in fhewing his goodneß towards them that ferve him, than his feverity to them that dishonour him. The poor man that ferved him faithfully, he in love and mercy releafeth the fooner from his afflictions, and conveys him to joy. And the rich man who ferved not God but his own Belly, he would nor fhew himself in fo much hafte to punish eternally. He rather chofe to exercise yet more goodneß and long-fuffering towards him, that he might find no colour of excufe for his Sin, or for charging God with feverity; who had given him time enough to repent in, and by the poor Mans death a fufficient warning, that it was high time for him to repent.

O! that we would all of us confider this, and especially they who are apt to confider nothing, but how to spend their time most vainly, in leading a riotous and voluptuous Life, and even daily abufing themtelves by excefs and intemperance of all forts. What can they hope for, when a few more of their jovial days are gone? Canthey eat and drink themselves young again? Will Death be play'd away, or laugh'd out of countenance, as now they play away the thoughts of dying, and laugh at them who mind them of it? They vainly hope, that their prefent ftrong and healthful conftitution will always bear the load they lay upon it, and ftand it out like Walls of Brafs against all the Batteries of their luxury and intemperance: they confider not that their Sin doth weaken them, fo long as they find themfelves ftrong enough to commit it. If we could but get fo much time from finning, as to think of any thing elfe, one would think we could hardly mifs of fome fuch profitable thoughts as thefe, viz.

1. That

1. That no conftitution of Body, how naturally strong foever it be, could poffibly hold out against all that violence which is daily done unto it; did not the fame mighty Power which made it, conftantly Jupport and uphold it; and how long he will continue to do fo, no man knows. We that are continually warring against both bis Commands, and our own Life and Health, have little caufe to hope he fhould always defend us against ourselves. Certain it is, that the mud walls of thefe earthly Tabernacles our Bodies, will in a fhort time be diffolved; and if our own lufts pull them not down very speedily, it is only because He that made them, is pleased, for what end he knows to repair them daily for us.

2. That they who are moft confident of their Strength, that are mighty to pour in ftrong drinkand to execute all the Commands of all their Lufts with much vigour and alacrity; and say to themfelves, they shall never be moved Come ye, I will fetch Wine, and we will fill our felves with Strong Drink, and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant. Ifai. Ivi. 12. Even thefe daring men do fometimes find the strongest Conftitution broken in a moment, when they leaft think of it ;' yea, fo fuddenly, as to give them no time to think of it; and one fingle act of intemperance, like the laft ftroke of an axe, brings down the flout Oak, which would hardly fo much as shake, by the many blows had been before given it. Strong Men,who have held out bravely (as they account it) against their own madness for many years, and found no fenfible decay in themfelves, have been by one days folly be laid in the duft,

3. That

3. That every efcape we have had from the violent affaults of our own Lufts, should make us more cautious for the time to come; and very jealous that they defign us no good. Every Surfeit or Fever that our intemperance brings upon us, fhould warn us to ftand upon our Guard, and to take heed of another, left it kill us. The burnt Child dreads the Fire, and he that hath made a narrow escape from the effect of his Sin and Folly, is worse than a Child if he be too daring again. If I have risen again after a fall through drunkennefs from my Horfe, I am more a brute than be, if I venture on another. By this fall I came to the ground, or it may be into a pit, lay astonish'd for a while, or however but little burt; yet I got up, came to my self, and am well again; but by the next Fall I may go down to Hell, and feel the torment of it for ever. As often as I have escaped out of any Evil orDanger my intemperance had brought me into, fo often hath God warned me to leave my Sin, and told me, that his goodness and longSuffering fhould lead me to repentance, that I may be faved.

4. That if fuch escapes be no warnings to us, but we will hold on in our intemperate course of Life; tho' we live, and live in Health, and outlive many temperate and fober Perfons, yet we live to very ill purpose, and it had been better for us, that we had died many years ago. By making ufe of our strength to Sin the more boldly, we make a long Life a long time of fitting ourselves for eternal mifery; and by the hardness of our impenitent Hearts, treasure up unto ourselves wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. Rom. 11.

Let

Let us all, rich and poor, fick or well, remember this; That who dies first it is not much material, but who dies beft; and that he is fure to do that lives beft; and he lives beft, that lives not after the flesh, fulfilling the Lufts thereof, for he shall die eternally; but he that by the Spirit mortifies the deeds of the body, for he shall live for ever. Rom. viii. Die we all muft, and after Death will be the judgment. Hebr. 3. That's it we should labour to be prepared for, and that's to be the business of this prefent Life. Let us therefore ceafe, either to plead foolishly against, whilst we think we are pleading for ourselves; faying, many temperate Perfons are fickly all their lives,and die very young; and we who are intemperate have lived to old age and in bealth: or fecondly to cenfure and judge rafhly of thofe whom God is pleafed early to remove out of this World by Death, and in the mean time to continue in an afflicted condition, as if they were wicked Perfons; and fuch for whom God had no kindness: Or. Lastly, to abuse God's patience and long-fuffering towards ourselves, and to tempt God, as if we had a mind to try, whether the strength of our natural temper or conftitution, or his patience will hold out the longer.

Both thefe Perfons died, as we must all very Shortly do. And the poor Man died before the rich Man; yet know not we, which of us, be we poor, or be we rich, fhall die firft. Happy, however was the poor man, being a pious man too, that he died fo foon. No doubt of it but he had St Paul's wifh, who defired to depart and to be with Chrift, which is far better, for every good man to live here. Phil. To a poor man, what is there in Life that is defirable? If he be contented to live as long as it pleafseth God, it

is all that can be expected from him. And to a pious Man what can be terrible in Death? He knows that Death cannot hinder him from being with his bleffed Saviour in everlasting joy. If a pious poor Man be in want both of Wealth and Health in this World, he knows that he fhall have all that he ftands in need of after Death; and therefore Death is welcom to him, feeing it comes only to call him from want and need, to plenty and fulneß. Bleffed are they that hunger now, for they fhall be filled

3. We are now come to the third thing obfervable in the death of thefe two Perfons. Of dead Lazarus it is faid, That he was carried by the Angels into Abraham's bofom. Of the rich Man no more is here faid, but that he was buried, or carried (it is not faid by whom) to his Grave. Whither he went after that we fhall fee in the next verfe. Now here is fomething very Remarkable in this Paffage.

Our bleffed Saviour telling us whither it was that the Beggar was carried when he died, speaketh of his Soul only, for it was that only which the Angels carried into Abraham's Bofom and he takes no notice at all of his Body, to tell us what became of that. But fpeaking of the rich Man, he tells us nothing at all here of his Soul, but fpeaks of his Body Only, for it was the Body only that was buried, whatever became in the mean time of his Soul. And yet, tho' his Words can only fignifie one part of the Man, he fo fpeaks of that one part, as if it were the whole Man. For tho' the Soul only of the Beggar was carried into Abraham's Bofom, yet he faith, the Beggar was carried thither; and tho' it was the Body only of the rich Man that was buried, yet he faith the rich

Man