Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A67726
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The young man's alarum: or, The sad consequences of those sins which are most rife in young men now in these days as swearing, drunkenness, adultery, and the like. [In] a discourse upon the 9th. verse of the 11th. chapter of Ecclesiastes. Licensed according to order.
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1680
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Wing Y111A; ESTC R218570
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5,022
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16
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THE Young Man's ALARUM OR The sad Consequences of those Sins which are most Rife in Young Men now in these days as Swearing Drunkenness Adultery and the like â—n a Discourse upon the 9th verse of the 11th Chapter of Ecclesiastes Rejoyce O young Man in thy Youth and let thy Heart chear thee in the days of thy Youth and walk in the ways of thy Heart and in the sight of thine eyes but know thou that for all these things God will bring thee into Judgment Licensed according to Order â—â—inted for William Thackery at the Angel in Duck lane THE Young Man's Alarum Eccles 11. chap. 9. ver Rejoyce O Young Man in thy Youth and let thy Heart chear thee in the days of thy Youth c. IT is a matter of no less wonder than grief to see that Man the most excellent and noble Creature of the World made by God to enjoy all the benefits of this and another Life should respect his great happiness so little as at once to neglect them both and wilfully run headlong into misery and so carefully to provide for himself eternal Torment How unpleasant the Way that leads to Sin and Destruction is others cautions with his own experience daily tells him and tho' Death and Damnation were not the sure Wages of Sin yet the very ills that are produced and issue from hatefull vice here should methinks engage Mankind to an abomination of it and make him apply himself with his utmost diligence and industry to follow and keep those Commands which God out of his infinite Goodness and Mercy delivered himself to guide Mankind to his everlasting rest and happiness And can we believe that God did bestow all those noble Faculties of our Soul upon us as Reason Knowledge and Understanding to be Instruments of any thing besides his Glory and the Salvation of us what then will be the consequence we may easily imagine of the mis-employment of these great Gifts and Benefits and converting them to the ruine of our own Souls and contempt of him and his Glory a a Use clear contrary to what he designed them Ah! huge Ingratitude of Men thus to abuse and forget so mercifull a God and too too worthy of eternal Afflictions that will to the Destruction of themselves wickedly defie the means and opportunities that are offered of being happy which can never be found in the loathsome embraces of Sin and Wickedness Hear Young men what is here denounced against your Riots Debauches and your own joyful tho' perverse Heart the Judgment of the all-powerfull God who will not spare your Blasphemies your Drunkenness nor the Sins of your Lust but will deliver you to the Tyranny of Death and eternal Despair Let these let these thoughts and considerations enjoyn you to a Change of your uneven ways remembring that for each thing you say you do you must render an account to the just and all-knowing God of Heaven and Earth who will punish you according to your Crimes And though as in the 8th verse of this Chapter of Ecclesiastes You live many days and rejoyce in them all yet remember the days of darkness for they shall be many and that cometh is vanity Let us reflect but a little on the miseries that all who has been Offenders against Heaven has suffered and we shall give over the continuance in our Impieties and let us take a view of all the Examples in Holy VVrit and we shall find not one amongst them that left to fear the Lord but was involved in Ruine and Misfortunes Saul pay'd for his VVickdness with the dear loss of a Kingdom to Himself and Posterity and all the wicked and unrepenting Kings of Israel was scourged by their Enemies or dye by the dangerous hands of their own Subjects think then what God will even doe to you if you continue in your evil doings and desires Rouze rouze and cast from thee vile Sinner these destroying Evils and with the Prodigal return to Repentance and that you may not be discouraged from so pious beneficial a Work God himself does promise that your Ills shall be past over when you pray to be forgiven leaving off the power of Satan turning with all your Hearts to your Creator How happy how fortunate are you young men that begins with the fear of the Lord how assured is your Estate of Bliss since God himself says he will accept you and professes his Joy at the younger Years of Piety and Religion leading you still with his Grace till you arrive at the blessed Land the Land of Promise to all Believers Let me then perswade every one of you to lay hold of all means of being saved and with your first endeavours seek the knowledge of your God and Redeemer for know 't is Youth the most healthy and the most strong years are the best and most acceptable Offerings to him and when the dismal Groans and Sighs of an Old Age preceeded by a wicked and debauch'd Youth shall he but little minded you will be sure to meet with a kind reception of your Prayers and have all the Blessings of a present and future Life poured upon you Believe me for you will find it that 't is the Knowledge of a well-spent Youth that secures us the greatest comfort and alone can afford us Pleasure when the Aches and pricking Pains of Old Age lies heavy upon us and 't is that that makes us with courage and assurance enter upon Eternity knowing that we shall receive the gratefull Rewards of what we so well acted here There is none who is not quite hardned with Sin and Wickedness but knows what a Joy a well past day brings how comfortable a good action is and how terrible to Conscience which every one feels sooner or later the cruel remembrance of a Wickedness is But more than this it would be well to consider how vast Injuries these Bodies too suffer for whose pleasure we so oft engage our Souls in endless and lamentable Woes by Vice and it is strange to see Men hurry on by so many several ways to Death and Diseases the only two Bugbears thought of humane Nature it is true that some by Drunkenness shorten those Lives every Body seems so much concern'd for and are oftentimes living Martyrs to that Vice continuing to their Grave the wretched Objects of our pity and their own shame By Whoring how greatly miserable Men make themselves each Hospital tells us their cruel Diseases are as so many marks for us to avoid such deplorable conditions which if we neglect after such personal warnings we are not to be pitied if we split against those Rocks and loose our Healths and all the Comforts of our Lives By Swearing how constantly do we call God's Judgments upon us and how extreamly abhorred are our Conversations even by Wicked Men who tho' they practice it themselves yet hate the deformed Sin in another Of all the Sins that has so absolutely subdued Men I
