. Such a faith will make you, with Abra- ham, to turn your back on all, and engage in pilgrimage for an in- heritance after to be received ; though he knew not whither he went, (with a distinct, particular knowledge ;) Heb. xi. 8. As strangers and travellers, you will not be troubled to leave towns and fields, buildings and wealth, and walks behind you, as know- ing that you were but to pass by them, desiring and seeking a bet- ter country, that is, á heavenly; and you, shall lose nothing by this passingby all in the world ; for -God will not be ashamed to be called your God ; and he bath prepared for you a city; Heb. xi. 13. 16. Seriously respect the recompense of reward, and it will make you "choose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season ; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of the world;" ver. 25, 26. Stephen's sight would cause Stephen's pa- tience. Hold on as Christians; the end is near: "Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the
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