defigned against you, both foul and body, as foon as your cup is full; and the ax is already laid to the root of the tree, Mat. iii. 10. One blow of God's ax will cut off for ever. Remember this, O finner, though God's hand be lifted off you at prefent, and his meffenger, Death, be for a little recalled, yet he will quickly return, and knock fo loud at your door, as not to be refufed. And, what will you do in the day of vifitation? how ghaftly muft the pale horse be, when hell follows him at his heels? and, how hot and fiery must that hell be, which is inflamed and blown up by fo long impenitence and abuse of patience? DIRECT. III. Wonder at the patience of God in sparing fuch hell-deferving finners as you are, and be thankful for it. HATH a long-fuffering God preferved the thread of your life, when it was almoft fnapt afunder by the violence of fickness? hath he freed you from racking pains under which you are groaning? nay, faved you from the grave and hell, into which you were falling? and have you not caufe of wondering and thanksgiving? To move you to it, confider these few things: 1. How miferable had you been through all eternity, if your fickness had carried you off to another world in your fins? You had been howling with damned fpirits, under endless and ceaseless torments, and for ever cut off from thefe hopes and offers of mercy you now have. Then the master of the house would have had the door fo barred against you, as it could never have been opened again to you, knock as you would, Luke xiii. 25. 2. Confider how heavily you had burdened his patience with your heinous fins, and frequent relapfes thereinto: and that after convictions, calls, and various rods fent to reclaim you; fo that he was put to fay, as in Amos ii 14. "Behold, I am preffed under you, as a cart is preffed that is full of fheaves." He was over burdened burdened with your fins, fo that the axle-tree of patience was ready to break, and let you fall into hell; and yet, behold he bears with you ftill. 3. Confider how foon he could have eafed himself of the load, and shaken you off into the pit of deftruction. In a moment could he have done it, and yet he bears many years with your fins, that are fo grievous to him. Yea, it is with a fort of reluctance that he eases himself of finners, after he gets the utmost provocation, Isaiah i. 24. "Ah, I will ease me of my adverfaries." 4. How ready is he to turn away his anger, and reprieve finners from deftruction, when in their diftrefs they make but a fhew of repentance and turning unto God! as we fee in Pfal. lxxviii. 36. 38. He, like a tender-hearted prince, calls back the warrant for their execution after it was gone forth. 5. Confider how much many Chriftless finners are beholden to Jefus Chrift for fparing mercy. He is reprefented by the dreffer, Luke xiii. interceding that the fruitlefs fig tree might be spared and tried fome time longer, after orders given to cut it down. Were it not for Jefus Chrift, O finner, however much you forget and flight him, you had furely been in hell long ere now. How often doth he obtain another year, and after that another, for the unfruitful finner, and unthankful abusers of Divine patience! 6. Confider how fparing mercy hath distinguished you from many others, who lived not fo long, nor finned fo much as you have done. God hath wounded the hairy scalp of many, and taken them away in their youth; when he hath continued you to manhood, and perhaps to old age; though your fins and ill-defervings be greater than those of many, on whom he hath long fince taken vengeance, God hath left many alfo toffing and groaning on beds of pain, when he hath eafed and helped you up. O then return, like the thankful leper, and magnify the God of your health. Hath God diftinguished you from others by his goodnefs? it becomes you to diftinguish yourselves from others by your thankfulness. O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness! undeferved and diftinguish. ing goodness! To move you to this, let me fet the example of He zekiah before you, Ifa. xxxviii. and there fee how thank fully and affectionately he remembered the Lord's mer cies in recovering and delivering him from the bitter affliction he had been under. "I faid, I am deprived of the refidue of my years, I fhall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world. Like a crane or fwallow, fo did I chatter; I did mourn as a dove. Behold, for peace I had great bitterness; but thou hast in love to my foul delivered it from the pit of corruption. The living fhall praife thee as I do this day." Yea, he was fo overcome with a sense of the Lord's patience and mercy towards him, that he is at a lofs how to exprefs it, ver. 15. "What fhall I fay? