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best and most profitable improvement of our time. There be certain civil and natural Actions of our Lives that God Almighty hath indulged and allowed to us, and indeed commanded us with moderation to ufe: as, the competent Supplies of our own Natures with moderation and fobriety; the Provisions for our Families, Relations, and Dependances, without Covetoufnefs or Anxiety; the diligent and faithful walking in our Callings, and discharge thereof: But there are alfo other bufineffes of greater Importance, which yet are attainable without injuring our felves in those common concerns of our Lives; namely, our Knowledge of God, and of his Will; of the Doctrine of our Redemption by Chrift; our Repentance of Sins paft; making and keeping our Peace with God; acquainting our felves with him; living to his Glory; walking as in his Prefence; Praying to him; learning to depend upon him; Rejoycing in him; walking Thankful unto him. Thefe, and fuch like as thefe, are the great Business and End of our Lives, for which we enjoy them in this World; and these fit and prepare us for that which is to come: And the Confideration that our Lives are fhort and uncertain, and that Death will fooner or later come, puts us upon this Refolution and Practice to do this our great Work while it is called to day; that we loiter not away our day, and neglect our Task and Work while we have time and opportunity, left the Night overtake us, when we cannot work; to gain Oyl in our Lamps before the door be fhut: And if Men would wifely confider their Latter Ends, they might do this great Bufinefs, this One thing neceffary, with eafe and quietnefs; yea, and without any neglect of what is neceffary to be done in order to the common Neceffities of our Lives and Callings. It is not these that disable us and rob us of our time: But the Thieves that rob us of our Time, and our One thing neceffary, are Negligence, excefs of Pleafures, immoderate and exceffive Cares and Sollicitoufnefs for Wealth, and Honour and Grandure; exceffive Eating and Drinking, Curiofity, Idleness: Thefe are the great Confumptives that do not only exhauft that time that would be with

infinite

infinite advantage spent in our attainment, and perfecting, and finishing the great Work and Bufinefs of our Lives; and then when Sickness and Death comes, and God Almighty calls upon us to give up the Account of our Stewardship, we are all in confufion, our Bufinefs is not half done, it may be not begun; and yet our Lamp is out; our Day is fpent; Night hath overtaken us; and what we do is with much trouble, perplexity, and vexation; and poffibly our Soul takes its flight before we can finifh it. And all this would have been prevented and remedied by a due confideration of our Latter End; and that would have put us upon making ufe of the present time, and present opportunity to do our great Work while it is called to day, because the night cometh when no Man can work.

3. Most certainly the wife confideration of our Latter End, and the employing of our felves, upon that Account upon that One thing neceffary, renders the life the most contenting and comfortable life in the World: For as a Man, that is a Man aforehand in the World, hath a much more quiet life in order to Externals, than he that is behind-hand; so such a Man that takes his Opportunity to gain a stock of Grace and Favour with God, that hath made his peace with his Maker through Chrift Jefus, hath done a great part of the chief business of his Life, and is ready upon all occafions, for all conditions, whereunto the divine Providence fhall affign him, whether of life or death, or health or fickness, or poverty or riches; he is as it were afore-hand in the business and concern of his everlasting, and of his prefent ftate alfo. If God lend him longer life in this World, he carries on his great bufinefs to greater degrees of perfection, with eafe, and without difficulty, trouble or perturbation: But if Almighty God cut him fhorter, and call him to give an account of his Stewardship, he is ready and his Accounts are fair, and his Business is not now to be gone about; Bleed is that Servant whom his Mafter when he comes fhall find fo doing.

II. As thus this Confideration makes Life better, fo it makes Death eafie.

1. By frequent confideration of Death and Diffolution,

he is taught not to fear it; he is, as it were, acquainted with it afore-hand, by often preparation for it. The ear of Death is more terrible than Death it felf; and by requent confideration thereof, a Man hath learned not to fear it. Even Children by being accuftomed to what was at firft terrible to them, learn not to fear.

2. By frequent confideration of our Latter End, Death becomes to be no furprize unto us. The great Terror of Death is when it furprizeth a Man unawares; but Anticipation and Preparation for it, takes away all poffibility of Surprize upon him that is prepared to receive it. Bilney the Martyr was used, before his Martyrdom, to put his finger in the Candle, that fo the Flames might be no novelty unto him, nor furprize him by reafon of unacquaintedness with it; and he that often confiders his Latter End, feems to experiment Death before it comes, whereby hẹ is neither furprized nor affrighted with it, when it comes. 3. The greatest fting and terror of Death, are the past and unrepented Sins of the paft Life; the Reflection upon thefe is that which is the Strength, the Elixir, the Venom of Death it felf. He therefore that wifely confiders his Latter End, takes care to make his Peace with God in his life-time; and by true Faith and Repentance to get his Pardon fealed; to enter into Covenant with his God, and to keep it; to husband his time in the Fear of God; to obferve his Will, and keep his Laws; to have his Confcience clean and clear: And being thus prepared, the malignity of Death is cured, and the bitterness of it healed, and the fear of it removed: And when a Man can entertain it with fuch an Appeal to Almighty God, as once the good King Hezekiah made, in that Sickness which was of it felf mortal, Ifa. 38. 3. Remember now, I beseech thee, O Lord, how I have walked before thee with a perfect heart, &c. It makes as well the thought, as the approach of Death, no terrible bufinefs.

