securing our main Interest the Happiness of Eternity and when Time shall be at an End that is to every particular Person when Death shall put a Period to this Life then comes that Night in which no Man can work then the Opportunity shall be for ever at an End and according as Men have improv'd or wasted their Time in this World so shall their Eternity be happy or miserable in the next And therefore he is indeed very foolishly prodigal who without any Thought of hereafter wastes this precious Treasure this only Opportunity of making himself for ever happy in Vanity and Folly in pleasing and humouring his Body and neglects the Improvement of his Soul and instead of working out his Salvation with Fear and trembling secures to himself Eternal Misery And this does every wilful Sinner when with the Prodigal in the Parable he wastes this his Substance in Luxurious and Riotous Living and studies nothing but how to gratifie the lower Life looking no further than this present World for Happiness 'till his Opportunity be quite lost and he is surpriz'd into an unchangeably Miserable Condition because when 't was put into his Hand to make himself happy if he would he neglected it and chose the Track to Ruine Thirdly The Glorious Reversion of our Heavenly Inheritance is a Treasure likewise that can never be sufficiently valu'd for Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard neither can it enter into the Heart of Man to conceive the Felicities and Glories of it Now this we are assur'd by him that cannot lie and whose it is to bestow shall be the Reward of Vertue and sincere Religion all this is laid up for them that love God and keep his Commandments And therefore for a Man that knows all this to be so prodigally to throw away all Expectation of and Title to such a Reversion as this upon such low and profligate Accounts as the wallowing in the filthy Pleasures of a Goat or a Swine or the heaping up Treasures of Gold and Silver which are as unsatisfying as they are uncertain and perishing or for the Sake of a little empty Honour or the like This is the very Highth of profligate Extravagancy and such as one would think no sensible Man should ever be guilty of Upon these and many other nay indeed all Accounts 't is very true that a wicked Man is the greatest Prodigal in the World for he wastes and throws away what is of highest Value to a Man and that for what is no better than Vanity and Vexation of Spirit And thus much for the first thing expressed in this Parable viz. the great Extravagancy of ungodly Men when they give themselves up to the Guidance of their own Wills and Affections and grow weary of the Government of God their Heavenly Father Like the Prodigal Son they waste their most precious Substance in riotous and profligate living The second thing express'd in this Parable is the sad Condition such Men soon reduce themselves to by that their Extravagancy and loose self-will'd Course of Life or in other Words the Miserable Consequences of Debauchery and Riot and of following so Blind a Guide as Mens unruly Passions and Lusts For so in the Parable when the prodigal Young Man had spent all there arose a mighty Famine in that Land and he began to be in Want and went and joyn'd himself to a Citizen of that Country who sent him into his Fields to feed Swine And he would fain have fill'd his Belly with the Husks that the Swine did eat but no Man gave unto him The first ill Consequence then of this Prodigality or Lawless Extravagant Living is Spiritual Want or a Scarcity and Famine of the Divine Grace in the Soul which is by so much more to be dreaded than a Famine of Provisions for the Body as Eternal Misery and Death is more terrible than Temporal The Grace of God is questionless the Nourishment of the Divine Life and which if once withdrawn will leave the Soul dead in Trespasses and Sins Now an obstinate Course of Disobedience to the Divine Will drives out that Life-giving Power and makes the Soul uncapable of Vital Union with so pure a Spirit and as a Humane Soul is forc'd to leave a Body rotten and wasted and unapt any longer to entertain it so this Divine Spirit is thrust out from a corrupted sinful Soul And consequently there must be a famine in that Soul of that Heavenly Bread which is absolutely necessary to eternal Life and the Consequence of that is Eternal Death And certainly no Man that considers what a Dismal Condition that Soul is in which is reduced to such Extremity of Spiritual Want as this how full of Horrour and Despair as doom'd to endless Misery and seal'd up to Destruction which he sees dayly nearer and nearer approaching and no way to escape but like a Wretch immur'd between two Walls there to be starv'd to Death in continual Expectation of her sad End No Man that considers this with that Seriousness he ought but will be very careful not to waste what is so necessary to his Spiritual Subsistence i. e. by no means grieve or resist or quench that Life-giving Spirit by whom all true Religion lives and moves and hath its Being and which if neglected and oppos'd will be withdrawn and that perhaps for ever If like Esau we sell this inestimable Blessing for a Mess of Pottage forfeit the Food of our Souls that we may indulge our Sensual Appetites we may fear that a Spiritual Famine will be our Punishment and no Place left for Repentance no Blessing remaining for us though we seek it earnestly with Tears As the Prodigal in the Parable when after he had wasted his Substance in riotous Living and then wanted and was ready to perish with Hunger so that he would have been glad of the meanest and coarsest Fare would fain have sill'd his Belly with the Husks that the Swine did eat even that he could not obtain for no Man says the Parable gave unto him Another ill Consequence of this Spiritual Prodigality and loose wicked Course of Life and to name no more amongst a numerous Train of them is that it extreamly degrades and debases a Man and engages him in the vilest Drudgery imaginable the serving Bestial Lusts and Devilish Passions This is express'd in the Parable by the Prodigal's being sent into the Feilds to feed Swine a thing the most abject in it self and the most detestable to the Jews to whom our Lord spake the Parable who were taught by their Law to esteem that Creature among the most unclean And as low or lower than this does he debase his Nature who neglecting the Noble Precepts of Religion makes his Sensual Appetite the Rule and Measure of his Actions For what more Beastly and Detestable than ungovern'd Lust The wretch himself that is guilty of it is asham'd publickly to commit it and takes Advantage of Holes and Corners and
