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such a work done and carried off your hands, and then you may attend this work; Lord (faith he to Chrift) I will follow thee; but suffer me first to go and bury my father. And faith another, Lord, I will follow thee; but first let me go and bid them farewell which are home, Luke 9. 57, 61.

But friends, let me afk you, if there be any bufi. nefs to be dispatched like the bufinefs of your fouls, and eternity? Is there any thing upon your hand, that is of so much worth as your fouls, and of so much weight as eternity? Is there any thing you are fo nearly concerned to mind, as that which is indeed the one thing neceffary, even the faving of your fouls? Oh! the whole world is nothing to this, and the greatest concernments on earth, are but trifles to this concern.

Again, they will tell you it is an inconvenient season, and hereafter the work may be better done and minded by you, than now it can; which was Felix's cafe in the place before mentioned, A&ts 24. 25. But hearken, foul, art thou fure of another feafon? and art thou fure that that will be a more convenient feafon? furely no: if it be not convenient to day, thou mayeft fear it will be less convenient to-morrow; that devil and deceitful heart that tells thee it is not convenient now, will make provision that it fhall be less convenient hereafter.

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O, therefore, break through all thefe pleas, and fall. fpeedily upon foul-work.

Secondly, Confider the danger of delays: delays in this cafe are exceeding dangerous; one day's, yea (for any thing I know) one hour's delay herein, may prove thine eternal undoing! it may prove the lofs of Chrift, the lofs of heaven, and the lofs of thy foul, and all for ever. Alas! art thou fure thou fhalt live one day, one hour more in this world? for ought thou knoweft, the next moment thou goeft down into the grave, Job 21. 13. But in cafe thou fhouldft live longer in the world, art thou fure the gospel and the means of grace fhall be continued to thee? If thou should not be taken from the world, yet the gospel may be taken from thee; though the day of thy life may laft a while longer, yet the day of gofpel-grace and mercy, may fuddenly expire; and if that be once gone, all the tenders of Chrift, all the offers of grace, all the exhibitions of life and falvation are gone; if the gofpel be once gone, thy feafon is gone, and thy foul is gone, and thy falvation is gone, and that for ever; therefore, faith the apoftle, now is the accepted time, fpeaking of the day of golpel-mercy, now is the day of falvation, 2 Cor. 6, 2.

Or, grant thou fhouldft live, and the gospel fhould be continued to thee, as to the outward means; yet art thou fure that the day and season of grace will last any longer than this present moment? Remember that fad word which the Lord breathed out with tears in his eyes, over neglecting Jerufalem, Luke 19. 43. O that thou hadft known, at least this in thy day, the things which belong to thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. Alas! how foon may God withdraw his spirit from thee? how soon may he call home his grieved spirit - from thy neglecting, refifting foul, once for all, faying, my fpirit fhall ftrive no more with that man? Gen. 6. 3.

How foon may God feal thee up under judicial blindness and hardness of heart, so that thou shalt never be able to believe or to do any thing for the good of thy foul, in order to another world?— Thou talkeft of to-morrow, and of hereafter; but who knows, but that before to-morrow, God may clap the feal of an hard heart, and a blind mind upon thee? So as that tho' thou fhouldft live a thousand years, and withal enjoy the fairest means that ever any foul enjoyed; yet thou fhouldft be never able to believe or repent, to do any thing for the working out of thy falvation. It is oftentimes his way of proceeding with neglecting, delaying ones, Ifa. 6. 10. Job 11. 39, 40.

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Or, how foon may the oath of God go forth against thee? Thou talkest of to-morrow; but alas! who knows but that before to-morrow, may fwear in his wrath, thou shalt not enter into his reft? It is what is threatened against such as will not hear his voice to day, but harden their hearts against him, Heb. 3. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. There is a time when God's oath goeth forth against souls, and fuch and fuch finners, for their contempt and neglect of Christ and Grace; a time not only when God faith, but fweareth, and that in wrath, that they fhould never enter into his reft; and if once God's oath is gone out against a man, that man is paft recovery; then farewell Chrift, and heaven, and foul, and all for ever. O how dangerous are delays, therefore take heed of them, and fall prefently upon foul-work.

Thirdly, Confider the difadvantage of delays: delays herein are difadvantageous, as well as dangerous. Indeed, were there no danger in them (I mean as to the eternal ftate) yet the disadvantage of them is so great, as if rightly confidered, might be enough to antidote the foul against them, and engage it presently in the work which relates to another world. Pray confider it a little; by delays the foul lofeth much sweet communion with Chrift, and many a bleffed communication of love from

him, which he might enjoy. The fooner we fall upon the work of heaven and eternity, the fooner we come to a tafte and beginning of heaven, and a bleffed eternity in our fouls: O the sweet embraces, the bleffed difcoveries, the glorious incomes of love and delight that the foul lofes by his delays to get into Chrift, and to walk with God, and to mind: eternal concernments! Poor foul, by thy delays, thou haft lived upon hufks and fwill all thy days hitherto, whereas thou mighteft have eaten bread in thy Father's house, and drank wine new in thy Father's kingdom: thou haft lived on the muddy, dungy, droffy delights of fin and the creature, whereas thou mighteft have folaced and delighted thy foul with thofe chriftal ftreams of undefiled plenfures, which are at Chrift's and his Father's right hand. Befides, by delays, the work of thy foul grows more difficult; hereby corruption grows. more ftrong, and the heart grows more hard: by every day's delay, the old enmity ftrengthens itself, and the foul is more and more fettled upon its lees. For accuftomednefs in finning, hardens the heart in fin, as is hinted, Jer. 13. 23. Every day the foul is more alienated from Chrift, and hardened against him. At beft, if thy Soul doth at laft come to fee its need of Chrift, and defireth to clofe with him, and to mind the work and concerns of another world; yet the longer thou delayeft this business, the greater temptations thou wilt have to get over:

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