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both they who are fo ftrong that they come to fourfcore years, experience a peculiar degree of labour and forrow*: and they that, after walking with God, are taken by him + ever fo ear-ly, ought to be confidered as taken away in mercy from evil t of one kind or another. Nor is life too fhort for the business we have to do in it. For God requires, in this and all respects, only in proportion to what he gives. And we should every one of us eafily do the whole that is needful here, would we but reflect what it is, and fet about it in earneft; which they that will not, when the hours allotted them are so few, would be less likely ftill, if they had more to trifle away. But there yet remains a sense, in which we all feel and own the shortness of life, when it is too late, if not before; that is, we find it waste much quicker than we imagined; not only because we seldom attain to live near fo many years as we flatter ourselves, but because the utmost extent to which we can live, doth not allow fuch a multitude of things to be done in it, as fome fancy and imprudently attempt, nor afford room for fuch waste and negligence, or fuch a series of errors and wrong fteps, as others adventure upon. And this being fo evident and interefting a truth, the ferious and frequent confideration of what it forbids, and what it calls for, must powerfully contribute to produce both a temper and a conduct of true wisdom.

But to this end, we fhould place before our eyes two diftinct views of our existence here: as it regards the prefent world, and as it is alfo a ftate of preparation for a future. At prefent I fhall dwell chiefly on the former view; which, though it be a very confined and imperfect one, yet was of fo great ufe to the good and virtuous under the Old Teftament, when the world to come was lefs clearly revealed, that it ought not to be flignted now. And it vifibly hath this advantage, that whatever is rightly inferred from it, must be univerfally confeffed; because, let men bring themselves to think ever fo little, or doubt ever fo much, concerning the next life, they cannot doubt, but that which now is, will foon, and they know not how foon, come to its conclufion; from which truth alone, if they refiect on it duly, they will

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not fail to learn important leffons of moral, and even pious (which will thus appear to be wife) behaviour. As of the green leaves on a thick tree, faith the fon of Sirach, fome fall and fome grow, fo is the generation of flesh and blood: One cometh to an end, and another is born. Every work rotteth and confumeth away, and the worker thereof shall go witbals Bleed is the man that doth meditate good things in wisdom, and that reafoneth of holy things by his understanding

1. First then, as all virtues in general, both by their own proper influence, and the bleffing of God, which reafon leads us to expect, and feripture exprefsly affures us of, conduce to prolong our days, the confideration of their natural brevity may well direct us to a virtuous conduct; particularly to fobriety, temperance, and chastity; to a prudent moderation of anger; and to whatever duties have efpecially the promife or the profpect of long life annexed to them. For nothing can be more absurd, than to contract into a yet narrower compass what is fo far from needing it; unless it be complaining against Providence, that human life is of fo fmall continuance, when ours might be of much greater, if we would; nay, when perhaps, at the very moment of our complaint, we are taking all the pains we can, not to live out one half of the few days that are appointed to man upon earth; and, in those we do live, to make ourselves miferable and fit for nothing; haftening old age before its feafon, and loading it with diseases, by an idle, luxurious, and libertine youth.

2. Since we have but a fmall time to ftay here, it is our wisdom to make it as eafy and agreeable to ourselves, and all with whom we have any intercourfe, as we are able; and to imitate perfons of prudence, who occafionally go journies together; bearing with each others temper and behaviour; giving mutual comfort and affiftance under the misfortunes and inconveniences of the way; and continually endeavouring to preferve or restore the good humour and cheerfulness of the company. By this method, we might live much more in a few years, that is, have a greater feeling of the bleffings of life, than by being reciprocally troublefome and vexatious, we can in ever fo many. And furely it is very strange, that having

Ecclus. xiv. 18, 19, 20.,

having fo fcanty a fhare of being allotted us here, and this exposed by nature to fuch multitudes of unavoidable troubles and fufferings, we fhould contrive to pour additional bitternefs into our common cup, by needlefs injuries and provoca tions. At best we have no happiness to spare; and therefore fhould rather ftudy to increase our portion, by friendliness and kind offices, which will of course invite a return of them, than lefen it by felfifhnefs, haughtinefs, refentment, perverfeness, unseasonable intermeddling; qualities, most of them uneasy in themselves, and all of them productive of numberless uneafinesses with every body around us. Or how little foever we may regard our own tranquillity, or how well foever we may hope to maintain it, in the midft of difputes and contentions; yet, as moft perfons are differently affected by fuch things, furely the condition of humanity in general ought to move compaffion in us; and we should permit the little which our poor fellow-creatures enjoy of good, to be enjoyed, while it lafts, in peace. We might image to ourselves, methinks, those who suffer by us, complaining and pleading, in language like that of Job: Man that is born of a woman, is of few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: be fleeth alfo as a fhadow, and continueth not. And doft thou open thine eyes upon fuch an one, and bringeft me into judgment with thee? Seeing his days are determined, bis bounds appointed, that he cannot pass; turn from him, that be may reft, till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day' Are not my days few? Ceafe then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little, before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness, and the fhadow of death.

