Wheat Evil and ungodly Persons as well as Believers gracious and true Religious ones and the truth is there is more than one floor of this sort in our days For First If we cast our eyes abroad we shall soon espy a very great old and decayed Barn that hath a mighty floor or heap of People in it called Christians and Reformed ones too But it is to be feared when Jesus Christ comes with his Fan to fan and purge this floor he will find it almost all Chaff ' Tho' I doubt not but in this great heap there will be found some Wheat or godly Christians but like as when a man comes into a Barn and views a floor of Corn newly thrashed he at first sight can hardly see or discern any thing save a heap of chaff so it is here Do but view the National floor and you cannot but say Sure 't is a heap of filth a heap of Chaff for what an evil polluted and abominable Company of People are in this floor are there worse or more notorious more loose light prophane unbelieving and ungodly Wretches living on the face of the Earth yet call themselves Christians and members of Christ and despise nay reproach others as if they deserved not that Name I question whether there were worse in Sodom than some are who belong to this floor Turks and Pagans abominate some of those actions and deeds of Darknessthat are among them behold their hellish Debauchery 1. See what a heap of prophane Swearers and cursed Blasphemers are here who daily belch out most abominable Oaths calling upon the holy and patient God to Damn them every day you may hear them as you walk along the streets nay their very Children by the Example of their wicked Parents learn to swear and curse as soon as nay before they can speak plain 2. Then O what a great and a filthy heap of beastly and brutish Drunkards are in this floor also who shew their Sins as Sodom and hide it not many of them go reeling along the Streets and some spuing as they go foaming out their own shame and little think what Poyson they drink to their own precious and Immortal Souls whilest they Tipple down their glasses of Wine and strong Drink and this they do without all fear of humane or divine Laws having no dread of present nor future Punishment tho' God positively theatens them and all other ungodly Persons with the loss of Heaven and the Torments of Hell-fire for no drunkard shall inherit the kingdom of God 1 Cor. 6. 9 10. yet they dread it not 3. Behold also in this floor a third Sort even as bad or worse than the other two viz. Unclean Persons or vile filthy and impudent Whores and Whoremongers who are the shame of this City and Nation What a multitude of common Harlots are here among us besides Secret ones who are beheld by him whose eyes are like a flaming fire Alas they cannot hide their filthiness from his eyes yet without fear how do they sin 'till some bring Rottenness on their Carkasses a Curse upon their Estates Poverty on their Families and Hell upon their own Souls for he that commits Adultery with a Woman destroys his own Soul 4. There is also another part of this floor that are Chaff which the fire of Gods wrath will Consume and burn up viz. all tho proud and haughty ones This Sin reigns at this time to such a degree that we may fear some sad and fearful Judgment is near Pride goes before destruction and a haughty Spirit bfeore a fall Behold the strange Dresses and high Heads which clearly represents the Vanity and Haughtiness of the Heart The shew of their Countenance testifies against them Women go to the Assemblies of religious Worshp as if they went to Play-houses and tho' God hath shewed in several poor Animals his great Wrath and displeasure against this filthy Fashon or high and shameful Head-dresses yet they will not reform nor leave them off Nor is this sin only found among those of this floor this heap but also amongst others who would be thought more pure and of a finer sort but let them know the Fanner will suddenly come with his Fan in his hand the day comes shall burn as an Oven and all the proud and all that do evil shall be stubble c. 5. What a cursed heap is there also of Atheists and Graceless Wretches who contemn God and all Supernatural Revelation of the Divine Being and Religion these despise and ridicule the holy Gospel or at best will acknowledge no other Worship nor Religion than what the old Heathens owned and were taught by the Light of Nature The preaching of the Cross or of a Crucified Christ is to these foolishness others that can't believe nor will receive that Doctrine that comports not with their own carnal reason What believe they can be justified by the Righteousness and Obedience of another and their own Inherent Righteousness no part of their Justification before God! This is a strange Doctrine For there are of this sort in this heap such as are grievously corrupted and erroneous carried away with Arminianism