time?" Might ye not with more reason ask, "How shall we prevent hasty time from passing away with such winged motion? Or, if that cannot be prevented, how shall we improve our time that is so fast a-posting from us?" Blind world! do any men in thee inquire, "How shall we spend our time?" It is easily answered: In praying, repenting, begging for grace, the pardon of sin, the favour of God, and peace with him, and fitness for eternal life. Had the damned in hell the time that once they had and you now have, do you think they would ask what they should do to pass away the time? Their cry rather is, "O hasty time, whither art thou fled? Why didst thou move so fast, while we sat still? Or why in time did we so swiftly run in ways of sin, as if we could not have sinned enough before time was past and gone? When we had a God to serve, and souls to save, and an everlasting state to make preparation for, we like fools did say, 'How shall we spend our time?' But now our time is spent, and past, and gone; and now the question is, (which never can be answered,) How shall we spend eternity?" which never can be spent; no, not in enduring ten thousand thousand millions of years in pain and punishment; for when they are past, it is as fresh and as far from ending as it was the first moment it began." Then eye eternity, and you cannot but improve your time. 4. Such eyeing of eternity would make us careful how we die.Because death is our passing out of time into eternity. Death is dreadful to the ungodly, because it opens the door into everlasting misery; gainful to all endued with saving grace, because it lets them into everlasting happiness. Did you that are yet Christless, impenitent, and unbelieving, see whither you are going, and where you must within a little time take up your everlasting lodgings; what fear and trembling would seize upon all your joints! and when by sickness you perceived death to be approaching, you would cry out, "O death, forbear, forbear! stay thine hand, and do not strike! for if thou cut me down in this condition, I drop into eternal misery. There is nothing but this single thread of my frail life between me and endless woe; and if this be cut or snapped asunder, I sink into irrecoverable misery, without all hope of ever coming forth." Could you but see a soul the next hour after its separation from the body, what a taking it is in, what woe, what despair it is filled with; would you then live without Christ, go to bed without Christ, and rise and trade and still remain without an interest in Christ? What mean ye, sirs, to make no provision for death that is so near, so very near; when you are as near to going into an everlasting world as you are to going out of this transitory world, and your souls [will] be dragged sooner by devils into hell than your bodies can be carried by men unto your graves? Awake, arise, repent, and turn unto the Lord: for if you sleep on in sin till you sleep by death, you will be awaked by the flames of hell; and then, though you be under the power of eternal death, you will sleep no more and rest no more for ever. And death is as gainful and desirable to a gracious man, as it is terrible to the ungodly; for it lets him into unseen, eternal glory; to the sight of Christ, unseen to us on earth. How willing would you be to go a thousand miles to see Christ and converse with him, if he were on earth! It is better to see this precious Christ in eternal glory it is worth the while to die, to have a view of your LordRedeemer in the highest heavens. O the wonderful, transporting joys [that] the soul is filled with, when it first cometh into the unseen, but happy, world! when it hath the first glorious view of its dearest Lord! Do you think it would desire to return to live in flesh upon earth again? Do you know what you do, when you are so loath to die? Do you understand yourselves, when you are so backward to be taken out of time? It is to be loath to go into everlasting happiness, to go and take possession of unseen, eternal glory. 5. Such an eyeing of eternity would make us more patient, constant, joyful, in all our sufferings for Christ's sake.-When we pore upon our seen troubles, and do not look at rest after trouble; when we see and feel what is inflicted upon us, but do not look at what is laid up in heaven for us; when we see the rage of men, and do not look at the love of God; our hearts and flesh do fail. But if we set unseen, eternal things over against things seen and temporal, it will be strength unto us. Against the power of men, which is temporal, set the power of God, which is eternal; and then you will see their power to be weakness. Against the policy of men, which is temporal, set the wisdom of God, which is eternal; and then you will see all their policy to be foolishness. Against the hatred of men, which in its effects to you is temporal, set the love of God, which is both in itself and in its effects to you eternal; and you will see their hatred to be no better than raging, unreasonable madness. Keep your eye upon the unseen torments in the other world; and you will rather endure sufferings in this, than venture upon sin, and expose yourselves to them. Keep your eye upon the unseen, eternal crown of glory; and it will carry you through fire and flames, prisons and reproaches for the sake of Christ: "Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing Him who is invisible." (Heb. xi. 26, 27.) 