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wings; they flee away, as an eagle towards heaven." Riches and all worldly things are but a fair nothing; they are that which is not. They are not what they feem to be they are all but gilded vanities, that deceive the eye. Comparatively they are not: there is infinitely more of nothingness and not being, than of being and reality, in the beft of them. What is the world, and all that is in it, but a fafbion, or fair fhow, fuch as men make on a ftage, a paffing fhow? 1 Cor.vii. 1.31. Royal pomp is but a gaudy fhow, or appearance, in God's account, Acts xxv. 23. The beft name they get, is, good things; but, obferve it, they are only the wicked man's good things, Luke xvi. 25. "Thon "in thy life-time receivedft thy good things," fays Abraham, in the parable, to the rich man in hell. And well may the men of the world call these things their goods: for there is no other good in them, about them, nor attending them. Now wilt thou fet thine eyes upon empty thows and fancies? Wilt thou caufe thine eyes to fly on them, as the word is? Shall men's hearts fly out at their eyes upon them, as a ravenous bird on its prey? If they do, let them know, that, at length these shall fly as fast away from them, as ever their eyes Hew upon them: like a flock of fair-feathered birds, that fettle on a fool's ground; the which, when he runs to catch them as his own, do immediately take wing, fly away, and, fitting down on his neighbour's ground, elude his expectation, Luke xii. 20. "Thou fool, this night thy foul "fhall be required of thee: then whose fhall these things be?" Tho' you do not make wings to them, as many do; they make themfelves wings, and fly away; not as a tame houfe-bird, which may be catched again; nor as an hawk, that will show where the is by her bells, and be called again with the lure: but as an eagle, which quickly flies out of fight, and cannot be recalled. Forbear thou to behold these things, O martal! there is ho reafon, thou fhouldft fet thine eyes upon them. This world is a great inn, in the road to eternity, to which thou art travelling. Thou art attended by these things, as fervants belonging to the inn, where thou lodgeft, they wait upon thee, while thou art there and when thou goeft away, they will convoy thee to the door. But they are not thine, they will not go away with thee; but return to wait on other ftrangers, as they did on thee.

Fifthly, It may ferve as a spring of Chriftian refolution, to cleave to Chrift, adhere to his truths, and continue in his ways; whatever he may fuffer for fo doing. It would much allay the fear of man, that bringeth a fnare. "Who art thou, that thou shouldst be afraid of a man that thall die?" Ifa. li. 12. Look on perfecutors as pieces of brittle clay, that thall be daffied to pieces: for then shall ye defpife them as foes, that are mortal: whose terrors to others in the land of the living, fhall quickly die with themfelves. The ferious confideration of the fhortness of our time, and the certainty of death, will teach us, that all the advantage we can make by our apoftacy, in time of trial, is not worth the while; it is not worth going out of the way to get it; and what we refufe to forego for Chrift's fake, may quickly be

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taken from us by death. But, we can never lofe it fo honourably, as for the cause of Christ and his golpel: for, what glory is it, that ye give up what ye have in the world, when God takes it away from you by death, whether you will or not? This confideration may teach us to undervalue life itself, and chufe to forego it, rather than to fin. The worst that men can do, is to take away that life, which we cannot long keep, tho' all the world fhould confpire to help us to retain the Spirit. And if we refufe to offer it up to God, when he calls for it in defence of his honour, he can take it from us another away; as it fared with him, who could not burn for Chrift, but was, afterwards burnt by an accidental fire in his houfe.

