clime into Gods vnsearchable counsell althogh it be denied vs. Wherefore let vs be content to keepe our selues within the bounds of modestie and not to be curious and desirous to knowe more then the Angels who are altogether ignorant hereof much lesse shal we be able to reach vnto it but the more we desire to know it the further off shal we be from it Some haue bene so bold as to set down the time and haue fained heauenly reuelations for the certaintie and assurance of their speeches yet their vanitie hath beene disprooued when the time hath beene expired How much better shall it bee for vs to lay aside all such vanitie which stands vpon vncertaintie and giue our selues to such a carefull meditation that wee may not bee vnprepared when wee shall bee called Curious searching can nothing profit vs but a wise and godly foresight and forecast may stand vs greatly in stead whereby wee shall not bee taken at vnawares as the vngodly are like to be who forecasting no danger shall suddenly fall into destruction If wee cannot sufficiently make answere vnto the Iudge Prayer before whose iudgement seate wee shall stand as doubtlesse wee shall not bee able to answere one for a thousand let vs prepare our hearts by confession of our sinnes and by prayer for forgiuenesse of them and let vs say with the Prophet Enter not into iudgement with vs O Lord for in thy sight shall no flesh bee iustified O Lord forgiue vs our sinnes and let not thy wrathfull displeasure light vpon vs. Who would be vnprepared against the time that shall come and yet it is vncertaine to teach vs to haue the more care seeing that after death hath arrested vs we shal be broght into the court of Gods iudgement and then no other issue no other way but either heauen or hell And who would not haue a great regard to this matter For the tryall of this iudgement shal be seene in the anguish of death and as it were at the last gaspe when our consciences shall bring heauy things to our remembrance and the diuell by his accusations shall put vs in great feare and driue vs well-neare to dispaire And the nearer wee begin to approach to the tribunall seate of Gods iudgement the greater shall bee our feare and more grieuous vnto vs then the bitter pangs of death it selfe Watch therefore and pray that thou mayest be prepared against this time and against this iudgement Wherefore the Lord in mercie Conclusion graunt vs a godly and a peaceable passage and that throgh his desert that dyed for vs it would please him to mittigate and asswage all these terrorus and feares and let vs with all speede approach to the throne of grace to finde helpe in time of need Whereas the wicked which are carelesse in their lifetime at the poynt of death and at their last passage out of the world shal be so assaulted on euery side by their owne cōscience condemning them and the diuell accusing them and the horrour of euerlasting torments to come ouerwhelming them that they shall bee driuen to crie out against that iudgement that hangeth ouer their heads and wayteth for them at the doore Such shall the day of iudgement bee to vs as is the last day of our life and looke what the course of our life is when we are called vnto iudgement for after our death immediately commeth iudgement and so shall our iudgement be Neither are we therefore to thinke that our last deedes onely shall come to examination but wee ought to be prepared euery moment least death doo take vs vnprouided For they which in the anguish of death and in the vpshot of their liues shal be found vnready it is hardly to be thought that their resurrection shal be happy And therefore our Sauiour Christ hath said He that perseuereth Perseuere and holdeth out well to the end he shall be saued The which that we may do let vs be prudent Noahs to build the Arke of a good conscience before the floud of iudgement do ouerflowe prouident Iosephs to lay vp the graine of golinesse in the barns of our harts before the dearth of mercy shal be like vnto painful ants to prouide the food of the soule before the winter of iustice do approach tractable patients to take the preparatiue of repentance before the pangs of death doo come wise virgines to haue ready the lampe of faith and the oyle of vertue before the Bridgrome Christ Iesus shut vp the doores good stewards to prouide for the tabernacle of heauen before we loose the office of this life And let vs not straine curtesie to see who will go first but let vs remember that euery one is to answere for himself and God hath many messengers For either sicknesse will come or age will come nay death will come suddenly and speedily and after a while we shall rise againe and the Iudge will come who will neither be led by fauour or request nor blinded and stopped from proceeding with bribes and money nor then will allowe of too late repentance because then shall be the time of execution of his iustice The day of iudgement shall come in the which pure harts shall more preuaile then faire words and a good conscience then great treasure And though some may thinke that that day is far off yet let them be sure their last time will come on apace and wee knowe not how soone that houre shal be and when God wil appoint the time Good it were and most happy for vs if euery one of vs were so affected and so prepared as it is reported of a holy father S. Ierome whose words were these euen the declaration of his heart For out of the heart out of the abundance thereof