of heaven will secretly and insensibly soak and sink into your souls, and then woe, woe to you that ever you were born. The best way to prevent this hell of hells, is to give God the cream and flower of your youth, your strength, your time, your talent; vessels that are betimes seasoned with the savour of life never lose it, Prov. xxii. 6.

X. Because death may suddenly and unexpect. edly seize on you, you have no lease of your lives, youth is as fickle as old age, the young man may find graves enough of his length in burial places; as green wood and old logs meet in one fire, so young sinners and old sinners meet in one hell, and burn together; when the young man is in his spring and prime, then he is cut off and dies; One dieth in his full strength (or in the strength of his perfection, as the Hebrew hath it) being wholly at ease and quiet; his breasts are full of milk, and his bones are moistened with marrow. David's children died when young, so did Job's and Jeroboam's, &c. Every day's experience tells us, that the young man's life is as much a vapour as the old man's is. I have read of an Italian poet, who brings in a proper young man, rich and potent, discoursing of death in the habit of a mower, with his scythe in his hand, cutting down the life of man; (For all flesh is grass, Isa. xl. 6.) And wilt thou not spare any man's person, saith the young man? 1 spare none, saith death. Man's life is but a short day, a winter's day, oft times the sun goes down upon a man, before it be well up; your day is short, your work is great, your journey long, and there fore you should rise early, and set forward towards heaven betimes, as that man doth that hath a long journey to go in a winter's day.

The life of man is absolutely short, Behold, thou madest my days as an hand-breadth. The life of man is comparatively short, and that if you com pare man's life now to what he might have reached, had he continued in innocency. Sin brought in death, death is a fall that came in by a fall. Or if you compare man's life now, to what they did reach to before the flood, then several lived six, seven, eight, nine hundred years; or if you compare man's days with the days of God, Mine age is as nothing before thee; or if you compare the days of man to the days of eternity. Ah! young men, can you seriously consider of the brevity of man's life, and trifle away your time, the offers of grace, your pre. cious souls, and eternity, &c.? Surely you cannot, surely you dare not; if you do but in good earnest ponder upon the shortness of man's life. It is re

corded of Philip king of Macedon, that he gave a pension to one to come to him every day at dinner, and to cry to him, Memento te esse mortalem, Remember thou art but mortal. Ah! young men and old had need be often put in mind of their mortality, they are too apt to forget that day, yea, to put far from them the thoughts of that day. I have read of three that could not endure that bitter word death mentioned in their ears; and surely this age is full of such monsters. And as the life of man is very short, so it is very uncertain; now well, now sick, alive this hour, and dead the next. Death doth not always give warning beforehand, sometimes he gives the mortal blow suddenly; he comes behind with his dart, and strikes a man at the heart before he saith, Have I found thee, O mine enemy? Eutichus fell down dead suddenly,

Acts xx. 9. Death suddenly arrested David's sons, and Job's sons; Augustus died in a complement; Galba with a sentence, Vespasian with a jest, Xeuxes died laughing at the picture of an old woman which he drew with his own hand; Sophocles was choaked with a stone in a grape, Diodorus the logician died for shame that he could not answer a joculary question propounded at the table by Stilpo; Joannes Mesius, preaching upon the raising of the woman of Nain's son from the dead, within three hours after, died himself. Ah! young men and women, have you not great cause to be good, for death is sudden in his approaches; nothing more sure than death, and nothing more uncertain than life! therefore know the Lord, turn from your sins, lay hold on the Lord, and make peace with him, that you may never say as Cesar Borgeas said, when he was sick to death, "When I lived," said he, "I provided for every thing but death; now I must die, and am unprovided to die," &c.

XI. Because it is ten to one, nay, an hundred to one, if ever they are converted, if they are not converted when they are young. God usually begins with such betimes that he hath had thoughts of love and mercy towards from everlasting; Hos. xi. 1. When Israel was a child, then I loved him. The instances cited to prove the doctrine confirm this argument; and if you look abroad in the world, you shall hardly find one saint among a thousand, but dates his conversion from the time of his youth. It was the young ones that got through the wilderness to Canaan. If the tree do not bud and blossom, and bring forth fruit in the spring, it is comD

monly dead all the year after; if in the spring and morning of your days, you do not bring forth fruit to God; it is an hundred to one that ever you bring forth fruit to him when the evil days of old age shall overtake you, wherein you shall say, you have no pleasure. For as the son of Sarac observes, "If thou hast gathered nothing in thy youth, what canst thou find in thy age?" It is rare, very rare that God sows and reaps in old age, usually God sows the seed of grace in youth that yields the harvest of joy in age.

Though true repentance be never so late, yet late repentance is seldom true. Millions are now in hell, who have pleased themselves with the thoughts of after-repentance. The Lord hath made a promise to late répentance, but where hath he made a promise of late repentance? Yea, what can be more just and equal, that such should seek and not find, who might have found but would not seek; and that he should shut his ears against their late prayers, who have stopt their cars against his early calls? The ancient warriors would not accept an old man into their army, as being unfit for service; and dost thou think that God will accept of thy dry bones, when Satan hath sucked out all the marrow? what lord, what master will take such into their service, who have all their days served their enemies? and will God? will God? The Circassians, a kind of mongrel christians, are said to divide their life between sin and devotion, dedicating their youth to rapine, and their old age to repentance; if this be thy case, I would not be in thy case for ten thousand worlds.

I have read of a certain great man, that was ad

monished in his sickness to repent; who answered, that he would not repent yet, for if he should recover, his companions would laugh at him; but growing sicker and sicker, his friends pressed him again to repent, but he told them, it was too late, Qui jam judicatus sum & condemnatus, for now, said he, I am judged and condemned.

XII. Because else they will never attain to the honour of being old disciples.

CHAPTER II.

It is a very great honour to be an old disciple.

NOW this honour none teach to, but such as are converted betimes, but such as turn to the Lord in the spring and morning of their youth; it is no honour for an old man to be in coats, nor for an old man to be a babe in grace. An A, B, C old man, is a sad and shameful sight. O but it is a mighty honour to a man when he is old, that he can date his conversion from the morning of his youth. Now that it is an honour to be an old disciple, I shall prove by an induction of particulars, As,

1. All men will honour an old disciple, Prov. xvi. 31. "The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness." God requires that the aged should be honoured, Lev. xix. "Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, (the old man, here, is by some expounded the wise man) and fear

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