a while, and we fhall be fatisfied. Let us lift up our eyes towards heaven; and it is but a few days diftance between us and those glories. All that God hath, yea God himself, is ours. Let us therefore lay up our contentment with him, let us put all our intereft into his hands, let us think of no fatisfaction below eternal happiness, and let eternal happiness fully fatisfy us.

In the mean time, let the worldly wife man, if he pleases, glory in his wisdom; and the rich man pride himself in his riches; and the proud man in his applause and vain-glory; but in us, le patience have its perfect work, that we may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing; let God be our hope at present, and he shall shortly be our reward,

SERMON VII.

Danger of a Death-bed Repentance.

[From KETTLEWELL'S Measures of Obedience.]

MATT. XX, 9.

And when they came that were hired about the eleventh bour, they received every man a penny.

T

HESE words are part of the parable of the labourers in the vineyard, and are often alledged in behalf of a late or death-bed repentance; forafmuch as they who were hired late into the vineyard, received as much wages as they who were hired earlier.

In general, there is nothing more certain, than that fuch repentance only will be effectual to falvation, which produces a fuitable change in the life and practice; that no man can with any fhew of reafon hope to be acquitted and rewarded at the last day, but he who repents unto

I 4

amendment,

amendment, who is created unto gcod works, and is born again to a new practice and obedience.

But this is always underftood with an exception, that if a man shall not live fo long, as to be able to fhew forth this effect in his future obedience, he shall be accepted according to what he hath, and not according to what he hath not. Some men are called away forthwith, upon the change of mind that is wrought in them, before any opportunity of action comes. They have just time to become obedient in will and purpose, but not in life and practice. They have no leisure left them to work in; but the night comes fuddenly upon them, when all the time of labour is at an end. And this is the cafe of all dying peni

tents.

And here, undoubtedly, the will shall be accepted for the deed. For in heart and mind, fuch penitents are become God's honeft fervants; their defires are in great ftrength, and their inward purposes are come up to effectual degrees, which want nothing but time wherein to fhew them

felves,

felves, and are fufficient, whenfoever an opportunity hall occur, to beget a change of life, and to make their actions answer them. So that if they are deftitute of an entire obedience, and have not as yet evidenced their change of nature in their change of practice; that is not for want of inward readiness, but of outward opportunities; and therefore it is not fo much their fault, as their unhappiness. And when God fees it is thus with them, he takes the inward will and choice, for the outward service and performance. judgeth us by our wills, which are in our own power; and not by chance and accidental opportunities, which are utterly without it.

He

But then here is the dangerous state, and deplorable cafe, of all fuch dying penitents; that it is twenty to one, if they defer repentance to their death-bed; that all the change which then appears in them, is not fo fufficient, nor would prove fo effectual, were there a due time allowed for the trial thereof. And of this we have a clear argument, in that among all the holy vows

and