our sinful Desires than they and therefore this must make our Doom more terrible The helps we have to arrive to Vertue are not only more in number but more powerful our Knowledge is greater our Instructions greater our Illumination greater our means of Grace richer and we have greater Examples of Holiness than ever the Heathen had we have besides Philosophy and the Law of Nature the Sacred Scriptures and besides Conscience the Spirit of God to exhort us to reprove us to admonish us to assist us and to help our Infirmities If a Heathen sin he doth but stumble in the dark if a Christian sin he falls at Noon-day We have Sacraments to bind us to a perfect hatred of Sin and Semiramis took no more pains to fence her City with Brick Walls than the Almighty doth our Souls from falling a Prey to the Prince of Darkness nay our Impediments in our way to Bliss are less than the Pagans had by Baptism and the Power of Christs Death the Powers of Darkness are broken the Devil's Strength is much abated his Arrows are not half so fiery as once they were The Heathens have far greater Obstacles The Devils Power among them seems unlimited and therefore for us to fall a Prey to this Enemy for us to yield to his Suggestions for us to be drawn into his Net will scarce admit of a charitable Apology These things are now made light of but nothing is more reasonable than that they who have abused the greatest Mercy should feel the severest Lashes Christian why should God give thee greater Light and greater advantages than to other men They are men of the same passions thou art of and they are Flesh and have Reason and are God's Creatures and depend upon his Providence as well as thou and why should God make a difference betwixt thee and them No other Reason can be assigned but his undeserved compassion Thou wicked Servant had thy Master a greater kindness for thee than for thy fellow-Servants and could not this distinguishing kindness prevail with thee to be faithful and loyal to him Thy ingratitude is abominable and thy torment shall be proâ—â—â—tionable Thy impiety was intolerable and thy flames shall be so too Thy baseness is inexpressible and the plagues shall be so too Thy unworthiness is uncommon and thy agonies shall be so too Thou deservest a bitterer Cup and thou shalt drink it too If God should not punish thee more than Heathens he would be partial his Honour would suffer in the indulgence and he hath but little encouragement from thy good nature to lessen his Wrath and Fury Dionysius talked Atheistically as well as thou but he had no Scripture to direct him The Sybarites were luxurious as thou art but they knew not what the Gospel meant Novellius Torquatus was given to drunkenness as thou art but he never made Vows against it in a Sacrament of Baptism Tarquinius was proud as thou art but he never heard of the humble Jesus Julia was vain in her dress and habit as thou art but she understood not what the stupendious Work of Redemption meant Decius Mundus was lecherous as thou art but he was not acquainted with a Holy Sanctifying Spirit Themistocles was envious as thou art but he never heard God speaking to him by his Son Epicurus was careless of a future Immortality but he had not Ministers to preach to him Simonides was covetous as thou art but he knew of no Articles of belief Philagrius was cholerick as thou art but he made no profession of Goodness and Religion Sisamenes was unjust as thou art but he never heard that the Unrighteous are not to inherit the Kingdom of God Unidius was uncharitable as thou art but he had not that Cloud of Witnesses those holy Examples that thou hast Sardanapalus minded nothing but his Lusts and Belly as thou dost but he never heard of a Crucified Saviour Democles was a flatterer and dissembler as thou art but the Terrors of the Lord were never manifested to him All which advantages thou possessest above these Pagans therefore it must needs be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah at the Day of Judgment than for thee 11. Let the process of this Day among other Vertues engage you particularly to a practical Charity and readiness to do good to others who are under affliction especially where God hath blessed you with conveniences and superfluities for the Judge is resolved to insist upon this Vertue more than others This he has not only assured us of Matth. 25. 34 35 c. but it is also the most reasonable thing in the World that we who hope to find Mercy in that Day should be acquainted with shewing Mercy to Christ's distressed members here for it is Christ's Rule that with what Measure we mete here with the same Measure it shall be meted to us again and to this purpose the Apostle He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly but he that sows bountifully shall reap also bountifully 2 Cor. 9. 6. The Virgins that wanted Oyl were excluded from the Wedding-feast when the Bridgegroom came that Oyl was Charity which therefore the good Samaritan poured into the Wounds of the distressed Man and as Oyl supples the the Joints gives ease to the part which is in pain and is an ingredient of most Chyrurgical Operations so Charity relieves the Miserable and refreshes the Calamitous and hath an influence upon all other Vertues It was therefore wisely said by that pious Duke of Savoy when one ask'd him where his hunting Dogs were he led them into his Hall where abundance of Lame and Blind and Poor People fed at his cost and charges these saith he are my Dogs that serve me in my hunting after Heaven and Happiness All other Vertues lose their glory where Charity doth not bear them company To this Vertue we are born and it is the most easie of all the rest and therefore to want it when we come before the Judge must needs turn his Face and Favour from us And it is remarkable that the Judge represents all the acts of Charity he reckons up in this Day as done to himself I was an hungred and ye gave me meat I was thirsty and ye gave me drink c. whereby he doth not only intimate the close union and communion the poor Man hath with him insomuch that he is one with him but shews that in our Alms and doing good we must have respect chiefly to Christ Jesus Let the Man that begs thy Charity or wants thy Relief be brought to Poverty by his own folly let him be wicked let him be ungrateful give him with respect to thy Saviour look upon Christ when thou dost supply his wants have the Lord Jesus in thine Eyes regard not so much the poor Man's Nature because he is of the same Flesh with thee nor so much his Relation because he is of Kin to thee nor so much his Country because he is of the same Town
Drusilla who was another Mans Wife and enjoy'd that Beauty which his lustful Appetite desired without Lett or control His Greatness bore him out in the commission of the crime and whatever Censures the soberer part of men might pass upon him his Grandeur over-aw'd them that they durst not speak aloud of his Impiety and all men flatter'd him and himself drowned all the internal twitches and stings of Conscience with noise and pomp and multitude of businesses yet behold when S. Paul reasoned of Temperance Righteousness and Judgment to come the Text saith Felix trembled The Sermon awaken'd the notions of Divine Justice that were engraven on the Tables of his Heart made him uneasie put him into consternation and for the present forced him to loath the Bed where his abomination was wrought We are told of a Custom in some Kingdom that the night before a condemned Malefactor is to die a very shrill Trumpet sounds before the Prison-door which is a certain sign that he is to die next day and before whose door soever the fatal Trumpet sounds over night no Prayers no Tears whatever Condition he is of or whatever Figure he makes in the world can save him from being executed It happen'd in process of time that the King who had made this Law after he had streamed out a considerable part of his Life in extravagant Actions on a sudden became serious was often seen to retire into his Closet gave strict Order for extermination of all Vices and though before he had doated on Mirth and Jests and sensual Satisfactions yet these were now all abandon'd and turn'd into a Scene of Gravity and Sobriety Such an alteration we must think must be a very strange surprize to Courtiers who impatient of this change and supposing it to be a Fit of Melancholy took the freedom to ask him what the reason of this Reformation was The Kings Brother especially none of the most Religious sought often to divert him tempting him to see Shows and Plays and Women and such Baits as served either to plant or cherish Vanity in his Mind and Affections but all in vain One Night the King desirous to bring his Brother to a better Sense of spiritual things bids the fatal Trumpet to be sounded before the jolly Princes House who sensible of the meaning of that noise that he was to die next morning starts out of his Bed throws by his stately Robes puts on a ragged Garment weeps Rivers of Tears and a mighty horror seizes his Mind and as soon as it was Day comes to the King in