still disbelieve that there is a suture State of Eternal Rewards and Punishments according as Men live well or ill here below and still keep them from being perswaded by it to Amendment though one came to them from the Dead to assure them of it For what an easie Matter would it be for them to say that the Apparition was but a melancholly Fancy or a Dream and regard it as if no more and laugh at all things of that Nature as too many now a-days are apt to do And he that will shut his Eyes aganst so much Reason and Evidence as there is for the Divine Authority of the Holy Scriptures is Proof against any other Sort of Conviction whatever even that of a Messenger sent on purpose to him from the other World For so our Lord in the Parable If they believe not Moses and the Prophets we may add and our Saviour his Evangelists and Apostles neither will they be perswaded though one arose from the Dead Wherefore it becomes us all to be very careful lest the Spirit of Unbelief enter into us and we grow so blinded by the Deceitfulness of Sin as either not to believe or not duly to attend to this great and strongly confirm'd Truth of the Certainty of another Life after this and of the eternal Rewards and Punishments then to be awarded to every Man according to his religious or impious Behaviour here 'T is in vain to expect any further extraordinary Proof of what is already plainly declared by him that cannot lye in those Writings which we have all the Reason in the World to believe were written by his Divine Inspiration Let us rather so serioussy consider and attend to what is there reveal'd to us as by those Terrors of the Lord relating to a future Judgment to be perswaded to a sincere Revisal of our Ways and deep Repentance of what we shall find to have been amiss and immediate Endeavours to do no more wickedly Let us have a care how we are charm'd with the Pomps and Vanities of this World as if here were our Happiness and our Heaven and we look'd for no other Life when this is done and let us be chiefly employ'd in making Provision for that other endless Life which will succed this that then we may be happy when if we are miserable we shall be always so Remembring that the Rich Man in the Parable who in this Life receiv'd his good things and was wholly intent upon the Enjoyment of them and look'd no further made no Provision for what was to be hereafter in that other State aster he died was tormented in the Flames of Hell and wanted a Drop of Water to cool his Tongue While the poor despis'd and seemingly miserable Lazarus that begg'd for the Crumbs which fell from his Table and was taken little Notice of by any but the Rich Man's Dogs because his Poverty made him Religious and think of and provide for better things in an everlasting World was when he died conducted by Angels into Abraham's Bosom that Place of Eternal Happiness Rest and Peace which is prepar'd for the Righteous These things if we consider throughly and seriously there will be no need of one from the Dead either to convince us of the Truth of them or to perswade us to an immediate Repentance that we may escape that Place of Eternal Torment reserv'd for the obstinately wicked and be receiv'd into that happy State which shall for ever crown the pious Endeavours of the Good Wherefore for the future may we all so meditate upon these things and give our selves so intirely to them that through God's gracious Assistance our profiting may appear in all things The PRAYER O God infinitely wise and Good the Disposals of whose Providence here below though always for the best are yet often the Cause of Wonder to us Mortals especially in the Prosperity of the Wicked and the Afflictions of the Righteous Teach me the Wisdom I beseech thee to look beyond this World for Happiness and never to make vain Conclusions of thy Favour or displeasure to my self or others or concerning mine or their Condition in the other World from the Circumstances of this our present Life But rather in all things to acknowledg thy Providence to be good and just and be careful to secure my Duty in whatsoever Station thou shalt please to place me Grant that in Prosperity I may be Humble Thankful and Charitable in Adversity Contented and resign'd under thy Paternal Rod and may make that good Use of every Condition which thou designest I should and carefully avoid the Snares of each and make it my great Endeavour whilst I continue here below to secure a happy Eternity in the World of Spirits where my Condition whatever it then shall be will be unchangeable And may my Belief of future Eternal Rewards and Punishments be daily more and more strengthned and confirmed by a serious and unprejudic'd Attention to the plain Assurance thou hast given me of it in the Holy Scriptures so as not to be vainly desirous of any more extraordinary Evidence in this matter but believing these great Truths without wavering Grant that I may immediately endeavour to