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diate care and protection of his providence, that we may prevent his judgements, and turn away his wrath and difpleasure from us, as he did once from a great and finful city and people, upon their fincere humiliation and repentance, Jonah iii. 10. where it is faid of the people of Nineveh, that God faw their works, that they turned from their evil way, and God repented of the evil that he had faid that he would do unto them, and he did it not. Above all, let us be fincere in the profeffion of our religion, and confcientious in the practice of it: nothing will bear us up under great trials and fufferings, like the teftimony of a good confcience, void of offence towards God and towards men.

I will conclude this whole difcourfe with thofe apoftolical bleffings and prayers, Col. i. 10. 11. That ye may walk worthy of the Lord, unto all pleafing, being fruitful in every good work, Strengthened with all might according to his glorious power, unto all patience, and long-fuffering, with joyfulness. And 2 Theff. ii. 16. 17. Now our Lord Jefus Chrift himself, and God, even our Father, who hath loved us, and hath given us everlafting confolation, and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and ftablish you in every good word and work. To him be glory and dominion for ever and Amen.

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SERMON

CI.

Of the work affigned to every man, and the feafon for doing it.

JOHN ix. 4.

I must work the works of him that fent me, while it is day: The night cometh when no man can work.

Tiefe, whilst he was upon earth; in which he

Hefe words our bleffed Saviour fpake of him

tells us, that he was fent by God into the world, and had a certain work and employment appoint. ed him during his abode in it. A great work indeed! to inftruct, to reform, and fave mankind. A work of great labour, and pains, and patience, not to be done in a fhort time; and yet the time for doing it was not long. After he came into the world, it was a good while before he began it; and after he began it, the time of working was not long before the night came, and put an end to it: I must work the works of him that fent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.

But that which our Saviour here speaks of himself, and which properly belongs to him and no other, may yet be accommodated to every man, with fome allowance for the difference and difproportion. For though every man be not fent by God into the world after fo peculiar a manner, and upon fo particular and vaft a defign; yet upon a general account, every man is fent by God into this world, and hath a work given him to do in it, which he is concerned vigorously to mind and to profecute with all his might. And though every man be not fent to fave the whole world, as the Son of God was, yet every man is fent by God into the world, to work out his own falvation, and to take care of that in

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the first place, and then to promote the falvation of others, as much as in him lies. So that every one of us may, in a very good fenfe, accommodate these words of our Saviour to himself: I must work the works of him that fent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.

I fhall therefore at this time take the liberty to handle these words according to this moral accommodation of them, and apply what our Saviour here fays ́ of himself, to every man that cometh into the world. And this I fhall do, by fhewing thefe three things.

1. That every man hath a work affigned him to do in this world, by him that sent him into it, and may in fome fenfe fay, as our bleffed Saviour did of himfelf, I must work the works of him that fent me.

2. That there is a certain and limited time for every man to do this work in: While it is day.

3. That after this feafon is expired, there will be no further opportunity of working: The night cometh, when no man can work.

I. Every man hath a work affigned him to do in this world, by him that fent him into it, and may in fome fenfe fay, as our bleffed Saviour did of himself, I must work the works of him that fent me. God who made man a reasonable creature, and hath endued Rim with faculties whereby he is capable of knowing and ferving him, hath appointed him a work and fer vice fuitable to thefe faculties: and having infused an immortal foul into this earthy body, hath certainly defigned him for a state beyond this life, in which he fhall be for ever happy or miferable, according as he ufeth and demeans himself in this world.

So that the work which every one of us hath to do in this world, is to prepare and fit ourfelves for that eternal duration which remains for us after death. For the life which we live now in this world, is a time of exercise, a fhort ftate of probation and trial, in order to a durable and endless state, in which we fhall be immutably fixed in another world. This

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world, into which we are now fent for a little while, is as it were God's fchool, in which immortal fpirits, clothed with flefh, are trained and bred up for eternity and therefore the beft, the only fure way to be happy for ever, is, fo to improve the fhort and uncertain time of this life, that we may approve ourfelves to God in this world, and enjoy him in the next; or (as St Paul expreffeth it) that having our fruit unto holiness, our end may be everlasting life. And this work confifts in thefe three things.

I. In the care of our own falvation.

2. In doing what we can to promote the falvation of others.

3. And in order to both these, in the careful improvement and good husbandry of our time.

1. In the care of our own falvation. And this confilts in two things.

ift, In the worship of Almighty God..

2dly, In the careful and confcientious practice and obedience of his holy laws.

ift, The care of our own falvation confifts in the pious and devout worship of Almighty God; that we honour him, and pay him that homage and refpect which is due from creatures to him that made them, and is the great Sovereign and Judge of the world; that we have an inward reverence and efteem of him, and that we exprefs this by all folemn external acknowledgements of him; as by praying to him for the fupply of our wants; by praifing him for all the bleffings and benefits which we have received at his hands; and that we fet apart conftant and folemn times for the performance of these duties; and then when we are employed in them, we be ferious and hearty, and attentive to what we are about, and perform every part of divine worship with thofe circumftances of reverence and refpect, which may teftify our awful fenfe of the divine majefty, and our inward and profound veneration of him with whom we have to do: and this is that which is directly and properly religion.

2dly, This care of our own falvation does confist likewife in the confcientious and conftant obedience and practice of God's holy laws, in the conformity of our lives and actions to the laws which he hath given us, whether they be natural, or written upon our hearts, or made known to us by the revelation of his word; that we govern our paffions by reafon, and moderate ourselves in the ufe of fenfual delights, fo as not to tranfgrefs the rules of temperance and chaftity; that we demean ourselves towards others, andconverfe with them with juftice and fidelity, with kindness and charity,

Thefe are the fum of the divine laws, and the heads of our duty towards ourselves and others; all which are more powerfully inforced upon us by the revelation of the gospel, and the plain promifes and threatenings of it; the faith of Chrift being the most firm and effectual principle, both of piety towards God, and of univerfal obedience to all his particular commands.

And this is the great work which God hath fent us to do in the world. So the wife man fums up our duty, Eccl. xii. 13. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. The fear and reverence of the divine Majefty is the great foun-dation and principle of religion; but obedience to God's laws is the life and practice of it. God does not expect that we should spend the greateft part of our time in the immediate acts of religion, and in the folemn duties of his worship and fervice; but only that we should allot a fitting portion of our time to thefe, according to the circumftances of our condition in this world, and the example of holy and good men that are in the like circumstances with ourselves. For fuch is the goodness of God, that he does not only allow us to provide for the neceffaries and conve- niencies of this life, but hath made it our duty fo to do. It is one of the precepts of the gofpel, which the Apoftle chargeth the bithops and teachers of the gofpel to inculcate frequently upon Chriftians, that they which have believed in God, fhould be careful! to maintain good works; that is, to employ them-

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