for them, and his gracious pardon; that God may be glorified in their confeffion, amendment, and falvation, for Jefus Christ's fake. To whom, with the Father and the Holy Ghoft, be all honour, thanksgiving, and praise, now and for ever. Amen. SERMON SERMON XCIV. A FUNERAL DISCOURSE. THE CONSIDERATION OF DEATH PUT - O LORD of Life and Death, difpofe, by thy grace, all that shall hear this discourse, that, remembering our fentence is already paffed, our whole lives may be a worthy preparation for death. Deliver every foul of us from the blindness of trusting to a death-bed repentance. Let me not speak to others upon this ferious fubject, and forget it myself. And when this fentence' fhall be executed upon me, be Thou, O Jefu, my mighty protector! 2 KINGS XX. I. THUS SAITH THE LORD, SET THINE HOUSE IN ORDER, FOR THOU SHALT DIE, AND NOT LIVE.* Go OOD Christians! I take this occafion, when most people are, or fhould be ferious, to speak to you upon the most serious fubject in the world, and a fubject which concerns every foul of us, as much as our life is worth. See Job xiv. 5. Pf.xxxix. 4. lxxxix. 48. xc. 12. Matth. x. 28. Mark viii. 36. Rom. v. 12. viii. 18. I Cor. vii. 29. xv. 56, 2 Cor. iv. 17. Heb. ix. 27. xi. 34. xiii. 14. 1 Pet. ii. II. I would I would defire you, and I would charge it upon myself, to confider feriously, WHAT IT IS TO DIE; and WHAT PREPARATION IS NECESSARY FOR AN HAPPY DEATH. For fure we need not be told, that if death furpriseth any man before he be prepared for it, It had been better for that man if he had never been born. The text I have made choice of is a meffage fent by the prophet Isaiah to king Hezekiah: Thus faith the LORD, Set thine house in order, for thou shalt die, and not live. We little think of it, and yet indeed this very fentence is already paffed upon every one of us. It is true, we know not when it will be executed, but executed it will be, and that in a very short while. It behoves us, therefore, to be prepared for it; to fet our house in order, while we have time, while we are in our right mind, and have our fenfes and thoughts about us; always remembering, that it will be no proper time, when we come to die, to ask this question, What must I do to be faved? The Spirit of God has already told us this: Pass the time of your fojourning here, that is, your whole life, in fear, with a great concern for what must become of you when you die. That we may all do this more effectually, I. will fet before you, ift. What our condition and business in the world is. 2dly. What 2dly. What alteration death will make in our condition. 3dly. What preparation for death will be neceffary, to make our life eafy, and our death happy. Laftly. I will fet before you, the different thoughts and reflections of dying perfons, both of good and bad, that we may be warned betimes, what to choofe, and what to avoid. I. And first we fhall confider, What our condition and business in this world is. As for our condition; we are by nature born in fin, and fubject to the punishment of fin, which is misery and death. This punishment and fentence we cannot hope to avoid, it being paffed upon us by a moft righteous judge, and never to be reverfed. Yet this comfort we have ftill left us, that God has been fo good, for his Son's fake, as to make a further trial of us, and to place us in this world in a state of probation, in order to try our obedience, and to mend our nature. And has given us this affurance, that if, during this fhort life, we give fuch proof of our obedience, as that our nature is thereby mended, and that we have fincerely endeavoured to be restored to the image of God, in which we were created, we fhall, whenever we die, be received into that heavenly state which our fins had made us incapable of, All |