Jesus Christ has declared it, that "it will come like a thief in the night, when we least expect it;" for, "at what hour you know not, the Son of Man will come,' Matth. xxiv. 44.; yea, "at what hour you think not, the Son of Man will come," Luke xiii. 40. (3.) We can die but once; and once dead, we are dead for ever as to this world; there is no returning to life to die a second time. A mistake, then, in this affair is without all remedy.

Q. 49. What consequences flow from these properties of death?

A. (1.) From the certainty we have that we must die, it follows as a necessary consequence that we ought to prepare ourselves in time for that important passage. Little need would there be of preparation for death, if all were to end at that hour; but when we die to this world, we only then, properly speaking, begin to live; but to live a life that will never end, and will be either a life of eternal bliss or of eternal misery; in one of these we all must end, and the determination of our eternal doom entirely depends upon the state and manner in which we die! Our all is at stake! an eternity is the point in question! How necessary, then, to prepare ourselves, while time is, for so important a moment? (2.) From the uncertainty of the time and manner of our death, it follows that we ought to be always prepared, and not dare to live a moment in a state in which we would be afraid to die ; who knows but death may catch us in that unprepared moment, and then what must be our misery for ever! None are willing to die unprepared, the very thought of that is shocking; but we vainly flatter ourselves, that we have yet a great while to live; hence we put off and delay our necessary preparation till death comes at last, when we do not

expect it, and by this delusion hell is filled with souls! Our blessed Saviour, well knowing how apt we are to be deladed by this snare of Satan, warns us against it in the most pressing manner. (3.) As we can die but once, and as upon the manner in which we die our eternal doom depends, it follows, as a necessary consequence, that we ought to consider our being prepared for death, as the most important affair of our whole life, the only business for which we came into this world, and, therefore, to be always well prepared, and perfectly ready whenever the call may come. A mistake here is of eternal detriment to us; it can never be rectified. When a person has an affair of some consequence upon hand, he may be indifferent whether he succeed or not, and a little negligence may be pardonable; but if his life or whole fortune was at stake, who would pardon. his neglect? If it were a case in which a mistake could be rectified, and success insured another way, good and well; but if this were impossible, if his cause be already at the supreme tribunal, from which there is no appeal, must he not be a madman to neglect the means of success? If we be going a long and dangerous voyage, what care do we not take to lay in all necessary provisions for it. If we have a case to be tried before a judge for a little worldly gain, what precaution and pains do we not take to procure a favourable sentence. Death is a dreadful and dangerous voyage from time to eternity! After death, we have a cause to be tried before the most supreme tribunal, and by. the sentence passed there our eternal fate is decided!

Q. 50. What does our Saviour say on this subject in the gospel?

A. (1.) He describes the uncertainty of that, hour, and exhorts us to watch, and be always ready..

Thus," Of that day and hour no one knoweth, no not the angels of heaven, but the Father alone; and as it was in the days of Noah, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For, as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark; and they knew not till the flood came and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be... Watch ye, therefore, because ye know not at what hour your Lord will come. Wherefore, be ye also ready, because at what hour ye know not, the Son of Man will come," Matth. xxiv. 36. "Likewise, as it was in the days of Lot: they ate and drank, they bought and sold, they planted and built: and in the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all; even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of Man shall be revealed.... Remember Lot's wife," Luke xvii. 28. For, "Of that day or hour no man knoweth, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father....watch ye, therefore, for ye know not when the Lord of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock-crowing, or in the morning, lest, coming on a sudden, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all, Watch," Mark xiii. 32.

(2.) He shews us the great happiness of being always ready, and prepared for death. Thus, "Who thinkest thou, is a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord hath set over his family to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant whom, when his Lord shall come, he shall find so doing. Amen, I say to you, he shall set him over all his goods," Matth. xxiv. 45. Blessed are those servants whom the Lord, when he cometh, shall find watching. Amen, I say to you,

that he will gird himself, and make them sit down to meat, and passing, will minister to them. And if he shall come in the second watch; or, if he shall come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.... Be ye then also ready, for at what hour ye think not, the Son of Man will come," Luke xii. 37.

(3.) He shews the misery of those who shall be found unprepared when death comes. Thus : "But, if the evil servant shall say in his heart, My Lord is long a coming; and shall begin to strike his fellow-servants, and shall eat and drink with drunkards, the Lord of that servant shall come in

day that he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he knoweth not, and shall separate him, and appoint his portion with hypocrites; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth," Matth. xxiv. 48. Then he goes on with the parable of the foolish virgins, to shew, that all such shall be eternally excluded from the marriage chamber, the eternal joys of heavon; for when these virgins came, and said, "Lord, Lord, open to us. He, answering, said, Amen, I say to you, I know you not," and hence our Saviour concludes, "watch ye, therefore, because ye know not the day nor the hour," Matth. xxv. 11. "And the servant that knew the will of his Lord, and prepared not himself, and did not according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes," Luke xii. 47. And to those who trust in their riches, and deceive themselves with the hope of a long life, he proposes the example of the rich man, who said to himself, "Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many ycars, take thy rest, eat, drink, make good cheer; but God said to him, Thou fool, this night do they require thy soul of thee, and whose shall these things be which thou hast provided." So is he

that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God," Luke xii. 19.

(4.) He shews in what manner we ought to prepare for death. Thus: (1.) That we ought to live innocently, and avoid sin: "Take heed to yourselves, lest, perhaps, your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and the cares of of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly ; for as a snare shall it come upon all that sit upon the face of the whole earth," Luke xxi. 34. (2.) That we take off our hearts and affections from the perishable things of this life, and place them upon the joys of heaven, and give alms to the poor; "Sell what ye possess, and give alms. Make to yourselves bags which grow not old, a treasure in heaven which faileth not, where no thief approacheth, nor moth corrupteth; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also," Luke xii. 33, (3.) To adorn our souls with the practice of piety and good works: "Let your loins be girt, and lamps burning in your hands, and you yourselves like men who wait for their Lord, when he shall return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open to him immediately," Luke xii. 35. And hence another Scripture says, "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. From henceforth now, saith the Spirit, that they rest from their labours; for their works follow them," Rev. xiv. 13. (4.) To join to all this a continual guard and watch over ourselves with fervent prayer to God for his divine assistance : "Take ye heed; watch and pray, for ye know not when the time is," Mark xiii. 33. "Watch ye, therefore, praying at all times, that ye may be counted worthy to escape all these things that are to come, and to stand before the Son of Man," Luke xxi. 36.