by the Grace of God, to accomplish it. And then,

2dly, For that poor prefumption, That others have done this, and yet were faved at the last, and why therefore may not we be fo too? Though I will not fay that none who have put off the bufinefs of their Repentance to the laft, have ever gone to Heaven; yet I must needs fay, I fear that but few have done fo. I do not remember in all the Holy Scripture more than One Inftance of the Salvation of a dying Penitent, and that fo extraordinary in all its Circumftances, that it cannot with any reafon be made a Precedent by us for the like Hopes; I mean that of the Thief upon the Crofs; And even of Him too it does not appear that ever he deferr'd his Repentance, or put it off purpofely to that, as the most conve nient Seafon. And for those who came in at the Eleventh hour, and yet were received; I fhall only fay thus much, That they came in as foon as they were called, and did not refufe to go into the Vineyard at the Third hour, because they thought it was too foon, and their Laziness prompted them to decline their work, till the Heat and Burden of the day was past.

In fhort, He that delays his Repentance upon this profpect, that he may do it hereafter as well as now, ought firft to have very well confider'd these two things. 1ft, Is he fure that he shall live to that time which he fo warily allots to this great work? For if he be not, then I am fure he lives in danger of Eternal Damnation all the while he neglects to enter on a ftate of Piety and Religion and chufes rather to hazard his Everlasting Happiness, than to put himself upon a Work

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Work that yet muft be done, or he fhall remain for ever miferable. 2dly, Is he certain, that though he should live to that time, yet that then God will give him Grace to repent? That his Averfion to his duty fhall not be greater then, than it is now; and his Unwillingness increase the more, the older he grows in his Sins and Impenitence?

What the fatisfaction of Mens Lufts may be, I cannot tell: but certainly, if they have any thoughts at all of their Future ftate, and do indeed believe a Fudgment to come, fuch dangers as thefe cannot chufe but amaze them; and their difquiets at the Apprehenfion, that by thus deferring their Repentance they may poffibly lofe their Souls for ever, infinitely outweigh whatever Pleasures they can in the mean time propofe to themselves, by going on a little longer in their Wickedness.

But I muft not infift upon these things; and therefore

4tbly, And to conclude this Point: The laft cause that moves many to delay their Repentance, is, that tho' they are convinced both of the Neceffity of repenting fome time or other, and that it is highly reasonable for them to fet presently about it, yet when all is done, their Lufts are too ftrong from them, and they cannot fo foon refolve to part with their Sins, and enter on a courfe of Piety and Religion.

There is fomething in the Nature of Sin fo fatally bewitching to us, that if once we fuffer our felves to be overcome with the Habit of it, 'tis

after

after that, one of the hardest things in the World to recover our liberty, and prevent our felyes from being altogether hardned by the deceit

fulness of it. He that committeth fin, John viii. 34. fays our Saviour Chrift, is the fervant

of fin. Whether it be that the force and power of an Evil Course gains infenfibly upon us, till at laft we have no more strength remaining to overcome it; Or, Whether it be that the longer we continue in Sin, the more God's Grace is withdrawn, and the lefs affiftance we have of the Holy Spirit to extricate our felves out of it. But this is plain, that even the best Men find it a hard matter, with all their Industry, to keep themselves from its dominion and to fulfil their Refolutions, though never fo foon taken up, of difcharging their duty, and living as becomes the Difciples of Christ.

I do not in the leaft queftion, but that we are all of us fufficiently convinced of the reasonablenefs of what I have now been enforcing, of setting im mediately about our duty: and, I believe, there are but few, if any among us, who, if they do not at this time, yet have at least fome time or other refolved to do fo. But I fear it would be a melancholly reflection to moft of us, to think how little we have fulfilled thefe Refolutions hitherto, and may give us fome caufe to fear whether we may not be but too likely ftill to continue in the fame carelefs and impenitent ftate for the time to come.

The truth is, in fuch a degenerate Age as this, wherein Vice is become almoft reputable; and to be religious, efteem'd pedantry and precifenefs: When the Evil Cuftoms of Men have prevailed fo far above the Commandments of God, that a Man

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muft

muft yield to be a little Wicked, unlefs he will run counter to the general practice of the World; and not a little negligent of his duty, to maintain the Company and Converfation of the Times; 'tis not an eafy thing for a Man to break through all thefe difficulties, and refolve to fave his Soul, whatever cenfures or troubles he encounters for the fo doing. And therefore, though we all of us know well enough what we ought to do, and cannot but be fometimes apprehenfive of the dangers we run by our not doing of it, yet alas! we ftill go on in the neglect of our duty: Ever thinking and refolving to amend, but never able effectually to fet about it.

And thus have I given you fuch a general profpect as the time would permit, of those Caufes that fo much indifpofe Men to a prefent Repentance: I go on to the other thing I propofed in order to the Cure of it.

Idly, To fhew the Danger of deferring the performance of it.

For, if fuch a delay as this, be not only very unreasonable in it felf, but fhall be alfo very fatal in its Confequence; if there be really nothing in all thofe pretences that ufually keep men from a prefent difcharge of their duty, and an infinite Hazard to be run by it; Sure then we ought to begin immediately to do that which can neither be too foon begun, nor at all delay'd without a very great danger: Which we must fome time or other do, and which will ftill grow more difficult and uneafy to us, the longer it is that we put off the doing of it.

And

And, ft, Let me ask him that thus neglects his Repentance, and thinks it will be time enough to fet about it hereafter, when the heat of his Youth is paft, and he begins to come to a greater ftrength of Reafon and Difcretion, to govern himself, and to bring his Paffions into fubjection; It may be gives it a longer delay, and referves the bufinefs of Religion for the Clofe of his Life, and an immediate preparatory to the hour of his Death: Is he fure that he fhall ever arrive to that time which he thus warily fets out for this great Work? I need not tell you how uncertain our lives are; What Difeafes, what Accidents lay fiege against us every Moment: And if notwithstanding all this, fome do live to a good Old Age; yet how many Thousands there are that fall in the ftrength and vigor of their Years: And we cannot fay but that this may be our Condition, as we are fure it has been the Condition of many Others, who, it may be, as much flatter'd themfelves with thefe Projects, as We do now, and are therefore in vain lamenting their mad Security in the Concern of their Salvation. But this I muft needs fay, a greater provocation there cannot be given to God Almighty to cut us off in the midst of our years, and deprive us of that opportunity we fo prefumptuously fet out for to repent in, after a long life spent in Sin and Impenitence, than thus to go on in our wickednefs, and defignedly to live in a difobedience to his Commands, till we are no longer like to continue in this World.

2. But however, 2dly, Let us allow of this, that we had by fome means or other an Affurance of our lives, and could be certain we should arrive to