92 THE WORLD TO COME. fulness, till he is lord of his own life, and can appoint the time of his own dying." 'Then indeed you might have some colour for your carnal indulgences, some pretence for sleeping, if you were sovereign of death and the grave, and had the keys in your owl hand. And truly such as venture to sleep in sin, do in effect say, " We are lords of our own life :" They act and manage, as if their times were in their own hands, and not in the hand of their Maker : But the watchful christian lives upon that principle which David professes ; Ps. xxxi. 15. " My times are in thy hand, O "Lord ;" and they never give rest to themselves, till they can rejoice with him, and say to the Lord, " thou art my God, into thy hands I commit my spirit, for thou hast redeemed it," and I leave it to thy appointment, when thou wilt dislodge me from this body of flesh and blood, and call me into thy more im- mediate presence. Verse 5. If we could but resist the messenger of death when the Lord of hosts has sent it, if we could shut the mouth of the grave when the Son of God has opened it for us, with the key that is entrusted in his hand, we might say then to our souls, " sleep on your bed of ease, and take your rest :" But woe be to those who will venture to sleep in an unholy and unpardoned state, or even allow themselves the indulgence of short and sinful slumbers, when they cannot resist death one moment, when they cannot delay the summons of heaven, when they cannot defer their appearance before that Judge whose sen- tence is eternal pleasure or everlasting pain. Our holy watch must not be intermitted one moment, for every following moment is a grand uncertainty. There is no minute of life, no point of time wherein I can say, " I shall not die ;" and therefore I should not dare to say, " This minute I will take a short slumber." What if my Lord should summon me whilst he finds me sleep- ing? His command cannot be disobeyed, the very call andrund of it divides me from flesh and blood, and all that is mortal, and sends me at once into the eternal world; for it is an almighty voice. IV. " As it is a foolish and dangerous thing for any of the sons and daughters of men, to presume upon long life, and neg- lect their watch ; so " persons under some peculiar circumstances are eminently called to be ever wakeful." Give me leave here to reckon up some of them, and make a particular address to the persons concerned. 1., Is your constitution of body weak and feeble ? You carry then a perpetual warning about you, never to indulge sinful drow- siness. Every languor of nature assures you, that it is sinking to the dust: every pain you feel should put you in mind, that the pains of death are ready to seize you : You are tottering upon the very borders of the grave, and will you venture to
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