with us according to our fins, and rewarded us after onr iniquities, our finding season would have been over and at an end long ago. Having fo defpifed and neg. lected our paft feafon, God moft righteoufly might have refused to lengthen out unto us the day of his grace and patience. He might have cut us down as cumberers of the ground, and not fuffered us to have any longer standing in his vineyard. God has not thus dealt with many others, but has made quicker work with them. He has not waited on them, fo long as on us. There are multitudes now in hell, whofe day of grace has not been near fo long, as that of many of us has been. O what a favour of God is it, that we are yet on this fide the grave and hell, yet under the calls of the gofpel to feek and find God! Seeing then God is fo gracious to us, as still to keep up the throne of grace before us, and invite us thereunto, let us no longer keep away from God. Let us not defpife the riches of his goodness, forbearance, and long-fuffering. Such contempt of divine indulgence, will exceedingly provoke God, and expofe us to the greater damnation. O let us then at least in this our day, our out-lengthened day of grace, know the things that do belong to our peace, before they be hidden from our eyes. It may be, the day of grace may be near to its end, and God will not wait much longer on us. Which leads to the next head.

4. Confider, our time for feeking and finding God will foon be over. Our day is but fhort, and fpeedily haftens to its period. It may draw to a conclufion, fooner than we imagine. All our times are in the hands of God. He abfolutely and fecretly difpofes of them, as to their duration. The limits of them, are fixed by him, and unknown to us, fo that we cannot tell how near we may be to the term of life. And whenever life ends, the feafon for seeking and finding God, is eternally at an end. This confideration fhould excite us to feek after God to day, while it is called to day, left to morrow it fhould be too late. Eccl. ix. 10. Wharfoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might,

for

for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave whither thou goeft. In the flate of the foul's feparation from the body at death, there is no plotting, nor acting, for the honour of God, and our own happinefs, as now there is. There is then no hope of finding and enjoying God, if he be neglected until death. We had need therefore lay hold on the present opportunity, and improve it in a diligent feeking the Lord.

5. Confider, how concerned we are to feek leffer matters in the time wherein they may be found. O how eager are men oftentimes in the purfuit of the things of this world! how diligently do they feek after them, rifing early and hitting up late, and fparing no pains, to gain the world! how do they watch for and improve their opportunities for worldly advantage! how careful not to let flip and lofe the feafon for compaffing their worldly defigns!--Now, fhall we be thus concerned to feek and find earthly good things, and be unconcerned about feeking and finding God? Is the creature better than the Creator? Are broken cifterns more fatisfying, than God the fountain of living waters? If this be our thought now, it will not be fo long. A dying hour will quickly come; and if we are not then prodigiously blind and hardened, we shall then be of another mind. In that hour, all these things which we have fo restlefly fought after, will take an eternal leave of us. For, as we brought nothing into this world with us, fo it is certain that we fhall carry nothing away. And when the time of parting with the world fhall arrive, fhall we not then wifh, that we had fought this world, lefs, and fought God more? Undoubtedly we fhall. O then let us while the day lafts, feek God and fearch after him with all our hearts, that fo when all thefe things fhall leave us, we may find God, to our eternal fatisfaction.----Some Directions follow.

Direct. 1. Take beed and beware of thofe things, which are hindrances of feeking God. Many things there be which are great obftructions unto men's feeking God,

and

and fo to their finding of him. Against these we muft watch. Particularly,

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1. Beware of eartbly-mindednef If the heart be much fet upon the world, it will be taken off from God. Worldly incumbrances are great hindrances from feeking God. Thefe do oftentimes occafion a total neglect of feeking God. They make men difregard the calls of the gofpel. Luk. 14. 18, 19. They all with one confent began to make excufe. The first faid unto him, I bave bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and fee it I pray thee have me excufed. And another faid, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee bave me excufed This denotes the hindrance that arifes from worldly poffeffions and employments. When men are over-bufied, wearied and tired about the world, how ufua! is it for them to omit feeking to God by prayer? Or if they do not wholly neglect this duty, yet how are their minds distracted and diverted in the performance of it? how do thoughts about the world crowd in upon their minds, and turn their hearts away from God? efpecially is it thus in duties of publick worship. When their hearts should therein be engaged in feeking God, they are going out after the world. Ezek. xxxiif. 31. With their mouth they fbew much love; but their beart goeth after their covetousness. It may be, God is not in all their thoughts : but the affairs of the world do wholly engrofs and take up their thoughts. When they fhould be converfing with God, they are converfing with their farms and their merchandize. O then, as ever we would seek God, fo as to find him, let us take heed of immoderate love to, and care about, the world. Let us get thefe worldly lufts mortified; or elfe we fhall never follow hard after God.

