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tors of Christ's flock! When, besides all the rest of their sins, they shall have the blood of so many souls to answer for.

O brethren, our death as well as that of our people, is at hand; and it is as terrible to an unfaithful Pastor as to any! When we see that die we must, and there is no remedy, no wit or learning, no credit or popular applause, can put by the stroke, or delay the time; but willing or unwilling, our souls must go, and that into a world that we never saw, where our persons and worldly interest will not be respected. O then for a clear conscience, that can say, 'I live not to myself but to Christ; I spared no pains, I hid not my talent; I concealed not men's misery, nor the way of their recovery.' O, sirs, let us therefore take time while we may have it, and work while it is day; for the night cometh when none can work. This is our day too; and by doing good to others, we must do good to ourselves. If you would prepare for a comfortable death, and a sure and great reward, the harvest is before you: gird up the loins of your minds, and quit yourselves like men, that you may end your days with confident triumph: "I have fought a good fight, I have kept the faith, I have finished my course; henceforth is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which God the righteous Judge shall give me.” And if you would be blessed with those who die in the Lord, labour now, that you may rest from your labours then; and do such works as you would wish should follow you, and not such as will prove your terror in the review.

Having found so great reason to move us to this work, I shall, before I come to the directions, (1.) Apply them further for our humiliation and excitation. And (2.) Answer some objections that may be raised.

1. What cause have we to plead before the Lord this day, that have neglected so great and good a work so long-that we have been Ministers of the Gospel so many years, and done so little, by personal instruction and conference, for the saving of men's souls! If we had but set about this business sooner, who knows how many more might have been brought over unto Christ, and how much happier we might have made our Parishes, ere now; and why might we not have done it sooner? I confess many impediments were in our way, and so there are still, and will be while there is a devil to tempt, and a corrupt heart in man to resist the light; but if the

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greatest impediment had not been in ourselves, even in our own darkness, and dulness, and undisposedness to duty, I see not but much might have been done before now. We had the same God to command us, and the same miserable objects of compassion, and the same liberty from Governors of the Commonwealth; but we stood looking for changes, and we would have had the Magistrate not only to have given us leave to work, but to have done our work for us, or at least to have brought the game to our hands; and while we looked for better days, we made them worse by the lamentable neglect of a chief part of our work. And had we as much petitioned Parliaments for the interposition of their authority to compel men to be Catechised and instructed by the Minister, as we did for maintenance and other matters, it is likely we might have obtained it long ago, when they were forward to gratify us in such undisputable things. But we have sinned, and have no just excuse for our sin; somewhat that may perhaps excuse a tanto,' but nothing 'a toto;' and the sin is so great, because the duty is so great, that we should be afraid of pleading excuse too much. The Lord in mercy forgive us, and lay not this or any of our Ministerial negligences to our charge. O that he would cover all our unfaithfulness; and by the blood of the everlasting Covenant, wash away our guilt of the blood of souls, that when the chief Shepherd shall appear, we may stand before him in peace, and may not be condemned for scattering his flock. And O that he would put up his controversy which he hath against the Pastors of his Church, and not deal more severely with them for our sakes, nor suffer underminers or persecutors to scatter them, as they have suffered his sheep to be scattered! And that he will not care as little for them, as they have done for the souls of men; nor think his salvation too good for them, as they have thought their labour and sufferings too much for men's salvation. And as we have had many days of humiliation in England, for the sins of the land, and the judgments that have lain upon us; I hope we shall hear that God will more thoroughly humble the Ministers, and cause them to bewail their own neglects, and to set apart some days through the land to that end, that they may not think it enough to lament the sins of others, while they overlook their own; and that God may not abhor our solemn National humiliations, because they

are managed by unhumbled guides; and that we may first prevail with him for a pardon for ourselves, that we may be the fitter to beg for the pardon of others.

And, O that we might cast out the dung of our pride, contention, self-seeking and idleness, lest God should cast our sacrifices as dung in our faces, and should cast us out as the dung of the earth, as of late he hath done many others for our warning! And that we might presently resolve in concord to mend our pace, before we feel a sharper spur than hitherto we have felt.