the mouth speaketh Whether I eate sath he or drinke or whatsoeuer I do me think I heare this sound alwayes in my eares Arise ye dead and come to iudgement Arise ye dead and come to iudgement Let vs follow his example confirmed by the Apostles counsell Watch and pray withall perseuerance that wee may keepe the garment of innocencie and labour the worke of God in the day of this life Wherefore seeing that day shall bee comfortable to the godly which shal be fearefull to the wicked let vs endeuour before this iudgement come to be among the godly and the righteous and that our cōsciences may cleare vs so wel that wee may feele within our selues a desire of this second comming of Christ rather then any trēbling at the remembrāce of it The which let it not be done by any fained flattery of our selues but in sinceritie truth knowing this assuredly that whosoeuer shal not be found written in the booke of life shal be cast into the lake of fire where their portion shal be nothing else but weeping gnashing of teeth That wee may not bee caught in the flaming fire rendring vengeance but that we may
TWO TREATISES One of the Latter day of Iudgement The other of the Ioyes of Heauen 1. Cor. 15.52 In a moment in the twinckling of an eye shall the Trumpet blow and the dead shal be raised and we shal be chaunged that are found aliue Mat. 24.22 Except those dayes should bee shortened no flesh should be saued but for the elects sake those dayes shal be shortned Imprinted at London by Thomas Creed and are to be solde at his house in the Olde Change at the signe of the Eagle and Childe 1600. The Epistle to the Reader GEntle Reader my desire hath bene of a long time to set downe vnto thee the Excellent the Decaied and the Restored Estate of man if by Gods grace I might or may as yet in good time performe it Wherof I haue finished a great part the which if God giue good successe in due time shall be added to that which is alreadie published wherein I haue set downe the Excellent Estate of man by declaring how God created him after his Image The thing that I haue aimed at both in that and this or any thing else that hereafter I shall do is only to profit and to do good And therefore at this time and according to this time and troublesome dangerous dayes of this world prognosticating the vtter ruine and decay thereof I haue thought good by this Treatise of the Latter Iudgement to put you in remembrance that you may be ready and prepared when the Trumpet shall blowe and when we shall be called to our account That euery one of vs in the meane time may haue this in our minde and in our mouth Good Lord prepare vs to thy kingdom and shorten the daies of sinne Ezekias desired to haue his dayes prolonged And vnto Iosias it was pronounced for a blessing that his time should be shortned Which of these two was the better choyce that I leaue to thy resolutiō perswading thee to that which I take to be best Suprema cogita Cor sit in aethere Foelix qui potuit mundum contemnere Thine to his power S. I. A TREATISE OF the latter day of iudgement Act. 10.36 to 43. Ye know the word which God hath sent to the children of Israel preaching peace by Iesus Christ which is Lord of all Euen the word which came through all Iudea beginning in Galile after the Baptisme which Iohn preached To wit how God annointed Iesus of Nazareth with the holy Ghost and with power who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the diuell for God was with him And wee are witnesses of all things which hee did both in the land of the Iewes and in Ierusalem whom they slew hanging him on a tree Him God raised vp the third day and caused that he was shewed openly not to all the people but vnto the witnesses chosen before of God euen to vs which did eate and drinke with him after he arose from the dead And he commaunded vs to preach vnto the people to testifie that it is hee that is ordained of God a Iudge of quicke and dead EVery one no doubt is desirous to know what shall bee done at the latter day at the day of doome and iudgement A doctrine very necessary to them that haue any care of themselues and of their owne saluation and very profitable also to prouoke vs to the loue knowledge and feare of God And so much the more profitable and necessary it is by how much the nearer that day is at hand and approacheth beeing as our Sauiour Christ saith hard at the doores Concerning these words which I haue read vnto you I shall require you to haue regard vnto these principall matters First what is the cause why this generall iudgement shal be Diuision Secondly the declaration of this iudgement Thirdly who shall be the iudge Lastly how it pertaineth to the wicked to the godly wherunto I haue thought good to ad an exhortatiō the better to be prepared The cause wherfore Christ shal come to iudgement principally is no other but that which procured death vnto vs and the last generall iudgement shall make that matter more certain not only that this bodily death which is a seperation of our soule body for a time shal not serue the turne be inough to satisfie that punishment which we haue deserued but also that some shall be deliuered to eternal death both of body and soule as indeed we should be all in that estate were it not for the benefite of Christ his death The sinne transgression of Adam as also the sins and transgressions of vs al was is the cause why God is displeased with vs and why his wrath is vpon vs and why we are subiect