2. Beware of fenfuality. Excefs in the ufe of lawful things, is a great hindrance to feeking God. When men inordinately indulge themselves in fenfual pleafures, eating and drinking to excefs, they have no heart to feek God. These fefbly lufts, do wholly indifpofe

dispose and unfit men for religious duties; and they have a natural tendency thereunto. These were the fins which funk the old world into a deep fecurity, unto their eternal deftruction. Luk. xvii. 27. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entred into the ark, and the flood came and deftroyed them all. If we would then difcharge the duties of piety towards God fuc cefsfully, we muft take heed that our hearts be not overcharged with furfeiting and drunkenness. An intemperate way of living, makes the heart lifelefs, dull and dead to every thing that is holy and good. To be carnally minded is death.

3. Beware of bearkening to fatan's temptations. The devil himself has no call to feek God, no encouragement to hope that he may find God: nay, he knows, that God will not be intreated by him, or found of him. And fuch is his envy and malice against us, that he ufes all endeavours to prevent our feeking and finding God. There are especially two temptations which he commonly makes ufe of, to put us by from feeking God, which we should take heed that we do not hearken

unto.

1. Sometimes he tempts men to think, that 'twill be foon enough to feek God a while bence. He does not feem to be against seeking God at all, but only against the feeking of him as yet. He fuggefts, that there is no need of fo much hafte, but hereafter will do as well as now. By this temptation he commonly preyails with finners to put off the feeking God for the prefent. This is a temptation, which young perfons efpecially are apt to lend an ear unto. They are rea-. dy to think, that they have many years yet to live; and that when they grow older, they fhall have time enough for feeking after God. And hereupon they neglect God in their younger days, and indulge themfelves in youthful lufts.Yea, this temptation many times prevails with thofe that are up-grown in years. Though they have lived a confiderable while in the

world

world, yet they think they may live ftill a great while longer in the world and fo defer feeking God, till hereafter, till this and the other defign be accomplished; then they fhall have more leifure to mind God ad the things of God. But, O take heed of thus giving place to the devil. Break this fnare, which he is laying for your fouls.---To this end, confider how uncertain life is. You may reckon up many years to come; but are you fure, you fhall live many days more? As young as you are, death may overtake you. Do not young ones die, as well as the old? No one is certain of a to-morrow. How vain then is it, to boast of to-morrow, when we know not what a day may bring forth? What then will become of you, if death should unexpectedly and fuddenly furprize you ?-Again, confider the longer you neglect feeking God, the farther you depart away from him. Your heart will grow more eftranged from God, and more hardned in fin. So that it will be more unlikely, that you should hereafter forfake (in and turn to God. You will have less of heart to it, and if you should have any thoughts of doing it, you will find it much more difficult. Again, confider what unaccountable folly and madnefs it is, to defer the feeking God, if ever we hope to find him. Is not the enjoyment of God the greatest gain? Is not the lofs of God the greatest lofs? If we were asked, one by one, whether it were not fo, we fhould confefs that it was. We believe then, that to find God, is to find blessedness; and to mifs of God, is to be miferable for ever. And if fo, is it not the greatest folly and diftraction, to defer the feeking God to an uncertain hereafter ? Is it not the height of madnefs to run fuch a rifque, and to hazard the lofs of God for ever ?----O let us confider of thefe things, that fo we may not hearken to the temptations of fatan, unto a putting off the feeking of God till hereafter.

2. Sometimes he tempts finners to think, that it is too late to feek God fo as to find him. When he has prevailed with finners to delay, then he labours to

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