Men in the World? What great Things do they many times do? And what great Improvements do they make? How pleasant and diverting is their Converfation, while it is innocent? How do they enjoy themselves, and give Life and Spirit to the graver Age? How thin would our Schools, our Shops, our Univerfities, and all Places of Education be, did they know how little Time many of them were to live in the World? For would fuch Men concern themselves to learn the Arts of Living, who muft die as foon as they have learnt them? Would any Father be at a great Expence in educating his Child, only that he might die with a little Latin and Greek, Logic, and Philofophy? No, half the World must be divided into Cloifters and Nunneries, and Nurferies for the Grave.

Well, you'll fay, fuppofe that, and is not this an Advantage above all the Inconveniencies you can think of, to fecure the Salvation of fo many Thoufands who are now eternally ruined by youthful Lufts and Vanities, but would spend their Days in Piety and Devotion, and make the next World their only Care, if they knew how little while they were to live here?

Right: I grant this might be a good Way to correct the Heat and Extravagances of Youth, and fo it would be to fhew them Heaven and Hell; but God does not think fit to do either, because it offers too much Force and Violence to Mens Minds: it is no Trial of their Virtue, of their Reverence for God, of their Conquefts and Victory over this World by the Power of Faith, but makes Religion a Matter of Neceffity, not of Choice; God will force and drive no Man to Heaven; the Gospel-Difpenfation is the Trial and Discipline of ingenuous Spirits; and if the certain Hopes and

Fears

Fears of another World, and the Uncertainty of our living here, will not conquer these flattering Temptations, and make Men seriously religious, as those who muft certainly die, and go into another World, and they know not how foon, God will not try whether the certain Knowlege of the Time of their Death will make them religious : That they may die young, and that Thousands do fo, is Reafon enough to engage young Men to expect Death, and prepare for it; if they will venture, they must take their Chance, and not say they had no Warning of dying young, if they eternally miscarry by their wilful Delays.

And befides this, God expects our youthful Service and Obedience, though we were to live on till old Age; that we may die young, is not the proper, much less the only Reafon, why we should remember our Creator in the Days of our Youth, but because God has a Right to our youthful Strength and Vigor; and if this will not oblige us to an early Piety, we must not expect that God will fet Death in our View, to fright and terrify us; as if the only Defign God had in requiring our Obedience, was not that we might live like reasonable Creatures, to the Glory of their Maker and Redeemer; but that we might repent of our Sins time enough to efcape Hell. God is fo merciful as to accept of returning Prodigals, but does not think fit to encourage us in Sin, by giving us notice when we shall die, and when it is time to think of Repentance.

2dly, Tho' I doubt not, but that it would be a great Pleasure to you to know that you fhould live till old Age; yet confider a little with yourfelves, and then tell me, Whether you yourselves can judge it wife and fitting for God to let you

know this?

L 3

I

I obferved to you before, what Danger there is in flattering ourfelves with the Hopes of long Life, that it is apt to make us too fond of this World, when we expect to live fo long in it; that it weakkens the Hopes and Fears of the next World, by removing it at too great a Distance from us; that it encourages Men to live in Sin, because they have Time enough before them to indulge their Lufts, and to repent of their Sins, and make their Peace with God before they die; and if the uncertain Hopes of this undoes fo many Men, what would the certain Knowlege of it do? Those who are too wife and confiderate to be impofed on by fuch uncertain Hopes, might be conquered by the certain Knowlege of a long Life.

This would take off all Reftraints from Men, and give free Scope to their vicious Inclinations, when they knew, that how wicked foever they were, they should not die before their Time was come, and could never be furprized by Death, fince they certainly knew when it will come, which deftroys one great Motive to Obedience, that Sin shall shorten Mens Lives, and that Virtue and Piety should prolong them: That the Wicked (boll not live out half their Days; That the Fear of the Lord prolongeth Days; but the Years of the Wicked shall be shortened, Prov. x. 27. Such Promises and Threatnings as these must be ftruck out of the Bible, should God let all Men know the Time of their Death.

Nay, this would fruftrate the Methods and Defigns of Providence for the reclaiming Sinners. Sometimes public Calamities, Plague and Famine, and Sword, alarm a wicked World, and summon Men to Repentance; fometimes a dangerous Fit of Sicknefs awakens Men into a Senfe of their Sins, and works in them a true and lafting Repen

tance

tance; but all this would be ineffectual, did Men know the Time of their Death, and that fuch public Judgments, or threatning Sickness, should not kill them.

The Uncertainty of our Lives is a great Motive to conftant Watchfulnefs, to an early and perfevering Piety; but to know when we fhall die, could ferve no good End, but would increase the Wickednefs of Mankind, which is too great already; which is a fufficient Vindication of the Wifdom of God in leaving the Time of Death unknown and uncertain to us.

SECT. VII.

That we muft die but once; or that Death tranLates us to an unchangeable State: With the Improvement of it.

TH

H E laft Thing to be confidered is, That we muft die but once: It is appointed for Men once to die. There are fome Exceptions from this Rule, as there are from Dying; That as Enoch and Elias did not die, fo fome have been raised again from the Dead, to live in this World; and fuch Men died twice. But this is a certain Rule in general, That as all Men muft die once, fo they muft die but once; which needs no other Proof, but the daily Experience and Obfervation of Mankind.

But that which I intend by it is this; That once Dying determines our State and Condition for ever: When we put off thefe mortal Bodies, we must not return into them again to act over a new Part in this World, and to correct the Errors and Mifcarriages of our former Lives: Death tranfL 4

lates

lates us to an immutable and unchangeable State; that in this Senfe what the Wife Man tells us is true: If the Tree fall towards the fouth, or towards the north, in the Place where the Tree falleth, there it fhall be, Ecclef. xi. 3. This is a Confideration of very great Moment, and deferves to be more particularly explained, which I fhall do in the following Propofitions.

1. That this Life is the only State of Trial and Probation for Eternity: And therefore, 2. Death, whenever it comes, as it puts a final Period to this Life, that we die once for all, and muft never live again, as we do now in this World; so it puts a final End to our Work too, that our Day of Grace, and Time of working for another World, ends with this Life. And, 3. As a neceffary Confequence of both thefe, once Dying puts us into an immutable and unchangeable State.

1. That this Life only is our State of Trial and Probation for Eternity; whatever is to be done by us, to obtain the Favour of God, and a bleffed Immortality, must be done in this Life,

I obferved before, that this Life is wholly in order to the next; that the great, the only neceffary Bufinefs we have to do in this World, is to fit and prepare ourselves to live for ever in GOD'S Prefence; To finish the Work GOD has given us to do, that we may receive the Reward of Good and Faithful Servants, to enter into our Master's Reft: I now add, That the only Time we have to do this in, is while we live in this World. This is evident from what St. Paul tells us, That we must all appear before the Judgment-Seat of Christ, that every one may receive the Things done in his Body, according to what he hath done, whether it be good or bad, 2 Cor. v. 10. Now if we must be judged, and receive our final

Sentence