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qualms in a dying hour, but have haftily leaped the precipice, plunged into death, and have faved their furviving companions the mortifying bluth, that they did not die with lefs impious bravery than they lived. But thofe ftupid and hardy fons of iniquity and infidelity, who die as indevoutly as they lived, are as rare as blazing comets among the innumerable stars.

But what is the true origin of all that diftrefs attending the diffolution of this mortal frame? Our apoftle folves the problem by affuring us "That the fting of death is fin." Sin is the universal caufe of all thefe afflicting appearances, of all we feel and fear, of all pains of body and diftrefs of mind. Now if all the agonies of body and horror of foul which ufually attend this event arife from fin, we then fee the propriety of the affertion in our text. Allow the fcriptures a divine au thority, and all difputation on this head muit be filenced for-ever. They account for death and all its awful concomitants/ in the most certain and rational way. That we fhould be punished with the feverest pains of body and agonies of mind by an infinitely good, juft, merciful and holy God, who doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men, must be pointsmyfterious, and facts abfolutely unaccountable, without the fuppofition of fin in us as laying the foundation of fuchtreatment. Let the whole tribe of infidels come forward with their mighty and boasted reason, and account for thefe facts inany other way, and divine revelation fhall be discarded. But if the fcriptures and thefe alone give us a plain and eafy folutionof all thefe things, of all thefe appearances and effects, then let us acquiefce in their divinity, and apply the meafures of recovery and falvation which they prefcribe. Sin is the true and real caufe of all. Sin is the fting of every pain and death itself. Sin, unforgiven, binds over to the penalty of that law, of which it is a violation. A perfon's reflections on his paft life, that his degenerated appetites and paffions are unmortified, that all his crimes ftand charged again him in the book of God, and

that he has never fled to Chrift Jefus for refuge, muft in the hour of death fill his foul with thofe tormenting feelings and amazingly keen twinges, which are in our text denominated the fting of death.

Allow me to close this subject in a brief address to inconfiderate, careless and fecure finners, to thofe who are devoted to the world, the gratification of their prefent defires, and are overwhelmed in carnal pleafures. Death will foon come and you must appear in judgment. What mean you then, O finners, to fleep and tride in your prefent condition? Know ye not that ye muft die? Is not death at the door in refpect to many? What fignifies a few months or years? They will be quickly paft and irrecoverably gone. The honeft hour of dying yous cannot evade. To the bar of an incenfed God you must come. You know your fins are unpardoned, and that you have not made your peace with heaven by faith in Jefus Christ, and peradventure your fouls anticipate your future destiny.

You are ready to fay, "God forbid, we do not feel any inward horror, or sting of fin; our confciences do not trouble us, and we hope in divine mercy." Remember your consciences may be stupified with the cares, amufements and pleasures of the world, and your hopes of mercy may be ill founded and fallacious. You may be crying to yourfelves peace, peace, when fudden deftruction is ready to burft upon you. Many a time, the more eafy and inapprehenfive finners have appeared, the more dangerous and alarming was their cafe. Confider what may ferve to keep you quiet now, may not be able to keep you fo when you come to die. Your prefent freedom from distress may be occafioned by your hurry of bufinefs, your expectations of more leifure, and a thousand impertinent frivolities. The comforts and concernments of life form themfelves into a kind of fupreme portion and felicity, and often abforb all ferious confideration. But circumftances will charge

at death, and the hurry of the world and its pleasures will not be able to divert you from reflecting on the ftate of your fouls. Remember, God is holy and juft as well as merciful, and your prefent palliations and excufes for fin, which render it easy for your inconfiderate hearts to retreat to divine mercy, may then be difplaced by impreffions of divine wrath, by a confciousness of unpardoned guilt and fearful forebodings of angry indignation. Thofe hopes of mercy which many profefs, and a dead faith, are fatal things; they keep you from thinking; they lull your confciences to fleep, and will at at last pierce you through with many darts. How infinitely unhappy is fuch a

condition!

Awake, O finners, before death approaches; before it be too late. Lay your ways ferioufly to heart. Begin to enquire in good earnest, "What fall we do to be faved?" Confefs your fins, humble youfelves for your tranfgreffions; turn unto the Lord and his ways with your whole hearts. The arms of divine mercy are infinitely extended for the reception of the chief of finners, who are willing to return to God by faith in Chrift Jefus. Be perfuaded in this your day to confider the things which pertain to your eternal peace.

Are there any thoughtful, awakened, or concerned fouls in this affembly, let them attend to the fweet and endearing voice of the compaffionate Redeemer. "Come unto me all ye that "are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you reft.”

If unpardoned fin be the fting of death, let true penitents and real believers magnify divine grace, live by faith on Chrift. Jefus, "Be not conformed to this world; but be ye trans "formed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove "what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." See that you keep your confciences undefiled; keep confciences void of offence towards God and towards man.

SERMON XXXVI.

The last enemy destroyed.

1 Cor. xv. 26. The last enemy that shall be deftroyed is death.

MELANCHOLY death must again be the fubject of our medi tations. This gloomy theme fhould not be dwelt upon fo long, but it is abfolutely neceffary we fhould foon enter the lifts and hold a conflict with it, hence it is an inftance of the highest wifdom to be in readiness for the combat. If there be an enemy who will furely attack us, whom we can neither appeafe nor avoid, it would be the extremity of folly to neglect preparation for the engagement. And would it not manifeft a found judg ment and a good understanding, feeing his affault is not to be efcaped, to enquire whether there be any method by which he may be overcome? I must now fpeak of that which will foo clofe my mouth in the profoundeft filence, and you must hear of that which will fhortly ftop your ears. And we fhall neither speak nor hear any more till the last trumpet shall found, and the bright morning of the refurrection open.

Was the dread pomp of a funeral prefented before us, the fi lent proceffion, the fad train of mourners, the berieved friends taking a final last look, groaning out a farewell, eyes and hearts intent upon the gasping grave, the hollow murmurs of the falling clods fending forth a doleful found, a difcourfe on death might then have a double force, and make the impreffions deep. Altho' this painful appearance is not at prefent paffing in review, yet it is an object so frequent, that we must, methinks, always bear upon our minds the image. As by an immutable ftatute of heaven, it is appointed unto all men once to die, therefore a proper confideration of death can fcarcely at any time be needlefs or impertinent. Are there any here. who can object and fay, that reflections upon our mortality are vain, for men are naturally too fenfible hereof and too much dread the name? If this were juft, there would be no need of fuch a pious aspiration handed down to us in the divine oracles: "O that they were wife, that they understood this, *that they would confider their latter end." Notwithstanding death is certain, and preparation for it of the greatest impor tance, yet, alas! how few, how very few lay it seriously to heart; how few are engaged to have its power defiroyed before it flay them? While it is the king of terrors to the world, many remain ignorant of its chief injury, thinking it hath done its utmoft when the connection between the foul and body is diffolved, confidering not that the everlafling feparation of both from the fountain of bleffednefs is ftill infinitely greater For what is temporal when compared with eternal death? To think of the feparation of those near and dear companions, the foul and body, of the debafement and horrors of the grave, the bed all stench and putrefaction, the coverlit crawling worms. --is fad and melancholy. They are very unwelcome and difmal thoughts to the minds of finners, but what follows after is inconceivably more difmal, and inexpreffibly more terrible.

But is there no escape from this deftroying enemy? Must all become his prey? And fhall he still triumph and pass un

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