6. This eyeing of eternity will be a powerful preservative against the temptations of men or devils, a sovereign antidote against the poison of temptation.—I see, the invisible God looks at me; shall I, then, yield to the suggestions of the devil, or the solicitations of men to sin? I see, there is an everlasting state of joy or torment that I must be shortly in, as sure as I am in this place; and Satan's design is to bring me to that state of torment; and if I follow him, I shall be excluded from yonder glorious place, from God and Christ and saints above. Therefore, by the grace of God, I will not yield to this temptation; but strive I will, and watch and pray I will, against the assaults of this deceitful adversary. For why should I be so foolish [as] to lose eternal glory for momentary pleasures, and run my immortal soul into eternal pain for short delights? I do plainly see what will be the end, if I do yield,—damnation without end, banishment from God without end. I do clearly see that stealing and murder is not a more ready road to a place of execution upon earth, than yielding to a tempting devil is to everlasting misery. 7. Such eyeing of eternity would wean our hearts from the things of time.-A sight and view of heaven's glory would darken the glory of the world, as looking at the shining sun over your head doth obscure in your eyes the things under your feet. After a believing view of the invisible God and the glory of the place above, this world would appear as a very dunghill in your eyes. (Phil. iii. 7, 8.) As, where we love, there we look; so, the more we look, the more we shall love; and the more we love the eternal things that are above, the less we shall love the temporal things that are below. 8. Such eyeing of eternity would make us more like to God and Jesus Christ. It will be a transforming and assimilating look: “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Cor. iii. 18.) Therefore, when we shall see Christ, who is now out of sight, we shall be perfectly like unto him: "But we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." (1 John iii. 2.) 9. Such an eyeing of eternity would fill our souls with holy admirations of the goodness, grace, and love of God to us.-When Paul had a sight of such unseen things, he was in a holy ecstasy and divine rapture. (2 Cor. xii. 2-4.) When we consider the eternal happiness of heaven, we shall stand as men amazed, that God should prepare such things for such men, and bear such love and show such mercy to such as we, that are so vile and full of sin; and say, 66 'Lord, what am I, that might for ever have howled in the lowest hell, that I should hope to praise thee in the highest heavens? Lord, what am I, that might have been in everlasting darkness, that there should be prepared for me everlasting light and joy? Why me, Lord? why hast thou designed me, and wrought upon my heart, and made me in any measure meet to be partaker of such eternal glory?" the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" (Rom. xi. 33.) "How precious are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!" (Psalm cxxxix. 17.) "O how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!" (Psalm xxxi. 19.) 10. Such an eyeing of eternity would have this influence surely upon us, to set ourselves under a painful, skilful, serious ministry.—It doth much concern you; for you are going to an endless life, and preaching is the appointed means to fit you for an endless happy life. Then, do you choose the most lively, searching, powerful preaching; it is for the life of your souls, for the everlasting life of your everlasting souls. If you were sick and in danger of death, when your life lies upon it, you would have the advice of an able physician, that is serious and afraid that he no way become guilty of your death. Would you like that physician that seems to be unconcerned, and cares not whether you live or die, if he might but have his fee? or that should merrily jest with you, when you are sick at heart and near to death, if you be not cured? Would you take pleasure in his witty sayings, and be jested into your grave? Or if you go unto a lawyer about your whole estate, though it were in leases that will expire, would you choose one that, you think, did not care whether you win or lose your cause? Would you be pleased with some witty sayings, impertinent to the pleading of your cause? Would you not say ? "Sir, I am in danger of losing all I am worth; my estate lies at stake. Deal plainly with me, and be serious in your undertaking for me; and tell me, in words that I can understand, the plain law by which my case must be tried." And will you be more careful about the temporal life of a body that must die, and about a temporal estate which you must leave when you die? and not about your soul, that must ever live, and never die? No! not so much as to set yourselves under faithful preachers, that shall, in words that you can understand, plainly tell you the laws of Christ, by which you must be tried for your life, and according to them be eternally damned or saved? 