ing help of grace, when their hearts and consciences are warmed with the calls of grace in the gospel. In such seasons, the everlasting bargain is either fixed by the power of grace working faith in the heart; or people are left to themselves, and are farther from heaven than ever.

2. Some special call to men to give their testimony to Christ and his gospel by suffering. The Lord comes and craves mens testimony to his truth, and chargeth them thus "If "thou hast any love to me and my honour, I demand thy "witness, venture thy all, take up thy cross." Many Christians have neglected such trying seasons, which in vain and sorrowfully they have wished for again. There is much of God's grace needful to discern these seasons, and wisely to improve them,

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3. There is another remarkable season of mens need of God's grace to help them in; and that is, the season of the Lord's calling them to a duty-trial; a duty called to by way of trial. The Lord gives the call to try men; and very great are the consequences of obeying or disobeying of such a call. Many instances are of this in the word. One is in Numb. xiv. The passage is plain and awful. When Israel had been above a year in the wilderness, twelve spies are sent to view the land they all bring back an evil report, save Joshua and Caleb the people murmur; God threatens them with judgments they seem to be sensible of their sin; it is like by the plague that slew the ten false spies, ver. 37. and by what Moses spake to them. They acknowledge their sin; and resolve to go up next morning, ver. 40. Moses tells them, they now sinned again, and that the Lord was not among them, ver. 41, 42. What severe dealing is this? The Lord was among them yesterday, not this morning: they were bid go up yesterday, they are forbid next morning. Because they did not what the Lord bid them do in his time, he will not protect them when they do the same thing in their time. Thus Saul was tried twice, 1 Sam. xiii. Samuel bid him tarry for him seven days at Gilgal: Saul tarried six days, and part of the seventh, and then offered sacrifice; not, as I think, that he did invade the priest's office himself, but commanded some priest to do it. Profane princes never want profane chaplains. What a

severe sentence doth Samuel pronounce against him, ver. 13, 14. Again, the same man is tried with another duty, 1 Sam. xv. and fails therein, and is punished therefore. This sort of trying men by duty, is like that in 2 Kings xiii. 14,—20. which Elisha did put Joash unto. How many of the people of God, through the want of the present help of grace in some duty-trials, have stepped into such paths, and have fallen into such pits and snares, as they have never got well and clearly out of, as long as they lived?

4 It is a season of great need of grace to help us in, when the Lord, by his providence, puts several things in a person's choice, and leaves them to chuse. The fullest of this kind was that offer made to David about judgments, 2 Sam. xxiv. 12, 13. A hard choice; but David did chuse wisely. His son Solomon had another offer; but it was of blessings, and not of judgments, 2 Chron. i. 7. Ask what I shall give thee. And he chose wisely and by his choice proved, that he had already received a good measure of wisdom. Moses had a great offer, and things of vast difference were in his choice; and he chose like a man taught of God, Heb. xi. 24, 25, 26. Moses, in his last sermon to Israel, Deut. xxx. 15,-19, 20. puts them on chusing: I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore chuse life, that both thou and thy seed may live: that thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him; for he is thy life, and the length of thy days. So did his successor Joshua, when he had settled Israel in the promised land, a little before his death: Joshua xxiv. 15. Chuse you this day whom you will serve. Elijah did so with apostate Israel, 1 Kings xviii. 21. Somewhat like this is laid before men in the daily ministry of the word. The curse of the law, or the blessing of the gospel, is in mens offer; and men get as they chuse. If men refuse the blessing, the curse belongs to them; if they receive the blessing, they are delivered from the curse. But the chusing I mean, is that the Lord puts men often to, in the several turns of his providence towards them: Psalm xxv. 12. What man is he that feareth the Lord? him shall he teach in the way that he shall chuse. Many gracious promises are in

the word, of God's guiding of his people; many prayers put up by saints in the word for this gracious guiding; and many praises rendered to the Lord for their blessed experience of his guiding. Who can walk safely through this wilderness, without the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night? How many of mens sorrows may be laid on their being left of God, in chusing for themselves? and how many of our mercies are owing to the Lord's gracious guiding of us in doubtful cases? But it is a very hard thing to ask direction from God, Three faults are common in this practice. 1. Pre-engagement of heart. As it is a great sin after vows to make inquiry, Prov. xx. 25.; so is it to ask direction from God, when men are resolved on the way they will take. An eminent instance of this sinful frame, we have in Jer. xlii. and xliii. They sought counsel of God by the prophet in a great strait; they promised to follow it whatever it was; God gives his mind; they reject it, because it suited not their inclinations. It is no easy thing to ask direction of God, with an undetermined frame. 2. Pride of understanding. Men think they are wise enough to chuse their own way. Therefore that command should be much minded, Prov. iii. 5, 6, 7. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart: and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes. And that other word, Prov. xx. 24. Man's goings are of the Lord; how can a man then understand his own way? Prov. xvi. 9. A man's heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps. 3. Haste. Men wait not for God's counsel, Psalm cvi. 13.; and therefore go without it, and stumble in dark paths. He that believeth, maketh not haste, Isa. xxviii, 16. A little more patient waiting on the Lord, as Psalm xl. 1. hath often brought in determining light in doubtful cases.

