A good man making a good end. The life and death, of the Reverend…

you should upon a Death bed, have space enough, to Commit your Spirits into the Hands of the Lord, are you sure, that you shall then have the Grace to do it? It is a solemn caution, that is given us, in Phil. 2.12, 13. Work out your own Salvation wi•h Fear and Trembling; For it is God that wo•ks in you, both to Will, and to Do, of His own Good pleasure. Even so, Fear, and Tremble, to Delay Committing your Spirits into the Hand of the Lord, so much as one Day Longer; You don't know, that God ⟨p. 22⟩will please to Work in you, for the doing of it, when your last Moments are upon you. I have read it, as the observation of some very Experienced Ministers, that they never handled in their Ministry, any Subjects more successfully, than those which led them to discourse against procrastination in the concerns of their Souls. Our Baily was much in making of this Experiment. Many a man inserts that clause in his Last Will, I bequeath my Soul unto God that gave it. But, in the Name of God; Art thou certain that He will Accept of it? The Law says, Legato renunciari potest, and, Legatum accipere nemo nolens cogitur; One may Refuse a Legacy, there's no compelling one to Accept it. It is true, our Compassionate Lord, will ever Accept a poor Soul, whenever 'tis with a true Faith ▪ brought unto Him. Yea, but it may be, He will not Accept of thy Soul, inasmuch as thou hast no True Faith to bring it withal; Faith, which is not of our selves, 'tis the Gift of God! Wherefore, O man, if thou hast any Regard unto thy Never Dying Soul, Go thy ways presently, and earnestly Commit it unto the Lord before a Dying Hour. As the Apostle said, This I say, Brethren, the Time is short: Even so, This I say, My Friend; Thy Time it may be shorter than thou art well aware of What shall I say? I say. Boast not thy self of To morrow. I say, This Night thy Soul may be Required.

And, if thy Faithless Heart, have the Assistances of the Divine Grace withheld from if, when the Damp Sweats of Death are upon thee, there is yet another Objection, with which the God of Heaven will Thunder-strike thy Attempts to Commit thy Spirit into His Hand. That is This: That Spirit of thine, is it thy own to Dispose of? Hast thou not already otherwise disposed of it? It is a Rule in Law, Nemo potest Legare, quod suum jam non est: No man can by will, Demise, Devise, Dispose of that, of which he had made Sale before. It is said of a very ungodly man, in 1 King 21.25. He sold himself, to work Wickedness, in the sight of the Lord. Ungodly Sinner; The Devil ha's often bargained with thee, about thy Soul; he hath said, By Deliberate Sinning against Heaven, do thou make over thy Soul to me, and thou shalt have the short pleasures of Sin for it. God knows how often, thou hast thus Bargained away thy Soul to the Devil; and since thou hast not in all thy Life Revoked that Bargain, then though thou do at thy Death cry unto Him, Lord, Receive this poor Soul of mine! how justly may He say, No, Not I! Thou hast Sold that Soul to another; And Let him keep it forever! There will also be this further to be said; What power hast thou to Dispose of thy Spirit? Hast thou any thing at all, at thy own Disposal? It is a Rule in Law, Servus non potest Condere Testamentum; A Slave can't make a Will: He ha's nothing of