their Joyfull Sense of the Happy Change And to compare their own Condition with that of Lost Miserable Souls To think of the Hell they deserv'd and others suffer and they themselves did sometime fear and compare it with the Rest and Peace and Joy and Glory that they now partake of will add to their Felicity And who can tell how great that is even before the Resurrection For eye hath not seen 1 Cor. ii 9. nor ear heard nor hath it entred into the heart of man to conceive what God hath prepared for them that love him It is represented in Scripture by and above all such Pleasures as do most sensibly Delight us to set forth the Joys of Heaven to be unspeakable and full of Glory When the Divine Image shall be perfected the Body of Sin and Death removed all our Darkness Impurity and Corruption healed And if there were nothing else but a perfect and eternal Freedom and Deliverance from Sin with all the Causes Concomitants and Effects of it they to whom it is now the greatest Burden Trouble and Sorrow must account it an Unspeakable Felicity But the Soul shall then awake as out of Sleep to see and know things as really they are and be in a state of more vigorous Activity than while it animated the Body But what the Blessedness will be of Faith turned into Vision when all the Powers of the Soul are enlarged raised and suited to the views of God's Glory by Christ and made more receptive of Divine Communications is what we want Words to describe and can think and speak of but very imperfectly For now we see thro' a Glass darkly but hereafter Face to Face without interruption or obscurity This we know that they shall not only escape the Damnation of Hell but enter into a state of Happiness the Joy of their Lord. We read of Glory to be revealed in them and Glory conferred on them In general as to real and positive Blessedness for the Souls of Good Men after Death even before the Day of Judgement we have not only the Testimony of Scripture but somewhat from the Light of Nature * Mr. How 's Blessedness of the Righteous Chap. 10. All the Philosophers who believ'd the Immortality of the Soul and how few but did allow it they profess to believe the Happiness of the Souls of Good Men in separation from the Body for knowing nothing of the Resurrection of the Body they could not dream of a sleeping Interval till the Day of Judgment The like we may say of a state of postitive Misery for wicked Souls after Death Here in this parable is a Lost Soul condemn'd to Torment assoon as departed this Life before the Resurrection And Torments so extream as that the most inconsiderable Refreshment would be reckon'd a great Relief The Discourse is fram'd according to the Nature of a Parable between the Rich Man in Hell and Abraham in Heaven and Lazarus with him How fain would he now change Conditions with the Beggar whom he neglected and despised at his Door What would he give to be comforted as he is But he lift up his Eyes in Torment unexpressible Torment and so the Scriptures every where represent it Rom. ii 8. 'T is call'd Indignation and Anguish Tribulation and Wrath. 'T is a fearfull thing to fall into the hands of the living God Psal xi 6. He will wound the Head of his Enemies Psal lxviii 21. We read of a Lake of Fire a Lake of Brimstone a Furnace of Fire of tearing in pieces cutting in pieces dividing in the midst drowning in Perdition of being bound hand and foot and cast into Fire to be burnt of outer darkness chains of darkness the great Winepress of the wrath of God c. Be sure the Sufferings of the wicked in the other World are greater than we can endure for obeying God in this otherwise the threatning of such a Punishment would not be an effectual restraint from Sin But how extream must be that Punishment set forth by the violence of Fire enraged with Brimstone and prepared by the wrath of God for the Devil and his Angels And the Sting of a guilty enraged Conscience as the biting and gnawing of a Worm on the most tender part 'T is represented in such a manner as is most proper to impress the quickest sense of terrour on our minds to strike our Imagination with the Extremity as well as the Reality of those Sufferings And if the Expressions be but Metaphorical they make the Torments the greater as intimating rather that they are but faintly shadow'd by what is most grievous in this World We read of being tormented in Flames and yet of Darkness Everlasting Fire and * See Dr. Lightfoot 's Genuine Remains 8o. 1700. Explanation of difficult Texts Decad 11 § 6. Outer Darkness The fearfull state of Sinners under the Wrath of God describ'd by both We read that the Aegyptians under the plague of Darkness saw not one another neither arose any from his place Ex. x. 23. This the Psalmist gives an account of in these terms Psal 88.49 He cast upon them the fierceness of his Anger Wrath and Indignation by sending evil Angels among them The Indignation of God without any beam or spark of his Favour is Darkness indeed And the Devils may rage and roar and terrify and yet Sinners be held in Chains of Darkness that they cannot stir God is represented as a Consuming Fire Heb. xii ult a Devouring Fire and Sinners fall into his hands as an Avenging Judge Isa xxxiii 14 We read of his Fiery Indignation to devour his Adversaries of his Wrath and Power to be made known Rom. ix 22. and glorified in their Destruction And who knows the Power of his Anger said Moses the Man of God who saw his Glory The Wrath of God is the Hell of Devils and of all the Damned If he be angry but a little we can't stand at the rebuke of his Countenance we perish what then if he stir up all his Wrath in the day of his fierce Anger when he comes to execute Judgment and to render Vengeance from the Glory of his Power upon the Wicked fitted for and reserved to Destruction You may fancy the most terrible things can be dreaded of Fire and Brimstone Wracks and Tempests boiling Pitch scalding Lead or a burning Furnace and being kept alive for a long time to suffer such exquisite pains But all we can hereby reach to conceive of the Pains of Hell falls as much short of the Torments of the Damned as one little spark of Fire on the hand compared with the furious rage of Nebuchadnezzar's Furnace heated seven times hotter than ordinary 'T is impossible for the most awakened Conscience to conceive the Horrour of it Who can tell how God can punish or what the guilty Soul can be made to suffer under the Wrath of a provoked God! when he comes to be revenged for all
Heaven and Hell OR The Unchangeable State OF Happiness or Misery For all MANKIND In Another WORLD Occasion'd by the Repentance and Death of Mr. Shetterden Thomas who departed this Life April 7 1700. Aetat 26. Preach'd and Publish'd at the Desire and Direction of the Deceased With some Particulars he order'd should be mentioned in hope of doing Good to Others By John Shower With a further Account of some Passages of his last Sickness by a Pious Lady who often visited him LONDON Printed by J. Heptinstall for John Sprint at the Bell in Little-Britain 1700. THE Epistle Dedicatory TO Mr. DANIEL THOMAS OF HIGHGATE SIR I Should look on my self as justly expos'd to the Censure of the World if before a Treatise of so serious a Nature and such Important Consequence I should prefix any thing that looks like Flattery either of You or of the Honoured Lady the Relation of whose Discourse with Your Deceased Brother in his last Sickness is here annex'd How much You reckon'd Your self indebted to Her for that Instance of her Friendship I have heard You acknowledge with great Thankfulness You have reason to own the singular Goodness of God who gave him so Merciful a Season of Repentance and his Grace as we charitably hope to make use of it to better purpose than most late Penitents do I endeavour'd to be Faithful to him while he liv'd and to fulfil his Desire