Head I. A Spur inciting to prtpa.re for Dec·th. 27' world. {3·) It is. b~t- a !hort tim~ ye have toprepare for 'death, ther'efore, tow or or never ; feeing the time affigned for preparation will foon ~e over; Ecc'!ef. ix. 10. lflhat.(o· e.ver thy handfindeth to do, do i:t with thy might': for thet·~ iJ n!J r:..uor.k, n~r device, nor knowledge; nor -wiJdom in th'!· - crave whither thou goefl. H~w ea~ - we be id.le'. having ~s great a WO! k .to do, and (o lm:le ume to.do tt m ? But tf the time bdhort, the work of pr,epatation for death, though hat d work, will not ·Jalt long. The fua.clows of the evening make the labourer work chearfully; knowing the time to be at hand,-when he JhaU be called·in from his 1 labour. ( 4·) / Much of. our fhort time is. over afready; and the youngei 6f us all cannot-,affure himfelf, that there is a~ mucH of his time to come, as is p·att. Our life in the world is but a fh-ort preface to-long eternity ; and much of the· tale is told. Oh! . fhall we not double our diligence) w~en fo . much of our tithe is fpent, and fo little of our work is done ? (5.) The p-refent tlrne is ffyiog away; and we cannot bring back time pafi, it bath taken an eternal farewell of us : there is no kindling the fire again thal is burnt to allies. The time to come ·is n·ot ours ; and we have nu' a!furarn:e of 1lhare • in it, when it comteS . We ,ha~e n·othiog we ca!'l ea'. ,'urs, "- ·- . but the prefent moment ; 'and that is flying awaf: how foon our time may be at an end, w_e ~now n·ot. Die we muft, ' Dl:lt who can fell US' whe'n ? If death kept one fet time for ' " .all, we were in no hazard of a furprife; but dailyobfervatioa fl10ws us, ·there is ·no fuch ·thing. Now the flying fhadow of our life allows us no time for loitering. The rivers run fpeedi... Iy into the fea fromwhence ~hey came; but not fo' fpeedi1y as man to the dull: from whence he cam·e. The flream of tirrte is the f\viftefi cmrent, a~d quickly runs out to eterni.. ty. Laflly. !f once death carry us off, there is no coming back again to mend ou\ matters, Job xiv. 1 4· If a man die, Jhall.h~_five agaiv '? Dyin~ is a thi,og we cannot geJ a trial ~f; tt 1s what we can do only once, Heb , ix. 27. It ir appointed unto men ON-<:E to die. - And that which. 'can be but once done, and yet is of fo much importance, that our all depends o-n having it done right; we have need to ufe the utmoft diiigence, that we may "do it well. Therefore ' prepare for death, and do it timeoufiy. ' if ye, whq are unregenerate, a.fk me, what ye fh-all do , Aa~, - to ' ...
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