UPon a like sad and melancholly Occasi­on, after I had largely Expounded the words read unto you; I propoun­ded these follewing Heads to be dis­coursed on. Namely,

1. To [...]lain more particularly, what it is to know [...] End, and wherein this Know­edge does consist.

2. Shew whereto this same Knowledge of our Mortality serveth, and what Benefits accrue therefrom.

3. Consider who it is that must furnish us with his Wisdom, and dispose us by his Grace, [Page 8] to know our Mortality? namely, God; imply'd in these words: Lord make me to know, &c.

4. Enquire what Course is to be taken, and what to be done on our parts, that we may pre­vail with the Lord to bestow that Wisdom and Grace upon us.

5thly and Lastly, Make some suitable Appli­cation.

I began with the first thing proposed, which was to explain more particularly, what 'tis to know our End, and wherein this Knowledge do's consist.

And therefore to know our End, do's as I take it, imply these two things.

1. The serious Thoughts and Consideration of Death.

2. The good Effects which those Thoughts, and that Consideration ought to have on the re­maining part of our Lives.

1. The serious thoughts and consideration of Death, i. e of our Departure into another World, or of the Souls deserting the Body.

And concerning this, there are three things chiefly which we are concerned to take notice of.

1. That our Lives are in the [...] God, which he may either prolong or abbreviate as in his Godly Wisdom he seeth convenient, either continue to us, or take from us, when and by what means soever He pleaseth.

2. That how long soever our End or Remo­val [Page 9] hence be delay'd, we have great reason to prepare immediately for't.

3. That whether we make a due Preparation for Death, or whether we forbear, 'tis certain it will come, and that in no long time neither. The first of these, I ha' already dispatcht. I pass therefore immediately to the Second Observati­on: Which is,

2. That how long, &c. Multitudes we daily see are suddenly snacht away; so suddenly, that they are scarce spared a little while, to take leave of their Surviving Friends, before they go hence, and are no more seen.

And therefore O man, whosoever thou art, whether aged and decriped, or even in thy young and healthful days, flatter not thy self with ima­ginary hopes that thou shalt have time enough to make thy self ready for another State, when Sick­ness comes and fairly warns thee to depart out of This; for thou knowest not how soon the King of Terrors may surprize thee; and by how much the more secure thou art, by so much the more unexpected and astonishing will his coming be.

But farther, suppose Death should lay hold on thee when thou thinkest not of him, what Pro­bability is there that thou shouldest in that Con­sternation which is common in these Cases, be so much thy self, or retain such Presence of Mind, as to make a sufficient Preparation? Alas! Vain man! How shall I expostulate this Matter with thee? Shall I shew thee the Danger and [Page 10] folly of delaying to put thy self in a readiness? I fear thou wilt look on this as a needless work, should I undertake it; for if the Almighty can Cut us off when he's minded, and when we are not in the least aware of it, (as surely he can) it must undoubtedly be the greatest Wisdom and Safety in us to make a timely Provision, & to be always on our Guard, if we mean so to Finish our Course, that from thenceforth there may be Laid up for us a Crown of Life.

Or rather, shall I Instruct thee in the mischie­vous Consequences of trusting to a late Provision? Why this is the main Concern of our Lives, and is Old Age that State that is generally attended with continual Infirmities, Aches and Defects, a proper Season to begin the Greatest and most Difficult Task in? In our temporal Concerns, tho' of infinite less Moment, we act with greater Rea­son, and more like our selves; 'tis only in the management of our Spiritual Affairs, and things of the highest Concernment, that we so shame­fully Expose our selves. Do we not for Exam­ple when the Case of some urgent, weighty Bui­ness lies upon us, endeavour to dispatch it with all the Expedition possible? How seldom do we fail, when a long and tedious Journey is to be taken, to be before-hand with the Sun, at least to set out betimes in the Morning?

Now does any Business in the World require so much haste and care in the Execution of it, as that of, Working out our own Salvation with [Page 11] Fear and Trembling, since this Task is extreamly difficult, and this short Life the only time we have to perform it in; and why then do you not immediately set about it.