after his Decease in what was Preach'd and is now more largely Publish'd May neither You nor I lose the Impressions of this Instructive Providence or of that Awful Subject it led me to treat of If no Others should profit by either I wish with all my Heart and most earnestly beg it of God that You and Yours may Sir I shall only put You in mind with what Kindness and Affection he sent for Your Children a little before his Death and recommended to You and my Sister a particular Care of their Education in the Knowledge and Fear of God and mention'd it with Pleasure that they were like to have that Advantage May both of them live to have it and improve it to Honour God in the World and partake of the Blessings of the Everlasting Covenant And may All mine do so likewise Which is the Earnest Prayer of him who is with unfeigned Respect SIR Your Affectionate Brother and Faithful Servant J. Shower London May ult 1700. The CONTENTS INtroduction The Scope of the Parable The Different Conditions of Mankind after Death p. 4. The Souls of Good Men are in a State of Rest and Happiness before the Resurrection Why called Abraham's Bosom p. 7. A positive State of Misery and Torment for the Wicked in another World p. 13-28 Both States after Death Vnchangeable p. 29. The Blessedness of the Saints Everlasting p. 31. The Gulf fix'd as to the Misery of the Wicked without Release or End p. 36. The Socinian Doctrine concerning the Annihilation of the Wicked after the Day of Judgment disprov'd from Scripture The Objections against the Endless Misery of the Wicked answer'd p. 47. Application Inference 1. Now or Never is the Season to prepare for Eternity p. 55. 2. How valuable a Talent is the Time of our present Life p. 58. The Evil of Idleness 3. How Awful and of how great Consequence for any one to die and pass into the other World p. 63. What a Change will Death make to a Wicked Man 4. We may take our Measures of Men's Wisdom or Folly according to their Care or Negligence in preparing for the Eternal World p. 77. How Inconsiderable is the longest Life on Earth compar'd with an Endless Duration A thousand Years in God's Sight but as one Day p. 86. Lastly What a hazard to delay Repentance to the last Hour or to a Sick-Bed p. 86. The Example of the Thief on the Cross considered as Extraordinary and prov'd to give no Encouragement to such a Delay p. 88. The Excellency of his short Prayer Lord Remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom p. 95. Death-Bed Repentance deceitfull and uncomfortable p. 103. Exhortation 1. To be Establisht in the Belief of the Scripture Doctrine concerning the two Eternal States and labour to be suitably affected with the Consideration of Heaven and Hell p. 106. 2. Let us hearken to Moses and the Prophets to Christ and his Apostles if we would ever have a Place in Abraham's Bosom and escape the Torments of Hell p. 121. They who will not believe Scripture Revelation 't is probable would not be perswaded though one came from the Dead p. 123. An Account of the last Sickness and Repentance of Mr. Sh. T. p. 132. Some Particulars warn'd against by his Desire A further Account of some Passages of his last Sickness by a Pious Lady who often visited him p. 156. HEAVEN and HELL OR The Unchangeable State of Happiness or Misery after Death S. LUKE XVI 26. And besides all this between us and you there is a great Gulf fixed WE are told by the Wise Man what becomes of the Body and the Soul when they part at Death how the Body that was fram'd out of the Dust of the Ground returns thither and the Soul which is of Divine Original returns to GOD the Father of Spirits to Elohim which signifies a Judge as well as a Creator to be dispos'd of by him in another World Eccl. xii 3 Then shall the Dust return to its Earth and the Spirit to God that gave it It is not to be annihilated extinguished or destroy'd but returns to GOD as the final Arbiter of its Eternal State That there is such a State of Happiness or Misery of Rest or Torment for departed Souls and that both states are unchangable is what this Parable may instruct us in There is a Gulf fix'd between the Blessed and Miserable after Death either sort unalterably Happy or unchangeably Miserable There is an irreversible Decree of Heaven to determine the Felicity of the Saints to be everlasting and to conclude the Wicked in a state of Misery without Relief or End As there is no fear of Change for the Happy Souls in Abraham's Bosom so is there no hope of Alleviation or Period of the wretched condition of Sinners in Hell This is the Important Subject I would now Explain Evidence and Apply And can there be any that more deserves and calls for your most serious Attention It is one part of the Design and Scope of this Parable of our Saviour concerning the Rich-man and Lazarus to affirm this A Parable it must be granted tho' mixt with somewhat Historical as the mention of a Poor-man by name who may be suppos'd to have been notorious and known among the Jews for his extream Poverty and Distress The different State and Condition of Men departed this Life is express'd by our Saviour in a Parabolical way the more effectually to insinuate the Truths he would teach us with the greater Advantage to move the Affections of his Hearers
Soul that there shall be nothing to incline nor cause a change It is a little thing to say the Blessedness and Joy of the Saints shall last as many Years as there has been drops of Rain faln from Heaven since the beginning of the World for it shall endure as long as there is a God in Heaven and He is the same who was and is and is to come from Everlasting to Everlasting Our God shall live for ever Our Saviour will never die and we shall live for ever in his light and love and likeness Blessedness and Eternity shall be united How great a thing is this to say my God and Saviour and for ever mine Eternal Life is all the World in one word and more than ten thousand Worlds To be ever with the Lord to have an immovable Happiness in the presence of the ever-living God To say my Portion is sure and can never be lost It is mine for ever what a glory is this Now I may lose my Health or Credit or Friends or Life but the Gift of God by Jesus Christ is Eternal Life Nothing shall ever separate us from the Love of God in Christ This is the very Spirit of Heaven the Crown of the Blessedness of the Saints To be for ever the objects of his Infinite Love to enjoy a Felicity that shall never decay or be diminished never be forfeited or lost It will rather always encrease for we cannot possibly know God all at once New Beauties will still discover themselves in an Infinite Object and therefore we shall love him more and more by knowing him more and so our Joy will continue and encrease without fear or danger of a period But we shall know and love and rejoyce more and more without end Oh! how imperfectly do our weak and shallow Thoughts conceive of this Blessed Eternity To be Blessed with the Lord in Glory and never dye To rejoyce with Joy unspeakable and ever to rejoyce To live for ever belov'd of God and to be joyfull and happy in his Love for ever Oh! what Hearts have we that can admit the hopes of this without a Transsport without despising all those things that people call Great upon Earth but are ended with us in a dying hour * See more on this Head Reflections on Time and Eternity Sect. xx Secondly The Gulf is fixt as to the Misery and Torment of the Wicked They have no Expectation of Release Eternal and Everlasting are joyn'd with the Torments of Hell as well as with the Blessedness of Heaven These shall go away into Everlasting Punishment Though their Bodies be held Prisoners in the Grave till the Resurrection their Souls are in misery waiting for their final doom And at the last day of the World they shall be found in the same state as at the day of Death and then be