but a betraying of the caufe of religion; as lamentable experience this day declares.

(3.) The growth of fuch principles is a fad prognofticate of fome uncommon ftroke abiding the generation. There is no mention of Sadducees in the Old Teftament; but they fwarmed among the Jews in the time of our Saviour and his apoftles. And on the back of that, that nation got fuch a ruinating ftroke, as they never before met with. And the Sadduceism of this day, and daring strokes at the root of Christianity, are terrible figns foreboding fome uncommon ftroke.

. The bold and curious intruders into the divine fecrets, to reach a certainty of that, which God will have uncertain as to us. God will have us uncertain, whether we shall live long, or fhort while, when we fhall remove. How dangerous muft it be then to use unlawful arts for the difcovery of these; and confult fortune-tellers on these or the like future events? Deut. xxix. ult. What good ufe can be made of such pretended discoveries? If one is anfwered according to his wish, he is ready to be turned secure, and carried off depending on providence, and disappointed at length. If otherwise, what a fnare and rack do people bring themselves into by that means.

3. The fecure and carelefs, who are at no pains to make ready; but live as if they were never to remove hence. This is the prevailing temper of the world, Mat. xxiv. 38, 39. "For as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; fo fhall alfo the coming of the Son of man be." It is a world of sloth, wherein most men confider little of the world to come. Solomon fends fuch to the ant, to learn a leffon of forefight and provident care; Prov. vi. 6.—11. "Go to the ant thou fluggard, confider her ways, and be wife; which having no guide, overfeer, or ruler, provideth her meet in the fummer, and gathereth her food in the harveft. How long wilt

thou

thou sleep?". Men make ready for to-morrow in this world, for days and years to come in it, which ofttimes they never fee; but flight the most neceffary pre paration for the other world.

USE ult. Of exhortation. Let us then be exhorted and ftirred up fo to prepare for our removal into the other world, as to be always ready for it. I fhall branch out this into three particulars natively arifing from the text, vix.

1. Make ready for our removal.

2. Delay not to make ready.

3. Having made ready, keep ready.

FIRST, Make ready for your removal into the other world. Since it is fo certain that we must all remove, and uncertain when, we must found the alarm to all, to make ready for it. Therefore awake and beftir yourfelves to put matters in order for the removal. Here I fhall, 1. Suggeft fome motives to prefs you to make ready. 2. Confider the impediments of people's making ready, to be removed out of the way.

3. Give directions or advices for making ready. First, I am to offer fome motives to prefs you to make ready. Confider,

1. Our removal is certain, there is no escaping of it, Pfal. lxxxix. 48. "What man is he that liveth, and fhall not fee death? shall he deliver his Soul from the hand of the grave?" There is a time appointed for our removal precifely; and when that time comes, ready or unready, we must go; the grim meffenger will not wait, Eccl. viii. 8. "There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the fpirit," &c. Sometimes people fit at home, because they are not ready to go away when they are called, or the caller will wait till they make themselves ready. But when the hour appointed for our removal comes, the messenger death will neither wait till we be ready, nor go away without us.

2. We are all naturally unready for that removal, quite unready and unfit for it. For, (1.) We want a title to heaven, the place of happinefs in the other

world,

world, and are bound over to hell the place of mifery there, by the curfe of the broken law, Gal. iii. 10. Eph. ii. 3. How can we venture into that world in this cafe? We have the breaking of that bond of wrath to feek, and the getting of that title to heaven conftituted. Till this be done, we are utterly unrea dy. (2.) We are nowife meet for heaven, but meet for the pit of deftruction, being yet in our fins. How can the natural man, that is yet under the guilt, do minion, and pollution of his fin, be ready for the King's palace, but his prifon, in the other world?

3. Our eternal state in the other world depends on what readiness we are in for removing to it, Eccl. xi. 3. "If the tree fall toward the fouth, or toward the north; in the place where the tree falleth there it shall be." They that are made ready for heaven, will be received into it; they that are not, will find the gates thereof fhut on them, Mat. xxv. 10. And without there is outer darknefs, weeping, and gnashing of teeth, chap. xxii. 13. Since fuch a weight hangs on our being ready, what unaccountable folly is it not to make ready?

