Of long life and old age a funeral sermon, occasion'd by the death of the much honour'd Mrs. Jane Papillon, who departed this life, July 12th, 1698. AEtat. 72 / by John Shower. Shower, John, 1657-1715. 1698 Approx. 87 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 59 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2012-10 (EEBO-TCP Phase 2). A60141 Wing S3677 ESTC R33839 13577398 ocm 13577398 100461

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Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 2, no. A60141) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 100461) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1049:12) Of long life and old age a funeral sermon, occasion'd by the death of the much honour'd Mrs. Jane Papillon, who departed this life, July 12th, 1698. AEtat. 72 / by John Shower. Shower, John, 1657-1715. [8], 108 p. Printed for J. Fawkner ..., London : 1698. Reproduction of original in the Huntington Library.

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eng Papillon, Jane, 1625 or 6-1698. Bible. -- O.T. -- Job V, 26 -- Sermons. Funeral sermons. 2020-09-21 Content of 'availability' element changed when EEBO Phase 2 texts came into the public domain 2011-06 Assigned for keying and markup 2011-06 Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2011-07 Sampled and proofread 2011-07 Text and markup reviewed and edited 2012-05 Batch review (QC) and XML conversion

OF Long Life and Old Age. A Funeral Sermon, Occaſion'd by the DEATH OF The much Honour'd, Mrs. Jane Papillon, Who departed this Life, July 12th, 1698. Aetat. 72.

By John Shower.

LONDON, Printed for J. Fawkner, at the Talbot on London-bridge, 1698.

To the much Honour'd, Thomas Papillon, Eſq

THE following Sermon was Preach'd, and is now Publiſh'd at your Deſire. Your near Relation to the Extraordinary Perſon Deceas'd, and that which I have the Honour to bear to You, doth manifeſtly determine my Choice to whom to Addreſs it.

You will not, Sir, expect in this Epiſtle, that I ſhould give the World an Account of Your Eminent Qualities, after the manner of Modern Dedications. The Averſion I ought to have for Flattery, and that which You have of any thing that looks like being Flatter'd, beſides the Cenſoriouſneſs of this nice Age, (which will not bear the Praiſes even of thoſe who very well deſerve 'em,) make this Point ſo tender to be touched, that I dare not adventure to draw Your Character. However, if Your Children and Grand-Children, following the Worthy Examples of their Parents, in great part are, and the Reſt like to be, Excellent Examples unto Others; that, Sir, is a living Panegyrick upon You, which You cannot eſcape.

Ʋpon the like Reaſon, I have ſaid ſo very little of the Deceaſed. Your poſitive Prohibition not ſuffering me, to do her that Juſtice which the Audience expected. I ſhould otherwiſe have mentioned her Exemplary Piety and Devotion; the great Moderation of Her Principles and Temper; Her Concern at Heart for the Diviſion among Proteſtants; Her ſtrict Obſervation of the Lord's Day, in Publick, and Family Worſhip; Her extraordinary Care to take a frequent Account of the State of her Soul, and of her Progreſs towards Perfection; Her Love to all Good Men, of whatſoever Denomination; Her Prudent Administrations at Home, and her diffuſive Charity Abroad; (a Charity not confin'd to a Party, meaſur'd only by the Merit and Neceſſity of the Objects.) And to her Honour, I ſhould have taken Notice of the Wiſe and Succeſsful Education of her Children; and the great Regard ſhe had to the regular Behaviour of her Servants; on whom ſhe endeavour'd to leave ſome lasting Impreſſions of Religion.

In ſhort, I would have declar'd, that ſhe had diſcharg'd the Duties of every Relation, as a Wife, Mother, Miſtreſs, Friend, Neighbour, &c. in that manner, as perhaps there have been few ſuch Examples of Piety and Prudence, in our Age. In not doing this, I obſerved Your Orders; which I ought to mention, as a just Excuſe for that Defect in my Sermon.

Dear Sir, May all the Bleſſings of an Holy and Honourable Old Age, which I have named, be long Yours! May it pleaſe God, to ſatisfie You with long Life, and afterward ſhew You his Salvation! This is the Hearty Prayer, of

SIR, Your Affectionate, Obliged Nephew, and Humble Servant, John Shower. London, Nov. the 3d. 1698.
A Funeral Sermon, OF Long Life and Old Age. JOB V. 26.

Thou ſhalt come to thy Grave in a full Age, like as a ſhock of Corn cometh in his Seaſon.

THO' Eliphaz was miſtaken in the Application of his Diſcourſe unto Job, whom he ſuppoſed to have been very wicked, becauſe of his great Afflictions, yet what he delivers in this Chapter of the Puniſhment of Evildoers, and of the Divine Favour to Good Men, is a moſt certain and undoubted Truth. He aſſures us it was that which he had well conſidered, and found it to be confirmed by Experience; and therefore fit to be believ'd and remember'd, v. 27. Lo this, we have ſearched it, ſo it is, hear it; and know thou it for thy good. Now what is it, that he thus aſcertains the Truth of? But the Promiſe of God's Kindneſs and Favour to Good Men. In the foregoing Verſes he mentions ſeveral that have been fulfilled to the Perſon, and Family of our deceaſed Friend: As, To deliver and ſave them in Six and Seven Troubles, v. 19. To ſupply and defend them in a time of Danger: To protect them, though incompaſſed with Enemies, v. 20, 21. That wherever they go, they ſhall have a watchful Providence over them for Good: That in what part of the World ſoever they pitch their Tent, they ſhall find it in ſafety; their Tabernacle ſhall be in Peace, (they ſhall return to it, and viſit it, it may be after ſome Years abſence,) and ſhall not ſin, v. 24. And then it follows, their Poſterity ſhall be great and numerous; their Offſpring ſhall flouriſh as the Graſs, and be conſiderable for their Number and Condition, v. 25. And then as the cloſe of all, in the Text, that they ſhall be ſaved from a violent and untimely Death; they ſhall be carried to their Graves in Peace, as Corn into the Barn, when 'tis fully ripe, and fit to be gathered. Thou ſhalt come to thy Grave in a full Age, as a ſhock of Corn cometh in his ſeaſon.

The End of a Good Man's Life is here deſcribed, two ways.

Firſt, Properly, Thou ſhalt come to thy Grave in a full Age. Secondly, Metaphorically, like as a ſhock of Corn cometh in his ſeaſon. It is plainly implyed and ſuppoſed, That the beſt Servants of God, however favour'd in this World, and who live the longeſt; yet at length they muſt come to the Grave: However God may protect and proſper them for many Years on Earth, they are not to be Immortal here. But as that is imply'd, ſo there is alſo aſſerted and promiſed, that the manner and Seaſon of their Death ſhall be kind and gracious; they ſhall dye in Peace; they ſhall have a Grave and Burial: and this after a long Life, in a full Age, when fitted for the other World, as a ſhock of Corn fully ripe is fit for the Barn. Accordingly we may obſerve theſe Four Particulars from this Paſſage.

I. That the beſt Servants of God, who have lived in his Favour for many Years, muſt come to the Grave at laſt.

II. That it is a Mercy to a Good Man to dye in Peace, ſo as to have a Grave and Burial.

III. That to live to old Age, to come to the Grave in a full Age, is a promiſed Bleſſing. Since the ordinary Age of Man is ſet to Threeſcore and Ten, the Excellent Perſon deceaſed, (who dyed at Threeſcore and Twelve) may well be accounted to come to her Grave in a full Age; eſpecially if we apply the Similitude of the Text, like a ſhock of Corn ripe for the Harveſt; and underſtand it of one fitted by the Grace of God for the bleſſed World: Which will afford a Fourth Particular; viz.

IV. That Old Age with the Grace of God, and ſerious Religion to ripen and fit the Soul for the Heavenly State, is a ſingular Honour and Favour of God. This laſt I principally deſign to diſcourſe of; and more briefly of the former.

I. That the beſt Servants of God, however favour'd and proſperous for many Years in this World, muſt at laſt come to the Grave. This is one of thoſe Things we need not prove; but it would be of great Advantage to conſider it. Dye we muſt, as Men, whoſe Souls dwell in ſuch Earthly Tabernacles, it is unavoidable: And as Sinners, we are under a Sentence of Death, by a Divine Conſtitution and Appointment. Which is a Kindneſs unto Good Men; who cannot elſe have their promiſed Reſt and Crown, by the full Accompliſhment of their Deſires and Hopes. They can't be perfectly freed from Evil, nor partakers of compleat Felicity, without Dying. The Capacity of our Nature, the Improvements we may attain to, and the admirable means which God hath appointed to fit us for a nobler Life, may eaſily convince us that he hath prepared another State, and Life, and World; which it is now our Buſineſs to provide for.

It were well if the beſt Chriſtians would conſider it more, to make them diligent to improve this Life, wiſely to imploy their Talents, and carefully to do all the Good they can, before the Night comes. And it were well if others would conſider it, who are related to them; who have Opportunity to converſe with them; and are capable of receiving Good by them; if they would conſider, that ſuch Uſeful Excellent Perſons are not to ſtay always with us. If you that are Younger ſhould have many Years longer to ſtay; your moſt valuable Friends, who are advanc'd in Age, muſt ſhortly be gone.

