184 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SeR. V.
6. God will have his glory upon you, if not from you, for he is re- solved not to be a loser by the creature : Prov. xvi. 4, ' The Lord hath made all things for himself, yea even the wicked for the day of evil ;' Lev. X. 3, ' This is that which the Lord saith, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified.' He will have the glory of his justice in the day of wrath and evil, if not the glory of his grace in the day of his patience and mercy. Therefore either he will be glorified by you, or upon you. Some give him glory in an active, some in a passive way. If he have not the glory of his command, which is our duty, he will have the glory of his providence in the event. And how sad that will be, judge ye, when you serve for no other use but to set forth the glory of his vin- dictive justice.
7. It must be our last end, which must fix men's mind, which otherwise will be tossed up and down with perpetual uncertainty, and distracted by a multiplicity of ends and objects, that it cannot con- tinue in any composed and settled frame : Ps. Ixxxvi. 11, ' Unite my heart to fear thy name;' James i. 8, 'A double-minded man is un- stable in all his ways.' A divided mind causes an uncertain life, no one part of our lives will agree with another, the whole not being firmly knit by the power of some last end running through all.
Thirdly, That when we come to die, this will be our comfort, Christ hath left us a pattern here. And Hezekiah, Isa. xxxviii. 3, * Kemember now, 0 Lord, how I have walked before thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight.' Oh ! the comfort of a Avell-spent life to a dying christian ! 2 Tim. iv. 7, 8, 'I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith : henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day ; and not to me only, but to all them also that shall love his appearing." Then a man can run over his liie with comfort, when he hath been careful for the matter and end to glorify God.
Use. Oh ! then, consider two things : —
1. The end why you were sent into the world. Why do I live here ? Most men live like beasts, eat, drink, sleep, and die ; never sit down, and in good earnest consider, Why was I born ? why did I come into the world ? and so their lives are but a mere lottery ; the fancies they are governed by are jumbled together by chance ; if they light of a good hit, it is a casual thing ; they live at pcradventure, and then no wonder they walk at random.
2. What we shall do when our lives are at an end, and we are to appear before God's tribunal. Oh ! that you would consider this, now you are in your health and strength : Dent, xxxii. 29, ' Oh ! that they "Were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end ! ' Much of wisdom lieth in considering the end of things. We are hastening apace into the other world, it is good to consider what we have to say when we come to die : Job xxxi. 14, ' What shall I then do, when God riseth up ? and when he visiteth, what shall I answer him ?' viz., at the latter end, when I am immediately to appear before God, when he summons us by sickness into his presence, and the devil is more busy at such a time to tempt and trouble us, and all
VeR. 5.] SERMONS UPON JOHN XYII. 185
other comforts fail, and are as unsavoury as the white of an eg^, then this will notably embolden our hearts : 2 Cor. i. 12, ' For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world.' Oh ! will this comfort you, that you have sported and gamed away your precious time, that you have fared of the best, lived in pomp and honour ? Oh ! no ; but this, I have made conscience of honouring and glorifying God, of being faith- ful in my place, in promoting the common good there, where God hath cast my lot. Oh ! then, go on, your comfort will increase. If hitherto you have been pleasing the flesh, idling and wantoning away your precious time, say, 1 Peter iv. 3, ' For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries.' You have too long walked contrary to the end of your creation, in dishonouring God, and destroying your own souls.