then choose the pleasures of sin for a season for a few dayes and refuse the pleasures at Gods right hand for evermore Suppose I were now tumbling and trembling upon my dying bed under a cold sweat my eyes set my heart fainting and my breath departing as it must and will be with me a few days hence should I then choose Hell before Heaven should I say then God damn me Lord reject my soul for evermore or this rather Lord Jesus receive my spirit Lord take me to thy self in glory would I then say Lord never let me share in thy mercy or Lord have mercy upon me Lord let me be a companion for the Devil and his Angels in regions of darkness and devouring burnings to all eternity or Lord let me enter into the new Jerusalem the City of the living God the Church of the first-born to the communion of Saints and the spirits of just men made perfect Which of these states would you then choose § 3. Why sinner the former of these is that which you choose now who choose the ways of sin and service of Satan You choose wrath and damnation the company of Devils exclusion from Heaven the place of bliss and the fullest the furthest separation and distance from God the chief good and center of all happiness And is this the choyce you will make in the end when you come to dye No God forbid then reflect and consider a little and be not rash but serious I beseech you in these great things If Heaven be better than Hell life sweeter than death if glory be more desirable upon a dying bed than misery and mercy than wrath why should not the way to mercy and glory be better than the way to destruction the way to life more pleasant to you than the way to death Why should you not choose the way of Religion and holiness now and enter upon it presently this day before the next since you are convinced you must come into this way before you dye or you can never be saved And since you purpose it hereafter and talk of repentance and holiness hereafter why have you any such thoughts or purposes at all but that you are convinced 't is the way to Heaven and that you shall choose the end of this way when death comes And why should you not refuse shun hate and avoid the way of sin now when you are convinced in your consciences you shall be loath to receive the fruit and end of that way when you come to leave the world Certainly wicked men have no reason on their side The Apostle saith Great is the mystery of godliness truly I may invert his words and say Great is the mystery of wickedness For I can see no reason nor do I think any man upon serious thoughts can render any good or solid reason why he should choose the way of the wicked rather than the way of the upright to follow the Devil rather than Christ and to walk in the paths of sin rather than the way of Religion Only men will do it so they are sinful and wicked and will be for ever miserable and wretched because they will fulfilling that of the Prophet their destruction is of themselves 't is wilfull destruction 't is chosen damnation § 4. Therefore young men for whose sake principally I undertook this little work take for a close that of the Prophet Say unto the righteous it shall be well with him for they shall eat the fruit of their doings Isa 3. 10 11 Woe unto the wicked it shall be ill with him for the reward of his hands shall be given him And sit down and consider it till you have brought your hearts to a firm belief of the truth of it There are but two wayes wherein all the men in the world are travelling the way of Sin and the way of Righteousness But two Leaders whom they all follow Christ or the Devil But two places whither they all tend Heaven or Hell And know this direction and exhortation is from the Lord though handed to you by his unworthy servant and if you deny me you therein deny him and if so the time is coming and will come when he will deny you And dare any of you deny the Lord and say as those wicked ones to the Prophet Jeremiah Jer. 44. 16 17. As for the word which thou hast spoken to us in the Name of the Lord we will not hearken to it We will not forsake our sins we will not follow Christ nor be tyed and bound to such circumspection and holiness as his followers are and as his Word requires But we will do whatsoever proceedeth Jer. 18. 