Again, Are we not all Travelling to a better Country? and are we not all Strangers and So­journers here, and bound for Heaven, as all our Fathers were; nay, and is not the Gate strait, and the Way narrow that leadeth to't; are there not multitudes of Hardships to be encountred, and innumerable Difficulties to be rubb'd through, before we can come to possess that Good Land: And why then (in Gods Name) do ye loiter? Why do ye put off the Journey from one time to another? as tho' 'twere a matter indifferent whe­ther you advance or no; or as tho' God in His Superabundant Mercy would bring Happiness to you, when by reason of Age, and Weakness you are less fit and disposed to seek after That. Sirs, be not deceived, for tho' God must be confessed to be of great Kindness, and rich in Love; yet seeing his Goodness, does not swallow up his Justice and Truth, seeing he has Ordain'd, that by Running the Race that is set before us, we should only presume to obtain the promised Reward; seeing we cannot hope to procure this any other way; nay lastly, seeing we have been idle, and lavished away that Time, and those blessed Oppor­tunities which were afforded on Purpose that we might prepare for our Change; we by trusting to a Late, or Death-bed Repentance, do not only [Page 12] run the Risk of having our Sun set before our Work be done; but also of provoking God to accelerate and hasten our End, to abridge his Long-sufferance, and to plung us down quick in­to Unspeakable and Endless Misery.

It highly concerns us therefore most seriously to observe that wholesome Admonition of our Lord and Saviour, Mat. 24.42, 43, 44. Watch therefore, for ye know not what Hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the Good man of the House had known in what Watch the Thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his House to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready; for in such an Hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh.

Farther yet, suppose, which nevertheless we cannot possibly be well assured of, that we shall not be immaturely taken hence, but have some monitory symptoms of approaching Death, some friendly Sickness advertise us of our Danger; yet 'tis very uncertain, whether we shall then be in a Capacity to prepare our selves or not. For (the truth is) the very Distemper, which we depend upon, to forewarn us of our hazzardous Condition, and to Summon us to our Duty, may peradventure inpispose us too. Was you ever brought down to a Sick-bed? or do you know what it is to labour under the Pains and Throws, and Agonies of a Diseased Body? If any among you will say they do, and can call to mind what the Effects of your Sufferings of this nature [Page 13] have been, let me appeal to the Consciences of those People, whether the extremity of Anguish did not altogether unfit them for the underta­king, prosecuting or effecting any manner of Bu­siness, be it of greater or lesser Moment.

Take any man that's in present Torture, let it be the Girds and Twitches of the Gout or Stone, or some such Tormenting Evil, engage him on a­ny Concern of your own, and put the Business wholly into his hands; let him but try for once how well he can manage it: & you'l be satisfied in a little while that such an one is utterly incapable of minding any thing but the Accuteness of his Misery. If he that has a swimming Head, and an aching Heart, a disturbed Brain, and unrelish­ing Palate, feeble Hands, and trembling Joynts; and in short, no sound Part in his whole Body: If I say such a distempered creature can be suppo­sed to act rightly and commendably according to the nature of the Concern he is driving at, and the Exigency of the Occasion that moves him to it, then I confess I have hitherto enter­tain'd a wrong notion of Sickness. But if on the contrary, he cannot be allow'd to act thus, as I am sure he cannot, what should make us be­lieve that they are not bewitcht, and given up to Sin, forsaken of their Reason, and to be despaired of, who will not repent nor think of their Mor­ality in their Health, in their blooming Strength, and best Days?

[Page 14]I rather think we have greater Reason to upbraid and exclaim bitterly against them, but that they may too soon find an opportunity to save us that trouble, and be their own Accu­sers. May be the next time such an one re­tires into his Closet, or lays down his restless Body on his Couch; nothing but Satyr and In­vective and disjoynted Complaints will come of it. Go hide thy self in some private Corner, and hearken what he'll say then; See with what melt­ing words he begins to wish now that he had em­ploy'd his early Time, his gay and briskest Days in preparing his accounts for a future Life: con­fessing the mischief and unreasonableness of de­ferring so necessary, and withal so difficult a work to Sickness, the unfittest and most impro­per Time; appealing to himself, whom he also condemns for the heinousness and presumption of so doing: looking back on this his Negligence and Carelessness, with Remorse and Regret, and observing before him the terrible Prospect of e­ternal Misery with Horror and Distraction.

