Sixteen Sermons, Sermon 16
A SERMON ON JOHN IX. 4.
I muſt work the works of him that ſent me, while it is day: The night cometh when no man can work.
THeſe words our Bleſſed Saviour ſpake of himſelf, whilſt he was upon Earth; in which he tells us, that he was ſent by God into the World, and had a certain Work and Imployment appointed him during his Abode in it. A great Work indeed! to inſtruct, and reform, and ſave Mankind. A Work of great Labour, and Pains, and Patience, not to be done in a ſhort time; and yet the time for doing it was not long after he came into the World: It was a good while before he began it, and after he began it, the time of Working was not long, before the Night came and put an End to it: I muſt work the works of him that ſent me, while it is day: The night cometh when no man can work.
But this which our Saviour here ſpeaks of himſelf, and which properly belongs to him, and no other; may ye… be accommodated to every Man, with ſome Allowance for the Difference and Diſproportion. For tho' every Man be not ſent by God into the World, after ſo peculiar a manner, and upon ſo particular and vaſt a Deſign: Yet upon a general Account, every Man is ſent by God into this World, and hath a Work given him to do in it, which he is concern'd vigorouſly to mind and to proſecute with all his Might. And tho' every Man be not ſent to ſave the whole World, as the Son of God was, yet every Man is ſent by God into the World, to work out his own Salvation, and to take Care of that in the firſt Place, and then to promote the Salvation of others, as much as in him lies. So that every one of us may, in a very good Senſe, accommodate theſe Words of our Saviour to himſelf: I muſt work the works of him that ſent me, while it is day: The night cometh when no man can work.
I ſhall therefore at this time take the Liberty to handle theſe words according to this moral Accommodation of them, and apply what our Saviour here ſays of himſelf to every Man that cometh into the World: And this I ſhall do, by ſhewing theſe three things.
Firſt, That every Man hath a Work aſſigned him to do in this World, by him that ſent him into it; and may in ſome Senſe ſay, as our Bleſſed Saviour did of himſelf, I muſt work the works of him that ſent me.
Secondly, That there is a certain and limited time for every Man to do this Work in. While it is day.
Thirdly, That after this Seaſon is expired, the…e will be no further Oportunity of working. The Night cometh when no man can work.
Firſt, Every Man hath a Work aſſigned him to do in this World, by him that ſent him into it; and may in ſome ſenſe ſay, as our Bleſſed Sav…our did of himſelf; I muſt work the works of him that …ent me. God who made man a reaſonable Creature, and hath endowed him with Faculties, whereby he is capable of knowing and ſerving him; hath appointed him a Work and Service ſuitable to theſe Faculties: And having infuſed an immortal Soul into this Earthy Body, hath certainly deſigned him for a State beyond this Life, in which he ſhall be for ever happy or miſerable, according as he uſeth and demeans himſelf in this World.
So that the Work which every one of us hath to do in this World, is to prepare, and fit our ſelves for that Eternal Duration which remains for us after Death: For the Life which we live now in this World, is a time of Exerciſe, a ſhort ſtate of Probation and Tryal, in order to a durable and endleſs ſtate, in which we ſhall be immutably …ixt in another World. This World, into which we are now ſent for a little while, is as it were God's School, in which immortal Spirits, clothed with Fleſh, are trained and bred up for Eternity; and therefore the beſt, the only ſure way to be happy for ever, is, ſo to improve the ſhort and uncertain time of this Life, that we may approve our ſelves to God in this World, and enjoy him in the next; or (as St. Paul expreſſeth it) that having our fruit unto Holineſs, our end may be everlaſting Life.
And this Work conſiſts in theſe three things.
Firſt, In the Care of our own Salvation.
Secondly, In doing what we can, to promote the Salvation of others.
Thirdly, And in order to both theſe, in the careful Improvement and good Husbandry of our time.
Firſt, In the Care of our own Salvation. And this conſiſts in two things.
1. In the Worſhip of Almighty God.
2. In the careful and conſcientious Practice and Obedience of his Holy Laws.
1. The Care of our own Salvation conſiſts in the pious and devout Worſhip of Almighty God; that we honour him, and pay him that Homage and Reſpect, which is due from Creatures to him that made them, and is the great Soveraign, and Judge of the World; that we have an inward Reverence and Eſteem of him, and that we expreſs this by all ſolemn externalacknowledgments of him; as by praying to him for the ſupply of our Wants; by praiſing him for all the Bleſſings and Benefits which we have received at his Hands; and that we ſet apart conſtant and ſolemn times for the Performance of theſe Duties; and that when we are employed in them, we be ſerious, and hearty, and attentive to what we are about, and perform every part of Divine Worſhip with thoſe Circumſtances of Reverence and Reſpect, which may teſtifie our awful Senſe of the Divine Majeſty, and our inward and profound Veneration of him, with whom we have to do. And this is that which is directly and properly Religion.
