THose happy Persons who have made it the chief care and bus ness of their lives , to be always ready for a dying hour , have least need of my present counsel : It is therefore those unhappy Souls , who are yet unprepared , whom I shall now Instruct . And , O that the Lord would bless these Words ; and perswade them yet , ere Time be gone !

If sin had not bewitched men , and made them Monsters of senselesness and unbelief , it could not be , that an Endless Life , so sure , so near , could be so sottishly made light of , all their lives , as is by most , till they perceive that Death is ready to surprize them . But , poor sinner , if this have been thy case , supposing yet that thou art unwilling to be damned , I earnestly intreat thee in the Name of Christ , for the sake of thy Immortal soul , that thou wilt presently lay to heart these short Instructions , before Time and Hope are gone for ever .

Deut . 6.5 . & 10.12 . & 11.1,13 . I. At last bethink thee what thou art ? and for what End and Work thou camest into the World ? Thou art a Man of Reason , and not a Brute , and hast a Soul which was made to Know , and Love , and Serve thy Maker ; and that not in the second place , with the leavings of the flesh ; but in the first place , and with all thy Heart and Might . If this had been indeed thy Life , God would have been thy Portion , thy Father , and thy Defence , and thou mightst have liv'd and dy'd in peace and comfort , and then have liv'd with God for ever . And should not a Creature live to the Ends and Uses which it was made for ? Must God give thee all thy powers for Him self , and wilt thou turn them from him , to the service of the flesh , and that when thou hadst vowed the contrary in thy Baptism ? How wilt thou answer for such treacherous ungodliness ?

Deut . 32.29 . Matth . 6.19.20,33 . Matth . 25. Rom. 2. 2 Cor . 4.18 . & 5.7,18,19 Phil . 3.18,20 . 2 Thes . 1.9,10 . 1 Pet . 4.18 . II . It is time for thee now to have serious thoughts of the Life which thou art going to : If thou couldst sleepily forget it all the way , it is time to awake when thou art almost there . When thy friends are burying that flesh in the earth , which thou didst more regard than God and thy Salvation , thy Soul must appear in an endless world ; and see those things which God foretold thee of , and thou wouldst not believe , or set thy heart upon : As soon as Death hath opened the curtains , O what a sight must thou presently behold ! A world of Angels and of holy Souls adoring and praising , and admiring that God , whom thou didst refuse to mind , and love , and serve : A world of Devils and damned souls , in torment and despair , bewailing their contempt of Christ and Grace , their neglect of God , and their Salvation ; their serving the flesh , and loving the world , and wilfully losing the time of Mercy , and all the means which God vouchsafed them . Believe it , sinner , there is an Endless Joy and Glory for the Saints , and an Endless Misery for all the Ungodly ; and one of these must quickly be thy case . Thy state is changeable while thou art in the flesh ; if thy soul be miserable , there is yet a Remedy ; it 's possible Christ may renew and pardon it : But as soon as thou goest hence , thou enterest into a state of Joy or Torment which must never change ; no not when millions of years are past . And dost thou not think now in thy conscience that such an Endless Misery should have been prevented with greater care and diligence , then all the sufferings of this life ? And that the attaining of such an Endless Glory , had been worth thy greatest care and labour ? And that it is far better to see the Glory of God , and be filled with his Love , and joyfully praise him with his Saints and Angels for evermore , and by a holy life to have prepared for this ; than to please the flesh , and follow the world a little while , and be undone for ever ! Hast thou got more by the world and sin than Heaven is worth ? Thou art almost at the end of worldly pleasures , and hast all that ever they will do for thee ; but if God had had thy heart and service , he would not thus have cast thee off ; and his Rewards and Joys would have had no end . O how much happier are the blessed Souls in Heaven than we ?

III . And seeing you are so near to the Judgment of God , where your Soul must receive its final Sentence , it is high time now to juag your self , and know what estate your Soul is in ; whether in a state of Justification , or of Damnation . For this may be certainly known if you are willing . And first you must know who they be whom Christ will justifie , and whom he will condemn : And this the Word of God will tell you ; for he will Judge them by that Word . In a word [ All those whom Christ will justifie and save , are made new creatures by the renewing work of the Holy Ghost : Their eyes are opened to see the vanity of this world , and the certainty and excellency of the Glory of Heaven ; and to see the odiousness of sin , and the goodness of a holy life , and to believe that Christ is the only Saviour , to cleanse them from their sins , and bring them to that Glory . And therefore they forsake the sinful pleasures of the flesh , and set their hearts on the everlasting blessedness , and seek it before all things ; and lamenting and hating their former sins , they give themselves sincerely to their God and Father , their Saviour and their Sanctifier , to be taught and ruled , justified , sanctified , and saved by him ; resolving whatever it cost the flesh , to stand to this choice and Covenant to the death . ] Rev. 2 7,10 . Prov. 11.7 . Job 8.13.14 . This is the case of all that Christ will justifie and save : The rest , who never were thus renewed and sanctified , will be condemned , as sure as the Gospel is true . Therefore let it be speedily your work , to try whether this be your case or not . Have you been thus enlightned , convinced , and renewed , to believe in Christ , and the life to come , and to give up your self in a faithful Covenant to God your Father , your Saviour and your Sanctifier ; to hate your sin , and to live and love a holy life , in mortifying the flesh , and seeking Heaven before the World ? If this be not your case , I should but flatter and deceive you to tell you of any hope of being saved , till you are thus renewed and justified . Never imagine a lye to quiet you , tell help is past . No one that is unregenerate , or unholy , shall ever dwell with God . Yet you may be saved , if yet you will be truly converted and sanctified ; but without this , assuredly there is no hope .