12. ceedeth out of our own mouth do our own devices and walk every one after the imagination of his own evil heart And are you content and willing God should take you at your words and for ever give you over to your own hearts lusts to walk in your own wayes and after your own counsels Are you willing from henceforth to give up all your hopes in Christ your hope of Heaven your hope of Life Salvation and eternal glory and to be damned for ever in another world why this is the choyce you are put to either to live an holy life or to be for ever miserable after death either to submit to the Yoak of Christ or never to receive benefit by the Cross of Christ to kiss the Scepter of his Mercy or fall by the sword of his Justice either to follow him in his Kingdom of Grace or to be eternally excluded his Kingdom of Glory There is no other way but these two One of these you must choose The summe of all is you must repent or perish and follow after Holiness or never see the Lord. Religion is the only way God hath made to Heaven and if you never walk in the way you can never come thither And assure your selves I can have no other end or interest to aim at in taking any pains to perswade you to be good and to be sincere followers of our Lord Jesus Christ but this His glory and your salvation which to aim at is doubtless your Interest as much as mine and if all that I have written cannot convince you 't is so 't is but a few days more and Death and Judgment shall Gloria Trinuni Deo sine Fine THE Young Man's Monitor OR A POETICAL PARAPHRASE Upon the XIIth Chapter of ECCLESIASTES The PREFACE Eccles XII i. Remember now thy Creator in the dayes of thy youth while the evil dayes come not nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say I have no pleasure in them YOung man remember in thy youthfull age Thy Great Creator and betimes ingage Thy Soul and body both with all thy might To do him Service e're the sable night Of frightfull death approach or evil day Of old decrepid age wherein you 'l say There is no pleasure nor a will to work Youth 's
O blessed and treble blessed is that Soul that is early married to its Saviour betimes espoused to Christ as its Husband Head and Lord. Now therefore is the time to gain and flourish in Grace which is the Earnest of Glory to set up the Kingdom of Christ Luk. 17. 21. within you as ever you hope to be admitted into his Kingdom above you § 3. An early practice of Piety and Religion will bring you the greatest comfort A pious Youth makes a joyous old Age. Age is a time wherein we are to solace our selves with the remembrance of our forepast life to feed upon the spiritual stores upon the graces comforts and Experiences which your former godly and Religious course of life hath gained you For this reason 't is that Solomon sends the young sluggard to the Ant or Pismire to learn prudence which gathereth her food in the Summer Prov. 16. 6 7 8. and layeth up her store in the harvest If you sleep in harvest sloth sin away the summer season what will you live upon in winter will not spiritual want and poverty pinch you in old age But if thou art Religious in thy youth diligently carefull to lay up a stock of grace and vertue a store of prayers and good works in thy youth then thine old age cannot but be attended with joy and comfort peace and plenty You say usually you must work when you are young to keep you when you are old 'T is true here you must work the works of God and of Religion while you are young to support you comfort you and keep you from despair when you are old Do but think what peace what comfort an old man can have who is about to leave the world and hath all the sins of his youth flying in his face following at his heels and waiting when death shall give them an opportunity to accompany him to Judgment When he shall remember that in his youth he forgat God and spent the prime of his years in the Devils service in ryoting and drunkenness chambering and wantonness in strife and envy I say what peace what comfort can he now reap of those things where of he is ashamed where with his conscience is terrified and soul wounded How loath is he to leave the world how unwilling and afraid to die How doth his aged heart ake his shrinked flesh tremble to think of Death and Judgment Who can express the horror and disturbance of his mind when his Reason tells him he is too weak to live and his Conscience that he is too wicked to dye Whereas when a man can truly say and his conscience bears him witness when he is old that he hath laid out his youth and strength for God in the practice of piety and service of his Saviour when he can now say he hath made Religion his business the glory of God and his own salvation his main work and design in his youth when in a word he can say with old Hezekiah Lord Isa 38. 3. remember that I have walked before thee in truth and with an upright heart what an heart full of comfort what a mind full of peace what a soul full of joy shall that man have in old age even in death it self How chearful may such an old Simeon sing his Nunc dimittis Lord now let thy servant depart in peace for I have sought and the eye of my faith hath seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared for me Therefore if you would be joyous when you are old be Religious while you are young Qualis vita finis ita As is your life such shall your end be To me to live is Christ to dye is gain saith the great Phil. 1. 