punish'd with Everlasting Destruction The terrible Sentence is Depart ye cursed into everlasting Fire This is the acknowledged Doctrin of the Christian Church in all Ages and most expressly asserted in the Holy Scriptures We read of a Worm that never dies of a Fire that shall never be quenched Everlasting Punishment Eternal Damnation Everlasting Destruction the Blackness of Darkness for ever a Lake that burns with Fire and Brimstone where they shall be tormented Day and Night for ever and ever and where the smoke of their Torment ascendeth up for ever and ever This Doctrin is very cunningly undermin'd by some upon the account of their corrupt Principles and boldly deny'd by others for the sake of their ill Practices The Adversaries of the Divinity and Satisfaction of Christ would have the Punishment of the Wicked at the Day of Judgment to consist in * Ignis Eternus in Sacris Literis vocatur non is in quo res ei injecta aeternum uritur nec unquam consumitur sed qui ita rem exurit ac consumit ut illa in Aeternum non restituatur in integram vel qui tam diu ardet donee res illa planè in totum comburatur ut ex eâ nihil prorsus remaneas Ita Esai 66. ultimo Dicitur de occisis quod vermis eorum non morietur nimirum sicut vermis qui in cadavere alique nascitur tamdiâ— vivit nec moritur donec cadaver fuerit prorsus absumptum Vide Marc. 9.44 Videtur haec locutio sumpta ex Esai 34.9 10. ubi Propheta divina judicia Idumaeis interminatur Mutabuntur torrentes ejus in picem terra ejus in Sulphur eritque Terra ejus pro Pice ardente noctu interdiu non extinguetur in seculum ascendet Fumus ejus Crellii Comment in Mat. 18. v. 8. Comment in 1 Cor. 15. Ut vero Deus in omnibus justitiae tenax est ita hic quoque super neminem extendet panam meritis â—jus majorem Nullà autem possunt esse peccata â—am gravia quae sâ—mpiternis cruciatibus possent aequart Wolzogenius in Matth. 25. v. â—6 See more Passiges of this kind in Bishop Pearson on the Creed Art XII and Dr. Edwardâ— of the Socinian Creed 8vo Chap V. Annihilation a total and eternal Dissolution of their Persons that they shall be eternally destroyed and consumed so as to exist no more Whereas the Scriptures sets forth the Misery of Sinners in the next World under such Expressions as plainly denote the Existence of the Sufferers Would any one describe Annihilation by being plung'd into a Lake of Fire and Brimstone where they shall have no Rest Day nor Night for ever The word Perdition Destruction Death us'd for the Sufferings of the Wicked in another World do manifestly import extreme Misery and not Annihilation God is said to destroy Nations when he brings great Calamities upon them An Oppressour may destroy many Persons and Families and yet is not supposed to Annihilate them The Prodigal is said to perish for Hunger tho' he were yet alive So for the Expression of losing the Soul for a Man to lose his Soul is to perish eternally in the other World in our Saviour's sense of that Expression Matt. XVI 26. What shall it profit a Man to gain the World and lose his Soul The word we render lose signifies to have a Mulct inflicted on him to lose it in a way of Punishment to be punish'd in his Soul And 't is brought in as an Argument why a Man should not fear Temporal Death but lay down his Life when our Saviour calls him to it Because if he should save his Life and yet lose his Soul as to the other World though he gain'd as much as can be suppos'd of this World He would be a miserable Creature and make a foolish Bargain To understand the losing of the Soul only of a Temporal Death would be to destroy the Argument which our Lord brings it for yea it would be a Reason against their doing that which in the foregoing Verse he tells them they ought to do even lay down their
Death to be seiz'd by the Devil and carry'd into the place of Torment Oh dismal Thought to have the Confidence of a whole Life broken in pieces in one Moment How terrible to be found at Death under the Wrath of God when they would never believe it nor consider it till too late You can now Read or Hear a Sermon of an * See more of this Serious Reflections on Time and Eternity Sect. xix Everlasting Hell and of the Misery of a Lost Soul as one can bear a terrible Description of a Shipwrack who never was at Sea but it will be quite another thing if when you expect to be sav'd you drop into Hell O look into the other World make the Supposition of your own Death and what is like to follow Admit the serious Thoughts of it for a few Moments Retire sometimes on purpose for this But with how few can we prevail for so much as this You will not be perswaded to it lest it spoil your Mirth damp your Pleasure make you Melancholly and Sorrowful but if you die in Sin there will be nothing but Sorrow after Death And in your present Case I may say As the Lord lives and as thy Soul lives there 's but a Step between thee and Death between thee and Intollerable Endless Wrath. Now if you are a little awaken'd by a serious Sermon Book or Providence and Conscience begins to trouble you and make you uneasie you have many things to divert and quiet it but hereafter there will be nothing of all this How little is this believed by such as talk with a seeming Bravery of laying violent Hands upon Themselves And in case of extream Pain or any great Disappointment to put an end to their own Lives to dispatch themselves and die by their own Hands Is not this to proceed without the Leave of the great Governour of the World whose Propriety they destroy and against whose Providence they Rebel by such an Act * That it is unlawful according to Natural Principles See Mr. Adams's Essay concerning Self Murther 8vo newly printed But if there be a Heaven or Hell to follow Death which the greatest part of Mankind in all Ages at least of all Christians ten thousand to one have believed how hazardous and destructive is their Folly Fourthly We may hence take our Measures of Wisdom and Folly according to Mens Conduct and Care with reference to the other World and the two Eternal States of Mankind One would wonder how things of so great Moment should be forgotten and not alwaies in our Minds Would it not be strange * Dr. Spurstow Medit. xliii Upon Time and Eternity 8vo if a Man who was to be judg'd to morrow and receive the Sentence either of a Cruel Death or of a Rich and Honourable Estate should not keep in mind the Business of the next approaching Day without tying a scarlet thread on his Finger to mind him Is it not strange that the Infinitely greater things of Eternal Life or Death should not be remembred and thought of when we know not what a Day may bring forth Will not the Folly be Inexcusable as well as the Punishment of Sinners Dreadfull who shall feel Everlastingly what they would not be perswaded to fear Suppose a Man much desirous of Sleep and in his perfect Mind should have an Offer made of one Nights sweet Rest on condition to be punisht an hundred years for it would he accept of Sleep on such terms And do not they far worse and make a more foolish Choice who for the short Pleasures of Sin will lose Eternal Life and hazard the enduring of Endless Misery What is it that makes our Cares and Fears so Preposterous That we are afraid of a little Suffering here and not of Hell That we are Anxious about to morrow and Thoughtless of Eternity That we dread the Lightning and slight the Thunderbolt What Name can be given to that Folly for a Man to own his Soul may be lost for ever and yet take no Care to save it To believe an Everlasting Heaven and yet be at no Pains to obtain it To own the Horror of God's Eternal Wrath for Impenitent Sinners and yet Live and Die without Repentance These are Extravagancies beyond common Madness and of more Dangerous Consequence What will become of that Man's Wisdom who is not Wise enough to prevent Eternal Misery Who liv'd with some tolerable