So much for the fifth season of need of grace.

VI. The last time of need of grace is, the time of dying. It is indeed the last; for he that is helped by grace in that time, will need no more help of grace to eternity. This time of dying, is what we should all think on; and if you think aright on it, it will not be unwelcome to hear of it.

On this I would shew, 1. The need of grace. And, 2. The help of grace in this last and greatest time of need.

1. I would speak of the need of grace to help in this season." Though all men have some conviction of it; yet, to strengthen that conviction, I would speak to a few things about it.

1st, This time of need is unavoidable. It is a time that must come. Other times of need may come, and may not come. We may be tempted, we may be afflicted, we may be tried, we may be cast down, and we may be lifted up again: but die we must. It is appointed unto men once to die, Heb. ix. 27. As sure as we live, we must die. We live our appointed time, and we die at our appointed time, Job xiv. 5, 14. and all our times are in his hand, Psalm xxxi. 15. Eccl. iii. 2. There is a time to be born, and a time to die, ver. 11. He hath made every thing beautiful in his time. That man must have better eyes than those of flesh, that can see any beauty in death. If there had been but two or three of mankind, that had lived from Noah to this day, and had been privileged with an exemption from this general appointment, every fool on earth would have dreamed, that, it may be, he shall partake of the same privilege also. But when all that ever breathed from Adam to this day, are dead, (save the present generation, whom a few more years will sweep away, as it hath done their predecessors); what folly is there in mens thoughtlessness of this unavoidable fate? But if you say, All shall not die, but be changed, as I Cor. xv. 51. 1 Thess. iv. 17.; consider, that this change is to them, as death is to us; and it may be will be as terrible to the saints alive then, as death now is. As believers now dread not death, and to be dead, so much as they fear to die; the state of the dead in Christ is not terri ble, but the passage to it is: so they that are changed at Christ's coming, may have the same sentiments, till the change be wrought on them. It is (though none knows the particular manner of it) a putting off of mortality and corruption, and a putting on the robes of immortality and incorruption. The same is done as to every saint at death and the resurrection. Both are done to every believer in an instant, who are found alive at Christ's second coming. Elijah's translation, 2 Kings ii. and Enoch's, Heb. xi, 5. were emblems of the change on

believers at Christ's second appearance; as the raising of Lazarus, and others, both in the Old Testament and New, were of the general resurrection: and in special manner they spoke of, Matth. xxvii. 52, 53. And the graves were opened; and many bodies of saints which slept, arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. But whatever the change on saints at Christ's coming be to them, and if.it may be thought a more easy trial than natural death is; it is certain, that the change that shall then pass on the ungodly, will be far more dreadful than bare dying is now. This is then the only exception from the general appointment on all men once to die. How amazing then is the stupidity of men, that so few seriously think on it, and prepare for it? that so many men and women, that are under the sentence of death; that have the seeds of death in them; that live in a world wherein all things that have life, are dying before their eyes: that live on creatures that lose their lives to support theirs; that have so many warnings of death's sure and speedy approach, are yet, after all, surprised by it when it comes, as if they had never heard of it? This stupidity is both a sad sign and effect of the plague of unbelief. Judgment and eternity, that follow at death's heels, are matters of pure faith. But death is obvious to sense, reason, and universal experience. Yet men only think they may die, and do not entertain the persuasion with assurance into their hearts, and serious daily thoughts, that they must die.

2dly, Dying is not only unavoidable, but it is a new trial, None can tell what dying is. Many know what it is to be sick, to be in great pain, to faint and fall into a swoon, which is a little image of death; as also the Heathen poet called sleep death's elder brother: but none knows what dying is. It was a very sensible word a dying Christian in this city spoke to myself, when visiting him a few hours before his death, "No man can tell another what dying is. I feel I am "dying; but I cannot tell you what it is." Death is a path that you never trode before; you never walked in it hitherto ; you may have thought yourselves to have gone a good way the valley of the shadow of death, but you never walked through

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