reform my Life before it be too late That so when I go hence I may be receiv'd into Abraham's Bosom the happy Portion of the Faithful and escape the Place of endless Torment prepar'd for the Devil and his Angels Grant this O Gracious God for Jesus Christ his Sake PARABLE XIII Of the Importunate Widow Luke xviii 1 2 3 4 5 And Jesus spake a Parable to this End that Men ought always to pray and not to faint Saying there was in a City a Judge which feared not God neither regarded Man And there was a Widow in that City and she came unto him saying Avenge me of mine Adversary And he would not for a while but afterwards he said within himself Though I fear not God neither regard Man Yet because this Widow troubleth me I will avenge her lest by her continual coming she weary me THE Force of this Parable in order to the perswading to a constant and importunate Devotion lies in this That if Importunity will prevail with a sinful Man that neither fears God nor has any Compassion for the Miseries of his Fellow-Creatures to grant Petitions offer'd to him How much more prevalent will it be with the infinitely good God to relieve the Necessities of such as devoutly and earnestly implore his Help And to the same Sense is another Parable Luke 11.16 Which of you shall have a Friend and shall go to him at Midnight and say unto him Friend lend me three Loaves for a Friend of mine in his Journey is come unto me and I have nothing to set before him and he from within shall answer and say Trouble me not the Door is now shut and my Children are with me in Bed I cannot rise and give thee I say unto you Though he will not
to redeem their mis-spent Time and talk of nothing but Raptures and of reaching great Hights and Eminencies of Piety when all on the suddain they are at a Stand there 's a Lyon in the Way a right Hand must be cut off or a right Eye put out i. e. some Favourite Vice must be cashier'd if they move any further and that 's a hard Saying and the Men begin to cool a Stifness seizes their over-heated Limbs and a senseless Torpor invades every Part of 'em Mark 10.21 and like the young Man in the Gospel whom our Lord began to love for his discreet Answers and towardly Disposition when they must part with their Riches to the Poor and deny themselves their corrupt Desires and Inclinations and take up their Cross and follow their Saviour Then they become sad and with Grief and Dissatisfaction leave him and fold their Hands and return again to their Dream of Vanity Just like those in the former Parable compar'd to stony Ground who receiv'd the Word at first with Joy but having not sufficient Deepness of Earth i.e. for want of through Consideration and beholding the smooth Side of Religion only endure but for a while and in Time of Temptation and Difficulty fall away and their forward Piety becomes dry and wither'd Or like those mention'd in another Parable Luke 14.28 which was spoken upon this very Account and which for its great Affinity with this Part of the Parable we are now upon I shall not particularly discourse of who begin to build and sit not down first and count the Cost whether they be able to finish and so proceeding no further than Foundation become the Scorn of all Men. But Secondly as a State of careless Inadvertency to the things of Religion is like Sleep in its Cause and Beginning so likewise is it in its Progress and Effects For like Sleep it locks up all the Powers and Faculties of the Soul and suspends their Action it dulls its Apprehension and makes it take Evil for Good and Good for Evil it vitiates its Reasoning and makes it draw false and fantastick Consequences and Conclusions and therefore corrupts its Will and Affections and makes its Choices strangely foolish and ridiculous such as preferring Earth before Heaven a little Ease and imperfect Pleasure here before Rivers of ineffable Pleasures that are at God's right Hand for evermore and the like The lower Life is in this Case predomimant and wild Dreams and incoherent Fancies make up such Men's Divinity and their Rule of Life and Manners In short the Life of such Men is but a Dream their Notions like those of Men in a Slumber dark hovering and uncertain their Discourse about religious Marters broken disjointed unconcluding full of Fallacies and dangerous Sophistry to cheat themselves of all Expectation here and Enjoyment hereafter of what is their greatest nay their only Happiness Their Actions are like those done in a Dream too extravagant brutish and unaccountable startled at Chimaera's and the Shadows of Danger and insensible of the Approaches of real and substantial Misery though just ready to overtake them fond of a Bundle of Feathers in love with an aery Nothing whilst their true Interest is not in all their Thoughts And to compleat the Parallel they are as deaf to all Reproofs as Men asleep as little affected with good Instruction and Advice and so bewitch'd with the Fanci'd Sweetness of their Slumber that they are as loath to be awaken'd And when by rudeer Applications they are like Men that have taken too large a Dose of Opium they are presently o'ercome with Heaviness and shut their Eyes against all Conviction and fall asleep again And the final Event is this that as natural Drowsiness cloaths a Man with Raggs so the moral will cloath him with Shame and utter Confusion And now from this short Parallel which I have drawn between the Sleep of the Soul and the Body as we may see the Fitness of the Expression in the Parable so we may learn what Guard to keep upon our selves to prevent our infernal Enemies sowing his Tares or making us become as such by his wicked Insinuations and Suggestions 'T is while Men thus sleep are thus thoughtless and inadvertent to Religion and taken up with the Gaieties and Pleasures of this World which like