Reputation as a Wise Man in this World and yet so Dies as to call himself Fool for ever and suffer to all Eternity the Effects of his Folly Can the World and all that I shall gain of it save me from Wrath to come Bring me off when I appear before the Barr of Christ Prevent the Sentence of Condemnation or Release me from the Pit of Hell if I am once sent there Or will it be any Refreshment in the place of Torment to think what a brave Figure I made on Earth How many Hundreds a Year I had How Large and Beautifull Pleasant and Convenient a Dwelling How much I was Honour'd How many Servants to Attend me How many Thousand Pounds I got spent or laid up or had the Disposal of Will the Thoughts and Remembrance of these things give me any Comfort in Everlasting Burnings What 's all this to me if once my Soul be Lost Let us then judge Righteous Judgment and we cannot but conclude that is Wisest and Best which will prove so at Last Not to Believe the Eternal Torments of Hell after such Clear Evidence and Repeated Declaration of the Word of God is egregious Folly But not to Disbelieve them and yet do nothing to escape is more Astonishing Who would drink a Draught of cooling Liquor if told there is Poison in the Glass And yet Men go on in Sin and Drink in Iniquity like Water though they are told the Wages of Sin is Eternal Death All the Pleasures of many Years in a course of Sin cannot compensate for a Man's Burning in a Furnace at the End of that time though but for four and twenty hours How is it then that the repeated Threatnings of Everlasting Destruction should not weigh more to keep us from Sin than the Gain of a little Money or the pleasing a Friend or gratifying an Appetite in the short Enjoyment of a forbidden Pleasure Who would chuse to to be treated like a Prince or a King for one Day or Week or Month if he knew he must at the end of that time be rackt and tortur'd to Death and finish his Days in Exquisite Torments And what is this in Comparison of Dying the Second Death Suppose that Origen's Opinion should be true * Bishop Jer. Taylor The Foolish Exchangs Serm. XIX That Cursed Souls should have a Period to their Tortures after a Thousand Years would it not be madness to chuse the Pleasure or Wealth of a few Years now with Danger Trouble and Uncertainty and for this to endure
the Flames of Hell for a Thousand Years When no Man hath Pleasure for a Hundred Days together without some intervening Trouble or at least a Weariness and Loathing of the Pleasure A Thousand Years is a long while to be in Torment We find a Fever of one and twenty Days to be like an Age in length But what 's that to the Duration of an Intolerable Misery for ever in the Height and for ever Beginning When ten thousand Years shall have spent no part of its Term. The Comparison of this Life with the other of Time with Eternity whether in Happiness or Misery is of so much Moment and Use may serve to so many Excellent Purposes and produce such wise Thoughts and Reflections that I wish we would consider the one and the other more seriously and frequently How little a while we are to abide here and that after Death we must abide for ever in Abraham's Bosom or in Torments with God in Endless Glory or in Everlastinst Fire with the Devil and his Angels Oh think a little how Inconsiderable a thing is the longest Life of Man on Earth compar'd with an Everlasting Duration The Psalmist tells us Psal xxxix 5 6. Thou hast made my Days as an Hands breadth and mine Age my Life my little Time on Earth is as nothing unto thee compar'd with thy Duration which is without Beginning or End Old Jacob when he had pass'd one hundred and thirty Years saith Few and evil are the Days of the Years of the Life of my Pilgrimage What was that to Adam's nine hundred and thirty Years after his Creation in full Strength and Maturity or to Methusaleh's nine hundred and sixty Years But what a Moment is that to the Divine Eternity A thousand Years in thy sight are but as one Day or as Yesterday when it is past Psal xc 5 6. If it had been said ten thousand millions of Years are but as a Minute it had been as true According to this Computation a Thousand Years as one Day suppose a Man had been born above five thousand Years agoe he is in God's sight as one born five Days agoe If the first Man were now alive he would not be six Days old by that Reckoning And by the same Account he that hath liv'd in the World sixty two Years hath liv'd but an Hour and half And he that was born forty Years agoe is but as if he came into the World this present Hour Yea even as a Watch in the Night A thousand Years in God's sight is but as two or three Hours And so threescore Years is but as five or six Minutes But ten thousand millions of Years in Comparison of GOD's ETERNITY are less than one Unite one Minute How awful and useful may it be to make the Comparison between the longest Life and Eternity Upon the whole who would not pray with David that God would teach him to number his Days and value his little Time so as to apply his Heart to Wisdom that he may walk in the way of Life that is above to the Wise Prov. xv 24. and depart from Hell beneath Lastly How unspeakable a Hazard do they run who delay their Repentance especially to the last Hour to a Death-Bed Have they any Assurance they shall not die suddenly but be warned by Sickness How many are dispatch'd to the Grave and Hell in the midst of their Hopes of living to Repent hereafter The true reason of deferring it to hereafter is not because they intend to begin then but because they have no mind to begin now And unless They be then in a better mind than at present which by adding Sin to Sin is unlikely they will be for deferring it still even to their last Sickness But do they know what kind of Sickness their last shall be What if it be not a surprizing Apoplexy yet in a stupid Lethargy or a Raging Fever they will have no Opportunity or Leisure to Repent And if they should they may not apprehend any Danger in their present Sickness as if it would end in Death Or they may not have the Grace which they have so often forfeited to employ that time to so good a Purpose The common pretence is the Example of the Thief on the Cross that he upon a short Prayer found Mercy at last and was promis'd an Admission into Paradise that very Day But think a little how extraordinary that Case was as to the Time of it when our Lord was Dying for Sinners then to give such an Instance of the Royalty of his Grace The like Season can never happen again And there is but this one Instance mention'd in the whole Bible Besides the manifest Proof which he gave of his Conversion as to Repentance Faith in Christ Love to him Charity to his Fellow-Sufferer and the extraordinary Prayer which he made to Christ notwithstanding all manner of Discouragement from what he saw or heard at that time makes his Case to be very different from the ordinary Condition of Men upon a Sick-Bed First As to any thing he saw What was there as to outward Appearance that represented Christ as the Son of God and the King of Glory while he suffered as a Criminal hanging on a Gibbit or a Cross between two Malefactors And in the midst of them as the Chiefest of the three What Relation could this poor Man see between these Sufferings this Ignominy this wretched Death between the Outrages Reproaches Scorns and Curses which he endured and his Glory and Divinity his Power and his Kingdom And yet he owns him for his Saviour tho' under the same Condemnation with himself He sees him nailed to the accursed Tree and yet prays to him as if he were upon a Throne He beholds him suffering a Cruel Death and yet adores him as Lord of Glory Have we found such Faith in Israel or amongst Christians even among those of Christ's own Family who have heard his Heavenly Doctrine and seen his Miracles and had enjoyed Familiar Converse with him Yet they forsook him when he comes to be crucify'd But here 's a poor Penitent who beholds him on the Rack despised by his own Country-men condemned by the Romans and Jews rejected by Men of Learning Credit and Authority and Calumniated and Reviled by a multitude of By-standers Yet owns Him for a King speaks of his Kingdom elsewhere and ventures his Soul on his Power and Grace to make him Blessed after Death tho' he saw him expire and die in his view and before his Eyes O amazing Instance of a Divine Faith when there was so much to be seen at that Time to discourage it But neither the Face of Authority in his Condemnation nor the cry of the Common People for his Crucifixion nor the Scorn of the Chief Priests and Rulers nor the Jeers of his Fellow-Sufferer nor any the least Jealousie of his being unable to save him could stop his Mouth but by a most vigorous Act of
