taken up in Vifits, Airings, Complements and Pleafures, and other little kinds of Amusements, and befides that which paffeth away in Sleeping and Sickness; upon all these Reflections, I fay, it is very plain and undeniable, that a great portion of that time of Life we enjoy is expir'd, without having done that one Thing needful, The application of our felves to the business of Religion and another World. And now, Do not all these Confiderations put together prove it to be highly neceffary, our Duty and our Wifdom, to let Religion come in for her share? And is it not just, that the small remainder of our Lives, fhould be applied to the Service of God and our holy Religion? This I prefume none will fcruple to affirm, and therefore I fhall pafs to the third and laft Confideration, The great Recompence promised for the well-fpent remainder of it. There is a natural Homage due from us to God as we are his Creatures; and our Obedience is a Duty that we owe him, for that Prefervation and Providence which he exerciseth over us here; for which Reasons, if we had no other, we ought

ought to think our felves oblig'd, to pay him that Honour and Service, that becomes reasonable Creatures. But when befides these Bleffings, relating purely to this Life, we have thofe admirable Bleffings that concern another; and when the few well-fpent Years of this, fhall be rewarded with an eternity of Happiness and Joy unspeakable in that other, as the Gofpel promifeth, every one of us must upon ferious Reflection, conclude it highly prudent and ne ceffary, to number our Days in fuch a religious manner as I have fhewn, that we may at laft enjoy fo unde served, fo inexpreffible a Mercy. Let us fuppofe, that the gracious Promifes of another World were founded upon Condition, That we fhould employ the greateft part of this Life (if it were a thousand Years) in the Worship and Service of God, would not any fober Man acknowledge it to be a very reasonable Propofal, and a Tender of very great Love? Yes furely! now then, when eternity is promifed us of Happiness in another World, for a much smaller number of Years well-fpent in this, we

are

are ingaged, by the greateft Obligations of Love and Gratitude, to ferve God, and improve our fhort Time to fo infinite an advantage; none of the Pleasures of Sin can deserve our Time that is fo valuable and precious; nor can the short Injoyment of them here, bear any proportion to the Punishment of them hereafter: let us therefore be fo wife, as not to fquander away that Time upon our finful Lufts and Inclinations, nor fpend our beft Days in the service of Sin, leaving God the refuse and dregs, of our Life, and the weak portion of our Days, when we shall say we have no pleasure in them. And let us withal remember, that none of the Croffes and Difficulties, that may happen to us in this Life, ought to difcourage us from our Duty, fo long as we are affured from infallible Teftimony, that the fharp conflicts that we meet with, in a steady courfe of Piety and Ver tue, fhall receive an infinite Recompence, and Our light Afflictions, which are but for a moment, shall work for us far more exceeding, and an eternal weight of Glory.

And

And now after what I have already faid on the Brevity and Uncertainty of our Lives, and the Neceffity of attending to the business of Religion and another World, there will be no need to make any long Application. Let us then in fhort be mov'd, after fo much Time as we have loft and mispent, to walk circumfpecly, and redeem our Time by a double Diligence, fince the Days are evil, and these Days also of our Life few and uncertain; and if we duly and rightly confider these things, we need not doubt of God's gracious Affiftance, who will So teach us to number our Days, that we may apply our hearts unto Wifdom.

SERMON