quivering limbs, a wan and ghastly corpse, the image of death in all its lively terrors; if they have any remainders of natural tenderness, it must needs strike them into pensiveness, to think that one day this must be their own case, and that therefore it behoves them to be in continual preparation for this last and dreadful change: but, no sooner is the dead interred, and the grave filled up again, but all these sage and serious thoughts vanish, and they return to the same excess of sin and pleasure as before. This is the brutish folly and sottishness of most

men.

But oh, why should not men always keep alive vigorous thoughts and meditations of death? Are they not always alike mortal? Are they not as much subject to the arrest of death at other times, as when they see examples of mortality before their eyes? The law stands still in force, unrepealed in heaven, that it is appointed unto all men once to die. Indeed, it fares with such as these, as ordinarily it doth with malefactors, who fear not the penalty of the law till they see it executed upon others. Let us therefore act rationally as men; and, so long as we are in danger, be kept by that danger prepared to entertain that, which we know is irreversibly appointed unto us.

IV. But now, beside this general appointment of God, that all shall die, there is a PARTICULAR APPOINTMENT, which reacheth to every particular circumstance of man's death; the time when, the manner how, we shall die. These are unalterably determined, in God's secret counsel.

To speak a little briefly to this.

i. GOD HATH PUNCTUALLY AND EXACTLY DETERMINED the TIME OF OUR DEATH TO A VERY MOMENT.

The Great God, in whose hands our lives, our breath, and all our ways are, turns up our glass; and puts such a measure of sand into it, and no more: it is he, who prefixes it to run to such a length of time, and then determines it shall run no longer: it is he, who is Lord of all Time, that writes our names upon so many days and hours as we shall live, as upon so many leaves of his book; and it is impossible for us to live one day or hour, which hath not our name written upon it by him from all eternity it is God, who sets every one the bounds of their living, as well as the bounds of their habitation; Acts xvii. 26. beyond which they shall not be able to pass; the embryo, that

dies before ever it sees the light, fills up its time appointed by God; as well as he, who lives to decrepit old age. And, therefore, though the Scripture and we use to say, Such or such an one is taken away in the midst of his days; yet, simply in itself considered, that is impossible: the whole tale of days, which God hath appointed to every one, must be fulfilled; and that to a very moment, according as the number of them is set down by God from all eternity: such expressions as these denote no more, than either that God cuts them off in the full strength and vigour of their years, when yet they might, according to the course of nature and human probability, have lived longer; or else, comparing the shortness of their lives with the length of others, God seems to break it off in the very midst, before he had finished his work. I shall not enter into a dispute, whether the term of life be fixed or moveable: methinks Job hath fully stated and determined the question: Is there not, says he, an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of a hireling? Job vii. 1: now a hireling hath a time of service prefixed; and, when this is expired, he is discharged from his labour: God hath sent all men into the world as so many hirelings; and, as soon as these days are expired, he takes them from their labour to their reward. Are not my days as the days of a hireling? So Job speaks also, in another chapter, concerning man: His days are determined: the number of his months are with thee: thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass: Job xiv. 5: what can be more punctual and particular? It is true, however, that, though God hath thus numbered out our days, and set us our bounds; yet we may well say, that, whoever dies, might have lived longer, had they made use of the right means: as Martha said unto our Saviour, John xi. 21. Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died; so may we say, "If such and such means had been used, and such remedies applied, this or that person had not died;" but, withal, we must observe also, that that God, who hath prefixed to every one his term of life, hath also ordained, in his own counsel and purpose, that those means, which are proper to prolong life beyond that term, should, through some unavoidable mistake or mishap, either not be known or not used. This therefore may be of great support unto us, as against all inordinate fears of our own death, so against all inordinate grief and sorrow for the death of others; to consider, that all our times are in God's hands: he measures out every day to us; and,

as he hath appointed bounds to us beyond which we shall not pass, so also hath he appointed that we shall certainly reach untò those bounds. His all-wise Providence disposeth of the meanest and smallest concernments of our lives; and, therefore, much more of our lives themselves: and, if a hair of our heads cannot, much less shall not we ourselves fall to the ground without our Heavenly Father.

ii. As GOD HATH APPOINTED THE EXACT CRITICAL HOUR, SO ALSO THE PARTICULAR MANNER OF OUR DEATH.

It is he, who appoints, whether it shall be sudden or foreseen; by diseases, or by casualty; whether the thread of our life shall be snapped in pieces by some unexpected accident, or worn and fretted away by some tedious and lingering consumption, or burned asunder by some fiery fever. In whatever manner or shape death may appear to us, is a secret known only unto God; but this we know, that it is always his serjeant, and wears his livery; and all the circumstances of our death are of God's appointment, as well as our death itself. And, in whatever shape it shall appear to us, if we diligently endeavour by a holy life to prepare ourselves for it, it shall not be frightful or terrible

to us.

