and vigorous Age in Sin, and to repent hereafter; that is, they refolve to fling away the greatest and best Part of their Lives, and to begin to live when they fee themselves a dying: This, I am fure, is no Remedy against a fhort Life, to refolve not to live one third of it.

2dly, Since our Life is so very fhort, it be comes us to live as much as we can in fo fhort a Time; for we must not measure the Length or Shortness of our Lives by Days, or Months, or Years, that is the Measure of our Duration or Being; but to live and to be are two Things, and of a diftinct Confideration and Account.

To live, when we speak of a Man, fignifies to act like a reasonable Creature, to exercife his Understanding and Will upon fuch Objects as answer the Dignity and Perfection of human Nature, to be employed in such Actions as are proper to his Nature, and diftinguish a Man from all other Creatures. And therefore, though a Man must eat and drink, and perform the other Offices of a natural Life, which are common to him with Beasts; yet this is not to live like a Man, any otherwife than as these common Actions are govern'd by Reason and Rules of Virtue; but he who minds nothing higher than this, lives like a Beaft, not like a Man. A Life of Reafon, Religion and Virtue, is properly the Life of a Man; because it is peculiar to him, and diftin

distinguishes him from all other Creatures in this World: And therefore he who improves his Knowledge and Understanding moft; who has his Paffions and Appetites under the best Government; who does most good, and makes himself most useful to the World; though he does not continue longer, yet he lives more and longer than other Men; that is, he exerts more frequent and more perfect Acts of a rational Life.

But befides this, this Life is only in order to a better Life: It is not for itself, but only a Paffage to, and a State of Trial and Probation for Immortality; and it were hardly worth the while to come into the World upon any meaner Defign. And therefore he lives moft, who improves the Grace of God to make himself moft fit for Heaven, and qualified for the greatest Rewards, for the richest and the brightest Crowns; who knows God moft, and worships him in the most perfect Manner, with the greatest Ravishments and Transports of Spirit; who lives most above this World in the Exercise of the most divine Virtues; who does moft Service to God in the World, and improves all his Talents to the best Advantage: In a word, who most adorns and perfects his own Mind, brings moft Glory to God, and does moft good to Men. Such a Man at thirty Years old has lived more, nay, indeed may properly be faid to have lived longer, than an old decrepid Sinner; for he

has

has not lived at all to the Purposes of a Man, or to the Ends of the other World. That Man has lived a great while, how short soever the Time be, who is old enough for Heaven, and for Eternity; who has laid up Riches and glorious Treasures for himself in the other World; who has anfwer'd the Ends of his Life, and is fit to remove out of it. This is the true Way of measuring our Lives by Acts of Piety and Virtue, by our Improvements in Knowledge, and Grace, and Wisdom, by our Ripeness for another World. And therefore, if we would live a great while in this World, we muft, 1. Begin to live betimes. 2. We must have a care of all Interruptions and Intermiffions of Life. 3. We must live apace.

1. We must begin to live betimes; that is, we must begin betimes to live like Men, and like Chriftians, to live to God, and to another World; that is, in a word, to be good betimes: For those who begin to live with the first Bloomings of Reafon and Understanding, and give early and youthful Specimens of Piety and Virtue, if they reach to old Age, they live three times as long as those who count indeed as many Years as they do, but it may be, have not lived a third of their Time, but have loft it in Sin and Folly. The first can look back to the very Beginning of his Life, and enjoy all his past Years ftill, review them with Pleasure and Satisfaction,

Satisfaction, and bring them all to Account. But a late Penitent muft date his Life from his Repentance and Reformation: He dares look no farther back; for all beyond is loft, or worse than loft. It is like looking back upon the rude Chaos, which was nothing but Confufion and Darknefs before God formed the World. Such is the Life of a Sinner before this new Birth, and new Creation: And therefore he has but a very little way to look back; can give but a very fhort Account of his Life; has but a very few Years of his Life which he dares own, and carry into the other World with him,

2. We must have a care of all Interruptions and Intermiffions of Life; that is, of falling back into Sin again, after fome hopeful Beginnings. This is too often seen, that thofe, who by the Care and good Government, and wife Inftructions of Parents and Tutors, have had the Principles of Virtue and Piety early instilled into them, and have had a good Relish of it themselves; yet when they are got loofe from thefe Restraints, and fall into ill Company, and into the Way of Temptations, have a mind to try another Kind of Life, and to tafte thofe Pleafures which they see Mankind so fond of; and too often try fo long, till they grow as great Strangers to Piety and Virtue, as they were ignorant of Vice before. Now if fuch Men ever be reclaimed again, yet all their early Beginnings

Beginnings of Life are loft; for here is a long Interruption and Intermiffion of Life, which fets them back in the Account of Eternity. And thus it is proportionably in every wilful Sin we commit: It makes a Break in our Lives; does not only ftop our Progress for a while, but fets us backward. But he who begins betimes to live, without any, or very few, and very fhort Interruptions, will be able to reckon a very long Life, by that time he attains to the common Period of human Life.

3. Efpecially if he live apace. There is a living apace, as fome call it; not to lengthen, but to fhorten Life: When Men, by minding their Business well, can in ten or twenty Years destroy fuch a Constitution of Body, and exhauft that vital Heat and Vigor, which would have lafted another Man fixty or eighty Years. This is to live much in a little Time, and to make an end of their Lives quickly; and the living apace, I mean, is to live much also in a little Time, but to double and treble our Lives, not to fhorten them: That is, to do all the Good that ever we can; for the more Good we do, the more we live. Life is not mere Duration, but Action: Time is not Life; but we live, that is, we act in Time: And he who does two Days Work in one, lives as much in one Day, as other Men do in two. He who in one Year does as much improve his Mind in Knowledge and Wifdom,

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