mercy with him in that day, who would fue to him for it no fooner, that they fhall addrefs themfelves to the mountains and rocks, as being more pitiful and exorable than he, to hide them from the face of him that fitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: from the wrath of the Lamb, to fignify unto us, that nothing is more terrible than meeknefs and patience, when they are thoroughly provoked, and turned into fury.

In fuch dreadful confufion fhall all impenitent finners be, when they fhall be furprised by that great and terrible day of the Lord: and the cafe of a dying finner, who would take no care in the time of his life and health to make preparation for another world, is not much more hopeful and comfortable.

For, alas! how little is it that a fick and dying man can do in fuch a strait of time; in the midst of so much pain and weakness of body, and of fuch confusion and amazement of mind? With what heart can he fet about fo great a work, for which there is fo little time? with what face can he apply himself to God in this extremity, whom he hath fo difdainfully neglected all the days of his life? and how can he have the confidence to hope that God will hear his cries, and regard his tears, that are forced from him in this day of his neceffity; when he is confcious to himself, that, in that long day of God's grace and patience, he turned a deaf ear to all his merciful invitations, and rejected the counsel of God against himself? In a word, how can he, who would not know, in that his day, the things which belonged to his peace, expect any other, but that they should now be for ever hid from his eyes, which are ready to be closed in utter dark

nefs?

I will not pronounce any thing concerning the impoffibility of a deathbed repentance: but I am fure that it is very difficult, and I believe very rare. We have but one example, that I know of, in the whole Bible, of the repentance of a dying finner; I mean that of the penitent thief upon the crofs: and the circumftances of his cafe are fo peculiar and extraordinary, that I cannot fee that it affords any ground of hope and encouragement to men in ordinary cafes. We are not like to fuffer in the company of the Son of God, and of the Sa

viour of the world: and if we could do fo, it is not certain that we should behave ourselves towards him fo well as the penitent thief did, and make so very good an end of fo very bad a life.

And the parable in the text is fo far from giving any encouragement to a deathbed repentance and preparation, that it rather represents their cafe as defperate, who put off their preparation to that time. How ineffectual all that the foolish virgins could do at that time did in the conclufion prove, is fet forth to us at large in the parable. They wanted oil; but could neither borrow nor buy it, y 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. They would then fain have had it, and ran about to get it; but it was not to be obtained neither by intreaty nor for money. First, they apply themselves to the wife virgins, for a share in the overplus of their graces and virtues: y 8. The foolish faid unto the wife, Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out. But the wife anfwered, Not fo; left there be not enough for us and you. The wife virgins, it seems, knew of none they had to fpare. And then they are represented as ironically fending the foolish virgins to fome famous market where this oil was pretended to be fold;

9. Go ye rather to them that fell, and buy for yourselves. And as dying and defperate perfons are apt to catch at every twig, and when they can fee no hopes of being faved, are apt to believe every one that will give them any; fo thefe foolish virgins follow the advice: y 10. And whilst they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and they that were ready, went in with him to the marriage, and the door was fout. And afterwards came alfo the other virgins, Saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But The answered and faid, Verily I fay unto you, I know

you not.

You fee how little, or rather no encouragement at all, there is from any the leaft circumftance in this parable, for thofe who have delayed their preparation for another world, till they be overtaken by death or judgment, to hope by any thing that they can then do, by any importunity which they can then ufe, to gain admiffion into heaven. Let thofe confider this with fear and trembling, who forget God, and neglect religion all their lifetime, and yet feed themselves with vain hopes,

by

by fome device or other, to be admitted into heaven at laft.

V. I obferve, that there is no fuch thing as works of fupererogation; that is, that no man can do more than needs, and than is his duty to do, by way of preparation for another world: for when the foolish virgins would have begged of the wife fome oil for their lamps, y 8. the wife answered, y 9. Not fo; left there be not enough for us and you. It was only the foolish virgins that, in the time of their extremity, and when they were. confcious that they wanted that which was abfolutely neceffary to qualify them for admiffion into heaven, who had entertained this idle conceit, that there might be an overplus of grace and merit in others fufficient to fupply their want. But the wife knew not of any they had to fpare; but fuppofed all that they had done, or could poffibly do, to be little enough to qualify them for the glorious reward of eternal life: Not fo, (fay they),

wole, left at any time; that is, left when there fhould. be need and occafion, all that we have done, or could do, fhould be little enough for ourselves. And in this point they had been plainly instructed by the bridegroom himfelf: But ye, when ye have done all, fay, We are unprofitable fervants; and have done nothing but what was our duty to do.