pleasant Dreams entertain the Fancy and Imagination with much Delight but soon vanish and become utterly unprofitable then it is that this subtle Enemy makes use of his Opportunity and unobserv'd steals in his wicked Injections which divert the Soul still more and more from attending to her main Interest and promote this spiritual Slumber so long 'till too often it becomes chronical and habitual and an utter Oblivion of all religious Obligations an incurable Numness and Stupidity of Soul God knows too often follows and Men become like Tares empty of all substantial Goodness and at best but Christians in Name and Shew and fit for nothing but when God shall see fit to be gathered up from among the Wheat and burnt Wherefore it highly concerns all those that hope to be sav'd not to sleep as do others but to watch and be sober to awake to Righteousness and walk circumspectly not as Fools diverted by every Feather and gay Appearance but as Men that are wise to Salvation always in a Posture of Watchfulness and Defence Fixing our Attention upon our Duty and the exceeding great Reward of it and often reflecting upon that intolerable Misery which will certainly be the Consequence of such fatal Slumberings and still pressing on with greater Courage as the Difficulties of Religion increase upon us and daily endeavouring still more and more to shake off dead Stupidity to Religion which so easily besets us and to rouze up the Faculties and employ 'em upon those noblest of Objects patiently receiving Instruction and Reproof rejecting every Notion and Opinion that would destroy the Necessity of a good Life and studiously avoiding Idleness and Sloth and according to our Lord 's most excellent Advice adding Prayer to Watchfulness that we enter not into Temptation This Course if we take we shall defeat this generally prevailing Stratagem of the subtle Tempter and being always in a Readiness to resist him make him fly from us with Shame and Disappointment And our Souls will then grow more and more substantial in Piety and abound in it as the good Corn and at length being grown ripe for the Glories and Felicities of Heaven be gather'd in Peace and laid up in Repositories of eternal Rest and Safety as in the blessed Garner of our Lord. Thirdly this Parable informs us of the Time of Discovery of the Tares the hypocritical Religionists namely the Time of bringing forth Fruit When the Blade was sprung up and brought forth Fruit or when the Grain appear'd in the Ear then appear'd the Tares also Then appear'd the Difference between the good Corn and the Cockle which at first coming up look'd as flourishing
without any humane Restraint and who made it his Business to find out what was the greatest Happiness of Man in this World and whatsoever his Eyes desir'd he kept not from them he with-held not his Heart from any Joy and who amongst other Delights had great Numbers of Wives and Concubines to the Number of Seven Hundred Wives that were Princesses 1 Kings 11.3 and Three Hundred Concubines and these the fairest doubtless that could be met with Variety enough one would think to take off all Possibility of loathing and Desire of Change But now what says Solomon after so full and uncontroul'd Enjoyment of these carnal Pleasures Why truly in the very Beginning of his Book of Proverbs Chap. 2.18 19. he tells the World that the House of the Strange or Whorish Woman inclineth unto Death and her Paths unto the Dead None that go unto her return again neither take they hold of the Paths of Life And Prov. 5.3 The Lips of a strange Woman drop as an hony Comb and her Mouth is smoother than Oyl but her End or the End of having to do with her is bitter as Wormwood sharp as a two edged Sword Very frequent are his Invectives against this Vice and deliver'd with more than ordinary Earnestness And in the 7th Chapter of Ecclesiastes the Book of his Recantations he publickly declares that he finds as by his own Experience He finds more bitter than Death the Woman whose Heart is Snares and her Hands as Bands whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her but the Sinner shall be taken by her Vers 26. As if 't were a peculiar Providence of God to protect a good Man from falling into so great a Mischief and that he suffers the wicked to be ensnar'd by it as a severe Punishment and great Expression of his Displeasure And in the next Verse Behold says the Preacher this have I found counting one by one to find out the Account which yet my Soul seeketh but I find not One Man among a Thousand have I found but a Woman among all those have I not found That is he did at last meet with a Man that answer'd his Expectations as a Friend or faithful Servant But among all his Concubines not one but who baulk'd and disappointed his fond Hopes of Happiness from the Enjoyment of her and depriv'd him of more Satisfaction than she gave him And thus we see from the Confession of Solomon himself who gratified his carnal Appetite to the full and experienc'd the utmost of what Lust and Wantonness could afford that this Sort of Pleasure amounts to no more than this Dishonour and Disappointment always and not seldom Diseaes and Death Let us now proceed to enquire what the Pleasures of luxurious Eating and intemperate Drinking will amount to All that it can pretend to is the Gratification of the Taste and Palate For as for true Nourishment High Feeding falls far short of more ordinary Diet and as for refreshing and cherishing the Spirits a moderate Quantity of Wine is sufficient and what is more than that ends in a Fit of Madness and impoverishes Nature Now the Pleasures of the Palate make the best of them are of very short Continuance no sooner tasted but they vanish and the Stomach will not bear a long Repetition of this Pleasure and is soonest cloy'd and surfeited