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SERMON «one; for which Caufe He is not afhamed "to call them Brethren." Thus then if we mean to be Partakers of Chrift's Holinefs, we must also be Partakers of his Sufferings; and if we fuffer with Him patiently we shall reign with Him eternally.

Here then we fee our need of Patience, as before we faw our need of Faith: And God be praised, that He hath provided Virtues and Graces fuited to every State and Stage, every Time and Exigency of the Chriftian Life. What tho' the Day of Rejoicing feem to be over with fome of us, or perhaps not yet begun, and Sorrow, be nigh at hand; tho' no Voice of Joy be heard in our Dwellings, but our Abode be called Bochim, or a Place of Mourners; yet, O Christians, forrow not as Men without Hope, but in Patience poffefs ye your Souls: You fit at the Foot of the Cross weeping; look up to Him who hanged on it with the Defire of your Souls, and put your Truft in the Lord, even the Lord Jefus, for your Groanings are not hid from Him; He will put your Tears into his Bottle, and your Sorrows shall be noted in his Book. If He delay for a while his gracious Vifits, yet wait for

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Him, He will not tarry long, He will SERMON not leave you comfortless, He will come to you. Look at the Generations of Old, and fee! Did ever any truft in the Lord and was confounded! Or did any abide in his Fear and was forfaken! Or whom did He ever defpife that called upon Him! Confider well, therefore, the Patience of the Saints, and be not flack " to follow them "who thro' Faith and Patience inherit the "Promises."

And now having laid before you a short Sketch of the Chriftian Warfare, with fome fuitable Motives for your Encouragement in it, fuffer me to conclude with a Word of Exhortation to you all, to use your ut moft Diligence to make your Calling and Election fure.

Confider, my dear Brethren, that your Work is great, and the Time for doing it both short and uncertain. What Profi ciency you have already made in it, God and your Confciences know beft; this how ever I am fure of, that none have any Time to lofe, but ought to redeem every Day and Hour of it. If the great Business is yet to begin in of and the very any you, Foundation of Repentance from Dead

Works,

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SERMON Works, and of Faith towards God yet unlaid in your Souls; make no longer tarrying to turn unto the Lord, and put not off from Day to Day, for who knows whether the Mercy of another Day will be granted you or not? Who knows but the Son of God is now preparing his Throne for Judgment? That the Angel, to whom the Office of fummoning the Quick and Dead before Him is affigned, has already received his Command to blow the tremendous Blait, and that other Angel fpoken of in the Revelations, to take his Stand upon the Sea, and upon the Earth, and to fwear by Him that liveth for ever and ever that Time fhall be no more. We cannot be fure that this is not the cafe, and therefore what Madness is it to rifque eternal Salvation upon a Chance which we know not how foon fail us! This, however, is certain, that Death cannot be far from any one, and will probably furprize fome of us very foon, and as there is no Repentance or Work in the Grave whither we are going, it behoves us as much to prepare against the Hour of Death as for the Day of Judgment. You cannot fay, that you want Inftruction in Godlinefs; for you have Line upon Line and Precept

A

may

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cept upon Precept: You cannot fay, that SERMON you want Calls to Repentance; for God the Father calleth you by Providences, by Mercies, by Judgments; God the Son calleth you by all that He hath done and fuffered for you, by his Word, by his Ordinances, by his Minifters; and God the Holy Ghost calleth you by the fecret Whispers and Strivings of his Spirit, and by the Checks and Admonitions of your own Confciences. Who then is that faithful and wife Servant who knoweth his Lord's Will, and prepareth himself to do thereafter? Bleffed is that Servant, yea thrice bleffed fhall he be in that Day when the Lord maketh up his Jewels, for he fhall fhine as the Sun in the Kingdom of his Father for ever and ever.

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Arife now, O ye flothful ones, from your Bed of Slumber, before your Eyes are closed in eternal Death. Be wife, O ye foolish Virgins, and provide Oyl for your Lamps before the Door of Mercy be fhut against you. And tho' it be the Eleventh Hour with many of you, and ye have ftood thus long idle, the Day is not yet quite spent You may still enter into the Vineyard, and receive every one a Penny: And tho' your

Hearts

SERMON Hearts be burthened with Sorrow on Ac

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III. count of your paft Negligence and Slothfulness, and because of the many gracious Opportunities you have fuffered to pass by unimproved, nevertheless it is not yet too late; only attend to the Voice of your forgiving loving Lord, who willeth not the Death of any Sinner, for He calls and invites you, saying- "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and "I will give you Rest." Reft." And may the Power of Chrift go along with his Call, as it did when He called Simon and Andrew his Brother, and compel you by a gracious Violence to forfake your Nets, even all your worldly Entanglements, and to follow Him likewife. And now, my Bres thren, quit yourfelves like Men, and be ftrong in the Lord! for the Kingdom of Heaven fuffereth Violence, and the Violent take it by Force: And may the Work of the Lord profper in your Hands and in your Hearts, to the Glory of God and the Salva tion of your immortal Souls! Even fo grant Lord Jefus ! Amen.

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