it tends to change Hell and its grievous Torments into Heaven and its Glory. There was never yet any Person that lived an holy and religious Life, but he died happily in the Favour of God. Now that the Lord knocks, open unto him the Doors of your Hearts, and at the Hour of Death, he will open unto you the Gates of Heaven. Prefent and give him whilft you are alive, your Bodies and Souls, and doubtlefs he will accept them, and confirm the Gift with his own Seal. Here below, he will enrich you with his Graces, and crown you at laft with his Glory. Bleffed are they that die in the Lord; but to die in the Lord, we must live to the Lord, that we may be able to fay with St. Paul, Whether we live, we live to the Lord, whether we die, we die to the Lord, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.

To perfuade us to this religious Duty, we must confider in the first Place the Command that he gives us of loving him, fearing him, repenting of our Sins, and of walking in his holy Laws. Unto this he exhorts us in the Writings of the Old Testament, as in Deuteronomy vi. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart, with all thy Soul, and with all thy Might. And in Ifa. vi. Sanctify the Lord of Hofts himself, and let him be your Fear and your Dread. And in Ch. lv. Let the Wicked forfake his Way, and the unrighteous Man bis Thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and be will have Mercy upon him, to our God, for he. will abundantly pardon. In the 2d Ch. of Joel, Turn ye to the Lord with all your Heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning. And in the firit Chapter of Malachy, A Son bonours his Father, and a Servant bis Lord; If therefore I am your Father, where is the Honour due unto me? If I am your Lord, where is the Fear of my Name?

2. Jefus Chrift is not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfil it, Mat. v. Therefore in the New Teftament, he calls upon us as frequently to ftudy Piety and Virtue. As in St. Matth. v. Let your Light fo Shine before Men, that they feeing your good Works may

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glorify your Father which is in Heaven. And in the first Chapter of Mark, Repent ye and believe the Gospel. And St. Paul to the Romans, exhorteth in this manner, I beseech you, Brethren, by the Mercies of God, that ye prefent your Bodies a living Sacrifice, boly and acceptable unto God, which is your reafonable Service, and be not conformed to this World; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your Mind, that ye may prove what is that good. and acceptable, and perfect Will of God; bate evil, and cleave to that which is good, Rom. xii. And in Ch. xiii. Walk honeftly as in the Day, not in Rioting and Drunkennefs, not in Chambering and Wantonness, not in Strife and Envying, but put ye on the Lord Jefus Christ, and make no Provifion for the Flefb to fulfil the Lufts thereof. And in 1 Cor. xvi. Awake to Righteousness, and fin not. And in Ephefians iv. Put off, concerning the former Converfation, the old Man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful Lufts, and put ye on the new Man, which after God is created in Righteoufnefs and true Holiness. And in Colof. iii. Mortify your Members which are upon Earth, Fornication, Uncleanness, inordinate Affections, evil Concupifcence, and Covetousness, which is Idolatry. In 1 Theff. v. Watch, and be fober, abstain from all Appearance of Evil. And in Phil. iv. Whatfoever Things are true, whatfoever Things are honest, whatsoever Things are just, whatsoever Things are pure, whatsoever Things are lovely, whatsoever Things are of good report, if there be any Virtue, and if there be any Praife, think on thefe Things. I might with as much Eafe number the Stars of the Sky, as reckon up all the Paffages that call upon us, and exhort us to an holy Life.

3. God not only commands us to apply ourselves to Holinefs, Juftice and Innocency of Life; but he proposes himself for our Example, that as the obedient and good Children delight to imitate their Father's Virtues, we alfo might endeavour to copy out in our Lives, the divine Perfections of our heavenly Father, and imprint in our Hearts his facred Image. Therefore in Levit. xi. he tells us, Be ye boly, for I am boly.

And

And St. Peter repeats the fame Paffage in this manner, As he that called you is holy, fo be ye alfo holy in all manner of Converfation; for it is written, Beyeboly, for I am holy, 1 Pet. ii. And our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift gives us the fame Leffon, Love your Enemies, blefsthofe that curfe you, do good to them that hate you, pray for them that perfecute you, that you may be the Children of your Father that is in Heaven, Mat. v. For he caufeth his Sun to rife upon the good and bad, and fends his Rain upon the just and the unjust; be ye therefore perfect, as your Father in Heaven in perfect. The Apostle St. Paul speaks in the fame manner to the Ephefians, Be ye Followers of God as dear Children; put off the old Man, and put on the new Man, which is created according to God in Juftice and true Holiness, Chap. vi. And in Colof. iii. Now put off all thefe, Anger, Wrath, Malice, Blafphemy, filthy Communication, out of your Mouth. Lye not one to another, feeing that ye have put off the old Man, with his Deeds, and have put on the new Man, which is renewed in Knowledge, after the Image of him that created him.

