by another name, that is, not to-day, but to-morrow. Your time is the prefent time; take heed of procraftinating and put ting it off, till that which is called to-day (which is your only feafon) be paft, and gone. The precious inch of time, though it be more worth than all the other greater parts, and portions of your time, yet it is as much in fluxu, in hafty motion, and fpending, as other parts of time are; and being once loft, never more to be recalled, or recovered. Few men know, or understand it, whilst it is current; other feasons for natural, or civil actions, are known, and stated, but the time of grace is not fo eafily difcerned, and therefore commonly mistaken, and loft: And this comes to pafs, partly through,

1. Presumptuous hopes..

2. Difcouraging fears.

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1. Prefumptuous hopes, which put it too far forth, and per fuade us this feafon is yet to come; that we have time before us, and that to-morrow shall be as to-day. "Thus through prefumption *, men hope, and by their prefumptuous hopes "they perifa." This is the ruin of moft fouls that perish.

2. Difcouraging fears put it too far back, and represent it as long fince paft, and gone, whilft it is yet in being, and in our hands. By fuch pangs of defperation, Satan cuts the nerves of industry, and diligence, and caufes fouls to yield themselves as by confent, for loft, and hopeless, even whilst the gospel is opening their eyes, to fee their fin and misery, which is a part of the work, in order to their recovery. Thus the eyes of thousands are dazzled, that they cannot difcern the feafon of mercy, and so it slides from them, as if it had never been.

God came near them in the means of their conversion, yea, and nearer in the motions of his Spirit upon their confciences, and affections; but they knew not the time of their visitation, and now the things of their peace are hid from their eyes. Had thofe convictions been obeyed, and those purposes that were begotten in their hearts, been followed by answerable executions of them, happy had they been to all eternity: But their careless neglects have quenched them, and the door is fhut; and who knows whether it may be opened any more? O dally not with the Spirit of God, refift not his calls! his motions on the foul are tender things; they may foon be quenched, and never recovered.

Arg. 3. Neglect not the feafons of mercy, the day of grace,

* Praefumendo fperant, et sperando pereunt,

because opportunity facilitates the great work of your falvation; it is much easier to be done in fuch a seafon, than it can be afterwards: An impreffion is eafily made on wax, when melted, but ftay till it be hardened, and if you lay the greatest weight on the feal, it leaves no impreffion upon it. Much fo it is with the heart, there is a feafon when God makes it foft, and yielding, when the affections are thawed, and melted under the word; confcience is full of fenfe, and activity, the will palpable Now is the time to fet in with the motions of the spirit; there is now a gale from heaven, if you will take it, and if not, it tarries not for man, nor waits for the fons of men: Neglect of the season, is the lofs of the foul. The heart, like melted wax, will naturally harden again, and then to how little purpose are your own feeble effays? Heb. iii. 15. 'Tis both eafy and fuccefsful ftriving, when the Spirit of God strives in you, and with you; you are now workers together with God, and fuch work goes on fmoothly, and fweetly; that which is in motion is eafily moved; but if once the heart is fet, you may labour to little purpose.

Arg. 4. The infinite importance, and weight of falvation, is alone, instead of all motives, and arguments, to make men prize, and improve every proper feafon for it. It is no ordinary concern, it is your life, yea, it is your eternal life; the folemnity, and awfulnefs of fuch a bufinefs as this, is enough to fwallow up the fpirit of man. O what an awful found have fuch words as these, ever with the Lord! Suppose you faw the glory of heaven, the full reward of all the labours, and fufferings of the faints, the bleffed harvest of all their prayers, tears, diligence, and felf-denial in this world; or fuppofe you had a true representation of the torments of hell, and could but hear the wailings of the damned, for the neglect of the feafon of mercy, and their paffionate, but vain withes for one of thofe days which they have loft: Would you think any care, any pains, any felf-denial too much, to fave, and redeem one of thefe opportunities? Surely had would have a far higher eftimation of them, than ever you you in your lives.

A trial for a man's whole eftate, is accounted a folemn bu finefs, among men; the caft of a dye for a man's life, is a weighty action, and seldom done without anxiety of the mind, and trembling of the hand: Yet both these are but children's play compared with favation-work,

Three things put an unspeakable folemnity upon this matter; it is the precious foul, which is above all valuation, that lies at

take, and is to be faved, or loft. The faving or lofing of it, is not for a time, but for ever; and this is the only feafon in which it will be eternally faved or caft away: All hangs upon a little inch of time, which being over-flipt, and loft, is never more to be recalled, or recovered. Lord! with what serious fpirits, deep, and weighty confideration, fears, and tremblings of heart, fhould men and women, attend the seafons of their Jalvation!

Believe it, reader, fince thy foul projected its first thought, there never was a more weighty, and concerning fubject than this prefented to thy thoughts. O! therefore, let not thy thoughts trifle about it, and flide from it, as they use to do in other things, of common concernment,

Arg. 5, If we fet any value on the true pleasure of life, or folid comfort of our fouls at death, let us by no means neglect the fpecial fealons, and opportunities of falvation we now enjoy.

Thefe two things, the pleasure of life, and comforts in death, Thould be prized, by every man more than his two eyes; cer tainly no being at all is more defirable, than a being without thefe Take away the true, fpiritual pleasure of life, and you Jevel the life of man with the beat that perifheth; and take a way the hope, and comfort of the foul in death, and you sink bim infinitely below the beafts, and make him a being only capable of mifery for ever.