11. Such an eyeing of eternity would make you serious and lively in all your spiritual duties, in all your approaches unto God.-If you have no grace, the serious thoughts of the unseen, eternal world would stir you up to beg and cry and call for it; if you have [some] to desire more, and to exercise what you have; to confess your sins with such contrite, broken, penitent hearts, as though you saw the fire burning, which by your sins you have deserved to be cast into; to beg for Christ and sanctifying grace and pardoning mercy with that lively importunity, as if you saw the lake of boiling brimstone, into which you must be cast, if you be not sanctified and pardoned; to hear the word of God, that sets this eternal world before you, with that diligent attention, as men hearkening for their lives. To commemorate the death of Christ with such life while you are at the Lord's supper, while you do, as it were, see the torments [that] you are delivered from, and the eternal happiness by faith in a crucified Christ [which] you have a title to; it will cause a fire and flame of love in your hearts to that Lord that died for you, ardent desires after him, complacential delight in him, thankfulness, hope of heaven, hatred to sin, resolution to live to or die for him that died for you. If your hearts are dead and dull and out of frame, go and look into the unseen, eternal world; take a believing view of everlasting joys and torments on the other side of time; and you shall feel warmth and heat and lively actings to be produced in you. 12. Particularly this eyeing of eternity would make ministers sensible of the weightiness of their work. That it calls for all possible diligence and care, our utmost serious study and endeavours, our fervent cries and prayers to God for ability for the better management of our work, and for success therein; forasmuch as our employ ment is more immediately about eternal matters, to save (under Christ) eternal souls from eternal torments, and to bring them to eternal joys. When we are to preach to people that must live for ever in heaven or hell, with God or devils; and our very preaching is the means appointed by God to fit men for an everlasting state: when we stand and view some hundreds of persons before us, and think, "All these are going to eternity: now we see them, and they see us ; but after a little while they shall see us no more in our pulpits, nor we them in their pews, nor in any other place in this world; but we and they must go down unto the grave, and into an everlasting world :" when we think, "It may be, some of these are hearing their last sermon, making their last public prayers, keeping their last sabbath; and, before we come to preach again, might be gone into another world:" if we had but a firm belief of eternity ourselves, and a real lively sense of the mortality of their bodies and our own, and the immortality of the souls of both, of the eternity of the joy or torment we must all be quickly in; how pathetically should we plead with them, plentifully weep over them, fervently pray for them; that our words, or rather the word of the eternal God, might have effectual operation on their hearts! This eyeing of eternity should, (1.) Influence us to be painful and diligent in our studies to prepare a message of such weight as we come about. When we are to preach to men about everlasting matters, to set before them the eternal torments of hell, and the eternal joys of heaven: especially when we consider how hard a thing it is to persuade men to leave their sins, which do endanger their immortal souls; when, if we do not prevail with them to hearken to our message, and obey it speedily and sincerely, they are lost eternally; when it is so hard to prevail with men to accept of Christ, the only eternal Saviour, on the conditions of the gospel. You might easily see that idleness, either in young students that are designed for this work, or in ministers actually engaged in it, is an intolerable sin, and worse in them than in any men under heaven. Idleness in a shop-keeper is a sin, but much more in a minister; in a trader, much more in a preacher. Bear with me, if I tell you [that] an idle cobbler, that is to mend men's shoes, is not to be approved; but an idle preacher, that is to mend men's hearts, and save their souls, shall be condemned by God and men; for he lives in daily disobedience of that charge of God: "Give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine ; continue in them." (1 Tim. iv. 13, 15, 16.) (2.) It would provoke us to be faithful in delivering the whole counsel of God, and not to "daub with untempered mortar."-Not to flatter them in their sin, or to be afraid to tell them of their evils, lest we should displease them or offend them. Is it time to soothe men up in their ignorance, in their neglect of duty, when we see them at the very door of eternity, on the very borders of an everlasting world; and this the fruit,-that they shall die in their sins, and their |