mies: Pfal. cxxv. ult. As for fuch as turn afide unto their crooked ways, the Lord fhall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity.

3dly, The faints of former generations will condemn you, as a fpurious brood of treacherous men, that made fo little account of what they wared their all on to tranfmit to you: 1 Cor. vi. 2. Do ye not know that the faints shall judge the world? Ye do by your ungodly lives, difhonouring God, declare them fools: the day will come, that they will declare you fools, worthy to perish for ever, though ye have come out of their loins: Rev. xix. 3. And again they faid, Alleluia. And her fmoak rofe up for ever and ever.

thers have told us.

3. The bufinefs of honouring God in the world ye are to tranfmit to the fucceeding generation, fince it is the living, all along in a fucceffion of generations to the end of the world, that have accels to the praifing of God. Hence fays the Pfalmift, Pfal. Ixxviii. 2. 3. 4. I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark fayings of old: which we have heard and known, and our faWe will not hide them from their children, fhewing to the generation to come, the praises of the Lord; and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. As ye have received the standard from the former, ye are to hand it down to the fucceeding generation; that when ye are gone, inftead of the fathers, there may be the children. See to it then, what ye do, that God may be honoured when ye are

in the duft.

If, It lies on every one of you to do for it fome. thing: Rom. xiv. 7. For none of us liveth to him felf, and no man dieth to himself. Love to God

and

and your neighbour binds it on you; and none of you can want occafion for it, while ye live among perfons, fome of whom may live after you; and have a tongue to speak, and hands to act.

2dly, If ye do it not,, the honour of God is far from your heart. They that have nothing of God to communicate to others fucceeding them, have nothing of God within themfelves. Grace is a fire, and fire will go about to fet on fire whatever is next it; fo that if it do not burn, it is because it is not combuftible. In the creation of plants, every tree was made with its feed in itfelf: fo it is in the new creation of the trees of righteoufnefs, John iv. 29.

3dly, If ye do it not, ye lay a ftumbling block before the fucceeding generation, which they may be ruined by. The generation of Jews in Chrift's time rejecting the golpel, as they murdered Chrift, they have murdered fixteen or feventeen genera tions of their offspring fince. What will come of the fucceeding generation that looks to you, that live not to the honour of God? When God calls for the ftandard for his honour at their hand, they will fay, they never faw it; though that will not excufe them, it will aggravate your condemnation.

4. Know, that ye muft honour God in the world now or never: Eccl. ix. 10. Whatfoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor, wifdom in the grave whither thou goeft. Now is the accepted time, wherein ye may act for your own falvation; mifs this time, and the door will be shut on you never to be opened again, Prov. i. 24. &c. Now is the working time for the ho nour of God, wherein ye may do fomething for

God;

God; mifs it, and the occafion you will never more have. I would ask you,

ift, Does it concern you to honour God? or is it none of your bufinefs? If the Father created you, certainly ye are bound to live for his honour, Rom. xi. ult. If the Son redeemed you, there is a double tie on you to live for him who died for you, Philip. i. 21. If the Holy Ghoft has fanctified you, he has dedicated, fitted, and disposed you for it.

2dly, When will ye lay out yourself for it then? It is not a work to be done at any time, but confined to one time, the time of life. Hence faid our Saviour, John ix. 4. I must work the works of him that fent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. Now the glass is set up to you there is much of it run, as ye may fee by looking to the lower end, the time ye have lived: the upper end ye cannot fee, what time ye have yet to live; how foon it may run out then, ye know not. But it will never be turned for you. When the laft fand runs out, the word is given, The Mafter allows no more time for his work to you, Give account of your stewardship.

5. lastly, Life is valuable, as giving access to honour God in the world. Hence fays Hezekiah in the text and context, I. xxxviii. 18. 19. The grave cannot praife thee, death cannot celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day; the father to the children fhall make known thy truth. There are many impreffions of vanity on life. In itfelf by fin it is become a puff of wind, that paffeth away; a va pour fuddenly vanishing: it is like a post for swift paffage,

paffage, a dream for vanity, and a dunghill for vilenefs. It is the place of rendezvous for innumerable troubles and afflictions; and is a low ftation for an immortal foul, with much meannefs about it. There are only two things which it is valuable for, viz. that there is access in it, 1ft, To act for eternal falvation to ourselves, which the dead can no more do: 2. Cor. vi. 2.Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of falvation. And in this refpect an hour's life may be worth a thousand worlds, because eternity may depend on it, and heaven be fecured.

2dly, To act for the honour of God in the world, John ix. 4. forecited, which the dead have no more access to. To a good man an opportunity of doing good is valuable, as to an ill man to do mischief. What folk love, they will value access to serve: fo the finner values accefs to ferve his lufts; and the faint to ferve his Lord, and his neighbour. So, on this confideration,

(1.) Life is carefully and honourably to be preserved, as a valuable thing; and not to be thrown away, by neglect of the means of its prefervation, or expofing it wilfully to means of deftruction: Exod. xx. 13. Thou shalt not kill.

(2.) The accefs to honour God in life, is to be laid in balance with the troubles of life, that the former may downweigh the latter, by that overweight that God's honour bears to our eafe: Philip. i. 20. According to my earnest expectation, and my hope, that in nothing I fhall be afhamed, but that with all boldness, as always, fo now alfo Chrift fhall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death.

(3.) It is nicely to be improven to its proper

ends,

ends, as a precious, none-fuch, paffing opportu nity; every filing of it is to be gathered up as gold fparkling. Hence Paul exhorts to redeem the time, because the days are evil, Eph. v. 16.

USE 2. of Reproof to feveral forts of perfons. 1. To those who look on the business of praifing and honouring God in the world as a burden. In itself it is the mercy of life; but they treat it as the plague of life, They are, as Doeg, detained before the Lord; and any holy exercise is a wearinefs to them; as was the case with Ifrael, Amos viii. 5. When will the new moon be gone, that we may fell corn? and the Sabbath, that we may fet forth wheat? The Lord takes notice of this temper of fpirit, Mal. i. 13. Te faid alfo, Behold, what a wearinefs is it, and ye have fnuffed at it, faith the Lord of hosts. O how would ye take with heaven? but be sure that ye will never get there in that cafe, as not being made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the faints in light, Col. i. 12. Ye will be eafed of that burden, but for a heavier one, Rev. xvi. ult.

2. To those who look on it as none of their bufinefs, whoever elfe be concerned in it. They make no profeffion of living to the honour of God, and their practice is conform. This fpeaks you neither to look on God as your Mafter, nor yet as your Father, Mal. i. 6. And if fo, doubtless ye cannot look for his reward; nor for the eternal inheritance of his children: where then will lie the gain of this liberty which you take to yourselves?

3. To thofe who spend their life without confideration of the chief bufinefs of life.

They Spend