me and be gracious to me and mercifully receive my Spirit Accept me now in the Agonies of Death and remember to acquit and own me after Death and let me dwell in thy blessed Presence and Kingdom for ever Something of all this seems imply'd and comprehended in his short Prayer Lord remember me c. Upon the Consideration of the whole can any Encouragement be justly taken from this Example for Men to delay their Repentance and Conversion to God till Old Age or a Sick-Bed and the Approaches of Death As we have seen how extraordinary this Prayer was we read how effectual it was also How speedily did he obtain a gracious Answer for our Lord tells him This Day shalt thou be with me in Paradise Nothing can match or parallel the wonderful Grace of this Prayer but the Kindness and Bounty of our Lord's Answer This Day shalt thou be with me in Paradise He craves a Remembrance of him but our Lord promises him present possession He begs a Favour as of one that was Absent Lord remember me c. but Christ assures him that he shall that very Day be present with him in the Happy Receptacle of Holy Souls departed This Day shalt c. There is no ground then from the Case of the Penitent Thief for any man to count much upon future dying Repentance because His was Effectual and Accepted at the last Hour I grant the Promises of Forgiveness are made to Repentance to Confession of Sin and Resolutions of forsaking it But I fear it is not enough consider'd That what we read of this in the New Testament doth especially concern * Traité des Sources de la Corruption qui regne aujour d'huy parmi les Chrestiens 8vo Amst 1700. partie 1. §. 6. Le Renvoy de la Conversion New Converts to Christianity who were brought to confess the Christian Faith and offer'd themselves to be Baptized Professed Repentance was requir'd of the Gentiles on their first Entrance into the Christian State and therefore Repentance is mentioned amongst the Fundamentals which the Catechumens were to be instructed in before and in order to Baptism Heb. vi 1 2. With this they were to begin the Christian Life But for Baptized Christians they are obliged to all holy Conversation and Godliness And is there no hazard for Christians to think to Finish where the Pagans were to begin to think to enter into Heaven by the same Door by which the Heathen entred into the visible Church I deny not the Possibility of a true and saving Repentance at last for who can limit or set bounds to the Free Grace of God but certainly a Death-bed Repentance is a very Deceitfull thing Who can be assured that it is safe in it self or know that God doth accept Mens Repentance and Sorrow for Sin after a Sinfull Life when they can Sin no more That instead of a whole Life of Obedience to God he will at last accept a few forced Tears and Prayers with some fair Promises and Resolutions to live well when the Men are Sick and must Die and can live no longer to sin as formerly if they had never so much a mind to it 'T is almost as reasonable to * Dr. Bates of Spiritual Perfection Chap. XI expect that the Sun should cross the order of Nature and rise in the West as that the Son of Righteousness should arise with Healing in his Wings upon an habitual obstinate Sinner at the last Hour There needs an Extraordinary Grace if their Repentance be true to render it Comfortable to the Dying Penitent For tho' we must follow a Judgment of Charity yet God onely knows whether the Heart be changed and whether the Life would be if the Person Recovered We have seen many seem Penitent and Devout upon a Sick Bed who after they have been unexpectedly restored to Health have plainly proved their Repentance was not unto Life I may express this in the Words of a * Archbishop Tillotson on Eccles viii 11. Of Godâ—s Long Suffering Serm. VIII Vol. VII Great Man Though Sincere Repentance at last be possible it is almost impossible for the Party himself much more for others upon any good ground to judge when it is Sincere God who knows the Hearts of all Men only knows the Sincerity of it I have therefore no great Opinion of that extraordinary Comfort which some have upon a sudden Repentance for great Crimes because I cannot discern any sufficient Ground for it I think great Humility and Dejection of Mind and a doubtful Apprehension of their Condition would much better become them because their Case is really so very doubtful in it self Let them exercise as deep Repentance as possible and bring forth all the Fruits meet for it as are possible in so short a time And for the rest humbly commit themselves to the Mercy of God in Jesus Christ Let them imitate as near as they can the Behaviour of the Penitent Thief the only Example the Scriptures have left us of a late Repentance that proved Effectual He gave the greatest Testimony of his Repentance but we don't find in him any signs of extraordinary Comfort much less of Confidence But he humbly commended himself to the Mercy and Goodness of his Saviour saying Lord remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom This may primarily refer to the Case of Criminals condemn'd to Death by the Civil Magistrate but is applicable to any Man 's sudden Repentance upon a Sick-Bed after a Wicked Life It must needs be uncomfortable because 't is so exceeding hazardous and doubtful Exhortation under two Heads First Labour to be establish'd in the Belief of these Truths and to be suitably affected with them viz. These Important Truths of the two Eternal States That we may soundly Believe and seriously consider them The Influence upon our Affections and Practice will be according to our Faith Doubtless if we had such a certain view such a clear Apprehension of the great things of the other World as the Christian Faith may give us it would break the Snare of most Temptations from Earthly things If we did indeed believe the unspeakable Glory of Heaven and the Intolerable Misery of the Wicked in Hell and the Eternity of both as we believe and are perswaded of the Truth of what we see and feel and know by our our Senses Let us then consider whether these things are true or no and apply them to our selves Let us not apprehend the Distance to be very great between the present Pleasures of Sin and the threatned Sufferings of another World for how short and uncertain a thing is the Life of Man Let us not think it will be only the miserable Portion of a few when we have so much reason to think that but very Few will be Eternally saved in Comparison of the many that will perish Let us not think in General that this Misery is only for such who are greater Sinners than
