1. To the young —
[To you God has given an express promise that you shall not seek his face in vainb. Seek then to resemble those whose names are recorded for your encouragement, as having obtained mercy in their earliest years c, and as being highly distinguished among the saints of God. And let not these years, which are so favourable for the reception of divine impressions'1, be wasted in the service of sin and Satan.]
2. To the afflicted—
[Affliction is oftentimes the voice of Gode: and, if you have the wisdom to improve it, you also have a special pro- mise, that you shall find favour with Godf. Begin then "in the day of adversity to consider ;" and you shall have no reason to regret the severity of the means, when once you have attained the end which God designs to accomplish by them.]
3. To the old —
[You above all should set yourselves to seek the Lord, because your day of grace cannot be continued much longer. It is a comfort, however, to reflect, that you may obtain mercy even at the eleventh hourg. Let then your past time be redeemed with diligence; and, the shorter the space allowed you is for seeking the Lord, the more earnest let your exertions be to " know the things belonging to your peace, before they be for ever hid from your eyes."]'1
b Prov. viii. 17.
c Samuel, Josiah, and Timothy, from their very childhood, and John Baptist from the womb.
d Prov. xxii. 6. e Mic. vi. 9. f Ps. 1. 15.
s Matt. xx. 5, 6.
h If this were the subject of a Funeral Sermon, the friends of the deceased might be addressed, and the deceased person's past and pre- sent views of this subject be impressed upon their minds as incentives to diligence."