:

And yet this conceit of the foolish virgins, as abfurd as it is, hath been taken up in good earnest by a grave matron, who gives out herself to be the mother and miftrefs of all churches, and the only infallible oracle of truth I mean the church of Rome, whofe avowed do&trine it is, That there are some perfons fo excellently. good, that they may do more than needs for their own falvation and therefore, when they have done as much for themselves as in ftrict duty they are bound to do, and thereby have paid down a full and valuable confideration for heaven, and as much as in equal juftice between God and man it is worth, that then they may go to work again for their friends, and begin a new score ; and, from that time forward, may put the furplufage of their good works as a debt upon God, to be laid up in the publick treafury of the church, as fo many bills of credit, which the Pope, by his pardons and indulgences,

may

may difpenfe, and place to whofe account he pleases. And out of this bank, which is kept at Rome, those who never took care to have any righteousness of their own, may be fupplied at reasonable rates.

To which they have added a further fupply of grace, if there fhould be any need of it, by the facrament of extreme unction, never heard of in the Chriftian church for many ages; but devifed, as it were, on purpose to furnish fuch foolish virgins with oil, as are here described in the parable.

And thus, by one device or other, they have enervated the Christian religion to that degree, that it hath almoft quite loft its true virtue and efficacy upon the hearts and lives of men and instead of the real fruits of goodness and righteoufnefs, it produceth little elfe but fuperftition and folly; or if it produce any real virtues, yet even the virtue of thofe virtues is in a great measure spoiled by their arrogant pretences of merit and fupererogation, and is rendered infignificant to themselves by their infolent carriage and behaviour towards God.

VI. and lastly, If we could fuppofe any persons to be fo overgrown with goodness, as to have more than needs to qualify them for the reward of eternal life; yet there can be no affigning and transferring of this overplus of grace and virtue from one man to another. For we fee that all the ways that could be thought on, of begging, or borrowing, or buying oil of others, did all prove ineffectual; because the thing is in its own nature impracticable, that one finner, who owes all that he hath, and much more, to God, fhould have any thing to fpare wherewithal to merit for another.

Indeed our bleffed Saviour hath merited us for all the reward of eternal life, upon the condition of faith, and repentance, and obedience: but the infinite merit of his obedience and fufferings will be of no benefit and advantage to us, if we ourselves be not really and inherently righteous. So St. John tells us, and warns us to beware of the contrary conceit: Liitle children, let no man deceive you he that doth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

If

If we do fincerely endeavour to please God, and to keep his commandments, in the general courfe of a holy and virtuous life, the merit of Chrift's perfect obedience and fufferings will be available with God for the acce-. ptance of our fincere, though but imperfect obedience. But if we take no care to be righteous and good ourselves, the perfect righteoufnefs of Chrift will do us no good; much lefs the imperfect righteousness of any other man who is a finner himself. And the holiest man that ever was upon earth, can no more assign and make over his righteousness, or repentance, or any part of either, to anther that wants it, than a man can bequeath his wifdom or learning to his heir or his friend; no more than a fick man can be restored to health by virtue of the phyfick which another man hath taken.

Let no man therefore think of being good by a deputy, that cannot be contented to be happy and to be faved the fame way; that is, to go to hell, and be tormented there in perfon, and to go to heaven, and be admitted into that place of blifs only by proxy. So that thefe good works with a hard name, and the making over the merit of them to others, have no manner of foundation either in fcripture or reason, but are all mere fancy and fiction in divinity.

The inference from all this fhall be, the application which our Saviour makes of this parable, y 13. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh: as if he had faid, The defign of this parable is, to inftruct us, that we ought to be continually vigilant, and always upon our guard, and in a conftant readiness and preparation to meet the bridegroom; because we know not the time of his coming to judgment, nor yet, which will be of the fame consequence and concernment to us, do any of us know the precife time of our own death. Either of these may happen at any time, and come when we leaft expect them. And therefore we fhould make the best and speedieft provifion that we can for another world, and should be continually upon our watch, and trimming our lamps, that we may not be surprised by either of thefe; neither by our own particular death, nor by the general judgment of the world; because the Son of man will come in a day when we

look