fouls; and if it be not timeoufly quenched, it will burn to the loweft hell. Lofe no time to get it extinguished, by fleeing to the blood of Jefus.

II. The next thing is to show the evil and danger of delaying this work until the time of fickness and dying. Alas, it is the common practice of the most part! but confider, 1, What wretched ingratitude and bafenefs there is in it. Whether is it fit ye should give the best of your time to God that made you, or to the devil that feeks your deftruftion? Is it reasonable that the devil fhould feaft on the flower and prime of your youth and ftrength, and your Creator have no other but the fragments of the devil's table? When the dregs of your time are come, your ftrength gone, your fenfes failed, your understanding and memory weak, your affections fpent upon the creature, yea, when you are good for nothing elfe; will ye be fo bafe as think you are then good enough for God, and for falvation-work, which requires all your ftrength and might? But remember, if you be fo bafe as to referve the dregs of your time for God, you may expect he will be fo juft as to referve the dregs of his wrath for you, according to that word, Mal. i. 14. "Curfed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and facrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing." Your youth, ftrength, health, gifts, talents, are the males of the flock; if you give thefe to the devil, and referve the weaknefs of ficknefs and old age for God, you draw down his curfe upon your heads; and how long will you be able to bear up under the weight of God's curfe? Now, O delaying finners, why should you be fo ungrateful to God, and injurious to yourfelves? God had early thoughts of mercy to you; and will you have nothing but late thoughts of duty to him? Cbrift did not defer his dying for us till he was old; and shall we defer living to him, till we be old? Oh, we do not deal with God as we would have him deal with us. When we need help in trouble, we cry, as Pfal. cii. 2" Lord hear me; in the day when I call, anfwer.me fpeedily." To-day we ftill make the feafon of mercy, but to morrow the feafon for duty. When mercy is delayed, we impatiently cry, how long? how long? We will not

wait

wait God's holy leifure. But, alas! we would have God to wait our finful leifure. Oh let us be ashamed of fuch difingenuous dealings with our Creator.

2. Death may get a commiffion to take you off fuddenly, without giving you any time to repent You are not sure to see the evening ftar of ficknefs, before the night of death overtake you, or that you will have any warning given you before the fatal ftroke. For how. many are there who project long lives, and look for time before death to repent, that get a furprifing call to remove from the earthly tabernacle, and have not one minute to provide another lodging? How many are drowned by a fudden storm at lea? And how many killed by outward 'accidents on land? Some drop down fuddenly in the streets; fome die fitting in their chairs; fome go well to bed at night, and never fee the morning fome die as quickly by a fit of an epilepfy or apoplexy, as if fhot with a gun. Thus thousands are hurried into eternity, and prefented before a tribunal, without being allowed fo much time as to think one ferious thought, or fpeak one word? not one moment to confider where they are going, or to cry to God for mercy. And how know you but this may be your cafe at death? Muft it not be the greateft folly then, to delay your repentance to a dying time, when your life may not be one minute longer?

3. Though you may have fome time to lie on fickbeds, how know ye but your fickness may be fuch as fhall incapacitate you for spiritual work? Some we see are fo oppreffed with continual flumbering and fleeping, even when death is nearest, that they are in no cafe to think or fpeak of these things that belong to their eternal ftate. Others, in high fevers, are troubled with rovings; and have no use of their reason, so that they are not capable to fettle their worldly affairs; and how much lefs are they fit to fecure their foul's eternal concerns at that time? Some again, are fo racked with extreme pains and agonies, impatient frettings, and bitter uneafinefs, that they cannot get one fettled thought about their fouls prefent or future ftate. Others are fo filled with terior and amazement, at the view of approaching death and eternity, that they cannot compofe their thoughts

thoughts, to examine themselves, confefs their fins, act faith in a Saviour, or follow any direction that is given them; but go off the ftage in a confufion, being incapable to do any thing to purpofe for their fouls. Some their diftemper is fuch, that they are brought to a great ftrait between the word of God and the phyfician. The word of God and his minifters tell them, if they do not mourn for their fins, and wrestle for mercy, they cannot be faved: but, faith the phyfician, if you trouble yourfelf with fad and melancholy thoughts, you prejudice your body, and hazard your life. O! is this a fit time then to begin your preparation for another world?

4. The Spirit of God being long refifted and vexed by many in the day of health, he is provoked to leave them on death beds to the hardness of their own hearts: and fo they remain, like ftocks and ftones, dead and ftupid to the laft.