21. Apostle And 't is the righteous hath hope in his death saith Solomon And you deceive your selves if you think you may live vitiously and yet dye happily Holiness in youth is the Tree upon which the choyce fruit of Comfort in old age alone groweth § 4. As it will bring the most Comfort so it deserves the greatest Honour To see young persons following Christ by an holy and heavenly life 't is honourable and deserves the gteatest commendation It is written in the Gospel that when Christ heard a young man say he had kept the Commandements from his youth he loved him to shew how God loves the early obedience and devotion of young ones to himself To speak in the Scripture language God honoureth such for they greatly honour God and them that honour me will I honour saith the Lord. Yea and God makes 1 Sam. 2. 30. more account and takes more notice of a little goodness a little holiness and obedience in a young person than of a greater measure in him that is elder When Jeroboams child was sick God sent him word by 1 King 14. his Prophet that his child should dye and that he only should go to the grave in peace of all Jeroboams family because in him was found some good thing towards the Lord. There could not be much good in him being but a child and bred up in Idolatry too yet because some good was found in him being so young God took a liking to him and shewed his acceptation of him by conferring that favour and honour upon him above all the Family that he should goe to his grave in peace And Solomon tells you that Religion carrieth length of Pro. 3. 16. dayes in the one hand and honour and dignity in the other and she will conferre it Pro. 4. 8. upon thee she will bring thee to honour and the Lord honoureth them that fear him saith David where Fear is put for all Religion Ps 15. 4. and Worship towards God and those that devote themselves to him by an holy fear will God honour And the sooner you doe this the greater love and honour the greater favour and esteem will God have for you Yea as it will procure you honour from God so from all good men Religion and piety is the Image of God in man and wherever a good man sees this he cannot but honour it and those that bear it St. Paul writes to his Romans to shew singular respect to Andronicus and Junia as persons of Note upon this Rom. 16. 7. consideration because they had the happiness and honour to be in Christ before him And surely 't is the greatest honour and happiness in the world to be early in Christ early in the Covenant of grace Is thy Servant in Christ is he Religious and devoted to God he is more honourable than thee his Lord and Master who art irreligious and out of Christ and shall be preferred before thee in the favour and esteem of God both in this world and that to come Nay Religion will make you honourable even in the eyes of the wicked Jehoram a wicked King honoureth and waiteth upon a Religious Elisha proud Herod reverenceth the holy Baptist Piety is a silent
his long home and the mourners go about the streets BEfore thou be afraid of what is high And causeless fears now in thy way do lye Before the blooming of the Almond tree And the Grashopper shall a burden be Before desire fail because man must To his long home that is return to dust The Mourners fill the streets with hideous cryes And make them eccho their sad Elegyes PARAPHRASE BEfore thy Health and Strength are so far spent That thou shalt tremble at the least ascent Time was you could have over mountains run Climb pyramids as if you 'ld fetch the Sun From his Celestial Orb or meant to trace Some other Planet in his nimble race But now 't is otherwise you stoop and bow Creep on all four looking down below And if but one of all the four do stumble You tot'ring stand and in a moment tumble And when thy crasie body's down it lyes Looking for help but hath not strength to rise Hence 't is the smallest stone or straw or Hill That 's in thy way thy way with fears doth fill The Almond Tree doth flourish gray hairs sit Thick on thy head as blossoms do on it Those Church-yard flowers make thy head as white As Mother Earth is in a snowy night The Grashopper the lightest burthen tires Thy old and crasie bones All thy Desires Of pomp and pleasure fail the Mourners meet And pensive walk together in the Street Because thine age doth tell them that the Grave Hath got one foot already and must have The other shortly one step more and then No tears or groans can call thee back ag'en Remember thy Creator c. VERSE VI. Or ever the Silver Cord be loosed or the Golden bowl be broken