with what is of the richest Gust and Relish And the Inconveniences that attend this short-liv'd and very imperfect Pleasure are great and of very long Continuance For suppose a Mans Revenues to be so large that he can bear the Expence of Luxury without weakening his Fortune in the least and so that very usual ill Consequence of it cannot in this Case be charg'd upon it yet others full as great may As first the more a Man indulges his Palate the harder he will find it to be pleas'd and at length 't will grow so troublesomely nice that its Disgusts will be more frequent than its Pleasure and so instead of procuring a constant Gratification of the Palate Luxury is the ready Way to make a Man disrelish almost every thing Which must needs make his Life a continual Vexation and Uneasiness and a Plowman with his coarse Fare and no other Sauce to it but a good Stomach will experience far greater and more lasting Pleasure in eating and drinking than the greatest Epicure in the World And therefore Luxury is indeed the wrong Way to procure an intire Gratification of the Palate and destroys what it pretends to create Another very ill Consequence of Luxury is that it mightily weakens and impairs Health and makes a Man a living Hospital full of Diseases and very often cuts his Days off in the Midst And thus does an over-Indulgence to the Body cruciate and destroy it and by an extravagant Care to please the Palate Men bring upon themselves a Necessity of taking such medicinal Compositions as are abundantly more nauseous to it than ever the most artificial Dishes or richest Wines were grateful And by this Time we perceive what luxurious Eating and drinking amounts to truly no more than this a very short imperfect Pleasure attended with great and durable ill Consequences which abundantly outweigh the Pleasure and would do so were it Greater and more lasting than it is Another Desire of the Flesh is Mirth and Jollity a thoughtless Course of Life spent in Recreations in Laughter and an aery facetious Way of Conversation and this is very taking with Abundance of People and he counted the happiest Man that can spend his Days in this Manner and has little else to do Well then suppose a Man so intirely disengag'd from the Fatigues of Business as to have his Time wholly at his own Disposal suppose him to be of a brisk lively Temper and free from all Care and Trouble and that he has the Conversation of such as are as sprightly as himself so that the Day seems too short for their Mirth and Pleasantry their Pastimes and Recreations Suppose all this that is suppose a Man to have all of this Kind of Pleasure that the World can afford we shall find upon a nearer View that there is as great an Alloy here as in the Instances before mention'd Solomon who was a very competent Judg in this Matter and for a considerable Time made Jollity his Business and tasted as much of it as 't is possible for a Man to do was so much of this Mind as to pronounce it not only Vanity but Vexation of Spirit He gave himself wholly up to Mirth as he tells us Prov. 2.1 c. and the Pleasures of Wine with agreeable Company He planted beautiful Gardens Vineyards and Groves interwoven with artificial Streams to improve the Relish of those his Delights and as the Crown of all he had all Sorts of Musick attending him both vocal and instrumental so that he had whatever his Heart could desire to make himself happy this Way if this could do it And what was
what Instruction he hath met with in the School of Righteousness what plenty of Religious Discourses and Exhortations he has enjoy'd and how frequently he has felt Motions from within to a still more and more holy and exemplary Life He that hath experienc'd all this in a great degree that hath had his pregnant natural Capacity well cultivated by an early and excellent Instruction and had the whole of Religion plainly laid before him in all the Doctrines Duties Rewards and Punishments of it and been often and affectionately exhorted to live accordingly in all holy Conversation and Godliness and has frequently felt secret internal Motions and Perswasions to it this Man has received much more than One Talent at the hands of God and God will expect from him a proportionable Improvement and he must abound in every good Word and Work For unto whomsoever much is given of him shall be much requir'd and to whom Men have committed much of him they will ask the more But because all Men are not of equal Abilities naturally neither have the same Opportunities of Instruction and Improvement nor the same immediate Impulses of the Blessed Spirit where there is any defect in these Respects God will abate proportionably in his Expectations and he that received the One Talent had he gained but One other with it would have been call'd a good and faithful Servant and been receiv'd into the Joy of his Lord. Let us all therefore endeavour to grow in Grace according to the measure of this unspeakable Gift to perform our Duties each in his Station and according to his Ability faithfully and industriously that when our Lord comes to make Enquiry into each ones Improvement of his Talent and call for every ones particular Account we may all from the least to the greatest chearfully give it up and receive the immense Reward of a sincere Diligence For In the third Place There will most certainly be a Time when our Great Lord will come to take Account of every Man's Improvement of the Grace that was given him and reward every Man according to his Deserving That there will certainly be a Day of Judgment both of Quick and Dead when every Man shall be rewarded according to that he hath done in the Body whether it be good or evil is a Truth so evident from Scripture that those who have read and do believe those Writings can make no doubt of it