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SERM. which we fo often ftifle and fupprefs, will
XII. always remain? That it will not grow hard

and callous, and become at last infenfible?
And what can be a more melancholy State,
than for Evil to increafe, and Punishment
haftening to overtake, and all that while
no friendly Monitor to give us any Notice
that we may avoid it? But let us examine
a little into the Bottom of this Condition.
Why do we refufe to give a proper Atten-
tion to the Calls of Confcience? Will it be
faid, Because we can't? Would it not be
truer to fay, We won't? But perhaps it
will be faid, We can't do it now, but will
certainly do it at fome other Time. Very
well; let this be the Cafe. And now to
confider this a little more particularly; What
Reafon can we have, that hinders us from
laying hold of the firft Opportunity, that
will not equally hold good at any other
Time? The true Queftion is, Whether it
is proper, or a Thing fit to do at all? If fo,
then certainly it is very proper to lay hold
of the first Opportunity; for 'tis grown
to a Proverb, To leave nothing till to
morrow which we can do to-day: And every
one will eafily grant, that whoever does fo,
does not act the Part of a wife Man, but is
guilty of great Folly and Abfurdity. But

in

now

now there is no Abfurdity on the other Side of the Question. 'Tis no Folly for a Man to hearken to the Dictates of his Confcience. Nay, this must be allow'd to be right, even by those who propofe to do it fome other Time; for by fo doing they don't difallow of the prefent Time, but only fome Accident or other hinders them. They are for discharging their Conscience, as Felix did St Paul, with a Go thy way for this Time; when I have a convenient Seafon I will fend for thee. This may poffibly be intended; but when will this convenient One Seafon goes, another comes, which is fucceeded by another, and another; but ftill 'tis not a convenient Seafon. When is it then, that it will be a convenient Seafon? When we can fin no longer, or have nothing else to do? We will take it in the most favourable Sense, and suppose it to be the next Opportunity. Very well: But now suppose this Opportunity never comes; for 'tis altogether as reasonable to suppose this, as to suppose the contrary. What will be the Confequence then? This is leaving it to Chance to make the beft of it. For to leave a Thing to any future Time, is to leave it to all the Confequences that may happen in that Time. L1 2

Seafon come? One Seafon

The

SER M.
XII.

SERM. The Way that every wife Man takes in XII. his Affairs, is to make a Provifion against Accidents. He manages his Affairs in fuch a manner as to expect fuch things. 'Tis true, when this Opportunity comes, a Man may poffibly lay hold of it, and improve it to his Advantage: I fay, he may poflibly do it; but there is only a bare Poffibility of it: For he can't be fure that what hinders him now will not do fo then too. Yet, befides all this, as there is but a Poffibility neither whether this Opportunity may ever come or no, (for what may be may not be too) 'tis very abfurd to leave it to that, especially when on the other hand he may have a Certainty. Befides, what do we get by this Delay? We get Time to fin indeed: But is not this adding still to the Account, and making the Sum larger? We find it fo in other things: The longer we defer a Work, the more it grows upon our Hands, and confequently the less able fhall we be to accomplish it: For that which at first might be mov'd with one Finger, will, when the Weight is increas'd, require the Strength of the whole Body.

But there are too many that think it is time enough to think of these Things when they are on their Death-Bed, that 'tis time enough to

amend

amend their Lives when they are going to SERM. part with them, and relinquish their Sins XII. when they can keep them no longer. But what is this a convenient Seafon? Will a Day or a Week be time enough for a Work of thirty, forty, fifty or fixty Years? We may make Refolutions indeed, and promife what we will do, but whether we shall certainly perform or not, will require Time to fhew; which in this Cafe is not to be had, and God only knows whether we fhould perform them if it was. 'Tis to be fear'd, it is more than probable, that Promises made in time of Danger or Extremity, by Fear, will be but little regarded when that Fear and that Danger that caus❜d them are remoy'd. Take away the the Effect ceases of course.

Cause, and

For if you

fuppofe no Senfe of Fear or Danger, or, which is the fame, that thefe have not their proper Influence upon the Mind, you can't

well suppose any Reformation. And that

this might be the Cafe of a Person suppos'd to be on a Death-Bed, fhould he recover, is not impoffible, because it certainly has been. How many do we meet with in the World, of whom one might truly fay this is their Cafe! Who have been in the fame Danger, and made the fame Promises, and

what

SERM. what has been extorted from them by SickXII. nefs, has been forgot in Health! I don't fay that this is always fo. But, however,

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there can be no fufficient Foundation for Dependence or Truft in fuch a Cafe.

Upon the whole then: If there is such a thing as a Punishment due to Sin, and if the Conscience informs us of this, let us give it a proper Attention. We allow the Gratification of our Defires, our Pleasures and Amufements their Seafon; let not then the Happiness and Welfare of another World be the only Thing that shall be depriv'd of a convenient Seafon. Let us confider, that if our Repentance reaches no further than the Defign and Intention, if it is not to be fet about at fome certain Time in this Life, there is no doing it any where else; there is no Repentance in the Grave, whither we are going. People of narrow Minds, who confine their Views within this Circle of things here below, may poffibly think lightly of these Things, who know no other Pleasures but those of Senfe, nor any other Torments but the fhort momentary ones of this Life. But if we carry our Views beyond the present State of things, and look into Futurity, however these Things appear in this Life, there they muft have an

other

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