vnto death and why wee shall appeare before the iudgement seate of God Psal 90.9 For when thou art angry saith the Prophet All our dayes are gone we bring our yeares to an end as it were a tale that is told wee consume away in thy displeasure Thou wilt set our misdeeds before thee and our secret sinnes in the sight of thy countenance Our misdeeds haue procured death had not Christ died for vs and rose againe from death to deliuer vs from feare They were the cause why we were shut out from heauen had not Christ ascended vp into heauen to procure vs an entrance they had brought vs to the fearefull iudgement of God and to the heauy and wofull sentence of euerlasting condemnation and endlesse destruction if by the meanes of our Sauiour Christ we might not be deliuered from it For when we were at hell gates and appointed to destruction he came with this ioyfull message Come againe ye children of men As indeed his first comming here on earth was to saue and not to destroy and to call sinners to repentance that they might bee receiued into the fauour of God and haue their sinnes forgiuen them but this his second comming at the latter end of the world shall be to iudge to tender vengeance and to destroy those sinners who in this life were against his glory and their owne saluation to call them now to account whom when time was he called to repentance and who now shall be punished by the extremitie of the wrath of God Who if they had well regarded it in their life time might haue bene receiued into fauour their sinnes being forgiuen so that at the day of iudgement they should not haue beene put to any hazard for them nor ventured the daunger of losse of body and soule for them Here in this life they might haue escaped that which in that day they shall not be able to auoyd We see in all well ordered Realmes that if it were not for offences committed and for the manifold outrages of robbers theeues and murderers the Iudges needed not ride their circuit neither shuld there be any iudgement heard of But as before that man had disobeied God this sentence was
giuen out If thou doest eate thou shalt die the death so seeing he hath diuersly and most notoriously offended therefore hath God appointed a day to sit in iudgement to make this sentence more sure and knowne and to put it in ful execution We read of Enoch that holy man Wisd 4.10.14 that hee walked with God that is that he pleased him was beloued of him so that wheras he liued among sinners God translated him and tooke him vp into heauen least wickednesse should alter his vnderstanding For his soule pleased God and therefore God hasted to take him away from wickednesse least he should giue his consent vnto sinners and fal into the selfsame condemnation with them But because wee haue grieuously offended his maiesty therfore shal we be brought before his iudgement seat For righteousnesse is immortall but vnrighteousnes bringeth death Thus then through the bane of sin wee are subiect vnto Gods wrath and heauy iudgemeÌ„t which in the end of the world at the second comming of Christ shall bee pronounced against vs. According to that we read Eccle. 11.9 Reioyce ô yoong man in thy youth let thy heart cheare thee in the dayes of thy youth and walk in the waies of thy heart in the sight of thine eies But know that for al these things God will bring thee to iudgement But here many of vs follow the course of the stream with all other Atheists vngodly persons who because they see that God delayeth the time of his comming to iudgement therfore they think there shal be no iudgemeÌ„t at all Of whom the holy Apostle S. Peter doth thus prophecie in his 2. Epistle Chap. 3.3 Some mock at the iudgement day as though it should not be This first vnderstand saith he that there shal come in the last dayes mockers which will walke after their lusts And say where is the promise of his comming For since the fathers died all things continue alike from the beginning of the creation Seed time haruest sommer and winter one generation decayeth and an other commeth in place thereof And because they see the same course of the world to continue that was from the beginning they are ready to say as those of whom I made mention when I opened vnto you the doctrine of resurrection Our life say they is but a breath and so forth and when we are dead there shall be no more remembrance of vs and therefore we will doo thus and thus euen what we list Which is a token of Gods iudgement vpon theÌ„ who sometime suffereth the obstinate offender to do in a maner what hee list as we read Ps 81. v. 11.12 So I gaue them vp to the hardnesse of their heart and they haue walked in their owne counsels Where we must not imagine that they can doo any thing against Gods will who doth so bridle and restraine them that they shall do no more then that which hee will suffer them God doth not onely restraine and bridle them but furthermore sends his fearefull iudgements vp-them oftentimes to ouertake them that they may knowe there is a God that iudgeth the earth Gods iudgements in this world and that such malefactors are further reserued vnto the day of iudgement And therefore we see so many strange and wonderfull examples of Gods wrath daily before our eies Which strange examples we cannot say are wrought by meÌ„ or by chaÌ„ce because they passe the compasse of mans reason how they shuld be wrought how they shuld come to passe but that we may say as Pharaohs enchaunters said This