of this? As ever then we defire to be happy, it highly concerns us to feek God, while he may be found.

Reaf. 2. The fecond reafon may be taken from the great unhappiness of lofing God. If we lofe God, we lofe our all. We lofe every thing that is good. We lofe heaven, earth, our fouls, and every manner of comfort in the iffue. Dives when feparated from God, in hell, had not fo much as a drop of water, to minister the least refreshment to him. Luk. xvi. 24. We have nothing left us, when God has left us. If God be far from us, we are most unhappy creatures. Though we find wealth, and pleasures, and preferments, in this world; yet, if we find not God, we are miferable. All the world won't make up the lofs of God. If we lack the world, God can make it up, over and above in himfelf: but if we lack God, the creature cannot poffibly compenfate it. Our own fouls are of far greater worth than the whole world: and of how much more worth than the world,is God? All created enjoyments cannot balance the lofs of God, nor in any meafure make it up. deed, while finners are furrounded with creature-comforts, they little apprehend any want of God, and think they do well enough without him: but when they Thall be ftript of all these things, then they will be fully convinced, that the want and lofs of God is an inconceivable mifery. It is then a duty of the greatest mo, ment, to feek God, while he may be found, that fo we may not fuftain fuch an infinite lofs, as that of God.

In

Reaf. 3. A third reafon may be taken from the shortnefs and uncertainty of the time, for feeking God, fo as that he may be found. It is moft certain, that lifetime at most, is the only finding time. It will be too late to find God, after death. God will then be out of call, and out of hearing. Death will fet the finner at an eternal and irrecoverable distance from God, as a God of mercy and grace. There is no queftion to be made, but that finners in the other world will feek God, and ery mightily to him for mercy. Though they did not

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care to seek God and call upon him in this world, yet they will in the world to come. The depths of diftrefs and mifery which they will be funk into, will extort from them strong cries to God. They will try whether God cannot be found of them: but the experiment will be too late, and in vain. The fcriptures intimate to us, that in the day of judgment finners will plead and beg for mercy, and for an admiffion into the kingdom of heaven but all will be to no purpofe. Matth. xxv. 11, 12. They faid, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he anfwered, and faid, Verily, I fay unto you, I know you not. God will in that day fet upon a throne of inexorable juftice. He will then come, not to fhew mercy to impenitent finners, but to take vengeance on them. (2 The. i. 8, 9.)---- After the judgment alfo, when finners fhall be turned into hell, they will yet continue to call on God for mercy, for a release from their torments, at least a mitigation of them: but all will avail nothing. (Luk. xvi. 23, 24.) It is then most certain, that when life is at an end, God finding time is at an end. The day of grace is then paft, to return no more at all. And who can tell, how foon death may overtake him? Be fure it is not far from any of us, and may be nearer to us than we are aware of. There is then great reafon to be careful to improve the present time of feeking and finding God, left it thould be quickly too late. This work fhould be done while the day-lafts, before the night come wherein no fuch work can be done. (Joh. ix. 4.)

APPLICATION.

USE 1. Of Reproof, to fuch as are careless about feeking God in the feafon wherein he may be found. Though many do enjoy fuch a gracious feafon, yet there are but few that are concerned to improve it.

Particularly,

1. Some do not feek God at all. The hearts of men are naturally alienated and eftranged from God,

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and therefore feek not after God; as the apostle fays, in Rom. iii. II. There is none that feeketh after God. Thus it is ufually with young perfons, they make no enquiry after God. They live many times in the total neglect of prayer to God. Young perfons feem or, dinarily to live prayerlefs lives. They do not pray to God in fecret, but live in the omiffion of this duty. Tis but here and there one, of whom it may be faid, Behold, be prayeth. Yea, there are many up-grown persons who call not upon God, who feek not God in the way of prayer. One day paffes away after another, with out any prayer to God. They live as without God in the world, never feeking his face and favour by serious prayer. They are under no concern at all about feeking and finding God. Though they have many loud calls hereto, they regard them not; but rife up and lie down, without going to the throne of grace by prayer. Ohow justly reprovable are fuch prayerlefs perfons, that do not mind God at all! Though this fhould be made their greatest concern, to feek and find God, yet it is no part of their concern at all. O the contempt which fuch caft upon God, as if he were not worth the feeking and finding !