could say the same things but it is needless since the most common Experience cannot but be acquainted with their inconveniences but to say something in short of them they not only injure our Souls but spoil our greatest benefits here for there is not so much as an advantage to be expected where Vice is taken notice of Men justly suspecting they will be false to others who are so to their own Souls and to their God which without doubt is the cause of so many endeavours though they have nothing of Piety or Sanctity but the bare pretence to maintain the opinion of it amongst others finding it necessary to the increase of their Riches and esteem in the World But to return to the Afflictions that follows at the heels of the neglect of pious exercises and duties what People shall we ever find that ever had the smiles of a prosperous Condition without being true to God and the just Principles of Religion did not the contempt of God and abominable filthiness cause the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha was it not the forsaking of God the Instructions and Commands received from him that rendred not only the People of Israel lamentable but made them become the By-word of all Nations to whom they were a terrour whilst they preserved God their Friend â—nd Protector by serving him alone â—nd dedicating themselves to the pure Worship of him all this but duly considered it will be owned that Sin is the impulsive cause of all our own Unhappinesses both Temporal and Eternal and 't is because of our Transgressions that we are so often plagued for Vbi Peccatum ibi Miseria Where there is Sin there is Misery Iniquity calls down all sorts of Punishments upon our heads are we molested with Wars is our Health crusht with raging Diseases are we tormented with distracting Maladies 't is all for our Sins Haggai 1.9.10 Hear the great God of Heaven declaring Punishments to those that break his Commandments and keep not his Statutes in the 28. chap of Deut. But it shall come to pass if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of thy Lord thy God to observe to do all his Commandments and the Statutes which I command this day that all these Curses shall come upon thee The Lord shall send upon thee Cursing and Vexation and Rebuke in all that thou settest thine hand unto oâ— to doe untill thou be destroyed and untiâ— thou perish quickly because of the Wickedness of thy Doings whereby thou hast forsaken me Again The Lord shall make the Pestilence cleave unto thee untill he have consumed thee from off the Land whither thou goest to possess it Art thou not afraid wretched Man then to offend this great this just God who is so able to punish and who will assuredly doe it if thou forget thy God and his Commandments thinkest thou he will be more inclined to spare thee than that People whom he so loved he lead them with his own mighty hand through so many dangers for whom he made a dry Passage over the Red Sea to secure them from their Enemies Ah! no feed not thy self up with these Hopes for he will send these and many more Curses upon thee if thou return'st not with Penitence begging his most gracious pardon delay it no longer since it so much concerns thy eternal welfare and endeavour to reconcile thy self whom thou hast so unworthily and ungratefully offended least he crush thee â—n the very midst of thy Sins and give â—hee over to Hell and the Devil from whence there is no Redemption Think again and again upon this Portion that â—s allotted the Wicked and Impenitent pity thy own Soul and thrust it not into Hell and its Torments but call and God will hear thee knock and he will open and deliver thee Heaven with such Joys as never entred into the Heart of Man to conceive But if the denouncing of Judgments no whit stirs thee nor removes thee from the course of Sin let his kind and gentle promises allure thee to be Righteous and Holy hear him pronouncing his Blessings to the Good and Holy in the 28. chap. of Deut. ver 1. And it shall come to pass if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God to observe and to doe all thy Commandments which I command thee this day that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all Nations of the Earth v. 4. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body and the fruit of thy ground and the fruit of thy cattel and the increase of thy Kine and flocks of thy sheep so on See then what a great gain Godliness is to us here see how necessary the observation of God's Command is for the Riches of this World for the increase of our store and mark that 't is from Vertue alone that we are to expect the Riches of this Life and the Glory of another How justly will all Men condemn him for a Fool that in spight of these immense Promises and Blessings shall continue a Sot to Pleasures which tickle only for the present but leave a fatal Sting behind them and whilst they are Honey in the Mouth are Gall in the Stomach and are succeeded by Miseries and Discontents Let Reason take a place a little and hearken to the dictates of Truth compare impartially the Good and the Bad together that thou may'st find the difference and not like the Child choose only things that are fair and pleasant to the first eye of Fancy â—ut those that carry an intrinsick and â—olid worth Moreover weigh with thy self the small duration and continuance of things of this World and think thy self that thou canst not be with them long thy self but must be summoned to make thy appearance these often considered will perhaps abate thy affection to things here below and will perswade thee to strive to secure an Interest where is eternal happiness and where Joys can never fade which done thou wilt be sure to be quiet within thy self here and not fear Death which is so great a terrour to the Lovers of wordly Delights Having done with this it becomes me to tell you young Men the Ways by which ye may most assuredly glorifie God and purchase your selves eternal Happiness Be sure to avoid Idleness it being the Banker and Rust of good Inclinations and an inlet to a thousand dangerous Sins be sure to Honour your Parents as those that gave you Life and Being with many more benefits be obedient to all Magistrates and all higher Powers according to the Direction of Sâ— Paul flye the Company of Drunkard debauch'd Persons of all degrees foâ— Evil Conversation corrupts good Manners Shun the Embraces of loose and wanton Women Solomon assuring you they will bring you to a Morsel of Bread But chiefly be sure to perform your Duties of Prayer both day and night to God using no frivolous pretences to excuse you from them for so we bless God and he blesses us On the Lord's day abstain from all Works or Sports and fail not to be present at the publick hours and places of Prayer attending reverently and devoutly Lastly doe as you would be done by practise these tho' there be many other Rules and you will not fail to have Eternal Life FINIS