It was this that gave holy David such a firmness of mind as made him say, Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of Death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff comfort me. Ps. xxiii. 4. He had made God his portion, his hope, and his trust: The Lord, says he, is my stony rock, and my defence, my Saviour, my God, and my might, in whom I will trust; my buckler, the horn also of my salvation. Ps. xviii. 1. And though we find him sometimes complaining, that the sorrows of death had compassed him, and the over-flowings of ungodliness made him afraid; that the pains of Hell came about him, and the snares of death overtook him; yet the great confidence he had in the goodness and love of God, and the firm belief of a better life after the present, overcame all his fears. I had fainted, says he, but that I verily believe to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Ps. xxvii. 13.

Religion has been the support of good men in all ages. It is certain, whoever leans upon any thing else will

find that he trusts to a broken reed, which will bend under him. There is nothing (as I have observed in the former chapter) but the testimony of a good conscience, and the hopes of the favour and love of God, that is able to bear a man up under the weight and pressure of any great calamity; much less will any thing else be a sufficient support at the hour of death. We shall then be stript of all the pleasures and enjoyments of this world; of all those things in which we are now apt to place so great a confidence: and, unless we are, fortified with the shield of faith, and the breastplate of righteousness; unless we have put on the Lord Jesus, and are cloathed with the robes of his righteousness; we shall be left naked and defenceless, to encounter death with all its terrors. The sinner, how much soever he may now trust in the multitude of his riches, and strengthen himself in his wickedness, must then give up all his dependencies, and descend into the regions of darkness, not only without hope, but (what is yet more terrible) with dreadful expectations. Of what infinite mo

ment then is it to all of us so to live, that when the time appointed for our great Change shall come, we may meet death without fear and horror; and, with an humble confidence, look up to God, in au assured hope of his mercy in Christ Jesus!

A good life is indeed the sure pledge of a happy death. As it fills our minds with joy and satisfaction while we live, far surpassing all the pleasures of sensual gratifications; so, when we come to die, it gives us that peace of God which passeth all understanding. When a man in his last hour can look back upon a life well spent, and can say, with King Hezekiah, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight; Isaiah xxxviii. 3. what an unspeakable satisfaction must it be to him! how mild and calm will death then appear! and with how little concern will he receive its summons! with what chearfulness will he then take leave of this world, and all that was dear to him in it! And how contentedly

will he quit his earthly tabernacle when he considers, that he is to exchange it for a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens! I say, what an unspeakable comfort must it be to a dying man when he is entering into the valley of the shadow of death, to have before him a bright prospect of life and glory; to find the light of God's countenance shining upon his mind, and the comforts of his holy Spirit chearing and refreshing his soul; to be able to look up to God with a filial confidence, and, with a hope full of glory and immortality, to resign his soul into the hands of his Maker; not doubting, but his heavenly Father, whom he has faithfully served in this world, will take care of him, and reward him in the next; and that the same infinite power and goodness, which has carried him safe through this vale of tears and misery, will conduct him in his passage to a blessed eternity! Oh, how far more happy must the death of such an one be, than the most envied state of the greatest mortal! who would not wish to die the death of the

hidden from thine eyes; and nothing is left but darkness and despair.

But let us suppose the life of a dying person not to have been so flagrant and vicious, as to fill his mind with such black and despairing thoughts; yet, if, upon the review of it in his last hour, he finds in it such a mixture of good and evil, that he is in great doubt and uncertainty concerning his eternal welfare; how sad and disconsolate must his condition even then be! and what a dreadful anxiety will he labour under when he considers, that he is leaving this world and going he knows not whither; and he is just launching out into the boundless ocean of eternity; and that the next moment he may sink into the terrible abyss of endless misery and torment! It is without all question, a most distressful circumstance to be doubtful concerning an event, of which it so nearly concerns us to have some highly probable as

surance.

O that men would be persuaded seriously to think on these things! that they would be wise, and consider their