And let All ſeriouſly count upon it, that 'tis but a little while and every one of us ſhall be call'd away. The oldeſt Man or Woman, the longeſt Liver that we read of, did not reach that which, in compariſon with God's Eternity, is called one Day, did not live a Thouſand Years. Methuſelah is the longeſt Liver upon Record; and yet 'tis a much longer Time ſince he dyed, than that was which he liv'd. Before the Flood they liv'd nine or ten times as long as now we do, yet all dyed. Enos 905 Years, Seth 912, Adam 930, Jared 962, Methuſelah 969, yet all dyed: They who tarried longeſt on the Stage, were at length called off. Moſes ſpeaks of the ordinary Duration of the Life of Man to be Seventy Years, and reckons it a great matter if any attain to Fourſcore; as now and then there are Inſtances of ſome that do, yet is the Strength of their Years but Labour and Sorrow. But becauſe Moſes himſelf was Fourſcore Years old when God made him a Captain, and Aaron Eighty Three before he was made High Prieſt, we may not conclude the Age of Eighty, at that time, to be a very decrepit old Age: Therefore the Account given by See Dr. Hammond on Pſalm XC. Moſes may rather be underſtood, either to refer to after Ages, or to the particular Caſe of the Children of Iſrael in the Wilderneſs: where multitudes were deſtroyed for their Murmuring and Unbelief; ſo that in Forty Years time, all the Males of Twenty Years old and upwards, that were able to go forth to War, were cut off, except Caleb and Joſhua. The number of ſuch as dyed under the Age of Eighty muſt be reckoned very great, at leaſt Three Hundred Thouſand Men.

But the longeſt Life of Man, abſolutely and in it ſelf conſider'd, is very ſhort. Once in a Hundred Years the Scene of the World is ſhifted, and all the Actors go off the Stage, and others come in their room. And how ſoon and ſuddenly are Individuals called away? There is hardly any thing that is weak and withered, that is vaniſhing and of no continuance, that is movable and may be taken down at pleaſure; but the Life of Man is compar'd to it: To a Vapour: To the Flower of the Field: To a Tabernacle: To a Shepherd's Tent: To a Shadow, &c. And in compariſon with ſeveral other Creatures, it is alſo ſhort; for we read of divers Animals that liv'd ſometimes thrice as long as Man ordinarily hath done: How little at longeſt is the meaſure of our Days, that may be reckon'd up by one Figure and a Cypher? What is this to Everlaſting Life? The Life to come will continue more Millions of Ages, than there are Moments now in the longeſt Life of Man; yea, if it were Ten Thouſand times longer than Methuſelah's. The preſent Life is to the future but as one Moment, in the Apoſtle's Reckoning, 2 Cor. 4.17. And 'tis ſhorter yet, if compar'd with God's Eternal Duration, which hath neither Beginning nor End. Mine Age is as nothing before thee, Pſal. 39.5. and Pſal. 90.4. There is no Proportion between the greateſt number of Years and an endleſs Life.

How certainly, how ſoon will the little number of the Days of the Years of our Pilgrimage be ended? Though we ſhould be favour'd by Divine Providence more than others; and flouriſh in outward Proſperity to a great Old Age; yet what Man is he that liveth and ſhall not ſee Death, let him live never ſo long, and never ſo well? Shall he deliver his Soul from the hand of the Grave? Pſal. 89.49. Jacob was an 130 Years old when he ſaid to Pharoah, Few and Evil have the Days of the Years of my Life been; and yet that time was ſhort in compariſon of the longer Lives of his Fathers: But unconceivably ſhorter in compariſon of the Everlaſting Life, which this is the paſſage to. I have read of certain little Beaſts, on the Banks of the River Hypanis in Poland, that never live above a Day; they which dye at Eight a Clock in the Morning, dye in their Youth; they which dye at Five in the Evening of the ſame Day, in their extremeſt Old Age. Who would put ſo ſmall a Continuance into the Conſideration of Good or Evil? And yet the longeſt of our abode in this World, in compariſon with Eternity, is much leſs than the Life of one of thoſe Creatures compar'd with Methuſelah.

II. It is a Mercy to dye in Peace, ſo as to have a Grave and Burial. To dye in Peace, is ſometimes oppoſed to an untimely, violent Death, 1 Kings 2.6. It was promiſed to Zedekiah, that he ſhould not dye by the Sword; but dye in Peace, Jer. 34.4. To do ſo, and to be decently Interr'd, is an additional Mercy, which the beſt Men have deſir'd and been concern'd for. We read that Abraham purchaſed a Burying-place for his Dead. God incourag'd Jacob, by the Promiſe that his Son ſhould take care of his Funeral. And God expreſſed his Kindneſs to Moſes, in that particular, that he buried him. And Joſeph of Arimathea, is commended for his Care in the Burial of our Saviour. And 'tis threatned and inflicted as a Judgment, to want a Sepulchre. As in the Caſe of Baaſha, and Jezabel, Jehojachim, and others, Jer. 22.19. Pſal. 143.11. It is threatned to this purpoſe, Jer. 14.16. That the People ſhould be caſt out in the Streets, and none to bury them; and that the Bones of the Kings, and Prieſts, and Prophets, ſhould be taken out of the Grave, and laid open to the Sun and Moon. 'Tis part of a very ſad Complaint, Pſal. 79.2. The dead Bodies of thy Servants have they given to be meat unto the Fowls of the Heaven, the Fleſh of thy Saints unto the Beaſts of the Earth. Their Blood have they ſhed like Water round about Jeruſalem; and there was none to bury them. The Romaniſts have been often very Barbarous and Inhumane to our Proteſtant Brethren in this particular, by prohibiting their Burial, and ill treating their dead Bodies, and digging up their Bones, &c.

And yet we ſhould not make too much of this: For if I dye in the Peace of God, and Chriſt receive my departing Soul; whether my Body putrifie above ground, or under, that concerns the Living and Survivors more than me. Chriſt will recollect my ſcattered Duſt; and raiſe it a Glorious Body, like his own: Though ſown in Corruption and Diſhonour; it ſhall be raiſed Incorruptible and Glorious: But it's reckon'd a Priviledge to be Buried. David acknowledged this to the Men of Bethſhemeth, in Burying the Body of Saul, 2 Sam. 2.5. Bleſſed are ye of the Lord, who have ſhewn this Kindneſs to Saul; and have buried him: The Lord ſhew Kindneſs and Truth to you: It ordinarily beſpeaks Kindneſs; and may imply the Hope of the Reſurrection of thoſe Bodies, that are committed to the Ground.

But this Expreſſion, Thou ſhalt come to thy Grave, may denote further, that not only ſhall they be Buried, and have a Grave; but Dye at Home; have a Peaceable End; Dye among their Relations, ſo as to be Buried in their own Sepulchre, and have their Bones laid in the ſame Grave, or Vault, where their neareſt Kindred have been Interr'd, with thoſe of their own Family, who Dy'd before them.

III. That to come to ones Grave in a full Age, is a very great Favour. God hath put an Honour upon Old Age, and promiſed it as a Bleſſing to them that fear him: He hath requir'd us to honour the Face of the Old Man; and made it a part of Religion, by connecting it with the Fear of God, Lev. 19.32. This is one Duty requir'd in the fifth Commandment; which is the firſt with Promiſe, Eph. 5.2. And when God would threaten to puniſh a Family; He declares there ſhould be no Old Man in it, 1 Sam. 2.31.

It was foretold to Abraham, as a Bleſſing, that he ſhould dye an Old Man; that he ſhould go to his Fathers in Peace, and dye in a good Old Age, Gen. 15.15. He that feareth God, and walketh in his way, he ſhall ſee his Childrens Children; and unto ſuch God hath ſaid; With long Life will I ſatisfie him, and ſhew him my Salvation, Pſal. 91. ult. and 128. ult. There ſhall not be an Old Man, who hath not filled his days, Iſa. 65.20. is a Promiſe that concerns the later Ages of the World: i.e. The Aged ſhall compleat their time, and fall ripe into the Grave. They ſhall not be taken away as Corn on the Houſe-top, that withers before it be grown up: But as Corn that is fully ripe, and fit to be gathered into the Barn. S. John, the moſt beloved Diſciple, liv'd longeſt of any of the Apoſtles: He was baniſh'd in the time of the Emperour Domitian, which was Eighty Years after Chriſt; and ſo he could not be leſs than a Hundred Years old.

Length of Days, long Life, and Peace, are promiſed in many places to ſuch as pleaſe God, and obey him. Zach. 8.4. Thus ſaith the Lord of Hoſts; There ſhall yet Old Men and Old Women dwell in the ſtreets of Jeruſalem. You ſhall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your Days in the Land which ye ſhall poſſeſs. Deut. 5.33.25. ch. 15. What Man is he that deſireth Life, and loveth many Days that he may ſee good? Keep thy Tongue from evil, &c. Pſal. 34.12, 13. By me thy Days ſhall be multiplyed, and the Years of thy Life ſhall be increaſed. If Life it ſelf be a Bleſſing, if to be taken away by Death, ſooner than according to the ordinary Courſe of Nature were not an Evil; God would not have promiſed to reward with length of Days. It were not the ſubject matter of a Promiſe, if it were not Good. You have the contrary Threatnings in many places, Job 18.16, 18, 19, 20. So Chap. 21.17. That the Years of the Wicked ſhall be ſhortened: That his Candle ſhall be put out: That he ſhall not live out half his Days, Prov. 10.27. Pſal. 55.23. I will be a ſwift witneſs againſt the Fornicator, Adulterer and falſe Swearer. The triumph of the Wicked ſhall be ſhort, and the joy of the Hypocrite but for a moment. The Years of the Wicked ſhall be ſhortened; his Root ſhall be dryed up beneath, and above his Branches ſhall be cut off; his remembrance ſhall periſh from the Earth, and he ſhall have no name in the Street. He ſhall be driven from Light into Darkneſs, and chaſed out of the World. He ſhall neither have Son nor Daughter among his People, nor any remaining in his Dwelling: Such are the Dwellings of the Wicked, and this is the Portion of them that know not God. His Branch ſhall not be green; he ſhall ſhake off his unripe Fruit as the Vine, and caſt off his Flower as the Olive. His Candle ſhall be put out, and ſudden Deſtruction ſhall overtake him. He ſhall be as Stubble before the Wind, and as Chaff which the Storm carries away. It was for the Wickedneſs of the Old World, that God ſhortned the Life of Man after the Flood: And again at the Building of Babel, for the Sins of thoſe that went about to build it: And again in the Wilderneſs, becauſe of the Peoples murmuring, and deſpiſing the promiſed Land, of which Moſes ſpeaks. Pſal. 90.7, 8, 9. But to come to the Grave in a full Age, may likewiſe import more than barely living long.

