is given you, and will not enter into such an open door, your alone must bear it. If you shall miss this opportunity, and quench your convictions now, and there shall come another time of the outpouring of the Spirit, you will be far less likely to have any profit by it; as we see now God chiefly moves on the hearts of those who are very young, who are brought for ward upon the stage of action since the last outpouring of the Spirit, who were not then come to years of so much understanding, and consequently not so much in the way of the inAuences of the Spirit. As to those who were grown up, and had convictions then, and quenched them, the most of these are abundantly more hardened, and seem to be more passed over. So it will probably be with you hereafter, if you miss this opportunity, and quench the convictions of the Spirit which you have now.

As to you who had awakenings the last time of the outpouring of the Spirit, and have quenched them, and remain to this day in a natural condition, let me call upon you also now that God is giving you one more such opportunity. If passing in impenitence through one such opportunity hath so harden. ed you, and hath been such a great disadvantage to you, how r sad will your case be, if you shall now miss another! Will you not now thoroughly awake out of sleep, bestir yourselves for your salvation, and resolve now to begin again, and never leave off more? Many fled for refuge from the devouring fire before, and you were left behind. Others have fled for refuge now, and still you are left behind; and will you always remain behind? Consider, can you dwell with devouring fire? Can you dwell with everlasting burnings? Shall children, babes and sucklings, go into the kingdom of God before you ?

How will you hereafter bear to see them coming and 'sit ting down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of God, when yourselves are thrust out, and are surprised with fearfulness at the sight of that devouring fire, and those everlasting burnings, into which you are about to be cast? Take heed lest a like threatening be fulfilled upon you with that which we have in Numb. xiv. 22, 23. "Because all those

men which have seen my glory, and my miracles which I did in Egypt, and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers; neither shall any of them that provoked me see it." Togeth er with verse 31. "But your little ones, which ye said should. be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised."

SERMON XXIII.

The Sin and Folly of depending on Future Time.

PROVERBS xxvii. 1.

BOAST NOT THYSELF OF TOMORROW; FOR THOU KNOWESTY NOT WHAT A DAY MAY BRING FORTH.

THE design of the wise man in this book of Proverbs, is to give us the precepts of true wisdom, or to teach us how>> to conduct ourselves wisely in the course of our lives. Wis-dom very much consists in making a wise improvement of time, and of the opportunities we enjoy. This is often in scripture spoken of, as a great part of true wisdom; as Deut. xxxii. 29. "O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!" And, Psalm xc. 12. "Teach us so to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." So the wisdom of the wise virgins is represented as consisting much in this, that they improved the proper season to buy oil.

Therefore the wise man in these books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, agreeably to his design, insists on this part of wisdom. He tells us the advantage of seeking Christ early:

Prov. viii. 17. And advises us TO DO WHAT OUR HAND FINDETH TO DO, WITH OUR MIGHT: Eccles. ix. 10. He advises young people to remember their Creator in the days of their youth, while the evil days come not, in which they shall say they have no pleasure; Eccles. xii. 1. So here in the text he advises us to a wise improvement of the present season......... In the words are two things to be particularly observed.

The wise man would

1. The precept NOT TO BOAST OF TOMORROW; i. e. not to speak or act as though it were our own. It is absurd for men to boast of that which is not their own. not have us behave ourselves as though any time were ours but the present. He that boasts of tomorrow, acts as though he had tomorrow in his possession, or had something whereby he might depend on it, and call it his own.

2. The reason given for this precept; FOR THOU KNOWEST NOT WHAT A DAY MAY BRING FORTH. It is a good reason why we should not behave ourselves as though the morrow were our own, that indeed it is not our own; we are not sure of it; we have no hold of future time; we know not whether we shall see the morrow: Or if we do know that we shall see it, we know not what we shall see on it.

DOCTRINE,

We ought to behave ourselves every day as though we had no dependence on any other day.

In handling this doctrine, I shall (1.) briefly say something which may be needful to prevent misunderstanding. (2.) Show what is implied in this doctrine. (3.) Show when men behave themselves, as if they had dependence on another day. (4.) Show why this should be avoided,

I. To prevent a misunderstanding of the doctrine, I observe to you, that it is not meant, that we should in every respect behave as though we knew or concluded that we should

not live another day. Not depending on another, day, is a dif ferent thing from concluding, that we shall not live another day. We may have reason for the one, and not for the other. We have good reason not to depend on another day, but we have no reason to conclude, that we shall not live another day. We may have no reason to depend upon another day, and so that may be one extréme. On the other hand, neither may! we have any reason to depend upon it that we shall not enjoy another day, and therefore, that may be another extreme.

In some respects we ought to carry ourselves, as, though; we knew we should not live another day, and should; improve every day as if it were the last. Particularly, we should live every day as conscientiously and as holily as if we knew it were: the last. We should be as careful every day to avoid all sin, as if we knew that that night our souls should be required of us. We should be as careful to do every duty which God requires of us, and take as much care that we have a good account to give to our Judge, of our improvement of that day, as if we concluded that we must be called to give an account before another day.

But in many other respects, we are not obliged to behave ourselves as though we concluded that we should not live to another day. If we had reason to conclude that we should not live another day, some things would not he our duty which now are our duty. As for instance, in such a case it would not be the duty of any person to make provision for his temporal subsistence during another day: To neglect which, as things now are, would be very imprudent and foolish, as the consequences would show, if every man were to act in this manner; at this rate the whole world would presently murder itself.

If so, it would never be man's duty to plow or sow the field, or to lay up for winter; but these things are man's duty; as Prov. vi. 6. "Go to the ant, thou sluggard, consider her ways, and be wise: Which, having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest." And chap. x. 5. &c. "He that gather