Alas ! if most men ask their own consciences, wherefore they live ? what is the life of many, but an annoyance ? They infect the air with thdr oaths, they are a burthen to the earth, they mis-spend the blessings of God ; but what hath the times been the better for them ? Their lives have been scandalous, wicked, and vicious. It should be our glory to shine in our times, ' as lights in the midst of a sinful generation,' Philip, ii. 15. I beseech you, therefore, let us take the counsel of holy St Paul : Gal. vi. 9, * While we have time, let us do good.' While we have a part to act here upon the stage of this world, let us act our parts, do that wherefore we came into the world. We have not assurance from God that our genera- tion shall hold thus long or thus long. Therefore whatsoever we have to do, let us do it presently ; let us reform our wicked lives presently, * before we go hence and be no more seen,' Ps. xxxix. 13. And for the good we have to do, do it presently, put it not ofi". No man is assured of his con- tinuance here.
Obs. 3. In the next place, ' David served God in his generation.' He did
KING David's epitaph. 497
not do it by starts and fits. He did not do this or that good act ; but he served God in his whole generation. So must every man not only be con- tent to do now and then a good action ; for the veriest wicked man in the world may do good sometimes, and the best men may do ill sometimes ; but in the whole course of our life, we must do good in our generation. Our course must be holy, the whole tenor of our lives, while we are in the world. All things have their time, but there is no time for sin ; there is no time for vanity ; no time for swearing ; no time for sensuality and looseness.
Therefore let the whole course of our lives be spent in the service of God. What do we know but that that little time wherein we yield to the service of the devil may be the time when God will fetch us hence ? And what will become of us then ? Therefore resolve not a moment to serve sin. Our whole time is but short in respect of eternity. What is our generation to world without end ? Therefore let us be content to serve God our whole generation.
' He served God in his toleration,' that is, in his lifetime, while he was here. For God hath placed us in the world to do him some work. This is God's working place ; he hath houses of work for us. Now our lot here is to do work, to be in some calling and course to work for God. We are not sent here into the world to play, or to live idly. Religion is no vocal profession. Every man must have some calling or other, and in his genera- tion he must do good. For what will our account be afterwards else, when we shall give an account to God how we have spent our time in our gener- ation, what good we did, what ill we hindered ? It will be a fearful account when we have . spent our time idW, perhaps scandalously and offensively, and sent others to hell by our example. We must serve God in our generation, in our life.
Thou that livest profanely day after day, when dost thou mean to serve God ? At the hour of death ? Did David serve God when he was to die only ? No. ' He served God in his generation, and then fell asleep.' Alas, why do we put off? There is no sowing after this life. Then is the time of reaping. And why wilt thou defer the time of sowing till thou come to reap ? It is a time to reap the comforts of religion at the hour of death. Shall we defer to serve God's will till we come to make our own will ? And ofttimes it is forced what we do then. No. We must serve God all our time. ' David served God all his generation.' To do a few good works at our death only, it is a swinish doing good. The swine will do good when he is dead. Then there is profit of his flesh, though all his life he were noisome. Those men that put off thus, they are rather swine than men, beastly men. God seldom accepts the good they do then, and it is a forced good. If they were not to die then, no good at all would be done. That they do is because they can keep it no longer. It shews they have no grace nor faith at all, for if there had been faith to depend upon God they would have done good before. But they think, I may come to misery my- self, and I know not what distasteful, base thoughts ; therefore they will do no good in their lifetime. But we must serve God in our generation if we will be saved. These things are of some use, and we should not forget them. But I come to the service itself, which I shall a little more stand upon.