2. This Care of our own Salvation, does conſiſt likewiſe in the conſcientious and conſtant Obedience and Practice of all God's Holy Laws, in the Conformity of our Lives and Actions to the Laws which he hath given us, whether they be natural or written upon our Hearts, or made known to us by the Revelation of his Word; that we govern our Paſſions by Reaſon, and moderate our ſelves in the uſe of ſenſual Delights, ſo as not to tranſgreſs the Rules of Temperance and Chaſtity; that we demean our ſelves towards others, and converſe with them with Juſtice and Fidelity, with Kindneſs and Charity.
Theſe are the Sum of the Divine Laws, and the Heads of our Duty towards our ſelves and others; all which are more powerfully enforced upon us, by the Revelation of the Goſpel, and the plain Promiſes and Threatnings of it; the Faith of Chriſt being the moſt firm and effectual Principle both of Piety towards God, and of Univerſal Obedience to all his particular Commands.
And this is the great work which God hath ſent us to do in the World; ſo the Wiſe Man ſums up our Duty, Eccl. 12. 13. Fear God, and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. The Fear and Reverence of the Divine Majeſty, is the great Foundation and Principle of Religion, but Obedience to God's Laws is the Life and Practice of it. God does not expect that we ſhould ſpend the greateſt part of our time, in the immediate Acts of Religion, and in the ſolemn Duties of his Worſhip and Service, but only that we ſhould allot a fitting Proportion of our time to theſe, according to the Circumſtances of our Condition in this World, and the Example of Holy and Good Men that are in the like Circumſtances with our ſelves: For ſuch is the Goodneſs of God, that he does not only allow us to provide for the Neceſſities and Conveniencies of this Life, but hath made it our Duty ſo to do. It is one of the Precepts of the Goſpel, which the Apoſtle chargeth the Biſhops and Teachers of the Goſpel to inculcate frequently upon Chriſtians, that they which have believed in God, ſhould be careful to maintain good works; that is, to employ themſelves in the works of an honeſt Calling for neceſſary uſes; that is, for the ſupport of their Families, and the relief of thoſe who are in want and neceſſity. And the Apoſtle lays great weight and ſtreſs upon this, as a very great Duty, Tit. 3. 8. This is a faithful ſaying, and theſe things I will that thou affirm conſtantly, that they which have believed in God, might be careful to maintain good works. Theſe things are good and profitable unto Men; that is, of general benefit and advantage to Mankind.
So that no Man's Calling is a hindrance to Religion, but a part of it; and by performing the Duties of Piety in their proper Seaſons, and ſpending the reſt of our time in any honeſt and uſeful Employment, we may make our whole Life a perpetual ſerving of God; we may glorifie God in our eating and drinking, and in all other lawful and uſeful actions of Life; in ſerving the Occaſions and Neceſſities of Life, with Sobriety and Temperance, and in managing our Worldly Commerce with Juſtice and Integrity, we may ſerve God, and perform conſiderable Duties of Religion.
So that provided we do nothing that is ſinful, and manage the Actions and Concernments of this Life, with a due regard and ſubſerviency to the great intereſts of Eternity, we may do the work of God all the while we are providing for our ſelves, and employed in the works of an honeſt Calling: For God, who hath deſigned this Life in order to the other, conſiders the neceſſities of our preſent ſtate, and allows us to make proviſion for it.
There are ſome Perſons indeed, whoſe Birth and Condition ſets them above the common Employments of Life, and the Works of an ordinary Calling: But theſe alſo have a work given them to do; for God hath ſent no Man into the World to no purpoſe, and only to take his paſtime therein; neque enim ita generati ſumus à natura, ut ad ludum & jocum facti eſſe videamur; ſed ad ſeveritatem potius, & quaedam ſtudia graviora atque majora; for …e are not (ſays Tully de Off. Lib. 1.) ſo framed by Nature, as if we were made for ſport and jeſt; but for more ſerious Employments, and for greater and weightier buſineſs; and thoſe who are tied to no particular Calling, may allow ſo much larger portions of their time to Religion, and the Service of God; and God likewiſe expects from them, that they ſhould be uſeful to Mankind in ſome higher and nobler way, according to the publickneſs of their ſtation, and influence. Such Perſons may be ſerviceable to their Country, and the Affairs of Government, and in the care of publick Juſtice, and may employ their time in preparing and rendring themſelves more fit for this Service. They may find a great deal of work to do in the good government of their Families, and in the prudent care and management of their Eſtates, and in reconciling differences among their Neighbours, and in conſidering the neceſſities of the Poor, and providing for their ſupply.