Socinianism and Antitrinitaism and disallow of the chief Corner-stone God hath laid in Sion For if Christ be not the most high God God by Nature Coequal and Coeternal with the Father and one in Essence 't is Idolatry to yield divine Worship and homage to him for that glory God will not give unto another The gods-that have not made the Heaven and the Earth even they shall perish 6. What abundance of carnal Worldlings covetous and Earthly-minded Wretches are there also whose gain is their Godliness who value no Religion but what suits with their filthy Lusts some of these set up for Preachers meerly for their Earthly gain and make a Trade of it living prophane and ungodly Lives being Guilty almost of all maner of gross and abominable Sins preferring humane Rites and Ceremonies above Christs Institutions and a Form of Godliness above the Power of it 7. Besides what a heap have we among us of Traiterous blind and deceitful Persons who seek to betray the Protestant Interest and all our Civil and Religious Liberties into the hands of the common Enemy who neither Fear God nor Honour the King As also what a multitude of Thieves High-way-men House-breakers and bloody Villains skulk and hide themselves in this heap The very mentioning of these things is enough to grieve and wound our very Souls considering how good and gracious God hath been to us in this Land and what a Nation this hath been and what Wonders the Almighty hath formerly and of late times wrought for us I mean for the Land in general May we not fear that the Fanner will come with his Fan and sever the Chaff in his direful Indignation from the Wheat and let the Fire of his Anger seize upon it and burn it up what can we expect
whole Parishes or whole Nations no no none but true Christians or holy persons sanctified and sincere and truly gracious Souls 3. Doct. Christs great Work and Office is to purge his People to cleanse them and make them holy and to sever the Wheat from the Chaff the pure from the impure or to separate Hypocrites from his Church and purge his Saints from all their inward Filth and Corruption He would have no Chaff there none that are false-hearted and unsound such he will first or last purge out and he will make them that are good to be much better more clean more holy more pure he will purge out the chaff of Hypocrisie Unbelief Pride Passion Covetousness Vain Glory Carnality and all manner of Corruption whatsoever that is in them he sets as a Refiner and Purifier of Silver and he will throughly purge away their Dross and take away all their Tin The time draws near in which the sinners in Zion shall be afraid fearfulness shall surprise the Hypocrites Who amongst us shall dwell with devouring fire who amongst us shall dwell with everlasting Burnings 4. Doct. All true Beleivers or all Christs Wheat shall be saved shall be received into Heaven or be gathered into his glorious Garner above and into which place no wicked person no false-hearted professor no hypocrite no carnal and self-deceived Gospeller shall come Though some of this sort get into the Church militant they shall not get into the Church triumphant tho' they may get a seeming place in his Garner below yet they shall have no place in his glorious Barn or Garner above Sirs you that seem to take delight in the Company of the Saints and seem to feed and lie down with Christs sheep yet know you shall one day be separated as Goats from the Sheep as foolish Virgins from the wise as Chaff from the Wheat and as Dross from the Gold all you that are not sincere must go to your place and those that shall be set at Christs right hand shall receive the Kingdom prepared for them and all that shall be on his left hand must go into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels Doct. 5. A discriminating day will come a day of severing the good from the bad c. Doct. 6. That the Wrath of God is like fire 't is intollerable or the misery and torments of the damned or of all hypocrites and unbelievers will be dismal and amazing or there 's no expressing how fearful their condition is and will be who fall under the vindictive Wrath and Vengance of an angry God I purpose to speak unto one or two of these Propositions but at present I shall close with a word or two by way of Use The Application 1. Caution Take heed you are not Chaff or prove not chaff when the Fanner comes to fan you O see you are not loose carnal and empty Professors if you have only a form of Godliness the Name of Christ only or Lamps and no more sad will it be with you if you are not solid weighty and ponderous Christians if you experience not the divine power of Godliness the Sin-killing the Soul-quickning the Heart-transforming and God-exalting power of Christs Spirit you are un done Take a few Motives to stir you up to take heed 1. The Fanner is coming with his fan in