as if they had any thoughts of dying foon, or of giẻ ving an Account of all they do, when they are dead? What a lawless and licencious courfe of Life do moft People Live? And yet we all fay we are Chriftians, . and look to be faved by Chrift, and believe that he fhall come to judge the quick and the dead. But, alafs, whoever obferves after what a carele's manner we live, would never imagine we once thought of any fuch thing as his coming to judge us.

Matt. XXV. 7, 8.

And all thofe Virgins arofe, and trim'd their Lamps. And the foolish faid unto the wife, give us of your Oil, for our Lamps are gone out. ›

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Ere our Bleffed Saviour fhews us the condition that all Chriftians will find themfelves in, when once... they are awak'd out of their fecurity,and their behaviour thereupon. After the cry was made, when they faw that there was no longer delay to be us'd, because the Bridegroom, who had tarried fo long, was now at laft certainly coming, and just at hand; and now that they muft, whether they are prepar'd or no, go forth to meet him. Then they all arofe, and trim'd their Lamps. Where obferve,

1. All of them, wife and foolish, are at last a waked.

2. All of them did what then they could to be ready, all arofe, beftir'd themselves, and fell to trimming their Lamps, fnuffing, cleansing, and supplying them with Oil.

3. The Foolish now find when they come to trim their Lamps, that they are gone out.

4. They then beg Oil of the wife. This we fhould: confider, and think well of in time, that we come not to this fad ftrait.

1. All of them, wife and foolish, are at last awaked, the cry that was made, Behold the Bridegroom cometh,

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"go ye forth to meet him, awaked them all. If nothing elfe will rouze us from our Couches of reft, where we think our felves well because we are at eafe, and not troubled with any concern at all for our latter end ; yet the Approach of Death, or a real Apprehenfion of our being juft ready to die, will awake and startle us. There are but two forts of People, I think, that we can imagine can be unconcern'd at that time, and they are in fo much the fadder condition for it.

1. Such as are furpriz'd either by fudden Death, or by fome ftupifying difeafe which feizeth the Brain, and bereaves them of their Senfes. Indeed, Death it felf doth not awaken thefe to any ferious thoughts, for they are not capable of any. Or,

2. Such as have finned themfelves past fenfe, whofe Confciences are fear'd, their Hearts hardened, and they are given over to a reprobate Mind, as God deals with them who do not like to retain him in their knowledge. These two forts of Sinners will be awak'd with nothing but the Flames of Hell. The one know nothing of Death when it overtakes them, never perceiving they are a dying; and therefore if they be not beforehand prepar'd, never can be. The other, tho' they perceive Death Approaching, yet look on it only as the common end of all Men, but never think, or will not believe any thing after it, whereunto it calls them.

But if a Man have his Senfes, and be not quite abandoned of God as defperate, I think it is not poffible, but whatever he did in his Health, he will then be awak'd into fome ferious thoughts of his condition. And our own Experience doth witnefs this, we fee not many die fenfible, but they are concern'd what will become of them. And, alafs! what a confufion must he then needs be in, who is dropping out of theWorld, and he knows not whither, for want of a timely preparation?

And this very thing fhould move us to be every day Examining and Trying our state towards God, and whether our Lamps be in or out, seeing we know

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the cry will come, Go ye forth, Go je forth, to meet your Judge.

This fhould open our Ears to the Cries that every day we hear, before that laft and difmal cry come. Lift up your Voice like a Trumpet, cry aloud and Spare not, faid God to the Prophets. Ifai. 58, 1. John the Baptift came with the Voice of one crying in the Wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord. The Ministers of God are his criers, faying, awake thou that fleepest, and arife from the Dead, and Chrift fhall give thee Light. The Death of our Friends and Neighbours continually calls upon us, to be warned by them to expect our own. And are we refolved not to awake till Sickness come to awake us? Take heed, defpife not the voice of Wisdom, doth not Wisdom cry, and the Underftanding put forth her Voice? Yes, fhe crieth in the Gates, unto you, O, Men, I call, and my Voice is to the Sons of Men. Oye Simple understand Wisdom, and ye Fools be ye of on understanding Heart. Pro. 8. 1. O! What will be the Iffue of neglecting this cry? You will find it at the laft to be what you are told by God. Pro. 1. 24. Because I have called, and ye refufed, they fhall call upon me, and I will not answer. v. 28. Even then when their fear cometh, which if ever it do, it is most likely to do upon their Death, Bed.

