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which now become indispensibly ne tessary. Ah! how deceitful are those bears, which are often shed by dying sinners, (as may be seen in the case of King Antiochus,) which being wholly influenced by the fear of death, prevail not with the just Judge And if there be so much danger, even when tears are plentifully shed, what must there be, when, as it commonly happens, either the dulness and stupidity caused by the sickness, or the pains and ago. nies of the body and mind, are so great, as to hinder any serious application of the thoughts to the greatest of all concerns? For if a headach be enough to hinder us from being able to pray with any devotion, what an obstacle to prayer must not the agonies of death be? No wonder then, that the saints and servants of God make so little account of those death-bed performances. Especially since, as we see by daily experience, that those who made the greatest shew of repentance, when they were' in danger of death, no sooner escaped that danger, but are still the same men they were before. Christians, let us not then be im

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posed upon by the false and flattering discourses of men who are so free in pronouncing favourably of all those, who after a life spent in sin, make some shew of repentance at their death. Let us rather tremble at the deplorable case of such souls; and remember that the judgments of God are very differ ent from those of men,

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On Time and Eternity.

Onsider, first, how precious a

to squander away, as if it were of no value. Time is the measure of our lives, and as much as we lose of our time, so much of our life is absolutely lost. Time is given us in order to gain eternity; and there is not one moment of time, in which we may not work for eternity; and in which we may not store up immense and everlasting treasures. As many therefore as we lose of these precious moments, are so many lost eternities. The present is the only time of working it is the only time, we can call our own, and God only knows how long it will last. It is short,

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short, it flies away in an instant, and when once it is gone, it cannot be recalled; the very moment in which we are reading this line, is just passing, never, no, never more to return., Every hour is posting away, without stopping one moment till it be swat lowed up in the immense gulf of eter nity and as many of these hours or moments as are lost, are lost for ever; the loss is irreparable. Learn hence, O my soul, to set a just value upon the Fresent fime learn to husband it well, by employing it in good works,

Consider, secondly, Christian soul, what thy thoughts will be, at the ap proach of death, of the value of time which thou makest so little account of at present. What wouldest thou not then give for some of those hours which now thou losest in vanity and ̋sih? Ah the dreadful anguish that will reck the soul of the dying sitinet, when seeing himself at the brink of a miserable eternity, he shall wish a thousand times, but in vain, that he could recall one day, or even one hour of His past time, and had but the same Health and strength as he formerly had,

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to employ it in the love of God, and sincere repentance for his sins. Ah! worldlings, why are you then so blind as not to see, that any one of these hours, which you daily squander away, is indeed more valuable than ten thou sand worlds.

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Consider, thirdly, what will be the sentiments of the dainned of the value of time, when time shall be no more : how bitterly will they regret du ring eternity, all those hours, days, months and years, which were allow ed them by the bounty of their Creator, during the space of their mortal life; by the due employment of which, they might have prevented that mises Iy to which they are now irrevoca bly condemned; and might have made' themselves eternally and infinitely hap py; but, alas ! they would not work whilst the time was, whilst they had the day light before them: the night, the dismal and eternal night is now come, in which it is too late to work and during which, they shall eternally condemn their past folly and madness in neglecting and abusing their precious time. Ah! Christians, let us be wise

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at their expence. But what do you think will be the sentiments of the blessed in heaven of this precious time? Truly, if it were posible, and if their happy state could admit of such a thing as grief, there is nothing those blessed souls would regret more than the loss of any of those moments which in their life time had not been well husbanded: when they shall clearly see, in the light of God, what an immense increase of glory and happi-. ness they might have acquired, by the, due employment of those precious mo

ments.

Consider, fourthly, that as all time is short, and passes quickly away, so all temporal enjoyments, honours riches, and pleasures of this world are all transitory, uncertain and inconstant. Only eternity, and the goods or evils which it comprises, are truly great, as being without end, without change, without comparison; admitting of no mixture of evil in its goods, nor any alloy of comfort in its evils. O the vanity of all temporal grandeur, which must so soon be buried in the coffin, O! how quickly does.

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