this posture and intercedes for his Life To whom the King said O Brother are you frighted with the sound of this Trumpet which foretels my Subjects approaching and inevitable Death and doth this Noise force you into Tears and Sackcloth and humble Supplications and can you blame me for being serious who know not how soon the Archangels Trumpet of far greater consequence and importance than this will sound in mine ears and summon me and you and all my Subjects to the Judgment-Seat of God and perhaps to eternal Despair and Agonies Go home said he and by my example learn to despise the World and prepare for that Day But this Subject will invite us to a larger Discourse and therefore it will be necessary to enquire 1. What Reason we have to believe that there is a Day of Judgment 2. What there is in that future Judgment that 's able to cast a damp on the Mirth and Jollities of Men especially the younger sort 3. How the Prospect of that Judgment must be managed that it may actually damp and put a stop to these carnal Delights 4. Whether every Man is bound to embitter his carnal Delights with this Prospect 5. Whether upon this account a man be obliged to mind nothing that savours of worldly Delight and sensual Satisfaction 1. What reason have we to believe that there is a day of Judgment Having to deal with Christians at least with men that profess themselves such this Query seems needless for the Scripture which the Christian world pretends to believe to be derived from God is full of Passages of this Nature and assures us that this Belief of a future Judgment is as ancient as the Creation of the World For Enoch the seventh from Adam who in all probability had it from his Ancestors prophesied of these saying Behold the Lord cometh with Ten Thousand of his Saints to execute Judgment upon all and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodlily committed and of their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him Jude v. 14 15. And this Faith hath been followed by all the succeeding Saints Patriarchs Prophets and judicious Men was confirmed by the great Messiah the Lord Jesus and his Apostles who gave us a more lively description of it and hath since been entertained by all the Christian World at least in profession though there are but few that act and live like persons influenced or over-aw'd by that Belief so that if Christians keep close to their Principles it can be no difficult thing to perswade them to believe that which they imbibe with their Mothers Milk and Education advances into an open Profession and daily Declaration But we have seen and do see a strange degenerateness in most Christians and not a few that go under that Name though they do not openly question this Truth yet they either live as if they did or Infidelity reigns secretly in their hearts and it is to be feared that whatever their Tongues may speak in their Minds they are not fully perswaded of it And were such Men willing to be perswaded it should be no contemptible Argument to convince them one would think that the greatest part of the World is of that Belief not only Christians but Jews Mahometans and the Heathens themselves that it is a grand Article of the Jewish Faith none can deny that ever convers'd with them that the Mahometans are stedfast and sincere in their Assertion and clear in this Point any one may see that hath read their Alcoran and that the Heathen World is no stranger to it appears from what their Sybilline Oracles their Philosophers and Poets have professed The Sybilline Oracles indeed are suspected by Learned Men and looked upon as Pious Frauds used by the Fathers thereby to convince the Heathens the better of the Mysteries of Christianity though it will not enter into my head how the Fathers could have confirmed any of their Doctrines from these Oracles if the Heathens they had to deal withal either were not satisfied that those things had been spoken by their Prophetesses or had believed that the Fathers had foisted those Oracles into the Sybils Writings which either were not or had never been there for this would have been so far from being an Argument against the Pagans that the Christians would have laid themselves open in
Talking loosly c. But in some measure in Lawful also especially where a greater good is to be promoted and hath bid us use these outward Comforts as if we used them not and rejoyce in them as if we rejoyced not with fear and cautiousness that they draw not our hearts away and with a generous indifferency as Persons who have laid up their Treasure in another World and look for the Blessed Hope and the Glorious appearing of the great God Such a Judge appears in this prospect one who descended into this vally of Tears upon the most serious Errand imaginable even to call Sinners to Repentance to make them sensible of what God expects at their hands to convince them that they have Souls to be saved to assure them that though God is patient yet he will not be everlastingly affronted by bold and daring Men and judges otherwise of things than besotted Mortals and is in good earnest when he bids them set their Affections upon the things which are above one who will not be put off with fooling nor spare a Malefactor for a jest one who gave Mankind a Being and Habitation here not to play but to work not to mind Trifles and Rattles but the Concerns of a tremendous Eternity a Judge whose Eyes are like Flames of Fire and his Feet like Brass glowing in a Furnace who was indeed a Lamb when he had his conversation here on Earth and like one was led to the slaughter not opening his Mouth and is still so to all those that take his Yoke upon them and learn of him to be humble and meek but will at last appear in all the Robes of Majesty which the Clouds of Heaven and a Guard of Ten Thousand times Ten Thousand Angels and all the Light of the Throne of God can furnish him with This Judge knows all the Secrets of our Hearts and before him all things are naked and open and no Creature can hide himself he is one who cannot be imposed upon by Sophistry nor nor wheadled into a wrong Judgment of things by equivocation whose presence will shake the World and put the greatest Captains and stoutest Souldiers into Fits of Trembling and make them cry to Rocks and Mountains Fall on us and hide us from the Face of him that sits upon the Throne and from the Wrath of the Lamb. This Judge is not to be corrupted nor to be bribed cannot be carried away with outward respects which make Judges here on Earth pervert Judgment these judge too often according to Affection and call white black and black white good evil and evil good defend vice under the notion of virtue rashness under the name of fortitude laziness under the colour of moderation and timorousness under the title of cautiousness these do too often become advocates for the Prodigal and call them liberal and generous the covetous with them pass for frugal the Lascivious for Courtiers the Talkative for affable the Obstinate for Men of resolution and the Dull and Idle for persons who act with great deliberation Love to their Kindred and Blood makes them extenuate Faults in their Relations and that which appears an inexpiable crime in Strangers seems but a peccadillo or infirmity in a Child or Brother Herod hurried away with his Amours to Herodias beheads the innocent Baptist Flaminius out of Love to his Harlot violates the Publick Faith Julius Caesar out of fondness to Cleopatra gives Sentence against her Brothers David's inordinate affection to a Rebel-Son tempts him to give the Army charge to take care of the young Man Absolom But the Judge we speak of is of another temper it was his Character here on Earth that he was no respecter of Persons nor could the Sons of Zebedee prevail with him to place them one at his right hand the other at his left and it was not Kindred he would advance to that Dignity but such for whom it was prepared by his Father Hence it was that his Mother and Brethren found no farther acceptance with him than they were obedient to his Word and he deliver'd it as his Eternal Rule They that do the will of my Father they are my Mother and Brethren and Sisters and with this Motto he gave a Reprimand to the Woman that cried Blessed is the Womb that bare thee and the Paps which thou hast sucked yea blessed are they said he who hear the Word of God and do it And he that here on Earth could not be wrought upon by Kindred or Consanguinity nor blinded by Affection sure will not be misled by these false Fires in the great Day of Judgment Judges here on Earth if Passion or Hatred to a Man reigns in their Minds are too often tempted to pass wrong Sentences What the Effects of Prognes hatred to her Husband Tereus were and how the innocent Son suffered by it how dire the hatred of Medea to Jason was and drew the death of their Children after it how Joseph's Brethren condemned that guiltless Soul meerly because they hated and envied him and how the Jews dealt with our great Master the Lord Jesus upon this Principle both Civil and Sacred Histories do sufficiently manifest