his hand A Providence may be near yea such a providence and dispensation which you little think or dream of I might have shewed you that the whole Earth is but Christs common floor and he is now about to fan this mighty floor he hath many fans to do this What are his fearful Judgments but as a fan in his hand whether it be War Pestilence or Famine or other strange Judgment 't is and will be but as a fan to purge the Earth and consume the ungodly or blow them away as Chaff What amazing Earthquakes have there been lately in divers places have not we in England in London felt some of it as well as most Nations in Europe tho' not like to that in Jamaica and some other places are not these fearful Tokens and Signs of Gods Wrath and Indignation are they not Harbingers and Presages of what is coming upon the World and of the end thereof Look to it there is great Wrath at the door I am afraid thousands will be suddenly surprized and paleness of face take hold of them God is certainly about to shake and Toss the Earth too and fro the seven Viols of his Wrath will quickly now begin to be poured out Expect all of you to be toss'd and fan'd as wheat and chaff is tossed and shook together The lion hath roared who will not fear the Lord hath spoken who can but prophesie there is a worser Earthquake near as the wicked shall find it yea such an Earthquake that will make all their hearts to tremble which will shake down the foundations of Mystery Babylon and all false States it will be such a one that never was since the World began these which have been of late may be but Signs and forerunners of that In the Earthquake which is near the tenth part of the great City shall fall and seven thousand of the names of men or names given to religious men that were never given to them by Jesus Christ meer Antichristian names shall be no more strange will be the effects of it no doubt O what will you do in the day of Gods Wrath if ye are Chaff or but counterfeit Christians if not sincere if not in Christ thou shalt be visited of the Lord with Earthquakes and a great noise c. Great Changes Commotions Mutations and Revolutions will suddenly come from the Lord of Hosts He will make the earth empty and turn it upside down and it shall be as with the people so with the priest He will fan shake and tumble the People together you will find Distress of Nations and Perplexity with a witness in a short time nay no doubt but the day of Judgment and End of the World or Coming of Christ is very near for he hath foretold as Signs thereof that there shall be great Earthquakes in divers places 2. If you be Chaff among the Wheat you spoil the Beauty and glory of the Wheat you bring a reproach upon the Saints and upon the Church the ways of God are evil spoken of thro' your means your Pride your Covetousness your Back-biting and detracting Tongue and Unjust Dealing hinders the propagation of the Gospel your formality deadness slighting and neglecting of the Worship of God and want of Zeal and Love to Christ and to his people hath bitter effects on the unbelieving World as well as it will have on your own Souls 3. If you are Chaff you shall e're long be separated or severed from the Wheat There is a time near that that will discover all and make a full discrimination between the
The Devil also no doubt will reproach them for their Folly though he be in Misery with them Ah thou Wretch may not he say wast thou not a Fool to believe me whom thou wast often told was a Liar from the Beginning and wouldst not believe thy God See how I have betrayed thee and blinded thine Eyes and made thee taken with silly Rattles Toys and Triffles I presented thee with false Money with brass Counters and thou didst take them and refuse precious Gold and Pearl I knew I was damned and should be tormented and I out of Malice to thy Soul resolved to try to make thee as miserable as my self and I have done it Alas I had no power to force thee but I saw thou hadst no Strength to resist my Enticements nor didst thou see thy own Disability I hid it from thee that thou mightest not look up to Christ for Help I made thee believe thou wast a Christian it was I that told thee thy Heart and State was good when I knew thou wast an undone Man and thou didst believe me I had more Honour shewed me by thee than the Great God thou didst believe me and wouldst not believe Him his Word his Ministers Ah how just is it thou Fool that thou should'st lie here with me to Eternity in these Flames 3. Moreover Sorrow will violently penetrate and seize on the Soul of the Damned partly upon the Account of what they have lost together with the sense of the Evil they feel O how great is the loss of an earthly Kingdom doubtless no little Grief and Sorrow to a King who meets with that Affliction but what is that to the loss of the presence of God the Vision of God and