Can I do for my felf to any good purpose. I cannot dig, the Day of my Life, which was the Time of Labour, is now juft clofing in that night, wherein no Man can work. And what can I do? I have loft the Opportunity of working out my own Salvation, and what fhall I now do to be faved? I should have been all this while bringing forth the Fruits of Holinefs, the end whereof would have been eternal Life; but instead thereof, I have wafted all, and beffowed all I had for thofe Riches and Pleafures of this Life, which hinder'd any good Fruit I fhould have brought forth from coming to perfection. What fhall I now do? VVhat Account can I give of any Improvement which I fhould have made, now that all is wafted. Alafs, I have nothing but the mer cy of my Lord to rely upon, if this fail me, I am undone for ever. And what fhall I now do to make fure of that? It is promifed only to the Penitent, and which way fhall I be fure of the Sincerity of my Repentance? This implieth amendment of Life, but I have no more Time left to live in; at least, it implieth fuch a fincere change of Heart and Affection, and fo ftrong and stedfaft a purpose and Refolution to amend as would be fure to hold, and be no more broken, fhould I yet live longer; but I now find it very hard to be in any measure affured, that my Affections are thus really changed, and that I have fo unfeignedly refolved, that strong Temptations would again, as they have often done, prevail over me, and change into the fame wicked Man I have always been. I have now nothing left me whereby to make fure of God's mercy but fervent Prayer. But to beg I am afhamed. The Prayer of the VVicked is Abomi

nation

nation to the Lord, how then can fuch a wicked VVretch as I am, hope that God will hear my Prayers; when I reflect upon the Courfe of Life I have all along led, and how I flighted all the mercies of God, and hearkened not to the many earneft Calls, and moft gracious Invitations, and daily warning that he gave me to repent, and return to his Obedience, and lay hold on his mercy, what Reafon can I find to hope, that he will not do as he hath fometimes threatened, faying, When ye make many Prayers I will not bear, when ye Spread forth your Hands, I will hide mine Eyes from you. Ifa. 1. 15. Because I have called, and ye refufed; I have ftretched out my Hand, and no Man regarded. I also will laugh at your Calamity, I will mock when your fear cometh. Then fhall they call upon me, but I will not answer. Prov. 1. 24. 26. 28. VVhat then can I do, but defpair, and die?

Why will we now that we have the day to labour, and do the works of God in, now that we are fure, that our Prayers may be heard, and that if we turn to the LORD with all our hearts, God will be found of when we seek him, lofe the opportunity which he gives us, and by delaying our Repentance to our last Sickness, or God's call whatever it be, run the hazard of being driven to this lamentable ftate of Fear and Perplexity, fo that we fhall not know which way to turn us, nor to be able to quiet our own Minds, or be capable of any Confolation in the needfuleft time of trouble?

4.

Let us now observe the Refolution that this Man came to upon his Confideration. I am re

folu'd (faith he) what to do, that when I am put out of the Stewardship, they may receive me into their Houfes. And what it was that he was refolv'd to do, we are told in the three following Verses.

5. So he call'd every one of his Lord's Debtors unto him, and faid unto the first, How much owest thou unto my Lord?

6. And be faid, an hundred Measures of Oyl, And be faid unto him, take thy Bill, and fit down quickly, and write Fifty.

7. Then faid he unto another, And how much owest thou? And he faid, An hundred Meafures of Wheat. And he faid unto him, take thy Bill, and write fourscore.

After the fame manner we must fuppofe him to have treated with all his Lord's Debtors, how many foever they were. And here we shall but obferve two things. First, How quickly he refolv'd. Secondly, What he refolv'd upon.

1. Obferve how quickly he comes to a refo lution. At first, he was at a stand, What shall I do? But having confidered the two ordinary ways whereby Men live, Labour and Charity, he presently finds them not for his purpose, and layeth afide any farther thoughts of either of them, and immediately refolves upon another way. Confideration is a thing that too few make much ufe of, not only because it is troublefom, and takes us off from the liberty we

love to have in the Enjoyment of our Eafe and Pleasure, but because it discovers to us, and brings to our Remembrance things that we love not, neither defire to take notice of. And yer, Refolution is harder than Confideration, and they that fometimes confider a great deal, yet break it off before they come up to a Refolution; for as Confidering discovereth what's fit to be done, fo it alfo fhews us the difficulties in the way, and the dangers that may follow, and therefore after we have confidered, we often want the Courage to refolve. And yet, after all, we find it harder than both the former, to ftand to our Refolution, and not to fall back from it; because when we come to the execution of what we have well refolv'd upon, our Lufts and Corrupt inclinations begin to fhew themselves in earnest, and make fuch Oppofition, as we are too seldom ftout enough to withstand.

Thus, I fay, we find it, when the thing is good, and our Duty. But now for the doing of Evil, little Confideration will ferve our turn, and if more be needful, we find the work pleasant enough, and we can quickly refolve, and find it not difficult at all to execute, and do as we have refolv'd. Here the Confideration is not what is lawful, or what in it felf is fitteft to be done, but what is pleafant, and will afford us most fatisfaction to the Flefh. It is easy to refolve where corrupt nature ftrongly inclines, and the Affections perfuade, and there is no fear of God to reftrain, nor Modesty to refrain, and the Custom and Fashion of the World Countenance, Every thing in fuch a cafe is with us, and nothing against us, and this was the cafe of the Unjuft Steward.

Vice difcovers all its beauty to us at first fight, and is every where to be feen, and when we fee it we find it like us, and so presently fall in love with it, because 'tis easy and suitable to our humour we bid it welcome, and becaufe 'tis fafhionable, we blush not, and therefore away with both digging and begging, we are refolv'd this fhall be it, whatever come on't.

Not

And now, what is it? Why, fomething he refolves to do, it's no matter how wicked a thing it be, whereby he may fo oblige his Lord's Debtors, that when he turns him out of his Houfe, they may receive him into theirs. Here's the end he aims at, that he may ftill live plentifully, at whofe coft he cares not, nor whether by right or wrong; any means therefore that will help him to compass this end he refolves to use. a thought of recovering his Master's favour, because that could not, he now found, be kept but by doing juftly, and doing fo, he could be no longer at liberty to wafte what he pleas'd; not a word of redeeming his Credit and Reputation with Good Men, let that fink or fwim, fo he can, with any fort of Men, find credit enough to live wastefully. He refolves to curry favour with bad Men like himself, and if he cannot find fuch made to his Hand, to do his best to make them fo. However, his Mafter may endeavour to make him poorer than he was, he refolves he fhall never make him honefter. He had liv'd by abufing him, and fo he will still if he can. And poffibly this was no hard matter for him to do, he had been long enough Steward to be acquainted with his Mafter's Debtors, and poffibly one time or other he had had an opportu