we are For if Hell were open to our view we might see such there as once thought themselves in as fair a way for Heaven as we And when they left the World it was as little thought by their surviving Acquaintance that they were Damned as it would be supposed of us if we should now die Let us not delude our selves by a Foolish Thought as if the Judgment-Day was a great way off and the Sufferings of the Wicked are not to be compleat till after that For when the Wicked die they are deprived of all they lov'd for ever separated from the Objects of their Affections and awaken'd to review their Sins and understand their Folly They Remember the Grace and Glory they have despised the Happiness they wilfully rejected and all the Means and Helps they once had to escape Damnation And so their own Conscience must needs accuse condemn and reproach for their Wilfulness and Obstinacy That they were warned to flee from the Wrath to come and they were offered Heaven and Eternal Life That they were urg'd again and again not to lose their Season of Mercy and Day of Grace That they were entreated in time to consider the things that belong to their Eternal Peace c. And must they not then suffer terrible things in the State of Separation under the Lash of a Condemning Immortal Mind without any Hope of escaping the Tribunal of their Judge or of avoiding or deferring the Execution of his terrible Sentence How dreadful must it be to lose the Favour of God for ever and lie in Torment under his Wrath with the weight of this killing Thought That this is the Effect of my own Madness the Fruit of my own Choice 't is a Rod of my own making 't is Misery of my own procuring I have undone and destroy'd my self And some will be able to say further I was convinc'd of Sin and resolv'd to turn from it I had many Struglings of Conscience and many Breathings of the Divine Spirit I did begin to seek after God I was almost perswaded there was a time when I was not far from the Kingdom of God But I return'd again to Folly and harden'd my Heart I had Knowledge I had Time I might have had Assistance and Helps of many sorts I had repeated Warnings I was faithfully admonished and for some time I profess'd Repentance I confess'd Sin I wept for Sin I pray'd against it I went so far as to own my Baptism and enter into Solemn Covenant with God and renew it at his Table But I lov'd my Sins and Lusts and quickly broke all these Bonds and harken'd to my old Companions and Acquaintance and was worse afterward than before Let us think often with our selves How certain is the Blessedness of the Saints How inevitable and intolerable the Misery of Sinners on whom the Wrath of God shall abide Be not deceiv'd with the foolish talk of Infidels who are undone for ever if the Holy Scriptures be the Word of God I say for ever as hath been prov'd from the Old and New Testament without Release or Period Abraham did not go about to comfort the Rich Man in Hell with any such false Stories That after he had suffer'd a while he should be Releas'd But tells him the Gulf was fix'd This will be the killing Accent of their Sufferings to have no Hope of End but after having suffer'd as many Millions of Ages as there are Sands on the Sea-shore ten thousand times told yet an Eternity of Sufferings is still to come After having endured Torment for as many Millions of Years and Ages as there be drops of Water in the Ocean yet not one Moment nearer the End of their Torments The Continuance of their Misery shall not be measur'd by Time but by the Immutability of Divine Justice and the boundless Abyss of Eternity Rev. ii 11. Rev. xxi 8. 'T is the second Death not the turning our Souls and Bodies into nothing but such a Death by which they may be hurt They that die that Death shall be hurt by it which could not be if they were to be Annihilated A Lake burning with Fire and Brimstone is the second Death A Death without the Power of Dying and yet with the perpetual Desire of it whose Sting can never be taken out whose Terror is as Everlasting as the Joys of Heaven There 's nothing of Life remaining in this Death but the Sense of Misery and the Knowledge of that to be Endless And that this Dark Night shall never be succeeded by the Light of any Morning They shall ever live to be ever miserable to feel Torments unto Infinite Ages to a boundless and never-ending Eternity They shall wish and endeavour not to be and yet subsist and not die Always suffer without ever ceasing to live and suffer Rev. ix 6. They shall seek Death but not find it Death shall flee from them They shall never be able to say the Bitterness of Death is past It will be Wrath to come after numberless Ages These are terrible things to hear of but how much more to experience What Heart can endure these Thoughts without Fear and Trembling Who for the Pleasures of Sin for a season would hazard the enduring this endless Wrath Better to suffer all the Pains and Miseries we are capable of in this World for a thousand Years than the Pains of Hell for one Hour But to endure them for ever without Hope of End this sinks the Soul under Anguish and Despair that none of our Words or Thoughts can reach Oh Eternity Eternity Is it true or can it possibly be false after so many express Scriptures to assert it that there will be no Period to the Misery of Sinners That the Fire shall burn to all Eternity That the Worm of Conscience shall gnaw for ever The Truth of this would suppose it an unspeakable Favour to be releas'd after a Hundred or a Thousand Years after a Million or ten thousand Millions of Years and Ages To have any Hope of an End 't would be some support But this word Never Never End will make the Damned Rage and Roar with Anguish There is not so much as a Possibility of Deliverance to fasten their Hope upon 'T is Everlasting Destruction The Gulf will be fix'd the Bridge will be drawn the Door will be shut every Anchor of Hope broken 'T is for ever it is to all Eternity Oh think of it as not more Terrible than Certain Oh that I could perswade you to Believe and Apply these things to your selves That under the Profession of Religion with so much Light and Knowledge you may not be undone by Inconsideration For if we would but think a little what Eternity is and consider the Difference between Heaven and Hell it must needs have some Effect If there were only a Possibility of the Truth of things so vastly Great and Important tho' we had no certain Revelation it should be enough to
we disbeliev'd it But we are here told that the Testimony of God in the Holy Scriptures is à more certain Evidence than that can be If such a One should come from the Dead what could he tell us of Heaven and Hell more than has been told us already by Moses and the Prophets by Christ and his Apostles Can there be greater Arguments made use of to bring Men to Repentance than are in the Holy Scriptures Can we hear of a better Heaven or a hotter Hell than is described in the Word of God Or may we hope for the Concurrence of God's Grace with that rather than with his Word Such an Apparition may affect our Senses and strike our Minds a little for the present but would not turn the Will nor change the Heart nor reform the Life We see that by the Case of Pharaoh who had several Miraculous Plagues one would think enough to convince him but he harden'd his Heart still We see it in the History of the Jews who notwithstanding the sight of continu'd Miracles for forty Years they are complain'd of as a Stiffneck'd Ps lxxviii 22 23 24. Rebellious People Yea our Lord himself rose from the Dead and his Resurrection was confirm'd by Five Hundred Witnesses and yet how few Believ'd it We cannot have such Certainty of a particular Apparition as of the Resurrection of Christ And you 'd find it hard to distinguish a true Miracle in that case from a Counterfeit How many in the Church of Rome are deceived by Stories from the Dead If you had your Desire granted in this would you not be tempted to take it for a Spectre a Phantom a waking Dream a melancholy Mormo But if you should believe it and it should affright you for a little while yet 't is very probable that the Impression would by degrees wear off As we find by the Recovery of Persons from the Brink of the Grave