Luke 13.3,5 . Luke 15 Matth . 18.3 . IV . Therefore I counsel you in the Name of Christ , to look back upon your sinful life with sorrow ; not only because of the danger to your self , but also because you have offended God! What think you now of a sinful and of a holy life ? Had it not been better that you had valued Christ and Grace , and lived in the love of God , and in the joyful hopes of the life to come , and denied the sinful desires of the flesh , and been ruled by the Law of God , and spent your time in preparing for Eternity ? Do you not heartily wish that this had been your course ? Would you take this course if it were to do again , and God recover you ? Repent , repent from the bottom of your heart , of the time you have lost , the mercy you have abused , the grace you have resisted , of all your fleshly , worldly desires , words and deeds ; and that you gave not up your soul and life to the love of God and Life eternal .

Matth . 12.28 . 2 Cor . 8.5 . Acts 11 23. V. And now resolvedly give up your self in a hearty Covenant to God : Though it be late , he will yet accept and pardon you , if you do it in sincerity . Take God for your God your portion and felicity , to live in his love and praise for ever ; take Christ for your Saviour , to teach , and rule , and justifie you , and bring you unto God ; and the Holy Spirit for your Sanctifier , and certainly he will take you for his Child . But see that you be truly willing of his Grace , and resolved never to forsake him more . O happy Soul , if at last the Lord will make this change upon thee ! And I 'le tell you certainly how to know , whether this late Repentance will serve for your Salvation , or not . Psal . 78.34,35,36,37 . Heb 8.10 . & 10.16 . Jer . 32.40 . If it be but Fear only which causeth your Repentance , and the Heart and Will be not renewed , but you would turn again to fleshly , worldly , and ungodly life , if you be recovered ; then it will never save your Soul : But if your Heart , your Will , your Love be changed , and this change would hold if God recovered you to health again , then doubt not of Pardon and Salvation .

Phil . 1.21,23 . 2 Cor . 5.8 . Rev. 14.13 : Acts 7.59 . John 17.24 . & 12.26 . Rev. 21 & 22. VI . And if God have thus changed your heart , and drawn it to himself , be thankful for so great a mercy : O bless him for giving you a Redeemer and a Sanctifier , and the pardoning Covenant of Grace . And now be not afraid or loath to leave a sinful world , and come to God ; pray harder for Grace and pardon then for life . Commit and trust your souls to Christ : He had never done so much for souls , if he had not loved them , and been willing to receive them . How wonderfully came he down to man to bring up man to the sight of God! He is gone before to prepare us a Mansion in the City of God ; and hath promised to take us to himself , that we may dwell with him , and see his Glory ! The world which you are going to , is unlike to this ; there is no pride , or lust , or cruelty , oppression , deceit , or any sin : No wicked men to scorn or persecute you ; no vanity to allure us ; no Devil to tempt us ; no corruption of our own to burden or endanger us ; no fears , or cares , or griefs , or discontents ; no poverty , sickness , pain , or death ; no doubtings of the love of God , or our Salvation : But the sight of God , and the feelings of his love , and the fervent flames of our love to him , will be the everlasting pleasure of the Saints . These will break forth in triumphant and harmonious thanks and praise in the presence of our glorified Redeemer , and in concord with all the heavenly Hosts , the Blessed Angels , and the Spirits of the Just : This is the end of Faith and Holiness , Patience and Perseverance ; when Hell is the end of unbelief , ungodliness , sensuality and hypocrisie . How justly are they condemned , who sell their part of endless Joys for a shadow and dream or transitory pleasures ? And can delight more in the filth of sin , and in a fading vanity , than in the love of God , and the fore-thoughts of Glory ? What Love can be too great ? what Desires too fervent ? what Prayer and Labour can be too much ? what Sufferings too dear for such a Blessedness ?

Mal . 2.7 . James 5.14 . Psal . 73.26 . VII . Lastly , Because there are many cases of the Sick which require the presence of a judicious Divine , if it be possible get the help of such ; if not , remember that God is just in denying men that mercy in their distress , which in time of their health and prosperity they rejected with scorn and contempt , and cleave to him whom they may enjoy for euer .