gent Attention to a Difcourfe on Eternity. As God has gracioufly lengthened out my Time to fpeak to you again, and yours to hear, I can fpeak, and you hear, of Nothing which is of greater Moment and Importance than Eternity. I am the more willing to dwell upon the Subject, from a full Perfuafion that a Man muit be perfectly good, or defpe"rately abandoned, or impenetrably ftupid, "that is not alarmed at a full, ferious, and weighty, Confideration of Eternity, an E"ternity of Happiness or Mifery; when, for ought he knows, he may ftand just on the "Brink of it." (b) Perhaps I may never speak, nor you hear, of it again upon Earth: Let us, therefore, be ferious.

I have already confidered the general Nature of Eternity; illuftrated, and proved the Immortality of the Soul, and the eternal Duration of thofe States of Happiness and Misery, to one or other of which every human Soul is removed at Death. I then reprefented to you the great Obligations we are under to GOD and the Redeemer for difcovering to us eternal Things, and making Provifion for our escaping everlasting Mifery. I took up a Lamentation over the Folly and Madness of Mankind in neglecting eternal Concerns. I urged upon you who are Heads of Families, and upon myself, the most earnest Concern for the Salvation of the immortal Souls committed to our Charge. And I exhorted you frequently

(b) Seed's Sermons, Vol. i. Serm. 1.

to reflect what an awful Thing it is to die and enter upon an eternal State. I have one Reflection more to make from this Subject, concerning a Duty which I defign more largely to confider and enforce, namely,

5. How much is it our Duty and Interest to look at unfeen and eternal Things! Or to eye and regard Eternity in all we do!

And, in difcuffing this Point, I fhall confider what looking at eternal Things includes, and then propofe fome Arguments and Motives to engage you more fteadily to regard them.

I. I am to confider what looking at eternal
Things includes..

And that is, a firm Belief of their Reality, ferious Confideration of their Importance, and steady Aims and Purfuits agreeable thereto.

1. Looking at eternal Things implies a "firm Belief of their Reality:"

That we have immortal Spirits within us, and that there is an eternal State and World

just before us. These are unfeen Things, and therefore the Eye of the Mind is to be directed to them. Faith is, as it were, that Eye; for, we walk by Faith, not by Sight; and Faith is described by the Apoftle as the Substance of Things hoped for, and the Evidence, or full Con

viction,

viction, of Things not feen. (c) Faith affents to what Reafon and Revelation difcover concerning them. The Chriftian profefleth to believe what the Scriptures reveal concerning these important Things; and is as fure of their Reality as of the Reality of any material Object which is feen by his bodily Eyes. The Chriftian endeavours to endeavours to have this Faith ftrengthened, by reafoning about unfeen Things, by frequently examining the Account which the Word of God gives of them, and meditating upon it. Farther, looking at them includes,

2. A ferious Confideration of their Impor

tance.

The Word, here tranflated look-at, is in other Places rendered take heed, consider, mark, or olferve attentively; and fignifies ferious, fixed, repeated, Confideration. (d) We are not merely to take a tranfient Glance of eternal Things, now and then, but to look at them with a fixed, fedfaft, Eye, or dwell upon them by close Meditation; to bend all the Powers of the Mind to study them, as Subjects of the utmost Importance. This includes comparing Things temporary and eternal; (for, fo, it appears from the Context, the Apostle did;} confidering the refpective Value and Moment

(c) Heb. xi. I.

(d) Compare Luke xi. 35; Rom, xvi, 17; Gal. vi. 1; Phil. iii. 17.

of each; paying no greater Regard to feen Things than their fading, unfatisfying, Nature deferves; taking the Eye of the Soul off from them, and fixing it upon unfeen Things. It intimates, farther, that this ferious Confideration of their Nature is frequent, and our Regard to them habitual. Looking at them is, as far as poffible, the continued Act of the Soul; its daily Employment; and, to them, the Thoughts must be habitually directed. Once more, looking at unfeen Things includes,

3. A fteady Aim, and diligent Pursuit, 'agreeably to their Nature and Importance;

Or a diligent, inceffant, Care to escape eternal Mifery and fecure eternal Happin efs. The Word look-at fignifies alfo to aim at or pursue. It conveys this Idea in the Verse where our Text is, and in that Exhortation of the fame Apostle, Look not every Man on his own Things, but every Man alfo on the Things of others. (e) From this Word our English Word Scope is derived, which fignifies the chief Design a Man has in View, the Mark he aims at, the End he is purfuing. This may be illuftrated by thofe Words of the fame Apostle, I prefs toward the Mark; I vigorously pursue the Object I have my Eye upon, for the Prize of the high Calling of GOD in Chrift Jefus, even the eternal Inheritance. (f) This, then, is our great Duty, as Chriftians, daily and seriously

(e) Phil, ii. 4. (f) Phil. iii. 14.

to

to confider eternal Things, and use our utmost Endeavours to escape the Wrath to come and obtain everlasting Life. We are to confider the Whole of our Duration, and what is best for us upon the Whole; what Regard is due to temporal, and what to eternal, Things. Let us, then, maintain a ftedfaft, fixed, Regard to Eternity, wherever we are, and whatever we do. Were we deliberately to think upon temporal and eternal Things, we could never imagine that Provifion for the prefent Life was worthy fo many Hours Thought and Labour every Day, and Eternity fcarce worthy of Half a Thought in many Hours; and, perhaps, not one fixed, ferious, Thought in many Days. Where one Thought is spent upon that Question, “What shall we eat and drink, "and wherewith fhall we be clothed? how fhall

we get Money, or enjoy Pleafure?" there would be a thoufand fpent upon that Queftion, "What muft I do to be faved?" Did we feriously confider but a thoufandth Part of the Joys of an eternal Heaven, and the Horrors of an eternal Hell, we should never be cafy till our everlasting Intereft was fecure. Let the Thoughts of Eternity, therefore, be made familiar to our Minds. Let us endeavour to mingle them with all our Employments and Enjoyments, and especially with all the Exercifes of Religion, both public and private. To excite you to this, I am,

II. To propofe fome Motives and Argu

ments.

C 4

And,