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those who are remifs in a matter of fo great concernment; and those who are grofsly carelefs, and mind it not at all.

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1. To those who are remifs in a matter of fuch vast concernment; who mind the business of religion in some degree, but not fo heartily and vigorously as a matter of fuch infinite confequence doth require and deferve.

And here I fear the very best are greatly defective; and so much the more to be blamed, by how much they are more convinced than others, of the neceflity of a religious and holy life, and that without this no man shall ever be admitted into the manfions of the bleffed. They believe likewife, that according to the degrees of every man's holiness and virtue in this life, will be the degrees of his happiness in the other; that he that fows fparingly, fhall reap fparingly; and he that fows plentifully, shall reap plentifully and that the measure of every man's reward fhall be according to his improvement of the talents that were committed to him.

But how little do men live under the power of these convictions? And notwithstanding we are allured by the most glorious promifes and hopes, and awed by the greateft fears, and urged by the most forcible argument in the world, the evident neceffity of the thing; yet how faintly do we run the race that is fet before us? How frequently and how eafily are we ftopped or diverted in our Chriftian courfe by very little temptations? How cold, and how careless, and how inconstant are we in the exercifes of piety, and how defective in every part of our duty? Did we act reasonably, and as men ufe to do in matters of much lefs moment, we could not be fo indifferent about a thing fo neceffary, fo flight and careless in a matter of life and death, and upon which all eternity doth depend.

Let us then shake off this floth and fecurity, and refolve to make that the great business of time, which is our great concernment to all eternity: and when we are immerfed in the cares and bufinefs of this life, and trou bled about many things, let this thought often come into our minds, that there is one thing needful, and which therefore deferves above all other things to be regarded by us.

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2. There are another fort of perfons, who are grofsly careless of this one thing necessary, and do not feem to mind it at all; who go on fecurely in an evil course, as if either they had no fouls, or no concernment for them. I may fay to thefe, as the maiter of the fhip did to Jonah, when he was fast asleep in the storm, What meanest thou, O fleeper? arife, and call upon thy God. When our fouls are every moment in danger of finking, it is high time for us to awake out of fleep, to ply every oar, and to ufe all poffible care and industry to fave a thing fo precious, from a danger fo threatening and fo terrible.

We are apt enough to be fenfible of the force of this argument of neceffity in other cafes, and very carefully to provide against the prefling neceffities of this life, and how to avoid thofe great temporal evils of poverty and difgrace, of pain and fuffering: but the great neceffity of all, and that which is mainly incumbent upon us, is, to provide for eternity; to fecure the everlasting happinefs, and to prevent the endless and infupportable miferies of another world. This, this is the one thing neceffary; and to this we ought to bend and apply all our care and endeavours.

If we would fairly compare the neceffity of things, and wifely weigh the concernments of this life and the other in a juft and equal balance, we should be ashamed to misplace our diligence and industry as we do; to beftow our beft thoughts and time about these vain and perifhing things, and to take no care about that better part which cannot be taken from us. Fond and vain men that we are, who are fo folicitous how we fhall pass a few days in this world, but matter not what fhall become of

us for ever.

But, as carelefs as we are now about these things, time will come when we fhall fadly lay them to heart, and when they will touch us to the quick. When we

come to lie upon a deathbed, if God fhall be pleased to grant us then fo much time and use of our reason, as to be able to recollect ourselves, we fhall then be convinced how great a neceffity there was of minding our fouls, and of the prodigious folly of neglecting them, and of our not being fenfible of the value of them, till we are ready to defpair of faving them.

But,

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But, bleffed be God, this is not yet our cafe, though we know not how foon it may be. Let us then be wife, and confider these things in time, left death and despair fhould overtake and opprefs us at once.

You that are young, be pleafed to confider, that this is the best opportunity of your lives, for the minding and doing of this work. You are now most capable of the beft impreffions, before the habits of vice have taken deep root, and your hearts be hardened through the deceitfulness of fin. This is the acceptable time; this is the day of falvation.

And there is likewise a very weighty confideration to be urged upon thofe that are old, if there be any that are willing to own themselves fo, that this is the laft opportunity of their lives; and therefore they fhould lay hold of it, and improve it with all their might: for it will foon be paft; and when it is, nothing can call it back.

