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felves, yet more prevalent with many. 3. And because he is well known to be a Perfon of extraordinary and admirable Sa gacity, Dexterity, and Impartiality in the Search and the Dif covery of the Truth of Matters in question, and hath (though that be not fo generally known) with much Care and Diligence, confidered and examined the Reafons and Evidences, both natural and moral, of Religion; thefe Writings, which fo plainly manifeft, though upon another occafion, bis Senfe and Judgment of the Chriftian Religion, might be of good ufe to cafe many of the Doubts and Scruples of fome Perfons, and to check the vain and inconfiderate Prefumption of others, about Religion. And his Fudgment in the Cafe is the more confiderable, as in respect of his great Ability, and the Care and Diligence which he hath ufed in the Examination of it; fo in respect of his Freedom from all thofe things, whether of natural Conftitution, or of Profeffion, or of worldly Interest, which may be by fome fufpected to prejudice or byafs the Judgment of others. And therefore I doubt not but fome, who have a great refpect to his Perfox, and may perhaps not have the fame Thoughts of Religion which he bath, when they should fee his Judgment in the cafe, might by the Au thority thereof be moved to a farther and better Confideration of it. 'Tis true, the Life of Religion is very visible in his Life and Actions, which are all the genuine Product of a found and well grounded Perfwafion of the Truth of that Faith which overcometh the World, and bath indeed fet him much above it; yet becaufe common Prudence may move a fober and confiderate Man to an external Conformity to fo reasonable a Religion, and to the Practice of thofe excellent Virtues which it requires, thefe Writings may poffibly give more fatisfaction to fome concerning his Fudgment in the cafe, than his Life and Actions; and in that respect they may poffibly come forth with fome Advantage, being written and published in this manner: for here we may read his most intimate and retired Thoughts.

And for thefe Reasons I much defired to have prefixed his Name, or at least to have let the Reader know who he is; but I know that that would certainly have been difpleafing to him, and therefore having made fo bold with him in the Publication of thefe bis Writings, I would not prefume farther to difcover who he is, though for fo just and honest ends; but

have purposely left out fome Paffages which would too plainly bave made him known.

Being far distant from the Press, there may poffibly be fome few Typographical Errata's, more than otherwife there should have been: but I hope that Care hath been taken, that they are not many, nor very confiderable; but that the Senfe will enable the Reader to amend them.

Ut Nox longa quibus mentitur amica, Diéfque
Longa videtur opus debentibus, ut piger Annus
Pupillis quos dura premit cuftodia matrum :
Sic mihi tarda fluunt ingratáque tempora, quæ fpem
Confiliúmque morantur agendi gnaviter id quod
Æque pauperibus prodeft, locupletibus æque,
que neglectum pueris, fenibúfque nocebit.

Of

Of the Confideration of our

LATTER END,

And the BENEFITS of it.

Deut. XXII. 29.

O that they were wife, that they understood this, that they would confider their Latter End!

T may be probably thought, that the principal Intention of this Wifh of Mofes was, That the People of Ifrael had a due Confideration of their final Rejection; the ten Tribes for their Idolatry, and the two Tribes for their Crucifying of the Meffias; and not only of that State of Rejection, but of the Caufes of it, namely, Idolatry and Rejection of the Meffias; which Confideration would have made them wife and prudent to avoid those great Apoftacies which fhould occafion fo terrible a Desertion and Rejection by God.

But certainly the Words contain an evident Truth, with relation to every particular Perfon, and to that latter End that is common to all Mankind, namely, their latter end by death, and feparation of the Soul and Body; the due confideration whereof is a great part of Wisdom, and a great means to attain and improve it; and very many of the Sins and Follies of Mankind, as they do in a great measure proceed from the want of an attentive and ferious Confideration of it; fo would they be in a great meafure cured by it.

It is the most certain, known, experienced Truth in the World, that all Men must die; that the Time of that Death is uncertain; that yet molt certainly it will come, and that within the compafs of no long time: Tho the time

of

of our Life might be protracted to its longeft period, y it is ten thousand to one that it exceeds fourfcore year where one Man attains to that Age, ten thousand die be fore it and this Lecture is read unto us by the many Ca fualties and Diseases that put a period to the Lives of ma ny in our own Experience and Obfervation; by the ma ny Warnings and Monitions of Mortality that every Mar finds in himself, either by the Occurrences of Difeafes and Weakneffes, and efpecially by the Declinations that ar apparent in us if we attain to any confiderable Age; and the weekly Bills of Mortality in this great City, where weekly there are taken away ordinarily three hundred Perfons: The Monuments and Graves in every Church and Church-yard do not only evince the Truth of it, whereof no Man of Understanding doubts, but do inceffantly inculcate the Remembrance of it.

And yet it is ftrange to fee that this great Truth, whereof in the Theory no Man doubts, is little confidered or thought upon by the most of Mankind: But notwithftanding all these Monitions and Remembrances of Mortality, the living lay it not to Heart, and look upon it as a business that little concerns them; as if they were not concerned in this common Condition of Mankind, and as if the condition of Mortality only concerned them that actually die, or are under the immediate Harbingers of it, fome defperate or acute Difeafes; but concerned not them that are at present in Health, or not under the Stroke of a mortal Sickness. The Reafons of this Inconfiderateness seem principally thefe:

1. That Men are not willing to entertain this unwelcome Thought of their own latter End; the Thought whereof is fo unwelcome and troublesome a Gueft, that it seems to blaft and difparage all those present enjoyments of Senfe that this Life affords: whereby it comes to pass, that as Death it felf is unwelcome when it draws near; fo the Thoughts and Pre-apprehenfions of it become as unwelcome as the thing it felf.

2. A vain foolish Conceit that the confideration of our Latter End is a kind of Presage and Invitation of it; and

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upon this account I have known many fuperftitiously and -foolishly to forbear the making of their Wills, because it feemed to them ominous, and a prefage of Death; whereas this Confideration, tho it fits and prepares a Man for Death, it doth no way haften or prefage it.

3. A great difficulty that ordinarily attends our humane Condition, to think otherwife concerning cur Condition than what at prefent we feel and find. We are now in Health, and we can hardly bring our felves to think that a time muft and will come, wherein we fhall be fick: We are now in Life, and therefore we can hardly caft our Thoughts into fuch a mould, to think we fhall die; and hence it is true, as the common Proverb is, That there is no Man fo old, but he thinks he shall live a year longer.

It is true, this is the way of Mankind to put from us the evil Day, and the Thoughts of it; but this our way is our folly, and one of the greateft Occafions of those other Follies that commonly attend our Lives: and therefore the great means to cure this Folly, and to make us wife, is wifely to confider our Latter End. This Wifdom appears in thofe excellent Effects it produceth, which are generally thefe two: 1. It teacheth us to live well. 2. It teacheth us to die eafily.

I. For the former of thefe, the Confideration of our Latter End doth in no fort make our Lives the fhorter, but it is a great means to make our Lives the better.

1. It is a great Monition and warning of us to avoid Sin, and a great means to prevent it. When I fhall confider that certainly I muft die, and I know not how foon, why fhould I commit thofe things, that if they haften not my Latter End, yet they will make it more uneafie and troublesome by the reflection upon what I have done amifs? I may die to morrow; why fhould I then commit that evil. that will then be gall and bitterness unto me? Would I do it if I were to die to morrow? why fhould I then do it to day? Perchance it may be the laft Act of my Life, and however let me not conclude fo ill; for, for ought I know, it may be my concluding Act in this Scene of my Life.

2. It is a great motive and means to put us upon the

beft

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