is the finger of God that is to say this is the worke and punishment of God when he bringeth vpon men and women sore plagues sudden death and strange ends so that we cannot otherwise chuse but confesse it to be so These punishments God doth send not onely to feare vs from the like offences that they haue committed vpon whom God hath exercised and executed his iust iudgement but also that wee may bee put in minde that there is a iudgemeÌ„t to come and that hee hath begun the anger and wrath of his fierce iudgement here vpon earth Which plagues and punishments are fore-tokens and as it were manifest signes of the iudgement to come The feeling of this iudgement engraffed in vs by nature Yea there is an inward feeling of this iudgement engraffed in vs by nature For they that commit any sinne as murder fornication adultery blasphemie and many other the like albeit they can so conceale the matter that none aliue do know it or be priuy vnto it yet oftentimes they haue a griping in their conscience and they feele as it were the very flashings of hell fire within them Which is a strong reason to shewe that there is a God before whose iudgement seate they must answere for their sinnes offences and misdeeds Some suppresse the knowledge of the latter iudgement Yet such there are who being possessed with an euill humor and ouercome of their naughtie wicked desires that the coÌ„sideration of Gods heauy iudgement to come cannot preuaile to moue them to relâ—nt or to haue any remorse of their euill life but rather they endeuour to suppresse the feeling of that which by nature and by the light of reason is engraffed within theÌ„ and are desirous willingly to forget it As S. Peter speaketh of them 2. Pet. 3.5 This saith he they willingly know not that the heauens and earth are reserued vnto fire against the day of iudgement and of the destruction of vngodly men they willingly know not So when it comes into mens consciences that there is a iudgement to come and when they feele an inward feare within them for their misdeeds they doo not take profit by this inward feeling of Gods iudgement whereby it pleaseth God to call them to the knowledge of themselues to be humbled in his sight to call for mercy forgiuenesse of sinnes to turne to God in newnesse of life that so they might preueÌ„t Gods iudgement be saued But they are so mightily ouercome of sinne and of their euill desires which rule and raigne within them that they turn this inward feeling and this inward calling of God to their owne hurt And as the fashion of the world is they desire to put away such sad thoughts betake themselues to merry coÌ„pany and pleasant conceits or else to other pastimes of carding dicing bowling such like So that the diuel through their owne coÌ„sent holdeth him still in his chaines whereas they might seeke meanes to be deliuered from the subiection whereby the diuell retaineth them in his seruice and keepeth them within his power if they themselues were any thing willing to be deliuered and set free By a sad looke saith the wise man Eccle. 7.4.5 the heart is made the better And it is better to be in the house of mourning theÌ„ in the house of laughter When the holy Apostle S. Paul Act.
that he hath done whether it be good or euill Whereof S. Iohn had a manifest demonstration as we reade in his Reuelation Chap. 20.11.12 And I saw saith he a great white throne and one that sate on it from whose face fled away both the earth and the heauen and there place was no more found And I sawe the dead both great and smal stand before God who shall iudge both the quicke and the dead euen all that euer haue beene are and shal be to the end of the world as well those that are dead and rotten in the earth as those which shall be found aliue at his comming who shal be changed in a moment which change shal be in stead of death In iudgements that are practised among men there are diuers conueiances vsed not to appeare in iudgement and for fauour feare bribes and such like matters malefactors are bayled out of prison and bonds forfeyted and they kept from the barre and from the presence of the Iudge and quitte by Proclamation But here the ministers of this heauenly iudgement to wit the Angels shall not be blinded by any earthly considerations There shall be no entreaty no way to auoyd no other remedy but that they shall and must appeare It is a straunge matter and not to be seene that any Emperour King Prince or any such mightie Potentate should be called to iudgement or shuld bee subiect vnto the sentence of the Iudge For why as they say the Prince is aboue his law and not to be censured by any Subiects are vnder the penalty of lawes and iudgement may passe vpon them but as for the Prince and the highest in a Realme who dare controll him if he do ill But from this iudgement of this mighty heauenly Iudge whom no power can resist shall neither Emperour King Prince nor mighty Potentate be exempted neither can they be dispenced withall but that of force and necessitie they must make their personnall appearance There shal be no respect of persons high and and lowe rich and poore all shall appeare Yea then it shal be far better with the poorest begger that hath liued in the feare of God then with the mightiest Emperour that in his life time hath had little or no regard to serue God For true it is that the mighty shall be mightily punished All prophane persons leaud liuers Atheists persecutors which haue beene enemies