5. The devil, that was bufy all your lives to keep you from repentance, will not be idle at this time; nay, he will be more active then than ever to ruin you, either by caufing you to fplit on the rock of prefumption or of defpair. Sometimes he will tell finners then, "You need not trouble yourselves about your fouls: God is more merciful than to damn you; the repentance you have already, will ferve the turn." But if this will not quiet them, he will study to drive them to defpair, by telling them," They have lost the season of repentance and clofing with Chrift; and now there is no remedy, no hope for them, and it is in vain to ufe any further means." O then, do not hearken to Satan now, when he tempts you to delay your repentance.

6. Whatever appearance of repentance fome dying perfons may have, let that be no encouragement to put off till that time. Why, there lieth a juft fufpicion upon a late repentance, that it is feldom found and fincere. It is no found work, that arifeth more from fears of hell, than from any real hatred of fin; more from love to felf, than love to God. And it is to be feared, that deathbed repentance is moftly of this fort, feeing ordinarily it confifteth more in grief and fear, prayers and promifes, than in a hearty loathing of fin, love to holiness, or willVOL. I.

I i

ingness

ingness to accept of Jefus Chrift: For have we not feen many of thefe penitents, who, in the view of death, have profeffed great forrow for their wicked lives, and made folemn promises of amendment; yet when they have happened to recover, all their righteoufnefs hath vanished, and they have returned to their former fins as greedily as ever? And, O delaying finner, what ground have you to think that your death bed repentance will be any better than theirs? Be wife then in time, fet heartily about falvation- work in the day of your health, and do not leave the weightieft work to the weakest time."

Object. I. "But hath not God promifed mercy to then that repent of their fins at any time?"

Anf. Yes, to them that repent truly and fincerely: But do not think that it is in your power to repent fo, at any time you pleafe; no, it is impoffible you can do it without the influence and affiftance of the Spirit of God. And God hath no where promifed this to those that put off their repentance to a death bed. There is a great difference between a fick man's howling upon is bed, and fincere gofpel-repenting. I grant, true repentance is never too late; but O! late repentance is feldom true. True repentance is that which hath a care to walk holily, or hath work meet for repentance joined with it. Hence repentance is not only called Metancia, a change of mind; but allo Metamekia, an after care. Now for a death bed repentance, that hath no fuch holy care or good works, I know no promise in the Bible that annexeth falvation unto it.

Oljec. II. "Do not we read in Chrift's parable of the labourers, Mat. xx. that fome were hired and brought into the vineyard at the eleventh hour, and got the fan e reward with thefe that were hired at the third and fixth hour?"

A 1. Thefe that were brought in fo late, could fay for themselves, ver. 6. "that no man had hired them," or had offered to hire them before; they did no fooner hear the gofpel call, and offers of falvation through Chrift tendered to them. But O! this will

ftand

ftand you in no ftead, who have had many a call and offer made you at the third, fixth, and ninth hour, nd have refifted and refufed them: you will not have it to fay at the eleventh hour, as thefe had, "No man hath hired us."

2. These men, though they came in but at the eleventh hour, and not being fooner hired, yet they were labourers in the vineyard, and wrought one hour therein faithfully, in obedience to their Lord's command; and so brought forth fome fruits meet for repentance, and were accepted. But this is no encou-, ragement to any to expect to be brought in at the twelfth hour, when there is no time to work, nor bring forth any fruits to testify the fincerity of their repentance; we have no promife of acceptance made to fuch.

Object. III. "The penitent thief on the cross fought mercy from Chrift at the laft hour, and got it."

Anf. That is a fingular inftance, and gives no encouragement to delaying finners. The fcriptures contain a history of more than four thousand years, and yet, during all that, we have but one example of a man that truly and fincerely repented when he came to die. And in this man's cafe there was fuch an extraordinary conjunction of circumstances, as never happened before, and can never fall out again to the end of the world. This man had the happinefs to die clofe by the newly-pierced and bleeding wounds of a crucified Jefus, when he was lifted up from the earth in the height of his love, drawing finners to falvation; which was a junction that can never have a parallel. Again, the man never had an offer of Chrift, nor day of grace before now; he furrendered himself upon the very first call and his faith in Chrift at this time was truly fingular and miraculous. He was defigned by Heavento be made a rare monument of the power of Christ's grace, and a special trophy of his victory over the devils and wicked men, at a time when they feemed to tiumph over him, as one crucified through weakness.