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SER M. how will they toil and watch, wear out their eyes, and waste their fpirits, and pursue their ftudies, not only with the neglect of fitting diverfion, but even of the neceffary fupport and reparation of nature, by meat and fleep? Nay, many times to encrease their learning, they weaken their understandings, and for the gaining of more knowledge, do difable that power and faculty which fhould make use of it when they have it.

How will men attend for feveral hours to a lewd and extravagant play, and fit not only with patience, but with delight to hear things fpoken, which are neither fit to be spoken nor heard?

And above all, how eager and earnest, how busy and industrious are a great part of mankind, in the pursuit of their ambitious and covetous defigns? How forely will they labour and travel? How hardly will they be contented to fare, and how meanly will they live themselves, to make they know not whom rich; even any body that happens to come in their way, when they make their last wills?

And are men at all this pains for compaffing of their low and mean, of their vile and wicked designs, to do themselves no good; nay, for the moft part, to hurt and destroy themselves; and are the prefent pleafures and fatisfaction of our minds, and eternal life and happiness in another world, things of no value and esteem with us? Is falvation itself fo flight and inconfiderable a thing, that it deferves none of this care and diligence to be used for the obtaining of it?

IV. Confider that when we come to die, nothing will yield more true and folid confolation to us, than the remembrance of an ufeful and well-fpent life, a life of great labour and diligence, of great zeal and faithfulness in the fervice of GOD; and on the con

trary,

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trary, with what grief and regret fhall we look back SER M. upon all those precious hours which we have fo fondly misplaced in fin and vanity? How fhall we then wish that we could recal them and live them over again, that we might spend them better? All that time which now lies upon our hands, and we know not how to bestow it and pafs it away, will then moft affured lie heavy upon our confciences. What anguish and confufion have I seen in the looks and speeches of a dying man, caufed only by the grievous remembrance of an unprofitable and ill-fpent life! fo foolish are many men, as never feriously to think for what end they came into the world, till they are juft ready to go out of it.

V. Confider that the degrees of our happiness in another world, will certainly bear a proportion to the degrees of our diligence and industry, in serving GoD and doing good. And it is an argument of a mean fpirit, not to aspire after the best and happiest condition, which is to be attained by us; to be contented barely to live, when by our pains and industry, we may become confiderable, and raise ourselves above the common level of men, is a sign of a poor and degenerate mind; fo is it in the business of religion, to be contented with any low degrees of virtue and goodnefs, and confequently of glory and happiness, when by a great diligence and industry in " ferving our ge"neration according to the will of God," we may be of the number of those, "whofe reward fhall be "great in heaven," and have a place there, among those "righteous perfons," who fhall" fhine as the "fun in the kingdom of their Father."

Befides, that it may prove a thing of dangerous confequence to us, to deal thus ftrictly with GOD, and to drive fo near and hard a bargain with him; we may eafily,

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SER M. easily mifs of happiness and come fhort of heaven, if we only defign juft to get thither; we may be miftaken in the degree of holiness and virtue, which is neceffary to recommend us to the divine favour and acceptance, and to make us capable of the glorious reward of eternal life: for "unto whomfoever much is

given," faith our SAVIOUR," of him much fhall "be required;" to him that hath only one talent committed to him, it may be fufficient to have gained one; but he that hath many talents entrusted with him, may gain one, and yet be a wicked and "flothful fervant;" proportionably to our advantages and opportunities, our duty encreaseth upon our hands, and better and greater things may juftly be expected from us. The confideration whereof, fhould make us unwearied in our endeavours of doing good, "and ftedfaft and unmoveable, and always " abounding in the work of the LORD, for as much 66 as we know that our labour fhall not be in vain "in the LORD.

VI. and lastly, Let us confider the argument here in the text, "there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wifdom in the grave, whither we are "going." Longe quiefcendi tempora fata dabunt, we fhall then "reft from our labours, and our works "will follow us." This life is the time of our activity and working, the next is the feafon of retribution and recompence; we fhall then have nothing to do, but either to reap and enjoy the comfort of welldoing, or to repent the folly of an ill-fpent life, and the irreparable mifchief which thereby we have brought upon ourfelves." There is no work nor wisdom in "the grave whither thou goeft;" intimating that our life is a continual journey towards the grave, fhorter or longer as GoD pleafeth; and many times when we

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think ourselves far from it, we may be juft upon it, SERM. and ready to ftumble into it. So that our time of working may be very fhort, to be fure it is very un

certain.

And it is very well worth our confideration, that as "there is no work nor wildom in the grave," fo there is very little to be exercised when we come to draw near to it, whether it be by ficknefs or old age: fufficient furely " for that day will be the evil thereof;" we had need then to have nothing elfe to do, but to be old and weak, to be fick and die; we shall find that to be burden and trouble enough.

"Let us therefore work the work of him that fent "us into the world, while it is day; for the night "cometh," faith our SAVIOUR, (by which may probably be meant, the time of fickness or old age,)" the night cometh when no man can work;" fo that what we do we must do quickly, mind the work which is before us, and ply it with all our might, as if it were the last opportunity we should ever have; and fo it may prove for ought we know, for it is ten to one but that fome here prefent, and God knows which of us it may be, may now have the laft opportunity in our hands, and that but a flippery hold of it, and may never have this counfel given us again, nor perhaps be long in a capacity to make ufe of it; for when death hath once overtaken us, it will fix us in an unchangeable state; "as the tree falls, fo it fhall lie."

This is the time of our work and preparation for another world, and what we do towards it in this life will avail us in the other; but if this opportunity be neglected, there is nothing to be done by us afterwards, but to inherit the fruit of our own folly and neglect, to fit down in everlasting forrow, and to be immutably fixed in that miferable ftate, which whilft we were in

SER M. this world we could never be perfuaded to take any tolerable care to avoid.

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And if we can do nothing for ourselves to help and relieve us in that state, much less can we think it can be done for us by others, by the configning of masses and prayers, of merits and indulgences to our use and benefit in another world. No, fo foon as ever we are paffed into the other ftate, we shall enter upon a condition of happiness or mifery, that is never to be altered. So that this life is the proper feafon for wifdom to fhew itself, and to exercise our beft industry for the attaining of happiness; it will be too late afterwards to think of altering or bettering our condition, for death will conclude and determine our state one way or other, and what we are when we leave the world, good or bad, fitted for happiness or mifery, we shall remain and continue fo for ever.

Therefore it infinitely concerns all of us, to exercise our best wisdom in this present life, and what we have to do for our fouls, and for all eternity, "to do it with "all our might;" to contrive and use the best means to be happy, while the opportunity of doing it is yet in our hands; we may eafily let it flip, but no care, no wisdom, no diligence, no repentance, can retrieve it; when it is once loft, it is loft for ever.

Hear then the conclufion of the whole matter; Would we enjoy ourselves and the peace of our minds while we live? Would we have good hopes and comfort in our death, and after death would we be happy for ever? Let us lay the foundation of all this, in the activity and industry of a religious and holy life; a life of untpotted purity and temperance in the use of fenfual pleafures, of fincere piety and devotion towards Gop, of ftrict juftice and integrity, and of great goodness and charity towards men.

And