2. Some feek God, but with a fpirit of coldness and indifferency. They do not feek him diligently, principally, and conftantly. They do but feldom pray to God. Now and then they feek him, but foon grow. weary of fo doing, and give it over; cafting off fear, and restraining prayer before God. And when they do feek God, their hearts are not engaged in it, they are. not earnest and importunate in feeking God, with fervent defires of finding him. They pray as if they prayed not; being indifferent whether God hear them, or not; whether they find God, or not. They conent themfelves with faying over a few words, in a careless, litelefs, formal way. O how reprovable are fuch perfons, who thus trifle in a thing of infinite confequence, as that of finding God is ! What unaccountable ftupidity is it, to be fo negligent in a matter,

wherein

wherein it is not poffible to be too diligent! What meanest thou, O Reeper! Awake, and call upon thy God, after another manner, if ever thou defireft to find him.

USE 2. Of Exhortation. Let us every one be careful to feek God in the time wherein he may be found. Let us not lofe and mifpend the precious opportunities, which we enjoy, for feeking and finding God: but let us be duly concerned to improve them as we ought.

1. Confider, how many loud calls we have to feek God. There are divers ways, wherein God is calling aloud upon us to feek his face.

God calls upon us by his fervants in the ministry. They are fent forth of God to call us and invite us to come to him, to feek an intereft in him and the precious bleffings he is ready to bestow on us. Luk. xiv. 17. He fent his fervants at Jupper-time, to fay to them that were bidden, Come, for all things are now ready. By them he befeeches us to feek reconciliation to himself. (2 Cor. v. 20.). Again, God calls us to feek himfelf by his holy ordinances granted to us. Thefe ordinances are inftituted for this end, that men might in thofe ways of his appointment feek after him and enjoy communion, with him. Every time we are called up to the publick worship of God, we are called to come and enquire after God. (Pfal. xxvii. 4.) Again, by every affliction, God is calling upon us to feek him. And hence God expects and reckons, that we will hear the voice of his rod, and be thereby ftirred up to feek his face. Hof. v. 15. In their affliction they will feek me early.Again, by mercies God is calling upon us to feek him. These are allurements to draw us to God, as the Father of mercies. They are streams of goodness to lead us up to the fountain of all goodness. Act. xvii. 25, 27. He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things,--that they should feek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him.--Again, by inftances of mortality, God is calling upon us to feek him. The deaths of others round about us, have a voice to the living; calling them to improve the

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day of grace which thev ftill enjoy. Eccl. vii. 2. It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feafting for that is the end of all men, and the living will lay it to his heart.

Thus we have many calls to feek God: And O ! Jet us not turn a deaf ear to them all. Let us not give occafion to God to complain of us, as in Prov. i. 24, 25. I bave called, and ye refufed; I have ftretched out my hand, and no man regarded. But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof. If we are guilty of thus doing, we may tremble at what follows in y. 26, 27. I will laugh at your calamity: I will mock when your fear cometh. They fhall call upon me, not in fincerity, but only to be delivered from their calamity; but I will not an/wer. They fball feek me early, but they fball not find me.

2. Confider, how much of our feeking season is past, and, it may be, loft. A great part of it, and poffibly the best part of it, is gone, and not spent in seeking God. It may be, the days of our youth, which were the most hopeful days of feeking and finding God, have been paffed away in neglect and forgetfulness of God. Yea, it may be, much of our up grown age is gone, and we have not to this day fet ourfelves feriously to seek the Lord. Now, if it be thus with us, it is bigh time for us to awake, to shake off our floth, and be diligent in feeking God. We had need be up, and doing with might what our band finds to do, and making a profitable improvement of the time that yet remains. Former negligence fhould be made up by double diligence for the future. The past time should fuffice us, to have forfaken God, and kept at a diftance' from him. O let us ftrive to recover our loft opportunities, by a more fedulous improvement of our prefent opportunities. The day is far pent, and the night is at hand: O let us follow the harder after God, before darkness do overtake us.

3. Confider, what a mercy it is, that we have ftill a feeking and finding time continued to us. Had God dealt.

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