But this impotent Passion cannot light upon him who is to be the Judge in the last Day He hates nothing that he hath made and is so great a lover of all Mankind that he would have all men to be saved and come to the knowledg of the Truth and would give them all Eternal Life if they would but take the way he prescribes them The Devils themselves could they be penitent would be received into favour and let a Man be born of a Jew or Turk if he do but bring forth fruits meet for Repentance neither his odious Name nor loathsome Kindred shall exclude him from his bosom He hath no secret Spleen or Pique against any Person living and though God under the Law seems to vent a particular displeasure against the seven Nations and especially against the Amalekites yet it was for their monstrous and unnatural Sins that his just Displeasure rose against them not any private Grudge or Envy he bore to them as Men above other of his Creatures Such Imperfections are not incident to our Judge who detests and abhors no person but what makes himself deformed and odious to his purer Eyes and in every Nation whosoever serves him and works Righteousness is accepted of him Fear very often prevails upon Governors and Men in Office here upon Earth that they dare not speak their mind in passing Sentence for fear of offending a Favorite or losing their Places or being accounted pragmatical or missing such a Preferment distorts their Judgments and makes them take wrong measures of things This makes Laws Cobwebs for great Men and Traps to catch lesser Animals this tempted Pilate to crucifie the Holy Jesus and though he was sensible of his Innocence yet the word If thou let this Man go thou art not Caesar ' s Friend turns
shall speak they shall give account thereof in the Day of Judgment saith Christ Matth. 12. 36. Not having repented of things of this nature either through unbelief or carelesness when these points shall come to be examined and thy Soul interrogated upon these Particulars and so many too it stands to reason that it must necessarily cause very great astonishment for these things were most certainly forbid in that Gospel thou didst profess and that notwithstanding as if such things had never been spoken of thou shouldst slight them and undervalue them and not think them worth thy care to shun them what sad reflexions will this Examination cause In vain dost thou hope that Eagles catch no Flies and that God will never mind such small trivial and inconsiderable Errors He that minded these smaller Faults as they seem to carnal men and took notice of them in this life may justly be supposed resolved to call men to an account for them in that solemn Day of Reckoning for indeed God's Proceedings here are an Emblem of his process in Judgment hereafter Eating of the forbidden Fruit in Paradise seem'd but an inconsiderable oversight yet did God curse the very Earth for that Fact made it bring forth Briars and Thorns for the future condemned Adam to the eating of Bread in the Sweat of his Brows and threatned the Woman his Partner in the Error to multiply her pain and sorrows It doth not appear from Moses that the Children of God or Professors of the true Religion did any more than marry with the Daughters of the prophaner Crew a small fault a brutish Man would think yet was the Insolence lash'd and the inordinate Fire quencht with a Deluge of Waters Lot's Wife looks back to Sodom out of curiosity perhaps a venial Folly natural to women it seems to be and no more yet for doing so she is turn'd into a Pillar of Salt Achan as a Souldier and that sort of men we know live much upon Prey takes in a time of War a golden Wedge and Babylonian Mantle no great matter one would think yet God orders him to be stoned Uzzah out of his over-care that the Ark might not fall lays hold on 't to support it yet for so doing is struck with Death immediately the Prophet who came from Judah to Prophecy against the Altar of Bethel in suffering himself to be persuaded to eat Bread by another Prophet who pretended Visions too to ones thinking committed no great Crime yet God revenged his Disobedience with a violent Death for a Lion sent by God slew him Moses grows impatient at the Waters of Meribah Who would not have done so that had to deal with so stubborn a People yet that Act of Mistrust and Impatience cost him the loss of the Land of Canaan he had so long desired to behold the People of Israel murmured in the Wilderness a thing that People might easily do who were kept so long in a barren Desart without seeing an end of their Travel yet of that vast number of Six hundred thousand Men not one enters into the Promised Land save Caleb and Joshua Ananias and Sapphira seemed to be guilty of no great Misdemeanor for they were content to give half of their Estate to the poor but kept the other to themselves yet is God so angry that he punishes their violating of their Vow to give all with sudden Death Go now Sinner and fancy that God will not call thee to an account for Faults the World makes nothing of because he doth not do it here he will certainly do it hereafter and the Examples of the Bible are Items that he will do so It 's no matter whether the thing in which the offence is committed seem inconsiderable or no the disobedience is all in all if God commands thee to avoid a thing that 's trivial it s the easier Task to do according to his Will and because it was so easie to obey and thou wouldst not it s that which makes thy disobedience grievous and heinous tho' the matter of the offence seems mean and contemptible Rebellion is as the sin of Witchcraft and Stubborness is as Iniquity and Idolatry said Samuel in a case much like this where the thing done by Saul was so far from seeming ill that it appeared like a Work of Mercy and an Act of Gratitude for he spared the best of the Sheep and brought home Agag the King alive in Triumph yet this excused not the Fact but rather aggravated it for hath the Lord as great delight in burnt-Offerings and Sacrifices as in the obeying the Voice of the Lord Behold to obey is better than Sacrifice and to hearken than the Fat of Rams as the Prophet tells him v. 22. This confirms the Method of Christ's proceeding in the last Day and indeed how could that Judgment be perfect if the lesser as well as the greater Errours were not to be accounted for and mens disobedience against the lesser as well as the greater Commands of the Gospel was not to be manifested and proclaimed before the World And though this is chiefly to be understood of men who die without sincere Repentance yet it is more than probable that even the sins of those who were justified and sanctified will be brought to light and discovered before the vast Assembly that shall appear before the Throne of God in that Day not that they need fear any hurt or disadvantage that will arise from that examination and publication but by these means both the Glory of God and the Glory of these true Converts will appear more illustrious the Glory of God who hath snatch'd such Persons like Brands out of the Fire pull'd them out of the miery Clay in which they were ready to perish and taken them out of the Devils Clutches than which there cannot be a greater sign of the power and goodness of God and who sees not how much it will be for the Credit and Honour of the Saints themselves For to let the World see first the Bands and Ropes that once held them and how like Samson they broke them all and carried away the gates of Gaza and escaped out of Hell in despight of all the Devils that raged and stormed and domineer'd there What can be said more for their renown and glory What hurt doth the penitent Mary Magdalen receive by the Evangelists recording or our speaking of her former Whoredoms No more will the revealing of holy Mens faults and errors in the last Day eclipse but rather advance their goodness because they extricated themselves from the Snare of the Fowler and generously rouzed themselves from their fatal Slumber and in despight of Temptations would press towards the Mark of endless glory Their Errors being published with their true Repentance and Change of Life justifies God in accepting of them while he refuses others and proclaims their Wisdom in chusing the better part and condemns the impenitent and discovers how justly they are left
