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right, he shall

All his trans

and do that which is lawful and surely live, he shall not die. gressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God; and not that he should return from his ways and live? When the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live. For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.

Proverbs.

He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

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Job.

Pray unto God, and he will be favourable. Seek unto God betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty. He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; he will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light.

Joel.

Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

Isaiah.

Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his

thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

On old age.

Ecclesiasticus.

O how comely a thing is judgement for grey hairs, and for ancient men to kuow counsel ! O how comely is the wisdom of old men, and understanding and counsel to men of honour! Much experience is the crown of old men, and the fear of God is their glory.

Proverbs.

The hoary head is a crown of glory if it be found in the way of righteousness.

On Death.

Ecclesiasticus.

O death, how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man that liveth at rest in his possessions, unto the man that hath nothing to vex him, and that hath prosperity in all things: yea, unto him that is yet able to receive meat! O death, acceptable is thy sentence unto the needy, and unto him whose strength faileth, that is now in the last

age, and is vexed with all things, and to him that despaireth, and hath lost patience! Fear not the sentence of death, remember them that have been before thee, and that come after; for this is the sentence of the Lord over all flesh. And why art thou against the pleasure of the Most High? there is no inquisition in the grave, whether thou have lived ten, or an hundred, or a thousand years. All flesh waxeth old as a garment for the covenant from the beginning is, Thou shalt die the death. As of the green leaves on a thick tree, some fall, and some grow; so is the generation of flesh and blood, one cometh to an end, and another is born. Every work rotteth, and consumeth away, and the worker thereof shall go withal. Remember my judgement: for thine also shall be so; yesterday for

me, and to-day for thee. When the dead is at rest, let his remembrance rest; and be comforted for him, when his spirit is departed from him. Rejoice not over thy greatest enemy being dead, but remember that we die all.

Job.

Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof. In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men, fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake. Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up it stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes; there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying, Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his Maker? Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly: how much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth? They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever, without any regarding it. Doth not their excellency which is in them go away; they die even without wisdom.

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