The Fourth ENTERTAINMENT. Some practical Inferences drawn from the Uncertainty of Human Life, and the Danger of fudden Deaths. Be watchful, for ye know not the Day nor Hour, Matt. xxv. 13. HA AVING in my laft Difcourse laid before you the Uncertainty of Human Life, the weak Foundation upon which it is built, how many Accidents may rob us of it, and, what is moft frightful, how little Security we have that it will not be fnatch'd from us by a fudden Death; it remains now to improve these Truths, by drawing fome inftructive Inferences from them, which fhall be the Subject of this Entertainment. The first inftructive Inference to be drawn from the Uncertainty of Human Life is, that we ought not to fet our Hearts upon any Thing in this World. For is it not a Folly to fet our Hearts upon Things which Death may rob us of every Moment, and will certainly take away from us fome time or other? "Tis the Argument our Saviour made ufe of to his Difciples, Disciples, to wean their Hearts from the World, and turn their Affections towards Heaven. Lay not up Treasures (fays Chrift) for yourselves upon Earth, where the Moth and the Worm does corrupt, and where Thieves break in and fteal. For what wife Man would be folicitous to lay up Treafures, or fet his Heart upon them, if he were fure they were all to become a Prey to Thieves? Now Death, is the great Thief, who always lies in wait for us, and will fooner or later rifle all our worldly Goods, and ftrip us naked of whatever we poffefs. For we must all go as naked out of the World, as we firft entered into it. Honours, Riches, Pleasures, Friends and Relations, all must be left behind ; only our Works, whether good or bad, will stick to us, and accompany us to the Tribunal of God, either to condemn or fave us. So that the whole World perishes as effectually to every dying Man, as if it were at that Inftant reduced to Afhes. And is it not then a notorious Folly to fet our Hearts upon it, or love any Thing in it to the Prejudice of our eternal Salvation? ་ For this Reason St. Paul writes thus to the Corinthians; This therefore, Brethren, I Jay unto you, Time is fhort. It remains then that both thofe, who have Wives, be as if they bad them not; and those who weep, be be as if they wept not; and those who rejoice, be as if they rejoiced not; and those who buy, be as if they poffeffed not; and those who use this World, be as if they used it not; for the Figure of this World paffes, 1 Cor. vii. 29, 30, 31. By which Words he exhorts them to keep their Hearts fo free and difengaged from all inordinate Affections to the Things of this Life, that even amidst the Poffeffion and Ufe of them, they may enjoy the fame Liberty of Spirit, as if they had effectually renounced both the one and the other. For the fame Reafon St. Peter exhorts all Christians to be as Pilgrims or Travellers in this World; becaufe as Travellers, tho' they make use of the Conveniencies they meet with upon the Road, yet have always principally an Eye upon the propofed End of their Journey, fo Chriftians ought to have their Thoughts fo turn'd towards Death, and the World to come, which is the End of their Journey, that whilft they use indeed the Things of this Life, according to the Order of Providence, that is, within the Bounds of Neceffity or reafonable Convenience, their Hearts may ftill remain free, or, as St. Peter expreffes it, abstain from fleshly Lufts, that is, from all Sorts of inordinate Love, or immoderate Defire of Creatures. And truly, fince all all inordinate Affections are contrary to the Chriftian Spirit, and an Obstacle to Salvation, this alone ought to be Motive enough to keep our Hearts free from them. But the Difficulties they will one Day add to the natural Terrors of Death, is a no less powerful Confideration to make us apply ourselves to an entire Difengagement from all Clogs of this Nature. To die, is in itself a terrible Thing, Nature startles at the Thought of it, and the Fear of Judgment very much increases its Terror; but to die with a Heart full of the Love of the World is frightful beyond Imagination. This appeared plainly in the unfortunate Agag, who having wallow'd in all the Pleasures of a voluptuous Life, when he faw himself just ready to fall a Sacrifice to the Divine Vengeance, cried out with the deepest Anguish of Mind, Does bitter Death feparate fo? For what a racking Thought muft it needs be to a Lover of this World, when feeing himself at the Point of Death, he confiders that he must now be in a Moment torn away from all thofe Things, in which he has till then placed all his Happiness, Content, and Satisfaction! He has till then been paffionately fond of Pleasures, and now he must enjoy them no more. He has fet his Heart upon upon Riches, and now he must leave all behind. He has made fome wretched Creature the Idol of his Paffion, and now he finds himself condemned to an eternal Separation from that Object. O! could we but fee the Heart of a Perfon dying under these unhappy Circumstances, we fhould there discover a frightful Scene of Terror, Grief, and Anguish. We should find there fully verified this Saying of Eccl. O Death, how bitter is thy Memory to a Man, who places his Content in the Enjoyment of his Wealth! So that to entertain or nourish in ourselves any worldly Paffion, or violent Inclination, is in the effect to nourish a Viper, which will one Day gnaw our very Bowels. 'Tis to prepare the Torture for ourselves, and fow the Seeds of future Dejection and Despair: which, tho' ftifled amidst the Business, Amusements, and Diverfions of Life, will not fail to produce their full Effect at the terrible Approach of Death. And therefore fince we are uncertain how near we are already to it, we ought to lose no Time, but haften all we can to remove from our Hearts all fuch inordinate Affections, as are most like to increase the Difficulties of our last Hour, and heighten the Terrors which Death brings naturally with it: And this, as I have faid, is the first practical Tom. I. Infe D |