in procefs of time to be fo well acquainted with the intrigues of your Profeffion, as to be able to ma nage your bulinefs with more facility, certainty and fuccels than others, Pfal. 71, 5. 15, 16, 17. O Sirs, I nothing doubt but Young Converts, have fome kind of notable experiences, that older Years lye not in the way off; O what clofs conflicts? what feasonable alliftances? what joyfull outgates? what triumphant offcomes that whiles they cannot well exprefs, but are forced to fay that the Lord hath led them in a way they knew not, and made them uns derftand things that were Mysteries and Secrets to them before. 4. Reef. Being timoufly employed in a way of tra ding, will help to prevent an unhappy fet & habite of idleness that fome do eafily & foon contract, but cannot so soon shake off again; are there not too many who have flood all the day idle, and cannot con defcend what they have done for God, or their Souls fince they came into the World, neither can they for their hearts find in their hearts to fettle at a Turn, or bulie themselves in feeking God, having idled away their days irreligious and carnal; and by the way let me fay it, there ara fome too who you would think, bave been carefully nourished in Res ligion from their Youth, that yet are far from the inward and lively exercile of true Religion, baving been trained up in lazy, empty Forms of Devotion but never knew what it was to be lively and fpiritus al in their Converfes with God, but fuch who reft in ward Forms of Devotion, fhall find no reft in Reflections that they have done fo, when God awakens awakens and difquiets their minds in fenfe of their hns, for when their confciences will be readie to fuggeft, as good nothing at all, as nothing to purpose, 5. Reaf. Being tyed to a Trade in Youth, wiff eafe the carefull Parents of manie Perplexities; furelie it goes near their tender hearts, to bave their dear Children in a way of fettlement and weldoing, in order to their comfortable well-being; but much nearer I dare fay will it go to their hearts (if they be truly godly to have their Children engaged to the Lord, and brought up in the nurture and admonition of his holie Word, his holie Spirit, and holie Providence, and fo ly fair for an intereft in Gods Fa vour and Bleffing: As upon the contrare. O what ignorant perfons are they, who if they get their chil dren fettled in a Trade for the provifion of their Bodies, blockifhly fancie, they have done all their dus ty, & no more is required at their hand, while in the mean time they take no thoughts about their fouls, and thus alas they bring forth a feed to the murderer, Prov. 23. 24, 25. 2 Tim. 1. 4. 5. Hof. 9. 13. 6. Reaf. Being trained up in a Trade in Youth, may be fteadable in Old-age for making a fend in a pinch, how manie by cross providences have been reduced to fuch ftraits, that had they not been skilled in a Trade they might have ftarved miserablie; fo the young Chriftian (as I have been pointing bes fore) having laid up in ftore a flock of experiences, when he comes under defertions and foul-difficul ties, he makes comfortable recourfe thereto, and a good fhift too, olim & hæc meminisse juvab t ̧ Pfal.77% 18, the Pfalmift is grievouflic exercifed with the H appre apprehenfion of Gods angrie hiding countenance, but the thing that difpells his dark fom doubts, is the the seasonable remembrance of former experiences, ver 10, 11. I said this is my infirmity, but I will res member the years of the right hand of the most High, I will remember Hit Wonders of old. 7. Reaf. O what bitter complaints and grievous grudges have fome bad in their Old age, for mil fpending and idling away their younger years, the which error and unhappiness to prevent is certainly a piece of great prudence, fome who have been cloathed with raggs and fore pinched for lack of bread, how hath it cut them to the verie heart to res flect on their follie, that they learned not a Trade in their Youth; fo how manie torturing thoughts have fome had in their perforced penfive arguings of this fort, alas how mad & unadvised have I been in lofing my golden Youthhood opportunities! Ah fay fome, had I made my acquaintance with God in the beginning of my days, I might now have enjoys ed comfortable converfes with Him; had I been more diligent in duties, I should now have been richer in grace, had I then closed with Chrifts Gol pel offers, I fhould now have been clearer in my e vidences for eternal life; bad I then lived a more bo lie life, I needed not have been fo much in bondage with the fears of death, as now I find wo's me! for this day I remember my faults, even the faults of all my days bygone, and this great one troubles me in chief, that I bave (pent the prime of my time in vanities and lies, and have done little for God,and Bittle for my foul O what will come of me for endlefi days days, Jer. 31. 19, Surely after that I was inftructed, Í mote upon my thigh, I was shamed, yea even confound; ed, because I did bear the reproach of iny Youth But methinks I bear fome young Perfonslaugh ing in their fleeve at thofe ferious Reasons I have been propoting, and preferring their own carnal reafonings to their felf deceiving, therefore I will endeavour to take off a main Objection or two that bfes much to work with them, Objc.. What needs all this baft, there is time nough coming, why fhould I torment ny felf before he time; new lam young, I hope to be old, now is ny feafon to take my courfe of pleatures, why should Timbitter them to my felf, by fuch severe kind of xercifes as are fitter for old, fage, fettled perfons, han fuch young perfons as I am, but I refolve when Tam come to years to repent,& become very devore Anfu.1. Sufpe& this to be a foul temptation & obtile fuggeftion from Satan, who employs all his methods to flave off finners from being serious aout religious and foul-matters, hence Augußine omplains, the Devil had kept him off from repen. ance feven years with this verie Objection, but at ength the power of God reaching his heart, he crys ue, O Lord, how long fhall 1 fry, it is too foon? 2. Begin as foon as ye can, yet ye do not begin ofoon as ye ought; for I understand by the frame f this Objection, that much of thy prime age is laped, wherein thou oughtest to have ferved God, & et haft been following Satans counfel hitherto, which is contrare to Gods, who by the Wifeman' dvertifeth thee, to remember now thy Creator in Hz days of thy Youth; he fays not in the years of thy Youth,but in the days of it, intimating that from the verie beginning of our days we ought to feek God, Eccl. 12. 1. 3. Begin as foon as you can to feek God, it will never repent thee if thou come to be old, that thou beganneft betimes, but on the contrare, when ever thou falls in good earnest to this work, it will be thy regrate thou watt fo long a beginning. 4. What fecuritie have ye for living till Old age as the proverb goes, as foon is the Lambs skin inte mercat as the Sheeps, haft thou not knowa fome of thine own familiars who in the flower of their age have been fuddentie fnatched away, pray produce thy tack for a leefe of life till old age, longer than ethers, or fo long as thou fancies, and does thou DOI alfo know that betwixt the terms of Youthhood & Old age there are vel mille pericula mortis, for death bath innumerable doors to enter in át, Abftra&t of Ecclefiaf. 5. 17. Boaft not of Youthfull-years nor boatt Mind thou must die, but when or where, You'll find as foon's the Sheeps to fell. This thy Objection brings to my remembrance the rich man in the Parable, who jult as thou doeft romised to himself a pleasant merrie life in the Soul, fays he, take thine cafe, cat drink and be |