Firſt, Riches and Honour are often joyn'd with Length of Days: Though Old Age and Long Life are prefer'd before them, as the right-hand Bleſſing; Prov. 3.16. Length of Days are in her right-hand, and in her left, Riches and Honour. It is mention'd with Advantage concerning David, that he dy'd in a good Old Age, full of Days, Riches and Honour, 1 Chron. 29.28. 'Tis a Mercy when our Relations and Friends do not leave the World in Diſgrace: That they do not ſet in a Cloud; and go off undeſired and unlamented: But honour'd with the Affections of many living; and their Lamentations when they are remov'd.

Secondly, In a full Age, ſo as to be ſatisfied with having liv'd ſo long; and willing to dye. With long Life will I ſatisfie thee, and ſhew thee my Salvation. There are few Wicked Men who are ſatisfied with living; they would fain be Immortal here. God is forc'd to Demand, and require their Souls of them: This Night ſhall thy Soul be required of thee: But many a Good Man can ſay with the Prophet Elijah; and in a much better Temper, than he was in when he uſed theſe words, 1 Kings 19.4. It is enough, now O Lord, take away my Life. Or with old Simeon; Now Lord, letteſt thou thy ſervant depart in Peace. Not only I am content to go, if thou call me, but with the Apoſtle, I deſire to be diſſolved; for while I am preſent in the Body, I am abſent from the Lord. Come Lord Jeſus! come quickly!

Thirdly, In a full Age, when they have liv'd to ſee their Children brought up, and diſpoſed of in the World: And it may be have ſeen their Childrens Children. This is a further Mercy; that God hath made their Houſe to grow; and they can leave the World with hope, that their Children ſhall follow them to Heaven, and that they alſo will command their Children after them to ſerve the Lord: Not to be called out of the World, till they have a fair and hopeful proſpect that the Covenant Promiſe ſhall be made good to their Seed; that they that deſcend from them ſhall bear up the Name of God, own his Truth, and live to be Bleſſings in the World, and not to reproach and ſhame the Stock from whence they come.

Fourthly, To dye in a full Age, a good Old Age, with a competent vigour of Health of Body and Mind, in their Elder Years. I mean without the extraordinary Infirmities of Old Age. Moſes being an Hundred and Twenty Years old, yet his Eye was not dim, nor his Natural Strength abated, Deut. 34.7. With what Thankfulneſs doth good old Joſhua ſpeak this; Joſh. 4.10, 11. I am this Day Fourſcore and Five Years old; and yet I am as ſtrong this Day, as in the Day that Moſes ſent me; as my Strength was then ſo it is now. What Vigour of Health, both of Body and Mind, God bleſt the Honourable Perſon Deceas'd withal, for the greateſt Part of her Life, [all Things conſidered as to Her particular Caſe,] ought to be acknowledged with great Thankfulneſs. For though Old Age be a Bleſſing; yet a very infirm one is not deſirable. Which Arch-Biſhop Tillotſon's Funeral Sermon of Dr. Witchcot. a Great Man takes notice of upon ſuch an Occaſion: Who, ſaith he, would deſire to live very long Uneaſie to himſelf, and Troubleſome to others; who would not think it time to dye when by reaſon of Old Age we can hardly live with the Good Will of our Friends; when thoſe who ought to love us beſt, begin to think much that we live ſo long; and can hardly forbear to give us broad ſigns that they are weary of our Company: In ſuch a Caſe one would almoſt be contented to dye out of Civility, and not chooſe to make a long ſtay, where a Man ſees his Company is no longer acceptable; if we can hope we ſhall be welcome to a better Place; and more delightful Society? Why ſhould we deſire to thruſt our ſelves upon thoſe, who have much ado to refrain from telling us that our Room is better than our Company. The Extremities of Old Age are generally peeviſh and quarrelſome, falling back to the weak and helpleſs Condition of Infancy and Childhood: And yet leſs Care is commonly taken to pleaſe Aged Perſons, and leſs Kindneſs ſhewn them, (unleſs in Expectation of receiving greater,) than unto Children; becauſe theſe are cheriſhed in Hope, the others in Deſpair, of proving better. So that if God ſee good, it is not deſirable to try Nature, and the Kindneſs, and Good Will of our Relations to the uttermoſt.

I mention this, becauſe 'tis one of the Bleſſings of Old Age, to have the Taper of Life burn clear to the laſt: For any to have their Underſtanding good; their Memories and Senſes tolerable; their Converſation acceptable; their Relations kind, and reſpectful to them, as long as they live: This is a rare Caſe, and happens ſeldom to Old People: And when it doth, it is commonly to thoſe who, by a Regular and Religious Courſe of Life, have reſerved ſome of their beſt Spirits till laſt; and have not, by Vice and Intemperance, drawn off Life to the Dregs; and left nothing to be injoy'd, but Infirmities and Ill Humours, Guilt and Repentance: 'Tis the Bleſſing of ſuch who have laid in a good Proviſion for ſuch an Evil Day, by Peace with God, and the Comforts of a good Conſcience, the Hopes of Heaven, and the Sence of God's Favour and loving Kindneſs, which is better than Life. This is a ſpecial Priviledge, and a ſingular Favour of God, that might eaſily be apply'd to the preſent Example. Which brings me to the Fourth Thing.

IV. That Old Age, with the Grace of God, and ſerious Religion, to ripen and fit the Soul for Heaven, like a ſhock of Corn fit to be gathered, is a moſt deſirable Bleſſing.

But before I ſpeak to that, I muſt Anſwer an Objection, that you will be ready to make from Obſervation and Experience; viz. That this Promiſe is not very often fulfilled even to Good Men: That there is little diſtinction between the Righteous and the Wicked in this Reſpect: Many Excellent Perſons are taken off in their Youth, and many Wicked People live to a conſiderable old Age.

Anſwer. Many Things may be ſaid in Anſwer to this: As that the Providences of God are of a great depth: And that if a Good Man be call'd out of the World in the midſt of his Days, he will have no cauſe to repent that he did not live to be old. If God promiſe Long Life, and give Eternal Life, there is no more Damage done to the Perſon, than if you ſhould promiſe another Twenty Shillings, and give him a Thouſand Guinea's. And by giving long Life to ſome Good Men, God ſhews that it is his Gift; as by bringing others to Heaven ſooner, he tells us he has ſomething better to beſtow.

We are hereby inſtructed in the nature and value of preſent Things, and aſſiſted to expect Eternal Rewards and Puniſhments. We cannot reckon any ſuch Temporal Bleſſing a peculiar Mark of God's Favour, becauſe 'tis not the Portion of all Good Men, and others ſometimes partake of it. Without this Variety in the Diſpenſations of Providence, we ſhould want one of the beſt Moral Arguments for another Life after this.

We muſt likewiſe conſider the difference between the Diſpenſation of God's Providence to Good Men under the Old Teſtament, and now under the New. Eternal Rewards were couched and ſhadowed very much under the Promiſe of Temporal Bleſſings on the Jewiſh Nation: Their Land of Canaan was a Type of Heaven; and long Life promiſed to them, was the Figure of an Eternal one: And though, now under the Goſpel we have the Promiſe of the Life that now is, as well as of that which is to come; yet the fulfilling of any ſuch Promiſes muſt be left to the Wiſdom of God, who knows what is beſt for our Spiritual Advantage; and when in all the Circumſtances of it, it will tend to our trueſt Intereſt, and promote our Eternal Welfare. God who knows our Strength and Weakneſs; what Temptations we are able to reſiſt, and what not; knows when, and to whom, to fulfil ſuch a Promiſe as this, of long Life. And we cannot be ſo unreaſonable as to deſire it, if it would tend to our Detriment. 'Tis therefore added Deut. 5.16. Honour thy Father, &c. that thy Days may be prolonged; and that it may go well with thee. It muſt alſo be conſidered that there were particular Reaſons for the extraordinary long Lives of the Patriarchs, and thoſe before the Flood, that will not reach to our Times.

Joſephus The concurrent Teſtimony of the Greeks and Barbarians concerning the Long Lives of Men in Antient Times, is mentioned by Joſephus, Antiq. lib. 1. c. 3. gives this Account of it, that they being Men beloved of God, and newly made by him, with a ſtrong Conſtitution, and excellent Temper of Body, and uſing better Diet, the Vigour of the Earth ſerving at firſt for the Production of better Fruits: All theſe Things joyn'd with their Temperance, conſtant Exerciſe, moderate Labour, a ſweet Temper of Air, &c. might contribute much to the Length of their Lives. Which was but neceſſary, that the World might be the ſooner Peopled Which Reaſon is long ſince ceas'd, and the ſhortning of Man's Life is as needful now, as the prolonging it was in the firſt Ages of the World. Humani Generis Incrementum Terra non caperet, ſi omnes ſeneſcerent qui naſcuntur. Petrarch. , Knowledge and Religion more certainly propagated by the Authority of living Teachers, and Arts and Sciences brought to greater Perfection.

