So that all the difficulty in these words is, what we are to understand by the days of darkness, which are here opposed to a long life of joy and rejoicing in this world. And this difficulty will be eafily refolved, by confidering the foregoing verfe: Truly the light is fweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eye to behold the fun; upon which it follows, But if a man live many years, that is, fuppofing he should for many years enjoy this pleasant spectacle of the light of the fun, yet let him remember those days of darkness, wherein his eyes fhall behold the fun and light no more, wherein he fhall be laid up in a dark and filent grave, whence the light of the fun is excluded, and where the fight of the eyes is extinguished; or as he expreffeth it in the third verfe of the next chapter, wherein those that look out at the windows are darkened, fo that we shall have neither eyes nor vifible objects, but be buried out of fight, in deep darkness and infenfibility.

The words thus explained refolve into this fenfe; that how long and happily foever men live in this world, they ought to entertain

entertain their thoughts with frequent remembrances and confiderations of their approaching diffolution.

Which is a duty fo obvious to the consciences of all men, as being founded on the plainest and most confpicuous reasons, that the men of all ages, and nations, and religions, have owned and acknowledged it. Thus the heathen philofophers teach, that our lives ought to be a conftant meditation of death; and that even in our most pleasant and healthful moments, we ought to look upon ourselves as borderers upon eternity; that we should still take care to mingle our delights with the fad remembrances of our mortality, and not suffer the joys of this life to divert our thoughts from that impending fate, which ere long will fet an everlasting period both to the one and the other.

But the neceffity of entertaining our minds with frequent remembrances of our latter end, is founded upon far more powerful motives, than a few fine fayings of the philofophers. For,

I. It is neceffary, to moderate our affections to the world.

II. It is neceffary, to allay the gaiety and vanity of our minds.

III. It is neceffary, to forearm our minds against the terrors of death. And,

IV. It is neceffary, to excite and quicken us in our preparations for eternity.

I. I fay, To entertain our minds with frequent remembrances of our mortality, is neceffary to moderate our affections to the world.

While we are encompaffed round with the pleasures and delights of this world, they commonly fo engross cur minds, that we fhut our eyes againft all futurities, and are impatient to think of any thing to come, unless it be the continuance of this happy scene of things which is at prefent before us. With which continuance we are exceeding apt to flatter ourselves, that so thereby we may heighten the relish of our prefent enjoyments; to which the confideration of our leaving them would be apt to give a very ungrateful farewell.

And when our thoughts are wholly intent upon these prefent goods, and upon the prospect of their continuance; our affections muft neceffarily run out towards them, with an immoderate ardour and greediness. For now our flattering imaginations represent them to us, as ftanding and permanent things; and accordingly our affections purfue and embrace them as the best of goods, and are for refting upon them as their highest and ultimate happiness.

Now there is no more effectual way to rouze men's minds out of this flattering dream of happiness, than frequently to entertain themselves with the thoughts of their departure hence. For when we set ourselves seriously to think of our dying hour, that fairly reprefents to our deluded minds, the true ftate and condition of all worldly happiness. There we plainly fee, that we are liable to a thousand accidents, in every one of whofe power it is, to turn us out of the world and our happiness together; and that too, any one moment of our lives.

In every serious profpect of our mortality, we see our death-bed as it were ftanding before us, and all our worldly enjoyments vanishing at its appearance, and baffling all our vain hopes and expectations of happiness which we expected from them. Then we fhall find, that all these things are weak and impotent, and unable to help us in our extremity; that they are of no efficacy to quench the thirst of ficknefs, to cool the fever in the blood, or to ease the convulfed and tormented body. It is not in them then to relieve or fuccour us. Then they will all abandon and forfake us, and we fhall have nothing left of all the goods we enjoyed or hoped for, but a cold bed in the dust, and worms for our companions.

And thus will our remembrance of the days of darkness most effectually moderate our affections for the things of this world. A

II. GOOD advantage which will attend our remembering the days of darkness, will be, that it will greatly conduce to allay the pride and vanity of our minds.