So that beſides the proper work of Religion, and the more immediate Service of God, every Man in the World, how exempt ſoever his Condition be from the common care an…gdrudgery of Humane Life, may find work e…ough wherein he may uſefully employ all his time, and provide for his own, and for the common benefit of Mankind: And God expects it as a Duty from ſuch, that every Man ſhould employ himſelf in ſome work or other, ſuitable to the ſtation in which God hath placed him in this World.
Secondly, The work which God hath given us to do in the World, conſiſts in doing what we can to further and promote the Salvation of others: This chiefly lies upon us, who are the Miniſters of God, and to whom the word of Reconciliation is committed. We are more eſpecially Commiſſioned and Appointed for this work, and are Ambaſſadors for Chriſt, to beſeech Men in his ſtead to be reconciled to God. We are ſent by God in a more peculiar manner, and appointed for this very work, to watch for Mens Souls, and to be the Inſtruments and Means of their Eternal Happineſs. And therefore we who are ſent by God in a more peculiar manner, and have this work aſſigned to us to do in the World, ought to be very vigorous and induſtrious in i… … And this, whether we conſider the Nature of our Employment, or the Glorious Reward of it.
Firſt, If we conſider the Nature of our Employment, both in reſpect of the Honour and the Happineſs of it; 'tis the moſt Honourable work that Mortal Man can be employed in; 'tis the ſame in kind, and in the main end and deſign o… it with that of the Bleſſed Angels, for we alſo are Miniſtring Spirits, ſent forth by God to Miniſter, for the good of thoſe who ſhall be heirs of Salvation. We are the Meſſengers and Ambaſſadors of God to Men, ſent to treat with them about the terms of their Peace and Reconciliation with God, to offer Salvation to them, and to direct them to the beſt ways and means of procuring it. Nay, we have the Honour to be employed in the very ſame work that the Son of God was, when he was upon Earth, to ſee… and to ſave them that are loſt; and to call Sinners to Repentance; and to carry on that work, whereof he himſelf …aid the Foundation when he was in the World. And what greater Honour can be put upon the Sons of Men, than to help forward that glorious Deſign and Undertaking of the Son of God, for the Salvation of Mankind.
And 'tis an Employment no leſs Happy than Honourable; 'tis not to drudge about the mean and low Concernments of this Life, a perpetual toil and care about what we ſhall eat and drink, and wherewithal we ſhall be cloathed, which is the buſineſs of a Worldly Employment; but it is a direct and immediate ſeeking of the Kingdom of God, and his Righteouſneſs, and a continual endeavour to promote theſe. It does not conſiſt in the labour of our Body, and in Bodily toil; but in the delightful exerciſe of our Minds, about the beſt and nobleſt Objects, God, and Heaven, and Eternity; in an earneſt and faithful endeavour by all wiſe ways and means to gain Souls to God, and to turn Sinners from the error of their ways, and to prevent their Eternal Ruine and Deſtruction; and next to the procuring of our own Happineſs, to be inſtrumental to the Happineſs of others, which is certainly the moſt pleaſant and noble work that we can poſſibly be employed in; eſpecially if we conſider, that by the very nature of our Employment, we do at the ſame time, and by the very ſame means, carry on both theſe deſigns, of the Salvation of our ſelves, and others. So St. Paul tells Timothy, when he exhorts him upon this very Conſideration, to give hi…ſelf wholly to this Bleſſed Work; becauſe, ſays he, in doing this, thou ſhalt both ſave thy ſelf, and them that hear thee, 1 Tim. 4. 16. And when two of the greateſt and beſt deſigns in the World, our own Happineſs, and the Salvation of others, do ſo happily meet in one, and are jointly carried on by the ſame labour; this ought to be a great ſpur and incitement to us, to be vigorous and unwearied, and abundant in the work of the Lord; and a mighty encouragement to us to preach the word, to be inſtant in ſeaſon, and out of ſeaſon, and to be Examples to others, in Word, in Converſation, in Charity, in Spirit, in Faith, in Purity; as St. Paul chargeth Timothy in the moſt ſolemn and awful manner, before God, and the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, who ſhall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing, and his Kingdom, 1 Tim. 4. 12. and 2 Tim. 4. 1. And then,
Secondly, If we conſider the glorious Reward of this work. If we be Faithful and Induſtrious in it, it will advance us to a higher degree of Glory and Happineſs in the other World: They that be wiſe (ſays the Prophet, Dan. 12. 3.) ſhall ſhine as the brightneſs of the Firmament, and they that turn many to righteouſneſs, as the Stars for ever and ever. They that are induſtrious in this work, as they are worthy of double honour in this World, ſo they ſhall ſhine with a double glory and luſtre in the other.