Flesh and to encourage Extravagance and Luxury will be able to give but a very sad Account of their Profession and if ever they come to take a serious view of their past Lives will have reason to wish that they had spent that time in mourning for their sins Christianity which allows us moderate Recreation bids us abhor all Delights which serve to render the mind vain and foolish and alienate the Soul from her true centre or tempt us to mispend the precious hours the Almighty hath lent us to work out our Salvation with fear and trembling 5. Delight in Books and natural Sciences such as Astronomy Physick Philosophy Mathematicks Histories of all sorts and in searching into the Nature of Plants Stones Minerals Fruits Juices Herbs Gums Birds Fishes Beasts c. as it is a thing useful so it cannot be contrary to the Rules of Christianity and though Astrology as it is abused into telling of Fortunes and good or ill Success in Businesses discovering of Thefts and stoln Goods and knowing future Events is no proper Object of this Delight partly because the Rules are uncertain and imaginary partly because it tempts People to unlawful Curiosities partly because the Scripture forbids these Fears and Hopes which are grounded upon the Aspect of the Signs of Heaven and looks upon them as Mistrusts of the Divine Providence yet that 's no Argument but that a Man may lawfully with some delight enquire into the Nature and Influences of the Stars to see whether what the World hath talked of them is grounded upon any Scientifick Principles I need not say here that delight in Magick or the Black-Art as they call it is as great abomination in the sight of God as the Sin it self nor can I give any favourable Judgment of delight in Palmestry because that Art seems to interfere with that self-resignation and dependance upon the Wisdom and Goodness of God which is required of us and even delight in lawful Arts Books and Sciences must have its Rules whereby it must steer its course for the Affections may stick too close to delights of this Nature and the delight justle out our warmer desires after that knowledge wherein consists Eternal Life An inordinate delight in Knowledge was the cause of our first Apostasie and it is too often seen that our Ambition to know slackens our endeavours after a practical love of God and while we doat upon speculation we forget to do that which would make us like our Father which is in heaven 6. Delight in Drinking and Tipling must needs be as odious to God as delight in Wantonness or Uncleanness or Lasciviousness or Lechery or impure Kisses Touches Glances Passions Desires Thoughts Gestures Postures and Imaginations or Feeding our Eyes with obscene Sights and Spectacles or filthy smutty and lewd Communications Discourses Jests and Expressions c. For this is to delight in things God hath forbidden and to take pleasure in that to which he hath threatned the burning Lake and the Worm that dies not and though Custom hath made delight in drinking fashionable and he that doth so is not at all reproached or thought the worse man for it yet who knows not that God's thoughts are not as our thoughts nor will the Almighty make the Customs of this world his Rule in passing Sentence in the last Day Not but that a Man may delight in a Cup of Drink as it is the gift of God when he is dry and Nature requires it and Necessity calls for it but there is a vast difference betwixt satisfying the meer Necessities of Nature and gratifying the Desires of Voluptuousness and Idleness to delight in the former is to preserve but to delight in the other is to weaken and destroy Nature and where men are at a Loss how to spend their time and therefore make Drinking their delight and sport they act like Solomon's Mad-man who cast Fire-brands Arrows and Death and said Am I not in sport Prov. 26 18 19. Nor is it the example of Gentlemen and Persons of Wealth and Quality that will justifie this dangerous Delight at the great Tribunal since believing the Word of God is a greateâ— duty than to regard our Neighbours practices and did the whole World espouse a Vice this would not absolve a Man from his obligation to obey that known Law Exod. 23. 2. Thou shalt not follow a Multitude to do evil The Pretence Men have in this case that they have no Calling or Imployment or have nothing to do and therefore must some way or other divert themselves is as vain and sinful as their delight and the time will come when they will be convinced that they were under no impossibility to employ themselves in useful exercises there being innumerable opportunities of doing good of exhorting teaching admonishing helping assisting and encouraging our Neighbours and improving our own Minds and far better ways of spending our Time than in drinking pledging of Healths talking idly censuring our Neighbours pleasing our Appetite keeping ill Company and throwing that away upon our Lusts which might with greater satisfaction have been given to Christ's distressed Members 7. Delight in Cards and Dice is a Sport which very few Divines and wise Men do approve of and those that have allow'd of it have given such Restrictions and Limitations as makes it evident that they wish it were rather totally left than practised with so much danger as this delight is commonly attended with The Council of Eliberis would not admit any person to the holy Communion that plaid at Tables and if the Offender did repent of his Sport it was a whole year after his Repentance before they would admit him to the Holy Table and to this purpose speaks the Sixth Council General of Constantinople The Truth is this delight is a manifest occasion of evil and where there is one that comes off without sinning there are forty that involve themselves in various Transgressions What wise Man would stand upon a Precipice when he can walk in a beaten Road And where Men love to go to the utmost limit of what is lawful they commonly fall and engage themselves to commit Errors they did not think of the Holy Ghost therefore hath not thought fit to reveal to us these utmost bounds that we might keep within the compass of known duties and by a due distance from what is sinful preserve our Innocence and Gods Favour We blame Children for medling with Knives and Swords they know not how to use and why should we be guilty of a Folly and Imprudence we condemn in them He that abstains from Cards and Dice most certainly doth not sin and who would not take the surest side of the Hedge Those Casuists who do allow of this Recreation make it lawful only with these Provisoes 1. Provided that Men play without eagerness or being much concern'd 2. That they give no occasion to men to quarrel 3. That they give all the Money they win to
learned that which she had better been totally ignorant of From hence many have come away worse than they were but none better 12. Delight in seeing Stage-Plays must not be omitted here and how far this delight may be allow'd of and how far detested I cannot shew you better than by giving you the contents of a Letter I formerly writ to a young Gentleman upon this Subject SIR THough you did pitch upon none of the best Casuists when you sent your case to me yet since you have thought fit to ask my opinion whether it be lawful to go and see a Play a thing our Gallants are so exceeding fond of I must crave leave to tell you that in the Primitive ages of the Church such a question from one who professed himself a follower of the Holy Jesus would have been looked upon with no very pleasant aspect they supposing that every Christian who knew or was sensible into whose name he was Baptized understood that things of this nature are as foreign to Christianity as lasciviousness and wantonness and as contrary to the design of our noble Religion which is to plant a Spiritual Life in us as wallowing in voluptuousness or luxury But the Times are altered and our Virtuosi have allowed of it and what men in former ages scarce thought fit to be named among Christians this hath made not only convenient but in some respect necessary and essential to a person of Quality so that this Question as the case stands may with some justice be ask'd and even a very sober person may now with some reason demand whether there be any harm in beholding these dramatick representations And here I would not be thought so rigid or foolish rather as if I believed no representation of History or Mens actions in the World lawful for that would be directly contrary to Christ's own practice who instituted a Sacrament to represent his death and passion by and to keep up the remembrance of it to the Worlds end and tho' this is not acting things to the Life yet it at least imports so much that something Historical may be represented in lively and significant Characters the management of which must be left to the prudence and discretion of sober Men. But then these representations must be restrain'd altogether to vertue and goodness and such accomplishments of the Soul which the wisest holiest Men in all ages have been desirous and ambitious of and though vertue cannot be well either discoursed of or represented without its opposite vice yet such is the nature of vice such the unhappy consequences of it that if either the pleasure or ease or prosperity and success of it be shewn and acted tho' but for a few minutes whatever Fate it ends in it 's so agreeable to the corrupted tempers of Men that it leaves a pleasing impression behind it nor is the after clap or doleful Exit of it strong enough to prevent a liking or satisfaction especially in the younger sort who are generally more taken with its present content and titillations than frighted with its dull and muddy conclusion for while its present success and sweetness is acting the Cupid strikes the heart and lays such a foundation there as mocks all the death