2. Being awake, all of them did what they then could, to make ready to go forth; all arofe and beftirred themselves, and fell to trimming their Lamps. No perfwafions will prevail with Sinners that have got a habit of Sinning fecurely, to get Oil, and trim their Lamps in time. But as long as the Bridegroom tarrieth, they are ftill pleafing themselves either with thoughts, that there is no fuch Perfon to come, or that he will not come at all, or that he will tarry yet a while longer, and they need not Trim their Lamps yet. But when Death is within fight, when Men begin to believe that they can live no longer, they usually alfo begin to do thofe things which they laugh'd at others, it may be, before, for being fo careful to do. Now they begin to prepare

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them.

themfelves, as well as they can, for dying, and going forth of the World. They begin to think then with thenfelves: What tho' I know not whether there be fuch a Perfon as this Bridegroom, or no? Yet because I know not but there is fuch an one, and I am now going to fee him, if there be one to be feen; it behoves me to be as well fitted to meet him as I can, left I fhould meet him to my forrow. If I be not prepared to meet him, and yet fhall meet him, how will he look upon me? What must I expect from him? Befure I fhall have a very fad Welcome; and if I take what pains I can to fit my felf, tho' I meet him not, yet I am fure to fare no worfe for it. And therefore I will now however arife, and trim up my Lamp. These thoughts approaching, Death cannot but put us upon thinking, if we be then capable of it, and be not forfaken of God. But now fee the mifery of it,

3. The foolish Virgins now find when they come to trim their Lamps, that they are gone out, and that the little Oyl they had is quite fpent, and none is lett to fupply them; nor know they which way to get them lighted up. Here's the fad and bitter fruit of delay, and a late, or death bed Repentance. They are awakened, and fee themfelves in a condition like to him, who is awakened with the cry of Fire, and when he looks about him, and fain would fave himfelf, he fees the houfe in Flames about him, and finds he has now flept too long, and there is no way to efcape.

The fecure Sinner lives in a great deal of confidence, that he's in no worfe a Cafe than other Men, and fhall be as happy as they when he dieth; but, alas, when is that whilft he looks on Death as a great way off, every fhew of being Religious fatisfies him, if he fay his Prayers, and come to Church, and live a sober, temperate and honeft Life, all's well enough with him, his Lamp burns bright enough, he thinks, and there's no danger. But the firft appearance of Death af frights him, and fpoils all his Confidence. For entering upon an Examination of himfelf, which he feldom

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troubled his Head with before; the apprehenfion of prefent danger makes him impartial, and in good earneft, and then he quickly perceives that he never had been fo before, but had play'd and dallied with God, and his own Soul, all his Life long.

Now he would find Faith, but cannot, for he had never well confidered and digefted the grounds and reafons of it, but took things on truft, and fo never had any true Belief, or he never fed and ftrengthened it by Meditation and Prayer, nor exercifed it in good Works to keep it alive, and fo finds it was never lighted up, or it is gone out. Whilft the wife Virgins have nothing to do, but to trim their Faith; they find it there, and it gives Light, only by exercifing then fome few feafonable Confiderations, they make it more bright and clear, as is needful in that dark Hour.

Fain they would find Repentance, but, alafs, 'tis not to be found, 'tis gone out whatever it was; they had, it may be, fometimes confeffed their Sins, and then they finned them over again; they had fatted and prayed now and then a Day, and then returned to their Rioting and Drunkennefs, Folly and Wantonnefs again; they had fometimes forrow'd a little, and thed it may be, fome Tears in a melancholy fit,and fudden fear, left they fhould perith, and then rejoyced and delighted in their Sins again. Now therefore they find, that their Life hath been spent in Sin and Vanity; and now they are only forry, that they are going to be called to account for it; and cannot find that they hate their Sins, wherein they have been fo much delighted, but only that they are afraid they fhall be punished, and pay dearly for that delight: Nay, they find plainly, they have fo accustomed themfelves to delight in their Sins, that tho' they cannot act them, yet they love them ftill. They never confider ed throughly the Nature of Sin, and the Evils that are in it, and therefore cannot hate it as they ought; they never took notice of half the Sins they committed, but through inconfideration took many great Sins for no Sins, and acted them freely without trouble of Con fcience