Now the Graceless Wretch is brought to know himself, and to speak his Thoughts; being under the awful sense or his lamentable Condition; a­rising from the consideration of his own Consci­ence, chiding and rating him within for his Wic­kedness, and the Punishment awarded to his im­pious Practices without; of his resisting the Checks and Restraints of Nature, before he contracted [Page 15] his Guilt, and of his being just ready to be consign'd over to insufferable Torments for e­ver after.

To conclude then; if it be true, that to delay our Reformation, or making ready for another World, till Sickness or Old Age for­ceth us unto it, be a foolish and dangerous Adventure: if a sudden and unexpected Death may come and defeat all treacherous Hopes of this kind; if suppose we do live to be Old, and had a long warning given us before we dy, (which yet is no good Policy to trust to:) we cannot tell by reason of the deceitful­ness of Sin, and our own Hearts together, and our often, contemning the Divine Grace alrea­dy, whether we shall be in our right Senses, and capable to prepare for our Change or not; or whether God will uouchsafe to follow us with his despised Grace any longer: It must be confest on the force of all these Conside­rations, that we ought to day while it is called to day, without either Demur or Procrastinati­on, to set about our Duty in good earnest; and that because, whether we do this or not, we must certainly Dy, and be called to a strict Judgment in a very short Time: which brings me to my next Particular, to shew.

3. That whether we make a due prepara­tion for Death, or whether we forbear, 'tis [Page 16] certain that will come, and indeed very quick­ly too. I am sensible, 'twere impertinent to prove, that all must once Dy; this is so well known, that it never was, nor ever will be doubted by any man in his right mind: but to tell people that they shall Dy e're long, in I know not how short a Space, before they have time perhaps to confess their Sins, or to cry out for Mercy, is thought a hard saying, and few there be that are both able and willing to bear it. 'Tis usual for men of dissolute lives and Manners to disbelieve those things that they do not like; they are firmly resolved to put nothing in their Creed, but what makes for them. And this in some mea­sure is the reason why many are so hardly perswaded of the Propinquity or Nearness of their Dying Day. They know they must part with their darling Vices, let it come when it will. They fear contrary to that false Confi­dence and forced Bravery wherewith they were wont to deny the chief Articles of the Chri­stian Faith, that things may prove in the End quite otherwise then was desired; that there is a Judge to Condemn, and a Devil to torment, an Heaven lost and forfeited, and an Hell which they must unavoidably and irrecovera­bly be cast into

From hence therefore we may conclude that the Reason why men wont entertain the Belief of these things, is because it goes Counter to [Page 17] their Wishes; (for Affection you know, is too apt to Byass Reason) and interfers with their Fancied Interest.

But after all, it matters not how secure and confident such Atheistical Persons are, that all Things will be Hereafter as they Suppose and Hope for Here. Nay (to come closer to the present Design) it signifies nothing what a Strong Presumption they pretend to have, that Death is a great way off; for 'tis impossible that any Man barely fancying things to be at such or such a Distance from him, should presently make 'em Vanish When, and Whither He wou'd have them. 'Tis common for Children to imagine that the Tops of Mountains touch the very Skies, but the Mountains will never be removed to that height by Virtue of that Childish Imagination No more can He, that (being in perfect Health) presumes most on a long Life, if Death is nearly tho' invisibly advancing towards him, either drive the hasty Messenger back, or make him keep at a remoter Distance, by the Strength and Peremp­toriness of his Conceit. Alas! Death is as reso­lute as we can be for our Lives, whatever we think of him, and will by little and little Steal upon us.

