CLXXXVII First, the confideration of the different ends of SERM. good and bad men, is a mighty encouragement to piety and a good life. Nothing in this world fhews us fo remarkable a difference between the righteous and the wicked, as a death-bed. Then a good man moft fenfibly enjoys the comfort of a good life, and " the peaceable fruits of righteouf"nefs;" and the finner then begins to reap the bitter fruits of fin: What a difference is there then, between the comfort and trouble, the compofure and disturbance, the hopes and fears of these two perfons? and next to the actual poffeffion of bleffednefs, the comfortable hopes and expectation of it are the greatest happiness; and next to being plung'd into it, the fearful apprehenfions of eternal mifery are the greatest torment. "The wicked is driven away in his wickedness," is violently hurried out of the world full of guilt and trouble. What storms and tempests are then raised in his mind, from the fear of God's justice, and the despair of his mercy? but "the righteous, hath hope in his death." The reflexion upon a holy and virtuous life, and the conscience of a man's uprightness and fincerity, are a fpring of joy and peace to him, which refrefheth his mind with unfpeakable comfort and pleasure, under the very pangs of death. With what triumph and exultation of spirit doth the bleffed apostle St. Paul, upon the review of his labours and fufferings for GOD and his truth, fpeak of his diffolution? 2 Tim. iv. 6, 7, 8. "For I am now ready to be "offered up, and the time of my departure is at "hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished "my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth "there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, VOL. X. "which H SERM." which the LORD, the righteous judge, fhall CLXXXVI, ❝ give me at that day." He speaks with fuch a lively fense of it, as if he had his crown in his view, and were just ready to take hold of it. And what would not a man give, what would he not be con¬ tented to do and fuffer, to be thus affected, when he comes to leave the world, and to be able to bear the thoughts of his death and diffolution with fo compofed and chearful a mind? and yet this is the natural and genuine effect of a holy and useful life. And that which the fame apoftle tells us, was the ground of his rejoicing under fufferings, is likewife the comfort and fupport of good men at the time of their death, 2 Cor. i. 12. "Our rejoicing, faith "he, is this, the teftimony of our confcience; that in fimplicity and godly fincerity, we have had "our converfation in the world." All the holy and virtuous actions of our lives, are fo many feeds of peace and comfort to us at the hour of our death, which we fhall more fenfibly enjoy, when we come to depart this life. For then the consciences of men are apt to deal moft freely and impartially with them; and "if our hearts do not then condemn "us, we may have comfort and confidence towards "GOD." I believe there are fome very pious and good fouls, who have lived very difconfolate and full of doubtings, and been under a cloud the greatest part of their lives, who yet upon the approach of death, and just as they were leaving the world, have broken forth, as the fun fometimes doth just before his fetting. I know it is not always thus; there are, I doubt not, fome good men who go out of this world with little or no comfort; and yet fo foon as they step joy SERM. step into another world, are encompaffed with " Secondly, fince this is so great and evident a teftimony of the truth and goodness of religion, is it not a ftrange thing, and to be wondered at, that true religion and virtue should be fo little practised, and im piety and vice fhould fo generally prevail in the world, against so many bars and obstacles, and against fuch invincible objections to the contrary? Not only against our inward judgment and conscience, but against the general fenfe and experience of men in all ages, the conftant declarations and teftimonies of dying men, both good and bad, when they are moft ferious, and their words are thought to be of greatest credit and weight; against the best and soberest reason of mankind, and their true interest and happinefs; against the health of mens bodies, and, which is the most dear and valuable thing in the world, the peace and quiet of their minds; and that not only in the time of life and health, but in the hour of death, when men ftand moft in need of comfort and support; in a word, against the grain of humane nature, and in despite of mens natural fears of divine vengeance, and to the defeating of all our hopes of a bleffed immortality in another world, and against the inflexible nature and reason of things, by no art or endeavour of man, by no colours of wit, or fubtilty of discourse, by no practice or custom to the contrary, by no confpiracy and combination of men, ever to be changed CLXXXVII. CLXXXVII. SERM. or altered? So that we may say with David, "Have all the workers of wickednefs no knowledge," no confideration of themselves, no tenderness and regard to their present and future intereft? Nay, if there were no life after this, fetting afide the cafe of extreme fuffering and perfecution, religion and virtue are certainly to be chofen, not only for our contentment in life, but for our comfort in death: and if there be a state of happiness or mifery remaining for men after death, as most affuredly there is, much more in order to the attaining of that endlefs happiness, and the avoiding of that eternal and intolerable mifery. "O that men were wife, that they under"ftood this, and would confider their latter end!" SERM. CLXXXVIII SERMON CLXXXVIII. The usefulness of confidering our latter end. PSA L. xc. 12. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wifdom. T' L HE title of this pfalm tells us who was the author of it. It is called a prayer of "Mofes the man of GoD;" or as the Chaldee paraphrafe more exprefly," The prayer which "Mofes, the prophet of the LORD, prayed, when "the people of the house of Ifrael finned in the wil"dernefs." Upon which provocation of theirs, GoD in in great displeasure threatened, and was immutably SERM. refolved that they should all perish in the wilderness, CLXXXVIII and that none of the men that came out of Egypt, Caleb and Joshua only excepted, fhould enter into the promised land, but should all die in the space of forty years. Upon this occafion, Mofes made this pfalm or prayer to GOD, being a devout meditation upon the fhortnefs and frailty of human life, which was now brought into a much narrower compass than in former ages. But the case of that people was different from that of the rest of mankind, being limited and confined to forty years. They might die fooner than that. time; but that was the utmost bound of their lives, which none were to exceed; which feems to be the ground and reafon of the petition which Mofes puts up to GoD in the text, "So teach us," &c. For I do not think that Mofes does here beg of GOD, to reveal to every one of them the precife end and term of his life; that might feem to favour of too much prefumption or curiofity; but fince they knew that according to the ordinary courfe of nature, the life of man was then reduced to "threefcore and ten, or fourscore years;" and fince God by a peremptory fentence had pronounced, that, two perfons only excepted, all that vaft number which came out of Egypt, and even Mofes himself fhould die within the compafs of forty years; it was a very pious and proper requeft, which Mofes here puts up for himself and the rest of that people, that Gon would give them wifdom to make a right ufe of the notice which they had of their end, fince it might happen at any time, but could not reach beyond forty years, reckoning from the time of their coming out of Egypt. |