Not that the Priviledge of living ſo long was peculiar to the Holy Patriarchs mention'd in Holy Scripture; but that generally ſpeaking, it was true of all in thoſe Times. We read but of Seven Generations of the Deſcendants of the Race of Cain, from the Death of Abel unto the Flood. And if it had not been thus, the Peopling of the World, and the Increaſe of Mankind, could not have been attained by the long Lives only of Five or Six of the Holy Patriarchs: Nor could another End have been reached, (viz.) the increaſe of Arts and Sciences, and uſeful Knowledge for Humane Life; becauſe not only Good Men, nor principally they, but others, who have little Religion, are as well concerned in thoſe matters See this more largely treated of by Joh. H. Heidegerus Hiſt. ſacra Patriarch. Tom. 1. 4o. Amſtel. 1667. exerc. 14. de longaevitate Patriarcharum. And Monſ. le Clerc. Comment. in Gen. cap. 5. v. 27. Fol. Amſtel. 1693. And B. Patrick on Gen. 5. and Hackwell's Apology. Fol. Sir W. Raleigh's Hiſt. of the World, l. 1. c. 5. §. 5, 6..

'Tis true S. Cyprian, and ſome of the Fathers, thought that Mens Lives were now ſhorter, becauſe the World is grown old and declin'd, and that Nature decays by degrees, and that it is upon that Account that Men do not now live ſo long as formerly. But then, how comes it to paſs that for ſo many Ages, as from David's Time to ours, there hath been little or no Change? For he is called an Old Man, and full of Days, at Seventy. 1 Chron. 23.1. We ſhould now be in the decrepit Old Age of the World, and hardly live Ten Years, inſtead of Threeſcore and Ten, if Nature decay'd ſo as Man's Life did proportionably decreaſe, by reaſon of the old Age of the World. We muſt therefore conſider the determination of this matter, to depend entirely on the Holy and Wiſe Providence of God, to ſerve the Purpoſes of his Glory, in Mercy, and Juſtice, and Wiſdom, paſt our finding out, as to many things: Tho' ſometimes we diſcern a plain Reaſon. As we may well ſuppoſe, it was one principal Reaſon of the long Life of the Holy Patriarchs, that they might propagate Religion in their Generations, as Abraham, and Noah, and Enoch, and the reſt did. There being no Scriptures written; the Knowledge of God was convey'd from Parents to Children; and God prolonged their Lives, that they might be the Props and Pillars of Religion in their Families, and tranſmit a true Account of the Creation of the World, and of the Counſel of God to Adam concerning the promiſed Seed: The Tradition of theſe Divine Revelations to our firſt Parents, might have been continued by Three Men from Adam to the Iſraelites going into Egypt. Adam being taught of God by Oracle, he liv'd long enough to teach many others: Methuſelah liv'd Three Hundred Forty Three Years with Adam, and with Noah Five Hundred, and continued to the Flood: Noah liv'd with Abraham Fifty Eight Years, by whom it was not hard to paſs by Iſaac, Jacob, and his Poſterity, to Moſes: For Sem liv'd with Methuſelah Ninety Eight Years, and flouriſh'd about Five Hundred Years after the Flood: And Iſaac liv'd Fifty Years with Sem, and dy'd about Ten Years before the Children of Iſrael went down into Egypt: So that by the long Lives of the Patriarchs, Methuſelah, Sem and Iſaac, might continue the Tradition of the Creation, and the Truth and Purity of Religion, from Adam to that time; which was above Two Thouſand Two Hundred Years.

But 'tis ſufficient in Anſwer to the Objection, that, Whenever a Good Man lives long, 'tis in Mercy to him: But the Sinner a Hundred Years old is accurſed, Iſa. 65.20. If Wicked Men have their Lives prolonged, as well as thoſe that fear God, yet there is a vaſt difference; the one is a Gift of Divine Love, and the Fruit of a Promiſe; the other is only a common Benefit, to ſerve ſome Ends of Providence: For the ſake, it may be, of ſome Good Men to whom ſuch a one is Related; or, it may be, as a Reward of ſome little Service, that even a Wicked Man may be imploy'd to do in this World. In the one Caſe long Life is in order to greater Mercy; but the other will have a diſmal End in his Eternal Ruine. The former like a gentle River, as one well expreſſeth it, which hath run many Miles, and watered and enrich'd the Neighbouring Grounds, mingles at laſt with the vaſt Ocean of Glory: The other, though, like the River Jordan, it hath extended its Courſe a great way, falls at laſt into the dead Sea, into endleſs Howlings. In the one Caſe 'tis a ſign that a great deal of further Mercy and Bleſſing is to be added to it: In the other, that after this all his Bleſſings are at an end, and he ſhall have no more.

The Sinner of an Hundred Years old ſhall be accurſed. Some Sinners bring Age upon themſelves, by their Wickedneſs, before the time; and are an Hundred Years old at Forty. Some commit the Sins of an Hundred Years in half that ſpace of time; and though they ſhould live to that Age would continue to ſin on. And in Old Age their full Ears of Corn are blaſted with a Mildew, they are under the Curſe of God: And their longeſt Day ſhall ſhut up in Everlaſting Darkneſs, never to ſee Light or Comfort more.

Beſides, the Promiſe of long Life muſt be conſidered as made to ſuch as are eminent for honouring their Parents; as are ſtrict and conſcientious in the Government of the Tongue; as are Exemplary for Juſtice towards Men, and Charity to the Poor. Now every Good Man who hath Sincerity enough to carry him to Heaven, can't expect the accompliſhment of theſe, and the like Temporal Promiſes, which are made to Perſons who are peculiarly eminent for ſuch Vertues.

I conclude this Head with the words of the Wiſe Man, Eccl. 8.12, 13. Though a Sinner do evil a hundred times, and his Days be prolonged; yet ſurely I know it ſhall be well with them that fear God, that fear before him. But it ſhall not be well with the Wicked, neither ſhall be prolong his Days, which are as a ſhadow; becauſe he feareth not before God. Job 21.7, 20. The Wicked live, become old; yea, are mighty in Power: His Eyes ſhall ſee his Deſtruction, he ſhall drink of the Wrath of the Almighty.

I come now to conſider, That Old Age, with the Grace of God, and a Courſe of ſerious Religion, is a very great Bleſſing; when the Soul is fitted and ripened for Heaven. And this is the Benefit of a long Life, that we may know, and ſerve, and praiſe, and glorifie, and enjoy God more than others; this has made the beſt Men deſire and pray for a longer Life. Pſal. 39. ult. Spare me that I may recover Strength, and be fitted for my Duty and thy Service, and fitter to leave the World, when thou ſhalt call me. Pſal. 71.18. Iſa. 38.19. This is the proper Bleſſing of a prolonged Life, to do God more Service in this World, and lay up a good Foundation for hereafter, viz. the Comforts of a good Conſcience againſt a dying Hour, and a greater meetneſs for the Heavenly Inheritance.

'Tis doubtleſs true, that the Grace of God doth beautifie every Age; but how Lovely and Honourable is the Hoary Head, when found in the way of Righteouſneſs? After the reſiſtance of many Temptations, and enduring many Years Conflicts, that yet the Soul is fixt for God and Heaven, and its Choice abides. When after many Years Experience, they like their Maſter's Service the better, when they have faithfully ſerv'd him for Fifty, Sixty or Seventy Years. To ſay with good Obadiah, 1 Kings 18. I have feared Jehovah from my Youth. It was a Title of Honour given Gnaſon of Cyprus, that he is call'd an old Diſciple, Acts 21.16. So Anna the Propheteſs was of a great Age, Luke 2.36. So Paul the aged, and now alſo a Priſoner of Chriſt, Philemon, v. 9. What a ſtock of Grace muſt ſuch an old Diſciple be ſuppoſed to have? who was early planted in the Houſe of God, and for ſeveral Years flouriſh'd in the Courts of the Lord; who hath been treaſuring up, and increaſing from Year to Year; adding Grace to Grace, and proceeding from Strength to Strength? And 'tis but an equitable Suppoſition, that ſuch have underſtood their Opportunities, and manag'd their Time and Talents to good Advantage.

How comfortably may ſuch a one reflect on the paſt Inſtances of God's Wiſdom and Faithfulneſs, Kindneſs and Compaſſion? On the ſweet Communion he hath had with God in his younger Years, at his firſt Dedication of himſelf to be the Lords, under ſuch a Man's Miniſtry, who is long ſince dead; at the Table of the Lord, in ſuch or ſuch an Aſſembly of Chriſtians, in the City or Country? What comfortable Reflections can he make? What pleaſant Reviews may ſuch a one have of Spiritual, Inward, Experimental Religion? Who can ſay with David, I have known thy Teſtimonies of old, Pſal. 119.152. who hath often ſeen the Word of God fulfilled to himſelf, and others? Who hath obſerved how Publick and Private Providences did comment upon the Holy Scriptures; and it may be, hath had the Pleaſure and Joy, to ſee his Prayers anſwered, and his Endeavours proſpered, in the Education of Children; that they and theirs after them, might know and ſerve the Lord? 'Tis a great Bleſſing to live to ſuch an Age, and find this. How helpful may their long Experience be, to inable them to do good in the laſt part of their Life, more than in their younger Years? For Wiſdom is gotten by Experience; and generally ſpeaking, they who have longeſt Time to improve, muſt be the wiſeſt People. And 'tis as rare, almoſt, to ſee a Young Man Wiſe and Prudent, as to ſee an Old Man Strong and Healthy. Therefore Two or Three Years of the Life of an Aged, Experienced Chriſtian, eſpecially if imploy'd in any Publick Station of Service, either in Church or State, may be of more uſe, than many Years of Younger leſs Experienced Men.