and ruine it after some time doth end in I doubt not but the joys of Angels and the triumphs of glorified souls might be acted to the life and great good might issue from the gaudy Opera and if justice patience sobriety humility and contempt of the World with all the garlands and solid joys that attend them were represented with their future recompense in a serious way without jesting or raillery not a few Men and Women might be signally edified by it their affections raised above their ordinary level and their courage kindled to press towards the noble prize but then there must be nothing of the present amiableness of vice mingled with the Scenes for tho' vice must almost necessarily be named in these living Landskips yet it should be only named and never named but with horror and the generosity and grandure of vertue only acted to the life for indeed nothing is fit for action or imitated but vertue vice should never appear but in its ugly shape for if you dress it in its shining Robes tho' it be but for a quarter of an hour such is the venom of this Basilisk it breaths a poisonous vapour both on the Actor and the Spectator and while the one comes to see sport and the other to get money both go away from the Theatre worse than they came and tho' both come away laughing yet both prepare for bitter mourning and lamentation I have shewn you what Drama's may be useful and commendable but Sir all this differs very much from the modern plays the aforesaid question relates to these being things fitted for vanity and luxury for in these though the punishment of vice and rewards of vertue are represented to the life yet it 's done rather with advantage to the former than to raise the credit of the latter and the effect shews it viz. the corruption and debauchery of youth and persons of all sorts and sizes which I shall more largely speak of in the sequel The Plays we speak of are suited to the loose humour of the age which seems to hate all things that are serious as much as Rats bane delights in nothing so much as in jests and fooleries and seeing the most venerable things turned into ridicule Here no play relishes but what is stuft with love tricks and that which makes people laugh most is the best written Comedy wantonness is set out in its glittering garb and the melting expressions that drop from its lips are so charming to a carnal appetite that the young lad wishes himself almost in the same passion and intrigue of Love he sees Acted on the Stage it looks so pleasant end ravishing Here Religion is too often traduced and through the sides of Men that differ from our Church the very foundation of Christianity is shaken and undermined not but that Hypocrisie in Religion ought to be severely lash'd but then it must be done in a grave becoming and serious way such as Christ and his Apostles used against the painted Sepulchres the Pharisees The Stage hath that unhappy character that it is looked upon by the generality as the grand place of divertisement Men come thither not to learn but to be merry and since acts of hypocrisie look so very like acts of true Religion the danger is that while you raille the counterfeit you hurt the Original and while you dress the Image in a fools Coat the substance suffers in the ridiculous representation So that here Men and Women are insensibly poison'd and the good thing they see made aukward in an enemy in time looks but odd and strange in a friend and by degrees the vertue is hated in good earnest because one that was in the habit of
an hypocrite did practise it Here few sacred things are spared if they serve to make up the Decorum of the Act and Heathenism is reduced into Christian territories in a pleasant way The Pagan Gods must make the Drama great and while these are in all the Actors mouths the licentious spectator in time applies that to the true which the fond Poet ascribed to fictitious Deities Here the supream Creator is too often reviled through the ill language that 's given to Heathen Numens and things that savour of real piety rendred flat insipid and impertinent here all that may raise the Flesh into action and desire is advanced and whatever serves to lay reason asleep and to exalt fancy and imagination and the glory of the World is made the proper object of admiration Here all thâ— wanton looks and gestures and postureâ— that be in the mode are practised according to art and you may remember yoâ— have seen people when dismist from a Play strive and labour to get that grace and antick meen they saw in the Mimick on the Stage Here men swear and curse and actually imprecate themselves and tho' they do it under the name of the person they act yet their own tongue speaks their sin their body is the agent that commits it and thus they damn themselves for a Man in imagination And are these things fit for a Christian to behold a Christian who is to be a new Creature a candidate of Eternity an heir of Heaven an Enemy to the World a spiritual Prince a King over his lusts and Emperour over his carnal desires Is this a sight agreeable to the strait way and the narrow gate which leads to life Can you or any man reconcile such darkness with light such Idols with the Temple of God Is there any thing in the Gospel more plainly forbid than conforming to the World and what can that prohibition import if conformity to the World in beholding these dangerous sights be not in a great measure meant by it We may put forced glosses upon the words but doth not this look like the natural sense of them Holiness for without it no man shall ever see the Lord is the very Character of men who name the name of Christ if they bear not that name in vain and will any man of sense be so bold as to say that Shews which have so much sin in them are suitable to that Holiness We know who said Turn away mine eyes from beholding Vanity and who sees not that he who delights in such shews neither dares pray that Prayer nor can have any desire to imitate David in his holiness for he is pleased with vanity fixes his eyes upon it makes it the pleasing object of his sight and consequently instead of turning his eyes away from it turns them to it and would not for a World lose that pleasure If thy right Eye offend thee pluck it out and cast it from thee for it is profitablâ— for thee that one of thy members shoulâ— perish and not that thy whole body shoulâ— be cast into Hell said he who hath protested that not the least tittle or jota oâ— his words shall perish Matth. 5. 29. If there be any sense in this passage the meaning must necessarily be that if the eye or beholding an object prove an occasion of evil the eye must be so carefully and so totally withdrawn from that object as if it were actually pluck'd out or were of no use in the body what an occasion of evil the beholding of such Scurrilous shews is none can judge so well as he who takes notice how by these sights the horror which attended some sins is taken off and men are tempted to entertain a more favourable opinion of them how apt upon these occasions they are to laugh at those sins which require rivers of tears and to smile at the jest they hear which deserves their most rigid censures how natural it is to be affected with these representations and if there be any thing of evil in them how readily is it imbiâ—ed for if not imbibed yet excused if not totally excused yet qualified and construed as a thing of no great hurt and thus its dreadfulness abates and it 's afterwards left out in the Catalogue of errors God was either so jealous of his own glory or so tender of the spiritual welfare of the Israelites that he would not suffer them to take the names of the Heathen Gods in their mouths nor suffer them familiarly to mention them for fear their frequent naming of them should lessen their awful apprehensions of the supream Deity or they be tempted through that familiarity to think there was no great harm in worshiping of them this was no ceremonial precept nor judicial The substance is moral and consequently cannot be supposed to be abolish'd by the death of Christ and since God would not permit it to the Jews how should he be supposed to give leave to Christians of whom he requires greater strictness to be lavish in such expressions How iâ— our modern Plays in most addresseâ— wishes and imprecations the Heatheâ— Deities are brought in I need not tâ— you The Actors indeed swear bâ— God in the singular number but 〈◊〉 their entire Harangues or witty sentences or expressions which they iâ— tend shall move most the Gods arâ— call'd in and that 's the grace 〈◊〉 their part If it be said that this 〈◊〉 done out of a reverential respect tâ— the true God who is too great to be mention'd in such trivial speeches 't is soon replied that it 's a very marvellous thing they should stand iâ— awe of the true God and yet maâ—â— nothing of swearing by him and takinâ— his name in vain and tho' they minâ— their Oaths sometimes yet that doâ—â— not excuse the crime as long as 〈◊〉 shews their willingness to act it bâ—â— the truth is such men seek to tuâ—â— Religion again into Paganism so thâ— style they use in their respectivâ— speeches about things above is fitteâ— for that purpose I know that it 's commonly alledged that the stories which are Acted relate to transactions among the Gentiles and that it would be incongruous to represent their actions and not to mention their Deities or to speak in their language but not to mention that there is no necessity of representing passages of this nature â—here being as noble things among Christians that deserve remembrance why cannot the vertues of Pagans be represented without mentioning their Gods or the sins and extravagancies of their Gods whereby corrupted nature is so easily debauch'd into a mean opinion of the great Sovereign Being and tempted to believe the powers above either subject to the same infirmities that we are or at â—east not much displeased with our irregularities here below He that makes bold with false Gods does very easily slide into contempt of the true and while men are brought in to dare the supposed Deities above they 'll