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3. The fhortnefs of life fhould teach us to be fpeedy and diligent in doing all fuch things as we ought to do. What thefe are indeed, it doth not alone fufficiently fhew. But they are most of them fo plain, and the reft fo conftantly taught us, that almoft every one defigns to practife them fooner or later, and become extremely good before he dies. But then they perpetually defer and poftpone the time of beginning this reformation, on frivolous pretences; and never confider to any effect, how their life is paffing away, and VOL. III. gliding

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gliding from under them, in a course of actions, which they own is faulty, and will at last lament in vain. They think they may throw away a great deal of it, and have plenty left, to act as they judge proper afterwards. Now, were it to laft ever fo long, yet spending any part of it amifs, either wilfully or thoughtlessly, would be very unwife. But confidering how short both others, and we ourselves, as far as our experience reaches, have always found it; to fquander what with our best management is but enough, and what poffibly may not hold out another day, is folly beyond expreffion. Therefore the son of Sirach, concerning one part of our duty, acts of kindness, advifes thus: Remember that death will not be long in coming; and that the covenant of the grave is not Shewed unto thee. unto thee. Do good unto thy friend before thou die, and according to thy ability ftretch out thy band, and give bim. But long before that, Solomon had established the fame rule, on the fame foundation, concerning all other parts: Whatfoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goeft. If then we are guilty of any fin, or liable to any fmaller blemish, let us inftantly amend, left we should never have an opportunity; or at best should leave a doubt, whether we forfook our faults, or they forfook us. If there should be any valuable quality that we want, and fhould reckon ourselves happy in the poffeffion of, let us acquire it as foon as poffible, and have the longest enjoyment of it that we are able. Whatever we fee would be right and fit for us to do; whatever we fhould be unwilling to go out of the world and leave undone, let us take the only way to make fure of doing, by doing it without delay.. Every friendly care, every useful labour, every act, by which we can either provide properly for those who immediately belong to us, or benefit any other of our fellow-creatures, let us apply it directly; and work the works of him that fent us, while it is day; for the night cometh, when no man can work ‡.

4. Another point of wifdom, which the fhortnefs and precarioufnefs of our prefent ftate of being fhould teach us, is to ⚫avoid long pursuits of worldly profits or pre-eminences; which probably

Ecclus. xiv. 12, 13.

Eccl. ix. 10.

John ix. 4.

probably either we shall not have time to attain, or must soon quit. Indeed, were the extent of man's life ever so great, it would be but a poor' employment of it to fix our hearts on gaining more wealth, more power and influence, or higher rank, than would do us good; to neglect worthier attentions, and disquiet ourselves and our neighbours with these. But for a creature, whose days fly away as a dream when one awaketb*, to have an endless train of selfish defigns, and schemes laid up for many years, when perhaps this night his foul may be required of him, is monftrously unfuitable. And yet, I know not how it is, the nearer people are to their end, the more eager they commonly are to get what they, of all the world, have the leaft occafion for, and the leaft excufe for being folicitous about; and instead of that ease and repose, which their time of day calls for, unnaturally force themfelves to labour and fatigue of body and mind, when they can ill support either; till, in the midst of this preposterous vehemence and buftle, they are swept on a fudden into another ftate, with heads and hearts full of nothing but this. But though the abfurdity of such immoderate attachments is most palpable, when perfons are upon the verge of life; yet, in every part of it, the imprudence of forming diftant expectations and defigns, and having no reasonable profpect of their accomplishment, or at least of benefit from them, is both very real and too frequent. We have all a great deal to do in amending our ways, and rectifying our tempers, on which our happiness even here depends, and we scarce ever think of it; whereas we need but a very small share of temporal advantages to carry us on comfortably to our journey's end, and yet we fet our minds almost wholly on increasing it; many by injustice, others by hard-hearted penuriousness, or finfully anxious care; the former unmindful of the prophet's warning, He that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them, perhaps in the middle of his days; and, whenever he leaves them, at his end fhall be a fool: the latter, equally regardless of the Pfalmift's beautiful reflection: Behold thou baft made my days as it were a fpan long, and mine age is even as nothing before thee: and verily every man living is altoge

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Job xx. 8. Pf. lxxiii. 20.

+ Luke xii. 20.

† Jer. xvii, 11.

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