4. Meditate seriously upon the excellent and precious Promises that God hath given to fuch as addict themselves to Piety and good Works. As in Exod. xx. Ifhew Mercy unto a thousand Generations of them that love me, and keep my Commandments. And 1 Sam. ii. I will bonour them that honour me. And in Ifa. iii. he fays to the Righteous, that it shall be well with them, for they fhall eat the Fruit of their Doings. And in Mat. v. our Saviour faith, Bleffed are the pure in Heart, for they shall fee God. And in Ch. vi. Seek first the Kingdom of God and its Righteoufnefs, and all thefe Things fhall be added unto you, over and above. And in Chap. vii. Not every one that faith unto me, Lord, Lord, fall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he that doth the Will of my Father which is in Heaven St. Paul fpeaks thus to the Romans, If by the Spirit you mortify the Deeds of the Flesh, you fhall live, Ch. viii. And in the first Epift. to Timothy, Piety or Godliness is profitable unto all things, having the Promifes of this prefent Life, and of that

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And in Rev. xxi. Blessed and holy is he who bath part in the first Resurrection, the fecond Death fball have no Power over him.

5. Confider that the whole World trembles at the Denunciation of the Judgments, with which God threatens to punish all impenitent Sinners, as in Exod. xx. I am the Lord thy God, strong, jealous,vifiting the Iniquity of the Fathers upon the Children, unto the third and fourth Generation of them that hate me. And in 2 Sam. ii. I will honour them that honour me, and will deffife them that defpife me. And in St. Matth. xii. Of every idle Word that Men fhall fpeak, they shall give an Account at the Day of Judgment. And in St. John iii. Except a Man be born of Water and the Spirit, that is, of a Spirit purifying like Water, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. And in Rom. viii. They who are in the Flefb cannot please God. And in 1 Cor. vi. Be not deceived, neither Fornicators, nor Idolators, nor Adulterers, nor Effeminate, nor Abusers of themselves with Mankind, nor Thieves, nor Covetous, nor Drunkards, nor Revilers, nor Extortioners fhall inherit the Kingdom of God. And the Apostle to the Hebrews is not content to tell us, That without Holiness no Man fhall fee God; but he saith fomething more, That if we fin wilfully, after we have received the Knowledge of the Truth, there remains no more Sacrifice for Sin, but a terrible Expectation of Judgment, and fiery Indignation shall devour the Adverfaries; for our God is a confuming Fire, Chap. x. And in the Revelations it is not only faid, that in the holy Jerufalem there fhall no unclean thing enter, or that committeth Abomination, or a Lye, and that God will fhut out the Dogs, the Witches, the Fornicators, the Murderers, the Idolaters, and whofoever doth love or make a Lye, Chap. ii. 22. But the Spirit of God affures us, that the Timorous, that is, fuch as are more afraid of Man than of God, the Unbelieving, the Execrable, and Murderers, the Fornicators and Witches, the Idolaters and Liars fhall have their Portion in the Lake that burns with Fire and Brimftone, which is the second Death. 6. Though

6. Though we should speak in the Language of Angels, though we should give all our Goods to nourish the Poor, and though we should give our Body to be burnt, if we have not Charity, we are but like the founding Brass, and like the tinkling Cymbal. Tho' we should be able to perform Signs and Wonders, if we be not cloathed with Innocency and Holiness, if we be not adorned with Meeknefs and Love, Chrift will at last treat us as the foolish Virgins, with a Depart from me, I know ye not. Tho' we fhould be able to caft the Devil out of other Men, it will avail us nothing, unless we can caft him out of our own Hearts, with all the wicked Lufts that he cherishes there. To what purpose shall fuch cry out at the great Day, Lord, Lord, bave we not prophefied in thy Name? Have we not caft out Devils in thy Name? Have we not done many Miracles in thy Name? Jefus will return them this fad Anfwer, Depart from me, ye Workers of Iniquity.

7. Confider, that whatsoever be your Portion of the Advantages of this Life, when you shall come to die, you fhall carry away neither your Riches, your Honours, nor your Pleasures. But if you be rich in Faith and good Works, if you be cloathed with Holiness, and crowned with Righteoufnefs; if Piety and the Service of God be your Delight, you fhall carry away out of the World this fpiritual Treafure, the celeftial Glory, and his angelical Satisfaction. It is what the Holy Spirit teacheth when it tells us, Bleffed are the Dead that die in the Lord, for they reft from their Labours, and their Works follow them.

8. Let us always have before our Eyes the bleffed Examples of fo many Saints, who have traced us the Way to Heaven by their Piety and good Works; they are entred into the Paradife of God, and the Glory of his Kingdom. It is reported of a Painter, that when he had a Defign to reprefent an Accomplished Beauty, he borrowed from divers Objects the Excellencies and Perfections with which he was to adorn his Picture, From the Lillies he took their Whiteness, from the Rofes