from you and be unmoved at the want of it Can you see how other Men by thinking arrive to Perfection and will you lye groveling in the Dust O! think while thinking may do you good In Hell you 'll think but it will be too late there you 'll think but your Thoughts will be your Torment there your Thoughts will be the undoing of you there you 'll think what happy Persons you might have been if you had imitated Abraham's Faith and Moses's Resolution David's Candour and Josiah's Piety St. Paul's Courage and St. Peter's Tears St. John's Love and Lydia's Attentiveness the Berrhoeans Zeal and the Macedonian Churches Charity Zachoeus his Restitution and the Publican's Repentance but these Thoughts will then be your Vexation since the working time is past and the day of Vengeance come There you 'll think that Christ was your Friend indeed when he made himself of no Reputation but took upon him the form of a Servant became obedient to the Cross and dyed for you but to think that he is your Enemy now because you refused Obedience to him because you made light of his Offers and would not accept of him for your Governour must needs fill you with endless Grief and bitterness of Spirit Now consider this ye that forget God lest I tear you in pieces and there be none to deliver Psal. 50. 22. 3. And is not the greatest part of the World to be pityed that can delight in nothing but what they can grasp and feel The Covetous can delight in nothing but in Gold If he want Money all his Joy is gone If his Coffers be full and his Barns stock'd with Corn and Plenty doth surround him his Heart rejoyces his Soul triumphs and Cheerfulness plumps his Cheeks but without this his Mind is disturbed his Faculties languish his Countenance is dejected and he looks like a dying Man Who would imagine that this Man hath a rational Soul Who would think he were created after the Image of God Who would conclude him to have lived in a Land where the Gospel is preach'd Who can inferr from his Actions or Behaviour that this Man believes a Word of Scripture Who would take the Wretch for a Disciple of the poor and afflicted Jesus Who that looks upon him would not be apt to cry with him Sit anima mea cum Philosophis Let me die the Death of some brave self-denying Heathen Philosopher For these certainly are in a likelier way of Salvation at least of escaping the Wrath to come than the covetous Christian. Diogenes being desired of Alexander the Great to beg either Gold or Silver of him received this Answer Do but stand out of the Sun and do not hinder that glorious Light from shining upon me and I have enough The brave Crates having sold what he had and turned it into Money generously threw it all into the Sea saying It is far better I should drown thee than that thou should'st drown me in Perdition Alexander having sent to the great Phocion two Talents of Gold the wise Man ask'd the Messengers Seeing there were so many good Men at Athens why the King should of all Men make choice of him to present him The Ambassadour answer'd because of all Men he look'd upon him as the honestest Say you so replyed the Philosopher Then let Alexander give me leave to be still an honest Man which I can be without all these Presents and glistering Treasures Cimon had two large Cups sent him from a Persian King the one full of Gold the other of Silver He looks upon them smilingly and asks the Man who brought them Whether his Master intended that Cimon should be his Friend or his Servant The man replied It was out of Ambition to have him for his Friend that he sent it Oh! then saith he take them back again for being his Friend when I have need of them I can send for them at any time Epaminondas when some came to corrupt him with gifts invites the Ambassadours to Dinner and there entertains them with Roots and Herbs and with small sour Wine Dinner being done Go home saith he and tell your Prince that Epaminondas being content with such a Dinner is not easily to be drawn by Bribes into a base and trayterous Action Fabritius the Roman General having concluded a Peace with the Samnites the Magistrates of the Samnites by way of Gratitude send six Ambassadours to him with vast Sums of Money begging of him to accept of it but he stroaking his Head and Face and Breast and Knees Gentlemen saith he while I can command these Limbs I have no need of Money and so dismissed them Curius gave the same Answer to them adding that he had rather rule over Persons that had Money than be possess'd of Money himself These Men were Heathens whose Delight in Virtue drown'd their Delight in these outward Comforts They saw what an Impediment to Goodness these Heaps of Silver were and therefore scorn'd to delight in a thing so base and trivial they were sensible that the Soul had her Riches as well as the Body as the former by the Confession of the wiser sort of Mankind went beyond the other in value so it was reasonable they should delight in the one more than in the other These Men were better Christians by the Light of Nature than thousands among us are with all the helps that Revelation and Grace affords not that the Fault lies in the means which are larger and richer than Pagans and Infidels have but that men stupifie their Souls more under these Advantages than Heathens did under the lesser Irradiations of the Divine Light and Splendour So then the very Heathens saw that the more spiritual the Delight was the nobler it was and the more it was refin'd and purified from the Dross of the World the more rational it was and therefore more amiable and fitter to be embraced and sure God must have provided but very ill for Mankind when he embued and impregnated their Souls with a Sense of Religion if he had not put something into Religion that 's charming and lovely whereby their Souls might be attracted to delight in it Religion being derived from him who is the Fountain of Delight and Satisfaction must necessarily have that in it which may make humane Souls rejoyce and exalt their Delight into a victorious Supremacy above all worldly Pleasures What did the Lord Jesus delight in who lived upon Alms What did the Apostles delight in who were in much Patience in Afflictions in Necessities and Distresses in Stripes in Imprisonments in tossings to and fro in Labours in Watchings in Fastings What did all the Primitive Believers delight in that were poor and naked driven into Exile banish'd forced to work in Mines chased away from the Comforts of Wife Children and Relations Something certainly they delighted in for humane Nature cannot well subsist without delight in something It could not be the Riches of this World for
with celestial Milk that you may be strong in the Lord and able to put on the whole Armour of God and grow up into a perfect Man in Christ what if it will not suffer you to please your Flesh beyond what is necessary for it's Subsistence must it therefore be your Enemy Will you count it a Foe because it denies you the Sword which would kill you How lovely should this very thing make it in your Eyes How dear should this make its holy Precepts to you How should you rejoyce that you have such a Monitor to prevent your Ruine What Praises do you owe to God that witholds you from that which would precipitate your Souls into the gulf of Perdition I conclude the Inference with this Story Two Brethren were travelling one a very prudent Man the other rude and silly coming to a place where two Ways met they dispute which of the two they should take one look'd as if great Art had been bestow'd upon it Flowers grew on both sides and it seemed to be most frequented the other look'd rough and uneven liker a Foot-path than a High-way the weaker Brother charmed with the out-side was clearly for making choice of the former but the wiser though he saw that the pleasant way invited the Eye yet I fear saith he it will not bring us to a commodious Lodging the rather because I have heard that the less beaten Path leads to an Inn where we may have excellent Accomodation The foolish Fellow was peremptory in it that the most