And there are many Services and Duties for the Honour of God, which we are now call'd to, that even the Saints in Heaven are not capable of. The faithful improvement of our Talents as to theſe, may increaſe our Happineſs in another World. If there be different Degrees of Glory, he that hath a long Life of Service and Improvement in Grace, may hope to riſe higher than others.

How Uſeful may be the Example of an old Diſciple, and how Beneficial his Prayers to the Publick? But eſpecially to his own Family and Relations? And there are many, who underſtand the Bleſſing of long Life in the Fifth Commandment, which is promiſed to thoſe that Honour their Parents, to be the Conſequence of Parents Bleſſing their Children, by their Prayers and Interceſſion to God for them. And ſince the Apoſtle tells us, that without Contradiction the leſs is bleſſed of the greater, and the Proſperity of Children depends very much (as in Reaſon and Experience is evident it doth,) upon the earneſt Prayers of holy Parents for their obedient Children; one may wonder that Children ſhould now be taught (by any otherwiſe good People,) not to ask that Bleſſing, not to beg thoſe Prayers, which have ſo manifeſt an Advantage. Eſpecially when the doing it, hath the general Atteſtation of all Chriſtendom; and is no contemptible Teſtimony of that Honour and Reſpect, which is due from Children to their Religious Parents. I ſay Religious, becauſe to make Old Age Honourable, and a Bleſſing, thoſe Graces muſt be ſuppoſed, which are the Ornaments of that Age, Sobriety and Temperance, Gravity and Seriouſneſs, Soundneſs in the Faith, Charity, Patience, and Diligence to finiſh the Work God hath given them to do. How honourable and excellent is ſuch a one? Full of Days, and full of good Works? Who hath ſerv'd his Generation according to the Will of God, and is now trimming his Lamps, girding up his Loins, and waiting for the coming of his Lord? What a Priviledge, what a Bleſſing is this?

As to the Metaphor in the Text, As Corn fully ripe, fit to be gathered into the Barn, many Things might be conſider'd for Illuſtration: What a variety of Seaſons it paſſeth through before it be ripe; how See a large and ingenious Account of this by Sir Matthew Hale, in his Magnetiſmus Magnus; or Metaphyſical and Divine Contemplations on the Loadſtone, 8vo, 1695. on Pſal. LXXXVI. 8. p. 151. gradually it doth advance after it is ſown; how it ſprings up like an Herb, ſhoots forth a tender Blade, riſeth to a Stalk, and then comes to be ripe: To all which a great deal of Time is requiſite, before it be cut down, and laid in the Barn; and then 'tis to be threſhed, and fanned, before it be fit for the Maſter's uſe: But yet the Harveſt is certain; and when the Corn is ripe it ſhall be cut down. 'Twere eaſie to run the Parallel, as to a good Old Age according to this Metaphor.

You ſee plainly, 'tis not meerly to have liv'd long; but to live ſo as to be ripe for Heaven, that is the great Bleſſing. That Old Age which is truly honourable, is not to be known by a wither'd Face, but a mortifi'd Spirit; not by the decays of the Natural Body, but by weakening the Body of Sin; not by the Temporal Good we have injoy'd for many Years; but by the Spiritual Good we have received and done. An Hoary Head is a Crown; but Righteouſneſs is the Jewel of it. As a fair Woman without Diſcretion is like a Jewel in a Swines Snout; ſo are Grey Hairs on the Head of an old Sinner. To be an old Atheiſt, or Drunkard, or Miſer, and have many External Advantages above others, without the Grace of God, and ſerious Religion, is no great Bleſſing; ſuch a one is accurſed, though a Hundred Years old. To be good, and do good, is indeed Life; and from our beginning to be, and do ſo, we muſt reckon our Lives. As he that was converted at Sixty, being asked Five Years after, how old he was, did very juſtly and truly ſay, he was but Five Years old. He had liv'd no longer to any good Purpoſe, tho' he had been Threeſcore Years more in the World. He reckoned his Life, not from the time of his being born, but from his new Birth; from his being born again. They therefore who remember their Creator in their Youth, and begin betimes to ſerve God; if they reach to Old Age, they live three times as long as other People, who yet may count as many Years as they, from their Infancy and Childhood, but have liv'd in the pleaſures of Sin, and in forgetfulneſs of God, and ſo for many Years were dead whilſt alive.

The Application of all this ſhall be by ſome Inferences of Truth, and Duty.

Firſt, If length of Days, and a long continuance in the World be an honourable Priviledge and Bleſſing, what high and adoring Thoughts ſhould we have of the Eternity of God, who is pleaſed to condeſcend to us, to be call'd the Ancient of Days; and who gloryeth in this, that he inhabiteth Eternity; unto whom a Thouſand Years are but as one Day, yea but as yeſterday when it is paſt; and as a Watch in the Night. A Thouſand Years are in God's ſight, but as one Day. If then we ſuppoſe a Man as old as this World, born above Five Thouſand Years ago, he would be, in God's Account, but as one born Five Days ago: And by this Computation, he that hath liv'd Sixty Two Years, hath liv'd but One and half; and he that was born Forty Years ſince, is but as if he came now into the World this preſent Hour. But there is a ſhorter Reckoning; for it is added, and as a Watch in the Night, which is the fourth part of Twelve Hours, or Three Hours. A Thouſand Years are no more, in God's Account, than Three Hours; and by this Computation, he that dyes between Thirty and Forty Years old, is as if he had liv'd but Five or Six Minutes; and he that dyes betwixt Sixty and Seventy, as if he liv'd but Twelve or Thirteen Minutes. Such is the Proportion of Minutes in Three Hours compared to a Thouſand Years. But the longeſt Age imaginable, compar'd with God's Eternity, is not ſo much as One Minute. For let a Man bring forth all the Numbers he can think of; let him heap Millions upon Millions; let him lay on Ten Thouſand Millions one upon another; they are all leſs than one Unit unto Eternity. One ſingle Minute bears ſome Proportion with the greateſt Number of Years, that can be reckoned: But there's no Proportion between Finite and Infinite. Take as many Millions of Years as you pleaſe, and add as many more to them, Ten Thouſand Times over, yet ſtill they'll make but a Finite Number; whereas God's Duration is Infinite. With what humble Adoration ſhould we think of the Almighty, Eternal God, who is from Everlaſting to Everlaſting.

Secondly, If Old Age and Length of Days be a promiſed Bleſſing; how faulty is it for any to ſhorten their Days; or not to uſe proper Means for prolonging their Lives. And here ſuch are to be reprov'd, who either by Luxury and Intemperance, or by Quarrelling and Duelling, or by Attempts of Self-Murder, out of Peeviſhneſs and Diſcontent; or any other way, do diſcover a Contempt of Life; or do not take care to preſerve it. They conſider not what a Bleſſing Life is, that will throw it away, and haſten their own Death. There are excellent Purpoſes for the Glory of God, and our own Good, to be ſerved by this preſent Life, and therefore we muſt not fooliſhly part with it, till he who ſent us into this World doth call us into the other. And he that goes thither before he is ſent for, hath no Reaſon to expect to be welcome there. He that will ſhorten his own Time by Wickedneſs, or Wilfulneſs, of any ſort, he deſpiſeth this Bleſſing in the Text; and expoſeth himſelf to the Anger of God, and a terrible Reckoning beyond the Grave. You acknowledge that after Death follows Eternal Judgment; whereas many of the Heathens reckon'd Annihilation was the hardeſt and worſt of the Caſe. But Chriſtian Religion hath brought Life and Immortality to light; and the Scriptures tell us of future Puniſhments, as well as Rewards, which ſhould make us value and improve this preſent Life; for how long ſoever it be, 'tis little enough to prepare for the Everlaſting World. This I have already taken notice of, and ſo proceed to infer,