But tho' this work of promoting the Salvation of others, be chiefly incumbent upon thoſe whoſe Office it is to attend upon this very thing; yet we are all of us concerned in it, according to the advantages and opportunities we have for it. Every Man is concerned to help forward the Salvation of his Brother, and not to let him periſh, if he can help it; and it is in every Man's power to contribute ſomething to this Bleſſed Work of ſaving others, by ſeaſonable Counſel and Advice, by kind and gentle reproof, but eſpecially by a Holy and Exemplary Converſation, by a ſhining Virtue, which hath a ſilent power of perſwaſion, and I know not what ſecret charm and attraction to draw and allure others to the imitation of it.
Thirdly, And in order to both theſe, the ſaving of our ſelves, and others, this work which God hath given us to do in the World, conſiſts in the careful uſe and good husbandry of our time; for without this, neither of the other can be promoted and carried on to any purpoſe. Time is the ſeaſon and opportunity of carrying on of any work, and for that reaſon is one of the moſt valuable things; and yet nothing is more waſtfully ſpent, and more prodigally ſquandred away by a great part of Mankind than this, which next to our Immortol Souls is of all other things moſt precious; becauſe upon the right uſe or abuſe of our time, our Eternal Happineſs or Miſery does depend. Men have generally ſome guard upon themſelves, as to their Mony and Eſtates, and will not with eyes open ſuffer others to rob and deprive them of it; but we will let any body almoſt rob us of our time, and are contented to expoſe this precious Treaſure to every bodies rapine and extortion; and can quietly look on, whilſt Men thruſt in their hands, and take it out by whole handfuls, as if it were of no greater value than Silver was in Solomon's days, no more than the ſtones in the ſtreet. And yet when it is gone, all the Silver and Gold in the World cannot purchaſe and fetch back the leaſt moment of it, when perhaps we would give all the World for a very ſmall part of that time, which we parted with upon ſuch cheap and eaſie terms.
Good God! what a ſtupid and ſenſeleſs Prodigality is this! do we conſider what we do, when we give away ſuch large portions of our time to our eaſe and pleaſure, to diverſion and idleneſs, to trifling and unprofitable Converſation, to the making and receiving of impertinent viſits, and the uſual and almoſt inſeparable attendants thereof, ſpiteful obſervations upon them that are preſent, and ſlandering and backbiting thoſe that are abſent; (For the great deſign of moſt People in viſits, is not to better one another, but to ſpie and make faults, and not to mend them; to get time off their hands, to ſhew their fine Cloaths, and to recommend themſelves to the mutual contempt of one another, by a plentiful impertin…nce;) when we part with it by wholeſale in ſleep and dreſſing, and can ſpend whole Mornings between the Comb and the Glaſs, and the Afternoon at Plays, and whole Nights in Gaming, or in Riot, and Lewdneſs, and Intemperance; in all which People commonly waſt their Mony and their time together!
Nay how do even the beſt of us miſplace this precious Treaſure; and tho' we do not employ it to wicked purpoſes, and in Works of Iniquity, yet we do not apply it to the beſt and nobleſt uſe, to the Glory of God, and the Good and Salvation of Men! By thus laying out this Treaſure, we might lay up for our ſelves treaſures in heaven, and help others on in the Way thither.
