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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A04596	Christs vvatch-vvord Being the parable of the virgins, expounded and applyed to these times of security. Or an exhortation of our Saviours to us, that we may watch and prepare our selues for the unknowne times of death and judgement.	Johnston, Thomas, Chaplain to the Bishop of Dromore.	1630 (1630)	STC 14715; ESTC S107830	129,458	212

of common light Math. 8.12 Math 22.13 for they shall be cast into utter darknesse insteed of quicknesse for motion they shall be bound hand and foote and the soule clogged to the body and lastly their bodies and soules are capable of nothing but sufferings and torments Mar 9.44 for their worme dyeth not and their fire never goeth out So when all arise the godly and wicked shall differ more then the blacknesse of a blackamore from the brightnes of the Sunne Consider these things and so behave your selves as you wish in the Resurrection to be a vessell of honour or dishonour according as you shall to your unspeakable joy or sorrow finde it in that fearefull day And trimmed their Lampes Lest Virgins appointed to be attendants at mariage be unfitt for the honour that becommeth their place it is requisite that they be adorned with wedding garments furnished with lampes or wedding Torches for preparing whereof they have an appoynted and competent time So the Lord hath granted unto us such competency of time as in his wisdome he knoweth is sufficient for our preparation to meet him when he shal call by death or the last judgement Now when the Bridegroome is cōming and the Virgins on foote to meet him it onely remaines that they trimme their Lampes as they are in meeting of him So when in death and judgement we are meeting the Lord we shall turne our mindes to the consideration of what state our soules and bodyes were in and whether in our life time we were prepared for meeting him or not this is the meaning of trimming their lampes aptaverunt lampades suas id est rationes reddendas operum which is August de Temp. Ser. 23. that they were to addresse them to give account of their works This is the busines that every one shall take in hand both after death and the Resurrection Our lampes for this spirituall and everlasting imployment are our soules and bodies which are never knowne how ready they were untill they bee brought in examination and tryal before the Lord reade Math. 22.11 which must be in death when we goe to the Lord or in the generall judgement when he commeth to us in both which this trimming and addressing our selves to account shall be used In death Heb. 9. ●9 the soule must be brought to this account for after death commeth judgement after it hath left the body then doth it call it selfe to account how it may answere at the tribunall seate of Gods justice unto which it is then conveyed In the great Iudgement both soule and body doe joyntly returne to consider what they shall answer to the great and fearefull reckoning they shall be charged withall For we must all appeare before the judgement seate of Christ 2 Cor. 5.10 and give account of whatsoever we have done The prodigall Sonne was long before he studied an answere and account of his life yet he did it when he was to meet his Father All this doctrine may be read as it is set downe in Esay 29. vers 15.18.19.20.21.22.23.24 so though men be now cōtent to forget their owne experience and to counterfeit the ignorance of their owne knowledge in all things that concerne themselves yet when they are comming to the judgement seate of Christ they shall search for some answere which may prove most currant for their delivery This shall be done by two helpes first all men shall examine themselves how prepared they were when they were in this world and that this may the more truely and speedily be performed Revel 20.12 the booke of the conscience shall bee opened wherein is written all that ever men have done for as men have bookes to this purpose that they put in them the treasury of things which the memory cannot containe so shall the consciences of all men shew at one fearefull sight unto every man Math. 12.36 the Legend of their life and actions with all the circumstances of them every idle word shall be remembred Ecclesias 12 14. and every worke shall bee brought to judgement with every secret thing whether it be good or evill then shall this power of Conscience Rom. 2.15 shew it selfe either in accusing or excusing all eyes shal be opened to see if they be naked or clothed in the sight of God Our sinfull actions in this life are they which make up this large booke of reckoning against vs for both it is our owne actions and it shall be our owne knowledge and memory that shall witnesse against us If therefore this debt of ours doth daily increase with which we shall accuse our selves in Gods presence let us like wise debters looke our count booke often and be ever discharging some by often examining what our conscience can witnes against us when we finde our faults cry according as our Saviour instructed us Lord forgive us our debts if we doe thus often our conscience shall have the lesse to accuse us of and the more easily shall our lampes be trimmed in the judgement day Secondly the servants of God had other lampes in this world then wicked men had and therefore they shall finde it in trimming and addressing themselves to give account Gods servants for their lampe vsed their soule and body which they offred as a quicke and lively sacrifice unto God Rom 12.1 and therefore in the Resurrection they find them ready to give account for which they laboured so much all their life time and are found ready to goe in with the Lord of glory into his heavenly habitation as will appeare verse 10. Reprobate men in their life labour only wearying thēselves in the wayes of wickednes some are so sensuall that they distast all things except pleasure untill they surfet of it and by bodily weakenes their mindes grow queasie as formerly their stomacks were Dissidet ambiguis semper mens obvia votis Nee voluisse homini satis est optata recusat Auson Ely● 15. others for their lampes are enamoured with the lustre that the deceiving world hath and toyle as much to fill the belly of their chests with trash as the sensuall do to stopp their belly full of detestable doung Both these kinds of men of which kinds most Reprobates are have mistaken their lampes and insteed of making soule and body ready for account labor to fatten and make delicate their body to feast wormes withall or to fill all their stores with riches which proves often times fewell to unexpected fire a sword for robbers to kill them withall but sure in the end a barre to shutt them out of heaven and to hinder them from preparing for judgement and therefore how can these bee ready who never prepared themselves Thirdly by trimming of their lampes is understood the framing of them to that readinesse they were in when they layd them downe to sleepe So when all men shall addresse them to goe to judgement