And the Proof of this from Reason has been so convincingly manag'd by several Learned Pens particularly of late by Dr. Sherlock in his Excellent Discourse upon Judgment that I think nothing can be added to it I shall only therefore Collect such a Description of that Great Day and the Proceedings in it out of the Revelations where it is the most movingly represented as may incline us all with the greatest Diligence and immediately by self-Examination and Amendment of every evil Way to prepare for that great Audit that we may give up our Accounts with joy and not with grief In the 20th Chapter of the Revelations ver 12. after the divine Apostle had given a Description of the Appearing of the great Judge upon his Throne I saw a great White Throne says he and him that sat on it from whose face the Earth and the Heaven fled away and there was found no place for them He proceeds I saw the dead small and great stand before God and the Books were opened And another Book was opened which is the Book of Life and the dead were judged out of those Things that were written in the Books according to their Works and the Sea gave up the dead that were in it and Death and the Grave deliver'd up the dead which were in them and they were judged every man according to their Works And whosoever was not written in the Book of Life was cast into the Lake of Fire That is The Records shall then be laid open wherein every Man's Receipt of Grace is enter'd and those whose Works shall be found proportionably good according to the Assistance they have receiv'd from Above or in the Stile of the Parable that have made an answerable Improvement to the Number of Talents committed to them their Names shall be written in the Book of Life and they received into the eternal Joy of their Lord. But those who can then give no good Account of their Talents shew no suitable Improvement in Holiness according to the measure of Grace they have received shall never see Life but be cast into the Lake of Fire which is the second Death And because so very few will be so wise as to make due Preparation for this great Day of Account by improving the Grace God has given them to the great Ends for which it was design'd therefore as 't is describ'd Rev. 3.15 The Kings of the Earth and the great Men and the rich Men and the chief Captains and the mighty Men and every Bond-man and every Freeman many of all Qualities and Conditions from the highest to the lowest shall hide themselves in Dens in Rocks and Mountains and say to the Rocks and Mountains fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the Throne and from the Wrath of the Lamb for the great Day of his Wrath is come and who shall be able to stand May these Terrors of the Lord perswade us to provide in this our day for the Things that belong to our Peace before they be hid from our eyes looking for by frequent Meditation and hastning unto by a diligent Improvement of our Talents the coming of this dreadful day of God and being above all things careful That we be found of him in Peace without spot and blameless for God will bring every secret Thing into Judgment whether it be good or evil and exactly adapt every Man's Recompense to his Work Which brings me to the next Thing I am to consider in this Parable namely Fourthly That at that great Day of Account when every Man's Work is fully known and his Improvement compar'd with what he has receiv'd the Diligent shall not only in general be receiv'd into the Joy of their Lord and the unprofitable cast into outer Darkness but the most Diligent those that have made the greatest Improvement shall receive the greatest share of Happiness And those that have been most careless and Unprofitable shall be doom'd to the greatest misery That is in short there will be degrees of Happiness or Misery respectively awarded to Men according to the degrees of their Holiness or Impiety I know this has been much question'd by some and wholly deny'd by others and their main Reason against it I conceive to be this That since the Happiness of the Just in Heaven consists in the Vision of God or the Excellencies and Beauties of the Divine Nature which will fill a holy Soul with eternal and inexpressible Delight for so St. John expresses the Bliss of Heaven by seeing God as
Rich Man which was clothed in Purple and Fine Linnen and fared sumptuously every day And there was a certain Beggar named Lazarus which was laid at his Gate full of Sores And desiring to be fed with the Crumbs which fell from the Rich Man's Table moreover the Dogs came and licked his Sores And it came to pass that the Beggar died and was carried by the Angels into Abraham's Bosom the Rich Man also died and was buried And in Hell he lift up his Eyes being in Torments and seeth Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his Bosom And he cried and said Father Abraham have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in Water and cool my Tongue for I am tormented in this Flame But Abraham said Son remember that thou in thy life-time received'st thy good Things and likewise Lazarus evil Things but now He is comforted and Thou art tormented And besides all this between Vs and You there is a great Gulf fixed so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot neither can they pass to us that would come from thence Then he said I pray thee therefore Father that thou wouldest send him to my Father's House For I have five Brethren that he may testifie unto them lest they also come into this Place of Torment Abraham saith unto him They have Moses and the Prophets let them hear them And he said nay Father Abraham but if one went unto them from the Dead they will Repent And he said unto him if they hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be perswaded though One rose from the