Men of twenty or thirty may Phancy that Death is in all likelihood far enough from them, and therefore will scorn to disturb their Heads [Page 18] about it yet; esteeming it a point of Gallantry to defie it, and endeavour to blot out of their Minds all Apprehensions, Fears and Jealousies, at least to stiffe them for a while; but notwith­standing the Sand in the Glass runs down apace, without Stop or Intermission; and Time, Deaths Substitute and chief Officer, whose Power no­thing can resist or scape, may for ought any bo­dy can tell mow them down in the prime of their Days, and midst of their Journey. By com­mon Experience, we may be convinc't upon how weak and infirm a Thread our Lives are hung, and what a perfect Hair it is that holds us from dropping into our Grave. Up­on the very Tombs of our deceas't Relati­ons we may read if we will, our own Frail­ty; They Instruct as well as Grieve; the Consideration of our Friends being there laid in a cold Bed of Earth, directs us to infer that we shall soon ly by his Side; and the Thoughts of his having been but a lit­tle before, perhaps more young and lively and brisk then we are, supposeth that we have no Certainty that we shall tarry long behind.

But besides, how frequently do we see with our own Eyes, many a strong, healthy, robust Youth attended to his Burial by those Companions, whose weak and sickly Consti­tution he was us'd to pitty? What a com­mon [Page 19] thing is it for the best and most un­likely to Dy first? How many strange In­stances of this Nature have we heard of within the Compass of some few Years? Nay, how many can our own Knowledge and Memory furnish us withal? By odd and unaccountable Accidents are Multitudes brought to an unexpected End. 'Tis considerable, that the finer and more curious any thing is, the more easily it may be corrupted and spoiled. We see this constantly verified in most Cases; but in no one more apparently, than in that of Life and Health, which, (next to the Watchful Providence of God) depend principally on the good Decorum of this beautiful and regular Frame of Humane Nature, I mean the Body: So Numerous, and yet so Nearly Linkt together, are all the Parts, so various and so necessary their Functions, that the smallest matter almost can disorder, and this again go near to destroy the admirable Contexture of it. A Blow upon the Head, or a Bruise in the Flesh, the Spraining of a Limb, or breaking a Vein, can Shatter the whole Frame into a Confusion, fatal and incurable. The Inflamation of the Spirits, or Defect of Vital Heat; an Empti­ness of the Vessels that shou'd contain the Blood, or even a Superfluity of the Blood it self; a Disease, or a Wound may pall our Courage, Enervate our Strength, Stop our [Page 20] Breath, and contrary to Expectation, put a quick Period to our Lives. Many a man has died in his Sleep, when all the while such as lay with him, knew nothing of the Matter; others have Died at Meals, when the Food, which they received into their Throats to nourish and strengthen the Body, stuck immoveably in the Passage, and choaked them. Others moreover have been taken a­way in the very Act of Sinning. So we read, Act. 5. that Ananias and Saphira his Wife were struck dead with a Ly in their Mouths.

And there are not wanting later Exam­ples of those who have been surprized in the very utterance of an Oath, an Impre­cation, a Calumny, or a Falshood. Who knows not that some have gone instantly from the heat of a Debauch, to the Fire of Hell; from wallowing in Voluptuousness to be tormented for ever; from Soaking in Drun­kenness, to Dwell with Everlasting Burnings; as it fared with the Rich man in the Gospel, of whom it is recorded in Scripture, that Li­ving in the greatest Splendour, and the En­joyment of all good things whatever his heart cou'd desire, he in the midst of all his Plenty, Died, and was turned into Hell; where we af­terwards find him crying out, and begging earnestly for one drop of Water to Cool his Scorched Tongue, and to extinguish the Flames [Page 21] that occasioned his Pain; and yet he cou'd not with all his Entreaties and Tears, nor with all his former Riches neither, (supposing he might have been restored once more to the Possession of them) purchase one Minutes cessation from Torment, or so much as a drop of Water to allay it.

I mention these things to represent to you, as faithfully as I can, the Uncertainty, Empti­ness, and inconsiderable Vanity of our present State; that so you may divert your Affecti­ons and Mind from it, and find a more proper Entertainment for them in preparing for a New Scene, a New and Lasting Scene, to be Shortly enter'd on; Lasting as the vast incommensurate Space of Eternity; and New as well because we are Strangers to it yet, as that it will not Commence till our Acting here is ended.

But here it may not be amiss to consi­der further, that over and above this frailty (hitherto Chiefly discours't of) which is con­geneal with us, and proceeds immediately from the very Principles of our Constituti­on, there are innumerable accidental Casual­ties that may happen to Come from abroad, and bring Destruction along with them.