Thus our Bleſſed Saviour employed his precious time, in going about doing good, in all kinds and upon all Occaſions, healing the Bodies, and enlightning the Minds, and ſaving the ſouls of men: This was his Buſineſs, and this was his delight; it was his meat and drink, and his very Life, he ſpent himſelf in it, and ſacrificed his Eaſe, and his Safety, and his Life to theſe great Ends, for which he came into the World; he conſidered the Goodneſs and the Greatneſs of his work, and the little time he had to do it in, which made him inceſſantly induſtrious in it, and to run the Race which was ſet before him with great ſpeed, and to work while it was day, becauſe he knew the night would come when no man can work. And this brings me to the
Second thing, I obſerved from the Text, namely, that there is a certain and limited time for every man to do this Work in, while it is day: I muſt work the works of him that ſent me, whilſt it is day. And this day comprehends all the Oportunities of our Life, which will ſoon be over, and therefore had need to be well ſpent. A great part of our Life is paſt, before the Seaſon of Working begins; it is a great while before the uſe of our Reaſon begins, and we come to have our Senſes exerciſed to diſcern between Good and Evil; be…ore our Underſtandings are ripe for the ſerious Conſideration of God and Religion, and for the due Care of our Souls, and of the Eternal Concernment of another World; ſo that this firſt part of our Life is in a great Meaſure uſeleſs, and unprofitable to us, in regard to our great Deſign. For Infancy and Childhood are but the Dawnings of this Day, and no fit time to work in; and Youth, which is as the Morning of this day, tho' it is the Flower of our Time, and the moſt proper ſeaſon of all other for the Remembrance of God, and the Impreſſions of Religion; yet it is uſually poſſeſt by Vanity and Vice; the common Cuſtom and Practice of the World, hath devoted this beſt part of our Age to the worſt Employments, to the Service of Sin and of our Luſts. How very few are there that lay hold of this Opportunity, and employ it to the beſt Purpoſes! And yet the following Courſe of our Lives, doth in a great meaſure depend upon it; for moſt Perſons do continue and hold on in the Way in which they ſet out at firſt, whether it be good or bad. And thoſe who neglect to improve this firſt Opportunity of their Lives, do ſeldom recover themſ…lves afterwards. God's Grace may ſeize upon Men in any part of their Lives; but according to the moſt ordinary Methods of it, the Foundations and Principles of Religion and Virtue are moſt commonly laid in a pious and virtuous Education. This is the great Opportunity of our Lives, which ſetleth and fixeth moſt Men, either in a good or bad Courſe; and the Fortune of their whole Lives does uſually follow it, and depend upon it.
'Tis true indeed our Day continues many times a great while longer, and we are to work while it continues; and 'tis never too late to begin to do well, and to enter upon a good Courſe: but there is no ſuch proper and advantagious Seaſon for the beginning of this work, as in our youth and tender years. This is the accepted time, this is the day of ſalvation. God's Grace is then moſt forward and ready to aſſiſt us; and we are then leaſt of all indiſpoſed for the receiving of the Impreſſions of it; and the Impreſſions of it do then go deepeſt into our minds, and are moſt laſting and durable. But if we neglect this Opportunity, we provoke God by Degrees to withdraw his Grace, and to take away his holy Spirit from us, and by degrees we ſettle in vicious Habits, and are every day more and more hardned through the deceitfulneſs of ſin. It is never too late to work while the day laſts; but the ſooner we begin this work, and ſet about it in good earneſt, the eaſier we ſhall find it; if we defer it late, every ſtep will be up the Hill, and againſt the Grain.
Thirdly, After this Seaſon is expired, there will be no …urther Oportunity of working; when this day is once at an end, then cometh the night when no man can work. The Night is a time unfit for work, when we can hardly do any thing, if we had never ſo great mind to it; and there is ſuch a Night coming upon every one of us, and Wo be to us if we have our work to do when the Night overtakes us.
There is uſually an Evening before this Night, when it will be very difficult for us, and next to impoſſible, to do this work; and this is the time of Sickneſs and Old Age, in which men are commonly unfit for any work; but moſt of all that which requires the whole force and vigour of our Minds, the buſineſs of Religion. If we attempt this work then, we ſhall go very heartleſly about it, and do it very imperfectly, and be forc'd to ſlubber it over, and to huddle it up in great haſte and confuſion, and ſo as we can hardly hope that God will accept it. For how unfit are Men to do any thing, when they are full of the Senſe of their own Infirmities, and Life it ſelf is become ſo great a Burthen to them, that they are hardly fit to ſtand under it! how uncapable ſhall we then be of doing the greateſt and moſt momentous work of our Lives, when our Faculties are almoſt quite ſpent and worn out, and all the Powers of Life ar… decayed in us; when our Underſtandings are dark and dull, our Memories frail and treacherous, and our hearts hard & deceitful above all things! When Sickneſs and old Age overtake us, we ſhall then find to our ſorrow, that ſufficient for that day is the evil thereof; we ſhall have need then of nothing elſe to do, but to bear our Infirmities with patience and decency; and it is well if we can rally together of the broken Forces of our Reaſon, ſo much as may be a ſufficient Guard to us againſt Peeviſhneſs and Diſcontent; we had need then have nothing elſe to do, but to be old and weak, to be ſick and die.