Dead THIS Parable seems to be designed to inform us of Three Things First That from a Man's Prosperous or Adverse Condition in this World there is no Judgment to be made concerning his Condition in the next and that 't is not seldom that the Happiness Men meet with in this Life is changed for Misery in the other and that Affliction here ends in Happiness hereafter Secondly That whatever Alteration is made in the State and Condition of the Soul after its Departure from this World shall be from thenceforth for ever unalterable And Thirdly That every Man may be sufficiently assur'd of this that reads the Scriptures and powerfully enough inclin'd to avoid that Future Misery and secure his Eternal Happiness without any more extraordinary Ways of Conviction of the Truth of this and Perswasion to act accordingly And that those who are not satisfied with what has been hitherto reveal'd in this Matter will never be satisfied though One should come from the Dead to assure them of it Of each of these Particulars I shall discourse in their Order The first thing this Parable informs us of is that from a Man's prosperous or adverse Condition in this World there is no Judgment to be made concerning his Condition in the next and that 't is not seldom that the Happiness Men meet with in this Life is chang'd for Misery in the other and on the contrary that Affliction Here ends in Happiness Hereafter And this is express'd in the Parable by a Poor Beggar that was full of Sores and begg'd but the Crums that fell from a Rich Man's Table his being carried by Angels into Abraham's Bosom when he died or received into that Place of Happiness which is prepar'd for them that live and dye in the Faith and Fear of God as Abraham did while the Rich Man that was cloath'd in Purple and fine Linnen and fared sumptuously every day after he dy'd was Tormented in the flames of Hell 'T was the Observation and Complaint of Solomon and might have been made if it was not long before even from the Infancy of the World that no Man knoweth either the Love or Hatred of God by All that is here in this World before him nay that there are Just Men to whom it happeneth according to the Work of the Wicked Eccl. 9.1 and Wicked Men to whom it happeneth according to the Work of the Righteous i. e. That Wicked Men are often observ'd to be prosperous here as if they were the Favourites of Heaven and rewarded for their Vertue and Good Men calamitous and afflicted as if they were hated of God and punish'd for their great Impieties Job makes a very pathetical Complaint to this purpose and was indeed Job 21.5 himself a deplorable Instance of what he then complained of and he introduces what he would say with the greatest Solemnity Mark me and be astonished says he and lay your Hand upon your Mouth Even when I remember I am afraid and Trembling seiseth my Flesh Wherefore do the Wicked live to become Old yea are mighty in Power and their Seed is establish'd in their sight with them and their Off-spring before their Eyes Whereas I might he have said and questionless he alluded to it I that have the Testimony of God himself that there is none like me upon Earth a Perfect and an Upright Man one that feareth God Job 19.9 and escheweth Evil am on a sudden stripp'd of all my Glory and my Children All together snatch'd from me by a dreadful Accident and my self smitten with sore Boils from the Sole of my Foot unto my Crown so that I am weary of my Life and think I have reason to curse the Day of my Birth They spend their Days in Wealth and Mirth and in a Moment with a quick and easie Passage go down to the Grave whereas I miserable though innocent am cloathed with Worms and Scabs and Clods of Dust my sighing comes before my Meat and my Roarings are poured out like the Waters and I long for Death but it cometh not Holy David * Psal 73.21 likewise very feelingly complain'd of this and the Prophet Jeremy †Jer. 12.1 and indeed this so seemingly strange Method of Providence is the Observation of every Man and the Wonder of most And what Conclusions Men will be apt to draw from such Observations is easie to imagine The Best of Men will be apt to be discouraged and tempted to say with David Verily I have cleansed my Heart in vain and wash'd my Hands in Innocency And as for Sinners no doubt but they will be embolden'd by it to strengthen themselves in their Wickedness and either perswade themselves that their Actions are not so odious in the Sight of God as has been represented to them or that because they Thrive and Prosper more than Better Men the Threats of Religion are but Scare-Crows and because not speedily shall never be inflicted or if there be another World that they shall fare as well in that as they have done in this And the more indifferent sort of Men that are neither very Bad nor very Good if they prosper here will be apt to think it is an Argument of God's Favour to them that they perform an acceptable Service to him now and that it shall therefore be well with them hereafter