to God to his word and to his ministers who haue wished in their hearts there were no God nor any iudgement who haue made a scoffe and contempt of all goodnesse and of the professours and Ministers thereof they shall of force bee brought to this Iudgement But what To speake in theyr owne behalfe No they shall not bee able For at that time and there they shall confesse theyr faultes and haynous offences and make bitter lamentation but all too late and there shall they waight in trembling sort to heare their iudgement And who is it amongst vs No excuses shall serue that knowes himself guiltie that will declare the truth being called before a Iudge but rather our mindes runne vpon deuices and excuses how wee may blinde the Iudge and defend our selues and auoyd that which is toward vs. And so long as wee haue to deale with mortall men it may so fall out that our excuses may serue the turne and set vs cleare But when our cause commeth to be tried before GOD from whom nothing is or can be hidde and vnto whom nothing can bee secrete then no excuses can preuaile neither shall any deuices helpe vs or blinde the Iudge Our first parents when God called them to their tryall for transgressing his commaundement and when the fled from God and his themselues although they were still in Gods presence but foolishly they thought otherwise how did they aunswere for themselues but by excuses Adam hee speakes for himselfe Gene. 3.12 and saith The Woman which thou gauest to be with me she gaue me of the tree and I did eate The woman likewise she thinkes to escape by that meanes Eue saith The Serpent beguiled me and I did eate When King Saul had disobeied Gods commaundement running after the pray being called to an account he deuiseth a currant excuse and saith Yea I haue obeyed the voyce of the Lord and haue gone the way which the Lord sent me and haue brought Agag the King of Amelek and haue destroyed the Amalekites But the people tooke of the spoyle sheep and oxen the chiefest of the things which should haue bene destroyed to offer vnto the Lord. Amongst these may Pilat be reckoned who against his owne conscience condemned Christ to death and yet would excuse himselfe as though he were innocent in the cause Math. 27.24 When Pilat sawe that hee auailed nothing but that more tumult was made hee tooke water and washed his hands shaying I am innocent of the blood of this iust mum In the description of the latter iudgement Math 25.44 wee read that some began to excuse themselues saying Lord when sawe we thee an hungred or a thirst or a straunger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister vnto thee Neuerthelesse all this serued not but vnto them it was said Depart from me ye cursed into euer lasting fire And such part is Pilat like to receiue for all his excuse King Saul his excuse was not taken our first parents escaped not for all their excuses but dyed the death and shall wee thinke our case to be better then theirse howsoeuer wee thinke we shall not so finde it There shall we appeare when as no friend nor and body shal be suffered to speake for vs and in our defence and when a faire glosing tale shall not bee heard for the plaine and naked truth must then come in place and we shal be enforced to giue our account euery one of vs by our selues This is the principall matter that must be done before the Iudge We must giue accoūt that we must giue account of our selues and of our deedes done in this life And most shall haue sorrowfull hearts because they shal be called to their accounts As it was said to the euill steward Come giue account of thy stewarship so shall euery one of vs be called to our account haue vsed those benefites gifts and graces which God hath endued vs withall whether to Gods glory and to the benefit of other or after our owne pleasures and to the hurt of others In the Epistle to the Romaines Chap. 14.10.12 We shall all appeare before the iudgement seate of Christ and then euery one of us shall giue accounts of himselfe to God The wicked which lightly cānot be brought to any accounts they shal giue accounts to him that is ready to iudge quick and dead 1. Pet. 4.5 Not only most notorious and wicked deedes shal be called to account but we shall giue a reckoning for euery idle word So we read Math. 12.36 Out of the
bridegrome It is an article of our beliefe and surely not without singular comfort and commoditie that he that vouchsafed to take our nature vpon him and to bee cloathed with our flesh that suffered and endured the spitefull dealing of the wicked and an accursed death for our sakes that he that rose from death to bring vs to life that he that ascended into heauen to procure vs an entrance into his fathers Kingdome and to make vs fellow heires with himselfe that he I say would not forsake vs euen in the most dreadfull time and greatest necessitie when we had deserued the heauy sentence of iudgement and wofull condemnation That hee would set vs free from all feare and to haue that comfortable and most gracious regard of vs as though we had neuer offended him and to vse this chearefull and ioyfull speech vnto vs Come ye blessed I say this article is not without singular comfort From thence shall be come to iudge both the quicke and the dead Which is not spoken to the wicked to whom nothing is comfortable but onely the vanities and pleasures of this transitorie life which shall haue an end and a sudden end and a finall and heauy recompence but