It is but a very little while before we fhall all certainly be of this mind, that the best thing we could have done in this world, was to prepare for the other. Could I reprefent to you that invifible world which I am fpeaking of, you would all readily affent to this counfel, and would be glad to follow it, and put it speedily in pratice. Do but then open your eyes, and look a little before you to the things which are not far off from any of us, and to many of us may perhaps be much nearer than we are aware. Let us but judge of things now, as we shall all fhortly judge of them: and let us live now, as after a few days we fhall every one of us wish with all our fouls that we had lived; and be as ferious, as if we were ready to step into the other world, and to enter upon that change, which death will quickly make in every one of us. Strange stupidity of men! that a change, fo near, fo great, fo certain, fhould affect us fo coldly, and be fo little confidered and provided for by us: that the things of time fhould move us fo much, and the things of eternity fo little. What will we do when this change comes, if we have made no preparation for it?

If we be Chriftians, and do verily believe the things which I am speaking of, and that, after a few days more

are

are paffed, death will come, and draw afide that thick vail of fenfe and security, which now hides these things from us; and fhew us that fearful and amazing fight, which we are now fo loth to think upon: I fay, if we believe this, it is time for us to be wife and ferious.

And happy that man, who, in the days of his health, hath retired himself from the noise and tumult of this world, and made that careful preparation for death and a better life, as may give him that conftancy and firmness of fpirit, as to be able to bear the thoughts and approaches. of his great change without amazement; and to have a mind almost equally poized between that strong inclination of nature, which makes us defirous to live, and that wifer dictate of reafon and religion, which should make us willing and contented to die whenever God thinks fit.

Many of us do not now fo clearly difcern these things, because our eyes are dazzled with the falfe light and fplendor of earthly felicity: but this affuredly is more worth than all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, to be able to poffefs our fouls at fuch a time, and to be at perfect peace with our own minds, having our hearts fixed, trufting in God; to have our accounts made up, and estate of our immortal fouls as well fettled and fecured, as, by the affistance of God's grace, human care and endeavour, though mixed with much human frailty, is able to do.

And if we be convinced of these things, we are utterly inexcufable, if we do not make this our first and great care, and prefer it to all other interefts whatfoever. And to this end, we fhould refolutely difintangle ourselves from worldly cares and incumberances; at least fo far, that we may have competent liberty and leifure to attend this great concernment, and to put our fouls into a fit pofture and preparation for another world that when fickness and death fhall come, we may not act our last part indecently and confusedly, and have a great deal of work to do, when we fhall want both time and all other advantages to do it in; whereby our fouls, when they will stand most in need of comfort and fupport, will unavoidably be left in a trembling

and

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and difconfolate condition, and in an anxious doubtfulnefs of mind, what will become of them for ever.

To conclude: This care of religion.and our fouls is a thing fo neceffary, that, in comparison of it, we are to neglect the very neceffaries of life. So our Lord teacheth us, Matth. vi. 31. 33. Take no thought, faying, What shall we eat? or what shall we drink? or wherewithal fhall we be clothed? But feek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness. The calls of God and religion are fo very preffing and importunate, that they admit of no delay or excufe whatfoever. This our Saviour fignifies to us, by denying the difciple, whom he had called to follow him, leave to go and bury his father; Let the dead (fays he) bury their dead; but do thou follow

me.

There is one thing needful, and that is the business of religion, and the care of our immortal fouls; which, whatever else we neglect, fhould be carefully minded and regarded by every one of us. O that there were fuch a heart in us! O that we were wife, that we understood this, that we would confider our latter end! Which God grant we may all do, in this our day, for his mercies fake, in Jefus Chrift. To whom, with the Father, and the Holy Ghoft, be all honour and glory, now and ever. Amen.

S ERM

MON

XXXV.

Of the eternity of hell-torments.

Preached before the Queen, at Whitehall, March 7. 1689-90.

MATTH. Xxv. 46.

And thefe fhall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal.

A

Mong all the arguments to repentance and a good life, thofe have the greatest force and power upon the minds of men, which are fetched from another world, and from the final state of good and bad

men

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