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it." Let all, who are recovered from fickness, ftudy to imitate that good king in holy admiration and thankful. nefs to the God of their life. DIRECT. IV. Study to improve the fparing mercy and goodness of God to you in a right and suitable manner. O finner, hath God brought you back from the gates of death, and brink of hell, reftored you to health, and given you a new offer of mercy and falvation through Christ in a preached gospel, which you formerly defpifed? Strive now to improve the Lord's patient and kind dealings towards you with the utmost care, and abuse his patience no longer. And, in order thereunto, take the following counfels. I. Be deeply humbled for your former obftinacy and impenitency, notwithstanding of God's gracious and patient dealing. O let the fparing mercy and goodness of God toward thee, lead thee to repentance, which is the native defign of it, according to Rom. ii. 4. " Def pisest pifeft thou the riches of his goodness, forbearance and fong fuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? As if he had faid, "Doft thou not fee, O man, the kind providence of God in fparing and recovering thee from ficknefs, taking thee by the hand, and pointing out to thee to go to thy clofet, and to mourn and weep for all thy bypaft fins, and particularly for thy mifpending the time of thy health, and abufing of the Lord's patience?" The confideration of David's goodness and forbearance towards Saul, melted Saul's heart, for as hard and rugged as it was, and made him to lift up his voice and weep, and say to David, 1 Sam, xxiv. 17. &c. "Thou art more righteous than I; for thou haft rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil." " And thou haft fhewed this day, how that thou haft dealt well with me; forafmuch as when the Lord had delivered me into thine hand, thou killedft me not. For (fays he) if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away?" Oh, far more reafon haft thou, O man, to weep and cry, "God hath found me his enemy, yea, in my enmity and fins, fighting against himself, he had me on a fick bed, and on the very brink of hell, and the leaft touch of his hand would have thruft me in: But yet he hath fpared his enemy, and let me go well away. Oh, will not these cords of love draw me, and this matchlefs goodness invite and hire me to repent? Can any confideration in the world be more powerful than this to melt my hard heart into tears of holy fhame and forrow for my ftiff neckedness and rebellion against a gracious and longfuffering God? Away with thefe curfed God provoking fins of mine? Down with thefe weapons of rebellion! Let me never lift them more against such a merciful Sovereign! II. Zealously improve the time, which God in his long fuffering hath lengthened out to you, in working out the falvation of thy foul. Have you fo long been loading the patience of God with your fins? Have you many a day been grieving his Holy Spirit, by trifling away your time, flighting his motions, and venturing on fins against light? O then, beware of burdening his patience patience any more; but diligently hearken to every motion of God's Spirit, and of your own confcience, for the time to come. You have much work to do, and but little time to do it in; therefore lay hold on every opportunity for carrying it on. The confideration of the much time you have already loft and mispent, should make you the more diligent in what remaineth. How much of it have you lost in youth? How much in ignorance? How much in negligence? How much in worldlinefs? How much in paftimes? How much in idle words? How much in actual fins and provocations against God? And now it may be near the evening of your day. And will you not spend the evening (which God is mercifully lengthening out) with extraordinary care and diligence? If a traveller lofe the beginning of the day, he must travel the faster, in the evening, otherwife he may fall fhort of his journey, and have his lodging to feek when night comes. Paul had mifpent much of the beginning of his life; and this confideration (when his eyes were opened) did ftir him up to be the more diligent in the fervice of God, fo that he was more zealous than any of the reft of the Apoftles. O man, follow his example, and trifle no longer in the work of God. Art thou not convinced thou haft fquandered away enough of this precious treasure of time already? And, wilt thou alfo mifpend and throw away the little that remains? Oh be not fo foolish. III. Be careful to raze all falfe foundations, and build your hopes of falvation upon the only fure rock, Jefus Chrift. Let it not difcourage thee to dig to the foundation, that fo much of thy day is loft; for it is better to do it late than never. Remember how mife rable is the condition of that house which is built upon the fand, Matt. vii. 27. "For when the flood comes, and the ftorm arifes and beats upon it, great and dismal will the fall of that house be." Do not build your hopes of heaven upon God's abfolute mercy, upon your convictions, upon your freedom from grofs fins, upon your prayers or tears, upon your morality and just dealings with men: Though these be neceffary and excellent in themselves, yet they are falfe foundations for you to |