4. There is no making ready there, Eccl. ix. 10. "For there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wildom in the grave whither thou goest." Men may go from home in no fit condition to appear and fhew them. felves in a strange place; but they may get themfelves fitted out there where they are going; but it is not fo in this cafe. There is no buying of oil more for the lamps, when once the Bridegroom is come. If death ftrip us not of the body of the fins of the flesh, which it certain ly will not do, if we are not begun before to put off the old man; it will go with us into the other world, and hang about us for ever, Prov. xiv. 32. "The wicked is driven away in his wickednefs."

5. There is no coming back again, when once we are removed, Job xiv. 14. "If a man die, fhall he live again?" Could we expect a return into this world, to mend what was amifs in our former removal; that if we were not ready the first time we went away, we

fhould

1

should be fure to make ready the next time; the matter would be the less. But it is not fo. The removal out of this world that we must make, is never to return. Sure that is a loud call to make ready for it.

6. The nature of the removal requires a making ready for it. We make many removes in this world that are fo infignificant, that they require no preparation for them; but in the mean time, we make fome, that it would be unaccountable not to make ready for them. ! Much more is it fo in this cafe: for it is,

(1.) A going a great journey, Pfal. xxxix. ult. “0 fpare me, that I may recover ftrength, before I go hence, and be no more." Eccl. ix. 10. - What rational man going out of the country or the kingdom, though but for a time, will not be making ready for it beforehand? But what is going over the feas, in comparison of going through the valley of the fhadow of death? What is going into other countries, compared with going into the other world? It is a long and dangerous journey; and nothing the lefs weighty, that it is common, being the way of all flesh, fince it is a journey we will never come back over again. Wherefore make ready for this journey, make timely provifion for it, take your way marks right, and fecure a comfortable lodging there.

(2.) A going to a marriage, which you have been invited to, whether ye be wife or foolish virgins, Mat. XXV. The marriage is betwixt Chrift and believers. In the gospel finners are invited to it, and called to make ready for it in this world. In the other world that marriage is folemnized, and there is the eternal marriagefeaft, beginning with the night of death's coming on; it is held in Chrift's Father's houfe there, full of glorious light. But without is nothing but darkness. Death is the going away to it; what time they that are ready are taken into the marriage-house, they that are not ready are barred out in outer darkness. Wherefore make ready for this marriage, on which depends your making or undoing for evermore, Rev. xix. 7.

1

(3.) A going to a judgment-feat, even the tribunal of the Judge of all, Heb. ix. 27. "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." We are debtors to the divine juftice, and muft anfwer it. We cannot deny the debt, we are unable to pay, the longer it runs on, the more it increafeth; we muft make ready, by employing the Advocate, making the Judge. our friend now, procuring the difcharge of the debt to be produced there; or we must go to the prifon, Mat. We are criminals, and there muft receive the fentence of death, if we get not now a remiffion to produce against the indictment, and fo be ready.

v. 25.

7. The pains of making ready will be fully compenfated with the fruit of it, Mat, xxv. 16. "They that were ready, went in with him to the marriage." ver. 21. "His Lord faid unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful fervant; thou haft been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord." The joys of the heavenly marriage-feaft will more than compenfate all the painful work of making ready for it. To make finners meet for heaven, they are to be wrought and hewed with various trials and struggles; right eyes to be plucked out, and right hands to be cut off; but there is no reafon to stick at that, 1 Cor. xv. ult. "Forafmuch as ye know that your labour is not vain in the Lord."

Laftly, It will be dear bought eafe, that is got by fhifting to make ready, Prov. vi. 10, 11. "Yet a little Bleep, a little flumber, a little folding of the hands to fleep. So fhall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man." That fpiritual fleep and carnal eafe will make way for everlafting difquiet and unreft. They who will needs reft now when they fhould wake and act for eternity, muft be deprived of the eternal reft in the other world, Prov. xx. 4. "The Duggard will not plow by reafon of the cold; therefore fhall he beg in harvest, and have nothing."

Secondly, I come to confider the impediments of people's making ready for the other world, to be reKk moved