the glorious Enjoyment of Christ and the Eternal Crown and Kingdom above Oh! what Grief and Perplexity will this be unto them especially when they reflect on the small value of those Things for the sake of which they deprived themselves of Eternal Felicity How have some mourned for the Loss of an Husband a Wife or Children What will then the Sorrow be for the Loss of Jesus Christ Christ is lost Heaven is lost and now here must I lye O gulph of misery dolesom darkness and endless Torment 4. Despair will torment them also this will make their pain and anguish more intolerable O how dismal was the Despair of Spira and Child but in Hell it will exceed it will be utter Despair without all Hope and Intermission 5. Fury and Rage will afflict them also O how will they tear roar and howl in a hideous manner hating themselves and cursing those that inticed them to sin and folly and to slight the eternal Joys of Heaven Tenthly The Misery which the Damned undergo in Hell will be great upon the Account of their hateful and amazing Companions viz. the Devils they must dwell with Devils for ever how have some who have but thought they have seen the Devil trembled and been terrified Alas alas in Hell sinners shall be continually with him nay with millions of Devils who can express the Horror that will seize on the damned in this respect We do not love to see such who have ruined us of our Estates robbed us out of Malice of our good Names a King in Chains in a Dungeon cannot like to behold the vile Traitor that dethroned him that wounded him and stript him of all his Royal Robes thus hath the Devil dealt with those miserable Creatures of lost Mankind that are damned yet he shall be with them and be their Companion and may as you heard reproach them which with the constant sight of his ugly face will add to their Misery and Sorrow Eleventhly The Place of Torment is called a Lake of Fire yet it is called utter Darkness they shall never see the least Glimpse of Light any more for ever O how grievous is it to dwell in darkness the Darkness of Egypt no doubt was one of their worst Plagues Darkness that might be felt but alas what was that darkness to the darkness which the damned shall be in and feel to Eternity If therefore the fire of Hell be material fire yet it will not be like our common fire the Property of which is to give Light but it will be dark fire God can change that quality of Fire if he please tho' it may have all other Properties yet not that The Holy Ghost saith speaking of the ungodly who are as Clouds without Water Trees whose Fruit is withered twice dead plucked up by the Root that to them is reserved the Blackness of Darkness for ever The blackness of Darkness shews the Horror of their Punishment and it being reserved for them shews the certainty of it As their Deeds have been deeds of Darkness Works of Darkness and some of them have wrought Wickedness in secret or in darkness so their Punishment shall be Darkness never to have the least Glimpse of external nor internal nor eternal Light any more for ever Eleventhly The Torment of the Damned is and will be intolerable because it will be for ever and ever the Eternity of their Misery is that which above all things renders it amazing 't is called in my Text unquenchable Fire O how astonishing is this all the Tears of those miserable Wretches can never quench one spark of the fire no no if they could weep a Sea of Brinish Tears or a Sea of Blood it could not allay or extinguish the least spark of divine Wrath. God will never reverse the dismal sentence How often doth our Saviour say there the Worm dyeth not and the Fire is not quenched Sure he repeats it so oft as I hinted before because the Heart of Man is ready to question the Truth thereof Wicked men are not willing to believe it but they shall find it to be true to their endless Sorrow at last Ah Sirs the Thoughts of this drives them into the greatest Horror imaginable if Pain and Anguish be never so extream yet if there is Grounds to hope and believe it will be but short that affords some Ease some Relief but when there is no hope but they must bear it as long as they live tho' they may live ten twenty or thirty years the Thoughts of this is intolerable What then shall we say of the Torments of the Damned which as they are far beyond all pain and misery that ever mortal felt on Earth so they will abide to the days of Eternity should one of you be cast into a Fire a fierce Fire and it was possible that your Body might lye therein burning and broiling and you not be able to dye for an hundred years would not the Thoughts of such Punishment be exceeding frightful and tormenting but alas alas what is an hundred years to Eternity if after ten hundred thousand million of years are run out in Hell the damned might hope their Torments would be over it would relieve them