Beſides, how can we expect that God ſhould accept of any work that we do at ſuch a time? with what face can we put off God with the dregs of our Life? or how can we hope that he will be pleaſed with the ſervice of thoſe years, which we our ſelves take no pleaſure in? if we offer the lame in Sacrifice, is it not evil? and if we offer the blind, is it not evil? offer it now to thy Governour, and ſee if he will be pleaſed with thee?
And Sickneſs is commonly as bad a time as Old Age, and uſually in…umber'd with greater Difficulties, and clog'd with more Indiſpoſitions. If a violent Diſtemper ſeize upon us, it many times takes away the uſe of our Reaſon, and deprives us of all opportunity of Conſideration; it makes us both inſenſible of the danger of our Condition, and incapable of uſing the means to avoid it. And if we have neglected Religion before, and have put off the great work of our Life to the end of it, our opportunity is irrevocably loſt; for there is nothing to be done in Religion, when our Reaſon is once departed from us; the night is then come indeed, and darkneſs hath overtaken us; and tho' we be ſtill alive, yet are we as unfit for any work, as if we were naturally dead.
And this is no ſuch rare and extraordinary Caſe; for it happens to many; and every Man that wilfully defers the work of Religion and Repentance to a hour, hath Reaſon to fear that he ſhall be thus ſurprized in his Sin, and Security, and by the juſt Judgment of God deprived of all the opportunity of Life and Salvation, while he is yet in the Land of the Living.
But if God be more merciful unto us, and viſit us with ſuch a Sickneſs, as leaves us the uſe of our Underſtandings; yet all that we do in Religion at ſuch a time, proceeds from ſo violent a Cauſe, from the preſent terror of Death, and the dreadful apprehenſion of that Eternal Miſery which is juſt ready to ſwallow us up, that it is one of the hardeſt things in the World, not only for others, but even for our ſelves, to know whether our Reſolutions, and this ſudden and haſty Fit of Repentance be ſincere or not. For it is natural, and almoſt unavoidable, for a Man to Repent and be ſorry for what he hath done, when he is going to Execution: But the Great Queſtion is, what this Man would do, if his-Life were ſpared? whether his Repentance would hold good, and he would become a new Man, and change his former courſe of Life, or relapſe into it again? And it is by no means certain, that he would not be as bad as he was before: Becauſe we ſee many, who, when they lie upon a Sick Bed, give all imaginable teſtimony of a deep Sorrow, and a hearty Repentance for their Sins, who yet upon their Recovery return to their former Sins with a greater appetite, and make themſelves ten times more the Children of wrath than they were before. So that all the work that we can do at ſuch a time, ought not to be much reckoned upon, and can give us little or no Comfort; becauſe it is ſo infinitely uncertain whether it be real and ſincere, and whether the effect of ſo violent a Cauſe would laſt and continue, if the Cauſe were removed. Therefore we ſhould work while it is day; for whatever we do in this Evening of our Lives, will be done with very great difficulty, and with very doubtful ſucceſs.
But beſides this Evening, there is a night coming when no man can work; Death will ſeize upon us, and then our ſtate will be irrecoverably concluded; after that it will be impoſſible for us to do any thing towards our own Salvation, or to have any thing done for us by others; the Prayers of the living will not avail the dead, as the Tree falls ſo it lies; there is no wiſdom, nor counſel, nor device in the grave whither we are going; therefore, according to the Counſel of the Wiſe Man, what our hand findeth to do, let us do it with our might.
This Counſel concerns all Ages and Perſons. I will apply it to the young, in the words of the wiſe Preacher, Eccleſ. 12. 1. Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou ſh…lt ſay, I have no pleaſure in them. To them who are in the vigour of their Age, in the words of the Prophet, Iſa. Ch. 55. 6. Seek the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. And to them that are old, in the words of another Prophet, Jer. 13. 16. Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cauſeth darkneſs, and before your feet ſtumble upon the dark Mountains, and while ye look for light, he turn it into the ſhadow of death, and make it groſs darkneſs. And let us every one of us, of what Age or Condition ſoever, apply it to our ſelves, in the words of our Bleſſed Saviour here in the Text, I muſt work the works of him that ſent me, while it is Day: the Night cometh, when no Man can work.
FINIS.
End of the text · John Tillotson, Sixteen Sermons (1696)