Spend their years, as a tale that is told, Pfal. xc. 9. O how many are dreaming away a lifetime, out of which they are not like to awake till death awake them! They can confider any thing but their foul's ftate; but the thought of that they cannot dwell on. They that cannot confider the great business of life, will certainly lofe the opportunity of that, bufinefs, and it will fit to them in the end: Prov, xx. 4. The flaggard will not plow by reafon of the cold; therefore fhall be beg in harvest, and have nothing.

4. To thofe who do delay the business of honouring God, till they fhall be near death. Many fuch off-putters are there, who can never find the time to begin their work, though they do not want thoughts of it; as was the cafe with Felix, Acts xxiv. 25. who faid to Paul, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient feafon, I will call for thee. When they are young, they put off till they be old; then, till they be going to die; when fickness takes them, they put off ftill in hopes of recovery; when they are paft hopes, they are not capable for it; and fo the foul is loft. Mean while, all they are concerned for at beft, is but their own fafety, not God's honour; and being regardlefs of this latter, no won der they fall fhort of the former.

5. laftly, To thofe whofe life is a life of dishonouring God, by fecret and open wickedness and untenderness. And this feems to be the general cafe of this generation, by which we appear to be a generation of God's wrath: Micah vii. 2. 4. The good man is perished out of the earth and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood they hunt every man his brother

with a net. The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn-hedge the day of thy watchmen, and thy vifitation cometh; now fhall be their perplexity. Corruption of life and manners is become univerfal, fo that people are become 'fhameless in their fin, and proof against conviction from the word, being fo hardened under the foftening means of grace, that the cafe is grown hopeless; all which cannot mifs foon. or late to bring down fome roufing ftroke, Jer. vi. 15. Were they afhamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I vifit them, they fhall be caft down, faith the Lord.

USE 3. of Exhortation. Make it the business of your life to live to the honour of God. Queft. How fhall we do that?

Anf. 1. Honour him by faith: Rom. iv. 20. Abraham fiaggered not at the promife of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God. Faith gives God the honour of all his glorious perfections as manifefted in the word; and without faith there is no acceptable honouring of him. Therefore the Chriftian life is a life of faith, Gal. ii. 20. And honour him,

ift, By believing on his Son for falvation, receiving and refting on him as your Saviour, to fave you from fin and wrath: 1 John iii. 23. This is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his Son Jefus Chrift. If ye honour not God this way, ye honour him not at all, Fehn V. 23. God has fent his Son in the character of Saviour of the world, 1 John iv. 14. put your cafe in his hand, that ye may be faved from your

fin, and fanctified by him, and faved from wrath through him. If ye live in your fins, and will not be healed; if ye do not believe him able and willing to fave you, ye difhonour God egregiously in a moft tender point: 1 John v. 10. II.- -He that believeth not God, hath made him a lyar, because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life and this life is in his Son.

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2dly, By trusting God in Chrift in all times and cafes: I. xxvi. 4. Truft ye in the Lord for ever. The established way of communication with heaven, is by trust in God and faith is productive of hope, which is the anchor of the foul, keeping the foul fafe and spiritually at reft, in all storms public or private, Pfal. xxxvii. 7. Trusting in the creature, is a putting it in God's place; and hence bearing fuch a weight, it bows under it, and fails. But God is honoured by trusting him.

3dly, By believing his word in all the parts of it. Hence is that exhortation of Jehoshaphat's, 2 Chron. xx. 20.-Believe in the Lord your God, fo fhall you be established; believe bis prophets, fo Shall ye profper. God is to be honoured by faith's acting on every part of the word; on the commands, believing the divine authority, equity, and goodness of them, as a transcript of the divine nature, Pfal. cxix. 128.; on the promises, believing the certain accomplishment of them, however unlikely, Rom. iv. 20. 21.; on the threatenings, believing the juftice and truth of them, . xxxix. ult. and lxvi. 2.

2. Honour him by the practice of holiness: 1 Pet. fi. 9. Te are a chofen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should

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Thew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. To lead a holy tender life, is the way to honour God, conforming to him, and labouring to be like him in all converfation, 1 Pet. i. 15. 16. If ye be not uniform and univerfal in your obedience, that part ye are deficient in, may bring a blot on all the reft; as Judas's covetoufnefs and treachery wiped out all his good deeds. And if ye would live to the honour of God, I would recommend to you particularly,

1ft, Diligent and reverent worshipping of God: Matth. iv. 10.-Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou ferve. Pfal. lxxxix. 7. God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the faints and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him. Worship him in your families, morning and evening; worship him in fecret by yourselves; worship him in the public affemblies; fet up for his honour in the world; make confcience of joining therein for the honour of God. And be reverent in the frame of your heart, and in your outward gefture, as knowing that he is a great God with whom ye have to do: and there can be no reverence in their hearts, who behave irreverently.

2dly, Be nice and exact in point of justice in your dealings; fhaking your hands of all gain of unrighteoufnefs, as in the fight of a holy juft God: I. xxxiii. 15. 16. He that walketh righteously, and Speaketh uprightly, he that defpifeth the gain of oppreffions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that floppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and butteth his eyes from Seeing evil: he fhall dwell on high, &c. That bafenefs of fpirit,

difpofing

difpofing to pick and steal, cheat, and catch any little advantage they can get of their neighbour without being discovered, that one can trust them no farther than they fee, is moft difhonouring to God, as if either he did not fee, or èlfe did approve of their wicked practices, Pfal. 1. 21. 22.

3dly, Be readily difpofed to the duties of humanity, doing good to your neighbour, being kind, merciful, and compaffionate to them that are in diftrefs and need: Col. iii. 12. Put on therefore (as the elect of God, holy and beloved) bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meeknefs, long-fuffering. This honours God in a very particular manner: Luke vi. 35. 36. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again and your reward fhall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Higheft: for he is kind unto the unthankful, and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father alfo is merciful. And it has much encouragement by promife: Prov. iii. 9. 10. Honour the Lord with thy fubftance, and with the first-fruits of all thine increafe. So fhall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy preffes fhall burst out with new wine. Pfal. xli. 1. 2. 3. Bleffed is he that confidereth the poor; the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preferve him, and keep him alive, and he shall be blessed upon the earth; and thou wilt not deliver him into the will of his enemies. The Lord will ftrengthen him upon the bed of languifhing thou wilt make all his bed in his fickness. A felfish, unkind, unfympathifing, narrow fpirit, is a great ftain on an otherwise fair character.

4thly, Be the fame in fecret when no eye fees