2. And now brethren, what have we to do for the time to come, but to deny our lazy, contradicting flesh, and rouse up ourselves to the business that we are engaged in. The harvest is great; the labourers are too few; the loiterers and contentious hinderers are many; the souls of men are precious; the misery of sinners is great, and the everlasting misery that they are in danger of is greater; the beauty and glory of the Church is desirable, the joy that we are helping them to, is inconceivable; the comfort that followeth a faithful stewardship is not small; the comfort of a full success also will be greater. To be co-workers with God and his Spirit, is not a little honour; to subserve the bloodshed of Christ for men's salvation, is not a light thing; to lead on the armies of Christ through the thickest of the enemies, and guide them safely through a dangerous wilderness, and steer the vessel through such storms, and rocks, and sands, and shelves, and bring it safe to the harbour of rest, requireth no small skill and diligence. The fields now seem even white unto harvest, the preparations that have been made for us, are very great, the season of working is more warm and calm than most ages before us have ever seen: we have carelessly loitered too long already; the present time is posting away: while we are trifling, men are dying, and passing quickly into another world. And is there nothing in all this to awaken us to our duty, and to resolve us to speedy and unwearied diligence? Can a man be too careful and active under all these motives and engagements? Or can that man be a fit instrument for other men's illumination, that were himself so blind? Or for the quickening of others, that were himself so senseless? What, sirs, are you that are men of wisdom, as dull as the common people? And do we need to heap up a multitude of words to per

suade you to a known and weighty duty? One would think it should be enough to set you on work, to shew a line in the Book of God to prove it to be his will; or to prove to you that the work hath a tendency to men's salvation; or that the very sight of your miserable neighbours should be sufficient to draw out your most compassionate endeavours for their relief. If a cripple do but open his sores, and shew you his disabled limbs, it will move you without words; and will not the case of souls that are near to damnation move you? O happy Church, if the physicians were but healed themselves; and if we had not too much of that infidelity and stupidity which we daily preach against in others! Were there but such clear and deep impressions upon our souls, of those glorious things that we daily preach, O what a change would it make in our Sermons, and in our private discourse! O what a miserable thing it is to the Church and to themselves, that men must preach of heaven and hell, before they heartily believe the reality of either, or have felt the weight of the doctrines which they preach! It would amaze a sensible man to think what matters we preach and talk of! What it is for the soul to pass out of this flesh, and go before a righteous God, and enter upon unchangeable joy or torment! O with what amazing thoughts do dying men view these things! How should such matters be preached and discoursed of! O the gravity, the seriousness, the incessant diligence that these things require! I know not what others think of them, but for my part, I am ashamed of my stupidity, and wonder at myself that I deal not with my own and other's souls, as one that looks for the great day of the Lord; and that I can have room for almost any other thoughts or words, and that such astonishing matters do not wholly occupy me. I marvel how I can preach of them slightly and coldly, how I can let men alone in their sins, and that I do not go to them and beseech them for the Lord's sake to repent, however they take it, and whatever pains or trouble it may cost me! I seldom come out of the pulpit, but my conscience smiteth me that I have been no more serious and fervent. It accuseth me not so much for want of human ornaments or elegance, nor for letting fall an uncouth word; but it asketh me, 'How couldst thou speak of life and death with such an heart? How couldst thou preach of heaven and hell, in such a careless,

sleepy manner? Dost thou believe what thou hast said? Art thou in earnest or in jest? How canst thou tell people that sin is such a thing, and that so much misery is upon them and before them, and be no more afflicted with it? Shouldst thou not weep over such a people, and should not thy tears interrupt thy words; shouldst not thou cry aloud, and shew them their transgressions, and entreat and beseech them as for life and death?' Truly, this is the peal that Conscience doth ring in my ears, and yet my drowsy soul is not fully awakened. O what a thing is a senseless, hardened heart! O Lord, save us from the plague of infidelity and hard-heartedness ourselves, or else how shall we be fit instruments of saving others from it? I am even confounded to think what a difference there is between my views in sickness, and my pulpit discourse, and conversation in health concerning the life to come: that that can appear so light to me now, which seemeth so great and astonishing a matter then; and which I know will be so again when death looks me in the face. O, brethren, surely, if you had all conversed with death as often as I have done, and as often received the sentence in yourselves, you would have an unquiet conscience, if not a reformed life in your Ministerial diligence and fidelity; and you would have something within you that would frequently ask you such questions as these: Is this all thy compassion for lost sinners? Wilt thou do no more to seek and to save them? Is there not such and such a one,-O, how many round about thee, that are yet the visible sons of death? What hast thou said to them, or done for their recovery? Shall they die and be

in hell before thou wilt speak to them one serious word to prevent it? Shall they there curse thee for ever that didst no more in time to save them?' Such cries of conscience are daily in my ears, though, the Lord knows, I have too little obeyed them. The God of Mercy pardon me, and awake me with the rest of his servants that have been thus sinfully negligent! I confess to my shame, that I seldom hear the bell toll for one that is dead, but conscience asketh me, 'What hast thou done for the saving of that soul before it left the body? There is one more gone to judgment; what didst thou to prepare that immortal spirit for judgment?' And yet I have been slothful and backward to help the rest that do survive. How can you refrain, when you are laying a corpse in the grave, from thinking, ' Here

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