So that let a man be temperate, and so­ber [Page 22] and chast, and not given to any of those Vices, which in their own Nature, hasten Death; yet even then he cannot be secure with respect to his Temporal Safety; though to his great Comfort his Spiritual Part be out of Danger. The best of men are liable to desperate Chances, and though these do not happen to All, yet all are in danger of them. And therefore the Question which the Apostle puts in the case of the Resurrection, is no less applicable to this, 1 Cor. 15.30. Else (saith he) Why Stand we in Jeopardy every Hour? i e. in constant Dread of some Unseen Accident or other that may befal us, and presently end our days, before we can be sensible of what has happened; or perceive by what means the Affliction came.

But if you be of Opinion, that all those Disquiets and Fears are the Effect of a deep Melancholly, or a disturbed Imagination; such as ha' no Foundation in Nature, but are groundless and unreasonable (which yet no man of Wisdom or Sobriety can be in­duced to think.) I shall take no other Me­thod to convince you, save only to desire you to examine your Memories, how fre­quently you have both heard and read of many Excellent and Worthy Persons that ha' been either Murthered, or Drown'd or Poi­son'd, [Page 23] or even by more uncouth and strange Misfortunes then these brought to an Un­timely Death.

There are many Undeniable Instances of this kind to be met with in Holy Scripture. Shall I put you in Mind of Abel, who (the Sacred Story tells us) received a Sudden but Mortal Wound from the bloody Hands of his own cruel Brother, and that for no other reason for ought we can find, but because He and his Offering were respected by God? Or shall I bring to your Remembrance the Violent dispatch of Abner the Renowned Cap­tain of Sauls Host, Whom Joab took aside in the Gate, to speak with him quietly and friend­ly; and smote him under the Fifth Rib, that he died, as a Fool dieth; nay, as a man falleth before Wicked men: So fell this Great and Fa­mous General. In the 2 Sam. 3 Chap. is the whole Relation to be found, which you may peruse at your leisure. In the like manner, I may ask you, if you never read how Uz­za was smote down dead upon the place, because he endeavoured to hold up the un­steady Ark from falling? 1 Chron. 13.9, 10. How all the innocent Children from two years Old and Under, that were in Bethlehem, and in all the Coasts thereof, fell in one night a Sa­crifice to the Malice and Cruelty of an enraged Tyrant? St. Math. 2.16. Or lastly, how [Page 24] (not long after that Execrable Tragical Murther was committed on the poor Infants, who had neither deserv'd, nor cou'd hinder the Villanous Execution) John Baptist was Beheaded by the Command of the same in­satiable Persecuter. Thus while the Good man was Preaching Repentance, and endea­vouring to Save the Lives of others, his un­grateful Auditors deprived him of his own. vers. 20.

There might be produced, were it need­ful, a Multitude of such like Examples; and too frequent Instances of Excellent Men, who have thus by some unthought of Calamity, or other, been speedily and without Warn­ing; translated from a bad to a better Re­gion.

And here we are not to imagine that these Historical Relations are now imperti­nent, because of a very ancient standing; and that they do not at all concern us, be­cause we are removed so many Centuries from the respective Times when those seve­rall Facts were committed; for 'tis the A­postles affirmation, Whatsoever things were writ­ten aforetime, were written for our learning. Rom. 15.4.

But the truth is, 'tis no rare infrequent [Page 25] thing for good men to be catcht away on a sudden, even in these latter days: what the Wise man says in another Case, I may say in this, It is an evil that I have seen un­der the Sun, and it is common among Men. Nay, not among the Vicious and Prophane only, but even the better and more Religious sort of them.

And yet granting for once, what howe­ver can't be allow'd that there are few or no Modern Examples of these discernable Misfortunes, yet (we know) whatsoever has been, may be; and surely if an Ill thing may betide any, and does frequently betide some, then every one is insecure.