Thirdly, That the Contempt of Old Age, which God hath promiſed as a Bleſſing, muſt needs be a Sin. I apprehend no Impropriety for one that is not very Old, to plead for the Honour of Old Age: 'Tis but a piece of Juſtice to Humane Nature. And whoever in their Youth will divert themſelves with the unavoidable Infirmities of the Aged, he does but laugh at himſelf before-hand, and expoſe his own future Condition. It is well known, to the Honour of Old Age, that in almoſt all Countries, they of moſt Years have been thought fitteſt to preſide in Counſels, and have the Direction in Publick Affairs: So that the very Name of Office and Authority is deriv'd from thence: See Mr. J. Collier's Eſſays, Second Part, 8vo, of Old Age. Sir Francis Bacon's Eſſays of Youth and Age, §. 42. Witneſs the Jewiſh Elders, the Spartan 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , the Roman Senate, and the Saxon Aldermen. Though, younger People were ſometimes join'd in the Commiſſion. The Reaſon is plain, Matters of Moment being to be managed with Conduct and Temper; the Aged have always ſtood faireſt for ſuch a Truſt and Honour. And among ſeveral Nations, and particularly the Lacedemonians, and from them the Credebant hoc grande nefas, & morte piandum, ſi Juvenis vetulo non aſſurrexerat. Juvenal, Satyr. 29. in Euterp. Romans, they were honour'd as Fathers of their Country; and reverenc'd almoſt as Gods. To honour Ancient People is join'd with worſhipping the Gods in ſeveral Countries. Temporal Juriſdiction and Spiritual, the Magiſtracy and the Prieſthood, for the moſt part have been appropriated to the Elder, as the Names for both, in almoſt all Languages, will evidence. And therefore whatever Alterations there may ſeem to be in Elder Perſons, by reaſon of their Age, that may any ways expoſe them to Contempt; if they are ſuch, who have had Great and Uſeful Imployments in the World; their very Infirmities are to be attributed to their Generous and Profitable Labours, and look'd upon as Honourable Sears: They having ſpent themſelves in the Service of Chriſt, and the Souls of Men; or in the Service of their King and Country: and ſo the very Decays of Nature, in ſuch Perſons, ſhould rather move Reſpect than Pity. God hath commanded us to honour Old Age, Lev. 19.32. Thou ſhalt riſe up before the Hoary Head, and honour the Face of the Old Man, and fear thy God; I am the Lord. It is injoyn'd as an Inſtance of the Fear of God. So that the Contempt of Old Age is not only Rudeneſs, and Incivility, but Irreligion; not only ſhews the want of good Manners, but it is Profaneneſs. Rebuke not an Elder, or Ancient Perſon, but intreat him as a Father. 1 Tim. 5.1, 2. Likewiſe you Younger ſubmit your ſelves to the Elder. 1 Pet. 5.5. Eſpecially Children to Parents: You know the Puniſhment of Diſobedient Children. Prov. 21.18. If a Magiſtrate neglected his Duty; the Ravens of the Valley ſhall pluck out his Eyes, and the young Eagles ſhall eat them. As to Parents, the Obligation is manifold not to deſpiſe their Age; but reverence and honour them; to adviſe with them; to hearken to them, and be guided by them; eſpecially in the great Turns of Life. Prov. 23.2. Hearken to thy Father that begat thee, and deſpiſe not thy Mother when ſhe is old. Becauſe the Mother is more likely to be ſlighted than the Father; God commands the Honour and Fear of the Mother firſt. Lev. 19.3. Ye ſhall fear every Man his Mother, and his Father, &c.

And here may be conſidered, what is certainly confirmed by Experience, in very many Inſtances: That when God makes any Breach in a Family, by the Death of a Parent, whether Father or Mother, there are hardly any Children, though never ſo Reſpectful, Affectionate, and Dutiful to the Deceaſed, but have many a ſerious Thought upon their Deceaſe; Oh were my Honour'd and Dear Parent now alive, I think I ſhould expreſs my Duty and Affection, in this and the other Inſtance, more and better than I did: Even they who did obſerve the Fifth Commandment, ſo as to be accepted with God, and with their Parents, yet, after their Death, will have ſome ſuch Thoughts. There is doubtleſs more of Religion, in the good Carriage of Children toward their Parents, than is commonly believed; eſpecially in their declining Years. Reverence and Reſpect is due to them for their Age, if they were not our Parents. 'Tis a very ill Symptom upon any Nation, when Children behave themſelves proudly againſt the Ancient; and the Baſe againſt the Honourable See an Inſtance of this, even among the Tartars and Chineſe, how the Love, Obedience, and Reſpect of Children for their Parents is conducive to the Publick Peace of a Country. P. le Comte's Memoirs and Obſervations of the Empire of China. 8vo, 1698. Part. 2 of their Policy and Government, p. 264, 265, &c.. Iſa. 24.2. And conſidering how ſoon they are to remove out of this World, to take their final leave, and imbark for a Foreign Country, 'tis but a piece of common Juſtice to our departing Friends, 'tis no more than is due to their Condition; to ſhew them Reſpect and Affection at laſt; to ſignifie we are loath to loſe them; and that we wiſh them Happy in their Removal.

Secondly, Let me apply this for Exhortation to Younger, and to Elder Perſons. Firſt to Youth, in Three Things.

Firſt, Do not count upon it with any Certainty, that you ſhall live to be Old. How few comparatively do out-live Thirty? And whether you are call'd away in Youth or Riper Years, there is a Bleſſed or Miſerable Eternity to follow. O that it were conſider'd, and believ'd, you ſhall not dye the ſooner, by being ready and prepared to dye while you are Young. And as it will not haſten your Death, ſo neither will it ſpoil the Pleaſure and Comfort of your preſent Life; but every way contribute to it. But how little ground have you to expect to live to be very Old, when ſo many dye ſuddenly, and ſo many dye Younger than you: And you know there is no Opportunity beyond the Grave, of making Peace with Heaven, if you dye in your Sins. Your Work is great, and you cannot begin too ſoon: you may not live to that time, unto which you adjourn your good Purpoſes. It is the Devil's great Artifice to cheat Men of the preſent Seaſon, by the Promiſe and Expectation of future Time. We are not certain whether God will try us with another Day; or if we trifle now, whether he will then vouchſafe his Grace; therefore now while it is called to Day, hear the Voice of God, Remember thy Creator, and work out thy Salvation. How many of your Acquaintance have dyed Younger than you, who were as likely to live, and more ſo? You think you have a great while to come, Thirty, Forty, Fifty Years; this ſeems at a mighty diſtance; though they who have liv'd ſo long, when it is gone, ſay it is paſt as yeſterday, they can't tell how. A Week to come ſeems longer than a Year that's paſt. But think ſeriouſly, how many more have dyed, before they have arriv'd to your Age, than ever did attain to it. And how unreaſonable is it, to deſire to dye of Old Age, and of the Decay of Natural Strength, conſidering that is a kind of Death, of all others the moſt rare. If that be moſt Natural that is moſt common, to dye of Old Age is a Death rare, ſingular, and extraordinary, and ſo leſs Natural, than any other of the numberleſs ways of dying, and the leſs to be expected. 'Tis not always true, that the fewer Days and Years a Man has paſt, the more he has to come. A new built Houſe may fall, when an old one ſtands. Therefore count not upon a long Life, but begin preſently to prepare to dye. God may call thee forth to that War, from which there is no Diſcharge, without giving thee an Hours Warning. You know not what ſhall be on the morrow. Jam. 4.14.

Liſten not to thoſe, while you are Young, who would perſwade you to put off your Repentance to a further time: Who will tell you, you are in the heat and flower of your Youth, and ſhould now (if ever) indulge your ſelves: That Religion is a melancholly thing, and you'll have time enough for it hereafter. But who would defer his Repentance till hereafter, that doth not know but he may dye to Night? Who would put it off to Old Age, when 'tis ſo uncertain whether he ſhall not dye Young? Ludovicus Capellus tells us of one of the Rabbins, that when one of his Diſciples came to him, to know what was the fitteſt Time to repent in; He anſwer'd, One Day before his Death; meaning, Preſently: Becauſe the youngeſt have no Aſſurance of another Day.

Secondly, Take Care in Youth to lay a good Foundation for Old Age, by being ſuch who may apply the Promiſes of long Life, unto whom they are like to be made good. There's nothing but ſerious Religion betimes, can bring you to a healthful and comfortable Old Age. This would tend to promote and preſerve your Health, as well as Intereſt you in the favourable Protection and Providence of God. Serious Godlineſs is a Friend to the Health of our Bodies, and the Chearfulneſs and Content of our Minds; and not to obey God, is ordinarily to neglect our See Dr. Lucas, The true Notion of Humane Life, 8vo, p. 187. Shewing how the lengthning of our Lives depends on the Cheerfulneſs of the Mind, the Health of the Body, and the Providence of God for Protection, beſides the Good Will of our Fellow Creatures; and how ſerious Religion doth contribute to it on all theſe Accounts. preſent Intereſt, as well as our Eternal Salvation. To fear the Lord, and depart from Evil, is Health to the Navel, and Marrow to the Bones. To how many Luſts and Vices is an untimely Death threatned? And of how many is it a Natural and Ordinary Conſequence? There are Promiſes of long Life made to ſuch as are Juſt in their Dealings, and Charitable to the Poor; to ſuch who are Meek and Patient, who truſt in God, and do all the Good they can in the World. But for Senſual Men, they dig their own Grave by their Vices: They pour in Wine and ſtrong Drink, and let out Life: They ſtrangle themſelves with their Intemperance, and haſten the Infirmities of Old Age by the Exceſſes of Youth. He who would have his Health hold out, muſt live Regularly, and not too faſt. He that will indulge Youthful Luſts, will corrupt his Blood, and weaken his Conſtitution, and give Death opportunity to enter: And if he live, ſhall poſſeſs the Sins of his Youth; his Bones ſhall be filled with them, they muſt lye down with him in the Duſt. Job 20.11. What painful Methods will Men ſubmit to for the Preſervation of Life? Skin for Skin, and all that a Man hath will he give for his Life. But he that loveth Life, and deſireth many Days, and to ſee Good, let him fear God, and keep his Commandments; for after all the endeavours uſed to keep off Death, and prolong Life, there's none like remembring our Creator in the Days of our Youth. And 'tis not only for Murder, and Adultery, and the vileſt Impurities, that God threatens an untimely Death; but for Diſobedience to Parents, for Covetouſneſs, Oppreſſion, Injuſtice, and Worldlyneſs. Jer. 17.11. As the Patridge ſitteth on Eggs, and hatcheth them not: ſo he that getteth Riches, and not by right, ſhall leave them in the midſt of his Days, and at his end ſhall be a Fool. Prov. 28.16. He that hateth Covetouſneſs ſhall prolong his Days. 'Twere eaſie to inlarge on this Head.

Let me only add that yet ſuch as are Religious in their Youth, ſhould not be over deſirous of living very long: For though it is a Bleſſing as hath been prov'd, when join'd with Piety: and if God think fit, that we may live to be Inſtrumental to God's Glory, the Good of others, and our own Benefit; yet if we conſider our Enemies, and our Temptations, and our own Corruptions, the odds is on the other ſide: Bleſſed are the Dead, who dye in the Lord, tho' in their Youth.