Laftly, It may ferve for a fpur, to incite us to prepare for death. Confider, (1.) Your eternal ftate will be according to the state in which you die: death will open the doors of heaven, or hell to you. As the tree falls, fo it fhall ly thro' eternity. If the infant be deadborn, the whole world. will not raise it to life again: and if one die out of Chrift, in an unregenerate state, there is no more hope of him for ever. (2.) Serioufly confider, what it is to go into another world; a world of fpirits, wherewith we are not acquainted. How frightful is converfe with fpirits to poor mortals in this life! and, how dreadful is the cafe, when men are hurried away into another world, not knowing but devils may be their companions for ever! let us then give all diligence to make, and advance, our acquaintance with the Lord of that world. (3.) It is but a fhort time ye have to prepare for death, therefore, now or never; feeing the time affigned for preparation will foon be over, Ecclef. ix. 10. "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to "do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor "knowledge, nor wifdom in the grave, whither thou goeft." How can we be idle, having fo great a work to do, and fo little time to do it in? But if the time be thort, the work of preparation for death, though hard work, will not laft long. The fhadows of the evening make the labourer work chearfully; knowing the time to be at hand, when he shall be called in from his labour. (4.) Much of our fhort time is over already; and the youngest of us all cannot affure himself, that there is as much of his time to come, as is past. Our life in the world is but a fhort preface to long eternity; and much of the tale is told. Oh! fhall we not double our diligence, when fo much of our time is spent, and fo little of our great work is done? (5.) The prefent time is flying away: and we cannot bring back time paft, it hath taken an eternal farewel of us: there is no kindling the fire again that is burnt to afhes. The time to come is not ours; and we have no affurance of a fhare in it, when it comes. We have nothing we can call ours, but the prefent moment; and that is flying away: how foon our time may be at an end we know not. Die we must, but who can tell us, when? If death kept one fet time for all, we were in no hazard of a furprife: but daily obfervation fhews us, there is no fuch thing. Now the flying fhadow of our life allows no time for loitering.

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and the wicked, and ye will fee the fame thing in that other text, Mal. iii. 18. Then fhall ye return, and difcern between the righ

teous and the wicked" Wherefore, if ye be not righteous, ye are wicked. If ye have not an imputed righteoufnefs, and an implanted righteoufnefs, or holiness; it ye be yet in your natural flate unregenerated, not united to Christ by faith: howfoever moral, and blameless in the eyes of men, your converfation may be; ye are the wicked, who fhall be driven away in their wickedness, it death find you in that state. Now,

FIRST, AS to the meaning of this phrafe driven away; there are three things in it: the wicked fhall be taken away fuddenly, violently, and irrefiftibly.

Firft, Unrenewed men fhall be taken away fuddenly at death. Not that all wicked men die fuddenly; nor that they are all wicked who die fo, God forbid! But, (1) Death commonly comes upon them unexpected, aud fo furprifeth them; as the deluge came furprifingly on the old world, tho' they were forewarned of it long before it came: as travail cometh on a woman with child, with furprifing fuddennefs; although looked for and expected, 1 Theff. v. 3. Death feizeth them, as a creditor doth his debtor, to hale him to prifon, Pfal. lv. 15. And that when they are not aware. Death comes in, as a thief, at the window, and finds them full of bufy thoughts about this life, which that very day perish. (2.) Death always feizeth them unprepared for it: the old houfe falls down about their ears, before they have another provided When death cafts them to the door, they have not where to lay their heads; unless it be on a bed of fire and brimeftone. The foul and body are as it were hugging one another in mutual embraces: when death comes like a whirlwind, and fepartes them. (3.) Death hurries them away in a moment to deftruction, and makes a moft ditmal change: the man, for the most part, never knows where he is, till in hell he lift up his eyes, Luke xvi. 23. The floods of wrath fuddenly overwhelm his foul; and ere he is aware, he is plunged in the bottomlefs pit.

Secondly, The unrenewed man is taken away out of the world violently Driving is a violent action: he is chafed out of the world, Job xviii. 18. Fain would he ftay if he could: but death drags him away like a malefactor to the execution. He fought no other portion, than the profits and pleafures of this world; he hath no other; he really defires no other: how can he then go away out of it, if he were not driven?

Quest" But may not a wicked man be willing to die? Anf.. He may indeed be willing to die; but (obferve) it is only in one of three cafes. (1.) In a fit of paffion, by reafon of fome trouble that he is impatient to be rid of. Thus many perfons, when their palfion has got the better of their reafon, and when, on that account, they are most unfit to die, will be ready to cry, O to be gone! but fhould their defire be granted, and death come at their call, they

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would quickly fhew they were not in earneft; and that if they go, they must be driven away against their wills. (2) When they are brim-full of defpair, they may be willing to die. Thus Saul murdered himself and Spira wifhed to be in hell, that he might know the uttermost of what he believed he was to fuffer. In this manner men may feek after death, while it flies from them. But fearful is the violence thefe do undergo, whom the terrors of God do thus drive. (3.) When they are dreaming of happiness after death. Foolith virgins, under the power of delufion, as to their state, may be willing to die, having no fear of lying down in forrow. How many are there, who can give no fcripture ground for their hope, who yet have no bands in their death! Many are driven to darknefs fleeping; they go off like lambs, who would rore like lions, did they but know what place they are going to: though the chariot, in which they are, drive furioufly to the depths of hell; yet they fear not, because they are faft afleep.