Now there can be no true, fpiritual pleasure, found in that foul that has neglected, and loft his only feafon of falvation: All the folid delight, and comfort of life, refults from the fettlement, and fecurity of a man's great concern in the proper fea fon thereof. The true mirth of the converted Prodigal bears date from the time of his return, and reconciliation to his father, Luke xv. 24. Two things are abfolutely pre-requifite to the comfort of life, viz. a change of the state by juftification, and a change of the frame and temper of the heart, by fanctification. To be in a pardoned state, is a matter of all joy, Mat. ix. 2. and

to be fpiritually minded, is life and peace," Rom. viii. 6. Nọ good news comes to any man, before this; and no bad news can fink a man's heart, after this.

And for hope, and comfort in death, let none be fond to expect it, till he has firft complied with, and obeyed God's call in the time thereof: A carelefs life never did, nor pever will produce a comfortable death. What is more common among all that die, not ftupid, and fenfelefs, as well as unregenerate, and Chriftless, than the bitter, dolorous complaints of their miffpent time, and lofing their feafons of mercy? Reader, if thou would not feel that anguifo thou haft feen, and heard, others to

be in on this account, know the time of thy vifitation, and finifh thy great work, whilft it is day.

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Arg. 6. Neglect no feafon of falvation which is graciously afforded you, because your time is fhort; death and eternity, are at the door. You know that you must shortly put off thefe tabernacles," 2 Pet. i. 13, 14. that when a few years are come, 66 you fhall go the way whence you shall not return,' Job xvi. 22. All the living are lifted foldiers, and muft conflict, hand to hand, with that dreadful enemy death, and there is no discharge in that war, Ecclef. viii. 8. It will be in vain to fay, You are not willing to die; for willing, or unwilling, away you must go, when death calls you. It will be as vain to fay, You are not reas dy; for, ready, or unready, you must be gone, when death comes. Your readiness to die, would, indeed, be a cordial to your hearts in death; but then, you must improve and ply the time of life, and husband your opportunities diligently; carelefness of and readiness for death are inconfiftent, and exclufive of each other. The bed is fweeter to none than the hard labourer, and the grave comfortable to none but the laborious Chriftian. You know nothing can be done by you after death; the compofitum is then diffolved; you ceafe to be what you were, to enjoy the means you had, and to work as you did. O therefore flip not the only feafon you have, both of attaining the end of life, and efcaping the danger and hour of death.

The US E.

I fhall clofe all with a word of exhortation, perfuading (if poffible) the careiefs and unthinking neglecters of their precious time and fouls, to awake out of that deep and dangerous fecurity in which they ly faft afleep on the very brink of eternity, and "to-day, whilst it is yet called to-day," to hear God's voice calling them to repentance and faith, and thereby to Chrift and everlasting blessedness. "Behold, he yet flands at the "door, and knocks," Rev. iii. 20. The door of hope is not yet finally fhut, there are yet fome ftirrings at certain times in mens confciences; God comes near them in his word, and in fome rouzing acts of providence, the death of a near relation, the feizure of a dangerous disease, the blafting and difappointment of a man's great defign and project for this world, a fall into fome notorious fin; thefe, and many fuch like methods of providence, as well as the convincing voice of the word, have the efficacy of an awakening voice to mens drowsy confci. ences; and if careless finners would but attend to them, and follow home thofe motions they make upon their hearts, who knows to what thefe weak beginnings might arife and profper?

The fouls of men are, as it were, imbarked in the calls of God, your life is bound up in them; if these are loft, your fouls are loft; if these abide upon you, and grow up to found converfion, you are faved by them. More particularly confider,

1. What a mercy it is, to have your lot providentially cast under the gospel; to be born under, and bred up with the means and inftruments of converfion and falvation. We have lived from our youth up, under the calls of God, and within the joyful found of the gofpel: "God hath not dealt fo with other "nations," Pfal. cxlvii. 20. Though others fhould feek the means of life, they cannot find them; and though you seek them not, you can hardly miss them.

2. How great a mercy is it, to have your lives lengthened out hither to by God's patience, under the gofpel! that neither that golden lamp, nor the lamp of your life, (both which are liable To be extinguished every moment) are yet put out. Thousands

and ten thousands, your contemporaries, are gone out of the hearing of the voice of the gospel, they fhall never hear another call; the treaty of God is ended with them; the master of the houfe is rifen up, and the doors are fhut. Your neglects and provocations have not been inferior to theirs; but the patience and goodness of God has exceeded and abounded to you beyond whatever it did to them.

3. Bethink yourselves what an aggravation of your mifery it will be, to fink into hell with the calls of God founding in your ears! to fink into eternal mifery, betwixt the tender, out-stretched arms of mercy! this is the hell of hell, the emphasis of damnation, the racking engine on which the confciences of the damned are tortured. "And thou Capernaum, which art exalted to hea"ven, shall be brought down to hell," Matth. xi. 23. Such a fall, after fo high an exaltation, is the very ftrappado which will torment your confciences. Hell will prove a cooler and milder place to the Heathens that never enjoyed your light, means, and mercies in this world, than it will to you. None fink fo deep into mifery in the world to come, as they that fall from the faireft opportunities of falvation in this world.

4. Let no man expect that God will hear his cries and intreaties in time of mifery, who neglects and flights the calls of God in time of mercy. God calls, but men will not hear; the day is coming," when they fhall cry, but God will not hear," Prov. i. 24, 25. "Will God hear his cry, when trouble cometh

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upon him?" Job xxvii. 9. No, no; he will not: and this is but a juft retribution from the righteous God, whofe calls and counfels men have fet at nought. But whatever men now think