V. Let us now make some PRACTICAL IMPROVEMENT of this.

USE i. If God thus unalterably appoints to us our last period, if he hath thus appointed us to die, if all men are concluded under that irrevocable law: LET THIS THEN SERVE TO CONVINCE US OF THE GROSS AND NOTORIOUS FOLLY, OF SETTING OUR AFFECTIONS EAGERLY UPON THIS PRESENT WORLD, a world, which we must shortly leave behind us.

Death, within a very little while, will most certainly pluck us from it; and it will prove a violent rending to us, if our affections are inordinately set upon any thing here below. It was a strange and perverse use also, that the Ancient Heathens made of the necessity of dying; when, in their feasts, their custom was to bring in the resemblance of an anatomy to their guests, thereby to excite them to mirth and voluptuousness, while they should relish such delights as were then before them, because shortly they must be as much dust and bones as what they saw: like those whom the Apostle mentions, 1 Cor.

xv. 32. who said, Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we shall die. But how much better use doth the same Apostle teach us to make of this, when, in the same Epistle, he tells us, But this I say, brethren, the time is short? What then? why, says he, It remaineth, therefore, that both they, that have wives, be as though they had none: and they, that weep, as though they wept not; and they, that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they, that buy, as though they possessed not; and they, that use this world, as not abusing it for the fashion of this world passeth away. Death, one would think, should beat down the price of the world, in every wise man's esteem: why should we lay out our affections upon those things, from which we may be ravished in a moment? both, they and we perish in the using of them: they are dying comforts; and we must die also, who enjoy them. Oh! what folly then is it to toil and wear away our lives in pursuing such vain things, from which we may be snatched before we can cast another look at them! Sour death will soon convince us, that all is but vanity and vexation of spirit, which we here set our eyes and hearts upon.

And, therefore,

USE ii. Seeing, by the appointment of God, we must all shortly die, LET us be persuadeD TO BE ALWAYS IN A READINESS

AND PREPARATION FOR IT.

Our souls are immortal, and must live for ever; and, when our bodies die and fall into the dust, they immediately enter into an estate which is for ever unalterable.

Here I shall only lay down a few Directions, and so conclude. 1. Wean your hearts from an inordinate love of the world. Death must and will pluck you from it: and, oh! it will be a violent rending, if your affections be glued to it. Consider, that all things in this present world are fading and perishing; but your precious souls are ever living and immortal. Be not, therefore, unequally yoked: join not your ever-living souls to dying comforts. This is a tyranny, worse than that, which was exercised by those of old, who tied living bodies to dead carcases. Oh! what a sad parting hour will it be to thee, when thou shalt go into another world, and leave behind thee all that thou countest good in this! How wilt thou protract and linger; and wishly look back again, upon all those precious vanities, and dear nothings and follies, in which here thou placedst thy happiness and contentment! But, when the heart sits loose from

all these things, with what satisfaction shall we be able to die; accounting what we lose by death to be no great matter, because what we gain thereby will be infinitely more to our advantage!

2. Would you be prepared for death? Beware, then, that you do not defer your repentance one day or hour longer, upon any presumption of the continuance of your life.

Death depends not upon the warning of a sickness. God doth not always afford it; but, sometimes, he doth execution, before he shoots off his warning-piece. And why may it not be so with you? However, it is possible your sickness may be such, as may render you incapable of doing your last good office for your soul. But, if it should be otherwise, yet this I am sure of, it is the unfittest time in all your life; to be then casting up your accounts, when you should be giving them up; to have your evidences for heaven then to clear up to your souls, when you should produce and shew them for your support and comfort.

3. Live every day so, as if every day were your last and dying day, and the very next day allotted to you unto eternity.

If it be not so, it is more than any of us know: and, since we have no assurance of one day or hour longer, it is but reason and wisdom to look upon every day, as that, which may prove our very last.

4. Be constant in the exercise of a holy life; and always doing of that, which you would be content Christ should find you doing when he comes to summon you before his bar.

Think with thyself, if thou wert now upon thy sick bed, and hadst received the sentence of death, and sawest thy friends stand mourning round about thee but not able to help thee; what would be thy thoughts and thy discouse then? Let the same thoughts and the same discourse fill up every day and hour of thy life; for thou knowest not, whether now this moment thou art not as near death, as if thy friends and relations, yea and thy physicians also, despaired of thy life, and had given thee over for dead.

5. Labour to get an assurance of a better life, and this will prepare you for a temporal death.

When you and all things in the world must take leave of one another and part for ever, then to have the sense of the love of God, of an interest in Jesus Christ, and the sight and view of your own graces; these will bear up your heart in a dying hour: these things are immortal, as your souls are; and will enter into