so long as we professe our selves of this company and faction wee cannot meete our Master and therefore out we must goe We may see Some goe not out others make a shew that most have not as yet taken journey to meete Christ as Iewes Turkes and Heathen tity the number of the wise five Virgins the number of the foolish five God only knoweth the number of the Elect and Reprobate As for the Number of the Elect and Reprobate it is without question that he who numbreth the starres and calls them all by their names hath also counted them and as men have for their businesse in this world bookes of notes and accounts so doth God expresse his particular knowledge and care to us in this behalfe that there is a booke with him wherein he hath inrolled and counted the names and number of his servants Philip. 4.3 writing their names in the booke of life It were an improfitable matter to us And it were to no purpose to shew it unto us that the number of Elect and Reprobate were in Gods Word expressed unto us who are not able to understand sensibly the quantity of lesser numbers and if any had the knowledge of it yet it were not a cause to make him to rejoyce but in this we have true joy when we know our selves to be of the elected number and that our names are written in the booke of life Luke 10.20 The great number to be damned and the little number to be saved The equality of the number of wise and foolish Virgins giveth no ground to us to conceive that the one halfe of mankinde is to be saved the other to be damned because this is a Parable which as we know of comparisons they hold not in all points as may appeare hereafter in the particulars of verses 8 9 10 c. for one cannot borrow grace of another it being incommunicable as the foolish would borrow oyle of the wise Virgins But naturall reason the sentence of Doctours and above all the Scriptures doe plainly shew how few the number of the elect are in respect of the damned We see all Asia Africa America and the parts of Magellanica that are inhabited are without the meanes of obtaining salvation some of them have no understanding others have their knowledge darkned with a Tygerlike cruelty the visible Church is most in Europe of whom the tenth part are more ignorant of Religion than the former are cunning of heathenish superstition Ier. 7.4 among them that know Religion many cry The Temple of the Lord who have all their Religion in word or on the tongues end many have Lord Lord in their mouth in whose heart Satan dwelleth Mat 9.23 they claime interest in Christ who know him not nor are acknowledged of him adulterers fornicators drunkards oppressours covetous and the like thinke themselves Christians good enough because they be so called and yet fight against him whose honour they professe When Satan hath singled out his owne wee see that fewe are left to be saved The Doctours have said the same In locum Math 13.8 Tres partes seminis pericrant quarta sola servata est pauci enim sunt qui salvantur Theophel Num 1 46 Puto quòd prudentium numerum longè superat multiplicitas fatuarum saith Saint Bernard I thinke rather that the multitude of the foolish did farre surpasse the number of the wise Origenes considering the great number of the Israelites that were come to mans estate before they came out of Aegypt being 603 550. of which all were barred from entring the holy land except two saith the number of the damned doth so farre passe the elect as the unbeleevers did surpasse the beleevers of these Israelites before Noah and seven hundred yeares after his time Gods Church was in some few families when he revealed himselfe unto a whole Nation few could be saved because of unbeleefe Heb. 3.19 But to passe from particular conjecture Math. 22.14 Christ tells us plainely Many are called but few are chosen This should make vs labor to enter in at c. Math. 7.13.14 The vse hereof is given by Christ himselfe in these words Enter in at the straite gate for broad is the way that leadeth to destruction and many there be that goe in thereat but straite is the gate and narrow is the path that leadeth to life and few there be who enter therein While few are to enter I wonder but every soule should tremble The greatnes of the number cannot save any from destruction Hieron Wolf in Som. Scip. for Lupum curare numerum proverbio negatur quòd aeque oves numeratas ac non numeratas devoret as the proverbe saith the Wolfe careth not for number for he destroyeth as well the numbred as the unnumbred sheepe so Satan cares not how many he cary to hell onely he is in feare lest he get too fewe Neither is the great multitude of the damned any comfort to them as in this world the sufferings of companions is an ease to the afflicted An minus ardebis quia cum multis ardebis Shalt thou burne the lesse because many are burnt with thee No the more fewell the more fire on which God shall have the better occasion to sharpe the infinitnesse of his power Each of you consider of which number you are Christ hath forwarned you Salomon points at both the wise and foolish Virgins Prov. 22.3 The wise man seeth the plague a farre off and hideth himselfe the foolish runne on and are punished the wise men beleeve and prevent whilst they are foretold of it the foolish accoūt them mockers Gen. 19 14. who foretell their miserie as some of the Sodomites thought Lot to be and are forced by experience to beleeue it and when it is too late they intend to prevent it Now as these Virgins are distinguished by number so are they by quality some are wise some foolish The foolish Virgins they knew not their owne naturall misery and wants Many perish who bragge of their Christian name Rom. 9 25. and therefore were not spirituall Virgins indeed yet as God called the Israelites beloved who were not beloved so here are they called virgins who are like the Christians of Laod●cea who thought that they were spiritually rich and increased with goods but had not grace to see Revel 3.17 that they were wretched miserable poore blinde and naked But seeing that nudi nom●nis nullus est reatus the bare name of a Christian Tertull. Apolog. was not sufficient to prove a Roman a traytour to the Romane Empire neither to proue him a true servant to Christ whom Satan carieth headlong to hell we must give men leaue to call themselves by this honorable name whilst they labour for their owne destruction only making that a lesson for us which their foolishnes maketh wofull experience unto them I am not in all particulars to