who apprehended themselves in the very terrour of Death and the Pains of Hell did almost compass them about they were then full of Sorrow for Sin made many Resolutions against it but we find upon restored Health it quickly comes to nothing they relapse into their old Sins and are not perswaded even by their own Convictions If Lazarus had been sent to the Rich Man's Brethren was it likely they would have Believed him Might they not have plausibly rejected the Message and suppos'd it to be a Cheat How could they imagin that Abraham would take such a one into his Bosom as poor Lazarus or employ him on such an Errand 'T would have been a Disgrace to their Family to Believe such a Report of their Brother's Damnation especially when brought by such a Messenger It may be they would no more have hearken'd to Lazarus now testifying from the other World than heretofore when begging at their Brother's Door The Lusts and Vices of Men would very likely hinder the Success of such a Miracle as this and find ways and shifts to evade the Force of it as well as resist the Evidence and Force of what is laid down in the Scriptures What is said here in the Parable to be denied to One Lazarus was granted as to Another that is our Lord did raise one of that Name from the Dead after he had been Dead four Days and yet some of them who knew him before and when he was Dead and Risen again and convers'd with him afterwards yet were not convinced by that Miracle of Christ to Believe on him for we read Joh. xi 53. That from that very Day of raising Lazarus The High Priests and Rulers took Counsel together how they might put him to Death And we read of One blind and dumb and possessed of a Devil who was healed by Christ Matth. XII 22. where were three Miracles in one and yet it did not convince for we read ver 38. Certain of the Scribes and Pharisees say unto him Master we would see a Sign And after our Lord had miraculously fed Five Thousand Persons with Five Loaves and Two Fishes Joh. VI. some of those very Men who had seen the Miracle and eaten of it and were so far convinced for the present as to say to one another This is of a Truth the Prophet that should come into the World Yet the next Day or within a Day or two when he told them they followed him for the Loaves They say unto him What Sign shewest thou that we may See and Believe as if he had never wrought a Miracle before Yea the Disciples of Christ himself who were Witnesses of so many Miracles were not so far perswaded by them as not to forsake him nay not to deny him To Conclude We are not to expect any such Extraordinary Method for our Conviction while the standing Revelation of the Will of God in the Scriptures is sufficient and the Doctrin there taught hath been abundantly confirm'd by Miracles And if one should rise from the Dead and appear to us 't is probable enough it would not perswade us to Repent if the Word of God will not perswade us But no other Sign our Lord says shall be given but that of Jonas the Prophet That is what 's signified by it the Resurrection of Christ And that hath been Confirm'd by numerous and undeniable Miracles by all manner of Evidence and Proof that such a matter of Fact is capable of Which will leave us without Excuse if we Believe not his Doctrine the Truth of which is sealed by his Rising from the Dead We should therefore study the Holy Scriptures and the Rational Grounds of our Believing Christ to be the Son of God and consequently that All that he hath told us of the Other World will most infallibly come to pass His Resurrection confirms the Truth of all And we are not to expect Any more to Rise from the Dead till We our Selves do unto our Last Judgement The Book is seal'd as the Gulf too is fixt And they that hear not Moses and the Prophets Christ and the Apostles are not like to be perswaded at all But if the Gospel continues to be hid 2 Cor. iv 3. it is hid to them who are Lost AS to our Deceas'd Friend Mr. Shatterden Thomas whose Repentance and Death occasion'd this Discourse and at whose Desire I preach'd and publish it what I shall say concerning him from my Self shall be more in the General because several Particulars I apprehend will be mention'd with more Advantage from the Account given of him by a very Worthy and fit Person who frequently visited him in his last Sickness whose Acquaintance with him Love to the Memory of his good Mother Respect for his Family and Relations and tender Compassion to his Case made her willing to discourse him and give that serious Counsel and Advice which oftentimes is better and more effectually receiv'd from such a Friend than from a Minister And his just Regard for her Quality and Character
here so much under the Power of secret Infidelity as to say in their Hearts notwithstanding all this I will run the Venture I am not convinc'd there will be such a Glorious Heaven and such a Terrible Hell 'T is true I can't tell what will become of me after Death but I resolve to have as much as I can of the Pleasures and Enjoyments of this Life I hope the Frightfull Story of a Place of Torment is all or most of it Fancy or Prejudice meer Metaphor and Parable or Priestcraft and the Bugbear of the Clergy I hope I shall find it otherwise than Ministers talk I intend to run the Hazard and to make my self easy I 'le not read the Bible or any other such Books as may disturb my Pleasures and disquiet my Mind And to make all sure I 'le stifle and drown all my Fears by hard Drinking Will you do so Dare you resolve to do so Are there any so Besotted and so much forsaken of God I beseech 'em to consider how little a while this Fit of Madness is like to last And that they have no reason to expect after so many Warnings the extraordinary Methods of God's Grace to recover ' em For He that blesseth himself in his heart notwithstanding the Curses denounc'd for Sin saying I shall have Peace tho' I walk in the Imagination of my Heart to add Drunkenness to Thirst The Lord will not spare him but the Anger of the Lord and his Jealousie shall smoke against that Man and all the Curses written in the Book shall lie upon him and the Lord shall blot out his Name from under Heaven O that we may all lay to Heart these great and acknowledg'd Truths of our Holy Religion And frequently and seriously consider the Eternal Blessedness of the Saints and the Everlasting Misery of Sinners What a Change would it make upon all of us if we did indeed believe ' em How should we be afraid of Sin and of the Company and Occasions that would intice us to Sin and afraid of delaying our Repentance for which there is no place after Death How earnestly and speedily should we seek the Favour of God and his Pardoning Mercy and Sanctifying Grace BY JESVS CHRIST the only Saviour of Sinners who alone can deliver us from Wrath to come that he may own and help us at the Hour of Death and absolve us in the Day of Judgment God grant we may all so Believe and Live as to find Mercy of the Lord in that Day Amen FINIS BOOKS Printed for and Sold by John Sprint in Little-Britain SErious Reflections on Time and Eternity and some other Subjects Moral and Divine with an Appendin concerning the first Day of the Year how observed by the Jews and may best be imploy'd by a Serious Christian By John Shower Twelves The Tradesman's Calling being a Discourse concerning the Nature Necessity Choice c. of a Calling in General and Directions for the right managing of the Tradesman's Calling By Richard Steel M. A. and Minister of the Gospel 2d Edition Man's Sinfulness and Misery by Nature Asserted and Opened in several Sermons on Ephesians 2. Ver. 1 2 3. designed chiefly for the Unconverted Whereunto is added a Disputation concerning the Headship of Adam and Christ and the Imputation of the Sin of the One and the Righteousness of the Other By John England Minister of the Gospel at Sherborne