Laftly, The unregenerate man is taken away irrefiftibly. He muft go, though fore against his will. Death will take no refusal, nor admit of any delay; tho' the man has not lived half his days, according to his own computation. If he will not bow, it will break him. If he will not come forth, it will pull the house down about his ears; for there he muft not flay. Although the phyficin help, friends groan, the wife and children cry, and the man himself use his utmost efforts to retain the Spirit, his foul is required of him; yield he muft, and go where he fhall never more fee ligh

SECONDLY, Let us confider, whence they are riven, and whither. When the wicked die, (1.) They are driven out of this world, where they finned; into the other world, where they muft be judged, and receive their particular fentences, Heb. ix. "It is "appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. They fhall no more return to their beloved earth. Tho' their hearts are wedded to their earthly enjoyments, they must leave them; they can carry nothing hence, How forowful muft their departure be, when they have nothing in viey, fo good as that which they leave behind them! (2.) They ale driven out of the fociety of the faints on earth; into the focity of the damned in hell, Luke xvi 22. "The rich man alfo did and was buried." ver. 23. "And in hell he lift up his eyes." What a multitude of the devil's goats do now take place among Chrift's Sheep! but at death they fhall be led forth with the worker of iniquity, Pfal.cxxv. 5. There is a mixed multitude in this world, but no mixture in the other; each party is there fet ly themselves. Though hypocrites grow here as tares among me wheat, death will root them up and they fhall be bound bundles for the fire.(3.) They are driven out of time into ternity. While time lafts with them, there is hope; but when time goes, all hope goes with it. Precious time is now lavishly fpeat: it lies fo heavy upon the

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hands of many, that they think themfelves obliged to take feveral ways to drive away time. But beware of being at a lofs what to do in life: improve time for eternity, whilft you have it: for ere long death will drive it from you, and you from it, fo as ye fhall never meet again. (4.) They are driven out of their fpecious pretences to piety. Death ftrips them of the fplended robes of a fair profeffion, with which fome of them were adorned; and turns them off the ftage, in the rags of a wicked heart and life. The word hypocrite properly fignities a flage-player, who appears to be what Indeed he is not. This world is the ftage on which thefe children of the devil perfonate the children of God. Their fhew of religion is the player's coat, under which one muft look, who will judge of them aright. Now death turus them out of their coat, and then they appear in their native drefs: it unveils them, and takes off their mafk. There are none in the other world, who pretend to be better than they really are. Depraved nature acts in the regions of horror, unallayed, and undifguifed. Laftly, They are driven away from all means of grace: and are fet beyond the line, quite out of all profpect of mercy. There is no more an opportunity to bay oil for the lamp; it is gone out at death, and can never be lighted again. There may be offers of mercy and peace made after they are gone; but they are to others, not to them; there are no fuch offers in the place, to which they are driven; thefe offers are only made in that place, from which they are driven away.

LASTY, In what respect may they be faid to be driven away in their wickedness? Anf. (1.) In refpect of their being driven away in their firfel unconverted fate. Having lived enemies to God, they die in a late of enmity to him: for none are brought into the eternal flate of confummate happiness, but by the way of the State of grace, or begun recovery in this life. The child that is dead in the womb, is born dead, and is caft out of the womb into the grave: o he who is dead, while he liveth, or is fpiritually dead, is caft forth of the womb of time, in the fame ftate of death, into the pit of utter mifery. O miferable death, to die in the gall of bitternefs and bend of iniquity! it had been incomparably better for fuch as die thus, that they had never been born. (2.) In regard they die finning, ading wickedly against God, in condtradiction to the divine law; for they can do nothing but fin while they live. So death takes them in the very act of finning; violently draws them from the embraces of their lufis, and drives them away to the tribunal to receive their fintence. It is a remarkable expreffion, Job xxxvi. 14. They die in youth: the marginal reading is, their foul dieth in youth; their lufts being lively their defires vigorous, and expec tations big, as is common n youth. And their life is among the unclean: or, and the company for herd) f them dieth among the Sodomites, i. e. is taken away the heat of their fin and wickedness, as the Sodomites were, Gen.xix. Luke vii. 28, 29. (3) In as much

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