pleasant way must be the right way and prevails with the Brother to bear him Company and being advanced considerably in it they light upon a Company of Robbers who immediately clap Shackles on their hands and feet and hale them both to their Captain and Governour Here one Brother accuses the other the wiser charges the other with Stubbornness the weaker blamed the other's Facility and alledged That since his Brother pretended to greater Wisdom than he he should not have been perswaded In fine both are found guilty and both laid up in Prison These two Brethren are your Souls and Bodies your Soul is the wise your Body the foolish Brother Let not your Body by its Importunity prevail with the Soul to consent to its Desires and Fondnesses of the dangerous Delights of the World O! hearken not to the Perswasions of a sensual Appetite that chooses a present Satisfaction but considers not there are Robbers at the end of the way which will certainly throw both into outward Darkness 5. The great Day is at Hand let 's prepare for it So Christ told his Disciples and so the Apostles taught the Christian World nor must we wonder that the Blessed Jesus should fright his Followers with the Approaches of that day when he knew it would not come in sixteen hundred Years and more which are past since his appearing in the World I omit here the Calculations of curious Men who have been bold to determine the Year in which the day of Judgment will happen some that follow the Tradition of Elias have allow'd two thousand Years to the Oeconomy before the Law two thousand to that under the Law and two thousand to that under the Gospel and after this have placed the Succession of that tremendous day But I doubt that this is rather a Jewish Criticism than a real Prophecy for God having created the World in six days and a Thousand Years being as one Day with the Lord it 's like Men have concluded from this Notion That as the World was created in six days so after six days i. e. six thousand years it would be destroyed Some when they have seen any extraordinary Judgments of Hail or Rain or Thunder or Locusts or great Confusions happen in the World have from thence inferr'd the immediate coming of this Day Some have placed it in one Year some in another but all these are needless Speculations It 's enough that the Decree is sealed in Heaven that there will be such a prodigious day and it was as truly at hand in Christ's time as it is now and now as much as it was then nay as much now as it will be but a Year or a Month before it comes in good earnest for the day of our Death is at hand and we know not when or how soon whether this hour or the next the fatal Messenger will arrest us in our Journey The day of our Death is the fore-runner of that greater Day and according as our Souls are found at the day of our Death so they will be judged in that glorious day the Judgment that will be pronounced upon our Souls at our Death will be proclaimed aloud before the whole World another day and if they be so unhappy as to be condemned upon their departure hence they will all that while till the great day comes torment themselves with the thoughts of that Sentence and the Shame that will ensue upon it as holy Souls will comfort themselves with the Thoughts of their Absolution Therefore when our Souls leave this Body that day and hour is really a day of Judgment to us and that this day is at hand none but a Sot can deny and accordingly all Men of Sense have made and do make early Preparation for it and he that doth not imitate them is so far from giving Proof to the World that he is wiser than they that he proclaims his Stupidity and in a manner renounces his Portion in the Inheritance of the Saints in light But then by Preparation I do not mean those little Sprinklings of Devotion which Hypocrites and Men who pretend to love God yet will not part with their Lusts usually lay upon his Altar not the Pharisees Alms and Fasts and Prayer which were performed with sinister designs out of Vain-glory and Ostentation not Ahab's Repentance who put on Sac◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 walk'd softly but still kept an unmoâ—â—â—ed Heart not the Harlots Piety Solomon speaks of who said her Orisoâ—â— and paid her Vows and her Peace-offerings and thought to make God amends for the Crimes she lived in by these Services not Judas his Sorrow who lamented his Sin because he saw the Hell he was like to drop into not Demas his temporary Severity which soon chang'd into fondness of the World not the Angel of Sardis his Profession of Religion who had the name that he lived but was dead not the Jews Zeal for the Ceremonial Part of God's Worship while they neglected Justice Mercy Chastity Sobriety and Charity not the Zeal of Ezekiel's Hearers who loved to hear but were loath to do but if you would prepare for this day of Account so as to be commended by the Judge the Preparation must have these following ingredients 1. Pity those inconsiderate Men that live as if there were no future Judgment Say not where are they to be found There is no Country no City no Town no Village no Street but the greater part of
the Inhabitants live so All that profess it all that talk of it all that live under Sermons which declare it do not therefore believe it No man believes it that is not thereby restrained from Lusts which war against the Soul All that dare be lewd and repent not and do not amend their ways and their doings whatever opinion they may have of themselves in despight of their Profession are Infidels and so much the greater Infidels because they enjoy means of Grace and Motives and Reasons and Arguments and helps to believe it and yet Act as if there were no such thing Express your Compassion to their Souls by your Tears since they will not weep for themselves Ah! miserable Creatures E'er long they shall see him whom they have pierced and mourn as one that mourns for his only Son and they are not aware of it They are hastening to the Shambles where they will be barbarously butcher'd by hellish Furies and they are not sensible of it Oh mourn for them They deserve your Pity more than Galley-Slaves more than Wretches in Turkish Captivity Oh! call to them and see whether ye can yet perswade them into a livelier Faith of this terrible Day O that you could yet save their Souls from Death and cover a multitude of Sins It 's like they 'll scorn your Tears and laugh at your Admonitions for the God of this World hath blinded them but Oh! pray for them that their Eyes may be open'd that they may see the Precipice they run upon and behold the bottomless Gulph upon the Brink whereof they stand They are rolling down the Hill Oh! stop them if you can that they fall not into the Lake beneath seeing your Zeal for their Souls your concern for their Welfare your entreaties to save themselves from this Generation your sorrow for their undone Estate your grief for their hardness of Heart they may yet relent and turn before the Lord comes and smites the Earth with a Curse 2. Every day spend some time in reflecting on this Day Is half an Hour or a quarter of an Hour every Day such a business that thou canst find no time for it How many parts of every day dost thou spend idly and foolishly Wouldst not thou find greater Profit in bestowing a few Minutes in Contemplation of that Judgment Say not who doth so What if none did it if it be useful and a Duty a wise Man would think himself obliged to practise it though he had no Company It 's granted the Age is bad and few there be that will deviate from the Customs of their Neighbours but without all peradventure some there are that are seriously concerned about their Salvation who make Conscience of it Had Men when Christ conversed on Earth been discouraged by the small Numbers that followed him from embracing his Doctrin and Discipline how would the World have been Peopled with Christians Good Elijah was not frighted from cleaving to the true God when he thought all the World was become Idolatrous and why shouldst thou be tempted to forget thy Everlasting Interest because every Body in the Parish thou livest in is not devout and wise and serious Suppose thou didst live in a Street where all the Men were Beggars and Vagabonds would that be a Motive to follow their unlawful Calling If a Treasure were to be had in such a place and all about thee should be regardless of it wouldst thou be as lazy as they The Merchant ventures into that Country where he thinks none hath been before him and doth promise himself a richer Return In Trades Men commonly chuse that of which there are but few Masters in hopes they shall thrive the better for it The same may be applied to the Business in Hand reflecting every day upon that dreadful Account which few will venture upon thou wilt be a greater Gainer and purchase a richer Peace and Satisfaction thou wilt rest more sweetly at Night than thy Neighbours and thy Conscience will be more at ease thou wilt go about the Works of thy Calling more cheerfully and thou wilt be able to comfort thy self better if any Affliction or