Thirdly, If you ſhould live to Old Age, and feel the Infirmities of it, you will not be able to bear up then, without living well now. Nothing but the Comforts of a good Conſcience, will be able to ſupport you, when the Evil Days ſhall come, wherein you ſhall have no Pleaſure; as 'tis deſcrib'd at large Eccl. 12. which I thought to have Paraphras'd, and Explain'd, but 'tis well done by many, in ſeveral Books eaſie to be conſulted. Your Sun and Light, and Moon and Stars, will grow dark, and the Clouds return after the Rain; one Infirmity following another, as a ſign of approaching Night; as a warning that the Grave is ready for you, and you ſhould be for it. You may reaſonably expect, that the time will come, when you ſhall complain of darkneſs of Mind, and dry Affections, dull Senſes, and faulty Memories; your Eyes dim, your Ears heavy, your Limbs feeble, and Feet lame, your Joints benumb'd, &c. You cannot ordinarily think of meeting a great Old Age, without ſome of theſe Inconveniencies: Though by a peculiar Providence, ſome are in a great meaſure exempted from them.

Now conſider, what can ſupport and comfort you in this Condition, but the Senſe of God's Favour, and the Teſtimony of a good Conſcience, and Reflections on a well-ſpent Life? To look back, how you have imploy'd your Time? What Good you have done in the World? What Proviſion you have made for Eternity? What Care you have taken for your Souls? Theſe Queſtions well anſwer'd, will be a great Support in Old Age; and keep off much of the Weight of it; and make many Years ſit more eaſily upon you. 'Tis true, a good Conſcience will not make a Man Immortal; but the Quiet of our Minds and Spirits, will contribute much to the Strength of our Bodies, and inable us to bear the Infirmities of Old Age, and ſlide into the Grave more gently. But above all, it will give you Hope of finding Favour with God in another World; and that being ſatisfied with long Life, God will ſhew you his Eternal Salvation. And ſo I come to ſpeak a few words to the See more largely, the Duty of the Aged, very well explain'd, and urg'd by Mr. Steel, in his Diſcourſe of Old Age, 8o. 1688. Aged.

Firſt, Unto ſuch who have liv'd a great many Years in the World, and are yet unfit to dye; who by reaſon of Ignorance, Impenitence, and a Wicked Life, are altogether unprepared to leave this World; having nothing but a miſerable Portion to expect in the next. You loſe the Crown, and Glory of Old Age; you are the old Servants of the Devil, and Slaves of Sin; you have long treaſur'd up Wrath againſt the Day of Wrath; and are going ſhortly to receive your Wages; even double Condemnation. How many Years time have you miſimploy'd, that you are now to reckon for? What a ſhameful Bill may be made of the Expence of ſo long a time of Tryal, and of all the Talents you have had? How can you look back without Amazement and Horrour? Your loſt Hours can never be recall'd, you muſt Repent ſpeedily, or you are undone for ever. There is but a ſtep between you and Death; between you and Hell. Oh how near do you ſtand to the Judgment of God? A young Sinner may periſh ſhortly, and he may not; for God may ſpare him, and give him Time and Space, and Grace to Repent: But you muſt be gone; there are but a few Sands in your Glaſs; but a little Oyl in your Lamp, to preſerve the Flame: Your active Time is gone, and yet your great Concern, and main Buſineſs for the Everlaſting World, is now to begin. We read of old Adulterers, as an Agravation of their Sin. Ezek. 23.43. And the Prophet Jeremy ſaith, I am full of the Fury of the Lord, I will pour it forth upon the Aged, and him that's full of Days. Jer. 6.11.

Let us conſider the ſad Circumſtances of thoſe Perſons, who wax old in Wickedneſs and Irreligion, and Contempt of God, how dead and diſinclin'd their Spirits are to God, and Spiritual Matters; how every Day more unwilling to Repent; how they are hardened by a long Impunity; finding, that though they have ſinned for Twenty or Thirty Years or more, they are well ſtill, and all the Preachers Sermons but harmleſs Thunder: We ſhall find that they ſtill grow worſe and worſe. Be ſure they that defer their Repentance to Old Age, their Repentance comes off the harder; their Zeal is leſs, their Love is weak, and ſo is every thing they do. But though, there be leſs Hope of ſuch, who have been all their Days under the Preaching of the Goſpel, and not converted, till they are old, yet we can't limit the Grace of God: We dare not ſay their Caſe is hopeleſs. He that quickens the Dead, and raiſed Lazarus out of his Grave, can breathe on thoſe dry Bones, and make them live. The Penitent Thief proves a late Repentance poſſible to be true. I grant, except a Man be born again, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but ſay not therefore, How can a Man be born again when he is Old: For, He that of Stones can raiſe up Children to Abraham, can ſanctifie and renew an old Sinner, and make him a real Saint. Let ſuch therefore awake, and bethink themſelves, and ſeek his Grace. How many Years hath God waited on you? How many Mercies, how many Afflictions, how many Warnings have you had? How many Calls by his Word, Providence, and Spirit? And now you are in view of the Grave, ſtooping to it; Death begins to ſeize you; it hath ſeized ſome Parts of you already; it is manifeſt in your Eyes, in your Ears, Hands, and Legs; you can't ſee without Art, or hear without Difficulty, or walk without Pain; you can't look into a Glaſs, but you may ſee ſomething of the Pourtraicture of Death in your Face, if you can ſee at all. You are filled with Wrinkles, which is a witneſs againſt you, and your Leanneſs riſing up in you, bears witneſs to the Face. Job 16.8. O think how near you are your Journeys-end, and loſe not one Minute longer! You are on the brink of Perdition, and therefore ſhould ſpeedily eſcape: Every Hour you delay, you'll be more unfit and indiſpoſed: So much of your Time, Parts and Strength is gone already, you ſhould uſe the remainder to the beſt Advantage. You have ſeen by your own Experience the Vanity of all Worldly Things, and the Miſery of a wicked Courſe, and may have many Things to help your Seriouſneſs in this Age. You have no other Imployment proper for you, but to be preparing for Death; to be bidding adieu to the World; to be caſting up your Accounts; to be fitting to abide in that State for ever, into which you are next to paſs. Therefore awake, and give all Diligence. Certainly we can never ſet about this Work too ſoon; but let none think 'tis too late to begin to be devoted to God, and live to him. It is always the beſt thing we can do; and therefore we ſhould at any time endeavour it; and there are ſpecial Reaſons for it in every Age. It is ſeaſonable for the Youngeſt, but 'tis abſolutely neceſſary for the Aged, to make all the haſte poſſible.

Secondly, To you my Fathers, who are old Diſciples, whoſe Hoary Head is found in the way of Righteouſneſs, who have ſerved the Lord from your Youth; Let me recommend a few Things.

Firſt, Think how near you are to the Grave. You have but one Remove more to make, till you get thither: Your Warfare is almoſt accompliſhed. O be not ſtrangers to the Thoughts of Death, thereby to quicken your Actual Preparation! Improve every Providence to that End, eſpecially every Breach in your own Families by Death; Particularly, as in the preſent Caſe of Him, who, though the deepeſt Mourner, does not mourn alone. When the Companion of your Life is gone before, with whom you have pleaſantly, comfortably, and uſefully convers'd for ſo many Years: Who was the Inſtrument of ſo much of God's Mercy to you, with whom you have worſhiped God ſo often in Publick and Private, pray'd together, wept together, and ſang the Praiſes of God together, and mourn'd together under Difficulties and Tryals, and help'd to bear one another's Burthens, &c. God calls aloud to you for ſerious Preparation to follow, that you may be both ready and willing.

Secondly, Look back on your paſt Lives, and conſider the many Inſtances of the Care, Wiſdom, Faithfulneſs, and Goodneſs of God, to ſtrengthen your Faith for the laſt Scene of your Life. Reflect humbly upon the Time you have loſt; how much more Good you might have done; how many of your Talents you might have better improv'd; how many Heu quam multa Paenitenda occurrunt, diu vivendo! Seneca. Errors and Follies you have committed, and beg of God to forgive the Sins of your Youth: And yet look back with Thankfulneſs to God, that 'tis no worſe; that Goodneſs and Mercy hath followed you all your Days. Can you not ſay, Thou haſt been my God from my Mothers Womb; my Praiſe ſhall be continually of thee: Thou haſt been the Guide of my Youth, and the Stay of my Riper Years: Thou haſt been my Dwellingplace in all Generations: Thou haſt furniſh'd me with Opportunities of doing and receiving Good: Thou haſt built up my Houſe, and made it to grow, when thou pulleſt down others: Thou haſt been my Shield, Refuge, and Hiding-Place in Times of Danger; when Thouſands have fallen on the righthand, and on the left: Thou haſt been with me and mine Abroad and at Home, by Sea and Land, in one Country and another; and compaſſed me about with thy Salvation. How many Perſonal, how many Relative Bleſſings? How many Temporal, how many Spiritual Mercies, have I had? How many Uſeful, Excellent, Exemplary Chriſtians, (Miniſters and Magiſtrates,) have I follow'd to the Grave; and ſeen their Bodies laid in the Duſt? And yet God has ſpar'd and preſerv'd me unto Old Age, that I might be more ripe for Heaven: And Oh that this may be the Fruit of all, that I may be ſo!