or the Pitcher be broken at the Fountain or the Wheel broken at the Cistern BEfore the Cord of Silver lose its strength The Bowl of Gold be broken or at length The Pitcher from the Fountain broken go Or Wheel be broken at the Cistern too PARAPHRASE BEfore the Pith or Marrow of thy back That heretofore could bend and yet not crack Could burdens bear and ne're complain or winch Be weak and loosed with an aged wrinch Before the Pericardium of thy brain Being broke and shatter'd thou turn child again While yet the Veins and Vessels do impart The Spirits to the Fountain of thine Heart VERSE VII Then shall the dust return to the Earth and the Spirit shall return to God who gave it FOr when these cease thy Spirit takes it's flight To God and bids thy body now good night So thy day 's ended now thou must return A lump of Ashes to thy lasting Urn. The Conclusion VERSE VIII Vanity of vanities saith the Preacher all is vanity THus thou hast Reader in a rustick strain The wisemans counsel What doth yet remain Are strong and well fram'd Arguments to prove His counsel seasonable and to move Thee to the practice of it One doth lye In the eighth verse that all is Vanity This was the Preachers text when he * Eccl. 1. 1. began And now he hath quite through his subject ran He re-asserts and doth with vigour cry Sirs I have prov'd it All is Vanity Riches and Honours and whate're the world Ver. 8. Affords are quickly into nothing hurl'd Its pomps and pleasures sensual delight Like Vanity do vanish when the night Of death approacheth or the evil Time Of aged darkness clouds thy youthful prime Nor doth the wiseman speak at random hee Had paid for counsel e're he counsel'd thee He sought it out and after doth dispense This spirit'al physick on experience Ver. 9. By Physick rules his Physick is the best It hath affix'd a true probatum est And that 's enough For though he could have writ No doubt whole Volumes on this Subject yet He gives the reason why he doth forbear ' Cause multitude of Books a burden are Ver. 12. A burden unto him to write to you To read a burden Wherefore Young man now Take all in brief thy Maker that 's above Ver. 13 14. Fear honour his Commandments keep and love The Motive to inforc't is this in Summe That thou must dye and unto Judgment come O aeterna Veritas vera Charitas chara Aeternitas tu es Deus meus ad te suspiro die nocte August Soli Deo Gloria Sine FINE A Plain and profitable Dialogue between a Sinner and Time Sinner THough Time be bald perhaps he is not dumb Would'st thou but stop Old Time I would have some Discourse about thy Person and thy Glass Thy Sythe and Foretop Pray before thou pass Give me but leave in a few words to try Whether thy self know'st what they signifie Time Ask what thou wilt I 'le answer as I walk But I ne're did nor now can stand to talk Sinner Why art thou bald Old Man what hast thou wore All off with age except that lock before Time No 't is an Hierogliphick that doth teach If time 's once past in vain it is to reach An hand out after him that you must meet Him as he comes if past you cannot greet Your Goods may be confiscate Money lent To Hucksters Houses burnt Estates quite spent You may imbrace a stinking Dunghil then Job 2. 8. Job 42. 10. As Job once did recover all agen But men or Angels cannot once repay To you the loss of one Month Week or Day Nor can one minute past e're be recall'd And that 's the meaning of my being bald Sinner But why do Eagles-wings adorn thy Glass To manifest how suddainly we pass From birth to death Or do they represent Our Swifter flight from hence the sand being speâ—â—… Time Yes 't is a lively Emblem that doth show How swift man 's few and sinful hours do go Not go but run run that 's too slow they flye Well said the Wiseman then a time to dye Eccl. 3. 2. And to be born there is but mentions none For life e're he could write it that was gone When Hezekiah's Sun and Moon 't is said And as some think his Stars were retrograde Full ten degrees and Joshua's Sun did stand Still in the Heavens still the nimble sand Of flying Time continued running They Who lived then could not for that long day Reckon themselves one day or hour younger Nor did it make their lives one minute longer But as the Glass continues running 'till The last sand drops so passeth Time and will Not step one minute back for high or low The Glass once run ready or not you go Where Time shall be no more but swallowed be Up in the Ocean of Eternity Thus miserable man you understand Why I this Glass do carry in my hand And though no Looking-glass yet maist thou see By it how short thy sinfull dayes may be Sinner What means thy crooked sweeping Sythe hast thou Taken the field of the whole world to mowe Time Yes that I have and will not let a