Loss do befall thee than others who converse little with God and their own Souls In the Life of Pachomius we read That every day he used to bespeak the several Parts and Members of his Body and talk to them as if they had been rational Creatures Behold saith he my beloved Parts I will advise you to nothing but what is wholsom and useful for you and therefore shew your selves obedient to my Counsel and let 's serve God cheerfully till we get to a better place As to you my beloved Hands the time will come when you will no more be able to strike your Neighbour or play at Cards and Dice and when you will not be able to reach any more after Goods that do not belong to you As to you my beloved Feet the time will come when the way you have gone will be stopp'd up and when ye will be no longer able to run into vain and loose Company Hearken unto me my Senses and whatever helps to make up this mortal Frame let 's strive lustily before Death overtake us and stand boldly in the evil day and fight bravely till the great God put an end to our Sweat and Labour and call us to his heavenly Kingdom What will it profit you to taste of all the Sweets of this World if any thing can be called sweet in so much Misery Why should ye be loath to labour when to labour ye were born Why should ye refuse to suffer when shortly you must die and mingle with Dust Why should ye seek after a soft and easie Life when e'er long you 'll meet with it in Heaven This is no Time no Place for Pleasure that 's only to be found among the Blessed above This is it that I would have you comprehend above all things that through sensual Delights and Satisfactions Men go into unquenchable Fire but through Bryars and Thorns lies the way to Joys which shall never have an end Why do ye murmur against me when I bid you fast and watch and pray Should I indulge you it would be your Bane it would be Cruelty in me to spare you to give you Ease would be the way to precipitate my self and you into endless Torment Thus spake that holy Man to the respective Parts and Members of this Body and thus Christian do thou preach to thy Soul every day ask it which of those two Sentences that shall be pronounced in the last day art thou most desirous of of that Come ye Blessed or of the other Depart ye Cursed If as no Man is fond of Misery thou dost hunger and thirst after the former come my Soul let 's retire let 's ascend the Hill of God and from thence take a view of what will be hereafter The Posture of Affairs thou seest now will not continue long fancy thou
Malefactor hath many Circumstances in it which very much resemble the Proceedings of the last Day Indeed our Saviour Mat. 5. 25 26. describes the last Judgment by the Processes made for Malefactors in this World Agree saith he with thine Adversary quickly while thou art in the way with him lest at any time the Adversary deliver thee to the Judge and the Judge deliver thee to the Officer and thou be cast into Prison Verily I say unto thee thou shalt by no means come out thence till thou hast paid the uttermost Farthing In which Words Christ represents to us the Scene of the future Judgment and consequently intimates that when we behold the one we should spend some serious thoughts upon the other Think how terrible the sight of the Judge is to the guilty Prisoner and how much more terrible the sight of a Majestick God will be to the unhappy Sinner that would not be kept in by the Laws and Sanctions of the great Commander of the World and stood more in awe of a Child or Servant when he was going to commit lewdness than of him who gave him life and being Think how the Malefactor is frighted and confounded with the vast company of Men and Women that crowd in to hear his Tryal and how much more the impenitent Sinner will be ashamed in the last Day when all the People that have been since the Creation of the World will look upon him and hear what his fate will be some Orators have been struck dumb with the greatness of their Auditory what effect then may we suppose will the Congregation of Mankind have upon a Wretch that never saw the hundred thousandth part of them before Think how it must be with the Malefactor before the Sentence of Death passes upon him how heavy his mind is how Melancholick his Thoughts how drooping his Spirits are and what Palpitations he feels about his Heart and how far greater the heaviness of the sinful Soul must be before the Sentence of Condemnation proceeds against her from the mouth of God how much more sad remembrances how much more dismal reflections will seize upon her And if it be so sad with her before the Sentence be past what trembling and horror will invade her after it A Malefactor here on Earth may yet entertain hopes of Pardon his Prince may be merciful pity the distressed condition of his Family remember past services and relent and change the Sentence but the sinful Soul once condemned to suffer hath no hopes of forgiveness no hopes of being Repriv'd no hopes of being released not but that God is infinitely more merciful than the meekest Prince on Earth can be but the time of Mercy is past Once he was merciful to her to a Miracle his Mercy was her Shield Mercy did encompass her Mercy lay entreating her Mercy courted her Mercy though abused came again and tryed new arguments Mercy followed her Mercy preserved her from a Thousand Evils Mercy would not suffer the roaring Lion to touch her for many years Mercy stood by her even then when she desperately affronted her Maker Mercy was patient towards her Mercy wept over her Mercy call'd to her Mercy would have pull'd her away from her Errors but she thrust this bright Angel away would have none of it made light of it laught at its charms despised its entreaties scorned its carresses disregarded its smiles refused its offers rejected its embraces and therefore cannot feed her self with hopes of Pardon now Nay the Malefactor here on Earth when Men will not Pardon hath yet hopes that upon his true Repentance God will Pardon him but the Soul that departs hence in a sensual carnal condition the same she lived in hath no higher Court to appeal to none above God to make her moan to none beyond the supream Law-giver to address her self to The God she hath despised and whose Mercy could make no impression on her is to be her last Judge and therefore how much more disconsolate must her state be than the condemn'd Malefactor's here on Earth 5. Whenever you converse with sick and dying men and are present when their Breath leaves their Bodies think and reflect upon this Day He visits a dying Friend to little purpose that only comes to condole with him or to look upon him or to ask him how he doth or what Medicines he hath taken or what Physitian he hath made use of The Chamber of a dying Person should make us as serious as a Church and compose our Thoughts as much as an Oratory In such a Room there are various Objects that invite us to Pious Thoughts and do naturally suggest to us very serious Considerations the sad looks of the Spectators the Groans of Relations the Tears of Friends the Lamentations of Neighbours and the dying Persons Pain and Misery and perhaps doubts of his Salvation which are not to be beheld with a careless Eye So that when you see the dying Person near Expiring think with your selves This man is going to be judged his Soul is entring into the Territories of another World to know what her everlasting state must be This will shortly be my case I must e'er long follow her to God's Tribunal here my stay will be but short here I have no continuing City here I am not to tarry long my Friend that 's gone shews me the way that I must go I saw him expire I heard his last groans I was by when his Eye-strings broke if the Lord Jesus gave him any assurance of his favour before he died with what chearfulness will his Soul meet her Bridegroom in the Air how welcome will he be in the Court of the great King What rejoycing will there be when he and the other glorified spirits behold one another and they see that one more is added to their Number for there is no envy in Heaven no grudges no fretting because so many are admitted into the Everlasting Mansions but the more holy Souls do enter there the more their joy encreases If this my Friend hath lived above the World while he lived here with what gladness will his Soul be brought and enter into the Kings Palace How will his Name be remembred there How kindly will Angels talk of him How favourable will the Judge be to him but if his Devotion and Piety hath been but Paint and Shew what a surprize will it be immediately upon his coming among the spirits of another World to be arrested at the suit of the Great God and to be carried away to his Tryal He is taken away from his sick Bed but should his Soul be sent away with a Curse how much worse will Hell be than his sick Bed In a sick Bed Physick may yet give some ease but Hell scorns all Medicines no Drugs are of any use there no Cordials no Cataplasms are to be found there no vulnerary Herbs grow in that Wilderness On a sick Bed Friends may yet comfort us but in