in Dorsetshire 8vo The History of the Old and New-Testament Translated from the French with above 200 Copper Cuts in Quarto Recommended by Dr. Hernick and other Orthodox Divines A Treatise of the Corruption of Scripture Councils and Fathers by Prelates Pastors and Pillars of the Church of Rome Maintainers of Popery By Thomas James Student in Divinity In Octavo M. T. Ciceronis Orationes quaedam selectae cum interpret Notis in Usum Serenissimi Delphini Huic Editioni accesserunt Dialogi de Senectute de Amicitia 8vo D. Junii Juvenalis A. Persii Flacci Satyrae Interpretatione ac Notis Illustravit Ludovicus Bateus Rhetoricae Professor emeritus Jussu Christianissimi Regis in usum serenissimi Delphini Octavo The Works of Mr. John Cleveland Containing his Poems Orations and Epistles Also the Rustick Rampant or Rural Anarchy affronting Monarchy in the Insurrection of Wat. Tyler Collected into one Volume with the Life of the Author In Octavo The Illiads and Odysses of Homer Translated out of Greek into English By Thomas Hebbes of Malmsbury Also the Life of Homer The Third Edition In Twelves Fidelis Achates Or an Historical Account of the most Remarkable Actions in the late Reigns and the Present Revolution in Heroiok Verse In Octavo
Lives for him As to the Expressions The Wrath of God abideth on him Joh. iii. 36. and he shall not see Life which are likewise objected I would ask How can the Wrath of God be executed so as to abide on One who hath no Existence but is Annihilated Their abiding under Wrath doth not deny but suppose their Existence and Continuance in Being So of that Expression Matth. iii. 12. the Chaff shall be burnt up with unquenchable Fire for if the burning this Chaff be to consume and annihilate it why is it by a Fire that cannot be quenched when it has done its work it should be put out Besides To suppose the Wicked shall be Annihilated at the Day of Judgment is to equal all Sinners as to any Punishment after the Day of Judgment for one Man cannot be more Annihilated than another Whereas the Scripture is express That it shall be more tolerable in the Day of Judgment for some than for others Yea this would infer a very unjust Inequality of Punishment for then the case of those who died in their Sins at the beginning of the World would be very hard in comparison of such as died towards the end of it Suppose one died the last year or month before Christ's Coming and another that died in his Sins before the Flood the former I suppose the greater Criminal would come to an end of his Sufferings in a very short time whereas the other and suppose a less Offender who died in the beginning of the World has been suffering the Wrath of God for some thousands of Years If the Damnation of the Wicked at the Day of Judgment be Annihilation what account can be given of this Inequality of Punishment But the Endless Misery of the Wicked in another World is positively affirmed by our Saviour no less than five times in six Verses of one Chapter Mark IX 43-48 and in many other places Not only is the Fire said to be Everlasting where they shall be tormented and so Absolutely Everlasting as never to be quenched But so certain that it shall never be quenched that the Smoke thereof shall ascend for ever and ever The Sentence of their Condemnation will never be reverst Their Condition is never to be alter'd but their Torments will be endless and their Misery eternal If you believe the Holy Scriptures and the Gospel-Revelation concerning the Design of Christ's Coming into the World to save Sinners from future Wrath you will less wonder that they who deny the Divinity of Christ should endeavour to put out the Fire of Hell and make the Eternal Damnation of Sinners a meer Fiction For what need of the Son of God to come from Heaven and take our Nature and dye for our Sins to deliver us from Wrath to come if there be no such Wrath to come after the Day of Judgment There is reason to fear that many who hearken to the Socinian Principles as to Christ's Deity and Satisfaction little know the tendency of their Doctrine For what can the scoffing Atheist desire more than to lose his Being for ever since an happy one in another World he does not expect If the professed Belief of what the Scriptures so plainly speak concerning the Torments of Hell hath no more Influence to restrain men from Sin but the World be still so bad how much worse would it be if there were nothing at all of this to be fear'd 'T is manifest that the Providence of God in all Ages has made use of this Doctrine to preserve Humane Society from ruine by outragious Wickedness And therefore they that would take away this Fence and deliver Mankind from these Fears as groundless and unreasonable do most effectually serve the Design of the Devil to promote Sensuality and Licentiousness and turn serious Religion out of the World For 't is found by Experience that the Promise of the Heavenly Felicity does not so much affect us as threatned Damnation 'T is to escape the Latter men are brought to consider the Certainty and Greatness of the Former And it is one of the great Motives made use of in the Gospel to restrain Men from Wickedness and awaken them to give all Diligence to work out their own Salvation but if they were once set free from the Fear and Belief of Eternal Punishments one of the most powerfull Restraints from Sin and Motives to Religion is Remov'd But there are Others who oppose this Doctrine because a Vicious Life hath made it their Interest to do so They desire to follow their Pleasures without being disturbed by any such Fear and so would fain perswade themselves that there will be no such Everlasting Hell hereafter Nay there be many who have made bold with Conscience and contracted such Guilt that if the Holy Scripture be true they must be undone in another World And are forc'd to flee to Infidelity or Socinianism as a Refuge after Shipwrack to make themselves easie or at least to lessen their Fears when they think of dying And who doth not know what a Byass upon Men's Understandings Interest and Inclination will cast How easily do we believe what we desire should be true and how hardly are we perswaded of the Truth of that which in its Consequences speaks Terror to our own Case But whatever shifts any such may make for a little while to keep Conscience quiet they will find e're long to their Eternal Sorrow all their little Cavils and Objections answered if they will not now consider things in order to their Conviction Did they better know the Evil of Sin and the Infinite Majesty and Glory Purity and Justice Authority and Soveraignty of GOD who is Despised Affronted and Disobeyed by Sinners they would sooner understand the weakness of their Pleas against the Christian Faith They would not lay so much stress on what they pretend That they would not serve any of their Enemies in such a manner if it were in their Power They say they would not punish any Injuries and Affronts against them at that Rate as we suppose God threatens to do No surely they ought not For what is an Offence Affront and Injury against a Weak Perishing Sinful Worm compar'd with Obstinate and continued Contempt of GOD The Glorious and Eternal Majesty of Heaven and Earth Have you any such Dominion and Soveraignty over your Enemies Any such Propriety in them and Right to their Obedience Can you Challenge that from them which God may Demand of us Have you ever obliged them with any such Benefits as he hath loaded us withall It is from slight Thoughts of the Evil of Sin against the Holy Ever-Blessed GOD that makes us think it hard for GOD to punish finally Obstinate Rebels with Everlasting Wrath. We should rather be Thankfull that he hath so faithfully warn'd us of it and bid us to fear him who is able to cast Body and Soul into Hell And by how much the more terrible and severe such threatned Punishment