to the comfort of the godly and to encourage them which haue sighed and groaned vnder the burthen of their sinnes and who haue fledde vnto the throne of the grace of God and holding out a godly course haue through hope and patience looked for this deliuerance which shall be at the day of doome and iudgement Which comming of Christ vnto iudgement shal be vnto them as the appearing of the Angel was after Christ his resurrectioÌ„ vnto the women that is milde and gentle Be not ye affraid let not your hearts be troubled But vnto the rest his countenance shall be like lightning and hee shal come in flaming fire reÌ„dring vengeance So that they shall not be onely astonied and become as dead men as were the souldiers that were set to keepe our Sauiour Christ in the graue but furthermore they shall be in horrible feare and trembling And happy were they if they might be partakers of their desire so far as not to be to become as thogh they had neuer bene borne But as the godly do passe to ioyes so the other of force must liue in eternall torments In consideration of which iudgement and torments to come they leade a life continually in feare and treÌ„ble at the remembrance of their woful estate which hereafter shal be The godly also haue good cause to feare the selfesame feare of the last iudgement and eternall torments in respect of their manifold sinnes and offences whereby they haue prouoked the heauy wrath of God against them But that they might be raised vp againe and comforted it pleased our Sauiour Christ to receiue the sentence of condemnation himselfe and against his owne person hee beeing altogether innocent and guiltlesse in the presence and from the mouth of an earthly Iudge Pontius Pilat by name that wee might bee acquitted and set free at the terrible and fearefull day of iudgement which in the ende of the world shall come vpon all flesh that wee I say might bee acquitted which are altogether full of sinnes and altogether guiltie According to that we read Ro. 8.1 Now then there is no coÌ„deÌ„natioÌ„ to them that are in Christ Iesus And what shall we then say If God be on our side who caÌ„ be against vs who spared not his own son but gaue him for vs al to death how shall he not with him giue vs all things also who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods chosen It is God that iustifieth who shall condemne It is Christ which is dead yea or rather which is risen againe who is also at the right hand of God maketh requÌ„est also for vs. So that I may boldly say to them who feele the inward comfort of Gods spirit within their hearts by the forgiuenesse of their sinnes through Christ his death Feare not this feare nor tremble as the wicked doo at this iudgement For seeing ye are led by the good spirit of God it is a token that yee are the children of God and that yee haue not receiued the spirit of bondage to feare againe but ye haue receiued the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba which is as much as to say father euen our father which art in heauen And the same spirit of God beareth witnesse with our spirit that wee are the children of God and if we be children wee are also heires euen the heires of God and fellowe heires with Christ our elder brother Wherefore there is no cause why the godly should feare this iudgement as the wicked feare it For as the one sort shall at that day receiue the iudgement of condemnation whereof they haue an inward feeling in this life which makes them feare so the other shall receiue the sentence of absolution and shall bee quit as it were by proclamation when Christ shall say Come yee blessed Which is the cause that moueth the holy Apostle S. Iohn 1. Ep. 4.17 to breake forth into these words Herein is the loue of God perfect toward vs that we should haue boldnesse at the day of iudgement Therefore the godly make their prayers and wish that this day might come shortly Reue. 22. Come Lord Iesus come quickly The wicked would not haue it come as yet nay if it were possible they could wish it should neuer be and that it would neuer come to passe Torment vs not say the diuels to Christ before our time Oh say the wicked that this time might neuer be or that after death wee might vanish away and come to nothing How greatly auaileable shall it be to the godly when hee that is their Sauiour and hath shead his most precious bloud for their redemption hee that is their elder brother and hath purchased vnto them this libertie as to be called the sonnes of God when he that is their head and hath made theÌ„ his members shal be their Iudge to iustifie them and to declare them righteous and whâ—n at that day hee shall deliuer them from all sinne feare of death the diuell hell and all other miseries wherewith other shall not onely be ouertaken but ouerwhelmed For who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods children and who shall procure their destruction whose saluation God hath wrought But to the great terrour of the godlesse and wicked who feare not God nor loue either Christ or his Gospell hee shall be their Iudge to their fearefull and that most iust destruction This also shal not onely be an inward refreshing amoÌ„g great miseries wrongs and persecutions while wee liue heere on the earth but also a great ioy in time to come that al vnrighteous iudgement shall be called to account and that there shal be a generall and most absolute reformation For on earth for the most part there is no true