And with the Conſideration of what God has done for you, you old Diſciples ſhould acquaint others that are younger, with what you your ſelves have found, and what their Children, and Childrens Children, will find to be true, as to Religious and Civil Prudence. In this eſpecially, Days ſhould ſpeak, and multitudes of Years teach Knowledge. Job 33.9. Admoniſh them to remember their Creator in the Days of their Youth; charge them to be followers of you, ſo far as you have been followers of Chriſt, in hopes that among all your Children, or Grand-Children, there may not be one Son of Perdition, nor one Daughter of Belial. Thus David; Come ye Children hearken unto me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Pſal. 34.11. Thus Solomon at large, Prov. 4.1, 2. Hear ye Children the Inſtruction of a Father, and attend to know Underſtanding. Thus Timothy's Mother and Grand-Mother taught him. Tell them of the Snares of Satan, of the Deceitfulneſs of Sin, of the certain Diſappointment, if we expect much from the World; tho' it may be they will hardly now believe it.

Thirdly, Let the laſt part of your Lives abound in the Fruits of Righteouſneſs; and be much imploy'd in ſerious Devotion. Let more Time be ſpent in Prayer and Meditation, and ſecret Converſe with God. In what a Frame doth the Pſalmiſt ſpeak when he was Old. Pſal. 71.17, 18. Which Holy Rivet was wont to repeat every Day in his Old Age. O God, thou haſt taught me from my Youth; and hitherto have I declared thy wonderous Works. Now alſo when I am Old and Grey Headed, O God, forſake me not; until I have ſhewed thy Strength unto this Generation, and thy Power to every one that is to come. Though in the Morning we muſt ſow our Seed, yet in the Evening, we muſt not with-hold our hand, we know not which ſhall proſper moſt. Whether you may not pleaſe and honour God in your Old Age, by ſuitable Fruits of Righteouſneſs, as much as ever heretofore in your Younger Years. I have loſt a world of time, ſaid the Learned Salmaſius on his Death-Bed, if I had One Year longer, I would ſpend it in reading David's Pſalms, and Paul's Epiſtles. I repent of all my Life, ſaid another on his Death-Bed, but that part I have ſpent in Communion with God, and in doing Good.

O Pray much for your ſelves, and for your Children, and for Theirs after them, that none of them may be loſt; that none of them may diſhonour their Parentage, blemiſh their Family, break the Fetters of their Education, and caſt off their Fathers God, and their Mothers God. Methinks 'tis a Pleaſant and Comfortable Paſſage, Heb. 11.9. That Abraham dwelt in Tents with Iſaac and Jacob: (That is, they all did ſo, though not in the ſame Houſe,) and were all Heirs of the ſame Promiſe. Father, Son and Grand-Son; All Heirs of the ſame Promiſe; All Believers; All within the Bond of the Covenant; All pleaſing God, and accepted of him. 'Tis a ſingular Mercy to be able to ſay, Lord, I am thy Servant; truly I am thy Servant, the Son of thine Handmaid, the Son of thy Servant. I hope my Father's God, my Grand-Father's and Grand-Mother's God, is my God, and ſhall be the God of mine.

And here I can hardly forbear ſomething more particular of the Excellent Perſon Deceaſed, who is now above our Praiſes. Her Character and Hiſtory is not to be ſumm'd up in the few Syllables of a Funeral Ring; that ſhe liv'd to ſuch an Age, and dy'd at ſuch a Time. I might ſay of her with ſtrict Juſtice, upon my own knowledge, very many Things, Great and Praiſe-worthy; but that it was againſt her Deſire; nor is it His, who hath a greater Power over me, than that comes to. There are Multitudes who knew her Example, who are Mourners for her Death, in City and in Country, beſides Relations; Multitudes, who by her Charity were enabled to praiſe God: Who will tell one another of this, and the other Particular, which I ſhall not name. And if any think that her diſlike of a Funeral Commendation, do add to her Character, and really greaten it, I cannot help or gainſay that.

Let me urge this a little further upon Elder Chriſtians, who have been for many Years planted in the Houſe of the Lord, that they would bring forth Fruit in their Old Age. Sirs, Be not weary of Well-doing; God is not weary of doing you Good; he hath provided for you in Old Age, that your Youth ſhould be renewed like the Eagles. God's Goodneſs to you doth not abate but increaſe. He may ſay to you as to old Iſrael, Iſa. 46.3, 4. You were born by me from the Belly, and carried from the Womb; even unto Old Age, I am he, and even to Hoary Hairs will I carry you. You have had a long Time to take deeper Root, and to bring forth riper and better Fruit than Others: and now you are preparing for a Remove; within a near proſpect of it; you know it can't be long; for Old Age is the next Condition to the Grave. 'Twas the Honour of Thyatira, that her Laſt Works were better than her Firſt; and of Zacharias and Elizabeth, both well ſtricken in Years, that they were both Righteous before God, walking in all the Commandments and Ordinances of the Lord blameleſs. And of Anna, who was of a great Age, that ſhe departed not from the Temple, but ſerved God Day and Night. Luke 2.36. They had need look to this, who can't reaſonably think to be many Years ſhort of the Everlaſting World; who have no other Buſineſs now to mind, but that they may finiſh their Courſe with Joy; that they may have freſh Supplies of Spiritual Life, and ſuitable actings of Grace to the very laſt; that their Breaches may be repaired, their Backſlidings healed; that what is weak may be ſtrengthened, and what is decayed may be recovered, &c.

There is ſuch a Thing as a Spring in Autumn, a latter Spring; and though it be inferiour to the firſt, yet the Husbandman cannot ſpare it; and 'tis reckon'd a ſign of barren Ground, if there be no Attempts to put forth afreſh towards the end of the Year. God expects the like from Chriſtians in their Old Age: Eſpecially from ſuch, who have made a great Appearance, and Profeſſion of Religion in their Younger Years. 'Tis dreadful for any ſuch to be Dead, and Cold, and Worldly, and Selfiſh, and Earthly-minded. Though the Fruit be ſomewhat different in Old Age from the former, yet that which is expected, is the Fruit of that Seaſon; Such as Spirituality, and Heavenly-mindedneſs, Mortification to the World, fitneſs to dye, and willingneſs to depart, and diligence to clear up your Evidences for Heaven, that you may be on ſure Grounds for Eternity: Theſe are Fruits fit for Elder Saints. Such Fruits in Old Age will ſhew, to the Glory of God, that the Lord is Upright, that he is your Rock, and there is no Unrighteouſneſs in him.

If You ſhould not be willing to dye, it can be leſs expected from younger Chriſtians. You have ſeen ſo much of the Vanity and Vexation of the World, of the Falſhood and Deceitfulneſs of Men, of the Diviſions in the Church, of the Weakneſſes of Good Men, and the Wickedneſs of Others, (and there is ſo little Proſpect of any Thing better,) that it will be juſtly thought, that you ſhould be willing and glad to be gone. Mr. Dod, in a dangerous Sickneſs in his Old Age, being told by his Phyſicians, that they had good Hopes of his Recovery; replyed, That the News pleaſed him no better, than if one ſhould tell a Weather-beaten Mariner, who was putting into the Heaven, that he muſt to Sea again, and conflict with more Storms.

Fourthly, Be Patient under the Infirmities and Weakneſſes of Old Age. You have born the brunt of the Battle, and heat of the Day; hold out a little longer. Give Glory to God by ſubmitting to his Will. Don't miſtake the Decays of Nature for Declenſions in Grace; and becauſe your Natural Strength is abated, conclude therefore that God has forſaken you. But know that your Eſteem, and Judgment, and ſettled Bent of Heart may be (and I hope is) more for God, Holineſs, and Heaven, than formerly; and your Diſeſteem of the World and Sin more than heretofore; tho' lively, vigorous Affections will decay with Age. Conſider what this Body is, and how near it is to Diſſolution; and that God hath promiſed never to leave nor forſake you. Therefore endeavour patiently to bear the Weakneſſes and Infirmities of your preſent State. And Aged Perſons ſhould not think much of Infirmities, Languiſhings, and Decays, that may every Day bring them nearer to their long Home. Be thankful to God if they are tolerable; you can't expect to be wholly exempted. And think a little, how many in their younger Years have more Sickneſs, and Weakneſs, and Bodily Indiſpoſition, than many of you, even in old Age.

Laſtly, Labour to live in the joyful Expectation of the Heavenly Glory. You ſhall ſhortly be with Chriſt, and with Millions of his Servants; many of them you have known, and multitudes more whom you never ſaw, will then be as dear to you, as if you had known them. What a joyful Meeting will this be with Chriſt and them! 'Tis true we know not the Particulars of our bleſſed State, in the Better, Upper World, but we truſt in Chriſt, who hath promiſed we ſhall be with him. And he knows what's the Place, State and Company, and where we ſhall be, and what we ſhall injoy and do. We leave it to him; he is Wife, and Kind, and Faithful. O think with your ſelves, that your Salvation is now nearer than when at firſt you believ'd. We that are Younger, may have many Difficulties and Conflicts, before we get through the World; but You are near your Reward. As old Soldiers, who have been long in Service, expect the next Place of Preferment; ſo old Diſciples are near to the Heavenly Glory: The next Place in Heaven it may be is for you, or you, of all the Heirs of Salvation in this Aſſembly. Let your thankful, joyful Hopes, and fervent Deſires to be with Chriſt, be part of your Teſtimony to the Faithfulneſs of God, and the Truth of his Word; to convince Obſervers, that Religion is a Reality, and that a holy Life is Beſt, that hath ſo Deſirable, and Comfortable an End. But whether the Younger, or Elder of us ſhall be call'd firſt, is only known to Him who knoweth all Things. May God of his Infinite Mercy, make us Ready, and then Willing, to follow Thoſe, who by Faith and Patience are gone to inherit the Promiſes! Amen.

FINIS.