and admire and adore him, and fing eternal Hallelujahs to him. And therefore nothing can so dispose and prepare us for Heaven, as to have our Hearts ready tuned to the Praises of God, ravished with his Love, tranfported with his Glory and Perfections, and swallowed up in the moft profound and humble Adorations of him.

3. Thus when we are going into another World, it becomes us moft to have our Thoughts there; to confider what a bleffed Place that is, where we fhall be deliver'd from all the Fears, and Sorrows, and Temptations of this World; where we shall fee God and the bleffed Jefus, and converse with Angels and glorified Spirits, and live an endlefs Life without fear of dying: Where there is nothing but perfect Love and Peace; no crofs Interefts and Factions to contend with; no Storms to ruffle or difcompofe our Joy and Reft to Eternity: Where there is no Pain, no Sickness, no Labour; no Care to refresh the Weariness, or to repair the Decays of a mortal Body; not so much as the Image of Death to interrupt our constant Enjoyments. Where there is a perpetual Day, and an eternal Calm, where our Souls fhall attain their utmost Perfection of Knowledge and Virtue. Where we shall serve God, not with dull, and fleepy, and unaffecting Devotions, but with piercing Thoughts, with Life and Vigor, with Rayishment and Transport. In a word, where

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where there are fuch things, as neither eye bath feen, nor ear heard, neither hath it enter' d into the heart of man to conceive.

These are proper Thoughts for a Man who is to compofe himself for Death: Not to think of the pale and ghaftly Looks of Death, when he shall be wrapp'd up in his WindingSheet: Not to think of the dark and melancholy Retirements of the Grave, where his Body must rot and putrify, till it be raised up again immortal and glorious: But to lift up his Eyes to Heaven, to view that lightfome and happy Country; with Mofes to afcend up into the Mount, to take a Prospect of the heavenly Canaan, whither he is going. This will conquer even the natural Averfions to Death, and make us, with St. Paul, defirous to be diffolved, and to be with Chrift, which is beft of all; make it as easy to us to leave this World for Heaven, as it is to remove into a more pleasant and wholefome Air, or into a more convenient and beautiful House. So eafy, fo pleafant will it be to die with fuch Thoughts as these about us.

This indeed ought to be the constant Exercife of the Chriftian Life: It is fit for all Times, and for all Perfons; and without fome Degree of it, it is impoffible to conquer the Temptations of the World, or to live in the Practice of divine and heavenly Virtues. But this ought to be the conftant Business, or Entertainment rather of those happy Men

who

who have lived long enough in the World, to take a fair Leave of it; who have run through all the Scenes and Stages of human Life, and have now Death and another World in View and Profpect.

And it is this makes a Retirement from the World fo neceffary, or very useful; not merely to ease our bodily Labours, and to get a little Reft from Business, to diffolve in Sloth and Idleness, or to wander about to seek a Companion, or to hear News, or to talk Politicks, or to find out fome way to spend Time, which now lies upon our Hands, and is more uneafy and troublesome to us than Bufinefs was. This is a more dangerous State, and does more indifpofe us for a happy Death, than all the Cares and Troubles of an active Life: But we must retire from this World, to have more Leifure and greater Opportunities to prepare for the next; to adorn and cultivate our Minds, and dress our Souls like a Bride, who is adorned to meet her Bridegroom,

When Men converse much in this World, and are distracted with the Cares and Bufinefs of it: When they live in a Crowd of Cuftomers or Clients, and are hurried from their Shops to the Exchange or Cuftom-House, or from their Chambers to the Bar; and when they have discharged one Obligation, are preffed hard by another, that at Night they have hardly Spirits left to say their Prayers,

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nor

nor any Time for them in the Morning; and the Lord's Day itself is thought more proper for Reft and Refreshment than Devotion: I fay, what dull, cold Apprehenfions must fuch Men have of another World? And after all the Care we can take, how will this World infinuate itself into our Affections, when it employs our Time and Thoughts; when our whole Business is buying and felling, and driving good Bargains, and making Conveyances and Settlements of Eftates? How will this disorder our Paffions, occafion Feuds and Quarrels, give us a Tincture of Pride, Ambition, Covetoufnefs? That there is Work enough after a bufy Life, even for very good Men to wash out these Stains and Pollutions, and to get the Taste and Relish of this World out of their Mouths, and to revive and quicken the Senfe of God, and of another World.

This is a fufficient Reafon for fuch Men, as I obferv'd before, to think when it is Time to leave off, and if not wholly to withdraw from the World, yet to contract their Bufinefs, and to have the Command of it, that they may have more Leifure to take care of their Souls, before they have fo near a Call and Summons to Death; but much more ne.ceffary is it, when Death is even at the Door, and by the Courfe of Nature we know that it is fo.

It is very proper to leave the World, before we are removed out of it, that we may know how to live without it, that we may not carry any Hankerings after this World with us into the next; and therefore it is very fitting, that there should be a kind of middle State between this World and the next; that is, That we should withdraw from this World, and wean ourselves from it, even while we are in it; which will make it more eafy to part with this World, and make us more fit to go to the next. But it seems strangely undecent, unless the Neceffities of their Families, or the Neceffities of the Publick call for it, and exact it, to fee Men who are just a going out of the World, who, it may be, bow as much under their Riches, as under their Age, plunging themselves over Head and Ears in this World, courting new Honours and Preferments, with as much Zeal as those who are but entring into the World. It is to be fear'd, fuch Men think very little of another World, and will never be fatisfy'd with Earth, till they are buried in it.

SECT. IV.

What Use to make of the Shortness of human

II. A

Life.

S the general Period of human Life is fix'd and determined by God, fo this Term of Life, at the utmoft Extent of