Ruin and the Wages of Sin this eternal Torment and Death we would be above all things careful to avoid this Place of everlasting Torments and make use of our Time and Opportunity while we have it in providing for a happy Eternity The End of every Man's Life is the Beginning of Eternity to him then Time shall be no more no more Space for Repentance and working out our Salvation and after the great Change that Death will make in our Condition no more Changes from thence forward for ever no intermediate Purgatory to cleanse our remaining Filthiness but as Death leaves a Soul so shall Judgment find it and an irreversible Sentence be pass'd upon it And this great Truth can never be too often call'd to Remembrance and there is so much of Terror in it to a wicked Liver that whoever thinks at all must needs be inclin'd by it to husband well this his only Opportunity of making himself for ever Happy and immediately endeavour to clear himself from that Guilt which if he dies in will make him for ever miserable and that without the least Alleviation The last thing this Parable informs us of is That every Man may be sufficiently assur'd of this great Truth that reads the Scriptures and powerfully enough inclin'd to avoid that future Misery and secure his eternal Happiness without any more extraordinary Ways of Conviction in this Matter or Perswasives to act accordingly And that those who are not satisfied with what has already been reveal'd of future Rewards and Punishments in all Probability will never be satisfied though one should come from the Dead to assure them of it This is express'd in the Parable by the Rich Man's desiring after he was sadly assur'd by Abraham that there was no Remedy for himself that he would send Lazarus to his Father's House for I have five Brethren says he that he may testifie unto them lest they also come into this Place of Torment To this Abraham answers They have Moses and the Prophets let them hear them But this would not satisfie the miserable Rich Man and he said nay Father Abraham but if one went to them from the Dead they will repent To this Abraham gives this final Answer If they hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be perswaded though one arose from the Dead As if he had said There is all the Assurance given to Men by the Holy Writings of the Truth of these things that any reasonable Man can desire and the same Obstinate and Atheistick Infidelity and Debauchery of Manners that makes Men disbelieve what the Scriptures affirm of another Life would make them still disbelieve it though one arose from the Dead to assure them of it And if this was true before the Gospel when these things were but darkly reveal'd in comparison of what they are now and the Jews might then be sufficiently assur'd of them by attending to the Writings of Moses and the Prophets it is a much more confirm'd Truth to us Christians the Scriptures of the New Testament assuring us of it in the most plain and express Terms that can be According to what the Apostle says 2 Tim. 1.8 that our Lord has brought Life and Immortality to light by the Gospel And yet some are so unreasonable as when we discourse about Judgment to come and the Rewards and Punishments of another Life not to tremble at it as Foelix did but with perverse Infidelity question the Truth of the thing and ask us how we can be sure it is and shall be so and whether we have been told it by one that came from the other World and has experienc'd what we say to be true And that nothing less than such a Proof shall ever make them believe it And when they are urg'd with the Testimony of Moses and the Prophets and of the Son of God himself they have the Confidence to laugh at this as an Invention of Church-Men and no better than a Religious Cheat. They are not ignorant they say that the Writings which we affirm were divinely inspir'd do very plainly and expresly assert That there shall be a Judgment to come and that every Man shall be rais'd from the Dead and plac'd before the Almighty Judge and consign'd to eternal Happiness or Misery according to what they have done in this Life whether it be good or evil But they deny the Truth of those Writings and consequently the Reality of what they assert of this Nature Our Business therefore must be to prove the Truth and Divine Authority of those Holy Scriptures and then 't will follow that he that still disbelieves the Doctrine of future Rewards and Punishments and is not inclin'd to live accordingly will neither be convinc'd nor perswaded in this Instance though one rose from the Dead The Opposition Anti-scripturists make against the Holy Writings is in short this Either they will deny that those Books were written by the Men whose Names they bear or if they are forc'd to grant that they will deny the Truth of the Matters of fact which they set down and endeavour to pick out Inconsistencies and Contradictions in their Relation and if beaten from that Post they 'll deny that the Writers were Men divinely inspired and affirm that the Doctrine they wrote was meerly the Product of their own Brains and what strange Occurrences they record of their Master Jesus as of his Resurrection from the Dead as an Argument that there shall be another Life after this is ended and all Men then arise likewise and be call'd to give account of their Works that this and the like strange Passages they record of Jesus supposing them to be true were not done by a Divine Power but by Art Magick and the Power of the Devil And this could it be made good would be a shrewd Blow indeed and all reveal'd Religion soon sink into Ruine But in short for to inlarge here would far exceed the Bounds of a single Sermon a Christian's Defence of the Truth and divine Authority of the Holy Writings may be this First Though some have deny'd that the Books of the Old and New Testament were written by the Men whose Names they bear yet no Man ever yet could prove it nay on the contrary they have been receiv'd as Genuine for many Hundreds of Years and by Men of very different Religions and Perswasions and that were bitter Enemies to the Religion there taught and the Professors of it and would have been extreamly glad to have prov'd the Whole a Forgery if they could But since they did not when 't was so much for their Interest to have don 't 't is plain they could not and since they are to this Day approv'd by all Sorts of Religions as genuine 't is as much as can be said in the Case and as much as can be said for any other Book in the World And we must either throw aside all Books as spurious or believe this which we