Page:Serious thoughts for the living.pdf/6

. They found a powerful alarm to heedless dreaming mortals, and are intended as a remedy for our carnal ſecurity. Such paſſing bells inculcate loudly our 's admonition: "Take ye heed, watch, and pray; for ye know not when the time is.—"We nod, like intoxicated creatures, upon the very verge of a tremendous precipice. Theſe aſtoniſhing diſpenſations are the kind meſſengers of heaven, to rouſe us from our ſupineneſs, and quicken us into timely circumspection. I need not surely accommodate them with language, nor act as their interpreter. Let every one's conscience be awake, and this will appear their awful meaning:—"O! ye sons of men, in the midſt of life you are in death. No ſtate, no circumſtances, can ascertain your preservation a ſingle moment. So ſtrong is the tyrant's arm, that nothing can reſiſt its force; so true his aim, that nothing can elude the blow. Sudden as lightning, sometimes is his arrow launched; and wounds and kills, in the twinkling of an eye. Never promiſe yourſelf ſafety in an expedient, but conſtant preparation. The fatal ſhafts fly ſo promiſcuouſly, that none can gueſs the victim. Therefore, be ye always ready; for in ſuch an hour as ye think not, the final ſummons cometh."

Be ye always ready; for in ſuch an hour as ye think not.—Important admonition!