So that they are extreamly to blame (if any such there be) who tho' they can't de­ny the Truth and Reality of the Observation in Former Ages, have yet the Confidence to presume on an Indemnity in the Present; Es­pecially considering that the World as it grows in Age, so it decayeth in Strength, and wax­eth worse and worse every day; and seeing this is no less true of every particular thing in Nature, then of Nature it self: From hence it is but reasonable to infer that we who come upon the Stage towards the Conclusion, and live in the declining State of the World, should be obnoxious to as many if not more [Page 26] Evils, and Mischiefs, and sudden Deaths then those were liable to, who came on the Stage very early, and acted but one or two Scenes, while as yet Sin the Cursed Patent of all, had not Exerted its Power and Impire so prodigious­ly nor so miserably Enslav'd Mankind as it has done of Late; nor perhaps did Mankind (the more is our shame) so tamely and Universally submit.

Let therefore those who look back on the An­nals of Antiquity be so far from thinking (if common Experience do not preclude such a Thought) that the things we speak of are out­dated, that they shou'd make an Experiment of the Truth of them (as far as possible) upon themselves by Dying Daily, i. e. by providing a­gainst Death, and looking constantly for him every day, one after another, that so the main Chance may be secured whatever happen, and that whether he Steals in, and lays his cold hands on them e're they perceive it, or whether he knocks before hand at their Doors, and pre­monisheth them of his coming for them by and by, they may have no Business lying on their Hands to dispatch, no Will to make, nor Affairs to Settle in this World, nor any Accounts to make ready for a Future; yea, indeed not any thing to do, but to thank God for discharging them from a troublesome hazardous Condition so soon, which they are now to Exchange for an [Page 27] Unchangeable Happiness, for a continuance in the Presence of God, and Conversation with Glorious Angels and Glorified Saints above, and so with a chearful and ready Complyance to embrace the Opportunity of Departing in Peace.

And now, 'tis no doubt expected, I shou'd discourse something concerning the Party De­ceas't. I am not ignorant this Employment is not without Peril, as has been long ago observ'd; for Friends, and those that Lov'd their Memo­ry will think too Little, when others, either out of Ignorance or Envy will think too much is spo­ken; and I may on the One Hand be blamed for Partiality, and on the Other be charged with Flattery. And indeed it may be sometimes Wis­dom to be Sparing in such Exercises, referring the Commendation of the Dead to the Words of Solomon, Let her own Works praise her. But nevertheless it cannot be denied but that this Ceremony is both ancient and imitable, as might be plentifully prov'd from Scripture, and the Writings of the Ancient Fathers. So that how­ever the Infirmities of Christians ought to be buried, yet the Memorial of their Virtues is a Part of that civil Honour which we owe to those who are departed this Life, and are at Rest with God.

But then it cannot be reasonably expected, that I shou'd discourse much of One whom I but [Page 28] lately knew, or relate ancient Passages of her Life, when mine Acquaintance was but of a Modern Date.

But since her coming to this place, I must confess, I observ'd in Her a Kind and Affable and Virtuous Demeanour; and I charitably conclude a Vital Principle of true Piety and Virtue; a Love to God and Religion, and attendance on the Sacrament and other Means of Grace. During the Time of her Sickness, let none Uncharitably, and Unchristianly im­pute that to the Person, which was justly char­geable on the Disease: I'm sure while I atten­ded, she manifested a Patient and Contented Frame of Spirit under Gods afflicting Hand, earnestly desired my constant Prayers for Her; told me she was very ready to resign her self to Gods disposal, and willing to Dy, if it pleased God, she shou'd so now, still praying to the last, that Almighty God wou'd Pitty and Pardon Her. And soon after my Departure, calmly and easily, without those Struglings and Ago­nies that some Deaths are attended with, Re­signed up her Spirit to God that Gave it, and as (I charitably Conclude, is now Entered into Rest, and Lodged in the Mansions of the Blessed.

What then remains, but that we all Redeem the Time; earnestly beg of God, to teach us [Page 29] so to number our days, that we may apply our Hearts to wisdom; and Vigorously and Con­stantly resolve and endeavour by the Grace of God to lead such Pious and Virtuous Lives in this World, that we may at the Period of this Mortal Life, arrive to the Fruition of that Fulness of Joy and inestable Pleasures that are at Gods Right-hand for Evermore.

Which God of His Infinite Mercy grant for the Merits Sake of his only Son our Sa­viour Jesus Christ, to whom with the Father, and the Holy Ghost, be all Honour, Glory and Power, for Ever and for Ever, Amen.