ON THE

D E A T H

OF THE

RIGHTEOUS.

101

SERMON XXII.

NUMBERS XXIII. 10.

Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his.

HE confideration of our latter end, SERM.

a con

though a point of the utmost con

fequence and importance, is, notwithstanding, fo conftantly and fo induftriously removed from our thoughts, as feldom to enter into them: as death is the object not of our hopes, but of our fears, few, very few amongst us, can bring themselves to form any wish concerning it. Such is the folly and inconfiftency of mankind, that whilft we are every day preparing against accidents which

H 3

XXII.

SERM. which never may, we will not give our

XXII.

felves the least care or concern about that
which inevitably must happen; and it is
with the utmost difficulty that any
of us
can be perfuaded to learn a leffon which
all must one day be obliged to put in
practice. Whilst we are on the busy
stage of this life, a mutual commerce of
fraud and diffimulation is perpetually
carried on amongst us, and the univer-
fality of the practice disguises even from
ourselves the folly and the iniquity of
it; but a time will come to every one
of us, when it can answer no end to
deceive, when it can serve no purpose to
diffemble, when hypocrify must throw
off the mask, and falfehood lay afide
her delufion; a death-bed detects all the
fophiftry of human artifice, unveils the
hidden heart, and fhews the man in his
true shape and form.

The

XXII.

The prefent age is fo gay and diffo- SERM. lute, fo immerfed in pleasure, that they have neither time or inclination to vifit the chambers of pain and forrow; the bed of fickness has very few attendants, and the house of mourning is most induftriously avoided, left it should embitter the fweet draught of luxury, interrupt the course of our amufements, and lay us under the difagreeable neceffity of being ferious. Some indeed are obliged by their neceffities to attend the couch of the fick, and to wait near the bed of death: happy would it be for us, if we could make scenes of this nature much more familiar to us; for few, I believe, ever returned from them without fome improvement, without fome ferious thoughts, that had at least a temporary influence over their enfuing conduct.

Surely, if a wifh is to be formed with regard to this awful subject, it must be H 4 that