But that which, above all, makes Death eafie to fuch a confidering Man, is this: That by the help of this Confideration, and the due Improvement of it, as is before fhewn, Death to fuch a Man becomes nothing else but a

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Gate unto a better Life: Not fo much a diffolution of his prefent Life, as a change of it for a far more glorious, happy, and immortal Life: So that though the Body dies, the Man dies not; for the Soul, which is indeed the Man, makes but a tranfition from her Life in the Body, to a Life in Heaven: No moment intervenes between the putting off the one, to the putting on the other; and this is the great Privilege that the Son of God hath given us, that by his Death hath fanctified it unto us, and by his Life hath conquered it, not only in himfelf, but for us; 1 Cor- 15.57. Thanks be unto God, who hath given us the Victory, through Jefus Christ our Lord; and our Victory, that is thus given us, is this; 1. That the Sting of Death is taken away; and, 2. That this very Death it felf is rendred to us a Gate and Paffage to Life Eternal; and upon this account it can neither hurt, nor may juftly affright us. It is reported of the Adder, that when he is old, the glides through fome ftrait Paffage, and leaves her old Skin in the Paffage, and thereby renews her Vigour and her Life. It is true, this Paffage through Death is fomewhat ftrait, and uneafie to the Body, which like the decay'd Skin of the Adder, is left by the way, and not without fome pain and difficulty to it: But the Soul paffeth through without any harm, and without any Expence of Time, and in the next moment acquires her Eftate of Immortality and Happiness. And this is the Victory over Death, that all thofe have, that by true Repentance and Faith are Partakers of Chrift, and the Benefits of his Death and Refurrection, who hath brought Life and Immortality to light by the Gospel.

And now having gone through the Benefits of this wife Confideration of our Latter Ends, 1 fhall now add fome Cautions that are neceffary to be annexed to this Confideration: We are to know, that although Death be thus fubdued, and rendred rather a Benefit than a Terror to good Men; yet,

1. Death is not to be wished or defired, though it be an Ob. ject not to be feared, it is a thing not to be coveted; for certainly Life is the greatest temporal Bleffing in this B

World,

World. It was the Paffion, not the Virtue, of that excellent Prophet Elijah. that defired to die, because he thought himself only left of the true Worshippers of God, 1 Kings 19.4. We are all placed in this World by Almighty God, and a talent of Life is delivered to us. and we are commanded to improve it; a Task is fet every one of us in this Life by the Great Master of the Family of Heaven and Earth, and we are required with Patience, and Obedience, and Faithfulness, to perform our Task, and not to be weary of our Work, nor wifh our Day at an end before its time. When our Lord calls us, it is our Duty, with Courage and chearfulness to obey his Call; but until he calls, it is our Duty with Patience and Contentednefs, to perform our Task, to be doing of our Work. And indeed in this Life our Lord has delivered us feveral Tasks of great importance to do; as namely, 1. To improve our Graces and Virtues, our Knowledge and Faith, and thofe Works of Piety and Goodness that he requires: The better and closer we follow that Bufinefs here, the greater will be our Reward and Improvement of Glory hereafter : And therefore, as we must with all readiness give over our Work when our Mafter calls us; fo we must with all Diligence and Perfeverance, continue our Employment out till he calls us; and with all Thankfulnefs unto God entertain and rejoice in that Portion of Life he lends us; because we have thereby an Opportunity of doing our Mafter the more Service, and of improving the Degrees of our own Glory and Happiness. 2. And befides the former, he hath alfo fet us another Task; namely, to ferve our Generation; to give an Example of Virtue and Goodness; to encourage others in the ways of Virtue and Goodness; to provide for our Families and Relations; to do all good Offices of Juftice, Righteoufnefs, Liberality, Charity to others; chearfully and induftrioufly to follow our Callings and Employments; and infinite more, as well Natural, Civil, Moral Employments, which though of a lower Importance in refpect of our felves, yet are of greater use and moment in refpect of others; and are as well as the former required of us, and part of the

Task

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